And so I "celebrated" the 10th Anniversary of my Stroke in 2020, wth a FACEBOOK LIVE (over) sharing of my experience(s) with having Stroke, with tons of TMI ("too much information") that I had subsequently felt uncomfortable to be sharing online moreso than I already had (go figure), after I spent 3 hours and fourty-eight minutes rambling on about it in the first place ... That said, I certainly hope to be able to edit down the entire video to focus on my experiences with Stroke itself ... but that might be a while before it happens, due to my current desktop woes.
And I forgot to also mention - after pouring out my heart and thoughts - the one thing that had been hanging over my head for the entirety of the past ten years: That I might not just have ONE Stroke, but
I might have pushed ahead and recovered to whatever level I am in NOW, but lies ahead, is an uncertain fear, which I too realise would be a foolhardy notion to continue fearing over, but not choose to LIVE FORTH ... easier said that done tho...
That said, here's a look back at some questions I'd received during my FB-LIVE Sharing Sessions, with my answers - some of whom had been expanded upon, after I had posted them on my personal Facebook. Cheers :)
You ROCK, Napat! THANK YOU!
Find out more about both events linked here to TOYSREVIL:
*CLICK HERE for all coverage about Character Licensing Expo Asia AKA "CLEA 2010" - which happened BEFORE I fell to Stroke in October 2010!
*CLICK HERE for all coverage of "CE2 CONTEST" circa 2012, when I returned to Thailand after my Stroke! I referenced my experience in this blogpost: "Keeping Pace", and have been living this adage since.
RE: My STGCC2010 visit while in my wheelchair (All links to my Facebook albums / Some are privated, sorry)
- Facebook Album #1 (Friends)
- Facebook Album #2 (Seen)
- Facebook Album #3 (Artist Alley)
ANSWER #1: I have a "portfolio" of works viewable HERE on Facebook, and as well I have begun to chronicle my work-past in a dedicated BLOG. Here is my IMDb-page.
ANSWER #2: I started out with 1/6th-scaled figures (dedicated Hobby-Bloghobby-Blog: / dedicated FACEBOOK Page), and subsequently dived into "urban vinyls", with Michael Lau etc.
I am of the era of Dragon Models, BBI, and pre-licensed Hot Toys lol (I do not have a single licensed Hot Toys figure since they went "legit"). I utterly adored "kitbashing" above anything else - using different brands and make to make a single figure!
I wasn't until 3A Toys before I begun to collect whole figures again, and even then as selective as I had been, I ended up "buying" more than I "opened" them... until such time when I could no longer afford my "plastic fix" LOL
(Above) QUESTION: "How do you see your value today as a professional and as a person, who is a stroke survivor?"
ANSWER: Beyond the physicality and physical limitation, I'd felt I had gained a certain sense of emotional perspective, at least in the Point of View (POV). And while I cannot argue "different strokes for different people" (Pun Not Intended), having lived thru this exprience had helped me attain a certain semblance of understanding and perhaps further depth into "visual aesthetics", moreso that I had felt years ago before Stroke.
(Above) QUESTION: What has changed and what do you feel about that? Has it taught you anything?
ANSWER: Connected to the above answer to. My perception has changed. Even my language has been altered - how I blogged before Stroke, and how I am now as well. The initial fear was that Stroke had changed and screwed with my brains - which I cannot doubt it still had tho LOL - but who I am now and who I read wrote the blog articles (for example), feels "different". "Aesthetics"-wise, things might remain the same or different, and I cannot differentiate between evolution/evolved tastes or otherwise :p
What Stroke has imbued in me are many faceted but perhaps sutble (?) to folks? Humility. Awareness. Guilt. Consequence. Struggle. Living Life.
And I am less likely to play into politics as I would rather do what I choose to do, which equates to not being able to adapt into a corporate environment, perhaps.
(Above) QUESTION: Does your blog influence the price of and demand for specific toys? Can you share instances of this?
ANSWER: I cannot really say, as I had much feedback though the years, truth be told. I do not "hype" as much as I think I should (to get folks attention) though LOL ... and while I would not say "price fluctuations", I would like to think I help "fuel the demand for" LOL ... one immediate example if of the SHIN-COOKIEZILLA that was released over the weekend and sold out within minutes, and yet I am still receiving DMs (on socials) asking "How Much?" (But I don't sell them!), and the blog stats have shown there are the highest read feats for the past week.
I also recognise I am now not johnny-on-the-spot for "breaking news" as before (I cannot play that game anymore post-Stroke, anyways lol), but I'd rather aim to be able to provide as much and as accurate information as I can, be it pre-sales or even post-sales lol
(Above) QUESTION: How old were you when you were doing sustained demanding work?
ANSWER: I think I had passed my early-30s by then. When you'd put in work in your mid-to-late 20s dong the grind, and being able to walk the talk in your/my 30s.
I made my first feature film when I was 29 (in 1998, as a "Art Director"), and my 6th and last feature film in 2006, when I was 37.
30s was my prime, and if I had heeded my own personal issues of burning out, perhaps I would have been able to achieve more in my 40s? The point is moot now.
I would say in-between spending time with family (admittedly very rare before my Stroke), friends (exceedingly less too), ex'es - in fact most of my free time is spent with them, and admittedly in the hustle and grind, I poured more of my time over work.
I was unsuccessful in balancing both my geeklife and my life, before Stroke, sadly.
After Stroke, when I was not gainfully employed, and remained single, I could devote my time and indulge in what I had loved doing. But the reality of not earning meant I could not spend on maintaining a hobby such as "toy-collecting" - but for "gifts" from folks - which in turned became "work", as I devoted my time on my blog instead.
What were "hobbies" I passionately loved from before, how gradually became "work" since when I started the blog 15 years ago. Still love TOYS though, but that love is no longer the same as it was.
END :)
