Today, the world lost a brave little soldier. A soldier who marched to the beat of his own drum, who defied all odds when they were stacked against him. They gave him only days, yet he surpassed all expectations and saw Christmas, opened his gifts on Boxing Day, and the beginning of 2012. Just a little boy who has one of the largest and loving families and support systems I’ve ever seen, who have been by his side the whole time.

If I could say any last words to him now, this would be it:

Wherever you are now Eric, I imagine you to be in a much happier place, with all the games you could ever dream of. Be the adventurous boy you were meant to be, and run, skip, laugh and play because you are free at last. Life is a battlefield, and it’s unfair that you’ve been taken away at such a young age. I will always remember the way you asked for your favourite snacks, like gummy bears, root beer and chips, and how happy it made you when you knew they were your favourite kind, barbecue chips. I’ll never be able to look at barbecue chips again in the same way, without thinking about you and your smile first.

R.I.P., my little soldier. You were and will always be a trooper in my eyes.

xoxo

Christine 姐姐

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. A lot of good, and some bad has happened to me this year, and I can’t seem to help but feel that it’s all pushing me towards something. As if I’m gravitating towards something… but I can’t put my finger on what.

I feel like if there’s something that you want in life, you really truly have to go out there and fight for it. Put yourself out on a limb and though there may be some awkwardness while you hang there for dear life and not know what to do, sooner or later, you’re going to find your footing.

…I just had to. This dog was way too cute not to include in my post

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.”

- Napoleon Hill

I see this quote every single day in my email signature. I thought I would’ve gotten tired of it by now, but every time I look at it, I’m reminded that there never is a right time to do anything. It’s just up to you to make things happen.

Photo credits to: www.weheartit.com

First started off with checking out the @GapcCanadaPR event with @SheDoestheCity! Was randomly walking around Bloor Street West after work one day and was attracted by a gaggle of girls wearing primary coloured trousers/denim. Put my name in the draw (why not?) and won meself a Lomography camera! So excited Had to learn how to use all the knobs and buttons and put in real film into the cam. I’ve brought it along with me this weekend to capture all the random moments – can’t wait to see how they turn out!

I’ve heard lots about the Sally Hansen stick-on nails so I’ve decided to give it a try! It ended up taking way longer than applying nail polish, and ended up creating a colossal mess! But I am pretty happy with the results, and they’re supposed to last up to 10 days. We’ll see how it works out!

Bought my first VOGUE this weekend too… I’ve seen Kate Moss’ wedding spread online and considering it was the September issue, thought it would be a worthy investment. Surprised to see that 70% of it is full of ads, but Kate Moss’ spread, along with a 9/11 survivor story and a “Made in China” spread makes it all worth it!

Got a chance to spend quality time with my girls as well – check Sonja & Seema sporting the headbands I got them from China! Also watched “The Help” which was an AMAZING movie. I would say it’s definitely one of the top 3 movies I’ve seen all year in 2011.

With much thanks to @womanspost, I got a chance to live the #TIFF experience today with tickets to the premium screening of Your Sister’s Sister! So amazing to see Emily Blunt in person, and had several close interactions with her as well. The movie completely exceeded my expectations with amazing acting, soothing soundtrack and engaging storyline. Definitely recommend for people to try and watch at this year’s TIFF!

Enjoyed dinner at Guu following the movie, pictured with my sake mojito below!

Kobocha Korokke – Deep fried pumpkin with a hard-boiled egg inside. One of my favourite dishes!

Meet my new friend, Smurf! What a nice surprise

And finally, had some fun with @mikosblog with his new DSLR! Took advantage of the awesome weather we had this weekend to style an outfit (inspired by Rachel Zoe) and shoot some pics around the city. Here’s a sneak preview below of some of the amaazing shots taken that day – full blog post to come soon!

And … that’s a wrap! How was your weekend?

