What are They Doing There?

Sorry, there is no picture provided because I really do not know what is going on in the 9 sqrt feet space.

I still continue my loud pee protest in any toilet in Tokyo. I refuse to use the "sound queen" to play the flushing sound in order to disguising my peeing noise. I pee as loud as I can in train station, office, client site or restaurant. What is the point of covering your sound of having a relief? Everyone makes sound when peeing, do you think if you cover the sound, no one is going to realise that you are peeing in the toilet? Phony. I cannot stand it. Of course I am not saying that I am OK with Mainland China ladies who can pee in public, but I think Japanese ladies have taken this resentment of we are all human and we need to pee and poo into an annoying level.

The other thing I cannot tolerate is that those delicated, cute Japanese ladies spend very very long time in the small space. The flushing sounds continue, what are they doing there? Washing themselves or pick their noses? There is always a long queue in the ladies room around noon time, which makes me angry.

Crystal Skull like Cheap Plastic from 100Yen Shop

I am not sure what it is making me so disappointed about the latest Indiana Jones movie. Maybe I have read too many Chinese advantures exploring the ancient tombs. The writing is so good that the protagonists are so vivid, as if he is your next door neighbour. The author has very good knowledge of old Chinese customs, fairy tales, folk legends. A bigger suspicision was elaborated on top of those facts or stories we have known before. Damn, so hard to tell whether it true or fictional.

There are so many mind games the tomb designers played with the tomb thefts. Some planted the arrows inside the body, triggered by tugging the gold or jade inside the body's mounth (Chinese believe that Jade can help preserve the bodies from rottening. The jade from ancient tombs can be very very expensive, it is said that it can fend off evil spirits). Some stories described the deceased deliberately planned to be buried on top of some innocent victims, so those dead bodies can absorb the ill CHI. The entry to the tomb is far more complex than Indy's heroic entrance. The Chinese tomb is obviously more interesting because the dead body sometimes turned into living dead (too much bad CHI) who has no sense only know to kill. They are nick named "sticky rice ball". Only the black donkie's trotter can scare them away (no one knows why).

Watching this Indy's funny not so adventurous adventure, I deeply sighed, both Georgie Lucas and Harrison Ford are too old to play new tricks.

Scorpian

I watched "Juno" on a website whose slogan is "Movie should be free". Very well made, the kid, Juno, has sharp tongue and fearless attitute toward the world (I wonder what is behind her upbringings). She is no-nonsense, rational and 140% certain what she wants and doesn't want. The reviews describe her as off-beat, oh well, it is indeed unusual to see a teenager so sure about what she is after. The unplanned pregnancy didn't beat her down, she searched for the perfect parents to adopt her unborn kid, continued going to school, library, shops with big belly. After the kid was born, she and her boy friend (fathered the child) didn't even want to see it. She just wanted to get it over with and get back to her own life.

The only time she lost it was when she realised the perfect couple is not so perfect. I think she is angry because things ran out of her control. Was she attracted to the sophisticated and handsome Mark (the husband of the perfect couple)? I guess so, she rationally calculated her odds and what she might be getting out of it, she backed out, keeps playing her bold, playful and do-not-care pregnant teenager role. I like her.

Was reading an article about Scorpians (though I don't really believe in horoscope, this novelist refers to it a lot). Scopians are like fire, quiet fire, can be too angel sweet and horrifically evil . Once irritated, the Count of Monte Cristo real life version would be activated, and the one who suffers is definitely not the Scorpian. Scorpians are sensual, that doesn't mean that they all have huge dicks or super boobies, just sexy and highly active, not shy away from taking action. Scorpians can put their lifes on stake when chasing things they like.

For some reasons, I think Juno is very likely to be in my Scorpian family.

Successor of World's Ugliest Dog

This competition was on for 20 years. We have another hairless dog this year.

Tumor in my Brain

I swear I wash my shirt every week, it just happens that the light blue polo shirt came in handy everytime I need to go hiking.

_____________________________________


It took me a couple of seconds to realise that I am OK after waking up. In my dream, I was found having a brain tumor and immediately needed medical attention. I was in the doctor's clinic with my friend, T, who was suffering from the acute lymphatic leukemia. The nurse came to me and gave both of us some pills, huge as candies, saying this is the ones that could supress the cancer cells. T took the candy-like pills obediently, and waiting for the surgen to take him to the operation room.

I clearly know that these type of medication results in all kinds of side effects. Yet I was weighting the pain if letting the cancer slowly eats away my brain. I walked out the room and do not want to be treated.

