Taipei Children Arts Festival

In order to do a good job, one must have good tools. ~ a Chinese saying~ 工欲善其事，必先利其器

It was a fruitful and meaningful day, despite Typhoon Saola was approaching Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rainfall, to conclude the month of July!

I got up early to attend two lectures on basic and advance Nanguan from 9:10 till 12:30 at Taiwan Music Center. Many thanks must go to my friend and neighbor who introduced Nanguan to me three months ago. She plays pipa very well, and she encourages me to become a Nanguan singer. I gradually become interested in the ancient genre of slow, gentle, delicate music in Quanzhou dialect.

The more I listen to Nanguan by Wang Xinxin, the more I enjoy its melodic grace and elegance, the more I wish to visit Quanzhou, the birthplace of nanguan in the 7th century between the Sui and Tang eras. At the Taiwan Music Center, I learned to read the Nanguan music notations in addition to gongchepu. And I saw a splendid Nanguan demo featuring four higher instruments and four lower instruments by the student ensemble of Taipei National University of the Arts!

Golden Ladies met for lunch at Apple Diner at 1PM. We chatted for a couple of hours over delicious burgers and free refills of drinks. We took a lot of photos at the shop with pictures of the 30s on the walls. Two big classic photos of Audrey Hepburn were the main attractions. Irene was eager to hone her photographic skills with her newly brought Lumix LX5. Lydia, Kate, and I were delighted to pose as her models.

In the afternoon, we took a walk in the rain to Taipei Children Arts Festival at the Treasure Hill. Kate and Irene wore one-piece summer dresses with exposed arms and legs to invite the invasion of the hungry mosquitoes. I should have warned them in advance about the unfriendly insects I ran into when I investigated the Treasure Hill the previous Monday.

The Treasure Hill was closed on Mondays. The security guard at the gate was friendly to tell me the history of the Treasure Hill when there were no visitors. The Treasure Hill Temple was built in late 17th century before the Lungshan Temple. The small community of cascade houses built on the hill by Japanese and Mainlanders were turned into an artist village. While listening to the security guard's interpretation with interest, I was attacked by numerous mosquitoes to suck as much of my blood as possible all over my arms and legs.

Among a flock of young mothers and small kids in search of the treasures at the Treasure Hill, four golden ladies had fun our way! Irene took many splendid photos on a wet typhoon day. As Irene is having more and more confidence in persuading her models to pose in front of her camera, I'm sure in no time she will become a terrific life story teller with her Lumix LX5 in hand.

Grand’s First Officers Meeting--GCP 10

President May Hwang of Grand Toastmasters Club called for the first officers meeting at her office this morning, July 28th. I was eager to join the meeting. It isn't because I am a senior member, but because May used to be my colleague at Department of Health. She and I both graduated from Department of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical School.

To be honest, I didn't know May at school, because she was much younger. I didn't know May at work, either, because we belonged to different sections. But, I must salute May for her courage to shoulder the President's responsibilities at Grand at the last minute. I was impressed by her enthusiasm in learning the new trick and dedication in performing her job at her best. Being a responsible head, May started the annual planning the moment she accepted the challenge. And I'm obliged to pour my strength to add vitality and variety to make her Presidency memorable and forgettable.

Ten members were at the First Officers Meeting this morning, including President May Hwang, EVP Sharen Chen, Treasure Yolanda Wu, Secretary Victor Chu, IPP Gina Cheng, Area H1 Governor Yvan Chu, and senior members Jimmy Wu, Brian Wu, Billy Chen and me. May must have spent the entire yesterday evening preparing for the meeting. She wowed us by presenting her carefully organized annual plan and colorful handouts. She was like a CEO running her company. I'm sure Grand will be profitable in her hands in 2012-2013. In stead of her small bone structure, May has a big heart. I'm willing to follow her to see what she has to offer!

