introduced my mum to the hk drama the Ghetto-Fabulous Lady starring Adia Chan. it's a twisted and dark drama but i really liked it because it accurately portrays the ugly nature of humans. how humans are forced by circumstances to do certain things that their natural and rational selves wouldnt, the real divide between the upper class and the lower class (which is not money!),  how it's so scary to be uneducated and how the only way to progress out of the vicious cycle of poverty is to grab hold of opportunities (be it against your morals, and with much criticism and hate from those around you) else accept life and continue being used by those in power.

the drama plot is still acting out in reality here, we still have "uneducated" people and what they do is just to complain about how life has unfairly dealt the cards and that they are entitled to "benefits" and "hand-outs" by the "richer" ones just because they are richer. but the truth is, being born poor is one thing, being ignorant is another. its infuriating how there are some people who feel like the country/people around them owe them a living, and they conveniently forget how they are able to receive help is because the "richer", more "blessed" ones WANT to offer their help and it's not a given because we are living in a democratic/meritocratic world and not a communist world.

i felt in particular the most for Jeannie Chan and her mysterious/secretive past. it was really intense character development for her role and i think she said in an interview that she hated this role cos of all the negativity the character felt. one thing i felt the most alike was the fact that true empathy is not about understanding the other party's circumstances and being in the person's shoes, but rather true empathy is doing everything for the person such that he/she will never be in the same situation you ever went through ):

some parts very drama (as usual la) but towards the end when the story unfolds you'll just feel sad (and empty) ): and one question the drama will leave you pondering is, is it possible to stay morally upright and honest all your life?

p.s long overdue post! i actually started this 3 weeks ago and it's been lying in my draft since..

of conversations and commitments

had a lot of good conversations last week (ie 13 Oct)
last week the kiddos went to jewel to celebrate children's day and i didnt tag along so i had a good 2h of peace and mental freedom to myself after service (do you know rare it is hahha) anyway i decided to go to toast box to sit and chill. but before that i met grace, a junior who's about 5 (?) years younger than me. known her for a while since lishi days; she's a very strong girl - she's from a single parent family and her mum passed away when she was in sec school leaving only her younger brother and her ): she's been staying with her aunt since whom she treats as her godma aww but she isnt very negative about life and still keeps her smile on always (: anyway she's in SMU year 3 now so sometimes she will come ask me for advice on school stuff. now she's interning and so that day she saw me at teabreak and wanted to catch up with me on life. she's quite cute she was very anxious about working life because she said at cell group all the working people were praying about politics in the workplace hahhaha so she was asking me a lot of questions. our talk was brief cos she had to go for class but nonetheless meaningful

then after that i walked back to the carpark and sat down to wait for my uncle then ailin laoshi came over to sit with me and she started asking about my serving in the community cos she saw my photo with ms lee and how she admired that and i also complimented her on her serving cos i saw her face plastered on her company van (her company is a elderly healthcare provider) HAHA and then we had a very deep convo on society, on the deserving/entitled people we meet while serving and more. i sometimes wish i could talk to my mum on that kind of level hahha but anyway just very glad to have her as one of the mentorly figures i could always approach in life (': i rmb after jc while choosing uni courses she was so supportive of my decision she kept urging me to talk to her son about it cos her son was in the course i badly wanted whereas my mum would only tell me to stop living in my unicorn flamingo world meh [cos they're both pinkish sort of and i actually have at least 3 flamingo items haha]  :/ anyway i didnt get into my dream course but i moved on so let bygones by bygones. meh.

but overall it was really a good week mentally (': really appreciate 1 on 1 conversations with people ((: