lynnie says (1:00 AM):
what font are you using?
nicholas says (1:00 AM):
corbel, similar to tahoma
lynnie says (1:05 AM):
there doesn't seem to be anti-alias
nicholas says (1:06 AM):
do you have cleartype turned on?
lynnie says (1:12 AM):
on msn?
nicholas says (1:12 AM):
in windows. display properties -> appearance -> effects -> use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts
lynnie says (1:17 AM):
ah! huge difference
nicholas says (1:17 AM):
=P
lynnie says (1:17 AM):
im such a nerd for even noticing
[...]
lynnie says (1:45 AM):
one day ur head will explode with knowledge
nicholas says (1:46 AM):
it will be glorious
lynnie says (1:46 AM):
ROFL
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Anxiety Attack?
I think I had an anxiety attack today.
I woke up feeling really crummy and then I went down to campus and thought a cup of coffee would help. But even after I drank the coffee, I was still tired and I couldn't really focus. By 3pm I couldn't stand it and I went home. I wasn't sure what exactly was bothering me so I figured some food might help, but then I started eating a lot of food, like I had a bowl of instant noodle (no soup), a leaf rice thing and some veggies at the same time. I don't know why I felt eating would make me feel better, but in the end it just made me feel uncomfortably full. That's when I started to feel a little anxious so I went to lie down, even though I slept for nine hours the night before and I wasn't sleepy. I just felt really tired and the need to relax before I explode or something.
I was lying there for two hours half-consciously, dreaming about my essay (and Freud) and then thats when my anxiety peaked. I dreamed I had a heart attack. After that I became conscious again and felt like I really did have one...I felt really really bad, like something was weighing me down, the only word I can use to describe is just anxiousness. I was especially anxious about the paper I haven't started. Yet regardless of how stressed I was, I couldn't get myself to get up. I just felt like I don't want to do anything anymore even though I also felt like I was going to fail life.
It's really hard to explain the anxiety...it felt like I had way too much coffee but I only had one cup and i kept feeling my heart was pounding faster than normal and I wanted to explode emotionally. The entire time i kept my fingers on my wrist trying to feel my pulse. I tried to relax myself , trying convincing myself, it's not a big deal, I can take a day off and relax, nothing to stress about, but the feeling just didn't go away. I even tried to watch Seinfeld to distract me but the noise just made me feel worse.
So for about four hours I laid on my bed half-consciously and anxiously...not particularly depressed, more stressed. Yet even when I was conscious I couldnt get up...like I just didnt want to do anything anymore..
I think I've been just stressed about projects and papers at school and work, on top of some family stuff that's been going on at home. But I think fighting with Adam all week and feeling really emotional pushed me off the edge. I'm sure that last cup of coffee didn't help.
I feel a little better now, I tried given myself the day to relax, but it still really bothers me that I'm even more behind on all my stuff.
I woke up feeling really crummy and then I went down to campus and thought a cup of coffee would help. But even after I drank the coffee, I was still tired and I couldn't really focus. By 3pm I couldn't stand it and I went home. I wasn't sure what exactly was bothering me so I figured some food might help, but then I started eating a lot of food, like I had a bowl of instant noodle (no soup), a leaf rice thing and some veggies at the same time. I don't know why I felt eating would make me feel better, but in the end it just made me feel uncomfortably full. That's when I started to feel a little anxious so I went to lie down, even though I slept for nine hours the night before and I wasn't sleepy. I just felt really tired and the need to relax before I explode or something.
I was lying there for two hours half-consciously, dreaming about my essay (and Freud) and then thats when my anxiety peaked. I dreamed I had a heart attack. After that I became conscious again and felt like I really did have one...I felt really really bad, like something was weighing me down, the only word I can use to describe is just anxiousness. I was especially anxious about the paper I haven't started. Yet regardless of how stressed I was, I couldn't get myself to get up. I just felt like I don't want to do anything anymore even though I also felt like I was going to fail life.
It's really hard to explain the anxiety...it felt like I had way too much coffee but I only had one cup and i kept feeling my heart was pounding faster than normal and I wanted to explode emotionally. The entire time i kept my fingers on my wrist trying to feel my pulse. I tried to relax myself , trying convincing myself, it's not a big deal, I can take a day off and relax, nothing to stress about, but the feeling just didn't go away. I even tried to watch Seinfeld to distract me but the noise just made me feel worse.
So for about four hours I laid on my bed half-consciously and anxiously...not particularly depressed, more stressed. Yet even when I was conscious I couldnt get up...like I just didnt want to do anything anymore..
I think I've been just stressed about projects and papers at school and work, on top of some family stuff that's been going on at home. But I think fighting with Adam all week and feeling really emotional pushed me off the edge. I'm sure that last cup of coffee didn't help.
I feel a little better now, I tried given myself the day to relax, but it still really bothers me that I'm even more behind on all my stuff.
Monday, June 23, 2008
The first wedding bell
On Saturday, I attended the first wedding among my high school friends. The ceremony was at St. Andrew's Church in Markham and started at 11am. Our group gathered at Nick's house at 10am so we can all go there together. We have not dressed up as a group since prom, so this was a pretty significant event for us, on top of which Row's also the first of our friends who got married. As my prof says from Cognitive Rhetoric, "And now the dominoes begin to fall..."
Unlike most girls, I never really dreamed nor thought about my wedding. I was certain that I wanted to get married when I'm 23 (ahoy! I'm 24...) but that was about the extent to which the word marriage crossed my mind. You hear a lot of stories about girls who get married because they wanted a wedding and I never really understood the glamour that's attached to having a big wedding. After going to Row's wedding and seeing how happy she was, the thought of getting married for the sake of getting married is actually even more absurd to me.
