Life with Derek

life as I know it, pt. 1

2010-10-29T00:00:00.007-04:00

it's all just

work. eat. sleep.

or is it?

pt. 2 coming soon...

37 random lessons from University.

2010-09-29T22:48:00.000-04:00

University is finally behind me. There are way too many mixed feelings I have moving on, but it has DEFINITELY been the most amazing time of my life thus far. True Story.

Yes, I've finally departed from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelors & Masters in Accounting. See ya later, Nerd Derek!

(I don't actually look like that in school)

Being in the workforce now is a crazy change, but I thought I'd sit down and spend a little bit of time putting together just a random list of things that come to mind when I think about my University life. Don't ask why there's 37 of them. I just like the number, I guess.

Not everything may apply to you, but hopefully it will bring back some great memories for you oldies or give you youngins some excitement for what's still to come in your remaining years! Cheers.

1. Smile. It’s the best time of your life.

2. Doing bad on a course isn’t the end of the world. (I somehow made it!!!) - Oddly enough, barely getting just above a passing grade can often feel more victorious than hitting 90’s

3. Never be afraid to be you.

4. Hardcore study schedules don’t work. There is no way a human can study for 14 hours straight, 4 days in a row. I’ve tried.

5. Exercise. The health, discipline & body you leave university with will likely be the one you have for life.

6. Be adventurous. Don’t always just stick to some strict sleep schedule. Go out and have fun. You’re not going to look back 10 years down the road and remember that night you slept on time.

7. Sleeping on the floor is not comfy. Using phonebooks as pillows helps a bit... but you’ll still probably wake up feeling pretty crappy.

8. Try to have ten minutes each week to just sit by yourself and reflect on the past week.

9. Step out of the house at least once a day. Even if it’s just one step out the door then back in. It’s quite sad how many times I actually had to force myself to do this.

10. Don’t overdo #6. You might not finish University.

11. Spend the time to make really, really-really; really good friends. These are the people your kids will call ‘auntie’ and ‘uncle’

12. Learn how to cook. 'Making' instant noodles is not cooking.

13. You need hobbies. Studying is not a hobby.

14. Treat your classmates as friends, not competition. Even if you’re in Accounting & Financial Management.

15. Feel free to act immature at times. It’s somewhat still expected at the University level, and often amusing. Doesn’t really apply after you enter the workforce.

16. Take some time to think about religion and life. Conformity into popular-culture driven society can swallow you up the older you get without any foundation.

17. If your housemate plays their music too loud, then just tell them. nicely.

18. Talk to your program friends about things other than school. You’ll probably find they’re not just studying machines, despite your impression of them.

19. Be interested in other people’s lives. Why they’re studying their program, what’s important to them, why they do what they do. You’ll have a better understanding of the world.

20. You don’t have to get drunk, do drugs or sleep around to ‘be cool’.

21. Get involved in things outside of your classes. Friends outside of your program are crucial.

22. Take pictures. If you have a memory like mine, you’re going to want to be able to look back and reminisce (aka remember anything at all).

23.Remind yourself what you’re working towards. Think about what you want in life, at least once, at the start of every term.

24. Smile, yell and give high fives when something good happens in your life/your friend’s lives.

25. A lot of the time, the courses we thought were bird courses… we end up doing worse on because we never really put in any effort.

26. Cherish all the spare time you’ll have in University. You may not think it’s much... but just wait till work.

27. Ask the stupid questions. You wouldn’t want to be friends with the people who think you’re stupid because of it, anyways

28. You’ll never know who you’ll meet and where. Do your best to bring your A-game, ladies & gents, always ;)

29. Be humble.

30. Hospitality. Embrace it. University for those who moved away from home is the first place you’re going to learn the concept of hospitality. I have profound respect for those who let me eat their food, drink their dranks, crash on their couches., etc.

31. Do a little research on the books you have to buy each term. Take that extra bit of time to check the used book store or online (new – amazon, etc; used-craigslist, etc.) You can seriously save hundreds. Use that to upgrade your mac&cheese meals to steak for a week!

32. Wear clothes you like/are comfy in. Work clothes everyday isn’t nearly as great as PJ’s in class

33. Introduce yourself to people you’ve yet to meet but start seeing on a regular basis. Otherwise, you’ll reach this awkward period of knowing each other by name, but still never really ‘meeting’ each other yet. It can drag on for a... long... time.

34. Keep no record of wrongs. People will probably give you the shaft at times. You probably will to others too. Don’t let it get to your head.

35. Try learning. Remember that University is meant to educate, not just hand out credentials. You’ll realize that a piece of paper is the craziest thing to devote 4-5 years of your life to.

36. Write down assignment dates at the start of the term. It really sucks finding you missed the deadline for a major assignment. like. really.

37. Believe in awesomeness. Not in a cocky way. But know that you are definitely capable of bringing something unique, exciting and refreshing into this world. Just be you(awesome).

(how could I not end a list with awesomeness?)

DQOTD: Any of the random madness apply to you? Let me know in the comments below!

blissedit4.png

2010-09-28T23:43:00.000-04:00

download: right click, save image as

once downloaded:
Right click screen; display properties (personalize - win7), desktop, set background as: [browse] blissedit4

BRB - AFK

2010-09-16T19:16:00.000-04:00

UFE over!

Dominican for a week! flight leaves tomorrow!

Full time work after that! gulp*

No blog/facebook/msn/gtalk/emails for a week... amazing. haha.

p.s. why do people always click the stupid button on my blog?

UFE > MCAT & losing my 407 virginity.

2010-09-13T21:07:00.003-04:00

Alrighties ladies and gents.

UFE is just about 12 hours away. In light of that, I thought I'd finally get around to posting my UFE vs. MCAT post. =D (all in good fun. don't be offended, healthy people =p)

Time:
UFE: 13 hours over 3 days. no breaks during each sitting (5hours / 4hours / 4hours)
MCAT: 5 hours & 20 mins. AND 4x 10 minute breaks?

Subjects:
UFE: 7 total - Performance measurement & reporting; Assurance; Taxation; Finance; Management Decision Making; Pervasive Qualities; Governance, strategy and risk management
MCAT: 4 total - Biological sciences; physical sciences; verbal reasoning & writing

Pass/Fail:
UFE: Straight up Pass or Fail. There's actually THREE different ways to fail on the UFE (see image)
MCAT: You just get a scale 'rating' & a number back...

Marking:
UFE: 3 month marking period
MCAT: 1 month marking period

Results:
UFE: Determines whether you'll get a professional designation or not
MCAT: just something you need to get into SOME schools (you don't even need MCAT to get into some med schools!!!!)

Haha. No hate to science people =p. Just wanted to have some fun. UFE and MCAT are completely different exams for different purposes, I know =p. haha. But in all honesty, UFE has definitely been a pretty intense prep period... but I'm super excited just to get it out of the way and move on in life... assuming I pass =|. oh dear.

Losing my 407 virginity

UFE is tomorrow and the writing center is the International center in Sauga.. which I've never even heard of/been to, so I decided to wake up early today and find out where it is so that I'm not wasting time being lost tomorrow. Just took a few pics along the way. Definitely a nice morning drive.

Bright morning sunshine:

FIRST 407 DRIVE EVVVAAAAAARRRRR

How about I take a picture of YOU. how do you like it... HUH?

Just... long... open.. road... *drool*

Where dreams are made... (who am I kidding. no one dreams of being an accountant =p)

I think it said there was a Revlon/Johnson&Johnson sale in the room beside us.

The parking lot was so big and empty... so I did a mini autocross to take advantage of it =D.

It was nice and crisp outside so decided to take a quick pic of my car.

Since last time I took photos on the road people starting reminding me of the no handheld law... let's just pretend I had a passenger documenting the trip for me. yah? awesome.

weeeeee in any case - That's it for tonight. UFE countdown - 12 hours.

Good luck to all my fellow UFE writers. put on your game face andddd yeah. see y'all on the flip side.

details of my last month: detailing.

2010-09-12T22:03:00.002-04:00

So I clearly have not existed on my blog. Studying for the UFE is more mentally draining than I could have imagined so blogging wasn't at the top of my priority list.

UFE is coming up on Tuesday (and Wednesday... and Thursday...) but I thought I'd take a change of pace and get back on the blog for a bit. In my spare time, I've attempted to be as physically active as possible. Add in good weather... the only natural choice is to detail cars.

Detailing is a passion of mine. Many people keep telling me to do this as a side business... which I've considered. Next summer I'll probably start booking/charging for family/friends/referral details.

In any case, this summer has been all about detailing as many friend's cars so I can continue testing new products and seeing what I like.

The goal of my details: Bring the car's cleanliness back up to (and majority of the time, beyond) the condition it was in, brand new. Because I use top quality products and always finish off with a good wax/sealant, it's pretty easy to top new car quality.

Just thought I'd share some of the work I've done this past month:

To show some of the awesomeness that goes into detailing:
Leonard hit my car in the middle of summer leaving this:

After polishing and doing some quick touchups, leaves this:

Its not perfect, but not even noticeable unless close up. If i really cared, I would sand my touch-ups and polish/blend it in... but I don't care enough. lol. Tofu (my car) is going to be gone after winter!!!

Okay. onto some client cars.
2010 BMW 3.28 sedan - Metallic Black

look at that shinneeee. love black cars

signature reflection shot

2010 Subaru Imprezza SE 5dr - Pearl Black (it's just a gloss black =p)
pics on this at the end weren't that great since it was gloomy/raining when we finished.

signature reflection... but of the owner.. not me =p

only cool thing about raining on a finish is seeing the beading take place

2010 BMW 3.28 coupe Sport Package - Metallic Black
the rims on this car took like 50% of the detail time. lmao. so sexy.

signature

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T Premium Package- Nordschleife Grey
too bad it wasn't in kimchi red or bulgogi brown.

hawt.

I got this thing 1.5 weeks old. It was fun seeing how much NICER I could make it than when it was picked up. the test drive after the detail was fun ^^. the thing goes like nothing.

Ford GT

j/k. I wish I could detail this monster. =(

Also detailed the pop's CL500 and the mum's CRV... but no pics.

Of course, my car gets to get in on the action.
2003 Mazda Protege 5 - Pure White
with modssssssssssssssssssssss worth absolutely nothing on tradein =(.

mmmm fresh wax with perfect beading

my car also does a light show at night.

Detailing is also a transferable skill!
Wanted to take some scratches off my watch.
50:50 on the buckle. left side polished (not washed yet) and right side untouched.

So that's a month of detailing. The season is pretttty much over... especially since I'll be on vacation for a week after UFE. Have a few more cars to do as favours to friends... but if you want a detail, be sure to book an appointment for next year early!

Okay. enough with my obsession for clean cars. More normal posts coming up soon!

ka-ra-tay skills & detailer's purgatory.

2010-08-01T03:03:00.000-04:00

Allo!

Slowly going to be back on this thing called a blog. Two quick updates!
Was preparing a vid for what I shared on Friday for my last CCF and stumbled upon another vid from a bit ago I thought everyone might enjoy... =|.
I'm not sure how many of you knew, but I used to be pretty involved at the Karate Dojo. For your enjoyment, here is how Len & I handle plates of steel.
KA RA TAYYYYY!

Also, i'm DONE SCHOOLLLL!!!. But that just means studying in Waterloo during the weekdays to prep for UFE =S. But back to Toronto for the weekends!
And being back in Toronto most weekends now means DETAILING. Detailing = utmost perfection of car cleaning and making it look amaazzzzinnng. It's been a hobby of mine for a few years now and I've been building up my collection of stuffs.

I can't quite say I reached detailer 'heaven' yet... since there are still a few things on my list still to get. Foam gun, some brushes, and it would be nice to not have all my stuff stored in boxes and a nice brightly lit garage to keep it all in... that would be nice. BUT, since that is yet to be, I shall remain in detailer's purgatory for a while. It's alright.

In any case, here's my collection of stuffs to date! Just picked up the rotary polisher recently. muahahaha.

Those are my two quick little updates. I'm off to London Ontario for a week for UFE training! Be back in a week, world!

the end of an era.

2010-07-24T13:01:00.001-04:00

Today marks 5 more days of university. wow.

Obviously just been a bit too busy to maintain my blogs the last few weeks, but once school is all good and done, I'm sure I'll be back.

Just a quick run-down of the last things here @ UW.
July 16th, 2010
MAcc Softball Tournament!
Definitely had an awesome time spending a beautiful day outside in the sun playing softball with fellow Masters students!!! Was definitely a super fun day. Plus I got an awesome sock tan.

July 21st, 2010
My LAST presentation of University.
Kinda awesome how the theme of it was Batman (auditman) and Robin (review boy). Yes. Accountants are lame. It consisted of cheesy acting, spinning face ppt animations, nerf gun target practice and rocket popsicles.

Yes, all in all, what a way to give one last presentation ever.

Also, in commemoration of what is probably the last Wednesday out and aboot, a trip to my alma mater, V1 for dinner (PIZZA NIGHHTTT) followed by bomber. long night =|.

Thanks everyone for making the last Wednesday night out a memorable one!

July 22nd, 2010
of COURSE... have to hit up YE'S one last time. Hey FM's, remember that term we were here pretty much every week? gross.

July 23st, 2010
MAcc exit lunch. Free lunch from the school to send us off. All I remember are excessive amounts of lasagna and passing out for an hour once I got home...

Last time leading worship for UWCCF. Didn't help that I was still recovering from a messy throat/allergies, but s'all good. I'll miss it, despite never really being that good at it =p.

Things to come in the next few days:
Monday - LAST University exam EVER. I need to not fail this.... or else all this 'last things' will.. not actually be the last. lol.
Softball FINALS. Somehow Robot Unicorns is in the intramural finals.
Tuesday - Showing some Campus Love by giving out free ice cream floats. probably at SLC 2:30-4:30.
Wednesday - LAST TWO PROJECTS EVER DUE!!! FREEDOM AFTER THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday - Last UWCCF Sharing Night ever =|.

wowza. And that'll be all she wrote.

Definitely the end of an era.

However, this blog will still continue on to document the exciting life of Derek as he studies for the UFE in September. fun fun.

NERRFFFF: Len and Derek are top notch University students

2010-06-28T11:13:00.001-04:00

Clearly, being busy with school, it was absolutely necessary to waste time playing with... NERF GUNS.

It's good having a housemate back who shares my sense of childishness. Welcome back from Ukraine, Len!

Part 1 - (S)kills Competitions - target practice
Some of these are slightly dull. Just playing around...

Target #1 - Thermostat

Target #2 - Paper Towel Roll

Target #3 - The Camera

Target #4 - Each other's face

Part 2 - WARRRR
What starts off as an innocent target competition turns into all out pandamonium... for Leonard.
Turns out pretty well for me. =D

Part 3 - Bonus Material - Weapon X
Applying childish dreams to adult innovation:
Weapon X, test 1

Weapon X, test 2

My favourite parts are each time we check if the gun has any more ammo. Bad practice to point the gun right at our faces. lmao.

Once again, just thought the world could use more reminders of how awesomely not (im)mature I am!!!

DQOTD: What other targets for (s)kills competitions can we use or fun videos to shoot?

derek doesn't need glasses.

2010-06-23T13:45:00.002-04:00

but he wears them for fun!

For those who don't know, somehow I have 20/20 vision, despite my family being pretty blind (my sister only has night driving glasses).

But for some odd (normal for me) reason, I have a strange fascination with wearing glasses. I think they're fun.

In any case, over the years I've collected photos of me wearing other people's glasses. Here is that collection!
p.s. some of these are olllddddd pics.

1) Dee Chow's glasses

2) David Khuu's glasses

3) Elena Wang's glasses

4) I forget

5) Manika Choi's glasses

6) Unknown

7) Sally Ip's... these are fake.

8) Elena Wang... again.

9) John Kim glasses

10) Brian Lee's glasses

11) Billie Leung's... i think?

12) Brian Lee's glasses (again)

13) Did I mention that I DO own my own, fake glasses?

THAT is an OLD pic!

I'm probably going to get another fake pair before I finish school since I'm still under my parent's insurance plan. What style suits me best??? cast a vote!

ice cream shenanigans.

2010-06-20T16:41:00.000-04:00

Decided to make a post dedicated to my love of icecream... and playing with it.
If any of you need a reminder of why playing with your food is awesome.... (click)

Anywhos. Many of you will remember my icecream creation from earlier this summer:

And I now present to you, many other things you can do with your icecream cone!
trying to recreate the machine swirls... using your tongue:

write your name around the icecream cone... only 'D E' pictured:

make an elf/smurf thing:

side view!:

hey, what's that?:

it's... it's... it's curving!!!

LOOP COMPLETE!

I have to say... making a loop was quite difficult. I am pretty impressed with how my ice cream manipulation skills have grown still so early into the summer.

Oh, did I mention that I just entered into a new stage of life by convocating from University?
my parents must be proud.

Just thought the world could use a reminder of how immature I am [supposed to be].

the return of DQOTD.

2010-06-13T00:36:00.000-04:00

Soooo I ran out of instant noodles... and I need to restock on them. The only question is...

DQOTD: What instant noodles flavour should I stock up on?

Sesame

Chicken

Cast your votes in the comments below!

