DEPARTING THOUGHTS

Wow, the last couple of days has been quite a whirlwind. With about 24 hours before I leave for New Zealand, I find myself not having started packing yet. Which is okay because I KNOW where everything I need to pack is; it's just a matter of putting it all into my backpack. I had a really nice dinner with my parents last night at The Perfect Kitchen (kind of their send off since they won't be at the airport tomorrow). I ended up not sleeping (intentionally) until 2:30 a.m. last night. This is my attempt at tricking my body into getting used to New Zealand time (they are 16 hours ahead of us). The goal is to do an "all nighter" on the plane from LA and end up sleeping at around 8 a.m. (Toronto time) because I expect to land in Auckland at 2:00 p.m. (Toronto time).

Two of my direct reports finished off today. We had cake and a fairly sentimental farewell. It was a meaningful experience for me to have worked with Kathryn who was referred to us by Community Living Toronto. They place people with disabilities into work environments. Although it was challenging at times, especially when trying to introduce a new task to her, it was also quite rewarding when she grasped the ideas and excelled at it. Manpreet was also a very good worker and I really appreciate how she took Sandra (my other new hire) under her wings and got her up to speed quickly. It seems a little surreal now, even as I hold their security access cards in my hands. It feels like they will come back tomorrow, when, in fact, they won't.

I found that one way of curbing my bubbling excitement is to be productive at work. I feel like I got so much accomplished today. And it wasn't last minute shoddy work just to get all the details done before I go, but truly good, complete work. I still want to make it to MEC to pick up a few things before I take off. I had a nice sushi lunch with some co-workers as they wanted to "see me off" as well. Mmm. Lot's of "good-bye's".

My mom got quite agitated last week because one of the links in her Favorite folders was broken and she couldn't access a website that she likes reading. I fixed that for her and she was sooooooooo happy. I also showed her yesterday how to use Google to find ANYTHING on the Internet. Who would've thought...

MATTERS OF THE HEART

I saw my family doctor yesterday (finally) to review the results of the ECHO that was done on my heart about 3 weeks ago. So, there doesn't appear to be any enlargement and everything seems normal. Could have been an erroneous initial ECG reading. Anyways, my doctor is still going to have me see the cardiologist just to get a final opinion on the ECG. I am relieved and celebrated with an authentic Turkish meal at Anatolia. Yummy lamb shank.

THOUGHTS AFTER A TRIATHLON

A genuine life experience cannot be complete unless you see both sides of it. Perpetual success without defeat devalues success. Joy cannot be fully realized unless one knows what pain is. And so, my first triathlon experience is best described as a complete experience, an assembly of different emotions and learnings.

I have documented in detail what exactly happened during the first ten minutes of the race and the realization that the race wasn’t about the race(refer to the NZ blog). Months of preparation and anticipation vanished as I was pulled out of the water by the police rescue boat. The disappointment and disbelief was so very real, even as I exited the patrol station, downcast. To my surprise, I was greeted by my best man. He didn’t have to say much; just a pat on the shoulder, but he was THERE. He was joined shortly by the rest of my support, their faces mirroring back the obvious disappointment that I was feeling. When I let them know that I could still finish the rest of the race, immediately they all encouraged me to go on!

Of course, when one has a chance to reflect on a situation, the situation itself seems to get minimized over time. Maybe if I had hung on to the lifeguard’s kayak a while longer I would have been rested enough to continue. Maybe if I started my swim closer to the buoys, I may have avoided the jungle of seaweed that started this whole mess. Maybe if I did a proper breast stroke, instead of keeping my head above water, I would have propelled myself further. MAYBE I GAVE UP TOO EASILY. One thing I know for certain: they are right when they say that, when looking into the eyes of death, one loses control of all bodily functions. I’m sad to say that I may have single-handedly doubled the E. coli count of the fairly clean water that day. It was a genuine fear and panic that I felt, something that I thought I had completely conquered through months of training in the pool. My mind froze and that led to my body freezing. Those things I still remember very clearly, although the intensity of those feelings seem to be fading as each day passes.

I have found extra motivation to want to continue training for the next triathlon (which will probably be next year). Perhaps this humbling experience is good because it would be arrogant of me to expect that I could prepare for an extreme sport with minimal guidance and my own self-created methodology. I realize that there is a long way to go and am too self-competitive to give up on this sport that easily.

So, what makes this experience a complete one? Well, for one thing, I’m still alive. But I’m alive now as a slightly different person, one who has been humbled by this shortfall and who has gained an even greater respect for the open water. I’m reminded that I have not achieved true mental discipline as it seemed like I caved in pretty quickly when facing extreme adversity. I’m also reminded about my personal resilience when it comes to responding to bad situations: it’s a good feeling (and this is a piece of knowledge that I can tuck away for future use) to know that I am capable of picking myself up, dusting off the wounds and still perform the best that I can (the other 2 events had pretty competitive results). I was overwhelmed (and still am as well wishes continue to pour in) by the support of those who came down to watch me race (and chose to stick around despite being poured on like mad). Amazingly, I have friends from 3 different circles/community show up!

