Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings.
Would like to continue reporting on what I've accomplished this week.
Monday, 14th August, 2006
Met my pastor Paul at 9:45 am in Yau Ma Tei MTR station. We went to visit Mrs. Leung and her son Mr. Leung, who, literally, live under an overpass near the Eaton Hotel on Nathan Road. We had a nice chat with them.
Around 11:30 am, Paul and I had lunch in Jordan. We had a nice chat as well. He talked about his college days in the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, how he and other Asian students financed their education by working various odd jobs like selling Asian grocery in the basement, cutting down Christmas trees, subletting rooms of his house, giving his classmates tutorials, course notes, and tips on exam questions, and even selling original Chinese paintings he created in an arts fair. How fun. Afterwards, we talked while we walked to the Star House in Tsim Sha Tsui. He talked a little bit about how he stopped doing business, started working at church, and eventually decided to become a pastor.
That evening I went to two HKIFF Summer Pops screenings at the Hong Kong Arts Centre's Agnes b. CINEMA!
7:00 pm
Monday (Japan/2000/Col/100 mins)
Dir: SABU
"It all begins with an exploding corpse in a solemn funeral. A young man wakes up in a hotel room suffering from amnesia. As he searches his memory banks, he remembers a nightclub, lots of killing and cops giving chase. When he opens the curtain, the hotel is indeed surrounded by cops... Sabu animates Monday with quiet madness, creating hilariously absurd situations and visually accentuating them with awkward orchestrations of his characters. Nobody packs so much explosive surprises in a dark comedy."
9:00 pm
Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani? (Japan/2005/Col/107 mins)
Dir: Aoyama Shinji
"Japanese director Aoyama Shinji's Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?, which screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2005, is a film, as the director expresses it, about the "dark winter" of human life. Set in the not-too-distant year of 2015. Its narrative revolves around an aggressive viral infection that causes its hosts to commit a final and desperate act of suicide. With a characteristic Japanese touch, nature plays a pivotal role in Aoyama's films. It is perhaps the only force retarding humankind's eventual demise, even if it can only hold the end at bay for a short while."
Tuesday, 15th August, 2006
Met Gillian at her father's Chinese restaurant, the Coral Seafood Restaurant, in Sai Wan. I wanted to do some observations for Thursday's film-shoot, since I would be playing a restaurant owner. I had the honour to meet Gillian's dad, his friends, and his colleagues, including the most courteous manager I've ever met and the gentlemanly head chef. The vivacious group were eating and drinking, kicking back and enjoying their hotpot dinner, at their own round table, as if they were a bunch of ancient Chinese swordsmen, heroes, and kung fu masters with each of them possessing a distinctive personality.
Later I stayed at Gillian's place watching DVDs till six in the morning, I think.
Wednesday, 16th August, 2006
Gillian and I watched her performance in the play "Under the Banyan Tree" and a musical called "Rats." We also watched "Bruce Almighty" (starring Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, and Morgan Freeman). Then we slept for a few hours till noon. We woke up and went to APA, as we had an Orientation Camp meeting that afternoon from 2 to 4. Afterwards I went back home to get the DV camcorder and came back to APA to return it to Octavius. Ran into Birdy in the drama school's common room, and we left together. She went to get herself a pair of pants, and I went to the Deluxe Sandwich Express near the Southorn Playground to get myself a nice'n delicious egg salad sub and a freshly-made apple juice. What a meal!
Then we took the bus 104 to the Polytechnic University in Hung Hom where Birdy had a rehearsal for a play for the Hong Kong Drama Festival. Ah Kwun's in it, too. Around eleven Ah Kwun, Birdy, and I went to East Tsim Sha Tsui. We had our supper and went to the 11:50 screening of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" at the Chinachem cinema on Mody Road. I was so impressed by the size of the theatre and the screen. They even had curtain across the front of the screen, an oddity in cinemas nowadays, which I absolutely adored. They even had screenings at 1:30 and 3:30 in the morning. Can you believe that?
"Pirates" was a 150-minute long entertaining blockbuster. Noisy. Lots of drumming (a Caribbean necessity perhaps). Quite a number of funny bits. I liked the swinging bony cageball. And the fruity Johnny Depp kebab. Didn't know that the squidhead Davy Jones was played by the wonderful Bill Nighy. Depp's a cutey as usual.
Signing off for now.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
Braving the 2nd Round of "5 Takes" Casting
Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings.
Just about two hours ago I submitted my vlog and blog to the Discovery Travel & Living team for casting purpose for its show "5 Takes" just barely in time before the midnight deadline. What a thrill!
My friend Fung sent me the finished product at around nine in the evening. He was supposed to send me a preliminary version at noon, since he promised so on Friday night when we met in Wong Tai Sin for more discussion on the project. He gave me a call to let me know that he had already emailed it to me. I asked him how long he had been working on it. "Since two in the afternoon," he confessed honestly. "You were supposed to let me see a tentative version by noon," I slashed out at him, as I went nuts when I checked my email at noon and found nothing.
Anyway, the finished vlog is surprisingly moving with the photos and the music of Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major" accompanying the narration. Something to be corrected though. The cast photo of UW-Madison's University Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" should not be spliced with the photo taken by the Thames in London with fellow classmates of the RADA's summer school.
