Listen
TO THE SOUND OF THE CITY NIGHT
HUI ZHU
D O Y O U H E A R T H AT ?
What’s that murmurs ?
come with me
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I SLEPT FOR A WHILE AND THEN WOKE UP A G A I N . . . S U D D E N LY S O M E S M A L L V O I C E S C O M I N G INTO MY EARS AS IF SOMEONE’S MURMURING...
I’ve been very much engaged in school work for two weeks. However this morning I started to feel something wrong in my head and lungs. I can’t focus on my work. I think I got a fever. I started to cough after I had dinner. I feel very cold so I took some pills and went to lie on the bed. I kept sleeping for a while and then woke up again. I’ve got three thick blankets over me, but still felt freezingly cold. Suddenly, I hear some small voices coming into my ears. I open my eyes, seeing the clock. It’s 9:35.
It’s been two years since I came here from China. Looking back, I can’t believe how much I have experienced here and how much I have changed. Theoretically, I came here to study, but the fact is, study is just a very small part of my life. To be honest, this is my first time to live alone. I’ve never stayed somewhere far away from home until I came here. I pretty much enjoy this— I don’t think I have any problem to handle my life. However, I found the problem just now— how to balance my life and school.
TICK
TICK
TICK
TICK
wake ...
up
wake up....
9: 35 ?
I N E E D TO FO L LOW T H AT V O I C E
PA
PA
QUACK!
here......
come with me
THIS VOICE KEEPS FLOWING INTO M Y E A R S . T H E Y A R E S O F T, C O N D N S E D , AND COMING FROM EVERYWHERE. I cover my head with the blanket, trying to get rid of that voice...but it seems to go through the blanket. It’s driving me crazy. My head hurts a lot, as if it’s gonna explode.. I have no choice, I said to myself. I have to kill that voice. I got off the bed, staggering forward. My head is so heavy, the inside of my body is hot as hell, but the ouside of it is still too cold. I struggle to jump off the bed.. A flow of blood rush to my head vessel. My sight goes completely blanc for a few second. I have to leave the apartment I said.. I have to find that voice. But how can I move with such a heavy body? Actually I don’t have a choice. I put on my shoes, not even bother to look myself in the hallway mirror. I opened the door.
THOSE MURMURS ARE LOST IN THE NOICES FROM CAR WHEELS. I’VE NEVER N OT I C E D B E F O R E T H AT T H E Y C O U L D B E SO LOUD.
come with me
take a deep breath
I go through the long and dim hallway, open the iron gate, slash it heavily behind me. I shivered a little as I feel the coldness. I take one step forward, turn my head. car light hit on my eyes and make me barely be able to open my eyes. However, to my surprise, I’m not feeling bad about the coldness as I thought it should be. I took a deep breath, and feel so fresh as if I have lost this freshness for a long time. Those murmurs are lost in the noices coming from the car wheels. I’ve never realized before that they cound be this loud.
I S E E YO U S T R U G G L E TO S P I N
H E R E I PA S S E D I N F R O N T O F A L A U N D R O M AT. I SEE THE MACHINES SPINNING D I F F I C U LT LY. J U S T L I K E M Y M I N D , I T H I N K . Do you hear it? There are so many people in the laundromat. I hear no one talking, but the slow rump-rump of a washing machine. No time for laundry in day time? also no time on weekends? Are they busy people like me? I suddendly realized that I haven’t done my laundry for more than two weeks....Yuck! I said to myself. HIGH
$1.75
44 mins 43 mins 42 mins 41 mins 40 mins
MED
LOW
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$1.75
28 36mins mIins
r h o w. . . wo n d e di a n ye a h ye a h Y YA
... my I s e ey e y es
p - ra m om fr amp r u o ...
...booo
oo
oo
p
LOW
A
i t ’s
the
lo
tt ve
...
I still remember the time when we went to do laundry together. I sang and you whistled. Everythings seems goes back to that time, when I just started my new life here. I am curious about everything. Then I met you. We talked about life, politics, cultures and arts. We go to laundromat together, holding big bags of dirty clothes, set up the alarm clock and sitting there singing, whistling and laughing together. But this is the past. Now I often forget to do my laundry, until I find there’s no clothes left to wear and rush there.
N O W T H AT V O I C E COMES BACK AGAIN....
I ’ M S U D D E N LY B A C K T O T H E R E A L I T Y, O N LY T O F I N D T H AT T H E V O I C E S TA R T T O MURMURING AGAIN.
Suddenly I find that tears have covered my face. I’m back from the time machine, realized that I’m still here in front of the laundromat. Then the voice comes again, stronger than last time, calling me to go forward. So I ran quickly to that direction, hoping not to lose it this time. I passed through those liquor stores, homeless guys and many street corner. It keeps on calling me ......
here......
come with me
Hey! Taxi! Can’t you just stop? You are too loud and make me dizzy!
