I can now say that I actually attended Gen Con, a four-day gaming convention. Going in, I expected to see people similar to those in the Math building at school, and see I did! (and now, I was one of them?!) . I'm glad that I found other activities to do while in Indianapolis to keep me sane, but at least I came back knowing how to play a few more games that I seem to like: Carcassone, Havana, and Egizia.
So what else did I do?
Yes, I went to the zoo, just like I had told everyone I would. And Trader Joe's. Despite going to the zoo on my own, I had a really good time.
Highlights?
Memorable quotes that I shouldn't repeat
Visiting the world's largest children's museum for free (every 1st Thursday evening of the month). We even ran out of time!
Interesting eats, including asian-style tacos, happy hour $3 deep-fried onion crisps, and deep-fried butter
Touching a shark
Seeing Abraham eat deep-fried butter
Deep-fried bacon (this was really delish: not-too-salty and crispy bacon deep-fried in light batter)
Touching an elephant
We ate some of the most interesting foods at the Indianapolis State Fair. Of course, there were the ones we didn't try, like chocolate-covered bacon (which I'm told is a norm now), deep-fried twinkies, oreos, snickers and other candy bars (which isn't new), and krispy kreme burgers (patties using donuts as the burgers - now that is death). I'm really happy that the guys decided to all come to the State Fair in the end, which made sharing the deep-fried foods more fun! It's a shame that it wasn't a week later, as we could've also seen Chris Tomlin and TobyMac in concert!
The worship service at the convention on the Sunday was really encouraging. It was encouraging to see that there were gamers who had more to this life than just gaming; a very nice contrast to the talk I sat in during the week, which essentially tried to use "critical thinking" to disprove biblical creationism. Their logic seemed to have a lot of syllogistic fallacies, yet they used the arguments to imply that because creation theory has flaws, evolution must then be true.
Anyway, here's a quick 5 min highlight video of our Indianapolis trip:
Would I go again? Maybe if I had extra vacation to spare. The extra activities on the side and the company certainly made the trip more memorable. Without them, I don't know if I could last at Gen Con for the full amount of time.
I remember the last time I flew back for four days to attend a wedding, I told myself not to do that again. Well, I did it again (do I not learn?).
And within a span of 5 months, Vancouver has changed so much: the Canada Line has finished, Shiro on Cambie has closed, they changed the traffic patterns, and there is just so much traffic everywhere (and at all times of the day)! I find that I can't follow landmarks anymore such as knowing when to turn on Pinetree Way (onto David) because of the giant 4-way stop, but now it's a traffic light. Road work is ongoing as well: I feel like I'm on a narrower bridge because Port Mann now has medians and other tall fences due to the construction of a second bridge. Everything feels so far away as well - 20km takes 40 mins to drive!
Alas, this trip has made me realize that I don't think I would want to move back despite my love for my family, friends, the mild climate, the water and the mountains. Sadly, I wouldn't be able to afford living in greater Vancouver, even if I did get over the traffic issue (*shudders* to think that it reminds me more of Toronto now); the cost of living is just too steep. The housing market and gas prices are much higher than what I see over here, and yet, BC's minimum wage is only $8.00/hour ($6 if you're entry level) - this is the lowest in Canada (Ontario has the highest at $10.25/hr). Annual salaries can't be that much higher in BC than what we have over here! In comparison, I feel very rich where I am now. Even if I did live in Surrey or Langley, I'd quickly lose money if they do implement the $3 one-way toll to travel across the Port Mann Bridge once it is twinned (now here's an idea: HOV lane users should be free - that would encourage carpooling!).
I miss the ocean, mountains and tall evergreens, but we do have a few things like the annual fall leaves that colour the horizons. Despite all these changes, the one thing that hasn't changed: my friends are still my friends, and as kind as I remember them! :) (e.g. waking up earlier and meeting for breakfast. Chewie even crossed the Fraser River, picked me up, and drove me to meet up with Boy+family!)
The last two days were spent around Charlottetown, where Jopoo would be spending the next six weeks.
We moved away from the B&Bs to a great low season rate at the Prince Edward Delta, which they also gave us a free upgrade, and a complimentary day of parking because our heat mysteriously stopped working. The beds look lumpy but they're quite comfortable. At least they did something, unlike the Best Western Hampton (which curtly informed me that they turn off the heat during the spring/summer months).
We visited Off Broadway (also recommended by Where to Eat in Canada), for a late supper one night, and the seafood chowder was just amazing - filling enough for a meal unto its own.
The first night's dessert was from j.w's $30 prix fixe menu, which was a lovely gingerbread parfait that wasn't too sweet. The second evening, while j.w was in the game store (again) Jopoo and I settled on Starbucks after asking for recommendations from the hotel concierge and not finding any! That's okay though, because it was my manager's treat (gift card) :).
After an unexpected experience at the Penny Pincher Fair on Saturday morning (which to me is a fancy term for "collective garage sale with admission") with a security guard greeting us in Mandarin, then Korean, we decided to try Zen Sushi Bar, a Japanese restaurant downtown which advertised a 2 for 1 lunch special. Not only was it cheap ($6.50 for both the planko fish meal and a sukiyaki meal, making it $3.25 each), it was owned by true Japanese folks. And the food was good! This was easily the best value and better tasting lunches we had. The volcano roll, though a bit pricey averaged our meal was so good that one didn't need any extra wasabi or soya sauce.
Sunday service at Charlottetown Community Church was an eye-opening experience. People were friendly, the keyboardist even came up to us afterwards to greet us. They seemed to reflect their name: community. People were open and transparent, even in communion. I can count how many times a church told its congregation (in a non-members meeting) how much each of its staff makes: 1. This church. One conversation had me chuckling though: one lady asked Jopoo, who is younger, if I was her daughter :P
Charlottetown is also home to a culinary institute, which I found wasn't as good as our local Conestoga College's Conestoga Dining Room. The dishes were pricier, and the fish in my seafood bouillabaisse seemed a bit overcooked. But, the view is much nicer!
A few randoms:
At the Confederation Bridge, it suggests that you donate to a parking meter if you enjoyed the view. And, for our last meal together, the siblings enjoyed a lobster meal at Seatreat for lunch.
We made it to Antigonish for dinner and to settle for the night at Rose & Thistle B&B after getting around the east side of the Cabot Trail (and this time, knew better than to take the unpaved roads to Meat Cove).
Another choice from Where to Eat in Canada - the green Thai curry styled mussels at The Alcove Bistro, which was a very flavourful dish. The chicken wrap worked really well in a phyllo pastry instead of a tortilla wrap.
Day 3: Onward to PEI
Friday was spent touring around PEI after a healthy breakfast at the B&B, including visiting some gift shops and the north coastal drive.
Despite the cool "light" winds (the locals say that any winds <100KM/hr is considered a "breeze"), we had the opportunity to enjoy the breathtaking views (without any other tourists around - the joys of travelling during low season :)). The pictures don't do it justice; one would have to see it in person to appreciate it.
Despite not seeing any coyote (yay!) or moose on our trip, Jopoo spotted a fox crossing the road, and when we turned around to stop and take some photos, not only did we see one but two (a male and female) - they didn't even seem very afraid of the humans at all and tried to approach the vehicle a few times, until the mechanical sounds of a window or door would momentarily frighten them. We also visited the grounds of Anne of Green Gables and because neither of them had read the books and since I've been before, we opted not to pay to visit the house (was free of charge to tour the grounds).
Here's the soap drying room at The Great Canadian Soap, which is made from their own goats' milk! Jopoo and I spent so much time in there smelling all the fragrant soap, collecting some samples, and deciding which ones to buy while j.w got bored and waited in the car with a book. In the end, everyone got some soap, including a chocolate muffin (soap).
The last few days of our trip were spent in Charlottetown just relaxing.
When Canada won (an Olympic medal), Air Canada had a great buy one get one free offer. We jumped on the opportunity and bought 2 tickets, taking the risk that jopoo was actually going to PEI. At that time, we didn't know that many places would be closed during low season. However, despite not being able to try famous lobster suppers, go whale watching, or hike the Skyline Trail, we were able to get great accommodation rates, eat *incredibly* well, and spend time with each other! I'm always amazed how God answers my little pleas for adequate weather and holds off the snow and rain until we are inside (minus the Saturday, which I didn't pray for anyway :P).
Day 1: Arrival into Charlottetown
The flight from Toronto was surprisingly smooth. I had always thought smaller planes were more turbulent but it didn't even shake when the drinks were served (which always seem to happen at that exact moment). On our flight of 16 rows (2x2), we had at least 3 families who were Mandarin speaking Chinese; I almost expected to see more of them on our trip after j.w drove through an A&W and a Chinese girl gave him his order. But, I think they were only limited in Charlottetown.
After landing, we picked up our rental and set off to Cheticamp, Nova Scotia (locals seem to pronounce it She-tee-camp). We drove halfway across the province before realizing that the GPS was taking us to the ferry (which is closed until May) so we turned around and went the other way. Thankfully we had unlimited mileage on our rental :)
We crossed the Confederation Bridge to get to Nova Scotia, driving through New Brunswick along the way.
We stopped in Antigonish at Gabrieau's Bistro for dinner, which had one of the most awesome seafood chowders that we had on this trip - this one came with a puff! The butter for the bread was cold and hard, but the actual food itself was simply satisfying.
We arrived at Cheticamp, after a dark, snowy drive (and relied on the GPS to anticipate the curves in the road), just as the lady was about to turn in (and give up on us - we had no reception). Her breakfast was quite filling! J.w loved her homemade pancakes, but I enjoyed the blueberry muffins so much that I forgot to take a photo of it (crunchy on the outside, but soft on the inside)!
Day 2: Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Our hostess, Veronica at Cheticamp Outfitters B&B kept us engaged with her stories (including scary ones like how the coyotes got one of her guests). Actually, the only times I have stayed in a bed and breakfast is in the Maritimes (incl. Newfoundland), and my first one was on the Maritime trip in 2003. With our stomachs full, we headed off to Cape Breton National Park and begin the drive around the Cabot Trail.
With scenery like this all the way, and lookout points every five minutes, how can one not stop along the way to appreciate God's creation and the beautiful country that we live in?
And while the park staff recommended us not to go on the Skyline trail and other hikes that were higher up (due to unmaintained snow covered trails and coyotes), they were still able to circle a few that we could try. Through her kindness, we also received a free park permit for the day. Despite the short walks, the view didn't disappoint.
And thankfully, no coyotes even though I half expected to see a pack of them jump out (from the recent news coverage of them). No moose either, even though we saw moose droppings.
Seafood and good food,
trail hikes, must see or dos.
Just three four days to play.
Recommendations? One disadvantage of going off-season is that many places are closed, including lobster suppers, whale watching tours, and some bed & breakfasts
This past weekend will likely be one of the most eventful weekends in 2010; it marked the start of the Winter Olympics, Chinese (Lunar) New Year, Valentine's Day (for some), Reading Week for the students, and an extra long weekend for some provinces (Family Day)!
Sights
For us, we went back to Europe, despite it being only a short three day trip (well it spanned 5 dates, but 1 red-eye and 1 day spent flying). This was a impulse buy: no refunds, and I had forgotten that I was taking a course (thankfully it was reading week). We didn't intentionally plan to come because of Valentine's - we had wanted to take advantage of Family Day, as one of us didn't have enough vacation days. But yes, we spent Valentine's Day at the Eiffel tower, but I'm not sure I see the romanticism in waiting in line to climb up the tall steel structure, or seeing the tower itself. In fact, we didn't even go to the top because the lines were too incredibly long (even if you paid to walk up the stairs to the 2nd platform, you'd have to wait a minimum of 2 hours to get to the top via elevator from there). Actually, going for a carousel ride in front of the Eiffel tower seemed even more romantic! The other major places we visited were the Louvre, Notre Dame, and Arc de Triomphe, with a stroll down Champs Elysees from the Concorde, exploring the Catacombs, food shopping at La Galeries Lafayette, and a half a day in Versailles. I simply enjoyed exploring the streets and sampling the many foods I normally wouldn't eat.
People
Our visit this time around felt more familiar to me - the graffiti on the walls surrounding the train tracks, the way the streets were structured and the number of small compact cars on the road reminded me of our last trip. Despite Rome having more architectural history, I think I like Paris more. Perhaps it is because the language was familiar enough to us (we could use elementary level French and didn't have to resort to English unless absolutely necessary), or because the Parisians seemed more polite; accidental bumps always resulted in a "pardon" (sometimes an "excusez-moi"). Upon entering a store or a restaurant, one would be greeted by a "bonjour" or a "bonsoir". I can't pinpoint it exactly, but Paris feels more graceful or "light" than Quebec in some ways (and here I am thinking that if I stayed long enough, I would eventually pick up the language). Even the unsolicited buskers are creative in getting money - they jump onto the metro, play a few tunes on their accordians (and one even sang) before collecting tips; maybe it's their passion in everything.
(Just listen to the accordion players!)
Eats
In Paris, it's normal to see people walking around with a baguette in their hands, and no wonder, their baked goods, pastries, and desserts were almost always good. Actually, it's funny because I found that "french" food didn't have to be fancy (unlike French restaurants around here) and it tasted good; it was normal to have duck confit served with fries, crepes that you could grab on a street like a beavertail or in a restaurant (without the fancy fresh fruit toppings), or a plate of boiled potatoes and some slices of cheese (you melt the cheese on a metal plate and scrape it onto the potatoes) The best ice cream in Paris was closed (Mondays and Wednesdays), so we settled on getting a tiny scoop of the same brand in a neighbouring bar. I don't think I've ever had ice cream like it.
The only horror is that servers simply take the bread from your basket that you don't finish and put them into another basket for another table. And despite macarons looking so artificial and sweet, they were light and just melted in your mouth (the best one being the green matcha tea and the black sesame one that was 1.85 euro - normally they were 1.5 euro). Although pastries and dessert were expensive, I found that eating out, including fixed menus were more reasonable than in Italy - at least the gratuities and cover were all inclusive. And to save even more, you just needed to ask for a carafe of water (thanks to pre-trip research).
Tourists
Even though it was low season (cold!), the lines were long if you didn't get there at the beginning of the day. Many students were off and Japanese tourists were everywhere with many tour groups, especially at Versailles. I'm never impressed at the tourists who try to cut into the queues, or the ones who don't respect signs or people telling them that flash photography isn't allowed. And maybe because it was cold (cloudy) that it affected the tone of my photos - the photos turned out disappointingly grey and definitely not as vibrant as the ones I captured in Europe last fall; they certainly reflected the "winter" feel. The climate though feels more like Vancouver winters than Ontario ones; it hovers around zero but mild enough to get around in a wool jacket, scarf, and boots, without having to worry about wearing North Face or Columbia jackets. In fact, the only people we ever saw wearing them were ... tourists.
Random geek-speak: Anvers is a metro station in Paris and they pronounce it "On-veir"; I've been pronouncing the font name wrong all along! Also, on our way to Versailles, we passed by a Microsoft building and other modern buildings. I thought to myself, maybe this area is like the technology area. Well, at the Issy-Val de Seine stop, all these people got off the train!
I'll leave off with a clip from our worship service at the American Church of Paris. And, maybe I should re-listen to the sermon, since I zoned out (after a red-eye) and didn't quite understand the connection between King David, Valentine's and accepting Christ.
When folks ask me how my Christmas was, the first thing I can think of is how much I ate! All I remember doing is eating - multiple times during the day, and one meal after the next. Let's review:
HK-style cafe
Christmas Day - immediately after landing, we hit a local HK style cafe for a late dinner in Richmond, which was tasty and filling!
Family meals
Boxing Day - our traditional Christmas brunch followed by an extended family dinner
Sushi and seafood
Sunday - lunch at Sushi California followed by dinner at my aunt's place where my uncle served us delicious home-baked cinnamon rolls for dessert
All that fish for $41
Monday - Our first time snowshoeing with a light packed sandwich for lunch (loved snowshoeing by the way), followed by dinner with the Oh's at a Chinese seafood restaurant. First time j.w' s tried sea cucumber and was a first time for him to have lobster and crab combined in a dish. Before lunch we stuffed ourselves with Zoo sticks from White Spot (had to share with j.w the only thing I wasn't sick of at White Spot when my father worked there for what felt like forever) and their Original sliders.
Pad Thai and sushi
Tuesday - we enjoyed a walk in White Rock and had pad thai with a friend (nicely done al dente noodles), despite White Rock having a great sushi place. Why? We needed to save our sushi appetite for the evening for all-you-can-eat at Toyama, which by the way, I would recommend paying the extra $5 for their deluxe menu (which includes BBQ black cod, BBQ lamb, and wild pacific salmon sashimi mmmm. Their oysters were delicious too! Discovered that I'm not a fan of sea urchin or geoduck sushi though - really strange textures.
American portions
Wednesday - went down to the States and had frozen yogurt for "breakfast", McDonald's chicken nuggets for a "filler", jalapeno pretzel for "lunch", Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolate-dipped frozen banana for "snack", and happy hour appetizers at Applebee's for "dinner", and a Starbucks Mocha ice cream mini tub for "dessert" (we had to eat it otherwise it would melt on our drive back). My goodness - that dinner is likely one of the most unhealthiest I have eaten - between the 4 of us, we shared 2 pounds of wings, 1 basket of deep-fried onion wings, 5 slices of quesadillas (though we took that home), 1 order of potato skins, 2 orders of sliders and fries.
Dim sum, seafood, and peking duck
Thursday - New Year's Eve lunch with grandparents at Kirin in Coquitlam for dim sum (no longer recommended as a place to go for dim sum). Dinner feasting at home over steamed giant scallops, huge oysters, and ginger and green onion crab! All home-made by mom. The house smelled like fish and soya sauce but it was all worth it. And, new year's count-down at Miche's with Earl Grey tea cake for dessert.
Friday - New Year's Day - we had lunch with the girls at the military woman's dim sum place on Kingsway (near MacPherson) and dinner at a Chinese restaurant with peking duck!
More seafood and #1 house special drink
Saturday - a brunch/late lunch at New Westminster's Boathouse (not recommended) to celebrate a friend's wedding! And, because of reservation limits, we had an early dinner at the Cannery (before it closed down forever). Now we can say we've been to the Cannery! It's too bad that I was left with a negative impression when I alerted the hostess that the ladies washroom was out of soap. Her reply? "We don't have any at all." What does that mean? Is it because they're closing in 3 months and they don't want to be bothered to provide soap for their customers and instead to force them to use bottles of hand sanitizer instead? What do their employees use to wash their hands? *shudder* A filling dinner was followed by a great tasting #1 House Special drink at 8 Juice in Aberdeen (Miche and Tunger's recommendation). It's a sago pomelo mango and coconut juice mix and they only had a Medium left ($4.50) when they overheard me telling my sister that they were closed. I'll be back next time!
Chinese food and dessert
Sunday - very filling lunch with my aunts at a New Lake Restaurant (Chinese) nearby the church, and then a early dinner (which I could barely eat) at another HK style cafe restaurant in Coquitlam (which was decent), followed by Chinese mango sago dessert at Honey Dessert House on Kingsway near Boundary. That was good! They also had great service - they kept refilling our lemon water and let us sit there for a good two hours (we left when all the young'uns started coming in which was also an indication that it was getting late).
