Petshopboy Confessional.

Welcome to Collingwood Village.

2011-03-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

I made good on my second new years’ resolution today by signing the dotted line on a one-year lease agreement with CONCERT Properties. High up on the 18th floor, my views look out to the collection of buildings in the downtown core with the backdrop of our coastal mountains all around. From Point Grey to the west to the sweeping views of SFU on Burnaby Mountain to the east, and to the dominions immediately below me, I have the envious view of the birds eye.

This unit wasn’t actually on my radar when I visited the rental office. I came to inquire about some other units in other buildings in the neighbourhood when I was informed about this corner unit at The Melbourne. I snapped up this currently unoccupied airspace in a heartbeat.

Top Groupon Customer Appreciation Party!

2011-03-09T14:52:00.000-08:00

An interesting email arrived in my inbox from Groupon last week inviting me to a VIP Top Customer Appreciation Party. Apparently, I had bought enough Groupons in the past year to qualify as a magnificent customer, so I brought along Timela and Paul as my guests to what turned out to be a fabulous party on the rooftop pavilion at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

We were indulged in complementary beer, wine and appetizers while mingling with other top Groupon customers. Blank canvases on easels were set up for anyone with creative flair to dabble paint on and were later awarded as prizes for the draw. The current art gallery exhibits were all for us to explore as well; I particularly loved the WE: VANCOUVER | 12 MANIFESTOS FOR THE CITY exhibit where Vancouver was dissected, documented and displayed for her beauty as a whole. Things like Critical Mass, Vancouver Specials, and our attitudes towards freeway expansion were all laid out in a fun and captivating way.

It was also interesting to see what kind of demographics were into Grouponing. To my surprise, those who came to the party anyway were not just young college students but also Gen-Xers and baby boomers as well. And they were all so fun to be with!

Thanks for the invite, Groupon. My friends and I all had a blast! I guess it pays to be a Grouponer.

Greenest City Camp!

2011-03-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

The City of Vancouver and mayor Robertson’s Green Team put on a wonderful “unconference” to engage the public in talking about green initiatives we can all do to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020.

I volunteered at Green City Camp as one of a few roving photographers for this event which was held at the SFU Centre for Dialogue. It was great to put down the camera once in a while and listen in on some of the lively debates and shared ideals people from every corner of the city contributed.

Vancouver is awesome.

PJ's.

2011-02-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Joanne made it her mission to take me out for some man-hunting and I complied. With the new year, I had made three resolutions for myself, in no particular order: Find a new place to live, exercise more and find a partner.

We were set to go to a place on Davie called 1181 but when we arrived that night, it seemed pretty dead from the outside looking in. Joanne quickly changed plans and dragged me into the bar next door; a place called Pumpjacks.

I’d never thought I would ever set foot inside Pumpjacks, given that this place was frequented by bears in leather; the big and burly hairy types to which I am so not attracted to. Though there were a few who fit that description when I walked inside, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. I still felt the imagined glare on me from the regulars there, thinking how out of place I was. But then I met a guy to whom Joanne and I were sharing the table with and we started talking. His name was Paul and he grew up in Nanaimo as one of only a few Portuguese families there. He does a lot of volunteering work in Vancouver.

Joanne had to run off to work her night shift and so she left me there to carry on by myself. Paul and I moved on next door to 1181 for a change of scene. Echo joined us later. Into the wee hours of the morning, we forged ahead to another venue called Five Sixty, but when we got there, they were closing.

What can you do at three in the morning? I was knackered.

Me and You and Avenue Q.

2011-02-01T00:41:00.000-08:00

The off Broadway musical, Avenue Q, finally made its way north of the border and performed at The Centre in Vancouver this evening. I was amongst a sold-out theatre of fans of puppetry doin’ the nasty and was laughing all the way through the course of the performance. The soundtrack is a must-have addition to anyone’s collection!

Chinese New Year.

2011-01-29T23:58:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year. I could never remember what day is falls on the Gregorian calendar. Fortunately, I have friends who do and invite me to take part in celebrating the new year again. Wesley, the same dude who hosted the Hallowe’en party at his place, had put on another house party to mark this occasion. Between the two parties, Echo and I noticed a trend here: a homogeneity of race. All but one of the dozens of people who came were of asian descent. Granted, this was a Chinese New Year party, but still... Wesley, if you’re reading this, do you have a response to our hilarious observation? ;)

Jan Gehl: Cities for People.

2011-01-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

Imelda and I went to a very interesting speaker event at the Playhouse Theatre this evening. Jan Gehl, a Danish architect well known in circles, gave a speech to an audience of city planners and architects about the importance of building cities for people. The key message I came away with from his lecture was on the three levels of perspectives: a view from the satellite, a view from a plane, and a view from the ground. Of the three, he had stressed that when designing cities, the view from the ground should be paramount, one that many architects fail to see from. Scale is important: the distance in which one has to walk from the street to the building, or the scale between buildings. He had used Brasilia as an example of how NOT to do things: a city designed by planners and architects who only saw things from a satellite view with a complete disregard of the human eye perspective on the ground. Buildings are spread too far apart from one another in a way that it discourages human traffic in the area. There’s no life within, contrary to brochures and blueprints of happy people going about their way.

I hope to participate in many more lectures such as this.

My Brother's Housewarming.

2011-01-14T23:57:00.000-08:00

My brother and sister-in-law invited the whole family over for their housewarming this evening. They had moved into a new four-storey building in Surrey and appeared to quite happy there.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

Echo and I celebrated the end of 2010 and cheered to new beginnings for 2011 at Hennessey. After a few drinkies, we were in really good spirits and spilled out onto the streets at which point I made an effort to carry her on my back to the Canada Line station at Broadway - City Hall. In hindsight, this was a very bad idea as I lost balance within metres from the door. After laughing and rolling on the sidewalk, we picked ourselves up, supported each other and made another attempt to the train station. I don’t remember how we got home.

Cheers to new beginnings.

Christmas Party.

2010-12-24T01:27:00.000-08:00

As a requirement to this evening’s Christmas party at Manuela’s, I had to bring something home-made to the pot-latch dinner and it had to be something uniquely traditional from my country of birth. But because she specifically specified that it may not be from your home country because, and I quote, “since we all consider Canada to be our home now”, I was at a loss as to what to bring to the table since, well, Canada IS my country of birth AND the only country I can call home to.

And so I sent the following email:

I'm absolutely in for your Christmas party on the 24th! If I drink too much Glühwein however, I may have to stay the night!

Aside from my apparent drinking problem, I have yet another predicament. Canada is my country of birth and I still consider it home as well. I made Canadian Butter Tarts last year and thought about baking something else this year from my big book of Kanadisch Kooking Kollektion. But if anything Canadian is forbidden, I guess I could pretend to have just come off the boat from Japan and create a holiday inspired gingerbread sushi. Or how about my Ferrero Rocher maki? Turkey-yaki?

Please tell me that you'll make an exception to the rule for me so that I wouldn't be the only one eating my new creations.

And like the time I went to see my doctor to write me a note excusing me from physical education class in high school, I was excused. Phew! Ferrero Rocher maki does sound pretty good though... I could just hear everyone at the party saying “Monsieur! With these Rocker maki’s, you’re really spoiling us!”

And with that, I slaved away in the kitchen for hours beating eggs, adding sugar, cinnamon, yeast, salt, vanilla extract, soy milk and flour, kneading the dough until it turned elastic. While waiting for the dough to rise, I had sliced and diced McIntosh apples, marinated them in a sugar and cinnamon mixture, and baked them in the oven for about thirty minutes. I took a tennis ball sized clump of dough and flattened it out into a shape of a beaver tail, flash-fried it on a cast-iron pan of canola oil, flipped it into a bowl of sugar and cinnamon mixture, spread Nutella on one side, added the juicy baked apples on top, and dressed it with a little bit of lemon juice.

And voila! Twelve Beaver Tails! The result turned out pretty good considering that this was my first time eating this Canadian pastry and making it too. With comments like “Délicieux!” and “Excellente!”, it was the talk of the party and most everyone asked for the recipe.

From poutine to beaver tails, we Canadians sure know how to eat healthy.

It wouldn’t be a Christmas party without playing Secret Santa, so after desert, we all huddled around Manuela’s ginormous flatscreen TV tuned to the Fireplace Channel and took part in playing wichteln, drawing numbers from a bowl and claiming our prezzies. I won a keychain Maglite with chocolate!

Thanks for hosting such a great party, MSG!

Lantern Festival.

2010-12-21T23:11:00.000-08:00

I went out tonight to the Chinese Gardens with the Vancouver Photography Meetup and friends for the Lantern Festival. While waiting for Tracy and Yuko to show, I ran into Jamie and James of the defunct Vancouver Social Club and their new child in a stroller. Jamie was all big in the belly with a second child on the way.

Lanterns were everywhere inside the gardens, as was to be expected, and really gave the place a different feel all together. Some of the more interesting ones were of the paper stars hanging from the trees and the lotus pods floating on the pond. The cranes around BC Place Stadium looks something like a crown. Having this reflected on the pond inside the garden along with the glass condominium towers nicely juxtaposed the modern with the classic.

PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.

2010-12-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

I can honestly say that the last video game I’d played involved moving around a hungry yellow face around a maze eating dots, lemons and cherries and trying to avoid the ghosts that would follow me around. This was when Google paid tribute to the 20th anniversary of Pac Man earlier this year with it’s interactive Google logo on the homepage. Aside from this one-off, I’d never really been all that interested in games, and for the life of me, can’t understand why or how others can spend so much time with RPGs, first person shooters, and the like.

With absolute certainty, I can say that my childhood upbringing has a lot to do with my disinterest in games; not having ever owned an Atari, ColecoVision, Nintendo, or a SEGA video game console. I was also a bit of a sore loser as a kid and not competitive in nature so it’s easy to understand why I may have avoided playing as often. That’s not to say that I’ve never been exposed to video games, however. I have memories of playing Duck Hunt and Mario games when visiting friends, or playing Tetris on a GameBoy during a family road trip. But with regards to the games that are currently available on XBox, PlayStation, Wii or on a computer, I just don’t see the point and dismiss those who play them as someone who needs help.

While my views on consumers of video games haven’t changed, an appreciation for game developers and musicians commissioned to write music for games had emerged when I learned that the PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was coming to down.

Learning about the names and faces of notable composers, many of whom are Japanese, opened my mind to appreciate their craft. PLAY! was an immersive experience attended by a full house of gamers. Three large screens hung above the choir and orchestra pit projecting videos of games from Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Kingdom Hearts, and many more, interspersed with live video feed of the orchestra and the conductor. The audience was encouraged to cheer, whistle, and applaud throughout the performance. And did we ever!

I was so impressed by tonight’s performance from start to finish that I went out and bought a CD/DVD album and a program guide as a memento of this occasion, then stood in line for autographs from composers Michael Curran and Geoff Knorr (Civilization V), Oleksa Lozowchuk (Dead Rising 2), and orchestra conductor Andy Brick. I was also given a free copy of a 2-disc album soundtrack to Civilization V while queuing.

I shall never forget about tonight’s wonderful musical performance.

As I sit here now browsing through eBay for the original Nintendo Entertainment System complete with the gun, Duck Hunt, and Super Mario Bros. game, I think this video game symphony may have been my foray into the world of video games, twenty-five years late.

VO: Lucia di Lammermoor.

2010-12-04T00:48:00.000-08:00

I went on a little outing in Steveston with Jaygan, Timela, and Jonathan in the afternoon. The breeze made for a chilly day but was still bearable under the heat-lamped patio where we ate lunch. I went for a stroll along the boardwalk with Jonathan afterwards to take in the scene of Steveston Village and captured the beautiful sunset as it slowly sunk under the Fraser River. The Blue Hour is one of my most favourite time of day for photography.

