消失

可能近來多讀歷史書，有點覺得我城地標逐一消失，比所謂「借來的城市」時更加無根。未能立足過去與現在，又怎可能有未來？

Iron Ring

180+ IQ?
48 Courses
509 Assignments
1.2 km of Pencil Lead
$50,000 of Student Debt
4 -7 Years of Hard Work
6124 Sheet of Engg Paper
Too Many Sleepless Nights
Way More than 96 Exams
195 Gallons of Beer
1 Ulcer
------------------------------------
1 IRON RING

P.S. From a t-shirt I bought at the gift store at the cluster of Engg buildings of the U of A.

中四的聖經課

小時候住在觀塘一個山腰，靜中帶一丁點旺，在觀塘算得上一是「高尚住宅區」了。那時候未流行大型屋苑，我家住的大廈有兩座樓和一個停車場，叫做有點規模。大廈與大廈之間沒有聯繫，就像一個個獨立個體坐落在街上。

那時候我不大說話，也不愛笑。我喜歡思考很多事情，但卻不喜歡告訴別人。我覺得別人都不會明白我。

中四那年，我家附近發生了一件事，於是我在學期尾聖經課的「自由演說」時間說了以下的一番話。

那個學期，我聖經得A。

***** *****

從前，有一個有錢人。一天，他跑去問神父做人的道理。神父叫他望望窗戶，然後問他看到甚麼。

有錢人說：「我看到街上人來人往，男女老幼，甚麼人都有。窗子也照到自己的倒影。」

神父再叫有錢人望望鏡子，然後又問他看到甚麼。

「我看到我自己。」

神父說：「一塊玻璃原本可以看到自己，也看到別人。但當玻璃刷上一層銀之後，便只看到自己。」

我家住在一個寧靜的社區，大廈與大廈之間互不相干，沒有聯繫。不過，最近不同了，居民突然間團結一致，因為政府宣佈在街口的空地興建一所中途宿舍。

中途宿舍是一個供精神病康復者居住的地方，讓他們在離開醫院之後可以有一個中轉站，重新適應社會的生活。

可是，中途宿舍還沒有動土，所有大廈都紛紛掛上大型橫額，說反對興建中途宿舍，不要精神病漢，趕走神經佬等等。一時間互不相識的居民突然都同仇敵愾，一同反對「共同的敵人」。

我每天都會走過這些橫額。我想，精神病康復者不也是社會的一份子嗎？既然醫生也認為他們可以康復出院，為甚麼我們就不可以相信醫生的疹斷，接納他們重新返回社會？為甚麼我們就不可以給康復者一個機會，反而要排斥他們？我們街既寧靜又在市區，不正是作為康復者中轉站的好地方嗎？

當人與人之間多了一層私利，我們就只看到自己。

***** *****

那時候我不懂得歧視、包容、平等機會這些 jargon，我只知道我贊成在我家附近興建中途宿舍。

自從那一次之後，我對精神病以致其他殘疾議題也特別關注。讀 MSW 的時候，在沒有特別安排下到了一所中途宿舍實習，論文也與精神病康復者權益有關。在 Supervisor 的安排下，我到了以前家附近的中途宿舍參觀。從中四那年到中途宿舍落成入住，前後差不多擾攘了十年。

***** *****

今晚突然想起廿年前的一件事，因為社會上的「有錢人」實在太多。

大香港

讀書的時候辦 variety show 唱過這首歌（我是SM，沒有份唱），之後不見了歌詞，一直在想辦法找回，卻偶然在 Youtube 看到原裝片段。

黃霑先生的詞自然精彩，選曲也特顯了香港特色，只是現在聽來，未免大香港得要命。

加國大學排名榜 維多利亞居首?????!!!!!

I find the following coverage from Mingpao today quite ridiculous.

For those who haven't been in schools in Canada, it's already the 17th year the Maclean's does similar ranking of Canadian universities. It usually has three categories (as universities can be quite unlike), (1) medical doctoral (those with medical schools and grant PhD; usually the bigger and older ones), (2) comprehensive (those in the middle; also grant PhD with with limited programmes), and (3) primarily undergraduate (very self explanatory; usually the smallest). Most of the universities you can easily recall their names are in "medical doctoral", with a few exception in "comprehensive". Sometimes, the Maclean's might provide a ranking that combines the three together, but not very often or seldom. When a Canadian news medium wants to report the ranking, they almost always put the No.1 college in the "medical doctoral" category in the heading.

So you know what I want to say.

When I read first the heading, my first thought was "What? U. Vic.? Never heard about it."

加國大學排名榜 維多利亞居首

【明報專訊】《麥克琳》(Maclean's)雜誌公布今年加拿大大學的評選排名，維多利亞大學和麥吉爾大學分別獲綜合類別及醫學院類別的第一名，斯高沙省的阿卡迪亞大學和紐賓士域省的阿利森大學，則並列本科生類別的首位。

在 綜合類別中，維多利亞大學由去年的第三位，躍升為今年第一；卑詩省的西門菲莎大學今年則前進兩位，佔據第二名；滑鐵盧大學下降一位至第三。醫學院類別，麥 吉爾大學保持第一的位置；卑詩大學及皇后大學則並列第二。多倫多大學排名第四，該校在1994至2005年間，曾長期高踞榜首位置。

P.S. Apology to those in U of V. Not offensive. Just try to illustrate how ignorant HK news reporters can be.

