I didn't stay up to watch the Olympics opening ceremony early this morning, but I managed to catch the replay on TV just now. Every ceremony is spectacular in its on way (Beijing 2008 might have been more OTT than the rest but that's them). I enjoyed identifying well-known British faces who participated (Mr Bean, David Beckam, Mary Poppins, even a cameo from the Queen herself!)
And for some reason, my eyes welled up when Sir Paul McCartney was belting out Hey Jude... I sang along from my living room with him 6 hours after he did it live. The man is an icon!! And song is legend...wait-for-it...dary! Legendary!! The Beatles was one of the familiar sounds when I was growing up. My dad who speaks no word of English could probably hum most their songs. I guess it's the sentimentality of it all that moved me.
Back to the Games, here's wishing that they Olympiads would hold on to their oath that they "shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."
today has caught me unawares. for some reason, it was only last night i realised that it was thursday which meant that today is yay, the end of the week. for someone who is perennially looking forward to it, friday managed to crept up on me while i wasn't expecting it. it was a pleasant surprise tho'. :)
it's been a good few weeks since i last work on translating a song. i think i've again reached a point of saturation with lee hom's songs. but the thing is, i can't stop listening to them. hehehe.. but i do try to sample new songs whenever i could pry myself away from playing lh's songs. like today.
today's song is from a new singer (new to my list, but she has been around). her name is Cheer Chen. yes, Cheer. i have to admit that it was her name which i find to be somewhat.. erm.. unusual, that made me never checking her songs out, despite having seen her name around when i read news on lee hom and mayday. and of all people, it was chongy who suggested that i listen to it. i like how unexpected that was :D back to Cheer, she's been said to be a prolific singer-songwriter by none other than ashin, so i'm going to take his word, and the word of chongy's friend who introduced this song to her, for it. :) this translation is dedicated to you, chongy.. :)
okay, the title of this song is called 魚, lit. Fish. I don't know why. maybe it's a metaphor, because there is no other meaning for that word other than that: fish. it doesn't appear in the song either, but if you google for it, it sometimes comes with an English title, i.e. The Edge, which makes more sense, as it was referred in the lyrics. maybe she's just messing with our minds.
overall, this song makes for a good first impression, to me at least! :)
我坐在椅子上，看日出復活
我坐在夕陽裡，看城市的衰弱
我摘下一片葉子，讓它代替我
觀察離開後的變化
sitting on a chair, i look out at the day resurrecting (sunrise)
sitting in the sunset, i observe the feeble city
i pluck a leaf, and let it substitute me
examining the changes of what's left after it's gone
曾經狂奔，舞蹈，貪婪的說話
隨著冷的濕的心腐化
words that were once a mad rush, a dance, avaricious,
along with the cold, wet heart, are decaying
帶不走的丟不掉的，讓大雨侵蝕吧!
讓它推向我在邊界，奮不顧身掙扎。
如果有一個懷抱，勇敢不計代價，
別讓我飛，將我溫柔豢養。
what you can't bring along and what you can't discard
just let them be eroded by the heavy rain
let them push towards me at the border
while i struggle selflessly with all my might
if there's an embrace, i will courageously disregard its price
don't let me fly away, but gently keep me docile
我坐在椅子上，看日出復活。
我坐在夕陽裡，看城市的衰弱。
我摘下一片葉子，讓它代替我，觀察離開後的變化。
曾經狂奔，舞蹈，貪婪的說話，
隨著冷的濕的心腐化。
[refer paras 1&2]
帶不走的留不下的，我全都交付它，
讓它捧著我在手掌，自由自在揮灑。
如果有一個世界混濁的不像話。
原諒我飛，曾經眷戀太陽。
[我會瘋狂的愛上]
what i can't bring along and what i can't leave behind
i give them over completely
let them cup me in their palm, let me be free
if there is a world that's outrageously turbid
forgive me for flying, as I once held sentiment for the sun
[i will love unrestrainedly]
list of new words/phrases:
摘下 zhāixià - tear off, pluck
觀察 guānchá - examine, observe
舞蹈 wǔdǎo - dance
貪婪 tānlán - avaricious / greedy / rapacious / insatiable / avid
濕/湿 shī - wet / moist
腐化 fǔhuà - to rot / to decay / to become corrupt
侵蝕 qīnshí - to erode / to corrode
奮不顧身 fènbùgùshēn - to dash on bravely with no thought of personal safety (idiom); undaunted by dangers / regardless of perils
掙扎 zhēngzhá - to struggle
豢養 huànyǎng - to keep (an animal) / to look after the needs of (a person or an animal) / (fig.) to keep (a spy, lackey etc) in one's pay
揮灑 huīsǎ - to sprinkle / to shed (tears, blood etc) / fig. free, unconstrained / to write in a free style
混濁 hùnzhuó - turbid / muddy / dirty
不像話 - unreasonable / shocking / outrageous
眷戀 juànliàn - to miss / to long for / to remember with longing / yearning
陳綺貞 魚
我坐在椅子上，看日出復活
我坐在夕陽裡，看城市的衰弱
我摘下一片葉子，讓它代替我
觀察離開後的變化
曾經狂奔，舞蹈，貪婪的說話，
隨著冷的濕的心腐化
帶不走的丟不掉的，讓大雨侵蝕吧!
