心宽路就宽

喜欢摄影的其中一个原因，是因为喜欢摄取自己想保留的影片，让自己留住当下的心情。摄影对我来说，更多的是保留住一份感觉，让它不随着岁月的流逝而泛黄。别人懂得欣赏自己的作品确实会让我欣慰，但毫无保留维持兴趣，留住自己的眷恋才让我觉得无憾。

透过镜片看着的同一片天空，透过不同的人，不同的手法呈现出万种风情，是摄影的魅力所在。这仿佛就像在提醒自己，同一件事情只要从不同角度去看，就会出现不一样的风景。

心宽，路自然就宽了

Let it go

Recently stumbled upon this article I’m Letting My Wife Go and it was very thought provoking and worth to be shared to everyone out there, single, dating, or married. It's not something only people who are attached to another person should know, but it's a valuable lesson every one may benefit from.Having faith in each other and giving  moderate amount of freedom and privacy always make relationships grow fonder and become more lasting.

I'm fond of the idea of supporting each other and encourage my partner to pursue his dreams. Most people have dreams, big or small, but many of them will be forgotten along the way for many reasons. Dreams are not easy to be achieved, we encounter obstacles before even getting to start the path towards our dreams. Many people are haunted by the possibility of failing and lack the courage to even try to make the first step, before monetery reason and lacking hands-on experience come into play.

But I think all these can be changed. Fear can be overcome by love, support, and encouragement. More dreams can be realized if we are willing to give a kind word to people around us to give them a little push. That undoubtedly applies in relationship as well. Don't be afraid to tell your partner about your dreams because if he/she is the right one, he/she will let you fly and live through your dreams as you wish. If he/she doesn't, then probably you may want to re-consider spending the rest of your live living under the same roof with a person who restricts your dreams and limits the voice within you.

And as one of the commenters says, if that person doesn't come back to you after all that you have done, it's not a relection of yourself but a reflection of your partner for not being able to keep up the promise and return the unconditional love. Don't allow people who don't love you to take away your confidence and ruin the rest of your lives. They don't deserve it, just like you don't deserve to live a bad life for all the pain you have been put into.

'Real love shouldn’t limit a person’s potential, it should expand it.'

Good life starts with positive mindset

I'm a firm believer of the law of attraction, thus I have faith in having a good thinking to attract good things coming to my life. Recently heard this from work 'We are prime to things that fit into our theory' and it helps to re-assure my belief on our natural tendency to things that we believe are true.

And I... always do my best to keep myself happy under any circumstances. Even if I was to be sad, I try to shorten the period of depression as much as possible. I find ways to execute my negative feelings, either through music, writing, or friends. 

 Friends always say I should study arts instead because I'm just not that scientific, I have way too many emotions to be a scientific person. :) But who knows, I may end up with an artistic job in future, you never know. Our destiny still falls in our hands but not the piece of degree we earn, the stable job we think would lead us to a good life. What's most important is our courage to accept changes.

I guess, that's the reason why I never stop learning other things and keep hearing inspiring stories and thoughts from other people. I want to be passionate about life, not just the small circle I'm currently tied in.

I...love life. :)

I love spending quality time with my favourite person in a quality place.

I love visiting beautiful homes!I keep myself updated with the property prices, while dreaming about the day I own one of these places one day. Optimism  and hard work make me believe that I will lead myself towards a financially secured life without having to move in/out at least once a year. I hope I can establish the sense of security soon.

I love the cheekiness and childishness between baby and I. Oops, that was me trying to apologize to baby because I deleted some of my ugly photos in his phone while he was sleeping.

Hehehehehe.

:) After all, my life is good as it is, and all I wish is another year as good as this. Happy 2014!

Happy bee flying past October and soon November

Did some photo shooting of the falling maple leaves last Sunday. Music is my main source of inspiration, photography is another. Seeing things through the small lens simply bring the world to the next level. Many things look much simpler, clean, and full of emotions through the tiny hole.

Moved into a new studio last month.  My previous landlady decided to sell her unit so I had to look for a new place to stay, hence the opportunity to consider renting a studio. Living in a studio is a first-time experience for me, so I was very excited about it despite the rent, that’s the price I’m willing to pay for a complete personal space.

J Now I don’t have to tolerate with dirty and sensitive room mates, and have the whole kitchen and living room entirely by myself. I can also invite good friends for afternoon baking or dinner. These plans cheer me up so much and motivate me to earn more money so that my savings plan is not delayed by the higher rent.

Celebrated my 24^th birthday last month and held home parties with all my good friends. That was the most comfortable birthday celebration I had in these past few years. Not only I wanted myself to fully immerse in a relaxing environment on my big day, I hope my friends would feel comfortable as well by not having to cramp with other people in restaurant, wait for long line ups or suffer from a long walk in this cold weather.

J  Since I'm living by myself now,  I think it’s just perfect timing to have a home party without any interruption.

Celebrated with Kareshi on the exact day and I was too lazy to dress up for fine dining after work, so I decided to make things simple and buy take-out foods. I managed to get some onion rings after work, that must be birthday luck because these puppies are usually sold out when I go there after work. Movie with take-out foods with Kareshi by my side, not too bad of a celebration eh J

Tried out a new cafe, Fanbourg, at Downtown with Xin. I love their macarons! The crust is baked to the right texture and filling is not too sweet, just nice for my liking. I’m really embracing tea time with my girls and chat about anything together while enjoying good desserts. That simply makes my weekends more lovely and fruitful.

Attended good friend’s convocation in SFU. I began to go to SFU more frequently since I started dating with Kareshi, feels like I’ll discover something beautiful about this place upon every visit. Haha I found a nice fish pond this time!

Also like how they hold convocation ceremony in an open space, the blue theme effortlessly makes the ambience look more peaceful. Friends joked to me, saying I should have gone to SFU since I love blue so much *pointing fingers*

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise one morning and that gave me the energy boost to start work.  I guess that’s one of the reasons I love living in high rise building, the view up here can be breathtaking at times.

It’s almost the end of the year again and I’d say 2013 is definitely a year to remember, it’s more of a year of mental changes in preparing myself to become fully responsible of my life regardless the people around me.

常常觉得，无论身边有没有人照顾，也不能停止对自己未来的生活铺路，也不要一直无止尽地等待别人跟我一起准备以后的生活。时机到了，自然会有一起生活，一起承担责任的时候，所以在那之前，先想好自己的未来就好。

Being content is a choice of life, a thought, an attitude

每一天必经的路，也会因为季节的改变，心情的转换和不同的拍摄手法而显得不一样

‘ How can you be so adapted to your life and stay happy when it’s so routine and dull sometimes?’ Black angel asked me at one of our dinner dates after work.

I dare not say I am a person who knows exactly how to live a great life, but I do know the way to see life in a positive way and the importance of staying optimistic with my life at all times. I do feel bored about my job sometimes and frustration creeps in when thinking about the commitment I have to make due to my job. But there is always one thing I keep in mind despite the frustration, I want to make sure that I have the resources available, prepare myself for my dream and kick start it when the time is right. To be an achiever in life, I have to first load my bullets before going all out for the achievements I wish to accomplish at the later stage of my life. I need some time to settle my thoughts, some experiences to learn about the appropriate ways of being a good entrepreneur, as well as financial support for my living expenses and future business modal. With that in mind, it is easier for me to accept my current routine and be content with the way I lead my life now because I’m gaining something out of it, this means that I’m carrying my life in a manner that is much more than just doing-the-same-thing-every-day kind of life.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I do not like freedom and leisure. I love travelling to explore different places leisurely and I never restrict myself from splurging in this area. I’m just spreading my hobby over a long span of time to keep a balance among work, loved ones, and hobby instead of pursuing my hobby all at once and taking a long time off for travelling. By doing this, my work allows me to support my hobby, and my hobby allows me to keep motivated and energetic for my job, so they must co-exist and this relationship will balance out itself wonderfully. By doing this, I know I will not regret because I still follow my heart and never restrict myself to only 1 thing at a time. Maintaining the balance is very characteristic of my personality and it matters to me, especially when I have people that I really love and care of, so much that I am willing to find a way to work things out for our happiness, both me and them. It doesn’t mean that I can’t be happy even though I only travel few times in a year because of work, I am still grateful because I can travel with people that I love and escape from the busy world together. I don’t think it’s a sacrifice of my personal will because I gain things from the other end.

To me, it’s always about the thought which will change into thing. Our perception about life affects our happiness and attitude to make things happen. It is okay if you feel that life is dull because it’s not at the best stage yet, but you can’t deny the little bits of awesomeness in it right?  

不是甘于平凡不懂得制造生命的花火，而是刺激也是需要平凡的造就才能衬托出它的不同。

That’s a choice, a thought, an attitude. There is always a choice, and there is always a way to work things out.  My 5 years of independent life makes me a buyer for the saying ‘When there is a way, there is a will’. 

Tipping culture

I came across a post about tipping culture today and I couldn't agree more on some points Cheesie stated.

Tip of the day

I come from a country where tipping is not a norm, so the total amount stated on my bill is all I have to pay. It's only until I came to Vancouver 5 years ago, I started accepting the tipping culture and practise on it to conform to the social norm of paying 10-15% extra as a sign of gratitude to the servers.

Not that I hate tipping, I don't mind tipping for a DECENT service but not for services which I dislike. I'll be very pissed off to tip for a bad service, because I can't convince myself to fork out more money to pay waiter/waitress who delays my order, refills my tea after 30 minutes, or simply just picks up my dishes when I'm not done with my meal without asking me.

