Despite One Character

The drama Will Love in Spring is probably the most modern romance series I've seen from China (Lighter & Princess might make a tie), and with the exception of a problem with one character I enjoyed it a lot. I never once sensed I was being lectured or fed the usual government nonsense, but instead became immersed in a very emotional tangle of relationships, obligations and dreams. Considering how Chinese dramas are almost always super contrived and filled with propaganda, that was quite refreshing.

Funeral director Chen Mai Dong (Li Xian) has a long history in the small town of Nanping, where he ended up living with his grandparents after his parents' divorce. In high school he was a brawler, and there ran into newly-transferred Zhuang Jie (Zhou Yu Tong) a girl who had lost part of her leg in a car accident that killed her father. After some minor clashing these two misfits bond, and that admittedly uneasy friendship sets the stage for the current relationship to bloom when Zhaung Jie returns as a sucessful saleswoman from Shanghai, and is reunited with an equally successful if dour Chen Mai Dong.

The story has the usual ups and downs, but nothing seems contrived or convenient. I felt as if I were watching a documentary about real people most of the time, and how they live in the city versus the country. The storyline was interesting, and the characters were brilliantly crafted and portrayed, with the exception of the female lead. I don't know if it was the actress handled the depiction, or the way the role was written (probably the latter), but I really disliked Zhaung Jie. She behaved in ways that just repelled me too much to feel any sympathy for her (and being successful despite my arthritis as well as my hearing impairment, I am living a life very similar to hers, so I should be able to sympathize.) That kind of ruined the romance for me, but I was able to stick with the series by focusing on Chen Mai Dong, who Li Xian made into an amazingly complex and admirable character.

So, there you go. Other than that one problem I thought Will Love in Spring was excellent, and worth watching even with the unsympathetic character. Available on Viki.com.

Comments

Gifts

This is a story that starts out very sadly, so if you're depressed by the holidays you might want to skip the first part. As far back as I can remember I've dreaded the holidays. Being poor, having constant family troubles and belonging to a strict religion made that time of year always pretty unhappy. I just hunkered down and hoped to get through without being yelled at or punished because I didn't do something I was expected to do, like sit in church for hours without moving or making a sound while a priest spoke mass in Latin. Gifts were uniformly disappointing, too. My mother usually gave me dolls or socks or underwear for Christmas. I understand now as an adult that she was doing the best she could, and trying to save money at the same time, but as a kid I'd been told good children got what they wanted for Christmas. I was a pretty good kid, but while my friends received new bikes and cool toys and lots of treats from Santa, I didn't. I thought San

We Have Backsplash!

Yesterday my guy and I decided to chose this natural stone as the backsplash tiles for our new kitchen counters (which will be in the same quartz I'm holding at the bottom of the photo.) Since all the bids for installing the backsplash came in very high my guy is going to put it in himself; he's done a bit of tile work in the past, too. I swear there is nothing this guy can't do. :)

Detoxing Results

For twenty-four hours I left these five vintage cigar boxes sit with detoxing agents (baking soda, coffee grinds, dryer sheets, vinegar and Febreze) inside them to see which worked best to remove the tobacco/storage odors that came with them. I then removed the agents and did a sniff test. Before we get into the results, a reminder: none of what I do is ever meant to be expert advice, as I am certainly not an expert at anything. Follow my methods at your own risk, and please first consult an actual antique expert conservator or restorer to detox items that have value for you. Okay, let's see how my experiment worked. Baking soda (left) did nothing to remove the odors. I think if I let it sit for a longer period of time it might have done something, but for a 24-hour test it was a complete fail. Coffee grinds (right) removed 100% of the odors, and left behind definite coffee scent. I like that and think it goes very well with wood, but if you don't like the smel

Rayen

Search This Blog