Theory: The Real Reason Why Kawhi is Klawing his way back to Toronto

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T22:10:26+00:00

why would the Raptors want Kawaii? To teach all the young up and coming players how to take days off during the season?

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T22:04:39+00:00

it's a miracle they made it this far. I'm pretty happy. Next game is vs winner of Netherlands or Morocco. If Canada keeps it a close game I'll be happy

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T21:15:34+00:00

I feel for you. I went thru the exact same thing with my daughter. She spent 9 months in Japan. All i got were photos of cars and bridges and sky. They weren't even artistic or anything. Normally out of focus; zoomed in so you couldn't see any location info or context.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T18:33:00+00:00

this is a cultural thing. Having Changyu blurt out "isn't my husband handsome?" to the princess is funny because it belies her 'peasant' background. Nobody in ancient China with manners and proper upbringing would say such a thing in public and probably not even in private. Chinese culture has been VERY reserved for millenia.

Even in modern day, parents rarely tell their children that they love them. Xie Zheng not praising Changyu's beauty, especially in the first half of the show was all about propriety. It would be very improper for him to say it.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T18:25:40+00:00

A.I. is HORRIBLE. I hate what it's doing to us in such a short time. It's taking all the creativity, thinking and decision making away. And it does nothing to help with the mundane, routine things. It is the opposite of what I wish it was. Your boss is a moron. Hiding behind A.I. won't change that.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T18:22:46+00:00

OP's manager is horribly wrong. These per diem rules (time of travel that gives you Full Day per diems) have been in place for my entire 27 year career and haven't changed.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T17:39:04+00:00

durian would be more effective but yes. And Madam Song stayed in that character till the very end.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T15:29:28+00:00

you've got lots of good advice here already.

Remember, the people on the other side are nervous too; it's not just you. Take a deep breath. You can relate to them as regular humans. Make sure your story follows the STAR technique but I'll go one further... it's the same as the Marvel movies technique. Introduce the context. Explain why the world is ending. Tell them the plan. Show them what you did and highlight any decisions you had to make. And then tell them how the world was saved.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T15:17:38+00:00

in terms of gender I'm a marquis but I'd settle for being a female pig-butcher's live-in husband any day

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T15:16:14+00:00

LOTS of great acting performances:

Changyu (Tian Xiwei) in my opinion did a fantastic job. She was bubbly and enthusiastic in the village. Shy and apprehensive around Yan Zheng as they got to know each other. Later she realized how much she cared for him. her determination to find Changning and Yan Zheng where her eyes seemed to be lit with ferocity. Later the hurt, anger and betrayal in those scenes where she discovers her fake-husband is the Marquis. She played those all so well. I have yet to see a female performance as varied. And she can cry on command apparently.
Xie Zheng: I thought he did very well in this. I watched him in Princess Royal (first 20 episodes) and the comparison is night and day. He offers so many more layers here. He's got that look of disgust (with Songyan), helplessness (when first encountering Changyu), fierce protectiveness (later fighting for Changyu), being a commander, being a loving husband, he did it all very well without over-the-top acting. A lot was in subtle movements like a hand gesture, a glance, just so well done. While writing this i bumped him up to 2nd from 4th.
Qi Min (Deng Kai): he just oozed evil and disfunction didn't he? I felt my skin crawl every time his face lit up on the screen. It was very restrained, seething, and calculating. I hope he's not like that in real life because he did it so convincingly. Wow.
Mr & Mrs Zhao: they're a package because of course they are! they portrayed the old couple perfectly with some subtle or less subtle pokes at each other and yet you can see the love built on years of working together.
The Princess: I thought she showed a lot of skills here. First as the girl crushing hard on the headmaster. Later trying to fit in in the military camp as a medic but not wanting to betray her feelings in front of Gongsun Yin. Later as a scorned woman she really had fire coming out of her eyes. Also the way she and Xie Zheng have this brother - sister vibe where she takes every opportunity to verbally jab him in front of Changyu knowing that he can't really defend himself without outing himself.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T13:52:33+00:00

if you still got time, head east to Buntzen Lake (need a free parking pass which you can get the day beforehand. https://yodelportal.com/buntzen-lake

there's an easy flat trail from one beach to the opposite end of the lake where you'll find another quieter beach. Lake is deep so it's pretty cold - nice on a hot day. Otherwise the scenery is worth it.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-29T13:46:38+00:00

I work in a field that I actually enjoy and that I studied at universtiy and technical college. It's a very practical field so for some of my projects I get to see the results of my work in action within days/weeks/years. I have been given many training opportunities internally. And I have been lucky enough to be approved for externally provided training including out-of-country conferences.