Meats
Monday - lunch at a new Japanese restaurant in Surrey called Tengoku, which are actually owned by Koreans. The portions aren't bad but it's nothing outstanding. For dinner, the whole family came over once they heard Ron was bringing steak!
Taiwanese noodles and shaved ice
Tuesday - lunch at Aberdeen in Richmond at the new Taiwanese noodle place (great taste but way too pricey for what you get), followed by dessert at Frappe Bliss in the Food Court upstairs. The shaved ice place is absolutely worth whatever lactose intolerance reaction I encountered. In fact, it's more like flavoured shaved milk with fruit and other toppings for $6 a bowl. I was so full that I could barely touch dinner, which was at home with leftover crab and veggies.
For 2 weeks, I experienced plenty of firsts, including my first cruise on a non-Asian cruise line, and first my time in Europe. Suffice to say, I found that cruising was a great way to enjoy Europe: you wake up in a new destination (almost) every day!
Other thoughts?
My favourite destination was Cinque Terre, a region in Italy that comprises of 5 villages on coastal mountains. To get to each one, one can take a train, ferry, or walk on the trail that connects them. The colourful houses in this area reminded me of....Newfoundland! Since this trip, I have concluded that we take Canada for granted quite easily. For instance, Tofino reminds me of Hawaii, Quebec City and Montreal reminds me of Europe (now I can say that with certainty - in fact, when we were in Nice, I accidentally said to a fellow traveller that we went to Old Quebec when I meant to say Old Nice!)
Dubrovnik, Croatia was a second favourite - the coastal city was beautiful, with the red roofs and mostly because I wasn't expecting too much (despite my physiotherapist's assistant telling me so, who is from that side of Europe). I guess it's just not a top destination that you hear many tourists talk about (unlike Rome, Florence, Venice).
While j.w liked Rome because of its history, I wasn't too fond of it not because it was old, but because it was dirty (graffiti and poo everywhere - not just dog poo), and by extension smelly. It reminded me of some Asian cities.
Dogs and cats seem to freely wander the streets of Italy and Croatia. So if you are afraid of them, then be warned.
Train strikes in Italy seem to be random! They can decide to strike for no apparent reason and have it start mid-day and end by 9PM. Thankfully, when that happened, the local buses were running and they ran an extra one to shuttle the tourists to Taormina, which cost the same as the train (6.5 euros roundtrip), but it actually took us to the top (where Taormina is situated). The public transportation system in Europe is just so affordable - the subway is 1 euro one way, (water) buses and trains are inexpensive too. (e.g. KW<->TO would be $10 RT).
3-star hotels are more like the standards of 2-star hotels here.
I was sadly disappointed with the locals in Barcelona, Spain. The city is seemingly multi-cultural, yet I heard racist remarks directed at us twice! However, at the market, their fresh fruit drinks (like dragonfruit mango or pineapple mango) are sooo delicious and inexpensive. We shared 3 (3 euro total).
Dining in Europe is ridiculously expensive - especially if the place has a cover charge for each person (up to 3.5 euros each!) - the last meal in Rome, we spent $70 CD for a salad, an entree, plus 1 coffee. Ouch.
Travelling on a inaugural cruise is a great experience - you get to experience everything new for the first time, including new board games (no grimey fingers) and wrinkle free books to borrow!
And, of course, gelato can be as low as 1 euro for 1 scoop in a cone - which works out to be about $1.64 CD.
Following Web Directions North in Denver, it was a blessing to be able to fly to Vancouver to join the Interaction '09 conference at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Vancouver. A few observations at this one:
Definitely a different calibre than WDN; more artsy, less technical.
For a conference on interaction design and user experience, I would expect much more in terms of contact information and response time
I hear that signage was lacking on the first day as well
Great sessions and keynotes overall. Learned what I want to do and what I want to avoid
I want to avoid sounding elitist/elite (1337). Please gently remind me that this is not where I want to be/end up if I stick with interaction design.
Sketching is good. I'm glad that one field embraces sketches and doodles as a part of work.
People take notes in lo-fi (paper) notebooks! Most do not use their wi-fi notebooks (laptops) and one workshop forebade the use of mobile devices or laptops (as a result, I have yet to process my notes digitally)
Yet, the meaning of twitter became really apparent really quickly - each session had its own unique twitter ID (hash/tag) and tweets were posted on the screen in real-time
A free upgrade to King Executive Suite was a definite bonus. Thank you, Four Seasons Vancouver
Outside of the conference randoms:
WestJet deicing fluid is neon green
WestJet forgot(?) to check for my photo ID from Vancouver to Calgary - perhaps because they were distracted by me boarding early (emergency exit row) with an emailed (electronic) boarding pass.
Air traffic: I randomly looked out the window enroute to YKF and noticed an Air Canada plane zoom by the other way. Wow, planes do fly really fast when you have something to compare it to - one blink and it was gone.
Over-ate. Sampled Kintaro (ramen) and Miku (sushi)...mmmm to both! Would have liked to try a Japadog, as recommended by a Japanese friend and his wife
Enjoyed bubbletea with Boy, his wife, and Asher
Fondue dessert night with friends after a grand dinner with family (peking duck!)
Vegas in a statement? I can see how unhealthy (spiritual, physical, mental) it could be: eating lots, sleeping late and/or little, spending money gambling, sensual girls (or invitations to them).
Being my first time in Vegas, I must say that it is bigger and better than I expected: less tacky than Clifton Hills in Niagara Falls and it turns out we didn't have enough time to see all the big hotels and the themes within each. Didn't gamble, didn't go clubbing. What did we do? The freebies we saw included the volcano at Mirage (free view of white tigers now replaced by a BLT burger place), fountains at Bellagio, Lion habitat at MGM, and we accidentally stumbled into Excalibur's arena (much like Toronto's Medieval Times) to see the boys practice on their horses (by going through the elevator). We went to the Fremont Street Experience too early (starts at 6pm) so we missed the ceiling light show! The view from the Eiffel Tower experience is quite the sight on a clear night, and at $12, it's relatively inexpensive compared to what other attractions charge.
While Vegas still isn't my top choice for a vacation, it's an idea for a weekend getaway if you're coming from the West Coast since the promotional prices can be quite attractive. Our friends (and Wikipedia) had recommended the Buffet at Bellagio, so we waited in line for about 2 hours for a $40 dinner buffet that had lamb, prime rib, kobe beef, free range turkey, goose, gourmet pizza and flatbreads, ethnic dishes, sashimi, sushi, salad, and dessert. The line wound around and around like you're waiting in line for a rollercoaster ride - if you lined up at the end of the line, you'd be waiting up to 3 hours, and after you pass a certain point, it's an hour wait. Even though the food choices were gourmet, I'm not convinced that the buffet was worth the wait for the inconsistent quality and the price, especially with my appetite. (buffets must be a better deal for those expectant mothers!) The chocolate raspberry mousse cake is so much better at Premiere Moisson, but the rack of lamb was likely the best tasting choice of the meal (had 5 pieces). The buffet we enjoyed at a hotel in Hong Kong is by far better.
On the other hand, of all the meals we had in Vegas, my favourite was at Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian, which surprises me that it's a chain (by the Cheesecake Factory folks!) because the food prices, portions, quality, and the service was the best of what we had throughout the 4 days there.
During one of our days there, we booked a bus tour with looktours.com to see the Grand Canyon West. What's strange is that the "internet booking price" was available for a phone booking by another couple we knew, but the original tour company we were going to book with were sold out. Turns out, both of them have quite the unsatisfactory rating on the Better Business Bureau. What's ironic, is that in the looktours.com website, their FAQ actually leaves in the editor's remark about whether their statement of being "a proud member" of these organizations are true! (which they are no longer)
The day started on pretty positive: we received a service call at 5:15 AM by the tour company to make sure we were awake. Just thinking that they would have to do it for every party/room is pretty good service. They told us to meet them at 6:10 AM sharp, but not only were they late, the bus ended up back at our hotel for unknown reasons to us after circling around to pick up more people. Maybe we were not informed very well, but the bus that picked us up was not the tour bus. This bus simply shuttled everyone to a random building (unmarked with the company name from what I could tell) and the herded the people into two groups: South and West rim tours. The shuttle bus driver pretty much told everyone to fight for a spot at the front of the line so that you could get a good spot on the double decker bus. Before that, you had to line up to pay the surcharge that you couldn't pay over the Internet (I'm not sure why). From what the tour operators said, it seemed like this was operated by one company but the tour could be sold by multiple (same?) companies. We were told we would be back by 5:30 PM so those who had show tickets could see them.
The buses are quite nice: clean, spacious, double-decker. Thankfully, we were on the first bus so we loaded quickly and ended up at the site quickly. The bus tour guide warned us multiple times ("for the risk of sounding repetitive") that we needed to be back onto the bus on time or they would leave. The consequence of the late people would be to take a private plane back, which could easily be $300 one way. He also mentioned that it was "the second busiest day" of the season (not sure why), but while we were there, there were no line ups and few people. He advised everyone on the bus to avoid visiting Hualapai Ranch (a Western theme) because of time constraints and he made it sound like there wasn't much to miss there. It actually sounds like quite the happening place from what folks tell me and I kind of regret missing it. In fact, I would've prefered going there instead of the Grand Canyon Skywalk anyway, which is a really gimmicky experience: the glass somehow distorts the perception and feeling of depth - my heart pounded more at the distant edge of the canyon (on the ground itself instead of being over the canyon).
Turns out, most of our bus missed the peak of the traffic. 75/81 got back in time, and we all were stuck waiting for over 2 hours for 6 people to return. According to our driver, 400 people "suddenly" showed up and people were in lines for the Skywalk, the shuttle, everything and "they" (who knows who "they" are) weren't allowing any buses to leave. I'm not sure what to believe - was the first warning to be on time just a empty threat because the buses had to wait or was it truly an exception? The couple we knew waited for almost 2 hours to get on the Skywalk and for 20 minutes for a simple hotdog lunch after their heli/boat tour while waited less than 5 minutes for the Skywalk and a buffet lunch; they didn't even have time to stop in Guano Point. Guano Point definitely offers a better view in comparison to Eagle Point (where the Skywalk is). So from 3 PM until after sunset (past 5:30 PM), we were waiting. Finally, the bus driver switched 6 people from the 2nd bus over to ours and we headed back...into a very long traffic jam at Hoover Dam (which isn't the drivers fault but wondering if we could've avoided it if we left earlier). We didn't return to our hotels until after 7:30 PM but apparently the switch allegedly costs the driver a 3-day suspension but I'm glad that happened because the other bus didn't return until after 9:30 PM. He also told us that it's illegal for tour (charter) buses to drop off at CAT stops along the Strip or risk a $500 fine but I can't find any documentation on Google about it (he did it anyway).
Next time? Do research on tour company online before booking. Avoid the Skywalk. Try South rim next time or go on the helicopter/boat tour instead.
I live with a celebrity. It seems that a plethora of people know PT, even though he doesn't know or recognize them. We witnessed an instance where someone just walked up to the car window and asked him if he was PT. Turns out, it was Lue's father; her brother had recognized him.
He seems to be well connected with people in Kingston too. The people there are very hospitable. The church itself reminds me of KWCAC - much of the demographics of the English congregation seems to be mostly young adults - mostly students; few young adults who are working full-time. And, like KWCAC, few are around for the Labour Day long weekend.
Every time I go to Montreal/QC or another city/country that speaks another language, I find that I really want to learn that language. But sadly, by the time I return home, and back to the routine, that desire disappears. I'm not sure where the appeal and attraction lies, but maybe that explains why I generally enjoyed learning Chinese despite the homework, tests, and Saturday classes.
Since it is the last long weekend of the summer, I decided to tag along on a road trip to Kingston and Montreal with PT and Chris. I got a chance to see what a typical day for them is like - from eating lunch with PT's parents to leading worship at the local church. It's also neat to meet some of the Waterloo students' parents.
Today, we spent dinner with the Sungs (happypillzkid's parents) over a homemade meal that her mom made. We heard some of the stories of the girls in their younger years - these stories always fascinate me. Mr. Sung even shared about an inspirtational story about how God used Cliff indirectly to reach other students. Halfway through the night, the adults started reminiscing about their favourite actors and movies from the 40s. My eyes probably glazed over but someday, I bet we will do the same (who would we talk about - Brittanny Spears?). We're staying at thinkerjon'sparents' home tonight. There's a sense that it's a small community, for the pastor's place is literally right beside the church.
Happened upon the Kingston Penitentiary for the first time - I wonder if those inside get a scenic view of Portsmouth harbour since it's situated right beside the water. PT says that's just 1 of 5 here.
After talking to Dr. Wu (someone I met last time), I was reminded that I haven't been back for 5 years already! I still remember it as if it was only a few years ago.
Halifax highlights:
Friday evening: Josh picked us up from airport and dropped us at Fenwick Hall
Sunday: Service at HCCC - it's smaller than I remembered and the only people left that I remembered were Dr. Wu, Josh and Calvin. Josh also hung out with us that day and we spent most of it along the harbour with lunch at the Harbourside market then over to Fisherman's Cove and Dartmouth for the evening. I haven't been to Fisherman's Cove before so it was a nice stop. Mich and j.w had lobster. The Old Burial Grounds were closed (disappointingly since last time, my friends thought it was creepy if I took photos)
Halifax weather is unpredictable. The forecast says it's hot but it turns out to be quite cool/cold so the next day, I figured it would be the same but it was hot today (thankfully much less humid and sticky than Ontario) and now we're as red as a lobster (speaking of which, this time McLobsters weren't available until Canada Day - j.w was sooo disappointed)
The people at the Tim Horton's (in the Halifax airport) asked Mich and I if we were Filipinos!
The security guy at YYZ asked us if the sheets where we printed our boarding pass on were math questions - we told him it was Japanese.
What most people don't know about me is that I only hold my chopsticks correctly when I am in Hong Kong.
After 2.5 weeks of travelling and after experiencing much turbulence on a boat and multiple times on a plane, I am glad to be home. I didn't seem to suffer from severe jetlag, which is likely because I regulated my sleep.
The itinerary:
Kitchener - (Calgary) - Vancouver
Vancouver - (Seoul) - Beijing
Beijing - Xian
Xian - Shanghai
Shanghai - Hong Kong
Hong Kong - Macau - Hong Kong
Hong Kong - (Seoul) - Vancouver
Vancouver - (Calgary) - Kitchener
Remarks:
What did I do on my trip? It felt like all I did was eat and shop (more eating than shopping).
The key to finding toilets (as opposed to squatting holes) in China is to look for the handicapped stalls.
I understand why people in China prefer simplified Chinese over traditional now - it's so much more easier to read and write! (though, I still prefer traditional).
I get the general sense that natives of China think that every Chinese revolves around China-thinking - one tour guide implied to my mother that her children should learn their "mother tongue" (that is, Mandarin) after learning that we were only fluent in Cantonese; I bit my tongue and refrained from saying that Cantonese was ours.
Thankfully, we left the region neighbouring Sichuan (Xi'an) and its affected areas (including Shanghai) the day before the earthquake happened.
If we were on earlier flights, we may have experienced plane trouble. Thank God that wasn't us.
Weddings in HK seem to be drastically different than Chinese weddings in Canada (and more tiring - I certainly had different expectations). With the amount of energy it takes for a wedding, it's a wonder why people get married more than once.
Tourists ruin the beauty of historical sites, including the Great Wall.
Our tour guide in Beijing is either 26 years old, 31, or neither. He told my sister he was 26, and me, 31.
On the way back, I prayed that customs wouldn't ask me questions because I'm not very good at answering under pressure (see past experience ). The customs officer asked everyone else in my family questions but when it was my turn (I was 2nd), all she really said was how young I looked!
In other news, I have chosen to stay and will be transitioning to a different team effective Monday. My new title? User Experience Analyst. While my current responsibilities are remaining for the time being, it allows me to bring more focus to my role. I'm not sure how to go about explaining to people what it is I do to those who may not be familiar with the industry (much less in Chinese if I can't even do it in English - I had a hard time telling people what I did while in HK).
As a part of the election campaign (and a promise kept), the Premier of Ontario introduced a new provincial holiday that started this year: Family Day. Instead of spending time with family (too far), I joined some friends on a short weekend trip to Ottawa (Winterlude) and Quebec (Carnaval du Quebec).
A few highlights:
Weather: praise God for granting us such good weather - we were kept safe, driving conditions were okay, and the days were sunny and relatively warm.
Food:Elgin Street Diner has never been my top choice in the past, but this time they sure got my breakfast right! I ordered one of their brunch specials (not on the regular menu): a good serving of buttermilk pancakes (with no baking soda aftertaste) accompanied with fresh cut strawberries, kiwis, and banana slices with real maple syrup on the side for $8.99. On the regular menu, the pancakes alone are around that price and with fresh fruit is an additional $1.50 (and who knows if they are referring to fresh canned/syrup fruit or not).
And, as always, I enjoyed my experience at Siam Bistro (although the service was quite laid back - slow.) I am glad that we were finally able to visit it after so many failed attempts (including when they were rebuilding because of a fire).
Lunch at Local Heroes and the restaurant in Quebec was a little pricey and a slight disappointment, but it gave j.w his poutine fix :). I figured to order a French Onion soup in Quebec, since it is "French" and while it was good (and not too salty), I'm not sure that it was worth $8. The ham, brie and apple sandwich ($7) I ordered at a local deli was incredibly good, considering I'm not a big fan of cold sandwiches. The ham was not the typical cold cut deli ham; it had the texture of smoked ham.
Bonhomme:
After seeing the Bonhomme referenced in all my French books throughout high school, we finally got to meet him in person. I was rather surprised that he speaks, and at his popularity! People following him wherever he went, crowding close so that they can get a glimpse of him and to shake or touch his hand. Comparatively, I cannot begin to imagine how many more Jesus came in contact with and its no wonder he sought out solitude. The Carnaval was a little smaller than I had imagined and Old Quebec sure isn't as nice as it was in the autumn; it's rather grey and dismal with the slushy roads and dripping ice and the brick buildings give a colder feel to the area.
Friends:
Spending time with good company, whether with the locals or with the travellers really makes a difference!
Were the long rides and short stays worthwhile? I would say so!
Bonjour! Almost everywhere I went in the past week, we were greeted with a friendly bonjour. Sometimes, when I replied with a bonjour back, they would then spurt off into a string of foreign words. Perhaps they were more forgiving seeing that we are Asian and that there were tons of Japanese tourists around, so they let us respond in English without too much attitude.
After almost 10 years of me being here, my parents came to visit for the first time. Because there is only a limited things to do as a tourist in Waterloo, we took a road trip together, starting with Buffalo and ending with Waterloo. Impressions and summaries are below:
Buffalo: short line up at the borders even though the dollar was on par! Spent $270 across 4 of us and didn't get taxed at the border. Found out that if you have a express border pass, there is this one border 5 minutes away from the Rainbow Bridge crossing that allows you to go through without having to stop and minimal to no wait time (we didn't qualify for that).
Niagara Falls: Fallsview Casino no longer has free parking, even if you dine there. You need to spend a minimum on your card (gambling), but when asked what this "minimum" is, they do not know. We tried to spend 50 cents on the slots, won back 75 cents, and still did not get free parking. The Golden Lotus is a great value and one of the better Chinese buffets in Canada that I have had in awhile (being one who isn't too fond of sweets, I went to the dessert table three times)!
