Back To School Madness for Stephen Fung!

The thing that deteriorates the most as you age is your brain and it should be everyone’s goal to continue to learn throughout one’s life. As long as I have the opportunity, I will never stop learning. That’s why I love new gadgets and learning about new products. It’s what keeps me going and keeps me engaged because, as some of you know, I have a pretty short attention span. Here’s what I’ve gotten myself into this Fall…

More Mandarin For Me!

Last year I started taking Mandarin Lessons at Langara College on Saturdays. Although I still suck pretty bad, I know that you can’t learn a new language overnight, or once a week, intermittently, over the course of the year. Hopefully, I’ll fail less next year in Taiwan by continuing my commitment to learn this language. It sucks when you’re more understandable in English than you are in the local language. So far, after my first class back, I feel totally overwhelmed. I really hope I can get back into it quickly.

Speaking of FAIL, after my class on Saturday, I met up with Ed Lau and Leo Chiang for some impromptu “Dot Com Tandori Action” at All India Sweets and Restaurant. It wasn’t an official meet up per se, but I did send out a Tweet if anyone wanted to stop by. This week’s DOT COM FAIL is brought to you by Ed…

Ed likes to season his food. So much so that he decides that the lid of the pepper shaker must come off and he must get all the pepper that is available to him. It’s kind of like how our people like to steal napkins, load up on condiments, and take them home for later use. However, Ed’s interpretation is definitely FAIL. I’m not too surprised though. With a College blocks away, I’d check every shaker before shaking in this hood. PWNED!

School Wouldn’t Be School Without a Hook Up

Unfortunately, I won’t be hooking up at school. My life would be at risk. But it doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through someone else…

My little scooter friend decided that while I was back in the classroom, he would get busy with a sexy little number in the parking lot. Oh scooter! You’re such a player! Hopefully, I don’t see little mini-pocket bikes running around somewhere that I don’t know about. I’m sure he’s responsible enough to use plenty of lube and keep the rubber side down.

Taking Much Gooder Pictures

Last year, I took a course that really helped me open up the possibilities when it comes to my photography. Whether it’s just pictures for reviews or for fun, the ten week course put on my Vancouver Photo Workshops really gave me a better understanding on how to get consistently better pictures by avoiding the flash or using lots of flashes. I even got to shoot models. Most importantly, I got to try a bunch of different styles of photography that I would never venture into under normal circumstances. Heck, I even took some shots at a wedding.

This Fall, I’ll be filling in the gaps. I’ll be returning to Vancouver Photo Workshops to do an intensive weekend Photoshop Session for Photographers and a Product Photography Course. Although these are probably things I can read about and learn on my own, it’s no substitute for a hands on experience in an environment where you can ask questions and learn from others. The class starts in October so I’ll report back when things get rolling.

I Thought I’d Never Do It…

Although I had always sworn off getting myself on a motorcycle for fear that I would kill myself on one, I guess the scooter was only the first step. I’m hooked, and there’s nothing I can do about it now. On Monday, I got my motorcycle learners license, and then this morning, I took my very first motorcycle riding lesson.

My first ever motorcycle ride was on a Suzuki Marauder 250. My course will be lead by Dave Clayton at 2wheel 2ition Motorcyle School. I figured a good education on two wheels would be a good investment and would help ensure that I pick up the good habits I need to be safe on the road. Although I’ve had lots of saddle time on my scooter, as I found out today, a motorcycle is a whole different animal.

I guess my fear of learning to ride a motorcycle stems from the fact that I know myself too well. It’s not that I ever doubted my ability to be able to ride one, but what I was most concerned with was the mindset of a younger Stephen Fung. A younger version of me wouldn’t have even considered getting professional instruction or taking my time, stepping up from a scooter and learning proper road sense. Not to mention the impulsiveness and daredevil attitude as a young gun scared even myself at time. Now that I’m older and wiser, I think that I’m finally ready to do something that I’ve always wanted to do.

There’s definitely going to be a lot of learning in the next while and I’ll definitely pass on the good stuff. Stay tuned