A gkyam dorkism...
Well, we all have these, don't we? Or do they only occur to a select few? =p Thought I'd share this story for your amusement...
The Michael W. Smith, MercyMe and David Crowder concert was held at Kingswood theatre at Wonderland. Since security has heighted over the past few years, there are bag checks going into the park, and they even check purses!
For those who know me, I am a big advocate of taking Vitamin C to prevent illness, and I swallow these huge Vitamin C pills [referred to as my horsepills] instead of buying the chewable kind. I have a few of these pills in a sandwich bag in my purse and often offer them to my siblings at the dim sum table... haha... my brother laughs and says he doesn't want to accept any drugs under the table -- literally. Even though I've been lazy lately and haven't taken them in a while, I've just left them in my purse, still in the ghetto sandwich bag.
So as you probably know where this anecdote is heading, the huge pills certainly raised an eyebrow at Wonderland security and when asked what they were, I could only sheepishly answer, "um... they're Vitamin C pills". Luckily, the security guard just kind of laughed at me, "fake" sniffed the bag, and let me into the park.
I guess it's a good thing this happened to me because otherwise, given my absentmindedness, I probably would have left them in my purse while trying to get into the U.S. on vacation, so I could have potentially saved much unnecessary hassle... =p
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Seattle and Vancouver has been fun, especially just "hanging out" and catching up with people... seeing how people are doing now and where people are headed in the future.
Just one incident that I'd like to share now is about Alaskan Ling Cod:
Patty, Tim and I went out for seafood in Seattle and on the menu was an item "Alaskan Ling Cod". Pardon our ignorance, but we did not know that this was a type of fish, and thought that there was a typo and that it should have read "Alaskan King Cod". So when Patty ordered, she ordered "Could I please have the Alaskan [softly]... ing [back to normal] Cod?"
The waitress, being of relatively perky character responded with, "Sure, the Alaskan LING Cod."
Anyway, it was a lasting moment for me because it reminded me of Ally McBeal [and of course, *everything* relates back to Ally Mcbeal... haha]. During the second season there is a character Ling Woo [played by Lucy Liu] who is extremely cold -- her theme song when she comes onto the scene is the Wizard of Oz's "Wicked Witch of the West".
Since Ally and the other members of the firm hate her, they refer to Ling as "*L*in*g*" with a "hard L, hard G". Of course, Ling corrected everyone: "My name is Ling, with a soft 'L', soft 'G': 'ling'."
Anyway, this totally does not make sense without a live example -- does anyone know how to rip a scene off of a DVD to a relatively small size and host it on the Internet?? Please let me know!! =)
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Just one incident that I'd like to share now is about Alaskan Ling Cod:
Patty, Tim and I went out for seafood in Seattle and on the menu was an item "Alaskan Ling Cod". Pardon our ignorance, but we did not know that this was a type of fish, and thought that there was a typo and that it should have read "Alaskan King Cod". So when Patty ordered, she ordered "Could I please have the Alaskan [softly]... ing [back to normal] Cod?"
The waitress, being of relatively perky character responded with, "Sure, the Alaskan LING Cod."
Anyway, it was a lasting moment for me because it reminded me of Ally McBeal [and of course, *everything* relates back to Ally Mcbeal... haha]. During the second season there is a character Ling Woo [played by Lucy Liu] who is extremely cold -- her theme song when she comes onto the scene is the Wizard of Oz's "Wicked Witch of the West".
Since Ally and the other members of the firm hate her, they refer to Ling as "*L*in*g*" with a "hard L, hard G". Of course, Ling corrected everyone: "My name is Ling, with a soft 'L', soft 'G': 'ling'."
Anyway, this totally does not make sense without a live example -- does anyone know how to rip a scene off of a DVD to a relatively small size and host it on the Internet?? Please let me know!! =)
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Arrived in Pittsburgh with no problem! My impression of this city is quite pleasant -- during the landing I saw a lot of green and many neatly lined houses. It reminded me of a "perfect neighbourhood" like in the "Truman Show". The aerial view shows lots of green, perfectly round trees, nice winding roads with driveways leading up to houses with wide lots... too bad I didn't take a picture.
So, of course, flight delays are inevitable. It seems like every single flight has been delayed lately. Although we appeared to be on schedule leaving Pittsburgh, it turned out that some repairs needed to be made... what better a time to catch up on lectures, blog a bit, and finish my Web-based Learnings for work! Haha...
