Family Alberta Trip 2021

 Heaven on Earth: Spirit Island, Maligne Lake

After being mostly cooped up at home for a year and a half after the COVID pandemic started in 2020, we made our first out-of-province trip in September 2021.  The last time Renee and I were in Western Canada was before we had kids, about 13 years prior (although I had been several times in between for work), and we really wanted to go back.  The scenery is quintessential Canada!  I believe that when foreigners think of Canada, the Rockies and its vast beauty is usually what come to mind first.  We definitely wanted to share this with our kids.

Getting There

As you may know, I'm a frugal person and the way I travel is no different.  Part of the fun to planning a trip is finding deals (recall the time we flew the entire family to Orlando for $350 USD) and getting my money's worth!  It was no different this time.  Our itinerary was really to go to Banff and Jasper and not visiting the cities; so, it didn't matter which airport we flew into.  Google Flights or Kayak are great tools to help find the best option.  We ended up choosing to fly Flair into Grande Prairie, which is about 4 hours north of Jasper.  The cost for the 7 of us + 1 baby and my parents came to a grand total of $1287, including luggage, or less than $150/seat.  My credit card also has a perk where it provides a $100 reimbursement of luggage fees and so, the costs was even less than that.  Not as good as $75/seat to Orlando, but not too shabby either! The one risk that we did take with Flair was flight delays and cancellations.  Upon reading their reviews, either of those were almost a certainty, but we weren't in a rush to get anywhere so we were happy with throwing the dice.

The flight there was indeed a bit delayed, but certainly within tolerance.  I'm not quite sure why but I feel like Flair purposely split up our seating because we didn't pay to choose our seats.  Our party of 9 + 1 were not seated contiguously and were split up across many different aisles.  That was entirely unnecessary and not the right way to encourage travelers to spend more by choosing seats.  Flair went out of their way to make our trip less enjoyable.

We landed in Grande Prairie in the late afternoon and picked up our 2 Caravans (my cousin Wai Yee, her husband and my buddy Matthew and their son, Ewan, tagged along as well) and started our drive to Jasper.  On the way there, we saw a black bear at dusk, which was a nice treat.  However, once it got dark and started raining, our drive became a bit treacherous.  The only road from Grande Prairie to Jasper was an unlit single lane highway.  Much of the drive was through uninhabited nature with only a couple of small towns in between.  For a few moments, I did wonder what would happen if our van broke down or if we drove into a ditch, etc.  Luckily, we didn't end up having to experience that and arrived safely in Jasper!

First Stop: Jasper SkyTram

Our plan was to go up to Whistlers Peak via the Jasper SkyTram the first morning we were there.  The weather wasn't super nice and was overcast. I was a bit disappointed and considered whether we should go up the mountain at a later time.  Renee called and was told that the booking cannot be changed and so I reluctantly agreed to go.  Boy, was I wrong!  I now think overcast skies is the best condition to go.  Since Whistler Peaks is at a high elevation, all of the clouds were actually beneath us when we got to the upper station.  Once we were up there, the skies were clear with an occasional cloud drifting over us (reminds me of Jesus' Transfiguration, but I digress).  The best part was that we stood on top of a sea of clouds!

Maligne Lake: Nothing Bad About This Place!

Our next stop was Maligne Lake. We had actually been there back in 2008, but unfortunately, it was tremendously foggy that morning and we decided not to take the boat ride to Spirit Island.  It was so foggy that we likely would not have even seen Spirit Island at all.  This time around, we planned as best as we could for better weather.  When buying the boat tickets, we found that the morning trips were less expensive, and we concluded that it was either because of the possibility of fog and also the direction from which the sun was shining.  When we got there, we weren't disappointed!  The view was absolutely stunning and felt surreal.  It was so beautiful that it really felt like heaven on earth!  Having now been to Spirit Island, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, I would have to say that Spirit Island/Maligne Lake is the most beautiful!

