Racism is just “peachy"!

I received the text at 1:38 PM on Friday. It read: “Isabella just told me that she didn’t get invited to a classmate’s birthday because she is not peach!!”

My immediate reply back to my wife’s text was: “Hmmm, let me think about this one. Luv U.” Well, that’s what I wrote. In the meantime, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Was I misreading the text? Could someone have actually said that to Isabella? Had Isabella misunderstood the conversation?

As I was trying to make sense of this, I asked the local library to put bunch of books on hold so at least I can tackle this issue intellectually. I’ve seen way too many kids being discriminated against based on their race, gender, and sexual preferences, religious and political beliefs, who subsequently were depressed. I had two friends in high school that attempted suicide because they were “Goth” and others couldn’t stop picking on them. I will never allow my child to go down that road.

That night, my wife and I decided to go to a local Japanese restaurant for dinner. As we settled around the table, I asked my daughter about what I heard and here’s what she said: “Well, my friend (name omitted) really wants to be friends with me and invite me over to her birthday party at her house but she says that her mother doesn’t like brown people so I am not invited”.

I nearly fell off my chair!

I asked Isabella how she felt about that and she said: “I don’t understand, I’m not even brown”. Yup, she’s right… but my lovely wife, who happens to be her beautiful mother, is! What is going on? These kids are 5 years old and shouldn’t even see colour never mind discriminating against one-another! I thought we’re moving forward with this whole “global village” ideology! Why does it feel like we keep taking the not-so-right path?

And it suddenly hit me: I should feel bad for that kid and her family as they’re going to have a very tough time in this world of ours as borders become blurry with the advancement of technology that has given us social networking sites and mobile communication tools. They are the ones who are going to live sheltered and “bland” lives. How sorry I feel for that family that refuses to embrace the beauty of colour that our world offers.

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. As I was dealing with this issue, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek episode called Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching it. By far, this is one of my best beloved and most memorable Star Trek episodes.

PPS. I also feel sad for the kid as she’ll grow up and never taste Butter Chicken, Rotti, Dal, Sabji, and other wonderful Indian cuisines… how sad! Let’s hope she’ll grow up to be different.

Father’s Week

I believe that everyone has one defining moment in life. If one is lucky, someone has a camera in hand so that moment in time is beautifully captured and will live forever.

I was lucky enough to have a friend to do just that.

Picture: Courtesy of Loc V., who took this picture
without my knowledge (thank you!).

Past week has been a special time for me where I have been showered with love. Isabella, my beautiful daughter, wished me a “happy father’s day” every morning when she woke up, afternoons and evenings. However, there were two moments last week that made me feel like the “King of the World”.

I walked into Isabella’s bedroom last Wednesday to read her a bedtime story, as we have done since she was about a year old. At that very moment, Isabella looked at me and said “I love you”. She followed that with “I really love you”. Stunned, I asked what she meant by that. She said: “Daddy, you are the kindest dad ever; you are gentle and loving; you make everything fun. I love you.” For the first time in my life, I felt what the love of a child can do to his or her father.

Notice the beautiful tie around my neck? It has drawings
of everything that I like.

Next evening, Isabella’s child care centre put together a “picnic” for the students and their fathers (uncles, grandfathers, guardians, and mothers). After having our pictures taken at the park, I was approached by one of Isabella’s teachers. With a smile on her face, the teacher looked at me and said: “You have no idea how much your daughter adores you; she thinks the world of you. There’s not a single day that Isabella doesn’t share a story about you. The whole day all we hear is ‘my dad does this and my dad does that’”. For the second time in as many days I was speechless. I really didn’t know how much Isabella loved me until now.

I hope that everyone can experience the same type of love at some point in his or her life; I may have discovered the meaning of life: It’s Love!

To my lovely wife, thank you for giving me your love and two beautiful children!
Love you "All My Life"!

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. I wish you all a very happy father’s day for the rest of your lives as a Son, a Father, a Grandfather, or a Guardian! And a very special “happy father’s day” to those mothers that have to play the role of both parents.



This was my wonderful gift bag from Isabella. In addition, I received 2
Father's Day cards per day from Isabella.

1994 Riots: Only a year later…

So not only we did not win the Stanley Cup, but our city and province received a black eye thanks to rioters, businesses lost money thanks to looters, and history was made yet again but not for the right reasons.

As I write this blog, I am watching live footage on television from the most recent riot that is taking place in and around Downtown Vancouver.

