Cecilia

Statement released by Raymond Zhang and Sherry Xu, read outside their home by the family's lawyer, Jeffry House.

"We are devastated and in anguish to know that our angel daughter Cecilia has departed this life.

"We commend her soul to God in Heaven where we know she now resides. She was the best of daughters and brought us joy throughout her short life.

"We have missed her every hour, every moment, since she was cruelly taken from us. We hope that she did not suffer and hope that she knows how much of a treasure she was to us in her all-too-short life.

"We thank everyone who has prayed for her and for us, and everyone who has given our family a kind thought in these hard months since Cecilia disappeared.

"We hope that those who took Cecilia from us will soon be captured and be judged as they deserve.

"We thank Toronto police for their unceasing efforts on Cecilia's behalf and we ask all of you to treasure your children every single day. Thank you."

My heart goes out to Cecilia's parents and her extended family. This is absolutely devastating news. I hope that the authorities find the culprits of this desparate and foolish act.

Congratulations

Jimmy Sparks...that is great news man. You will be the first Financial Engineer I've ever known. When does the program start? September? So I guess you'll be chilling in Toronto working for the summer, eh? We'll have to chill cause I'll hopefully be downtown by then.

This blog kinda sounds like an e-mail that I probably should have written directly to James. Oh well...hopefully he reads my site.

Hitting the Slopes

I leave for the big Vermont snowboarding trip tomorrow. I can't wait...it's gonna be a blast. I'm glad that I bought a board this year. Too bad that I only used it once though. Anyway, I'll get a solid 3 days in this weekend and it will hopefully be nice powder. The last trip of the season should hopefully be dope. I am stoked for this trip and looking forward to just chilling and not doing much of anything other than boarding and hopefully some hot tubbing (assuming there is one). There are bus loads of peeps going on this trip going so it should be a fun time and I'm sure I'll meet some new people.

Apartment hunt is going well. I've seen 1 good place so far. All the rest are basically shoeboxes. I don't know how people live in 500 or 600 square foot apartments. I mean, I guess it is good for some people or all they can afford in a certain area. But, I would rather live a bit farther out and have more space. Settling for 500 or 600 square feet (especially in some of the places I've seen) just isn't going to happen. This one place I saw yesterday had a bathroom that was about half as big as the bedroom and nearly as big as the kitchen. What the fugg is up with that? Use that space for other stuff man! And, I love when they do the "combined living/dining" area so that way the room seems bigger.

I am tired. This weekend is coming at the right time.
Word...

Away from the Scene

Wow....it's been quite some time since I last blogged. To be honest though, not much has happened. I watched quite a bit of NCAA basketball the last couple of days. I worked from home most of this week and took care of a lot of paperwork and general menial stuff that was piling up so that was good.

Last night, Kdot, G, Ashwat and the ladies got together to celebrate Raquel's recent Canadian Citizenship. We played the game Cranium. It's a solid board game with a lot of fun stuff going on. There are different categories which makes it great. You can hum songs, pictionary with eyes open AND with eyes closed, charades, word puzzle, data stuff, true/false, definitions and my favourite - SCULPTING. It's really cool. You get playdo type stuff and you have to make things like a shish kebob or paper clip or unicorn or lego. I had a great time playing that game. Sometimes though - I've noticed that board games bring out the worst in people depending on how competitive they are.

Tonight, I'm going to Ian and Haruko's for a sushi party. I am really looking forward to it. It's gonna be a great time.

I am also starting to look for a place. Jumping on the bandwagon with Kevin and Tai. I've been thinking about it for a while now and done some research but I am gonna get more into it now and find something slick.

Wish me luck.

Get your Brackets Ready!!!

It's that time of year again folks. It's March Madness time. That's right. You can go to www.espn.com or www.sportsline.com or www.cnnsi.com for all of your insight and bracket coverage. For all of you periphery sports fans. I will tell you that this is the single most exciting 3.5 weeks of sports every year. The World Cup of Soccer (every 4 years) is definitely similar as are the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The real awesome part of the NCAA Tournament though is that every game matters. It's do or die every time the team hits the floor. That is something that is totally intriguing and takes things to the next level as a result. If you can make time and watch any of this tournament (especially the first couple of rounds) - go for it. You won't be dissapointed. Last year, I was living in Milwaukee during the tournament and that made things even more exciting because people down there go nuts (just like we do for Hockey). Don't get me wrong by the way...hockey is still my favourite sport but there is something special about March Madness.

This weekend, I chilled with Bobby and Kris in SSM. We had a really chill weekend. Went swimming and hot tubbing on Friday afternoon. Had a very nice dinner at an Italian Restaurant on Friday night. Had a New York Strip Medium Rare with a Porchini Mushroom risotto on the side. Sunday we slept in. Didn't wake up till about 1:00 pm. Then, went to the states for some gambling at the Kewadin Casino. When we crossed the border - we got asked to go to immigration so they could check us out. I guess you kind of get type cast as a terrorist when there is a Sikh, a Marathi and some Trinny massive. Apparently, I talk too much with those border guys. I was chatting with them - giving them all sorts of info as they were asking me questions. The way I look at it is that I've got nothing to hide. I see what Kris and Bobby are saying though. When you say too much, they basically try to get you caught in your words so you stumble and then, they pounce on you. We got through without any issues in the end so it's all good. However, I did lose $40 on Black Jack. Damn dealer kept beating me by 1 or pushing. I was playing technically properly but just didn't win any cash. Kris and Bobby both won so they hooked me up with some buffet...such swell guys. Got back to Bobby's at nigh. Watched Ishq Vishk (Hindi movie). First time I've ever seen Amrita Rao and she is BEAUTIFUL and Marathi!!! I am just waiting for the lotus leaf to arrive in the mail. ;o) We then played monopoly and I was down to $11 but then worked my way back. We made some trades and I got Boardwalk and Park Place. Then, I started killing it. Kris was losing huge and quit so I ended up with the most money when we stopped. We then watched The Italien Job (what a great movie) and then went to bed. The drive home yesterday was quite stressful. The conditions were crappy as there was a lot of ice and snow and blowing white-out conditions. Those 2 lane highways can get quite freaky too with oncoming traffic (especially trucks) coming so fast towards you. I'm glad I wasn't alone for that drive.

