another week in paradise.

Another week in paradise. A cold, windy and wet paradise.

What is it about Vancouver that makes me miss it when I’m away, and want to stay indoors when I’m back? Even when I’m indoors, it’s chilly. Time to break out the winter gear.

I observed several dance classes last week. The jazz class wasn't what I was looking for, so I’ve decided to take the hip-hop workshop. I hope it’s as fun as I’d like it to be.

Guys group was good as usual. We’ve entered a new stage, a stage where we haven’t visited a noodle restaurant. It’s a sign of the times, a time that says we are to eat healthier, and not so late anymore. We’re all going through changes at work, in relationships, and in our personal time. It’s good to have a place to unpack our weeks.

I’m going through Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I haven’t read the earlier five books, but Jennie insisted that I read it when I mentioned I’m looking for something new to read. It’s a very fun read, and I’m surprised that I’m so caught up in the story. I’m also glad that the library strike is over. Now I can pull some new books from the shelves and feed my literature craving.

We went to a wedding banquet on Friday in Richmond. The food was simple and tasted great. We picked up some new memory for the computer, and now it runs much better than before. We drove to Shaw to pick up a modem, and had hotpot dinner at Adrian’s house, partly to celebrate Julian’s weekend visit to Vancouver. I had so much food I fell asleep soon after.

Sunday’s service had a special speaker who had done missionary work in Egypt. He was hilarious, and was very passionate about his work. It was encouraging to hear him speak. After lunch at Metrotown, I came home, read some Harry Potter, and took a nap. We ate dinner at Neighbours, and took care of some chores.

The week at work has been exciting. I’m in a new department, and I’m hitting the ground running. It’s going to be a fun and hectic few months.

It’s been a while since I’ve played Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution, so I played a few rounds today. I still hit my high scores, but I feel out of practice.

What I will do differently is make sure that I schedule exercise into my schedule. Also, I want to take on creative tasks before the year is through. I’m working with Tim Chan on something for Christmas, so keep your eyes open for announcements.

I’ll end with a point from today’s message. When it comes to vision, don’t focus too much on your own vision. Focus on God’s vision for you, which is even better. When it comes to responsibilities, focus on what you’ve been asked to do, don’t focus on everything God should be doing, that’s beyond your scope. See all that you can, but focus on what only you can do.

Life is Company

When you’re feeling tired, and you don’t want to reflect, that’s probably a good time to reflect.

I went to the studio to check out the instructors. The modern dance teacher seems nice, but the modern dance class went too slow for me. The hip-hop teacher taught his class well, and I wish his class started later so that I could take it. The street jazz teacher seemed like a nice guy, but the class lacked the structure I’m looking for. I’m hoping tomorrow’s jazz dance class is worth taking.

We spent an hour walking through Chapters. It was fun walking through the aisles and talking about books we had already read. Now I have a new list of books I should borrow from the library.

We watched Company at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, one of the two theatres in the Arts Club Theatre Company. The individual performances were fantastic, especially Matt Palmer, who was the connecting character in the show. However, the story and the songs weren’t as strong as the performances. There was nothing wrong with the show, technically it was amazing. There was just nothing that blew me away. This Stephen Sondheim musical first appeared in 1970, and the songs reflect this era. My favorite songs were Getting Married Today, Barcelona, and Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You?

Disturbia was better than I thought it would be. It’s a remake of Rear Window, a classic Hitchcock film. You may know it best through the Simpson’s homage where Bart broke his leg and watched Ned Flanders from his bedroom.

The 3rd episode of Office season 4 was funny, yet depressing. It was absurd, yet heartfelt. It was everything I look for in a show, and everything I detest. I cannot wait for the next episode. Last week’s episode of House was amazing, and I enjoy the tone that the show has developed. We get to see yet another side of the observant, stubborn and multi-talented Gregory House. Clark Kent gets to be a protective bigger brother on Smallville. I hope Kara Kent stays for a few more episodes, so that Clark’s character gets more interesting. It’s strange watching the OC on Muchmusic. I didn’t watch it when it first ran on FOX. But now that I see it on Much, I realize that it was a well written show. It’s nice to see it alive in syndication.

It’s mid-October. Two weeks to Halloween, and two months to Christmas. You can see it on the calendar, and you can feel it in the climate. Autumn is here in full swing. The air is crisp, the leaves are red, the roads are wet, and the people are sick with fever and the flu. Bundle up when you head outside! More importantly, have the positive attitude to end the year well. If you could do something different before 2008, what would it be?

The ten-minute post

I am putting a ten-minute time limit on myself, to see how much I can write for my blog. It's 6:41pm.

It's been an event-filled week. Today, I worked out and watched The Last King of Scotland. I can see why Forest Whittaker won the Oscar, he gave a great performance. On Thanksgiving Monday, I went to dinner with my family and caught up with my cousins. On Sunday, I went to Willingdon Church for their service, and had a nice warm congee lunch. It was pouring rain, so the congee felt especially warming. I helped Jennie configure her wireless network, and we watched Dragon Tiger Gate, starring Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. The action was impressive, but the storyline was so elementary and obvious it was hard to feel empathy for the characters. We also watched the Office. Episode 2 of the season wasn't as good as episode 1, in my opinion. But they certainly set up the 'bad-guy' for this season. I also made some changes to my Telus website. That was my creative task for the Thanksgiving weekend. On Saturday, I connected Jennie's internet service, and sang karaoke. On Friday, I had dinner with Ryan, and played poker at Adrian's place. On Thursday, I had my insurance class, and on Wednesday, I studied for my insurance class. On Tuesday, we had Guys' Group, and on Monday, I rested.

6:49pm. Two minutes left. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my spiritual relationship, good books, good movies, and a career in progress.

6:51pm. And I am thankful to you for reading.