lasallian's Xanga

Friday, November 13, 2009

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:04:40 GMT

Focus 叫我喇沙仔

因為負責這個喇沙系列報道，近個月來走訪過的喇沙舊生不下十位，從各人口中聽得最多的回應，是「我哋喇沙仔。」這一句。

沙塵？囂張？自負？是的，對他們缺乏認識的，或許會這樣認為。但當你認識到有畢業30年的「喇沙仔」，即使今天位高權重，仍風雨不改年年到運動場為學弟打氣；有人專程查探並拜祭在大戰中陣亡、卻素未謀面的學兄；又有人雖只讀了短短兩年，卻始終心繫母校，你就會明白，「喇沙仔」這簡單的三個字，背後卻是蘊含着實力、團結、念舊、永不言敗的喇沙精神。

文：陳詩欣　

攝：Will Chow、鍾錦榮(部分圖片由喇沙書院和被訪者提供)

別叫我放棄

　花名「小蒙」的蒙德揚(David)，是信興集團副主席，與父親「電器大王」蒙民偉一樣，都是喇沙書院的畢業生。

跟David首次見面是在九龍公園游泳池。當日正舉行校際游泳比賽，日理萬機的David趁着午膳的空檔，專程由辦公室趕來為學弟打氣。如此着緊，原來因為他以前也是游泳高手，曾經得過學界季軍，更一度是喇沙蛙泳紀錄保持者。雖然畢業已30年，但對於學校泳隊，多年來熱心依然，每年學界比賽，只要不用出差公幹，也定必親自到場為師弟們打氣，風雨不改。

「以前爸爸經常帶我們去游水。初中時，有一次參加游泳比賽後，老師指着我，仲叫我攞埋出世紙和身份證見他，嚇得我吖，原來佢覺得我有天分，想叫我入校隊。」

說起讀書時的往事，David難掩面上興?之情。「以前有個教體育的，好玩得。有一次，我們一班同學合力把他的福士車搬到別處，搞到佢放學時四圍搵車。」改老師花名，叫Miss做「飛機場」、「驅魔女」已屬等閒，原來一臉正經老實的David，細個可也試過出貓，又曾用墨水弄污老師衣服。回想從前，David說自己未算是「曳」，最多只是「百厭」，「個個細路仔都係咁㗎啦！哈哈！」

David說，以前老師對學生要求嚴格，有一次，他的英文作文被任教的修士，當着全班同學評為「very bad，zero！」(很差，零分！)，甚至被對方用紅筆，在簿上劃上一個大交叉。

自尊心雖然受盡創傷，但他卻視為鬥志訓練，「我唔會喊㗎，還跟自己說，下次一定作好啲，好似比賽一樣，輸咗就要檢討，肯定就是自己做得不夠好。」大學畢業後，David被父親「流放」到日本工作，起初語言不通，加上人生路不熟，經常碰釘子。但全靠中學時期鍛煉得來這種「永不言敗」的喇沙精神，他咬實牙關，每天堅持於繁忙工作中抽時間學習日文，苦練5個月，終講得一口流利日語。「我爸爸昔日推銷電飯煲，都係靠這種堅持囉！」原來在蒙家薪火相傳的除了電器王國，還有喇沙精神。

元老級喇沙家族

事實上，除蒙氏父子外，喇沙舊生中「子承父業」的情況並不罕見，但要數要喇沙家族的故事，相信沒有比林氏一家更精采的了。

「林家的所有男丁，都是喇沙仔。」84年班的林智聰(Brenden Lim)，是林家的第三代喇沙人。祖父林傑元(Benedict)，是上世紀二十年代獲喇沙會邀請，從馬來西亞來港任教的首批老師，也是喇沙書院的「開國元老」，人稱Tiger Lim(老虎林)的他，更是喇沙中無人不曉的人物。父親林錫揚(Basil)與黃霑是同班同學，連同伯父林錫麟(Oswald)、兩位堂兄並Brenden胞弟，統統都是讀喇沙出身。就連祖母，也是任教喇沙小學數十年的資深老師。喇沙家族，果然名不虛傳。

