Sympathy and Condolences

I can only offer my sympathy and condolences to the victims, their families and friends of the train-bomb attack in Mumbai.

I feel a gut-wrenching sadness when I think about how many lives have been irreparably maimed because of this horrendous act. To me, nothing is worse than a vicious attack on innocent civilians. It is, of course, easier for the cowards who committed this treacherous crime to kill helpless people than to work hard and honourably for whatever it is they want to accomplish.

But, the Lord saw all of this, I'm sure. I also believe that the Lord will give strength and comfort to those who ask for it. The citizens of Mumbai must remember that it is in their moments of direst hardship that God is carrying them. As for the perpetrators of this attack, I hope that they will realize what sins they've committed and ask the Lord for forgiveness.

May all of them see Christ's face, hear Christ's voice, and feel Christ's love.

Summer School and John Denver

ESL Part 2 started two days ago. There is a lot of work to do in the week ahead. I have basically 1 week to do all the work. 3 Major assignments!

In other news, I just downloaded three songs by John Denver. "Perhaps Love," "For You" and "Annie's Song." They are lovely songs.

Last Day of School

Today was my last day at school. I think I'll be returning some time in early July to pick up something that I will have inevitably forgotten. But, it was officially my last day.

After a year of teaching, what can I say? I enjoy it very much. I constantly feel inspired to create a new lesson, or use a new resource. If I had in my hands a calendar for the next school year, I'd be planning the units right now. Yes, I need help.

On the other hand, I'm glad that I can now read for fun. Eventhough I do have summer school to attend for the month of July, being a student is not half as stressful as being a teacher. If I feel tired or I'm jus not in the mood, I'll tune out the class and not pay attention. I'll day dream and mindlessly copy down notes from the board. Or, I'll be passive and simply listen to discussions. As a student, I don't have to perform in front of 20+ ppl for 7 hours a day.

Right now, I am tired. I don't have the energy to celebrate. I'm just going to go and read. =)

To all teachers, have a fun and relaxing summer!

Jim's Truth

"...by the power of the written word, to make you see."

There was nothing within sight to compare him with, as though he had been one of those exceptional men who can be only measured by the greatness of their fame; and his fame, remember, was the greatest thing around for many a day's journey. You would have to paddle, pole, or track a long weary way through the jungle before you passed beyond the reach of its voice. Its voice was not the trumpeting of the disreputable goddess we all know- not blatant- not brazen. It took its tone from the stillness and gloom of the land without a past, where his word was the one truth of every passing day. It shared something of the nature of that silence through which it accompanied you into unexplored depths, heard continuously by your side, penetrating, far-reaching- tinged with wonder and mystery on the lips of whispering men.

How could I not swoon in front of these words?

Jerusalem Restaurant

Jerusalem Restaurant
125 Ravel Rd, North York (416) 490-7888

On Tuesday, my teacher colleagues from the ESL department had dinner at the Jerusalem Restaurant to celebrate the retirement and the wedding of two of our colleagues. The place looks very nice, very suitable for a banquet.

We started with a bottle of white wine from Australia. It was very nice. M. and D. are wine experts, and they chose just the right one. With wine served, we moved to the salad bar. The salad was very fresh, and the dressing was at just the right level of tartness. The selection was so various that every one of us found something to praise.

There was pita bread with hummus, tahini and baba ganouj dips. I thought they were a bit weak in flavour. M. tried the lamb and found it very delicious. F. and D. both tried a cheese roll that they originally thought contained spinach. Needless to say, it was very filling. I was half full after the salad, pita, and fish, they served shwarma chicken. Since no one else at the table was able to have it, I ended up eating half of it. Oink-oink!

The service was pleasant, and the atmosphere was quiet. I can't really critique the food because I didn't get to try very much of it. A lot of the warm dishes are still unknown to me. I would like to go back there and try some more.

I will hold off on giving any stars at this point.

Basic Human Rights of the Accused

In today's Toronto Star, there was an article that published some of the testimony made public by a lawyer of one of the accused members of a terrorist cell. They were arrested on Saturday, June 3rd. What he's telling the public is very disturbing.

Firstly, the plans that his client had of bombing certain buildings in Toronto (CBC building), and beheading the Canadian PM, Harper, are chilling. The thought that 13 tons of amonium nitrate being used to create bombs, to amass 13 times the impact of the Oklahoma Bombings here in my hometown is nothing short of terrifying. It is only beginning to sink in for me.

Having said all that, I also learned from this article that the accused are not being treated justly as per their basic human rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I strongly believe that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. And so far, it seems like all of the accused are guilty, but are they all guilty to the same degree? Some of the accused are adolescents, which leads me to question how much involvement they had in this plot. From masterminds, to trainers, to trainees; their roles are different and the severity of their actions should also be different.

