Thursday, March 12, 2009
Where the Hell is Matt?
A lot of people have seen this video before but for those of you who haven't, enjoy.
I myself have seen it (too) many times but every time I watch it, I cannot help but get a strong feeling. I'm not quite sure what this feeling is though.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
An Old Friend
Yesterday, I picked up something that I've put down for three years already. I was surprised at how nervous I was as I got ready to tackle this challenge again, considering that this was something that I used to be considerably good at and proud of. I was afraid that I've lost all my knowledge of how It's done, the techniques, the rules, the ability and the atmosphere. Furthermore, I was half-convinced that my efforts to re-acquaint myself with this old friend would be futile; I will (or so I predicted then) discover that I no longer loved It, no longer wanted to invest time and energy into It, and just give up trying altogether.
I decided to quiz myself on how much I remembered after three years. As I tried to get ready, I suddenly realized that I could no longer recall how to get ready, even though It was something that, until three years ago, I did twice a week for four years. I also painfully discovered that I could no longer recall the language, or lingo, that is commonly used during It. As I watched other people get ready, people that are surely not as experienced as I once was, I couldn't help but think if they realize that I'm a veteran, albeit one that has quit already for a few years, but nonetheless, a practitioner that once spent a lot of time on It.
As It started, I recalled the familiar scent of aching, tried bodies that fills the room of It. Yet, at the same time, there was something missing, something that makes this room of It players different than the room that I once frequented. There was no air of discipline, hard-work, perseverance, discipline, and the strong but undeniable realization that only a slim border separates all of us from "same old" and "yes! I did better than last week".
As I got into the motions, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I still remembered all the techniques, but equally appalled to realize that it was all only in my head. My body no longer worked the way it used to. My advanced head knowledge of It was restricted by what my body was capable of doing and mocked by the memories of times when everything was second nature. I suddenly caught a glimpse of something that I've always been most afraid of. Old age: an inevitable conclusion to every man's life, a time when one's body no longer obeyed one's will, a time when one's memories shine far brighter than the present and, most likely, the future.
At the end of it all, I was exhausted. Not so much from the physical motions itself, but from the frustration of having my head perpetually tell my body that "This is not how it's done! Why don't you try again." and from having to reach into my memories to re-learn things that I've learned long before but have now, somehow, managed to forget.
At least somewhere along the way, I remembered my great passion for It and that it itself is powerful enough to warrant more attempts of a comeback from this retiree.
I decided to quiz myself on how much I remembered after three years. As I tried to get ready, I suddenly realized that I could no longer recall how to get ready, even though It was something that, until three years ago, I did twice a week for four years. I also painfully discovered that I could no longer recall the language, or lingo, that is commonly used during It. As I watched other people get ready, people that are surely not as experienced as I once was, I couldn't help but think if they realize that I'm a veteran, albeit one that has quit already for a few years, but nonetheless, a practitioner that once spent a lot of time on It.
As It started, I recalled the familiar scent of aching, tried bodies that fills the room of It. Yet, at the same time, there was something missing, something that makes this room of It players different than the room that I once frequented. There was no air of discipline, hard-work, perseverance, discipline, and the strong but undeniable realization that only a slim border separates all of us from "same old" and "yes! I did better than last week".
As I got into the motions, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I still remembered all the techniques, but equally appalled to realize that it was all only in my head. My body no longer worked the way it used to. My advanced head knowledge of It was restricted by what my body was capable of doing and mocked by the memories of times when everything was second nature. I suddenly caught a glimpse of something that I've always been most afraid of. Old age: an inevitable conclusion to every man's life, a time when one's body no longer obeyed one's will, a time when one's memories shine far brighter than the present and, most likely, the future.
At the end of it all, I was exhausted. Not so much from the physical motions itself, but from the frustration of having my head perpetually tell my body that "This is not how it's done! Why don't you try again." and from having to reach into my memories to re-learn things that I've learned long before but have now, somehow, managed to forget.