Something to be improved. The pic of the Fountain Brewery at Edinburgh should be placed in a different spot rather than the current one when I said, "Lots of fun," as if I had lots of fun at the brewery flooding pints after pints into my belly, which was absolutely not the case.
Whatever.
I cannot thank Fung and Barry enough for their terrific, hard work in this project.
Thank you, Fung! Thank you, Barry! Couldn't have done it without you guys!
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Greetings.
Just about two hours ago I submitted my vlog and blog to the Discovery Travel & Living team for casting purpose for its show "5 Takes" just barely in time before the midnight deadline. What a thrill!
My friend Fung sent me the finished product at around nine in the evening. He was supposed to send me a preliminary version at noon, since he promised so on Friday night when we met in Wong Tai Sin for more discussion on the project. He gave me a call to let me know that he had already emailed it to me. I asked him how long he had been working on it. "Since two in the afternoon," he confessed honestly. "You were supposed to let me see a tentative version by noon," I slashed out at him, as I went nuts when I checked my email at noon and found nothing.
Anyway, the finished vlog is surprisingly moving with the photos and the music of Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major" accompanying the narration. Something to be corrected though. The cast photo of UW-Madison's University Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" should not be spliced with the photo taken by the Thames in London with fellow classmates of the RADA's summer school.
Something to be improved. The pic of the Fountain Brewery at Edinburgh should be placed in a different spot rather than the current one when I said, "Lots of fun," as if I had lots of fun at the brewery flooding pints after pints into my belly, which was absolutely not the case.
Whatever.
I cannot thank Fung and Barry enough for their terrific, hard work in this project.
Thank you, Fung! Thank you, Barry! Couldn't have done it without you guys!
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
A Moment of Coincidence
Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings.
10th August, 2006
My friend Fung and I were supposed to meet in Wan Chai at 7:15 pm to talk about how we should edit the video log for the "5 Takes" casting. I was accompanying Gillian to go to Central to pick up her paycheck. Afterwards, Gillian and I were walking in the streets. At one moment I borrowed Gillian's mobile phone, and I was about to call Fung, since Fung's office's in Central. I was just thinking that we could actually meet in Central instead of traveling to Wan Chai, when, all of a sudden, I heard Fung's voice, "Oh, you're looking for me?" I just couldn't imagine how this would happen. Fung said that he wouldn't have come down that street if he had decided to take the MTR to go to Wan Chai to meet me. Somehow he wanted to take the tram, and I was just about to give him a call. And then he ran into me. Just like that.
Eventually we did take a tram together to go to Wan Chai. We had our dinner at the Hong Kong Super Restaurant (香港超級餐廳), watched the video Barry and I shot that morning, and we also watched "The Saviour of the Soul" (神鵰俠侶) together. Since I didn't get much sleep the night before, I was dead-tired, and I just lied my head on my hands on the table and fell asleep while Fung was browsing the video.
Just wanna make a note about that.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Greetings.
10th August, 2006
My friend Fung and I were supposed to meet in Wan Chai at 7:15 pm to talk about how we should edit the video log for the "5 Takes" casting. I was accompanying Gillian to go to Central to pick up her paycheck. Afterwards, Gillian and I were walking in the streets. At one moment I borrowed Gillian's mobile phone, and I was about to call Fung, since Fung's office's in Central. I was just thinking that we could actually meet in Central instead of traveling to Wan Chai, when, all of a sudden, I heard Fung's voice, "Oh, you're looking for me?" I just couldn't imagine how this would happen. Fung said that he wouldn't have come down that street if he had decided to take the MTR to go to Wan Chai to meet me. Somehow he wanted to take the tram, and I was just about to give him a call. And then he ran into me. Just like that.
Eventually we did take a tram together to go to Wan Chai. We had our dinner at the Hong Kong Super Restaurant (香港超級餐廳), watched the video Barry and I shot that morning, and we also watched "The Saviour of the Soul" (神鵰俠侶) together. Since I didn't get much sleep the night before, I was dead-tired, and I just lied my head on my hands on the table and fell asleep while Fung was browsing the video.
Just wanna make a note about that.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Becoming a "5 Takes" TJ Hopeful
Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings again.
I almost forgot to tell you the biggest surprise I've ever had at a recent moment.
When I checked my email after I went home after the movies, I got this email from the Discovery Travel & Living Channel:
"Dear 5 Takes TJ hopeful
Congratulations! You've made it through the first round and are just two steps away to becoming a TJ on the new season of Discovery Travel & Living's 5 Takes! To realize your dream, you'll now need to send us a short vlog (video log) telling us more about yourself and why you think you'll make the best 5 Takes TJ. We will also require you to write us a sample blog about a specific travel experience. If we like your vlog and your blog, you'll be invited to a closed-door audition in August so we can meet you in person.
Please go to http://www.travelandlivingasia.com/join5takes/video for detailed instructions and submission details on the sample blog and vlog. You will need to submit them no later than 13 August 2006. If you have any questions, you may direct them to 5takes_asia@discovery.com.
Thanks! We look forward to seeing your submission.
From the Discovery Travel & Living Team"
My God!!! I'm WAAAAAY too shocked!
