Three Shades of Black

Four days left to cram 6 weeks' worth of lecture in my puny brain. I am nervous alright, mainly because this is so not mu cup of tea but aside from all the agony of exam preparation, I only have 3 not my cups of tea left and then I'll pretty much be free.

But come to think of it, freedom can be scary because without the limitations, you're not guided as to which path to take. Having been used to such constrictions, sometimes freedom is way too much to the point that you feel lost.
Having said all that, I'm looking forward to change, scared as I may be. Summer's almost here. That is good.

I worked a measley 4 hour shift yesterday. And on a Sunday, I am rather left with a huge chunk of time in my hands between work and church. Translated to 11am til 5pm, where I decided to not go home but rather sit at the Quay and study.

Opened with Casey. I was happy I did not sleep in but he did. Pay back time, I guess. It was pretty busy for a Sunday at Wynyard. I hung around the store after my shift as Casey suggested and decided to read the papers while he tells me all his stories about his girl in the UK and the forthcoming Thailand trip.

I'd love to go to Thailand now especially after hearing they have a Forensics museum where the Thai cannibal was preserved. I bet Josc would love that sorta thrill, too! There's also a whole lotta thai food so it's all good. Whoever goes there will be happy and content nonetheless.

My study locations are mostly strategically picked. This time, the Quay works for me because the sun has been up as of late and well I wanted to get my dose of vitamin D and I guess enjoy the open space. So I sat on the sun and because of the brollies around the open area, I burned two arms to varying degrees. One is more burnt than the other. Haha!

This week's gonna be rather rainy. I guess I have to study hard to keep my mind off the weather.

Church was good. Met a few new friends and bumped into Jess from cell. She didn't recognize me at first but I went up to her to say hi and ended up chatting a tad until we reach our respective platforms in central station.

Too bad she won't be in our cell now. She did encourage me to attend cell again. I guess there's my answer to that never ending question. I wish everything will be at least as clear cut as that.

Saturday was jazz day with Na, had a bit of a walk around the Rocks markets, ended up at The Orient for lunch. It was actually impressive despite the stinky pub on the ground floor. Going up to the restaurant was like going on a time travel, back to the 18th century. I had a small pumpkin on my plate. It was very halloweeny.

Read the papers and did a bit of studying at Transport House and the Quay then went to see Zhang Yimou's Hero with Rosa and Na at night.

The movie was fantastic. I won't give it my highest rating but still it's excellent. I've read Saturday's and Sunday's newspaper review, which I wasn't happy with as these were clearly Western perspectives, ignorant of what the Chinese culture is about, without even trying to research a bit on it.

I reckon an Eastern flick has to be judged based mainly on Eastern standards because whatever meaning it has is based on its roots and not some far fetched culture from who knows where. Saturday's review was more neutral and unbiased, with the attempt to understand Zhang Yimou's style and substance. Sunday's review was trashy, big-mouthed without any sense of open-mindedness.

I think the movie harped on a lot of Chinese values, not to mention the arts. Martial arts is meant to be pleasing to the eyes, thus the graceful movements. The colors, I'm sure stands for something rather than just a pure display of spectacular colors and the cinematography is very apt. It does not draw attention to itself, rather aids in showing the viewers what they need to understand the story better. It is the audience's window to the actual spectacle of the scenes.

I had a think about Yes Asia because of all this Hero business. As Iw as about to write for them I had to pick up a Chinese Cinema book to study Chinese film before I go around blabbering what I think of Chinese films, considering the audience for Yes Asia are gonna be mainly Chinese. After Hero, I felt like I have a certain knowledge imbedded in me by my upbringing, something unconsciously passed on from my ancestors to me. It made me more confident to go for such assignments because no matter how many influences I have been subject to, I still have that understanding for traditional Chinese values which makes a lot of sense to me.

And yeah Quentin Tarantino learned from Zhang Yimou, not the other way around.