Poagao's Journal

Absolutely Not Your Monkey

May 18 2001

I have had very little to do at work these past fe…

I have had very little to do at work these past few days, but it grated on me nonetheless. Today’s grey, drizzly weather obliterated the normal view of the mountains that surround Taipei, and all the eye could see was ugly, chaotic buildings marching into the mist. I was in a foul mood for most of the day. All I wanted to do was get out of there. Sword practice helped a bit, as always. The people there are nice and natural, unlike my other Tai-chi class, which I tried to quit last night. I told the teacher I couldn’t afford it any more, and he told me that it was ok, I didn’t have to pay, I could come anyway(well, he didn’t rhyme like that in Chinese, but essentially that’s what he said). This left me confused. Was he serious? If so, isn’t that unfair to all the people who do pay? Or was he just being polite? Should I stop going anyway? Probably. I don’t feel right about going and not paying. It’s like those foreigners who pretend they don’t speak Chinese when they get pulled over by the police here. I don’t want any special treatment; it makes me feel slimy.

In any case, I am going to stick with the Sword class, and I am going to start going every Sunday as well. I may even get a new sword, although I already have two, so I probably don’t need another one. Some of the people in the class have beautiful swords, though, with dragon heads and engraved blades, nice, heavy swords that are balanced just right…maybe I’ll go take a look at what’s available, just to see…

After Sword class I walked through the Minsheng district, my old haunts back when I lived with the Landlady from Hell about nine years ago, and met up with some friends at Kiss La Boca, a ritzy dance club filled with really annoying people. It was like all of the people in this city who annoy me were there. I was waiting for my friends to arrive in the hallway when one of the men in suits at the doorway came over and barked “Get inside!” at me.

“Gee, you guys are really polite!” I said as I turned to go, but the guy got in my face, saying “SO! SO!” in English. I was surprised that anyone working at a supposedly high-class establishment would act that way. Rather than giving into the tempting strategy of demanding to know who the Fuck he thought he was, I went back inside.

The band was pretty good. I wish I had found out their name, but they will be here for a few months, playing every Friday night. They started out slow, but later on they really whipped the crowd up into a frenzy. Kiss is set up pretty nice, with a two-story arena area for the stage and balconies, from which I watched the band and the audience. They use way too much strobe lighting, but otherwise the effects were cool. The remote swivelling lights in particular looked like those automatic laser turrets that pop out of the bottom of the Millennium Falcon.One of the singers did the “Di-da-di” song in Chinese(Most Taiwanese people think that Coco Lee wrote that song, but, sorry, Coco Lee has never written a song in her life. She has no music of her own. She is an arrogant bitch, or at least she was when we interviewed her at TVBS. I have no idea why people like her. Rant ends here). The bass player was hyperactive in an entertaining way, but I could barely hear the guitar except when he had a solo. A good act; I enjoyed their show and wouldn’t mind seeing them again. If only I could avoid being in the midst of all of those incredibly superficial people!

I met the guy I was chatting online with a couple of nights ago. He seemed nervous and distracted when we were talking over drinks at the Peshawar Cafe. It could be I wasn’t exactly what he was expecting. He seems like a cool guy, though, and I would like to get to know him better.

It is still raining. Looks like it is going to be another rainy weekend. I have been reading the Blog of the Tin Man. It’s interesting. I makes me wonder what my life would have been like if, as my former colleague from the News said, I had fell in love with New York City and just stayed there after finishing my studies. I miss New York, in a way. It is the center of its world, and it never lets you forget it. I think the extreme cold and heat would get to me eventually, though. The main reason I loved it so much, I think, is because I was making films there, and that in itself was what made it such an experience for me. Everyone should visit New York City at least once.

I got an email from a joint called Kittridge Street DVD. They want to make “Coolishness” into a DVD. Interesting. I wouldn’t mind making a DVD version of Coolishness that includes “The End”, but I don’t think I could actually sell it. Still, it sounds tempting.

posted by Poagao at 5:27 pm  

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