Remember

I had a fabulous post written but then I somehow deleted it and couldn't get it back. Sigh!!

I wanted to show you all some of my memories of 2006, as outlined in pictures.... I'll just start again, I suppose. But it won't be as cool :(

1. January allowed us to welcome our newest cell group member, Kiyah, who was at this time one week old:


2. In April, I celebrated another burfday... my... 19th ;)



3. Also in April, two of our cell groupies got baptized:



4. In May, I spent a week in Campbell River, where it is incredibly beautiful:



5. In July, we had to say goodbye to PJ - we miss all of you muchly:



6. In August, we went to San Fran for a week to celebrate the Yam's wedding and to enjoy time with the "family":





7. Over Labour Day weekend, we renewed our tradition of camping annually:



8. In September, I got to wear (uncomfy) legal robes for the first time:



9. In October we went to Mexico for another wedding and some touristy stuff:




2006 also came with much news and exciting stuff - friends getting engaged, friends learning of new babies on the way, friends moving away from home (boo!), you know, I'm hitting that age group where all of this stuff starts to happen.

2006 also brought challenges and difficult times. Recognizing that life is not always sugar and candy and fairytales, let me share these lyrics with you from a song by Kim Hill

Holy, You are still holy,
Even when the darkness surrounds my life
Sovereign, You are still sovereign
Even when confusion has blinded my eyes
Lord I don't deserve Your kind affection
When my unbelief has kept me from Your touch
I want my life to be a pure reflection of Your love

CHORUS:
And so I come into Your chambers
And I dance at Your feet Lord
You are my saviour, and I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life up to now
It belongs to You
You are still holy

Holy, You are still holy
Even though I don't understand Your ways
Sovereign You will be sovereign
Even when my circumstances don't change
Lord I don't deserve Your tender patience
When my unbelief has kept me from Your truth
I want my life to be a sweet devotion to You

May 2007 be a year where we learn to make our lives a sweet devotion to our Father.

Midnight at the oasis

Er... I mean... 7PM at the Garage....

Much to my delight, Chatty McChatterson didn't show up for last night's game. I got confused by what hubby said, but apparently she is not a half season ticket holder - she shares a full season ticket package between four friends or some such nonsense. If you haven't heard, Chatty McChatterson is my current nemesis at the Canucks games. Former nemeses (?) include the drunkards in the Molson Canadian zone and the girl who kicked me in the back last year. Some of you may have met Chatty, or, had the misfortune of sitting next to her. She has the ability to talk through an entire game and yes, drown out the crowd with her tinny (no, I don't mean tiny) but piercing voice. Plus, she likes to turn her head so it faces my ear in order to talk. And the stuff she talks about relates in no way to the game. It's all about how she broke up with this guy (a likely story) or how some friend or other has done something stupid (sure, a "friend"). Very irritating.

Last night, Chatty's other friends, Clueless and More Clueless showed up instead. I was thrilled - at first. Sadly, last night, GMC Chevrolet decided to give out these ridiculous "bambam" sticks - you know, those inflatable ones that make an insufferable noise when you hit them together - often seen at basketball games. More Clueless decided that he needed to hit them together at every possible occasion. Now, I'm all about cheering, screaming, clapping, and even hitting the bambam sticks when the Canucks score. But is it necessary to smack the sticks EVERY time the mascot bangs on his drum, even when the mascot is halfway across the arena? Or to continue banging the sticks when even the people in front of you (also in possession of sticks) look at you in disgust? I hate to say it, but Clueless and More Clueless made me long for the days of Chatty McChatterson. I actually said out loud, "Where's Chatty.... I miss her."

It's official - I've lost my mind.

Edit: I forgot to tell you that despite the Chatty gang, it was a great game! Very exciting! And here are the bonus parts to last night:

1. We found free parking very close by. If you're nice to us, we'll tell you where it is.
2. We had enough time to eat before the game and bought sushi at T&T. $12 for a meal for two at T&T sure beats $50 at GM Place.
3. I found a Starbucks card with 88 cents left on it. It's like a Chinese person's dream. Haha!
4. I got a cool new jacket, and the hubby got one too, but his was 40% off. Smashing deal.

Is the feasting over?

All good things must come to an end, and that includes fun with family and friends.

We celebrated our second married Christmas by indulging in much eating and game-playing.... so, really, nothing different from every other Christmas! This year the cousins' gift exchange went very well. All of the cousins brought good gifts and we were not disappointed with the strategizing and clamoring for specific gifts. I took home a very cute Pooh bear and the hubby brought home a mug and a weird version of Cranium (after trading movie tix and a Starbucks card with his cousin who didn't want to lug a board game back to Ontario.) One of the cousins brought her boyfriend to Christmas dinner and I told him we would evaluate his performance in order to decide if he would be invited to future family events. He did bring a nice gift for the exchange, but he was not terribly good at Taboo, and he threatened to leave one of the cousins behind instead of driving him home. The jury is still out.

Christmas Eve was also excellent at the godparents' place. Again much eating and also some "cooking", thanks to Elaine for the DS game :) The hubby made a ham and I thoroughly enjoyed it - I normally don't like ham but this one was quite the yum. We sang every single Christmas carol in the hymnal and some of the adults entertained by attempting "O Holy Night". Wow, I didn't know that people could actually hit that high B flat. But then again I am not blessed with that soprano voice. I also didn't know my sight reading sucked so much! Guess that's what happens when you don't practice!

On Boxing Day, we relaxed at home by inviting all the 24 fans over to do a little season 5 watching. Rules were set in place (like no talking) but promptly broken. Sometimes it's all you can do not to comment on President Logan. Anyway, did I mention the eating? As there was, again, much! It takes a lot of energy to get through 8 episodes in one day. To celebrate Boxing Day, there was some real boxing going on. I'll post a picture later.

Well, just as I was working myself into loving the time off, I've had to go back to work. Blah.... here begins the long haul, where there are no long weekends between January and Easter. At least it was great to have so many people around this year for the holidays!

Hope you all had great Christmases too.

Christmas means to be my love

No it doesn't!

Re: previous blog - no updates. Friend was told about the friends-of-a-friend and he leans towards the more athletic one. Frick - guess the hubby really DOES know his own friends better. Who woulda thunk it. Looks like I'm gonna lose this bet.

We're watching Christmas football right now. It must be irritating for the hubby as I really don't watch enough football to know what is going on. So there are silly questions in abundance. For example, why is Tony Romo hugging Carrie Underwood if he is dating Jessica Simpson? (Frankly - I'd go with Carrie over Jessica... she doesn't have the chin dimple thing.) Or, does Tony Romo make ribs? :D

Okay. Time to go bring on the Christmas cheer. See you all later.

Eve

Merry Christmas! Less than seven hours to go until it's officially Christmas. My stars, it's gone by quickly. I'm looking forward to having a couple of days off. More importantly I'm pretty excited about the time to spend with family and friends. Christmas has been weird this year ... can't really describe it.

Anyway! Being near Christmas, it means it's pretty close to the New Year and time to consider making resolutions. Oh who am I kidding - I never make resolutions.

