Ah, the good old days. When women knew their place and TV was worth watching
Hmm...day two of trying to keep up a frequent-entry blog and already I'm flailing and scrabbling around for things to say. That's mainly because in the 22 hours since I last shared thoughts with you, I really haven't done anything that warrants a mention; instead, I have become an alter ego that pops up every now and again: the 1950s housewife.
Unfortunately, I don't mean I have built a time machine from old washing-up liquid bottles and old tyres like they used to in MacGyver, and travelled back 50-odd years. Rather more mundanely, I've washed up practically every piece of crockery we own (damn HK kitchens not being big enough for a dishwasher), I've cooked the dinner, I've done three loads of washing and I've re-arranged the two wardrobes and some drawers. Next on my agenda is to re-arrange even more, so that stuff isn't just shoved in cubby holes to give the impression of a tidy apartment - we have guests arriving in less than a month! Obviously, I will endeavour not to make every blog entry this thrilling; otherwise you may be too exhausted with the excitement of it all, and need a lie down.
Ironically, I have recently discovered a new series from the writer of Sex and the City (Candace Bushnell) called Lipstick Jungle, focusing on three highly successful career women and how they balance their demanding jobs with their families and lives, blah, blah. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking, with a title like that why would I even bother wasting my precious time when I could be out creating material for you fine people?
What you have to understand is that television here is so abominably poor, that you find your once sky-high standards slipping uncontrollably. Kind of like that old thinking that if you eat enough rubbish food, soon your palate won't be able to distinguish between junk and the comestibles of fine dining.
Like a large number of things in Hong Kong, the majority of TV programmes are imported. Meaning you get endless American shows, shows I'd never even heard of in England, presumably because the controllers of the channels deemed them too dire to be considered for air. The comedies are not funny, the chat shows are full of guests no-one recognises outside of the States, the dramas are all very formulaic, and the news channels! The only one for which you don't have to pay extra is Fox News which, if you've ever caught a snippet you'll know what I mean when I say, is the most American-centric, jingoistic thing I've ever seen! The only time they even mention news from abroad is if it has a direct impact on Americans. If it wasn't for the internet, I'd have no idea what was going on in the rest of the world!
So, my point is, though I appreciate it was in danger of getting lost in my rant there, that when something vaguely well-written or almost convincingly-acted, or even just mildly entertaining comes along, you grab it with both hands. Hence why I've taken to this Lipstick business along with (I'm cringing as I write this) The Apprentice USA. Yes chaps, complete with he of the very, very questionable hair, Donald Trump.
Well, one has to have something on in the background when one's ironing the shirts, doesn't one?!
Source of picture: http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/original/50shousewife.jpg
