Winds and Maples
10 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Cliche/Cheesy, Informative, Uncategorized Tags: Home
Here are some photos of what I’ve grown up around. I’ve realized that if you spend such a long time around natural beauty it often fades into your memory and is never recognized. Maybe that is what makes the “natural” beautiful; the simple knowledge that something in your past stands out but you haven’t discovered what it is…
I think I’ve found a few things here:
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- I hope you know that this flower really isn’t bigger than a barn.
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- This is not really a nebula…I’m not going to tell its true identity.
Like this:
Reaching Back
18 Oct 2011 4 Comments
in Harsh Reality, Uncategorized Tags: Memories, Past
Do you remember those questions that you and your friends would ask each other when you had nothing to do? I mean the questions like : Your house is burning down and you have enough time to run in and grab one thing, what do you grab?
Or…
If you had to choose between bungee-jumping or sky-diving what would it be?
Those questions are the ones that you can’t stand to answer because they force you to choose, to look inside yourself and think about what you really truly desire in your heart. Sometimes what we find in our heart isn’t what we want to see, so these questions fill us with a certain kind of dread in a way. Nobody likes to admit that if their house were to burn down they might run in to save their shoes or their computer rather than a less superficial artifact like their photo album. Am I right?
I could be wrong, but for the most part its true.
A question I have been pondering deals with the past. What do I regret doing or not doing? If I could go back to one specific moment in my past what would it be?
Now I’ve got you thinking haven’t I? About something wonderful you experienced, or about something you would much rather forget. What is it about our pasts that makes them so hard to embrace and simply let go of? So many people I know hold on, grasping at straws for something, but in the end they are the ones lost and without a reason as to why they got to where they are in the first place.
I digress.
Where would I go, if I could travel in my time machine, in my past?
If I were to reach back into my past…I would have to say: Guelph, 1999 or 1998, Chirstmas, my father’s parents’ home. My oma (grandmother) would have made this soup she always makes, with a few meat-balls…I always remember the soup. I don’t remember anything else. We would eat walnuts and use her nut-cracker that was silver and had a flower design on it. My opa would be sitting with my father at the head of the table. My mom is in the kitchen, helping my oma with something. Somehow in their living room we would all fit.
My two older sisters, Thea and Basja, would be sitting on the semi-broken couch, talking about something. Dang, I really do miss that couch, with its red and green patches and cloth arm-rests.
Kara, my younger sister, and I would be occupied with something, I don’t know what…but we were always inventing new ways of entertainment.
I would be 9 or 10 years old and nothing would have bothered me. Life would be simple, and I would have been oblivious to whatever problems that were going on at the time. I would have been blissfully ignorant, unaware.
There I have admitted what some dread to admit. What was in my heart. To be blissful ignorant.
When I started writing this post, I didn’t intend for it to contain this confession, but here it is. Its true too. But all of that being said, would I give back all of my experiences for that state of mind?
Definitely not. There are simply moments when I wish I didn’t know things, or I wish I didn’t hurt as much because of what happens in the natural course of life. That’s all.
Phew!
Okay, I showed you mine, now you show me yours; If you were to travel back into a time of your past, when and where would that be?
A Snippet
01 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in Harsh Reality, Uncategorized Tags: lonliness, love, observation, sadness, time
Under an overpass I see many things.
If I look out across I see a man peddling slowly on a bicycle that is heavy laden with compact cardboard.
The air is so think that around the street lights it seems there is a thick haze.
If I look to my right I see a woman, sitting by a pillar. Her head is bowed, her hands shoved in between her crossed legs to keep warm. She is missing a shoe and her other one is barely on her foot.
She isn’t moving. I walk over to her…but no matter the sound she stays still.
I walk through the overpass and am left wondering about the lady. But I see a girl riding her bike, tears are streaming from her eyes and dripping from her chin.
“What happened on this night that so many are hurting?” I wonder.
I continue walking and soon see a begger man, he is missing a leg, standing with his cruches holding a tin can and shaking it every once in a while to remind passerbys of his exsistance.
I drop two or three kuai in his can and he nods his thanks.
I continue walking.
Soon I see a mother holding her sleeping child, sitting at the base of some stairs. The child is young, and completely covered to block out the cold.
What have I seen?
I have seen lonliness, sadness, poverty and love all in the span of five minutes. A snippet of time. I might have missed all of this if I had walked home staring at my feet.
The Curse of the Cold
26 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in Pep Talk, Uncategorized Tags: Comical, Health, Sickness
I’ve been struck. Its quite official. I have a cold. And I thought I could get away without catching one. But then there are many factors against me here you know. But to be fair there couldn’t be any way around it…
Firstly, the smog alone is reason enough to catch a cold in Beijing.