We're trying to set one of our friends up with a friend-of-a-friend.... the hubby and I are in disagreement about which friend-of-a-friend our friend would choose, as there are two friends-of-a-friend to choose from (are you following me so far?) .... I said the prettier one, and hubs said the more athletic one. We'll see how it goes. And no, we are not those annoying married couples who just try to match up all their friends. I've been doing this for years! ;)

Video On Trial is amusing. There's a New Kids video on right now. Ah, memories.

It's over

I've survived my first trial ... not by fire or anything, but anyway, I will update when the verdict is in - approximately a month from now. It was a very stressful couple of weeks... my office is a complete disaster area - I picked up at least 50 paperclips that I had just tossed on the floor and there is confetti everywhere from all the hole punching. The amount of paper involved in even a short trial is crazy.

Okay. Onto non-work stuff. So let's see.... what have I been up to lately? I had sushi three times in the last week and I have been to Starbucks at least four times. It's an addiction, I know. I haven't been keeping up with my Advent calendar chocolate-eating, but that's partly because there is an abundance of chocolate at work.

Hmm... I am... out of words....

Cut that out

There are some words I really must cut out of my vocabulary. Unfortunately it's a challenge to stop saying things, particularly as I have a bit of a temper problem. I rarely swear, but I sometimes use unkind words.

For example I should really try to avoid the word "dumbass", much as it applies to one certain person who I shall not name. What word could I use instead? There just isn't a word with the same force. I suppose one could argue that the appropriate thing to do isn't to find a new word, but to stop applying that sort of derisive comment to someone else. To that, I respond, spend a day in my shoes. No, seriously, I really must change my attitude.

Can't wait till next week. Days off? Hooray!

It ain't over yet

Let's not go into it except to say - two more. Blah.

It's shocking that there are only 10 days until Christmas. Ten! And I haven't purchased a single Christmas present. Not that I was planning to, but it's still worth observing.

Perhaps I've been a little oblivious for the past few years, but what is with the political correctness this year? So far I've heard of incidents such as an airport being asked to add a menorah to the display of Christmas trees... people being offended that a Christmas tree would be present at a courthouse... calling it a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree" - it just doesn't sit well with me. I would never try to call a menorah a "holiday candelabra" so what is with the name changing? Are there people out there who are actually offended by the word Christmas? Is it necessary to be inclusive all of the time?

I find it unfortunate that not only is the true story of Christmas lost amidst the the craze of shopping and eating ... but now even the term "Christmas" is being watered down to "holidays" ...

It reminds me that we are still, in a way, captive Israel.

In these next 10 days ... let us wait with great anticipation and hope for our Lord.

Two more days

Edited... don't wanna be dooced :)

Dreams

I don't keep track of my dreams, although sometimes I mention them to the hubby in the morning (but then I usually forget them.) I rarely have nightmares, but I have had a few where people have ended up dead (never in realistic ways! just in crazy dream ways!) - those ones tend to stick out in my mind a little more.

For example, once I dreamed that we lived in a huge mansion with a bunch of friends and semi-friends. It was kinda like being on a reality show, except not so crappy. But one day, an intruder broke in and terrified us to pieces. Somehow a method was chosen to kill the intruder... but the only weapon we had was a huge frying pan. Not one of those cast iron ones, mind you... I'm talking about one of those thin, Teflon-coated frying pans. One of the semi-friends managed to bean the intruder, who promptly died. I think the frying pan was okay.

Another time, a very long time ago, I dreamed that many of us were in a supermarket of some sort. Everyone was going about their normal day doing normal stuff.... when suddenly killers approached.... in a killer zamboni! That's right. The killer zamboni didn't spray water to clean an ice surface - it ran people down and ate them! I managed to escape but not without a few close encounters. Those killer zambonis sure are ferocious.

Sorry, E ... guess my dreams really aren't that interesting.... but I'll try to think of more :D

Stress - part two

Blah blah blah busy busy blah blah trial blah blah blah downtown traffic sucks blah blah as do 12 hour days blah blah blah no lunch blah blah blah.

Sigh.

I'm so tired. I don't even have the energy to move.

Updates to come later.

It doesn't matter if you don't like the Canucks

...as this isn't a blog ABOUT the Canucks anyway!

But if more bashing occurs I shall have to close down comments to the general public. Let's not ruin it for everyone, shall we! Blogger is a happy place. Like Disney World. But less happy. But still happy and not bashy. If you don't like the Canucks, feel free to make your own blog about it. You can be as bashy as you want to be.

Okay! Let's see. ... what else is new and exciting. Not much since I think I just posted yesterday. Well, today wasn't that exciting. I spent a whack of money on my legal robes. Since we're going to trial on Monday, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the robes. Actually, I thought maybe in buying the robes, somehow that would cause the matter to settle - but alas - no such luck.

Wow .. it's getting late. Before I go, here's two pictures from our Mexican vacation in October. The first one is at the Pancho Villa museum (it isn't exactly called that - I think it's Museum of the Revolution or something):


I love how it says "Do not ... Food" and "Do not... Fire Arms." Hilarious! The whole sign is good. I have no idea what that word after "su veillance" is.

And picture number two:


Can you tell what this is? It's the courthouse in Chihuahua. You might recognize the lady holding the scales - you know - justice is blind.

That's it for now.... it's time for you to do more constructive things than to read my blog! (I know I'm wildly entertaining and hard to give up!)

Warmth! Need warmth!

So, it's finally the weekend and my stress level hasn't gone down yet. Maybe by next Friday when I will surely need a stiff drink. Except that I don't like to drink. Oh well. Maybe just a fancy coffee - if we win.

The hubby is out at his Christmas party right now and I'm at home. Strange as it may be, I've never actually been to one of his Christmas parties. He always says I won't like it. Probably true - I am not a huge fan of some of his friends. I'm currently watching the Canucks play last year's Stanley Cup champs. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL... sorry - had to interrupt there. I sold this game to the husband of the lawyer who spent time with me in Campbell River - hopefully he's enjoying this game. Oh... umm... Carolina just scored. Ah well.

Some of you are probably aware that instead of studying, writing theses, or spending time with his family, PJ visits my blog (and others) and often comments on posts about the Canucks. Now I must say, as a season ticket holder and longtime fan, I have earned the right to bash the Canucks once in a while - and I am not a bandwagon fan so I actually do not bash them often at all. But I take offence when someone who has never been a Canucks fan bashes the Canucks. It's kinda like how I find it offensive when someone who isn't Chinese cracks a joke about Chinese people, but when someone who is Chinese does.... I laugh and laugh. I completely disagree that the Canucks are spiralling down into the toilet (as was suggested by PJ over here) ... but I suppose everyone's entitled to their opinion. What am I saying? Everyone is entitled to MY opinion. Stop differing from my opinion!

Onto non-hockey topics. Since the hubby isn't home tonight, I was forced to make my own dinner. Tragic, I know. I am never very creative when I have to cook, particularly if I'm just cooking for myself. So, I made my favourite comfort food - that's right - soupy noodles. Noodles are fabulous when you're feeling cold. As my mom always says, I could eat plain noodles and still be happy. Although I did make some dumplings (comfort food #2) to go with my noodles. I'd suggest that the reason I love noodles is because I'm half Shanghainese, but my brother isn't as much of a noodle fan. Maybe it's because I LOOK Shanghainese and he doesn't. Haha!

