top of page
Search
Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Lying on a Couch

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. STUDY - 18:00


  4. Lying on a couch, PETER listens to oldies.


  5. PETER (V.O.): I'm tired.


  6. MONTAGE OF PETER'S ACTIVITIES TODAY


  7. A. Bedroom. 06:00. Peter is chatting with Google PaLM.


  8. B. Bank. 10:00. A TELLER helps Peter process Faster Pay System (FPS) electronically and on paper.


  9. C. HKUST. 14:30. Peter is having a meeting with a project TEAM on campus development.


  10. D. Silverstrand car park. 17:00 Wet-haired, Peter drives away from a metered slot with "00:00" minute left, as a Police car drives in and OFFICERS get off.


  11. END MONTAGE


  12. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't feel like doing anything now.


  13. Act 2


  14. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS


  15. Peter grabs his smartphone.


  16. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I bumped into Google PaLM this morning. It's said to be more powerful than ChatGPT. I'm testing that.


  17. Pausing.


  18. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I didn't arrange the FPS timely, I might have a cashflow problem when insurance premium is due.


  19. Pausing.


  20. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I didn't take on the HKUST task, I'd have booked a tour to Japan this week. I'm going to mainland China next week.


  21. Smiling.


  22. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sunbathing on floating platforms at Silverstrand Bay was heaven on earth. But if I was one minute late to leave, I'd get a booking ticket.


  23. Pausing.


  24. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In a few hours, I've got substantive work done. If I didn't accomplished them timely, I feel the stress.


  25. Peter then checks a WhatsApp notification.


  26. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A secretary is leaving for good. At her age, she knows her priorities.


  27. Pausing.


  28. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Aristotle thinks that virtue is the golden mean between two vices, the one of excess and the other of deficiency.


  29. Pausing.


  30. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He says that it isn't good for humans to be idle, for they'll rust just like unused tools.


  31. Pausing.


  32. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He opines that both work and leisure are necessary for the good life and that a happy person needs both.


  33. Recalling.


  34. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was still with the Govt, if I spent a few hours at home with my family, I felt like I hadn't done a thing.


  35. Recalling.


  36. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I was striving to create and deliver public value officially. I worked long hours.


  37. Pausing.


  38. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believed my family should put up with that.


  39. Pausing.


  40. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I imagined I'd spend more time with my family when I left Govt for good.


  41. Pausing.


  42. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I retired, I realised my family members had to push forward their careers too.


  43. Pausing.


  44. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife brought her work home. She went to bed at 05:30 this morning.


  45. Pausing.


  46. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After a few hours, she's back in the office again. I felt pain in my heart.


  47. Pausing.


  48. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our usual dinner time is after 21:00. Tonight, I think dinner will be delayed.


  49. Pausing.


  50. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Realigning oneself to have work-life balance on a daily basis is really hard.


  51. Act 3


  52. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS


  53. Peter selects an AI drawing from a portfolio in his smartphone.

  54. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): This one represents my point of view of what doing nothing is really like.


  55. Thinking.


  56. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Perhaps, the secret to life is finding the right balance of everything I do. Actually, I don't always need to be getting things done.


  57. Reflecting.


  58. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Irrespective of external constraints, I'd have the inner strength and freedom to live well.


  59. FADE OUT


  60. THE END



















3 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Комментарии


bottom of page