The Pursuit of Happiness

The pursuit of Happiness is a movie stared by Will Smith and his son. I have watched this movie for twice and was moved to tears every time. The reason that I was touched is not only the perfect performance of players but this was a true story. The authenticity of this story make me believe much more that happiness can be struggled to get. The happy tall figure and small figure in the movie impressed me.

Firstly, the impressing thing was the sincere love between father and son, which can be felt in every scenes of the movie. The father in the movie was a salesman who made a living depending on selling a kind of bone density scanner. When his wife walked out because she couldn't endure the poor and aimless life any more, the father insisted his son had to stay with him. He loved his son and his son's love was the fountain of his struggle. He couldn't lose his son otherwise he would lose the spirit support. When they were evicted from the home because of no much money to pay the rent, they had to stay in subway. In order to let his son have a good sleep, they stayed at the bathroom and locked the door. When someone knocked at the door and even kicked, the father only covered his son's ears tightly, but the tears was shed quietly from his eyes. I believe he must say sorry to them in his heart for many times. Every time I saw this scene, I was moved very much by the love of the father. His son also understood the situation of his father and never complained but giving love and trust to his father.

Secondly, the happiness can be seen in everywhere even though the father and the son faced the extreme difficulties. when they were homeless, the father still told story to let his son happy. When they had to live in the shelter, they could take a bath using sink happily. When the shelter blacked out for saving electricity, the father told the son the reason only was letting them have a good sleep. For the son, a small candy, an occasional game with father all made him happy. The laughter of the son was always heard in the whole movie.

Lastly, the struggle spirit of the father was of course the most touching. Running was a part of this father's life. In order to get a spot in shelter, the father had to finish his work as early as he can and run to stand in line, otherwise they would sleep on the street. In order to get an order, he had to run to the office of customer within 15 minutes that the customer requested because of traffic jam. In the movie, the running figure of the father was often seen, which also means the non-stopping walk of the father. When he finally got the job of stockbroker after a long and hard internship period without pay, he ran into the crowd and shed tears again, but this time was joyful.

This movie ending is happy . The father and the son overcame many difficulties and got happy at last. The original person founded his company later and built the legend in Wall Street. This reminds me a saying " no pain no gain", even " blessing in disguise". The people always lack of courage and persistence when they face barriers. The father of this movie just build an example for us. Whenever and whatever happening, we can't stop the walk to pursue the happiness. " If you want something, go get it......period."

Are You Willing to Live with Your Parents?

There is one thing which has been strongly impressed on my memory and made me not to forget it until now.

Two months ago, I went to the emergency department of North York General Hospital for my twisted ankle. During the wait, I noticed an old woman sitting there and waiting for the examination results, she only wore the thin examination gown and holding her arms because of the cold. I looked around her and she had nobody accompaning her. After a while, she couldn't stand the cold and went to the examine room to ask for her clothes. She took her clothes standing there and looked like she did not to know where to change because all examination rooms were closed. So I asked her over to my examination room and helped her change clothes. She told me her shoulder couldn't move freely and the doctor just asked her to exercise and exercise. I asked her why nobody accompanied her to see the doctor. She told me she has three children, one in Banff, the other two in Ottawa and Vancouver, and she lived alone. She explained that they were so busy. When she left, she said to me that good people were all healthy. Looking at her stumbling figure, I felt a little sad.

In modern society, the aging population is increasingly becoming a serious problem. Those baby boomers are all old and they are facing the problem of how to deal with old age. Their children are all middle-aged at the peak of their careers and try to their best to achieve the most in their job and make money to support their family for a better life. They are heavily stressed with job and life and they seem to have no time to take care of their parents. The same is true in China. We call the old people living alone "empty-nest elders". The sad news about these old people is often seen in the newspapers, such as when they are sick and nobody knows or helpe. Although there are many nursing centres for senior people, could they be the only one solution?

