About Me

Born October 18, 1980 in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

The first school I attended for day care at the age of 2 was Montesorri School in Scarborough. I went to Montcrest School for junior kindergarten when I was 4 and then a relatively big location change occurred. On December 7th 1983, my parents opened up a pharmacy near the intersection of Yonge and Carlton (aka College St.) in downtown Toronto. Subsequently, my parents and I moved in May 1984 to a townhouse close to my parent's pharmacy. This home called Granby St. affectionately named after the street it is on is the place where I grew up and spent most of the childhood that I can remember. For senior kindergarten I attended Whitney Junior School in the Rosedale area of Toronto and for grades 1 to 4 I went to Rosedale Public School.

Symbol of Canada's Role in World War 2:

The Raid on Dieppe

The two schools that affected my later academic and non-academic life the most were Royal St. George's College (grades 5-6) and Upper Canada College (UCC, grades 7-13). During the time I was attending UCC my parents sold their pharmacy (October 31st 1994), but we continued to live in the same place. Also during this time, I was confirmed as a Roman Catholic at St. Monica's Church in Toronto. This spiritual step was an important since it solidified my beliefs which up until then were not "confirmed" religiously. I underwent a strong liberal arts education in the last two schools mentioned studying English, social sciences, math, sciences, French, computers, and art. I participated in a variety of teams over the years from swimming (my favourite sport and most long standing), track and field, soccer, and cross country. At UCC, I also enjoyed participation in the Science Club which organized various events from science fairs, conferences, to student associations.

Up until my graduation from UCC in May 1999, I have visited different places around the globe from countries in Europe, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Bermuda, Bahamas, the United States, and some cities in Canada. One of these places which has had a big impact on my life so far has been Ithaca, New York. Ithaca, sometimes termed "in the middle of nowhere" and also "gorges" (a pun on the word gorgeous since Ithaca boasts of many scenic gorges in the region) is where the beautiful campus of Cornell University lies. I started going to Cornell in August 1999 in the Arts and Sciences College and lived in Clara Dickson Hall on North Campus. Over my first two years, I lived in the wonderful program house called the Multicultural Learning Living Unit (within Dickson Hall) which boosts of a motto "where diversity lives" confirmed by its great cultural programs. Initially, I wanted to be an economics major coming from a liberal arts background, but over the summer before I attended Cornell had a "change of psychological venue". I decided to pursue a study in Cornell's Engineering College, though I hadn't yet decided which one. As a result, I began to fulfill engineering course requirements during the first semesters at Cornell. During the summer of 2000 I worked for an Internet Company called Argun gave me an excellent experience in web-based software and business. Due this job and various reasons ranging from interest, desire for challenge, and course paths I finally landed into my present situation in which I am prepared to major in Computer Science and Mathematics in the Arts College. The actual nitty-gritty story of how I came about to this potentially life altering decision is much longer and I may decide to write about it later, but for now these reasons are good enough.

Aside from academics, I have participated in Cornell's various on-campus groups. Because I had come from the Science Club in high school I decided to seek a different path in terms of service to the community and school. I decided to participate in two environmental organizations. One called Educate for the Earth was an educational organization whose primary audience was kids in grade school. I enjoyed this teaching experience and presentation planning for young people involving environmental issues that I slowly became aware of as time progressed. The second one was called the Ithaca Environmental Coalition, which was a group that consisted of the environmental groups at Cornell and Ithaca College. Its goal was to rally organizations together and establish a cooperative effort for Earth Day. I was also part of a the community service committee in the program house I lived in and was a member of the Cornell Campus Catholic Church sacristan group. For exercise, I often attended practices with the Cornell Gymnastics Club which regularly practiced in Teagle Hall initially with the girl's team but later independently. This club was effectively a beginner's experience for me since prior to the club I had only taken a gymnastics class here at Cornell but I have discovered a new interest and shows that you cannot be too old for something as rigorous as gymnastics.

During the summer 2001, I am took summer courses at Cornell and worked as a teaching assistant for Cornell's Explorations in Engineering program. Also, I went biking Ithaca over the summer and I had fun on the hilly landscape and found some "fairly" flat routes. Some established bike routes around the Finger Lakes region can be found here. Life was quite interesting in the fall of 2001 with my first higher level math courses in algebra and differential equations. Of course, any recount of 2001 would not be complete without mentioning the events of the devastating terrorist suicide attack on New York City on September 11th, 2001 which will be remembered in history and may its resolution bring peace to our minds again regarding this atrocity against the people affected. The Cornell campus and no doubt many parts of the world were affected by this event and it is one of those events where you will never forget where you were when you heard about it. I heard about it over lunch in Willard Straight Hall and I remember my initial feelings were mainly of shock and my mind completely focused on that event and its destructive effects which removed my concentration on studies for a while. Later in February 2002 I attended a "dinner & dialogue" that addressed Cornell's response to the events and provided a good reminder of the seriousness of these events but also what we might learn from them - again emphasizing the value of history, no matter how recent.

During the fall, I completed a project in a computer science research course and am presenting the results at Cornell's 2002 Bits On Our Minds (BOOM). During this spring semester, I believe I am taking my heaviest load credit hour wise and difficulty ever since I came to Cornell. The good thing is they are all courses I enjoy, especially a language course in Latin. Also, I am now working on a semester long computer science class project involving generating PDF versions of the US Legal Code from an existing site at the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. In the sports side, I've taking up skating a fair amount at Lynah Rink at Cornell and managed to beef up on my old skills and learn some spins and backwards skills. Skating of course tied well into the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.

Just a little fun, here is the result of a personality test I took on the internet. It's quite scary because the test is actually a pretty accurate description of a part of my personality. Take it for yourself and see!

You come to grips more frequently and thoroughly with yourself and your environment than do most people. You detest superficiality; you'd rather be alone than have to suffer through small talk. But your relationships with your friends are very strong, which gives you the inner tranquility and harmony that you require. You do not mind being alone for extended periods of time; you rarely become bored.