Where in the world is Isha Tan?

FuzziBunz!

2009-09-13T23:57:00.004-04:00

I know it's been awhile, but there have been some recent developments that have prompted me to put up this link to a fabulous cloth diaper company called FuzziBunz (www.fuzzibunz.com). Yes, we have a delivery surprise coming in mid-November! I hope we win the offering of free diapers from this coolguy (pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com) - fingers crossed!

Random videos

2007-06-15T12:23:00.000-04:00

Something my crazy boyfriend does for fun - downhill mountain biking. It's interesting to note that he crashed just after he disappears from the video frame. He looks pretty good up until that point, though.

A 360 on the Brooklyn Bridge with a surprise guest star at the end:

Conveyor belt sushi in Tokyo! T and I are chatting about oo-toro (yum).

Quick update

2007-05-29T11:19:00.000-04:00

General state of mind:

Status:
In a great relationship!
Still stubbornly refusing to join Facebook
Trying to figure out my new Macbook

Thnking about:
Happiness, family, conflict management, productivity, motivation, leadership, friends

Listening to:
Panic! At the Disco, LCD Soundsystem (but will add Björk, Feist and Rufus Wainwright to the list soon)

Activities:
Running, yoga, kickboxing, canoeing, kayaking, biking, soccer, Ultimate frisbee, flag football(!)

Upcoming plans:
T in Ottawa! Quebec City! COSTA RICA! Camping (x2)! Bluesfest! NYC!

Regarding Dave's comment....

2007-04-23T13:44:00.000-04:00

"I miss the good old days before Isha hated the internets."

I'm not hatin', just not participatin'.

Lately I've been enjoying life too much to take time to blog about it. I don't want to waste a second...who knows how long it will last?

This is how I'm feeling most days:

But thank you, my few loyal readers, who come by to check up every so often!

With a little help from my friends

2006-09-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

I have really good friends. Recently, when I put out an email call for anything interesting or funny to help cheer me up, here is a sample of what I received:

Some pictures:

[photo courtesy of Jorge]

[photo courtesy of Dave]

...and another photo that I won't post here out of fear of being murdered by Michelle, but I will print the caption for it:

"Smile, you could be 39 weeks pregnant with a big belly, a broken ankle, using a freakin walker!!!"
A link to a sugar daddy dating site
A link to a video of Darth Vader being a jackass
Funny stories about Malaysian astronauts, adventures in hair waxing, and office pooping etiquette
A 3-hour telephone conversation (which I don't think I have done since I was in high school)
Holiday stories from Croatia and China; everyday life stories from Vienna and Huntsville ON.
Offers of tickets to a political comedy show
Someone called me a "vulpes vulpes"
And, general well wishes and nice things about me

It was all fantastic and much appreciated.

I know everyone says that they have the best friends, but in my case it's really true!

Thanks to everyone who brought a smile to my face! I love each and every one of you.

Prince Edward County & Sandbanks

2006-09-07T15:40:00.000-04:00

This post would be more interesting if I had more pictures to share, but unfortunately the weather was very crap this past long weekend (yay for not doing Labour!) and picture-taking was not high on the list of priorities. Thanks to the effects of Tropical Storm Ernesto, we received torrential rains and grey skies for a large part of the weekend.

I took a road trip to an area between Ottawa and Toronto called Prince Edward County. It's along the water, in particular the Bay of Quinte, and is usually quite charming and beautiful. There are miles of farmlands and quaint little towns and countrysides home to loads of retired people. The area can get quite touristy in the summer, as the major provincial park there is Sandbanks. It's right on the water and it's surprising how nice the beaches are. One of them looks and sounds like it could have been in the Caribbean, long sandy beach with wavy water. The other feature is the amazing sand dunes, kind of a rarity in Ontario, I would imagine:

We managed to take advantage of a break in the rain to run up and down a few sand dunes:

But most of the time the weather looked like this:

...so we toured the region in the car, ducked into antiques and country crafts shops in small towns to avoid the rain, and stayed in our elegant bed-and-breakfast in Belleville (I highly recommend it!) and watched Season 3 DVDs of Arrested Development.

It was a pretty good long weekend, but I'd like to return to the region in the summer when the weather is all blue skies and sun, and maybe take a dip in the Bay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a very special person

2006-08-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

I’d like you to meet Sue.

Sue is a good friend of mine. We met about a year and a half ago when she was doing a maternity leave replacement contract in my unit. Since then Sue has quickly become what I would call a “surrogate mom” to me. It’s very rare to meet people as incredibly kind, caring, open-hearted and open-minded as Sue.

She is very intuitive and can read people well. She always has a big smile for you, and knows when you need hug or a shoulder to cry on, or just a sympathetic ear for listening. Criticism and judging other people just aren’t a part of her character. Having a lot of life experience allows her to empathize and advise without being overbearing about it.

Sue is also the world’s greatest pep talker. She makes me feel special just for being me. After a session with Sue you feel as though you could do anything, because she has such an unconditional belief in your unlimited abilities.

She has so much love to give and I’m happy that I get to be one of the people who benefits from it. I love her a lot, and hope that she has the best day today, on her birthday.

Sue, you’re the best!

Carrots and beets and onions - oh my!

2006-08-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know it may just look like a bunch of green growing in dirt to some of you, but I really can't explain why I love my crappy little garden plot.

Well, actually, let me give it a shot...

1. It's in a community garden called BUGS (Bytown Urban Garden Society, or something along those lines.) I think it's a great way to make an urban dweller feel part of an (albeit small) community, as we often have a tendency to become isolated in these crowded urban wastelands known as cities.

2. It also allows us city-livin' types to feel connected with earth, and the Earth for that matter, a feeling that modern technology and invention has taken away from us. I love the feeling of getting my hands dirty.

3. I feel like I'm nurturing something by making it grow and taking care of it. Last year (my first), I was highly reluctant to eat my beans and peas because I had spent so much time getting them to flourish, it seemed like murder to cruelly pluck them. Gardening often provides a sense of accomplishment when you finally get to harvest and eat your own fruits and veggies.

