After our run this morning, a woman in my running group commented, "Oh, you're an engineer, too," indicating the Iron Ring on my right hand.
I always say that the stainless steel Iron Ring on my pinkie is a reminder of the hardest thing I've ever done: the many years of suffering through my engineering education. It's true. Those were some very gruelling years. I think I must've developed my people skills during university, in order to beg, borrow, and steal my way to that parchment. :P
The Iron Ring reminds me of the oath I took (goofy as the ritual was) to do my best in all my endeavours, and to mind my humility.
That's what I tell people.
But, today, something made me pause.
Subconsciously, I probably wear my Iron Ring because it's the only thing I've ever toughed out, the only major accomplishment I can be proud of when I look back on my 32 years. Even if engineering wasn't the right direction for me, sheer determination got me through and earned me the "right" to wear this ring.
Ironically, I regret not switching career paths looooong ago; in fact, I shouldn't have ever entered engineering, not to mention finished it. The only major achievement of my life, and I regret it. Ironic, eh?
The irony of my Iron Ring.
2009-04-26
2009-03-28
Could you repeat that again?
On my way home from campus a few days ago, I stopped off at Timmy Hs to grab some coffee and replenish my bagel supply. When I got to the counter, I placed my order: "Medium mocha with decaf, and half a dozen blueberry bagels, please."
The cash register rang up "1 Lg mocha". The woman behind the counter looked up at me and asked, "What size?"
Me: "Medium. With decaf, please."
She corrected her entry. "Anything else?"
Me: "Uh, yes. Half a dozen blueberry bagels."
Punch punch punch. "Half a dozen bagels. Just assorted?"
I looked at her in disbelief. "...Blueberry."
And then my cafe mocha came, and I confirmed, "It's decaf, right?" (Decaf is important; I have trouble falling asleep that night if I have coffee after 3pm.)
The cashier looked at the assistant supervisor, and said, "She wanted it with decaf."
He replied, "You have to enter that [into the machine] next time," and off he went to make another.
I guess she was a trainee (though she didn't have a trainee name tag). She must've required all of her concentration on finding the buttons to punch in the order that she simply wasn't able to listen at the same time.
前幾天從校園回家，順路到 Timmy Hs 買咖啡和補充家裡的貝果。 到了櫃檯，我就點了："中杯無咖啡因的摩卡，還有半打藍莓。"
收銀機顯示被輸入 "大杯摩卡"。 櫃檯女士抬頭問我："什麼大小？"
我："中杯。 請用無咖啡因。"
她改成中杯。 "還要其他什麼嗎？"
我："要啊。 半打藍莓貝果。"
按按按。 "半打貝果。 綜合的就可以？"
傻眼。 "．．．藍莓。"
摩卡來了，我就確認說："是用無咖啡因做的吼？" (無咖啡因這件事很重要；下午三點後喝咖啡我晚上會睡不著。)
櫃檯女士看著店長助理，說："她要無咖啡因的摩卡。"
店長助理回她："那妳下次要 [在收銀機] 輸入。" 然後跑去重新弄一杯。
看來這位櫃檯女士是新的員工 (雖然沒有帶著受訓者的牌子)。 她可能真的需要她百分之百的專注力，找收銀機的按鈕，完全無法邊輸入邊聽人家在講什麼。
The cash register rang up "1 Lg mocha". The woman behind the counter looked up at me and asked, "What size?"
Me: "Medium. With decaf, please."
She corrected her entry. "Anything else?"
Me: "Uh, yes. Half a dozen blueberry bagels."
Punch punch punch. "Half a dozen bagels. Just assorted?"
I looked at her in disbelief. "...Blueberry."
And then my cafe mocha came, and I confirmed, "It's decaf, right?" (Decaf is important; I have trouble falling asleep that night if I have coffee after 3pm.)
The cashier looked at the assistant supervisor, and said, "She wanted it with decaf."
He replied, "You have to enter that [into the machine] next time," and off he went to make another.
I guess she was a trainee (though she didn't have a trainee name tag). She must've required all of her concentration on finding the buttons to punch in the order that she simply wasn't able to listen at the same time.