Immediately I called Fung, and I asked him to help me edit the film-to-be. We're gonna meet in Wan Chai on Thursday night to talk about the editing. Then I called Barry to ask if he could check out a DV camera from his school. We're gonna meet on Thursday morning in Kwai Fong, go to his school, and go for a shoot that morning together. Also I called Octavius to ask him if I could borrow his DV camera. He said, "Yes." But it turned out the camera belongs to Anna, another friend of mine. Octavius and I're gonna meet at two this afternoon at APA, and he's gonna give me the camera PLUS two DV tapes. Fabulous! Then I gave Anna a call to ask for her permission to use her camera. I also called my cousin Burnham, who's just recently relocated back to Hong Kong from Toronto, to be my cameraman, since he used to be one back in Toronto working for a local Chinese TV network.
I haven't come up with any ideas for my very first "vlog" yet. I'm so nervous! And I still need to write a 250-word sample blog. And the whole thing should be sent to the folks at Discovery no later than 13th August. Oh, God!!! I'M FREEEAAAKIIING OOOUT!!!
God bless this.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Greetings again.
I almost forgot to tell you the biggest surprise I've ever had at a recent moment.
When I checked my email after I went home after the movies, I got this email from the Discovery Travel & Living Channel:
"Dear 5 Takes TJ hopeful
Congratulations! You've made it through the first round and are just two steps away to becoming a TJ on the new season of Discovery Travel & Living's 5 Takes! To realize your dream, you'll now need to send us a short vlog (video log) telling us more about yourself and why you think you'll make the best 5 Takes TJ. We will also require you to write us a sample blog about a specific travel experience. If we like your vlog and your blog, you'll be invited to a closed-door audition in August so we can meet you in person.
Please go to http://www.travelandlivingasia.com/join5takes/video for detailed instructions and submission details on the sample blog and vlog. You will need to submit them no later than 13 August 2006. If you have any questions, you may direct them to 5takes_asia@discovery.com.
Thanks! We look forward to seeing your submission.
From the Discovery Travel & Living Team"
My God!!! I'm WAAAAAY too shocked!
Immediately I called Fung, and I asked him to help me edit the film-to-be. We're gonna meet in Wan Chai on Thursday night to talk about the editing. Then I called Barry to ask if he could check out a DV camera from his school. We're gonna meet on Thursday morning in Kwai Fong, go to his school, and go for a shoot that morning together. Also I called Octavius to ask him if I could borrow his DV camera. He said, "Yes." But it turned out the camera belongs to Anna, another friend of mine. Octavius and I're gonna meet at two this afternoon at APA, and he's gonna give me the camera PLUS two DV tapes. Fabulous! Then I gave Anna a call to ask for her permission to use her camera. I also called my cousin Burnham, who's just recently relocated back to Hong Kong from Toronto, to be my cameraman, since he used to be one back in Toronto working for a local Chinese TV network.
I haven't come up with any ideas for my very first "vlog" yet. I'm so nervous! And I still need to write a 250-word sample blog. And the whole thing should be sent to the folks at Discovery no later than 13th August. Oh, God!!! I'M FREEEAAAKIIING OOOUT!!!
God bless this.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Third of August
Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings.
3rd August, 2006
Dined with Mui in Tai Wo. She's one of my "sisters" at the Chinese Independent Baptist Church in San Francisco's Chinatown back in those days when I was studying at the City College of San Francisco. Mui's mom and sister were supposed to be there, but, thanks to the typhoon Prapiroon with a maximum sustained windspeed at 130 km/hour, they chose to stay at home. Well, but thanks to their absence, Mui and I had a great time of sharing our views and feelings regarding our own spiritual situations. Both of us were encouraged by each other's feedback and advice.
We came to a conclusion. That whenever we feel like giving up doing certain thing, we should go back to the very beginning and ask ourselves why on earth we started doing it, and we probably will realize that there is always something very fundamentally true, inspiring, and meaningful about what motivates and compels us to involve ourselves in it. Very likely, at the very beginning, we first noticed the needs of the needed. Then we started having a sense of mission and responsibility that we had to do something about it. We had to make a difference.
We had to. We have to. We're going to. We can and we will.
4th August, 2006
Went to Central to meet my friend Fung and his classmate Barry. Both of them are students from the Department of Multimedia and Internet Technology at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education's Tsing Yi campus. Fung's joined a short film contest organized by the Chinese version of Yahoo! Auctions, and he recruited Birdy and I to be the actors in his digital video commercial. Today we focused shooting only those footages with me in it. The shooting mainly took place at Lan Kwai Fong in Central.
Around 4 pm I went to APA (Academy for Performing Arts) to meet William Yip, who directed me in an APA's production of Arabian Nights last year. We talked about me joining his team teaching drama workshops to elementary and secondary school students. I had a great time listening to Will and chatting with him. He is one of the most experienced in his field.
Afterwards I had a comfortable walk to Wyndham Street, and I wandered into On Lan Street, I think, since I noticed that there were crowds of people hanging out on the pavement outside this tiny boutique and across the street. New parties dressed in the latest fashion kept arriving into the scene. Fashion models. Hair-stylists. Some were drinking, some taking photos, and some chatting and whispering into each other's ears. Everyone was so . . . chic. Everyone. Except me, lying against the wall watching, observing, witnessing the whole business. The whole show.
Later I looked down on my watch. 7:45 pm. I picked up my feet and arrived at the Fringe Club on time to see my friend Octavius's play "Jack's Life." I think that he wrote it and co-directed it. It was very fun. Another friend of mine Yu is in it as well. She played Jack's wife, and I think that she did a pretty good job. Bravo, Yu!