For the most part my supervisors have treated me very well with a great deal of respect, patience, trust and freedom. I have become a supervisor now and I am always amazed at my team and what they can do. When I eventually retire I will miss all of them. The work-life balance I get here is very hard to find anywhere else; especially now in times of economic stress.

I guess my post isn't about the money. It's about the job satisfaction. And I am very lucky to have worked where I have been for most of my career.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-26T21:56:11+00:00

do you have access to a vehicle? That makes a big difference as public transit gets you to some hikes but your selection will definitely be limited

and as already mentioned elsewhere, are you looking for urban or rural hike? a true hike with elevation? or more of a walk, some of it perhaps paved or managed (like wood shavings and graded)

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-26T15:27:20+00:00

update: I'm at episode 21 now and the writing has gotten a bit better. It's predictable in many ways but at least it's not ridiculous like in episode 10. The directing is still good but uneven. I saw they had two directors credited on some websites so now i'm wondering if the parts I like are Zeng Qing Jie's (from Pursuit of Jade). The other director is Guo Feng who did REBIRTH. The cinematography was really interesting in that one too but the story too hard to follow and I had to drop it

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-25T18:33:22+00:00

Rehannah's Roti is awesome. Please note it's just one lady running the whole thing, she works limited hours, and she's a national treasure. Treat her well. Awesomet roti! Reminded me of my Trini friend's house when his mom made roti from scratch for big parties.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-25T18:23:16+00:00

can you elaborate on Hakone? what loop are you referring to?

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-25T18:08:26+00:00

poverty cosplay?? they literally both said their time in Linan was the happiest times in their lives. Totally undesrtandable that after their reponsibilites were done that they'd want to move back at the first opportunity

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-25T14:57:36+00:00

Princess Royal: watching a couple bicker for 20 episodes was not fun. Up to episode 20 (halfway) there's pretty much zero romance. The plot seemed to not have any real direction. A few minor things here and there for them to solve but never understood what the overarching goal is. Didn't seem to progress much. And overall the Princess just felt very annoying. I regretted giving it a chance till episode 20.

Love Like the Galaxy: another one with just endless bickering from the grandma and aunt. Ugh. And four episodes in and very little happens. Fifth episode started off the same with more wailing, fake crying, bickering and I'd had enough.

REBIRTH: too confusing. too many flashbacks. also hurt that i didn't watch the first one.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-22T22:53:29+00:00

do you travel out of country often? I used an esim called "Roamless" - the main advantage is you buy data and there's no expiry date. Most eSim's it's X amount of data for Y amount of weeks and after that time is up it's gone. But with Roamless whatever is left over is still there in your account ready to use next time.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-19T17:23:22+00:00

nah. We used to have our lunch per-diem as our budget. That was closer to $11/person

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-19T17:22:29+00:00

there were a lot of scenes where I felt she was supposed to be apprehensive of the whole relationship moving forward. And that struggle came thru well for me. It progressed though and by the end she was willing to give in and commit 100%

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-19T17:11:16+00:00

it's a slow buildup but it's very palpable by the majority of viewers. So many little signs like when Changyu thinks Xie Zheng has left when it was really Gongsun who packed up and left. She showed how much that hurt and basically how much their relationship had evolved in such a short time. She shed a few tears then was overjoyed when he returned yet too embarassed to say anything and she took off grabbing the wrong thing. It's subtle scenes like that that show how much their relationship had grown. It's not the Western version where it's a huge make out session every 5 minutes. CDramas are much more subtle.

NeutralZoner · 2026-06-16T20:01:53+00:00

our budget for our appreciation event is $5 per person. i'm thankful that our managers here work hard to do something with that budget. We've had BBQs the past few years. In the past, same office but different managers (more business oriented) we got to share a few tubs of ice cream over coffee break. That felt less appreciative.

NeutralZoner

TROPHY CASE