因為要到英國升學，Brenden在喇沙只讀至中二，但對母校的歸屬感程度，絕不亞於其他舊生。為甚麼？「因為喇沙仔囉！」他滿有傲氣地說。

「呢個係喇沙精神，brotherhood好強，在校時個個都為學校搏命，即使畢業後，一樣好熱心參與學校的工作。」例如不少前校隊的舊生會回校擔當義務教練，而身任高級督察的Brenden，也會不時返母校協助輔導學生，總之就是各獻所長。

Brenden的家人大部分已移居外國，現有一子一女的他，相信承傳林家喇沙歷史的重責，就落在現年歲半的兒子了。

不是書呆子

除了學術成績標青，喇沙也是體育名校。85年班的黃嘉為(Mark)，在校時曾得過學界體壇最高榮譽的Omega Rose Bowl(現為中銀紫荊盃)的最佳男運動員獎。田徑、籃球、足球、壁球樣樣皆能的Mark說，每天練習至天黑已是平常事，「運動場上得到的快樂，是無可取替的。」說起母校，仍然難忘昔日運動場上為母校拼命爭勝的日子。

Mark有兩兄一弟，都是讀喇沙出身，對於喇沙的歷史，他從小已聽聞不少，亦因為兄長的緣故，入學前早已踏足過後來遭拆卸的舊校舍，相比於其他與自己一樣，在新校舍渡過整個中學時代的同學，Mark自覺已相當有幸。

對於學校生活，Mark至今仍非常懷念。他說和尚寺內生活的一班男生，最期待的莫過於每年的暑假和聖誕，皆因學生會每年都會安排與其他女校合辦活動，包括探訪、話劇、聖誕舞會等，而最受喇沙仔歡迎，當然是與喇沙相距數街之隔的瑪利諾女生，近水樓台嘛。「在聖誕舞會上請女仔跳舞，好刺激㗎，有啲同學都試過畀人請食檸檬。試過有其他男校學生潛入舞會，以圖魚目混珠，最終要動員風紀趕其離場。」Mark說，多年來這些聯校活動造就過不少良緣，而最後結為夫婦的，更是不計其數。

Focus 叫我喇沙仔

因為負責這個喇沙系列報道，近個月來走訪過的喇沙舊生不下十位，從各人口中聽得最多的回應，是「我哋喇沙仔。」這一句。

文：陳詩欣　

攝：Will Chow、鍾錦榮(部分圖片由喇沙書院和被訪者提供)

別叫我放棄

　花名「小蒙」的蒙德揚(David)，是信興集團副主席，與父親「電器大王」蒙民偉一樣，都是喇沙書院的畢業生。

Focus 叫我喇沙仔

因為負責這個喇沙系列報道，近個月來走訪過的喇沙舊生不下十位，從各人口中聽得最多的回應，是「我哋喇沙仔。」這一句。

文：陳詩欣　

攝：Will Chow、鍾錦榮(部分圖片由喇沙書院和被訪者提供)

別叫我放棄

花名「小蒙」的蒙德揚(David)，是信興集團副主席，與父親「電器大王」蒙民偉一樣，都是喇沙書院的畢業生。

元老級喇沙家族

事實上，除蒙氏父子外，喇沙舊生中「子承父業」的情況並不罕見，但要數要喇沙家族的故事，相信沒有比林氏一家更精采的了。

因為要到英國升學，Brenden在喇沙只讀至中二，但對母校的歸屬感程度，絕不亞於其他舊生。為甚麼？「因為喇沙仔囉！」他滿有傲氣地說。

Brenden的家人大部分已移居外國，現有一子一女的他，相信承傳林家喇沙歷史的重責，就落在現年歲半的兒子了。

不是書呆子

父親(左一)和伯父(左二)也是喇沙舊生，祖母(右一)更曾任教喇沙小學數十年。

為了發掘學校鮮為人知的歷史，Mark曾走訪過多位四十至六十年代畢業的大師兄。

心水清的讀者應該會記得Mark就是喇沙校史書作者，早前也曾接受過本系列訪問。在寫書期間，Mark曾經專程查探並拜祭在大戰中陣亡、卻素未謀面的學兄，他心願有一天，能為大戰時陣亡的學兄們，在學校豎立一座 Monument.

