Thanks to my friend Jenny! I tried out a cool Chinese Fortune telling web app. I’m not sure if it’s really accurate. I’d rather those who know me be the judge. Let me know if you think this is an accurate reading? Leave your comments! 姓名： 陳燊 出生日期： 西元1978年9月22日 (農曆67年8月20日) 靈數： 22 這組數字顯示 你是一個運勢特殊的人，非常聰明，反應很快，生命力量強大，能夠成就大事的，但卻天生有一些特別的使命，讓你的命運顯得神祕不可測。天生的使命，有時是個性或身體上的問題，比如在個性上有超乎常人的敏感，特別會重視面子的問題，或人際關係上的問題，在別人看來你都是過度敏感想太多了；或者是身體上的缺憾，但問題都不是很大，是命中注定你自己要想辦法去克服的地方。 在小孩時代，你便背負著眾人的期待，但是你卻一點也不在意，悠哉悠哉的過日子，還喜歡四處惡作劇哩！ 長大後的成就，第一步需要看你能不能和人協調，協調成功以後，則要去進行實際的事情，才能達成目標。因此一般來講，你如果找到目標，事業運會很好，但是在你沒有找到目標前，會是一付漫不經心的樣子，花很多時間在找人生的目標，直到找到目標，才會全力以赴，也才能將你生命中潛在的爆發力，完全發揮，當然，那股強大的力量，會讓你成就一番大事業。 你的生命中必須完成二個目標，一是必須要完成金錢方面的事情，大多會與金融界有關，因此你所從事的行業偏向與金錢相關，屬於理財顧問或保險經紀人、傳銷等事業，有一個共同的特色是運轉金錢、帶領金錢交流的這類事物；你的第二個目標是找到生命中的知心伴侶。 你的性格特徵是隨性，想事情是憑感覺，不論在對事或對人的判斷上，通常不會想太多，只是依喜好去做，只要我喜歡有甚麼不可以；成年以後才能找到自我，有比較成熟的思考。由於你在社交方面會有比較光鮮亮麗和熱情的表現，因此在事業合夥方面，很懂得如何適時散發你的熱力，這將使你獲得相當的利益與實質的成功，建議你在事業的經營上要著重特色取向，如果要與人合夥，必須要審慎，才能找到適當的朋友合作。 你的優點是具有很好的溝通才能，人緣好，受歡迎。你的缺點在於很多事情想得太少了，過度的自信和感情用事的習慣下，讓你有些盲目的向前衝！ 在感情方面，你較晚熟，因為你會以穩定事業為優先，在事業工作順利的時候，才會真心想找個伴侶安定下來，因此你的感情在事業穩定之前大多沒有結果，多半是空談。而在感情或婚姻的二人關係中，你會相當依賴於對方，配偶將會成為主要的意見諮詢者。你害怕一個人那種孤零零的感覺，喜歡與朋友一起分享或合作的美好感覺，所以一到新的環境，都會先找個伴，或採取合夥的方式來做事，但是在合夥關係當中，你經常扮演著主宰的角色，提醒你要小心，有可能會因此而成為合夥關係的破壞者喔！

This video shows how people in all around the world count their cash in different ways. It’s a fun video for my Singaporean vs. Canadian friends… and friends from all over! How do you count your cash?

Amazon.ca: Men’s Health Power Training: Performance-Based Conditioning for Total body Strength: Bookhttp://www.amazon.ca/gp/produc…Written by CSCS, Robert dos Remedios MA Mike & Alison gave me this book for Christmas… I’m totally loving it! Time to get serious about functional strength training so that I can get my next body tattoo sooner! ^_^

This past February 17th, 2007, Michael, Alison and myself went to the 2007 Canadian Auto Show here in Toronto. It’s a sort of annual pilgrimage. After 7 years in a row, I’m almost sick of it, right? This is Michael’s 5th and Alison’s 3rd. Despite the repetition, we still snapped lots of pictures and power-walked the circuit within 5 hours. This is the first time we visited at the start of the auto show week. There were less people and we were able to sit in more cars than previous years. Good fun day. I thought I’d do something different to introduce the new photo album I’ve put up by putting together a silly comic strip using Comeeko.com. I also put up a mini album on my Facebook page. Enjoy!

