Hehe can’t wait until my break tomorrow. Four days of work and finally a day of rest.
This morning I almost couldn’t wake up for church because I loved to sleep so much. I actually made a prayer somewhat like this: “dear Jesus, I’m very tired, so can I not go today? It’s okay right? Thanks” and then went back to sleep. 5 min after I made this prayer Calvin called and told me to get up to go to church. I thought he’d forget to call me but apparently not. So thank goodness my life saver.
Church service was normal and work afterwards was normal too. Nothing special to note about except that there were a few babies I noticed today who were particularly cute. They were all distinctive in their ways of communication, some using their facial expressions while others were sharing through their “words of wisdom”. I also had some fun with a necklace board after i realized how it’s a happy face and I got some time to read my boring HR textbook
I got my nails painted after I got home and finished dinner. I love home made dinners and soup especially. I cannot thank my mom enough for the authentic food she makes all the time. My private chef !!!!
Often times, life is filled up with so many routines that we become robotic around them to the point that we don’t take notice of the small changes that happen in our everyday lives. And more than often, I fall victim to this and neglect to see the small happy things that evolve around me everyday, all the time.
So that’s when blogging kicks in. It forces me to dialogue what I’ve done for the day or how I’ve been doing for the week, both the sad and the good. Sad to remind me in future times how I’ve come a long way to arrive at where I am today and that I’ve probably been through equally worse or worse times before. Good to remember the sweetness that life brings you when you least expect it.
I have a bad memory so keeping my Xanga from thirteen was definitely a good idea.
So the surprise for today was a $5 H&M gift card from a old classmate of mines. She just happened to walk into Kebe today with a friend / co-worker and handed me and Helen a gift card each. She said she already used one so she has no use for another one (which I don’t really understand) but either way I’m thrilled to have an extra $5 to spend. For a poor graduate like me, $5 is like a meal for me already.
Last night I completed a Self Assessment Test called the Career Leader by two Harvard professors. Reason for my taking is to attend a workshop this morning at SFU that helps you figure out your interests, motivators, and skills. Apparently my low self confidence in my capabilities within Human Resources and people’s negative points of views about my capabilities is offset by my test results. I’m a 99% match for Human Resources Management as well as Training and Development and my interest is in coaching and mentoring others. Interesting results eh?
Relating back to my topic of unexpected gifts, besides a discount for a shopping spree at H&M, Calvin also sent me a facebook link that featured a story of a professor and his class. And the story goes like this:
The Mayonnaise Jar When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you…” he told them.
“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”
So after reading this I was quite warm to the heart because I know that Family, friends, and worship are probably the things that I take to heart the most (even the test says so with my first motivator being “lifestyle-being able to spend time with family, friends, and leisure activities). This story reminds me to put them first as my priority as opposed to everything else.
That’s it for now. I must try harder for my studies now. I CAN’T fail my CHRP exam!
Today, I’m just feeling a little bit sad. I think Jimmy Spa’s drawing in his book “Beautiful Solitude” describes part of how I feel at the moment.
What will the future hold? Will everything end up okay? Sometimes just thinking about the future scares me. The feeling of abandonment, of death, and disconnection makes me feel vulnerable and uneasy. But if I do put everything into perspective, then maybe everything isn’t do bad after all. With surprises comes hope, and with hope comes expectations, goals, and a soul or two who strives for it.
I miss Calvin and I want my mom to be healthy. Thank God I finally reached the head nurse for my mom’s long awaited Hep C program and she’ll phone me back soon. I really need to start treasuring the things and people around me ever more deeply.
Today was the last day of our trip and as we ventured back home we dropped by SummerHill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna. It was one of the wineries Calvin and I wanted to visit during the summer when he was here but we eventually dismissed the idea since it was so far away and we decided to visit Lulu Island Winery instead. But whereas we were only allowed to taste normal dessert wines at Lulu island, at Summer Hill we were actually able to taste white and red ice wine, which was a real treat for me.
At first sip, I enjoyed the white ice wine as opposed to the red. It’s much sweeter and easy to drink, as well as giving you a refreshing mouth watering taste like you’re drinking fresh grape juice mixed with alcohol. To put it short, it was execllente.
