Bird's Hill

Today was a very beautiful day! Chad called me at 11 in the morning and ask if I was going to Kaycee's B-day party at Bird's Hill. I has told about it before but I had forgotten about it until he called. So Chad, Jay, Mike, and I went together. Jim had work so he couldn't come. It was my first time going to Bird's Hill and it is a very nice park with a small beach and close so it's a nice alternative to going to the beaches. We did go into the water but spent most of our time on the sand looking at my iPod and talking. After all the fun we had...I noticed something on my car when I got home...someone thought it is cool is key someone's car after slamming it with a door. They keyed 'MORON' on MY CAR. I told my dad about it, I thought he would be madder than he turned out to be, but it seemed like I was the one who was most pissed off! Though they did have their speech that they had to recite...it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We're going to get it fixed...but the timing couldn't be worse, school is just around the corner! ARGH! You're the MORON!

Last Day at CBSA

Well, today was my last day at CBSA...it was a quiet one (until the very end of it)...I didn't get too many emails today, so I just spent the day cleaning out my desk and tying any loose ends. I didn't want to start anything...I went to get a Tim Horton's Chocolate Brownie Ice Cap Supreme for coffee with Flory and Tammy. At around 3:00, we went through our pile of applications and found many items loose items during the mess that happened on Monday and Tuesday while Kim and I  were away. Kim and I spent some time going through them and I sent emails out requesting additional information. We have a gigantic pile that is to be sent off on Tuesday. After that running around my last hour at CBSA went by so quickly. When I took my last trip to HR and finally met Nicole (not the person I pictured), I got many "thanks" and "thank you's" from them and I was quite touched to know that I made a large difference at CBSA this time. I've bonded with the agency much more than last time. Right before Kim left, Flory and her presented with me a card from ATS, I didn't want to open it until after fearing that I may get a bit emotional. After giving my email access to Kim and Flory, my job at CBSA was officially over. The thank-you (good bye) card they gave me was very nice and everyone wished me well in school so I wish to do the same here. I know they will have a tough time without me but I wish them all well in the coming fiscal year. I'll be back next May 2009!   

2nd Last Day

Today was my second last day at CBSA, things have calmed down a bit from yesterday and Kim and Flory treated me to lunch. At 11:30, we went down to Corydon to this Greek restaurant called Niko's. We got there before the big rush so we didn't have to wait to be seated. Too bad the weather wasn't nice enough to sit outside on a patio like we did last month at Monviso's. The food at Niko's was excellent! I ordered a chicken platter that came with the most delicious salad I've ever had and hand cut french fries. The chicken was a little salty but that is part of the Greek Cuisine! I'm open to most different flavours (except super spicy) so I found it very good. Of course, Flory and Kim treated me to lunch, very nice of them. Though we were stuffed, we went for some Gelati afterwards just across the street...I got Rasberry and Oreo, very good and their portions were very large for $4 compared to the place just down the street beside the Dollarama where we went to last time at our French meeting. We got back to work at 1:30... so I took a yummy 2 hour lunch :D

1st Day Back

CRAZY, INSANE, HECTIC, INCREDIBLY BUSY! I was only away for 2 days and I got 28 emails! OMG, that is an email every half an hour! I even had my out-of-office on too! I basically spent the entire day getting caught up on my emails. Kim was away sick the days I was away too, so poor Flory who had 2 days of training was doing 3 people's work. I don't know if I will be able to get back on that filing project for the Security Specialists... :S

Post Trip Reactions

Though this was my 6th time traveling to Toronto, this last trip to Toronto was the most satisfying. Besides getting to see Raymond and Linda, I found that my relationship with my Andrew, Liz, Raymond, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, have strengthened over the last four days. I feel a lot closer to my extended family in Toronto, I now have their cell number and they have mine and we though we didn't see other very often, my aunts and I would talk about just about anything. Liz and I got quite close and we even made a deal just before taking off. She will be studying aviation and she will give us cheap flights while I will design her home. I can't wait until we're all grown up, and each have our own life. We'll be able to use our expertise to help one another and give each other deals :D

Day 5 - Toronto - Tuesday

Because we were to fly around 4 in afternoon, we planned to go to the airport around 1:00, so we could explore the airport and so we decided to stick close to home that morning. Andrew and I walked to the near by shopping centre and though nothing was opened when we got there at 900 we wondered around until some shops opened at 930. Andrew had been looking for a messenger bag throughout the entire trip but could find one he liked, he is very picky and doesn't want to spend a lot. We told him that they are very hard on shoulders but he didn't care. There was one where he tried on at Pacific Mall and he didn't get it because it looked too much like a purse and it was on the pricey side for Pacific Mall aka 'fake/pretend' stuff. We went into Luggage City at the nearby shopping centre but still no luck, he wanted a natural feeling material and not something synthetic looking. Then we went into the Beer Store and and Liquor Store, but he didn't buy any booze to take home because it was expensive. I think the only province that has cheap booze is Alberta. At about 945, we hopped on the Viva Orange and headed to IKEA which was just one stop away and we paid $3 for the ride. It was our first time inside an IKEA store and so we took their measuring tape and pencils as souvenirs. They do have some pretty nice things for reasonable/student prices. I bought a $8 birch round turntable that is meant for cheeses but I'm going to use it for design. We have this square one that the school charged us $20 for and it is MDF and DIY assembly. The corners of the square always got caught you needed a lot more space to turn the turntable. Of course Andrew played Devil's Advocate, but I bought it in the end anyways just so that I could have one at school and at home. I also this 4 level shelf for $20, I got as far as writing down the aisle and shelf numbers but I couldn't think of a place to put such a thing in my basement so I didn't get it. Funny, how they had one half as wide, but for $15! We bought a hotdog each for the ride home for $0.50 each, super cheap! Let's hope they are affected by the meat recall or anything. Our transfers were still good so we didn't have to pay again. When we got home it was 12 and grandpa had went out to buy BBQ pork and chicken for our lunch. We had it with rice and then we had to quickly finish packing. I didn't have room for my turn table so I had to shove it in Andrew suitcase. He really didn't buy much...I had a suitcase full of stuff...the dried pork for my aunt in Winnipeg took up the most space in my suit case. I had to stuff both my backpack and suitcase up to their fullest. Liz and Ray and their dad came over at around 1:00 to come to drive us to the airport. Liz brought over her USB with Chicago pics and she transfered them to my USB. One day I hope to go to Chicago and New York (again). So we headed to the airport together and we got there around 2:00. When we got to the airport, we realized that we had not taken any proper family pictures with my grandparents, aunts, and uncles so we quickly took a few with Liz's dad and the four of us 'kids'. We checked in at Terminal 3 and Andrew and I couldn't get a spot together but we got the same row, the two middle seats. We did a tour of Terminal 3 and then rode the monorail to Terminal 1, it was a very cool experience. Terminal 1 is bigger and airy and open like the Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok airport with no pillars in the centre. The structural members were amazing! there was this piece of artwork hung on the wall that documents by photography the experience of traveling from Pearson to downtown Toronto. We think that the airport authority has no idea what is implied in the art, I think it is dissing the city, a victim of globalization withe several Shopper's Drug Marts and Starbucks shown. Then we went to inquire about Terminal 2, and how to get there but we all found out that there is NO terminal 2, just a 1 and 3. So I tease Liz, "and you call yourself a Torontonian!" Then we headed back to Terminal 3 and then said our goodbyes and we went through the gates around 3:30. My camera batteries finally died as well. We were assigned the gate B27 on our boarding passes but when we got there there was only a flight to Ottawa at 630 and our flight is to Winnipeg at 445. "So I guess we were gong to Ottawa!" Then we checked the screen and saw that we've been reassigned the gate C39 and we had to walk back the way we came basically to the opposite end of the airport. When we were finally at the right gate, it was about 4:00. I sent a text message to all my aunts and uncles and Liz to say 'thanks' right before we boarded. The flight home was a lot more comfortable than our flight into Toronto and we just sat back and enjoyed the ride home... 

