In this page, you will get to explore the mind, events and feelings of a Chun Jui... ok, fine, judging from the past 23 years, my life is far from what you call "eventful" (in fact, "dull" might the be more appropriate adjective) but I'll try to keep my entries interesting!
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Well, I'm back in good, ol' Toronto. And here are some of the pictures I took in London:
Do you remember all the words to "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? If not, just take a stroll through Victoria Park, where all the words are painted on these charming wooden signs!
And a now-famous house in London known for its elaborate Christmas lights (the neighbouring house supposedly has the second half of the fancy scene of lights but theirs weren't on that day):
Moving along, I think that I am really experiencing a "quarter life crisis" right now. Maybe I shouldn't use the word "crisis" because that has a negative connotation but maybe more of a "quarter life reflection/transformation/introspection (is that even a word??)". Thanks, Golnaz, for reassuring me that everybody goes through it at some point, though probably in different ways.
More odds and ends: Recent "likes": blueberry yogurt, bi bim bap (Korean dish), The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald (her latest book after Fall On Your Knees, another favourite of mine), Finding Nemo, B International magazine (HK published but in English), and knitting.
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
For those of you who don't know, I'm in London (Ontario, of course) right now. I've been here at my brother's for the past 4 days, and while it hasn't been terribly exciting or eventful, I did enjoy my visit here. Both my brother and his girlfriend have had to work these past few days with the exception of Sunday, so I actually spent a lot of time alone here. I know they felt bad for leaving me home alone and even when they were home, we didn't do much but that's ok because, as those of you who have visited London before, there really isn't much to do!
But what did I do when I was alone? On Monday (the first day I had to spend time by myself), I went for a walk along Richmond St. (the street my brother lives on), and walked south towards the core of downtown London. On the way, I hung around Victoria Park (no, not the Scarborough street), and did the tourist thing -- I took pictures! :) Unfortunately, I was too shy to ask people to take pictures of me, so I am in none of them. As soon as I get back to Toronto, I will post these pics up! Then on Tuesday, I spent most of the time inside because of the yucky, rainy weather outside (there was nowhere to go anyway--- everything was too far for walking and taking the bus would only make me get lost!). Thus, I spent a whole lot of time watching TV, knitting (something I've finally picked up again after many years--- still very rusty though), and reading. I felt like a housewife, knitting and watching soap operas! :P And today, we are all heading back to Toronto, in time to help my parents prepare for our family and friends Christmas dinner. These past four days have gone by really quickly!
One thing about London: even though I've been a suburban girl all my life, I can't help but still notice how "small town" London is! The suburb here is probably a mere five minutes away (by car) from downtown, the traffic is NOTHING like Toronto traffic (my brother says the London "rush hour" is really just that-- an hour long only!), and employees in restaurants would notice if you were eating with a person other than the one you usually eat with (I got some very inquisitive looks when I ate with my brother only from different restaurants! It was kinda funny actually.) AND, there are a million Tim Hortons and Shoppers Drug Marts here!! I swear, there is one of them each every two minutes of a 10 to 15 minute car ride!! Oh, one more thing about London: you know there is something wrong with the picture when there are more non- Chinese people in a "traditional" Chinese restaurant (meaning a restaurant that serves authentic Chinese cuisine, not Manchu Wok-style "Chinese" food) than there are Chinese people! :P My brother and I actually got curious stares from the non-Chinese patrons when we walked in for dinner last night. :)
Lastly, I wanna wish everybody a very Merry Christmas ! Enjoy the holidays even if you don't celebrate Christmas, take the time to bond with your loved ones, and make sure that they know they are just that: loved! :) To my friends: we need to get together SOON!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
In contrast to the problems that other much less fortunate people have, my own "problem" seems petty... but I still can't but help feel a little upset. When I was younger, I've always wanted to know how my future will be but oddly enough, as I grew older, I've become unwanting to know what the future has in store. That is, I've become afraid of having my fortune told. My cousin, a talented fortune teller (he doesn't do this for a living, he's just started to learn but has a lot of talent), told me something he read and to me, it wasn't good. I insisted that I did not want him to tell me but he did anyway. He'd only read my palm, so he said palm reading is not as accurate but nonetheless, what he told me was enough to make me feel a little unhappy. Like I said, it seems petty compared to the many misfortunes that occur everyday to many people but still...
Tuesday, December 9, 2003
FINALLY: Christmas Break at last!!!! I really do love sleeping in until 10am!! :P I slept for 10 hours last night, 9.5 the night before plus a 2 hour nap yesterday! Sleep is so wonderful... :P
Today, I finally met up with Berlyn after more than half year since I last saw her!! We had a really good time today (well, I did, anyway), and we had probably one of our closest and longest talks today during our dim sum lunch. It turns out that we both had gone through somewhat similar heartbreaks before... Do nice girls always finish last? :) I'm just kidding-- those of you who have boyfriends right now, I don't mean that you aren't nice, so don't yell at me! :P
After lunch, we walked around Pacific Mall and we both ended up buying Christmas presents for our friends... The only problem is, I like the present I bought for my friend so much that I'm very tempted to keep it for myself!! Arghh... that always happens...I should buy something I don't like so I won't want to keep it!
What a horrific accident yesterday at Yonge and Bloor... what a terrible tragedy for those who experienced and witnessed the collapse of the roof of a building. That poor man who was killed in the accident probably thought it was his lucky day that he managed to get the last computer in the lab but ironicially, it was because he sat at that computer that he got crushed by the falling debris. Apparently, he was in the middle of typing an e-mail to his family back in Brazil when the ceiling gave in... God bless that young man's family.
A beautiful park just minutes from my bro's apartment, complete with a skating rink!
Although my camera didn't capture how breath-taking the lights really are in real life, the house is known for causing traffic jams along that street! There really were several cars stopped when we drove by too! Reminds of the movie "The Grinch" (anybody seen it?)! :P
Books that I own but still need to read: The Hours by Michael Cunningham, Never Change by Elizabeth Berg, Lake With No Name by Diane Wei Liang, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, How to be a Canadian by Will Fergueson and Ian Fergueson (it seems pretty hilarious!), Silk by Alessandro Barico, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, The Fourth Hand by John Irving, Paradise by Toni Morrison, The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, and Larry's Party also by Carol Shields, not to mention a few books I have started but haven't finished!
Books everyone should read/My Favourite Books: Crow Lake by Mary Lawson, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence (I don't own this one), The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (don't own this one either but would love to have a copy!), Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald, The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and Madam Bovary by Gustav Flaubert.
Oh, and if you're thinking of watching Paycheck, unless you really like Ben Affleck or Uma Thurman or really want to see a wannabe Minority Report, don't bother. It wasn't bad but not that great either. :/
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