I couldn't sleep the other night and I stepped out for a late-night walk. It was slightly past 10 pm on a week day night and the Vancouver streets near commercial drive are surprisingly busy with young couples walking, and the hungry seeking out pizza at a discount eatery.
As I walk down commercial drive, I clutch my handbag tightly against me, my mind hearing past stories of purse snatchers and victims of violence. I decide to put my handbag over my shoulder and under my heavy jacket, even though the handbag is big and bulging.
Just a week ago, I was in Merida, which is in the capital city of the state of Yucatan, Mexico. As I watched a Mariachi band and other singers on a stage on a Saturday night, I marvelled at the folksy, warm and cosy family atmosphere at this free music festival. Everyone was relaxed and no one seemed tense and suspicious of other strangers. Here in Merida, far away from my hometown in Vancouver, I felt safe, happy and relaxed.
Switch to my current situation. I walked down commercial drive looking carefully at the people passing by, and even though it was warm at night, I made sure I was walking down a brightly lit street, and purposely chose not to walk down the side streets, which would make the walk more quieter.
I make my way towards a bustling coffee shop where I order a warm milk served by a young woman with thick, fake eyelashes. There are a few couples huddled together on seats talking to each other quietly, intently. I wonder why so many people are out so late at night. Then I remember an early Earnest Hemingway short story called, A Clean Well Lighted Place. It is a short story I recall from high school days and one that I cannot forget. I muse that it may be a story of loneliness, of a need for people to be among others, to socialize or possibly forget their problems for a few hours.
A coffee shop is an escape, a home away from home. Here, there is no one to yell at you, to tell you that the rent is due, to call you about an unpaid bill. TV is not around, especially to remind a person of the Gulf crisis, of the sorry state of affairs between the two Koreas.
A young kid who should be in bed by now is playing outside. Other young people are pretending to fight each other. The kid smiles and comes in to take a candy from a woman in the coffee shop who offers him the candy. She likes him.
Here in Vancouver as in Merida, we are the same: all seeking good company in the middle of the night.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Clearing Out the Old and Decluttering the Mind
I opened and closed my storage locker for the very last time. It was a decision that saved me close to$70 per month and I imagine that this step made me rethink the reasons why we keep old possessions.
In fact, it didn't make much sense for me to keep a few boxes in a storage locker. There were very few items there and it seemed rather ridiculous to keep a few clothes and household items in a locker that may never see the light of day.
As a society, we tend to keep too many things --things which have no emotion and yet possessions seem to make us happy and somehow superior. The more we have, the more we tend to feel better about ourselves. I looked around at the storage facility and wondered why so many people keep things that they no longer need, or have no room to fill in their own homes. It seemed rather wasteful and also expensive.
After four months of keeping a few boxes in the storage locker, I decided to bale out. It was a good decision because I realized that whatever was in the boxes, needed to see the light of day. It was to be used now, not in the near future. A few things, like electronics, such as old phones. I left outside for binners to pick up and resell. Other things I decided to keep in the back trunk of my vehicle for the time being while I pondered which items I would keep and which ones I would send to charity.
I looked at Simba, the cat, and realized that he always seemed happy and this animal did not own a single piece of property. He was content just being the way he is. We can learn a lot from animals.
Simplicity is a good thing and I challenge other people to do the same thing and clean-up and declutter your mind.
In fact, it didn't make much sense for me to keep a few boxes in a storage locker. There were very few items there and it seemed rather ridiculous to keep a few clothes and household items in a locker that may never see the light of day.
As a society, we tend to keep too many things --things which have no emotion and yet possessions seem to make us happy and somehow superior. The more we have, the more we tend to feel better about ourselves. I looked around at the storage facility and wondered why so many people keep things that they no longer need, or have no room to fill in their own homes. It seemed rather wasteful and also expensive.
After four months of keeping a few boxes in the storage locker, I decided to bale out. It was a good decision because I realized that whatever was in the boxes, needed to see the light of day. It was to be used now, not in the near future. A few things, like electronics, such as old phones. I left outside for binners to pick up and resell. Other things I decided to keep in the back trunk of my vehicle for the time being while I pondered which items I would keep and which ones I would send to charity.
I looked at Simba, the cat, and realized that he always seemed happy and this animal did not own a single piece of property. He was content just being the way he is. We can learn a lot from animals.
Simplicity is a good thing and I challenge other people to do the same thing and clean-up and declutter your mind.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Living the 4 -hour Work Week
It's been almost a year since I've read Timothy Ferriss' inspirational book,The 4-Hour Workweek. I'm a big fan of motivational books and this slightly over 300 page book reads fast and packs a whallop of good ideas.
