Xmas in TO: Oyster and Club Nite!

We've been talking about this for a year now... but tonight, it finally happened! The Oyster Bar we had talked about going to for the longest time! Tried four types of oysters and mannnn they were awesome! So fresh, so tasty!

Also was able to see fellow Canada Day organizer... it has been quite a while since we've last met up with her. What a treat! Still as energetic and happy as ever!... Ahhh... what fun times!

After the oyster gala, proceeded to a club... yadiyadiya.. same stuff... nothing much worth mentioning... did get to eat pho at the end though! :)...

Xmas in TO: Classic BBtea Night

Have been back for a little bit less than a week, and still haven't had any bbtea. So on that note, ended the day going for bbtea twice!

As always, bbtea is the BEST! The highlight must be going to the 'new' Ten Ren up in Hwy 7. This is the first time in my life that I've needed to line up and get a ticket to sit at a table for bbtea... oh how things have changed.

It was well worth the wait though, cuz the bbtea was extremely good! Mmmmmm.....

Xmas in TO: Xmas Dinner at Home

Turkey, food and more food! Another family xmas dinner... another good day of fun and jokes! Me cousins are tooooo silly indeed!.. heh heh heh

Ahhh.. no need to do dishes, great food... it's good to be home!

Xmas in TO: 2nd Night

Logically, the next must do after wings and beer is a K session. After being deprived of real karoake for 6 months, it was time to re-educate myself in the ways of dice, singing, and drinking. With my trusty teachers, I was able to do just that! :)

Didn't really get to talk much this night, but did get to see quite a bunch of people!... and of course, play dice and drink!

As always, there's never a dull moment when I get to see Anime Buddy. First greeting from Anime Buddy as she walks in:
"You are worth $40!"
lol... Wish I'd have been worth just a tiny bit more... Too bad Anime Buddy couldn't stay the whole night though, otherwise it'd be even more fun!

As always, not quite sure where pics from the night are scattered around, but one of these days, I will find them!

Thanks for coming out! :)

ps. Thanks for the cookies anime buddy! :D

Xmas in TO: Wings and Beer

After 6 months, I am back!

First thing was the age old classic.... Wings and beer. Since Morty's was a bit too far away, had to settle for All Stars. As always, nothing beats the combo of wings and beers! :) The only bad thing was that we had to wait quite a while for a table to be open.

After wings, decided to go watch I am Legend... It was a pretty good movie. But having only slept 4 hours the night before, I was extremely sleepy by around 11pm eastern time and actually fell asleep for bits and pieces of it... lol.

It was a good night of catching up with some good friends though! :)

6 Month Anniversary

Today marks the 6 month anniversay since I left Toronto. It will be interesting when I set sail for my return back to good ol' Canada... :)

I wonder what it'd feel like when I go back this time around....

New Year's Resolution

So these past couple months....well Nov and Dec specifically, alot of things have happened that is just smacking me right in the face... and hard! On that note though, here are some of my upcoming new year's resolution:

1) Dress better and look more proper...
As much as I enjoy the lack of time required to prepare for dressing like a bum, it's time that I start dressing slightly more proper. It does make a world of a difference just having the right posture and not looking like a plopping fish!

2) Communicate Better
Vital skill to have, both at work and not at work. Not sure how to yet quite do it.... or actually, what this entails... but I will get better at this before the end of next year.

3) Be more active
Gotta start working out or doing some sort of physical activity. I actually feel that my mind gets sharper if I do that. My current status?... Let's just say my mind feels extremely dull. If my mind was a knife, it'd would not be able to cut water...

A Little Motivation for Myself...

Sh*t may pour... but I will just bring some deodorant. I will win.

If I cannot even take care of myself, how can I ever carry the weight of two people on my shoulders?

For my goals, I will continue to move forward...

Reflection: Know and Ask for What You Want...

