Front yard project

August 31st., 2016

             Starting this week I will be working on my front yard now that the retaining wall in the backyard is completed. Not that I am finish with the backyard just that there is a more urgent to finish the front yard.

Started clearing the garden to showcase the huge rock

and hopefully have time to plant flowers 

on the flower bed that I started to worked 

on.

2016 garden projects

August 22nd. 2016

              Since moving into this house decades ago I build a retaining wall in the backyard garden so as not to obstruct the catch basin at the North-West corner off the house. However, after years the retaining wall start to shift and so this year I started the project at the end of June to fixed all my garden's  neglect.

               So far I had replaced the pond in the garden with annuals as it is getting harder to maintain the pond as I aged. 

Partially completed rock garden and the pond

recovery stage,

Partially corrected retaining wall on the South West side off the 

house. The river rock corridor and the retaining wall

was erected to allow water passages from neighbor

water to flow into the catch basin unobstructed.

Views from North West corner of the house, only about five ft.

of retaining wall to finish.

All good things must come to a final ending

Wednesday March 25th. 2015

             At last the end is near for the final chapter of my career life and the beginning of leisure life with my beloved husband and soul mate who five years ago due to a life changing health problem and was on disability. It was especially difficult and humbling affect for him who has said he will be working till his seventies. He loved his career and the challenge of working with computers and the ever changing software. Unfortunately for him the cardiac arrest six months after his major open heart surgery and the seventeen minutes flat line with only the quick thinking and experience of an ex Hong Kong ER nurse save him and prevent much worst damage to his brain and heart. It was especially hard on him be off work and the social meeting at work. To make matter worst I must keep on working and unable to care for him. He use to love cooking (one of his favourite enjoyment) but I am too worry he might burn down the house due to his short attention I told him the kitchen is off limit to him. 

              However, I am now able to spend time with him and care for him. Sadly, I too, will deeply missed the social office life which is part of my life for thirty six years, One thing I must say I am not going to miss is the last minute request from sale force for their commission to be included in the month end payout or works. I am happy that there is no more late evening work during every month ends, quarterly ends and finally year end. At the same time I will be enjoying all my week end without fear of weekend disaster recovery testing. I is especially hard because I do not drive and very dependant on my poor husband to drive me to the GO station to work every morning and on my return. 

               Last October in 2014 we travelled to Sydney for my niece wedding but have to cut short our travel although there was a second wedding we should be attending but unable due to my last year end processing. It was especially hard on my husband because it was his favourite niece wedding and it was also in Australia on the same October except it was to close to the end of the month.

               That is why this retirement is a bitter sweet but unfortunately I cannot retire earlier without penalty on my pension till March 2015.

                I guess the first thing I am going to enjoy is the sleep in without fear or remorse of getting to work late. I am a retired ex banker. Oh the sound sweet.

2013 new and exciting year for the Ts

Studio wedding photo taken before the wedding day.

On January 1st., 2013 my wife Yeu Tin and daughter Melissa left Toronto for Japan for Melissa preparation in Towada, Amori, Japan for her upcoming wedding to Takehiro Muranaka. The two had been dating for at least three years with all of Melissa's close friends knowledge except the parents. Even her brother Nathan knew about it and had met Mr. Muranaka in Japan on his first to Japan.

Not surprisingly my wife and I were kept in the dark about their relationship because, I left Melissa Tee strict instruction not to have a Japanese boyfriends. Since Melissa share characteristic as me (her dad) I am not at all surprise that she will end up marrying a Japanese in Japan regardless of my wishes.

Her wedding in Japan on Sunday, January 6th. 2013 was amazingly well organized even thought Melissa was at home in Canada for most  of the December and November 2012 period. Well, it paid to employed a wedding planner in Japan to run the whole show because they sure did a excellent job for the wedding.

Wedding procession where the in-law lead
her new daughter-in-law to the head table
during the diner reception

Cake cutting ceremony

Lighting of the candle ceremony ( a Japanese custom where  the couple go
around to every tables and light the center piece and finally the main candle
place near the head table)

I felt like I am swimming upstream against strong current

August 27th. 2010

Since March

Land at last 2012 vacation in Italy

May 7th. 2012

After two years of set back due to my heart condition my wife Yeu Tin and I decided on a week journey on a cruise ship to Rome and France.

Almost two years after my bypass in April of 2009

After the bypass I lost a least 40 pounds and was down 2 inches on the waist line. However in the two years after the bypass I am now back to my size 33 inches waist line and around 180 pounds heavy. Not a good sign for me after buying a lot of pants in the 32 inches waist line. The memory is still a problem because of the 17 minutes cardiac attack I had in September of 2009.

I would love to be able to go back to work and feel useful again but at present situation I am more of a burden for my company and frustrating for me because I am totally useless at my job (more or less a handicap in my office).  I am still seeing a psychology to help improve my mental health and on my own I am working very hard and frustrating on the japanese game call Suduku to see if I could improved myself. Before my problem I was alway very easily solving the evil Suduku in a couple of hours and minutes for the medium and hard. The last hard Suduku I tried is still a long way from a solution if I had not cheated by looking into the solution on the back page. So I am still currently on the easy Suduku that I will complete in under 5 minutes but now take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hours or longer. Yes, I am letting out a frustration yell in my room and there is nothing I can do to improved the situation for now.

I still love photography and every chance I had to be invited to a major function in Mississauga I will be there and the Chair of Canada China Bussiness Communication as well as Chair of SafeCity Mississauga Mr. Victor Oh has been kind enough to alway include me in for his organisation's function. At the same token my friend Mr. Stephen Chu of Mississauga Chinese Business Association alway also invited me to volunteer my photographic service on thier function. It is a good thing that technology has come a long way with photoshop helping me to correct any mistake I make with the photos.