If there were any doubt in my mind about who is the best chef in Toronto, they were put to rest after my recent experience of the intricate flavours presented at Susur restaurant. I pride myself in being able to find and experience the best cuisine that this fair city has to offer; whether it be a mom-and-pop shop, or a classy establishment like Susur. I love to eat and enjoy even more when I’m with friends. My recent experience at Susur was far more than I could ever hope for, so I apologize if you begin salivating at my delicious recollection of the night. Who Is Susur Lee? Susur is a celebrated chef in Toronto with his unmistakable trademark long hair and pony tail. Originally from Hong Kong, Susur opened his first restaurant in Canada, but later became the executive chef consultant for the Tong Luk group, overseeing the quality of Singapore’s finest restaurants. (Yes, there’s always a Singaporean connection in my stories!) He opened Susur in 2000 and followed up with Lee right next door in 2004. Susur has received many critical acclaim and accolades; among which being named in the company of the top 50 restaurants in the world on many international lists. As if those accomplishments weren’t enough, Susur is also 1 of 2 Canadian chefs to compete in the popular Food Network series - “Iron Chef America”. The first being Chef Rob Feenie who beat Masahara Morimoto. How did Susur fare? Amidst bias judging, Susur still managed to win by tying Iron Chef Bobby Flay. Can somebody say rematch? Why do I consider him to have won? Well… it isn’t exactly losing if you are judged to be on the same level as an Iron Chef. But personally, I know Lee won the Canadian bacon battle. The Special Occasion She (who shall remain anonymous by request) is a very special friend of mine. Though I’ve known her for over 8 years, I’ve never once really celebrated her birthday. Can you believe that? Time to remedy that oversight in grand fashion! Admittedly, I’ve also been desiring to experience Susur for the longest time; so it was a plot to pamper myself too! Valentine’s day was also drawing near, if there were ever an excuse to do it up, now’s the time! She was indeed a vision to behold in those skirt and boots - the first time I’ve seen her in boots and only the second time she’s worn a skirt in front of me. Pretty as can be! We arrived at 6:30pm, fashionably late as always (but that was my reservation time too!). We were also the last table to be sat for our session. What does that mean? Sursur opens 5 days a week and only in the evenings. I booked my reservation well ahead as every night is packed. Tonight was no exception. Susur offers two sittings from 6pm to 9pm, and from 9pm to midnight. 90% of the partons choose to sample the tasting menu. Instead of offering a traditional menu, the tasting menu is built each day from whatever inspires Lee at the marketplace that morning. And we are thus rewarded with his creativity! The tasting menu we chose was the 5 course tasting menu. A 7 course tasting menu is also available, but we wouldn’t have been able to finish it. First, we were already late and there wouldn’t be enough time. As well, if we kept eating past being full, it simply won’t do the chef’s creations justice as we may not enjoy the last 2 courses as much. The tasting works like this: Tasting menus are served backwards. The meal diminishes in both size and weight from the principal course. On a table of two, neither person is served the same thing demonstrating fourteen (or ten) different dishes throughout the progress of the meal. The menu changes daily based on Susur Lee’s acquisitions at the local markets. For this reason, the tasting menu is not known or disclosed until approximately 5pm on the day it is served. The Taste Sensation I was tempted to take lots of pictures, but she was right. Pictures simply won’t do the food justice as you really must taste it! Lee’s fusion cuisine is truly on a different level. The presentation is impeccably beautiful, but even if you know what is on your plate or how it’s prepared (and they will tell you!), you can only guess at the enjoyment you’re about to receive! You will only be pleasantly surprised at the myriad of textures and flavours you would never expect! I’ve never eaten steak with that texture, and that looks like a lotus root, but it’s not one I’ve ever tasted. Both my date and I got different plates on every course. The lamb was done perfectly. The foie gras and cavaier were delectable. The oxtail ravioli was tasty, and the cuttle fish, lobster and even mackarel went superbly with the special sauces infused with Asian influences. Not only were the food delicious, but the suggested wine pairings were also spot on. Each course was paired with a suitable glass of wine; from a Bordeaux merlot, to an ultra sweet sauvignon blanc from Santa Barbara to champagne or South African white wine. Great wine pairings help to accentuate and draw out the meal’s flavour, but also serves to clean the palette. I reached a new epiphany that night where I experienced for the first time what a perfect wine pairing may feel like. After having the wine, my taste buds reached new heights of pleasure and I also felt refreshed and yearning to try more! She was a veteran of the Toronto food festival Winterlicious, and has enjoyed cuisine at some of the most famous Toronto eating grounds such as Jump, Canoe etc. As this was also her first time experiencing Susur, I trust her opinion that Susur far outstripped those other venues through creativity alone, but also on flavour and execution! The Handshake Throughout the meal, I was able to enjoy the utmost professional service. The waiting staff were knowledgeable, attentive and delightful. I enjoyed my dinner conversations immensely and we both wondered out loud how they decided which guest would enjoy which plates. Was it by gender? Susur was keeping close eye in the kitchen but also walked out numerous times onto the dining room. He looked serious but approachable, as a host should. However, it didn’t seem like anybody wanted to make contact. Perhaps, they were all in awe or simply stunned from their taste buds. Since it was her birthday, on the final course for desserts, a plate was brought out that was decorated beautifully with the message of Happy Birthday! She made a wish and blew out the candle. (If you are reading this, I hope your wish comes true! wink ). To my delight, Susur Lee himself came over to wish her Happy Birthday and ask how were the meals. He shook our hands, and as I looked up to him, feeling that firm grip and his kind venerable eyes and smile, I was feeling special. It was a pity I didn’t have Susur’s culinary book ready in hand for an autograph! As Susur left for the kitchen, a lady sitting at the table beside us leaned towards me to ask if I realize who just shook my hand. Of course! She remarked, “you’re very privileged”. And that absolutely put me on cloud 9 because she was right. Susur had not made chit chat with any of the tables (that I saw). We were both giggling like school girls throughout the sinfully delicious dessert. The End Of The Meal, But Not The End Of The Experience! The meal came up to about just over $350 for the 2 of us. With the wine pairings and the quality of the food, I was expecting upwards of $400 to $500. I was very surprised! I felt compelled by my happiness to give a 20% tip. And if you argue that I did not tip enough, I would be very inclined to agree. We were also the last table to finish due to our lateness as the wait staff rushed to get tables prepared for the next session. As we head towards the coat rack, Susur was standing there politely reassuring if we had a great experience. I was able to chat a little more with him, explaining that I am returning to Singapore this summer. He suggested for me to look up some of the restaurants he used to be involved with. And then he did the unexpected! He personally went back to my table, and picked up the origami table decoration and offered me to take it as a souvenir. He also invited me to come back February 20th - 24th for his annual Chinese New Year celebration. 2007 is the year of the Pig. What’s Next? This invitation brings a dilemma to mind. I would love for nothing better than to be a Susur regular. I would die a happy person if all I accomplished in life was that. But could I afford another round so quickly? This night’s bill is almost my monthly blogging income (for a good month). I’m very proud of what blogging has given me. And who would I take to Susur on those dates? The girl I have in mind won’t be available during that time! Sigh…. I also want to try out Lee, his restaurant next door. Another friend Wendy cautioned that once I’ve tried Susur, Lee would be no comparison. Lee is headed by one of Susur’s long-time sous chef and the menu is more Asian rather than European in flair and more affordable. I’m still confident that my senses will enjoy the Lee experience too. So it’s definitely a future trip, if not anything but to prove Wendy wrong. LOL Lastly, I thought about coming back to Susur around July 20th by inviting my best friend Mike and his girlfriend Alison to the experience. My only concern is that the tasting menu is best experienced in pairs. In this situation, 3 IS a crowd, so I need to find a date for that night too! Sigh… But even eating alone is not a bad thing, especially if you are enjoying Susur!