What's your comfort food?

18 days till Christmas

Bonjour! Currently I'm sitting on the couch at home and am about to enjoy a yummy apple cider. It's been a busy week at work. I think we're going to trial on Monday. Hmmmm... that should be interesting. More updates to come.

We still don't have our Christmas tree and I doubt we'll get one this weekend. Sigh! Maybe on Monday.

...

Okay! Apple cider - check. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire - nope. Jack Frost nipping at my nose - nope - but my hands are cold. Cookies baking in the oven - maybe later.

I keep seeing ads for stuff to give kids this year and it seems like so much of it is electronic. There are so many items that promise to teach your kids (like this and this) - it makes me wonder whether we have become so dependent on our "modern" world that the old school way of learning has gone by the wayside. When we were kids, my mom used to take us to the library every week and we would come home with piles of books. (The hubby thinks this is so nerdy of me - but whatever!) It's strange that kids don't really read any more. I suppose the fast pace of the 21st century has taken over.

Today, I was thinking about consumerism and how Christmas has turned from being a joyful day to celebrate Christ's birth... to a day of gifts and a fat guy promoted by Coke. I had these vague thoughts - like - let's say I started a business selling t-shirts*, and I made it a point to hire underprivileged folks.... and the business grew... but the prices of merchandise also grew (as prices often do)... would I not be contributing to the gap between rich and poor? It just makes me wonder if there are solutions to issues like poverty. I don't think my example is a particularly good one and I'm sure there are flaws.... it's just a thought in my head right now though.

*It isn't my ambition to start this type of business, in case you're wondering.

Only 11 days until the official date upon whence we can break open Season 5 of 24 and begin the watching. (Thanks, Euge!) I'll contact you folks if I think you're worthy of watching it with us. Hee!

Stress

Three days since my last post - you must be wondering where the heck I am. Well, I'm currently residing in Stressville, a little town where being kept on your toes and experiencing a nagging feeling of "What did I forget to do?" are requirements for citizenship. I won't go into the reasons for my journey to Stressville since it's all work-related stuff, and really not a cause for concern, so don't feel too much pain on my behalf. Suffice it to say, I'm fine, but could do with a nice Caribbean vacation right about now.

I did end up getting some of my pics from Mexico uploaded, so maybe one day I'll actually post one or two. I tried to get some neat pics of the underground caverns we visited (called the "Name of God" caves) but alas it is challenging to take pictures underground.

Ok - that's all for now - I'll give you all a break from my normal wordiness!

Not about Mexico

I was going to post about our trip in October, but my photo uploading is uncooperative and it has put me in an anti-trip-posting mood.

Alas I shall be posting instead about a show I have now seen twice - Property Virgins. The premise is about a couple (at least in the two eps I've seen) who are buying their first home. I'm sure you could have surmised as much from reading the title of the show, but let's humour the less intelligent among us, shall we. Anyway! It's set in Toronto (of course) and is hosted by a very bubbly woman in need of some dental work. I mention that only because it distracts me. She asks the couple what they want, then finds three houses for them to look at that are within their budget, and they choose. (I can only assume that the couple has actually looked at more than three places, but maybe I'm wrong.) It seems like the couples have some fairly unrealistic expectations, or else it could be that this real estate agent is just overly cheery. She sends them in to the houses by themselves, which is a smart idea - they can diss the house all they want!

I do have to say that some of the "houses" she has shown them are sorely lacking. One was this super narrow two bedroom house - it isn't more than 12 feet wide at any point - and although it had a basement, you would only appreciate said basement if you were my height or shorter, because the ceilings were terribly low. Another had only one bathroom, which happened to be located in the basement. The agent suggested this was something some people would see as a downfall. SOME people? That's it? I know I personally would LOVE to live in a house where I had to descend two flights of stairs just to use the can.

But of course, in the end, the couple comes to their senses, lowers their expectations, and puts down the money, and the house is theirs.

I think the reason I like this show is because I never actually got to look at houses before the hubby bought this one. I think I was in Medicine Hat or something. Plus, we weren't married or anything yet. Now, I really like our house and he did a great job in renovating what needed to be done. But I still wish I had had that Property Virgin experience. (Note: I am not being ungrateful. I am observing.) It would have been interesting to look at houses... I do enjoy a good open house, after all.

Lately we've been considering moving... but I think for now we'll stay put. It isn't financially a good idea for us to move (well - at least it doesn't seem like it), and while we live in this house, we can work to pay it off like the good independent kids we strive to be.

I still like to look at houses though.

I'm watching Toy Story 2 right now. Here's a great line: "Why don't you watch where you're going, Godspilla!" Hahaha! Godspilla. Awesome.

Advent

What's your favourite Christmas carol?

It's hard to believe that we're already at the beginning of December, and the start of Advent (at least according to my chocolate calendar...) I've noticed that Christmas songs are appearing every so often on the radio and so I thought I'd share my favourites with you...

This is a part of my favourite "secular" Christmas song. I like it because it's quite cute.

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroseses
I only like hippopotamuseses
And hippopotamuses like me too

Frankly if I had to choose between a crocodile, a rhino, or a hippo, I'd choose a hippo too!

Okay, now for my favourite Christmas hymn... just the first part of it.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Such a beautiful song with an almost haunting melody.... I love how it starts in a minor key.. but I also really like the lyrics. An expression of desire for the coming King to rescue a people held captive by sin - that's at least the interpretation I prefer. It's so amazing to think that our Father in heaven sent Jesus to save us from captivity... and that because of His death and resurrection, we are able to rejoice that Christ has come indeed.

So, I am excited about Advent.... the period of waiting for Christ's coming... in a way I think of Advent as awaiting the second coming too... in this time of waiting - let us not think too much of what we want for Christmas, but how we can glorify Him and sing His praises instead.

Changing my mind

I was going to write a post inspired by something I read on a friend's blog - but I decided not to, in case said friend reads the post and is offended. I doubt said friend actually reads my blog, but let us not tempt that which I will refer to as fate.

Instead let's talk about ... umm.... condiments. Currently I am watching The Shopping Bags and they are talking about ketchup, which is possibly my least favourite condiment, next to relish and sauerkraut. (My hot dogs only have mustard and onions.) A bunch of boys are the ketchup testers - these are kids who will eat ketchup with everything. Rice, vegetables, fries, meat, etc. Disgusting! There are very few condiments that I actually enjoy enough to eat on a wide variety of foods.... although the hubby did make a delicious XO sauce recently that is pretty yum. I think my brother was one of those "ketchup goes with everything" people (maybe he still is... eh?).

The Shopping Bags is quite the fun show.

I'm distracted right now. The hubby is on the phone with his mom. I think they are having a mouse problem over there. Despite (perhaps because of?) my previous life as a science research student working with rodents, I admit to still being upset by mice and rats. Apparently the hubby's mom saw a mouse come up the stairs - it looked at her and ran away. Ick!! So scary!! I'd offer to help but, um, nope, too gross.

