Ontarian Thanksgiving

The season of Thanksgiving is one for people to be thankful, to reminesce on the good of the year gone by, to keep warm with family by the fireplace, to sing silly songs and to laugh at American Natives for helping them survive through winter. Not much thanks are given nowadays, with most looking forward to turkey and post-sales rather than the day. I, conversely, had much to be thankful for as I spent an awesome 4 days with my boys and with Singaporeans - and this post is dedicated to them. :)

Day 1: 22nd November
Touched down in Toronto a few minutes past midnight, having endured an hour's delay in Chicago due to the incoming snowstorm. After another hour's wait in Pearson Airport, I boarded my van and embarked on my 2 hour trip towards London. The trip itself, thankfully, was uneventful and I slept in the minibus.

Was received at London Hall by Kong and Hu, who took me up to Kong's apartment where we spent the best part of 3 hours just talking rot, jacking each other and 3rd parties, and basically catching up the good ol' BBC way (despite what Alan insists). We talked till 6 am, and Kong had school barely hours later - so to sleep we went.

I was woken up by a phone call and the sight of snow outside the window - it was really really pretty as the landscape was covered with a thin blanket of white. After lunch with Alan, I returned to Kong's room and we did what we boys do with each other all the time:

We studied. :p Don't know what your perverse mind was thinking of, rargh.

Dinner was a 9-dollar cab ride to Swiss Chalet (after attempts to eat bigger meat failed, sadly) - a rotisserie much like Kenny Roger's, but with tastier baked fries. We nearly froze our butts off trying to find another cab - not for lack of layering but because the wind picked up, and Tris made the unforgettable comment, "I don't think it's worth freezing my ass off for this 'I Love My Friends' shit." Indeed. :)

The night was spent watching Bleach, talking more rubbish, attempting to study and crafting our CDs for our impending roadtrip.

Alan outside Perth Hall // The stadium behind London Hall // Me // The view from Kong's window


Kong being manly and domestic...


While Alan wusses out on the couch.

Day 2: 23rd November
Joined the boys at Center Spot for lunch at the UCC in Western, with my first tase of poutine. It is surprisingly good, and pretty addictive - fries with cheese and gravy, you can't complain or ask for much more. :p

I was then taken around the Western campus. One thing: It doesn't really feel like a university, though the buildings are classical (well, most anyway, excepting the boxy library) - I can't explain it, but perhaps I'm used to tall buildings bunched up together, whether it be NUS or UW. Anyway, it was nice walking about the campus and just observing, playing with the snow and enjoying the company. :)


The views of UWO. :)



Requisite 'Us' shots - And yes, we are cocksters.

After chilling (in every sense of the word), we left London Hall at about 5 and met up with the other Singaporeans. Our party of 8 were: Jen, Zizi, Yan Liang, Leon Yie and Rebecca - Malaysian Doctor, Chinese Biz Student, Singaporean Applied Math, Singaporean Singaporean. (sorry la forgot their majors. :p) Rebecca joined our car, and we embarked on a pulsating 2 hour drive, completed by excellent soundtracks. Namely, rock and 80's music aka mambo madness WAHAHAHA.

Dinner was at a Chinese buffet at Fallsview Casino, and we got to see the Falls by night, and we did a bit of walkies through the town. Niagara really is a mini-Vegas, but somehow lacks the pizzazz and madness that is Las Vegas for some reason. Anyhow, the night was ours to enjoy and the brothers enjoyed it as we know how: Beer and conversation. Great times, great times. :)


Fallsview Casino // The view at night in Niagara // The Falls at night


A shot at -3 degrees - Freezing butts off // The Skywheel // Group Shot! // Yes, I had to. Obligation right. :p

Day 3: 24th November
After a breakfast buffet near Niagara, we set off for Niagara-On-The-Lake, in particular a winery tour in Peller Estates. Having been to a winery tour, this wasn't much new but for 2 facts:

1) Canadian wineries do more ice wine than in Washington, understndably.
2) Presence of attractive Asian females made trip much more worth being at WAHAHAHA. :p No pictures of them though, I apologise.