7 random thoughts derek gets in class.

2010-06-10T16:21:00.001-04:00

Bored in class. decided to let my brain take over.

1. If God could microwave a burrito so hot, He himself could not eat it… what flavour would that burrito be?

2. What kind of architect designs the evil villain lairs?

“I want the poisonous gas to come out that vent… I want this button to trigger a self-destruction sequence in the case my evil lair is compromised… I want this hatch to open so that I can launch my doomsday device from it”

I wonder if jobmine has these kind of positions open for architecture…

3. I wonder what’s worse… permanently having x-ray vision or not having the rules of friction apply to me.

4. HOLY CRAP LOST IS OVER!?!? What a bad ending.

5. Do oompa loompas have emotions?

6. If everyone in the world jumped on the spot where they were standing at the exact same time… what would happen?

7. It would be amazing that if instead of raising our hands to answer a question in class we had to dance in our chairs until we were chosen to respond. (click click click) muahahaha.

my brain is a dangerous place to be... =\

what derek has been up to.

2010-06-08T14:27:00.000-04:00

So I've clearly been missing for quite a while. Besides extensive amounts of work on the car, I'm sure there are many blanks when it comes to what has been going on in my life. Here are some of the highlights from the past month or two =D.

- NA NAAA NAA NA NA. NANANANA NA NA NAA. [that's me singing the Iron Man song]

No better way to start off the term than watching the midnight screening of iron man 2. That's 14 tickets (actually its 15... they printed me one extra by accident). I know there are people who didn't like the movie, but I actually loved it. Robot butt kicking action! Simon Ho, this one had way more robot action.. so you have no reason to not love it.

- Dave & Busters in Toronto to unwind and just play time crisis allll nighttt lonnnggg. Fun times.
I also played ticket games... so that I could win me THIS BABY:

Oh yes. It's beautiful and resides in the backseat of my car permanently.

- One Friday night after CCF, decided to go grab McDonalds. I really wanted a big mac combo (thanks to sean's announcements) so I ordered that. Then I noticed that happy meals were for SHREK.... so I felt obligated to buy one... so I got a nugget happy meal so that I could get my awesome toy =D. This is also permanently residing in my car now.

I was so full afterwards. so much food =\.

- I had Ye's sushi about 3 or 4 times since the term started =\. Pretty gross. I'm going to stop spending my money there.

BUT, of course, I set my benchmark record for sushi eating contest =D.

40 points! I think there are some adjustments I'd like to make to the sushi scorecard... but maybe another time. I still feel full from it (ate about a week ago). No more heavy eating this term =\.

-Batmobile!

-The best Chinese wedding banquet ever. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Congratz to Thomas and Bernice! =D.

- UWCCF
This term, our theme is 'Where is the love?'.

What we're attempting to do is really stretch the fellowship's boundaries in what it means to be a Christian group on campus and to live out 'Love' here @ UW. This really stems from thoughts I've been having when it comes to 'loving your campus', which is why I decided to run operation DPwall back @ the start of winter term:

[That's a cross and the word Love on our campus' main library. We open/closed the blinds on each floor to make that effect... although the blinds aren't too good, so the effect isn't that super =p]
Back to the 'where is the love?': what we're trying to do is a 3 week rotation.
1) BBQs to socialize and converse with friends/strangers over food
2) No strings attached acts of kindness/love to campus
3) Direct campus evangelism

A lot of questions may come up as to why we focused in on those three aspects, but it's largely a result of what Committee has discussed and what we feel is important to, as a fellowship/family, go through to really learn what loving our campus is about. Of course, it's more than just having bbqs and giving out water/freezies on hot days - But it's also more than just shoving the Gospel in people's faces. So what's it all about? Summer term is always a good time to test new things out. Really, we're in the process of learning still and I'm excited for the events to come =).

First BBQ went great, by the way.

Leadership in UWCCF this term has been a great learning experience for me as well. I'm blessed with a really young, adventurous, light hearted and loving committee to serve with. [Whaddup, FPCom!] I'm still learning what it means to pass off my leadership skills/experiences [or lack there of] to help the younger ones in being prepared for their turn to step up into more visible positions. Sometimes I think I just look lazy from the outside... but I'm learning =).

Of course the biggest thing that took up my time the past two months was Campus Challenge 2010. But I think I'll save that for the next post =D.

full spring detail.

2010-05-26T20:04:00.000-04:00

So a day or two after the rust repair it was time to clean up Tofu =).

My spring detail plan: Wash int/ext, Rims/tire wash, Clay bar, polish, 3x wax coats.
That all goes a long way after a whole winter not being washed.

The pics are actually during 2 different detailing sessions during the break, but i'm just going to pile them together. (you'll note in one session it was prior to getting my new tires).

Okay, let's begin with some dirt carnage pics

That was all after a drive up/back to Kingston.

Hey look. I killed a BEE!!!!

dirty dirty mats. some salt stains too

dirt in all the chair crevices

rims & tires all dull and lifeless...

using the dad's bose radio and my ipod for music =D

so quick rinse to loose some things up.

which did basically nothing.

time to bring in the soap and products. too much stuff to name. my collection.

soap for the car: normal car soap + dawn dish soap which removes old car wax

got the wash going on with the mats too

so got the car all soaped and scrubbed. here it is after rinsing the soap off. the water beading is messy and not uniform, which means there's pretty much no wax left =\

soo all dried up but with no finish

some of my fav products are the ones for tires/rims in making a difference on the car. left: rim wax, right: tire shine

before products

after

so the car is all clean, but still no polish/wax yet.

interior looking much better

soooo clay + polish time.

I also had a finishing polish... but didn't get a pic of it.

So the point of using clay bar is to remove contaminants stuck into the paint. here's a sample:

Those all iddy bits are stuck to the paint good. after the clay it's all gone =).

So pre-polish there is still some reflection.. but it isn't very deep or glossy or anything.

so into the garage to do the polish+wax. still pre-polish here

now post polish time =D

anddd add some wax!

oh... here are the meaty new tires =D

reflection time!

so when you have a nice layer of wax on a car it'll bead up nicely since the surface is super slick and smooth. voila!

fixing the greatest eyesore of life.

2010-05-26T14:44:00.002-04:00

DON'T WORRY. I'M STILL ALIVE!!!!!
It's been quite a while since I've blogged and I have a few things I've been meaning to blog... so bear with me as I get back up to speed.

Let's begin with the overdue post on the total 26 hours I spent on my car over the 2 week break b/w winter & spring term (last 2 weeks of April). The whole repair session probably took up to around 12 hours.
For those interested, it's a 2003 mazda protege 5, manual. I bought it used and have had it since October 2007. The car's name is Tofu =).

So my car has been getting quite a bit of rust on the rear fender. Decided to grind it down and repaint. During the process I decided to repaint my badges and rear valence too since they were getting fugly. Here is the picture story.

WHAT MAKES ME CRY AT NIGHT:
rated R. - parents, hide your children! not for the squeamish

rust & bubbling galore. so sad =(

BRING ON THE DRILL:
I felt so wrong... attacking my baby like this... =S... it's okay Tofu... just bear with the pain for a bit...

grind grind grind.

took out all major rust area and bubbles

all prep'd for paint. Sanded down rear valence (the bottom portion of my back bumper).

the paints for the day. body colour paint. normal primer (valence). rust primer (on metal). clear coat. forgot to include the gunmetal colour spray can for valence/badges.

Badges removed. really annoying taping the Protege badge...

gave em a quick sand and then bring on the primer!

fender rust primer

primer for allllll

and now for the colour coats. gunmetal!

valence getting a coat

badges done with clearcoat

body colour paint on the fenders

after some wet sanding to smooth down the base coat

looks like clearcoat going on here

This is after the clear coat... i think.

okay rear valence done

I was just waiting for things to dry a bit so played around with the angel eyes =D. still look sexxyyyyy

so after all coats, I decided to let the fenders dry fully overnight before tape removal. I actually did clearcoat too heavy and got some yellowing which threw the colour off a bit. After wet-sanding the next morning it fixed most of it. The pic quality goes down since it was dark by this point in time and my phone cam can't handle low light =(

Next morning. reapplied the badges.

So I never really got pics of the actual finish of the fender. I had to do quite a bit of smoothing/wet sanding to clean it up and get rid of the tape line. I used my touch-up paint (brush) to cover the line created from the tape and then sanded that down to be a smooth transition. In the end it turned out quite well. I don't see any more rust. Nor do I even notice the transition from the paint. If I'm looking SUPER hard, I can find it... but that's me.. and I'm already pretty picky.

In the end. I'm super super glad I got this done before the summer. This being probably the second last summer I have the car, I want to enjoy it while I can =)

Post-detail results in the next post!

where is the love waterloo?

2010-05-15T01:04:00.003-04:00

enjoy!

two weeks in toronto. drum roll. my top 7.

2010-05-03T01:15:00.006-04:00

So I’m finally back in the loo… and that means that my blogs get my attention again!! Hurrah!

I clearly took a hiatus for two weeks while I was in Toronto (and a bit more due to exam busyness).

I’m now back in Waterloo for my last term of school ever. 2^nd term of Accounting Masters... which means entering full time work soon =|. booooooooooooooooooo. anyways.

To wet my blogging appetite again, I thought I would just do a quick blog about the 7 best memories of my Toronto break. TCB will get some love in the next few days as well =).

Derek’s two weeks in Toronto top 7 list!

1. Asian BBQ meat on rice
I had this... at least 4 or so times in the 2 week span. Man it is pure awesome. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeat.

2. A fully detailed car

I actually did a lot of work on my car over the break. It was very theapeutic and good exercise. I clocked about 26 hours over the 2 weeks. I shall do a proper post on all the work I did soon though =p. Here's a teaser short of rain water beading up on freshly waxed paint =D.

4. Le Softball

What a fun sport. Good times in the sun!!!!

*actually an old pic... creds to Josh Lo*

5. I scream you scream, we all scream for… WINGS
All stars wings twice in a span of 6 days. I'm starting to see why Brian Lee is so obsessed with them =p. Good times.

6. Oh yeah… and ice cream too

I actually haven't had just a plain ice cream cone in a few years... I usually get the sundae or the blizzard or something. Had a cone @ Ikea and one from McDonalds after a night at Dave&Busters.

This is me... trying to eat the ice cream in the most unique way possible. I dripped some on my pants =(.

7. Flower-patterned bed sheets
Okay... this pic isn't even of my bed. What I meant to say is that I got a good amount of sleep. Definitely feel rejuvinated, and yes it happened in my bed with flower-pattern bed sheets. yeah. whaddup. I drooled a lot too. They say it's a sign of good sleep. ^^. Or maybe I was just dreaming about #1.

Oh and you know what... special mention for my sister's dog, Bailey, that I got to dog sit for a night. What a cute lil thing.

Okay. Waterloo. I'm back. Let's do it up, one last time.

and also bringing back...
DQOTD: What is your best between-terms memory?

cue arnold voice.

2010-05-01T20:48:00.002-04:00

i will be back....

SOOOOOON!

the official AYCE sushi scorecard.

2010-04-12T00:22:00.008-04:00

Okay friends...

So after having AYCE sushi lunch @ Ye's today, I realized that there has been some confusion around the scoring system for AYCE sushi contests, in particular at Ye's Sushi in Waterloo.

As it is my graduating year, I have long pondered what my greatest contribution will be to my younger year friends as I depart... this very well may be it.

Some History:
This scorecard was originally developed in 2008 when myself, nathan and mikee decided to compete in the sport of AYCE sushi.
It has undergone numerous revisions since inception to make sure it balances and keeps the spirit of competition where it should be at. Be reminded, this is a sushi contest.

Disclaimer:
- This IS the OFFICIAL scorecard. Why? Because I'm the only one crazy enough to put this together the night before an exam... and as far as I know, it doesn't exist elsewhere. Therefore, win.
- It is your choice whether or not to modify the scoring system, but trust me... to keep the most fun in the games, this is where it's at. I don't claim that it is perfect, and it will continue to be modified as is seen fit, but go with this for now for a good time.
- The scoring system may not apply perfectly at other AYCE sushi locations, but use discretion and modify where necessary.
- I am not responsible for any sicknesses or if you decide to engage in gluttony.

Some Rules:
- General point system must be agreed upon before ordering by participants.
- If food arrives and it clearly does not constitute a fair grade in relation to the originally agreed upon system, an adjustment is permitted if 75% agrees to a point system adjustment. Otherwise, don't touch it and send it back.
- 2 hour eating limit.
- No vomiting. Honour system here.
- No disassembling of sushi permitted. You have to eat the avocados.
- No pieces can be left on the table before leaving the restaurant. There's starving children all over the world, guys. c'mon.

Without further adieu, here are the score cards:

back:

With this system, most people average between 30-40 on a normal day.

Update Log:
This scoring system currently has gone through 2 major revisions (currently on V.3). Please note that all these revisions were seriously considered over multiple visits. Numerous factors have been taken into account and updated versions were only released once there was a high enough level of confidence in the adjustments.
adjustments since...
v.2:
- tempura shrimp once again reduced to 1/4. 1/2 was still easy$$
- Edamame was reduced from 1/2 per 7 pods to zero. it was just dumb counting shells that had been in your mouth. ruined spirit of the game.
- Icecream was reduced to zero. (subjective). same as salad. spirit of the game is for sushi foods... not chilled dairy.
v.1:
- handrolls were originally 3 points. too much easy $$ here. reduced to 2.
- Tempuras were originally 1 point. yeah... not even. so easy to stuff these in. reduced to 1/2.
- Surfclams and scallop were 1/2 points. reduced to 1/4 due to size.
- Soup was 1/2 and reduced to zero. water and tea are not scored, thus soup is not.

Extra Challenges/Games:
Individual:
Hand Roll Challenge: Eat each one of all the available hand rolls
Salmon Sashmi Century Club: Eat 100 salmon sashimi in 100 minutes.
Orthorexia nervosa (huh?): Only eat raw items. Rice is okay.

Team:
Maki World Tour: Order and eat one of each Maki roll
EPIC: One order of each item on the menu

exam schedule.

2010-04-10T17:31:00.001-04:00

So I haven't been on my blogs for a while and won't be till exams finish... but just so that you guys know my schedule and when I'll be back on derkness and TCB... (taking a hiatus from lifeinterjections for a while)

April 10th - ACC 621 final - that was today. it went 'meh'. I fell asleep during the last 10 minutes.
April 12th - ACC 611 final - this is going to be a fun one... (pure, untainted sarcasm right there)
April 14th - MSCI 432 final - the course I attended one class for the entire term. Let's see if I can cram a course in a day and a half =|.
April 16th - Masters paper - will def be much more relaxed working on this...

So i'm going to be a ghost until the 14th... I might show up here and there following the 14th... but we'll see. That masters paper will still take up the majority of the time after the 14th though =(.

In any case... thought I'd update you, world. Thanks for anyone who still happens to check this blog despite the paltry updates.

To compensate... here's a picture. I'll post more about this later though ^^.

this weekend is easter.

2010-04-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

I have a tendency to keep this blog very non-Christian oriented for whatever reason... BUT, I think in light of what this weekend stands for, I'll make an exception.

I'm a Christian. Hi! *waves excitedly*

But I'm sure most of you already knew that. I'm also guessing many of you already have a general understanding of what Christianity is... so how about I attempt to define my beliefs/this weekend(Easter) a bit differently than how you may normally hear it.

I believe that there is more to this world than meets the eyes (Just like transformers).

I believe that society has long turned away from holding to what is good and fallen to the lure of an unholy ideal without even realizing it (Just like The Matrix).

I believe that a saviour for the people doesn't have to be born with super powers (Just like Iron Man or Batman).

I believe that mankind was able to see redemption through the sacrifice of a hero (Just like Bruce Willis in Armageddon, William Wallace, Maximus, Han Solo or Terminator).

I believe that this weekend signifies a more important than normal post on this blog.

There you have it: My explanation of Christianity using modern day references. Of course, the redemption for Christians is through Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross, which Easter represents.

My faith and beliefs are one of the greatest joys of my life. It is often a guiding factor in how I make my decisions, why I smile and why I try to not be prone to what is the norm for the rest of society.

I still fall short and I'm in no way perfect (being perfect isn’t what Christianity is about, btw), but that comes with the understanding that I'm still an imperfect human following what I believe is a perfect faith.

This weekend for me signifies one of the key events in my faith as a Christian. This weekend is Easter.

I challenge you to think about 'life' this week, even if it’s just for a bit... and wonder if there really is more than what meets the eye.

i wish i was a professional e-mail writer/car test driver.

2010-03-23T22:18:00.004-04:00

My day can be summed up in 7 words:
email email email meeting workout eat email.

I should become a professional e-mail writer... seems like I'd be pretty good at it =p.

IN OTHER NEWS:
I had a super fantastic day of rest yesterday =D. I decided to do something I haven't done in a while... go test drive cars for fun!
On impulse I decided to go to the Subaru dealership and check out what will likely be my next car (in a year or two =p). I went in and got some leasing quotes and got to take the Imprezza WRX for a spin. OH MAN WHAT A FUN CAR. Turbo'd AWD. Two of the most amazing auto technologies ever (okay that's up for a lot of debate), but in terms of how they changed/shaped the industry... turbo & AWD are amazing. Sales dude let me rip it down some back streets and around some curves, despite it being super rainy. ahhhhhhhhh suchhhh a solid feeling car. wantttttttttttttttttttt.

