Quiet is the New Loud
About
Friday, June 30, 2006
wordplay
It rained cats and dogs yesterday, but that didn't deter me and my brother from heading downtown for a haircut and then dinner, plus an unexpected movie, with Karleng.
I actually like my new haircut even though it's shorter than I hoped for. It's kind of the length that is expected in a stringent public school of the Singaporean education system. Maybe not that short, but it's great to have this length again. There was one point in the early stage of the cut when the hairdresser shaved off the sides and back, leaving just the whole chunk of long hair at the top and front as a fringe. It looked really cool, but I don't know why I didn't tell her to leave it like that. Maybe I should try it the next time my hair is long.
Then, went to this Korean place for dinner. The 'pepper place', that's what my brother and Karleng call it since the soup has a strong white peppery taste. It's like a steamboat kind, where they boil a whole lot of seafood into it to eat with rice and the Korean appetizers.
We decided to catch a movie. In mind were the major theatrical releases like The Lake House or X-Men 3 (Superman, nah). Walked along Bloor Street and passed by this sign leading to a cinema via a small alley. They had independent movies that were of limited release, and Wordplay was the choice since Karleng had been searching for it. Didn't start till 9.40pm so walked around Bloor, entering GAP and H&M.
Wordplay is a documentary about the craze of crossword puzzles; from daily crosswords in newspapers, to national crossword puzzles competitions, and competitors and their love for the game, or probably more than a game to them. The New York Times crossword editor, Will Shortz, was in it, so were crossword lovers like Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart and others. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the film.
It isn't a typical movie I would actually consider watching in the past, but maybe not now. There was laughter with the 'crossword geeks' and people in it. At points, I was holding on to my head and hair as competitors finish very difficult puzzles in minutes. I practically could feel my brain bursting with stupidity. I'm very much itching for crosswords now to prove that I've a brain, or not. Documentary films will now interest me more. Another documentary I'm interested in is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, which is about global warming.
Anyway, tomorrow is Canada Day! Which means it's a long weekend with Monday being a holiday too. There will be fireworks and events downtown, but most public places will be closed. Ugh..
I actually like my new haircut even though it's shorter than I hoped for. It's kind of the length that is expected in a stringent public school of the Singaporean education system. Maybe not that short, but it's great to have this length again. There was one point in the early stage of the cut when the hairdresser shaved off the sides and back, leaving just the whole chunk of long hair at the top and front as a fringe. It looked really cool, but I don't know why I didn't tell her to leave it like that. Maybe I should try it the next time my hair is long.
Then, went to this Korean place for dinner. The 'pepper place', that's what my brother and Karleng call it since the soup has a strong white peppery taste. It's like a steamboat kind, where they boil a whole lot of seafood into it to eat with rice and the Korean appetizers.
We decided to catch a movie. In mind were the major theatrical releases like The Lake House or X-Men 3 (Superman, nah). Walked along Bloor Street and passed by this sign leading to a cinema via a small alley. They had independent movies that were of limited release, and Wordplay was the choice since Karleng had been searching for it. Didn't start till 9.40pm so walked around Bloor, entering GAP and H&M.
Wordplay is a documentary about the craze of crossword puzzles; from daily crosswords in newspapers, to national crossword puzzles competitions, and competitors and their love for the game, or probably more than a game to them. The New York Times crossword editor, Will Shortz, was in it, so were crossword lovers like Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart and others. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed the film.
It isn't a typical movie I would actually consider watching in the past, but maybe not now. There was laughter with the 'crossword geeks' and people in it. At points, I was holding on to my head and hair as competitors finish very difficult puzzles in minutes. I practically could feel my brain bursting with stupidity. I'm very much itching for crosswords now to prove that I've a brain, or not. Documentary films will now interest me more. Another documentary I'm interested in is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, which is about global warming.
Anyway, tomorrow is Canada Day! Which means it's a long weekend with Monday being a holiday too. There will be fireworks and events downtown, but most public places will be closed. Ugh..
closed
YES! I checked ROSI just now and I finally got a practical for BGY52 at the timeslot of my choice. I have everything, except my EESA01 tutorial is still in conflict with another lecture.
