Waterloo Visit Pictures!

Read my three previous posts to see what my trip was like! =)

So I'll start off with a picture of what I brought on this trip! Actually brought way too much stuff (i.e. work to do)! So stupid! I spent most of my time eating or meeting friends or just being out in Waterloo!!!


Next is an amazing picture of the Calbee chips I brought Pammy. Yes, I was "HOI"-ing her!


Sushi on Thursday night (Day 1) at some Japanese place in downtown Kitchener. It was pretty good!


Blueberry pancakes, sunny side up, pound cake, blueberries, and orange juice for breakfast on Friday (Day 2)! =) It was so good! Obviously my cooking was better than Pammy's! HAHAH


Espressos at The Terrace Cafe (Friday lunch!)



Overpriced lobster cakes, also at The Terrace Cafe


Dinner at Golf's on Friday night! I took picture of the soup and garlic bread but forgot to take a picture of the steak. But the steak wasn't even that good anyway, so it did not deserve a picture!


Beautiful morning view of Waterloo on Saturday (Day 3)!


Criss-cross fries breakfast/brunch with Allie and friends on Saturday!!!



Random pictures taken at Victoria Park in Kitchener on Saturday!













Lastly, building in Waterloo campus with the dinosaur bones!

Waterloo Visit (Part 3)

Because I slept at 5am last night, it was so hard getting up at 9:30am this morning. I swear if I keep this up, I'm going to fall apart...especially because it's end-of-term season! But anyway, I got up at 9:30am today to get ready to meet with Allie and others for breakfast! We went to "Duke of Wellington" and ate this amazing breakfast (ok, more like brunch) with these yummy criss-cross fries!!! Picture will be uploaded soon! So yup, it was great seeing Allie, Aaron, Eunice (ok, and Mel as well...), and then also Allie's roommates as we had time to just chat about random Laurier/Waterloo stuff!!! It's amazing to see that Allie and them are doing great and somehow we're all finishing up our undergrad years! Scary and cool at the same time!!! Anyway, afterwards, I went with Mel to vacuum/carwash her car while waiting for Pammy to finish up with yoga. Mel's car was pretty cluttered =) (Yes, Mel, I know you will read this and laugh at me...and probably punch me the next time you see me...) I managed to find around $4 of random coins, TTC tokens, tennis balls, and other weird items in her car! But ya, after the carwash, I met up with Pammy again and we went to Victoria Park to see the beautiful scenery and take some really good pictures! This time it was amazing because the weather was so good and it was in the middle of the day, unlike the creepy sketchy night time two days ago! There were so many kids out playing and many people walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather! There were also many Canadian geese, ducks, and dogs at the park! I thought it was pretty cool how there were always a male duck beside a female duck! Duck couples! =) hahaha and yes, once again, pictures will be uploaded soon! So yup, after that we went to Waterloo campus and went into some buildings to see how boring and bland they were. Honestly, Waterloo has the worst buildings ever, except for this one building where they had all these dinosaur bones that it made me feel like I was in a museum. Anyway, we then headed back to Pammy's apartment to grab our stuff (LOTS OF STUFF!!!...and it's not my stuff.....it was more like her stuff to move back to Toronto!) and then headed off on our journey back to Toronto! Afterwards, we had the Missions Project Kickoff and then I headed off to Freddy's party, and now I'm super super tired! What a crazy day!

All in all, the Waterloo Visit was such an amazing trip because I got to meet up with so many people and got time to see how Pammy lives in Waterloo! =) I have to say the best part of the trip was the walk at Victoria Park today because the weather was so nice and we got so many wonderful pictures! I'm so glad I made this trip to go visit Laurier/Waterloo because of the wonderful time spent meeting people and hopefully I will see them soon! If any of them are reading this, I thank you for spending time with me this weekend! I really enjoyed this trip!!! =)

Waterloo Visit (Part 2)

