“Get Busy Living”
I have always liked Causeway Bay. Central holds my heart, but there is something so appealing about Causeway. The wealth of clothing stores, skin and beauty salons, and counters, the bright lights, the busy streets, the hidden cafes. From the age of 11 to about 15, I used to go to Causeway Bay every Friday afternoon for singing lessons with my teacher Winnie Tang.
Friday afternoons were the best- singing lessons (which I loved), then I would meet up with my mother. We would either go shopping or go see a movie or have dinner with friends.
Finding myself in Causeway Bay on Wednesday afternoon looking up at a very long staircase that led to Schtung Music Studio, I felt rather nostalgic.
I am a down to business kind of person. I like to get the work I want to do done. I’d rather be doing work than just sitting and chatting. I have a friend who suggested a recording studio to me a while back. However, he warned me, “Look, the producer is great, but you pay a lot for a 4-hour session yet, he wants to spend 2 of those hours drinking and talking.”
This is why enjoyed my session at Schtung. I walked into the booth and my lyrics were already printed and waiting for me. Warm water was given to me and the engineer made sure I was comfortable with the room temperature. Then we got down to business. We had 3 hours, yet our work (including comping) was done in one. I truly enjoyed my experience and working with the producer Morton Wilson and his engineer Tidus was an absolute pleasure. (There is a video coming soon of the experience and about the studio). I loved the fact that no time was wasted and that the experience was so professional.
I think life is all about balance. I have, however, met a lot of people on the opposite side of the spectrum who love to spend days on end doing nothing at all. This baffles me.
Look, I do think there are times where chilling is absolutely essential. After long work weeks or gig marathons, I would just sit on the couch and play XBox for hours. I had to just calm my mind down a little bit. Other than that, I feel like life goes by so quickly we should be spending it living! Maybe to some sitting on the bed watching movies is living, but there is so much out there to see and do.
Go see a loved one, go learn something new, watch a show, go on a hike, go shopping, anything. Do something which will make that day memorable.
I was on the MTR the other day and as it was passing Tai Wai. I saw a very simple graffiti piece I absolutely loved that said, “Live a life you will remember”. Sure it sort of doesn’t make sense, but at the same time, you get what they were saying.
I like to think that each day I have achieved something. Looking back, I feel sorry for the men I have dated. They maybe got a few weeks of a relaxed me…and then it became, “ok lets get productive”. Now I think about it, I ended up recruiting each one of them to help me create something…poor guys.
But this is just me. I’m on the extreme, and I’m like my father. We just don’t know how to relax. Yet there are people who do it far too well. Balance, it’s all about balance. We all get seduced by extremes and fall off the wagon now and then. When this happens to me I go to a temple, say my prayers, burn some incense and feel grounded once again.
So, readers, I challenge you to have fun this weekend, but on Monday look back and see if you created anything, learnt anything or achieved anything? Just one thing.
In Hong Kong, we work hard, but we play hard too. Try now adding some personal growth time into this. You will be blown away by how it can make you feel.
Have a great weekend guys. If you need to get pumped, check out our Friday playlist to kick your weekend off!
The additions this week are:
– Off White Limousine – Client Liaison – Golden – Kingswood – Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones – Hot Blood – Kaleo – The Laws Must Change – John Mayall – Ubu – Methyl Ethel – Private – Vera Blue (My favourite of the week) – Creepin – Kingswood – Chameleon – Pnau – Not Above Love – AlunaGeorge
Kat Coetzee
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