Bad dream

I haven't had a nightmare for a long time. But last night, I had a bad dream. I don't know if i would call it a nightmare, since I wasn't frighten to the point where I woke up from it. But I was scared.

It was in a real life version of the movie SAW. I was chosen as one of the test object. My test began with a pair of scissors that was tucked in a narrow groove within an old school typewriter. I was not given the usual audio instructions, but somehow I knew what I needed to do. I was able to distract the scissors without it launching into my face. Once I got hold of the scissors, the test begins. The typewriter started typing by itself propelling paper out from a paper roll instead of the usual sheets. My task was to cut each paper out while trying to catch up to the speed in which the paper was coming out. When i make my first incision, I realized that it is a pair of dull scissors. It can hardly cut through anything. As the typewriter keeps typing and spacing out papers, I wasn't able to catch up.

Suddenly from behind me, I felt a sharp blade cutting through my hair. You know that feeling when your hairdresser pulls tightly onto part of your hair and glade their scissors through it for a clean line. That's how it felt, a tear through the back of my hair. I turned around and it was Jigsaw. But this time, Jigsaw is a she (It's Helena Bonham Carter - don't ask me why). She told me I had failed the test, and she is going to reveal what will now happen to me. According to the movie, this usually follow by a tormenting death. I was so afraid to suffer the pain that I begged her to kill me instantly. Next thing I know she was slashing my stomach open with a knife. In order to stop her from "showing me my death", I got a hold of a small knife and ended up cutting her to pieces. My motive wasn't intent to kill, but rather to keep her from mutilating me further. After her death, the building started to crumble. Somehow there was a love one who was also in the building, I can't recall who exactly. I told him/her to leave as I know I will die shortly from the wounds.

Then my cell phone rang, and I woke up.

A slap in the face!

Further to my previous posting on bad pedestrians and enabling drivers, a thought came to me as Mike and I encountered another of such violation. Luckily he was driving this time, otherwise a lesson will be taught.

Every time when someone disregard the rules of traffic, it's as if they are slapping the faces of ALL those people who spent countless hours and manpower to create this system for our safety and to eliminate chaos.

So next time when you are tempted to run out on a red, or stop traffic for a jaywalker, think of all those faces that you will be slapping.

*SMACK SMACK*

Beef!!

One thing that really bothers me when driving in Vancouver is PEDESTRIAN!!! Almost every time I'm on the road, I would encounter or witness someone jaywalking. This isn't really what bothers me as i know jaywalkers exist in every cities. But the thing that REALLY get on my nerves is that drivers actually stop for these jaywalkers! And i mean they come to a COMPLETE STOP! Since they stop for them, a lot of jaywalkers just take their sweet time crossing on RED. Sometimes even putting traffic to a halt. Plus, nobody ever honk at these illegal street crossers!

In many cities I've been to, when drivers see a jaywalker ahead, they would blare their horn as a warning. Some may slightly tab on the brake out of courtesy, but definitely has no plan of stopping. Let it be known that jaywalking actually requires running and possibly dodging, but definitely NOT walking.

I just feel that if you plan to cross on a red, you are fully prepare to be honk at, to run, dodge and maybe loose a body part or two.

And what's with those seniors, people with young children, or people with physical impairment who jaywalk!!!

Ever evolving Toronto

Since I will be back in Toronto for a few weeks, I thought I do a little research of what's happening around town. Despite the short time I have been away, Toronto seemed to have evolved so much. There are so many new restaurants sprouted. And all the architectural evolution. This just proves what a big city Toronto really is.

Can't wait to be back!

where's my donut?!

I'm not the type of person who eats fatty or sugary food often. But the other day I suddenly got this craving for a donut. So tonight Mike and I decided to reward ourselves of some sugary treats after cleaning up our place. As we drove to Timmys, I can picture myself biting into a chocolate dip with sprinkled peanuts. But of course they don't have that kind when we got there, so i have to settled for just a chocolate dip. Now that I think about it, I have a vivid memory that someone told me that Timmy no longer carry the chocolate dip with sprinkled peanuts. Plus I don't recall seeing them whenever I pass by their counters.

If anyone can confirm this for me, I would really appreciate it. B/c I miss favorite donut.

And no, sprinkling chopped peanuts on a chocolate dip myself would totally defeat the purpose.

Parkour

I have seen Parkour many times on TV. And I am amazed every time I see traceurs leaping through the cities. I didn't realized there's actually classes out there that teach Parkouring. I don't mind trying it out. But I doubt I will be practicing those skills in the urban jungle.

Star sighting 2

I believe earlier this year I had a star sighting of Debra Messing in NYC. It was definitely a pleasant surprise. But given it happened in NYC, the probability of seeing someone famous would be much higher than many other cities.

But yesterday afternoon, while Mike and I were doing errands at our local strip mall. We saw someone whom we are hugh fans of. Our very own Michael Buble. Out of all places, he showed up at our neighborhood plaza. Let's just say we were star struck. The only regret was that we didn't have a pen nor our digi-cam with us. Otherwise we would have a visual for this post.