In the evening, I got together with Stephanie and Sonia for another evening at the opera. Tonight was for the opening performance of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor; a common storyline which runs parallel to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

80s Video Dance Party @ The Vancouver Alpen Club.

2010-11-20T01:26:00.000-08:00

So here I was with Manuela at the Vancouver Alpen Club for their 80s Video Dance Party. I’ve always enjoyed 80s night as the music of this decade is so awesome, lively, energetic, and great to dance to. To have a contest open to anyone who looked like he or she just got back from this decade of big hair and neon spandex was the cherry on the parfait.

Although the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Culture Club and a handful of other great artists were absent from the mix, there were plenty of other tunes including some early 90s stuff to dance along to with music video playing on the giant screen.

I met a few familiar faces here that I hadn’t seen in several years; faces from when I was a regular with the German Meetup Group. It was nice to see them again, along with the new faces all having a great time on the dance floor.

A guy wearing a really flashy t-shirt caught my eye. His 3D cube design on the front of his t-shirt actually flashed to the beat of the music and so I just had to see it up close. It was manufactured by a company called Flashwear and attached to the inseams was a little battery box that controlled the sound sensitivity. It was so cool and I knew right there and then that I wanted one of my own.

Sadly, it looks like this party is a yearly thing. They really should have this kind of 80s night every week!

Spoiled Silly.

2010-11-14T00:21:00.000-08:00

I sure spoiled myself silly today and loved every moment of it.

My morning started off with a good breakfast Ieda made for me. The omelet and tea was delicious and just what I needed to start the day: ENERGY! I was running late with my hypnotism session with Kemila so I darted towards the West End right after thanking Ieda for her hospitality.

What felt like an hour under the mystic spell of Kemila was actually twice as long in real time. I may have used the words mystic spell, but I assure you, this was no witchcraft. There are no casting spells, chants, or magic potions to drink beforehand. Hypnotism isn’t like what you see in the movies either where someone dangles a brass pocket watch like a pendulum and asks you to follow its movement using only your eyes. With Kemila, it was purely communication like you would with a friend or at a job interview, discussing things that I’ve been having issues with that I would like to see corrected or at the very least, guidance towards something workable. The problem I brought forth to share was about family dynamics.

I moved on to the couch after Kemila’s preliminary Q & A session and was asked to close my eyes and use my mind’s eye instead. As a very visual person, I painted pictures in my mind and described them out loud for her, falling into a trance easily, drifting in and out of consciousness and delving into the world of lucidity. I felt so relaxed with a blanket over me and cushions all around that when I came back to reality, I felt mentally cleansed.

From getting my mind cleansed, I went to the Miraj Hammam Spa on Granville to get my body cleansed as well. Using the gift certificate given to me on my birthday from Ieda, I’d booked a hammam and gommage session with a thirty minute massage. It was a wonderful experience breathing in the hot water molecules in the steamroom and then getting the rubdown encouraging exfoliation. Shedding away my old skin, I literally turned into someone new! The massage the followed with essential oils being rubbed on me was just as wonderful. Even the tea and biscuits served for me in the drawing room was delicious.

Not a moment too soon, I was out again exposed to the elements of Vancouver’s rain and walked across the Granville street bridge to get my hair cut for my last bit of transformation. The new me. I’m lovin’ it!

This evening ended with a company of friends at WINGS in Coquitlam, which was followed by more drinks and games with the XBOX KINECT at Java’s new abode.

What an awesome day! Must love myself more often. ;)

VAFF: One Big Hapa Family.

2010-11-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

For closing night of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, I went to see Jeff Chiba Stearns’ Ode to a Post-it Note, a short stop-animated film about a Post-it note learning about its creator, followed by his feature debut film titled One Big Hapa Family.

One Big Hapa Family was a documentary which looked into his mixed-race upbringing, and what is means to be a “halfsie” in Canadian culture and society. Having been raised by his European father and Japanese mother in Kelowna, BC, the film tried to explain why over 95 percent of the Japanese marry outside their own ethnic group, the largest ethnic group to do so.

It was very well done, and the Q & A interview with the audience and Jeff Chiba Stearns was captivating. When Stearns went to thank his immediate family and asked them to stand up, I realised that they were all sitting in the row right behind me.

After buying the DVD getting a photo taken, we all moved on to the OPUS hotel for the after-party.

So what’s a Hapa, you might ask? Check out Jeff’s film studio at www.meditatingbunny.com to find out!

A Spooktacular Party.

2010-10-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

I met Wesley a few weeks ago by way of Echo when we all got together for drinks in Yaletown. Wes and I clicked instantly when we both learned about our love for the Pet Shop Boys and of 80s music as a whole. When he told me that he went to see the PSB in concert last year at The Centre and an extra ticket to which he couldn’t find anyone to go with, my jaw dropped and eyes widened in disbelief and jealousy. I SO wanted to go as well but couldn’t find anyone else to go with. I waited too long to purchase a ticket for myself that when the time came, seats were all sold out.

Anyway, we met up a few days later at Yaletown Brewery for a big dinner gathering of friends when he invited me to come out to his Hallowe’en party he was throwing at his house. He called it the Pajama Jam Party where you had to come dressed in a Hallowe’en costume or in pajamas. I came dressed as a bedside table with a lamp shade on my head, complete with a chain link light switch hanging down from my forehead. In other word, I was “The One Night Stand”.

The party was lively with a DJ mixing tunes to keep the energy flowing on the dance floor. Strobe lights were installed and very big speakers were mounted at several corners for big sound. He even had a video projector projecting videos on the wall and ran an open bar in the kitchen. At one point throughout the night, there must have been around forty people dressed in pj’s and costumes mingling with other vampires and jack-the-rippers. Then there was “Slutty Alice”, just like Alice from Alice in Wonderland, only sluttier. And those were her words. I joked about her falling down the wrong hole which cracked all of us up.

I made myself a White Russian at the kitchen bar to let loose and loose my inhibitions and then moved on to the dance floor for a series of free-flowing moves that just came to me with the music. I was doing this in my One Night Stand costume for a while until I got really hot inside and took it off. I wasn’t looking for attention, but people started noticing and girls kept coming up to be complimenting me on my sultry moves. I was even more lively whenever I heard the Pet Shop Boys!

The fact that I was there well past four in the morning is testament to how much I’d enjoyed the party. Wow Wesley. You sure know how to put on a house party!

Vision Vancouver Pub Night.

2010-10-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Apart from the surrounding natural environment this beautiful city of Vancouver is well known for, there are many other facets that make this city incomparable to any other on Earth. From the formation of the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board in 1949 to the subsequent creation of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), the pioneer planners of Vancouver laid down the foundation to pave the way towards a livable region we Vancouverites are blessed with living in today. City planners from around the world come to Vancouver in flocks to see how it all comes together here: mixed-use development of residential and commercial properties, central nodes and arterials creating unique communities, and a functional mass transit system as an alternative to the automobile. Unlike most other metropolitan cities in North America, we have no freeways cutting into or through the downtown core like a knife through the heart of the city.

Transportation was the theme when Vancouver hosted Expo ‘86, which gave birth to the world’s longest automated light metro system we call, SkyTrain, manufactured by Canadian-made Bombardier Inc. Together with a growing network of bike lanes, Vancouver has earned the distinction of, among others, one of the world’s most livable cities and being the greenest city in North America. This livable and sustainable model is what people around the world is calling Vancouverism.

If this city isn’t paradise, it’s the closest thing there is to it.

But we’re not done, nor are we resting on our laurels.

In support of Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision Vancouver team, I went to the Vision Vancouver Pub Night which was held at The Charles, a new venue at the Woodwards building development. In addition to making the Burrard bridge bike lane permanent, literally clearing the way for a separated bike lane along Dunsmuir, and most recently along Hornby street, Robertson, an avid cyclist himself, is leading by action and creating a city I’m proud to call home to. I wore my “BIKE LANES MAKE ME HORNBY” t-shirt with PRIDE.

CBC Massey Lecture with Douglas Coupland.

2010-10-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

Just one week after meeting Douglas Coupland at CBC studios, here we were again, this time at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC for this year’s CBC Massey Lecture where Coupland takes to the stage.

Player One: What Is to Become of Us is divided into five hours (chapters/sections) and the Massey Lecture will be touring across Canada in five cities, with the last chapter reading in Toronto. Chapter One, appropriately, was read in its entirety here at the Chan Centre in Vancouver.

A broadcast of this series can be heard on Ideas with Paul Kennedy from November 8 - 12, and as a podcast thereafter.

Ieda finally got her copy of Player One here and queued in line for her own signed book. It was a delightful evening.

CBC Radio One Book Club with Douglas Coupland.

2010-10-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I’d stumbled upon the CBC evening news crew doing a live broadcast from Central City Square, right across from work. Everyone from Gloria Makarenko, Tony Parsons, Claire Martin and Shane Foxman to the A/V technical team was there. The CBC was doing a travelling roadshow bringing the newsroom from 700 Hamilton to different communities in the lower mainland. Surrey’s mayor, Dianne Watts came out to do an interview and the SFU band played a few notes in the background during takes.

In my conversation with a crew at the CBC tent, I dropped Douglas Coupland’s name, out of which I had learned that he was coming to the CBC Radio One Book Club next month. I was pleasantly elated.

I went online to www.cbc.ca/books/bookclub and found out that the only way to attend this reading and live recording was to write, in 200 words or less, why I wanted to go. My first draft surpassed the 200 word limit two-fold. Here’s what I sent after my revision in exactly 200 words:

I just want to be in the same room with Douglas Coupland.

I missed out on an intimate evening with Mr. Coupland last year at Writers Fest where he discussed his new book, Generation A. It wasn't long before that I began reading his books, starting with JPod, a book I couldn't put down. I then got my hands on Generation X, Girlfriend in a Coma, Microserfs, and The Gum Thief. Currently, I'm reading Life After God.

Douglas Coupland plays a vital role in the fabric of this great nation, just like the CBC to which I am also an avid viewer and listener to. It was when I was conversing with a CBC crew member that I learned about Coupland at the Studio One Book Club.

To be in a room of literary fans and be able to experience the same level of energy shown when Jian Ghomeshi came to do a taping of ‘Q’ last year would be a delight.

According to Doug's Law, "Most of us have only a dozen or so genuinely interesting moments in our lives; the rest is filler." Meeting Coupland will certainly be an interesting moment in my life. I hope I win.

And I did win. Two tickets, actually; one for me and a guest. And naturally, I brought Ieda with me.

This studio recording of North by Northwest hosted by Sheryl MacKay interviewed Canada’s celebrated author, Douglas Coupland, on his new book of fiction titled Player One: What Is to Become of Us, a book he’d written specifically for the CBC Massey Lecture. Coupland read excerpts from Player One and answered many interesting questions from the hosts and audience, drawing upon personal experiences while answering them. And because he grew up in Vancouver and still calls Vancouver home, there’s a more personal level to his engagement with the audience and readers of his books who also reside or grew up in Vancouver.

I bought my copy of Player One here and had him sign it. While sitting down with him for a brief one-on-one interview with questions of my own, he also wrote down a short recommended reading list he thought I might enjoy by other authors.

I love books.

Goupon Day.

2010-10-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

I’ve been told by many friends that I’m Groupon crazy. Perhaps they’re right. Looking at my collection of unused Groupons I’d purchased this year so far, it would seem that I’m buying more Groupons at a rate far in excess of the rate I’m redeeming them!

So I did something about it. Recognising that I do have a mild addiction (acknowledging this fact is step one to recovery), I forbade myself to purchase any more Groupons until I’ve used up the ones I have that are expiring soon. And what better way to do that than to devote an entire day going out with friends doing only the things I have Groupons for!

