If I didn't say this before, I'll say it now: I love my Chocolate Factory Rez! Seriously, everyone here's so nice, our rez is probably made up of kindest, most caring people in the world! Our community rocks! XD
What brought this on? Well, I was walking out of the metro after shopping for groceries at IGA (at the station before that), and it was around 6:30pm, and it was dark. Well, just as I get out of the metro and walk a few steps down the lane to my rez, a tall shadow appears beside me suddenly and then I realize it was a guy and not a scary shadow, and he asks, "Are you going to (rez)?"
Haha, slowly, I draw out the "Yeeeeeeeeees..?" (thinking what does he want I don't know this guy!)
And right after, he says, "Do you need help carrying that?"
I was so surprised!- and said, "Oh, no, it's okay, I can handle it!"
He insists, however, and despite all, I end up carrying just one bag, while he carried the other two. (I really was having no trouble- no more than usual. Lol, got used to these intense arm muscle workouts whenever I went grocery shopping.)
--Thus, when he commented, "These are heavy", I worked at making my expression passive although I really thought, "Not that much..."
Anyways, on the way down the straight path to rez, we managed to fit in the What's your name, where're you from, where dyou live in rez conversation. Haha, and I found out he lives in the Annex, which is the other, smaller building (our rez is made up of the Main Building, and the Annex, which is just a smaller, separate building right by the big one).. and when we reached the stairs to rez, and I opened the door, and he came along with me to my apartment on the second floor despite the fact that he did not even live in that building!! And when I opened the door, he asked me where I wanted him to put the bags, to which I told him to just put it down in the doorway! Then he left. If that is not the epitome of a selfless act of kindness, I do not know what it is.
Of course, what happened just got me thinking again about how *nice* people here are. When walking to rez, either carrying groceries, or nothing at all, people ahead who've reached the outside door and unlocked it (everyone has to use their keys to get into rez, and into the apartment) will not only hold the door for you, they will wait, and let you inside first while holding the door! Little things like that.
I wonder if he was acting on the principle of a little act of kindness every day?
Friday, February 5, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Starting with a Breakfast la!
So, it's Saturday morning, and I went with my Malay friend up to SSMU for a MASSA event- breakfast! Hahaha, first time I sat there and thought, "Wow. I'm in a room where everyone is asian." It was very fun, despite me being a little apprehensive about feeling socially awkward- it's not like I dropped in on a first-term welcome party.. Well, I knew four of the people there, and it was all good, I talked with different people, had lots of laughs, and had really interesting breakfast food! Toast with this yellow kaya spread with butter. Soft-boiled egg which you crack open, let it flow into your bowl, mix it up a bit and add soy sauce and pepper. I only had one spoonful of that though, because eating something you're purely allergic to is not good. I'm consciously keeping track of how much allergens I'm consuming, so I decide whether or not I've reached the quota of the week haha. Well, of course, the allergens I consume are ones that are mixed with stuff, such as a sandwich (can't help the bread), noodles in soup (part of it as well), while there are the ones that are totally avoidable and almost pointless, such as drinking a cup of milk, or just eating an egg, or having a slice of cheese (it's gross and just not tasty, eating it like that, my opinion..).
After, I had promised that Malay friend (who lives on the same floor in rez as me) that I'd go with them to the table tennis/ping pong "club"- my other friend told me to join haha because going to competitions require at least 4 people- and when I went to check it out/practice, we all came to five people, including the "coach"/leader. I did warn them that I suck though, but it's interesting how they said that's not matter, since all the girls table tennies teams aren't very good. Haha. Well, surprisingly, it wasn't that bad! So I guess 'cause I went to the practice, I am now part of the McGill girl's ping pong team. Last term, apparently there were only 4 ppl on the girls team, while there were 8 on the guys'.. Then of course, comes to the dilemma of the week. They're going to Mississauga for competition (or "testing the waters" really) this coming weekend. Originally, I agreed to come check it out 'cause my friend told me one of the girls may not be able to go, and thus they can't go because you NEED a team of at least 4. And so I wanted to be of help too. Plus, if not, since there's 5, it's also good because there'd be a backup. Problem: homework overload. Did not see the midterms/work coming until I flip the page to the next week of my planner. Dammit! So, even worse, I have a Anthro midterm on the Monday after that weekend, and I'm SCREWED for that class. Plus, math webwork is due on that sunday. Today is Sunday, and I worked my butt off at the library today. I went home when the last library closed at 8pm today. I haven't made a definite decision yet, however, I have to in at least two days. T.T
Last night Saturday was also fun, as I went to have a catch-up & bake thing with my friend on the first floor, and then went up to the 4th floor for the Mixed Drinks night my roomie and many of my mutual friends and acquaintances were having. The whole rez seemed to be partying last night lol. So after that was over, I went to bed, a little after midnight.