中學時期的David(前排左二)，是學校泳隊的中流砥柱，時至今日，他仍常與舊生相約游水。

David仍有保留昔日的功課簿。任教修士在上面寫上評語「Horrible Pieces」，David視之為鬥志訓練。

中四時，David奪得水運會B Grade全場總冠軍。

中三時David(右一)得過學界游泳季軍的事迹，當年報章也有報道。

比賽當日，David就讀女拔萃的女兒也有份作賽，但作父親的卻現身於喇沙區的觀眾席，而非女拔家長席，可見這位喇沙仔是何等心繫母校。

Brendan上月出席畢業25周年慶祝活動，出席者都穿上校服，人數高達九十多人。

蒙家三代都是喇沙人。圖中為蒙民偉，右一是蒙德揚兒子，正就讀於喇沙小學。

Brendan的祖父Tiger Lim(前排右一)是喇沙創校功臣，照片中他與修士同坐首排，可見其地位何等超然。

Brendan至今仍熱衷參與喇沙舊生會活動。

Brendan(最後排右一)中二時所攝的班相。坐前排的Au Sir，是他父親的同班同學，也是其祖父的學生。

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:18:56 GMT

He may seem silly to most, but he is one of my heroes. The thing he seems to have lost will actually come back to him 10 folds some day. Good job, See Dai Lai! We actually need more Lasallians like you!

黎俊文峰迴路轉入劍橋

本文重點

任性比賽高考失手
劍橋取錄否極泰來
About Cambridge

如果A-Level（高考）成績未如理想，可以選讀哪間大學？不如嘗試去劍橋啦！絕不是開玩笑，皆因「喇沙越野王」黎俊文今年三月在港九區校際Division 1田徑賽「豁出去」，導致在半個月後舉行的高考慘淡收場！不過，猶幸這位高材生試前作了「雙保險」，兼報讀了英國高考並考獲3A、1B成績，最終「死過翻生」得到英國劍橋大學工程系取錄，果然是「塞翁失馬、焉知非福」！

任性比賽高考失手

曾在中五會考得到３Ａ６Ｂ、又是超級名校喇沙越野隊隊長，黎俊文絕對是「體學雙全」典範。不過，來到今年的中七高考，這位尖子卻做了一個幾乎令他後悔終生的決定：「在喇沙的七年感情，令我好希望可以在離校前為母校贏回失落多屆的校際田徑賽總冠軍，縱然賽事在三月這高考季節舉行，但我卻任性地選擇繼續參賽、繼續練跑……到頭來『兩頭唔到岸』，田徑賽落敗、高考成績也未如理想，感覺像任何東西也輸掉了，令我沮喪萬分。」

劍橋取錄否極泰來

雖然黎俊文最終獲得中文大學取錄，卻不是自己的心儀科目，但八月一個來自英國的消息，卻扭轉了命運：「之前老師提議我在應考A-Level同時，也兼報英國的高考，結果當我最失落的時候，卻收到考獲３Ａ１Ｂ的成績單，以及劍橋大學的取錄書，有如一場『及時雨』。」作為過來人，黎俊文亦建議各本地高考生，不要孤注一擲地應付香港的A-Level，畢竟升讀本地大學不是唯一出路。

父母皆為物理治療師，母親更在大學任教，黎俊文可說是深得父母的「高學歷」遺傳，加上自六歲從澳洲返港後便在名校喇沙就讀，先天資質及後天培育「雙管齊下」，最終成就了這位「劍橋生」的出現。

About Cambridge

劍橋大學（Cambridge　University）成立於1209年，據說是由一批為躲避毆鬥而從牛津大學逃離的學者建立。雖然劍橋與牛津經常被合稱為「牛劍」，但其實兩校一直都存在競爭，無論在學術研究或體育上也鬥得難分難解。劍橋大學在學術方面乃世界領先的大學之一，曾經誕生八十三位諾貝爾得獎者，著名校友包括生物學家達爾文，以及物理學家霍金、牛頓等。

圖／文：司徒子文

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:55:32 GMT

If this is true, then I will be furious! I seriously doubt it is a make up story by the Chinese though. Shame on you, China, once again!

