Life Updates (Patreon)

It's been a long while since I last had time for a journal entry, especially having started on my new full-time job as a storyboard artist early March this year. There's been a number of things piling in my mind lately, so here's a quick update on the major developments so far!

Funding My Home

Having turned 35 in August this year, I am, as a single Singaporean, gay male, eligible to apply for my own public housing. Younger married couples can legally do so when they're 28, as the nation prioritizes its growth and development on family building. As for the rest of us, our rite of passage comes at a huge time handicap.

Incidentally, on my birthday itself this year, was also the sales launch for a new wave of housing options in 2 different estates in Singapore. As soon as I could log on to my office computer, I initiated the online application in a flurry and hopped on the queue, because as it turns out, this was a hotly contested area - of the 891 two-room units available for singles like myself, it was oversubscribed by a total of 1927 applicants.

With my new full-time employment, I have been able get my finances and paper trail looking in good order, and have already been approved for a housing loan that will be valid till 2019, and enough from the loan to cover the only housing option I'm eligible for.

A Long Queue for the Long Wait

With much gratitude and praise to the RNG Gods, I have been fortunate enough to enter into the balloting queue. What this means is that come November 2018, I will be able to make a visit to the HDB Hub to select my choice of unit (pending availability and options)... only to wait for a good length of 4-5 years as the place has yet to be fully constructed, and only be ready by 2023 should everything run smoothly. As unpredictable as this seems, my partner and myself have determined this to actually be the "safest" option with a discernible timeline and attainable touch points.

My knowledge of housing abroad is non-existent, so I can't even begin to imagine what the process is like. Admittedly, the learning slope was relatively steep, and it was only in recent years that I've become more informed of the local processes - always better late than never, as they say.

What The Future Holds

The estate that I'll be queuing and vying for is called Punggol Point District. It has been touted by the media and HDB as this razzle-dazzle newfangled self-contained green town of the future. It is here, at the tip of the island across Sauron's gaze, that the Punggol Digital District - and here where I'll be staking my future prospects at...

Our local university, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) have already made major plans to move the entirety of their segmented campus to Punggol. For those of you who know me well, will understand that I've been trying to get a degree for the longest time during the early phases of my unstable career as a creative professional.

While I agree with the general sentiments that a lot of the professional mileage we can attain ultimately lies in the quality of our experience and portfolio, I am also inclined to believe that having a paper qualification opens up extra doors. While I don't immediately need a degree to do what I'm already performing on a daily basis, it is obvious that by the time I can move into my home, I'll be 40. I don't know what my endurance will be like then, let alone if I would still have the edge to compete with a highly competitive industry.

For those not in the know, SIT offers degree courses from Digipen of America. Depending on future courses available, with enough resources and funding, one can pursue a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts in either Game Design or Digital Art & Animation. Circumstances permitting, I may bank on these options to further myself, and perhaps find openings to intern abroad in America through Digipen's exchange programs, as a possibility.

Meatier Showers

During this time, if conditions are right - that I have my own home to move to, freelance income to sustain me and a scholarship to fund my art degree, I may be in a better position in my 40s to revisit Meatier Showers and work on the project full-time. As of now, for those of you who have been following me, I've had to make some very tough choices and decided that this year was a good time to wrap up all my comic projects, including Meatier Showers. The characters and stories will always be on my mind, but I've chosen to sacrifice pursuing my dreams for now, and instead focus on getting basic necessities met as an immediate priority. 

To sum it all up, this is essentially my trajectory for the next 5 years. It will not be easy, but it's the best plan so far. Thank you for continuing to support me and my projects. 

Snares
Oct 2018