Secondly, I teach young kids, teachers always get sick…
Thirdly, its the season for getting sick when the weather changes from warm to cold…and Beijing is no exception!
So now I’ve got to thinking about the types of things I like to have or do when I’m sick…a few things come to mind; things like drinking hot tea, chicken-noodle-soup, drink ginger-ale and watch movies and sleep.
Aww, sweet sleep, glorious sleep.
Do you remember a time when if you were told to take a nap, you protested and came up with a million excuses not to sleep? I do…its seems strange to me now that I would protest something so rejuvenating! Now if someones tells me to take a nap, I respond gladly with “Sure thing!” The only thing is that there is never enough time in the day to fit in a nap. There is always something to do, something to see, something to finish, something to start. Not that I am complaining, no, I enjoy being busy.
Just not when I’m sick. When I’m sick there is only one thing that I want to do and that is be lazy!
What about you now?
Bare
10 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Encouragement, Informative, Provoking, Uncategorized Tags: Reality
“Don’t spend your time looking around, for something you want, but can’t be found.
When you find out you can live without it and go along not thinking about it.
I’ll tell you something true.
The bare necessities of life will come to you.”
Such words of wisdom from a Disney movie. It makes you stop to think, what are the bare necessities of life hmmm? Are they specific for each person or general.
I know there the basics that a person needs to survive: food, water, sleep, clothing, maybe a friend or two. But what else is basic to survival? What’s more, how do you draw the line between surviving and really living?
I think it depends on a person’s concept of life.
There are two ways to spin this.
First:
A movie called “Up in the Sky” with George Clooney, discusses this in a small amount of depth. Clooney’s character calls life a backpack. And with everything you put in that backpack the heavier it becomes. He mentions things like a job, family, things, commitments, relationships and all sorts. Now you put that all in a backpack and look at how heavy it is…put it on. “Don’t you feel weighed down?” he asks at one point. Those who respond say “Yes.”
“Then why not take off the backpack?” Clooney asks, “Forget about those heavy burdens pulling you down, live your life free of attachments.”
In my mind this means “bare”.
I could agree with Clooney’s character…but I’m not going to. Its easier to wear a frown, complain and lose heart. Of course relationships and families, jobs and such, they weigh you down. But really only if you let them. If you look at them with the attitude of negativity; then of course they’ll weigh you down. But why not choose to wear a smile, why not choose to look on the positive side? Each day is so much more enjoyable! Also, if you live life with “bare” necessities what would each day be without the relationships we have? I’d say rather dull.
Now Second:
“Bare” can also mean, clearing everything out in terms of things. Forgetting about money, forgetting about things. Living life simply, taking out what you don’t need. Leaving aspects like relationships and people, along with a job and some responsibility in your life.
This type of “bare” means being unattached to things that you have, willing to let them go because after all they are just things right?
Of course right.
This is the type of “bare”, I think, should be sought after with a fervor. Why? Simply put, because “humans” and “the basics” have lost touch with each other. Humanity has become hungry for more, more, more. We’re the starving monster that can never be satisfied. There is all of this clutter surrounding us that we’ve begun to think we can’t live without things.
I would say that this is untrue. But then the world is such that if you choose to live without these things, the world will pass you by quite fast!!
“What a pickle.” Creation has strayed away from its created form. Oh, we’re still loved and everything, but I think God’s created Earth and what we’ve made to be the World, have become two very different things. Earth is pure, while the World has lost its innocence.
Let us pause here to think about the fact that I’ve started this post with a few lines from The Jungle Book…a Disney movie. How in blazes did I get all the way from a childhood classic to here?
I don’t know. haha, oh dear!
But what we have now are two concepts of “bare” and some important realizations. From the first concept; that life needs relationships, and it is better to wear a smile than a frown. From the second concept; life is too full of things, and the World has lost its innocence.The bolded bit is most important. Loss of innocence means “broken”, this is both sad and wonderful news!
Why?
Well, while its sad that we broke in the first place, my God works with the “broken” to make them fixed again.
Yes these are all simple realizations, but they are good to remember all the same.
*sigh…well, its time for me to jet off to work.
Off-Center
24 Dec 2011 2 Comments
in Provoking Tags: Abroad, Christmas Eve, Travel
It is Christmas Eve, and I truly am thankful for family, friends and life! I’ve not much more to say other than that and to post these photos.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Why my odd title? You know…I’m not certain, maybe its because I don’t feel centered spending Christmas away from home, but it hasn’t had such a large affect on me that I feel completely off balance. To sum it up, I just picked a thought that was floating around in my head and used it as a title.
I hope you don’t mind.
Funny the Way it is…
10 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Beijing, Crave, Dave Matthews Band, Wants and Needs
Have you ever noticed that you crave something in a big way; then it comes around and you realize its not as great as you thought it would be?
I’ve created a list of these such things:
1. I desperately wanted graduation to come…but once it came it was not what I had expected.
2. Wanted an internship with a great magazine, and once I was blessed with, happiness seemed so foreign in my life.
3. Wanted to go on a date and well if you’ve read my post about dating then you know how that went down.
4. Want to leave Beijing, but know deep down inside that when the time comes around I won’t want to go…
You’re a Beijinger
10 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Encouragement, Funny, Informative, Musing, Uncategorized Tags: Beijing, City, International, Love/Hate, Relationship
Have you ever thought about how much your home environment affects you? Minus the “go” mentality that every metropolis instills in a person, a city begins the growth of certain characteristics. New Yorkers have become known for their work hard/play hard attitude, Torontonians have become known for the “hipster” style, Parisiens are known for their love of black coffee and dark chocolate. And so on and so forth.
Now what attributions make us Beijingers? Are there certain qualities making us distinguishable amongst the other cities? But of course there are and here a list of qualities has been compiled to help you categorize yourself.
You know you’re a Beijinger when: you’re trying to fit more than two people on a pedal bike. Your fantasy is that one day four will squeeze on. The best part; nobody would give you a second look if you pulled it off.
You know you’re a Beijinger when: you’re able to weave your way through a traffic jam on your bike like Ethan Hunt in “Mission Impossible” cruising in stealth mode; undetectable. You’re a major pain the driver’s butt. But you couldn’t care less.
You know you’re a Beijinger when: you saunter nonchalantly into a street of oncoming traffic even when the red man is flashing. Despite the obvious danger, you have no fear.
You know you’re a Beijinger when: a regular stop for you is the fruit truck on the corner to grab a stick of pineapple or half a watermelon. Your fantasy; eating fruit daily will cancel out the pollution you’re constantly breathing in, the reality is that you’re still constantly coughing no matter how much fruit you consume. The best part is that
You know you’re a Beijinger when: you’ve become a big fan of green-tea flavored food items. The Green-Tea Oreos sold in the convenience stores, the Starbuck’s Green Tea Latte and Frappuccino, or McDonald’s Green Tea flavored cheesecake. You tell yourself it’s healthier.
You know you’re a Beijinger when: while eating Chua’er and drinking a Jingtao, you’re passing time with some Zambians, some Russians, some Brits, some Syrians, some Americans, some Chinese, some Koreans. The best part is that you are making glorious memories that will never leave your hippocampus.
You know you’re a Beijinger when: you know at some point it must end. And that’s that.
42 Things You’ll Only See In China
03 May 2012 Leave a Comment
This is so true and although jarring it is something that after you live here for a certain time you just come to accept. At least its good for a laugh right?
42 Things you’ll Only See In China.
It’s interesting to see it put into perspective/written somewhere else for me to see. Some of these things I’m so accustomed to seeing now I hardly bat an eye when they cross my path. For instance when I see things like Teabucks or KFG, I just think “Oh, another knock off of the original!” I even stop by to try these places. When I see things like “fried Wikipedia” or something I just think “Some words were lost in translation” and I shrug my shoulders.
My friends and I have this saying that when something un-kosher seems to occur, we witness it and simply say “That’s messed up.” You can say that to every one of these photos here.
*Black Adder*
28 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Change, Funny, Musing, The Past, Uncategorized Tags: BBC, Beijing, Black Adder, Rowan Atkinson, Siblings
As I have previously mentioned, I am slightly tired with thinking about Beijing. I have to admit it and be completely honest.
There comes a time in one’s travels when the blogging about oddities never found anywhere else and the photos about cool things discovered; simply lose glamour. One needs to think of other things.
I am one such person. I’ve written about my less-than interesting dating life (of which there is more, but I’m making you wait). I’m now going to write about the entertainment that I enjoyed as a wee Canadian lass.
Blackadder-Sense&Senility Part 1/4 – YouTube.
I grew up with two older sisters (ten years my senior). I love them dearly, but this being the case I also grew up watching movies and shows that should have been above my level of comprehension.
Cue Black Adder. Cue Pride and Prejudice. Cue the BBC.
My older sisters loved Black Adder, and subsequently so did I. I laughed when they laughed, and repeated lines from the episodes to my friends at school. If you watched the above listed episode, then you will know what kinds of things I said (within reason, I wasn’t a complete idiot).
None other than the four faces of Black Adder.
Picture me then, a curly-haired, freckle-faced girl, running up to my friends to say things like…well if you’ve watched the episode you know what I mean.
British humor is rather dry. And if you’re not on your toes, then you could miss the funny bit all together. Sometimes I stared into the emotionless faces of other youngsters who were still waiting for the punch-line long after I’d finished rehashing a night’s worth of Black Adder.
“Get it?” I’d say.
sigh
Oh well, all of this to say that lately I’ve watched some Black Adder and it is still funny. I just thought I’d share some of the hilarity around.
caption=Rowan Atkinson: in case you didn’t know.
Enjoy.
Tune in Next Time when I discuss some of the comedians who are smarter than you. Yes you.
And Rowan Atkinson is one of them.
A First for Everything: dAtInG
27 Apr 2012 3 Comments
in Cliche/Cheesy, Funny, Harsh Reality, Informative, Random, Romantic, Uncategorized Tags: Awkward, Beijing, Conversations, Dating, First, Lessons, love, Parents
Sometimes I get tired thinking about Beijing. So I’ve decided to do a little series on my dating life; or lack there of. I’ve decided this stuff is funny, albeit personal and a tad bit superficial, but it is good stuff to share.
A first date is rather intimidating especially if you’ve never been on a date in your life. This was indeed the case for me. I’ve since decided that I don’t particularly like dates all together. There is far too much pressure and expectation. Whats worse is that people tell you to relax!
This is not me, that is not him. But the photo is an excellent depiction of the pain the two of us suffered through.
Like that would actually happen.
Let me tell you a little embarrassing story. There was this fellow in my third-year of college, he still lives in fact. I thought he was awesome, handsome, funny, talented and smart. He still is awesome and all those other things, he’s just not the guy for me you know?
Anyways…
I gave him a call after the encouragement of my older sister. When he answered, I stammered just a little, okay I stammered quite a lot. But finally I quacked out: “Would you like to hang out?”
“Sure!” he said.
“Oh great!” I shouted a little too loudly.
Before
But even though he had said “yes” and I had asked…how on earth would we actually get together. He didn’t make any suggestions. That should have been a sign to me that this was a bad idea.
Scratch that; I had to ask=sign number one.
I suggested we each drive to the theater and meet up there. His reply: his sister needed the car and his mom and dad were going out. That should have been a sign.
He suggested that I drive out about an hour to his place and pick him up. What was I? His big sister? That should have been a sign.
How badly did I want to hang out with this fellow? Enough, apparently, to make a huge fool of myself. Because…
Then my mother (dear soul) suggested that she and my father go “carpet shopping” to drive me down there and pick him up at the same time. This way was better? At the time I thought so, because I agreed! This should have been a sign, sign number four: my parents were driving us.
During
Our conversation: silence. I’m glad we were in a mall, other wise the quiet would be unbearable. I believe even at one point we started talking about the weather! We watched the movie, about Robin Hood (which was great, but there was more chemistry on-screen then between the two of us) and then walked around in the bookshop near the theater. I remember thinking that this needed to end. Please end!
We were walking down an isle of books about humor (ironically because there was none at that moment) when he answered his phone. Let us pause and shake our heads, I just don’t think that’s polite in any situation. But wait it gets slightly better.
He agreed to hang out later on that day and after he hung up asked when I thought we would be done.
I don’t blame him either, this was a disaster.
After?
It was a huge ordeal and I’ll be honest I felt sorry for him, because then we went to Wendy’s, the four of us. A double date with my parents to Wendy’s. Yes Wendy’s. Don’t worry I ate my meal super fast, because if we all finished quickly, the faster we could leave and this could end. But my parents ate at a normal pace.
I tried sending messages to my dad across the table through mental telepathy: “Let’s jet, hurry up!”
He took my intense looks to mean I was enjoying my meal profusely. “Eat up!” he said.
Oh man.
The poor fellow! What on earth was I thinking? That torture would be the best route to an enjoyable date? Was this even a date? I began to think: Nope.
As we dropped him off in his drive-way I waved a cute good-bye, while he lifted a flat hand and gave me a curt nod of the head.
“Well that was nice,” my mom sighed, “Remember our first date dear?”
I remember closing my eyes and hoping that maybe, just maybe it was all in my head. But in my heart I knew it wasn’t. The saddest thing is that even after all that, I still liked him despite my embarrassment.
Its one of those situations in life that you just have to laugh about after wards out of pure embarrassment.I know that first dates aren’t supposed to be easy, but they’re not supposed to be this horrible either. I think I still turn red thinking about it, whatever it was. If he ever reads this I hope he knows that I felt his pain the entire time.
Check out this website to make sure that he is definitely into you before making the same mistakes as I did:
21 Signs That He Likes You: Smitten: Sex, Love & Life: glamour.com.
What is my blog about? You know I've been trying to find its definition too...I think perhaps now its randomness and clear lack of alignment is enough of a defining factor in that you just never know what you're gonna get! 
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