Jun 21, 2009
Not so surprising surprise party.
My friends threw me a not-so-surprising birthday anniversary party for me today. We were atop Jay’s rooftop garden grilling up hamburger patties on the portable BBQ while looking out to the downtown core and beyond. I had invited my HS friend, Royden, whom I hadn’t seen in many years and was pleased that he could make it out for my 28th party of this sort.
Jun 14, 2009
Galloping Goose Bumps.
Three road warriors, Norm, Jay, and I, took to the trails on our bikes and successfully completed the 170 km roundtrip trek on the Galloping Goose this weekend. It was exhilarating, exuberayting, and exciting and worth doing again.
From Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, we began with a paved path leading into a residential neighbourhood and crossed over acres of farmland. The path continued along the shoulder of a road which lead us to yet another residential neighbourhood, before we got to the mouth of a beautiful tree-lined dirt path with the fresh scent of the trees and mulch. Overhanging tree branches, interconnected with one another, formed a splendid tunnel vision like a pathway leading to an enchanted garden and provided shade with cooler climate. Sunlight shimmered between the trees as we cycled along.
I was stoked from riding my new Specialized Rockhopper but about a quarter of the way through, my legs were giving out until I finally had to take a break from the repetitive motion of cycling. I couldn’t even stand on my two legs after I dismounted as they felt like they were made of jelly. Rehydrating my system and giving my legs a good 5 minutes rest, I was back on again and persevered through the majestic trails of the Goose, trailing both Norm and Jay. Then a miracle happened: like Elliott carrying E.T. in a basket, I flew! Sure, my two wheels were still on the ground, but I no longer felt pain in my legs and my stamina level shot up to a hundred percent! It felt like I broke through a brick wall. From behind, I passed Norm and Jay and just kept on going and going and going.
When we got to our camp site in Sooke, our reserved lot was occupied by two neighbours; to our left was a fifth-wheel on our fire pit and to our right was a young couple chugging booze back on the picnic bench. They were nice people who welcomed us right away and offered beer from their cooler. They’ve been drinking since the morning apparently.
As it turned out, because of the landscaping changes still underway at the campsite, a few lots were moved to any available parcel of land or wedged in between existing lots. None of us were very impressed about this arrangement by the campsite administrators, but our neighbours moved their trailer and picnic bench around to accommodate us and our bikes.
By evening, the young couple to our right had brought some friends, and they had brought with them more booze from the liquor store. It turned into quite an interesting night when a particular friend of theirs’ started misbehaving, creating a riff between him and everyone else. Norm, Jay, and I were in our sleeping bags inside the tent by midnight but the “party outside” continued on for several hours after. Fuelled by alcohol and testosterone The conversations transpired outside the tent turned even more interesting when a few guys “whipped it out” to compare sizes as they talked about chicks and becoming a teenage father.
When we crawled out of our tent the morning after, the campsite as we had remembered it bore little resemblance from the night before. Our neighbour’s tents were blown away, newspaper debris were down the embankment towards the lake, and crushed beer cans were strewn everywhere. There were a pair of legs sticking out of a crumpled tent, and a guy laying next to a Honda. He was the first to wake from his sleep as we were packing up to head back along the Galloping Goose.
Overconfidence brought disaster to me. I fell off my bike badly tearing my left knee cap and left palm as I tumbled down a gravel hill. It was not very nice at all. Jay tore a strip out of his towel and wrapped it around my knee as a bandage to help clot the bleeding.
I should have expected to have an accident like this happen to me. This weekend bike excursion would have been too perfect to be believable otherwise.
From Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, we began with a paved path leading into a residential neighbourhood and crossed over acres of farmland. The path continued along the shoulder of a road which lead us to yet another residential neighbourhood, before we got to the mouth of a beautiful tree-lined dirt path with the fresh scent of the trees and mulch. Overhanging tree branches, interconnected with one another, formed a splendid tunnel vision like a pathway leading to an enchanted garden and provided shade with cooler climate. Sunlight shimmered between the trees as we cycled along.
I was stoked from riding my new Specialized Rockhopper but about a quarter of the way through, my legs were giving out until I finally had to take a break from the repetitive motion of cycling. I couldn’t even stand on my two legs after I dismounted as they felt like they were made of jelly. Rehydrating my system and giving my legs a good 5 minutes rest, I was back on again and persevered through the majestic trails of the Goose, trailing both Norm and Jay. Then a miracle happened: like Elliott carrying E.T. in a basket, I flew! Sure, my two wheels were still on the ground, but I no longer felt pain in my legs and my stamina level shot up to a hundred percent! It felt like I broke through a brick wall. From behind, I passed Norm and Jay and just kept on going and going and going.