I throw myself the same question. My short answer is to live together with your parents, at least in the same city. A Chinese saying goes "having an elder at home is like having a treasure." You take care of them and at the same time you also enjoy caring from them. They are willing to help you in life. Imagie that when you return home, dinner is ready or your children care by themselves when you are busy. Don't these situations make you happy? Maybe you can't live together with your
parents because of some reasons, but at least live near them. When you are free, you can often visit them easily to get to know their needs and let them feel the happiness of family.

I don't know what happened to that old woman. But, I hope that lonely figure is not a picture of my parents, so nor yours.

How to Become a Real Canadian for the Immigrants

Russell Peters, a comedy superstar, expressed vividly the psychological activity of a immigrant who was eager to become a Canadian using his humorous language in a video on YouTube. Russell is a descendant of Indian immigrants, and he knows much about the complexity and difficulty of changing from an immigrant to a Canadian. Everyone knows it is impossible to change just by buying a BBQ and inviting neighbour to have a party or speaking with a Canadian accent. I think to be a real Canadian, immigrants should do the following:

The first and most important thing is you need to know more about Canadian history and culture. Although the history of Canada is very short compared with China's or India's, we can still learn the roots of Canadian culture. Only if you know Canada, can you understand what and why the Canadians do this and not that.

The second thing is that you need to immerse yourself in the company of Canadians. Every country is constantly changing and progressing. Your knowing the history doesn't mean you know the current situation. You must try to talk to people to understand them. Hanging out with another culture is not an easy thing, which needs better language, good social skills and a right attitude.

The third thing is not to lose your original culture. Canada is an immigrant country, which welcomes cultures and customs from any country. There is a saying
"something with national characteristics is also the world's." Don't Canadian culture.

All in all, trying your best to be a real Canadian and know Canada and know yourself.

Attachment is the video of Russell Peters on how to become a Canadian, which makes you think deeply after laughing.

Group Shopping Online

I was an online shopaholic in the past because shopping online was convenient and easy for me especially. Since I had my son, I didn't have any time to go out for shopping. But, after an experience with online fraud, I gradually lost my confidence for shopping online until I found a better shopping style, that is group shopping online.

Just as its name implies, group shopping online means buying items online in groups for a cheaper price. Although it is also online shopping with some potential risks, it has more advantages than individual shopping online.

Firstly, it is safer than individual shopping online. Usually, you only need to pay attention to one group shopping website and follow those who are reliable organizers, such as the moderator or those people who have longer experience with organizing group shopping. And, if you still have concerns, you could only choose local groups or those you can see the real items. I didn't find any statistics about the rate of being cheated through group shopping online, but it is possibly less than individual shopping online based on my own experience. With more shopping experience, you will know what to watch out for.

Secondly, it is more convenient than individual shopping online. You just need to sit at your home to choose which items you want, follow the posts to register and pay as required, and you will receive them soon. You don't need to find the items store by store and bargain with them one by one. Everything is done by the organizers for free or with very low fees, like RMB1-2 per person. You just need to wait for the occurrence of interesting items with patience and catch the chance in time.

Thirdly, it is usually cheaper than individual shopping online. In most situations, the group sale prices are lower than individual online prices because it is easier to bargain with dealers with huge quantities. At the same time, if these items happen to be your long expected famous brand-name products, you stand to gain a lot. You really get a good deal.

Lastly, it will let you make more friends. Generally, the followers have the same interest as the organizer's. The people will become friends, thanks to having the same interest. Sometimes, in order to save on shipping cost, the followers living nearby will ask for a single delivery and split the cost. So, you will have the opportunity to know more new friends. I got to know many new friends who have a similar interest this way.

To sum up, in the past four years I have indulged in group shopping online and enjoyed it. I got a lot from it, which was lots of fun. If you have never tried this way of shopping, give yourself a chance. Give it a try!

