Don Tai (Canada) Blog

Regret is how I feel about not posting these earlier. Still, life goes on and so I go. All these events have been memorable, and at each one I learn more as I continue on my way, either through technique, talking to people, or myself. Overall, it is 3 x win.

C-vents:

After three weeks of sleeping in the basement living room, somewhat stateless with no place to store his clothes, Little Weed was finally able to return to his bedroom. It was a monumental event for him and a good step back to normalcy in our house. A stable home is so important for kids.

One of the many benefits of having kids is that you get to reexamine many aspects of life you easily take for granted. Because of the low level of driving skill and sometimes reckless attitude of local drivers, teaching my Little Weeds to safely cross the street terrified me. In our sleepy suburban neighbourhood in Scarborough, Ontario, it is not too bad, but when it comes to major intersections the concequences for a miscalculation are dire. No matter how well you teach your kids, they also rely on drivers to keep them safe. Here in Scarborough we have terrible drivers. Teaching my kids how to safely cross traffic intersections has been long in the making, Here is what I tell them.

Off the bucket list is cake decorating with the Little Weeds. It had to be done and today it was. Cake decorating is pretty difficult, and so unlike Cake Boss, where everything comes out perfect the first time. From a bag of confectioner’s sugar, and some egg white came a nice creamy paste, which was then coloured with food colouring. Overall the flavour of home made icing is far better than the commercial icing we used to buy in plastic containers. It is not as sweet. The Little Weeds liked it, but their standards are quite low to begin with. On this cake we tried blue, red, green, yellow and purple colours, because we have never done this before. While the results were closer to abstract art than Cake Boss, it was sufficient to take it off my bucket list.

Freshly squeezed orange juice is so much better, and way more expensive, than tetrapacked or frozen

Growing up, orange juice was a valued commodity in our family, in that it was rare on our table. Orange juice was expensive to buy and my family could not afford it on a regular basis. While we were “encouraged” to drink water in actuality we had no choice. For this reason, I provide orange and apple juice to our Little Weeds. To me orange juice is a daily reminder of the importance of the small things in life. In a revelation of sorts I set up a taste test of freshly squeezed vs cartoned orange juice (OJ) for the Little Weeds. It was no surprise that they were able to identify which one was freshly squeezed, and also no surprise which one they preferred. Freshly squeezed orange juice is so much better in taste than cartoned orange juice. You really cannot believe all the marketing and packaging of products, as they can warp your life perspective.

Bicycle riding prohibited in certain parks in Toronto. The bylaw 319-69 was repealed in 1997.

Sometimes finding certain information on the internet is much more difficult than it should be. I was looking for the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada bylaw that allows bicycles with less than 24″ tires to ride on the sidewalk. I could not find it. I emailed the city clerk about the bylaw but got no response. This bylaw is heavily mentioned but almost never referenced. After about two years of searching the web, I finally found it.

This will be the third year my Little Weed will be attending the Boys 2 Men Institute Summer Sports Camp, here in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Overall the camp has been very well run and my Little Weed has had loads of fun. While the last 2 years the camp was held at Stephen Leacock Collegiate, this year the camp was moved to L’Amoreaux Collegiate Institute, which is still close to our house. The worst part of this camp has always been the first day, when the kids need to be registered. Happily, today’s registration for the 2011 camp was relatively painless. Three cheers for the organizer, Hugh Keane.

Eating watermelon while in China might cause you diarrhea

Your relatives sit you down on their stools in the doorway of their rural Chinese farmhouse. The doorway is the only large shaded area, and there is the bonus cross draft that, in your mind, seems to lower the 30°C temperature. Watermelon slices comes out and you are thankful for their hospitality, but you know that despite your vigilance against waterborne bacteria, you will get the runs. Do not eat watermelon while traveling in China.

Rocker RA-200 dreadnought acoustic guitar, Made in China, surprisingly good quality

My friend bought this guitar and, due to lack of time, gave it to me. This acoustic guitar is a low end “Made in China” acoustic dreadnought, purchased here in Toronto, Canada. For the low price of $60CAD, this guitar is surprisingly high quality. It says in tune, sounds very good, is well finished and looks great. The neck is straight and intonation perfect. The action is high but can be somewhat lowered. I do hate the “Rocker” brand name. Whomever chose this name should be shot.

Ten bad driving habits, by Chen Xin, People Daily, equally applicable here in Toronto, Canada

As a lifelong resident of Toronto I can attest that many fellow Torontonians wonder out loud why Chinese drivers are so terrible. I am one of them. As I live in Scarborough, a heavily Chinese area of Toronto, there are certain major intersections that I avoid due to a very high proportion of Chinese drivers that approach 100%. As my ethnic background is Chinese, I have ruled out genetics. Moreover I know many Canadian born Chinese, or Huayi, that are excellent drivers. Further, anyone from Hong Kong can attest to the prowess of their local driving skill. So why are Chinese drivers so terrible?