Day 4 - Toronto - Monday

After spending the entire day with us on Sunday, my cousins decided not to come with us that morning so Andrew and I headed out to the Downsview subway station via Viva Orange. The ride seemed to be longer than it was on Saturday night and it seemed to take a lot more turns but we got to the subway station at around 9:15. This time, we bought unlimited travel for the day on the TTC for $9 per person, we weren't taking any chances. TTC transfers are only good for connections from Subway to Bus and you technically cannot re-enter the subway station and it is not meant for 'stop-overs'. Last night we were forced to leave the subway station at Union because there were only washrooms at the GO station, but it didn't matter because we had the pass. Back to today...when we got on the subway at Downsview, an older Chinese lady comes to me and asks me how to get to Chinatown (Spadina). She speaks Mandarin ONLY. So I freak out...well kind of...I try to tell her to get off at the Spadina Station but she tells me she doesn't understand english. I tell her that I don't speak Mandarin very well and I speak Cantonese...oh it was pretty funny. I'm trying to say "get off at Spadina and then walk down the hall to the street cars" but I wasn't sure if all street cars go down Spadina. I'm just a tourist myself! A local Filipino lady steps in and gives directions but in English. I don't know how much of it she understood...but we continued to communicate, I tried my best in Mandarin...it was REALLY funny...at times I had to repeat myself but she understood me eventually. It is easier for me to understand her since she spoke slowly and with short sentences. She kind of implied that 'all Chinese people should be able to speak Mandarin as it is the official language'...well, I'm learning and trying! She and her husband did commend me on my efforts and said that most Cantonese people have trouble with Mandarin. They got off at the Spadina Station and said 'thank you' in Mandarin (and replied 'you're welcome' in Mandarin). I always wonder, do I look 'that' Chinese? I think I'm pretty Canadian, and I'm darker than most Chinese people from China, how did she know I was Chinese? We got off a few stations later at St. Patrick Station. We saw signs that would lead us to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) so we followed them to Frank Gehry's building of Toronto. As far as I know, Gehry's is an addition to the existing AGO. AGO is quite hidden in run-down old neighbourhood with narrow streets and power lines dangling everywhere and in comparison to Gehry's other big projects such as the Guggenheim in Bilbao, there is no room for the building to breathe. The glass cladding is a very unique form but is unfitting with the context. The design is best suited on a waterfront or on a busy intersection such as the WAG in Winnipeg. It needs to be exposed and not buried away. It should be reopened in November 2008 so we didn't get to see the inside. The Ontario College of Art and Design was right behind it and so we didn't even have to look for that. We remember seeing a building with a cube sticking out of its side when we were up on the CN Tower, and it was just a block west of the College so we walked to find it. The streets were kind of creepy...I thought we were in drug town or something, nobody was around and the graffiti made me feel unsafe. This was probably the most threatening part of our trip. When we did find the cube building it was another disappointment, it was just a extensively commercialized concert hall with company labels and brands painted all across it...not very cool at all! I took a few pictures, Andrew didn't take any at all and we headed back to the College. We took some neat pictures, I tried to be funny in some. There is an art store right beside it and we went in and I bought tracing paper 18" wide x 50 yd for only $6, that is dirt cheap...They even gave me a discount even though I told them we're students from U of M. The bookstore at the U of M would easily charge over $12! Of course, Andrew played Devil's Advocate and so I resented from buying more rolls. After we went inside of the College, we told the reception guy that we are students from the U of M Faculty of Architecture and how we found their building so much more interesting (than the U of Ts). He was very nice and welcoming and so we roamed around the building and took pictures. I don't think the College teaches architecture but probably design such as graphic, fashion, etc... Next stop was the Ontario Science Centre! We caught the subway and got off at Eglington station and then we were feeling hungry so we bought stuff at Cinnabuns (or something). I bought Cinnastix and Andrew bought a Cinnabun. Mine were easier to handle so I was able to have them on the bus 34 that took right to the Science Centre. The Centre was neat but there were too many kiddie things and the kids were ruining it for everyone. Andrew and I had fun there but it was more of a bonus...had I known what was going to happen after I may have chose not to go...we were supposed to meet my Aunt Sandy, Liz and Ray at about 1 in the afternoon at First Markham Place. The original plan was to bus to the nearest station Don Mills (at Fairview Mall) and then catch the Viva Green to First Markham Place. We took the 25 to Fairview Mall (just passed Sheppard) only to find that the Viva Green only runs during peak hours from 4 to 6 in the afternoon and it was only almost 1 PM. We saw that the map and found out the 25 goes north all the way to Steeles. I called Aunt Sandy and ask if she could meet us at Don Mills and Steeles and that was the new plan. So we got onto the 25 again (good thing we bought those day passes) and then headed north. We both heard the intercom say "next stop, Steeles" so we pulled the trigger and requested the stop...only to find out we were on McNicoll and the map says we were still a few more stops from Steeles. So we had to wait for the next 25 to come and good thing those buses ran so frequently we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for one to come. After taking three 25s, we finally made it to Steeles and Don Mills and met up with my Aunt and cousins at the Esso gas station. My Aunt took us to Swiss Chalet for a late lunch and we had their chicken with their famous sauce. It was good but a bit on the expensive side...$8 for 1/4 of a chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy. We had talks about the 'good old' days when we were younger, how Liz used to follow us wherever there could be fun involved but would ruin the fun for everyone. After we ate, we went back to Splendid China Tower for the Press Conference / Autograph Session of Raymond, Linda, and Bernice. We arrived right when it started at 4 and there was a pretty good turn out at the mall given it was a Monday at 4 in the afternoon. Bernice actually didn't show up and I was slightly disappointed as I was hoping to see all three. We found spots on the side, and though we were closer to the stage, I didn't get very good pictures of Ray because he had his back turned on us and he was wearing sunglasses. Funny, I noticed he wore shoes without socks on...kind of gross and uncool in my opinion...Linda looked better in person than on camera but clearly Raymond was favoured by the fans who were screaming and yelling and we stood there quietly taking pictures :) They seemed friendly but they didn't do much, they just walked out on stage, and had a little bit of Q and A going, and then some photos and then began the autograph sessions, I was hoping to hear a tune or two but I guess that was reserved for the concert. Right before they were about to being autographing a boy near us fainted and his mom pulled him out of the crowd to get some air. There was piled of yellow bloop on the floor and I stepped on it and it was gross! It is probably puke and the boy just had bubble tea or something. It didn't seem like a drink because there was no 'cup' at the scene of the spill. To get autographs, I think either you had to have tickets to their concert or go there early enough because it seems like those who got signatures had special stickers on their shirts. Seeing that we couldn't get autographs, we left for Pacific Mall. This time I bought DIE and When a Dog falls in love with a Cat. They were priced at $10 each but I talked my way into getting a 10% discount at $18 for two :D I was getting pretty good at the bartering. Then I wished I would have said $16 for two, oh well...We went for bubble tea and got a buy 2 get the third one free deal and we ordered 4 drinks. The bill came to $18 so it was still like $4.50 per drink but it was good but expensive. Liz wanted to buy a PS2 DDR dance pad and she eventually found one at this store for $18 each. She got me to try to barter again, and I proposed the deal, 2 pads and the game for $40. The game is $8, so really we were only saving $4! That is like 10% off but she said "No, I don't make a lot off these"...I'm like "It is only $4!"..."That $4 makes a huge difference"...so we ended up only getting the pad. After that it was about 7 PM and suggested going to MHQ Karaoke for 2 hours since we were getting picked up at 9 PM. It is so cheap there, 2 hours for $6/person and you get a drink. In Winnipeg, the places are dated, small and expensive, and they make you buy drinks. However, Jimmy wasn't there and there were no other Karaoke fans amongst us besides me so we wandered until the Mall closed at 8 PM. I bought an SD card reader for $8 because MacBooks don't have built in card readers. After the mall closed, we wandered off to a nearby Wendy's/Tim's and it was cold night....and they were beginning to regret refusing to go into MHQ...Liz and Ray told us horrible stories about their experiences working at Tim Horton's, how everything was frozen and/or covered in flies. There menu is a little different, they don't have the Premium Hot Chocolate or Premium Mocha or Ice Mocha but luckily they had the Chocolate Brownie Ice Cap Supreme and I ordered that. There is no PST on food, so it was cheaper at $3.35 compared to $3.46 here in Winnipeg for a Medium. We also got some Hamburgers from Wendy's...and we sat and ate until Liz's dad came around 9 to pick us up after getting off work. We got home at around 10 PM and showered and ate a bit of rice and then went to bed for the last night in Toronto. 