Dinner After Maligne Lake

Sulphur Skyline Trail: Early Snow

The next day, our plan was to spend a few hours hiking the Sulphur Skyline Trail.  I did quite a bit of research and concluded that with our hiking experience as a family, the 8km out-and-back trail, with 650m elevation was quite doable, given enough breaks.  We would get to the top of the mountain and be rewarded with some really great views.  The last 400 m would be a steep climb to the top, but certainly achievable.  We got to the trail head just after lunchtime and started off enthusiastically.  Before long, we were already 1.5 km into it, which would be more than a third the way up the mountain.  The slope was not steep and everyone was still smiles.

As we continued, we saw a bit of melt water running down the side of the trail and also some snow beside the trail.  We weren't expecting that as per the photos we saw online.  We continued on and as we climbed higher in elevation, there was some wet snow on the trail.  Some of the kids' shoes got wet and we started hearing some complaints.

We pressed on and as we climbed higher up the mountain, the snow also rose higher above our shoes.  The younger kids were now really whining as they slipped repeatedly and got much of their socks soaked.  The group eventually split into two with the faster ones in front (me, grandparents and older kids) and the slower ones in the back.  Our progress slowed considerably, and eventually, the slower group decided to turn back as the going was just a bit too slippery.

We finally reached the plateau just before the summit.  The snow was about 20 cm deep at this point.  We got there after about 4 hours on the trail.  As you can see in the picture at the plateau, not many smiles! LOL!

The grandparents and younger kids decided to take a rest there on the plateau while Adele and I tried for the summit.  Although the trail cut across the side of the mountain, the slope was still very steep, especially with the trail being snow covered.  After giving it a try, I decided against it, as I had Andrea strapped to me and also had to lead the group back down the mountain.  I wasn't about to find out how we would fair if I hurt myself and/or Andrea.

By the time we finished taking some pictures, it was already 5 pm.  Since it took us about almost 4 to get up, I thought it might not be too wise to stay for much longer.  I would hate to be walking in the middle of a forest at dusk.  Who knows what wild beasts would be lurking in search for a nice meal!  We were probably the last big group that descended down the mountain.

Renee, Wai Yee, and Matthew were waiting for at the bottom of the mountain.  After seeing countless number of hikers come down the mountain, they were starting to get worried that one or more of us had gotten hurt at the top.  They were getting ready to call the authorities to get help.  Luckily, it only took us 2 hours to descend the mountain, since we slid down the snowy trail for a good part of the way.  All of us were so happy to come back down all in one piece!

This hike was definitely the most exhausting and treacherous activity of the entire trip.  The kids cried and complained, my dad slipped and fell on a rock hidden under the snow, and I didn't even get to the summit.  However, at the end of the trip, a number of the kids thought the hike was the highlight!  I guess what gives us more joy isn't comfort or pleasure, but rather, accomplishment and persevering through setbacks.

One last interesting note...after the hike, we spoke with some locals and they told us that it was very odd that that much snow had fallen in early September.  Not sure if we can consider ourselves lucky or unlucky.  I'm sure if it hadn't snowed, our hike would have been much easier, but would it have been as memorable?

View from (Almost) the Summit of the Sulphur Skyline Trail

More Sightseeing

The next day, we left Jasper and headed south for Banff.  Over the next 2 days, we saw the Athabasca Falls, Bow Lake, Canmore, and Takkakaw Falls.  The drive between Jasper and Banff, along the Icefields Parkway, was a sight in and of itself.  Ontarians will all agree how boring it is to drive along Highway 401.  Aside from farmland and buildings, there really isn't much to see in Ontario.  The Icefields Parkway is the complete opposite with mountains, rivers, and the occasional wildlife.  Although the distance between the two towns is less than 300 km apart, we budgeted more time since we knew we would make frequent stops to take in the scenery.  Breathtaking and jaw-dropping are adjectives I would use to describe the drive!

Athabasca Falls with Mount Kerkeslin in the Background

Mom and Me at Bow Lake

Mandatory Pic of Kids Lined Up

Mount Rundle and Amelia and Adele

Andrea in Front of Mount Rundle

Enjoying Ice-cream in Canmore

Takkakaw Falls

Emerald Lake: It's Not All About Alberta!

