seems somebody turn out the lights...
(Lights - The Listening)
Update on the bathroom lights :
1) You have to put your room key in a slot at the front door.
2) You have to switch an unmarked switch...wait for it...DOWN. Cuz UP is what people do in the western hemisphere apparently.
Tomorrow I look for that bar of soap I lost in my nook...or cranny.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
I'm so scared right now.
(Aladdin - A Whole New World)
I'm on the other side of the world right now and want to curl in the fetal position and cry myself to sleep. I suppose it would help if I could cry.
Landed in Hong Kong about 2 hrs ago and just got checked into my hotel. Everything is so backwards here. People drive on the left hand side of the road. The taxi driver didn't speak English and couldn't figure out where my hotel was. He also nearly hit 2 cars on the ride to the hotel. When I got to the hotel they didn't have my reservation, couldn't get my visa card to be approved and then they ran out of king sized beds. After finally getting into my room and looking forward to a much needed shower (15 hrs on a hot airplane), I couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights in the washroom. I showered in the dark. First time ever. I hope I got all the soap out of those nooks and crannies. I feel like singing "a whole new world."
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid.
I wanted to iron my work shirts for the week and couldn't find the iron or ironing board in the room anywhere. It's not standard with the rooms here. I asked them to bring one up and got them to turn the lights on in the washroom for me.
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no, or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming
The plugs here are weird shaped. Luckily they provided me with a converter. The bathroom also has clear glass so you can watch people shower and poop. Kinky.
So now I'm almost settled in and getting ready to prep for tomorrow's day at the client site. I'll update a little later on this week...
(Aladdin - A Whole New World)
I'm on the other side of the world right now and want to curl in the fetal position and cry myself to sleep. I suppose it would help if I could cry.
Landed in Hong Kong about 2 hrs ago and just got checked into my hotel. Everything is so backwards here. People drive on the left hand side of the road. The taxi driver didn't speak English and couldn't figure out where my hotel was. He also nearly hit 2 cars on the ride to the hotel. When I got to the hotel they didn't have my reservation, couldn't get my visa card to be approved and then they ran out of king sized beds. After finally getting into my room and looking forward to a much needed shower (15 hrs on a hot airplane), I couldn't figure out how to turn on the lights in the washroom. I showered in the dark. First time ever. I hope I got all the soap out of those nooks and crannies. I feel like singing "a whole new world."
I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid.
I wanted to iron my work shirts for the week and couldn't find the iron or ironing board in the room anywhere. It's not standard with the rooms here. I asked them to bring one up and got them to turn the lights on in the washroom for me.
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no, or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming
The plugs here are weird shaped. Luckily they provided me with a converter. The bathroom also has clear glass so you can watch people shower and poop. Kinky.
So now I'm almost settled in and getting ready to prep for tomorrow's day at the client site. I'll update a little later on this week...
Friday, October 09, 2009
I am...
(Cranberries - Animal Instinct)
On my way to the airport to fly back to Toronto. It's been a long week and I've got a lot more travelling to do before the end of this year. Trying hard to teeter this work-life balance over to the life side but work is such an obese kid.
Did this search this morning for "I am" on google...the first two items on the auto complete were exactly how I felt. It's a sign from Go....ogle.
(Cranberries - Animal Instinct)
On my way to the airport to fly back to Toronto. It's been a long week and I've got a lot more travelling to do before the end of this year. Trying hard to teeter this work-life balance over to the life side but work is such an obese kid.
Did this search this morning for "I am" on google...the first two items on the auto complete were exactly how I felt. It's a sign from Go....ogle.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Insomnia
(Electronic - Twisted Tenderness)
In the past I've dabbled in a bit of creative writing here and there but never really took it seriously. It was more an exercise to free my mind from living within the confines of perception and the world around us. Sometimes life lulls you to sleep and you need to wake up before you become a victim of the mundanity of it all.