Back to the grind of work today. Not so much travelling. Just a lot of paper work and figuring out my plans...

on the road...but same issues

I'm in Sault Ste. Marie tonight...staying at a really nice hotel. I am getting ready for bed and what do I hear? Some idiot in the room beside me has his TV on maximum volume. I think he might be hard of hearing or something. It is really annoying and eerily familiar to the ish going on at home (which, knock on wood, hasn't happened to much of late). This crap seems to just follow me, eh?

Did you hear about the bombings in Madrid today? That was quite a shock. It's scary to think how many innocent people just ride the train everyday. How scared would many of them have been on the way home in the evening? people just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Reminds me of Sari nightclub in Bali. During our backpacking trip almost 2 years ago, Karen, Eric and I went to that club and the place across the street. About 8 months later, there was that terrorist bombing that levelled both places. So many innocent people there in the wrong place at the wrong time yet again.

Completely Different Perspective

Tonight, I am in a hotel room in Sudbury. Guess who is from Sudbury? Give up? Okay...I'll tell you. It's Todd Bertuzzi. I was at the hospital today and his mom and aunt work there. I didn't see them but the folks I was talking to were saying that it's been really tough for them. I just watched Bertuzzi's first public statement on TV since the incident. He was crying and apologetic (as expected). I hope he is being completely sincere about this. I also think however that he'll be suspended for a long time. I was thinking that it must be tough for his family because they must be getting constant questions about the situation. Moreso though...it must be way more difficult for Steve Moore and his family. He has 2 broken vertebrae. That is not cool at all.

Changing gears. I had East Sides for dinner tonight and it was crap. The last time my parents went to East Sides - they hated it. I echo that sentiment after my trip tonight. I don't think I'll be back at that restaurant chain anytime soon... The food just ain't good at all. I feel all bloated and grossed and definitely not fulfilled.

Yawning time. Guess that is my queue...

Sport or War?

The Todd Bertuzzi - Steve Moore incident from the Vancouver Canucks - Colorado Avalanche incident from Monday night was absolutely disgusting. Bertuzzi should be suspended for the remaining 13 games of the season AND he should be suspended throughout the playoffs for as long as the Canucks stay alive. What he did was absolutely deplorable. There is nothing good you can say about his actions and no way to rationalize it.

This week is nuts for me for traveling. Kitchener on Monday. Windsor today. And tomorrow, I'm headed up north to some cities around North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. I am getting sick of driving. That is for sure.

I'm yawning like a mofo. Later.

Everything happens for a reason right?

Tonight I learned something about myself. Let's see where it takes me. Let's see what I do with this new found knowledge. It was truly special during it's time. I hope some day it can be that good again.

In an unrelated note, I watched Scarface tonight and I really didn't like it. I thought it was really slow and Pacino was just getting on my nerves. Half way through the movie, I wanted him to die. I was happy when he was finally shot at the end (sorry if I gave away the ending but it is from 1983 so I think I'm the only one who hasn't seen it yet). I think that the commentary on life portrayed in this movie was crap. And to be honest, I hate seeing people do drugs all the time. Overall, I was not that impressed and wished it wasn't 3 hours long.

First dragonboat practice of the year tomorrow. Let's see how this new team is. I'll have to decide in the next couple of weeks if I want to join them.

It's always good to be a Toronto Sports Fan

On the surface, this looks like a good deal. In the stats...it looks just as impressive. The only downside is that Leetch is 36 years old and just raises the average age on this Leafs roster by more. They are already one of the oldest teams in the league and now, even more so. That said - this dressing room has really clicked all year long and adding a veteran such as Leetch should be a great acquisition. I am excited to see how he fits in to the club. I also don't think they are done. There is still the thought of a good solid big and tough stay-at-home defencemen. Also, possibly one more serviceable 2md line or 3rd line forward. I would still love to see Anson Carter in a Leaf uniform. I'll be at the Leaf game tomorrow in company seats so I'll say hello to Brian first hand on behalf of all of you.

As for the Raptors - I'm not sure what to say other than to pass along my utter dissapointment with this team. I am mystified at how lazy they are and how much they don't want to win. They have flashes of brilliance. For instance - the game last night against Miami. Actually, it wasn't brilliant but it was hard fought and they clawed back for the victory. Tonight, you expect them to go out and equal or exceed that performance against one of the crappiest teams in the league. Instead, they lose to the Wizards 84-70. What the $%^#@#$#% is up with that? Why not try to add Stickland to a 10-day contract? What about all that stuff earlier in the season about Tyrone Hill and/or Charles Oakley. We could still really use a solid big presence out there...

I am very excited about the upcoming Blue Jays season. Adding Hentgen and Batista to the starting rotation is big. They'll mesh well with Halladay. The offense is amazing with Wells and Delgado. It'll be interesting to see how things are handled with Delgado. I hope it's nothing like T-Mac's last season as a Raptor. All of the players appear to be in phenomenal shape in training camp. I think they all wanna finish 2nd in the east and either usurp New York or Boston. That will be an impressive feet on it's own cause those two teams are so strong. It would really be something if the Jays get into the playoffs again sometime soon.