Help...

I probably have to admit that I'm not one to reach out and ask for help.  I know all my friends would help me in a second. But I think I feel like I'm burdening them and not giving them a chance to say no.  But on the other hand I'd help any of my friends that I could.  Actually I'd be upset with them if they didn't ask me to help them.  So really I can probably assume that when I don't ask them, they might get upset at me.

One thing that I'm asking people to help out with, or just consider is to go to onematch.ca and read up on being a stem cell donor. It's not for me, so don't be concerned about me.  Obviously some one close to me requires some help and this is one small part that I can do to help them.  If you decide to join all you have to do is fill out a questionnaire and they then send you a kit that contains a swab that you send back to them.  In the event you are a match they will contact you and you still have the option of refusing if you don't feel like going through with it.  The website has information about the process and should address any questions you may have.

Thanks, I really appreciate it and even if you decide it's not for you could you please pass it on to your friends as every one person that signs up, is one step closer to saving my friend's life.

Tar Sands

Again it's been a while since I've written.  I been doing so soul searching and trying to figure out the next steps in my life.  Speaking of the future I just finished watching the "Nature of Things" on CBC and it was a story on the Alberta Tar Sands. 

When outsiders think of Canada I'm sure a lot of things come to mind.  Hockey, Eskimo's, igloo's, beautiful and picturesque scenary that consists of lakes, forests, and snow covered mountains. What do I think of when I hear Canada?? I probably think of the same things, multiculturalism, poutine!, cottage country, NO right to bare arms, and maybe the country that I was born and raised in and that I'm proud to represent through work and when I'm overseas.  I didn't mention any of our sports teams, as to be honest we haven't been doing so hot lately... these Leafs are killing me.... just like the Blue Jays.  I still remember that game when Joe Carter hit that HR to win the World Series, I was in the Home Run deck with my buddy.  It was a great moment!!

Sorry, back to this documentary I watched.  It's amazing how powerful these oil companies are.  These companies (Suncor) can take a landscape like this:

 

To this:

 

I guess what amazes me is that the province of Alberta back these oil sand projects and companies like Suncor because it's a huge boost into the local economy, but it's not like this oil is even destined to be used in Canada.  Most of this oil is sent south of the border to the United States.  The largest consumer of oil in the world.

You may also hear about the Gulf oil spill:

and the large ecological consequences of the spill that are still being felt by all the coastal communities.  Deep sea drilling, even with the gulf disaster, as large as it was, is less likely to have an environmental impact then the digging and processing or the oil sands in Alberta.  To process the oil in oil sands it creates 3 times as much hydrocarbons then drilling for crude oil.  As well the stripping of the land is a guaranteed environmental impact that will be felt for generations.

You're all probably wondering why I'm even writing about this, but some of you may know that I actually have a B.Sc in Environmental Science. I guess it was the one course that was interesting in first year University and I kept going with it.  I'm by no means a "tree hugger" or an environmentalist, but I think it interests me because it shows how one or two multinational corporations have the financial and political backing of the government to basically strip Canada of it's identity and for most of us in Canada, it seems to be okay.

Don't get me wrong it happens in the USA and countries all over.  Another good documentary that I enjoyed watching was Food Inc.  It's based on the farmers that grow food for America and the influences that the huge corporations have over the government regulations which ultimately effect the small farmers who are struggling just to break even.

I'm not blaming anyone or anybody in particular but sometimes I have to think the reason these companies are so powerful and wealthy is because of us, the end consumer.  Is it because we demand food for a dollar, or want to drive big SUV's that guzzle tonnes of gas, I don't know.  But I also look at all the drugs coming into the USA and even Canada which I believe is the root of a lot crimes being committed today.  If there was no one consuming the drug, would it even be worth importing any more?

2011.. the new year...

Sorry for not posting in such a long time.  The holidays got really busy.  I don't even know where to start.  Hmmm, some friends just found out they're pregnant.  I'm really excited for them.  They'll make amazing parents and have cute kids.  I played with a bunch of kids over the holidays.  They make me laugh, but I have to admit, it's great when they're not your kids.  I can always give them back when start to cry.  Got a new phone (thanks Bro!) that has a better camera so hopefully I can start taking more pictures of the new restaurants I've tried.  Speaking of new places.  When to a Afghani place that sells Kabobs.  I can't remember the name of it, Bamiyan Kabobs maybe? oh yeah it is, here's the link: http://www.bamiyankabob.com/

The food was really good.  The place was packed on a Sat night.  I got the Kofta Kabob which is ground beef I think.  But they have Lamb, chicken, and a few other things.  The prices were relatively cheap as well.  I think we were the only asians in there... and one or two white guys.  Other then that all middle eastern folk.  Oh yeah, this was the one at 14th and Markham road.

Hopefully I'll be able to post more in the next few days... or weeks, we'll see.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's Christmas!!  Here's wishing all my friends and their families a Merry Christmas and a happy holidays. 

I can't believe how fast 2010 has passed by.  There were a lot of great moments this year and a lot of fun and laughs were had.  I had 10 weddings this year, but I was able to make only 9 of them.  Each and every one of them was special to me and I had a blast.  We'll see what next year has in store for me.  I already know I'm MC'ing one wedding in October.  That should another great time.  What's on the agenda for 2011?? I'm hoping to go see my good friend in San Jose, we all miss her! and I'm hoping to have a trip to Shanghai for April.  I'm not sure what else next year will have in store, who knows maybe I'll even change jobs.  Speaking of jobs, here's something I did a long time ago that a friend just recently found on YouTube.  Some of you may know already about my Tiger Woods commercial but not many people know about this one as I always thought I was cut out of it.  I've only ever done two commercials so here's my other one that I did back in 2000.

I hope you had a good laugh.  Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.  Hopefully I'll be able to post more pictures and more laughs in 2011.

The Holidays

Last weekend I ended up meeting some friends from back in the days at a new Italian restaurant in Richmond Hill called Fraticelli's.  I believe one of the guys from Restaurant Makeover is involved with this place.  The restaurant is very nice inside.  Tall ceilings with nice modern decor.  When you enter the bar is on your right and the seating area was to the left.  The bar is a nice setup with a nice fireplace on the one side.  There's an area near the front that has lounge chairs and looks like a nice place to chill and hang out with friends.  We hung out at the bar for about an hour and half and ended up getting seated eventually around 915pm or 930pm.  However our reservation was for 845pm  Once we were seated they were gracious enough to give us some complimentary pizza's.  They were actually quite good.  The food itself was pretty good, however they ran out of meatballs... who runs out of meatballs?? LOL.  I think because it was a weekend and a busy night the service was a little less then desired.  I'm pretty easy going so I enjoyed the night especially when hanging out with great friends.  I'd be willing to go back there again, but maybe on a weeknight when it's not so busy.

Sat. night I attended another dinner to celebrate some friends birthdays.  We had it at a sushi buffet called Maison Du Japon.  I've probably been here before 7 or 8 times as it's a favourite among some of my friends.  The food here is pretty good.  The nice thing is that they're pretty fast with bringing out the food.  I recommend ordering just a few dishes at a time because you'll soon realize that you've run out of table space. They also have a few sitting room that hold about 8-12 people and you have to take your shoes off as you sit on these neat tables in your own private room.

Today I stopped by Costco and saw that they had the PS3 on sale... I was so temped to buy it.  But to be honest I thought that i wouldn't really play with it much.  I think it might be good if I had a few friends over but then again so many of my friends have one that i could probably go over to their house to play it.  We'll see, maybe one day... but then if I played with the PS3 when would I ever update my blog? I have trouble enough without a PS3 to distract me.

5 more days till Christmas!!!

Friendship

I was recently asked to do a reference letter for someone and at the time another friend asked me to be a reference for a new position he's applying for.  While I was writing the reference letter I found it difficult to quantify what exactly a great friend was. I don't mean I couldn't find anything nice to say, lol, far from that, how do you prove to other people the good we see in each other?  I would think it's subjective and obviously a personal opinion or choice.  However I said before (maybe even posted before) the we surround ourselves with those people who are a direct reflection upon us.  As I think of all the many different friends that I have from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different personalities, I guess the one thing they all have in common is me... seems kinda funny when you write it.  One thing I've always wondered over the years is it better to have a large number of friends or better to have a small number of friends that are very close.  I'm not sure what the answer is. 

I still keep in touch with a few friends from high school and University.  I know it's not as frequent as we'd all like, especially with many of them having kids, I realize time is a luxury for a lot of them.  But then again, the kids give me another reason to go visit them.  They all have such wonderful children.  Hopefully in 2011 I'll make a more concentrated effort to go see more of them.

What is a good friend?? One that will laugh at all our little quirks, make you smile when you're feeling down, lend a hand in a time of need, won't judge us for our faults, share their experiences (good or bad) to help us learn, be happy to hear from you even though it's been over a year since you last spoke, and someone willing to be them self whenever they're with you.  I know there are many more things that make a good friend, I just hope over the length of our friendship I've been able to be, or do, at least one of those above things. 

Fedrick or Fredricks??

Another busy weekend in the books but it's not even over yet. I've got to head out to another gathering of friends and dinner.

I guess the weekend started off okay by me not going into work Friday.  I just felt so tired when I work up so I figured I'd be better off taking the day off, but I felt bad leaving some work for my buddy to clean up for me.  Since I had the day I decided to check out the Under Armour Warehouse sale in Markham.  I had some friends line up at 10am and the place didn't open till noon.  I didn't get there until about 2pm and I waited approx. 1.5hrs to get in.  I've been to the first sale they had 2 years ago and I thought it was pretty decent.  Last year I didn't make it out but a buddy of mine bought me a few shirts.  This year I didn't find it too organized or even that cheap.  I did happen to buy a few things but I mostly bought for other people.  They make good Xmas presents.

Sat. I played in a volleyball tournament down at Monarch CI (East York area).  We didn't do too bad but our +/- wasn't great so we didn't make it into the playoffs, even though we only lost one game in the round robin.  But I still had a great time with my friends and saw a whole bunch of familiar faces and even met a few new ones.  After the tournament I ended going over to my friends place for dinner.  We had heard a new Hakka restaurant opened up by the Costco in Markham.  Fedrick's is a chinese hakka place whose original location is at Bellamy and Ellesemere.  I think it's been there for at least 20 years.  It's a popular place in Scarborough, even though it's tucked away in a little plaza and the decor looks like it's from the 70's.  Any given day around dinner time you can find scores of people lining up to order take out or to pickup food to go.  So I guess with the success of the Scarborough location they decided to open up another location in Markham.  It's funny, if you google the restuarant you'll get two different spellings. Fredricks or Fedricks.  For the longest time I thought it was Fredricks, but I was wrong.  Like most Hakka places I go to I usually order the Chilli Chicken, Spicy green beans, Chicken Pakora's, and the odd time Hakka noodles.  At Fedrick's I also like to order the crispy beef, tender pieces of beef coated with batter and I'm assuming deep fried... excellent with their homemade sauce.  The chilli chicken isn't the hottest out there but it's very tasty and good for all types of pallets.  The green beans and pakora's are excellent as always.  The pakora's aren't as indian tasting like Lin Garden, and it's hard to explain but I like Fedricks Parkora's the best.  So if you like a little spice in your chinese food, give Fedrick's a try, I don't think you'll regret it.