Day 3 - Toronto Trip - Sunday

My cousins Liz and Raymond came over and the four of us ventured our way to Chinatown Sunday morning at around 10:00 AM with grandpa. My grandpa had this Dim Sum lunch to attend to, so we were to split once we got there. Liz's mom gave us all a ride to the nearest subway station Downsview so that saved us $3.00 on the Viva. At the Spadina station, Liz, Ray and I recalled the moments when the moving 'sidewalk' was there to link the subway train to the street car, but that has been removed. We used to sit on the rails because we thought we were cool by doing that when we were younger. After arriving at the Dundas stop (Chinatown), we remembered that we forgot to get TTC transfers...oh well, what can we do...We got there a little early, it was before 11 AM and nothing was really open because it was Sunday. We walked into the two malls (Dragon City Centre and Chinatown Centre) but nothing was open. We decided that we would come back later. We saw the CN Tower from Chinatown and decided to walk to there, we didn't want to take the street car because we would have to pay for that short trip. We passed by an MEC building on the way. I took some pictures but I think ours in Winnipeg looks way cooler. We finally got to the Roger's Centre/CN Tower at around the noon hour. There was baseball game, Blue Jays versus Boston, and people were everywhere trying to sell us tickets to the ball game, of course that wasn't the purpose of our trip. We had trouble locating the main entrance to the CN Tower and we took these stairs that brought us all the way around the CN Tower whereas we could have just kept going straight and we would have seen the entrance....oops! We got to the ticket booth and saw this City Pass deal that included multiple attractions in Toronto (CN Tower, ROM, Castle Loma, Ontario Science Centre, Hockey Hall of Fame, and the Zoo) for $64 so we got it. They told us it would be a 80 minute wait to get to the top but took no longer than 45 minutes to get the elevators. The last time I was in Toronto in 2001, we waited for hours to get to the elevators because it was in the afternoon. Only Andrew and I went up while Liz and Ray sat and waited outside and had hotdogs from the hotdog stand. We took pictures from up above and it was neat to see the city that way considering we were at ground level all Saturday evening. We saw these interesting buildings and we tooks pictures and vowed to find them once we were back on ground level. We took a few pictures for one another and then took a picture together. Then came the glass floor...I've been on it before so I wasn't freaked out and just stepped right on it and even jumped a couple of times but I could tell that Andrew was a little freaked out and so I took a picture of him and his reluctance. He eventually got on the glass and we took a few cool photos. The line to get back down was a half hour wait and while we were going down it began to rain outside and it was sunny when we were up. We grabbed some pizza from the little cafe on the main floor and ate lunch while waiting for the rain to stop. The rain stopped (but I had my umbrella out just in case) and we ventured to the nearest subway station. It was already 1:30 and the next two attractions, ROM and Casa Loma both close at 5 PM so we didn't have time to spare. It took us a while to find the subway station, we eventually found the Union Station but there was a closer one that we couldn't find...oh well...ROM is located just above the subway station "Museum" so that easy. We got in and had to turn in our bags. There was a huge line up at the ticket booth but seeing that two of us had passes and two of us didn't, the very kind lady allowed my cousins to jump the queue and we got in as soon as we got there! The place was quite interesting particularly the Michael Lee0Chin Crystal by Daniel Libeskind was really cool and we got some great pictures of us (me) being stupid with it, lol...we were quite close to being kicked out...lol...In the dinosaur section, they had a giant turtle and fish hung in the exact same way as in the Wallace building at the U of M and we think they are massed produced and if you buy the turtle, you get the fish for half price or something. We weren't really there to learn so we just took pictures of some interesting artifacts and skipped much of the descriptions :D My batteries were dying by the end of the museum and I forgot my charger at home so I had to buy 4 AA batteries for $7 at the souvenir shop! I also bought souvenir edition of Bold Visions - The Architecture of the Royal Ontario Museum and that has come in handy already while I'm typing this up. They also had a lot of beautifully designed pieces of souvenirs but they were really expensive. For only $99, you can get this lemon juicer that I'm pretty sure Sharon Ackerman showed us in her Theory Class, that looks like a 3 or 4 legged spider. After ROM it was 3 PM, and we were getting hungry so we bought hotdogs at the hotdog stand...for $3 and a bottle of water...because we forgot to grab them from home. While we were eating, there was an olympic parade with Chinese Canadians celebrating the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in their BMWs, Acuras, Mercedes, Lexus, etc... We asked the ladies at the backpack pick up to see how we get to Casa Loma and it was only a few more subway stops north. So we paid again for the fare for the third time that day. After we got off the subway we still had to walk another 10 minutes to get to Casa Loma. We followed these signs on the road but they were meant for cars so we took this big detour when there was this other 'pedestrian only' route. It was hot and humid and we were going up hill. On top of that, the castle had no A/C (duh) and had these huge fans to cool the building off. The place was nice but I found every room similar, the highly decorated Victorian style that I'm not much of a fan of. We had these hand held that served as our guides. We didn't have much time left so we had to rush through our trips in ROM and Casa because they close at 5 PM. The tunnels at Casa were cool (both ways) but were smelly, lol. After Casa, I couldn't take the sun anymore and I had to take my umbrella out and use it for shade, and Andrew made fun of it and called it my "Michael Jackson Umbrella". We walked back to subway station and inquired about the family pass, we were shocked to find out that for a flat fee of only $9, we could've rode the TTC for unlimited number of times! The TTC employee wasn't very helpful at all...The sign was confusing it said...$9 at the top... and then at the bottom it listed "2 adults and up to 4 children" or "1 adult"...the guy was quite rude to me when I asked what the difference was...he said he didn't understand my question (Though I had been using Chinese fairly often in Toronto, I was speaking English at the time)...then we paid closer attention and read the fine print...On weekends, the pass is good for a family, but on weekdays it is only good for a single adult. After all that, I left him with the words "And here we are paying for the fare for 3 times without anyone telling us about it" and I walked away... Later, Liz told me he had this "well, good for you" look on his face. I was in a bad mood after that...It was about 5:45 PM. We headed back to Chinatown to find food...Charlene recommended Gold Stone so that was where we were headed. We passed this 'Watch Repair' store that sold TVB Series for only $4 each. It was funny because they just had this old guy with a table set up at the store window but inside it was all DVDs. I tried to bargain some more but she said no. Liz said she saw it in my eyes that I was going to get them anyways. Andrew said my hands were shaking when I went to grab them off the shelf. Whatever, it was such a deal! Then we went to Gold Stone, we sat down and had the recommended BBQ Pork Rice. Since I got such a deal with my DVDs I decided to treat my cousins! We were being cheap, I asked if we could order two plates for $5 something and then got four extra bowls to share it. The waitress told me "okay, but the minimum spending is $3 per person ($12 for the group), so could you just get a drink/pop?" I'm like "okay". It was really good though probably full of MSG. I left $10 on the table and Andrew left $5, so we left a $2 tip for them. After we ate, we rode the street car down towards the lake front and we took photos there. They had this man made beach and boardwalk which was nice, but seemed really really fake...After that we took the subway back uptown to Queen's Park where the U of T is. We saw the Ontario Legislature building and we wanted to see the U of T Faculty of Architecture building to compare it with ours. After wandering around finding a map, we had to hurry as it was getting dark out. We found the building but only to be disappointed. U of M's is so much better looking and bigger too. They only have one old building to house the entire faculty including landscape architecture too. Even there biomed buildings look nicer than their architecture building. After that, it was dark and we hoped on the subway again and headed for the Downsview Station. Liz's parents came to pick us up from the station and we headed out for Pho (Vietnamese) for a late night snack and Andrew and I got the "Special Pho"...it was good and I was so close to finishing the soup but my uncle told me to stop fearing that I would burst (I knew my limits, I could have finished it). Then it was home time when we showered and headed to bed...End of Day 3...

