a few days of happiness

My usual habit brings me online to those chatting/dating/fun online places a few times everyday. As usual, I never really expected to see anyone new or experience anything exciting until one day when a headless profile talked to me. He sent me his face photo the first few minutes of talking to me. He seemed pretty nice, with an interesting name I've never heard of. C. Nice to meet you, I'm Stan. He was on vacation from Hong Kong for a week. C seemed sincere and want to meet, but knowing myself, I was afraid, and I gave myself the excuse of going to swim everyday after work to avoid stepping out of my comfort zone. Nearing the weekend, I thought I might as well try it out. His profile changed to a face shot. It was sexier than the photo he sent. I left him a message, but he didn't reply until much later in the evening.

I was all prepped to meet him that night, but he didn't seem to want to meet. I ended up going out with Daniel for a drink and had a pretty good time. C did say he wish to meet me on Sunday, and hoped to hang out in the afternoon until late. I was hesitant, nervous and told him that I may only be able to hang out later in the afternoon. He sounded disappointed, but he was fine with it. I told him I had to take my mom to run errands, but actually I just didn't want to meet him for that long, not knowing how it might turn out. Finally when it was time, I sucked it up and whatsapped him to arrange to meet.

When I first saw him, I think I was neither disappointed or excited. I was a bit surprised that he actually looked very casual, because he came downtown straight from the gym. He was wearing just a tank top, track pants and running shoes, holding a Holts bag. I thought he was closer to my age according to his photos, but instantly I knew he is much younger than I am. I was a bit nervous still, speaking in English, trying to be all diplomatic and polite. I took him to Granville Island, and I tried to talk to him the whole way. It wasn't uncomfortable, but I was still nervous, and I think he was still a bit shy and didn't say too much. I didn't think he would want to get "naughty" as he said so on Grindr.

The more we walked around and talked about everything I can think of, the more comfortable we are with each other. When we were lining up at Anton's Pasta, he saw Great Cuts and started joking about it. I was a bit embarrassed because we were in a line-up. But he seemed to have a great time joking around and I felt like we were two young kids having fun poking around the name.

At the restaurant, he ordered three items, which I was a bit shocked because I only ordered one. I thought he was either a big eater, or he's a bit shameless. However I still thought I'd treat him this meal anyway since I have a coupon. The meal wasn't too bad, but I think we were both pretty much in food coma after dinner. We decided to head back to Richmond as opposed to going to Celebrities that I suggested earlier. On the way, I asked him if he preferred watching Harry Potter at the movies, or go back to my home to watch a downloaded movie. He opted to come back to my home. Unfortunately, my family is still sitting in the living room watching tv, so we went to Leisure to kill some time.

By the time we got home, I was able to sneak C into my room. He seemed pretty shy, but when I went to change into shorts, he took his track pants off and asked if I can lend him something to wear too. I was a bit shocked but excited, and embarrassed that I didn't have anything for him to wear. So he just decided to hang out in his tank top and trunks. I was more than fine with that, but I didn't dare to stare or make any move. C seemed pretty comfortable in his underwear. He was fine with crawling into the bed, and even pointing his butt at me (unintentionally, maybe) while getting his phone. Being playful at that moment, I smacked his butt and he only made a few friendly remarks. That whole evening while watching the movies on my computer, I only remember the image of him calmly sitting on the floor being a bit shy. It was so cute. He asked to have some instant noodles, and I made some for him. He swallowed the whole thing in a blink, which I thought was impressive.

We then headed to bed. So far we still didn't have much physical interaction, and seeing that we might both fall asleep soon, I started moving around more, a bit closer to him each time, and finally we had a bit of physical interaction. We pressed our bodies slightly together, and finally a hand or two on each other, we ended up cuddling each other.

We became more and more intertwined, and finally we started feeling each other's bodies. He had a great body, and he seemed to like my not-so-great body. I felt his muscles from chest to legs. He has what felt like a really cute ass, and I couldn't stop hugging him. However, him being too tired, finally fell asleep while on top of my one arm. He was also a loud snorer, but I didn't seem to care too much. I really enjoyed cuddling with him.

