Hey guys, we want to take this moment to talk to you about something that we have experienced during the early hours of this morning. And for us to do that, we will be taking a brief break from our “young explorer” comic strip and return to one of our favourite metaphors for this season of time—being a master artisan/builder.

After surviving two decades as an industry pioneer, we know that we’ve earned our right to call ourselves a “master” in the digital space (especially in the fields of UX, and more specifically, Design Engineering). And we’re not going to apologise for owning our space.

We Need to Stop Wasting Our Breath.

But here’s something that we’re also beginning to realize—it is unfair for us to assume or expect that other people will be able to understand or empathize with the kind of life/journey we have chosen for ourselves. For years, we have tried to explain & justify ourselves to others, including our very own family, and still, it only ends up draining our energy. Most (if not all) of them still have very little to no understanding of who we are or why we have chosen to stick to this very path.

That is how we’ve come to this realization that we need to stop trying to assume that they will get it. We have to stop wasting our precious energy trying to explain our choices and decisions to them, let alone constantly justifying why we believe in what we believe in. Because the harshest truth is, they (unfortunately), will never be able to get it. It’s really that simple.

Sure, yes, it would be really nice if our parents and siblings can SEE US, ACCEPT US, and LOVE US for all that we are. Sure, it would also be nice if the design & development industries would be willing to finally SEE US.

But those are just wishes. They are NOT realistic. And so, continuing to hold out hope for something that we will never be able to get is just pointless.

Embracing Our “Outsider” Nature.

Recently, we have also began to feel a shift in the way that we’re seeing ourselves, along with the realities of how we have been treated by the industry and facing that reality head-on. By finally admitting the truth of our current reality to ourselves, we were able to finally stop struggling and fighting against our nature and start embracing it as a part of who we are.

No. We’re not saying that being treated like an “Outsider” is okay. That is not what we mean. It’s wrong. And it still sucks. But we’ve also reached a place of final acceptance. We know now that no matter what we say and do, the design & development industry will never truly accept us as one of them. And it’s fine. We’ll just continue to focus on doing what we do best. Sitting on the outside, seeing a fuller picture and calling out industry BS from time-to-time.

Kidding. But that is also partly true. We own it as part of who we are. And we’re never going to be afraid to challenge the ideas and thinking of our “insider” design & development leaders.

Focusing on BEING Us

And so, this is where we are today. Now that we can finally admit the truths to ourselves, and see those realities for what they are instead of what we hope for them to be, we can begin to truly focus on the stuff that matters most to us—our craft, and our work.

Early this morning when we woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, we experienced that very same “elephant🐘 sitting on our chest” feeling as with a lot of recent nights when we would wake up and felt hard to breathe. It’s like we’re suffocating on the inside. And the only way for us to actually go back to sleep is to write what we’re feeling down, post it online on our LinkedIn profile and get it off our chest.

For weeks, that has been happening. Almost everyday really. So yes, it is quite bad.

At first, we thought that these middle-of-the-night micro-awakenings is due to our struggle with isolation and loneliness (which is still partially true), but we also managed to identify the TRUE reason why we would wake up feeling like we’re suffocating on the inside.

We have not been able to do the craft and work that we were meant to be doing as a master artisan/builder. And because our core identity and purpose is so intricately tied to our craft and work, without the proper hardware and tools meant that we cannot be who we are (and who we’re meant to be).

And when we can’t be who we are (and who we’re meant to be), it feels like we’re suffocating on the inside.

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Disclaimer: As we are writing this and describing what it felt like for us, we’re also acutely aware that not everybody reading this will be able to fully grasps and understand why that is the case for us as an industry pioneer. And why our craft is essentially ONE WITH our CORE IDENTITY. Frankly, unless you share a similar experience as we do, I think the best that you can do is to try and imagine it for yourself.

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So, What Does a Master Artisan/Builder Need to Do His Work?

Ever since the end of 2025, we have not shyed away from making known what we needed & desired in order for us to be at our best. We have written about it, and we’ve talked about it in some of our daily LinkedIn updates. But that won’t be enough. We will continue to talk about what we need and desire openly and authentically until the Universe provides us with a way to own it, or to pay for it ourselves (perhaps through attracting the right kind of work opportunities).

Our Starting (aka Rebuilding) Capital

Here’s what we truly need: SGD 5,000

This amount that we have stated above doesn’t even cover our food and monthly expenses. We are only stating what we needed for us to perform our craft and to tackle potential work opportunities. As we have so clearly written in our 180-Day “Compass Experiment” Mission article recently, it is when we have everything that we needed to be at our best that the best work opportunities would be attracted to us. While it is also entirely possible for us to receive a work opportunity first before we can finally invest in what we need/desire, our past history and pattern have shown us that it’s usually the other way around.

Right Hardware + Tools ➡️ Matching (and Better) Work Opportunities follows.

The very first thing that we will prioritize above everything else is the refurbished Apple M4 Max MacBook Pro that we have already eyed previously.

For the true nature of who we are, and what we can do when we’re at our best, we will not settle for anything less than what is best for us. And that MacBook Pro you see above is precisely what’s best for us. And we will be uncompromising about it.

Right now, as of this very moment, it is January 15, 2026, and Day 11 of our 180-Day mission; we have not yet receive any offers from potential angel investors or benefactors yet. But just like we have been learning to trust and follow our “inner compass 🧭” since early 2006, we will continue to trust that our compass is always pointing in the right direction. When or how isn’t as important as the Why. And for us, we already know our “Why,” very clearly.

So yeah. We’ll stay here, as calm as we can be while we continue to endure the cold and the hunger as part of our “price of entry” for who we are, all while reminding ourselves that this personal suffering & sacrifice is only temporary. Things will get better. We got to believe that.