Post by amyzing on Aug 7, 2013 9:02:31 GMT -4
(OOC: Excuse any issue with font color, the little color option isn't showing up on my computer for some reason, I just tried cutting and pasting, but that never really seesm to work out ot be the color it was when I first cut it. So, again, I apologize and just go with it. Thank you.)
::Waves crash into the sand on a stretch of beach in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. A rocky outcropping can be seen. The day is bright and sunny, perfect beach weather. People are there along the beach. Some are trying to get some sun. Others are just enjoying time at a beach. A few people are there by the rocks, fishing. And some people are surfing. One of those surfers is the “Hong Kong Sensation” Amy Zing.::
::This is not the same beach or outcropping Amy was at a few weeks ago when she was talking about her past with Young Mannie, where she goes to think. That is another stretch of beach and the rocky outcropping is not as big as that one. This is a surfer spot she happens to enjoy, and judging by the crowd, other people enjoy it.::
::Amy is wearing a black wetsuit with no sleeves and her feet and calves uncovered. The suit has pink trim on the sides of her torso. She has a surfboard which is colored white with black trim that is currently stuck vertically into the sand of the beach.::
::She has surfed for many years, falling in love with it at a young age. However, she really has no interest in skateboarding or rollerblading. “The Hong Kong Sensation” revealed her love of surfing and motorcycles in the issue of Playboy she posed for a few years ago while she was a member of the American Championship Wrestling roster.::
::Sitting on the sand and in the shade provided by her board, Amy looks over the beach, taking in the sites and sounds. She looks out over to the water, where she can see people surfing and swimming. Her knees are up, close to her chest. Her arms are resting on top of her knees. She has an amused smile on her face. A breeze runs through her hair. She pushes a stray lock out of her face and drapes her arm back over her knees.::
“I find it rather funny that this week I find myself in the ring with Joseph Johnson.”
::Amy is still smiling and shakes her head. She sighs a bit and runs her fingers through her hair, then drapes it back over her knees.::
“The reason I find it funny is because here is a man who is really very religious, and I have never really been so myself. I mean, I do go to a temple, but only for the major religious observances Buddhism has. Like most Buddhists, I do keep a small shrine at my home. I also have a small Buddha statue with me when I travel, but that was a gift from my mother, so I’d be watched over I guess. But in all honesty, I am not as devout as my family would like.”
“I mean, I do try to be a good person, because if reincarnation is a thing, I would like to come back as something pleasant. That’s how Buddhism works. We live, we learn and we die, then we are reborn and the process repeats until we reach the point of enlightenment and we transcend to the universal consciousness, becoming one with the Buddha. And the main aspect is that want leads to suffering. Now this is not to say that Buddhists live a life devoid of material possessions, just that they do not allow materialism to control their lives. There are of course aspects, or tenements to Buddhism that those in the faith follow and try to live by.”
::She pouts a bit, shaking her head.::
“I am probably simplifying it a bit too much.”
::She shrugs a bit.::
“And of course, you have the ancestor worship. That is something that many of the Asian countries have, the idea of praying to our ancestors to watch over us and guide us. Many have shrines dedicated to their ancestors. It is not unlike someone visiting a gravesite and talking to someone who had passed, but a bit more than that. Again, that is rather a simplified explanation, and I am probably not explaining it right. It’s not really easy to explain.”
::“The Hong Kong Sensation” pouts again and shakes her head.::
“Now, I do not have anything wrong with Christianity, Catholicism or so forth. I, however, have an issue with the concept of that everything I do is already predetermined. That is mostly because I do believe in free will, in our ability to choose. If I truly believed that everything I have done or ever will do was already predetermined, I’d just spent most of my time yelling ”why?” and blaming someone else. I find it rather odd that when things go wrong, they credit it to ”the Lord works in mysterious ways” or ”all part of God’s perfect plan”. I mean really, what sort of plan is even half the bad things that happen to good people? Or anything terrible or tragic that happens? I mean, yes, I know he crated the universe and he’s mysterious, but still, you’d think there would be a hint or something.”
