tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17972633246213622112024-03-17T16:37:32.602+08:00Vivek MahbubaniFinding connections between drumming, art, getting things done (GTD), creativity and generally life.Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.comBlogger360125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-80236246969089585422018-10-26T00:59:00.002+08:002018-10-26T00:59:52.279+08:00The end.So I've been having a good think about this blog for the last few days as I try to stock-take on my life, the things I do and where it's getting me. While this blog has been part of my life for a LONG time...11.5 years and has seen me go through A LOT, I feel in today's day and age, a blog just doesn't stand the same place it did 11.5 years ago.<br />
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I've come to notice that when I first started this blog, it was a place for me to gather my learning and thoughts and share it with the world (and myself, I've been a believer that <a href="http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/30/the-protege-effect/" target="_blank">teaching is the best way to learn</a>). But as things have changed, my time has also changed and so have my priorities.<br />
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And thus, I have come to the conclusion that this blog has served me very well, but it's time to let it go. I still write.. a lot, but not in a blog, but more in the format of daily-self-reflection which helps me look at my everyday life in a very special way and that's why I've had a chance to properly think this through.<br />
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For those of you who have been following my blog all along, I applaud you for keeping up this all this time, for those of you who stumble upon this blog some time in the future out of some random link you clicked on the internet (or whatever it's called by that time), then hey, here's a little peek into what goes on in my mind.<br />
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Other than that, do me a favor and please read a lot. Books are called <i>classics</i> for a reason and that goes for any art form or creative item. I hope whatever you read here inspires to push yourself to a new level and achieve what you've been doubting you can do.<br />
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And with that, I can only say, I'm really thankful for all that has happened in the last 11.5 years and the whole 36 years of my life so far. I look forward to one day reading this again in the future and getting that warm sensation in my chest of remembering these times.<br />
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Have a fantastic next 10 days....that are going to last forever.<br />
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It's been worth it.Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-45464643143064269912018-10-15T00:04:00.001+08:002018-10-15T00:04:44.292+08:00Next station...next post!Hello hello! How's it going? This is going to be a very quick entry because Im on the train at the moment and I'm rushing a few emails before I head back home, pack up and head to the sack. Got a long week ahead but just an update that after a whole 6 weeks of non-stop work, stress and eating absolute crap.. I'm finally human again.<br /><br />Unless I don't get enough sleep tonight and end up a zombie tomorrow, then we're back to square 1...eek!<br /><br />Enjoy the next 10 days, I'll be back, so much has happened :PVivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-51267131946480090742018-10-04T23:24:00.003+08:002018-10-04T23:24:30.662+08:00Laughing is doneWell the Laugh Festival is officially over and boy was it a blast in both the history books of comedy in HK as well as the amount my brain can handle. I am still quite burnt out from the whole thing but heck, it was awesome we pulled it off! Not to mention I got to do back to back English then Cantonese shows at the start!<br />
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So how are things? I'm so busy catching up it's literally not registering that we're already in October. I've got a packed weekend which is not a good sign because that means I need to catch up twice as fast before next week starts!! Yikes!<br />
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Well this is going to be a quick one because I've still got 30 items on my to do list that I really want to get done before the clock hits 12am and I force myself into bed so I can get enough sleep for one. I've been running on insufficient sleep for almost the whole month of September and I can feel it wearing me down a lot faster these few days, though I'm getting better now that the festival's over.<br />
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Good thing is, I learned a heck of a lot during the festival, the details of running shows over and over again, handling people and manpower, dealing with sudden changes (eg. we got a T10 typhoon which wrecked one weekend's shows!)<br />
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And now I have a couple of weeks before my other madness begins! Good thing is, my web business is pretty much off and I only have 1 small project on hand before I can finally properly shut down my projects to do list and put 100% attention on developing comedy and hopefully even be able to sit down and write some stuff!<br />
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So here's to a fantastic next 10 days, I hope by then I'll not only be clear of my backlog but also be well rested so I can tackle the remainder of the year! Looking forward to all the crazy stuff the next few months have in store for me! Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-75256619237295451032018-09-24T23:52:00.002+08:002018-09-24T23:52:54.355+08:00Mid-Autumn madness before I turn 36!Well, it's that time of the year as I count down to turning another year older. This time, we hit the big 36 years of surviving and thriving on this planet!<br />
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How have things been? It's been good and very, very busy with our Laugh Festival.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bng6semBhpE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Finally home after 2 back-to-back comedy shows (English then Cantonese) at the @laughfestivalhk ! I've been so busy with preparation work for the festival, I've had barely enough time to sleep, let alone take photos! Stay tuned for a bunch of cool pics over the next few days. 喺 #香港爆笑節 連續做完一場英文 + 一場中文個人棟篤笑show...終於返到屋企.... 因為忙於準備香港爆笑節嘅精彩節目,呢排冇時間影相 or 玩ig... 但係今晚啲觀眾真係好high!! Thank you, it was a great show!! #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #阿V #vivek #棟篤笑 #laughFestivalHK #lovemyjob #grateful #iAmSoTiredNow #冇時間影相 #觀眾</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Vivek Mahbubani</a> (@funnyvivek) on <time datetime="2018-09-09T17:49:12+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Sep 9, 2018 at 10:49am PDT</time></div>
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I'm slipping in this quick write up because I'm catching up on everything that has been waiting all along since I've been absolutely swamped running the festival... oh #laughfestivalhk ! :P<br />
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Well the cool thing is Hong Kong has been enjoying a bunch of very diverse comedy shows but also had to deal with a crazy T-10 typhoon Mangkhut that forced us to postpone shows and people to literally have to deal with new hurdles on their life's journey.<br />
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Otherwise, things are as hectic as usual. I was hoping to treat myself to some gaming tonight before I turn 36 but looks like the only game I'll be playing is <i>Empty-the-to-do-list!</i> Ahaha...<br />
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Well I won't be long but just wanted to say this is last call to catch a big range of comedy shows that's left in the festival so <a href="https://laughfestival.hk/shows/schedule/" target="_blank">check out the comedy schedule here</a>.<br />
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Have a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and see you in 10 days!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-11301553518628326452018-08-26T19:16:00.001+08:002018-08-26T19:16:20.533+08:0011.5 years and going strongOK so by now, with the way the whole world has shifted, I have a strong feeling barely anyone is reading this blog (if you are, leave a comment, let me know you still exist!) But either way, it's kind of become part of my routine to keep writing here, heck I'd hate to kill off a 11.5 year old thing I started just because "no one is reading it". Bleh, no one reads my <i>private journal</i> but I still write it! So I'll just write this off as finger cardio either way.<br />
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So how are things? 6 months ago I was just learning how to use the Canon M6 camera, and the other equipment I have my hands on, not to mention I was thinking more from the <i>video angle</i> but guess what? 6 months later I'm well deep into instagram photos!<br />
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It's actually quite fun when I force myself to have 1-picture-a-day just to see how far I can stretch my creativity, not to mention it also makes me learn my tools even more! Now I love taking photos in full manual mode just because I'm able to fully control the effect of the picture, even if it's with a basic M6 camera (or the GoPro for some pictures when I can't access the camera!)<br />
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So 6 months ago I also gave up my drumming and web design and I haven't looked back. So web design still has a few lingering projects but other than that, it's pretty much closed down, allowing me to focus solely on my comedy career or at least the comedy world. And explore it I've done! We've got our Laugh Festival coming up in 2 weeks and I'm pumped, swamped, stressed and excited about it!<br />
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It's actually happening! Almost a month-long of shows and a crazy packed schedule. OK so many people asked me "why?!" and I figured hey why not? I mean, is there ever a time when you can say "people in Hong Kong have laughed enough"? Nah.<br />
