A Canadian in Search of the Emerald City

Thankful for Change

2007-11-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

This was a BIG WEEK!

On Tuesday, I took and passed my Washington State driving test! So now I am a licensed driver! My dad is probably more excited than I am...Now he can brag that I am just as smart as a monkey (because apparently "even monkeys can drive!") The next step is to buy a new car, probably something small and easy on gas. Probably not until the new year, after my knee surgery.

Oh yeah, I'm getting knee surgery on January 8 to fix my torn ACL. I am hobbling a lot on it as it is, and every once in a while it buckles up underneath me (as painful as it sounds). I am hoping to be back in the proverbial saddle by late spring. I like activities that require knees (walking, rollerblading, hiking) and pivoting sports (ultimate, skiing, snowboarding). My doctor found me a physiotherapist right around the corner from my (new) apartment so I can start my rehabilatation within days of my surgery. Until my exercise routine will involve walking (unevenly and slowly) and swimming at the local pool.

I moved into Dave's apartment on Friday! Most of my stuff is still in boxes, so it's looking a little bit chaotic in here right now. I have unpacked the all important things like my clothes, food, and Cutco knives, and have shifted things around in the kitchen cupboards so they are "Jadine-accessible". Day Three of Project Cohabitation, and still getting along... :P Haha! In all seriousness, we don't fight much...like three times in six months...

We have also had some unbelievable weather this Thanksgiving weekend! It has been sunny for 6 days straight and all of the mountains surrounding Seattle have been visible making me feel extremely fortunate to be here. On those dreary grey Seattle winter days, it is easy to forget that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Time to make dinner...Tonight I will make a stirfry. My wok and all of my sauces are here now! Exciting!

The story of my torn ACL

2007-11-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I was playing ultimate frisbee and I collided with someone taller and faster than me. As we fell, the side of my right knee hit his shinbone. I immediately grabbed my leg and tears sprang to my eyes. I was carried off the field by my teammates and provided with ice. After the game I was piggy-backed off the field, driven home, and piggy-backed up to my house (Thanks Jon!). I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday, hopping around my house and pushing myself up and down the stairs. By Tuesday night I was excited that I was able to put a little bit of pressure on my leg and progressed to a slow hobble. Wednesday and Thursday I ventured into work, tired of being housebound. I was feeling optimistic that I was healing. Dave returned from his business trip to Fort Mac and Edmonton on Thursday night. Unfortunately, that night I woke up with a really bad charleyhorse. At this point, my tight calf muscle is more painful than my knee. Friday morning, Dave drove me to an orthopaedic doctor recommended to me by my housemate Allison. After pullinyg and prodding my knee, he told me that he is 95% sure that I tore my ACL. My heart sank. He said that after the surgery I would not be able to run, hop, or pivot on my knee for 5 months. I guess this means that I will miss out on skiing and snowboarding season this year. Bummer...The silver lining to all this, is that the privatized American health care system has some perks over the Canadian system. As Tim pointed out to me there is a long wait for knee surgeries in Canada. I am getting an MRI tomorrow, and probably my surgery before the end of the year...efficiency unheard of in Canada. Lucky me??

One year anniversary!

2007-10-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

Clearly it has been TOO LONG since I wrote a blog entry, as I momentarily forgot my username for Blogspot! I was reading my brother, Kevin's blog from his trip to China and felt inspired to make an update of my own.

This month marks my one year anniversary of living and working in Seattle. Far though it is from my Canadian friends and family, I do love it here and the life I have here. Work is good; laughs with my co-workers definitely cut through the boredom of reading depositions. The social life is also good; I have made some great friends, eventhough it seems half of them are moving away this month! Best of all is the love life; I started dating the wonderful and utterly unique David Semanske in June and haven't looked back since! He is intelligent, caring, passionate, and (as a bonus) handsome and sexy. We feel extremely lucky to have met each other. Personally I feel that it was fate that brought us together; it's no co-incidence that we arrived in Seattle within a week of each other. Unfortunately, this one year anniversary also means that I need to make the trek across the border to renew my work visa. I will be going this Thursday with one of my law-abiding, American co-workers. Maybe she will even let me drive part of the way!

Things I am looking forward to:
1) Work potluck on Wednesday. I am planning to make a vegetable quiche, because I haven't made one of these in a while. Mmm...delicious!
2) SeattleWorks project on Vashon Island (in Puget Sound). We get to stay Friday night in a cabin to rest up for a Saturday of hard work at Campfire USA, an organisation that builds leadership and teamworking skills in youths in an outdoor environment.
3) Our six-month anniversary trip to Wenatchee and Leavenworth in Western Washington. In the heart of wine country (this area is directly South of the Okanagan in BC), in the winter it becomes a winter wonderland! (Snow!!!) Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style village where in the winter they light up the town in Christmas lights and have a parade and outdoor carols. It should be a good opportunity to find some unique Christmas gifts! (This year, no glass...)
4) Christmas in Southern Ontario! I will be home from December 19 to 27. Looking forward to seeing friends and family, and eating a year's worth of Thom dumplings. They are not "caveman suitable" but Kevin said he would make an exception...Yay!
5) New Year's in Colorado with the Semanskes! From December 27 to January 2, I will be in Boulder where Dave's sister and family live. His parents are also flying down from Michigan. (I met them already this week, as they were in town visiting.)

Anywho, time to hit the gym. Feel like getting my sweat on today!

Best food weekend. Ever!

2007-08-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

I went to Vancouver last weekend, and ate really well...as I tend to do in Vancouver.

Upon arrival in Vancouver, and exhausted from the 4-hour drive through Seattle and Vancouver traffic, Jessica and I made a beeline to one of my favourite sushi restaurants in Vancouver, Kitsilano Sushi. We both got the sushi special which includes miso soup, california roll, tuna roll and theVancouver specialty, yam tempura roll. All for the low low price of 5.95$! I heart Vancouver's fast-food-sushi-addiction! I switched out my tuna roll for a spicy dynamite roll, and Jessica got chopped scallop roll (also one of my faves) instead of california roll. We also got edamame. Jessica had never had a yam tempura roll before. She was impressed.

Bellies filled we went to Safeway to find ourselves costumes for the party. It had an ocean theme, and given that we had both were wearing green shirts, we decided to go as algae (me) and sea kelp (Jessica). We managed to score FREE green ribbon from the nice gentleman at the flower department which we tied around our wrists, arms, belt loops and hair. The party was awash with sailors and Hawaiian girls; we awarded ourselves the Most Creative Costume award and we accepted graciously.

Post-party, we awoke (in the car - long story) with a craving for eggs. So we went to Sophie's on 4th. I ordered Eggs Florentine...my all-time favourite way of eating eggs! (Who can resist the oooey-gooeyness of the egg yolk intermingling with the hollandaise sauce and the spinach, and the crunchiness of the English muffin underneath...mmmm....) Jessica had never had Eggs Florentine before. I let her have a bite of mine and she was impressed. Jessica had scrambled eggs with turkey sausage. Summary: Sophie's makes delicious food!

After brekkie, we swung by the house and picked up Kerstin and Kirsten and we all went to MEC for and outdoors-wear shopping extravaganza. I bought a new backpack with waterpouch-holding capabilities. (I can't seem to go to this store WITHOUT buying a new bag...so dangerous!) To be honest, I have used it for a couple of days, and I'm not a huge fan. I wish it was a little bit bigger and I wish the pocket placement was more accessible/more numerous. Oh well, it carries 2 L of water and is good for hiking. Jessica bought a new rain jacket and Kirsten bought a whole lotta stuff, including the EXACT SAME BAG that I bought, and ANOTHER EXACT SAME BAG THAT I ALREADY HAVE for Natascha. Well, at least they don't live in the same city as me so we won't mix up bags like Karen McCaig and I used to do with our blue MEC satchels.

Tired from shopping, we went to Kitsilano Beach and laid in the grass. A bird flew by and pooped on me. I was not impressed. At least Kirsten did not take a photo of this and post it on Facebook like she did to Natascha. Or did she...

Around 7pm we met up with Pam and her friend Peter and had sushi "lunch" and another delicious sushi restaurant on 4th (name forgotten, but I went there once with Matteo). I didn't keep track of what everyone else ate, but I had Alaska Roll. Yum!

Then we went back to Kits Beach and watched the Fireworks Competition on sleeping bags in the sand. While we waited for the show to start, I taught Jessica to sing O Canada (...she's American...). She tried to teach me the Star Spangled Banner, but could not remember all the lyrics. (Booo! Bad American!) The fireworks were so-so. If Seattle were entered into this so-called international competition they would surely win...I did not see a 3D cube or planets, and the music was accompanying rather than enhancing the display. I found my mind wandering to my next meal...

Mmmm...Nevermind. Ok, so this place is possibly one of my favourite bars in Vancouver...The service is usually pretty lousy, but the food and drinks are really good (unless you like beer, then it's kind of expensive). My absolutely favourite menu item at this place is the Spiked Crab and Spinach Dip with Navajo Fry Bread and Tortilla Chips Drizzled with Balsamic Syrup. I have capitalized it, because it deserves it...Sometimes I daydream about this dish, and a little bit of drool will leak out of my mouth and I have to suck it back in. (Like now.) I had been raving to Jessica about this dip and the accompanying fry bread for 7 months, and of course she had never had it before. It did not disappoint, and Jessica was impressed. They also make delicious martinis. And a mean spicy Caesar (the drink not the salad or the Roman emperor). I opted for the Caesar because you can't get Caesars in the U.S. because they don't have Clamato(!!) The Caesars at Nevermind come with one or (if you are lucky) two marinated green beans. I think it is one of my all-time favourite drinks. Jessica had never had a Caesar before. I let her have a sip of mine, and she was impressed.

The next morning we had a light breakfast of a croissant, nectarines and an organic latte. All very satisfying.

Then we went shopping on Granville (the cool part, not the sketchy downtown part). I didn't buy anything but Kirsten and Jessica bought got new sandals.

For lunch we opted away from the all-you-can-eat sushi since there were only three of us, and had Korean food at Shabusen instead. I had forgotten how much I heart Korean food, especially all the little accoutrements that come with your main meal (I had grilled beef). My favourites remain the tofu, kimchi, the bean sprouts with the seeds at the ends, and the white radish. We were pretty stuffed by the end.

The ride back was pretty uneventful. We got lost finding the border. Jessica perfected O Canada. We stopped at the Seattle Premium Outlet on the way back and I bought some trouser shorts from the Gap Outlet before they closed for the day.

Summary: Good food and good laughs in Vancouver. (See, Daddy! I DID eat crab in Vancouver!) In Vancouver we counted 32 Priuses (almost exclusively taxis), 31 Minis (!) and 6 (?) Smart cars. South of the border there were 26 Priuses, 3 Minis and 7 Honda Elements. What do you make of that??

