gailT’s Neighborhood

The year of the metal/white tiger is said to be full of conflicts and changes, natural disasters and upheavals. And I thought 2009 had it worst.

So in order to survive this year, I am making a list of the things I need to get past this and welcome 2011 in 361 days with my sanity still intact.

And because it's 2010, it's a 10-list as usual:

1. sense of humor -- if you can't win at it, laugh at it.
2. to-le-rance -- I need lots of it. for the idiots and the pasaways.
3. money -- my uncle said, if you have money, you can do a lot of things.
4. faith -- tons of it. if possible, truckloads.
5. hope -- for without it, we'd all crumble.
6. Arashi -- ah yes, something more tangible. if only I can take them home.
7. strength -- to accept things I cannot change.
8. courage -- to change the things I can.
9. wisdom -- so I can see the difference.
10. love -- because it makes the world go round.

I follow Wu Jian Hao (Van Ness Wu) on Twitter and would occasionally read his blog entries and I was happy today when I saw his tweet that Autumn's Concerto hit 7.76% in last night's ratings game.

This is even more than what SETTV's previous high-rating drama Fated To Love You has achieved and I wouldn't be surprised if it breaks 8%.

I am happy for a few reasons:

1. it vindicates my view that fans or the audience in general can no longer be fooled anymore by cheap gimmicks like selling romance between the two leads (in fact, AC has been selling Xiao Xiao Bin, the adorable kid, instead). AC has been pretty decent in its campaign but I could not say the same for Hi My Sweetheart, the other drama airing on the same time slot in CTV, which has stooped so low I am losing respect for Yang Cheng Lin, if I haven't yet.

2. it shows that Van Ness has broken the chains from F4. He was the least popular of the four, which is open to argument of course. But the past few years, he was the one who focused on music while the rest did well in dramas. And then here comes AC, which surprised a lot of people not only in terms of acting range (he's still stiff and self-conscious in a lot of scenes but nothing unbearable) but the fact that he can carry a drama on his own, without the shadow of F3.

3. it proves that faith, and God, works in mysterious ways. Those who follow him in his blogs or tweets know how Van Ness wears his faith on his sleeves. He celebrates God everyday. And whenever I see the ratings of AC climb up, I see the goodness of the One up there. I am not a very religious person myself but he has shown me that yes, faith does work. And for that alone, the success of AC is worth celebrating and being happy with.

I got this inspiration from a column in The Singapore Straits Times I read today.
So I'm doing my own list.

1. I won't buy a designer bag.

There was a time I was thisclose to buying an LV carry-all. But I'm quite happy with my humble, very functional Longchamps (I bought a smaller black one last Christmas) that are still lightweight even if I dump a lot of things inside.

Besides, I remember NB when we accompanied MG in scouring Bangkok's designer bag shops last year.

"Why would you buy an LV?" he asked MG. "Or any designer bag for that matter? If you buy one, you have to match it with your lifestyle. You can't go take the train or the bus in Beijing anymore. You need a chauffeured car. You need the right clothes. Even the right house. Buying a bag like that is just mafan (troublesome)."

To make the long story short, MG failed to buy a bag with us around.

2. I won't underestimate the power of the mind, dreams and faith.

Even if at times I doubt if they ever work. And I hope to see the proof that they do, this year.

3. I won't judge a book by its cover.

Because I might miss on a good person or, literally, on a good book.

4. I won't stay awake past 11 o'clock.

That's my cut-off, even if friends are online or there are lots of new Arashi videos on YT and other distractions on the Internet. Or even if it's World Cup time already (yeah right). So I hope to finish this list before 11 tonight.

5. I won't laugh or comment at a person's weight.

Seriously, what is it with Filipinos that the first thing they notice about a person is the weight? "Tumaba ka! (literally: You've grown fat)" is a common greeting back home. Which in my head, I always reply with the "F" word.

The first thing I did upon returning home from my almost 2 weeks vacation in the Philippines was check my weight on the scale and was aghast to see that I have gained a bloody five kilos. In just that short period. I'm glad I don't live in Manila, otherwise, I'd feel miserable everyday (which may be a helpful thing, if misery would make me lose my appetite and prevent me from eating and thereby lose weight and be as skinny as Kim Chiu).

The next time I am about to make a comment about someone's weight, I'd look at myself first. Maybe other people should too.