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So yeah even though I'm not signing any contract for a special, this is definitely something very special to me, and I'm learning a tonne of stuff on the way, a heck of a lot of project and time management but also resource allocation (well time management is pretty much resource allocation).<br />
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Along with all the other things I'm doing (like my one-instagram-story-a-day), it's quite exciting as I barely have a day where I go "ahh I don't know what to do today", but usually it's "what do I start on first?!".<br />
Oh I got invited to go check out a private screening for Crazy Rich Asians, then the Netflix show Ghoul and got inspired that night to take a picture and post up on instagram.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm0n1OKhgCw/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">It's been ages since I watched a movie in Hindi 👀! Today I got invited to watch the 1st episode of the @netflixhk thriller Ghoul ! Just me and my mother in a room enjoying it before the world can tomorrow just before the Hungry Ghost Festival 👻! 好耐冇睇一套印度文嘅戲! 今日好榮幸可以去睇 一套Netflix恐怖片叫做Ghoul!! 一間房得我同我媽媽... good! 盂蘭節之前睇啲咁嘅片 = perfect! #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #阿V #vivek #ghoulnetflix #netflixhk #恐怖片 #盂蘭節 #hungryGhostFestival #hongkong #hkiger #hkig #thrillsAndChills #grateful #lovemyjob #betrayalisclose #睇戲</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Vivek Mahbubani</a> (@funnyvivek) on <time datetime="2018-08-23T12:57:47+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Aug 23, 2018 at 5:57am PDT</time></div>
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And the moment I did that, 2 people unfollowed me! Ahaha.. ok so maybe not the best idea to post a spooky photo on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival, but heck, you can't win 'em all!<br />
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Otherwise, my fitness has improved a lot. I'm still working hard trying to figure out and fix my right leg which is way weaker than my left leg, but I am leaner than 6 months ago and definitely fitter. I, however, have started to depend on coffee....like I can feel an extra strong "craving" for it on more days than before so I'm trying to balance that off as I really don't want to develop a <i>dependence</i>...<br />
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So the cycle of life continues and I'm getting more and more into a routine of everything like I know when I have to start thinking and planning about being part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I understand when my peak season is and how I have to work out my timing and stop trying to fight time....it's still a very tough learning process because every day I feel like I often step out of myself and watch time zoom by. Like right now, it's 7:12pm, but it was 5:44pm earlier when I last "registered" the time in my head. I used to get stressed thinking "ahh!! 7 already!" but now it's kind of like I expected it to hit 7pm by now.<br />
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Well 6 months before the next major update and I'm going to predict I'll probably be busy with CNY peak season gigs and preparation for Melbourne shows? But I do hope by then I'll have picked up on my video editing skills and actually re-started my Mandarin learning classes. There is so much I want to do and learn, my only issue is I often find either I'm mentally dead before it's bed time, or it's bed time before I'm mentally dead (duh)....and very rarely am I mentally alive before it's bed time and I have time to myself...<br />
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But here's to my next 6 months, video editing (more than just instagram stories), a few more phrases in Mandarin than "hello" and a clearer grasp on where I'm heading in the world of stand up comedy.<br />
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Until then, happy 6 months people!<br />
<br />Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-29097726461365460422018-08-24T12:28:00.000+08:002018-08-24T12:28:00.100+08:00Crazy Rich Asians<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BmvMMc0B0am/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" data-instgrm-version="9" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BmvMMc0B0am/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">I got to catch a special screening of the movie everyone is talking about "Crazy Rich Asians" at @themetroplexcinema .. I went in with a purely "entertain me" mindset and entertain me it did 😊 琴晚好榮幸可以去睇呢排好多人講起嘅戲 Crazy Rich Asians😁 Special thanks to @etchymcetchy for hooking me up 🙏 Haven't gone to the cinema for a movie in quite a while.. Even forgot to buy pop corn 😅 #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #lovemyjob #grateful #CrazyRichAsians #CrazyRichAsiansmovie #movietime #chickflick</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Vivek Mahbubani</a> (@funnyvivek) on <time datetime="2018-08-21T10:20:05+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Aug 21, 2018 at 3:20am PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> So have you watched it yet? It's the talk of the town and super duper lucky me got to enjoy a preview screening of it! I got entertained for 2 hours and that's exactly what I was hoping for, no hard brain work, no over-the-top-special-effects, just entertain me for 2 hours lol....<br />
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I've been so swamped getting ready for our upcoming <a href="http://www.laughfestival.hk/" target="_blank">Laugh Festival in September</a>, my days are just zooming by! It's Friday and I'm 80% awake at the moment. Unfortunately, I've been going a little harder than usual on the coffee's (ok so it's at most 1 coffee a day except for last Saturday when I did 2 ahahah what?!<br />
But I'm learning so much and growing so much from organizing this festival that it's worth the crazy effort I'm putting in... I'm really excited about the whole festival and hopefully will be a good start in the right direction to pushing Hong Kong further ahead in the world of comedy in Asia!<br />
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So how have your last 10 days been? I've been obediently posting to my <a href="http://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek" target="_blank">instagram</a> account daily and even adding daily stories as well! Sure, you might be thinking "dude, why don't you just focus on writing comedy?" but I have to say, the instagram posts give me a whole different angle on my creativity and I'm quite liking it, especially since it's so much more visual. There's just something about photos that words or videos don't seem to do.<br />
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And it's also made me observe the world around me so much more closely than even comedy has because I'm not just finding interesting things, I'm noticing patterns in human behavior, it's really all very fascinating. OK I'm geeking out now.<br />
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So it's still very hot in Hong Kong and I'm trying my best to avoid turning on the air conditioner but some day, some days the weather just doesn't make it environmentally friendly, especially when I have a bunch of work to tend to and my concentration is already low.... eeek! Today's one of those days where it just feels extra humid and I could use air conditioning and a coffee, both things I'm trying to avoid as much as possible at the moment ahaha....<br />
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Well here's to another awesome 10 days and keep up-to-date with my latest progress by following me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/" target="_blank">instagram</a> and get an insight into the wacky world I live in!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-18743223346110032722018-08-13T22:40:00.000+08:002018-08-13T22:40:02.481+08:00Bee Bee Boo Da DeeWell things are shaping up for me as we're less than a month away from this year's <a href="http://www.laughfestival.hk/" target="_blank">Laugh Festival</a>!<br />
Oh and the mandatory Instagram post to share:<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BmK82fzBtoU/?utm_source=ig_embed" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">今日又係咁熱好似比個火球燒咗.... 有冇貼士點樣可以喺戶外涼啲? 😅 Again..... SO HOT today! I'm outside and there is no way to hide from it... 🔥 got any suggestions to stay cool for the rest of the week? #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #阿V #vivek #hot #veryHot #meltingInTheSun #fireball #hongkong #好熱 #好Q熱 #collage #collageart #photocollage #fireball #hkig #hkigers #hkiger</a></div>
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So it's been crazy hot and then suddenly typhoon weekend hits and it's been raining, but the good thing is the weather's a bit more pleasant where I don't find myself melting, just...er...sweating.<br />
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Things have been quite crazy for me in the last 10 days, after the YouTube FanFest which was awesome, I had to get down and dirty to work out the marketing plans for the Laugh Festival shows. I can't believe I've gone from comedian to comedian and promoter and designer and planner...aha ah well, all in the journey really.<br />
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This is the madness that happened when we started the show. Lots of fun and an absolute honor to be amongst all these top level youtubers!!<br />
Well the cool thing is I've been quite disciplined with my instagram posting so at least I've created another creative outlet for myself...visually. But I have yet to get myself totally on board with other areas of social media, but it's just a matter of time. Heck I'm looking forward to next year's YouTube FanFest, who knows what to expect!<br />
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But for now, if you're itching a laugh (and you should be!), go on Youtube and watch some comedy, sit back and treat yourself to 20 minutes of ha ha's and then dive right back into reality.<br />