5th August, 2006
Around 2:30 pm I met other ushers from my church at the Neway City Karaoke in Mongkok. We sang for a while, held a meeting, sang some more, and then that was it. Went back to church to attend the service. After the service, thanks to Iris, one of my fellow ushers, and her provocation, I bought 10 environmental-friendly shopping bags and just started giving them away to my fellow cell-group members.
6th August, 2006
Around eight in the morning I went to Central again to meet Fung and Barry to finish the shooting of the commercial. Birdy's late. Very late. She didn't appear until half past ten, I think. I had tons of fun poking fun at her. I left around 12:30 pm, since I need to go to Gavin's house for a choir practice for Gavin's upcoming wedding on 9th September.
7th August, 2006
At 2 pm I was at the Hong Kong Park near Admiralty to shoot a television commercial for the Cable TV, and I played an office worker. I wore a white shirt, black tie, black pants, black socks, and black leather shoes. My friend Christy was there as well, playing an office lady or OL. There were some other folks, too: a bunch of young people skateboarding and doing Hip Hop and break dance, a female flight attendant, a young lady dressed in a short, bright yellow dress, and a Caucasian priest. Christy and I waited and waited. Until about five, I think, the whole gang went to the pavilion with water flowing down from its roof and finished shooting the last part.
And what d'ya know? The crew asked me to sit on a park bench dosing off. Wake up. And run towards the camera. Later we were asked to dance inside the pavilion. Wet. Wet. Wet. Once done Christy and I went straight to the squash centre to get our wet clothes changed.
Then I laboriously went to Sai Kung to dine with my friends Donut, Babyjohn, Susanne, Octavius, Bee, Yu, and Alyson in a Thai restaurant. We didn't seem to have enough food, and we kept ordering more and more. After dinner we first went to Choi Hung by minibus. On the minibus there was this passenger smoking secretly, so Octavius first informed the driver in Cantonese, and then he asked Alyson to tell the passenger not to smoke in English. Finally, Yu warned the passenger in Mandarin. That's Hong Kong!
Once we got to Choi Hung MTR station, Susanne and I took the MTR to Kowloon Tong and took the train. I had a great time chatting with Susanne, especially that evening she looked beautiful in her colourful flowery dress.
8th August, 2006
Dined at Cafe de Coral in Mongkok. This was what I had:
Banana Split Sizzling Plate (HK$39)
-Seafood and Sweet Corn Soup Au Gratin
-Banana Split
-Baked Potato
-New Zealand sirloin steak on a sizzling plate
-Red bean fleecy w/ice-cream & chocolate roll (+HK$6)
It was delicious!
Afterwards I went to see Francois Ozon's "A Curtain Raiser"(2006) and "5 x 2"(2004) at the HKIFF Summer Pops at UA Langham Place. Those human faces, hair, and the bodies were so beautiful.
Signing off here and now.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Greetings.
3rd August, 2006
Dined with Mui in Tai Wo. She's one of my "sisters" at the Chinese Independent Baptist Church in San Francisco's Chinatown back in those days when I was studying at the City College of San Francisco. Mui's mom and sister were supposed to be there, but, thanks to the typhoon Prapiroon with a maximum sustained windspeed at 130 km/hour, they chose to stay at home. Well, but thanks to their absence, Mui and I had a great time of sharing our views and feelings regarding our own spiritual situations. Both of us were encouraged by each other's feedback and advice.
We came to a conclusion. That whenever we feel like giving up doing certain thing, we should go back to the very beginning and ask ourselves why on earth we started doing it, and we probably will realize that there is always something very fundamentally true, inspiring, and meaningful about what motivates and compels us to involve ourselves in it. Very likely, at the very beginning, we first noticed the needs of the needed. Then we started having a sense of mission and responsibility that we had to do something about it. We had to make a difference.
We had to. We have to. We're going to. We can and we will.
4th August, 2006
Went to Central to meet my friend Fung and his classmate Barry. Both of them are students from the Department of Multimedia and Internet Technology at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education's Tsing Yi campus. Fung's joined a short film contest organized by the Chinese version of Yahoo! Auctions, and he recruited Birdy and I to be the actors in his digital video commercial. Today we focused shooting only those footages with me in it. The shooting mainly took place at Lan Kwai Fong in Central.
Around 4 pm I went to APA (Academy for Performing Arts) to meet William Yip, who directed me in an APA's production of Arabian Nights last year. We talked about me joining his team teaching drama workshops to elementary and secondary school students. I had a great time listening to Will and chatting with him. He is one of the most experienced in his field.
Afterwards I had a comfortable walk to Wyndham Street, and I wandered into On Lan Street, I think, since I noticed that there were crowds of people hanging out on the pavement outside this tiny boutique and across the street. New parties dressed in the latest fashion kept arriving into the scene. Fashion models. Hair-stylists. Some were drinking, some taking photos, and some chatting and whispering into each other's ears. Everyone was so . . . chic. Everyone. Except me, lying against the wall watching, observing, witnessing the whole business. The whole show.
Later I looked down on my watch. 7:45 pm. I picked up my feet and arrived at the Fringe Club on time to see my friend Octavius's play "Jack's Life." I think that he wrote it and co-directed it. It was very fun. Another friend of mine Yu is in it as well. She played Jack's wife, and I think that she did a pretty good job. Bravo, Yu!
