DARLING REDEFINED

So there is this anti-G20 protest around downtown Toronto over the weekend. I have been following the progress of the protest in Toronto Star blog all day. You can view more pictures in Globe and Mail . I rather read about the riot than watching the slaughtering of Mexico in World Cup Match against Argentina. The peaceful protest turned violent yesterday with the involvement of the anarchist group called Blackbloc. Windows in McDonalds, Starbucks, Nike and Adidas were smashed. Not to mention about 4 cop cars were torched. Suddenly downtown Toronto look like downtown Baghdad eh?

So what are the people actually protesting about? Honestly I have not find any answer to that yet. At first it looked like an anti-neoliberalism protest given the fact that the protest are organized in conjunction with the G20 summit. Soon more and more group with different causes started to join in and the protest turn into a massive and diverse movement that covers issues such as:

1. Worker's Union
2. Homeless and Poverty movement
3. Anti- neoliberalism/globalization. or Anti-big corporations etc
4. Women's right /maternal health
5. Legalization of Marijuana
6. Native rights
7. Some movement of immigrants though I am not sure what their causes are
8. Socialism/Communism
9. Peace movement
10. some group also address Tibetan, Ethiopian political problems
11. Quebec separatist movement
12. One guy tried to protest against the H1N1 vacine
13. Religious movements

14.Gay right movement

15. Anti slavery

and the list goes on...
not to mention the Flower Power and hippies are there too

Can someone please enligthen me with the main reason of the massive protest please. For I do not know. But I believe violence is really not the solution to the problem...with a few words the political authority can easily divide the movement if the wish to. We learn from Gandhi that the key to a succesful movement is civil disobedience (starving oneself, silent gathering, or any other tactics to win sympathies)... and of course Unity. Looking forward to the outcome of the protest and what Harper has to say about this.

By my dad that is. I was asking for Gawai pictures from my brother and my dad asked him to send the photos of our big family taken in my grandma's house. He said, " Send this picture to your sister so that Daniel can see the family ". Woo...what does that signal? :D Are they beginning to accept him as the prospective member of the family ? :D. I really hope so. Crossing my fingers now...

It is THAT time of the year again, the mass exodus from the university... make way for students on summer holiday!!! So where are you going or have been for the summer break? Are you homebound to Malaysia. As for me I decided to stay in this side of the world for the summer. Just for fun. I took Latin and ballroom dance class for a month now and I must say it is a very worthwhile experience. I need to master Salsa pronto so I can dance with him in a Salsa club soon :D I am still counting down the days for my own holiday escapade. Gosh I reaally realllly can't wait any longer. Wish I could fly there right now, and finally be reunited with my dearest after 6 long months. By the way here are some pictures of Mexico :)

On top of Basilica de Guadalupe, overlooking Mexico City

Angels on top of the hill near the Basilica

Mountain on the way to Queretaro.

Souvenir sellers in Teotihuacan. Their expressions are priceless. Behind those eyes you can see the hardship of life.

On top of the Pyramid of the Moon looking toward the Aisle of the Deads and Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Sun. Ever watched Apocalypto? The Aztecs used to sacrifice men on top of the pyramid.

Walking on the Aisle of the Dead towards Pyramid of the Moon.

Tourists on the Pyramid of the Moon

Typical Street in Tequisqiapan, Mexico

A native Indian souvenir seller selling handmade dolls, blankets,zarape and carved pumpkins.

A Mexican restaurant in Tequisqiapan.

Around the central plaza in Tequisqiapan. It is a a very small yet classic Mexican town. The whole town looks like a movie set.

A church in Tequisqiapan. Doesn't it remind you of Nacho Libre?

The Mariachis in San Juan del Rio. Too bad they are not performing that day.

I believe this is a replica of Mayan ruins outside of the Museum in Mexico City

The ancient Aztec pictogram

The famous Mayan calendar that predicts the end of civilization in 2012. The Mayans were obssessed with time and their calendar accurately predicted date of the arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico hundreds of years after the calendar was made. Only time will tell if the Mayans were right.