Last night's sleep wasn't that good...sleeping on the ground, even with a sleeping bag, is not the best, but anyway, we woke up this morning and made these wonderful blueberry pancakes!!! Picture of it will be posted soon. We also made sunny side up and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast on the porch overlooking the beautiful Waterloo view! (Yes, I can't believe I used "beautiful" and "Waterloo" in the same sentence...) After breakfast, I sat in with Pammy's Optimization class (at least I think it was optimization...haha it was really weird) The class was basically a crazy math course and the prof was really weird, but cool at the same time! He even had a "cookie break" HAHAHA! So jokes! But yes, after class we went to some cafe in downtown Kitchener called "The Terrace Cafe" and drank some cool espressos and ate some overpriced lobster cakes (picture will be up soon!). Then we went to the library to study...while I waited for Fe to be free. Then I left Pammy and went with Fe to play some pool and then check out his basement. Afterwards, I met back with Pammy and we went to eat dinner at Golf's. It's some pretty nice steakhouse overlooking a river....except it was already past 8, so it was super dark. The meal was mah-mah-dey, but nonetheless, filling. I feel like I've gained so much weight because of all the food I ate! Anyway, we then went to Blockbuster to rent two movies: "Cube" and "Ghost" and then headed back to Pammy's place to watch them both. Both movies were pretty good! "Cube" really made me think about human thinking and how humans respond under stressful situations. "Ghost" was pretty much a love story that had some intense but extremely predictable moments. Anyway, we watched the movies, then just chatted and surfed the internet and looked at each other's gradball pics, and now it's like almost 5am!!! Gonna sleep now!

...and yes, THE FRAY! Let's do it! =)

Waterloo Visit (Part 1)

Wow....so Day 1 of my Waterloo visit is about to end and I have to say it was one crazy day today. To start off, I didn't even sleep at home last night because I was rushing to finish my MSE project that is due on Friday. My partner Mark and I got it done last night at 3:30am!!! Yes, so we managed to finish on Wednesday night, which mean that I could head off to Waterloo today (Thursday) in the afternoon, which I did! Got to Loo at 3pm and basically hung around Math Building for a while before heading to Pammy's place. Man, UW is so ugly. Sorry to all those UW people out there, but your campus is so boring and ugly with all those brown buildings. But anyway, got to Pammy's place and did a bit of work because she was at yoga. We then headed to Kitchener for some sushi and then walked around Victoria Park at night. The scenery is pretty nice. My perception of Kitchener-Waterloo was always UGLY and BORING, but I have to say the park was really beautiful, and this was in the dark! I can't wait to check it out in broad daylight! But yes, we then went grocery shopping and headed back to her apartment. Then at 11pm, I met up with Amy and we had some wings and beer while we caught up with what happened in our lives for the past 4 years of university. Pretty amazing to be able to chill with her and just see how we're doing after all that has happened in the past. But yes, it's now reaching 2am. I'm super stuffed with wings and beer. Maybe I should sleep soon. Running on 4 hours of sleep will get back to me one day. More crazy fun things to come these next few days!

Going Home

"I'm going home,
There's nothing to hold me here.
Well I've caught a glimpse
of that heavenly land--
Praise God, I'm going home."

I'm not sure why, but that quote caught my eye. The quote was printed on the front page of the bulletin for Uncle Henry's funeral today. He passed away this past Wednesday after struggling with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for five years. From what I know, he's been suffering from the disease's control over his bodily motion for so long now, I'm glad that he's finally rid of this disease and is celebrating in God's presence in heaven right now. I belive this quote caught my eye because I have full assurance that Uncle Henry is a believer and that he is up in heaven right now, at his true home, in God's presence without any pain.

I know that it is tough for the family because I myself cannot imagine losing my dad at such a young age, but I know God is with Auntie Debbie, Amina, David, and the rest of the family. The funeral service was pretty sad today because I've never seen Auntie Debbie or Amina cry so much before. David was fine, which I'm glad because he's a tough kid. Overall, the family has always been so cheerful and happy. Whenever you're with the four of them, you can expect lots of smiles, laughs, and a sense of care coming from them. My greatest memory of Uncle Henry was when I was in Gr.10 and it was my first time playing basketball on Thursday at church. Everybody there towered over me and I was the smallest and youngest kid, but I distinctively remember Uncle Henry approaching me and chatting with me and just making me feel comfortable. I remember how he would always greet me with a big smile and ask how I was doing, and that little thing was what made me enjoy coming every Thursday to play basketball. I will never forget Uncle Henry's impact in my life and how his constant easy going and cheerful character brought many people smiles on their faces, including mine. The family may be in grief and mourning right now, but that is fine because Uncle Henry is such an amazing husband/father/person, so his life should definitely be reflected and remembered. I'm sure after a while, the family will continue to be happy and cheerful, especially because of Uncle Henry's legacy of being such a wonderful friend to so many of his colleagues and church friends. May he rest in peace.

