transist life in Hongkong

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home
30 Dec 2003
hongkong, China

home again!!! started my long wait for the burnt wound to heal. looking back for the last 3 weeks...what a waste...spend money for nothing! what had I got for X'mas present...probably an ugly scare on my leg! a piece of news today said a small underground casino had been set on fire by revenge. nine people had been seriously burn, the pictures show the wounds of the victims. eee.....mine was just nothing!!! the weather is a big different from Bangkok. coming out from the airport last night and I could see people in heavy jacket. I was digging into my bag to see if I got anything to put on while waiting for the bus. only a shirt could be find while all my belonging had left in Yamamoto's house in Bangkok. gripping my teeth during the 2 hrs ride back home and coated myself with a thick sweater. mom was surprised to see me back home but I offered no explaination since I didn't want her to worry about my injury. there was many unfortune or unlucky thing happened on me this year. if that is what its mean for me in 2003, I wish it will over soon and luckily there was only 2 days left. thank god!!! I will lay low until the end of this year and hope for the best in next year.

new year
2 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



decided to read through 2003 into 2004...!!! not many options for me though! I wouldn't want to struggled with hunderd of thousand of people in the street, just to do the count down and pretend to be happy. I don't know, been a long time I hadn't really do anything on new year eve. now I reading a book from Robert Ludlum(my favour), this one is his last book as he died last year. with the tv on, the screen switch from different area in HK which they had the celebration going on. yeah...people seem happy, but I think the most happier one is the shop/bar/restaurant owner...3...2...1....woaaaaaaahhh....fire work going off, people screaming, jumping....dose it really mean alot to whoever??? for me...it was just another year go by, one more year less in my life....strange...it was quiet here, looking back the last 4 year in YuanYang where I spend my new year eve, same...mostly on my own. but the atmosphere seem more pressing there, at least there was fire cracker going off everywhere by mid-night(our chinese way implied into the western one). the most heard new year wish are...world peace and healthy!!! seem generous and selfish...one is for our self and the other is for the whole world...haa...!! seee...we are people with big heart!!! a piece of news few days ago said the people in HK has the highest IQ in the world...right...???!!! now my medical treatment is mostly clean and dress the wound daily. after 3 days the wound turn from hard(like the outer layer of the yellow cheese) to red flesh. and now I could few the pain and the doctor said it was a good sign. and said I need to hold my leg in the position higher than my heart, by which mean I need to lay down all the time, don't walk too much...and in time flesh and skin might grow again. I hope it wouldn't take too long otherwise I might become a fat pig with dark mark on my leg!!!! I really hate it...I can walk or even run with no problem but...I am not allow to move....!!!

beginning of the year
5 Jan 2004
hongkong, China

can't believe that. saw a piece of news on tv last night, said...in HuBie(China) area they find out a factory which produce soya sauce out from human or whatever hair. the screen show the worker loaded the hair, which look very ulgy and dirty onto a working platform where couple of people sort/beat it loose with a stick. then by boil or whatever method to extract whatever they think is look like or taste like soya sauce. of course...they said they mixed with some sugar and msg as well!!!! said it had been sold out many many tons of this products in that part of China, I hope I hadn't ate any dishes which was cook with this sauce!!!! China..China...China...posion rice, posion oil, posion vegetable, posion flour....how can people do this kind of thing, aren't they not consider their families or relatives or friends might has the chance eat it as well even if they not consider the others in China! what kind of a world we are living in????!!!! The year doesn't start with a good sign. the plane crash in Egypt, a sleeper bus burn up by itself(must be the smoker in the bus) and kill 20 people in eastern China, Sars seem like coming back in GuangDong area with one more cases reported today...bad sign! today is only the 5th of Jan. not to mention the 2 horrible cases before new year...the earthquake in Iran which more than 3000 people died, and the natrual gas leaking in a village in ChongChing area which killed more than 200 people. I hope it won't appear in my diary too often from now on...hope and wish!!!