Recently I watched the movie 27 Dresses and the main characters discussed their favourite part of a wedding. They both said their favourite part was looking at the joy of the groom's face as he watches the bride walk into the altar. We sat at the top balcony and had a good view of the ceremony taking place and thus, I couldn't help but watch the groom's face as the bride walked in and, as cheesy as it sounds, the joy and excitement, or rather, the love, shown on Paul's face as Rowena was led into the church really made me understand why there are people out there who cry at every wedding. And Rowena too, she looked so beautiful and so radiant...so happy. Watching her smile actually made me teary and emotional just knowing how happy she must be. I mean..just look at them!!!
Why would you want to have a wedding in the absence of that emotional bond between yourself and your significant other? To me, that connection is intrinsic to the wedding. As glamourous and expensive the wedding, what makes the wedding a wedding is that almost palpable mixture of the connection between the two newly weds and the bliss that permeates the air. Without that feeling, a wedding is just another dreadful, drawn-out social event, like a company Christmas party with a bunch of people you probably have never even exchanged hellos.
I don't want to say that going to Row's wedding made me want to get married, but going to her wedding made me stop not wanting to have a wedding. It actually made me look forward to the day that I can feel as happy as she does. As idealistic and impractical as it may sound, I don't want it to be about the wedding...or even marriage...I just want that blissful anxiety, the moment when you can't wait for your life to start with the person you love. I know.. cheese....
At any rate, Row's reception apparently had around 600 people...now that's a big wedding. Here's our table and here's some of us in a pic with Rowena. Doesn't she look so pretty?
Unlike most girls, I never really dreamed nor thought about my wedding. I was certain that I wanted to get married when I'm 23 (ahoy! I'm 24...) but that was about the extent to which the word marriage crossed my mind. You hear a lot of stories about girls who get married because they wanted a wedding and I never really understood the glamour that's attached to having a big wedding. After going to Row's wedding and seeing how happy she was, the thought of getting married for the sake of getting married is actually even more absurd to me.
Recently I watched the movie 27 Dresses and the main characters discussed their favourite part of a wedding. They both said their favourite part was looking at the joy of the groom's face as he watches the bride walk into the altar. We sat at the top balcony and had a good view of the ceremony taking place and thus, I couldn't help but watch the groom's face as the bride walked in and, as cheesy as it sounds, the joy and excitement, or rather, the love, shown on Paul's face as Rowena was led into the church really made me understand why there are people out there who cry at every wedding. And Rowena too, she looked so beautiful and so radiant...so happy. Watching her smile actually made me teary and emotional just knowing how happy she must be. I mean..just look at them!!!
Why would you want to have a wedding in the absence of that emotional bond between yourself and your significant other? To me, that connection is intrinsic to the wedding. As glamourous and expensive the wedding, what makes the wedding a wedding is that almost palpable mixture of the connection between the two newly weds and the bliss that permeates the air. Without that feeling, a wedding is just another dreadful, drawn-out social event, like a company Christmas party with a bunch of people you probably have never even exchanged hellos.
I don't want to say that going to Row's wedding made me want to get married, but going to her wedding made me stop not wanting to have a wedding. It actually made me look forward to the day that I can feel as happy as she does. As idealistic and impractical as it may sound, I don't want it to be about the wedding...or even marriage...I just want that blissful anxiety, the moment when you can't wait for your life to start with the person you love. I know.. cheese....
At any rate, Row's reception apparently had around 600 people...now that's a big wedding. Here's our table and here's some of us in a pic with Rowena. Doesn't she look so pretty?
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Newly discovered aphorism from me and jen
Being a hermit is a guilty pleasure
Monday, June 16, 2008
A rather mundane entry
Life has not been treating me well recently. A couple things has happened this weekend that has caused me much distress, but i shall refrain from disturbing the world with all my stories. I shall, however, endeavor to divulge some of the more interesting ones with regards to how my weekend went.
On Thursday, I discovered that the loud crack my brother and I heard on our way back from the airport Monday night was indeed a stone breaking the windshield. Ironically, when the crack sounded, I told my brother, "you know this was the sound adam and i heard three months ago before we discovered the windshield cracked!" Nervously, my brother had sked me if I saw any cracks but neither of us saw anything. After arriving in Waterloo at almost 3am that night, I left the car outside the driveway through a few thunderstorms for a few days, only to discover that there was a vertical crack from the bottom all the way to the top of the windshield smack in the middle of the driver's side. It turned out that the stone hit right below the wiper, so we couldn't see it from the car. Had I detect it earlier, I might have been able to save myself $180.
Thus, on Saturday, after driving all around the GTA all day for various reasons (from steeles and warden to leslie then to hwy 7 and mcowan, then to markham road and finch, then to leslie and steeles again), I got the windshield changed for the second time in three months. The first time cost me $220 and this time the guy felt sorry for me and gave me a discount. As a sad graduate student who clearly has too many things to do, everywhere i went on Saturday, I brought my books with me so that every second I got, I can do some reading.
On Saturday night, after dessert at Full House, we all headed to Eldon's house because Yukiko and Matt Chan wanted to check out this new game Eldon got onPS2 PS3. Being non-gamers, Jen and I discovered this magnetic board in Eldon's room with a bunch of dirty word magnets. At first Eldon challenged us to make a sentence that was not dirty, and after succeeding, we I decided the game was very boring. Alas, we reverted back to the original point of the magnets, which was to make the dirtiest sentences we can. After I made a few of them that made both Matt and Jen cringe, Jen threatened to tell Adam my lewd and philistine disposition, but Matt Chan ensured her that he would only encourage me. Unfortunately, the photo below that Elvin Kim captured did not contain the best sentences that were on the board, but I'm sure you get the gist of it ;)
On Sunday, after an entire day of reading, Tina and I went to see (finally) Sex and the City. Although Tina was disappointed, I was quite satisfied. I admit the storyline was a bit weak, as Tina observed, but the fact that I got my dose of Big and Carrie made me happy.
