Examinimation Rap

It's that time of the year again,
today's the day it all begins.
Here's a lil examination rap,
s' what I do s'tead'a last minute prep.
I see your concern, Ms.Vannie Lavergne,
I'll make time for you please wait your turn;)
That Logic exam's gonna be a joke,
sit back n' watch PIE MAN put on a show.
B or not B that's a tautolo-gy,
C and not C s' a logical falla-cy.
Logic exam'll be the first to die, killed by me, Mr.Pie

PHIL 210 - Deductive Logic

Round two, here we go, soon you'll be sucked into a black-hole.
You're about to taste my audacity,
that's coming at you at maximum velocity.
F equals MA,
I'mma chase you all day,
till you give up and say,
"the force is with you, all the way".

So Mr. Physics, why can't you see?
You're nothing more than a lil FBD.
You've been tricky to me but not this time,
who's got my back, that's right it's Einstein!

PHYS230 - Dynamics

Next up for me is Linear Algebra,
the killer math course that everyone fears,
it brings tears,
to many physicists and engineers.
But cheers,
for Pie Man's here,
to smear it,
then put a spear through it.
It's very clear, that your end is near, do you hear, ma' dear?
I'm fed up with your eigenvalues,
your bases and subspaces,
co-factors and vectors.
You're so weak,
I multiply you by zero, and you disappear yo!

MATH133 - Linear

Hurt, from this morning's battle,
but the wound is not fatal,
so I'm still able,
to continue in this fable.
With Linear Algebra slain,
I await on the McIllium plain,
ready to roar in this Greek mythological war.
It's too late to appeal,
for my bow's stretched, aimed at Achilles' heel.
Like Hector I may destroyed,
while defending Troy.
But Wise Seer foretold,
my victory is near,
after which I'll have a beer
and cheer.

With Achilles killed, blood spilled, the prophecy is fulfilled.

CLAS203 - Classical Mythology

Keynesian economy defending the last gate,
but man it's too late,
for this too is part of fate,
for goodness sake, I shall kill it,
and dump its body in the lake,
then bake my victory cake,
and enjoy my Christmas break.

Thanks to the thoughts of Fishereens,
I'mma blast my exam to smithereens,
no more Keynes,
'cause this isn't halloween,
there's no trick-or-treat,
those lefties are pure freaks.

Obama Administration, I saw your doodles,
mastered your model, all that mumbo-jumbo,
and found in your office some really old beer bottles.
You're the reason for our economic struggles,
American housing bubbles,
company collapsals,
while Wall Street rumples, market topples.
I see your fiscal scandals in those garbage public garbles,
if you're not Snow White, don't mind sand in your stilleto,
don't take Eris's Golden Apple,
that's the source of all our troubles....
enough rap game, I'm ready to rumble.

ECON302 - Economics of Money and Banking

The World Through My Apartment Window

Look at the snow flakes,
In the world outside my window
Infinitely tiny,
Fragile
Disappears upon the the slightest touch

Submission to gravity
Fall and fall, they fall
Down and down they go
While glittering,
Sparkling under the moody light

On the ground they stay
Atop of each other they lay
Higher and higher they build
For the temperature is right, tonight
Without the distraction of sunlight

Heavier the wind blew
Faster and faster they flew
Flipping and turning
Spreading the snow
Covering every inch of the ground

Deep into the night,
All that is from heaven came
The dark cloud disappears
Entailing a peaceful dreamy night
In a white world...

China/Taiwan Relationship: picture

The fallen leaf is nevertheless part of the tree,
For they share the same roots.

Pie-losophy: Discourse on Fate (Part 2/2)

The Big Picture

Looking at the "Big Picture" of this model, we see that a large of number of objects are constantly moving within the coordinate system, new objects are created each moment, some objects are deleted, and associations amongst objects are made simultaneously. These associations, as well as interactions or collisions, occur based on the mathematical probability each object carries with respect to another. The mathematical probability is dependent on the laws of physics and the level of human civilization.

Chaos Theory and the Butterfly Effect

So far this model is similar to the Chaos Theory. The Chaos theory essentially says that minute changes in the initial state could have huge difference in outcome. A classic example of the Chaos Theory is the Butterfly Effect, in which a butterfly in France flapping its wings could result in a tornado in America. The change in the initial state due to the butterfly's wings creates a chain reaction of amplified chaotic natural behaviour.

Although the Pie-losophy model acknowledges small changes could result in a huge outcome, the Pie-losophy model is fundamentally different on three points.

1. In my model, there is no reference state to be an initial state as the universe is constantly changing, therefore the "initial state" is always being reset, which makes it meaningless to define.

2. On the idea of "chain reaction". In my model, a change in the system simply changes the mathematical probability of occurrence only within the objects with connections. If that butterfly in France is trapped in a glass jar, my theory says that it has infinitesimal effect on America because there lack a connection between two objects butterfly and America.

3. Chaos theory addresses changes in physical state but not abstract changes such as generating a thought in one's mind. In my model, abstract objects are still objects, and they can change the mathematical probability of an event. One's thought of suicide creates a new abstract object and brings the personal probability of suicide to above 0%.

Therefore, simply the thought of something could very much change an outcome...(Aye fate). Whether or not it happens, it depends on other mathematical probabilities like I explained in the "Big Picture". All of this, the Chaos Theory does not address.

Particle Theory and Illusion

So far so good. But the problem arises when events with low probabilities occur such as in what we call "luck" or "freak accidents". This, sometimes people call is the result of "fate".

To this, I'm going to borrow and incorporate the model of molecular collision from chemistry and particle physics.

In our established model, objects are in constant motion, this is very much like chemical reactions and particle physics. Some reactions are rare on a microscopic level, the rate of reaction defined as the number of collisions per time period. Deuterium, a rare isotope of hydrogen, consists about 1 in 6,400 of all hydrogen atoms. Although very difficult to create through natural collision, an abundant of these isotopes are in fact created during the Big Bang. In explaining fate, event with low probability does occur given sufficient number of collisions. If we take a cross-sectional snapshot of collisions in our model, at any given time, we are able to identify occurrences, yet each event still held the original low probability. Fate is therefore inevitable on the macro scale - what may not happen to you has to happen to someone else.

My second point on the topic of "luck" or "freak accident" is that it's delusional. If I had two options each time I make a choice and I make the choice five times, my 50% probability turns into 0.5^5 = 0.03125 or 3%! The occurrence of the 5th event at 3% seems very low, yet that is because the 5th event aggregated the probability of previous events. 3% is the probability of event 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 instead of just event 5. If event 5 is ''getting lucky with Kayla" then, although it seems like unlikely, it is actually very probable. The low probability of "luck" is therefore delusional.

Einstein and Relativity

Since we have a model with moving objects, these objects are under relativistic effects. Because some objects, abstract objects such as universal truth, is independent of time, it sets a course for how fast objects are to move or change. A rapid change of temperature from summer to fall make people sick, because the change created a series of effects on objects linked to it (which are a lot of things). Since all these associated objects have to change in corresponding to the initial change, this rapid chaotic movement alters people's fate. As a result, some people get very sick and die from it.

Lastly, on Free Will

The Greek sees "fate" something irreversible. Once a prophecy is set, it must happen...despite defying laws of physics in some cases. As much I am fond of Greek romantics, it lacks rational reasoning in explaining what 'fate' actually is.

From such understanding though, we are develop this idea of contradiction between Free Will and Pre-destined Fate. This controversy is problematic in most philosophical models, in which I find the "Buddhist Karma" as the best model on this issue.

In my model, free will has the property to co-exist with probability, and moreover, fate. Therefore there is no controversy in this model. Let's take a look.