4. The garden is organic - we use organic compost only and it's totally pesticide-free. While that may diminish my harvest somewhat, I feel good knowing I'm not putting more chemicals into the soil.

5. Weeding is Zen. I love it!

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

2006-08-23T09:32:00.000-04:00

My little plot is not doing too badly. Cherry tomatoes are abundant, carrots, beets and green onions seem to be doing well, the popcorn is taller every day. But the cucumbers and basil and watermelon didn't take, our poor zucchini has a fungus, and a rabbit ate all our lettuce! Considering we grew everything from seed except the tomatoes, that's not too shabby.

Slumber party

2006-08-23T09:26:00.000-04:00

The best part about visiting Toronto is hanging out with Natalie. It feels like family.

...but she's still the most beautiful girl I know

2006-08-23T09:24:00.000-04:00

Oh yes, did I mention that it's her BIRTHDAY today?

Happy birthday Nat - love you lots!

Girls do funny things for beauty

2006-08-23T09:20:00.000-04:00

Fun weekend

2006-08-15T15:39:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was one of those rare times when I wasn't out of town or had a million things to do. So, on Friday night I caught up on some paperwork (i.e. filing some of the crap I had lying around my apartment for months) and chatted with H for a while.

[DO NOT call me a loser. After chatting with a few people about their own Friday night activities, I can safely say that paperwork is on par with watching 3 hours of Buffy and going to bed at 10, or going over to someone's house for dinner and being back by 9.]

Saturday was gorgeous and I took full advantage of it...by staying inside and alternately sleeping and reading. I did manage to finally drag my butt out the door when Mark came to pick me up for some sushi in Bells Corners. I'm sad to say that going to Japan has kind of spoiled my palate for sushi in Ottawa, since everything in Tokyo was so fresh (and I imagine the stuff you get at any port would be the same), but it was great to catch up with Mark, who coincidentally is headed off on his own Asian Adventure soon. I can't say I'm not jealous of him getting to go to China for work, no less, and in business class and jetting over to Japan. After dinner we tooled around the huge Nortel campus, then went to meet friends in Vanier for some private-room karaoke. Sadly, the place had shut down so we were forced to come up with a Plan B. Fortunately, this gave some creepy jerk the opportunity to mistake me for a prostitute (because prostitutes regularly go around in baggy jeans and hoodies and no makeup. It must have been the look in my eye.)

Dave, Sarah, Mark, Cathy and I ended up at the Shanghai in Chinatown, where Saturday karaoke nights are hosted by a drag queen named China Doll. It was quite fun, and I was working up the nerve to go up and warble a tune or two after hearing the pitiful renditions of "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" and "Killing Me Softly", until the gang of musical theatre types hit the stage one by one, nailing performances of "Fever" and "Building A Mystery" (by a guy, no less!) And then there was Sarah, the star of our group, who is fearless and has a great singing voice to boot. She belted out "If I Can't Have You" and "Manic Monday" to much acclaim. My nerve quickly evaporated and I turned my attention to ensuring that the lychee martinis kept-a-comin' to the table (and making sure no one signed me up against my will to do "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails.)

On Sunday Cathy and I had plans to bike to Meech Lake and go for a swim, as part of her triathlon training. But those lychee martinis were hitting us back hard, so the bike ride quickly became a car ride. But because of Sunday Bike Day, the route to Meech was closed in the morning, so we diverted to Lac Philippe, much farther away but it's a nice scenic drive through Chelsea and other small towns on the Quebec side. Cathy impressed the hell out of me by swimming what looked to be quite a distance in the open water of Lac Philippe. I stayed in the supervised buoyed-off area anxiously watching for her to suddenly disappear, and trying not to think of the little organisms that were floating in the water just dying to give me "swimmers' itch". At any rate, Cath returned safely and in good shape, so we hung out on the beach just chatting and eating jerky (somehow I still have a pound left from camping, when I only ordered one pound to begin with!)

After leaving the beach we went in search of covered bridges, and happened upon the quaint little town of Wakefield, an English-speaking pocket of beauty in Gatineau. We lunched at the Pot au Feu with a gorgeous view of the Gatineau River, then browsed in the small gift shops until closing time. We made a quick stop at the Wakefield Mill and discovered Lester B. Pearson's grave in the MacLaren Cemetery. Old Les has an unassuming tombstone, simpler than you'd expect for the father of universal health care, the maple leaf flag and Canadian peacekeeping, among other important things.

I really enjoyed Wakefield and hope to visit it again many times, since it is the home of the Black Sheep Inn and the Wakefield Steam Train.

We hit the road again in search of the final covered bridge and found it just off the main highway, almost in the middle of nowhere on seemingly deserted NCC farmland. I wondered what it would be like to live out here - very peaceful, I would imagine.

Cathy dropped me back home and I drifted off into a nice little nap, waking up in time to make a phone call to Juna in San Francisco. We talked about the usual things (job troubles, apartment hunting troubles, boy troubles) and I was pleased to discover that she'll be back in Toronto for 3 weeks in the fall - it seems like ages since January when I visited her in SF. After a nice long chat I retired once more to bed.

Ah, what a lovely weekend!

Time Waster - Find the Celebrity in You

2006-08-11T14:42:00.000-04:00

How happy was I when the first picture I uploaded came back with a match with Prince Charles?!?! He's not a handsome man on his best day.

Another picture of me matched well with Eva Longoria, but I thought I was a little more in the same league as these ladies (and at least they're female!)

Thanks to Viv for being a finder of cool things and posting it on her blog.

While I'm at it, I might as well give a little plug to Blend Creations, the business that she and Eric started up which sells fantabulous stainless steel pendants (I am the proud owner of the purple mother of pearl) and paper products. I covet many of their items. Go check it out - the stuff is way cool.

