Wednesday, September 05, 2018

I am a proud Asian, proud of Crazy Rich Asians

I have recently been pretty crazy about Crazy Rich Asians and really inspired by the interviews and all. Here's one with our very own Datuk Michelle Yeoh.



Yes, here I am. I have watched the movie and to be frank, I LOVED IT!! I know the story isn’t great but how many great stories are there? It’s the way of telling the story that matters. Crazy Rich Asians (CRA) is a huge step taken to actually show the world how does the Asian culture look like, the Chinese mindset of family, the South East Asian family setting. This is something to be appreciated not to be shunted aside because the story of a rich boy in love with a poor girl is lame. 
The reason I am writing this is that when I saw the movie, I was really excited and proud that it’s a Hollywood film made out of an all Asian cast. It has been 25 years since the Joy Luck Club, which I actually never heard of until I started to gain interest and started following interviews of actors from the Asian descent working in showbiz, I will do more research on it later, I promise. I was very happy and excited that the story was not only about Asians but specifically the South East Asians.. Which is ME!! I’m not crazy rich, nor rich maybe a little crazy but people out there will be seeing the colours of MY life, people who have zero knowledge about how I grew up and what I was taught, this is something that I could show. You watched CRA? Well, that’s somewhat my life minus the “rich” part. We were taught that family is very important and whatever that comes along the way, the family will still be the first priority. I have friends and family around me thinking that this is just some lame rom-com that is not worth their time. You can’t imagine how angry I was when someone told me that they would rather spend their money on a movie that is more “worthy”. Like, how is this not worthy?? It’s an American Production with an all Asian cast AND!!!! There are TWO, not ONE but TWO Malaysians in the main casts. As an Asian, A Chinese Asian, A Malaysian Chinese.. How could you not support something like this?? Especially within this period that we are feeling exceptionally more patriotic and with the new Malaysian coming along. I would say, there are a lot who are still not open-minded enough to accept the term “NEW”. 
I admit that the storyline is not great. We Asians are immune to this kind of love stories where a rich boy loves a poor girl, rich boy’s mother don’t like the poor girl, finds ways to kick the poor girl away and in the end, Love conquers all and everybody lived happily ever after. Right, that’s the story (Spoilers alerts, sorry too late) but anyway, I believe 90% of the people already knew how the ending would be, of course it’s gonna be a happy ending, it’a a rom-com. But have you noticed the details along the way?? More Spoilers! 
When Nick brought Rachel back home, he decided to introduce her during his grandma’s Tan Hwa blooming party, all his relatives will be there. See that? We love celebrations and gatherings, a small event to get the family together is part of our culture, even something as small as a flower blooming (although it’s a rare occasion) is still the excuse to bring everybody together, to meet new people joining the family (Rachel).
When Nick met his mom and his grandma after spending a long time abroad, the words that greeted him was “you need a haircut”, “you look unkempt”, “you look so thin”, “you need to eat more”… Which are exactly what most of us get when our family sees us after a while. Of course, I always love to hear people telling me that I have lost weight even when I did not.
The Dumpling making session was also great, reminds me of the time my family will get together to make Tang Yuan as we chit chat and catch up along the process. The little “theories” that were made to make the steps easier to remember, like Nick’s tucking the baby into bed or Oli’s “injecting botox into the face” were the cute details of what kept them together.
Nick’s room being exactly the way it is before he left is a symbol of how family will always welcome you back home regardless how you have changed or where you have been. His bed was always freshly made and his clothes were ironed every 2 weeks. It’s like no matter where you go, no matter how you have settled, there’s still a place you can call home where you can go back to anytime.
Peik Lin’s family being very tight together. Her parents are delighted to meet her friend Rachel and how they compared Rachel’s achievements with their own daughter and their own daughter will never be good enough but they are still very proud of her. When Peik Lin was doing Rachel’s makeover for Colin’s wedding, her parents kept barging in to provide opinions and join the fun. It’s a really cute scene to watch. And, the part where they are trying to tell their son that Rachel makes a good wife candidate. I don’t know about you, but it feels so warm and fuzzy.
Then, there’s Astrid. How she was thought to maintain her image as a well-educated woman. She will not cause a scene even after finding out that her husband is cheating on her. She will still present herself elegantly without showing the slight signs of distress. Which is like how the Chinese will say “we shall never show the ugly side of family 家丑不可外扬”. And her grandma stood by her and went to the wedding together because her husband walked out of her. Despite being someone who doesn’t attend events, her grandma showed her love by standing by her side in public as her support and a cover for the scandal.
And of course, the mahjong game which has so much details within that few minutes, there’s an article about it so I won’t go through it in detailed. Click it to read. The part where Eleanor (side track, why does rich mother in laws always has to be called Eleanor??) does not approve Rachel as Nick’s future wife because of her background and Rachel trying to reason why she’s the perfect wife for Nick but she will not stand between his family. Typical but deep.
There are still so many things that I would want to write about but I might end up telling the whole story. But, my point is, you should be appreciating the movie not because it’s storyline or whether or not it has a bombastic plot but to see the subtle details that portray some part of your life, something that you could relate to is now on the big screens showing to the people all over the world. We Asians find it hard to understand how important this is because, we see it on our big screens every day. We could relate to those so why should we make a big fuss of CRA? Well, because it is reaching a wider vast of audience. It’s like how we watch American movies and see how their lives and culture are different from ours, this time it’s the other way round. 
So, why are people still saying it’s a waste of time and money??