Book alleges China cut deal to host 2008 Olympics

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published On Tue Oct 20 2009

Canada's men's rowing eights cross the finish line to win gold at the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 17, 2008.

TIM WIMBORNE/REUTERS FILE PHOTO

BEIJING – According to a memoir by a former Olympic committee president, Toronto's bid for the 2008 Olympics was derailed after Chinese sports officials struck a verbal, inside deal to bring the Games to Beijing.

In exchange for support of Jacques Rogge's bid to head the International Olympic Committee, Beijing received European backing for their bid for the 2008 Games.

Retired sports minister and president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Yuan Weimin, describes in his book the alleged arrangements surrounding Beijing's Olympic bid in 2001.

European members of the IOC verbally agreed to support Beijing for the 2008 Games in exchange for Chinese support for Rogge. Canada would have been hurt on both ends of the deal, as Toronto was competing against Beijing for the Olympics while Dick Pound of Montreal was running against Rogge.

The IOC denied the accusation made in the book Yuan Weimin and the Sports World.

"Jacques Rogge was elected IOC president by a large majority," the committee said in a statement from Lausanne, Switzerland. "As a candidate, he built his campaign on a strong program that was widely welcome by IOC members. Any insinuation that deals would have been made is absolutely false."

Yuan wrote that while there was no written agreement from either party, multiple meetings yielded a mutual understanding of support if Rogge won the election.

"The Beijing Olympic bid committee decided on a tactic of strategic alliance-making. We would link Chinese support for Rogge in exchange for European committee members' support for Beijing," Yuan said in his memoir. "Of course, we also made some promises to link up with some of our friends in supporting Rogge. This tactic was our overall strategy."

Beijing went on to win the 2001 vote in Moscow, defeating Toronto, Paris, Istanbul and Osaka after two rounds of voting. Beijing received 56 votes in the second round, followed by Toronto with 22.

Rogge, a Belgian who had headed the European Olympic Committees, was elected IOC president at the same meeting in Moscow. He defeated four other candidates and received a winning majority of 59 votes in the second round, more than double the votes of Kim Un-yong of South Korea (23) and Pound (22).

Rogge was re-elected to a final four-year term this month in Copenhagen.

Yuan's book offers a small glimpse into the fevered politicking that surrounded the Moscow meeting in 2001.

A former Olympic sailor and orthopedic surgeon, Rogge was vying to take over an IOC trying to recover from corruption scandals surrounding previous Olympic bids. Beijing, meanwhile, was trying to become the first Chinese host for the Games in a quest that had become a matter of national pride.

Yuan's book, ghost-written by Yuan Shan, said not all in the Chinese delegation went along with the alleged deal. The book said a senior Chinese IOC official who was not identified voted against Rogge and instead backed Kim. The unnamed official is believed to be He Zhenliang, an IOC member since 1981 who is serving his final year in the 112-member committee.

"A senior Chinese member in the IOC purposely defied our strategies and nominated IOC member Kim Un-yong, causing awkwardness for the Beijing Olympic Committee," Yuan wrote in his memoir.

With files from The Canadian Press

Friday, October 16, 2009

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:57:31 GMT

財務策劃師賽喇沙奪冠

(明報)2009年10月6日星期二 05:10

【明報專訊】全港80間中學共400名學生參與「匯豐少年財務策劃師大賽」，參賽隊伍將所學的理財知識及分析力，撰寫財務策劃建議書。經過一輪激烈比賽，皇仁書院、拔萃女書院、保祿六世書院、嘉諾撒聖瑪利書院及喇沙書院進入五強，結果由喇沙書院學生洪瀚徽（左二起）、王廷亮、梁柏斯及張皓強奪得冠軍，由匯豐銀行執行董事王冬勝（左一）與教育局常任秘書長黃鴻超（右一）頒發獎項。

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:15:24 GMT

Focus 聽喇沙說故事

如果說上世紀三、四十年代是中國最動盪的日子，那麼，上世紀四、五十年代，肯定是喇沙書院最坎坷的時期。

大戰爆發、香港淪陷、國共內戰，殖民政府、日軍、英軍權力接連交替，喇沙書院校舍先後多次被佔據、被徵用，作育英才的園地淪為倉庫、醫院，甚至監獄，學生被逼在簡陋的臨時校舍上課，原本古典宏偉的校舍也因日久失修，最終遭逢拆卸的命運。種種的過去，彷彿叫喇沙見證着香港有史以來歷史最黑暗時期。