On my way to work this morning, I started to think people do want to live less if childless. There is less obligation and responsiblity. Is that a recipe to a care-free life?

I am reading James Olivers' Affluenza. The selfish-capitalism epidemic spreads in English-Speaking world. Young people who have wealth, youth and widely accepted success are depressed. It is quite interesting when Oliver explores why young Chinese do not suffer as much as their western counterpart. He thinks, Chinese do not think too much beyond the material world (I disagree, I think that's because Chinese are just getting the taste of Capitalsim. When materials are abundant enough, this viewpoint can easily be challenged). He also thinks that Confusious' teaching which make us (yes, I am Chinese) think less of self, and attribute glory and failure to the society.

Concise English-Chinese Dictionary

This book was another surprise of the year. I never really like reading novels in English because I read much faster in Chinese. I guess the other reason is that I don't quite buy into the western way of thinking. Western fiction is more fictional if reading the translated version, further away from my real world. My English reading is mostly non-fiction or work-related. I think I am still in the exploring phase of English literature. The message expressed in English is only informative rather than entertainment.

However, this book quickly drawed me into this tiny Chinese girl's world in London. This 24-year-old, broken-English woman came to UK for 1 year English study. She is like most stereotype young generation in China, blunt, rude and not refined. She fell in love with a British guy. The whole book was her own monologue. There are questions everywhere at the first half of the book. Seeing the English world via a pair of Chinese girl's eyes, what privacy is? Why everything is old? Why women with kids living without a man? Her curiosity drown her into this 20 year older English artist's life. Her love to him was suffocating, she is constantly demanding attention and security. When he cannot provide enough, fighting started yet there is nothing they can change because they are still hooked into each other. The relationship was like storm, like fire, it came with all the destructive power.

All these are too familiar, that was me when I was in my twenties. It is too hard to imagine myself being in this type of madness again, too cynical and rational to avoid the embarrassment.

Ohgiyama

This is the 3rd of 100 famous mountains I climbed in Kanto area of Japan. If I can organize a hike every other week, I should be able to get 20 mountains down before end of Summer. There is no injury during this trip (my line manager was saying that "Joey, maybe you should consider not taking people out since quite a few people come back with bruised arms and swallon knees).

We had 8 people going. One of them is from IBM Mumbai. I was asking him if they have something similar in India, I mean, mountains that people go hiking. He said, of course, they usually bride the park rangers so they can bring alcohol into the park and party near the river. However, he's never stayed after 6pm.

"Because the park closes after 6pm?" I asked.

"No, the elephants run down the hill to the river and drink water".

1000 Yen Haircut

I walked into the 10 minute - 1000 Yen hair cut shop in hope of someone can take care of my unrulely and thick hair. I am also quite tired of the length (they got in the way when hanging my heavy handbag on the shoulder). It is really a hassle to pick up the hair every morning from my bathtub.

It took the barber 30 minutes to finish me off, while the other chairs had turned around 3 customers each. I felt a bit guilty.

Money Laundrying

Finished a pretty good Japanese novel about money laundrying. The protagonist understand every single loophole in Japanese taxation laws and is familiar with financial insttitution operation. 400 million USD was supposed to be invested in an offshore company, which will in turn come back to Japan and buy those investor's bad debt. The investors would like to take the bad loan off their balance sheet. However, the money disappeared. The story developed as the protagonist got involved with this massive amount of money. It is exicting just thinking about the zeros trailing behind the single number 5. I really do love money, ha ha ha ha.

When asked how to get rich, he replied "Do not invest and do not pay tax".

Climb Every Rock

For some strange reasons, I am very good at climbing since young. I manuvered my way through the playground equipment, trees very swiftly. I spent most of my after school hours in playground, playing the game of a ghost catching other kids. If you are touched by the ghost, you will become the ghost, and the ghost is freed (it is hard to imagine why I was so crazy about this simple game, I spent hours and hours chasing and being chased).

Spending some time with the lesson of basic rock climbing technique and safety, we hit the rock after a mini hike. The rock climbing shoes are very tight, and it miraculously provides very strong grip once you push into the rock. Together with the safety rope, I felt invinsible and I can go anywhere I like on the rock. It is quite fun to find a good foot holds by touching and kicking the rock. I climb naturally, excited and thrilled with every move upward. Very confident that I could challenge a more difficult rock next time.

The only side effect is that when I touch the solid, stone, or concret walls today when skating, my first reaction is to feel for the good grip.