First off, free will is often hindered by sociology. Rape and murder are deemed unacceptable acts, therefore this idea of free will is limited in the practical sense.

Now, if we were to extend the idea of free will to its max, we'll have to look at it in the philosophical sense. In this perspective, free will is the ability to do anything as your body is capable of and your mind desires. There is no societal pressure on such act as "freedom of speech"; you absolutely have the right to say and do the most offensive thing to anyone you want because it is your free will (this isn't poli-sci or sociology). It is only convincing to prove that free will is very limited when we stretch the idea of free will as much as possible; we've done so by looking at it in the philosophical sense.

Back to our 4D time-space continuum, we further understand free will. At the micro level, free will is limited to individual choices, which based on the model, has limited effects to change probabilities of outcomes. On the societal level, probabilities of events are determined by a collection of free wills. This collection of free wills undermines the effect of individual free will. But look further, on the macro scale, there are many events independent of free will that only subject to laws of physics and chaos. Despite entire population's will that when I flip a fair coin it lands Queen-side up, and despite my best effort to dictate my body to obtain such result using my own free will, laws of physics governs the final outcome. From this analysis, we conclude that one's free will has its limits on one's fate.

Theory Recap

Fate is an outcome of one's life that is constantly changing and occurs on the principle of mathematical probabilities and laws of physics. People have total free will, but they have minimum effects on fate. At the end of the day, you flip a coin and call on it. That's fate. What do you want me to do about it?

Pie-losophy: Discourse on Fate (Part 1/2)

Laws of Newton govern nature, laws of Napoleon govern society, then there's chemistry that tries to govern people's behaviours. And biology... which tries to govern the fate of one's life.

Fate, it could be as ordinary as meeting a love of your life at a debate tournament, or becoming CEO of a corporation, or even the king of Scotland.

The idea of fate is old, really old, but I won't talk about Apollo's oracles, Shakespearean tragedies, or J.P. Sartre's determinism, let's talk in modern terms, some 22nd century "Pie-losophy".

A Basic View of the Model

I think of the basis of fate as a series objects like in Java programming and computer science, where each object has a physical address in the RAM or hard-drive. In the abstract of life, these "objects" are life events, and their "physical address" is mapped on the x-y-z Cartesian space or R^3 dimension if you prefer polar coordinate system, with t-variable; this is known as the 4D world.

Based on this model, some life events are only accessible through triggering events that has a pointer to it, like object-oriented programming. Objects are "tangible", while the pointers in Java programming are abstract variables directed to objects. Furthermore, each objects and pointers are self-programmed, meaning that these objects and pointers are continuously created and deleted to maintain the Taoist idea of harmony.

If you don't understand computer science, you will understand everything I'm about to tell you, starting......now.

The Model Simplified - Without Computer Science

Objects in real life can be abstract such as ideas, events, or they can be physical, such as humans, animals, and other tangible items such as chairs and desks. Some objects can be time-dependent, meaning their position in the 4D world changes with respect to time. Others can be position-dependent, their positions depend on those of others' positions. Amongst objects are pointers. For instance, when I, a tangible time-dependent object in the 4D space, am typing this article, my mind is thinking of things, or creating objects (in this case, thoughts, which are abstract and position-dependent because they are attached to me), and commanding my hands to type. By typing, I made a connection between the thoughts and my fingers. The result is the creating of another object, this article that exists on my blog. As you read this, you make connections to this article I wrote, any thoughts you have may be created as new objects. However, since this article can be meaningless to you, they could be deleted in a very short amount of time.

Fate, in this sense, is the association of objects through collisions in this 4D world. For example, two objects, a person and a car, collide at position x0,y0,z0, at time0. This resulted in the person's death. Fate.

Basic Understanding and the Earliest Fate

My idea of fate is one that is self-governing. Let's look Earth 4,000 years ago, when the first trace of human civilization was identified. What is fate for our ancestors of those days? I believe that they had to live out life in a specific way, just like animals. Certainly back then they did not have the fate to be the first man to walk on the moon or the inventor of lightbulb. Their fate is limited to the options their retrospective society provided. Because that society lack intelligence, their fate is determined by individual biology. Those who are sexy reproduce, and their genes live on. This is fate in the most basic human society.

The Changing Behaviours of Fate

However, natural selection advances human civilization, as explained by Darwin's theory of Evolution and empirical evidence. This advancement proves two things; 1. human intelligence is aggregated, and 2. fate changes as our options change. Human intellectual history support the fact that each generation is getting smarter and more knowledgeable on the macro scale. Therefore, intelligence must be aggregated. Since a higher level of civilization means that there are more options available for people, there are more scenarios on how one's life will play out - the latter part, by definition, is what we call "fate". With the premises we established thus far, we can conclude that fate is constantly changing as civilization changes. Therefore, fate is pre-destined by no other than its clients - us.

Mathematical Probability of Fate

Imagine a time, t = year 2001...B.C.E., when automobiles were never invented, it is then impossible for someone to die from a car accident; the mathematical probability of such event would be 0%. Thus, no one has the fate to die from a car accident.

However, because of the advances of human civilization and aggregated intelligence, automobiles were invented. This created scenarios for people to die from a car accident. Whether or not one is fated for a car accident is dependent on a complicated model of mathematical probability.

Driving under the influence of alcohol increases one's probability of getting into a car accident, however, it does not guarantee it. The event of an auto accident also takes the account of a series of other events that have their own probabilities of occurrence. If a drunk person drives a car in an open field with absolutely no one around him, he has a 0% chance of killing someone else besides himself.

Next part, I'll talk about "The Big Picture", "Chaos Theory and Butterfly Effect", "The Relativistic Effect" and integrate ideas of religion into the explanation of fate, including the school of "Free will".

Apollo - Greek God of Prophecy

The Romantics of "I Don't Know"

Our world places so much emphasism on logic and reason. People are always trying to explain everything with science and mathematics. We, or at least in the mainstream society, qualify things that are either black or white as truth, while pushing the idea of "Everything must happen for a reason" to its limit.

Yet such rigidness is the product of human intellectual breakthrough old as Renaissance and recent as the Information Age.

Sure, maybe everything does happen for a reason, but how about some alternatives?

Instead of knowing what's going to happen as a logical consequence, what happens when we put future on suspense? Is it not why we watch thrillers, read books, and attend sports games? It is exactly that uncertainty that we find so discomforting yet intriguing. There's a famous quote by an anonymous that goes like this: "If you don't know where you're going, any direction you sail is a wrong direction."

I don't find that very romantic.

Without a meticulously devised plan, each day is like a whole new adventure; "I don't know" where I'll go, what I'm going to eat, who I'll meet, what's going to happen, or sometimes, where I'm going to sleep. It doesn't matter where life leads me as long as I know it is a path I chose instead of having a destination casted in a mold called society.

How about love? Is falling in love the process of certain hormones released from one's pituitary gland to initiate a series of reciprocal chemical reaction in one's brain at the sight of symmetry and proportionality of one's face and body catalyzed by simulating conversation and humour?

Or can I give a simpler 'reason': "I don't know, it just happens and it happened."

This is why I find the notion of "I don't know" kind of romantic. A world of certainty lack the romanticism of an "emotional rollercoaster". But I don't know, to me, "I don't know" is promising of mysteries and excitement. 

Painting: Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog
Romantic Era

The Search (3/3)

On Happiness

"What is happiness?" This is a million-dollar question. Although the model does not explain what 'happiness' is, it explains how to attain it. In the "Order of Search" model, one who attains happiness is one who searches for truth - at the highest state of mind.