Daily Bread Food Bank

Went to Daily Bread Food Bank today. Didn't get to package or deal with food, but did end up helping with clearing cardboard boxes and crushing them into a big square for recycling. Yes, the job was menial, but still important for the Daily Bread Food Bank to operate.

Then went back to UofT to write a test. Biomaterials and biocompatibility. It went ok, I hope. But ya....then headed back up with Pammy and Michy to church and then dinner with Bern and Tim Li. And then timmies & green grove. Wow, now that I recap this, today was pretty crazy. And I spent quite a bit of money...

I do wish I got more time to see how Didomi went...

Dirty Dancing

I can' believe I'm actually blogging about this, but basically, I went to watch "Dirty Dancing" with a bunch of girls + one guy. It already sounds weird, right? Well ya, I agree, it does sound weird. But seriously, all weirdness aside, the play was actually really good. Loved the dancing and especially the singing! Melissa O'Neill is in it! Both she and the guy singer were really really good! I really enjoyed the performance!

OK, I have a test tomorrow. I really have to study now...

CESA Senior Elections + Year End Celebration Dinner

So I just got back from the dinner after the elections and I feel super bloated. I recall one time saying that I would never eat the full potential of an allyoucaneat dinner because I'm just too old for them now and I can't eat as much as when I was younger. Well, I take that back. I literally ate meat for 1.5 hours nonstop. I think I devoured like 10 trays of meat from those korean bbq places. It was pretty dirty in terms of the amount of oil and fat and meat I ate, but in the end, the night was fun because it was the year end celebration for all the execs for a wonderful year of events and fun! I've always enjoyed helping out CESA because it allows me to hang out with friends outside of the usual classes, but also allows me to still have connections to the chinese culture. What makes CESA special is that it is run by engineers, and that just makes me feel comfortable being in the presence of fellow hardworking peers.

Anyway, tonight was a great way to end of the year. I honestly believe a great Senior Executive team was elected for next year, and I see CESA continuing to be strong in terms of providing the UofT community with CESA's brand of fun and excitement with its own cultural twist. I also look back on the 3 years in CESA and believe those 3 years have been amazing. Being on the exec team and working with them has enabled me to get to know some friends who I will maintain for a long while. When I grow old and look back at my undergrad university life, I will remember CESA as one of the best memories and will treasure the times spent with wonderful people.

One more thing for me to note. I don't know if Nick will ever read this, but I did make a statement today that people may have misinterpreted, but I believe Nick, our CESA president did an amazing job in grouping all the execs to work together and maintain accountability in terms of completing tasks. His work did not include one huge special event, but rather, his constant reminders and behind-the-scenes job is what enabled a very successful year for CESA and I believe his work is underrated. I honestly am happy to have been able to work for him this year in CESA. Whether he reads this ever is not an issue. If he does encounter this, take note that I mean every word. I really do treasure everything he has done and really give all the congrats for a successful year to Nick because he was the one who glued everybody together! =)

PI DAY!!!

OK, I'm like 2 hours late, but still, I'm going to recap my very special Pi Day this year!

In the morning, I went downtown to take part in the March Break Open House for high school students who are interested in Engineering Science! It was fun because we got to present our Biomech project about Repetitive Strain Wrist Injuries and also describe how awesome our program is! =) In essence, you can say we were converting people into EngSci, but honestly, it was really just a time to share about how cool EngSci actually is. I'm really glad I was able to take part in sharing how EngSci has helped me grow as a person.

As I was walking back to my car after the Open House, I found out I received my first ever parking ticket. Stupid sign said that it was "No parking between 12am-7pm unless with valid permit". I was in a rush and thought it said 7am. ARGH...but ya, it was my fault. Can't really do anything except pay the $30. Sigh, there goes two nice dinners...hahaha but I guess I did deserve this.

So after the Open House, I headed back uptown to Market Village for CESA's annual Little Engineers event where we "convert" little kids to become engineers in the future. OK, honestly, it's not converting, but rather just exposing them to engineering concepts and fun activities that may hopefully allow them to consider how awesome engineering can be! So basically, us execs and volunteers helped lead the activities (making a simple cart, towers, etc.) and I guess we subsequently kept the kids busy for a few hours so the parents can do whatever as a break! It was fun because I do enjoy leading activities for kids! =) In the end, I felt that we did our job and the kids definitely had fun!

Afterwards, I rushed to Scarborough Town to watch "Watchmen". Honestly, this movie is overhyped because to a person who has not been immersed in the comic, the story was ok-ish. Nothing too special. I agree that this movie can't really be compared to any other movies but still, it's plot was ok. I didn't find it spectacular. There was blood and action and that was cool, but other than that, I just wasn't interested as the movie went on. I still love Rorschach's inkblot mask! =)

Later in the night, I went to bbt with Alex! It's been so long we actually chilled, and so we literally spent 3 hours catching up and just seeing how we were doing. We talked so much random stuff but also some important stuff like church, relationships, school, future, etc. It was fun just being able to share with a friend again!

OK, so as you can see, this year's Pi Day was exceptionally jam-packed with crazy fun events. Honestly, it had nothing to do with "pi" or "pie", but still, because it was March 14, I will distinctively remember this day in 2009!

Gradball 0T9

At Fairmont Royal York!

Tonight was legendary. An amazing night to cherish and remind the four wonderful years of being an undergrad EngSci student at UofT. I can't say enough about how special the night was to be able to spend with friends enjoying a formal dinner, dressing up, taking pictures, drinking interesting drinks (mixed with alcohol!!! it was fun experimenting!), dancing on the dancefloor, and just chilling in general. I also did have a small feeling that I wish I brought a date to the formal tonight, but this feeling got trumped by the opportunity to celebrate the undergrad years with EngSci friends! I feel really special to have these wonderful friends for these four years and I really hope we will keep in touch for the rest of....well, forever! haha

Iron Ring!

We had our Iron Ring ceremony and parties tonight, and it was a blast! The ceremony itself was a bit weird because it felt like a cult with all the rituals, but it was definitely memorable because in the moments of silence and seriousness, I saw many of my engineering memories flash by. I also felt the immense responsibility and honour to live out the respect and roles an engineer must accomplish as they enter the working field. This doesn't necessarily mean working directly as an engineer, but rather, it's more like just upholding the engineering aspects in the daily working life, such as being humble for the tasks you are accomplishing and always making sure you give the utmost effort and concentration in your work so that it will come out complete and perfect.

Anyway, the reception after the cermony was a lot of fun! It was a great chance for some awesome pictures (to be posted by my friends on facebook soon), and obviously some pre-party drinking. The party afterwards at Molly Bloom's was definitely banging because of the beer and snacks and all the engscis gathering together to party and celebrate 4 (or 5) years of hard work! All in all, another night to remember, especially the importance of the Iron Ring!

--On a side note, I thought the beer and snacks were pretty disgusting (in terms of health) ...even though it tasted so good because I was so hungry, but after seeing this, man, I would even consider the junk I ate tonight was healthy food!
http://thechive.com/2009/02/how-to-make-a-bacon-and-cheese-stuffed-pizza-burger-11-photos/

Rainbow Cake + Rock Band + Movie

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Had a pretty interesting day yesterday!

Anyway, so yesterday was kinda wild and wacky because I would've never imagined I would have a day consisting of those activities all in the same day! The day started with a CESA meeting downtown, which was pretty normal. Not much to talk about. But anyway, after the meeting, I headed off to my friend Maddy's house for a Biomed party. We called it the "Rainbow Cake" Party because we dressed up in rainbow colours and brought assorted coloured foods! Maddy even made the rainbow cake and it looked and tasted amazing! We also spent some time watching this cartoon called "Invader Zim". It is one of the most twisted and crazy cartoon I've ever seen because of it's randomness and honestly, I would've been frightened watching this if I was a kid! Anyway, we also played Rock Band, so obviously, a good party activity! =) Yes, RC+RB is definitely a great combo for fun!

After the party, I headed back uptown to watch a movie with Pammy and Michy, except Michy backed out because of homework (booooo), so it ended up being me and Pammy watching a Chick Flick. Haha....but anyway, the movie was actually pretty good. I do understand why people may have given it negative reviews, but I thought the movie had many funny moments and with all those famous actors and actresses, I thought their roles were pretty well defined. It was too bad that it felt all messy and confusing during the first half of the movie, but that happens when you have to introduce nine lead characters. Overall, they did talk a lot about relationships and did make me ponder about what girls think about in terms of relationships. Can't really say much else here in this blog post in terms of what I'm thinking because it'll get too personal! But anyway, it was a fun movie to watch and I did enjoy chatting with Pammy about many interesting things! =)

What a wonderful day!