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My kid & my money went to University of Toronto!
Actually, the T-Shirt that my daughter Michelle got me, says "My Kid & My Money Go to the University of Toronto". But, I figure now that she's graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, I can change it to past tense. 
Congratulations, Michelle!
As a parent, this is a proud moment. It's a major accomplishment, and the beginning of a bright future for a young woman. Well, it's also the day that I've fulfilled my part. The rest is up to her. OK, kid, you're on your own! I can now start saving for my BMW! With any luck, I may just get it before I turn 60 ... 
That's the family (me, Michelle, Christine, Andrew) at Michelle's graduation. Click the picture to enlarge.
More pictures can be seen here.
Posted by Ba on Tuesday 24 June 2008 - 09:31:00
Add/Read Comments: 2|
Bonjour, Montréal!
Well, it's been more than a month since I'm back in Montréal, minus a week when I had to make a trip to San Francisco. Considering that in 2007 I spent more time outside Canada (mostly United States, but also Europe and Asia Pacific) than in Canada, this is a good change. But, I must admit, of all places, Asia Pacific is more exciting and to my liking, now that I'm older and seem to have the "urge" to return to my roots.
However, as I've previously written in this blog, I like the city and have enjoyed my stay here. Besides, indications are that I'll be in Montréal for a while. I've thought about renting an apartment again, but for now I'm quite happy staying at a hotel. I'm just too lazy to have the responsibility of living in an apartment.
Perhaps I'll try to learn some French this time.
Posted by Ba on Monday 19 May 2008 - 17:13:53
Go ahead. Make his day!
I don't like Stephen Harper, period. Not because I think he doesn't have any charisma whatsoever. I simply don't trust him. He is the most right wing prime minister that Canada has ever had. Heck, he is the most right wing leader of a major political party in this country. But you would never know because he has somehow "changed his views", sounding more "liberal". Yeah, right.
Given the real or perceived weakness of Stéphane Dion, Leader of the Official Opposition, Harper has been itching for a general election. Despite the fact that he could govern until October 2009, unless his minority government loses a non-confidence vote. He has been challenging the Liberal party to bring down the government. Harper wants a majority. He probably believes that he can get a majority if we have an election sooner rather than later. The government may just engineer their own defeat. What the heck. Harper wants an election. Give him one!
I've voted for the Progressive Conservative party before the merger with Canadian Alliance (Reform). But I will never vote for Conservative as long as Harper is the leader. Having said all of that, I'm fine with Harper being the prime minister of a minority government. Make no mistake about it. If the Conservatives form a majority government, we will see a very different Stephen Harper emerging as our prime minister. Harper is running such a tight ship in his minority government that it is literally a one-man show. He is even trying to control the media. Since when did we have a U.S. style Canadian president, er, prime minister?
Posted by Ba on Friday 14 March 2008 - 23:26:44
Tribute to Angie Lau
This time of the year is supposed to be joyous and for us to celebrate the holiday season, regardless of our religious conviction. Instead, I'm deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Angie, wife of my good buddy, Ser Chai that I reunited recently. I met Angie for the second time only in my recent trip to Malaysia. Angie died of cancer on Saturday, December 22, 2007. The news of her death was shocking as we had no idea of her condition. She looked perfectly fine and healthy when I saw her. My heart goes out to my buddy Ser Chai, their 3 sons and all members of his family, having to endure such a tragic loss. Life is indeed too short.
Posted by Ba on Tuesday 25 December 2007 - 12:48:18
Homecoming
I
’m a stranger in my hometown. That’s my feeling on my second return trip to Muar, the small town in Malaysia where I was born and grew up. I left Malaysia in late 1975, returned only for the 1st time in 1990, and now for the 2nd time. I can hardly recall the 1990 trip, never mind 1975.
After 2 weeks of project work in Shanghai and Hong Kong, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 17 for a 2-week vacation. I need a vacation badly. More importantly I need to see my family and friends. Sight seeing is the furthest thing on my mind. Places and things will always be there in my lifetime for me to see. People may not always be there or available for me to meet. I didn’t plan this to be a sight seeing vacation. Fortunately, the people I wanted to see didn’t disappoint me. I began to realize that a great deal of time (17 years!) has gone by when I met for the 1st time, children born to my nephews and nieces and their respective spouses since my last visit. I’m a great uncle to these kids!
My “welcoming committee” (my 5th sister, 2 nieces, and a little girl who’s the daughter of the elder niece) met me at the airport. At my 7th sister’s house in K.L., there was already a gathering of folks who were so happy to see me. Preparation for “the big feast” was already well underway. When you come from a big family like mine, it’s hard to keep track of who’s who, especially among the next generation. More people started to show up and then it was time to forget my diet.
Everyday, it
’s one big feast after another. It’s a good thing I started a daily 5 km run about 3 months ago. I’m determined to keep up with it, more than ever. I could really get used to jogging in this part of the world, despite the heat. You just have to choose your time; although it’s more comfortable in the morning than late afternoon. Since I made some adjustments to my daily diet, I can resist the temptation of food. But everyone seems to think I need to try this and that, and eat more. I have to constantly say that I don’t eat nearly as much as I used to. However, it seems I still eat about twice as much as I normally do. 
