The thoughts and activities of an Australian, working as an actor and performer in Hong Kong. tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1 Gregory 河國榮 gregory@hokwokwing.hk www.hokwokwing.hk © 2010 Gregory Charles Rivers 河國榮. All rights reserved. 2010-09-05T00:53:59Z Movable Type 3.35 tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.242 2010-09-04T04:00:00Z 2010-09-05T00:53:59Z

I visited Doctor Nasseri again today for one last check up before I return home to Hong Kong. The news wasn't great, but it was revealing. Over the last week or so, I have been listening to my Pimsleur language courses again. With nothing to do outside of my daily lessons with Peisha, I spend a lot of time walking from place to place listening to the courses. I'm currently learning five languages as a hobby. I realise it has been and will be difficult to learn five (or six) languages simultaneously, and that's ok. I'm not in a hurry, but last Christmas when I damaged my vocal chords, I stopped learning the languages and didn't start again until last week; an 8-month hiatus. So I started listening to the lessons again, taking care not to speak too much. Sometimes however, it can be difficult to restrain yourself when you're having fun, and on Wednesday in particular, I spoke more than I should have. In addition, I chatted with a couple of friends for an hour or so. Whoops!

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.241 2010-09-01T03:48:00Z 2010-09-01T03:58:20Z

I'll be leaving L.A. on Saturday, Sep 4, heading back home to Hong Kong. It wouldn't be fair though to leave without giving those of you who live in L.A. a chance to chat. So, I'll be at Peet's Coffee in Studio City from 1:00 to 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. Feel free to drop by. 12215 Ventura Boulevard Studio City‎, Los Angeles Stay well people.

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.240 2010-08-30T23:00:00Z 2010-08-30T22:58:33Z

I've been in L.A. for just over 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I didn't get to do what I came here to do, and that was a very big let down, but I may be leaving with something much bigger. Shortly after arriving in L.A., pressures from multiple sources combined with past injuries and bad habits led to serious muscle strain in my throat. It was so bad that I had to see an ENT specialist. After prodding from Peisha and another newly discovered friend, I made an appointment to see Dr Nasseri. Dr Nasseri is not cheap, but when you find the right person, when you find the person with the answers, the cost doesn't matter. Major muscle tension dysphonia was the diagnosis, and the doc promptly informed Peisha over the phone what I needed to correct my problem.

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.239 2010-08-25T03:38:00Z 2010-08-30T23:05:51Z

Before leaving home for L.A., I took possession of a new iPad. I knew I'd be carrying my computer with me wherever I went, and the MacBook Pro can get heavy after a while. I should clarify that when I'm in L.A., I invariably walk everywhere, only taking the public transport when I have to travel longer distances. It's not unusual for me to walk 4 to 5 miles in a single day while I'm here. Needless to say, my waist is getting smaller :-) So, I brought the iPad with me. Right from the beginning, it has been a great help to me, especially allowing me to communicate with others when I couldn't speak (I can speak now btw). It's small, light, and the display is great. I have no idea how the PC companies are going to beat it except perhaps in I.T. and geek communities where access to everything under the hood is preferred. It does have its flaws however.

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.238 2010-08-15T03:00:00Z 2010-08-30T23:01:29Z

The Friday before last, I did one of Peisha's lessons at home and then a few hours later sang again in a different kind of vocal training at a friend's place for another hour. This particular lesson of Peisha's was a hard one with close to 45 minutes of gruelling workout. Not long after beginning the other training session, my voice was already feeling tired. The next day, I was made very aware of my error. I had developed something known as Supraglottal Muscle Tension Dysphonia. The muscles around the voice box had tensed up making speech difficult. The only remedy is rest, vocal rest. So I've not spoken anything since last Wednesday. Here in L.A., I get around with my newly acquired iPad. Before coming over, I purchased a popular painting program for the iPad called Brushes. Now when I need to communicate with someone, I pull the iPad out and write the words on the iPad using Brushes. It's quick and effective. The people here are great, showing understanding and patience. There have however been two unexpected reactions. The first is that many people respond by also speaking very softly. Perhaps it's a learnt rule when being polite that you respond in a conversation in a similar volume to your partner. Some of the people talking to me can get very soft though. The second reaction which I've seen at least twice is that the other person immediately looks for paper to write their response on. The assumption is that since I can't speak, then I'm also deaf. They are of course unaware that I'm not mute, simply on strict vocal rest, but it's an interesting response anyway. What is bizarre is that I've even seen this reaction from my wife who is very aware that I'm not deaf!!! I'll be in L.A. for another week. Take care all.

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.237 2010-08-13T01:28:00Z 2010-08-13T01:47:29Z

I'm off for L.A. in a couple of hours, but before I go… We're going to see Gary's show in September. We have our tickets. Are you going? 譚偉權史上首個個人音樂會

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.236 2010-08-12T01:58:58Z 2010-08-12T02:02:18Z

It's complicated. Flying to L.A. was supposed to be relatively easy to arrange. We booked the flight with our agent in mid-late July, a full three weeks before the scheduled date of departure. The return flight was confirmed, and I was put on the waiting list of 4 flights from HKG to LAX. Going online to zuji, every flight of every airline was pretty full. Apparently, people were returning home after visiting the World Expo during the Summer holidays. I stayed on those four waiting lists until the booking's deadline, and then my agent tried to keep me there because the return flight had been confirmed. It was only a few days ago that I discovered that Cathay doesn't allow someone to remain on a waiting list past the deadline. The rules are that you either 'publish' the ticket by the deadline or lose it, but you're not permitted to 'publish' a ticket if the seat hasn't been confirmed. So, your agent is forced to rebook your ticket each time the deadline is reached, effectively putting you at the back of the line every time. Cathay needs to do something to improve their system.

tag:www.hokwokwing.hk,2010://1.235 2010-08-05T03:00:00Z 2010-08-05T03:33:20Z

For more than a year, I've had this project in my mind, thinking about it, planning it, sometimes writing it down. Now however, Project S has become an actuality. We've been working on Project S for several weeks. Next week, I'll be flying to L.A. to continue work on it, and you'll begin to see more about it soon after.