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I'm going to do that right now. See you in 10 days!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-14104150389372688802018-08-03T15:59:00.001+08:002018-08-03T15:59:01.163+08:00YTFFHK tonight! <p dir="ltr">And here we are.. August already. I'm on my way for last preparation work before the YouTube FanFest tonight and I'm quite excited (and grateful!) that they liked my work last year so wanted me to host the event this year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It's mighty hot today and of course as usual, my walk to the train station meant I'm already quite sweated up... Sigh.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Anyway, so how has your middle of the year been? I have to say, looking back at this year I have yet to find a good chunk of time where I've been able to laze around.. Oh and speaking of lazing around, the special lady friend informed me that one of my favorite books, The Art Of The Start apparently has a new edition.. Literally 2.0 lol... So she borrowed it from the library and I skimmed through it and all the memories of what I read like 10+ years ago started coming back.. Poof, heck this blog is proof of that!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Good thing is all the principles I learned are still very much relevant and if it wasn't for books like those I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I still encourage everyone I know to read that book if they're interested in started on a personal project.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So if <i>you</i> haven't read it, please make sure you do! It's a pretty smooth read.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And now I shall smoothly transition to the end of this entry because it's time to switch trains.. And switch gears into <u>MC</u> mode! </p>
Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-33626241307010937942018-07-23T22:39:00.000+08:002018-07-23T22:39:15.085+08:00<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BliUqquhKVl/" data-instgrm-version="9" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BliUqquhKVl/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Thank you comedy Gods for absolutely awesome shows in Shanghai this weekend (2 x English + q x Cantonese.. Yes.. Cantonese in Shanghai!) special thanks to the guys at Comedy UN and @storm_xu for having me! No thank you weather Gods for the painful delay of my flight today due to the typhoon in Shanghai, oh well... at least I'm back in good ol' HK safely.. 🙏 #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #lovemyjob #grateful #shanghai #comedyun #standupcomedyasia</a></div>
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Ok so I'm starting to really like instagram now, mostly because it helps me look at the world not from a funny point of view, but also from a beauty point of view. Like how can I turn what I'm going to into a photo and summarize my feelings?<br />
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So how are things? I've been working hard at writing material while traveling a lot. I was just in Shanghai this weekend doing English shows and we even did a Cantonese show! Yes, I know, Cantonese! After an awesome weekend of shows, the typhoon hits Shanghai and I find myself stranded at the airport...argh!<br />
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The last 10 days has seen so much happen, I don't know where to start! So we're 1 week away from Dr. Jason Leong's comedy show in Hong Kong!<br />
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The upcoming <a href="http://www.laughfestival.hk/" target="_blank">Laugh Festival</a> has got a packed schedule with shows for 4 weeks and I am nervous but excited at the same time! I have 1 month to get everything sorted and make sure the whole world knows about the festival!!!<br />
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Anyway, other than that, my life is getting back on track finally. I spent a good amount of time trying to sort things back in order and managed to get my emails and to do list in order. Of course, my weekend in Shanghai kind of messed things up, especially since I was supposed to get my Sunday to work but found myself sitting on the tiled floors of the Shanghai Pudong Airport catching up on a bunch of netflix shows that I'd been meaning to watch.<br />
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My workouts are back baby! Still nowhere close to the fitness and mobility level I was 2 years ago but definitely better than this time last year. At least I'm getting back in my routine and even getting back into Yoga :)<br />
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So I told the special lady friend she needs to read <a href="https://guykawasaki.com/books/the-art-of-the-start/" target="_blank">The Art of the Start</a> and turns out there is a version 2.0 of the book now! Wahah, crazy! I read the table of contents and it was quite awesome re-reading that and remembering some of the content. The main takeaway is that it made me convince myself that what I was doing would make the world a better place, a mindset you definitely need if you plan on creating something out of nothing.<br />
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I've also been noticing that I absolutely love the idea of <i>creating</i> something out of <i>nothing</i>. Like my comedy, or my photos on instagram or whatever, it's just the idea that I could have easily just ignored that and let it be, but I tried to capitalize on what I had in front of me. Like I don't go out of my way to pay money to book a venue just to take a photo or I don't go out of my way to do something just in hopes of turning it into a comedy bit. I guess there's just something I like about being an opportunist. ... yes another thing I learned from the Art of the Start like 10+ years ago when I read it first as I was starting myself in the world of self-employment.<br />
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Well, it's 10:37pm and I'm quite excited to see what happens in the next 10 days, I have a whole bunch of different things lined up that will happen or need to get done, who knows what happens after that. Heck in 10 days I'll be rehearsing for my part as the MC for Youtube Fanfest Hong Kong! Woah?! Speaking of which, I really need to find the time to make more videos and get my <a href="http://youtube.com/vivekmahbubani" target="_blank">Youtube channel back on track</a>. In 10 days?<br />
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It's on my to do list, but will it get done!? Stay tuned and find out in the next edition of "Let's write out what I can remember happened in my life".<br />
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<br />Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-10256818953306846442018-07-11T20:47:00.000+08:002018-07-11T20:47:20.591+08:00It's so hotter!!<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BlFAfiMh55N/" data-instgrm-version="8" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BlFAfiMh55N/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">See no heat, hear no heat, speak no heat. Nope, there's no mental trick to avoid how hot it is today. I can hear myself softly sizzle. 💦💦 上次係熱到我啲汗都好快蒸發曬...今日熱到我個人都開始蒸發緊!😵 太陽你好嘢! 😂我喺出邊一個鐘頭都冇已經tan咗好多😋 #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #lovemyjob #omgtoohot #熱死 #panfried</a></div>
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OK so I guess every time it's time to write in my blog, I end up whining about how hot it is... well that's the thing, it's really hot! And I'm actually sun burnt (sure the photo's been exaggerated, but I'm actually burnt from the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Wish Carnival that happened on Sunday. Have to say, being around kids is awesome and makes you feel young again, up until they leave and you sit down realizing you're crazy tired from all that energy you spent to keep up!!!<br />
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So how are things guys? I managed to hit ZERO INBOX (emails that is) which, if you've been a follower, will know is a BIG BIG DEAL to me... am I less stressed? Well a bit, not in proportion to what I should be knowing I have no emails to deal with. Why? Because my to do list is pretty big, not in number of tasks but in the workload of each task! We're putting together the Laugh Festival this year and I've been tasked with putting together the shows, sorting out acts and stuff and I must say, this is some crazy work but it'll all pay off once the festival is on and I'll look back at this day with a smile knowing I have this story to talk about one day to my grand kids, or pets, or a drying wall.<br />
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So the last 10 days has been pretty intense, my mom is in India so I've been on my own which has made me shift my work schedule a bit to tend to things she'd normally be in charge of (namely, making sure I have food in my belly). The cool thing is I get to explore around town a bit more seeing what's available and I have a green card to experiment, but the bad thing is it takes up an extra hour of my day ahahah. I've squeezed in my time so much that an hour is like eternity to me really.<br />
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On the other hand, I've had to tell myself to start slowing down, I've come to realize I really am not getting any younger and it's times like these I need to be honest with what work I'm doing and which parts of it are the ones that deserve to be kept. I mean it was tough having to accept that I won't be playing drums and giving away my equipment but it was the right choice. In the same way, I don't take on web projects anymore simply because I've hit a point where I don't want to deal with the stress of managing a project of that kind anymore. I mean don't get me wrong, I absolutely love creating stuff from zero but having to keep up to date with the technical aspect of web technologies, let's just say it's not a race I'm up for anymore. On the other hand, I've found a new passion for re-learning my tools for video editing, photo editing and animations. Why? Well because as I can see from my instagram habits, I really do like creating stuff and trying to challenge myself to make something cool that is <i>worth</i> sharing. I mean I'm quite picky with who I follow and information I want to be informed about, I'd hate to waste people's time with generic stuff, after all, that's not how I write my comedy, then why should that be how I create anything?<br />