In order to quench the summer heat, I brought a bag of chilled Pink Ladies (preserved prunes) from Agrioz Garden in Yi-lan to the meeting. I was pleased to look at the smiles when Granders tasted the sweet and sour plums. Just about the right time, came the deliveryman with the best thin crust pizza from Little Trattoria May ordered. May was excited to see our eyes open wide and our mouths water with desire.

The first officers meeting was efficient and successful with a lot of exchanges of creative and crazy ideas among participants. May engineered a complehensive annual plan at the beginning of her term to win 10 points of GCP for Grand and for herself. The meeting was adjourned at 2PM.

May gave Gina 5 and me 2 movie coupons when she knew that Gina and I were movie fans! May has a lot of corporate fringe entertaining benefit she can't enjoy, because she has to work day and night. But Gina and I can take her place to have fun because we are free lancers at large!

Crazy Summer Excursion to Yi-lan County

台北->冬山火車站->烏鼻石瞭望點->南方澳觀景台->宜蘭橘之鄉 DIY 金棗醬->偶像劇咖啡廳->鄂王社區->跨河大橋行人通道->礁溪猴洞瀑布->甕仔雞->台北

We were a weird combination of five ladies Toastmasters. Because we knew one another, we had great fun our way during the crazy summer excursion to Yi-lan County Thursday, July 26th.

Trini Ding, our driver, is a carefree member. She is an elementary school English teacher. She wrote an email at the last minute to confirm the wrong date of our excursion Wednesday evening. When I got up Thursday morning to read her email, I didn't take any action. I knew someone would do the job better. In fact, that one got up one hour earlier than me, to wake up Trini and to send her a text message of complaint.

That one is Virginia Lee, our photographer and tour group leader. We must follow her order without any concession whatsoever in terms of the itinerary and the way we pose for her camera. When we are around her, we must keep silent in order not to disturb the objects she has in mind for her next snapshot. Virginia is not only a knowledgeable traveler, but also a first class gourmet. We were quiet like kittens following her leaps, because the big cat knew where to take us to a good meal and to a super scenic place. On top of that, Virginia carried two big cameras with her. She took super photos, and we wanted to be her models in her beautiful pictures!

Sherry Li, that's my humble self, made the proposal for our one day excursion Monday morning. When I was told that Virginia was curious about golden ladies recent gathering by Lydia Lin at the summer Jazz festival 2012 Sunday evening, I thought of no time like the present. It was four years ago golden ladies had a pleasant Autumn outing to Yi-lan Winery. In less than one day, our excursion plan was in shape! Hooray, I'm ready to be on the road!

Irene Chen, the group treasurer and secretary, is a caretaker. Whenever she is around, just leave everything to her. She can take care of every need of the group members. She did things impeccably following Virginia's commands. Irene just bought a new Lumix LX5. She was eager to hone her photo skills before her venture to Guam to her son's wedding in early September.

Yi-hsin Tsai, the one waiting in a long line to be a golden lady, recommended herself to join our one day excursion. Being the youngest among the group, she didn't say much most of the time. Her portable GPS led the way and spoke louder than Virginia. As I sat at the back seats between Irene and Yi-hsin, I couldn't help staring at her, Yi-hsin was a beauty! Youth is Power! Carpe diem!

Five of us had a full and fruitful day, covering many scenic spots of Yi-lan. Trini was a fast driver, she was nimble behind the wheel. When Virginia gave an order, Trini could made a turn regardless of the traffic on the street. Trini bragged that nobody could make a parallel parking and backward into a garage better than her! I agree with her without any objections! She thinks fast, acts fast, and drives fast!

What's fun today? Too many to name, firstly we borrowed two navy blue east German visor hats at the checking point to mock the station officers to verify the tickets at Dong-san Station. As it was still early in the morning without any passengers at sight, the station officer in charge left his ticket office to take photos of us! He gave each one of us a beautiful pamphlet of Yi-lan County and wished us a pleasant journey. Yi-lan is indeed a tourist friendly county famous for customer service, including the Taiwan Railway Officers!