Christmas is upon us again, and I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my family and friends the merriment of the holiday season! Have yourself a Merry Christmas! Like Charlie Brown, I may not have the most things to offer, nor am I the cheeriest of people during this time. But like good ol’ Charlie Brown, my wishes for you and yours are the most sincere and true from the bottom of my heart. To me, it doesn’t matter what religion you practice or what your beliefs are. I hope everyone can agree that this is a time for “peace on earth, and good will to all men (and women)”! Before the year ends, I hope to write a review of how 2006 has been for me! That’s when you might hear me complain, good grief!

Wow, I’ve gone two months without a post on this blog. My last one was dated May 29th, 2006. Lots of things have been happening so this is a catch-up post. Hopefully I’ll build up a new rhythm to incorporate into the new routine in my life, that allows for more frequent writing! I’ve added a few new photo albums so be sure to check them out. Most of them were from my vacation back home (Timmins, Ontario) during the first week of July. Imagine when you meet your parents after a while and the first thing they say to you, is “Son, you’ve grown fat!”. How would that make you feel?” Of course it doesn’t feel good, but it’s definitely the wake-up call that I needed. I tried to deny it, “But it’s only been 6 months since you last saw me!”. The reply was simple and brutal, “Yeah, but 6 months ago, you weren’t fat!” It’s true! I hate to admit it but my tiny 5 foot 6 inches frame loves gravity to the tune of 178 pounds! I was self-conscious through-out my entire vacation and made sure that the first thing I did when I got back was to weigh myself! I’ve taken steps and set a goal to get back down to 155 pounds by the end of this year. That’s why I’ve signed up a membership with a near-by YMCA and making regular visits (more important than the sign-up)! That’s why I haven’t had the time to blog as much as I used to. Update: I’m hovering around 170 pounds as of this writing Besides that, weekends were spent at different BBQs. Though it only meant that I had to be more diligent in working that food off! Michael and Allison also came down one weekend and got me to attend a WuShu tournament organized by an old friend of my father, Sunny Tang. It was the Pan-American Wushu tournament. Michael’s company, XS energy drinks, was a major sponsor of the event. I had lots of fun sitting at the booth, catching up with Mike and helping out. If you want to know more about XS energy drinks, all I have to say is that it tasted really delicious. Here’s the kicker — NO SUGAR, and NO CALORIES! Not too many energy drinks can claim that! Michael’s the man to contact if you are in the Eastern half of Canada and want to know more about this company. You can visit the company webpage at http://www.xstraenergy.com using the following: Username: northbayPassword: sports Be sure to tell Michael that you heard about XS from me, he’ll be sure to hook you up! Disclosure: I’m not affiliated with XS, I just think the energy drink is great! Finally, I’ve been hobbled by severe back-pains during the last few days. Must be working out too hard! I’ll have to be more careful. That’s it! You’ve been caught up with what’s been happening! Stay tuned for more things to come!

I received the invitation from Dennis a month ago but was still fashionably late when the Saturday came around. It must be in my asian genes! The group was already drinking, eating Mary’s delicious appetiziers and chatting away when I showed up, but thankfully I wasn’t the last person! The weather was simply magnificent. I wished all the summer days could have been like that - warm and bright with a gentle breeze. The food came and more were on the grill, and everybody was digging in to their heart’s content. I bet even retirement is not this good everyday. The Main Event Finally, we got down to the purpose of our gathering. Everybody had been trash talking and it was time to show your skills! Sheila had her poker hardcard (written on the back of a chewing gum package), and everybody was ready to ante up and start the poker tournament. 6 of us played 2 freeze-out sessions that night with Dan winning the first tournament. I dominated the second tournament and won that round. I was the first to bust out in the first round when I tried to catch Richard’s bluff. To my dismay, he showed 2 pairs and I didn’t catch my semi-bluff straight-draw. But redemption was mine in the second session when I knocked out Richard by catching my open-ended straight on the river. The poker gods were smiling on me.
The Hand Of The Night Since I busted out early, I dealt all the remaining hands of the first tournament. The bad-beat of the night had to be Richard vs. Sheila. Sheila covered Richard and was in command at the flop. Richard was all-in with Ace,10 vs. Sheila’s trip-kings. Richard needed a runner-runner QJ to win. The Queen of hearts came on the turn and everybody waited in anticipation. I forgot to burn the top card and pulled out a 4 of hearts. “You did not burn a card, you did not burn a card!” (guess who?) So I put the 4 of hearts aside and the next card was a Jack of diamonds. What a suck-out! Richard completed his straight and stayed alive. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and everybody was having a good time. Reflection I’ve put up the photo album for you to enjoy. I’m just glad that I could back up my trash talking by winning the second tournament in dominating fashion — being the big stack bully the entire night. I had no doubt that Dan could do well with his experience, but it’s been a while since I played poker. I’m just blessed with having wonderful friends who know my way of having fun — eat, drink and play!

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers. Registration code: 2078122

We spent a lovely afternoon yesterday at Mirjana’s downtown condo. Mirjana and Svetlana has a really nice place that was right beside the Rogers Centre. I’ve put up the new photo album so you can see all the fun we had that afternoon! There were lots of food, fabulous desserts, turkish coffee, and of course many laughs througout the day! It was a great day to just relax and enjoy with friends. Thanks for organizing this, Mirjana! We have to do this again soon!

I want to extend a welcome for anyone of my friends who came across this site via Jenny Wang’s email. Thanks Jen! For my regular readers out there, did you miss me?? I’ve not been blogging on this site for quite a while now. My focus has been divided among the many Blogs that I’m running. This is also good time to introduce you to some of the Blogs I’ve been working on! Investorial - This is where I blog my thoughts and editorials about the investments and financial media, and industry. Babe Theory - I started this venture by thinking that I could put a classy spin on a topic that was bound to attract traffic. One of my earlier works that I’ve pretty much semi-abandoned. I may restart it one day! AmBlogger - I read a lot of other blogs about blogging and the Web 2.0 phenonmenon. This is my home for sounding off and hopefully contributing back to the blogging community Banana Smoothie - One of my latest blog, no links yet because I haven’t officially launched it. This is a blog I used to motivate myself to keep fit and stop being a fat pig! ???? - I’m creating another Blog.. this one has to do with a life-long passion of my to do some meaningful charity work where I’m in control. I will let you know when I’ve finalized how I want to approach this! By the way, you can also check out my web traces on line, Web traces are information about myself scattered all over the web, such as my FlickR photo albums (I also host my photos here!), my 43 Things etc. P.S. I will have the pictures from tonight’s dinner uploaded soon!

My obsession with finding and eating good [tag]food[/tag] knows no boundaries, and I’m glad that I have friends who share an affinity with my quest! If you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that when Michael comes to town, my expertise on [tag]Toronto[/tag] fine eats is put to the test. This weekend’s challenges was [tag]Indian[/tag] [tag]cusine[/tag]. I had eaten at quite a few Indian [tag]restaurants[/tag] in the [tag]GTA[/tag] but none that has floored me. I pulled out all stops asking all my Indian and Pakastani friends for ideas of authentic Indian cuisine. One [tag]restaurant [/tag]keeps getting mentioned: Lahore Tikka. I knew I had to embark on this culinary adventure I had to do some pre-adventure reconnaissance. A quick internet search yielded all positive rave reviews. I particularly enjoyed a review by SpotLightToronto.com, especially because there were pictures! There are many other promising reviews on SpotLightToronto.com, that will be sure to keep me busy in the future. The SpotLightToronto review is spot on with all their details about Lahore Tikka. I won’t bother to rehash the same details. There were four of us on Saturday night, Michael, Allison, Rose (Michael’s cousin) and myself. Walking through the trailer doors, I was greated with a cafeteria style setting with loud Indian dance music. Lahore Tikka was still trying to build their own 2 storey restaurant building and the trailer setup though not inviting, was not why we were there.

We found as quiet a spot as we could. Though I like the music, I didn’t want it blaring in my ears. While waiting for our tables, I was looking on with curious eyes at the kitchen pictured in the SpotLightToronto review. The chefs were making Nan bread by putting them into an oven. I love Nan! Nan is like pita bread but so much better! All food had to be ordered from the front counter, after selecting a cross-section of dishes, I went to the counter and got a number to display for our table. This would be how the waiters will deliver the food to us. I was sure the owners and staff had a sense of humour because they gave me number 88 - the lucky number of choice for Chinese patrons! The four of us gorged ourselves with an enormous amount of food, eaten on paper plates with our plastic forks and knives. We were wondering why the tables were so messy after people finished eating, the answer was apparent as they carried iron plates overflowing with rice and we tried to dig in. There was so much rice that there was no way you could start eating without spilling any of this onto the table. Was it being messy? I just viewed it as having fun with your food! Here’s a list of what we got and a brief assessment:

2 chicken kabobs, 2 lamb kabobs (I highly recommend the lamb kabobs) 4 nan bread (we ordered 2 initially but couldn’t get enough!) vegetable mixer sizzler (mixed assortment, chick peas and spinach were my favourite; eaten with Nan bread) butter chicken (excellent! chosen as a standard measure of Indian restaurants) lamb khori (the lamb dishes here have no lamb smell or after taste at all; a definitely delight) chicken tikka (one of the best tikka dishes I’ve ever had) chicken bryani rice (I love bryani rice, could eat it forever)

Whew! That was a mouthful, and believe me; I was full and satisfied when it was all over. I was more pleased to see all that was only $69 for 4 people before tips. We experienced a real good representation of various Indian cooking styles, and we were also treated to some impromptu drumming by the waiter-turned drummer. (He needs a bit more pratice in my opinion!) We went up the cash to pay for the food, brimming with satisfaction and smiling ear to ear. I got to chat with the owner who informed me that they plan to finish the new building in April 2006. I can’t wait! The last thing to do was to have some of that home-made ice-cream served on a chopstick! We all had the almond vanilla posicle, and it helps to cool us down after all the spicy food. It was a treat to find an almond at the bottom of every popsicle. The final word on Lahore Tikka is that you should try it! If you love Indian food, you would be dissappointed! The food are spicy but not hot annoying spicy, the spices serve to create the wonderful smorgasboard of flavour. Some dishes may be a bit greasy, but the health-conscious should put it aside for one day to enjoy one of the best Indian restaurants in the GTA!

I have been extremely busy lately with various projects on the go. Most of these projects I cannot discuss in details because of the parties and partners involved, but suffice to say that my blogging has severely suffered. This website, and others of mine were not receiving the attention they deserved but I hope to correct the situation very shortly. But this post is to help you get caught up with what’s been happening in my life. In summary, my spare time has been spent with friends! Friends are very important. My best friend Jimmy had his birthday this past weekend. That night, we were multi-tasking since we were hanging out with Chris for his last night in Canada (more on Chris later on!), and we surprised Jimmy with a birthday celebration right after mdinight! Jimmy’s not 30 but we played a joke on him and arranged the candles to say “30?”. I really love celebrating my friends’ birthdays, just not my own! Weird eh?

