There's nothing quite like your body crapping out after 8 months of intense 7 full year course workload. All I can say is I'm so happy this wasn't last week and since I'm basically confined to my room I can finally catch up on e-mails, phone tag, blogging, and watching Glee :) I can't remember the last time I was this sick (4 days and counting...), but I do remember an equally memorable sick day.
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One hot summer day my friends convinced me to go to the Morden Corn & Apple festival, a nice small town festival where you can eat free corn and drink free apple juice. Over all the experience was what I expected it to be some sleeping in the car, awful pictures being snapped up by camera happy Asians, good times with good friends. It was definitely a stereotypical festival in a small prairie town, complete with city folk leaving their confines of suburbia to enjoy the nice fresh country air.
Oh the nice fresh country air of farmers burning their crops... after many years of being asthma free and a diagnosis from my doctor telling me I had outgrown childhood asthma I could not stop coughing that icky gross phlegm-y smoker's cough. My friends were quick to dismiss my claims for being sick and the night proceeded like most nights out with my besties. That was until I got home... and all I could do was send them a quick text message saying I was going to the ER and then I left my phone at home because of the no cell phone policy in hospitals. (Sorry for the panic caused by that guys!!)
I can't say it was my idea to go to the hospital, so it's a good thing my dad laid down the law and drove me there at 2am. That's the kind of guy he is though, quiet but always reliable to do the things that need to be done. He may not always feel that he can talk to me, perhaps it's a bit of that awkward generation gap immigrants tend to face when their children grow up in a different culture than them, but he always makes an effort to try to communicate with me. Even if it means calling up my uncle to call me to see if I'm partying too much in LKF.
One of my favourite memories was one year for his birthday my mom and sister happened to be off jet-setting in Asia (as usual), and he decided to take me and my best friends out for dinner for his birthday. We had a great time introducing the wonders of Chinese tea and chopsticks to my friends, and it made me realize that my dad really tried to reach out to me even during my teenage years of thinking I was too cool to share my life with my parents.
While I can't remember the last time he verbally said the words 'I love you' I know his actions speak that every day. His unwavering support for my academic dalliances, my 'need' to travel to Europe, and all the overall struggles a kid can face trying to gain independence from her parents while still being very much dependent on them has been amazing. Thanks for always knowing when to push me and when to give me space. Thanks for always being a great example of what it means to care for someone, it is really touching that you and mom continually go out of your way to do things for others.
I will always remember this one lady I met at the hospital during the dinner rounds who mentioned you without even knowing that we were related. To her you were just the nice guy who helped describe her procedure in Chinese and she just wanted to know if I could speak Chinese as well. Well thanks to you I can!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
eighteen: mystery woman from Winnipeg
I always hear that Winnipeg has the nicest people, and perhaps I'm a bit biased but having been to many different places I have to say there is something nice about the small town feel of home. Sometimes I miss the big city feel of Hong Kong where you can get lost in the crowd and be 1 in 7 million, but then I remember all the great things that make me have a love-hate relationship with Winnipeg. Today I have a love story.
Several months ago I was having a bit of a down day and I needed a pick-me-up so I bought myself a nice bracelet. No it wasn't just a cheap accessory from Claire's, it was a silver charm bracelet that cost less than my computer but more than my PS3 to give you an idea. The sales lady carefully wrapped it up for me and I threw it in my car to run a few errands. Little did I know that somehow it had made its way from my passenger seat to out my door and onto the muddy Costco car park.
While I was doing my grocery shopping at Costo some lady spotted the Appelt's bag in the parking lot and took the time to find my name and address on the receipt. She then delivered it to my house and returned the bag to my very confused sister. I can honestly say that's something that has only ever happened to me in Winnipeg. It's so nice to live in a place where people are moving at a pace that allows them to take a detour in their plans to drop off a lost item. I never got to thank this mysterious woman who seriously made my day and saved me from panicking over loosing something that has quite a bit of sentimental value. So here is my thanks, and I will always think of you when I am given a chance to pay it forward with something nice =)
Several months ago I was having a bit of a down day and I needed a pick-me-up so I bought myself a nice bracelet. No it wasn't just a cheap accessory from Claire's, it was a silver charm bracelet that cost less than my computer but more than my PS3 to give you an idea. The sales lady carefully wrapped it up for me and I threw it in my car to run a few errands. Little did I know that somehow it had made its way from my passenger seat to out my door and onto the muddy Costco car park.