6. I won't say the F-word.

So there goes my reply to #5.

7. I won't waste time on annoying things and annoying people.

There, that's already like five seconds wasted typing that line.

8. I won't turn my nose up on a Hollywood movie.

Especially since The Green Hornet, with Jay Chou, is coming out this year.

9. I won't buy useless things.

Like the acupuncture guides I bought on new year.

Great, starting the year right indeed.

Maybe I should find some use for useless things instead.

10. I won't make a new year's resolution list.

Wait, isn't this a new year's resolution list?

My 2010 horoscope said: "Keep the ball rolling and keep your eye on the ball."

I want to take that to heart.

And this Paulo Coelho card SPEAKS to me a lot especially at the phase I am in right now.

To be honest, I had second thoughts of watching The Founding of a Republic.

China Daily, the state English paper, is required reading for me DAILY and I didn't want to overdo the propaganda.

But curiosity got the better of me and so I went to Lido this afternoon to see the film that marked the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in October last year. (Side comment: I don't remember if I read it or heard somebody say, but notice how communist countries love to include "People" and "Democratic" in their names. Think DPRK too, a.k.a. North Korea.)

I must admit part of it was curiosity to see the big stars who were making cameos in the film as well. In fact, all throughout the movie, I was playing the "spot-the-big-star" game.

The film covers the period from 1945, shortly after WW2 ended, to 1949, when Mao Zedong was inaugurated as president of the new republic formed after the communists split with the Kuomintang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek (CKS), who retreated to Taiwan.

Like this review, I was expecting the worst especially on how KMT and CKS were portrayed. I need to read and brush up on my history of the Chinese civil war but nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised that CKS was shown to be somewhat of a compassionate leader in the end.

But I couldn't help squirming everytime the subtitles used "liberate" as the communists overtook most Chinese cities but as many reviews have pointed out, the nuance was lost in translation. Surely, liberation and communism don't go together, do they?

Now, I am curious what my Taiwanese friends think about the film. I'll ask them when I meet them later this week.

In the meantime... spotting-the-star was on.

In the first few minutes of the film, there was Jet Li, playing a Navy officer of the KMT. In the last few minutes of the film, there was Andy Lau, playing Yu Jishi, a KMT general who received the order from CKS not to attack Beijing anymore signaling the absolute defeat of the Kuomintangs.

In between, there was Eva Huang (I was amazed that I could recognise her) as a Xinhua broadcaster, Leon Dai as a military officer, Donnie Yen and Zhao Wei (Vicky Zhao) as China League leaders, Zhang Ziyi as a female communist leader, Tony Leung Ka-fai in a funny role as a bystander and Jackie Chan as a reporter. The roles of Eva, Vicky, Leung Ka-fai and Jackie were all fictional, however.

Not all cameos made it to the final product, though, like John Woo whose part was edited out. Tang Guoqiang, the actor who played Mao Zedong, really looked like him.

I'd say that Jet Li and Andy Lau's brief appearances were both given prominence, especially Andy's who had a close-up before fade-out to Mao Zedong's inauguration. Watching him on the big screen, I must say he really has a strong presence and it makes me want to watch Infernal Affairs again.

Between the two China, I have great respect for both. I am also an eager student of both. And if there's one thing that I learned from the film, it's that war is really mafan.

I found an old blog I have forgotten I even had.
It was dedicated to someone I used to like.
And it's funny how five years later, I realise how naive and stupid I was.
But reading through the entries, I could feel the pain in the words I wrote.
The hopelessness. The love. And the devotion that on hindsight made me wonder why.
Indeed... someday we'll know why I wasn't meant for you.
And that someday has come today.
It wasn't just meant to be.

The future tells us what we didn't know then.
The past tells us how much we have changed.

I am spending the first day of the year at work.

Honestly, I can't remember much of 2009.

While waiting for my luggage last night...

I lay in bed wide awake, glancing at the time every now and then.

Then there's a loud scrape on the floor above me. Like someone was moving the table across the room.

I was so tired, angry and frustrated I could not shed tears anymore. I was trying to sleep and there was this sound coming from above. At past midnight. Who would be happy?

I had called the airport earlier and was told that my luggage had been dispatched at 11pm.

Then why the hell has it not arrived yet at 1am?