Especially since I started working, I absolute hate the idea of tipping workers who don't deserve the tip. I work in an environment where salary may not be proportionate to work performance. Sometimes I have to work extra without getting more pay.But that's not something I should complain about because the moment I take up my job, I should take into account on all the 'untold' duties I'm responsible of occasionally, and I believe that such a situation does not happen to me solely but many people are on the same boat as well. I do what I'm told to do because I'm at this job position, and if I can't take it then I just leave,  I don't chase after my boss to pay me extra for every single duty that is beyond my job scope. Hence, the same work ethnic should ideally be applied in the food service industry as well with the same level of professionalism. You don't ask for more money from people who have already contributed to your living directly, but you find out the reason why people tip you less than usual. To me, it's either you work harder and show more professionalism to earn your customers' heart monetarily, or just leave and get another job which offers you a better pay.

It's not really about me lacking the monetary generosity towards these people, but I don't like paying people monetarily for what they don't deserve for. I especially dislike those who chase after customers for not leaving ENOUGH tips for them, that is just not professionally appropriate to me.  It's not like I did not pay for my meal after all, why should I pay more ON TOP of my bill after receiving a below average service?

Having said that, I'm only referring this opinion to bad service. But if I was given a choice, I'd still prefer that all kinds of costs are incorporated in the selling price and I'll just pay for ONE price. I think that saves a lot of discomforts and unnecessary arguments between customers and food service providers.

May so far...

2013 has been quite interesting so far, I didn't know that life after graduation could be equally awesome as schooling days only until now, when I get more free time for my own interests and pleasure. Thanks to the Victoria Day, I managed to clear things up a bit.

1. Finally created my postcard wall after procrastinating for almost 6 months. I was secretly collecting postcards in the first few months without telling my friends about the plan. But I guess most of my friends read my mind so well, they never forget to send me postcards whenever they are and that totally speeds up my collection time. This wall serves more like a memorial and motivational wall as it'll keep reminding me on the places I'd be dying to go in future, while remembering my friends who are all over the world now. It feels like a big tree which branches out so quickly as we're all so grown up now, walking ourselves towards different paths and personal goals in life. Time does make people differentiate, I have to admit that.

Anyways, thanks to the public holiday, I finally had time to decorate my room and turn it into a lovely paradise. Seriously, I love my room a lot better now with the fancy wall and entertainment available. 

Kareshi setup a TV in my room so that we can watch movies together on a bigger screen. As much I feel that it's partially for his convenience, I really enjoy the new visual sensation, because I can typically read on screen as I'm typing this blog post, how cool is that! I love my baby :)

2. Aside from enjoying my leisure time on personal hobbies, I also make sure that I spend enormous time on beneficial things which will broaden my knowledge. I read about a motivational theory and decided to give it a try. The theory goes like this:

人的差别在于业余时间，而一个人的命运决定于晚上8点到10点之间。每晚抽出2个小时的时间用来阅读、进修、思考或参加有意的演讲、讨论，你会发现，你的人生正在发生改变，坚持数年之后，成功会向你招手。

I started implementing this practice few times a week and try to improve my investment knowledge by reading articles, using simulation stock trading in hope of managing my finance efficiently and maximizing my funds ultimately. I also started gold investment just to test the water out of the market.

24 years old might not be an early age to start investing my money but the saying 'better late than never' makes me stand strong my my point. :) I made my way into metal investment last month, hopefully I'll be able to immerse myself deeper into mutual funds and stock investment before making an entrance into these fields.

I found this Taiwanese show last month and I got addicted to it since then. The topics discussed in this show interest me because they are primarily related to work environment, ways of dealing with co-workers and some professional tips on investment plans. It's totally a show for people like me who are pioneer in  investment as well as other savings plans and would like to get a hand on them. Let alone the financial suggestions, the show has instilled an important concept in me, which is to select our investment plan wisely based on our financial capability. 

                                                            上班这党事，给你一个赞！

工作是为了娱乐兴趣，而兴趣最终却能够娱乐自己

好像很久没有放肆地自恋一下，跟大家分享我最近的样子。

今年回家的时候，几乎全部人都说我瘦了很多，虽然自己也察觉到这个问题的存在，不过也渐渐体会到了工作会让人自然瘦这个道理。自从上班后，胃口好像变更小了，之前因为上班时间很长，工作很忙需要走很多路的关系，所以也没什么多余时间吃点心的，一点就定时吃三餐，久而久之也就养成了这种习惯，饥饿感渐渐消失了。不过往好的方面想，上班不但让我三餐定时，也让我培养起早睡早起的好习惯，所以虽然瘦了，可是照理来说应该会比之前更健康和精神才对。以前还会为了那两三公斤‘斤斤计较’，现在就真的没有了量体重的习惯，家里连一个称都没有，因为现在的想法是‘想吃就吃，每次吃到7/8分饱就好’。就连一直很积极想要养胖我的Kareshi也开始放弃了这个念头，最近改口跟我说：‘只要你有吃饱就好了，不要勉强’。哇，还真不敢相信半年前对我说出：‘多吃点多吃点，东西要一大坨一大坨吃才行’的那个人会妥协到这种地步，可见他也很无奈呐。