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Speaking of creating, I'll be hosting the Youtube Fanfest HK #YTFFHK again this year which is an honor, seeing as I am not as much of a youtube creator as the others on the line up that night...but at least it's good incentive for me to kick start something I suppose?<br />
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So I'm heading to Shanghai for some shows on the weekend of 20 - 22 July, then got my buddy Jason Leong's <a href="http://www.jasonleong.my/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/jason-hk-poster.jpg" target="_blank">show coming up on 28 July 2018</a>, then the Youtube Fanfest on 3 August 2018, a show with Clean Air Network on 11 August along with some other stuff then finally the Laugh Festival starting 8 Sept till 1 October...oh man, I am going to definitely need a big big big vacation soon.<br />
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Well here's to a crazy 3 months ahead but hopefully this time in 3 months a lot will have improved and I'd have <i>created</i> something epic! If not, web design again then? :P<br />
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<br />Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-18941824388481738552018-07-01T23:04:00.001+08:002018-07-01T23:04:33.336+08:00It's so hot!!!!<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BksOt8XBeaf/" data-instgrm-version="8" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BksOt8XBeaf/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Today.. Was... So.. Hot 🔥🔥😱 @shirovilkas captured exactly how I felt. It was so hot my sweat evaporated in 2 seconds! 今日熱到好似著咗火😰連我啲汗兩秒內蒸發曬💦💦 #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #lovemyjob #omgtoohot #熱死 #panfried</a></div>
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Yes, it's that hot. Seriously, today was HOT! But it was absolutely lovely! It's been ages since I went out with the special lady friend and just enjoyed the sunshine. I really do love spending time in the sun, at least I'm confident I'll be sleeping really well tonight!<br />
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But no matter how good the day is, my chores, my emails, my to do list is always there waiting for me back in my room. Speaking of my room, how the hell has it gone from super duper organized to a freaking mess again in just 10 days?!?! Seriously, I think once I get into work mode, any sort of "put this where it belongs" gets thrown out the window and all my brain is thinking is WORK! GET WORK DONE!<br />
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Well the last 10 days has been hot but also happening. I got to enjoy quite a few gigs, including my own show at the newly opened (well 1 month old) Tai Kwun! There's something magical about performing to an audience at a semi-outdoor area and having this super duper casual feeling to it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkm0TJEgYj1/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Happy Friday! I got to perform a special one-man show for Tai Kwun staff as they celebrated their 1st month of opening! Figured I should wear a tie for the "special occasion". Kids and families joined the show and it was a lot of fun as everyone joined me in "sweating it out" at the Laundry Steps! There's something magical about comedy here that is unlike any other venue/comedy club. I guess it's the fact that we're all just enjoying the experience and forgetting how freaking hot it really is.😀 Really grateful that I had this opportunity, a fantastic way to end the week!😊 #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #lovemyjob #棟篤笑 #taikwun</a></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> Well this upcoming week is kinda packed for me as well, especially with the Laugh Festival coming in September and my buddy Dr. Jason Leong popping into Hong Kong for his show "Ambitious" on 28 July 2018!!!<br />
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So much going on this month!! The good thing is, my emails are.........near zero! I hit zero-inbox (long time blog followers will know this is a big, big deal to me!) and let's just say I didn't know how to feel when my inbox said "There is no new mail". However, a week later and boom, I'm back to like 9 emails left to sort out and like 30 items on my to do list to process. Ah such is life, much like this insane heat.<br />
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Although, I'd rather it be insanely hot than insanely rainy, nothing annoys me more than having soggy socks hugging my feet all day. OK, maybe forgetting to bring my own water with me on a sunny day would annoy me more....hmm.<br />
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Alright, back to work guys, happy 10 more days!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-50072730919858224342018-06-20T21:42:00.001+08:002018-06-20T21:42:10.266+08:00GoaaallllWell it's World Cup fever everywhere in town and rightfully so. I'm writing this as I keep peeking at Morocco vs Portugal and I've got to say, for someone who isn't a fan of soccer in general, this world cup has been mighty entertaining. I mean, I'm Ok with not watching the matches, but once you start, it does keep you hooked. I'd always said it's such a slow paced game but I guess the tension of maybe <i>this</i> will be a goal is actually quit exciting!<br />
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Woops, sorry stepped away for a few minutes to watch the match. So how have things been? I went through a tough phase these last few days, a real roller coaster of of my mood. There are days you are so burnt out, nothing interests you. Oddly with me, when I'm burnt out, the only thing I'm interested in is getting stuff done. I've come to realize that when I have a long to do list, it's as stressful as having a looming deadline I'm not sure if I can meet. I guess it's the idea that I could eventually get overwhelmed if I don't tend to these items on my list.<br />
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And we're back (this match is very distracting ahha).<br />
But good thing is I got to spend most of Monday just tending to my things and went down to a manageable number. We're down into the middle of June which means we need to get into preparing for September's Laugh Festival. So far so good, I just need to finish going through the applications with the rest of the organizing committee and then we get on with sorting logistics, marketing and basically making sure things work out.<br />
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Speaking of working out, I was so mentally <i>not there</i> last week that I couldn't even work out right. My brain just couldn't convince my body to exercise properly but thankfully today I got a proper workout that felt right.<br />
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So lesson of the last 10 days, try your absolute best to avoid getting into a place of feeling overwhelmed. And remember that soccer is quite exciting :)<br />
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Happy World Cup season everyone! Let's see who ends up being the champs this year!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-19262589175001682292018-06-10T23:02:00.000+08:002018-06-10T23:02:01.870+08:00Bwahaha insta-kilo-gram!Bwahaha OK so I think I've officially gone a bit obsessed with instagram. Ever since I finally organized my photos with Adobe Lightroom and finally got all my Camera Raw settings sorted, I'm having a lot of fun sorting through and developing photos. I recently had to play a role in an upcoming ad for Madame Tussaud's Hong Kong and got to go through their whole venue and let's just say, I like to play with their venue more than look at the wax figures.<br />
So I was totally blown away by the room for Yayoi Kusama and had to take a photo there. Luckily I had my trusty tripod with me so I could play with it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj11xL5BNaj/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Yayoi Kusama totally ignored me.. It was like she was some sort of wax figure.. 🤣 #funnyvivek #vivekmahbubani #lovemyjob #notimpressed #losingmymind #yayoikusama</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Vivek Mahbubani</a> (@funnyvivek) on <time datetime="2018-06-10T10:44:37+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jun 10, 2018 at 3:44am PDT</time></div>
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ahahha along with a few other ones I'll be posting over the next few days once I get a bit more time.<br />
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So how are things everyone? I hope the last 10 days have been better to you than they have to me. I finally had an hour to organize my room and my desk is finally back to being acceptable!! Ahhhh!!!<br />
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But my workload hasn't reduced much, but at least it's managable at the moment... I bet once tomorrow comes round, it'll be insane again. I hate it when my weekends just zoom by with ad hoc issues to deal with.. seriously, how does stuff just keep popping up for me like this?!<br />
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The good thing is at least I'm feeling a bit more sane now and playing around with my photos really lets me let out a lot of frustration from work. Never realized the ability to "create" is like a way to vent for me. Just like I would, say, going to the gym or (back when I did) play drums. Very cool.<br />
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So I've developed this new and very bad habit of eating chips before i sleep. I don't know why, by the end of the night I have this insane craving for chips. Maybe I've somehow made it into part of my sleeping routine, sigh, and I've started to drink a lot more coffee now. Both are things I don't want to be "addicted" to. I mean enjoying is one thing, but feeling like you're incomplete is an addiction. Sigh.<br />
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I have no travel plans or needs for the next few weeks which is a great sign because that means I can finally get myself back on track or at least back on a track of good habits. This chips eating habit has to stop (tonight? Eeekk.. maybe tomorrow? Ahaha).<br />