5th August, 2006
Around 2:30 pm I met other ushers from my church at the Neway City Karaoke in Mongkok. We sang for a while, held a meeting, sang some more, and then that was it. Went back to church to attend the service. After the service, thanks to Iris, one of my fellow ushers, and her provocation, I bought 10 environmental-friendly shopping bags and just started giving them away to my fellow cell-group members.
6th August, 2006
Around eight in the morning I went to Central again to meet Fung and Barry to finish the shooting of the commercial. Birdy's late. Very late. She didn't appear until half past ten, I think. I had tons of fun poking fun at her. I left around 12:30 pm, since I need to go to Gavin's house for a choir practice for Gavin's upcoming wedding on 9th September.
7th August, 2006
At 2 pm I was at the Hong Kong Park near Admiralty to shoot a television commercial for the Cable TV, and I played an office worker. I wore a white shirt, black tie, black pants, black socks, and black leather shoes. My friend Christy was there as well, playing an office lady or OL. There were some other folks, too: a bunch of young people skateboarding and doing Hip Hop and break dance, a female flight attendant, a young lady dressed in a short, bright yellow dress, and a Caucasian priest. Christy and I waited and waited. Until about five, I think, the whole gang went to the pavilion with water flowing down from its roof and finished shooting the last part.
And what d'ya know? The crew asked me to sit on a park bench dosing off. Wake up. And run towards the camera. Later we were asked to dance inside the pavilion. Wet. Wet. Wet. Once done Christy and I went straight to the squash centre to get our wet clothes changed.
Then I laboriously went to Sai Kung to dine with my friends Donut, Babyjohn, Susanne, Octavius, Bee, Yu, and Alyson in a Thai restaurant. We didn't seem to have enough food, and we kept ordering more and more. After dinner we first went to Choi Hung by minibus. On the minibus there was this passenger smoking secretly, so Octavius first informed the driver in Cantonese, and then he asked Alyson to tell the passenger not to smoke in English. Finally, Yu warned the passenger in Mandarin. That's Hong Kong!
Once we got to Choi Hung MTR station, Susanne and I took the MTR to Kowloon Tong and took the train. I had a great time chatting with Susanne, especially that evening she looked beautiful in her colourful flowery dress.
8th August, 2006
Dined at Cafe de Coral in Mongkok. This was what I had:
Banana Split Sizzling Plate (HK$39)
-Seafood and Sweet Corn Soup Au Gratin
-Banana Split
-Baked Potato
-New Zealand sirloin steak on a sizzling plate
-Red bean fleecy w/ice-cream & chocolate roll (+HK$6)
It was delicious!
Afterwards I went to see Francois Ozon's "A Curtain Raiser"(2006) and "5 x 2"(2004) at the HKIFF Summer Pops at UA Langham Place. Those human faces, hair, and the bodies were so beautiful.
Signing off here and now.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Second of August
Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings.
I wish to continue to tell you what I did in the past few evenings.
31st July, 2006
I took my bike and went out for a nice night ride.
Here's the route:
Home--Star Seafood Floating Restaurant--Belair Gardens--Garden Rivera--Jat Min Chuen--Che Kung Temple--Man Lai Court--Hong Kong Heritage Museum--Sha Tin Central Park--Hong Kong Sports Institute--Sha Tin Race Course--Kam Tai Court--Kam Fung Court--Ma On Shan Park
When I went past the Ma On Shan Park, I noticed that there was this dark, tiny path. I was curious where it would lead to, so I just dived into it. Quickly I went down a steep slope and ended up on a small beach, but the sand was quite coarse that I had to get off from my bike. In the distance there were two women sitting and chatting on the shore, and near the shallow end of the water there were a couple of bare-chested middle-aged men in their undies walking and searching in the water. Turned out they were actually just checking on their net to see if they had caught any fish. There was also this ferry pier stretching out into the water, and there were some people hanging out on the pier.
I walked my bike towards the pier, and I took a pee in the dark side of the shore, hoping no one would notice. Then I pushed my bike up the stairs and went onto the pier. I could see the stars in the sky, even though there's a lot of light coming from the housing estates. There's the Big Dipper that helped me locate Polaris of the Little Dipper and Arcturus of the Bear Driver. I could also spot the Summer Triangle (Vega of the Lyre, Deneb of the Swan, and Altair of the Eagle) pretty easily, and there's the Northern Cross (or the Swan). I saw the "teapot" of the Archer and the Scorpion as well. What a sight! Haven't seen them for such a long time.
1st August, 2006
In order to get into the Sony Ericsson Soft Hard Long Time No See Concert, I spent HK$400 to get the very last ticket available at Hong Kong Coliseum's box office just 15 minutes before the official showtime of 8:15 pm. Tons of people were lining up to get a hold of some of the memorabilia. So did I. I got a HK$320 cap for my cousin Burnham for his 27th birthday, a HK$80 shopping bag (HK$180 originally if without any other purchase). After the show I also got myself a HK$170 pass-string.
The show, which started around 8:30 pm, was tons of fun. Every audience received a plastic Softhard mask (red for Jan; yellow for Eric; mine's Eric) and a pair of blow-up ping pong cheer tubes. Eason Chan had a brilliant appearance and performance of his tunes including the McDonald's TV commercial theme song ("Ba La Ba Ba Ba..."), 夕陽無限好, and 浮誇. Some of the Softhard's trade-mark repartee worked better than the others, and it felt like that the classic comic duo might not be as bitingly funny as they used to be in the 90s. However, perhaps because this was a concert, the two clowns didn't get to converse, which was what they do best and was the very act most of the hardcore fans hoped to witness again after a 10-year lapse, as much as they sang and danced.
