kevin

About - The Wongs The Wongs

Kevin

There are many facets to this Chinese Canadian. A believer that skill and knowledge acquisition benefits everyone, 24 hours a day never is enough to do everything I want to do. My prime interests include (in no particular order) cooking, eating, reading, designing websites, playing the piano, playing sports, traveling, and spending time with family.

Who am I?

I don't typify most people's image of a Canadian. Sure, I was born and raised in Canada, but I have never lived in an igloo, I didn't know about the new Prime Minister until 6 months after he was elected, and I don't even say "eh" (unless you ask me to). But I do like hockey.

Chef Wong

"I cook to eat." I bet that's a lot of people's slogans, and it's true with me. Most of my training came from my parents and grandma, but I find a lot of joy in reading cookbooks, taking cooking classes, and watching cooking shows. It's not uncommon that you'll see me volunteering to cook for a friend (or his grandma), just to be able to spread the palette-friendly aspects of my culture. One of these days, I'd like to go through culinary school - not because I want to become a chef in a fancy restaurant (though that would be fun), but because I just want to learn.

Mmm...food...

Eating? Who doesn't like to eat? Talyn & I have a lot of fun in trying out new, highly recommended restaurants, and treating ourselves out. My frugal side tells me that all that money gets digested right away, but my palette doesn't seem to mind. My philosophy is: skip the fast food and save up for a nice meal.

This website

We wouldn't even have a website if I didn't enjoy doing it. I've never counted how many hours I've spent on our website to get it just the way I like it, but I'm sure it's a quite a bit. It's what I do on the bus to and from work. Most people in North America try to stay away from the bus, but I figure I can do a lot more with my time by taking public transportation (plus, I save a lot of money & headaches). It may surprise you, but more than half of the time spent on this website was done riding the bus. What do you do on your way to work?

Piano

8 months. That's how long I've practiced the piano, if you put all practice sessions back-to-back, without sleeping, eating, or doing anything else. Has it been worth it? In retrospect, yes, but if you were to ask me while in high school, I wouldn't have been so sure. There's not much else more satisfying than appreciating years of hard work. Plus, I now have a title next to my name, though A.R.C.T. doesn't mean much to people in the business world.

Travel

For the first 23 years of my life, I yearned to travel but never got out of the North American bubble. Just like Talyn, the first country outside of the US & Canada that I went to was Fiji. How's that for a first? We also lived in Belgium and toured parts of Western Europe, but my travel inclinations have always been to Asia, and more recently, Central/South America. If only this world were a little smaller.

French

Having gone to French Immersion school for 10 years, I despised French growing up. How interesting it is, however, that once I was no longer required to speak it, I started to love the language. Not only the interesting vowel sounds you have to make and letter combinations you don't sound out, but the opportunity that it has given me to get to know a different culture.

Spanish

Spanish was much easier to pick up because of French, plus the loving Hispanic people helped me learn their language as I served an LDS mission in Miami, Florida for two years. Never had I known a people more friendly and accepting as I did while serving the Lord.

What more?

What would I do with my life if I had more than 24 hours in a day? Acquire more skills & knowledge. I'd learn auto mechanics, carpentry, painting, skiing, Cantonese, and who knows what else. I'd live in China, South America, and Australia, and travel the rest of the globe. There's so much that this world has to offer!