But you'd think after one year, I would be living the dream life, working only four hours. Truth be told, living this kind of life-style does take some work and a mind that is both entrepreneurial and passionate about working for yourself.
A person should read this book with an eye towards self-improvement, even if some of the ideas in there seems a bit offbeat and strange, like lying down in the middle of a public area to demonstrate the idea of thinking outside the box. At times, too, his book seems a bit autobiographical, since he details his beginnings and the steps he took to become successful.
There are plenty of good tips in there for people who want to modify and simplify their life. Tips on speed reading will surely help students and professionals skim through huge reports and books.
I did enjoy his tips on websites that focus on searching for products to sell. His research on outsourcing agencies will definitely help companies gain more efficiency and save money. His plea to limit our intake of media is good information since we seem always to have time for television, newspapers and other forms of media and never enough time to spend with things that are important, such as family, etc.
Clearly, Ferriss makes a strong case that if you want to make money, you have to have a good product to sell. A person can easily read this book in one day, but I strongly recommend that you have a note pad handy to write down some useful websites and his encouraging tips. I can feel his energy already.
But you'd think after one year, I would be living the dream life, working only four hours. Truth be told, living this kind of life-style does take some work and a mind that is both entrepreneurial and passionate about working for yourself.
A person should read this book with an eye towards self-improvement, even if some of the ideas in there seems a bit offbeat and strange, like lying down in the middle of a public area to demonstrate the idea of thinking outside the box. At times, too, his book seems a bit autobiographical, since he details his beginnings and the steps he took to become successful.
There are plenty of good tips in there for people who want to modify and simplify their life. Tips on speed reading will surely help students and professionals skim through huge reports and books.
I did enjoy his tips on websites that focus on searching for products to sell. His research on outsourcing agencies will definitely help companies gain more efficiency and save money. His plea to limit our intake of media is good information since we seem always to have time for television, newspapers and other forms of media and never enough time to spend with things that are important, such as family, etc.
Clearly, Ferriss makes a strong case that if you want to make money, you have to have a good product to sell. A person can easily read this book in one day, but I strongly recommend that you have a note pad handy to write down some useful websites and his encouraging tips. I can feel his energy already.
Making Sense of Dolphin Entertainment
Now that the summer holidays are on the horizon, people planning vacations should be careful about where they spend their vacations. If you're a person who loves animals and respects wildlife, it makes sense that a person should also be mindful of animals in captivity and stay away from places like Seaworld and Dolphin parks.
After watching The Cove, a movie about a group of activists/adventurers who set out to tell the world about the sad and secret treatment of dolphins at a cove in Taiji, Japan, I felt an urge to do my part by writing a piece about these beautiful creatures.
It is clearly wrong to imprison these intelligent marine mammals in a million dollar entertainment outfit designed to line the pockets of people who care little for animal welfare. Those who front outfits like Seaworld and other parks that showcase dolphins state that it is for the educational value of children and adults. Yet, the real value of showing the dolphins to the public is that dolphins make people money.
The filmmakers do a good job about showing how select dolphins are sold to entertainment parks for as much as $150,000 each; others who don't pass the mark are butchered and sold as meat. Some scenes in the movie are heart-renching, especially when the sounds of dolphins being butchered are heard, followed by an eerie sound of silence.
And yet the dolphins in the parks are not living a life of bliss. Despite their appearance, these dolphins must be forced to work for food, and life in a small, artificial pen that in no way duplicates their life in the real world. Dolphins are also separated from their families when they are cruelly wrenched from the sea for transport to a life of being in a sea circus.
It's time people around the world stop this terrible treatment of dolphins. One of the easiest steps is to boycott all Sea parks that operate dolphin entertainment and charge people a fee to "swim with dolphins."
Although we do not have the time or money to go to Japan to help stop the senseless killing and selling of these dolphins, we can do a large part by not going to these events. Eventually, one hopes, these heartless outfits will lose money, close their complexes, and return these dolphins to the sea from which they belong.
For people who have yet to watch The Cove, it is highly recommended and so is the website, http://www.thecove.com/ which also provides information on how the average person can get involved in this crusade to stop the killing and selling of dolphins in Japan.
But on a global picture, we can also monitor our travel excursions and when travelling in a new place that offers dolphin entertainment, decline loudly.
Dolphins have had a long and interesting relationship with humans. They have been known to save swimmers from sharks and also have been known to encourage in co-operative human-dolphin fishing expeditions, dating from the pre-Roman era, thanks to accounts from the likes of the Pliny, the Elder.