Sunday, July 01, 2018

Trying to be productive..

I believe I am not the only one who thinks that the weekends flash pass faster than weekdays.. despite the fact that there are 5 weekdays and 2 weekends, the 24 hours a day kinda just flash through without you knowing and just ended...

Every one looks forward to the weekends, me as well.. but most of the times i will have to work on weekend mornings.. so weekends just mean a shorter working day for me. But if i get a whole off day to myself.. it always ends abruptly with me realising that i have just wasted the precious hours of my life..

So i woke up in the morning and realised it's  the weekends.. feeling entitled, i decided to not get out of bed, sometimes i get an hour or 2 more to sleep in or i will be rolling around reading a book or playing on my phone. When I finally decided to get out of bed, it will be noon and my breakfast has become brunch to the actual lunch.. after eating lunch, i plan to do something productive, like maybe write a blog, continue writing my fanfic, do some homework, research and study on more effective teaching methods... etc.. but usually these will be left forgotten and i will be watching the tv until the next time i looked up, it will be almost 5pm.. and that means i have to get ready for dinner.. and also means time is a full speed ahead charging through and when i am done with dinner, it's almost time for bed.. if it's a saturday, the similar pattern will repeat itself on the next day..

so much for doing something meaningful, i don't like to go out on short day trips or 1 night weekend getaway like some of my friends... i really enjoy staying at home and minding my own business.. just i hope the time on weekends will pass slower for me to actually complete something..

I did not write anything for my fanfic but i managed to blog like at 11pm which i will be moving on to sleep soon.. i didnt touch my homework nor did i mark my students' homework either..

I guess..
this must just be me..

Signing off!
Toodles

Saturday, June 02, 2018

Age Pressure

Oh wow, congratulations! 2 posts in 2 weeks, I should definitely give myself some credit as I know just like old times, this might be my last blog of the year. Anyways, I came across a video about age pressure by Jenn Im, if you are interested, here's the video:


I have never heard of age pressure ever before but after watching this video, I couldn't help agree that maybe because of the society, we have like certain "targets" to achieve at a certain age and will kinda feel guilty or left out if we don't..

I have certainly set several typical targets for myself which I guess not many of them were fulfilled because I made them without knowing the reality how to get it fulfilled. It seems to me like, when the time comes, a solution will just miraculously fall down from the sky and everything will be alright. NOT! and to be frank, I kinda forgot what were the targets I have made for myself besides getting wheels and a roof.