Scandinavian S-cape

2007-07-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you who don't know...I just got back from 13 days in Scandinavia, mostly Norway but one unscheduled day in Denmark. I went to Norway because my friends Victor and Gwen were getting married. (Gwen is Norwegian, but they currently live in London, England.)

Norway is a beautiful country nature-wise: fjords, valleys, waterfalls, mountains. All things that I love. Even the cities are pretty. Their biggest city, Oslo, only has a population of about 600,000. Tiny! I also didn't meet a single Norwegian that wasn't friendly, welcoming, helpful and well-educated. They all have very good English too (which is not necessary, just easier). However, one drawback of Norway is that it is very expensive. To give you an idea, their smallest unit of currency is the half kroner, worth about 10 cents. Not that you could buy anything with half a croner. A pack of gum cost 14 kroner, and don't even get me started about alcohol prices. The alcohol tax is 40%...yikes! Despite the cost of living, Norwegians seem to be pretty happy. They have no crime, no homelessness, public health care, and the government also gives them a whopping 7 years of paid post-secondary education! It goes without saying that Norway also has high income taxes! All in all, this doesn't seem like such a bad deal...

I have posted photos on Facebook. Because it took me so long to organise and describe these, I am not going to bother posting them elsewhere. So, if you want to see them, maybe you should sign up for Facebook...(Dad, Jimmy).

On the way out of Oslo, the people at the SAS check-in counter asked me if I would be willing to "volunteer" take a later flight from Copenhagen to Seattle since they had overbooked my flight. Since they were offering me a 600 euro travel voucher, a nights stay at the Radisson, upgrade to business class, and free meals, I agreed! I also got an extra day of vacation, and a day in Copenhagen!

Copenhagen is nice, but considerably flatter and less clean than Norway. Slightly less expensive. And more smokers (there was a smoking area in the airport!) Maybe I will post photos of Copenhagen tonight if I have time...

Hope everyone is having a great summer...I sure am! I heart Seattle in the summertime! You can actually see the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. Sooooo beautiful!

10 years! What the...?

2007-05-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

It was recently brought to my attention that my ten-year high school reunion is quickly approaching, which begs the question, "What the...?" Seriously though, where did those ten years go? I did NOT expect to be where I am now, doing what I'm doing...that's fer darn sure. But, in a roundabout way...I am totally happy with the way things turned out. My life has been rather nomadic since high school, living in Toronto, Baie-St. Paul, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Seattle. I have two degrees, both of which I'm using in my current job (woo hoo for not wasting 6 years in school). I have traveled across the country and around the globe (but not as much as I would like to). And I have fun and interesting friends scattered all over the world. Life is good.

To the present...this weekend was Memorial Day in the US. Definitely less somber (or is it sombre?) than Remembrance Day...more like Victoria Day without the "2-4s" and the fireworks. (Except in Vancouver where they only have fireworks during the fireworks competition...)

I went to Folklife...a huge music cultural festival down by the Space Needle. To give you an idea of the range of acts they had at this festival, the best things I saw at the festival were a funk-and-soul marching band called March Fourth (they entered on stilts and had napkin dancers!), a guitar trio (name forgotten but they were awesome), and a breakdancing troupe. Also saw a lame hip-hop show, and learned how to Balkan dance (well, sort of) to Jessica's father's Balkan polka band (he plays the accordion). I also had Kenyan food and danced in a drum circle. Fun times...Will post photos later. I have an awesome one of the Space Needle at night.

Anywho...work time!

Things that make you go...hmmm...

2007-05-14T23:13:00.000-07:00

I got a letter today from Revenue Canada with a form for me to fill out: Determination of Residency Status (Leaving Canada). Seems so formal...Physically I have left, I suppose...but emotionally? Oy...The hardest question was "How long do you expect to live outside Canada? Number of days ___ Number of months ___ Number of years ___ Leaving or left Canada permanently and no plan to return to Canada ___" Hmm...excellent question. My TN (work visa) is only for one year, so it expires in October...but I will likely re-apply for another year. And how long can I realistically work at my job before slicing my wrists with a 200-page deposition? Maybe 3 years? I'm happy here, and if Seattle were in Canada I would not think twice about living here forever. But permanently? Yikes...I don't know. I wrote in "unknown".

Other strange discoveries made in the last week:
1. Seattle is not (as I have mistakenly thought for the past 6 months) on the ocean. It's not even close. I thought that on the other side of the islands that are in Puget Sound (e.g. Bainbridge, Vashon) that there was ocean and that the Olympic mountains were on those islands. WRONG. Apparently there is a rather large land mass, called the Olympic Peninsula past those islands. The Olympic Mountains are on the Olympic Peninsula (go figure!). Anywho, to avoid future embarassment, I should probably look at a map within the first six months of (or preferably before) moving to my next city.
2. They don't have Coffee Crisp in the U.S.
3. They don't have J-cloths in the U.S.
4. "Tea towels" are just "kitchen towels" in the U.S.
5. Americans never tire of making fun of my accent. (Actually this is not a new discovery...but I thought the novelty might have worn off by now.)

Tomorrow I am picking up a book from the library called Flaubert's Parrot. I am WAY excited!! I can't remember what the plot is, but the title sounds freakin' awesome!

A little give, a little get

2007-04-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a Friday the 13th potluck hosted by one of my (Canadian) co-workers. It was an extremely pleasant evening, lots of good food and wine. Anywho, at this party I got chatting with this guy, and he was telling me about this volunteer organization for people in their 20s and 30s called Seattle Works. I was so interested in this idea, that after the party, I immediately went on their website and signed up to help out at an Earth Day event. They have three ways to get involved: 1. You are assigned to a group of 15 people, and for one Saturday per month for four months you volunteer for a different organization. This allows you to meet new people AND help out the community. Especially good if you get in with a cool group of people...and even if you don't you're still doing good work. Their next round of volunteering starts in June, but because of the wedding, I will miss the first session and they want you to be fully committed to attending all the sessions. Soo.... 2. You can help out at one-time projects from their calendar of events. That's what I'm doing to start with as I can choose which Saturday I want to help out. If I get more ambitious, there is also option 3. Volunteering on a board of directors of a non-profit organization. At this point, not really my goal...

At this point, not much else is exciting in my life. I seem to be falling into a routine, and the months are just whizzing by. I have been living in Seattle for nearly 5 months now! Unbelievable. (Almost time to rotate my mattress.)

I have read half of the Washington State driver's license manual. It is very boring. Doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary from BC or Ontario laws. It's really the getting behind the wheel thing that freaks me out...

I'm nearly done knitting my sweater. I am working on the collar, so I'm thinking I can finish it this weekend. (I also thought I could finish it last weekend, but got distracted by doing my taxes.) I already have yarn for my next two projects. Clearly my fingers cannot move as quickly as my imagination. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have this problem. Last night I got this cool set of knitting needles that I bought online called the Needlemaster (sounds like a character in a role player game). I don't know how to really explain it, but I think that I will never have to buy another set of knitting needles again! Well, maybe double pointed ones...Anywho, I don't want to bore anyone. I'm sure some people have already skipped onto the next paragraph by now...

And lastly I'd like to insert a little rant about my "new" cell phone. I was constantly made fun of for my old phone because it was such a "beast". But man, did the battery on that thing have staying power...It would last for a week without needing to be recharged. This "new" phone however, needs to be recharged every other day, sometimes every day if I am talking on it alot. And of course, I forget to do this and the battery runs out...Point being, I miss my beast...

The time has come...

2007-03-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's time to write a blog entry when someone makes a comment about how long it has been since I made a blog entry. This time, it was my father. (Hi Dad!)

So, since my last entry...

I discovered the wonderful world of Facebook, and reconnected with friends that I haven't spoken to in years. It's actually quite amazing who you can find on there! I was even contacted by a girl I went on a Carribean cruise with in 1990 and whom I became penpals with (Bonnie Brennan). I had forgotten that she even existed. It seems that many of my high school friends are married and/or have kids. Sonya Sidorkewicz, a girl who was identified as my most compatible friend in high school via Matchmaker, even started up a Facebook group about this phenomenon...very appropriate I thought. Anywho, so if you are not on Facebook...maybe you should think about joining. It's fun...although highly addictive.

I passed from my cubic year into my 7x4 year. This was celebrated by a supremely tasty dinner at Cafe Lago, an Italian restaurant very close to my house. We shared an antipasti plate and I had grilled scallops atop homemade linguine. Not exactly crab, but it sufficed. ;) Scallops and shrimp are a close second to crab on my list of favourite foods. And these scallops were perfectly cooked and oh-so-sweet. I MUST take you there...mmm...my mouth is watering.

I bought a snowboard and all the accoutrements to go with it. Jessica and I have now been snowboarding thrice. The third outing was to Snoqualmie, about an hour from Seattle. After we mastered the green hill and were able to consistently turn in both directions, we graduated ourselves to the intermediate run. It wasn't a smooth run down to say the least. (I spent much of it sliding down the hill on my back, kind of like how I would imagine a turtle would, and praying that eventually my snowboard would catch enough snow to make me stop! This, I realize, doesn't sound like much fun, but it was! We feel that we are making exponential progress and are thus EXTREMELY impressed with ourselves. We are also VERY modest about it. Honestly though, I have been told that it's a lot easier to get the hang of snowboarding than it is skiing, and if one knows how to ski, that it is even easier.

I bought a ticket to Norway! My friend Victor (former "crackhouse" resident) is getting married to a Norwegian girl that he met while traveling between London (England) and Norway. They both live in London, and although I have never met her before, he send me lots of photos of their travels throughout Europe and they seem like an adorable couple. Victor is one of the most generous friends I have, so I am very excited for him. Anywho, the wedding is on June 21st in Bergen. Afterwards, I will spend the weekend with Erin hopefully hiking in the fjords around Bergen(!!) Then I have the week to myself...I'm thinking of either exploring some of the towns along the coast or going up to Roros (past Lillehammer) which I hear is a charming little town; it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Meeting up with Kirsten on Thursday and we will spend the weekend in Oslo. Fly back to Seattle on Sunday. It'll be a whirlwind of a trip, but now that I am a working girl, I don't have the luxury of taking off for a month...I'm really looking forward to it, and the promise of a vacation should propel me through these last few dreary weeks of the "wet season". Last weekend, I finished sorting through my Thailand and Laos photos, so it is definitely time to start planning my next holiday.

My sweater is nearing completion. I have finished the body and 1.5 sleeves. This weekend should be a quiet one, so I'm hoping to make a lot of progress on it or even finish it!

Other plans for this weekend: taxes (Canadian AND American), making ma po tofu, and studying the Washington State driver's manual. Apparently they won't let me go out "into the field" without my driver's license. (Field work has GOT to be more fun than summarizing depositions!) Well, at least they don't have graduated licensing here...Watch out, WA!

