
Funky first random pic of 2010!
Happy 2010!! I'm still wallowing in my PJs and it's past 6PM :P
I just finished off Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers - a pretty darn invigorating read. Many instances in the book rang true for me, especially being the very much loved and sheltered child of Third World immigrant parents.

Add to this that at 4am this morning I was still chatting it up with beloved salsa girls after a wonderfully spontaneous random night (this is why I love these girls.. we went from ogling UFC fighters on leather couches at a cozy upstairs room at a sports club to dancing at a club with some "flavour" (ahahaha) and finally some deep convo in Chinatown). We ended on the topic of Third World immigrants and their kids and so I stumbled into bed and woke up to happily finish my overlapping book.
Anyway, back to the book - it argues that success is not a one-person thing. It is the combined sum of not just your intelligence and "pluck," but very importantly also of opportunities and other people as well. So now I shall roughly try to find my list of opportunities and people for why I am currently a professional not doing too-too bad half a world away from where I was born. Here we go.. the reasons for my "gifts" in life thus far:
1. My maternal grandmother. She had barely even elementary education, but somehow she KNEW that education was a key to get her kids out of poverty. Before she died (sadly, much too prematurely), her wish to her husband was for the kids to finish school. And so they did (very long hard roads for each child), including university.
2. My mother and father. Both made a successful team in trying to give me and my sister a better future. My dad was the extremely competent breadwinner. My mom was the extremely competent financial manager.
3. My mother's "pluck." She was the key instrument in initiating the move to Brunei and then later on to Canada.
4. Brunei's oil industry. My dad gained heavy experience in the oil industry and guess what was in demand in Alberta? Yup. People like my dad. This helped us pick a place in Canada. The time and place fit my dad's background (crucial ingredients which Malcolm Gladwell points out)
5. My Bruneian early education and subsequent Canadian education. Brunei employed the British System. I got beat for not doing my homework in Kindergarten. I always did it from then on. I also was learning to write Arabic by Grade 1 and was memorizing multiplication tables by Grade 2. By the time I got to Canada, I found schooling here to be incredibly easy and lax.
6. My first teacher in Canada. She told me that Anne of Green Gables was too big for me to read, so I got pissed off and read it (I can be a bit feisty). I've loved books deeply ever since. During elementary school summer vacations, I was polishing off at least 10 books a week. Which also made schooling a lot easier.
7. Now that I think of it, my boyfriend in Grade 12 + first couple years of University. We both definitely had competitive streaks and would compete for grades. I think we even hooked up over IB homework - ha! Incidentally, we both graduated in the top 10 of our high school. He was not only really sweet, he also had incredible study ethic and determination. Many of our dates were study dates. He was also a b-boy and introduced me to A Tribe Called Quest :)
4. My mother's stories. Not only are they a source of fascination to me, but they have held such inspiring life lessons that I had no reason whatsoever to complain about things like studying and doing well in school while growing up. They also taught me to not be afraid to talk to people, and that social relationships are extremely important to your well-being. (Malcolm Gladwell had a section on "practical intelligence" into which this falls under)
5. My father's work ethic. He's so resourceful and hardworking. He taught me to be humble and proud and to work your butt off without complaining. And to be good at what you do without being flamboyant and showy about it. And to attempt to problem-solve and fix things so there is less waste :)
It's pretty sweet! Speaking of which,
Happy Birthday Mom + Happy 32nd Anniversary Mom & Dad :) Yay Family!
This has been a pretty sweet ass Christmas holiday. I have 2 new toys to play with.. an iPod Classic from my parents and a wii along with Super Mario Bros from Super boyfriend.. eeep! This might make me wanna stay home a lot more. I'm already twitching with thoughts of buying Zelda Twilight Princess after finishing Super Mario (I'm at the castle in World 7!)
My present to myself was finally making it to the gym as well as a new snowboarding jacket (and some goodies I 'kind of accidentally' picked up along the way). I was in Jasper for the New Year courtesy of the beefy one. However, I did no snowsports whatsoever. Fail. Too much alcohol!
As you can tell from above spending, I'm still, thankfully, employed.
My great but 'late' discoveries of 2009:
-Whey protein isolate does NOT give gas to the unfortunate lactose intolerant! I'm saveddddddd :) I've read and heard it before, but I never actually tried until this fall. I'm so glad I did! My muscles are thanking me :) Thanks to the awesome staff at Popeye's :D
-Rockband. I know, I know, uberlate. But it's like crack for Filipinos. We have too many musical genes for our own good.