Author: Wilfrid

Categories
Diary

My Name Is Not Willy

I am unsure if you have experienced something similar like I do.  Day in, day out, I do the same thing, travel the same set of roads, see the same group of people, the same set of buildings; the very sameness that is reinforced by the routine activities that burned inside my head like the burn-in of an old plasma television.  People’s names, bus numbers, addresses, telephone numbers, voicemail passwords, floor numbers, colour of the lifts, decoration of the lobbies, layouts of the office, of the shops, of where I live – everything that seems impossible to forget today.  Fast forward to decades in the future, how much detail would I remember?  Hardly any, I reckon.  But I think memory leak is not the only culprit.  ‘I forgot’ implies that a piece of my memory has vanished.  Yet, memories do not vanish.  Memories get overwritten by memories of similar nature.  Memories get distorted by the dreams that we generate while we are sleeping.  In short, some past memories get buried so deep over time that the more we attempt to peel away the layers, the more distorted they become, which in turn being moulded into something of our imagination.  Perhaps that explains why ex-lovers and past crushes always look exceptionally stunning and beautiful – in our minds.

Here is what I remember when I think of my secondary school in Hong Kong: Through the wooden front entrance, on the right was a row of windows.  On the left was a stall that sold snacks and beverages.  Beyond the stall was an open air spiral staircase that led to an indoor playground at a lower level.  Inside the playground, on the far end was a stage.  On the right was teachers’ office.  I might have been inside for several occasions but I only remember two significant ones.  One time I was being caned.  I forgot what crime I had committed but I remember what punishment I had received.  Another time I wanted to see the vice principal.  Thanking him for helping me to get the scholarship to study in UK.  To express my thanks in a more tangible way, I gave him the honour to give me an English name because I had this concern that British people would find it difficult to remember my Chinese name.  I could see from his glittering eyes that he was happy.  He asked if I wanted a common name or a rare one.  I asked for a rare one in a heartbeat.

Why did I do that?!

So my vice principal opened up a Catholic dictionary for names and picked one for me.  To ensure that I remember where my name comes from, he made a copy of the relevant page for my future reference.  That was before the days of Internet whereby almost anything under the moon and sun is just a Google away.  Till today, I still like the uniqueness of my English given name.  But I cannot deny that it has confused the living hell out of everyone around me.  People have tried to adapt.  Some insist in spelling my name the way they think it should be.  Like Wilfred.  One has taken the liberty to create a nickname for me.

You know how working is like.  There is one task you need to do.  And you have become so focused that people’s chatting around you no longer bothers you, how loud your neighbour types no longer bothers you, even the vacuum machine or the coffee making machine nearby no longer bothers you.  These sources of sound do not vanish.  They are merely overwritten by the internal thinking and dialogues inside your head.  One day while I was totally absorbed in my work, there was a small voice nearby that had become louder and louder until this new colleague of mine had to come really close to me, wave at me, and distract me.  He said, “Willy, I was calling you!”.  WHO?!  To give a bit of background here, he is one great guy at work.  The problem is that I am not trained to response to the name Willy.  I am amused in a sense that I get to relive the journey of how a baby learns to respond to his or her name called by others.  I am also amused in a sense that I could take the opportunity to assume another persona during working hours.  Willy to me is like Sasha Fierce to Beyoncé Knowles.  Wilfrid has integrity, he would not do certain things at work.  But what about Willy?  Perhaps Willy is a retard at work because retards do not need to do much but yet have a role to play.  Or perhaps Willy should be someone ruthless, brutal, who has the mindset of winning is everything, whatever the cost, whatever it takes.  Wilfrid could never be a CEO but perhaps Willy may have a shot?

Now how about that?