Kung Hei Fat Choi

2007-02-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year has never really meant much to me. In fact, my banana-self probably wouldn't have known that it was today if not for one of my white co-workers asking me what I was doing to celebrate. Or, my more Chinese relatives sending out a Happy Chinese New Year email.

In any case, yesterday we inadvertently celebrated by going to dim sum in the International District in Seattle because of my friend Jen's new year's resolution to go to dim sum more often. We have already gone twice...so she is doing pretty well. The food wasn't as good as it is in Toronto, and the deep fried calamari that had impressed me so much last time was of lower quality this time. And my end of meal congee experience was ruined when I realized that it was contaminated with pei dan (thousand year old egg). Yeah...as you can imagine it tastes about as appealing as it sounds. Like many elements of Chinese cuisine, an "acquired taste", in the same category as red bean anything, durian, shrimp heads, and the pasty orange stuff inside the crab. I am proud to say, and to my father's dismay ("You don't like it?? Good, more for me!") in the last 2 years I have acquired the taste for the last two elements on that list. It appears that my palate is maturing, and my father will have to fight me for the crab bodies. Oddly, he has never fought me over brussel sprouts...

Still, I love going to dim sum with people that have never been before. Mostly to watch their reaction to what gets put in front of them. I remember going with some co-workers in Winnipeg for my farewell lunch, and one of them exclaimed upon looking at the ha gow (shrimp dumplings), "They look like embryos!". Haha! I had never thought about it that way, and seeing it through her eyes was an interesting experience. Too me, it tastes too good to think about what it looks like. As a child living in a Chinese-Canadian home, you learn quickly to taste first and ask questions later (or not at all)!

I realize now that this entire blog thus far has been dedicated to dim sum. In non-food-related matters, exciting things that are happening in my life currently include learning how to snowboard (oscillating moments of pain and frustration as I fall repeatedly, and exhilaration and a sense of accomplishment when I don't), and learning how to cable knit and the making of my first cable knit sweater. The pattern that I am working off of is here. Will post photos of my progress on the snowboarding and the sweater.

So, as you can see, in response to accusations from a certain English engineering miner cum environmental health consultant (not to name any names), my snowboarding-caused wrist injury has not prevented me from blogging, laziness has. After sitting in front of a computer and a 300-page deposition during the day, it is preferable not to sit in front of the computer and write a blog in the evening. Better to go to the gym, eat dinner, then knit while watching Six Feet Under.

P.S. Wikipedia rocks...they have definitions for everything!

Adventures in the snow

2007-01-21T18:16:00.001-08:00

2006-1-13 Jadine in Harmony
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Adventure #1:
It has snowed in Seattle twice since Christmas. (Thanks global warming!) On the first of these occasions, Jen and I left our office in Redmond at possibly the worst time, 5 pm. By then there was already about a cm of snow on the ground and the temperature was hovering around the freezing mark so there was also ice hidden under some of the compacted snow. But, we were in the Subaru, armed with all-wheel drive and ABS brakes, virtually invincible, right? Noooo...not when all the other cars on the road only have two-wheel drive and their wheels are spinning out and blocking access to other cars as they try to climb on-ramps, off-ramps and general Seattle hilliness. As you can imagine traffic was bad...we had traveled about 3 km in 2 hours and were pulling our hair out...there had to be another solution! So, we abandoned the car on a sidestreet (preferable to the middle of the hill like some people were doing...dumbasses), and walked to highway 520 to take the bus. After all, that morning my bus had had chains on it, a surefire way back to Seattle and my pyjamas. As we approached the bus stop, I saw the bus sitting there with its hazard lights blinking. The chains had been put on the previous day in preparation for snow that came a day late, and had been removed that afternoon. Brilliant move. So, the bus would sit there until the truck arrived with the chains...the truck that was undoubtably stuck in traffic somewhere. Then someone at the bus stop came up with the brilliant idea to hitchhike. We were afterall, standing at the on-ramp to the 520 right next to the Microsoft campus. Maybe some kindly stranger would see this as a good opportunity to increase their carpooling power...Sure enough, we got picked up pretty quickly. Our kindly strangers were three Microsofties, perfectly harmless. It was a slow and steady ride along the 520 and as we got closer to Seattle the conditions improved. All told the journey home took a whopping 3 hours; normally it is a half-hour to 45-minute trip. As a bonus though, the roads the next day were perfectly clear as most people were too scared to drive.

Adventure #2:
I went on a whirlwind trip to Whistler with a friend that Jesse introduced me to. We left at 4:30 am on Saturday morning and arrived at around 9:30 am. Set ourselves up our "ski in, ski out" chalet and hit the slopes. The best run of the day was following this photo, on the Harmony Ridge run on Whistler. It was near the end of the day so we had the hill to ourselves. The snow was soft and powdery, and the minus 15 degree wind kissed my cheeks. My toes were warm thanks to the adhesive "Toe Warmers" that I had bought on a whim at the Roundhouse. I have never skied with warm toes before...so much better!! Needless to say, after a full day of skiing, I was nearly falling asleep in my overpriced and mediocre-tasting jerk chicken. It was a pretty quiet night at the chalet. Our hot tub was broken, so we just played cards and sat around. One by one we dropped off, and I was in bed by 1am. We left the next morning at around 10:30 am, had breakfast in West Vancouver, and stopped at the Seattle Premium Outlets on the way back to Seattle. That night, I went to a turkey dinner at Jen and Greg's. I brought garlic bread...it was a big hit. Drank some, ate more. This adventure ended by 11 pm when I ran out of batteries. I love my bed...All other beds pale in comparison...

The morning after...

2007-01-06T12:12:00.001-08:00

Kalendar - Jadine sleeping
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Not as young as we used to be. We left the club at around 3 am but ended up walking almost the entire way from Union Station back to Erin's place in Little Italy. Probably got back at around 4, and were snuggled into sleeping bags by 4:30 am. Unfortunately, I was just sleeping on a bubble mat, and her flatmates were smoking in the next room. I don't think I actually slept...more like "horizontal resting". Here I am at Kalendar the next morning, resting my eyes...

Happy New Year!

2007-01-06T12:06:00.001-08:00

NYE - View from stage
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

For New Year's Eve this year, I went to the Guvernment with my former roomate Erin (from the "Crackhouse" days in Toronto). Although she advertised it to me, as a "house/trance" party, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. The music was more than tolerable, and the synchronized light show was highly impressive. Here is just one of the photos that I took that night. Thanks to some tutelage from Erin, I learned how to use my new Canon SD600 to take photos of the lights...Pretty good, eh? I like this one because it looks like it was taken from a cave mouth...Lots of people!

Best wishes for a Happy _____!

2006-12-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

So, I felt it best to keep things very general this year. I don't want to offend anyone by making assumptions on religious beliefs or non-beliefs. Fill it in as you feel appropriate. That, and hours of sitting at my desk with nothing to do have sucked all creativity from my soul...

Ohhh...the year-end overview...yippee!

January - Thinking back to my new year's resolutions, I am sad to report that few if any of them came to fruition...but, alas do they ever? What is the point of making resolutions? Perhaps we like to cling to the hope that this year will be better than the last. I digress...

In January I got a new roomate (Jen 2) and a BC driver's license.

February - Not much happened in February. I studied, wrote some papers, had some job interviews, took some driving lessons, lost a contact lens...

March - I turned cubic (27)! Celebrated with a potluck party and a piercing.

April - I passed my comprensive exams with flying colours thanks to a colour-coded filing system that took forever to organize but was well worth the effort. Visited Uncle Wayne and Aesook in Los Angeles.

May - Started working full-time on the Workplace Noise Control study for UBC. Went to Chicago for AIHce and was reminded of how unfashionable hygienists can be. Chicago was lovely though!

June - I graduated from UBC and my dad came out to watch me cross the stage, and to eat the bounties of the West Coast (crab)! Joined an ultimate frisbee team with Jesse and ran my ass off. Made some new friends whose given names I prefixed with "Frisbee" to distinguish them from friends by the same first name (e.g. Frisbee Jen, Frisbee Jon).

July - Realized that there was a bonus to working at UBC, and started going to the beach after work. It's a shame there are so many ugly naked people at Wreck Beach.

August - Went to the Okanagan on a business and pleasure trip. Bought some beautiful peaches on the way home. Job interviews and moving out of my apartment and into Jesse's/storage. Thus begins my life as a wanderer.

September-October - Went to Thailand and Laos! Saw and experienced some amazing things. Met fantastic people...too many to list, but you know who you are.

End of October - Moved to Seattle to start a new job. Rain, mountains, coffee drinkers...it's a lot like Vancouver, but with more Americans.

November - Moved out of the hotel, and into my own room in a house with 9 new housemates (too many to list and I'm not sure I know all their names), thus ending my time as a wanderer. No furniture for another 3 weeks though, so couldn't unpack yet...It's still looking a bit bare bones, but maybe I can bring back some art work from home.

December - Finally got a social security number, a bank account, a credit card and a phone (sort of). I partially exist now in the United States...Survived the worst wind storm to hit Seattle since 1962. There are still people without power and it's been a week! Flying home tomorrow night for Christmas and New Years!

Once again, I hope you and yours have a Happy ____!!

Stormy weather

2006-12-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Seattle got hit this week with some pretty nasty weather. Mainly wind and heavy rain that caused them to close the 520 bridge which connects Seattle with the Eastside suburbs (where I work) on Thursday night and knocked out the power throughout the city. The power went off at my house at around 12:30-1 am. I woke up at 6 am Friday morning, noticed that the power was out, figured the bridge was probably also close. There was nothing to do but go back to sleep. When I woke up again at 7:30, the power was still out but at least there was daylight. I called a co-worker to find out what was happening (she had power!) and found out that the power was out in Redmond...no point going into work. By 8:15 the power was restored at our house...yippee! We were lucky, some people in outlying areas may not have power for Christmas...

Anywho, just letting you all know that I am safe and that I was not crushed by a fallen tree.

Skimmy dipping...

2006-12-12T21:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I asked for skim milk in my chai latte at Whole Foods. (I am on a quest to find the best chai latte in town.) I was so distracted with amounting the correct change in order to maximize my quarter return (coin-operated laundry at the house) that I didn't notice the puzzled look that the barista gave me. Apparently, as my co-worker later explained to me, they do not have "homo" or "skim" milk here. They call it "whole" or "non-fat". So, what is 2% or 1%? Something to chew (well, sip) on...

Christmas Countdown

2006-12-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

In the past two weeks I have lost the mittens and scarf that I made last Christmas, and I'm only left with the hat from the matching set. So, I need to make replacements. The last set I knitted, but this one I will crochet. The primary reason for this is that I don't have the right size of knitting needles. I gave my pair to Leah when I taught her how to knit. But I have many, many crochet needles, despite the fact that I'm not very good at crochet. Anywho, I think I have picked patterns that are easy enough for me to handle...

