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On our way from Shek Tong Tsui (between Sai Yin Pun/Sheung Wan and Kennedy Town) to Mong Kok a few days ago we decided to take a different bus route. Usually we hop on the 970, but this time we took the 904. The 904 took us across through the Western Tunnel, but unlike the 970, which veers right soon after the tunnel onto Jordan Road, the 904 took us further north and west by Olympic MTR station, into Tai Kok Tsui and finally dropped us somewhere between Mong Kok and Prince Edward.
The point being that I got to see two new parts of the city, which I hadn't seen, albeit from the distance of my double-decker window. The first one was Olympic. I've known of it since I first set foot in HK more than seven years ago (one of the first things I looked at was the MTR map), but it still triggers a big question mark in my brain. I wonder: does this place have any resemblance to Olympia? My guess is it doesn't, but then again, real estate developers are known for making rather odd linguists choices at the time of naming their cash cows (as Hemlock was quick to point out on his January 23, 2009, post).
But linguistic matters aside, it was quite a sight to see those very long pedestrian over-passes up-close linking Olympian City 1 and 2. Not sure what to make of them.
In the aftermath, I've come to realize that Olympic Station was named after the achievements of a local athlete in Atlanta '96. Funny that I didn't make that link even though it seems so obvious after reading about it. That might (just might) speak of how neglected sports are in HK. Too bad, because a place like Hong Kong should be able to inject more money into its sports programs and make them succesful (did I mention a dedicated sports facility at Kai Tak?). Instead, athletes were honoured by getting a remote reference to their achievements in the name of a MTR station. Nice gesture by the government anyway, but let's no sidetrack.
That bring us to the next place: Tai Kok Tsui (which I now realized includes Olympic). As I looked out the window, it immediately attracted me. Old buildings, some well kept, others not so much. But, there was something odd about the landscape--it didn't make me comfortable. Now, that's not a measure of anything, but my (in)ability to accept new spaces. But then later I read on the SCMP that "this area was hard to transform because half of the area north of Tai Kok Tsui Road was occupied by old factories which were vacant or had been converted into offices and flats."..."It is difficult to revitalise unless the urban renewal policy covers not just residential, but industrial zones," said the Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Henry Chan Man-yu, according to the SCMP reporter.
I wondered after reading that report whether my aesthetic perception--without telling my consciousness--noticed that revitalization at Tai Kok Tsui hadn't worked because it only targeted residential zones. Something interesting to continue pondering as I visit other parts of the fragrant harbour.
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A note on yesterday's post: forgot to wish you all a happy new year of the cow!
Finally the marathon of family events related to CNY has ended. Don't get me wrong - I like family events. But four days of getting together, stuffing ourselves with the same dishes (e.g., lingo, turnip cake, taro cake, peanuts, overly mushromy stuff, etc.) is too much for this gweilo. Even accepting red pockets gets a little excessive. Why are these people giving me money anyway? The positive part, I guess, is that my Cantonese has been improving a little. How could it not, if it was the only thing I heard for days at a time.
But this isn't a serious complaint. I brought myself here, so if there was anyone to blame, anyone, it could only be me.
Leaving CNY behind, family continues to be an interesting topic. I've been trying to participate in family events as much as possible for the last three months (i.e., yam cha and dinners on Sundays, CNY, plus a number of other dinners, the number of which vary depending on the week - sometimes there could be as many as three, sometimes none). Anyway, it's all good. Usually there's no pressure to show up, so long as there's a good excuse for it. Being hung over or not feeling like it, don't seem to cut it. I've been told over and over: "Never mind, you don't have to come." But I sense a different message.
The problem is probably with my perception and my inability to explain things the way I see them (or is it the lack of interest or inability to perceive them from others?). Hard to tell. In any case, I'm starting to feel some bigger cultural differences and not sure how I feel about them. Here are a few:- No family visits. No, I don't live in a hospital. We came about three and a half months ago. Since then, apart from the the Uncle who helped us move in, only one time three members of the family have visited us (same Uncle, grandma and cousin). Mom and Dad haven't showed up, ever, even after repeated invitations. Generally I wouldn't mind it. And some might say that I should count myself lucky. But the fact is that my own mother and father are respectively more than 15,000 km away in opposite directions from the fragrant harbour and would love to accept an invitation for dinner at my table. In fact, once they overcome the 15,000 km, they will be here. They are already planning it. So, S's parents, who are just a bus ride away (ok, a bus and a MTR ride away) can't be bothered. Sorry, inexcusable. Especially when I show up at their place as many times as possible and try my best to be courteous to their invitations. Isn't every relationship a two-way street? A bit of it is explained by the fact the mother is extremely busy and the father spends most of his time north of the Lo Wu border. Another bit is explained by the fact that we're living under the same roof in an extra-marital relationship (i.e., the fact that we've been together for over seven years, of which the last three and a half we've lived together doesn't count, but the fact that we haven't signed a meaningless (in our perspective) social contract does.)
- Explaining a hang over. How do you justify to people who don't drink the pains of a hang over? Mine are extremely bad. The problem is that 15,000 km (in any direction) I could talk freely about how shitty I feel after a night of heavy drinking. But here, that topic is beyond their reality, simply because they are non-drinkers. Lately I've been facing myself with the questions: (1) Should I be adapting my drinking habits? (The answer is yes, but only to keep a healthy lifestyle). (2) Should I care about what they make of my late Friday and Saturday nights? (Probably not). In any case, it bothers me that I feel like I have to justify something that doesn't have to be justified 15,000 km away.
That's it for now from this corner.
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