Category Archives: Life Stories

My Soroptimist Speech

March 30 3:26 pm ,
Little fall of rain

Little fall of rain

I just came home from the Philippines when I got the email. “Congratulations,” it said. “You have been selected as a winner of the Soroptimist International of North and West Vancouver’s Ruth Ditto award.” I was awed, and rendered speechless. Soroptimist International is a worldwide service organization for women committed to helping women (and girls) achieve their individual and collective potentials. The Ruth Ditto Award is an award unique to the North and West Vancouver Club. Ruth Ditto is an esteemed and treasured Club member and everyone remembers her for her strength (despite the fact that she was a petite woman), and remembers how unselfishly she shared her talents (she is a painter too) and her time. The award is to honour women who persevere despite challenges (in my essay, I spoke of the travails of being a new immigrant with big dreams). With all of Ruth Ditto’s friends in attendance, I felt empowered, humbled, honoured. Below is my speech.

Somebody looked at my palm to gaze into my future. He smiled but did not tell me what he saw.

I prefer it that way. Not knowing. Because it is enough that I know that my husband and I, we always put ourselves in, well, situations.

In December 2011, we found ourselves in the clutches of winter in beautiful Vancouver.

We were starting a new life, embarking on an adventure.

Until the adventure turned real and the difficulty of finding a foothold in a new country we did not know sank in.

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Posted in: Canada, Life Stories , Tagged: ,

In the grand scheme of things

September 1 3:11 pm ,

Flying high

A man may do an immense deal of good, if he does not care who gets the credit for it.  ~Father Strickland, 1863

Somebody forgot to mention you in their all-powerful speech. Or acknowledge you. Or to look at you at the right moment – the moment where it mattered – where everyone will realize – or remember – that yes, it was because of YOU.

You were prepared to smile, to blush, to say that it was nothing, or that it did not matter, or that you did not want recognition, or anything.

But you were forgotten.

It was a slip, a sliver of a moment, but it hurt like hell.

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Posted in: Life Stories, Spiritual Abundance , Tagged:

Your words will haunt you

August 19 3:28 pm ,

Hide!

And I mean this in a good way (okay, sometimes it can haunt you in a bad way too).

A friend saw a letter she wrote 10 years ago to one of her best friends (her best friend showed it to her, in a fit of nostalgia). She said in the letter that although she was sidetracked with having a baby, she thought she would probably pursue law school (she was in her 3rd year at that time) because some dreams are meant to be pursued.

Such tenacity.

Such a positive world view.

Such a positive view of the self.

Take no prisoners.

(she became a lawyer 4 years after)

She wonders if she still has the same fight in her now. The same urgency. The same determination.

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Posted in: Life Stories, Random Thoughts, The Beginning , Tagged: ,

What is your why?

July 16 2:23 pm ,

Getting to the why

I attended the 3-day seminar of the Rich Dad Academy in Vancouver and learned a lot. This is what I love about seminars – and why I keep going to them – I get insights and learn new ways – more effective ways – of doing things. In the next few days, I will be sharing them with you and I hope your lives will be enriched too.

Some of us plod along this world not knowing what we are here for. We walk our paths, fall into our usual pattern, surprise ourselves some of the time, and when the excitement dies, wonder why we still have that big hole in our chest. The answer is not within, but without – that is, outside of us.

Who do you live for? What do you live for?

Is it your children or your family? (but please do not have that reason just because every other person says it should be so)

Do you dream of making it big? (does it get you awake nights, to plot, to plan, to see in your mind’s eye how that could be)

Is it money – a lot of money – so you can make a difference in your life and in the world? (have you seen need, have you felt need, do you want to erase it from yourself, your memory, the world)

Is it recognition? Is it acceptance? (what happened in your early life that made this matter in your now)

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Posted in: Canada, Life Stories, Wealth Attraction , Tagged: , ,

Do you want to be him?

June 27 2:27 am ,

Different colors and hues

I am talking about your boss.

Look at him. Do you want to be him? Because you will be him in 5 or so years.

This was whispered to me a long time ago and I was confronted with the question.  Did I want to become my boss? More importantly, was I in the right path?

The right path would, well, feel right – if you like what you see. The responsibilities, the demeanor, the family life, the stresses, the pressures, the rewards – of your boss – will be yours one day.

Can you be him? Do you want to be him?

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Posted in: Life Stories, Random Thoughts, The Secret , Tagged: , , ,

Why stay?

April 14 3:38 pm ,

You are meant to be here

A chance encounter.

I talked to someone today and was surprised to find out she is a lawyer in Germany. But like most professionals in Canada, who face the bar of credential recognition and what it stands for – further studies, time and expense – she thinks she will never get to practice her profession here.

She may be right.

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Posted in: Canada, Life Stories , Tagged: , , ,

Finding your inner fashion

April 10 11:55 am ,

My daughter: A look at the past

Seeing with the mind’s eye gowns of the most beautiful fabric – and doodling and spinning outrageous stories – were my favorite pastimes when I was a young girl.

I would draw upon pages – reams – of paper, that I was sure I would be a fashion designer when I grew up. But logic kicked in – and panic – so I took up broadcasting and law instead (uhm).

And so my drawing – and fashion – fell at the wayside and I did not take it a notch higher, nor did I apply it to how I actually dressed (I do not think I had the choice). So yes, I was not really a fashionista at that age (I have pictures!). I would dress with the clothes my mom has given me – and well, my practical mom did not have an eye for fashion (I have pictures!).

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged:

Interesting Infographics Comparing Eastern and Western Medicine

February 12 2:48 pm ,

Dawn

Last year, when we were still going to Dr. Tan Ci Shou, renowned practitioner of Eastern medicine, I wrote a post on East versus West: Alternative Medicine.

In our story, the West ultimately won, and hubby underwent pacemaker implantation.  But honestly, there are still doubts in our minds of whether this was the right thing to do.  However, we were pressed for time, and caught between life and death.  Of course, we went for life.

But here is an interesting infographics I received, which is a comparison between eastern and western medicine.  Obviously, it leans towards the east, which is the older and less invasive of the two.  Having been reared the western way (in terms of medicine at least), eastern medicine presents to me a viable alternative, one that I would give some serious thought to.  After all, being informed, and knowing about alternatives, is half the battle.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged: ,