Secondly, we jumped in the air at every scenic spot. Trini jumped the highest, followed by Yi-hsin and Virginia. I couldn't overcome the gravity of the Michelin on my tummy. I came the last on the roster, of course. But I'm determined to rewrite the jumpers roster in the future. Irene gave up jumping after our trip to the Skywalk in Little Wulai, Taoyuan County last July. At Agrioz Garden, we forgot to jump with our jars of DIY Kumquat in hand. That would certainly make an awesome scene for the visitors!

Thirdly, we convinced a gentleman attired colorfully in his sportswear to be in the photo with us. He met us on the wooden suspension bridge over the Yi-lan River. He had no reservation to share with us about the life in Er-wang Community as a friendly community ambassador. I bet he was the happiest man at the moment, being surrounded by a group of crazy ladies to his surprise. Being a proud man in an one afternoon improv show, he found his sunglasses missing on the bridge till Irene found them!

Last but not least, on our way back to Taipei, we bought the famous roast chicken before we got on the freeway. In less than 12 minutes in the Snow Mountain Tunnel, five of us ladies ate the entire chicken in the dark! We didn't care much about the table manners, as we couldn't see others. We ate with our hands and our mouths. It was sensational and yummy! Virginia fed Trini piece by piece, ooops, hot, hot, hot!

Too pity, I didn't bring my bikinis (3.4) with me, insisted by Virginia. She is now nearsighted, plus farsighted, she doesn't want to get red eyes (styes) because of my sexy body. Otherwise, it would be a cool scene to see me swim in the crystal emerald pool beneath the Monkey Cave Fall. Irene was right, I should always keep my bikinis in the bag no matter where I go, they wouldn't take up much space anyway. It's an advice well taken! Too bad (or fortunately), you couldn't see me in bikinis this time!

2012 Taipei International Jazz Festival

大暑之夜瘋爵士，風吹樹搖暑氣消！

It's blissful to listen to the Jazz in a breeze with a bunch of lady friends on Dashu (major heat, the 12th of 24 solar terms) evening in Taipei. That's how golden ladies Toastmasters spent a starry evening under a tree at the open concert at Daan Forest Park Sunday, July 22nd.

Six of us met for an early dinner at 5PM at the famous East Milano Hot Pot at the corner of the Daan Park. Even though a hot pot in the summer was not much of an attraction, the 20% discount of the summer sale was the reward. When we left the shop, people were waiting in line to get in! Chinese people like hot food regardless of the weather!

It was an evening of International Jazz Masters' rendezvous and Jazz Marathon from 3PM till midnight! I was at the Jazz Parade yesterday afternoon and I was at the Marathon before dinner today. I like the way the jazz masters worked together to showcase different combinations of the musical instruments. It was both educational and entertaining. But I also found them eager to promote their CDs to the audience. It was a pity that I didn't hear any familiar jazz music to the ears! It's probably all about the IPR.

To be honest, I was not fond of Jazz at the beginning when I was a graduate student at LSU Medical Center in the late 70's, I was more interested in the drinks and people at the Jazz bars in French Quarter. As times go by, I am a jazz fan now. I guess music is like any form of art, it takes time to build the connections. The improv music of jazz is natural, spontaneous, and full of freedom. That's is how I like it so much! Maybe one day I can be a jazz singer to swing my body in the spotlight while blending my voice with the accompanying musicians on stage! That'll be very cool.

Toastmaster Kate Hsu joined us later with a bag of gifts from Russia. She and Gina bought cute ceramic bells with heavily bearded Russian fighters on the horses during their recent trip to Kremlin. In addition, Kate wrote a poem for us to attach to the bell as a wind chime to be played by the wind.
珠環腕戴倚窗前  鈴聲嫋嫋似呢喃  夕陽斜照案上龜  倦鳥歸巢樹林間

It felt good to snuggle with old friends with the jazz in the air. Talking about reincarnations, I wonder if we were close in our previous lives. Maybe we were Amazon warriors in Greek history. Maybe we were concubines of Xiang Yu, Hegemon-King of Western Chu in Chinese history. No matter in what way we were connected in the old times, it is nice we meet again in this life!

