Lika (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} silent_bunny) wrote,@ 2008-08-16 23:03:00 |
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Blimey, that week went by fast.
It was Sunday, I blinked, and it's suddenly the weekend. Apparently poor sleep screws up how one perceives time, and sleep has been poor of late, but really, when I think about it, no more poorer than it usually is. I'm just getting worse at dealing with it. Concentration has gone down the drain, and I still owe replies, emails, and SPAM >_< Not to mention I need to clean the place before my sister-in-law and the baby comes tomorrow. On one hand, I'm apprehensive at the thought of more noise, more distraction, more stress, less sleep and less time to catch up on online stuff. On the other hand, I can't wait to see my newest niece and to dote on her and hold her and love her as much as I love the other two. The other hand wins.
It looks like my contract will be renewed until Christmas, but for another position. I should over the moon with joy, but mostly, I'm just tired. Now I need to find another place to live for the fall, someplace close to work that's hopefully near an school that teaches Chinese.
I really want to learn Chinese. I can't describe the longing whenever I watch Hong Kong movies or listen to Chinese songs to understand what's they're saying. It was supposed to be be mine, the ability to speak those words and read the characters on the screen and understand the context of what's going on. I know I have no one to blame but myself for giving up on Chinese when I was teen, but it doesn't make the loss any easier. At least I have a great lifelong love for their entertainment which flares up every now and then.
Obviously, with the last few posts being about Hong Kong movies, right now is either a now or then. Warning that I will posting more on Hong Kong movies or Chinese music. I'll try to LJ-cut it so I don't clog up my flist, but yeah, more to come on that and on stars like Anita Mui, Sammi Cheng, and Sally Yeh, who's possibly the only female artist I'll like better as a *singer* (not an actress/performer/celebrity) than Anita Mui. I've been a fan of her singing and appropriately appreciative of her acting since John Woo's "The Killer". Then I saw her in "Peking Opera Blues" as the daughter of an opera theatre owner and she was just spectacular in that role (she also sang the two theme songs). In my opinion, she was the best thing in an already kickass movie, and had the perfect combination of screwball funny, determined heroics, and a down-to-earth girliness in a role that could have easily been bland and one-dimensional.
I also found out today that she practically Chinese illiterate. Turns out she spent her formative years in Canada - she's a big banana :D - and went back to Taiwan when she was 18 and basically learned Chinese as an adult. She could speak it, but couldn't understand written Chinese. They had to romanize the characters with English letters so she could sing or act them out. Hearing her sing and seeing her act, I find that hard to believe, especially her Cantonese. I remember her saying once that singing Cantonese was like swallowing a porcupine, but you'll never guess that with how clear her diction is when she sings it. I'm very impressed.
It also makes me feel better about learning Chinese as a adult (and I have been picking up more words and characters from all the movies and karaoke I've been watching, which is all sorts of exciting). Maybe there's hope for me too :)
It was Sunday, I blinked, and it's suddenly the weekend. Apparently poor sleep screws up how one perceives time, and sleep has been poor of late, but really, when I think about it, no more poorer than it usually is. I'm just getting worse at dealing with it. Concentration has gone down the drain, and I still owe replies, emails, and SPAM >_< Not to mention I need to clean the place before my sister-in-law and the baby comes tomorrow. On one hand, I'm apprehensive at the thought of more noise, more distraction, more stress, less sleep and less time to catch up on online stuff. On the other hand, I can't wait to see my newest niece and to dote on her and hold her and love her as much as I love the other two. The other hand wins.
It looks like my contract will be renewed until Christmas, but for another position. I should over the moon with joy, but mostly, I'm just tired. Now I need to find another place to live for the fall, someplace close to work that's hopefully near an school that teaches Chinese.
I really want to learn Chinese. I can't describe the longing whenever I watch Hong Kong movies or listen to Chinese songs to understand what's they're saying. It was supposed to be be mine, the ability to speak those words and read the characters on the screen and understand the context of what's going on. I know I have no one to blame but myself for giving up on Chinese when I was teen, but it doesn't make the loss any easier. At least I have a great lifelong love for their entertainment which flares up every now and then.
Obviously, with the last few posts being about Hong Kong movies, right now is either a now or then. Warning that I will posting more on Hong Kong movies or Chinese music. I'll try to LJ-cut it so I don't clog up my flist, but yeah, more to come on that and on stars like Anita Mui, Sammi Cheng, and Sally Yeh, who's possibly the only female artist I'll like better as a *singer* (not an actress/performer/celebrity) than Anita Mui. I've been a fan of her singing and appropriately appreciative of her acting since John Woo's "The Killer". Then I saw her in "Peking Opera Blues" as the daughter of an opera theatre owner and she was just spectacular in that role (she also sang the two theme songs). In my opinion, she was the best thing in an already kickass movie, and had the perfect combination of screwball funny, determined heroics, and a down-to-earth girliness in a role that could have easily been bland and one-dimensional.
I also found out today that she practically Chinese illiterate. Turns out she spent her formative years in Canada - she's a big banana :D - and went back to Taiwan when she was 18 and basically learned Chinese as an adult. She could speak it, but couldn't understand written Chinese. They had to romanize the characters with English letters so she could sing or act them out. Hearing her sing and seeing her act, I find that hard to believe, especially her Cantonese. I remember her saying once that singing Cantonese was like swallowing a porcupine, but you'll never guess that with how clear her diction is when she sings it. I'm very impressed.
It also makes me feel better about learning Chinese as a adult (and I have been picking up more words and characters from all the movies and karaoke I've been watching, which is all sorts of exciting). Maybe there's hope for me too :)
