The storm before the calm...

Where the hell does the time go? It's already the end of October, and I can barely remember where last week went...

Aside from various meetings and appointments, perhaps the most interesting thing of note was that I was at a conference on diversity at my old college on Wednesday. I participated in a panel discussion on the challenges of ethnic and cultural diversity during college life.

The panel had 11 participants from all walks of life. I was the token Chinese guy, and shared the different experiences I had when I went to UBC out of high school, and when I came to my current college two years ago.

To make a long story short, there was a huge culture shock coming from a small high school being the only Chinese kid, to going to a huge university with tens of thousands of ethnic Chinese people from all over the world. If I wasn't determined to explore this huge cultural difference, I don't think I would've been as ethnically and culturally aware of the challenges that come from being in a "multicultural" country like Canada.

People tend to think that multiculturalism is about accepting other people's backgrounds and ethnic heritages, but people rarely think about the fact that to truly appreciate another person's culture requires lots of work and effort and understanding.

We have to give up our own stereotypes, our own minor prejudices about our own culture to appreciate someone else's. We can't say, "That's wierd," or "That's wrong," about anything about another person's culture. We should not be offended if we feel something uncomfortable, but rather, reflect on the experience and understand why we feel this way, and what we can do to prevent it from happening again--the emphasis being on what "I" can do, rather than what "they" should do.

Becoming a person of understanding and appreciation takes a lot of work on our part. It's not always going to be easy, and in fact, it rarely is. We have to shed a lot of our own fears and prejudices in order for us to accept another person for who they are, instead of wanting to change them to what we think they should be "as a Canadian." To me, multiculturalism is about recognizing each person's strengths that comes from their ethnic heritage, rather than saying they should "be Canadian."

We may not always agree about specific aspects of another person's culture or heritage, but that's not an excuse to say they don't deserve to be who they are. When it comes to ethnicity and culture, there is no right and wrong - only unique differences that makes each person a distinct individual.

Halloween and Fright Night

It's so interesting that almost every holiday is seen as a sales event; Halloween in particular. I remember hearing a radio news item talking about the price of costumes this year rising to $10 to $15 a costume, and much more if you want a professional-looking one for rent.

And yet, when I was in downtown last night, I didn't see people with expensive costumes; I saw a lot of people in home-made, yet very professional-looking costumes. Most of the good ones were witches, demons and maybe a Dracula or two, but still, I'm sure they probably spent around $15 for make-up, and a couple items to transform themselves from ordinary people to goolish monsters of evil.

It's interesting that as a kid, Halloween was always about trick or treat and how much free candy we could get in an evening. Now, more than ever, adults are getting into it just for the heck of it. Maybe it's always been that way, and I've just started to notice as I get older (how it never gets to be an immature thing to do).

For me, though, it's just a good chance to catch up with friends, veg and enjoy a piece of childhood...in adult form.

How Time Flies (when you're having fun or not)

I was just looking at the time between my last blog and my most recent one and it just amazed me that I didn't write a blog for several days. I honestly didn't think that much time had passed, but in fact it did.

When I look at the weekend, obviously, I was more busy then, than I am on the weekdays. I was pretty much in meetings for the whole weekend, whether it was a discussion meeting, study meeting, a workshop, or just getting together with a few friends over coffee.

I have to remind myself that I need to take time out for myself--exclusively for myself--to take time to de-stress, re-focus and regain some balance in my life between work, play and volunteering.

Most people would think it odd that finding time to relax is hard, but for people who always are on the go, who are driven to excel in everything they do - "relaxing" is often the last thing on their minds.

It is difficult to explain, but ever since I was in high school, I have always been driven to make the most out of the time I have. When I was in senior high, I made it a point to participate in many extra-curricular activities, because I thought I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I enjoyed doing after I graduated. Ironically, as it turns out, many of the things I was interested in high school, have become the strong focus in my life. In one way or another, I still do what I want to do, and I am still driven to excel in these areas - like writing, photography, youth development coordinator, and many others.