Montreal: Having been here two weeks back, I found it much easier to navigate around the city. Sleeping here was peaceful as we had a 2 bedroom suite, but j.w's blanket had what looked like to be fresh blood (what's with Montreal accommodations and blood?). Apart from the traditional Montreal must-have foods (crepes, Montreal bagels, Schwartz), the preserved vegetables, shredded duck vermicelli soup in Chinatown was really good (me thinks it was @ Restaurant Beijing) - only available on the Chinese menu, not the English/French one (when the server heard us speaking in Chinese, they gave us the Chinese menu). The Lantern Festival at the Jardin Botanique was worth the admission price to the garden alone.
Quebec (City): The Quebecois don't seem to pronounce the "re"s when they say "quatre" (sounds like cat) or "timbre" (sounds like temp)...once you venture outside Old Quebec's walls, some people know very little English - they had the hardest time understanding what "postal stamps" meant; this was a time when my French phrasebook would've helped, especially since that word was in there! By the end of the 4 days there, I was able to understand more than when I had arrived - so perhaps, if I stayed there for a month, I would be able to keep a conversation going. This was my favourite segment of the trip: the leaves were an assortment of gold, orange, and reds, and walking around town just felt peaceful - and beautiful. I could've done without the experience of the 4-star hotel having no running water for a night!
Montreal: Passed through to pick up 3 lbs of Schwartz's for friends.
Ottawa: Thanksgiving with family! Just driving around Orleans often brought me flashbacks to my first summer in Ottawa - remembering the days with SilQ, Marcy, Dom (the only ones I knew that lived that far as well). They changed the Canadian Hall/Exhibit at the Museum of Civilization a bit, but I still enjoyed it as usual.
Rockport/Boldt Castle (1000 Islands): Encountered bus loads of Chinese tourists. The inside of the castle is more run down than what I had remembered - rather disappointing. Especially since the outside of the playhouse was also closed (due to construction). At least we took some pictures. Prior to this, took the advice of my friend Lynn and filled up gas in the cheapest town on the way for 87.1c/L.
The Big Apple: On the way back, we stopped at the Big Apple to pick up some pies. They were also bus loads of Chinese tourists, so many that pies were running out! Stuck in traffic from 1000 Islands to Toronto: took 4 hours, instead of 2+.
Lessons learned? Learn French. Drive Aggressively. Get a new camera to avoid pink pictures or have Canon fix it. Have a big appetite.
H&P. At the last wedding, I had an infusion of Japanese and Taiwanese (Chinese) Canadian culture. This one? French Canadian Chinese. At the last one, I ended my post with "I want to learn Japanese!". This one? I wouldn't mind learning French either - I keep getting caught up with the pronunciation. I find it especially neat to hear Chinese people speak English with a French accent and speak Chinese with a French accent (and them not knowing it and when pointed out, in denial).
Last time we came to Montreal (I would use Alt-130 and use proper accent formatting, but I don't know if the RSS reader would mess up again), we had a semi-fluent French speaking tour guide/friend (who just happened to be P) with us; this time, we had us (though, on Saturday aft, j.w and I met up with a French speaking friend at were able to enjoy a pommes, canelle, et frommage suisse crepe and squeak by the meal without having to order in English).
The auberge (French for "inn" but it is more of an hostel) was better than expected, but more disappointing than I had hoped. But for $99 for 4 people in centre-ville (downtown), with 4 beds (two on the top floor, and two were in the attic that was connected to the room) and included breakfast, I can hardly complain. $7 for 24hr parking near the bibliotheque nationale (library) was a great deal as well. The inside of it was mostly renovated, giving it a clean, newish look, but my bed sheets weren't as clean as I had liked (and that was the clincher for making me not want to come back): blood(?) stains, a scab, and pieces of who knows what. They did make your bed the next day (though it was merely the same sheets). The service was friendly and helpful and even though the washrooms were limited (2 for 2 floors), the shower pressure was perfect (and soft water too!). I loved the breakfast: fresh, hot croissants straight from their oven: with melted butter. Mmm.
I liked the church's (a former Anglican church?) acoustics, with the high ceilings and all. H&P picked a great team: we haven't played together before and had less than 24 hours to practice and learn a song in French but I was really surprised at how well it turned out, and how well everyone else sang.
One of the more memorable experiences was when we stumbled into Marche Atwater looking for some chocolats that P gave me one time (and that I almost consumed in one sitting). Marche Atwater is an indoor and outdoor market reminding me of a farmer's market. French was everywhere! We spent a good ten minutes or so trying to decide what kind of chocolates to buy; one kind that stood out to me were les bluets du lac - fresh blueberries dipped in chocolate. 100g were $9.99! Crazy pricey, but worth a try. The rest were $1.75 ($2 with tax) per cube.
We stopped at Premiere Moisson on the way out - a recommendation from Jackson: a bread, cake and pastry shop. The line up was long, but efficient. I took number 91.
Keeping my ears peeled, I heard what sounded like 91 in French, gave her my number and ordered the "Choco-framboise" (which turns out to be a chocolate raspberry mousse - so good!). She asked me whether I wanted it to go or for here. I didn't fully understand her question, but like Doreen, I chose to focus on/guess the selective keywords I understood so I repeated whatever she said that was "to go" in French, which I guess she understood. Then later, I asked for "fourchette: deux" because I had no idea how to say the entire sentence :) Thankfully she understood that too and gave me the two forks I wanted. I am now contemplating buying the Lonely Planet phrasebook French for my travels to Montreal and Quebec City next month.
Kelly Goto started the morning off with her talk titled, "Designing for Lifestyle: Past, Present and Future". Parts of her material overlapped with the workshop material, benefiting those who missed the workshop. Using various examples, she compared technology in the past, present, and briefly suggested possibilities for the future and mentioned a few design principles:
Lifestyle design: design integrated into daily living
Past: Turing Test, Eliza, subserviant chicken (which I have not seen, but many have)
Present: lifestyle + innovation focused companies (e.g. Google, Apple, JetBlue); "web 2.0"; merging technology (e.g. GPS + mobile phones); moving to a new start-up culture
Design experience: practice + emotional (can it entice users to move forward even if it is not "usable"; is it "addictive"?)
Content services - designing for mobile devices. Take the youth market for example, in China, a youth from 12-18 years old average $89/year vs. in US $4900/year.
Design Ethnography (ethnography being the study of how people live in their environments)
Use usability groups. "How many people wash their hands after going to the washroom?" is a question that fits under a focus study (group) because that's what people think they would do, but put a camera in the washroom to record the actual number, and that becomes a usability test (group).
Future: Web 3.0?
Morning Session
After morning tea, I opted for George Oates (flickr) and Paul Hammond's "Web App2: Developer to Designer". Much of it sounded like a promo for Flickr but they did a good job tying in the two groups of developers/designers:
Front-end developer (I realise that's what I am): focuses on interaction experience, design experince, user experience using markup (e.g. CSS, HTML)
Back-end developer: focuses on MySQL, PHP, etc. (programming, database)
I was reminded of layers, the separation between content and presentation using a great analogy of a trifle (a layered dessert):
fruit topping: presentation (e.g. CSS)
cream: markup (e.g. HTML)
custard: page logic (e.g. template (languages))
jelly: business logic (e.g. PHP)
sponge: database (e.g. mySQL)
Because Flickr was used as examples, this also made me think of an idea to use GPS-enabled mobile devices with built-in cameras to capture coordinates on each picture taken, so to easily upload it to Flickr instead of using the Organizr to drag and drop it. (Went home, did some research and found that someone already thought of it).
Lunch
A catered buffet lunch at the rotating Vistas with a Mexican theme. I think we enjoyed the food, especially the dessert selection (it was tiramisu on the first day, mango cheesecake and "Chinese" desserts like fortune cookies on the second, and vanilla lime flan and chocolate cake (that tasted like brownie) during this lunch).
Afternoon Session
Dave Shea and Veerle Pieters (I now realize that I've been pronouncing her first name incorrectly all this time) engaged us in another cozy chat from the couch about the design process and influences, which somewhat reminded me of classroom material but interesting nevertheless as they shared anecdotal experiences with us (and so many questions from the audience) that they ended up running out of time; indeed, this session did feel like it passed by very quickly.
Ideas:
Creative organization: work environments (colors, location, space, light - apparently one can rent a desk and share an office with other organizations)
Organization tools: time tracking (iBiz), invoicing (FileMaker), planning/calendar/contacts (iCal/Daylite), sketchbook for creativity
Handling requests: definition of project scope, site navigation/browser support, number of templates, proposal, payment, "what's your desired budget range?",
experimental and self-imposed constraints (recommendation: only show 1 mockup to client so can put forth best work and thus will limit options; can improve on mockup)
involve client early on; level of detail will affect feedback level
Credibility and trust: rapid communication, email communication (easy archiving)
list in proposal: problem, solution, methodology (e.g. max # of rounds/mocks), contingency (if either party not satisfied, then what?)
Closing Keynote
Jared Spool closed the afternoon, and the conference with a fantastic talk about User Experience. I had never heard of him before then, but I would be glad to hear him speak again (he integrates humor in effortlessly, as well as some magic). When I first sat down, his slides reminded me of academic lectures (his slides felt more ... mechanical? ... structured? - hard to describe ... not artsy.); it later made sense when he told us that he was probably one of the only few there that had not designed a website before.
Even though he hadn't he sure had experience in the area user interface engineering (how people interact with technology) - HCI (human computer interaction) would fit right in. He used case studies to demonstrate that an effective experience design does not have to rely on the latest technology to be a success (e.g. ipods vs. sensa (latter has better technology but less popular); that, if you integrate the user and the business, you are on your way to sucessful experience design, which is:
invisible
multidisciplinary
cultural
and could be learned, but not open to introspection
"When it works well, we don't think about it."
The essential experience design components include vision: understanding where you are going with it (in 5, 10, 15, etc. years from now), the right people, and a fast feedback loop (get riding of notion of complete redesign; design in small chunks).
Evening
MediaTemple hosted a "legendary" closing party, with open bar and invitation to bring a friend along. I chose not to attend, partially because I'm not much of a partier and I had to finish up working on the publication at the printers (which I can now say it's finally done). Ended up at Shiro (Cambie and 15th), a good Japanese sushi bar that some Waterloo folks went to last time I was here.
Molly E. Holzchlag, whose last name I cannot pronounce (even after hearing it), started the Web Directions North conference off by reminding us of the error of our ways (back then, and even now - yes, even now I am guilty of doing some of these at my workplace), some of which include:
scrolling marquees
frames (do iframes count too?)
scrollbar tweaks
open tags
empty paragraph tags/elements and tables for presentational formatting
garbage code generated by software like FrontPage, MS Word, Dreamweaver
"best viewed in" resolution and browser recommendations on the site
*html hacks in CSS
content/text using images and spacer gifs
Although I haven't heard of Molly prior to this conference, and I wasn't too sure what to expect with a talk titled "Crime Against Web Standards", I felt it was a good way lead into the conference - not too heavy, and somewhat fun (if not funny) as there were "forgiveness" gifts for the worst crimes. She even showed us some clips from Erik A. Meyer and Neil C. Ford.
Morning Session
I'm not much of a backend developer, so I decided to attend Cameron Moll and Doug BowmanTantek Celik's session titled, "Design and Coding at the cutting edge". Cameron used his own website as an example in the session and spoke of designing for mobile devices (which I, considering the company I work for, really should start doing) and Tantek spoke about microformats, which I'm neither too familiar with nor really interested in, but at least I came out more knowledgeable about it than going in.
One idea that Cameron mentioned was chiasms (where abc parallels with c'b'a') in design such as print. I learned about chiasms in the context of parallelism in poetry and narrative, specifically in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). To see it apply elsewhere is quite interesting. The rest of the session reminded me of classroom material such as using typography as a part of design.
By the end of the morning, I decided to cave in and buy me a textbook. I chose Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Design, partially because the retail price was so high (and was then selling for $40) and admittedly, because the book was so pretty. Yes, I was captured by the colours, gloss, and the pictures (and of course, the content is relevant to my interests).
Lunch
A catered buffet lunch was served at Vistas with a Chinese fusion theme, with the restaurant actually revolving this time. This meal is where I again chat with Dennis (from Sydney, AU) and Rachel (a local Vancouverite), and Jason (from Ottawa) and Eric (Toronto) for the first time.
Afternoon Session
I have minimal interest in microformats as you now know, so there was not conflict in choosing to attend Andy Clarke and Aaron Gustafson's "Transcendent design with Javascript and CSS". Looking back and hearing what other's said, this was a brief summary of the workshop and parts of it sounds like what is in the book I bought. I was excited to hear about CSS3 and the possibilities of what it can do, such as:
text across multi-columns (like newspapers)
zebra striping (odd & even highlighting)
This is where I realised the reasoning for using -900px (or some ambigious number) to carry text off the screen, which although hidden to desktop users, remains readable for screenreaders and such (accessibility), which helped me partially understand parts of a web site I've been wrestling with at work and why text disappears after it loads (not because it's at -900, but maybe because of the way the style sheets loads/is called).
Closing Keynote
Joe Clark, from Toronto, used the TTC website as an example for his "fireside chat" on accessibility and usability. While the modernist couch, fake green plant, lamp and bookshelf really added a nice, cozy touch to the stage area, short people like me couldn't really see the speaker, unless they were sitting on the side.
A couple of key points:
the TTC website was done in 1998 by an animation student and hasn't been redone since. There is actually a "fan club" of the TTC that meets.
Try to avoid using PDF, PowerPoint and/or Word files. Use XML or plain text instead.
Parts of the process: observation, ideation, evaluation, definition, testing, refinement(?)
Evening
Adobe finished the night by welcoming us with a reception. Unfortunately, I missed out on the drinks (though I did grab some hors d'oeuvres on the way out) as I had to run to the printers to finish up a publication that Alex and I have been working on. Finished off the night at Steamworks with its reputable fish and chips and their home brew root beer (which isn't too sweet so it suits my tastes).
Registration (sign-in) began at 8:30 AM, so I got up a little earlier and started the day with a tall cafe mocha at Starbucks along with a raspberry apricot thumbprint scone (which is pretty good) for my breakfast, as I knew I could not last until tea time (apparently, the Aussie equivalent of "coffee break"). The weather was quite nice - mild and dry!
I attended Kelly Goto's, the Iterative App. I did not initially sign up for it, as it was not yet available when I registered for the conference, but when it was offered, I decided to switch from CSS + Javascript = Magic to hers because I felt that I could learn technology on my own, whereas processes are better learned in person.
Even though I was not familiar with her work prior to the conference, her 28+ years of business and design experience seem to have showed in helping define what works and what doesn't. I appreciated that workshop had some lecture but also provided room for group collaboration and interaction, using hands-on experience to role play and mock up what real life processes could be like - which also helped us get to know other people at the conference.
Take aways:
My workplace actually use processes similar to existing models that have names!
Prototyping is useful. Although the handouts may have said that "paper prototyping is passe", we found that paper prototyping has its advantages and can be quite valuable: low fidelity, ease of reorganization and change.
I think I would've liked to see more about the iterative process (or gone through a mock process), as I found the latter session in the afternoon focused heavily on user testing (which too is important).
Today was the day that I found out just how poor the promised wireless access was at the conference. I tried connecting to the workshop staging area to download the resources, but trying to download a document that is 54 MB in size and getting 14.4 KB download speeds at best (when you could get on) was very frustrating. That was when I decided that I was going to throw my "live-blogging" plans out the window.
A catered buffet lunch was served at Vistas Revolving Restaurant & Bar on level 19. I was slightly disappointed that the restaurant wasn't revolving. This was also around the time that I discovered that the lifts (elevators) did not provide a good user experience either (oh the irony, seeing that we were at a conference that focused a lot about usability): the doors would open and close at random (or would not close), would arrive at the floor and not open (forcing the passenger to call it again), or would skip floors for no reason, even though the light was lit, or the floor would not light up at all because the light was broken.
On Monday night, I checked into the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside; they gave me a room on the 15th floor, one of the higher ones, but I was facing W. Hastings as opposed to the water (post-thought: from talking to a few others throughout the conference, I'm thinking that because we were paying the conference rate, none of us (if any) had the better view).
Retired to bed pretty early that night, partially because I didn't want to finish up on work work, and because I had no access to the Internet - even the open ones had weak or no connection from the 15th floor. The beds were soft, but I was able to fall asleep without any problems.
Pre-Conference
The flight to Vancouver on WestJet (first time with them as it was an option) was an "okay" experience - leather seats feel more comfortable, but the width of them seem narrower. Thankfully, we had no one in the middle seat so I had more room to stretch out. I also had a chance to "practice" my lip-reading, as I was too cheap to pay $3 to buy a pair of airline quality headsets to watch satellite (expressVu) TV on a plane! The former-retired head of the crew had quite an interesting sense of humor: he first started off with congratulating one of the crew for passing the anger management course, and I am almost positive that he said they were serving, beer, spirits, wine, and eyeballs. Furthermore, he ended off the trip with a joke (which of course sounds better said by him than I) that went something along the lines of:
A hungry duck waddles into a bar and asks the bartender for some duck food.
The bartender looks at him in bewilderment and says no, we do not sell duck food; we are a bar.
So, the duck leaves.
The next day...(*Repeat the previous three sentences two times*)
The next day, the duck waddles into the same bar again and asks for some duck food.
The bartender starts to become very annoyed and says, no! we do not sell duck food; we are a bar! If you come back again asking for duck food, I will nail your webbed feet onto the ground and make duck soup out of you.
So, the duck leaves.
The next day, the duck returns to the bar and asks the bartender for some nails.
The bartender looks at him in bewilderment and says that no, he doesn't have any nails.
The duck says, "Good, now do you have any duck food?"
See? Food!
After spending close to 10 days travelling “the Rock”, from the Avalon to the Western Pennisulas, I came back savouring the seafood, with a special liking for cod tongues.
Some like them chewy...
Many traditional Newfoundland dishes seem to involve cod, including the tongues of cods. One can choose to eat cod tongues deep or pan fried; eight to ten pieces are usually served with chips (fries) and scrunchions (salted fatty pork bits). I prefer them pan fried myself, as the flavour and texture are more distinct. Another interesting dish is fish and brewis (pronounced brews; the ‘i’ is silent), or its variant, fisherman’s brewis – just think of fish stew (fish and potatoes soaked with bread). By the way, as one fisherman told us, “fish” implies cod; trout and everything else here are referred to by their names.
Moose Tales
In many places, the best times to drive fast(er) in a vehicle would be at night. In Newfoundland, one would be foolish to drive after dusk as hitting a moose is quite high. Signs along the highway report the number of moose accidents for the current year. Back in 1904, some five moose were introduced to the Island as food supply. Today, the moose count is well over 120,000.
Some theorize that during moose hunting season, they flock to Gros Morne National Park, where they are protected, which might explain why an Irish and two Englishmen saw 74 moose on their drive one night. If you hit a moose going at 120 km/hr, you pretty much become road kill.
Mmm...moose. Reminds me of the day we pulled into a home-based café for an early lunch. We ordered two moose burgers. When we told her that her burgers were tasty, she replied with pride, “Well, I shot [the moose] myself!” Wow, I thought shop owners bought from local hunters instead of shooting their diners’ meals. She was kidding but she went on to tell us that her husband hunted the one we were eating, as she did not have the heart to go yet even though she had a license to kill. In some towns every year, applicants must win a lottery if they want a license for a season.