This is Taxco. The town is famous for its silver mines and white buildings. Pretty congested with tourists. If you are looking for cheap silvers, this is the place to go. There are more silver stalls than food stalls on the street.

The other view from Basilica de Guadalupe overlooking Mexico City.

I guess I have to face the fact that, I have problems with my hyper-active brain that just wont stop thinking about my life problems everytime I try to sleep. Everytime I start to doze off, that is when all the worries in life pop out of the blue to haunt me. Things that worry me range from the visa paperworks that I have to go through in a few weeks to what could possibly happen after I graduate. Should I buy a car or the house first ? What about him, should he follow me back to Malaysia right after graduation or in a few months after things settle down a bit... and the list just goes on till sunrise. Ah.... those dilemmas of a long distant relationship. They could only be solved once we are married. For now we have to go through all the pains and agonies of a long distant love.




This September will mark the 5th year of our relationship. How do we get through all the challenges is really a wonder. Often people prompted me with the question on how do I cope with fact that my other half is thousands of miles away? Yes, not being able to be with each other physically for a stretch of time is indeed the most challenging part of it all. But what normal couples experience in their relationship is assimilar to what those in a long distance relationship experience. Each relationship, regardless of the distance, needs to be constructed upon strong trust on each other. Then, you need to have the understandings and understanding is a result of active and effective communication. Even in a short distance relationhip, active communication is important between the couple as it helps to keep the relationship going. And most importantly, each relationship requires patience from both party to ensure its stability. One of the many reasons why me and him stay strong as a couple is we try not to exaggerate simple problems such as him signing in late into something that jeopardize the relationship that we have slowly build for long period of time. So as you can see, the only element that is missing in long distant relationship is the physical contact.



It does get really overwhelming at times, When you realize no matter how badly you want your partner to be right there in front of your eyes, he just never appears (not until someone invent a teleportation machine of some sort). When you look at the planes in the sky, wishing you are in the plane flying over to him... When you walk alone in street wishing he is by your side holding your hands.... When you realize you have been eating alone for months now.... When you see couples fight and wishing you can tell them to appreciate the presence of each other and realize how lucky they are....Yes it is never easy to deal with.



But smile, pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for being such a strong person to choose to be in a long distant relationship. The plus side of a long distance relationship is you learn to appreciate your partner . You appreciate the moments with your other half more than anyone else is. Knowing how harsh the distance used to be, you wouldn't take each other for granted when you finally be together. So cheers to my friends who are also in a long distance love...for love knows no boundaries or distance :).

Dance with me...Bailamos. Read my next post

A week has passed since the exam season was over. My last seven days were spent doing things that are deemed, "un-academic" in nature. These include hanging out with friends, partying, shopping, baking, exercising, dancing, cleaning, cooking, sleeping, doing research about the DPRK, Vladimir Putin's policies ( Wait, did I say "un-academic in nature" earlier on? Nevermind.) and the list goes on. Having done all that, I finally find myself going back to blogging. There is really nothing left to do *sigh. The last few days I have been I wishing my other half is here. At least with him around I could add "trying new food in Hamilton" into the list. He is my most favourite companion when it comes to eating and going out ...

Anyway, I am going to blog about my new found passion : Dancing. Last Monday and Wednesday, I attended my first Latin and Ballroom class. I must admit it is a pretty fun yet challenging class. It is fun in the sense that one gets to bring out one's artistic side when it comes to dancing. Moreover, you get to meet different people in the dance class. If you are looking to expand your social network, dance class might be a good venue to consider. Futhermore, my Latin dance class includes a trip to a local club. So do be jealous!

At the same time, joining a dance class is challenging as dancing requires one to gracefully move his or her body according to the music. It is really not easy for someone who never dance anything other than club dance like me. So, I have to allocate sometimes this weekend to review all the steps for salsa, merengue and rumba. It is a good way to exercise and to distract myself from the misery of boredom and loneliness (and sickness. I am down with flu for the time being. He is down with flu too the day i started mine. Talk about soul mates ). So who says dancing class doesn't have a homework :)