My one artsy camping photo

2006-08-10T13:52:00.000-04:00

Back home - again

2006-08-08T10:14:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I last posted something here, so I'll just make this a quick one to say that I have safely returned from the wilds of Algonquin Park after a 4-day interior camping trip that involved canoes, portaging, a lot of sleeping in tents and A LOT of booze. An excellent time was had by all 10 campers (and a moderately good time was had by one lovable black Lab named Farley), in spite of the gruelling 3 hour paddle against gale force winds and mini tidal waves on Smoke Lake. Pictures and recaps hopefully to come soon-ish.

Back home

2006-07-25T08:51:00.000-04:00

Blogger has been a bit of a bee-yotch lately, so I wasn't able to post more before I left Tokyo, and now here I am back in Ottawa experiencing some pretty major jet lag. When I left Tokyo it was Monday afternoon at 5, and when I arrived in Ottawa it was still Monday, 7.30 in the evening, and I'm pretty certain that my flight was more than 2.5 hours long.

Mt. Fuji ended up being a bust, as I seemed to have caught the extended tail end of a rainy season in Japan that just doesn't want to end. Going to T's colleague's parents' place in the country was also a bust due to an illness in the family, so instead we went down to Koya-san, the holiest mountain in Japan, to stay in a Buddhist temple, eat surprisingly delicious vegetarian meals based mainly on tofu, and take part in a confusing, fairly unintelligible but wholly spiritual Buddhist prayer session. After visiting one of the largest and most beautiful cemeteries I've ever seen, we accidentally hiked down the mountain and hopped the train to Atami, where we stayed at a nice ryokan or traditional Japanese inn, complete with onsen and huge seafood meals.

Back in Tokyo it was a mad rush of trying to find some particular sandals and shoes and CDs that we wanted, photographing the freaks in Harajuku, and a goodbye dinner at Gonpachi (an izikaya or Japanese pub). There was some frantic burning of music and photos onto CDs, and then I left the next day.

I'm both happy and sad to be home. Not having any responsibilities other than to travel and experience as much as you can for 4 weeks is a freedom and a luxury that not many people can afford. However, there was a certain comfort knowing that I would be back in my own apartment among my own things in a city full of friends. I no longer have to consciously walk on the left, and I feel a sense of relief knowing that I won't have to aggressively force myself into the teeming mass of people at the subway station, only to be carried along helplessly in the flow of bodies. Tokyo has way too many people for its own good, and I'm happy to be back in the smaller population of Ottawa, where the people seem much taller, fatter and darker than the Japanese (not that that's a good thing.)

What I would like to do with this blog is provide a more complete update of everything that happened during my trip, as my scattered and erratic postings only capture a mere fraction of everything that I experienced. However, having been away for almost 30 days, and knowing myself to be the huge procrastinator that I am, I'm pretty sure I'll get about one-third of the way and then give up because there are other things to do, like friend's 40th birthday parties, and camping in Algonquin, and visits to Toronto. But I guess I have to give it a shot, because I need to have the record for myself (I have a sieve for a memory) and because someone needs to see all the pictures I took - there must be hundreds of them.

So, if you're still interested, keep coming back for a more detailed account of my trip, and other (hopefully) interesting happenings!

Lazy day in Tokyo

2006-07-18T13:36:00.000-04:00

The weather forecast predicts 100% chance of rain for the next 3 days. It was certainly right for today, as it pretty much poured all day today. It was the kind of day where you don't feel much like going out and walking around, so I didn't.

I got up, made two one-hour-long long distance phone calls (sorry T, I owe you dinner for those!), and watched the pirated DVD box set of Season 4 of Six Feet Under that I had bought in KL. I didn't leave the house until nearly 7 p.m., when I met T at Ebisu Station after work and we went for conveyor belt sushi in Shibuya. After dinner we did crazy photo booth pictures, and browsed at Tower Records. I'm going to buy the new Thom Yorke album as well as the latest Radiohead tribute album tomorrow. I did, however, pick up a copy of "Charisma Man" which is probably one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. (If you are familiar with the term rice king, then you'll probably find Charisma Man hilarious as well.)

I got to talk to my two best friends Nat and Cath, watch a lot of awesome TV, listen to some great new music, and indulge in a bit of oh-my-God-it's-so-true cultural stereotyping...all in all, a great day!

Tomorrow I hope to get my butt in gear and actually see some of this huge, crazy city, then it's off to Coldplay in the evening.

Hope you all are having a great day out there in the rest of the world, wherever you may be.

Comments crazy

2006-07-18T12:19:00.000-04:00

Due to popular demand, anonymous comments have now been enabled on this blog, policed by word verification - sorry, comments-bots!

Of course, now that I've enabled this, probably no one will care enough to actually leave a comment.

More images of Japan

2006-07-18T02:35:00.000-04:00

Tricycle and child's helmet, Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima.

On August 6, 1945, the U.S. bombed Hiroshima with the world's first atomic bomb, in the effort to get Japan to surrender in World War II. The Japanese have preserved the site of the bombing, the A-bomb Dome, and established the Peace Memorial Park which contains the museum, the Children's Peace Monument, the Memorial Cenotaph with the names of all the known bombing victims, and the Flame of Peace, which will not be extinguished until the last nuclear weapon on earth has been destroyed. The Peace Memorial Museum presents a very balanced picture of the event, explaining why it took place, the science behind nuclear weapons, and the harrowing effects on the environment and humanity. It is a very moving experience to visit this place.

Garlands of paper cranes, Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima

The paper cranes are folded by schoolchildren all over the world and sent to Hiroshima, where they are kept at the Children's Peace Memorial. This tradition was started by Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year-old A-bomb victim (hibakusha) who developed leukemia as a result of radiation exposure. Japanese legend holds that a sick person can be cured by folding 1000 paper cranes. Sadako died before reaching that goal, but her classmates continued after her death and established the Children's Peace monument.

The 11-metre tall Great Buddha (Daibutsu), Kamakura

Statues of the god Jizo commemorating the souls of stillborn or aborted children, Hase-dera temple, Kamakura

Rubbing the Buddha's belly for good luck!

