Hong Kong Culture: Models (but not quite)
Um so you know what's funny? So in yesterday's post I wrote that I've been meditating on the song 'Came to My Rescue', and at today's worship service, it was one out of the four songs that was sung. WEIRD. I don't think God's really saying anything by this 'coincidence' but I do believe it's just a little note of confirmation and comfort knowing that as long as there is a place for me to worship, everything else such as friends, a good fellowship will follow en suite.
The sermon? Have courage on the account of Joshua and Caleb. Have courage because you know the greatest being in existence so go where He is calling you. Because if He wants you to go there, He will obviously make it happen in your favour.
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So on Sunday nights (such as now) I watch two shows: one of them is called 'Leng Mui Chu Fong' which means 'Pretty Girls in the Kitchen'. The latest trend in Hong Kong has been the rise of pretty girls who aren't tall enough to go runway but have no marketable skills besides their looks. Therefore they turn into promotional models for products and market themselves as a product through photo books that are pretty much considered soft porn in the States (not sure how it's legal here). Here they're called 靚模 'leng mo': 'leng' means 'pretty' and 'mo' is for a shortened version of the english word 'model'. So 'pretty model' aka the 'pseudo model'. Most famous ones are Angelababy, Janice Man and Chrissie Chau.
Anyway the show is basically a barrage of those girls and a few are selected to do a live cooking show to exhibit their 'skills' aka already prepared food items for them to 'cook'. And then there is a panel of male judges who are fed by these 'princesses' aka more pretty girls. And they're rated and given 'awards'. Throughout the show the judges make fun of them and their skills and crack jokes. It's one of the most brainless shows but it's an indulgent show. For guys it's to oggle at half naked chicks and for girls, it's to make fun of their, well, brainlessness.
But that's Hong Kong for you. If you're either super skinny or have large breasts, you can make it big somehow (see above). As I said before, it's hard not to get influenced by all the diet advertisements on the MTR (literally making up 40% of the ads here except it's only two ads printed back to back.. I'm not sure if it's effective if they're sledgehammering you with the same ad to the point of either getting brainwashed or numb).
At work I've had to pseudo write those style advice to questions (we actually get a lot of style tips questions! I thought magazines just made those up...), the question my editor told me to tackle was concerning a 5'5" girl, 120lbs, who had wide shoulders, long legs and a butt that she wanted to hide.
The first thing when I tried to picture what she looked like was "dangggg you have a nice body: curves and legsss" and then it hit me "hey we have the same body type except I'm taller." lolololol.
I just came to the revelation that, okay I'm not considered skinny here but I'm 'coming to terms', if you will, that beauty is not looking emaciated. I'm trying to find that confidence that's not in that superficiality. I think it has helped, that I've stopped reading Vogue and the majority of fashion magazines. I stopped not because of that skewed perception, but because I find them rather uninspiring. I recently started looking at www.style.com for work, and found the models' legs really repulsive to look at: literally huge knee caps and skin. Why people find stick-thin really pretty, I don't know anymore. Granted clothes look nicer on them because you can literally pile them on and not have too much bulk but just bare, not so nice.
I do have hang ups on how I look and I always will but meh, I can't change how people perceive me, but I can change how I perceive myself. There are days I wish I looked like Janice Man or Angelababy. Yet just as how I want to know God more because the more I know of Him, the greater designer I will be (because you only want to learn from the best), the more I am captivated by His beauty, the greater mine will be (not speaking about physical beauty).
I already noticed it, that the person I aspire to be is already in existence, I just have to believe it.
In the end, looks don't really matter. What I have now is not about looks, what I have now is God. It's been a slow paradigm shift and a really weird one being in the industry that I am in but...
Already seeing how blessed I am reminds me that it really all about Him. What I've learned this past few months, if God wants it to happen, He will make it happen. It's also why I don't really worry about finding a church- I've run into a few kinks but I've learned to be patient. Little worrying is involved. I was concerned about my future, God gave me a job. I was concerned about paying my loans, God gave me a high salary. I was concerned about my NYC apartment being uninhabited, God gave me a I was concerned about commuting from a home far away, God gave me a stellar apartment to live at for now.
I mean, all the years my family has lived here, they saw the apartment I'm temporarily staying at and they have never seen an apartment with such a gorgeous view of Hong Kong as mine. They invited me to see the fireworks from the Yacht Club for the public holiday, but I can actually see it from my bedside as you can see from the pictures in my previous entry.
I'm blessed, blessed, blessed. I keep talking about the same things because I need to remember the goodness of God for those times I'm tired and frustrated.
Although I went to church alone today, I still had that spiritual fervour: the desire to sing and raise my arms in abandon, the thirst to know God's calling and to just come to this place to simply worship. Not to look for friends, but to just find God. Iono I need to stop blogging so much but I can't stop babbling about God. It's getting a little ridiculous that I think that at this point, maybe I should start feeling a little sad for myself because I'm a loner who eats Sunday lunch by myself and doesn't mind sitting there, sketching my future portfolio site and feeling super content. Not because I'm skinnier or prettier than the average Asian but God is with me even though I'm pretty lost and clueless about what the future holds in store for me.