＊A few years have passed, and he's already released a few albums.  I bought one song (sorry, only one) and it sounded great!  He has a great manly jazzy old-school voice and it's always so soothing listening to his voice.  Although he did mention he was going to write a song for me, I am not keeping my hopes up.

春天在幹嘛?? 春天在蓋 儲*藏*室

春天到了 天氣變溫暖一點了
我們大家終於決定打算花下大筆金子
在後院蓋一棟渴望很久的儲藏室

雖然事先有想過很久
考慮了後院很多的地點
我一直都有在想著儲藏室的造型
所以在短短的幾天內把3D構想圖 結構圖都弄出來了

我和姐夫包了好幾層衣服
終於到後院開工挖地基了

隔壁的舅舅聽到了我們開工的消息
也很興奮的從他在木隔牆裡做的一個小門鑽了過來
我和姐夫跟舅舅討論了一些構想
萬萬想不到的
竟然被舅舅一慫恿
就說服了說要蓋大一點而 停*工*了

當晚 就剛好有了一個更簡單 更喜歡的構想
把圖畫一畫了之後
接下來的幾天就去買材料 也終於可以復工了

挖地基的日子真的不好過
雜草堆的垃圾統統弄走了以後
留下了後院大樹的一堆大小不一的莖要砍
還偶爾的看到一些噁心的蚯蚓 無殼蝸牛等等的

弄好地基以後
就正式開始蓋了我們的土黃小狗屋
牆壁弄一弄 竟然發現我們蓋的不是小儲藏室
而是高大的儲藏大廈...

但是這樣比例比較好
所以就自己說服自己 說這樣才有更多的空間

工程迅速的完成了
大部分都還瞞滿意的達到目標
雖然有些地方下次蓋的話我絕對會改善

好啦~ 朋友們~ 你們的客房 完工啦~

暑假回憶錄 之史

為了不想讓今年過的太莫名其妙
讓整天在家走來走去或者躺在沙發上看電視的回憶淹沒一切之外
我打算把今年在國內度假(*註)的回憶筆記下來
畢竟我是個只有7秒鐘記億的金魚族

雖然去年暑假也有去紐約找久違的大學同學們
還莫名的陪了她做了一個艱苦的抉擇
和實現了她緊接的"12小時內打包搬離紐約計畫"
我已腦死的記憶加上懶惰的天性大概就已經注定了這趟紐約之旅將被排斥在外的命運

但是就看在也是暑假去的份上 貼貼照片應該不會太難吧
(好煩喔 直的跟橫的照片還有大小差別 但是懶得想要怎麼調...)

*因為有領某種政府送的錢 所以不敢大搖大擺的跨國界出國玩


我最愛的建築物之一: American Folk Art Museum


Guggenheim 的屋頂


每天要在大熱天爬5層樓的朋友住的特色小公寓


準備出去晃晃屁股


上去Empire State Building太貴了, 所以去比較便宜的Rockafeller而且還看得到Empire State Building


屋頂上閒晃

toilet tale

I'm already used to going to the toilet at work. Sometimes I go twice in a day, thinking that I'd save some toilet paper at work. Usually there is no one else in the washroom when I go, since there are only so many men working on the same floor as our office. However, a few times I suspect there were guys from my office that came in while I was unloading. I'd tuck my feet closer to avoid them noticing my shoes.

Yesterday, when I was on the toilet, taking time to wipe myself clean gently, a man came in. I had a feeling it was my boss. The door that opened and closed before he entered the washroom sounded close by. Not as close as the door I leave the office from, but sounded like the main office door.

I panicked a little, taking extra care to pull out the tissues quietly, wiping quickly and got up. I pulled my underwear up quickly, but in the slight panic mood, my underwear waist band slipped. It slapped against my flesh in a loud and embarrassing noise. I got dressed, washed my hands and left in a hurry.

It's a weird feeling to sit beside my boss with my pants down with the slight stench of defecation in the air. I don't know how girls do it, but it's a situation I always try to avoid.