A shrill wailing sound woke me up. In the darkness, I groped for my alarm clock, thinking first of all, "It's too dark to be morning", "Ahhh my alarm clock is going psycho" to "My alarm clock is broken?!" to "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON."
I open the door. I go down the hallway after grabbing my coat and boots. I stand in the freezing cold outside the rez, quivering like a young tree branch at 2am in the morning, listening to the sound of the firetrucks coming in along the front of the rez, the background shrill of the fire alarm, and the intermittent swearing of the people around me. Then finally we were released back into the warmth.
Just one sentence to express myself: TWO O'CLOCK IN THE FREAKING MORNING.
After, I had promised that Malay friend (who lives on the same floor in rez as me) that I'd go with them to the table tennis/ping pong "club"- my other friend told me to join haha because going to competitions require at least 4 people- and when I went to check it out/practice, we all came to five people, including the "coach"/leader. I did warn them that I suck though, but it's interesting how they said that's not matter, since all the girls table tennies teams aren't very good. Haha. Well, surprisingly, it wasn't that bad! So I guess 'cause I went to the practice, I am now part of the McGill girl's ping pong team. Last term, apparently there were only 4 ppl on the girls team, while there were 8 on the guys'.. Then of course, comes to the dilemma of the week. They're going to Mississauga for competition (or "testing the waters" really) this coming weekend. Originally, I agreed to come check it out 'cause my friend told me one of the girls may not be able to go, and thus they can't go because you NEED a team of at least 4. And so I wanted to be of help too. Plus, if not, since there's 5, it's also good because there'd be a backup. Problem: homework overload. Did not see the midterms/work coming until I flip the page to the next week of my planner. Dammit! So, even worse, I have a Anthro midterm on the Monday after that weekend, and I'm SCREWED for that class. Plus, math webwork is due on that sunday. Today is Sunday, and I worked my butt off at the library today. I went home when the last library closed at 8pm today. I haven't made a definite decision yet, however, I have to in at least two days. T.T
Last night Saturday was also fun, as I went to have a catch-up & bake thing with my friend on the first floor, and then went up to the 4th floor for the Mixed Drinks night my roomie and many of my mutual friends and acquaintances were having. The whole rez seemed to be partying last night lol. So after that was over, I went to bed, a little after midnight.
A shrill wailing sound woke me up. In the darkness, I groped for my alarm clock, thinking first of all, "It's too dark to be morning", "Ahhh my alarm clock is going psycho" to "My alarm clock is broken?!" to "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON."
I open the door. I go down the hallway after grabbing my coat and boots. I stand in the freezing cold outside the rez, quivering like a young tree branch at 2am in the morning, listening to the sound of the firetrucks coming in along the front of the rez, the background shrill of the fire alarm, and the intermittent swearing of the people around me. Then finally we were released back into the warmth.
Just one sentence to express myself: TWO O'CLOCK IN THE FREAKING MORNING.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Flipping Pages.
Life feels really busy right now, but it's a kind of busy I've never really felt before. I suppose in the first year of this new adventure, almost anything familiar can be felt anew. I was thinking of comparing it to the spring of grade 11, when I had.. let me see- Starbucks work experience, 4-8 hours a week (I'd come home smelling of fresh coffee), piano lessons plus tap class at night on Thursdays, Psych AP and English AP taking turns piling work on me (and sometimes, they do not even take turns), Chinese school on Saturdays..... It felt so overwhelming, and it was like a test of endurance, living through those weeks until it gradually winded down in May, after the two AP exams. I said at that time, it was the busiest I've ever been in my life. Funny enough, grade 12 didn't even compare to those few weeks, even during the busiest times when we got ready for Hoops4Hope.