Infrastructure priorities

Ever since I moved after getting married, I have lamented the city in which I now live, as it's my firm belief that our city is poorly managed. I'm sure there are many politics behind decisions that are made, but often I think to myself, "Wow, I can't believe they said that" or "Why are they spending money on that?" When there was some issue about people being abducted near the casino, the city officials made some statement about how the casino is very valuable to the city, although of course they don't condone any crime. Ummmm... good then! Glad to see that profit doesn't weigh too heavily on their minds.

This week has really reinforced my dislike of city infrastructure. They'll spend what must amount to thousands on flowers for the medians, hanging baskets, Christmas lights, outdoor lighted reindeer... but will they plow the streets? No! I'm not asking for the small streets to be plowed, but when you're slipping and sliding down a major street covered in ice, that's a problem. Salt can only do its work when it isn't freezing out. PLOW THE STREETS. The city isn't even that big - what's the problem?? I drive through many other municipalities on my way to work and their streets are ALL free of snow. Grrr!

Hopefully the rest of y'all are safe and warm. I kinda like cold, sunny weather but I could do without the snow and ice.

NaBloPoMo is almost over - not that I've been able to post every day - but are you all enjoying the increase in posting? I sure hope so!

Winter sucks the big one

I said once that summer is my favourite season... and I think this weekend's weather really emphasizes my love of summer. Our gazebo collapsed under the weight of the snow... It took me twice as long as normal to get to work today (including 15 minutes of de-snowing my car) and that was only because I took the Oak St bridge which had virtually no traffic. Ugh! Snow is just the worst. I can think of virtually no redeeming characteristics of snow. Sure, yesterday I had some fun building a snow chair and a snow horse with some of my favourite kids - but really - isn't a hot summer day so much more fun... ugh. To all those who raved, "Snow is awesome!" - all I can say is Shut up! No it's not!

Moving on. This weekend, the hubby and I tried to buy our (second ever!) Christmas tree - but we couldn't really decide on whether to get the Home Depot $20 tree, or spring for the fancier (and more fragrant) Noble firs at the local tree farm/place/thingy. In the end we decided that we'll probably get a $15 tree at Ikea next weekend. I suppose $80 for a tree is a bit steep considering you toss it out at the end of the season. Although I really dislike winter, I do enjoy Christmas.. it's always a good time. We tidied up the house so that we could decorate for Christmas, but so far the only decoration up is my Purdy's Advent Calendar. Yay!

PS: Hey PJ - thanks for the website on GPS systems. Is this system the one that you were referring to on sale? It does seem like a good price although no text-to-speech - but maybe I could do without that...

Worth noting

1. Dear Canucks - I'm still a fan. Try not to have too many stinkers though.

2. PJ - hey - we still beat the Wings and I notice you didn't comment about that. Hiding your head in shame, I imagine? Three unanswered goals. Take that, I say to your 50-year-old goalie. The glory days are over... the Dominator has become... the Domino? He sure falls down a lot.

3. I am not a big Luongo fan and never really was. I still support the organization though.

4. I got snarked at by a barista today because she messed up my drink and somehow it wasn't her fault. I would just like to point out that I was extremely polite - yet nothing in return. Well, Merry Christmas to you too, grouchy.

5. I need a GPS navigational system - one that tells me where to go and where to turn. Driving through Surrey with only a vague idea of how to get where I'm going is unwise.

Ranting is worth it

Since my little diatribe about the Canucks sometime last week, it appears they've listened, buckled down, and won three games straight.

So PJ.... how about them Wings? They sure are tasty when they're roasted by the Canucks!

Expansion

Just received some news last week - one of my oldest, bestest friends is expecting her first baby! I am terribly excited for her - not only was she the first of us to get married, but now she's the first of us to be bearing offspring. I remember (it wasn't that long ago) that we were talking about how we are still kids ourselves, so the idea of having kids was pretty frightening.

The hubby and I haven't been married that long, but we do sometimes get asked when we're planning to have kids?

There are many families at church having babies too. In fact sometimes it seems like the babies are taking over the back half of the sanctuary. I like babies (and kids) - they're a lot of fun. I love how they grow up to be real people who can hold real conversations with me.

So all this has got me to thinking.... should we maybe consider... an expansion of our family? And the answer is... YES!

In fact I would love if it was no longer just the two of us... I mean.... wouldn't it be perfect to add.....




wait for it...





















Seriously how cute is this little guy? Ahh... it's just a dream for now - but maybe one day I'll get my yellow Lab. Dogs are more fun than kids anyway. Haha!

Day of childish games

Today was rather entertaining. Char received a lovely gift which was promptly opened and played with (competitively of course), to the squeals and delight of everyone except a small baby who doesn't like when other people scream. Here's a picture to give you an idea - except that Char's didn't look so much like Nemo.


Then, we headed over to the Dream House* to watch the Grey Cup... and since I don't really care for football, I played Go Fish, Hungry Hungry Hippo Frog, and Hide and Seek.

I'm pretty awful at Hide and Seek. Sometimes, I like to just sit and wait for the hiders to get bored and come out. Why work at it when waiting produces the same result... Can't say I'm too good at the other games either. Sigh.

I did manage to figure out the magic trick though, so at least it wasn't a totally poor day, games-wise.

*It has granite countertops AND hardwood flooring AND an upstairs laundry room. Drooool.

Questions to ponder (or answer)

1. There's a boil water advisory in your area - all water has to be boiled, including for brushing your teeth and washing your food. Do you:

a) start boiling up some water, or
b) spend your hard-earned money on bottled water.

2. Your faithful, four-year-old laptop gives you warning signs that all is not well (eg: screen appears to want to detach from keyboard.) Do you:

a) buy a new laptop immediately,
b) wait until "Old Faithful" dies a painful, inconvenient death and then buy a replacement,
c) ignore all warning signs and duct tape screen to keyboard portion?

3. Assuming you do eventually have to replace "Old Faithful", do you:

a) buy a Dell again (four years trouble-free surely means something)
b) buy a Macbook (oh - the prettiness)
c) ask, why a laptop? I'm a desktop guy/gal all the way.

Oh, Canucks...

I'm still a fan. For at least the next week or so - then we'll talk.

But why must you hurt me in this way? Surely you know that I'm a true fan (okay, okay, I'll stop calling you Shirley)... I mean, we did shell out ridiculous money to get season tickets to see you... TWICE... we do schedule our lives around watching your games... (or so it feels)... I've bought into the fever with your clothing and merchandise... I've even eaten a $5 Haagen Dazs bar (there's a doohickey on top of the first A - I haven't bothered to add it on).. knowing that the actual cost is what to you, 50 cents... and how do you repay us?

By stinking it up on the ice, that's how.

I'll admit that you haven't been playing the worst hockey I've ever seen, but I think we can agree that it certainly hasn't been the best either. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate the effort you've been putting into the games. Maybe you just need to work a little harder on our relationship, so that I can stick by you even while I cringe through every excruciating minute of your games. Maybe if every once in a while, you acknowledged me as a true believer.