Maha-Mantra

Please chant this Maha-Mantra and your life will be sublime:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

butt-harassed

It was funny seeing the woman sitting in front of me jerked when the man standing next to him bent down and forced his butt into her arm. The guy must have an insensitive butt, not feeling that he had bumped into the woman quite noticeably. After a few smirks to myself, I closed my eyes and rested for a bit a few more stops before time for me to get off. Then I suddenly jerked and woke up, with a familiarity of witnessing what I just saw a moment ago. I was also attacked by the butt-man. He was forced to move down the aisle while I had my eyes closed and half unconscious. The bus stopped, and people were getting out, so he bent down to move his backpack, and bumped his butt into me noticeably. Then again, again, and again. He's a weird guy, I thought. How can he not feel the sensation of sticking his ass up against someone? Or maybe where ever he's from, it's an act of friendliness to stick your butt into someone without the need to feel embarassed or the need to apologize. I was butt-harassed four times this morning. Hello to you too, where ever you're from, butt-man.

l'arc~en~ciel

still my favorite japanese band of all time

sticky and sweet eh?

section 52
row RR
seat 105, 106

just a bit higher up and i can touch the inflated roof of bc place



i think my mama is cooler than madonna

overpowered

Overpowered



When I think that I'm over you

I'm overpowered


Let Me Know




I don't belong to you

You don't belong to me

So don't hold on too tightly

Be inspired, Get involved, and Take action

朱平(2007-10-11)
剛剛跟在美國的大女兒Candice通完電話，她告訴我她跟她妹妹Brandy都已經三個月不吃牛肉，豬肉，雞肉，羊肉。僅吃海鮮及蔬菜水果，我問她們為什麼突然決定改變飲食的生活方式，是為了健康，環保，宗教的原因嗎？答案是：愛動物。
我問她們為什麼仍吃海鮮呢？答案是：未來目標不吃海鮮，目前仍吃。年青人有年青人的想法，我覺得也很好。因為她們有感動，有行動，支持自己的理念。也不擔心別人說“假道德”，“假慈悲”，“為德不卒”，想到，說到，就做了。我恭喜她們兩個，在二十幾歲就開始改變生活方式，養成好的飲食習慣。
最近，我突然變得很受歡迎，收到許多ICB讀者的email。問我許多年青人都會有的問題，雖然我都一一回了email。但仍有許多我或是沒有答案，或是覺得我沒有資格做任何開示的問題。
其中最常問的問題是“創業”。“自己做老板，自由自在，做自己喜歡的事”，我在回信中都強烈暗示，不要急著創業，創業可能更不自由更沒時間，現在應該好好問自己是不是僅在逃避困難，逃避責任。如果不能把目前的事弄好，寄望在自己創業時可以弄好，是不可能的。只要相信自己是可以創造自己命運，對自己負責，創業或不創業都是自然演化而發生的。
我知道即使我在信中不鼓勵年青人冒然創業。（年青人應該花時間在學習技能，“經驗生活”。）但這種夢想自己有一天能做老板（不求人，不受氣）卻是每一個年青人在叛逆時期的最自然反應。
我是在三十八歲時才創業的，而且是在沒有預期之下創業的（Accidental Entrepreneur）因此想創業永遠不會太晚，重要的是您要非常了解自己，適不適合創業。
在ICB的讀者中，許多都是對創意文化產業有興趣的。如果在未來時機成熟想創業，我有四件事情分享。
1. Be Different 不一樣不僅是 Be different，創造新的顧客，新的需求，新的類別 (New Category)，新的經營模式，更重要的是能改變再造原有的行業 (Re-Invent the Industry)
2. Be Authentic 做真實的自己我最擔心看到年青人追逐名人，追逐偶像，追逐流行，追逐 趨勢，忘記了自己獨特願景及年青人應有的理想主義。只有做一個真實的自己 (不僅是最好) 才會有真的熱忱，正向的能量。
3. Be Resilient 韌性因為堅持 ( persevere)是不夠的 ，重要的是從低潮中仍能保有“正向樂觀”的毅力，而能從新出發，這是所有創業者都有的特色。因為他們相信他們有能力創造自己的命運。
4. Higher Purpose 更高的目的如何找到更高的目的？賺錢，有利潤，僅是有了氧氣能生存而已，問題是您生存下來的目的是什麼？這也是為什麼愈來愈多人在思考For-Profit Social Enterprise的原因。（ICB第二期我所談的主題）
我可以舉iPod, NIKE或eBay等案例，但都太遙遠，所以我舉兩個台灣最近的例子（不怕自賣自誇或廣告嫌疑）。
•當包益民先生決定發行PPAPER雜誌時，他已決定改變台灣雜誌的設計風格，閱讀對象，訂價及通路。•當我在創立肯愛Nonzero非零餐廳時也已決定要改變傳統經營有機健康餐廳的模式！如何把設計帶進來，如何把cool帶進來，如何把零售帶進餐廳，如何重新建立一個新的飲食文化，新的生活儀式，新的創意文化產業。更重要的是Nonzero非零必須要是我真實相信的經營理念。（有人要知道我為什麼要取Nonzero非零為名字的原因嗎？可以email我。）
正如同我的兩個女兒一樣，當被啟發了，參與了，接下來就是行動。她們的決定不吃肉，包先生的PPAPER雜誌，我的肯夢Nonzero非零都是經過行動，改變才會發生的。至於會不會成功，就看每個人對成功的定義而決定了。我要再一次邀請所有讀者寫信給我，不管是問問題也好，或是有任何不同意見，我都期待與歡迎。畢竟，沒有互動就沒有參與，沒有參與就沒有擁有，唯有擁有，你才會真心改變。
朱平悅日人，漣漪人，生意人23.7.2007
•“As designers, we live to design things that are never “in”– so they’re never out.” - Massimo . Lella Vignelli -
•“That’s why great design, for instance, can’t have anything to do with trend.”
•“Never create for today”
•“Trust your gut”
•Don’t chase anything”

