Holidays Literally Over

It's the end of Dec. 29, 2009.

Coming back from Whistler, I think my holidays, as the title suggests, are literally over, and the Whistler trip seemed to be the perfect ending for my holidays. Not just holidays for between-semesters, Christmas, and New Years, but the holidays for my graduate studies. Technically I was totally done with my graduate studies, therefore I will not have between-semester holidays anymore. A little sense of loss, with some sense of achievement. I know, a awkward combination...

From tomorrow, I'm going to have training sessions at the Taiwanese restaurant for five days in a raw. I don't know if or not it will wear me out. Hopefully not. I hope I can make it and earn this job.

With the completion of my graduate studies and holidays, a lot of tasks need to be done: post-graduation work permit, booking a plane ticket, UBC research project, Mr. Sub part-time job, and of course, a couple of weekly activities I initially involve. I know these schedules seem to make me busy, yet with the busy schedule people more or less come up with more efficient ways of doing things. Somehow you know you cannot idle around or serve the internet for no reason, because you cannot afford that luxury. It's a process of learning, and I hope I can learn to be more self-disciplined.

So, 5 to 11pm, and I'm going to sleep now. Hopefully I can fall asleep quickly and with the utmost spirit to start my tomorrow.

How to be Good to Yourself?

Planning to go to Whistler with James and other friends recently results in me adding another item, a pair of snow boot, in my shopping list. Considering changing my cell phone to monthly plan and it turned out that I cannot find even one plan that meets my requirements: no contract, no connection fee, no activation fee, and compatible in other phones provided by other telecommunication company.

Babe always told me to be good to myself, and this makes me wonder how I treat myself. Do I treat myself well? How to treat myself well? To some extent, I think this might be a matter of definition.

Sometimes I thought buying yourself whatever you want is a way of treating yourself well. Following this logic, I don't know if I can treat myself well indeed. Very often I am content with my material life, which means that I don't think there's much I want to buy. As there's not much that I want to buy myself, I seem not able to treat myself well. Besides, sometimes what I want is beyond what money can buy. Under this kind of circumstance, how can I treat myself well?

Then some people may say, there might be something wrong with my definition of treating yourself well. So can anyone tell me, what's the definition of treating yourself well? Probably this will work: try to make yourself happy and healthy. Embarrassed to say, sometimes I don't know if I'm happy or not, nor what I did now, posting this article at 1:40am, will bring me health. But no worries, I just do this once in a while. I do know how to be healthy, and for sure I will do as told.

So maybe let's go back to the topic. Am I really mean to myself? I don't think so, at least this is not what I thought to myself for most of the time. What some people though I'm mean to myself is just because I don't have much desire in everything. I can lead a very decent life, having everything merely meet my basic needs. That's all. Do I envy other people leading luxurious life? Maybe sometimes I do, yet I know very often I do despise that kind of life. I want my life more meaningful, and that's one thing fore sure.

So what is being meaningful? I guess that's another matter of definition. And I think now it's time for me to go to bed. Anyways, it's not that hurry to figure this out. and things have its own priority, isn't it?

Learning French

French Assistant
教育廣播電台
Bonjour-Learn French Online
eLanguage School-French
Daily French Pod

Life the Rush the Accident

Life, as it is always said, full of a bunch of rush and accidents.

Yesterday was Wednesday Dec. 23, 2009. Two days before yesterday I went window shopping with Jill at Metrotown. I went Lion Travel Agency for ticket price inquiry. It's not a big deal to inquire ticket price, for I not only asked February but also April's price and I've been thinking to go back to Taiwan for a little while; it's just when will be the time is unknown.

After the window shopping, I chatted with WTC and Annie about when to go back. Very soon I seemed to decide that the Winter Olympic would be best time. During the discussion process, we even came up with ideas such as Annie coming to Van during the Chinese New Year, and also WTC coming to my Convocation with Mom during June 2010. Anyways, finally I decided to go back during Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010.

Following this decision are concerns on my post-graduation work permit application and visa status. Consulting with the International Office advisor, it is indeed possible to have some tricky problem when I re-enter Canada from Taiwan in later Feb. So what I can do now, instead of booking the flight ticket, is to get the documents stating my program completion either from advisor or Dean of Graduate Studies, apply the work permit online, and keep checking the processing status and even call CIC when needed.

So I went to apply the document. So far the application form was sent and I shall be getting the documents on Jan. 5, 2010. My advisor also wrote some lines to prove my program completion, which is the document I used in the application right now. I'm not sure if this gonna work or not. I suppose I will confirm with International Office advisor again today.

Then I went to Scotia Bank, depositing my money and inquiring student account and credit card and investment. Things turned out well and I will be talking to the teller for credit card application.

All my yesterday was full of inquiry, consultation, and application. It may be a little bit rush for me to arrange everything so that I can go back to Taiwan successfully. Yet I think I can and will make it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to myself :)

Vancouver Dine Out

Precisely speaking, most restaurant would be in Burnaby, as I live in Burnaby.

Thai Food:

Bua Thai

Green Basil Thai Restaurant

Lhy Thai

About ADDIE

ADDIE in our instructional design filed means Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. Though having been knowing its importance and application to certain extent since entering EdTech Program, I myself seemed to experience this tonight while making some preparation for my planned study group.

I have thought forming an online English Study Group for a while, possibly as early as I was taking the comprehensive exam. As I have always been such a procrastinator, the plan was not realized until tonight I started to build a platform by Google Site. My intention of having Google Site as the platform, obviously, is to take its advantages of multifunctionality such as wiki, discussion forum, and easy-to-build-a-website feature. Yet there are always problems that I cannot fix, even though I tried to use its template. Finally, or I should say, for now, I stopped.

Stopping does not mean giving up. I paused a little bit and hold back, trying to contemplate what my purpose is to have a platform, how the study group may run, and what functions the platform may need. Having these questions in mind, all of sudden, reminds me of ADDIE, specifically, analysis. Now it seems so clear that what I need is not a Google Site, but a simple blog should be sufficient, as long as the platform can serve the function of providing spaces for participants to share information, make contribution, and raise questions.

The logic is so self-explanatory yet I was so attracted to the fancy functions and interface by a Google Site can offer. So now you see ADDIE is really simple but important. What's more, when it comes to put ADDIES into real practice, there seems to be always some awkwardness, which, I think, is something we need to overcome.

Then What?

For a while this blog had been somewhere I prepared for my comprehensive exam and practiced English, tying and writing. Now that I seem to be almost done with my EdTech program after being informed by my advisor that I passed the comprehensive exam, all of a sudden I don't know what to do next, nor do I know what purpose this blog can serve...

Really wanna say something to express how I feel recently and organize what to do next but discover that I was more distracted and far less determined than I think. Thought here might be a good place for me to do so, yet my "all English regulation" here keeps me away from truly expressing myself here. Maybe again need to think about what I can do with this blog, yes this blog needs an identity.

Maybe what is in most urgent need is myself. What to do next? Though being questioned several times ever since I passed the exam and more or less I can answer it, as a matter of fact, deep in my heart I seem to resist something. I keep idling around and being distracted and cannot keep my promise as to concentrate on my research and only movies for recreations. I feel so disappointed about myself that I don't know how to fight again...

Can somebody tell me how to fight again? I don't want myself keep doing things that I know for sure that I will regret immediately. Though I also know for sure that problems like this can never be fixed without you yourself determining to stop it...

Well let's see how I can make it, from now on. And I guess now this blog has new purpose to serve--taking down any progressions I make.