GRADUATION
Another chapter in life is finished and now another chapter begins. Yesterday was my convocation. It was held at UofT Convocation Hall starting at 1:30pm. Excitement was in the air as we lined up and walked/marched into the Hall where family and friends awaited our incoming to celebrate our graduation. My fam was there :)
It was a great ceremony - intro, handing out our 'papers', valedictory address etc etc, and then pics pics pics and more pics :) It was a beautiful sunny day (a little cool and windy, but I don't think you can tell in the pics). It was so great to see all my friends (and colleagues) and their families. I can't describe the feeling I had yesterday. This graduation was quite different from my McMaster grad 4 years ago. I hardly knew anyone around me, except for mb a few ppl; whereas this time, I knew everyone and had many friends and a number of very close good friends. To be there with them yesterday was amazing. But we all knew that yesterday was probably the last time the whole class would be together like this again - and that made it sad too. "Parting is such sweet sorrow"...I love them all and will miss them. Thank God some of them are sticking around Toronto (and res) at least until the end of the summer so I still have some time to digest this change in life.
The infamous question: "So Charlene, what are your plans?" -- Um, I don't know. I have board exams in August, so for the summer I'll be studying for them. That I know. And then rest in September. Maybe start working in October. Where? I don't know. I'm looking into option/opportunities here in Toronto that have come up, but also in BC and Hong Kong. The likelihood of each place is 1)TO 2)BC 3)HK 4)AB...I'm keeping my options open :) And I guess I can do that since I am single and young - not to say that older and married ppl can't try different things and move around, but it's just pbbly harder since there would be more things and ppl to consider.
Montreal
This has been one busy week. Last weekend, I went to Montreal (from Fri-Sun). We rented a car - it was a royal blue PT Cruiser - way cool! The weather was beautiful from Fri-Sun evening - it only drizzled slightly on Sat night. [I heard that Toronto had crappy yucky rainy weather, so I was even more thankful for the Montreal weather]. The whole weekend was memorable: Old Montreal (Basilique de Notre Dame is beautiful from the outside - we had planned to go in, or go to a mass to see the inside, but didn't get to - I'm sure it's amazing inside); Horse-drawn Carriage ride; Italian/pasta dinner (with leftovers we ate for breakfast - ew); Montreal streets nite-life (didn't party tho); Mont Royal and the big cross; toured McGill Hotel residence (amazing 5 star hotel as a residence for incoming 1st years -lucky...); dinner with old friends of friends; Shopping!; Afternoon/high tea at the Ritz Carlton; and of course...Chinatown :)
Graduation Formal Dinner/Dance
This was Wednesday night - at The Manor, Golf & Country Club in Aurora. Beautiful estate. The banquet hall was beautiful, the outdoor scenery was amazing. Again, it was pics, pics, pics. I think this past week, I took at least 4 rolls of film. It was a night to celebrate with friends - amazing people. We started off with appetizers and Hor d'oeuvres at the reception, then dinner with speeches, dessert, a class slideshow (sniff sniff), more desserts (with a chocolate fondu fountain) and then of course dancing. I wore a blue/silver Chinese long dress (chueng sahm/qi pao) and had my hair done at a salon, which resulted in what my friends describe as a 'transformation' :) and was given the 'best hairdo and look'. Yup, I looked good ;) eheh...Well, everyone looked great...amazing! And all such beautiful people - I don't mean just externally - but purely beautiful people. At my table were all good friends which made the night even more special. I stayed until the end of the night and left around 2am.
Here's a shout out to all my CCNM friends who have been like a family to me these past 4 years. I love you all, and may God bless you and be with you always. You all hold a very special place in my heart.
Another chapter in life is finished and now another chapter begins. Yesterday was my convocation. It was held at UofT Convocation Hall starting at 1:30pm. Excitement was in the air as we lined up and walked/marched into the Hall where family and friends awaited our incoming to celebrate our graduation. My fam was there :)
It was a great ceremony - intro, handing out our 'papers', valedictory address etc etc, and then pics pics pics and more pics :) It was a beautiful sunny day (a little cool and windy, but I don't think you can tell in the pics). It was so great to see all my friends (and colleagues) and their families. I can't describe the feeling I had yesterday. This graduation was quite different from my McMaster grad 4 years ago. I hardly knew anyone around me, except for mb a few ppl; whereas this time, I knew everyone and had many friends and a number of very close good friends. To be there with them yesterday was amazing. But we all knew that yesterday was probably the last time the whole class would be together like this again - and that made it sad too. "Parting is such sweet sorrow"...I love them all and will miss them. Thank God some of them are sticking around Toronto (and res) at least until the end of the summer so I still have some time to digest this change in life.
The infamous question: "So Charlene, what are your plans?" -- Um, I don't know. I have board exams in August, so for the summer I'll be studying for them. That I know. And then rest in September. Maybe start working in October. Where? I don't know. I'm looking into option/opportunities here in Toronto that have come up, but also in BC and Hong Kong. The likelihood of each place is 1)TO 2)BC 3)HK 4)AB...I'm keeping my options open :) And I guess I can do that since I am single and young - not to say that older and married ppl can't try different things and move around, but it's just pbbly harder since there would be more things and ppl to consider.
Montreal
This has been one busy week. Last weekend, I went to Montreal (from Fri-Sun). We rented a car - it was a royal blue PT Cruiser - way cool! The weather was beautiful from Fri-Sun evening - it only drizzled slightly on Sat night. [I heard that Toronto had crappy yucky rainy weather, so I was even more thankful for the Montreal weather]. The whole weekend was memorable: Old Montreal (Basilique de Notre Dame is beautiful from the outside - we had planned to go in, or go to a mass to see the inside, but didn't get to - I'm sure it's amazing inside); Horse-drawn Carriage ride; Italian/pasta dinner (with leftovers we ate for breakfast - ew); Montreal streets nite-life (didn't party tho); Mont Royal and the big cross; toured McGill Hotel residence (amazing 5 star hotel as a residence for incoming 1st years -lucky...); dinner with old friends of friends; Shopping!; Afternoon/high tea at the Ritz Carlton; and of course...Chinatown :)
Graduation Formal Dinner/Dance
This was Wednesday night - at The Manor, Golf & Country Club in Aurora. Beautiful estate. The banquet hall was beautiful, the outdoor scenery was amazing. Again, it was pics, pics, pics. I think this past week, I took at least 4 rolls of film. It was a night to celebrate with friends - amazing people. We started off with appetizers and Hor d'oeuvres at the reception, then dinner with speeches, dessert, a class slideshow (sniff sniff), more desserts (with a chocolate fondu fountain) and then of course dancing. I wore a blue/silver Chinese long dress (chueng sahm/qi pao) and had my hair done at a salon, which resulted in what my friends describe as a 'transformation' :) and was given the 'best hairdo and look'. Yup, I looked good ;) eheh...Well, everyone looked great...amazing! And all such beautiful people - I don't mean just externally - but purely beautiful people. At my table were all good friends which made the night even more special. I stayed until the end of the night and left around 2am.
Here's a shout out to all my CCNM friends who have been like a family to me these past 4 years. I love you all, and may God bless you and be with you always. You all hold a very special place in my heart.
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