men with no respect
6 Jan 2004
hongkong, China

a man set off a fire inside the metro while the train was still under the victoria harbour. it was the first time in our MTR history in HK. terrorist was the first reaction from the government. and decided it wasn't after investigation. true...there was not much such thing happen in HK...thank god!!! saw it from the news that the car was badly burn, 14 people need to brought to the hosipital for further observation, and luckily there was no one died from the event. heard they had arrest a guy late last night who went to a hosipital for a burning wound in his arm, and which alarm the in house police there. so...soon we will find out what the hell that man trying to do which might cause thousand of people lifes with his! Again...the civet cat became the victim for the up coming Sars incedent! said they will kill all the civet car in the provinence in the coming 5 days. why...??? those cat live in the forest or mountain by nature, our men(to be precise...our Chinese men)brought them out to the society for our(some of our)people menu. I will say those need to be terminate are the restaurant owners and their customers whose sell or eat wild animal. again...this time same came out in GuangDong, there was no denial this time. people just go right back into bussiness after they lift the alert of Sars from last September. all sort of animal can be find in the market, and forgot what had happened just few months earlier. I hate and with no respect to those people, why??? you can do whatever you like as long as you can keep it within yourself. but this...as it already known that Sars is coming out from eat or get too close to those animals. and they still do it openly and now...it might spread again. I can vision now everyone wearing mask on the street..I mean...if people dare go out to the street! today the government announce that everyone must wear mask if they are going into a hosipital, doctor, nurse, patient and visitor!!! you are on your own risk man!

aged
8 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



Sorry to hear about the death of Yamamoto’s mother. For a 90 years old woman, as Yamamoto said she had live a long life to see the world and pass away in this age peacefully. He made it back to Japan in time to be with her mother for the last moment, and now he need to be there to arrange the rest of the funeral. I wish he will get over the sadness soon. I did read a piece of news today about Japan said…women in Japan will be count as* aunt*(aged woman) when they are reach the age of 30, for men(uncle) will be 40 year of age. So…for Yamamoto’s mom with 90 year of age will be count as a very long life! Looking back to my own mom. Every time I came back home to HK and I will notice that she had aged a little, you know…the sign of senility. I was so scare to think about the word *death*. So far I had never experience any death within my family(touch wood and thank god), I really don’t know what to expect or how I will handle it if there is any of this natural thing happen later. So…I always throw myself into the fundamental idea of Buddhism…all the sorrow, pain and sadness are cause by couldn’t gave away the longing, lust, wanting and relation of reality. Somehow it can ease my mind a bit by thinking in this way!

hope for the best
11 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



"the next available appointment for skin transplant operation will be at May, and you need another month for the wound to recovery afterward". that was what the doctor told me yesterday. doctor David Wong is probably the most caring, gentle doctor that I had come across so far. he will take time to inspect and explain what my problem are, how should I deal with it and what precaution I should take. I went to his clinic everyday to dress my wound. until now the fresh had already explode so I could feel the pain when the nurse clean the wound, and that was the good sign according to the doctor. and from now on...nothing I can do but clean it everyday to prevent infection and wait for the wound to heal. otherwise I can try the skin transplant operation which might shorten the time duration. private doctor will cost a lot, better go to the government hosipital. but now...May...or even more June or later...I mean...if my wound dosen't heal by itself by that time, then it will be something very nasty and serious. and I don't believe it will take that long to heal the wound by itself. so...I don't know...just wait and see and do as the doctor told me and hope for the best outcome! guess I gonna figure out a plan B or even plan C now!

racism
13 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



America…ahhhh..America…!!! the news said from now on people need to has their finger print and photo taken while they enter the US and A. ok then…that fair enough if it apply to everyone. But there will be another rule later which make 3 level of measurement…red, yellow and green color code for different people regarding their background, it will stick on their plane ticket while they check in at the airport which later the immigrate officer can take different action on the passenger. And it will apply to all nation except 20 something nationalities(most of all are white people’s country). It was totally racism. I will be the first one to boycott to visit America. This great nation use the same reason…same excuse…terrorism!!! Come on…there are no way you can avoid it if you still acting/behave with this policy. There will be only hate…revenge…killing and…terror!!! The America, the US and A, the country cherish so much of its democracy, its human right and…please!!!!
My brother took me to his friend’s eyeglass shop to had my eye sight checked yesterday, because I told him sometimes I'd double images when I reading. So…Mr chan behind the counter told me to sit in front of a gadget which kind of like a telescope which I fit my eyes on it. An image flip and switch in the small screen which kind of changing focus. After 10 seconds chick-chat for both of my eye ball. Mr Chan said to me from another side…you have very good eye sight but you had presbyopia. Don’t worry, it is quite normal for everyone once they reach the age of 40, no one can avoid it. Especially those people has good eye sight and presbyopia will occur more earlier. So…perhaps you can come over here and I can fix you up with a good glass to suit your face feature! I was dumb found cause I used to so proud of my eye sight, I never thought about presbyopia before since I thought it was only for old people.(the translation of the word in Chinese is something like old and blur eyesight, and presbyopia is come from the Greek word presbus which mean old people). And now….it got me!!! Another sign of aged !!!! Tam…accept it and face it!!!! I politely try on some glasses in different style then I told Mr Chan I might come back later if that double images getting more worse later.