Day 2 - Toronto - Saturday

Sunny, hot and somewhat humid, but the air quality seemed to be better than it was the last time I was there when a layer of brown haze was noticeable. We began the morning with breakfast and just working our way into the routine. We played with my Pokemon obsessed cousins. Then my aunt Carol came over and we headed off the Splendid China Mall...for you guess it...Raymond, Bernice, and Linda...at about 11 AM. We took Pricilla with us. We got to the mall and I saw a notice stuck on the door. It translated to "Due to the intense storm in Hong Kong, our special guests will not be able to appear as scheduled, and the autographing session is cancelled until further notice." Feeling a little disappointed, we when to this Shanghai restaurant inside for Dim Sum. We wanted to order the Shrimp Rice Rolls but she couldn't find it on the menu. Because my reading abilities are a bit better than hers, I took a look too but I couldn't find them, so we decided to ask the waiter. Here's the funny part, both Aunt Carol and I have limited communication abilities in Mandarin and the waiter was Mandarin. We used a combination of Cantonese, Mandarin, English and body language to describe it and we got what we wanted! After the meal, we took a quick stroll at the Splendid China Mall but didn't buy anything and then we went to Pacific Mall which is just across the street. Though Splendid was sitting empty, Pacific was crowded and we had a real tough time finding a parking spot. As scheduled, I met my friend Jimmy here at P.M. and we hung out. I bought an official version of the Seventh Day because it was on sale ($15) and then a copy of War of In-Laws 2 ($16), also a few English titles for 4 for $10 (most places were selling them for 5 for $10 but I didn't know at the time) Last year, it was 3 for $10 and 7 for $20. Andrew, Jimmy and I hung out at the mall, had some bubble tea while Aunt Carol brought Pricilla back to Splendid to meet with Aunt Sandy. Since the autograph session was cancelled there was no point in staying at the mall for much longer so Andrew and I soon got a ride to the nearest subway station (Don Mills) from Aunt Sandy and Uncle John and Jimmy went back to his family who were eating out at the time. Andrew and I went downtown Toronto! We took two subways to get to the Dundas station and spent a long time at Eaton's Centre. In comparison to our Portage Place, this mall is bigger and was FULL of people inside. I spent over $120 at the Apple Store, though it was under renovations, it was cool anyways. I bought a MacBook Pro Skin ($50), iPod Touch Skin ($25), and Keyboard Skin ($35). The MacBook Pro Skin is sold out everywhere, I couldn't find it at Best Buy or Future Shop and the Bookstore on Campus is sold out of them too. The iPod Touch skin sells for $35 at Best Buy and Future Shop so Apple was selling them fore quite cheap. The keyboard skin was also $35 at Best Buy was only available in Black, I got it clear at the Apple Store. We went into many other stores too. I saw a pair of shoes at Sketcher's that I liked, but I just bought my shoes less than a year ago and the ones I saw were $105. I tried on this polo at Zara, it was $40, so not that expensive but it looked really nice. It was a clearance item so it was only available in Medium and Large. I tried on the M, and it was small so I tried on the L, and it was still small, it was so tight that I had a hard time to take it off (plus it was hot and I was kind of sweating). However, the tighter fit, did look good thought, it made my body look built, lol, too bad it was too hard to take off. If it shrinks anymore than it will be way too small. If it was $20s then I may have got it but $40 for a shirt that isn't my size isn't worth it. I went to Hollister and I wanted this polo and I was about to make the purchase until I saw the line up. There were like 30 people in line from the back all the way to the front of the store. Then we went to this other store called RW & Co and each bought a polo because they had a deal if you bought two. It worked out to about $30 each. I like it, it isn't too loose but isn't too tight to take off. After shopping at Eaton's Centre, we went over to Dundas Square (across the street) and they had these fountains coming out from the sidewalk and a mini market set up. Then we walked to the old and new City Hall and they had this Cuban fest going on and we each grabbed a pita and enjoyed the festival. People were singing and dancing (cha cha I think). After that, we went to Buskerfest down on St. Lawrence and saw this fire show. We couldn't stay for all of it because it was going to get dark soon and we didn't want to find the subway when it was dark out. The two maps we had were helpful in trip planning but didn't help finding the station entrances downtown. One map had the stations listed and routes but no streets, the other had streets but no stations, just the route traced out. So after looking around and asking several people, we caught the subway and headed home. We got from downtown to the Downview station in about 30 minutes and then we caught the Viva Orange and got to Weston and Hwy 7 a little passed 9. We were home at about 9:20 PM. I thought we were going to be the last ones home but we weren't, my uncle, aunt had taken my cousins out and weren't home yet. We showered and ate and went to bed...End of Day 2...

Day 1 - Toronto - Friday Evening

I got to the airport at about 7:30. We had checked in online the night before to ensure we were sitting beside each other. It turned out our flight was delayed from 8:30 to about 9:15 PM. We entered the gates at about 8:15 so we still had about a 45 minute wait inside the gates. I failed the metal detector test and required an intensive scan. When we boarded the jet the skies were dark and everything was okay until we hit some turbulence on our flight. The turbulence was so sudden that a flight attendant was sent flying into the wall. The captain immediately told them to sit down and they did so hastily. The seat beat light remained on for much of the flight. They were originally getting ready to serve the buy on board items. They recommended this mango smoothie ($3) so I decided to give it a try but it was too warm for a smoothie and it was HOT in the cabin. When ask, I told them it was good just to be polite. We arrived quite late and it was passed midnight and we were waiting for our luggage to come down. We were welcomed by my uncle and aunt who picked us up from Pearson International Airport. We arrived to their home in Vaughan and grandpa was waiting for us so we quickly changed and ate and then went to bed, it was 1:30 AM local time when we settled down. I slept on the sofa the first night while Andrew got the sofa bed. We promised to alternate.

Only 20 Hours Left!

Only one more week left of summer and 20 hours until take off! Work has been really hectic lately and has really kept my mind off school, but today we had this director come it from Calgary and he made fun of our 'skywalks'...'oh you mean all three of them?" he said, and i'm like "no, all 5 of them (sarcastically)" lol...but of course we know what's wrong with their +17 walk system ;) I got my macbook last week on Friday and I've been trying to install XP Media Centre on it since Monday but I've encountered a few problems with it and it works but the Media Centre portion won't install...I've been trying and trying and it is really stressing me out...I don't think we'll need CAD the first day...but CS3 runs great on it! Gotta get back to packing! I found this 2005 travel guide that I will bring with me and we'll look it over while we're on the plane!

Shopping list

Toothbrush - Done
Toothpaste - Done
Long distance phone card - No Such Thing - I will rely on Texting
iPod Touch Case - Apple Store - Eaton Centre

Sketchbook for Andrew (Bring mine too) - Grand and Toy 

Sent from my iPod

VMWare Issues

The OS came in three CDs (Part 1, 2, and Updates) yesterday. I've been using this VMWare wizard to set up Windows. After putting the first CD it installs fine and then it restarts and a VMWare Tools error message does come up...

"Error 1500. Another installation is in Progress. You must complete that installation before continuing this one."

It doesn't ask to put disc two in or anything and finishes. I tried to put disc 2 in and nothing happens. I test out windows and it is lacking programs such as internet explorer, media player, or those 'games' (solitaire, free cell, etc)

The manual says that VMWare can create a Virtual Machine from the Boot Camp Partition...I'm thinking I may give that a try...Is it easy to set up with Boot Camp?

Trip to Toronto!!!!

It worked out! I just bought my plane ticket! I'll be leaving Winnipeg Friday, August 22nd, evening and return Tuesday evening! This will be my first time traveling without my parents, so it'll be exciting going with Andrew!

