Halloween

You haven't experienced Halloween unless you've experienced Halloween in North America.
Better still, Halloween at a street party in the middle Toronto's LGBT community!

I've never seen such elaborate halloween costumes... some braved the cold with nothing but some leaves covering their private bit upfront, every second person was a cross dresser, even Queen Elizabeth made an appearance.


Naughty nurses and french maids are so passé. Doctors on the other hand, are still very current. Here's a few, running after the H1N1 virus, battling it out with Death:


Whatever the costume, if you dressed up, you were a celebrity that night. Everyone, would stop you in the street for photos. Here's me, with a One NIght Stand:

Kensington Markets

It's always sad to see the last Pedestrian Sunday at Kensington Markets for the year.

It marks the end of decent weather where it is possible to stroll leisurely outdoors, goggle at the diversity in a neighborhood where anything goes, and lament on why I left it so late in the season to visit one of my favorite areas in T.O.

We enjoy the atmosphere of street performers, vintage fashions, vintage scooters, vintage anything for that matter... and the smell of mouth-watering ethnic foods. Jamaican patties, empanadas, burritos... we finally gave into a large fresh strawberry lassi and three samosas for $4 - bargain!



Collage from the last Pedestrian Sunday last year...

TIFF

We started our Toronto International Film Festival frenzy this weekend, the girls and I have tickets to see 8 films in 8 days!

For someone who watches about 3 movies a year at the cinema, I'll see enough movies this week to last me the next 3 years! The girls chose our first movie in honor of me... Bran Nue Dae an Aussie Aboriginal musical. At first glance at the title, I thought it was a Vietnamese movie, and it was my Canadian girlfriend who pointed out to me that it was actually the Aussie accent. Oh dear.

What was really cool was that I got to see famous Aussies in Toronto - I was even excited to see Ernie Dingo, that's how homesick I am!

The cast in T.O. for Q&A after the movie... Rocky McKenzie, Ernie Dingo and Geoffrey Rush... pity Missy Higgins and Jessica Mauboy (remember - runner up for Aussie Idol one year?)couldn't make it coz I like them both..


Aussie film out of the way, we watched a Irish/UK film, Perrier's Bounty and The Warrior and the Wolf. The only English I understood in Perrier's Bounty was the swear words, thank god the Mandarin flick at subtitles, but it was so artsy it totally lost me. I have no idea what the movie was about, but the actor wasn't bad looking...

Toronto Summer

It was a short lived summer. It is noticeably cooler, and the sun sets earlier.
I need to wear a scarf when ride Percy in the mornings =(

These are my fave shots of Toronto this summer. If you notice a lot of shots inside random buildings, it's because there was a weekend where historical buildings around the city was opened to the public - Doors Open Toronto.



Does this entice a visit?

"OMG Dad's on FB!"

I have not spoken to my family for a month and a half. I think about calling all the time, coz I feel I should... but I'm usually too lazy, too tired, or I don't feel like speaking Chinese. Plus, sometimes it's quite depressing when you give up on this "they should call" battle and pick up the phone, only to reach Telstra's voicemail service.

The other day, I logged into FB to kill sometime, and low and behold, the person-you-may-know suggestion happened to be dad. The dad whom I haven't spoken to for months, coz he's never home even when my call gets through. My daddy who used to sign his emails to me with 'Regards' coz he didn't know the difference between work email etiquette and personal email etiquette. Who always causes Skype calls to twice as long coz half the time I am coach him through, or patiently waiting for him to take me off hold, or mute, or whatever was confusing him at the time.

I was so annoyed I found him on FB through a suggestion, yet so proud. Daddy is going high tech now!

***

Speaking of which, I received a surprise call from a dear friend the other day from the other side of the Atlantic (finally my phone rang!)... someone was thinking of me... I felt loved!

Puppy Shower

I've been to wedding showers, and baby showers... and truth be told, I'm not a fan.
Okaes, I hate showers... but it's not about me, and I try to remember this and not be a party pooper.

So you can imagine how excited I was when the girls wanted to organize a puppy shower. Yay puppy. Yay shower. What did I do to deserve this?

Atticus, the pup is a new addition to my girlfriend's family... and spoilt silly by his two mommies, his god mother, god father and offical aunt.

Surprisingly, he was well behaved, stayed away from excited licking and crotch nuzzling (unlike other dogs I know). If any dog deserved the hundreds of dollars worth of presents that was lavished on him for the main event, it was Atticus.

And here he is with the new outfit us girls got him. Pity I don't have a pic of his little sockettes he got for downtown strolling!

Surprise guest

What would make your wedding memorable?
The priest calling you, the bride, the wrong name in church? The chi chi country club with the valet parking and attentive service? The grand ballroom with no shortage of bling? The speeches that called the Kleenex? The best wedding food ever? The drunken guests draped over the open bar?

Or that one of your guests brought this new guy she is dating, who happens to be Ving Rhames?

That's my cousin and another guest taking a fan snap of him. I was too ashamed to ask for a photo because I had no idea he was a celebrity, let alone a star of Pulp Fiction. Plus I couldn't remember his name despite everyone repeating it for me. If it counts, that's G and I in the background of the photo though!

The bride and groom had no idea that Ving was the friend's date. Nor did they have any idea that they would bump into him again at their hotel after the wedding. It happened that he was staying at the same hotel, and was so gracious as to offer the newly weds his presidential suite for the night. How is that for wedding memories???

And here is the lovely bride with all her lovely ladies:

This is why...