While the title of this post refers to our "Alberta" trip, we did drive over the border to visit Emerald Lake (and Takkakaw Falls) in British Columbia.  The water in the lake was indeed an emerald colour and it was a real treat canoeing in it.  Emerald Lake has become quite popular as compared to the last time we were here.  However, once we got out on our canoe, we got away from the crowds and the feeling was very serene as we took in the beautiful scenery!

Canoeing on Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake: Looks More Like a Painting!

Daddy Time!

What would a trip be without some shopping (insert sarcasm), right?  As Renee and others went shopping in Banff, I took the 4 younger girls to visit the Cascade of Time Garden.  It's a bit off the beaten path as we wouldn't have visited this garden had I not had some time with the kids to myself.  To be honest, we were looking for a playground initially, but ended up coming here after not finding too many choices.  It was actually a really nice garden!  I appreciated the time to bond with them and just simply spending quality time together.  Being in an incredibly scenic place was an added bonus!

Quintessential Banff: Lake Louise and Moraine Lake

Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are 2 quintessential places to visit when you're in Banff.  This is our second time here and we still enjoyed it very much.  Lake Louise is the more popular spot and very touristy.  I personally prefer Moraine Lake.  Although there are still a lot of visitors, Moraine Lake is a bit less developed (i.e. there is no giant hotel sitting right next to it).  You will get great pics at either lake.  We got to Lake Louise first at around 3pm.  As you can see in the photo below, the sun was just above the mountain looking out at the lake, and the mountains were a bit in the shadow.  So, there was a bit to be desired from the photos. Similarly at Moraine Lake, the sun was situated a bit behind the mountains as well.  If you ever go, I would recommend going earlier in the day and perhaps early morning to avoid the crowds.  I did get a few decent shots there and so, wasn't too disappointed. The weather was great...another plus there!

Just a fun little side note.  I brought my Panasonic Lumix mirrorless digital camera that I had bought some years back.  Although I only have the kit lens with the camera, it's supposed to be a pretty good camera.  However, I have to say, my LG Velvet (not even a top tier phone) took pictures that were "better" to the untrained eye. Sure, it's got more post-processing and likely more artifacts upon closer inspection, but the versatility and ease just couldn't be beat!  All of the pictures in the post were taken by my phone camera.  Technology has indeed come a long way.

Athan on the Shores of Lake Louise

Moraine Lake

Glacier and Skywalk

Our last sightseeing day consisted of driving from Banff north to Hinton (town past Jasper).  On the way there, we stopped at the Columbia Icefields where we took a tour onto the Athabasca Glacier.  It was quite a cool experience (excuse the pun), especially for the kids!  The tour also included a visit to the Skywalk, which was built after we visited the last time.  It's got a glass floor lookout that juts out from the side of the cliff.  I really enjoyed that as well.  Again, something that I would recommend doing.

Atop the Athabasca Glacier

Panoramic View on the Glacier

Skywalk

Audrey and Amelia and the Athabasca Glacier

Flying Out (Almost)!

The next day, we drove 4 hours back to Grande Prairie to hop onto our flight back to Toronto.  Typical of Flair fashion, the flight was delayed.  We sat in the airport patiently waiting for the flight to be ready.  Eventually, we realized that the plane wasn't even at the terminal.  At about 7pm, they finally announced that the flight was cancelled.  At first, they said that we would need to get to Edmonton to catch a flight from there to Toronto.  As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of commotion.  The Flair ground crew was pretty clueless as to what had to happen next.  First, they told us we had to find our way to Edmonton on our own.  Then, they said they would provide us a bus ride to Edmonton.  After a few hours of waiting, we were finally told that a plane was going to fly in the next morning to take us back to Toronto.  That was a much better solution than a 4.5 hr drive to Edmonton.

