Phew, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind the past few days….
I would write more, but I’m exhausted. Instead, I will just post some pics:
Mar 302012
Mar 292012
I feel like I have returned to my days of full-time studies the past day or so.
First, I arrived on Tuesday night and got settled in.
Then, yesterday I spent about 11 hours at the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the Doctoral Student Forum. It was a good day overall, if not exhausting!
Tis all to report for now. Will try to have more of interest next time. 😀
Mar 282012
_1Q84_ by Haruki Murakami
I am not actually sure what prompted me to purchase this book on my iPhone Kindle, but when I was searching for something to read in the future, this title kept coming up. So, I figured I would give it a try.
Although Murakami is quite popular, I have only managed to read one of his novels – _A Wild Sheep Chase_. Generally, I don’t get into the postmodern style, but something drew me to this one.
It was worth the read, though it did take me some time to get through it. The story switches from the perspectives of different characters in the novel with two – Tengo and Aomame – being the central characters. For the first part of the book it is not clear how these characters are related, but slowly the connections are revealed and the idea of fate, destiny and soulmates comes into play. There’s quite a bit of spiritual discussion throughout the story as well as social issues that are particular to Japan.
I wondered if I didn’t have any background with Japan if I would have understood or enjoyed it as much. However, the art is in the storytelling and I believe that it was well-written overall.
😀
Mar 272012
In general, if I haven’t planned prior to traveling, I basically do whatever the mood strikes when I am actually on the trip. This makes things easier for me as I either plan or plan to be spontaneous. 😛
Since my main purpose for coming to Toronto was to visit with my friends, Shu & Q, whom I hadn’t seen since they left Abu Dhabi over a year ago, I didn’t really do any investigating of the area or decide on sightseeing activities. Basically, I figured they would show me around. 🙂
However, when I arrived, I heard some talking about Niagara Falls. When I started looking at the guide books and maps, I realized one thing people do when they visit Toronto is make a trip to Niagara Falls. Hm…, I thought…. How close is it, I asked. Just about 1.5 hours…not far…let’s do it!
As my previous posts show, Shu and Q were free on the weekend, but Monday meant I was free to figure out my own plan. Apparently there is a fairly cheap Chinese bus that goes to the Falls, but I thought it would be more interesting if I did a proper tour. So, I did a Google search and found this tour company as the best and cheapest option.
So, this morning, they picked me up and we met up with the group and off we went!
It was a good day. The Falls were spectacular! Although it was quite cold, the sun came out in the afternoon making everything more beautiful. I felt God’s presence and creation with a sense of awe and peace. Beautiful. Amazing. Wonderful.
Well, here are the pics from the day!
After I got back, we headed out to a tasty warm dinner of ramen!
Then, we took a walk –
to Korea Town, where we got dessert. I ate so many of these when I was in Korea for a month. Love them!!!
A very happy ending to a great day!
Tomorrow, I am off to Philly….
😀 -T
Mar 262012
Jet lag hasn’t been so bad considering the amount of flying I did, but it still exists…. Although I woke up at 5am with some dozing until about 10am, Shu and I still managed to walk from Howland through Little Italy to Queens Way to Chinatown to Kensington Market area and back home again.
It was a beautiful day, which was very much welcomed after yesterday! 🙂
After a short rest, we headed to Korea Town for some delicious Korean food! Now, I’m trying to stay awake long enough to ensure that I don’t wake up too early though I have a day trip to Niagara Falls planned for tomorrow.
Here are some pics from today:
-T 😀
Mar 252012
My first full day in Toronto has been pretty relaxed. We had a relaxed start, but still on the early side as I’m kind of used to getting started around noon, not when it is still morning…. 😉
So, we headed down to St. Lawrence market, which is a farmer’s-like market in a renovated warehouse near/in the Financial District. There’s two kinds of markets – a yuppyish middle-class white version and a more diverse relaxed farmer’s market version. I tried bee pollen, which is considered very healthy, and it made me swell up on my lips and throat. Who knew?
After that we stopped for a quick coffee break at a cool place called Origins on King St.
From there, we went over to an Asian food market called T&T. It was nice to see so many options, but I wished I had more in Abu Dhabi.
On the way back, we hit the Distillery District and stopped in this crazy stored where a guy does art with rubik’s cubes….
then the wind picked up adding to the cold, so we headed back to have a rest and eat up our fresh crab. 😀
I stopped taking pictures in the evening as the cold increased and though I’m awake, I’m not quite so with it…. Anyway, we went to a lovely and very cheap Vietnamese restaurant off of St. Claire and then had a long journey back as we walked through the elements for part of the way. It definitely felt nice to get to a warm and dry place!
More fun tomorrow!