讓它推向我在邊界，奮不顧身掙扎
如果有一個懷抱，勇敢不計代價
別讓我飛，將我溫柔豢養
我坐在椅子上，看日出復活
我坐在夕陽裡，看城市的衰弱
我摘下一片葉子，讓它代替我，觀察離開後的變化
曾經狂奔，舞蹈，貪婪的說話
隨著冷的濕的心腐化
帶不走的留不下的，我全都交付它
讓它捧著我在手掌，自由自在揮灑
如果有一個世界混濁的不像話
原諒我飛，曾經眷戀太陽
帶不走的丟不掉的，讓大雨侵蝕吧!
讓它推向我在邊界，奮不顧身掙扎
如果有一個世界混濁的不像話
我會瘋狂的愛上
帶不走的留不下的，我全都交付它
讓它捧著我在手掌，自由自在揮灑
如果有一個懷抱，勇敢不計代價，
別讓我飛，將我溫柔豢養
原諒我飛，曾經眷戀太陽
jas's dad texted her the other day, "U have a good day 2! EAT WELL, ok? We r wht we eat. Dun follow your heart 2 often as far as food is concerned. LUV :-)" and later "sometimes it's good 2 take measured risks n follow yr heart. Then jus say a little prayer... that makes life interesting! ha ha" which led me to LOL-ing because (1) it's the cutest thing ever; and (2) i felt like i have been following that advice all along. whether i really did, i don't know, but in my mind, i'd like to think so.
i used think that i was fearless, back when i was younger. whatever gave me that idea, i don't know. i seem to have the impression that there have been enough times when i took risks with implications bigger that i could grasp, be it in my studies, career, relationships.. maybe it's that lack of understanding coupled with my impatience that led me to plunging myself into the unknown. my head might noisily protest, but it's the heart that i'm partial to. but i'd like to think that my head wins enough battles too.
anyway, as i now contemplate a career move (something that i never planned to do just two weeks ago, how things can change so quickly!), i realize what a huge chicken i am. i don't know if it's fair to still blame my fears on miss nomer's crimes, but i do. because if i ever had another boss from hell, i will just die. like D-I-E. ok i won't. but i honestly rather rot here and stink this whole place up than having to face another nasty piece of work. i know how stupid that sounded, but ergh.. sigh.
anyway again, i've updated my CV, updated Linked In, clicked on Jobstreet ads, went for one interview, and now just sitting back and praying and praying and praying for what's next. and both my heart AND head are pounding. good for them.
you get a song so stuck in your head, you'd worry that you will forever be hearing it in your mind but you don't really want it gone right now because you're totally hooked by it, until it reaches a point where you start to think that it's time for some other song to have its share in the limelight, and yet you just can't and still don't want to stop the flow and you wonder and you hum and you wonder and you sing the chorus over and over and over again.. and then one day while reading something totally irrelevant on the computer, you suddenly realize you have not have heard that song in a while and you wondered what happened there.