This car absolutely eats my protege5 for breakfast. Close to double HP and it picks up rpms like nothing. LOVE IT. I can't wait to switch cars =D. It'll be a good day.

We got back into the dealership and were talking about a bit more lease terms stuff. Then the salesman started trying to persuade me to consider getting an STI (upgraded WRX). For 'only' an addition $60 a month, I could find myself in an STI. I actually thought long and hard about this a while back, and decided I wouldn't get an STI just because it's just up and above what's practical... BUT, I thought I'd let him humour me anyways. In the end, he insisted I take one for a test spin (I told him he would be the death of me).

long story short. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SOOOOOOOO FUNNNNNNNN. even just revving it at start sent shivers down my spine. Exhaust sound is amazing. To be honest, I couldn't tell much performance difference b/w the two during the test. STI adds a bit more tech and you can control torque power to front/wheel, throttle response, etc. which is pretty fun... but at least on the test, perf/speed wise I was fairly restricted... but just the sound is enough to make me melt for it.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it. =D.

mmmmmmmm. Probably heading out to the Audi dealership sometime in the next few weeks =D. Also thinking about the BMW dealership & Mazda for the MazdaSpeed3... although I'm pretty sure I'm set on the WRX ^^.

I want to be a professional car test driver!!!!! =(

Okay. Enough PDA for cars. I've probably made enough of you shake your heads in disgust at me.

oh physical body.

2010-03-19T17:08:00.002-04:00

how I wish you did not slow me down.

being a ghost ninja.

2010-03-18T02:23:00.000-04:00

I actually feel like I've been a ghost ninja the past few weeks. Looking at my # of posts in march vs feb makes me a bit sad.

Needless to say, things have been a bit busy with a HUGE presentation on Monday and one on Wednesday... not including all the assignments due this week.

It feels oddly quiet to not be posting updates about my life... but after next Wednesday I should be able to give much more attention to this blog =D.

At least I still keep my Life Interjections Tumblr blog going daily!!! =D Post #100 coming up soon! I'll probably make a big deal about it.

And hopefully a post coming up to TCB soon, despite not really having time to write.

Okay. That's it for now. Time to sleep. Goodnight world.

the great debate.

2010-03-12T02:40:00.004-05:00

So I've been going around lately initiating a few 'would you rather...' conversations.

Of particular note:

"Would you rather: own an Iron Man suit or have an Optimus Prime that obeyed you?"

has generated some interesting debates, to say the least.

Of course, my pick is the Iron Man suit. You get to wear it.. and fly... and... do ANYTHING.

What's your take? The polls will be open for the next week! Discussion/Reasoning welcome in the comments =D.

Iron Man Suit or Optimus Prime?

my week in 14 twitter-like thoughts.

2010-03-08T01:27:00.001-05:00

Let’s get something straight. I don’t use twitter, nor do I plan to in ANY foreseeable future (yes, even if my life started doing some crazy LOST season 6 alternate reality thing). But if I did, this would have been an entire week’s worth of ‘tweets’… er… thoughts in 160 characters or less:

this guy is kinda cute though...

I miss my snowman =(.

Totally grilled during my team’s ACC683 presentation. But it’s done =D.

COFFEE WIN!!!!!!!!!!!! Derek: 1 Tim Hortons: 5

UFE prep sessions/Mock case exams make me feel ~~kinda~~ stupid… =\... but I’m DEFINITELY thankful for them.

mmmMMMMmmmm. abnormally excessive amounts of sushi for a fixed price. Yum.

It’s been nice having the time to pick up the guitar again.

Pray BIG and pray BOLD. SOVEREIGN, Creator(creative), REveALs, Working. Link.

David Yew. You ruined the singles table. Clare Mok… you scream loud.

CICA Handbook > my poor printer. =(

These brownies at church are AMAZING. I only had one. Honest.

Car washed + Windows down + Music blasting + Aviators on + Sun roof open for the first time in 2010 + Mindless driving around Waterloo = Pure Awesomeness. =)

How glad I am that the webcam was invented.

John Mayer. What’s with your crazy monster hands!??!? BAH! Why Georgia & Neon.

Most. Epic. Wallpapers. Ever. =O

& since the pic kinda sucks: optimus, ironman&warmachine

And that’s a week in the life of Derek!

P.S. I refuse to get twitter. Sorry folks, it’s not going to happen. Seriously.

and so begins a new era.

2010-03-01T00:02:00.007-05:00

As many of you should know, I've shut down thelifemuse and opted to create a NEW blog to take its place, with a pretty different purpose... so we'll say I just had a shift in one of my three personalities.

Well, without further adieu, introducing my latest project:
http://thechristianbubble.blogspot.com/

I'll just let you browse around yourself. Happy Reading, Happy Living.

Oh, and just for kicks, here's a timer that's run out of time:

life is too short...

2010-02-28T12:37:00.001-05:00

to waste thinking about tomorrow.

Poor snowman. He lived a good life. Always thought about making the best of today and not worrying about tomorrow... which was fitting since he didn't even last a single night.

sniff.

Till we meet again, my good friend.

if life gives you lemons...

2010-02-27T15:20:00.000-05:00

Do whatever the heck you want with them.

I was just waiting for it to give me enough snow to make a 7ft snowman.

Introducing the most ghetto snowman in the world.

Just so you have an idea oh how big this guy really is... and how much dannytan loves him:

What a wonderful afternoon activity =D. Unfortunately, we'll need to amputate his arms for garbage day on Monday.

Till next time!

Toodles!

36 hours, 16 minutes, 12 seconds.

2010-02-27T11:43:00.001-05:00

Hello!

Just to build unnecessary hype to the upcoming changes that will be replacing thelifemuse, here's a teaser:

Yup, it's not supposed to make any sense. But that's all you get.

Here's another counter, just for fun too:

blog changes & a slushie.

2010-02-25T00:37:00.009-05:00

SO, I finally decided that I'm going to shut down thelifemuse.

I just haven't quite been able to bring myself to write another blog for it as of late and have had my mind floating on other things. So, sorry to say, but I will be closing it down =(...

BUT INSTEAD, I will be replacing it with something else!!! with what you ask? well, you will just have to wait to find out.

I'll be switching over thelifemuse on March 1st 2010. ~~I will likely transfer over some of my favourites from that blog onto derkness over the next little while so feel free to read them if you haven't, or ignore them if you've already seen them!~~ EDIT: Turns out blogger has an import function so I did that to a few of my favourite posts =). In any case, take this last chance to check out thelifemuse posts as some of them may NEVER see the face of the internet again!

To keep you occupied until then, here's a countdown timer:

In other news, I had a slushie today.

Okay. I know this goes against my train of thought that people who eat ice cream in the winter are crazy... but it was warm today... and I admit that I'm sometimes ~~a bit~~ crazy.

It was QUITE enjoyable though =). Made me think of summer and was a nice little escape from yesterday's blizzard... and the one coming this weekend. fun.

Thats it from me!

deeper.

2010-02-24T14:32:00.007-05:00

// Christian Content //

so this just popped into my head today for no reason.

I'm not sure when the next time I'll be leading with a full band is... but I'm definitely going to look at adding this to the set.

Albeit, it's slightly out of my comfortable vocal range... but I'll just have to train my voice back up to this range again. I got time.

What a great song. (that's a hint to look up the lyrics)

EDIT: I pulled out the whole album on my computer. Actually a pretty awesome one =). It might be my favourite United album from back in the day. Definitely brings me back =D.

pimped. out.

2010-02-21T22:21:00.008-05:00

whaddup!

FINALLY done setting up! Laptop and monitor elevated to eye level for better posture =D. Brownie points if people can identify the textbooks I used to elevate my monitor.

My new speakers blow =(. But they don't buzz spontaneously because of a loose sub cable so win compared to my old speakers!

Very glad to be back in the loo. I feel like I can actually be productive. In other news, I'm FINALLY taking my grad photos tomorrow!!!! (I'll be taking my Masters grad pics in a few months from now too. lol)

Took me a few hours to set everything up... but VERY glad with all my new toys.

Now to take care of all those emails!! oh and homework too... maybe I'll do some of that.

month #2 of daily posts.

2010-02-20T16:24:00.013-05:00

Alrighty friends and family. Here is month 2 of my top posts from my Tumblr (Because I didn't really post anything on my other blogs during this time... lol)

As a reminder, I've been doing my daily posts according to the following schedule:

Hint: If you type the day of the week into the search box, it'll come up with the ones from that day for the past month... except for monday. You have to type "#monday"... all other days without the '#' sign. (don't ask why, I have no idea)

#62 Your parents lied...

Playing with your food is awesome.

#56 What's patience?

Take a lesson from one of the simple things in life…

Act too quickly… and there’s no flavour to what you do

Wait too long… and you’ll overdo it

Knowing the right timing… that’s a little luck, some intuition, and lots of skill.

#49 Understand circumstance.

Those who truly understand life’s circumstances…

are the ones able to say: “the goodness of life is not dictated by my circumstance.”

#53 Humbleness.

#51 Some people...

have WAY too much time on their hands…

Thank goodness =D.

Okay! That's it for the top 5 picks of the month. What's your favourite? (from the top 5 or from the 65+ posts on lifeinterjections).

I'm still considering the purpose of thelifemuse. I'll be writing something for it tonight following up my real work day challenge... but I'm considering just using derkness as an outlet for my encouraging writings. I'm considering changing the purpose of my 3rd blog(thelifemuse) to tackle the post modern-Christian difficulties and how I've learned to deal with them... but that's also touchy.. and takes a lot of time. sigh* what to dooooo????

DQOTD: What kind of posts would you like to see more of from me?

lent.

2010-02-19T23:13:00.003-05:00

For lent this year I'm giving up complaining & takeout food.

The complaining part, just to clean up my attitude and brighten up life for myself and those around me =).

Takeout food because I'm fat.

yeah...

DQOTD: Are you giving up anything interesting for Lent this year?

new setup.

2010-02-17T15:38:00.004-05:00

Yes, for all of you who were oh-so-concerned, I AM indeed still alive!

Last week was quite the crazy week with 7 assignments and 1 midterm... but now i'm back in Toronto for reading week =D everyone celebrate!

I'm looking forward to the remainder of the term, which isn't nearly as busy, but will have its moments.

I am PLEASED to say that I finally decided to invest in a proper setup for my laptop! New a monitor and an external keyboard/mouse!!!! wohooooo! No more bad posture or squinting... ergonomics ftw! I've had quite the time playing around with my new setup thus far =D. I'll have more space on my desk in Loo. Toronto is cramped =\.

I also picked up $30 speakers, but will wait till i'm back in Loo to set those up. I'm sure they'll be QUITE poor quality, but it beats having broken speakers!!!!

In any case, in light of this wonderful new setup, I'll definitely be wanting to put it to good use. The second monitor should help with all my assignments and reduce all the window flipping I have to do... and the lovely new keyboard is very fun to type on, so hopefully some proper blog posts coming soon =D.

Before reading week is over, I have an overdue thelifemuse post and will do another monthly wrap-up of my tumblr.

That's it for this update!

DQOTD: Got any good tips on what's fun to do with two screens????

Currently running 'Ultramon' to manage it.

the culprit reveals himself.

2010-02-08T00:21:00.007-05:00

GG FAHJA!

Sooooooooo. at the strike of midnight on my REAL WORK DAY challenge, I had 106 awesome box clicks (value: 50cents each) and ONE stupid box click.

turns out that ONE stupid click was my dad. -.-

I don't even know how to comment to this... lmao.

and the results are in! real work day challenge wrap-up.

2010-02-06T23:16:00.017-05:00

First off, I'd like to thank everyone for the tremendous amount of support!

What really just started off as one of my normal crazy ideas in the shower transformed into something really fun for myself, and reaches out to multiple good causes! For anyone who wished to 'support me financially', just feel free to donate yourself to World Vision here: clicky clicky

I don't need your money... but they do! (and you'll get your own tax receipt!... I feel like I'm supposed to say that as an accountant. =/)

Edit: Oh, and since I broke the $100 mark, I'll be taking a sabbath day... today! No school work for me =D. let me know if you want to hang out!!!!

The Results:

ALRIGHT everyone. Drumroll time!

***brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttttttttt*** (how do you make a drum roll sound?)

Total amount to donate: $368.00

The breakdown:

And of course, the shout-outs! In order of most honourable mentions!

WORK CLOTHES Full Day Challengers:

- Elena Wang

- John Kim

Full Day Challengers:

- Allison Wong

- James Ng

- Jason Chan

Pictures: Mikee Chan, Chris moo Chan, Chil Phil Chan, Bible Gabeway (Gabriel Loo), Liz Kao, Jacky Chan, Matt Wong (1st yr), Adrian Tang, Doris Tang, Portia Li, Steph Hadi, Clare Mok, Allan Wong, Andy Tse, Simon Ho, Winnie Li, Evan Chong, Clarissa Leung, Mary Chan, Jasmine Tong, Jacqueline Chan, Milton Chan, Jonathan Chan, Melving Ng, Salina Chan, Joses Wong, Allan Lo, Adrian Ang, Josh Kung, Stacey Chong, Jessica Wu, Irene Chan, Sam Lien, Keith U, Jon Ting, Denise Ng, Amy Lo, Sophie Chen, Jon Lin.

Extra props to Elena & Phil for helping me take so many pictures throughout the day!!! & Denise for buying me cookies!

And of course, the pictures I took with all of you was for this:

The 'awesome' box! closed as of midnight!

I'm surprised someone wasted their click to tell me that I'm stupid =p. (yes, you can only click one box, once).

I'm honestly overwhelmed by the amount of people that visited my blog today. It's more hits than I would normally get in half a month... annnddd definitely messed up my ability to track traffic visually on my blog for the next thirty days -.-

What are you talking about? Of COURSE I'm a man of my word:

I want to state that I don't mean to publicize this explicitly or make a big deal out of the donation I made... or allow it to be a statement of me, or how much money I happen to have. Normally I wouldn't publicize something like this, but I do believe in letting y'all know how things went since this all largely depended on you guys meeting the challenge! Thanks again!

A lot of people have congratulated me on the amount I 'raised'. I'd just like to clarify that I didn't raise anything. I just wanted to pour into a good cause myself and am extremely glad to do it in a very fun and creative way. I encourage you all to put your money where your mouth is too! There's way too much excess money in a world filled with an excessive lack of love. What I've done today is really just an insignificant act when it comes to my life as a whole. Remember to live, each and every day, learning to simply LOVE more and to put others first.

Stay tuned for a post on my blog, thelifemuse, as I'll probably explain why I really did this and my thoughts coming out of it.

Cheers&Blessings

-derek

the real work day challenge. 6.2.10.

2010-02-05T16:16:00.008-05:00

OKAY peeps!

Here's the dillio.

Next week (the week before reading week) marks my busiest week of the term. Hence, I will likely have to nerd it up ALL weekend 8).

BUT instead of making this some lame normal super nerdy study session... I thought I'd spice it up a bit to challenge myself and to challenge you!

HERE'S THE CHALLENGE FOR ME: It's been about 6 months since I've been in an office environment. It seems like a distant memory to me, but I remember how productive I was during work terms (mostly working on non-work stuff... lol). In an attempt to MAXIMIZE my efficiency, I will be treating tomorrow, (Saturday, February 6th, 2010... 6.2.10) Like a REAL WORK DAY. I will set up in SLC 2nd floor from 9am to 5pm, no music, no slacking, have a 1 hour lunch break and best of all... I WILL WEAR WORK CLOTHES. YES. I will be done up as I would normally be for work... I'll even break out my glasses.

THE CHALLENGE FOR YOU: Well it's no fun if I go and make an idiot of myself w/o you guys doing anything. You guys have a list of potential challenges to make me donate $ to World Vision for Haiti support!

FOR ANYONE WILLING TO DO THE 9 TO 5 CHALLENGE WITH ME ALL DAY, no slacking, I will donate $20. ($30 if you dress up in work clothes)

FOR ANYONE WHO COMES TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH ME: I will donate $5

FOR EVERY PERSON WHO CHECKS THE "AWESOME" BOX at the bottom of this post, I will donate 50 cents to Haiti!

To top it all off, if I hit at least $100, I will take a sabbath day on Sunday (the following day). Want to make Derek take a break for once? Challenge yourself, to challenge me!

Straight forward? I hope so! It doesn't matter if you're a UWCCFer, an AFMer or just a random person, I WILL count you and your contribution!

Okay folks. It's a shame I didn't prepare this challenge earlier on, but if you snooze you lose! COME VISIT ME TOMORROW! Saturday, February 6th, 2010! 9am-5pm! SLC 2nd FLOOR!

The list of things I will be working on:

ACC 684 Business Models - Individual project, Part 1
ACC 683 PM - Read & Analyze Case #3
ACC 621 System Reliability - Peer case debrief
ACC 621 System Reliability - Group Assignment #2
ACC 611 External Reporting - Hand-in Case
PwC Multi 2 Mock Exam
Campus Challenge 2010 Planning Memo
thelifemuse blog post
UWCCF Finances update/bank reconciliation

incapable.

