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: テーブルに猫の足跡が付いている。 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: うちの猫って甘えん坊で、どこでも私のあと着いて来るのよね。 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: 私が出掛けている間、猫の面倒をみてください。 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: 問題は誰が猫に鈴をつけるかだ。 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: どのねこも、どのねこもひとくちずつ草を食べました。すると野原中の草はすっかりなくなってしまいました。 Each cat ate a mouthful of grass and not a blade was left!