前幾天從校園回家，順路到 Timmy Hs 買咖啡和補充家裡的貝果。 到了櫃檯，我就點了："中杯無咖啡因的摩卡，還有半打藍莓。"
收銀機顯示被輸入 "大杯摩卡"。 櫃檯女士抬頭問我："什麼大小？"
我："中杯。 請用無咖啡因。"
她改成中杯。 "還要其他什麼嗎？"
我："要啊。 半打藍莓貝果。"
按按按。 "半打貝果。 綜合的就可以？"
傻眼。 "．．．藍莓。"
摩卡來了，我就確認說："是用無咖啡因做的吼？" (無咖啡因這件事很重要；下午三點後喝咖啡我晚上會睡不著。)
櫃檯女士看著店長助理，說："她要無咖啡因的摩卡。"
店長助理回她："那妳下次要 [在收銀機] 輸入。" 然後跑去重新弄一杯。
看來這位櫃檯女士是新的員工 (雖然沒有帶著受訓者的牌子)。 她可能真的需要她百分之百的專注力，找收銀機的按鈕，完全無法邊輸入邊聽人家在講什麼。
2009-02-20
Subtitles
Okay, I'm totally supposed to be studying for my anatomy+physiology midterm, but I had to take a few minutes to write about this.
I was waiting for my order at Tim Hortons, and the next two people approached the counter to place their order. There was some back-and-forth about what beverage they wanted, and it became obvious that the two customers were hearing-impaired, with one woman communicating with the cashier, then relaying messages to her companion in sign language.
To my great surprise and utter delight, the young woman behind the counter started to subtitle the beverage options using fingerspelling! Now, I can fingerspell, too, but not with any sort of fluency.
I was quite impressed, and watching the subtitled exchange made my day. :)
我應該乖乖地看書，因為要考解剖學與生理學，但想花幾分鐘講一下今天下午發生的一件事情。
那時在 Tim Hortons (一家咖啡店) 等我點的三明治；後面兩位女士走到櫃檯點餐。 她們與櫃檯小姐問答來回了幾次，才知道兩位客人是重聽者：一位女士跟櫃檯小姐談話，再用手語轉達給她的伴。
令我吃驚又愉快的是，櫃檯小姐就開始用手語拼出飲料選擇！ 我也會用手語拼字，但不太熟練，不像她那麼流利！
這件事使我感動；能觀看這一段有 "字幕" 的對話讓我今天開心到了。 :)
I was waiting for my order at Tim Hortons, and the next two people approached the counter to place their order. There was some back-and-forth about what beverage they wanted, and it became obvious that the two customers were hearing-impaired, with one woman communicating with the cashier, then relaying messages to her companion in sign language.
To my great surprise and utter delight, the young woman behind the counter started to subtitle the beverage options using fingerspelling! Now, I can fingerspell, too, but not with any sort of fluency.
I was quite impressed, and watching the subtitled exchange made my day. :)
我應該乖乖地看書，因為要考解剖學與生理學，但想花幾分鐘講一下今天下午發生的一件事情。
那時在 Tim Hortons (一家咖啡店) 等我點的三明治；後面兩位女士走到櫃檯點餐。 她們與櫃檯小姐問答來回了幾次，才知道兩位客人是重聽者：一位女士跟櫃檯小姐談話，再用手語轉達給她的伴。
令我吃驚又愉快的是，櫃檯小姐就開始用手語拼出飲料選擇！ 我也會用手語拼字，但不太熟練，不像她那麼流利！
這件事使我感動；能觀看這一段有 "字幕" 的對話讓我今天開心到了。 :)
2009-01-19
9 for '09
I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions, but I figured that with my life where it is right now, it wouldn't be bad to have some. So here we go, 9 for '09.
Alright! We'll see how well I do!