2010-02-02T22:07:00.006-05:00

Clearly, I am currently incapable at keeping up with my blogs (besides my tumblr).

BAH.

In other news. WINTER RETREAT WAS AWESOME! What a way to end it all off...

Here's a few select pics:

FAMILY!

5th year G-stars. Don't mess... yo.

The Grads! We'll all be gone soon.

Okay. So that's it for now... Who knows when I'll get back to writing again, but things are definitely on hiatus since much of my writing time is devoted to my e-mail inbox. Meh. I'm sure I'll CRAVE to be writing again soon.

Till next time!
Cheers&Blessings.

being critical.

2010-01-28T17:02:00.006-05:00

What does it mean to be critical?

I’ve found that once you master, or even engage in a certain action/skill, it’s really easy to subsequently become critical watching anyone else do that same thing.

Do you know what I mean? Sitting in classes I easily find myself critical of my peers presenting, thinking “oh, I would have said it this way... it’s more understandable like this”. Often enough, I’m running that line in my head in regards to my profs. Although I even don’t watch many sports... I don’t even think I need to belabour the critiquing that goes on there. Since I’ve long gone through my phase of being a singer/musician as a worship leader, it’s really easy for me to be critical of that as well. “oh... you shouldn’t have chosen to sing this song in this key. It’s too high for you... You shouldn’t have stopped playing in between these songs... what are you doing to the fllowwww????” Of course though, there are loving ways to use these thoughts in helping along people you are able to grace with you oh-so-great expertise... but that’s not the point here.

After doing the fellowship leading thing for a while, I’m sure there are people who are/have been critical of me and my style to things. That’s cool. We’re all geared differently and have had different experiences. My leadership style is actually based off of me being critical of my predecessors and imitating what I liked and adjusting where there was room for improvement. But we’re all works in progress. In any case, for anyone in my fellowship reading this, I encourage you to be critical, and to allow that to feed you in developing your own leadership style when you eventually are in position for others to be critical of you!

Alrights. I just wanted to share my thoughts on being critical. I think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, by the way... just don’t let it eat away at you and cause you to look down on anyone. Encourage/share with them your thoughts in love if you can. They’ll appreciate it if they know you’re doing it for their own good. But most of all, use it to figure out who it is you really want to be when it’s your turn.

Finally, there’s a sense of assuredness that I’ll never be able to be critical of the creator of all things.

Not like I’d change anything anyways...

WINTER RETREAT IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!

Team GoGoGadgetAwesome, 2009... with HATS.

a month of blogging and daily posts.

2010-01-20T12:56:00.012-05:00

So it’s been about 1 month since I started running 3 blogs and just wanted to do a bit of a quick rundown:

Maintaining derkness and thelifemuse have been a bit crazy. I’ve considered merging the two of these since the thelifemuse isn’t frequent enough... but meh. Let’s see how it goes over the term. I still hope to hit 2 posts every month on that one.

My original plans for derkness were a bit more regular. With UWCCF stuff going full tilt, it’s been hard to give much extra time to things like blogging, let alone friends. Sleep eludes me, as always... so no changes there.

In any case, God has been throwing me down one heck of a crash course on wisdom the past month. It's been quite the roller coaster of emotions and experiences... but it’s always been this way... and I love it (in the end, at least). I’m thankful for blogging and to everyone who’s seen or talked to me on a regular basis for keeping me sane.

Although I haven't been doing it from the start (past 2 weeks only), I decided to set up a guideline for my daily posts on tumblr with cheesy alliterations. weeee:

Spiritual Sundays (there’s more to life than just this world...)
Maxim Mondays (my favourite quote picks)
Terse Tuesdays (one word only posts... for the less wordy)
Worry-free Wednesdays (your hump day pick-me-ups)
Thinking Hat Thursdays (deeper thinking, anyone?)
Fabulous Fridays (life is wonderful... posts to celebrate how great it is)
Senseless Saturdays (anything goes. the more random the better)

ALRIGHT, just thought I’d do a quick ‘top picks’ of my Tumblr (my daily posts). Here’s some of my most popular and my personal favs for the past month! Cheers!

#3 Smile. It’s contagious.

#6 Water your grass.

Your grass won’t get any greener by peering off to the other side of the fence.

#20 Take a break.

life can get hectic… sometimes overwhelming. Take some time to let your heart breathe a little.

heck, have some chocolate while you’re at it.

#21 Let loose.

Spice things up every now and then. Be quirky. Be loud. Be crazy. Anything.

It’s just like turning on the CAPS LOCK to your life.

It’s good to let loose every now and then.

#25 Be kind.

Would you really be able to look someone in the eyes and tell them that they know nothing about pain without even knowing the first thing about them?

Don’t assume everyone has it together. Not like you do.

DQOTD: Do you have a favourite post for the past month from any of my 3 blogs?
A: My fav would probably be this one: Things to do while bored in traffic & the pursuit. (thelifemuse)

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

2010-01-19T14:30:00.002-05:00

I've definitely bitten off more than I can chew...

But that's alright... when all is said and done... I know I'll come out better, wiser and stronger.

I wish I had more time for all the things in my life. It'll be another fun lesson in prioritization this term.

In any case.... /end emo-ness.

In other news... I'm planning Campus Challenge this year.. and I need LOTS of help (ahhh): http://campuschallenge2010.blogspot.com/ and so welcomes my FOURTH blog.

Obviously this blog and thelifemuse are taking a hit these days with less time on my hands.

okay. Back to school readings and crazy e-mails.

overdue.

2010-01-13T13:45:00.005-05:00

must... blog... something.

not... enough... time... to... write... real... blog... post.

HELLO!

Read this if you haven't yet: Why Attitude is 100%

I'll post something real soon....

Why attitude is 100%.

2010-01-11T02:21:00.000-05:00

What better way to kick off thelifemuse blog for 2010 than by writing about attitude? (rhetorical). 2010. The start of a new era, the new decade, another year. 2010. A time for new perspective, new beginnings, new boundaries, new joys. 2010. A year for new challenges, new highs and new lows. 2010. It’s destined to be as up and down as any other year. Annddd stop.

I don’t want the downs. Why downs? I mean... life is good right? I thought you were supposed to be encouraging, Derek. Well... er... yes... but... But nothing! Well... No matter what I say here... it won’t really change things, would it? =S ... I... guess not. Sorry.. =\. It’s okay...

No matter what I say... it won’t really change anything. Your life. My Life. Everyone’s life. We live by an inescapable fact: Life is filled with ups and downs. Many of them, uncontrollable. The victories, losses, recessions, booms, deaths, accidents and lotteries are in many ways outside of our realm of control and unless you have some extreme foresight, will hit us when we absolutely don’t expect them to.

I’m not sure how 2009 was for you guys... but I’m sure it was filled with many joys and many pains throughout. In fact, I’m sure almost every year of your life has been. Actually... that’s probably how its been since the dawn of existence. Hmm. Being an accountant @ UW has taught me many things... mapping or tracking trends was not one of them, BUT, I don’t quite think it takes a university level brain to trend something... that’s always been the same. My guess? 2010 will be the same as any other year. But that’s only my undergrad opinion on things... Maybe that’ll change once I complete my masters program... who knows??

Without a doubt, your 2010 is bound to be filled with ups and downs. Hey, it might be the year you finally meet ‘the one’. Perhaps you’ll land your dream job. MAYBE YOU’LL FINALLY FINISH SCHOOL. Or maybe you’ll lose a loved one. The economy may collapse, yet again. McDonalds might get rid of their extra value menu (I’m still bitter over the double cheeseburger going up in price!!!! >=( grrrr). And now that I have your attention, there are probably many ways I can take this... I can probably say something like ‘BAD CIRCUMSTANCE... kick it in the bum’, orrrr ‘LIFE... you gotta live it in the FAST lane!’, orrrrr ‘embrace that which BLESSES, not what causes stresses.’ Orrrrrr mmmmm. I’ll just stop there. Each of those, as lame as they are, could in their own right be something I blabber on about incessantly, but all I really want to say to start off 2010... is that attitude is 100%.

Attitude dictates everything. In 2009 I’ve seen how my greatest pains or losses have turned into new opportunities or even victories. I’ve seen how my ordinary has turned into extraordinary. I’ve seen how my lack has turned into abundance, and my mourning into joy and dancing. How? Well allow my friend Barney Stinson to handle that question with one of my favourite HIMYM quotes of all time: ‘you see... whenever I start feeling sick, I just stop being sick and be awesome instead... true story’.

It’s all about your attitude. I think one expectation (rather, illusion) I’ve learned to break in my life is that life was meant to be perfect. Have you ever met anyone who’s gone through life without hitting any giant brick walls, oversized potholes large enough to eat ice-cream trucks or bumps the size of Everest? OKAY maybe I’m exaggerating a tiny bit, but really... has anyone ever told you about their life being easy? Being simple? Being without pain? Not for me! Now allow me to bring in my all star analytical skills, once again, *Ahem*. Will you be the trend breaker? *shakes magic 8 ball under the table* “Outlook not so good...” Er... one more try. *Shake Shake* “All signs point to no...” PLEASE realize that your life is not expected to be perfect. You’re going to hit bumps in the road. You’re going to trip up on the little things when you least expect it. You’re going to run into road blocks. I really don’t mean to be a pessimist, but more of a realist. Unrealistic optimism will eventually lead to a breakdown if you don’t begin with knowing the reality of how life works. THINGS HAPPEN. Good and bad. Accept it. Now, be awesome instead.

Everyone faces joys and pains in life. Some perhaps more joys... and trust me, for us here in North America... there are MANY others who face MUCH more pain in life (i.e. think about the sufferings in other countries). But it goes to show that if ups and downs are consistent amongst all people... it no longer holds any value as a definition of your character. As in, everyone faces ups and downs... we wouldn’t hold it against someone if they won the lottery, but maybe if they rubbed it in our faces. We wouldn’t hold it against someone to feel broken after a breakup, but wouldn’t necessarily want to sympathize if they wanted to sleep around in search of acceptance. How you react and who you choose to be in response to these situations is what dictates who you are. It’s what’s inside you that determines how you act on the outside. It begins with what’s in you: your attitude. You can be a sore loser or a boastful winner. Humble in your victories or optimistic in your losses. Half full, or half empty. It’s YOUR choice.

Your mindset will dictate who you are this decade. How you handle your situation begins with the lens you choose to view the world through. Your 2010 attitude... is yours to control. I know some rough times will be a comin’. But as for me... I’m going to choose to be awesome instead... True story. Your Move.

Let’s assign a numerical value to each letter of the alphabet in order. Coincidentally enough...

P.S. You’ll have to ignore my schizophrenic moment near the beginning. All work and no play make Derek go something something...

2010 randomness.

2010-01-04T11:44:00.010-05:00

So here I am @ SLC 3^rd floor, a place I’ll find myself quite often every Monday and Tuesday this term with such a scattered schedule, but that’s alright since it gives me some good time to do some work, blog and be hungry =S. In any case, this post was intended for yesterday... but just thought I’d throw together a few random notes to celebrate 2010. Enjoy!

pho + blizzard + driving to Loo = bad news bears.

Unfortunately, the blizzard in this case is not of the Dairy Queen variety (it’s too cold for

that anyways). I just wanted to throw out my random complaint of the day. Usually I don’t mind traffic and I can deal with it... because it just gives me time to think. But with a combination of one extra factor... it can really complicate things. In any case, an annoying snowfall in Toronto caused the highways to be quite a mess and things to go quite slowly...

It’s not just traffic... it’s an opportunity to practice your patience!

So as mentioned, usually I’m fine with traffic... but the added X factor was dealing with enormous amounts of itis following a large 101 bowl of pho after church. NOT FUN... And leads to a very bored and tired Derek, struggling to survive amidst all the crazy other drivers on the highway. Ahhhh.

Yes... that’s my.. i’m bored, tired and partially annoyed but content face.

why I don't set new year resolutions.

I mentioned in my last post why I don’t make new year resolutions. In short, I think they’re kinda lame. And not only because of how failsauce they are statistically, but I don’t really believe in many ‘one time things’. If you’re trying to be a new person or to bring about change in your life... do it. While minor adjustments here and there are definitely necessary (Make Adjustments. Go Get it Energized!!! HIMYM reference.) I’ve always believed in just ‘being’. It’s not a one time thing or just trying to set goals to reach... just be awesome. Everyday. Be everything you were created and intended to be and run with it. Everyone is capable of being ambitious or stringing fancy words together to make it sound like 2010 is going to be the best year ever, but really what we need to do is just live it. Rough times will come... your new year resolutions will be hard to meet (or I’m sure you’ll break them), but what counts is the perseverance to just keep being... despite circumstance. I find setting new year resolutions provides an excuse to give up once you fail it... and maybe that’s just me, but I’ve always found more reward in just pushing myself to the limit and extending the boundaries of what I thought was possible. BE AWESOME, people. I’ll be posting up on thelifemuse talking about attitude and extend some of these thoughts... but as for now, I present to you, the Shrek list! (yes, copyrighted).

Okay. That’s just about the end of my randomness for the day.

In other news... masters seems a bit intense and scary. But I’m sure it won’t be too bad once I really get into the right mindset again. Looking forward to UWCCF and what will be happening this term. It’s going to be aweesssommmmeeee. Let’s do it up, 2010!

DQOTD: What is your favourite animated Disney/pixar character?

A: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR. I’m planning a post on why once I have some more time =p. Stay tuned!

wrapping up 2009.

2009-12-31T17:49:00.011-05:00

So as per every blog, possibly in existence, this will be my end of year/new year post. UNFORTUNATELY, I don’t believe in ‘new year resolutions’ so you won’t get any of that =p (it’s hard to improve on something already so awesome... AHEM*) JUST KIDDING.

2009. What a year. 2008 Derek was absolutely nothing like 2009 Derek, and I’m very very very glad to be saying that. Of course my memory is horrible enough that I can’t even remember half of the great things that happened... but here’s the shout out list to the big things of 2009 in no particular order that really had an impact on my life. Good and bad. I’ll admit that I went through all my facebook pics to jolt my memory for most of this list =p. But anyways... here goes, 2009!

2009 SHOUT OUTS:

I got to live through another year! =). Life is a gift people. Learn to CHERISH it! Dearly.
Those that have been with me since before 2009! Family! Indo Crew! UWCCFers! AFMers! Brap.
UWCCF Winter Retreat 2009. Life Changing!
The opportunity to mentor four really great guys. WHAT UPPPPP!!!!!
Witnessing each of those four guys stepping up their game and really making an impact/growing in each of their own ways. Good job, men. /end mushy Derek.
errr Bomber... with the AFMS. Awesome times =).
UWCCF Grad Dinner 2009. Sending you guys off was a bitter-sweet moment!
The passing of my grandmom. My first funeral in life. Brought to mind a lot of the meaning of all things...
All the wonderful times chilling with the housemates!!!!!! 109 HICKORY, WHATTTTTT!
Campus Challenge 2009/Koin Network. The opportunity to partner together and meet with so many my fellow Brothers & Sisters who share in my passions across all the different Universities.
I landed a full time job. A sign of how old I’m getting.
The many times of uncertainty & trials. I've never developed so much trust & patience for these things as I did this year.
My second full year with my car!!! And no serious issues!!!! WOOHOOo. perfect driving record still too =D.
UWCCF Fall Retreat 2009. Let’s hear it for moments that open our eyes wide to the lives we’re living.
My brothers & sisters that were awesome enough to humble me in times of pride. Thank you, really.
Halifax w/ fam. Probably the most relaxing weekend of my life.
ANCHOR SOFTBALL. Semi-finals in our FIRST year? Yeah, that’s right!
FX 2009. Hurray for my very first official speaking engagement.
Celebrating the wedding of someone who’s a very close brother & friend! Congrats Jesse & Juliana!
TRANSFORMERS 2 COMES OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH I’ve watched it at least 8 times.
A new mentor/guide to teach me about life. It’s been a while! haha.
The opportunity to chair uwccf. WHAT a blessing. WORDUP PWNY/Zesty!!!!!
QUELF. TOOOO many good times from this game.
AYCE Sushi. Where would I be without you?
AFM Gradball! Never felt like I deserved a celebration so much in my life. Lol.
COMPLETED MY UNDERGRAD. Wow. Just... too many thoughts from this.
TAFFY!!!! The greatest school project team ever! We kicked butt! =D. TEAM AWESOME FREEDOM FORCE YETIS ftw!
All the new friends in 2009! =) too many to name!

And SOOOOO many more... oh man... I could continue that list forever. 2009. What a year.

In all honesty, 2009 was just a super awesome year. I’ve never experienced growth like I did, both in my faith as well as an individual like this past year. I’ve never experienced closeness to friends and family like I did either. I’ve also never ever in my life dished out as many lame jokes as I did in 2009 =D. WHAT A YEAR.

There’s really not much else i can say... so much of it is beyond words. I’m really looking forward to 2010 and what it holds. It’s also going to be another HUGE year of change. I’ll be finishing up my masters, writing the professional exam of my accounting career and finally entering the professional workforce. Who knows what else it holds...

