Future Plans

The Short Term:
Graduate
Get into University
Graduate with a Bachelor's Degree
Go on a school exchange?

The Long Term:
Medical School
Graduate with a Doctor of Medicine Degree
Trip to Hong Kong with mother
Trip to California
Marry a Doctor (haha)

Basically in the short term I plan on going to school full time and getting my Bachelor's in Science. I'm not really sure in what concentration at this point. Possibly more to do with biology but hey, I'll never know. I started out liking chemistry in the beginning of high school; now on my last year I enjoy biology more. I also reaaaallly want to go on an exchange to another country. I think I'll learn a lot more if I can see things in as many different perspectives as possible.

In the long term I hope that I'll have the marks and the money to begin medical school. I'll also need the smarts and persistence to stay in. Hey, I'll maybe even meet a doctor whom I'll marry and I'll never have to work. (yes yes, dream on.... one can dream right?) I also want to take my mother back to Hong Kong for a summer. I know my mother misses her friends and family there and hasn't gone back for almost 17 years. I also want to go back to my roots and experience Hong Kong culture which I understand is quite different from here in Canada. I don't think Vancouver can really replace Hong Kong. Originally I was going to take my younger brother to Hong Kong with me because he's my walking talking Chinese-English dictionary. Chances are I'll be too broke to go anywhere so we'll go on a road trip to California instead. Hong Kong will probably be in a looooooong time. Student = poor.

There is no way for me to know what will happen in the future so these plans are not concrete. Maybe I'll end up being some crack head on the Downtown Eastside. Maybe I'll decide to become a teacher. The future is very mysterious. I always ponder what will happen to me. It's quite scary really. What if some terrible fortunes befall me? What if WWIII happens? What if 2012 does happen? I don't know.

I'll probably look back here in 5 years (if ever) and laugh at myself.

Canada is Shattering

Political standoff and an economic recession. Great...

Now I understand why provinces such as Québec and Alberta want to separate. Canada is a mess and is falling into pieces. Someone needs to steer us into the right direction. What is that direction?

As someone who lives in a rather isolated region of British Columbia I honestly do not see where our tax dollars are going. The more I think about it, the more it looks like what the commies were doing in China. When Mao took over China he asked everyone to send their food to him so that he could disperse it evenly. That was the point of communism, right? It didn't work well, people got greedy so rural areas starved. Well, now we send all our taxes to the federal and provincial governments so that they can pay for some of our social and public services. Okay, the money is there... but where are the results?

Maybe we should do what Alberta and Québec are trying to do. Separate.
We supply lumber, fish, ores, and other natural resources to the lower mainland and the rest of Canada. Who profits from it? Definitely not us in the north.

Of course I'd hate to separate. I love my country. We are strongest together.

Ah yes... that's the word: together.

Maybe that's what the government should try doing. Work Together. Just like what we learned in kindergarten. Well, half of us are working together... but that's not together because that is only half of us. So is this Liberal/NDP coalition good for us? We'll have to see.



一支竹仔会易折弯，几支竹一扎断折难。
A single stick is easy to break. A bundle of sticks is difficult to bend.

The Single Child Theory

After watching this rather interesting drama series done by Mainland China, my brother and I came up with this theory.

The Single Child Theory

Watching others arguing is always entertaining
if you are the only child. This is because you don't have other siblings to argue with so watching other families arguing is rather intriguing. Therefore the mainlanders decided that there would be entertainment value in making dramas based on families with multiple children who argue a lot. Common sceneries include siblings arguing over space, objects, parents' attention, and power.

This is very good for communist propaganda
because a single child of a family will watch this program and will think that the government was smart for making a one-child policy. They'll feel lucky that they themselves do not have to go through the burden of sharing with other siblings and arguing with them. They will get all the attention they want from their parents and will always be number one in the family.

For more information, read about the "Little Emperor Syndrome"

Little Emperor Syndrome
is basically this crazy thing that's going on in urban China because of the one child policy. These kids born during the one-child era are very used to being the only child and getting all the attention. One word: Spoiled.

So Windy

It is so windy outside. The dark clouds appear to be rushing towards the north east.

Well, I went to see Twilight with my friends on Friday. The movie was very disappointing. Critics give it a 3/5; I give it a 1.5/5. It was that bad.

The whole story line was terrible. Not because it didn't follow the book. You can still make a good movie without following the book. All the scenes did not really flow into each other like a poorly put together essay.