Let's not talk about life before work because we know what we have to do at  those ages, age 12, pass UPSR, age 17 pass SPM, age 18 start college or university, age 20s graduate.. I used to have some what to achieve before i reach 30 list but i guess, i was too stressed out, i don't remember what are those anymore..

Anyway, as mentioned a the video, in some places, women are considered "expired" if they don't get married by 30. I guess because women have to give birth so maybe it's our internal organs that are expiring?? If that's not the reason, then this whole married by 30 thing is just bull.. Why is there an age limit to get married? Especially Asians, when you reach a certain age, having a significant one becomes the hot topic of the century.. You have lived more than 20 years working hard to be who you are but to other people, all that matters is whether do you have a significant one and when are you planning to settle down... I am not going to lie, regardless whether I have a significant other or not, I feel super irritated when people asked me when do i plan to settle down. To make things worse, whenever I say i have a lot of plans but settling down will not happen in the near future, i get responses like, "are you aware that you are getting older?", "what are you waiting for?", "why aren't you planning on settling down, you are 30 already?"....... "SO?" unless you are worried about me having trouble conceiving when I get older, other than that, why do you even care?? I do have a lot of plans for my future..

Speaking of plans.. I may not be affected by the age pressure for relationships.... or maybe I am since i am writing this.. anyway, reaching a certain age does make you question your direction in life.. so I have to admit, i do face the age pressure when it comes to career. When I started working, i did vow to be an employee forever, since i'm not a risk taker nor do i have a brain for business so being an employee promises a fixed monthly salary and benefits that i might or might not get with my own "business".. But now, i reconsidered my decision.. Working isn't fun,, i can't say for everybody but it has lost its fun for me.. I am having second thoughts about what i vowed to be several years ago. What am i supposed to do now? Should I start a business?? but i don't know how.. I have been toying around with some plans and never actually executed any because of fear.. fear of failing.. people said to me, if i don't find what i'm doing fun, why am i still there? life is short, too short for people to just bear with it.. but what about life? my bills aren't gonna settle themselves, the roof i dream of aren't gonna build itself.. these need chips, and chips are what i get for getting up at 6.30am every weekday, thumb print myself in and out. And, you see it right, i am not a risk taker.. i can't just let go my supply of chips just because it's not fun anymore, i need a plan.. a plan to find the same amount or more chips elsewhere.. but i am still swimming blindly.. unsure if i'm heading the right direction or am i just wandering around the sea of chances not knowing what to grab hold of.. I see friends who started out from the same starting line has now seem to have done a few laps and are on track with what they are doing.. Oh well, that's the downside of social media, everyone seems to be so happy, so fulfilled, leading such meaningful lives while people who are watching or reading it feel like failures.. well, i have to admit this too, i am affected by social media.. which i will write another blog post someday about this.

Anyway.. at this age, there are so much that should have been done in the typical world that haven't been done and it stressed me out.. BUT, some people would say... you live your own life so you get to control what come first and what to do at which time of your life.. true though.. i am still trying to fit the bits and pieces together to hopefully form a whole for my future career whatever it may be.. at least that's what i think i should be doing at this point of time..

I hope that nobody gets affected by the age pressure like I am but if you are, no worries, you are not alone, you may leave a comment and we can share our stress and maybe help each other out..

Signing off for now
Toodles!


Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The Pros and Cons of Technology

Heyo.. It's me after such a long time.. Anyway, quit the intro because it's getting redundant since I always take ages to post a new blog.. so, let's get straight to the point of what I would like to share about.. The Pros and Cons of Technology.. This is solely based on my personal experience and opinions. I have not done any research or survey about this so please don't take it too seriously..

