New Uniform + Random Happenings

So we got new uniform at work a few days back.

Oh, for those that don't know yet, I've started to work a while back (almost right after I got my social insurance number). I work in the kitchen at this Japanese restaurant, the type that sells sushi, udon, and other miscellaneous Japanese food. I'm officially working as part-time even though I'm putting in full time hours. I think this allows the owner to not buy me insurance or something. Hope I don't lose a finger anytime soon, I already have a crack in my nail from bad cutting.

Speaking of cutting, I have never cut this many carrots, cabbage, potatoes, etc. in my life. And yet I still suck at it... I don't think I'm THAT slow, it's just that those guys are way too fast. According to "shifu", I'm only gonna cook when I get better at cutting.

Anyways, we got new uniform yesterday. It's this white jacket with black buttons and black sleeves. With this we actually look like chefs in a hotel as opposed to mere kitchen workers in a small restaurant. The black lower apron didn't change, but no one can see that anyways. Oh, one thing I should mention, I'm still wearing the "trainee" uniform, which sucks. It's not like I can't cook, he just won't let me, at least not the "hard stuff". If you come at lunch though, I make the easy stuff and you can try it.

On an unrelated note, a few of us from church went on a retreat last weekend. We hung out, played foosball half-watched two movies, went to the pool, and discussed predestination. Fun stuff. Hard to swallow at times, but awe-inspiring nonetheless. Oh, I heard Tears in Heaven on the guitar again on the retreat, so it's not just Conan who plays it... After going home and practicing, now I can play it too.

Side note: My dad hurt his lower back/hip a few days ago (閃到腰). I just got off work and saw him on the floor, apparently he could not even move. From his contorted figure, I could tell he was in agonizing pain. He's better now, but pray for him. He also audibly prayed to God for the first time, that's pretty sweet.

工作心得

為什麼沒有男性絲襪?
男生需要站一整天腳就不會酸是嗎?
化妝品啊, 假睫毛也是, 適合新新都市男孩的假睫毛勒?
我並不是想用, 但我希望至少可以有選擇...
男女根本一點都不平等嗎...

最近開始在一家日本料理店工作, 而且在廚房, 以後我廚藝會大大增進吧 :D
我發現站一整天真的會累, 大概是我從來沒有站那麼久沒休息過吧
12小時有點違法吧...
回家時小腿超硬的, 我覺得可以去跟大理石比

嗯, 累歸累但我還學習到蠻多的
這是一些我和師父的對話:

他: 你切太粗了, 很醜啊. 小心點, 慢慢來
我: 喔, sorry
他: 動作太慢了, 在餐館業要動作很快的...
我: sorry
OS: 我沒辦法像你一樣快狠準, 對不起我那麼沒用 T T

他: 刀子和你又沒有仇, 不要那麼用力, 這樣刀很容易壞的
我: 喔, 好的
下次劈魚頭時...
他: 不要用兩隻手, 用力就好
我: 我... 切... 不動
他: 哎呀, 長那麼高大是幹麼的... 像這樣
師父很man的示範單手劈超硬的魚頭

他: 你有沒有兄弟姊妹啊?
我: 有, 一個哥哥
他: 我們距離越來越遠了
我: 但我有很多表姊表妹
他: 我們距離又變近了

師父我會加油的... 雖然好累...
被罵是正常, 被罵是為了要成長, Tony你沒有那麼沒用, 要有自信點
Tony你不會被打敗的, 你切的菜沒有那麼醜... 這都是學習過程
Tony你真的沒有師父說的那麼沒用, 相信自己, believe... fighting!

之前是早上十一點到晚上十一點, 雖然closing完都十二點多了... 回到家也不知道幾點了...
還有昨天因為洗碗的沒來所以我沒有休息的洗了六個鐘頭的碗, 我的手要爛掉了~

現在師父說我晚上幫不上忙 (晚上菜還不讓我做, 中午也不太會其實), 所以幾乎都是五點就下班了, 除了特別忙的幾天
這樣我晚上就有空去starbucks工作摟... 趕快找...