It seems like UTSC's Principal & Vice-President of UofT is resigning to go to HK for a Chair Professor in Philosophy. Which means UTSC is headless? Hhmm, is UTSC on unstable grounds now.. No, I guess not.
COUNTDOWN TO KL: 1 WEEK
It seems like UTSC's Principal & Vice-President of UofT is resigning to go to HK for a Chair Professor in Philosophy. Which means UTSC is headless? Hhmm, is UTSC on unstable grounds now.. No, I guess not.
COUNTDOWN TO KL: 1 WEEK
Thursday, June 29, 2006
hail
Damn, I was close to the end of today's post when I unintentionally deleted my own post, twice, as I temporarily lost connection to Blogger. I'm getting irritated.
After yesterday's traumatising discovery that I'm short of two tutorials and a practical, I continuously logged on ROSI (Repository of Student Information, where we can access our grades, financial account and enrol in courses, etc.) througout the day in hope that some anonymous person will change their mind or that new timeslots will open up.
Then last night, with a stroke of fate, written under STAB27 TUT0002 was "1 space available". My heart skipped a beat as I hurriedly clicked on it to enrol in the tutorial session. What's more heartening is that it's the exact timeslot I'd wanted, but couldn't enrol in it as it was full earlier on. Someone must have dropped it, and whoever it is, THANK YOU! So, I now have to worry for the remaining tutorial and practical.
Anyway, it was raining so heavily just now. In fact, there was a thunderstorm last night that caused a blackout in the apartment for an hour. I was watching Canada's Next Top Model 15 minutes into the show when it occurred. Back to today, it was so dark and wet, and suddenly there was the sound of marbles falling to the ground. No, it was hailstones hitting against the window panes! At the start of summer?!? It was brief but I took some snaps. Somehow the camera didn't capture the volume clearly.
More visible at the bottom-right corner, ice-stones deflect away.
Now it's brighter and not raining. This is the bizzare Canadian weather. Got to run, haircut and dinner at Chinatown these evening.
After yesterday's traumatising discovery that I'm short of two tutorials and a practical, I continuously logged on ROSI (Repository of Student Information, where we can access our grades, financial account and enrol in courses, etc.) througout the day in hope that some anonymous person will change their mind or that new timeslots will open up.
Then last night, with a stroke of fate, written under STAB27 TUT0002 was "1 space available". My heart skipped a beat as I hurriedly clicked on it to enrol in the tutorial session. What's more heartening is that it's the exact timeslot I'd wanted, but couldn't enrol in it as it was full earlier on. Someone must have dropped it, and whoever it is, THANK YOU! So, I now have to worry for the remaining tutorial and practical.
Anyway, it was raining so heavily just now. In fact, there was a thunderstorm last night that caused a blackout in the apartment for an hour. I was watching Canada's Next Top Model 15 minutes into the show when it occurred. Back to today, it was so dark and wet, and suddenly there was the sound of marbles falling to the ground. No, it was hailstones hitting against the window panes! At the start of summer?!? It was brief but I took some snaps. Somehow the camera didn't capture the volume clearly.
More visible at the bottom-right corner, ice-stones deflect away.
Now it's brighter and not raining. This is the bizzare Canadian weather. Got to run, haircut and dinner at Chinatown these evening.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
shortage
Damn, I'm in some sticky situations after web-fighting for courses online. These are the courses I'm currently enrolled in for 2006/2007:
Fall 2006
BGYB30
BGYB50
BGYB52 - Practical missing.
EESA01 - Tutorial conflicts with BGYB50 Lecture.
GGRA30
Winter 2007
BGYB31
BGYB51
STAB27 - Tutorial missing.
EESB03 - Unsure if taking. Most probably not.
Argh. This is driving me insane. Now I've to constantly check for new slots to be offered, or for people to change their minds so there will be space. And I've to snatch it fast. My freaking KIASU genes. I hope this can be resolved by next Friday..
Fall 2006
BGYB30
BGYB50
BGYB52 - Practical missing.
EESA01 - Tutorial conflicts with BGYB50 Lecture.
GGRA30
Winter 2007
BGYB31
BGYB51
STAB27 - Tutorial missing.
EESB03 - Unsure if taking. Most probably not.