day out to museum
14 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



Went to visit the Heritage museum in Shatin this morning. Why??? Because it was free on Wednesday haaa….! And yeah…because they has something which is rate as national treasure on show there. Four bronze animal heads from YuanMingYuan(Beijing), which is brought back to China recently. Originally there was 12 bronze animal heads(12 sign of Chinese zodiac) arranged around a fountain which act as a water clock in YuanMingYuan. But all those bronze heads fell into unknown hands during the time the British-French Allied forces’ attack in 1860. So far only these 4 heads…the ox, tiger ,monkey and pig are back in China. The rat and rabbit are still in Paris. The horse in Taiwan while the dragon, snake, ram, chicken and dog still had no clue of their where about. The heads I saw in the museum today are the size as a basketball, a piece of fine artwork, very delicacy. YuanMingYuan was the summer palace of the Qing Emperor. A lot of wonderful architecture(according to old photos and drawings) which mixed with western and Chinese design. But almost everything had been destroyed after the 2 attacks by the allied force at 1860 and 1900. Otherwise these bronze head are just nickel within gold and jewelry. There was other exhibitions in the museum, the history and culture of HK. A lots of old pictures, I was tailing 2 senior couple sometimes, and I could hear their comments about different photo like…see, I waited for the bus to my office in this bus stop everyday long time ago….I had left many hair from my leg(mean been there many many time) in this night club….why that noodle shop wasn’t in the picture….tea-cake, I used to make it with my mother all the time….!!! Some photo dose bring back my memory, like the old style building which many people had lived in many years ago, which didn’t exist anymore. Took a quick tour of the modern art exhibition on the second floor which show art pieces of many artists from Asian countries. Interesting as always…I mean…art is something that you need not understand it. The more confuse, the more abstract got the higher rated. At least that what I see it in HK. Guess I can never become an artist!

dream machine
15 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



the Japanese are incredable!! a report in the news said a Japanese company had invented a dream machine which can help people setup/arrange their own dream...I mean...the kind of dream they want. if that was true...it will be a wonderful invention in history, we will all woke up with a smiling face every morning from our dreamed dream. of course...mine will be a date with.....secret haaa...!!! the report said the gadget only cost about USD$140 which is the size of half a pillow. which can produce music and aromas. right...when was the last time I had dream??? couldn't recall! and of course...I can never remember what I'd dream right after I woke up(guess it was normal). researcher in HK ask some people on the street see what kind of dream they want if they have the machine. some people said...a dream to travel in Eroupe...dream the go down with so and so officer in HK government...dream of world peace...and one woman said she want to dream of walking hand in hand with her husband on the beach...!! what??? if she had to dream it in order to make it happen, then I suggest she should left the man who she call husband. heard that same company had invented another machine which can translate dog barking into human word, but I hadn't read anything about it so far. and I do want a dream machine that can make a dream into color, althought some of my friends said they did dream in full color, but mine are only single color dream. we all have dream and we all need to have dream. perhaps there will be a machine one day which really can help make dream come true. but then....will the dream be the same????

