Advertisement
Published: August 26th 2008
K-ok
Dad & lucky going off...notice the disco ball...In the name of randomness - here is one....
Went to Karoke w/the pops & his ol' lady. I was expecting a private room w/a big screen tv & plenty of beverages & snacks (in movies such as Lost in Translation, etc.). Little did I know...we went to this place where my dad's gf knows the woman (sold houses for her). It was a hole in the wall w/no ventilation & complete w/disco ball & karoke girls who sat w/the men (drinking & singing). Wow.
There was about 10 songs in the 10 lb. song binder. Nonetheless, I had fun...downed a bowl of pistachios while my dad & his gf sang taiwanese songs. I attempted several chinese songs...some with more success than others. But it was easy to get away with on the echoing effect on the microphone. (I would just mumble over words I didn't know...REALLY effective 😊 And I believe that the K-ok system is sexist...as it looped asian women in bad bikinis (in the 90's) gazing down at the sea or coming down the slide of a playground. (huh???) I snipped a video of it...haha. I recall my aunt telling me that on her last trip,
Buddhist Event
Me & my pops. I had to nudge him to get him to turn his lips up! :) a man approached her on the train & asked her if she wanted to be in a karoke video. Knuch knuck knuck....
This past weekend... There was a Buddhist ceremony happening this weekend just a few hundred meters from where I stay. It was put together by the local temple just up the street. This month, according to the Lunar Calendar, is the 7th month - the month where hell's doors open & all the spirits are roaming around. So the ceremony was done to bless all the spirits and also to bless all the victims in an earthquake in China & the tsunami a few months ago. One can also get individual blessings for unborn babies, deceased relatives, etc. It was a great event & I participated at a perfect time...=)
I chanted & also participated in a few ceremonies with the Buddha. It was a challenge for me, as I had to follow the chanting from a book, but thank god (i mean buddha), there was bopomofo (which is the pronunciation key for Mandarin in Taiwan). At the end of it, I felt much lighter & much calmer. It is there, that I was first
Buddhist Event 2
Me & Lucky (dad's gf) referred to as Shi Chie (it's the way they 'sister' in the kung-fu movies! Hiyahhh!)! It was REALLY cool.
And the people were SOOOOO sweet & generous...it was like a different world. B/c they served you all 3 meals (i KNOW!), they were constantly making sure you were fed & were comfortable! WOW. The Shi-Fu (Master of the temple) is very young & was actually super cool. His words take me back to the things I would constantly hear in India - about love, acknowledging the buddha nature within us...it was REALLY nice to hear those things.
Then I had to go to Hong Kong..............
Advertisement
Tot: 0.088s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0453s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