The acting wasn't that great either. Like, come on! I've seen these actors/actresses act much better in other movies so it's not like they can't act or anything. I'm blaming the director. The lead actor looked attractive, but everything else about him wasn't. The lead actress, why does she always have her mouth open? She just looked plain idiotic.

The whole movie felt like a straight flat line with a few blips of excitement. It didn't really seem like Bella and Edward really knew each other. I mean, sure there was that kissing scene in the bed and all but it didn't show that they truly knew and loved each other. The movie felt like it only touched the surface of the characters' lives.

All in all, the movie was just as disappointing as this blog post.

Inconsistent

Inconsistent. That is exactly what I am.

Take my blogging habits for example. I am a very inconsistent blogger. I might post many entries in a week, and other weeks I will post none. Eventually, my blogging stops all together. Then out of the blue I start blogging again; like now.

My inconsistency follows me into school. In the beginning of the year I don't procrastinate as much but as weeks go by, late nights get later. Then a couple of months go by and I try not to procrastinate as much. This is reflected upon my marks. High, low, high, low, meh, good enough. But for me, it's NOT good enough. I wish that my marks weren't like the stock market. The future clear as mud. I wish the trend was high, and stayed high. Straight lining at high and only going higher!

Only a wish? No, the future will be based upon how I react to things. I like LeChatelier's principle: If a stress is added to a closed system at equilibrium, the system will shift to relieve that shift. Maybe I should shift how I do things to relieve my stress. If things are going downhill and I react by not doing anything then downhill I shall keep going. Therefore, I need to set my priorities right if I'm ever going to become healthily successful in school. So, no more late nights for me. I am starting with bed by 12 am.

Parallel Parking the MiniVan

IS A NIGHTMARE!!!

Okay, not really...
But it was when I first learned to parallel park. I just didn't get it. Possibly because my dad used these poles weighted by milk jugs filled with water as cones. And blue ribbon, the kind used for hiking or marking places, to set the boundary which represented a vehicle. You couldn't even see these 'cones' so obviously I NEVER understood parallel parking that first day.

Well, I guess I normal height person would have seen these 'cones' just fine but I'm vertically challenged (less than 5' ) so I can't see much in the minivan. Thankfully we were practicing in an empty parking lot.

My later days parallel parking were probably almost as bad. My first few days were spent on a pretty isolated street. I never did parallel park perfect the first days on that isolated street. My dad showed me all the concepts using toy cars and such but real life and toy cars are totally different. And not only that, he doesn't exactly know how to teach/explain so all he does is sigh and make comments if I'm lucky, otherwise he yells and gets angry.

So anyways, the process of me learning parallel park has been greatly slowed. Honestly, if given the chance, TAKE LESSONS from a trained professional. Seriously, this has proven to work. My friends took lessons just a month before their driving test and have passed. I on the other hand have had my learners license for over a year and am finally getting this whole idea of parallel parking because my dad refuses to get lessons until like.. a week before my test to "brush up" my "skills". Well, I guess another factor is that my friends do not drive a MINIVAN, they drive CARS... or other smaller vehicles.

Although my Parallel Parking skills are at probably 80% at the least I can give tips to those who have troubles parallel parking the MINIVAN.

When adjusting your mirrors
- tilt your right hand mirror a little bit towards the ground
- tilt your right hand mirror so that you can see some of the body of the car
- This is so that when you pull into the curb you can somewhat see how far the back of the minivan is from the curb.
**Once you get good at parallel parking you shouldn't tilt it towards the ground because you want to reduce your blind spots at much as possible**

Band Trip 2008

....was alright.

The weather wasn't the greatest and when it was good we were inside all day playing music for kids. The first school was good. The students behaved and loved us. The second school... bleh.

More pictures of kitty and the snow

About to pounce at a ball.

About to escape from the plastic tub. :p

It was 0 degrees C this morning when I took these pictures.

Very sunny outside. :)

Rather Eventful Day!

1. It rained, hailed, and snowed.
2. I won that essay contest and an Ipod which I'll probably give to my brother. Maybe. If he's nice to me.
3. We found a kitten. :) Then we brought it to the SPCA.

My mother apparently heard some meowing at around 8 am this morning but couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

I didn't know about this until I came home from school at around 3:30 pm. I heard the meowing and my mum told me it's been all day. We thought it was coming from the tree/shrub in front of our house. I looked at the the tree and under the tree, around the house. Eventually my mum thought it might be coming from one of the holes the marmots dug up.

The opening is in the soil and goes into the cement underneath my driveway. My dad had put a bunch of huge rocks and small iron anvil on top to block it from the marmots a few summers ago(they kept coming out to eat the flowers in the garden). So my mum lifts out the the rocks and the anvil and the meowing stops.