Food creation - onion pork chops

Where did we find the recipe?
Thanks to dad who gave me the recipe over the phone

What's in it?
Pork chops and onion

After tasting?
Great dish with rice! Let's just say it was sooo good that we ate all those within two meals.

Food creation - stuffed green pepper

Where did we find the recipe?
Thanks to mom who found the web site with this recipe. (For those who don't know Chinese, msg me and I'll translate)

What's in it?
Minced Dace flesh (that is ground fish meat where you can buy in most Chinese grocery store in the fish section) & green peppers

After tasting?
Delicious! Taste like the ones in restaurants. Not too much fishy taste from the stuffing, which is exactly how we like it. This conclude another success!

Pride in the west

It was the Pride parade this past Sunday in Vancouver. Mike and I didn't exactly planned to attend the event, but we thought it would be nice to go blading again by the seawall. Since the Pride festivities take place on English Bay after the parade, we were welcome by a large happy flamboyant crowd during out blade through to Stanley park. There were various concession booths and a big stage with many singing performances. We hung around for a bit. Took some pictures, listened to some live music and snooped out to see what's at the booths. Then set off on our blading trek.

Happy Birthday my husband!

Today is Mike's birthday. After all the eating, drinking and cooking in class last night, we decided to take it easy on the actual big day. So we bought and made our version of Roscoe's chicken and waffles for brunch. Roscoe is one of Mike's favorite place to eat in LA.


To work off all the grease, we went blading by the Seawall. It was fantastical! As we haven't blade in ages, we were so afraid we forgot how to. But I guess it's like riding a bike. Once you learned it, you will always know it. After blading, we wanted to enjoy every last bit of the sun for the day. So we drove down to the Spanish Bank and just chill on the beach. But we didn't end up staying long b/c it got kind of chilly and windy.

Since it has been a long eventful day, we spent the rest of the night relaxing in front of the TV. While we were watching Saturday Night Live, I realized the most important part of Mike's B-day is missing. His birthday cake! So i quickly went into the kitchen and tried to make something similar to a cake, where he can blow his candles and make his wish on. (FYI: i did thought of buying a real birthday cake a day ago, but it's only the 2 of us, plus i don't want to force ourselves to finish a cake by ourselves) Then I remembered the waffles we had this morning. Viola! I made him a Milo vanilla ice-cream sandwich. It was a delicious sent off for his BIG day.

Cooking class

For Mike's birthday this year, we thought we would celebrate it by going somewhere or trying something new together. So after much searching and consulting, I found this casual participation cooking class offered by Cook Shop. The class sounds quite interesting on their web site. So i signed us up and there we went. It is a 3 hours class with 18 people plus the chef. The chef that night was Romy Prasad whom is the executive chef at Savory Coast Restaurant. It was a 5 course menu. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food, and also found the class very informative. Through interaction, the chef shared a number of his cooking techniques with us. Mike definitely had a good time. Then again, he's not a hard person to satisfy. All he needs are great food, a little wine and good company (that's moi). =D

Burn baby Burn!

The weather has been really great the whole week, so Mike and I decided to get ourselves a nice summer tan. So we have been to the beach a handful of time for numerous hours in total. But every time we compare ourselves with others in yoga class, we still seem to be the palest ones there. Either we are REALLY pale to begin with, or our skins just doesn't absorb sunlight.

Food creation - banana bread

Where did we find the recipe?
Thanks to this recipe found on Google

What's in it?
Mainly banana, walnuts, flour and butter.

After tasting?
The banana and walnuts smell sooo good. The bread is very moist and it super addictive! The only down side: it's quite greasy. I guess that's why it's so moist. I think next time we will try putting less butter in it, despite the fact we already reduced it already. Once again, Mike is having a VERY hard time keeping his hands away from them.

Food creation - no-bake cheesecake

Where did we find the recipe?
Thanks to Martha Stewart

What's in it?
Pretty much fat and sugar.

After tasting?
Definitely a guilty pleasure. I would suggest to let it sit in the fridge overnight rather than just 3 hours before eating. It filling taste really smooth. Perfect with the graham crust. Now that Mike is baking along side with me. He finally realized what actually goes into these scrumptious desserts. He is definitely trying much harder to cut back on desserts.

Food creation - pizza

Where did we find the recipe?
We didn't. It's another one of our own creation.

What's in it?
1lb fresh pizza dough (which i have the hardest time finding in Van), tomato sauce, 1 tomato, 1/3 onion, 5 white mushrooms, 1/2 zucchini, 5 gloves of garlic, 2 sweet basil pork sausages, minced pork and mozzarella cheese.



After tasting?
It's DELISH!!! Super juicy and all the ingredients mingle perfectly together. The crust is thin yet hard enough to hold up all the toppings. We wouldn't change anything else.

Food creation - apple ice-cream crunch

Where did we find the recipe?
We didn't. 100% our own creation.

What's in it?
1 granny apple, handful of crumbled honey/nuts cereal, and 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream

After tasting?
Refreshing! The touch of sourness from the granny apple takes the heaviness out of the ice-cream. The crunch from the cereal+nuts added a different texture from the apple. It 's a great summer dessert. The only change we may consider is to put in a little less apple, and instead of cereal, we may substitute with chopped nuts, or those nut clusters granola.