However, that was not the end of the long day at the airport.  According to regulations, the airline must provide us a stay if a flight is cancelled.  The ground crew again appeared to be fairly inexperienced with this.  We later found out that Flair had only started flying into Grande Prairie the month prior and so the crew had likely never encountered a cancelled flight before.  I guess we were the "lucky" ones to experience this.  Eventually, we were sent to a local hotel to stay the night.  That should have been an easy thing, but again, the crew told us that they would arrange a shuttle to take us all to the hotel.  After waiting for an hour or so, there was none to be found.  A lot of people started taking taxis there.  Uber and Lyft were not operating in Grande Prairie, which made it a bit more difficult to order a cab at the same time as 100 other people.  Finally, we got to the hotel safely around 11 pm.  We had not had dinner and everyone was exhausted.  We ended up buying a bunch of instant cup noodles at the hotel pantry and had that for dinner.  The kids didn't seem to mind that at all and I would have to confess I enjoyed it too!

The next morning was quite uneventful.  We got to the airport and saw the plane land at the terminal.  All travelers gave the crew a round of applause.  Everyone was glad that we now had a way back home!  After a few hours we were home and felt pretty glad to be back.  

Would I take another Flair flight?  I think so, but just like we did on this trip, we would ensure that we did not need to be at the destination or home on a tight timeline.  The experience was generally pleasant (outside of the cancellation) and travelers just need to know what to expect going in.  You do get what you pay for.

Athan Reacting to Our Cancelled Flight

Finally Boarding Our Return Flight!

Final Thoughts

I really do enjoy traveling with the family.  It is a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun and a sure way to make lasting memories.  In everyday life, I feel like I get caught up with everything that needs to be done, whether it's work, getting the kids to their next activity, church responsibilities, housework, etc.  Everything just seems to be a blur and there's little time to enjoy each other's company.  When I'm on a trip, I can be there and present, instead of thinking about the next thing.  We really only have one thing to do while we're on a trip and that is to enjoy ourselves while experiencing something that is new or at least, outside of the ordinary and mundane.

There will come a time when we no longer will be able to spend as much as we have with each other. Whether that is me with my parents or with the kids.  Life changes, kids will move out, and not everyone lives forever.  We really do need to cherish these moments.  I take this as my responsibility as a father, husband, and son to maximize this joy.  Sometimes, we also get to learn a few things when we go on trips - like not underestimating hiking uphill in 20 cm of snow!

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Collecting Comics: Picking Up My Childhood Hobby

 

Me and My Prized Possession - Amazing Spider-man #361, 1st Appearance of Carnage

Like many kids growing up in Canada, collecting baseball cards and comics was a big part of my childhood.  Particularly, when I was in grade 7 and 8, I spent much of my spare time reading, drawing, buying, and trading comics.  I was so passionate about comics that my mom enrolled me in art lessons on Saturday afternoons.

It all started in 1990 when Impel came out with a set of trading cards with Marvel characters.  It was all the rage at that time. Any kid who was in grade school at that time must have either collected them or at least seen their friends bring them to school to trade.  I was no different.  Soon, I was sucked into the world of Marvel and I guess have never left since then.

Soon after that, I started collecting comics and began with the most popular titles like Amazing Spider-man and the Uncanny X-men.  Not going far from the beaten path, Spider-man and Wolverine were my favourite characters.  I certainly enjoyed reading the comics, but I was even more interested in the investment aspect of the hobby.  I guess I've always been an investor, even when I was a kid!

Learning the Trade

As with most things, there was a learning curve that I had to climb. Initially, I was buying all sorts of comics.  Whenever there was a #1 issue of a new series, I would buy it just because I thought it would increase in value.  Eventually, I figured that the most valuable comics often had the first appearance of a character (much like the rookie card of a sports player).

At the top of this post, you can see a picture of the Amazing Spider-man #361.  That issue was the first appearance of the character, Carnage.  The latest Venom movie introduced this character to the big screens.  Back in those days, there was no internet to read up on the latest comics news.  So, I would buy the monthly Wizard magazine that talked about the hottest upcoming comics.  I remember that whenever there were hot issues coming out, I would ride my bike to the local convenience at Bamburgh Circle and pick up several copies of the comic.  With the first appearance of Carnage, I picked up 3 copies from the convenience store.  Of the 3 copies, one of them was graded at a 9.8, which is essentially a perfect score (there are 9.9 and 10.0 scores out there, but they are exceedingly rare).  The 9.8 was worth as much as $1900 last year, but now, like stock prices, comic values have come down and is currently worth around $1200.  I believe I bought them for $1.75 each; so, not a bad return on investment!