Saturday - Let the fun begin - meet up with Jimmy and cousin - Shop at the Asian Malls in Markham - See the Ray, Bernice, and Linda @ Splendid China Tower - Karaoke?

Sunday - Downtown Toronto! Chinatown? Apple Store?

Monday - Downtown Toronto! (With Andrew) Architecture! Museums/Galleries!

Tuesday Morning/Early Afternoon - Suburbia? Last minute shopping?

The Seventh Day - Episode 9

At the end of this episode the narrator quotes the following...

"Separation is to wait for reuniting,

Love that has experienced hardships,

is permanent,

and is the beginning of true love"

The Seventh Day - Episode 20

This is a translation of what the billboard says at the end of the series...

God created everything in this world
And he created seven days
He placed the most beautiful things in this world
Before our eyes
Therefore, while you are alive
No matter what you experience
As long as you know how to cherish it
Then everything can be the most beautiful

*credits to "tzxsimple" on D-Addicts

What he said here makes complete sense to me and brings the entire series to a nice close.

Trip to Toronto

WestJet has once again lowered their prices! OMG this is so exciting...but I still can't get a hold of my manager! WHERE ARE YOU CLAUDE?

The Seventh Day - Favourite Scenes

I'm watching The Seventh Day for the third time... Here are my favourite scenes from the series...

• *Episodes 2-3 - Kevin and Niki being chased down and Niki taking care of Kevin's wound.
• Episode 4 - Buying grandma's present (in the jewelry shop)
• *Episode 5 - Kevin's realization and finding Niki under the Wishing Tree
• Episode 6 - Kevin and Niki's first 'official' date up on the mountain
• *Episode 6 - Kevin and Niki's gift exchange on the beach and their first on-screen kiss ;)
• Episode 7 - Interviews at the cafe
• Episode 7 - Niki visiting Kevin on his first day as a waiter
• Episode 8 - Natalie buys those stuffed toys for Bosco's car
• Episode 8 - Natalie goes to Bosco's house for supper
• Episode 9 - Natalie and Bosco have their on-screen kiss in the car watching the sunset on the mountain
• Episode 9 - Bosco goes to Natalie's house for supper
• Episode 10 - Kevin changes for Niki and begins designing again
• *Episode 12 - Japan - Kevin and Niki meet across the bridge
• Episode 13 - Japan - Niki tries to find Kevin, but Kevin is following her
• *Episode 13 - Japan - Kevin tells the story of his ex to Niki
• Japan - Bosco finds Natalie and they spend the night together
• Kevin designs their dream house and emails it to Niki (I am a designer myself)
• *Episode 18 - Kevin and Niki re-unite
• Episode 18 - Proposal
• *Episode 19-20 - Kevin and Niki's time spent living together

*Favourite of the favourites!*

Trip not working out...

WestJet has increased their prices significantly and it is now $500 to fly to Toronto. My manager has not responded so I've been waiting for his approval before making the purchase...We were only one step away so I'm a bit disappointed...

Embracing Air - The Seventh Day Subtheme

最美麗的第七天片尾曲 - 抱著空氣 by 鄭嘉穎 (Kevin Cheng) and 周麗淇 (Niki Chow)

K:談情時太美妙 但是已經告別了
Our love was too magical, (MV - Have you kissed me today yet? [Niki]) but it has now come to an end.
痛愛每天困擾 是沒法可預料
The annoyance of painful love everyday was so unpredictable.

N: 愛上你太奧妙 為甚要開這玩笑
Falling in love with him was too subtle, why is this joke being played on us?
看痛苦的破曉 伴著我的合照
Seeing pain’s daybreak and becoming a part of our picture.

KN:*曾快樂曾相戀 曾擁抱吻著你 曾吵架曾生氣
We were happy and in love. We kissed when we embraced. We argued and we got mad.

N:如今一一記起
Now, I remember our every moment

KN:如果心仍不死 容許我 掛念你
If my heart still beats, it will allow me to remember you

K:明知道迷戀你
You know I’m deeply in love with you.

KN:而可惜沒法擺脫別離 抱著空氣*
Too bad there is no way to avoid our separation….we embrace the air

(MV - If I'm not here one day, will you fall in love with someone else? [Niki])
(MV - Of course ... {nodding head} .... not! [Kevin])

K:說再見那暗示 現實要捨棄情意
Saying good bye is a hint, reality wants to give up our love

N:但是我想你知 事實我很在意
But I want you to know that I do really care.

Repeat *

(MV - Have you ever thought about our future)

This MV and song goes really well with the series and together we appreciate both the series and and song more. It has been viewed over 300 000 times on YouTube and that is the highest ever on TVB's YouTube Channel and the themesong video has been viewed over 100 000 times, the second highest! From this we can see the popularity of the series in the younger population since it is us who log onto YouTube and watch videos. I can see this series not really appealing to the older population which drew the viewership rating down...but I loved it so much.

The Seventh Day - Theme Video

最美麗的第七天 by Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎)

在這天這一分鐘遇你
On this day at this minute I met you
望向街中的感覺很美
Looking into the street, everything felt perfect
下一秒 未準備
At the next second, without any preparation
未適應兜兜轉轉像戲
Not accustomed to going around in circles like a game

越過空間差一些運氣
Walking through spaces without much luck
下意識的心想碰到你
Hoping to bump into you
剩低我 在這地
Leaving me alone in this world
離別終捉到珍惜道理
Separation has enabled me to understand the meaning of cherish

＊七天空間交錯　似千次遠離
7 days have passed, it's like a thousand good byes...　
一天呼吸使我在回味那空氣
Breathing a day of fresh air allows me to recall the air　
七天終必希冀　記憶再儲起
The end of the seven days will be magical, and saved in my memories　
心中一生的美是曾遇你 ＊
Beauty in my life lies in my heart because I met you.

在你身邊匆匆的掠過
Passing by your side hastly,
未有開口擔心會出錯
Worrying about saying the wrong words,
未敢愛 再等待
Don't dare to love so I'll wait here
重疊的空間終雙覓愛
Spaces of overlap end this seeking relationship.

Repeat＊

花一生的福氣為重遇你
Spending the fortune of my entire life to meet you again.

Though this themesong isn't as catchy as the theme of Under The Canopy of Love, it is still very good. I didn't like it as much at first, but then it does really catch on.

The Seventh Day

After seeing how much Linh liked the series, I'm watching the series again for the third time...all the episodes are on my iPod now... :D

Trip to Toronto?

WestJet prices are fluctuating...my manager still has not confirmed my request to take the two days off...and my dad though he is not against this trip, he is not very supportive about it...I wonder how Andrew is doing?

Trip to Toronto?

After realizing that 3.5 months have gone by without leaving the city of Winnipeg, Andrew and I are planning a trip somewhere...We would leave Friday night and return Tuesday night. I would only have to take two days (Monday and Tuesday) off work. At first, we wanted to go to Chicago, because it is rich in architecture, by driving to Grand Forks and taking the train to Chicago, but my mom turned me down. She suggested Calgary or Vancouver, but Vancouver is too expensive and Calgary does not interest Andrew and I that much...it is a city we built in 10 years and we will be able to see only one type of architecture. Then I did a search on WestJet and they have a seat sale for flights to Toronto and it only costs $330 to fly to Toronto... I could even go see Raymond, Linda, and Bernice in T.O. and visit my grandparents, uncles/aunts, and cousin...best of all it is free to live there...

It Came!

My MacBook Pro finally came...it was so easy to set up and it only took 15 minutes to get everything up and running...so, so far so good...It thin and light and looks great! XP MCE isn't arriving until Tuesday...

MacBook Pro Didn't Come Today

After delivery my iPod Touch a day early, FedEx has now let me down...my MacBook Pro did not come this morning even though they promised delivery by noon August 14, 2008. I wonder if Andrew got his package today...At least I got my iPod...I'm in the process of loading The Seventh Day onto my iPod because it was so good...My iPod is getting scratched on the back already...I better get the cases this weekend...

