RiPleY's CoLLecTioN

I couldn’t sleep yesterday. 1 reason was because of my neckache. Must have strained my neck in the cinema since I was sitting at the side and didn’t moved an inch for the entire 2 1/2 hours while watching Inception! The other reason I couldn’t sleep was because my mind was thinking about the movie plot. Generally, I think I “got” what the movie is about but some parts, I don’t get it.

The power of the internet! I was reading so many theories and discussions on the movie but a lot of them don’t sound too logical to me. However, I finally found one which actually makes sense! This website discussion is dedicated to explaning most of the confusing parts of the movie and also the ending! Now I can finally sleep in peace. Gosh…there is actually no “real” answer to the ending because I think the director purposedly made it this way. So everyone is free to interpret their own versions. The explanation in the website above makes the best sense to me.

I think the director did a good job in trying to “confuse” us all or perhaps I should say make us think. Not a lot of movies makes us think nowadays. This one is surely something you’ll be talking about for a very long time. It is indeed a classic great movie. Christopher Nolan is now officially my 2nd favourite director! I was already full of praises for his Batman movie but this one. Gosh…a genius!

So the lesson is, I really should not watch such a thought-provoking movie during a working weekday next time!

It has been a while since the last time I watched a Chinese movie. Heard some good reviews of La Comedie Humaine starring Chapman To and Wong Cho-Lam. It is not as funny as people described, but nevertheless, it is still quite a humorous movie with lots of spoof from other HK movies. You do need to know which movie they are “spoofing” about to make it slightly more funny. The reference to many movie titles between Chapman and Wong was so hillarious! Haha…

Anyway, the surprise of the movie was not the jokes or the storyline. It was Fiona Sit! Although just a side character, playing Wong’s love interest but I find her acting really really good. In fact, I felt she performed the best in the movie! I think she should do more movies as she is really talented. Her portrayal of a crazy girlfriend is just perfect! I was very impressed. I was even more impressed that she is able to kiss Wong Cho-Lam so passionately! hahaha….

Next movie….Inception!

Fiona Sit & Wong Cho-Lam in La Comedie Humaine

Train is one of the earliest mode of transport for humans. They transported people, animals, food and products across countries. These days, people opted for faster and more comfortable mode of transport. It has been many years since the last time I took a train (excluding light rail transit). Well, if everything goes according to plan, my friends and I will be taking a long train trip to Tibet next year. Looking forward.

A train moving past an old train station

1 of the building of the train station

(Photos taken with Canon 550D)

A local English newspaper published the news about a recent donation cum charity visit that my friends and I did over the weekend. They dedicated half a page for it! Insane. So, this morning since being tagged in Facebook, I’ve been getting endless messages and SMSs. A common “message” among my friends took me by surprise. Apart from being proud of what we did, they seem to have a feeling of “ashamed” and “guilt”. I was puzzled at the beginning because why would they feel that way? They didn’t even know I started the small fund raising. It was like a private thing. It was done in a short period of time as I wanted to send the family stuffs within a week so I only asked a handful of my buddies. After querying, some said they felt helpless, that they didn’t do anything and have never thought of doing something like this.

Actually, it was not difficult at all. You just need initiative. In fact anyone can do it. Everything needs a goal and if you have a goal in mind, you’ll find ways to get there. Just like my simple act. I was touched by a newspaper story and initially just thought of donating some food items to the family myself. Then I thought of inviting some of my friends to see if they are interested to donate anything. That was basically it. What started as a small act ended being such a “big” thing (the power of media). Now it seems everyone wanted to help and play a part in it.

If you think about it, there are so many of such instances out there. So many children, families and people that need help. You just need to be more aware of your surroundings. It is not like the family that we helped was unknown. It was published in the newspaper! Just that I happen to make a decision to act. This proves that most of us just don’t really care. We read about the news, feel bad for the people who are less fortunate and forget about it. I am guilty as well as I am also human. Hence, I understand why some of my friends say they feel guilty. They know of such problems, they didn’t do anything about it. In fact, they should not feel guilty. It is better to realise now that we didn’t do enough and do something about it then to only regret later on our deathbeds. I am not an angel like what the newspaper said. The real angels and heroes are the volunteers and people who sacrifice their time and money in helping the needy day in and day out. Those are the real angels and I am no one compared to them. I just acted on impulse.