While reflecting further, I know why I was not able to complete the swim. I can’t blame it on choppy water or sinister seaweed. Whereas with biking and running, I know how hard I can push myself, where that imaginary line is that if I were to push a hair further, my body would shut down. Knowing where this line is important, because then I know when I can pull back. This then allows me to properly manage my body’s store of energy as well as regulate breathing/heat management. With swimming, I have no clue where the limits are. I’m too nervous to push myself beyond a casual workout for fear that it would screw up my breathing and set the whole panic process in motion. At the same time, going casually just doesn’t cut it in open (and somewhat choppy) water. Thus, I found myself in this state of confusion that my body is not used to and for which my mind became very resistant to. I’m positive that I don’t have very good swimming technique, and this lack of efficiency would have also contributed to the breakdown.

I only wish I had more of an appetite after the race. We all went to this really cool sushi house on Queen Street and, although my eyes were wide as saucers, my stomach couldn’t take much before threatening to quickly eject anything else that was coming down! Oh well, this experience has set the bar for future experiences. Mother Nature 1. Me 0.

GUILTY PLEASURE

It seems to me that the most extreme of joyous moments should only occur once a year, like on one'sbirthday. After all, if these delightful moments occurred all the time, then they may not seem so delightful. My past birthday was quite amazing and I figured that a day like that wouldn't happen again for another year. Just over a week later, I woke up early to pick up a friend and head down to Ashbridges Bay to help set up the Habitat For Humanity - Nicaragua Global Village Build Beach Volleyball Tournament. The weather was amazing as we set up the courts. During the set up, I thought to myself that only my friend Kevin was resourceful enough to think of using a strap ratchet system to tighten up the nets. It turns out that the other two nets that we set up also used a ratchet system! For some reason, I always felt guilty about this: perhaps it takes away from the "purity" of knowing how to tie a tightening knot by cheating with technology. One of those odd things that amuse me.

So, our last-minute-addition team, The St. Clair Spikers, ended up not being added to the schedule. With the ladder already set, it was difficult to make changes. Fortunately, there was another team that was short on players, who were called the Spirit Fingers (named after something in the movie Bring It On, I find out later). They welcomed the amalgamation of the two teams and everything was good to go. Actually, I was the only one from the SCS's who ended up playing as the other members opted to relax in the shade. Which was a good thing, because at the end of the tournament, our team was aptly renamed Sprained Fingers, Burnt Toes. The sand was so hot; right now, I'm sporting some nice blisters on the soles of my feet! In between games, I went with the rest of the SCS's to go geo caching. Clinton was sporting his new GPS handheld and he downloaded some cache coordinates. There was one located at the tip of the peninsula just 500 metres away. So, off we went, with visions of treasures in our mind. Once we found the treasure, we had nothing to leave behind except the Nalgene water bottles (including Tammy's Chinese knock off Nalgene) we were carrying and a Chinese coconut bun. I guess we were assuming that the cache would be easy to find. Well, we got to the coordinates and spread out to look for a box or container of some sort. We ended up finding lots of empty bottles and even a Tim Horton's coffee cup, but no cache. We realized that it would've been easier if we downloaded the clues as well. Doh! The Chinese coconut bun ended up being stored in my stomach.

As if it wasn't good enough to be outdoor on a beautiful day, diving in the sand and playing good volleyball (our team won every game except for the last one), but the SCS's and honorary team member Norm decided to have sushi and ice cream afterwards. We decided to patronize the first sushi restaurant (Aki Da) on our stroll down the Beaches stretch of Queen Street. What actually was the tipping point was that they served Black Cod which prompted Norm to immediately persuade us to rush this place (of course, after checking the prices on the menu to ensure that we wouldn't have to take a mortgage out on this meal). Not too many places have me wanting to go back as much as this place! It's a modest restaurant but they have an amazing selection of different dishes (more than your run-of-the-mill sushi/sashimi combos and bento boxes), but things that are (as attested to) authentic. Like a salmon sashimi salad. Or the benito topped Okonomiyaki. I had the Grilled Black Cod (which I learned from Norm isn't really cod, but butterfish) which just melted in my mouth. IT WAS AMAZING!! The conversation around the dinner table centred around food. I was intrigued by the collective knowledge of baking techniques and important factors when considering a cleaver (apparently there is a place at Pac Mall that specializes in "choy dows")! I just about choked on my food when we started talking about "food porn!" I wasn't super stuffed from this meal but comfortably satisfied, which is the feeling you want went enjoying a high quality meal. We had to make a b-line out of the place once the chef started the teppanyaki grill!

Then we ventured down a little further to character filled beaches Queen Street East until we arrived at Ed's Real Scoop for some homemade ice-cream. I went for Cookies'N'Cream in a waffle cone. I must say, if White Mountain in Kingston serves the ice cream for Kings and Queens, this place serves desserts to deities. It was a good thing that we had a long walk back to where we parked to work this off!