Timela, Tracy, Ieda and I got together for a hearty brunch at Deacon’s Corner and to kickstart our Groupon day, we went to the Vancouver Police Museum where I had five Groupons to redeem. It was sure to be An Arresting Experience™. And it actually was! I didn’t even know about this museum until Groupon featured it earlier this year. I learned a little about forensics, the history of the Vancouver Police, read about the many police dogs who died in the line of duty, the flags and uniforms over the years, unsolved murder mysteries and case files, and had a tour of the old morgue; a wall of stainless steel filing cabinets for bodies, one of which had the name “Obi Wan Kenobi”. Then there was the collection of hand guns seized by the police, and the autopsy table with real specimens of organic matter in glass jars. It was morbidly awesome.

After meeting up with a craigslister for the City of Glass book by Douglas Coupland, we were off to Mr. Pickwicks for some fish and chips and popcorn chicken down at the Marpole location. We had plenty to eat out on the patio table after redeeming my four Groupons.

In the evening, we were off to the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre to learn about astronomy and recognise some of the constellations in the night sky. I have a personal connection to this place. It’s been many years since I was here last, and to relive my childhood memories of coming here on a school field-trip was a trip down memory lane. Inside the Planetarium Star Theatre, Harrold, the projector in the middle of the dome, displayed a 360º celestial view of the night sky as seen above several metropolitan cities around the world including London and what we may see when we look up under different seasons. It was like being on the Holodeck. Hahaha!

Night had fallen upon us when we left the domed theatre to walk out to the Gordon MacMillan Southam Observatory for an actual look at the stars above us now through the high-powered telescope controlled by a computer. Entering coordinates or cropping to the area we wanted to focus on on the 2D map on screen caused the whole roof of the observatory to move with the giant telescope to point toward the area in focus. This really excited the child within me all over again.

While I’d managed to use up a lot of Groupons today, I have many more Groupons to use. I can’t wait to organise another Groupon Day! Thanks Groupon, and thanks Tim for driving us around!

Three Weddings... and a Funeral?

2010-09-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

I came back from the wedding in South Korea only to attend yet another wedding on the 12th; this time at the Arbutus Club in Vancouver. And this banquet party was huge in comparison. There must have been over a hundred and fifty people in attendance; family and friends all together to celebrate the union of Imelda and Sameer. Su was the maid of honour and was sitting nice and pretty at the head of the table with the newly weds. Su

They’d hired a team of photographers who took pictures and HD videos with Canon cameras. There was a guy editing videos on a MacBook Pro on the fly as well. The high quality video of the actual wedding ceremony in the morning was made into a well edited, full featured film for the banquet in the evening. Amazing...

After chowing down on a buffet of delicious morsels, followed by drinks at the open bar, it was dance time on the dance floor! The evening wrapped up with more drinks and a colourful piñata being beaten to death. Little children gathered around the bride and groom, who each took turns beating the shit out of it, blindfolded, waiting to pounce on it’s innards. However, it just wouldn’t die. Someone commented that the piñata should be made in China next time.

After several more blows to this docile creature did it finally spill out what the young children were waiting for... candies. Except that there were more than just candies: candy fruit favoured condoms as well. The kids were going nuts, but so were their parents, I’m sure. It’s all fun.

The third and final wedding was on the 18th for Jay and Morgan, affectionately hereby now known as Jaygan. This was held at Milner Gardens at beautiful Qualicum Beach on the island. As Jay was Norm’s best man when Norm and Lucy got married last year (also in September), it was only appropriate that Norm be Jay’s best man. It was supposed to rain this weekend but the sun came out instead, casting its ray of light on us all. Echo, Ieda and I stayed at the newly built Beach Club Resort with a balcony overlooking the boardwalk along the beach. Couples young and old walked hand in hand while dogs ran after their master on the beach at low-tide. At the end of the boardwalk was a small gazebo where another small wedding was being conducted.

In the evening, Tim and Kemila, Echo, Ieda and I decided to crash someone else’s wedding party by gyrating on the dance floor. Although we had kept to ourselves and was clearly having fun, we were asked to leave by a hotel staff informing us that this was a private party and not a public club. No one else seemed to mind, but whatever... we acquiesced.

Three weddings in as many weeks. Whew! Now that it’s all done and over with, I think it’s time for a funeral. Here’s hoping that it wouldn’t be mine.

Seoul Searching.

2010-09-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I know. I just couldn’t leave that pun alone!

So here I was off to South Korea to participate in my brother’s wedding not knowing if they’d be someone to greet me when I arrive at Incheon International (ICN). In any normal situation, one would think that the basis such as exchanging names and contact numbers of people, information about flight arrivals and departures, and where and when to meet would have been covered. Not so when you leave it in the hands of Stanley. Even mom and dad, who took off on the first of September, the day before I did, didn’t know what to expect the moment they wheeled their luggage through the arrivals gate.

Emails to Stanley for information went unanswered. The best we could do was to send him information about flight numbers and arrival times along with a subsequent update on their six-hour delay due to hurricane Earl back east, and hope that if would get to him in time. It was under this uncertainty in which my folks flew out of Vancouver International (YVR).

Because I had procrastinated when it came to booking my flights until the last minute, economy class was all filled up I had no choice but to fly Executive Class on JAL (boohoo). And even still, I had to catch a connecting flight at Narita International (NRT).

As requested and granted, I had no one beside me on the first leg of the trip and comfortably sat by the window in my fully automated clam shell seat that transformed into a bed with a push of a button. My in-flight movie was Letters to Juliet a sappy spineless film which followed a well used Hollywood formula and concluded with a predictable ending. My bad. My inflight meal, however, was delicious! Foie gras and port wine jelly for hors d’Oeuvre and a fillet of beef steak with port wine sauce accompanied with ratatouille and fresh salad. With my meal, I had a selection of champagne, whites and reds to choose from. I went for the Louis Jardot Bourgogne Rouge Couvent des Jacobins 2008. For snacks, they served traditional Japanese osembe (rice crackers) and JAL’s original Sky Time Yuzu drink. “Airline food” have most certainly come a long way.

Arriving at NRT, I went straight for the internet cafe hoping to get information from Stanley. That was a negative. I spent the rest of my two-hour layover reading Douglas Coupland’s The Gum Thief in the airport lounge.

Arriving at ICN, disturbingly hot and humid at 29ºC, I was glad to see familiar faces. Stanley and his wife to be, Hyejung, escorted me out of the airport to the car waiting out front with her father at the wheel. We drove over to the Koryo hotel in Bucheon where I was reunited with my parents once again. Not a moment too soon, they’d asked me about my flight over which I gladly went into detail about until I was abruptly told to stop the moment I said the word champagne. It turned out that their economy flight on Air Canada served cup noodles for dinner and water for drinks. They had to ask for tea.

The wedding, which was on the fourth of September, was nice and simple. It was my first time seeing my brother in a tux. News of the wedding itself came by surprise. It was a western styled wedding with a Korean twist. It took place in Korea where Korean food was served and consumed by friends and family of the bride and groom who were mostly all Koreans. Though they didn’t speak much English, my new extended family were very nice and hospitable. Mom looked really good in her kimono.

The next day, we went to visit the Korean Folk Village. The weather turned on us while we were in the van and we’d witnessed our first tropical thunder shower with water droplets as big as marbles got us drenched from head to toe in a few seconds. It didn’t stop us from venturing outside, however. I was even bold enough to take my DSLR out, though in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have.

It was mom’s birthday on the sixth and we helped her eat her cake at our hotel suite.

After seeing my folks off at the bus station for their journey back home, I checked out of my hotel and made my way to visit a friend of mine, his wife, and their nineteen-month old son on the other side of Seoul. They were kind enough to host me for the next three nights while I explored Seoul on my own.

An art district called Heyri located about ninety minutes north-west of Seoul caught my interest while I was looking at places to visit. It turned out to be a wonderful place with art studios, galleries, cafes and residences all housed in very unique pre-fab structures. It was architecturally amusing and I’d spent about five hours there just walking in and out of structures and discovering new things. This whole area was a quiet place, not frequented by a lot of people. It’s nothing to complain about, as I came here to get away from the tourists, but is gave it a slightly eerie feeling. I walked through many galleries there, fully lit and air conditioned with music playing, but there was no one in sight. It was a delight.

That evening, I met up with Jiyun, another friend of mine I hadn’t seen since leaving Beijing. We got together for dinner at Hongik University and briefed each other on our lives. She’s as beautiful, cheerful, and fun as I remember her to be and her laughs and smiles are so affectionate, it’s genuine. What great friends I have!

The next day, I ventured back into the city and explored the Deoksugung Palace and the Gyeoghuigung Palace. It was a place steeped in history and the architecture was very similar to that of ancient China’s Forbidden City with structural columns and beams in crimson red and rooflines ornately decorated with splashes of yellow, green, blue and orange and motifs of clouds and floral patterns. While strolling the grounds of ancient Korea, a view of new world Seoul came emerged from behind. The building beside the glass tower was under construction and had a blue G20 Seoul Summit banner covering the entire façade. The juxtaposition of Seoul’s glass towers from the pottery roof shingles of the palace was poetic.

At the Seoul Museum of Art, an exhibit titled Media City Seoul 2010 was on display. What caught my eye was that this exhibit was supported in part by the British Columbia Arts Council. Entrance was free and I was even given a device that gave audio tours. I was instantly captivated by artist Sara Morris’ Beijing; a video montage of the sights and sounds of Beijing. I sat there on the floor for well over an hour waiting for the end of the video which I never got to. There was another video installation by Rainer Ganahl titled I Hate Karl Marx, of a German woman yelling and ranting at a statue of Karl Marx in a park... in fluent mandarin. The video and still images from this video can be found on the artist’s website here: www.ganahl.info/Ihatekarlmarx.html

Visiting Seoul was a nice experience, even when I was caught in a torrential downpour twice. I can now add another country to the list of countries I’ve travelled.

Things that I noticed in Korea:

- Little rectangular block of foam padding on car doors. Almost every vehicle had them! Is this to avoid door dings and dents?

- Barcode labels on car windows. Is this a remnant of new vehicle identification as seen on dealers lots? Koreans seem to like to keep it on regardless of how old the vehicle is.

- Old vehicles in Seoul are few. Most on the roads were produced within the last five years, dominated by Kia and Hyundai badges.

- A section of highway along the Han River were scored so that the tune Marry Had A Little Lamb could be heard while the tyres drove over them. How novel!

- SPAM is considered as gourmet food. Of course it is; it’s IMPORTED! They come in fancy packaging, typically as a box set of eight cans, and is traditionally given as a gift. The power of marketing.

- The kimchi fridge. A top loading fridge (like a deep freezer) specifically for storing kimchi. Only in Korea.

- Fashionable young Koreans. Between China, Korea, and Japan, Koreans display a good sense of style. Good looks to boot.

- When approaching an interchange station on Seoul’s metropolitan subway, a 10-second clip of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in A Minor is played before announcing the name of the next station. With 13 lines criss-crossing each other, this tune quickly became an ear-worm tune.

Galloping the Goose for the Potholes.

2010-08-29T00:55:00.000-07:00

This was my second time in as many years to “Do the Goose” with my avid cyclists, Norm and Jay. This year, however, we went a bit further down the trail to the Sooke Potholes, a natural formation left by glacial activities from thousands of years ago.

I also learned of the significance of the Galloping Goose Trail and where it got its namesake after reading a place mark along the way. It’s named after a gas-powered passenger train that once ran along this very path which transported passengers and mail from Sooke to Victoria and back, twice a day in the roaring 1920s. While the majority of the trail is covered with dirt, gravel and mulch, there are certain areas where the railroad tracks can still be seen poking under the paved cement.