😀 -T
Mar 242012
Surprisingly, I am awake at a ‘normal’ time (8:00am) after taking a 12.5 direct flight AUH – JFK and then after a 4-hour layover was on a 1.5hour flight JFK – YYZ.
The flight to New York from Abu Dhabi was fairly painless in the grand scheme of things. However, nearly 12 hours of two children crying/whining and the sounds here and there of others have made me really think there needs to be children’s ONLY section at the back of the plane (not the front!!!). It’s not possible to keep them from fussing or crying at different times, but why must the rest of us have to suffer?
My flight companion was a 72-year-old Indian woman. I know because she asked me to complete her US customs form. She was nice, but a little too big for the seats, a little too old for getting up and down during a long flight and very very burpy! hahaha. She was sweet, though, I guess.
Randomly, my counselor in AD was in the seat behind me going on holiday to the East Coast. I wondered if that was some sort of sign that I should go see her when I return in April…? 😉
Everything else is a bit of a blur as I was so exhausted once arriving at Q & Shu’s place in Toronto.
I’m gonna have to go in search of coffee soonish, though, I think.
More to come…
😀
Mar 232012
Well, remember back when I wrote saying that I was waiting to hear back from someone I had found on Facebook about being my 2nd or first US foster mother?
It was her!!! She wrote back and I have replied.
It seems surreal. I actually have no memory whatsoever of this person, but from the picture I look genuinely happy as opposed to my usual canned smile or laughing smile that shows up in all my photos (even today!). I mean I am a happy person, generally speaking, but there is something about the picture, maybe it’s the comfortable position I seem to be in her arms – I don’t know.
All these pieces of the puzzle of my life are falling into my hands/lap a bit faster and randomly than I would have ever expected. I am glad that I am not on a search full-time or I would be going mad. With work and travels to keep me distracted I can face the realities of this part of my life when it is generally convenient for me.
So, hopefully I can talk to Diane on the phone when I’m in the States, if not we’ve got email and Fb. From there, I don’t know what will come, but I’m open to any and everything.
😀 -T
Mar 222012
I am wondering if this falls under ‘Adoption Journey’ or if I should be starting a new thread entitled ‘The Search’…?
Anyway, I guess it all runs together in the end as MY LIFE!
So, the latest –
Three days ago now, I received an email from the social worker in Korea. She said that they have located the two sisters of my birth mother who are also living in the States.
WTF?
Did the whole family of women move there after me? I guess I won’t have to stress too much over communicating should that ever happen. Maybe that explains why I have a total block from learning the language.
So, anyway, the SWS is going to try to get in touch with them and see if some kind of contact can be made. We shall see how that goes, but considering that my biological grandmother denies that I could exist, I can only imagine what the sisters might think or believe. However, you never know what is known between sisters that is never told to the parents…. Keeping the fingers crossed.
In any case, I still go back and forth on whether or not I really want to talk to them or what I would say to them. I guess I’ll just cross that bridge when it comes.
Nothing else new on the domestic search, but next week when I’m back in the States, I’ll be making some calls, so watch this space for updates!
😀 -T
Mar 212012
Well, the juice diet continues….
We are starting to figure out the best process for juicing. It’s quite a bit of work to prepare juices for all your meals. There’s a lot of washing, peeling and then juicing, plus the clean-up afterwards that is required. It’s more work than cooking a meal each night!
Both of us are doing well overall and definitely feel healthier. R wants to keep going. I miss eating solids, to be completely honest, but I will see if I can stick it out one more day before the break begins. It’s good to be detoxed and cleaned out before I head back to the North American enlarged portions and processed food diet. 😛
After the break, I think we will do it again for a few days to detox again, but I will try to include solid food for dinners, such as salads and vegetable soups (half liquid/half solid :P). As long as we continue to eat mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes and other macronutrient food, we should definitely be healthier and happier!
Last night we had a couple of nuts and dried fruit that couldn’t be blended/juiced and it felt so fantastic to chew! I really like solid food, but can handle eating healthier. Though, I do miss me some grease and red meat – that’s just after four days without it. Pathetic!!! 😀
Mostly, I was concerned about my need for a higher protein level to avoid my body revolting and going into shut-down mode to save energy. So far, I haven’t had any problem with it as we drink whey protein and soy milk for breakfast before the morning breakfast juice. There are some points in the day when I do feel a bit hungry, but never weak or really tired like I used to. We are even still having a large cup of coffee each morning, which actually against the rules, but we both do cherish our cup of coffee so!
Anyway, I would recommend this diet as a way to refresh (or reboot!) the body’s system. I feel less tired (not less stressed, though), healthier and perhaps the best motivator, thinner!
Now, I will just have to test out my self-control on Friday morning when I’m at the airport and faced with fast food options!! 😀 Maybe I’ll have to break my diet on Thursday night so my stomach doesn’t revolt from airplane food…. 😛
-T