Food creation - wonton

As of last week, Mike and I have began to experiment with our knowledge on cooking (or the lack of). In another words, we are experimenting with online recipes and our own stomach. I will be posting random pictures of what we made on here, along with my description of how each really tasted like. As looks can be deceiving sometimes.

Today food creation - WONTON

Where did we find the recipe?
Thanks to Google.
We substituted green onion with chives, and added Chinese mushrooms to it.
Recipe for wonton stuffing
Wonton wrapping styles



After tasting?
It was very blend, or even tasteless. I believe since we added the Chinese mushrooms, forgot to adjust the seasoning with the new proportion. But overall, the texture, looks and the degree of cook-ness is perfect. Just needed a little more taste. But it's nothing some extra seasoning can't fix.

Animal abuse!

Today I heard on the news about a NFL player holding illegal dog fights within his property. After the fights, he would kill the wounded dogs by either electrocuting, shooting or drowning them. Being a dog owner myself, I am FURIOUS!! I cannot believe how anyone can abuse poor innocent animal like this. Not just dogs, but ALL animals. I would only wish our judicial system could punish all animal abusers who found guilty the same way as they have abused the animal.

ARRGGHHHH!!!!

city love..

Somehow i can't seem to get bore of listening to her.

A light bulb idea!

I was in the car the other day and a light bulb idea hit me. I think all facial tissue paper should be shaped round rather than square (or rectangle or however you like to call it). This should lead to less consumption and less waste. Most people mainly use the center of the paper. Not many would make an effort to, or be able to use the 4 corners of the paper. Thus in many usage, the 4 corner areas are actually useless. If companies can cut the corners and make them into circles, then there will be much less waste out there, and they can make more with these excess materials.

I should be on American Inventor!

La Ratatouille

After watching Ratatouille in the theater, i'm yearning for some good home cooking. YEH that my parents will be here tomorrow!

And I want to learn how to make Ratatouille.

3 little monkeys

Yesterday we were at our friend's patio for a great day of BBQ, and there were 3 cutest little monkeys there enjoying their yummy bananas.

Happy Birthday Canada!

Yesterday Mike and I celebrated our first Canada Day together. We purposely got all our in-house chores done the day before, so we can immerse ourselves into the city for some good’ol Canada Day festivities. All in all, we had fun. Lots of people. We thought of getting our face painted, but have no idea what we want to put on us. Actaully mike does, he wants to be SpiderMan. I thought that was a little too out there. Plus it has nothing to do with the Canada Day theme, so we decided to pass with the face painting idea. Maybe next year, when we put more thoughts into what should go on our faces. But at least Mike went home happy with his Captain Vancouver "captain" hat!

natural human talent

Ususally natural human talents are rather useless. Like hyper-extented legs or arms, being able to roll your tongue, etc etc. But THIS ONE is quite useful! It's like those seniors who walk around with their folding seat cane.

everybody love Facebook

Undoubtedly the latest online network craze is the Facebook. Given the number of people that have already registered, you are constantly surprised by whom you'll find in the crowd. Some even date back to elementary school days. Despite finding all these long lost in contact faces, this is not what shocked me the most about the power the Facebook. The real crazy thing is my parents are also on it. Talk about parental control!

rollin', rollin' rollin'...

As we have to retire our bikes' old storage location, mike and i decided to transport them to the new storage spot ourselves. Thus, we set off on another biking expedition. This time, we rode from Gastown to Metrotown. It seemed like quite a distance at first thought, but the actual trek wasn't that bad at all. Despite having to navigate through the fragmented city's bike routes, and a few rather sloppy uphills which our "cruiser" bikes can't really handle. Overall, the ride was quite enjoyable. But if we are going to do this again, we will definitely need bikes that are actually equip with changeable gears.

One thing I must say, Vancouver is a much more bike friendly city than Toronto.

fire! fire!

Today while mike and I were preparing lunch, he heard a loud bang from outside. We went out to the balcony and noticed a house near by was on fire. Despite the amount of smoke came about from the fire, it only lasted about 20 minutes. Here are some shots we took of the scene.

Family traits

Growing up as kids, none of us hope to grow up to be like our parents. After all, they are old, boring, bossy and not all that cool. Plus, we all want to be different, to be ourselves, and have our own individuality. Now that I’m married, a little older, and experienced a little bit more. I realized us kids can never dropped to far from the family tree. Somewhere along the way, we all managed to carry pieces of our parents with us.

My family as an example. My brother inherited my dad's stubbornness, his strength, his boldness, his way of dealing with issues, his righteous-ness, a hard worker that he is, and his love for zzzzz. On the other hand, my bro also took after my mom's ambition, her business mindedness, her reckless-ness, and her fainthearted-ness.

Whereas myself, I got my dad's quick wittedness, his toughness, his confident, his stubbornness, his happy-go-lucky manner, and his laziness. I also got my mom's nagging ability, her clumsiness, her anti-social tendency, her way of dealing with people, and her inability to describe "things" in words.