At stage one, we encounter the emotion of 'happiness'. We discover things that put us in good mood, and we interpret those emotions as 'happiness'. With a basic understanding of happiness, at second stage, we actively search for things that make us happy (answers) and avoid things that make us unhappy. This is perhaps the naievite of teenage years, when we only focus on stimulating the brain to release stints of dopamine without considering consequences of our actions.

At stage three, we are trimming down the list of things that make us happy; things such as "watching Teletubbies" and "Listening to Cinderella Story again" may fall off the list. As that list get smaller and smaller, we begin to search for reasons why certain things make us happy.

Take the scenario of a high school party-holic who is obsessed with partying and "having a good time". If the person is at stage two, he would continue his life of a party. If the person is at stage three, he would be searching for reasons why he enjoys partying so much, and based on his findings, he may or may not change his behaviour; reasoning that he loves parties because "parties make him forget his other problems" and "parties allow him to build an useful social network" will have different impacts on his future actions. In this scenario, the latter person is at a higher state of mind regardless the fact both persons are partyholics.

Without any more reason, in the highest level, happiness must be found from within as the person develops the mental capacity to tolerate, forgive, and love.

On Love

Before the days we had our first girlfriend/boyfriend, we didn't really know what love is. We sort of have an idea through observing the world, which urges us to "find love". This is the stage of searching for meaning, when we are searching for a girlfriend/boyfriend simply because we don't have one.

At the next maturity level, we developed an image of an ideal person whom we wish to form relationship with. That image becomes the answer we are searching for. Have you had a friend who once said "She/he is the only one for me". This statement suggests the person has yet to be searching for reasons. We can make such conclusion because, for one, the youth is using his/her partner to fill a mental space that would be otherwise empty. Second, the statement makes no logical sense as most of people who said this does end up moving onto another person he/she fancies.

In the third stage, we go back to question that "image" we developed. Does it reflect our own values? In the phenomenon of "high school relationship", many relationships are built on the basis of social gains. Dating a certain someone will automatically bring you give you a certain social status, or gain you entrance to a certain "group". This explains why most high school relationships fail once the "group" dissembles.

Of course, there are other reasons why we date someone. At the stage where we begin to search for those reasons, our relationships could either take a huge turn, or fluorish evermore. In either case, the search for reason remain to be a critical stage and reflect a higher state of mind than those who are searching for answers.

At the highest state of mind, one no longer searches for reasons as the person realizes love needs no reason. Love is therefore a selfless act.

On Life

As you probably guessed, asking "What is the meaning of life" implies a person is at the lowest mental and most immature state according to this model, which will bring forth some controversy. However in this model sees a person who is simply searching for the meaning of life is someone very confused and lack forsight. The person does not know what to do with his/her life and finds life rather meaningless, as such, this person is still seeking for the 'meaning of life'.

At the second stage, people are searching for answers and different things to do. They are the people out in the real world experimenting and living life by doing a variety of things. At this stage, they do not have a clear vision yet, but have a general direction.

In the next stage, a person searches for the reason of life. Having experienced many endeavours, at this stage they ought to find the purpose of his or her life. This is far more than simply "doing something", people are "doing something" with a purpose.

If asking "What is the meaning of life" is immature, what does a person at the highest level ask? Simply "What is life?". He or she is no longer searching for reasons as they've already found the purpose of life. What is missing is still the truth of life; things explainable beyond reasoning. They are no longer using reasons to explain what life is but simply accept life for what its outcomes...but only at death will the person understand life.

Note:

Since I have yet to find truth, I lack the truth to explain truth.

Now that you've seen the model and its practicality, please leave your thoughts below in the "Comment" section.

The Search (Part 2/3 - extended)

Let's talk about how "Order of Search" could be used to better explain many things.

Teenage Behaviour and Choice Making

Teenage behavour is a direct result of one's state of mind. Regardless of one's chronological age, the maturity level of a person is determined by his or her mental age. The model says that the difference between "mature" and "immature" can be distinguished by finding out whether a person is searching for "answers" or "reasons".

Take the case where a principal at high school X made it clear to his students that he will not tolerate anyone being intoxicated at the school dance.

At stage two, a discontent teenager at high school who feels suppressed by his or her authority is likely to seek support from a group of friends who share similar ideology. By finding support from each other, they may purposely conduct activities to upset school authority in order to "send a message". From such action, teenagers feel that they've found the answers to solve the problems with school authority. In this case, the mentality of a person seeking for answer would be: "The principal says not to get drunk at the school dance, that sucks, but we're going to do it anyways to show him we, the students, are the majority. Problem 'solved'".

A mature teenager who feels discontent is one who searches for reasons in this case. He or she looks for reasons that caused the problems in the first place instead of looking for answers to the problems. He thinks to himself: "The reason principal X bans alcohol is because it is illegal and if something terrible happens as a result of intoxication, he's going to get into deep trouble from his authorities. However, as long as I don't cause any problems things will be fine. Therefore, we can still have some alcohol but we must control our limit so we can have a good time without making fools of ourselves."

Although in both scenarios the teen does end up going to the dance intoxicated, the teen who searches reasons considered the perspective of his authority before making his choice. In this model, we conclude the second is the more mature student.

Searching for answer: Problem ===> Answer.

Searching for reasons: Reason ===> Problems, Reason ===> Solution

Geniuses/Child-prodigy

In the case of persons with incredible IQ, the Order of Search model places them under "Search for meanings", which in terms of state of mind, is no better than other kids their age. Suppose a child with deep knowledge of mathematics and physics (which is a typical evaluation of genius at young age), the child is nevertheless still seeking for meanings for all these knowledge they have acquired and trying to make sense of them through problem solving.

In the case a genius, who has achieved the highest level of "needs" in Maslow's model and feels rejected, we can conclude he is yet searching for answers to solve his feeling of rejection. We can make such conclusion because the child does not understand exactly what the problem is, nor does he know that by taking another's perspective is an answer to his problems.

An older kid (pre-teen) in such case is in better position if he has grasped enough meanings; then he is able to find the problem and find answers to them.

Meanings ===> Problems

However

Not all child-prodigy has that problem. Take the case of young musicians. If they are searching for truth at such a young age. In fine tuning the most minute detail of their work, it shows that they have in their mind clear meanings, answers, reasons for their music. At such a high level, their goal is to communicate the findings of their inner truth in their music. In such case, the child has reached the highest level of state of mind and also fulfilled all the levels in Maslow's model. Empirical evidence supports that such child does not have social problems

The young musician's thinking would fall like this:"So I'm writing a composition for a large audience to tell the tragic story of Ralph and Lisa (meaning), and I feel the best way to use contrasting pieces to draw parallels to the plot in the story (answer). Doing so portrays the emotions that the characters are going through (reason), but I'm struggling with finding the perfect ending because I feel the ending is especially important in this story (search for truth)"

In the next and final part, I'll talk about more abstract topics of Happiness, Life, and Love. Stay tuned...

The Search (Part 1/2)

Entire life, we're constantly looking, searching for something. From infants to old-age, we are trying to fulfill different needs, as described by "Maslow's hierchy of needs". But that model has became a cliche; you've probably seen it a thousand times in different contexts.

However, there are many cases where Maslow's hierchy fails. Consider a genius with IQ over 150. Though he has fulfilled what Maslow would call the "highest level of needs", which are creativity, problem solving, acceptance of facts etc. However, these geniuses may lack their more-basic need for belonging. A significant number of cases have suggested geniuses and child-prodigies have anti-social behaviour and relatively lower EQ compared to their IQ. This phenomenon falsifies Maslow's claim that the highest level of needs can only be fulfilled once the lower ones are fulfilled.