Iron Ring

Everyone who received engineering education in Canada wears an iron ring on the little finger of his/her working hand (the one who hold the pen or pencil). It reminds us our obligation and responsibility to the society being an engineer. We have to attend an Iron Rings Ceremony during graduation year to receive the Ring, and we are not supposed to share the details to whom who had not attended the Ceremony :)

Although I have not been in the field for a long long time, the Iron Ring still gives me courage and strength at times of difficulties.

暗戀桃花園

I watched the HKREP's Secret Love - Peach Blossom Land tonight.





















Twelve years ago, some of my friends also produced the same drama in Edmonton. I was part of the production as well, but I was the Deputy Stage Manager for another smaller scale production -- Night and Day -- which was on stage the same night:




























After so many years, I have to say that some of them I couldn't even remember their faces now. But some have also marked a place in my heart, even though we had lost contacts since then.

P.S. I still remember the first cue I made at the performance was a wrong cue! And I kept asking the producer about the script (since I didn't find it logical at all) during rehearsals, and finally he couldn't stand it any more, and asked me to concentrate on my cues and props and costumes, etc. He said a DSM was not there to understand the play :P

...簷前滴雨...殘留幻影...

So Jerry talked about the Paradox in his blog.

I used to be a super fans at the time. My dream college was CUHK studying journalism and philosophy (needless to say I was a bigger fans of Erica Li). I had all of their cassettes (also Yvonne Lau's) and I even had a Paradox wall calendar! (I think that was 1990. My secondary school friend sent it to Canada for me.) I had a tape recording some of their long radio interviews and the moment they won the gold award of new singers at the Commercial Radio's music award ceremony! (Unbelievable!) These were all precious treasures until I somehow lost these things when I returned from Edmonton. (So sad.) I now only have two CDs of theirs :(

A chocolate dip donut, please

Date: I think is 1995

Time: Can't remember, I think is between lunch and dinner

Venue: A room in CAB, U of A

People: Ida, GGG

GGG: I am going to the cafe(teria). Do you want to have anything?

Ida: ...... get me a chocolate donut then.

GGG: What kind of chocolate donut?

Ida (a bit frustrated): What different kind of chocolate donuts I can have then?

GGG: A lot -- chocolate donut, chocolate dip donut, chocolate sprinkle donut, chocolate-chocolate donut...

Ida (cutting in): OK, OK. A chocolate dip donut then.

P.S. This box of delicious donuts makes me think of something in the last century.

No milk?

Just watched a TV programme about the down side of milk consumption (it happened that the producer is the one I worked with for the corporate video on CEDAW and HK women development two years ago). My first thought was "what would happen to the farmers due to this 'no milk campaign'"? Second image flashed across my mind was those "drink milk" commercials a decade ago across the US and Canada to encourage the youngsters to drink milk (they were shown mainly during cartoon time in Saturday morning). Third thing I remembered was the sudden drop of milk prices after Canada joined some free trade pact (WTO?) and the Canadian government had to remove its control to safeguard milk prices.

Very random thoughts.

Lately, I seem not quite comfortable with any types of coffee served at the Starbucks and Pacific Coffee, and very often I have a cup of hot milk instead.

Still very random thoughts... ...

Go Oilers Go!

Stanley Cup Final opens on 5 June.
Can anyone update me on the final from time to time?

Disappearance of Physics Building and V-Wing

Oh, my God! This is what I read from the alumni news.

The main office of the Civil Engg Dept has already been relocated from the C(ivil-)E(lectrical )B(uilding) to the new Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility some times ago, and now the Physics Building and V-Wing are even being demolished.

So sad.

I don't think I had had a lot of classes in the Physics Building, but V-Wing was almost my third home during my years in the U of A. (First being HUB and second being CEB, especially during my grad school year when I had an office there.) There's even one time when I almost dropped all the way down from the top of the stairs at a V-Wing lecture theatre cause I wasn't quite woke up yet.

Those were the days.

What a surprise

Lately, I am seriously thinking about taking an art cert at HKU SPACE. Before that, I will take some short and simple drawing classes at a community centre to see if I can still hold a drawing pencil.

When's the last time I drew? I guess it's about 10 years ago during the summer I graduated from college. That summer I stayed in Edmonton, holding a summer research position and preparing to enter grad school. At the same time, I took a drawing class at U of A Faculty of Extension.

I remember I was the slowest at the class. When others were already in the third task, I was still at the first one. But, well, I drew pretty good comparing to the other students in the class so the teacher just accepted my "slowness" and asked me to concentrate and finished the drawing.

I remember I drew a shell during one class and it was given to Mimi when she returned to HK. Her sis told me she saved the front seat to the picture, while asking the sisters to stuck at the backseats.

That was 10 solid years ago. I think the picture was long gone by now.

I took fine arts in F.4. If I didn't go to Edmonton, I always think I would study design in a design school. Arts couldn't fit in my class schedule when I landed on Edmonton to stay at high school, so it was put aside for six years until I took that drawing class, and it is another 10 years since then.

P.S. Why I name this piece "what a surprise"? I read my friend's blog today and she said she's picking up arts again, after ten long years! What a surprise!!!!!

My School

If it's not because I accidentally cleared all the links on the right-hand-side of the blog, I won't discover that my mother school Queen Elizabeth "Composite" High School has got a new name -- without the word "Composite". The school hours are also different, from 9am to 3:30pm, with every class consists of 1.5 hours. All the bus routes have been changed too. No more No. 88 from Castle Downs to the front door of the school.

The world does change without notice.

忽然間，忽然間想起你