Here's a short story I started about 6-7 years ago but never really completed. Ironically it was called "Insomnia" -- something I've never experienced in my life.
It's a bit rough so don't mind the grammar and spelling mistakes.
Insomnia
As I laid in my bed that night doing the one thing I hated most -- thinking; I realized how completely empty my bed was. I had that bed since my freshman year at university and I remember the day I bought it. I had desperately needed a new bed for my room after waking up on numerous occasions with backaches from my old mattress. The life of a student -- always pinching pennies, scrounging around for tuition money, yet always having enough money left over to go drinking. I decided to buy a futon, which would serve as a couch as well. Surprisingly I haven't used it much as a couch. Possibly a combination of my laziness and my lack of friends. Trust me, it depresses the hell out of me as well.
My bed has seen its share of visitors though. Some were girlfriends and lovers and some were merely friends who needed a place to crash after a night of drinking. On this particular night I wish I had their company. I quickly threw piles of clean laundry and old stuffed animals on my bed. Still felt empty. It's been awhile since I felt this way. Even though on most nights I slept on this bed alone, it still felt as though I was sleeping in a crowd. That's the comfort and feeling of companionship. Having someone there for you even though they're not physically there.
A while ago that feeling left me and I struggled with bouts of insomnia. I would lie in bed looking from dark corner to dark corner. In one corner, a bookshelf filled with books. Some were given to me by her. Books that we both read and shared. In another corner, a computer filled with letters we wrote to each other, conversations that seemed to never end and pictures that are gradually losing their significance. I wish I could just fall asleep at normal hours like everyone else. Instead I lay here, staring in the dark, letting my imagination run free and seeing subtitles in everything that passes by.
The first night of insomnia, I found solace in listening to music. Music has always comforted me. It's the feeling that someone out there understands what you're going through, and that you're not alone -- even if you are. It's also about self-loathing. There's something completely intoxicating and addictive about self-loathing. We're all masochistic beings. Maybe we need to see the contrast between sadness and happiness to really enjoy happiness when it comes. I don't know what it is, but it can sure be depressing. I swear to God.
And as the hours passed by, the music became more of a backdrop to my insomnia and I could start to see the glow of the sunrise behind my white Venetian blinds. When I could hear the shuffling of feet in the hallway as my family prepared to go to work or school, I would decide to finally fall asleep. I slept in hopes of waking up with selective amnesia -- forgetting the last 3 years of my life -- but it never happened. Just like that old movie with Bill Murray where he kept waking up on the same date everyday. I think it was Groundhog's Day. I always woke up remembering vividly the day before and yet I couldn't distinguish the day before from the current day. When you're up 21 hrs of the day, that tends to happen.
Every morning I'd wake up thinking about the very thing I didn't want to think about, along with all the poor decisions I made in my life. I've always had good intentions; they just never panned out the way I intended. Have you ever noticed that whenever someone talks about good intentions, it never ends up well? "Mom had good intentions. Too bad the cold medicine she gave the dog killed it." All my life I've been taking a headlong rush down the road to hell, stubbing my toe on every poorly paved intention in my life and I am just now coming to terms with it.
So I've lost track of how many days it's been now since the starting of my insomnia. But I know it's getting better. I think. My bed is still empty and my ex-girlfriend hasn't come running back to me yet, but the dark corners of my room are no longer laced with bad foreign film subtitles. They're just dark now.
Last night I caught myself talking. The sound of my voice scared me. I'm not sure if I was talking to myself but I had a phone to my ear. And the person on the other side seemed to care. They seemed to understand. They too had insomnia. The voice soothed me. The voice told me a story about a man named Fas, who sailed across the sea in search of a new world. He had imagined a world with bright beautiful hues. Where no one spoke yet knew how each other felt. Love there didn't need to be heard, it only needed to be felt. Time -- it seemed to move half a step slower. Fas never came back. No one ever heard from him again. Some say he found the new world and stayed there. Some say he died at sea chasing his foolish dreams. No one really knows for sure but you can always tell whether the storyteller was an optimist or a pessimist by the ending they chose for the story.
