Friend of mine sent me this article from the Wall Street Journal. I thought it was pretty interesting. Can any of my Asian friends relate to this???
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html
On the eve of my Christmas/New Year's holiday in Toronto/Markham, I am sad that my trip has come to an end. I am leaving for Ottawa tomorrow morning. I had the best time and a much needed vacation. This was my first week long vacation of 2010. As you can see from my Year in Review post, it was a busy year for me and there wasn't much time for vacation.
On Christmas Eve, I came home just in time for family dinner. It was great to see my parents, my siblings, brother-in-laws, and all of my nieces and nephews. I missed the Christmas Eve all-you-can-eat sushi lunch but I was there in spirit. I even called in to say hi to the gang. I was told that I didn't miss much though - many of their food orders were ignored or fell on deaf ears and in the end, they left with little food in their tummies. :( Not good for an AYCE sushi place.
Christmas Day was great. Justine & Dickens made a turkey dinner with lots of side dishes. I brought the stuffing and cranberries. It was everything I expected it to be and more. I really missed spending Christmas with my family last year and I got my wish this year.
On the days in between, I got to spend time with my parents. My sister, parents, and I spent a few afternoons playing mahjong. I could tell my dad really enjoyed it. When I'm not home, there aren't enough people to play. So while I was home, we played quite a bit. It was nice to see that his skills are still sharp. Sometimes I worry that they are getting old but my parents are still pretty good. I think laughter helps a lot.
After spending a few days with family, I got to have lunch with my friend Chris L. Chris was a good friend from university. He told me about an unfortunate family incident that happened earlier this year and I was quite sad for him. I hope 2011 is a year of change for him.
I also got a chance to meet up with Larry, Vicky, and CoKa .. but all on different days! :) That just means three different nights out. It was fun hanging out with each and every one of you but next time, we're going for one big lunch together because I won't have that many days to spare. Haha .. :)
Tonight was hot pot at Joyce & Samuel's house. They recently bought XBox360 with Kinect and they ordered Dance Central! Guess who's addicted to that game now? :) That's another first for me .. a dance video game? Me? I'm usually really shy about participating in video games because I'm such a newbie at it .. but I didn't care tonight. It was a lot of fun. Should I get one? ;)
Wow. The year went by so fast! It's that time of year where I recap everything that I have or haven't accomplished this year. Back in April, I had created a to-do list of things that I wanted to do over the summer. It was a long list as is .. and during the fall and early winter, I started adding more to my to-do list.
Let's see ..
To Do #1 - Continue taking yoga on a weekly basis. - COMPLETED
Instead of taking yoga, I started taking pilates at the gym every Saturday afternoon. I love this class and I know I will continue taking it into the New Year. I have to look for a class elsewhere because my current instructor is pregnant and so she will no longer be teaching the course at my regular gym. :(
To Do #2 - Take the Wilton Cake Decorating I course. - COMPLETED
Course 1 was completed. I enjoyed it and will likely take course 2 & 3 in the New Year.
To Do #3 - Take up tennis again - Did Not Complete.
Instead of tennis, I continued to play badminton. I have met a few friends who are avid tennis players so that may happen next summer. We'll see.
To Do #4 - Experiment with different recipes - COMPLETED
I manage to cook at home every night and I don't mean instant ramen noodles or tv dinners. Every night, I try to make a starch, a veggie, and a lean protein. I also try to bake every once in a while. Some of my best baked goods - mini cheesecakes. My worst? The pear crisp I blogged about. That was embarrassing! :)
To Do #5 - Catching up with friends. - HALF COMPLETE
Every trip back to Toronto, I have made it a point to meet up with my former co-workers or university friends. If I don't meet up with them, I have made a phone call or two to keep in touch. I still have so many people to reconnect with .. I know what you're thinking .. just move back! :) I'm gonna try .. seriously.
