tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150252972024-03-07T21:48:00.268-05:00Thoughts through the looking glassYou cannot control how long your life is but you can control its depth. You cannot control the weather but you can control your emotions. You cannot know what will happen tomorrow but you can control what happens today. You cannot win all the time but you can always do your best. Love life, live life.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.comBlogger205125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-54092901823234398822012-09-22T17:51:00.002-04:002012-09-22T21:23:29.582-04:00Random mumblings as another year goes by.Many say I'm focused and always seem to have a goal -
regardless in school, work, or in life. I don't.<br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-CA</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>ZH-CN</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fall is definately not one of my favorite seasons and it has already been a year ago since my mom passed away (9/22 RIP). Aside from missing her a whole lot, I'm always asking why did this happen
to someone nice and someone who did everything right in their lives?<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadTuoNAEaNAFtjbj_0a7EubYjkbtrzvkkNUnHfpLf7TfqdTlLC4wq2A9xJljUd5eNubA_9lyALf_PhJDWCYz-uj9DmH9axXb0lXvz1ViKIasPVU-c8vylYh_UfQaIpideHk33kQ/s1600/leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadTuoNAEaNAFtjbj_0a7EubYjkbtrzvkkNUnHfpLf7TfqdTlLC4wq2A9xJljUd5eNubA_9lyALf_PhJDWCYz-uj9DmH9axXb0lXvz1ViKIasPVU-c8vylYh_UfQaIpideHk33kQ/s320/leaves.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
She led by example and taught me everything from how to
brush my teeth, cook a healthy meal, recognizing Chinese characters, and how to
treat others with respect and care. Now she's gone. Sometimes I wonder the true value of life,
and does it really matter if I do everything right and try my best? Apparently
not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To be honest I don't know what I'm doing; going to
work, eating dinner, and going on holidays is just like the norm but something
is missing. The feeling of emptiness that regardless what I do, I won't
be able to change anything in the end somewhat bums me out. The only thing
I'm doing is cherish those who care about me and be nice to them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJD2oRTrkGk6K6nufoK9b6AS987wF5DEC07xTo3sIIwAItygFxiIZ2bGdZXrAMUQ7e6GiicdKs7OxWQFmLDIblT5sZ0c1sKNtMZAEfr5Ny9Y-hwGXalYYgetfNNurxBw4gNCrztg/s1600/GC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJD2oRTrkGk6K6nufoK9b6AS987wF5DEC07xTo3sIIwAItygFxiIZ2bGdZXrAMUQ7e6GiicdKs7OxWQFmLDIblT5sZ0c1sKNtMZAEfr5Ny9Y-hwGXalYYgetfNNurxBw4gNCrztg/s200/GC.jpg" width="200" /></a>I'm really not sure if this is something that everyone goes
through as they age - when they see loved ones die off one by one. I'm not
talking about some retarded Joe Blow who kills themselves on the news; but I'm
talking about people whom you've personally dealt with for tens of years suddenly
being gone. I can name at least 15 close friends who lost their family member
at a young age.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNzCVV3Lwq0zXiFHXzOkduAjje_hkzlLWcSurQQfvgrwMkQCV2yG06-p9voj9D46dOmKleYc2wJj6j2hnae-VjNYxZn5zxRlgWcr6HlAfANzzDrS7KPCeWzU20E5Dq8HHGDhYBA/s1600/DSC_9725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNzCVV3Lwq0zXiFHXzOkduAjje_hkzlLWcSurQQfvgrwMkQCV2yG06-p9voj9D46dOmKleYc2wJj6j2hnae-VjNYxZn5zxRlgWcr6HlAfANzzDrS7KPCeWzU20E5Dq8HHGDhYBA/s200/DSC_9725.jpg" width="200" /></a>I'm still doing things I liked such as travelling, and two
days ago marked my 16th flight of the year. I'm still continuing to try my best
at work; and doing what I can for my family, girlfriend, and close friends. However Mom's lost battle with Cancer is just like a slap
in the face. Everything can change drastically within a couple months and
things that we've strived so hard to achieve doesn't matter, within a blink of
an eye. At times it feels like regardless of what we do, it doesn't
matter, nothing does.<br />
<br /></div>
Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-47998978347181294812011-10-21T20:43:00.014-04:002011-10-22T02:29:54.404-04:00Animal vs. Oh mighty lord.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DqeJlmnVqgwZZ4s_2Zr5OGHKxd5ZTLpZWiw3cwz2ArVteCd05yfkAMmKOe9VolkIsrH1IQjx6UHba76BgNxIJ9kt0b-b8ai0WdolrzXSGUzQwnfFlYfceQV7hanj2Q-znbFI8w/s1600/chimp.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DqeJlmnVqgwZZ4s_2Zr5OGHKxd5ZTLpZWiw3cwz2ArVteCd05yfkAMmKOe9VolkIsrH1IQjx6UHba76BgNxIJ9kt0b-b8ai0WdolrzXSGUzQwnfFlYfceQV7hanj2Q-znbFI8w/s320/chimp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666118364126456370" border="0" /></a>It has been a month since mom's passing away and aside from adapting to the situation, I've also started to wonder what is the purpose of life and came to two theories. First one suggests that we are nothing but stupid animals pretending to be smart trying to decipher diseases, creating science, making up beliefs, and polluting the Earth. Second one suggests that there's some higher power playing a sick'n cruel joke on humans and breaking families and faith through diseases, accidents, and disasters.<br />What happened to old sayings that being alcoholic, smoking, or living with bad lifestyle will lead to untimely deaths? It doesn't work like that. Just as what happened to mom, we see that cancer amongst other diseases is just a random lottery that has a ridiculously high rate of hitting it. Just talking w/ close group of friends (aka. not any Joe Blow), I can already count at least 10+ immediate family members having someone pass due to cancer.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYMhOSMQWsoY31DXJrCWyTtzUefJHKaMFDiXJKB-sootZd39FrIt5US5qJc2d0SSXqH0VllD3xiBVuSm3b_bFSL4Sejftu0a4Ocbk4er1m7fJW73aYMRnHmzEeKezy0J_3tUwUw/s1600/lord.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYMhOSMQWsoY31DXJrCWyTtzUefJHKaMFDiXJKB-sootZd39FrIt5US5qJc2d0SSXqH0VllD3xiBVuSm3b_bFSL4Sejftu0a4Ocbk4er1m7fJW73aYMRnHmzEeKezy0J_3tUwUw/s320/lord.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666118479963915346" border="0" /></a>So that makes me conclude that either we are at the mercy of either some higher power that can destroy our lives with an itchy middle finger, or we're just animals trying to pretend we know what's going on. So when someone says 'lord has a better bigger picture' or 'you are better than this' - all I can say is 'that's a pretty lousy picture'; or 'nope, I'm really no better than this because I'm just an ape and I don't give a damn of trying to be better or nice'.<br />That said, I'm not saying we should be bad and immoral. We should be who we are, say what's in our mind, and just do what we want granted that it doesn't hurt anyone else (or any other animals) in the process. There were many phoney people over the course of recent events and what they are doing is just plain superficial which can be very evidently seen, and it really gets it to me when someone says 'everything is so orderly in the world so there must be a great maker'... yeah, my ass.