I'm not quite sure if I really talked to anyone that night but I didn't feel quite as lonely. I think I fell asleep before the sun rose that morning.
I'm slowly finding that one is sometimes more than two.
(Electronic - Twisted Tenderness)
In the past I've dabbled in a bit of creative writing here and there but never really took it seriously. It was more an exercise to free my mind from living within the confines of perception and the world around us. Sometimes life lulls you to sleep and you need to wake up before you become a victim of the mundanity of it all.
Here's a short story I started about 6-7 years ago but never really completed. Ironically it was called "Insomnia" -- something I've never experienced in my life.
It's a bit rough so don't mind the grammar and spelling mistakes.
Insomnia
As I laid in my bed that night doing the one thing I hated most -- thinking; I realized how completely empty my bed was. I had that bed since my freshman year at university and I remember the day I bought it. I had desperately needed a new bed for my room after waking up on numerous occasions with backaches from my old mattress. The life of a student -- always pinching pennies, scrounging around for tuition money, yet always having enough money left over to go drinking. I decided to buy a futon, which would serve as a couch as well. Surprisingly I haven't used it much as a couch. Possibly a combination of my laziness and my lack of friends. Trust me, it depresses the hell out of me as well.
My bed has seen its share of visitors though. Some were girlfriends and lovers and some were merely friends who needed a place to crash after a night of drinking. On this particular night I wish I had their company. I quickly threw piles of clean laundry and old stuffed animals on my bed. Still felt empty. It's been awhile since I felt this way. Even though on most nights I slept on this bed alone, it still felt as though I was sleeping in a crowd. That's the comfort and feeling of companionship. Having someone there for you even though they're not physically there.
A while ago that feeling left me and I struggled with bouts of insomnia. I would lie in bed looking from dark corner to dark corner. In one corner, a bookshelf filled with books. Some were given to me by her. Books that we both read and shared. In another corner, a computer filled with letters we wrote to each other, conversations that seemed to never end and pictures that are gradually losing their significance. I wish I could just fall asleep at normal hours like everyone else. Instead I lay here, staring in the dark, letting my imagination run free and seeing subtitles in everything that passes by.
The first night of insomnia, I found solace in listening to music. Music has always comforted me. It's the feeling that someone out there understands what you're going through, and that you're not alone -- even if you are. It's also about self-loathing. There's something completely intoxicating and addictive about self-loathing. We're all masochistic beings. Maybe we need to see the contrast between sadness and happiness to really enjoy happiness when it comes. I don't know what it is, but it can sure be depressing. I swear to God.
And as the hours passed by, the music became more of a backdrop to my insomnia and I could start to see the glow of the sunrise behind my white Venetian blinds. When I could hear the shuffling of feet in the hallway as my family prepared to go to work or school, I would decide to finally fall asleep. I slept in hopes of waking up with selective amnesia -- forgetting the last 3 years of my life -- but it never happened. Just like that old movie with Bill Murray where he kept waking up on the same date everyday. I think it was Groundhog's Day. I always woke up remembering vividly the day before and yet I couldn't distinguish the day before from the current day. When you're up 21 hrs of the day, that tends to happen.
Every morning I'd wake up thinking about the very thing I didn't want to think about, along with all the poor decisions I made in my life. I've always had good intentions; they just never panned out the way I intended. Have you ever noticed that whenever someone talks about good intentions, it never ends up well? "Mom had good intentions. Too bad the cold medicine she gave the dog killed it." All my life I've been taking a headlong rush down the road to hell, stubbing my toe on every poorly paved intention in my life and I am just now coming to terms with it.
So I've lost track of how many days it's been now since the starting of my insomnia. But I know it's getting better. I think. My bed is still empty and my ex-girlfriend hasn't come running back to me yet, but the dark corners of my room are no longer laced with bad foreign film subtitles. They're just dark now.