I now have fully experienced this verse from James 1,
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
The sermon? Have courage on the account of Joshua and Caleb. Have courage because you know the greatest being in existence so go where He is calling you. Because if He wants you to go there, He will obviously make it happen in your favour.
-----------------------------------------------------
So on Sunday nights (such as now) I watch two shows: one of them is called 'Leng Mui Chu Fong' which means 'Pretty Girls in the Kitchen'. The latest trend in Hong Kong has been the rise of pretty girls who aren't tall enough to go runway but have no marketable skills besides their looks. Therefore they turn into promotional models for products and market themselves as a product through photo books that are pretty much considered soft porn in the States (not sure how it's legal here). Here they're called 靚模 'leng mo': 'leng' means 'pretty' and 'mo' is for a shortened version of the english word 'model'. So 'pretty model' aka the 'pseudo model'. Most famous ones are Angelababy, Janice Man and Chrissie Chau.
Anyway the show is basically a barrage of those girls and a few are selected to do a live cooking show to exhibit their 'skills' aka already prepared food items for them to 'cook'. And then there is a panel of male judges who are fed by these 'princesses' aka more pretty girls. And they're rated and given 'awards'. Throughout the show the judges make fun of them and their skills and crack jokes. It's one of the most brainless shows but it's an indulgent show. For guys it's to oggle at half naked chicks and for girls, it's to make fun of their, well, brainlessness.
But that's Hong Kong for you. If you're either super skinny or have large breasts, you can make it big somehow (see above). As I said before, it's hard not to get influenced by all the diet advertisements on the MTR (literally making up 40% of the ads here except it's only two ads printed back to back.. I'm not sure if it's effective if they're sledgehammering you with the same ad to the point of either getting brainwashed or numb).
At work I've had to pseudo write those style advice to questions (we actually get a lot of style tips questions! I thought magazines just made those up...), the question my editor told me to tackle was concerning a 5'5" girl, 120lbs, who had wide shoulders, long legs and a butt that she wanted to hide.
The first thing when I tried to picture what she looked like was "dangggg you have a nice body: curves and legsss" and then it hit me "hey we have the same body type except I'm taller." lolololol.
I just came to the revelation that, okay I'm not considered skinny here but I'm 'coming to terms', if you will, that beauty is not looking emaciated. I'm trying to find that confidence that's not in that superficiality. I think it has helped, that I've stopped reading Vogue and the majority of fashion magazines. I stopped not because of that skewed perception, but because I find them rather uninspiring. I recently started looking at www.style.com for work, and found the models' legs really repulsive to look at: literally huge knee caps and skin. Why people find stick-thin really pretty, I don't know anymore. Granted clothes look nicer on them because you can literally pile them on and not have too much bulk but just bare, not so nice.
I do have hang ups on how I look and I always will but meh, I can't change how people perceive me, but I can change how I perceive myself. There are days I wish I looked like Janice Man or Angelababy. Yet just as how I want to know God more because the more I know of Him, the greater designer I will be (because you only want to learn from the best), the more I am captivated by His beauty, the greater mine will be (not speaking about physical beauty).
I already noticed it, that the person I aspire to be is already in existence, I just have to believe it.
In the end, looks don't really matter. What I have now is not about looks, what I have now is God. It's been a slow paradigm shift and a really weird one being in the industry that I am in but...
Already seeing how blessed I am reminds me that it really all about Him. What I've learned this past few months, if God wants it to happen, He will make it happen. It's also why I don't really worry about finding a church- I've run into a few kinks but I've learned to be patient. Little worrying is involved. I was concerned about my future, God gave me a job. I was concerned about paying my loans, God gave me a high salary. I was concerned about my NYC apartment being uninhabited, God gave me a I was concerned about commuting from a home far away, God gave me a stellar apartment to live at for now.
I mean, all the years my family has lived here, they saw the apartment I'm temporarily staying at and they have never seen an apartment with such a gorgeous view of Hong Kong as mine. They invited me to see the fireworks from the Yacht Club for the public holiday, but I can actually see it from my bedside as you can see from the pictures in my previous entry.
I'm blessed, blessed, blessed. I keep talking about the same things because I need to remember the goodness of God for those times I'm tired and frustrated.
Although I went to church alone today, I still had that spiritual fervour: the desire to sing and raise my arms in abandon, the thirst to know God's calling and to just come to this place to simply worship. Not to look for friends, but to just find God. Iono I need to stop blogging so much but I can't stop babbling about God. It's getting a little ridiculous that I think that at this point, maybe I should start feeling a little sad for myself because I'm a loner who eats Sunday lunch by myself and doesn't mind sitting there, sketching my future portfolio site and feeling super content. Not because I'm skinnier or prettier than the average Asian but God is with me even though I'm pretty lost and clueless about what the future holds in store for me.
I now have fully experienced this verse from James 1,
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
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