這不單是喇沙的故事，也是香港人的故事。

從今周起一連三期，《學校有寶系列》找來多位喇沙人一起想當年，從寶貴的照片和回憶，述說一間中學，如何牽連着700萬香港人的過去。

文：陳詩欣　

攝：鍾錦榮 (部分圖片由被訪者和喇沙書院提供)

畢業於喇沙書院的黄嘉為 (Mark)，曾經為母校編撰校史書，對於喇沙的歷史，比任何人都要熟悉。「書院的歷史，跟整個九龍的城市發展，有着密切關係。」因此要講喇沙的故事，就要從位於尖沙嘴的書院前身說起。

前身選址尖沙嘴

喇沙書院的前身是聖約瑟書院九龍分校。上世紀初，香港的城市發展由港島逐漸擴展至九龍區，位於中環半山的聖約瑟書院，由於遷居至九龍區的學生愈來愈多，辦學團體喇沙會於是決定在九龍區興建分校。據Mark研究，當時學校選址在尖沙嘴漆咸道，但由於找不到相關文件記錄，只能從照片中推斷學校大概位於麼地道和赫德道一帶。「學校鄰近玫瑰堂和聖瑪利書院，很多學生的家姐或妹妹都是就讀於聖瑪利，每逢放學時，兩校的學生就會互相到對方學校接細佬或細妹，然後才一起回家。」

隨着九龍區急速發展，社會對學位需求急增，1921年開校之初，書院學生人數只有兩班，十年間，人數已增至162人，原本的校舍不敷應用，學校於是在九龍塘另覓地方，興建新校。1932年，位於界限街的新校落成，正式命名為喇沙書院。由於當時的九龍塘仍屬新發展區，除了農田，學校附近的建築物少之又少，當時政府就以學校作街道命名，即現今的喇沙利道和書院道。

宿舍收留歐美學生

當年學校共分八個年級，由Class 8到Class 1，與今時今日的學制比較，分別頗大。「昔日的學童年齡一般介乎10至18歲，Class 8等同於現在的小五，Class 1則是現在的中六。」據Mark所說，當時全校學生接近一半是葡萄牙的天主教徒，其餘的除了本地華人學童，還包括海外學生，他們來自俄羅斯、菲律賓、爪哇、越南、馬來西亞、新加坡，有些甚至遠及南美的墨西哥、秘魯、委內瑞拉。為了滿足需要，學校特別於當年新落成的校舍中，將西翼部分面積闢作宿舍，內裏設有偌大的飯堂和溫習室，甚具規模。

新校縱然位置偏僻，但仍受到不少家長歡迎，收生人數一年多過一年。正當以為學校發展一切順利，卻沒料到大戰的爆發，卻一夜間令書院陷入長達20年的黑暗期。

佔據做醫院監獄

1939年，希特拉入侵波蘭，掀起二次大戰序幕。香港作為英國的殖民地，因此也被視作同屬盟國陣營，為了軟禁居港的德國人，香港警方在德軍入侵行動數小時後，隨即宣布徵用喇沙校舍作軍事監獄，學生因而首次被遷往臨時校舍上課。禍不單行，1941年香港淪陷，日軍從殖民政府手中接管校舍，部分修士因此被逼遷至越南，之後學校變成倉庫，教學被逼中止。

好不容易等到大戰結束，學校終於在1946年重開，600多個學額迅速爆滿。可惜好景不常，國共內戰爆發，為防範紅軍南下，1947年駐港英軍再次徵用校舍，改建為第33綜合醫院。「為讓教學得以繼續，軍方在何文田巴富街興建臨時校舍，又承諾興建新宿舍。按協議，徵用期本為12至18個月，沒料到軍方一霸便霸了10年，新宿舍工程更是不了了之。很多學生，包括黄霑和李小龍，都是在臨時校舍中度過整個中學生涯。」為了取回校舍，學校上訴至英國上議院，事件更引起當時社會廣泛輿論，在眾方壓力下，1959年軍政府才最終將校舍歸還。