And I LOVE IT!

Massive bike meet

Upon stepping out of the bikram studio after our class last night, mike and i couldn't help but stopped to watch this ocean of bikes passing in front of us. There must be at least 200 to 300 bikes on the road. They took up the entire lane while many on-lookers and drivers were cheering them on. This is the largest bike meet we have ever encountered. I got a chance to asked them about the next meet when part of them were haulted by the red light. It is called Critical Mass. They exist internationally, which means many cities around the world also have their local CM meets.

CM Vancouver happens on the last Friday of every month to ride the streets of Van city. This means mike and i have only one month to beautify our bikes for the next meet. Can't wait!!

If interested, you can visit http://critical-mass.info to learn more about their cause and find out when's the next meet in your city.

A day at the park

Today mike and i took our bikes out for a spin around Standley Park. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, but just being able to be out riding was a lot of fun. I know I often has much to complain about the city. But I must say one thing, nothing beats being outdoor in Vancouver during summer.

Unconditional love

Thanks for being a friend
Thanks for being the worrier
Thanks for being the disciplinarian
Thanks for being a life teacher
Thanks for being a constant support
Thanks for being a role model
Thanks for being our mom

i'm speechless

Give me an S - T - U - P - I - D! yay!



Just click here to read story.

Loving our earth

Tomorrow is EARTH DAY! As many of us are becoming more environmentally conscious in our everyday lives, I would like to share a great brand of cleaning products I saw yesterday.

This brand is called Shaklee. All their products are non-toxic, all natural and biodegradable. Thus, they are not only earth friendly, they are also great for those with allergies, or have little kids at home. They won't cause irritation and can be use on all baby related things. I know many of us may be hesitant to switch as most eco-friendly products are general more expensive. But for Skaklee products, most of their cleaning agents only require mixing a few drops to a spoonful with a gallon of water. Since they are in concentrated forms, an equal size bottle in comparison would last you much longer. The most important thing is, they are safe for your family and our earth.

Note: There are discounts on almost everything for a month. (33% off their Get Clean Deluxe Kit or Get Clean Healthy Home Pack - great way to get start!)

drive no more

Ok, let's cut to the chase. I went out to get gas today, and guess how much it is here at the pump?! It's $120/L!!!! My jaw dropped when I saw it. Vangroovy better improve their transit system or build some real highways.

Taste of my own home cooking

I have been experimenting with my own home cooking lately. I have to say it's going fairly well (with a little remote help from my parents). The only thing I'm still trying to fine tune is the portion size. I don't want to cook too much as I don't want to eat the same thing for a week. Yet I want to make enough to fill my tummy. It's tough to cook for one!

On the high note, this really encourages me to try making different dishes. Mainly because I am now my own guinea pig. So if it doesn't work out, I'll just bite the bullet. So far, I've made french toast, Avocado shrimp salad, fresh tomato sauce on spaghetti, etc etc. They are simple, delicious and healthy dishes. mmmmmmm...

*the picture may not look THAT appetizing, but it really taste good :)

living alone..

I can say i have never lived alone until now. It's definately an interesting experience. It does feel a little weird that there isn't anyone at home. But yet it feels kind of nice to be able to do everything at my own schedule, and I can make whatever I want to eat. I guess i have to admit that i am not enjoying it as much as i thought i would have. Guess it's due to my current situation and the stage i'm at in my life. I'm sure i would enjoy living alone much more if it was 5 years earlier. But then i'm still in the transitional period, i have a feeling i would have a hard time going back.

Gosh..i want a dog!

Minimalist

The last couple of days, mike and i have been doing some intense cleaning. Moving, selling, shredding, donating, sorting, packing and trashing! It's insane how much work (both physically and mentally) is require to clear out an 1000 sqft space. After this week, mike swore to begin his life as a minimalist. Own only essentials that would allow him to sustain his daily lives. In another word, think before he buys. Also, i think people try to hold on to too many things, or they just have too much junk!

But in the end, it's always bitter sweet to depart from somewhere you've grown so familar with. Bu-bye office!

Power of water

I can't even remember when was the last time i was sick until yesterday. It sux! I don't recall being sick could feel so bad. Head pounding, muscles aching, chills in my body, and extra dry throat. As some you may know, i'm an anti-drug person. I was raised to believe all minor flu, cold and fever can be heal by tons of water and sleep. Any unnecessary drugs would only weaken the body's natural immune system.

Thus this entire day, i have consumed a gallon plus water. The toilet became my new best friend. I don't know what it is, maybe viruses have the ability to alter my taste buds when i'm sick. But i tend to grow a fondness for the taste of water during these times.

After many cups of water, and numerous visits to the johns. I feel much better. No more dry throat (but now i've started to cough), no muscles pain and no chills in the body. Hopefully with sufficent rest tonight, i'll be back to normal tomorrow!

The new swing of things

Now that our travel marathon has come to an end, we are slowly adjusting back into the pace of the city. But to make life a little more exciting, we have added a few extra activites to our routine. More Bikram and new Swing dance classes.

