TV that changed my life - Part 2b of 2 (Almost There!!)

So...it's obviously been awhile. I can make up a thousand excuses (and trust me, there are just about enough), the fact of the matter is I got super duper lazy. Thoughts like these takes time to synthesise and directed onto pen and site ya know!

Anyway, someone politely prompted me today to ask to update my blog, and so I shall. This is for you, and you know who you are :).

5. Plum Blossom Trilogy: The Plum Blossom Tattoo (1995)

I know what everyone is probably thinking - what the f**k show is this?

To be honest, it's been THAT long ago that it took me a while to remember the proper name of the show, and I spent a good half an hour on google just find enough info to write this entry. While I vaguely remember the complete storyline, what was significant about this TV series was the impression and the indelible mark it made on my personal perception on the illusive concept of love.

Yes, lo and behold, it's a love story! Written as an epic, eponymous to a Greek tragedy, the story unfolds in an ancient Chinese dynasty, whereby the royal queen, fighting for her place in a palace of concubines concocts a plan in order to clinch to her royal title. Trading her daughter in for a son to impress the king, the queen marks her baby girl with a Plum Blossom tattoo before sending her down a river. 

As fate would have it, as adults, the girl falls in love with the prince that took her rightful place as heir to the throne. The story has its various twists and turns, and truth be told, I don't actually remember the ending but if memory serves, it was a tragic one. The love between the two main characters, which began with fate, and continued with determination was the lynchpin of the story, which echoed through my 7-year old thoughts.


When: 1995-1996, when I watched what my parents were watching. And to improve on my Mandarin..
Why: The bloody cliffhangers at the end of each episode
What I learnt: While love does not always conquer all, it is damn well worth fighting for
Who:  Don't bother. 

Notwithstanding the sub-par acting (I could only assume in hindsight as I can no longer bear watching any TVB series), the story struck a chord as it left a very impressionable 7-year old self with a grand perception of love - that it is encompassing, serendipitous, and ineffable. Seventeen years later, while I daresay I have learnt enough about love to know that it is wholly, partly and sometimes none of the those things, I admit at the very bottom of my heart, I still search for that poignant love story that hopefully, has a happy ending.

P.S - What was great about this TV series was the AMAZING soundtrack that came with it. While it wasn't my first introduction to Chinese music then, the melodies and lyrics from this series still stick with me till today. The haunting sounds resonate with the tragic unfolding of the story, which was apt. Take a listen below:

TV that changed my life. I am still serious. (Part 2a of 2)

<enter funny non-descript double entendre statement>

<enter personal views on KL public transport>

<enter swear word>

<enter fuck>

<enter opening to blog post>

<enter witty comment>

<enter fuck>

4. Absolute Power (2003)

When I was roughly around the age of sixteen, I began to wonder, what the hell was I going to do with my life. There was not much inspiration coming from books, teachers, or let alone TV. The usual Asian stereotypical careers I knew I would always cross out eventually (though it took a few years to convince the parents)

Doctor. No. Too much time. Too little sex.

Dentist. No. Teeth. Double no. See above.

Engineering. No. Hated Physics. 

Anything related to Natural/Physical Sciences. No. Snore.

Then, StarWorld picked up Absolute Power. The series depicted the nitty-gritty world of Public Relations - misadventures include 'humanising' a bin Laden about to take-over British Airways, re-mesmerisation of American food products and crisis handling of a MP going to the Heath for, um, explicit endeavours. I was hooked, in fact, I remember thinking to myself that I wanted to be in PR. And although that was about 8 years ago, I start work with Ogilvy PR next week -  I guess the heart wants what it wants. 

When: 2005-2006, when high school was over and I started to think what I wanted to do in life.

Why: The humour, the dry wit but most importantly, the writing was fantastic!

What I learnt: Power is important. Using it wisely is more important. Being devious, eh, why not?

Who: If you don't know Stephen Fry, don't talk to me.

Also, because I'm in KL now, I've been consumed with the procrastination bug so shows #5 and #6 will be in another post, which will be written, tomorrow when procrastinators unite.

Peace.

TV that changed my life. No, really. (Part 1 of 2)

Sitting in Starbucks sipping a cup of tea and maximising the use of the buffer-defying wi-fi (even my torrents are d/ling on wifi here), I got to thinking about the people in my life and I thought, they deserve an encompassing post on how much love and care I have for them, through the thick and the thin.

That was until one of my torrent TV shows finished downloading. 

So then I thought I'd leave that riveting post for some other time, watch the show that just downloaded and write a fluffier piece instead.

This is a piece about the six TV shows that have inspired and influenced the various facets of my life thus far. Yes, you read that correctly; I am one of 'those' people that think what goes on in the silver screen can be mirrored in real life. And I say those who doubt me - why not? It is no different to the fables and stories we read growing up, the same ones that taught us vice from virtue (albeit socially constructed, but that's another story) and showed us that anything is possible. All stories are derived from some form of truth or reality, and we can always learn something from them.

1. Lost (2004)

Anyone who truly knows me, should not be surprised that this ranked first, in fact, I am at a lost for words (yes, pun intended, har-har) at how much more I can actually rave about this piece of brilliant production and the terrific script that accompanied it. 

