-my friends (a lot!!!) i know i haven't been making much effort lately...i will try harder, i promise...

-going to the park...can't even remember the last time i sat on a swing and just mindlessly floated to away...

-biking...hahaha, i know i used to joke that you guys were like drill sergeants on the trails, but i actually miss it....

-walking...sigh, the good ol' days of convential transportation...i miss going to k-town and just browsing the supermarkets...

on another note...so random tonight...happened to go to karaoke and a friend was in the room across from us, but i didn't know it until i chatted with him on msn afterwards...so random. have you guys ever seen the music video for eason chan's 十面埋伏? felt like that...have any of you experienced that before?

watched "this film is not yet rated" today.

quite interesting (amusing at times too). it's a documentary on the hollywood film rating system. it talks about censorship, and the monopolist control of film by the hollywood studio system from production to distribution to exhibition. it talks about how the motion picture's association of america (mpaa), which rates basically all the movies that make it to theatres in the states, use their rating system to enforce/reinforce stereotypes. it looks at the difference in the ratings received by violent films vs films with sexual depictions, and heterosexuality vs. homosexuality in films (with the latter category usually getting a harsher rating).

it also documents how independent films are treated differently from studio-produced films. for example, if two films had the same amount/type of sexual content or profanity, and one was produced independently while the other was a studio production, then the latter would probably get a more lenient rating, or they would get a more detailed account of what needed to be edited to get a lesser rating.

what's ironic is that though it is titled "this film is not yet rated", the dvd actually does have a sticker with a 14a rating by the canadian home video rating system...lol. but i guess it doesn't really defeat the purpose, because the documentary is about the secrecy surrounding the members of the mpaa, not other ratings associations. it says something at the beginning of the film about the mpaa being the only rating system in the world (i think...) that keeps the identities of its raters undisclosed.

all in all, it's a good film. interesting, informative, funny. i recommend it if you can find it.

...since i last blogged...

Been superbusy with work/school (mostly work though). I don't think I've ever been this serious about a minimum wage job before. My mentality used to be 'I don't get paid enough to be dealing with this bs'. But even though I used to get paid a bit more, I care more about doing well at this job b/c I got it through a sibling's friend. There's more pressure to do well so it doesn't reflect badly on the people that helped me get here. And though the pay is low, the work environment is very relaxed and the people I work with are nice. I like my job, and I'm grateful for having been given this opportunity.

Outside of work, I haven't really done much. Went to the Sheppard Grande yesterday to watch Eastern Promises. The trailer was really good, but the story was not what I was expecting. The movie had a lot of gratuitous nude scenes and gore that I felt didn't really do anything for the story. I probably shouldn't have had that bit of beer before the movie, b/c it made me want to sleep. And the awesome reclining chairs at this particular theatre aren't very helpful when you're trying to stay awake. I did manage to stay awake for the duration of the film though, but this is one of those movies that had me coming out of the theatre feeling, "Wha?! That's it? What was the point of that?"

Speaking of movies, there's been filming of the new Hulk movie downtown recently (Are you thinking what I'm thinking? -->Why would they come out with another one after the big flop the first time around?! Hopefully, this one will be better.). Have any of you seen it? I can't believe they actually blocked of part of Yonge St. (near Eaton's) for them to do that. It's a really busy intersection. But oh well, what can you do...

i got corn rows today. my scalp feels tight. it didn't hurt much when i was getting it done. i think i'll have a major headache when i take them out though...

the person that did it for me was pretty fast. it took about 45 minutes for the whole head.

the initial reaction i got from my parents was interesting. i thought my mom would be cool with it and my dad would blow a fuse, but just the opposite happened. my mom was like "ugh! what the hell did you do to your hair? i don't like it." and my dad was like, "it's better then before. at least now you can see your forehead."

oh well, i still like it.

there's this song that i really like and have been trying to find for a while. it's really old, probably from the late 80's. i have it on cassette, recorded from the radio (that's how old it is - it's on cassette).

dave wong (王傑) sings a chinese version of it called 幾分傷心幾分痴. does anyone know what the english version is called? and who sings it?

here are some of the lyrics. they are just from memory, so the words are not 100% accurate.

You might think that you know me. I understand everything that you see.

But don't be sure 'cause you don't know at all.

Don't be fooled by the laughter, it's just a face that I wear for the party.

But look inside and see what's missing there.

I used to think that I could own the world. All I had to do was love you, girl.

But time goes by and love just fades away.

I used to think I was a happy man. That was back when I had a big plan.

Take a second look now. What do you see?

Chorus:

Oh, it's just a river without a piece (?),

A mountain without a steep (?),

A ship at sea, without a sail, drifting helplessly.

A blind man who never stops searching,

A river without a close (?).

Without your love, i'm half a man.

I'm simply...on my own...