Ok, turns out that the first plane was not flight-worthy and we had to switch planes... SO... 2.5 hour delay... gotta learn the importance of being flexible in a just-in-time environment...
So my vacation is on the *bestest* of starts... but it's a vacation... it's also been nice to travel alone too. Kind of refreshing. =)
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
So, of course, flight delays are inevitable. It seems like every single flight has been delayed lately. Although we appeared to be on schedule leaving Pittsburgh, it turned out that some repairs needed to be made... what better a time to catch up on lectures, blog a bit, and finish my Web-based Learnings for work! Haha...
Ok, turns out that the first plane was not flight-worthy and we had to switch planes... SO... 2.5 hour delay... gotta learn the importance of being flexible in a just-in-time environment...
So my vacation is on the *bestest* of starts... but it's a vacation... it's also been nice to travel alone too. Kind of refreshing. =)
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Vacation!
Vacations are actually kind of stressful -- so much has to be done before going away -- especially when I am in the middle of an audit at work. Sigh... why do I care so much? Oh well, pretty much everything is taken care of... it's just weird that I send work emails at extreme hours of the day.
My destination is Seattle. I'm meeting up with Patty and visiting the west-coast people. Really looking forward to talking to people again and just hanging out... not to mention see whatever sights are there in Seattle and Vancouver. I'm so unprepared... well, the past 24 hours has been a whirlwind of activity to finish everything that I needed to do for work in addition to scheduled gatherings.
Mahjongg is always fun -- too bad we didn't total up the score to see how much I can collect. =p Haha... dinner with some high school friends was really nice too. Very reminiscent of "old times" especially with Sherrie's scrapbook for me; very thoughtful of her! I chose to go to a restaurant in the Distillery district -- it's cool there! I would go back, perhaps try to see more of it in the daytime. I guess it won't be as "happening" when it turns cold though.
So my itinerary is as follows:
Outbound:
Sunday, August 22:
Depart Toronto at 3:29pm, arrive Pittsburgh 4:40pm on US Airways 2300
Depart Pittsburgh 5:55pm, arrive Seattle at 8:02pm on US Airways 781
Return:
Depart Seattle 11:20pm, arrive Pittsburgh 6:48am on US Airways 36
Depart Pittsburgh 7:50am, arrive Toronto at 9:08am on US Airways 2260 -- right in time to play softball playoffs!!
Well as at 2:42pm, my flight is delayed for at least half an hour... it's only at the airport that I have time to blog now, using dial-up courtesy of EY. =) I guess I could technically work on my Reporting package now.. haha. Hopefully the flights turn out okay! Anyway, it's nice to quiet down and blog... it's been a crazy week.
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Vacations are actually kind of stressful -- so much has to be done before going away -- especially when I am in the middle of an audit at work. Sigh... why do I care so much? Oh well, pretty much everything is taken care of... it's just weird that I send work emails at extreme hours of the day.
My destination is Seattle. I'm meeting up with Patty and visiting the west-coast people. Really looking forward to talking to people again and just hanging out... not to mention see whatever sights are there in Seattle and Vancouver. I'm so unprepared... well, the past 24 hours has been a whirlwind of activity to finish everything that I needed to do for work in addition to scheduled gatherings.
Mahjongg is always fun -- too bad we didn't total up the score to see how much I can collect. =p Haha... dinner with some high school friends was really nice too. Very reminiscent of "old times" especially with Sherrie's scrapbook for me; very thoughtful of her! I chose to go to a restaurant in the Distillery district -- it's cool there! I would go back, perhaps try to see more of it in the daytime. I guess it won't be as "happening" when it turns cold though.
So my itinerary is as follows:
Outbound:
Sunday, August 22:
Depart Toronto at 3:29pm, arrive Pittsburgh 4:40pm on US Airways 2300
Depart Pittsburgh 5:55pm, arrive Seattle at 8:02pm on US Airways 781
Return:
Depart Seattle 11:20pm, arrive Pittsburgh 6:48am on US Airways 36
Depart Pittsburgh 7:50am, arrive Toronto at 9:08am on US Airways 2260 -- right in time to play softball playoffs!!
