Due to circumstances beyond my control [and one I choose not to discuss here], I will be using an HTC Magic for a week or so. It will be an interesting experiment. I look forward to the results.
Here’s to good fun and cheer [and hopefully survival]!
We’re usually a pretty jovial bunch at the place I work, and we take a lot of jabs at each other whenever we get the opportunity. For example, we make a lot of fun of my boss for his severe seniority, and another of the coworkers for his Danishness. It’s all in good fun, and are all wholly accurate to who each of us are. Naturally, it would come to little surprise that my relatively insane history of commuting and my love of not driving would come up. I don’t blame them, because like I said before, it’s all true.
Outside of actual commuting and the Toronto Bus Terminal (refer to an older post), there is actually a lot to love about sitting in a bus or train and traveling long distances.
Firstly, the stresses of the road is miraculously transferred from yourself to the driver or conductor as if there some kind of electrical transferance taking place as your butt touches the cushion of your seat. The wonderful high tech lives in which we lead.
Secondly, with my sleep schedule and lifestyle that I lead, I often find myself sitting in vehicles at half-capacity traveling at speeds much faster than the speed limit allows. This is quite a good thig since I tend to cramp up easily and my patience has dropped precipitously to that of a 12 year old.
Still, I’m not entirely sure that I’m able to do all of this without my trusted travel entourage – my iPhone and my camera. It truly is miraculous that we can travel at 100km/h down a stretch of God’s great green earth and enjoy music, interwebs, blog posting and so much more in a device that slips into my pocket with nary a nuisance. I wouldn’t know how I distracted myself before this magical device landed on my lap a year ago. Hell, I think my commute with Deloitte would have been greatly improved (or at least be less sucky) if this little box of wonderfulness was available in Canada at that point.
And where would I be without my camera? The ability to record my memories simply, beautifully, and artistically has given me newfound love for travel. Without it, I would have been content sitting at home, picking up nefarious gaming habits of the massively multiplayer nature.
But you know what I love best about sitting in buses and trains? The chance to hone my thoughts into a blog post that I hope has been witty and entertaining.
Becuase that is how I roll.
Until next time.
S
Oh…where to even begin with this silly issue that isn’t a simple regurgitation of what’s already been stated. For those of you who don’t already have a good grasp of the situation, I’d refer you to here and here [courtesy of ink_13], as well as here [courtesy of UW's Daily Bulletin]. Also, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of discussion across Twitter, Facebook and pretty much where students and alumni hang out.
While most of the talk out there is negatively slanted against the new logo, I have to admit that I’m actually quite ambivalent [leaning towards not dislike] about the new logo. As my esteemed colleague Mr. Felix stated on Facebook [I] didn’t give a flying fuck about the logo when [I] was a student. so why would i give a fucking shit about it now. holy shit, this is completely stupid. In many ways, I agree with the sentiment. Venting on Facebook or LiveJournal, or wherever will not change the logo. I certainly think that students, staff and alumni all should have a say in this, and I will defend your right to say it [as our good friend Voltaire stated]. However, I am concerned with many of the arguments that are being put forward. While I don’t wish to dig too deeply into each and every one of them, I do want to address a small number.
On Re-Branding
There’s a lot of arguments that the new logo is ‘non-traditional’ or that moving away from the classic crest is a huge problem. I respect those arguments. After all, every other school is deeply rooted in tradition and have their own crests representing its core values and traditions. There are two major points I wish to say against this. Firstly, Waterloo has been pushing towards a branding that separates itself from other schools – one that focuses on innovation and standing out from the rest of the pack as a leader. A part of leadership involves blue-sky thinking, taking leaps of faith, and shunning tradition at times. I applaud UW in trying something new and different. Secondly, how many of us UW students and alumni actually understand the core values and traditions of UW based upon the crest-logo? How many of us even know what UW’s slogan translates to in English? Hell. How many of us even know UW’s slogan?
While I can’t say much about the style and artistry of the new logo, I believe it does a good job in representing what UW is today. It is also a symbol that is much easier to interpret for all.