::Amy catches herself starting to ramble. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm herself and allow herself to gather her thoughts and regain her focus. She opens her eyes and exhales slowly.::
“Maybe that’s just me.”
::She shrugs. She lowers her arms, pushing them into the sand as she stretches her legs out.: Amy pulls her legs back in, sitting cross-legged and wipes her hands clean. She looks upwards towards the clear blue sky.::
“I find I do have an issue with people trying to push their religion on others or saying that some religion is wrong. It is in the Bill of Rights that helped found this country; people have the right to choose their own religion. I mean sure, I think Scientology is a bit strange, and I know a few people who list their religion as Jedi, which I find a bit odd and but I at least respect people’s right to believe in it. I believe people have the right to believe in whatever they want, although, I do have to draw the line at stuff like human sacrifice and such. But, I still really cannot judge them, and I hate when people do that. That bothers me. It really does. I mean, people in this country have a right to be Islamic if they choice, and yet, people just assume that it means they are terrorists. I just do not see how that is fair, generalizing an entire people for the actions of a few. I mean honestly, no religion is perfect. They all have some type of issue. But I cannot stand people acting like their religion is the only true faith, or acting like everyone should be held to their standards.”
::Slowly, she slides a hand through her long, dark hair. She lowers her head, looking back over the water. She sounds a bit frustrated, almost a bit upset and insulted.::
“So what exactly would you like to judge me on Joseph Johnson?”
“Would you like to declare me a heathen and say that you will get me to convert? I would assume so, because unfortunately, that is how a lot of religions were spread, not by the strength of their words or power of their ideas, but by the edge of a sword and violating most, if not all their core ideas and beliefs.”
“So, just because I am a Buddhist does not mean I have no respect for those who follow other religions or their ideals and beliefs, I already said I do. I have a few friends who are Catholic, Jewish and even a Hindu. But never once have I tried to convert them to Buddhism. I mean there was that one friend of mine who converted after I brought her to a temple for a class project, but that was not my fault.”
“So you can stand there and call me a heathen or tell me I will face eternal damnation all you want, but who are you to judge? Isn’t the old saying live and let live? Or am I thinking of “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”? I mean are you going to tell me you are absolutely 100% without sin Johnson? And really, is it not the province of God to pass judgment?”
“Maybe there is only one God, and maybe there is not. Maybe every religion is right and all those gods and goddesses and God himself exist, or maybe not. Maybe Rick Riordan was right when he wrote the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series and the Greek gods still control the universe? I do not know. I doubt anyone actually gets to know until their time on this world is done. I don’t think we are actually meant to know while we are alive.”
“Or, would you rather take the high road and just call me a whore because I posed for Playboy a few years ago? Honestly, I do not get the big deal. Other people posed for the magazine, some of them famous celebrities, but no one is going around calling people like Marylyn Monroe a whore. No, they consider her one of the most beautiful women of the 20th Century.”
“Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I am in no way comparing myself to someone like Marylyn Monroe. She is a lot more beautiful than I am. But still, I get annoyed hearing people judging me over that magazine. I mean, I did not take a cent from that magazine. Everything I earned from it went to various charities. Yeah, maybe I did it to show that I was not just a sweet and innocent, naive nice girl who is all about sportsmanship and honor and respect, but that I could be sexy.”
“Still, no one ever mentions that. They just seem to focus on the fact that I was in Playboy and judge me for it. They act like I did it for my career, but I did not immediately get a shot at a championship after it, nor did I get more TV time after. And if they do not mention that, then they just assume it is because I am a whore. Like I said, I donated everything I made off of that to charity.”