After 2 days in K.L., it
’s time to return to my hometown. It's a rare occasion to see all my 5 brothers. For the most part, I find that Muar hasn
’t really changed all that much since 1990. The progress is much slower than I’d expect in 17 years. The downtown street where I grew up looks the same, except for some of the stores. The storm drain that is part of the sewage is still very much openly visible, and as disgusting as ever. It
’s amazing that I actually grew up on that street. How did I survive? There’s a lot more traffic on the road now, yet there’re no crossing lights. You more or less have to “force” your way to the other side by halting the traffic with your hand signal and pray that you don’t get run over. High Speed Internet, a necessity for me, is uncommon in Muar. My brother finally helped me find an intenet café, where they have free wireless internet. However, most of the time I have to use dial-up! It’s like the Dark Ages, in computer years!
My family arranged a homecoming dinner at a local restaurant, and invited many relatives, most of whom I haven’t seen in at least 17 years. To my delight, a few of my high school buddies were able to attend. They were Leng Song (who drove 2 hours from Kulai), Ser Chai (still in Muar) and Wan Leet (visiting from London, U.K.). Steven didn
’t make it back to Muar, but I did meet him while I was in K.L. How I wish I could take the same photo for the 5 of us now, like in this flashback. After dinner, we went for drinks. I asked Ser Chai where are the girls we used to hang out with in 1975. He jokingly said they might be grandmothers by now. Well, grandmother or not, I
’d have been thrilled to see them. Time flies when you’re having fun! The most emotional part of my visit to my hometown was to the cemetery where my parents were buried. It
’s hard to believe this is only the second time that I’ve been there.
My 5th sister and I took the bus to Johor Bahru and then a taxi from the border to Singapore. The trip was uneventful. The Malaysian-Singapore causeway is still the same. Surprisingly, with the volume of traffic, it
’s nowhere as hectic as the U.S.-Canada border crossing at Niagara Falls or Fort Erie. The highlight of my trip to Singapore was to visit my good friend and former roommate, Nicky. This is the smartest guy I
’ve ever known. It’s amazing what he has accomplished and I
’m very proud of him. It’s a far cry from our experience as students in the U.K. I felt privileged to be invited into his home and met his wonderful family: his 2 handsome boys and the lovely ladies (wife and daughter). Until that dinner in Shanghai in August 2007, Nicky and I last saw each other in August 1978 before I left the U.K. While in Singapore, I also managed to catch up with 2 wonderful friends, Ken and Chew Ee. It's great to see all these folks.
After the Singapore trip, it
’s time to wind down for a few more days in Muar. It’s a very strange feeling to be back in my home country. I couldn’t help but wonder the “what-if, should’ve and could’ve”. If I didn’t immigrate to Canada, I would’ve completed my studies in the U.K. and returned to Malaysia. Life would’ve been definitely very different. Would I have made the same decision if I had a “crystal ball” then and saw what I’ve seen in the last 2 weeks? The answer is definitely “Yes”. Malaysia is where I grew up, but Canada is home. I’m not sure if I could say I’m better off or worst off. Now that I’ve lived in Canada for so long, I think the probable Asia Pacific cities that I can “survive” now (or I should say, get used to) are Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. I can probably get used to living in Hong Kong too, but I definitely can’t get used to living in my hometown.
As a Malaysian born Chinese now living in Canada where we have the liberty of freedom of speech, I can’t avoid talking about politics. Being away for so many years, I’m not going to pretend that I know Malaysian politics. One thing I do believe is that Malaysia has not made nearly enough progress that it should have. I think in the 32 years since I’ve left the country, Malaysia should’ve made so much progress that it should be right behind China. Malaysia has the potential to be the economic superpower in South East Asia. Instead, it’s becoming more like Indonesia, primarily due to government policies. It's fine to provide opportunities and encourage the country's predominantly rural Malays to improve their lives. Spoon feed them and promote discrimination would only foster a culture with a desire to do nothing. The result is not progress, but incompetence, laziness and inefficiency. The country is at least 2 decades behind in terms of the progress it could’ve made. If the trend continues, Vietnam will surpass Malaysia in economic progress. After almost 3 decades of replacing English with Bahasa Malaysia (national language) as the medium of instruction in the public school system, there is a pool of educated people without English language skills to operate within the global economy. Even China realized a long time ago the importance of English language skills. You don't need to be a genius to know that Bahasa Malaysia is totally useless outside Malaysia. I think there are Malays who can help change that, but are among the silent minority. Many have probably left the country to live somewhere else. Unfortunately the vast majority of people have no clue what is destroying the country. I think it’d take at least 2 more generations before we could potentially see any constructive changes. It's really a shame.
When my visit was coming to an end, I couldn’t help but felt 30+ years of “void”. There is so much about my childhood and teenage years that I can’t remember. It’s as if I have no idea where I’ve been all these years. Somehow that memory is blocked and I don't know how to release it. Reconnecting with some friends from my childhood did help somewhat, but not nearly enough. There are somethings I remember, like the Muar River where I used to hang out while growing up.
The day before I left K.L., thanks to Steven, there was a small farewell gathering of high school friends: Steven, Leng Chan, Chan Guan, Lee Fatt and Fred, at my 7th sister
’s place. Once again, I had no recollection of many things mentioned by my friends in our conversations. In fact, I thought one was someone else, and could hardly recognize another two. So I said to them, "whoever you are, thanks for coming". I suddenly wish that I could live forever to make up for the “lost time”. Life is simply too short. I must visit this part of the world a lot more frequently than twice in the last 32 years.
Finally, with sadness, it was time to go. Some of my folks gave me a send-off at the airport. So long, folks. Until next time … see photos of my homecoming trip of friends, family, and places.
Posted by Ba on Sunday 02 December 2007 - 03:15:34