Those "We are all Canucks" ads are mildly convincing, but you've gotta admit that telling me we're in it together isn't really a solution when we're having these kinds of relationship difficulties. I need action. I don't want to leave you, but I'm going to have to if things don't improve. My emotions cannot handle this roller coaster of a season.

If you really want to make things better between us, try phoning me once in a while, or hey, here's an idea, how about NOT RAISING TICKET PRICES EVER AGAIN... I mean, I know you have to pay for that fancy scoreboard and all, but really, try to be reasonable. I don't need a fancy scoreboard. Just a little love and appreciation. You don't want us to have to go to counselling, do you? Because if we do have to go, I'm putting you on notice that you'll have to pay. I'm saving my money for more Haagen Dazs bars.

Rage

I don't know what it is about traffic here, but I never seem to catch a break. Just as I can never choose a speedy checkout line at the grocery store, I can't seem to get through a day of travel without a ton of traffic.

I try not to blog about work, so I won't go into much detail here. But today, I was full of rage. I was told by someone I'll call "X" that I had to be at a particular location by 3pm. I was running late because of some horrendous traffic near Jr's school... but when I got there, I was so relieved. Unfortunately, X got the location wrong, so I missed the event altogether (with the bonus feature of looking like a total idiot when I was phoned by the person expecting me.) When I called the office, X denied having told me the wrong location... I ended up driving back to the office and it took me twice as long as normal because of more horrendous traffic... there are more details but I'll shut up. Suffice it to say, I was super angry....

...but eventually I just had to let the anger go.

It's funny how anger can consume me sometimes. I have a pretty short temper, not something I'm terribly proud of. I'm working on it. Patience, self-control - the hardest fruit of the spirit to grow.

Canada's Worst Driver

Has anyone seen this show? It is hilarious. I love how the drivers take no responsibility for their awful habits, and how almost everyone hits a ton of obstacles on the passenger's side, but almost none on the driver's side.

I'll admit that most of the tasks they are given are pretty challenging, but it is incredible how terrible they are. On this task, they are required to back down a narrow "driveway" onto an island surrounded by a muddy moat. Once on the island, they are supposed to make a six point turn, so that they will turn a full 360 degrees, and drive back off the island.

The first lady has already ended up in the muddy ditch, and she had to be pulled out by a huge truck with a short chain, and then she ended up rear-ending the truck once she was out. Haha! She is not only a truly horrible driver, but she also has bad vision, and refuses to wear her glasses when driving.

I love this show. They are awesome! Backing up while only looking backward... taking 16 turns for a regular 3 point turn... ahhh... hilarious.

Nosy....

Since I was a kid I've always liked open houses. I used to dream about having a huge room with my own bathroom (so I wouldn't have to share with my brother, of course), and one day my mom and I actually saw a house with these benefits. Unfortunately we weren't really in the market, so I never did get my huge room with private bath.

I mention this because our neighbours are selling, and since I can see their house from my living room window, I just found this out yesterday when the realtor put the sign up, along with the Open House sign. Nosy neighbour that I am, I immediately looked up their house on MLS and rushed over to see the open house. I've seen a lot of people drive by and walk through too (interestingly - not a single non-Asian...) We were around when the previous neighbours moved, and at the time we thought "Wow ... can't believe they got so much for the house" ... but then, they did do a ton of renovations. The current owners are looking to make even more of a profit now, having done not a single renovation themselves. I guess the housing market really is insane around here.

Well, I can't blame anyone for paying a high price to live here. We are within walking distance of a Starbucks, so who wouldn't want to live here? Heh.

And I didn't even have to apply!

I was pondering what to write in today's blog, so I wandered over to my email inbox and look what I found!

Thank you for your interest in a summer position with us.
With the number of applications from well qualified law students such as you, it has been difficult to make a decision. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to grant you an interview at this time.
We appreciate your interest in our firm. As you may be aware, our articling program is much larger than our summer student program. As a result, we encourage you to apply for an articling position with us in April.
All the best in what is left of second year law, and we look forward to speaking with you about our articling program.

This lovely email is from a local (large) firm, if you couldn't tell by the form-letterness of the email. There are several problems with this email, so I've been working on my response...

Dear Coordinator of Student Programs,

There seems to be a mistake. I don't recall being interested to any degree in your firm. Has my identity been stolen by some hapless law student? If so, I commend him/her on being well-qualified but undeserving of an interview. S/he is reminding me of me already.

If my identity hasn't been stolen, then I'm just plain offended that I could be rejected for a job I did not even apply for. (Is it because of my dangling prepositions?) I realize I'm not the sharpest tool in the drawer known as law school (and certainly not the biggest tool either! badabing! Thank you, I'm here all week.) but it is a serious affront to my ego to be sent this (as these are called) "PFO" letter by email. I resent the implications that a) I'm not good enough for your firm and b) I should be demoted to the ranks of second year law student. Hmm, wait. Maybe "demoted" isn't the right word. Maybe school is BETTER than work. I'll take that into consideration.

Irregardless (ack! A non-word!), I would like to thank you for advising me, via mass email, that I am not being considered for a position. I'm sure my boss will be overjoyed to hear that I will not be leaving to move to your illustrious firm. Why would I leave? I do get free parking here, after all.

Sincerely,

Ms. Snarky.

Commentary on Junior's post

Really briefly glanced at E's post about the "stereotypical" Chinese family and was musing as to whether I'm part of that stereotype. I guess it's hard to say, since it depends on your definition of that stereotype. I definitely didn't become a lawyer for the money, so does that qualify me as anti-Asian? If it helps, I also don't really like to eat white rice very often, and I almost always have a cold beverage during my meal, not afterward.

I do drive a small Japanese car, though... and as previously noted, I am also very cheap... hmm. Looks like it balances out!

Note to self

Always order the Venti Tea Misto. It's the SAME PRICE as the Grande. Oh Starbucks, why must you play with my wallet so.

Further note: apparently at some Starbucks locations, the Tea Misto includes vanilla syrup in the price.... of course, at the Starbucks I visit, I pay an extra 35 cents. Fabulous!

Onan unrelated point: our cell group is making boxes tonight for Operation Christmas Child. Can't wait - this is always the beginning of Christmas preparations for me. I love making those boxes! Soon it will be time to put up the tree. The big debate this year - should we buy the $20 tree from Home Depot (or the $15 tree from Ikea) - or should we spend more (than double!) and cut our own from a tree farm .... those ones are always more fragrant.

I really must avoid the morning radio shows...

This morning, the radio hosts decided to chat briefly about last night's Canucks game. Faithful fans will recall that a fluky goal was scored, reminiscent of the Lidstrom-Cloutier disaster some years ago... so the female host (I shall call her "Annoying") said that this fluky goal was scored by "Bieska" and that surely his coach would be mad at him for shooting on net from beyond the red line, because, according to Annoying, "you just don't do that", "you should shoot it in, work the line", "he should have passed it instead", etc.

The male host ("No Less Annoying") clearly knows nothing about hockey, as he didn't even have any comments to make.

I admit, I'm no hockey expert, but what coach would be mad at a player for putting the puck on the net? "Okay team... I know you've been shooting pucks at the net lately but let's change the strategy and pass it around a bit more instead." Grrr! And the worst is how Annoying and No Less Annoying claim to be such huge hockey fans! Boooo urns.