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Well I did let myself go crazy last week and play like 5 hours of Dungeons 2 which was awesome but man that game can really soak up time fast. I just remember looking at the time and going OMG 2am!!?!?! EEEK!<br />
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Well things are coming together and I'm focusing on a lot of things. One of the newest things is trying to figure out how to best organize my video footage as I've gathered a large chunk of videos from here and there and want to try to categorize it properly. I have 25 days left in my trial of CatDV and so far so good. I mean it looks like a heavy duty program with a tonne of functions, I just need to see if it fits my needs before I fork out a large chunk of cash (ah software, how can you burn up so much of my money?! I can't even "touch" you!!!!)<br />
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Anyway, back to my to do list, just wanted to check in. Don't forget to follow me on instagram if you want to see the behind-the-scenes world in my head in a more visual way. At least it's a cool outlet for me to just challenge myself purely visually where I am trying to see how can I be both model and photographer in many different situations. Heck, at least it's 2 birds with 1 stone *cough* no budget *cough* :P<br />
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Alright, enjoy your 10 days, I'll see you all soon!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-66423307235873472932018-05-31T00:21:00.001+08:002018-05-31T00:21:28.021+08:00That wasn't the burn, this is the burnSo it's hitting 34 - 35 degrees Celsius these days and let me just say it burns. I used to be able to tolerate the heat and work while sweating but lately either I'm getting old, work is getting harder or my tolerance has just reduced...<br />
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So it's been an absolute insane last 10 days and my schedule has been packed. With me traveling to macau back and forth 3 times in a week and juggling fight night gigs and volleyball MC gigs to helping with the comedy shows as well as performing in the heat today... I love what I do, but some days you end the day and all you want to do is lie on your stomach with your face in your pillow.<br />
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The special lady friend met me for dinner which was a very good get away from all my piled up work and gave me a nice little starbucks reward card as a gift to keep me motivated (and probably hint that she wants to go out and chill together in a coffee shop more often ;) )<br />
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I'm currently working on some super duper boring stuff for an upcoming gig which is a double whammy since that means I'm not motivated to work on it and I'm already tired from the long day/week/heat... I'm giving myself another 30 minutes to finish my tasks and then after that it's nose-to-the-grindstone working on this <i>boring</i> stuff.<br />
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I've been playing a lot with my photographs and also working on catching up on the latest with Adobe Lightroom, have to say, it always excites me when I learn new software and get to become creative with it, but it does make me upset when I realize how far I've fallen behind with all the new tech. as compared to many years ago when I was ahead of the game and learning every new feature new editions had! Ahh but it does make me feel young when I'm going through the software manuals learning what every button does again, ahah the inner nerd will never die!<br />
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Anyway, try not to melt over the next 10 days and I'll see you then!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-54182953605450171192018-05-19T21:13:00.001+08:002018-05-19T21:13:59.663+08:00The burn <p dir="ltr">Oh it's hot here in Hong Kong. Anyone who knows Hong Kong summers knows it bit about the temperature or the sunshine on your skin that kills you. It's the humidity that wraps itself around you that'll burn you out.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It's been an absolutely insane last 10 days.. My Instagram is going strong and my habit to "create" is going well. Not 100% perfect but enough to motivate me to actively try to document my life rather than just dust it into folders on my drives.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I head off to Macau tomorrow for the volleyball event and right now my schedule is pretty much full until the end of May. How is this possible? One way or another I just somehow find ways to fill my schedule on a weekly basis! I guess it's just what happens when you've been running your own business and realize if you don't actively keep things going.. You start slipping.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I was at a career talk today followed by thr TEDxHSMC and then headed over to ymca for a youth workshop on communication skills.. By now I literally don't want to speak anymore.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm so ready to sleep but I already know the next 10 days are going to be hectic.. So perhaps a cup of coffee instead?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Do you guys resort to coffee at crunch time? Or what's your "poison" to deal with a crazy schedule? </p>
Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-1002787982893765492018-05-09T21:32:00.001+08:002018-05-09T21:32:55.852+08:00The madness is backWell I've been back to Hong Kong for around 2 weeks and let me just say it has been an absolute whirlwind of stuff going on. Even on days where I'm <i>less busy</i>, I've ended the day totally exhausted from everything going on.<br />
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Right now, I got a lot of opened loops that I'm trying to finish off, which, as anyone who knows me well, is my kryptonite. Having too many <i>unfinished tasks</i> is what can stress me out. By unfinished I mean items that have started but are incomplete. So if an item is on my to do list, but hasn't been "initiated", then I'm OK, but once I start it, it's like another item taking up my mental RAM. Speaking of mental ram, I invested in a <a href="https://www.qnap.com/en/product/ux-800p" target="_blank">Qnap UX-800p</a> to add more storage space for everything I have seeing as I'm starting to get my stuff more organized (eg. DVD files from years of back ups or personal items) so I just need proper digital space to store it so it's easily accessible.<br />
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I installed it with 8 x 10TB (yikes) hard drives in RAID50 format so that means I essentially have 60GB space, so hopefully it'll be stable enough to last for years and fast enough to work properly.<br />
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I also <i>finally</i> got my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/" target="_blank">instagram account</a> going again, after registering it, but never properly using it for all these years. I guess now that I got my hands on a proper camera, my urge to take photos has come back, but I'm also using this as a daily target to create something. I've come to realize that unless something is given a deadline, it eventually will fall into my pile of "to do when I get time" which is probably never at this rate.<br />
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Having said that, I thought a few months ago that when May comes, my life can be back on track, and guess what, I've managed to line myself up with gigs for the rest of the month, it's insane but at least that means I got stuff to <i>feel productive</i>. Oh and our Laugh Festival this year is going to be a month long (I know, go big or go home) so I'm trying my hardest to basically do as much as I can to make it a killer festival and then take it from there for 2019. 2017's laugh festival had us filled with confidence that we could do something like this, and after Melbourne this year, I'm fueled up to take this festival to another level. Let's see how things go.<br />
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So with that said, it's time to buckle down and <i>work</i>. I hope you guys are enjoying your summer, humid heat... I'm using this as the perfect moisturizer and steam room. #greatskin (look at me with my hash tags lol)Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-33461651563985932152018-04-29T21:52:00.002+08:002018-04-29T21:52:33.814+08:00Life is on track-ishWell I'm back in ol' Hong Kong and for the first time this year, I don't have a looming "travel date" lined up ahead of me. I have only been back to Hong Kong for 4 days and it's been a whirlwind getting back on track. I spent the whole of today basically clearing my room, setting things up again and sorting out all the stuff that I needed to tend to in the month of April that I've been out of town.<br />
First of all, Melbourne, you were awesome. We headed over to Sydney as well and well their comedy festival is wayyyy smaller than Melbourne but still something definitely worth investing in for our Cantonese shows.<br />
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So our shows in Melbourne sold 70% of its capacity which was great, glad to see Cantonese shows worked again this year. I also managed to learn a lot more in using the <a href="https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-m6" target="_blank">Canon M6 camera</a>. I mean, I made a lot of beginner mistakes (eg. I had the shutter speed set at 1/50 for filming and often also took pictures at that shutter speed which meant my photos weren't very sharp :(...) or I had the audio set too low and so a lot of times where I thought I was getting audio as well, it completely failed.<br />
The good thing is I learned a lot about manually controlling the aperture, shutter, iso and combining them and proudly got quite a few cool photos. I'm planning on restarting my instagram account and make myself submit 1 photo a day as practice to get better at this. I spent the most of last night after my gig retouching a bunch of photos I took and boy it brought back memories of like 10+ years ago when I spent all those hours learning fashion photography retouching and absolutely loved it. I must admit, I use maybe 20% of the tools I learned back then but it's enough to add a dramatic effect to photos. Here's one I retouched:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVZBN1oxJ-kwarHmuBk011ql4NNtr-TjK0xj-UCS7sSWBoDbhQOAvnlRsSQs906pYqkdDn3zVvV9xwciwZI5Dq3ZsXS_pKaXd4Ykt4IXs-iROcoxZPEGQ1WFCXuYToLUE7n02r0g1hAxV/s1600/bike-fix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVZBN1oxJ-kwarHmuBk011ql4NNtr-TjK0xj-UCS7sSWBoDbhQOAvnlRsSQs906pYqkdDn3zVvV9xwciwZI5Dq3ZsXS_pKaXd4Ykt4IXs-iROcoxZPEGQ1WFCXuYToLUE7n02r0g1hAxV/s320/bike-fix.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Excuse the watermark<br />