Peller Estates Winery: Fireplace-Lobby // Us listening to the dude // Grapes and grapes and grapes // The view of the main building


Brothers be a Photowhore:
Alan showing us snow // Kong showing us... Kong // Us trying to be macho amidst fcold weather // Us at the winery in front of the grapes. :)

We then hit the 'town' proper of Niagara-On-the-Lake, and it is the cutest little town ever: It's so quaint, very 'sweet' and just so classical European it's hard to avoid awwing at it. :) Very cute place.


See? Cute little town that resembles something out of a travel magazine.

After a bit of holdover in Missisauga, we found our way to Toronto, somehow got out of the jam, and chilled and relaxed in an apartment provided for by Stanley, Kong's exchange buddy. Really nice dude - he's going to Singapore for exchange next sem, so please look for him y'all. :)

The night was completed by our gay antics and us amusing the rest of the Singaporean folk. :p

Day 4: 25th November
Our day, literlly, started with a bang as we got tickets (again, provided by Stanley) to a Toronto Raptors game at the Air Canada Center. The Raptors beat the Bulls 93-78, but more impressive than that was just the atmosphere, the pace and the feel of the game. It was pretty darn awesome to be there. :)


Various views and shots of the Air Canada Center.


Brothers be a Photowhore II:
Alan // Us attempting to look stupid // Requisite Dumb Shot // Final Score!

We then went downtown proper to meet Chor, who seemed glad enough to see us, and in an even better mood as we began jacking and insulting and burning with glee - like we like to do. :) Thanks dude - it was an excellent 3 hours and it was the best way to spend time in Toronto. :)


Us outside City Hall.


Views of Toronto: CN Tower // The Christmas tree in Eaton // The ice skating rink at City Hall // Skyline shot

Our journey ended with dinner at Restoren Malaysia - which wasn't very satisying but you gotta roll with what you got - and that was what we had to last us through before we return in 7 months, sigh.

So, at the end of my journey, I have but these to say:
1) I love Canadians. They don't carry a chip on the shoulder like Americans and are much more pleasant and nice. Honest to goodness.

2) I like Toronto. Asian girls abound who look back and with a skyline like that - feels just like home. :)

3) I am thankful for friends - they become your family when you're abroad all alone, literally. I have no complaints with my time and with my company - only that it could've been longer.

And now, back to the grind. Sigh. :( Happy Thanksgiving all - and always be thankful for what you do have. :)

Tris Learns To Liquorize

And back to another instance of Tris' exciting travels around and about the state of Washington. I probably should've gotten more studying done - but in my defence there's always tomorrow. :p Tuesday is the crunch day of the week, and getting past Thursday is the 2nd struggle - Monday I do just fine, thank you very much. :)

Today, FIUTS led a bunch of intrepid explorers across the Great Lake to a little rural enclave, known as Woodinville. This is but a photolog of the events that unfolded.

Chateau St-Michele - the Winery


The very pretty facade of the Winery. It had a fakey French name although it was run and started by locals, which Matt (the senior who very kindly drove us there. But having been in urban state forever, this was a nice change. :)


Now, I'm not judging or drawing conclusions, BUT... Well, there are 2 groups... And a clear difference as to the composition of them. I leave you to conclude.


Pwetty Chwistmas twee! :) I like.


The bottling setup. We had a pretty nice walkthrough, but it being Sunday, most stuff wasn't up and running.


The tour guide (shit, forgot her name) introducing us to the Washington winery map - apparently WA is a nice place to grow grapes as it's on the 46th parallel - the same latitude (or is it longtitude?) as Bordeaux and Burgundy.


The fermenting / processing vats. The area was fcold (or is that fold?) as they were slowing down the yeast such that it would ferment slowly.


The oak barrels that held wine - this was a literal warehouse full of the stuff. Amazing.


A random cage I found and decided to take a picture with. I didn't get as good a shot as I wanted - but I got a laugh from the cute French/Spanish/Russian/European girl which was rewarding enough. :p BUT, I never got more than that from her. :p


The gift shop.


ME AND MAH MAIN MAN THE... Er. Wine gnome. It was just cute, sitting there.


The random peacock that turned up from nowhere.

All in all, the winery tour was nice, especially when we were taught how to taste wine. The steps are... Simple 'nuff: Check the clarity and colour; sniff; aerate (swirling to add air); sniff again with mouth slightly open; sip. :) Enjoy! It was less informative than one might expect (me thinking back to my trip to the Gardenia factory, for instance) but it was fun tasting wine and hanging out.