And if you ever wonder why ice wines are so expensive, this is why: in the whole world, there are only three places that produce ice wines, and Canada is one of them. That’s because I’ve wine requires that the ripened grapes are left on the tree vines until winter when it reaches -5 degrees Celsius. At that, the grapes itself would convert most of their water level to sugar level to protect itself from the frost. These are then picked by the workers and out with yeast to fermentate on the same day that it was harvested. For a liter of ice wine, 30 pounds of grape must be used. Normal wine only require 3 pounds.
Overall I’m tired but I think I enjoyed the overall trip. I’ll definitely visit kelowna again sometime
Last night I stayed at Fairmont at Lake Louise so the first thing mom and I did after we got up was go for a morning stroll around Lake Louise. Although the morning weather was quite cold at first, there were very few people so we got to listen to the silent sounds of water moving back and forth slowly as people paddled their canoes, as well as marvel at the natural beauty and perfect reflections of the mountains in the water. We headed for breakfast inside the hotel at a cafe called Deli, then we walked around the hotel gift shops until it was time to check out an eat our lunch at Lago restaurant. The lunch buffet they serve there is alright but I really enjoyed their smoked salmon as well as their maple syrup salmon.
After lunch we headed for the moraine lake, also called the mirror lake, where I climbed for about 5 minutes uphill to the rocks to take a better glimpse of the lake. Apparently it was classified as one of the natural beautys of the world and was used as an image on old $20 Canadian bills. Although the walk itself only took me 5 min, but actually I was panting a little when I was going up because the air is much thinner compared to Vancouver. For all I know, the lake itself is already over 2000 feet above sea level.
Back in the Okanagen we visited the Planet Bee to purchase some honey and cream. Yes honey can be made into body lotion, cream, etc and I think that the price they sell is really reasonable and cheap. For a large jar of honey that comes in a variety of flavors, including the multi-flower flavored that I chose, the price is only $6-$10. They also have really knowledgeable staff to help you and explain to you exactly what the differences are and their functions for their products.
On the way to the hotel I noticed that land was selling as little as $350,000 for 100 acres of land in the middle of nowhere. But compare that with coquitlam and think in the perspective of retirement and investment then maybe it could be a good choice 50 years down the road.
I was also reading the globe and mail on the bus ride and learned a bit more about Neil Armstrong. Now one of my favourite quotes is his: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Amidst all the economic crisis, civil war in Syria, hurricane in the states, and numerous other devastating disasters, Neil Armstrong’s sudden death reminds us all that there was once a mission impossible accomplished so there is hope for all of us remaining to pursue and dream impossible things. Dream for world peace, strive for world peace, and arrive at world peace.
The hotel we stayed at night was called Prestige Hotel at Vernon. To my surprise, their rooms are really big and my room in particular featured a second floor with a Victorian style staircase and a modern style bathroom. I like it very much…as much as the free wifi and continental breakfast they offer.
Tomorrow I’ll be returning home and that will be the end of my trip, but I know that I’ll definitely remember the amazing scenery that I’ve witnessed on this trip.
Today has been a most eventful day compared to the day before. Although I have quite a bad memory and forgot most of the places we went to for the day, I still remember a few of the highlights. So I THINK this is the order we went by.
In the morning after we ate breakfast, we went to Emerald lake, which is already part of Alberta. I really love how green the lake is but compared to Lake Louise I guess it’s incomparable. . We then stopped by a naturally built water bridge in YoHo national park, and basically the way it came to be is by a natural disaster causing the tree trunk to fall across the river and formed a bridge over. We then went over to another fabulous lake before we headed to Columbia Ice field, where we had our lunch followed by the Brewster bus ride to the ice field exploration trip. All I can say about the ice field is that it was AWESOME. Yes I’ve been here before 12 years ago but as I’ve already mentioned, my memory is quite bad so this is like my first time all over again. The wind was cold but the weather was beautiful so when we walked out onto the ice basically my whole body was freezing cold except my feet. Which is ironic because I wore a pair of Minnetonka.
To imagine that the Rocky mountains were underground below the sea 72 million years ago is extraordinarily confusing for my tiny brain the comprehend, but i think what amuses me the most is how after all these years, the glaciers are still here. Hopefully the world climate won’t deteriorate the ice that fast, but it’s estimated that it will probably be gone in the next couple hundred years or so.
The banff national park was the next destination after the icefield, and we took the gondola up to sulphur mountain. From the top we could see the fairmont at banff, and in the far corner I think I might have made out a shape of lake Louise. Or maybe I was wrong.