PS. 師父跟我要台灣女生的照片, 我手機就那幾張所以就選了XXX的照片給他看
請原諒我, 師父逼的

I'll semi-translate this later...

Who am I?

I am Tony.
I used to be an international student in Canada but as of yesterday I have become a permanent resident, which means I'm a local student... I think.
I like eating, sleeping, playing, and thinking. Je pense, donc je suis.
I seem to have an affinity for languages; besides the myriad of computer languages in my arsenal, I know a few other "common" languages.
While it may seem like a blessing, often it confuses me. It changes who I am.

從小就生活在多文化的環境中: 東亞, 東南亞, 印度, 北美, 歐洲, 澳洲, 大家都有好多不同的特徵.
有時候發現自己融合了他們的眾多習性會讓我微微一笑.
像我這"gentleman"的個性 (可以叫個性嗎?) 是到台灣才發現我擁有的, 幫別人開門拿東西應該很普通啊! 一定是現在台灣年輕人太以自我為中心了...

腓2:4."不要自私自利，也不要貪圖虛榮，只要謙卑，看別人比自己強"

如果全世界的人都這樣多好...

Peut-être je devrais utiliser fraçais aussi. On pense que je parle français couramment après tout. Malheureusement, par rapport à mon anglais, je suis comme un bébé en français, un gros bébé asiatique... qui pese environ 65kg... J'adore les bébés.

That proves it, I am completely different when I think in different languages. The question is, who do I like the most? No, who do people like the most? Actually, who does God find the most pleasing?
I cannot be multiple persons, I cannot make everyone happy. What one person can understand another can't. So does that mean I translate everything I write? Do I ignore my uni-lingual friends and write in Chinese or do I use English even though that means a big majority of my writings will be either skipped over or misunderstood. I don't mean to show off or piss anyone off, but it's hard to stay in one language... It's like I phase in and out of different worlds constantly...

我真的希望我世界各地的朋友都可以看的懂我寫的每一篇文章, 但這好像不太可能發生. Tower of Babel 真的是好事嗎?
當然我也希望全世界的人都可以信主, 看到祂的真實, 接受祂的禮物... 但這種想法太天真了嗎?
現實難道真的就是要拋棄一樣東西才可以擁有另外一樣嗎?
我不放下台灣就沒辦法好好在加拿大生活嗎?
他們到結婚生子又闖了一番事業才肯回台灣是他們的事, 其實這已經不叫做"回台灣"了, 這變成"去台灣度假".

I don't want to wait until I'm old to go back to Taiwan. I have food to taste, places to visit, girls to meet, people to save...
I love Taiwan. I love the people there... especially those I know... and some more than others.
The same goes for my friends here, which means I am again stuck between two worlds.

This probably makes no sense to most of you even if you can read all of it...
我自已都不太懂自己要什麼...
至少我有一個固定在耶穌裡不會改變的身份. I am His ambassador. 我是祂的兒子.

Time...

Time...

The speed at which it passes caters not to the whims of our desires, but rather to the flow of our routines.

Slow, fast, they are all but relative adjectives acting as powerless sedatives to our monotone lives.

A day may seem like a thousand years to one whose activities consist of waking, eating, playing, and the oft inadvertent sleeping.

Vanity of vanities says the preacher, all is vanity.

A verse commonly known but rarely understood. A cry for rescue from an existence defined by nothingness.

A deep resonance with a kindred spirit like me. A truth revealed for the world to see.

Time...

An hour spent in solitude passes slower than a day with her.

The beauty in the moment lies completely in the fact that it is fleeting.

And only when it dissipates does one meditate on its value, too little too late...

Time stops for no one. Time waits for no one.

Running out of time remains a problem for both myself and countless others.

Time, thou art a cruel mistress. Wherefore must thy sting hurt so?

Word of advise: do not flirt with time lest you find yourself wasting away in the cesspool of its victims.

Time flies...

For every moment that wastes and decays, another one enters the fray, then flies away

Those I try to capture, but to no avail.