Let's help stop the abuse, now!
After watching The Cove, a movie about a group of activists/adventurers who set out to tell the world about the sad and secret treatment of dolphins at a cove in Taiji, Japan, I felt an urge to do my part by writing a piece about these beautiful creatures.
It is clearly wrong to imprison these intelligent marine mammals in a million dollar entertainment outfit designed to line the pockets of people who care little for animal welfare. Those who front outfits like Seaworld and other parks that showcase dolphins state that it is for the educational value of children and adults. Yet, the real value of showing the dolphins to the public is that dolphins make people money.
The filmmakers do a good job about showing how select dolphins are sold to entertainment parks for as much as $150,000 each; others who don't pass the mark are butchered and sold as meat. Some scenes in the movie are heart-renching, especially when the sounds of dolphins being butchered are heard, followed by an eerie sound of silence.
And yet the dolphins in the parks are not living a life of bliss. Despite their appearance, these dolphins must be forced to work for food, and life in a small, artificial pen that in no way duplicates their life in the real world. Dolphins are also separated from their families when they are cruelly wrenched from the sea for transport to a life of being in a sea circus.
It's time people around the world stop this terrible treatment of dolphins. One of the easiest steps is to boycott all Sea parks that operate dolphin entertainment and charge people a fee to "swim with dolphins."
Although we do not have the time or money to go to Japan to help stop the senseless killing and selling of these dolphins, we can do a large part by not going to these events. Eventually, one hopes, these heartless outfits will lose money, close their complexes, and return these dolphins to the sea from which they belong.
For people who have yet to watch The Cove, it is highly recommended and so is the website, http://www.thecove.com/ which also provides information on how the average person can get involved in this crusade to stop the killing and selling of dolphins in Japan.
But on a global picture, we can also monitor our travel excursions and when travelling in a new place that offers dolphin entertainment, decline loudly.
Dolphins have had a long and interesting relationship with humans. They have been known to save swimmers from sharks and also have been known to encourage in co-operative human-dolphin fishing expeditions, dating from the pre-Roman era, thanks to accounts from the likes of the Pliny, the Elder.
Let's help stop the abuse, now!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Hoping for Haiti
The January 12 earthquake in Haiti put the small Island in the spotlight. One can only thank the news agencies for putting the devastation in the spotlight for the whole world to respond in positive ways.
It's great to hear that individuals around the world are responding with money to assist the people in Haiti rebuild their homes.
While it is unfortunate that so many lives have been lost due to this devastation, it is equally hard to understand why the government had failed to prevent such poor buildings to have been built in the first place.
One can only hope that the government has learned from this very hard lesson and rebuild a better better.
In Canada, so many of us, myself included, sometimes take our lives for granted. It is good that many Canadians have donated money to help the cause for rebuilding Haiti.
Let us all hope and pray that Haiti will be rebuilt and its people will be able to have better lives and futures. We also should pray for a speedy recovery. It's people will also require not only physical healing, but emotional healing as well.
It's great to hear that individuals around the world are responding with money to assist the people in Haiti rebuild their homes.
While it is unfortunate that so many lives have been lost due to this devastation, it is equally hard to understand why the government had failed to prevent such poor buildings to have been built in the first place.
One can only hope that the government has learned from this very hard lesson and rebuild a better better.
In Canada, so many of us, myself included, sometimes take our lives for granted. It is good that many Canadians have donated money to help the cause for rebuilding Haiti.
Let us all hope and pray that Haiti will be rebuilt and its people will be able to have better lives and futures. We also should pray for a speedy recovery. It's people will also require not only physical healing, but emotional healing as well.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Singing With Gusto
I like to sing, but unfortunately, I don't feel that I am gifted with a great voice.
Fortunately, for my teacher, she doesn't care.
I recently joined a class for novice singers like myself. My teacher who is clearly talented and once worked for the Vancouver Opera society took us through a number of exercises designed to help us sing with more tone.
The group of mixed male and female students sang one song through the 90 minute course. She illustrated the fact that good singers should sing with conviction and feeling and made a good point that novice singers should try to understand what the song-writer was writing about and sing it with gusto.
And I feel that it is so true with life in general. Whether one is at work, home or in the park, it's important to really appreciate the moment and grab life and live it with gusto.
When I was in high school, I had the mindset to say to myself that even my moment as I high school student would pass, and to remember this well. To this day, I remember my teachers, my classmates and hallways, and the basic washrooms with the too-small mirrors. I remember the hair styles, the class pranks that really bugged my English teacher to tears, the good and the bad moments, the cattiness of the female students, the people in the cliques and the people like myself who were not part of the cliques.