The time when Softhard began reminiscing was most touching. What a miraculous journey they've had together! Didn't know that they first met when they attended the Caritas Bianchi College of Careers (明愛白英奇專業學校). Time past by so quickly. So was the show, which ended around 11:30 pm. After the show I went to the stage door, and I could see that two layers of fence were already lined up with a couple of security guards wearing light blue shirts and dark blue trousers standing by, but there were only a few fans waiting. I am one of them. Not a fanatic myself though, but I was in the mood. Hey, besides, I paid four hundred bucks. I wanted to see them up close and personal, so to speak.
Greetings.
I wish to continue to tell you what I did in the past few evenings.
31st July, 2006
I took my bike and went out for a nice night ride.
Here's the route:
Home--Star Seafood Floating Restaurant--Belair Gardens--Garden Rivera--Jat Min Chuen--Che Kung Temple--Man Lai Court--Hong Kong Heritage Museum--Sha Tin Central Park--Hong Kong Sports Institute--Sha Tin Race Course--Kam Tai Court--Kam Fung Court--Ma On Shan Park
When I went past the Ma On Shan Park, I noticed that there was this dark, tiny path. I was curious where it would lead to, so I just dived into it. Quickly I went down a steep slope and ended up on a small beach, but the sand was quite coarse that I had to get off from my bike. In the distance there were two women sitting and chatting on the shore, and near the shallow end of the water there were a couple of bare-chested middle-aged men in their undies walking and searching in the water. Turned out they were actually just checking on their net to see if they had caught any fish. There was also this ferry pier stretching out into the water, and there were some people hanging out on the pier.
I walked my bike towards the pier, and I took a pee in the dark side of the shore, hoping no one would notice. Then I pushed my bike up the stairs and went onto the pier. I could see the stars in the sky, even though there's a lot of light coming from the housing estates. There's the Big Dipper that helped me locate Polaris of the Little Dipper and Arcturus of the Bear Driver. I could also spot the Summer Triangle (Vega of the Lyre, Deneb of the Swan, and Altair of the Eagle) pretty easily, and there's the Northern Cross (or the Swan). I saw the "teapot" of the Archer and the Scorpion as well. What a sight! Haven't seen them for such a long time.
1st August, 2006
In order to get into the Sony Ericsson Soft Hard Long Time No See Concert, I spent HK$400 to get the very last ticket available at Hong Kong Coliseum's box office just 15 minutes before the official showtime of 8:15 pm. Tons of people were lining up to get a hold of some of the memorabilia. So did I. I got a HK$320 cap for my cousin Burnham for his 27th birthday, a HK$80 shopping bag (HK$180 originally if without any other purchase). After the show I also got myself a HK$170 pass-string.
The show, which started around 8:30 pm, was tons of fun. Every audience received a plastic Softhard mask (red for Jan; yellow for Eric; mine's Eric) and a pair of blow-up ping pong cheer tubes. Eason Chan had a brilliant appearance and performance of his tunes including the McDonald's TV commercial theme song ("Ba La Ba Ba Ba..."), 夕陽無限好, and 浮誇. Some of the Softhard's trade-mark repartee worked better than the others, and it felt like that the classic comic duo might not be as bitingly funny as they used to be in the 90s. However, perhaps because this was a concert, the two clowns didn't get to converse, which was what they do best and was the very act most of the hardcore fans hoped to witness again after a 10-year lapse, as much as they sang and danced.
The time when Softhard began reminiscing was most touching. What a miraculous journey they've had together! Didn't know that they first met when they attended the Caritas Bianchi College of Careers (明愛白英奇專業學校). Time past by so quickly. So was the show, which ended around 11:30 pm. After the show I went to the stage door, and I could see that two layers of fence were already lined up with a couple of security guards wearing light blue shirts and dark blue trousers standing by, but there were only a few fans waiting. I am one of them. Not a fanatic myself though, but I was in the mood. Hey, besides, I paid four hundred bucks. I wanted to see them up close and personal, so to speak.
It's close to midnight, but so far all I could see was musicians, dancers, and backstage crew who were dressed in trendy clothes leaving in small groups. Then all of a sudden came a youthful, all-male, SWAT-team-like group of security guards wearing navy blue caps, shirts, pants, and black boots. One of them stood right in front of me, and once a while we looked at each other embarrassingly. I smiled.
Then Jan and Eric came out. light Flashed. Eric went straight into the van. Jan came near to the fence as if he's just been released from the prison. He seemed uncomfortable. His smile seemed forced. It looked like he's thinking,"Gee, I'm way too exhausted to say anything, and, besides, I dunno what to say. Anybody I know here? No? Oh, hey, you there, how's it goin? Yeah, yeah, thanks for coming. Alright, gotta go now. 'K, see ya."
He waved. I waved back. They were gone.
I prefer the Softhard on stage. The Softhard that is soft, like a ball of fluffy, tickling, colourful feathers and is hard as a glaring diamond.