While I was doing my grocery shopping at Costo some lady spotted the Appelt's bag in the parking lot and took the time to find my name and address on the receipt. She then delivered it to my house and returned the bag to my very confused sister. I can honestly say that's something that has only ever happened to me in Winnipeg. It's so nice to live in a place where people are moving at a pace that allows them to take a detour in their plans to drop off a lost item. I never got to thank this mysterious woman who seriously made my day and saved me from panicking over loosing something that has quite a bit of sentimental value. So here is my thanks, and I will always think of you when I am given a chance to pay it forward with something nice =)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
XVI - catch up time!
So I hit a bit of a blogging fail once school started up and I didn't even post any canned entries for quite some time. So it's now time to catch up or I'll never make it to 100!
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I recently read an article in the WSJ about breaking up with a friend and I was reminded of such a person in my life. Looking back I can say the feelings I have now are very different than a break up from a romantic relationship, or even a natural falling out between friends growing apart. I hope this friend realizes one day that for my sake I had to end it but it doesn't mean I haven't learned a lot from her, even now I can say we've spent many more years as friends than we have as acquaintances.
One of the characteristics I most admire and at the same time shy away from is your extreme self-reliance. You are the definition of a self-empowered woman, and your confidence is the kind that can blow people away. Over all the years I have never seen you fail to attain a goal you have set and you have worked so hard for all you have gained. You are incredibly powerful with your influence and that was the beginning of the end. I wish I could be more like you sometimes, but relying on others to help me has become a routine in my life... and I really needed you there for some hard times but you weren't there.
I know we had a bit of a routine, I was the cheery happy-go-lucky one, and you were the realistic somewhat pessimistic one. I don't know if we are both the same people today and I hope you haven't become more jaded in your views of the world. My fondest memory of you will always been our random conversations dissecting the male mind and over analyzing every encounter we had with a potential interest. It was always fun to mask any dissappointment with the fact we were both going to be successful professionals that did not need a relationship to fill any gaps in our lives.
However when I realized you still held a grudge against an ex five years after the fact and after a awfully short relationship I knew I could not go through my first break up with you. I'm sad to think I had to lose you as a friend to move on from my own ex, but I don't think I could be who I am today if I was still holding a grudge or any kind of bad feelings towards him. I know my first serious boyfriend did not live up to your expectations, or mine, but I also know that holding on to any angry feelings would prevent me from moving on. I hope you too have been able to let go of all the hurts you've been hiding under your confidence... i.m.u.
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I recently read an article in the WSJ about breaking up with a friend and I was reminded of such a person in my life. Looking back I can say the feelings I have now are very different than a break up from a romantic relationship, or even a natural falling out between friends growing apart. I hope this friend realizes one day that for my sake I had to end it but it doesn't mean I haven't learned a lot from her, even now I can say we've spent many more years as friends than we have as acquaintances.
One of the characteristics I most admire and at the same time shy away from is your extreme self-reliance. You are the definition of a self-empowered woman, and your confidence is the kind that can blow people away. Over all the years I have never seen you fail to attain a goal you have set and you have worked so hard for all you have gained. You are incredibly powerful with your influence and that was the beginning of the end. I wish I could be more like you sometimes, but relying on others to help me has become a routine in my life... and I really needed you there for some hard times but you weren't there.
I know we had a bit of a routine, I was the cheery happy-go-lucky one, and you were the realistic somewhat pessimistic one. I don't know if we are both the same people today and I hope you haven't become more jaded in your views of the world. My fondest memory of you will always been our random conversations dissecting the male mind and over analyzing every encounter we had with a potential interest. It was always fun to mask any dissappointment with the fact we were both going to be successful professionals that did not need a relationship to fill any gaps in our lives.
However when I realized you still held a grudge against an ex five years after the fact and after a awfully short relationship I knew I could not go through my first break up with you. I'm sad to think I had to lose you as a friend to move on from my own ex, but I don't think I could be who I am today if I was still holding a grudge or any kind of bad feelings towards him. I know my first serious boyfriend did not live up to your expectations, or mine, but I also know that holding on to any angry feelings would prevent me from moving on. I hope you too have been able to let go of all the hurts you've been hiding under your confidence... i.m.u.
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