不过大家也不用担心，我不是没吃好，只不过没办法吃很多而已，而且一直以来就这样，那些消失了的脂肪就当作是baby fat好了，最重要的是人看起来精神饱满，健健康康就好。

其实，我还蛮喜欢现在的自己，为了生活而努力，努力生活为了辅助我的兴趣，让我能够在未来好好发展这些兴趣。我听过别人说，最好把兴趣当成是事业上的第二选择，然后把有能力做好的事情排第一，这样就能利用你的才能好好支持你的兴趣了。我觉得这句话很适合套用在现阶段的我身上，因为我的确是在利用我的才能为我的兴趣和梦想铺路，并开始储存自己在职场上的价值，希望以后能够有足够的资金和时间来发展我的兴趣。我觉得，只要抱着这种想法和态度来工作的话，顿时会多了一股动力，因为我知道,工作是为了娱乐兴趣，而兴趣，最终却能够娱乐自己。

Special identity

2013 is my fifth year in this city. I always have a special feeling for this city due to my special identity. I’m too old to be called a tourist, too young to be called a local, such a complexion has put me into the grey zone. I studied and graduated here, step on its land, breathe its air everyday, yet I can’t give you a solid and facts-based answer when you ask me: What do you know about Canadian history?

I know good high tea places and where to get cheap groceries, but simultaneously there are wonders floating on my mind all the time. Why is the driver seat on the left but not right? Why do they say taro instead of yam? There are just so many ‘W-H-Y’s’ that I need to get used to.

Odd to say, Vancouver is a familiar yet strange place to me as I am still undergoing my learning process about this city everyday even after 5 years. That explains the reason I like to be a tourist sometimes and do what the tourists do, because this allows me to explore many new parts of the city and add a new feeling to it, and absorb the culture with my own sight and soul osmotically.

温哥华对我来说，就是这么一个特别的存在。

Eat green, think green, and live green!

Being a part of the earth’s citizen, I realized that I should do my part to promote some responsible actions that will sustain the Mother Nature. Seriously, I’m sick of people who will only be reminded on the significance of helping the planet occasionally and join the fever just to keep their facebook statuses updated.

‘It’s okay if you choose to ignore about the green campaign and continue to live like an idiot, but don’t attempt to pretend like you care so much about it when you don’t realize your actions in daily lives.’

I always think that the underlying meaning behind Earth day and the other green campaigns is not solely to provoke people on earth sustainability for a single day, but to encourage people to make a change in their lives in the long term because that is the most effective way to save the planet. The 1 hour of electricity saved on earth day will not help to stop the ozone layer from getting thinner, but wise usage on earth resources sounds more promising in conserving the green.

Yes, so don’t tend to think that the one piece of paper, can or plastic wrapper you recycle everyday is not important, because these are the things that exist in our daily lives and make the largest contribution to the recycle use of earth resources.

Come to think of it, I’ve made some significant changes on my lifestyle throughout the years, simple because these things are not difficult to be implemented and they make such a huge difference to the world if every person is doing his/her own part. I’ve listed some of my lifestyle and dietary changes here just to show you how easy you can contribute to the world by making little effort everyday:

1. Reduce overall meat consumption, specifically beef consumption. Beef emits high amount of methane (greenhouse gas), thus reducing beef intake is most likely to be more effective than cutting down on other meat consumption. I like to include more meat alternatives and vegetables in my meals just to cut down on meat consumption. However, notice the key word REDUCE but not complete cut down, so striking for a balance between meat and vegetables is the key to a nutritionally balanced and environmentally friendly diet.

2. Reduce take-out foods and drinks. I barely do take outs because I don’t really like the idea of using one-time chopsticks and plastic container just for a meal. It’s either I cook at home or I eat out. In fact, I even cut down my beloved bubbletea drinks to less than 8 drinks per year for health and environmental purposes.

3. Use SHOPPING BAG, use SHOPPING BAG, and use SHOPPING BAG. Enough said.

4. Turn off heater, turn off heater, and turn off heater/lights every time I go out.Be nice to your landlord’s pocket and the earth at the same time, why not?

5. Accumulate your clothes to a significant amount for every laundry. I know some people love to do laundry even for a few clothes but I personally think that it’s such a waste of money, water, and detergent. If you’ve heard of the water-pouring sound coming out from the washing machine, you’d get an idea of the massive amount of water used for every round of laundry. So I like to do laundry only when necessary and I’ll hand wash few pieces of clothes that are urgent without having to throw them into washing machine.

6. Re-use bubble wraps, plastic bags and present wrappers. As a girl, I do online shopping occasionally and there are usually plastic wrappers for clothes that are bought online. I usually place them nicely in a big bag and reuse them for posting parcels or other use when appropriate.

These are just some examples that I can think of for now. In fact, I believe this is not a mandatory list for everyone as we all have different lifestyles, but we can always integrate and incorporate suitable ideas into our lives to make a change.I'm so proud that the 4 years of independent life did not turn me into a lazy bum but I've become more considerate and responsible of my social contributions.

