New York City. Los
Angeles. Chicago. Houston.
Philadelphia. Phoenix. Spokane.
Imagine these cities combined forces and had a party. If they pooled their budgets for 4th of July
and New Years fireworks, doubled it, and lit everything off...They still
wouldn't match Shanghai on Chinese New Year.
Besides a short lull from about 1 am to 3 am and 1 pm to 3
pm, it's been Fireworks Central around here--in spite of the government's
so-called limitations (http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-china-fireworks-20140129,0,2905534.story#axzz2rxQzElFV).
I kinda like it.
Last night around 8 or 9 the neighborhoods a few blocks
north of me starting blowing up the good stuff--pyrotechnics that, in the U.S.,
would be surrounded by a ring of fire trucks, just in case. I could see flashes of it from my west-facing
window, so I ran out to the hallway and looked out that north-facing window
instead. Mostly, everything was
sparkling rockets of gold stretching up until gravity forced them to pop like
popcorn in the sky--shimmering explosions of gold, and of course, the
auspicious red, with a bit of random blue or purple thrown in for spice.
To her credit, Gipsy Danger didn't seem as nutso as I'd been
expecting. She actually crouched in my
window, fascinated by the flashes of light reflected in the windows of the tall
buildings all around. Of course, she's
also the most talkative cat in the East, meowing and, at times, even yowling as
if I've stepped on her tail.
I'm watching Gipsy because her human parents, my friends,
are in Guangzhou visiting family. Right
now Ms. Danger (named after the Jaeger in the movie "Pacific Rim") is
curled up on her blanket in my rocking chair, content during the temporary
truce (in firework parlance) to close her eyes and actually nap.
The air outside displays shockingly little damage from last
night. The pollution level is
167--unhealthy--which is fairly normal for this place. The highest level in the Los Angeles area I
can find right now is 80.
The gunshot bangs
and the colors that light up the night remind me of some good times with
cousins back in the States when we were younger, watching 4th of July fireworks
and lighting off some of our own. When
your male cousins are pyromaniacs and are still blowing up stuff at our age
(mid-30s), you just end up getting excited about all of it!
As the Year of the Horse gallops in, and the word mashang ("immediately"--as if
on horseback) is being overused, let me enlighten you with a few predictions
for 2014: people will fight the good
fight based on their ideals, especially towards the end of the year, but
meaningless violence is also expected.
Patience and self-control are advised.
Supposedly, this is a good year for single people to meet that special
someone. I might sit that one out. We'll see.
Businesses involving wood or fire will do well, since this year's horse
is a wood horse. Volcanoes are also
predicted to erupt. If you were born in
the Year of the Snake (like me), it might be time to "reboot" your career,
which I've been considering doing anyway.
Happiness, prosperity, and longevity to all my readers, and
if you speak Cantonese: Gung hay fat choi!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/chinese-new-year-2014-what-the-year-of-the-horse-means-for-you-9096775.html
http://fengshui.about.com/od/fengshuigoodluckcures/ss/Feng-Shui-Tips-Horse-Chinese-Zodiac-Sign.htm
http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/2014-lunar-horoscope-predictions-130052631.html
No comments:
Post a Comment