Canada - Edmonton, Alberta

Time flies, I can't believe we will be leaving for New York tomorrow.

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It's been a joyful week to be back in Edmonton. I can't believe I would live the day to say this but I actually really missed the snow and trees...and of course my family.

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Yesterday, I took Rupert to see my schools - Harry Ainlay High School and the University of Alberta; we also drove by Whyte Ave a few times but it was too cold to walk around. We drove around William Hawrelak Park where Rupert rolled in the snow and nearly lost his fingers because it was so cold.

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For those of you who don't know, Edmonton is the capital of Alberta. Population is about 782,500 and city area is about 684 sq km.

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Edmonton is famous for housing the largest mall in North America - the West Edmonton Mall, the Edmonton Oilers (ice hockey) and Edmonton Eskimos (Canadian football) and it's ridiculous amount of snow (weather can get to -40 in the winter, it is now about -21).

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In general, it's cheaper to live in the province of Alberta than other provinces in Canada. Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude and gas in Canada. So Alberta is the only province not subject to PST (provincial sales tax), Albertans are only subject to the the GST (the federal sales tax, Goods & Services Tax).

Maybe because I haven't been back to Edmonton for so long, I learnt to appreciate the beautiful blue sky, trees, crispy fresh air, personal space and diamond like snowflakes, Edmonton is truly a winter wonderland.

I am certainly going to miss Edmonton, my family, home and friends.

*Some of the information about Edmonton and Alberta are from Wikipedia

Happy Valentines Day

It's surprising warm in Edmonton, it's about -5 today. I love the color of the sky during sunset and sunrise. It turns into a soft rainbow color which you never see in Hong Kong.

Everywhere you go, you see gorgeous white snow and trees. It's rather unreal, like something you would see on a puzzle.

I was going through some photo albums. Saw a whole load of old photos of my family including my dad and sister who passed away years ago. Everytime I see these photos, I can see them so vividly. Everytime, it reminds me of how much I must treasure my time with my family (and friends) and that I should never take things for granted. 

You just never know when they will be gone and all that's left behind is memories...but good memories. You will regret for not apologizing for the hurtful things you said to them the last time you saw them; you will regret for not telling them how much you truly love them even though you act like an idiot; you will regret picking on the smallest negative thing about them instead of appreciating how lucky you are to have them.

I try not to regret anymore and instead, use that lesson to remind myself to be full of gratitude for what I have and to treasure my family.

It's February 14th today, so Happy Valentines Day!!! We had a family gathering because it's also my cousin's son's birthday today. Real family and friends are those even when you rarely see them, you can pick up right where you left off. No awkwardness, no dead air.

I think it's also because we are all older now and instead of acting cool and all, we open our arms for each other. We take initiative and make more effort.

I am so blessed with everything I have. You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. I am blessed to have loving and caring families in both Edmonton and Hong Kong.

It was a beautiful day today.