a new day

Image by J


J wrote this on his FB:

前几天，在家附近的巴剎吃午餐时，碰到西餐店助手。就叫他阿明吧。反正碰见，就跟阿明拜了个早年。他若无其事地说：「过年是容易过，才两天。过其余的每一天才难。」
--
其实，我觉得过年过节，就是为了打断我们乏味的每一天。如果，我们没用心地度过它们，每一年、每一天就可能会很难过。
--
图：老爸每年都得去找哑大叔裁两三件新裤。今年我也跟着去。

This is a translation into English:

 A few days ago, while having lunch at the hawker centre where I live, I bumped into the helper who works at the Western food stall. Let's call him Meng. In any case, since he's no stranger, I wished him a happy lunar new year in advance. He shrugged and replied, "it's easy for the new year to pass, after all, it's only a couple of days.  Nothing remarkable. What's difficult is trying to get by every single day for the rest of the year."

It got me thinking that whether it's the lunar new year or another festive occasion, perhaps one of its purposes is simply to break the monotony and grind of our daily life. And if we don't even pause and make some effort to observe these occasions, perhaps we will always be weighed down and never see pass the strains and stresses of our daily lives.

 Photo: Pa J goes to visit Uncle Yeh to tailor two to three pairs of new trousers ahead of every lunar new year season. This year, J went along.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

on a Hou Hsiao Hsien movie set

Image
By the tracks of the Jiji Station, the oldest train station in Taiwan OK, not quite. We did not even manage to go all the way south to Hou Hsiao Hsien's KaoShiung or even Tainan, but we did venture out from Taipei for 3 days to Taichung. But the real takeaway was actually this supposed feature of Hou Hsiao Hsien's films - trains! Trains are about the best thing about traveling. Unlike cars and taxis, trains are a social mode of transport. Train stations allow for reunions and departures, points to assess and affirm relationships. I admit that all this fades away when you are tired or in a great hurry (or both). But seriously, cars (oh, 4-wheelers!) have only brought about pollution and wasteful consumption, traffic jams, asphalt, mindless obsession with speed and countless quarrels in the stressful, enclosed interiors of cars. Friends, take it slow. Take the train. Read a book. Hold your partner's hand. Be there with the people around you. With Taiwan's highspeed rail
Read the rest of this post

Some Dreams are like Country Music

Image
Some Dreams are like Country Music  is a kind of secret book and soundtrack made for all you lonesome cowboys/girls/humans. It’s made small so you can tuck it into your saddle bag, together with other desert essentials, such as a photo of grandma and a sweet harmonica. And on a sleepless night as you lie down under a moonlit sky…you can reach for it to keep you company. Ok, let me translate that.  Some Dreams are like Country Music is an art book. It is a collaboration between ampulets and leather artist Tze Ling  @secondnatvre . I wanted to make something small, physically and artistically. I thought it was time, after all the elaborate projects the last couple of years, to make a small book of tiny drawings and mini stories with a very clean, compact emotional palette, one that you can hide inside you. Like the lyrics of a song. 8 dreams: fiction and small fancies I don’t dare to call poems. (Watch the video in Image3) There is also a QR code where you can download a playlist of son
Read the rest of this post

On receiving

Image
Christmas is most naturally about giving. God gave his only son to be born and then die in the loneliest way. Giving is sacrificial, heroic. In all of our roles we are expected to give - parents, children, friends, lovers, leaders, employees…. Less is said about receiving.  Christmas to me is also about receiving! You can joyfully give when you know you have received. When you know you have plenty, more than what you need, giving is a "no-brainer". I don't know how the maths works, but we somehow always receive more than we can give. Even in the worst of times. Haven't we all witnessed or read, in the midst of disaster, humans who act in courage and generosity towards others? Conversely, it is harder to give when you feel you have been denied the things you want or deserve. Even when you give, at the back of your mind you may be counting the cost, or feeling envious of others who have more. Receiving is an art. It takes cognition but also daily practice. J taught me t
Read the rest of this post

there must be more to life than cats

Image
Last evening in Taipei I decided to drop by a bar I haven’t been before, a speakeas-style place. It was everything a bar on a Monday night would be - a Murakami short story minus the missing cat and half-tragic mystery. Well, okay, take those things away, i t actually won't be much of a Murakami short story. So let’s be honest - it ain’t no short story, just a n othing-happening account of strangers at a bar  on a Monday night. The lady who let me in through the hidden door was Russian. The long-haired dude pretending to do his pretend at the shopfront smiled. Russian ladies, they are a bit bossy. You know, they always wear an expression like they are about to shout at you or maybe instigate something more violent to happen. Anyway, since she spoke English with an American accent, I figured it was safe. There were 2 white men at the bar counter. The bartender is a good looking Chinese boy with waist length stringy hair in a ponytail and a nose ring. He wore a faded Radiohead tee th
Read the rest of this post