It took us a good five or six hours of cycling doing on average 15 km/h from Lochside Trail to the Galloping Goose Trail until we got to the Potholes to where we camped for the night. There were lots of beautiful things to see along the way. A moment of awe struck me when I had to cross over a very large trestle which bridged over a valley. I could imagine how the passengers of the Galloping Goose must have felt as they looked out of the windows over the crossing. It’s all made of wood!

On the way back the next day, Jay was visibly agitated by the time we stopped for lunch at a White Spot. He made it known to the two of us that he was wanting to catch the five o’clock sailing so that he could be back on the mainland to see his other half at the airport. I must admit, I was a bit vexed to learn of this as I usually am when I’m being rushed, but more so because Jay was willing to compromise the fun we’ve been having so far on this trip to pursue something in which I thought was unnecessary. Hello Canada Line?

He bolted as soon as the bill arrived and Norm soon followed. I left shortly after finishing the salad Jay didn’t touch and continued enjoying the rest of the day truly appreciating the great outdoors and not taking anything for granted. I kept pace and with mental goal posts as I progressed: the Shell petro station at Mt. Newton X-ROAD, the scenic beachfront along Lochside Drive, and the marina at Shoal Harbour.

Just as I got to my second goal post, I got a text from Jay:
We are here for 5pm ferry. Do you want us to buy ticket for you? 4:34pm 29-AUG-10

I texted back a “yes please” and continued my way to the ferry terminal. However, once I made it to where all the cyclists were waiting to get on board, I read the following message from Jay:
Oops! Ferry is here not enough time for me to run. If you are near you can get the ticket. 4:39pm 29-AUG-10

Infuriated, I cycled back up the hill fighting traffic that was coming off the ferry to cut across the road and made my way to the ticket booth where I got a ticket for myself right at the last moment. Cycling back down, I had to fight with vehicle traffic now boarding the ferry. Then I had to find space along the side of the vehicle bay to rest my bike.

The next text didn’t make me feel any better:
Hope you made it! We are on Deck 5. 5:00pm 29-AUG-10

After locating them on Deck 5, I’d expressed my anger explaining to Jay that if he hadn’t sent me that initial text, as good intentioned as it was, I would have naturally bought a ticket for myself without having to go through all the nonsense. Norm also gave him a grilling with an “I told you so!” Apologetically, he’d bought me a bottle of Canada Dry and we were all friends again.

Aside from the slight hiccup in the end, the Goose was conquered with great success. With weekends like this, summer is going by quickly. Hip hip to the next one!

Saltspring Bike Camp.

2010-08-01T01:18:00.000-07:00

Saltspring Island: Check.

It’s a great feeling when one gets to cross off items off their to-do list, let alone the THINGS I MUST DO BEFORE I DIE list. Cycling and camping on Saltspring island was one of mine and man was it fun!

Jay, Morgan, Ieda and I sailed in from Fulford Harbour off the BC Ferries and made our way to Ruckle Provincial Park to pitch our tents and relax for a while. Upon arriving, I was surprised to see so many other campers on site with their tents all edging up to the coastline for a good view of the straight. It was like tent city!

At dusk, the four of us snuggled up to each other in one tent to share childhood memories of how we were like growing up. I told stories about the joys I had in film and video production, running the school’s network station, OrcaVision, and hanging out with a Mac friend in the Mac lab fooling around with Apple’s Network Assistant and controlling a network of thirty LC520’s at once to launch Hampster Dance on a Netscape browser. Please excuse this run-on-sentence.

The morning after, Ieda and I woke up and took our bikes to explore the historic Ruckle family farm. Jay and Morgan was still sound asleep in their tent. A trail through a forested area opened up to the farm and a vista of dilapidating barns on hectares of land came to view. While reading a plaque on the history of a particular barn, Ieda called me over to her direction. As I rounded the corner, I saw a lone turkey resting comfortably beside an old wheel leaning against a shed. This was one ugly bird.

Shortly after, a male and female turkey, presumably a couple, caught my attention. Following closely behind was a baby turk curious about its surroundings everywhere it went. This baby also bore resemblance to the look of its parents; so ugly that it was almost cute in a way. It was certainly nice to see a family of a different kind behaving like a family though.

What stuck me most about Saltspring island were it’s numerous roadside farm stands along the way offering everything from cookies and freshly cut flowers to fruits, vegetables, and free-range eggs, all sold under the honour system with a cash box on the table. Ieda and I bought a few cookies for we were feeling a little peckish having not yet eaten breakfast.

Back at our campsite, Jay and Morgan had woken up and had already had breakfast. They were in the middle of taking apart their tent when we cycled in and seemed a bit tiffed that Ieda and I had an early start without them. Perhaps they rolled out of the wrong side of the air mattress...

After several hours of hard cycling along Stewart Rd. which turned into Beddis Rd., we rode into Ganges where the heart of the island was. Hotels, shops, restaurants, estate agencies, and a public square were all here. For our second night on the island, we camped out at Garden Faire Nursery and Campground. To quench our thirst and replenish our energy, we dined at the Saltspring Inn. The food was surprisingly good! And for desert, we stopped over to Thrifty’s for ice cream to take back to our campsite and consumed it all in one sitting. Cones included.

I conked out early this evening as I was feeling extremely tired. I crawled back into my tent at 1900 and fell into deep sleep instantaneously. I didn’t wake up until 0700 in the morning! I can’t remember the last time I had slept half a day away... I guess I needed it. As we were having breakfast using the remaining free-range eggs we had bought earlier, we had a chance meeting with Rebecca who came over to visit our site after hearing familiar voices. We were all surprised and glad to see her here. She was here on a yoga retreat with a group of others.

Alas, it was time to say goodbye to Saltspring island as our weekend excursion was coming to an end. We caught the ferry at Long Harbour to Village Bay on Main Island, and then transferred onto the Queen of Nanaimo back to Tsawwassen.

VGH: Very Good Humerus.

2010-07-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

I went in to see Dr. Guy today for what turned out to be my final follow-up after nearly a year of monthly follow-ups. After reviewing the x-rays I took today to the ones taken before, he was quite amazed with the progress I’d made. Where there was a void between the two fractures, new bone regenerated to fill it completely with excess bone material on the side. In addition to, the physiotherapist was impressed with the full range of my arm. To build up atrophied muscles, I was shown several exercises to do, getting my shoulder slope to look symmetrical with my right.

What good news! My arm is as good as new. Actually, with the extra stainless steel plate for re-enforcement, it’s stronger than ever! Just think Robocop! Terminator! Optimus Prime!

Rockin' the Rockies.

2010-07-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

I believe this was my third time to the Rockies if my memory serves me right but I had just as much fun.

It was my first time meeting Jason, Eva and a visiting friend from Poland, Daria. Jason did all of the driving on this trip and took us through Merritt, Kamloops, Revelstoke, Golden until we reached Yoho National Park where we pitched our tents.

First on the order of the day was to Emerald Lake to see the pristine natural environment of the aqua-green lake backed by the green forests on the snow capped mountains of the rockies. That’s where I met a real Canadian Mountie, friendly and happy to be in photos.

It rained on and off as we hiked up a 10 kilometre gravel logging road to Lake O’Hara the next day. When we got there, it poured! We took sheter inside the visitor lodge where they had a fire stove going which kept us warm. The hot chocolate helped too. We were back out again shortly after when the grey clouds passed and walked all round the lake. I was one with nature and fell in love with everything green. The fresh chilly air was refreshing; better than a session at an oxygen bar. The smell of trees and the sound of waterfalls cascading down a rock face invigorated my senses. It was raining again as we approached full circle but the mood was right for a photo I took of row boats at the end of the dock which turned out beautifully. The walk back down the mountain was painful. Ieda was the only one who opted to take the bus down and pay $10 for the ride. In hindsight, we should and would have done the same.

I was pretty excited to see the hoodoos, a unique rock formation caused by weathering overtime, but I never got to see it in the end. The hike up the mountain was too much for the gang and we turned back after about an hour in. Along the trail, however, was a pretty eerie sight of the remains of what appears to have been a forest fire. A whole forest of charred trees, dead from the ground up. As a stark juxtaposition, the ground covering was fresh with greens. That’s mother nature healing herself like new skin.

Along the way to Laughing Falls, we spotted a couple of curious and easily frightened marmots! They were so cute licking rocks.

Back at our campsite at Yoho National Park, Ieda and I went to see a detective show at the amphitheatre about the elusive wolverine. The target audience was for those ten and under, but we got a kick out of it too. It was educational too, for I had always thought that wolverines only existed in fictional stories like X-MEN.

Mistaya Canyon was amazing. The serpentine course of the Mistaya river had carved out a curvaceous path over the years digging deeper and deeper into the rocks forming a canyon. We had spent a good part of our day here taking photos and just admiring the many façades of nature. We even had lunch here with our kimchi bowls just up the trail.

No trip to the rockies would be complete without a trip to see the Columbia Ice fields. While it’s grandeur is a sight to behold, knowing that it used to extend even further out over the past few decades is a sad reminder of the severity of global warming.

Jasper was our final destination for Ieda and I. Our 5 day Canada-day long weekend came to an end here as we said our bye-byes to Jason, Eva and Daria. The two of us took the Greyhound back to Vancouver through the night and right through the afternoon the next day, passing through the same roads we came up along at the start of our journey.

Birthday Surprise.

2010-06-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it wasn’t such a surprise after all, but the gesture was nice. My highly acute sensor picked up that something was up when I was instructed to head on over to Jay’s directly after work on the evening of my birthday anniversary.

I did, and Jay, his gf, and Clayton was there waiting for my arrival. Before I could even kick off my shoes, dump my bag, and sit on Jay’s white IKEA sofa, they’d dressed me up with an assortment of odd things. I had on my head a Canada flag top hat, and pinned to it was a helium balloon of a giant yellow smiley face. I then had to wear my jacket inside out. Across my chest, they had pinned a bright yellow smiley faced sunflower. The look was completely ridiculous and I was expected to wear this in public as they paraded me around town.

At first, I was reluctant, but then acquiesced for THEIR enjoyment.

They drove me to a first nations restaurant called Salmon n’ Bannock on West Broadway where Timm, Kemila, and Ieda, were already waiting at the table. The wild buffalo burger on bannock was delicious, and so was my Beaver Buzz cream soda.

The surprise didn’t stop there. After dinner, I was whisked away to the Cheesecake restaurant on Granville for desert where I had started opening gifts from friends. I got a gift certificate for the Miraj Hammam Spa for a 30 minute massage!

Thank you friends. It’s always delightful to be with you all!

Galiano Bike Camp.

2010-06-13T01:51:00.000-07:00

The first thing I did after landing on Galiano Island was to cycle to the scene of my accident I had the year before and make history by successfully cycling around the island without sustaining any injury.

At the scene of the accident, Jay, Ieda, Norm and I all stopped so that I can fake my accident for the camera. The sign is still there and so is the tree in which I slammed into. Nothing’s changed, actually other than the fact that I now have a stainless steel place with six screws on my left humerus.

A few kilometres later, we arrived at Montague Harbour where we unloaded and pitched out tents. I came to the realisation just how close we were to our destination before I took that tumble into the woods. Gah!

It was a beautiful day to be out cycling. From Montague Harbour, we cycled for yet another ten kilometres to a place called Retreat Cove, a beautiful nook of weathered soapstone rocks overlooking the majestic Trincomali Channel. Moving on, we continued to the north end of Galiano Island along Porlier Pass Rd. where it came to an abrupt end with a weathered billboard which stated “No Tresspassing - Indian Reserve”. We were all hungry, thirsty, and tired when we reached the end and couldn’t fathom cycling back to our campsite. Our mistake here was not bringing enough food and drinks along with us and we paid for our lack of judgement in the end. My legs were so jelly-like that I couldn’t even stand on my own two feet and took many pit stops along the way just lying on the side of the road.

