My flight back to Lisbon is cancelled, by the airline. So is my long looking forward trip back to Lisbon. Before shits hit the fence, when I told my friends and co-workers that I am leaving china for vacations in Europe end of June, most of them were worried that I may not be able to come back and advise me to stay in China where it is currently supposedly the safest place.
2017.95
Ooooh-la-la,
I so cannot believe that it is already almost end of the year!
Another year has just flown by in a blink of the eye and remember how we were worried about the arrival of this millennium? And yet here we are, still here, on this lovely planet they called earth.
But, where are the flying cars, where are the holograms personal assistants, where are the time machines, and where is planet Mars for rent and living?
Very soon two decades will glide through since this millennium had flawlessly arrived, how jiffy!
Crazy things have happened since. But when do crazy things stop happening in this world anyway?
At one time we had thought that it was a brand new start of the year just preparing to brace it and the next moment we are in December preparing for Christmas decorations! How did that ever happen?
And once again, here we are, the time for reflections and resolutions.
I am done with resolution. One reason because I never kept them. In fact I could hardly remember what they were once a new year arrived. Not sure whether it was the cause of old age memory deterioration or simply champagne intoxication.
I do, however, in this point of time, would like to look back and sincerely reassess what have happened in my life throughout this disappearing year. To me, as fast as it went, much did happen.
Tough decisions were made, options were reviewed, challenging paths were explored, countless research were performed, new ideas were conceived and put into motion, dilemmas were also created, and more important decisions were made.
And not to also mention, heaps of old friends I have known from Shanghai reunited and re-separated, new knowledge acquired and studied, more bureaucratic issues surfaced but fixed (hopefully!), relationship developed and matured, family met and re-parted, promises made and trying to fulfil, and finally, this website updated.
Now, it is time for plans to realign, foggy clouds to clear, and new adventures to discover. It is time to enter 2018 with a positive attitude, wider opened eyes, and riding the waves of ups and down with style, on the driver’s seat, steering it, embracing it and cherish every moments of it before letting it quietly slips away like it has always did.
Shall we?
“This sketch is extracted from “The ordinary young man”, an illustrated project by Fernando Cobelo (Venezuela, 1988), imagined to describe the everyday feelings happening inside of regular young people. Dreams, thoughts, wishes, happiness, love, hate, sadness and even growth are all ordinary feelings that deserve to be represented in a not-so-ordinary way.”
Shoot Me
Apart from texting/tweeting on the smart phone, I believe the other most commonly performed action of today’s daily society is taking photo, or taking a selfie.
How many cameras one person has in average? Each one of us used to own a ‘point and shoot’ all automatic camera, some of us have a more sophisticated compact one, other has a DSLR, or many of us have them all. But ultimately, everyone will have a camera in his phone. No more carrying heavy equipment around, all we need is to take out our phone and take a snap shot. Today, we take pictures of almost everything,
The Shanghai Journal
Sometimes it is not that difficult to be a director of your own movie. The trick is – just write it down. Take pictures, compile your stories, Tell what you feel, put together some graphics that excite you, throw them altogether in a pan and cook them like a dish. Everything is actual and they are already available to you. The materials, the thoughts, the feelings, the words, they are hovering over your head. All you need to do is to piece together the right ingredients, choreograph them the way you feel best reflecting the moments, and serve them.
When I finally completed the first issue of “The Shanghai Journal” in January 2013, it was meant to be a bi-monthly issue. It was meant to record my life is Shanghai – activities around me, my friends, the times we spent, the food we had, the highlights of the month, and the sentiments of that time. Today, a year and a half later, there was never a second issue.
Many things happened and passed by, and sad to say but true, they will soon be forgotten. As memories fade, it is a pity that whatever that used to take place will soon be obliterated. Yes perhaps sometimes when we scan through the photos in our computer, it will trigger off some distant moments. Or, will they be erased as if they had never happened?
Today, people post their life stories on different social media – facebook, twitter, google+, we chat moments, and so forth. I supposed this is one way of recording what you do and how it feels. For me, as old fashion as it seems, nothing is better than printed on paper, something that you can feel, touch, smell and read without relying on internet or technology.
So what are we waiting for?