I didn't walk away with a few old familiar Jazz melodies by Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and many famous jazz singers at the concert. But I shall dance to "What a Wonderful World" and "Hello Dolly" with my goldies friends in the evening wind in the summer of 2012 in my dream!

5th Taipei Fringe Festival Press Conference

Those who act on stage are fanatical, those who watch people act on stage are foolish.  ~ a Chinese saying~ 演戲的是瘋子，看戲的是傻子

It was an overwhelming experience to see the artists whirlwind the stage in 30 seconds at the dress rehearsal of the 2012 Taipei Fringe Festival before the press conference at the Hakka Culture Hall Sunday, July 15th.

I arrived at the Hakka Culture Hall at 10:30 Sunday morning to support Open Your Ears, the first production of Red Room Radio Redux (RRRR). It aims to present the spoken word to stimulate the audience imagination with a two-part event featuring Shakespeare's greatest hits. Part One is an original featuring scenes from Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo & Juliet, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Henry V, and As You Like It. Part Two is a one-act adaptation of The Tragedy of Macbeth in the style of a Radio Drama of the 1930's - 40's. It's Shakespeare to see but especially to hear.

Being a first timer to the Taipei Fringe Festival, I was full of curiosity and excitements. During the dress rehearsal, I sat next to Joyce Lin, a RRRR member. Seeing one stage time after another with 30 seconds each, we were instantly injected with energy and vitality watching talents on stage and sitting among them in the audience. The 5th Taipei Fringe Festival has a lot to offer, more than we could have imagined.

I told Joyce that I would organize a theater group  at 2020 Taipei Fringe Festival. By that time, I'll be 65 years old and I plan to charter a Baby Boomers theater troupe. Joyce replied, "why take so long?" "Yes, maybe sooner," I laughed, if I could get admitted to Graduate School of Theater, National Taiwan University in 2013! (My heart was chilled after I saw the past exams! I knew the answers to less than one tenth of questions! It would take a life time to know all answers. Look at me, I don't even know much about the theater in Taiwan, let alone those from ancient Greek to modern China. But at least I have a goal in mind!)

No doubt, it's exciting to see young people use the summer vacation to prepare for the fringe show in early September, but how about the seniors in Taiwan? Old generation can learn new tricks, if they are inspired to. They have plenty of time after their retirement. The years after the retirement aren't just a footnote or a pathology. Jane Fonda asks how we can think about the third act of our lives. I think we can go on stage to add colors and meanings to our golden third act in life!

During the lunch break, I met a lot of fanatical actors and actresses. It was a great gathering to exchange information about acting on stage. The press conference began at 2PM. I glanced 50 group (out of a total of 120) showcases in less than one hour. It's simply entertaining to watch artists play on stage and let our minds fly here and there at the same time, to compete the creative ideas under the same roof.

Open Your Ears by RRRR 2012

After the press conference, there were lots of actions, reactions, and interactions off stage among the talents. It's like a huge home party for all participants (Too pity, no food and drinks allowed inside the theater hall!) Every artist was eager to promote his or her group show! I wish I could see 10 shows at the 5th Taipei Fringe Festival in two weeks from September 1st till 16th!

If people are foolish to watch people act on stage, so are people fanatical to act on stage! All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. At one time, we are fanatical, at others, we are foolish. It is a pleasant life journey to enjoy a life both fanatical and foolish.

Hohaiyan Rock Festival 2012

Because of the heat on the beach, I felt like a drained traveler in the Sahara dessert. I decided to call it a day when I saw the main stage at the far end. I left the 2012 Hohaiyan Rock Festival--Fearless ere the set of sun Thursday, June 12th. In stead of being fearless, I was full of fear, fear of the heat, fear of the sunburn, fear of the hyperthermia. I didn't buy a famous Fulong lunch box to please my stomach at the Train Station before I bid farewell to 2012 Hohaiyan Rock Festival. I just couldn't wait to lie down in bed at home.

