Going home!!
Heading to Toronto in less than 48 hrs! And than i’ll be leaving for Singapore on Sunday! I’ll miss Montreal’s summer although it’ll be nice to catch up with friends in Singapore as well as get to enjoy some cheap and good local food. Chicken rice please!!!
Canada Grand Prix 2008
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfEgvOUovMM]
Highlights from the Canadian Grand Prix 2008, where I was watching live at the track!
Grand Prix du Canada
The Grand Prix weekend in Montreal was AMAZING. I got to watch the Formula1 race live at the track and it was such a blast. And there was so much more going on downtown as well. I counted 5 major roads around the downtown area that were completely closed and used for events like the Montreal Fashion Show and other Grand Prix related events. St. Laurent, McGill College, Peel, Drummond and Crescent were all closed to road traffic and jam-packed with people this weekend. And the weather also seemed to cooperate as well. Our first 30-degree-celcius day of the year!
I’ll post photos when I finally make the effort to go through the 1000+ photos i took over this weekend.
Convocation! (not for me of course!)
So its the time of the year again, where we bid our seniors farewell and watch as they plunge headfirst into the rat race of life. Everything that they’ve worked for up to this point in their life culminates in this one day. I managed to take some nice pictures of the McGill school grounds as everything is spruced up to look perfect for this week-long convocation. It helped that the weather was perfect and summer is slowly creeping up upon Montreal.
The huge tents set up for the convocation ceremonies.
View when walking in from Roddick Gates.
Red carpet treatment for the graduates.
Even Sir James McGill wants to get in on the celebrations!
Sunlight reflected off the buildings in downtown Montreal makes the Redpath Museum on the McGill campus seem like its glowing. The Redpath Museum is the oldest building in Canada built as a museum.
Graduates mingling around in front of the Arts building.
Photo-taking in front of the giant McGill crest made up of red and white tulips.
More mingling in front of the Arts building.
This gigantic school crest, made up of red and white tulips, is actually planted in commemoration of all the brave staff and students who sacrificed their lives during WWII.
Decorations around school congratulating the graduates.
And of course, lest we forget, the francophone students.
生死不离
生死不离 你的梦落在哪里
想着生活继续
天空失去美丽，你却等待明天站起
无论你在哪里，我都要找到你
血脉能创造奇迹
你的呼喊就刻在我的血液里
生死不离，我数秒等你消息
相信生命不息
我看不到你，你却牵挂在我心里
无论你在哪里，我都要找到你
血脉能创造奇迹
搭起双手筑成你回家的路基
生死不离，全世界都被沉寂
痛苦也不哭泣
爱是你的传奇，彩虹在风雨后升起
无论你在哪里，我都要找到你
血脉能创造奇迹
你一丝希望是我全部的动力
This is a song written for the victims of the China earthquake that i came across on youtube. Found the lyrics quite well-written and very moving. It’s sung by Jackie Chan.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1N7Lo9kHzc&hl=en]
Even though they’re out of the headlines now, the victims of the earthquake are still in dire need. It’s going to be a long, long time before they can get back any semblance of a normal life. Let’s continue to keep them in prayer and try to support them in any way that we can.
Discovery Channel: I Love the World
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5BxymuiAxQ]
An ad by discovery channel. Has a real catchy tune to it…Boom de yada, boom de yada, boom de yada, boom de yada…
after repeated watching of the video and some help from zhi wei, i managed to transcribe the lyrics of the entire song:
i love the mountains
i love the clear blue skies
i love big bridges
i love when great whites fly
i love the whole world
and all its sights and sounds
boom de yada
boom de yada
boom de yada
boom de yada
i love the oceans
i love real dirty things
i love to go fast
i love egyptian kings
i love the whole world
and all its craziness
boom de yada
boom de yada
boom de yada
boom de yada
i love tornadoes
i love arachnids
i love hot magma
i love the giant squid
i love the whole world
its such a brilliant place
boom de yada
boom de yada
boom de yada
boom de yada
(repeat till end…)
and i learned something new! i never knew the term arachnids before today. apparently they refer to eight-legged creatures.
Updates…
So after a long hiatus, i’m finally writing an update to my blog. My exams have finished 2 weeks ago but academically, this semester has been quite a disaster for me. I failed 2 courses, out of the 5 i took, only 4 of which had exams.
It was entirely my fault, as I had just skipped too many classes and neglected the 2 courses. It didn’t help that there weren’t any assignments so I just didn’t keep up with what was happening in class. The few days between exams were not enough time for me to catch up and plus there’s no study break, so I just died badly for the papers. Of course it didn’t help that the 2 courses had material that were the hardest to understand for any course I’ve taken so far.
The only consolation is that I managed to get 2 As this semester as well, after not getting a single one last semester. Quite polarizing results I have isn’t it? So the grades exactly averaged out to give me a C average for this semester. All things considered, I’d rather have gotten 2 As and 2 Fs over all Cs. Even though getting all Cs mean i pass all my courses and 2 Fs mean i have to repeat 2 of them, getting the 2 As show that at least I’m good at something. Furthermore, one of them was the design course, where we had to build a robot out of lego and program it. I had put in a lot of effort into that course so the A for that course was all the more satisfactory.
Anyway, with all the academic stuff finished for this year, I’m now working in the McGill Formula SAE team to build a race car for the Formula SAE competition that we’re entering next week in Detroit. After the past 2 weeks of slogging, today at about 1130pm, we fired up the engine of our car for the first time ever. The sweet, sweet sound of the engine has never made me happier (except maybe when i heard an F1 engine fire up for the first time in my life). Although there’s still a lot of work and testing to be done to finish up the car for competition, getting the engine to start takes a lot of pressure off everyone, as we know that at least the most important component of the car is working.
Looking forward to going to Detroit next week!
Youppi: le Comeback Kid
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xMIsNSbRY4]
A terrific video of the Habs’ mascot, Youppi.
And its made all the more authentic and enjoyable by the typical Québécois accent of the narrator.
Weary and Burdened…
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
— Matthew 11:28-30