poisonmushroom

Lately it rained so much that our backyard had the new addition of shallow ponds and moss patches. What wonderful landscape elements, even though we did not necessarily wanted them at all. Then gradually at the far corner of the little back yard, strange blossoms began appearing near the chopped-off stump of the now-gone willow tree that probably absorbed all the water before it's fateful death, ordered by the evil queen of this pathetic breeze-ridden castle. Soon, little brown stems also appeared in the middle of the lawn. One more, two more, and the wicked finger-like sticks blossomed into wicked poisonous mushrooms. But now they're gone, decapitated by the frequently visiting lawn manicurist. Only its cousins, the evil tree stump fungi survived, but their glorious days are over, all they can do now is wither away into itself.

流浪神狗人

這世界甚麼東西都可以待價而沽。當手部模特兒的青青，最有價值的只有她那一雙手。開著大貨車往返臺北、臺東的必勇與阿美，價值卻比不上他們載送的頂級水蜜 桃。必勇搏擊散打冠軍的女兒書瓦，有價值的則是她眼中永遠的恨意。經常被神明託夢，到處營救落難神像「撿神明」的牛角，卻愁於買不起價值十幾萬的義肢。而 榮登大畏王冠軍的流浪兒阿仙，最有價值的卻是因為流浪而永遠吃不飽的欲望。當這群人努力往上爬，迎接命運時，一場死亡車禍的撞擊，卻讓他們偏離了軌道，鬼 門開的瞬間，迎接而來的是神的一個大玩笑……

This is a movie from Taiwan we saw at the Vancouver Film Festival. The movie is fairly abstract, sad and yet with hints of warmth and humor from the characters.

atonement

On the first day of Vancouver Film Festival, we went to see the opening movie "Atonement" starring Keira Knightley. The movie seemed a bit dull at the beginning, and the characters were seemed to have the well-postured British rigidness. But along the storyline, the vivid images were amazing and the storyline developed into something more interesting, with a unsuspected and surprising twist to the ending. Overall it was a really good movie, unique and fascinating story with numerous memorable scenes. Hooray for the pale people! Haha!

Mind Map

Recently I finished a pretty and colorful book on making mind maps. The idea is pretty fun and I thought I should make a giant mind map on the big, dirty plain wall I face most of my waking hours everyday. The topic? Happiness in my life. I figured this is the best way to remind me of the happy moments I experienced throughout my life so far. So don't sue me if your face happened to appear on my wall. You're just part of my happy memories.