故事還沒完。

校舍被佔用多年，校內很多設施早已變得面目全非，課室被破壞，傢俬被搬走，加上日久失修，校舍漏水情況嚴重，連結構安全也成問題。Mark表示，有關校舍拆與不拆的問題，校內師生意見分歧，但鑑於翻新工程耗資龐大，修士於是將校舍拆卸重建。為籌措資金，校方把靠近界限街約三分一面積土地賣給發展商，交換條件是發展商需為校方興建一幢新校舍。1979，新校舍啟用，校址亦從此由界限街改為喇沙利道。（下期續）

舊校舍建有羅馬式圓拱頂，屬歐陸式建築風格。聽說書院被拆卸時發生過一段小插曲，工人看見圓拱頂上的十字架，認為是神聖，堅拒拆除，校方於是將圓頂上的十字架和火炬保留，於操場旁建成圍牆。

大鎚一敲，宏偉建築瞬間倒下。這幀照片，相信令不少現今社會的保育人士心痛不已。

重建過程圖。首張照片攝於1977年，下方建築為舊校舍；一年後，中間部分的新校舍已見雛形，此為短暫的新舊校同存期，舊校亦於翌年遭拆卸；1982年新校舍工程全面完成，舊校原址已變成今日的碧華花園。

舊校舍被佔用時，校內大部分傢俬都遭受破壞或搬走，難得刻有La Salle的教堂長椅，仍沿用至今。

舊校舍樓梯散件。Mark解釋，以前港人缺乏保育意識，除少部分雕像石碑得以保留外，大部分文物皆遭破壞。有學生為留紀念，特地偷進書院並將梯間部分扶手拆除，直至幾年前才將之歸還學校，成為少數僅存的文物。

昔日的喇沙書院，約半數學生是本地葡萄牙人和來自海外的歐美學生，為滿足需求，校方在界限街的校舍闢出部分面積作為宿舍，內裏設有飯堂和溫習室，設備尚算完備。

巴富街臨時校舍照片。據當時與軍方的協議，校方只答應借出校舍12至18個月，卻沒料到軍方一佔便是10年。

臨時校舍設備簡陋，可憐的是部分學生包括黄霑和李小龍，也是在此校舍度過整個中學生涯。

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:44:45 GMT

Living in North America has its advantages, and being able to travel by car to see new things and different cultures is one of them for sure. I know there are many other countries in the world that are worth visiting, but when a whole different world is just in your backyard why spend so much money to travel aboard for the sake of telling others where you have been to and seen??? I have really fallen in love with the Province of Quebec, our neighbour province, for their French culture and architectures. I know history wise it is rather short when compared to countries in Europe, but hey 500 and some odd years in North America is really not too shabby, and only Mexico can beat that in the whole North America. After spending 4 days in Quebec City I now understand why Quebec City was called new France in the 1600's. Script record dates back to 1508 when Cartier first traded fur with the aboriginal people so Cartier probably ran into the native Indians before 1508. Settlements of France were established in the next 100 years with very minimal population until Quebec City was built and it slowly became a hugh colony of France for the next 150 years or so until the British Empire invaded Quebec City for 9 years and won. I wonder what would have happened if the British did not win the War on the Plains of Abraham. Perhaps even till today Quebec is still a great colony of France in the middle of Canada? Last trip to Montreal was already intriguing enough for the French culture shock, but this time living in Quebec City for 4 days has put me into another perspective. In the Old Quebec City most people could speak English due the fact that it is a heavy tourist area, but as soon as you leave the Old City hardly any one speaks English for that matter. People rely on public transit there mostly without a car and you can see tons of buses every where in the city. With a population of around 1.1 million people there is no subway system. People also walk a lot and they must be quite fit since going from the new city to the old city is all uphill climb and the stairs they have to take are in hundreds. Structures and architectures are splendidly demonstrating the French culture and thinking. You actually feel like being in France when you are in the Old City. I did not have enough time to stroll through the whole Old City due to time constraint so I shall have to return to Quebec City one more time in the near future. I took so many pictures in 4 days I do not know what to do with them, and I still want more. We sat next to two Bostonian ladies one evening for dinner and they struck a conversation with us telling us that how they were enchanted by Quebec City and her people. They even asked if we would move to Quebec City to live from Toronto. Another two Filipino sisters we ran into pretty much said the same thing to us so you can tell how different and enjoying is to live in Quebec City. The French have their own ways of living their lives and I certainly can blend into their culture, but you need a lot of money to do that. Honestly, there is nothing I do not like about Quebec City, and I am already looking forward to returning to her in the near future. For now I have to organize my photos and then post them in my photo blog. Merci, Quebec!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:00:48 GMT