Afterwards, I walked into the Hung Hom train station right across the street opposite the Coliseum. In the lobby there were these people fast asleep in the chairs, tilting their overworked bodies in different angles and to different directions. 45' forward. 30' backward. 90' left. 15' right. 110' northeast. 5' southwest.
Next I let the escalator take me down to the platform. Seeing all the other passengers just stood very much separately, alone, I started humming to myself and pacing from one end of the platform to the other, and what d'ya know? There's the security guy standing right in front of me. Again. He looked at me. I smiled, tightly pressing my lips together.
The train slided into the station, and I caught a glimpse of someone, in one compartment, whom I know. I walked towards him and sat right next to him. "Hello," I said with a smile. It was Siu Lung. He smelled drunk. He told me that he had a drink with Ah Zong, who played Claudius in "Hamlet," after he finished ushering for the show "Only You" that starred Ms. Chan Po-Chu and Mr. Adam Cheng Siu-chau. I gave him the yellow Eric mask as well as the blow-up cheer tubes which hadn't been used at all. His destination's Tai Wo. Mine's Sha Tin. We said our goodbyes.
2nd August, 2006
Went to the public library in Shatin. Wanted to check out Jose Saramago's novel "Blindness" before attending the performance of the play. It's checked out already. Oh, well.
Went across to the Sha Tin Town Hall to go to the restroom. Thinking about going to a screening of Anime & Fantasy, I made a phone call at a pay-phone. Birdy declined. I made another call. "Nah,"replied Suzanne. Oh, well.
Got myself two ticks. Two screenings in a row.
Walked across the Shing Mun River through the Lik Yuen Bridge. Quite windy. And rainy. The strong wind signal No. 3 was hoisted. Thanks to Prapiroon the typhoon.
Took a bus to Tsimshatsui. Got off at St. Andrew's Church. Walked to TST East and had my dinner at a noodle shop.
Walked to the Hong Kong Science Museum's Lecture Hall.
6:30 pm
"Negadon: The Monster from Mars"
Dir: Jun Awazu
Japan 2005 Colour 26 min
"Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek"
Dir: Shuhei Morita & Daisuke Sajiki
Japan 2005 Colour 25 min
"Norabbits Minutes"
Japan 2006 Colour 3 min
8:00 pm
"Ray the Animation"
Dir: Naohito Takahashi
Japan 2006 Colour 88 min
Time to sign off.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
First of August
Dear Mr. Net,
Greetings.
Recent happenings:
1. Sightings of a nine-year-old kid watching Cartoon Network all the time right here at my home. His name is Milton Gao. He's in fourth grade. He always says,"Greetings." And "Farewell." He sleeps, and then he wakes up in the morning. Drinks his Chinese medicinal soup (for his rash). Turns on the TV, and just sits there. Sometimes he does jumping jacks and walks without raising his feet across the floor for exercise. He likes cup noodles. Various parts of his meal always land on his shirt, his pants, the dining table, and the floor. He's a comics addict, and his favs are Zatchbell, Naruto, and Dragon Ball Z. His mom (my aunt) even sent him a bunch in a U.S. Mail parcel box by air. He's suffering from some kind of rash that makes him feel very itchy all over his body, so he scratches himself a lot, even when he's sleeping, which can be a very painful sight. He lives in the states, and he's visiting H.K. to have a doctor look at his skin and take good care of him. On Sunday, July 30th, he was kind enough to accompany me to go to the AMC theatres at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong to see "Monster House," which was not as amazing as I expected. Good for toddlers, kindergarten and elementary school kids perhaps. Not so sure about pre-teens. Certainly there are more than a few funny moments. No big laughs though. Cute. But not captivating.
2. Got done with "Hamlet" last Sunday. Next day I had myself a brilliant hair-cut and a good shave. "Brilliant" meaning no more fuzzy hairdo in the mornings. "Good" meaning no more quasi-moustache and quasi-goatee. Last Tuesday evening at a Taiwanese restaurant named Fragrant Peach was the graduate dinner. All but one of my classmates were present. Where are you, Ah Yeong? Wish you were there. The lecturers (Ceci, Suk Yi, Shu Wing, and Hoi Fai) were there. And what a surprise! Dr. Jiang, the dean of drama school, was there. The Karaoke's so much fun. We sang Leo Koo's pop medley "Jade Solid Gold" together with each of us from the two different tables took turn to finish each individual excerpt. I sang songs of Joey Yung, Alan Tam, and Hackin Lee. My classmates played mah-jong with the faculty as well. The food's great. The atmosphere's ok. Not because of the place. Just that at my table the chemistry between people wasn't that great. Susanne was talking to Birdy. Yu and Donut was chatting with me in between them. On the other side of the table Suk Yi and some of the boys just pretty much sat there and didn't talk much. The more recent karaoke songs weren't seem to be the faculty's cup of tea, while the more old-fashioned pop songs from the 80s and 90s kept most of the crowd nice and quiet. Raymond, Guai, Babyjohn, Yeong Ching, and Freddie did once again impersonate the Backstreet Boys right before Suk Yi and Dr. Jiang left. Afterwards the energy dropped even further. Phoenix and Gillian were each standing on a chair singing. The games of mah-jong continued. My fellow classmates departed one by one. Until Christy, Jacqueline, and I were the only ones who were singing with eight people playing mah-jong on the other end of the room. Eventually, we left together, but the crowd still lingered downstairs on the Lockhart Road right infront of the restaurant's main entrance. We stood there and chatted for almost an hour. We even had the honour of having Jim Chim and his crowd run into us and said our hellos and goodbyes. Later Susanne, Birdy and I walked to the bus stop opposite the Southorn Playground and waited for our buses. N182 arrived first, and there went Susanne. Then came the N680. Birdy and I got on it and went upstairs. I probably looked really upset because Birdy told me so. Yeah. I was dead tired. Kind of depressed. In a bad mood. Birdy reminded me that the bus journey might be the last of its kind for both of us. She held on to my left arm and leaned her head against my left shoulder. She started singing, and then I started singing as well. She started crying, and I followed. I sang Anita Mui's 似水流年 , Teresa Tang's 漫步人生路, and Alan Tam's 朋友. My tears just flooded down across my face. My stop was near. I got up and walked toward the staircase. I said to Birdy, "Bye Bye lah 柏芝." And She replied, "Bye Bye lah Ho Long." I went down the stairs, got off the bus, turned around, and looked up. Bus began moving. I started running. We kept waving to each other till we couldn't see each other anymore. That was the climax. The event of the night. The moment.