I’m anxiously awaiting what God has in store for me and the growth & experiences I’ll have to share in the new year. I know it’s going to be absolutely killer. For anyone who was mentioned in any of my shout outs (or multiple ones... extra brownie points!!): Thank you so much for being a part of my life. I wouldn’t be who I am without you and am sincerely grateful for all the times we shared together. I’ll catch you all in 2010 and will be expecting bigger & better things!

Here’s to you, 2009! Now that you’re done, it’s time to wrap you up in a nice little package I’ll call 2009 Derek. It’s time for your joys, pains and many many life lessons to be passed onto someone greater. I’ll call him 2010 Derek. You should all be sure to meet 2010 Derek. I hear he’s awesome. Bake him cookies.

And that’s it. This will be the last post ever from 2009 Derek. From him to you all, farewell! Hope it’s been an equally amazing journey for the rest of you too =).

Cheers&Blessings!

((Insert happy collage/mural of 2009's greatest memories)).... I'll get to it eventually... maybe. lol.

Derek's Question of the day! - answer in comments!! – What is the life lesson that best describes the 2009 you?

A: There’s nothing more liberating than really being just who you are made to be. Living your passions, being quirky and showing no restraint for lame jokes and all. =)

which way to the beach?

2009-12-28T01:04:00.014-05:00

Well....

FIRST, you take a LEFT turn.

Then, you take a RIGHT turn.

then you make a UUUUUUU turn!!!!

...

Boredom + Haircut shop closed for the holidays... = yeeaaahhhh.....

And you guys wonder why I like getting my hair cut so often... now y'all be BEGGING me to get it cut!!!

Consider this a late Christmas gift to you, my readers! Derek as stupid as ever. (what more could you ask for?)

P.S. To all of you reconsidering the future of our friendship... I promise to never.. ever.. EVER do this again.

DQOTD (Derek's Question of the day! - answer in comments!!) - What was your best gift this Christmas?

A: my book 'just do something' from my mom... mostly b/c it took awesome ninja skills for her to find out I wanted it.

where I get 'it' from.

2009-12-22T21:38:00.003-05:00

okay... I just HAD to post this because I died laughing when I saw it.

YES, anyone questioning how I came to be who I am... THIS is probably how...

Thanks dad... you're awesome.

(Oh and it was in some museum in Australia)

celebration & christmas insanity.

2009-12-22T18:06:00.017-05:00

So I’ve been back in Toronto for a few days now, and it’s been great. I’ve done almost nothing... but anything is GREAT compared to the exams that I got away from. The past few days have been an excessive amount of time sleeping and chilling with the parents. I haven’t had much urge for physical activity (although I’m getting there), and I’ve been eating... a lot. Lol. In any case, I’m hopefully nearing the end of my post-exam recovery phase... (I haven’t had coffee yet today and I only have a slight headache! Hurrah!) The more I think about it... the more I realize exams are like having the flu.

Here are a few reasons why (feel free to add some in if you like in the comments!!):

You look tired. Constantly.
Lots of fluids! (coffee, tea or whatever your study drink is)
You tend to pass out/need naps at random times during the day
Your variety in food shrinks dramatically and you end up eating the same things over and over (instant noodles for the win.../loss... I can’t really decide)
The only people you see are those close to you... and you see them almost every day. Everyone else just seems to disappear from your life
People not in the same situation as you will comfort/sympathize/pray for you
Even when you’re in the ‘recovery’ stage, you still want to just sleep and eat and be lazy despite how inactive you’ve been during your sickness/exams
So yes, this ‘recovery’ stage has summed up my past few days quite nicely. While it’s been nice to sleep lots, have time to read, and be relatively lazy, I’m about ready to get a bit more active and see some people I haven’t seen in a while. No more lingering effects of exam disease for me, thank you very much!!! All of you pending e-mails from me... your inboxes are about to get owned. Again! Like good old times. Muahahaha.

Here are just a few extras following exam/term completion that are tradition for me.

CLASSIC!!!

And the picture that’s been with me since 1A!

Christmas Insanity

In other news, I got around to my Christmas shopping today. As the secret santas with friends aren’t set up yet, the only people I had to buy for were mom, dad and sister. I am GLAD to say after 2.5 hours, 2 malls and 2 relatively busy parking lots, my family members will all be receiving gifts from me!!!!!! AND I’M STILL ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOOO.

Derek: 1
Crazy Christmas Shopping Mall Insanity: 0

Take that, Christmas!!!!

Another thing: There seems to be quite an abnormal amount of ‘remember the true meaning of Christmas’ this year. It’s practically viral on the net. And I’m all for the true meaning and stuff... but since when were things so imperative to my/your faith, or even ‘joy’ meant to be experienced only at ONE time in the year?

On the radio there was a song playing that said “something something Christmas, hurrah, the most joyous time of the year”. (my poor memory changed the lyrics a bit =|, clearly.). It made me think: The isolation of goodness into a single time or day is what creates a lack the other 364 days of the year. It’s sorta like... “Christmas, yeah! I love everyone in the whole wide world!!! Boxing day... Why the gosh darn heck is this cashier so SLOW. Like frig woman, it’s your job. SHEESH.” Actually, that’s probably the nicest thought I could come up with for the craziness of boxing day. We must realize that for our lives to truly be changed, it must penetrate every aspect of it and not just take liberties in part. True change is pervasive. In any case, why don’t we commit to remembering the true meaning behind Christmas, the other 364 days of the year? Yes? Be happy people! Not because it’s Christmas... just because it’s another day to enjoy life! =)

Good luck to all the other last minute shoppers like me!!! You might want to clock some time on this before heading out into the real world: http://www.addictinggames.com/parkinglot2.html
P.S. Be sure to check my latest post on thelifemuse: things to do while bored in traffic & the pursuit.

Remember to click or comment!

Things to do while bored in traffic & The Pursuit.

2009-12-20T22:17:00.000-05:00

So I’m a bit overdue since I’ve been stuck in perpetual study mode for the past month, but I’m glad to say it’s finally all over! And hence, with my passion and joy of writing, I’ve decided to maintain a total of THREE blogs. Remember to check my main blog: http://derkness.blogspot.com, which was my original address (but I changed the url of this one). If you want the best updates on all three blogs, it’s best to follow that one as I’ll keep it as my main! I plan to service this one still just as often about 2-3 times each month with some deeper writings, but I’ll aim to going back to my positive and quirky twists on life =). In any case, a long overdue regular styled post, so here we go!

A month full of studying and minimal sleep. Killer exams that push you to reconsider whether or not you’re cut out for your profession. One final night of too little sleep + driving back to Toronto during the Friday before Christmas break rush hour = too much traffic for tired Derek to want to deal with. Yes, my final drive to Toronto as an undergraduate student was HORRIBLY long (over 2 hours) which isn’t TOO bad... but considering how tired I was, and how small my bladder is... it was NOT a fun drive. In any case, in my normal fashion, I decided to think about what would be fun to blog about... but first, I present to you the list of things to do while extremely bored & stuck in traffic! Got anything good to add? Comment!

The list of things to do while extremely bored & stuck in traffic:

Listen to your music unnecessarily loud
Try every single combination of temperature setting till you’re as comfy as possible (bonus points if you can maintain it w/o windows fogging in the winter)
Think about how badly you need to use the washroom
Play steering wheel drum hero
Do some house(car?)-keeping and wipe the dust off the dashboard and compartment areas
Wave to the people waiting in traffic next to you
Start a conversation about how much traffic sucks with the person next to you
Try NOT thinking about how badly you need to use the washroom
Contemplate life
Swivel within your lane like a race car driver warming up his tires
Imagine yourself driving the other, much nicer, cars passing you by
Think about funny things you can write on the back of the dirt covered car in front of you
Practice double clutching (stick shift only =p)
Tell yourself how stupid it is to not use the washroom before leaving, and having a large double double and a bottle of water early on in the trip
Practice your Simpsons quotes
Think about your next blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OKAY, so maybe this list applies to absolutely NO ONE but me... but I’m awesome... and that’s the list you get. After all, it's MY blog =p. (I promise to tie this post back to this list later on).

The Pursuit

What I really wanted to write about was ‘the pursuit’. The pursuit of things in life. The pursuit of what is good, what you love and what you want to do/be. I find that the pursuit is a result of three very distinct occurrences. One, we see someone... and we want to be like them. Whether we look up to them, really admire what they do or see how much they’ve done and want to live a similar path. OR we see the world... and we see the need. We see a very clear void that we feel needs to be filled somehow. Basically, we see ‘the goal’. We see something distant, unattained and hopefully reachable. Second, we see ourselves. We see that we are lacking. We’re not yet like that person we look up to or capable of filling that void yet, otherwise of course, we would have filled it already. We see a clear deficit in ourselves and who we currently are. Then third and finally, we create the desire. We desire to be like that person, or to fill that void and we use that to embark ourselves on the pursuit. Whether many of us have realized it or not, this is the life we’re living. We’re in school to become engineers, accountants or medical professionals because we’ve seen those who have done it already and we want to live a similar life or make a similar contribution to society. Or we see the need for certain people in society, say doctors in Africa, and we desire to fill that need. I’ve yet to meet very many people, even those who don’t know what they want to do in life, who are in pursuit of ‘nothing’. There’s always something to pursue. Even when we don’t know what we want to do in life... many of us want to pursue and be like the people who do know. Life is simply a constant pursuit. So why do we suck at it?

Herald the return of my blunt shortcomings in life. As a quick note to all my readers, in all my writing topics, I don’t write as if I’ve already attained or overcome many of the topics... the reason I write is because I, in many ways, have/am wrestling through the same issues. Carrying on. Why do so many of us suck at being who we want to be? There are so many amazing people in this world... We look at the rich – the Trumps and the Bransons of the world and marvel at how it was so easy for them to get rich. We look at the talented – the Mayers, the Gretzkys and the Beethovens of the world and ogle in disbelief: how easy it is for those gifted with talent. We look at the undeserving – the snoop doggs (self proclaimed as having the hardest job in the world!), the lottery winners and the guy down the street with a nicer car than you... and question the fairness of life itself. There are so many ways to see the world and want to be exactly who you’re not. So many of us get caught up in the discontent of cause and effect. We want to receive more than we’ve earned, with less effort. We want the bigger returns, the luck, without the risk. We want a life of freeness. Well what crazy world are you living in?

Those who are good at something... had to earn it. And many of them earned it before the world was watching them. We always marvel at how easy it was for them. They just had... to BE... and they got everything ‘I think’ I wanted in this world. The rich, the talented & famous, and yes, even the undeserving... they saw who they wanted to be and did it. Their fame, fortune and glamorous lifestyles are results of effort. Did Trump and Branson put in the effort? I’m absolutely sure they did! How about John Mayer and Wayne Gretzky? I’m sure they put in an ABNORMAL amount of effort to develop their talents. EVEN the undeserving... had to do something to get what they have. My point isn’t about equitable effort and returns, but it took effort. Period. “.” “Well Derek, if I was rich and famous... I’d put in the effort too!” I don’t doubt you would! But the point is that they put in the effort while nobody was watching. While Snoop Doggie Dogg was still nothing more than a cartoon character and the rest were nothing more than schmucks and nobodies like you and me, they put in the effort and received the rewards of it. The point of this post is: what effort do you put in when nobody is looking?

In my own life, I’ve started to see how the unseen effort is what yields the visible gains and ‘easy lifestyle’. We look at people in our workplaces, and anyone in a professional setting will just see and hear about their current life and how easy it is. Go to work. Put in the hours. Go home. Drive nice car. They too, suffered through many years of university and studying and sleepless nights. Even my PARENTS. It was not possible for me to appreciate the magnitude of the effort they put into life until I had to go through university as well. Albeit, university is a completely different beast now than it was 25 years ago, but they had to strive hard to get what they have now. No wonder they were always so reluctant to give me money to spend on my waste-of-time toys and games. All the artists and sports stars put in years upon years of training and effort as youth to be good by the time they got older. Sure. Maybe their reward-effort return was greater than university students like you or me... but what was the % of success they had as singer-songwriters or sports stars versus us getting a job after graduation?

It’s what we do when nobody is looking that makes us who we are. When I was learning to drive stick, I was sure to maintain good habits and smooth acceleration/braking even when I was in the car by myself (rather than just ripping it around, which many are prone to do). The result of that is how the majority of people who sit in my car don’t even notice I drive stick because it’s so smooooooootttthh. THAT’S RIGHT. Your comfortable ride is the result of many many many hours of unseen training! It’s all the toils and efforts that make it look easy! (I’ve also seen how when I change moods and start driving aggressive during alone times – it flows over into times when I shouldn’t be with passengers, etc). It’s who you make yourself before the world sees you, that dictates the ‘you’ the world will see.

One of my greatest lessons out of the past few months is to appreciate the great battle everyone else is fighting. Plato: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Yes. Your life has problems. As does EVERYONE. Yes. Some people make it look easy. And you can too! Train yourself in the times that no one is looking. Develop that character, personality and passion you want others to see. My ability to make some of the smoothest clutch engagements comes from a ridiculous number of hours being bored in traffic. The same with my ability to double clutch or downshift properly into corners. My love and ability for writing comes from pushing it out, even when it’s hard. The joy I’ve seen in others, I know, comes from being joyful when it’s difficult. Where are you now on your pursuit? Who do you want to be? Have you conjured up the desire to get there yet? Practice makes perfect. Be willing to exert the effort, especially when no one sees it... because that’s when people will start to notice.

This post also reminded me of this awesome guy...

Happy living, everyone! And Merry Christmas. I think I'm supposed to say that this time of year also!

Remember to click&comment!

welcome home.

2009-12-20T01:30:00.000-05:00

Okay, so to kick off my new (old) blog, this shall be my first REAL post. Huzzah! I’m now back to Toronto after a gruelling term @ UW, but I’m glad to say that I am now no longer an undergrad student!!! Pending marks of course! Haha. That being said, now is the start of my two weeks off until I start as a Masters of Accounting student... but enough of that as I’ll do a ‘meet derek’ post later on =p.

In any case, here’s a tribute to returning back to Toronto. First item of recognition: the conversation with the dad once I haul all my stuff back into the house and settle into my room.

Daddy Ma: You got skinnier.
Derek: er. Not really.
Daddy Ma: You lost muscle
Derek: oh... =(
Daddy Ma: How were your exams?
Derek: they were okay. We’ll see when marks come out
Daddy Ma: Are you sure you got into masters?
Derek: your comfy retirement better hope so!!!
Daddy Ma: How’s your car?
Derek: everything is deciding not to work b/c of the cold... but still running
Daddy Ma: Do you have a girlfriend yet?
Derek: no. -.-
Daddy Ma: What do you want to eat for dinner?
Derek: Sushi or Italian.

HAHA. Dad, you’re awesome.

What’s funny is that we have pretty much the SAME conversation at the end of every term when I come back home. Here’s to you, pops!

Mum,Pos&I ended up going to the Italian restaurant we always go to on Sheppard&Warden for some good eats =). I was really eager to order a salad... which is a clear indication to them that my diet/health was extremely lacking during exams... and subsequently they scolded me for it. Haha. <3

I also decided to put together a quick list of pros and cons about being back in Toronto for the next two weeks.

the pros:
it doesn’t require any studying
I get to sleep more than 5 hours a night
parents pay for meals out =D
FRUITS
juice that doesn’t disappear from the fridge within hours
floors clean enough to walk around barefoot on
water pressure in the showers!
the coffee grind is better than the one I have in Loo
I have time to help out around the house
parents scold me for all my bad habits <3

the cons:
my computer chair isn’t comfy
my parking spot isn’t sheltered =(
I’m going to eat too much
I’ve done ZERO Christmas shopping
the bed sheets put on while I was gone have flowers on them... guh -.-

Hurray for the next two weeks... and bed sheets with flower patterns.

Just another few quick notes/honourable mentions since these are some overdue thoughts.

“Your hair is kinky” – Mary Chan
HAHA. Okay... the last night in Loo chilling with the FMs happening sometime between 2&4am:
m: Derek... your hair is ‘kinky’
d: um... WHAT?
m: your hair is ‘kinky’
d: ummmmmmmm....
m: you know... it sorta... zigzags everywhere... like knots *makes hand motions of criss-crosses*
d: oh.. haha.. yes... K

HAHAHA. Mary... please never lose your innocence and lack of understanding of all the malevolent words of the English language =D. And yes... since I took your boyfriend to the Christmas party, to compensate, you get honourable mention on my blog!

One last mention!

Thank you, friend. I WILL celebrate! You’ll be joining in the good times soon too!!!!

To all my friends still pushing through for their last few exams! ADD OIL (if you’re a robot), otherwise... keep powering through it! We’ll all party like its 1999 when you’re all done =).
remember to click or comment!

under construction.

2009-12-20T00:16:00.000-05:00

Bear with me as I continue to work on getting my three blogs up to speed!!!!. The tumblr is good to go as it was pretty easy to set up.... and is also very quick to post on. haha. I have a few overdue posts coming to this blog and one coming soon to thelifemuse.

