White Christmas - uOttawa & Shopping mall (December 25)

On the day of Christmas, everywhere outside was so quiet. I saw very light traffic all the way from my home to uOttawa, then Rideau Centre shopping mall, and then Parliament Hill. Our school was closed. Few people were in the mall. Well, it was really out of my expectation. What a silent Christmas day! I know, however, people must be veeeeeeeeery busy in their interior worlds at that moment.

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Rideau Centre at Laurier St.

University of Ottawa

White Christmas - Parliament Hill (December 25)

07' Christmas has just passed, most people have had a great time in celebrating this holiday. For me, it is quite meaningful since this is my first Christmas in the capital city of Canada.



People in my hometown usually ask me if there is a lot of holiday atmosphere surrounding me when it comes to Christmas in Canada. Well, to be frank, this pretty straightforward question is kinda hard for me to answer. Yes, during the Christmas season, people's homes, apartments, stores, shoppingmalls, restaurants, government buildings and most of the public places are decorated with Christmas trees, wreaths and various beautiful Christmas theme accessories. Many TV channels are broadcasting Christmas-related programs, even story settings of animations and sitcoms are in Christmas season. What do all these things bring to me? I think they just remind me of the arrival of the holiday, give me some visual pleasures and lend me a reason to get a rest from busy studying days. What else... I guess nope. Believe it or not, I don't realistically feel I am really celebrating a holiday (But I still welcome any holidays bringing me a break). The longer I stay in Canada, the deeper feeling I get that Christmas and some of other holidays are all about family. Simply because I'm not with my family, i cannot fully enjoy the happiness that these holidays should have brought to me.



Someone once told me that life is all about CHANGE and BALANCE, so I think we should always try to make ourselves happy and get some funs no matter where we are. As for Christmas, when my family is not here to celebrate with me, a good thing is I have my friends. A friend of mine and I went to uOttawa campus and then Parliament Hill in the afternoon of Christmas Day. Because we both think that only staying at home killing time is not what we should do on Christmas, at least not for my first Christmas at here :) So we brought our cameras and decided to give some nice shots to record this wonderful holiday season.



Parliament building is quite different from its usual looks in terms of color. Illuminations endow it with the effect of wonderland. As it changes color gradually from red, purple, blue, green, the snowflake shaped lights are slowly and randomly floating on the wall. I really like the effect it got. Although many family prefer not to step out on Christmas, you can still find some families, parents with their kids, went visit this spot. Parents held kids' hands, told them some Christmas stories as they were walking along the road appreciating the beautiful scenery. Kids laughed and played with each other. Christmas had put big smiles on kids' faces and I can literally see how happy they were at that moment. So sweet!



When the sky was getting pretty dark at 5:30pm, it was also quite chilly and windy. If the temperature allowed, I guess I would have stayed there longer. After that visit, we both got some nice pictures , and also great memories. All in all, It was a wonderful Christmas day for me, thanks Ben!

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Feel so Cheerful!

Finally, I'm done with all the school stuff of this fall term. Yesterday, when I clicked the "send" button to submit the last assignment of mine, I felt that I was the happiest person in the world, no kidding. Cheers~

After three month study of MEBT program, I found one thing that worth mentioning. FINAL EXAM, the thing that makes you hate so much but also like much. Everytime when it closes to the final term, my life will become way busier than before, writing report and paper, making presentation one after another, preparing final exams etc. They can definitely keep me busy all weeks round.


As for final exam, I have to review all slides and other related handouts before it, no matter it is a closed or open book exam, a sit-down or take-home exam. To be honest, there is really much pain before the final exam. It is like an outside-force stick you on your chair and keep pushing you doing something monotonous. At the beginning, I thought there is nothing but dislike towards it. Then I changed my mind over time. Because a lot of times, preparing final exam makes me be aware of what I was studying in the past and reinforce memory of those knowledge in my head. I have to admit that when it brings pain and stress to me, it indeed does something good for me as well.


Sometimes, I blame myself deeply for not doing things, especially my study initiatively. In theory, I know that I shouldn't study just for the sake of the exam, but well, it is just hard to focus on the school stuff when there are a lot of attractive things distracting my attention. Now it is different, I decided to change a bit for embracing the come of a new year. I'll try to plan my schedule forward next year, and be more active in doing my research and study.


Currently, I want to release myself from the heavy workload and strain, and enjoy deeply this wonderful Christmas and great holiday season. I'll hang out with my friends from time to time, do something I am really passionate and enthusiastic about, like photography^^, talk overseas with my family, cook and eat my favorite food, and wander around outside inhaling the fresh air. In a word, I'll cherish every FREE minute I got and have a lot of funs...Yes.