When we got to our camp site in Sooke, our reserved lot was occupied by two neighbours; to our left was a fifth-wheel on our fire pit and to our right was a young couple chugging booze back on the picnic bench. They were nice people who welcomed us right away and offered beer from their cooler. They’ve been drinking since the morning apparently.
As it turned out, because of the landscaping changes still underway at the campsite, a few lots were moved to any available parcel of land or wedged in between existing lots. None of us were very impressed about this arrangement by the campsite administrators, but our neighbours moved their trailer and picnic bench around to accommodate us and our bikes.
By evening, the young couple to our right had brought some friends, and they had brought with them more booze from the liquor store. It turned into quite an interesting night when a particular friend of theirs’ started misbehaving, creating a riff between him and everyone else. Norm, Jay, and I were in our sleeping bags inside the tent by midnight but the “party outside” continued on for several hours after. Fuelled by alcohol and testosterone The conversations transpired outside the tent turned even more interesting when a few guys “whipped it out” to compare sizes as they talked about chicks and becoming a teenage father.
When we crawled out of our tent the morning after, the campsite as we had remembered it bore little resemblance from the night before. Our neighbour’s tents were blown away, newspaper debris were down the embankment towards the lake, and crushed beer cans were strewn everywhere. There were a pair of legs sticking out of a crumpled tent, and a guy laying next to a Honda. He was the first to wake from his sleep as we were packing up to head back along the Galloping Goose.
Overconfidence brought disaster to me. I fell off my bike badly tearing my left knee cap and left palm as I tumbled down a gravel hill. It was not very nice at all. Jay tore a strip out of his towel and wrapped it around my knee as a bandage to help clot the bleeding.
I should have expected to have an accident like this happen to me. This weekend bike excursion would have been too perfect to be believable otherwise.
Jun 7, 2009
Specialized Special @ Simon's.
After my initial introduction to Specialized bikes at the EP!C Sustainable Living Expo, I went busy with researching various makes of bikes including TREK, Kona, Norco, and Louis Garneau, and made a decision as to whether I should go with a road bike, a mountain bike, or a hybrid based on my future aspirations. The specials on last year’s models at Simon’s Bike Shop sealed the deal for me and I chose the last remaining Specialized Rockhopper in bright yellow. I took it out for a spin around the empty parking lot out back, climbed over parking cement blocks, bounced around testing the feel for its RockShox suspension, and fell in love. I mean, LLLOOOOVEEE.
Excited by my purchase of my new two-wheeler, Jay and I got on our bikes today and made a trek from downtown Vancouver to Steveston, Richmond. Cycling along Granville begun with a steady uphill climb and my legs were getting tired. I pushed myself, however, and at 37th Avenue, it peaked, and it was all downhill from there. The next half of the journey down along Granville was made easier after I made a pit-stop at a petrol station and realised that my tyres were under-inflated.
We went over the Arthur-Laing Bridge, entered Richmond, and continued our way to Norm and Lucy’s place. They took us along the Richmond Dyke which turned out to be a really nice path for bikes and walkers and took a rest once we got to Garry Point in Steveston. All four of us ordered fish and chips from Pajo’s and then ordered ice cream from the shop right next door. Savoured the explosive deliciousness in my mouth and every moment of being outside under the sun.
Back on our bikes again, we continued our path along the dyke north, turned a right, and followed River Road. YVR didn’t seem all too busy from across the water. In fact, Richmond had a certain calmness to it today, maybe because we avoided travelling on major arteries. Separating from Norm and Lucy in Richmond, Jay and I cycled back into town, taking the same path along Granville. A nice woman waiting at a crosswalk had a box of cookies with her and offered one each for the both of us. Vancouver is bike friendly.
Excited by my purchase of my new two-wheeler, Jay and I got on our bikes today and made a trek from downtown Vancouver to Steveston, Richmond. Cycling along Granville begun with a steady uphill climb and my legs were getting tired. I pushed myself, however, and at 37th Avenue, it peaked, and it was all downhill from there. The next half of the journey down along Granville was made easier after I made a pit-stop at a petrol station and realised that my tyres were under-inflated.