“I mean, honestly who are any of you people to judge me for doing something like that? Sure, maybe I wish it was not the most frequent thing I am asked to sign, but it happens. I do not regret doing it and I refuse to allow anyone to make me feel guilty about doing it, or making me feel like it was a mistake or that it somehow makes me a bad person for having been in the magazine.”
::Amy exhales deeply and shakes her head again. Her voice returns to her normal pleasant tone with a slight British accent.::
“I try to be a nice person. I try to be respectful and courteous and polite and pleasant. So, yes Joseph Johnson, maybe I have not believe the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior or God as the one I pray to and maybe I really do not believe they have chosen you to spread the message and bring people to the flock, but if you do, that’s fine. Personally, I have doubts, but that is neither here nor there.”
“So you can go on and on and judge me all you want. I really do not care. I do not care what you opinion of me is Johnson. I do not care what you think God or Jesus thinks of me or using that to judge me. The only people who have an opinion about me that I care about are my family, my friends, my fans and my own opinion of myself.”
::As she mentions the list of people whose opinions matter to her, she holds up her hand and holds up a finger when she mentions “family”, “friends” and “fans”. She lowers her hand.::
“I care about what my family thinks about me because they are my family. Through everything I have done in my life, all the up and down, all the high and lows, my family has been there for me. Through thick and thin, my family has been there for me. Family is very important to me Joseph.”
“I care about what my fans think about me because without those fans, we are just a bunch of people just beating each other up inside a ring in and empty arena for no reason than whatsoever. Those fans have support me and cheer for me every night I step out and go into the ring. They buy my t-shirts, hats, action figures and I am grateful every time. If you want to get technical about it, the only reason I have a paycheck, never mind the royalty check, but the paycheck, it is because those fans pay money to watch me, and everyone else here in the APW wrestle. I actually do not have Twitter or Facebook because I would rather connect to my fans face to face that just post something online and that be the most interaction I have with them. So of course I care about their opinion of me and of course I want them to like me. I give them everything I have each and every time I go out to that ring.”
“And I care about what I think of me. Yes, I have never won a championship. Yes, most people will say I am not a wrestler, just some sort of glorified high flyer with a bunch of kicks and nothing else. And yes, they say I lack passion, desire and drive to do this, but I really do not care what they say. I know who I am and I like the person I am. I am not going to change that because on person does not like who I am or what I represent or what I believe in.”
“You want to talk about faith and its power Johnson? You can have faith. I think it is a good thing. I do have an issue with you trying to push it on people.”
“I have faith in my ability in that ring. Maybe I do not win every single match I compete in, but no one ever does. But, regardless of that, I have faith in my ability. I have faith that sooner or later, one of those championship opportunities I get will be my moment. I have faith that one day I will reward the faith my friends, my family and all my fans around the world have had in me. I have faith in myself.”
“I believe that I can beat you. I have faith that I can beat you. Whether or not I am actually able to go out there on Thursday Night Overdrive and beat you is an entirely different thing. I think it is safe to say that you have faith in your ability to beat me, and you believe that you can. Of that, I have no doubt. But again, saying it and doing it are two entirely different things. I can say it, you can say it, but we have to prove it.”
“At Thursday Night Overdrive, you are will step into the ring. You can have all the faith and belief you want as you take on “]”the whore” or “the heathen” or “the infidel” or whatever you want to call me, that’s fine. However, I am not going to make it easy on you Johnson.
“You want something to believe in? Believe that I will go out to that ring at Thursday Night Overdrive and I will give this match everything I have. Believe that I will give those fans everything I can give to try and beat you. Believe that you can knock me down, but as long as I am capable of standing, of picking myself up off the mat and standing, I will rise. Believe that I am going to try and kick your head off.”
::Amy stands up and brushes the sand from her wetsuit and legs. She places a hand on her surfboard.::
“At Thursday Night Overdrive, I know all my fans in the arena and watching at home will have faith that I am going to show you why I am simply Amy Zing.”
