Up a Lazy River

Morning.
[8.43am] Woke up, washed up. Had a breakfast of cereal, craisins and milk. [9.30am] Out of house. Walked down to Westburtons. Said “Good morning” to the girl at the counter. Opened door for lady holding too many cups of coffee. I actually like mornings a lot, because people seem nicer. I guess they’re not worn out by the day just yet. [9.50am] Single espresso. Read the book I was planning to read for the length of that expresso. [9.52am] Finished expresso, closed book. Brought the cup back to the counter. Said “Good bye” to the girl at the counter. [10something am] Shopped for groceries. Got a sieve and a box of raspberries, among other things. [11something am] Got back home. Poured myself a glass of orange juice and put on good music.

Around Afternoon
[11something am] Started baking. Plan to make cakes for a few girls that I like. The Puppini Sisters played in the background. Put cakes in oven. [12.43pm] Turned off oven. Took cakes out to cool. The Puppini Sisters still played in the background. I love their rendition of “Heart of Glass”. [12.46pm] Contemplated whether or not to put in the Yoshida Brothers. Opted for Michael Buble instead. Started making frosting. [1.10pm] Pretty much finished with the frosting. Took cakes out of their moulds and put them in a dish. Waited for lunch. Read a bit of Matthew Cheng’s stuff, read a bit of Wallpaper*. [1.42pm] Lunch ready. Sat down with a bowl of onion soup and watched “Young and Dangerous”. Good Stuff. I will never get tired of the series. [2something pm] Finished bowl of soup. Continued watching Young and Dangerous. [3.02pm] Finished the movie. Washed up. Sat and read more Wallpaper* and listened to more music.

Night
[6.53pm] Headed out to Santa Monica for dinner. Around a 15 minute drive. I don’t remember Santa Monica being this pretty. I actually don’t hate it. [7.51pm] Settled on a restaurant. The ravioli was amazing. Good conversation at the table – a lot of catching up work. I love eating with people I like. It's funny how so much seems to have changed ("Pochako"...really??), yet it hasn't. It's the best possible thing really. [8something pm] Paid bill and headed back home. [9.40pm] Back at the apartment. Poured everyone drinks. Plated 2 cakes. Added frosting, raspberries, dusted it with icing sugar (with the new sieve!!) Ate cake and drank. Thought about how to improve cake for next time - don't plan to stop until I get it just right. More good conversation. I love these girls. [10.44pm] Checked the time. We’ve talked an hour straight. More drinks. A lot of “remember when…” during the conversation. [11something pm] Another girl I like comes up. Continued with the conversation at the table. [12something am] Conversation about whales, among other sea animals. Japanese TV shows and arcade games. Went out onto the balcony a few times now. Beautiful weather. [1.14am] Time to go. Told her to leave the plates where they were.

I do complain a lot. But then, some times, things just turn out to be so fucking great.

Next must-buy item: Piping bag

Late for the Sky

Sometimes, things happen and you don’t really know how to react, though you know for certain that it has affected you. You see things differently, you hear things differently, and of course, you also start to do things differently. But still, you don’t really know how to react.

I guess that’s when you know you finally understand something. At least, for me, I always feel as if I finally understand something when I find I can't articulate it anymore. It's a funny thing. That’s when you start to trade in almost everything for a few dusty old records. And maybe we all like to talk ourselves up and make it seem as if it’s not on our mind. But in all honesty, who doesn’t think about it? Maybe we’re just trying to make it a little easier.

The gray of the sky is inviting and it’s making me think back to the Sunday mornings that happened some time ago. It all happened before I finally understood something. Really, only now do I realize the transient nature of everything. And I start to wonder, have I really been aware of the time going by?

If none of my words make sense, at least you’re home now.

50 Things I'm a Sucker For

As most of you (should) know, all in all, I am not a very pleasant person. I'm pretty jaded and have no interest in most things in life. It's pretty sad. But recently, I got to assessing my life...and I've come to realize that, maybe, I'm not as unpleasant as I want to be. There ARE some things that make me as happy as a 5 year old child. So, in no particular order, here are 50 things I'm a sucker for:

1) Ugly men - the more the merrier. *Note - being fat is a definite bonus*
2) "Transform" movies. I.e. those where the protagonist undergoes an unexpected, yet expected, positive transformation, may it be physically or emotionally - I prefer the physical...because I'm shallow (think Princess Diaries, Sister Act 2, Take the Lead, and most movies that feature inner city kids)
3) Pretty girls. No joke.
4) Coffee
5) People who make my coffee
6) Machines that make my coffee
7) The 50's, the 70's, and the 80's
8) Taschen books
9) Shopping for records
10) Bass guitarists
11) Kung Fu movies
12) Harbors, especially the Hong Kong one of course
13) Educational computer games
14) Expensive things
15) TV series where, as my mom puts it, you can predict the ending just from the opening theme song sequence (i.e. TVB series). That's right - I don't like surprises
16) Alfresco dining (e.g. South Street Seaport, NYC)
17) Music I don't understand (esp. Brazilian)
18) Skyscrapers
19) The World Cup (most importantly, Brasil 2002)
20) "Old Biscuits"
21) Hong Kong cop films
22) Francis Ng and all things related to Francis Ng
23) Disneyland
24) Whisky (and jazz)
25) A good sandwich
26) Old school Japanese cartoons (esp. Karaoke Sensei and cartoons about cooking)
27) Magazines
28) Nice tableware
29) People who write well (e.g. Matthew Cheng, Dave Barry and Nick Hornby)
30) Jackson Browne
31) Stan Getz's rendition of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
32) Hong Kong in general
33) Limehouse Blues
34) San Pellegrino or Calistoga
35) A nice restaurant, especially ones in Soho, Hong Kong
36) Crossword puzzles
37) The pairing of Audrey Hepburn with Humphrey Bogart
38) Menswear
39) Cookbooks
40) Paris
41) Carebears
42) Craisins and cereal
43) Les Miserables, especially Enjolras
44) The Young and Dangerous series and spin-offs
45) People who act or look like the Fonz or Danny Zuco
46) Black and White photographs...those in the vein of Robert Doisneau's
47) Travel guides
48) 5.30am and, more explicitly, time alone
49) Vietnamese pho (88, Toronto)
50) Samuel Tong <3

Avenue B

What happened was a blur. A needle in the shoulder and one of my favourite songs in the world appeared in words I could see.

Maybe I just do it because I enjoy the quietness that it entails. Actually, I think that has a lot to do with it. I get to sit next to the harbour, I get to stand near the museum steps, all the time as if it was still 5.30 in the morning.

Like I said before, it’s not that I’m misanthropic or anything like that, but I really can’t help it if I enjoy being alone more than most people do. It's because, when I'm standing outside by myself, I can hear Stan Getz, I can hear the Limehouse Blues...and I don't mind that at all. I feel Under Control.

And the first time I saw a Robert Doisneau photograph, it was fucking amazing. It really was. So naturally, when after a year, I found myself sitting in front of a wall of his images, I was absolutely dumbfounded. It was so great, I didn't want to share it with anyone else. I turned off my cell phone immediately and waited for the sky to turn gray.

I'm just way too tired.

(Empty chairs at empty tables)