Cheers!

Rob, Anita and Connie raise a glass to corporate capitalism and Anita's coming return to England to love and conquer! Good luck Ani! We're cheering for you! 

Moving Day! Back in Taiwan!

So, once I returned to Taiwan I had to hit the ground running. Despite massive amounts of jetlag I had to quickly get my application for my new visa in order and equally important: find a new place to live! As of March 1st I was homeless, so I had to race around to find for two weeks and find my new accomodations. At first I was planning to live with another teacher because her roommate was moving out, but in the end the teacher and I both decided that our lifestyles wouldn't be compatible so we decided to look elsewhere.

The day was saved with only a week to go by my fellow teacher Terrance Mercer, a great guy I work with at ESP who, when called up by a worried Rob, said in his usual laid-back East-coast manner "no problem". It turned out his landlord specialized in renting to foreigners, and had a few places available, fully furnished modern apartments that were a little more expensive that my old place, but very close to my office (which I wanted). In the end I took the first apartment I saw and began getting ready to move right away since I had to clean up the old place before I turned it back over to the landlord.

Pictured above is the old apartment on the day I left it behind. It was a nice 1-room apartment that served me well, but was a really to small to do anything but sleeping in. When Connie visited we were tripping over each other because it was just too small to be comfortable for two people. I don't know how one of my neighbours managed who actually had two people living their apartment full time!

Now I have a nice newer and larger studio apartment with a bigger bed, sofa, kitchen and a lot more moving and clost space! If only we weren't next to a Kindergarten with 100+ kids who have a habit of singing the same songs every morning...I often find myself singing along as I wake up..."Shake Shake Shake...Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" O_o! 

Rob arrives in Canada!

So, January 30th, I arrived in Canada with Connie for a two week visit with family, friends and relatives. Both Connie and I were severely jetlagged after a long flight that included a visit to George Bush International Airport (hightech, cold, and secure) and eventually ended in a 2 hour bus ride to London from Toronto. When we got to London we greeted my parents, and then crashed into our beds to enjoy them.

On Monday we visited with my friends Lisa To, Janet and Arthur, but I forgot to take my camera and it was just a short visit because Connie and I were still pretty tried.

On Tuesday Connie and I finally had a real visit with two of my old friends, Graham and Lisa Mo (pictured above), and spent time chatting at a local restaurant. I'm afraid we were still too tired to be good conversationalists, and poor Graham and Lisa had to do their best to keep things going! Sorry guys! Graham is one of the best read people I know, and an old friend whom I often chat about many things with. He's a graduate student at the University of Western Ontario who's studying to be a librarian. Lisa Mo is hoping to be a graduate student soon (I'm keeping my fingers crossed), and is an international business student from Hong Zhou, China who I met through another friend at school. She's a cheerful lady who is always smiling and while she seems soft, there is a tiger inside her, so guys better watch out!

The Dowswells

The Friday after we arrived Connie and I went to visit some old friends of mine, Charles and Cindy Dowswell. A couple from Northern Ontario who I have played games with to pass the time for many years, the Dowswells are blessed with two beautiful daughters, Amber (in red with her mother) and Jade (the baby on Connie's lap). They are my good friends, and I miss them a lot while I am in Taiwan. Charles is a manager at a technical support company in London, and is one of the most talented computer programmers I know. He's also fond of bragging about his steel leg, which is in fact steel, and very dangerous! 

Charlotte!

Saturday afternoon I met at my home with my friend Christina Chan, who unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of, a brilliant future dentist. Chris and I chatted about dentistry and caught up while Connie and my mother prepared things for the coming of...Charlotte! On this afternoon I was able to hold my niece for the very first time. She was born while I was in Taiwan, and this was my first chance to hold her. (I'd seen pictures and seen her over the webcam many times.) She was heavier than I expected, but a very beautiful baby girl! 

Connie looking beautiful

 

James and Sheena

The guy doing his best Popeye impression here is James Wegg, with his lovely girlfriend Sheena just behind him. Saturday night James, Sheena and my other friends threw a dinner party for Connie and I at a Taiwanese restaurant called The Rickshaw which is popular with all of us. It was a chance to get together my friends who I have played games with for over ten years in London. James is an extremely talkative and gregarious guy who can tell stories about his gaming exploits for hours, and talk about many different subjects. Sheena is a scholar when it comes to movies and televsion shows. 

The Mikes

To the left of the picture in the grey shirt you will see "Little" Mike Horsepool, the organizer of this reunion party and an all around cool guy. Horsepool and I have known each other since I came back from Japan, and now gamed together for many years. He's smart, clever (sometimes too clever for his own good), opinionated, and never boring. His long-range goal is to get into the army and get shipped off to someplace to get shot at, I don't know why, he just seems to like punishment.

In the middle of this picture, the man doing the cartoon face is Mike Armstrong, aka "Big" Mike. Mike and I have known each other for a while, and worked together to run Anime London for many years, a local Anime Club to promote Japanese animation in London. I started the club back before Anime was popular, and after a few meetings Mike showed up, and the rest, as they say, is history. Mike is a really clever and good hearted guy who cares a lot about people and is always trying to help out good causes. (When not chasing Cosplay girls with a camera....)