... I won't keep pets

The tortured life of a herb box.

Passed!

Second time lucky, I finally passed my road test!

Never mind the fact that it was pouring rain, and the thunder gods were calling at me when I left the house in the morning. I was soaked down to my underwear, but it felt good to pass. To think that 4 months ago I had fallen off the dang scooter!

Next on the learning curve - taking a passenger so I can start scooting my friends around! G has been scooting me around and it's been fun. Parking anywhere is a definite bonus, not being able to drink is not. Neither is not being able to wear heels, but I will live. When I remember, I try not knocking him about with my helmet. Who would have thought that head-butting is an issue when doubling on the scooter!

T-Dot: So where the bloody hell are you?

One way to make me feel loved when I'm all by my lonesome on this side of the world is to come and visit me!!

I have had so many people tell me they are dropping by NYC... but, but... I live in T-Dot! It's only 1 hour away, I even offer to house and feed them, but still it does not entice. Perhaps I have not been selling it right. Have I been awfully harsh on the T-Dot?

Finally, I had friends visit - M&I! And may I add, there was no hard sell on my part. I think they actually came with the intention of seeing me! As a matter of fact, they were pleasantly surprised that T-Dot has a lot more to offer then they thought (there, that's my little plug). Surprises for all when you come!


It was sad seeing them go. The house felt all empty, and me a little homesick.

Next up, my cousin will be here from sunny Florida! Pity rain is forecast all weekend... err... at least it's something different for them...

Recruiter Gripe

I'm sorry, I just got off the phone with a recruiter and I need to gripe.
I've dealt with some good recruiters and some bad ones, but this one is the worse. I am fuming because he is so rude, does not give a sh*t whether I am interested in the role, or whether I even have the skills for it.

Let's be clear, he called me. I did not call him.

He wants a workforce planner on contract. Great. I have the word 'workforce planning' on my resume once. It was a unique deliverable, where I had to make a recommendation on the number of contact center staff to recruit, based on processes I designed, for a brand new operation that did not exist. By no means am I a workforce planning expert.

I don't even get a chance to squeeze in a word in the one sided conversation before he demands to know what my rate is. I'm like "hang on.." and proceeded to explain to him the extend of my workforce planning and how I may not be a suitable candidate, and he cuts me off with "yeah, yeah...". WTF?

So he approaches it from another angle. Do I have BI experience? I don't, and I have no remote interest in gaining. I'm pretty sure I was pretty damn clear. But he wants me to send my resume over asap so he can get the process started.

I asked: "So do you think I'm a good fit?"
His reponse: "To be honest, you are just so, so" (Halle-f*ing-lujah, thats what I've been saying all along), but still he insists: "Send me your resume at email rarara and we'll get the process started"

No 'please'. No 'thanks'. No 'what do you think?'.

I may need a job, but I don't need someone like that representing and selling me.

To top it off, I checked out their website, and I could have done a better job with website design and photography skills (and that speaks for a lot). Guys in cheap suits with fake poses and handshakes and stupid grins on their faces do not cut it.

DS Season 4

Remember how I mentioned that a good friend of mine is on reality TV show Design Star? It airs this weekend! I am so excited!!

Unfortunately, it's not showing in Canada... so I'll be relying on You Tube, or recorded shows throughout the season. The premiere is this Sunday, and we have another friend who is visiting NY promise to web cast it live for us over video conferencing!

Here's the promo for the show:



Jany has been busy busy with PR lately, like a real star!
She's was featured on Good Morning Texas with cheap and cheerful design tips, and was interviewed by a Dallas local paper.

Us gals here in T-Dot are super excited!!

Newfoundland

Newfoundland was the one province I missed out on in my last Canadian road trip escapade back in 04. I finally got to see it.

Dubbed as a cross between Iceland and New Zealand, Newfoundland did not disappoint. We decided to skip the major city of St John's and hit the west coast where Gros Morne National Park is famous for the amazing views. In particular, we were searching for this shot of Western Brook Pond:


This shot was the inspiration for the holiday. Unfortunately, you can only get this if you are hiking for 4 days, and 4 days was not an option. Enthused by our hikes in Patagonia recently, we decided on the James Callaghan trail - 16kms of the most strenuous trail at Gros Morne. This was our compromise:


Not bad... this was definitely the highlight for us. Mind you, they weren't lying when they said the trail was strenuous... the mountain is covered in a 'sea of rocks' which we had to swim through from the bottom of the mountain all the way to the summit. The hike up although tiring, was actually quite ok, but the hike down was much worse... my poor knees!!

But the view was rewarding, and the we saw moose!! Last time Chris and I was on the road for 3 weeks and not one moose... we encountered 6 moose in 5 days! We tasted moose before we actually saw them... in a burger!

We also saw arctic hare, and a wild fox. One of the tour guides said he had a polar bear knock on his home window once. We were sad not to have come across a polar bear.

Other highlights were lobster!! Our trip coincided with the annual Lobster Festival, what a treat! Lobster straight out of the ocean and cooked in sea water - G and I had one each going up the coast, and stopped by for more one the way back down. It was sweet, juicy and utterly divine.

We took a boat trip on Western Brook Pond (the pond in the first photo above) and checked out what used to be fjords before the pond was cut off from the sea. We also took another boat tour to see whales at close range - photos do not do it justice, these creatures are so big, yet all we can snap is their back.

We paid tribute to a slice of Canadian heritage not widely known - we visited the once viking settlement of L'anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO heritage site. This was especially cool since it tied in with out taste of Viking history in Scandinavia last year, and to see evidence of it on our own shores!