Red Hook Brewery
This was just across the street - apparently Woodinville is chockful with breweries and wineries, at least 30 of them within the small area. Pretty cool.

We had lunch there, and friendly conversation around the table ensued. We were (as one might expect) pan-Asian: 1 Singaporean 1 Thai 2 Taiwanese 2 Japanese 2 Korean. Pretty nice as we talked about our experiences and the like.

The tour itself was a mite strange - we were ushered into this small room, each given a small glass (wider than a shot glass) and told our programme: 1 beer, history of Brewery; 1 beer, brewing process; 1 beer, fermentation; 1 beer, bottling; last beer, end of tour. And all this occurred in the small room we were in, never going very far and exploring the brewery, quite bloody amusing.

I like Winterhook! Though no one agreed on which of the 5 different ones they liked the most. :)


Brewing Vats - through a glass pane from the aforementioned room. :)


In the adjoining room, a view of the fermentation vats. Again, cold as heck.


Bottling Process - it was pretty cool to watch the bottles going about. We were in luck apparently, bottling was usually just Monday and Tuesday but they had an extra batch to send out, so we were in luck. :)


Piyawat, my Thai friend who's a LLM and is working at Baker & McKenzie Bangkok.


From left to right:
Lulu, Taiwanese; Betty, Taiwanese; Nobuko (and for those wondering - a different Nobuko. What are the chances?), Japan; Drunk boy; Akane, Japan who can HOLD her liquor - I was impressed. She makes Pet look like me. :p

So all in all, it was a pretty fun way to spend the day. :) Capped perfectly with my ice wine, and the Texans winning. :) It was a good Sunday - now to pack for Toronto. :D Yes, this Thanksgiving is shaping to be a very nice one. :)

Vets' Day Weekend Delight

Let me state first: I don't agree with Veterans' Day. It honours people who died in wars, and while they deserve respect, it glorifies war and makes it seem like it's ok and it's all cool. Especially when shops give glorious sales that even I find hard to avoid. :p

That said, the break is a nice one, and I got a little more done with it than I would've on an ordinary weekend. So a short breakdown of me weekend.

Friday
I accomplished zilch in the day, I believe. Except washed towels and my weekly wonder of conversation with Wendy. I did miss a Duwamish trip, but I wasn't quite in the mood to go anyhow - feel a bit bad for it now, but I shall assess a backlash (if any) on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, the focus was at night, when I went for the FIUTS Pub Quiz. A lot less crowded than the less time and a lot less internationally-represented, but it was pretty fun. I ended up making a lot of noise and making a fool of myself, but it's all cool - I still think I was funnier than the emcee and the guys at my table. :p

The only sour point of the evening was the French-Canadian dude who leaned between me and Nobuko (over my shoulder too) and began chatting her up - without saying hi or pretending to be friendly with me. I wasn't irritated that he was chatting up my date - but I'd gone to be friendly and he could've done the same especially when I had smiled and tried to initiate conversation with him initially. Bastard.

ANYWAY, dinner with Nobuko was pretty nice - I think she's feeling more comfy with me now, more willing to open up and share with me. We talked about a whole range of topics, and it was pretty nice. :) The food was good, and she taught me some Japanese hurhur. :p Pretty fun la.

Saturday
Did a bit of work, BUT BUT I got this photo to share with you folks:


This is the neighbour's cat, whom I just had a meow-off with from my window. It lounges about on the grassy patch between the houses (this picture was taken from my window). Initially it seemed scared of me, and I thought it was a stray.

Recently though, it's been awfully friendly, rubbing up against me and even rolling about and exposing its belly to me - which apparently is a sign of trust. And pawing me to get me to rub it I think. BUT the first time I sayang'd it it bit me, so I remain a little wary. But it makes me happy in an odd way, by just making me feel comfortable by being comfortable.

So. My pussy. :p At night it just meows for no reason though - so we have meow offs till it gets tired. It's... Bizarrely amusing.

