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Ah-mayy-ziing Canada: Year End 2011

Gearing up for the year 2012, I have returned for my year-end blog posts. It has been a tiring year--I just got my test scores for PSAT and ACT and they were very, very horrible. On another note, I had a fast-paced, productive, good year. In fact, in ending the year, Canada is where I had least idea of a place I’d be.

It was the city of Scarborough, in the greater Toronto area, where my family and I have spent our Christmas weekend. Waking up at 4:30 like every time we had to travel a great distance, I also had the great opportunity of sleeping in the deepest way I ever could in a car. It was uncomfortable, rubbing my derrière on the leather seat, leaning my head like I am being choked. But uncomfortable-ness-es aside, on the way, I have noticed probably Canada's most obvious and greatest impression: hospitality. They are very generous, especially in giving way to drivers who seems to be hurrying, and everybody seems to know where everybody is going. It’s the best kind of hospitality you can’t probably get in the US, where the person behind you honks with impatience. And Canadians would probably even gladly overtake a slow Chinese driver with an appreciatory gesture.

My experiences in Toronto, Canada were not as great as New York. In fact it was more fun than my experiences in NY. Downtown Toronto had these high-rise buildings, which, by the way, I’ve learned, are not open on Christmas, and also construction everywhere. The most apparent difference between New York and Toronto is the latter's suburbanized feel and wide roads. Unlike New York, to which it has been compared often, the New York North is very generous to space. Right in front of the former city hall, an ice skating funk is widely open to anybody (who has ice skates, of course). I myself had the pleasure of having this experience. I fell down only once, after four rounds of continuous resistance to falls and slips and attempts of skating like a Kristi Yamaguchi or something. On the other side (or wherever it is, I have not gone in there) is Toronto's Times Square. I have not stepped in the place, but passed by it in the evening as we went to a relative's house.  It seemed lively, but less than Times Square. Rather, it looked peaceful, less crowded than NY Times Square, and just elegant. It still has those wide screens, like the ones in NY.

The day before, we went to Canada's side of Niagara Falls. It was very elegant. You could see a double rainbow just in front of you (the ends, however, were way too outreaching). There were some big stores, a casino, an amusement park, and some other things that you wouldn't find in the American side. I know; it’s unfair, but in the end, there are two sides of everything.

This post wouldn't probably be complete without a list of my Christmas presents. To be honest, I did not really have any actual wish for Christmas. To not want anything that I don't have, though, is not my specialty, so I will not go to that side. One thing I remember from this year's sermons in church is to 'freely give, freely receive.' although I don't know how I have done that, I know that I have given the best I’ve had (for now) and that I have received just what I ought to have.

This has also been a year of joie de vivre for me. My family and I got our permanent residence cards in February (which means we have to wait five years to be permanent residents of this country); I got an iPhone from my aunt, as a part of her Christmas gift for me; I had a more-than-amazing time in Canada; and next year we may go to the Philippines! (Speaking of Philippines, I offer all my condolences to all fellow Filipinos who lost their loved ones in the recent typhoon Washi.)

And this post will not be complete also without my new year's resolutions. I will limit my list to only three bullets this time because I may forget them.

FIRST BULLET: more sleep, more exercise. I have not really had a consistent sleeping time. Sometimes, i sleep as far as twelve, and recently, especially on the holidays, I have slept as far as until four in the morning (like, right now). I also want to begin my walks and runs again. It’s not very bad for me, and i am not shy to do it. I just don't make myself time for doing them.

SECOND BULLET: plan ahead. I have become lazy nowadays, as you may have noticed in the lack of blog posts (which are also in part of writer’s block). I also have a problem called procrastinating--my newest nemesis.

And, lastly, THIRD BULLET: dress more “sharply.” This is one of Ben Franklin's virtues and I realize I have not been really good with how I clothe myself. Sometimes, my dress is just wildly inapt for a certain occasion. I am learning, though, and I will do my best to lure away the vanity and insecurities that may interfere with all possible circumstances.

That's all. Have a great 2012!