And lastly, we also saw huge icebergs floating in the sea - amazing this is, the icebergs originate from Greenland where they broke off a glacier, and the current has carried it south, past the northern tip of Newfoundland! The icebergs we saw have been on their journey for 2 years for it to reach Canada. Pretty darn amazing.

Here are the highlights... check out the pic link on the left for more:

It's all in the shoes

G does not shop much. He has unquestionable dedication to a small number of brands.
This is his latest purchase:



I know, it's pretty geeky to ride a Vespa and own Vespa shoes... but I was pretty impressed with the detail. So impressed I gave it a photo shoot. It's got the Vespa badging, the lines at the back of the shoe mimics the vents at the front of the scooter, and the sole is just like the floor mat! I was a bit disappointed Adidas didn't make a women's range... so, I had to make do with Stella McCartney ballet flats instead...

The Hangover

If you haven't seen The Hangover already, go. Go now!
It is hilarious... I'm pretty picky with my movies, and I hate washroom humour so typical in comedies these days. Washroom humour this is not... I love it because it is so random if not realistic, but hey... everything goes in Vegas!



It reminds me of the time we left the to-be-bride past out in the cab - it was actually in the same driveway at Caesar's Palace - we were all so blind drunk we forgot her in the cab and she was too buggered to call out to us!

Anyways, I'm still working on convincing my closest and dearest guys friends in letting me attend their stag... peoples...??

Tennis Ho

Today I am a tennis ho.

North Americans here have a concept of Jack & Jill before a wedding. Where the guys and the gals come together for a meet and greet before the big day. Some people go as far as running casino games, selling tickets etc to raise money for the couple.

Today is just a meet and greet - Golf Pro's and Tennis Ho's.

Personally I hate stagettes, showers and anything in between. More than anything, I hate freak'n dress up parties. Lucky me, North Americans love it and go to great lengths to play the part.

Tennis ho not happy.

Certifications - just take my money

I have always been discouraged by certifications.

It may have been initiated from good intents, but somehow it has evolved into a fantastic money making vehicle that is capitalizing on society's notion that you need a piece of paper, and a lighter wallet to prove that you are qualified. Does being 'qualified' indicate you can apply in real life?

I'm studying Lean Six Sigma. I could have paid thousands of dollars and signed up for an official course which I am sure will be a good, but I opt for a cheaper alternative, a self-study online course that will give me a certificate at the end of the day for USD$500. For me, it's a choice - I forgo a better quality course for the sake of affordability and flexibility. But to a recruiter or an employer, it doesn't matter how much money I paid, how much learning I achieved, or how much they will benefit from the application of my skills... to them, it's a line on a resume. A stamp to say I'm 'qualified'.

To achieve this certification, all I need to do is read a text book and answer 25 multiple choice questions for each chapter. And this is an example of a question:

To answer, it requires no testing of my knowledge, no application of a formula. It doesn't even provide me context in order to work it out. All it requires, is the ability to work my finger through the pages of the assigned text, and find the one bullet-point example. Trust me, it does not require any smarts whatsoever, just the ability to compare two sentences word for word and fill in the blank.

And because of this primary school grade 3 skill, I am going to get a nod of approval where someone is looking for Lean Six Sigma skills.

I'm hoping I get more out of this at a personal level. The exam is not an indication of what I want to achieve. But it annoys me to know that there are such high demands for certifications out there, and what a joke some of the acceptable certifications are.

It's sad, some of these certificates really undermine education and learning. But at the end of the day, these are just my views. I still need to fork out the dosh in order to validate my 'qualification'. *sigh*

Reality TV hits home

I'm not a TV junkie, especially when I used to only have 5 channels at my disposal. One thing G could not get over when he lived in Sydney, is the lack of channels, particularly sports channels. I'm still not a TV junkie, but now with hundreds of channels at my fingertips, it will still be difficult for me to go back to 5.

My fave channels are HGTV and Foodnetwork.

HGTV (Home & Garden) because of all the design shows there are that you can imagine - and if you didn't know, at one time I was contemplating studying architecture or interior design - but practicality (and the commitment factor) got the better of me. I did Commerce where I can change jobs and industries at whim. Tuesday nights are usually a night in for me - 'Design Tuesdays' on HGTV with a few of my fave design shows back to back! G gets a involuntary break from TSN Tuesday nights. And when I'm unemployed at home, my lunch break is always 1pm - Divine Design with Candace Olsen!

And Foodnetwork for obvious reasons - I live and dream about food, I'm more aware of this problem now that I live away from home. Some people lie awake at night thinking about life issues, I lie awake thinking what I should cook the next day.

Anyways, I digress. The whole point of this entry is that I am ECSTATIC that my close friend Jany is on a reality show called Design Star on HGTV! This is the girl I went to Montreal with recently, who quit corporate life in Finance, traveled the world by herself and pursued her passion in interior design. I admire her courage, and so proud of her achievements, and is absolutely certain that there are many more to come!

This woman was never trained, but taught herself interior design. She has this most amazing ability to fill a room fit for a star, within an very affordable budget. This is what I admire. As with fashion, I always believe that anyone can look fantastic if you always splurge on labels and follow fashion fads (if you don't, that's another issue), but to be able to look like you walked off a magazine cover and not have spend a ridiculous amount of dosh is an art in itself. This is Jany Lee!