And how do you pronounce it?

This morning, on one of the radio shows I force myself to listen to (hey - sometimes it's funny), the host was talking about a book he is reading. He admitted that he hasn't actually read the whole book, but has only read the beginning part.... except he called that beginning part the "PRE-face" ... now... I don't know about you but I have always pronounced it as the "PREF-iss".

So... who's the dummy - me or him?

Shameless "borrowing"

Quality music is a challenge to find on the radio... and as I do not possess an iPod (nor the energy to learn how to use one - haha - I typed "sue" instead of "use" - and nor the computer to connect an iPod to, it's true...) I'm forced to entertain myself by listening to the radio to and from work.

But this one song comes up sometimes and I have found myself really enjoying it. Apparently it's by someone called "Starfield", who I always thought was one of those weird indie bands, the concerts of whom *some* of my friends are constantly attending... but who is actually a (weird indie?) Christian band. Anyhoo here are the lyrics which I have borrowed from another blog (colours and all):

Son of God, shaper of the stars,
You alone, the dweller of my heart.
Mighty King, how beautiful You are,
how Beautiful.

Son of God, the Father's gift to us,
You alone, were broken on the altar of love.
Precious lamb, our freedom's in Your blood,
It's in Your blood.

Jesus, oh Holy One, I sing to You, forgiven.
Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me.

Son of God, strength beyond compare,
You alone, the darkness cannot bear.
Lord of all, Your kindness draws me near,
it draws me.

Son of God, prophecy of old,
You alone, redeemer of my soul.
Come again and lead Your people home,
come lead us home.

Jesus, oh Holy One, I sing to You, forgiven.
Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me.

You are worthy,
You are worthy,
You are worthy of all my praise.
You are beautiful (You are beautiful)
You are beautiful (so beautiful)
I will lift up my hands and sing. (I'll lift up my hand and sing.)

Jesus, oh Holy One, I sing to You, forgiven.
Savior, I'm overcome with Your great love for me.

Puddles

It's been a very long week and I'm anxious for it to be over. This week I have driven to or at least by what feels like every single city in the Lower Mainland. I have met four dogs (all big ones) (five if you count my boss' little dog, who of course I've met before, so no, she doesn't count), and three cats (two friendly, one scaredy). I've stepped in two deep puddles (neither was animal-related - let's be thankful) and have been caught in the rain without a hood only three or four times. I've eaten approximately six pieces of Halloween candy. I've had Starbucks twice and Wendy's once. I have been thinking far too much. I am exhausted.

I love weekends.... almost as much as I love summer.

Praise God for getting me through another week.

Always one step behind

Over at one of the blogs I sometimes read, there's a new, um... contest, I guess. Not really a contest. More of a campaign for more blogging. It's referred to as NaBloPoMo - National Blog Posting Month - basically trying to get people to post one entry every day in November in order to liven up previously slow blogs. I saw this and thought, totally a great idea, I'm on board .. but then I failed to post yesterday.

So here's the scoop from yesterday. I spent most of my day in the car, driving all over the province, or so it felt. I drove to Chilliwack in the morning, then to Pitt Meadows, then to Maple Ridge, then to Pitt Meadows again, then back to work, then home. By the by, did you know that gas in Chilliwack was only 86 cents? Scandalous! I also drove through Mission (hi Tree!) but really don't recall much, except I did pass a lake of some sort. The drive to Chilliwack is quite nice. Too bad it's so ridiculously far.

Also in yesterday's news, we went to a company dinner paid for by the hubby's work. There are some interesting (=bizarre) people who work with the hubby. He's been there long enough to identify the folks I didn't need to meet, so that was nice. In a little speech, his manager referred to me as the most patient, tolerant, and understanding woman he's ever met, since I'm married to the hubby. Clearly, this manager doesn't know a thing about me. Oh, the deceptive webs I weave when presenting my public facade to strangers!

PS: I wanted to take the two week All-Bran challenge, but it's far too difficult to eat it every day. My mouth can only handle a certain amount of twigs and branches per week.

Frickin freezing

Those of you in my neck of the woods will probably relate when I complain about the recent cold snap we're facing. Actually I am not REALLY complaining ... I don't really mind cold, I just long for summer instead. But cold is preferable to constant rain, I suppose.

Whenever it gets chilly like this, I'm always reminded of my first month in Medicine Hat several years ago. I arrived there just after New Year's and was totally unprepared for how cold it was. On the flight over from Calgary (the one where they balance the sides of the aircraft based on passengers' weight!) the pilot announced that the weather in the Hat was a brisk -29. At this point I was wearing a sweatshirt with no jacket, and jeans. Because the planes (and the airport) are so small, you have to exit the plane using stairs, rather than the jet bridge you normally see into airports. I don't think I've ever been colder in my life than that day. The Alberta cold is really unique - it gets into you, you feel like everything is frozen, and your face hurts.

That winter was a learning experience for me. Lesson one - never live in Medicine Hat. Just kidding (Mel - don't kill me!). Really, I'm quite thankful for God giving me the opportunity to live somewhere else for several months - I certainly appreciate home much more. I might complain about the rain, but it does bring green grass all year round, and at least my car isn't all sandy/salty from the roads here.

Folks from other parts of Canada often scoff at us westcoasters when we say it's cold. I think they're just jealous. :)

Where's my prize?

I definitely deserve one after the breakfast I just had. To give you some background, we have some family history of poor health which causes my mom to worry that similar problems will happen to my brother and I... so lately I have been consuming more "fibrous foods" to improve my health (which is fine, by the way, so don't panic. I recently got rated in "very good" health - not quite "perfect" like the hubby, but whatever.)

For example, I have been buying a (really expensive) new kind of bread where each slice has 5 g of fibre. (You are supposed to have about 25 g of fibre per day.) It's good bread, made without flour (I suppose they just grind up the whole grains rather than using whole wheat flour) - very dense, and sometimes the grains hurt my teeth. I also try to eat one apple a day. By the way, I used to love Red Delicious apples but they are so mealy... so now, Gala apples. Yum.

Anyway, today, I took the fibre to a new level. The hubby bought some of this stuff the other day:

As per the suggestion on the box, I had a half cup (12 g of fibre!!) today... I ate it with some fat free yogurt (I'm on a roll here). True to my recollection, eating All-Bran is like.. well, imagine you were on the monkey bars in the school playground, and you fell face down with your mouth open into the twigs they use in place of gravel, and then you accidently swallowed some of the twigs. Totally unappetizing.

See? I told you I deserved a prize. I'm willing to accept monetary compensation.

Ten more random facts

1. Fall, winter, and spring are my least favourite seasons.
2. Rain automatically adds 15 minutes to my commute. Come on, folks, a little water shouldn't prevent you stepping on the gas pedal.
3. Heroes is such a cool show.
   
