Illusion of Words

TV/Medal Count Thoughts

I’ve never had such fun watching old shows. There was the closing ceremony on one channel, but I actually opted to watch ‘Murder, She Wrote’, an old TV show. You see, with limited options in Malaysia, classics are not readily available. It was the first time I watched the show, and while the acting wasn’t all that great, the plot is good. Although a consecutive 3 episodes made me kind of tired.

Then there’s the Food Channel. When there’s nothing else to watch, food is always a good option. I have watched all sorts of cooking programs, and beginning to tire of it.

Tonight there will be two Alfred Hitchcock movies on air. Two which I haven’t watched. So looks like I’d be sleeping late - again.

Olympics is finally over. It means no more late nights waiting for some exciting event, while languishing on the couch trying to stay awake for the boring events. There’s the disappointment, and joy of the athletes. I won’t ever be standing on a podium, with a gold medal around my neck, in most likelihood, but how many will ever do that?

By the way, I suppose most people have noticed the medal counts in America and in China are done differently. In USA, they do it by total count of medals. In China/Malaysia/etc, it’s done by number of gold medals. In the beginning it would seem to be just a nationality kind of thing - you know, the respective countries would then be top. But then, USA has always done it that way, and I can’t help thinking, maybe it’s better after all. Back in Malaysia, with the medal count put according to golds, silvers and bronzes are nothing. But then when the medal count is according to total number of medals, suddenly, silvers and bronzes mean a lot too. Silver and bronze, while less than gold, still means something for the country. And I begin to feel my perspective changing. Asians always want to be the best, I guess. Second and third place is almost like failure. But the truth is, 2nd and 3rd is better than almost all of the world. And can that be failure?

Posted in TV/Movies | 1 Comment »

Dogs, eyes

I’m no dog lover. I can’t bear to touch their thick shaggy fur - I don’t know why. I think it’s dirty - but then what is soap for? I keep my distance, hoping it doesn’t try to lick me, as it is always prone to do due to its old age and failing sight.

The dog is old. It can’t frolick about, nor do any silly doggie tricks. Its limbs are stiff. I don’t expect it to live much longer.

But there are times I stare into the deep soft brown eyes of the dog, and I think maybe it isn’t so bad after all. Its eyes are, to say the least, beautiful. For a moment, I feel as if I can understand why eyes are one of the most expressive features. I feel as if dog and human - we could connect. Then it slowly rises and ambles toward me, and I pull away. Maybe not.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

In another Land, new things

It seems so surreal. Now, I’m in a foreign land, miles and miles away from home, sitting in front of a white Macbook, with my iPod Touch next to me. Which is so awesome. I’ve always dreamed of a Macbook, and now that it’s here, in front of me, it seems so hard to believe. And it does live up to its hype (generally). Of course, the free iPod Touch is simply great - it’s free after all, and I managed to jailbreak it, so it’s ten times more awesome now.

Anyway, there was church on Sunday, pretty similar to our Youth Worship, what with the people all being stiff and unemotional during praise and worship (which is my style). At least I could understand the pastor preaching, unlike the previous Sunday, where in a fit of boldness, I went by myself to a Cantonese church. I sat there, hoping no one would talk to me and thus notice my inability to communicate or understand Cantonese. But in the end, though I did not know what the pastor was talking about, I was glad I went, because it happened to be Holy Communion Sunday. Away from the comforts of home, God seems ever closer, ever nearer, ever real.

Posted in General, Church, Music, Computers | 2 Comments »

Typhoon

Having lived in a peaceful tropical area, where it is hot and humid all year long, without any form of natural disasters (save, perhaps, for the flash floods), I’ve never experienced abnormal weather. In Hong Kong, however, typhoons - tropical storms - are a common occurence. It so happened that one came close during my stay here. In fact, right now, the wind is at level 8 (on a scale of 1 - 12?) It would be nice to go out, but really, I don’t want to injure myself or put myself in harm’s way, or appear foolish struggling against the wind.

Strong winds are bound to cause embarassment for any pedestrian with a weak umbrella, which will inevitably be blown about. I look out, and I see the rain blown pretty badly, so that it looks like someone is shoving powder at an angle. No going out today, pretty much everything is shut up.

Posted in General | No Comments »

A Terrapin’s Luck

Back home we have two terrapins, Sir Big and Lady Green. Lady Green should really be renamed Lady Luck. Why? Because many a time, she went missing, and thinking it’d be the last of her, we give up looking. A few hours/days later, she will appear somewhere, and be brought back to the comfort of the plastic tub.

You would think the male terrapin would be more active. Not so. Lady Green is constantly eager to escape from the feeding tub, which has slightly shorter walls than the usual tub. She has escaped countless times. Usually we find her within the next half hour, but sometimes, we don’t find her. And it could go on for three days. Once she was discovered dehydrated and dried after a few days. Sometimes she appeared perfectly alright, crawling about.

She’s one lucky terrapin, destined to live long.

Posted in General | 1 Comment »