To Do #6 - Badminton - HALF COMPLETE
My secret goal was to be good enough to play in the Mark Grantham team tournament this year. Unfortunately, the tournament will be held on the weekend of Chinese New Year. I will be in Toronto that weekend because CNY is important to my family. However, a friend of mine recently asked if I would play in the University of Ottawa tournament in mid January. So even though I won't get to play in the tournament I was hoping to play in, I got asked to play in another. It's funny how things have worked out. :) I have to rest my shoulder as there is a bit of tendonitis that needs to be 'fixed' before I can continue to play on a regular basis. I give this a 'half complete' because the tournament is in 2011.
To Do # 7 - Rediscover my hobby of photography. - COMPLETED
I have always loved photography. And the last few years, I didn't have much time for it. In the fall, I decided to pull out my camera again and start shooting. I almost forgot how much it made me happy. I get to be creative and it challenges me artistically. I've been shooting tournaments as practice. In 2010, I shot two tournaments. This is another thing I will keep doing in 2011.
To Do #8 - Take the Christopher Leadership Course - COMPLETED
This was another fall/winter goal of mine. I had heard about this course and I decided to take it in the fall. It was an 11 week commitment about gaining leadership skills through public speaking. This course has helped me on a personal and professional level. I started off shaky and for the first four weeks, I kept wanting to drop out. But I stuck with it and I got better and better. I started to see what the course was about and I saw the change in my attitude, mindset, and outlook. I am very grateful for what I learned in this course.
To Do #9 - Try something different food-wise - COMPLETED
I tried my first shawarma! :) It's Lebanese food and in Ottawa, there are lots of shawarma eateries. The best is at Shawarma Palace. I went there with friends after badminton one evening and the line up was so long! You know that's a good sign. My friends told me I had to try the platter. Wow. The platter was huge. It was a dinner for two. It came with salad, rice, potatoes, pickles, chicken shawarma, and the most garlic-loaded garlic sauce. That garlic stench lingers for days but it's soooo good.
I also ate at St. Hubert for the first time. It's like Swiss Chalet. I can say I've been there, done that. It's not bad but Swiss Chalet fries are better than St. Hubert fries.
To Do #10 - Make health a priority - COMPLETED
Funny how this to-do comes after my blurb on shawarma and St. Hubert. :) My health has been a priority of mine. I hardly eat out now because eating out isn't always the healthiest. By not eating out, I have learned to cook healthier dishes and try new food items. My new favorite food is avocado. I only buy these every once in a while because they are pretty expensive. When I want to treat myself, I buy an avocado. :) I've also committed to going to the gym twice a week. I notice that when I don't go to the gym, my energy level drops. I always feel good when I'm finished with a workout. When I am home for Christmas, I will likely spend some time at the gym.
Whew .. not bad for a whole year, eh? :) I must say, I had fun doing everything.
With 2011 starting soon, I'm already thinking of what should go on my next to-do list. Hmmm .. what adventure should I try next? Snowboarding? Ice skating? P90X?
What is your goal for 2011?
"Christmas is coming .. the goose is getting fat .. please put a penny in the old man's hat .. "
Christmas is less than a week away and I'm getting excited about coming home for a week. I braved the malls yesterday and today to do my Christmas shopping. I managed to stay within my budget and got the things I needed.
I am most looking forward to the dinner at my sister's place on Christmas day. Even though my family is pretty traditional Chinese, Christmas is an excuse for us to get together and celebrate "gwai lo" style. :) Justine (aka "dai ga") usually hosts the dinner. Dinner consists of turkey, a couple of vegetables, and scallop potatoes with a twist - the twist being that dai ga sometimes doesn't have all the ingredients and has to substitute with other things. Haha .. it still turns out pretty good though. We also chip in with other dishes. I will be bringing the cranberry sauce and stuffing!
The dinners are by no means perfect and that's the way it's supposed to be. We are there mainly for each other's company. We reminsce about our past Christmases, our hilarious cooking mistakes and adventures, and what we hope to do for Christmas next year.
I'll be driving home on Friday afternoon. I'm gonna make it home for dinner. I promise.