Just down the steps from our campsite was a marina. We walked to the end of the dock and spent quality time looking up. The stars came out in full that night.

The morning after, we took a stroll along the beach and trails at Montague Harbour and came across a cluster of purple starfishes on the rocks. The beaches were so colourful with green algae, white sands, and blue waters.

At the bookstore by the ferry terminal, the manager there congratulated me and shook my hands after I told him that we had cycled from one end of Galiano to the other. Apparently, not many manage to complete this 50k cycle. We did it partly with our camping gear on our bike racks!

I am happy to say that I've finally covered Galiano Island with success. Now on to the next!

Madama Butterfly.

2010-06-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly was a delight to watch. Aside from the girl sitting next to me who took more interest in her two smart phones in her purse during the Opera, I had thoroughly enjoyed this performance at the VO. Notable highlights from this production that really caught my attention and imagination was the set, costume, and video design throughout. The Mondrian theme that set the visual language was beautifully done on the kimonos worn by many of the performers as well as the striking suit worn by James Valenti who played one of the leading roles as Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton.

As for the video design, I quite enjoyed the cascading curtains that lowered from above displaying an animated wave pattern in alternating colours. It was almost trippy!

Stephanie was also in attendance but as much as we tried looking for each other before the show and during intermezzo, we didn’t meet until after the performance when we all spilled out into the lobby.

An applause for Vancouver Opera’s initiative in reaching out to the younger audience with the Opera Under Thirty (Get OUT!) promotion where I was able to take advantage of steep discounts on seats. I have but just one more year to still quality...

EP!C Expo.

2010-05-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

After picking up my name tag and volunteer t-shirt during the orientation on Wednesday evening, I went to see the EP!C Expo as a civilian on Saturday to sit in on a handful of discussion panels about all things sustainable.

EP!C is Vancouver’s largest Sustainable Living Expo which runs annually over the course of three days. What I enjoyed most aside from wine tasting at the Banrock Station booth was panelists in key areas discussing about how to keep Vancouver on track to becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020. One such panel was titled EPIC on Wheels: The Future of Sustainable Transportation where a representative from the City of Vancouver, the Co-operative Auto Network, and TransLink came together to discuss, among other things, alternative modes to get around the city and using incentives/disincentives to influence people’s attitudes and behaviours about ditching their private vehicles.

I personally wish to see the downtown core free of private motor vehicles; open only to transit, emergency response, and commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks and taxis. My ideal Vancouver will adopt a system similar to Singapore city where private motor vehicles will have to pay for a permit granting privilege to drive into city centre. In turn, the city should invest in maintaining and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, employing more pedestrian only streets like Granville street, and expanding the bike lanes to other key corridors.

Personally, I’m delighted to have Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and city counsel take the initial steps in transforming Vancouver into a more livable city. News about the resounding success of the Burrard street bridge bike lane trial (now on its way to becoming a permanent fixture), the newly opened Dunsmuir street separated bike lane, and city counsel unanimously committing to spend $25 million over the next two years to building 55 kilometres of new bike lanes makes me proud to live here and call this city my own. We still have some catching up to do compared to cities like Portland where they have over a hundred miles of bike lanes and Montréal where they’ve installed a hop-on hop-off bike network called BIXI, but I’m confident that Vancouver Green Capital will hold up to its motto in time.

I begun my shift on Sunday afternoon as a Main Stage Assistant, working alongside with Paul, Randall, and a handful of other volunteers who were all a pleasure to work with. It was so nice to speak about sustainability with like-minded individuals all around me and exchange some meaningful dialogue. Did you know that Vancouver was given the status of Fair Trade Town earlier this month? It’s the first Canadian city to be given this designation!

I’m gushing with Vancouver achievements and have plenty more ammunition to brag about my great city, but as a Canadian, I must remain humble and let you Google that for yourself.

Long Weekend on Long Beach.

2010-05-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

We Vancouverites really have have it all to enjoy the quality of life we’re so well known for in this part of the world. Over the long weekend from the 21st to the 24th, a large group of friends drove over to Tofino to see the edge of the world and beyond. We camped out at the Pacific Rim - Green Point campsite, pitched out tents, and cooked food over the fire while playing ‘2 truths and a lie’.

Access to the sandy beaches of Long Island was just down the trail from our campground and the weather was just terrific, albeit a little windy at times. This wind danced with the fine grain sand on the beach creating a spectacular silky and wavy pattern as it went by. It was like watching the aurora borealis on the ground.

Surfers were out taking advantage of the high waves while I continued exploring my surrounding environment with my camera. There’s so much here to take in and appreciate that I struggle to find words to describe mother nature. Against the reflection of the pale blue sky was a clear aqua-green oasis with algae on the rocks around it. A collection of sun bleached logs lay scattered along the boulders and tiny yellow flowers blossomed on the rocky crevasse, defiantly living life.

Walking back, I found a collection of rubber and plastic toys some children must have left behind on the beach. There were boats, a shark, a seahorse, and an octopus with a permanent look of sock on its face. Helena, Rebeca, Kimmi and I had quite a laugh playing with these sea creatures and giving dialogue to them. “I’m sharked!” said the Mr. Octopus while being sniffed at from the underside by Mr. Shark while Ms. Seahorse just couldn’t stop kissing everyone. With those lips, how could she not?!

There’s something to be said about adults playing with children’s toys.

The next day, we went to take a stroll along the boardwalk through the Shorepine Bog Trail. Again, words in the English language can’t do justice to how stunningly magnificent this place is. I did my very best to capture the feel with my wide angle 10mm lens. The gigantic broccoli forest of stunted trees is the result of inadequate nutrients and minerals in the acidic waterlogged soil. In an environment like this, I could do some really heavy thinking here and find my inner Qi, more than what any Buddist monastery can do.

Helena and I took a walk along the beach from the north end of Long Beach back to our campsite. The tide was so far out that we were able to make a b-line instead of following the crescent, making our distance that much shorter. With the tide so far out, it left a shallow sheen of water over the sandy surface which gave us the illusion that we were walking on water. The mirrored reflection that it bounced back was more beautiful than one could fully absorb.

We Vancouverites aren’t just close to paradise. We live in one. This was my long weekend.

Sun Run 2010!

2010-05-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

I remember doing the Sun Run last year like it was yesterday. Here I am doing it again this year! Just where did the time go? Poof!

Since participating in the 25th annual Vancouver Sun Run for the first time last year, I vowed to continue running for years to come in the world’s second largest timed 10k run. This year, I had Clayton to run with me. With minimal training before the run, we both questioned ourselves on our ability to do well. I had only one goal which was to beat my previous personal best of 1:18:52.

This year’s run took place on Mother’s Day so a special acknowledgement was made to mothers all over when the gun went off at 900. Clayton and I were at the head of the line in the white bibs waiting for our wave to go after the large group of green bibs which had four or five waves alone! It wasn’t until about fifty minutes after the gun went off that we were able to go.

Set on a beautiful day, a skunk ran us from a distance while cutting through Stanley Park, probably thinking that it might be best to run the herd. A heard of 51,419 people all running in the same direction must be for good reason!

While running our course, we kept each other in check and paced ourselves, having to only break from our continual run about four times in all. And our good work paid off!

My new personal best is now 1:10:21.

My legs felt like jelly and I was nearly dying of thirst. Thankfully, there were people handing out Red Bull shots for runners just after crossing the finish line along with packs of weetabix, Oasis juices, bananas and oranges inside the outdoor pavilion.

It was strange to see the large air-supported dome which covered the BC Place Stadium for over twenty-five years gone. That marshmallow roof which the world saw during the Olympic games was an iconic part of Vancouver’s skyline. Half a billion dollars later, we’ll have a new retractable roof!

Le Nozze di Figaro.

2010-04-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

As part of Vancouver Opera’s lineup for this season, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro was on my radar of operas to see. The last time I saw this opera was back in March of 2006 at the UBC Chan Centre. That was back when I was still socially active with the VSC which is of no more. Time sure flies.

Jay and his gf Morgan, along with Ieda, Echo and myself took to our seats in the packed house.

While it was a delightful performance overall, it wasn’t the best I’d ever seen. Tonight’s performance failed to captivate me completely. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I’d seen Le Nozze di Figaro before or that my standards have become even more discriminating with maturity, but certain parts were too drawn out and a few notes shy of being engaging. Come to think of it, it could just very well be that fact that Mozart himself (and not the performers) scripted the opening and closing of the doors in which characters miss each other by just seconds that made it seem too unpalatable.

Nevertheless, all of us really enjoyed it and the performers, the orchestra, and the director all got their standing ovations they deserved. I’m looking forward to Madama Butterfly coming up next...

My CraigsList Pet Peeves: Rant!

2010-04-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

It’s so frustratingly annoying when people respond to my CraigsList ads with “Is it still available?” and “Do you still have it?”. If the ad is still up, expect that it is and get on with more important questions.

Conversely, it is just as annoying when I’m responding to CL ads with important questions like “Are you available at six?” or “Would you accept X-dollars?” only to hear or read that it’s already been sold/taken. REMOVE YOUR FUCKING AD.

Also annoying is the fact that people so often forget or willfully choose not to post their phone numbers with the ad. Email isn’t the most effective method of communication when you want something NOW and can’t wait a day later. My contact number is always posted with my ads and those who call me get first dibs on whatever it is I’m selling or getting rid of. Often, I don’t even get around to responding to responses via the email. And when I do, it’s usually “SOLD” or “GONE”.

And lastly, and this point is at the bottom end of my annoyance scale, there’s no excuse why one can’t post a picture with the ad. If you don’t have a digital camera, scan it in. If you don’t have a scanner, use your iSight camera. If you don’t have an iSight camera, use the camera on your iPhone. If you don’t have an iPhone, well, what phone DOESN’T have a camera built in these days? If you don’t have a smartphone or a dumbfone, then really, you shouldn’t be posting ads in CL in the first place. Submit a hand written letter to your local papers’ classifieds and pay your posting fee.

There’s a special hell reserved for people who commit the above mentioned offences.

To borrow a quote from from Firefly:
“...you’re going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theatre.” — Shepherd Book

Super Sunday's Olympic Finale.

2010-02-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

Over the course of the past few weeks since the Opening Ceremony at BC Place Stadium, I had witnessed a sense of great Canadian pride and patriotism in the city I have not seen in, well, EVER. People of all ages, stripes, and colours came out to enjoy the numerous festivities offered all over the city. Along with the locals were visitors from other countries enjoying themselves during the Olympic games. The population of downtown Vancouver swelled three-fold, turning this small village of Vancouver into a true metropolitan city. From Livecity Downtown and Livecity Yaletown to the numerous provincial pavilions around False Creek and the international houses scattered around town, people were queuing in line at every venue. It was like having Expo 86 with the Olympic games. Queuing for an hour was not unheard of. In fact, that was considered to be a short wait! The queue for a chance to zip across Robson Square on what was called “The Zip Line” had an estimated wait time of seven hours at one point. Seven hours of wait for thirty-seconds of glory. Unbelievable.

Our entertainment strip along Granville Street was THE place to be to feel loved and be embraced by random people sporting Canada flag capes on their backs and maple leafs painted on faces. Everywhere you looked, there were droves of people waving the flag while singing “Ole ole ole ole!” and “O’ Canada” while giving everyone high fives as they paraded up and down the street.

On the bus and on the SkyTrain during all hours of the day, someone would start singing “O’ Canada” and everyone else on transit would sing along boastfully with glowing hearts, hand over heart.

