The Family Series - My Father

Ah Gong & Abdul Mateen

My Father

The one who was silent during my childhood,

Whom I fought with as a teenager

And greeted with silence as a young adult.

The one who worked to give his brat the best,

This clueless unappreciative brat

Who was unmoved when stroke struck.

The ex-brat is thankful for today,

Is thankful for the chance to be by his side

To calm him as the needle enters his arm.

An Inane Entry by a Serial Procrastinator

"Why oh why do I blog?"

I return to this question I asked myself many times when I first begin to blog.

According to economist Steven D. Levitt and author/journalist Stephen J. Dubner who co-wrote Freakonomics, which by the way is an absolutely fantastic read though I have just started on it. You might have already heard about it or read it since it was published a few years ago. "Well, better late then never!" That's what I say to myself all the time.

Sorry I digress. According to the guys, human behaviour can always be explained by the economic law of available incentives. I shall not attempt to go into the content of the book as, like I said earlier, I have only just started.

"So your point is..."

My point is, I can immediately apply what I observe about my desire to blog to what Levitt and Dubner were talking about. Superficially, I blog because it is a way for me to express myself. It is also a way for me to connect with various groups of people. Dig deeper, what drives me really is a need to talk to people without being interrupted, without being judged right away and getting the message across. Thus, the incentive of me initially spending hours crafting blog articles is that I am able to impose my views on unsuspecting students, friends and family members!

This brings me to the real point I am making: With the note-making application on Facebook, and the fact that a lot of people who matter to me and whom I want my views to reach are on Facebook, why do I still bother to blog?

Why?

Because I still can't bring myself to mark my papers yet!

 

   

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Leaving Manila

The past two weeks have been most interesting, thought-provoking and enriching ones.

The lessons I have learnt, the places I visited and the people I met made this an unforgettable experience.
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Am continuing this post on board of flight PR 501 on my way back home.

I am excited to be home in about 20 minutes time. Back to my family and friends. Though two weeks passed without one feeling it when engaged intensely in challenging activities and novel experiences, it is a long time to not be just next to loved ones, especially the boys.  

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Lighting "Only for Love" from "The Banquet" OST

For our fourth group assignment, the groups have to each choose a piece of music of about a minute or two and design lighting for it. The piece of music my group settled on is the really heart-wrenching theme song from The Banquet OST.

I am so excited about it that I have been up since 4.30 am thinking about what can be done, imagining what I want the stage picture to look like. We will start work at 12 noon later. Arrggghhhh I can't wait!

Let's see if I can take a video of it and upload onto YouTube. Will definitely paste a link to the song when I have access to the net.

:D 

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Thoughts on Keith Johnston's "IMPRO"

Reading Johnston's book again after a long time. I read it many years ago as an undergraduate who needed to go through the assigned reading list. Unfortunately, like a clueless youngster, much of what Johnston has siad in the book didn't register at all.

I know that now because there is not even a sense of familiarity with the text at all. Unfortunate.

I am glad I decided to read it again.

Here's something that really makes sense to me:
"I've always directed plays as if I was totally ignorant about directing; I simply approach each problem on a basis of common sense and try to find the most obvious solutions possible."

To be like a child again, to tackle each task by the most obvious means.

What a timely reminder. :)

After the simple, common sensical solutions are applied, we can then highten the theatrical experience by adding accents, be they subtle or obvious.

Question is, how do we know what works and what doesn't? :)

    

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Important Lessons About the Theatre

Day 5 of the ASEAN Design and Technical Theatre workshop.

One very important lessons I have learnt about being a lighting designer is that when in a new venue, never pretend that you know everything, even when your intentions are good because anything wrong that can happen, will happen. Always ask the technicians for help as they know their equipment the best.

Take this from someone who caused an Ellipsoidal spotlight to fall straight on its nose while being lit because she didn't think before removing the light's counterweight. The thud was the loudest sound I have ever heard.

Thank god the light is still working.

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Loss

I think I have lost it.

Yup. Lost it. I still have lots to say and thinking a lot but there's something holding me back. I can't seem write any more.

Why, I don't know.

It's sad.