<br /><br />-Post from a dressed-up and over analyzing animal-<br />.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-22811871208283722162011-09-23T09:03:00.003-04:002011-09-23T09:11:18.692-04:009.22 A new chapter into my life9.22 4:30am mom passed away.<br />She had been fighting cancer for 3 years and had been through a ton of trials. I am not sure if I would've been brave enough to weather the same trials if it was myself. CHOP/DHAP/SCT were not simple treatments and unfortunately the Lymphoma relapsed after SCT was performed. Mom's the bravest and prettiest girl I know, and her passing during a comfortable and peaceful sleep is a blessing itself. There's so much more things I want to talk with her about, but now I'll have to find her in my heart and feel the presence instead. Rest in Peace mom.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-72087851785620731202011-08-17T23:11:00.000-04:002011-08-17T23:12:49.714-04:00Testing Waters - Jam upload #1Music is a great way of relieving stress, here's the first upload of our band with a simple tune from Pearl Jam - Lass Kiss:
<br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tSIok2dKLAI" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="390"></iframe>Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-78201597708870445692011-07-29T23:09:00.006-04:002011-07-29T23:18:47.447-04:00Enjoying the weather<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb323IK0Tok02cpRcn7gNV-k5XdbgrxSaR_wY8ITlSpykvsFw2TRF_C__woD4htreuV2_xrhW1s0xjZt4pvxESZKrlmk2fo3tW4cQwlJFVR8tjfzM91WKnygLChdl4lSIjyuk-g/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmb323IK0Tok02cpRcn7gNV-k5XdbgrxSaR_wY8ITlSpykvsFw2TRF_C__woD4htreuV2_xrhW1s0xjZt4pvxESZKrlmk2fo3tW4cQwlJFVR8tjfzM91WKnygLChdl4lSIjyuk-g/s320/1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634978629933309506" border="0" /></a><- Pic courtesy of Ka.<br />I haven't been updating the blog much due to family errands, endless work, and studying - they had been occupying most of my time. Thank goodness for a long weekend for a breather to rest and chill. It had been 35-40 deg C during last month; one would hear the sound of AC's humming throughout the day and into the night. Thank goodness there were thunder showers last week which soothed the temperature a bit, and lessened the burden on our water depleted reservoirs. To take advantage of the nice weather, of course there's endless BBQs and gatherings! I'm very blessed to have a group of close friends who support me and all of them has their head on straight... hahaha. Afterall, it's our family and friends who makes us who we are!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnC4zagl9_Q-B4iUk4lR5EIJrgEApma38crpO1_8Iu4KdQHIgmx9RPPPejbxQLt-FRlGF0Jy8SacilpEqjDHAr9_47tUmIb644unQzXcGTm8NfIfU-m9HX2U41As8NiWM8mQiMCQ/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnC4zagl9_Q-B4iUk4lR5EIJrgEApma38crpO1_8Iu4KdQHIgmx9RPPPejbxQLt-FRlGF0Jy8SacilpEqjDHAr9_47tUmIb644unQzXcGTm8NfIfU-m9HX2U41As8NiWM8mQiMCQ/s320/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634978755001296306" border="0" /></a>Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-73001246343673320702011-06-29T23:05:00.005-04:002011-06-30T00:38:45.414-04:00Start to a series of weddings in 2k11!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXANRGWUK0VjdFRrF6ks4Xt_tJN8RtS2KsBEbVJi0w7CPV0hCxB5oe0nsa0cosfEyf1MHK5kZnwtl5q5JVdWmdnqtIe2wF7Jpq_COwm1KDEH1ugdh8HRQoLhoW_UCQEkmWq_Rbgw/s1600/DSC_5105.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXANRGWUK0VjdFRrF6ks4Xt_tJN8RtS2KsBEbVJi0w7CPV0hCxB5oe0nsa0cosfEyf1MHK5kZnwtl5q5JVdWmdnqtIe2wF7Jpq_COwm1KDEH1ugdh8HRQoLhoW_UCQEkmWq_Rbgw/s320/DSC_5105.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623844872281151634" border="0" /></a>Life's interesting. Some things you try hard but will never get, while some things will pop up when you least expect it to. As one of my close friends told me never second guess and doubt what could've been; this aligns with my genuine belief that all things happen for a reason, and it's usually for the better (for the good ppl out there lol). Striving too hard to try and achieve what's not meant to be is not good either and this reminds me of a recent <a href="http://yeinjee.com/2011/nicholas-tse-cecilia-cheung-divorce/">popstar divorce</a> in HK. Nick had been trying hard to stand by his skanky wife for two years throughout scandals, x-pictures, and attempted to forget the past in order to raise a happy family. However, human nature doesn't change easily and the couple is going across divorce procedures as infidelity rumors spread for the wife again. That being said, I attended my coworker's wedding last weekend. He's a tad older than all of us and very much a workaholic, we're all very happy to see him find his other half when he least expected it. It was a simple ceremony/banquet with some traditional rituals intentionally left out but in fact I found out that the meaning of marriage was conveyed more stronger than some ceremonies that had endless entertainment and games. Grats to the newly wed!Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-62403761674803790282011-06-17T23:39:00.004-04:002011-06-17T23:45:41.860-04:00Let the music continue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjYZ4GbP4KkeZY7I7MDi6LmbsLq8Qo4ASVBQrkOyTaAmHWdLXVSjVPXn3-6U1lXfmAosVWOh71sXC-sWlmARZ8bdo7NuphHnck2tG1x7QvIlOz34sODEyMYtnrMJxhS6Ks8Qu8w/s1600/jam-s.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjYZ4GbP4KkeZY7I7MDi6LmbsLq8Qo4ASVBQrkOyTaAmHWdLXVSjVPXn3-6U1lXfmAosVWOh71sXC-sWlmARZ8bdo7NuphHnck2tG1x7QvIlOz34sODEyMYtnrMJxhS6Ks8Qu8w/s320/jam-s.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619399794452309730" border="0" /></a>And so.... the passion for music continues to flow. We've checked out a couple studios and most of them are pretty ghetto in dark rundown buildings, smoke/weed-smelling rooms, and water-dripping ceilings. However, fun continues as we jam into the night. We're still amateurs but it's a good motivation to keep all of us practicing and tryin to perfect that tune. Feels just like school again with everyone aiming towards a common goal lol.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-32644392911364497222011-06-07T21:37:00.010-04:002011-06-07T22:05:07.297-04:00Sunny skies across town<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8mL18611VsqIGLeEB23ns2O0Qpb40GDu-fZ29un43DSSvuyAW78dFxvcMP42D5YN4uk_DWXoV3mTH4N7IH4JyGktGuFy9UdP5bs8WzI5-siA6gyelC2P1JGihXbzO4vMPLRJCw/s1600/DSC_4927s.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8mL18611VsqIGLeEB23ns2O0Qpb40GDu-fZ29un43DSSvuyAW78dFxvcMP42D5YN4uk_DWXoV3mTH4N7IH4JyGktGuFy9UdP5bs8WzI5-siA6gyelC2P1JGihXbzO4vMPLRJCw/s320/DSC_4927s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615663509684234626" border="0" /></a>Weather was awesome last few days as temperature shot up to 30deg Celcius. What else to do aside from enjoying the sunshine with a group of buddies? As coconut will be delivering and myself heading to Austin later parts of the summer for work, we decided to move up our annual Center island outing. Part of the crew headed DT for lunch gathering before roaming across Lake Ontario. There were huge lineups of people waiting for ferry but luckily Ka got a bunch of tix for us without us having to wait crazy hrs.