Images of Japan

2006-07-18T02:05:00.000-04:00

Lanterns at the Kasuga Taisha grand shrine, Nara

Women in traditional Japanese kimonos, Kyoto

Some of the 1001 Kannon (Buddhist goddess of mercy) at the Sanjusangen-do temple, Kyoto

The floating red torii (gates) of Itsuku-shima, Miya-Jima, Hiroshima

The temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto

My feet hurt

2006-07-13T08:07:00.000-04:00

I:m being kicked out of the free Internet place in Kyoto because they:re closing, so I gotta make this fast. I:m not even sure if this will post because all of the button and tab headings are in Japanese! I sometimes hit some weird button that makes everything look like this: qっうぇcs亜

And as you can tell, I can:t find the apostrophe as it:s not where it usually is.

Kyoto has been fun, a bit stressful but definitely too short a visit. I:m a bit templed and shrined out, but I:ve seen some amazing things which I hope to post shortly when I return to Tokyo on the weekend. I:ve walked virtually everywhere yesterday and today. Culture shock hit me big time and now that I finally feel a little more comfortable, I:m outta this popsicle stand.

(Piece of advice: never travel in Asia in the summer. It:s quite horrible because you:re basically melting all day, unless you happen to be somewhere with air con.) I:m only now realizing how lucky I was to have people driving me around in Malaysia and Singapore - BIG THANK YOU to Aunty Jo, Aunty Winnie, Aunty Pearly, and Bok and Wendy!!!!

Tomorrow it:s off to Hiroshima for a super-speedy visit to the Peace Park and maybe the floating shrine gates. I really enjoy riding the shinkansen (that:s the bullet train for all you non-Japs out there) - it:s fast, smooth, and Swiss-watch precise. Plus I like to say the word shinkansen.

Just before I go, I would like to say that although I:m having a great time, I seriously miss all my friends, you loyal readers. Tonight at dinner when I was stuffing myself full of caprese salad and margherita pizza (don:t give me any crap; I know I:m in Japan but I:ve come to a point where I just can:t eat any more rice or noodles, dammit), I looked around and thought this would just be perfect if I could share this meal with one of my friends, who are all awesome, and whom I miss immensely.

[Cath, I:m dying for some guac!]

Just one more week (and a bit) and I:ll see you all very soon!

SMOOCHES!

Tokyo - Initial Impressions III

2006-07-10T02:11:00.000-04:00

ENVIRONMENTALLY UNFRIENDLY

At the grocery store, all the fruit is wrapped in plastic packaging as you can see. After paying for your purchase, the cashier puts the fruit into individual paper bags and tapes it up, then puts those packages into a plastic bag or paper carrier bag for transporting. T says this is to ensure that your fruit does not become bruised.

Back home, I have often lamented the fact that all food shopping seems to be geared toward the non-single consumer, i.e. groups of two or more. But this is pushing a bit!

Umbrella bags.

When it is raining and you are going into a store, many establishments provide umbrella bags, plastic bags to cover your umbrella while you are inside the store. This is to prevent water dripping from your umbrella onto their floors. When you leave the store you discard the bag in the garbage provided.

Tokyo has no recycling program that I can see. T says garbage here is divided into two categories: burnable (food, paper, organic-based) and non-burnable (everything else). Given the amount of plastic packaging I have encountered thus far, there must be a massive amount in the latter category! This is a shock to me, as Singapore was very much into recycling, and back home I try to stick to the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle philosophy as much as possible.

A square watermelon.

(This isn't environmentally unfriendly, just a weird picture I thought I'd put up.)

I thought these were grown this way for efficiency of storage, but T says it's just a trend thing. Apparently the square watermelons are expensive (you think?) and don't even taste that good.

Tokyo - Initial Impressions II

2006-07-10T01:56:00.000-04:00

EXPENSIVE

Currently, the exchange rate is about 100 Yen to $1 Canadian.

The price tag says 6668 Yen.

Yes, those melons are $84 and $105.

And, yes, those cherries are over $138.

These photos were taken at a high-end grocery store and the prices are so high because apparently the fruits are specially grown - each fruit is exactly the same size and taste. We went to a cheaper store where you get (relatively) cheaper but variably-shaped fruit. The cost of living is very high in Tokyo!

Tokyo - Initial Impressions I

2006-07-10T00:46:00.000-04:00

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EFFICIENCY

After I basically slept through the 7-hour flight from Singapore to Tokyo, trying to ensure that my body would continue to retain much-needed fluids, I somehow made it through a 45-minute wait at Immigration. Once I collected my bag (the very last one remaining next to the baggage carousel), I found my way to the Japan Rail office where I activated my 14-day rail pass. (This amazing deal is only available to tourists, allowing unlimited national rail travel at an insanely discounted price.)

Now how to obtain a train ticket to Shinagawa Station, where T would be waiting to meet me? No worries, the helpful agent at the JR office offers to reserve a seat for me. It's now 16.40 - would I be able to make the 16.43 train? No, sorry, it's too late for that one, but would I like to take the 17.13 train to Tokyo Station and make an easy transfer to Shinagawa? You bet! Ticket is soon in hand, with departure and arrival times and platform numbers written directly on to the ticket by the agent so I don't forget.

Now, how to make a phone call to T, letting her know when I would be arriving? I go to Starbucks and ask to make some change. Oh, so sorry, says a genuinely aggrieved coffee agent, you must buy something first. She looks like she really feels bad for having to make such a request, but so genuinely relieved when I say it's no problem and purchase some macaroons. She carefully counts out my change, making sure to give me lots of 100 yen coins for the payphone, and tells me that 100 yen should give me enough time to make a call.

Interesting cultural note: Japanese cashiers will always count your change very carefully in front of you, in many cases twice. It is up to you to pay attention while they are counting it, because it is considered rude to count it yourself - it means that you do not trust them.

I was very touched by the Starbucks girl's concern. I was thinking that back home, I probably would have gotten some kind of attitude: "Listen, we don't make change. You gotta buy something first, 'kay? Gawd!"