I don't know if the law makes that distinction, but I strongly believe that if we are to prosecute the accused, we should do it right. Even if they all turn out to be equally guilty in the end, the process by which we establish that conclusion is just as important as the end result.

Without a just process, how can we continue to have faith in the integrity of the system?

Updates

This weekend, I went to Ogden P.S. for the 151st Anniversary with CL, EL and TT. We didn't see any of our former teachers, but we did get to look at some old photo albums. We found very funny and adorable pics of EL and TT. I found a laminated photo of girls playing the recorder, dressed in Chinese folk dance costumes. I wrote a caption in English and Chinese. It was very cool to see that it was still preserved till now.

That same day, I bought the entire set of novels, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, by Jin Yong. I've started reading, and I'm still on the first chapter, when Guo Xiang goes to the Shaolin Temple to find news about Yang Guo (Condor Hero). I'm enjoying it immensely. Reading it brings back so many memories of my childhood. My friends and I had so much fun playing kung fu heroes during recess.

Yesterday, my cousin from Taiwan arrived. She's here to study English. I wish her luck and lots of success.

Last week, the teachers at my school took the ESL students to Niagara Falls. We had a blast! It was so much fun, and we hardly had to do any work. The students were so well-behaved, we teachers were mightily impressed. I would like to take the ESL students on another trip next year, maybe to Wonderland.

Recently, having become nostalgic about my kung fu childhood days, I started looking through the internet for resources and discussion forums. I found this one: WuxiaMania , which is an all-English forum. The people here are very knowledgeable, and have read a lot of the famous wuxia novels in the original Chinese. Here is another one: Snowtalk This is a Chinese website based in Taiwan.

The Moon according to Marlowe

"after we had watched the moon float away above the chasm between the hills like an ascending spirit out of a grave; its sheen descended, cold and pale, like the ghost of dead sunlight. There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery. It is to our sunshine, which -- say what you like -- is all we have to live by, what the echo is to the sound: misleading and confusing whether the note be mocking or sad. It robs all forms of matter -- which, after all, is our domain -- of their substance, and gives a sinister reality to shadows alone. And the shadows were very real around us, but Jim by my side looked very stalwart, as though nothing -- not even the occult power of moonlight -- could rob him of his reality in my eyes."
-Chapter 24

Celebrating Linguistic Diversity 2006

After two days of attending a conference, plus an evening of Parent-Teacher's Night, I'm wiped out. Having said that, I went to the Bay on Yonge and Bloor after the conference and went shopping for sandals. They had scratch and save, and I bought 2 pairs of sandals. YAY!

The conference. Today, I heard a presentation by Kathy Escamillo, a professor from Colorado. She talked about the psychological and emotional trauma that an immigrant child has to endure, taking on adult roles and taking care of parents who can't communicate in everyday English.

Her presentation was very good, and she told many moving stories. Unfortunately, this was solely focussed on young children, so it didn't apply to my situation at all. My students have no problems maintaining their first language identity. In fact, it's harder to get them to embrace the Canadian culture and language.

Of the two workshops I attended, I found the History/Geography workshop led by 3 teachers from the York Region D.S.B. very helpful. They showed us many useful strategies on how to teach content-heavy subjects such as History and Geography to ESL students, some of whom have only a basic grasp of the language.

Today was much more useful than yesterday's.

Restaurant Review: Rex Saigon *

On Saturday, I went to the buffet restaurant on Brimley and Sheppard called Rex Saigon. It serves Thai, Vietnamese and Canadian foods. From the first few minutes of arriving at the restaurant, I already knew I would not like the experience.

In front of the lounge area by the entrance is the bar where waitresses go to pick up drinks for the customers. That is also where more than 8 parties of customers have to stand and wait for their table. My friend, T., had made a reservation for 7pm. We waited nearly an hour for our table. That is simply ridiculous!

While we stood next to the buffet waiting for our tables, we observed what foods choices there were. The most popular ones were the lobster and crab stations. People, young and old, men and women, held emply plates in their hands, standing next to the empty lobster and crab stations, waiting to pounce on the next delivery from the kitchen by the servers. When she started approaching, one eager customer said, "there it comes, there it comes!" When the food was poured from a big bowl into the dish, everyone stabbed their tongs into the lobster pile. Their plates were piled high, and in less than 1 minute, it was all gone.

The only things I liked were the oyster in garlic sauce and the mango salad. They were both very fresh, very delicious. The green curry with vegetables was too greasy. That's about all that I tried, cause that's all that interested me. Everything else reminded me too much of a fast food counter.