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVG3pOqx_IpPrn5hmOlSYsZbxqBNT4032sSpJYONnwB11o4gUYIBIJi_-S-WYaR-TAW2nCcrkguNQuEis-YRC1QwhrwIN6IqDZzMK4N-JKT-OVHmtJe0Ip4UR5sldWc0ZSCyWVRg/s1600/DSC_4949s.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVG3pOqx_IpPrn5hmOlSYsZbxqBNT4032sSpJYONnwB11o4gUYIBIJi_-S-WYaR-TAW2nCcrkguNQuEis-YRC1QwhrwIN6IqDZzMK4N-JKT-OVHmtJe0Ip4UR5sldWc0ZSCyWVRg/s320/DSC_4949s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615663324614444018" border="0" /></a>Biking, chilling, playing frisbee/baseball, beating up busman, and fooling around with cute dogs were highlights of the trip.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSmX3DIqVmS7if1mwgwMHJETCqgKJPu8IwwJWLGdX7ufMVAMOnUwqO-0SQOwwcjRu5nEQVl3weHlCl2xM-BOJNMMRuJKSJ46KFWW8KQYGBqfUydhboUnL4ReqmN9H3JqLp7c5jQ/s1600/DSC_4988s.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSmX3DIqVmS7if1mwgwMHJETCqgKJPu8IwwJWLGdX7ufMVAMOnUwqO-0SQOwwcjRu5nEQVl3weHlCl2xM-BOJNMMRuJKSJ46KFWW8KQYGBqfUydhboUnL4ReqmN9H3JqLp7c5jQ/s200/DSC_4988s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615664001737350946" border="0" /></a>Thx Jesse for bringing Buddy and showing us so many tricks, the huge dog in the pic belonged to a friendly lady there and I just had to run up to grab a pic w/ the giant Husky - reminds me of dogsledding! Stay tuned for more activities across summer!Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-24668416982852014852011-06-06T22:03:00.004-04:002011-06-06T22:10:58.454-04:00New addition to the family!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSD2GyVfOwXvC5MJ7-JXbYvcXgkNAMfPAT5OAa5cY5y6Bk3HZlLJWGJFHmmbumJ1NGxr6LlpQTQhdTrN6548EbfT0e2k7roSaEZ_JvMbdx86L4CZt3uW2siDqiZRv2yX8yqC0koQ/s1600/DSC_4923.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSD2GyVfOwXvC5MJ7-JXbYvcXgkNAMfPAT5OAa5cY5y6Bk3HZlLJWGJFHmmbumJ1NGxr6LlpQTQhdTrN6548EbfT0e2k7roSaEZ_JvMbdx86L4CZt3uW2siDqiZRv2yX8yqC0koQ/s200/DSC_4923.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615292876277922882" border="0" /></a>As my guitar passion is regaining, along with motivation from friends in renting studio and jamming songs regularly; I've picked up a smexy sister for my elegant yet subtle Takamine... Please to introduce my red hot semi hollow electric... Oh yea... she's a beauty ;) I got them matching cases too! WeeeeeeeeEdmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-90876134102859846442011-06-06T00:10:00.011-04:002011-06-06T00:25:57.605-04:002011 Doors OpenDoors Open occurs once a year and allows visitors to visit the site for free, and there are also rooms that are generally not opened to public which is open on that day. This year, we went to 3 stops - Redpath sugar refinery which has 80+ tonnes of sugar in its silos, King Meridian's hotel which dates back to 1902, and St.James Anglican church that allowed us to roam to the ceiling bell towers.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WTa1xqM4glprLXq55PRBtdHxZlG4ZhGZbrZWQV8NZJbe-WG3_q-Xs2-85G2-m370FUIavCsB1DI2JBYTAIlz_3umxwg07DPi6pKopjQWU7hz6sn9b-Obj7rwJlVdtvFM8OQ3Qg/s1600/DSC_4788.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WTa1xqM4glprLXq55PRBtdHxZlG4ZhGZbrZWQV8NZJbe-WG3_q-Xs2-85G2-m370FUIavCsB1DI2JBYTAIlz_3umxwg07DPi6pKopjQWU7hz6sn9b-Obj7rwJlVdtvFM8OQ3Qg/s200/DSC_4788.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614955294938232194" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Hd44W1MiqjtVxtTRBwRZ5Ns_hYAq44xZtNVr3od52D1vQ3zT8djbXUEGo8ZXh8tcO8rc1lAc2x-P1cFHyWjuDA-z6Yi_uwcRdqsV2r2u40mmCTAHpSSwykus82eAQ9KQgx-dtw/s1600/DSC_4813.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Hd44W1MiqjtVxtTRBwRZ5Ns_hYAq44xZtNVr3od52D1vQ3zT8djbXUEGo8ZXh8tcO8rc1lAc2x-P1cFHyWjuDA-z6Yi_uwcRdqsV2r2u40mmCTAHpSSwykus82eAQ9KQgx-dtw/s200/DSC_4813.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614955303115405538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yPgOsBI8cj2RMszn4oBTSonsdzCZ-45C1qH0yd5MUi5rUIucI4ISxLCmL8Pgo0KcWmZ-fOJUoOiW2DoaacmThx5PauOzdI7SG7k_z6Qkw8AcL7ieFsH2z0Bhkbhn275MRJEoVw/s1600/DSC_4854.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yPgOsBI8cj2RMszn4oBTSonsdzCZ-45C1qH0yd5MUi5rUIucI4ISxLCmL8Pgo0KcWmZ-fOJUoOiW2DoaacmThx5PauOzdI7SG7k_z6Qkw8AcL7ieFsH2z0Bhkbhn275MRJEoVw/s200/DSC_4854.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614955311437666450" border="0" /></a>It was an interesting outing and very enjoyable with the current weather. I haven't been updating my blog for a while due to various situations I was in earlier. However, I'm glad I expressed my mind allowing me to move forward now; which also led myself in carrying some momentum into short term goals I would like to achieve.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-9954283436783905632011-04-23T23:18:00.005-04:002011-04-23T23:48:55.951-04:00An under appreciated occupation in Canada: Nursing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTqRJTs_vqhnMuVMpCDhkLM19AdGZmHd108tWxh5TQNZaYdNU67J2ttTB8QHB9PSgeUuXOBiotSSCclUBcPi65saGjI-QOGm1vETRnEy7Gmi1VS_HgRFmxpQMX4sPV6fYVwAooA/s1600/nurse.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTqRJTs_vqhnMuVMpCDhkLM19AdGZmHd108tWxh5TQNZaYdNU67J2ttTB8QHB9PSgeUuXOBiotSSCclUBcPi65saGjI-QOGm1vETRnEy7Gmi1VS_HgRFmxpQMX4sPV6fYVwAooA/s200/nurse.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598990229068113314" border="0" /></a>I'm impressed. And for those who knows me, I don't get impressed easily. Due to circumstances, mom has checked into Princess Margaret for her treatments. The doctors are very professional and the place does not resemble a hospital at all. Being family of patient or friends who needs to be admitted to a hospital, sometimes one ponders if there may be alternatives and would it be better to hire homecare to stay at home. However, PMH completely changed that thought. It specializes in specific fields of research and to be honest, I really cannot think of a better alternative given the situation. However, I am impressed not because of top-notch doctors or the hospital being one of the top 5 in the world; I am impressed because of the level of detailed planning gone into hospitality/food, and the nurses. Despite working long hours and over the holidays - the nurses continue to genuinely care for each patient and tries try their best to make everyone feel better, keep the environment clean of germs, give strict warning to visitors not to bring germs in, and listen to the patient attentively. I'm not going into too much details as there are much examples and I do not want to create some sort of unnecessary guideline for reference. All I can say is that the nurses doesn't get much credit for the type of work they do, and I am truly grateful at their professionalism and care they provide.