After boarding the train and promptly falling asleep for the 1-hour journey, I arrive at Tokyo Station where T is waiting. We take a short but very expensive ride to her place, and then leave to meet her friend for dinner. I'm not in good form because of my splitting headache but I want to be around people who live here so I can observe how things are done, like navigating train stations filled with throngs of people, or ordering meals at "fast-food" joints. See below:

Step 1: Make your selection from the menu board outside restaurant, displaying the various choices.

Step 2: Pay for your meal at the "Food Ticket" machine.

If you can't figure out which button to press for your meal (as only the characters are written on the buttons), you can look at the pictures helpfully posted above and match up the symbols.

Note: The machine does not get offended if you count your change in front of it, but also note that the machine never makes mistakes.

Step 3: Give your ticket to the waiting (human) server, and presto!

Your food appears within 2-5 minutes. Here, a meal of vegetables on rice, with fish stock "tea", tofu, and pickled vegetables. You pour the tea onto the rice, and it becomes all soupy.

Day 14 - Wussy wuss-wuss

2006-07-09T22:56:00.000-04:00

So, I have been on vacation for 14 days now and I have arrived in a completely new city and the next two weeks are completely booked up with hiking trips to Chubu and Mt. Fuji, ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) and onsen (hot springs) visits, a Coldplay concert on the 19th, trip to Kyoto and a visit to T's friend's parents house out in the country...and I'm sitting in T's apartment and I. Don't. Want. To. Do. Anything.

What's wrong with me? Here I am in one of the world's most cosmopolitan, dynamic, fascinating cities, and I don't want to leave the house. Am I a big loser?

I don't think so. I've come to realize over years that I really need my "me" time, where I can do whatever I want. Not just "me" time, but "alone" time too. For the past few weeks I have not been alone for a single instant. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and it was so great to re-connect with all of them after so many years and they were so generous to willingly give up their time and shuttle me around from place to place...but I didn't realize how much I enjoy being by myself until T left for work and I had the place all to myself.

Now I am on no one else's schedule. I can listen to music as loud as I want. I don't have to change out of my pyjamas. I can go back to sleep, which I did after I called Rob and chatted for a bit. I can update my blog, which sadly is sparse with info and pictures about Singapore and Malaysia. I can read, surf the web, play games, whatever.

Some people function best in the presence of other people, where they can feed off others' energies. I am like that to a point, but there comes a point where I have to shut down the social me completely and turn inwards.

I'm a little bit tired. Every day has been packed with things to do and people to see, plus I was shifting households every few days. Lots of early mornings, late nights. And the dehydration problems didn't help (I figured out that two 1-hour hikes over two days in 30+ degree weather with 100% humidity, combined with eating rich spicy meals, equals barfy-barf.) I'm tired. And it feels good to just be in one place for a while.

Also, to tell you the absolute truth (because blogging is all about THE TRUTH, you know), I'm a bit frightened. I have to admit that I am a bit of a scaredy-cat. Foreign country, foreign language, no one to show me around and take care of all the details for me. And I'm not feeling very courageous today.

Yes, yes, I hear some of you protesting, "But you went to Africa! You've travelled on your own!"

My counter-argument to that would be the following. In Uganda, VSO took such good care of us that we didn't have to concern ourselves much with details, like finding accommodation, jobs, etc. They picked us up at the airport, took us shopping for household goods, showed us how to do basic things. Even in my village I had Richard and Ellie or my local friends Mariah, Rogers and Kenneth to rely on. When I travel on my own, it has always been to places where English is the common language, or where I know someone who can take care of me. I don't have to bother with figuring out new currency, how to ask where the washrooms are, or order a meal.

To me, truly courageous and adventurous people are T and Heid, who have (sometimes more than once) picked up and moved to a completely foreign place with little or no pre-existing support structure. I know lots of other people who are way more adventurous in their travelling too, like my cousin Wendy who went trekking in Nepal with only a hired guide. No package tour, no other friends. I would never have the balls to do something like that.

Bet you didn't know I was such a wuss, eh?

So, now that I've rationalized my wussiness to myself, I'm going to chill out, write some more posts, and be afraid of Tokyo, all in the comfort of T's apartment.

PS. My new favourite word, recently re-discovered on Dave's blog, is "hangry", where you're so hungry you become angry. I think only this will make me want to leave the apartment.

PS+. On a related note, the quality of the writing (especially the travel postings) on Dave's blog is so good that it makes me angry that mine sucks so bad. Is there a word for being so jealous that it makes you mad?

Arrival in Tokyo

2006-07-09T08:47:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to say that in spite of a terrible bout of food poisoning/24-hour virus/I don't know what yesterday, I made it to Tokyo today and am safely ensconced in T's cosy little apartment. I'm still not quite sure how I ended up here. Everything has been a blur of culture shock, as Japan is unlike any place I've ever been.

But my headache is ruling out over posting any initial observations, so we'll just have to wait a bit.

More photos

2006-07-08T06:25:00.000-04:00

The coolest uncle ever.

Uncle Jeff took me out for a quick spin on his BMW motorcycle. Man, it was a sweet ride. We sped up and down the highway and I couldn't keep the grin off my face (or maybe it was the rushing wind that contorted it, who knows.) I want my own bike! Uncle Jeff now surpasses my Uncle Derek, who took us out for midnight visits to the A&W in his red Honda Prelude when I was 9, as the coolest uncle ever.

Paper money used for burning at Chinese temples.

We went to "pray my grandparents", meaning we went to visit my father's parents' ashes which are kept at a Thai Buddhist temple in KL. It's a somewhat elaborate affair that requires preparation. You must buy food and drink for offering, and paper money for burning. There is a table in front of where your loved ones are resting, and you lay out the fruit, buns/dumplings/cakes, and drinks (orange soda for my grandmother, Coke for my granddad since that's what they used to like to drink) as an offering to your beloveds. You then take a few joss (incense) sticks, light them, and bow three times. In your head, you speak to your beloveds in prayer, calling them by name, identifying yourself and wishing them a good life in the afterworld. You leave the joss sticks burning in a special holder on the table.

