Two Hour Holiday
It is Sunday morning. Here I am sitting and writing at Vienna Cafe again with Karen.It has been almost a month since we took any day off. I go into the stadium every single day. The holiday now turns into a 2-hr Sunday's brunch time, which also becomes a luxury to hope for.
Recently, bits and pieces of recollection float form the back of my head. Eating McDonald's breakfast with Edith on Sunday morning. Dinner party with the gang at TST. Queuing in front of the cinema on a Thursday preview night. Sleeping in on weekends. Friday night drinks at Waterfront. Oil painting on Tuesday night. These are the image of my life in Hong Kong and the most ordinary moments. But I really miss it.
32 Days to go
They are only 32 days left until show day.
As Karen says, unresolved issues lay everywhere. In terms of program, some props still need to be finalized. Choreographed moves to be pasted together. Music recording is in progress and costumes are arriving. In terms of production, lighting has just been installed. Scenic is to put together final touches to the stages. Intercom system is yet to come.
The clock is ticking fast and everyone is giving their full energy to make the show happen. The stadium is bustled with life around the clock. At night, experts from lighting, scenic and ridging rule the place working miracles. During the day, rehearsals fill up.
Every face shows a sign of fatigue and sometimes frustrations, but I'm sure it will pay off at the end. Comparing to the first day I came in when the stage was at its foundation, it is now near to its finish. One can almost visualize the way it will look when it's all lit up and is performed on. This image is exactly what keeps us going.
As Karen says, unresolved issues lay everywhere. In terms of program, some props still need to be finalized. Choreographed moves to be pasted together. Music recording is in progress and costumes are arriving. In terms of production, lighting has just been installed. Scenic is to put together final touches to the stages. Intercom system is yet to come.
The clock is ticking fast and everyone is giving their full energy to make the show happen. The stadium is bustled with life around the clock. At night, experts from lighting, scenic and ridging rule the place working miracles. During the day, rehearsals fill up.
Every face shows a sign of fatigue and sometimes frustrations, but I'm sure it will pay off at the end. Comparing to the first day I came in when the stage was at its foundation, it is now near to its finish. One can almost visualize the way it will look when it's all lit up and is performed on. This image is exactly what keeps us going.
Women in Power
While many women spend their whole lives searching for the perfect husband while regarding marriage as their ultimate goal, there are some who simply refuse to give in to the traditional ideology. Instead, they dedicate their lives to their career, dreams, beliefs and their friends.
In Shanghai, I am fortunate enough to meet a few of them. At the dining table on Monday night sit five women who I consider powerful in their unique ways. Toi is a famous art director from Hong Kong; Bai Jie is a well-known TV producer; Jessie is a Harvard MBA graduate who has met the US President and visited Africa several times on business; Karen is a promising young woman with strong characters and an appetite to eat people for lunch; YiJia is a Shanghainese with amiable personalities. Although they might be different in characters, backgrounds and expertise, they all possess the quality of powerful women - smart, opinionated, rich, successful and independent.
Most of them come from prestigious families, which support them with the best education and exposure. They dine at the expensive restaurants and their family's owned properties are scattered around the world. I was dazzled by their generous spending, their exquisite taste and their air of confidence. But contradicting my impression of being self-absorbed and unreachable, they are surprisingly down-to-earth and considerate, despite all the wealth they possess. Although most of them are in their forties, they possess vibrant energy while making dirty jokes and funny stories. Some of them are the silliest persons I've ever met. It is a bliss to be around them.
In Shanghai, I am fortunate enough to meet a few of them. At the dining table on Monday night sit five women who I consider powerful in their unique ways. Toi is a famous art director from Hong Kong; Bai Jie is a well-known TV producer; Jessie is a Harvard MBA graduate who has met the US President and visited Africa several times on business; Karen is a promising young woman with strong characters and an appetite to eat people for lunch; YiJia is a Shanghainese with amiable personalities. Although they might be different in characters, backgrounds and expertise, they all possess the quality of powerful women - smart, opinionated, rich, successful and independent.
Most of them come from prestigious families, which support them with the best education and exposure. They dine at the expensive restaurants and their family's owned properties are scattered around the world. I was dazzled by their generous spending, their exquisite taste and their air of confidence. But contradicting my impression of being self-absorbed and unreachable, they are surprisingly down-to-earth and considerate, despite all the wealth they possess. Although most of them are in their forties, they possess vibrant energy while making dirty jokes and funny stories. Some of them are the silliest persons I've ever met. It is a bliss to be around them.
Apartment & Stadium
Apartment. Stadium. Apartment. Stadium. Apartment and Stadium.
These are literally the only two places I spend time in in the last week. Every morning I commute from the service apartment to the Stadium, from where I travel back in the middle of the night. There is no place else. No shopping mall, no restaurant and no going out.
Approaching the final stages, rehearsals have been moved into the Stadium, where the actual show will take place. The schedule is packed with 3-4 shows a day and the creative team is to oversee all of them. For the past two weeks, we work more than 12 hours a day everyday. I am starting to lose count of the day of the week. Day and night just come and go, and things become a blur. The only clear image I remember is surprisingly the brief moment I lay on bed every morning. I guess that is the only time I am wide awake nowadays.
These are literally the only two places I spend time in in the last week. Every morning I commute from the service apartment to the Stadium, from where I travel back in the middle of the night. There is no place else. No shopping mall, no restaurant and no going out.
Approaching the final stages, rehearsals have been moved into the Stadium, where the actual show will take place. The schedule is packed with 3-4 shows a day and the creative team is to oversee all of them. For the past two weeks, we work more than 12 hours a day everyday. I am starting to lose count of the day of the week. Day and night just come and go, and things become a blur. The only clear image I remember is surprisingly the brief moment I lay on bed every morning. I guess that is the only time I am wide awake nowadays.
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