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-66009323151361171742011-03-27T22:15:00.008-04:002011-03-27T22:36:59.055-04:00Earth Hour 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiA8N-962vnskWlig2mMKRMYPdvk1GFmj4q0wQc9bjg_irzZTNqBPnKElB8dKYd9cMLmcYdk_g26op2fGXmYvooM_Duw6DTMb6Lhz09DTQAMDApQW2hJllZlxBQSNVl0Rfz7ssw/s1600/60.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 57px; height: 77px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiA8N-962vnskWlig2mMKRMYPdvk1GFmj4q0wQc9bjg_irzZTNqBPnKElB8dKYd9cMLmcYdk_g26op2fGXmYvooM_Duw6DTMb6Lhz09DTQAMDApQW2hJllZlxBQSNVl0Rfz7ssw/s200/60.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588951989917037298" border="0" /></a>And so, it was Earth Hour 2011 on Saturday where buildings and businesses were encouraged to turn off lights for an hour to ease electricity consumption - the outcome was an 8.9% decrease of electricity on the powergrid. It was pretty cool to see the Toronto downtown core dimming down for this event despite there were still some offices here and there that was still being lighted. One of the events that was opened for the public during this hour included the U of T telescopes since the light pollution is lower during this period of time.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKX5iHmvH4tx4zFGmXI2fNtBK0YWkOTy53BUwcJ3drONmtmrofMTpKkvKQVK7-UHKIV30jMS1EoyK1x1WQlJ61HC1cnAhw47viOPcvw8fIp0jy0nEydYfm8CMjVPfixotL2pQRg/s1600/DSC_4492.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKX5iHmvH4tx4zFGmXI2fNtBK0YWkOTy53BUwcJ3drONmtmrofMTpKkvKQVK7-UHKIV30jMS1EoyK1x1WQlJ61HC1cnAhw47viOPcvw8fIp0jy0nEydYfm8CMjVPfixotL2pQRg/s200/DSC_4492.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588952853173156274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaBga5-W6wwedC2EDa62m6ua1-e5WZEXrDJz-Pn_MvYuc7e_O4QT2JEgnKL6-7wmtBIHhM-WKcXcnpSww0KM9Hz4MuCYbPtHXw37SdzTt_CWarXAN-VqbnZv5vQT8NUuG6kSaYw/s1600/DSC_4523.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaBga5-W6wwedC2EDa62m6ua1-e5WZEXrDJz-Pn_MvYuc7e_O4QT2JEgnKL6-7wmtBIHhM-WKcXcnpSww0KM9Hz4MuCYbPtHXw37SdzTt_CWarXAN-VqbnZv5vQT8NUuG6kSaYw/s200/DSC_4523.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588953103634772322" border="0" /></a>After my friend and I finished a superb grilled sea-bream for dinner, we headed towards 60 St.George Street of where the telescopes were housed, and found ourselves stumbling inside pitch black rooms filled with huge crowds of people lining up for the event. We saw the Beehive cluster, and Saturn which was pretty cool with its' rings and an orbiting moon clearly visibly in the dark crisp skies. One of the ladies suggested that we were quite lucky to see this since she was here past 3 yrs but was unable to make out the Beehive cluster - guess the goddess of Saturns likes us ;) lolEdmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-19217856020213923892011-03-20T01:22:00.003-04:002011-03-20T03:17:15.265-04:00Human NatureAl Jazeera has great coverage of breaking news, documentaries, to even small reports like this. This short clip depicts that Japan is working hard in surviving the disaster of the 2011 earthquake, hopefully the nuclear crisis will be controlled soon. The education levels in Japan is also very impressive and people helps each other. At difficult times, survivors line up for food instead of being like Haiti/India/China where people breaks into stores and steps on each other for food. The survivors in the hard hit cities also only buys what they need from the supermarket shelves, and an elderly says 'we only take what we need to survive and leave the rest for others who needs them more'. This is a stark contrast against the ridiculously ugly human nature as listed in recent newspaper where where people in China/HongKong hog iodine salt (they hear Iodine safeguards against radiation) and merchants driving up the prices because of their greediness to earn a few more bucks during this crisis. Quite a huge difference in mentality for cities that are so close to each other eh?<br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vhDn2DP2gTk?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" width="480" frameborder="0" height="295"></iframe>Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-84524427111143235242011-03-14T21:32:00.005-04:002011-03-14T21:44:51.921-04:00Japan Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Fund<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6IXRNalnSPEd_mOc4-8so3PIfs_ytvxCDZgkceJqljJIb6Iby8WL_TJVJ4nu-PMhOoaHxPHzNQl_UZp-vLZ1rhMXDmTJsZeJ9ax43sDeHSRbH2UWUWTqlLfrXCWroEENYKdDbA/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6IXRNalnSPEd_mOc4-8so3PIfs_ytvxCDZgkceJqljJIb6Iby8WL_TJVJ4nu-PMhOoaHxPHzNQl_UZp-vLZ1rhMXDmTJsZeJ9ax43sDeHSRbH2UWUWTqlLfrXCWroEENYKdDbA/s200/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584115018786744146" border="0" /></a>Corporation that I work in will match any fulltime engineer's donation up to 3000$ for the Japanese earthquake/tsunami relief fund from this website <a href="http://www.yourcause.com/Group.aspx?GroupID=7360">here</a>. Please let me know before this Friday if you would like to join in for this as I will be making spreadsheet tracking all donations towards this cause and will scan all participants a receipt once avail. Thank you.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-2511319997574083072011-03-13T14:14:00.006-04:002011-03-13T20:58:32.538-04:00Condolences to Japan Quake Victims<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsA9mZynk8SKcQKI35J_1KH5e1f87IyyKBTHYuCBE0dv-vKagdsjLM3_Kl104BTR1MYBPordFytyre_MLFAm8tFefjCETjTwJoDgilGD-9yLi4Fbou7YmK_RGTt-6e55x3pu0Gg/s1600/1.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsA9mZynk8SKcQKI35J_1KH5e1f87IyyKBTHYuCBE0dv-vKagdsjLM3_Kl104BTR1MYBPordFytyre_MLFAm8tFefjCETjTwJoDgilGD-9yLi4Fbou7YmK_RGTt-6e55x3pu0Gg/s200/1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583634704098620898" border="0" /></a>There's nothing more terrible than to see a country with leading edge technology, strict building laws, and proud country values lie in shambles. My heartfelt condolences goes to Japans' quake victims, and their families. I don't think any other country will be able to handle the situation as well as Japan. And certainly that douche from China stating 'our nuclear reactors in Shenzhen will not leak and we have the utmost preparations for earthquakes' was an insensitive/inappropriate comment for someone who <a href="http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=1020&catid=10&subcatid=65">cannot back their talk</a> - it always better to stay quiet than talk nonsense. Here is an aerial view of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm">before and after</a>, and hopefully Japan will be able to recuperate soon from this incident.