Do La La, Du La La: Episode 1

For the past couple of days, I've been watching nonstop on YouTube the romantic comedic Chinese drama, Du Lala's Promotion or A Story of Lala's Promotion (杜拉拉升职记). Have to say, this is one of the better Chinese modern dramas I've seen so far as it relates many realistic events and situations that happen in the workplace. I've been watching it over and over again because I really think it's relevant especially for someone like me who's about to enter the workforce soon.

Cast for this drama is gorgeous! I actually found out about this drama while I was pursuing sites talking and featuring Hawthorn Love. I'll talk about that drama another time. What caught my eye though wasn't really the plot or story, it was actually the main lead and couple. Yes, this drama features Wang Luodan and Li Guanjie. Typically, dramas with similar couples and leads catch my eye so I decided to take a chance and see what this is all about even though from the title, it sounded a little ridiculous. Before I actually begin my episode-to-episode review, let's look first at the two main characters:

Du LaLa (杜拉拉): In the beginning, Lala is an entry-level employee at a small marketing firm. She manages to catch the attention of Wang Wei, marketing director at DB (large firm) during a career fair though she left a funny yet disturbing impression on HR. She is extremely naive in relationships and tries to see the good in everyone. Lala's greatest attribute is she tries to befriend her coworkers who are also trying to gain rank and pull one over her. Throughout the entire series, Lala matures as an individual seeking her position and value in the DB.

Wang Wei (王伟): He is the marketing director of DB. In the beginning, Wei holds an prestigious position in both the firm and the industry. He is known for his notorious charismatic skills as a playboy. After meeting Lala and seeing her endearing though sometimes frustratingly naive ways, he changes and attempts to build a stable life just for her. He does have many secrets with regards to his past, one involving his ex-wife, Daisy. He loves to constantly tease Lala though he truly loves her. 

EPISODE 1:

The drama opens with Lala rushing to work in Shanghai, barely arriving in time.Breathing a sigh of relief, she attempts to go to her desk, but her boss calls her out in the lobby, asking her to accompany him. In the car, he harasses her forcing her to realize she needs to find a better job.Going home,he introduces herself saying she was born in 1979 on December 31 and that she has graduated from college for almost 2 years now making only 3000 RMB (about $500 a month). Nonetheless, she is hopeful that she will become blossom from an ugly ducking to a swan in the workplace. Apparently, Lala lives with her best friend XiaHong. Xiahong lives as a simple house maker,cooking and cleaning while Lala is at work. Lala does have a boyfriend of almost 5 years, Li Haoming. When Lala mentions him, Xia Hong becomes extremely nervous... something fishy is going on between her and Li Haoming.

There is an award ceremony for Person of Year. Lala's boyfriend, Li Haoming is sitting, hoping to win the award but it goes to Wang Wei of DB Company. Wei says a thankful speech but then invites all his competitors onto the stage with him (he says winning the award is meaningless had it not been for the level of competition). Jealously, Li Haoming stands next to Wang Wei and the two murmur words of rivalry as camera lights flick on and off. Afterwards, Wei is accosted by Scott, a DB director, to make an appearance at the career fair. Although he does not appreciate being forced to attend such an event, Wei decides to go as a favor to Scott. 

At the fair, there is an abundance of people, all eager to find jobs with DB. Lala sees the crowd and though nervous, she heads straight into the crowd waving her folder only to have it hit Wei in the face. Annoyed, Wei walks off as Lala attempts to make her way through the crowd to the tables. At the tables, she realizes how much of a disadvantage is facing at not knowing the positions available at the firms. Somehow, she makes it to the DB table where a group of people are clustered around the HR department and somehow throws herself onto the table. The man at the desk (named to be revealed later on in the series) looks at her resume and seems extremely reluctant given Lala's experience. Lala however, is interested at the man standing to the side who is Wei. She apologizes immensely for hitting him but Wei is uninterested. Instead, he's more interested in that HR guy has left the table with Lala's resume still at the table and jokingly tells her than her one of her shirt's buttons are open and that her bra is showing. Horrified, Lala fixes her shirt and rushes back into the crowd to submit her resume. 