I came home after the movie to do more reading and then picked up Alan to be on our way to Waterloo. The thunderstorm was not pretty and a few times on the highway, I couldn't see at all. Everyone had their warning lights on and I was driving at 80km/h but was still passing a series of cars. We still got to Waterloo in 1.5hrs, which is supposed to be average time, oddly enough. I wonder how long it normally took me to get there when i'm always driving at 140km....
So that was my weekend. I think my tale didnt do it justice, but I am a bit stressed and really should get back to work.
On Thursday, I discovered that the loud crack my brother and I heard on our way back from the airport Monday night was indeed a stone breaking the windshield. Ironically, when the crack sounded, I told my brother, "you know this was the sound adam and i heard three months ago before we discovered the windshield cracked!" Nervously, my brother had sked me if I saw any cracks but neither of us saw anything. After arriving in Waterloo at almost 3am that night, I left the car outside the driveway through a few thunderstorms for a few days, only to discover that there was a vertical crack from the bottom all the way to the top of the windshield smack in the middle of the driver's side. It turned out that the stone hit right below the wiper, so we couldn't see it from the car. Had I detect it earlier, I might have been able to save myself $180.
Thus, on Saturday, after driving all around the GTA all day for various reasons (from steeles and warden to leslie then to hwy 7 and mcowan, then to markham road and finch, then to leslie and steeles again), I got the windshield changed for the second time in three months. The first time cost me $220 and this time the guy felt sorry for me and gave me a discount. As a sad graduate student who clearly has too many things to do, everywhere i went on Saturday, I brought my books with me so that every second I got, I can do some reading.
On Saturday night, after dessert at Full House, we all headed to Eldon's house because Yukiko and Matt Chan wanted to check out this new game Eldon got on
On Sunday, after an entire day of reading, Tina and I went to see (finally) Sex and the City. Although Tina was disappointed, I was quite satisfied. I admit the storyline was a bit weak, as Tina observed, but the fact that I got my dose of Big and Carrie made me happy.
I came home after the movie to do more reading and then picked up Alan to be on our way to Waterloo. The thunderstorm was not pretty and a few times on the highway, I couldn't see at all. Everyone had their warning lights on and I was driving at 80km/h but was still passing a series of cars. We still got to Waterloo in 1.5hrs, which is supposed to be average time, oddly enough. I wonder how long it normally took me to get there when i'm always driving at 140km....
So that was my weekend. I think my tale didnt do it justice, but I am a bit stressed and really should get back to work.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The world would be a better place with Lynnism
lynnie says (1:25 AM):
http://www.lynnchien.com/v1/lynnism
Matt*e says (1:25 AM):
lol wow... how self absorbed ARE you exactly?
lynnie says (1:26 AM):
lol...Lynnocentrism: the superiority of Lynn over other people, or the evaluation of others using Lynn’s values. Affliated terms: Lynnocentric
Matt*e says (1:27 AM):
I request an additional "Q", "why would anyone want to join?" I would very much like to see how you would answer that
lynnie says (1:27 AM):
LOL
Q: why would anyone want to join
A: why WOULDN"T anyone want to join
Matt*e says (1:27 AM):
Lynnsessed: an obsession with all things Lynn
Lynncense: The incense u burn in ur shrine to Lynn
lynnie says (1:28 AM):
ooh, i like that
Matt*e says (1:29 AM):
lynnphobia: fear of Lynn and her followers
lynnie says (1:29 AM):
i had some funny conversations with lynn terms before too, someone was giving me a bad lynnterm and i had to reject...we tend to veer away from the negative. we like to stick to the positive!
Matt*e says (1:29 AM):
(Lynnter: the season of Lynn)
Lynner: dinner with Lynn
Lynnck: the inescapable link to Lynn, I'm just one Lynnck in a chain
Lynnectomy: the operation required to seperate Lynn from oneself
lynnie says (1:33 AM):
that's not allowed
Matt*e says (1:34 AM):
but then afterward u feel Lynndrawal...wait, change "lyndrawal" to "withdrawalynn". that sounds better
lynnie says (1:31 AM):
LOL, you are so awesome, have i ever told you that
Matt*e says (1:31 AM):
lol, if only everyone realized that then the world would be a better place.
http://www.lynnchien.com/v1/lynnism
Matt*e says (1:25 AM):
lol wow... how self absorbed ARE you exactly?
lynnie says (1:26 AM):
lol...Lynnocentrism: the superiority of Lynn over other people, or the evaluation of others using Lynn’s values. Affliated terms: Lynnocentric
Matt*e says (1:27 AM):
I request an additional "Q", "why would anyone want to join?" I would very much like to see how you would answer that
lynnie says (1:27 AM):
LOL
Q: why would anyone want to join
A: why WOULDN"T anyone want to join
Matt*e says (1:27 AM):
Lynnsessed: an obsession with all things Lynn
Lynncense: The incense u burn in ur shrine to Lynn
lynnie says (1:28 AM):
ooh, i like that
Matt*e says (1:29 AM):
lynnie says (1:29 AM):
i had some funny conversations with lynn terms before too, someone was giving me a bad lynnterm and i had to reject...we tend to veer away from the negative. we like to stick to the positive!