Best Bussing Experience

I had my best bussing experience yesterday. After shopping at Staples I took the bus after the one I usually take that is ten minutes later but it got me home before my regular usually does because the were very few people on the bus and better yet it was air conditioned and it was a hot day.

Sent from my iPod

Dentist appointment

I had a teeth cleaning appoinemt on Wednesday. No cavities so that is good news but my teeth are beginning to ache after the cleaning. After my dental appointment, I bumped into the mother of a Chinese classmate from architecture school, Elaine, the mother was next in line. I also know the mother from Chinese school because she is a teacher as well. Funny, Elaine and I didn't know we were connected until after reading week. We were not in the same studio group but she is with my good friend, Andrew, who works for Service Canada right now. Then when I walked outside into the parking lot, Jay's sister and brother drove by slowly in front of me and we waved. As a side note, the daughter of my dentist was a student of mine last year.

Sent from my iPod

First iPod Post

So I found a way to resolve the issue I had with blogger earlier. The solution us to post via email. This will do until blogger makes their site compatible with iPhone and iPod touches.

Sent from my iPod

Forensic Heroes II - Ending (Warning Spoilers)

I finished it! It took about 2.5 weeks to watch the 30 episodes. I had watched the last three episodes today thanks to the convenience of my iPod though the last two episodes didn't play quite properly...oh well they played fine the laptop...I think I liked FH2 as much as FH1, though they are sequels the style of the 2 drama series are different. Both series had a lot of Forensic Sciences involved and made the show scientific. FH1 had a lot of family issues with Tim, Sui Yau (Yo Yo) and Sam, whereas FH2 had Belle's family situation but that was a cliche and not very interesting...FH2 focused on the love triangle relationship between Belle, Ivan and Sam and I think that is where this series shines. In FH1, the relationships started slower and the producers took there time at building these lasting relationships in the hearts of the viewer. However, in FH2, the relationship between Ivan and Belle developed rather quickly and I was somewhat 'unconvinced' at first...perhaps that was what they were trying to achieve inorder to introduce the triangle relationship. Sam was the 'third person' but really he wasn't because he didn't have feelings for Belle, Belle and Ivan's relationship became convincing to me (and to themselves as well) after the first explosion. Thank goodness, Sam did not fight Ivan over Belle breaking their friendship! That is the way it should be! Also, after loving "Ding-Ding" (Linda) so much, it would be awkward for him to just pick anyone and fall in love with that person. In the end though, I'm glad Sam found someone that he may begin his new "big project" on. Though she isn't Linda, she is to him, though I guess that isn't really fair for the girl but it's hard to say whether it is right or wrong to 'love' someone because they remind you of someone else. I was very pleased with the ending. Perhaps my only criticism is that the series was too series at times and lacked some comedy to spice up the romance a bit. I don't mean 'stupid' comedy but even some chemistry perhaps...perhaps that is what is missing (Kevin and Charmaine worked together as a couple in Food for Life, but I didn't like the triangle relationship in that series)...now if only Belle was played by Niki...now that would be interesting! Bed Time!

Ipod and Canon Printer

They came in the mail this morning a day earlier than expected. The touch is best device invented! It is awesome! I can go on Facebook but I can't seem to make a post on Blogspot...Oh well, maybe I'm just stupid or something. I can't link to my hotmail account becaue they have disabled POP3 but I can connect to Gmail and U of M accounts. It took a google search to figure out how the stand is used. The Canon printer is much like the printer featured at the lab on FH2!

Moonlight Resonance Episode 10

Today's episode of MR was really FUNNY! I found it hilarious and bursted out in laughter when Sa Yee asked "Which one suits me more? The pink? or the Blue?"....when they pretended to be at the soccer game...Jo Bow's imitations...Everyone's response to Sa Yee's "Let's Duet"...I think she was referring to the chinese version of "My Heart will go On"...I prefer Moses' style in MR more than HOG, he's actually kind of cool :D

New TVB Series - Slicing of the Demon

The series that is replacing Heart of Greed is "Slicing of the Demon" starring Bernice, Sunny, and Michael Tse. I don't think the series has aired in Hong Kong on TVB yet because it isn't listed on their website, it must have been warehoused. It is an ancient drama series (with demons and spirits) and though Bernice is in it, it just isn't my cup of tea. On the plus side, I need the extra time because school is around the corner and there are things to prepare for. My Macbook is coming on Friday!

Forensic Heroes II - Triangle Relationship

The triangle relationship between Kevin (Ivan), Frankie (Sam), and Charmaine (Belle) in FH2 is very similar to the triangle between Raymond (Alfred), Moses, and Linda in Heart of Greed. Both have two friends falling in love with the same person. However, they handled the situations differently...well so far anyways...Rather than cheating on Ivan, Sam and Belle chose to stay away from each other to prevent the affection from deepening...However, sometimes the more you try, the greater the reaction if something goes wrong...for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Oldies - Heart of Greed

Old songs featured on TVB's Heart of Greed...I have heard of most of these but some of them are new to me. I particularly like numbers 2, 3, and 11...but they are all good. It is definitely one of my favourite scenes of Heart of Greed.

1. [陳百強] 漣漪 (Ripple)
...Life was calm and quiet like the lake waters, but you've induced some life into it. Because of the ripple you have caused, smiles and laughter have appeared...
2. [許冠杰] 難忘你 (Hard To Forget You)
...It's hard to forget your posture and movements, the concentration in your eyes. It's hard to forget your teasing smile, like spring's sunlight, and your backside moving quickly...
3. [趙學而] 每隔兩秒 (Every 2 Seconds) - Trivia: She played "Moon's" (2nd Son's) first wife in Virtues of Harmony
...I think of you every 2 seconds, but I don't know how to make your heart happy. I think of you every 2 seconds, completely forgeting about myself...
4. [陳百強] 戀愛預告 (Love's Advance Notice)
...I hate you because you don't know, but I'm willing to remain in a lover's dream, leaving a lasting mark. Outside the window, the clouds in the sky are full of enticing musical notes. In the night sky, the stars say to the moon, sweetness is love's advance notice...
5. [蔡齡齡] 細水長流 (For Eternity)
...If your eyes are like the deep sea, you've already sank me deep down. Who made fall in love? Do you know?...
6. [譚詠麟] 情是永願著迷 (Love is Always Attractive)
...Only because I have you, everything seems to be perfect. Love is eternally attractive, never destructive. Only because I love you, sweetness fills my heart. Willing to hold the sunset so it can be together with the night wind...
7. [張學友] 暗戀你 (Crush on you)
...Who is able to give you warmth and comfort every night? When I am silently in the darkness? Reality is like that and dreams won't have it any longer. As long as you know, it is enough...
8. [林志美] 偶遇 (Meeting)
...Watching, watching at you, coming and going, just like a rainbow disappating. Which day will enable us to meet once again?...
9. [張學友] 月半彎 (Crescent Moon)
...Allow me to rest upon your shoulders, allow me to speak the words at the bottom of my heart, the beauty and warms of love. My dreams are all about you...
10. [陳百強] 有了你 (With You)
...With you, I feel more joyful. I want to see you everyday, even in the wind and rain, in the fierest thunderstorms, there is a sense of loneliness if we see each other even one second less. With you, I feel relaxed and leisured. Even falling becomes funny when I'm happy. My heart wants to become birds and fish with you to live in an open and free world. My heart wants to become birds and fish with you to live in an open and free world...

Moonlight Resonance (溏心風暴之家好月圓) Subtheme - 愛不疚 by 林峰 (Raymond Lam)

愛不疚 (Not Enough Love) - 林峰 (Raymond Lam)

收藏在眼眸　常徘徊左右　愛猜到沒有
Hidden in the pupil of the eye, always by your side, love to guess at it　
愉快玩笑後　能全然退後　你開心就夠
After the happiness and laughter, I am able to completely retreat, your happiness is enough.

這種感覺太親厚　講一千句也不夠
This feeling is too familiar, a thousand sentences is not enough,
假使講了你聽到後　或會走　
What if you leave after I tell you,
這種戀愛太罕有　不須真正擁有
This feeling of love is too rare, you don't actually have to have it　
成全　衷心祝福然後　就放手
After giving your wishes, truthfully and wholeheartedly, I let go.