The great news is (apart from the fact a dear friend is on TV!), is this year, one of the judges on the show is Candace Olson (re: 1pm unemployed lunch break). The bad news, Design Star is airing on US HGTV, not sure if we'll be getting it on HGTV Canada! =(

Special guest

We found this little unexpected guest at G's parents doorstep:

It was so cute, much smaller than my fist, it was more like a rat than a rabbit.

Failed...

... my road test =(

Very, very disappointing, especially since we had to drive both Percy (the scooter has a name now), and G's car for 1.5 hrs to get to the test center because we can't double up yet. G passed with flying colors, I should have done everything without problems, but my nerves got the better of me. I've never been this nervous about anything else before!

At least G passed and we can double up and drive at night... we can take Percy to places now! That is if G still wants to ride after his 3.5 hour commute today.

Violated

What annoys me more than people trying to rip me off, is when I actually fall for it. I let my guard down, question my initial judgment, take a leap of faith, and say.. "here, take my money".

So where on G's PC yesterday, trying to sort out a million things. And this dang pop-up keeps popping up about some virus and compromised system. We have one of those freebie anti-virus programs, and it has worked well so far, but so many pop-ups made us a little worried. So G downloaded the free scanner indicated by the pop-up, and it detected a number of nasty un-friendlies on the system. For $69.95 USD, you get a years subscription to this advance security software, and for a bargain price of $89.95 USD, you get a lifetime subscription. The Asian in us got the better of us.

Mind you, I did do a quick scan of the product details, the site look legit, there were testimonials from PC World, Australian PC User, and it was even rated by Microsoft. Must be authentic.

Our saving grace was that I wanted to pay for it for tax deduction purposes, and when prompted to pay, decided to use my Paypal account. Very well so, since my receipt showed that the payment went to an individual named Aaron, with an email address totally unrelated to the product. A little wary, I finally did what I should have done before handing over the dosh - I Googled the product. I lost count of the sites that came up saying that this was a fake site and scam, and why I needed to deleted all traces of it's files from my computer.

I was pissed at my short lapse in judgement. I called Amex, I called Paypal, neither could do anything to stop the payment. For me to get my money back, I needed to prove that they did not provide the service, or there was something wrong with the service they provided. Very well, but how can I prove that they are a scam, and that the virus software doesn't work, especially if I refuse to register the licence key that was sent to me? I thought about all the loop holes in my case, and could not believe how smart these fraudsters were. It took me forever just to unearth the original url that had prompted my to make the purchase coz I went and deleted everything!

After not letting Paypal off the line with my infuriation, they suggested that I lodge a complaint to the seller.

The seller had no idea what they were dealing with. An unemployed analyst who has all the time in the world to do her investigations and build a case against them. A a dang good case she built!

All the investigations resulted in one polite complaint email to the seller through Paypal. I listed all my efforts at contacting their disconnected number, my reasons for being concerned with the product, of how I was pressured into buying it, and all the facts that would have supported the case should I decided take it further. My disclaimer was an apology if my allegations are not correct... but I'm just a concerned consumer. Oh, and I wanted a refund.

Less than 2 hours later, the refund was approved by the seller without comment or question.

It's not about the money, it's the principle of the matter. I'm also pleased that my work skills are also life skills. My two cents: Do your homework, and always say please.

Beware of this fake scanner:

Put your hands up....

... if you like updating your resume!

You can't see, but my hands are firmly squished under my butt. I find nothing more torturous than having to take my jammed pack three-pager out, and try to jam more in.

Just when you think you have it down pack, or simply downright bored looking at it, you get told that it requires more detail.

I made the mistake of asking the recruiter how I can improve it. He said it was good, and was what got him interested in the first place. Then he gave me pointers of making it better. Thinking that it was 'good' already, I assumed it was only minor changes. He called me up baffled as to what I had changed, and proceeded to send me a tried and proven sample. Which means... I have to make more updates. Urgh.

I literally breathed a sigh of relief when he finally approved it. I felt like I was handing in an assignment. I told him he better make my efforts worth it!

On another note, I've started studying an online course that I can do at my own pace, for a certification that I have been meaning to do for a while. I guess I have time to do it now. Day 1 was actually quite enjoyable, I find it difficult to write notes though, handling a pen just seems so foreign these days.

And I'm not looking forward to finding real estate on my three pager to squish this in when I'm done either.

Dining Montreal

Dining is one of my most favorite past-times, and Montreal is my favorite Canadian city to do it in. The food is amazing!

We hit Au Pied de Cochon based on recommendation, and boy were we grateful. The food around us looked so good, we couldn't decided and just asked the waiter to surprise us... which he did a great job of.

This most amazing seafood platter ever... everything was fresh as, and no fillers and fried stuff - except the fried soft shell crab, who doesn't like soft shell crab though??


And after a few more appetizers, we ended on this:

The picture does not do it justice... it was pancake, with a scallop potato, topped with melt in the mouth seared foie gras, drizzled in maple syrup. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

I love Montreal! It's vibrant, it's romantic, people are gorgeous, it's a shoppers paradise, and the dining and nightlife is almost as good as a crazy European city. If only I can speak french, and not have to swim through knee high snow in winter, Montreal would be the Canadian city of choice to live.

Keane does the T Dot

Our fave band Keane was over in T.O. recently, and I saw them live for the first time.

Tom, the lead singer has an absolute amazing voice, raw and live. Not sure how popular they are in the UK, but they're not that famous over here. Not usually a big fan of the British accent, it's something else when you hear it in Canada!