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Anna Tsuchiya – Nudy Show! – Catchy, Very Catchy

As the vocalist behind one of the two bands in the popular Japanese anime series “Nana”, at times I wonder if Anna Tsuchiya has made the anime famous or it is the other way round.  I think it is a bit of both.  Her second album “Nudy Show!” (2008) follows closely with the style of her first album “Strip Me?” (2006).  Catchy rock music, with majority of the songs and lyrics in English.  The direct imported version from Amazon.co.jp comes with translated lyrics in Japanese (?!) and a DVD that contains 7 music videos and other bonus clips.  I did not think that I am capable to order from a Japanese website but I did it.

Two beautiful songs from the Nana anime has made it to this album – “Lucy” and “黒い涙”.  The latter one written in entirely Japanese, which is unusual for Anna Tsuchiya.  What stands out in this entire album besides the catchy tunes is the quality of the band.  The tracks are creatively played.  It is enjoyable to listen to each instrument taking turn to do its solo.  The amount of production is just nice.  Not too highly produced until you cannot tell who is playing what.  Nor too under produced until you feel empty with the gaps and repetitions.  The track “Ginger” stands out to be the most contagious track, a collaboration with the Japanese band Monkey Majik.

And if you prefer an upbeat song, check out “Ginger”.  I think “Nudy Show!” has enough materials for Nana had the manga author decided to continue with the series after her hospitalisation.  As for me, I have Anna Tsuchiya’s upcoming album to look forward to (end of September release).

Categories
Comedy Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Heartbreaker – A Quality French Romantic Comedy

If you love romantic comedy, you ought not to miss this one.  As far as the story goes, there are three categories of women in a relationship: (1) happy, (2) knowingly unhappy, and (3) unknowingly unhappy.  The main character played by Romain Duris together with his sister and his brother-in-law have made a profession out of breaking up relationships in the last category.  The method is seduction.  The only rule is that they do not break up couples in love.  Then comes a day when Team Heartbreaker is desperate for money and they are hired by the bride-to-be’s dad to break up a seemingly perfect couple.  That is when Romain Duris meets Vanessa Paradis.

I have been following some of Romain Duris’s work since the day I watched his sci-fi movie “Peut-être (1999)” in Paris, which includes the more well-known films (in this part of the world) “The Spanish Apartment (2002)” and “The Russian Doll (2005)”.  He is one versatile actor and there is a good range of emotion in “Heartbreaker” for him to shine.  As for Vanessa Paradis, most of the time she plays it cool so I cannot say much about her acting.  At the age of 37 and a mother of two, she is still stunning.  And she does not wear excessive make-up either.  Pure natural beauty.  I have been a fan of her music career.  It is my first time seeing her on big screen, which I am glad that I did.

As far as the movie goes, there are plenty of quality comedy from the beginning till the end.  And there is also a fair amount of drama.  What does quality comedy mean?  Well, you know how forgettable most comedies are?  When you walk out of the theater long after you have watched “Heartbreaker”, chances are, you would still remember some of the scenes and still have a good laugh thinking about them.  Speaking as such, I still remember some of the scenes in “Peut-être (1999)”.  Filmed largely at Monaco, which we have recently visited, that is probably another reason why we love “Heartbreaker”.

Categories
Photography Travel Blog

Sacre-Coeur And Montmartre, Pompidou Centre And Eiffel Tower

I am not a big fan of Eiffel Tower.  But when we visited France, I had one mission in mind: To take a photograph of Eiffel Tower that is seldom seen before.  I think I have somewhat achieved that.  There is some deeper connotation with regards to how this photo is composed.  But I shall leave it to open interpretation.

Day 4 and the weather got warmer and warmer, more like a summer holiday.  It did take some time for Cynthia and I to recuperate from the jet lag, change in weather, and slip into a more productive mode of being a tourist.  In the morning, we have visited the Sacre-Coeur or Sacred Heart Basilica.  It is hard to miss this basilica when you look at the landscape of Paris.  It is white in color and is located on top of a hilly area called Montmartre.  We had spent a good number of hours under the sun admiring the monuments.  And we had spent a good number of hours inside the museums.  By the time evening arrived, we had a delicious dinner at a Corsica restaurant.  Likely to be one of the best meal we had in Paris.