放手　放開所有　彼此更自由
Letting go, letting go of all I got, let there be freedom　
放手　其實我絕非愛得不夠
Letting go, though it does not mean I don't love you enough　
放手　豁出所有　還有這個好友　
Letting go, let go of it all, let us still be friends
已經　已經足夠
That is, that is enough

遙遠是宇宙　靜靜在背後　去看守就夠　
As far away as the stars, I'm quietly behind you, watching over you, that is enough

這種感覺太親厚　講一千句也不夠
This feeling is too familiar, a thousand sentences is not enough,　
即使一剎有過衝動　挽你手
Even though at one point I had the urge to grab your hand　
這種戀愛太罕有　不須真正擁有
This feeling of love is too rare, you don't actually have to have it　　
成全　多捨不得仍然　是放手
Giving my best wishes, though I will miss you, is to let go

放手　放開所有　彼此更自由
Letting go, letting go of all I got, let there be freedom　
放手　其實我絕非愛得不夠
Letting go, though it does not mean I don't love you enough　　
放手　豁出所有　還有這個好友　
Letting go, let go of it all, let us still be friends
已經　已經足夠　
That is, that is enough

放手　我的牽掛　找不到盡頭　
Letting go, my worrying never ends
放手　期望你幸福甚麼都有　
Letting go, expecting that you will be happy and have everything
也許 愛很深厚　然而我早看得透　
Perhaps the love is so deep, however I actually saw it clear
放手　至可擁有
Letting go, the only way to have

Translated by me, so please credit...

Moonlight Resonance (溏心風暴之家好月圓) Maintheme - 無心害你 by 關菊英 (Susanna Kwan)

無心害你 (TVB電視劇《溏心風暴之家好月圓》主題曲) - 關菊英
作曲︰鄧智偉
填詞︰張美賢

想一生一起　別想得這樣美
當中少不免　道別離
想歡歡喜喜　但清楚這道
理風光怎麼會沒了期

時日過　誰能成為大器
誰人全無運氣
去到最尾會各自飛﹖

在抱著時候知己知彼
在對立時候爭取勝利
無非人生道理

在最壞時候必須卑鄙
在決裂時候彼此妒忌
無非人生道理
原本無心害你

Credits: to honeybee at tvbsquare forum
http://www.tvbsquare.com/Discuz

Forensic Heroes II - Cases

I'm watching episode 22 of FHII right now and I think I will finish at least another 3 episodes, up to 25 tonight. There are 30 episodes in total. FHI aired on television last summer and I remember the cases being a lot more interesting and unpredictable. This sequel emphasizes the use of technology to solve the mysteries but I find them very predictable. The first case was perhaps the only case that was unpredictable, the rest have been fairly easy to guess...

Dicey Business (賭場風雲) Subtheme - 第幾天 by 黃宗澤 (Bosco Wong)

第幾天(賭場風雲插曲) - 黃宗澤
作曲：葉肇中
作詞：陳詩慧

mo gui seung sum wa min
無懼傷心畫面
gei jue ngoh gung nei seung oi mooi yut tin
記住我共你相愛每一天
tim yin nut yue booi hau juet but gum hei pin
甜言蜜語背後絕不敢欺騙
si nei yeung ngoh hok wooi yi luen
是你讓我學會依戀
jum hui wai nei fung sung wan nuen
怎去為你奉送溫暖
ngoh dik sum oi nei mei been
我的心愛你未變
jau suen mei gei dut sap yuet sap chat tin
就算未記得十月十七天

dai gei tin bei dong suen
第幾天　被當選
hok dung luen oi yiu mo him
學懂戀愛要冒險
kei sat je fan oi ling ngoh goi bin
其實這份愛令我改變
waak si ngoh taai ngaan chin
或是我太眼淺
dai gei tin bei to yim
第幾天　被討厭
moot faat joi oi ngoh yan wai jo yi bei faat yin
沒法再愛我因為早已被發現
kei sat ngoh oi dut fung din
其實我愛得瘋癲

chang yuet doh siu gaai sin
曾越多少界線
yi woon ngoh moot faat sai hui na woo dim
以換我沒法洗去那污點
wai hoh moot faat jip sau juet bat hang sum yuen
為何沒法接受絕不肯心軟
yurk git guk jue ding naan goi bin
若結局注定難改變
to yim gik ngoh yue seung chaan jin
討厭極我如常參戰
jau suen sue ngoh ya sai jin
就算輸我也誓戰
daan ngoh gik tung foo jeung doh yap sum yuen
但我極痛苦像墮入深淵

dai gei tin bei dong suen
第幾天　被當選
hok dung luen oi yiu mo him
學懂戀愛要冒險
kei sat je fan oi ling ngoh goi bin
其實這份愛令我改變
waak si ngoh taai ngaan chin
或是我太眼淺
dai gei tin bei to yim
第幾天　被討厭
moot faat joi oi ngoh yan wai jo yi bei faat yin
沒法再愛我因為早已被發現
kei sat ngoh oi dut fung din
其實我愛得瘋癲

Credits to http://tvb-is-cool.blogspot.com/

The Last Breakthrough (天涯俠醫) Maintheme - 愛亦近 - by 林峰 (Raymond Lam)

林峰 - 天涯俠醫（劇集《天涯俠醫》主題曲）

如深呼吸貼近天空愛的心
從天災戰事助人夢裡飛行
願星光終照亮傾出愛的心
微風中笑著展隨互愛精神
心相近愛越近

似夢似幻似上人生雖偶遇挫折有淚印
有淚與共結伴如今秒秒更迫真
眼望見若意外情感情總不自禁
能竭盡氣力作護蔭我真心

*就算犧牲不需要問回贈
越過胸襟將會讓過萬眾跳出抖震
無止境漂泊沒掌聲也歡欣
無聲的國度助人夢裡飛行
願一天終聽著歌聲也歡欣
晨曦中暗地獨隨互愛精神*
心相飲愛亦更

約會約誓愛是情深不會讓眼淚往下滲
有淚與共結伴如今你我更相親
愛就要令告白情急情 總不自禁
而每段故事有烙印有不甘

Repeat *

心相近愛越近
心相襯愛亦更

A live performance...

Drive of Life (歲月風雲) Subtheme - 愛在記憶中找你 by 林峰 (Raymond Lam)

Original MV with Bernice Liu...


愛在記憶中找你
主唱：林峰
作曲：鄧智偉
填詞：張美賢

我對你　這一生　哪個可比
我與你　差一些　永遠一起
邂逅時間場地　似連場好戲
要自何頁說起

愛太重　深呼吸　欠缺空氣
愛太美　輕輕的　卻載不起
愛情來到時候　似明媚天氣
它走了　突然驟變雪落雨飛

＊如果可以恨你　全力痛恨你
連遇上亦要躲避
無非想放下你　還是掛念你
誰又會及我傷悲
前事最怕有人提起
就算怎麼伸盡手臂
我們亦有一些距離

你太遠　該怎麼　說對不起
你太近　一轉身　卻已高飛
快樂也許太短　似場流星雨
一眨眼　就如幻覺怕又記起

REPEAT＊

REPEAT＊

我情願我狠心憎你　我還在記憶中找你

With footage from Drive of Life with Charmaine



Another Version with Linda though



Duet with Vincy at her concert

My Apple Order

I got an email from Apple yesterday and my Ipod Touch and Canon Printer have been shipped on Friday. The estimated arrival date is now Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 2 days earlier than originally expected...so excited...but still no word on the macbook or XP MCE OS

Heart of Greed - Ended today...

A good series overall, definitely memorable...I haven't even heard of the next series that will be airing on Fairchild TV. I don't know the name of the series but the chinese name is something like 空城計中計...

Too bad they didn't re-air the Specials that were part of HOG's finale in Canada. I do remember Fairchild TV airing this episode of Jade Solid Gold, but definitely not the funny live show put on at a mall. Thank goodness for YouTube, I was able to watch them. Here's Raymond and Linda's performance that night on JSG...

