Man at forty turns into a ghost - Urban new blog sample

Author: Zhao Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The "painful" chef and writer Shen Hongfei opened a food and drink column for many southern newspapers, talking about casual chatter about eating and drinking. Everyone envied him for being able to earn fame and while eating and drinking. Shen Hongfei once made a witty remark that left people laughing while understanding his point. Shen Hongfei said, "When I was young, I envied those who made 'small movies,' as they could have fun and still get paid. Now that I'm doing this nonsense, I realize those men were actually very painful too." Shen Hongfei's point was simply that happiness must stem from "playing" without any utilitarian motives, and once something becomes one's work, happiness becomes "non-existent." Just like the men in "small movies," they practiced over and over under public scrutiny—where could there be any joy! In reality, compared to Shen Hongfei or someone like me, the "cooking writer," the most painful ones are the chefs themselves. In my opinion, the most unlucky profession in the world is that of a chef. They cook all sorts of delicacies day and night. At first, I thought chefs would still salivate at the sight of all the delicacies, but later, I realized they had even lost the instinct to salivate. Without saliva, they lost the desire to taste, and everything lost its flavor and sensation. A person who has lost their appetite and dulled their sense of taste has lost the main joys of life, which is truly a great regret in life. Happiness always stands on the "pain" of others, and this is a simple truth. The "pain" of chefs also illustrates this point. The shamelessness of being online can make people shameless. This is something Mo Yan said, and it seems true. Today, with nothing to do, I spent some time in an online chat room and truly tasted the "shamelessness" of being online. At first, I used the name "Xiao Shi," which had no other meaning, just because it was easier to type. When I entered a chat room, no one paid any attention to me. I asked, "Why isn't anyone talking to me?" One guy replied, "Who told you to have a penis?" I was speechless and furious, so I cursed back, "Your dad has one too, why does your mom talk to him?" This provoked trouble. That guy typed very quickly, and soon I received a long message full of insults. It was extremely rude. I realized I was in trouble and quickly cursed three words before fleeing. After drinking some water, I entered another chat room on a different website. This time, I changed my name to a woman's name, "Xiao Li." Now things were better. As soon as I entered, a guy approached me and said, "Xiao Li, would you like to exchange sexual experiences with me?" I was furious and typed back, "Go ask your mom!" The guy immediately retorted, "You bitch, do you think you're a virgin? I'll fuck—" I saw I was in trouble again and hastily fled the chat room. Zhang Chu said, "Lonely people are shameful." That's wrong. I just want to say: people who are online are shameful. P8-9