chinese new year
21 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



Chinese new year eve tonight. It will be the year of monkey in a few hours. But the spring festival event had start almost a week ago already. People queue up in front of the bank to change new bank notes or coins, women discussed between themselves about which bank has the better design for their money. Why??? They need money for the red-pocket. And new year, right…everything must be new. And the last few days people(the women) will prepare the red-pocket….in many group. One group is for closed family and relatives(which will content large amount of money, like…100 or 500 or even 1000 dollar each), one group is for best friends(standard 20 or 50 dollars), one group is for normal friends or the others(10 dollar each). So…when they go out in new year time, they need to assign different pocket for different amount of red-pocket, and need to remember which one is which one!!! I don’t have this problem since only married people give red pocket. Beside…I can receive many red-pocket whenever I meet any married couple I come across in new year time. But…they will all make fun with me because I am too old to collect red-pocket!!! 2 days ago is the Lunar December 28th, and traditionally was the day to clean up your house. When I was young, it was a whole family event, a lot of painting work to do. I remember I used to paint the sliding steel door into shinning white silver color, and the wooden door into deep green. And always smash the finishing paint later since I always open and close the door carelessly. It was a good atmosphere in the old day since it wasn’t a single family event, the whole building would clean their house on that same day, so…one could smell the paint odor everywhere. Looking back today while we are move into a better building but most of the door are shut and we didn’t even knew our neighbour. Some families still clean their house on that day but…perhaps in a simply way like mine, I just clean up the kitchen, and a bit here and there…lazy I guess! And tonight people will have new year eve dinner and then go out to the new year market. And again…it was the old day. Now a day people will have that dinner on the date they thought is the most convenience, like ours…we had the dinner 3 days ago on the Sunday while all our family member were free, since they all live in different part of HK. And I couldn’t remember when was the last time I went to the new year market. It was all different, the market now a day is place to do shopping, I mean…for many different thing. In the old day, we went there before mid-night, looking for flower or plant(that why it call flower street until today)trying to buy the most splendid plant(judge with our own eye) in the market, which most people would buy small mandarin because in Chinese the word mean good/fine/well…all in all it mean great! And to transport it home mean bring the good fortune back home. See…that was what I could remember one year(long long time ago) I help my mother carried a plant of mandarin back home from the market. I was 14 or 15 year old, quite heavy to walk home with the whole pot even it was only 15 minutes walk. Arrived home, first I wrap the foundation pot with a piece of red paper, and balancing some red-pocket between the branch and leaves of the plantation. The overall effect was quite good with the color red, orange and green. Finally we set in on the main table in the middle of the house. Look at today…we didn’t practice it anymore, we all growing up and had their own family. I always said new year is for children, they are the happier one. No school…no study…new clothes…new toys…a lot of thing to eat(mostly sweet) and of course….the red-pocket!!!!

a dream
4 Jan 2004
hongkong, China



“one more down!!!” that was what my satellite had intercepted from the open air. What’s going on???? I guess the truth was….as I listen more from the open air… voices said “they burn down our homes, cut all the trees, force us out from the forest, poison our backyard, put us in their menu….now we should strike back, to get our revenge, spread it across the land….Hhhhurraayyyyy…..!!!!” so…Japan, Vietnam…Burma…and now Pakistan and Bangladesh…one more down and who’s next! I woke up in this chilled morning only 9 degree C on the 3rd day of Chinese new year. Glad that I’m still alive. So cold and to hell with it…I pull up the blanket over my head and went back to my dream.

first time
2 Mar 2004
HK, China



2 black man (probably African) look out from the window, one talk to the other(in African I guess) and they smile then turn and run down the corridor joyfully, kind of place like the dormitory in the university. Slow down only when they saw the warden. And it switch to outdoor scene once they was out the main door. It was snowing and they lost themselves in the whiten ground, throwing snow to each other. Words shown on the screen said “when was the last time you did something for the first time”. It was an advertising for an airline. I like it!! Suddenly I remember not long ago I did something for the 1st time as well. I went to buy fish in the market to prepare my meal. I claimed that I can cook but I never really did the shopping, mostly just for an onion or tomato. And this time I went for fish and I don’t even know one fish from the other. The market is not far from where I live, a 2 storey building, the 2nd floor is mostly for dry stuff and fruit while the 1st floor are for vegetable and meat. And the seafood area is at the back of the market. And I 1st made 1 round to see what they had for offer. Right…if not a 100 different kind of fishes, it must be more than 20 something. Sea fish or river fish? Home bred or wild bred? I couldn’t ask, otherwise they might knew I was new and inexperience and might charge me more. So I just walk on , another round came back through all the other vegetable stands. This time I pretend to inspected some fishes like I was an old hand while checking at the woman next to me who was purchasing a fish. See if I might learn something. But she just point out a fish with a yellow shaded color and asked to clean up and paid, guess she knew what she was looking for. But at least…I learn that a fish about eight inches long cost 25 dollars. I kept walk on for few more round and consciously I suspected people was looking at me, why this man kept walking around without buy anything! Of course…there was no one looking or interesting in me. I guess I should go for a fish as I was inside the market more than 30 mins now. So…. I approached a stand which was surrounded by couple of women which I guess they must had something good to offer otherwise there won’t be that many people. One after one they gone and the man behind the stand ask me what did I want? I just can…ahhhhh…said I might just had the same as that woman. See….I got my 1st fish in my life without knowing what it was! But….it taste good!!!

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