- Lose 5 pounds
Through exercise and a proper diet, not starvation. The goal is more to re-establish an exercise routine than to lose the pounds. - Learn to use my camera settings properly
For a camera with limited settings, I should really figure out why my pictures turn out like crap. With all my education and geekiness, this really shouldn't be so hard. Really now. - Grouse Grind under 90
Er, to match the '9' theme, yeah. After 12 years since my last climb, it took me nearly 2 hours to do the Grind last fall. Pathetic. They say that the Grouse Grind is roughly your time for a 10k run, so let's do that, too: 10k run. - Volunteering
I've been thinking about volunteer work, so I'd like to find a good cause to which to donate my time. Maybe Canadian Blood Services or Canadian National Institute for the Blind. - Learn to meditate
I tried this when I was in Taiwan, and with the long work hours (and me always going to the climbing gym), I'd always fall asleep when meditating. I need to find a relaxation technique that will help me relax and clear my mind. - Mind my temper
I'm usually pretty tolerant, but my temper has a short fuse. Need to either mitigate a situation earlier on, or learn to hold my temper before I say something I'll regret. Hopefully this and the previous one will help me take the high road, too. - Be less late, or late less
Been working on this one for a couple of years, and it's slowly improving, but I'm still late sometimes. Need to allot more time for commute (i.e. no rushing traffic!) and... make-up. - Try yoga
I used to scoff at yoga ("soft sports" :P), but a lot of people swear by it, saying it vastly improves flexibility. I'm not the 3-way splitter I was back in high school, but I'd like to regain a bit of it! - Clutter cleanup
This is probably the hardest one, haha. It's like a disease, spreading throughout the house. :P I need to get organised.
Alright! We'll see how well I do!
2008-12-25
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all! What an interesting holiday season it's been!
Most of the excitement has been thanks to the largest snowfall in Vancouver in a long long time. It snowed last Wed, and I had the great pleasure (...) of shovelling the snow. Those who have been to my house in the winter know that it's almost as cold inside as it is outside, so coming in from the cold didn't offer much comfort. :(
Anyway, some days of the past week, I was stuck at home, because our car doesn't have winter tires. If that weren't bad enough I'd have to shovel the walkways and driveway a few times a day so the snow didn't build up.
Yesterday I went out. The driveway wasn't a problem, but less than 5m from my house, my car got stuck. Luckily I had the foresight to put a shovel in my car (although I could've just as easily run back to my house), and spent some 20 mins digging out my car before being able to reverse back into the driveway again. I tried the other way down the alley, and then got stuck again at the end of the block! After more digging and more forward-reverse cycles, a kind neighbour from the next block came and helped me get my car going again.
I went to several places and they were completely sold out of road/de-icing salt! Argh!
After running my errands, I came back home, and then 1.5 houses away, I got reeeally stuck. I had to call my dad to come help me out. We dug and revved and dug and revved.... My next-door neighbour came out with his shovel, too, and after more digging and revving and pushing and 40 mins, we finally got the car back into our garage. A day of snow driving training, heehee! :)
I had no plans to go out today, because of the snowy forecast: 10~20cm of wet snow. Well, I woke up this morning, and there was already a good 15cm of snow on the ground. And there was no sign of it stopping. In fact, while I grudgingly shovelled away, it started coming down even harder. 15cm of snow on a wide two-car driveway, plus all the walkways.... That's a loooot of snow. It was rather disheartening to be only 1/3 done the driveway, and to look back and find that the area I'd cleared was already covered. It took me 2.5 hours to clear everything (and quickly run through it again a second time). I was running out of places to pack the snow!
After coming in to thaw out a bit, I headed out to walk down the hill to Superstore to get a roast chicken and pie for our Christmas Eve dinner. A mini feast for my dad and me. :) When I got back (~17:20), I put the bags down and set out to shovel another round. The snow had stopped falling, so it was only 5cm or so, and without the frustration of watching more snow cover your work (and knowing you'll have to come out and shovel again later), it was quite peaceful and beautiful.
So! We had vegetable soup, green beans, roast chicken for dinner. (We were so full we didn't even make it to dessert!) Then an electrician's truck (with cherry picker) got stuck right in front of our house! Its back end had slid into the minivan parked across the street. :( After I finished the dishes, they were still out there standing around, so I went out and asked if they wanted some eggnog, figuring they could use a warm beverage. I refilled their water jug, and got them some shovels so they could dig out the snow, offered to help shovel. The tow truck that was supposed to bail them out got stuck itself at the end of the block. And then it gave up on them and abandonned them!! Poor guys. Getting stuck on Christmas Eve, no dinner break yet, and they still had 3 sites to visit for repairs!! They spent three hours digging out that massive truck, digging and placing dirt in front of the tires, but finally succeeded in driving off without a hitch! And I got a warm fuzzy for helping them out. :)
Tomorrow, we're off to my uncle's (by Skytrain! the Accord stays warm and cozy in our garage) for Christmas Day dinner, then we're staying over, just like in the old days. :)
Merry Christmas!
