To the Fullest

I enjoy the quietness of evening simply because there’s nothing else but the music I listen to. It’s the only time when I read, think, type, arrange photographs. It’s all been clear that these are the most productive hours of myself in a day. This distraction free environment has been my mind palace.

Now when i think of my evening, there’s 98% chance I head home after work. Even on my rare weekend photo walkabout, I’d hardly stay later than 6pm. (Oh, this reminds me of when the last time I’d done these walkabouts?!) I feel like I barely know the city at night. Some people say the night is when a city come alive. Just what’s SOHO, what’s Lan Kwai Fong?

I was following a cinematic TV drama ‘Night Shift‘. The entire drama was filmed at night. It centered on a team of police emergency unit patrols in the most complicated quarter of our city. The heart of this show is how realistic the unit are taking on their jobs. The rest of the supporting characters all works at night, but often get neglected. Some come from complicated backgrounds in the gang, some are just ordinary people taking shifts in convenient store, and some are just the ambulance officers. All these interesting elements combined and collided into each other making the show so rich and alive. There’s often the intersection of life, the tension built up in complicated relationships, the sisterhoods and the life or death.

I often want to define what’s living a life to the fullest. I just don’t seem to have experienced this, experienced that. Is it about how much one makes in a month? the travel adventure one’d been to? the 3-star Michelin full course? It’s always about the money. I cannot help myself when I’m in a district where everyone just seem living better than I do. Maybe it’s the suit, maybe it’s the language. It’s the jealousy that I can hardly contained. Others all have a career in this stage of life, while I’m still on a lost boat. I figured whatever I do does not matter anymore. I’ll get it figured when time comes. Maybe that’s a story to tell years after. You can just call it fate.

Satisfying the Crave

There’s the space, the coffee, the locally crafted goods, the noon walk, the sky, the unfamiliarity between people, and of course the relaxing mood. I just can’t get enough of them ever since I’ve visited Taipei.

Some say the environment can put an impact on people, but happening that quickly in me was the first time.

I vividly remember in that late afternoon how the barista lady prepared a drip coffee on a wagon at the cafe. Later then served to a customer out at the corridor. I thought that was the coolest thing ever to have all the gadgets and precisions. Then someone appreciates coffee this way. I have seen enough this ‘popular-in-Japan’ coffee style on the internet, but to actually see it live was my first.

Ever since I stepped out of that cafe, I wanted to learn more about drip. I realized I’m already half way there with my regular coffee routine at home; from grinding the beans to brewing with coffee tools. All I needed is just a drip set, kettle, thermometer, expensive scale, and some good beans. I even paid for a cup at a local cafe just to know how it should taste.

In comparison to wine appreciation (which I also love), coffee is a much cheaper, more casual choice. There’s the technique involvement in order to get the perfect cup. It can be enjoyed alone anytime. And certainly not all about how a winery market and present their bottles. I never get why wine events always seems so glamorous with the attire. Moreover, I was never into the glam and totally not that type of person.

Interesting enough, at the time I was deciding which bean I should pick at a roaster,
I have gone from:
‘Bolivia grows coffee beans?!’
to now
‘the Bolivia Peaberry tastes as round as the bean looks’

Zero Impact

The online comment posting are there open 24/7. There’s the popular Facebook, or even just the page where the news presented, allows commenting in a loosely organized way. You could jump in any hot debate you want even in the middle of a night just like what i’ve been doing for the month of August. Most (Hong Kong) people just want to rant and type the f words, some are more elaborate and give their own personal thought under someone’s shoes. But for me, I typed because I wish there could be some impact. In the end the fact is, there’s nothing but zero impact.

I continue to do so as I’m so heated with all the social issues under the current climate. I feel I’m obligated to express. There should be someone very much like me out there. At very least, there’s an overall comment count or ‘likes’ on the news/topic that originally started. It’s all accumulative, I cannot assume everyone thinks the same way. Some thinks that these online gathering spots are monitoring the (government) activities in our community. These are the so-called concerned groups formed by the local community, could just be you and me. Again, our intention is to make an impact on a wrong (highly subjective) decision made by the government. Nonetheless, this had shown our government is heavily rely on the top-down management, and completely ignored the participation from the bottom-up. Somebody has to know the the district, the local community, and willing balance out the voices not by muting the opposition. That ‘somebodies’ may just be the savior to all the conflicts, narrow down the differences in common interests. I think there’re just so many good suggestions could be shared to improve in our districts. There’s not an official platform to collect, interact, discuss, evolve, process the ‘good ideas’.