this was how i introduced myself in my profile when i had my first blog back in 2004 (has it been that long?!) -- some of you long time readers (who are you? is there anyone else other than my sis? haha..) might remember it:
i'm married to a man of the cloth. you would imagine me well coiffed and manicured, wise and shrewd, great with kids and smooth with adults, that i cook like nigella and garden like jamie, and prance and pirouette like everyday's summer with a halo over my head and a harp in my hands. but yeah, i am *nothing* like that, and will not be. cheers to my crazy, rebellious and stubborn self. :)
ten blogs and this-being-the-second-official-one later, this is my profile in the current blog (as you can see from the top right box):
i am patient #51773. i am a child of God.
if you have ever wondered why, it's actually from Mark 2:17: On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." and 51773 is my name read upside down (check it out on the calculator. i just think it's sooo cool that my name can do that =). i wish it was a prime number, but it's actually divisible by 23.
can watch all the broadway musicals
I know... to be in Times Square
i want a loft in NY
overlooking the city
me too! a tiny studio
yeahh tastefully done
minimalistic
and central park
can invite friends over
for tea or dinner
i want a reading chair by the windows
I was just about to say that!
and also a bath tub with a good view
open kitchen concept
so when you cook, you are in full view of the city lights at night
wood flooring
yeahhh
orange lighting
23rd floor
skylight roof
why 23?
high enough
my NY dream sounds just like a ... dream
how impossible
tell me about itttt
[...]
sigh.
do you think those ppl who already own a loft in NY wish they were somewhere else?
aahahhahaha malaysia perhaps
the grass is always greener on the other side rite?
yeah, dreaming of the beaches here.. the all-round summer
maybe.
can always come for holiday
it's not like we are by the beach
christmas in new york... mmhmmmmm....
mmmmmmm
christmas markets
hot apple cider
can sip hot apple cider on your reading chair
mm not a fan of apple cider
hot cocoa will do
thank God it's friday afternoon.. just the nice time to be dreaming this
here, take your pick
someday, i will take a big bite outta you, you big apple!
the flavour of this week is Maroon 5's Payphone.. it's just sooo catchy i sing it (the chorus :P) alll the time, in my carrrr. but i do hate the explicit lyrics, esp that rap stanza by Wiz Khalifa yang tidak bertempat.. i.e. it makes no sense, and adds NOTHING to the song. the collaboration was uncalled for(maybe they had a quota to meet -_-) but whatever, i can't help but to sing along to this song and am happy there are clean versions of the song all over the tube, and one even without Wiz. yay! can I complain about how the bank heist music video doesn't make sense? no? okay.. *meekly surrenders.. to myself?*
LOL of the day: what do you get when you mash the attention-seeking Kim K and the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard? this twitter account: twitter.com/KimKierkegaard. hehehe.. it's hilarious!
as i was writing this, i just got a call from a lady whose IC i picked up a couple of months ago. it was really terrible of me to sit on it for so long because i couldn't find her contact online (no FB, no nothing).. so as last resort, i wrote a snail mail to her.. which i only sent out a few weeks later because.. hahaha.. because I'm awful like that... but she sounded really grateful, and she told me that she has just collected her new IC today. the government is more efficient than me, take that. hahaha..
i've been having the sniffles for the past 4 days. i had unwittingly chugged down two doses of coffee when i was in Miri (once in the morning to get me going, and once at the airport while waiting for my flight), and naturally, i was kept awake until 4am when i got back, and i woke up early to go for breakfast with the sibs who came back over the weekend. boo hoo.
so what else have been new in the time i was away from here? mm..
i took part in my maiden treasure hunt contest (the NST Motor Hunt). chongy had a place in her car when her friend pulled out, so i got the pleasure of participating. it was really fun! it was tiring too, esp the prize giving ceremony that went on and on and on... and while we only got two errors, we were placed 16th out of 200 cars (one of the errors was a 6-mark treasure question, so it really set us back quite a bit). i was rather disappointed but it was really for the best *cryptic* hahaha..
that's about it, for now. on to today's song...