We went over the Arthur-Laing Bridge, entered Richmond, and continued our way to Norm and Lucy’s place. They took us along the Richmond Dyke which turned out to be a really nice path for bikes and walkers and took a rest once we got to Garry Point in Steveston. All four of us ordered fish and chips from Pajo’s and then ordered ice cream from the shop right next door. Savoured the explosive deliciousness in my mouth and every moment of being outside under the sun.
Back on our bikes again, we continued our path along the dyke north, turned a right, and followed River Road. YVR didn’t seem all too busy from across the water. In fact, Richmond had a certain calmness to it today, maybe because we avoided travelling on major arteries. Separating from Norm and Lucy in Richmond, Jay and I cycled back into town, taking the same path along Granville. A nice woman waiting at a crosswalk had a box of cookies with her and offered one each for the both of us. Vancouver is bike friendly.
Jun 4, 2009
It's Elementary, My Dear.
After a laborious day of painting the walls to our newly expanded suite at the lab, I made my way to my old stomping ground at Fleetwood Elementary School where they were having a cook-off and celebration to commemorate an era soon to end.
This aging schoolhouse to where I had spent my salad-years through grade one to seven is slated for demolition.
Past and present students as well as the teachers and parents came to say their hellos and goodbyes. I began my trip down memory lane with the class photos on the hallway walls and tried to find myself amongst the other children looking straight back at me. I had a look of innocence back in nineteen-eighty-eight when I started grade one and only slightly changed my facial expression to a look of non-chalantness and boredom throughout my elementary years. I don’t remember feeling that way about school, however, so I can’t explain why I wasn’t smiling much. Perhaps I was just being Emo (hahaha!).
I recognised the classmates I was with and could still recall a handful of them by name. The first classroom I had entered was actually the last classroom I was in: grade seven with Ms. McKenzie. The layout was pretty much the same as I had remembered, though the desks were arranged in groups of four unlike my days when they were in rows. On the teachers desk was a white bulbous eMac. I don’t recall seeing that when I was in grade seven.
Moving along, I waltzed into another classroom further down the hall to which I remember it being the Mac lab. Though it was void of any resemblance of it now, I recall having a lot of fun with the cloning tool on the old Mac Paint program which were running on a few Mac Plusses. I also remember printing large banners using the noisy ImageWriter dot matrix printers in which the Macs were connected to. The Mac engaged me. Someone should have taken a photo of me here as I would have definitely been grinning. To have this tool at my fingertips excited me so much that I couldn’t pull myself away from it. It’s second nature to most people now, but I remember having to show my fellow classmates that one can lift a mouse from the edges of the mouse pad, re-centre it and put it down, and move the cursor on the screen even farther. I have Apple to thank for my early start in shaping me into the geek I am today.
There was an assembly in the gymnasium packed with people of all ages. I bypassed them and went straight upstairs to Ms. Gidora and Ms. Nelson’s combined classroom where I had spent my grade five and six with them (if my memory serves me right). To my surprise, they were still teaching out of the same classroom and the posters on the walls still hadn’t changed! Though the two of them didn’t recognise me at first, perhaps because they’ve gone through so many faces over the years and not because I didn’t leave a profound impression on them as a child, I embraced them both with a hug and joined in on the chit chat they were having with Ms. Bev Watson and a former classmate bearing gifts from Japan.
I took a stroll around the school grounds and cut right across the outdoor basketball court where children were playing b-ball, looked over to the playground where I had once enjoyed swinging on the swings and climbing on the geodesic jungle gym, and made my way around the corner to the west side of the elementary school where I took several steps back, humbly acknowledged it’s presence, and said my last goodbye.
Fleetwood Elementary School: 1944 - 2009.
This aging schoolhouse to where I had spent my salad-years through grade one to seven is slated for demolition.
Past and present students as well as the teachers and parents came to say their hellos and goodbyes. I began my trip down memory lane with the class photos on the hallway walls and tried to find myself amongst the other children looking straight back at me. I had a look of innocence back in nineteen-eighty-eight when I started grade one and only slightly changed my facial expression to a look of non-chalantness and boredom throughout my elementary years. I don’t remember feeling that way about school, however, so I can’t explain why I wasn’t smiling much. Perhaps I was just being Emo (hahaha!).
