Some problems with the technology.. Leaking! Used these essential oils mixed with water in the water reservoir.
Make up Inspiration!
I did the make up.. added petals and glitter too.
Photo and Video credits to my friends: Queenie, Crystal and Anna <3
So for the past few weeks I’ve been collecting lots of information from Malik. I was not sure how to start of my interview. So as I asked him these questions on the train, I decided to get to know the WHOLE story. Not having a boundary or a focus.
I asked questions like where he stayed when he first started living here, his school life, his experiences etc.
In a way, it did help me understand the roti john story better. However, I still did not know how to frame my story as the information I have collected was just too wide and didn’t have a point to it. How do I communicate this story of the roti john?
THE DIMENSIONS:
I started off by listing what is the roti john to me/malik or what it holds for me/malik in the future.. I realised by listing it I was already listing the skeleton of the video and felt what I wanted to say was much more clearer.
Dimensions to my roti john:
MY ROTI JOHN IS….
From there, I formulated new questions specifically directing him to answer the content above.
Questions:
Then, with the questions answered, I came up with the script that was in my point of view.
THE SCRIPT:
Me and Malik are friends. Because of Roti John. The food that has brought happiness and comfort on tough, sad and especially no appetite sick days. It’s my go-to food- love at first taste. it never failed to do so every time i buy it. Malik makes my roti john and we are good friends.
The stall Al-Malik was named after him. It was the first stall Malik’s father had started up where Malik had suggested to include roti john into the menu.
Malik had been working in this industry since he was only primary 5 at his relative’s shop where had met lots of people. A Brazilian pilot for example had given Malik his contact so that when he graduates, he would come work for him. Another encounter was when he met upon middle aged identical twin sisters. He was quite shocked when they told him that they do not speak a common language. One was brought up by a malay family and the other, a chinese family. And of course, Malik would not have met me.
Malik started off by learning how to cook on the job. He says he prepares the food as and how he would prepare it for himself. He tells me, ”It is extremely satisfying when a customer praises the food I have cooked for them. Putting love into the dishes you prepare works like a salt. No matter how much ingredients of quality you put in, it is going to be tasteless without salt.
Working in this industry for such a long time, Malik had managed to pick up a couple of different languages. Just by taking orders from customers, in time, Malik is able start a basic conversation with the Malays. “nasi goreng satu pedas giler” “roti john satu bungkus”
And as for mandarin, Malik had picked up this language growing up in chinatown; his home at that time when his father was working there.
Planes and its operating principles interests Malik. He had been always curious to know how a massive piece of metal could takeoff effortlessly into the air. This love for aviation led to his dream to be an aircraft engineer for SIA. Their requirements to be one was a diploma. However when he graduated from SP, with a diploma in aeronautical engineering, they required a degree instead.
Currently Malik is doing his part time degree at ntu studying mechanical engineering in hopes of becoming an aircraft engineer for SIA.
If all else fails Malik would want to open up his own restaurant and sell various roti johns.
I asked Malik, how bout both?
He replied, “insyaAllah(with god’s will) if i have enough manpower and capital, i surely will – to serve you the best roti john possible”
Malik tells me getting extremely tired is very normal. I quote, “sweat gives you the money.” Sometimes the number of orders get so overwhelming that Malik does not look at the customers but instead focuses on writing down the orders. He feels that the workforce will teach us a lot more that we cant find in a textbook. We can practice communication skills, problem solving skills and many more that we need to deal with people of different background.
As for his friends, they are very impressed when they get to know that he can prepare such types of food. They also praise him for his hard work and perseverance in juggling both work and study
He makes sure that his studies are never compromised. He gives greater priority to his studies.
Malik always feels tired but never feels like giving up. He says,”These are part and parcel of life. As the saying goes, ‘Life is not a bed of roses’. Diamonds are created under the worst of all pressures. I see life in a similar way”
Malik is leaving me. He has to move out soon to a new rented place with his family as they are not singaporean. And so the Al-Malik I once knew is no more. I did not have a last good look. A goodbye. A mental preparation to face what is in front of me. The last time I ordered roti john was a few weeks ago. The space feels extremely different.
My friendship with Malik will last as I continue to long for my beloved roti john. I had made Malik promise to give me the new addresses to his new stalls in the future as he shifts from place to place. And the next time I order for a roti john it will be from Malik and I’ll always be the “roti john girl”
My video would indirectly suggest a relationship by showing close ups of a person maybe travelling in a train. Those close ups cannot be taken if the person filming it is not “close” to him in that way.
I would also like to overlay of flowers splashing into clear water like the stills below by an artist called, Gilles Bensimon, to indicate the refreshing, lively feeling of being in love.
Gilles Bensimon is a famous for fashion photography and helped shaped the magazine that it is today. He does not consider himself an artist but recently he made photographs of fresh cut flowers that are submerged in water.