4. Veronica Mars is even cooler, except that I have missed all the episodes so far this season. Oops! I guess I'll be d/ling....
5. It's 9:30 PM and I'm feeling sleepy. This is not good.
6. The teacher on trial right now (for gross indecency...?) is all sorts of disgusting. It's a very upsetting situation and I hate even reading about it. What an arrogant and awful person.... it's so sad.
7. My toast has NEVER bounced up from the toaster like it does on TV. Is my toaster just not capable of hurling my toast into the air?
8. The Travelocity gnome is terribly annoying.... I would put him slightly behind the Wireless Wave guy on the radio (why does he have to say "Ro-JERS" and "Fi-DOHHH" like that) and the Spence Diamond guy (I've ranted before about him... he's reaching new lows lately.)
9. I've managed to bring a lunch to work every day this week. Thanks for packing my lunch, hubby!
10. Tomorrow is our first hockey game of the season, I can't wait to test out our new seats. And, one of my best friends is coming home for a visit! It's gonna be a good day.

Fancy expensive dinner equals

...small portions of food on giant plates. You all know what I'm talking about, right... well, if I had been by myself I would have taken pictures. I'll give you an example. One of the courses was a tomato "salad". This meant a huge plate on which sat about five different kinds of tomatoes. Not the full tomato, of course, but a stack made up of a slice of a normal red tomato, a smaller slice of a yellow tomato, a smaller slice of some other type of tomato, etc, until the very top, which was a full grape tomato. Wow, filling. All the courses were accompanied by "local" wines ... unfortunately I am uncultured and have not yet developed a liking for wine. There was also some sort of tortellini (just one) filled with beef, sitting on top of some sort of vegetable, and over the entire plate was poured some veal consomme. Sigh.

I think the oddest part of the dinner was that of the five courses, for four of them I had to use the same glass for wine. I know next to nothing about wine, but I would have thought at least they could have given us different glasses for white and red wines. But no. In fact at one point I suppose my wine consumption was a little behind, so the waitress asked me to drink what was left in my wine so she could put a new wine in my glass. Not, in my opinion, the best customer service.

Anyway, the conference was good, and the hotel room was surprisingly nice, so that I almost didn't mind paying the $120. ALMOST.

Goodbye, Costa Rica... Hello ....

CHILE, SOUTH AMERICA! Yes ... a new destination has just been announced for our January missions trip and we are off to the long and skinny country of Chile. I'm super excited and have no idea where in Chile we'll be going, but it doesn't really matter. It's just exciting.

In other news, this is my fourth day back at work since the vacation, and it hasn't been a great week here at the office. Bad things happen in groups, that's for sure. I am looking forward to the weekend.... sort of ... to update, I have to go to Victoria this weekend (so I'll miss fellowship and church again!) for a conference. I already blogged about this conference, and I've decided to suck it up and attend the dinner. It still nags at me that my hard earned money is being spent on a meal. Well, I'll post an update after the dinner.

By the way, Mexico was fun, but very tiring. I learned, once again, that travelling with other people who are not as cool as your husband is extremely difficult. I also learned that I have a very short temper. Just kidding - I knew that long ago! The weather there was hot and dry, and the best part about the wedding was the 12 player mariachi band. Fantabulous. The worst part was realizing that someone we had met might possibly be, well, let's go with a "bad person". Anyway, congrats to the newlyweds, who are right now enjoying a sunny week in the Mayan Riviera.

Let's see... what else is new... I recently made some small (on sale!) purchases from a seller on Etsy.com and I'm quite happy. It's a cool site where people sell handmade stuff, crafts, jewelry, etc. I always think it's nicer to pay the artist than to pay some large corporation for stuff that has been made in a foreign country and then marked up to ridiculous levels. I suppose there's something to be said about the (corporation?) of Etsy.com itself profiting from the crafty endeavours of others, but I'll choose to be wilfully ignorant of the facts for the moment and just say, funky handmade pendant for only a few dollars? Sign me up.

Ten random facts about our trip so far

1. The plane ride from DFW (Dallas, for you non-airport-code-savvy people) was extremely turbulent. Gotta love the small planes.
2. Pancho Villa was not so named because he wore a poncho.
3. Kiefer Sutherland was in Stand By Me (well blow me over, I've never seen this movie.)
4. You can get your shots and drink only bottled water, but undercooked chicken will make you sick in any country.
5. It is extremely difficult to travel in a country where you don't know the language.
6. Drivers here take many risks. Why bother waiting behind someone when you can just use the shoulder to cut him off?
7. Tony the Tiger endorses cereal here too - but it's called Zucaritas!
   
8. A "tuna blanca" is a prickly fruit with a million seeds and a pear-like texture. It is NOT delicious.
9. Spanish is a lot like French - except that French makes so much more sense to me.
10. The wedding is in a few hours, and I gotta go!
    

Happiness is ...

Okay, I normally am a big Starbucks fan as opposed to any other coffee place, but seriously, the best drink EVER is the Dark Chocolate Mocha at Blenz. It is fabulous. Blenz uses real chocolate instead of that syrupy stuff. It's just the right combination of bitterness and sweetness. Yum.

Well, we're off to Mexico tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to all, or for our American friends, Happy Columbus Day! I'll post some pics when I get back.

In the meantime here is a picture of me in my legal attire, from my call ceremony ... and no there is no wig. Sorry to disappoint.

...but would you at least like to know what I had for breakfast?

This fun blogger recently wrote a book called "No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for your Blog". I admit that I haven't actually read the book, but on two of my favourite blogs, this book has been mentioned and used as well. Maybe one day I'll get around to reading it, and my blog? WILL BECOME FABULOUS. Just you wait.

Anyhoo. I'm sitting at my desk, drinking a lovely Grande Starbucks Awake Tea Misto (with Vanilla). I try not to buy into the Starbucks mentality more than once a week (one might argue that by getting a drink from there at all, I've already bought into the mentality - but that argument is for another post) - and when I do go to Starbucks, I go with the intention of buying a big fancy drink, and then I end up with a small fancy drink, or a big non-fancy drink. By small fancy drink, I usually mean a tall Caramel Macchiato (Non-fat), or a tall Mocha (Non-fat, Easy Whip) ... and by big non-fancy drink - well, that's the Tea Misto (also known as a London Fog).

It's a lovely combination of Earl Grey tea, steamed milk and foam, and some vanilla syrup. The best part is that since the tea is made with near-boiling hot water, I never have to complain about how my drink is lukewarm. That is the most frequent complaint about the Starbucks near our office - they have a problem making drinks the right temperature. I'm not sure if their thermometers are different from EVERY OTHER STARBUCKS but somehow, "lukewarm" is just the best way to describe them.

I'm always reminded of the verse in Revelation where God says to a church that their deeds are neither cold nor hot, lukewarm in fact, so he will spit them out. I'm sure this verse can be interpreted in different ways, but to me one meaning has always been that God isn't looking for Christians who don't really care, who don't seek him, who don't realize their own shortcomings.

It always makes me think.

I'm normally so well prepared

In a few short days, we're off to Mexico for a week to enjoy some fun in the sun. This is, at least, the plan. Unfortunately, I have no idea whether there will be sun, and as for fun, well, this isn't one of those typical-me trips where things are well planned and organized. Oh wait - I've just looked at the weather forecast and it appears we'll have mid-20s in the daytime, but fairly chilly evenings. Hmm. Some rain as well.