Matt*e says (1:29 AM):
(Lynnter: the season of Lynn)
Lynner: dinner with Lynn
Lynnck: the inescapable link to Lynn, I'm just one Lynnck in a chain
lynnie says (1:33 AM):
that's not allowed
Matt*e says (1:34 AM):
but then afterward u feel Lynndrawal...wait, change "lyndrawal" to "withdrawalynn". that sounds better
lynnie says (1:31 AM):
LOL, you are so awesome, have i ever told you that
Matt*e says (1:31 AM):
lol, if only everyone realized that then the world would be a better place.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
9 types of personality analysis
第一型 | 完美主義者、完美型、改革者、改進型、秩序大使 17% |
第五型 | 智慧型、觀察者、思想型、理性分析者、思考型 14% |
第九型 | 和平型、和平者、和諧型、維持和諧者 13% |
第二型 | 助人者、全愛型、助人型、成就他人者、博愛型 11% |
第六型 | 忠誠型、忠誠型、尋找安全者、謹慎型 10% |
第八型 | 領袖型、能力型、挑戰者、保護者、權威型 10% |
第四型 | 藝術型、浪漫者、自我型、憑感覺者 10% |
第三型 | 成就者、事業型、成就型、實踐型 9% |
第七型 | 快樂主義型、豐富型、活躍型、創造可能者、享樂型 8% |
你是典型的完美主義者。你事事追求完美,很少講出稱讚的說話,很多時會對自己或是對身邊的人批評。因為你對自己的有很高的標準,給自己很大壓力,很少放鬆自己去盡情的玩、開心的笑。
主要特徵:- 內心的正確標準變成嚴格的自我要求,不斷產生自責的思想。。
- 只接受和做正确的事情。
- 在自身的高層道德和倫理觀念上擁有堅定的信念。要求自己做芸芸眾生中少數的能做正確事情的人。
- 對於那些不符合正確標準的需要置之不理。
- 在思想上把自己同他人比較:「我比他們強還是差?」同時很在意他人的批評
- 做決定時猶豫不決,害怕做出錯誤的決定。
- 在家裡,會事事操心;出到外面,會盡情玩樂。
- 有時會變成事後諸葛,在事情發生後,意識到潛在的完美可能,「想想看原本應該是多麼完美。」而感到失落。
第五型
你是一個很冷靜的人,總想跟身邊的人和事保持一段距離,也不會讓情緒失控。很多時,你都會先做旁觀者,之後才投入參與。另外,你也需要充分的私人空間和高度的私隱,否則你會覺得焦慮不安。你很有機會成為專家,例如電腦、漫畫、時裝,因為你對知識是非常熱愛的。
主要特徵:- 保持不被涉及的狀態;感到威脅時,第一道防線是撤退或者繫緊安全帶。
- 害怕用心去感覺。
- 過度強調自我控制。把注意力從感覺上挪開。「戲劇是給那些普通人看的。」
- 情感延遲。在他人面前控制感覺,等到自己一個人的時候,才表露情感。
- 把生活劃分成不同的區域。把不同的事情放在不同的盒子裡,給每個盒子一個時間限制。
- 希望能夠預測到將要發生的事情。
- 對那些解釋人類行為的特殊知識和分析系統感興趣。希望找到一張解釋情感的地圖。
- 分不清精神上的不依賴和拒絕痛苦的感情封閉,是沒有悟道的佛。
- 喜歡從一個旁觀者的角度來關注自己和自己的生活,讓自己的觀點不受情感偏見的影響。
Type I - 17% - Perfectionist, always seeking improvement, always trying to maintain order.
Type V - 14% - Intellectual, observant, thinker, analytical, logical.
Type IX - 13% - Peacekeeper, likes to keep peace between people, easygoing, flexible
TYPE I
You are a typical perfectionist. You seek perfection in everything, you rarely say anything that is a compliment, and you often make criticisms on yourself and others around you. Because you have high expectations for yourself, you give yourself a lot of pressure and you rarely fully allow yourself to relax and have fun and laugh.
Main characteristics:
- What you believe to be a proper standard becomes a high expectation on yourself; thus you constantly reprimand yourself for not being good enough.
- You only accept and do what is right.
- You have confidence in your personal morals and principles and you make yourself do the right thing, even if they are things most people are incapable of doing.
- You tend to ignore needs that do not meet the proper morals and standards.
- You are always comparing yourself to others: "am I better or worse than they are?" and really cares about people's criticisms.
- Indecisive, scared of making the wrong choice.
- At home, you are always worried about everything, but when you are out, you will make a point to enjoy yourself.
TYPE V
You are a very calm person, always trying to keep yourself at a distance from other people and things around you, and you never let yourself lose control of your emotions. Many times, you will observe first before you get involved in something. Further, you also need sufficient personal time, and high privacy or you would feel anxious. You have a chance to become a specialist, such as computers, comics, fashion, because you love knowledge.
Main Characteristics:
- Maintain a state of uninvolvement; when feeling threatened, the first move is to retreat or to put on your seat belt.
- Afraid to feel using your heart.
- Overly self-controlling and likes to take the focus away from your emotions. "Dramas are for normal people".
- Delayed feelings. Like to control your emotions when in front of people. Only reveal your feelings when you are alone.
- Divide your life into different sections and places different things in different sections, giving each section a limited about of time.
- Always hoping to predict what's going to happen.
- Interested in knowledge and analysis on human behaviour in hopes of finding some map to explain feelings.
- Can't tell the difference between being emotionally independent and completely shutting your emotions away. A buddha that has not achieved enlightenment.
- Enjoys to understand your life and yourself from an objective, participant point of view in order not to let your opinions be influenced by your emotions.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Lost and Found!
My cell phone has been found.
Before my first trip to Seattle, I was unable to locate my cell phone.
I deemed it lost a week after I got back to Toronto and got myself a used Samsung for $20.
A few days ago, Trisha found my cell phone in the basement beneath the futon.
Apparently, I dropped it or misplaced it while i was cleaning up the living room before I left.
YAY for not losing another cell phone!
Have some faith in me ppl!
On another note, apparently, Telus will begin charging 15 cents for receiving text messages starting in July..WTF!!! There are disagreements among posters on HowardForums about whether it will only apply to new customers and I am tempted to call Telus to ask/complain; alas, I am too lazy. I noticed that LD minutes within Canada also recently increased from 25 cents to 30 cents, which actually has been affecting my last few bills. My Telus bills have been slowly increasing without my knowing.