So what happened? Here’s my assessment:

• City of Vancouver overestimated the maturity of the general public based on how well behaved the crowds were during the 2010 Winter Olympics. The participants’ demographics are so different that any comparison was purely a mistake.
• Cities continue to underestimate the impact of alcohol on general public… let’s face it: Alcohol makes good people do bad things.
• Yet again, Vancouver Police Department failed in its preparations. As always, officers were outnumbered by thugs. Perhaps we’ll hire more police officers from the neighbouring provinces next time around.
• We had people watch a violent, albeit beloved, sport with no way of releasing the built up tension. Some analysts have even called this series one of the “dirtiest” Stanley Cup series ever. Violence brews violence.
• City of Vancouver does not want to be held accountable for its mistakes so it continues to point fingers at others for the mishaps that occur within the city borders. Once again, City Hall Officials, Vancouver Police Department, media and Downtown residents continued to blame “suburbanites” and non-Downtown residents for the riot. I guess I failed to notice all the violent idiots that live in and around Downtown Vancouver. To resolve a problem, one must recognize that there’s a problem.
• Vancouver continues to lack the infrastructure that can support large events. I’m no city manager, but I would think that stuffing large crowds in small and uncontrolled environment could be dangerous.

I was a Downtown resident during the 1994 riots; I was 22 at the time and I did not participate in the riots.

I am now a 39 year-old Surrey resident. Earlier today, after speaking with my wife, we agreed that it would be a great idea to take the kids Downtown so they can be part of a Stanley Cup history. Gosh, was I ever wrong. We left the siren-filled city with me having to reassure my 5 year-old daughter that everything will be just fine as we walked over to our car.

Sadness filled my heart as I began to drive away from Downtown Vancouver over Cambie Street Bridge while watching a rising dark cloud of smoke through my rear-view mirror.

We have a long way to go to be a “World Class” city.

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. All the violence overshadowed the hard work of our beloved Vancouver Canucks. What a great season they had!

PPS. It’s safe to assume that at age 39 I did not participate in the 2011 riots either.

Have we won the Stanley Cup yet?

As I anxiously await the start of UFC 131, ooops, I meant the final game of the Stanley Cup playoff, I can’t help but to think about a question that a friend of mine asked a short while ago: Are you going to sign up Brayden for hockey?

I answered the question without the slightest hesitation: No!

Wow, I had never turned heads that fast in a room. No one could believe what they heard. Was Armin kidding? Perhaps Armin didn’t understand the question, so let’s ask him again… are you going to sign up Brayden for hockey?

This time I felt like I needed to answer the question with an explanation: No! I don’t mean any disrespect, but I don’t think I’m ready to sign up my one and only son for a game that after a century of history is still trying to figure out the rules. Disagree? Here’s my case:

• Most analysts agree that referees cannot agree on what constitutes a penalty.
• Sidney Crosby is missing games due to a concussion (yup, he is still under evaluation and his return is still up in the air).
• Mason Raymond suffers a broken back during the opening minutes of game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals but no one is penalized. Some say that Mason may never walk again… if he does, it’ll be a miracle. Let’s hope for the best!
• Nathan Horton suffers concussion from a major blow to his head; Canucks player gets 4 games suspension. On numerous occasions, TV and Radio analysts have said that this was a trade that they would make in a heartbeat, meaning that it’s great to remove Horton from the games at any cost.
• National Hockey League’s Commissioner, Gary Bettman, continues to be ineffective at all levels. When will the league executives wake up and realize the damage this man has done to this great game of ours?
• National Hockey League’s Players Association continues to fail the very player it has promised to support. Hmmm, I wonder how Mason Raymond feels about it.

And the list goes on and on!!! I can literally list hundreds of incidences from 2010-2011 season. When will the sponsors decide to pressure the league to remove all (and I mean capitalized ALL) violence from this wonderful sport? When will media begin to pressure the league for some sort of resolution on the “rule books”?

Can we please go back and play hockey the way hockey was meant to be played? Can we go back to the time when parents signed up their kids hoping that one day the little ones would end up being the “Great One”? Can we rewind the clock to the time when parents didn’t have to watch their kids getting hurt on the ice? Can we go back to the time when there were no “Stop” sign on the back of the jerseys?

Until we can say “yes” to the above questions, I will refuse to sign up my son for hockey (or at least until he begins to pressure me into signing him up).

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. I watched my brother’s hockey career come to an abrupt end with a knee injury… it wasn’t pretty!

PPS. I will be watching the game from between my fingers while biting my nails. Go Canucks Go!

Finding Beauty

Before I start, I would like to thank you for reading my blogs. Also, I would like to thank you for retweeting and updating your Facebook status with my quote from yesterday’s blog, I stopped and smelled the flowers!, which read “appreciate what life has to offer more often as it’s a gift with an expiry date”. I had no idea that so many would like this quote. What an honour!!!

