"if i can change. youuuuuuuuuu can changeeeeeee"

I was randomly googling my name earlier (yeah that's pretty narcissistic) and came across this... one of my very first published writing from my very first writing job at BC Magazine.

BC Magazine's owner/publisher/editor does not have a good reputation around the HK circles. More than a few know him to be rude, condescending, and just an all around not-too-nice a guy.

I can't disagree. I walked out of the job after telling him to go fuck himself back in March of 2007. I didn't just burn the bridge, I took a shit on the motherfucker and exploded it Michael Bay style.

But you know what? Now I must say, I respect the guy and owe him a thank you.

You see, he gave me a shot when nobody else would. I came to Hong Kong in late 2006 looking for a writing gig with zero previous writing experience and no journalism/English degree. I remember sending people my Xanga entries as writing samples.

I started applying for jobs before I got to HK and landed interviews/meetings with SCMP's Features department, SCMP's young post department, Juice Magazine, InFashion Magazine, and BC.

I missed the interview with SCMP Features because I was having second thoughts about flying back to HK with no guarantees at getting a job. I made the Young Post interview but their then-Editor blew me off the second she realized I had no writing experience (I actually mentioned that fact in the first paragraph of my cover letter...). I met with Juice and they offered me an unpaid internship. I then met with InFashion and she offered me an "editorial assistant" position. I finally met BC and he hired me as staff writer. I still remember that day--I was ecstatic.

Damn, my writing still sucks--I just realized right now that I wrote how my experience at BC ended before I even got to the story of how I started. Talk about killing all drama.

But whatevers. Yeah I cussed him out as I quit. I don't think I ever held a grudge, it was more "man I don't have to take this".

To this day, I still believe I did the right thing--standing up for myself (something I haven't been doing lately at work or in personal matters unfortunately). But like I said, I can't look back in anger. And despite what people think of him--and whether or not it's true (come on now y'all know the answer), I will always owe the guy because he gave me my shot. We'll probably never like each other, but we can have mutual respect like Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago at the end of Rocky IV.

"If I can change... YOUUUUUU CAN CHANGEEEEEEEE" -Rocky Balboa's Cold War-ending speech in Rocky IV.