I am often left with just memories to reminisce, bits and pieces of a time once had.

Time irreversible, pieces irreparable, but memories unforgettable...

But alas, I lie to myself, unwilling to admit the sobriety of my timidity.

To be honest, not a day passes that I don't think about how the year that splits our meeting leaves me helpless, alone, and... missing...

直接

遇到一個真的很笨的人開口說他白痴不太好...

朋友提出計畫很久的行程然後直接說行程爛也不太好...

親戚的小baby長的比科學怪人還醜好像也不能太直接說什麼...

最後正常人都會以欺騙來帶過這些狀況

那如果是遇到喜歡的人呢? 討厭的?

電視上和電影裡似乎都教我們如果遇到有好感的人就大膽的去愛吧

壯觀的放手一博真的比小心翼翼的三思而後行好嗎?

如果遇到醜baby不應該直接說實話那換成我們的感情生活呢?

陶喆, 爱最好就很簡單

還有當我們朋友在錯事或毀壞他的人生(簡稱"罪"), 我們應該很直接的反應嗎?

如果真的關心這個人了話不是應該當他的面勸告他嗎?

就算他會恨你嗎? 腦海浮現翻唱歌(Cause I~ hate~ you, 我就是恨你baby~) XD

什麼時候該直接什麼時候該小心?

要直接的時候該怎麼去面對, 要小心的時候又該怎樣去應變?

唉~

我一直以來都很欣賞那些有話直說的人, 我認為好豪爽啊

高興就請大家出去吃飯, 生氣就翻桌二話不說走人

跟這種人當朋友的好處是他不會跟你耍心機, 那壞處呢...

可能有時候會不小心傷害到他所關心的人吧

然後當發現的時候已經太遲了

直.街.

Mormons Are Coming

So I met with Mormons twice already.
When they called me and said they were with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints it didn't actually register to me that they were Mormons. I mean what kind of church or organization would put two of's in its name. It's not that it's grammatically unsound, it's like equipping two carts to an ox. Why would you do that to an ox? What did the ox ever do to you? It's bad enough putting on cart, but two!?

Anyways, they said they really wanted to meet with me and since I wasn't doing anything I let them. I was too lazy to go anywhere so I said they could come to my place. Two people ended up coming that first time. They started to small talk about crap I didn't care about. Why is it that people insist on having small talk? I know why they came, they know why they came. Small talk is reserved for unfamiliar acquaintances and awkward moments.

In any case, a few questions about my house and my hobbies later, and a Crazy Train riff later, I asked them out right, "So tell me what you want to share." I learned a few things that day about what they actually believe. I know about Mormonism, but everything I know are derogatory and downright mean. I wanted to hear what they have to say themselves. It's only fair. They shared about the basics that day and what they believe about the resurrection, Jesus, and the church. It wasn't until the second meeting that they shared with me their plan of salvation.

Let me tell you, that plan is messed up. Apparently all the souls has always existed since before the beginning of time, and God had a perfect physical body. Then we have the current life, then death and three heavens waiting for us. Oh, they have no hell. What the hell? What irked me the most was how they never even mentioned how to convert. Were they intimidated by me? I wasn't aggressive at all! I was playing the "shy curious guy" card.

Not the guys I met with, just a picture of Mormons.

I didn't want to bash them so I instead just asked them questions:
1. So the founder Joseph dug up these golden tablets (which was buried around 400BC, it'll take an excavation team to dig up something from that time). And the tablets were written in the alternate Egyptian hieroglyph (which linguists have deemed non-existent and even inconsistent with itself based on supposed translations). So after Joseph translated with the help of God, an angel came and took it away. So no one has seen the tablets except him. Care to explain?
2. How do you know your modern day prophet is real?

I have respect for Islam because their teachings have a source that we can trace to. Everyone can scrutinize their religious text in its original form. The same could be said for Hinduism and Buddhism. Christianity also has records from as far back as the Dead Sea Scrolls (or probably further, my archaeology is a bit rusty). Good science allows other scientists to repeat the same experiment. Good history has multiple manuscripts supporting its accuracy. I have no sympathy for something that correlates to neither.