Anyways, I didn't see much of the show since everyone around us were like beanstalks, and I had a rather annoying display of PDA in my face throughout the whole concert. But I loved it anyways, maybe it's because I know and love every single song performed, this was the first concert where I didn't walk out shrugging.

Here are my fave rare glimpses of the stage:

On the market

So why the sudden outburst of blog posts, you ask...

It's week 2 of unemployment, and blogging makes me feel like I'm working. And it's a good distraction from the not so fun job hunting.

It's been more of a holiday, as the initial weeks usually are. I've been trying to be constructive with my time which was going very well until this week where I allowed myself to indulge in lounging-around-in-pjs sort of behavior.

So far, I have been exercising every single day (bar yesterday, and possibly today). I've even started swimming... I bought a skipping rope with weights on the handle, which is very cool. And I tried the running thing, but nah, I'm not a runner. Squash is still a weekly activity, and I sampled a boot camp which highlighted how badly I need to wake my abs up.

I even have a TASK LIST. Every time I think of something that needs to be completed, from housework, to admin, to researching, or calling home.. I whack it on my list. Helps me stay focused. My list is going strong, for every item I tick off, there's always more to add. I'm scrubbing the bath tub today. And packing for the weekend in Montreal. Perhaps I will get around to picking up my library book. See, I'm feeling constructive already, thinking about all this.

All in all, it's been good so far, no complaints yet. Except for the fact that I have not heard a peep from any of the resumes that I have submitted.

I did meet a recruiter yesterday though, and he seems promising, even if the market doesn't. This guy called me consistently throughout last year, but my contract always got extended. So now that I need work, I finally get to meet him. He's prob one of the best recruiters I've met so far (although I do reserve the judgment till he gets me a job).
- First up, he gave me an agenda - never have I been given a meeting agenda by a recruiter.
- He gave me history on the company.
- He asked me for my interests and preferences. Where I want to go in life. It's unbelievable the number of recruiters who do not even ask if you are interested in a job - they just assume they are a god-send for calling, and you want to lick up everything they dish out at you.
- He seems to know the difference between various types of BAs, and didn't lump us in the same pool, which is very refreshing. So many recruiters try to whack me in a Reporting BA role, or a System BA role... when I tell them I'm a Process BA. They clearly don't understand that the role of a BA is as clear as mud, as is the role of a Consultant.
- He appreciates the significance of the projects I've worked on, even when I didn't play it up. This is when I know that they actually understand the project environment and complexities.
- And he gave me some fantastic tips for turning an interview around. I think I do ok at interviews (except the time I had an argument with a KPMG Director), but he had some great tips that I am keen to try out next time. I'll let you know if it works.

The only negative is that, after 2 hours of talking, he doesn't have any opportunities for me just yet! He seems keen to place me though, so we'll see.

So anyways, if you haven't noticed yet, being unemployed and alone most of the day makes me very talkative. Just be thankful you're not on the other side of the phone coz I was able to call you at whim!

Blogging for a cause

I came across this this other day in the papers, and thought it was an absolute brilliant idea! I found your camera, is a blog dedicated to cameras that have been lost and found. If you find a camera, you can email some of the photos on the memory to this blogger, who will post them weekly in the hope that someone will recognize the photos, or the people in the photos.

Quite nifty, I say. I have never lost a camera, but would be in tears for sure if I did. I was in tears when I accidentally deleted all my photos when in Prague. But that was due to stupidity, and a beer... I doubt there is a blogger out there who can save that.

What the???

I am terrible with languages. The only subject I was ever stressed about in school was Japanese, because it's all memory work.

When traveling, phrase books do not help, G always laughs at my pronunciation in English, I doubt I will be better in Spanish. I try not being one of those loud mouth, ignorant tourists that refuse to speak anything but their own language, but I am... sort of, in a very apologetic way. I smile, look guilty... and I get by.

So thank goodness when they have English translation on the menus:

The new sky dive

Because I have been sharing my scooter woes of late, I hope you don't mind me sharing my latest achievement. I rode to the mall today!! Not just the grocery store that is within walking distance, but a real mall! My scooter and I are starting to go places! *grin*

That road - Eglington, that I was trying to cross when the SUV ran the red lights... I actually rode on it today, which is a huge achievement for me because I was terrified of traffic, let alone ride on a major road. I've never ridden at 60kms before, nor on a 3 lane road each way. The roads were seriously bumpy, so I was a bit wobbly at first, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.

When I got there in one piece and parked, I forgot to congratulate myself. Instead, I was walking around with a knot in my stomach, just thinking of the ride home. The last time I felt so sick in the stomach, was when I jumped out of a plane sky diving.

To encourage myself (yea right), I bought a pretty little top from Anthropologie, my new fave store. I did my miniature grocery run (the eggs did not crack in my bumpy ride), and made it home!

Next major destination - downtown! I think my stomach will plead for a break. We'll leave it for another day.

Back in the drivers seat

Thanks for the emails after my little scooter incident. I feel loved, even though it's a few time zones away!

Just to assure you, I hopped back on the scooter the following day, even if it was for a small spin to get lunch. I thought it was important not to let it get to me. Whatever doesn't kill me will make me stronger!

I have a back log of stories and places to share. Now that I am unemployed, I'll have more time to share them! They'll be much lighter I promise.

Green means Go

I just got back from riding my Vespa. I have started riding on the roads now, because figure eights in a car park is no fun. Still not very confident, I'm just riding around the neighborhood... we live in a nice young family type of area, drivers in their fancy cars and baby seats are generally polite, so I feel relatively safe.