My point is, don’t underestimate the power of individual mere efforts, because when accumulated together, the sea of individual efforts can soar into the sky. Living a comfortable life and contributing to earth sustainability can be a mutual existence, so have fun living green everyone!

My life recently

1. Seeing Jo Kenn’s growth periodically is really a blissful process. I love how I can gain power from my surrounding, because these trivial things do matter a lot to me. Love you, Jo Kenn BB!!

2. My life has been much more systematic and productive this term. Why? Because I spend most or all of my break time in the library due to the long break time. As a matter of fact, my life is no different than a working person because I spend around 7-9 hours of time in the university 4 days a week. I guess my hard work will be paid off as I find it easier to keep up with my studies by doing consistent work. Furthermore, there are only 2 more months left, so what is so hard to persevere for that remaining 8 weeks?

3. Job hunting has been part of my daily routine nowadays. As much as I’m excited about the freedom after graduation, I’m also worried about my future simultaneously. Life after graduation will mean complete financial independence and responsibility for my own life. Well, at least I’m doing my best to prepare ahead by forgoing some trips and reducing some luxury expenditure just to make sure that I will make it for the first few months of the jobless phase.

4. Your presence. Your presence makes my life better. I really adore how you share one of the most significant moments in my life with me through silent support, and somehow you always appear by coincidence just when I need a dose of you.

I’ve watched a short movie recently and there’s a movie quote which left such an impact in me. The girl said: “How much of a guy do I deserve? Do I need a perfect guy? Or maybe, I just don’t care about the perfection at all.”

I think I’m just like her. I don’t need a perfect guy, but a good guy whom I like will do.I just need someone who is willing to walk with me together, because together is the key. However, a higher level of confidence and sense of security are needed to re-assure my feeling this time, because I really want to avoid making the same mistake again.

I believe, patience is needed for a wise outcome, so I will stick to that.

最后的21岁-自我认识篇

21岁，很多人都把它当成是从少年变成大人的转捩点，但有多少人真的领悟它的真谛，慢慢从思想中找到自我，找到那份属于自己的成熟呢？

我不晓得，我只知道，年纪的确让我有了身为大人的觉悟，一年比一年看透更多事情，一年比一年更收敛，这也许就是属于我的成熟吧！成熟，对现阶段的我来说，是懂得帮助与体谅别人的心情之余，也不忽略自己；是善用自己的智慧在值得投资的事情上，不让诱惑埋没了自己的能力；是充分地了解‘小不忍则乱大某’的重要性，再加以应用在日常生活中；是当全世界都质疑你的时候，你只需用行动来证明自己，让它代替语言上的反驳。

成熟，是在考虑任何事情前都加入100分的自己，还有100分我爱的人才能达到的品行。

这一年里，我让自己尝试了很多新的事物，并从中吸取宝贵的知识与教训。我觉得世界之大，我们的知识还真的显得很微不足道，所以更要不断地从各种管道来学习。无论是小知识或大智慧，都能让我对这世界的新奇度有所惊叹。

21岁，我第一次用自己的能力去买了一些自己喜欢的东西。从mp3，手机一直到电子琴，我真的觉得自己成就感满满，因为那都是靠自己一点一滴的努力与耐心去赚取的梦想。当中以买电子琴最让我高兴，因为那是我在这4年内超想做的事情，只是一直忍耐到今时今日才说服自己去买一部属于自己的梦想，就像可欣说的：‘Yay，你终于把梦想给买回家了！’。对啊，我离兴趣又靠近了一步！用自己的能力买东西真的很有成就感，也多了一份肯定自己的自信，就像程又青的熟女条规一样：‘我要用我自己的钱，买我自己的包包，装我自己的故事’。我也要用我自己的钱，创造属于我自己的故事。

21岁的我，在个性上也出现了一些变化。去年患上厌食症让我深有感触，也因为知道是自己情绪管理不佳进而导致精神与压力不佳，所以开始觉得很多事情还不如自己的健康重要。对于大部分的事情，我都选择了以最能舒缓自己压力的方式来解决它。我也非常注意自己的情绪管理，尽可能不引起过度的悲伤或愤怒，情绪尽量不受别人操控就好。至于对在乎的人，我选择了更直接与中肯的相处方式，把自己真实的想法都传达给他们，让他们明白我对他们的用心。对不在乎的人，我也毫不犹豫地选择了删除的方式还对方自由。这也许听起来很狠，但那绝对是我最后的温柔，至少在足够理由发飙的情况下保持冷静让我觉得我很有风度。因为无奈，也不想再让自己有所伤害，所以选择了放开，希望他们能够找到更懂得与他们相处的人。强人所难本来就不是我的个性，而我也不想再亏待自己过不值得我过的生活。

开心，本来就是一种选择，是一种接受，所以我打开那扇大门，正式欢迎它进入我的生活。

21岁，我觉得我活得够精彩，够自在，也够愉快。

能够见证你们每个人的幸福，让我觉得很有意义

One of the reasons I enjoyed this summer so much was because of the introductory sessions to all my good friends’ partners. Val, Win, El, and I used to be the foursome in Chinese club during high school and we’ve been strengthening our bonds by going through a lot of things together, both good and bad. Thus, it is a significant moment to me to witness people who mean so much to them, just like how our friendship means to me. Because we know each other’s love stories in all these years so well, we definitely understand the pain of broken promises and unfated love, and that makes everyone’s happiness an important daily prayer to us.