The first class of getting back into Bikram was pretty tough. Our bodies have to be familiarize with the stretching, twisting, bending and above all..the HEAT again! But the relaxation you get afterward is indescribable. As for Swing dancing, it is super fun. We get to learn a short routine every class, and also get to mingle with a diverse group of people with the same interest.

Even though we may not be 100% with our dancing skills, but it's wonderful to let loose and just enjoy each others company.

We vs. Me

As always, my flight has been delayed again. So I thought it would be a good idea to buy a magazine to kill time while I wait, thus I got myself a copy of the O magazine. I initially picked it because of the article The Authentic. But as i read on, one other article really hits me. We vs. Me. It's about how one should maintain a sense of self in a relationship.

Q: How do you stay true to you when you're also half a couple?

A: SPACE. The more you can leave the relationship to explore your own interests, the more likely you'll be to bring your authentic self back to it.

I can't say this is something new to me, as my mom encourages me to always maintain my indiviualism in life. The reason I love it because of the analogy she used. It's not intimidating but rather reassuring. I have seen friends get "trapped by the we-ness" that they'd created. They become unhappy or dependent in the relationship, which i think is pretty scary.

So who said Oprah doesn't have answer to everything :D

i love it..i love it not..i love it..i love it not..

Since I landed saturday night in Toronto, i had one day of warm/dry weather. Then it has been nothing but snow and freezing rain starting today. Given I will be leaving on saturday, that means i can't do much during my stay this time. BUT in a way, i am hoping the weather will persist to be unstable. If my flight gets cancel, then i can go play hockey this sunday!!!!

*crossing my fingers*

American Pie

If you are in NYC and is craving to have some good old American Apple Pie, then you got to go to The Little Pie Company. They have some REALLY amazing pies. During all our visits to the Big Apple, we have tried out pretty much most of their pies. And they were all finger licking gooood.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Star sighting in NYC

Despite my many visits to all the star studded cities (i.e. LA, SF, NYC), I have yet to run into someone famous...until last Sunday!

Mike and I were in NYC over the weekend. As we were leisurely strolling along the streets of Lower East side/Nolita area, I noticed a couple approached toward us. They were like any other NYC couples, nothing really stood out about them. But for some reason, i thought i would take a glance their way. By the time it dawned on me who i was looking at, the lady gave me the "oh, you know who i am" look. I quickly turned my gaze back onto the street ahead. Once they walked further passed us, i quickly told mike who i just saw. The lady just walked by us is GRACE!! Grace from Will & Grace. Deborah Messing!!

So yeah, that was my highlight of the day.

MSL (Mandarin as a Second Language)

Mike's sister and her family are in town for a week on vacation. Since they are staying with us, we have the chance to spend a lot of time together. Especially with Evan, my little nephew (or is it nephew in-law?). He is 2.5 years old and starting to speak in sentences, but mainly in Mandarin. He adores both mike (his Jiu-Jiu 舅舅) and I (his Jiu-Ma 舅媽), and we both love playing with him. But due to my limited Mandarin vocabularies, everyday is like Lost in Translation. He would speak Mandarin to me. I understand most of the time, but sometimes it can be difficult with the toddler accent. In turn, i would either reply in Cantonese or English, OR sometimes in small phrases of Mandarin which i picked up from Evan himself. When i have no clue what he's saying, i would just nod Yes or acknowledge it with OK. When he has no idea what i'm saying, he would either repeat what he said to me, or repeat my reply in a question form (as in "what the hell are you talking about" in the toddler way).

The family finds it fascinating how we communicate with each other. There are a few phrases I have mastered since Evan's visit. Example: Sleep. Does it taste good? Do you want to eat? Do you want?

Maybe by the time he leaves, I will be fluent at Mandarin.....in the toddler level.

Kung Hay Fat Choy!

After spending several holidays as a married couple, mike and i do noticed there are certain pros and cons for being married at these festivities. And with Chinese New Year fast approaching, that definitely goes under the list of cons.

For those who are not familiar with Chinese tradition, here's a short explanation. Chinese New Year is similar to X'mas, but instead of gift giving, we give money. Thus you would see Chinese people everywhere exchanging red pockets stuffed with lucky money. It symbolizes passing of good luck to others in the new year.

This is a big banking opportunity for kids and anyone who are single. But not so much for elders and married couples, as they are the giver of these lovely red pockets. Thus, mike and I will refrain from visiting any kids and single friends this Chinese new year. We will be celebrating our first at home as a happy married couple.

Do you lock the door?

When Mike and I were staying at my friend's place in LA, they both brought something to my attention. And since then, i can't seem to figure out am i the abnormal one, or there are other people out there who is also like me.

They both thought i was weird that whenever i go to the bathroom at home, i would lock the door. Home meaning the place where you reside either by yourself, or with roommate, or with family, etc. We are not talking about CLOSING the door (that's a given in my opinion), but we are talking about LOCKING the door. Their explanation is that if the door is closed, then someone is occupying the space. I can understand that if you live in a small space with only one bathroom. But what about those people who live in homes with more than one bathroom. Could that assumption still stand?

