Friendship

You’ve got a friend in me…

June 28, 2010

You’ve got a friend in me
You’ve got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you’re miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you’ve got a friend in me

Tonight we took Taylor to see her first movie…Toy Story 3, in 3D!!  She had such a great time!  With the 3D glasses on, I actually saw her reach her hand out towards the screen several times during the movie to touch the characters….a sure sign that the 3D technology works! :-)

You’ve got troubles, well I’ve got ‘em too
There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You’ve got a friend in me

Anna and I had a wonderful time seeing her so thrilled.   At times we were laughing harder at her reaction than what was going on in the movie. :-)   But as the “friendship” theme of the movie develops, and the familiar theme song plays (you’ve got a friend in me), both of us started tearing up…deep wounds do not heal easily.  Especially those inflicted by “friends”.

But if there is one thing we have learned over the past few years, it is not to take friendship for granted.  So while we lament the loss of people we thought were “friends”, we celebrate the fact that there are those who have proven their friendship during the most difficult days of our lives.  If it is true that in life,  ”to those who had been given much, much will be demanded”, one of our “core mission” the rest of our lives is to give back friendship.   To live our lives to say to others in our lives, “You’ve got a friend in me.”

Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It’s me and you
And as the years go by
Boys, our friendship will never die
You’re gonna see
It’s our destiny
You’ve got a friend in me

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Friends and Family…

September 28, 2009

Half Marathon Finish

Whew!  What a busy, busy weekend it was!  On Thursday night, I performed with a couple of good friends at a Starbucks in a fundrasing event for Canadian Free the Children.  On Friday, we performed again at a Canadian Red Cross youth event, trying to encourage the youth to make a difference with their lives. 

Then, to top it all off, Sunday morning my sister and I went downtown bright and early (and I do mean EARLY) to run the Scotiabank Toronto Half Marathon!  It was her first road race in 7 years, and it was my first marathon-distance race in a long, long time.   We had a great time running together and despite being runners and racing for many years, for the first time brother and sister crossed the finish line in a race together (in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 18 seconds!), basking in the upbeat music and loud cheers from supporters who came out to encourage the 20,000+ runners who took part in the event.

After the race, Anna cooked me a fantastic dinner in the evening to refuel my exhausted body.  After everyone had gone to bed,  I sat back with a beer, put up my feet and quietly reflected on the crazy weekend.  I was thankful for the opportunites to perform for a good cause and I enjoyed every step of the marathon experience.  But what I treasured most from the weekend was the fact that I was surrounded by friends and family…

Running a long distance race always put me in a reflective mood.  As I was sitting there, being thankful for those who had remained faithful as friends, I couldn’t help but think of that wonderful saying in Chinese:  路遙知馬力﹐日久見人心 (Distance will reveal the endurance of a horse, time will show the heart of a man)  It seemed especially fitting after I just finished a half-marathon. 

What can I say?  I am a blessed man.

Click here for a video from the Starbucks event

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Happy New Year!

January 5, 2009

Wow! Can’t believe 2009 is here already. It’s been an interesting holiday season for us. On one hand it was very busy, as we were moving to a new office location and doing renovations at home at the same time. On the other hand, it was also quiet as we basically spent the holdays with [...]

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First time "back"…

December 15, 2008

Last Saturday I went to a Christian organization to speak.  It was the first time in more than a year that I have spoken in a “Christian” context.  I really didn’t give it much thought when I accepted the invitation.   A friend of mine works for the organization and they needed a speaker, so [...]

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Friends

September 10, 2008

Crazy day today. Got to the office, running miserably late. Scheduled to interview someone for an opening on my staff in 15, no, 10, actually, in 6 minutes. Hadn’t even looked at her resume. Wait…was it a she or a he?? Shoved my lunch bag into the fridge in the staff kitchen, completely squishing someone’s [...]

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On Fireworks and Friendships

July 2, 2008

Last night I went with a few friends to watch the Canada Day fireworks show at Miliken Park in Scarborough. I first proposed the idea because I wanted to learn to photograph fireworks, and since my two other friends are also into photography and we are all at the same level, I thought it’ll be [...]

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