To read more about our 4th day in Paris, here are the options.

Categories
Snippet of My Life

Snippet Of My Life Episode 27 – Some Kind Of Diary

A list of random thoughts and observations that bombard me lately begins with a comment made by my good buddy whom I met for lunch at Changi, somewhere so far away that colleagues aside, I have only got two lunch buddies to hassle with and naturally, they have become – again, colleagues aside – the second and third person I see most often, first being Cynthia of course.  Fortunately, both are guys.  Otherwise, Cynthia would be very suspicious of my activities in this faraway land.

My buddy asked, “What do you write in your website?  It is not a diary.  And I can’t find any moment of intimacy* inside!”

* Note: Censored for PG rating.

I guess I am not that good in sequencing my daily thoughts and actions into one neat post.  And besides, something are better left to the readers’ imagination.  Do you consider posts like this one some kind of diary?

*     *     Best Friend At Work *     *

Every year, we have to complete a corporate survey.  Every year, I am amused by some of the questions I have to answer openly and honestly.  The most intriguing question, philosophically speaking, is: Do you have a best friend at work?

Think.  How long does it take for me to acquire a best friend outside work?  One year?  Two years?  Many years?  After working in this company for more than three years, I am still perplexed by this same question.

So I have done some soul searching.  And I have come up with a list of what it takes to be my best friend.

  1. My best friend accepts me for what and who I am and still thinks that I am the coolest person on Earth despite all my shortcomings.
  2. That includes the fact that I am often late for my appointments and I enjoy playing video games a lot.
  3. My best friend is ever so supportive to all my ideas, always keen to listen to my ideas, even though my ideas suck at times.
  4. My best friend and I trust each other with our lives.  When I say “Jump?”, I know I am not the only one who will dive in.
  5. My best friend fixes all my problems and make me the coolest person on Earth.

Tell me.  Do you have a best friend at work?  If you do, I am truly happy for you.

*     *     Who Cares?     *     *

I find the following question equally mind-boggling: Does your supervisor, or someone at work, care for you as a person?

Who cares if someone at work care for me as a person if my boss doesn’t?

Inspired by a question on whether or not my good work has been recognised and praised upon in the past 6 months, I turned to Cynthia for an answer.  She gave me a definite yes.  Her colleagues at work are the supportive kind.  I was in tears.  Happy for her.  When I gave her my answer, she too was in tears.  But not the same kind of tears.

All of a sudden, at a macro level, I think I have unlocked the mystery of why some people spend so much more time at work than at home, thinking about work all the time, and messing with their business phones all the time.  Take me as an example.  My direct competitors are Cynthia’s colleagues, who are showering her with praises and recognition during working hours.  If I am not giving her as much, if not more at home to balance that out, she would prefer to spend more time at work.  Make sense?  Here is a list of I-mean-what-I-say-when-I-say-to-Cynthia for sharing.

  1. You are the best!
  2. You smell great (any time of the day).
  3. You look great (even when her sensitive skin acts up).
  4. I love your hair (even when her hair flies everywhere).
  5. You are the best!

As for Cynthia, she is the lucky one.  She does not need to do much for I am getting none at work.

*     *     Where Are The Aliens *     *     *

We have not found any aliens.  Are we looking at the wrong places?  Or we are looking at the wrong thing?  Recently, scientists suggest that aliens may have evolved into sentient machines.  The pinnacle of evolution.  That, my friends, sound very much like one of my favorite video games Mass Effect.

Are video games art?  Don’t some qualify as the expression or application of creative skill and imagination, typically in visual form, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power – as defined by the Oxford dictionary?

Video games transcend the meaning of art.  Video games foretell our future.

Back to the aliens, if you were to ask me, in my wildest imagination, I think aliens have the following attributes.

  1. Female only species evolved to physical perfection.
  2. After the age of 24, physical appearance stays that way for as long as they live (note: I wanted to write 18 but some of you may think that I am a pervert).
  3. Able to read our minds – when we want it, how we want it.
  4. Long hair, long legs.
  5. …*

* Note: Censored for PG rating.