Argh. This is driving me insane. Now I've to constantly check for new slots to be offered, or for people to change their minds so there will be space. And I've to snatch it fast. My freaking KIASU genes. I hope this can be resolved by next Friday..
enROLL
I'm ready to rollllll and enrol in some courses for my Year 2.. When it's 10.40am, I'll be clickety-click-click! (:
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
checklist
Things to do in the coming one and a half weeks before leaving for KL.
1) Enrol in all my 2006/2007 courses tomorrow at 10.40am. Have to consider timetable again tonight. Oh and just a sidenote, I've decided to form a Minor in Environmental Science out of my electives. So now the confusion begins, since many courses take up Fall spaces and the maximum I can have is 5 per semester. I sort of decided with my family that I'm going to stay for my 5th year, since the economy is slow, plus I wouldn't have to cram and try to fit so many courses into a semester. I'm also a year younger than my peers, so when I graduate a year later, I'll be in the right batch. I would be 22 then.
2) Cut my hair on Thursday so that it will look good by the time I return to KL for my passport renewal. Afterwards, meeting Karleng for dinner. Also, farewell dinner for Karleng on Sunday, since she is heading to the States then to HK and not coming back to T.O. :(
3) Last round of laundry next week to wash bed sheets and clothes.
4) Get a week's worth of vegetables by the end of this week. Cook and eat up any perishable food items. Probably even the dry stuffs.
5) Continue packing. I kind of threw in some tees and shorts, the main stuffs that I want to bring for the trip home. Mental note to pack laptop and other small but important items. Also, passport and e-ticket.
Hhmm, I think that's all. Last night, there was a very dense fog. And then it rained. No story behind this. Just thought it was nice.
1) Enrol in all my 2006/2007 courses tomorrow at 10.40am. Have to consider timetable again tonight. Oh and just a sidenote, I've decided to form a Minor in Environmental Science out of my electives. So now the confusion begins, since many courses take up Fall spaces and the maximum I can have is 5 per semester. I sort of decided with my family that I'm going to stay for my 5th year, since the economy is slow, plus I wouldn't have to cram and try to fit so many courses into a semester. I'm also a year younger than my peers, so when I graduate a year later, I'll be in the right batch. I would be 22 then.
2) Cut my hair on Thursday so that it will look good by the time I return to KL for my passport renewal. Afterwards, meeting Karleng for dinner. Also, farewell dinner for Karleng on Sunday, since she is heading to the States then to HK and not coming back to T.O. :(
3) Last round of laundry next week to wash bed sheets and clothes.
4) Get a week's worth of vegetables by the end of this week. Cook and eat up any perishable food items. Probably even the dry stuffs.
5) Continue packing. I kind of threw in some tees and shorts, the main stuffs that I want to bring for the trip home. Mental note to pack laptop and other small but important items. Also, passport and e-ticket.
Hhmm, I think that's all. Last night, there was a very dense fog. And then it rained. No story behind this. Just thought it was nice.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
PRIDE '06
Pride Parade took over downtown Toronto as hundreds of thousands people turned up to celebrate the end of the Pride Week, which is one of North America's largest celebrations of gay culture. This year's theme is 'Fearless'.. And we weren't going to miss it.
We reached downtown Yonge-Bloor at 1.30pm, since the Parade was to start at 2pm. Already, the streets were all blocked off and there were swarms of people buzzing around or staying at ideal spots to watch the Parade. We scurried along with the slow flow, and stopped at the side Yonge Street close to the Yonge-Bloor intersection. It was a good spot since the Parade will start at Bloor Street, head west and turn south to Yonge Street, then turn east to Gerrard Street and finally stop at Church Street, which is the main street of Toronto's gay village.
The Parade started and when it made the turn to Yonge, there were loud cheers, cameras snapping, and hands waving..
The crowd at Yonge-Bloor. Imagine the whole CROWD for the Parade.
The rainbow flag.
A somber start: It's the March for Those Who Can't..
PRIDE TORONTO. Flags and signboards.
The magic rainbow schoolbus.
People on these floats are participants from organizations, etc. They throw stuffs at the people, like condoms, beads necklaces, sweets, cards.. They also use water guns to wet us.
The purple man. I think he is from the UofT Engineering group..
Masquerade!