Last night I caught myself talking. The sound of my voice scared me. I'm not sure if I was talking to myself but I had a phone to my ear. And the person on the other side seemed to care. They seemed to understand. They too had insomnia. The voice soothed me. The voice told me a story about a man named Fas, who sailed across the sea in search of a new world. He had imagined a world with bright beautiful hues. Where no one spoke yet knew how each other felt. Love there didn't need to be heard, it only needed to be felt. Time -- it seemed to move half a step slower. Fas never came back. No one ever heard from him again. Some say he found the new world and stayed there. Some say he died at sea chasing his foolish dreams. No one really knows for sure but you can always tell whether the storyteller was an optimist or a pessimist by the ending they chose for the story.
I'm not quite sure if I really talked to anyone that night but I didn't feel quite as lonely. I think I fell asleep before the sun rose that morning.
I'm slowly finding that one is sometimes more than two.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Jetsetting
(The Fray - You Found Me)
Back in the cold winter of 1980, a young 4 year old Vietnamese boy arrived in cold, snowy Regina, Saskatchewan.
That was the last time I was in the eastern hemisphere. Growing up in a middle class family we never had much money to go on vacation. The furthest I was able to go was a 24 hr drive south to Dallas, TX. Ironically, I didn't step on a plane again after arriving in North America until my early 20's when I met a girl who was also living in TX.
Now while most of my friends are very "worldly" and have travelled all over, I've always kept my feet grounded wherever I called home. Mostly out of necessity. And it wasn't til the last few years that I've had a chance to expand my horizons with opportunities to travel for work, vacation and special occasions.
A few years ago I travelled to Hawaii for one of my best friends' wedding. I've been to California, Florida, Vancouver, Jamaica and Cuba for vacation. I've been to Arizona, Minneapolis, Massachusetts, New York and California for work. Next month I return back to the eastern hemisphere after 25+ years. I head to Johannesburg, South Africa for work in November and then shortly after that I head to Thailand for a 3 week belated honeymoon.
For most people, travelling to new countries and experiencing new cultures is exciting. For me, I find I'm somewhat indifferent to the experience. I don't know if it's just a matter of being so sheltered all my life or if I just don't have any legitimate interest in travelling.
So here are the top three things I like about travelling...
1) spending time with friends
The best part about spending time with your friends is that they make you forget about the things that stress you out. You can throw out your everyday inhibitions and fake work facades and be normal around them.
2) not worrying about time
How many times in a day do you look at your calendar to figure out where you have to be, who you have to see and what you have to be doing? Most of us live such a fast-paced, time oriented lifestyle that requires a lot of effort and organization to maintain. Whatever happened to just going with the flow and coming in with the breeze?
3) enjoying new physical activities
I'm an active person and I enjoy physical activities that are mentally stimulating. If I can't lie around and let time pass aimlessly, then I'd like to be involved in an activity that challenges me physically.
And the top three things I don't like about travelling...
1) planes
I have a fear of flying. Wait, actually I don't have a fear of flying. I have a fear of crashing and dying.
2) site seeing and touristy activities
I've lived in Toronto for almost 25 years and I haven't seen 90% of the tourist sites here. I can read about history and see pictures of architecture and monuments. I don't need to see it for myself just to say I was there. If the experience is just to say you've experienced it, then is the novelty really worth the effort? I'm not one of those people who needs to take pictures standing in front of old buildings and monuments.
However, what I find interesting about people taking these kinds of pictures is that they're capturing 2 different periods of history with one photo. The history of them travelling and the history of the building/monument they're standing in front of. Here's something interesting to do the next time you're travelling -- carve your name into the building or monument you're in front of and take a picture of it. Then show your children/grandchildren the picture. If they ever travel there when they get older, they can take pictures of your vandalism and capture 3 different generations of history.