In 1992, a few star artists and writers started their own comic company, Image Comics (The Walking Dead and Kick-Ass are notable series from Image).  I immediately bought a bunch of #1 issues that were published that year, including 7 copies of Todd McFarlane's Spawn #1.  Other than Spawn, none of the comic series that came out that year made it too far.  Although Spawn continues to be a popular comic, they printed so many copies of the #1 issue that a copy with a 9.8 grade sells for $200 only.

Although my collection may sound like a pretty good collection to someone unfamiliar with comics, it is figuratively and literally child's play.  To put things into perspective, a 9.6 graded copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 (first appearance of Spider-man) sold for a cool $3.6 million.  Ok, so that was the most expensive comic ever sold, but a low grade Amazing Fantasy 15 could easily go for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Spider-man #1 by Todd McFarlane - One of My Favourite Comic Covers

My Most Valuable Collection

Passing the Torch

For many years, my comic collection sat inside a couple of boxes in my parents' basement.  In fact, I had not really looked at it since I was in grade 8.  You can probably guess how it happened: I hit puberty and girls became a lot more interesting than Spider-man!  So, the comics sat there until my parents renovated their basement and needed to clear it out.  Those boxes then got transferred to my own basement, where they sat for another several years or so, until...COVID!

Since we were stuck at home for so long, I pulled out the comics to look at them and even posted a few pics on Facebook.  My childhood buddy, Julian, who is an even bigger comic book collector than I am quickly noted how much some of the issues were worth.  I did some quick searching on eBay and that was the start of how my passion got re-ignited.

For much of my adulthood, my love for comics had never been truly extinguished.  I had watched all of the X-men films that were made in the 90s and early 2000s, and of course, all of the Tobey Maguire Spider-man films.  With a bit (a lot actually...) of my influence, Athan has grown to love all things Marvel.  Below are some pics of us dressing up as Spider-man and Wolverine!  I'm so grateful that I'm able to share my love of comics with him and also everyone else in the family.  A week hardly goes by without a couple of MCU movies playing on the TV throughout the week!

Spider-man Themed Birthday Party for Athan with Me as Spider-man

Athan and I Dressing Up as Different Versions of Wolverine

Our First Comic Show

Gift for My Boy's 11th Birthday - A Marvel Encyclopedia

Deeper Lesson

Not sure if this is a bit of a stretch, but I think collecting comics (or any other collectibles for that matter) may have a deeper lesson, that which is related to economics/finance.  Comics are simply assets to which people attribute value.  Are they not as tangible or intangible as a stock certificate (not that any of us has ever held a physical stock certificate)?  The value of a comic often follows simple rules of supply and demand.  So, hopefully, the lessons that my kids can learn from comics would help them navigate the world as they grow up.  I certainly would like to think that collecting comics have helped me become a better investor!

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My Encounter with Racism

When I was between 10 and 14 years old, newspaper/flyer delivery was a major source of income for me.  First, I had a flyer route that paid $20/month for delivering 70 sets of flyers each week to my neighbors.  The job included assembling flyers from multiple stores into one package and then delivering them throughout my neighborhood.  Not every house got a set of flyers; those who subscribed to the Toronto Star would not be on my route, because they would get the flyers included in the newspaper.  So, I would bring a list of addresses with me during the delivery, making sure the right houses got the flyers.  Sounds pretty easy, but imagine doing this in -15°C weather in the middle of a blizzard.  Eventually, I memorized my entire route and could do this without looking at the list (I got to know the houses, instead of memorizing the addresses).  Then, when my best friend Michael moved to Pickering, I inherited his prized evening Toronto Star paper route.  The money was way better from a revenue to work ratio.  I only had about 10 houses to deliver to but the money was similar.