Superman and Captain America!
Toronto's Mayor, David Miller.
A fireman on top of a fire-truck. He had an extinguisher and was pointing to us just as in the picture. Naturally we thought he was going to spray, but turns out it should be an empty one.
A 'Just Married' Mounties (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police). What an ingenious sign!
There were alot of floats with loud music and dancing. I love those that throw beads and have music. There were floats that played a remix of Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You' and Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie'.
Prevent AIDS, a message from the ACT.
Then, look what I got. There's a condom and a lubricant in it.
Guy on stilts from TD Canada Bank.
The TD Canada Bank float. Ahem, I bank at TD. Anyway, more music and dancing, with green beads giveaway!
Six-coloured flags.
Trojan condom's float.
So guess what they dragged in? Trojans!
Quirky headband.
VIA Rail Canada's float. How creative!
Canada is one of the few nations that legalized same-sex marriage.
In drag.
Rainbow fence.
The Green Party's float. There were many other political parties that came. Like NDP and Liberal. Conservatives are, erm..
Banana, anyone?
No discrimination from Anglicans.
This says it all.
My favourite float! Those metal poles lead on to..
A big rainbow flag..
A very long, big rainbow flag.
An Asian carwash. This was hilarious.
Fearless!
More flamboyant costumes.
Bagpipes!
Madam Butterfly.
Air Canada's float. I wonder how heavy they are..
Fucking fearless!
Extra lolly?
Sure thing.
Motorola's float. Rainbow bikes, matching humans sold separately.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple balloons.
Sports theme: Water polo.
Sports theme: Football.
Sports theme: Soccer. This was nice; there's the World Cup and the big ball was thrown around with the crowd. Sadly, not at my area.
Sun-God-like.
CIBC's float. CIBC is TD's competition.
PRIDE TORONTO. I think this was the last float..
Some group pictures while the Parade was passing through. I wonder where I was looking at then..
Shot 1; with one unprepared.
Shot 2; Nora, Juyenty, Me and Kusuma.
Me and my brother at the end of the Parade after he met up with us. He walked in the Parade with some university association to reduce tuition fees. TUITION FEES SUCK! Anyway, I only got a back shot of him with his angel halo. We kept calling out when we saw him, but he was at the other side and the group walked past quickly.
Juyenty, Nora, my brother and Kusuma standing somewhere along Bloor Street after the Parade.
People leaving, and the garbage truck here to clean up.
We ate at Red Lobster!
My seafood treat. Three choices with a side dish, and a cup of soup earlier on. I had a few bites (a scallop, a prawn, some strands of crab alfredo and fries) before taking this picture, so it looks kind of bare.. ;p
I had to post this despite me looking so haggard and tired, which I was. Had stood for 2-hours, tip-toeing and arching backwards, then walked a distance to Red Lobster. Anyway, the plushie I'm holding was a giveaway from Stag Shop, which sells sex toys, etc. Kusuma got this bear/dog with its assets hanging out.
Me after the meal with my beads. I look so much better.
That was it. There are still alot of pictures that me and Nora took. Some had nudity; there was also a group of males that walked bare naked in the Parade, and females topless. We ran out of memory to take more pictures, and I was even afraid that my battery would die. Had to scan through and delete pictures to make space. Many other floats, some which I didn't bother taking pictures for. The funny thing was, I always stop clicking the camera button whenever there's a float that throws freebies in my direction. LOL!
Went home all full and exhausted. Still, had so much fun. Never went for such a major celebration/parade before at downtown despite being here for a year and a half. This made me feel more like a Torontonian, with others around me celebrating an event of the city and its people. So this is my first time at Toronto's Pride Parade. We have all agreed to go next year.
We reached downtown Yonge-Bloor at 1.30pm, since the Parade was to start at 2pm. Already, the streets were all blocked off and there were swarms of people buzzing around or staying at ideal spots to watch the Parade. We scurried along with the slow flow, and stopped at the side Yonge Street close to the Yonge-Bloor intersection. It was a good spot since the Parade will start at Bloor Street, head west and turn south to Yonge Street, then turn east to Gerrard Street and finally stop at Church Street, which is the main street of Toronto's gay village.