I looked at my calendar today and realized that I'm flying home for Christmas in two weeks! I haven't been home since last Christmas, so I'm definitely looking forward to it. I hope there is snow.

We got a little bit of snow in Seattle last week, that melted almost immediately. It virtually paralyzed the already spastic Seattle drivers. The schools were closed for 3 days and there were chains on my bus!

Funny west coasters...

As American as apple pie...

2006-11-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

I'm still alive...haven't been shot by a gun-totin' American yet. Kidding...all of the Americans that I have met thus far have been quite nice, gun-totin' but nice nonetheless.

Highlights of my time here so far include:
1) New furniture! It has all arrived and it is LOVELY. Save for my bedside table which arrived with one piece of wood that doesn't match the rest of it. I have been meaning to return it for 2 weeks, but have been busy...
2) Election night party. I went with Jeff, this is Frisbee Jon's friend, to a "liberal" bar and watched the Democrats take back the House and the Senate (or conversely, watch the Republicans lose control of the House and the Senate). The bar would erupt in cheers in jeers when the "scoreboard" would flash on the television screen. Leave it up to the Americans to turn politics into a spectator sport.
3) Visit from Leah and Kate. They left Vancouver at 11:30 and arrived at around 5:30 due to traffic and misdirection. Anywho...we had fun. Went up the Space Needle. It is not as tall as the CN Tower, but the view from the top in the evening is quite beautiful.
4) Cocktail party. An excuse to dress up and drink copious amounts of alcohol. Excellent times were had by all. There was more than one drunk Canadian at this party...Will post photos later!
5) American Thanksgiving. I missed out on Canadian Thanksgiving, so I got my dose of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie yesterday. I even watched about 15 minutes of football before running away to watch Borat. Not surprisingly, I was the only one to eat pumpkin pie. All of the Americans chose apple...you know what they say...
6) I have a Canadian accent. This is something I have always suspected, and I still don't think I can hear it in my own voice. But the fact that many an American have chuckled when I say the words "out" or "about", makes me realize otherwise. Other words that get quizzical looks include: Garborator, keener, 2-4...

So far, my favourite things about Seattle:
1) The Burke-Gilman trail. It's smooth, flat and perfect for rollerblading and seeing some amazing views of Lake Washington and Lake Union.
2) Waterways. Pretty...
3) On a clear day, seeing Mt Rainier.
...

There's more, but my ride is leaving...

Gobble, gobble.

Boat building

2006-10-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

IMGP7562
Originally uploaded by King Kieran.

Thanks Kieran!

So, like I had mentionned, when we were in Luang Prabeng it was the water festival. Throughout the town, they were building boats similar to this one. Believe it or not, this is one of the simpler designs. Other ones were much bigger and more elaborately decorated. They lit the boats (fuel in the Red Bull bottles), and floated them down the Mekong. It was spectacular!

Views along the Mekong river

2006-10-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

IMGP7516
Originally uploaded by King Kieran.

This is also one of Kieran's photos.

Scenes such as this one would drift by us, in a totally surreal way. It's so beautiful...like a moving postcard.

Life in the slowboat lane

2006-10-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

IMGP7511
Originally uploaded by King Kieran.

I can't take credit for taking this photo. I swiped it from my friend Kieran's Flickr site.

This is the interior of the slowboat, that took us for 2 days along the Mekong river. I must point out that this photo must have been taken at the beginning of the journey, as everyone is sitting in their seats and looking very orderly and quiet. A couple of hours in, and everyone was wandering around, sitting on the windowsills, drinking Beerlao and being much more sociable...Good grief were those seats ever uncomfortable. Thank goodness for Ashley's cushion/neck pillow...

If I only had a social security number...

2006-10-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks since I have gotten back from Asia have been a bit of a blur. For a week and a half, I was homeless...camping out at Jesse's and wishing that I was still travelling. I didn't get a whole lot accomplished that week...basically watching a lot of Scrubs, waiting for my transcripts from U of T and UBC to arrive, collecting the rest of the documents I'd need to get my visa, exercising, and cooking for Jesse and Mark. In particular, I made a lot of salads. I really missed salad while I was in Thailand...shredded cabbage, red onions, tomato and cucumber does not a salad make...

Great (Jesse) Scott drove me (and a carload of my stuff) down to Seattle on Monday, waiting 45-minutes with me at the border for them to approve my application for a temporary working visa. After photocopying my documents and quizzing me on my job description, they let me in! We stopped at Walmart to ogle the cheap American deals (e.g. Banrock Shiraz for 4 dollars a bottle!) and at Jack in the Box for some yummy ciabattas and some not so yummy 2 for 99 cent tacos.

As I hadn't secured a place to live before leaving, the company paid to put me up in a hotel close to the area where I want to live (near the University of Washington). My suite is pretty decent: wireless internet, two televisions (not including my own) and a little kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, coffee maker and dishes. I set up my computer as soon as Jesse left and pretty much played on it all night...So nice to use my own computer again and to have access to all of my music!

Tuesday morning, I went to the social security office downtown to get my social security number. But, as I had only arrived the day before my visa information hadn't yet been updated in their database, so they couldn't/wouldn't issue me a social security. And this will not be issued for two weeks. Unfortunately a social security number is required to get a bank account. A bank account is required to get paid, and to establish credit. A bank account, pay and credit are required to get housing, and a cell phone. Basically, without a social security number I don't exist in the United States.

I spent the rest of Tuesday looking for a place to live, and even went to see a couple of (crappy) places out in Wallingford. I got lost trying to get back to my hotel, when the street I was following ended in a ravine. (I don't know which BRILLIANT city planner decided that Seattle should have a number street and avenue system that gets interrupted by ravines, waterways and cliffs...) I followed the cars, and found my way back to the hotel. Met up with Jen, one of my co-workers, for coffee. Went to bed. (Did I mention that I don't have to share my bed with anyone, I don't get jabbed in the ribs or kicked for snoring, and I have FIVE pillows on my bed!?)

Wednesday, I decided that if the US was going to treat me as a mere visitor, then I would act like one! So, I went to Pioneer Square and took the Underground Tour, an informative yet entertaining recount of Seattle's past. Went to see another (better) house in the evening.

Thursday was my first day of work. In my drowsy state, I climbed on the wrong bus, refound my way, went in the wrong direction, refound my way, got lost again, gave up and called Veritox only to find that I was in the right complex of buildings, just on the wrong level. Long story short, what took me one hour this morning took 2.5 yesterday...Today I brought my rollerblades reducing the 20 minute walk from the bus stop to work to a 7-minute spurt of early morning exercise (it's uphill).

I think I have found a place to live. It is a house located on Montlake Blvd E and the 520. This means: only one bus to work (approx 35 minutes)! This also means ready access to buses downtown and other neighbourhoods. There are 10 people living in the house but it seems most people keep to themselves. At least 2 of the girls seem nice; I spent nearly 2 hours there last night chatting with Allison, the head of the house. She also likes to cook and owns a KitchenAid mixer and a Cuisinart. I have filled out the rental application, leaving the SSN space blank and hoping that the landlord will check my Canadian credit. Hopefully I will hear back from him on Monday, and can move in on Tuesday. This weekend, I may go look at some beds and see what their delivery schedule is like. Furniture shopping should be fun!

Anywho...I am sleepy, and I'm meeting up with a friend of Frisbee Jon's for breakfast in the morning. Later this weekend I will post some more photos from my trip. I got my disposable camera photos digitally developped at Shopper's Drug Mart...

Last day in Laos...

2006-10-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day in Laos, and I have to say...I really like it here. Staying in this laid-back town has been the perfect ending to my trip. Not such a touristy place which is a very good thing...

Yesterday was a really busy day, but absolutely amazing. We woke up before 6 am to give food to the monks who make a circuit around the block every day to collect their daily sustenance. It was a solemn and beautiful experience. Then we hired a tuk tuk to drive us out of town to see a beautiful waterfall. Hiked up to the top and swam in the little pools of water at the bottom. Because we got there so early there were no other tourists. On the way back we passed by at least ten other tuk tuks heading there. In the afternoon, the girls treated ourselves to a 3-hour spa package, including a 1-hour aromatherapy massage, 1-hour facial, and 1-hour pedicure. It was fantastic...and exactly what I needed after hiking up and down the waterfall in bare feet. Meanwhile, the boys got themselves goofy drunk on Beerlao. In the evening there was a fire festival in Luang Prabeng. For days everyone in the town has been building bamboo boats decorated with candles, flowers, tissue paper and fairy lights. Last night they lit them up and floated them down the Mekong. Also they were selling little floating bamboo baskets decorated with banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense. We lit these too and released them down the Mekong. Apparently this is supposed to bring us luck.

Today is my last day in Laos. I am still in Luang Prabeng with my friend Ashley, a lovely Englishman from Bristol. All of our other friends have moved on to Vang Vieng and left early this morning. No big plans for today...Just chilling out and enjoying this beautiful town, and my last day in Laos. Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok to spend the last of my baht. Then the next morning I leave on my 23 hr and 28 min journey back to Vancouver.

I'm sad that my trip is ending, but I am also looking forward to moving to Seattle to start my new job. If I had to return to the same ol thing, I probably would be even sadder to leave. I have met some amazing people on this trip and I have had some unforgettable experiences.

Laos-ing around

2006-10-07T02:03:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last 3 days travelling including one day in a mini-bus to reach the Thailand-Laos border, and two days on a slow boat on the Mekong river, in order to reach my current location, Luang Prabeng, Laos. I met some lovely people on my bus, and we have been like six peas in a pod ever since. It's quite fun! Our first night we spent in Chiang Khong, not much happening there but we had a pleasant evening anyhow, drinking Leo beer in one of the rooms and getting to know each other. The seats on the boat were terribly uncomfortable, the motor on the boat broke down at one point, and the town where we stayed (Prakbeng) had no electricity so it was a long and sweaty night. But, the slow boat was safer than the speed boat option, where "fatalities are not uncommon" and the mood on the boat was sociable and relaxed. I taught them all how to play the card game Asshole and learned a new card trick.

So far, I quite like Laos. The people seem to be a little less pushy than they are in Thailand; we caught a couple of people snoozing at their market stalls today. Activities for today also included sleeping in (kind of), having a nice breakfast, visiting wats (including one at the top of a mountain), and just orienting ourselves around the town. Tonight we will return to one of the wats and attend a service. It should be a fabulous experience...

Tomorrow, we will maybe go to a waterfall and who knows what else...