At least somewhere along the way, I remembered my great passion for It and that it itself is powerful enough to warrant more attempts of a comeback from this retiree.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Glory to the God on High
Today she very clearly demonstrated to around 20 of us the One she will be following. Her gesture also made me learn a lesson: although I've never seen it done in a bathtub, I'm sure it's just as sacred, powerful and meaningful as someone doing it in the Jordan River itself.
Hallelujah, to the Lord of Heaven and Earth!
Another lesson that I, unfortunately, had to re-learned today is that the reason why God sometimes doesn't talk to us is because, frankly, even if He did, we wouldn't be listening or paying attention anyways. But if, like the young Samuel, we start to realize that God is indeed speaking to us and are willing to say "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening", God will definitely reveal Himself to us through His Word, just as what He did for Samuel.
昨天去了 Walmart (yes they have a huge one here) 就買了一個迷你"盆菜". 晚上跟一些本地的學生享受了一頓很溫暖的晚餐 in the school canteen.
Currently listening: God of Wonders - Third Day & Caedmon's Call (although I am a worship leader, I must admit that I'm usually not a huge fan of praise music probably because they usually sound about the same for me, esp. the Chinese ones. But occasionally I do get the one or two with lyrics that really touch me and this song is one of them.)
Saturday, March 7, 2009
我太無聊，所以煩一些無聊的．．．
One of the key things I want to do during my 4 months exchange here in China is to travel around China. Initially, I was most interested in visiting Beijing, Shanghai, and Tibet. I told my mom this and she actually laughed at me and said that I shouldn't be expecting to travel throughout China in a matter of 4 months (on top of school) because China is just too big for that.
Now that I've been here for almost a month and gotten to know (at least geographically) where I am and what's around, I have made up a mini list of what I can do during the school term, approximately how much time it would take to visit and whether I would have time to make these trips.these places (Beijing is excluded from this list because I'm going there after my exams end in June. Shanghai is also excluded because I will be spending a lot of time there in May):
Hangzhou/Shaoxing (1-2 hours bus away from Ningbo) - an easy weekend. But this will have to wait till when the weather clears up because it would really suck to see the infamous West Lake in Hangzhou when it's all rainy. Shaoxing (land of ancient temples, Lu Xun's childhood home, and such) is also on the way from Ningbo to Hangzhou so this can be a two birds one stone kinda trip.
Suzhou/Nanjing (at least 5 hours train to Suzhou, another 5 hours to Nanjing) - more difficult trip to make since this trip could take more than a week. Firstly, I've heard that Nanjing, as the capital of the Ming dynasty and the ROC, is so packed with history that one cannot possibly see everything in this city. Suzhou, which is also somewhat "along the way". Like Nanjing, it's also in Jiangsu which is the province north of Zhejiang (where I am right now). It is infamous for its charming scenary, a stop for the Grand Canal and being a prosperous city back in the Tang and Song dynasties. Also, 金裝四大才子s are "蘇州三寳".
Wenzhou (10 hours train) - optional trip for the weekend (I have half a Thursday and the whole Friday off anyways). My friend is from there and her family is still there. She says that there is a very strong 江南味道 there.
Huangshan/Jingdezhen (8 hours train) - not dying to go there but it could be interesting since it is a very famous scenic mountain. It's also where they filmed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" although I'm not a huge fan of that film. And of course, Jingdezhen is the famous pottery place that I learned about in my Chinese school textbook.
Looking at my list, I can't help but wonder why all the places I want to go all have very similar descriptions (i.e. something to do with scenery or history). I hope they don't all turn out to be the same.
With only limited time and money, where shall I go?!?!!?!?!
Currently listening: Celos - Gotan Project
Now that I've been here for almost a month and gotten to know (at least geographically) where I am and what's around, I have made up a mini list of what I can do during the school term, approximately how much time it would take to visit and whether I would have time to make these trips.these places (Beijing is excluded from this list because I'm going there after my exams end in June. Shanghai is also excluded because I will be spending a lot of time there in May):
Hangzhou/Shaoxing (1-2 hours bus away from Ningbo) - an easy weekend. But this will have to wait till when the weather clears up because it would really suck to see the infamous West Lake in Hangzhou when it's all rainy. Shaoxing (land of ancient temples, Lu Xun's childhood home, and such) is also on the way from Ningbo to Hangzhou so this can be a two birds one stone kinda trip.