*     *     Daily Surprises     *     *

Here are something about me that some of you may have observed.

  1. Very easily excitable.
  2. Attack all things with passion.
  3. Appears to have all the time in the world to do different things in life.
  4. Does not appear to run out of things to do …
  5. … even though some of these things that I write and do make me looks like an idiot – retrospectively speaking.

Recently, I have made my first attempt to order Japanese music albums from the Amazon Japan website.  It was an exhilarating experience as I do not read Japanese.  I had no idea I could do it but I did it nonetheless.  Talking about Japanese efficiency, there is only one shipment option: express.  The moment my order was received, the shipment arrived at my doorstep within 24 hours.  I am impressed.  Very impressed.  I was so happy to see the DHL delivery man.  Being a DHL delivery man must be one of the most rewarding jobs on Earth.  I would love to see the smile of people every time I make a delivery.  Talking about recognition and praises at work.

One of the few things that keep the trapped Chilean miners from getting depressed – according to the news – is to give them daily surprises.  Daily surprises destroy monotony and boredom.  Perhaps that is why I keep on creating opportunities to give myself daily surprises.

*     *     Drowning In The Stream Of Consciousness *     *

… and yes, driving away from town – after dropping off Cynthia at her office – away from the traffic congestion, the rudeness and ruthlessness of the drivers, especially the taxi drivers, and away from some of the unpleasant memories of working in town for a decade or so, I feel such freedom when I am propelled to the highway, heading towards the east, towards the blinding morning sun, the smooth traffic, a future yet to be written, and on my way to an office that is less than half a year old, a place dotted scarcely with commercial buildings, a place covered with green turf and palm trees and in the middle of the business park, a man-made lake with a man-made tiny fountain, and yes, even that short palm tree in the middle of the road, which I often have my face poked by its sharp and hard leaves while I am not paying attention – I cannot stop but to think of the many things I have grown to love about Changi: the butterflies, the fresh air, the tranquility, the sun, and the morning dew that wets my shoes when I walk across a long green field as part of my daily walking ritual after lunch for there are nothing else to do in Changi Business Park except to work on the 3rd floor, and eat on the 6th floor, and work, and eat, and yes, it is possible to make the daily routine more interesting by introducing other routines such as the daily lunch time walk, such as staring at the blue sky through the window by my desk and admiring the aeroplanes of different shapes and sizes and airlines take off by the minutes – such are the scenes that will stay the same tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and many years to come, eating up my life one day at a time initially, and when I am not paying attention, one month at a time, one year at a time, one decade at a time …

PS. An experimental piece on the “drowning in the stream of consciousness” writing style as inspired by Thomas Foster’s book on reading novels.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

How To Read Novels Like A Professor – Thomas C. Foster – Be Inspired As A Reader Or A Writer

This book is a heavy read for me, despite the amiable effort by the author to make it as readable as it can be.  The tone is friendly, the style is classroom instructional, and there are humours in the book too.  But unless you are trained in literature and are well read, you are going to go through the book in snail speed trying to digest the contents.  I may consider owning this book because reading once is not enough.  For all the effort, what do you get out of this book?  Cliché as it sounds, you may get to read novels like a professor.  As for me, I am still far from that goal.  Probably need to work a lot harder to get there.

“How To Read Novels Like A Professor” is structured in 22 chapters that are creatively named (such as Met-him-pike-hoses or Source Codes and Recycle Bins and my favorite When Very Bad People Happen To Good Novels).  Each chapter deals with one aspect of reading novels.  Some I am familiar with (or I have a conceptual preexisting idea).  Some I have unheard of.  Like the 18th episode of James Joyce’s Ulysses that begins and ends with the word “yes”.  That one sentence can go on and go forever.  What a demonstration of the meaning of drowning in the stream of consciousness.