Apparently, Li Haoming and Xia Hong are secretly dating behind Lala's back. Xia Hong feels extremely guilty as Lala is her best friend. Li Haoming however, seems to only care about continuing their clandestine relationship. Li Haoming tells her it's time for them to find their happiness. He then tells Xia Hong how he came to be drawn to her - her cooking and how it reminded him of home. 

Meanwhile, Wang Wei is out visiting the bars where he meets his ex-wife of two years, 
Daisy, sitting alone at the tables. He reluctantly goes to sit with her, asking what's bothering her. She tries to order a glass of wine when Wei tells her that after the divorce, he stopped drinking red wine. Wei attempts to comfort her only to hear her say her American boyfriend is moving home and that he packed her stuff before even telling her. She also had to pay the moving crew herself. Feeling a bit sorry for her, Wei decides on helping her once more.

Lala returns home excited to try Xia Hong's latest cooking only to see both Xia Hong and Li Haoming sitting at the table awkwardly. Sadden, she asks why Haoming hasn't called to tell her he was coming. Haoming apologizes for his bad attitude the other day as it was late and he was tired. Lala plans on reprimanding him but seeing the flowers mistakes them as for her and decides on forgiving him. Lala begins eating dinner when Haoming decides on ending his relationship with Lala and ends ups revealing his relationship with Xia Hong. Lala couldn't believe how this could happen especially since both Xia Hong and Lala promised each other they would tell each other everything. Xia Hong feels extremely guilty but Li Haoming simply says Xia Hong is the type of woman he likes. He realizes that the person he loves is Xia Hong. Lala runs off in tears. 

Recklessly, Lala crosses the street and is almost hit by a car. The car swerves and ends up hitting a tree. Turns out, the car is Wei's and he furiously yells at Lala's insanity for running into the middle of the street. Realizing that it's the same girl who hit him at the fair, he tells Lala she is extremely unlucky. Lala begins crying and yells that all men are the same, leaving Wei standing in shock. The next day at work later, she receives a call (from the same HR guy, name for later!) for an interview with DB at Monday at 10 AM. 

Lala is stoke with happiness but enters DB with apprehension and excitement. At the front desk, she meets Helen the receptionist and has a brief encounter with Vivian, one of the executives. Vivian takes Lala to the interview room, fixes Lala's collar, and tells her to be confident in the interview. On her way, she walks past Daisy. At the interview she meets Rose, the head of the administration department and to her horror... Wang Wei, the marketing director. After welcoming Lala to the interview, Wei presents Lala with a simple task: in 2 minutes, split a cake into 8 pieces, with 1 piece remaining in the box. The tools provided consist of a cake knife, 8 plates, 1 pen, and 1 piece of paper. Lala begins drawing on the paper the ways she can split the cake. At the 1 minute mark, she grabs the cake knife and begins cutting the cake, shocking both Rose and Wei. After finishing, she explains to both that the 1st 7 pieces will be given in plates while the last piece will be given together with the box. Wei chuckles and says that everyone who has taken the test simply told the answer; Lala is the first to actually cut the cake. Rose is uncertain of Lala's performance. Lala asks if the position requires her to work with Wei. Wei says no and that he doesn't want her to. He just needs 2 people to be acting in support of the department. Since the project he's handling is urgent he asks when she can begin. Lala is shocked that "simply cutting a cut" got her a position. Rose reminds her that just because 2 people are working as marketing assistants does not mean the position is permanent; there is still the trial 3 month period. 

Lala leaves in excitement, buying a new pair of high heels to celebrate. On her way to the cashier, she finds a lost wallet on the floor and tries to return it to the salespeople who tell her to bring it to the counter. Unfortunately, she gets in line and is mistaken by the owner to having used the "lost" wallet to pay for her goods. Ironically, the wallet belongs to none other than Daisy!

From the photos, you can see that the lovely Rose in admin is played by none other than Flora Chan! As a child, I used to see her featured in Hong Kong dramas. How great is it that she's back in Chinese dramas! More to update about Dulala later!

Always,
The Melodist

F is for Father

Today's topic involves someone who is important to nearly every person on this beautiful blue marble of ours: Fathers.

