The Curious Case of the Pajamas

As a little girl, I loved my pajamas. They were airy and comfortable. They were pretty with lace and sometimes colourful fancy buttons. Above all, they were handmade by my mother.

But I stopped wearing pajamas, I don't remember when. Must be well into my teens. When outfits were an expression of the unique personality of a rebellious teen, who cared what I wore to bed. That must be when I got too lazy to change into the pajamas just for sleeping. Besides, mom had stopped making pajamas for us. I guess they're not so cute to make anymore since we were already big girls, so she stopped. Indeed, all other pajamas we found out there were nowhere near cute, nowhere close to the detailed workmanship that mom had displayed in her pieces, so no way would I spend any precious cent on any of those. So I stopped wearing pajamas.

Then, it became really interesting for me to watch on TV back then and even now, how the Chinese can parade the busiest streets of the city in their pajamas. When my aunt from Beijing visited in the 90s, she had no qualms wearing her pajamas everywhere. Honestly, I was rather flabbergasted.

Only very recently, I understood the significance of the pajamas to a Chinese back in those days, being very poor, when many clothes were hand-me-downs, how could one even think of having special clothes just for sleeping. So the pajamas were a symbol of status (and NYT says, coolness too). Someone who could afford the pajamas was of a certain social stature, especially when communism was at its peak and everyone was supposed to be equal. So it's only natural one would flaunt it at every available chance - out in the neighbourhood, at the market, riding public transport, at the most crowded and visible places of any gritty Chinese neighbourhood. Besides, living in tight communal quarters back in the day, it didn't make much sense changing out of them just to walk a few metres to buy some meat from across the street, did it?

Old habits die hard.

But China has grown so fast and in her race to join the top powers of the world, is also very rapidly shedding ugly old habits. Shanghai wants the pajamas off her streets now that the Expo is in full swing and the city is under tight scrutiny and criticised for every tiny flaw, oh, how many others will delight at seeing the poised Chinese superpower crumble. Like the legs of a pair of soft cotton pajamas.
Of course, people oppose it. Some do so because old habits die hard. Some do so because it's a piece of Shanghainese lifestyle and a chunk of China's past yanked out by force, and nobody likes to be forced to comply to anything that threatens that which is close to the heart. But with progress, they somehow must. Who will want to remember, or for that matter, need to remember, Shanghai by her colourful pajamas parade? Old habits die hard, but die they must. Soon, everyone will forget anyway.

Zocards

Everytime I pass by a café, I always sneak a peek at the Zocard revolving shelf. Over the years, I've collected countless of these cards. To many, they're just advertisements. To me, they are beautiful inspiring works of art. With a date stamp. So that makes them wonderful objects of nostalgia, of immense sentimental value.

They take up valuable real estate in my cramped apartment. Many a times, I mean to throw them out. Like today. But I took one look, and then, took a few pictures, and stuffed them right back where they belong. The logic is simple.

If they're inspiring enough to make me wanna immortalise them on film, how can they be relegated to the trash can?

RE. START.

They say girls with big bags have security issues. What I used to sneer at, I agree now. We want to pile our lives into those bags, we want every unpredictable situation under control as long as we have everything in the bag.

Yet, ironically, we are the least prepared, we do not know how to react to evil twists of fate, or change in heart. So we steel ourselves; we keep our fragile hearts in metal chests that even top grade diamonds cannot cut through. For we are not like them girls who quiver at the diamond's shallow brilliance.

Instead ...

We query the mystery of a volcanic rock thrown up from the depths of her mother's belly 10,000 leagues under the sea, we marvel at the fine grains of sands that hide so many lives but yet so transparent and vulnerable as glass. We dive deep into our own emotional oceans, seeking still waters, craving tranquility, wanting stability.

That's not you, a friend once said to me. You live life on the edge.

A little too much, yes. I sometimes venture foolishly out to embrace the climactic horrors of the emotionsphere. I've been kissed by the breeze on my cheeks and the golden rays of sunlight on my eyes. I've hunched against the assail of hail and been punched out of wind in my stomach. I've burned like a furnace in my chest and chilled to the core of my heart.

I want to retreat to the seabed, where the water runs deep, where the current is still. Where I'd rather not fall into the giddying pleasure of a spinning vortex, so I won't be breathless when I fall out of it.

We have baggages we cannot let go. Yet we must learn to do so.

I need to. I have to. RE. START.

The Panda Series

5.12

Can't believe it's been 2 years since the great Sichuan earthquake. God bless.

Through the fog

I always choose the bus over the train if I'm not pressed for time. I like all the visual stimulants that come with a long bus ride, ears plugged to my favourite playlist, retreating into my own contemplative thoughts and feelings. Like CD said, "making my own MTV" in those hour-long rides.

