Lying on a Couch
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Jul 13, 2023
- 2 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. STUDY - 18:00
Lying on a couch, PETER listens to oldies.
PETER (V.O.): I'm tired.
MONTAGE OF PETER'S ACTIVITIES TODAY
A. Bedroom. 06:00. Peter is chatting with Google PaLM.
B. Bank. 10:00. A TELLER helps Peter process Faster Pay System (FPS) electronically and on paper.
C. HKUST. 14:30. Peter is having a meeting with a project TEAM on campus development.
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.
END MONTAGE
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't feel like doing anything now.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Peter grabs his smartphone.
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.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I didn't arrange the FPS timely, I might have a cashflow problem when insurance premium is due.
Pausing.
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.
Smiling.
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.
Pausing.
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.
Peter then checks a WhatsApp notification.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A secretary is leaving for good. At her age, she knows her priorities.
Pausing.
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.
Pausing.
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.
Pausing.
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.
Recalling.
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.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then, I was striving to create and deliver public value officially. I worked long hours.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believed my family should put up with that.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I imagined I'd spend more time with my family when I left Govt for good.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I retired, I realised my family members had to push forward their careers too.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife brought her work home. She went to bed at 05:30 this morning.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): After a few hours, she's back in the office again. I felt pain in my heart.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our usual dinner time is after 21:00. Tonight, I think dinner will be delayed.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Realigning oneself to have work-life balance on a daily basis is really hard.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Peter selects an AI drawing from a portfolio in his smartphone.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): This one represents my point of view of what doing nothing is really like.
Thinking.
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.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Irrespective of external constraints, I'd have the inner strength and freedom to live well.
FADE OUT
THE END
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