Well as at 2:42pm, my flight is delayed for at least half an hour... it's only at the airport that I have time to blog now, using dial-up courtesy of EY. =) I guess I could technically work on my Reporting package now.. haha. Hopefully the flights turn out okay! Anyway, it's nice to quiet down and blog... it's been a crazy week.
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
No bookings tonight... please leave a message.
Finally, some quiet time to myself. I was really looking forward to a quiet house this week [despite having to take care of the house], and it is really nice. I don't think I've ever used my computer in the kitchen before, so that I could blog while cooking and eating my steak a la Edward Yam, not to mention blog for the past month and the next. =p And all in one shot -- no bother to ration the posts from my stores.
As alluded to earlier, I've had a whole bunch of thoughts that have been backlogged and I just haven't taken the time to document them. Not that I really like to use my blog as my weekly (or monthly) thought repository, but writing essays or pieces really took too long than I cared for. I also admit that I like to refrain from deeply personal thoughts on my blog for the sake of my facade. =p I really do need to journal and process my thoughts though, otherwise fleeting thoughts are simply valueless, and I suppose that strangely, the internet is likely the most transparent form of communication there is.
In terms of busyness, August is, for me, comparable to the December Christmas season. It didn't help that my birthday "week" also turned out to be one of the busiest weeks at work since busy season. So after a week of sleeping no earlier than 3 a.m. in any given day, I am reeling... It must be bad when all I feel is,
"God... I miss you...."
Spending time with people has always been important to me, and this month is no exception. But without God's strength to carry me on, socializing, as much as I enjoy it, is really draining. So I thank God for nudging me when I need it (otherwise, I could very well still be bubble tea-ing after a movie and a late dinner) and giving me a quiet house to re-energize and revitalize at the right time. Hm... perhaps the self-inflicted guilt of not going on vacation with my family was an unnecessary side effect to a blessing in disguise.
Thanks to everyone who dropped a note or "celebrated" my birthday on Thursday. As much as it is *my* day, I honestly don't enjoy the attention, but it *is* a great excuse to get-togehter with people. [Much better, of course, than spending the entire evening at work!! Which was a probable event for me last Thursday!] Not that the "celebrations" are over yet... but I am truly enjoying this year's birthday.
It was great to have dinner with my family and some close friends together. Family...
I've been to a couple of weddings this year, all very nice and meaningful... contrary to what people may perceive, I think I am pretty emotional -- in fact, I cry *really* easily. But weddings don't particularly touch me... until at the banquet, if it's a western-style banquet, the bride's dance with the father is what does me over.
Perhaps it's because I'm a girl (i.e., I'd hope to be a future bride), the love between two people pales in comparison to a father (or parents) who spend all of their adult life working and toiling so that the daughter can leave home and start a life anew... how selfless and beautiful is such a love. I know that I experience it every day, and am a product of it. I think that if I were to do the western style and dance with my father at my wedding, I would completely break down and bawl... mainly because of many years of pent up appreciation and gratitude that has yet to be directly released.
Yet, would I / do I cry for my heavenly father who has done amazingly more than I could ever imagine? Yes... I have in the past... recently? I think I've been a lot more jaded and caught up in the pace of the world than to reflect on it. But thankfully, Friday's TCCC English congregation praise and revival night attempted to get us to think back to the time when we first accepted Christ as our personal saviour. I really enjoyed the beautiful time of worship, the inspirational testimonies, and the open sharing.
I've never really seen a successful "open mic" style sharing at TCCC before. But on Friday, it was encouraging to see Harry share first without refrain, and great to hear people's honest struggles and stories of praise. I think the longest bout of silence was only one minute! [Mind you, this is not just a "pass the {item} around the circle"-type share -- it was a "go to the mic at the front of the crowd"-type of sharing.] That night brought me back to many times of sharing at CCF. A transparent kind of sharing that is characteristic of true community. It's exciting to finally see / feel it at church. It is also a challenge for myself to play a part in developing this community that has started...
Back to friends... I had a wonderful time of dinner and post-dinner [at the office, nonetheless] with some of my closest sisters-in-Christ [missed you Ina...] in "Joy Luck Club" fashion, to enjoy each other's company, laugh at each other's quirks and dorkisms [no, not just Anita!], chat about our careers, spirituality, communities, and of course, guys [in general! Well it was for me, at least...! since only the younger two members are in relationships =p]. I'm glad the latter was not the only topic of conversation. =) Despite being in all different years, I consider them all to be peers whom I admire and strive to embody their various characteristics. It is our peers who walk alongside and pick us up when we need it, yet, understand the trek while we are walking it, unlike mentors or other authoritative people who have walked ahead of us.