::She picks the board up, tucking it under her right arm and using her left to give her a better hold.::
“So, Joseph Johnson, I wish you good luck, and I will see you at Thursday Night Overdrive.”
::The scene fades to black as Amy Zing heads towards the water.
::Waves crash into the sand on a stretch of beach in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. A rocky outcropping can be seen. The day is bright and sunny, perfect beach weather. People are there along the beach. Some are trying to get some sun. Others are just enjoying time at a beach. A few people are there by the rocks, fishing. And some people are surfing. One of those surfers is the “Hong Kong Sensation” Amy Zing.::
::This is not the same beach or outcropping Amy was at a few weeks ago when she was talking about her past with Young Mannie, where she goes to think. That is another stretch of beach and the rocky outcropping is not as big as that one. This is a surfer spot she happens to enjoy, and judging by the crowd, other people enjoy it.::
::Amy is wearing a black wetsuit with no sleeves and her feet and calves uncovered. The suit has pink trim on the sides of her torso. She has a surfboard which is colored white with black trim that is currently stuck vertically into the sand of the beach.::
::She has surfed for many years, falling in love with it at a young age. However, she really has no interest in skateboarding or rollerblading. “The Hong Kong Sensation” revealed her love of surfing and motorcycles in the issue of Playboy she posed for a few years ago while she was a member of the American Championship Wrestling roster.::
::Sitting on the sand and in the shade provided by her board, Amy looks over the beach, taking in the sites and sounds. She looks out over to the water, where she can see people surfing and swimming. Her knees are up, close to her chest. Her arms are resting on top of her knees. She has an amused smile on her face. A breeze runs through her hair. She pushes a stray lock out of her face and drapes her arm back over her knees.::
“I find it rather funny that this week I find myself in the ring with Joseph Johnson.”
::Amy is still smiling and shakes her head. She sighs a bit and runs her fingers through her hair, then drapes it back over her knees.::
“The reason I find it funny is because here is a man who is really very religious, and I have never really been so myself. I mean, I do go to a temple, but only for the major religious observances Buddhism has. Like most Buddhists, I do keep a small shrine at my home. I also have a small Buddha statue with me when I travel, but that was a gift from my mother, so I’d be watched over I guess. But in all honesty, I am not as devout as my family would like.”
“I mean, I do try to be a good person, because if reincarnation is a thing, I would like to come back as something pleasant. That’s how Buddhism works. We live, we learn and we die, then we are reborn and the process repeats until we reach the point of enlightenment and we transcend to the universal consciousness, becoming one with the Buddha. And the main aspect is that want leads to suffering. Now this is not to say that Buddhists live a life devoid of material possessions, just that they do not allow materialism to control their lives. There are of course aspects, or tenements to Buddhism that those in the faith follow and try to live by.”
::She pouts a bit, shaking her head.::
“I am probably simplifying it a bit too much.”
::She shrugs a bit.::
“And of course, you have the ancestor worship. That is something that many of the Asian countries have, the idea of praying to our ancestors to watch over us and guide us. Many have shrines dedicated to their ancestors. It is not unlike someone visiting a gravesite and talking to someone who had passed, but a bit more than that. Again, that is rather a simplified explanation, and I am probably not explaining it right. It’s not really easy to explain.”
::“The Hong Kong Sensation” pouts again and shakes her head.::
“Now, I do not have anything wrong with Christianity, Catholicism or so forth. I, however, have an issue with the concept of that everything I do is already predetermined. That is mostly because I do believe in free will, in our ability to choose. If I truly believed that everything I have done or ever will do was already predetermined, I’d just spent most of my time yelling ”why?” and blaming someone else. I find it rather odd that when things go wrong, they credit it to ”the Lord works in mysterious ways” or ”all part of God’s perfect plan”. I mean really, what sort of plan is even half the bad things that happen to good people? Or anything terrible or tragic that happens? I mean, yes, I know he crated the universe and he’s mysterious, but still, you’d think there would be a hint or something.”
