Sunday Art

So I "performed" in a street art production on Sunday. Here was the instructional blurb:

Each participant will carry a sign bearing different slogans taken from my stream-of-consciousness writings. Participants will be posted a couple of blocks away and when instructed will carry their sign with conviction and determination towards the gallery to create a silent picket line that slowly swells from on lone picketer to hopefully a group of up to 20 picketers. They will silently move back and forth in this formation until the lead picketer walks away and they will disperse one by one away from the gallery until the space is left empty.

It was part of this Rececssional performance, where groups of people would tour around a few galleries and different "movement art" things would be happening. You can tell that I'm not an artist as I suck at describing these things.

It doesn't mention that I had to have masking tape over my mouth, but that's a minor detail.

Having never protested anything in my life, it's a strange feeling to be stared at when I'm holding up a sign. I can see how people would feel empowered by protesting, but it would be quite dismal if you were the only picketer. The lack of noise (with the masking tape and the silence of the crowd) made the performance stronger, I think.

Back to the to do list for NYC....Public performance: check.

Wii

When people would as me about consoles, I would say "Wii was a console for party games such as Wii tennis, Wii boxing etc. It's good for a few laughs but it's not a true gaming console, as the single player games aren't that good".

So whilst in Toronto with my relos, there was a Wii console that my cousin had. Yes we played some tennis and boxing, but when everyone left I had to entertain myself. Luckily for me my cousin had this massive collection of Wii games.

And one game I played was Super Mario Galaxy. I was amazed at the execution of the game, and how well they used the contollers with their motion sensors. The sheer originality of the moves, from spinning the Wii remote to spin Mario, balancing Mario of a boulder to do a course, made it such an enjoyable experience that I ended up playing half the game until 2am :)

Is it worth getting a console for one game? Probably not, but I do have a lot more respect for the Wii now.

Dad

Having my dad here has been great fun, good to catch up and talk about the usual things: stocks, work, family. Like all good asian parents, they will put freely give their advice on matters both personal and professional. Sometimes the advice is good, sometimes it is bad. In either case, it's up to me to act on any advice. We have gotten to a point where he knows I'm not going to do everything he says, but I also hope that he knows that I won't always do the opposite of it either.

I know they worry about me, and that I should be living closer to home. I think every single person that lives overseas has this feeling to "do the right thing" and be with family. One day I will, but not today. I think that being here forces me to work out what I want, without the easy support structures that Sydney provides. It's a learning experience I don't want to let go of.

Of course he is sad at what happened and I think he now knows all sides of the story. Honesty is a great thing, and I'm glad I shared with him the full story. There should be no secrets in a family.

Next stop is Toronto, to go and say hi to grandma and meet some other relos. I might even get some quality Chinese!