The book starts with what readers can derive from the first page of a novel.  Namely style, tone, mood, diction, point of view, narrative presence and attitude, time frame, time management, place, motif, theme, irony, rhythm, pace, expectations, character, and instructions on how to read a novel.  Something familiar to – I presume – literature students (but not I of course).  Did you know that as far as narration goes, there are only seven possibilities and each has a different set of effects and functions?  The author then moves away from the basic and into subtle but important observations on how a novel is constructed, what to look out for.  For example, characters are made out of words that may not fully describe the characters.  It is the readers who ‘supply our own storehouse of information about how people or objects look in real world’ (that reminds me of the movie “Inception“).  It is impossible to write a novel describing all the details involved in, say, half a billion people achieving their freedom from colonial rule.  But a writer can help to form the picture by looking through the eyes of a main character.  The readers would supply the rest.  Any idea which book I am referring to (see footnote)?

Throughout the book, the author stresses the point that a novel is a work of fiction, the story is not real.  But yet, some novels are able to captivate readers’ attention and imagination.  Thomas Foster then examines a large repository of novels putting some of them side by side to illustrate his points.  I wish I have read even a fraction of what he has quoted.  Fortunately, Foster has done an excellent job in narrating some parts of the stories so as to make some of us who are not as well read feel inclusive to the discussion.

I agree with the author that it is the readers who keep a novel alive.  And books lead to books, ideas to ideas.  Although this book is titled as such, I am convinced that it is equally essential for those who are aspired to be a novelist.  At the end of the book, there is a list of books for further reading.  This list could be of value to those who are into this topic.  Believe it or not, I do own one of the recommended books: Six Memos for the Next Millennium (1988) by Italo Calvino.  Now, that is a heavy read and I have yet to finish reading it, despite the numerous attempts.

PS. The book I was referring to is called Midnight’s Children written by Salman Rushdie.

Categories
Photography Travel Blog

Day 3 And We Went Up The Towers Of Notre-Dame

Finally, the blue sky appeared on the third day of our holiday.  We switched from museum crawling to monument crawling.  If I am to pick one place in Paris I love to hang out the most, that has to be the two islands – Ile de la Cité and Ile St-Louis – in the center of the city.  These two islands are so tiny but yet, to me, they are the focal point of the numerous momuments in Paris.  That is why when you climb the 387 steps and stand on the top of the south tower of Notre-Dame, you can see Sainte-Chapelle, Hôtel-Dieu, Palais de Justic, Arc de Triomphe, echoed by Grande Arche de La Défense to the west.  Saint-Jacques Tower and Sacré-CÅ“ur rise up over Montmartre to the north.  To the east, the Bibliothèque Nationale and to the south, the Latin district and turning westwards, Les Invalides.

To read more about the third day of our trip, here are the options.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

The Expendables – Now, That Is Loud

I can understand why this film receives mixed reviews.  And I can also understand why this film is doing quite well, commercially speaking.  Audiences love to feel good.  We love to see our heroes beating up the bad guys, many bad guys.  And we hate to see our heroes getting hurt or get killed.  “The Expendables” delivers just that, with a big team of stars.  I was not expecting anything intelligent from the plot and hence, this film works for me.  Some dialogs can be entertaining too.  The clip with the uncredited Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis is probably one of my favorites (though some may cringe).  There is not much acting to highlight per se.  But I enjoy watching one particular scene as Mickey Rourke recounts the past.  That is a convincing piece of acting.

I am a big fan of Stallone and his career thus far has inspired me to rise up to the challenge against all odds (that Rocky theme song still plays inside my head when that happens).  Directed and co-written by Stallone, “The Expendables” is full of loud action.  Some action scenes are so incredible that can only be seen in a shoot-them-all type of video game.  The story is pretty simple.  A CIA officer has hired the mercenary group called The Expendables to kill off a dictator in a fictitious island backed by an ex-CIA agent.  And in the mist of this, the general’s daughter whom seems to disagree with her father’s dictatorship is involved.  Hardly an epic storyline, I must agree.  But it is good to see the actors having fun with the scenes like good old friends.