Signing off now.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
Greetings.
Recent happenings:
1. Sightings of a nine-year-old kid watching Cartoon Network all the time right here at my home. His name is Milton Gao. He's in fourth grade. He always says,"Greetings." And "Farewell." He sleeps, and then he wakes up in the morning. Drinks his Chinese medicinal soup (for his rash). Turns on the TV, and just sits there. Sometimes he does jumping jacks and walks without raising his feet across the floor for exercise. He likes cup noodles. Various parts of his meal always land on his shirt, his pants, the dining table, and the floor. He's a comics addict, and his favs are Zatchbell, Naruto, and Dragon Ball Z. His mom (my aunt) even sent him a bunch in a U.S. Mail parcel box by air. He's suffering from some kind of rash that makes him feel very itchy all over his body, so he scratches himself a lot, even when he's sleeping, which can be a very painful sight. He lives in the states, and he's visiting H.K. to have a doctor look at his skin and take good care of him. On Sunday, July 30th, he was kind enough to accompany me to go to the AMC theatres at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong to see "Monster House," which was not as amazing as I expected. Good for toddlers, kindergarten and elementary school kids perhaps. Not so sure about pre-teens. Certainly there are more than a few funny moments. No big laughs though. Cute. But not captivating.
2. Got done with "Hamlet" last Sunday. Next day I had myself a brilliant hair-cut and a good shave. "Brilliant" meaning no more fuzzy hairdo in the mornings. "Good" meaning no more quasi-moustache and quasi-goatee. Last Tuesday evening at a Taiwanese restaurant named Fragrant Peach was the graduate dinner. All but one of my classmates were present. Where are you, Ah Yeong? Wish you were there. The lecturers (Ceci, Suk Yi, Shu Wing, and Hoi Fai) were there. And what a surprise! Dr. Jiang, the dean of drama school, was there. The Karaoke's so much fun. We sang Leo Koo's pop medley "Jade Solid Gold" together with each of us from the two different tables took turn to finish each individual excerpt. I sang songs of Joey Yung, Alan Tam, and Hackin Lee. My classmates played mah-jong with the faculty as well. The food's great. The atmosphere's ok. Not because of the place. Just that at my table the chemistry between people wasn't that great. Susanne was talking to Birdy. Yu and Donut was chatting with me in between them. On the other side of the table Suk Yi and some of the boys just pretty much sat there and didn't talk much. The more recent karaoke songs weren't seem to be the faculty's cup of tea, while the more old-fashioned pop songs from the 80s and 90s kept most of the crowd nice and quiet. Raymond, Guai, Babyjohn, Yeong Ching, and Freddie did once again impersonate the Backstreet Boys right before Suk Yi and Dr. Jiang left. Afterwards the energy dropped even further. Phoenix and Gillian were each standing on a chair singing. The games of mah-jong continued. My fellow classmates departed one by one. Until Christy, Jacqueline, and I were the only ones who were singing with eight people playing mah-jong on the other end of the room. Eventually, we left together, but the crowd still lingered downstairs on the Lockhart Road right infront of the restaurant's main entrance. We stood there and chatted for almost an hour. We even had the honour of having Jim Chim and his crowd run into us and said our hellos and goodbyes. Later Susanne, Birdy and I walked to the bus stop opposite the Southorn Playground and waited for our buses. N182 arrived first, and there went Susanne. Then came the N680. Birdy and I got on it and went upstairs. I probably looked really upset because Birdy told me so. Yeah. I was dead tired. Kind of depressed. In a bad mood. Birdy reminded me that the bus journey might be the last of its kind for both of us. She held on to my left arm and leaned her head against my left shoulder. She started singing, and then I started singing as well. She started crying, and I followed. I sang Anita Mui's 似水流年 , Teresa Tang's 漫步人生路, and Alan Tam's 朋友. My tears just flooded down across my face. My stop was near. I got up and walked toward the staircase. I said to Birdy, "Bye Bye lah 柏芝." And She replied, "Bye Bye lah Ho Long." I went down the stairs, got off the bus, turned around, and looked up. Bus began moving. I started running. We kept waving to each other till we couldn't see each other anymore. That was the climax. The event of the night. The moment.
Signing off now.
Yours sincerely,
B. H.
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