My brother, Eric, also had a paper route.  He delivered the Sunday Toronto Sun. He had around 60 houses on his route.  He was (and is) really smart; he somehow tricked me into thinking that it was a great idea for me to help him with collecting money from the subscribers.  Yes, this was a thing.  In addition to delivering the newspapers, we were also responsible for knocking on the doors of our customers and collecting the money that they owed the Star/Sun.  Every month, we would remit the majority of that money to our managers and retain our earnings.  If we didn't collect all the money, tough luck, we still needed to remit the money.  So, it was in our best interest to collect.

Back to the story, I had forgotten what Eric had paid me, but it was a small portion of his income, while the work was arguably harder.  If it wasn't harder, it was definitely more time consuming.  Folks weren't home all the time and so you might need to go back to the same house twice, thrice, five, eight times to collect the $5 that they owed.  In addition to that, I actually had to interact with people, some of whom were nice and always tipped, but others were miserable and was not afraid to let you know that it was not welcome to knock on their door during dinner time.  Who ate at 5:00 pm anyway?!?

There was one family on Hood Crescent in Scarborough that I would dread going to.  It was the house of a white family with 2 kids, a girl and a boy around my age.  The father would sometimes answer the door and was polite, if not pleasant, but the mother was always upset about something.  If she wasn't complaining about me coming at dinner time, it was something else.  It was always unpleasant with her.  One day when I was 12 years old, I rang their doorbell as usual and she opened the door.  Immediately, a frown appeared on her face.  As you know, I almost always carry a smile on my face and so, I told her, with a smile, that I was collecting paper money and she owed $5.  She mumbled something about dinner time and went back inside to get the money.  When she came back with the money, she said, and I will never forget, "I would rather give this money to a nice white boy."

I was shocked.  I didn't know what to say.  I just took the money and walked back to my bike.  I didn't know what to feel, except anger.  It upset me tremendously.  I rode my bike home, to be met by Eric and my mom.  I was shaking as I told them what the white lady had said.  Then, uncontrollably, I broke down in tears.

After that, I don't quite remember what happened.  My mom probably consoled me and life went on.  But to this day, I still remember that woman's face and more vividly, her words.  It definitely wasn't the first time I was a victim to racism; some stupid kids at school would call me a chink or would tell me to go back to Hong Kong.  This time was different; it came to me, a 12-year-old boy, from a grown up.  I had a very hard time reconciling that in my head. We were taught racism was wrong and not acceptable, especially in Canada, where people of various backgrounds live harmoniously.  Yet, this lady, who had kids herself, would inflict such pain on a 12-year-old boy.  How deep her hatred for people of colour must have run!

Almost 30 years later, as I reflect on this, I am saddened that racism is still such a real thing in the world.  All I ask is that we continue to pray for those who still bear hatred towards those of another race, and to continue to make decisions in our lives, from voting to educating our kids, that denounce racism.  Just like slavery, it will become a thing of the past only to be learned through history books.  I wish to see the day when 12-year-old newspaper boys only need to worry about whether it was dinnertime when knocking on their customer's door.

...wait, are newspapers still a thing? 😅

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COVID-19 Baby Boom? Is it real? Yes...and No. 6 is On Its Way!

Yes, we have anecdotal evidence that the COVID-19 lockdown has started a baby boom!  Renee and I are pleased to introduce Baby No. 6!  Amelia is now two and a half years old so we're definitely overdue! LOL! This time, we're really going to fill the Odyssey and there will not be any spots for the grandparents! 😭 

The kids are very thrilled with the news and couldn't wait to tell their friends.  The oldest two are praying for a little brother and the younger three are hoping for a baby girl.  We do think it'd be nice for Athan to finally have a brother, and we are running out of "A" girl names as well! 😜

Baby's due date will be early December and I'm really hoping the pandemic will be over by then.  I really wish I will be allowed to accompany Renee during and after the delivery in the hospital.  All of our kids were on the light side and had to stay in the hospital for a couple of nights.  So, it'd be good to be able to be there with Renee and baby.  Please keep us in your prayers!

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2019: A Year in Review - Part I: Year Overview

I had tried starting this post before the coronavirus outbreak, but did not get any progress until now.  It's April 11, 2020 and I've been home since before March Break, which would make this the start of week #5.  Not sure if this is affecting anyone else, but I feel especially lethargic from a work perspective, having to stay home all the time.  But I will push through this lethargy and complete this post today!  If you see this on April 11, you'll know I succeeded!