Suzhou/Nanjing (at least 5 hours train to Suzhou, another 5 hours to Nanjing) - more difficult trip to make since this trip could take more than a week. Firstly, I've heard that Nanjing, as the capital of the Ming dynasty and the ROC, is so packed with history that one cannot possibly see everything in this city. Suzhou, which is also somewhat "along the way". Like Nanjing, it's also in Jiangsu which is the province north of Zhejiang (where I am right now). It is infamous for its charming scenary, a stop for the Grand Canal and being a prosperous city back in the Tang and Song dynasties. Also, 金裝四大才子s are "蘇州三寳".
Wenzhou (10 hours train) - optional trip for the weekend (I have half a Thursday and the whole Friday off anyways). My friend is from there and her family is still there. She says that there is a very strong 江南味道 there.
Huangshan/Jingdezhen (8 hours train) - not dying to go there but it could be interesting since it is a very famous scenic mountain. It's also where they filmed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" although I'm not a huge fan of that film. And of course, Jingdezhen is the famous pottery place that I learned about in my Chinese school textbook.
Looking at my list, I can't help but wonder why all the places I want to go all have very similar descriptions (i.e. something to do with scenery or history). I hope they don't all turn out to be the same.
With only limited time and money, where shall I go?!?!!?!?!
Currently listening: Celos - Gotan Project
Thursday, March 5, 2009
加拿大人
Having been here for almost a month now, I cannot help but notice some of the interesting comments made by others when they know that I'm Canadian/Vancouverite/North American:
Guy: So you're not British?
Me: Ya, I'm not, I'm Canadian. Can't you tell by my American accent? I don't have that British thing going on.
Guy: No not really. Canadians are a bit of everything.
Prof: So, has Vancouver been overrun by Asians yet?
Me: Uh, no not really...
Prof: Almost?
Me: Haha maybe...
Prof: I also heard that UBC stands for "University of a Billion Chinese".
Me: Possibly....
Person: So, you're from Canada?
Me: Ya!
Person: Oh Canadians are nice and boring.
Me: Oh. uh that's great.
(in an irish pub with a tv showing a hockey game)
Me: Whoa is that hockey?
Friend: Whoa look at her she's totally Canadian.
Friend: Oh so Kathy, maybe you can bring some Canadian food to our potluck!
Me: Oh, there really isn't any "Canadian" food.
Friend: So, you guys do the whole fast food thing?
Me: Ya basically...ooh but we do have poutines!
Friend: Poutines? What's that?
Me: fries with gravy and cheese...
Friend: Oh. fast food.
Me: uh ya.
Friend: Football tomorrow?
Me: You mean soccer?
Friend: No I mean football. We play it with our foot.
Some local students have also commented on my Canadian-Chinese identity:
local student A to local student B: 明明就是中國人，爲什麽要跟她說英語？
me to her: Oh, it's because I don't know Mandarin very well.
local student A to local student B: 喔！聼得懂的??!
me to her: 是的, 你也可以直接跟我説話.
me to 小販: 炒麵
小販: 你不是本地人.
me: 你怎麽知道?!
小販: 聼你說"炒麵"兩字就知道!
Then there are locals (students, storekeepers, taxi drivers, whatever) that refuse to believe I'm actually not local Chinese, that I cannot speak Mandarin fluently or that I'm from Canada even when I try to explain it to them. When I talk to them in Mandarin, they seem slightly amuse that my pronunciation is off, that I speak at the pace of a snail, and I repeatedly tell them 說慢一點,我聼不懂.
This has nothing to do with identity but thought I'd share this one:
I was showing a local student a photo I took back in December of a some deers in front of my house in Coquitlam. He asks me why they weren't in a zoo. I bursted out laughing.
Currently listening: 星夢情真 - 陳慧琳 (this is probably the only song I like from her)
btw, happy 雷鋒日!
Guy: So you're not British?
Me: Ya, I'm not, I'm Canadian. Can't you tell by my American accent? I don't have that British thing going on.
Guy: No not really. Canadians are a bit of everything.