Big Steve

Steve Malloy is a guy I've known and gamed with for about 10 years now, he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to Fantasy and Science Fiction literature, and has read practically everything the London library system has, twice. (Which is a LOT of books!) If you have questions about Sci-Fi, "Big" Steve is the man. 

Rob and Connie

All in all, it was a wonderful time with good friends. Thanks guys, it was great to see you all and really touched our hearts! I can't wait to see you all again next year! 

Charlotte's Christening

Part of the reason I went home when I did was to attend the Christening of my Niece, Charlotte Irene Jacklin. Sunday morning we all bundled up and went to the church for the big event, and while we were waiting for the ceremony to start I snapped this Father-Daughter moment for the history books. 

Families United

A Christening ceremony marks the entry of a young person into the Christian church, and basically consists of the people of the church promising to raise the child well and then the minister blessing the child and drawing a cross on her forehead with holy water. It is a special day for both families as well, and here you can see all of us (Kirk's side on the left and mine on the right) posing at the front of the church. The woman in white holding the baby is the church Minister, and next to her is Kirk's Grandmother. 

Smile for the Camera!

Rob was officially in charge of videotaping the ceremony, so I spent most of the service trying to be as inconspicious as possible as I snuck around taping things related to the Christening. Here the minister is having the kids get ready for the ceremony itself, which I'm sorry but I don't have any pictures of because I was too busy taping it. *^_^* 

Something Old

Charlotte was wearing my Grandmother's Christening gown, which means that it's the same gown her 95 year old great-grandmother wore when she was a baby for the same ceremony. As you can see it's quite long, I'm not sure why except that it was the style then, I'm not sure if new Christening gowns are also so long. The lovely woman sharing a moment with Charlotte is Kirk's sister-in-law Karin. 

Wow! Really?

Charlotte finds out that there's a party after the Christening. 

Christened Out

"Alright, enough of this Christening stuff. Can we just go home now, Mom?" 

Getting Ready

After the Christening we rushed home to get ready for the after-party, and Connie and I were enlisted to help set things up. Here we are with my mother and our friend Greg. 

Party Time!

Of course, Charlotte was still the star of the day even after the Christening. Here she is in my living room with her father, Kirk, and behind Kirk (in red and green) you can see Kirk's mother and father, and across from him is his sister-in-law, Karin. (Karin's husband, Kirk's brother Derek, is the dignified looking striped grey arm you can see in the foreground.) 

Let them Eat Cake!

Rob and Connie pause from rushing around to eat some of the wonderful desserts that my mother made for the party while nobody's looking. ^_- 

Hey Everybody!

Charlotte poses on my Aunt Elaine's lap, a happy girl having her day! 

Crayon Shin-Charlotte

A very tired Charlotte at the end of a very long day wearing the Chinese style hat that goes with a pink satin Chinese New Year jumper she was sent by Connie's Mom. 

Tuesday night with Lisa and Friends.

Tuesday night I again met up with some of my local friends at a bar called The Honest Lawyer in downtown London. I'd actually met up with this group the day after I came back to Canada, but forgot my camera that night because I was still so jetlagged.

Lisa To (the girl with the glasses in the picture above) is one of my closest and best friends. She's an honest and kindhearted girl who was one of my first classmates when I returned to school in 2000 and had the misfortune to sit down next to Rob. Over the years we've gone through a lot together, and I consider her like family. Lisa is always curious, and never stops asking questions, which since I seem to have most of the answers she's looking for, has made for a great friendship! She's studying hard to be an engineer, and I have no doubts she'll make a great one after she graduates. ^_^ She's just got to survive one more year... 

Janet

Janet is a smart (too smart, sometimes) and sassy Shanghai lady studying Economics at my local University. She's one of the most friendly and ambitious women I know, and she brings a taste of Shanghai style to poor dull London. I have known Janet for about 3 years now, and consider myself lucky to call her my friend. 

Doreen

This cutie is Doreen, Lisa's roommate who I have known for about 4 years now. Originally from GuangDong province in China, Doreen has matured a lot in the time I've known her, from a awkward and shy girl to a forward thinking young woman. She's also got good taste in men, apparently, since a Taiwanese guy won her heart not long before this picture was taken. (Sorry guys!) 

The Whole Gang

You're probably wondering why everyone in this picture but me is Chinese even though I'm in Canada. No, this is not a picture from Taiwan that I have put in here by mistake. The answer is that when I went back to school the second times, the first friends I made there Lisa, and Anthea (pictured later) were both Chinese-Canadians. Thanks to them, my network of friends I made at the school while I was there were almost all Chinese! I guess you could say it was training for my time in Taiwan, and one of the reasons Chinese culture is so familiar to me even though I am Canadian. (From left to right, pictured here is Doreen, Lisa, Janet, Some Canadian, Connie, and Arthur.)