lucky rent apartment ximen

september 2000 ximending, taipei city hanshen cabaret for a pot of rice photographer berton chang producer erina lin director ya-ting lee (cabaret singer, chi-yu wu) i like singing ever since i was a student i love music, and art

what's the difference between singing on stage and off stage? i'm more focused on stage i am totally concentrated all over my body how do you feel when singing on stage? well, you have to let go of all irrelevant stuffs singing is just like acting you need to be focused i'll make every effort to engage in the performance (hanshen cabaret manager, mr. chen) do you know why she has a nickname "kind-hearted singing queen"?

because she takes care of lots of abandoned dogs unlike some animals shelters which establish foundations and have outside donations she has nothing she simply bears everything by herself so she spends almost all her incomes on these animals singers usually have many social activities after the performances but i can't... because i need to collect a lot of leftovers from the nearby restaurants just like this restaurant, they will give whatever is left for me for free

i'll collect them at late night i'll also collect the rice leftovers from our cabaret and then process them, and bring them back as dogs' food i'll mix these with other leftovers for dogs how much can you earn by selling these? 50 cents (about us$ 1 cent) per bottle do you do it everyday? yes so i can have some extra money to purchase rices (for dogs)

i purchase dog can food here for $200-$300 (us$7-$10) everyday (pet food stand owner) she comes here everyday, rain or shine if she can't make it she will call me and i'll deliver (dog food) for her normally a cabaret singer should wear nice makeups and pretty dress but look at her... she collects cardboard boxes and picks up empty bottles usually singers should dress up so they get better tips i've got lots of cardboard boxes piled up here

shh..... don't laugh at me...please tons of boxes.... here i sort the boxes, and then take them for trade how long does it take to gather so many boxes? only a few days what happens to the doggy? skin disease.... he's old too

give me a second... wow... this one is heavy. did you carry him here from ximending? no, we took a cab they helped me on the way (veterinarian dr. lee) there are some privately-owned animals shelters out there which can help her to take care of the dogs however, i think the way she takes care of the dogs is better than that animals shelters do sometimes i try to persuade her to give some dogs to the animal shelters but she seems worried about that

she'd still rather do it herself every dog has its own story some have miserable backgrounds and i rescued them some experienced car accidents some were abandoned by their former owners people will notify me and i'll rescue them well, i can just do as much as i can. i can't afford any more. this lock was damaged

not long time ago someone damaged it and then release all the dogs but no dogs were leaving. not even one they all stayed in the cage waiting for me gosh... dogs were released for a whole day recently i offer these dogs less amount of exercise each day sometimes i take them for a walk to exercise i am more laid-back now i used to take them for a 2-hour walk in early morning

i used to do that i cannot do it now my body is weaker now is there anyone who can help you? no. i do all these things by myself nobody helps me why? others are reluctant to do it... who's gonna help me? right?

but no one actually gives you a hand after seeing all your efforts and hard work? they only tell me that: well... you ask for troubles yourself no more whining they just said to me: you ask for it someone who knows her well won't complain about her napping during meals someone who doesn't will say what? you spend my money napping in a restaurant? (cabaret patron, mr. lo) you can see her traits in her food...

this kind of food mixture looks like for dogs. there is no way i am able to eat this i am not oppose to it i am not oppose to taking care of dogs however only act according to your ability it will exhaust you if you do more than what you can afford it becomes a burden to the dogs and also herself don't you think so? how about taking care of 1,000 dogs? can you do it?

of course you can do it but the questions are: can you afford it? do you have time? and these dogs are just like prisoners being kept inside the cages and fed... that's it stray dogs, on the contrary, can wander free on the streets but these stray dogs on the street are miserable... there are many miserable things... people are miserable too in some aspects sorry... i need to take a quick nap

that's ok what did you order? i ordered... parathion (pesticide) give it to me right, it should be like this. how could you sleep with your head on a hard surface? i'm deeply in love with it i'm in love with it this beautiful shangri-la this lovely shangri-la

come on in you didn't behave... why didn't you sleep? don't bark... ok? you are a good dog... don't bark lucky, lucky... you are a good dog do you live here by yourself? i live with...... that huh??? who??? i don't want to tell you... that's my privacy, hahaha.

my friend goes to work... male? or female? male do you know why i treat my friend nice? because you see, the environment is so bad how comes someone is willing to live here? that's why i feel touched... that he is able to tolerate all these and stay with me does he help you?

he doesn't like dogs he lives with me... but doesn't like raising dogs but i am really impressed... that he could tolerate this environment it's rare and commendable this place would scare any first-time visitor to death frankly speaking, i felt ashamed when you requested to visit my house i have my difficulties...

be quiet... behave my kitten good girl... enough do you want to be punished? is that ok for filming? how many dogs are there in total? i don't know how many...

i didn't count... it was really tough three years ago my neighbors reported to the police every week that caused me great sufferings... i did not have the cages set up under the highway then it was really suffering... no one would like to rent their house to me now when they ask how many dogs do you have i'll say: only two...

which is not true they later found out that i am rescuing dogs not for profits so they accommodate me to some extent everyday i wake up early... i wake up at around 4 or 5 am because i need to cook rice i need to cook rice of 5 kilometer every day for the dogs i cook the rice i purchase in the market

along with the leftover i collect and then give it to the dogs this one has a special trick it's hard for me to let go of the dogs... when the dogs see me coming they are so excited sometimes when i feel down they can make me happy besides, they are all well-behaved

shangri-la i've been working in the cabaret for 10 years i've many regular patrons some of them become my good friends for about 10 years cheers, military drillmaster oh i'm full already, bro never mind eating let's drink (cabaret patron, mr. fan) she is incapable of taking care of the dogs

i've tried to persuade her so many times in every possible way these dogs will become your heavy burdens in the future you'll have more patrons without these dogs people don't like you as a stray-dog caregiver they don't even dare to hold her hands they are afraid of germs from the dogs because she bathes the dogs everyday she is ......