Another loud scrape. Is it a table? Or a chair? Or the bed?

It was nearing 2am already.

Jesus, what's he/she doing over there? One more time... and I'm going to call that bloody room.

LOUD SCRAPE.

That's it!

I dialed the room number and a soft male voice answers, I could hear music in the background.

"Hi, sorry to bother you. I'm staying in the room below you. I'm just wondering... are you moving things around your room?"

"...not really." I could sense from his voice that he was puzzled over this call.

"But I can hear the floor scraping."

"People screaming?"

"No... just some loud scraping on the floor. Nevermind, sorry to bother you."

At least after that call, the sound ceased. Maybe he got the message finally.

But my luggage has not arrived yet (it arrived at bloody 3am).

Anyway, fast forward to lunch today.

I was seated across German AH. We met in Beijing last year, which he also coordinated and he was even nice enough to fetch me from the airport then since I was arriving a day earlier than the others.

We started talking about my lost luggage and I was telling him I barely had sleep. All of a sudden, he asked: "(Yupki), which floor are you on?"

I told him my floor and we looked at each other and burst out laughing.

I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or what. "Oh my god, you were the one who got that call last night?"

"I knew it was you... I thought the voice sounded familiar," he said.

"Sorry but I was really annoyed with the luggage and all last night."

"I know... I was moving around on my chair a lot while chatting on MSN and I realised it does really make a loud sound."

"So now you know who stays below you, can you keep quiet?" Nope, I didn't say that. It was just a thought bubble.

I don't know what the moral of this story is aside from not staying in an Indonesian hotel where the walls and floors are apparently thinner (the argument is it has lesser chances of being bombed if we stay in a local hotel than at a Western one).

I badly need sleep.

With all due respect to my Malaysian friends... your flag carrier sucks BIG TIME.
Okay, it's not entirely their fault that instead of going to Jakarta direct from Bangkok, I had to pass through KL.
That is the doing of this very stingy foundation that's sending me here in Jakarta.
But MH owes me a three other passengers big time.
First, the flight was delayed for three hours. At check-in, we were informed it would be delayed for 45 minutes. Minutes have passed since the re-scheduled take-off and there was no one, not a single soul from MH, at the gate to inform the passengers there were new changes.
This time, the flight would be delayed for another two hours +, or a total of three hours.
Sure, they provided lunch vouchers and immediately moved my connecting flight to the next available one.
I had to change time zones twice since leaving Bangkok and by the time I was en route to Jakarta, I was confused. I barely had five minutes to transfer to the gate for Jakarta and by the time the plane was taking off, I was still in the loo (I have to include this detail to show it was really a trip from hell) thanks to two glasses of water I downed. It barely even registered to me if I was on the right flight, worrying I might end up in Bali, instead of Jakarta.
And just as I was being rushed through the gate for my Jakarta flight, I asked the MH staff if my luggage was transferred.
"It's no problem ma'am since the planes are just next to each other."
A businessman from Germany with the same predicament as me said he just hoped we won't have a problem with the luggage by the time we reach Jakarta.
He could not have been further from the truth.
Finally, arriving in Jakarta 10 hours later, I stand at the carousel waiting for my luggage to pop out. And then here comes this ominous sign that says "LAST LUGGAGE". My luggage, as well as those of three other connecting passengers including the German businessman, was nowhere in sight.
We were ushered into the lost and found office and the staff located our luggage.
"It's still in Kuala Lumpur... it will be coming in on the 10pm flight," the staff said.
By this time, I was drained of energy I couldn't even get angry. It was a good thing the Indonesian staff were patient and really helpful (it remains to be seen though if they're effective as I still await my luggage).
They filled the forms and took out addresses so they can deliver it to our hotels once the luggage arrives.
I am still waiting for the arrival of my beloved luggage. The plane from KL was scheduled to arrive half an hour ago--that is, if MH was not bloody delayed again--and is expected to be delivered by midnight.
I am tired and I couldn't even do anything, much more bathe, since my stuff are in the luggage.
And to top it all, the service at this hotel was so slow and they were fully booked I got to have a shower stall room instead of a bath. The last thing I needed when I was really looking forward to soak all my troubles in a warm bath.
But no, not gonna happen.
I wanted to trash the room just to vent out all my frustration and anger at MH.
But then I'm no rock star to do that.