Now, looking back at that "schedule", the differences are astounding. First of all, most of it wasn't very fun. It certainly gave me a taste of how busy life can be, and I suppose time management was something I must've improved on. But, compared to today's schedule is almost like comparing the differences of work level between high school and university. I feel so independent, so adult. Not a huge difference in the maturity department, however. Hahaha. Certainly, there is progression- new experiences, new thoughts, revelations.. Feeling adult, and mature are quite different.
So, differences. The work load hasn't eased up, although I must say for the most part, I'm enjoying second term more than the first! So, of course if work load is either constant, or increasing, then you can guess how busy it can be if things are added to it. And man, there are many, many things.
I am content with the way my life is now, and I can say that at this moment, I'm truly happy I chose to come to McGill (however, it may change if you ask me later, eg. the Sunday night before Webwork is due). The people I met, the new experiences... It's been fun. One of the best aspects of university- the contuity of people you pass through. I keep meeting people, there is the potential to meet a new person, a new acquaintance, a newclassmate, a new friend every single day. This balance of juggling school, recreational, and practical needs is something I'm still fiddling with. Being pro-active about maintaining or deepening friendships- so essential now that people are spread out everywhere, each in their own Venn Diagram bubble, with their own neighbouring circles that shift or drift away.
My rough plans for the week? It's slowly forming a loose framework, but right now, I'm going to nap.
v@
Now, looking back at that "schedule", the differences are astounding. First of all, most of it wasn't very fun. It certainly gave me a taste of how busy life can be, and I suppose time management was something I must've improved on. But, compared to today's schedule is almost like comparing the differences of work level between high school and university. I feel so independent, so adult. Not a huge difference in the maturity department, however. Hahaha. Certainly, there is progression- new experiences, new thoughts, revelations.. Feeling adult, and mature are quite different.
So, differences. The work load hasn't eased up, although I must say for the most part, I'm enjoying second term more than the first! So, of course if work load is either constant, or increasing, then you can guess how busy it can be if things are added to it. And man, there are many, many things.
I am content with the way my life is now, and I can say that at this moment, I'm truly happy I chose to come to McGill (however, it may change if you ask me later, eg. the Sunday night before Webwork is due). The people I met, the new experiences... It's been fun. One of the best aspects of university- the contuity of people you pass through. I keep meeting people, there is the potential to meet a new person, a new acquaintance, a newclassmate, a new friend every single day. This balance of juggling school, recreational, and practical needs is something I'm still fiddling with. Being pro-active about maintaining or deepening friendships- so essential now that people are spread out everywhere, each in their own Venn Diagram bubble, with their own neighbouring circles that shift or drift away.
My rough plans for the week? It's slowly forming a loose framework, but right now, I'm going to nap.
v@
Friday, January 22, 2010
Of Moving Stars and Whirled Peace.
Thursday++
On Thursday, I went to my first club meeting of the year! It was for the Redpath Museum Club, we'll see if I'll stick around! Seems very interesting so far- apparently what you see in the Redpath Museum is just the tip of the iceberg, and that there are amazing hidden things in he reserves.
Before that though, I went up to McTavish and stood at the top starting up at the sky, waiting for 5:38pm to come. Because that was the time the International Satellite was supposed to fly over Montreal, on Jan 21, 2010, at 5:38pm. Which was a tad inconvenient, since the club meeting was supposed to start at 5:20pm in the SSMU building I was standing by. And around 5:40pm, it came! It was like a bright, white star that moved silently down the clear black sky from Mont Royal, down towards me, towards the left of the moon. It continued its silent progress down McTavish, and it was wonderful. I remember I saw something like that a few years ago, and I was describing this to someone because I couldn't figure out was it was! And no one believed me... it freaked me out! What I saw a few nights ago was the same- you'd think it was just a star, unmistakenly moving through the sky, a bit slower than an airplane- but it didn't have any red flashing lights, nor the shape of one. It was an awesome experience, and my geography "homework", as my professor excitedly told us.
Saturday++
I had my first Ben&Jerry's ice-cream today! I chose "Imagine Whirled Peace" hahaha! It was sooo good! What really pushed us into going in was that the sign that actually said 10% off for McGill students! LOL! Since it WAS on Rue St. Catherines/Du College, from which the school was visible down the street...
OH and I also discovered the central train station! It was right connected to the mall, which was right down the main street from McGill! I can't believe it was so close, all along! It connects to the Bonaventure metro line too. So awesome. The mall's called Ville-Marie, and I still can't believe how many malls are stuffed downtown... everything's connected, I'd get a headache with the endless stores that appear all the same!