After spending five days in Montreal I have come to realize that men and women are a lot more well dressed in Montreal than in Toronto, probably due to the influence of the embedding French culture. Secondly, the females in Montreal are in general with very good physique, unlike in Toronto where many are overweight. Thirdly, Canadian French people are very very heat tolerating, because even when it is 32C with high humidity they can still sit in the patio to dine and wine, and ride in their convertibles with the top down driving in the city in traffic jams. 7 out of 10 cars would not turn on their air conditioner in extremely hot weather, but just have the windows rolled down all the way with their elbows sticking out. Old Montreal is a place that is out of this world, at least in the North America context, because it is like a time machine getting you to a European city by just walking down from Montreal down town---Rue Sherbrooke I am referring to. Our hotel on Blvd Rene-Levesque was just 600 metres away from Old Montreal so of course we walked down every single day we were there. The architectures are absolutely breath taking in the whole down town core with buildings and structures dating back three, four hundred years ago. I had been to Montreal 4 times before this trip, but never did spend more than 2 days there each time so this time I had all the intentions to explore the city whole heartedly in a packing 5 day itinerary by foot, car and Metro, their subway system. The underground city, RESO, although not as big as the one here, PATH, in Toronto, but the food courts and shops in theirs are much more glamorous and inviting. I especially like the section going from their union station, Gare Centrale, up to the Eaton Centre. I guess when their winter is so darn long they do need a good underground city for the working class to retrieve into during those snowy months in the down town core. Residential houses are usually quite old, and I do not see thousands of condominium buildings like we have in Toronto. St. Lawrence River is indeed wide and majestic, because even with two big Islands in the middle there is still plenty of room for the giant sea vessels to steer through into the Old Port of Montreal. The two islands are indeed quite big in size, because they have the Casino de Montreal and Pavillon du Quebec on one of them while the other one, Ile Sainte-Helene, holds the Parc Jean-Drapeau like the largest city park, High Park, we have here in Toronto. The La Ronde Amusement park like our Canada's Wonderland is also located not too far from the park on the same island. I can go on and on about Montreal, because I like Montreal, especially Old Montreal(Vieux Montreal), and I would not mind going back for another 5 days of excursion in the near future. Montreal has got to be one of the oldest cities in North America, excluding cities in Mexico, because of the French settlement almost 500 years ago. When I looked around in the city, up town and down town alike, I saw traces of long historical facts that surround the whole city. Cobblestone streets are every where in the city and majority of the houses do not even have a garage, because when they were built they were still relying on riding horses as their transportation mean before Ford. Montreal is a city I can say is truly romantic. Having visited most of the major cities in the USA I can really say nothing compares to Montreal---a modern city, yet accompanied with very special French culture, backed by close to 5 centuries of history. My next trip will explore Old Quebec City in depth, and I will certainly compare that to Montreal to see which one will come up on top for me. Stay tuned! Sorry, Toronto, my home town, but something is lacking here! : )

For pictures I still uploding daily, one to two per day only with captions, please visit my photo blog here: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/lasallechai