My apologies as my writing skills are much better than my design skills =\.

the rundown:

2009-12-19T15:39:00.000-05:00

derkness – life with Derek. Just an outlet for me to be... me. Just to post whatever is going on in life and I feel like sharing with the world. That means being random, happy, whiney, stupid, religious, lame and quirky. But mostly just stupid, aka the real me. derkness.blogspot.com

thelifemuse – My deeper thoughts and reflections on life. I’m the guy who’s known to think too much for his own good... so let me share some of that excess with you! You know the deal: it’ll be my happy and encouraging twists and musings on life itself in the new era. Live joyously & responsibly, people! thelifemuse.blogspot.com

lifeinterjections – My opportunity to start compiling all the quick and short encouragements in life to motivate and encourage on a quicker/more often basis. 3 purposes: refresh, motivate, smile. Yes... to be updated daily. (I’ll double post if I miss a day). Will be interesting to see how long I can keep this up! lifeinterjections.tumblr.com

derkness will be my main blog. Follow this one if you have to choose only one =p. (I’ll link thelifemuse here whenever I post & lifeinterjections weekly or so).

Just another average drive to Toronto...

2009-11-27T00:22:00.000-05:00

32.5 random life lessons I'm reminded of on a 1.5 hour drive between cities.
So I drove to Toronto today from the Loo and since I was riding solo, I decided to spend my car ride thinking about something to blog about. A good number of ideas crossed my mind based on anything I saw, and rather than coming up with a topic and belabouring it to the ground and up again, as per my norm, I decided to put together a compilation of thoughts based on my drive today (now I don’t even have to think about how to tie in a car analogy... they’re ALL car/driving analogies! Muahaha). I also decided to take pictures along the way whenever anything crossed my mind. Er. Many of you are quite aware that the new no handheld law is in effect... let’s all just say my phone camera happened to operate itself and I obeyed all laws on the road, yes? =D. Good. I’ll be breaking quite a few of my own conventions today so I’ll have a bunch of pictures (didn’t get a picture for everything), and I’ll throw up a lesson that applies on the road and in life. In any case, this is new to me... but enjoy! NB: my phone camera sucks =(.

Not in any particular order... let’s begin this journey!

<<#1.Know where you’re going!
Toronto bound, baby!

>>#2.Enjoy the open road!
It doesn’t last forever.
We all hit ‘traffic’ eventually...

<<#3.Make yourself comfortable.
Get used to the life you’re in. You’re going to be living it for a while. Adjust the variables until you’re satisfied.

>>#4.You can cross some lines in life... Other’s you shouldn’t.
Know the difference! Yes yes, make fun of my crappy paint skills.

<<#5.Following the same path as someone else can make things easier.
Having people you look up to or are mentored by are a big deal in making life happen easier. I decided to draft behind a truck for a while (follow closely as to minimize oncoming air/wind resistance, saving gas... yes... it works.) I subsequently got a pebble to my windshield so decided not to draft for the remainder of my drive >=(. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there too.

>>#6.Know what’s important for you to have on your journey.
My driving essentials. Know what you need on-hand for daily living. And yes, I bend the tab INWARDS for coffee now. It disrupts the surface tension, something or other... basically, no splashing out.

<<#7.Be mindful of warning signs.
Keep an eye out for the signs of upcoming hiccups in life.

>>#8.You have choices in life.

<<#9.Know thy self!
Engine temp good. Enough gas. Not speeding too much.

>>#10.Welcome a change of pace.
You need to amp things up a bit every now and then. Add some adventure. It felt good to open up the throttle after too many cold starts and short trips in Waterloo.

<<#11.Some things in life will always be there.
Know what the constants in your life are. Embrace them. Yoshi’s been with me since the beginning!

>>#12.STOP!
Hold still for a minute. Breathe in. Breathe out. Carry on.

<<#13.Some cars don’t deserve to exist.
No life lesson. I just hate the Chrysler Crossfire. Good thing it’s discontinued.

>>#14.There’s a toll to the paths we choose in life.
I’m cheap. I’ve never driven on the 407 =p.

<<#15.Be weary of things that’ll distract you in life.
I felt my wheels get all wobbly and lost control of my steering the closer I got to this truck... (YES, I’m kidding). I’m also not knocking beer. I love it as much as the next man in reasonable amounts. Just an example!

>>#16.AGAIN, heed the warning signs!
Can’t stress it enough!!! Because I suck at doing so.

<<#17.Take time to watch life pass you by.
Sometimes you can’t only just look forward. Be aware of what’s going on around you. Know where you’re coming from.

#17.5 I drove past a truck full of pigs. They made me smile. No life lesson here. Just a random thought =)

>>#18.It’s rare to NOT hit traffic...
Life happens. Get used to it. Learn to not complain when you were expecting it anyways.

<<#19.Life is full of mysteries & surprises.
I had a fun time trying to think what could be under those covers... Family Guy Moment: A boat's a boat. But the mystery box could be anything. It could even be a boat!

>>#20.And we won’t ever figure most of them out.
WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?!?!? COOLEST... TRANSFORMER... EVER!!!!!!

<<#21.Be mindful of the hints of trouble up ahead!
Here’s my auto-guru insight for the day. Tow trucks are a sign of high-accident areas up ahead... just waiting to pounce on helpless people. DRIVE SAFELY... live safely too.

>>#22.Some people need their space.

<<#23.Don’t envy.
SEXY, BRAND spanking NEW, M3... but it’ll still end up in a junkyard like my mazda eventually!!!

>>#24.Things change.
I saw the progress of this factory being built over the past two years every trip I took b/w Tdot and Loo. I wonder what it’s for...

<<#25.Green means Go.
Others get upset when you don’t follow social norms/expectations. (maybe not a bad thing)

>>#26.Red means stop.
Some rules are worth following. (definitely a good thing)

<<#27.Some rules should be broken.
I take this corner nowhere near that speed. One of my favs in all of the city =D. P.S. Yellow signs are only SUGGESTIONS anyways... no laws broken here!

>>#28.Be prepared.
For certainties and uncertainties. Only someone who drives stick would understand this... er, ready to shift gears.

<<#29.Good music is key.

>>#30.Appreciate natural beauty.
The sunset was much nicer than my phone can capture.

<<#31.Carrying expectations often leads to disappointment.
Gas is cheaper in Waterloo. It was 93.2 when I left Loo... =(

>>#32.Yield.
Sometimes you just have to.
I failed to take a pic of the sign on an actual bus.

That took a LOT longer than I thought it would... in any case. Nothing out of the norm happened during that drive. Just another super average drive b/w Toronto and Waterloo, but now probably my most memorable super average drive ever =). Funny how much we can learn about life in the simple things when we’re just mindful of it.

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P.S. In case you missed it, the ‘.5’ life lesson was allocated to my comment about the pigs =D. Just because they’re awesome.

You’ll understand when you’re gosh darn ready to

2009-11-16T03:13:00.000-05:00

So this year I happened to turn twenty-two. I also happened to get two pies in the face and two cakes to eat along with that (which for the most part did not help my attempt to be healthier this term). In no way do I actually think being 22 is old, but there has DEFINITELY been some deterioration of my body if not just because of the intense term of school, but maybe because I truly am beginning to age. My ears are starting to get worse (possibly music too loud in the car) and my eyes are no longer the 20/20 they used to be (due to too many hours in front of the compooter and reading billions of pages filled with very unpleasant times new roman text scattered in what is supposed to be a meaningful string of characters... but is still just accounting gibberish to me). It’s also harder to get by on less sleep, and of course my memory... guh. who am I kidding, my memory has always been horrible! OKAY. So what’s the point of telling us how well you are at NOT taking care of your physical health? Well friends, that’s an invitation to invite me over for a healthy dinner! Ahem* just kidding =p. Maybe. Not really. I love dinner. In any case, that isn’t the point here, what I’m really trying to seg-way into is some thoughts that have been shooting through my mind on getting ‘older’.

What does it mean to get older? What does it mean to get wiser? After 6 weeks of triple midterms and/or triple projects, I’ve finally had some time to let my life catch up with me. I actually feel like I aged at least 6 months in that time span, but that is still quite possibly the effects of sleep deprivation. But after finally having some time to breath (still not enough sleep though), I decided to once again kick back and dwell on what’s been going on in life. I’m getting older. I’m almost done my time here at University and whether it be academically, serving in fellowship or just as a friend I’ve had my ups and my downs, learned how to be efficient/been burnt for trying to cut too many corners and of course I’ve picked up an arsenal of experiences stored up in my head, written down somewhere or that have left some sort of physical mark on my body (so many permanent scars during university =( ). So what does anything I’ve said have to do with anything worth the time I’m stealing from you to read this? Experience. I’ve been long dwelling on the notion that ‘as you get older, you become wiser’. Do I truly feel this way? Do you? The experiences I’ve gained in life have taught me invaluable lessons that guide me and make me more or less prone to certain actions, whether they be intentional or subconsciously. The experiences in life dictate who we are and where we’ve come from. They give us a sense of uniqueness and intrigue when we embrace them or share them with friends or family. Experience makes us who we are. And now I know I’m starting to sound a lot like my last post, but bear with me.

Why. As a kid I was a very big ‘why’ kid. I always asked ‘why?’. Either I was just very slow or very curious (more likely the former), but I would always be asking my teachers, my parents or anyone ‘why?’. I did not understand many things and wanted to know more. This was actually me probably through all of elementary school. Sadly and cliché enough, for a lot of the times I asked why, the response from my parents was “you’ll understand when you’re older.” Lame. Mom, why do I have to learn stinking piano. I hate it. It’s boring. I suck at it anyways... “You’ll understand when you’re older”. BAH. How many of you have had conversations (or arguments) that end like that? Well, either university is actually moulding my brain or I’m straight up starting to be less ignorant now (more likely the latter this time!), but I feel like I’m finally reaching a point in my life where I’m ‘beginning to understand’.

Life seems to work in steps. We take a step, take in knowledge, then take another step forward and build on that knowledge. It’s very rare to see someone who can take in knowledge that is beyond them. i.e. a person needs to learn algebra before they can do advanced calculus or physics I think... (an exception in my case is the capability to chew out advanced accounting concepts with an extremely undernourished foundation in basic accounting principles and is something along the lines of a miracle... which my program friends would attest to). The same happens in real life. We go through life, have experiences, and we ‘take a step forward’. We learn, become smarter, wiser, more efficient and capable. Then that which took time to learn or was difficult at the time becomes easy and we move on to bigger and better things (or what seems more challenging). Life is meant to cultivate us. It’s meant to cultivate us to be bigger and better people. Harder. Better. Stronger. Faster. If you will. It will never slow down either. Life will throw you bigger responsibilities, more conviction, bring about more hardship or joy and how we live through and build upon the experiences of our past make us ready to take on the present and the future.

So what’s the point of me writing all this? I’m not onneee hunnddrreddd percent sure on this, but this is the strongest thought amongst them all at the moment, so this is what you get! Many (if not all of you) will know that I’m a God believing, fearing and loving Christian. But I obviously don’t talk about Him much in this blog for many reasons. But whether you’re a Christian or not, I know, (this is going to be a pretty bold statement =\) that one of the things my friends value in me (on top of my ‘oh so loveable and charming personality’... ahem*... and sigh* because you just laughed at me =( ) are the experiences or thoughts in/on life that I’m able to share. Why? Because experience holds value. Experience comes from going through hardship. Experience comes from going through many joys. Experience comes from doing stupid things (this one’s a BIGGIE!). Experience comes from reading cover to cover a boring textbook. Experience comes from just waking up and going to sleep over and over. Experience is who we are. It’s a merit that each of us has and comes directly from living life. Do I think I’m special? Not at all. We all have experiences and have lived a life filled with them. What’s important in life is how we take them to fuel our next step and how we pass them on to others to make their lives better.

It’s not my normal style to end off a post on anything that’s not a thought provoking, smile bringing or an encouraging note, but for this time I’ll just end it on a challenge. Do you take note of the important experiences in your life? Do you live life building on them and taking a step forward each time? Do you share this tremendous story you have with others to enlighten them and encourage them? You should!

I spent forever trying to find a picture that I could caption 'level up!' or something, but decided to settle on this mushroom.. mmmm. mario mushroom.
I'm always trying to get a better gauge of who follows my blog. either click one of the boxes below or leave a comment if you've read the post =). thannkksss!!!!! Keep on being awesome, friends.

The Fork in the Road

2009-11-07T03:06:00.000-05:00

Well here I am. After over 2 months of hiatus from my blog, it’s about time I update it. First off, thanks to everyone who has let me know they read my blog or have been encouraged by it. You’re my main motivation to keep going at it =). UNFORTUNATELY, school desired to absorb much of my spare time and as such this is very much overdue, and as such, I apologize to anyone who happened to visit this place in the past 2 months with no updates. Sorry! In other random news, I’d just like to share with everyone my new goal in life, which is to invent a word. That word is ‘tangibalize’. Which is by definition, ‘to make tangible’. I just like it because it sounds better... kinda reminds me of when transformers do their thing. In sentence: How do you tangibalize the passions of your heart? Cool eh? Alright. I’ll be using it in future posts, so stay tuned! =p. /end randomness.

In any case, it’s unfortunate because throughout the past two months, many writing topics have crossed my mind, but being me, I’ve obviously forgotten most of them or what I wanted to say, but I’ll do my best with this! Bon appetite!

The fork in the road. All of us face it, whether it be daily, monthly or annually, each person in this world faces decisions between two or more routes. Sometimes they’re decisions that lead us down completely opposite paths, sometimes down slight variations. Sometimes some paths look dark and lonely, while some are filled with simple joy and peace. Some paths are filled with great uncertainty but great potential risk or reward and some paths are the same as the ones we’ve always walked. Some paths are only a few steps long, and even permit backtracking, while some extend beyond what we can even see and are one-way paths. What are some of the simple forks in the road you face in daily living? Mine include: Should I eat Instant noodles... or be healthy and make something proper? Should I sleep in and rest... or wake up early and catch up in school. Should I ~~study~~(play N64) at home... or study on campus? Miniscule? Sure. Does it really make a big difference in my life? Probably not. (I’m sure constantly eating instant noodles will eventually make a difference on my life... we’ll see what happens at the end of the term =p). And of course, many of us face BIG decisions in life. What are the big ones you’ve faced in the past few years? What university should I go to? Is this the right relationship for me to be in? Do I want to do what I know is right but difficult... or what’s just temporarily pleasing? Needless to say, many of these big forks in the road will really lead us down drastically different paths based on how we respond to them. What are the paths you’ve chosen to walk? Are you who you want to be?

A lot of times I think about my life and whether I’m happy with all the decisions I’ve made, and whether I am who I want to be... or whom I need to be. Many times, it’s easy to get caught up in ‘what if’ syndrome. What if I decided to go down this path instead? What if I were only brave or strong enough? What if I were able to make this choice again? Personally, I don’t get caught up in this much when it comes to life itself (and you’ll just have to know who I am or my personally philosophy to understand why), but I find I get caught up with ‘what if’ syndrome a lot when it comes to driving. YES, time for one of my famous driving analogies =D =D. Once again, I apologize to anyone who doesn’t yet have the ~~opportunity~~EXTREME PLEASURE of driving, but here goes. A lot of the time, when driving, I’m always trying to figure out the ‘fastest route’. Mainly, when it comes to traffic, I’m always wondering what the best detour route would be to get me there faster... if one even exists. The simplest example of this which I’m sure many of you can relate with is EXPRESS or COLLECTORS, especially when there are those signs that tell you at what speed each is moving at. (Collector moving slowly... Express moving very slowly, etc). I always find myself having a HUGE internal struggle on whether or not to listen to the sign. For some reason, I always feel like the people typing up those messages are out to get me, and for a long time in my life, I would always do the opposite of what those signs told me (I attribute that to testosterone... and not letting anyone tell me what to do. Oh how I miss my rebel days =p). Now this example doesn’t work perfectly, SO, I’m just going to add one more. So like those times where I know the highway is slow (i.e. rush hour) and I must decide whether it’s better to sit through highway traffic, or to take the loooonnngggg and annoying side street route filled with stoplights. THESE ARE SOME OF THE HARDEST DECISIONS OF LIFE TO ME. No joke. But in any case, the reason why I’ve never been able to settle this internal struggle every time it comes up is the fact that after getting to some place (say I chose the side-street route), always WONDERING if it would of been faster or slower to have taken the other route (highway). And these things are nearly impossible to reconcile (unless you had an exact twin to test the other path) It’s the same thing many of us face when making life decisions. I wonder what it would have been like if I did this or that instead of what I chose... What if I didn’t decide to go to Waterloo? What if I didn’t decide to drink before driving one night? What if I didn’t decide to push on in that argument with my friend, mom or significant other? Who would I be? Would I still be with that girlfriend/boyfriend? Did I lose my chance at that perfect someone? Would I be close with my family? Would more people love me? And now I’m pressing into some pretty personal stuff. Erk. What are the paths you’ve chosen to walk? Are you who you want to be?