Val and I used to create the lists of our ideal boyfriend while walking back home from school. Although we demand for different qualities from a guy, we never really change the things that we look for all these years. I think God heard her prayer and sent Bernard to her, a person that I believe can complete her. What’s even more rare is that he fulfills all the things she ever looks for, making me believe that he is the right one for her. Seeing them together for 4 years and hearing about their marriage plan make me anticipate even more for the next 4 years to come.

‘Don't let people make you believe you have to settle for "good enough", cuz "just right" does exist :)’

Thank you for all the things that you’ve told me, especially when you share your happiness with me by being a part of it, I really take my heart for all these details.

Even though there’s an issue that we seldom talk about, I truly understand all of your concern about my love life, especially when 3 of you are having a stable relationship but only me. I know, that you guys are trying to make me feel comfortable by cutting these conversations out of the table and sharing me things that would rejoice my feeling. You guys want me to have faith in myself for the right guy ahead, along with all the good things that await me.I feel rather touched by all the kind consideration and support, and it’s been a while since I last talked about love, mainly because I don’t consider 'loveless' as a problem in my life. When I think about all the breakdowns I went through whenever I had a love problem, I begin to believe that staying single is the best choice for me now. I’d rather conquer loneliness than depress, just because I cannot take another shock anymore, both mentally and metabolically, neither can I bare the pain and restructure my life for another time. If being single was my destiny, then I’ve long accepted it already, thus there’s nothing to be worried or sad about.

However, there’s one thing that I need you guys to know, I sincerely value the way we support each other when something goes wrong in our love life, because you guys make me understand an important lesson, that we all find a new life through moving on, and I’ve found evidence from you guys. As much as you guys want me to be happy, I’d pray for the same thing to happen to you guys as well. I'm glad that all of you have found the person that you should treasure and are happier than before, because that's what matters the most, people would only know how to treasure triumph after undergoing pain. No, we ain't talking about the ideal guy lists or any fan girl fantasy anymore, the touchable and sensible serendipity I see from you guys makes me feel blessed and I can ask no more than that. Also, the tremendous changes we all have gone through in 10 these years never fail to amaze me, everyone’s life just gets shuffled for the better.

你们的幸福，在任何时候都对我很重要，所以不要为我而感到心疼，因为能够见证你们每个人的幸福，让我觉得很有意义。

Luckily, I still have these precious smiles with me despite the storms and rains, there’ll never be a day that I’m love-deprived when I have you guys. =) And this, is always my wish for you guys.

谢谢，我

只是习惯了在心灵很脆弱的时候，都会拍拍自己的肩膀，提醒自己努力走过来的路。

然后，感谢着眼下的这双脚，感谢着眼里的这个自己，感谢着还在等待自己的每一个明天。

这些日子里，认认真真地矛盾过，疯狂过，挫败过，然后又重新地振作过，开心过。

挫败并不好玩，但它却让我踏踏实实地学会做一个爱自己的人。

从此，我少了期待，多了踏实，少了憧憬，多了自信。

我也亲眼见证了那个连别人都不了解的自己，还有那份狠起来可以变得非常麻木的心。

即便如此，我还是很想对自己说，没关系，我还是很喜欢这样的自己。

也因为明白了昨天的艰辛与今天的得来不易，我希望我的明天不再活在过去，而是一切重新。

更因为明白了人生不存在重启键，所以每天都重新地祈祷，重新地过活，重新地努力，只盼望能够守住那个不放弃自己的内心，不曾喊累的坚持。

而此刻最想感谢的，正是这样的自己。辛苦你了，但请别忘了往后的坚持与耐心，因为我相信你可以。

Waiting for my day to come.

I'm back to the mapleland after 3.5 months of pure fun and family time at home, and I'm prepared to do what I should do at this period of time, for the one last time until I put on the square hat. I consider next year's graduation as a new milestone for me to embark on a new journey and truly pursue my dream.I've always been doing what I like all the time, but to live a life out of pure passion is the life that I'm really seeking for . I told a few people about my dream, although it seems to be unpractical to many other people, I believe it's not something that's out of reach. Even if it was, I would find out the answer myself instead of allowing other people to let me down by telling me that I can't.

I can, when I really want to, so it's really a matter of determination in my opinion.