Because of these evident flaws in Maslow's model, it's time we have a new model. I'm going to call it, Guo's Order of Search. Although "Search" and "Need" can be used interchangeably in this context, I decided on "Search" because it has a more active connotation than "Need".

So, here is a very brief version of my model. In Part 2, I'll use this model to explain many social phenomena.

In this model, I'm going to categorize people's psychological state of mind in a very abstract way based on the question "what is it that we're searching for?", of which I broke into four stages: Search for meaning, Search for answers, Search for reasons, and Search for truth. Like Maslow's model, each stage is associated with an age by empirical evidence. However, age is not bounded to any particular stage by any means. This model exceeds Maslow's in that higher state of mind cannot be reached without reaching the lower levels first, thus it can precisely pin-point a personal "mental age".

Search for meaning:

Entering this world, we had blank minds filled with nothing other than basic 'animalistic' instinct. In a world so new to us, our objective is to make sense of our surrounding. We're constantly looking for meanings of things, starting with the meanings of sounds and facial expressions. We cry in discomfort, and as such, sound of our cry gathers the attention of care-takers who then reduces the level of discomfort. We associate 'crying' as means to get attention, and the learning process continues.

As the world makes more sense to us, we begin to ask questions to further our database of 'meanings'. The search for meaning peaks in childhood and pre-teen; remember how much questions your younger siblins/cousins used to ask?

Search for Answers:

Unfortunately, the innocence of childhood ends when we begin to search for answers. Needing answers implies that we now have problems of our own that are yet to have an explanation.

No other stage where we dedicate most of our time to answers than those dreamy teenage years; we were quite fascinated yet puzzled by natural and social phenomena. Instead of searching meaning of things, we engage in a more active way of searching for answers to our questions. Instead of asking "What is the meaning of life?" the person enters the next level by actively searching for answers to answer his own question.

Search for Reasons.

In the search for reason, a person evolves into a higher-order of state of mind. One is to realize that previous answers could be short-lived, and many came about emotional responses. This for most people occur at college years and carries into mid-age. Through this time, we find many answers no longer apply to our questions. Yet instead of looking for answers, we are looking for reasons for the origin of questions and why things ought to be. Relying less on emotional responses and more on logic, people at this stage has the maturity to face future with a high degree of certainty.

Search for Truth

As bulletproof as sound logical reasons are, they can still be falsified in some circumstances. If reason is to logical truth, truth is to tautology. In the last stage, a person grasps inner truth. The person is not using logical analysis to seek reasons, rather the person goes through an intrinsic search that breaks logical rules in attempt to understanding questions of metaphysics....this, ladies and gentlemen, is the highest state of mind.

For some, this highest state occurs at young age, for some, it is the brief period of life before death. Looking at a person's tombstone, the most important thing on there is not the name, not the year of birth, no the year of death, but it's that tiny line that connects the two numbers. That tiny line is when a person's life happens

.

Letting it Fall

The temperature fluctuates quite frequently these days. The day would start off sunny, and suddenly turn cloudy, next thing you know, you're hiding underneath your sweater, dashing across campus to get to the next lecture. But some times before dusk, the sky would clear and fill the spaces with ever-so-refreshing air.

I suppose nature takes time to adjust, from summer to fall. I, too, am making the same transition.

There're moments in days when I get flashbacks of my summer travels; the days when I have total control of my destiny and destination. There're people I miss and days I reminisce. I thought about a lot of things when I was out on the road, one of them being about 'moving on'.

Life happens fast, chances and misses go by ever-so-often. We love the things we hang-on to, and hang on to the things we love. Such dilemma is there to choose, how are we to live life fully if all we ever want are things we already have? But if so, how are infinite desires to be satisfied?

Desperately searching and with nature's inspiration, I found a compromise.

In your travels, you'll form special connection with particular places and people. Enjoy the moment while it lasts, then let go and move on for there are many more places to see, people to meet. Desire comes with age; at different age there's different desire. Having desire is to have personal goals, the infinite desire is therefore not greed, but essence to live an eventful and meaningful life. So never let the past dictate you, rather let the future inspire you. Forget about the unhappiness, move on from the friendships that sunk and things that don't work. With time, truth will withstand. Truthfuls will always hang onto you.

As temperature drops lower and lower with consecutive rainfall, I can sense the nature letting go the vibrancy and brilliance of summer. Leaves on the trees are letting go of their green summer coat, for in the spring, they shall receive a new one. Summer of 2010 has been memorable. But I've moved on.

So here I am sitting on my balcony, drinking a glass of wine, and watching the city lights and cars go by. I'm back; back in Montreal, back to McGill, and tomorrow, I'll be back to that 8th row seat in Maass Auditorium.

Pete's Travel Guide: South Africa Edition

When traveling, one essentially has 5 things to worry about: clothing, food, accommodation, transportation, and safety. In this guide, I'm going to give you all some tips that'll help you getting around as smoooooooOOooth as possible (and as cheap as possible ;) Just to ease your doubt, I have tried and used ALL of the tips I gave. They work.

Have a great time in South Africa!

Clothing:

1. Pack light, don't over do it. You do not need your whole wardrobe in your backpack. Make sure you pack a couple of t-shirts, couple pairs of jeans, sufficient underwears, a warm jumper, jacket, and LOTS of socks. Socks do not take up a lot of space; having clean socks make trips much more pleasant.

Food:

You can have some fun with this one. When I travel, I like to eat well, eat healthy, and try local specialties...while not spend a lot of money. Food won't be an issue if you're traveling in Asia, you can get AMAZING food for pennies. In South Africa, a moderate place in term cost, you can use a couple of tricks.

1. Light, light, heavy. Most of us are used to eating three meals a day. The way to eat well cheaply is to plan out your meals. I usually eat two low quality meals and one nice one. For the morning I usually down a 500g/1lb of yogurt from Pick n' Pay (they're everywhere). It's healthy, it gives you the living culture to keep your stomach happy a long time. For lunch, I'll have a couple pieces of bread or pastry. For dinner, I'll go to a nice restaurant and get a specialty plate to satisfy the stomach.

2. Chew gum. When you're hungry but unable to attain food, chew gum.

3. Juice. Fruit juice is inexpensive in South Africa. You can get 100% fruit juice and have that as a meal replacement. 100% fruit juice has all the nutrients and vitamins to keep you healthy.

4. KFC. If you can't resist the temptation of hunger, have a meal at KFC; $3 would get you pretty far there.

*Pick n' Pay, SPAR, SHOPRITE, are your best friends.

Accommodation:

Accommodation seems to be very inflexible, yet it cost so much. I find it very stupid to spend a lot of money to sleep. You are absolutely doing nothing when you sleep. During World Cup, hostel rates tripled! Being forced to come up with ways to survive, I'm going to give you some alternative ways I've used to get through the night safely without spending too much money.

1. Hostels: unadvertised hostels are cheaper than those advertised.

2. Go to a restaurant for dinner, stay at a bar till 12 midnight. Check-in past midnight, and you'll get cheaper rates.

3. Go to the train station, tell the security guard you're tired and but your train doesn't come in the morning. Take out your mp3, put on your headphones. Then sleep on the bench while being safely guarded.

4. Clubs don't close till 3AM. If you're a college student, this isn't a big deal. The next day? Go to the beach in the morning, and wake up in the afternoon. That's life...just like in college.

5. 24-hour cafes are rare in South Africa, but you can always find 24-hr INTERNET cafes. Go to one, and surf the night away. Beach it the next morning.

