What a day...I am just not meant to travel today.

Lesson learned - know how to read time properly and always double check your travel itinerary.

Fuck - what a crazy day. The executive summary of what happened to me was that I missed my flight for Taiwan and it was because I apparently cannot tell time. Here's what happened:

I spent most of the morning recovering from a mini-hangover from a great night out with my friends. I also did a massive cleaning of my house. I was a bit scared that I couldn't get everything done in time, but thought, hey, I should go stop at Starbucks to do online check in before coffee with a friend. Settling in to my seat with a green tea in my hand, I start the online checkin process and got an error message. Strange, I thought, and typed in my confirmation number again. ERROR. Okay, let me try my rewards card. ERROR. What about my first and last name? ERROR. Okay, WTF is going on.

I flipped to my flight details and looked at the first line. FEB 28 - 00:50am. Shit, why isn't this working. After typing in my number again, I suddenly sat right up in my seat. HOLY FUCK. MY FLIGHT WAS 12 HOURS AGO! There's no justification in the world for this kind of error - I clearly didn't pay enough attention to the flight details when I booked and there's no one to blame but my idiot self.

So after I picked my jaw off the floor for coming to the realization that I am an idiot, I emailed my friend Franky, who was supposed to drive me to the airport tonight. The subject line was: HOLY FUCK. Franky instantly replied and helped me start thinking about what I could do (thank you Franky - you're a great friend). After emailing my dad, who was supposed to pick me up at 6am (6pm our time), I ran to the payphone across the street to call my travel agent.

Thank the good Lord that payphones still exist. To add to my stress, I had no change on me. So I used my credit card (keep this detail in mind as it plays a role later). Betty, my travel agent, let out a combination exasperated sigh and "what are you stupid?" laugh when I explained to her the situation. Like the true professional she is, she switched me onto Friday's midnight flight (yes, another midnight flight - which I have to be at the airport on Thursday evening...thank you for the reminder). The good news was that I didn't lose out on my ticket or on business class and all I had to do was pay $75 CDN at the counter on Thursday.

Next step was to contact my dad as I realized, FUCK, IT'S 3AM IN TAIPEI RIGHT NOW AND HE'S NOT GOING TO CHECK HIS EMAIL. My friend Franky came to my rescue again by calling him. However, with my dad being his paranoid self, didn't recognize the number and hung up (both times). Thankfully, that did get him up and he did check his emails before he left for the airport. I can just imagine how much of a wreck he would have been if he had arrived and I did not get off that plane.

So thinking that now I'm in the clear, I go and meet up with my friend Michael for coffee. After laughing about the situation, we reached the Tim Horton's when I came to the painful 2nd AHA moment of the day - FUCK, I LEFT MY CREDIT CARD IN THE PAYPHONE. Mike was great and asked if I wanted to go run back. At that point, I was so tired, that I thought, what's the point? If it's there, it's there, if it's not, I'll cancel it. The good news is that I stayed and had a great chat to catch up with a hilarious friend.

I didn't even run back to the phone booth. Part of me thought - it'll definitely be there, who the fuck uses payphones anyways (except for out of work people who cancelled their cell phone plans)? As I walked up to the phone, the receiver was off the hook, but the card was still there. Fuck, I was in such a hurry, I ran away and knocked the receiver off. The #2 "phew" moment of the day.

So, with all of that adventure, I settled back into the Starbucks and pieced together my travel plans. I'm on a flight on Friday at midnight, which means I'll be leaving Thursday night for the airport (lesson learned). This works out really - I get two more days in the city (and to say goodbye to a few more people) and I've learned an incredibly important lesson that I will take with me throughout the rest of my travels - PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS.

Everything happens for a reason - I was meant to miss this flight so that I could have a great goodbye with my Ivey friends last night, so that I could catch up with a great friend for dinner tomorrow and to have more time to clean up my place rather than rushing it like I did this morning. I was meant to miss this flight at the beginning of my journey (where at least I'm in a city that I know with people that can help) rather than being in a foreign country and being in a worse panic. And it's interesting how I dealt with the situation today. Terence of six months ago would have had a total meltdown. I was over it today in about 15 minutes and decided that all I can do is to laugh at my own stupidity.

I really want to thank all of the supportive messages from people and laughing along with me. I want to especially thank Franky Ng for helping me out - you're an amazing friend. Thanks too to Michael Bodsworth for being patient and postponing our coffee and laughing with me to help distract me from the fact my credit card was sitting in a payphone at King and Peter.