Overall, I give this buffet * out of 5. I would not go there again if I can help it.

The Evolving Church Conference, 2006

Yesterday, I attended the conference organized by Epiphaniea Inc. This was my first time attending a Christian conference, so I really didn't know what to expect. It was held at the Tyndale University College and Seminary. Also in attendance were Muzpuppet, ChiquitaWonder and some other friends from ETCBC.

I got there at 8:20am and I had to join a long line up for registration. It went quite slow. I did not get my turn until about 9 o'clock. I have never waited that long for registration before at other conferences. Finally, I got my name tag, and there was this guy directing people up another set of stairs because the passage in front of us was congested with a 2nd group of ppl trying to register. So, I went up the other stairs, only to find out that I had to go back down to get my booklet and water. That was a big miscue for the guy who directed us up the 2nd flight of stairs.

When I went to get water, I bumped into CW. Later on, I sat in the chapel for the morning worship. After that, Peter Seay was the first speaker. He was very funny, very entertaining. Then it was the workshop, and mine was held in the cafe. It was noisy there because the kitchen people were cooking and banging their pans. The speaker, Donald Miller, was quite good. We just sat there and listened to him talk. He told many amusing stories, so that wasn't too bad.

Then came lunch and we had cold cut and tuna wraps. I also had some very good veggie sticks. The drinks, though, were TERRIBLE! I had never tasted such awful juice before in my life! Yuck, yuck, yuck! After lunch, was had the afternoon worship and then we listened to the second speaker, Donald Miller. He gave a pretty good talk, but again, it was all him. I was falling asleep, partly cause I had just ate a lunch.

After that was the afternoon workshop and we listened to B. Walsh, I was positively bored to death. This gentleman thought it would be a good idea to read to us for what felt like 20 mins. He read to us!!! And it was not even an interesting story, but a dissertation/essay of some boring sort. There was some interaction, like questions from the audience at the beginning, but he didn't address those questions in his lecture. I felt bad for those folks who asked those questions, but never really got any feedback from him for them. That was such poor preparation. Why did he ask questions of the audience if he was going to completely ignore them for the next 30 mins?

At the end of the day, the last speaker was Brian McLaren. He was a fantastic lecturer. He discussed some pretty complex ideas that I had never heard of, but I was able to follow what he was saying, and I even got his point. I won't repeat it here cause I would mess it up due to my ignorance on the matters he discussed. Trust me, he was great! After this lecture, we had cookies and then we left.

Overall, I would say that the conference was not organized that well because the registration took way too long. The lunch was good, very healthy. The choice of speakers was fine, I suppose. But, I think some of the speakers should have engaged the audience better. Don't call it a workshop unless you expect people to be engaged in some kind of practical exercise. Over all, it wasn't great. I learned a little bit, but if the entire day were full of workshops with McLaren, I think I would have learned a lot more.

ChiquitaWonder's B-day Party

Yesterday, we celebrated Chiquita Wonder's birthday at my family's home. Aunt N. and L. were here as well. Mom made a Vietnamese rice noodle soup called "ho-diew." It has pork, shrimps and pork liver in it. It was so yummy I brought some to work today for lunch.

Aunt N. and L. got a durian cake as a present, and it was sumptuous!

We had lots of fun.

Curling is so much fun!

Last night, I went curling for the first time. My friends took me to the Avonlea Curling Club, located at Lawrence and Hwy 404. There were 8 of us, and it cost about 11 dollars per person. Every cent was worth it because curling is such an exciting team sport to play.

I have been a long-time viewer of Olympic curling, but I had never tried it before. Watching it on TV, I honestly couldn't tell what was so physical about the game. I thought it was the mental toughness that made it such a formidable sport. Last night, I was enlightened. And enlightenment did not come without a bit of pain and embarrassment.

At first, the hardest thing was not throwing the rock. It was staying on my feet...or, foot. When I pushed off, I fell 80% of the time. After I finally managed to stay on my feet somewhat, the next thing to master was how hard or how lightly to throw the stone. Several times, I was able to come within the circle, but because I was the first one to throw, my stones always got knocked out. Some of my opponents have impeccable aim! Other times, I had very good aim but I threw the stone too hard and it went past the target. Clare was the skip and she was great! At one point, we were down by 3 points, and by the time she was in line to throw, we had 3 stones in the target area. She was able to knock out our opponent's stone and win us those 3 points. In the end, however, my team lost by 1 point.

I really can't wait till the next time we go curling. I love it!

