• Toronto Reference Library
• Royal Ontario Museum
• Active Surplus
• Linux Caffe
• Ontario Science Centre

Gino Ledesma (one of my friends from university) is in Toronto for some training, so I spent the afternoon showing him some of my favorite geek places. =) He was blown away by the size of the Toronto Reference Library (and I showed him Robarts Library, too - no stacks access, though =( ). We enjoyed walking through the Royal Ontario Museum (particularly the Philippine section with, err, basket-like cellphone holders). Guidebooks wouldn't have told him about Active Surplus or the Linux Caffe. =) And I might go with him to the science centre next weekend. (I love the place!) Ah, geeks hanging out…

Technorati Tags: Robarts Library, Royal Ontario Museum, toronto, Toronto Reference Library

Here's an excerpt from the letter I wrote him:

One of the things that helped me get through all the culture shock and the loneliness was that unreserved openness with which you welcomed me. You took me into your life and into your circle of friends. You made me feel at home. And you gave me quite a bit of advice about graduate school, too.

I wish all the best for them. Seeing them reminded me that I need to visit them more often. Maybe I should take Alice out for hot chocolate and another massage... And I should bring back one of those pop song books for her guitar-playing, too. Hmm...

On Technorati: friends

Random Emacs symbol: bbdb-display-message - Command: Do nothing and return nil.

Too much time, apparently.

As it turns out, waiting alone on the sidewalk at 5:10 in the morning is nerve-wracking, even in Toronto. Toronto feels like a generally safe city (compared to Manila, at least!), but I was still pretty nervous. Someone with a thick Irish accent asked me for help getting back to Oakville. I normally don't give people money because, well, I haven't sorted out the best response to panhandlers yet, but I was just so rattled that I gave him the smallest amount I had. Didn't have any coins, so I ended up giving him CAD 10. Fortunately, he headed off after that...

... but then I was sitting on the sidewalk, shivering, scared, and more than a little worried that the bus might not actually show up. After all, I wasn't going with an established company like Greyhound. Knowing that I'd charged it to Visa and could dispute the charge just in case they scammed me was small comfort waiting there at 5:15 in the morning with no bus in sight.

Waah.

And that was one of the times I felt really, really, really lucky to have friends I can call at 5:17 in the morning. Jedediah Smith lived closest to the intersection. Although I knew he wasn't really a morning person and he'd probably need the sleep, I called him up anyway. I was starting to get really nervous.

And he came, and that was awesome. =) We chatted for a bit before the bus showed up. It turned out to be non-dodgy. Whew! But it was wonderful having company. =)

Yay.

On Technorati: friends

I need to set aside time for this. I'm missing out on people's stories, on the cool stuff that's happening in their lives. I miss hearing about my dad's adventures and my sister's colorful goings-on. I miss listening to my mom's insights and chatting with my barkada.

I should schedule that in. It's at least as important as meeting my research supervisor regularly or hanging out with my friends here. I'd like that time to be less about me telling them stories or asking for advice and more about me listening to their stories. My mom doesn't blog, so that's the only way I'll get to hear about Ginger and Adphoto and all of these other things...

(Which reminds me - I still owe them the map thing.)

On Technorati: friends, family

Not that the ideas proposed in the video were new to me. I take it practically for granted that you attract what you think about, that you notice what you're attuned to, and that the universe is one of abundance. The video was flashy and fast-paced, although you'll probably want to skip the pretentious first sequence and mentally edit out some of the more over-the-top effects. Despite the distractions, though, I managed to still my mind enough to attend to the video, collecting stories, gleaning insights, and reflecting on my own experiences.

There was a short lull after the video ended, then everyone else dug into the almost-forgotten fruits. I stayed still, turning the thoughts over in my head, permitting silence to fill in the gaps and listening to how I felt instead of immediately putting things into words. This was perhaps strange to the friends who were there. Shane asked me if I didn't like the movie. I smiled and told him that it was the story of my life, that I knew what it was to grow up attracting all these blessings. Lara agreed that everyone could probably find examples of experiences that fit, and the conversation went on - but still I kept quiet, reflecting.