[Vince's Note: I used AutoStitch to 'stitch' a few pictures together to create a panoramic view of the room during Jimmy's birthday. It turned out really well!] A while ago, Jimmy also organized a dinner for friends to gather while Chris was still here. Chris is a good friend and basketball buddy of ours from our University days. He has completed his Masters in Mechanical Engineering and is going back to Taiwan for good. Nothing extravagant or overly-complicated between friends; just great dinners and great conversations. Simplicity is bliss for me!

When this crowd gets together, we do pig out! So there wasn’t a better place to satisfy all our taste buds except a buffet. Jimmy originally set it up for Mongolian barbecue and suddenly call everyone to change the venue to Mandarins Buffet at the last minute. The apparent excuse was that nobody wanted Mongolian food. We were all left scratching our heads when we ask each other and nobody had any real objections. Come on Jimmy, who really told you that reason??

Ikebana is the art of association of ideas and impressions of nature expressed through flowers - the tao of flowers. Lifegiving Ikebana is a new shoppe located at the heart of Markham commerce in the Metro Square mall. The shoppe is founded by two terrific ladies, Tina Chen and Annie Wang. Tina is a long time friend of mine and I’m proud to see her take her passion to a new level. October 8th, 2005 was the official store launch, but the duo has been operating as a home-based business for quite a while. Lifegiving Ikebana is a consultant service. The main business focus is not about selling products although they do search and find some of the best, beautiful and unique gifts that you can find for events like weddings, baby showers. They also provide floral arrangement supplies. Best of all, they personally design many of the pieces that they are selling! Lifegiving Ikebana consults on floral arrangements for weddings, events, corporations and individuals. Floral is the theme, but the ladies are the complete package. Their sense of taste and style are impeccable and can certainly help in planning all aspects of events and decoration needs. In the future, Lifegiving Ikebana will be hosting floral arrangement classes in the shoppe and classroom facilities on location. Tina is a level 1 instructor, having travelled to Japan for the training. Her mother is the inspiration behind her passion. Mrs Chen is a high level ikebana instructor and very highly regarded in the community for her creativity, design, decoration and ikebana expertise. They will be in attendance at the Toronto Ikebana International 24th Annual Flower Show. As a long time friend, I am very proud and happy for Tina. Lifegiving Ikebana has a website under construction, and I offered Tina to take a look at the website to see if I can help. This is where her passion meets my passion! She will have free lifetime advertising on all of my sites. For now, you can follow the links below! Shoppe Hours:11:00am - 7:00pm (Mon.-Fri.)11:00am - 5:00pm (Sat.)E-mail: ikebanashoppe@lifegiving.ca

Toronto Ikebana International Pictures from the Store/Office Launch! Lifegiving Ikebana: Company Profile & Location Lifegiving Ikebana: Website (Under Construction)

Back In February, Jenny was talking about buying a new house during a dinner at Fang’s restaurant. She was worried about how to handle a feng-shui faux-pas - the front door was in a direct line of sight with the back screen door. I saw first hand how she handled the issue when I was invited to her house-warming BBQ for her friends. As you can see from the pictures, she felt that taking care of situation was not necessarily a priority; perhaps even an old superstition.

I got to meet Jenny’s boyfriend, Stephane, for the first time. Stephane bought the house together with Jenny for approximately just over $400,000. It’s a steep price for a detached house, but with the current housing bubble in Toronto area, a house in the ‘Upper Beach’ area are certainly going for those prices! The house is very roomy and comfortable. We got the grand tour right away and I was impressed with the modern layout. However, people who don’t like stairs will not like the 3 storey design. The house is right beside a railway system but the huge wall in the backyard is a great sound insulator. The trains are not a audio distraction at all. I got to hear first hand how the trains sound like running through, and they were really very quiet. f I were to live here, the potential noise would not be an issue for me.

We started the BBQ after the tour. Jenny made some very delicious mushroom tarts. I need to get the recipe, Jenny! She has had the house for almost a year now, but her brother Jack has not been in the house until today. Gee, I expect more from you Jack. Present at the BBQ were Jimmy, Jerry & Shallen, Richard & Rachel and a girl I’ve seen before but did not remember the name. Eric &Christina drove from Waterloo and joined us a little later. We spent the enitre afternoon enjoying food, and some very delicious desserts! The conversation moved into the living room and we had an enjoyable time. I was stuffed with food and almost feel asleep on the comfortable hand-made sofa set.

I feel honored to be invited by Jenny to her house-warming. Many of my friends have moved into new dwellings but I have yet seen everyone’s new home. I’m not a busy body but I feel that you don’t quite understand a person until you’ve visited them in their home. I was glad to understand Jenny and Stephane a little more today.