Some links on F, C and K that I am interested in

On Freecycle:

1, wanted
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleTO/message/86455;_ylc=X3oDMTM3bGMxdm40BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MzY1OTI2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2NDIzNQRtc2dJZAM4NjQ1NQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyNDc2NjM1NzYEdHBjSWQDODY0NTU-

2, offer
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleTO/message/86458;_ylc=X3oDMTM3OTVmODB0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MzY1OTI2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2NDIzNQRtc2dJZAM4NjQ1OARzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyNDc2NjYzNzgEdHBjSWQDODY0NTg-
3, taken
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreecycleTO/message/86432;_ylc=X3oDMTM3bWVkZXV0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE1MzY1OTI2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2NDIzNQRtc2dJZAM4NjQzMgRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyNDc2MTU5MDYEdHBjSWQDODY0MzI-

On Craigslist:

Most interested in
1,http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/1271067161.html
2,http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/tag/1270946927.html
3,http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/tag/1270950845.html
Least interested in
1,http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/tag/1271321112.html
2,http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/vgm/1271312859.html
3,http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/vgm/1271246540.html

On Kijiji
Sienna 2001 Minivan
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-Toyota-2001-toyota-sienna-mini-van-W0QQAdIdZ141476137

Kayak with a skeg
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-boats-SWIFT-Trylon-Yellow-Saranac-Kayak-with-Retractable-Skeg-2007-W0QQAdIdZ142227804

Remembering Michael Jackson

When a giant star disappears, the whole world lose the blaze. In the past week, except for the happiness of Canada Day, the newspapers and TVs is full of the sadness for the passing of Michael. I didn't like MJ before and even felt he was a little disgusting because of his whitened skin and the rumours about him. But when I got to know more about him, I gradually came to respect him.

Jackson is a musical genius and started his artistic career when he was 11 years old. He is the first black artist to air on MTV. His song "Thriller" remains the record of the biggest selling album. Except for this, the most moving thing about him is that he is the biggest personal donor in the world, having sponsored more than 30 charities. He loves children and he has rented a giant house for children to play for free every year. He is full of passion and creativity. Affected by him, I searched for some of my favorites sung by MJ to share with everyone. They are posted below. Let's remember the big star together. I wish he could still sing in the heaven!



This is one of my favorites, which is for those living in the war. I can feel the love for life from MJ.



" We are the world" was co-written by MJ and Lionel Rochie.

Experiencing the Border of Canada and USA

It is not strange for most Canadians to walk through the border to USA, which is just like a piece of cake only if you have the US visa. For me, this is the first time standing on the border of Canada and USA without a visa, because I didn't really mean to enter into USA. I just wanted to formalize the immigration landing for my son.

My son didn't have immigrant status before and only got the visa recently. How do I formalize the landing for him because he was already in canada? Does he go back to China and come back again? After consulting the CIC, the most convenient way is to go to the border of Canada & USA to land. So, My son and I experienced going through the border without visa.

The nearest border is of course, Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls near Toronto. I have known about the Niagara Falls for a long time, but I had never been there to see the Falls personally. Now I finally had a chance to go there. Landing in Canada and visiting the Falls are indeed killing two birds with one stone. It was noon when we arrived at the Niagara Falls. I didn't have mood to enjoy the view of the one of seven world's wonders because I had more important thing to do. My son just asked me when he could see the rainbow. When we got to the Falls, the Rainbow Bridge could be also seen. That is really a ordinary bridge and doesn't match its name " Rainbow" one bit. If this bridge didn't have the political and historical significance, it would have been just one of numerous ordinary bridges.

The exit from Canada is a small room and I couldn't almost recoganize it from the appearance. It is simpler inside. Only two coin-changing machines are there and two turnstiles with coin slots. It costs $0.5 per person, $0.25 before. On the glass door opposite the gateways, there are two words " To USA". By just putting in 2 coins, I could enter to USA, which is as easy as entering into the subway. Pushing the glass door, the long bridge greeted us. This bridge is divided two parts by the fence, one for walking and the other for vehicles. Standing on the bridge, the completed falls are all in eyes. The splendid view attracted us to turn the heads to see it often. After 5 minutes, we arrived at the entry of USA. Some immigration officers were on duty. One of them came to ask me to show our ID. I explained my intention as I showed him all the documents for my son. But, the officer asked for my passport. Oh, I had forgotten to bring my passport with me. I showed my PR card to him and tried to explain. The officer frowned and asked us to wait, then he came back. I was so afraid to wait there and all kinds of bad results flooded into my mind. About 10 minutes later, the officer came out and gave me a paper and told me everything was ok. I was totally relieved. So, my son and I returned to Canada. The latter procedure was very simple, like getting through the airport. The whole landing only needed half an hour.