She goes into the house to get a flashlight and tells my brother and I to stay outside just in case. I squat down and watch. A seconds later the meowing starts up again and we look around the tree and my brother and I concluded that my mother must be right and the sound is coming from the hole. We wait a bit and I see a paw. A really tiny paw. I move in for a closer look and the paw retreats back into the hole and we hear more meowing. My mother is still in the house looking for a flashlight. Eventually the paws come out, then a little kitten head and the whole kitten is out. It was shivering and wet. It jumped onto the cement towards me. I'm allergic to cats so I was a little cautious about petting it and holding it so I let it huddle beside me.

My brother runs in to call my mum and my sister comes out to see what's going on. I tell her to quickly grab a towel. The poor kitty doesn't know what's going on and see my dog and slowly tries to crawl away so I grabbed the poor kitty and brought it into the house into my sisters arm with the towel.

I guess the kitten wasn't a stray and someone must've lost it since it wasn't even afraid of me. I thought it would have bit or scratched me when lifted it off from the wet cement. All my siblings and I are allergic to cats and my siblings have asthma so we couldn't keep it. It was adorable though.

I fed the kitten some warm milk and let it play with my dog's toys (he's a very small dog but seemed huge in comparison to the kitty) until my dad got home.

Kitty is trying to crawl out of the plastic tub.

My sister holding the kitty while it licks itself. :)


4. There was a bomb threat and our downtown area was closed off. http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/17879164.html

The general going ons of my life...

Cold.
Cold.
Cold.
Cold.
Cold.
My fingers typing away in the cold.
My brain freezing.
What am I to write about today?
Ah yes, it is cold.
All I can think about is how DAMN COLD IT IS UP HERE!!!
My brain screams the word 'COLD!'
Yes, I know.... I want heat.
Wear an extra sweater? Maybe I'll do that.
When will Spring come?
***

So anyways, I'm getting sick of this Tibet crap. I'm getting sick of trying to explain to ignorant narrow minded people that the Chinese are not conducting a genocide of Tibetan people as we speak.
Go to China. Go to Tibet. See with your own eyes what is going on!!
Yes, the Chinese Government has a bad rap when it comes to Human Rights.
How can you expect them to perfect their human rights in such a short amount of time when in North America it took us 200 years?
Go ask a Chinese in China... are they suffering? Are they not free?
Depends on what you mean by 'free'.
Sure, they have no political freedom but it doesn't mean the people in China are being oppressed! When I say China, I mean Tibet is included. They are a province in China. They are part of China.
ughhh I have ranted again.

And I can help but think of this one line in the movie Sarafina. "FREEDOM!"
haha, great movie. You guys should watch.

***

Now for the interesting stuff.
I'm going to try attempt to write an essay for an essay contest in 2 days. Actually, less than 2 days. The topic is 'What contributions can individuals make to solutions to the problem of climate change?"

I think I can pull it off. I won't be great. I probably won't even win, but hey, at least I tried. I kind of like writing essays. It helps organize things in my head and I even learn some new things along the way.

My jacket is keeping me warm. :)

Tibet! The real Tibet may have you shocked!

Peaceful Demostration in Manchester

http://forum.powerapple.com/modules.php?name=forum&file=viewtopic&forum=32&topic=20422&start=0

I believe this took place in Manchester.
Basically, there was a peaceful demonstration which took place at the Student Union, BBC, and Chinatown against media distortion.


From the forum:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUgjbrj_1rQ
22秒的小视频，很可以没有拍到完整版，不过还是很振奋人心的！！

人数：45人（由于有几位老人没有签名，实际人数50）
时间：11：30-3：00
地点：曼大 STUDENTS UNION，BBC，唐人街
道具：中国国旗九面，小国旗四十面，英国国旗一面，传单1300份，展板7块

活动过程描述
本次活动在3月29号由五位发起者开始筹备。虽然活动定在4.2，时间上对我们来说比较紧张，但有很多朋友放弃了自己的工作休息，学习时间出来帮助我们，才使得这次活动如期进行。

在活动之前，我们是按人数为25左右制定活动道具，但是今天人数超出我们想象，最多高达45人，所以道具准备有些不足。在过程中，我们的 活动还感动了一些过路的行人（包括老人和孕妇）临时加入我们。

