Pieces of Memories

I recently returned from a 19-day journey to a ‘developing’ area in the northwest of the Country. Most places I went to were much better than my expectations, and it might be because of the swift tourist industry development in the whole province. Along the main roads, restaurant foods were tasty, and the cooked rice grains were all in full shape without sand and husks. The shops were abundantly stocked with goods and produce from all parts of the Country. I could even find several brands of ‘moon-cake’ from the city I live in. Of course, most owners of the restaurants and shops spoke the Language with a non-local accent.

Spring meets Winter

 Had been terribly busy in December and the weeks before Lunar New Year, unfortunately on something trivial from hindsight. Just feel I owe an apology to those I care and love.

Building up a healthy lifestyle was one of my resolutions last year and I failed to achieve it with the rest as usual. Hope that I can do better this year. Well, the bottom line is so low, so I remain positive about achieving it this year.

Finally, I got a free day for myself on the second day of the Lunar New Year, so I went for a solo hiking in a country trail after having a late breakfast at 10am. It was not a beautiful trail, but the cool air and serenity along the path was rejuvenating, even the dogs were on holiday – not a single bark!

Standing at the start of the trail, I was amused by its name – matching the time well – 送虎迎兔！At the end, I realized that spring was at the door step already! Leave this photo collection here to remind myself of such a brief and transient encounter, and to hold on to things I treasure while they still exist.

Pictures at an exhibition

I haven’t been to a museum or art gallery for some time. A long time ago, I used to spend a lot of time visiting them, especially during weekdays and those that did not charge you anything for entrance. Free entrance and weekday visits often mean you can spend a lot of undisturbed time with the art pieces you like.

Being a mediocre art appreciator, I am always attached to a limited number of European artists whose works are often “commercialized.” Most of them are not contemporary but thrived in the modern art age. For those modern and contemporary local, Chinese or Oriental artists, I owe them an apology for being apathetic to their hard work. Very often, when there are traces of resemblance to some “great” artists in their works, I judge them as an imitation, or worse, a copy. I must admit I cannot help seeking out those traces whenever I notice the artists’ names are likely to be oriental. This is indeed my problem.

An old man and his music

Six months had passed since my resignation from the job I had enjoyed for over two decades, or a request for early retirement that I always told others. So, I was not fired.

No dream to fulfill and no desire for a later reemergence, I told my ex-colleagues, who politely best-wished me more wonderful days to come. A few told me it was too soon, but they respected my decision – those were the best farewell words for me.

I was the last one to leave the office for the last time at 10:15 pm. I did not miss it badly, but the feeling was strange and eerie, and the same 10 minutes’ walk in the cold down the hill to the bus stop made me feel unreal.

The trail traveled

29 August 2020 after a long mental struggle at McDonald’s, I stuck to the plan I made the night before.

Thinking that some solitude into the countryside could soothe my soul and clear my vision, I headed up the hill through a run-down village whose people did not like the passing by of hikers who seldom respected villagers had their own life too.

The tide of hikers had long gone at 10:15am and the path was quiet but the heat was building up fast. Deep into the village, I froze at the hearing of the distant barking of a dog that was echoed by another one from the left. Damn! I made the wrong decision to start late and missed the crowd!

青 豆 角

Colours of Winter

I woke up at 10:00 to a bright sky. I forgot the curtains last night.

After eight hours’ sleep, I still felt exhausted by the five-day holiday to my father's hometown. 

At 10:30 on this twenty-eighth day of December I decided to look for winter that seemed to have lost its way to this disturbed city. Or, the city was at a loss.

While stuffing myself with a lousy breakfast at the McDonald’s, photos of autumn leaves popped up from the junk messages on my phone. Red maple and yellow ginkgo leaves they were, beautiful of course. Yeah, friends had been talking about the huge crowds of people gathering around the strips of maple trees with their red leaves last year. The scene was on the television too; not this year though. Well, I could do that, to look for the red leaves and the long waited winter.