The only sad thing is that now I can't say I'm leaving the country on the exact same day as when my family first came here to Canada. Oh well, at least it's an interesting story to tell, right?

Packing up my life into four suitcases...

So I've been putting off packing for a long time now and it's started to catch up on me. Yesterday and today, I had to force fit a year's worth of clothing and other personal items into two suitcases, a backpacker's bag and a dufflebag. Those four bags, along with my two carry ons will be my only possessions for the next year as I travel around the world.

My house is now half empty. The closet and wardrobe are organized and semi-empty. My fridge is completely cleared. My kitchen cabinets are bare. I figure I have one more meal to cook tonight and then that's that for meal preparation. My bathroom also looks deserted - all my toiletries except for my toothbrush, toothpaste and floss have been placed into my bags.

Everything is organized for my brother to have him take care of my place. Stickie notes adorn my cabinets, fridge and tables with instructions as to what needs to be done. All that is left to be done is to do one last cleaning of my place tomorrow, unplug everything to cut down on electricity while I'm away and then wait for my drive to the airport.

I can't believe how quickly the time has flown and that a decision I made just about 8 weeks ago is finally happening. Here's to the last 30 hours in Toronto.

Live Beautifully - by Terence Jou

In the midst of cleaning up my house and cooking breakfast this morning, I stared at the two sheets of word magnets that I got from an industry party about two years ago. I had a quick decision to make - throw them out or take the time to create something out of it.

I stared at all the random words - some were funny (i.e. douchebag, lick, beans - for some reason, those were ones that stood out). Others started speaking to me and over the next half an hour as I ate my oatmeal, I started piecing together a short note to help inspire myself as I leave on this journey.

It's strange - as I plucked words out of the sheet and set them aside, they started to speak to each other. Moving them around proved to be easy and the message helps to calm my anxiety about travelling this year abroad.

Here it is - let me know what you think:

Live Beautifully - by Terence Jou

Take a chance,

by the end of it

you stand apart.

Love to dance and play,

think and wonder,

and do more.

Stop complaining.

Don't undermine, snooze, whisper,

but involve, engage, shout.

Stare up, not down.

Say: Please and Thank You like you mean it.

Say: Yes.

Question.

Create.

Experiment.

Amaze!

Cheers, friend.

Being Better Brothers - A Journey 22 years in the Making...

Most people know I have a younger brother. I don't talk about him much, but when I do, I can go on forever. My relationship and friendship with my brother has always been a complex one, but having just had a great dinner with him on my last week in the city, I'm really happy of where we've netted out - and it's taken a lot of work to get there.

Alexander Jou was born in 1990, just one year after my parents and I immigrated to Canada. I had the honour of naming him - my parents weren't that familiar with English names, and asked me to pick out something "that wasn't too strange" (I remember this exactly). Being the lazy kid I was, and also not too happy there was going to be another kid to share in the attention, I quickly picked Alexander (it was in the A section and there were just WAY too many names). The name itself comes from the Greek - meaning one that defends/protects, and like all great things Greek, its forged from tragedy. It certainly foreshadowed the early years of Alex's life.

My parents divorced when Alex was four, so he didn't really know my dad all that much growing up. He had my grandfather as a father figure, but he passed away when Alex was seven due to cancer. A final blow came three years later when my mom passed away from the same disease - Alex had to deal with pretty traumatic experiences all before he turned 11. Needless to say, this didn't help his teenage years - he struggled through high school, finding it hard to deal with expressing his feelings over the losses he'd suffered. I wasn't the best brother at this time. I stepped in and behaved more like a father, which I'm sure he didn't appreciate. This role didn't really stop until he got himself to university, to which my entire family breathed a sigh of relief.

In university, he excelled, scoring a 90% average in his first year (helped by an impressive 100% in chemistry) - needless to say, I was floored. How could a kid who I yelled at for five years to do better at school put me to shame in the grades department? Alex finally found something he loved to study - the sciences and his attitude and demeanor totally changed. He matured, he became less reactionary and he was better at controlling his emotions. I always told him he was smarter than I was, he just never applied himself until now.

