Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Cheque, Mate

"When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is."

Oscar Wilde


Ah, my favourite Victorian wiseacre.


I got mail,

Nuffnang Cheque
My real name is Kok Sen Wai. I know, shocking right?

It's a very modest amount, I know; I'm not one of those blog-for-loot hacks. I started this site more than 3 years ago for the sole purpose of sharpening my proficiency with the pen. Owning a functioning journal I can read years from now and meeting great people are just benefits collateral to that, as are the occasional wads of free money from renting out ad spaces. I said "free money" because even if I did not get paid I wouldn't have written this blog any other way

The last time something like this happened was in April earlier this year when I picked up like 300 bucks right off the ground, finger snap.


One thing you may not know is that I once took an oath promising that I would always write truthfully here in this blog, no matter the subject. This, my lovelies, is called integrity and I like to think I have a lot of it. This is why I don't write advertorials; I refuse to have the honesty of my opinions sullied. I want people to know that when I consider something to be awesome or when I heap big, steaming piles of condemnations on something awful, my readers can trust that they are my own sincere (if exceedingly biased) appraisements. I could have earned at least US$ 400 (about RM 1200, methinks) just this year for like a couple of hours' work, but I have chosen instead to decline all comers all because they require me to oh, I don't know - lie through my fucking teeth? Maybe one day, I'll kick myself in the seat of my pants for this but right now, I kinda enjoy being an insufferable idealist and feeling superior to everyone else who have turned into shills for soul-less consumerism.

Of course, had they come to me with products I actually like, I would have pocketed the cake and eaten it too. Alas, alack.

You know what would kick ass? Some publication paying me to review or write about films; which I can totally do without using any cuss-words, easy. I follow film production news from script to screen religiously on my own volition and I have more than a passing familiarity with both contemporary and classical literature, comics and video games (which are the sources of most movies these days) as well as a pretty good working knowledge of pop culture, if I may say so myself. And I can write well enough to hold a reader's interest, sort of (I held yours this far, didn't I?). All that puts me a head above most film critics writing professionally in Malaysia, a lot of which are journos who got pigeonholed into a media niche they aren't crazily passionate about. This is pure speculation on my part, of course. What I can say for sure, however, is that most film reviews I read in print hereabouts are rubbish.

And nope, I have never tried selling myself to any publications. I have always imagined that they would beat a path to my door someday. I've got all my path-beating tools out there in the garden by the way, in case anyone needs to borrow them.

I'm just rambling, really. Point is, I received money for doing absolutely nothing and I like it. C'est tout.



Ever so slightly richer,
k0k s3n w4i

34 comments:

Michelle Chin said...

THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY FOR ME!

nissy said...

tsk, i have only approx rm8 in my nuffnang account.

Jen said...

Gimme!!!

février said...

gonna stop reading so u get less. T^T

yee said...

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Bite Bite said...

wow, congrats . . . keep up the good work. . .

Dori Lukey said...

grats. 400+ is not a small amount. will be waiting for the day when u get 40000+ like kenny sia!

mysimplylife said...

share with me, if you don't mind! ahaks~

mysimplylife said...

i just have RM0.50 in my nuffnang account SOB! SOB! T_T

Merrinette said...

wonder when is my turn :p

Camy said...

awesome! share share? xP

kelhome said...

congrates bro!

Sandra Azwan said...

so cool!! I'm impress...

Vince G said...

For some queer reasons, this post of yours is bound to get an obscene number of hits and nangs. You know how kay-poh inniters can be, always wanting to poke their noses at other nuffnanger's cheque. Well, at least I'm one. :P

Rosmarieza said...

congrats~;)

Yusof Forever Living said...

hmmm....out of curiosity...where's the nuffnang rubber stamp ek? Just asking....sorry..

TOLANIC said...

Fuahh, you earned a lot. I don’t think it is enough for me because my webhosting cost more than this. Hahaha. Btw, good job bro!

Vinnie said...

wow, your language is impeccable... I write blog to improve my writing and language skills as well... You should try writing in NST. Anyway, congrats for the huge payout.

JadyCloud said...

congratulation KOK SAN WAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

girlysecret said...

Congrats! That's a lot of money indeed!

edmund ng said...

congrates!
i hope i can earn alot like you too..
haiz.. mine jz a little only. haiz...
like to meet you!

mynuffnang said...

wah bro.. masyuk... how long ur blogging n cash-out this money..

Anonymous said...

Yay! I hope I contributed a dollar or so. Haha.

Before I forget, thanks for your film reviews. This might sound strange, but I look at what films you talk about, scan your article to get an idea of whether or not you think it's good, then hunt it down (awful choice of words, sorry). I read your review after I watch the film cause I like watching movies knowing almost nothing about the plot and then enjoy finding out what others thought of it. :)

I confess that I like Eyeris's blog as well. Hope you didn't just release a tirade of words I wouldn't use in front of my mother.

Tokei Reban said...

nice....and congtarz....effot and dedication might happen to be the key to success

Anonymous said...

Wah.... banyak tu..... macam mana untuk dapat duit seperti itu?? Cukup kah dengan hanya letakkan ikon nuffnang dalam blog dan tunggu tetamu datang?? Berapa hit utnuk dapat duit? ....hmmm banyak pertanyaan sebab saya masih blur :((

Wong Zhiwei said...

Hello! Congrats on your earnings! Seems that these kind of posts gets a lot of visitors!! Keep it up~~

feyus said...

Congratulations n Tahniah.
Mata pensil boleh dibuat seni????

Jia Min said...

Congratulations! ;D

Kuri Kuri said...

wow, its alott!!
share some with me :),
anyway congrats

Elaynne said...

Faster join me and say "I love Nuffnang" !!!

k0k s3n w4i said...

Michelle Chin: YOUR SARCASM IS NOTED AND IS DULY FILED AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE!

nissy: sedikit-sedikit, lama-lama...

Jen: in exchange for your firstborn, yes!

beve: no, you must click on my ads when you see them! you need to work off losing my camera case!!! =d

Lukey Luke Phang!: kennysia only earns 40000+? wow, blogging really isn't very lucrative then.

Vin Tsen Gan: they never tire of that, do they?

TOLANIC: i don't think i'm ready to start paying for this little hobby of mine, tolan. i like to keep it rewarding for now :)

JadyCloud: THANK YOU!!!

lovealynna: it doesn't sound strange at all. i do a similar thing with the /filmcast and they are very careful with spoilers. i get how you feel - i like to go into a movie knowing nothing about it if possible :)

Elaynne: shan't 'cause they haven't been serving me real ads in awhile :P gods below, you're really in love with the company! i heard that corporate entities have legal personhood or something. maybe you can try to marry nuffnang :P

senorita.. said...

wah. now i feel stupid didnt subscribe to nuffnang. -.-" i can prolly get like RM10 or smtg. a meal. FML

Home Sweet Dreams said...

congrats on the nuffnang cheque. That's quite a big amount - in the hundreds. Keep up the good work.

ph1l1p said...

inspiring lol...it got me motivated on nuffnang :D