There is a saying that, "I may not have lived a hundred years, but I am determined to create several hundred years worth of value in my life." Such a statement rings as a central point to everything I do, and every now and then, I realize that "value" includes some downtime.

Which is why, I can't wait to go skiing and head for the hills and get away from it all! :-)

Ski Season is Coming!

Just the other day I got an email from Whistler-Blackcomb about the upcoming ski season, and thinking about the possibility of going skiing again erased the frustration over how cold it has gotten in the past few days in Vancouver.

While I was taking a hot shower this morning, with the hot steam billowing upwards, I started imagining what this season will be like on the slopes. With such glorious summer weather this year in Vancouver, I wonder if the winters will be equally glorious with lots of snow on the mountains, or will it be one of those warm winters where there isn't enough snow to slip on.

An elderly family friend mentioned that on a particular bush, there were a lot of berries that birds usually eat - a sign that we're going to have a cold winter. I'm not sure how accurate a measure that is, but if it's true, then we should have a good ski season this year, both at the local mountains at at the number-one ranked ski resort in North America.

Suffice it to say, while I am amazed at how quickly the year has come and gone in 2004, (it's November next week!) I'm quite looking forward to heading up the slopes yet again and enjoy the beautiful environment that you can only get atop a ski hill.

The irony of the post-9-11 Canadian passport application

As I am going on an overseas trip next month--the first since September 11, 2001, I had to reapply for a new passport and a number of changes this time around in the application really got me thinking.

First of all, the photo. It's so ironic that for a country like Canada that prides itself on being one of the best countries in the world to live in, it asks its citizens to have the most guilty-looking, unhappy headshot as your passport photo. In the passport application, it made sure to note that you should have a "neutral" face without smiling or having any facial expression at all. The result is a photo that looks worse than a mugshot on a Western wanted poster. That kind of passport is something I really don't like to have and is rather different than the passport photos I had in the past. To give a comparison, I'd say my old passport photos were a Mona Lisa style photo, but now, it's a criminal mugshot. Very unappealing. It's worse than my drivers license photo, and that's saying something.

I have yet to see what a new passport looks like, compared to my old one that expired last year, but I suspect it will look different - and have more security features. It had better since I paid almost double what I paid the last time I got a new passport.

I'll let you know in 10 business days.

Where does the time go?

It's already Thursday night, but it seems like yesterday that I just posted my last blog...I'm often so busy with a number of freelance projects, volunteer activities and regular errands that the specific day of the week has very little meaning. Just over the weekend, on Sunday, I kept thinking it was Saturday, even though many people kept reminding me it was Sunday...I remember that as if it was yesterday, but it was almost a week ago!

Despite my busy schedule, I still think everything I do is absolutely worth it. There isn't anything I would give up or sacrifice because each project I work on, and each activity I participate in is creating value in my life, and adding to the value of other people's activities.

Work, work, work...

Today was a work day for me. Having my own business as a web designer, I've taken on a few projects that will take up a lot of my time--if only because it takes time to be visually creative.

Websites are fickle creations. What may look good on one screen doesn't necessarily look good on another. Someone's screen can be too bright, too dark, not enough contrast, too much contrast, or just plain old that it's just black and white (or orange and black, whatever the case may be).

But, web design, is very much like magazine or newspaper design. More often than not, it's the photo that makes the page. Without any good photos, illustrations or graphics, the website will look too text-heavy, or just plain boring.

Ironically, most newspapers and magazines have websites that don't do their publications justice. For some reason, media companies still think of their websites as secondary extensions of their main product, when in fact, it is becoming an important medium to share reports and information gathered by their writers and reporters.

Media companies are starting to get on the bandwagon of improving their websites, but they are still behind most commercial or even non-commercial websites. In a medium that can quickly change styles and 'fashion,' if the mainstream media treats it as a secondary entity, they will soon find themselves going out of business because they will simply look irrelevant to society.

Whatever the case, while information will always be needed and sought after, for companies and individuals who live by selling information and reports to the public, they'd better start investing in the future, or risk becoming an icon of the past.

