Beach

We went to a beach last Saturday when we visit my grandparents. My grandparents live in Miaoli and they live near the sea. So every time when we go back to their house we could get to the beach by only riding bikes for 20 minutes. We rode to the beach at about 4 p.m. The beach is somehow different from what I remember when I came there as a kid. There are more garbage and vendors. When I dug, I used to find seashells and crabs, but now I only get plastic bags. The more I wanted to find what I once found, the less I could get. The only thing remains the same is the sunset. The sunset is still as beautiful as it was. When the sun reached the horizon, its yellowish fingers grasp the edge of the sea and stretched out toward us, making the ships blurred black shadows.

The Disney Movies

I knew I suppose to do some SAT practice in these days, but today I just watched all the Disney movies (well, not really "watch" but like scanning over for the plot and some particular music). Some of the movies are older and some are just as old as I am. Watching these movies as a teenager makes me have a pretty different feeling toward these movies than when I watched them as a kid. I used to think Disney movies are all about love and romance. But now I feel that they also address another topic --teenager rebellion. In Litter Mermaid (all 1, 2 ,and 3), Ariel wants to be a human despite what her dad had said; Melody never listens to her mother's words. In Lion King 2, Kiara is tired of Simba's overprotective parenting and want to be together with Kovu, the heir of Simba's enemy, Scar. In Pocahontas, the Indian princess Pocahontas keeps hanging out with John Smith even though she already has a fiance. Pocahontas 2 makes everything in the first episode a lie. Pocahontas just broke up with John Smith so easily despite they saved the American Indians and prevented a war in the first episode.

Other movies have great plot and great character. Aladdin is my favorite. Mulan is also not bad. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Alice in Wonderland (1951), The Aristocats, and so on, all are great movies. Walt Disney presents the old stories in a whole new way. With great imagination and music, he built our childhood with hopes and dreams. There is A Whole New World Under The Sea. Hakuna Matata, A Friend Like Me will be Part Of Your World. When The Bells of Notre Dame ring and When You Wish Upon A Star, You've Got A Friend Like Me.

World War Z

Recently I watched the movie, World War Z, with my family. The movie got a fairly high rate of 7.3 in the International Movie Database (IMDb) and most importantly, Brad Pitt was cast in the movie. World War Z is another movie that talks about the zombie apocalypse. However, what makes it different is that it illustrates what causes the zombie pandemic. What’s more interesting is that the original novel said zombies are caused by an advanced hydrophobic virus and the virus is origin in China. However, due to some political issue, the movie shifts the setting of the zombie hearth to Taiwan. When the actor read out the line, “When the mutated virus spread out from Taiwan…”, all the audience in the theater laughed. In the end, just like every other zombie movie, Gerry (Brad Pitt), the UN employee, finds a way to effectively fight against the zombies and saves the world……blah blah blah.

Anyway, when Gerry was sent to find the answer for the zombie problem and had to be forced to separate from his family, it’s just reminded me my mom’s flight to Netherlands. I will probably stick with this topic pathetically for the following weeks. This movie might be one of the last couple family events we could have.

Nonetheless, World War Z is a good movie. 

News

You know, there is often a kind of scene on TV that when a guy met his ex-girlfriend, his ex-girlfriend told him that she’s going to be married. The audience could then feel an awkward feeling when the guy said, “Hmm…I…feel happy for you” even though he didn't.

My mom is leaving for Netherlands.

Due to her job, mother is going to work in Netherlands for the next 2 years. She has to leave before October. In addition, she’s taking my sister with her. The news came so sudden that it shocked everyone in the family. In fact, my mom later confessed that she initially wanted to take all of us – my sister, my dad, me, and even our dog—with her. Yet, considering that I am a rising senior facing the coming college application period, she decided to leave me and my dad in Taiwan. Living in Netherlands is actually a great opportunity for both my mom and my sister. Mother can gain international working experience and my sister can have a chance to broaden her horizon. They can even travel around Europe in the vocations.

I suppose to feel happy for them. But now I feel the exact same feeling as the guy who heard his ex-girlfriend’s marriage felt. I used to think that dramatic feeling is nonsense. Now, it is so true, the contradicting feeling of happiness but also anger and sadness. When I tried to smile and said, “Have fun in the Europe”, I actually wanted to scream and shout.

Well, things are set. And since we only have 2 months left, I guess I should just cherish every minutes. 

Cousins; Visit

My younger cousins visited my place over the weekends. They are form America and decided to spend their summer in Taiwan. We don’t have a common topic to talk about since they are too young to discuss their future and I am too old to understand what’s interested to them. They also considerately brought all their 3C products ––from iPhone to PS3 to Xbox 360 –– so that they won’t be bored even if they are indoor. Yet, on the second morning they came, my mom proposed to take them to the nearest amusement park in Guanxi. At first I was concern that they would also feel bored even in the amusement park since, comparing to the ones in the States, its size is relatively small. I am not sure if my cousins really want to go there or just tired of playing video games, they agreed to go.

It turned out that they loved everything in the amusement park.

We rode on every roller coaster, took as many pictures as we can, and ate food that they couldn’t get in the States. However, while we were waiting for the firework show in the night, it began to rain. It rained heavier and heavier. My cousins were shocked by what they saw, they said they’ve never seen that kind of heavy raining before (they lived in California). I said they actually saw that before. When they were little, just a little bit younger than they are now, still living in Taipei, it rained like that all over the summer afternoon. They didn’t remember. But as it kept raining, memories seemed to flow back. After all, they are homed.