::Amy catches herself starting to ramble. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm herself and allow herself to gather her thoughts and regain her focus. She opens her eyes and exhales slowly.::
“Maybe that’s just me.”
::She shrugs. She lowers her arms, pushing them into the sand as she stretches her legs out.: Amy pulls her legs back in, sitting cross-legged and wipes her hands clean. She looks upwards towards the clear blue sky.::
“I find I do have an issue with people trying to push their religion on others or saying that some religion is wrong. It is in the Bill of Rights that helped found this country; people have the right to choose their own religion. I mean sure, I think Scientology is a bit strange, and I know a few people who list their religion as Jedi, which I find a bit odd and but I at least respect people’s right to believe in it. I believe people have the right to believe in whatever they want, although, I do have to draw the line at stuff like human sacrifice and such. But, I still really cannot judge them, and I hate when people do that. That bothers me. It really does. I mean, people in this country have a right to be Islamic if they choice, and yet, people just assume that it means they are terrorists. I just do not see how that is fair, generalizing an entire people for the actions of a few. I mean honestly, no religion is perfect. They all have some type of issue. But I cannot stand people acting like their religion is the only true faith, or acting like everyone should be held to their standards.”
::Slowly, she slides a hand through her long, dark hair. She lowers her head, looking back over the water. She sounds a bit frustrated, almost a bit upset and insulted.::
“So what exactly would you like to judge me on Joseph Johnson?”
“Would you like to declare me a heathen and say that you will get me to convert? I would assume so, because unfortunately, that is how a lot of religions were spread, not by the strength of their words or power of their ideas, but by the edge of a sword and violating most, if not all their core ideas and beliefs.”
“So, just because I am a Buddhist does not mean I have no respect for those who follow other religions or their ideals and beliefs, I already said I do. I have a few friends who are Catholic, Jewish and even a Hindu. But never once have I tried to convert them to Buddhism. I mean there was that one friend of mine who converted after I brought her to a temple for a class project, but that was not my fault.”
“So you can stand there and call me a heathen or tell me I will face eternal damnation all you want, but who are you to judge? Isn’t the old saying live and let live? Or am I thinking of “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”? I mean are you going to tell me you are absolutely 100% without sin Johnson? And really, is it not the province of God to pass judgment?”
“Maybe there is only one God, and maybe there is not. Maybe every religion is right and all those gods and goddesses and God himself exist, or maybe not. Maybe Rick Riordan was right when he wrote the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series and the Greek gods still control the universe? I do not know. I doubt anyone actually gets to know until their time on this world is done. I don’t think we are actually meant to know while we are alive.”
“Or, would you rather take the high road and just call me a whore because I posed for Playboy a few years ago? Honestly, I do not get the big deal. Other people posed for the magazine, some of them famous celebrities, but no one is going around calling people like Marylyn Monroe a whore. No, they consider her one of the most beautiful women of the 20th Century.”
“Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I am in no way comparing myself to someone like Marylyn Monroe. She is a lot more beautiful than I am. But still, I get annoyed hearing people judging me over that magazine. I mean, I did not take a cent from that magazine. Everything I earned from it went to various charities. Yeah, maybe I did it to show that I was not just a sweet and innocent, naive nice girl who is all about sportsmanship and honor and respect, but that I could be sexy.”
“Still, no one ever mentions that. They just seem to focus on the fact that I was in Playboy and judge me for it. They act like I did it for my career, but I did not immediately get a shot at a championship after it, nor did I get more TV time after. And if they do not mention that, then they just assume it is because I am a whore. Like I said, I donated everything I made off of that to charity.”
“I mean, honestly who are any of you people to judge me for doing something like that? Sure, maybe I wish it was not the most frequent thing I am asked to sign, but it happens. I do not regret doing it and I refuse to allow anyone to make me feel guilty about doing it, or making me feel like it was a mistake or that it somehow makes me a bad person for having been in the magazine.”