由于一些特殊原因，所以活动地点与我们之前计划有些变动。

活动第一点：曼大 STUDENTS UNION，时间从12点到1点。大家在活动当中很有秩序，一些女生分别在路两边分发传单，展板也吸引了一些行人，我们的参与者在此时对展板进行进一步的 解说。在此过程中，我们也遇到了一个支持藏独的老外对我们说free tibet，不过我们的情绪控制的很好，没有和他们发生过多的冲突。

活动第二点：BBC门前，这是我们此次活动的重点之一，因为我们今天组要的目的是反对媒体不公正报道。在这里我们遇到了两个支持我们的老外。其中 一个并且帮助我们同一个支持藏独的老外进行了猛烈的辩论。在活动中有一个电台的记者对我们的发言人进行了采访。并且采访了一个支持我们的老外:-)。大家 在这里活动到接近2点一刻，此时大家情绪高昂然，在bbc门口合影留念并高唱国歌。

活动第三点：曼城中国城，选此地点目的是为了影响过多的华人华侨海外同胞来关注媒体的不公正报导这件事情。活动至3点结束。

整个过程没有受到任何外界干扰，和平完整的结束了。

有待改善部分

一定要控制好自己的情绪，尤其是亲自面对那些支持藏独的来外的时候。今天有两位同学的情绪就没有控制好。

照片正在整理当中，明天会一定传上。（在此感谢两位摄像师对我们此次的活动进行全程拍摄）

在次特别感谢利物浦还有赫尔的朋友，他们的精神我们大为感动！！

Note: I decided to use a pre-made layout

Riot in Tibet: True face of western media

This is a video of basically the pictures I have posted before.

Free Tibet?

Is Western Media really fooling us?






Well, Chinese people can have brown skin too.. but that's not the point. Indian Police Uniform!






German Media seems to be the worst:

I'm not saying Germans are stupid but how can you say that Nepal police are Chinese police?






Some Truth:





Images courtesy of these websites and Facebook users in these groups:

http://club.6park.com/military/messages/55721.html

Tibet WAS,IS,and ALWAYS WILL BE a part of China
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9356526887

westerners r being brainwashed!! shame on Western media!! (please ignore the title... it is biased)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9734528675

If you want to read more on what happened in Tibet by someone is was REALLY THERE, please check out his blog:

http://kadfly.blogspot.com/


Note:
Layout looks really whacked because I'm in the process of making a new layout. :-)

Traditonal and Simplified Chinese Battle

Among people who write in Chinese, there has been an on going dispute/debate/argument/fight/war over which Chinese characters, Traditional or Simplified, is better.

My Opinion: They are both good

Each system has their advantages and disadvantages. Since I'm terrible at writing essays and trying to convey my message to other readers (according to my English teacher, whom I highly respect, but that's another story) I'm going to try organizing my ideas/thoughts/points into some lists.

Simplified Chinese

Advantages
- Faster to hand write; less strokes
- Easier to learn/memorize (according to the majority of people, but I disagree)
- More people use it (Mainland China, and most foreigners)

Disadvantages
- Some characters look too similar; 车 (car), 东 (east), 乐 (happy)
- Loses some of their meaning; 愛(love) minus 心(heart) = 爱 (love, simplified)
- Some of the simplified is pointless; 黃 subtract one stroke = 黄

Traditional Chinese

Advantages
- Aesthetically appealing in calligraphy
- Taiwan and Hong Kong use it (advantage because Taiwan and Hong Kong are cool places)
- Rich in culture and history
- Typing speed is same as Simplified

Disadvantages
- Many more strokes, longer to hand write 個 => 个; 龍 => 龙;

Disclaimer: Yes, these are crappy lists and they are uneven but I don't feel like researching. Don't shoot me.

Post I made in a Facebook group:

I'm pretty sure that was the reason why they deleted the topic awhile ago.

I guess some people don't learn the first time around. >.>

But I'll say this again:
When we talk about "Traditional Chinese" and "Simplified Chinese" we are only merely differentiating between the two standardized Chinese Characters.

If you want to talk about the turtle shell writing, it's not called Traditional Chinese, it's called Oracle Bone Script.

Having said that, I don't think Simplified Chinese is "bad", neither is Traditional Chinese. They both serve their purposes. Traditional is aesthetically appealing and Simplified is efficient to write by hand.

Just like a Chinese proverb which is something like: Don't run before you can walk.
I think that we should learn the Traditional first, so that we can understand the culture and origin of the character. Later on, learning the simplified so that we can write faster.

Just like in math. Learn the long method first so you understand math, later on learning shortcuts and tricks so that you can solve the problems faster.