Today, I decide to expand my territory - it's only the third time I've taken the Vespa out on my own. I haven't really crossed any main roads yet, and today I was feeling adventurous. I mapped out my route so I don't have to be indecisive or get lost. I was feeling good.

I was at a set of traffic lights, waiting to cross Eglington, one of the major roads in the area. I was a little worried about the lights not changing. Yesterday, I was sitting at a set of lights and I missed three changes because my Vespa and I aren't heavy enough to trigger the sensors. I didn't want to have to park my Vespa, run to the pedestrian crossing to manually trigger it, so I was very pleased that an Audi TT approached the lights on the other side of Eglington. It was going to turn left onto Eglington. I had right of way.

The lights changed green, I notice the TT was indeed respecting my street presence. A young mother and her nanny started gathering their pram and bags to cross Eglington. I throttled, and started crossing the intersection. The first little mental obstacle on my carefully planned route. Tick.

It was not until I was in the middle of the intersection, did the pat-on-the-back get thrust away by a heavy lurch in the stomach. Words can't describe the feeling when you are on a scooter, fully exposed, and a mother of a SUV is speeding through a red light, right at you.

The few times I have been close to a major collision I have felt a wave of calm pass over me. Not sure if it is just the mind being numb, the body expecting the worse, or a sense of resignation. In that split second, somehow, instinct gripped the throttle, thank god, thank god I did not slam on the brakes.. because I kept crossing, and the SUV kept sliding, missing the back of my scooter about a metre or so. I'm not sure, and I wasn't about to stop and check. I was in such shock I had to drive a few hundred meters away before I was willing to stop the Vespa and take a deep breath. I have never, never felt so lucky in my life. That dick of a SUV driver has never been so lucky in his/her life. I would have been toast for sure if they had hit me. The young mother, her nanny and young child would have been toast if they didn't paused a few seconds to gather their stuff before crossing the road. At least four lives would have bee wasted because of some reckless driver.

I continued riding, coz I was determined not to let a freak near-accident waiver my confidence and deter me from riding. But in the end I cut it short. Petrol was running low and I didn't have the stomach to venture onto more main roads to fill the tank.

It was only until I got home, parked the scooter, then it hit me hard. The thought of what would have happened if I had slammed on the brakes. The thought that I had so much ahead of me, and how close I was to losing it.

I called a friend coz G doesn't answer his phone when he's working. She calmed me down, but even as a write this I'm still crying. I don't know, I guess it's incidents like this that makes me want my family and close friends. What if? Would they have flown over? Would they even know? Does life go on? I am sure it does. But what if?

Anyways, I feel a bit better now, getting it all out. I wish I had a shoulder to cry on though, coz my t-shirt is taking a soaking.

And I'm going be pissed if I can't put my new leather riding jacket to good use. My low scooter confidence has taken a beating, but I'm hoping tomorrow is another day. I'm not ready to tap out, yet.

17 Days...

... into Spring and it starts snowing again. Big flurries followed by even bigger rain pellets. It's so windy there's no point even having an umbrella! =(

Can't wait till Friday when I jet off to South American 20 degree weather!

Knowing your Friends

Speed is not my friend. Call it a confidence complexity, a trust issue, whatever the case, Speed and I have never hit it off.

It started on the bunny hill in a world class ski resort in the Rocky Mountains. While 5 year olds were embracing Speed, I sat on the side, taking deep breaths before throwing myself down the run. I was a skeptic. Come to think of it, I'm not friends with Turns either. Turns and I, one sided relationship. It took me a while to become acquainted with Turns, a good few seasons actually. For a long while, I could only turned one way. The right way. It took a lot of stacks and bruises to finally turn left. Deep breath, b-i-g circle.

Since we're on the topic, I'll admit, I'm not friends with Two Wheels either. Or maybe it's called Balance. When it comes to wheels, the more the merrier.

So I don't really know what overcame me when I decided to purchase a Scooter. After a long winter, we finally picked it up.

And, I fell off within half an hour. Speed laughed, so did Balance. My poor knees weren't so happy. My Jeans and I became best mates.

When I finally overcame the whole Balance thing, and let the machine drive me in a straight line, I needed to face Turn. I was told that I needed more Speed. Damn. When I finally overcame Turn, I found I could only turn one way. Right. By the time I managed to turn left.. I felt deflated and sore like snow boarding, and my arms were lead like I was boxing non stop for ten hours (this is the same person who gets blisters on their hands when riding a bicycle). But I turned!!!

Slowly, I am getting used to it. I need a little more control, a little more confidence. As for Speed and I... we're slowly making it work. I'm only at 25kms, but I'll get there eventually.

Here are some pics of my new toy. Look out for canary yellow if you're on the road!


The best part about owning a Scooter? This is how much it cost to fill a tank:

Who says Accountants are Boring?

I studied Commerce and majored in Accounting. I was once upset with not getting an Accounting scholarship. Later, I refused to do my CA. My Accounting career lasted a whole 9 months - I quit my Auditor trainee ship at a Big 5 to become a really bad Developer. You can say I am either an expert judge of stereotyped professionals, or hold a somewhat biased view. I've studied and worked in both Accounting and IT, and know some very cool people. I have a lot of Accounting and IT friends, and they are neither boring nor geeky (that's not what I tell them). I'd like to think that I'm not boring or geeky. Stereotypes suck.

Until I met my first Accountant. Potential Accountant. Potential because I walked out thinking he was the most boring person I've met, and coincidentally fit the Accountant stereotype like a glove.