Let Peaches Teach You

I miss my new (or what used to be,) "Impeach my Bush" Peaches CD. I lost it last year, presumably in the office when I brought it in. My colleagues all hated it, and thus highly suspicious of the strange disappearance of the CD. Apparently the girls at the office don't like crazy rapping and screaming bitches and loud electro noises. But it was all fun for me to listen to, even at work when the boss was out playing golf or whatever. Actually I liked the older album "Teaches of Peaches" better. Some of the songs were so addictive the beats just had to be played over and over both on my stereo and in my brain. They often consist of vulgar languages, and of course, with vulgar images like sporting just lingeries in their music videos. One more yay for these glam-shock princesses who just happened to be Canadian too!

Round and Round

The shit in my mind goes round and round
Round and round
Round and round...

Gus Gus

Recently I stumbled upon a treasure chest filled with songs. So I listened to them and they've started to grow on me. Funny MV they have about the "Call of the Wild." She actually pisses in the MV. Hahaha... gotta go take my piss now.

Marie Antoinette... Siouxsie and the Banshees

A while back we watched Marie Antoinette the movie at home, and one song was so catchy that I had to add to my no-so-legal collection. Turned out it's from Siouxsie and the Banshees... one of my old time pal Liz's favourite musicians. Yay Hong Kong Garden, and miss you lots Liz, even though I barely write you, and you never write back. Haha...

same old days

When everyday seems just the same, doing the same activities, wondering about the same issues, seeing the same people, with just different variations of what time you do what, it becomes a bit too dull for even the simplest brain to cope.

It's not that doing different activities is hard, it's finding different activities to do that's the problem so hard to overcome. Trust me, if there's a 'Losers Anonymous' around, you know who will be at their meetings!

m.i.a.'s got new album

Jimmy from the album Kala


After listening to some of the songs in the album, I have found renewed faith in Taiwan's 電子花車, or crappily translated - Electronic Flower Trucks (Where stripper-like girls dance to repetitive, high-beat low-tech cheesy electronic music on a stage of a moving truck covered with glittering lights and reflective decors, usually with several of them lined up in a procession for temple festivities).



I think that M.I.A. owes a pilgrimage to Taiwan to explore her potential in becoming a 台妹教主, or crappily translated again, queen of Tai-girls... haha. People will worship her.

Anyway, this album is fun with lots of high-pitched nasal singing Indian girls in backgroind, which has always been fun to listen to. But somehow I still like some of the catchy songs of the previous album better.

SAM's Olympic Sculpture Park

One last major site to visit was the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park. I remember reading about it when it was being developed. The site has both motorway and railway going through, and the distinct Z-shaped design of the site ingeniously differentiates people and transportation in a comfortable environment. There are large outdoor artworks dotting the landscape, with wonderful views towards the setting sun and places to sit and relax. There's no better way of finishing off the day trip to Seattle than a walk through the sculpture park.

bubble gums no more

Aside from the site visits in Seattle, I was hoping to discover something interesting and unusual. My answer revealed itself, also in Google (they should pay me for the advertisement!) when I came across a fascinating picture of a wall filled with colorful bubble gum. I promised myself to go see it and take that same picture myself!



The location of that wall is actually really close to the major tourist traffic. However barely anyone came to see it, as we were one of the few tourists that came and goofed around for a while. Getting there involves taking a discreet staircase from the Pike Street Market down to some dark, sketchy alleyway. And that's all. It's just right there with barely anyone around, except for some local bartenders having a smoke in the alleyway or some delivery men slacking off the backdoor. The sketchy alleyway was even patrolled by mounted police while we were there.



I still remember the smell of the bubble gum wall. It doesn't smell bad, but in my mind it's just disgusting because all that smell had to have been mixed in countless human grinders, mixing with salivas of who-knows-who. The strawberries, bananas, cherries and sometimes a hint of smoke just gags me.



But it's a beautious wall. Colorful, cheerful, creative, and smells sickly sweet. Amy and I made each other do some stupid stuff close - but not too close - to the wall to keep this moment alive in our minds. Unfortunately, we did not have the tools to contribute our own saliva onto the monument. This should be able to put me off bubble gums for a while.