I was totally exhausted when I made it to the jammed local train back to Taipei at 4:10PM. Without much of courtesy, I sat on an empty seat occupied by a teenager in organge flowery Bermuda with his hand. He was not happy, neither was I! Modesty was not in my dictionary at the moment. I simply wanted to rest! Then his group of friends approached him, one of them acknowledged me, "Auntie, how do you do?"

Who can complain when a person says greetings out of respect? I was sort of at lost without knowing what and how to respond on the spot. Look at me, I wore a sexy bling-bling pink hat and a matching pair of big framed sunglasses which covered at least one third of my face, how could the youngsters tell my age? From my bearing, from the wrinkles on my neck, in what way did I disclose my years of being!

It must be the sweat under the heat, the pheromone must play the trick on the young men to neglect a middle age woman. I'm sure in no time, I'll be addressed upon, "A Ma"! Oh, no, it's annoying just thinking of it! After the train left Fu-long station, the teenagers sat down on the floor and snuggled together. They fell asleep instantly to the slow movement of the local train, I felt like sitting among a wagon of war prisoners, ready to go home!

I took it easy to start my solo rock adventure with a huge plastic shopping bag full of bikinis, sunglasses, sandals, accessories, this morning! I got on the MRT at Jingmei at 10:30. In order to make the best use of my traveling time, I put on the makeup on the train as always. A young boy in grade school kept looking at me behind his father. He must be curious about the morning virtual of most women in private. Before he got to the MRT with his father at National Taiwan University Hospital, I was another woman with a full makeup on my face! I got on an express train to Chidu at Taipei Main Station at 10:58. After waiting for 30 minutes, I got on a local train jam packed with young people from Chidu to Gongliao.

At 12:50, I was the only beach goer who got off the train at Gongliao. I knew Gongliao. It was my second time to visit the small town of Gongliao after the 2011 Hohaiyan Rock Festival with Irene and Trini. It was like a homecoming to me. I knew my way in Gongliao. I took a photo on the bridge to the Gongliao old street. The moment I opened the door of the small eatery in town, the young lady owner recognized me and asked me if I was on my way to the rock festival. I ordered a can of chilled Taiwanese beer and a bowl of Seafood noodles. At 1:45, I got on the free shuttle bus at Gongliao High School. I was the only customer on the bus!

In stead of heading for the beach directly after I got off the shuttle bus, I went to a coffee shop near the Fulong Train Station with an intension to leave all my personal belongings there like I did in 2011. To my disappointment, I couldn't find the friendly lady shop owner I made friends with last year, so I ordered a cup of Tapioca Milk Tea to wait for her. But there was no sign of her after I finished my cup of tea in 20 minutes. Then I made up my mind to carry my huge shopping bag to the beach. I went straight to plunge myself in the Pacific Ocean. It was a lesson I learned in 2011, swimming was prohibited after 4.

the dangling fat on me 

Without taking off my hat and sunglasses, I swam all the way to the edge of the beach zone, not even a single young man looked in my way. Then I saw an ojisan lifeguard smiling at me beyond the line of red buoys. I didn't like the way he squinted at me, why me? Do I look like an obasan with most my body under the sea water? Okay, I'm overweight, no doubt about it, 58.9 kilograms. I need to trim off 7 kilograms on my tommy before I can stand tall on the runway!

Looking around the colorful people on the beach, the average age was below 20. I must be the only Taiwanese baby boomer there! If I were in Europe, half of the beach goers would be of my age and beyond. No matter what I was satisfied that I participated in 2012 Hohaiyan Rock Festival. It is my way to arouse the wildness at heart I cherish and I nourish. Being a faithful patron, I won't miss the 2013 Hohaiyan Rock Festival! See you there!

The Three Witches

In the world of the theater, people are superstitious. Two decades ago, I was warned not to walk around the back stage after the make-up artist of Peking Opera put the white foundation on my face. I was told to wait until the completion of the entire facial make-up before I could go to the lady's room.

