Rules of walking on sidewalks

People!  When you walk on sidewalks, it's similar to when you're driving in a car or riding on a bus or walking on a escalator.  THE SAME RULES APPLY!!   If everyone walked in opposite directions, especially during busy hours, than no one would ever get to where they are supposed to be going...

Winter time in Toronto is already enough problems when there are piles of snow on the sidewalks.  This makes the walking area even smaller and more difficult to get through when it is clear... sounds incredibly simple, but I don't think ANYONE in the city gets this concept.  

Firstly, keep to your right... if you want to pass, pass on the left... this is the same rules for cars and driving and the same as going up the escalator.  There are even SIGNS on escalators showing to stand on the right while walking up the left to pass.  Just like on the roads, it says: "Slower cars stay to the right..."

Secondly, why must people walk side by side in order to feel comfortable while making conversation?  In abnormal cases if you were walking across a field or the road at 1:00am and there was no one around, this would be acceptable, and it would be acceptable in cases when there is no one on the sidewalk.  But when someone is coming in the opposite direction, why should the people who are walking in couples, 3s or 4s be allowed to plough through and expect that the other side should endanger themselves by forcing them on the road???  This makes no sense to me.. are people so insecure that they feel inferior or superior to walk in a straight line when there is only 2 feet of space?? 

Thirdly, look up with your eyes!  If you keep your head to the ground thinking that no one will notice you going totally in the wrong direction, such as on the left or right out on the road with the cars, you will get killed most likely...  so, if you don't know how to look up in front of you, you'll be spending all your time staring at shit on the ground.

It's about time

That I should update... hahaha... hmmm, how many crazy things have happened... I guess not that many!  I went to Vancouver in December.  Spent two days at Whistler skiing and it was so fun.  Snowfall was at a record high and there was so much powder that you could be up to your knees in snow... It's actually kinda funny because there are many sections of Whistler/Blackcomb that haven't been skied on so when you go by too slowly, there's possibility of dropping all the way to your waist... =)   I was originally scared to go on this vacation, because it was the first time that my babe and I would not have privacy to ourselves... I did get to meet very special people on this trip, and all I can say is that I'm so happy to have gone on this vacation!  I had a great time eating in Vancouver, great time skiing in Whistler and a very relaxing time in Victoria... On the way home on Christmas eve, it seemed so hectic... I came back and rushed from the airport straight to dinner with my university friends... it was so good to have peking duck!  I then went to Roy Thompson Hall for the annual MCC Christmas Eve Service where at the closing, the beautiful Alana Bridgewater and Thom Allison sung: Don't save it all for Christmas Day.   Missed my babe so much at this point, but luckily my family came to visit me right on Christmas morning with all the food in preparation for dinner.  They spent the whole time at my place and it was just like being at home again...  a few days later, my babe finally came back and we spent as much time as could together before driving 1,400 kms to his temporary place...  craziness I know...  I'm now apart from my babe as he's doing a work rotation/work term in a far away place =(...  trying to keep myself busy with work and exercising and now learning to speak Mandarin...   Probably my friends think I have been hiding, but really, I have just been busy with everything as usual.. 

Slowly getting used to living on my own in downtown, but I've already missed being at my parent's house so many times...

All this is pretty standard as an update, but I will have to repost here again... haha - still alive and hope everyone had a great holiday season - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's to everyone!!  

Wow it's been a long long time.  The countdown is finally over and I no longer need to commute on the crazy TTC.  I took it again this past Friday and I was quickly reminded why I wanted to leave that life... people are just RUDE!!  Anyway, I'm finally downtown... these past few weeks have been extremely hectic... it was crazy busy at work and I even almost pulled an all-nighter!! I think it was Tuesday November 7 that I stay at work until 3:30am and got home around 4:15am went to bed, woke up at 6:30am and headed to work again.. I can't believe I did that, but it just goes to show that no matter how organized you are and how prepared you are to finish things on time, the New York office always manages to be so late!! they submitted their stuff to me at 1:00am that day and of course I had questions because so much of it didn't make sense.. the whole week working with them I don't remember leaving before 11:00pm.. it was just a rough week.

In the middle of all that, I managed to move downtown toooo! that was also a little stressful, although I'm really thankful to God for the week before the move.  I was very nervous in general and I always seem to worry, but in the whole grand scheme of things, God always makes things work out for the better.  Everything fell into place, and although I was nervous or worried at times, I realized I never had to be.. this is always a tough lesson for me, but I think I will always continue to worry about certain things... life is always a challenge when it comes to this type of thing... 

I've lived one whole week downtown already and all I can say is that it's a relief to walk to work in 12 minutes and not have to worry about parking my car at the subway station, and rushing downtown by a certain time and etc and all the things I would normally have to deal with during the commute!   I've saved 2 hours each day now that I can use to exercise or to read or study at home and to slow down and to eat breakfast or make dinner at my own pace... 

The best part about the whole experience is that my baby was here the whole time since the move started and he's been staying with me the whole time... I'm being way too spoiled!  Hopefully I won't feel lonely after he leaves...  neighbours have been overall very nice and I'm glad to meet all the different people in the elevators that I see each day...