Prof: So, has Vancouver been overrun by Asians yet?
Me: Uh, no not really...
Prof: Almost?
Me: Haha maybe...
Prof: I also heard that UBC stands for "University of a Billion Chinese".
Me: Possibly....
Person: So, you're from Canada?
Me: Ya!
Person: Oh Canadians are nice and boring.
Me: Oh. uh that's great.
(in an irish pub with a tv showing a hockey game)
Me: Whoa is that hockey?
Friend: Whoa look at her she's totally Canadian.
Friend: Oh so Kathy, maybe you can bring some Canadian food to our potluck!
Me: Oh, there really isn't any "Canadian" food.
Friend: So, you guys do the whole fast food thing?
Me: Ya basically...ooh but we do have poutines!
Friend: Poutines? What's that?
Me: fries with gravy and cheese...
Friend: Oh. fast food.
Me: uh ya.
Friend: Football tomorrow?
Me: You mean soccer?
Friend: No I mean football. We play it with our foot.
Some local students have also commented on my Canadian-Chinese identity:
local student A to local student B: 明明就是中國人，爲什麽要跟她說英語？
me to her: Oh, it's because I don't know Mandarin very well.
local student A to local student B: 喔！聼得懂的??!
me to her: 是的, 你也可以直接跟我説話.
me to 小販: 炒麵
小販: 你不是本地人.
me: 你怎麽知道?!
小販: 聼你說"炒麵"兩字就知道!
Then there are locals (students, storekeepers, taxi drivers, whatever) that refuse to believe I'm actually not local Chinese, that I cannot speak Mandarin fluently or that I'm from Canada even when I try to explain it to them. When I talk to them in Mandarin, they seem slightly amuse that my pronunciation is off, that I speak at the pace of a snail, and I repeatedly tell them 說慢一點,我聼不懂.
This has nothing to do with identity but thought I'd share this one:
I was showing a local student a photo I took back in December of a some deers in front of my house in Coquitlam. He asks me why they weren't in a zoo. I bursted out laughing.
Currently listening: 星夢情真 - 陳慧琳 (this is probably the only song I like from her)
btw, happy 雷鋒日!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
lesson of the day #2
自己住...突然有很多平時不用作的事情都要自己做. 好像煲湯 (i lost my "soup virginity" today), 打掃, and the laundry. I thought I was on top of it all until last night I came back to my room and found that I couldn't turn on the lights. Or the heater. Or anything. Then it struck me.
I forgot to pay my electric bills.
Ended up spending most of the time at my friend's dorm and then watching "Pretty Woman" on my laptop until that ran out of battery too.
Yup. Lesson learned.
Currently Listening: Toxic - Yael Naim
I forgot to pay my electric bills.
Ended up spending most of the time at my friend's dorm and then watching "Pretty Woman" on my laptop until that ran out of battery too.
Yup. Lesson learned.
Currently Listening: Toxic - Yael Naim
Sunday, March 1, 2009
三件事
This weekend, three things made me really happy:
1. My "alcoholic" British friends and I at an Irish pub in 老外灘 (the Ningbo equivalent of 蘭桂芳 but smaller) for dinner on Friday night to curb our "white food" cravings with pizza and beer. They even had a hockey game going on the big plasma TV. I think it was Canada vs. China or something. (This photo is staged, they aren't actual alcoholics)
2. 陳綺貞演唱會飛...終於到手.
3. I now have somewhere to go on my Sunday mornings and I LOVE IT!
Currently Listening: Dancing Queen - ABBA (admit it, we all secretly love this song)
1. My "alcoholic" British friends and I at an Irish pub in 老外灘 (the Ningbo equivalent of 蘭桂芳 but smaller) for dinner on Friday night to curb our "white food" cravings with pizza and beer. They even had a hockey game going on the big plasma TV. I think it was Canada vs. China or something. (This photo is staged, they aren't actual alcoholics)
2. 陳綺貞演唱會飛...終於到手.
3. I now have somewhere to go on my Sunday mornings and I LOVE IT!
Currently Listening: Dancing Queen - ABBA (admit it, we all secretly love this song)
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