We walked around the banff city centre after dinner, and then went to fair mont at lake louise. Unfortunately we checked in quite late so I couldn’t make use of my swim suit and go for a hot tub of sauna. But I’ll definitely wake up earlier tomorrow to take in a good glimpse of sparkling lake louise and marvel at God’s wonderful creations.
Woke up very early today and the first stop we made was for Merrit. Along the way I got to take in with awe once again the mountains of BC and in the far off while crossing abbotsford I saw Mount Baker waving at me through the sunny and almost cloudless sky . The ride was long but I managed to read a bit of a book written by the owner of Bridgewater corp. (recommended by Calvin) on the life principles, played a bit of unblock me, and watched a movie about wall street stock markets. I guess the movie definitely gave me a glimpse of how greediness can turn people to become monsters in the financial world .
The second stop after Merrit was a ginseng store, where i bought some candy and souvinirs (and learned that the ginseng in Canada can also be found in Korea and is 涼性, instead of the ginseng called 人參 which is 熱性) and the last spike, known for the last golden nail put on the Canadian railway by the Chinese back when BC just became part of the Canadian Federation. Along with the joy of being able to immigrate to Canada, the Chinese also suffered strong racism, cruelty during railway building, and strong taxes in order to immigrate. Although I’ve known this part of history ever since middle school, sometimes I really do wonder how it was like to be badly mistreated by others just because you look or act different. In a place where multiculturalism has been the norm for several years, it’s hard to think that it was a place where racism used to exist. I think the closest I’ve encountered for racism would be in Europe.
After the spike we basically went straight for the hotel for dinner, and the place we stayed was the Prestige Hotel. I took advantage of the time after dinner and went to work out, whereafter I showered and am writing this blog now.
Although the trip is boring in the sense that we haven’t done much, but I actually dealt with th long rides better than I thought. Partially because I was entertained and occupied by things, but also because i got time to really just sit there and reflect, remember, and think. I actually thought a lot about my past in Europe and missed all my friends so much. Almost to the verge of wanting to cry.
Work was very tiring today. I woke up late talking with Calvin so I didn’t get to exercise or eat much for brunch, I basically just had a corn of cob for lunch. Work was from 12-9pm…and by the time I got off work and came home I was hungry as a bear . So I had some vegetable soup, vermicelli in peanut butter sauce, veggies, and a Haagen-dazs ice cream for dessert..mmmm such a good way to end the day.
Now I have to start packing for my trip tomorrow. I have no clue what to pack and I’m too tired to think.
After a 25 minute climb on the stair Climber, lunch with mom and auntie Esther at Henderson mall, and some gas filling at Esso, mom and I decided to drop by Suzuki Orca Bay to claim our small prize. Yesterday when I checked my mail I found a letter from the dealership saying that we won a discount voucher of approximately $1600 if we want to trade in our car for a new one at the store, as well as three additional prizes out of the following: a chance to win $10,000, $5000, $2500, a webcam, or another voucher. Of course, from the sounds of it the chances of winning cash is quite slim, and the only reason they are offering this is to get people into the store. But I just happened to want to test my luck and went their either way. The sales person was nice and wasn’t pushy when I said I wasn’t interested in getting a new car, and he gave me a free webcam and two scratch tickets. No I didn’t win any of the cash prizes but it was sure fun imagining myself to be one of the winners before hand .
At two I went to Kebe and I have to say that working there is one of the best things in my life now. No its not a career, no its not a full time job, and no it’s not even anything of high prestige, and sometimes I do feel ashamed being a sales still, but just being there with really nice co-workers, two gracious boss, and being surrounded by “all pretty things” makes me feel really comfortable and at ease. 老闆娘 always makes dessert for us to eat while Jack always buys something for us from trips (we each received a Marc Jacob bag!), and they treated us to dinner at the Vancouver revolving tower a few months back worth quite a bit per person. If you ask me, I think this is as good as a part time can get. Anything above this should be called “part time paradise”
Helen and I were tagging the stocks today (which is a very tedious process) but we still managed to have a little bit of fun in between. I had an OPA falafel and it disappointed me. Maybe it’s because I miss the one on the streets of Lund, Sweden too much. I just miss the city.
my life saver. 
. 
. So I had some vegetable soup, vermicelli in peanut butter sauce, veggies, and a Haagen-dazs ice cream for dessert..mmmm such a good way to end the day. 
Recent Comments