Countdown to Christmas

"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.

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Christopher Leadership Graduation

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.

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Tis' the season of Christmas parties

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.

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My First Attempt at Freelance Photography

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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Is it flu season?

Okay, I just sneezed 6 times in a row .. and I'm not chilly.  I knew I wasn't feeling well late last Friday and it gradually got worse.  Today, I feel it .. sore throat, sinus congestion, muscle aches ... the flu?  But I have been so good at not getting sick.

I know I got it from my niece Chloe.  She was sick last week and I still held her - she's so darn cute.  Well, it's worth it.  At least, I can take a few days off to work from home. 

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Visiting Toronto

I'm driving to Toronto tomorrow night.  Ahhh .. can't wait to see my friends again.  I'm making a special trip back to collect my reward for being able to name all of the animals from Vicky and Steve's safari trip.  Hahaha ..

Anyway, it's late .. I played so much badminton tonight that I'm exhausted.  And I still have to pack for my trip.  Sigh ... I suck at time management.

Pudgy

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Halloween Hangover

Last Saturday, a friend from the badminton club threw a Halloween party at the Royal Suite of the Hilton Lac Leamy.  I didn't dress up but some of the attendees did .. my friend Carter dressed up as some character from the movie "Up".  I've never heard of that movie or the character but he won the "Best Costume" award.  :P

The organizer of the party was a great host.  The food was catered by the hotel and the bar was fully stocked.  I stayed away from the alcohol and stuck to regular OJ.  A couple of my friends drank on empty stomachs and got ridiculously drunk.  The sober ones spent most of the night feeding them water and trying to flush as much of it out of their system before driving them home.  It's always fun listening to drunks talk and serves as a reminder to me why I don't indulge in alcohol even if it's free.

The party was partially a fundraiser for the Ottawa Junior Badminton club. There was a 50/50 raffle and the winner graciously donated his winnings back to the fund.  For his generosity, the host ordered him a half bottle of Mumm's champagne.

It was a fun time but days later, I'm still suffering from the lack of sleep from that night.  That's my version of the Halloween Hangover.  :)  Can't wait for the next party ..

Pudgy

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