I've always lock the bathroom door at home since i was young. I can't really recall if everyone in my family does the same, since i never really barged in when the door was closed (thus, i can see their reasoning).

So my question is,

"Do you lock the door when you go to the bathroom at home?"

To make the question less complicated, let's not include house guest into the equation.

Food venture

The last four days we were back in California again. Didn't really get to visit many friends b/c of the tight schedule we had. We were on the road most of the time. First day we landed at LAX, drove to San Diego (2 hrs), then back to LA (2 hours) where we stayed for the night. Second day we drove from LA to San Fran (5 hrs). Third day we commute between SF and San Jose (only 45 mins-ish each way). Fourth day we drove from SF back to LA (another 5 hours). Last day we flew out from LAX.

Despite all the driving, we still manage to do what we love most...ah-hem...it's EAT!! And we ate A LOT! Below is a summary of all the places we visted.

Day 1:
Ramanyani Indo Restaurant in Westwood LA - Their fried chicken, fried rice, tofu dish and desserts are really good. Supposidly one of the best Indonesian restaurant in LA. Apparently they take order from anywhere in US, and can be deliever the next day. We are much tempted to try that out.

Day 2:
Yung Ho Restaurant in St. Gabriel LA - They have some authentic Taiwanese dished. Great Chinese breakfast place. They make all their own soya product (soya milk, tofu, etc). They even have stinky tofu! mmmm...

Farmer's market at The Grove - We got ourselves some English toffee from Little John. They have THE BEST English Toffee we go ga-ga for. Then we ate at one of the Thai food stand in the market. Had a fish curry and laksa noodle. We were too full to try out the funnel cake stand...next time.

Day 3:
Best of Thai Noodle on Haight Street in SF - They have really yummy Thai dishes. This time we got the Tom Yum chicken soup noodle, Thai ice-tea and a Pad Kee Mao (Stir fried flat rice noodle with ground pork).

The Stinking Rose in SF (www.thestinkingrose.com) - We go there everytime we are in SF. Let's just say everything on their menu are made with TONS of garlic, thus the name Stinking Rose. We alway get the Bagna Calda (garlic olive oil spread) as starter. This time we got the Toy Box Tomatos salad and the Garlic Encrusted Baby Back Ribs. And we can NEVER leave without having their Garlic Ice-cream for dessert. It's one of the best ice-cream we ever had!!
*Warning: The next day or two, you will smell, breath and burp garlic.

Day 4:
Tofu House in San Jose - Their specialty is tofu soup, and that's what we always order. Either with Pork or seafood in their bubbling pot with the raw egg. The cool thing is the rice for each table is served in a stone pot, and barley tea is poured into the bowl once finished to loosen the crusty bits and provide a post-meal digestive.

Andersen's Pea Soup in Buellton Cali - They have the best pea soup (all you can drink for $7 with bread) and really good pastries. We had a cherry jelly filled cream puff, and a almond cookie with chocolate mousse on top coated with chocolate dip.

Day 5:
Big Tommy Burger in LA - They have really great burger. I haven't try much in their menu but i know they have awesome turkey avocado burger. They are HUGH. Fully packed. Their fries are really good too.

So yeah, we ate tons. And now we need to detox.

Bud out!

After being a smoker for 36 years, my father has official quit smoking. Cold turkey. Just like that.

I didn't really believe it at first when my mom told me. I thought it's another one of those temporary quit sessions after much of her nagging. He would always say he quit. Then after a few days of grumpiness, then it'll be back to normal. A cig at a time. I've always told my mom there's no point of making him quit when he's not ready and willing to. Getting out of a habit is mainly psychological. If he truly doesn't want to quit himself, there's a very slim chance he will succeed.

But this time is different. My dad quit a month prior to announcing the news to us. I guess one day he decided to just stop smoking. From a pack a day to zero. Considering he was a LONG term smoker, i thought it was pretty amazing how he can just go cold turkey. He must be quite determine this time. That's not all, he shows no sign of grumpiness or agitation. In fact, his temper actually got better. He seems more relax and happier.

You ask what triggered him to stop smoking? We don't know exactly, but we suspect that it has something to do with the cold he got a month ago. He was coughing quite a bit and he was also showing some asthmatic symptoms. I guess it got him worried feeling all these tensions in his lung. But regardless, i'm so proud that he quit. You know that feeling when you wake up to a warm sunny morning and there's something good you are anticipating to happen that day. That's the feeling i have. I feel so happy for him that he now has a new beginning to life.

I have entered him in www.DrivenToQuit.com. It is a challenge presented by Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Health Department to promote smoke free Ontario. The website provides many tips and help to people who are trying to quit smoking. It may sound cliche, but i truly believe that regardless if my dad wins or not in this challenge, he already won the best prize there is...his health.

hot dog heaven!!

I was going to mention this along with the Chicago post, but because it's such an amazing find, it deserves it's very own space.

Mike and I were parked on a side street in Chi-town while leeching off someones wireless bubble, we found this awesome sounding hot dog mecca at one of the online posting for Chicago cheap eats. This place is call Hot Doug's. Just reading the types of hot dog they have on their special menu makes my mouth water. I wouldn't mind ordering one of each.

