Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Panorama
Last Friday, I took an 8-hour bus ride to Panorama Ski Resort. Obviously, the bus ride was uncomfortable. Yes, the journey there and back was not the fun part of the trip. We arrived there at half past 10 at night. Three buses packed with U of A students were given rooms to stay in at Toby Creek Lodge. Our rooms were nice and comfortable. It had a kitchen which was more well-supplied than my home. After we settled down in the room, we cooked instant noodles to eat and then went straight to bed.The next morning, I woke up to find myself very ill. It is a mortifying experience to fall sick during a holiday. Worse, it is like a punishment above all to fall sick on a mountain ski holiday. Not that I don't get to ski (I don't like the sport), but there is no hospital or clinic at the resort area.
I called the operator and she said the medical centers and pharmacies are located at the nearest town, Invermere. It is about a 20-30 minute drive there. Guess how much I have to spend on a taxi ride there...
...
$50!!!
Horrible...horrible...
But if I didn't get it treated soon, my condition would have been much worse. Anyway, we took the bloody cab ride there. Saw a doctor and got my medication. Fortunately, it was a nice, small town. We hanged around for a bit,and did some shopping for souveniers.
At Invermere
We arrived back at the resort just in time for dinner. Heli-place was the nearest restaurant to our lodge, and so we just headed there. The restaurant was located on a small hill. Therefore, we had to climb up the snowy slope. It was tiring climbing up, but it wasn't fun getting down the snowy slope. The chances of anyone PK-ing is super high.
This was my dinner - Seafood Capicionno
Maggie, Liana, me and Ling Li
After that fulfilling meal, we went to the General Store to rent a video - I, Robot. I was very, very tired but for some odd reason I managed to stay awake during the entire movie. Nothing much happened that night. We went to bed early as we had to wake up early the next morning for check-out.
In the morning, we walked around the ski resort, taking lots of pictures of the beautiful scenery. And we ate a lot too (because the restaurants have huge servings -_-)
And that was basically it. Truthfully, if I didn't fall sick, we wouldn't have gone to Invermere. That would simply mean we would be rotting at Panorama the whole time because it is actually a small resort and the main attraction was skiing.
Now, I am suffering a bad sore throat *cough cough* and it is back to reality again - time to dive into the books ...
4:52 PM | |
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Controlling the rage
I don't know what it takes to be a good friend sometimes. As years pass by, the impression of friendship being merely a sincere feeling or a mutual way of life seemed to have showed its true colours.What is it that lies beneath the surface of friendship?
We are only human, as many would quote from daily life. However, what brings this purpose to get to know someone as a friend? What defines a close friend?
I don't know if recent events have changed my point of view significantly. Or my priorities in any way. However, juggling with a love, a tedious academic schedule and own aspirations in life, I cannot pay all the attention to friends who say that I have become a "wet blanket." If the definition of good friends is yay-we-are-the-best-of-friends-because-we-are-both-the-same-type-of-person, I regret to say that this is not my idea of a friendship.
If not attending to your whim and fancies means I am a wet blanket,
If not agreeing to your decisions means I am a spoiler of plans,
If not compromising for your boredness by being a "play thing" to you means I am a cold-hearted, un-happening friend ...
Then by all means, let it be. Now, if not being able to understand your friend's true personality is a factor in this issue ...
I would say that a friend who can do so is the perfect friend in the world.
But nothing is perfect, isn't it?
12:07 PM | |
Friday, January 06, 2006
Goodbye 2005, Hello 2006!
It's a new year. New resolutions. New ambitions.We just headed downtown to City Hall for the fireworks display during New Year's eve. However, it was not as fantastic as last year's celebration where we celebrated Alberta's 100th year Aniversary. Odd enough, there wasn't a countdown that night. The fireworks just started off by itself when the clock struck twelve. So un-happening, haha ...
Last year, it was overly crowded because the crowd was concentrated at City Hall only. Now with the newly opened City Square, which is directly opposite the road from City Hall, everyone could move around easily. And so, there was less frustration. There was a live band playing music and people were dancing on the square. Here's a picture of City Hall before the fireworks display...
On January 3, we took a 4-hour bus ride down south to Calgary. There, we met up with friends from U of A, and also old friends from CIC who are currently studying at the Univerisity of Calgary. It was great fun! Not to mention, we had stayed at a comfortable hotel. I love the food at Calgary. Why? They have so many Chinese and Japanese restaurants!! When walking on the streets, I felt like I was actually in a city. It does feel like Melbourne city in some ways. Unlike Edmonton ...
Then we visited University of Calgary. It is a beautiful university. Most of their buildings are very new with a touch of modern design to it. However, my friends said that the U of C does not have enough classrooms to accomodate every student. Once, his classroom was located in a trailer van because of this! How terrible!
In front of the Education Building
In the business building. They actually have a stock market exchange board!
At the center of the university
The Olympic Oval - the 1988 Winter Olympics was held in Calgary where the speed skating events were held here
At Chin Sian's residence
And the karaoke place that we went too is so much better than the ones in Edmonton. They had a better selection of both chinese and english songs.
At a chinese restaurant
Superstar Karaoke
On the last day of our trip, we walked around the city for a bit. Friends brought us to 17th Avenue (Red Mount). This whole street is like an uptown area with lounges, bars, cool shops, restaurants and cafes.
And that was the whole trip to Calgary! I hope to go back there again sometime soon. And it was definitely great to meet up with old friends again :)