I often say that I enjoy nothing more than food and friends together. I love eating, but eating alone is not recommended. The last time Catherine called me was to wish me happy birthday. We talked about getting the old University of Waterloo gang together for a dinner. Well, true to the organizer personality that she has, she proceeded to invite people. We chose a restaurant in New Kennedy Square at highway 7 and kennedy. Some people came and left because they were busy and we did start the dinner quite late, others simply gave up because of supposed traffic issues. Pretty lame to me! I will do some advertising for the restaurant, Grand Lake Chinese Cusine & Banquet. The dinner was super cheap! The quality was alright, but the deal was in the price! 5 of us sat down for a dinner with roast duck, shrimp, crab, fish, soup and stir-fry and it only cost $58 before taxes! I may have to go back again simply for the value. After dinner, we went for bubble tea at the busy Destiny. Jimmy joined us after just flying back from Ottawa. He had dinner while we drank tea, fruit jucies and chat about anything and everything! Inevitably, the topic among my Taiwanese friends turn to politics. I usually play the role of the listener, but since the discussion mood hit me, I voiced my first opinion about the subject since my friends have known me. We stayed chatting until 1:30am in the morning

I am generally an anti-social person when it comes to my birthday. I do not like to make a big fuss of it. I’m also not terribly excited about getting one year closer to 30 - a psychological age barrier for myself. It’s not that I am afraid I will have accomlished little by 30, I am more afraid that I will lose my drive by then. But today was simply about living in the present. I received well wishes from my brother and mother, and had a relaxing conversation with my brother in particular. Mother always wants to send me money on birthdays (don’t all chinese mothers?), but I really have no need for the gift. I am very appreciative of the gesture and birthdays are always an occasion to thank my mother! When it comes to friends, I do know of many people, but I am most appreciative of my close friends. I had a scheduled dinner treat with Jimmy. It’s been far too long since we sat down for a heart to heart talk. Like the good friends that we are, we pick up where we left off as if no time has passed. We talked candidly about everything there could be to talk about, the past, the present and the future. (More about our journey back to the past soon!). Catherine is also another friend who always remembers my birthday. Some years, she will send an email, or a text message, this year we talked on the phone briefly while Jimmy and I just finished dinner. It’s always great to hear from a dear friend! Jimmy really took me on a journey to his past. As you know, I live around the Warden / Steeles area currently. Jimmy showed me that he used to live around the same area with his cousins during his first time in North America. He had went to Milliken Mills Public School for his grade 8 education! He showed me the first basketball court where he started learning basketball, and also where he had his first summer job! Later, we went to a nearby basketball court to shoot some hoops. There was very good lighting and the ground was damp from the rain, but our old basketball from Waterloo did not get even the slightest wet. The hoop and court were very nice and very soon we were hearing the sweet sound of the swooshing net. We shot around for another hour, all the while still chatting about everything that we could think of. Call me nostalgic, but basketball has changed me from a shy guy to a more outgoing person, as did Jimmy according to his stories. There was no better way I could write an ending to my birthday. I will treasure these memories!

Michael and Allison came down to Toronto for the labour day weekend. They were looking to buy furniture for their move to the new place, shocks for Mike’s car, and other miscellanous items. But we made sure to set aside some time to continue a tradition we started this year. I think this must have been the 3rd time that we went to Ding Tai Feng. Allison really likes this place, and I have to admit that I absolutely adore the food! But it’s not a place that I get to get frequent very often. I like to keep such a venue for special occasions. Ding Tai Feng is a restaurant franchise that originated in Taiwan, it have various locations all over the world. Here is a review of the Shanghai location that I found over the internet. I’d suggest you disregard any mention of animosity between Taiwan and China in the review as food really is not about politics! Nonetheless, the restaurant’s specialities are their soup dumplings - ‘Xiao Long Bao’. The soup dumplings are packed with juice inside, and one usually pokes a hole in the dumpling, let the juice seap out onto the spoon, and savour it before consuming the dumpling. This has been a favourite tradition of ours, and there are not many things more enjoyable than having good friends, good food and good conversation!

Ok, I procrastinated blogging about this event. I actually attended the reception on August 28th, 2005. It was definitely an evening to remember! I regard Robin as a kindred spirit because him and I think alike in terms of business, entrepreneurship, finance and other such issues. I felt very honored to be invited his wedding reception. I went stag to the reception but offered to give Dennis a ride. Having Dennis in the car made for some good company and good conversation as we got lost on the way, and also forgetting to bring the address for the reception. I knew Firas and Sherry were showing up as well, so a quick call to their cellphone got us to the reception with time to spare.