We watched this film at Cathay Cineleisure and the sound effect was loud, really loud: The gunfire and the explosion and let’s not forget that super loud machine gun that is capable to blow bodies and military structures into pieces with a single shot or two.  Fortunately, not everyone in The Expendables equips that I-win weapon.  I like the knife fight better.  More stylish to watch.

And yes, there is some blood and gore.  But worries not.  I have seen worse on screen, much worse.  It was the loud sound effect that seemed to bug me, for just a bit.

Categories
Blu-ray / DVD Review

Metallica – Francais Pour Une Nuit – A Must Have HD Concert Recording For Fans

I have watched concert recordings of different sorts.  It is the first time I see one hosted inside an ancient Coliseum, where gladiators battled for their lives thousands of years ago.  From the moment James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo entered through the gladiator tunnel, till the last song of the set, this 2-hour long concert electrified both Cynthia and I.  We were exhausted after watching the show in HD format.  2 hours, we were glued in front of the TV, waving our hands and jumping on the floor.  Cynthia remembers the lyrics so she could sing along with some of the songs.  I was in high spirit when they played “The Day That Never Comes” and “Nothing Else Matters”.  Yes, I can be a softy at heart.

Consider the relatively small price difference between the Blu-ray format and the DVD format, HD is a worthy investment.  With the high clarity in picture and audio quality, “Francais Pour Une Nuit” has captured the essence of the live performance well.  There were cameras that scanned through the cheering crowd, there were cameras that took close-up shots on each band member, and there was a camera that ran along the rail placed in front of the stage (that unfortunately tends to shake a bit due to the vibration coming from the bass drums).  The entire concert setup and recording was made by the French.  Metallica purposely wanted this concert to be as French as it could be.  With such a historical venue in Nîmes (South of France), it is a suiting decision to capture the essence of the location and the people behind it too.

Cynthia loves Metallica’s first album (1983) to the “Black Album” (1991).  Because she listens to Metallica since the beginning.  As for me, I love their “Black Album” all the way to the most recent release “Death Magnetic” (2008).  That was when I started listening to Metallica.  Hence you can imagine that while we watched “Francais Pour Une Nuit”, some songs got Cynthia excited more and other songs got me on my feet more.  Looking at the song list, you bound to question why some songs are not included.  For Cynthia, she yearned for “… And Justice For All” while for me, “The Unforgiven”.  Inside the 40 minutes interview, Lars shared with the viewers that they have a song list of over 70 songs and they aim to play different sets at different venues in order to keep themselves alert.

We like this recording because it is evident that each band member has given his all.  James, he is always charismatic on stage.  His guitar riffs are beautiful.  The way he rallied the crowd, we could feel it even though we were in front of our TV.  Robert is as usual, entertaining to watch on stage.  The frequent eye contacts he has with Lars – as later on expressed during the interview – is due to the fact that he as a bassist needs to feel connected with the drummer and to feel the flow of the beats.  And Lars, what a joy to watch.  He could hold the beats fast and steady, seated or on his feet.  He must be the most hardworking man on stage.  Initially, Kirk did not seem to receive as much air time as the rest of the members.  But when he did, it was when he was playing his mad guitar solos.  Kirk admitted in the interview that he does not necessarily play the same solo all the time.  I suppose that is what make the performance comes alive.

Some tracks moved the crowd better than others.  I guess that is fact in life.  Some songs are so majestically executed that you could see the triumphant joy and expression of James at the end of the track.  The success of “Death Magnetic” has played a vital role in the success of their tour because often, the crowd tends to like the more familiar classic tracks better.  However, some of the songs taken from the new album did just as well, meshing in cohesively with their songs written 25 years ago.