Freestyle French

Il y a une fois quand vous voulez vous touer actuallement . Mais vous realisez c'est juste impossible. C'est impossible, n'est-ce pas ? Alors vous regardez longuement, le plus probable, au plafond de ta chambre.  Mais malchance viens. Vous essayez de crier mais il y a de fruite au plafonde et il pleut en dehors. Parce que tu est très fatigué à descendre les escaliers, vous laissez le pluie te pleut.  Je sais, je sais. C'est impossible. Vous pourrais vous touer maintenant.

Debunking the Myths: What you could tell about me from my recent Facebook posts

#1 - I am cynical about my school's history. This is not true. Just because I criticized an article for being the worst I've ever read doesn't mean I read it. I actually didn't and that's my fault. It's just very long, and it has all these ridiculous content that I think are really stupid and just ridiculous. It negates someone's personality.

#2 - MJ Siegler is great. I don't know. Although his post about Steve Jobs' passing was quite a post, I am not really accustomed to his articles. But you can also see I'm a tech person. Which is true.

#3 - It's true that I do recognize A- as a low mark, but it is not F for me. But yes, I believe that A- is not good. Oh, you can also tell that I was watching Glee. I'm not very Gleeky but, I watch it. I don't know why I am still watching it.

#4 - I'm creative. Not much. And this post probably doesn't really mean I'm creative. But I like writing. That is a form of creativity, right? 

#5 - Yeah, sometimes I am very playful and just post ridiculous things worthless, but curious enough.

I have a twin.

I have a twin.

Yes, that’s my super-duper-biggest secret.  And his name is Joshua.

This photo in the right was taken about when we were 4 or 5, I forgot when. But as you can see, there are a lot of striking differences. That’s me in the left. I was fat and had pale skin; he was really thin and tan. I liked to wear really casual clothes, while he was “swaggy.” His hair was almost emo-like while mine was just plain straight—no modifiers or anything. You might not know this but my teeth developed more slowly than his. Also, he was very outgoing—he had a lot of friends when he was really young (he still has a lot of them); I was very tranquil, reserved, laid-back, and friendless. I was very narcissistic that the only photos of me were photos with ONLY me. My twin brother was fonder of our grandparents than I was. I was and am still smarter than him, though.

We were born on June 22, 1995, and I was 6 minutes earlier than he was. I wish I was born after him. But at least I always get to be the boss of him. We’re great brothers. We hate each other; but we consider each other best friends and best brothers. It’s fun having a brother—twin brothers, for the win! Oh, by the way, here we are now:

At age 16, Joshua and I are still the persons we were at 4 or 5. He’s still very stylish and formal (my only complaint is his sandals). I am still very casual and simplistic. There’s not much difference. We’re still living in the same bedroom.

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sorry that's Joshua.

Irony and What-not

It was ironic that two nights ago (or the last time I posted something) that I was saying that in a stream of consciousness blog it doesn't have to be separated into paragraphs. Well, it just happened that yesterday, I read about clarity and understanding, which is essential especially if you're discovering yourself. We are reading Socrates for philosophy, btw. And I was just learning about Socratic Irony. I don't understand it--does sarcasm count, because these are some of the examples: a professor commenting on a bad paper: "Beautiful job. You've done better" and an aerophobic person who died in a plane crash saying "Isn't this nice?" which are his last words. Those are sarcasm, aren't they?

Also, I totally forgot to post some stream-of-consciousness blog posts last night, only realizing when I am already ready to sleep. I am still going to post this here as an update--meaning no SOC blog post tonight, and I will also post this in my other blog.

A Stream of Consciousness Blog

Two days ago, I did a stream of consciousness post, and I had an idea last night to put a blog of these posts--I am not promising any schedule of posts. And I will not expect you to read every post-- I mean, who does? It's just a blog/journal about my thoughts. I might like to come later or something like that. How it works though is I will write a blog post for a limited amount of time of 10 minutes. If I choose to edit it I will, but most of the time I will not (because it's supposed to be like that); the posts would not seem like a stream of consciousness post if I edited them. So, there you go. Explore: lestreamofconsciousness.tumblr.com! Enjoy (or not).