A few hours earlier and I could have channelled the energy of passion and excitement into the discussion, matching the tone of Shane and Lara's voices, but I was in a serene mood. I haven't yet connected with either Shane or Lara on that level, when the silences are comfortable and one speaks when moved to. I've been that way with Quinn, and Jed, and Simon - yes, Simon has his calm moments, hard as that may be to believe. <laugh>

Serenity. Those who know me primarily for my enthusiasm and who have mainly seen me on the sugar-high I get on life usually worry the first time they see me in one of my calm moods, and even those who know me well often ask me if I'm feeling down. (Trust me, if I were feeling down, you'd know!) Serenity is that quiet stillness within me and the space I create in order to discern.

And now, hours later, I have a better understanding of how I feel.

I agree with the gist of the video: the mind is powerful, our attitude shapes our life, and our feelings and intuition give us a good way to sense how well we're doing.

However, thinking about it, I've come to realize that it is not the full secret of my life. What thesecret.tv describes is not my philosophy or my way of living. There is something different, something missing...

Ah. Here is the gap. The video focuses on receiving, but does not describe the great joy I have in giving. The video describes visualizing a goal, but I also love discerning a path. The video talks about uplifting the self, but my desires go beyond myself.

In order to serve, I must take care of myself, of course. I can't help people if I am miserable; joy comes from joy. But I am confident that if I listen and extend myself, the universe will nourish me. It always has.

I do not need to manifest anything into my life. Happiness is not something that is in my future, a puzzle with jigsaw pieces that I have to find and assemble. It is simply now. I have an abundance of opportunities, and my job is to explore them. It'll be *tons* of fun!

I ask the universe for some things, but in general the world gives me things before I even know to ask for them. If I am to receive anything, I ask for the discernment to see the best things to do at a moment, the beauty in each instant, and the ways to help people explore their potential.

On Technorati: happiness, purpose, friends, video

It was a good party held in honor of a great friend. =)

On Technorati: friends, party

Plan A: Use the common TV room in the basement. Unfortunately, it was closed.

Plan B: Use the second-floor TV area. No DVD player.

Plan C: Use the second-floor TV area and hook up Simon Ditner's laptop to it. We had the right cable (you gotta love geeks with cables!), but couldn't figure out how to select the video input.

Plan D: Use the projector Roger Yang brought and beam the video onto the wall of my living room. THe projector speakers turned out to be fairly good, so we didn't need external speakers. (Good thing, too, as I didn't know where I could find speakers.)

Plan D1: Watch Aardvark'd, a video about software development. The DVD that Jedediah Smith burned had problems, though.

Plan D2: Watch the music videos that Quinn Fung brought. Michael Gondry did the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I enjoyed. The music videos were terrific. =)

Definitely mind-expanding, and not a bad beta party. We'll do that again sometime!

On Technorati: party, friends

On Technorati: friends

On Technorati: friends

"How many geeks does it take to..." is a standard joke whenever my barkada (close group of friends) in the Philippines gets together. Just like last year, they celebrated my actual birthday with a tele-party. Instead of hanging out at some wireless cafe in Glorietta, they trooped over to my parents' new place, bringing flowers for my mom. (Awwww! After all, she did all the hard work on my zeroth birthday!)

It took me a while to get my side up and running. I hadn't figured out how to set up sound under Ubuntu, so I booted to Microsoft Windows. Troubleshooting a network connection in a Japanese language operating system was Not Fun, though. Through trial and error I figured out that I needed to disable the firewall. Then I realized that the network was blocking my MAC address because it detected a duplicate registration. The network had worked under Linux because I'd cloned the MAC address for my Lifebook onto my Vaio, but I hadn't set it up under Windows. I switched back to copy the MAC address and then figured out how to set the MAC address under Windows (again, still working in Japanese). Skype kept crashing, too, which was decidedly not fun.

So we decided to go with Yahoo Messenger. My friends set up the wireless router and got three laptops on the network. It's a good thing, too, as we needed all three just to keep up with the chatter! We set up the webcams and made funny faces at each other. There was also that interesting bit with the identity musical chairs. Heh.

It was so nice to see and talk to my friends again. I so miss them and my family. Iba talaga ang barkada. I guess Canadians might know what it's like. Still... Maybe it's just the people I know or the culture here, but it still doesn't have quite the same feel as our hell-or-high-water crazy-as-anything barkadas with gimmicks and dramas and in-jokes galore. I miss my friends back home, and I love them them to bits!

Clair and Peppy blogged about the party, too. Check out their stories!

On Technorati: barkada, friends, philippines, party, birthday

Although I went rock-climbing with Cyril Tubianosa and other college friends a long time ago, I couldn't remember enough to climb on my own, so I registered for the introductory class. Richi did too. Quinn and Jed were waitlisted for the class, but made it in when the other people didn't show up. It was fun learning a new skill with close friends.