6. If you rented a car and on the road, you can save a night's accommodation. Choose your spot wisely. I recommend you park at a fancy hotel, rich residential area, police station, but here's my favourite: car dealership. Whatever the make of car you drive, find its dealership and park there. You'll be unseen. Oh right...of course, did I mention you are sleeping in the car?

7. Going to the bathroom may not be as comfortable as the one at home. If you are in downtown Cape Town, you can go to Mandela Rhode place. On the first floor, there's a 5-star bathroom with lots of room, clean toilet and sink, and sufficient toilet paper. Other places, you'll have to use your general traveling senses.

*Sleep and Go hostel (5th floor, 112 Long St., Cape Town, cheapest place to stay)

Transportation:

Going from Point A to Point B isn't as easy in a foreign country. In South Africa you have many options. Using these options, I've traveled around 4000KM in and around Cape Town.

1. Walk. Downtown Cape Town is pretty small, you can anywhere within 20 mins. Walk as if you are a local and know the place inside and out. Do not turn your head too much, that shows insecurity. Make eye contact with the people passing by, especially those who look like they're going to rob you. Show ZERO fear.

2. Train is not recommended for any tourist. But they're too cheap and convenient to be passed up. If you take the train, make conversation with the person besides you as soon as you sit down. You are less likely to be robbed if you are actively engaged in a talk with a local. It makes it hard for the robber to decide your relationship with the local.

3. Mini-taxi. These things are everywhere. They'll yell at you on the road trying to get you to take it. Mini taxi looks like a minivan, they'll have anywhere from 1 to 20 passengers inside (VERY crowded at times).

4. Rent a car. Do some research online, the online rates are A LOT better than what they would give you at the desk. My rental had been R170 ($23) per day (including taxes). Relatively speaking, a night at hostel cost R100.

5. If you decide to rent a car, there are a few things I should tell you. In South Africa, people drive on the LEFT side of the road, and most cars are equipped with MANUAL transmission. You might be turned off by this if you can't drive a stick-shift. BUT, remember this is South Africa, you can bribe the keys-person at the car rental place to get an automatic. Hand him a R100 ($13) bill and say something clever like "I think that Benz there needs some fresh air this weekend". Why not just book the car with automatic tranny in advance? Because they cost around R250 more...per day.

But, if you're a guy, you'll probably take that 5-spd manual like I did and learn to drift while you have it for the weekend ;)

5. Taxi. Too expensive in my taste, never took one.

*Tempest Car Rental, book it online

Safety Tips:

Tourists receive a lot of unwanted attention in South Africa. The way to get around this is to present yourself as a local - since South Africa is very culturally diverse, you can pull it off doesn't matter which country you came from.

1. In crowded places, such as at some outdoor show, have your backpack in front of you. Not only you prevent pickpocketing, but also create a comfortable space between you and the person in front of you. This will give you an ultimate view to the front stage.

2. Learn to say "Hello" in the local language. In South Africa, you can say "Molo". Say that when unwanted strangers approach you, they'll think twice before robbing you.

3. Research the proximity. If you're traveling in a big city, look up the names of some very very small towns near the big city that only the locals would know. Guaranteed you won't be seen as a tourist.

4. Wear dirty clothes at night. If you're dressed like a homeless person, no one is going to bug you.

5. Act and walk comfortably, speak/laugh loudly. Use your body language to intimidate the person giving you unwanted attention.

6. Do NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT show any fear wherever you are. Robbers look for insecure and weak individuals as easy targets.

7. Robbery happens when a beggar ask for $1, so you take out your wallet, and next thing you know, your wallet is gone. Do NOT give money to beggars. Ask them if they want food instead. If they say 'yes', then simply tell them you are hungry as well. Unless you have some food in your hand, NEVER open your backpack. I've heard bad stories when people did this...Use your common sense in deciding whether or not to give some food.

8. Carry R200 ($25) in your wallet (you can have more money in your backpack). In an armed robbery, it's enough to satisfy the robbers without too much financial loss to you. However, if you follow tips 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, you won't encounter an armed robbery.

9. Have a retreat point, my is the Greenmarket Square Store. I got to know the owners and staff, if I ever need a place escape to, that'll be it. They can offer me food, water, and security.

With these tips in mind, you're ready to footprint South Africa!

Verse 48: The Tenth and Final Weekly Update

This is the last update. At Project Endlovu, it's been a busy week. I worked back-and-forth at the washroom-site and the medical clinic. The negotiation with our neighbours went sour; as a result we have to build the toilets at a new site. Early in the week, we knocked a whole in the wall of the community center, and laid down the foundation for the washroom at the new site. We set up the main frame by Wednesday, and roof went up on Friday. The toilets are yet to be installed. In the medical clinic, I made cuts and holes to run the plumbing pipes. An air-conditioning unit has arrived late in the week, that'll go up after I leave. On the main level, the floor has been smoothened and ready to be painted.

I guess this is it.
This is Peter Guo, signing off from Project Endlovu.

Verse 47: The Days Gone too Soon

(For the volunteers and guests of Project Endlovu)

Once in a while you'll go to a new place that's so different than what you're used to: different languages, different faces, different ways of doing things. You spend the day looking and looking, and you draw that instant connection with all that's around you. Deep inside, you repeat to yourself "wow...this is amazing..."...And you're right.

It's nearly three months since I unpacked my backpack at the volunteer house. Out came my clothes, some personal belongings, and a million question marks of how my life at Project Endlovu is going to unroll.

It wasn't long before I settled into the community and the project; I soon found comfort and hospitality in the volunteer house. Besides watching Tshabalala score the beauty at the world cup opener and Spain winning it all, in my time here, I also witnessed the community center going from bare-skin to near-completion. In years, I'll come back here and recall that afternoon we put up those dry walls upstairs, or that morning we plastered the exterior wall. Maybe I'll look at the moon and remember the days gone too soon.

As the days flipped by, volunteers and guests like you and I came and went. If you stay long enough as I did, you'll meet and get to know many interesting people, like those written in the previous pages; we've become part of each other's experience. I've always felt the day I make my mark in this notebook is a long way to go, but it came.

Tomorrow I'll wake to a piece of electronic rather than the sound of nature's morning, I'll watch sunset from a different balcony. The sun will be the same sun, the sky will be the same sky, but there won't be kids running around till dark. There won't be sounds of pure joy without a slight trace of worry. I'll be reminiscing this room you're in, the sounds you hear right now, those two ladies named Buyiswa and Hazel,...and that smell from the kitchen when they're cooking ;)

Verse 46: Township Townshit

The other day I was working outside with a couple of workers when a man came crying to us as he passed by. From the pitch and tone of his voice, I sensed a degree of anger and helplessness, but I couldn't guess what exactly it could've been (probably you can..by now). Moments later, the man walked off in quick steps, continuing to express his emotions. I asked the guys what was wrong. Glen, one of the workers there, translated for me; his daughter was dragged to the bushes behind the informal settlement last night...and raped.

She was 12 years old.

As beautiful as the Xhosa community can be, shit like this happens frequently in the township, it's frustrating. Lack of jobs, lack of education, lack of this, lack of that...whatever the cause is, there're too many useless explanations that don't change a thing. I'm beginning to think there's something fundamentally wrong with this community with all those alcohol, theft, murder, and rape cases happening in a poverty striken area. Instead of looking out for each other, their neighbours and relatives, there's a high degree of jealousy among them as clear-cut as the metals of their shacks. There's a dark side to the Xhosa community.

What frustrates me is that there's no immediate solution. Maybe, just MAYBE, better education will change this one day.

Verse 45: Last Bit of Adventure

The idea came from a conversation; Robert learned to fly an airplane when he was 14. He told me his amazing stories in air cadets, how much fun he used to have with airplanes. So...