Now I have to read up on everyone else's xanga to see what's going on.. have a happy MONDAY!!

Monday afternoon,

Don't feel like working at all... Had three meetings scheduled for today and luckily I only had to go to two of them... one was with my boss' boss and the other during the morning was with all these VPs in New York.. crazy.  Anyway, I'm glad the third one got rescheduled to tomorrow.  

Weekend was pretty OK.. my brother and sister came over on Saturday morning to help me rearrange the living room.  We put it back in the same layout as when we first moved there 26 years ago.. it was very strange and also brought back lots of memories... Lots have changed since then... we have newer furniture, plus we changed to hardwood floors instead of carpet etc...  In the afternoon I spent most of the time sorting through my stuff that I needed to throw out... At night time my mom decided to stay home so I kept her company as she had a cold last week... we talked about lots of things about life and I was happy to talk to her this weekend as I haven't really seen her all week.  I think it was the first time in a long time that I hadn't seen her for so long.. she likes to come to the house and stay periodically even though my parents have moved to another condo.  She likes how it's much more open at the house and she has more space to walk around...  I like having her there too, so when I get home in the evenings, there's someone who answers back when I say "hello?"   For some reason, this is a normal ritual that our family has done over the all the years we've lived there and so it was weird to have a whole week where I did that, and nobody responded..

Saturday night I headed out of TO to be with my baby... he's been pretty busy with work!  But luckily he always knows that good things will come to people who have been working hard.. the rewards are indescribable!  Congrats on everything you have achieved! =P

Sunday morning, even though he had just finished working a crazy night shift, we decided to go to church... Both of us were really bored with the sermon and we seemed restless in the pews... I found this really odd, because normally I don't feel this way about going to this church... It was a little bit of an eye-opener, but I guess some pastors can have their "off" days too.. only, I was just really not interested in what he was talking about... It's not a place where I feel comfortable and also it's not the place that I see myself going to in the long-term...  There's something missing from the equation.. I guess even though MCC in Toronto is simple and sometimes too traditional, there is a sense of belonging that I feel when I go... and somehow I have to learn to accept that there are simple things in life that are fulfilled and all the complicated growth that I think I need now, will come in time.

Rested the rest of the afternoon and got to have dinner and watch the Amazing Race before coming back to TO.  I was very tired to come home so late but my mom surprised me by being at home... Maybe she knows that I like it when she is at home...  

Monday is finally over and I get to go home early! yipppeee... there's going to be lots of things going on at work the next few weeks so I hope I can get through this time too.... 

29 more days and no more TTC commute... it's coming very soon! =P 

Adrienne Clarkson : Heart Matters

Adrienne Clarkson: Wow, all I can say is that it was amazing to see our former Governer General in person.  She is so elegant, confident and she's an inspiration to all Chinese immigrants to Canada.  She read some exceprts from her book for about 45 minutes and then Pamela Wallin came out to asked some interview questions...  Pamela tried to throw in some political questions, but Adrienne didn't stumble at all... In her book she doesn't mention current issues and her views as she is no longer the Governor General... so she skipped over Pamela's questions without even blinking, only answering what she wanted to answer and also still giving us a a great picture of her past.. =)

For those who haven't read this book, it's amazing...  it's a memoir of her entire life and all the things that influenced her along the way including becoming Canada's 26th Governor General...  I can't find the link on amazon.com because it's only available in Canada currently.  Here is a link to her book:  Heart Matters

Some did not agree with her extravagant spending and state visits in her final years of service, but after hearing her yesterday night, I understand why she did it.  I totally agree she should be spending money to bring Canadian dignitaries to foreign countries for visits...  Canada needs more governor generals who truly care and who take the responsibility of having to have a responsible government above and beyond the call of the Governor general's duty.

I have been reading the book over the past week and I must admit that she has a great command of the pen... I was at times feeling all of the emotions she was feeling just from reading her book, but when you actually hear her voice telling the story directly in front of you, the feeling is surreal.  You can't imagine that a person went through all that pain and suffering in the background and managed to be strong and go on and continue to go on...  We also got to see John Ralston Saul after the reading and Adrienne signed my book so I dedicated it to my mom.  Although a little different in time, my mom went through the same immigrant struggles and came to Canada so that  her future generations could have a better life...  My parents also went through similar war trials with stories that they continue to share with me as did Adrienne and her parents as mentioned in the book.     Her parents are a mixture of cultures with her father being Toisan (similar to my parents) and her mother being Hakka.   Many Toisan families immigrated to Canada and the US in the 1940s, 1950s during and after the war.  Many Hakka families settled in Surinam (Dutch Guyana) because they were not allowed into the island of Hong Kong.. Her past is so similar to mine and many of my friends in many ways, and it's just an amazing experience to see someone from that background having the opportunity to be the Governor general.

Of course, my baby came to the event with me and so we both felt the same about her... Her voice and manner is just as gentle as it is confident in person as what we know from her television personality.  She is elegant, courteous and very calm... very nice evening overall!