Mitake Mountain Hike

The fall after lunch, when we were still all very energetic.

___________________________________________

At the end of our 2 hour hike, where the sign indicates we will have another 50 minutes walk before returning to the cable car station. Our spirit was high and didn't anticipate the end of this trip came so fast. Raj suggested we should challenge ourselves to another mountain, Otakesan. Jen didn't object and I felt fine to walk more. We set off, heading to the other top.

When the hiking trail got steep, we realized it is not a really good idea. However, we were all too proud to turn back (hey, I really had no problem to lose face). We struggled to get to the top in another 2 hours. Exhausted and hungry, I decided to go back to the Mitake cable car station via a short cut which we saw on the way. It is so not fun to walk the original route and I thought it is a real short cut. I am the only one who understand the Chinese characters and we didn't have a map. My friends place their life in my hand, ha ha ha.

We were walking on the spine of the mountains, the trail turned out to very remote, we didn't see any fellow hikers and some parts of the trails were almost covered by aggresive vegetation. After an hour (the sign shows it should only take 50 minutes) we still see, hear, feel not civilization. My friends' trust started to shake. Jen was really exhausted and kept tailing behind. We had to stop from time to time, that could be also the reason why the estimated time was distorted. Luckily, we got back before my friends killed me with their distrusting eye sight.

I haven't been this tired for ages, I walked like an old lady the whole day Monday because both of my legs were so stiff and sore. I should remember to bring a map with me to any hike.

Scary Experiments

"The Lucifer Effect" gets more and more interesting as I read along. Situational power was verified in some simple experiments. Just to name a few that are rally scary:

A group of college students were explained the benefit of eliminating those genetically "unfit" human by a fake authorative administration. The result was astonishing, very high percentage agree it is OK and some even agree it is fine supposed those to be eliminated are their family members.

Another experiment started with a rigid classroom rules that had to be obeyed without question. All answers have to be replied in maximum 3 words, preceeded by "Sir". The dynamic changed and intellegent students lost their prominence, becoming less verbal, physically assertive ones took over. They shout slogans "strength by community/displine" in unison. The students were told that they were selected as the hope of changing/save the politics/country, "the third wave". Soon the 20 student group swell into couple hundred. When these true believers gathered in the auditorium, the teacher showed them the film of the Nuremberg rally, these high school students were behaving exactly the same as "the Third Reich".

Situational power and social dynamic are not to be taken easy.

Age is Important?

My late bloomers. They are supposed to blossom in May. The buds swell up and bursted into beautiful lilies overnight.
_______________________________________

When watching Japanese News, whenever there is a unfamiliar face coming to the screen, on the side of the frame, it always writes the name of the suspect/government official/ordinary person being interviewed. Follow the name is the famouse "san" or "kun", which is the title (it is very impolite to address another human being with his/her name only, regardless how young. The "kun" is the formal title for kids).

What is more interesting is it indicates the age in a bracket. I do not remember seeing this in other culture. Not only the TV news, after the 3rd or 4th time meeting a new Japanese friend, he (usually guy friends) would not suppress his curiosity and throw the age question.

Age, the number actually gives you a pretty good idea of interviewee's education background, experience, and what stage of life he/she is in . In other words, it sort of creating an 3D image of a person in your mind. It is one of those many niceties in Japan.

Lust in Translation

Finish the book in 2 days, I don't think the author , Pamela Druckerman, has done a rigorous research and her statements tend to be much of the stereotype generalization (Gee, that's the thing about getting old, you have enough experience to be opinionated and judgemental). Religious Americans suffered the most, French cannot be bothered to suffer because they are too sophisticated, South Africans do it despite the high chance of getting AIDS, Russians manage to do it though most of them live with in-laws and kids in a small apt. China is the heaven for remorseless opportunitsm. Japanese's sexless marriage execuses both parties to have some fun on the side as long as a family is still functioning.

Religions also give away loopholes for cheating. Monogamy is not built for human beings? At the end, even Pam is frustated, she concludes infidelity just happens and the best we can do is to prepare for it. Ha, not sure what I have got from the book, but a pretty entertaining read.

Lightness of Being

When talking to my father about my experience in Kyoto Zen class, my father was envious about the monk's life. I was a bit surprised, what are the appealing factors to my father, who was very devoted to his family names (probably the means are not very wisely chosen or so on).

I pondered about it, perhaps it is because that a monk is completely detached from the widely recognized social values, such the duty of glorify the family name (which might includes being successful, well respected and having outstanding offsprings). That's what he's thriving to have had all his life.