b.p.'s blog

Stories of Inspiration

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 22:43:08 EST

In the last couple of weeks, many of us have read, heard about, or seen the stories of inspiration at the Olympics. From the beginning, where the Georgians honoured their teammate (who died tragically at a trial run) by staying to compete, to the Canadian athletes who quietly "owned the podium" in golds, despite the early pessimistic outlook. I remember telling our friends (after watching Canada lose to the US in the first game) that I enjoyed watching ice dance, and her comment was that most people don't like it because there isn't the triple axles, but the synchronized movements of the pairs are incredible. Who would've known that the juniors at the World Junior Championships in Kitchener back in 2005 would someday become Olympic celebrities and champions? (well, maybe they did, but I went to watch them back then for enjoyment value). I regret missing their performance but watching Virtue and Moir's winning pieces just made me realize how much they have matured, in both skill and age!

Stories of inspiration wasn't limited to the Olympics. Local attendees at Region Waterloo's first independently organized TED event, TEDxWaterloo and Ignite Waterloo had the privilege of hearing some inspirational stories from a wide range of speakers. Some of these speakers were more renown than others, but the ones from Ignite Waterloo were restricted to speaking without notes and having only 5 minutes to share their story where each slide would automatically advance after 15 seconds. At TEDxWaterloo, we watched past TED videos together, one being Aimee Mullens, a double amputee who took her disability and made it an ability with her 12 pairs of legs. And, the audience was hung on to Marty Avery's story of the hero: how someone who wasn't so close to her had prepared to trade his life for hers; the audience was so silent that you could literally hear a pin drop.

Makes me think - how can my life inspire others in a way like these people have?

Paris

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:05:36 EST

This past weekend will likely be one of the most eventful weekends in 2010; it marked the start of the Winter Olympics, Chinese (Lunar) New Year, Valentine's Day (for some), Reading Week for the students, and an extra long weekend for some provinces (Family Day)!

Sights

For us, we went back to Europe, despite it being only a short three day trip (well it spanned 5 dates, but 1 red-eye and 1 day spent flying). This was a impulse buy: no refunds, and I had forgotten that I was taking a course (thankfully it was reading week). We didn't intentionally plan to come because of Valentine's - we had wanted to take advantage of Family Day, as one of us didn't have enough vacation days. But yes, we spent Valentine's Day at the Eiffel tower, but I'm not sure I see the romanticism in waiting in line to climb up the tall steel structure, or seeing the tower itself. In fact, we didn't even go to the top because the lines were too incredibly long (even if you paid to walk up the stairs to the 2nd platform, you'd have to wait a minimum of 2 hours to get to the top via elevator from there). Actually, going for a carousel ride in front of the Eiffel tower seemed even more romantic! The other major places we visited were the Louvre, Notre Dame, and Arc de Triomphe, with a stroll down Champs Elysees from the Concorde, exploring the Catacombs, food shopping at La Galeries Lafayette, and a half a day in Versailles. I simply enjoyed exploring the streets and sampling the many foods I normally wouldn't eat.

People

Our visit this time around felt more familiar to me - the graffiti on the walls surrounding the train tracks, the way the streets were structured and the number of small compact cars on the road reminded me of our last trip. Despite Rome having more architectural history, I think I like Paris more. Perhaps it is because the language was familiar enough to us (we could use elementary level French and didn't have to resort to English unless absolutely necessary), or because the Parisians seemed more polite; accidental bumps always resulted in a "pardon" (sometimes an "excusez-moi"). Upon entering a store or a restaurant, one would be greeted by a "bonjour" or a "bonsoir". I can't pinpoint it exactly, but Paris feels more graceful or "light" than Quebec in some ways (and here I am thinking that if I stayed long enough, I would eventually pick up the language). Even the unsolicited buskers are creative in getting money - they jump onto the metro, play a few tunes on their accordians (and one even sang) before collecting tips; maybe it's their passion in everything.

(Just listen to the accordion players!)

Eats

In Paris, it's normal to see people walking around with a baguette in their hands, and no wonder, their baked goods, pastries, and desserts were almost always good. Actually, it's funny because I found that "french" food didn't have to be fancy (unlike French restaurants around here) and it tasted good; it was normal to have duck confit served with fries, crepes that you could grab on a street like a beavertail or in a restaurant (without the fancy fresh fruit toppings), or a plate of boiled potatoes and some slices of cheese (you melt the cheese on a metal plate and scrape it onto the potatoes) The best ice cream in Paris was closed (Mondays and Wednesdays), so we settled on getting a tiny scoop of the same brand in a neighbouring bar. I don't think I've ever had ice cream like it.

The only horror is that servers simply take the bread from your basket that you don't finish and put them into another basket for another table. And despite macarons looking so artificial and sweet, they were light and just melted in your mouth (the best one being the green matcha tea and the black sesame one that was 1.85 euro - normally they were 1.5 euro). Although pastries and dessert were expensive, I found that eating out, including fixed menus were more reasonable than in Italy - at least the gratuities and cover were all inclusive. And to save even more, you just needed to ask for a carafe of water (thanks to pre-trip research).

Tourists

Even though it was low season (cold!), the lines were long if you didn't get there at the beginning of the day. Many students were off and Japanese tourists were everywhere with many tour groups, especially at Versailles. I'm never impressed at the tourists who try to cut into the queues, or the ones who don't respect signs or people telling them that flash photography isn't allowed. And maybe because it was cold (cloudy) that it affected the tone of my photos - the photos turned out disappointingly grey and definitely not as vibrant as the ones I captured in Europe last fall; they certainly reflected the "winter" feel. The climate though feels more like Vancouver winters than Ontario ones; it hovers around zero but mild enough to get around in a wool jacket, scarf, and boots, without having to worry about wearing North Face or Columbia jackets. In fact, the only people we ever saw wearing them were ... tourists.

Random geek-speak: Anvers is a metro station in Paris and they pronounce it "On-veir"; I've been pronouncing the font name wrong all along! Also, on our way to Versailles, we passed by a Microsoft building and other modern buildings. I thought to myself, maybe this area is like the technology area. Well, at the Issy-Val de Seine stop, all these people got off the train!

I'll leave off with a clip from our worship service at the American Church of Paris. And, maybe I should re-listen to the sermon, since I zoned out (after a red-eye) and didn't quite understand the connection between King David, Valentine's and accepting Christ.

Film Studies

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:54:24 EST

This term, I opted to take a film studies course as a part of the requirements for my diploma. When I tell people that I'm taking a film studies course, I often wonder if people have the impression that all we do is watch movies in class, and what kinds of movies we watch. Actually, I find Film Studies classes like English lit classes: there are presentations, discussions, and papers (50% of your grade!), as well as tests. In addition, instead of reading a book a week, you watch a movie a week. Yet, it feels more challenging in comparison to literature.

Unlike books, you can't easily grab a copy of a movie, quote from them or reference them easily. Most probably haven't heard of the movies we watch as they're not typically mainstream ones (can't find in video stores), but thankfully, today's technology allows for easier access to them. They're more drama/artsy (more my type than action/thriller movies); the only one I had heard of prior to this class was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I now have been exposed to the more famous directors from China at least (e.g. Zhang Yimou who directed Hero and Raise the Red Lantern). Some of them the plot is confusing or abstract, but yet those seem to do very well in film festivals around the world. Hopefully, I'll come out of this more cultured as a result!