All 33 entries tagged Life

deadlines

late dinners
scrounge nights
and seeing the midnight bear*

eggo’s waffle
Illy’s coffee
and missing the frech eclaire

deaf ears
blind eyes
and knowing the sky is getting clear

• Yesterday, a bear came to our yard at 12:30 midnight. We stared at each other for a while. Sympathetically, she left quitely.

Xiu Wang : 26 Jul 2007 11:37 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

camomile tea

“Keep writing and drink camomile tea; this calms down nerves”.
I smiled when I got this nice advice from my supervisor today.

The magic of camomile is such a British/European/Western myth. My friends have all been trying to persuade me to quit coffee and turn to this lovely sunflower.

They say it fights off cold and can help with mild insomnia, depression, or anorexia?? It would be utterly a shame to miss such a gift from Nature.
I tried many times Twinings, but never really fall in love with that flavour. I even tried Twinings confusions, where they blend camomile with Lime Flowers, Spearmint and Honey or Vanilla.
If Camomile does have a magic, it seems that it is to destroy the taste of each and every of my favorite herb.

Perhaps what my supervisor wants to emphasis is not the tea after all. “keeping writing”, i guess, might be a better remedy to calm down my nerves than the camomile tea.

Xiu Wang : 06 Jun 2007 16:59 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

FLYING BUG

HK airport.
The flying pig is now officially changed to a flying bug
a cute pinkish dream -> ugly dark reality
What a change…
But face it---a pig that does not fly, or a bug that flies?
which one would I prefer?
My head aches
I’m going to throw up.
...
...
and I did.

Xiu Wang : 27 May 2007 16:38 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

the smell of a memory

I remember the brand of the first bottle of perfume I used, but sniffing around in Lancome’s flag store, I don’t know which one was the one.

I remember a scented soap I had, crystal blue with creamy white chips. I tried every soap store; never get that smell back to my hand again.

I remember on the night of Euro vision last year, Alex made me the best roast lamb ever. With the same garlic, rosemary and thyme, I tried and failed a million times to cook that dish again.

I remember the early spring afternoons when I waked up lazily with a cup of mint tea, but there must be something missing in this cup that I am holding.

The mint is growing wild on my balcony. And I dont know what that is.

Maybe the smell of a memeory is just like the colour of a dream. You thought there is one, but actually there is none. To compare something with nothing, we lost the game before starting it. That is why memory always smells better, and dreams fancier.

Xiu Wang : 29 Apr 2007 07:14 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

one year older

My birthday went away quitely, except I’ve got a terrible cold, several online greetings and a phone call from Greek army. A good friend is doing his military service there, calling me with his gun in one hand and cell in the other. Amazing…

Mum had been murmuring about “you are thirty now”, and I was too weak to correct that I am still enjoying my last year of twenties, plus my cold has taken too much strength out of me, and I do not have any left to get emotional about this.

In one casual conversation with Red, she commented that we never get one year older on Birthday. But maybe it was that day we are offically reminded of that fact. At least for someone as forgetful as I am, I never really know which year I am in. 2006? 2008?

For a rather long time in my life, I had wished that I can finish everything I need to do before thirty, and then spend the rest of my life doing things I wish to do. As my deadline is approaching, and really fast, I start to realize that it is very unlikely that my life can be spend that way——for after doing things I need to do for so long, I totally forget what are the things that I wish to do.

Or from a rather possitive angle, all the things I need to do start to become the things I wish to do? A much more comforting thought.

Xiu Wang : 15 Apr 2007 03:34 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Phone calls

I usually am very frightened at the idea of talking to an old friend on the phone, especially if it is someone that I have not seen for long. I would be excited and extremely happy if I could see a friend in person, but I have this psychological fear for telephone conversations. Without body language and eye contact, communication becomes so unbearably unpredictable.