Other fairly common animal life spotted include puffins, kittiwakes, a fin whale (second largest of the whales!), a coyote, red foxes, and hares.
Deep Fried…
Fish, potatoes, cod tongues, onion rings, chicken wings, scallops, calamari – you name it, they had it. After awhile, all the deep fried food tasted all the same. The folks at the Long Range Adventure hostel (only $20/night) in Sally’s Cove recommended we try Java Jack’s in Rocky Harbour, a quaint coffee shop for a meal. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the lunch food so much that we went back for dinner. Mind you, the selection is very yuppie, Yaletown-like, atypical of Newfoundland, but we welcomed the change. They even got a mention in Where to Eat in Canada and the Lonely Planet guides.
Scenery
The scenery in Newfoundland is breathtaking, even with the rolling fog. Forests of tuckamores fill the hills along the coast; these are stunted and bended spruce trees, green on the backsides while their faces are stripped bare by the wind and the salt from the sea. At dusk, the tree tops glow a nice pink, reflecting the descent of the sun; the sun setting behind the horizon of the ocean between the mountains reminds me of the beauty of a Tofino sunset.
Trail markers and maps are hard to come by, thus making the experience even more authentic. The few travellers and hikers on the rocky terrain, along with the fog mist makes for a very eerie, yet mystical experience. On the forested trails, one would expect to see moose as piles of moose droppings are unavoidable. As I wrote in a journey entry, "the island has an abundance of trails; it would take days, months before one could complete them all."
One notable is the Skerwink Trail in Trinity East. Voted as one of the top 35 walks in North America and Europe in Travel & Leisure Magazine’s August 2003 World’s Best Awards issue (of one in three Canadian choices), the Skerwink Trail loops its way around the coast with sheer cliffs on one side and trees on another. A lookout point every few metres allow the hiker to rest and take in the view of the rock formations and the smell of the sea.The Locals (and more fish)
Tourism at this time of the year is just starting off and that is exactly how I like it. At all the places we stayed, we were the only ones. Many bed and breakfasts are owned and operated by retired couples. One man told us stories of his childhood in Newfoundland and his wife played us a few tunes on the pump organ. At Riverside Lodge in Trouty near Trinity, I came to understand the bitterness from the fishermen toward the fishing regulations. I had previously though that the five-a-day-no-license-required-fishing was great...for people like me, who do not fish much. But, for families who depend on fish, this freedom is only in effect for the month of August. Levies and quotas and commercial fishing also seem to be disrupting the fish population and the fishing villages. Will they become the hardworking miners, who at one point mined the whole of Bell Island for iron ore using candles for headlamps and who now have moved to other places because of work and finances? Overall, the local townspeople are generally quite friendly and warm; some of them, like bed and breakfast hosts, will get a chance to meet people from all over the world every year!
What’s in a Name?
Newfoundland is home to the French, the Norsemen (Vikings) and others with a variety of Newfie accents. Many places were named first in French, and then anglicized which would explain why some of these names do not make any sense. For instance, some say that the local berry bake apple (also known as cloudberry in other places) is from the French phrase “baie qu'appelle” (what is the berry’s name?). Others tell me that places like L’Anse aux Meadows is derived from the French, L'Anse-aux-Méduses, meaning Jellyfish Cove, but when the English came, they changed it to meadows because that is what they heard.
However, I cannot fathom how some names of places came about, including:
Come-by-Chance;
Blow Me Down Provincial Park; and yes, even
Dildo
Places with names, such as Clarkes Head, sound like they should belong to people but are missing apostrophes, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
The Experience
An experience of firsts of the sorts:
Viewing an iceberg up close (from Greenland!) and fjords (glacial gaps)
Sampling a piece of ice from the iceberg...mmm!
The consumption of a bottle of beer
Tasting bakeapple and partridgeberry dessert wine
Enjoying cod tongues, fish and brews, fish cake, cod au gratin
Sleeping at an airport is very tiring, especially when an automated announcement comes on every half-hour over the speakers
Spending two hours waiting at the hospital to have a doctor examine a swollen eye from a black fly bite
Using the guys’ washrooms at Memorial University residences as they are much roomier and more private than the girls’
Newfoundland is sure full of history that lives on even today. Now, Manitoba is the only province remaining (excluding the territories) that I have yet to visit. Maybe someday, when I feel like the prairies, I will go venture to the ‘Peg.
Roadtrip to San Fransico, California, August 24-31, 2002
Aug 24, 2002
I now know why I useta keep a record of my trips. I don't remember where exactly
we went anymore. Boo. Anyhow, we started off our road trip at about 6:30 am
(or perhaps even earlier) and drove down to the border in this really uncomfortable
Alero (Oldsmobile) (and not very powerful either). I was stuck in the middle
for the most part of the first lag of the trip to the point where my tailbone
(whiplash permanent damages) began to complain of pain again. We stopped for
lunch someplace -- think maybe it was near Oregon U...as we drove past Portland's
chinatown. Along the way, we stopped at a factory outlet and because the CK
store was closing, bought some pants for a mere $12.50 CDN, a shirt at Banana
Republic and some others at Gap Factory Store.
On the first night after a dinner in some hick town (where we got paranoid
b/c some guy asked us if we were from out-of-town and if we knew were the
police station was), we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Grant's Pass, Oregon.
My brother complained b/c there was not an indoor pool. However, this room
was a suite-style so we escaped from my dad's snoring :P. The beds were also
queen-sized, which meant that my sister didn't complain of me kicking her
and hoggin all the blanket and shoving her to the edge of the bed (unlike
the other nights).
Aug 25, 2002
In the morning, we were late gettin' out and thus, missed church. Not that
there were many churches to choose from mind you...However, we did go to Oregon
Caves and participated in a tour that lasted approximately 75 minutes. The
caves averaged to about 5C but we were equipped with light jackets to keep
warm :).
Driving to Crescent City took awhile, but we managed to arrive at the small
town (with beautiful scenery!) and had seafood for dinner at AppleBee's (some
chain restaurant). The hotel (Anchorage Inn?) we stayed at really lacked in
quality. Although it's noteably the "newest" hotel in town, the
rooms were dirty, the furniture used, and the service was really poor.
Aug 26,2002
On our way to San Fransisco, California, we drove through Redwood National
Park and through some massively tall and huge redwood trees. Kinda like Stanley
Park but much vaster in the sheer numbers of trees. Tons of Oxygen there i
suppose :P. We inched our car "backwards" through the drive-thru
shrine tree, which is this massively tall tree that has a hole in the middle
of it. 3/4 of this tree is dead but 1/4 of it still continues to grow. For
dinner that night, we stopped along the way at a steakhouse called Cowboy's
or something like that. As I'm not too into steak, I only say that it was
decent, tho my family liked it.
By the time we arrived in SF, it was dark so we checked in the Holiday Inn
(Golden Gateway--tho I don't remember it lookin' quite like the picture does),
it actually sleeps better than Delta Hotels, though Delta has a nicer balcony
view. This one lacked a balcony even tho we were on the 22nd floor (or something?).
Aug 27,2002
*yawn!*, apparently I kept kicking my sister in my sleep and hoggin' all the
blanket :). heh...anyhow, took the street cable car to the cable car museum
(and place where they run the cables). I never knew that it was the cable
underneath the cars that pull them along. For lunch, we had a meal at IHOP,
then browsed on Pier 51 (or was it 39--one of them is Fisherman's Wharf) and
took some pics and then I forgot what we did for the rest of the day. Agh.
Must've been unimportant. But it's still buggin' me...oh! we might've gone
shopping at the Espirit store, which was closing; it was its last day in business
in all of SF. Thus, when we got there, everything was 75% off, and then just
as they were goin' to close, they announced everything was $2.00 USD :) (so
works out to be 3 bucks CDN!). Even though they did not have a fitting room
(which they sold as well), I managed to grab at least 4 skirts (same cut,
different design), flowery capris (i hate capris but since they were 2 dollars,
i can use them in the house), and maybe something else, but I can't remember
what. =). This is all thanks to my bro who reaped the intent of street flyer
advertising. dinner...what did we eat...er...??? OHOH, I don't remember if
it was this day or the next, but we visited SF's downtown, which reminds me
of NYC b/c of all these really big-name stores, and had cheesecake (YUMS!
I had the keylime one) at the famous Cheesecake Factory--pricey, but worth
it! :) My mom had the firecracker salmon rolls, a very yummy appetizer too,
along w some really yummy iced mango drink! Tho' a late afternoon snack, we
had Costco hotdogs for a light dinner--to balance everything. At Costco, I
picked up a 128MB SMcard for my dig cam for a mere $75CDN! ;).
Aug 28,2002
Good mornin'! Cable car-ed to Pier 39 (Fisherman's Wharf), and took the Ferry
to Alcatraz Island (home to the movie, The Rock). I was skeptical at first
about the quality of an self-audio tour, but the recorded tour was very detailed--along
w sound effects, and testimonials from ex-convicts and wardens. Very well
done! Apparently, it's award-winning. However, advice to future tourists,
the place is sooo cold and windy; I was afraid i'd get sick! Thankfully I
didn't and lived to eat the food in SF's Chinatown. Apparently, the restaurant
we picked was a good one (X and Y's Lounge--X and Y being arbitrary b/c I
can't remember what it's called)--the food tasted good and many ppl came and
went. However, I think some of us had a stomach rxn to it anyhow. Ate in the
afternoon at a seafood restaurant in Fisherman's Wharf. The manager there
was extremely nice; after my bro complained that his plate of food was too
cold, the dessert (two as it's equiv to price of the meal) was on the house
:).
Aug 29,2002
Off to Oregon Coast! As we headed back home, we stopped along the Coast for
some dune buggyin'. The sand was sooo beautiful as it reflected from the sun.
The sand is soo fine and soft there too (my feet just sank in the sand)! What
a ride! Instead of steering our own buggy's (which would've prolly been fun
as well), we opted to take a guided thrill ride, where the buggy sat 6 of
us, and the driver would steer us up and down, to the max of 35MPH or slightly
over. Apparently, my dad wasn't too thrilled as it felt like a 30 min coaster
ride...*grins*. I definitely recommend it, and since we were in a 4-pt harness,
there isn't too much to worry about. The driver does this for the summer and
allegedly gets paid $9.00/hr USD plus tips to do this every day :). How fun
(tho I think that would be "tai chi gik" for me). We continued driving
until we hit a Fred Meyer's to eat lunch there (sushi) and explore a sand
dune and to take some pix. Yes, although my pictures seem to have sand dunes
in them, they were actually directly behind the Fred Meyer's hehehe.
Our last night was spent in Lincoln City, with dinner at Wendy's and some
shopping at the Factory Outlets. Continuing on, the next day was spent shopping
the ENTIRE day. First, at Lincoln City, then on the way back to Vancouver,
we detoured to Sea Side and shopped there (more Factory Outlets) and had a
seafood dinner at a local bar and grill, prior to arriving home at 2 AM. The
city-line of Seattle is soo beautiful at night (as seen from the I-5/interstate)
esp w the "needle". I wish I had my camera ready, but when I did,
it was already too late =(. And, that ends my trip. Phew. The week felt like
eternity tho'; it was nice to be home again :).
Friday, August 17, 2001
As we left the house at 8:54 AM PST, a white VW Beetle drove by and surprised
us all when we saw that it was a courtesy car from a car dealer. That must
be a sweet deal for the person who brought her (I'm assuming, as Beetles are
more suited as a chic car) car into the shop for repairs-unless of course,
she was driving a Beetle herself.
9:41 AM
A riced neon roars by with spoiler/rear wing, body kit, lights, muffler and
paint job. Very disturbing to the eyes and ears. And if that wasn't enough,
at 11:53 AM, we boarded a plane full of fobs (a big surprise here). One realization
came to my brother and I though. The Hongers cannot be fobs, b/c they didn't
get off the plane to land in HK, so does that mean we, the CBCs, are fobs
in HK?!
A small A340. I cannot tell the difference between that and a 767. But it
seemed scarier that a plane that is almost the same size as the 767 (the plane
that took me from Ontario to British Columbia), would carry me 12 hours to
HK! Prior to takeoff, I sneaked a magazine off the executive-class (I think)
shelf and shocked my mother into asking me if my "boyfriends" in
Ottawa were interested in cars, because it was entitled, "Car & Driver"-there
are some interesting things in that magazine. It beats the one on street racing
and car parts that my brother bought before we boarded.
Saturday, August 18, 2001
17:05 HK Standard Time
Heat wasn't too bad the first day. It kinda reminded me of extreme Ottawa
heat at 32 C (excluding humidity).
21:00
Dinner at some restaurant that I have never been to-probably because my grandfather
would have never approved of this food and "low classness" if he
was still around. I enjoyed my first quail from HK (since 98), and had yummy
"tong choy" (or "oong choy"), even though I just had some
before I left Ottawa.
I actually went shopping in HK. My first stop was at Bossini, where I proceeded
to buy clothes that actually fit me! At $6 CDN, the black cubic-zuchornia
(however you spell that word-in any case, they remind me of diamonds), strapped
top was definitely a good bargain! In HK, the exchange rate was on the average
about $5 HKD: $1 CDN. I can't believe that in HK, of all places, there are
actually people who rice their cars-whatever for?! By the way, in case you
don't understand some Ottawa lingo-like my brother, I will explain some terms
here and there: "rice" is the same thing as "soup" or
"accessorize" when it comes to cars.
23:00
Why, you ask, am I using army or Quebec style of time?! Actually, I'm not
sure. I think I picked it up in one of the mystery books that I useta read
and I liked that system because it's so unique and causes less confusion.
I remember that in Waterloo, Carey used it many times to organize cell group
meetings and all, and even though I had to constantly subtract the last digit
by 2, to determine the time, it kinda stuck.
Surprising, I went to bed by 23:00. I was tired. But not really jet-lagged
b/c I didn't wake up 'til the next morning (unlike in '93 when I woke up at
4:00 and couldn't go back to sleep).
Sunday, August 19, 2001
I started having dreams again. That night, I dreamt that that I was on the
verge of missing my third exam in the examination period. I was talking to
Jen (Waterloo classmate at one point in time and good friend), and suddenly
realised that it was the 17th, and that I had exams scheduled on the 15th,
16th, 17th, 30th, and 31st of August. I was supposed to be writing a geometry
test on that day and was freaking out b/c all of my finals were worth 40%
(sounds like high school!) and I had already missed 2.
That morning, at around 10:30, we headed to a Whampoa Alliance Church, a
small Chinese church that played really old contemporary music and hymns,
much more older than OCAC's style of worship. The funny thing is that the
name, "Whampoa", actually sounds more Flip or of some other ethnicity
other than Chinese. The sermon was considerably easy to understand, considering
I had my Palm with me with the NIV bible on it, and the speaker was talking
about the Prayer of Jabez. All I needed to do was to read my newly acquired
book, The Prayer of Jabez, a gift from the Billy Graham Ministry, to understand
the whole sermon. What shocked me, when I read the book, was that the pastor
took everything from the book, including the analogies.
Lunch at 12:50. I have never realised that a Chinese custom of reserving
a table is to stand behind a seated party and wait for them to leave before
you grab their seats. I've realised why Dom says that he's sick of Chinese
food-you can only have so much dim sum before you get sick of it too. Especially
if you have dim sum for breakfast, dim sum for lunch . . . thank God that
it wasn't dim sum for dinner! Although, we did go to a restaurant across the
street from our place for dinner, that DOES serve dim sum during the day.
:)
Upon arriving to that restaurant at 19:47, memories flooded me as I recalled
having some tea or some sauce spilt on me by the waiter in 98-that was when
I realised how effective Shout (shout it out!) was and I have been using it
ever since (great way for some advertising eh? :P). I think my grandmother
is a VIP customer there, because the service was so good and the waitresses
knew her name (well, last name anyhow). They offered tea 4 times, because
we were drinking sugar cane juice instead. Yum!
My sister, being a Broadway freak, decided to sing a song from Annie, in
the middle of the evening, and for the rest of the night, I had the chorus,
"It's a hard-knocked life . . ." going around in my head-not the
actual song mind you, but the one that Silq kept playing in Ottawa.
During that day, I made a couple of general observations:
My brother kept wanting to play with my Palm.
There are really odd-looking cars in HK, and cars that aren't seen here in
Canada, like the Mitsubishi Lancer.
Internet withdrawal is no fun at all. And even though there is a cyber café
right next door, my parents didn't think it was safe for me to wander down
there.
Monday, August 20, 2001
Another night of strange dreams including a portion where I was shooting at
people with a gun made of Lego, and another, where I was at a banquet with
a family (parents) I didn't know very well with one other person I knew I
think.
Off to Ocean Park we went. My third time there ('82, '93, '01), but this
time, we went with our cousins and my aunt. That day, I decided to wear shorts
(because it was very sunny and hot). It was a good and a bad thing: the good
part was that I was able to get a slight tan line (which seems to have disappeared
already), and the bad was that I managed to obtain 5 very itchy mosquito bites-all
at one ride: the Raging River. Consequently, I never wore shorts outdoors
again during my trip. The Raging River was located under trees (provides the
bugs shade), and it had really dirty water (nice place for them to lurk),
but the ride was fun-didn't close my eyes this time when we dropped! :) The
Dragon, which is a roller coaster boasting to be the biggest in HK, was once
again fun and this time, I didn't close my eyes for the loops as I did in
93, either ;). The Flying Swing is much like the one at PNE/Playland-very
calm and soothing. However, the virtual ride does not compare to the one in
Universal Studios, Hollywood at all! This one lasted maybe a mere 5 minutes
and it wasn't too "extreme" (too bad). One funny incident that almost
costed my mother her ankle, was that we were talking about bats and all of
a sudden, a couple of black butterflies flew around us, and I screamed, "BAT!"-heheh,
my mom freaked.
Dinner was spent at my aunt's. Her maid cooked up some yummy meal, and surprised
us all because when she first started her job at my aunt/uncle's place, she
didn't know how to cook so she read off some cookbooks that my aunt bought
for her (b/c she useta be a supervisor for the rest of the maids at some temperamental,
rich famous guy's place). I later realised how well off that area was, especially
with so many nice cars, and a somewhat famous singer by the name of Shirley
Kwan (admittedly, whom I have never heard) that lives next-door.
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
More interesting dreams. One of them I attended a small church fellowship
in HK and one of the guys made me feel welcome and asked me where I was from,
etc. etc.
Cold water showers are so much warmer than cold water showers at night. I
don't like taking cold showers in general, but I didn't know how to work the
hot water. I later realised that you had to wait a couple of minutes before
each tiny change of temperature would take into effect.
