Minor Annoyances

tyianchang · Post by **tyianchang** » Mon, 14 Feb 2011 4:43 pm

SMS, thanks for verifications. That has much to say about the compiler. What's his name and in which year did he fill in the archives?
Regarding my ancestors, some might be drawn towards the darkest forces of no return but not all. Perhaps a fraction of the landed gentry and wealthy and what led China into, no good folks would want again.
But the main point is what I have always known from childhood, that of the dragon chasing the ball of energy. The imagery is vibrant and the colours bright and radiant . It's a depcition of the primal forces with the advent of spring, not an opium den.
My concern today, is for when my grandchildren and school kids should google chasing the dragon during CNY to find an opium den.

ev-disinfection · Post by **ev-disinfection** » Mon, 14 Feb 2011 5:51 pm

Hi Anne,
Why waste time googling, just tell your grandkids to go directly there, address below, heard that they do deliveries too... Don't mention my name

The Opium Den (The real Chinese Good stuff)
79 GEORGE STREET OXFORD Oxfordshire OX1 2BQ Tel: 01865 248680

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Mon, 14 Feb 2011 5:56 pm

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Mon, 14 Feb 2011 6:24 pm

Two points:

The dragon design on say Chinese ceramics is a dragon chasing a pearl. So it cannot be confused with 'chasing the dragon', as nothing is chasing the dragon. 'Chasing the dragon' has, I would suggest, only ever had one meaning, and I doubt people who google on that term will be looking for a lesson on Kangxi dynasty porcelain.

If you put 'chasing the dragon' in the above right search box marked 'Search / Singapore Expats', it will search Singapore Expats. It is powered by Google but that should not be confused with this discussion topic being the #1 top global hit from 'open' Google.

tyianchang · Post by **tyianchang** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 1:26 am

Chasing the dragon is a phrase on google that shows how CNY is celebrated. It takes place when children, and adults follow the dragon /lion dance from shop to shop as it frolics, leaps and grabs the red packets and bunch of lettuce, all with the accompaniment of drum and cymbals. In London, it was hearty to find English, Black and Indian guys with the Chinese from the martial arts troupe leading the dragon dance. That's what is meant by chasing the dragon but metaphorically, the phrase means the dragon chasing after the ball of light. I don't know about other Chinese, such as the Manchus, but we'd never associate the dragon with opium.

tyianchang · Post by **tyianchang** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 1:34 am

ev-disinfection wrote:Hi Anne,
Why waste time googling, just tell your grandkids to go directly there, address below, heard that they do deliveries too... Don't mention my name

The Opium Den (The real Chinese Good stuff)
79 GEORGE STREET OXFORD Oxfordshire OX1 2BQ Tel: 01865 248680

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Hi ev-d, we went to Chinatown. There're lovely delicate round lanterns of red, yellow and purple this year. My grandkids followed the dragon and wouldn't leave till we'd seen it rising up to get the hungpao and cabbage for the nth time!
I wouldn't take any children to a place called the Opium den - it's historically a taboo phrase. I can take Yves St Laurent 'Opium' perfume but Opium den??? You must be out of your mind!

JR8 · Post by **JR8** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 1:54 am

Chasing the dragon is a phrase on google that shows how CNY is celebrated. It takes place when children, and adults follow the dragon /lion dance from shop to shop as it frolics, leaps and grabs the red packets and bunch of lettuce, all with the accompaniment of drum and cymbals. In London, it was hearty to find English, Black and Indian guys with the Chinese from the martial arts troupe leading the dragon dance. That's what is meant by chasing the dragon but metaphorically, the phrase means the dragon chasing after the ball of light. I don't know about other Chinese, such as the Manchus, but we'd never associate the dragon with opium.

Ah ok, well apologies if I am read you wrong. I have never seen a lion/dragon dance chasing a 'ball of light', but the 'ball of light' might be confused with the 'dragon chasing flaming pearl' motif which is much more than metaphorical, being a long-time staple on Chinese porcelain.

By the way, as SMS explained, the phrase referring to drug usage does originate from China (Hong Kong).

dazzlebabe · Post by **dazzlebabe** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 9:26 am

I am born in the year of the Dragon. However, chasing this Dragon would be far too easy when I am in my 5" heels!

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 9:30 am

dazzlebabe wrote:I am born in the year of the Dragon. However, chasing this Dragon would be far too easy when I am in my 5" heels!

Can you please let me know where and when that will be? A PM or SMS will suffice and I will be wearing track shoes!

Post by **nakatago** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 9:32 am

Strong Eagle wrote:
dazzlebabe wrote:I am born in the year of the Dragon. However, chasing this Dragon would be far too easy when I am in my 5" heels!
Can you please let me know where and when that will be? A PM or SMS will suffice and I will be wearing track shoes!

This is why I keep bringing parkour up. Actually, screw that. 5" heels? You don't need the extra agility.

ev-disinfection · Post by **ev-disinfection** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:20 am

dazzlebabe wrote:I am born in the year of the Dragon. However, chasing this Dragon would be far too easy when I am in my 5" heels!

Hi DB, will not guarantee that you will catch the dragon, but you will definitely get a high.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:04 am

Strong Eagle wrote:
dazzlebabe wrote:I am born in the year of the Dragon. However, chasing this Dragon would be far too easy when I am in my 5" heels!
Can you please let me know where and when that will be? A PM or SMS will suffice and I will be wearing track shoes!

If SMS will suffice, you won't be needed!

Addadude · Post by **Addadude** » Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:08 am

tyianchang wrote:Chasing the dragon is a phrase on google that shows how CNY is celebrated.

That's funny. When I Google 'chasing the dragon', this is the first page I get:

Eau2011 · Post by **Eau2011** » Fri, 18 Feb 2011 1:02 am

beppi wrote:I had very similar feelings every time I relocated to a new country (and that has been many times!).
Fact is, there are changes and different habits and human nature seems to see the negative in some of this more than the positive, as a previous poster already pointed out.
The key is to learn to see it as different, not worse. Why should the whole world have the same preferences as you? For all you know, maybe the others see you as rude for some of the things you do as "normal"!
In addition, please make a trip to India - you'll never complain about the lack of personal distance again - while here there's usually still a gap between people, there it's always body contact!

Post by **nakatago** » Thu, 09 Jun 2011 1:12 pm

I had to get this out of my system.

Sunday. In a mall. The GSS.

It was crowded, there were lots of people, and you can't help but walk slow. It's still forgivable. You're in a hurry, you motion that you need to get through, people notice you and let you through--that's ok.

But this was extra annoying.

I was passing through a fairly unused "corridor" in a mall when suddenly, I ran into an extended family--parents, multiple children, probably a cousin or an aunt and uncle. They were walking very slowly and they fanned out such that they occupied the whole width of the corridor. And they were holding hands. It's like People Power, except you're behind them.

I wanted to get through but there was simply no opening. I thought it was just me but then I saw this guy next to me, obviously peeved as well as we paced the walking barricade. And they didn't seem to understand English--I mentioned it wasn't just me being blocked.

Luckily for me, though, they were at a part where a boutique was open at the front and did the equivalent of overtaking at a road shoulder.

Okay, rant off. Meltdown averted. All is fine in the world again.

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