Life is a learning process. It is funny how I have changed as well. I never thought I would have done such things a few years ago. It was all about me, myself and I back then. It is as if I wake up one morning and decided that I need to make a difference. Haha…I’m not a superhero and I can’t help everyone but if it is something within my reach and something that I am capable of doing/helping, why think about it? Just do it. You never know where it will take you.

This has been a humbling experience and I feel I can do more. So, will start looking for the next project! Also, have to thank god for all the blessings, health, power and energy!

My friend and I went to a jungle about an hour drive from town and wanted to take photos of some of the waterfalls and streams there. It was a fun trip actually, with lots of fresh air and good shooting opportunities. The pathway to each of the waterfalls within the main stream is quite steep sometimes and I don’t know why but after reaching the 3rd waterfall, my head started to feel light and I suddenly find it difficult to hear. At one point, I started seeing everything in slightly black color and couldn’t stand properly. I was also sweating like mad. I was thinking to myself, “OMG, I think I am going to faint!” I have never fainted in my life before and I consider myself quite OK in terms of stamina. I even ascended a hill without any sleep for 24 hours last year! Anyway, it was crazy…my friend was concerned that I may faint anytime and have to carry me down! Thank god after standing and resting for a while, I felt better and came to my senses. I suspected I was rushing up the steep slope and my heart was not pumping enough oxygen to my brain (could be due to my low blood pressure). Gosh. No wonder I heard of people dying in marathons and jungle trekking trips lately.

Safety first…next time when I go trekking, I think I’ll walk slow and steady… Thank god nothing serious happened today.

2 guys enjoying the waterfall

Kids playing at 1 of the waterfall

1 of the small stream

This monkey looks drunk!

Never seen such mushroom before

(Photos taken with Canon 550D)

I was reading a news article on a family of 20 with 13 kids living in a cramp flat. The family is in poverty and the poor kids are innocent. They don’t have a choice to be born into such an environment. A photo showing the kids living in such a condition made me sad. My heart sunk. I decided to do something about it, no matter how small it is.

I contacted the reporter who wrote the article and told her I wanted to donate stuffs for the family, especially the kids. And so…the arrangement was made and I started a small fund raising within my group of 12 buddies. They were all so generous in their donation, contributions and 2 went together with me to visit the family. I was touched. Everyone wanted to help the kids. We collected and bought lots of daily necessities, food, clothes, stationaries and basic items for the family.

Yesterday, 3 of us together with the newspaper reporter visited the home and the kids were so happy when they saw our gifts! They were quite obedient and just being kids, they were having fun. Their house is quite empty, with bare items. Most of the things were donated by other kind people. I was touched by the kids as they really did not bother about the harsh condition. They were happy with just small things like a box of crayons or a cap.

We were quite shock to see that they don’t have enough mattresses to sleep on and some of them have to sleep on clothes laid out on the floor. My friends and I have decided to send them some mattresses next week, along with some school bags and shoes. The reporter who followed us did an interview session with us and another photographer took group photos. I think they are going to publish it but it’s all for a good cause.

Anyway, the experience was touching and humbling. Although the kids have nothing much (not even toys) but they are happy with just the smallest things. Sometimes, we are so engaged with our busy life, problems, gadgets, and material things but if you think about it, we only need basic things to survive and be happy. I was geneuinely happy when I saw the kids smile. You can’t describe the feeling, it is just pure joy. Although it is just a small gesture from us but you never know, it may somehow change a life.

There are too many people out there that needs help and of course we can’t help everyone but by just trying to reach out within our means and reach, it makes the world a kinder place.

My friends and I with some of the kids and women

The kids were overjoyed with our donations

The kids checking out the stationaries

The nearly empty kitchen

(All photos taken with Canon S90)