3) rigid agendas
The reason you're on vacation is to get away from meetings and appointments. Don't set an agenda that requires you to run from site to site to get in everything you want to see. It quickly becomes a chore and your vacation turns out to be just another regular appointment in your calendar.
So right now I can't say I'm overwhelmed with excitement to travel to either S.Africa or Thailand because I haven't really planned out any activities that would interest me but I am however glad to have the opportunity to a) travel to the other side of the pond and b) share the experience with Sonia. Hopefully on these trips, I'll be struck with the proverbial travel bug and come back excited for the next trip.
(The Fray - You Found Me)
Back in the cold winter of 1980, a young 4 year old Vietnamese boy arrived in cold, snowy Regina, Saskatchewan.
That was the last time I was in the eastern hemisphere. Growing up in a middle class family we never had much money to go on vacation. The furthest I was able to go was a 24 hr drive south to Dallas, TX. Ironically, I didn't step on a plane again after arriving in North America until my early 20's when I met a girl who was also living in TX.
Now while most of my friends are very "worldly" and have travelled all over, I've always kept my feet grounded wherever I called home. Mostly out of necessity. And it wasn't til the last few years that I've had a chance to expand my horizons with opportunities to travel for work, vacation and special occasions.
A few years ago I travelled to Hawaii for one of my best friends' wedding. I've been to California, Florida, Vancouver, Jamaica and Cuba for vacation. I've been to Arizona, Minneapolis, Massachusetts, New York and California for work. Next month I return back to the eastern hemisphere after 25+ years. I head to Johannesburg, South Africa for work in November and then shortly after that I head to Thailand for a 3 week belated honeymoon.
For most people, travelling to new countries and experiencing new cultures is exciting. For me, I find I'm somewhat indifferent to the experience. I don't know if it's just a matter of being so sheltered all my life or if I just don't have any legitimate interest in travelling.
So here are the top three things I like about travelling...
1) spending time with friends
The best part about spending time with your friends is that they make you forget about the things that stress you out. You can throw out your everyday inhibitions and fake work facades and be normal around them.
2) not worrying about time
How many times in a day do you look at your calendar to figure out where you have to be, who you have to see and what you have to be doing? Most of us live such a fast-paced, time oriented lifestyle that requires a lot of effort and organization to maintain. Whatever happened to just going with the flow and coming in with the breeze?
3) enjoying new physical activities
I'm an active person and I enjoy physical activities that are mentally stimulating. If I can't lie around and let time pass aimlessly, then I'd like to be involved in an activity that challenges me physically.
And the top three things I don't like about travelling...
1) planes
I have a fear of flying. Wait, actually I don't have a fear of flying. I have a fear of crashing and dying.
2) site seeing and touristy activities
I've lived in Toronto for almost 25 years and I haven't seen 90% of the tourist sites here. I can read about history and see pictures of architecture and monuments. I don't need to see it for myself just to say I was there. If the experience is just to say you've experienced it, then is the novelty really worth the effort? I'm not one of those people who needs to take pictures standing in front of old buildings and monuments.
However, what I find interesting about people taking these kinds of pictures is that they're capturing 2 different periods of history with one photo. The history of them travelling and the history of the building/monument they're standing in front of. Here's something interesting to do the next time you're travelling -- carve your name into the building or monument you're in front of and take a picture of it. Then show your children/grandchildren the picture. If they ever travel there when they get older, they can take pictures of your vandalism and capture 3 different generations of history.
3) rigid agendas
The reason you're on vacation is to get away from meetings and appointments. Don't set an agenda that requires you to run from site to site to get in everything you want to see. It quickly becomes a chore and your vacation turns out to be just another regular appointment in your calendar.
So right now I can't say I'm overwhelmed with excitement to travel to either S.Africa or Thailand because I haven't really planned out any activities that would interest me but I am however glad to have the opportunity to a) travel to the other side of the pond and b) share the experience with Sonia. Hopefully on these trips, I'll be struck with the proverbial travel bug and come back excited for the next trip.
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