Thunderstorming and gardening

There's nothing better than a thunderstorm in summer. Especially if you, like myself, have no plans to water the lawn this year. It does seem a bit odd that we have to water the lawn, fertilize the flowers, weed the shrubbery. I mean, the whole point is to recreate a bit of nature for ourselves, right? Logically, wouldn't nature be able to take care of itself without our tender loving care? But then, I guess we don't REALLY want a piece of nature (decaying logs, layers of decomposing leaves, forests of weeds). What people really want is a semblance of nature - domesticated, I guess. Much like how people like to have domesticated animals.

And sitting here, listening to the thunderstorm, I'm starting to think I'd like to have domesticated weather. Not in the docile sense, since that's quite boring. More like a dome or enclosed sphere where I can tend to the temperature/humidity/pressure and nurture a little thunderstorm every so often. I'm sure such a thing would do wonders for agriculture and disaster management, if on a large scale (in fact, there has already been quite a lot of work on cloud seeding). However, I'm more interested in domesticating weather the way people like gardening (as compared to reforestation) - it's mighty therapeutic, regardless of whether I'm inside or outside.

I'm sure there's a deep, cathartic reason why thunderstorms are so attractive, but I'd rather not think about that right now. Let's just enjoy the rain.

Sleeping

That's how most people would like to pass away - peaceful, sleep-like. Preferably with loved ones nearby. Preferably having lived a full life, with all matters settled. Death from natural causes, with ample time for mental preparation and acceptance. When children have become independent.

In that situation, it's not even that sad when the person dies. It's more like a nice rounded finish. Does it take courage to face death in such a situation? Generally, I think not. If anything, it seems that children and dependents are the ones who find it difficult. It is the thought of having to move on without what was once a constant in their lives. So to have reached the point where you yourself are dying, and your children/family/dependents are okay with your passing is actually a good thing. Then, you have been successful in teaching and raising your kids, in establishing good life skills in your family, and in teaching independence to your (former) dependents.

Parents always say that they will always worry about their children, even when their kids are 50. But they rarely say that they want their kids to keep thinking of them. Sure, visit occasionally, and bring the grandkids, certainly! But they prefer to almost fade as they age, I think.

Hmm...I think I'm too young still to guess at what they might think. But hopefully, I'd be able to handle old age that way! Oh yeah, provided I fail in my plan to die young :D

And we begin!

Okay, on account of me finding that my friends also have blogs, I am suddenly motivated to post. Yes, I have been super lazy. I blame it on my dull life.

Anyhow, World Cup is on! Yay! It's the only sporting event I really follow. I don't know why, it must be the Hong Kong in my blood. Of course, by "follow", I really mean "watch". I find it very hard to keep track of all the players/teams/coaches and their various athletic conditions, etc. I mean, I just want to watch the game!

I love the idea that soccer can be played by any random group of people - all you need is a bit of space and a reasonably round object. No special tools, setup, or protection. And (at least at the amateurish level) it's quite easy to pick up. There's the ball. Kick it. If you want to do fancy chest or knee bounces, whatever, that's your business. Everyone else, just kick forwards. And really, any number of people can join in, as long as your space is large enough. I guess maybe that's why it's so popular in a number of poorer countries.

I know I suck at soccer, but I still loved playing it in highschool. I wonder if I'd still enjoy playing it now?

Soooo Sleeeeepyyyy

Waking up every weekday at 6:30am is bad enough. What's worse is when your body stupidly wakes up at 6:30am on weekends too. Sure, you can roll around in bed for an extra hour or two, but the damage has been done. Not that I really mind, since I'm a morning person. In my mind, there's nothing better than spending a long morning having tea with toast and reading the paper. Yeah, I'm also actually 75 years old.

Anyway, the down side is that I am constantly tired. I usually recover somewhat by late afternoon, so that I'm fooled into thinking I don't need to go to sleep right away. With the result that I am tired the next morning at work. And I have permanent dark circles under my eyes. I think my memory and general organizational skills have also been suffering. Not to mention my motor skills and general perception, such as judging the position of my head relative to the door.

What I need is a week of doing nothing, except sleeping and relaxing. I don't mean a vacation, since that is actually quite tiring. I don't mean time around the house, because that's actually kind of stressful. Just a week of nothing. Okay, maybe a spa retreat would work also.

Yeah...that would be nice.

Verbing weirds language

As does writing adverbly. Law actually kills language in that it analyses each word so much that you have to make up new words or strange phrases in order to provide a clear meaning or define new legal ground. In patents, you wouldn't want to claim "a ring that is able to rotate on a rod", because what do you really mean by "able"? And what is the relationship between the ring and the rod? Are they even connected? Better to say "a ring rotatably mounted on a rod". Which isn't even that bad, english-wise.

Sometimes it makes sense. For example, why say "means for carrying" or "a handle designed to carry" when you can just say "a carrier"? Or "the two chambers being connected to each other for the passage of fluid" when you can say "the two chambers being in fluid communication". As a side note, I love writing something as being in "fluid communication" :) Anyway, those are the good cases.

But then you get things like "a flap hingedly connected to a box", or "each joint being independently actuatable". Clearly, these phrases would not be approved by your spellchecker. And yet, I must continue to verb, to write adverbly, and to embrace adjective writing.

And on the subject of weirding things, the kangashark at left is but one of the terrifying enemies you'll encounter in the new Earthbound game. It's the perfect mix of ruthless killer and cuddly baby animal. Also ranking high on the terrifying scale is New Age Retro Hippie and Manly Fish's Brother. Sephiroth has nothing on them, nothing.

Spring is come

Ah...the joys of seeing the sun in the morning. I blame the lack of updates on the sunshine. Who wants to sit inside with a computer when spring beckons? Of course, I am being optimistic, since the temperature is still hovering around zero degrees. No snow though!

My quest to get to know the neighbours continues. Mostly just saying hello as I pass them on the way to work, but it's the little things that count and add up in the end, no?

Every morning, on my way to the subway station, I pass by this university (or maybe senior high school?) student hanging around in front of his house, just standing there listening to his iPod or something. Which is quite puzzling, because he's just standing there, in the snow, the rain, the wind, whatever. Well, a few days ago, I left the house a bit later, and I realized that he's not standing in front of HIS house, but his girlfriend's. So apparently they're neighbours, and he waits for her every morning so they can walk to the subway together. It doesn't rank very high in terms of self-sacrificing acts, but I didn't think anyone did that anymore. Walking to the subway or bus-stop with someone seemed to be something left in my childhood. Hmm.

Somehow spring always reminds me of elementary school. I think it's those many years of playing in the grass fields. And the school trips to the local church for Easter service (during which walk everybody picked dandelions from the road). And when summer comes, it also feels like school time. That delicious anticipation of summer vacation. In general, when the seaons changes to spring or summer, it just makes me feel incredibly happy for no apparent reason. Conversely, the coming of autumn and winter makes me feel depressed, but there (and particularly for winter) the reason is obvious -_-;

We interrupt this program...

I know I'm supposed to write about the kindness of the younger generation in my neighbourhood. And I shall indeed, in a few days. But I must share with the world the wonder that is Zombies vs. Ambulances. Even the title of this game is frightening in its awesome-ness. But do not fear! Go check out the preview and indulge that teenager inside you.