But this Sunday, more than all the days combined, had the citizens of this glorious nation on edge. Not only was it the day of the closing ceremony of the XXI Winter Olympic Games, but it was also the day of the men’s hockey final with Team Canada against none other than Team USA. Canada’s reputation as a hockey nation was on the line. Could we pull off a repeat performance at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City when both the men’s and women’s hockey team won gold? We were already half-way there.

From Canada’s Northern Pavilion, I walked along the peaceful streets on a warm and sunny afternoon to HBC where I found a small crowd of people huddled around a window display from street level. Upon moving in closer, I found that they were not admiring the mannequins wearing HBC Olympic gear, but rather, the flat-screen televisions airing the men’s hockey game live. The fact that no sound could be heard from the other side of the glass didn’t bother them at all! Anxiety and tension rose up and down as the nail-biting game played on. Thirty seconds left on the leader board and and Canada was in the lead at 2 - 1. Victory was within reach in mere seconds when suddenly the Americans scored a goal on us to tie 2 - 2. The painful cries could be heard nation-wide.

As I kept walking along towards Robson Square, I couldn’t help but to notice the eerie stillness and quiet in the host city. Robson Square with the British Columbia Canada Pavilion housed inside the Vancouver Art Gallery is usually full of life with Olympic mascots ice skating on the new GE sponsored ice rink but the usual crowd of people were no where to be seen. That is, until I continued walking towards CTV at Robson and Burrard to where they had moved the news desk on an elevated platform on street level. A sizeable crowd surrounded the news desk platform glued to the television monitors white knuckled and mouths agape. There were people on the roof of a bus shelter and people in trees. There were people climbing on lamp posts as well for a birds eye view.

As the rules to hockey in the Olympics differ slightly from the rules to the NHL, the game went into a shoot out instead of in overtime. While in the middle of it all, armed with my photo and video recording devices in hand, the moment we were all waiting for happened before our very eyes: Sidney Crosby took a shot and SCORED securing Canada’s reputation as the FIRST and still the BEST nation in hockey. The crowd went wild. What was a quiet sea of nerve-racking spectators quickly turned into a roaring tsunami of cheers in a split second. Hands shot up in the air in concert with the flags and everyone was embracing everyone else in this proud and shining moment of being Canadian. Young guys to the left of me revealed a two-litre bottle of champagne disguised in a pop bottle and started shaking and spraying it all over his friend.

The streets of Vancouver roared with joy and celebration as cars continued to honk and crowds cheered and sang songs long after the game was over. While watching the recap of the days event on the news, I learned that this sensation echoed at the Molson House, in pubs, and on the streets in Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto. A nation unified by a common thread. The thread that forms the fabric of this nation.

With a world-record breaking fourteen gold medals, the most golds won by a single country in the Winter Olympics, along with seven silver medals and five bronze medals totalling twenty-six medals in all and earning Canada in third-pace after USA and Germany in medal count, we have a lot to celebrate to and a lot to be proud of. Forget about our traditionally docile and reserved Canadian mannerisms, this is our time to make some noise and LIVE OUT LOUD!

GO CANADA GO

The Operation.

2010-02-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

After spending nearly 7 months from wearing a hanging cast to fitting a humorus brace and checking into VGH for my monthly x-rays to see my bone-regeneration progress (of lack thereof), the time had come for me to go under the knife and fix it for good.

Bones tend to fuse themselves naturally after a fracture over ninety-five percent of the time according to Dr. Guy, however, after months of observation I fell into the latter five percent where it didn’t fuse at all. Instead, calcium started to build up around the two fractured ends forming “an elephant’s leg” overtime. Yes, that was the technical term.

Jay accompanied me at the hospital before going into the OR and took some lovely pictures of me on the stretcher wearing nothing but a flimsy hospital gown that didn’t quite cover all. True to ourselves, we were joking with the RN on duty as she prepped me for surgery. I was injected with a nerve numbing solution known as “the block” and within minutes, my left arm was a deadweight. I couldn’t believe how heavy it really is when I tried lifting it with my right arm!

The operation took four hours if my memory serves me right and it was virtually painless. I was in a semi-conscious state throughout (as I was meant to me) so I heard the conversations that transpired around me as well as the sound of drills cutting, or perhaps more accurately, shaving off “the elephant legs” so that a stainless steel plate can me mounted on a flat surface. I kept drifting in and out of reality and found it hard to distinguish what I had imagined being done to me to what was actually being done. After getting sutured up, I was wheeled out of the OR to the outpatient room waiting to be processed and properly tagged.

I’d opted to spend the night in the ward and was fortunate to have a nurse with a sense of humour who made crude jokes about my Pakistani friend who accompanied me. After asking of his whereabouts and giving a description of him, she told me that she’ll be on a lookout for a terrorist in the waiting room!

Dinner was not so bad as far as hospital food goes. It was more than I can do for myself in the kitchen, that much is true. I was served the following:

1 each        Salt
1 each        Pepper
1 each        Sugar

1 each        Salmon Fillet

60 ml        Dill Sauce
120 ml        Spinach
120 ml        Mashed Potatoes
1 slice        Wheat Bread

120 ml        Vanilla Pudding

1 x                Tea

1 each        Apple Juice
1 each        2% Milk
1 each        Milker
1 each        Margarine

In the evening, two young adults who couldn’t have been any older than twenty made their rounds around the ward pushing a cart of magazines offering outpatients with periodicals. The young girl and boy who were probably volunteers were friendly and courteous and quickly had my respect for what they were doing.

The post-op pain was felt gradually as the block wore off. Morphine was given to me throughout the night in both pill form and injection to ease my discomfort by round-the-clock nurses. With every passing hour, I was able to extend my arm to a greater degree which made me happy.

When I was briefed about spending the night in a ward with five others, I had imagined something like a dorm at a cheap youth hostel or a homeless shelter with beds pushed together to maximise space. In reality, my experience was nothing like I had imagined. In my room with a south facing window, I shared with just one other who turned out to be an older Chinese gentleman, separated by a curtain. He kept to himself and was quiet through the night.

At sun-break, I was served the following for breakfast:

1 each        Grape Jelly
1 each        Brown Sugar
1 each        Salt
1 each        Pepper
1 each        Sugar

180 ml        Cream of Wheat

60 ml        Scrambled Eggs
2 slice        Bacon

1 slice        Wheat Toast + Marg

120 ml        Cantaloupe Cubes

1 x                Coffee

1 each        Apple Juice
1 each        2% Milk
1 x                Cold Water
1 each        Milker

I couldn’t have made breakfast any better myself.

Soon after eating, a nurse by the name of Brian came to check on my vitals and asked me how I was feeling. He too was funny and chipper. All things were looking good and I was ready to go. Jay came by again in the morning and fetched me in a Zip-car. Before I got discharged, I was given one last morphine injection. And that was that.

A stainless-steel place with six screws in me later, no nightmarish hospital stories to tell. On the contrary, I felt well looked after by the competent doctors who operated on me to the humourous nurses on duty, and to the courteous volunteers with the cart of magazines. And as a Canadian, I was covered by national healthcare with no hospital fees to pay.

Last but not least, thanks, Jay, for being a good friend. You went above and beyond.

CODE: Vectorial Elevation.

2010-02-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

As a continuation from the night before, I found myself with Timm and Kemila strolling along English Bay in the wee hours of the morning. We went down to the beach to see the Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition (CODE) installation called Vectorial Elevation, a series of twenty robotic searchlights in which people from all over the globe with an internet connection can control to make intricate patterns in the sky. This was amazingly beautiful to see up close, right in our own backyard and it complimented quite nicely with Vancouver’s skyline.

More information about this project can be found here: http://www.vectorialvancouver.net/

Later at night, I went down to check out Vancouver’s newly restored and recently opened public ice skating rink at Robson Square. Anyone with a pair of ice skates can come down and skate away and those without skates of their own could rent a pair for only a few bucks. Above the ice rink was the newly installed Zip-Line where one can zip across from one side of Robson Square to the other along a cable line. It wasn’t yet open to the general public, however, but the construction crew seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Granville Street was all abuzz with people enjoying new installations of its own. This pedestrian friendly street was lined with public art and sculpture including a forest of metallic trees with lanterns which created a festive environment in which to walk through, day and night.

This city’s turned even more beautiful with the run up to the Olympics! If only these were here to stay...

The Olympic Development.

2010-02-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

I went out for a walkabout with my DSLR in hand today to document the many changes occurring in the city leading up to the 2010 WInter Games. One of the more contentious issue angering a handful of small businesses were the erection of security fences and barricades that went up recently. Designed to heighten security and improve flow of official Olympic traffic with road closures in the downtown core, the fences and barricades also had the negative effect of blocking foot pedestrians from easily accessing the storefronts of some small businesses. Understandably, business owners like Mario Loscerbo of Mario’s Gelati threatened to sue the city and the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) over these street closures claiming that these closures resulted in a drop in sales.

I faced some difficulty myself in navigating the city streets today when I wanted to walk over to Costco from Pacific Boulevard. Normally, I could cut across BC Place Stadium over to Expo Boulevard but because of the road closures, barricades, fences, and security personnel manning the premises, I was directed to take a detour East along Pacific Boulevard to Quebec Street and walk back West along West Georgia Street to Costco. I decided not to go after all as Costco will have closed by the time I get there.

As I made my way towards BC Place Stadium, I had stumbled upon a large group of volunteers coming and going to and from their orientation. They would later be known as the “Blue Jackets” as they were all given these really cool jackets in blue with the reflective Olympic logo on their backs.

Across the street from the stadium along False Creek were provincial pavilions and houses recently constructed to welcome the world to showcase the diversity of this vast nation called Canada. Among others, there was the Ontario Pavilion with a series of ropes from top to bottom wrapped around the entire façade of the structure, the Saskatchewan Pavilion shaped like a giant air-supported golf ball similar but smaller in scale to the TELUS World of Science directly across, a white cubic structure known as the Maison du Québec which radiated a cool blue at dusk, and the Molson Canadian House with a giant cutout of a maple leaf on the front as its entrance.

On the waters edge, someone constructed a series of balanced rocks and a few Inukshuks. While taking a break here on the jagged rocks, I noticed a Great Blue Heron standing still and silently with concentration. Other photographers and bystanders started to take notice.

Jay joined me a little after with his new telephoto lens and we continued walking towards the Plaza of Nations and further West to Yaletown. Vancouver’s new development known as Millennium Water, better known as Olympic Athlete’s Village during the games came into view. In keeping with the “City of Glass” reputation Vancouver architecture is known for, the Olympic Athlete’s Village will provide accommodation for the many athletes and coaches from around the world and keep them happy with panoramic views of our west coast living.

We continued our walk around False Creek, crossed the Cambie Street bridge, and took the newly installed, but sadly temporary, LRT train called the Olympic Line. The Canadian made Bombardier trains on loan from Belgium shuttled passengers to and from the Olympic Village Canada Line Station to Granville Island on a short five minute journey. Best of all, it’s a free ride! Here’s hoping that Mayor Gregor Robertson will find a way to find a permanent solution in the municipal budget.

It was dusk by the time we got around to the TELUS World of Science which temporarily turned into the Russky Dom (Russia House). A banner above the entrance read “Russia meets Vancouver”. The lights from the city of glass reflecting off the waters on False Creek had Jay and I spending a considerable amount of time trying to capture the sheer beauty of this magnificent city through our glass. Although we’ve both been here a number of times, the city’s nightscape was still breathtaking. We kept shooting and shooting.

The digital countdown clock to the opening ceremony read 5 Days, 22 Hours, 1 Minute and 18 Seconds, yet the overall feeling in Vancouver didn’t seem all that different from the usual. Aside from an increased presence of tourists in the city, the road closures, baracades, fences, the construction of pavilions, Canada Line and the Olympic Line to Ganville Island, the overall fanfare seemed slightly muted for a host city. It’s like we’re waiting for someone to take the covers off for that much anticipated “TADAAA!” moment after which everyone comes out of the woodwork. Perhaps this is the calm before the storm.