That was what I did the past Saturday, after the rain. Alas, my window was foggy so I could only get a blurry picture of the scenery outside. Alas, I couldn't quite catch the red Mazda 3s (think their butts are incredibly cute and sexy, aren't they?), which I've got into the habit of counting. So I played with my camera instead. I just got a new all-black pouch and a bright red hand-strap for it. The camera body is all-black too, so the dash of red against all the black is quite beautiful. Well, I digress.

What I meant to say was, I aimed a shot from behind a foggy window, and got pleasantly surprised by this result. Enjoy! :)

Blue skies

Coincidentally, it was also Daniel's birthday. The skies were smiling for him, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And I love Blue Skies by BT, featuring Tori Amos. She didn't actually say the words "Blue Skies" here. Instead, he spliced her vocals from different places to form the words. Genius, though sometimes you wonder why he would go this roundabout way in making music. But the haunting result is well worth it! Attention to details rocks. And BT's nano-tech stutter tricks are worth a patent.

May 美

May = 美.
五月应该是美好的. 期待.
v(^___^*)v

.5

Apr.5: I returned from Hong Kong after 4 wonderful days of eat, play, relax and workout.
Jun.5: I'll be returning from Shanghai after 9 wonderful days of happiness. I hope.

Now, ...

May.5 seems uneventful.

May.5: Where will I return from?
Make it decadence.

May.5: Where will I return to?
Make it innocence.

Enigma. Return to Innocence.
Boy. Do I love this song. Tune.
Ugh. Whatever. Just listen.

May Day! Spring Day!

反而没什么感觉了。

走一天，看一天吧。

春天是美好的吗？

但愿如此。

春天是开花结果

的好季节。

May Day! May Day!

May Day, Spring Day

I laugh a mocking laugh

How can an expression

of much distress

the start of a season

of hope

Then again

For there is no need

for hope

if the great bellies

of distress

one needs not escape

A vicious cycle

Indeed

Without distress there will be

no hope.

Only gloom.

May Day! May Day!

I face thee with all my might,

Distress,

I shout with all my might,

And then,

I hope with all my might.

笑吧! 走更远的路

人往往有不开心的事,
为了不影响身边的家人和朋友,
把难过与哀愁往自己心里面塞.
但不论胸怀有多宽多大,
终有一天还是会容不下,
爆发.
可以是泪,
可以是气,
当然也可以
不去烦恼,
不去难过,
不去管.
大声得笑,
继续走,
更远的路.

无希望的等待 ... 吗?

无论如何, 我想还是应该尽力去争取的! 往后的日子, 走一步, 看一步咯. 还未到最终点, 没有人知道会发生什么事. 知道自己尽了力就好, 没有什么好后悔的. 再说, 这次的选择, 如果成功的话, 也只有益无害.

我的胸怀充满希望, 等待.
Sudden opportunities, bold moves.

我又走慢了

Yasmin

Chanced upon the film, Muallaf on Xunlei.com. Super excited! Never expected to find a Yasmin film on a Chinese website (if doesn't have Sepet or Gubra, though), and one that I have not watched before. So I decided to check the film synopsis online before watching the film, and came across Yasmin's blogs:

The Storyteller: she really, really was. She took little segments of our lives and blew them up on the big screen. She surfaced our laughter, our tears, our courage, our fears. And all the other emotions in between that we fail to see or refuse to acknowledge. She cast a light on what it means being human, being one of many humans, transcending race, language and religion, and the strange web that weaves us all together, for and against our wishes, and how this is what makes being human so ... well, alive.

The Filmmaker: her last post was on 22 July 2009. She died on 25 July 2009.

The blogs brought fresh tears to my eyes.

片尾片, 败犬女王

总是觉得台湾电视剧的片尾片(就是在播放片尾曲同时播放的短片)很精美, 很好看. 目前在U频道播出的<败犬女王>也不例外.

其实这部电视剧还是挺好看的. 虽然头几集感觉有点漫长, 剧情也有点无聊, 但是却越来越好看哦. 是蛮贴心的, 可能因为片中女主角的性格与处境和我的很相似吧!

Earth Day 2010

Turn off the lights
and check your sockets,
save some energy
and what little is left
in Mother Earth's pockets.

雨过天晴

礼拜四下午下了一场很恐怖的大雨。雨后的夕阳就是这样了 ... ^___^*

Excitement!

Oh my GOD! This is the biggest rush of adrenaline I've had in a while.

KC, with whom I haven't been in touch since 2007 while chatting with him as the strike at Karachi happened outside The Sheraton where I stayed, MSNed me cuz of the countdown to Expo in my nick.