I accompanied my mother and my aunt and my sister in hopes that I would be
able to buy something while my mom was shopping for shoes. Unfortunately,
she literally stuck to the plan and for many hours straight, all we did was
look at shoes. Thankfully, I managed to purchase something, not exactly what
I was looking for (clothes), but oh well, a pair of sandals for $20 CDN is
still pretty good :). Thankfully, we got a break from shopping in the evening,
when we went bowling at the Hong Kong Cricket Club that my aunt's family belongs
to in Happy Valley. Yes, my aunt's garage alone in Happy Valley is home to
some nice cars: Audi TT, Porsche Boxter, a Ferrari of some sort. Others that
zoom by include Z3s, s2000s, and 911s, MR2 (not Spyder though). Skyline seen
in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Wednesday, August 22, 2001
I think I'm a l'il "Ottawa"-sick because my dreams that evening,
had Dom, Josh, and Marc in them. In one of my dreams, I figured that if "Melancholy"
didn't have such a depressing association with it, it would be a nice name
b/c it's 4 syllables in length and one could shorten it to "Mel".
Today, we went bowling yet again. I seem to only bowl well with a 9 lb bowling
ball. The unfortunate thing was that there was only 1 of those available to
be shared w 4 lanes. Everything else ends up in the gutter. Sigh :\. I don't
think I've ever bowled this many times in a week before.
We also went to the CityPlaza Shopping Centre and while my mom shopped for
shoes, my sis and I decided to explore the rest of the place and discovered
that the Disney Store had a closing sale and everything was ½ price
off the lowest ticketed price!! We were lucky (I don't believe in luck) because
2 days after when we went again, it was already closed. I bought a couple
of items, including a Mulan VHS video (in Cantonese) for $8 CDN. However,
in my AV ignorance, I didn't realise that the videos in HK could not play
in Canadian VCRs unless one has a dual VCR (which we don't). I also bought
two ¾-sleeve shirts for $9 CDN each at U2.
Thursday, August 23, 2001
Our family and my grandmother left HK early to take the train to Shenzhen
(45 min to 1 hr train ride). I think I understand why we like to stereotype
"big green" people-most have a less sophisticated lifestyle than
the average HK resident. If you ask me to go to Shenzhen again, I think I'd
have to think twice.
We stopped at a restaurant for some lunch. There, I discovered that using
tea to wash dishes in TO or Ottawa is nothing compared to what they do in
China; they actually give you a bowl of tea to rinse your dishes in before
they take the dirty tea bowl away. And I thought that was bad. The dim sum
is the most disgusting restaurant food I've had in a very long time! I refused
to eat the pork spareribs because my mom told me that they went bad, and my
shark-fin dumpling soup tasted like "soap water" (gan-sui). Most
people in Shenzhen speak Mandarin (and only understand Mandarin) now, even
though this was originally a place of Canton descent. Getting around this
area would be difficult if one did not know any Chinese at all. The maid (who
is 23 years old), at the place where I was staying, was surprised to learn
that I did not speak or know any Mandarin (well, "any" is almost
right considering China Mandarin is not what I know). I don't think she realises
that in Canada, not every "jook sing" is bilingual in Cantonese
and Mandarin. And if a "jook sing" is fluent in one of these dialects,
that is already pretty impressive in itself.
Shopping. Negotiating is not something I'm professionally good at-so I leave
all the negotiating with my mom. Somehow, we ended up negotiating a cell-phone
cover from 10 RMB (Ren Men Bi?-China currency is 10% less than HK) to about
6 RMB (that's around $1 CDN). In retrospect, I believe that we could've done
better. Ah well. It's only $1.
That night, we went to some cultural centre to view a costume poetic performance.
Many tourists from HK were there. Thankfully, it took place indoors (w mild
AC) so we didn't die in the heat. The mini bus system is crazy there! They
squished at least 50 people in a 16 or-so-seats mini bus. I almost suffocated
in there.
I can probably say that a missions trip to China was very appealing to me
until I went on this 1-day trip. I don't think I can stand having to live
without toilets for a month or so. Even though at some places, the holes in
the floor are flushable and are surrounded with ceramic, I'm just thankful
that I was paranoid enough to bring a roll of toilet paper w me from Vancouver
;P. Well, there's always Kleenex packs, but I don't like using them. The technique
of peeing in a hole. Well, anyhow, I envy the guys when it comes to this.
Friday, August 24, 2001
After spending a very hot night (the AC shut off in the middle of the night)
trying to sleep on a sofa bed (hard plywood board at the top and soft at bottom),
my mom, sis and I decided to leave early b/c we couldn't stand the heat (yeah,
I know we're wimps/high maintenance). There was a heatstroke warning that
day anyhow. I don't think we would've survived if we were to go the "Small
World" park of the miniature wonders/landmarks of the world.
Spent the evening at my aunts after s'more shopping. I bought 2 pairs of
semi-casual sandals for $10 CDN each (nice but they have heels that are waay
too high for me-well, at least I can now be at least 2.5 inches taller! :)).
Boy, is HK so much cooler in comparison to Shenzhen!
Saturday, August 25, 2001
This time, my dreams had Peon, Marc, Jon, Dom, and Josh in it. Peon asked
me a strange question but I can't remember what it was exactly or why she
asked it.
In the evening, I met up with Jen Lam at Causeway Bay after a morning of
shopping at Wan Chai (bought a shoulder bag for a mere $4 CDN) and an afternoon
of bowling. It was our first time in HK without people taking us around, so
it was an adventure. I took Jen shoe shopping (because I was there earlier
in the week when my mom was looking for shoes-the reason why she looks for
shoes like mad is because she's only a size 34 (4-5) and not many stores carry
that size) and Jen took me to the Hello Kitty Café to eat dinner. It's
a very "cute" café. Everything is Hello Kitty-from the tables/chairs
to the food itself-the "soy" meat in the noodles were shaped in
the face of Hello Kitty.
I think if I didn't meet up with Jen that day, I wouldn't have been able
to find such good deals in HK b/c we ended up stopping at U2 and we bought
the same pair of pants ($8 CDN though the price tag said $12CDN/$60 HKD)-except
she commented that I gained weight b/c she fits a M and I had to take an XL
b/c they had no more L left and usually, we're about the same size in weight
and height :P. I also grabbed one ¾-sleeve long-sleeves for $6 CDN,
and 2 v-necked T's (style like my white one but w/o buttons) for $2.40 CDN
each. :) I think she bought a T too, cept she chose one size smaller than
what I had (because I don't like it when it shrinks in the dryer).
Sunday, August 26, 2001
After church that morning, we decided to see the Whampoa mall, which has
a very unique architectural design-a cruise ship structure-very interesting,
especially when you can see it from the harbour. On the StarCruise Leo, we
were able to see this mall smack in the middle of residential buildings, looking
as if it was a scene from Speed II.
The StarCruise Leo-first time on a cruise. First impression of lobby area:
woah, this is like a hotel (somehow it reminded me of West Ed Mall)! Each
ship of the company is named after an astrological star/constellation, but
my brother made an interesting comment, "What about StarCruise Cancer?!"
as he noticed that his "sign" was missing from the fleet). During
that entire day, I felt like I was coming down with something because I felt
like throwing up because my stomach was quite wheezy-and during the previous
night, while my sister was warm in her sleep, I was freezing cold. It didn't
help that I still feel the ship move, even in mild weather.
During this trip, I developed an interesting theory on why I don't like airplanes
rides. I think it's because it's constantly rocking/moving, and one's enclosed
in such a tight space. Not to mention that whenever I fall asleep, I'm half
self-conscious b/c of where my head goes-if it leans over to the next person,
if it falls forward, etc.
There's not too much to do on a cruise ship. Internet access is $8 CDN for
½ hr and everything else (such as arcades) require money as well. The
only thing I did that day was "swim" (or splashed around -that's
more like it), saw a dance/acrobatics stage show (with Vegas showgirls but
they, thankfully, had clothes on in this session) where in one act, a woman
used a bow and arrow to shoot an apple off of her own head! Very dangerous
indeed.
Monday, August 27, 2001
Around noon, we arrived at Sayan Hainan Island, China. Our family joined
a bus tour to a big Buddhist temple. We made a bathroom stop along the way-you
know, the places where the tour guides and the company has an agreement that
if we buy into what they are trying to sell us (this time it's "lian-zhi"
leaves), the tour guides get a percentage of commission. The ladies seem to
be the ones that target you-they try to push you to buy their products like
crazy. Anyhow, I can't believe I went to the bathroom here; I had to endure
another "holy" one. See, if I knew that the temple actually had
toilets, I probably would've used those instead. Sigh.
Sheesh, the roads there are worse than those in Montréal-tons of potholes
that shoot you to the ceiling. I was really tired so I managed to catch a
wink of sleep because I was extremely tired that day. There was not much to
see at the temple. However, I did learn that they were starting to build an
idol/statue that would reach higher than the Statue of Liberty in New York.
That's crazy. Next, they'll probably repeat the story of the Tower of Babel
as told in Genesis. The vegetarian meal was done quite well though at the
local temple restaurant. Much of the texture of the imitation meat (soy) was
very close and it tasted quite like the flavour of the meat dish.
On our way back, the tour bus let us stop to try some "tea"-one
kind of tea they let the group try was made from "foo-gua" (bitter
melon). It tasted very interesting. There were other bitter teas that they
brewed, but after we tried them all, the ladies once again tried to sell them
to us-I can't believe that a can of tea leaves would cost at least $80 CDN!
By the time we boarded on the ship again, it was around 19:02. I was somewhat
hungry again, and during dinner, my sister and I ate a 3 course Western meal,
while my parents and my brother chose the Chinese set menu. According to my
sister, I apparently "eat a lot"-she said that I used to eat less
than she did. Well, if that is the case, I'm grateful for a high metabolism
rate then, because I haven't gained much (if any) for many years now :).
After an evening show at the theatre (which included a synchronised light
and music show, and an elderly lady in the audience energetically following
the cast dancing to the YMCA onstage-which was mighty impressive), my sis
and I decided to check out the small casino that was on the ship with my mom
in tow. As we arrived at the door, the security guards asked us "young
ladies" to step aside (you see, the age of majority is 18 there so my
sis wanted to take the opportunity to see something like this before she heads
back to Canada and waits another year). As my mother waited for a cross-reference
check (asked us for our access cards and called security office) on her kids,
my sister in a stage-whisper loudly proclaims to me, "But, you're 21!"
'Twas quite amusing because I don't think the security guard actually believed
her because he turned to take a glance at me, considering I think he probably
thought my sister was older than I was-and until the reference confirmed that
we were of legal age. All he said was, "Thank you," as we walked
off smirking.
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
This time, my dreams contained Melody C., and Ben C. in them (they are not
related. Melody is from my high school and Ben is from UW).
At 7:30, the ship docks in Danang, Vietnam and we disembark for another tour.
This time, we joined a bus/walking tour to the local museums and embroidery
shops/galleries.
Impressions of Central Vietnam (first time in Vietnam):
Many signs of a developing (poor) country/city.
Too many motorbikes/cycles/scooters zooming on the roads.
Driving a bus or any type of vehicle is like playing the arcade game, "Crazy
Taxi". Sitting in the front seat of the bus is very scary. All you see
is the bus getting so close to these bikes and most of the riders aren't even
wearing proper helmets (and to think that in China, we saw the remains of
a bike accident w the helmet on the ground and the body gone).
There are too many people on the streets trying to sell goods to the tourists,
especially to the foreigners (ie. Non-Asian) because they don't know how to
bargain with their prices/products. They know that it's illegal to sell on
private property, so they loiter around the building until we step onto the
street, and then they start hounding us again, trying to make us pity them.
Actually, I was lucky, I didn't get bugged even though the rest of my family
did (including my sister). I have a couple of theories on why: A) I followed
behind the Australians (so to lose the focus) or B) I don't look like I have
any money on me b/c I still look young. These peddlers are willing to follow
us around for blocks!
Food in this part of Vietnam definitely does not compare to pho in Canada.
Maybe we were not served the best, but the pho and spring rolls are really
gross compared to the Canadian Vietnamese food. However, dragon fruit has
a very interesting taste to it.
At this point, I concluded that I felt fat (for once). All we ever did on
the cruise was eat, eat, and eat. No time to digest. I remember that towards
the end, I kept feeling hungry 1 hour after I ate a meal, even though I knew
that I just ate. Thankfully, I don't think I gained any, if much. If I did,
it's only a maximum of 1 lb. (but unfortunately, it would be in the wrong
areas).
Back at the ship, we watched Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks and featuring
Helen Hunt (I wonder if Dom has this one). I didn't like it b/c I almost fell
asleep-the storyline went a l'il too slow for my liking, and we had to endure
1 hour of monologue w/o any musical background. I don't understand why they
chose to feature this film though, due to the fact that we were, afterall,
on a cruise and the weather was becoming stormy. Well, at least they didn't
show Titanic (although the drills they had at the beginning had life jackets
much like those on the Titanic).
Stormy weather. Not very pleasant on a cruise. I decided to be adventurous
so I went outside alone, but it wasn't a very good move because I almost was
stuck out there. The winds were so high (not to mention that it was starting
to rain) that the main doors were steeled shut and the smaller doors were
soooo hard to pull back open b/c of the air/wind pressure or something. I
had to pull with all my might. I think it was also around then that I decided
to go down to the Captain's bridge again (pretty much an area where you can
see the "cockpit" if you were in a plane) to see what it was like
up front. Guess what? They turned off one of their radars, and they were using
binoculars to see! I was like, uh-oh, that doesn't seem right. There must
be a lot of fog or something-glad no icebergs got in the way :P
During the evening, I beat my brother at the arcades (racing a Celica vs.
NS-X or something and out-cycled my brother on the physical virtual bike race).
I slept well that night, but most of my family members didn't because the
ship was rocking too heavily.
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Surprisingly, I didn't experience sea sickness, but my sister got mildy sick
and we saw the remnants of someone's breakfast on the carpet.
This time, we spent another $6 CDN on arcades (that's $3 each) and my brother
beat my choice of car (MR2) and beat me on the bike by 1 second or so. Ah
well. You win some, you lose some.
We docked and disembarked around 16:00. Does it ever feel good to be on land
again :). Oddly (psychological effects I suppose), on occasions, I still felt
the floor moving as if I was still at sea. After my first time on a cruise,
I don't think I'll be too overly excited to go on another cruise again. Firstly,
there's not much to do on a ship that cannot be done elsewhere on land (as
everything isn't free), you don't get to visit too many exciting places, and
all you do is eat. I think that because it's a Chinese tour group, that it's
also very noisy and rude (especially when they're all fighting for buffet
food).
Eew. I don't think I will ever dare to drink wine that contains dead, preserved
baby mice. That's what my grandmother has in one of her shelves. Gives me
the creeps even though I don't mind dissecting these rodents.
Thursday, August 30, 2001
During the previous evening, it started to really pour in HK. Even the ceilings
in our apartment started to leak (and annoyed me to death as I was trying
to sleep and all I could hear was plink-plink into the buckets).
I actually spotted the first VW beetle on the roads of HK today. It seems
like a rare sight for some reason. We spent lunch at this expensive dim sum
place with my mother's church friend from her high school years in HK. He
happens to be a taxi driver, and the last time we were w him ('87), my sister
threw up in his car on the way down/up the Peak b/c she got carsick.
36 guests came out to my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration. The bill
came to a close $1720 CDN (works out to be $47 CDN + $4 CDN "lai see"/
"hong bao"/ red pocket per guest). The cake (from Maxim's) itself
costed $1000 HKD ($200 CDN). What a rip-off, considering there was not much
fruit-filling in the cake and the texture wasn't all that good. I realised
that wedding banquets must cost a fortune then considering that there is often
a lot of guests, decorations, hired hands, and food and alcohol consumed.
That night, my dad killed a cockroach the length of my middle finger (at
least and much fatter than that as well). Thankfully, that's the first one
I actually saw in the house.
Friday, August 31, 2001
Yaay! We were finally returning to Vancouver today (as you can tell, I don't
like HK too much)! During the night, I ended up rolling off the couch and
was about to hit the floor if my suitcase wasn't in the way to block my fall.
I think I rolled over in my sleep a bit too far b/c I was dreaming that I
was twirling or something.
The plane ride back home was very turbulent. At one point, my stomach was
doing flip-flops (because I felt like we kept falling), and so I started becoming
paranoid when I saw the flight attendants actually strapped into theirs seats
as well; I thought that we were going to die. In my paranoia, I decided to
pray and ended up thinking of the results if I was to die. Somehow, I asked
God to give me the opportunity to give me a chance to witness to my friend
from high school even more. So, I guess I should taken whatever opportunity
comes to me since we arrived in Vancouver 1 hour early :).
That's my trip and this has been one long read (incomprehensive at times
I'm sure).
Thanks for staying this far. :)
Until next time,
This is L'il Miss Bo-Peep signing off.
Day One-Wednesday, April 26th, 2000: New York, here I come!
On the night before my flight, I had to wake up at 6:00 a.m. with only 2 hours
of sleep. One of my friends was kindly willing to wake up during the wee hours
of the early morning to drive me from Waterloo, Ontario to the airport in
Mrs. Sauga, Ontario, which took over a l'il o'er an hour.
My flight was at 10:00 a.m. and by the time we got to the airport, my stomach
was feeling a l'il funny. It felt like the time at Winter Conference in Three
Hills, Alberta, where we stayed up playing poker and I felt so sick on the
bus ride and on the plane that I was on the verge of throwing up into my friend's
lap (but he didn't know that . . . ;P). And also the time when my stomach
felt funny right before I fainted in front of the washroom door, and then
embarrassingly in front of Uncle Charles and Uncle Kai (and almost everyone
of you, came to visit me in Pastor Joel's office). This time, I didn't even
finish the apple fritter from Tim Hortons or my 50 cents bottled water from
Costco, which was supposed to be my breakfast. All I did on the plane was
sleep, ignoring the muffins and the drinks that they gave out. The plane seating
arrangement was amazing! I think the plane itself was almost empty. Many weren't
squished at all. I had a whole row to myself-all three seats! I could've slept
horizontally but I didn't want to be the l'il kid that I already am. :)
I imagine that the flight was 1 hr and 26 mins long and by the time I got
there, it was a l'il past 11:30 a.m. My luggage came onto the carousel quite
quickly and so did everyone else's, and Vonne and her "uncle"(family
friend), Uncle Peter, were already waiting for me. We drove from La Guardia,
New York (from hereon termed, NY) to Short Hills, New Jersey (NJ) into a mall
and ate at Johnny Rocket(s), a place like Mel's Diner in Waterloo. Uncle Peter
treated us. That mall is high class, perfect for HM people (that's high maintenance
for you)! We didn't buy a single thing there because all it sold was DKNY,
Guess, Gucci, Nine West, Jones NY, the list goes on and on. The washrooms
were even a l'il too comfortable. Besides being clean, with 2-ply soft toilet
paper, and softly thick good quality paper towels, there were couches for
you to sit on (and you know what I discovered? It seems like sour-keys [the
gummy sour candy] doesn't exist in the States. I tried looking all over NY
and NJ for them but to no avail).
OH yeah! I definitely recommend this book, which I found in the mall at Short
Hills, to Carey (a.k.a. "Liang Chai"). He is a HS friend of mine
(don't ask me what HS means [and it doesn't mean 'high school' in this context]
but it definitely applies to him if you know him): The Gas We Pass. I think
I will buy it from Amazon using my $100 gift certificate (to see the reviews,
please go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0916291529/qid%3D957323133/103-7444639-9361461).
Because the reviews are so good, I might also even get Everyone Poops, All
About Scabs, The Hole in Your Nose, or Breasts . . .