On Thursday, I went to my first club meeting of the year! It was for the Redpath Museum Club, we'll see if I'll stick around! Seems very interesting so far- apparently what you see in the Redpath Museum is just the tip of the iceberg, and that there are amazing hidden things in he reserves.
Before that though, I went up to McTavish and stood at the top starting up at the sky, waiting for 5:38pm to come. Because that was the time the International Satellite was supposed to fly over Montreal, on Jan 21, 2010, at 5:38pm. Which was a tad inconvenient, since the club meeting was supposed to start at 5:20pm in the SSMU building I was standing by. And around 5:40pm, it came! It was like a bright, white star that moved silently down the clear black sky from Mont Royal, down towards me, towards the left of the moon. It continued its silent progress down McTavish, and it was wonderful. I remember I saw something like that a few years ago, and I was describing this to someone because I couldn't figure out was it was! And no one believed me... it freaked me out! What I saw a few nights ago was the same- you'd think it was just a star, unmistakenly moving through the sky, a bit slower than an airplane- but it didn't have any red flashing lights, nor the shape of one. It was an awesome experience, and my geography "homework", as my professor excitedly told us.
Saturday++
I had my first Ben&Jerry's ice-cream today! I chose "Imagine Whirled Peace" hahaha! It was sooo good! What really pushed us into going in was that the sign that actually said 10% off for McGill students! LOL! Since it WAS on Rue St. Catherines/Du College, from which the school was visible down the street...
OH and I also discovered the central train station! It was right connected to the mall, which was right down the main street from McGill! I can't believe it was so close, all along! It connects to the Bonaventure metro line too. So awesome. The mall's called Ville-Marie, and I still can't believe how many malls are stuffed downtown... everything's connected, I'd get a headache with the endless stores that appear all the same!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Activities Night #2
So, I went to Activities Night for this winter term... I want to join a club/organization something after I had a lame record of participation and such last term. I was glad I went there, even though I was hungry, and that it was after my gruesome 3.5 hour bio lab.. I stumbled across my Chocolate Factory Rez friend, Jie, there, and she introduced to me two people she met at a Leadership activity or something. Did I mention one of the best things I love about university is how you can meet new people every day? Well, I just met two new people today! One from India, and one from Iran. We had quite a long conversation too, before Jie said she'd accompany me upstairs to browse through the clubs/organizations/associatoins despite having just gone through it all with her two friends. So, I ended up leaving emails for..
-The Plate Club
-Redpath Museum Club
-Literature/Book Club
-MTSA (haha i finally see it, it was funny, they saw me first, and beckoned.. )
-Global China Connection (volunteer opportunities etc.)
-Anime Club (I was avoiding that corner -HAHA it was literally in a corner- and I felt repelled by it, but my other friend has been telling me to join it... so after much debate, I quickly scribbled my email down)
-Turkey Association (I can't believe it. The most unexpected, random club/association I'd expect to put my email down for)--> okay, it was because I walked past the table and hanging from it were pictures of beautiful scenery and I was looking at it because it was pretty, and I didn't know what Turkey looked like.. and one of the people talked to us, encouraging us to learn more about Turkey, free Turkish food and stuff....... hahaha)
Pick and choose, pick and choose! Wonder whether I'll even go to any of these!
-The Plate Club
-Redpath Museum Club
-Literature/Book Club
-MTSA (haha i finally see it, it was funny, they saw me first, and beckoned.. )
-Global China Connection (volunteer opportunities etc.)
-Anime Club (I was avoiding that corner -HAHA it was literally in a corner- and I felt repelled by it, but my other friend has been telling me to join it... so after much debate, I quickly scribbled my email down)
-Turkey Association (I can't believe it. The most unexpected, random club/association I'd expect to put my email down for)--> okay, it was because I walked past the table and hanging from it were pictures of beautiful scenery and I was looking at it because it was pretty, and I didn't know what Turkey looked like.. and one of the people talked to us, encouraging us to learn more about Turkey, free Turkish food and stuff....... hahaha)
Pick and choose, pick and choose! Wonder whether I'll even go to any of these!
Monday, January 18, 2010
5 Centimetres Per Second//Byousoku 5 cm
Yeah, I never used to youtube that much; perhaps when searching out songs and such, or to see a funny video. Well, during the Fall exam week, for some reason, the stress and environment drove me to youtube many things, which led to great re-discovers, joy, and happy moments. And also, the Narwhal song. Hahahaa.