Of course, thanks again to everyone who dropped a note or took time to see me last week! I do appreciate it very much! Oh yes, going back to my "get-in-shape challenge", the target date *was* my birthday -- and I felt pretty good a week prior to my birthday. Last week I just ended up eating and eating... as expected, I suppose. At least, I *do* feel pretty good physically! I highly recommend working out before one's birthday because the age is felt to a much lesser extent!
Thanks to Andrew for David Crowder's "Illumination" -- now I am officially in the "club"! Thanks to Jonathan for "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" -- I really look forward to further developing and sharing ideas from the book. And thanks to Brian for a chance to see David Crowder on Sunday! The Michael W. Smith / MercyMe concert was great, and featured the David Crowder band as the opener. As eBrian has already raved... it was amazing to see the artists perform together! I also liked MercyMe's use of media to complement their songs -- much better than Michael W. Smith's creation of a big Windows Media player screen [i.e., just moving shapes and shades]. It was also neat to see how David Crowder would perform his music live since it includes so many electronic components. I wonder what programs are being run on those computers, which form an integral part of the band. =) All in all, it was a great time of crazy jump-in-the-air worship, reminding me of Urbana.
Anyway, even I think this is getting really, really long now... but thank you for reading this far. I think this would be a pretty good gauge to separate my real friends from those otherwise.. =p
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Finally, some quiet time to myself. I was really looking forward to a quiet house this week [despite having to take care of the house], and it is really nice. I don't think I've ever used my computer in the kitchen before, so that I could blog while cooking and eating my steak a la Edward Yam, not to mention blog for the past month and the next. =p And all in one shot -- no bother to ration the posts from my stores.
As alluded to earlier, I've had a whole bunch of thoughts that have been backlogged and I just haven't taken the time to document them. Not that I really like to use my blog as my weekly (or monthly) thought repository, but writing essays or pieces really took too long than I cared for. I also admit that I like to refrain from deeply personal thoughts on my blog for the sake of my facade. =p I really do need to journal and process my thoughts though, otherwise fleeting thoughts are simply valueless, and I suppose that strangely, the internet is likely the most transparent form of communication there is.
In terms of busyness, August is, for me, comparable to the December Christmas season. It didn't help that my birthday "week" also turned out to be one of the busiest weeks at work since busy season. So after a week of sleeping no earlier than 3 a.m. in any given day, I am reeling... It must be bad when all I feel is,
"God... I miss you...."
Spending time with people has always been important to me, and this month is no exception. But without God's strength to carry me on, socializing, as much as I enjoy it, is really draining. So I thank God for nudging me when I need it (otherwise, I could very well still be bubble tea-ing after a movie and a late dinner) and giving me a quiet house to re-energize and revitalize at the right time. Hm... perhaps the self-inflicted guilt of not going on vacation with my family was an unnecessary side effect to a blessing in disguise.
Thanks to everyone who dropped a note or "celebrated" my birthday on Thursday. As much as it is *my* day, I honestly don't enjoy the attention, but it *is* a great excuse to get-togehter with people. [Much better, of course, than spending the entire evening at work!! Which was a probable event for me last Thursday!] Not that the "celebrations" are over yet... but I am truly enjoying this year's birthday.
It was great to have dinner with my family and some close friends together. Family...
I've been to a couple of weddings this year, all very nice and meaningful... contrary to what people may perceive, I think I am pretty emotional -- in fact, I cry *really* easily. But weddings don't particularly touch me... until at the banquet, if it's a western-style banquet, the bride's dance with the father is what does me over.
Perhaps it's because I'm a girl (i.e., I'd hope to be a future bride), the love between two people pales in comparison to a father (or parents) who spend all of their adult life working and toiling so that the daughter can leave home and start a life anew... how selfless and beautiful is such a love. I know that I experience it every day, and am a product of it. I think that if I were to do the western style and dance with my father at my wedding, I would completely break down and bawl... mainly because of many years of pent up appreciation and gratitude that has yet to be directly released.