At 6:15 p.m., Uncle Peter came and picked us up from the mall (b/c he went
to work after we had lunch) and we went home to Morristown (keep in mind that
Vonne's uncle's place is Morristown and not Moorestown where my relatives
are). We proceeded to go grocery shopping for our breakfasts, which consisted
of cranberry-orange muffins, creamcheese and bagel, and of course, Tropicana
OJ (that's orange juice, not OJ Simpson).
Dinner was extravagant (in a university student's eyes), a seafood dinner
worth at least $25 Canadian at a local restaurant. Once again, he treated.
Vonne and I soon realized that a meal with Uncle Peter would cost that much
and it wasn't a big deal for him. I had so much seafood within the 4 days
in NY! He even was going to treat us to Miss Saigon ($40 USD) but Vonne didn't
let him (that's another story for later)J. By the time we got home that night,
it was quite late so we unpacked and planned for the following day, I watched
the Simpsons on Fox, and called it a night.
Day Two-Thursday, April 27th, 2000: Uptown, NY
Yawn, what an early morning. Vonne set her alarm to wake us up at 7:05 a.m.
instead of 8:35 a.m. by accident. So I "opened" the lamp, thinking
that it was time for us to get up, and thinking that a light in a dark basement
would sure wake Vonne up. 5 minutes later, when I turned to look at the clock,
it said 7:05 a.m., so I woke Vonne up and made her change the alarm to 8:35
a.m. When it really was 8:35 a.m., we woke up and got ready to catch the train
to NY. We got out of the house by 9:55 a.m. and practically had to run to
catch the 10:10 a.m. train. By the time we got there, it just pulled up to
the station. I think Uncle Peter had forgotten that we weren't marathon runners
like he was, so he didn't take into account that we walk relatively slow.
I've never been in a passenger train before, with real conductors and all,
but I imagine that this was similar to Lower Mainland's Westcoast Express
but less fancy. It cost us $10.25 round trip NJ-NY. It brought us to Penn
(short for Pennsylvania) Station near Madison Square Garden. From there, we
walked to the Empire State Building and waited in line for hours. First, to
buy tickets (the CityPass was for 6 attractions for the price of $32.00, which
would save us 50% in comparison to purchasing them separately), then to line
up to go up to the 86th floor and to the 107th floor observation decks. By
the time we finished, we had spent at least 3 hrs in that building alone.
My recommendation for future visitors is to go there early, and don't go on
the week of Spring Break (for NY/NJ non-post-secondary students). We took
a lot of pictures so when we develop them, we'll tell you more stories.
Walking from the Empire State Building to Times Square didn't take us too
long, although there were a number of streets. There were many stores to distract
us along the way. Especially one in particular, The Disney Store. I spent
most of my "souvenir(s)" money in those stores alone J. Times Square
was bigger than I imagined it to be, with flashy lights and HDTV ads! Vonne
and I were really good at hiding the fact that we were visitors. We would
hide in the corner of stores to look at the map and took pictures only in
tourist attractions, rarely, if ever, on the streets. After a lunch at McDonald's,
we discovered precious treasure!
The visitor's information center in Times Square had a YAHOO! Internet terminal.
There was actually a line-up for people to surf the net, and to check e-mail
on 5 terminals. The sixth terminal took your photo and sent it to the e-mail
address that you specified. Both Vonne and I now think that it's a gimmick,
because we had sent two, both on separate days, and nothing has arrived in
our inboxes since. We hypothesize that they just want your e-mail addresses
to add to their mass "junk" e-mail list. We are both very disappointed
:( .
After spending enough time doing our e-mailing and photo-taking, we decided
to saunter off to Rockefeller Plaza. My sister's friend wanted a Conan O'Brien
cap, so we decided to go wander around the NBC store to try and find a clean
cap for him. Well, there wasn't one, but I bought it anyway, considering he
really wanted it, and it wasn't my money anyway :). On our way, we passed
St. Patrick's Cathedral, a big Catholic church where they allow visitors to
go in, make a candle offering, pray, or even take pictures and tour the building.
We have some pictures of that too. What I noticed however, was that Catholics
don't remind me of Protestant/Evangelical Christians (what Vonne and I are)
at all. They have so many statues and pictures and stuff to pray to and make
candle offerings to, that it doesn't make any sense, which saddens me.
By the time we were done, we had to catch the train back to NJ. So we walked,
no, ran back to Penn Station (because we kind of walked too slowly in the
beginning). We had plenty of exercise for the day. Dinner? Well, it was kind
of with the late lunch we had, but we bought a Cajun chicken burger at McDonald's
for $1 each and ate it at home, along with some ice cream, chips, Tropicana,
and mango. We planned for Friday, and went to bed.
Day Three-Friday, April 28th, 2000: Downtown, NY
We woke up earlier than the last so we could catch the train from Summit?/Harrison?,
NJ to the ferry in Hoboken?/Newark?, NJ. Maybe Vonne would remember, because
I think she still has the maps. Thankfully, we decided to take the train to
the ferry instead of to Penn Station like the previous day, because there
was a derailment that morning, and all trains went to the ferry terminal anyway.
If we were to go uptown from the ferry point the previous day, we'd be completely
lost. I think that God kept a close watch over us, and gave us everything
to our advantage including sunshine. Apparently, there hasn't been a sunny
weekend (and following week) in 6 weeks J! The 1-way trip on the train costed
us $5.00 and the ferry was $2.00. We ended up being very lost at first because
we forgot the map at home L, but thankfully, we managed to pick up a map of
the financial district on our accidental tour of the New York Stock Exchange.
The NY Stock Exchange was crazy. I haven't seen anything like it. I wish
that we had time to sneak a peek at Nasdaq (as RIMM has kept my interest in
stocks recently). At the NY Stock Exchange, one was only allowed to view 2
floors-the natural gas and the gold/silver trading. Going in, we had no idea
what was happening. We could hear them even though we were viewing behind
a glass. They all looked like l'il boys screaming and yelling at each other.
Yep, we didn't see any women there at all. But that doesn't mean that there
aren't any doing that as their occupation; they're just the minority. These
people were circling pits and giving hand signals (wave in means buy, and
wave out means sell) and trying to communicate to each other. It's all a matter
of eye contact and mutual agreement. I would never want to do this! Too aggressive
and too stressful for me.
Heh-heh, we went to Barnes & Noble, an American bookstore, much like
Chapters (and yes, Chapters is Canadian because I haven't seen one in the
States yet, although I haven't seen Indigo yet either). The reason? To look
at the map to Uptown, NY, mainly to Chinatown. We memorized the streets that
we should turn at J. Chinatown in NY is big, but there isn't much to do there
unless you want to buy some fruits and veggies and such. Apparently, it's
one of the dirtiest Chinatowns around but I guess that since I'm so used to
the streets of HK, the streets didn't really appall me. However, the smells
did remind me of HK. But then again, certain parts of Uptown, NY did too.
We met up with Vonne's high-school friend Stella and her boyfriend, Michael
(?) for lunch in a café in Chinatown. The red-bean ice was really good
because the ice was actually crushed! Vonne and I were once again treated
for lunch, this time by Stella's boyfriend (you know what? We realized that
if we had paid for all our meals, we would had gone over our budget long before
our departure home. In fact, Vonne had budgeted just enough to take the shuttle
bus to JFK airport from Newark. We were quite fortunate! God really took care
of us and blessed us on this trip! :).
Those two ended up taking us to SoHo (meaning South of Houston-a street),
an artsy, cultural community (supposedly), but we didn't see too much there
except for this one paper shop. This particular store sold everything paper:
paper by the sheet, even by the pound. Mind you, this isn't ordinary recycled
or laser copying paper, there was so much selection of colours, weight, size,
and texture of the paper, that the choices were endless. The stuff that I
was looking for in order to do the grad invitations for CCF were all here.
Unfortunately, most of the papers were quite expensive K. Ah, oh well, the
invitations were done well with what we had, and with the assistance of Vonne
anyway J.
We were going to take the subway uptown again, but we decided to just walk
around downtown in case we had to rush to catch the train again. So we ventured
into another cathedral (I think it was called Trinity Cathedral) that looked
similar than St. Paddy's (as Uncle Peter likes to call it). We also found
a store that Stella and her boyfriend recommended called Century 21 (no, it's
not the real estate company). It's a department store that sells all brand-name
stuff at a discounted price. Stella said that we wouldn't buy anything, but
Michael (?) guessed that we would. Well, I was going to by a Pierre Cardin
($7 USD) leather wallet for my brother, but I didn't afterall because I wasn't
sure if he'd like it or not. But, Vonne after much deliberation, bought a
Hush Puppies wallet for her mother (so nice of her :)!). However, we ended
up running to catch the PATH train ($1 USD-isn't the fare more than quite
reasonable?) back to NJ to meet up with Uncle Peter for dinner. We somehow
seemed to have walked past the World Trade Center to Battery Park until we
realized that we missed a turn. On top of that, we hadn't taken a PATH train
yet, so we had to run to find where to go down to take the train and which
track it left on. Thankfully, we made it on time! J
Dinner was in Newark at a Spanish restaurant. We ate dinner with Uncle Peter
and his older sister, Auntie Betty, and her husband, Uncle Bob (?). More seafood
for yet another evening, but this time, I was rather cautious about eating
the Atlantic lobster. In Waterloo, I had broken out into a rash due to a still
unknown reason, and I had thought that perhaps it may have been the Atlantic
lobster from Red Lobster the night before. Vonne and I split a HUGE marina
meal that we didn't finish. It had clam, mussels (many!), shrimp, scallops,
and a small lobster tail. That was close to $20.00 USD and I was already feeling
bad for eating such a big meal. The adults had lobster meals worth $25+ USD.
Auntie Betty and Uncle Bob(by?) treated us thankfully, or else I would be
heartbroken over a meal worth $20 that I would have to pay for. But then again,
we split it so it was only around $10.
That evening, we tried rushing to the top of the World Trade Center in NY
(oh yeah, I can't believe that they charge you $4.50 USD for the toll to NY
from NJ every time!) but it was already closed. That's okay though because
we were going to L'il Italy anyway (a l'il ways from Chinatown) to eat dessert.
Vonne had strawberry shortcake and I had a raspberry cheesecake and Uncle
Peter had a very tasteful Italian dessert. Once again, he treated. It was
quite late by the time we got home, so we went to bed to rest up for yet another
day.
Day Four-Saturday, April 29th, 2000: Museums and Miss Saigon
The day with Uncle Peter. First, we went to Times Square, NY to buy discounted
matinee tickets. Actually, Uncle Peter stood in line, and he let us wander
around. What we ended up doing was going back to the visitor's information
centre to send another e-photo. However, we still haven't received anything
from YAHOO! or from Burger King yet (that's the story for Sunday)-I think
that I should e-mail YAHOO! and ask them if I don't see anything soon. Uncle
Peter ended up waiting for us because the line went through very quickly.
He got us seats close to each other (Vonne and I were next to each other,
and Uncle Peter ended up moving next to us after the intermission because
there was nobody beside Vonne) in the Orchestra section for a mere $40 USD
(50% off original price).
Hmm, I think that it was about time for lunch, so Vonne and I shared 8 pieces
of Popeye's fried chicken and we were so full that we had to ask Uncle Peter
to finish one piece for us, and Vonne didn't even finish her extra side of
potatoes. Ah, oh well J. 2:00 p.m. was the showing for Miss Saigon, so we
went to watch our very first musical/Broadway show (except Uncle Peter, whose
first one was Chorus Line). The show was quite good. I think I wouldn't mind
spending some more money for future shows.
After 2 hrs and ½ of the Broadway show, we tried to find LOAW Schwarz
. . . (or something like that). Apparently, it's supposedly the world's largest
toy store-the idea in Toy Story 2, and the store in Home Alone (1 or 2 I forget
which). On the way, another Disney Store kind of distracted us. Inside, there
were more souvenirs to buy, and more sales than the previous store (the goods
of the sale were all gone the following day, when Vonne wanted to buy other
stuff at the same store, so we were at the right place at the right time).
We proceeded to walk through Central Park (also featured in one of the Home
Alone's when he finds the pigeon lady) to go to the Metropolitan Museum of
Art. This museum is huge and quite interesting, but I think I enjoyed the
Intrepid or the Museum of Natural History more (which is a story for the following
day). There wasn't much time after we wandered through the museum, so we quickly
tried to catch a cab to the World Trade Center so that we could view the city
during the night. We only had approximately 15 mins by the time we got up
there, so we were in quite a rush. Thus, we missed the stimulated helicopter
ride (whatever that was) of NY and we missed some photo opportunities in the
WTC.
We took the PATH train back to Harrison, where we parked in the morning.
Funny, that morning, we inserted only 3 hrs and 45 mins worth of quarters
(which gives you 15 mins per quarter) in the meters, when we should have paid
for 7 hrs. We decided to risk the approximate 4 hrs until we saw that many
tickets were issued to cars that had meters expired along the way (Vonne's
uncle lost some confidence in the risk). We then discovered that one could
park all day for $3.00 close-by, so we gave up 3 hrs and 45 mins (and perhaps
even a parking ticket) to park all day :). That night, we ended up having
thin-crust pizza at home for dinner.
Day Five-Sunday, April 30th, 2000: Last day in NY!
Uncle Peter drove us to the pier where the Harbor Cruiseline left. Yep, we
took a 2-hr cruise (from 11:30 a.m.) of NY Island. On the way, we passed the
Statue of Liberty, many of NY's bridges, and the skyline of NY, which included
the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Financial District,
etc. We took many pictures, which we hope will turn out quite nicely :).
After docking, we went next door to the Intrepid museum, which is a retired
aircraft carrier that fought in 2 wars, including WWII (because a couple of
the ship crew are working there now), which survived bombed injuries. Aboard
that ship was a very sleek US spy plane and beside it was the only missile-guided
submarine that visitors were allowed to tour. However, because the line up
was so long (first it was 50 mins, then it was 1 hr and 15 mins), we decided
to pass up the opportunity. Too bad L. Sometimes, I wonder why Canada doesn't
have more of these. It's so fun to climb aboard a war ship! In my lifetime,
the only ones I've been on is in the States; I've seen one docked by Westminster
Quay, BC, but I don't even know if they open that one up for visitors. We
took many pictures too-silly ones. Unfortunately, the spy plane was at a bad
angle so we couldn't get a picture of it.
We rushed to the next museum via subway. But we made a detour on the way.
Burger King for lunch with one slight distraction. An e-video and Internet
terminal! Woo-hoo :)! So after checking our e-mails, we took 2 e-videos and
sent them out. Once again, they haven't arrived in our inboxes yet, so I think
I will e-mail Adobe soon to complain. Due to our stop, we were late in arriving
at the Museum of Natural History so we got in for free and ran around for
½ hr prior to closing to take as many pics as possible J. In an amazing
amount of time, we went through 4 floors of displays and managed to get a
general glimpse of the museum.
The subway station was right beside the Museum of Natural History, so we
took the subway to the Museum of Modern Art, but by the time we got there,
'twas closed. It closes on 5:45 p.m. on Sundays, you see. Ah, oh well. We
went to the Disney Store instead, and on the way back, we passed by some stores
to pick up more postcards and to see if we could find Vonne a Miss Saigon
souvenir. Well, she almost bought a T-shirt.
Notice that I said "almost". Why? Well, because we got scared.
We casually ventured inside a boutique, and all of a sudden, we heard screams
and shouts, and then what looked like the beginnings of a fist-fight right
outside the store. Even the store manager, an elderly Chinese lady went out
to try and break it up, so we knew that it involved the store. We couldn't
go anywhere, because 2 other ladies were blocking the only exit. So, me, having
watched too many movies and read too many books, pulled Vonne behind the pillar
in case anyone started shooting. Silly me J. Well, anyway, Vonne saw an opportunity
to escape out of the store when the 2 ladies escaped in a hurry. So we all
rushed out the store and the ladies said that as much as they wanted the shawl,
they were not going back there to get it. And as much as we wanted to buy
the T-shirt, we were not going back there either :( .
Anyway, all that commotion and searching for a Miss Saigon shirt made us
almost late for the train again, so we practically sprinted to the subway
station (well, speed-walked) and connected to the PATH train, just as it was
arriving. Dinner? Er, I forget what we had. I think it was a mixture of lunch
and the food we ate at home. Oh yeah! Vonne was hungry, so we dug out some
microwaveable frozen pasta (which looked like airplane food but tasted much
better) from Uncle Peter's freezer. That night, we ended up watching a very
old episode of Friends before packing our luggage and going to sleep (which
was very late relative to our vacation schedule-past 2:00 a.m.).
Day Six-Monday, May 01st , 2000 to Day Twelve-Sunday, May 07th, 2000: NJ!
Arrived in Moorestown, NJ late morning. Had buffet lunch. Shopped at Christian
bookstore. Every day thereafter:
· Shopping (everywhere including craft stores)
· Eating (including a meal at Red Lobster [my second time there in
my life!] on Friday, May 05th, 2000-yummy, more seafood!)
· Sleeping
· Reading (Phillip Yancey's: What's So Amazing About Grace; The Bible
Jesus Read-both very good books!)
· Beading (my new hobby J)
· Playing (piano, with cousins, etc.)
· E-mailing/writing my journal (the copy you see here)
· Relaxing
Note to my friends who have been praying for me during my
trip in Hong Kong: THANKS :)
Day One: Monday, August 10, 1998 (Pacific Standard Time); Tuesday, August
11, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
8:45 am: Becky Chan telephones my sister to say good-bye to her before she
leaves for work. That is my wake-up call. 5 minutes later, my sister comes
into my room to tell me to wake up and get ready to leave as my father had
relayed the message to Sheila in the middle of Becky's call. That's what BC
Tel's call waiting is for I guess.
I don't remember when we arrived at the airport but we got there safely.
Pastor Joshua accompanied us as he was going to take our van back to our house
for us. After we had checked-in with Air Canada, we had time for some lunch
as we knew the plane food wasn't going to be that pleasant. My family had
Burger King and some Fortune Wok (or some kind of Wok food) . . .I on the
other hand couldn't eat anything but an apple because ever since Saturday,
I had encountered a stomach virus (accompanied by a fever) and whenever I
ate, the food didn't stay in my digestive tract for very long (not that you
wanted to know). I shall spare you the details, but let's just say that I'm
thankful that I didn't vomit because I hate vomiting.
The A343 plane lifted-off approximately at 1:00 p.m. I barely got a chance
to sleep on the plane. I had prayed beforehand that my stomach would last
until I got off the plane and God answered another prayer! When I was completely
healed was another thing, another day. Perhaps that was why my appetite wasn't
that big (it was God's doing)--I only had 8 slices (or pieces) of Premium
Plus crackers and hot water as I couldn't eat any of the plane food (thank
goodness, though the sushi sure looked good). I didn't even have enough appetite
to eat the apple that we bought at the airport last minute that totaled to
(all currency is in Canadian) $1.00.
13 hours and 22 minutes. What a long plane ride, but to pass much of the
time, they showed some TV sitcoms: Seinfield, Spin City, some documentary
on American lobsters, CBC News, some music videos, and 4 movies (Aerovision
Movie Presentations): The Lucky Guy (some Chinese movie), Sliding Doors, Wag
The Dog (I thought that Wag the Dog was about a dog, not politics!), and The
Real Howard Spitz. They weren't supposed to show The Real Howard Spitz but
I guess they had too much time on their hands. They had music to listen to
as well, and my sister found a Christian Contemporary and Gospel music station
with songs from Avalon, DC Talk, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Jars of Clay,
and other artists I haven't heard of--they were the gospel songs.