Anyway, here goes... The technology here means the internet, the computer to your handheld devices such as tablets and phones.. So let's talk about phones. Don't you thing it's an amazing invention?? To be able to communicate with someone who will not be reachable by shouting. And then the mobile phones, where you can connect with people on the go. I have been through the time where mobile phones were not that popular among kids and we need to depend on punctuality. For instance, when two people are meeting up, without a phone, to be able to successfully meet up, they have to either be very punctual to the meet up spot or be very patient as one might be late or something and they will not be able to contact each other. Even if let's say B say some last minute business to take care of and A is already on the way out. Without a phone, there is no way B will be able to contact A to notify about his/her last minute business. So, B will either have to go all the way to meet A first and tell him/her; send a messenger; or let A wait till B finishes the last minute business.. Either one is not efficient.. So, with the phone, you get to call and tell... Then, you can even just send a text message saying that you are running late or something.. NOW, you can just whatsapp, LINE, Kakao, Wechat or whatever instant messaging app you are using, you can even add emoticons and stickers to cheer that person up and show your sincerity to apologise coz you kept them waiting..

And yes, the internet is the most amazing thing ever invented.. Is it a thing?? or whatever it is.. the internet is what that allows me to share my views and my writings here from the comfort of my corner in my room (yes, i like to sit at corners) and it will be shared to people whom i have never met or even imagined have existed.. the internet allows me to even plan my own travel itinerary by using platforms such as ctrip or qyer, or i can search travel blogs, google whatever i need, as specific as the price of something.. this is why lesser people choose to follow tours nowadays because everyone loves to share their travel experiences and we could make use of that to plan for our own, and give back by sharing ours to others..

It is also great for research.. not only for your travel itinerary for for a heap of other things as well, from your school assignments to some side projects you would like to start... I researched a lot on Harry Potter when I was writing my fanfic (which reminds me.. I am still praying that my drafts are hiding somewhere and not melting in some dump, pleassseee..)

And about instant messaging apps.. it used to be those softwares like ICQ or MSN that you have to be in front of a PC to gain access to it.. I remember rushing back home from school just to on my MSN and talk to the people I have just said goodbye to!! hahahaha.. we see each other almost everyday and yet we still have so much nonsense to talk about.. then it became mobile apps as we bade goodbye to the MSN messenger that carries almost every 90s kid's memories..And we moved our nonsense from the PC to our phones.. as we grow up, friends might not live close by to meet up anymore so instant messaging and social media help a lot in connecting people. Back in the days, where after you moved from your hometown the only way to keep in touch was to write letters and the communication just dies after one person felt that it's not worth the time to write so much anymore.. but now, you can just type and it gets sent instantly. You can convey messages to a bunch of people at once and get their replies and comments too..And for people like me, who doesn't prefer calling. instant messaging is the more preferable approach..

Then... for the cons.. my biggest hate for technology is also why i liked it. Instant messaging.. with instant messaging, working become never ending as your boss could always catch you after work for something.. And, i don't know if this only happens to me or what, bosses like to give orders after working hours.. there you were sitting at your cubicle busying away with work for at least 8 freaking hours and your boss decides that you could not bear losing you within his/her sight and gives you work after your working hours. But, most of the time, majority of the communication via instant messaging happen after work... which i know it makes sense coz every one is off work... but the point is every one is OFF WORK!! so everything about work should be turned off.. But no... just because they have no life outside work, they decided that you should have it the same..

Besides that, because of internet, work becomes portable.. you can work anywhere as long as you've got internet connection.. so even on your day off, or when you on holiday or have called in sick, you can still do your job from wherever you are.. back in the old days, everything you need for work is at your work place, which is why it's called your work place in the first place.. but now everything is online, it takes as simple as a whatsapp message to get your job done which may not seem like a big deal but remember, you are not supposed to be working at that time.. in other words, you are not paid to work at that time either.. so unless you are so-called working from home, other wise, technology ruins off days..

And, people depend so much on technology, their brains become lazy.. For example, some people rely so much on their GPS they do not see the need of remembering roads to places they wanna go because the GPS will always be there to save the day. Not forgetting the whole lot of passwords, for various online accounts, a click to "remember password" will do the trick and nobody remembers anything.. and having a short term memory or a bad memory is basically the most common excuse to all these.. People stop using their brains and depend on these electronic brains.. no wonder there's a fear for AI...

That's all for today...
Happy Wesak Day!

Signing off..
Toodles!