Although I initiated the inquiry about his services, I expected that him, being the professional in this relationship and I the client, would lead the meeting. Instead, he leads me into a dark meeting room and sat there waiting for me to start. I had to nod at him after I finished rambling to prompt him to start talking.. which ended up in mumbled monotone questions, head down, and a few neat squiggles on the page. I didn't even realized he had asked me 'how Toronto was treating me'. I blinked and asked him to repeat because I could not believe such pleasantry could come out so dull. His response to my animated reply was no better.

Since he wasn't offering me any information, I did the asking. I felt like I was at work, digging with a million questions, trying to piece together fragmented information to understand the reason for something because the person could not just simply tell you.. "this is what happens and this is why". What frustrates me is when I get the answer.. "this is what happens, that's the way it is"... "what do you mean why?". Just like at work, I have to coax and cautiously detour around defensiveness.

It's bloody hard work, and a headache. I thought people paid accountants to give advice and guide them in their decisions. This dude wanted me to pay him $325 to prepare my taxes... and that involves me to handing over my spreadsheet with macros and built in formulas that calculated my invoices and cash flow for the year, so he doesn't have to charge me for bookkeeping!

To think the hour I took off work to meet this guy would have been better spent and more stimulating reading Canadian Tax Law.

I'm a believer of the stereotype. I'm an exception. So are my friends. We must have skipped one too many Accounting lectures.

Bollywood in Vegas

Vegas. There is nothing quite like it. Everything is larger than life, if you're not the biggest, you're not the best. You can see lions, the Pyramids, New York and Paris and hundreds of other huge hotels and casinos side by side on a mere 7km strip. Vegas spans the entire spectrum of slum, tackiness, frustrating arrogance, and even a little bit of class.

My last trip to Sin City was back in my backpacker days on a Contiki tour. We stayed off the strip in a dingy motel. I think it was behind a Denny's carpark, the motel was painted pink with blue trim.

Not a gambler, Vegas is not on my list of favorite places to revisit. But our bride-to-be wanted to spend her last hurrah in Sin City, and Sin City was where we went.

It started at the airport where the bride-to-be donned the mandatory stagette veil... we had the whole airplane clap as we boarded! The veil was not allowed to come off the entire weekend, which is fine when you're with a whole much of girls, but so used to the hair piece, the runaway bride went shopping by herself and either had to fend off pitiful glances for the crazy woman with the veil, or take a moment to work out why someone congratulated her each time.

The theme was Bollywood... before we went out on the town, our stagette was decked out in an Indian outfit, was presented her dowry of a million gold chains and bangles, and was well wished with Caesars Palace chocolate gold coins pelted at her.

On arrival, our bride-to-be was surprised to stay at Caesars Palace... a thousands times bigger than a Denny's-car-park-motel, and much, much better than The Golden Nugget that we had made the guest of honor believe. One can spend an entire day or two in the hotel and complex, and still be entertained, even if you're not gambling.

The last time we went Contiki-style clubbing in Vegas, it was at a club way off the strip, there was toilet paper strewn from the ceiling, that ended up knee high on the dance floor. Bikini clad girls offered shots from test tubes, and the boys would be swooning for photos.

Clubbing this time round was a different affair. We went to XS, the newest and best club in town (apparently), and part of the gorgeous Encore hotel. Before you can even get to the scantily clad girls, you have to get through the door. To get through the door, you need to say the key word - and no, it's not "test tube shots". Rather, Bottle Service. Bottle service is nothing new in North America, we were expecting it. But at $400 a pop, with a maximum of three girls sharing one bottle was a little outrageous (we would need $1200 USD and end up with 3 bottles of Grey Goose!). So we wait in line. And the bouncers pick and choose who they want to let in. They are very good at not making eye contact. That is unless you wave them over for a greasy handshake. We're guessing it would be a few hundred dollar greasy handshake for us to get it.

Once you're in though, the venue is pretty dang amazing. Pity it's a journey to get to the bar and it took us almost an hour to get a drink. After $16 shots (that's for one) and an even more expensive chaser, and no way of getting more overpriced alcohol within an acceptable time frame, we gave up on drinking... So we made the bride-to-be entertain us instead!!

(this is as much of the club I'm allowed to show - there are actually beds in the water)


Food was surprisingly amazing (for American fare!). We sampled Alize, with an amazing view and impeccable service - every time you get up or sit down, someone is miraculously there to pull your chair and fold your napkin! The food was fantastic, European dining at American sized serves. Way too much food to warrant our buffet at Wynn's the next day - but no complaints since I had the best cream brulee ever!

Slot machines all seemed the same to me. I put all my money in, press a button and leave the seat much poorer. Not much excitement for me unless you counter the flutter when you credit goes up by $1. But we got introduced to Wheel of Fortune slot machines! Not only do you play your chances of winning a row of something or other, but you play for a chance to spin the wheel and multiply your bet by whatever the wheel landed on. It's fantastic!

So the six of us are sitting at the boarding gate (trying to hide from a guy we met at one of the clubs who happened to be on our flight), eying the blinding lights of the Wheel of Fortune... calling for us. One by one, we relent, scramble in our purses for last scraps of USD... only two of us got lucky, but hey, it was the best entertainment I've ever had waiting for a plane!

I rest my case...

I love the guy, but what the F does Obama have to do with a Sugar Cane drink??

A success story, not mine.