When we walked out from the customs, I told my son," You can stay with mom forever." But my son asked me," Can we go to see the rainbow?" Yes, yes！We can enjoy again the beautiful Falls.

Enjoy Luminato, Enjoy Toronto's Summer!

0Luminato is a really exciting and important event for Toronto. The reason may be this event indicates the start of summer. Many ads related to it can be seen on TV or newspapers, which aroused my interest in it. I decided to see what Luminato looks like.

Luminato is an annual festival with 10-day art and creativity show held every June. This year is the third. I happened to know that there were 3-day events for free last weekend. That was a good chance to know Luminato for me! I chose to watch the last day's show on Sunday because the finale was the performance by Cirque Du Soleil which is the world's top acrobatics group. It is said the ticket for Cirque usually costs over $200. Wow! Going to the free show would save me a lot of money.

The finale performance was held in HTO Park which is located in the middle of the event venue at the Waterfront. Along Queen Quey West, from the Waterfront to the Music Garden, was the event of 1000 tastes of Toronto sponsored "President's Choice". I had no patience to count if there were 1000 tastes. My only desire was to catch a bite. If there were not long lines in front of every booth and the expensive price of $5 for per item, I would really have done according to the CEO of Luminato's instruction " Eating along the way" from the Waterfront to HTO Park.

The performance was to be opened at 9:00pm. I thought I would be an early bird when I arrived in HTO Park at 7:30pm. But, I was supprised by what I saw. Thousands of people were already there. They had occupied almost all places that can watch the show and sat on their chairs, blankets and even on the road or lawn. I didn't think there would be so many people there. I could feel the attraction of Circus Du Soleil and the enthusiasm of people from every excited and anticipating face. I tried my best to find a standing place and continually change different positions during the whole waiting time. The sky seemed not to cooperate and started to rain. The people still waited there and didn't have any urge to leave. Because of the shower, the performance opened late. But it was really amazing. Although I couldn't understand why they wore such strange costumes and special make-up, I could feel the level of performance was very high. The audience applauded loudly for every thrilling act and some young peole clapped and danced with the rhythm. The performance lasted about one hour and then the crowd poured into bus stations right after that. The ring of streetcars ended a day and started an exciting summer.

Do Exercise without Spending any Money!

Most poeple will go to the gym when they want to exercise. Yes, gym is indeed a good place where there are good exercise machines and even personal trainers to instruct you. However, you must pay money and spend special time to do it. I think there are cheaper and even free ways to do exercise, including do puch-ups at home or buy some simple and cheap instruments like dumbells, skippingrope or Hula loops to do it anywhere you want.

Please see how the following guys on the video do exercise:

Business Networking Videos Recomended

If you search business networking in Youtube and you will find plenty of videos about it. Which one is useful? Which one is rubbish? I found the seris of videos about business networking from Kintish were very useful, at least for me. Why are these videos are attactive?

First, Kintish is a leading networking guru in UK. They specialize on business networking and provide the training, tips add techques for business people. So they have a set of skills to help people to build networking. Of course, their opinions are very constructive.

Second, the speaker speaks slowly and clearly although he has British accent. Every topic is explained from the different sides like why, what and how. Simple words and clearly organization make peole understand easily.

Last,every video only has a short duration. Don't like other tedious vedios which will let people bored. Only short miniutes has expressed the ideas clearly.That is pefect.

Sharing some of them with everyone and you also could search on their website to find more:

My son favorite songs

These two sons are my son's favor. I like them also. Sharing with everyon and enjoy it.



Rain Rain, Go away

Rain, Rain, Go away.
Come again another day.
DADDY wants to play.
Rain, rain, go away.