i saw this music video as a nominal lee hom fan, because i follow wongfu production on youtube.. i rber seeing the video and kinda liked it, but that was that. the music video is pretty okay EXCEPT for the last scene: that awkward reunion between lee hom and his on-screen girlfriend has always bugged me. and after a while, i kinda disliked the song for its overt simplicity. then i came across this comment from one of his fans, a Swedish university lecturer based in Shanghai (I do like how lee hom's fan base cuts across so many nationality):
Karin: The singing along [at Lee Hom's concert] feeling reminds me of the Swedish pop group ABBA, who wrote simple but original songs that are easy to remember and sing along with. In Sweden they were sometimes criticized for writing too simple music, but it turned out the songs are universal and very long-lasting favourites. And the songs make people sing! The musical Mama Mia with ABBA music has reached tremendous successes all over the globe, both as movie and stage shows. Everywhere people stand up in the end and sing along. The songs and the musical are also well-known in China and have been translated to Chinese.
i guess simplicity has its appeal... i can't decide if it's a good thing.. let me think.. yeah, don't we always lament about the complexity of life? don't i often berate those who has a knack for making mountains out of molehills.. and how i get confused with doublespeak and when things are not what they appear to be? google "simplicity quotes" and we could see hundreds of lines touting its virtues..
ooh this is good, and i think it's true: said by one E.F. Schumacker – Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.) fine, simple is better. mm i'm not sure if i'm comparing apple to apple here. but yeah, it explains the diversity of Lee Hom's hordes of fans. am i trying to justify his works? perhaps. but why not, right?
ok, i might not make sense cos right now i am under the influence of drug -- just popped in my flu pill that causes drowsiness. can't wait to doze off. as for the song, i think the "you" in it refers more to his music career than any girl. haha..
一閃一閃亮晶晶 留下歲月的痕跡
我的世界的中心 依然還是你
一年一年又一年 飛逝僅在一轉眼
唯一永遠不改變 是不停地改變
twinkle twinkle little star (lit. flashing bright sparkle, but the words
一閃一閃亮晶晶 are the same as the first line of the eponymous nursery rhyme so i've decided to use that here)
leaving behind traces of time gone by
you remain to be the centre of my world
year after year, time goes by in the blink of an eye
and the only constant in life is that of change
我不像從前的自己 你也有點不像你
但在我眼中你的笑 依然的美麗
日子只能往前走 一個方向順時鐘
不知道還有多久 所以要讓你懂
you and i are not the same people we were
but your smile in my eyes remains as beautiful as ever
the days would only move forward like the hands of the clock
i don't know how long this would last, so i want you to understand (that)
我依然愛你 就是 唯一的退路
我依然珍惜 時時刻刻的幸福
你每個呼吸 每個動作 每個表情
到最後 一定會 依然愛你
i still love you, there's no two way about it
i still cherish every moment of happiness we shared
and your every breath, every move, every expression
i will always love you till the very end
我依然愛你 或許是 命中注定
多年之後 任何人都無法代替
那些時光 是我這一輩子最美好的
那些回憶 依然無法忘記
i still love you, maybe that's always meant to be
so many years have passed, no one could ever replace you
those moments were the most beautiful in my life
there's no forgetting the memories
Night class, that is. On the espistle of James, specifically. The main reason for my exhausted state the past three weeks (11 classes of about 3+ hours each). I didn't last long during class -- scumbag brain shuts down about one-third into class. At which point I would start Scrabble games on the iphone (my landslide win saves me from the embarrassment of being a total bimbo, which is what I felt because I didn't quite get the lessons, plus the extensive discussion some classmates have with the lecturer that I'm just clueless about) I just don't have the stamina for marathon classes. My hat's off to all who have. I'll add a deep respectful bow to that. Really. Made me wonder if I should take another class ever. Anyway, pain-in-the-ass-ignment's due in a month. I'll get started on it in about three weeks. Good night.
P/S: I sound terribly grouchy in this post.. like I hated class. Well, not really, I'm just reallyyy tired. But it's nothing a good sleep-in this weekend can't fix! :)