Jungle Jadine

2006-10-02T22:39:00.000-07:00

I have to say, that the last three days were the highlight of my trip thus far. Not only were we blessed with rain-free weather, but my trekking companions were fantastic. The first day we mostly hiked up, stopping to cool off in a little waterfall. That night we spent in a "bamboo hotel" in a Black Lahu (sp?) tribe village up in the mountains. The view was spectacular, and the people in the village were very sweet. Obviously they are very used to tourists spending the night there and taking their photos. My new friend Steven, from Rhode Island, was snapping photos of the local children with a Canon camera which had an enormous lens. The kids just ignored him and kept on playing. I can't imagine what it must be like to live solely off of the income generated by the occasional tour group. According to our guide, the people in this village are not allowed to have a Thai passport, and therefore cannot work outside of the village. So, basically they live off the land, and raise their own chickens and pigs.

The next day we mostly hiked down and had lunch while sitting on the rocks next to a larger waterfall. They served us noodles in makeshift bowls made from a bamboo stem. It was pretty cool...Then we continued on to our "jungle camp", yet another bamboo shack, but this one was more private and it was located next to a stream. We bathed in the stream...very Swiss Family Robinson! In the evening, we chatted by the fire while our guides sang faulty lyrics to English songs. Too funny...

The last day was relatively quick. We hiked the rest of the way down, ending up at an elephant camp, and we went for an elephant ride through the jungle. I got to ride on our elephant's neck and feed her bananas. We called her Sophie. She had prickly hair on her bumpy head. Then we went white water rafting down a river (name forgotten) and then a more relaxing float on bamboo rafts. They fed us lunch before driving us back to Chiang Mai. After showering and washing our clothes, Sarah and I treated ourselves to a much deserved Thai massage. It was lovely...my masseuse discovered areas of my body that I didn't even know were stiff and stepped on them and/or kneaded them with her hands, knees or forearms. Then we went to dinner at a Pakistani/Indian restaurant near the night market before meeting up with some other people from our trek at a new bar that was opening in Chiang Mai. The bar was full of Thai lady boys, and we were even treated to a show. The owner kept giving us free alcohol, and I'm still feeling the effects at 1:02 pm.

I will hopefully leave for Laos tomorrow. I think it's possible to get a package deal which includes transportation by bus to the border, a lazy ride on the Mekong river to Luang Prabeng, accomodation and some meals. Today my goal is to sort out the details.

Don't worry...I'm being safe! Only 8 days left...

Still in the same place...

2006-09-29T02:14:00.000-07:00

So, I have booked a trek which leaves tomorrow morning, but I didn't book through the guesthouse to save a little money. The guesthouses in Chiang Mai are ruthless about trying to book tourists on their treks. Apparently if you do not book with them, they will invent some reason to kick you out. So I am trying to play hard to get with the people at the guesthouse, so they don't confiscate my laundry or worse. And the tour company is picking me up at the end of the soi (side street) instead of at the guesthouse, so as not to anger them. I guess you cannot expect much if you only pay 150 baht/night.

Otherwise I am enjoying Chiang Mai very much. The pace is slower than in Bangkok, and even though it is the second largest city in Thailand, it feels much smaller. Everything is within walking distance. Yesterday, I just walked around, booked the trek and went for dinner. I wanted to go to the night market, but I was a bit nervous walking around on my own.

This morning, like a good little Vancouverite I went to yoga class for a much needed stretch and relaxation. There, I met two other female solo travellers with whom I spent the rest of the day. One of the girls, Sarah, is Swiss and she is going to come with me on the trek. The other girl is from Edmonton and her name is Janice. After the trek, Sarah and I will share a room at the Safe House Guesthouse, which will not pressure us to buy a trek. And I think it is much nicer than where I am currently staying. Then we went for lunch in a nice air-con restaurant. Janice and I both had the kao sawy, a curry noodle soup which is (according to the Lonely Planet) a local specialty. It was yummy...Tonight we will stop by the night market briefly so that I can buy a flashlight for the trek, and then go see a muay thai boxing match. Janice does muay thai back home, so she wanted to see the real thing. I can't guarantee that I will like it, but it should be an experience...

Anywho, off to shower and rest for a bit before I meet up with the girls. And it looks like it might rain...

Chiang Mai, oh my!

2006-09-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

So, after a brief stay in a grotty guesthouse on Kao San Rd in Bangkok, an afternoon visit with my friend Tamir and his friend James (from the UK), and an overnight sleeper train, I am now in Chiang Mai. It is pouring rain. But, I have my trusty Goretex jacket (thank you Daddy!) so now I am hiding out in an air-con internet cafe. It doesn't seem to be stopping but rather slowing down and then getting heavier...Oh well...Apparently the night market is open rain or shine.

I am probably going to book a three day trekking tour into the mountains to visit the hill tribes. According to the woman at the guest house, the only tourists I will see on this tour will be the other 6-11 people in my group. Also included are all meals, park entrance fees, an elephant ride, a wooden rafting trip, and one helluva good time.

James brings up a good point. (And for the record I hadn't forgotten...) Now that I am in Chiang Mai, presumably my last city in Thailand before I head to Laos, are there any Thai souvenirs that I can get for anyone? Keeping in mind that I'm barely 5 feet tall, and my sack already contains the two pairs of jeans, two pairs of sandals and a silk bedspread that I bought in Bangkok and I still have 2 weeks of travelling left. So, things that are light and/or small would be ideal. For example, silk (pillow cases, tablecloths, bedspreads, wall hangings, pashmina, scarves), t-shirts (Red Bull, Chang beer, Singha beer, PUMA/TUNA/PUDEL), fishermen's pants (any colour, silk or linen), wood (carvings, puzzles, coasters, wine holders), elephants (jade, wood, ivory, t-shirt, purse). Apparently Chiang Mai is the "cheap-cheap"est place to buy stuff, and my bartering skills are improving. So, speak now or forever hold your peace...

Sun is out, but still raining...

Same(t) Same(t)...but different

2006-09-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

After 6 busy days in Bangkok, I thought I could use a little beach relaxation. So, now I am on the island of Ko Samet, approximately 4 hours from Bangkok. It was a pretty hairy trip...but I met some nice people. I impressed a French couple by reading Zola on the bus, and they gave me a french Cosmopolitan to read. I also met a sweet couple from the UK. We have neighbouring bungalows, and I had dinner with them last night on the beach.

The lifestyle on Ko Samet seems more laid back than on Ko Samui. I don't think that there are any souvenir stands here. Shocking! The bar across the road was playing loud dance music until about 1:30 am. I wasn't in the mood for going out last night, but I will probably go check it out tonight. If you can't beat em, join em, right??

Maybe I will head back to Bangkok tomorrow or the next day. Tamir flies out on the 27th, so it would be nice to hang out with him one last time.

Kayak-yak-yak...

2006-09-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

IMG_0967
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Here is a photo that Tamir took of me during our kayaking trip. About 5-10 minutes after this photo was taken the skies opened up and it started to pour...This is one of the last photos from my Canon A85...sigh...it had a good long life. (For a camera...)

Footing it through Ang Thong National Marine Park

2006-09-22T02:21:00.000-07:00

IMG_0955
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

This was the viewpoint from the top of some very steep stairs at the Ang Thong National Marine Park off of Ko Samui...Well worth the climb!

Stormy weather on Hat Chaweng

2006-09-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

IMG_0899
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

My first night at Hat Chaweng beach on Ko Samui, I went for dinner at this restaurant on the beach. As I sat there eating, my waiter pointed at some rather ominous clouds off in the distance and said, "Rain is coming." He then proceeded to scurry around and pick up seat cushions and condiments from the tables. So, I polished off my phaneng curry with shrimps and hid under the canopy drinking a Singha beer until the rain stopped. I'm not finding the rain to be too bothersome (xcept for when it killed my camera of course). It will rain heavily for an hour or two a day, and the rest of the day it is hot and humid. The rain is actually a relief...

Float like a butterfly...

2006-09-22T01:57:00.000-07:00

I'm so relieved...I just checked the memory card on my camera and the photos that I took prior to getting caught in the rain are in perfect condition! So...no lost memories. My camera was due for a replacement anyway...so this just gives me an excuse to make a trip to Future Shop and hang out with Mark and Jesse...wink, wink, nudge, nudge...In the process of uploading some of my photos to Flickr website now and will post them to the blog after I finish this entry.

Yesterday, Jenny and I went on a walking tour of the Grand Palace (former residence of the king) and saw the Emerald Buddha. He was a lot smaller than I expected him to be, but the room in which he is located was spectacular, as were the palace grounds. No wonder their royalty is so revered here...they live in some nice digs! Maybe I have mentionned it....but this year is the King's Diamond Anniversary (60th year on the throne), so every Monday there is a sea of yellow polo shirts (the king's colour)...I bought myself one too, but will not dare wear it until I leave. I have a hard enough time now with people thinking I'm Thai. Sometimes, I like being able to blend in...at other times, I wish I had blond hair and blue eyes...

We also went to Wat Pho, where the statue of the Reclining Buddha is. He was much larger than I expected him to be. I think one of his toes was maybe the length of my head and torso...And his feet were extremely impressive, decorated with mother of pearl designs...pretty...

After sweltering in the heat, we escaped to the air conditionned relief of MBK centre, a GIANT shopping centre that is 6 floors high. I bought two pairs of jeans that were labelled as Diesel and Victoria Beckham for 1230 THB (approx 36 bucks Cdn). Didn't find my Puma shoes or my Adidas bag...but I'm sure I will come across them again someday...

Today, we woke up early and went to the floating market in Damnoen Saduak. A sea of tourists, and pretty much the same old crap that has been in all the other markets, except floating (on boats). Some of the boats with the fruit on it were quite pretty. The tour guide also dragged us off to an elephant compound and a wood carving place. Jenny rode an elephant and the driver even gave her a turn steering! I sat back and took pictures, not wanting to smell like elephant for the rest of the day. The drive through Bangkok back to our hotel was slow and painful due to the traffic. Apparently the traffic situation following the coup has resolved itself. We saw a tank and lots of military men, but it is hard to tell whether or not this is out of the ordinary...

Tomorrow we will go to yet another market, and then on Sunday I will leave for Ko Samet for some beach relaxation.

Enjoy the photos!

Coup d'etat and a city in ruins!

2006-09-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

We were rather shocked this morning while waiting for our tour bus to Ayutthaya to pick up the newspaper and find out that there had been a coup d'etat at the parliament buildings last night. The photos of the tanks were rather disturbing! Luckily when this all happened (at around 10 pm last night) we were snuggled in bed for an early night. Our tour guide assured us that this sort of thing happens all the time, and that there was no danger to tourists or Thais. The best thing was that the traffic was better due to the "changing government". His words...hehe...

