Today I experienced my first life drawing class.  With jazz music on the background and many men and women against the room walls in a small room, the model posed away.  She was a bare naked lady, a brave woman probably in her mid 30’s.  I am not an artist, so I give you this…  “Where do I start?” was all I had in my mind and then I just went with the flow.

It’ll almost be my 2 years anniversary since I  have moved to Canada and yet I haven’t set foot on the snowboard till last Friday 3/5.  My friend CC and her friends took me to Horseshoe to snowboard/ski.  It was about 45 minutes from Scarborough.  Since I haven’t been snowboarding for the past couple of years and prior  to that I have only done it twice (once a year), I had to take a refresher beginner’s course.  I have gotten better at snowboarding while facing down the slopes.  I’m quite impressed at the younger children who were skiing/snowboarding down the slopes so fast with their skis and snowboards.  I have managed to avoid taking down anyone with me during all the times I’ve fallen except when one of the children crashed into me from behind.  How many times have I fallen?  Let me count the ways… I have fallen every time I got off the lift chair except for once and tumbled down the steep slopes the first few times.  OK, I lied.  It was more than few times.  I sweated profusely and my t-shirt inside my jacket got damped after taking the one hour lesson.  I have concluded that I need more cardiovascular exercises to cope with the lack of endurance.  I’m beaten and feeling pain/soreness around my arms, knees/thighs, wrists, and neck.  I think I’ll just stick to snowboarding once a year, but then again perhaps I should perfect this sport before I become too old to learn the skill.  I also learned that I am goofy even though I recall I was normal the other 2 times when I snowboarded.

I was thrilled to learn from a friend who applied for a work visa to go work in Australia for a year.  Australia has a program called Holiday Work Visa for those who are between the ages of 18 and 31.  My friend obtained her work visa in less than 48 hours after applying for it online.   So I mentioned this opportunity to several friends who are seeking the opportunity to travel to other countries.  This is an excellent opportunity.  For more information, visit the following sites:

Main site to apply for the work visa:
http://www.immi.gov.au/

More specific information about the work visa can be found on these 2 locations:
http://www.jobaroo.com/working-visa.html
http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/

This page lists the countries that qualify for the holiday visa:
http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/visa-options.htm

Just a note to myself. I need to blog here more often because I keep forgetting my login/password for the lack of use.  OK, onto new things.  My photography classes have sadly come to an end.  I am by no means a photography expert so I can’t share many tips with you, but what I’ve learned have been very useful for me to take better photos.  Controlling the f-stop is useful for taking photos with either a strong or shallow depth of field.  Which should you use?  It all depends on what you want to achieve.  The shutter speed is another handy feature for taking action shots.  The teacher also kept hammering us by telling us to look for patterns and repetition.  Lines also help with perspective.  Anyhow, does anyone want to be my subject?  I need to practice taking more photos before I enroll in more advance courses.  Maybe after some guitar lessons?  I hope to make some tunes with my niece, S.   Here are some of my favorite photos from various photo shooting sessions:

If you weren’t aware of this before, I am back in Canada for the second time and this time will be longer than the last one.  This time I have gotten a chance to utilize the public transportation system to explore the city more, and I have fallen in love with it.  I found it very reliable for the most part and a very pleasant ride for my pseudo naps.  I have learned to take my naps while standing up and holding onto the rails.  I don’t miss driving one bit, except when I need to get uptown to visit my family and friends and grab some cheap food.

I can say I’m finally settling in Canada.  I have a means of communication (cell phone and home landline), means of transportation (TTC subway system, bus, and my two feet),  means of exercising (gym, women’s basketball league, and badminton), means of entertainment (film festivals, chill places, bookstores, new friends, etc.), means of supporting myself (job and savings), means of feeling at home (my family in Canada) and most importantly, means of keeping myself warm (thanks to Mom for helping me shop in HK!)  Am I missing something? I think I am good and have achieved my goal of settling in.  Now, I am onto my new goals for the new year 2009.  To start, I am enrolled in a photography class and I am getting a new DSLR (my first one), so I will be able to share more pictures in the future of things and places that makes life interesting.

So this is my fourth time up in CN Tower.  Yes, it seems to be my destiny to visit one of the tallest building in the world.  This time though it only took me less than 25 minutes to enjoy the view, the view of people gasping for air, sweating profusely, vomiting and spitting.  I was climbing up each 1,775 steps or 144 flights of stairs.  I must have been crazy to do this, but I felt such a great joy when I finished climbing up that I almost puked because I felt nauseated.  Before I joined this fundraising event for the United Way, I knew people have done this before and they have accomplished this under 30 minutes.  So it was an achievable goal for me.  Thanks to all my family members and friends who have contributed to this fundraising event.  It was my first time since a long time fundraising for an event and doing something physical for a good cause.

And a note for those of you who are considering in checking out CN Tower in the future, I recommend you having lunch in the revolving restaurant.  The time before I climbed up CN Tower was spent with my family from LA.  It was their first visit to the second tallest building in the world and it was my first time waiting in line to get up there.  It was the longest wait ever.  My family did not enjoy it much, but next time I know it will be worth paying a bit extra to have lunch in the revolving restaurant and enjoy the view of the city, which is gorgeous during the summer time.