Chapel of St. Ignatius

Another wonderful work of art a bit out of the way of downtown Seattle is the Chapel of St. Ignatius by Steven Holl. We took the local bus near the Seattle Public Library - with some help from the locals - to University of Seattle.

The small chapel is a great example of ingenius play of light within the space. Within the chapel, plenty of dramatic light is brought in by use of clever light catchers and windows. The interior walls took shape to play with different sources of light to diffuse and dramatize glows throughout the volume. The chapel is simple and yet the spaces created are well thought-out. It does feel like the architect knows how to do it well with lights.

Seattle Public Library

While old-time pal Amy was back to Vancouver, she proposed that we go to Seattle to visit the Seattle Public Library designed by well-known architect Rem Koolhaas.

The large crystal structure occupies the whole block within downtown Seattle. At first, I wasn't so fascinated with the overall perspective views I came across on Google. It looked more like a cold, inorganic piece of poop from above, but after arriving and circling around the structure looking from a more human perspective, I can't help but change my opinions about the library. From far away with a bird's-eye view, it's not as inviting and welcoming as when you're actually standing below the covered main entrance.

Things started to get more fascinating as we explored the interior of the library. Large open spaces, bold colors, detailed furniture. At every corner, every level there is something innovative and intricate that stopped and ahh'd us. From the ramps of the spiral levels to the long, neon escalators. The rich red meeting rooms level, the sky-blue steel structures, everything was stimulating to the picture-clicking archi freaks like us. It took us a few hours to explore and have some fun within the building, and it became a building that did make an impression on me.

pandora.com

A while ago, a stranger friend I met online gave me an online radio site called Pandora (http://www.pandora.com/). It calls itself the Music Genome Project, whatever that means, and all you have to do is get an account, type in what music you like, and it will play a lot of similar style of music for you. It's a great place to find out all sorts of never-heard-of artists. You can skip the ones you don't like, and buy the ones you like. It's great that it gave me a wider perspective of music, and led me to many other artists that I came to like. And of course, this site was a great friend during those boring working hours.

Walls by Apparat

useless information by Apparat


Recently I stumbled across a secret little place where I found the newest album of Apparat I can get my hands at. It has the melancholic beats Orchestra of Bubbles has, and some of the songs instantly hooked me onto the album.

Orchestra of Bubbles by Ellen Allien & Apparat

Way Out by Ellen Allien & Apparat

Along with Goldenboy's "Or" I also bought Orchestra of Bubbles by Ellen Allien & Apparat, two DJs from Berlin. This album is unique in it's mixture of electro beats, instrumentals, and Ellen's whispery voice. I actually liked this CD long before I actually bought it (listening from all the downloads, of course), and having always believed in supporting my truly favorite artists (and finding out the cheap deal on ebay), I decided to get it along with Goldenboy. However, I came to like this CD more than the Goldenboy. Just go listen and fall in love with it!

"Or" by Goldenboy

Ripping Kittin by Goldenbly featuring Miss Kittin

So just recently I've found a nice deal on the most popular search engine in the world (which is supposedly ebay, not too shockingly...) on a CD that I wanted but couldn't find in the stores around town. The CD is called Or by Goldenboy, a DJ from Hamburg, Germany. I started looking for his stuff after stumbling across a song of his with Miss Kittin which I loved. Ripping Kittin - the song that got me hooked on - is supposedly the best-received song on the whole album, which I later realized also and couldn't agree more with. After listening to the sample clips of all the songs on amazon, I've decide that it's worth the risk to purchase and add the album to my mini collection of CDs that is usually neglected and left out in the dark to collect dust.

After a week of impatient waiting, the CD finally came. And as usual with my luck with shipped CDs, the teeth of the hub that holds the CD in place are mostly broken, or maybe that's why the CD is that cheap, almost as cheap as the shipping fees actually.

Next comes the listening part. Miss Kittin, with her sexy voice, is present in many of the songs, and some reviews even claimed that the only success of the album is having Miss Kittin in the songs. After listening to the whole CD for a while, I can't help but start to agree a bit to that comment as well. But by far, the most successful is still Ripping Kittin. Some of the songs in the album can sometimes feel a bit repetitive, tiring and cheesy and are just asking to be skipped. But overall, the CD still gets your head shaking and heart beating.