The first time I heard of the idiom "Break a Leg", it was right before a speech contest in Toastmasters. What a sarcastic idiom it is to say "good luck" to the performers before they go on stage. Who would have wanted to break a leg on stage? But, it's a theatrical superstition that wishing a person "good luck" is considered "bad luck".

Another theatrical superstition was about speaking the name Macbeth inside a theater. When the name of the play is spoken in a theater, tradition requires the person who spoke it to leave, perform traditional cleansing rituals to ward off the evil that uttering the play's name is feared to bring on.

I was at constant alert, for the past few months, not to speak the name while working on the plays of William Shakespeare at the Red Room. Sarah was requested to leave the red room Sunday afternoon, July 1st, because she spoke of the name during the rehearsal. I didn't know what rituals Sarah performed. I knew nothing about the rituals when I was requested to leave the red room once during the theater workshop in May.

The cleansing rituals include turning three times, spitting over one's left shoulder, swearing, or reciting a line from another of Shakespeare's plays. Sometimes the offender will be requested to leave the theater, spin around and brush oneself off, and saying "Macbeth" three times before entering again. Some production groups insist that the offender may not reenter the theater until they are invited to do so, therefore making it easy to punish frequent offenders by leaving them outside.

Being assigned as one of the three witches in the Scottish play, I'm hoping I can take the opportunity to learning some of witchcraft in the 16th century. Who knows, maybe I can come up with something to remove the spell casted on the Scottish Play by the curses of the three witches.

Looking at the weird sisters round about the cauldron go, I wonder how they communicate with one another. Do they speak Scottish English? For those who play MacBeth, MacDuff, or Mac something, they would probably need to worry about their Scottish accents in order to be convincing, especially on the Radio. As for me,  all I have to is stand in front of the mirror, contort my face while speaking. Mwah-ha-ha-ha! Hear us witches sisters cackling in thunder, lightning, or in rain till the charm's wound up!

Summer is Coming!

Thanks God! Summer is coming! How happy I am that I can resume my peaceful life and recommence my favorite activities, reading and writing!

June was an extremely frantic month for me. I'm not complaining! I was blessed with lots of opportunities to work with strangers from all walks of life, young and old. But the truth was that, I was sort of deprived of precious private hours for myself, daydreaming and contemplating. I love working with people, especially with senior citizens. Nevertheless it was a big challenge to deal with the silver generation, stubborn and pigheaded, always taking their own ways. No matter how hard it is, I'm committed to devote as much of my time as possible to the elderly in our community, to invite them to step out of their comfort zones to enjoy their golden ages.

In addition to two playback theater performances at Wenshan Women's Center in Jingmei, I joined a Hakka folk song recital at Cardinal Tien Hospital in Hsin-tien Thursday morning, June 7th. I served as the MC at my music teacher's concert at Chung-shan Hall in Taipei Wednesday evening, June 13th. I joined Bamboo Clappers to perform at Taipei City Library's 60th Anniversary Monday afternoon, June 25th. I joined golden ladies Toastmasters to see Toastmaster Lydia Lin's Concert Elijah at National Concert Hall Tuesday evening, June 26th. My friend and I organize a group of 50 old Grandparents to compete at New Taipei City Senior Citizens Show at San-tsun Dome Wednesday morning, June 27th. I was in charge of a celebration party for my music teacher Friday afternoon, June 29th. Last but not least, I joined golden ladies clogging Toastmasters to perform at D67 Installation Ceremony 2012 Saturday evening, June 30th. Wow, what a fruitful month I had in June!

Now that I've declared so much of my excuses that I didn't do much for this blog in the past few months. It is time I sat down to expedite my writing speed to enrich my learning Toastmaster's diary for my dear readers. Hopefully by the end of 2012, I can meet my goal of 100 articles. That means, I need to write at least two articles a week! Go! Go! Go! Please stay tuned and don't hesitate to drop a line or two, dear All!