The Hong Kong International airport was a big place! They had electronic/computerized
trains that ran from one part of the airport to the other (probably because
it would've taken too long to walk from one end to the other. However there
were many things that were still in the process of repair/construction (e.g.
a moving sidewalk). I also wanted to find the places where they had shiny
marbled floor tiles that when one looked down, (s)he could see the reflection
of people walking. If someone was wearing a skirt, one could've seen beneath
it. I didn't come across one then, but on the way back I inspected it and
I could see my reflection quite clearly. Thank goodness that I wasn't wearing
a skirt, just jeans.
It took us 1.5 hours to get home in traffic. We could've taken a taxi that
would've come to $60-$80 or an electric train and then transferred to the
MTR (subway transit) but that was too inconvenient. The double decker bus
fare for the family was $30.
After we arrived, our grandfather (you see only he was there because my aunt
and her kids went to China and my grandmother and my uncles were in Guam)
took us out to dinner but all I had was plain rice because I still couldn't
eat properly (yum). By the time we got home, it was nearly 10 p.m. but even
though it's not that late, we were all really tired so we went to bed really
soon.
Day Two: Wednesday, August 12, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
6:59 am: Pitter-patter . . .drip, drip, drip . . .the pouring rain woke me
up so I got up to adjust the air-conditioner. My brother also woke up so we
turned on the television to see if there were any Chinese cartoons on. However,
the only program that kept coming on was the morning news, which kept rerunning
even up to 8:30 am when we went to wash-up and have breakfast.
Because everyone woke up so early, we decided to go out and walk around to
see if there were any shops nearby that were open. You wouldn't believe it
if I told you that none of the shops open until 10:30 am at the earliest (but
they close at 9:30 p.m. or later every night)! We had dim sum at 3 p.m. because
we had to clean our apartment (it was just newly renovated). We then proceeded
into probably one of the largest HMVs in Hong Kong (and perhaps the world).
It had four stories with different types of music located on each floor. At
the time, there was a "crazy sale" so we decided to look to see
if there were any CDs that were by contemporary Christian artists. Since there
was no alphabetical order of the artists names in the sale racks, we had to
spend quite a bit of time flipping through each CD before coming across the
Newsboys single, 'Take Me To Your Leader' and Steven Curtis Chapman's, 'Signs
of Life' (I think my brother found both of them). My sister purchased the
Newsboys CD that had 5 songs on it including the 'Shine' remix ($2) and I
purchased the Steven Curtis Champman one ($10).
In the afternoon, we got a chance to watch a Chinese cartoon 'Ding Dong'
or otherwise known as 'Doramoen' (spelling?). . . I think it was until our
aunt invited us to dinner in Hong Kong Island (we live in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon).
We took the Star Ferry across the ocean/sea (?) and had dinner (which I decided
to take a chance and eat real food--big mistake). Their apartment is considered
to be one of the "well-off" luxurious ones. It had 4 bedrooms, 2
bathrooms including full bathtubs and showers with gas-heated hot water tanks,
1 big storage area/closet, a huge dining table, leather couches, cabled TV
(my grandparents don't own these you see), and a DVD/karoake machine (and
I forgot also a hired maid). They even are members of certain clubs (you know,
places where you may use the facilities for approximately $1000 a year). That
night, the three of us (kids) got a chance to stay overnight and I finally
decided to suffer and take this disgusting bitter tasting Chinese medicine
(which contains 50% alcohol, metholaumem, distilled water, cloves, nutmeg,
and other ingredients) in hopes of ridding that awful reaction I got after
eating (well, I think it must've worked because I was pretty much okay the
following day).
Day Three: Thursday, August 13, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
Um, yeah so I was going on and on about what happened but my screen froze
and I had to start all over again (from Day 3 to Day 4) and at the same time
I am watching The Devil's Advocate so I am really distracted. Anyway, I seemed
to have misplaced my notes until the end of summer and it was not until now
(December 19, 1998) that I am finishing my journal. So that morning, I woke
up at 10 am to the noise of the kids talking. I spent most of my time being
bored that day because my cousins had a private tutor over. However, we got
a chance to go to the stationary store nearby and I got a chance to buy some
signo milky pens for a good price. That night, we went back across the harbour
(via the Star Ferry) and went to a restaurant to eat dinner with my mother's
relatives. My, were the dishes ever small!!!!! Never seen such like them!
Day Four: Friday, August 14, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
After breakfast that morning, our family decided to go the science centre
except it was closed. You see, we have a family membership at Science World
and so there is free admission to other science centres around the world.
Because the science centre was still closed, we walked around for awhile.
My sister, being Sheila, who loves to shop (unlike myself), bought many clothes
while I just bought a purse (a purse? I thought it was stickers!) Anyway,
we went to the most non-Chinese place in the world for lunch: McDonald's.
However, the iced lemon tea in the McDonald's are only found in Hong Kong
(well not here anyway). A McCrunch was the latest trend (some pork burger)
so that is what I had. We proceeded to go to Tom Lee and we ended up buying
the latest hits music for the piano, flute, trumpet except the music were
not all in the same key which I didn't know then ~ oh well. We finally went
back to the science centre and quickly looked around-4 floors and I'm sure
some of you know that already since I was there in 1993-and went home for
the night.
Day Five: Saturday, August 15, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
The adults had a meeting so the kids were stuck downstairs in a room drawing
and reading and stuff. Wasn't my idea of fun but for dim sum, we were able
to pick what kind of food we wanted =) and so it was good for once! More shopping
afterwards. Again. The dinner that night was great. Well, it was hilarious.
We got stuck with some other kids that were staying with my father's relatives
at our own table. They were so annoying at first and they wouldn't talk to
us. Anyway, after one kid threw a napkin and hit a man in the face (sitting
next to our table), he cried. I didn't feel sorry for him even though the
man got so angry. I thought he deserved it. Apparently, my cousin did and
she went and tried to cheer him up. Soon enough, he was laughing tears if
you know what I mean. And once again, they didn't believe I was 18. Seriously,
who does?! One of the girls on my floor when they saw me thought that I was
16-yeah a genius. I wish. After our very interesting evening, we went home
and since it was my third uncle's birthday, we served him cake. That night
I think I went to bed early because the next day we had Sunday service at
8:30 am at the Tsim Sha Tsui Baptist Church which I went to 5 years ago too.
Day Six: Sunday, August 16, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
English service with organ worship and hymns except for Majesty is very different.
The chairperson doing the announcements was Caucasian but yet it was so impressive
cuz he was translating from a Chinese printed bulletin! Mom, Sheila and I
met up with my fourth aunt (the same one who has such a luxurious house) and
went shopping some more. I finally had a chance to drink some bubble tea ~
mmmmmmm . . .it's so good! Is it only this good in Hong Kong?! Anyway, did
I ever mention that Hong Kong has this really crazed fad with Hello Kitty?
It was really annoying. And I tried some "stinky" tofu-it's not
as great as what everyone says it is. It's kinda sour tasting. Oh, we also
went to buy some shoes for me. The salespeople all thought that I was not
more than 14. One of them didn't believe that even though my mother told him.
Sheesh. So I ended up buying (or my mother ended up buying for me) shoes,
jacket, and I bought a $5 nice T, some more pens. How come I don't remember
eating at a Thai cuisine for dinner? Oh well, if my notes say so then I guess
that is what we did. And we took the ever so expensive but-not-as-expensive-as-Vancouver-I-don't-think
taxi home.
Day Seven: Monday, August 17, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
This Monday was a very special day for Hong Kong because it was supposedly
the date that China chased Japan outta their country or something. Anyway,
we woke up at 7:30 am because the family was going to meet my mother's friend
for an early dim sum. Apparently, that friend and his wife were going to see
a movie afterwards, but I forgot which one it was. So we left them alone and
our aunt came and took us shopping to help my mother buy a dress for the banquet.
As the time neared 3:00 p.m. I think (you see both my watches were out-of-order
so I really have no sense of time), we decided to go to my aunt's club for
lunch. I thought since it was a club, the food would be pretty good so I decided
to try a shepherd's pie. Bad mistake! The pie was quite unappealing because
it had so much spaghetti-kind meat in it but the orange juice sure tasted
yummy!
In the late afternoon, we went home and the 3 girls (Sheila, Iris, and I)
spent the rest of the afternoon picking out jewelry from my grandmother as
she was very generous in giving away the jewelry she still had from the jewelry
store they own previously. Dinner rolled by again but this time, we had to
take the MTR (subway) to Mong Kok (but they pronounce it Wong Kok so I still
haveta figure that one out).
That evening, the cousins all decided to practice the El Shaddai piece without
the cassette player for awhile and one of the younger cousins also decided
to incorporate a VBS song as well. However, since the cassette player wasn't
bought yet, he was going to teach it to us the following day.
At last!!! The hot water tank was finally working (the construction people
were working at finishing the rest of the house during the day) so I was able
to take a nice warm shower instead of in freezing (not quite but close to)
water! =) And the ZZZZ!s came upon me.
Day Eight: Tuesday, August 18, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
Woke up. (duh). Sat around doing nothing after breakfast. Went to lunch with
my "dai" aunt's mother and father. Our family then went to a Chinese
Christian bookstore. I was going to buy some Chinese memory verse cards that
were relatively easy to read/understand but they were sold out and thus, I
didn't make a purchase at all. We went to a China store (i.e. a store with
stuff from China not made out of China) and I think my mother bought a pair
of shoes there. Formal family pictures were taken at a studio far away. I
am not patient at those things, they are too picky and they take waay too
many pictures. By the time we got there, I was all sticky even though I just
took a shower before leaving the house. Dinner was at 9 p.m. (grrr so hungry
by then). Dry thunderstorm afterwards . . .and that was the interesting evening.
Day Nine: Wednesday, August 19, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
Yawn!!!!!!! We woke up early -- but don't ask me why we did that because I
had forgotten that the science museum didn't open until 1:00 p.m. and the
art museum--who knows when that opened! Well, it's kinda neat though because
on Wednesdays, both museums are free! It was our grandparents' 60th wedding
anniversary so after breakfast, we practiced our performance songs: Oh God
Loves You And Me and El Shaddai. Anyway that is to explain later. The art
museum was very interesting and uninteresting at the same time. I don't understand
why they charge people money though, it's not worth it and I wouldn't go if
I had to pay. The funny thing is at the gift shop they sell CDs that are supposed
to be therapeutical such as a constipation-reliever. That is true! I am not
lying!
Went to the restaurant early to practice our songs. My sister sang like never
before and of course I was nothing in comparison (we both had solos for El
Shaddai). During the banquet, the kids had our own table and my grandfather
gave such a long speech in Chinese that I think everyone eventually got bored.
Because it was the last night before my cousins were to leave, they came over
and had a sleepover.
Day Ten: Wednesday, August 20, 1998 (Hong Kong Time Zone)
At 9 am we had to get up and "send" our cousins and their parents
off. We shopped and we went to a music studio cuz my father's uncle or something,
wanted to give a violin to my brother because we were looking for one and
he happened to overhear and so he offered one as a gift. Had dim sum with
them and got to hear more interesting stories of his childhood. He is a very
good storyteller. Shopped some more. Wow, so what else is new?
That is all I have down on paper, I think we left the day after. The End.
Phew.
PS. Watched Titanic on the way back (on the plane) they had sensibly cut out
the inappropriate parts.
A note to all readers: You do not need to reply to this unless
you feel compelled to respond.
This is L'il Miss Bo-Peep reporting live from Calgary, Alberta. In this assignment,
my journeys will be explained starting from day one to the day I arrived back
in Surrey, British Columbia.
Weather: Edmonton/Calgary, Alberta: High 34 C Sunshine with occasional Prairie
showers
Vancouver, British Columbia: High 18 C Heavy rain and overcast
Now which one would I prefer? Definitely this weather here! Imagine, I even
got a tan/sock line on my journeys (and trust me, I don't tan!). Gee, this
weather is weird here--in the winter, it is so cold (even a Calgarian, Ollie
admitted it) and in the summer it gets this hot!
Week One
Day One: Wednesday, July 30th, 1997
Vancouver Time:
7:47 am The four headed out and after picking up Edelweiss sandwiches for
lunch, we began our travels on Highway #1.
9:36 am Yaay! My "wild" cows were there again! Which reminds me,
this ride out was much better than the ride to Kamloops and back (B.L.A.S.T.
'96). For one thing, I wasn't stuck in the middle squished like a banana and
another, there was no camera to take a picture of me sleeping. Besides all
that, I had 14 hours to sleep, think, dream, daydream, snack, write, take
bathroom breaks (not that you really wanted to know that), think and sleep
some more.
10:15 am Was snoozing away when all of a sudden, somebody up front yells,
"DEER!". Gee, thanks for waking me up. I turned around but it was
too late--I couldn't see it 'cuz it was too far behind.
11:03 am Welcome to Kamloops, British Columbia--Home of the Alanis Morissette
twin and B.L.A.S.T. '96. Pit stop for gas and bathroom break.
11:26 am Finally saw some sheep and horses.
11:35 am LUNCH: Guess what? Uh-huh, Edelweiss sandwiches in the car along
with my fave, British Columbia 'soft' water. Mmm. . .thirst quenching!
11:49 am Saw some other animals: llamas that looked like camels with one
lump (by the way, what are emus? I saw a sign that said that there were some
for sale).
12:04 pm Saw some goats--first on this trip.
12: 15 pm Hmm, there was this horse that kinda looked strange. I gotta draw
it out for you to see but the middle section was spotted like a dalmatian
but the rest was brown.
3:44 pm Went past Mt. Robson and not too long after that, the Great Divide
(ya know, the song that P.O.G. sings). Marie, ya know where I'm talking about
right?
Some where in-between this time, we stopped at Jasper just to rest and see
if I could find an inexpensive pair of clips that would fit my glasses.
Edmonton Time: (please note: Edmonton time is one hour ahead than Vancouver
time)
6:57 pm Finally, some close up wildlife (this is wild for real this time).
A family of mountain goats with 2 kids and one was crossing the highway.
7:03 pm Approximately 5 wild elk by the roadside except I don't think they're
quite 'wild' anymore.
9:37 pm How odd! We passed a directional sign that pointed to Camp He Ho
Ha. Why wasn't it Camp Ha Ho He or Ho Ha He?
Day Two: Thursday, July 31st, 1997
Of all things to do on the first day in Edmonton: SHOPPING! Sure, it had
air conditioning and all but couldn't we go shopping back home too?! Well,
at least the merchandise (meaning clothes) is a lot cheaper here--ya can't
get much for 5 bucks in Vancouver. Here, I got a ribbed-tee for that price,
a knitted jacket, and my aunt got a pair of Nike's (new leather cross-trainers)
for $7.49 without the GST. As well, we needed not to pay an extra 7% as PST.
Hey, in the middle of our shopping spree, we met up with 'Dad' and Doris,
Grace, and Helen. Boy, was Helen ever excited about the wedding!
Day Three: Friday, August 01, 1997
The second day in Edmonton was just like the first: SHOPPING! This time,
we went to the West Edmonton Mall. Really, what is there to do there unless
you plan on paying 30 bucks for the rides that seem pretty dangerous (especially
when you know that a roller-coaster car there became detached once and killed
some people)?
Day Four: Saturday. August 02, 1997
Helen & Zeke's (who's real name is David or Dave for short) wedding!
They looked so cute! PJ (aka Jim Cheung) was the officiator of the ceremony
and Zeke was wearing his Edmonton police uniform as his outfit. I met up with
Isaac Quan (aka ULCA Bruins) with some girl whom at first I thought was his
girlfriend. He says 'Hi' to ya Marie.
The reception/banquet was very interesting. We had a multi-media production
of how some couples met (Garry & Teresa, Richard & Susan, and 'Dad'
& Doris), some live entertainment from people like our very own Auntie
Brenda (who sang Faithful Friend by Twila Paris and Steven Curtis Chapman),
and dancing! The dancing part was fun for Sheila whom danced with Doris, Steve
and everybody else doing the Macerena (spelling?). The fun part for me was
standing out with Alex and Mike and just socializing with them and watching
my sister have fun. However, this other song starts playing and Steve and
Doris and Sheila drags me out to the dance floor. So I made a fool outta myself
trying to dance.
Guess what? I'm now officially related to 'Dad' through Helen and Zeke. As
well Marie, you and I will be a 'sister' to a new 'younger sister/brother'
pretty soon. Yup! 'Dad' and Doris will be real parents in half a year or so
(expecting in late February). They are already 8 weeks in. Who thinks that
the baby will be a girl? Doris and 'Dad' both want a girl but I think it will
be a boy. Don't forget to congratulate them next time you see them if you
haven't done so already! So, who's next?
Oh yeah, and I just gotta tell you about this guy I sat beside with at the
banquet (even though he is kinda 'cute' for a Regina person, don't take this
the wrong way). Before I tell you who he is, all of you should've met him
before because Doris and 'Dad' have brought them to our 'old' BCAC before
during the year of '96 (No wonder he looked familiar at JMC!). He didn't know
me but I already knew what he looked like and who he was from JMC. Tim(othy)
Wong is Caucasian but he looks more like a 'blended' kid. He's adopted into
a Chinese family so he knows how to read some Chinese and speak it as well.
Pretty impressive I tell you. He came from Regina so 'course he knows Rhoda,
Jemia and even my school 'friend' Carol Wai. I found out that he is the same
age as I am and we (Sheila, Tim and I--Josephine, his sister chickened out
on us) ended up singing a song in front of everybody to get Helen and Zeke
to K-I-S-S. The song? Our version of The Little Mermaid's Kiss the Girl:
There you see her,
Sitting across from you.
Looking so beautiful,
You know she wants you.
She won't say the words,
Not a single word,
Until you
Kiss the girl
Sha-la la la my oh my,
Time will fly,
Until you kiss the girl.
Or you will miss the girl.
Anyway, that was my day -- the number one highlight of this trip -- that was
the main purpose of the trip anyway so I'm glad that I enjoyed it the most.
Remember, next year on this very day is their first anniversary: it’s
paper!
Day Five: Sunday, August 03, 1997
Sunday Morning Service: 11:00 am
Edmonton Chinese Alliance Church ('oy sing wah yun suen dao wui')
Hey, I actually saw a person I knew there. 'Course like the way I knew Tim,
she didn't even recognize me. Actually the only way I know her is through
massive observations during JMC. I took note who was who and she stood out
the most because she was from my floor and not to be mean or anything, she
reminded me of a guy (her haircut) the first time I saw her in the ladies
washroom. Daniel, thanks for talking to Hannah and silently confirming to
me that she indeed was not a guy during JMC. Well, this time I knew that she
was a girl for sure even if I hadn't seen her at JMC because she was wearing
a dress. All right, who knows which church Jonathan Lim (or was it Lin) goes
to (in case you need refreshing, he was at WC '96)? I know I couldn't get
a chance to call him even if I wanted to because he was in Malaysia (or was
it Hong Kong?).
After service, we went to Helen and Zeke's gift opening at their 'new' place.
There I found out one thing that was very interesting, Tim Wong is actually
related to 'Dad' in a way too which means I'm 'related' to so many people
that it's beginning to get confusing (but it's neat to think about it). Now
you see why I told you not to think anything was going on before.