The Parade started and when it made the turn to Yonge, there were loud cheers, cameras snapping, and hands waving..
The crowd at Yonge-Bloor. Imagine the whole CROWD for the Parade.
The rainbow flag.
A somber start: It's the March for Those Who Can't..
PRIDE TORONTO. Flags and signboards.
The magic rainbow schoolbus.
People on these floats are participants from organizations, etc. They throw stuffs at the people, like condoms, beads necklaces, sweets, cards.. They also use water guns to wet us.
The purple man. I think he is from the UofT Engineering group..
Masquerade!
Superman and Captain America!
Toronto's Mayor, David Miller.
A fireman on top of a fire-truck. He had an extinguisher and was pointing to us just as in the picture. Naturally we thought he was going to spray, but turns out it should be an empty one.
A 'Just Married' Mounties (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police). What an ingenious sign!
There were alot of floats with loud music and dancing. I love those that throw beads and have music. There were floats that played a remix of Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You' and Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie'.
Prevent AIDS, a message from the ACT.
Then, look what I got. There's a condom and a lubricant in it.
Guy on stilts from TD Canada Bank.
The TD Canada Bank float. Ahem, I bank at TD. Anyway, more music and dancing, with green beads giveaway!
Six-coloured flags.
Trojan condom's float.
So guess what they dragged in? Trojans!
Quirky headband.
VIA Rail Canada's float. How creative!
Canada is one of the few nations that legalized same-sex marriage.
In drag.
Rainbow fence.
The Green Party's float. There were many other political parties that came. Like NDP and Liberal. Conservatives are, erm..
Banana, anyone?
No discrimination from Anglicans.
This says it all.
My favourite float! Those metal poles lead on to..
A big rainbow flag..
A very long, big rainbow flag.
An Asian carwash. This was hilarious.
Fearless!
More flamboyant costumes.
Bagpipes!
Madam Butterfly.
Air Canada's float. I wonder how heavy they are..
Fucking fearless!
Extra lolly?
Sure thing.
Motorola's float. Rainbow bikes, matching humans sold separately.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple balloons.
Sports theme: Water polo.
Sports theme: Football.
Sports theme: Soccer. This was nice; there's the World Cup and the big ball was thrown around with the crowd. Sadly, not at my area.
Sun-God-like.
CIBC's float. CIBC is TD's competition.
PRIDE TORONTO. I think this was the last float..
Some group pictures while the Parade was passing through. I wonder where I was looking at then..
Shot 1; with one unprepared.
Shot 2; Nora, Juyenty, Me and Kusuma.
Me and my brother at the end of the Parade after he met up with us. He walked in the Parade with some university association to reduce tuition fees. TUITION FEES SUCK! Anyway, I only got a back shot of him with his angel halo. We kept calling out when we saw him, but he was at the other side and the group walked past quickly.
Juyenty, Nora, my brother and Kusuma standing somewhere along Bloor Street after the Parade.
People leaving, and the garbage truck here to clean up.
We ate at Red Lobster!
My seafood treat. Three choices with a side dish, and a cup of soup earlier on. I had a few bites (a scallop, a prawn, some strands of crab alfredo and fries) before taking this picture, so it looks kind of bare.. ;p
I had to post this despite me looking so haggard and tired, which I was. Had stood for 2-hours, tip-toeing and arching backwards, then walked a distance to Red Lobster. Anyway, the plushie I'm holding was a giveaway from Stag Shop, which sells sex toys, etc. Kusuma got this bear/dog with its assets hanging out.
Me after the meal with my beads. I look so much better.
That was it. There are still alot of pictures that me and Nora took. Some had nudity; there was also a group of males that walked bare naked in the Parade, and females topless. We ran out of memory to take more pictures, and I was even afraid that my battery would die. Had to scan through and delete pictures to make space. Many other floats, some which I didn't bother taking pictures for. The funny thing was, I always stop clicking the camera button whenever there's a float that throws freebies in my direction. LOL!
Went home all full and exhausted. Still, had so much fun. Never went for such a major celebration/parade before at downtown despite being here for a year and a half. This made me feel more like a Torontonian, with others around me celebrating an event of the city and its people. So this is my first time at Toronto's Pride Parade. We have all agreed to go next year.