I have spent the last four years working on two huge projects that have or will spend hundreds of millions of dollars implementing a system will provide fantastic customer experience. Both projects boasted they will deliver state of the art CRM that will revolutionize the ordering process, reduce the need for customers to call and complain, blow customers away with the efficiency of how their calls and needs are handled, and eliminate the need to decipher bills.

One of these projects has apparently failed miserably - despite the the hard work, dedication, and the quality of team. The second of these projects, still in the works, will, I predict go much, much worse - based on the work, dedication, and the quality of team.

Although I personally did not attribute to the failure of these projects (with teams of hundreds), it's disheartening to see that such a common vision, is so difficult to achieve.

Attempting to complete a simple transaction with my Aussie telco confirmed my disappointment. First I couldn't find where to change my direct debit details on the web, when I found it and deleted the old info, it wouldn't let me add my new details. And I was trying to make a payment for crying out loud.

I was convinced it was not possible. That is until I saw a success story.

I have a soft spot for Amex... the only credit card vendor willing to give me a Canadian credit card! I've had an Amex since university, at the moment I carry three - two Aussie, and one Canadian.

They are the only providers of customer service that has me smiling when I hang up the phone. I was so impressed with their service that I jumped at the opportunity to provide feedback on a survey sent after my last interaction. No longer will I scoff at the vision of 'first call resolution', 'customers will only state their need once' and 'billing made easy'.

I'm not sure I want to implement another one of these projects, but if I do, it will be a success!

Obama Mania

It's a sunny but cold Sunday afternoon, the traffic is light, the seat warmer is on, the tunes are pumping... and there is a wave on the side of the road. Obama is waving at us from the side of the road with a goofy grin.

We stared incredulously at President Obama, well, the picture of him plastered on the outside of a box. The box was worn by some guy, it was big enough to cover him from head to knee, and even went as far as having a side window where a comical, over sized red glove is extended out in a enthusiastic wave.

We were so distracted with the Obama set-up, we didn't even catch what advert President Obama was being exploited over. The Marketing department was in despareate need for fresh inspiration.

Before we could give it another thought, 200 meters down the road, there was Obama again... grinning and waving enthusiastically. This time we took a better look... the box, was actually shaped like a cardboard house with a red roof, and Obama is pictured in front of the house pointing us to the right. A third Obama had to wave us down before we realized, that President Obama was waving us towards some Open Houses off the main road. If I wasn't already in the market for some real estate, I am now. No, not really.

This is not the first we've seen of Obama Mania, but from T-shirts and bumper stickers, it's been raised to brand new heights.

And I thought the dude who is opening a Cafe Obama needed help...


It's great to see that people have renewed hope. That for once, they have faith.

But this exploitation has gone way overboard. Every night, the White House will always hold a good few minutes of coverage on E! News, on Entertainment Tonight, on Access Hollywood... after the breaking news of another Hollywood starlet with weight issues, or before the ground breaking news flash of yet another split-up in Tinseltown.

I really hope that Obama's name will upstage the tacky signage of Obama Cafe, and the Obama coffee imported from Kenya will live up to the promise.

An early morning message

I've been pretty good this year with my weather whines... but this was the news I woke up to this morning...

This could be the year we have the heaviest snowfall in 70 years. And we're not even half way through winter yet - I still have the worse month of Feb to look forward to. It was a great incentive to spring out of bed!

And whats with the 40 degree weather back at home?? Not sure if I envy you or not...

Sand without the beach

"You need to step outside... every time you open your mouth, the price goes up"
Gotta love mi-wei-sik-chu for her honesty. I can ask her anything at all, and she would give a straight answer. Never mind the fact that I considered leaving her in the Moroccan souk after a comment like that... she may have the art of bargaining, but she also needed my sense of direction to get her out of the maze of never ending stores and alleyways:


Good thing I didn't leave her behind. She was my toilet paper dispenser, my drug store, supply of pastries and my mother away from home... when we got back to London, she was my nurse, cooked me soup and bought congee at 2am so I can have it for breakfast. She was worth skipping out on sunny Mexico to go to bloody cold London and Morocco.

An added bonus to this trip was that reen-ee decided to join us before we left!

Morocco was every bit as colorful as I had imagined. A guesthouse Riad Jona was true to gorgeous pictures on it's website. We met some really great people, people who offered us mint tea, cookies on the street, students studying English who offered to take us around... but there was many others who tried to rip us off.. cab drivers, shop owners, and
even random people off the street. It was a shame, but we sported a defensive attitude, and was often rude, just to get them off our backs.

Moroccans are also fascinated with Asians, we couldn't walk anywhere without being hassled with "Konnichiwa"... "Japanese? Chinese?"...

It was extremely annoying, but I guess Moroccans are so rooted in their culture, regardless of how they were brought up. Their background is such an important part of their lives that naturally they are intrigued with our backgrounds.

I was asked who I would represent in the Olympics if I had to choose between China, my heritage and 'where I am truly from', or Australia which they described as simply 'where I live'. There is no doubt who I would choose the represent, yet to them, not fighting for your roots is a foreign a concept, as foreign as I am to them.

The highlight of the trip was definitely the Sahara desert. The places of interest on the way there was nothing compared to the destination itself. To be riding a camel and watching the sunrise in one of the greatest natural beauties of the world is awe striking. Sharing a tent with 12 others (including four snorers), sleeping under blankets used to cushion our butt on the camels back, and peeing under the stars was less inspiring, but worth the cause:


And the best of the rest? Being able to meet with sorely missed coffee and shopping buddies in an exotic country. I can't think of better travel buddies to pee under the stars in the Sahara desert with.