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And well the original photo is just this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCA1Kt4ax0m46qn_8Ml7L48DdvUGLHyA0mIO_RD57mJnc_y_MXDBzotnorSs10FF3sEes-0dTv08XHShW8NQ8T9xi_pSkVhDVgqLvsMH1Pw9tIEWRk0EHjDqfqsllGHj0ohIgoKNbYz7wJ/s1600/bike-orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="800" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCA1Kt4ax0m46qn_8Ml7L48DdvUGLHyA0mIO_RD57mJnc_y_MXDBzotnorSs10FF3sEes-0dTv08XHShW8NQ8T9xi_pSkVhDVgqLvsMH1Pw9tIEWRk0EHjDqfqsllGHj0ohIgoKNbYz7wJ/s320/bike-orig.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So as I was retouching it and thinking of the feeling I wanted to convey, it brought back a bunch of memories of the good ol' days when I would retouch photos of anyone and anything I could get my hands on just to test out different effects and filters and emotions.<br />
It's times like these I miss having the time to read all those photograph books like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Photoshop-Master-Class-Caponigro/dp/0321130103/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Adobe Photoshop Master Class: John Paul Caponigro</a> which I borrowed in university, read and now own just because it was so freaking good! I still have a long way to go but at least now that I have my hands on a proper camera I can do a lot more and keep learning. I hope I progress enough to take killer photographs of comedians and other things in the future.<br />
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Well speaking of the future, I got a crazy week ahead of me and I hope to finally get my fitness back on, it's been a month of no flexibility work and basically eating like mad and resting barely sufficiently.<br />
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And there we have it, my 2018 has finally properly started for me where I can sit down, plan things out and follow through. Very inspired after my trip in Melbourne, watching my fellow comedians from around Asia totally rock their shows and the festival, so this time next year, I hope to step up my game to a whole new level both in my comedy, my branding, my videos, my photos and obviously myself :)<br />
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So here's to a great next 10 days for everyone! See you then!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-16949506697947687522018-04-12T10:01:00.000+08:002018-04-12T10:01:14.703+08:00Mel-born!Hello from down under! Well it's that time of year again where we head to the Melbourne International Comedy festival and for the 2nd year in a row, we're doing <a href="https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2018/shows/cantonese-comedy-adventure-2" target="_blank">Cantonese comedy shows</a>! We've already finished 2 shows, a killer opening show and a fun 2nd show because it was a Wednesday night and we had half a room of people. I must say, the Wednesday crowd was up for a fun time!<br />
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Well as usual, once I'm here, time just flies and I've been here 1.5 weeks...WTF?! And I've worked out....twice...barely. The gym in our building is quite crap with no free weights and only machines so I've been trying to get creative with my stuff and the bands I have but some days you're so mentally exhausted the last thing you want to think of is what to make yourself do.<br />
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The good news is I'm not going as crazy as before with my food. Sure the first few days was like OMG MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH but I think this being my 4th year, I get it. I'm not as blown away by the quality of food here :P<br />
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So how are things? I've been working hard practicing video editing skills and so far so good, I've put together 2 videos of our trip which has been fun:<br />
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and<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhalloflaughs%2Fvideos%2F1591629327616592%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe>
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I must say, the more I do this, the more I'm understanding the challenges of video editing as well as filming. I've been a good boy and practicing my different techniques and trying to be disciplined with camera angles, organization and thinking of a story board.<br />
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Ok enough geek talk. Oh and I've been avoiding the toy stores my whole time here. Partly because I don't really need/want new toys but I also don't want to get tempted by what is available..... I don't have space at home anyway.<br />
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It's 12pm now and we're about to head out to Victoria Market to get some food so we have lunch and I'm determined to go to the gym today!! RAHHH!! Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-90602332594242381062018-03-24T19:16:00.001+08:002018-03-24T19:16:51.334+08:00Thank you broadband <p dir="ltr">Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh after almost a week of painfully slow wifi (I'm talking inability to load YouTube and downloading at 3kb/s).. It's so good to be back on land, in the world of proper wifi. Unfortunately, due to the lack of proper internet, I had to delay my work until I returned to. Hong Kong and the last week has been absolutely chaotic for me. It's Saturday and I'm still feeling jetlagged! I didn't even change time zones?!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Well how are things? I've got around 1 more week left in Hong Kong before I head down to Melbourne and get ready for the awesome madness that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival! Super excited about our shows but also quite nervous as I really don't want to fall out of any health regime I'm trying to get back on to. Last year while in Melbourne, I was so busy I had to give up on working out and it took me almost a month to get back on track when I got back to Hong Kong. But don't get me wrong, I will be eating a whole lot when I get there. That is certain. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Anyway, other than trying to get back on track and get my life sorted before I leave ol' Kong, I've been researching about cameras and man the Canon 80D seems to fit all the things I've been looking to do with a camera. I'm so tempted to get it but I realize at this point, another toy is not what I need, but perhaps learning more about video editing and effects. I've pretty much got the general use of Adobe Premier down, now on to after effects and let's see what crazy videos I can put together.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ah I'm ranting because im on the train on my way to go teach in Tuen Mun and it's a good 1 hour journey. Well let's see how fast these next 10 days go bye. I'll check on in then and see where the hell I physically and mentally have reached lol. <br></p>
Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-7457423069765120502018-03-13T20:05:00.000+08:002018-03-13T20:05:43.627+08:00Let's set sail!Ahoy matey! So this blog entry comes to you in the middle of the ocean! I'm onboard a cruise ship and ta-da, I came in yesterday and already did my show! I was this close to being able to disembark immediately and basically stay in Hong Kong but the cruise director decided let's have a bit more comedy! So I'll be doing another set later on the cruise ship. Heck, I get to enjoy the sound of the ocean at least while typing this! So that's pretty cool!<br /><br />How is everyone? How has your week been? I've been traveling so much, I'm actually ready to just stay put in my room and on land. After I return to Hong Kong, I have approximately 2 weeks before I head out to Melbourne for a month for the comedy festival there! Super excited about it but not really looking forward to the overnight flight I have to take to get to Australia. Man I hate red eye flights, somehow I just crash and burn hard when I lack one night's sleep. My kryptonite!<br /><br />So I've started watching this show called Stranger Things on Netflix and very, very cool! I love this crazy stuff with a mix of horror and madness...reminds me of all the Stephen King books I read growing up. Man I love those books, I've forgotten half of the details but still remember the general story line.<br /><br />Otherwise, I'm trying to get myself back on track with my fitness regime. After being in India for 2 weeks and experiencing a food coma 3 times a day after 3 meals a day, I'm ready to get my life back on track.<br /><br />Basically, in 2 months' time, once I'm back in Hong Kong and May arrives, I can finally "enjoy" 2018. Yes, 5 months into the year is when my 2018 actually begins.<br /><br />However, I've got a whole bunch of stuff lined up for 2018 comedy-wise and I can't wait to execute them. It's going to be yet another roller coaster ride of doing new stuff, figuring things out, running around and border-line losing my mind, but the cool tihng is, just like the Laugh Festival we had last year, once we do it, then it sets a blue print for the future and opens up a lot of new doors for the wohle comedy scene in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia.<br /><br />Anyway, the wifi on this ship may be free but it's crazy slow! So I have to stay calm while I'm working and basically try to work while I load other pages lol... crazy multi-tasking so I can make the most of whatever bandwidth I get. Man I wish my home internet that is lightning fast. I guess it's times like these that you become extra grateful for whatever you have. When people come to my place and see my room and go "man it's tiny", all I can think is "trust me, this is just right for me". Heck, if you gave me a massive room I'd actually be less satisfied, simply because I love the idea that every thing is like 1 step away from me and I have to be extra efficient in the way I organize myself not because I love to be efficient bugt I don't have much room for wastage :P At least having a tiny room and no space has stopped me from buying any more toys! Win!<br /><br />Anyway, going to go get my dinner before catching the show at the theater tonight, it's a world-class musical act so I hope I gain some extra culture and sophistication :PVivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-56483201401331039502018-03-01T21:05:00.001+08:002018-03-01T21:05:31.358+08:00This blog has lasted 11 years...er....how?Hello, hello, hello! I am shocked myself that this blog was started 11 years ago! Every <i>major</i> entry I write (ie. every 6 months), it's crazy to see how my life has changed.<br />