Outside there is a big metal can used for burning. You unwrap all the fake paper money and fan it out, then put it into the can. You then set it on fire, all "millions" of dollars worth. This is so your loved ones will be wealthy in the afterlife. At Chinese funerals often paper cars and houses are also burnt.

I don't know if you can make it out, but it says "The Hell Bank Corporation" at the top of the bills.

Women in colourful Muslim dress.

The Tan aunties (Aunty Pearly, Nellie and Winnie) enjoying a scrumptious breakfast of roti canae, canae tissue and dosai tissue.

Probably one of my favourite meals ever, roti canae is like a flatbread that you tear apart and dip into curry. The canae tissue is a thinner, crisper version that is covered with butter and sugar, so it is sweeter and can be eaten on its own, like a dessert. The dosai tissue is a thinner, crisper, and slightly sour version of the roti canae. As you can see, the tissues are presented as these huge pyramids of deliciousness.

In the foreground are mugs of hot Milo (like Ovaltine) and teh tarik, a new favourite drink. Literally "pulled tea", the tea is mixed with evaporated and condensed milk, which makes it sweet, and then it is poured from one mug to another to create the frothy foam on top.

Frogs for sale at the market.

To my father

2006-07-07T11:47:00.000-04:00

My dad was very excited for me to go on this trip. When I was first deciding where to go on vacation and I asked him to ask his travel agent for quotes on flights to Japan, he was the one who got her to find out how much it would cost to add in Singapore/Malaysia. The thought of visiting my parents' homeland hadn't really occurred to me as an option before.

My dad was very excited for me to go on this trip. In the months leading up to my departure, he would always ask me about how my planning was going. I had contacted some family members to let them know I was coming, but little else in the way of actual concrete plans. Little did I know that he was also in touch with some of those same family members, and he was consulting with them behind the scenes. In fact, on my last visit to Toronto, he kept nagging me about letting my aunty Winnie know exactly what I wanted to do well in advance of my arrival (I think I still had 4 or 6 weeks left to go) - he wanted to tell her so she would know. I got mad and yelled at him, saying that I had already been in contact with her, that we had already made some tentative plans that were just fine at this point in time, and that I was perfectly capable of emailing her myself if and when those plans should change. After all, I was 30 and I had been to friggin' Africa and it wasn't as if I had never travelled on my own before.

My dad was very excited for me to go on this trip. He bought me a very nice 3-piece red luggage set and told me exactly which pieces to bring and how I should stow away my carry-on luggage (the small red wheely case goes in the overhead compartment, the small red handbag goes by your feet under the seat in front of you.) He also took me shopping for gifts for the family members.

My dad was very excited for me to go on this trip. In the weeks leading up to my departure, he would call me every few days and ask if I had packed my suitcase yet. When I invariably said no, he said that I should put out my large suitcase and pack a few things every day -- that way I would know exactly what I had and exactly what I needed. I yelled at him. After all, I was 30 and I had been to friggin' Africa and it wasn't as if I had never travelled on my own and never packed my own suitcase before.

[In the end, of course I stayed up until 2 a.m. throwing things in a pile in the suitcase in a panic, and had to get up at 5 in order to make my flight.]

My dad was very excited for me to go on this trip. He called me the night before I left and wished me a good trip.

He also called when I arrived at the Singapore airport over 24 hours later.

He also called the day after that. And the day after that. I yelled at him for calling me so much. The rest of the family snickered because my dad is the eldest and he is forever lecturing and scolding them for whatever reason.

He didn't call the day after that.

But he did call two days later. And then every day after that, until I left Aunty Winnie's place and moved to Wendy and Bok Mun's. And I yelled at him every time. I told him he was being annoying.

I think my dad wanted to be on this trip with me. He comes back for a visit every autumn, so it's not as if he misses the place and the people so much. But this was a special occasion for me, since I hadn't been back in 10 years. He wanted to know my reactions to things. He wanted to know what I was eating and how I was enjoying the food. He wanted to know what I thought about the various people I met at the big family reunion in KL with all the cousins and grand-aunties and second cousins.

He was just being a dad.

And you know what?

I'm glad.

I'm glad that he nagged me about getting a luggage lock so that my stuff wouldn't get stolen. I'm glad that he made sure I was well taken care of by his sisters. I'm glad that he is actually interested in what I ate for lunch today.

I'm glad that my dad was excited for me to go on this trip.

Thanks, Dad, for caring. I love you!

Discovering my roots

2006-07-06T03:55:00.000-04:00

One of the reasons I was looking forward to this trip was because I would have the opportunity to interview various family members about our family history. I knew virtually nothing about either set of grandparents, as they lived in Malaysia and died before I was born or when I was quite small. In fact, I am actually in the process of developing a family tree for both my mother's side (the Wans) and my father's side (the Tans).

My father's mother was of Peranakan heritage. I had never even heard the term before. Also known as baba-nyonya or Straits Chinese, it refers to the descendants of very early Chinese immigrants to Singapore and Malaysia, who partially adopted Malay customs in an effort to be assimilated into the local communities. This unique blend of Chinese and Malay cultures has led to very interesting cuisine and dress.

Here I am in traditional Peranakan dress: on top, the kebaya, secured by the 3 attached brooches or kerosang; on the bottom, the flowered sarong and beautifully beaded sandals.

Aunty Winnie has been so generous to give me some Peranakan items to take home with me. I need to do more research into this culture, but I feel happy knowing that I am more than just a CBC (Canadian-born Chinese).

Sometimes it's just easier to post photos

2006-07-05T12:39:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've had a chance to update the blog, so here are some pictures that I hope you will enjoy while you wait for me to get my ass in gear and actually write something decent.

Joss sticks used for praying at Chinese temples

Beautifully coloured and patterned silk sarongs at the market

Not sure if you can make this out too clearly, but this is from the park across from where my aunty Winnie lives. The sign says "Watch out for falling durian". The durian trees are very tall and the fruit is not harvested - you have to wait for it to fall to the ground.