Most of the excitement has been thanks to the largest snowfall in Vancouver in a long long time. It snowed last Wed, and I had the great pleasure (...) of shovelling the snow. Those who have been to my house in the winter know that it's almost as cold inside as it is outside, so coming in from the cold didn't offer much comfort. :(
Anyway, some days of the past week, I was stuck at home, because our car doesn't have winter tires. If that weren't bad enough I'd have to shovel the walkways and driveway a few times a day so the snow didn't build up.
Yesterday I went out. The driveway wasn't a problem, but less than 5m from my house, my car got stuck. Luckily I had the foresight to put a shovel in my car (although I could've just as easily run back to my house), and spent some 20 mins digging out my car before being able to reverse back into the driveway again. I tried the other way down the alley, and then got stuck again at the end of the block! After more digging and more forward-reverse cycles, a kind neighbour from the next block came and helped me get my car going again.
I went to several places and they were completely sold out of road/de-icing salt! Argh!
After running my errands, I came back home, and then 1.5 houses away, I got reeeally stuck. I had to call my dad to come help me out. We dug and revved and dug and revved.... My next-door neighbour came out with his shovel, too, and after more digging and revving and pushing and 40 mins, we finally got the car back into our garage. A day of snow driving training, heehee! :)
I had no plans to go out today, because of the snowy forecast: 10~20cm of wet snow. Well, I woke up this morning, and there was already a good 15cm of snow on the ground. And there was no sign of it stopping. In fact, while I grudgingly shovelled away, it started coming down even harder. 15cm of snow on a wide two-car driveway, plus all the walkways.... That's a loooot of snow. It was rather disheartening to be only 1/3 done the driveway, and to look back and find that the area I'd cleared was already covered. It took me 2.5 hours to clear everything (and quickly run through it again a second time). I was running out of places to pack the snow!
After coming in to thaw out a bit, I headed out to walk down the hill to Superstore to get a roast chicken and pie for our Christmas Eve dinner. A mini feast for my dad and me. :) When I got back (~17:20), I put the bags down and set out to shovel another round. The snow had stopped falling, so it was only 5cm or so, and without the frustration of watching more snow cover your work (and knowing you'll have to come out and shovel again later), it was quite peaceful and beautiful.
So! We had vegetable soup, green beans, roast chicken for dinner. (We were so full we didn't even make it to dessert!) Then an electrician's truck (with cherry picker) got stuck right in front of our house! Its back end had slid into the minivan parked across the street. :( After I finished the dishes, they were still out there standing around, so I went out and asked if they wanted some eggnog, figuring they could use a warm beverage. I refilled their water jug, and got them some shovels so they could dig out the snow, offered to help shovel. The tow truck that was supposed to bail them out got stuck itself at the end of the block. And then it gave up on them and abandonned them!! Poor guys. Getting stuck on Christmas Eve, no dinner break yet, and they still had 3 sites to visit for repairs!! They spent three hours digging out that massive truck, digging and placing dirt in front of the tires, but finally succeeded in driving off without a hitch! And I got a warm fuzzy for helping them out. :)
Tomorrow, we're off to my uncle's (by Skytrain! the Accord stays warm and cozy in our garage) for Christmas Day dinner, then we're staying over, just like in the old days. :)
Merry Christmas!
2008-11-19
Through sickness, health and sex change
While looking for an image for my French composition, I came across an article about a couple that was still married after the husband underwent a sex change operation. The article goes on to talk about how marriage laws are a little behind in keeping step with what is acceptable in modern society, and touches on just some of the issues that an untraditional couple might encounter in various states in America.
But what impressed me most? The support that Fran Brunner gave her then-hubby-now-wife, even staying married. Kudos to her!