At the same time, I stepped away from being the dad and started to be his brother - something of which I've since apologized for and he's admitted he had sometimes appreciated. Slowly but surely over the last three years, we've worked on becoming better brothers and friends - both helping each other through the death of our grandmother and having great chats about the next chapters of our lives (with him, it's med school, with me, it's my travels).

At dinner yesterday, I finally told him how proud I was of him for the transformation he's made over the years. I told him how great it was to be his brother and I told him how proud he should be of himself for learning such great independence, even though it was forced upon him. It's something I should have told him much earlier in life, but now was as much of a good time to share that before I head halfway around the world. In the end, I'm grateful we had this chat, it's made me hopeful that our bond will just grow stronger as the years progress.

Being Disconnected = Always Being On Time

I must confess, over the last five years, I've let being punctual to events slide. I was always really good about being on time during high school and university, but for some reason, when I started working, punctuality was thrown out the window.

A big part of that, I believe, was the fact I was so connected with people. A quick email, SMS, BBM or Facebook post was an easy way to excuse yourself for running late. In fact, that was probably a motivation in me not getting ready in time because I knew I could always send a simple text and it'll all be okay.

Over the last two days, I've been without cell phone and internet at home. I've been forced to steal wifi from Starbucks and other coffee shops to catch an hour or two of connection with the outside world - to make my appointments and slot them into my iCal. I've noticed one key thing - I've been early and on time for every appointment so far. The fact that I'm not connected means I have no ability to contact people that I'm late, which forces me to always be on time.

Perhaps this not being connected thing wasn't such a bad idea after all. Who knows, maybe I'll start spending my time on other (more productive) things now that I don't have the internet or TV to distract me.

Now, if the people I'm meeting up with were actually on time...(cough) Jean George...

Tom and Kathleen's Big Day!

I've heard before that a wedding is one of the only days that all of your loved ones gather to express their undying love and happiness to you. Can you guess the other one is? (To avoid spoiling the mood of the post and to keep you reading on, I've answered it at the end of this post - DON'T SKIP AHEAD).

I had the pleasure of attending Kathleen Ko's and Tom Chang's wedding in Costa Rica this week. As mentioned in my previous post, Costa Rica is a stunning country - beautiful landscapes, wildlife and incredible adventures. However, the wedding was the main event, the reason why we were all there and there was so many things to say about this fun event.

We started off the day with the complementary breakfast at the hotel. At that time, I asked Kathleen in a mocking manner, "Are you going to cry?" She responded in her normal, humourous manner - "No, Tom's going to cry first!" She knows her hubby well, there were some tears flowing during their vows.

While the bridesmaids spent most of their day prepping the venue, the rest of the guests lounged by the pool, taking in the Costa Rican sun and sipping fruity drinks while waiting for the time where we had to dress up and get on a bus to the actual venue. It was an exciting (but bumpy) trip up to the other resort where the wedding was to take place. All were dressed in nice beach (yet formal) clothes and we were all ready to have a great time.

When we got to the venue, we were greeted on the beach with a lovely gazebo with about a dozen or so chairs in front - prime seats to witness the happiest day of Tom and Kathleen's life. The ceremony's backdrop was the beautiful Pacific Ocean - waves crashing on the sands, a calm breeze danced with the white sheets draping the simple gazebo, and soft volcanic black sand massaged your feet. The ceremony started quickly (to take advantage of the remaining sunlight for photos) and the happy bride and groom greeted each other while the Officiant read slowly her list of wishes for Tom and Kathleen. Readings were given by Tim, the groom's brother - the lyrics from I Wanna Grow Old With You. Two of the lovely bridesmaids then read Kathleen's favourite childhood story - "All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarden" by Robert Fulgham. These two readings reflected the fun personalities of the pair - both readings were simple and truthful.

When it came time for the vows, it was easy to see the love these two had for one another. Choking back tears of happiness, the two exchanged words that were only meant for the other, while friends and family looked on. What was so clear in this moment was that these two have found their soulmate - their go-to person that will love and cherish them for the rest of their lives. So lucky are they to have found that other person so early in their lives as they have the rest of their long lives to enjoy every moment being husband and wife.

Once the ceremonies were over, the happy couple strolled down the aisle, while guests waved handmade ribbon streamers to show their happiness for the two. We sat for dinner as the sun went down - a beautiful array of food that highlighted the best of Costa Rica fare. We listened to wonderful speeches from the Maid of Honour, the Best Man and the respective families - laughs and tears were abundant.