How many ways are there to say "dad"? Let's do a short listing of this:

• Father
• Dad or Daddy
• Pa, Papa, Padre
• Pops 
• 爸爸, and 
• My favorite, dadoo (as said by Wakko from Animaniacs for all those born in the 80s and 90s). 

There are probably a gazillion more ways to say "dad" in over 200 languages and dialects (or cultural tongues) but the fact is it does not matter how or where you say these words but WHY and WHEN these words are said. Of course, this word is celebrated all over the US and possibly the world today. My question now: How are YOU celebrating Father's Day?

Mine involved celebrating and honoring him and my godfather with a couple of cards before having a luncheon with them. Here are the two cards:

I typically try to find cards with meaning to them. I figure what's the point of giving the two of them cards that are only sentimental when they already know how much I care. Clearly, I plan on sharing my laughter and joy with them. Did they receive this gift? Yes they did. Did they like it? And did they laugh right back with joy? Yes they did!! The one on the left is for my father while the one on the right is for my godfather.  Hopefully, they don't have high expectations for next year and prefer the next version of iPads Apple develops!

My father loves to eat but is an extremely picky eater. He doesn't like peas or beans, has never eaten pizza before (even though he immigrated to California over 20 years ago!), doesn't like any dairy products, pasta sauces, and other bit-size veggies like corn kernels or carrots. So what could we dine to satisfy his tastes while preserving the remaining dignity left in my heavily spent college wallet? Simple: Asian cuisine around my little hometown of San Gabriel!

We ended up having a luncheon at a local Asian eatery in the city of Monterey Park called "Green Island Restaurant". If you haven't visited this place before, this restaurant is located in one of the newer Asian plazas opened in this area. It is by the I-10 so it's very convenient for drivers. The interesting part about the set of restaurants here is that there is residence beginning 2nd floor and beyond. My guess is the owner of this piece of land is trying to recreate a Hong Kong style of living here within the Asian community. However, I don't think this is working out too well as from what I see, most Asians prefer living in single houses or if there is enough money, mansions at either the gorgeous woods of Arcadia or the hills of Rowland Heights. Plus the view isn't all that great across the street especially when all there is to see is a bent up car wash and grocery center.

But back to "Green Island Restaurant" or 绿岛餐厅. Is this a place worthy of eating on Father's Day? In a way, this place serves the typical Cantonese cuisine of pan-fried and stir-fried dishes made in my parents' homeland of Guangzhou China.. If you want gourmet REAL Chinese food, this is a good place to start. Apparently, there is still the special offer of FREE BEEF FRIED RICE when $30 or more is spent (including drinks!). Excellent deal in my opinion especially for tables of 5 or more! Like most Asian restaurants, the focus is on low price, great value over the quality. If you desire fine dining, this might not be the ideal location to have that.

Unfortunately, my family was just too hungry today that we wolfed down the fried rice too quickly before a decent photo could be taken. The rice is served in a sizzled pan/wok dish which added an excellent sound effect signifying the beginning of the meal. Extremely yummy for someone who typically sleeps in but probably isn't as satisfying as it comes out in  a serving large enough for about one bowl per person for 5 people. There's only a little bit of beef in the rice but the rice is extremely soft and tender (better than rice that's way too hard). Since it was Father's Day, there wasn't the typical Asian "lunch special" where dishes are typically $4-$6. Hence, the dishes were probably a little pricier than I had liked but very satisfying. 

My godparents wanted to try appetizers and sweets so we ended up with some Sesame Mochi and Pan-fried Green Onion Pancakes. I didn't try the mochi but apparently, the Sesame Mochi have to be eaten when arrived as after cooling down they are hard and not very flavorful. For me, the pan-fried green onion pancakes lacked the crunch and flavor. Very bland overall with not distinction. Probably fare much better in a Shanghai restaurant. 

The two dishes we ordered were the Scallops and Shrimp in Garlic Sauce. I absolutely loved the sauce but there weren't that many scallops in the dish. Priced at almost $13, I had hoped for a bit more scallops to shrimp and peppers/broccoli. But the sauce was excellent combination of spicy and tangy. Loved this with rice! 

