Grinding my way to the top

Today I kicked off the anual Grouse Grind adventure. It was trecherous and I questioned myself many times as to what benefit I was getting out of torturing my body on a hot summer day. I've committed myself to doing it once a week with the Grinding Gang. Just some co-workers who are gung ho about that staircase-to-hell. I'm actually pretty happy that I've been keeping up with my daily yoga class and now with the Grind added to the routine - I should see some improvement in my endurance. Part way up the trail today I was sure I would have sold my soul for a new set of lungs! It was pretty depressing because I was tired and when I saw the girl with the dress shoes, the guy in the jeans and the guy carrying the laptop bag (yes - I recognized it as one...Targus...can't miss that brandname) pass me by it made me just groan even louder. :-) All said and done - it felt GREAT when I reached the top and it was all smiles on my face. Ah...the benefits of selective memory. The feeling of accomplishment in the end TOTALLY makes up for the negative thoughts I had on the way up. I would highly recommend the hike if you have nothing else to do and want to see how fast you can reach hyper-ventilation and nausea.

too much caffeine

So it's 2:15am and I'm wide awake. I have an 12-8pm shift tomorrow so that's ok I guess. I had a cup of coffee about 2 hours ago. Bad idea. I spent the last couple of hours working on a logo for our department. This is suppose to be a "fun" task that is going to enhance the department. So far I don't think many people are as Gung Ho about it. We have 3 tasks to complete by Thursday.

1. bring in a baby picture
   
2. do a SWOT analysis of our department (this is like REAL "thinking" work)
3. design a logo for the department so that they can "brand" stuff

I've got the baby picture part covered. :-) Ah - given that I'm not an artist and that I RARELY use pen/paper...drawing a logo was quite the task. I drew a couple of pictures that are awful looking but what the heck - it's the thought that counts. I'm not going to put much effort into the SWOT as I think this is something that the managers and supervisors should be developing - not front line staff. Enough about work. I feel that my life is starting to revolve around it. I went to the library the other day with KA. Came out with 3 books. "Confessions of a Shopoholic", "Gung Ho" (building team morale within corporations) and "100 business ideas that cost under $5000". So I'm either going to stop shopping, improve the corporate spirit at work or start a new business. Or none of the above! :-)

Alcan Dragon Boat Festival

Today I went down to support Chicky at the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival - he was one of the racers. KA, Mike and I got down to Science World at 9:45am. He had said that his first race was at 9:30am. So I called him but couldn't find him.

The 3 of us stood and watched a race that was just beginning. All the boats had numbers on them. In the fist race we watched, team 5 kicked everyone's butt. They were many boat lengths ahead of the competition. We noticed boat 2 as it was the last one coming down the stretch. KA and Mike laughed at how some of them were banging paddles and just looking really bad on the water. Some of the paddlers even stopped paddling during the race! :-) The race finished and I was adjusting my camera when the teams paddled past the spectators. Then all of a sudden Mike says "it's the Ritchie Bros. team!" and points down to the water below us. Low and behold there was Chicky and he was in boat 2! We all burst out laughing again as the team that we thought looked really bad on the water was their team! Lol - too funny. We told him this later and he admitted that they were doing timed heats and not actually racing. We watched 6 more races and noticed that in each race - boat 5 always won. This was too much of a coincidence. Mike asked one of his friends (who was there racing competitively) and he said that the competitive teams get the center lanes (which means boat 5/8). Chicky's team races again tomorrow - hopefully their time will improve. But I have to be fair. They weren't the worst team there. One of the races we watched, one of the novice boats rammed into another notive boat. The coach was really embarrassed as they weren't able to cross the finish line.

cousin-in-laws

Last night I had dinner with some of Chicky's cousins. His cousin Kin was in town from London for the wedding and leaving today so he wanted to get everyone together. This is a picture of some of them having drinks at Steamworks while we waited for our dinner reservation.

We went down to Kitanoya Guu with Otokamae in Gastown. The food was interesting and good - not your typical all-you-can-eat Japanese joint. I was pretty amused at the way the staff screams a greeting at you when you come through the door. It's a cool place to just hang out, drink some liquour (or sake) and have some tappas. We ordered a whole bunch of food and just shared everything. Mike knew the menu well so he was able to make recommendations. I tried everything - though some of the dishes were strange to look at. Yen admired the hot Japanese waiter. Japanese guys have the coolest hair. Check out my image gallery for all the food pics!

After a very filling dinner, we walked around downtown and went to get icecream. As I strolled along with them I couldn't help but chuckle because we looked like a large group of tourists (with our backpacks, etc). There was 11 of us and when we wanted to jay walk across a street - cars had to stop. :-) Power to the masses!

smuggled goods

I was admiring the bonsai plants that we brought back (illegally) from Vietnam - 2 months ago. They are doing amazingly well and have sprouted leaves. You would never have guessed that each root was tightly wrapped in newpaper and tin foil (to trick the x-ray machines) and spread out amongst the different luggage bags. :-) I might have to nab one of these when I move out (as it's rediculously expensive to buy a bonsai root of that size over here). We even have a bonsai (not pictured here) that grows on coral. All we need now is a backyard pond and some fish to put it into to complete the "zen" look.

rediscovering the city

Today I found ontop of my seat on the sea bus a copy of Ride Guide. The first free publication of things you will see while riding transit. I think Translink has only one publication. Anyhow since I take the bus, train and sea bus to work - I had plenty of time to read some of the tidbits.