Some on HF have been contending Telus can't do that because they will be losing their customers to other carriers. Although they are clearly wrong because it's already on the Telus website and flyers, I still had hope: This guy who seems to represent Telus has started a thread that said "Telus is the best company ever...but I can't tell you why until the news is public" (I have a suspicion the dude is Matt Lee). I was hoping that maybe this is just a really smart marketing tactic: getting everyone to hate Telus and then come out with something really amazing, including not charging for the text msgs.
However, after learning that Telus owns Koodo, I am pretty sure this will be going through. One of the biggest promotions Koodo is marketing is receiving text messages for free, which, I thought, was a waste of campaign cash since all carriers do that. So really, their only feature that stands out is no SAF. See how Telus is completely pwning us? They are taking away free receiving to make Koodo more distinctive. I guess there's no hoping that Telus will be taking away SAF either.
I used to preach how great Telus is and hate on the incompetent CSRs at "Robbers", but I have a feeling that if my bills continues to increase, I will be switching...maybe to Koodo...it's nothing personal to Telus, yet.
Here's to hoping Telus will come up with some amazing deal for their customers to make up for the change in receiving text.
Before my first trip to Seattle, I was unable to locate my cell phone.
I deemed it lost a week after I got back to Toronto and got myself a used Samsung for $20.
A few days ago, Trisha found my cell phone in the basement beneath the futon.
Apparently, I dropped it or misplaced it while i was cleaning up the living room before I left.
YAY for not losing another cell phone!
Have some faith in me ppl!
On another note, apparently, Telus will begin charging 15 cents for receiving text messages starting in July..WTF!!! There are disagreements among posters on HowardForums about whether it will only apply to new customers and I am tempted to call Telus to ask/complain; alas, I am too lazy. I noticed that LD minutes within Canada also recently increased from 25 cents to 30 cents, which actually has been affecting my last few bills. My Telus bills have been slowly increasing without my knowing.
Some on HF have been contending Telus can't do that because they will be losing their customers to other carriers. Although they are clearly wrong because it's already on the Telus website and flyers, I still had hope: This guy who seems to represent Telus has started a thread that said "Telus is the best company ever...but I can't tell you why until the news is public" (I have a suspicion the dude is Matt Lee). I was hoping that maybe this is just a really smart marketing tactic: getting everyone to hate Telus and then come out with something really amazing, including not charging for the text msgs.
However, after learning that Telus owns Koodo, I am pretty sure this will be going through. One of the biggest promotions Koodo is marketing is receiving text messages for free, which, I thought, was a waste of campaign cash since all carriers do that. So really, their only feature that stands out is no SAF. See how Telus is completely pwning us? They are taking away free receiving to make Koodo more distinctive. I guess there's no hoping that Telus will be taking away SAF either.
I used to preach how great Telus is and hate on the incompetent CSRs at "Robbers", but I have a feeling that if my bills continues to increase, I will be switching...maybe to Koodo...it's nothing personal to Telus, yet.
Here's to hoping Telus will come up with some amazing deal for their customers to make up for the change in receiving text.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Pit Stop Van City #2
So for anyone who has ever wondered what happens when you miss your flight, I have a story for you.
The voyage to Seattle this time had been pretty crappy. Flight there took over 7hrs, with a baby wailing on top of his lungs the whole ride to Vancouver. 2 hrs of stopover at YVR with no food cuz everything is closed and had to pick up my luggage and drop it off at customs. On my way back, the stopover was even longer: 3.5 hours. After picking up my baggage and dropping them off after Canadian Customs (which took over one hour because there were 18 flights arriving around the same time) at YVR, I went out with Mavis to have some lunch and explore Richmond. Richmond is like a better version of Markham/Richmond Hill, with all big houses and asian stores everywhere. Mavis took me to this amazing Shanghainese restaurant and we ordered a lot more than we can finish.
After that, she took me to Stevenson's Wharf to check out the fish market there. The image you see on the side is the pier and all the boats are selling shrimps, prawn, salmons, etc. We then walked around this seemingly touristy area (but actually does not have a lot of tourists) and ended up having Macha Latte at Blenz, just because we don't have it in Toronto, at least none that I've seen (anyone wanna do some fact check? =P).
At around 4pm, I realized it was getting really late and I told Mavis we should be leaving. We rushed to the airport only to get there at 4:25pm and of course, no boarding cuz my flight departs at 4:30pm. The attendant that placed me on the next flight an hour later was professional to the point where he was an ass. I can't really explain his attitude, but like you can't complain about the way he dealt with me, though you can clearly feel his lack of sympathy and disdain. He also told me that my baggage would arrive at the 5:30pm flight (as opposed to my original flight) with me. Good thing I didn't believe him because when I went to check out the unclaimed luggage section, my bag was sitting there.
He also managed to place me next to the bathroom on an aisle seat next to the bathroom. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep. I guess I can't complain since it's my fault that I missed the flight. What I do have complaints about, however, is the attitude on the flight attendants on domestic flights. The woman was horridly rude and condescending to me. I had my cell phone on flight mode and I took it out of my bag after the plane landed, she came up to me and told me to turn it off. I told her it was on flight mode and she was like, "just do it." There is no reason to be condescending to anyone, even if you are not a customer. Seriously, Air Canada needs some serious work on domestic flights. The stopovers are also ridiculous.
I had a good experience with AC last time I flew direct to Seattle, with the nicest flight attendants. I know I shouldn't take small samples of flight attendants that I have interacted with as generalizations, but I really think when you have even one rude flight attendant, you have a problem. I have never encountered any rude flight attendants on any asian flights, nor UA, but I have flew with AC the most so I will factor in a multiude of variables of why AC has crappy customer service (remember that time when they lost my luggage?). Anyway, . What I really wanted to say was that if you miss a flight, I admit AC was pretty good and prompt with the rescheduling so I shouldn't complain....
