Category Archives: JED

ASIA 2012, BAU, Uncategorized

Our reliance on technology

Leave a comment

So, I know I’m a Techno-junky, but We (JED) both realized how much we rely on technology. Forget having data all the time on your smart phone, but think of how much we rely on wireless internet. We had brought a laptop on the trip knowing we could use it for media, dumping pictures from the camera, etc. What we didn’t realize is when we got to HK there was a wired modem only. It limited to one of us using the laptop at once. His may sound “spoiled” but we are used to having our own device.We are also not known for our sharing either. So this became a very delicate situation without killing eachother. After one day of wifi deprivation, we caved and got a cheap wifi router.

We also luckily realized that our hotel in Tokyo didn’t have wifi, which we got kind of nervous about so we decided to bring the laptop with us which added more baggage weight. This made us realize our travel/packing woes were more than we expected.

Anyhow, wifiless-ism sucks

ASIA 2012, JED

The hustle and bustle of Hong Kong begins

Leave a comment

I love the food in Hong Kong. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the main reasons why I keep wanting to come back. However, one of the other reasons why I think I am intrigued with the Hong Kong culture is the “logical madness”. I get *annoyed* at crowds in Toronto because I think there is no point for them. Eaton centre is always crowded with mall rats wandering around without any reason. I find that Hong Kong crowds are always moving with some sort of purpose. I relate to this type of process of getting stuff done. I go into a store for what I need and not to “look”.

This HK behaviour can be seen in their “coffee shop culture”. Unlike in North America where there is unlimited wifi in Starbucks/Mcdonalds, we quickly found out that there is a 20 min limit at each of these restaurants. These businesses want you in and out so that they can serve the next customer. There is also very little public “seating” (hence the “asia-man squat” is quite popular). We were also discouraged by building security guards when sitting/resting on a ledge.

The physical transition from the time zone change is always hard on us, but I always find the culture change very intriguing each time I come back to HK. I am looking forward to, but also a little nervous of going to the cities where I do not have much knowledge of their culture. Japan here we come!

ASIA 2012

A note from the plane

Leave a comment

January 11 is finally here, a day that is as regular as the next, except for the fact that it is also the day we embark on an epic journey. A journey that I really didn’t know how to prepare for, a day that seemed so far away, until it wasn’t.

Over 2 years ago, we started musing about what it would be like to travel for an extended time or to even work abroad. We have had a few friends do it and come back mostly unscathed, so we kept it in our minds as a fun idea. It lived nicely as an idea, tucked in the back of our minds and as a casual conversation topic that we liked to dream about. Wouldn’t it be nice? What would we do? How would we do it?

Well, after all the humming and ha-ing, we finally made the decision to actually do it. For me, it all came together when I was in my life coaching class last April  when I realized how important it is to take chances and to be with my family. Somehow this manifested quickly into me making a true commitment to this trip. Then a few more months flitted away and then in November we finally took the plunge and bought tickets, then just like that this went from dream to reality.

Now, we are on the plane. And I have to let go if I packed enough stuff, if I will miss an opportunity or whatever else I might be worried about, there is nothing left to do now but just embrace whatever happens.

Inspire Yourself!

Jenn

JED

St Patty’s Day 2009

Leave a comment

So what has become a tradition amongst JED, is the usual drinking of beer on this special day. This year we decided to try and plan out a lot of destinations downtown since everything is very close to eachother. I had mapped out about 10 different bars/pubs that we could go to, however we only ended up going to about 4 [that’s the nature of the pub crawl, you can only go as far as you can drink].

The [late] afternoon started off at the Duke of Westminister. We met up with people there and Jenn was getting a bit angry because the beer that was given to us wasn’t “green”.  Also, the first pitcher took a while to arrive at our table since there were technical difficulties with the keg. We ended up sitting in the dining area which is very different/upscale compared to the bar area. After 2 pitchers, we decided to head out onto the next destination.  We arrived at Fionn Mcool’s thinking that we could possibly get a patio table since it was fairly warm out, but too cold for some people to stay outside. Alas, it was full and there was already a line up that ended up at the sidewalk. So we continued onto destination #3, Elephant and Castle. As we figured, the place was rammed, but we managed to get a couple seats at the bar and just hovered around there. By now, Jenn was having a “good time” [i.e. Asian glow was upon her] and we met up with some more people.  We finally had our 4 or so pitchers of green beer which basically made the night.  After this we were determined to get food, however some newcomers to the party needed a pint since they arrived late to the Elephant & Castle. We made an unexpected stop at Lone Star and grabbed 2 pitchers there. For dinner we headed to the wonderful golden arches to fill our bellies with nice greasy food. We ended up heading east on Front to C’est What, where we were turned down quickly saying they were at capacity. Although I do think that they turned us down rather quickly, I do suspect something was fishy. We ended up waiting in line next door at the Jersey Giant and finishing our last pint there. Feeling pretty much done for the night, this was the last stop.  Our drinking went from a pint in about 10 minutes to a pint in about an hour. You know its the end of the night when things come to a halt like that.

Also to finish a great night, Jenn was able to scam some free swag from the Jersey Giant!