LOST is a story of a group of survivors of a plane crash and the mysterious island that seems to bend the law of physics and time in which they are all trapped on but also, as it is revealed in the end, salvaged by as well.The devices used to weave the intertwined stories of the survivors throughout time and space are accompanied by emotive and subtle displays of long-standing debates within philosophy, psychology and religion. Not for the light-hearted, LOST makes one question the choices one has made, and reflect upon the human connections that we have made, however insignificant and the impact they have on our lives. 

When: 2004-2010, the period when I was actually using my brains.
Why: Read above. And its a plane crash. On TV. In Hawaii. Come on.
What I learnt: That choices are what me make of it, and that the people around us are what matters most.
Who: Evangeline Lilly as Kate. And yes, the chubby one - Jorge Garcia (now on Alcatraz, which features the same producers as Lost)

Watch the video below that explains LOST in 8 minutes before the final season.

_____________

2. Just Shoot Me (1997)

When I was growing up in Malaysia, unless you had subscription to cable or Astro (the equivalent to Sky UK), there were not many American comedies floating around on national television. I guess most were either deemed too suggestive by the censorship board or the TV execs did not figure the mass public would get the caustic humour that came bundled with most of them.


Just Shoot Me was a classic half-hour sitcom that revolved around a fashion company and followed the hilarious trials and OTT tribulations of the writers, photographers, models and the boss of the company. While everyone else was watching Friends, I escaped into my own world with this show, which aired at 11pm - way past bedtime for a school night. But sneak I did, and laugh I did even more.


When: 1997-2003, when puberty hit and I got bored of Power Rangers. 
Why: Needed a reason to stay up late.
What I learnt: How to be funny, wit and all. And when.
Who: David Spade (now on Rules of Engagement) and Wendie Malick (now on Hot in Cleveland)
_____________


3. Yo Soy Betty, la Fea (1999)

I know what you are thinking. A TELENOVELA? Well, it so happens to be the most popular one of all time, with countless adaptations around the world - I am sure everyone knows the American version, Ugly Betty that propelled America Ferrera to fame. Well, this is the one that inspired it all. And god knows how it got picked up by Malaysia's NTV7 (probably due to popular demand from the huge population of Filipino maids in the country) but I use to watch this religiously, everyday after school, 4pm.

Yo Soy Betty, la Fea, a classic story of the bullied ugly duckling who eventually turns into a beautiful swan, beds the handsome boss and 'defeats' the superficial vamp in the social, fashion and corporate world set in Colombia. We've all heard it before, but damn did this soap opera make me sweat till the end. Unsurprisingly, at the same period of time, I was struggling with being different back in high school myself and god knows those braces and glasses that I wore did not help - much alike Betty herself.

I mean ffs, I use to look like this:

But, like the telenovela, I turned into this:

So don't feel too bad for me. Muahahhahaha. :D

When: 1999-2002, again when puberty hit and I was at my, ahem, most unattractive.
Why: Homework was wearing me down, and I wanted to practice my Spanish for my eventual world tour around South America (which I will eventually get to)
What I learnt: That we are all beautiful from the inside, and well, outside matters too. And you know it.
Who: Watch it for the titular character, Betty. It would make a much better story than a duck I assure you.
_____________

That's all folks, for now. Part 2 will be up shortly and will be posted hopefully, via my new IPAD 3 which I am now patiently waiting for to be delivered to me via UPS. I mean, CAN.THEY.BE.ANY.SLOWER.

Later.

The 'Mis-Possibilities'

Whether one grew up to the west or the east of the Indian Ocean, most if not everyone have come across the notion that failure was undesirable. It is a variation of social taboo that has perpetuated either through mechanisms I dub (a) 'parental expectations' or (b) 'p2p pressure'; no one is expected to fail, and if one does, they are sidetracked to a lower rung of the ladder, whether social or corporate - not different, just lower.

As I am writing this, I have been unemployed for about three days now. While many expected me to be overjoyed, I can't help but feel a sense of panic, a sense of daunting uncertainty - a sense of failure.

Augmenting these emotions is the fact that I chose to resign from my position at a well-known firm, which I have been told many would 'die to be be part of'. The more I thought about it, the more illogical it seemed - why would anyone choose to fail? Was I making the biggest mistake of my life?  Have I made a complete U-turn on the very mechanisms that wheeled me to the position that I had worked so hard for?

I was giving up a lot in the present for a future that has (and the obviousness is not lost on me) yet to present itself. The possibilities are endless, but so are the opportunity costs, or what I dub the 'mis-possibilities'.

Giving up a generous income, loved ones, and living in London itself seemed almost an impossibility twelve months ago. And yet, through rain and shine, I knew I had to follow my instincts - I could not waste one more second living someone else's life, and achieving someone else's goals. Idealistic and naive as it may be, I wanted to live the life of my dreams - to chase after it, warts and all.

The fear of failure is a double edged sword. On one side, there is the paralysing effect that consumes one's visions, and on the other, is the uplifting heave that one needs to draw oneself to success (or rather, absence of failure). I believe the trick is to direct the latter to the right path and the former would be obsolete.

My dreams aren't there yet, and while I have accepted the mis-possibilities of my choices, I am still learning to embrace the myriad of paths my life can now take - most of which, with a bit of luck and courage and perhaps some brains, will lead me straight (or even obliquely) to where I want to be. Amen.

Watch this: JK Rowling and the fringe benefits of failure.

The full speech can be watched at TED.com. Click here.