Fish, Fish, and more Fish.

2010-02-01T22:22:00.000-08:00

This email I had just composed in response to a friends email pretty much sums up what I’ve been doing lately, as well as with my growing hatred and dismay with Canadian politics. So I’m taking the easy way out with this entry by simply cutting and pasting. Here it goes:

Thanks, Kyle!

I sure hope this column will change my perception on this subject and guide me along the abyss of random numbers and formulas to clarity and understanding.

In the mean time, it’s “fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish” for me.

To change the subject completely, have you ever played “Settlers of Catan”? I’ve been playing this board game with friends a few times now and I absolutely love it! I want the original version in German which I could get on Amazon.de. There are expansion packs too! I think I’m turning into a board game geek...

The Olympics start in 11 days but we haven’t seen any snow fall this year so far. It’s been wet with temperature sitting at 8 ºC. It’s so bad that we’re now dumping barrels of hay from helicopters from high above to lay the foundation of the slopes of Cypress Mountain and will need to dump man-made snow in time for the games.

Unfortunately, our embarrassing leader of our nation is still in denial of any global-warming effects and is still pursuing the excavation of tar sands in Alberta for short-term economic gain. Once prominent in forging ahead in environmentalism, our Prime Minister finally decided that it was worth flying over to Copenhagen in his private jet at tax-payers expense polluting tonnes of carbon emissions for his royal round-trip flight, NOT to attend the Climate Change Conference, but to attend the Queen of Denmark’s State Dinner, while sending our Minister of Environment to read a short three-minute speech at the tail end of the CCC. That’s our only contribution.

Furthermore, our PM has now prorogued parliament, suspending government activities and terminating bills which were being passed in the house of commons, all because opposition leaders and other members of parliament were getting “too hostile” asking “serious questions about Harpers leadership” and he wanted time-out until further notice.

I hope he meets the fate of a non-confidence vote as I can no longer wear my maple leaf with pride. He is our equivalent of your George Bush. Also re-elected for a second term.

On a brighter note, I just watched The Never Ending Story, Part 1 for nostalgia. Shot in 1984, I got a kick out of the last scene where Falcor, the white dragon, flies over the streets of Gastown, Vancouver.

What have you been up to lately?

Ed.

On 1 February 2010 11:53, Kyle wrote:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/from-fish-to-infinity/

I thought you might like this article and help to explain the most mysterious of mysteries

-k

OR-CA-WA Road Trip!

2010-01-03T23:28:00.000-08:00

2009.12.27

Snow drift danced along the quiet streets of a quaint American town. Illuminated by the orange glow of the street lights and holiday lights under the cover of night, we meandered, traversed, and aimlessly explored our new surrounding environment.

Welcome to Bend, Oregon. A town known for its craft beer from the taps of Deschutes Brewery, but nothing much else. Imelda, Sam, Serge and I made a pit stop here after a long drive from Vancouver in a Honda Civic. Bend looked different under daylight after emerging from our hotel room. A walking tour of the Old Bend Neighbourhood revealed a lot of history about this place and opportunities for scenic winterscape. Turn of the century heritage homes, Bend High School, and the Bend Public Library were just some of the tell-tele signs of the early days here.

2009.12.28

Crater Lake was our next destination, and quite frankly, the highlight of Oregon. After coming across a spectacular picture of Crater Lake while browsing the webbernet, I was really looking forward to seeing this place with my own eyes. I had high expectations going in, and my expectations were met. As history goes, this crater was formed as a result of a volcanic eruption. When all the magma spewed out of the mountain, it left a hollow void underneath causing the tip of the mountain to collapse under its own weight. But as it did so, it formed a perfect bowl and over time, rain water and snow melt filled the crater forming a lake that is now 8 by 10km in area and 594m deep.

Following our feast for eyes at Crater Lake National Park, we motored down Highway 97 heading straight for San Francisco through the night and into the wee hours of the morning. After coming across a strange and out of place fruit checkpoint at the Oregon/California State Border which was nothing more than a run down shanty with a dude sitting on a folding lawn chair, we made it to a place called Weed. We stopped in to the Hi-Lo Motel Cafe & RV Park on Weed Boulevard for a very late dinner. On the back of the menu, I learned about the mystery surrounding Mt. Shasta and the Lemurians who are said to live deep inside the mountain. The lenticular clouds that commonly form around the peak is said to mask a UFO for which the mountain is used as a landing spot. This small town sure knew how to market and brand itself, playing on its namesake with all things Weed. I should have picked up an “I <3 WEED” pin along with the “I DID WEED” mug.

2009.12.29

We were dead tired by the time we arrived in San Francisco in the wee hours of the morning. We couldn’t check into our hotel until 11 in the morning so we killed the hours at a Denny’s. I stayed in the back seat of the Honda Civic to catch some much needed snoozing before watching the sunrise from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. To see the sunset rise over the bay was worth the wait and endurance in the cold. We had breakfast in Sausalito, we checked into our hotel at the Holiday Inn on Van Ness Avenue.

Since making plans to go on a road-trip to SF and back, I was looking forward to meeting up with Elle again, a friend I hadn’t seen since leaving Beijing. She studies and lives in the Bay Area with her boyfriend and when we met up at her place, I just had to give her my warmest hug!

2009.12.30

The next day after getting sufficient sleep, we went for a drive to Monterey Bay and Carmel-By-The-Sea. These were areas we didn’t get around to seeing when we were in SF just ten months earlier. We made a pit-stop at an IN-N-OUT burger stand before continuing on through the rolling hills of California.

Prior to arriving in Monterey Bay, I had little to no idea about the history of the area, so it came as a pleasant surprise when I learned that John Steinbeck grew up here. The streets were lined with banners with quotes and passages from Steinbeck’s literary works, most notably from Cannery Row.

Among others, Custom House Plaza was of historical interest in the area that defined the State of California. The Mexican styled building in the plaza built by the Mexican government was once occupied by the Mexicans as a Custom House where taxes were collected on foreign merchants until an American flag was raised on July 7th, 1846, declaring California as part of the United States of America. It’s California’s first historic landmark and its oldest public building.

We had just enough day-light to see Carmel-By-The-Sea after spending the majority of our time in lovely Monterey. We went straight to the beach after driving past a boutique of local restaurants, cafes, bookstores, and art galleries of Carmel. We had spent a lot of time down at the beach long after the sun went down getting creative with long-exposure shots of us posing and painting with light. The results turned out beautifully and we kept taking shot after shot. People started to notice what we were doing and had approached us to observe closely and make small talk. Soon enough, we got to use their children to pose for us to everyone’s delight!

2009.12.31

All refreshed from the beautiful cinderella night before, we left our hotel and took the trolley to Telegraph Hill. We met up with Elle again and did some shopping in Chinatown for fish balls, beef balls, enoki mushrooms, and vegetables in preparation for one of my favourite dishes: spicy hot pot! I was salivating until the time I got to put these tasty morsels into my mouth and taste the flavourful juices that burst inside. It triggered a memory of our time in Beijing.

We visited the remains of the Sutro Baths on the west coast later in the day and eventually found ourselves in the Castro district to ring in the new year by bar-hopping. While on the bus to Castro, Serge got hit on by a flamboyant African American man in his mid 30s who locked eyes with him as he said “Hello” in that unmistakable tone of flirtation. Sam, Mel, and I thought it was funny but Serge didn’t want to entertain.

We all started off with a martini at the first establishment we walked into and after downing that drink, we moved on to the next for more drinks. After visiting a number of different establishments along the main strip ordering up different drinks each time, I was over my limit. That realisation came a bit too late for me, however, when it really started to set in. I couldn’t even finish my beer. Elle and her bf Justin joined us for dinner at a sushi restaurant as I was craving for sushi earlier, but my memory from this point on gets a little fuzzy. I do remember having to politely excuse myself several times from the table to make my way to the loo to purge. Staring down the porcelain bowl was not the way I wanted to end the night and ring in the new year.

Fortunately, I made it out of the restaurant on my own two feet, but not without leaving a bad first impression on Justin to whom I have yet to formally introduce myself in the un-inebreated state. I vow never to mix drinks in quick succession. I also left the sushi place still hungry and craving for sushi.

Under the cover of night and through the illuminated streets of SF, we walked towards The Embarcadero to celebrate with hoardes of others with the same idea. We’re all suckers for beautiful displays of fireworks. The countdown. The text messages. The fireworks. The cheers. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010.01.01

Lombard Street had Mel all excited as a new driver. This photogenic zig-zag down a steep hill draws a great number of tourists every year and this was the last thing we did before saying good-bye to San Francisco.

Highway 101 hugged the coastline of the Pacific and offered spectacular scenic spots along the way to Portland. We pulled over after a long drive north to admire the long pebble beach and watch the waves crashing in. We loved playing tag with the ebb and flow of the cascading tides, chasing it when it recedes and running away from it when we see a wave coming in. Surge got tagged really bad as he was taking a photo and didn’t notice what was coming for him. We laughed for a moment but he later showed the ocean that he didn’t care anymore as he went right in - shoes, socks, trousers - with the water level knee high! Now here’s a dedicated photographer.

2010.01.02

Checking into the Hotel Fifty turned out to be a good pick when I used Hotwire.com. It was chic, ultra-modern, and dare-I-say sexy. Recently renovated only months ago, the small attention to detail caught my eyes. In tradition of Keeping Portland Weird, we stumbled upon a doughnut shop called Voodoo Doughnuts. This hole in a wall establishment served all sorts of funky doughnuts with interesting names. I myself went for the signature Voodoo Doll which was a raspberry jelly filled doughnut shaped as a voodoo doll with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake right through the heart. For giggles, I also went for the Gay Bar which was more-or-less like a cream frosted long-john but stuffed with cream and all the colours of a Fruit Loop cereal on top. Other weird things we found in Portland was the 24-hour coin operated art gallery on street level and a ginormous squid trying to break free from a corner of a building. I like weird.

Much to our delight, we went over to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum to see the Spruce Goose, a heavy transport aircraft built almost entirely of birch wood. With the largest wingspan and height of any aircraft in history, the Spruce Goose took up the entire hanger. From helicopters to DCs and other flying machines in between, there was much to see and learn at this museum that we didn’t even have time to set foot inside the Space Museum!

2010.01.03

Homeward bound. We checked out of the hotel and made our way to Seattle to see one last thing. I’m not even sure if it was on our list of things to see, but I’m glad we saw the troll under the north end of the Aurora Avenue Bridge. Keep Seattle Weird, too!

New York, NY

2009-11-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

“Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city / Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty / How can you lose?” - Petula Clark

Arriving back to NYC via Coach USA, I made visiting the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) my first priority of the day. After alighting at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, I walked down to 11 West 53rd St with my baggage in tow and walked through the glassy entrance doors of the MoMA. There was an exhibit on the first floor on Claude Monet’s Water Lilies where I had casually strolled through on my way up to the upper floors for the Modern Art collection. I was awe-inspired by a collection of bold and innovative design of common household items from kitchen appliances to home furnishings in the “What Was Good Design? MoMA’s Message 1944 - 56” collection.

I watched an archival video about the story behind “Cadillac Ranch” in another section of the MoMA before moving on to “In Situ: Architecture and Landscape” which had scale architectural models of structures blending in with its surrounding environment. None was more apparent in this concept than Frank Lloyd Wright’s well known “Fallingwater”.

Tim Burton’s exhibit would have been interesting to see but it was still under construction when I was there. I was only able to get a sneak peak of it from the “mouth” leading into Burton’s world.

