🐯 Welcome to the Jungle: The Official Den of Johnny (Tiger) Tai

One day I asked a close friend, “If you hate your job so much, why do you keep doing it?” He snapped back, “Not everyone gets to do what they love for a living. Not everyone turns their hobbies into a career like you.” I didn’t argue, but his words cut deep. Because that moment made me realize—even someone close to me didn’t understand what it actually took to get here. Image: Grade 7, school outing. Little Johnny wearing a red cap backwards and dark sunglasses sits cross-legged, playing a white recorder. Dressed in a green shirt with a name tag, surrounded by other kids outdoors. [ ] People see me on stage, a blind martial artist winning medals, giving interviews, being featured. They don’t see the hundreds of hours I’ve spent conditioning, doing pushups until my arms give out, fighting through injuries, or navigating public transit alone just to make it to a training session. They see the spotlight, not the shadows behind it. They see me teaching self-defense to blind and visuall...

有一次我問一位很要好的朋友：「你這麼討厭你的工作，為什麼還每天照做？」 他語氣不善地回我：「不是每個人都像你這麼幸運，能靠興趣吃飯，把自己喜歡的事情變成職業。」 我沒回嘴，但那句話其實戳得我心口發痛。因為連他都沒看見——我這一路走來，是咬著牙、含著淚、一步步硬撐過來的。 很多人只看到我站在舞台上、拿著獎牌、上節目接受訪問。他們沒看到我流了多少汗，做了幾百次伏地挺身、練得身體傷痕累累、還得自己一個人摸黑坐公車、搭地鐵到陌生的武館練習。他們只看到光鮮，沒看到黑暗裡我如何跌跌撞撞地往前爬。 他們看到我教盲人自衛術，以為我這份工作很高尚、很輕鬆。沒人知道我自己掏錢籌辦課程、安排交通、照顧每一位學員的無障礙需求，最後學生可能還不來上課，一切白忙。 他們看到我的藝術作品在展覽中展出，以為我很有成就。卻不知道我坐在桌前連續十個小時創作，花幾天幾夜填寫申請表格，只為等一個機會，而換來的卻是十次拒絕、一次可能。 他們以為心理諮商只是「坐著聽人講話」。但他們沒經歷過，日復一日聽著別人訴苦、面對創傷的那種疲憊與耗損，也沒付出我花了幾年時間和金錢取得資格的那份堅持。 還有一個殘酷的真相： 當你把興趣變成工作，十次裡有九次，會變得不再喜歡它。 像我收集玩具模型超過三十年，我熱愛那些肌肉戰士、美少女戰士、超級英雄、奇幻風格的公仔。我一直覺得如果有一天能在玩具公司工作，每天拍照、寫介紹、研究玩具，肯定是人生巔峰。 但當我真的和朋友開始經營線上玩具生意，才發現現實和幻想差多遠。 我不是喜歡「所有玩具」，我只喜歡「我喜歡的那些」。當我必須花幾個小時研究芭比娃娃、星際大戰 3 吋小人、摔角選手公仔……我整個人都枯萎了。原本的熱情，像熄掉的火。    這讓我想起一個古老的故事： 從前有一座山，山上有一座觀音廟，廟裡供奉著一尊用花崗岩雕刻而成的觀音佛像。從山腳通往山頂的路也是用花崗岩鋪成的。 每天有成千上萬的香客走在這條石頭路上，上山拜佛，下山回家。 有一天，那些被踩在腳底的石頭終於忍不住了。他們說：「我們跟觀音佛像一樣，都是花崗岩，憑什麼她受人膜拜，我們天天被人踐踏？」 於是他們氣沖沖地跑到廟裡，對著觀音說：「你不是慈悲為懷嗎？那為什麼你高高在上，而我們卻天天被踩在腳下？」 觀音聽了之後流下眼淚，她溫柔地回答：「你們只看到我站在這裡，被人膜拜，卻沒看到我每一個手指、每一根頭髮，是怎麼被...

🐉 A Personal Spark My parents were rarely around when I was a kid, but my nanny—who’s more of a mother to me than anyone—used to read to me every night before bed. And no, she didn’t read cute little bunny books or watered-down bedtime stories. She raised me on the adult stuff: The Trojan War , Greek myths , Macbeth , Hamlet , Journey to the West , and of course— Investiture of the Gods . I’ve re-read Investiture of the Gods more times than I can count. It’s not one of the “Four Great Chinese Classics,” but to me, it might as well be the crown jewel. It’s basically Chinese myth meets the Trojan War , but on steroids: gods, demons, warriors, magical weapons, divine beasts—it’s got everything. Image: Back of an ornate action figure box.  The cover is dark with gold decorative clouds in the corners and gold Chinese characters arranged in vertical lines across the center. There is a faint circular pattern in the background. The Chinese text reads: “玄之又玄，众妙之门。 道可道，非常道。 名可名，非常名。 无名天...

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not into waifu figures. I mean, I love a sexy female sculpt as much as the next warm-blooded collector, but unless she can slot into my already established fantasy, video game, or comic-based universes—she ain't getting shelf time. I don’t want to dedicate a whole cabinet to barely-clothed anime girls whose only power seems to be bending over things . No shade to the waifu tribe—you do you—but lucky me, my wallet’s survived that particular plunge into temptation. Image:  Anime-style character illustrations: Top left: A female character with long blonde hair, wearing a black and white outfit that resembles a nun’s habit. She is sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, holding a staff or cross, and the background is dark and gothic, with candles and a window. Top right: A female character with short white hair, animal-like ears, and a tail. She is dressed in a revealing black and tan bodysuit with thigh-high boots and gloves. She is posed dynami...