Rain, Rain. Go away.
Come again another day.
MOMMY wants to play.
Rain, rain, go away.

Rain, Rain. Go away.
Come again another day.
BROTHER wants to play.
Rain, rain, go away.

Rain, Rain. Go away.
Come again another day.
SISTER wants to play.
Rain, rain, go away.

Rain, Rain. Go away.
Come again another day.
BABY wants to play.
Rain, rain, go away.

Rain, Rain. Go away.
Come again another day.
ALL THE FAMILY wants to play.
Rain, rain, go away.





Thomas and his friends

They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew


All with different roles to play
Round Tidmouth sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends


Thomas he's the cheeky one
James is vain but lots of fun
Percy pulls the mail on time
Gordon thunders down the line
Emily really knows her stuff
Henry toots and huffs and puffs
Edward wants to help and share
Toby, well let's say, he's square


They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew


All with different roles to play
Round tidmouths or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends

They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew

All with different roles to play
Round tidmouths or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends

Thomas the Tank Engine Web Log

Hiking on the Sunny Day

Last weekend, I took part in a hiking activity called “Celebrate Spring” held in Don Valley. Don Valley Hills and Dales is a walking route recommended by the Toronto Recreation website and many hiking clubs. Before that day, I knew little about Canadian hiking. I didn't know there were so many walking clubs in Toronto and didn't know Canadian hiking is so organized. The experience of this hike indeed let me feel Canadian enthusiasm and love towards this sport.

The start and end of this hike is Todmodern Mills which is an art gallery now. This building dating from 19th century looks new against the background of green grass and yellow daisy flowers. This hike is the first of many hikes for the season. Every attendee got a white T-shirt from the organizer to paint on. So children were the main players naturally. My son always loves to doodle. Painting on the T-shirt is the first time for him. He was very exciting. All painted T-shirts were laid on the lawn for drying. It can’t be imaged how amazing it is.

The walk was a one-hour journey, starting from 11:00am-12:00pm and led by a experienced guide. We walked north along the Don River. On the way, many bicycle lovers passed by from us rapidly. They were all equipped riding the mountain bicycles. Their bodies
were splashed with mud as they rode over puddles, but they didn’t care about this and still kept going. We all admired their spirits. When the bikers passed, we would yeild to them and let them through, and we would also cheer them on “go, go….”. Another group of people got our admiration were the paddlers. The Don River is said to be a place the paddlers love. Although the river is not too big, it is not easy to paddle the boat in the rushing water. These paddle lovers looked very excited and tried their best to struggle with the river. They also didn’t forget to wave and cheer to express their joy. According to the guide, this place were covered with a glacier which had a thickness of 4 times of CN Tower 8,000,000 years ago. After several hundredthousands of years, the glacier gradually disappeared, and all that was left were two rivers surrounded around two mountains. At the two rivers, only one remains. That is Don River. When we walked on the top of the hills, we could see the CN Tower clearly and noisy cars below the hills. Nature is really full of magic. We can’t see the glacier any more, but we can see more beautiful scenery and the harmony of mankind with nature.

One hour not seems as long as we imagined before. We arrived at the end quickly and started to eat our snacks. We were bathed in the sunshine, smelled the flavour of grass and flowers, and listened to the laughter of children. I have never felt such comfort and ease. Life is so beautiful!

How to deal with stress?

Everyone will have stress, especially for newcomers like us. We are facing language, job and survival challenges. The more you think aobut it, the more you will be scared by all the unknown and known barriers awaiting. What should we do?

Some will suggest finding a solution. Yes, you can. But under most of situation, you can't find a
solution. Maybe you are conflicted and don't how to choose when facing the situation of "to be or not to be." Maybe you don't have any hint and don't know where sto tart from. So no solution can be found. What will you do? My advice is to imagine the worest situation and trying not to think too much more.