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-10966147316816481472011-02-05T19:03:00.006-05:002011-02-05T20:49:19.833-05:00Powerful Media AgeSo I was following on the Egyptian revolution across multiple media hubs (BBC, CBC, AlJazeera) and stumbled across this very powerful yet graphic depiction of what goes around in the background of a highly prosperous and booming society. Suggesting that internet and information sharing changed our lives is an understatement of how much effect it has. I truly believe that we are now living in Media age allowing us ease of access to information and documentaries that may span halfway across the planet. Enjoy :)<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pLwVycO7V-k" allowfullscreen="" width="320" frameborder="0" height="195"></iframe>Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-15396369053253362172011-01-28T23:45:00.010-05:002011-03-14T22:15:48.859-04:00Typing without really thinking<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM16bcTXnoghbZPPNk39bus7RF0Zx5z-22b71oN2ovV1UnfGReO3wQKkPE7RKJR60TL4y5HuwQaBjll7jhSk8CXq7gx2BkVZy_12ozfcFyFXxfoFbJYhziXEddIUCU-LpUtTg6A/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJM16bcTXnoghbZPPNk39bus7RF0Zx5z-22b71oN2ovV1UnfGReO3wQKkPE7RKJR60TL4y5HuwQaBjll7jhSk8CXq7gx2BkVZy_12ozfcFyFXxfoFbJYhziXEddIUCU-LpUtTg6A/s200/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584124674252626674" border="0" /></a>Haven't really been the most active of blogging lately. Too much happened past several months. One of the things was that my new vehicle finally arrived after 2.5 months of waiting. It's a quite powerful 1.5 tonnes of spaceframe technology (that's what they call it or whatever that means) and has latest gadgetry (more electronics = more potential to fail lol) and would possibly make myself drool over it if I was back in High school or University 10+ yrs ago. However, before we know it - our perspectives change alot from the environment around us and and I didn't find my level of excitement/enthusiasm as I would've expected. I guess as we grow up, there's more things we need to plan, think, and worry about. Since many of my friends asked me; the reason why I spent such a hefty amount on my car is because I can see crap happening just in the blink of an eye; bombs, heart attacks, cancers, car-crashes, accidents etc. Maybe it was there all along but I was too young or hopeful to notice it before. We only live life once and should go for what we want within reason and be whoever we want to be. Over the course of working, traveling, and studying - I do notice that there are many people trying to be someone that isn't really themselves, maybe I was also one of them when I was growing up too. Not sure why I decided to post this but just wanted to type out what I felt without thinking too much today.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-10958538284292583702010-11-26T22:00:00.004-05:002010-11-26T22:20:55.016-05:00End of Silk Road: A tale of two citiesJust finished procrastinating and decide to finish the final entry for my Silk Road trip. The last stop of the eventful trip ends in Beijing, the capital of China and a sister city to Shanghai. It was my first time in Beijing despite I had always wanted to visit this city when I was working in SH. It was mentioned that Beijing is a cultural, educational, and politics hub; whereas Shanghai focuses on finance, expansion, and trade. As we exited the airport, one can definately feel that the atmosphere was drastically different between the cities. There were huge amount of police all around Beijing yet it gave me uneasy feeling. It felt like I was in minority report where there's surveillance cameras everywhere; ranging from subways, shopping malls, street entrances, and washroom exits. Prices were more expensive in this city and I couldn't find any bootlegged DVDs at all. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6zf5TVpfyoU_nOiwV6Anno6F5I_165jKVa5pFLBLiH_n3FTVFP5MtKXqIYC6j9J7QM30BOM3IKkg8Rzq6P1V7HslBJ4rVnE7BOl9yKIQrromKxX6rh-w_h97KpZzhs7u0n9O5Q/s1600/DSC_4036.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 116px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir6zf5TVpfyoU_nOiwV6Anno6F5I_165jKVa5pFLBLiH_n3FTVFP5MtKXqIYC6j9J7QM30BOM3IKkg8Rzq6P1V7HslBJ4rVnE7BOl9yKIQrromKxX6rh-w_h97KpZzhs7u0n9O5Q/s200/DSC_4036.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544064010291705378" border="0" /></a>With the differences stated, which one do I like more? Well.... granted, there's going to be pickpockets in Shanghai and one has to be careful of their belongings, but I feel more alive and comfortable there, and not scared to haggle or buy endless DVDs :p. Beijing is safer, has much huger buildings (lots of government), and cleaner; however, it gave me an uneasy feeling like I was watched everywhere and the possibility of private police rushing out from nowhere and beat you with baton sticks is no joke. I guess the Chinese government needs to stay that way to control the crowd and political retributions in its capital after <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBnHMpHGRY">what happened</a> in June 4th, 1989.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-11480463078995477962010-11-03T23:02:00.005-04:002010-11-03T23:12:39.889-04:00Next Stop in Silk Road<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnw3i1Sr0IGOiXWkk0M7jsa9SsM3fblWE8eLV7DWS3aRyqW__Wt0QqaQld1AhSPZCRzY-paxftVymFA2vAh4EuFMOqJWuyOBwASCDa16qPikrX-fxfI1S_ByJgoOGrN39QFcU9Bw/s1600/DSC_3638_39_40_41_42_tonemapped.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnw3i1Sr0IGOiXWkk0M7jsa9SsM3fblWE8eLV7DWS3aRyqW__Wt0QqaQld1AhSPZCRzY-paxftVymFA2vAh4EuFMOqJWuyOBwASCDa16qPikrX-fxfI1S_ByJgoOGrN39QFcU9Bw/s200/DSC_3638_39_40_41_42_tonemapped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535526416483532370" border="0" /></a>It's been a busy few weeks with much things needing attention to. However, decided to take a breather and continue my blog. The last stop Lanzhou didn't leave me with much expectations but I was shocked when arriving at TianShui. It features mountains deep in layers of forestry and trees, and it's Maijishan Grottoes was definately my highlight of the trip. It was literally a sculpted mountain from 1500-2000 yrs back. what's amazing was that there were little to no human intervention to it so what you see is what you see years ago. The only things that was built was the 27 story flight of stairs that took 60 yrs to complete. Spanning deep into the clouds, one would imagine how difficult the workers would use to work sculpting the artwork while being suspended from the air.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTNT0yV1wnLpJY-RojWoWbTZgkeD8-63BsSvUQgijxmg6_TTgfRQBYucB7KCmQz8-2qeRu_OyHeHve02_Mu_7DpGzdxXeUaSKwT-46c7OANgC9JRuc7V0o6TZq2WiqW5DXzLkvw/s1600/DSC_3746.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTNT0yV1wnLpJY-RojWoWbTZgkeD8-63BsSvUQgijxmg6_TTgfRQBYucB7KCmQz8-2qeRu_OyHeHve02_Mu_7DpGzdxXeUaSKwT-46c7OANgC9JRuc7V0o6TZq2WiqW5DXzLkvw/s200/DSC_3746.