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.