Sunday
Today's weather held out nicely, as I met up with the visiting-from-Vancouver Lynn. I wouldn't say we did very much in terms of 'objectives' (like seeing monuments or shit) but it was just nice spending time with her and getting to go through Seattle as we ended up doing. Pretty nice, and friends from home who you're familiar with are so much better than the new ones in that the stories are all already there and there's a comfort in the boundaries and space that you just know. It was really really fun for me. :)


Experience Music Project + Science Fiction Museum. This would probably have been more impressive if we were music or sci-fi buffs, but while I enjoyed the sci-fi thing more, neither of us were geeky enough to appreciate the whole whoa-ness of it. :)


One of the quaint buildings on Capitol Hill - Loveless, I believe they called it. :)


Thanks female - you got me out of my house on a Sunday and it was nice spending time with a friend from home. :) It was a lotta fun and very much appreciated - and the walking will be good for me in the long run hoho.

So, my weekend in a short post. Thank God for His little mercies - they keep us going like nought else can, and keep us reaching where our strength fails. :)

Tris' Embarrassing Photolog

I don't quite know how to characterise it, so I shall try to say it straight.

Of all the things I miss most, I'd have to say it's the opportunity to take stupid photos in strange places. It provides a chance to look back long after the event has passed, a chance to be inspired by whatever happened at the time of the photo, and the comforting knowledge that in that small part of the screen, deep within the crevasses of your mind, that part of your life is indelibly marked and will never change.

I don't know if that's comforting, but it certainly is rewarding when you take the effort to look through the pictures, dig them out, and take a look at them. :)

Like this photo:

It's not just a photo of me with a limp wrist, or me getting a nickname that I've done nothing to disprove, or even an embarrassing shot.

It's a mark, a rallying point (for me anyway), a beginning and a watershed point for what essentially remains my core group of friends, around which we gathered and have more-or-less maintained and stuck around. It might make me look lousy, but it makes me smile everytime I see it. :) Can't ask for much more eh.

Amazingly though, nothing's changed:

I can assure you after last night's Pub Quiz that I still turn as red, hurhur. :)


And I think this is the worst. Besides V-Day 2007, this was the absolute worst-est drunk session. Tris hugged Porcelain Goddess to sleep that night - thanks abang, your hopsitality really made the difference. (I shall ignore the fact that it was going to your place at all that night was what made me that drunk)

Of course, my friends also look the same, no matter how much time has passed:

Pet has the exact same look on her face when I grin. Hoho. :p


Yeah, he was pretty cute at the time huh. :p

But it's not just the faces, it's the events, the things you look at and think about, the incident that sparks your mind and brings you back to the flashpoint of incidence. It's amazing how well the mind works with stimuli:


I remember staying up, unable to sleep, literally staring at the ceiling and going running in the morning at 445 am on someone's advice.


I remember trying to fit into someone's uniform, and how everyone switched everything around just to find uniforms that fit.


I remember getting to the house early and staying in the bathroom for close to 2 hours just putting that on, and how I freaked the hell out of everyone that night. How admissions were made over Cafe Boheme and how life became so much more complex and so much easier at one shot.


I remember losing at bowling, haha. I also remember having to cover for friends, having to go to town with them on the pretext of being friendly and somewhat-extra, and asking if hands were being held after we watched a movie that represented us. Not that I minded - chaperoning is actually pretty fun, especially when one has to create excuses on the fly why you are out with 1 guy and 1 girl. :p


I remember spending 5 amazing days with friends, taking care of these awesome kids and well, nagging and even scolding them, hurhur.


I remember a week of Rainbow Channel, Future Star, failed clubbing, karaoke, getting sick as heck and being sponged down by my roommate... But also cool weather, gorgeous girls, new sights and wonderful company.


This is how big we've gotten (both in terms of group size AND belly size. :p) - and while this is just the girls, the group of people I daresay I can count on, message randomly and know will be there for me.


And of course: Moot court, Secret Pals, Gin Rummy, Dbl O, Riverside Point after Bakerzin, D606, and the litany of wonderful memories that have come thereafter. Yeah, we look like crap here - but I love you regardless. :)

And a picture of my family, I realise I don't have nearly enough to keep me going, but this is but one which I do have:


So, a photo montage of my life - I tried to choose the crappiest pics, but forgive me if they look ok. :p A last shot, to symbolise my philosophy about phototaking:


There's always something outside the window. :p

To everyone who's appeared in any photo I've taken: Love you all deeply, thanks for being a part of my life, and as Pet says, more photowhoring to come in the years ahead. :)