This is my first Indian wedding, and the wedding is between Robin (Indian) and his bride Dekyi (Tibetan). Dennis served as a perfect bridge for me because he is also Indian, born and raised, but he is Hakka chinese as well. It was also very nice to chat more with Sherry and Firas is always fun to hang out with. I enjoyed the appetizers and dinners very much. There wasn’t a dish I did not enjoy. The appetizers were available as soon as we walked in. It was also an open bar - typical of Robin’s generous nature. The bar tender was pretty cute, however she did not know many of the basic drinks, which made for some interesting exchanges ordering drinks.

When the time came for the bride and groom to be introduced, there was a lot of fan fare. The door opened and the parents were walked in. As the main event came through the door, they were heralded by ladies in sari carrying lamps for symbolic display. Next a loud drummer preceded the new couple. The drumming was constant, loud and very exciting. What an entrance! Being an Indian wedding, I was expecting the usual bollywood fanfare with lots of songs and dances. There were 4 dances all in all! 2 songs, and centerpiece contest that culminated with all the winners coming up for a group Macarena dance! It was a lot of fun… well maybe except for Robin’s overzealous cousin (whom I’m sure will pursue a Bollywood career!) who in my opinion overdid the celebrations a little bit with his dancing, singing and playing the piano.

I was enthralled with the costumes and dresses. The bride and groom were in exquisite traditional indian attire. Many of the guests and performers were also beautifully decked out. I find the Indian culture to be very bold with colours, in any variety of shades and hue. This is very refreshing indeed, compared to other cultures who are less educated about the use of colour fabrics in their fashion. Finally, I got to practice my Bhangra dancing! Moves that were taught to me before the wedding (I didn’t want to be too out of place!) were put to practice. Bhangra dancing is simple! Moves like “screw-in the light bulb”, “pat the dog”, “fly the kite” are simple ones that you can do. The moves look just like they sound! It’s all very enjoyable! Robin & Dekyi, thank you for inviting me to your wedding. I wish for your journey to meet with everlasting friendship, love and success!

This weekend did not afford me to chance to blog but I have more interesting things to blog about. Sometimes you just have to live life to talk about life! The weekend officially started at Crocodile Rock, better known simply as CrocRock, a bar in downtown Toronto. One of the cheaper establishment for alcoholic beverages but always packed with a variety of clientele. Reena, if you’re reading this, make sure to send me the pics from your camera! I couldn’t stay for too long, since I had to get going to reach midtown to play in the weekly basketball game with the boys. I really like the church gym that we’re playing in. It’s a big improvement from the previous church gym we were used to. I’ve been sharpening my game over the summer, playing at a few different venues with different opponents. My jump short has come back to me! My friends are quite surprised that I got my ‘first step’ or speed back. I suggest that I never lost it, it’s just a simple matter of the old church being too small, too clogged up, and too crowded. I wanted to take more action shots of the games, but my team kept winning and staying on the court, so what you see is simply the warm up session at the beginning while we were waiting for players to filter in. It was a popular night because Joe was there. Joe’s my University roommate and a great all-around guy. He rebounds with enthusiasm and blocking shots means more than scoring points to him! We’ve been spending a lot more time this week since he’s visiting from Seattle. Newly married with Emma, their love story is one that I admire. Emma was in Toronto as well, but I kept forgetting to bring my camera out on those gatherings, so she’ll have to remain a mystery to you readers! The weekend doesn’t stop there. I was sore on Saturday morning since we played for almost 4 hours. In the morning, I had a few coffee with friends, and the usual activities. As well I recently got back into martial arts (which will be my next post) and I spent Saturday getting back into shape. Those events really drained me physically. This morning I woke up wanting to make sure I got those thoughts down. I will be busy for the rest of the day as well, attending my good friend, Robin’s wedding. This will be my first Indian wedding so it’ll be interesting. I hope to share some pictures with you from the event!

Sometime this afternoon, I’ve decided to jump back in on the instant messaging scene. The decision was as quick as the day I got out of instant messaging. I believe I was one of the earliest adopters of the communication technology (my ICQ uins were low digit numbers). But for one reason of another, I woke up one day entirely fed up with replying, messaging, and dealing with instant messaging pop-ups, looking at lists of names that meant little to nothing because we have not kept in touch. I turned it off cold turkey. That must have been almost a year ago?? I’m not sure when I exactly stopped. But it was a strangely liberating experience. In this day and age of technology and busy work schedules, my contacts with my already established circle of friends abruptly stopped. I begin to know who really wants me in their life by those who still kept in touch with me through email and phone… and also discover for myself with whom I really want to stay in touch. Call it an experiment if you will, a validation of sorts. But at the same time, I developed new acquaintances, people with whom I don’t rely on instant messaging to stay in touch. In some ways, instant message is a bit of an evil in this brave new world. But I think I’m jumping back for the right reasons. We’ll really see how this new experiment will pan out.