Here’s an example (private details hidden):
TD Green Visa – 1-800-983-8472 or 416-307-7722 (Collect)
BMO Mosaik MasterCard – 1-800-263-2263 or 514-877-0330 (Collect)
Driver’s Licence – Visit Office
Shoppers Optimum Card
TD Canada Trust Access Card – 1-866-222-3456
Citi Enrich MasterCard – 1-800-387-1616 or 416-947-2900 (Collect)
Student Card
Public Library Card
Business Cards
Scene Card
Insurance Card
Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Card
Heart Saver (A) Card
Health Card – Visit Office
Smart Serve Certificate Card

Hopefully, this will help you avoid panic and will give you a peace of mind when you go out, partying hard!

So what’s next?

Vacation, unemployment, and continuous development.

Vacation: My parents have been waiting many years for the chance to bring their children to see Europe. Okay, my brother and I are no longer young children, but it has been our parents’ dream to experience Europe. In particular, it has been my mom’s dream since my dad would prefer to have more money in the bank account. We will be off for two weeks. It’ll be good to spend time with the family as I have not been home much this term.

Unemployment: I will be paying rent, beginning in May and as the months go by, I will be hurting financially. I have been working since I was 15 and have never had a full summer off since then. It’s about time that I finally get to feel what it’s like to be jobless. I’m not worried though; the economy is in recovery and I never get bored because of the next step.

Continuous Development: I will be discovering new knowledge, developing my skills, and improving my abilities. It’s never going to stop. I plan to take two remaining HR courses in the Fall and Winter to fulfill the CHRP requirements. Afterward, I plan to take music courses on production and private piano lessons. I have several business ideas, but those are for much, much later. First, I will be looking for a career in HR, specifically in recruitment. The job hunt will begin upon my return from vacation. As I search for an organization that fits well, I will be working out, going out, singing my lungs out, eating healthy (i.e. not out), and helping around the house, such as getting the dust out. It’s going to be interesting (like the previous sentence).

As I was running east, many people were waiting in queue to get inside the clubs. I saw JL, someone who I always thought to be too young and innocent to go to the clubs. Surprisingly, he brought his little brother. They were first in line and as I ran past, noticing them, I turned my head, pointed and said, “Hey, be safe!” I caught a glimpse of the club interior and it was empty at the moment with flashy lights, laser beams, fog, and a few bouncers. As I continued running, I got looks of hostility as if I was an intruder. A look that said, “This is not your hood.” I kept running. Being so dark, I turned on my cell phone’s flashlight. You must be careful with a flashlight. If you shine it in someone’s eyes, they get pissed. So I ran with my flashlight pointed toward the ground, passing a few abandoned buildings until I reached a crowded entrance. I had to strategically manoeuvre myself to continue down the street. By this time, I think I was looking for someone. As I past by another crowd, I shone my flashlight into the mass of people, trying to find this person. Angry faces was all I got. The journey continues. I ran through a mini power station where a slowly paced woman was blocking the sidewalk. There were power boxes adjacent to both sides of the sidewalk and I could not squeeze through. I patiently waited as she moved through and then continued through.

Finally, I reached the end of the street. It was blocked off by the police. There were 3 officers each grappling some men. A few arrested men were sitting against a chain linked fence. Behind the blockade were many people surrounding the club and police lights flashing, blue, red, blue, red, blue. The people sitting down looked like nice guys. The police officer wanted to show me something. He had some clippers in his hand. He told one of the men sitting by the fence to give him his hand. The officer proceeded to clip the man’s pinky finger. The man’s facial expression showed no fear, but pain. A pain that he was now fighting. His nail was lifted and blood began to fill the void space. “He was a nice guy,” I thought. He did not deserve that.

There, my journey ended and I woke up with 7 minutes to spare before my alarm clocked would ring. What did I learn from this dream?

First, the world is unpredictable. To survive, you must adapt to your surroundings. The environment is never constant. It could be raining, it could be dark, and it could be filled with hostile people. Be aware of your surroundings and adjust accordingly.

Second, people change. JL has grown up and is exploring new things. His little brother is being influenced in the process. Sibling and peer influence is very powerful. If you have peers that do risky things, you may feel inclined to do the same. Choose your friends wisely.

Lastly, the world is not always just! As the just-world phenomenon states, people want to believe that the world is just. However, the world is unpredictable as mentioned earlier. Anything can happen. Even nice guys get into trouble. Stay out of trouble!