Ok, that's nice right, after all, a long time ago, I kinda had a little crush on him. He's cute ok ... Haha, but it's the next thing he told me that made my jaw drop.

KC: im in shanghai
KC: are u counting down to the expo here?
Me: yep, counting down
KC: Im working for Disney Shanghai at the moment
Me: (jaw dropped) OOOH happening!!!
KC: working here as a Creative Consultant
Me: Any vacancy??

Oh man, and he never wanted to work for Disney. He never wanted to work for anyone but himself and such a talented guy, he's got a number of great works under his belt. In fact, Disney approached him after he produced LaMB. I'm so proud of him!

Singlish

Wan Lynn sent me a questionnaire to fill in this morning, but forgot to attach in the email.

So I called out to her, "你没有 attach 那个 questionnaire!"

Daniel started laughing. He always laughs at how we mince our Chinese and English words in what we famously acknowledge as Singlish.

On the other hand, I wondered why I couldn't have said, "You didn't 附上 that 问卷!"

Luke had an explanation: We use English for work and Chinese for friendly conversations. So naturally, when we use both languages in a single sentence, we'll use English words for the technical terms and Chinese for the conversational terms.

Sounds very logical for this particular incidence. But is it always like this?

I still wonder.

Hong Kong Food Haven

Well, we didn't go to as many good food places as we'd like to, but every meal we had was awesome anyway! So, let me share some of the most remarkable ones with their addresses in case you're keen on trying the next time you pop by HK:

Breakfast:
Mido Cafe
Address: 63 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei
Phone: 2384-6402
We went there for the cafe's 1950s charm and delicious buttered 'bo lo bao' (called 'bo lo yao' - oily 'bo lo bao') and milk tea.

Tsui Wah Restaurant
Address: 15-19 Wellington street, Central
Web: http://www.tsuiwahrestaurant.com
We went there for typical Hong Kong breakfast, but ended up ordering only milk tea and 'gai zai bao' (crispy yet soft toasted bun spread with butter and condensed milk). We watched in awe how the slender HK people down their bowls of instant noodles (with a variety of garnishing from luncheon meat to beef), 'gai za bao' and milk tea.

Dim sum
Foo Lum Fisherman's Wharf Restaurant
Address: G/F, Auto Plaza, 65 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Telephone: 2723-8132
Web: http://www.foolumgroup.com
This was the only dim sum restaurant we went to this trip; simply didn't have the time, plus there were so many other things to try too! We found this restaurant in a Singapore foodie magazine, and since it's close to where we stayed (Chungking Mansions), we decided to pop by the morning following our arrival in HK. Delicious dim sum, and definitely a lot more affordable than eating in Singapore!

Indian
Branto Pure Indian Vegetarian Club
Address: 1/F, 9 Lock Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui
Telephone: 2366-8171
This Indian restaurant is hidden on the first floor (which is level 2) of a building. One needs to use the intercom and punch in the codes as per the instruction sheet by the door. The food is good, but be warned of the huge meal portions. Yup, there's only one size, so you cannot choose a S-sized meal.

Chinese
Lung Wah Hotel (Restaurant)
Address: 22 Ha Wo Che, Sha Tin
Telephone: 2691-1594
Web: http://www.lungwahhotel.hk
This restaurant is the original inventor of roasted pigeon. Aside from the trademark pigeon dishes, Lung Wah also serves up other great Cantonese dishes and to top it all, a wonderful cozy and amiable ambience. It's a little hidden up a slope, its architecture resembles more of a temple than a restaurant, and with a name that says "hotel", one could easily walk past it anticipating a high-rise hotel instead. So, check the local map before heading out the Sha Tin MTR, walk about 10 mins and be on high alert for the 2 sign boards (side by side) which say "Sheung Wo Che" and "Ha Wo Che" respectively. They're at the foot of an overhead bridge, and when you look beyond the signboards, you'll see the restaurant in all of its red glory.

Dessert
Hui Lau Shan/Xu Liu Shan (许留山) Mango Desserts
Address: A franchise with stores in most places including Tsim Sha Tsui, Mongkok, Causeway Bay, etc
Delicious mango dessert. Need I say more?

Street food
Fishballs 鱼蛋 and "Yong Tau Foo"
Address: Most places
Dip the fishballs in hot and spicy curry broth, pop em in your mouth and let em sizzle! Pick your choice of "yong tau foo" (not that there's as wide a variety as compared to what we have here in Singapore/Malaysia), the store attendant will boil em, put em in paper bags with wooden skewers with which you will eat the sizzling hot "yong tau foo"!