Wish you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Oh my goodness!

It snowed a whole day yesterday. To be honest, I have never seen such a heavy snow in my whooooooooooole life!!! Oh my goodness. Well, I guess I will get used to it sooner or later.

Today in the afternoon, when I opened the door, I was totally amazed by what I saw. This city is virtually wrapped up by the snow. On the both sides of the street, "snow walls" were built almost high up to my knees. And because "snow walls" took too much space, the footpath was only left about one-foot wide for walking. Can you imagine it?
Pedestrians have to wind the snow path carefully. It is definitely not a good day for seniors to go shopping. By the way, It might be the first time I got the feeling that I was so slow and clumsy on walking, quite embarrassed. But I changed my mind a moment later, cuz I just looked around ;)

One final exam was finished today. There are still, however, three more tasks undone. It seems I cannot be absolutely free until Christmas. Deadly looking forward to this winter holiday so that I can have a good, undisturbed, peaceful and relaxed S-L-E-E-P.

Snowing...

At 11:00pm
-9 degree Celcius(feels like -18)
I was standing in front of my house, watching the snow falling
Felt the cold

Enjoyed the fresh

Prayed tomorrow a beautiful day...

Snow crept to everywhere...

Outside the gate of my house,

you can hardly see doorsteps leading to the road.

Snow was piled up along the footpath,

which I walk through everyday.

Snowy night..

Silent night..

Time, please stop at this moment

Don't know what is cold,

try to stand here like what I did

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First Snowfall in Ottawa (Nov. 23)

First snowfall came on Nov.23, kinda excited to see snow here. Thanks to its come, I would say this is the only thing that gave me the refreshing feeling these days, because what I have gone through recently can only be described as one word - "B-U-S-Y"! Also, snow reminded me of winter in Beijing, although it becomes more and more rare to see snowy days during the winter of Beijing. Umm... Climate changes have been bringing so dramatic effect on earth.

On Saturday the 24th , I had a group disscussion in the afternoon. So i went to school and recorded the snowy scenes on campus. Pics. were taken by my cell phone as well.

This kind of waiting room at bus stop really comes in handy in winter of Ottawa, it blocks chilly wind and storm although doesn't provide any heaters. It is only expected to be seen at major stops, which is far more not enough as far as i'm concerned.





Four pics above are taken on uOttawa campus

Just For Fun - My Celebrity Look-alikes

I did My Celebrity Look-alikes by using two pictures of mine and here are the results. Tata Young is the celebrity that I am most alike, the likeness is about 83% something. As a matter of fact, I don't think we are really look-alikes. Maybe she is chosen due to the specific picture of me that I picked. When compared two results, I found that Joey Yung(容祖儿) - a singer from Hong Kong and Fujiki Naohito(藤木直人) - a Japanese actor and singer were shown twice. It must be kidding me, haha, how come that I looked like them. Then I began to doubt the authority of this online application until I spotted a name, Gong Li (巩俐), a world-wide renowned Chinese actress, that's right!

It reminded me of a short story. I still remembered vividly that one of my elementary teachers once said to me that I looked like Gong Li. Then I told my mom about this full of happiness. To my surprise, she laughed and said jokingly that my teacher better got a pair of glasses. At that time, I was kinda unsatisfied with her response. Now, this software also believes what my teacher has said, at least partially agrees ;) See，Mom, there must be something right.

Although the result is not accurate from my perspective, it is still fun to play with this software. If you are also interested in it, try it by yourself http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/face-recognition.php

Chef is back :)

During the break week between two blocks of Fall semester, I got a chance to do something I like, cooking, to be specific. :) Although cooking is a time-consuming job as most people consider, it indeed brings me some sorts of satisfaction after I finally make it. The only thing disturbing me is how am I gonna deal with my weight. Umm...hope it stays here ;)

1. Chinese Pancake

2. Bell Peppers & Chicken Stir Fry

3. It is not a curry meal... It is Amy's Gourmet Curry Combo!!!

4. Ribs

5. Boiled Mussel

6. Shredded Pork with Spicy Sauce (Yu Xiang Rou Si)

Colorful Days

On my way to a Chinese grocery store named Kowloon, I saw beautiful fall sceneries everywhere. Leaves on the ground are much thicker. Trees represent a variety of colors, especially red and amber. So amazing! I am really enjoying deeply of this colorful season! But darn it, I forgot to bring my camera again!


photo by Amy Qiu, SonyEricsson w810i Pictures