"White Wine and Dijon Rabbit Sausage with White Truffle Butter and Romao Sheep's Milk Cheese"

The extremely down point to this is we got there too late. They only open from 10am-4pm. We even drove by it to see how the place look like. It's a small little eatery in the middle of some commercial/office area. AHHHHHH, that makes it even more authentic.

*sigh* next time...definitely next time...

the Windy city...

Mike and I took a day trip to Chi-town the other day. We mainly ventured to see shops in the city, can't say we really did any sight-seeing. But we did drove through down town and some special districts. We noticed there are so many things on sale in Chicago. It seems like there are abundances of merchandise on sale and no one is buying them. And trust me, they are REALLY cheap! Where are all the shoppers? Isn't Chicago one of the biggest cities in the States? I know it's not fair for us to comment about the city given we only spend 6 hours in town, but from what we did get to see. The city didn't give us an urban/big city feel. It almost feels like being in Calgary (no offence to all the Calgarian out there). But one thing i got to say is Chi-town do have some REALLY unique architecture. Actually, I would say it's the best architectural city in US. Regardless if it's a 3-story residential building, or down town skyscraper, many of them are very well designed. I just wish people in Canada would put as much thought into designing buildings. It would add so much more character to each city.

Sleepless in Washington..

So we finally arrived to Toronto. Our flight was delayed for 29 hours. We were first scheduled to depart on Saturday 7:30pm. But we got a call from the airline at around 2pm saying our flight was cancelled due to weather condition in Toronto. As weather is not one of the things they have control over, we have to scramble to arrange the extra night accomadation. But at least they re-scheduled us for a flight the next day free of charge. Since mike never been to the capital of U.S of A, i thought the extra night would be a great chance to show him around. We drove around the government district for a crash tour. But we did parked and walked over to see the White House up close. On our way back to our car, we and other pedestrians were stopped by police to proceed toward the pathway to the estate. We weren't sure what could possibly be happening at 11pm. Five minutes later, we saw the chain of police bike, security SUV and limo THE president is in drove by in front of us. It was kind of like what you see in the movie. Now we can tell people that we saw the president..in his limo!!

So the next day, we drove around town to checked out some stores. Mike found a wallet he's been hunting for and got it at dirt cheap price. So he was a happy camper. We also went to an Etheopian resto for a late lunch. It was delicious and very interesting. After all the fun, we returned the rental car and checked into our gate for our again delay flight. It was suppose to be 7:30pm, now it's at 9:30pm. Through out the time we are at the gate, the departure had been delay again and again due to mechanical problems. As this is obviously an error on their part, free accomadation was offered. A number of passangers took the offer, re-schedule the flight and left. The rest of us await for the future of our intended flight. At least we each got food vouchure for some sandwiches and water. Finally at 12:30am, our plane has arrived and we got back to Toronto at 2:30am.

ahhhhh... home sweet home!!

New York! New York!

New York was quite hectic. There's just too many places to see in too little time. And it doesn't have that NYC was FREEZING COLD those couple of days. We didn't exactly packed for the negative 10+ weather. We had to defrost ourselves by going into one store in every other block. blurrr...

I noticed my perspective have slightly changed toward the city. It doesn't seem to be as intimidating as i last remembered. People are quite friendly, everywhere is easily accessible via transit (much easier/efficient than driving), and every district is in rather close proximately to each other. Despite approaching to a number of passerby for directions, I grew quite comfortable to venturing around town on my own. Did i mention that there are soooo many restaurants in NYC, it'll take us a VERY LONG time to try them all out!!

On the road again

Can't believe i'm flying out tomorrow again. I'm both nervous and excited to go to the Big Apple. Excited because I always love New York. The food, the shops, the craziness are all too fascinating. Nervous because i have to get myself familiarize with the subway system once again. I got quite comfortable with it last time I was there, which was like 2 years ago. Now i have to re-learn it all over again. It feels almost the same as returning to driving stick shift after a long period of time. Nervous yet exciting. I just hope it won't involve too much staling.

Anyways, wish me luck!

great friends, great food, great weather..

I guess that pretty much sums up my trip to LA. I'm sure most people would first think of Disney, Universal, Walk of Fame and allll the other tourist spots which populate that city. But I didn't see any of it this time. Most of them I've already been in my previous visits.

My main purpose of going this time is to hang out in the city, see some friends, try out some good local food joints, and maybe find some good deals in the stores around town. I've managed to do all that and it was quite relaxing. But somehow i felt that my friends were the ones who are anxious to have me to do more and see more in LA.

I know as a host, there's always a sense of obligation to arrange a fully packed schedule for your guest. I wish they would only believe me when i said "it's OK. Anywhere would be fine. I just want to hang out (together)". Since my LA friends are all relatively new residence to the city. I think by saying that, it made their lives even harder. Because not only they can't take me to the few famous tourist spots that they know of, but now they have to think of somewhere new to take me to "just hang out". As odd as it sounds, i would have no problem even if they just take me about to do their daily errands. But of course they didn't. And therefore, I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to those of you that made this trip so perfect!

NA adventure - L.A.