While we learned the ropes, Simon and Roger took turns climbing challenging walls. By the time we finished, they were also done!

Fortunately they were not too tired to help us. I asked Simon to belay for me as I tried climbing. The 5.7-level wall turned out to be a bit too challenging, so I went for the 50' 5.6 wall instead. I had completed a 5.6 wall during the beginner class, so I figured I could handle it.

50 feet, apparently, is quite a distance, particularly for someone new to climbing, with a weak grip and little endurance. When my fingers gave up, I used anything else I could: the side of my palm, my forearm, even my elbow. I frequently shook my hands to get rid of the fatigue and often sat back to figure out a strategy for making my way up. Whenever an approach failed, I'd try another, and another, and another. Hold by painful hold, I made my slow way up.

Every time I lost my grip, my friends learned more about the limits of my vocabulary. They knew I was getting serious when I graduated from "Ay, CRAP!" to "DARN!" They were rather amused when I tried out "Fish!" and "Fudge!" for size. (I like "Fudge!" It makes me think of chocolate.)

It took me more than thirty minutes to reach the top. Aside from a brief break to get a drink and maybe a quick climb, Simon talked me through the entire thing. Every time I'd get stuck on a set of holds that seemed impossible, he mimed different strategies for getting past it. When I was about to give up, he told me that I was over the hard part already. (Why I believed him, I don't know. ;) ) He kept encouraging me further and further, making sure that I kept the ground I gained.

I reached the top and slid back down to the ground in blissful relief and accomplishment. "You're such a trooper," said Simon.

And hey, yeah, that's true. If I think something's worth it, I'll keep going for it—and that's just so much more fun with encouragement. =)

On Technorati: rockclimbing, friends

My brother-in-law, John Valdezco, discovered this the hard way, too. We were on our way to Taal Lake - a lake in the crater of a volcano - when talk turned to adventures. My dad asked John to tell us a story about the most interesting thing that had happened to him so far. Right after he gave up and said that he couldn't think of anything, there was a sudden commotion - a landslide right behind our car.

My mom thought that was a very good reason to never ask someone if anything interesting had ever happened to them. Still, I'm a slow learner. I like listening to people's stories. If you think you might spend some time around me, make sure you've got one ready! You really don't want to tempt fate, especially not around someone happily cursed to live an interesting life.

On Technorati: friends

You see, I'm a social chocolate eater. Knowing it to be one of my weaknesses, I try not to have chocolate unless I have company. And as 9x13 pans result in a _lot_ of brownies, I absolutely must have friends over if I'm going to even think of baking.

So I did. Dan Howard, Quinn Fung and Jedediah Smith came over. We had this absolutely decadent dessert: freshly-baked double-chocolate brownies topped with French vanilla ice cream and hot fudge bought especially for the occasion.

As a concession to healthy eating, we followed it with pineapple chunks and loose-leaf green tea. (I've graduated to loose-leaf tea! With a tea ball! Proper.)

Now _that's_ a terrific way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Proper.

Kelly blogged about brownie sundaes. I _so_ want to have a Sundae Sunday now, complete with whipped cream and a light dusting of chocolate shavings or almond slivers or toasted rice or _something_ equally indulgent...

Life is so much better when you know how to make dessert.

On Technorati: cooking, cookordie, friends, party, entertaining, dessert, chocolate

Went to Kick-Ass Karaoke Night with Joey de Villa, Wendy, Quinn, Jed, and a bunch of random strangers.

Sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", which was an awesome choice as everyone sang along. =) Also, sang the theme song from Ally McBeal with Quinn Fung (see picture).

Had fun. =)

On Technorati: karaoke, singing, friends

I had an animated conversation with Ken, my research supervisor's 6-month old son. This conversation mainly consisted of Ken going "Baaaa... Baaaa" at me, and my exercising my superior listening skills and going "Mmm hmmm" at the right moments. I tried getting him to say "Blog", but I don't think he's quite ready for it yet.

It was certainly an unusual experience for me. For the most part I felt very much like my 22 years of age, although I'm somewhat proud of the way I managed to quell the urge to run to the nearest library. ;) Kidding. It wasn't bad. It was just unusual.

I stayed afterwards to help clean up. I was glad to have the opportunity to chat with Alice over the dishes.

I took her out for a much-needed girl day on Sunday. We wandered along Yonge looking for a place to get an inexpensive massage, and spotted this tiny one called New Moon Spa at 678 Yonge Street. It's open from 11 AM to 9 PM, and you can get a basic shiatsu massage for CAD 10. There was only one table and one masseuse, and Alice insisted I go first. Totally small-time operation that's only been there for two months. I tipped the masseuse almost 100% for good service and for encouragement, and I probably made her day too. =)

I remember massages as a simple luxury my mom also enjoyed. I'd like to learn how to help people relax, and one way to do that is to experience it myself. <laugh> It was nice spoiling a friend. I'll take her out next month, or maybe even sooner.

Then we went to Second Cup and had large cups of hot chocolate. It was very much a hot chocolate day for Alice, and I'm glad to have shared it with her. I wish I had answers, but I don't. I'm just here to listen and maybe help people gain a little bit more clarity.

Ayayayayay... If only a hug could make the world all right!

On Technorati: friends

I'm rereading Gail Vaz-Oxlade's excellent book, A Woman of Independent Means. I hope I can find something that will help.

On Technorati: life, friends

Random Japanese sentence: ネコがいる。 There is a cat.

I love how my friends get along with my folks! And I love how my friends are just such characters! If there's one thing I regret about being here, it's that my friends here can't experience that part of my life...

On Technorati: friends

Random Japanese sentence: 彼は１日中行方不明の猫を捜した。 He hunted for his missing cat all day.

I fell while trying to get off my bike. I must've slipped or misjudged the height because this was my first time to ride it wearing black school schoes instead of hiking shoes. Fortunately, I was near Graduate House when this happened, and I limped to my room to pick up something I'd forgotten.

I headed back down and decided to brave the bike again so that I could go to the bank. After a block of much pain, I decided that biking was probably not the best way to travel. I headed back, found out that I was bleeding, and did my best to deal with it. It wouldn't stop, though.

I texted Jed to tell him that I couldn't make it to samba because of the bike accident. I also told a couple of friends who biked, just in case they had any advice. One of those was Leigh, who turned out to be on campus taking a class on Java exceptions. Upon hearing of my distress, she left the class and headed to Graduate House in order to help me get to the hospital.

I left out the specifics of the accident because it was a rather embarrassing thing, but Jed insisted that I keep him updated. I told him that Leigh was taking me to the hospital and that everything would be fine. We took a cab to Western, and Jed met us there after a short while.

The Canadian medical system is good, but the lack of doctors makes things a bit slow. That said, I was glad that I didn't have anything serious enough to make the triage nurse increase my priority. Having company certainly helped pass the time. =)

The examination was a bit brutal, though. I cried and hyperventilated from the pain, losing a contact lens in the process. They gave me a painkiller afterwards. (Hmm, might have been a better idea to do the painkiller before the examination...)

The resident doctor told me that it was a routine injury and nothing to worry about, although he referred me to a Mount Sinai Hospital so that a specialist could make sure that everything was all right. The doctor told me that the next few days would be rather painful, though, so I texted Quinn Fung, asking her to e-mail all the people I had on my schedule.

We took a cab to Mount Sinai and waited for a few hours. The painkiller helped, and the company of friends made it easy for me to pass the time.

I got admitted to the emergency room at around midnight. I talked to one of the ER staff about what happened, and then I dozed on and off while waiting for the specialist. I woke up when Jed came in. He said that Leigh had to leave already (it was way past midnight then!), and he also brought some food. I didn't have much appetite, though.

The specialist came at around 3:00. The preliminary exam was still too painful for me, so they stuck an IV into me and gave me a stronger painkiller. It made me drowsy, and when I woke up again they had finished with everything and reassured me that nothing needed stitching or patching up. Jed stepped out when they did the examination, but remembered the instructions that the ER staff gave him. That was good as I couldn't remember the examination at all.

So that's my first experience of the Canadian medical system. I'm really, really glad that friends were there to help me navigate the system and to hold my hand throughout the process. Big shout out goes to Leigh and Jed, who saw me at my worst and stuck around anyway... =)

On Technorati: friends, sick

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.

We should have more nights like that - and perhaps, sometime, some sunshine too?

The night also raised an interesting question, which I'll reflect on more over the next few.

On Technorati: friends

Random Japanese sentence: 私はこの小猫を猫の好きな人には誰にでもあげます。 I'll give these kittens to whoever likes cats.