On Marketing and the University-Corporation
The re-branding initiative has brought about a side-argument that the UW administration is running the school more as a corporation than an academic institution. Furthermore, that this shift in direction is a bad thing, and that it hinders academic research and innovation. I will admit that this can happen. However, it’s also important to realize that even a University requires money to operate, and funding is limited. Universities need to efficiently use its funds to deliver a high quality education and to conduct research that will see through to a conclusion. A university should be able to cut funding from a professor if he or she is not able to both teach effectively and conduct world class research. Is it little wonder that many universities require research grants from industry? Yes, there are plenty of arguments that universities shouldn’t be tainted by industry, but let’s not kid ourselves – accepting money from the government can be just as bad and just as biased. By running the university as efficiently [and I guess corporately] as possible, the university would be better able to have its own say about the overall agenda.
I guess this little piece took a bit wider turn than necessary. However, I just needed to get it off my chest. It is stupid and ridiculous how much we stick by what’s already there, rather than trying something new. Automatically rejecting something new and unknown is probably the worse thing that we can do for our society and culture. I think we need to be more objective and analytical about change. Why don’t we let the new logo sit with us a bit more – maybe we’ll all find something we like about it.
I’ll leave comments open. I’ll try to approve messages that aren’t childish or made in bad taste, but don’t expect me to respond. I’ve made my peace with the issue.
Thanks for reading!
For reference, I haven’t stopped taking pictures, but I am just taking my sweet time getting them back up on Flickr. They’re there now.
Ah…my sorry attempt at staying awake on my flight back from Beijing. Let’s see how cogent these thoughts will become; maybe there will be a few gems I can use in a real post another time. Who knows though – I’ve been up for a good 26 hours already, and I won’t be in bed for another 2? Ah well…
The final leg of my power drift in Asia was anything but uneventful. With only a little more than 24 hours to spend in Beijing as a tourist, there was much to see, and even more to do. Despite that, we managed to do pretty much all of what we wanted. It was unbelievable, but it’s true. We were able to do the Beijing Olympic Village, the imperial Summer Palace, and even fit in some fantastic food and a relaxing walking jaunt through the downtown core. It was a great way to end my trip and I will sorely miss seeing Jenn and Steve.
Speaking of Jenn and Steve, I was amazed with the abundance of fascination from the native Chinese and their penchant to take photos with those two. I was initially told this by Jenn the night I arrived in Beijing, but was unconvinced. That was, until we spent some time out. It was a mighty impressive sight! They were literally celebrities – at times stopping for some time to have their pictures taken with young Chinese girls and even some older men. I think they enjoyed their newfound stardom, but I’m never always so sure about that. It was pretty amusing from my perspective though.
In any case, I should get back to importing my photos into Lightroom. I must have taken 700 shots at the Summer Palace and it will be hell going through them all. I really enjoyed my power drift, but I’m pretty much ready to be back home and pick up wherever my life left off.
Man, it’s crazy to think that only 24 hours ago, I was sitting in an electric powered boat in the lake of the Summer Palace taking gorgeous pictures of its majestic majesty, and now I’m sitting at home just typing away. I am mighty impressed by the entirety of it all.
Not sure when I’ll post again, so don’t expect anything from me any time soon. Until next time.
ru-in-a-tion [roo-uh-ney-shuh n]
1. the act or state of ruining or the state of being ruined. [Dictionary.com]
2. the final product of someone has ruin your shit. A utter defeat or total destruction on a massive scale. [UrbanDictionary.com]
3. the brief and fleeting sensation upon realizing that your Northern Chinese hosts drink much more heavily than you expected; that their toasts actively involve emptying any glass of alcoholic drink currently in front of them; and that your traveling companion will take on all challenges, regardless of its level of stupidity and damage to the liver. [Sam Leung, 2009]
I believe that effectively sums up my two day stay in beautiful Daqing City. No, that’s not true. Congratulations to Yancey and Jocelyn on a lovely wedding. You two are great together and I hope you’ll share even more years of happiness. We had a truly wonderful time in Daqing City. Your gracious generosity and hospitality will always be cherished and remembered, and I will never be sure if I will ever be able to thank you and your families properly.
Flying back to Beijing this morning, and returning to Toronto by Saturday evening. Take care to you all till then!