I cannot think of any metal band that can deliver a performance as electrifying as Metallica; I cannot think of a more unique venue than an ancient Coliseum; I cannot think of a better media format to capture the essence of the live concert today than in HD.  Hence, if you are a Metallica fan, “Francais Pour Une Nuit” in Blu-ray format is a must-have.  Stick around for the 40 minutes interview too.  It is interesting to see how each member responded to the same question differently (in the backdrop of the Coliseum) – from the “true value” of the band to their involvement with the game “Guitar Hero”.

Categories
Travel Blog

Koalas and Kangaroos, Penguins and Black Swines

Note: This photo was taken in 2007 using my point-and-shoot camera during our trip to Australia.  I needed to make a short speech on one of my holidays in Spanish.  Panic, I have started writing in simple 5th grade English and hoped to translate this piece of writing into Spanish on the way to my class.  That did not work out.

I wanted to visit Australia because I love koalas.  I love koalas because they are cute. But I read that they can be quite fearsome.  Their claws are sharp and some of them carry sexually transmitted diseases.  They move slowly.  Fortunately there are no leopards or snakes in Australia.  Otherwise, koalas are easy targets.  They would have been extinct by now.

Koalas are driven to the blink of extinction because of their low sex drive.  I wonder if taking the blue pills would help them to procreate better.  Koalas love to hug trees, only eat one type of leaves – eucalyptus leaves.  I read that eucalyptus leaves are poisonous, like drugs.  That is why it takes the koalas a long time to digest.  That is why most of the time they look stoned, as though they are high on drug.  I like their evolved siblings – wombats.  Once upon a time, wombats had collectively decided to diversify their dietary, to live on the ground, and to make love not on trees.  This seems to be a more successful strategy.  If you look at the butt of a wombat, you may mistake it as a koala.  That was why Cynthia got me a wombat soft toy during her first visit to down south when I specifically asked for a koala.

Australia has a lot of sun, very little water.  Cynthia and I have visited a national park.  When we saw a herd of kangaroos running across a valley, I jumped out of the car in excitement and took out my small point and shoot camera.  By the time my camera was ready for action, the kangaroos had disappeared into the charcoal coloured bushes.  There had been a recent forest fire due to dry weather.  But that did not stop me from admiring the animals of the wild.  I was brought up in a city. Most animals I see are served as food on my dining table.  I have tried eating kangaroo meat.  It is tough.  It does not taste like chicken.  I have a theory that everything except beef, pork, and fish tastes like chicken – such as snake.  In fact, kangaroo meat does not taste like anything at all.

It was Chinese New year.  And we visited a casino by a river.  Outside the casino there were tents with pigs inside.  One pig was black in colour and it got me excited.  I thought that all pigs were pink, like in the cartoons.  That black swine had big tits, many tits.  And she fed milk to piglets of black and of pink.  I was moved.  I could see racial harmony in Australia down to the animal level.

I love our trip to Australia because I got to drive a car along the Great Ocean Road.  Seeing those gigantic rocks by the ocean gave me an urge to paint in oil.  I could see rocks in the shape of koalas.  I think that is how the Australians name those rocks – 12 Koalas.  I tried to count.  But I could only find nine.  When we drove in Australia, I tended to stop whenever I saw a koala, waiting patiently for it to move.  Most of the time, they curled up like a ball and did nothing.  I stood up like a statue and did nothing.

Little Penguins are one and a half feet tall, weight about one kilogram.  At sunset, we were hiding in the dark together with the rest of the tourist, braving the cold drizzling rain, and waiting for the penguins to arrive at the shore.  When the little army of Little Penguins appeared, my heart cried in joy.  I was told that the penguins would return to their burrows and procreate.  I was happy for them.  When we left the park, I did a check underneath the car as advised in order to avoid running over a penguin by mistake.  I was disappointed when I saw none.  If I did, I would have picked it up and hide it inside the car boot.  Little penguins are like chickens, birds that cannot fly. Since its conservation status is “least concern”, I doubt Green Peace would mind if I keep one at home.  We were not allowed to take photographs.  So we bought a postcard instead.