I recognised the classmates I was with and could still recall a handful of them by name. The first classroom I had entered was actually the last classroom I was in: grade seven with Ms. McKenzie. The layout was pretty much the same as I had remembered, though the desks were arranged in groups of four unlike my days when they were in rows. On the teachers desk was a white bulbous eMac. I don’t recall seeing that when I was in grade seven.
Moving along, I waltzed into another classroom further down the hall to which I remember it being the Mac lab. Though it was void of any resemblance of it now, I recall having a lot of fun with the cloning tool on the old Mac Paint program which were running on a few Mac Plusses. I also remember printing large banners using the noisy ImageWriter dot matrix printers in which the Macs were connected to. The Mac engaged me. Someone should have taken a photo of me here as I would have definitely been grinning. To have this tool at my fingertips excited me so much that I couldn’t pull myself away from it. It’s second nature to most people now, but I remember having to show my fellow classmates that one can lift a mouse from the edges of the mouse pad, re-centre it and put it down, and move the cursor on the screen even farther. I have Apple to thank for my early start in shaping me into the geek I am today.
There was an assembly in the gymnasium packed with people of all ages. I bypassed them and went straight upstairs to Ms. Gidora and Ms. Nelson’s combined classroom where I had spent my grade five and six with them (if my memory serves me right). To my surprise, they were still teaching out of the same classroom and the posters on the walls still hadn’t changed! Though the two of them didn’t recognise me at first, perhaps because they’ve gone through so many faces over the years and not because I didn’t leave a profound impression on them as a child, I embraced them both with a hug and joined in on the chit chat they were having with Ms. Bev Watson and a former classmate bearing gifts from Japan.
I took a stroll around the school grounds and cut right across the outdoor basketball court where children were playing b-ball, looked over to the playground where I had once enjoyed swinging on the swings and climbing on the geodesic jungle gym, and made my way around the corner to the west side of the elementary school where I took several steps back, humbly acknowledged it’s presence, and said my last goodbye.
Fleetwood Elementary School: 1944 - 2009.
May 29, 2009
Critical Mass!
If ever I needed another reason to love Vancouver, this is it: Critical Mass. Hundreds of cyclists of all ages, agility, race, and profession, come out to enjoy this beautiful stroll all over the city streets. Bringing motor vehicles to a halt as we move on as one “mass traffic” unit, there’s greatness in the air just knowing that vehicles are relegated to the lower class. There’s freshness in the air, joy, and happiness when we ride over the Burrard Street Bridge, pause, and hoist our bikes over our heads signifying satisfaction of conquering.
With the closing of a single southbound lane on the Burrard Street Bridge in favour of a bike only lane trial that’s soon to open, the city of Vancouver is moving in the right direction and reaching its goal of aspiring to become THE greenest city. Next up: Cyclovia!
DIY cyclists bring their imagination and creativity to the road. One guy I noticed mounted an actual love seat, a night stand, and a table lamp on a tricycle platform and was peddling over the bridge. There was also a couple on a tandem bike, but instead of facing front, the person in the back was facing the other direction while also pedalling. How does that work?!
Echo, Eriko, Jay, and I settled for a picnic on the beach at English Bay after a lovely bike ride. When the sun went down, we returned to Jay’s abode and popped in Bottle Shock in the DVD player.
This city is where my heart is.
With the closing of a single southbound lane on the Burrard Street Bridge in favour of a bike only lane trial that’s soon to open, the city of Vancouver is moving in the right direction and reaching its goal of aspiring to become THE greenest city. Next up: Cyclovia!
DIY cyclists bring their imagination and creativity to the road. One guy I noticed mounted an actual love seat, a night stand, and a table lamp on a tricycle platform and was peddling over the bridge. There was also a couple on a tandem bike, but instead of facing front, the person in the back was facing the other direction while also pedalling. How does that work?!
Echo, Eriko, Jay, and I settled for a picnic on the beach at English Bay after a lovely bike ride. When the sun went down, we returned to Jay’s abode and popped in Bottle Shock in the DVD player.
This city is where my heart is.
May 23, 2009
Bowen Island Day Trip.
As a MiV event, Tracy, Robert and I, along with a few others, went out for a hiking trip around Bowen Island. Just twenty minutes away from the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal, but Bowen Island felt like miles away from Vancouver City Centre. Our casual hike on the trails around Killarney Lake took us about three hours to complete, far from breaking records, but it was an enjoyable one which allowed me to stop and take photographs and have lunch.
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