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535526570885478514" border="0" /></a>After Tianshui, we headed towards Xian for the Terracotta warriors tomb, which I find it so so, maybe I've seen too much TV shows about it and expected more? It was nonetheless very grand and an integral part of Chinese history. At this point, many people from the group were sick due to sanitary and diarrhea, but luckily I still had that little immune system built up from my expat so was still eating much of the foods around and about. Despite this, it was around 15 days into the tour and I was beginning to feel tired; however, I also longed to see more since I understand the trip will be ending soon after we go on to the next stop in Beijing.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-26001753326867695662010-10-04T20:08:00.015-04:002010-10-04T23:35:01.122-04:00The Orient Express along the Silk Road<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvh1alzMk-Gd82YSdIlrOUWSijehTp-jHF0P_4z75iilCdblVtZfw1kCX06dWMbBRTxUuOWBrl2cB07yhXBDExoAOoclXC9Ibo6N0-Mum0eitNBKKx4KDJ5q7vJn9XuJbQ1IfD6g/s1600/DSC_2780.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvh1alzMk-Gd82YSdIlrOUWSijehTp-jHF0P_4z75iilCdblVtZfw1kCX06dWMbBRTxUuOWBrl2cB07yhXBDExoAOoclXC9Ibo6N0-Mum0eitNBKKx4KDJ5q7vJn9XuJbQ1IfD6g/s200/DSC_2780.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524354844051879538" border="0" /></a>Yup, I've been so bogged down at work (and feeling tired) that I've been lazy to continue updating over the past week. I'm also only on day 10 of sorting through my pictures so far. I do blame my inactivities due to the already cold weather here =\ Anyways, the next leg of my Silk Road trip includes a visit to LanZhou. At this portion of the trip, we were hopping between cities on train. The train was very well kept and was only reserved for us N.American 'foreign' Chinese as the local tourists were unable to ride these. The train has a total of 12 carts; with 8 cabins, double decker beds on each, two waitresses who split 7hr shift schedules, and 2 washrooms on each cart.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnk6__RdzZLY2ud7jjsr1GowO9-YK5aC3Gao8yiVX3E1VNaxL35bdS2-ZK8MbS4REGazwucwFhdr50iN5beaSSywYGZK6SyNHPYJsx_EoCmeXlcZQlD-ye4rjmaTPMxiLBcpcHw/s1600/DSC_2745.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnk6__RdzZLY2ud7jjsr1GowO9-YK5aC3Gao8yiVX3E1VNaxL35bdS2-ZK8MbS4REGazwucwFhdr50iN5beaSSywYGZK6SyNHPYJsx_EoCmeXlcZQlD-ye4rjmaTPMxiLBcpcHw/s200/DSC_2745.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524354539228875474" border="0" /></a>There were also two carts for kitchen, eateries; a cart for karaoke/majong, and a shower cart which was exceptionally clean. Being on Russian trains and sleeping in its cabins before, I find the Chinese train (called the Orient express) was much better in terms of safety and cleanliness. The trains and cabins were kept the same for us throughout our Silk Road journey; you can imagine this as a cruise ship on land where we can leave our luggages yet do daily tours on land before returning back to it at night. Because of this, I got to know the waitresses to the cabin easily (normally people just ask them to do work), but I enjoyed talking to them, treating them as friends and find out more about their jobs, their inspiration, and routes they have taken on the train.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnxIyvZyY_a9YbGSW6lKT0qKtg3Za0CCIB-lTXrRlTzSSD1P-KvDX6-RkLyfm-metbj5IT9Cb5-TGsy_5ZqJCeZ5E8FHw5ZVpwKMVOKv691HQPGUKIQBzXQQvp6eiAlXqdUIsdw/s1600/DSC_2748.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnxIyvZyY_a9YbGSW6lKT0qKtg3Za0CCIB-lTXrRlTzSSD1P-KvDX6-RkLyfm-metbj5IT9Cb5-TGsy_5ZqJCeZ5E8FHw5ZVpwKMVOKv691HQPGUKIQBzXQQvp6eiAlXqdUIsdw/s200/DSC_2748.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524357110559599938" border="0" /></a>Ms.Wong, who was only 20 and been to many parts of China onboard the train already - would later tell me that these trains were 40 yrs old, directly imported from Germany, once only hosted China's mayors as they journeyed from city to city, and the cooks preparing the meals now were the same ones who cooked for Chinese mayors. She also showed me how the stations refilled water onto the carts during each major stop which was quite interesting. When finally arriving at LanZhou, we find a huge industrial city, and it was also famous for its beef noodles. In the beef noodles, the soup is the most important factor here as they use cow thighs and special recipes to cook it for 8+hrs to get the full flavor out. However, despite having 3 bowls of beef noodles in one lunch - I liked the texture on Turpan's noodles, tenderness of Canada's beef, and Shanghai's soup base more. Nonetheless, it was still interesting to experience the taste of where all beef noodles originated though. Aside from eating, Lanzhou isn't really meant for tourism. There is a huge Apple factory that makes those iPads/iPhones, a temple overlooking the Yellow river sitting atop a mountain, and many old military dormitories hidden in the mountains evacuated because of erosion (although there were still people living in it until they get kicked out). With this in mind and not having much anticipation, we headed back onto the train and headed off to the next city - only to find myself very much surprised at what I saw..... (To be continued)Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-28024706367927005812010-09-25T18:44:00.011-04:002010-09-25T22:44:58.540-04:00Uncontaminated beautyHistoric buildings, sites, human interaction such as stories passed on between generations that is not contaminated by travel industry is what I call culture. Having been to various places and seeing heavily human-maintained infrastructures like the Eiffel tower, La Familia Sagrada, Ephesus, St.Petersburg, or the Forbidden city yields a very different feeling of history and what culture is. All we know is that the above structures are maintained annually to make sure its colors and structures remain intact so it can attract more tourists to spur economy. One of the things that's amazing on the Silk Road trip is that many sites have little or no human intervention throughout the years. A huge part of this has to do with the very dry climate due to its close proximity to the desert. Our next stop was DunHuang, a trade outpost that was once the jewel of the Chinese empire back in 350AD. The Magao grottoes was a Buddhist stronghold, and 月牙泉 was a Tao stronghold; each having its own distinctive architecture.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-NOFyufAaX8Ni4HT5xKnB8G2pjFWBAIMD5YeuPRCULgByufH3LVqEv4qnQ9F8_PpaFZrC1tfctwXlMk64wG5GvCmFugnU3J4R2TIPMkXSNMXs1XkUtQ-J1i4MJP-bC1w5qzZcA/s1600/DSC_3123_1_2_tonemappeds.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-NOFyufAaX8Ni4HT5xKnB8G2pjFWBAIMD5YeuPRCULgByufH3LVqEv4qnQ9F8_PpaFZrC1tfctwXlMk64wG5GvCmFugnU3J4R2TIPMkXSNMXs1XkUtQ-J1i4MJP-bC1w5qzZcA/s200/DSC_3123_1_2_tonemappeds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521011033943678082" border="0" /></a>There's a severe penalty in place for travelers taking pictures of the one Buddhas or pictures inside the Magao caves since flash photography will damage them. Hundreds, thousands, millions of distinctive colored paintings each telling a story circled us as we entered each cave (I was able purchase a book outside that tells stories and had pictures of these paintings outside at the souveneir shop), and it is very interesting that early Buddhism/火教 was actually a derivation of interaction with India's culture during the Silk road exchange.