0840h Saturday morning, Robert, Elmarie (Mrs. Taylor), and I set out. Destination: Fisantakraal. Objective: learn to fly.

Fisantakraal is just a little outside of Cape Town city center. We popped into the Cape Town Flight Training school and set me up for a spin in the air. Passing through the hangar to the "parking" lot, I found a small 4-seater Cessnar waiting for me. After a couple of pictures in front of the airplane with "Captain Robert". Captain Andre came and introduced himself as my flight instructor. After we walked around the airplane and checked all the gauges and fuel. We're ready for take off.

Robert let me use his old headset (those were just like the ones from war movies! Works brilliantly); Captain Andre let me took the controls right off the bat. I turned the ignition, pushed in the throttle, and steered the airplane down and around the runway. Captain Andre radio'd the control tower, and seconds later we were given the green light to "take off and have a good flight".

I lined up the plane with the markings on the run way, and pushed the throttle 2/3 of the way in. The Cessnar accelerated. 10 knots, 20 knots, 40 knots, 55, 65... "Pull up!"

The nose of the plane tilted up, the view through the front windshield displayed the boundless blue sky. 10 seconds later, I was soaring in air.

"Altitude 1400 ft" said Captain Andre over the radio, "We're heading west towards Cape Town". In front of me some distance away was Table Mountain, beneath me is vast area of undisturbed green. "Let's head towards that hill at 2 o'clock," Cpt Andre instructed, "be gentle with the control, you can fly at 2000 ft".

The controls were very sensitive indeed. Little shakiness translates to noticeable jerking from side to side, up and down. Once I had the plane lined up, I turned up the trim and the plane basically flew itself! Once I reached the hill, I banked the wings and looped around. Captain Andre gave me a few more checkpoints and rounds of mess-about before he took over the control and landed the plane.

If you think being in an airplane is amazing, flying one is just phenomenal!

Verse 44: The Ninth Weekly Update

At Project Endlovu, this week has been eventful. All the dry walls upstairs of the community center are smoothened and painted; however, we're short of two boards to fully finish it. The floor is complete in the medical clinic. Robert and I put in Work-tops in the doctor's office and the pharmacy. We cut an opening in the pharmacy room where the medicines and prescriptions are exchanged. In the doctor's office, we installed a sink; the plumbing is yet to be done.

The plan for next week is to install a couple of toilets and build the enclosure just outside of the community center. We'd still have to negotiate with our neighbours to use the space.

Highlight of the week:
Spending a couple of nights at Robert's house with him and his family. I've experienced the legendary cooking of Robert's wife.

Verse 43: Home

Robert invited me over to his house, have dinner, and spend couple of nights with his family. I gratefully accepted.

At Gordon's Bay he lived, which is on the other side of False Bay; translation: a 30 minute drive. The Taylors lived in a beautiful cozy house not far from the beach; his dog Daisy is very good at being protective of his property...especially when I stepped in.

Mrs. Taylor made lovely spaghetti and meat ball that night. We sat down, and dined through our conversations. Robert's children, Sasha and Christopher, had just returned to high school after their "winter" break. All the sudden I was remembered my early high school days when I was excitingly updating

After dinner, we sat on the couch and watched a bit of TV while we digest that delicious dinner. But when the ladies of the house started watching 98210 or some random number like that, the men went to "work". We solved the problem of malfunctioning internet.

It was neat to spend some time in a family environment; it's something I haven't done in a long time. The couple of nights at the Taylors' made me think of my family in Canada. In a week's time, we'll be reunited, but on the other hand, I don't want to leave this place.

Verse 42: Stories and Tales

A part of traveling is the people you meet where-ever you go. As your journey goes on, you'll hear from many MANY people many MANY stories. In South Africa, locals consist of whites, coloureds, and blacks - each with a different, but first hand tale of South Africa. These are some their stories.


1. "...[we] would have to sit at the back of the bus. And when it rains, the front of the bus would be empty and there'd be tons of coloureds and blacks waiting at the bus stop...but the bus driver wouldn't stop...because the bus can't take more PEOPLE....if he [the bus drive] did, he'll get fired....".

Name: J
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Unknown
Context: On a bus



2. "I feel alone man. No I can't get a job...food? I ask someone to buy it for me...yes, everyday..."

Name: M
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Homeless
Context: Cafe inside a grocery store



3. "We go to a school, they go to a different school. We sit here on this side, they sit over there...We just knew...Our parents didn't tell us about..., we just knew...we grew up with it...it was very confusing, we just didn't know why..."

Name: X
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Convenient store owner
Context: Cafe


4. "Eastern Cape...get off work, go home, come here, go home, sleep, go to work."

Name: Unknown
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Employed
Context: Shabeen (township pub)


5. "...like, c'mon, apartheid ended 11 years ago... they just gotta get off their asses and do something."

Name: Unknown
Perspective: White
Occupation: Restaurant and Bar owner
Context: Restaurant bar table



6: "Most of the white people here are going to say "Nelson Mandela? That bastard...but I think he's a great man...changed the image of South Africa...people don't look at us the same way after...he's done good things for us."

Name: Vernne
Perspective: White
Occupation: Safari Ranger
Context: On our quadbikes on top of a mountain in the middle of bare African landscape


7: "You see, the next generation won't know....because they never lived through those days. It was really oppressing and depressing."

Name: Andre
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Navy electrician
Context: balcony cafe over looking Mandela Day Festival


8: "...think my mind is as black as my skin. They are wrong."

Name: Buyiswa
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Creche manager
Context: Over a cup of coffee during break



9: "Aspeling Street. 45 Aspeling Street. It's where I lived [laughs]...we were forced to move...all coloured, blacks had to...had to carry a passport to go in that area...caught without [passport], they'll take you to jail."

"My father was involved in a conspiracy to....government. But my mom found out and didn't let him go...all of the other guys were arrested and...25 years. My brother...leader of student council...with other school started a protest in town...beaten until...then arrested."

Name: Ray
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Delivery Driver
Context: In his car, on the road to township


10: "Our country's got great potential."

Name: Robert
Perspective: White
Occupation: Master builder
Context: In his truck, on the open road


11: "Look at the colour of my skin, that's why."

Name: Unknown
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Unknown
Context: Street curb

Verse 41: Weekend - World Cup

Another weekend, another road trip. This time the car rental company gave me a Tata Indigo, such nice lil car with all the lil gadgets. Although it's an upgrade over the Kia Picanto I drove the last two trips, it isn't as versatile.; the handling is a bit off.

Ok, enough about cars.

My plan for this weekend is to drive along the southern coast of South Africa (and Africa, for that matter) to reach Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa, or in some sense, the tip of the world. This route is known as the whale-watch route; as the name suggests, tons of day trippers take this drive, trying to see a whale or two along the way. At night, I'll stay at the nearby town called Struisbaai. I'll catch the sunrise at the tip and make my way to Gansbaai, where I'll do a dive with the great white sharks. I'll explain the dive. A boat is going to take me into the ocean, I'll be in scuba gears and be locked inside a metal cage. Then the cage is going to be dropped into the ocean, and along with it, large chunks of raw meat. The blood from the meat is going to draw in the great whites. In the mean time, I'll be in a metal cage watching the whole process... After the shark dive, I'll head back to Khayelitsha where I'm going to take a few of my colleagues to the beach. Sunday, I'll drive to Cape of Good Hope once again, the weather wasn't co-operating last time so I didn't waste my R85 entrance fee.

Chapter 1: Smooth Drive

I started out early on Friday, picked up my car and left Cape Town at 1PM. With ocean on my right side and newly paved roads bending gently around the shore, I sat back, shifted into 5th gear, and cruised at a good speed; I should make it to the point by sunset.