::Amy exhales deeply and shakes her head again. Her voice returns to her normal pleasant tone with a slight British accent.::
“I try to be a nice person. I try to be respectful and courteous and polite and pleasant. So, yes Joseph Johnson, maybe I have not believe the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior or God as the one I pray to and maybe I really do not believe they have chosen you to spread the message and bring people to the flock, but if you do, that’s fine. Personally, I have doubts, but that is neither here nor there.”
“So you can go on and on and judge me all you want. I really do not care. I do not care what you opinion of me is Johnson. I do not care what you think God or Jesus thinks of me or using that to judge me. The only people who have an opinion about me that I care about are my family, my friends, my fans and my own opinion of myself.”
::As she mentions the list of people whose opinions matter to her, she holds up her hand and holds up a finger when she mentions “family”, “friends” and “fans”. She lowers her hand.::
“I care about what my family thinks about me because they are my family. Through everything I have done in my life, all the up and down, all the high and lows, my family has been there for me. Through thick and thin, my family has been there for me. Family is very important to me Joseph.”
“I care about what my fans think about me because without those fans, we are just a bunch of people just beating each other up inside a ring in and empty arena for no reason than whatsoever. Those fans have support me and cheer for me every night I step out and go into the ring. They buy my t-shirts, hats, action figures and I am grateful every time. If you want to get technical about it, the only reason I have a paycheck, never mind the royalty check, but the paycheck, it is because those fans pay money to watch me, and everyone else here in the APW wrestle. I actually do not have Twitter or Facebook because I would rather connect to my fans face to face that just post something online and that be the most interaction I have with them. So of course I care about their opinion of me and of course I want them to like me. I give them everything I have each and every time I go out to that ring.”
“And I care about what I think of me. Yes, I have never won a championship. Yes, most people will say I am not a wrestler, just some sort of glorified high flyer with a bunch of kicks and nothing else. And yes, they say I lack passion, desire and drive to do this, but I really do not care what they say. I know who I am and I like the person I am. I am not going to change that because on person does not like who I am or what I represent or what I believe in.”
“You want to talk about faith and its power Johnson? You can have faith. I think it is a good thing. I do have an issue with you trying to push it on people.”
“I have faith in my ability in that ring. Maybe I do not win every single match I compete in, but no one ever does. But, regardless of that, I have faith in my ability. I have faith that sooner or later, one of those championship opportunities I get will be my moment. I have faith that one day I will reward the faith my friends, my family and all my fans around the world have had in me. I have faith in myself.”
“I believe that I can beat you. I have faith that I can beat you. Whether or not I am actually able to go out there on Thursday Night Overdrive and beat you is an entirely different thing. I think it is safe to say that you have faith in your ability to beat me, and you believe that you can. Of that, I have no doubt. But again, saying it and doing it are two entirely different things. I can say it, you can say it, but we have to prove it.”
“At Thursday Night Overdrive, you are will step into the ring. You can have all the faith and belief you want as you take on “]”the whore” or “the heathen” or “the infidel” or whatever you want to call me, that’s fine. However, I am not going to make it easy on you Johnson.
“You want something to believe in? Believe that I will go out to that ring at Thursday Night Overdrive and I will give this match everything I have. Believe that I will give those fans everything I can give to try and beat you. Believe that you can knock me down, but as long as I am capable of standing, of picking myself up off the mat and standing, I will rise. Believe that I am going to try and kick your head off.”
::Amy stands up and brushes the sand from her wetsuit and legs. She places a hand on her surfboard.::
“At Thursday Night Overdrive, I know all my fans in the arena and watching at home will have faith that I am going to show you why I am simply Amy Zing.”
::She picks the board up, tucking it under her right arm and using her left to give her a better hold.::
“So, Joseph Johnson, I wish you good luck, and I will see you at Thursday Night Overdrive.”
::The scene fades to black as Amy Zing heads towards the water.