I am feeling a bit apprehensive about this trip, mostly because it's not an area I'm familiar with, and I'm going with a bunch of guys who don't seem to care much about whether the trip is organized. Apparently everyone's just looking forward to some Mexican beer. I can't recall the name of said beer, but I'm sure I'll figure it out after a few days. They're also looking forward to making odd purchases like buying "authentic" Mexican wrestling masks. Nacho Libre-style, I suppose.

In other trip-related news, we just got word that our trip to Costa Rica is now our trip to "destination as yet unknown." Was there a war in Costa Rica that I missed? I'm not sure. In any event, I don't know why the destination has changed, but I know the purpose has not. More updates when we receive them.

Hmm - I'm all out of things to say!

Blogger and my computer don't mix

I had a whole post written out. A good one too. But my work computer rejected it, or rejected Blogger maybe .. anyway. Byebye post.

What I wrote about was .. well I'll just re-create it. I have a conference to go to on the Island next month - just a short weekend thing. I don't have to pay for the fee, but I do "get" to pay for my transportation ($80) and my hotel ($120/nt.) Clearly not thrilling, but I accept that it's a necessary thing. There's much for me to learn about my area of law and conferences are great ways to absorb more. I just wish it didn't have to be so far away, given the cost. It was my plan to take an early ferry on the first day and be a smidge late for the seminar - thus saving on the hotel cost. For those that don't know, I'm very cheap. It may come from having been a student for a long time, or maybe it's just from being Chinese! In any event, I'm not a fan of spending a lot on stuff. I'm not RIDICULOUS or anything - I'll still spend money on Starbucks once or twice a week, and once in a while I even go out for lunch. And sometimes I buy clothes. But not expensive ones, let's not be silly.

So, back to the story, I got an email from the conference organizers about a dinner they have arranged for the evening. I had expected a dinner gathering, but thought it would be, what, $50 at MOST ... unfortunately - it's going to be $100. Does that not make your eyes bulge? Perhaps it's just me. But I have NEVER paid that much for a meal in my entire life. We did not even spend that much per person for our wedding reception, and unlimited booze was included in that event. It's some kind of a fancy restaurant. The hubby hasn't decided if he'll come to the conference or not, but if he does, there goes $200.

The hubby and I don't often go out to eat. We aren't fancy people. We's cheap people. It's true - I think we try to be generous with friends and such, but we are in general cheap. Our fanciest meals have been for $25/person at the Dine Out event... and sometimes we've said to each other afterward, "Hmm - I think I've had better food at [fill in name of inexpensive Asian restaurant]". Once in a while, I get a gift card for the Keg, and in the interest of saving money, we order one large size prime rib and share it - it's cheaper than getting two separate plates. (Are you rolling your eyes at me, Internet?)

SO - you can imagine my shock at opening this email. I don't really know what to do. It's sort of "expected" that I'll attend the dinner. Someone suggested that I make up a story about having to meet a friend, but I don't feel good about lying. I also don't feel good about ditching out and being the spoilsport. Among all the lawyers going, I'm surely the youngest (and the poorest!) - so I doubt they'd understand total honesty from me ("$100 for a meal!? What a ripoff!") Maybe I should suck it up and just go, and hope that the next time I have a conference to go to, I also have a higher salary.

Anyway. I shouldn't whine, I know, but seriously, I could spend that money soooo much better.

Winter makes me crave a warm bowl of...

I know winters in this part of the world are mild and really there is nothing to complain about.... aside from a little rain ... and we Vancouverites sure know how to rationalize the rain - "it makes our grass so green!" ... but I think secretly we all have times when we despise the weather and just want to curl up in front of the TV with a warm blanket. Well, I have already had two days like that and we aren't even really into fall yet.

Luckily I live with a master chef and he always makes me whatever I feel like for dinner. So tonight was congee night. I'm sure other people have this ability, but I don't, so I will brag about my husband's ability to take random ingredients and make something delicious. In less than an hour he had made a delicious pot of congee flavoured with chicken and dried scallops. I didn't even know we had dried scallops! No Chinese donuts (so clearly, that isn't my picture up there), but that's okay. We had some Costco dry ribs instead. Haha! Anyway, nothing cures my winter blues like a nice toasty bowl of congee. I don't like it so thick that a spoon stands up in it, and I don't like it too watery either.

I used to hate congee, actually, when I was a kid. I still have an aversion to congee with "weird" stuff in it (normal to everyone else - just weird to me) - like "pei dahn", for example.

Today was kind of a crappy day. I had to pick up my robes in downtown after work ... so I put in 3 quarters into my parking meter (= 18 minutes, what a ripoff) and the old fellow who works at the robes place is kinda slow. You know, as older people are. So I got my robes probably about 2 minutes past my meter expiry time and I sprinted/fastwalked (as best as can be done in heels) back to my car... only to see, as I was pulling out, a meter maid guy standing next to my meter, watching me leave. I expect a parking ticket in the mail in about a week or so. It put me in such a bad mood that I skipped the seminar I was supposed to go to.

It wasn't much better of a day AT work either. I've been feeling a little swamped lately, but it isn't always because I have too much work to do - it's more like I feel as though I know nothing at all. My boss said this is common to newbies, so I shouldn't worry - but I definitely still worry that I've forgotten things, or that I'll be such a royal screwup, my boss will fire me. It's the feeling of "Wow - I'm kinda stupid - wonder if anyone will find out." Let me tell ya - I'm not inspiring a lot of people lately.

Good thing, then, that there was congee tonight. I feel better already.

I suppose if the biggest problem I face is a parking ticket, I should really be more grateful for what God gives me.

Hair ... such expense for dead cells

I hate getting my hair cut ... it isn't because I always want long hair or anything like that. It's more of the effort required. After my wedding, I sort of abandoned my previous hairstylist, as we had a bit of an issue regarding the wedding hair prices she charged me. I then embarked on a hair salon search ... and today I decided to go to a new place in Kerrisdale. I liked it there, except that the shampoo girl made me feel a bit awkward (they don't speak much English ... was she laughing at me? the way I look? Or just curious at the Chinese girl who can't speak Chinese? I'll never figure it out.)

Here's my "before" ... this was taken a few weeks ago during a camping trip. Considering the icy cold showers at camping, my hair actually doesn't look terrible here. (Side note: have I ever mentioned that I HATE public showers? Yuck!) Anyway, my hair here is long, mostly shapeless, and the bangs were really killing me.

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And anyway, I decided to go for something shorter and possibly more professional looking. Here is the picture I brought to the hairstylist - knowing that my hair will never really look like this, unless I flat iron it every single morning and get highlights too.



And here is what I ended up with (typical webcam-style picture - I'm not even looking at the camera, haha):

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Obviously it isn't Ally McBeal's hair, but I'm pretty pleased. Of course, it will undoubtedly not look too good when I have to wash/dry it myself. We'll see tomorrow.

Anyway. Shockingly I spent $50 today. I think that's the most expensive haircut that I have ever had. Ever! Ouchie.

This post doesn't have a real point.... but that's okay.... one day I'll write something more meaningful!