Chapter 2: Back to Hermanus

It was 6 weeks ago Anna drove to Oudtshoorn where we rode ostriches and explored Cango Caves. En-route, we made a detour to Hermanus which I remembered as a very nice coastal town. The charm of Hermanus didn't stop me as long this time, I did some grocery shopping and was quickly back on the road. The next town on the route is Kleinmond. It seemed a tad bigger than Hermanus, but the coastal area isn't as scenic. Past Kleinmond, trouble started.

Chapter 3: Road to Napier

I was behind in time. The newly paved road is no more. Underneath my tires laid dirt and medium-sized rocks. I had to drive slow to avoid skidding. There were no road signs for many miles; the sun was quickly setting. Luckily I didn't miss any turns. I ended up at Napier at around 5PM, the sun sets in half and hour.



Chapter 4: The Tip of the World

They call Napier the gateway to the tip of Africa. From there, there's a perfectly straight road going south. Once I reached Struisbaai, signs were everywhere to guide visitors to the point. There's a light house at the point; I was very excited to see it. The colour of the water isn't the usual deep blue; at the southern coast, it's light green with white waves scribbled across the surface. I've made it, I'm at the tip of Africa, tip of the world! ... Just in time for sunset. It was an unbelievable feeling, a form of excitement, happiness, and thrill all mixed in one.



Chapter 5: Part Two

Part Two of the trip was to do a shark dive at Gansbaai. At dawn, I started from Cape Agulhas. I ate rusks (dry bread) while watching the sunrise from the hood of my car. Mr. Weather however wasn't cooperating; as soon as I turned the ignition, it started to rain. The drive back alone the coast was wet and gloomy. The dusty road was muddy and slippery. Once I got to Gansbaai, shark dive was not in operation due to bad weather... And that sucked.


Chapter 6: Plan B

Because of the poor scenery on a rainy day, I went back on the N2 highway. Instead of shark cage dive, I visited Stellenbosch - a midsize town in the center of Cape Wineland. Stellenbosch is beautiful; 18th century Dutch architectures lined up the narrow streets. Most of the buildings are white - a common trait in all hot n' dry places. In a rainy day like today, the white buildings contrasted well with the dark wet roads.


Chapter 7: Inspiration

At 1PM I was back in the townships. This is when I was supposed to take a few workers and spend our afternoon at a beach. The beach has a special significance to the Xhosas; it's a place of cleansing for both the body and the mind. Twanna, being recently put out of work, could really enjoy some time at the beach. But rain, rain, and more rain...None of the guys showed up as planned.

Nevertheless, the afternoon turned out well; I took 5 kids from the township to the city in hope to inspire them. Most of them have never gone to Cape Town, a host-city of the World Cup. We went to Greenpoint Stadium, V & A Waterfront, Signal Hill, Fan Fest...their jaws everywhere we went. We finished night at the Fan Fest, where we saw the young German squad clinch 3rd place over (the damned) Uruguay.
Taking an escalator for the first time



Chapter 8: Down to Cape Point

Sunday morning, I left township at the first morning light. I drove alone the coast of Khayelitsha west to Muizenberg, the South to Simon's Town, Fish Hoek, Miller's Point...Around 9AM, I was at the entrance to the Cape of Good Hope. This time, the weather is nice, and there weren't many tourists. The drive down to the Cape of Good Hope was soothing. I retraced the route taken by Charles Darwin centuries ago. I saw many wild animals on the side of the road. Over my shoulder rooted magnificent landscape squeezed in by two bodies of water. I parked the car near sea level and climbed all the way up to the lighthouse. There, I had a good view of the Cape. I pictured the Great Explorers sailing around the Cape; sensational.



The -only- Canadian symbol I had with me

Chapter 9: Boulevard Drive

From Cape of Good Hope, I set out on the Western Coast (came down on the Eastern coast) of the peninsula going north through Cape Town winelands. I drove through a nice boulevard at Kirstenbosch. Tall trees lined up along the curvy road through the forest. I had my windows down and some nice music going; what better way to make a drive more enjoyable?


Chapter 10: Feel it, it is heeeee-ah!

You can't NOT feel it on the day called "July 11th". Early afternoon, I found my way into the FIFA Fan Fest where fans are already lining up and partying it up. I got in just fine; here I am, at the world's biggest party with 85,000 fans from all over the world. The afternoon was filled with entertainment. I danced, I played soccer, saw live musical performances, and mingled with other fans. I called Robert to bring his family down here, he did, but just narrowly missed the cut-off to get in the festivity. Without Robert's company, I spent the afternoon and night with a group of Spanish girls. Can you imagine how wild they got when Spain won the cup? ...

Verse 40: The Eighth Weekly Update

At Project Endlovu, this week we saw a lot of changes. On Monday, our workforce was reduced as the two ladies, Monica and Taliswa, and Twanna were asked to work here no more. I saw it coming; though as much as I want to keep them on a personal level, I have no say in it.

On the construction side of things, we built a concrete bench along the front wall of the community center. On the second floor, we are very close to finishing putting up the dry walls. There are 6 rooms: a tuck shop, a rec room, three activity room, and a conference hall. Some of the boards have been plastered and smoothened, the rest will be finished next week.

In the medical clinic, professionals are hired to complete the floors. They're looking good.


Rumours:
-I may extend my stay at Project Endlovu for a couple more weeks. Di, the CEO of Shaster Foundation, is looking to postpone my flight. She's going to cover all the costs for me to stay a bit longer because of the increased productivity I've brought to the project.

Verse 39: Build to Perfection

Back in the days I'm building robots at Beaverworx, we had a "Zero Tolerance" standard between my buddy Chris and I. Obviously a 0.0000000(inf) error is unavoidable, but the mindset is always there. In machining the parts, my error has been between 1/1000 and 4/1000 of an inch!

With construction, it's a whole new ball game. Errors of a few millimeters, even centimeters could be ineligible. However, that doesn't apply everywhere; in some key components, error is unacceptable. Fortunately, "Zero Tolerance" mindset never left me.

I've been working a lot with the local workers this week. In Robert's absence one day, I took the initiation to lead the guys putting up dry-walls. At this project, I've established good reputation and leadership. The guys would come to me for instructions, and I'd do my best to maximize efficiency and quality. Along the way, I'd show my colleagues a few techniques I picked up to do the job better.

Ok, enough bragging.

I set up a stereo system where we work that plays songs from my cell phone. With some good music (oh Katy Perry...), we've had good morale. Here and there, "Uncle Robert" and "Uncle Pete" (me) would crack a joke to lighten the mood. We all could use a good laugh!

P.S. I've decided this weekend I'm going to take a drive to Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa. On Saturday afternoon, I plan on taking a few guys from the project to the beach.

Verse 38: Adventure Interior

Canada's Day firework...I wasn't around for that. Instead I took an 800KM road trip to explore the interior Western Cape. To break down my trip a little bit, I started in Cape Town, then headed to Paarl, Wellington, Ceres, Touws River, Montagu, Ashton, Robertson, Worcester, then back to Paarl, went down to Franschhoek, Graubaw, Gordon's Bay, Strand, Khayelitsha, and back to Cape Town.

Ok. Let the adventure begin.

