And Just Like That... I'm Blogging Again.

For those who really know me or even vaguely know me would probably know that I love to write. I love to read, like a lot. But my true, true passion is writing. before I learned how to love myself, before I learnt how to love others, before I learnt to care about my community, I knew I loved to write. It's funny how TV shows can make a huge impact on some people. I have heard people in both Hong Kong and Canada that say they went from not knowing either English or Chinese, and was able to reach a level of native speaking purely through watching TV. That happened to me, too; making me know two first-languages (since you can't say native anymore, more of that in another post perhaps) English and Cantonese through Canadian TV and HK's TVB. But more importantly, TV helped me figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

The first TV show that got me was Ally McBeal, for an amalgamation of reasons: great opening theme song and many great songs by Vonda Shepard (many soundtracks came out because of this show, including the Christmas one), it was kinda my first taste in seeing what a lawyer can possible do in a court room, obviously not by the eponymous character who daydreams and can't keep track which side she is objecting to. But Cage, oh Cage was such a great lawyer... He was reflective, he was hard working and very articulate. I was captivated by how he does his closing remarks, usually being able to fight for his clients whether plaintiff or defendant and sometimes on the most nuanced cases. I was enraptured by his debating and public speaking skills insofar I spent quite some time doing those in high school. Oh but I hated Math, Chemistry and Physics. I just wasn't as good as my peers who literally got straight As in these and I just passed. In today's STEM world I would have completely failed. But this realization of what I'm good at or not was coincidentally the time when I started to watch this show called Boston Public, another David E. Kelley show.

This time instead of being a fancy lawyer, I got captured by the profession of being a teacher in a public marginalized school. This was the first time I got to know what a racially diverse faculty and student body looked like, what a marginalized institution looked like and how they fight their battles. In short, (because its was short in terms of seasons, not by recognition like main awards), it was a world that got me really intrigued by the profession of teaching and how one could probably teach, or lead a team. But as that chaptered ended, almost literally, another opened: Sex and the City--or for those loyal fans, And Just Like That. 

While (this might be a shocker) but I actually never read any of the books in the series by Bushnell, because why would you if you have a show as well produced by Michael Patrick King does? I have read most of her subsequent novels which are pretty good as well. But Sex and the City opened up my life. It opened up my life into romanticizing the two big Ls, as Carrie would say-Love and Labels, and of the vibrant New York City, and most importantly...the idea of being a writer. It's just so... FUN, and seemingly easy. And most certainly my love for You've Got Mail and Kathleen Kelly's emails to NY152 has helped cement my love for reading, writing and finding true love. But it was watching Carrie Bradshaw go through her glamorous but not so glamorous and treacherous quest for Love that sealed the deal for me wanting to become a writer about love.

It helped that some English youth newspapers in Hong Kong sponsored this interest of mine by publishing my short essays, book reviews and movies reviews with first a lot of book vouchers, and later actual money ($HK50 back in 2004), it felt great.  And being the last 5 finalist on an essay writing competition of why the environment is so important, really empowered me to consider this as a full time or part time job. And so I applied to both University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Baptist University's pioneering BA in English Language and Literature and BEd in English Language Teaching programs and after one round of interview at HKBU in which I babbled about Harry Potter, I got in in 2005. 

In 2012 I started writing the first draft of my novel which at first was a romance but now more like women's fiction, looking at womanhood identity and other essential stuff. That year I also started this blog. Fast forward 2016 I finished the first draft of my novel and spent 2017-18 editing it and started to pitch it. At first it was great, some said they were interested but upon reading more, no. Then it was 2.5 years of non stop rejects, edit, re-pitch, reject, re-edit rinse and repeat, from soliciting publishers and literary agents.

But as readership stayed rather stagnant here on blogspot and Adsesnses were negligible, I started a side project of LitLookOut.com which basically did book reviews and partnered (in a completely honest and unbiased way) with Amazon. Meanwhile still teaching and writing in University of Hong Kong, I started to desert Lit Look Out and finally gave up paying for the domain name. But it's Instagram account still exists if you ever wonder @litlookout.

But the reboot of Sex and the City TV series And Just Like That has helped me through resigning my post at HKU (I' don't feel like talking about this now) to become a freelance writer and educator. Like her, I feel like I was a bit lost. And I couldn't imagine losing the love of my life... it's so morbid. But like her, as time went by, I came to terms as of why I resigned and I actually am embracing and loving the liberty and time I get to say blog here. Like a phoenix rising from ashes, Carrie and I are both rising again...