Yet, would I / do I cry for my heavenly father who has done amazingly more than I could ever imagine? Yes... I have in the past... recently? I think I've been a lot more jaded and caught up in the pace of the world than to reflect on it. But thankfully, Friday's TCCC English congregation praise and revival night attempted to get us to think back to the time when we first accepted Christ as our personal saviour. I really enjoyed the beautiful time of worship, the inspirational testimonies, and the open sharing.
I've never really seen a successful "open mic" style sharing at TCCC before. But on Friday, it was encouraging to see Harry share first without refrain, and great to hear people's honest struggles and stories of praise. I think the longest bout of silence was only one minute! [Mind you, this is not just a "pass the {item} around the circle"-type share -- it was a "go to the mic at the front of the crowd"-type of sharing.] That night brought me back to many times of sharing at CCF. A transparent kind of sharing that is characteristic of true community. It's exciting to finally see / feel it at church. It is also a challenge for myself to play a part in developing this community that has started...
Back to friends... I had a wonderful time of dinner and post-dinner [at the office, nonetheless] with some of my closest sisters-in-Christ [missed you Ina...] in "Joy Luck Club" fashion, to enjoy each other's company, laugh at each other's quirks and dorkisms [no, not just Anita!], chat about our careers, spirituality, communities, and of course, guys [in general! Well it was for me, at least...! since only the younger two members are in relationships =p]. I'm glad the latter was not the only topic of conversation. =) Despite being in all different years, I consider them all to be peers whom I admire and strive to embody their various characteristics. It is our peers who walk alongside and pick us up when we need it, yet, understand the trek while we are walking it, unlike mentors or other authoritative people who have walked ahead of us.
Of course, thanks again to everyone who dropped a note or took time to see me last week! I do appreciate it very much! Oh yes, going back to my "get-in-shape challenge", the target date *was* my birthday -- and I felt pretty good a week prior to my birthday. Last week I just ended up eating and eating... as expected, I suppose. At least, I *do* feel pretty good physically! I highly recommend working out before one's birthday because the age is felt to a much lesser extent!
Thanks to Andrew for David Crowder's "Illumination" -- now I am officially in the "club"! Thanks to Jonathan for "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" -- I really look forward to further developing and sharing ideas from the book. And thanks to Brian for a chance to see David Crowder on Sunday! The Michael W. Smith / MercyMe concert was great, and featured the David Crowder band as the opener. As eBrian has already raved... it was amazing to see the artists perform together! I also liked MercyMe's use of media to complement their songs -- much better than Michael W. Smith's creation of a big Windows Media player screen [i.e., just moving shapes and shades]. It was also neat to see how David Crowder would perform his music live since it includes so many electronic components. I wonder what programs are being run on those computers, which form an integral part of the band. =) All in all, it was a great time of crazy jump-in-the-air worship, reminding me of Urbana.
Anyway, even I think this is getting really, really long now... but thank you for reading this far. I think this would be a pretty good gauge to separate my real friends from those otherwise.. =p
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Busy busy busy...
I'm finally suffering the consequences of 3 weeks of procrastination at work, in addition to convergence... why does everything happen at the same time??
Oh well, at least this can make me smile in the meantime:
*That's* why I changed my name from my normal "GY" to "Yam" something, to be consistent. Haha, I love my family... I love YAM. [Not to mention that we were the only ones online at 3 in the morning...]
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
-------------
Addendum:
Haha... the YAM-wit race is on... =p
I'm finally suffering the consequences of 3 weeks of procrastination at work, in addition to convergence... why does everything happen at the same time??
Oh well, at least this can make me smile in the meantime:
*That's* why I changed my name from my normal "GY" to "Yam" something, to be consistent. Haha, I love my family... I love YAM. [Not to mention that we were the only ones online at 3 in the morning...]
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
-------------
Addendum:
Haha... the YAM-wit race is on... =p
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
I was debating whether or not to release this publicly because I don't know if I was ready for this level of transparency, but perhaps this information will be beneficial to everyone and not just high school students. =P I present to you my blog for my Relationships 101 Sunday School class at TCCC:
Relationships 101!
If you do want to read it, please give me feedback and accountability for what I teach... it is important that it is God-honouring and upright because those who teach *are* held to a higher standard.
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Relationships 101!
If you do want to read it, please give me feedback and accountability for what I teach... it is important that it is God-honouring and upright because those who teach *are* held to a higher standard.
Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)