PBS is "the" source for balanced journalism

It's rare for me to have time to watch TV nowadays, but I caught by change a great documentary on the PBS show "Frontline" which gave a historical look at the two US presidential candidates - John Kerry and George W. Bush.

What I loved about the program was the fact that it didn't sensationalize the interpretations of history of both presidential candidates, but gave us an in-depth, analytical look at "the facts" that have come out in ads and promos for both candidates. For example, for John Kerry's "questionable" military record (according to an ad from Vietnam veterans who don't like Kerry), Frontline went back and researched the accusations against Kerry's record. What was truly illuminating was that the documentary showed Kerry's diverse military history and views on war - from his heroic acts in Vietnam to his anti-war stance after returning from duty that defined his political life until he was elected to the Senate. Frontline showed that Kerry was not against the US military, but was against the policy of the government towards war - two very separate topics that Kerry opponents seem to have confused.

At the same time, the show gave a balanced look at both Bush and Kerry, showing that they both made mistakes, both were human and both are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but still passionately patriotic. In the end, the viewer is left with liking one or the other candidate, based on the viewer's political inclinations. If you watched it with an open mind, you saw the strengths and weaknesses of both candidates, but still leaned towards one because they are very opposite in worldviews.

Anyway, it was a very enjoyable program and another reason why I enjoy PBS more than any other network on TV. If more people watched PBS in the US, I'm willing to bet the American people would be far more educated and informed than just by watching any other US network.

Watching Frontline yesterday was the final push that got me interested in the US presidential elections that will happen next month. Until now, I was totally un-interested, but now, after learning more about Kerry and Bush, I'm more interested in it, because I have a stronger feeling that the outcome of next month's election will have lasting repercussions in the world for many years to come.

A Day of Dialogue

This week has been a busy one for me both work-wise, personally, and in my volunteer activities. As a Buddhist, I participate in a lot of discussion meetings with people interested about Buddhism as a philosophy for living. Often we simply share experiences, or I try to answer any questions people have about it, and go from there.

People who know me know I'm always busy, and having these dialogues with people about philosophy and Buddhism is a large part of how I spend my "free time." For most people it seems like work, because I'm going places to see people, and be a mentor or teacher for them, but I find it to be a very rewarding activity to do. The way I look at it, it's not just telling them about philosophy, but participating in a discussion that could potentially help them develop a stronger, more positive point of view in their life.

For a lot of people, this sounds like a lot of work and effort--and it is--but there is an intrinsic benefit that's gained when you do something that can really help a person improve their life by simply listening to them and sharing any insight you can provide--not in a proud, "I know something you don't" sort of way, but in a genuinely helpful and sincere way.

Whether or not other people see it as worthwhile, it's something I think is most important--for a number of reasons--and adds immeasurable value to my life.

Blog to start all blogs...

This is attempt #3 for me when it comes to keeping a blog, and I'll be honest; it has not been easy. Keeping a consistent blog has been one of the hardest projects I've ever tried, and I've come to realize it's not necessarily for everyone. Exercising, eating, or even sleeping regularly is something I have a hard time doing given my work schedule, so keeping a regular blog is pretty low on the daily checklist.

But, if 'third time's the charm' works for my blogging, then that's how this will be. As a public declaration, I'm going to attempt yet again to keep a regular blog, updated almost daily, but likely every other day.

It's not going to be pretty, or necessarily insightful; it may be downright boring to hear about how I spent my day, but dammit, I'm going to keep a blog. I might cheat and have more than one a day, which means my day has been very boring (or I'm blogging to procrastinate on something that I need to finish). Whatever the case, the blog will be blogged, short of a disaster that keeps me from logging on the internet (or using my computer).

I may try to continue my other blogs, but not as frequently as this one, mainly because the other blogs require a lot of thought--most of which I rarely have time to write about. I'd love to continue them, and I probably will, but in the meantime, I'm pushing myself to keep a regular schedule with this one.

Of all the mundane things to pray for, pray that I have the willpower to keep this going.