The guests were asked to write a postcard with their best wishes to the happy couple - which will be sent to them later down the line - a great idea to capture the guests' feelings for Tom and Kathleen to read and enjoy later as they receive the notes one at a time in the mail.

Dancing was the final chapter to that evening's delightful activities. We partied - taking shots and ripping up the dance floor. The best part was Mrs. Ko, Kathleen's mother, who outdanced everyone - a lovely surprise that brought a huge smile to Kathleen's face. As we closed off the evening, people were still dancing before we headed to the vans that took us back to the resort.

As I checked how many photos I took at the ceremony later that evening in my hotel room, I noticed that it was well over 400. With the old saying, each picture is worth 1,000, there was so much to say about this wedding that this blog can't do justice for.

To the happy couple - Tom and Kathleen, I'm so blessed to have been a part of your big day. You two are truly meant for one another, and judging by the love I saw that day from the two of you, from your friends and from your family, you'll never run out of that happy emotion. I want to wish you the very best to the start of your new life together - may you laugh everyday, even when you're saggy and wrinkly. Thank you for organizing such a great trip and a beautiful wedding - this will certainly be a day people will be talking about for years to come.

Oh yea, the answer to the first question...your funeral. (Cue Debbie Downer music - hahaha).

Costa Rica - a land of endless beauty

When the small country of Costa Rica gained its independence from Guatemala back in 1821, the newly formed country went by a new name - The Rich Coast. While those who were naming it were talking mostly about the richness of the resources found in the country (due to millions of years of volcanic activity, there's minerals galore), I believe the Rich Coast has to offer a wealth of natural beauty, culture and adventure.

I was there for Tom and Kathleen's wedding and honestly, they couldn't have picked a better location. I arrived at the Flamingo Resort and Spa in Guanacaste (an hour outside of Liberia) and immediately hit the pool for sun and relaxation. This wedding was a bit of a reunion of sorts and also an opportunity to meet some new faces.

The first two days were incredibly lazy and relaxing. My routine consisted of breakfast, pool, walks on the beach, pool, naps, pool, and sun x infinity. It was great to be able to do absolutely nothing and have no time restrictions. Replacing meetings, status calls, contact reports and other mundane Account Management jobs with those activities made me grin like a baby who just pooped their diaper, knowing someone had to change me shortly. (Sorry, probably not the best simile to use).

We started off the first two evenings with drinking games and a night out in Tamarindo at a bar called Sharky's. There, we crooned to awesome Karaoke songs and confused everyone at the bar as to the invasion of 20 or so Asian people drunk off their asses. Drinking games on Monday night helped the group bond and connect by laughing at one another's ineptitude when it came to abiding by drinking game rules. Always have a lookout when the Queen of Thumbs is played!

Thursday was the big wedding day (a separate post about the wedding will come later) but safe to say, it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies ever. A clear, breezy evening, with the sun slowly starting to set in the background, was the perfect backdrop for Tom and Kathleen to exchange their vows. Surrounded by a small but loving group of friends and family, the happy couple said some of the most touching words to each other that I've ever heard. Their love for each other was palpable, and their happiness showed in the big smiles they carried throughout the evening. We feasted on a great meal that the bride carefully picked out and listened to speech after speech from loved ones who professed their best wishes for Tom and Kathleen. The love expressed that evening was touching - especially the love from their respective parents. We all danced the night away while trying to drink the bar dry before 10pm. Best of all, their parents danced like it was their job and really became the highlight of the evening when they all joined Kathleen and Tom in a circle and danced the happy dance.

We spent our time wisely and got in a few adventure tours - on one day, we did ziplining, horseback riding, slid down an out of this world waterslide in the jungle and enjoyed a peaceful mud bath and hot springs; on the other, we did more ziplining (this time, it included a Tarzan jump) and after a day of zipping through over 3KM of ziplines, we relaxed at the most gorgeous resort overlooking the Aranale volcano, located in central Costa Rica. The Springs Resort in Costa Rica - a recommend for any honeymooning couple.

I cannot tell you how much fun I've had during my one week stay. This was certainly the 1st Chapter of a great adventure to come. I was so lucky and so happy to be a part of Tom and Kathleen's new adventure as a happily married couple and was blessed to have hung out with lively and friendly people during my stay.

If any of you need tips for Costa Rica, let me know! I'd be happy to give my suggestions!