I didn't arrive to Toronto Airport until 1am, got home at around 1:30am, and drove to Waterloo. Arrived in 'poo at 3am and went to bed at 4am. Woke up at 8am for my 9am class. It's scorching hot here. I wish I was back in the west coast
The voyage to Seattle this time had been pretty crappy. Flight there took over 7hrs, with a baby wailing on top of his lungs the whole ride to Vancouver. 2 hrs of stopover at YVR with no food cuz everything is closed and had to pick up my luggage and drop it off at customs. On my way back, the stopover was even longer: 3.5 hours. After picking up my baggage and dropping them off after Canadian Customs (which took over one hour because there were 18 flights arriving around the same time) at YVR, I went out with Mavis to have some lunch and explore Richmond. Richmond is like a better version of Markham/Richmond Hill, with all big houses and asian stores everywhere. Mavis took me to this amazing Shanghainese restaurant and we ordered a lot more than we can finish.
After that, she took me to Stevenson's Wharf to check out the fish market there. The image you see on the side is the pier and all the boats are selling shrimps, prawn, salmons, etc. We then walked around this seemingly touristy area (but actually does not have a lot of tourists) and ended up having Macha Latte at Blenz, just because we don't have it in Toronto, at least none that I've seen (anyone wanna do some fact check? =P).
At around 4pm, I realized it was getting really late and I told Mavis we should be leaving. We rushed to the airport only to get there at 4:25pm and of course, no boarding cuz my flight departs at 4:30pm. The attendant that placed me on the next flight an hour later was professional to the point where he was an ass. I can't really explain his attitude, but like you can't complain about the way he dealt with me, though you can clearly feel his lack of sympathy and disdain. He also told me that my baggage would arrive at the 5:30pm flight (as opposed to my original flight) with me. Good thing I didn't believe him because when I went to check out the unclaimed luggage section, my bag was sitting there.
He also managed to place me next to the bathroom on an aisle seat next to the bathroom. Needless to say I didn't get any sleep. I guess I can't complain since it's my fault that I missed the flight. What I do have complaints about, however, is the attitude on the flight attendants on domestic flights. The woman was horridly rude and condescending to me. I had my cell phone on flight mode and I took it out of my bag after the plane landed, she came up to me and told me to turn it off. I told her it was on flight mode and she was like, "just do it." There is no reason to be condescending to anyone, even if you are not a customer. Seriously, Air Canada needs some serious work on domestic flights. The stopovers are also ridiculous.
I had a good experience with AC last time I flew direct to Seattle, with the nicest flight attendants. I know I shouldn't take small samples of flight attendants that I have interacted with as generalizations, but I really think when you have even one rude flight attendant, you have a problem. I have never encountered any rude flight attendants on any asian flights, nor UA, but I have flew with AC the most so I will factor in a multiude of variables of why AC has crappy customer service (remember that time when they lost my luggage?). Anyway, . What I really wanted to say was that if you miss a flight, I admit AC was pretty good and prompt with the rescheduling so I shouldn't complain....
I didn't arrive to Toronto Airport until 1am, got home at around 1:30am, and drove to Waterloo. Arrived in 'poo at 3am and went to bed at 4am. Woke up at 8am for my 9am class. It's scorching hot here. I wish I was back in the west coast
Portland also rocks my world
Since Friday was movie night, Saturday was our road trip day. Adam and I woke up nice and early ("4 realz" this time) and headed down to Portland for some fabulous shopping since they have NO SALES TAX! We first made a pitstop in an outlet mall in Washington called Centralia Outlets, where they had a Nike Clearance Store that sold shoes for cheaper than your normal factory outlets! Adam got a pair of basketball shoes for $15 and he got me a pair of Nike Zooms for $35!! I almost wanted to get two pairs but I controlled myself..hehe..
After we got to the Woodburn Outlet a little south of Portland, Adam spent the entire day with me shopping! The thing is, on top of the no sales tax deal, even though I missed the Memorial Day crazy cheapness, I still found a lot of clothes for really good price, like a pair of jeans and a sweater at Guess for $32 altogether and two pairs of shorts at Aeropostale for $7! I spent about $65 at CK, which is the most we spent at a store, but it was still a good number of items for that price.
We left Woodburn at around 6pm (we got there at around 2pm) and then we headed down to Salem because we were looking for Air Force 1's and were told there was a mall there that would possibly sell them. After a longer than expected drive, we found the mall at this ghetto city center and it wasn't even that big. Of course, no AF1's. Nevertheless, what did end up making my day perfect was the restaurant we ended up going to after wandering around the downtown for a while.
So as the story goes, after being in Seattle and area twice, for a total of two weeks, we have eaten at many many fancy and not so fancy restaurants, including $150 dinner for Adam's bday at this placed called Rocksalt Seafood and Steak, as well as mid-ranged Indian, Viet, Thai places, and of course the Space Needle. ALL the restaurants in which I have dined have had food that were less than Waterloo Standard. How a city filled with rich techies have such low quality for taste is beyond me...err...perhaps the techie part explains it.... At any rate, McGrath's Fish House was awesome. Awesomely delicious and awesomely cheap for a fancy Keg styled Seafood restaurant. Two entrees, one pint of beer, and one strawberry lemonade totaled $35 (no tax!). The waiter was super professional too - a lot more so than those fine dining restaurants. If you are ever in the hood of Oregon, you should definitely check out that resturant.
We didn't get home until 1am, but the trip definitely marked my the last night in Seattle with a perfect finish...haha
After we got to the Woodburn Outlet a little south of Portland, Adam spent the entire day with me shopping! The thing is, on top of the no sales tax deal, even though I missed the Memorial Day crazy cheapness, I still found a lot of clothes for really good price, like a pair of jeans and a sweater at Guess for $32 altogether and two pairs of shorts at Aeropostale for $7! I spent about $65 at CK, which is the most we spent at a store, but it was still a good number of items for that price.