Me, my second cousin Caitlyn, and a fat little boy named Hoong-Hoong.

On my dad's side, I am the oldest cousin at 30 years of age, and Caitlyn is the youngest at 4 months. Hoong-Hoong is babysat by my aunty Nellie, and became my best friend while I stayed at her place for 2 days.

Secret fact: On the inside, I was freaking out while holding this baby. I'm surprised she wasn't wailing - I'm sure I left hand-shaped bruises on her body from gripping her so tightly. But don't I hide it well?

Dragons on the roof of the Thean Hou temple

My new favourite fruit - mangosteen

2006-06-27T20:43:00.000-04:00

Because Southeast Asia has such a tropical climate, there are a lot of fruits available here that you just can't get in North America. Well, I guess in this day and age of modern packaging and shipping, there really are no boundaries, but what ends up arriving in Chinatown or other Asian markets in North America is a far cry from what you get here locally.

We went to the fruit market and came back with a number of gorgeous, delicious fruits:

From left to right: Lychee, longan, rambutan, and mangosteen.

They are all very similar in that they are peel-and-eat fruits, but obviously they appear quite different. To me the first three taste like variations on a theme (cool, sweet and juicy.)

But the one I want to single out is the mangosteen. I don't know how I ever managed to have visited this region multiple times without having tried this delectable entity, but I am so glad I finally did!

Contrary to its name, the mangosteen has nothing to do with the mango (another mouth-watering treat found here in abundance). It looks like a pretty unprepossessing kind of fruit, not flashy like the green and red rambutan, not notorious like the smells-like-sewers durian. But don't take it for granted: you have to be careful as you split the thick purple rind because the juice has a tendency to stain your clothes. You also have to use caution with your fingertips so as not to bruise the precious fruit within.

Once open, the mangosteen reveals its odd appearance. It literally looks like a white clove of garlic, which was surprising to me. The fruit is easily bruised like an overripe peach, but once you have teased out a section and put it in your mouth....it's pure heaven! Slightly sweet, slightly sour, very juicy. Delicious.

Breakfast

2006-06-27T20:24:00.000-04:00

Breakfast in this part of the world can be quite different from what we normally eat back home in North America. Usually I just eat yogurt, some fruit, or an oatmeal bar at my desk at work. Here, it is not uncommon to eat things like fried noodles with curry vegetables first thing in the morning. People often go to kopitiam or "coffee shops" for a quick bite before heading off to work. These coffee shops are unlike the Tim Hortons back home, as you will find all manner of things to eat: noodles, meat and rice claypot dishes, a nice bowl of chicken feet and mushrooms in a noodle soup...just the thing to start off your day right!

Each vendor at a kopitiam or hawker centre displays a menu with helpful pictures and descriptions like this one:

Yesterday for brekkie I went the fried noodle route: won ton mee (flat rice noodles) topped with char siew (barbecued pork), veg and oyster sauce, accompanied by won ton soup and chilis on the side. Yummy! I have to admit that eating such a heavy breakfast meant that I had very little appetite come lunch time, despite having walked all over the Central Business District (CBD) with Aunty Winnie that morning.

Cereal is generally for children, but if you don't want to eat such a lot in the mornings, many people just eat bread or buns or one of the many kinds of fruit found in this climate, which I will get getting to shortly....

Arrival in Singapore

2006-06-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to say that after 3 flights comprising 21 hours of flying time (not to mention at least 5 hours waiting in airports), I have finally made it to Singapore, 11.30 pm local time.

The first thing I felt when I got off the plane was: "Wow. It's hot." Not only hot, but humid. The kind of humidity that makes you feel like you're wearing a wet towel all the time. Thank God for air conditioning! Much gratitude as well to Aunty Winnie and Uncle Jeff for picking me up at the airport so late at night.

I don't feel particularly tired right now so I'm probably going to hang out with my aunt and uncle and cousins Cody and Michelle for a while (we are watching the Italy-Australia match), but I'm pretty sure the jet lag will kick in tomorrow and I will be a zombie. Tomorrow we have planned to see the typical tourist sights of Singapore: the Central Business District (CBD), the Merlions, the Esplanade, Sentosa Island...and also the eating will begin.

I say: Bring it!

Update, Part Deux - Wedding...Trip

2006-06-22T15:15:00.000-04:00

In addition to complete the goal of a lifetime, Ms. Champagne also achieved yet another milestone: getting married! Yes, Millie is no longer a bastard child, Cathy and Tyler have made her street legal.

Again, another scorching hot day for the wedding, but really a fantastic day...actually, a fantastic week, starting off with a decidedly indulgent but oh-so-blissful spa day at the Carmichael Inn. (If you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend it!) We were massaged and facialed and body wrapped and fed delicious food until we emerged quivering like jello, we were so relaxed.

A few days later we had a group pedicure session at the Third Avenue Spa where we all fell asleep in our reclining chairs, then headed to the rehearsal dinner after constructing boutonnieres and corsages by hand. I spent the night at Cathy's and got up bright and early on Saturday, ready for hair, makeup, bouquet-making, McDonald's, and Ferris Bueller.

I felt important because in addition to my flower-arranging duties, I was responsible for coordinating the music for the ceremony, which is more complicated than you would think: fading in, fading out, music for before the ceremony, signing-the-license music, music for the presentation of the bride and groom. Thank God for Ipods, that's all I can say.

Also, I took a couple of pictures...about 200, in fact.

I really had a fantastic time. The bride and groom looked so happy, everyone was having fun, and it was great to meet all the family and friends. The only thing I would have changed was the band, but most of the other guests seemed to be enjoying them and dancing. But I managed to hijack the Ipod during the band's break, and busted out a few moves on the dancefloor before the end of the evening.

Congratulations, Cathy and Tyler! I love you guys.

Work has been busy, as I was transitioning into a new job and still dealing with exams for about a month. I am now full-time in my new position but am wrapping things up this week because I leave for a much-needed 4-week holiday on Sunday.

HOLIDAY! Yay!

