Need a job...

hmm... this feels weird but desperate situations call for desperate measures! Does anyone have any 'lobang' for a temp job till the end of the year? I need to earn back at least a portion of what I'd spent in Canada... I've got a high chance of getting relief teaching jobs at primary schools for these 2 weeks but will probably need something to tide me till I start a new permanent job. Give me a ring if you've got good offers :)

Discrimination

I've experienced some mild discrimination before when I was in Germany and travelling around...usually some condescending tone when people spoke or getting less than cordial service at a restaurant....think we get that here as well, where many people in the service industry treat Caucasians better than locals.
But the situation's so much worse now that I'm trying to get an English teaching job, especially in Asian countries. You'd think that companies/schools should be selecting teachers based on ability, not on passport or skin colour....but I can't even complete an application form once I indicated that I'm not from a 'English speaking country'!
Am ranting now because I just received an email reply to my application that says the company cannot secure a visa for me because I'm not from one of the aforementioned countries...but a further check reveals that there shouldn't be a problem as long as I have a degree and completed my education in English! So I would assume it's just an excuse to hide the real problem...that I'm not White!
*Fume*

virtual into reality

this is rather scary...it'll just be a matter of time before pp start doing things like this for real

Woman jailed after 'killing' virtual husband

By MARI YAMAGUCHI,Associated Press WriterAP - Friday, October 24

TOKYO - A 43-year-old player in a virtual game world became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona, police said.

The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his ID and password to log onto the popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in the northern city of Sapporo said Thursday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

The woman, a piano teacher, had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.

She has not yet been formally charged. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison or a fine up to US$5,000.

Players in "Maple Story" create and manipulate digital images called "avatars" that represent themselves, while engaging in relationships, social activities and fighting monsters and other obstacles.

In virtual worlds, players often abandon their inhibitions, engaging in activity online that they would never do in the real world. For instance, sex with strangers is a common activity.

The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married to kill the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his online avatar was dead.

The woman was arrested Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sapporo, where the man lives, the official said.

The police official said he did not know if she was married in the real world.

Bad online behavior is usually handled within the rules set up by online worlds, which can ban miscreants or take away their virtual possessions.

In recent years, misbehavior in the virtual world has in some cases had consequences in reality.

In August, a woman was charged in the U.S. state of Delaware with plotting the real-life abduction of a boyfriend she met through the virtual reality Web site "Second Life."

In Tokyo, a 16-year-old boy was charged with stealing the ID and password from a fellow player of an online game in order to swindle virtual currency worth US$360,000.

Montreal

Montreal is another city in French speaking Canada. Folks in Montreal are more bilingual than those in Quebec...apparently 1/2 has English as their first language and the other 1/2 has French as their first language. It's a nice blend of the old and new, with a nice old city and great downtown shopping. It has one of the largest underground shopping malls in Canada (underground so that people can shop in comfort during winter).

nice sculpture downtown. I think they are supposed to be laughing at a joke. Reminds me of the situation where everyone looks up when someone points at the sky
McGill University - one of the best in Canada, in case anyone's interested in applying there or going for exchange. It's an English speaking university.
nice cheeky photo at a photo exhibition along the streets of downtown. 
fall colours...Canada is probably the best place to see trees changing colour in the fall/autumn
La Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal - famous cathedral in Montreal where Celine Dion was married. People book the church for weddings about 3 years in advance....the joke is that should they change their minds about the wedding, they should find another person to marry rather than give up their reservation for the church! 
Chappelle du Sacre Coeur - a chapel behind the Basilique. As with many old churches, it was burnt down in a fire and rebuilt - entirely in wood 
Tours on horse carriages are very popular....especially since Montreal has a pretty European feel
I love exploring Chinatowns in the countries I visit. Montreal has a pretty good one
Dragon beard candy being sold in Chinatown
Poutine, a fav food in French Canada. French fries + gravy + cheese - but not the KFC cheesy fries kind
Smoked meat sandwich, another Montreal delicacy
Montreal's Olympic stadium. They just finished paying their debt for the 1976 Olympics this year! Hmm...maybe it's a good thing Singapore's too small to host the actual Olympics
Montreal's old city

Virtual barber shop

This is quite interesting. Listen to it with your headphones on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA

Quebec

The only time I have to post up pictures is when I'm doing laundry heh. Anyway, here are some pictures of Quebec. It's the 2nd largest province in Canada and is in the French-speaking part of Canada. Very European in feel with cobbled stones and all...doesn't seem like part of Canada!

Buskers like this are everywhere, playing all sorts of instruments
Maple taffy...maple products are uniquely Canadian
Quebec is a 'walled city' and La Citadelle is the main fortress. It used to protect the city from the British and is still an active military garrison
Bird's eye view of Old Quebec. Hint for backpackers: always take the opportunity to look for a place to get a view of the entire city. It's usually very cool.
Hm...hope this doesn't seem insulting to anyone. I just thought it's funny how even here in faraway Canada people are realising that almost everything's made in China. (Didn't get a chance to see where this t-shirt is made heh)
This is pretty cute...and true! I wonder whether we have a similar t-shirt for 'lah' in Singapore
This is the square where the last scene of 'Catch me if you can' was filmed, where Leo DiCaprio was caught by Tom Hanks and led out in front of carolers.  

This is a wall mural in the old city. Same kind of art form was used to make it look 3D.

Guess who the real person is!

The streets of Old Quebec
Quebec city is 400 years old this year! You can see a funicular rail behind that will bring you up to the top of a hill to another part of the city 
Celebrating 400 years...
The Canadian flag is everywhere!
This is a sculpture in honour of female teachers! Recognition at last!

being a tourist

have been looking forward to being a real tourist in toronto for the past month...but suddenly realised that it's more tiring being a tourist than being a student! am trying to find time to post up some pics here...hopefully can do it soon