At the airport, leeching free wifi. Going to board my flight shortly – will be behind the Great Firewall in a few hours. Let’s hope I’ll survive the trip.
When’s a good time for writing a blog post? Well, when you’re waiting for the sleeping pills to kick in, naturally. [They work like a charm, I don't know how I ever did intercontinental without them for so long.]
Today was a long one – woke up before 6 [that sounds familiar] and went out for breakfast dim sum with my grandfather and parents. Good start to the day, overall. I had about 4 hours to kill afterwards [before my next bout with dim sum], so I decided to grab my camera and go out for a leisurely stroll around the city. I wound up catching some interesting sights and shots [to be uploaded when I have time to touch them up], and even managed to get up to “The Peak” district [guess...it's one of the tallest points in Hong Kong - total tourist trap.] Doing that in 4 hours is no easy feat, especially when the only forms of transportation were a boat [ferry, to be precise] and a tram that goes up at something like a 50 degree angle. The photos didn’t turn out as well as hoped – the smog today was pretty dense. I can barely get anything past the barrier. I’ll see if Lightroom can help with that, but I think this is something with which not even the Almighty can help.
I went for lunch dim sum with my other grandfather back in the city. Nothing more needs to be said about that.
Wandered the city a bit more, tried to get some souvenirs [might have to make a trip in Beijing instead...not much here anymore], and finally got home to rest for an hour or so before being called for dinner. And that brings me to now. Feet sore, sleeping pills kicking in like no tomorrow. Think it’s time to wrap this one up.
Morning in Hong Kong, followed by airport lounging, with the day topped with meeting Jenn and Steve in Beijing.
Good times, no?
I’m safe and sound in Hong Kong – at my parent’s place. It’s definitely been a hell of a day.
The flight across the Pacific was done in one of those fancy new Boeing 777s, where there is noticeably more legroom and personal space as compared to my previous intercontinental flights. This was a huge plus. On the down side, it seems like the extra space came at the cost of precious inches in the aisle. For my 15 hour flight, I must have had everything but bodily fluids spilled on to me. That was mildly unpleasant. Hopefully, the red wine stain will come out of my trousers and the instant noodle soup smell will come out of my shirt. Otherwise, the flight itself was quite dull. I met a couple whose kids went to Waterloo for Engineering [they complimented on my spoken Cantonese, which was different], and they had Easy as Pie on one of the ‘Canadian’ movie channels.
My stay in Hong Kong has been anything but dull. My parents immediately dragged me to the funeral halls to pay my respects to the faimly….lineage. That was kind of nice. It turns out I’ve become quite incompetent with the whole fire concept since my last trip back; I had trouble lighting incenses, making candles stay upright, and if it weren’t for the fact that I didn’t burn myself, I would’ve labeled myself as a fire hazard. I am, however, more than happy to report that I am simply incompetent with this ‘fire’ concept. Thank goodness I was never back in the stone ages; I would certainly have pushed back the development of the homo sapiens species for quite a few centuries.
I had hot pot tonight with most of my extended family. It was nice – and I even tried to speak more Cantonese than I’m used to. I may eventually get a hang of speaking this language again. But then again, maybe I may just be deluding myself. I’m certainly at the age where my mind has become a frozen tundra that is impervious to anything new.
Not many plans tomorrow just yet. If I wake up early enough, I may go for dim sum with my grandfather [dad's side]. I’ve got lunch dim sum with my grandfather [mom's side]. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to go around the city and take some quick photos if the weather cooperates. A part of me suspects that it may have other plans for me instead.
Needless to say, I’m exhausted. I’ve barely slept on the plane, and I was up Saturday morning before 5:30 to get to the airport. Hopefully these sleeping aids will work as advertised, otherwise, I’m going to be in for a rough ride come morning.
Take care y’all. Be home in 6 days or so.
It’s been a while, and I wish I had more to say. But I don’t, so let’s leave it at that.
I’ll be travelling quite extensively next week [YYZ-->HKG-->PEK-->HRB-->PEK-->YYZ, for those who understand airport codes]. I’ll definitely be taking tons of photos, and I’ll try to upload those on the road if I get net access.
It’ll be a rough trip, but I hope it’ll be a good one.
Take care, y’all. See you guys on the flip side!
Sam
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