adhering obstinately to error it's so-called incurable i know my statements are really harsh but she doesn't care at all you can see the result accumulated over a long time... it's ugly every dog has its own miserable story since i already take care of them, i cannot abandon them i have to finish what i start

that's it she is a person with lower iq a person with lower iq she is as obstinate as a mule whatever she decides to do... there's no way others can persuade her not to do so do you know why i collect and resale these cardboard boxes? to earn more money i'll do it when i have spare time

sometimes if i am busy i cannot do it i earn about tw$100 (~us$4) for every trip to sell the boxes yes it's very little, but it's still good to have a few more pennies at least i can buy some food for the dogs some can food, rice..., etc. (boyfriend, mr. huang) she is a person with kindness and good nature but... well... she's kind-hearted but also not very open-minded have you ever thought to help her taking care of the dogs?

no i haven't... because... i don't think this will last for long she's doing this right now but perhaps gradually she will quit in the future that's possible so... just let her be hehrself are you happy to have her in your life? yes... pretty good

based on the rules of economics if you have money, of course you can keep as many dogs as you want the premise is that you need to have access to sufficient food right? the basic way to secure a sufficient food source is to have enough money in order to have money you need to plan ahead about how much you'll earn, and how much you'll spend

if your spending is more than your earning of course you don't have enough money. what are you spraying? antiseptic and mosquito repellent and to sanitize... i have an elderly father my mom has already passed away, not too long ago every time when i go home

of course i should give him some allowance but... to tell you the truth i am incapable of doing that so i feel ashamed i'm telling you the truth i feel ashamed and i don't have the courage to contact him because i am not able to support him financially i feel that i am a terrible daughter my daughter lives with my father

so he even needs to pay some of her living expenses i feel so ashamed... i don't even dare to pick up the phone... i don't have money for him... he is already an elderly person i should really give him some allowance... but i don't have money... that's the truth... you know... nowadays the economy is really bad it's really difficult to earn a living... so... i don't really have the courage to pick up the phone and call him...

i feel so ashamed because if i call him but am not able to give him money it's really shameful (feb. 2001, hsinchu) turn left this is no.16. go further. no.30... no.32. this is it. this one. no.32.

my dad is home. this is my dad. come on in. is lily home? not yet. come on in. i cooked the dinner. (wu's father) you are not a guest! you should prepare the tableware for the guests! lily is much more diligent than you.

do you want her to visit you more often? that's all nonsense. (wu's friend, mr. huang) you should say of course i want her to come back more. no dogs! please! your apartment... if you keep it clean and neat, you can rent it out. you don't have to live like this. your ideas don't make sense at all. now your apartment has become a dog's den.

yes, she is being kind. but being too kind won't do nowadays... i'm telling you i've already seen a lot... don't you know? (sigh...) i despise her she's totally irresponsible. how comes? she's responsible. irresponsible.

her daughter is ten times better than her mom i would rather not say it so boldly this girl is remarkable she is well-behaved and does everything properly unlike her mother... totally a mess! how comes? (wu's daughter, lily) just like what you saw he kept on scolding her...

yes... just like this frankly speaking, he really cares about her he hopes she can plan ahead for her future because she never plans ahead... how do you feel when you see your mom keeping so many dogs? my feelings? it has been quite a while... so i have been numb... quite a few years..., right?

have you ever thought to persuade her? i've tried before but she didn't take it seriously so i gave up... but... you need to treat yourself better, ok? no one will treat you good unless you do so to yourself. that's the truth. bear it in mind. ok? if she keeps just one or two in better conditions

they can be the watchdogs then it's ok to keep them... not like this mess... wow... you're gonna pack all the food back to taipei? my dad actually cares about me a lot he scolds me all the times but he cares about me from the heart yes i know pack some more rice...

just take all that's ok. take it all. but grandpa needs to eat tomorrow and so do you if i take it all, what about you tomorrow? not your business... just take it all when i ask you to stop asking annoying questions i've told you not to keep so many dogs... that's ok. i can cook some more rice tomorrow.

if you come to taipei, let's hang out. sure, no problem. you wanna pack dried mushrooms? yes that's fine. dogs don't eat mushrooms huh? not for dogs mom will give them to dogs... dad...

what? no mushrooms... i seldom cook for myself. i don't cook. dad... that's enough. i don't cook i only cook for the dogs. take this and cook it for the dogs you are not gonna eat it? you can cook it... you don't want it? no more dogs, please!

when we left, wu's father did not come out and said goodbye. wu's friend said: "he didn't want to see you leave again." what would you do if someone wants to give dogs to you now? give them to me? i would rather not take them because i am exhausted. i need to work too. i am totally exhausted. have you ever thought of giving some dogs away? sigh... i don't want to give away any more dogs.

because we've been together for quite a long time. they've become my family. taking care of them is an exhausting task. it's true. but i'm already used to it... i'm fine with it. does taking care of dogs make you happy? sometimes it makes me happy, but sometimes it makes me exhausted. by when do you plan to finish this task? i'll finish what i started. until...