So I write this right after dong a session of <b>Ultimate Yogi - Balance</b>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/33926683" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/33926683">The Ultimate Yogi w/ Travis Eliot - Balance Power Yoga Class</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/theultimateyogi">The Ultimate Yogi</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
I'll be honest, I've been doing this yoga stuff for a while but I never followed the full schedule. So this <i>balance</i> class was my first attempt and yep, lots of shaking and falling for me but heck, pretty cool to try something new....<i>while I'm in Delhi, India</i>! So yeah! I've been performing in India for the last week and started off in Mumbai, headed to Delhi and been doing shows in Noida...tonight onwards I do shows in Gurgaon and it's pretty fascinating. Their rooms here are insanely beautiful! Like mind blowingly beautiful!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0wH4WwjGbyip4mT5tlQo_9gJnE_UaESPaL7DPnSbbWTtVNteEjrdYMNJCmWj22e5YoUy3r5vuu6zbvL7GK6LnrMeXzUIzFZe3lzvbmBNwpB9qEXKvWD8GYYdpC84tcHNhRhIPyuxvl1M/s1600/noida.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1000" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0wH4WwjGbyip4mT5tlQo_9gJnE_UaESPaL7DPnSbbWTtVNteEjrdYMNJCmWj22e5YoUy3r5vuu6zbvL7GK6LnrMeXzUIzFZe3lzvbmBNwpB9qEXKvWD8GYYdpC84tcHNhRhIPyuxvl1M/s320/noida.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This is their room in Noida! They have everything, a smoke machine, warm spotlights, killer sound and a fantastic atmosphere! OMG!<br />
Man I am always so grateful that I get to go travel the world doing stand up comedy. Good thing is, all my experience on cruise ships have paid off where I can travel globally and my material works most of the time. Not to mention I wrote some new material just for the Indian audience here and they like my local jokes :) Phew!<br />
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So the last major entry had me working out the 5 things that pretty much summarize my life:<br />
<ol>
<li>Comedy</li>
<li>Web design</li>
<li>Fitness</li>
<li>Gaming</li>
<li>Drumming</li>
</ol>
Well check this out, at my new place, I finally decided I have to give drumming up. Simply because it wasn't going to happen, not just the fact that I barely practice but the idea that that <i>spare corner</i> had to keep turning into a <i>spare room</i> for guests just turned things completely upside down. I mean it was pointless if I could practice and then had to stop and stuff... I'd lose all motivation and it'll turn into frustration. Also I've decided that as of 2018, my web design needs to close down. I really want to focus 100% on comedy and also work as hard as I can in growing the scene, myself and my goals. So #2 and #5 are gone. Gaming is still alive and fun. Fitness is... well it's been tough. I've been traveling and man it's tough to stay healthy while traveling. I mean I can get my workouts, it's the eating part that is tough.<br />
Not to mention the food here is <b>fantastic!!!!</b> WOAH!!<br />
But otherwise, comedy has been doing quite well, I've locked down gigs for when I get back to Hong Kong and the Indian scene is quite mind blowing really, to see their establishments totally blows what we have in Hong Kong or elsewhere out the water! And they have enough of a market that their own comics are making Amazon Prime specials etc. Man, I'm so jealous of their opportunities, but heck it's a fantastic incentive to work things out on my end. Nothing's stopping me from making something from nothing!<br />
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Well 2018 has started off quite crazy for me, lot of stuff happening including the passing of my 91 year old grandmother, which basically shook up my whole January and I've been busy the whole year. We're at March now and it feels like I was just writing down my new year's resolutions a few days ago. I have no idea where the last 2 months have gone but I do know a lot has happened, changed and will keep changing.<br />
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Oh did I tell you, I've got my hands on a <a href="https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-m6" target="_blank">Canon EOS M6 camera</a> and the <a href="http://www.zhiyun-tech.com/crane_2_en/" target="_blank">ZhiYun Crane 2 stabilizer</a>. On my way to India, I was a very good boy and read through the manuals for all my devices, the Zoom H4N, Sennheiser clip mics, Canon camera, Crane 2 stabilizer and GoPro.. I can proudly say I pretty much know how to use them all inside out. At least I know all their functions and stuff. I've been filming my shows here and taking pictures just to learn and man it feels so good to know my tools properly. All I have left is to properly learn Adobe Premier and I'll get on with editing video myself and stuff. Can't wait to get this as part of my arsenal. It's always been something I wanted to do but decided I'll leave it to later but I have all these ideas I want to do and it takes too long to wait for someone else to help me do it.<br />
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On another note, we're heading to Melbourne in a month's time for the comedy festival there! Fingers crossed we sell our tickets, I am quite worried but at the same time excited to be there since a lot more Asian comedians are heading down so we can all meet up there and hang out! I love how the community of us are close knit like that.<br />
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As for fitness, I got myself a Manduka Eko Superlite mat which I'm loving because now I can travel with it easily and do my yoga in my hotel room. I no longer get limited by what is available at the gym or a towel for that matter. I still need to figure out how to work out my post-workout shakes because I really do see an impact on my performance if I have my shakes right after my workout vs. a meal right after. The good thing is with all this traveling now, I'm getting better at organizing my fitness time while I'm away so I try my best to balance things so I get some sort of workout daily. It's been tough the last week as I was with family in Mumbai and when I got to Delhi I pretty much got in, had like 2 hours before having to head out to the shows...otherwise I've been doing yoga/workout each day :) Although I'll admit, yesterday my workout had my heart pounding like crazy and yes it has everything to do with the greasy yummy food I've been having :)<br />
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So I'm in my new place, properly settled in. Our Laugh Festival was a success and we've been doing well so far with Cantonese shows. One of my Cantonese videos went viral so that helped sell tickets for our shows which was good income for us to buy more equipment (the crane 2, a drone, etc.) in preparation for whatever video work we can do. Man I can't wait to learn to edit videos easily like I can with poster design and just slap stuff out every other day :P<br />
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Finally, the goals for this year are simple, I just want to have a healthy life where I'm back to my fit conditions like I was 2 years ago (man I was in my best shape ever!) and have the energy to get through my days as well as pursue a much bigger comedy goal, with the festival, travels and hopefully have enough material for a proper 1 hour special. It's great to see so many others filming their specials on netflix, I think it's time Hong Kong does the same.<br />
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Well, there we have it, 3 main focuses on my life:<br />
<ol>
<li>Comedy</li>
<li>Fitness</li>
<li>Gaming (well not really a focus) </li>
</ol>
And with that, here's to another awesome 6 months and who knows where it'll take me, heck I never would have thought I'd be in India doing shows but that happened. Maybe in 6 months I'm busy reading through paperwork for my specials? Why not :)Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-57831729981520689032018-02-19T12:45:00.000+08:002018-02-19T12:45:20.324+08:003 comedy + 2 improv shows...Kung Hei Fat Choi?!Well first of all, it's Chinese New Year weekend! The one time Hong Kong totally slows down and people are in happy spirits to give away money!<br />
Each year we try to do a special Cantonese comedy show around this time, last year it was the last day of the new year and we got a full house, this year it was the 3rd day of the New Year (the day where arguments are supposed to happen) and we managed to put together a string of 5 shows back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back! The longest Cantonese-only comedy show streak we've done ever! Not to mention, 2 of those shows were 1 hour full improv comedy shows, a milestone we've worked really hard at trying to make possible.<br />
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The cool thing is, each show bring a different vibe of an audience. You've got the family-oriented audience that already comes in with a smile. You've got the rebels who come in leaning back against the chair looking around thinking "hmm...what should I expect?" and you've got our favourite, the audience who's been here, enjoyed themselves so much, they brought a friend to come enjoy it again with them. Sometimes that makes us feel the best, that someone felt our shows were good enough to act as a volunteer salesperson and sell it to their friends. Word of mouth is powerful.<br />