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:25:51 GMT

Read a thread at the forum I frequent at everyday discussing about how much a person should make before buying an entry level luxury car. Obviously there is not much of a black and white guideline, because luxury is very subjective, but the usual consensus is that people should not purchase a car that is worth more than their annual salary. In other words, if you make $50,000 a year, then a $50,000 car is all you can afford. I do not know how logical people are, but the reasoning behind basically says it should take no more than 5 years to pay off a car by using a car loan and a person can spend 20% of his or her annual income to fund that purchase. It does sound reasonable, but then if you think about it more carefully it is not very feasible at all for an average Joe to do that. Let me explain to you why, as a veteran financial planner who have seen many people's financial pictures. The average income earned in Toronto is $38,000 a year and with personal exemption of about $10,600 then $27,400 are liable for tax at about 25% and additional 3% to EI premium and 5% to CPP contribution on the whole salary amount. Therefore, $6,850 for income tax and $3,040 for EI and CPP, so Joe is left with $28,110, approximately. Now, the rent for a dwelling in Toronto is about $1,000 a month for a single person so Joe is left with $16,100. Automobile insurance in Toronto averages about $2,800 a year, and $2,000 for gasoline so Joe is left with $11,300. Now, let us go back to a car that costs $38,000 with a 5 year term car loan at 3.8%. The after tax with freight for the car should be around $45,000. In a nutshell, Jeo will have to pay $824 a month to fund the purchase leaving $1,412 for food, entertainment, utilities, RRSP, personal savings, cellular phone, cable tv, internet, etc. There is no way a person can live in Toronto with that amount left from his salary in one year. I do not know how people do it, but there are still many people driving very expansive cars on the roads, but no matter how I calculate it the maximum amount we should spend on a car should be about 50% of our annual income, and not 100%! I guess only people who live with their parents, or they have a free place to stay would be able to afford buying a car that worths 100% of their salary per annum. I wish I could buy a new car that is worth 100% of my annual income! : )

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:10:05 GMT

Seeing friends going away all the time taking pictures from around the world I feel kind of sad for myself. My true sightseeing experiences seemed to stop long time ago when I entered secondary school in Hong Kong. Thanks to my parents I had the luxury and opportunities to pretty much travel to half of the world when I was between the age of 4 and 12. I have been working for almost 23 years now since graduation from university, and as I look back to 1987 I have not had one true holiday trip that I can claim to be for exploring the world outside my home town of Toronto. Excluding the long weekend 3 day trips taken in Ontario and Quebec occasionally I have not really gone on any genuine vacationing trips. The last two trips to Hong Kong were for wedding and there was nothing to see in Hong Kong any way except a side trip to Japan for four days on my way back to Toronto from Hong Kong in 2003; the trip before that in 1998 to Whistler was actually for a paid for company conference and I decided to tag along a few more days after that to visit my clients and friends there in BC; the trip taken in 1992 to California was solely for attending my brother's wedding and I stayed behind for a few more days to spend with my long time high school classmate from La Salle. That is it and nothing else. I do not know how people can afford going away every year, because a trip outside North America for a fortnight can easily cost one to two months worth of income. Can I live on ten months worth of income?? I do not think so! I did try very hard to save a much as I could for seven years and plan for a semi retired life after age forty five, but of course that dream has been shattered completely. Income wise, even though I am not making as much as I did in the late 90's, but it is still a fairly good living, but cash flow wise it is still tight when I try to accumulate six months worth of fixed expanse amount as emergency fund. I wonder if I will ever get to travel around the world again when I am still healthy and able. Chances are slim, I think. Sad eh???

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:30:22 GMT

What is wrong with this picture?? Is she not a pretty soldier???? Well, she was indeed one of the prettiest Canadian soldiers I have ever seen, but the PICTURE is utterly wrong, because she is dead, and this picture will likely be used at her funeral next week! Yes, she is the 117th soldier who died in Afghanistan for the sake of peace keeping after the mess left behind by the US troops. Karine Blais was only 21, darn it! Rest in peace, Karine, and I will see you in a few days on highway 401, the Highway of Heros, on your way home.

lasallian's Xanga

Friday, November 13, 2009

Monday, November 02, 2009

He may seem silly to most, but he is one of my heroes. The thing he seems to have lost will actually come back to him 10 folds some day. Good job, See Dai Lai! We actually need more Lasallians like you!

黎俊文峰迴路轉入劍橋

任性比賽 高考失手

劍橋取錄 否極泰來

About Cambridge

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Book alleges China cut deal to host 2008 Olympics

Friday, October 16, 2009

財務策劃師賽 喇沙奪冠

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

任性比賽高考失手

劍橋取錄否極泰來

財務策劃師賽喇沙奪冠