I am afraid that the familiar voice from the other side of the world is going to sound strange; I am embarrassed by the question guess who I am which I never am able to make out the right answer; I am freaked out by the blank spots where neither side knows what to say or how to end the call; and worst of all, I hate the sizzling telephone line which always blocks the most essential signal one needs to catch. It is almost like a gambling for me to call some old friend that I have not seen for years. I do not know how many friends I lost on the phone.

Yesterday I received two unexpected phone calls from my friends wishing me merry Christmas. Both however turned out to be great! I was so happy that we can still talk so closely on the phone, and for that long.

Maybe it is not the problem of the phone anyway. When the friendship is working, it works everywhere, even on the worst phone line; when it is not, nothing helps.

Xiu Wang : 26 Dec 2006 07:25 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

voice and action——my first and last shopping with Metro

Follow-up to pesonal/political from XIULU

When my family was stopped by the entrance, we talked to them , including the manager, for 30 minutes at first, explaining that there is no way that my child is going to be left outside and there is no reason in this company policy.
After 30 minutes aruging, I got tired and grabbed my boy and went directly into the shop. The security asked me to leave, and I told the manger peacefully but firmly that I have been spending 30 minutes respecting their right, but since my right and my son’s right is not in anyway respected at all, i now decide to enforce them myself. And if any one here dare to touch me or my kid in the slightestest way, I will definitely call 110 and handle this to the police. I, as a Chinese citizen, violated no law in this country. And I do not mind going to court for my action of entering Metro with my young kid. I took my mobil and invite the manger to call 110 immediately and report my “crime”, if he truely believed that I am guilty or wrong.
He gave up.
After that we shopped leisurely in Metro for 1 hour and bought quite a few stuffs. But I definitely am not trying that stupid place ever again.

Xiu Wang : 25 Dec 2006 15:58 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

pesonal/political

Follow-up to Metro: No kids under 1.2M in this Store?——Germans please answer from XIULU

I was about to forget the word ‘metro’ until recently I got to know another Chinese woman¡¯s experience of shopping at Metro Shanghai. Not only her six month old baby was not allowed to enter, Metro staff also shouted rudely at their baby and nanny.
I was very upset by cases like this. When a conflict happens between asymmetrical relationships, it always implies coercive power exercise. In this case, it seems to be a doomed failure to argue with a big joint ventures like Metro.
On the other hand, I do not feel it is right to give up one¡¯s voice only because it can not be heard. I still have to say what I need to say--—-whether Metro will listen is something I can not control and can not predict. I took faith in what Michel de Certeau believes in The Practise of Everyday Life, that the least significant unit of the world can still exercise its power. The housewife¡¯s shopping decision counts.

The voice here might not be heard. But the voice is uttered. And it is the action of uttering that matters.

This is my last email to them which I have not get a reply so far.

Dear XX,
Thank you very much for your email. I could have written to you in the first place if the contact information of Metro China is also made available on your Chinese website. Anyway thank you for your prompt handling of this complaint.
Although I agree with your Health and Safety reasons sounds much better than ¡°security¡± reason, I am afraid that it is still not convincing enough. I guess many other superstore/hyperstore have large trolleys, customers go there to make large purchases, large amounts of stock are also moved throughout the trading hours in most stores that I visited. It would be considerate to put up warning signs so that parents will be legally responsible for any consequences that maybe caused due to their negligence. But what Metro is doing now is inconsiderate, and perhaps even discriminatory for the kids under 1.2M, as well as their mothers (considering the high probability that many mothers need to shop alone with the kid).
And also if you have time to go around the shops personally, I think it would not be hard for you to see what I saw the other day: Kids around 5 or 6 running wildly, and even riding bikes in Metro Cash and Carry; Mothers with 3 mouths old was waiting for her husband outside in the parking lot (repeat, parking lot, not with in store, there was not even a bench for the poor mother). I can not imagine any Chinese woman, no matter how careless she might be, will have her 3-month-old crawling in your store and then accidentally bumping into a pile of stocks). The fact is that 1.2m as a borderline age does not give Metro any ¡°health and safty¡± guarantee, as you might have wished. It¡¯s not like an adult store which might assume any one above 18 as rational independent agent who can take responsiblity for their behavoirs, isn¡¯t it?
I am not interested to know if the rule is also enforced outside China or not. I do not need to know an American/German is also bearing with this rule to feel happier as a Chinese. A rule can not be respected only because it is accepted (in China or outside China). A rule can only be respected when it is reasonable. And in this case, I think this rule of not allowing a kid under 1.2 m to enter a superstore/hyperstore/cash-carry store failed to be reasonable at all.
But I am not trying to argue. I respect your right to feel this rule as genuinely reasonable. Aswhat I have suggested, this rule perhaps can be enforcedly with more concerns for younger kids and their mothers: waiting areas, Kids playground, toy cars, even chairs, whatever that might make the poor waiting mother and young kids feeling better. They are much more faithful and valuable customers than I am to Metro.
Please, respect them, and take care of them.
Good luck with your business in China.