My itinerary goes something like this:

June 25: Fly to Singapore (via Chicago and Tokyo)
Spend a few days acclimatizing to the time change and the heat with my aunty Winnie and her family. Eat, eat, and eat some more.
Bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Visit with lots of relatives, some of whom I haven't seen in over 20 years. Eat, eat, and eat some more.
Bus back to Singapore to stay with my cousins Wendy and Bok Mun. I plan to get Bok to drive me around in his Mini Cooper and pretend like I'm in The Italian Job. Try to make up for any missed eating opportunities.
July 9: Fly to Tokyo.
Hang out with T; eat a lot of sushi and noodle soup (or, conversely, lose a lot of weight due to being too poor to eat); get completely lost; ride the rails to Kyoto, Nara, Mount Fuji and various other places; embarrass myself trying to speak Japanese; feel like a whale compared to the thin Japanese girls; and, break the arm of a dirty lech who tries to feel me up anonymously on the Tokyo subway.
July 24: Return to Ottawa (boo hoo)

I have to say that I am really looking forward to this trip, even though I have done virtually no planning and have virtually no money. I am excited about re-connecting with long-lost relatives and friends, as well as exploring a new country (Japan.) Although there are certain people back here who I will really miss, I think this trip will be a great opportunity for personal growth, a little family history-gathering, and just having fun. At least, I hope so! Wish me a Bon Voyage!

Update, Part One - Birthday...Race

2006-06-22T11:50:00.000-04:00

Where have I been for the past few months? Seems like the time has flown by and so much has happened.

I turned 30 in April and had three fantastic celebrations. Picture me so surprised at the party some great friends threw for me that I burst into tears. I spent a lot of time eating -- barbecue, oysters and other fine dining, delicious pot roast and flat rice noodles with beef and black bean sauce. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped me to celebrate - you made the week so very special.

The big race weekend came and went. I did my worst half-marathon ever, finishing with a time of 2:39...so much for beating my personal best of 2:19. In my defense, I will just say that the day was unexpectedly hot, and we had been training in much cooler and oftentimes rainy weather. Everyone who came out to support us can attest to the insane heat of the day, as we all ended up with sunburns of varying degrees. I was fortunate enough to have a loyal crew of fans who helped to ease my way along the route with unbridled enthusiasm. To the right is a picture of my send-off posse (Tien, Sheila, Liz, Rob, Nat, and Tai behind the camera) at the start line. Thanks also to Dave & Sarah, Mark and Jason for braving the harsh conditions. These are some pictures of me along the route.

And here is a picture of my running partner and hero, Ms. Catherine Champagne, who finished her first-ever marathon and lived to tell about it:

Congratulations, Cath!

Eeeevil...like the fru-its of the de-vil

2006-06-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

You Are 44% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side.
Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

I stole this from Mark's blah-g

Current Obsession III

2006-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:00

Finding clothes that fit me.

Apparently my current body configuration is being jilted by modern fashion. Marathon training and cross-training has made the lower half of my body resemble that of a short Eastern European amateur wrestler and NOT that of a sleek gazelle. When I undertook this marathon training, I was picturing the slim, no-body-fat athletes who have to wrap themselves in foil blankets at the end of races.

I feel duped. I'm tired of trying on dresses that are tight in the chest, loose in the belly, and ready to bust the seams at the hips and thighs. I'd like to have my ankles back, please -- I'm tired of the "cankles" ("calf-ankles", a Nat term. She makes up cute word phrases like "shpants"...figure it out.)

I know I'm not fat but I'd just like my figure to regain something approximating normal proportions. And I'd also like hourglass figures to come back into fashion.

When my race is over, it's back to weight training, ashtanga and the occasional run (and that's only to make Nat feel better about my cardio, not because I want to.)

Current Obsession II

2006-04-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

This has been on my "Life's To Do" list for a few years now, since I went to Uganda. Apparently the snow cap is melting so it will be impossible to summit the mountain in less than 20 years' time, therefore the time to do it is NOW. I have negotiated 4 weeks off in July, but unfortunately there hasn't been enough time to save up the almost $10,000 I would need for this trip (which would include a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater, a Serengeti safari, and various trips to Dar-es-Salaam TZ and Kampala UG to visit friends.)

But I'm still dreaming....

Current Obsession I

2006-04-17T14:51:00.000-04:00

"7/4 (Shoreline)" by Broken Social Scene.

The sophomore equivalent of "Cause = Time" from their first album, maybe even better. Sorry, no link to the tune...you'll just have to go out and get it yourself. But trust me, it's worth it. It's written in 7/4 time for God's sake!

2006-03-10T11:44:00.000-05:00

Hungry

2006-03-10T11:26:00.000-05:00

I am short

2006-03-10T11:25:00.000-05:00

Catering to the Japanese

2006-03-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

One gazillionth photo of the Golden Gate Bridge - view from Fort Point

2006-03-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

"Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, there's a face of somebody who needs you."

Look at me, I'm on TV!

2006-02-24T14:27:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, March 2, your friendly neighbourhood camera-whore will be appearing on A-Channel Morning, the morning show of what used to be The New RO. I was asked by VSO to publicize their upcoming fundraiser trivia night, Around the World in 30 Questions, which will be held in Toronto and Ottawa during the second week in March. It's just a short, kinda scripted thing, where I basically just have to answer a few questions about my experience with VSO overseas and then I get to ask the host a few sample trivia questions. I am ashamed to be a shameless centre-of-attention-seeker!

Coincidentally, the trivia part is being organized by Paul, the guy who so masterfully prepares the quizzes for our Monday night trivia at the Barley Mow. Go Banana Stand!

Also coincidentally is that recently a film crew from TVO came to our trivia night to film a documentary for Studio 2, and I spent a good part of the evening wishing the producer would come over and interview us. Sadly, she did not, but I'm hoping that my strategic seating (i.e. next to Paul the quizmaster) will amount to some good face time on film.

Decisions

2006-02-20T13:27:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm in Ottawa, but I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to go.

The UK?

Australia?

New Zealand?

I'll keep you posted.