So it seems that after years, I am finally able to show my emotions. But then again, come to think of it, have I ever been able to hide my emotions?... Now that I am able to show it, perhaps its time to be able to show/not show it depending on the circumstances... hrmmmmmm....

Anyway, so recently, I've been looking for ways to improve one of my major weaknesses... lack of communication skills. Decided to read a book about it, but ended up reading one of those self-development books... Two points that struck a chord in me...

#1) "Know what you want, ask for what you want"
So this seems pretty straightforward eh? Decide what you want, then go for it. But extending on this, the book mentions that 'asking' for what you want is more than just walking up to a person and asking. It actually requires 'acting and doing'... Knowing about the details of what you want, preparing for it, and actually asking are necessary to show your interest. Just walking up and asking without having done anything is a waste of time... for both you and the other person... and conversely, planning out everything but not acting is just the same...

I think back now and realize that alot of times, I fail because either I don't know what I want, or I don't ask after I know what I want. For the times at tasks that I am successful in, I do know what I want, and prepare for it, and then I go for it.

Such a simple phrase, but so much wisdom within it.

#2) You must take risks. And you must be at the table to win...
This is contrary to what I am used to. Be it with proper planning, or just random luck, I have always only executed a task when the probability of success is high. But reading about this made me realize that this may not be the best approach. What is interesting is that the book mentions that you can deliberate all you want and guess what the number (say in a roulette game) is gonna be... But you will not win anything even if you are right. Sure, you don't lose anything, but you will never win!!! If you were at the table, there is a chance you will lose, but what happens if you win? And what happens if you win big?

The book also goes on to mention that others tend to focus on seeing that successful person win that one big win, but what they do not realize is this same person probably had lost countless number of times before the big win... AND will lose countless number of times after until their next big win. The difference though, is that this successful person will be able to recover from their losses, and continue to play the game.

So when do you know when to risk or not risk?... Answer: Intuition! I really do want to believe that my intuition is not bad... but I guess I can never be 100% sure because some hunches can never be validated. The only way to improve on my intuition is to put my money where my mouth is... be it for better or for worse. Doing this enough times, maybe one day when that chance of a lifetime comes, I will be able to risk it all and win...

Flurries in Seattle

Another week, another round of flurries in Seattle...

It rains, and snows... guess this city's preparing me for my return trip back to the arctic north...

Neko's Weekend Visit to Seattle

Earlier on in the week, Neko appeared for the first time in 2 mths on MSN to let me know that she was coming for a visit! And so by the end of week, here Neko was, in the rainy city of Seattle!

Giving the full tourist treatment, we took Neko to Pike's Place, and of course, the Space Age Restroom!!! Other places included the Ray's Boathouse and alot of malls!

One random thing we did was go on a Merry Go Around. For some reason, I ended up on a horse that was wayyy too small for me. It was really fun, but I had to be very careful that my 'lower' body did not get too close to the back of the horse's head... because the seat did not really fit me... and with the horse rocking back and forth, it would have hurt quite a bit if it hit my 'lower' body...
I did notice one peculiar thing though. For the Merry Go Around, I realized that the 'small' horses were on the inside, the medium ones in the middle, and the large ones were on the outside. Is that always the case?

Hrm, not quite sure who has the pictures, but I am sure it will probably take me 5 years to get my hands on them (just like how I don't have half my university pics still as of right now either)...

To add to my list of tourist attractions: shopping seems to satisfy any fellow Canadian! We did ALOT of this all weekend...

Snowy Seattle

Woke up today and I saw what they say does not happen for 10 years.... flurries and snow.. in Seattle???

heh heh heh... It isn't really as bad as the picture though :). There was maybe less than 1 cm, but this was enough to make the city come to a slow halt!


Anyway, so on that note, still went to the company dinner. Highlight of the night is playing 3 card poker with fake money. Being the aggressive gambler that I am, I at one point had $25000 in poker chips! ... which is more than what the dealer had... wuhahaha! If only it was real money... ... ...