Times go by so fast that each day is as important as gold and it should not be wasted. Now is the time to do things you always wanted to do, like take up painting or sewing. How many times have I heard people say that they don't have time for things?
There is no excuse for living life with your heart and soul in it.
Fortunately, for my teacher, she doesn't care.
I recently joined a class for novice singers like myself. My teacher who is clearly talented and once worked for the Vancouver Opera society took us through a number of exercises designed to help us sing with more tone.
The group of mixed male and female students sang one song through the 90 minute course. She illustrated the fact that good singers should sing with conviction and feeling and made a good point that novice singers should try to understand what the song-writer was writing about and sing it with gusto.
And I feel that it is so true with life in general. Whether one is at work, home or in the park, it's important to really appreciate the moment and grab life and live it with gusto.
When I was in high school, I had the mindset to say to myself that even my moment as I high school student would pass, and to remember this well. To this day, I remember my teachers, my classmates and hallways, and the basic washrooms with the too-small mirrors. I remember the hair styles, the class pranks that really bugged my English teacher to tears, the good and the bad moments, the cattiness of the female students, the people in the cliques and the people like myself who were not part of the cliques.
Times go by so fast that each day is as important as gold and it should not be wasted. Now is the time to do things you always wanted to do, like take up painting or sewing. How many times have I heard people say that they don't have time for things?
There is no excuse for living life with your heart and soul in it.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Money Saving Exercise Ideas
Maybe you're one of the many people who need to cut costs after the holidays. Who doesn't want to save money after Christmas which often involves lots of expenses for presents, food, booze and extras that come with the annual celebration?
And of course with all the calories that come from alcohol and holiday dinners, it comes to reason that most people have goals to lose weight and exercise.
I've thought of a few ways for people to do exercise without spending a lot of money.
1. Be a dog walker at your local S.P.C.A.
For the past few years, I've often walked dogs, usually on the weekends, and spend anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes in the outdoors. You not only get to experience the pleasure of seeing a wide variety of different and adorable dogs, but also get to exercise which encourages a healthy heart and life-style.
2. Join a local league. For winter, many community centres offer affordable activities, ranging from badminton, to floor hockey, to Dodgeball, etc. Some community centres even offer to provide subsidization for people who are students or in the lower income bracket. If you are a student, many schools and college offer reduced rates for gym and fitness activites. If you are an alumni from a university, you can even get reduced fees for recreation.
3. While watch television, you can incorporate a few fitness activites. These may include doing some sit-ups on a mat, or even on your bed, and leg lifts. No one said watching television needs to be a sedentary activity.
4. With your radio or record player, which is gaining popularity once again, listen to Rock or your favorite fast beat, and make your moves in your living room. Dancing is a great way to exercise as well as have fun.
5. Finally, go ahead and make a small splurge on a DVD exercise tape. Nowadays, you can buy a DVD tape on just about any exercise activity. You can try something different, such as Yoga, or belly dancing or even martial arts. And don't forget your local library where you can borrow DVD exercise tapes for free.
Doing exercise need not be boring or expensive. Til next week.
And of course with all the calories that come from alcohol and holiday dinners, it comes to reason that most people have goals to lose weight and exercise.
I've thought of a few ways for people to do exercise without spending a lot of money.
1. Be a dog walker at your local S.P.C.A.
For the past few years, I've often walked dogs, usually on the weekends, and spend anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes in the outdoors. You not only get to experience the pleasure of seeing a wide variety of different and adorable dogs, but also get to exercise which encourages a healthy heart and life-style.
2. Join a local league. For winter, many community centres offer affordable activities, ranging from badminton, to floor hockey, to Dodgeball, etc. Some community centres even offer to provide subsidization for people who are students or in the lower income bracket. If you are a student, many schools and college offer reduced rates for gym and fitness activites. If you are an alumni from a university, you can even get reduced fees for recreation.
3. While watch television, you can incorporate a few fitness activites. These may include doing some sit-ups on a mat, or even on your bed, and leg lifts. No one said watching television needs to be a sedentary activity.
4. With your radio or record player, which is gaining popularity once again, listen to Rock or your favorite fast beat, and make your moves in your living room. Dancing is a great way to exercise as well as have fun.
5. Finally, go ahead and make a small splurge on a DVD exercise tape. Nowadays, you can buy a DVD tape on just about any exercise activity. You can try something different, such as Yoga, or belly dancing or even martial arts. And don't forget your local library where you can borrow DVD exercise tapes for free.
Doing exercise need not be boring or expensive. Til next week.
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