Sorry-ology

Diary II: Something about "A Question of the Power" and International Women's Week A flyer of the program that I am in. Time: 2 pm, 11th of March, 2006 Venue: Studio 2, St. John's College The whole programme of International Women's Week IWW, Page 1 IWW, Page 2 IWW, Page 3 IWW, Page 4 I will get some hard copies to you soon.

Diary I of Rehearsal of "A Question of Power" for International Women's Week, York, It'd been more than 4 years before I came back to the stage last Sunday. I didn't know that I would feel shy and awkward back to stage. I made all mistakes that a good actor should have avoided, forgetting where to put my hands and how to project my voice. But the artistic director managed to help me get back to the right track. After some rounds, I think my actor-self will be back, at least I hope so. I am going to recite/perform two of my poems on this occasion. One is "I wonder" and the other is "A Red Pepper".

Photo from YS's camera Something memorable in Fiesta, 25/Feb/2006, Univ. of York, UK

Brokeback Mountain, Short Story and Film I read Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain" after watching Ang Lee's award-winning film. Both experiences were very enjoyable. In an interview, Proulx described that the film is huge and powerful and that it vividly brings to life the two ranch boys, Ennis and Jack, whom she thought have gone from her for years. I thought her complimentary comment was only abstractly and officially polite until I read the original. Proulx's narrative is clean but heavily loaded with emotional intensity, which is quite typical of good short stories. The film and the written story enhance and explore each other's visual and verbal density. For instance, she wrote, "Ennis and Jack, the dogs, horses and mules, a thousand ewes and their lambs flowed up the trail like dirty water through the timber and out above the tree line into the great flowery meadows and the coursing, endless wind". This scene is expressively represented ...

Badminton Tournament Some friends and I went to a badminton tournament yesterday. I paired with Yen-lien to play mixed-double. It's my first time to play in a "serious" game. (K said, "so, you are going to play badminton seriously?! Don't twist your arms or legs." Is that an encouragement???) Although I had decided and claimed that I was there only for fun and wouldn't be nervous at all since everybody knew that I was just a beginner, my ears never stopped ringing during the games and my arms kept trembling. The other team might have wondered why this woman kept breathing hard and touching her ears, or she's passing signals to her partner. They did not know that our only strategy was to "hit the shuttle and make sure that it flies over the net". We didn't win any games at all (sorry for my partner though, he's a good player), but it was great fun. I saw a lot of good players and studied how they moved their bodies and suppo...

Afternoon Break on Valentine's Day Some friends came over to have a tea-break with me on Valentine's day. I made some Taiwanese sweets to share: glutinous rice balls which we usually have on Lantern festival. Sweet is of course the best choice of food for a sweet occasion like Valentine's day. Glutinous rice powder was the main ingredient. In addition to the traditional white, green tea powder and red yeast were used to add colors. I was kind of doing an experiment as it was my first try although my childhood memory about helping my grandmother out is still vivid to me. I talked to my mother on the phone before starting the experiment. She opposed my idea about using green tea powder and thought it was too unconventional to work out. However, it proved that cooking, just like life, needs adventures. It turned out that 3 colors were made: white (original), bubblegum pink (red yeast), and green (tea powder). They were very simple in taste and chewy. But I am afrai...

Dimitri Kabalevski The concert by the University Chamber Orchestra last Wednesday was very nice. I enjoyed almost every moment except for one contemporary composer's work though. I think my taste for music is too conservative to understand fragmentary and asymmetrical composition of contemporary work. However, the Orchestra nicely played Beethoven's Symphony no 2 in D op. 36. The harmony that every violin and cello tuned to was beautiful but it also presented duly tension that string music should convey. The drummer was excellent! As if heard from far away behind the harmony of all string instruments, the sounds of drums pushed, chased and excited the violins to move forward. Every drum-beat caught but re-adjusted every breath of the audience. What amazed me most was Dimitri Kabalevski's Cello Concerto No. 1!! It was such a melancholic charm! My preference for cello did not bias my judgment, I hope. The young cellist, an undergraduate in the univ., is only 21 yea...

Events for this Birthday 2006 Plenty of things happened during this week: birthday celebrations , birthday flu, birthday farewell, birthday trauma, birthday determination, birthday epiphany, etc. They were all significant moments in my life. My birthday speech was somehow very cliche, I know. Sorry for that, I am very slow somehow and sometimes cannot express myself properly. When I said "I am very grateful" in the party, I mean it! I mean that, Thank you for coming to me to be my friends, as I have been clumsy with friendship. I am truly grateful that you offered me your hand first to take mine. Thanks for bringing yourself close to me and drawing me close to you.

Orange Therapy I am now suffering from a bad cold, coughing, sneezing, speaking in a hoarse voice, and having a running nose all the time. I do not catch cold very often, but once it gets me, it never loses its grip easily. Maybe the only good thing is that I can speak like a gentleman now. Yushan made a Korean Orange Therapy for me and it helped! Thank you! People can hear me better today and it seems that my burning throat has been eased a lot. When I was in Taiwan, my mum also used similar therapy. She usually boiled peeled oranges, juiced them, and added salt in the juice. It was always effective. It usually takes me 1 to 2 months to recover, and too much chemical medicine disgusts me. However, if in need, I am very willing to try these alimentary therapies. Fruit is such a precious gift from nature. Picture by Ernest von Rosen, www.amgmedia.com