For most of this term, I have not done much for school. I have been studying and completing assignments on a last-minute basis. My goal that I set at the beginning of the term for all my courses was a jokingly 100% and that is what I told my parents as well. I have already completed two midterms and have three next week. Failing to reach my goals and listening to another goal setting lecture, I think that it is time to set new goals… realistic goals. One thing that I was missing this term was progress tracking, which is an important feedback component of goal achievement. I also find that I have been too focused on getting marks and did not really care about the material (uh oh… too much extrinsic value and too little intrinsic value). I only find the material in my Intro to Tourism course interesting because it’s more business related.

So, here’s my new focus: learning. Knowledge is power. With knowledge, you make better decisions. For example, with goal setting knowledge, you can now set some goals that will increase the probability of positive outcomes!

Ever since the PSYCH 339 course, I have created a spreadsheet to track my progress. I mainly used them for predicting final marks and the total term average during the final examination period to gauge how much I have to study. This term, I only have two final exams, so I decided to create the spreadsheet today. With the ability to track my progress and a new focus on learning, the second half of this term should be much more interesting.

Compared to my other school terms, I have been doing rather poorly. By making this public (another component of goal setting), I am now accountable for what I have said and posted. It’s time for academic success. For those who are lacking motivation, feel free to do the same and create a spreadsheet to track your progress. It gives you an overview of how you’re doing academically and it’ll help you set/adjust your goals. And remember, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

Winter 2008 -- 3A Term
Fall 2008 -- 3B Term
Spring 2009 -- 4A Current Term

My video was only on there for a few seconds, but it’s cool that people are learning from it. Check out the full report at the link below. My video appears around 9 minutes.

Link: TVB News – Sunday Report (2009-04-12)

My goal is to achieve a more balanced audience. Seriously, too many dudes are watching me, haha. As a result, upcoming videos will have less beatboxing and more singing. Will there be less clothes you ask? You wish! I prefer to keep my videos at a G rating. So stay tuned!

• I enjoy singing
• I’m not good at it
• It would complement my beatboxing skills

Thinking back to the old days, I actually liked to make a lot of noise and sing random songs on KISS 98.5, a radio station in Buffalo that still exists today. They still play great music, too. Now I had to find this old cassette tape because it would bring back fun memories. I spent a few hours looking through boxes and listening to a few cassette tapes. In one of them, I heard my dad practicing English. It was very funny, indeed. After searching through more boxes, I have finally found the tape with great excitement.

I converted it into a digital format (MP3) by using an old Walkman and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo cable. I connected the Walkman’s output to the line-in of my computer. I simply had to play the cassette tape and press record on the computer.

My brother listened to it and noticed that we haven’t changed much. I still make a lot of noise, sing, and play with audio equipment. With my singing, I am still really bad with lyrics. In some ways, I am still a trouble maker. The song “Love You Down” by INOJ was released in 1997, which means that this cassette tape is 12 years old. I was around 9 years old and I was in grade 4 or 5. Without further ado, I present to you Side B of the colourful Memorex cassette tape.

Pre-Puberty Singing

The Entire Side B of the Cassette Tape (Warning: Contains immature use of language)

Listen to my mom yell at us at 2:15. Haha!

A car passed by and stopped with screeching tires. It was a friend and her mother. I was offered a bottle of water, some sound advice about my teeth, and a mirror to see how bad it was. Then they had to leave. I was swearing for several minutes while all of this was happening. I have promised myself not to swear unless absolutely necessary (which is almost never) when I was in grade 7-8. This was a time where swearing was absolutely necessary.

I rinsed my mouth and drank some water. Then I scrambled to find the remains of my teeth on the cement sidewalk. I found a large piece and placed it into the water bottle. Several pedestrians and a bicyclist passed me while I was cleaning myself up and while my good friend was comforting me. We went to Health Services on campus to see if I can get some additional help, but they were closed. Thus, we went to the Turnkey Desk and got some alcohol and gauze.

Assuring that I will not hold onto any more bike seats while on rollerblades, we went to our meeting. Upon arrival, some Brothers were concerned about my health and my good pledge Brother drove me to the hospital. After a few hours, it was determined that I needed to get my teeth filled. My Brother drove me to the dentist and I got my teeth filled. I am very thankful that he spent so much time with me.

Over the next several weeks, I had to get temporary caps and later crowns. Every time I went to the dentist, I had to get two anaesthetic needles right in the gum above my front teeth. They hurt more than the fall. Two weeks after my crowns were put in place, I started getting tooth aches; my teeth were inflamed. I took extra strength ibuprofen and antibiotics for a week.

On Friday, December 5, 2008, I had two of my top wisdom teeth extracted. It was one factor in causing my tooth aches. Now I am sitting at home, writing this blog post, and eating a soft purple potato.