That night in Edmonton, we went to Cheesecake's Cafe for dessert and boy,
I saw this huge Black Forest cake and right away, I thought, 'Boy, would Daniel
love to eat this!' The cake was at least 5 inches high and 2 inches wide per
slice. It came with fresh whipped cream and with what looked like real cherry
filling and chocolate filings sprinkled on top. I didn't order that 'cuz I
figured that if I was here at a cheesecake place, I should order cheesecake--and
yup, I ended up ordering a raspberry-peach cheesecake. Mmm. . .
On that night, I discovered a mosquito bite! Aagh! It itched like crazy and
all that calamine lotion did not help it one bit! Maybe I got it from gazing
up in the night sky looking at the Big Dipper and catching a glimpse of a
falling star (it was probably a falling satellite though).
Day Six: Monday, August 04, 1997
Did I ever tell you that there are some theatres like A Theatre Near You
here in Edmonton? The movies that were showing there at that time included
Jurassic Park: The Lost World, A Simple Wish, Liar! Liar!, and Speed II: Cruise
Control. The daily matinees are for $1.50 (don't forget, it is without PST
too!), evenings are for $2.00 and midnight shows are for $3.00. Tuesdays are
the best deal--for the whole day, it costs only $1.00 for a movie!
Anyway, we started this day off with breakfast at some place with Kitty &
Kevin this time. It served pancakes as big as the plate and it was very filling!
Guess where we went next? For those who guessed SHOPPING, congratulations!
You deserve a shopping award! We went to Winners and got some more clothes
and to Staples to buy myself another purple pen (another good deal). I also
wanted to go to Blessings Christian Marketplace but they had already driven
me to the places my sister and I wanted to go and they were very tired (and
I think bored).
After we got tired of shopping and when the sun decided to 'calm' down for
a bit, we decided to check out Heritage Day at a park in Edmonton. We thought
that it was going to be very interesting 'cuz everybody was talking about
it but all it had was expensive food from different countries around the world
and music. The Pacific National Exhibition Fair is much better even though
we have to pay an admission fee to get in.
We ended up going golfing (well, semi-golfing) in the evening 'cuz my uncle
and his brother are golf fanatics. So I ended up being taught how to 'drive'
a golf ball. Well, really how to swing a golf stick (I don't think that's
what you call 'em but I can't think of the proper term for it right now) and
hit a ball from the tee. I always thought that golf was boring, especially
to watch it and well, after experiencing it, I still can't see what the big
'wow' is even though it is less boring when you're playing it.
Day Seven: Tuesday, August 05, 1997
Most of you probably know that our family has a Science World membership.
Being a member at Science World gives us many advantages, including getting
into 180 different science centres around the world, which means I had to
take advantage of that and get in for absolutely free at the Edmonton Space
and Science Centre. Comparing with Vancouver's own science centre, it is nothing!
The only thing that was 'better' in a sense was the planetarium's dome screen
which proudly boasted to be the biggest and tallest in North America (well,
Canada at least). So while my sister and I were roaming around there for 2
hours, my aunt and uncle visited this dinky l'il museum that took 1 hour to
find and 3 minutes to look at. I now see why that they only accepted 'donations'.
Guess what? For those who knew that I said that we went SHOPPING again, you
are right again! You deserve a 'gold' shopping award! We went into a quieter
mall and that is where we got the Nike deal I mentioned before.
In the evening, we went to visit our family friend. They have this one girl
who is in grade two and boy, she's like this every time I see her, she is
attached to me more than to anyone else. She showed me her room, drew me Sailor
Mars (she's into the 'Sailor Girls') before I left, played piano (her own
composed songs that sounded so good -- absolutely no dissonance!) for me,
and got me to somehow help her with her Crayola 'keepsakes' craft. Boy, was
I ever kept busy! She also talked non-stop!
In case I haven't already mentioned and if you're wondering what I did in-between
the free time I had at home, I really did nothing . . .unless you count watching
TV and playing cards a very interesting or an actual activity. We played so
much cards that I got bored of Speed, Double Speed, Big 2, and Crazy Eight!
I ended up playing some solitaire games 'cuz I was too sick of those.
Week Two
Day Eight: Wednesday, August 06, 1997
10:20 am I couldn't believe that I was actually goin' to Calgary. Somehow
in the past few days, the Lord answered my prayers and people convinced my
aunt to change her mind about Calgary.
10:31 am On the way, we passed this really neat incinerator in an oil refinery
place and it looked like a large torch burning. From what I learned at Science
AL!VE, if methane and methanol are similar, if anything passes through it,
it will combust.
11:34 am Some of these directional signs are so weird! This one said, 'Ma-Me-O-Beach'.
Where do people come up with these names?
11:35 am We got stuck behind a truck that stank of manure! Belch!
12:20 pm We actually went into Red Deer for a bathroom break and a small
snack. So that's where Red Deer is--in-between Calgary and Edmonton.
Later on that day when we arrived in Calgary, we met up with UCLA Bruins
again and we ended up having lunch together and I finally got access to my
E-MAIL account! I was dying to use the computer before and finally, someone
with access! I then called up my friends at Westside Calgary Alliance Church
and talked to them a bit and I called Ollie up too (he's goin' to summer school,
what a 'geek'). Know what? PJ is teaching a bunch of 'em at Westside GUITAR
on Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm! Now my friends know guitar more than I do!
Anyway, I got a chance to meet up with them at the Wednesday Night Prayer
Meeting at 7:30 pm and I saw Dawn, Selene, Maureen, Sol, Gabby, and the rest
of 'em including some I haven't met before (Ray, Jeff (Geoff?), Stephanie
etc.). But I missed seeing some of the others 'cuz they were either away or
at work. I was having too much fun that I even forgot to get a pic of my closest
friends there. Oh well. Know what? I rather like their prayer meetings! It's
a very exciting time. First there is a praise n' worship time and then we
divide into small groups of people (we get to choose), we share with the group
and then we pray together. For some reason, it feels like I'm more 'at ease'
in that prayer meeting than the ones I've been to in GQ. Yup, they have a
pretty 'warm' and 'friendly' group. If I had to move to Calgary, my number
one choice would be Westside even though their church is very small (well,
they're expanding soon!).
Last night was definitely the second highlight of this trip. We ended up
having a late dinner with PJ and Freda and they told us how they met and all
and it was very interesting to be able to compare it with Henry and Lenis'
as well! Their stories are so neat especially with Jim's added sound effects
to the story of how it happened. You gotta get Jim and Freda to tell it to
ya the next time they come (which would likely be in the first week in September).
Day Nine: Thursday, August 09, 1997
The last day in Calgary. In the late morning, we headed down to the Calgary
Zoo. It was really big and a lot better than the old Stanley Park. In fact,
UCLA Bruins told me that it was the biggest zoo in Canada. Well no wonder
it's better than Stanley Park, they charge you admission!
Hey, did you know that in Edmonton and Calgary they have the ETS (Edmonton
Transit System/CT (Calgary Transit) LRT (Light Rail Transit) that's just like
our Skytrain? However, they charge you a bit more and it is run by an LRT
operator on each train. Some of these trains use the regular railway as well
(I guess kinda like the Westcoast Express eh?).
Anyway, we dropped by Chinatown for lunch and boy, people were right. It
is nothing compared to Vancouver but it is very CLEAN! I'm sure Daniel would
like this Chinatown better too. Right by Chinatown, there was an market that
people claimed to the miniature version of Granville Island. It was more like
a version of New Westminster Quay and Lonsdale Quay Public Market (I guess
it's kinda like Granville Island's Public Market too) but there was really
nothing too see at the Eau Claire Market.
We went back to PJ and Freda's place (that's where we are staying) and my
aunt took a snooze, Jim and Henry went to buy a fan but it was sold out everywhere
because of the heat wave yesterday and everybody bought one I guess. I was
on the computer working on my assignment. Phew, is this ever long!
Day Ten: Friday, August 08, 1997
We left early in the morning at around 9:00 am to back home. Guess what?
It was raining! So I was like, ‘Yes! We left Calgary on a day it rains
so we’re probably heading into sunshine in Vancouver.’ So anyway,
it seemed like a longer trip back, but it was only 11 hours including the
washroom breaks. I was praying that we would get back on time for GQ and we
made it at 7:15 pm! But to my dismay, my mother couldn’t drive me and
Gladys could only drive my brother ‘cuz she was driving the pick-up.
Oh no! So I quickly phoned Lawrence as my last resort and yees! He was able
to drive my sister and I to church, which ended up almost givin’ me a
headache ‘cuz I couldn’t stand that tension and ‘fighting’
in that planning room. Anyway, I’m done my assignment now.
Aside from the crazy (anglophone?) old woman who tried to hit all of us with her cane and blessed us with words of profanity (the same one who successfully scammed our friend pierre), I have good impressions of Montréal. I like how it's a complete different culture/country (the language adds to that effect even though I know minimal French); they seem pretty laid back when it's not in reference to driving skills. I think the historical aspect of the city adds to the culture and the Métro seems to be quite accessible. I appreciate that Montréal has many (safe) bicycle paths/trails, adding another means of transportation for travellers/commuters. Although the city is surrounded by churches and a cross that lights up on a hill, it's sad to hear how some churches are converted to attractions/places for tourism, etc. but yet, it's encouraging to hear the various ministries that active churches have to reach out to the people (like my friend's church in Chinatown).
During my weekend, I met with old and new friends. I was sad to hear that a new friend was already leaving the country. I would classify him as a seeker - pray for him as he goes back to his home country. Pray that although it is a "closed" country, that his questions will continue to be asked (and answered) and that he will find peace and Hope and that he will readjust well back with his friends and family and his culture. I thank God that our lives crossed. One "old" friend was one whom I couldn't place a name to her face. She looked strikingly familiar. Turns out, she went to my home church (BAC) way back when and here, our lives crossed again. If my memory holds true, I am also certain that she was one of the interviewers who interviewed me for a CC project back in 2001/2002; alas, I didn't get the web job at HQ (but I did end up in Ottawa which was another good life experience). Ironically, I may also have met her at CC's Christmas Conference as well. Actually now that I'm browsing through the iamnext.com website, I seem to know quite a number of people, some I don't even remember From where: Corey, Gideon, Grace, Heather, Josh, Heather, Lisa, Peggy, Sean, and Shermeen...
I have noticed that I enjoy reading signs and advertisements in foreign languages, where my literacy level is low. My attempts to read reminded me of my attempts to read the subway signs an ads in Hong Kong and Korea; it's challenging enough to the point where it is fun.
One great way to boost understandig of a foreign language is reading comic books; it's quite natural for me to pick one up. First in Chinese, then in French (Dragonball first from my cousins)! Currently reading Boule & Bill. I have Volume 9 but here's a sample from 23:
The adventures between a boy and a dog is quite entertaining. I think I'll buy more next time I'm in Montréal if they're still on sale. The MSRP is $13.50 CDN; I got it for 4.95$ :).
at this time of the year, korea is blooming with cherry blossoms and springtime weather. the first few days, i had culture shock: 99% of Koreans cannot understand or speak English very well. if we didn't join a local tour (which by the way, consisted of a tour guide who told very engaging stories), we'd be lost especially with the sheer size of seoul and its surrounding areas. diet of koreans consists mainly of kimchi (over 200 kinds), white steamed rice, and soup much of which are all extremely spicy. because most foreigners cannot withstand the spice, they tone down the food for us at the siteseeing restaurants (yes, believe it or not, there are restaurants that especially cater to tour groups). by the end of the trip, i was starting to decipher some korean and remembered how to say thank you.
Photos at http://photos.sheepie.net.
As Shoe would once say, here's the "UL of the day"; a summary of the remainder of my trip:
05.12: Pleasant Bay, Cape Breton. Drive? 7+ hrs. Reason? Lost. Roads and Driving Conditions: Mixture of GT3 and Initial-D: ie. FUN!!! (yes, hairpin turns, rally roads, uphills/downhills mixed w fog!). Finally had McLobster (sorry fmng, it wasn't exactly worth it to begin with so I didn't buy one to ship back to you :P)
05.13: Cheticamp: Skyline Trail (Meese! Coyote! aiya...they scare me both). Baddeck: Alexander Graham Bell Museum. Meat Cove (apparently because that's where the MicMacs cornered the buffalo back in the days).
05.14: 4 hrs to Pictou, Nova Scotia. Ferried across to PEI (for FREE!): Had COWS ice cream...mmmm....and played StreetFighterIII (tho it ate one quarter). Spent afternoon in Charlottetown, and evening at the Bed and Breakfast watching the first movie of Anne of Green Gerbils with the Christian couple/host and 2 other backpackers we met at the first hostel
05.15: Had a fulfilling breakfast with homemade pancakes, bacon, eggs, and porridge (which btw, was included in our $20 stay). MMM... Headed out to Anne of Green Gerbils House in Cavendish, Nova Scotia. Freeze our butts off in +2C weather. Slightly disappointed with the Park but hey, I can say I've been there! AH yes, thanks to Josh, he paid for the "family", which saved us at least 12 dollars. Lunch at some grub pub and off to Halifax via Confederation Bridge (longest bridge I've ever seen), NB in time for some McD's, where it's so ghetto that Nestea Iced Tea is not even served and a cop is hired as a bodyguard.
05.16: Mel and Eunie braved the cold and dirt to go TidalBore Rafting. I stay warm and dry at Josh's. Submitted his portfolio, lunch @ Himachi House (i like the Jap food better than the place we had on our last day in Hali), and crashed (i.e. slept) until dinner (courtesy of Mrs. Szeto). Fellowship (interesting refresher on the Mormons and the Church of Christ).
05.17: Pier 21 (port of refugees and immigrants). Matrix: Reloaded @ ParkLane ... not my cup of tea ... waste of $7.95... nothing majorly new, has the worst ending I've ever seen (even moreso than LOTR I) and overly LONG and unnecessary highly sensual (to the pt where I can close my eyes for a few mins and open them and they're STILL doing it) scenes. If you must see the movie, stay for the entire credits. You won't want to miss what comes after it. Dinner avec Gabby (you know, one day he's gonna give me cuteye if he finds out that I keep calling him that). Stroll through one of the oldest museums in Halifax, the Barrington Gravesite/Cemetery with old stones from 1800s. Quite interesting!
05.18: A day @ Clam Harbour Beach in +26C sunshine! Saw smoke from Cole Harbour's Forest Fire (which apparently made National News). Dinner @ Your Father's Moustache.
05.19: Day with Mrs. Szeto and Josh. Lunch @ their place, then to Digle Tower/Park (which happened that the tower was closed), York Redoubt (fortress) and then, tried to navigate to Truro's Victoria Park (on Victoria Day!)--park sorta reminds me of Lynn Valley area in Vancouver...très beau! Eunie and Mel made last min dinner plans with Tien and Luke, while I joined the Szetos for LOBSTER (and of course, Chinese fruit salad and homemade hamburger patties)!!!! heehee, I'm sure it was funny for them to watch me try to eat a whole lobster for the very first time. Mrs. Szeto, Mrs. Jien, Deb took me to the Titanic Gravesite to see where J. Dawson is buried (and the "Chinatown" of Hali) and to a University on the mountaintop. Played Settlers again after burning the photos on my cam onto CD, and Deb won. Read 4 more chapters of the LOTR: The Fellowship...
05.20: Had to return book to J. Lunch at Jap Restaurant on Argyle (downtown) w Becca, Curran, and J. Curran drove us to Airport after (w J accompanying us/him). I won't rant about Jetsgo this time b/c then ppl will say, "see, you should've just listened to yourself and not taken them". Just read Eunie's version :). We're just thankful that we got back in one piece and with all our stuff in one piece. Dinner in Sauga, then back to the 'loo!
Ah yes, during this trip, we also did our share of commenting on cute guys while J looked on...hahaha..and apparently, one goes to HCCC...one of my souvenirs? Halifax Regional Public Library Card (yup, I did borrow a book!). Anyhow, the ppl at HCCC are incredibly friendly and kindhearted; they definitely beat OCAC. All in all, a good trip with lotsa scenery (as expected!) minus certain group dynamics and the times where some were treated disrespectfully, verbally abused, and risked sustaining physical injuries.
In the loo:
Brrrr.....sleeping where there is no heat in the house makes one really cold and not get much sleep... Praise God! I have a temporary FT job at the Language Lab, and contract PT stuff for someone I got to know at EQUIP. Hopefully, I can get the one at the LL extended to the end of July (and return home in August for my cousin, Gladys' wedding!). The campus seems to have undergone some renovations since I last stepped onto it...ML's cafe is restructured in a way the definitely discourages long loitering and studying...and my workplace has 4 new computers with Nexus access (yes!) and best of all, this one I'm at has a DVD drive (muahahah)...even if it didn't, there's a multi-regional DVD viewing terminal here now for public/student access. Wow, i'm back and already ppl (ahem, more like one person) are asking me to help out w Coffeehouse! It feels weird to be here in the Spring term actually...I've never seen flowers in the flower bed before (daffodils? tulips? i didn't know that UW had them!) and to walk among students...almost blending right in, but not really at the same time... Ma sis is coming to visit me for 10 days in late June! yaay!..tho sadly enough noone in my family can make it to my convo anymore due to my grandmother's recent death. Thus the question remains: to attend my ceremony or not?
Photos taken thus far? 130+.
Today: Kilometres travelled? 500+. Hours driven? 8 hrs.
How Marc can stand driving a Sunfire and pondering upon purchasing one astounds me (and Josh).
Recap:
05.09: Vonne and Freddie leaves. Clay Café to finish bisque. Fellowship
05.10: Museums galore: Museum of Natural History ($3); Discovery Centre (science centre for um...kids :P). Eunie managed to convince the cashier gal to admit us for $4.60 (youth admission!) and she went crazy over the internet access. Gabby, Mel, me, and her had fun on the shadow wall, and being like l'il kids again :). Pizza (Donair toppings?) at the Chen's place (so kind/generous of them).
05.11: Mother's Day. Laundry at Tien's, BBQ at the Chen's (mmm...!) . Gabby joined us (after seeing it already) for X-Men United, which consisted of Curran, Becca, Mel, Eunie et moi pour seulement 7.95$ (weekend evening @ Famous Players ParkLane).
05.04: Eunie and Mel suffer from post-tramatic food poisoning from Congee Wong
CanJet much much much .. better than Jetsgo! =)
2:52 AM Monday, May 05, 2003: The top bunk collapses. I was on the top, Melody on the bottom. Escapes with a minor bruise after landing on both feet instead of on Mel's face. Mel got the beams instead.
05.05: Walk downtown
05.06: Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, Lunenberg and yummy homemade spaghetti (J's mom makes the noodles from scratch!)
05.07: 4 hour hike @ Cape Split. Tis called Cape Split because of how the wind forces the water into a line (ie. the split of a cape)--which we didn't see b/c tis wasn't windy enough
05.08: Point Pleasant Park, Public Gardens, and "free" admission to the Citadel (we didn't realise that we had to pay $5 b/c we took the back entrance)--discovered that if i lived in those days, a solider had to apply if he wanted to get married, share the same twin size bed (narrower) with his wife, and stick his children underneath the bed...oh, and 22 ppl use the same pot to pee/etc and to shower...