Ayutthaya was pretty cool, but we felt rushed through the ruins and it would have been nice to explore some of the Wats (temples) more. We only saw inside two, one with a giant 19-feet tall buddha and one ancient Wat (name forgotten). There are so many temples, and they all kind of blend together after awhile. We also went to Ban Phe-In and saw the old royal residence of Rama V. He had an affection for non-Thai architecture so that was pretty interesting to see these buildings looking so out of place. We climbed aboard a boat and cruised along the Chao Phraya on the way back to Bangkok.

Yesterday we did some wandering down Th Silom and down towards the water. We went for afternoon tea at the Orient Hotel. It was nice to get out of the heat and humidity of Bangkok and be treated like ladies. I had the oriental tea set and Jenny had the traditional tea set. I've never had afternoon tea before...I felt like a pampered colonial woman. Bought some souvenirs from the Patpong market and tried to avoid being pulled into the go-go bars. Also tried to avoid staring at the line of Thai lady-boys...very creepy.

Tomorrow we are going to do a walking tour of Bangkok in the morning checking out the Emerald Buddha, etc. And then we will go to MBK centre for more shopping. I would like to find a cute pair of knockoff Puma shoes and maybe a pair of Chanel sunnies.

I'm still alive, but my camera is not. I have changed the batteries to no avail. And I'm not sure where to go to get it fixed in Bangkok. I guess I will have to use disposable cameras until I get back to Canada...sigh...

There's a place called Ko-Ko Samui

2006-09-17T01:36:00.000-07:00

I'm loving it so far...

Upon landing in Bangkok early Monday morning, I flew immediately to the beach island of Ko Samui, which came recommended by Kevin. There are many beaches to chose from, and I picked Hat Chaweng as I thought it would give me the greatest chance of meeting people. I stayed in a cute little bungalow at the North (and quieter) end of the beach. It had it's own bathroom and a powerful fan. Most of the restaurants and stores in Hat Chaweng have at least one person who speaks English as this is the busiest beach on the island. I met a nice Israeli guy who was also travelling alone and we went on an organized tour of Ang Thong National Marine Park. Did some snorkeling, sightseeing and kayaking. Got caught in a mini-monsoon and while kayaking, and I think my camera is dead...Will try to fix it tomorrow when I go to Bangkok. More worried about the memory card though.

Took a ferry then an overnight train to the town of Phetburi, about 3 hours south of Bangkok where there are about a dozen temples. I didn't go in any of them, but I took some pictures (with a disposable camera) from outside the gates. Rented a bike and rode up to Kao Luang, a cave sanctuary that houses a couple of Buddha statues that some Thai king transported to the site. It was beautiful with the light pouring in through the top of the cave...like an old-fashioned sky light. I pray that these photos will turn out. There are less English-speaking people in Phetburi and more than one person has assumed that I'm Thai and has attempted a conversation with me. I guess my dark skin confuses them...Anywho, I am getting by with pointing at what I want and gesturing, and this morning I learned the all important word for rice! Tonight will head to the night market in Phetburi, a sure place for good cheap eats...This afternoon I had spicy banana flower salad on rice and the other day I ate a whole fried fish, making sure to pick the bones clean as per my regular MO.

Tomorrow, I will take a bus to Bangkok to meet up with Jenny for big city adventures!

Employed and Thai-ing one on!

2006-09-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am officially employed! They offered. We negotiated. And I accepted. I will start at Veritox (in Seattle) when I get back from my trip to Thailand. Speaking of which, I am completely unprepared...and need to run some errands today, before my going away bonfire tonight.

Will try to update this blog with photos and stories while I am away...to let everyone know that I haven't died/been mugged/am having fun.

Interview with a hygienist

2006-08-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have two interviews this coming week.

1) Thursday at noon (PST) I have a telephone interview for an Associate Hygienist position at Apotex, a pharmaceutical company based in Toronto. The interview is with an HR person and the hiring manager. As such I expect there to be a lot of behavioural questions. In my spare time (ha!) this week I will have to think of some intelligent, well-constructed, yet unforced answers to the "tell me about a time..." questions. If anyone has any good websites with sample interview questions, that would be helpful please send them my way...

I think we are all well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of moving back to Toronto.

2) Friday I leave at 6:30 am on a bus for Seattle where I will have a longer, slightly more casual, but no less stressful interview for an Industrial Toxicologist position at Veritox, a consulting company in Seattle. As far as I can tell, this interview will be a two parter: part one is a one-on-one interview with Bruce Kelman the head toxicologist at Veritox; part two is a lunch with the other 5 toxicologists on staff. I expect that this interview will be more about my technical expertise and personality fit with the company. I'm not sure what my preparation strategy for this interview should be...If anyone has any ideas???

The nice thing about this Seattle interview is that I get to stay the night in Seattle. I have only been there twice: once with Melvyn during our cross-Canada trip (our ticket also allowed us to visit a couple of American cities), and briefly on my way to Chicago (I flew out of SeaTac). My very brief experiences have led me to believe that it is not as clean, scenic or safe as Vancouver (uh oh, I'm turning into a West Coast snob). But, as far as American cities go, I could do much much worse, and I have promised myself to keep an open mind about it. If this job is as good as I hope it could be, moving to the States may be worth the sacrifice. And I seem to be oddly drawn to American men these days...

Anywho, the night in the hotel will save me from another night's sleep on Jesse and Mark's couch. And Jon is going to contact a friend of his in Seattle who might take me out for a night on the town.

So...busy week to come. Packing, moving out, interviewing and working. Preparing for Thailand is on my mind, but not high on the priority list right now, maybe next week.

Okay Noggin

2006-08-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

Holy cow. I cannot believe that the summer is almost over. Where did it go? And I've been so busy, that I haven't been able to write in my blog.

I just got back from a weeklong working holiday in the Okanagan. Although it is only 5 hours away, the weather and scenery are completely different from Vancouver. It was hotter and drier, yet is blessed with ample, green farmland and wineries galore. (Think Niagara fruit belt but with mountains and lakes.) I drove out there with Amber, my work colleague on Tuesday afternoon. Our first meal was dinner in a converted firehall made into a restaurant and wine tasting room. We started out with truffle fries. This was my first experience with truffles. It was subtle and enjoyable. Especially accompanied by the Jackson-Triggs Sauvignon Blanc that was recommended by the restaurant's sommelier. (I know! A sommelier...chi-chi!) I followed it up with a fairly forgettable salmon filet and corn and black bean salsa. I didn't really have much room for desert, but Amber was having it, so I took the plunge and ordered a lemon and lavender cheesecake. Lavender petals were infused into the batter and they also drizzled a lavender flavoured syrup on top. This was definitely the highlight of the meal. And the lavender was grown in Oliver! Nice...

The next three days were a bit of a blur. Three companies, three different towns, the noise of lots of bottles clanking against each other, the smell of fermenting wine and yeasty beer. By the time Friday rolled around, I was mentally and physically exhausted, but I tried to enjoy my last night in Vernon. It was hot, and sunny from 3 to 5:30. But, sometime between 5:30 and 6 pm during my nap, it started pouring rain. I chatted with a German girl in the living room of the hostel while I waited for the skies to clear. Eventually they did and I walked downtown, picked up a Safeway salad and found a bench to sit on while I ate and watched the people walk by and the cars from the car show on parade. They also had a live band which was quite good. At 8 pm, I was cold and exhausted so I made my way back to the hostel for a good night's rest.

The next morning I walked down to Kalamalka lake and sunbathed for about an hour. Then I took the bus from Vernon to Penticton, where Jesse and our high school friends, Ryan Doel and Mike Grover, picked me up from the bus station. Peach Festival crowds meant that we had to wait for over an hour for our food to come. I can't remember if my chicken burger was good or not...I was so hungry anything would have tasted good...After dinner we went to a club called the Blue Mule, recommended by one of the women I did noise dosimetry on at the winery in Oliver, and by a friend of Jesse's who used to live in Penticton. The club itself was nice, but the people inside (not including the 3 boys at my table) were jerks and the DJ was terrible. I also felt oddly out of place, being only one of 4 Asians in the entire club. We could only listen to the same six-song rotation so long, and left after 3 hours.

The next day we waited so long to be served breakfast, that we all ended up with lunch food. I had my favourite meal of the weekend at White Spot, a chicken chipotle quesadilla with black bean and corn salsa and caesar salad. I love chipotle...so smoky and so yummy...In the afternoon we hit the Okanagan beach, went on the waterslides and played mini-putt.

We drove back to Vancouver at a leisurely pace, stopping at wineries, fruit stands, lookouts and landslide sites. I bought a basket of GIANT Okanagan peaches, with which I made a peach and strawberry cobbler...yum!

Unfortunately, the stressful work schedule caught up with me, and I succumbed to a 4-day long cold when I got back to the city. This put a serious damper on our last Frisbee game. Our team will celebrate the end of the season with a BBQ at Jon's place and a night at the Cellar tomorrow night. Good times!

Other news...I am moving out of my apartment on August 31st, and onto Jesse's couch for a week and a half. I have a job interview with Veritox in Seattle on the 1st. Working until the 8th. And flying to Bangkok on the 11th!! I have a lot of reading left to do in preparation for Thailand, but my flight is 22hours long, so I should have lots of time to read...

The hot hot heat of summer

2006-07-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Jesse made me realize last week that it has been a long time since my last (real) post. A lot has happened, but the highlights are:
- I graduated with my Masters of Science from the University of British Columbia. My dad flew out for the event. However, I think that it was just an excuse to eat a lot...crab, sushi, dim sum, congee...all the best things in life...It was great to see my dad. In the past couple of years, since I moved out here, I think we have ironically gotten closer. He has become (slightly) less critical of my actions and almost (dare I say it) supportive. I love my dad!
- I'm now working full-time on a research study at UBC. At the beginning of the summer our office was in the Library Processing Centre, the location of my old department, so in a way it did not feel like anything had really changed. Since, we have moved offices to the Mather hut in the Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, so it really does feel like a new and different stage of my life.
- It's finally summer in Vancouver! And now I can finally see why everyone is so crazy about this city. The sun is shining, the beaches are packed, outdoor concerts are plentiful, frisbees are being tossed, patios are full, and the mountains are begging to be hiked. I'm loving it!

More recently, I collided with someone during ultimate frisbee on Wednesday, and now I think my ribs are bruised and my right shoulder is very sore. I am feeling terribly misaligned. Pilates has made me more aware of the symmetry and assymetry of my body.

This weekend, my plan is to stick around the house this afternoon to meet the potential new tenants for my room. My roomate has gone home to Castlegar for the week, so I feel I should meet them to give her some feedback when she gets back. Tonight I'm going for sushi with Britta. I haven't seen her in ages so it'll be great to catch up with her. Tomorrow, I'm going to watch the World Cup final on Commercial Drive, home to many Italian cafes and bars. Apparently this is the hub of World Cup action...especially when Italy plays. They are blocking off the street from car access. Everyone who is in town this weekend is going there! Should be a fantastic party...