Chapter 1: End of Day, Beginning of Night

Friday afternoon I picked up my car half an hour before sunset. I drove to the top of Signal Hill and watched the sun slowly sink below the sea. Momentarily and sporadically, night lights lit up Cape Town, dotting it in gold; it was a gorgeous scene. While witnessing the end of day and beginning of night, I got a call from an old friend...Anna, she got back from her trip to Mozambique; she'll be town this weekend, leaving for Germany on Sunday. So I met up with Anna and another traveler at Ashanti hostel, from there we went out for dinner, and later a bar to watch the Ghana-Uruguay game. Speaking of which, I hate the Uruguay soccer team. Suarez could go to hell for that handball. Anna and I caught up with our stories while apart, though hers are much more exciting than those happened in the township.

Chapter 2: Mountains of Ceres

My safari starts at 10AM. To give myself plenty of time, I turned the car ignition at 7:06AM, and I made good progress to reach Paarl. I had a smooth drive on the spacious highway while watching sunrise. However, trouble started when I was little bit past Paarl, I found myself in thick fog. My line of sight was about 20M radius that I had to slow down. At around 9AM, I made it to Ceres, which leaves me about 60KM to cover. What I didn't know was that the good-chunk of the rest of the journey is on mountain roads. The road is one-lane wide in both directions, every 100 meter or so there is a sharp turn and there are no rail guards. The suggested speed is about 40~60km/h. Thinking to myself, at this rate, I can't make it to the safari on time and the whole trip is ruined. Long drive short, I had some good scares driving through that mountain averaging between 70~80km/h.

Chapter 3: Safari

An African Safari experience is unbeatable. I'm sure you've seen animals at the zoo, but seeing them in nature is completely different; I'm sure anyone who has done a safari will agree with me. Vernne, our 20-something year-old ranger, took us on a 4x4. Over the ponds and dirt road we drove, the tour was unbelievable. Vernne stopped every so often when we spot a new animal to tell us about it. We saw springboks, impalas and other species of antelopes, different birds, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, zebra...lions, cheetah...buffaloes..

Chapter 4: Life in the Vast Emptiness

After a solid 3-hour safari drive, the group went for lunch. I opted out the feast to have my own sandwich because I had other ways to spend money than buying an overpriced lunch. Instead, I rented a quad-bike to drive around the field. Lunch and a lil nap later, I hopped on a red Honda quad-bike. Vernne, the ranger from the safari, gave me a brief 1-minute lesson on these powerful monsters. We wasted no time heading out on the trails. And believe me, those bikes are all about power, power, and power. A few times I went off the trail over sharp turns at full speed, but I just drove over small bushes as if they weren't there! In an open area, Vernne and I messed around with the bikes a bit; we were drifting, spinning, drawing donuts..t'was wild (there's a video clip I filmed). Afterwards we went to do some jumps over small hills and then headed to the mountain to take a break. Vernne and I stood on the tallest point in the area; it's unbelievable that it's sooo quiet there that you'd think you're deaf. Vernne looked around the field and said, "welcome to my office". We had a nice chat there about the life in the vast emptiness.

Chapter 5: Through the Remoteness

In my mind I was still driving that quad-bike, but by late afternoon I was already on my way to Montagu from Touws River. The road is perfect, with no cracks, bumps, or potholes. However, there were a few scary moments when I was making my way over a mountain through the clouds; I couldn't see much of the road at all. The second part of the journey goes through valleys, and THAT was not all fun-and-games. I drove along the wingding road through remote villages, and for over 40km, there was not a single road sign to confirm that I'm on the right road. The sun was setting at a fast pace behind the mountains. Well, since I'm writing this, I obviously made it out alive. All I can say now is: it wasn't fun when I did it.


Chapter 6: Worcester Exploration

I drove through Ashton and Robertson in dark, the latter seems like a very nice and peaceful town. At a bit past 7, I made it to Worcester, which is about an hour and a half from Cape Town driving non-stop. Worcester has become a dead-town, there was nothing much going on on a Saturday night. The liveliest place was a place called Dros Bar and Grill. I didn't feel like spending the night eating left-over sandwich and sleep in a sketchy hostel, so instead spending money on a bed, I went to Dros and ordered a nice man-size sweet lips pork ribs. Man, were those ribs tasty! Oh, of course, that meant I slept in my car.

Chapter 7: Mes Memoires Francais

Sunday morning, I was up before sunrise and sat in the car for it warm up. The plan was to drive through the vineyards then head down to Cape of Good Hope and return the car to the airport. The drive from Worcester to Franschhoek was very pleasant. The scenery changed from dry, rocky mountains to those of gentle surfaces with plenty of vegetation; they reminded very much of the French country-side that I was so in love with. As you may have guessed it, Franschhoek had a French origin. In this town, Bastile Day is celebrated. In the main road there are many small cafes with French names and dressed with French colours. When I was there, there was a bikers' gathering which made it very busy on a Sunday morning. Too bad I was driving, I would've done some wine tasting there because that's such a "French thing" to do.




Chapter 8: Patience

On a beautiful day like today in the Cape Peninsula, the streets are filled with cars heading towards the sandy beaches. I spent a solid hour driving 10km because of the traffic jam. I started from Muizenburg and went down the Indian Ocean coast. At Simon's Town, there's a destination called Boulders Beach where penguins had colonized. As the legend suggested, there were penguins everywhere! Soon I continued down the peninsula, heading to the Cape of Good Hope. At the entrance road, cars lined-up for a kilometer trying to get on the road. Without the patience, I headed back to Cape Town through the Atlantic coast of the peninsula.

Chapter 9: The Last Bit of Rush

At around 3:00PM I got back to Cape Town. I parked downtown and went to the Internet cafe to call my parents - haven't spoke to them in two weeks. We had a three way Skype session (dad was home, mom was at work), I filled them in with all the things I've done and surprised them with a few shockers that you've just read. As our conversation drifted, I lost track of time. Once I realized how long it had been, I only had half an hour to fill up the tank and return the car to the airport. On the radio, I heard the news that many soccer fans are returning today. So I drove fast...like fast fast. I waved around the traffic averaging 140km/h. It's amazing how familiar I've got with driving a manual transmission - I like it a lot now, it has a lot better control and maneuverability than automatic cars. Anyway I got to the airport in 15 mins, had the car checked, not a single scratch was found.

Chapter 10: The End
So yeah, all those happening in 48 hours. That's it. It's amazing how much you can do in a weekend. I know, this chapter is really just bogus.

Verse 37: The Seventh Weekly Update

At Project Endlovu, this week I worked a bit on the second floor and did electricals in the guesthouse. Majority of the time was spent running around the town getting supplies. Robert and I went the eco-beam factory, the hardware store, metal scrap-yard, and the Somerset Mall a few times. Other than that, I fixed a couple of computers.

Movies Watched:
-Bodies of Lies

Highlight:
-Going to the different places with Robert in his pickup.

Verse 36: Alone

The five guys from West Point left Cape Town on Monday. For the first time in 7 weeks, I'm living alone at the project. At night when there's no one to talk to, I'd some times sing out loud to remind myself I still have a voice; I'm in love with Katy Perry's new song "California Girls"...very catchy.

In the day time, I'm spending a lot more time off the construction site. Robert took me with him a few times to get building supplies from nearby towns. Christopher, Robert's 14 year-old son, came to the project too. We had good laughs giving out condoms and tying kids up for being naughty.

At dusk, after everyone had gone home, I'd sit on the balcony and watch the sunset while sipping on a glass of juice and munging on a biscuit. The temperature has been decent these days, so it's very relaxing sitting outside to read or just let the mind wander. I thought about my early days in Montreal, the different moments I had, the drama, the ups and downs throughout the year, and especially home and Canada; I guess what you think about when you're alone is what means the most to you.

This Thursday is Canada's Day, it must be exciting to be back home. As for here, I plan to take a road trip and go on a safari. It's going to be another great adventure, better if someone would join me ;)