Lord Jim, after 21 chapters

This is a novel that I started reading about 4 years ago. I had to put it down after a while because reading it was too taxing on the mind. It's also very hard to read on the subway while I'm holing on to dear life with one hand on the steel bar, and a 2.5lb book on the other.

Recently, I became ill with a very nasty cold, and Lord Jim was brought back to my consciousness. This may have been the only blessing that came out of this nasty cold - mind, it has lasted 2 weeks.

As I was reading it, I was reminded of why I love Conrad's writing so much. It's so poetically written, with so many delicious layers as those of a Napoleon pastry cake. One of my favourite chapters - not moments or scenes - is of Jim standing in front of the glass doors of Marlowe's hotel room. Beyond the glass doors is a veranda, and beyond that the oncoming dusk. At this moment, Jim is contemplating his failures, and what might become of him from now on. The sense of guilt, foolishness and helplessness was so grand that even the purplish sky was bloating in response to the pressures.

Dusk fell; I lit a candle with the greatest economy of movement and as much prudence as though it were an illegal proceeding. There is no doubt that he had a very hard time of it [...] He was rooted to the spot, but convulsive shudders ran down his back; his shoulders would heave as it seemed. The massive shadows, cast all one way from the straight flame of the candle, seemed possessed of gloomy consciousness; the immobility of the furniture had to my furtive eye and air of attention. I was becoming fanciful in the midst of my industrious scribbling. [...] Those who have kept vigil by a sick-bed have heard such faint sounds in the stillness of the night watches, sounds wrung from a racked boy, from a weary soul. He pushed the glass door with such force that all the panes rang: he stepped out, and I held my breath, straining my ears without knowing what else I expected to hear. [...] A feeble burst of many voices mingled with the tinkle of silver and glass floated up from the dining-room below; through the open door the outer edge of the light from my candle fell on his back faintly; beyond all was black; he stood on the brink of a vast obscruity, like a lonely figure by the shore of a sombre and hopeless ocean.

One of my favourite reading moments. I read as if my mind were suspended in the black sky, watching this man's turmoil roar silently into the night. Jim has become a friend to me. I celebrate his successes, and I salvage his moments of folly with imaginative hope for an imagined "imaginative" man.

It's March Break!!!

YAY!!!

Last December, I started to feel like I was going to come down with the flu, or at least a cold. Usually, when the stress is lifted I get sick. I thought I would get sick over the Christmas holidays, but fortunately I didn't. In January, the "almost cold/flu" symptoms persisted, and I was waiting and waiting for it to strike hard. Last week, it did.

Last Wednesday, I felt very sick. I had a slight fever, and my throat was very sore. I decided to take Thursday off. That was good forethought because that night, I crashed. It turned out that I had to take Friday off as well.

This week, I had to go back to work, but my body had not fully recovered yet. All week, I've been waiting for this day to arrive, for this hour, 4:30, when I could leave work. Turns out, I didn't have last period to teach, so I left at 2:45! :D I got home by 4pm and took a nap. Boy, it feels good.

This March Break, I'm going to rest up and recover for the rest of term 1. Whee!!!

Caricature of the Prophet Mohammed

When I read about the fires that were set upon the Danish and Norwiegen embassies in Damascus, I had to find the caricature that has caused such an uproar, one that can be felt all the way over here in Toronto's Muslim supermarkets like an aftershock.

After reading the article (see title's link), I have to say that I sympathize with the Muslims. I am offended by the portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist, and I'm not even Muslim! Why do I find it offensive? Simple. It perpetuates the misperception that all Muslims are secretly violent terrorists. It implies that all believers of Islam are dangerous and are out to destroy everyone else. In a city where there are so many kind-hearted and peaceable Muslims, I am offended by the implications behind this caricature.

The image does not induce laughter. Instead, it makes me feel angry that the efforts to help foster a more realistic image of Muslims are hit with a wall of ignorance and subversive racism. Using artistic and print media to infuse hate towards one religious group abuses everyone's right to the freedom of speech and expression.

Finale of Twin of Brothers

Forget about the actual ending, it sucked. What I want to talk about is the love triangle between Yu-zhi-->Kau-jung<--So-ning. Half-way through the series, Kau-jung had to come to grips with the fact that there are two wonderful girls who are in love with him. He is in love with them also, but which one does he love the most? Which one would he choose to marry?

Near the end, he wants to find out for sure. He sets up these two dates. First, he takes So-ning out for a walk, and then they watch fireworks together. These are fireworks that Kau-jung arranged especially for this date.

Next, he takes Yu-zhi on a walk, and they sit down in the middle of a field and watch the stars.