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Well it's CNY and down to the 4th day now, it's the last day of a string of public holidays. It's been a good few days, as usual, time always zooms by way too fast, but I've caught up a lot on my work. I head out to India in a few days for a string of shows there but otherwise, February is pretty much "over" for me. I'll be in India for the rest of that, before returning to HK and boarding on a cruise ship for a week, come back and head over to Melbourne for the comedy festival.<br />
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Poof! Time is totally going to ZOOM by for the first half of this year!! WOAH!<br />
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The cool thing is, comedy is picking up which is great, the bad thing is so is my appetite for junk..oh man, the shirts are getting tighter, the food portions are getting bigger lol.<br />
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Well I guess in Asian culture it's good to be a little chubby, showing you have wealth to eat...so here's wishing everyone a fantastic year of the dog! Woot woot,....er... I mean woof woof! My year! Have a great 10 days and I'll speak to you when I'm in India!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-52463103456343696362018-02-07T22:59:00.001+08:002018-02-07T22:59:24.413+08:00Well 2018, you're here already?!So it's February of 2018 and I have to admit, this year has been zooming by so fast I can't believe we're 1 month into the new year...so much has happened in just the last month, my life has gone upside down, back to normal, spinning etc... I hope it's been kinder to you.<br />
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Well I've kind of settled that this is the year I close up my web business and dedicate the rest of my time (which was around 10% left in my web stuff) to comedy and developing both my career and the comedy scene in Hong Kong. The whole of Asia is exploding and I'd hate to see Hong Kong get left behind.<br />
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But other than that, it's been the same ol' madness as usual. Just that everything for some reason became super urgent at all times. If you know this chart:<br />
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you'll know that the worst thing to happen is to have things that are urgent and important at the same time.. that pretty much summarized most of my January. I've been trying to force myself to just go away from my work by gaming since I knew once I get the ball rolling I'd let my brain get engrossed in the game for a whole hour...but man this is crazy that I have to <i>force myself to game</i>.<br />
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But the good news is, we're in the final throws of all the madness, but the bad news is I'm going to be traveling quite a lot starting the end of February...got a tour of shows in India, then a cruise ship week, then a whole month in Melbourne for their comedy festival. So the next time I get to sit at home and go "no plans on leaving here" is literally May. We're just starting Feb!<br />
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Oh don't get me wrong, this isn't me complaining, I wouldn't have it any other way, it's more like me taking a step back and going woah..this...is...quite a ride.<br />
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So how is your ride so far for 2018? I hope those resolutions, if not all, at least haven't completely faded out. I'm getting back on track with things and I'm trying to work out my diet so I don't end up fueling myself badly and affecting everything down the line. When I'm stressed, I forget how much food can influence my day, energy and mood and it kind of hurts me back when I end up being tired and grumpy because I didn't have enough energy and motivation to do what I needed to do.<br />
The vicious cycle.<br />
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I guess it's quite interesting because the more I do my thing and the more I get challenged to maintain this <i>optimum condition</i>, the more I realize how I'm where I am because of years of training and discipline, not just a matter of "I work hard". It's one thing having that mindset, but it's a whole different thing implementing that mindset in the real world, especially when you work for yourself, the sky's the limit and you have to realize that you ain't never going to reach the sky, but the point is to have it as your goal.<br />
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Well here's to everyone going towards their goals even if they don't reach it...anytime soon. I got a lot of great things in store for this year and I just need to make sure I don't let the tarpit that is reality pull me down and slow me into a ditch. Well, let's see, maybe by the time May comes by, I'll miss my time on a plane and out of Hong Kong?Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-22115402288169580232018-01-28T21:19:00.000+08:002018-01-28T21:19:19.319+08:00Hmm 2018, anyone there?Somehow 2018 has started off...weird. We're almost 1 month into the year and for some reason nothing feels <i>special</i>. It might be that I'm pretty burnt out today but in general the whole year feels like it could be any other month. That <i>it's the new year! Let's do this</i> feeling isn't there for some reason. Perhaps I've done this new year thing like 35 times so I <i>get it</i>?<br />
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I can sense I'm burnt out simply because when I stared at my list of games (Wolfenstein 2 being one of them), all I could think was "ah I don't have the mental capacity right now to deal with this".... what?! It's Wolfenstein! Thankfully I didn't feel that when Doom came out around a year ago! Phew!<br />
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So today I finally got to sleep in a bit and had the day to basically catch up on things. It's been a wild last 2 weeks but one thing that anyone knows me will know I hate -- stale items on my to do list. I hate it when items are more than 1 week old. By then I just get so fed up with the item I prefer to just wipe it off my list altogether. Of course, that can't happen because it still needs to get done...and now...ever more urgently!<br />
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So how has the year been for you so far? Exciting? Same ol' or a real challenge? I've got a lot of exciting plans in my list but I need to power through all these other things on the surface before I can get to it. The good thing is some of my comedy clips and those of my other fellow comedians have kind of gone viral so it's pushed our comedy positions in a good direction! The wave is on and we need to ride it right! Good thing is we've been preparing for this day for a while so it's time!<br />
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I've got quite a packed schedule lined up till May 2018! Is that insane or what?! But that also means I need to get my stuff together so I can make the most of everything I've got going on. I'm super pumped about learning how to do proper video editing and also getting a bit more gaming in my life. I haven't played Street Fighter 5 for the last 2 weeks and heck even my workouts have been on and off a lot simply because of all the workload involved.<br />
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So I hope 2018 has at least been smooth sailing if not exciting for everyone out there. We're 1 month into it already !!!!!!! $@!$!%@Q$?!!!!!??! So yeah 11 more to go, can ya believe it! Well time to make the most of January at least :)<br />
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Have a good next 10 days and I'll see you soon!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797263324621362211.post-83011776140775511742018-01-08T15:07:00.000+08:002018-01-08T15:07:06.631+08:00Body combat or come back?Happy new year everyone! How you all doing? How are all those <i>new year's resolutions</i> coming along? And how many of them have you come to terms with that they're just not going to happen?<br />
So far things are kind of OK. I'm struggling again with work backlog (already!) but otherwise same ol' same ol'. I've been taking a bunch of Yoga classes which have been interesting. The 1st one I took was quite relaxing, but the 2nd one was like a hot room with a series of poses and for 90 mins! So that was some intense endurance both physically and mentally....but it set the bar high for me and every other class I've taken feels a bit sub-par to what I was expecting. Quite interesting I must say. I've never been a group class guy but it's a different game where you go in for the class and just follow. I do sometimes find myself trying to understand why I'm doing certain things but at the same time I tell myself to give it a chance and see what happens afterwards, how I feel.<br />
So far it's only that HOT room class that has made me go woooooooooooo after the class.<br />
OK Woo mostly because my cold shake felt so extra good! Ahaha<br />
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Otherwise, if you don't already know, one of my new hobbies is playing fighting games and so far it's been Street Fighter V. Enjoying it but I have a long, long way to go to be anywhere good enough to play against seasoned gamers.<br />
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But so far 2018 has started off... OK. Like I can't say it's been OMG SMOOTH!! But not like omg, really, this is really happening to me?!?%@%!Q?$!Q%! But more like hmm it's a new year? Feels like the ship is just sailing as usual.<br />
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I've got a whole bunch of plans to take my comedy life to a new level this year and so far a video I uploaded of one of my bits about English Listening exams in Hong Kong has gone viral, so I suppose that's a good start to the year in a way?<br />
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But heck, I usually try to avoid getting too excited because honestly, a new year is more a mental thing than an actual thing. It's another day, we just write 2018 instead of 2017 :P And heck, I've experienced a new year 35 times already, so I suppose I kind of <i>get it</i>.<br />
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Well here's too a great start to everyone or at least a smooth sailing for the next 10 days. I'll catch you later!Vivek Mahbubanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175232136916520141noreply@blogger.com4