So hard to believe that the Trip to China has come and gone by so quickly. After 8 long months of planning, 15 days have passed in just a blink of an eye. We have so many memories, mosquito bites, photos (literally thousands), video footage (hours and hours worth) to look back on. The most rewarding part of the trip for me was knowing that everyone was able to take something away from the trip itself, whether it was a new insight into Chinese culture, history, architecture, or the forging of new friendships that will go beyond the walls of China. I know I’m walking away with a deeper appreciation of my own roots, a better understanding of who I am and where I come from. All the people we’ve traveled with have developed such a special bond together that nothing else can possibly replace. There’s nothing quite like living, working, sweating, eating, and doing everything else imaginable with a group of 27 people for 15 days and nights straight.

I have so much to be thankful for having been a part of this experience starting with two of the most amazing guys I know who convinced me and gave me this opportunity to co-lead the group to China this year. Ron & Des, thank you for believing in and trusting us to take over a group of youth overseas!

Next order of thanks would have to go towards our kickass team of volunteer coordinators.

Thinking back to the early days when we were busy recruiting for our team, I still remember every single conversation I had with each one of you. This was a tall order to fill and each one of you stepped up to the plate. Since the first time we all met up together in the Mon Sheong Volunteer Center, I could already tell we had something special with the synergy and harmony in the room. I’ve worked with several youth groups in the past and I’ve never seen so much dedication, commitment and passion towards a cause. This trip would not have been possible without all of the help of Eva Yung, Marco Yim, Hayden Tay, Jane Zhang, Ryan Lee, Daniel Yuen, Sally Suen, Vivian Tang, Mark Ho, Rowena Yeung (not all pictured).

I feel like I’ve also made a lot of friends with some of the kindest people I’ve met from the Mon Sheong Foundation who are all extremely committed to providing leadership opportunities for youth to grow and develop their skills. Gerald, Frank, Clement, Gordon, Matthias, Mandy – thank you for all of your ongoing guidance and support during the planning and execution of our massive project!

My roomie, Victoria Kan, gets a special shoutout for being an amazing leader and our saviour every step of the way.

I think we’ve all seen you grow through this process and I couldn’t be prouder of how strong you’ve become! Also, you get brownie points for being my right arm in China and taking care of me on top of everything else

To all my friends and family who supported our trip by attending our Development Challenge events, buying our keychains, pins, reading our blog, listening to me rant, thank you!

Also, special thank you goes to Amy’s Food Adventures, for whipping up an insane amount of cupcakes to keep up with the orders to raise money for our restoration project! In total, we were able to donate a total of $6,000 towards the Lord Mengchang Restoration Project in Xuecheng, China.

To all the 2011 participants of Trip to China …

… thank you for all of your hard work, time and commitment over the past couple of months. From the workshops, to mandarin lessons, to Development Challenge, we hope you were able to take away skills and new friendships from this experience that will last you a lifetime. You all brought something special to the table and you really made the trip what it was! Thank you for allowing us to take you away for two weeks for a chance to experience something new and challenging yourselves to step out of your comfort zones.

And finally, to my other half, partner in crime and voice that won’t get out of my brain – thank you Harrison Luong!

The ying to my yang, I have to admit I was skeptical in the beginning when we were both assigned to work on this project together. Not sure how it would be working with someone I’ve known for so long, yet haven’t worked together with before. It’s unreal that within these past 8 months, we haven’t got into one single argument (I think that’s just cause you give me my way all the time ) and yet have been able to lead such a cohesive team together. Like you said, there’s not a problem that I don’t think we can tackle together. It’s been a privilege and honour to work with you.

When I had signed up to be a part of this trip, I would’ve never imagined that I would be able to gain so much from this experience. The actual Trip to China was probably the most challenging and intense projects I’ve ever led, but I can honestly say one of the most rewarding journeys I’ve been through thus far. Now that we’re back, we still have a few more events coming up including our Multimedia Challenge, Press Conference, Wrap-up Dinner so there’s still lots to look forward to!

I’ll also be selecting and sharing my favourite pics from each city we visited – stay tuned! (Big credit to Victoria for 90% of the photos shown here!)

Everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn to let go. Things go wrong, so that you appreciate when they’re right. You believe lies, so you can eventually learn to trust no one but yourself and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.

- Marilyn Monroe