Which girl do you think he loves the most? Think symbolically.

Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview

This is an organization that aims to help "people in families, workplaces, schools and neighbourhoods understand and resolve conflict. CMS-D is committed to restorative justice and the peaceful resolution of conflict in order to reduce violence and crime, and build healthy and safe communities."

For my friend's birthday present this year, I made a donation on her behalf to the CMS-D. I chose this not-for-profit organization to benefit from L.'s honorary donation because they have a program called Restorative Justice Initiatives. It brings the "victims" and the "offenders" together to foster an environment where healing is the emphasis, where everyone is treated with dignity. I believe that it should be under this environment that those who caused pain and suffering obtain forgiveness, as well as to gain a sense of hope for positive change. In turn, this could reduce the feelings of resentment and rage in the "victims" and their families, ultimately allowing them to heal from their emotional wounds. These initiatives are conducted in collaboration with the Crown Attorney, lest anyone should think that it allows "offenders" to get way with an offence.

I recommend this page that cites a case study, which will illustrate the positive and long-lasting impact of CMS-D's work. http://www.cmsd.org/justice/caseStudy.html

Review: Twin of Brothers

Okay, please disregard the nonsensical English title for this Hong Kong historical-kung fu drama series. The story is actually very well written.

Characterization - The two main protagonists, Kau-jung and Zhi-ling are similar in some ways, but very different in other ways. They both care a lot about justice and friendship. Zhi-ling is more philosophical, more temperate. Kau-jung is a lot more ambitious and action-driven. One believes that he must not sacrifice his moral code unless the means does not result in causing others pain. The other believes that the ends justifies the means, even if an innocent has to get hurt. This plays out later in the story, and Kau-jung's lack of moral judgement continues to haunt him to the end of the story.

Theme - I like stories where the main characters have to make important decisions about how to face a problem and resolve a conflict. The main theme of this story is about a person's choices in life, not their upbringing or pedigree. For example, Wan-wan is a girl who was brought up by an evil witch. She was brought up to hate men, and to treat people disrespectfully. After she fell in love with Zhi-ling, a man who taught her about what is right and how to act on what is right, Wan-wan did learn from his lessons and turned good. She even sacrificed her own life in order to compel Fei-hun to show Zhi-ling how much she loves him, even if that means Wan-wan will lose Zhi-ling to Fei-hun.

Plot - The story is very exciting. It talks about war, which is usually a very boring topic for kung-fu dramas. This movie is able to make the historical aspects of the story important, relevant and meaningful to all the kung-fu you see being used. There is a struggle between good and evil, but how can the good be sustained if the government is corrupt? How can there be peace if there are wars constantly being fought? How does one fight wars and win? Not using kung-fu. The most powerful kung-fu characters are Kau-jung and Zhi-ling. But, unlike other kung-fu stories, these two are not allowed to use their powerful kung-fu because it is so devastating. They have to rely on their experience with strategy and leadership to achieve power, and bring peace to the land.

It has been a very long time since I've seen such a good kung-fu story.

Where to start?

I'll begin with a message of sympathy to the families of the 12 miners who died in Virginia, U.S.A. The emotional roller-coaster that the families have been put through is shameful. Although they may never get to the bottom of the false rumour incident, hopefully this will be a lesson to other organizations in a similar situation. The anguish and suffering is multiplied so much more when miscommunication of this type happens. My heart goes out to those families. I hope that these families will be able to turn to their spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers for support.

May God bless them.


Second item - totally unrelated. For the past 2 weeks, I've been having a sore shoulder, whose pain has been increasing over the holidays. I've been doing the shoulder rolling exercises, as well as the raised arm exercises. None of it worked. Mum said I am not doing the exercises enough. I didn't believe her. Last night, I slept on the other end of the bed, where the springs are firmer. This morning, I woke up and there is no more soreness. I mean it. None. Amazing! I'll have to have it turned over tonight before I go to bed.


Third item - Two nights ago, a visitor to my house told us that on his way over, he saw all these police cruisers at the major intersection nearest my house. Traffic was a big problem. He said that there were shootings. My family was horrified. Already? Only the 2nd day of the new year and there's a 2nd gun violence incident? We glued our ears to the radio, and our eyes to the T.V. to see if there was any news. It's been 2 days, and there has been no reports on what happened.

I asked my dad, who went grocery shopping at the time of the incident, and he said he took a detour to avoid the traffic jam. I asked him if he saw the yellow CAUTION tape? He said no. I'm suspecting it was not a shooting. Rather, it may have been something else that happened at one of the condominiums located at the corner of that intersection.

I doubt the police would cover up a shooting incident.