All Of Me (On My Own)
Hello World! I am writing to you from
the heart of downtown Toronto, Canada.
To get the formal introduction out of the way, my name is
David (Che Leung) Chow. I was thrown into this cruel world on a tiny island
called Honk Kong. In 1969, our family immigrated
to Vancouver for 6 months then Calgary,
Alberta - home of the 1988 Winter Olympics, when I was just a babyrice.
I guess that makes me a 'Lo Wah Q' Canadian up here in the 'Great White North'.
I studied classical music at the University of Western Ontario majoring in the violin. I was young then (but not pretty) and thought that I would lead a poor but romantic life. The closet kinda got in the way too in my first year, but I somehow managed to come out of it. In the graduating year, I took a course in computer music and got completely hooked on artificial intelligence and synthesizers (yeah right, get a life). So I decided to complete a second degree in Computer Science from the University of Calgary. I know, a really weird combo. Oh well, now I work in the IT department for a local telecommunications company. My ideal is still to find work that would combine my two areas of interest - preferably back in Asia. Feel free to check out my resume by downloading the MS-Word document.
Not surprisingly, I enjoy classical music a lot. At one time,
I was Concert Mistress then Conductor of the Toronto gay community
orchestra - Counterpoint. Now, I’m pursuing a more
intimate level of enjoyment with playing more chamber music. My pianst Raymond
and I are looking very hard to find a cellist to play the Smetana
Piano Trio. Any takers?!?
Lets see, another interest is photography, especially B&W darkroom enlargements. I finally converted my second bathroom into a temporary darkroom. I’m starting to do photo sessions for my friends. All my life, I’ve always been behind the camera. Now I decided to ‘come out’ and make a bold (a little late) appearance on the other side of the lens - scary concept - see my Up Close and Personal section.
I love watching films, but more the non-Hollywood and foreign ones though.
These days, I only catch on the big screen those mega budget ones with
70mm format or loud THX Digital Dolby stereo. It's kinda sad that there
ain't much to see after the special effects are taken away. The more artsie
films I like are too numerous to name but I wanna mention my
favorite soundtracks are from 'Cinema Paradiso' and Morricone's
'The Mission'.
I'm not much of a label or fashion queen. With my tacky taste, are you kidding? I usually have to rely on my boyfriend to help me out. As for outward appearances, I am quite a down to earth jeans and t-shirt kinda guy. Also I prefer my bf not to be obsessed with colognes and expensive line of clothes. It's not the clothes that makes the man but the man that makes the clothes - ie: Brian Adams. Spend the money on brain candy instead!
These days, I have ripened to a 'mellow fellow' who prefers softer music - mainly love songs. I haven't deterioated yet to shopping mall MUSAC yet! I like all the slow songs of Phil Collins, Striesand, Carey, Whitney, Midler, Dion, Roche Voisine (so cute!!) and Elton John. My oldies include Cat Stevens and the Carpenters (that explains why I'm anorexic). I don't quite relate to alternative music like Lawrenc Welk.
Having my first condo makes me really feel like an 'adult' (like having more than 100 bucks in the wallet) and quite exciting (see my Home Improvements section). I enjoy entertaining friends and cooking candlelight dinners in my cozy abode. For me, there’s nothing like good food with good friends and stimulating conversations deteriorating over a couple of bottles of wine. Oh, I immensly appreciate wine (especially French) too!
Actually, I love many things French; culture, language, wine, cheese,
Impressionism, 'les mecs', etc. In 1992, I took almost a year off to live in
Paris
and other parts of Europe with just $3200 U.S. and my violin. I had
to live out my idyllic
fantasy and went soul searching using Paris as my romantic backdrop.
Every morning I woke up to the smell of fresh croissants from three
bakeries just below my comfy small studio in the Latin Quarters by the
Pantheon.
After my cafe au lait in a bowl, I practised my violin by the french
windows overlooking a small but quaint courtyard.
In the afternoon, I usually played tennis with my friends in the Bois de Vincent and then go to work in the evening at a French restaurant by the Bastille. Then the night life would start at 1 a.m. till the subway reopens at 6 a.m.! Before I left Paris, I went bicycle riding through all my favorite vineyards in France lunching on my usual croissants, rillette, brie, and a full-bodied red. I miss those days - c’est la vie!
The downside of owning a condo is that I’m not a D.I.N.K (Dual Income No Kids). My social life suffered considerably when most of my paycheck goes up in mortgage smoke. One solution I guess is not to find a boyfriend who is still doing homework! Since I also detest the Canadian cold, I hibernate for most part of the winter and rarely go out.
My pathetic social life can be summed up by how many reruns I’ve seen
of "Castles of Europe" and "Ancient Mysteries" on
The Learning Channel.
However, being a Renaissance Man, I have broaden my horizons with
shows like The Tick, Spiderman,
Gargoyles,
old reruns of Law and Order,
and an occasional sprinkle of FRIENDS.
Oh, I’m also a Trekkie and a fan of the X-Files.
As you can tell, I'm more westernized than most Hong Kong Chinese I don't bury my head deep in Mahjong for 5 hours a night but I do have a poor man's version of karoke (on video tapes rather then laser discs).
Let's see, what else ... In the summer, I like to bicycle and play tennis.
I used to like downhill skiing and backpacking in the Rockies when I lived
in Calgary, but no more. Since I had back and knee surgery, I do even less
now. I used to like working out at the local YMCA but then it got too
crowded and expensive. Now I just try to stay in shape in my condo's small gym.
Oh, lastly, I hope someday to have a boyfriend, golden retriever, and a Miata (not necessary in that order though - please send photo of Miata).
There you have it folks! My pathetic life - elaborated with double spacing on a single web page and set to a background of MUSAC. I'm not quite happy with this page, so I will probably be rewriting it anyway.
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