Back to the new tenant thing...Having people look at my room is making me think that I should probably figure out what I want to do in September. Truth be told, I'm scared out of my wits to be an adult, to hold a real job. Which is why I'm seriously considering taking some time off after my contract is up in September do do some travelling. Uncle Wayne brought up this idea to me back when I visited him in April. And the more I think about it...the better the idea sounds. Not only because I want to prolong my adolescence but also because this is the best time in my life to do some travelling. There is no rush to work yet. The jobs aren't going anywhere. I'll just put my stuff in storage and be a nomad for a month or two!

And that's the update on my life...

Yar!

2006-07-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

My pirate name is:

Red Anne Kidd

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Thar she blows...the Windy city

2006-05-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

Chicago - downtown from Hancock
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On Friday night I returned from a week-long trip to Chicago for the American Industrial Hygiene Association conference (AIHce). The conference ran from Monday to Thursday, so Saturday night, Sunday and Friday I had to explore this city. I have to say, that I really liked Chicago. And I would recommend as a travel destination. I think I could even live there. It's pretty, clean, has a good public transit system, a great nightlife, culture, etc. In particular, I'd like to point out that my brother KEVIN should go to Chicago. Lots of photographic opportunies (I can't do them justice), and IMPROV. I went to a show on Wednesday night with some of my hostel-mates. It was the best improv show I'd ever seen, no offence. The conference was fantastic. Lots of interesting talks, people, etc. Overall, I found the week mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting and was glad to get back to my laid-back Vancouver lifestyle. I spent the entire weekend destressing...Anywho, here are some photographic highlights. I have more, thanks to my ultimate friend Jesse and the generous people at Future Shop I was no longer confined to a 32 MB memory card worth of photos! Yay 1 GB!

Bean there, done that...

2006-05-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Chicago - bean reflection
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Sunday, I toured through Millenium Park and the historic Loop district. I took this photo of my reflection in the "Bean" sculpture located in Millenium Park. In the background you can see some of downtown Chicago, and the Pritzker Pavillion, Frank Gehry's outdoor version of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA (i.e. another astronomically-priced bent metal sculpture/building). The architecture in Chicago is a real treat, where beautifully carved and detailed buildings siddle up next to modern sky scrapers. I was also amazed at how clean the streets of downtown were. I don't recall seeing a homeless person...

Mix it up

2006-05-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Chicago - Joe and Jadine
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Sunday night I went to an AIHA student mixer at the Hot House, a jazz/blues club. This is where I met Joe. Not much I care to say about him right now. He's very nice, treats me well, Texan...lives in Albuquerque (a word I can barely spell let alone pronounce). Ok...moving on...

Love and Marriage

2006-05-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Chicago - Buckingham (close)
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

This is the Buckingham fountain, located in Grant Park. If it looks familiar, this could be for one of two reasons. Firstly, it was modelled after a fountain at Versailles. But, more likely, it was the fountain featured in the opening sequence of the lame 80's sitcom Married With Children. Other fun facts about the fountain:
- The four sea creatures surrounding the fountain symbolize the four US states surrounding Lake Michigan: Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.
- It recycles 1.5 gallons of water.
- From 9 to 11 pm, there is a light show timed to music. Very pretty. Joe and I watched on Wednesday night. Even danced along a bit...

Ceci n'est pas un photo d'une pipe

2006-05-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Chicago - pipe
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Thursday was the last day of the conference. I spent the morning learning about physical hazards. Went out for lunch with my boss from last summer in Winnipeg. Then ran away!

I went browsing through the ritzy stores on the Magnificent Mile (kind of like Yorkville/Bloor street, but longer and better). Didn't buy anything, but tried on some pretty dresses at Ann Taylor Petites.

Then I went to the fantastic Art Institute of Chicago. My Lonely Planet told me that a trip to Chicago is not complete without a spin through the Art Institute, and I am sure glad that I went. They have an incredible collection of Impressionist paintings. Lloyd told me that they started collecting these works as they were being created. There was an entire room of Monet! I took a picture of this Magitte because it reminded me of Monsieur Strobl, my high school French teacher. He used this painting as an example of l'Absurde. Ceci n'est pas une pipe, c'est une image d'une pipe!

Washing windows at "Big John"

2006-05-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

Chicago - washing windows
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Before flying back to the west coast, I spent the morning with my bunkmate, Meryl, an energetic Philadelphian-Vermontian. We went to the Old Pancake House for breakfast and discussion of Canadian and American politics. Then we rode to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building. It's not as tall as the Sears tower (or even the CN tower), but the view (especially of downtown) is supposed to be better. Anyway, here we are goofing around at the mock window-washing display (probably intended for kids).

City of Angels

2006-04-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

Boris closeup
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Los Angeles is a fun place to visit. The majority of my time there was spent exactly in this spot (in my Uncle Wayne's backyard) reading, and staring into THIS face. This is Boris, Wayne and Aesook's (my aunt) Weimaraner. He's very energetic, loves to play fetch (which we did for hours, daily), and whines instead of barking.

We also spent a lot of time eating. My uncle is an excellent cook, and he also loves going out for a good meal. Needless to say, I was well-fed. I don't think I have eaten so much red meat and seafood in one week before. Which is why I am going vegetarian for a week...

So, here are some photographic highlights from my trip...

Traffic

2006-04-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

LA - traffic
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On Friday, Aesook had the day off from work, so we drove to an outlet mall outside of Palm Springs. Driving through the desert was beautiful. Since it is spring, the mountains were lush and green. In a few months they'll be dried up.

At the mall, I went crazy (well, for me) and bought a pair of Tommy Jeans, 6 pairs of socks, 3 bras, a J Crew shirt and a pair of sandals. All for 70 dollars American. Wayne, on the other hand, seemed to think that the 90 dollars he spent on one pair of pants was a steal. Riiiight...

On the way home we were stuck in traffic for two hours. Yikes! No fun...

Andale!

2006-04-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

Olvera street
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On Saturday, Aesook and Wayne went to a wedding, so they dropped me off downtown for some wandering/adventure/exploring time. First stop: lunch on Olvera street, the birthplace of Los Angeles and a flurry of Mexicana. I had two beef taquitos with avocado sauce (mmm...) and a chili-mango lolipop (not so yum). I also bought myself a cute Mexican peasant top.

Downtown LA

2006-04-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

California Centre
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Although my Uncle Bing's buildings are scattered all over Vancouver, he also has this one in downtown LA. It was supposed to be one building in a larger complex, but the deal fell through, and this was the only one left standing.

I also walked through the Jewelry district and the Fashion district, where I bought a funky tank top.

Downtown is crowded, and stinky. The leering men made me a more than a little uncomfortable.

Grand Central Market

2006-04-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Grand Central Market
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Lunch number two. I went to Grand Central Market. I love markets; they are so lively and you can find all kinds of weird food, like fish tacos! They were really messy, and not that great. But it was an experience! For some reason, they have sprinkled sawdust on the floor...

Hollywood sign

2006-04-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hollywood sign
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Once I got tired of downtown, I took the subway up to Hollywood.

Yeah...I know this picture is cheesy...but I had to take a picture of it. And to get to it, I had to walk along scummy Hollywood Boulevard toward Hollywood and Vine. Girlie shows, tacky souvenir shops, stars of extinct Hollywood stars, and sketchy tattoo parlours. Not all glitz and glamour.

Dancing feet

2006-04-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Fred's prints
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Just before being picked up at Hollywood and Highland, I found a pair of feet in which to step out front of the Chinese Mann Theatre. When I was a child and taking tap dancing lessons, I would wish I could dance like Fred. (This was when I realized how uncoordinated I am.) Oddly, his feet are not much bigger than mine. Small feet...small...shoes!

Wayne and Aesook took me to a Korean grill restaurant in Koreatown. We had this grilled beef that was very yummy. Afterwards they made fried rice in the fat...yum. Reportedly, Kevin has not yet been privileged to LA Korean food. I was told to brag about this.

Venice beach

2006-04-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Venice beach
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

On my last full day in LA, Uncle Wayne drove Boris and I out to the coast. Here is a Wayne Thom original shot of Boris and I on the Venice Beach boardwalk. Probably if he got his hands on it, he would Photoshop out the manhole cover. Dogs running loose, pigeons scurrying away from dogs, tacky souvenir shops, henna tattoo artists, paddle tennis and guys working out at the Muscle Beach gym. Strange place. My camera batteries ran out of juice, so I had to buy a set of 7 dollar batteries to get the next two photos taken. I think it was worth it.

Sand between my toes

2006-04-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Malibu - Zuma beach
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

After Venice beach, we drove along the coast past all the mansions, and had lunch at a roadside seafood restaurant. I had fish 'n chips and Uncle Wayne had mussels 'n chips. Then we went to Zuma beach, where my uncle had lived for 2 years back in the 60s (or was it the 70s...). Anywho, here he is chasing after Boris (who was chasing a jogger). Shortly after catching him, and as we were headed back to the car, the lifeguard warned us of the 300 dollar fine for having dogs on the beach. On the way home we drove through the canyon - very pretty...but no photos.

Almost Comp-lete!

2006-04-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

Arts County Fair - Me with Alan and Leah
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

I have been studying all weekend for this damned comprehensive exam. I'm not really worried about it, but it's better to be prepared than not, considering I am counting on passing this thing to graduate. Anyway, my strategy has been to sort through my binders/piles of course notes and put in a crate what I think is most important. (Two years in a crate.) Not only does this help me prepare for the comp, but it also allows me to be rid of many journal articles that I won't need. Lightening up the load just in case I need to move at the end of the summer. Now that I have organized them, I am now reading/skimming through them. A tirelessly boring task considering how much overlap there is between my courses.

I realize that this is probably one of the most boring blog entries I have ever written. Which is why I have attached a photo of fun times. This is Arts County Fair, an annual party that is held at Thunderbird stadium - big party. This year the headlining act was the New Pornographers. Lots of drunken froshies. And at least 5 drunken graduate students. Believe it or not, this is the "less drunk" photo.

Encouraging Inventor

2006-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Once again, my brother's blog has provided me with procrastination tools as I attempt to study for my Toxicology final. I took a personality test online here, and this is a visual representation of my personality:

A written report can be accessed here.

Uncovered

2006-04-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

In reference to Melissa's last comment...That's really funny. I did something very similar with my asparagus last night. I pureed a glaze made out of ginger marmalade, sesame oil, sushi vinegar, salt and pepper. Tossed the asparagus in it, and threw it on the George Foreman (b-day present from Kevin) with some dumplings (yes...EVERYTHING can be cooked on the George). Also cooked up some Japanese soba noodles. Fantastic...Best meal I've made since...Friday, when I made a mushroom and asparagus quiche with creamy smoked gouda. Mouth watering yet??