Foutain of Useless Knowledge:

• Lougheed Highway was named after Nelson Lougheed, a logging company owner and later BC's Minister of Public Works. His family pronounced their name LAW-heed while everyone today pronounces it LO-heed.
• Boundary Road was known as Park Street until 1929 because it led to Central Park just up the hill.
• Commercial Drive is know as "The Drive" and also as "Little Italy".
  

On the topic of information - Jamie sent me and email today with Vancouver's redesigned website. I briefly went through it and found a few interesting things:
Top 5 - list of things to see and do

Reloading

Reloading: (Investopedia definition)

• A term lenders commonly use to refer to the habits of borrowers taking out loans to repay the balance on other loans.
  
• Often reloading is done to take advantage of lower interest rates offered by other loans, and potential tax benefits.

This term pretty much sums up my financial state of mind.

Today I've been thinking about ways to make money (ligitimately). I think it has to do with the fact that I spent the weekend discussing businesses with enterpreneurs. It's much easier to think of an idea then it is to implement it. I've had my fair share at pyramid schemes and other wacky ploys (usually brought forth by a sweet yet devilishly convincing speaker).

While taking the West Coast Express home, I like to puruse through the various free brochures that laiden the transit stops. Today's selection included West Coast Homes and Business Exchange. As I mused the thought of buying a "live/work" living space, it occured to me that I don't have any real talents that are marketable! :-) So I got home and went searching on the net (what I do best) for other types of ventures.

I'm drawn back to the real estate market - as this is what I'm most familar with. Yes - I aspire to be a slum-lord! ;-P Rental properties will always be in demand. Just need the capital for it. One website advised that I should "Make Friends with a Lawyer, a Tax Professional and a Banker". As they are the 3 types of people I'd need to deal with on a regular basis. Duh - I have mostly techie friends. :-) I think this is just another one of my phases that I go through. Seems like I get into an "investing" frame of mind annually.

Congratulations Leon & Sharon

On Saturday Chicky and I went to his cousin Leon's wedding. It was held at Swan E Set golf course in Pitt Meadows. The weather was surprisingly beautiful considering the fact that it has been raining for the last couple of days. We had a great time at the party. It was my first family wedding since Chicky and I broke up so it was kinda awkward when some of the aunts asked me where I've been for the last couple of family weddings. But then I was surprised some of them remembered me as I don't remember any of their names. :-) I'm so bad with names. We drove one of his more "colourful" aunts to and from the wedding. She's quite the character.

Spa Day

On Friday I took the day off to go pamper myself. I've been feeling a bit of stressed at work and needed to just get away from it for awhile. Life at a call center isn't always fun and games.

In the morning I went to PinkLime Spa for a mini facial (a birthday present from Tanya last year). The spa was luxurious but the location was a bit hard to find (down in Yaletown where the parking is hellish). I felt so relaxed laying on the massage table and listening to the birds chirp (on CD). I think I may have dozed off for a few seconds or more. All in all it was a pretty relaxing experience. Plus the girl that worked on my face was this cute little Chinese girl that didn't speak English well but was very polite.

After Pink Lime I met up with Betty, her mom, brother, my mom and KA for lunch at the new Vietnamese restaurant in Coquitlam. It's called "Thai Son" and it's much better than Pho Hoa. Thai Son has locations in Richmond and Vancouver. The Coquitlam location is in the little Korean complex (same side of the street as Fitness World) on North Road. If you like Viet food then check it out!

After lunch we went back to Paris Spa - which is Betty's Spa. There Betty convinced me to let her "tint" my eyebrows and attach fake eyelashes. You have to keep in mind that Betty's never had formal training for any of this - so I was a bit weary that it would turn into a bad experience. But in the end it was a fun experience as it reminded me of when we were little and I'd let Betty experiment with make-up on my face (the results were not always flattering). The fake eyelashes turned out nice. She used EverLast eye lashes, which are semi perminent lashes that get glued to your eye and last about a month. I asked he not to give me the "glam queen" look - as she tends to like making things "bold & beautiful". We giggled, took some pictures and had a good time - it's like playing dress up except for now Betty has a whole Spa to play with. I haven't hung out with Betty in a long time and it's good to just catch up and have fun with each other. I think our lives are changing so fast that we're losing touch with each other.

Congratulations Kim Anh & Michael

Just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to Kim Anh & Michael. They announced their engagement this weekend. We're really happy to have Michael join our family. He's been with us for such a LONG time that it would be weird not to have him as a brother-inlaw. My parents are estatic that their relationship has moved onto the next level. I'm looking forward to the wedding next year. Should be a fun 2007!