My week had been so full of extreme contradictions. Kinda makes you wonder how life can be so mean but incredibly nice at the same time. Bittersweet. That’s the best way to describe it.

I barely had enough sleep this weekend and the two days following it. I don’t even know why I’m blogging right now, when I should be catching up on the loss of rest. But I just had to write this down before I lose the feel of it.

My week was pretty exciting, really. Imagine getting insulted by a client who knew deep down that the root cause of the issue are her inability to come up with a FINAL decision, unending requests for changes and still insisted that production time to be not extended. You then lose sleep over the friggin’ account because the client’s delays have cost an overlap in production schedule: you have to finish two at the same time. A few days before that, you get notified that an unpaid design you made was used without permission by the very same person who didn’t pay you (more on this later on). Same week you also learn that an existing design of yours is ripped by somebody you know personally. I can’t help but summarize all these by one, simple sentence: I had a shit of a week.

That’s even an understatement, actually.

But then… It’s also the same week you realize that there exist people who will stand by you. You realize that there exists some kind of solidarity within a community that is usually full of selfish and arrogant little berks. The indignation that greeted your sarcastic story of the client who used your design without paying somehow gives you confidence that you’re on the right track. For the existing design you made that was ripped, the client who owned the site requests for you to redesign it (Yay. Payment again…). Coolness. Ripper will have another design to rip… ha.

And amidst all of these days turned shit, you are also reminded how much your family loves you.

Ah… The irony of life.

Marc slept very little to help me with the rush invitation order (the freaky client who wanted to change the design every single day and still insisted on keeping the deadline at no additional cost, eventhough the changes she wanted had corresponding overhead expenses. What a biatch.). He even stayed here as long as I needed his help. My sister also stayed and helped me even in the all-nighters, and just slept enough to have a bit of energy or get rid of a headache (of course, she drank her meds regularly so she won’t go schizo again… She IS still schizophrenic). My dad… My dad who didn’t particulary have patience for arts and crafts helped us too. And best of all… My mom did her best to help out by cutting ribbons using her unparalyzed hand. Apparently, the stroke she suffered a year ago wasn’t going to stop her from helping her daughter.

There was a moment when I took a breather yesterday and surveyed my family: working, joking, and laughing regardless of the impending unreasonable deadline. All of them helping me. Not because they had to, but because they WANTED to. This, I believe, is the closest thing to the definition of “sincerity.” My family is far from perfect, but for me, I have just seen another clear actualization of what it means to be a family.

Well. That’s my bittersweet story. Till next time 🙂