Well, these few days, I stumbled across a movie I watched at least a year ago, "5 Centimetres Per Second". And in re-discovering it, realized that at this moment in time, it is the most visually beautiful animated work I've seen so far. And actually, it's not quite a movie, it's divided into three parts, or "episodes", but I have it on one file like a movie. It's a very slow-moving, drama, romance type movie, and I know if people can't stand slow-moving movies in which not much "action" happens, they will hate this movie. However, I could stand it, because of what I gathered from what it gave me: of feelings and life and time. And it's just beautiful to watch, because I remember my impressions of it when I saw it for the first time, and I was saying to myself throughout the movie, whenever a new scene popped up, wow. I wanted to touch the screen. I think I am a sucker for clouds, and the sky, and the pretty landscape.
However, DON"T try to watch this if you're not in the mood, if you're not in the quiet, if you're not alone, because I think it's something one should watch alone, at night, with senses that are not sleepy or tired. ALSO- please don't watch on youtube, or the effect of the animation is wasted. Watch it in the absolute best quality, with not second of blurriness. Or if you're not going to watch this, just google pictures... it's a feast for the eyes.
5 Centimetres Per Second trailer (the kind of quality you should watch it in):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKbfwX-AqRY&feature=related
===
For something by the same director, Makoto Shinkai, with some of the same aspect in a much shorter form, watch this 5-minute creation called "She and Her Cat"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBD5D040D44
Even more amazing, though, is this work, "Voices of a Distant Star"- Shinkai created wrote, produced this all by himself on a Mac computer. He and his wife even provided the voice acting! Considering this, this 30-minute piece is quite something.
Voices of a Distant Star trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc--DFC2w00
Well, these few days, I stumbled across a movie I watched at least a year ago, "5 Centimetres Per Second". And in re-discovering it, realized that at this moment in time, it is the most visually beautiful animated work I've seen so far. And actually, it's not quite a movie, it's divided into three parts, or "episodes", but I have it on one file like a movie. It's a very slow-moving, drama, romance type movie, and I know if people can't stand slow-moving movies in which not much "action" happens, they will hate this movie. However, I could stand it, because of what I gathered from what it gave me: of feelings and life and time. And it's just beautiful to watch, because I remember my impressions of it when I saw it for the first time, and I was saying to myself throughout the movie, whenever a new scene popped up, wow. I wanted to touch the screen. I think I am a sucker for clouds, and the sky, and the pretty landscape.
However, DON"T try to watch this if you're not in the mood, if you're not in the quiet, if you're not alone, because I think it's something one should watch alone, at night, with senses that are not sleepy or tired. ALSO- please don't watch on youtube, or the effect of the animation is wasted. Watch it in the absolute best quality, with not second of blurriness. Or if you're not going to watch this, just google pictures... it's a feast for the eyes.
5 Centimetres Per Second trailer (the kind of quality you should watch it in):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKbfwX-AqRY&feature=related
===
For something by the same director, Makoto Shinkai, with some of the same aspect in a much shorter form, watch this 5-minute creation called "She and Her Cat"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBD5D040D44
Even more amazing, though, is this work, "Voices of a Distant Star"- Shinkai created wrote, produced this all by himself on a Mac computer. He and his wife even provided the voice acting! Considering this, this 30-minute piece is quite something.
Voices of a Distant Star trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc--DFC2w00
Haiti.
This guy comes into our Anthropology of Development class today and gave a long speech regarding Haiti. He scared me though. Because he said, "One thing you CANNOT, MUST NOT do. Don't go to Haiti. You're going to die."
Seriously. And this was near the beginning, and I had no idea what the purpose of his speech was. Apparently, he wanted to tell us to not go there to hand out emergency supplies and such, and to just stay in school. Yeah, it took me a few minutes to get that, he was on off on tangents and it was quite vague. But scary.
Anyhow.
My wishes go to Haiti.
Seriously. And this was near the beginning, and I had no idea what the purpose of his speech was. Apparently, he wanted to tell us to not go there to hand out emergency supplies and such, and to just stay in school. Yeah, it took me a few minutes to get that, he was on off on tangents and it was quite vague. But scary.
Anyhow.
My wishes go to Haiti.
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