In general, 2019 was somewhat eventful, but it really went by like a blur and nothing stuck out as a highlight.  Perhaps it wasn't the greatest of years as you'll soon read about.  Or maybe, it might be because I didn't have any newborn this year! ;)  But I'm glad I'm going through this exercise of looking back.  Otherwise, the year would have passed and I would not have reflected more upon it.  And isn't being conscious and being able to reflect on past events what separates us from other creatures in this world?

Annual Tradition - Gambling & Eating Steak

This has become a bit of an annual tradition.  It started way back in 2008 (?) when the Great Recession was running in high gear and it seemed like everything was on discount.  Hotels were not the least affected and had some pretty great deals that winter.  Kelvin (Lai Chuen), my cousin and I would enjoy the packaged deals from Four Points Fallsview to stay for a night, get some "free" chips from the casino and coupons from local restaurants (which lowered the cost of the highly priced food back to normal prices).

Isn't gambling not allowed for Catholics?  Well, no, that is not entirely accurate.  Gambling, in and of itself, is not a sin.  However, gambling definitely leads to sin; which is why gambling is often shunned.  I know this first hand.  Many years ago, I lost around $200 at a casino and I lost it and threw a fit like an uncontrollable toddler.  It was an ugly sight.  $200 is not a huge amount but it was enough to turn me into a different person.  "Know your limit" so goes the OLG saying.  Now, I know my limit!  So these days, I get the "free" chips from the casino and play enough so I can cash it out.

Anyway, back to our trip to Niagara.  Kelvin's birthday is in January.  So, we decided to take advantage of the hotel deals again.  But this time, I had a few surprises for him.  I picked up the tab for his stay and even organized a surprise for him.  He thought that it was only the 2 of us + family, but there ended up being around 20 people, including my parents, his in-laws, Jit team.  It was a fun trip...and to spoil next year's "2020 in Review" post, we did it again in January 2020!


Selling the Matrix

This section is quite inconsequential...but thought I'd document this for posterity.  Lol.  Just before Renee and I got married, we bought our first car together.  It was a used 2004 Toyota Matrix.  Over the years, it had served us well.  When we went down to one car after Adele was born, we gave it to my dad to drive.  He eventually got a BMW and passed the Matrix to my mom.  My mom then drove it for probably 6 or 7 years.  Finally, after 15 years of good service and almost 300,000 km, we decided to retire it.  I think we even sold it for $1200 (if I recall correctly).  It was such a practical and reliable car!  It had not broken down once and all repairs were of a minor nature.

For this, I love Toyotas so much!  They're just engineered and manufactured so well and last forever.  However, I'm terribly worried about the company.  They are like Blackberry in 2008...not quite sure what I mean?  Well, the iPhone was announced in 2007.  Everyone knew it was the future, but people like Steve Ballmer just mocked it (you gotta click on this link if you haven't seen the video).  I think you know where I'm going with this.  We know electric vehicles (EVs) are the future.  How can they not be?  But Toyota is just so obstinate!  I don't get it.  They practically started the EV revolution by pioneering hybrid technology.  Why do they have such a pathetic EV roadmap?  When they talk the game, what they mean by EVs are hybrids, and not zero-emissions EVs.  This would have been fine 20 years ago when they came out with the Prius.  They've gone from leader to laggard.  It's truly disappointing and sad.


Mom's Surgery
My mom, Susanna, has been my nanny, cook, educator, and Instacart shopper (lol, this last one is a joke) for the past 10 years.  I'm tremendously grateful for her help.  Without her, I don't think we could have gone past 2 kids!

Last year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was actually not her first diagnosis of this terrible disease.  10 years prior, she was diagnosed with the same and had her first mastectomy.  Her recovery back then was not great.  I recall it probably took her about a week before she was able to get out of bed.  Even then, she was not very mobile.  So, this time, we were very worried about what this would mean.  She was going to get another mastectomy, but she was now 10 years older.

