++ scattered thoughts and random nostalgia ++

++ scattered thoughts and random nostalgia ++ http://windchym3.multiply.com/ Since you've somehow ended up on this site, thanks for visiting! Enjoy yourself and leave me feedback -- I'd love to know what you think. You might want to consider signing in to view pictures and content that I'd like to circulate among friends only...but otherwise, feel free to look around. Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:49:19 -0000 Tue, 1 May 2007 02:45:00 -0000 ++ scattered thoughts and random nostalgia ++ http://images.windchym3.multiply.com/logo http://windchym3.multiply.com 100 100 Japanese class level 2 starts So Japanese class Level 2 started today on a less auspicious note. Firstly was late by 10 mins cos manager was in the office talking to both MD and me. Then the weekend was so busy that I didn't really get to revise what we did in Level 1....oh who am I kidding, I just didn't revise enough between the end of Level 1 and the beginning of Level 2. However it's confirmed after this class now that the expectations have been upped. Firstly, hiragana is expected to be memorized by class #3 (although I seem to be the only one who doesn't know it by heart yet), and the teacher speaks more in Japanese than in English. In fact his English vocab is not as strong as my Level 1 teacher's. Class is slightly bigger than Level 1 and comprised of the following (nameless not by choice but because I really didn't catch their names): 1) Guy in hawaiian shirt - visited Nara and Osaka before, working Chinese-English translator (he says Chinese is easy and he's white -- puts me to sham... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/48/Japanese_class_level_2_starts Tue, 1 May 2007 02:45:00 -0000 Seoul, Korea Day 1 (Apr 4) Sooooo....Apr 4th morn, started out early to the airport via the Airport Express. Could check in even at the train station itself. Don't know if KL Sentral is the same, but I'm impressed with the efficiency. Line was long-ish but Cathay is so efficient. I think I'm going to be sticking with them for a while yet. Arrived Seoul after lunch and after Sands rented a cellphone (South Korea uses CDMA technology and both our phones were GSM AND non-3G). It costed her USD3 per day plus all outgoing calls. I have to admit it was reasonable but I could live without it. Still, if she wants one... Then took the Airport Bus (The Airport Bus is a regular bus service that stops at certain major locations within Seoul) to Anguk where our guesthouse was situated. The proprietor of Anguk Guesthouse, Mr Kim, was there to meet us. Thought we would pay more to stay here as it was billed by Lonely Planet as a "traditional Korean-style" place. It's all made of pine (?) wood, the walls are papered to keep ... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/47/Seoul_Korea_Day_1_Apr_4 Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:39:00 -0000 Some of HK in a day The good thing about flying Cathay is that the connection is in HK, which is pretty centrally located. Almost a year has passed since my last trip back home to Msia, and since I would be stopping in HK anyway, I was considering making a trip from HK to Tokyo since Vic had been posted there till the end of this year. Nothing like Tokyo from an everyday perspective right? However I was planning to utilize my Asiamiles points, and also to take advantage of the Easter holiday weekend -- which is also a holiday in HK. So all of HK wants to fly to Tokyo too -- so much so that the Asiamiles desk even closed the waiting list. Nevertheless, a backup plan. I'd called Sands since she's now based in HK and she would have hols too, and she'd suggested Seoul, South Korea or Hanoi, Vietnam. It took some back-and-forth-ness, and dithering on both our parts but we finally decided on Seoul. Or maybe it was me, cos there was no way I could pass up a chance to possibly see the spring cherry blossoms, esp... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/46/Some_of_HK_in_a_day Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:24:00 -0000 Two weekends between vacations The weekend after getting back from Miami, it was a celebration of SS, NM's and Sus' birthdays. They weren't all born on the same day or anything but still, all March babies. So someone had the bright idea of celebrating that by going out for dinner and to a club/lounge afterwards. There was a tense moment just before we all left the office on Friday when we realized that we didn't even have a card for them -- the organizer (if there was one -- I'm seriously suspecting a Stand Alone Complex here) didn't think of it. So down I rushed to Carlton Cards and picked a couple up and quickly circulated them..so quickly that one of the newbies actually signed it wrongly. -_- Thankfully, we managed to black out the mistake. That aside, headed to Jack Astor's but it was packed with the after-5 crowd so switched to Joe Badali's...which was actually not bad. In fact, a little more sit-down than Jack's, which suited the occasion just fine. From there, went to Schmooze...2nd time around and on a Fri... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/45/Two_weekends_between_vacations Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:26:00 -0000 Briefly about NYC and Miami Recently went for the annual training session held by my firm. This was the third time around and surprise, surprise, the first time we got to go somewhere other than Cleveland. Which is good cos I was getting sick of the Sushi Rock and Spy Bar ritual anyway. We were debating between NYC and Atlanta and altho I hadn't been to the latter before, discussion brought us to the consensus that since we'd be spending most of the day in class anyway, we wouldn't be able to see many of the sights in Atlanta. And NYC definitely had better nightlife. NYC it was then! Flew out on the Friday, Mar 12 with not just my batch of hires, but the ones a level below us as well. I think the entire group numbered around 20...and that was just from the Toronto office. Lodged at a serviced apartment that night before moving to the hotel in Times Square on Sunday...reason being that Times Square is where the training was going to be held. Was glad that I'd done NYC sightseeing with Sandy and friend Reina in 2... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/44/Briefly_about_NYC_and_Miami Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:09:00 -0000 Chinese New Year in Toronto 2007 This year, decided to go big and celebrate as excessively as I can. As far back as I can remember, CNY = eat + gamble + angpau/laisee (red packets) + new clothes + TV. My DVD player blew a fuse, my TV had no S-video outlet to connect to a laptop and the video-jack method was of mediocre quality, so watching loads of CNY-themed TV (i.e. Chinese kungfu/mahjong/comedies) was out. The new clothes tradition had been dropped by my family at least 10 years ago. Way too much fun to buy and wear new clothes throughout the year instead of only during CNY! I did however manage to buy 3 new plates (meant to signify more food hence prosperity), altho after the first day of CNY had already passed. Hope it still counts... The red packets only work if I have married couples around me. Being away from the extended family and also parent's friends meant only one angpau this year -- from Aunt J. Still, it was thoughtful of her! I spose its partly a good sign too that my friends are not married...yet.... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/43/Chinese_New_Year_in_Toronto_2007 Thu, 8 Mar 2007 05:49:00 -0000 A venture to the other side It's been 3 days since I seconded to the fin audit dept, and I'm feeling mixed abt it. On the plus side is the biggest indicator that my managers were right in saying that it would be good for my development to second: the work that fin audit does is pretty different from what I do in IT audit. It's unexplainable but I think I've been working with processes so much that I subconsciously pushed it to the back of my mind. 'It' being the fact that a big part of audit is footing (calculating totals), variance analysis (determining if the changes in totals are reasonable), reconciliations (whether debits and credits balance out to zero), calculation of accruals (whether the correct amount is recognized in the right period) and evaluating the nature of financial statement line items (whether they are classified correctly).....among other accounting fun stuff. The cause for concern to me is two-fold: firstly, I've never done Advanced Accting nor Auditing courses when I was in uni, and ... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/42/A_venture_to_the_other_side Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:55:00 -0000 Of online conversations and other updates I was talking to a friend online a couple days ago and we got to a point where we started taking turns accusing each other of being emo / depressed. Hey, at least I admit to being that way occasionally, right? You know who you are. Paraphrased from another conversation around the same time: "It's ironic how a person like me who lives in the past so much can remember so little." Mainly in reference to how I'm really bad at remembering events. The most ironic thing is how if I write out my thoughts, I forget even faster....the blog in a way is my Pensieve. But I guess it's better to record it somewhere and have an increased rate of forgetting, than not doing so and forgetting eventually. But today, a regular post for those who tire of listening to me getting all mopey. ;) Don't think it's all just for you guys though: this blog is also meant for me to keep track of what's been happening in my life lately. :P So let's see...happenings. ... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/41/Of_online_conversations_and_other_updates Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:37:00 -0000 Random photos of the 2006 Christmas season in Toronto Just capturing the scene as it is -- not meant to be http://windchym3.multiply.com/photos/album/27/Random_photos_of_the_2006_Christmas_season_in_Toronto Mon, 12 Feb 2007 01:10:57 -0000 Moving on It seems to be that the irony of what gives me happiness is that those very things grow less and less likely to repeat themselves as each day passes. Or even if the situation lends itself to repetition, when and how and my reaction to it is just unpredictable. Wouldn't it be great if whenever the mood dictates a certain feeling or moment I want to relive, the memory or the experience is there at my beck and call? But perhaps that's what they call human nature. The fact that something is rare or impossible, makes one long for it more, think of it with greater fondness, and crave it with deeper passion. Young P has signed the papers to transfer to Washington DC Apr 16, to be closer to his gf. Even though I'd known since I'd found out about the potential move that he was likely to be successful, somehow hearing it confirmed... there's the feeling of finality there. We've been coworkers for a little more than a year only, and only really talke... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/40/Moving_on Sat, 3 Feb 2007 17:00:00 -0000 A good day for results After weeks of reminders, both email and visual (i.e. seeing other ppl walk around with new laptops), I finally handed up my laptop to be upgraded. This required a certain amount of prep as certain types of files, most notably the audit software that our company uses, is NOT automatically backed up. Hence, I had to make a backup copy and since I was at it, I might as well throw some stuff on the server too. Our tech guys said that as long as we successfully completed an automatic backup, we'll be fine, but IMO they've learnt the language of auditors, and so they say "most files are backed up" as opposed to "all". Ordinary ppl might consider the probability of losing something they actually care about, and come to a (probably accurate) conclusion that the level of risk is acceptable....but I'm not at that point yet. When in doubt, err on the safe side. Anyway, stayed in the office late last night for work and also to prep my laptop for the upgrade, altho I finished neither.... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/39/A_good_day_for_results Fri, 2 Feb 2007 02:07:00 -0000 Pan's Labyrinth (2006) I had heard good things about this movie and when I suggested it, MarcL also said that he'd seen the preview last year and had made up his mind since then. So off we went along with Jits + friend J, Nat, bro, Poi, Xian. Since we were coming from Winterlicious, we decided on the cinema at Bay-Bloor. It's not a very new venue and I had to agree with MarcL about the seats not being very tiered, but nonetheless, the location was great and Indigo was just downstairs, which made for good pre-show time-wasting. So, about the movie. It was billed as an 'adult fairytale', so MarcL and I were expecting grown-up themes in a fairytale setting....but we were wrong. The movie is set at the end of WW2 and is about Ofelia, a young girl who journeys with her widowed mother to a military outpost by the edge of Spain's mountains. Her mother had just married the Captain of the regiment, and was carrying his child to be born at the outpost. When they arrive, Ofelia finds that all is not well. The ... http://windchym3.multiply.com/reviews/item/10 Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:12:45 -0000 Stranger Than Fiction (2006) Went to see this one with GP and LB, somewhat against my will but guilted into it. Perhaps because I had low to no expectations, that's why I kinda enjoyed it in the end. This movie is about a tax auditor named Harold Crick (played by Will Ferrell), who leads a very organized and structured but lonely life -- and the one day he started hearing a narrative voice when brushing his teeth. Not only was he the only one who could hear the voice (which was female and British), the voice was also very accurate in describing what he was doing and what he was feeling and so on. Basically, it was narrating his life as it was being lived. Which is all fair and good until it announces that "little did he know", he was facing imminent death. Of course, Harold freaks out at this....but he's got some time as the voice stops -- unbeknowst to him, the narrator, actually an author named Karen Eiffel, has writer's block. Harold doesn't know how long he's got, so he begins on a journey to find the na... http://windchym3.multiply.com/reviews/item/9 Thu, 25 Jan 2007 03:46:26 -0000 The Good Shepherd (2006) Went to see this one with JCh, MelT, LWA and Mirchan. The movie chronicles about 30 years of the life of a certain Edward Wilson who headed up the CIA after receiving 'training' from the British MI5. This is the pet project of director Robert de Niro and word has it that the character of Edward Wilson is based on the real-life CIA Counterintelligence head James "Jesus" Angleton. It was a bit confusing for non-history buffs (like me) as there is quite a bit of shuffling in terms of points in time as the movie hops between his youth as a student at Yale, to his early years with the government, then to his time as head of the CIA and everywhere else in between. Clocking in at almost 3 hrs, this movie is LONG. There were some violent moments, but overall it was slow moving, with a lot of lingering shots on Matt Damon, who plays Edward. I'm not a fan of Matt Damon, but in this movie he was actually quite tolerable to look at -- I think Mirchan and MelT thought that the eyeglasses... http://windchym3.multiply.com/reviews/item/8 Thu, 25 Jan 2007 03:15:26 -0000 Open roads before me I am, frankly speaking, nervous. Afraid of the uncertainty, afraid of what's to come. Things have been playing out in such a way, that it's so hard to determine what the right path to take is. I said what I felt to Counsellor, in very general and hand-wavy terms, taking care to add in all the disclaimers I could think of, but he's gone ahead and put the question out there. The counselling tree will look at it first of course, but it's only a matter of time till the word gets out. Am I really ready for what might come out of it? The truth is....no. Not yet. Counsellor has put down a quantified time frame...but is that too short a time? Trying new things and taking different directions as suggested by the ppl around me....but when things start happening, am I really ready for it? Which way should I handle it? A 'can-do' spirit is a double-edged sword. There's no reason not to believe that if I put my mind to it, anything's possible. If I embody it, the s... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/38/Open_roads_before_me Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:54:00 -0000 New Year's resolution and the past week A week has gone by since Mom and Sis left, and I still have many to-do's outstanding! Not to mention keeping up with my new year's resolution, to practise Mandarin. Yes, that's right, only one resolution this year...and I'n not very good at keeping them, but at least it's a goal I can attempt to work towards, no? Last year I had three (practise Mandarin, learn a new language and learn to skate) and only one was really kept i.e. learn to skate. Even so, I'm still a novice at it -- last Sunday after having brunch with MarcL, X, Nat, Jits, Poi and her friend Maggie, Bro and Kimi, we went to Indian Palace, a small restaurant on Queen St W that served a buffet lunch. The price was competitive as it was very close 3 or so other restaurants offering the a similar buffet, so no complaints in terms of value-for-money. However, I think the other place a few doors down that I tried with MarcL, Jits and JB in the summer (Trimurti) had a better selection. I said that to Ma... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/37/New_Years_resolution_and_the_past_week Tue, 9 Jan 2007 05:30:00 -0000 Tweets Personal blog of ex-coworker from Summer 2004, now at a different company and also a part-time fitness http://windchym3.multiply.com/links/item/18/Tweets Wed, 3 Jan 2007 03:56:57 -0000 Back to work Somehow although I had the 25th, the 26th, the 29th and the 1st off, not to mention the weekends as well...the holidays didn't feel as satisfying as I thought it would. I showed up at work today and find out that both managers that I owe stuff to were either still on vacation or working from home -- with flexi-hours/work arrangements, no way of telling which is which, not that I care much anyway...they work hard and deserve it. Howeverrrrr....looking at all the review points I have to clear for the long engagement....let's just say that the number of points brought up is proportional to the time I spent putting together all those documents for review. Everytime I gather up determination and open up one of the working papers, the comment boxes jump out at me, asking questions I have to rifle through my brain to bring all the pieces of info together (never mind that they were gathered at varying points in time and through various, sometimes undo... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/36/Back_to_work Wed, 3 Jan 2007 03:10:00 -0000 37 days Nov 24 there were 5 of us and by Dec 31 it was just Bro and myself. We had food made from recipes we grew up on. Went shopping at Yorkdale, Eatons Centre and Queen St W -- first round for winter items, second round for boxing day deals. The latter involved a lot of patience in sifting through piles of clothing e.g. sis' reaction after arriving at Zara 2 hrs before closing (echoing mine) "So this is the aftermath..." Aside from Zara (where Mom unusually bought a funky neo-70's short dress), also some stuff from H&M, Le Chateau, Fila, Esprit...and lots of Aldo. Hunting for a part-time job with Sis. Various brunches/dinners/lunches/snacks at Eggspectations, Fran's, St Lawrence Market, Shopsy's Deli, Druxy's Deli/Hero Burger, Marche, Solferino's Gelato, The Keg, Oh Geul Boh Geul, Hosu Bistro, Kama Indian Cuisine, Old Spaghetti Factory, Terroni, Pazza, Cafe Crepe. Parents and Sis sat in at my skating lessons and proclaimed the pre-school class after mine "very cute p... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/35/37_days Mon, 1 Jan 2007 19:35:00 -0000 A split second 'A split second can change everything'. Sometimes it's more like a few minutes, days, months or years than a split second, but what's key is that in the final split second of that period of time, a decision was made -- and the course of fate was changed. If I was nice to you and you returned the kindness If you made friendly chitchat and I chitchatted back If I joked with you and you humoured me If you asked "How are you?" and I said "Good, and you?" If I looked at you and you looked back If you caught my eye and I smiled back If I spoke to you and you spoke back If you started a conversation and I mused back Things might've turned out differently. You and I may have become acquaintances, business partners, coworkers, relatives, friends, colleagues...rivals, enemies. We were rash when we were younger, and subsequently suffered the embarrassment of being known as "that girl who..." or "that boy who used to..." Man can those memories stick! Something that happened 10 years ago and somehow... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/34/A_split_second Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:56:00 -0000 A brief summary Phew...finally, after the past weeks' insanity, things are finally beginning to slow down. I'm starting down the road of getting stuff off my plate, either through eating it up or pushing it to someone else's. Heehee. For starters, the exam that's been worrying me all Fall is DONE as of Saturday, Dec 9. Yes, I'm talking to you, CISA Dec 2006! Parents arrived since Nov 24 and one left today (Dec 11). Sis arrived with them -- the chickie got a part-time job working for Dairy Queen/Orange Julius. It's a good thing, me thinks. It's true she likes how the money will multiply by three times by the time she takes it back with her, but she's a generous one. Bought me 3 sets of earrings for my upcoming bday (in anticipation of her 1st paycheck)! In total, too many earrings to be able to regularly cycle through, so gave her 3 pairs and mom one. But it's the thought that counts. So I wrote the exam on Saturday morn...will not comment on whether I'll pass or not, but I think any extra studying... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/33/A_brief_summary Tue, 12 Dec 2006 15:03:00 -0000 The Gardenia High school friend's personal http://windchym3.multiply.com/links/item/17/The_Gardenia Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:28:01 -0000 Finding and Keeping a Life Partner ('stolen' from Elaine who is my friend Lisa's sister Doreen's friend) This is a very good write up about relationship. We most probably already have similar views but sometimes circumstances just makes us react differently, at that spur of the moment. Read on.... Golden rules for finding your life partner by Dov Heller, M.A When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake.Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50%, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Miss.Right! If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say: "We're in love"; I believe this is the #1 mistake people make when they date. Choosing a life partner should never be based on love. Though this may sound "not politically correct",there's a profound truth here. Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: "You can't build a lifetime rela... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/30/Finding_and_Keeping_a_Life_Partner_stolen_from_Elaine_who_is_my_friend_Lisas_sister_Doreens_friend Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:20:00 -0000 Music blog 3 Too catchy...   Chantal Kreviazuk All I Can Do (<A href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zRDIeUgnzI"><A href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zRDIeUgnzI">http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zRDIeUgnzI</A></A>)   When you're on your own When you're at a fork in the road You don't know which way to go There's too many signs and arrows You haven't laughed in a while When you can't even fake a smile When you feel ashamed The uniform don't make you brave Chorus: All I can do is love you to pieces Give you a shoulder to cry when you need it When the day is long and the night is coming down on you All I can do All I can do All I can do When you forget your name and the pleasure can't disguise your pain and you don't feel the same I won't forget the love you made Chorus: All I can do is love you to pieces Give you a shoulder to cry when you need it When the day is long and the night is coming down on you All I can do All I can do All I can do What a lovely day to shape your dreams And you don't even have to sleep You can make it what you want to be You can fly away You can change your name Hav... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/28/Music_blog_3 Wed, 8 Nov 2006 03:09:00 -0000 The politics of getting along A friend regularly blogs about how she hates humans. I think that what she really meant was that she hated having to deal with the complexities of interpersonal relationships. It is only recently that I'm beginning to understand the degrees of complexities that she was talking about. Up until recently, it seemed to simple me that you either liked someone as a person, or you didn't. You either got along, or you didn't. You either chose a side, or sat squarely on the fence. You were either the popular kid, or the outsider. If you were from opposite ends, you just knew to stay out of each other's way (or deliberately aggravate the other group, but only if you were still in kindergarten or were of that age group's mentality). Up until recently. Now I know that you can like someone for some of the things they do, and dislike them for others. You can pretend to get along, but secretly hate each other's guts. You can hate each other, but be fair enough to give respect where it's due ... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/27/The_politics_of_getting_along Tue, 7 Nov 2006 00:55:00 -0000 More music Catchy, heard it on the radio (car drives to KW are very useful in gradually getting up to speed on new music).... The Tragically Hip's "In View" (<A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN25TcN--I8"><a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN25TcN--I8>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN25TcN--I8</a></A>): I love you. You know I do Yea, it's perfect well, it isn't and it is And I've been meaning to call you I've been meaning to call you Then I do I've been meaning to call you I've been meaning to call you Then I do Phone rings once Phone rings twice Phone rings three times I am of you You are in everything I do I do I trust you, that makes you true I don't care if it isn't the way it is I've been meaning to call you I've been meaning to call you Then I do Phone rings once Phone rings twice Phone rings three times I am of you You are always in view Yea, I am my will But you are in everything I do I do. I do. I do In the Day Eraser's dark of night In the Excited States, gone in plain sight Under the wave or by cavelight I lose, things change, but never in your eyes I am of you You are always in view I am my will You are in everythin... http://windchym3.multiply.com/journal/item/26/More_music Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:10:00 -0000