Category Archives: Daily Scribble

My random thoughts of the day.

Daily Scribble

In memory of Charlie

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charlie

Charlie Chan-Ma (1995-2009), after several months of suffering from cancer, it left us quietly yesterday.  Charlie is the most adorable and most lovely Golden Retriever in this world.  Living with it changed my view on dogs and pets.  I used to hold the traditional Chinese view on dogs, which have only two functions, guard the house and as a delicacy.  Meeting Charlie let me know the love of dogs and learn to be a responsible pet owner.

Charlie was Pat’s dog, it grew up with her and married along with her into the Chan’s family. I became Charlie’s step father and I was helping Pat to take care of it. I met Charlie on the same day I first met Pat. Charlie was our match maker. It was a church group BBQ gathering on a beach. My first impression about Pat was the girl with a big dog. “Does your dog eat chicken wing” was my pick up line. I always had been allergic to dogs since a little kid, but I didn’t have allergy on Charlie. Charlie witnessed me and Pat getting together and walking into the church. We wanted to make Charlie our ring bearer in our wedding ceremony, but too bad it was already too weak to stand up for a long time and walk the aisle along with us.

Pat and I had many memories with Charlie. We went to cycling in Stanley Park with Charlie running behind our bicycle. We had ice-cream in Denman Street and used Charlie as my food stool. Charlie was the perfect foot warmer in a cold winter night when watching TV. We spent many great time walking it in the park, played fetch and caught with Charlie. Charlie also took away many of my first times. My first time picking up his poo; my first time cleaning up his mess on the carpet. It also took away my kiss on my wedding day before I kissed the bride.

In memory of Charlie, I always wanted to turn its body into a dog skin rug, like those tiger skin rug, for our sofa (Pat is dropping sweat while reading this line). Pat doesn’t think it is a good idea plus it is already too late, the body is already cremated. Maybe we could name our future son Charles Chan in memory of Charlie. If there is reincarnation, I believe Charlie will incarnate to be our son to continue the predestined affinity.  Goodbye Charlie, may you rest in peace.

Daily Scribble

Missing chapters in college days

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Block university has a applied disablity study program that is related to Pat’s studies in autism, so we drove to St. Catherine to take a look at the university campus.  Comparing to the huge campus of UBC, Block seems very small.  Even SFU or Waterloo seems big comparing to the several connecting buildings that is all of Block’s campus.  The university campus store can tell you a lot about the character of the university.  I checked out the textbook of the philosophy courses;  I think Block’s philosophy department is much tougher than SFU’s.  The readings are mostly original materials, unlike the comprehension textbooks use in SFU.

When I am browsing the titles in the university bookstore, I realized what I missed in my college days.  Like those portrayed in movies or novels, university suppose to be a place for the quest of knowledge.  Students should carry those thick wordy books around, then they sit under the sun and talk about the wildest ideas.  They would have many complaints against the society, the government, the corporate, basically complain about the adult world in general.  They dream about the future and talk about how they would make a change.  Thinking back what I have done in my university days, it seems my time outside of classroom are mostly wasted.  I just spent endless nights playing Warcraft with friends in the computer lab, went to Karaoke and get drunk on the many weekends.  I should have read more books, pretend to be more intellectual and maybe even join some movement for a noble cause.

Daily Scribble

The process or the result

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I have a friend quited her job and went to study MBA planned for a career change.  Very unfortunately, now she graduate right in the middle of the fiancial crisis.  Jobs opening is drying up everywhere, especially on the traditional MBA related industries.  This year is a very though time for a MBA graduate.  Luckily, although she quited when she went back to school, she is able to get back her old job.  It seems things is not changed at all for her, except she lost a year of salary, the accumulated benefits and got a huge debt for the tuition.

If we are just looking at the result, yes, she seems to be worse off than before.  However, there are many things cannot be quantified with a dollar sign.  Instead of seeing it as a failed attempt of career change, it can be seen as a sabbatical.  My friend always dreamed to study aboard and experience a different country.  That was her last chance to experience the school life full time before she is too old to enjoy that.  The course work she learned in school might not be very useful, but who knows what might come in handy one day.  Most important of all is she had tried to go after her dream.  No matter what is the outcome, she won’t have any regrets.  Maybe when she look back in 10 years, her decision quitting her job to go back to school will have a different perspective.

Daily Scribble

You know when it is really hot

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When I was in Bangalore, my friend showed me around the town.  Now, he is visiting Vancouver, it’s my turn to show him around.  I don’t want to taking him to the typical tourist traps.  I have been to those places too many times.  There is one tourist attraction in Vancouver I won’t mind going back again and again, that is the ice-cream shop with 218 difference flavors of ice-cream.  This afternoon in the office, I asked around and see who else wants to have some ice-cream after work.  Two other friends who have heard about this place many times but having get the chance to taste it also interested to come along.  My Indian friend tried the curry and chai tea ice-cream, and complains that doesn’t taste right.  At the end he settle for a more traditional flavor, butter scotch.

After having the ice-cream, we are still hungry, so we decided to have dinner together.  I want to bring Vikram to a restaurant that he don’t have one in India.  One of my friend suggested all you can eat Chinese hot-pot, what a good idea.  So I took them to the hot-pot restaurant I usually go.  As you know, in a hot-pot place, other than ordering the soup base and dishes, you have to order your dipping sauce.  In the menu, they have the normal sauces and the house special spicy sauce.  My Indian friend instinctly want to have the spicy sauce and my two other friends, one is a white guy and the other is also Indian but grew up in Canada, follows. When we made the ordered, the waitress warned the white guy the spicy sauce is really hot.  My friend complained that the waitress discriminate against white guys because she didn’t warn my other two Indian friends.  He ignored the warning and told her to bring it on.  My Indian friends almost made fun of the stereotype that white guys can’t take spicy food.

After a while, the hotpot, the dishes and the spicy sauce came.  The white guy first tried the sauce.  The moment he put the sauce into his month, he drank the whole glass of ice water to chill the heat.  The sauce is too spicy for him.  My two Indian friends were laughing at him.  Then the Indian guy grew up in Canada try the sauce.  He got the same reaction and complains his tongue is burning.  The real Indian guy laughed at him saying that he has no taste for the spice.  Finally, it’s my Indian friend’s turn to try the spicy sauce.  Guess what, the sauce is too hot for him!  You know when it is really hot, if an Indian thinks the spice too hot.

Daily Scribble

Tax return

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April is the time to file the tax return.  This year’s tax return is a little difference than last year’s.  My status in the file has changed from single to married.  In the point of view of Revenue Canada, nothing much is changed.  We still have to file two seperate tax return instead of a common couple return.  The only benefits is I can transfer some unused tax credit from Pat under my return.  I have a higher marginal tax rate so it is better to claim the credit under my name so we can get more refund.

Support in Quick Tax for marriage couple is pretty good.  I can file two return under the same file and the software will take care of copying the required information between the two sets of forms.  It also has some tips on how to optimize the refund between the couple.  It is almost perfect except it is missing one feature.  I can’t merge the data from last year’s tax return for both of us.  I can only transfer last year’s data from one file and have to mannually enter the data for the other one.

Last year, my company changed the medical insurance coverage from 100% to 80%.  I didn’t realize I can claim tax credit for the remaining 20%, so I didn’t keep the recipts.  Damn… I could have get back ten or twenty bucks more from the government.  Next year, I have to remind myself to file all my dental and drug recipts.