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJ9-yB8uBd3m1zPl6YpcWucWjBmhIL80mt2SHiIL3pNJwRMrAiZ2aTa2v7Aao0_pm2r5hVH_hymDxe1CqbQIC1F6ORpVk2KKrXaSL26EraN9MCmJfSdGLrLp5Ry3xVsSpB9bc4w/s1600/DSC_2981_78_79_80_tonemapped.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJ9-yB8uBd3m1zPl6YpcWucWjBmhIL80mt2SHiIL3pNJwRMrAiZ2aTa2v7Aao0_pm2r5hVH_hymDxe1CqbQIC1F6ORpVk2KKrXaSL26EraN9MCmJfSdGLrLp5Ry3xVsSpB9bc4w/s200/DSC_2981_78_79_80_tonemapped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521008832252081874" border="0" /></a>月牙泉, was a moon crescent oasis in the middle of the desert surrounding by sand; water in the oasis was possible due to its unique geographic location where air gets trapped in the crescent and creates and upward breeze that pushes the sand back up the hill. One of the kids from another group was trying to walk up the mountain and it was funny to see him make huge steps forward only to see him slide back down. As the locals say, it's better to take 5 puny steps than 1 big step on slipping sand as it'll only make you slide backwards.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSPPLfUC53BcjSf7CtWfz88vBBq2CwfUnXOoTqJvpuqCnqDqFn0moeQ7WapNOMFp-akv9P7UuJR-sFtUUpQm16IH-vWQckHFSzDlUAZG8Lw1SUiDDvd1YZL-xu7lN0KvBeUjTLQ/s1600/DSC_2953.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSPPLfUC53BcjSf7CtWfz88vBBq2CwfUnXOoTqJvpuqCnqDqFn0moeQ7WapNOMFp-akv9P7UuJR-sFtUUpQm16IH-vWQckHFSzDlUAZG8Lw1SUiDDvd1YZL-xu7lN0KvBeUjTLQ/s200/DSC_2953.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521007250951353858" border="0" /></a>To end the eventful excursion on the desert, we were given camels to ride on to a small outpost. Camels were considered as the Bentleys of the desert since they can survive without food and water up to 4 weeks and can act as a barrier against sandstorms in the vast outdoors. They were pretty shy though, and I think my camel was scared at something while I was fixing my camera gear when it suddenly sprung to its feet. The trainer was yelling 抓紧抓紧!!! (hold tight) since it'll be his responsibility if I did fell; and no kidding - the camel actually rose to a story high on its feet and it certainly freaked the hell out of me.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-10886163215098397152010-09-24T16:14:00.018-04:002010-10-04T00:52:16.554-04:00Continuing through the Silk Road<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBn5cEDp_UXiA2aCOuUGFkaTX4XTRh4NhEn3DYyv_YeOH06FzZfHvH443-6Mk8UlwwpKUx4hqIj1ApntHjKvSoodBOLMZdEhyjT1VTF_2y14XEN14bBOllLsFEdG1Ex38m61NCg/s1600/DSC_2379tonemappeds.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBn5cEDp_UXiA2aCOuUGFkaTX4XTRh4NhEn3DYyv_YeOH06FzZfHvH443-6Mk8UlwwpKUx4hqIj1ApntHjKvSoodBOLMZdEhyjT1VTF_2y14XEN14bBOllLsFEdG1Ex38m61NCg/s200/DSC_2379tonemappeds.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520593574978911970" border="0" /></a>And so, the next stops included cities along and around the Gobi. 天池, was a lake in the middle of the mountains and was highly celebrated in chinese literature, the scenery can be comparable to Lake Louise in Canada. 交河古城 was an ancient city ruins that dated back 2000 yrs ago, and it was amazing that it didn't require artificial maintenance all through these yrs due to the very dry weather. It gave a very solitary and sad feeling as we toured the ruins, and I must say it's even better than the pile of stones from Greece's Ephesus and Patheon (toured in 2k2).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 174px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdn4l7mMjNd2SuYrAVY-1vLbz9OJnL5maBU5x-Bq6oatjhfS0OPzTXCqARIEMNlGLusc0Tn6rYPhJoP-Dih1lH84Or91GPnRlJrCgPSKZKZisFy65cbLgEkYM-dzBY2BEAELY0jw/s200/DSC_3375s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520592613281194594" border="0" /></a>Next were the famous 阳关, 玉门关, 嘉舆关 that formed the great 'impregnable' gates of where the great wall was first built to fend off foreign invaders back in the ancient Chun/Ming dynasty. It was a very majestic sight as we all know that it eventually led to the construction of one of the greatest wonders of the world. On this side, we were also able to climb and take pictures to our heart's content, unlike other parts of the wall where there's a sea of people trying to climb over you. However, the 2000 or so steps we climbed were quite steep and it did tire my kneecaps and hamstring for the remainder of the trip despite the fact I do gym regularly. Although the weather was nice and there were no rain; it was still a very rough climbing experience and only 6 out of the 27 ppl in our group was able to climb to to the top. Some of the other groups were grounded and didn't even attempt the climb.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRiyEiiaGIZYa3LFfurp82GFk4wSxrKC8lZPUK8j5hB_ZWF5s4a9YBCPXrn1vm9y4_5DiGltibIpG00Kq5f05n0frQK4NY5NK8TmWvX6HDXqpATqoEMWRcaVnOQCNBF4yESzz2g/s200/DSC_2698s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520586638818115218" border="0" /></a>To end this stop and before we headed onto the Orient express train to the next stop in the desert for DunHuang, we visited the natural grape fields and a local Turpan's home. One of the locals spoke mandarin and urged us to perform traditional XinJiang dances with him; and before I knew it, he isolated me out and asked me to follow his dance steps - it turned out that I was doing a proposal dance for his sister singing the following lyrics in Uyghur dialect: 'I have a grape field, a house, a motorcycle; all XinJiang ladies come to me, but will you take my hand?'Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-69321735683177231172010-09-23T08:21:00.016-04:002010-09-25T12:37:29.117-04:00XinJiang: Urumqi and Turpan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftzBlmvWP6N7p1j5qLWz-vZ_d589WlwvgD5FnLIadvnuRsRhjs8skWex4aBNma7InqgmCipk-xSJMslKwcxUeCaYkezlRrglcbOBY-fRWWG2RJJB_syev8fwGwWNNeE_kiYExAw/s1600/DSC_2706.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiftzBlmvWP6N7p1j5qLWz-vZ_d589WlwvgD5FnLIadvnuRsRhjs8skWex4aBNma7InqgmCipk-xSJMslKwcxUeCaYkezlRrglcbOBY-fRWWG2RJJB_syev8fwGwWNNeE_kiYExAw/s200/DSC_2706.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520099716786186386" border="0" /></a>The purpose of this trip was the Silk road, and the northern path that we took was a reversed path from the destination back to the origin. And so, we left Shanghai on a local flight to Urumqi and Turpan; both these cities are listed as 关外 (outside the gate) in ancient times since they are cities not belonging to 汉朝 (mainstream Chinese) and are listed as barbaric tribes. This has changed throughout the years but you can still distinguish the huge difference of architectures and facial features of the settlers here, making this city one of the ones I really want to visit before my trip.