Many of you had asked about the pictures. Others wanted to know where I went and what kind of camera I used.

Well, I have a confession to make; those pictures were taken with my BlackBerry’s 2.0 megapixle camera. The beautiful sceneries are not from any exotic location. Pictures were taken from random bushes and plants in and around parking lots and local gas station. The picture of palm trees was taken at the front of Delta Hotel & Conference Centre in Burnaby. And the river is a little creek that “snakes” throughout Burnaby. These zoomed-out pictures should help J

Parking lot in Burnaby, BC



This is where the "river" runs... right below Beta Street in Burnaby!

The pictures of the yellow flowers were taken by this parking lot!



And here're the palm trees... many didn't believe that the picture was from here :)

Which brings me to the point of my story: We’re surrounded by beauty no matter where we look. Some places may require us to look a bit harder than usual; beauty is there, I promise!

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. May you be lucky enough to find peace and beauty in and around you at every turn.

I stopped and smelled the flowers!

It was one of the best short trips I had ever taken. It had everything I was looking for: I was surrounded by flowers of every colour, river calmly flowing down its predestined route, warm weather, bees buzzing and hopping from one flower to the next, butterflies flying overhead, gentle early summer breeze moving the leaves on the palm trees from side to side. And there was silence!

I’m not sure how, but I managed to tune out all background city noises for about 20 minutes until I was rudely interrupted by the siren of a police car, which was trying to stop someone that ran a yellow (going to red) light.

                              

Long story short, I was taking my daily walk to my neighbourhood Starbucks when I noticed Mother Nature’s beautiful annual gift to us that we call summer. But how often do we take the moment and admire the beauty of this wonderful gift right here at home? How often do we stop what we’re doing and appreciate what life has to offer?

I don’t know about you, but I was one of those people that loved vacations. I felt most relaxed when I was away on a trip in a foreign land. I never thought of being at home, in my own city, as vacation, which in turn stopped me from enjoying life on a daily basis. However, as I get older, I’m beginning to appreciate those little things in life. I’m learning to relax and be one with myself whenever I get a chance, even if it’s only for 20 minutes.

My pledge to myself: Appreciate what life has to offer more often as it’s a gift with an expiry date.

Thank you for reading,

Armin

PS. On your way, don’t forget to stop and admire the summer; your body and mind will thank you for it.

We’re all Canucks (most of the time!)

Those that know me know that I stopped watching hockey right after the players’ strike / National Hockey League’s lockout back in 2004-5, when the whole season was cancelled. I was also tired of the nonsense violence that plagues the NHL (body checks, head shots, fights, etc.). Besides, I’m a die hard fan of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

However, something magical happened on Saturday, June 4, 2011. I started paying closer attention to hockey and the Vancouver Canucks.

On that remarkable day, we dropped our daughter, Isabella, off with her aunt so she can have a play-date with her cousins. Instead, all the kids were glued to the television set watching the Vancouver Canucks versus Boston Bruins game.

Isabella (left), her cousins, and baby brother, Brayden (little one on the right), getting ready for the big game!

Given that the kids were “busy” with the game and didn’t want to be disturbed, my wife and I said a quick goodbye and went for a walk along the beach in Downtown Vancouver. What a sight: Sun shining and few people walking about as most were watching the game at home; but every once in a while the peacefulness would come to an abrupt end with faithful fans’ screams and cheers cutting through the warm air.

We walked for so long that we ended up at my parent’s place, who were watching the middle of the 2^nd period. Vancouver Canucks won the game and the city erupted. High-fives and hugs for everyone. It seemed as though everybody forgot about their troubles for the night and began to enjoy what life had to offer.

My wife and I decided to wait for a while before picking up our daughter at the end of the night. It was around 11:00 PM when we finally caught up with Isabella and her cousins. It’s safe to say that I had never seen Isabella that excited about a Canucks win (or any other sports team for that matter). She went on and on about how she met so many happy people when she and her cousins (and aunt) took to the streets after the win. She told us about the high-fives from strangers. She told us about how the kids screamed every time the Canucks scored. In a nutshell, she was absolutely energized by the positive energy that was flowing throughout the city.

To be honest, her enthusiasm for the game was contagious. I began to smile with her when she shared her stories.

Suddenly, I realized the importance of sports: It brings neighbours, communities and cities together. It gives people an excuse to cheer or frown together. It allows people to release positive and/or negative energy. It allows people to brag about their successes. It unites people behind one common theme.

It brings families together.

Thanks for reading,

Armin

PS. Go Canucks Go!