Moving Spots

We had this big move today at CBSA, though I'm still in the same room, I'm now situated in a much more open area so it is harder to 'slack off' and surf the INTRANET...omg...CBC and Weather Office. What awesome places to pass time! (Note the sarcasm) Coworkers in the same office have changed, I'm now with the "security specialists", but they are very quiet and Flory who I talked a lot to has moved into the other office...only 3 more weeks left and 3 paycheques left...and then it's back to school...for another 8 months!

No Moonlight Resonance Tonight...Beijing Olympics Instead

Due to the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, TVB did not broadcast episode 10 of Moonlight Resonance. I saw the rerun of the opening ceremony on CBC this evening...well most of it...it was on while the dramas were airing. It was a good one...The only other I've seen was Athens and Torino, so I don't know how good Beijing's was compared to the other ones, but I can say the Chinese took a different approach and showcased traditional Chinese culture to the world. I particularly like the slogan, "One World, One Dream" or "同一個世界，同一個夢想", there are no differences between us, we have the same dream. I saw the McDonald's commercials for their Olympic Cups for $1.99, I like the colours...I'll get a Green one on Monday, they are more affordable than the clothing sold at Zellers!

Fala Chen, Kate Tsui, and Elaine Yiu

These are three female actresses that I didn't have very strong feelings about but their recent performances have made me change the way I look at them...All images from http://www.wiki.d-addicts.com/Fala's first role was in Heart of Greed, though she was Miss Chinese International First Runner Up after Leanne Li, she isn't pretty in HOG and the young and youthful character didn't suit her. Her Cantonese speaking skills were annoying and an 18 year old girl raised in HK should be able to speak Cantonese fluently. However, my views towards her are beginning to change after watching Moonlight Resonance. Perhaps part of is because of her disability as she is mute that scores her some brownie points, but the "O.L." look suits her better and she looks good in her outfits. The sexy type look doesn't suit her very well in the photo or in Family Link. Her Cantonese has also improved significantly in the last year.Kate was okay in La Femme Despardo, it was her first major role in a series, but Kate's performance and costume fitting in Brink of Law was out of place (Bernice and Shirley stole the spotlight) and though she was 'okay' in Price of Greed, I didn't like her role. I just like to question her looks as former Ms. HK, Mandy Cho is one of the prettiest in recent memory. After Speech of Silence, my view's towards her are changing, partly due to the brownie points associated with a character who is hard of hearing and later deaf but also because of the chemistry between her and Kenneth Ma. The long hair let down suited her way better cause I'm more fond of long haired girls, I like the naturalness of it :D . Her role reminds me of my good high school friend who is also hard of hearing, despite her disability, she excels in both academics and music and she was featured on TV. Kate's role in MR is supposed to be evilish but has yet to appear so I'm not sure if that will bring her back down to where she was at. Elaine's character in Revolving Doors of Vengeance was evil and annoying and in Safe Guards her acting and crying was unnatural and annoying. However, her roles in The Seventh Day and somewhat Speech of Silence have changed her image. Her acting has improved, it is more natural and the fact that she is getting positive roles definitely helps. Though she is not 'hot', she is a good supporting actress none the less. The role you play definitely affects your likeability and can be put up to par with acting skills and looks.

Got New Glasses

I got new glasses today...it took Hakim Optical 3 weeks to get these done for me...they told me that the lenses were on back order so that was the reason for the delay. The first pair had to be ordered from an Ontario Hakim store because they only had a gray/white/silver pair at the downtown Winnipeg location. But it was worth the one week wait because I got very good complements! I don't remember the lenses on my clip-on pair being so rectangular but it's been three weeks and I plan to wear them mostly for driving and stuff so I don't mind them being a little bit bigger. So far I'm pleased with them, though it took a little longer than expected...

Moonlight Resonance Relationships - Revised

After watching 9 episodes of MR and enjoying the series, here is the correct map of relationships.

Laptop Purchase...

I bought it! The MAC...

• 2.4 GHz Processor
• 200 GB Hard Drive
• 2 GB RAM
• Microsoft Windows XP Media Centre Edition
• 16 GB Ipod Touch
• Canon Printer iP4500

I spent about $3000 (after taxes) in one night...eeks...but I'll be getting $99.95 + $319 back from rebates.

I still have to get CS3 and AutoCAD from the bookstore this weekend....I'm so excited...

Linda's Acting

I really think Linda portrayed her role in Heart of Greed very well, her eyes would water and tear so naturally. Her reaction to Alfred's (Raymond) death is unforgettable. She was a finalist in the 2007 TVB Best Actress category but was faced with tough competitors like LSK and Susanna Kwan. However, of all the roles, I think Linda's was the hardest to play and the award was given to LSK because of seniority. Her acting in A Journey called Life, Forensic Heroes and even Moonlight Resonance are good but the role itself doesn't seem as challenging as her role as 常在心.

Coma?

As Alfred 程亮 (Raymond) was pronounced dead, my immediate reaction is why not just a COMA and not death, the typical TVB solution to these situations? I feel like TVB just wanted viewers to stop focusing on the four sided relationship and focus on the family feud. With the coma, Alfred (Raymond) could wake up at the end and then it is happily ever after for him and 常在心 (Linda). All along the relationship between 得得地 (Moses) and 常在心 was a brother-sister relationship, though 得得地 had feelings for her, she had always treated him as an older brother, so I find it hard to accept the relationship that they develop at the end of the story...She seems to be treating 得得地 as a life boat...However, though their relationship develops in a mere 4 episodes, it really spans a couple of years and I remember the scene where 常在心 locks up Alfred's diary which signifies a closure to their relationship. It is just that it seems like 常在心just didn't want to see him go to Africa and be left alone...whatever, this isn't going anywhere...but I know that she truly loved Alfred and she thankfully loved 得得地.

The diary entries written by Alfred and 常在心 are very touching and the songs that were chosen; Vincent and My Love will get you Home are very very fitting. Just like Kevin's last words in the the Seventh Day, the final words by Raymond were amazing and gave good closure to the series. The fit and finish of the series is amazingly well done.

Forensic Heroes II

First it was Raymond in Heart of Greed and now it's Linda in Forensic Heroes II (episode 4)...Early reports had already leaked that Linda would have an early departure in the sequel so I knew it was coming...Of course, it had to happen right before the marriage. Honestly, I think it was unnecessary...The only purpose of her death was to open up a triangle relationship between Frankie Lam, Kevin Cheng, and Charmaine Seh. They should have kept her alive and had Kevin and Charmaine develop on their own...So far the series is alright for a sequel...Linda's death is the set back right now but the triangular relationship could be interesting once we forget about Linda's death only time will tell...Today's episode of Moonlight episode was awesome, the series really took off from the start...

Heart of Greed - Theme Video

If one were to view the Heart of Greed theme video very closely, it tells Raymond and Linda's relationship very well...

Here are the screencaps to prove it...

Technically we knew Alfred (aka Raymond) was going to die from the start...HOG is one of the very few TVB series in which many of the leads die...Ha Yu, LSK, and Raymond...This is one of the reasons why HOG didn't make it into my top 10 list but nonetheless it still falls under memorable. I highly doubt Moonlight Resonance will end up this way...

Heart of Greed - Episode 36...

Like they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words"...

This was a very heart breaking scene...I didn't remember it coming this quickly...

Moonlight Resonance VS Heart of Greed

I finished up to episode 5 today and it's SO MUCH better than HOG...partly because HOG is in the midst of falling apart and Alfred (Raymond) is in his final episodes (the accident is being featured in the sneak previews). He helps Linda win her first case as a lawyer and has this urge to ask for her forgiveness but doesn't. She admits to herself that she is no longer mad at him and has forgiven him. She is also beginning to redevelop feelings for him. The diaries/blogs that they both write are so touching...He fricken dies when Linda was about to forgive him but never had the chance to...he dies trying to help her...how could anyone come up with a script like that...