We left Woodburn at around 6pm (we got there at around 2pm) and then we headed down to Salem because we were looking for Air Force 1's and were told there was a mall there that would possibly sell them. After a longer than expected drive, we found the mall at this ghetto city center and it wasn't even that big. Of course, no AF1's. Nevertheless, what did end up making my day perfect was the restaurant we ended up going to after wandering around the downtown for a while.
So as the story goes, after being in Seattle and area twice, for a total of two weeks, we have eaten at many many fancy and not so fancy restaurants, including $150 dinner for Adam's bday at this placed called Rocksalt Seafood and Steak, as well as mid-ranged Indian, Viet, Thai places, and of course the Space Needle. ALL the restaurants in which I have dined have had food that were less than Waterloo Standard. How a city filled with rich techies have such low quality for taste is beyond me...err...perhaps the techie part explains it.... At any rate, McGrath's Fish House was awesome. Awesomely delicious and awesomely cheap for a fancy Keg styled Seafood restaurant. Two entrees, one pint of beer, and one strawberry lemonade totaled $35 (no tax!). The waiter was super professional too - a lot more so than those fine dining restaurants. If you are ever in the hood of Oregon, you should definitely check out that resturant.
We didn't get home until 1am, but the trip definitely marked my the last night in Seattle with a perfect finish...haha
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Kung Fu Panda rocked my world
I just came back from seeing Kung Fu Panda. I walked in with no expectations and I was blown away...a thoroughly clever movie. I think it is just as good as The Incredibles, which has been, by far, the cleverest movie ever.
I went online to see if any critics commented on the background that Kung Fu Panda is based, but I didn't see anything and was pretty disappointed. The fact that "panda Kung Fu" is commonly used to describe people who is showing off a skill that they don't have is already putting a clever spin on the movie. On top of that, you have the furious five, each animal is based on a KF set that models after the animal movements....how crazy is that? And then you have Oogway, which literally means turtle in chinese, and is the wisest creature according to chinese legend!
Oh, and not to forget the fight scenes were just incredible! I thought I was watching those old school chinese kungfu drama movies!!! With the sound effects and everything.
But at any rate, even if one is not familiar with Chinese mythology, there's no doubt you'd enjoy it. 85% on Rotten Tomatoes! Definitely a worthwhile movie!
I went online to see if any critics commented on the background that Kung Fu Panda is based, but I didn't see anything and was pretty disappointed. The fact that "panda Kung Fu" is commonly used to describe people who is showing off a skill that they don't have is already putting a clever spin on the movie. On top of that, you have the furious five, each animal is based on a KF set that models after the animal movements....how crazy is that? And then you have Oogway, which literally means turtle in chinese, and is the wisest creature according to chinese legend!
Oh, and not to forget the fight scenes were just incredible! I thought I was watching those old school chinese kungfu drama movies!!! With the sound effects and everything.
But at any rate, even if one is not familiar with Chinese mythology, there's no doubt you'd enjoy it. 85% on Rotten Tomatoes! Definitely a worthwhile movie!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Adventures at the Conveyor Belt Sushi
After work yesterday, Adam and I headed to the super cheap conveyor belt/rotating sushi joint in his neighbourhood.
A couple of years ago, while I was in Taiwan, I had a taste of what rotating sushi was like: conveyor filled with colourful plates that indicate ridiculously cheap pricing of the sushi, there is never an empty spot because any time someone takes a dish away, the spot gets filled by another dish, the dishes range from miso soup to tempuras to sushi/sashimi/maki to dessert to random things you have no idea what they are, and best of all, your eyes are always bigger than your stomach - you just keep grabbing dishes you want to eat and you don't even have time to eat them! Oh those Japanese!
After I came back to Canada, I made several attempts at the rotating sushi in Toronto. First time was with Andrea at a place near Bay and Wellesley. The selection was minimal and the price was ridiculous...$20 for lunch/person and we weren't even full. The second time was with Matt Chan, Ju, Lee, Mike, and them and we went to one close to Yonge and Wellesley. That was insanely expensive, there were like a variety of 5 crappy dishes, the conveyor was always empty, and we ended up at Salad King after spending $20 each.
And so, that brings us to Seattle, where I got the authentic rotating sushi experience replicated. Although the selection was not as crazy as it was in Asia, only limited to maki, sushi (no sashimi), edamame, and calamari, there was a good variety of each type and the conveyor belt was always packed with dishes. The price was really cheap too, $1.00 - $3.00 per dish. You can imagine how much sushi Adam and I had if our total was $23 before tax and tip.
That's me scowling at Adam for taking a pic of me while i was being a greedy glutinous pig, hording all the sushi without really thinking about whether or not I can eat all of that. If you look closely, there are three empty spots on the conveyor, that's all taken by me.
The ppl working there were pretty cool too. A bunch of young Asians playing around being really loud, you wonder if they have supervisors! There was a young mixed looking guy directly across from me making the rolls, he looked about 18-20 and he kept winking at me and making faces, every time Adam wasn't paying attention. I was kinda embarrassed and decided to fix my eyes on all the sushi, was wasn't really a problem. What's up with the west coast people? Adam's theory is that girls from the WC are so easy that the guys aren't afraid to randomly hit on girls, even if they have boyfriends. From the stories Jon told me in Cali, I think I believe that.
After the conveyor belt sushi, we went to Bellevue Square, a really big mall. Adam wanted to show me "The Container Store" but I was reluctant because I didn't want to go to a store that sold tupperware. However, I was wrong when I got there. Guess what they sell? That's right, every kind of storage container imaginable. The store was the size of a castle. Reminds me of Asia again with all these creative storage solutions!
After we got out of them mall, which closed at 9:30pm (what isn't better than Toronto here??), we went to the movie theatre in an attempt to watch SaTC. Unfortunately, Adam's prime card didn't give us discounts because we had to purchase the tix online first. Being the cheapasses that we are, we ended up at the grocery store again shopping for food. And because Adam is really annoying, he decided to take a picture of us at the grocery store. WTH.