D O YO U H E A R THE CABLES TREMBLING ON THE GROUND? H E R E I PA S S E D I N F R O N T O F A L A U N D R O M AT. I SEE THE MACHINES SPINNING D I F F I C U LT LY. J U S T L I K E M Y M I N D , I T H I N K .
The San Francisco cable car system is the world’s last manually operated cable car system. An icon of San Francisco, California, the cable car system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, or “Muni” as it is better known. Of the twenty-three lines established between 1873 and 1890,[4] three remain (one of which combines parts of two earlier lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman’s Wharf, and a third route along California Street. While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, their small service area and
premium fares for single rides make them more of a tourist attraction. They are among the most significant tourist sites in the city, along with Alcatraz Island and Fisherman’s Wharf. The cable cars are the only mobile National Monument in the world, and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cable cars are not to be confused with San Francisco’s heritage streetcars, which operate on Market Street and the Embarcadero. I’m not sure if it was my mild claustrophobia or the prospect of soiling the sequined evening gown I foolishly chose to don that >> >>
WATCH OUT !!!
Buzzzzz.... Buzz....
DANG- DANG
dang dang dang
hey hey.......hey.....
... g..
an ku
. ng
da g an d
d
g an
d
.....
.....
.....
...
.. ....
g an
....
...
listen, and smell. E V E N I F I H AV E T O B L I N D F O L D M Y S E L F, I’LL STILL RECOGNIZE THESE PLACES....
THE SONG SINGS MY M E L A N C H O LY W I T H T H E H U S T L E AND BUSTLE OF THE BAR... I USED TO COME HERE VERY OFTEN AFTER SCHOOL. WITH HOT CORNED BEEF AND A CUP OF GERMAN BLACK B E E R , I A LWAY G E T T H E S E AT N E X T T O T H E K I T C H E N . On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell And I was thinking to myself, ‘This could be Heaven or this could be Hell’
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say... Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place Such a lovely face Plenty of room at the Hotel California Any time of year, you can find it here Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat. Some dance to remember,
some dance to forget So I called up the Captain, ‘Please bring me my wine’ He said,’ We haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine’ And still those voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just to hear them say... Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place Such a lovely face They livin’ it up at the Hotel California What a nice surprise, bring your alibis Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said ‘We are all just prisoners here, of our own device’ And in the master’s chambers, They gathered for the feast The stab it with their steely knives, But they just can’t kill the beast Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before ‘Relax,’said the night man, We are programmed to receive. You can checkout any time you like, but you can never leave!
H E R E I S W H E R E I G O PA S S E V E R Y D AY T O S C H O O L . P E O P L E A LWAY S L O O K B U S Y O N T H E ROAD. I HEAR CAR HORNING ALL THE TIME >> >> evening, but I was feeling more than a little apprehensive as I walked down the narrow staircase into the Crimson Lounge, which doffs its red cape every Thursday through Saturday night and becomes Opaque “Dining in the Dark”. It’s a dining experience like no other that may indicate a sea change in the epicurean raison d’etre -- it also requires a dollop of courage and maybe a few extra napkins. Dining in the Dark doesn’t refer to romantic candlelight or a few emergency lights scattered through the hallways so you can see your own footfall -- it’s honest-to-goodness pitch blackness. So much for admiring the composition on your plate. Commencing from a food trend that is, aptly, European, Opaque is all about the multisensory feast, which can be as unsettling as it
is mind (if not eye) opening. The concept originated in 1999, when a blind minister who customarily blindfolded his dinner guests to give them an empathetic dining experience decided to open his own restaurant in an abandoned Zurich church. From its epicenter, the fad spread in spades, resulting in chic hangouts like unsicht-Bar (Invisible Bar) in Berlin and Dans le Noir (In the Black) in Paris. Opaque’s Berlin owner, Benjamin Uphues, eventually brought the trend stateside; now, Opaque has three U.S. locations, in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. SF’s location, which opened in June, shares upstairs neighbor Indigo’s executive chef, Michael Whang, whose simple California cuisine aids in engaging all the senses.
Why does it feel more noisy than ever...
beep-beep
Heeey no!!! beep-beep aaht . LOOK AT YOUR LEFT !
look it up
OOOOPS......
here......
FUCK !
Oh my...
Hey GIRL !!!!!!
left! ... ......aahht bloooot watch out! FUCK MY....
God damn-it !!!!
WHY SO NOISY? WHY IS EVERYONE S C R E A M I N G AT M E ? M Y H E A D I S S O H E AV Y. . . . I T ’ S D R I V I N G M E C R A Z Y
OH...IS IT JUST A DREAM?
TICK
... ... phew
TICK
TICK
TICK
GOOD MORNING.
It’s a good day to go out.
DA
DA
DA
DA
student instrudtor time
_Hui(Joy) Zhu _Stan Zienka _12. 19. 2012