Being in LA is great. Even though it's rather cold considering normal LA weather, but it's awesome be somewhere that's always sunny w/blue sky. We think one day we will move down to Cali. We feel that California and NYC is a great place for young couple to live in. But we definitely don't think it's a place to raise kids in. This place is too superficial in general, and there's too much temptation. But as "bad" of an influence LA is, we LOVE it. There's such a great eclectic of places to go and see. There's been so many things happening, i thought i just do a point form briefing.

The first day we were there, we went to a farmers market. All we did was eat. From Thai, to Turkish, to toffee, to ice-cream. MMmmmmm..

Next we were here and didn't even realize the Golden Globe is happening. We actually drove by Beverley Hills Hilton during the red carpet not knowing it's there. But we didn't see any celebs (at least i don't think so), only limos, police and star gazers.

Example of the "bad" influence. We heard a commercial on the radio for plastic surgery. It sounds as if it's a clothing sale commercial. It said you can get tummy tuck for as low as $99. And there's a breast, tummy, lipo combo which can save you $1000. AND they have limo service to and from the surgery. Isn't that just beautiful! No wonder most people here has no facial expression.

Speaking of radio/tv, it's intriguing to think that when you hear about any upcoming musical shows, tv shows, or celebrity news in general. They are actually happening in this city. Despite of the close proximity of these Hollywood event/news, i still think the chances of bumping into one is quite slim. Just because there's a ton of people in this city.

Finally, MTV is a horrible. Can't believe how much trash can one channel contain. If this is the influence the new generation is being expose to now, then global warming is not the only thing in the state of emergency.

LA continue...

NA adventure - Edmonton

Our day trip to Edmonton was short yet sufficient. Even though we were only there for 6 hours, i feel that we have seen what Edmonton has to offer. We were impressed by the West Edmonton Mall. The water park, the roller coasters and rides, and the mini aquarium (they have real flamingos, and they really do look like the fake ones!). Before going, i thought it would be HUGH and it would take us more than a day to cover the entire mall. But it's actually not THAT big. I mean other than the extra additions to your regular mall, we can walk through everything in 2 hours. It's interesting to see people swimming and resting on beach chairs inside the water park while it's -20C outside. We took some pictures, then moved onto the downtown area. There's really not a lot of make notes on regarding the trip. But i did also noticed that Edmonton has more major shops than Vancouver. I would think it's probably due to the existance of West Edmonton Mall. But still, how odd.

Next, Los Angeles...

Snow in the west coast...again?!

I swear this is not a duplicate entry. And I'm not using the same picture as the previous snow post. But it's snowing in Vangroovy again!! This is not fun anymore. The novelty of trenching through snow in the west coast is starting to wear off. I definately didn't moved here for the cold weather and the snow.

Winterlicious

As mike and I will be back in TO the end of the month, we would like to go to one for the first time together. As there are TONS of resto to choose from, do any of you have any sugestions as to which one is worthy of trying? We mainly want somewhere that has well made dishes.

NA adventure - Calgary

As per my previous North America Adventure entry, i mentioned that i will blog about all our trips throughout Canada and US. We started off our NA adventure yesterday with a day trip to Calgary, which we call the Texas of Canada. With only 8 hours or so in this city, we can't say we know everything about Calgary, but we did noticed a few things...

We have never seen so many people that drives pick up truck in a Canadian city. We've saw housewife, business man, senior and even asian driving them. There's old ones, American-made ones, Jap-made ones and modified ones. Pick-up is like the staple of Calgary. But beside pick up, we also noticed there are quite a number of high end luxury cars. From Audi to Mercedes. Then again, it is an oil city after all.

Second, the great Western hospitality. When I entered into the baggage area at the airport, i was welcomed by this friendly senior couple who were in their cowboy hats and boots. I think other than being greeters at the airport, they also help assist travelers with directions. I thought that it was kind of neat. And within the city, there are a number of Western clothing/accessory stores. We went to check out one. If it was within my budget, i would of got myself a pair of real cowboy boots. They come in many colors, styles and are very well made.

Lastly, after visiting Calgary, we thought it would actually be nice to travel to small city like this. The whole day that we were there, given we've managed to see most of the tourist area in the city, we only spend $7 in gas. Everything is in such close proximity that doesn't really too much driving. It is a great deal to see a city. Can't wait to be back for the Stampede and to visit Banff. EE-HA!

Next, Edmonton....

Return-home vacation

It was great to be back home for the two weeks over the holiday. Got to spent sometime with family and friends. Even thought i didn't get a chance to see EVERYONE, but it was great to hang out with familiar faces at familiar places.

I noticed there's a definately a difference between Return-Home vacation, and Travelling vacation. Return-Home vacation is less eventful, very lay back, and you're there pretty much just to hang out. It's like re-living your time when you were at home. Usually nothing really changed. Same life stlye, same routine. The only difference is that you are constantly updating yourself with what's new with everyone. To hear or to see what you've missed the last months. It's funny that by the second week that i'm back, it felt as if i never left.

Well, i'll be back again in two weeks. Hopefully, I will manage to see everyone this time.