What is that.

On bravery.

BB and I went on a boat trip yesterday with some friends in Sai Kung, and I came back with a not-so-nice tan, a floating feeling which lasted for the rest of the evening and a silly sense of accomplishment.

While lounging on the top deck of the junk, I, who have always been a bit intimidated by the vast and bottomless water and never a good swimmer, was encouraged by my friend A to jump off the top deck into the sea. After hesitating for 5 minutes - mentally calculating the height of the deck and the depth of the sea, wondering how much my butt would hurt if I hit the water the wrong way, and struggling if I should squeeze my nose to prevent water from rushing into the nostrils - I summoned enough courage and just let myself go, and it felt great (and no, it didn't hurt at all; and yes, I squeezed my nose but still water managed to rush into the nostrils).

It's the good 5-minute hesitation that got me thinking.

Since when did we get so scared of everything? I had bungee jumped in my younger years, I was a fan of all kinds of roller coaster rides (my favourite was the free falls), and I used to love those dodgy street foods. But now I cannot walk a block of street without looking up to check if anything is falling from above (like acid bottles, or even worse, air-conditioners) and aiming at my head.

My bravery is diminished by age - and the wisdom and experience that comes with it.

But sometimes, taking the plunge is fun, which is what life should be, most of the time anyway.

When you don't see his face around much, his voice will do.

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閉上眼，世界只有我一個。

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喜歡一個人孤獨的時刻 但不能喜歡太多
在地鐵站或美術館 孤獨像睡眠一樣餵養我
以永無止盡的墜落 需要音樂取暖
喜歡一個人孤獨的時刻 但不能喜歡太多

喜歡一個喝著紅酒的女孩 但不能喜歡太多
把她送上鐵塔 給全世界的人寫明信片
像一隻鳥在最高的地方 歌聲嘹亮
喜歡一個喝著紅酒的女孩 但不能喜歡太多

喜歡一個陽光照射的角落 但不能喜歡太多
是幼稚園的小朋友 笑聲像陽光一樣打擾我
我輕輕的揮一揮手 凝結照片的傷口
喜歡一個陽光照射的角落 但不能喜歡太多

喜歡一個人孤獨的時刻 但不能喜歡太多

---《太多》陳綺貞

JK Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement

You can watch and read her inspiring speech here.

A couple of quotes:

(On her parents wishing her to take a vocational degree) --
"...I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you."

(On what we can do to make a difference) --
"If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

Randy Pausch.

If you haven't heard about Randy Pausch or watched any of his on-line lectures (I am watching this), I strongly recommend that you do it now.

He is a truly inspiring person, and extremely funny too.

I am generally a happy bunny and glass-is-always-half-full type of person, but I would kill to be half as optimistic as Randy is. He is amazing.

Some quotes:

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

"..when you are pissed off at somebody... you just haven't given them enough time. Just give them a little more time and they will almost always impress you."

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something... the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people."

Portishead - Roads

From Dummy, their debut album.

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(Since I learned how to upload video clips to the blog, I have been having so much fun doing it. But you already know that don't you.)

土鍋貓。

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多得素顔天使讓我認識什麽是土鍋貓。

等我去買個瓦鍋，看看小寳跟豬仔包是否也會自動自覺走入去睡覺！！

Jasmine's interview on RTHK.

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