The second dish was a Taiwanese styled Hollow Vegetable in Beancurd Sauce. This is one of my favorite vegetables as the leaves are soft and tender while the stalks are crunchy. There are generally two types of this hollow vegetable: dry oh and water oh. My family likes both but the water oh requires a bit more technique in cooking as if not done properly, too much water gets into the sauce destroying the blend of flavors. Like this dish but plating wasn't up to par as most of the stalks were visible at the top. I prefer eating the leaves as they're more tender and flavorful for my palette. 

My father had a blast simply eating and then critiquing what he believed was great and not great. Overall the dining experience was up to par although the staff was not entirely competent as we waited quite a while for some of the dishes to arrive. After we asked them, they went to check but the waiting continued and there seemed to be a bit of confusion especially when one of the waitress believed our order was complete and tried to pass the bill. Nonetheless, the luncheon was a huge success and everyone went their separate ways  afterwards in happiness.

Fathers... you just can't do without them. While they may hassle you about finishing your homework or going to bed at a decent hour, they do so under the intention of making you a better person. Although my dad and I may have our moments where we have loud angry rows about math and economics or even simply disagree on the right directions for driving to a far away place, he is my dad and I am who am I because of him. Hat's off to you dad for being the greatest in the world (though not always 100% of the time)! Thanks for caring enough to sacrifice your time and money in helping me succeed in life.

Since there are no photos of the dishes, you can obviously tell I was just too busy satisfying my stomach to take pictures but rest assured, the next time I go out and come back with a full report, there will be pictures of everything. So after hearing what I did, what did you do on June 17, 2012 and how did you spend your Father's Day with your dad? Think about it and send me a comment!

Always,
The Melodist

Photos other than Green Island and cards are found courtesy of Google images. No copyright or infringement of any kind is intended. 

Middle C

Every piece of music begins with a note. On the piano, the most common and important note is Middle C. This is the key used by many songs because it is the simplest (no sharps & flats!) and because this very note marks the center of the piano, the beginning of music. I am the Melodist and I welcome all of you to my humble and first (of many!) blog. Please feel free to comment any time on what is written. Occasionally you will see that the blog will have interludes filled with my thought of the day or maybe even a link to a tune created by moi. I do love a good laugh here and now so jokes and comments are always welcome!

So Middle C: a special note with special properties. Centered at the piano and situated between mother C (high C) and daddy C (low C). It is special because over the course of a piece, the note develop into something whether higher or lower. In almost every way, we humans are "middle Cs". How could this even be?

Today I had the pleasure of witnessing a friend's graduation. Four years ago, his parents come to California bidding him farewell,  wishing him a bright future in college. For a brief time, his entrance into college brought our families closer as we regularly contacted each other to support him during the transition from out-of-state. Imagine the honor and privilege we felt today, watching this student walk across center stage to receive his diploma.

After his graduation, the cheer party (or what I dube the "C" party) dined at the Cheesecake Factory in Los Angeles. Accosted by the warmth and attentive service provided by the lovely waitress Julie, our group dined in Italian elegance while discussing engaging topics ranging from the next "hit" wave in the job market to cellular tissue of the human body.  Although the entire activity (from graduation to luncheon) took nearly the entire day, exhausting everyone old and young, the experience in of itself was fulfilling and inspiring just to see this young man progress into the next phase of his life. Although his years in college are now part of memory, I continue to wish this young man a wonderful future. I have no doubts he will go far in life and achieve his dreams. I wish onto him all the gifts that God has bestowed me and hope he makes wise decisions through the perils of life. 

Without a doubt, I can say that it is hard moving from one note to another just as it is to place one foot in front of the other in life. But if everyone were to stand still, never moving, never taking the risk to challenge and play something new other than "Middle C", music can never be played. Sometimes, it is the greatest risk we take, the imagination we used to move across song that makes life and music so enriching. 

Hence, I challenge you, my readers, to make something special come out of your life and tune whether today or tomorrow, to take the chance and take a leap of faith in sharing and enriching others with your music, and to always reach for those notes (or dreams) that seem impossible to reach. Perhaps if you dream big enough, the tune you whistle today may become the next popular hit of tomorrow.

Cheers,