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pheeohnah
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Name: just sound it out
Birthday: 2/19/1985
Expertise: teller of stories, contagion of spunk, master of mirth, clicker of cameras, singer of songs, diver of skies, wanderer of roads, strummer of guitars, climber of heights, rider of buses, partner of crimes, traveler of paths, copilot of adventures, gazer of stars
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Member Since:
1/29/2004
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collision
i took the time to look at these this weekend but i grossly underestimated what i was getting into. so much injustice. so much pain. so much struggle. yet so much determination of the human spirit. it makes my heart ache, but each photo stunned me into a shameful silence, paralyzed by what is there to do?
but injustice sat down right in front of me as i was trekking home on sunday.
i went grocery shopping in chinatown and was hauling my goods home. it was a cold and wet afternoon and the inside of the streetcar was drippy and crowded. the streetcar had to stall enroute to the station because a car crashed into another in the middle of the intersection. but that was the second collision.
i took a seat behind a curly haired blonde woman and her son, grade 6 maybe. he was telling her school stories, she was listening and responding. seemed nice enough. then across the aisle in the single seat sat a chinese man. not grey old, maybe early 40-something, duck shoes, tapered-leg too-short purple trackpants, some oversized windbreaker of sorts, and a floppy black toque half covering/standing on his head. he pulled out a large steamed meat & vegetable bun from a small plastic bag and started to devour it. after the first two bites he realized that the paper was still stuck to the bottom. i snickered to myself as he ripped it off and dropped it under the seat. he was thoroughly enjoying the bun with one leg propped up and all. it was quite an artistic scene actually. the steam seeping from the bun rose gracefully in the cold air, but his eating was rather unsightly as he crammed in huge mouthful after mouthful. he finished the huge bun in a few stops, stuffing the last two bites in one go. satisfied, he wiped his mouth with the windbreaker of sorts and crumpled the plastic bag and tossed it onto the floor of the streetcar.
like i, the woman in front of me had been watching this whole charade out of the corner of her eye. but that was the tipping point. she turned towards him, saying excuse me. excuse me. trying to get his attention. he ignored her, so she proceeded to reprimand him. why don't you pick up your litter? that's disgusting. would you ever do that at home? you should get fined for that. disgusting. she scoffed at him and threw up her hands in repulsion. a well-dressed black man in the seat in front of her turned and took her side, sharing a comment with the woman in agreement. her son watched with no words, but his mother muttered something to him and she led him out the door with one last spiteful look. the suit-clad black man went to the front of the streetcar and started talking to the driver. i knew concerned the chinese man because the driver peered back and shook his head. the man walked to back towards our end of the streetcar. he bent over slightly and with decent gentleness said you should keep the streetcar clean for everyone here, to which the chinese man, slightly intimidated, said pardon me? the man repeated himself, but all he received was a shake of the head with eyes to the ground. and with that he said whatever, man and got off the streetcar.
i watched this whole thing unfold in front of me with such mixed emotion. at first the chinese man was amusing. i was pleasantly entertained by the oddities of chinese people that i have seen so often, and the bun seemed quite delectable to me too. but yes, the littering and the rude disregard for cleanliness bothered me as well. but when that woman started hassling the chinese man, i immediately went on the defensive, as if i should be speaking up for the forgiveness of cultural differences. my teeth were clenched, feeling some personal offense but also frustration at the chinese man.
i'm not sure who had the greater fault, but so much lapsed in those few minutes. stubbornness built up. stereotypes perpetuated for this woman and created for this boy. trying unsuccessfully to bring resolve with gentle reasoning.
this city is so diverse, and i enjoy it so much for that reason. but somewhere all these people have to coexist and compromise. i've been amazed at the times when grace prevails but today, this was another collision.
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uk-bound. august 2006. in search of a good university for the little kwan, the artful spoils of british plunder, the perfect sheep in the lake district, braveheart country @ stirling, harry potter's hideaway @ oxford, jack and jill's hill, extravagant toys for rich kids @ harrods, the tastiest haggis @ edinburgh, medieval toilets @ warwick castle, the birthplace of golf @ st andrews, the birthplace of shakespeare @ straford, hill and vale and loch
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
and the perfect dessert ending
 warm scones with clotted cream and strawberrry jam
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these past two weeks, i think we defied all odds. most people would think that spending every waking and non-waking moment together often in 480 square feet quarters would drive us to madness. unsightly habits and hidden flaws hide no more. saying the wrong thing, having nothing to say. decisive, undecisive. not washing dishes, washing dishes incorrectly. smelling funny, sleeping funny. heat, humidity, one tv, one computer, one bathroom.
although new characteristics did surface, i realized that this in fact, was us bringing out the best in each other. you'd think that we would all be at each others' throats, but i realized the things that were supposed to annoy me actually entertained me and warmed my heart.
peel back more layers, forget the gel, scrub off the concealer, and i discovered more beauty, God-sculpted strength, and reason for admiration and love than ever before.
thanks for spending the big bucks and clearing space in your calendars to stop in weee little fionaville.
thank you thank you.
till next time --
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| oh fiona. why you leave things logged in? haha. I have full access to your email and your xanger. but since I am not a mean person I will not read anything or do anything that you won't like. haha.
whooohoooo. we are in toronto. having fun. partying it up. making sure fiona does not sleep. actually, making sure no one is sleeping. and of course eating lots of yummers food making us chubby like chipmunks.
as I type this, fran and jess are passed out on their respective sleeping arrangements in f kwan's quaint little apartment. they are napping before we head to the cntower to walk the famous glass floor and pretend we have money by eating way too expensive meals. haha. with only two hrs of sleep under my belt I should be napping too. ah well.
it's hot in toronto. I wish it had been bad weather in van the day we left so I would not long for breezy and perfect summer days. but fiona's wonderfulness and sunshine cancels out all bad weather and complaints. whooohoo. she's so awesome.
alright. more adventures of fiona.dorcas.francisco.jessica.alvin to come...2 weeks baby!
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12:01 may first.
toronto says happy birthday to me Dawberries.
can i count as being first? :)
haha. there's us looking all grown up.
but maybe this is more like us. sometimes lost, often confused, but better when done together.
there are many, many, many more years to come, but it makes me happier, braver, and more optimistic knowing that we will be sharing them.
i'll see if i can think up some embarassing stories to tell later. haha.
you are one in a millionjillionkabillion. thanks for letting me be one of your pals +)
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