Now, needless to say, that was an extremely long and perhaps unnecessary analogy, but give me a break because it was my first car analogy in ages! =p. But what I’m pointing at is, for the most part, how we don’t have the ability to compare the results of our decisions to what the other outcomes would have been if we chose the other path. I have absolutely no idea who I would be if I say, went to Western or UofT instead of UW. What would it be like if I chose to get some other car than my Mazda? (probably less awesome, that’s what!) What would it be like if I were a less stubborn person at times... I don’t know! Nor do I know what you would be like if you took ‘the other path’ in any of your decisions in life. I don’t think I could ever write something insightful or deep enough that would satisfy that curiosity. So then what the deuces am I hinting at!? What are the paths you’ve chosen to walk? Are you who you want to be? (third time is a charm.)

The paths we choose to walk down in life define who we are. It’s not our circumstances, the tragedies or victories we have in life, but rather how choose to bring those about and respond to them. The goodness of life is not dictated by my circumstances. Rather, what makes life great is the ability to decide how I want to react to those circumstances, deal with them, subsequently overcome and move on gaining the experience of having walked down that path. I’ve never believed in life that I never had the ability to define who I was or wanted to be. It’s all about the decisions we make, and the paths we choose to walk. Circumstance happens. It is inescapable. But what paths will you chose to walk down when those times come. Will you do what’s comfortable and easy? Or will you do what’s so much more difficult, but you know is right? Will you walk down the path less traveled? Heh. What a fun blessing it is to have this ability to choose who you want to be in life. I’ll say it one last time: The paths we choose to walk down in life define who we are.

P.S. historically, I’ve learned that listening to the highway signs works out better on average. Lol

Until next time, Happy living! =)

To Stand Out From The Crowd

2009-08-13T01:47:00.000-04:00

I am the Average Man. No matter how I spin it, how I look at it or how I try to re-imagine it... I am the average man. It’s my greatest angst, yet my greatest blessing at the same time. Who I am now is nothing more than an average built, average height (slightly more than average for Asians =p), average weight, average hairstyle, average fashion sense, average car, average career path, average grades, average laptop, average charisma, average... everything. (Wow that was actually somewhat depressing. Lol) But truth be told, I am the average man. Even in my circumstances growing up, I’ve never quite experienced anything... beyond average. I’ve never lost someone very dear to me. I’ve not quite accomplished anything recognizable or distinguishable. I spent the many years of my childhood immersed in Starcraft and Diablo 2. I played piano (one of my few actual proofs that I’m Chinese!). I excelled in mathematics and was somewhat poor in English (and there’s the other proof). My parents raised me with love, but in a way that was hard to notice at the time. I was never the athletic star of the school, nor was I the top academic. My family is neither poor nor rich and if there’s anything I have in life, it’s something that I’ve had to work for. Not much in life comes particularly easy... nor is it extraneously over-bearing either. Average average average. MEH.

All that being said, for someone so seemingly akin to the greater population of North America, I’m left with a question: What does it mean to stand out from the crowd? Maybe it’s something you’ve asked yourself time and time again... or perhaps you never did until you read it just now. (HA, I’m controlling your thoughts). But it’s definitely a pertinent question for anyone. What does it mean to be ‘the best of something’... what does it mean to ‘be someone worth talking about in the newspaper’... what does it mean to ‘do more than your circumstances dictate’? We look at the Donald Trumps and Barack Obamas of the world and just... marvel. Darn, those guys are just... pretty darn awesome. How do they do what they do!?!? I’m nothing like that. Just look at me... so average. Okay okay, maybe I’m being unfair in my comparisons here (I really don’t think I am, but for the sake of...). How about compared to that next guy/girl... Mr. & Ms. 95+ marks in school without even trying... or Mr. & Ms. get’s all the girls or guys... Mr. & Ms. got all the nice things like Audis and Coach purses, blablabla. They’re so darn cool. Why can’t I be like them. I want to have something about me that others are jealous of. And in the end... we just end up being... average. Well darn. What a rut.

One realization I’ve come to is that for every part of my life leading up to the now, I am who I am. I was born into a certain set of circumstances, I was raised and I’ve lived how I have so far. That cannot change. What can change is where I’m going next.

Donald Trump was born into a pretty wealthy family. His father was a real estate dude and thus, it was natural that Donald Trump took up in his footsteps and subsequently became one of the wealthiest/most famous real estate owners in the world. Donald started pretty wealthy... and is currently really wealthy. Next, I’d recommend anyone to take a wiki at Barack Obama’s life as a kid. He was not particularly pampered nor was he given many ‘free passes’ in life. He dealt with social-cultural problems as a kid and worked amazingly hard to attain all the achievements that he has on his belt to date. He’s someone who started with an average childhood... and is currently making an amazing adult life out of it. How about one more person to talk about. Somaly Mam is a name so foreign I’d be shocked if any of you actually know it. Somaly was born in Cambodia in the early 1970’s into a life of extreme poverty. Long and amazing story short, she was sold to be a sex slave at the age of 16 by her ‘grandfather’ to pay off his debts (late 1980’s) but eventually escaped her horrible circumstances and in 2007 she set up a foundation to create awareness of and to aid those caught up in human trafficking and the sex slave business globally. She was recently named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world due to her sharing of experiences and commitment to helping others facing potentially the most damaging childhood possible.

Back to my point. Yes. Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Somaly Mam all had one thing in common. They recognized their circumstance and realized that they could be more than that. They literally very well may have woken up one day and said to themselves “Enough is enough. I’m tired of just musing away at how good or how bad my circumstances are and doing nothing with it. I’m going to see where I want to be, and I’m going to live for it”. It’s funny when people like Donald Trump or Barack Obama are talked about. Majority of people look at their own lives and just think... Ah... they had it so good. That’s why they’ve become so successful. Then you hear a story like Somaly Mam and you think... Ah... What a powerful experience she had... She has something she can use to change this world. That only leaves one question on my mind. Don’t you realize I’ve covered a full spectrum? We’ve seen how the rich can become richer. We’ve seen how the average can become world leaders. We’ve seen how the extremely unfortunate can be the amazingly influential. Where they are now may be miles from where we can even begin to imagine ourselves... but truth be told, your current circumstance fall somewhere within this spectrum of amazing people that I’ve covered.

In the end, it comes back to the simple idea I raised before. Sticking out from the crowd is nothing more than recognizing your current circumstances... and making more of it by pursuing where you want to be. It does not matter how rich you are, it does not matter how poor you are, it does not matter how average you are. In some way shape or form, the social elite, social normals and the social rejects are able to form and shape this world. Why not YOU? Why not, indeed.

We are all created under different circumstances. What’s mattered in life is never how much we started with or were given in life, but what the world looks to the most is how much of a journey there was in between where you’re coming from and where you’re headed. What were you able to do with the talents you were given? How were you able to use the depravity in your life to help others through theirs? What were you able to show through your average-ness? We all have a potential inside of us, no matter where we come from. How you unlock it and use it is a unique and powerful thing. I’ll say it again. We all have a potential inside of us... But the question is. Will you unlock it?

I know I will.

Extra: In my previous post on “Birth, Death and All That Other Stuff In Between…” I hinted towards my death potentially being some sort of freak car accident (a joke, of course) BUT in good faith, a dear friend requested that I retract the statement for myself. That being said, I solemnly & voluntarily state that I retract this statement and reassure my readers that my true belief is that I am likely to die in my sleep at an old old age, but also quite possibly, never die and be raptured up into heaven first. Woot. GG.

Birth, Death and All That Other Stuff In Between…

2009-08-03T22:11:00.000-04:00

So this is actually something I wrote for UWCCF’s Summer Insight 2009, available on the uwccf website. This is the first of two articles I wrote for the publication this term. I usually wouldn’t rehash like this, but this article was much more suited for what I like putting up on my blog anyways. Plus it’s something positive to leave this blog on till I write my next post :p. I won't be posting the other article, so check it out on the Insight!!

- C&B!

Lately I’ve been thinking about beginnings and endings and how they seem to be the biggest and most glorified events in people’s lives. Our life begins at birth and we’re showered with gifts and toys and all our parents’ friends, our future Aunties and Uncles, come out to see us and celebrate our beginning. Further down the road, our lives end at death, and although we’re not showered with gifts nor toys this time, all the friends and family we’ve picked up along the journey come out to remember and mourn the life we lived. There aren’t many other events in our lives that bring out those closest to us like new life and finished life (maybe a wedding – but that’s another ‘beginning’ all in itself, anyways). It’s the beginning and the end that have become the most memorable to us. Think about a race. The moment people get off the block, or pass the finish line are considered the most pivotal moments. Or even in a relationship, when it begins is sometimes the most exciting and happiest time, and for those that see an end, sometimes the hardest and most agonizing moments.

Whether we realize it or not, we as humans naturally give the beginning and end a lot of value. Much more than we should.

We forget the fact that beginnings and endings themselves were never really meant to be celebrated. They’re just celebrations for what’s in between. They’re there celebrate the journey. Beginnings were meant to celebrate the initiation of the journey ahead – To celebrate all the good times to come. Endings are there to mark a point of reward, or a point of mourning for the journey that has past. All that beginning and endings really are, are time markers. They’re like the packaging on a toy, or the gift-wrap on a birthday present. They’re like the spikes you put onto your corn cob to help you eat it. They’re like the frosh week and convocation for university. They’re meant to accentuate what actually goes on in between those two points.

At my funeral, I could care less if they spent time actually detailing the events of my death… whether it may be ~~some sort of freak car accident,~~ or just getting old and dying in my sleep ~~(the first one being more likely, I’m guessing).~~ I hope what’s celebrated at my funeral is the life I lived. The things I accomplished and what I went through to be who I was to everyone else sitting in the crowd. I don’t want people to think about the fact that “okay, show’s over… Derek is gone now”, but rather the impact or influence I had on their lives through the years of love, the years of friendship and how we built up over all the hardships.

In the end, what matters is the journey that led up to it. Breakups are hard, but will you remember everything you learned and how you grew during that relationship? First place finishes are great, but will you reminisce every waking second you were in that race? Life will eventually meet an abrupt end… but will you realize that what’s important is how you lived each and every day leading up to that?

Your life on earth is capped with a beginning and an ending. But will you believe me when I say that, although these two events of your life may bring out the most people for a single event - they’re the least important times in your life? What’s important in a relationship isn’t how it began or how it ended – but how you learned from each other and grew through all the good and all the bad times. In the same way, the most important part of our lives is the now.

Each and every waking moment we’re on this earth we have the choice to impact others, to give generously or to squander, to love or to hate, to go and do something fun or to go comfort a friend in need. We all have a beginning and an end, but what makes each of ours so unique and special is all that stuff that happens in between. We’re on this journey called life. Do you live each and every day as you would want to be remembered in the end? Do you realize you’re living the most important part of life, right now?

Value each new day. Shrug off the burdens of yesterday. Run the race. Hard.

Where Is the Love?

2009-07-29T00:45:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the massive massive delay. July passed by in an instant and I didn’t even realize the lack of attention I’ve given my blog. I apologize to any of my readers (I don’t even know who you are!?!?... But apparently you’re out there :p). There will be quite a few more writings in August. A much less busy month – plus I have a few things stored up to write/post, so there’ll be more. I also apologize as this post isn’t as happy or encouraging as most of my other ones... but just something that really hit me today.

Cheers&Blessings.
-Derk

A great man once said: Be the change you want to see in the world.

That man was Gandhi. Gandhi, who was so renowned for what he believed in, even to the point of death (he was assassinated by some of his resistors). He vowed to make a difference in the world and made a statement with more than just words, that the world he lived in wasn’t good enough. The way I see things, we live in a world where there’s hate, there’s loss, there’s loneliness, there’s betrayal, there’s depression, there’s confusion, there’s just so much lack of love... and so many of us just desire more than anything else to just have a comfortable, happy life. Maybe with nice cars, cute kids, a great wife/husband, the ability to go on vacation once every year and a fun job. Sure, those things are good... they really are. Heck, I really want it too! (Not necessarily in that order... but it’s not too far off with cars up top! Lol j/k). But really... do we have our priorities right? Do I have my priorities right?

Why do we live and seemingly acknowledge this love-lost world... yet our primary ambitions in life are still the same? We’re so caught up in living the dream. Call it the Chinese family man/woman dream if you like. We want to be doctors, we want to be lawyers, accountants, engineers to get stable jobs and income to support our families, parents and kids and live comfortably and eventually die. I’m SO stoked about this... everyday... really! I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. But lately – I’ve really been discontent with it all. What’s it all for? I see this world and I just... have so much discontent. Yes, I want to live in a world where I don’t have to see so much sorrow... I want to live in a world where I don't even have to hear about murder, about suicide, about sadness or depression. I want to live in a world where the news headlines are all good. Not about the destruction and sadness. There is so much lack of love. Why is this world so lacking in something SO important?

I think the problem is that I’ve become too casual with this world. I see all the hate, all the sadness, all the things I listed before... and I say. DAMN. This world sucks... And then carry on with my ambitions for a simple and happy life. Stop... I really have to stop. It isn’t enough anymore. No longer can I sit content and idle and think that I’ll really get that simple life so easily with the world we live in as it is. Anyone who can achieve that comfortable life without any great roadblock must be amazingly lucky... this world isn’t good enough for the life I want to grow old in, or that I want my kids to grow up in. I want to live in a world where I can be comfortable if my kids go missing in the streets downtown because I have comfort in knowing that someone will notice a child gone astray and stop their busy lives to help them find their parents. Heh. Farfetched thought these days right??

We have seventeen year olds going to jail for life for murder, we have people, young and old, taking the lives of their supposed loved ones and their own lives, and we have all the creepos and shady individuals doing whatever they do... but how did they all get like that in the first place? This is a messed up world... so messed up because it’s lacking love. Think about your upbringing. So many of us take for granted the love we were showered with by our siblings, friends and parents. Is it any surprise why some people turn out the way they do? I know I wouldn’t be who I am if it wasn’t for my upbringing. Yes, maybe some of these people are just twisted, maybe you can blame it on popular culture or the media... but so many of these people are just lacking love. Really... maybe I play it off as some super simple solution. But think of all the times the love of your parents and friends saved you from your night full of lonely tears, from your stint of depression, from your suicide leap. I’m reminded of the first Black Eyed Peas song that made them a hit: “Where is the Love?”. Where IS the love!?!??

It’s not bad to aspire for such a pleasant life... with good pay and a good family. It really isn’t. I think it’s one of the greatest things to aspire for... but I’m no longer content with the world as it is now to permit me to work out that ambition. More and more with our society, to get a good pay constitutes being an edgy, witty, many times cut-throat individual. Having a good family many times means sheltering your kids from the way the world really is. Should it be this way!?!? Why can’t we just make an honest living anymore? What happened to that world? Did it even ever exist? This world needs more love.

Just today I was pretty upset that the subway was down from King to Bloor. How dare they. Stupid TTC. Change my plans to get home and go out at a certain time. All the way I had to walk from College to Bloor to where the trains were working northbound, I just grumbled and grumbled, and complained about the inconvenience. I was honestly pretty pissed off. A traffic jam? Okay,that I can understand... there are bad drivers out there... But how does a box on rails stop working!?!? As I got onto the train and started heading home, I got a text from a friend. The trains were shut down... supposedly someone had a gun at Dundas station (not yet verified =/). I didn’t hear any more than that. I was floored. What an idiot. INSTANTLY, I was flooded with too many thoughts. Someone with a gun. Why did someone pull out a gun at a subway station? People’s lives potentially hang in the balance. What if someone got hurt. What was wrong with this person? Why was he/she so angry and pissed off enough to do something so crazily stupid? What led this person to be who they were? What the heck is wrong with this world? What the heck is wrong with ME? All I could think about was how I had to wait 15 minutes for a train that never came and then decide to walk another 15 minutes to get to another station. How come all I care about when push comes to shove is my personal convenience!?!? Why don’t I care more about where this world is heading? Forget my personal convenience... today was stupid. I was humbled. I used to think I was such a better person than so many people. How I’ve been taught that I’m no better than the person with the gun at Dundas. Why? Because I’m not doing enough to fix this broken place.

One of the very very few things I remember from high school, was a line quoted by one of my teachers “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Frig. I’m not good at all. I suck. But, no more. No more thinking that my primary goal is to have a good life, and I can make this world a better place on the side. If this world is not made better – how can I expect my kids to grow up in a safe place. This world needs to change. And I need to realize and live that out more than my ambitions in life. We all do. We need to realize that what we want from this world... can’t be provided by it the way it is. We need to change it. We need to be that change. We need to be that love.

I want to never feel that I can’t spare ten seconds to hold the door for the person behind me. I want to never walk right by a homeless person with the feeling that I should have given them some change – or at least spent a minute talking to them and then do nothing. I want to never think 30 minutes of my life is more important than a situation where lives hang in the balance. I never want to be satisfied with the way the world is right now.

I want to be the love I want to see in this world.

I really apologize for the mood of this post. I hesitated to post this just because it's not really what I like writing about... but what's done is done. I promise to be better next post.

Breaking potential. Living Life at 120%

2009-06-30T00:06:00.000-04:00

So this will be my fastest blog yet!!!! Actually, probably the FASTEST in my WHOLE life!

