No, I'm Not Dead

I Just Don't Know What to Write About Anymore

In the days immediately before social media took over the zeitgeist and the discourse, there were blogs. They weren’t immediately thought of as a way to make money. They were just a way to reach out to the world. I read a lot of them and then I started writing my own.

Sometimes I’d write multiple posts in a single day. I’d post 10 or more times in a week. Lots of people did. There were lots of English-language Hong Kong-based bloggers 20 years ago. We seemed to all know each other.

And then, the numbers started to decline. People moved on. People got bored. Life got in the way. Very often the last post on a blog would consist solely of, “I know I haven’t written much lately, I promise I’ll be writing more frequently now.” And then, silence.

I haven’t posted anything in six months. That’s the longest I’ve ever gone without a post. Maybe people who don’t personally know me are thinking, “well, he’s old, maybe he died.” Not yet.

My job takes up a lot of my energy these days. Working a full time middle management IT job at my age isn’t stressing me out mentally. I’m still capable of keeping up with the technology and providing value to my employer, manager, and peers. I get tired sooner. In 2024 I was working from home, which made things easier, and I could work a 50 or 60 hour week. Now I go into an office 3 days a week and I can’t do 12 hour days any more (fortunately on this project I don’t have to).

I moved from Wanchai to the New Territories. Not to a village house, like I had done many times in the past. I’m in a development that consists of 12 48-floor towers on top of a shopping mall across the street from an MTR station. What’s odd is that I really like it.

And, yeah, I had my first surgery, appendicitis in June. Saturday night Uber to the hospital, after two hours and some tests they checked me in, the next day they cut me open, and then 4 more days in a ward with 7 other old men. All of it cost me next to nothing, even without insurance, and as far as I could tell I received world-class care in every aspect aside from the food - nothing the first two days, then a clear sort of rice soup for two days, then congee with no seasoning, a tiny bit of minced pork, and some minced cabbage on the side. I’m fine now, I’m back to work and all, but I’m not at 100% yet.

Over these past six months, I’ve started to write things many times, some times gotten quite far along with pieces, but never finished anything, never hit that “publish” button. I think to myself, “Oh, this happened, I’ll write about it.” And then I’ll think, “Why?” or “Why publicly?” So I’ll just note it in my diary instead. Or post a picture on Instagram. Or post a movie review on Letterboxd. I think to myself, “Dayenu.”

I’d like to say that I’ll pick up the pace now. Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. No promises.

But before I go, here’s a share for you, a video that I have watched over and over again.

Storm comes from Gener8ion. One of the creatives behind Gener8ion is Romain Gavras. His father is the ground-breaking director Costa-Gavras (Z, The Confession, State of Siege). Romain also makes films, perhaps not as politically consequential as his dad’s, but entertaining nonetheless.

Anyway, here’s Storm. It’s in two very distinct parts, running a little under 8 minutes. The first part is kind of Lord of the Flies-ish. The choreography in the second part kind of blows me away.

Here’s the trailer for the Romain Gavras film I enjoyed the most, The World Is Yours, which should be on Netflix in most parts of the world.

Anyway, see you next time …

(Yeah, all of youse peoples what saw Tripperhead recommended me and so you hit the subscribe button without checking me out can go ahead and unsubscribe now. I obviously ain’t in this for the numbers.)