Academic performance is my main focus now and I'm surprised by my last year's performance with a 6% increase in my average. That has injected a strong confidence in me and I seek for a better performance this year to mark a good ending of my 18 years of education. Come to think of it, 3 years of uni just passed by in a blink of eye and I can't really recall most of the lecture materials that I've learned in these years. Seriously, I wonder if my total memory for the materials learned would sum up to a 30%? That really sounds like an epic fail considering the enormous effort I had put in every term.

But... I'll still wait for the day of honor and pride to come, when I can finally tell my parents:

'Dad and mom, I've finally reached the finishing line! Thank you for your tremendous support and love.' =) I know that day will come. And I know that my day will come too. Let's all work hard for what we yearn for.

Do have good thoughts, because thoughts will turn into things!

I’ve been having runny nose since last week and it seems to be unstoppable. Seriously, the amounts of tissues I’ve created make me feel guilty! I might as well start using handkerchief if the stubborn mucus doesn’t go away by this week.

Credits to PY.

Otherwise, my life is good as it is, with the increasing workload starting from June. I’ve been trying to keep up with 2 outings per week in May so that I can do my job as a part-time babysitter responsibly while having fun with my friends. Also, I’m caught up with the competition for its music arrangement and script writing, to an extent which the thought of striving for a better performance worries me sometimes. I always try to calm myself down by enjoying the entire experience as much as possible, just to ensure that I’ve learnt something new even though the result may not be what I’ve desired.

Gladly, I’ve been receiving a lot of support from my friends, some people are genuinely impressed with my musical ability, while the others are more focused on the mental and physical support. Seriously, I feel very touched for everything, you guys may not know how much all these mean to me, but they really keep me working harder to better myself.

On a side note, I’ve just met up with an old friend today and he complimented on my changes. He said I’m a tough cookie, but to me, he is always on par with me when it comes to toughness. Instead of keeping my head so high up for the compliment, I’d say that gaining strength is a must to everyone to stay in the competition. Thoughts turn into things, and if you want to stop tragedies from happening to you and influence your life continuously, then leave them out of the game and patch up the hole with yourself and other important people and things.

适时取舍，清扫心灵，告别过去，消除忧虑，大步向前

Trust me, it really works!

Working hard as always

Took this on the last day of February, Eu and I were too excited about the snow. I really love this photo because it looks very artistic and poetic, like I was longing for something when I was just pretending. It’s sad to note that my very own photographer is leaving Vancouver soon, and that would mean lesser photo shooting sessions since she’s the best when it comes to capturing different sides of me. She’s just the best!!


Came across with this song a few months back and I really like it, it resembles my past in some ways.

I’m glad that I’ve drawn myself to happiness after 1.5 years of effort. It’s not just about individual effort and I can’t thank enough for those who have walked me through the dark, since it wasn’t something that I could take it easily and wipe off instantly. These hands are so precious because they have taught me that it’s okay to have false belief and tumble down, but never inhibit yourself from a brighter future and better life. Physical self is now recovered despite of the scar, but I’m still happy with the rejuvenated life and finally developed the courage to draw a line between things I should and should not associate with.

每一道傷痕都是紀念自己勇敢的印記。
在愛情裡，依然憧憬，繼續夢想，幸福其實離我們很近。

Close chapter officially. I will continue to work hard. =)

Most motivated summer break.

I’ve never felt this organized before during my break, I feel like I’m following a constant schedule I set for myself just so that I spend my time wisely. Everything is progressing smoothly fortunately. Indeed, I’ve never been learning so many things before during break time like this, so much that I actually feel excited about all the new things coming to me. As a late 21 year old, I would love to maximize my time for beneficial things rather than pure luxury in summer.

It’s all about improvement and achievement this time.

Although I’m shuffling my time among family, friends, and myself, I can never get bored of the time when I’m home because there are just so many activities that are attainable to me even at home. I sweat, study, try out new things, have fun and be inspired by all these things continuously. As much as I'm exhausted with the activities, I'm always rejuvenated by the wonderful time with BFFs weekly as a sweet retreat.

Who says we can only waste time at home? You have yet to know about the awesomeness of home.

For the first time in summer, I’m feeling very healthy about the lifestyle I’m following.

I think, I still love the feeling of being somebody to myself and challenge myself with new things from time to time. Most of us have the learning power to be what we want to be, so it’s just a matter of how you activate the button to make it happen.

‘Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are seeds. You can either grow flowers or weeds.’

I chose a colourful garden, thus I’ve already started all the gardening work. And you?