Quick Access. Pictures:Hong Kong, Beijing and Jio Hoi

Visiting Asia (Hong Kong, Beijing and Jio Hoi) for the first time has opened my eyes to many things that I need to think about in the future. First and foremost, I need to learn to speak Mandarin and improve my Cantonese. I’m officially a “gui lou” in Asia; I cannot fully express myself in either Cantonese or Mandarin, not that I am able to fully express myself in English, but at least I can manage my way around parts of the world that practice English. Although I have many things that I dislike, there are some things that I greatly enjoy. I enjoyed the company of family members that I haven’t seen in awhile and new friends that I have met during my trip. I also got to taste different Chinese food. I love the desserts! I will consider retiring in Beijing because of the air quality (it is much better compared to Hong Kong’s and Jio Hoi’s). The streets are cleaner and people do not spit on the streets (well, at least not so much as in other parts of Asia that I’ve visited). I tried swimming in an indoor pool in Jio Hoi at a 5 stars hotel but one of the women kept spitting on the surrounding area; I had to stop swimming not too long after.

Overall, the following are some things that I witnessed:

• Violence against women. I noticed a young looking woman getting on the bus with a bruised eye, scared and bruised arms, and twisted or distorted bone structure due to beating. She tried covering her bruised eye with her hair, but it was still very visible. My relatives and Mom told me to mind my own business. “Perhaps, the couples had an argument at home,” said my aunt. I definitely believe that violence is not right regardless whether it was an argument or not.
• Dirty toilets and no toilet paper. It was my first time seeing floor toilets. I appreciate the cleaning ladies and people who can actually pee in the right places.
• Polluting air. There is a lot of smog in Hong Kong and Jio Hoi. There are many people smoking indoor as well. I need to get my dose of fresh air when I go back to Canada.
• The need for bargaining. I was considering a career in technical sales, but after shopping in Asia. I don’t think I will be very good at it. If you are lucky, you can get very good deals for some stuff. But if it’s too good of a deal, you may end up feeling guilty if you’re like me. On the other hand, if you are not very good at bargaining, you end up getting screwed. But who knows for sure whether you got a good deal or not unless you shop around.
• EXCELLENT public transportation. Well, it is excellent if you know how to speak the language or have someone who can.
• Cheap stuff. Many things are super cheap compared to the states including clothes, digital equipment, DVDs, accessories, etc.. But of course, not all things come in good quality.
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My guy cousin and brother said that women in Hong Kong and China weren’t very good to look at. Too bad they didn’t see what I saw.

Well, the above items are the gist of my experience during my three weeks visit to Asia. There are many more things to experience. You can view more pictures of Hong Kong, Beijing and Jio Hoi by clicking on the links. After clicking on an individual photo, you can use your left and right arrow keys to view the albums.

It has been awhile even though I have seen and experienced many new things ever since I last blogged. Here are some pictures that I think sums up my experience in Hong Kong so far. Life is good, of course, especially with family and friends.

It has been exactly two weeks since my friend Becky visited from LA. As of this moment, she is still stuck in the airport on her departure day due to the snowy weather.

First time seeing real snow on 11.22.2007

We took advantage of her time by visiting many places in Canada.

Night vision of Downtown Toronto on 11.15.2007

Plant found in Royal Botanica Garden on 11.16.2007

It was not a good time to visit the Royal Botanica Garden (RBG) because of the cold season; all the flowers and plants were pretty much dead. We tried sneaking behind a closed garden to steal some shots of the dead flowers. We drove all the way to RBG to see some dead flowers and eat some authentic Indian fast food. My dish was too spicy and not very good for my sore-throat, but I ate it anyway.

Ordering Authentic Indian Fast Food on 11.16.2007

CN Tower All Over Again on 11.16.2007

Our tour of Canada isn’t complete without visiting one of the tallest building in the whole world. Well, it won’t be one of the tallest soon. I had a different Salmon dish, which I didn’t like very much. But I’m glad my friend enjoyed her expensive meal along with the sight-seeing from the rotating restaurant in CN Tower.

We then booked a 3-day bus tour to visit Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, and Kingston. It was a long and relaxing ride in the bus. Thanks to the flu medicine, I slept in the bus most of the time while everyone was complaining about the tour guide. The first night we stayed in a crappy 3-star hotel with roaches in Montreal, and the second night we spent it in a 4-star hotel, Loews Le Concorde Hotel. It was a major contrast and we were so glad that it didn’t come with roaches but instead with luxury and great comfort.

Biodôme de Montréal on 11.18.2007

View from the top of Biodôme de Montréal.

Street signs in French only in Quebec on 11.18.2007

Tour bus by the biggest hotel in Quebec on 11.18.2007

After we came back from our trip, we decided to have a cooking day for my family. I made my pasta with Italian sausages and Becky made the soup and appetizer with my cousin Gus’ help. The cooking part only took about 1 hour, but we spent most of our time shopping for the ingredients and driving to different markets for better deals.

Food dishes made for family on 11.20.2007

Last but not least, our lunch and drinks wouldn’t have been made possible without Second Cup and Tim Hortons.

Driving without a GPS has made me go back to basics. With very good directions though, I have managed not to get lost while driving to Downtown and back. I actually have to pay attention to the street names, road conditions, people and children around. OK, I’m not that bad in not paying attention, but I’m starting to depend less on the GPS and start looking for the street names way ahead of time instead of around 100-200 meters before a turn. We joined the Halloween festivities in Church street. There were more variety of costumes than displayed in West Hollywood in California, but too bad there weren’t many people wearing costumes this year. At least this year though I was with the most popular crowd, the boobees, as they called themselves.