Currently, I’m going 518miles per hour!!! At 41,328ft in the air!! So, I’m on my way back from Halifax currently and nothing better to do than to write a blog while I’m on the plane :p. All kidding aside, this will also time-wise probably be my quickest blog... since I’m flying over time zones and go back an hour! So I could even write this blog in negative time if I were quick enough! HUZZAH! (that’s not really kidding aside...)

Breaking Potential. Living life at 120%. What does that even mean?!? Living at 120% has been one of my most favourite concepts/paradigms I’ve adopted in my life (along with paying it forward). What is this fascination I have with living life at 120%? Well? It’s because it’s just that much better than living it at 100%. Enough said :p.

Our potential is our 100%. We can’t break that. For example, say my max bench-press was something like 150lbs (I actually don’t bench, lol). My MAX is 150lbs! I can’t lift more than 150... I can definitely lift below 150... but what if I tried benching 160? Or 175lbs? Well, I’d probably either never get the bar off the stand or I’d pwn myself pretty hard, quite potentially ITF (In the face!).

As I’m on this plane, I’m in row 15 with a window seat, perfect for looking at the wing (I love watching the wings on landings). Jet planes usually store all their fuel in the wings to feed their engines as they go along. If you think about it, the plane is limited to the distance that the fuel in its wings will give it the capacity to do so. Say my plane only has a fuel tank big enough to get me from Halifax to Toronto... and I knew that. How would I feel if my pilot came on the intercom and said we’d now instead be flying to Hong Kong without stopping anywhere? Well... I’d be pretty freaked out! How the heck would we be able to make it to the other side of the world with enough gas to fly 3 hours!?!?

Think about a glass. Let’s say... a pint glass! (I visited the Keith’s brewery while I was in Halifax... yum!) That pint glass is only ever going to hold a pint... or 100% of itself. There’s no possible way to compress more than a pint’s worth of beer in there. At least, not for a simpleton accountant like me! (If you engineers have interesting ways to do it... I’d love to hear it!). As much as I would LOVE to get more than what I pay for when I buy a pint of Keiths... only ever going to get that one pint!

So what the deuces with all this 120% business talk then, Derek? Stop contradicting yourself! Quit being stupid! Well... there’s another concept to go with this... a quite famous one. “No man is an island”. No man, nor woman, is created or lives in this world as a silo, completely isolated from all external things or from other people. My concept of living life at 120%... is all about tapping into external resources.

When we bench press, we many times have a spotter (who sometimes helps us cheat, to make us feel better about ourselves). Planes have stopovers to fuel up again (OR those super cool mid-flight refuels like the movies!!!!). Pint glasses can be poured (or consumed) and refilled. Okay okay... I didn’t really find a convincing way to tell you how to put 120% into our limited 100%... but that’s not what I’m trying to get at. Many times in our lives, we see our time, or our life as a limited pie-chart. We can put such and such % to cars, this much to my home, this much to God, this much to myself, this much to... whatever. But we always think we only have so much to give... but do we? Are we actually limited?

Sure, maybe I only have $100 in my wallet... so I can only spend $100. But what if someone gives me $20 to spend, randomly! Well... then I obviously have 120% of what I have to spend! So what is all this business with 120%? My point is, we’re so often caught up in thinking that we only have 100% of our time, our energy, or our love to give. The reality is... we have oh-so-much more. It’s important to realize that it’s not about taking what we have and giving it out. Life is a constant flow & exchange. We receive, and we give.

Have you ever thought about why it’s so easy to do... ANYTHING when someone does something nice for you? Think about a relationship you’ve been in... Isn’t it so much easier to love someone... when they show that they love you too? Isn’t it so much easier to be kind... when you’ve been kind to? How about being a caring person... because you’ve been cared for so well. Have you ever noticed the correlation between people who are really nice and caring... and have amazingly nice and caring parents? (Probably not a perfect correlation... but definitely exists!). Don’t you find it easy to talk to people who make an effort to talk to you too!?

So I haven’t really answered the question... What does it mean to live at 120%? Well... it means to live utilizing these external resources. To live off the energy and goodness of others. If I’ve been shown love or care... well... it’s my job not to hoard it and to pass it along!

I’m sure so many of you people have seen others who do GREAT things and eventually... ‘burn out’. So many selfless serving people... burn out. The relentlessly kind... burn out. Why? I think Many people get caught up in thinking that what they have to give... comes from within them. If they were a cup of water... well, they've dried up! They ran out of juice. Then again, there are some people who are able to endlessly serve or be kind. Talk to them... and ask them what their motivation is. I’m 100% sure (or 120% :p) it’s for some great cause, due to some great person, I’m SURE that it’s something beyond themselves that pushes them to always do more and more than what everyone thought they were capable of.

So what am I trying to tell you guys to do? Live at 120%! Live beyond your capacity... by realizing we aren’t self contained. Live Loved! And subsequently, Love, because ‘freely you’ve been given... so freely give’. We were never created to be islands. We were meant to support each other and to pour into each other so that the effect would pay itself forward. Feed off of others’ goodness and awesomeness. Break your own potential by realizing what you can do through what others give you!

In the end... the ‘120%’ holds no actual value as a number... but more-so the fact that it is more than 100%. The point is to live beyond what we consider our potential. Just thought I’d clarify that. =)

“In the end Derek, aren’t I limited to what everyone else can give... What happens if I’m able to receive and give everything I’m given... what if there’s no love or joy left to tap off of others...?” Well, that’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself. For me? Call it hax0rz, but I know I have an external source that’s limitless... all that means is that I got a lot of love to pass along.

Plane landing now (probably not much fuel left :p)

Cheers!

I'd have used a Keith's glass if I could of found a pic. :p
Ghetto photoshop skills ftw!

Investments pt. 2: Yielding Exponential Returns.

2009-06-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

So, I promised I’d have a pt.2 on what a worthwhile investment is... and while this holds as an extremely true lesson/paradigm for me... maybe it won’t for everyone else, but since when has my blog been about speaking to what others think about??? HA :p. I really want to apologize... mostly to myself, heh, about the ultra delayed post. I promised myself once a week, but yeah... definitely caught up in other goodnesses!!! I’ll definitely try and compensate by having another post in a few days =). In any case... here goes!

I mentioned how time is one of the our most constrained resources in life... each minute we live is a minute closer to our death. We are just, ‘living to die’, as sad and morbid of a thought that is... but true! So I asked: what is it that you spend your most valuable resource on? Every now and then I take some time away from my daily routine to really look at what I spend my time on... in the past my list used to be filled with TV, reading up on car stuff, playing games, eating, sleeping, working out, listening to music, playing guitar, etc... and by no means are these all bad things! I love my cars and probably will never stop reading up on it as it’s a good outlet for me and brings me joy... but I thought about some of the things on my list... does TV, or does playing games or whatever, really tell myself that I value my time? While I still spend some time of my life watching TV or watching movies, I’m speaking more to the excessive side... and I know you people know what I’m talking about!! Those of you who just wallow away and do nothing but sit on the couch in front of the tube after getting home from work. Regardless of that, you're probably saying “fine Derek... if I stop watching TV... then what do I spend my time on now instead? What IS a good investment?!?”

If you are familiar with the stock market... you’ll know that the average market rate of return is something like what... 5-7%? SIX percent return on investment. (It’s probably more like 4% these days... at best. Lol. Get your money in a PC savings account, ppl!) That isn’t much to me :\. I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs (I think), the rule of ‘paying it forward’. Yes, I stole this from a movie... but the concept is that you do one nice thing for someone... and they do it to two other people... those two do nice things to two other people... etc. For anyone adept at math... that is an exponential rate of return. So we’re no longer talking single digit percentages here... we’re looking at returns that hit 200% on the first round, 400% by the second and then 800% and so on! This is why, amidst all my familiarity and knowledge of numbers... I really understand that when you’re looking to get a good return on something... you invest in people. The impact you have on people can instantly become two, three, five, ten-fold by just investing some time in them.

Invest in people! I feel that the time I spend with friends: talking, helping them out with stuff, or even just impacting people outside my group of friends is something SO worthwhile. Try and think back to what the last really awesome thing someone did for you was? Maybe it was to spend a couple hours chatting with you when you were feeling down... or helping you move out of your house... or giving you a ride somewhere when you had no other way of getting there... even something as simple as a txt msg to say “HEY! I had a GREAT day at work today and was reminded of your cheerful character! I haven’t heard from you in a while. WHATSUP DUDE?!?” (Below the 160 character limit, FYI). Didn’t the impact of their kind act leave a MUCH more lasting effect than say, an episode of grey’s? Or even the season finale of Lost? (as epic as it was!!)

Not too long ago my friend treated me out to dinner. Not only that the time spent with them to chat and talk was awesome, but the simple act of treating me like that was something that brightened my day SO much more than a game of DOTA could. Can you remember the last time you impacted someone in a positive way? In my life, I’ve made a conscious effort to really invest my time in people. Whether it be chilling with friends, chatting with them, or even mentoring some younger people. And I really think that these are impactful ways to spend my oh-so-precious resource of time.

This past Friday, I was involved in a conference with a potential employer for when I graduate. The challenge for the afternoon was that each team was given $100 cash, and we were set loose in downtown Toronto. In any creative and effective way, shape or form, we were to impact the community to make it a better place. My idea? Invest in people. YES, anyone... not just the homeless, or the sick... but also the healthy, the office worker, the wealthy, the average Jane & Joe, the accountant! *brap*. Invest in such a way to brighten their day... and the only thing to ask in return? PAY IT FORWARD! As I gave out $5 Subway gift cards and $2 Tim Hortons cards to random people FOR FREE all over the downtown streets of Toronto... my only request? Do something nice to at least two people. Hold the door. Smile. Buy them a coffee. ANYTHING. Just spread the love! Yes, donating to cancer organizations, to the sick kids, to the homeless... GREAT things to be doing. But why do we so easily neglect the people we walk by on the street each and every day? The people you see on the subway, all gloomed out and dreading another full day of work. A full day of work they trudge away at just to pay the bills, to feed their kids, to send them to school so they can have a more comfortable life than they did. THESE are the people that NEED some free loving in their lives! And are they happy to accept it? MAN should you see the smiles on their faces when you give them something for free for the sake of making the world a better place. Albeit, most of them were very CONFUSED... receiving free goodness is hardly a common thing in North American culture... but that’s something that can be changed! At exponential rates! =D

Investing in people is a SUPER fantastic thing! Through the years of being focused on this cause... the ways I’ve grown, the ways my I see the world around me, the ways I harness the joy in my life... just outstanding! Even more than just that, through this cause I’ve actually found a way to defeat death! And that’s by realizing that I will never truly die... if I leave behind a legacy! When I physically die... I want my values, my principles, my beliefs and my passions to live on in other people! For them to adopt it as their own and to continue living ‘my life’ in theirs. Now of course I want to see people take what I leave behind and ‘make it their own’, but I want to know I’m leaving behind an impact! And in this way, the most important aspects of my life never really leave this world, even if I physically do. HA! Take that world! Your normal confines of life can’t slow me down!!! *shakes fist at world*.

Our time is limited! We have to pick and choose what we want to do with it. I assume most of my readership is pretty young... we have a lot of time on our hands before death. How do you plan on using it? Are you going to invest it in something with just modest return? Or are you going to put it in something that causes your investment to overflow! (I honestly don’t think I bias my questions at all when I bold one over the other. Lol :p) Are you going to invest in mutual funds? Or are you going to invest in the human fund? Are you, going to invest in people?

P.S. My team was recognized for having the most unique/impactful use of $100. We actually get to go have a nice dinner with the recruitment team later in the summer because we won. Maybe the judges really share the same way I see the world!!! Who woulda thought I could get something right. HA! *shakes fist at world, again*

Investments pt.1: Estimating Our Life’s Value.

2009-05-28T00:41:00.000-04:00

Investing is the active redirection of resources: from being consumed today, to creating benefits in the future; the use of assets to earn income or profit. – Wiki

Whether or not you’re an accountant like me (you’re probably not), your world is surrounded with investments. By nature, most people probably think of the stock market when the word investments comes up... but in reality, ‘investments’ is a concept that was around muuccchhh much before the stock market even existed! It even goes far beyond the concept of money and commodities. As the wiki says above... it’s the active redirection of resources from being consumed today. Think about your life. What do you consume on a daily basis? Coffee... gas... food... money... time... knowledge... oxygen... the list goes on! (and yes, Coffee & Gas were intentionally the top of my list :p) What do you see coming and going in your life on a daily basis? On a weekly basis? And so on. Do you see many of these things as a waste? Are you making good use of your investments, or lack thereof?

Well I’ll explain a bit more I guess about this concept of investments for those who don’t understand it too much... I’m just going to use the example of money... for simplicity’s sake... since everyone understands money! (just accountants more so than the average human... haha). So, unless you have some sort of money making machine... you have a limited amount of money at your disposal. Regardless of you get it from work, mommy and daddy or ‘other activities’, there is a limited amount you have to spend, to give or to use. We’ve all grown up in a market-based economy... If we want something... we have to give something else in exchange for that good/commodity. To make things simple over the eras, humans developed ‘money’. A medium by which we can value as well as exchange for goods or services. So as mentioned – we have a limited amount of money... and we have a choice as to what we spend it on. Clothes. Cars. Coffee (yum). Food. Coach purses (*ahem*). Whatever it is. We have a choice to spend on something... or not at all. We can save our money. Not only in a bank to gain interest, but we can save it to buy something better. It’s the conscious choice to ‘not consume/waste now... and derive more potential enjoyment/gain later on’ (given if say we find something more worthwhile spending on). But the basic idea here is that we have a limited resource... and we have to make a choice of what to spend it on.

Whenever someone has a limited resource... they will tend to make better choices regarding how they consume this resource vs. say if someone had an unlimited amount of said resource. Imagine the things you would do if you had UNLIMITED money. I know what I’d do!!! YES. I WOULD buy many many... many cars... mmmm cars. I’d also have the world’s best coffee flown to my front doorstep every morning on my private jet. I’d also buy a bunch of nice pretty watches... (I have a watch fetish too, people! :p). What sorta things would you do?

Well. As nice as it is to dream... unlimited money isn’t a reality... Unlimited anything doesn’t quiet exist in our world, for that matter. Oxygen gets pretty close.... yet all the scientists go hubbub when it’s ‘leaking’ out of our atmosphere or being ruined by all the contaminants coming out of our cars. Necessary sacrifice, in my opinion (unbiased :p). Or think about how we treat water. It pours down from the skies and magically comes at the turn of a knob... heck we spend hours just having it spray at us every week as we shower (very inefficiently for most people, I bet)... yet we still understand that it’s limited in this world... clean water at least takes time and money to purify, run through our facilities, etc etc. If we all turned on our taps and left them running 24/7 we’d start having some problems! BUT, in any case – I’ve been thinking a lot about what is ‘limited’ in life... What are the actual constrained resources in our lives? There are a few things I can pinpoint that we hold as pretty ‘limited’ in our lives... but one definitely sticks out more than the rest.

Time. The saying goes that the only thing certain in life is death. (and taxes too... if you live under a government). We all die! Our TIME is definitely ticking and wading away. It’s something we can’t get more of or get back once it passes. Once it passes. It’s gone. Zip. Nadda. It’s not like money... we can make more and more money in our lives as we go along, no matter how much we may spend in a given moment. Same with our assets. We can buy more and more cars... or bigger and bigger houses... There’s no 100% defined constraint, really. But with time... we’re constrained by... our death! Once our time comes... that’s it. End of the musical that played on Broadway only once – and if you missed the show... then that’s tough luck!

Our time is LIMITED. What do you spend your extremely limited resource on? In my life, I spend about 5 minutes each day on hygiene (maybe more... I don’t really know :p). Multiplied by 365 days a year and that works out to 1825 minutes a year... or over 30 hours! 30 hours a year spent on personal hygiene... and I’ll never get that time back... what a waste! (j/k) Time is definitely limited... The hour I spend writing this blog post? Never getting it back. The 5 minutes you spend reading it? IT’S MINE NOW. Muahahaha. (j/k... but you’re still not getting it back). Each day we live is one day closer to our death. Are you content with knowing that the time you’re spending is time you’re never going to get back?

At work today we were looking at some ‘value of time’ figures. We basically worked out what people thought their time was worth in monetary value. It somehow worked out to $30 to $40 per hour or something for the demographic I was working with. I was pretty interested in the whole ‘value of time’ concept... and it got me thinking. I wondered what MY time was worth. Do I think I’m worth more than 40$ an hour? My employer is definitely not paying me that much per hour =(... Would my friends think I’m more than that? How much do you think your time is worth? To the world? To your friends? To your family? Although this is a bit of a random way to end a blog – it’s important to realize that although we may sometimes feel like a blob of flesh and bones... we were really created for a purpose. But we also have a countdown attached to us. Are you going to achieve your purpose before that countdown runs out?

I’m going to have a pt.2 to this post on what a worthwhile investment is :p... but for now, I’ll leave it at that. How do you consume your most valuable resource? Is it as precious to you as gold or silver? Do you endlessly pour it into sleep or games or television? When the countdown gets close to zero, are you going to be scrambling to find a reset button... or are you going to smile with a big sigh of relief?

Cheers.