Tonight was graduation night for my Christopher Leadership course. It's a 10 week course that teaches leadership skills through public speaking. For the first few weeks, I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. I kept wanting to drop out. But I stayed and every week, I learned something new. It has helped me tremendously. Each week, there was a new theme to the class. Courage, open-ness, unique-ness, love and community, enthusiasm, positive thinking, etc.
I struggled during the first few weeks but as the weeks went on, I got better and better. At the graduation dinner tonight, each student had to do a final speech. The requirement was that it had to be upbeat and positive. In the past, my speech topics have included cooking seafood, the headaches of building a new home, and sharing french fries. My final speech was on Justin Bieber. I was worried that my peers would not know who Justin Bieber was - I asked one of the younger girls in the class whether they knew who Justin Bieber was and she said no. At that point, I thought my speech was going to bomb.
When it was my turn to stand up and talk, I gave the best speech I've given so far. There was no nervousness and I remembered everything that I wanted to say. Several of my classmates told me that they thought I had the best speech of the night. It was positive, upbeat, and the audience got a good laugh at it. Who knew that a speech on Justin Bieber would have been my best speech. :)
I can't wait for the second course.
Tonight, I attended a Ladies Only Christmas party at a local Italian restaurant - Ciccio's Cafe. I missed last year's party due to personal reasons but this year, my friends made sure I attended. The service at the restaurant was mediocre. It took a long time for our food to arrive. I ordered a lasagna and I ate the entire portion because I was starving by the time it arrived. It was good but when you're hungry, cardboard tastes good.
The best part of the night was the "chinese gift exchange". I don't know why they call it a chinese gift exchange. There were 15 of us participating in this gift exchange. I got to pick last! Yes!! :) So in the end, I took my friend Roslyn's hot chocolate bundle. There were two packages in this gift - one was a big mug with cookies and tea, the other was a pitcher/bodum in one with chocolate and hot chocolate packs. I really liked the mug since I don't have very many at home.
I love these kinds of gift exchanges - there were so many different gifts that it was hard to pick what to take. At first, I was eyeing this bath product set but I wasn't too crazy about the scent - olive oil. So I went for my next favorite thing - hot chocolate and mug.
In the end, Roslyn got the gift I brought - a bottle of chardonnay. I'm the wine girl of the group. If there's a party/gathering, I bring the wine. I hope she likes it .. it was a Sterling chardonnay. :)
On Thursday, I will be attending my Christopher Leadership dinner. It's graduation night. I have to make a two minute speech about something happy and upbeat. My best speech was on french fries - yes, I actually did a speech on my favorite food group. :)
I really have to start thinking about Christmas presents too. This year, we said gifts for the kids only. But we'll see. I still might get my sisters something small. They have helped me through this difficult year.
Oh .. I will be in town from December 24th to January 3rd. I'm hoping to see everyone again. (Ka, are you still doing the annual tradition of Pizza Hut buffet on December 24th? :)) I may also want to do some power shopping while I'm in town.
Over the weekend, I volunteered at the Ottawa Districts Badminton tournament. On the first day, I helped out at the draw desk. On the second day, I brought my camera and took a crack at shooting the tournament.
My friend Clem was also shooting that morning but he was only able to stay a few hours. He gave me some great advice on what settings I should use to capture my shots. Clem prefers shooting action shots, while I prefer to shoot candids. I made really good use of my 50 mm F1.8 lens. :)
The tournament lasted 12 hours and by the end of the day, I got about 260 shots. I know, it doesn't sound like much but it was difficult to shoot without being a distraction to the players. I had to limit my time around the courts because they have court rules (when action is taking place, you cannot walk around the courts).
I will post some of the candids that I took.
I was happy to have the opportunity to indulge in a hobby that I had put aside for a while. I had almost forgotten how much I enjoyed taking pictures. All throughout the day, I had a smile on my face because I was doing something I loved.
There is another tournament coming up in December that I may attend and try again.
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