梦想

梦想是很抽象的东西，有些人不努力实现它，只因为害怕面对现实与梦想之间的差距。当梦寐以求的机会真正来临时，自己却开始怀疑起自身的能力而停滞不前。有些人一辈子只为了一个梦想而活，在他们的世界里，没梦想就好像是在过着没意义的人生。也有些人，梦想里夹杂了很多外在因素，梦想对他们来说，是很复杂的东西，也并不是单靠个人意愿就能实践的想法。我跟欣就是属于这一类型的人。对我们来说，梦想，不仅仅是梦想而已。

我并不是输不起的人，也并没有雄心大志。这并不是因为我害怕输的感觉，而是经历过数次失去与输的感觉之后，我开始感觉到它的渺小与变幻无测的结果， 这些都不是我能操纵的范围。输赢并不可怕，可怕的是输掉自己与失败后的一蹶不振，但只要经历过那个阶段，就会重生，也会对世界多了另外一种看法。我的人生的成功不再与‘大志’与‘输赢’挂钩，而是偏向于丰富心灵的收获与简单朴实的幸福感为主。我能够扮演好的角色，就是深思熟虑每一步，再从梦想与身边珍贵的人与事物取个平衡点，以尽量不伤害别人为前提来实践我的梦想。梦想对我来说，并不一定是站在顶端享受着胜利滋味的瞬间；梦想对我来说，只是单纯地为了完成自己喜欢的事情而存在的使命。很多人都觉得拥有远大的包袱才是真正拥有梦想的人，但凡事都必须拥有大小两面才能够得到平衡，大志也只能在小志的扶持与衬托下才能发挥它最大的作用，这是人生的定律，缺一不可。很多事情都是始于一小步，再逐渐迈向一大步才会发生的，如果没有当初的一小步，那之后的一大步也会相对消失。

我只是觉得，很多梦想都是自身对未来的预测，也是能够随时间与耐性所完成的使命。喜欢让梦想保留于梦想的人，应该就是缺少了耐心与最精髓的冒险感，在面对未知的恐惧时，突然感觉到自己的渺小而觉得梦想不是能够被实现的事情。与其对大家说所有梦想都能够被实现这类的谎言，我觉得能够吸取当中的希望与精神再为自己喜欢的事情而努力，这也是一种对梦想所付出的努力。梦想并不一定需要对全世界的人做出无比非凡的影响力，它也可以专属于一个人的人生，承载着他一生奋斗的故事。梦想，很多时候，都不是件很遥远的事情，是大家无意间把它扩大，延伸到它貌似遥不可及的地步。

其实，梦想，一直都在你的身边。

激发潜能中

Credits to superb photographer Ai Vern.

曾经听过别人说，活得更自信美丽就是对伤害你的人最好的报复。

某程度来说，我觉得这种心态很正面，毕竟拥有精彩的人生最终得益的还是自己。与其说是报复，我觉得那是战胜自己心魔的一种表现，因为自己终于愿意放下包袱去发掘其他的可能性，只有在放下怨恨的同时，才是灿烂人生的开始。我相信每个人的体内都流淌着无限的可能性，只要专研下去就会有更大的爆发力。22岁的我，很庆幸地激发了自己一部分的潜能，正迈入人生的另一个阶段。当自己愿意去了解另外一面的自己的时候，那才是人生刚开始要绽放的时期，因为我愿意为了自己而相信自己的能力，心甘情愿的，毫不犹豫的踏上新的旅途。

我并不是一个很容易被刺激到的人，可是当我真正被激发的时候，我内心所散发出来的爆发力一定不小。那是因为我会不断地磨练自己，一直到我表现得比我想象中还要好为止。只要我还抱着这份自信的一天，我就会不惧艰辛地努力下去，那是我对人生的一种态度---先准备好自己来迎接世界。与其说这是怕输，我更害怕令自己失望，活在自怜的状态中，因为我人生最不缺的就是同情。如果有一天，我成功了，我也不会因此而贬低那些曾经伤害我的人，因为比起对他们的揶揄，我更喜欢用表现来证明自己，沉浸在那种无声胜有声的感觉。那些人无需得到我的原谅，也无需做出任何的弥补，因为在他们伤害我的同时就早已选择性地忽略我的感受。既然选择了不在乎，那也无需执着于自己的道歉能否换得到别人的体谅。往好的一方面想，他们的存在造就了一个更坚强与自信的我，而我也只需要专心地走接下来的路就好。只要我在得到别人的认同之前，先达到了自己的要求，那就是对我最重要的事。

最近的我，终于再次提笔创作，尝试从不同曲风的歌曲中摄入更多的灵感。说起音乐创作，我在12岁的时候就开始写了自己的第一本歌词本，当时我把很多想法都写在里头，名副其实地让它成为了一本有词没曲的音乐册。一直到18岁，在我心情最糟到透顶的时候，就涌出了生平的第一首曲，只为了一个人。只是当时的我，没能相信自己的创作能力，所以也没有继续坚持地发挥更多潜在的音乐本能。21岁那年，我又开始了词曲创作，把自己最深处的感受都零零散散地写下来，让它们承载着我当时的回忆。22岁的我，只希望能找回当年12岁的自己，单纯地因为喜欢音乐而记录下我专属的音乐旅程。我希望，就算在没有外来刺激的情况下，我还是能够善用自己的灵感来谱出一首又一首的作品。从某个角度来说，这对我也是崭新的开始，没有任何顾虑的，只为了自己热诚而存在的潜能。

断断续续地走了10年才决定再重拾的兴趣，现在再努力下去应该也不迟吧！

嗯，有心就不会有迟到的一天