forty-six: grey's anatomy

grey's anatomy reminds me of a reality tv series. the way the plot unfolds, it's a story about the lives of house officers in a seemingly competitive scenario. it starts with a senior doctor dishing out the "hard facts" about the number of people dropping out, getting sacked almost survivor jeff probst style; you can almost hear him say sole survivor at the end of his discourse.

the show is entertainment at it's latest heights. it is the next in a chain of other products - lost, desperate housewives, the OC. as with the other shows, it involves characters resolving their struggles and inner demons within an idyllic environment, preferably someplace distant and confined to our best imaginations. this time, the place is a hospital and its inner skeleton, the drama is the relationships between what seems to be the lives of doctors.

grey's anatomy fails to bring anything new to the posse of medical dramas. with such a wide selection these days, grey's anatomy doesn't live up to the complete manic presentation of scrubs, neither does it equate to the sombreness and smartness of house, even though it tries to achieve both aspects. rather than seek out a new aspect of the medical profession to highlight, it survives and subsists using the many cliches and common beliefs people already know about the medical profession, like the long hours doctors have to work, the crazy feeling of having to make snap, yet good, decisions.

and i really don't like the part where they milk the whole "i don't want to be a doctor, i can think of so many reasons not to be one but heck, i still am, i must be insane!" act. it just reeks of spoiltness and immaturity.

it may simply be a case of being too early to judge the show, since it's only in it's first episode. still, it seems to have gotten too dramatic and too unbelievable too fast.

forty-five: christmas

i think christmas this year has been somewhat special compared to most years. i don't think i ever celebrated christmas the way i have this year, by attending concerts, or choral performances. but somehow there was a search for what i've always dreamed christmas to be, complete with the friends and the warm christmas spirit.

as i write this, charles dicken's famous christmas carol is playing on the hallmark channel. a christmas tree adorned with ornaments, crystal balls and other little glass things stands not far from where i am. i guess the point of all this is to somehow find that spirit of christmas, which is really something i wait all year for, yet only comes for a fleeting one day, and almost never lives up to all the pre-christmas hype.

but i think this year has been different, and so i'm here reliving the moments, trying to remember the times when i have felt that glimmer or a christmas spirit. whether it was listening to an arousing orchestral chrsitmas medley rendition, or watching the christmas carol played out in front of me, or immersing myself in a choir of popular christmas songs, and finally, with the simple act of going to church, i think i can put together small moments of christmas-ness. and friends, who make all the difference.

i've had a good christmas this year.

forty-four: random

i've always wanted to be calvin from calvin and hobbes. something about calvin being fun loving, exhuberant, full of energy, daring to defy the odds and authority, and definitely, that spark of creativity and eccentricity. anyway, calvin and hobbes have kept me company for so long. all those hours spent reading it when i was bored. and then feeling sad when i knew there was a finite number of strips which i could read. well.

my roomate wrote me a nice card today in response to mine to him. it's funny actually. it showed how different we were. i wrote to him in english and he replied to me in chinese. and not even the chinese that i know. traditional chinese. it's funny how life is sometimes like literature. telling it's own story in the more subtle way. well.