To our surprise, while she had the same surgeon and had the surgery done at the same hospital, the surgery went exceptionally well.  She was also able to have a one-night stay at the hospital instead of a day surgery.  That helped tremendously as well.  By day 3, she was up and about and even cooked lunch (nobody can stop her when she's determined)!  We were really relieved!  She fully recovered in 2 to 3 months.  It's been over a year since the surgery and she's been back to her old self.  Thanks be to God!

We also thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts during this time!

It is important to note...while mom was off on sick leave, Renee did a great job taking care of kids and myself.  She did lose about 5 pounds in this period though! :P


Grandma's Passing and Trip to Hong Kong
In mid April, mom called and told us that she was well enough to come back the following week.  We didn't mind that she took more time off to recuperate but knowing mom, she probably felt it was her responsibility to come back to help when she was able.  That's mom...always going above and beyond!

As fate would have it, on the following day, she got a call from my uncle in Hong Kong informing her that Grandma had been hospitalized.  The situation was not good and so, she booked her flight to go back.  I followed shortly after.  I was glad I did because Grandma passed while I was there and I got to spend her last few days with her.  I wrote about that last year when I was still in Hong Kong.

Not only was I able to spend time with Grandma, I also spent some time with my cousins, whom I had not seen in quite some time.  In fact, it was really my first time interacting on a less superficial basis with my younger cousins, Ka Yue and Ka Pong.  They were born after we had immigrated to Canada and I was glad I was able to get to know them a bit better.  Guys, if you're reading, thanks for your hospitality last year.  It was great connecting with you guys!  I was also fortunate to connect with a few other relatives and old friends, which is always great.  It was too bad I was only there for 1 week...

This trip was also the only time I spent any meaningful amount of time alone with mom.  The last time was probably in 1989 when again, the two of us went to Hong Kong together (wow, some 30 years ago)!  After grandma's passing, we did some touristy stuff in Hong Kong, went shopping, and enjoyed the rest of our time there.  I guess this was the silver lining of the trip.

Family's First Baseball Game

Ainsworth's (where I work) family event this year was a Blue Jays game.  It's been about 30 years since I've seen a live Jays game.  The last time, the Rogers Centre was still called the Skydome (which is what I still call it).  It was a superb game to watch with something like 7 home runs during the game!  Free game, free food - what a great day!  Thanks Ainsworth!


Enjoying Friends' Company
Honestly, God has blessed us with so many good friends that we're so grateful.  I have to say I'm terrible with keeping in touch.  It's never been my strength.  Thanks to all you kind souls; that hasn't kept you out of our lives!

One wintry day, we had a great time with Matt, Jessica, Sophia and Sam at the Science Centre!  They gifted us a membership many years ago and after losing it for a few years, we finally found it.  We gladly invited them to join us.  It was a bit of a hectic and chaotic day, with adults terribly outnumbered (mainly my fault), but we had a blast!

And for all those of you who don't know, the Science Centre has a great reciprocal membership program with other museums.  Within a 8 hour drive radius, you probably have free access to around 10 different museums in Canada and the US.  Definitely keep this in mind!

In 2019, I was also a godfather again!  I'm the proud godfather of everyone in John's family except Joanna!  Their second, Oliver, was baptized and I was so honoured to be godfather again!  Godfather Part III...lol!

In July, we threw Matt (Tsang) a surprise birthday lunch.  The surprise was so good...Matt Siu and I hid in Lai Chuen's pantry and when Matt came over, thinking he was putting up some furniture for Lai Chuen, we scared the heck out of him when he found 2 screaming dudes in the pantry!  We definitely had a good laugh at his expense!

Calvin, Aggie, and their girls Abbey and Alley visited from Hong Kong in December.  We had a great time reminiscing about old jokes like "I...I...I was just saying..."  It was a great way of celebrating Christmas with great, old friends!  Watching Dennis and Calvin shuck oysters was also amusing! :)

Other Highlights

Watching Canada Day Fireworks at the Local Park 

Renee's Grandma Visiting in the Summer 

Starting of a New Family Tradition: A Real Christmas Tree!

Thanks for dropping by!  Stay tuned for more!

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