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT3gxmW5mHWn6TKWfl6xnqZNWmffag2H0bItxaRF0y9zjj2IawNm7PJxOoYKqMk7tm8aSQzmE8EyfLgEkgbctLwMdk6L4n0LyK8MChZE5Q2V-Et6JdS_SqtFe7MgI6n0GVA1exw/s1600/DSC_2211.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT3gxmW5mHWn6TKWfl6xnqZNWmffag2H0bItxaRF0y9zjj2IawNm7PJxOoYKqMk7tm8aSQzmE8EyfLgEkgbctLwMdk6L4n0LyK8MChZE5Q2V-Et6JdS_SqtFe7MgI6n0GVA1exw/s200/DSC_2211.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520087544114854434" border="0" /></a>Urumqi had massive riots last year and resulted in many deaths and arrests, and that was the reason I choose to travel in a tourgroup instead of backpacking here. We were told to stay indoors after 8, do not travel alone, and not showing our camera gear which will inform locals that we are outsiders; however, this did not keep my curious eyes and camera from taking snapshots here and there around the city. In the picture to the left, you see that there are fully armed armies almost everywhere in the city which was somewhat uncomfortable. The settlers here live a very humble and hard life with selling cotton, raisins, and fruits as their main income. They live in shacks without doors and open roofs (there is little rain since it's very dry and close to the desert). It makes me feel ashamed when some of the fellow North American tourists complain that the AC was not strong enough and dust was going into the coach bus, while 5-6 locals here commute around sitting on haystacks pulled by a motorcycle.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWLyY37I4vFdc4gbqD_dfw8RIXQBLaiYsTmR8SELYSDsj8sW3DeI11PtNlAaRBeEg8I0UW6rD6L2PcnTj8qWTYy82pVFiVdVJTFQUZTFFTKn3Zl1BDIYAu70n6TZJACfgASD-sg/s1600/DSC_2233.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWLyY37I4vFdc4gbqD_dfw8RIXQBLaiYsTmR8SELYSDsj8sW3DeI11PtNlAaRBeEg8I0UW6rD6L2PcnTj8qWTYy82pVFiVdVJTFQUZTFFTKn3Zl1BDIYAu70n6TZJACfgASD-sg/s200/DSC_2233.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520088332330269890" border="0" /></a>The hotel that we stayed in is worth to mention about - it was kept the same after 20yrs, and is listed as the best hotel of the city already. It did smell of urine throughout the room with stains on bed covers and sofas. Regardless of this, you cannot really blame about the bad conditions since you know that it really is one of the better places to live in when you see how rough life is throughout the city. It was a very memorable eye opening experience that kickstarted the trip and reminded us how lucky we are already.Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-43069182055907661542010-09-21T22:19:00.014-04:002010-10-04T00:52:57.702-04:00Reliving Shanghai after 3 years<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZRwjKOC4ElZSyZzxhnY4LB5WpjDhq789wZUy9i23YZymSSNDMQqMyXqO-gjsgx0AU33qA0X7Vb_906wf6PIx1K5-mkZmYl3dNaYL3ej3isDaSstahd-TupDToznkPAT7p45GnQ/s1600/DSC_1830.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsZRwjKOC4ElZSyZzxhnY4LB5WpjDhq789wZUy9i23YZymSSNDMQqMyXqO-gjsgx0AU33qA0X7Vb_906wf6PIx1K5-mkZmYl3dNaYL3ej3isDaSstahd-TupDToznkPAT7p45GnQ/s200/DSC_1830.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519566569088946914" border="0" /></a>As I had been backlogged in updates, I'll be updating my blog starting from SH and working through the memorable points of my trip. I've taken close to 2500 pictures and will have the daunting task in sorting and post-processing through them in wks to come :S<br />Well, to start it off; Shanghai was my first stop of my Silk Road adventure and is my launching city and I have choosen to extend my stay for 2 more days there. As I touched down, the air, the culture, and fond memories reignited the excitement i had here when I worked as an expat here some 3 yrs ago. I was highly looking forward to to see what may have changed within these few years:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOhYMFhIsBMGW6YE8k_-kiiysokj9YkKJSgOX_Xq90L4FWqNA3BniEHZtrSwVraoxHJEm4sEP1aoQNEgg68nwRURHWxWHqldT8NPfjhmGOOxc3j5BbzVLnbmLO37JAw40qJcNag/s200/DSC_1812.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519562496685096610" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href=""><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSh0yiBP-ppSCpjyoBs7sP3DfoL8f48iE11wEAnoCAtmEkQoMWdURHOQBxN7kp0whPdDylY-Z6StYqZVFMyiLy3haC7u1SLZxpZAIo_YHrGyPZBDdG9C5Pnva0SomTe05FxXKIQ/s200/DSC_1941.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519566706556403490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />- lots of good looking ppl: I see 10x more pretty girls here in 3 days than 3 yrs in Toronto LOL.<br />- housing prices have shot up 30% since my previous stay and my ex-teammates were all complaining about the unaffordable price.<br />- massive infrastructure upgrade as they extended the 4 line subway to a total of 11 now, it mocks the Toronto transit that is going nowhere within the past 10 yrs.<br />- social structure is getting worst as the gap widens between the rich and poor, locals say it is like an hourglass where the middle classes are getting depleted.<br />- mannerism is still the same with ppl spitting, rough and sweat jobs, and much streetbums on the streets.<br />And so, I think i exhausted myself in SH before my real Silk Road trek even started :p Despite this, I feel very much alive in SH; maybe it's because I know the way around here, and coupled with the fact that I'm only a visitor and different from routine worklife?Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025297.post-81204678839829290792010-09-04T12:38:00.008-04:002010-09-04T12:47:13.576-04:00New Jorney Awaits: Silk Road<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqlXRtYxseTWVg9-YmxJ5MJKTLmlX9zSUloOTofL1KSXO-xM7lJujJtJ2wZY7qvAgGqWdRMNGrrzBl-8KuWCvKRP1Cd0psUu3oT6Z8kiuFbS6EgUi0Fh1shIxWqn4583tKDfVGA/s1600/123.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqlXRtYxseTWVg9-YmxJ5MJKTLmlX9zSUloOTofL1KSXO-xM7lJujJtJ2wZY7qvAgGqWdRMNGrrzBl-8KuWCvKRP1Cd0psUu3oT6Z8kiuFbS6EgUi0Fh1shIxWqn4583tKDfVGA/s320/123.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513100688165114994" border="0" /></a>And so, it's been more than a year since I took any personal vacation. I'll be heading to the vast lands of China tomorrow; starting off in Shanghai meeting old friends when I expat there, commute to northern borders of Urumqi, along the cities of DuHuang/DuLuFan along the outskirts, then loop back down to where the Great wall started, along the Gobi desert visiting oasis and ruins that had a direct impact to history of China and how the Silk Road was formed. After various commute on bus, small flights, camels, and trains; I'll be back to Xian and Beijing where I'll return back to Toronto. It'll be a while since I'll update again since China has blocked Blogger, but I'm highly excited for the trip and will definately take many pictures with me to show when I'm back. Cheerios and take care all!Edmleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12408225117047402607noreply@blogger.com2