Jed told me about fireworks out at Ashbridge’s Bay. They were
delightful. Yes, nothing like the grand spectacle of the World Pyro
Olympics held in Manila shortly before I left for Canada, but standing
on a beach and surrounded by all these flares and sparklers was a new
experience. Besides, anything involving pretty explosions is always
cool.
We brought picnic stuff along – a mat, an umbrella, even some snacks -
but were too entranced by the flashy stuff to remember to sit, much
less eat anything.
Wonderful conversation afterwards over hot chocolate at a Portuguese
cafe near Dufferin. =) I really enjoyed that, and I look forward to
our next conversation. (We forgot about the oranges then, too. And
they were mandarins, too! My favorite…)
Random Japanese sentence: テーブルã«猫ã®足跡ãÂŒ付ã„ã¦ã„る。 There are footprints of a cat on the table.
I was surprised to run into Victor Hugo, Carlos, and Israel – all from
Tango Passion. I felt guilty about skipping tango! Once you stop,
well, it’s hard to get back on, and the last tango session I had
didn’t go so well. I enjoy dancing with people who, well, dance me,
who care more about the conversation of rhythm and motion than about
dancing a dance or showing their technique. As much as I appreciate
people trying to teach me cool stuff on the dance floor – and there
are some people who can do that well, adding one or two new tricks as
part of our dance – I remember being rather frustrated by people who’d
keep pushing me to do this one thing, or they’d try all sorts of
advanced stuff and be frustrated when I don’t quite follow.
Oh, and being told that I’m too intense, that I smile too much – I
suppose that does make sense in tango’s traditional poses, but I like
focusing on people, not floors. I dance with my eyes, too. It’s not
that I’m getting my cues from them, but I like having the occasional
connection. I can dance with my eyes closed, and I love that feeling
of trust as well. Still… =b
It’s a pity, as I really did enjoy the contact. Socially sanctioned,
wouldn’t be misinterpreted, safe… <laugh> It wasn’t just that,
either. It was really just being able to follow, to listen, to be the
instrument that another person dances through…
Maybe I should try dancing again. After all, I still have my shoes…
On Technorati: tango
Said Thomas:
A good dance is like playing a good song, once you get into the groove
your mind comes into the present and you just become the dance or
song.
Random Japanese sentence: ã†ã¡ã®猫ã£ã¦甘ãˆんåŠã§ã€ÂÂã©ã“ã§もç§ÂÂã®ã‚ã¨çÂÂۋ„ã¦æÂ¥るã®よãÂÂÂÂ。 My cat is such a baby, she follows me around wherever I go.
I sent Mark a draft of my paper, summarizing a number of research
papers on innovation diffusion and technology diffusion and reading
them in the context of blogging and social bookmarking. He sent me
back a polite but firm reminder that this is for a conference and I
don’t have to burden my paper with too much of a review of related
literature. I should focus on my results. I was so worried about that
because the paper was originally supposed to have been my reading
course paper, and the objective for _that_ would have been to
demonstrate that I’d actually read the stuff I’m supposed to have
read. Mark says I should focus on discussing the results, though. I’m
not sure how interesting the results are, but maybe it’ll be clearer
after a 20-minute nap…
Well, third version’s the charm, and I’m lucky to have a supervisor
who makes tons of helpful comments.
…
Okay, I need to head over to IBM tomorrow and get more data.
On Technorati: research
Random Japanese sentence: ç§ÂÂãÂŒ出掛ã‘ã¦ã„る間ã€ÂÂ猫ã®é¢倒をã¿ã¦ãÂÂÂÂã ã•ã„。 Please look after my cats while I’m away.
JC Helary reminded me that I’d bought a book called “Basic Technical
Japanese”, which is now sitting uselessly in a box or bookshelf
somewhere in the Philippines. I remember really, really loving that
book because of its examples. I’m serious! The examples talked about
atoms and nuclear fission, beakers, computers… Totally, totally
geeky, and totally, totally cool.
Did I give it to someone else, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to take
it to Canada during the first trip? Argh. Anyway, if I did, chances
are that I gave it to one of my barkada. Anyone?
I definitely have to get it next time I fly home. It’s a pretty hefty
book, but I’ll make space for it!
On Technorati: japanese
E-Mail from Jean-Christophe Helary
Random Japanese sentence: å•ÂÂ題ã¯誰ãÂŒ猫ã«鈴をã¤ã‘るã‹ã 。 The question is who will bell the cat.
This is what I get for not religiously putting everything into my
Planner. Elie Wiesel’s talk is right after my Toronto Coranto
performance at Emmanuel College. I’ll probably end up hanging out with
the other renaissance dancers and my friends instead of running over
to the auditorium to catch not even a live performance but an
audio/visual feed from another room. It’s a $15 lesson which I’ll be
sure to remember. Then again, I can think of it as my donation to
social philosophy…
Let me see if I can give this ticket away, as it’s Really Unlikely
that I’ll get to refund it.
Random Japanese sentence: ã©ã®ãÂÂÂÂã“もã€ÂÂã©ã®ãÂÂÂÂã“もã²ã¨ãÂÂÂÂã¡ãšã¤è‰を食ã¹ã¾ã—ãŸ。ã™るã¨野原ä¸ÂÂã®è‰ã¯ã™ã£ã‹りãªãÂÂÂÂãªã£ã¦ã—ã¾ã„ã¾ã—ãŸ。 Each cat ate a mouthful of grass and not a blade was left!