They are coming here again today. Let's hope it goes well. They are perfectly nice people and easy to get along with. I don't wish any harm upon them. This is precisely why I'm sharing what I believe and also the foundations I have for those beliefs. Contrary to popular opinion, faiths are not blind and have a foundation. Mine is stronger and thicker than 25,000 original manuscripts piled together.

暑假好~~悠哉啊~

我好久沒有寫部落格了...

其實我也好久沒有寫中文了...

我覺得我應該更常update一下我的生活, 畢竟我真的有做蠻多直得分享的事情.

比如說...

我上上禮拜從學校搬到Toronto附近, 雖然搬家很累但我有好多人幫我喔

要不是我臉皮厚的不像話可能會更累吧; 因為不只是朋友, 我好像連朋友的家長都拉來了

然後上個禮拜我辦了一個小小housewarming party, 到後面搞到有點失控就對了 XD

可以去我Picasa或Facebook看照片

再來呢... 最近開始自己煮飯

以前都是偶而弄個簡單的pasta或者是微波爐便當, 但因為現在是長期需要煮飯而不是當懶的出門才煮, 所以必須注意每一餐的營養成分

要確定自己有足夠的肉, 要不然protein會不夠, 這樣肌肉就沒辦法繼續成長

Carbohydrate雖然容易填飽肚子但吃太多會很容易胖

蔬菜水果更是每一餐都要有的...

"要愛護自己的身體以後身體才會愛護你" -莊媽媽明言

如果有兩個人了話其實會比較好煮菜, 不需要每餐都只弄一點點東西或放冰箱隔天吃剩菜

加上每天都要去想該煮什麼該買什麼, 好煩好煩喔~ (sarcasm)
我也有在Picasa和Facebook放food diary :D

我是不是很幸福? 至少到六月之前, 每天就是看動畫, 玩遊戲, 彈吉他, 去廚房嘗試新料理, 睡覺, 偶而洗個澡.

還有很多時間去讀經, 禱告, 跟教會的人打籃球 (我被稱為籃板王喔)

尤其是看到一些masochistic的朋友天天忙著工作或實習, 回到家也不休息, 我真的好幸福喔...

別懷疑, 我是在說妳蔚翔

妳很累吧, 我好像是應該說加油之類的話, 但我聽膩了這套互相鼓勵的話.

保羅是怎麼鼓勵教會的, 彼得呢? 神又是對約書亞說什麼? Be strong and courageous...

古人說我們人都是在苦難中最能經歷神, 古人是對的.

嗯... 不知道說什麼... 加油摟~ (弱掉)

放心, 妳很堅強的, 加上有超多人為妳禱告的不是嗎?

說到禱告, 我有個叫韡承的朋友

韡承啊, 你不要給我一直忙東忙西然後閒沒人關心, 我要找你都找不到耶! 聊天那麼難嗎?

Anyways... 他是一個又帥又穩重的一個真男人, 他很會關心別人, 有穩定的工作, 加上他會Java!

為什麼提到他呢? 因為我上次跟他見面時有問要怎麼幫他禱告, 當然他是先提到團契(但這是預設帶禱事項所以不算). 之後他就提到另一半和他的一些希望...

說到另一半, 馬修先生啊... 禱告...

其實好多人都在煩惱這件事, 我不煩惱會很怪嗎? 難道是我還沒長大!

我是唯一覺得單身很幸福的人嗎!?

台灣... 大概是因為我長期在很多國家中移來移去, 我習慣了長時間不會遇到很多人這感受

所以"想念"並不是一個經常發生的事, 但每當我開始去聊到想到或寫到一個人就會開始想念這個人. 所以現在腦海中浮現眾多台灣的朋友們代表...
喔對, 還有我的親愛的家人和可愛的親戚 :D

有點想回台灣... 或著是台灣可以過來

PS. Amy小姐, 加拿大之旅計畫如何?

PSS. 快見到爸媽了

不是我畫的