Homeless Lady, Stupid Driver, Japanese Orphans, and My Modified Stir-fried Rice

I am still exploring the functionality of my new phone Nokia 5800 Xpress Music. I love it! I can actually begin to practice writing Chinese instead of using pinyin (拼音) on a keyboard all the time. I can also taking decent pictures, listen to radio and music, or even shoot a video. I love the fact that I can edit the label for a phone number. Now I can have my frequently visited bus stops programmed into my phone. I also enjoy the calendar on the phone, much better than the Google Calendar. However, AT&T’s signal sucks! They are much worse than Sprint I used to have. Luckily, I can get by most of the time. A few days ago, when I stop by the store in Chinatown to get this phone, I saw a very old Chinese lady, perhaps in her 70s if not 80s, digging a trash can for food. Her exposed legs were so thin that they are probably thinner than my wrists. It is extremely sad. I dug into my bag, all I could find was an apple. I handed the apple to her. She took it and replied with a perfect "Thank you!" Her pronunciation tells me that either she is an American born Chinese or she has been in the US for decades. Her image stayed with me for a long time. I wonder if she is warm tonight. I also wonder why there are so many homeless people in this richest US of A. China is poorer and have more people, but I have never seen as many homeless people as in the US. What gives? I wonder what would happen if the Chinese lady were in China. I doubt that she would have to dig a trashcan for food. Okay, that’s depressing. Couple days ago, I read something ridiculous. Remember the guy who drove too fast on the Bay Bridge and flew off the bridge and plunge to his death? The family of this guy now blame the Caltrain for the accident. How predictable! Of course, people never take responsibility for their own action. If they drive exceed the speed limit, they blame on no extra measure is taken to slow them down. WTF? Why are these people drive so fast anyway? Hurry for what? To death? The most irritating drivers I see every day on streets are those who run yellow lights, sometimes, red lights too. They see the light is changing, they slam on the gas to beat the light. Very likely they fly over the intersection risking of hitting a few pedestrians. What happen after they beat the light? They immediately slam on the brake so they don’t hit the car that is stopped at a red light. So all they are rushing to is to stop behind a stopped car, but risking other’s lives? Enough rant. Let me change to something inspiring. Couple days ago, I was watching news when I was having breakfast, and I was moved to tears when I heard this: 45 Japanese orphans returned to Harbin to visit their adopted Chinese parents. When Japanese invaded China, they committed horrific acts to Chinese people, especially to people in Harbin (哈尔滨), my hometown. When the War is over in 1945, many Japanese orphans are abandoned. Chinese people took these orphans in, and raised them as their own children, despite what the Japanese just did to the Chinese people during the war. That’s humanity and empathy! After 1972, thousands of these orphans returned to Japan and started new lives. Now these orphans returned to Harbin to visit their Chinese parents who saved their lives and raised them. Okay, that’s also not very cheerful. So, let’s cook. Cooking something at home always make me happy. I am out of rice last week. With hesitation, I bought a big 50 lb bag of Thai rice from the shop outside the apartment. I took a chance hoping that I would like it, because it’s very convenient. All I need is to get in the elevator and come up stairs. It’s not the short grain I like. Despite its sweet aroma, I don’t like the texture. However, they are very good for stir-fried rice. Tonight, instead of normally stir the eggs in the rice, I put them outside for a change. I want to be different. Ops! I forgot to sprinkler some seseme seeds. There! Ops again, I dropped some rape. It looks like I need a maid. The Maid (La Nana) Chilean director Sebastián Silva‘s second feature "The Maid" (La Nana | Chile/Mexico 2009 | 95 min.) is an absorbing character study about a fascinating maid. The film wins the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Dramatic) at 2009 Sundance Film Festival and continues to collecting trophies around the globe. The film opens with the awkward celebration of Raquel’s (Catalina Saavedra) 41st birthday. She appears to be shy, unhappy, grumpy, mysterious, and haggard. After 20 years as a live-in maid in a wealthy family and taking care of four children and the two adults in the family, she disappears in this family’s life as if she is part of the family. Or is she? Despite her falling health, she refuses to allow any new maid to step into her territory or to share the domain that she fiercely guards. She becomes the most difficult maid to work with. As a result, none of the new maid can work with her long, except an upbeat and free spirited Lucy (Mariana Loyola) who inspires her to find her life again. Catalina Saavedra gives an outstanding performance as the intriguing protagonist. Her expressive eyes reveal her mind every time when she looks into the camera. She intelligently creates a rich and complex character—Raquel. Like Raquel’s employer, the audience might be perplexed about where to place her in the heart. Appreciate her work? Love her dedication? Pity her life? Condemn her behavior? Admire her strong will? There is simply no easy answer. Raquel is perhaps the best maid in the world when it comes to keep a house tidy. However, actually having her in the house as a maid may not be as blessed as it sounds. One thing is certain though—she will be the maid that no one can easily forget. "The Maid" opens on Friday, November 13, 2009 at Landmark‘s Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco, Shattuck in Berkeley, and Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.