As we arrived back at our cars, our day concluded at nautical twilight (as opposed to civil twilight, as confirmed by Clinton's GPS unit). But what perfect day is complete without a good pee story. So, Norm proceeded to relay his first fishing experience with us. I'll spare the details because it's much more hilarious coming straight from him, but it had to do with lost anchors, fishing lure ear plugs, peeing into the lake and trashing the outboard motor because they didn't see the buoy marking shallow water.

IT WAS A REALLY GOOD DAY!

THE VERDICT IS IN. I WILL BE LIVING IN...

the same place for now. So, I get a call from the hiring manager and he tells me that he is swamped and is about to go on vacation for 2 weeks. So, I won't hear from him until then! Good grief! That means he'll be back 3 days before I leave for New Zealand and then we'll have no contact until August 15. I guess I don't have to worry about any work related thing conflicting with this trip.

If it wasn't for the fact that trying to get into the trading area of my company is my first preference, I would've have dropped this pursuit a long time ago. Yet, I've been feeling such a strong compulsion that this is the right move for me, professionally. Perhaps this diddly doddling by the hiring manager is a blessing in disguise. I can't imagine what state of frazzled-ness I would be in if I had to deal with making a career decision, getting ready for a triathlon, getting ready for an overseas trip and deciding whether or not to move out. Holding patterns are okay. Patience is an ongoing lesson.

Everytime I go to news.google.ca, I seem to see all the depressing headlines. This was highlighted in our last small grouop meeting when we discussed current world issues, many of which centred around food crisis' in Africa, terrorist bombings and possible garbage strikes. As I was standing in line today at the Ministry of Health (had to get a replacement health card because I lost it years ago; funny, though, because I've been able to get health service just by telling the provider what my number is) and reading CNET News.com, which sends daily feed to my PDA, I realized that the bylines found here are usually positive:

"MIT's Anklebot to help stroke patients" (basically, the same company that made the popular Roomba vaccuum robot is making a contraption to help recovering stroke patients learn to walk again)
"IT worker confidence rebounds"
"Microsoft gets friendly with Alien" (a collaborative effort in radio frequency identification technology; come on, when was the last time you heard Microsoft be friendly about anything!)

I just thought that it was an interesting contrast to the "Debbie Downer"-ish discussion we had the previous night, although I'm glad we did, because awareness is the first step to action.

CORPORATE LESSONS

I came across this posting and just about peed myself laughing! I guess I find it funny because it's not something that they teach you in business school, yet, it is SO TRUE!! I apologize for the profanity but some of the lessons lose its meaning if you try to clean it up...

Corporate Lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders, in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Corporate Lesson 2

A priest offered a lift to a Nun. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Corporate Lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."
"Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Corporate Lesson 4

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him,"Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

Corporate Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

A VERY MEMORABLE JULY 1

I will remember July 1, 2005 as one of the more memorable days. Being a statutory holiday, it could have been very easily spent just vegging around, maybe sleeping in. But my day started at around 6 a.m. It didn't end until my head hit the pillow at around 2 a.m.:

- saw Brian, Janet and their China team off at the airport; was treated to an authentic Korean drum troop (after seeing the long line ups, I thought that it was just a bunch of bored ochestra people that busted out their instruments to kill time!)
- Hong Kong style breakfast with my parents; honestly, the stuff we ate wasn't as good as what my mom could make (memories of Saturday post-Chinese school lunches served by her once my sister and I got home), but it was nice (especially for my mom) not having to prepare it
- played tennis with my aunt; she got me a pair of Prince tennis shoes from the tennis pro that she lives beside - they're cool because they have orthodic supports built right into them!
- helped Tammy and Clinton out with the "Guo Dai Lai " ceremony (where the groom-to-be brings a whole bunch of gifts to the bride-to-be's family as a betrothal); lots of nicely wrapped gift platters; Norman and I got to carry the pig!
- dashed off from the ceremony to meet with my parents for dinner; they let me choose, so I suggested The Outback; had delicious prime rib and shared a Bloomin Onion with my parents
- got a call from my sister in B.C.; she also sent me the book "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamon - will make for a good read over the next little while
- saw The Symphony Of Fire fireworks down near the harbourfront; thanks to Norman who showed us a spot on the harbourfront which was relatively secluded from the mobs of people; dang, lived there for 4 years and didn't even know about this hidden treasure! I've noticed that fireworks are getting pretty sophisticated: there was one that blew up to form a star and another that formed a happy face (or maybe it was just the random way the wind blew these explosions!) - perfect timing as we arrived just as the show started!
- drinks with Tammy, Clinton and Norman after the fireworks at The Bier Garden; actually just one drink, a lovely blonde from Belgium named Leffe (I'm talking about a beer). We had a great time just chillin to live music (it was supposed to be jazz, we ended up paying a cover to listen to a band that covered everything from Kylie Minogue to Cher!)

Really, the day was already enjoyable because I spent a portion of it serving others. The other events were a nice icing on the cake for me and truly made it special.