Here’re some the comments I’d made on each news topic in Chinese. In a way, they’d helped me to facilitate my own thoughts.

Removal of the Historic Tung Tak Pawn Shop
可能真係要上街才有人知道有訴求, 平時地區與平民已經是零交流，政府部門又當有地區“所謂”代表交流了，部門與部門程序上又不想跟大家交流，大家便各自各世界不關我事，政府高層也只好次次事後檢討和成立委員會安慰關注人士。完全是我自己的推斷和解讀。牆樹突斬真的令我完全失望，失望於些不在區住又管/代表區的決策者。歸屬感往往就是這些實質眼同手觸得到的空間而已。你想你下一代問你香港以前是怎樣，而找不到一條完整地保存的老香港感受一下，講什麼什麼開發新景點，舊東西舊人情才是獨有代表性外地人眼中的景點。

其實得一座，其它幾座分散不同地方，香港舊一面特色沒法被保存, 新一代更冇對地區的歸屬感, 區區變得餅印般一直發展, 失去了人性一面

Former Government Urban Planner Suggested Our Iconic Tram Needs to be Removed
到香港旅遊人少了可能就是太多這些人在政府話事工作指指點點, 電車是香港其中一個的標誌, 西方旅客往往就是喜歡這樣還健在的歷史留下的一種情懷, 你放進博物館除非我地個博物館有美國迪士尼咁大咁多嘢看。再講塞車的根本不是電車, 很多時係D老闆車佔了條lane等人, 路又得咁多, 不如你話街道規劃到窄, 不如整個地下城條路你喜歡交通點玩咪點玩, 不過都不到你玩. 旅遊境點其實又何需設計, 不明高官何出此言, 你又不是有新項目, 地區舊貌往往便是一個簡單直接的境點, 試看我們還有哪一條街所有東西得到保育保護，一件東西不是完整的, 問誰趣味能在嗎?

我其實好見到一日所有舊式的東西給這種人全部拆掉又不規劃一些有世界級代表性的地方 , 到時看看香港還有什麼…海濱, 大廈, 公廁, 商場, 公屋, 馬路? 人的思想又會變得更一體化, 現在也可見到. 死地而後生, 我其實希望見到這一天。

電車跟本是遊客的旅遊景點, 沒了它香港更單一化, 特色重要還是前規所說的上流社會坐車入中西區緊要? 人地tvb都簡單觀察得到是非電車行的內街”老闆車”塞路所至. 電車其實很efficient, 市民心中也是更cost efficient, 不是個個咁有錢坐地鐡. 老一代更不喜歡上上落落地底station. 西港島mtr station也有不少出口需行5-6+分鐘, 路途除廣告外又冇嘢睇，有壓迫感之餘又長

Government Still Not Regulate the Ever-Increasing Rent
生活沒法改變已成定律: 不是每個人有錢才稱為對社會有貢獻, 我眼看的香港社會跟本不平衡, 租金只有升的方向已直接影響民心和日常生活, 看見所有餐牌/物價也定期微微調整, 沒上代的支持現時這一代除非當投行或有一定收入的高職, 我想不出如何可不記掛地自立。 政府還不介入，我怕只會更多社會問題出現, 放棄建立家庭, 人口進一步老化, 社會更單一化, 本地人才也寧可去別地。可能政府衡量了業主是香港的經濟支柱, 沒了他們社會運作不了下去. 也可能賭注已滾得太久了, 已到回不轉頭的地步, 一旦政府介入遊戲規則就只會得罪上流社會的安穩業主。可能不得罪持份者就一定不會得失任何人, 所謂中立的第三方政府也無奈地說: 無屋住你等等吧。沒買賣的樓市，又何有經濟? 奇特嗎? 我沒樓, 所以的確很奇特, 因住屋(生活的基本)變成了一種賭局，商業店舖更是長賭長有, 勝利方說是一群可控制社會的集團。 我由原來聽到想來是笑談, 之後成為所有人心中: 常人的夢是”上樓”, 不是說白一些有貢獻社會、改變人類生活的大志, 也許有點悲哀吧