Maybe not every people knows what the most important is for her/him. Think it over and you will realize nothing else is important was being able to stay with your family healthy. You may not have much more money;you may not have an admirable job and you may not have a beautiful house. It doesn't matter. You have family and every member is healthy. That is ok. Only when you know this point, you won't be broken by stress. When you face the stress, you may say to youself "I don't do like this, at most I will lose this position or I won't get more money or I start from scratch." Forget! I still stay with my family healthy. That is ok for me. If you can think about this point, ok, you won't break down!

Stress always originates from youself. Setting a higher goal and thinking more will always trap you into a difficult situation. Knowing what the important to you can help you make a decision. Maybe my advice is not necessarily siutable for everyone. But you may give it try. Hope everyone has a stressless life.

Auto Workers Retain Their Jobs!

After the protest organized by CAW last week, the auto workers and Chrysler accepted the labour concession voted over the weekend, which not only saves lots of money a year for Chrysler but who protects the workers' jobs. That may be good news for both sides. Although some benefits of workers are cut, the base pay is still retained. That is better than getting laid off. For Chrysler, saving such amount money a year is indeed beneficial in the current

global economic crisis.

Who wants to be laid off? Who wants to get a wage cut? Nobody! But, a big companywhich wants to survive in the economic crisis, only adopt some methods for self -surviving, e.g. cut down the cost including physical and material and get the bailout from the government. Otherwise, they will face the bankruptcy, which would be terrible for both workers and company. I think CAW played an important role in this event. The auto workers should appreciate CAW helping them save the jobs and Chrysler should appreciate CAW persuading the workers to agree to the wage cut. So finding a job you must check if there is union that would give emplyees a lot of help. I am glad to see this result. Under the current situation, having a job with a not-too-bad salary is a lucky thing!

Easter activity in Community Church

Several days before the Easter holidays, I got information about the activities for Easter. Joseph told us a lot of stories about Easter day, which aroused my interest in this religious festival. It happened that I received an invitation card to attend a celebration held by a community church. That was good news for me!

I had never heard about this community church before. And this church is not real church, but just a satellite of Agincount Penticostal Church. This activity was held in a primary school nearby. On Easter Sunday, when we arrived, a lot of people were there. The first activity was an egg hunt that the children loved. The children were divided into different groups according to their ages and led by a team leader to hunt eggs outside. My son was excited about this and he hunted 4 bags chocolate eggs. Then, the adults were invited to the gym to listen to a gospel message. The most interesting thing was live music! It was wonderful. It was a pity I couldn't listen to the Christian because I had to accompany my son to attend the children games outside. I am surprised that they prepared plenty of games for children, such as blowing bubbles, playing parachutes and the telling Christian stories . My son enjoyed playing these games even though it was his first time coming here.

When the activities were over, the community church served lunch for all. I enjoyed this activity also. And I hope I have more opportunity to attend activities like this. I found out that there are activities every Sunday morning for children and adults. I must go there!

Snowing in April

I have never seen snowing in April. But now I saw in Toronto. It is difficult to see snow in Beijing because of the cause of enviroment change, even seeing snow in April. My son is very exciting for such heavy snow even if he went to LINC under the heavy snow and strong wind with us. He even refuse to hold umbrella because he wanted to touch the snow flakes using hands. He asked me why squirls didn't come outside. And if they would feel cold.

I saw on TV that there were usually snowing in April. And this snowing was not heavy than before. Maybe next snowing will be come soon.

My real start of LINC life !

This week, we really started my LINC study. My son finally agreed to stay in daycare associated with LINC. Although I spent three days staying with him in daycare last week, it was worthful indeed. I love him and hope he can adapt himself to the new environment smoothly.

I like English also. It is exciting for me to come back to school to study after a long time, and it is free. During the past month in Toronto, I realize the importance of language and perish this opportunity much more.

Yesterday, my son asked me a question.,"Why do these people here speaking English rather than Chinese?" I don't know accutually. Anyway, we have to adapt oursleves to this and work hard for this together. It is surprising to me that my son learned an English sentence: You're welcome!

See, studying English is not difficult.

By the way, from April 1, CAF-linc will be run by Microskills(http://www.microskills.ca/) . That is good news.