Wang, Xiulu

Xiu Wang : 25 Dec 2006 15:53 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Trackbacks (1) |  Report a problem

Happy Western Winter Holiday??

This is the greeting I got from Yvonne---an obviously resistant translation of Merry Christmas. I told her that Venuti might adore that.
This resistant/foreignizing/covert translation somehow reminds me the simple fact that this is not my holiday after all. There was a stupid and perhaps ridiculous incident that happened to me when I was a sophomore in GW. Qi and I organized a fantastic Christmas party for our department, and it was until several hours before the party started we were informed that the university would not ‘appreciate’ any festival event with relate to the ‘western’, perhaps worse ‘western and religious’, holidays, and we’d better cancel the party for the sake of ‘being politically correct’. Qi and I were astonished, and eventually outrageous. After arguing with the ‘authority’ for a long time, the deal was that we could still have the party on the Christmas Eve on condition that there was nothing that connotes ‘Christmas’. We tear down smiling pictures of Santa Clause and removed the huge Christmas tree, and changed all the signs to ‘happy new year’. It turned out to be a very successful party after all, but that stupid ‘happy new year but not merry Christmas’ warning really pissed us off: For Buddha’s sake, this is a English Language and Culture Department!
Today nobody can say anything if I want to dress up Edward into a Reindeer. His kindergarten actually organized a grand Christmas party and put them on stage in XinHai Theatre, the most prestigious ‘high culture’ place in my city. Edward played a cute monkey with ‘Xmas’ on his belly, and the dance he performed was ‘All little animals singing Christmas Songs’. I really loved it, with out any feeling that this is a cultural invasion of the evil ‘west’.
Finally we have to agree the political is not the personal, but rather the personal is the political. The western and the Chinese, the religious and the Communist, the past and the present, the mother and the child, boill down to nothing but the life that I live every day.
This is written today, on the traditional Chinese Winter Festival. I bet Edward will also be very happy tonight---we reserved his favorite lobster from Australia and clam from Canada to celeberate this Chinese day of winter…

Xiu Wang : 22 Dec 2006 03:31 |  Tags: Life Thoughts |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

a miserable trip back to GW

“Gosh! See who that is… How come you are back! I bearly recognize you at all! Has it been 3 years? or 2? oh, no, it’s just one and a half year! Why you look so… eeeeh, so mature? Hold on, you gained some weight? You must be. Look at your face! It is so…eh…so ‘round’ now!”
(Ah?! )
“Anyway, how come you are back? Oh, you finished your PhD, right? It’s really been a while, or, at least, you must have finished most of your writing!”
(Ouch!)
“Nice to meet you! Got to run, have a class to attend to. What are you doing recently? Looking for a job? I guess XX university must be very interested! Good luck! bye!”
She left. I finally felt released: Thanks mate! Love you too!

Xiu Wang : 15 Dec 2006 01:07 |  Tags: Life |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem