Climbing

It has been awhile since I went climbing. Last time I went may be a year ago. I don't even want to think how much I bad I climb nowaday. I was planning to go climbing with a friend tonight. She just had her lesson last week. The lesson included a free week pass and she planned to take advantage of that tonight. She needed to take her test before she can belay me. When we put on our equipment and ready to try, the instructor said she failed and she had to come back another time. We were shocked to hear that. At first she thought he was joking but he looked pretty serious. Apparently she should have put the beamer below the belay device (I don't know how to explain it better if you don't climb, just one piece of equipment should be on top of the other and now the rope kind of strangle together) and as her partner, I should be able to spot her (which I didn't cause I almost never use beamer) So she can't belay me that night. Since I passed the test long time ago, we could still stay but she is the only one who can climb. We figure we may as well both get refund and come back another day. When we went to the reception and asked for a refund, the girl was shocked to hear that. She asked what do you mean you didn't pass. We explained what we did wrong, but she seemed to be still shocked about it. The guy came over and explained and said we have to come back another day. While my friend waited for the refund, I went to change. My friend told me apparently the girl was still surprised and kept saying what is wrong with that guy. I later explain to my friend that last time I had another friend fail the test too. But the instructor let us climb for the rest of the day to practice. At the end, the instructor passed my friend. It was kind of ridiculous that this time the guy just said we can't climb anymore that night. How on earth she going to practice! Well, at least we got our money back and we went to exercise our stomach instead.

Late

I never have a good track record of being on time. I usually would be late for at least 15 minutes, sometimes more depends where do I leave from. Also, depends on who I am meeting with. Some friends have a usual tendency to be late so I will "adjust" our meeting time accordingly. But I have been trying to be on time lately. Ever since the beginning of this year, I have been pretty much on time most of the time. I may be a bit late here there. But I have been surprising my friends most of the time. Well, until lately, I have gone back to my old habit again. Especially if I went from after work. I always try to do more work, and end up being late. Or I would try to drive faster so I could stay on time, sort of. I don't remember when is the last time I was on time for Sunday service. First I was 10 minutes late, and then more, and now just in time for the sermon part. This week was especially bad. With the clock turned back an hour this weekend, I thought for sure I will be on time. I can finally walk in from the front door instead of sneaking in from the back door every week. But NO! I actually got there even later! I smartly change my clock to the new time but didn't bother to check my alarm. So when I woke up, I was late already! I thought for a bit whether I should skip church and everything. But I figure I already wake up, I may try to see how late I was when I got there. I was like an hour late when I arrived. I was not shameless enough to walk in to sermon then. I thought about going home, but thought since I was there already, I may go to Sunday school. But I wasn't really keen on explaining everyone why I was late. Skipping everything altogether sound like a much better idea. In the end, I did go for Sunday school and I have to repeat my retared alarm story again and again. Errrr!

Couch Potato Day Started

My vacation started now! Yes! Vacation again! Except this time I am not going anywhere. I just have some vacation days I need to use up this year. Hehehehe, I do have 23 days this year. Even though I went to east coast, I still have 13 days left. Since I piled up a tons of errands, I figured I want a break to do some stuff, like going to see my doctor for regular check up, cutting my hair, checking up my car, etc, etc. Either I do all those every Saturday for the rest of the year, or I took a week off to get it all done. I wanted a break after sitting in for my manager the week before anyway, so I took next week off. I am actually pretty excited about it. That mean I could really relax for a bit. May be catching some friends for lunch. Or do some reading (re-reading Harry Potter!!) Or just be a lazy ass and watch some TV. I really like the idea of having no plan. I felt very relax. Though I have appointments here there, but I don't feel I have to rush anything. But seem like everybody was disappointed at me saying I don't have much to do. It is like every weekend, people asked me what is my plan and lately I don't have much plan. People seem to be surprise how bored I am but I really am doing fine. After five days of torture at work, I just want to relax a bit on the weekend. I may meet up some friends for dinner, but I don't want to plan out everyday to make sure I won't be sitting at home. In fact, I kind of like sitting at home these days. Guess I am a bit tired from work. I totally deserve this vacation!

Dentist

I was never scared of dentist when I was a kid. Even though it was never pleasant experience, going to one won't make me scream and cry. But recently, I have been trying to avoid to go to see my dentist. I had been kind of frustrated with my dentist. Last time when I went to have my teeth clean, my dentist sent me off to this hygienist instead of doing it herself. And that hygienist really likes to chat. I mean while I was sitting there with a mouth full of equipment that he put there, he kept asking me question. It is not even a yes/no question that I could just make noise to answer. He expected me to do a real conversation! What the! He kept saying I should wear braces cause my front teeth is a bit out too much. I kept mumbling that I was afraid of the pain. Seeing how much my brother suffered during that two years of wearing braces, I am a bit too old to go thru that. And I am a bit too old to wear braces. It is a teenage thing. After that, you look a bit too dorky. I got really annoyed at the end when he kept saying I should do it. And last time when my dentist did my filling. It took soooo long. I was sitting there for two hours. I must be allergic to the drug she used cause I kept wanting to throw up. Or may be I just sat too long without moving my head. I have to constrain myself a lot to not kick her. And she did a poor job too. For a whole month, I felt pain in my teeth everytime when I ate food that is cold. After that, I really hate going back anymore. But I think my teeth is due for cleaning. I guess I will look for the other dentist that my friend suggested.

Technical Support

A friend called me the other day and told me she lost internet connection for no reason. Since I was free after work today, I gave her a call and see if she still wanted me to go over and take a look. I already told her I was never good at fixing computer and most likely, I would go over and "certify" her computer's death. Apparently her boyfriend still hasn't fixed the problem after two day of struggling. So I went over, had my free dinner, and then up to her room and diagnose her computer.

So what happened? Oh, the router and the adapter died. And did you try another router? Okay, you did but it didn't work. And try installing different network card too? So now you tried to get the wireless network going? But your computer can't detect the wireless connection even though the router just right outside your room? Have you tried connecting directly to the wireless router? You don't have a cable? Get your boyfriend over. Okay, now you install the network card back into the computer and try with the cable. And Viola, it works! So the problem was with your long cable. I am so smart. What do you mean you don't want to change your long cable! Fine, you have connection now, you can leave all the cable flying around your house. Who cares?! It will become part of decoration anyway. I don't know how to fix the wireless network. I told you that already. Well, I already had my free meal and you got your connection back. I done my part. Ciao!

I had this conversation with my back lying on my friend's back, slaving her boyfriend to do this and that. I think I start getting very good at delegation. Wahahaha!

Family?!

I sometimes consider myself lucky that my family decided to move to Vancouver. Or else I am pretty sure I will grow up quite a different person. I probably will never take up computer science. Another big part is I don't have to deal with relatives. Most of my relatives are in Hong Kong and since I am never keen on going back, I almost never see them (except that last couple years I have various reason that I have to go back). It is not like I don't like them, but there are always conflict between them. Since things became a bit complicated between them now, you have to be very careful what to say. It was easier back then cause my family was all in Vancouver. We ain't involved in any conflict and we always are the innocent bystander. Not until my brother moved back to Hong Kong, we began to be more involved with my relatives. My brother already knew things were easier in Vancouver cause he only needs to answer to my mom. In Hong Kong, he has to answer to everyone. Living with my aunt is definitely harder than living with my parents. Parents can tolerate you in ways that no other people can (well, may be your spouse) but to relative, you are just another stranger living under the same roof. Since my brother always stay out late for work, my aunt wasn't particular happy with him disturbing her sleep. Things became edgy between them and in the end my aunt asked my brother to move. It took my brother awhile to look for a place too. During that period, things ain't that great between them. My brother started getting upset and hurt. I understood my aunt not happy about her life getting disturbed, but I also felt hurt that my brother got kicked out. It has been hard for him to move back all by himself. And now my relatives abandoned him too. Well, at least he finally found a place and moving there real soon. Things should definitely get better after that.

The Game

I was soooo closed to getting a pair of ticket for tonight's game. A coworker of mine was selling his. The minute I saw that email, I thought about calling my dad, but figure I would get my hand on it first and ran downstairs. I arrived at his desk the same time as another coworker. Well, may be a couple seconds earlier. Then things got a bit embarrassing cause we both don't want to be nasty and trying to be polite. But we both wanted it. So we played a round of paper rock scissor and I LOST! I couldn't believe it. I LOST! I should be mean and said I was there 2 seconds earlier and took the ticket. Why do I even try to be fair! Pretending to be nice! Should have just elbow her out of the way and grab the ticket! (actually, I was closer to the ticket! Urgh!) And I should have known I suck at paper rock scissor. My brother can always tell what I am going to do. I should have said best out of 3 rounds. Why do I finish it in one round! And why do I do paper! What on earth am I thinking! Is rock not good for me? Huh?! Next time, I definitely would run to my coworker's desk immediately. Or even should have called right at the moment I saw the email. The game won't even show on TV, except on paid per view. Well, I guess that just mean I can save money tonight. Besides, another friend already told me she may able to get me some ticket later this season since her friend may want to sell some of his. I guess I could always wait.

Prayer

We talked about prayers today in Sunday school. I think it helped a lot cause I often wonder if I should pray to ask for something. I meant God has a plan for me and he know exactly what I need. So when I pray for something, I am not even sure I meant to have it. But if I end up saying, please let me have that, but if I shouldn't have it, then help me understand. I found that is kind of a weird prayer cause I basically said nothing: "Please let me have it, but if you don't want to, that is okay too." And even if I pray for something and it happened the same way I asked for, I wasn't sure if it was because of my prayer or it was the way God intended anyway. I also read somewhere online that it is not right to pray your wish list. God is not Santa Claus. You have to pray very strategically (geez...no one ever told me this kind of thing.....I should have bought that book "Prayer for Dummies"). If it is asking for something abstract, like health for my friends or safety for my brother, I find it easier to say in my prayer. But if I ask for something more concrete, like a car, then I felt like I am talking to Santa. But my pastor said that he asked God for things all the times. He even joked around with God. All prayers will be answered though God may answer with yes, no, yes but my way, or yes but later. He also mentioned that there is a praying method called the ACTS method which stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. And the last one, supplication means that we came to ask for our and others needs. I don't think I ever did all those in one single prayer. I may do bits and pieces here there. Well, but at least I know I am on the right track, I think.

PS. Today I think God did answer my prayer in an interesting way. A friend called and chatted for a quite awhile. She called me in sort of the right time cause she asked me the problem I was having (and geez, to my surprise, I can't believe she sort of figure it out) And I sort of need to talk to someone anyway or I know I will harden my heart (which I think still is) on the situation.

Airplane

"Fly airplane" is Cantonese slang meaning bailing out on someone. And that is exactly what I did to a friend today. Originally, my friend and I were planning to go to apple festival together today. And after that we would come back to my place to make apple pie (mmm...pie) But I need to pick up birthday present before that since we were meeting the birthday boy that night for dinner. I told my other friends that I would do that last week while they were away but I was sick for 2 days and busy all others. So the pressure is on. I have to get something before dinner or I will for sure be killed on the dinner table. I don't want my head to be presented as birthday present. And I am sure his wife won't like to put that their place very much. Another hard thing is my friend has no hobby at all. We think the only thing he really like is his wife. There were tons of times we want to just wrap her up and give it to him as gift. So shopping for him is definitely a challenge. I don't even know which store to go. I think boring person shouldn't allow to have birthday. Or at the very least, no birthday present allowed to save his friend's brain cells (especially when there is not much to start with already!) In the desperation of finding a birthday present, I have to bail out on my friend. I text messaged her and told her I couldn't make it and wonder if she wanted to go the next day instead. But I haven't heard back from her after that (we were chatting a bit thru text messaging earlier but this was the last message) so I was kind of scared she was pretty upset. I knew my time would be tight to go to apple festival and to bake pie and to go to dinner right after. And I kind of don't want to just pick up some crap for my friend. I haven't heard from her the whole night. I felt a bit uneasy not sure what happen. How pissed was she? I know I probably won't be too happy if I made plan with a friend and she bail out last minute. When I got home, I saw her online. Apparently she went to the apple festival by herself. She sounded fine and she did pick up something. She just was going to text message me from the festival but didn't send it. I felt a bit relieved. I know I let my imagination blow thing out of proportion again. But I guess I was guilty about bailing on my friend make me worrisome. I definitely should do better time management next time before I commit to a friend's plan.

Peace

It is always interesting how things come together. I just had a discussion with another friend last night about peace. And today, we had this discussion in fellowship. I think the hardest part is to have peace with people. When some strangers did you wrong, you may hold grudge for a short while and then let go of it. When someone you close to did that, you may never talk to the person ever. People who used to be friends, do you or do you not let go of them? I don't really know the answer myself. I have been fluctuated between both. Sometimes I rather we don't ever see each other again and sometimes I would try to make an effort to maintain our friendship. I am not even sure if it really worthwhile. I know friendship require maintenance, but it always come from my heart. Unlike now I have to pull myself together to try. I don't even know how I call such person a friend when I don't trust the person. When I emotionally block out this person and I evaluate every word the person said, how much friendship is there really? I know I am back to same circle now. I seem to always come back to this dead end. May be the bad dream bring it all back. And I don't know how to deal with our mutual friends. When everybody know you two were friends, what would other think when you no longer friend with the other person? Does it mean only one of us stay in the group? Or should I explain to everyone? Sometimes I wonder am I the only one struggling it. Would the other person having the same struggle? If that is the case, may be I should put our minds at peace by leaving the group.

Sworn Enemy

There is a Chinese saying that there is no sworn enemy in the world of business. I always find Chinese are so wise because that is so true. Someone sent an email several years ago on April's Fool saying that my company got acquired by our biggest competitor. There were quite a bit of reaction on that and in the end, everyone found out it was just a joke. Well, well, well, it wasn't a joke anymore. My company and our biggest competitor announced that they were planning to merge together. I think the news came in as a bit a shock to all of us, employee included. I don't know if I should feel "excited" or upset. I actually felt neither. My first reaction is whether I would still have my job. Seeing how last acquisition in my company worked, it probably took quite awhile to merge the two development teams together. So I guess I would still have my job for the next while. Next thought is, all my junk paper, mm..I meant my precious stock option, may worth something now. We still don't know how much it worth cause there is still legal issue to due with before the transaction closes. I was hoping that I could pay off part of my mortgage (well, I know I am being hopeful, but one could only hope). I read some info provided for us and apparently if your position is no longer required in result of the merge, you will be given a big compensation. If you are required to demote or given less responsibility than your current position, you can choose to not accept and quit and still got tons of money. After knowing that big, it actually makes me feel more calm. So I figured worse come to worse, I got my junk paper traded into cold hard cash. And then I will get more from getting laid off. That mean I could sit around and do nothing and have tons of cash for a short while. Wahahahahaha!!! (I know, I should go to bed now)

Where is My Hot Water!!!

I once did a psychological test: do you prefer to die of hunger or cold? My instant response is hunger. I know I really really really hate being cold and suffering thru that before I die is definitely a torture. Having said that, I have been taking cold water shower last week cause the boiler in my place broke down. The day I came back from my vacation, I found out that the water in my place was not hot enough for a shower. But I waited and waited and waited until I was about to pass out on my couch and then I took a luke warm shower. It felt nasty. Then the situation got worse and worse. I finally didn't even have any slightly warm water. I had to shower under icy cold water for a week now. I wondered if it was just me or it affected my neighbours too cause no way no one complained after a whole week of no hot water. At first I suspect may be I forgot to pay my strata fee and that is what they punished me for. I checked and I did pay last month. So now I suspect it may be my neighbour who complained about the noise I made and shut off my hot water. If I found out he/she did that, I will sue him/her till death!!!!! I finally gave up and called property management yesterday. Apparently, the boiler broke down while I was on vacation (that mean two freaking weeks without hot water!!! I should consider myself lucky then) and they were waiting for the builder to fix it. The builder came and said it was missing a part and needed to put in an order. I asked when can it be fixed then. He said he was about to call and see if the part arrived yet. And even if he found another contractor to fix it, the contractor still needed that part anyway. In another word, he had absolutely no idea!!!! I didn't know how my neighbours survived two weeks without hot water. It has been very cold lately in Vancouver and I am absolutely not happy with cold water shower, even in hot summer days. My body didn't like it either. It was breaking apart. Errrr....FIX IT!!!!

Food Critics

Like most of my trip, food is the top priority. Here are the places I remember I went.

1. Crepe Breton (Quebec City): We had crepe for dinner the first night. I chose egg, mushroom, spinach, ham and cheese. It was alright, not the best one I had (I like the one on Denman St better) Sangria there seem to contain more alcohol than here, even than in Spain (if I remember correctly).

2. Le Petit Coin Latin (Quebec City): I had French toast for breakfast. It was not bad. Coffee is a bit disappointing though. I sort of expecting coffee in Quebec would be like in France, where I could walk into any cafe and they would be sooo good that make Starbucks coffee tasteless. Here, I rather miss my Starbucks.

3. Fondue place next to Le Chateau Frontenac (Quebec City): We had a fondue trio, which mean cheese fondue to start with, a fondue Chino (huh? Chinese?) and a chocolate fondue. I liked the cheese fondue, it taste less sour than I made it (hehehe..) a very mild cheese they used. The fondue Chino is some sort of meat booth you dip your raw meat in. It seems like hot pot, but it is not boiling booth. So we chose beef to be on the safe side. It was alright, not very tasty though. I always like chocolate fondue (mmmm...chocolate...). I hated that we don't have much place selling chocolate fondue anymore.

4. Schwartz's (Montreal): Of course I went for the famous smoked meat. It wasn't too bad. But I was never big fan of smoked meat sandwich. But it is still all good. Still good even we took our left over back to my friend's place and put in soup with noodles.

5. Fairmont Bagel (Montreal): Another thing I had to try in Montreal. It was supposed to be the original bagel place in Montreal. To be honest, I didn't like it that much. I had a fresh (still warm) blueberry bagel. The dough was too blend. I like Siegel bagel way better.

6. Jardin Nelson (Montreal): Another day of crepe. It was actually pretty good. At least their choices were more special. I had one with different kind of mushroom. It was good. I wouldn't sit outside again though even if it was nice and sunny. Cause the bee liked attacking my food and I had to eat very quickly so they wont' touch it first.

7. Royal Thai (Ottawa): They claimed to be the best Thai in town, and it actually wasn't too bad. The night I stayed in Ottawa was freezing cold (and walking in the dark over to the Hull side didn't help either) so I decided I desperately want something spicy. I had a chicken green curry with rice. It was a bit watery than I liked but the taste was fine. I was sooo hungry that I end up eating more than I should.

8. Timothy's (Ottawa): This probably is a coffee shop chain in East coast. They had a light mocha which I really liked. They used a different kind of chocolate that is not very sweet. I always like my coffee a bit on the bitter side. Too bad I didn't get a chance to have another one before I left.

9. Acqua Ristorante e Bar (Toronto): This is a restaurant I walked in at random. I wasn't planning to go to such fancy restaurant. The restaurant I was planning to eat at was all full and I randomly tried several places and they all said I had to wait for 30 min (what the....even for one person) and I saw this place is rather empty. I was beyond hungry when I arrived and the price looked reasonable (though a bit on the high side) It turned out quite nicely. I started with a vegetable soup which had a bit too much pepper but quite nicely done. Followed by a linguini with spinach and mushroom which was exactly what I want to eat. My stomach was going to explode when I finished. I was going to pass dessert but the waitress tempted me with the menu and the moment I saw orange dark chocolate creme brulee, I knew I just have to work out harder when I got back.

10. Spring Roll (Toronto): This was the place I want to go the night before. It was voted best Chinese, best fine dining, blah blah blah in Toronto. Result, I would say rather disappointing. Since it was lunch, I ordered a spring roll and a salad roll. The salad roll was fine, though the peanut sauce was not that good. It was not as creamy as I like. The spring roll is the real disappointment. One would think when you name your restaurant that, it got to be the specialty. They tasted fine, alright. But the best spring roll was when they were hot and crispy, and mine just ain't crispy enough. Good that I didn't wait for half an hour the night before.

11. Okonomi House (Toronto): This is an Okonomi house I found on my tour book. I thought it would be self made one I had in Japan. Turned out to be one that you sat down and ordered. It was not bad okonomiyaki, but it was kind of stupid that I had to order Bonito separately. So when the waitress gave me the box to add on myself, I added as much as possible. The taste was not bad, but I could use more sauce. A big part I like okonomiyaki is because of the sauce. The cook just put a thin layer on it.

12. Starbucks (Niagara Fall): This is definitely the most expensive starbucks I ever been. I never know Starbucks charge differently across Canada. Toronto is a bit more expensive than Vancouver, and Niagara Fall is definitely INSANE! IT WAS SUCH A RIP OFF! I thought I heard wrong when the girl told me how much it cost for a latte. For that price, I could get a latte AND a muffin in Vancouver.

Neighbour

Thought I almost never run into my neighbours, I got the most "pleasant" gift from my neighbours last night. I went home, opened my door as usual, and saw a paper slipped under my door. My neighbour has left me a note.

Hello Neighbors

- Please Lower sound, TV/RADIO VERY LOUD - MORNING & NIGHT
- Walls/Floors ARE THIN IN THIS BUILDING.

THANK YOU
NEIGHBORS

I was quite shocked to get this. First, I really don't think my TV was that loud. It was the usual volume that I have it on for last 1.5 years. Second, I just got back from my vacation for a day! And since I still suffering jet lag, I passed out before 10:30pm. No way someone can complain about noise by that time. The fact that my neighbor only left me a note without saying who he/she is, I can't even verify and see if it is really my tv. For all I know, my upstairs neighbor is pretty noisy too. I could totally hear his/her TV the whole time. And it was 1am in the morning! I don't know what I should really do. I talked to some friends today and some said I should leave it as is. Some said I should bring up my case to strata first. Only thing I worry is that if I ever apply to change to laminated floor, my neighbor may object. Some other friends said my neighbours must have suffered my noisiness for quite awhile. And when I left for my vacation, they finally enjoy the quietness they deserved. When I came back and my tv disturb the peace, they got all pissed and sent me the note. Errrr!

Haunted

Just when you thought you let go of something and it is all in the past now, it came back and haunt you in your dream. People said dreaming is your subconscious. I wonder if that mean that I never really learn to forgive and forget the whole incident. The piece of memory surfaced in my dream one night. I re-lived the whole incident, the lies, the betrayal. I woke up feeling all painful and hurt and bitter. I feel like I went thru everything again. I thought I put everything behind me. If I still felt like that after my dream, may be I never let go of anything. I just hide it under my consciousness. So during the day, I can't feel a thing about it anymore. I emotionally block that out. But subconsciously, the scar would always be there. It just wait for me being vulnerable and unprepared and haunted me again. I wonder if I would ever learn to forgive...truly forgive. May be my heart is harden and I would never able to. Or until I forget then I would forgive. My mind always selectively forget things. May be I could forget that incident somehow. But if I keep thinking about it from time to time, I think that piece of memory will always stick with me. Why didn't it attack me when I slept! When I thought I was over it! Urgh!

Harry Potter

One of the biggest accomplishment I did on the trip was that I finished reading the last two Harry Potter books (hehe..yes, the dictionary size one) I brought along the book 5 hoping to finish reading it. I got it years ago but never finished reading it. Enough people spoiled the surprise for me made me not wanting to finish it. A friend worked that casually into a conversation and made me so mad that I can't even refuse to listen. Another friend used the surprise as password for her team and when she got yelled at by her team member, she told me the story and again, I just can't even shut her up (would her rice tix please smack her now if she is laughing hard?) Since usually I could read quite a bit on my trip (except the Lord of the Ring book which I think is hopeless to finish) I decided to give it another chance and brought it along. Once I started in it, I found that I can't stop. Though a lot of people said Harry Potter became very annoying into book 5, I can see so much of him in me. I could just be as annoying, sensitive, defensive and bad temper as him. Only difference is he would snap whenever, but I would usually control more instead of yelling at everybody. Part of the reason I was so lack of sleep is because I was reading the book late at night. When I finally put down book 5, I really want to start the latest book. I knew it would be insane to bring two dictionary size books with me, but it is not like I didn't bring tons of books with me on my vacation before. I got all the first 4 Harry Potter books during my trip in England. I was reading like crazy one after another. And, since I happen to find a Chapters in Toronto, I may as well pick up the next one. After reading everything in two days, I felt a sense of loss. I don't know what I could do next. My friend said we are suffering the withdrawal. I know I want to watch the movie again cause I want to know who play some of the characters. My friend re-read all the other books again. I was searching online for more info on the upcoming movie and finding out the cast. I also searched for rumour about the next book in the hope will give me some hint what to expect next. Errr...how much longer I need to wait for the next book?! :(

Across Canada

Finally came back from Toronto. It was kind of last minute that I decided to do this trip but it was not too bad. As usual, I didn't do much planning before my trip. I don't have much time to do any preparation. Only thing I could do is to pick up a Lonely Planet from the library the day I am flying out and read it on the plane. It was not a bad trip. Despite a lot of people expect me and my friend kill off each other on the trip, we both survive :P I went to Quebec city, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. As expected, Toronto bored me to death. I ended up going shopping and did a lot of reading. Montreal, I found it okay, as another friend said, it is a French version of Toronto. I liked Quebec city and Ottawa the best. Here are some highlight of the trip:

1. Since I didn't travel with my usual disastrous friend (hehehe), no usual chasing a train or plane....though we did try to chase the bus once and I end up landing on my face and hurt my ankle. I was totally in shock when that happen. It was 5 days into the trip and I lost my mobility!!! Good that I could still walk around...though I wouldn't run for next while.

2. The screw on my glass somehow lost the first day I arrived. I have to wear my glasses with only one handle for 4 days before I could find some store in Montreal to fix it.

3. I didn't expect Niagara Fall area is sooooo boring. The only exciting part is the ferry ride. Other than that, there is nothing. It is like a cheap version of Vegas. A lot of cheesy tour attractions. I was so bored at one point that I was seriously thinking should I go into casino and play slot machine. I also thought about walking to the train station from the tour attraction area, which is a good 3-4km walk. A bus came back and the driver said he would be going to the train station after he finished going up town and I could tag along the ride if I want. So I end up doing a bus tour around the area :P

4. Even though a lot of people told me Ottawa is very boring, I kind of like the museum there. I should have spend more time there. I went to the Royal Canadian Mint which I really like the tour. There are lots of stuff about coin making that I didn't know. I didn't join the tour in Parliament Hill cause there is a session in progress. So I end up watching that instead. I can't believe people can make such long boring speech. I had to run after pretending to listen for 5 minute. I also really like the Canadian Museum of Civilization. It was very nicely done.

5. Quebec city remind me more of the small town in France, though I can't find any cheese store or pastry store in Old Quebec. And the coffee wasn't as good as France. I was a bit disappointed at that. I was looking forward that I could walk into any cafe and their coffee would be extraordinary.

6. Almost lost my wallet in Toronto and freak the hell out of me. When I went to the guesthouse that I was staying in Toronto, there is another guy looking for a place to stay. So while I talked to the host on the phone, I was clumsily flip thru my paper and stuff. She said she doesn't have another place for that guy to stay. I brought out my tour book and gave him a list that he could try around here. When I brought my backpack upstairs and settled down, I found my wallet was missing!!! I was sooo pissed. I suspect that guy I just nicely helped stole it. How dare him! I knew I could call my parents or my friend and ask them to pay first. But...but...errrr.....soooo annoying. Then I thought may be I should walk back to subway and see if I drop it somewhere. It is right outside the guest house. I probably dropped it when I grabbed the code to open the door. Ghew!