=)
A couple of years ago, while I was in Taiwan, I had a taste of what rotating sushi was like: conveyor filled with colourful plates that indicate ridiculously cheap pricing of the sushi, there is never an empty spot because any time someone takes a dish away, the spot gets filled by another dish, the dishes range from miso soup to tempuras to sushi/sashimi/maki to dessert to random things you have no idea what they are, and best of all, your eyes are always bigger than your stomach - you just keep grabbing dishes you want to eat and you don't even have time to eat them! Oh those Japanese!
After I came back to Canada, I made several attempts at the rotating sushi in Toronto. First time was with Andrea at a place near Bay and Wellesley. The selection was minimal and the price was ridiculous...$20 for lunch/person and we weren't even full. The second time was with Matt Chan, Ju, Lee, Mike, and them and we went to one close to Yonge and Wellesley. That was insanely expensive, there were like a variety of 5 crappy dishes, the conveyor was always empty, and we ended up at Salad King after spending $20 each.
And so, that brings us to Seattle, where I got the authentic rotating sushi experience replicated. Although the selection was not as crazy as it was in Asia, only limited to maki, sushi (no sashimi), edamame, and calamari, there was a good variety of each type and the conveyor belt was always packed with dishes. The price was really cheap too, $1.00 - $3.00 per dish. You can imagine how much sushi Adam and I had if our total was $23 before tax and tip.
That's me scowling at Adam for taking a pic of me while i was being a greedy glutinous pig, hording all the sushi without really thinking about whether or not I can eat all of that. If you look closely, there are three empty spots on the conveyor, that's all taken by me.
The ppl working there were pretty cool too. A bunch of young Asians playing around being really loud, you wonder if they have supervisors! There was a young mixed looking guy directly across from me making the rolls, he looked about 18-20 and he kept winking at me and making faces, every time Adam wasn't paying attention. I was kinda embarrassed and decided to fix my eyes on all the sushi, was wasn't really a problem. What's up with the west coast people? Adam's theory is that girls from the WC are so easy that the guys aren't afraid to randomly hit on girls, even if they have boyfriends. From the stories Jon told me in Cali, I think I believe that.
After the conveyor belt sushi, we went to Bellevue Square, a really big mall. Adam wanted to show me "The Container Store" but I was reluctant because I didn't want to go to a store that sold tupperware. However, I was wrong when I got there. Guess what they sell? That's right, every kind of storage container imaginable. The store was the size of a castle. Reminds me of Asia again with all these creative storage solutions!
After we got out of them mall, which closed at 9:30pm (what isn't better than Toronto here??), we went to the movie theatre in an attempt to watch SaTC. Unfortunately, Adam's prime card didn't give us discounts because we had to purchase the tix online first. Being the cheapasses that we are, we ended up at the grocery store again shopping for food. And because Adam is really annoying, he decided to take a picture of us at the grocery store. WTH.
=)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Adventures at the Grocery Store
I went grocery shopping yesterday to cook for Adam's Birthday. Steak...mMmm....
Good Looking Tall Asian Guy Working at Produce: Are you finding everything you are looking for?
Me: Errr...well i'm looking for cheap wine glass...I'm here visiting and I dont want to buy anything expensive since I don't want to bring it back...
GLTAGWP: Well I think we have some, come with me
leads me down to the plastic cup and plate section I've already been to...
GLTAGWP: so where are you from?
Me: Toronto
GLTAGWP: Oh, from cali?
Me: (a little flattered that he thinks I'm from california) No, no. Up in Canada...I guess the stereotypes are true about you guys not knowing where we are, huh?
GLTAGWP: Hahaha, well erm..Canada is great!
Continues to talk about Canada and wine when he clearly knew nothing about either topic.
Anyway, to make a long story short, we didn't find the glasses (as predicted) and he went off. But later he approached me again, told me he asked his coworkers and none of them knew and told me all about himself. The guy is from SF, goes to school at UDub, didn't make it in Architecture, competes in international college taekwondo, has an ex-gf who is taiwanese, told me we had a connection, gave me his phone number, and gave me a little note that said, "free bolthouse, no charge - brendon".
So even though I never got my wine glasses, I got a free bottle of beverage.
Good Looking Tall Asian Guy Working at Produce: Are you finding everything you are looking for?
Me: Errr...well i'm looking for cheap wine glass...I'm here visiting and I dont want to buy anything expensive since I don't want to bring it back...
GLTAGWP: Well I think we have some, come with me
leads me down to the plastic cup and plate section I've already been to...
GLTAGWP: so where are you from?
Me: Toronto
GLTAGWP: Oh, from cali?
Me: (a little flattered that he thinks I'm from california) No, no. Up in Canada...I guess the stereotypes are true about you guys not knowing where we are, huh?
GLTAGWP: Hahaha, well erm..Canada is great!
Continues to talk about Canada and wine when he clearly knew nothing about either topic.
Anyway, to make a long story short, we didn't find the glasses (as predicted) and he went off. But later he approached me again, told me he asked his coworkers and none of them knew and told me all about himself. The guy is from SF, goes to school at UDub, didn't make it in Architecture, competes in international college taekwondo, has an ex-gf who is taiwanese, told me we had a connection, gave me his phone number, and gave me a little note that said, "free bolthouse, no charge - brendon".
So even though I never got my wine glasses, I got a free bottle of beverage.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I'm in Seattle again...
..and will be back this Sunday.
The plane ride was insane. A baby cried for the entire five hours high pitch. And then 2 hour layover in Vancouver, for a 30 min plane ride to Seattle. Went to the airport at 2:30pm, plane took off at 5pm, arrived in Seattle at 1am. What a long flight.
The plane ride was insane. A baby cried for the entire five hours high pitch. And then 2 hour layover in Vancouver, for a 30 min plane ride to Seattle. Went to the airport at 2:30pm, plane took off at 5pm, arrived in Seattle at 1am. What a long flight.
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