I met up with Kyle at the lobby of the MoMA just as I was exiting the building and went over to his abode in Brooklyn to unpack my belongings. His girlfriend, Becca, appeared moments later all distraught and stressed from something that happened to her at work earlier in the day, but quickly brushed those feelings aside to focus on the fun adventure that awaits in India in mere hours. I thought I had packed light with just my camera backpack and another bag for my MacBook Pro, but seeing that all she had was a single backpack for the weeklong trip to India with her mom to attend her friend’s wedding made me think twice about my packing essentials.

I had a short list of things I wanted to see and do around the city which I had quickly compiled with the help of Kyle and Becca while at JFK, but when Saturday morning rolled around, I got sidetracked when Marion came online on Skype. Kyle came into the scene and the three of us were reunited! We spoke at length and Marion was jealous of the fact that I was in NYC. Thanks to the power of wireless technology, we took Marion on a tour of NYC by bringing my MacBook Pro to the rooftop and gave her a 360º view of the neighbourhood and took a “group photo” of all three of us together, cradling her in my MacBook Pro in my arms. Geek Chic!

Our video chat continued until the sun went down. We were on the couch watching YouTube videos together using the screen-sharing feature new to Skype until she got really really tired and went horizontal.

Though Kyle and I didn’t leave the apartment until late in the evening, I thought we were still making good use of the day as I felt I was really with two wonderful friends in one room. Obligatory when in the Big Apple, I had to visit Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue, but as it turned out, there was a grand opening at an Apple Store on 1981 Broadway, just walking distance from the Fifth Avenue store on the other side of Central Park, so we went there first. This store is HUGE with two levels of retail space with the massive glass exterior entrance. It shone like sparkling diamonds at night. We moved onto the Fifth Avenue Apple Store with it’s iconic glass cube entrance with a glass staircase leading down to the retail floor. I seem to be overly fascinated with glassworks. While much smaller than the Apple Store on 1981 Broadway, it’s been estimated that this store brings in more $$ per square footage than Tiffany’s.

The highlight on Sunday was my walk-about to the Brooklyn Promenade where I was able to capture Manhattan’s skyline splashed with a colourful array of light in the sky just before the sun disappeared under the horizon through the lens. I took some beautiful long exposure shots here of the Brooklyn Bridge and then moved onto a small park between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges for more nightscapes. I crossed northbound over the Manhattan bridge towards Chinatown then walked back to Brooklyn.

Monday rolled around and I had spent my last day in NYC on another walk-about, starting off at Battery Park. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. People were playing frisbee on the greens while others were tanning, reading a book, exercising, and jogging around the perimeter of the park. It was very picturesque. I kept walking south to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and then to Wall Street where I took my lunch. After devouring my kobe beef, I walked north along Wall Street to Liberty Street, then made my way to Ground Zero. I made full circle back to Battery Park before heading to BMCC to meet up with Kyle for the last time before heading back to JFK.

Sigh... good times never last long enough.

An odd thing happened to me on my flight home. Just after having my in-flight dinner with a glass of not-so-good red wine to finish, I woke from my sleep with an upset stomach. As I got up and excused myself to the passenger sitting on the isle seat, I felt really nauseous and just before reaching what I thought was the door to the loo, I blacked out and collapsed onto the floor. Moments later, I woke from my unconscious state with several flight attendants worried about my condition. They were asking me about any allergies I may have and medical history/condition. I couldn’t explain it myself. Whatever it was that caused my black out was now out of me and colour returned to my skin. I was able to walk to the loo myself but a few attendants wanted to accompany me just in case.

Mahwah, NJ

2009-11-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

As I can easily fall asleep while on transit, I thought that it might be a great idea to take the red-eye from YVR to JFK, but with dinner being served at 2300h and a movie starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Williams to entertain me post-dinner, I got just enough minutes of sleep as it takes to develop a roll of film at a drugstore.

Flying into JFK at 0600h, I disembarked, found my way onto the AirTrain (Bombardier!), transferred onto the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) at Jamaica Station, took it to the terminus at Penn Station, meandered through the streets of NYC to the Port Authority Bus Station, boarded the CoachUSA to Mahwah, NJ, an hour away, and then took a 5 minute taxi ride to the Sheraton. It was 0930h when I checked into my suite where I had promptly dumped my baggage on the floor and face planted onto the bed where I remained for many hours.

When I woke up, I looked outside my south facing window from the twentieth floor and was surprised to see that I was in a hilly area bounded by freeways and highways. I ventured outside for a walkabout but I didn’t get very far at all. I couldn’t! I quickly realised that Mahwah was not built for pedestrians so the only way to get ANYWHERE is by motor vehicle. Absent were sidewalks, crosswalks, and skywalks. I popped into a convenience store at a gas bar and asked an attendant there if there was any way to cross Route 17 and sarcastically (or not) he responded by asking me if I could cross the road to the median, hop onto the cement barrier, and climb the fence on top of it.

“What kind of place is this?” I wondered. A butt-fuck of a place employing village hicks sans-high school diploma at the city engineering and urban planning division.

Walking back towards the hotel cutting across the large garden with a fountain, I saw a large flock of Canadian geese eating grass. They looked just as out of place as I did.

For dinner, I had my driver, Marie, take me to a Japanese restaurant called Mt. Fuji, as was recommended by the hotel concierge. It turned out to be a teppanyaki restaurant which was marginally palatable but didn’t have the authenticity. I had the chicken teriyaki with mushrooms stirred in with mozzarella cheese.

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

I woke at 0630h and got out of bed at 0700h to be down at the lobby by 0745h to wait for the Sheraton shuttle to take me to Nobel Biocare’s Training Centre.

We covered how to scan in and design single unit and three-unit bridges using CAD and Anatomic functions for each. We also had a tour of the production facility which was smaller than I had envisioned. It was really neat to see the milling machines in operation though. The robotic arm that filled the order into the tubes was also cool to see.

There were several others in our training group from Canada as well including a party of three from a lab in Saskatoon of all places. Gary, his dad, and his assistant Crystal were very nice folks and we all went out to dinner to a seafood restaurant called Virka’s. I had ordered the Chilean Sea Bass in onion and tomato soup which was to my satisfaction.

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Today was another full day of training. This time, we were being trained on how to design implants and bar-over dentures. My brain shut-itself off after lunch and retaining anything on a full stomach was impossible. I sure hope that the supplementary training materials and help menus will guide me along adequately when it comes time to actually doing some work back at the lab. I’ll need to do a practice case at least a few more times to get into the flow of things.

I didn’t feel like leaving my hotel room for dinner so I ordered pizza from Pizza Masters and had it delivered right to my suite. As I waited, I was channel surfing and found myself hooked on a cheeky quiz show called CA$H CAB. Ben Bailey, the host of this show, is also the cab driver, and the unsuspecting passengers in NYC who enter into his CA$H CAB are the contestants. The first $50 questions start off easy and after a certain distance covered, the questions become harder at $100 for each correct answer. If you manage to arrive at your destination without striking out on three, you get the “video bonus question” where you can double your winnings or LOOSE IT ALL. I was hooked to this mobile game show instantly.

On one episode, Bailey picked up two blonde woman caught by surprise when they realised that they were on CA$H CAB. The women turned to each other and said something to the effect of “Ohmigawd! I make fun of people who can’t answer the easy questions! They’re so dumb!” This comment came to haunt them in the end when neither one could answer which Canadian city two hours north of Seattle will host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Even if you don’t live in Vancouver, give a rats ass about the Olympics, and think that it’s just a silly sporting event like I do, you would have got the answer.

The pizza guy came a-knockin’ and handed me a huge box. I only had the appetite to eat a quarter of it that night and another quarter the morning after for breakfast. I’d obviously had a brain lapse and forgot upon ordering that I’m in America.

The Bostonians.

2009-10-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

My cousins from Boston came out visit me this weekend and I was very happy to see them again. To be less-selfish, Gar-Hay and Alhambra visited Vancouver not just because of me, but because our other cousin, Matthew got married and had their wedding banquet here. It’s been close to 15 years I think since the last time I saw them so it was nice to reset the clock. Hopefully we’ll make the effort in seeing each other more often before waiting for another 15 years...

After part-taking in the environmental movement march at the foot of the Cambie Street Bridge on Saturday morning with our uncle James, I called Jay to see what he was up to and ask if he would like to hang out with us on this unusually sunny day (it’s been raining in Vancouver for weeks). We met up with him at Caffè Artigiano across from the VAG and sat down for a light lunch, then walked towards the Burrard Street Bridge to follow the coastline along English Bay. We dropped into a quaint French bakery called Tartine for some pastries to eat along the way.

Jay joined us for a family dinner gathering at Uncle Ben’s and met more of my extended family there including my cousin Matthew and his new wife. Uncle Hing cooked lobsters which was the main course. Capone’s was the pace to be for a late night social after dinner.

I had spent two consecutive nights over at grandmas so that I could spend more quality time with my cousins I hadn’t seen in over a decade. Grandma was happy to see me as well as I hadn’t seen her in about a year. I suppose I should make more of an effort in staying in touch and showing my face to family events.

Time flies when you’re having fun. This adage couldn’t be more true over the past few days hanging out with the Bostonians. But alas, the other adage all good things must come to an end, also rang true. On Sunday morning, I said my goodbyes to my uncle Hing, auntie Christine, and Gar-Hay flying back to Boston, then to Al heading back to Kansas a few hours later at the Greyhound Bus terminal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Jay and I hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner tonight with plenty of food and wine to go around for all of our invited friends. We had one stipulation when we sent out invites to our friends: no ready-made store-bought food allowed!

Tim and Kamilla arrived at Jay’s a few hours before the appointed time to prepare roasted lamb to be served in time for dinner while I was preparing the turkey to follow. Ieda was also part of the prep crew helping me with stuffing the stuffing and also made some home made pumpkin pie and sangrias. We were awesome in the kitchen and had a lot of fun! More of this and I may actually turn into a not-so-bad chef.

Everything turned out wonderfully well and it was very nice to share this feeling with friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunshine Coast.

2009-09-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

When Ieda asked me if I would like to join her and her bf Cole on a road trip to the Sunshine Coast, I had initially refused, claiming that I was too busy with other plans. And I did have other plans! This was supposed to be the weekend where I had set aside some time for self development and catch up on personal work. But the better of me told me that I should go and have fun, and so I reversed my decision and went.

And I’m glad I did! We were blessed with another great day with sunshine on our shoulders. We boarded the ferry from Horseshoe Bay in the early morning and made our way to the Langdale Ferry Terminal on the other side. From there, we drove past Gibsons to Sechelt where everything was closed for the day. We found our own adventure further in at a place called Smuggler Cove Provincial Park. Over a century ago, this isolated place was the entry port for many illegal Chinese labourers, hence the name of the park. We took the forested trails to Welcome Pass which offered a spectacular view of Texada Island to the north.

Cole was demonstrating to Ieda and I on how he was able to hop over rocks half submerged in flowing water to get to get on top of a large bolder a short distance across and encouraged us to give it a try. But with my camera equipment on my back, I was hesitant to. As Cole was making his way back across, hopping on the same half-submerged rocks, his foot slipped into the flowing water, getting his shoes, socks, and the lower part of his jeans soaked. Laughter ensued.

We moved on along the Sunshine Coast Highway to Halfmoon Bay, took some scenic pictures of us and the Strait of Georgia behind us, and continued heading west to Egmont - Pender Harbour to look for a place to eat. We didn’t have a lot of choices in terms of where to eat, which is common for small outposts scattered about the island. We hung around Earls Cove Ferry Terminal debating on whether or not we should head onwards to Powell River, but the sporadic and limited ferry runs made it hard for us to see it all in a day trip, so we turned around instead.

It was a good thing we did as we nearly missed the last sailing back home to Horseshoe Bay.