But what impressed me most? The support that Fran Brunner gave her then-hubby-now-wife, even staying married. Kudos to her!
2008-10-24
Not so bright, Part 3
I was under the impression that I'd already posted this 3rd installment, but I guess I hadn't done quite enough stupid things, yet! I've now caught up.
- When I park at the side of the road, I usually back up and straighten my wheel so I can ride away more easily. One night I was leaving the post office (which happens to be on a slight slope), and as I let my scooter glide backwards... I stopped with a bump. I looked behind... and it was a cop on scooter. Oops. =P
- Long ago, at the market in Taipei, I was buying a towel, and the stall owner told me that 130NT was as low as he could go -- any lower would be below cost. Those sales tactics, you know. Well, I made another round through the market before coming back, and discovering that he was gone, I told the stall owner's wife that "someone else had said 120NT". She immediately whipped around and demanded to know which of her kids had given me a 120NT cost, because it *was* below cost. (She was REALLY furious.) But, since I said I'd been offered 120NT, she honoured my dishonourable price.
I feel really bad and haven't been back to that market since. =( - I wall-climbed 4 days (evenings) in a row. Aside from a bit of soreness in my forearms, I felt great and was injury-free.
The ginormous bruise on my right knee was 'cause I tripped in the parking lot. >_< - The gas tank warning light was on. Unfortunately it was well after 10pm (after vball) and they had already shut down for the night. I had no choice but to wait until the next day. (I like to fill at the Superstore gas bar near my place, 'cause they give you 6.5 cents/litre redeemable in the store.)
As luck (or bad habit) would have it, I was running late and didn't have time to stop for gas before class. By the time I made it back, the tank must've been reeeally near empty, because the car started stalling. I had to coast down the hill into the gas bar, then shut off the engine while waiting my turn.
When it was finally my turn... yep, you guessed it: I couldn't start my car! I was 3m from the gas pump, and could not start my car just to get to the pump.
I had to ask a nice man coming out of the payment station to give me a little push so the car was within nozzle's reach. - My friends were visiting from Taiwan, and after 3 long days taking them around, driving all over, looking after all their needs before they went to bed and then working on my own things, I was really looking forward to them going on their 9-day Rocky Mountains tour.
That morning, I dropped my dad off to work then drove them to the tour pick-up point. We waited for the tour bus to show up (20 minutes late), got them set, then I was free to go home.
I turned left toward the bridge heading out of downtown, and suddenly this car in the opposite direction started blaring its horn at me, and the suit behind the wheel gave me this nasty bewildered look! How rude! And then, next block over, another car up ahead started high-beaming me. Was there a police car or speed trap ahead?
It wasn't until I got to a traffic light that I noticed 3 lanes of traffic all facing me: I'd turned the wrong way onto a one-way street!
2008-10-19
Awww, thanks!
I just completed my Standard First Aid and CPR Level C certification this weekend. In two days of training, we covered a lot of emergency and first-on-the-scene procedures; I highly recommend it!
We were practicing moving a victim from upright position to floor while immobilising for possible head and spine injuries. And as my group member was gently letting my immobilised head down onto the floor, he said, quite simply, "Nice eyes!"
A warm fuzzy from someone I'll probably never see again. How nice! :)
We were practicing moving a victim from upright position to floor while immobilising for possible head and spine injuries. And as my group member was gently letting my immobilised head down onto the floor, he said, quite simply, "Nice eyes!"
A warm fuzzy from someone I'll probably never see again. How nice! :)
2008-08-24
2008-08-09
Standstill
It feels like whenever I move to a new place (all two times), everyone I leave behind moves on with their lives, and I am at a standstill.
When I moved to Taiwan, time froze. I worked and played and experienced a lot of things, but I remained at the same point in my life. All my friends in Vancouver were getting married and having kids. Now that I'm back in Vancouver, all my friends in Taiwan are moving on (i.e. and over my leaving) and I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.
This feeling sucks.
When I moved to Taiwan, time froze. I worked and played and experienced a lot of things, but I remained at the same point in my life. All my friends in Vancouver were getting married and having kids. Now that I'm back in Vancouver, all my friends in Taiwan are moving on (i.e. and over my leaving) and I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.
This feeling sucks.
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