Other things that are exciting these days (besides eating):

My Ontario Health Card expired in March, but because I had no access to my mail until my dad recently sent my tax receipts, I had no idea. So, now I am without coverage (hopefully the Student Health Service won't clue in) until I apply for the BC Medical Service Plan. Since I have been living in BC for longer than their 2-month waiting period, it should kick in automatically. We have to pay premiums here...bah!

This is the last week of classes. I have 3 exams. A toxicology final (non-cumulative) on the 10th, a take home exam for Occupational Diseases due on the 12th, and my big (scary) comprehensive exam on the 18th. This last one will determine whether they deem me able to graduate and will test me on everything I've learned in the last two years.

The afternoon of the 18th, 2 hours after my comp is over, I fly to Los Angeles to hang out with the celebrities and my Uncle Wayne, his wife and their dog. Apparently there will be a lot of eating (which I look forward to). Maybe I will also do some touristy stuff too, like go to Disneyland, Universal Studios, cruise the stores on Rodeo Drive, go to the beach!

A week later I will come back and start working full-time for my professor. Looking forward to spending the summer in sunny (!) Vancouver.

Speaking of which the sun is shining, so today I will rollerblade out to campus! Paper editing day!

The commemorative pierced navel

2006-03-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

Pierced navel
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

As I promised myself I would do, I got my belly button pierced today. The process itself was painful, but the result, I think looks really cool. My dad will probably have a cow when he sees this! Haha. If you look really closely, you can see the reflection of my pink yoga mat in the silver balls. Probably won't be doing much yoga or pilates for awhile...it's feeling a bit tender to be balancing all my weight on my stomach.

Shooter cups

2006-03-23T00:19:00.000-08:00

Shooter cups
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

I made Jello shooters, approximately 70 of them...Here's a tip, don't use plain ol Vodka with cherry Jello, because they will taste like cough syrup! Bacardi Limon with Lime Jello is passable. Malibu with Orange-Pineapple Jello is excellent! Post-party, here is a big stack of the used shooter glasses!

Cubic!

2006-03-23T00:14:00.000-08:00

27 bday - cake
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Well, I'm now 27 years young. For my cubic birthday, I had a potluck party at my apartment (or more specifically in the laundry room). Leah managed to squeeze 27 candles onto my cake. Sadly it required the purchase of not one, but TWO cartons of birthday candles. AND, to make matters worse, she burnt herself while lighting them. You know you are getting old when...

Putting the human back in humanity

2006-03-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Miracles of miracles. There ARE good people in this world. A couple from my neighbourhood, Pam and John Graham, rescued my iPod from the rain on Wednesday. (I must have dropped it at the corner while crossing the street.) They then proceeded on a detective-like search for the owner of the iPod. First, they contacted Apple and found that the serial number was registered to a "Jadine T". (My paranoia is not working in my favour.) They also got an extinct email address of mine and figured out my last name is Thom. From there, they tried to locate me in the telephone book, but I'm unlisted. The issue was further confused by the fact that I playlists on my iPod that are entitled "Melissa's Cooldown" and "Melissa's Patio Mix", causing them to think that the owner's name might be Melissa. Finally, they posted a sign at 10th and Discovery that said "iPod found here on March 1/06. Call 604-XXX-XXXX". I saw this sign today on my way to school and was overjoyed. Although my daydreams of a 30 GB video iPod were interrupted, my faith in humanity is renewed!

As a thank you for returning my iPod recharged and unharmed, I intend to bring them some flowers and a CD containing my 150 favourite songs. (Their daughter expressed a liking for my taste in music!)

More lost objects

2006-03-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

I swear. There must be something in the air. I have been very absentminded these days. First I flushed my contact down the drain on Friday. Then I nearly lost my necklace down the drain at the gym yesterday morning. And now, worst of all, I have lost my iPod! I suspect it must have fallen out of my pocket on my way to the bus stop yesterday because now I can't find it anywhere! All day I was hoping that I left in on the floor in the hallway, but it wasn't there. I hope someone out there is enjoying my iPod with its ecclectic collection of classical, Quebecois rock and old-timers swing music. Terribly dissappointing but not the end of the world as my computer still holds all of my music. Maybe I will buy myself an iPod mini for my birthday.

Speaking of which, I am having a potluck party for my birthday next weekend. I've been wanting to host a party for a couple of months now. It seems the birthday is more of an excuse. Turning 27. Or, as I like to think of it (because it makes the number seem smaller) 3 to the power of 3. Maybe I will get something pierced/tatooed to commemorate the occasion.

This also means that it is my brother Kevin's birthday is soon too. (We are born on the same day, but different years). I'm not sure what to get him, but after he complained publicly about his distaste for the Christmas present I got him on his blog, the ungrateful jerk may just get a lump of coal, or a gift certificate so he can pick out his own damned present. Maybe it is hypocritical of me to complain on my blog about how he complained on his blog, but he just seemed so clueless about how hurtful he was being. Someone's not as perfect as everyone thinks he is/he thinks he is. Whatever...family, gotta love 'em regardless, I guess.

We have lost contact

2006-02-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I accidentally flushed my contact lens down the bathroom sink. This is probably the second time this has happened. It's like watching 100 dollars go down the drain. Stupid astigmatism, stupid expensive gas permeable lenses.

I'm seriously considering getting laser eye surgery. I think the doctors have now perfected their technique, although the idea of having lasers shot at my eye is a bit disturbing. Hmmm...maybe next time.

L is for learner

2006-02-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

I am now a proud owner of my first piece of British Columbian ID, a learner's driver's license! I passed the knowledge test with flying colours, with a score of 93%. My package came with a giant letter L, presumably to post on my car and not on my forehead.

I have also signed up for driving lessons with Young Drivers. My first lesson is on Friday from 12:15 to 1:45. (This is a warning to all Vancouverites to be particularly attentive of traffic at that time...) I haven't driven a car in about 9 years, and I wasn't really very good at it then, so now I am even more nervous...

The good news is that because I have already had a G1 in Ontario for about 2 years, I can take my road test whenever I'm ready and don't have to wait the one year to upgrade to the N license. (N is for novice...not Nerd.)

Other than that, nothing else is new. I have not heard back from GSK about the job yet, but I expect to hear something soon.

Hi Dad! (He is in Vietnam, buying me a pair of silk pyjamas. ;) )

Jobs (yes, plural)

2006-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Today I had my first interview. It was with GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company located in Mississauga. I think it went well, and of course this would be an excellent job for me for several reasons:
- I will have a permanent location for 18 consecutive months
- Back to Ontario --> back to my family and friends
- GSK has an excellent reputation, both as a profitable company and as a good employer
- I wouldn't have to move to (capital C) Conservative Alberta to work for some money-grubbing, environment-ruining oil and gas company
- I can't foresee a more desirable job coming up in the next couple months
- I can't think of any reason NOT to take this job.

However, I have also been offered a job working on a project with one of my profs. This will also be a good job, but taking it may also be problematic:
- I get to spend the summer in Vancouver, and will get to travel to different worksites in the BC Interior and Vancouver Island --> apparently summer in Vancouver makes up for the depressing, wet winter and I have yet to experience this
- It will start immediately (part-time) and be full-time from May to end of July --> Positive: If I don't get GSK job, will give me something to do while I wait for something better. Negative: May have to turn down more permanent jobs due to commitment until end of July (low probability).
- This is not a permanent job. It would be nice to have a permanent location...It would be nice to consolidate all of my belongings in one city (or at least in one province).
- This is a SURE thing!

Anywho, point being...I won't hear back about the GSK job for another two weeks, while they interview other candidates. (I HATE waiting...) But, I need to let my prof know ASAP so that we can get started at the end of the month. I think that the interview went well, but it wasn't perfect and they ARE interviewing "many other excellent candidates". What to do??? Any thoughts?

Road Warrior

2006-01-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

I just called ICBC, the provincial licensing and driving insurance institution. (Cue cheers and screams of horror.) Apparently, as I have had my Ontario G1 for more than a year, I can transfer my "time" to my BC learner's license and I am now eligible to take the road test. But, I still have to take the knowledge test for the learner's again. And judging from the practice test available on their web site, this test is slightly more difficult than the Ontario one. I only got 18/25, but need 80% to pass. So, I guess I will have to do some studying first before I hit the road. So, you are still safe to walk around. Don't hide in your homes yet!

In other exciting news, I have been applying to jobs. Because I know you are all wondering, I am not limiting myself to any particular location. But, there seem to be more jobs available in Ontario than anywhere else in the country.

New year, New Jen(n)

2006-01-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

I got a new roomate yesterday whose name so happens to also be Jen. But she only spells it with one N. So, similar enough but not the same. She is not from Texas, but is rather from a small town in the interior of BC called Castlegar. I had never heard of it before today, but it sounds pretty. It looks like it would be more of a tourist destination for me than a place to live given the population size of 7000...probably very sleepy. :) Anywho, Jen is quite nice (as far as I can tell) and she speaks very quickly given her origins. She is in her fourth year in English Lit at UBC, specializing in Medieval Studies. She also has a cool white streak in her hair which makes her look a bit like the character Rogue from the X-men. This is probably not deliberative. She doesn't seem the type to read science fiction comic books.

We now have a wireless router, so I now have 2 less wires running through my room. Better less than more I suppose!

Opening Pandora's box

2006-01-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

I read about Pandora.com last night in my Macleans and checked it out a few minutes ago. It's very, very cool. Just type in the name of a song or artist, and you will get a stream of similar music.

Guerre des tuques

2006-01-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

Guerre des tuques
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

I finished my hat/tuque/toque last night. Now i have a matching set of hat, mittens and scarf (not shown). Not too bad for completed knitting projects 3-5!

Happy New Year

2006-01-11T23:41:00.000-08:00

New Years 004
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

The club was packed and very very hot, as can be seen from the beads of sweat on our faces. Yup...THAT's attractive...

Coasting through life

2006-01-11T23:38:00.000-08:00

Kev and Arran
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

My brother Kevin and cousins Arran and Jen (hiding behind the bowl) receiving gifts from Santa.

Dumpling machine

2006-01-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

Dumpling machine
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Ahh...yes. The dumpling machine in operation. The vultures are already circling, waiting for the tasty treats...I lay out the skins, wet the edges with egg and lay the finish product on a platter. Dad spoons out filling and wraps. And Kevin is the Fry Guy. At Christmas, we made 2 batches for 16 people. Then we made two single batches in Hamilton for just the three of us...Yeah, that is a lot of dumplings!

Our dumpling patriarch

2006-01-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

Dumpling dad
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

The one who started it all. He IS the dumpling king and he's even got an apron to prove it!

The green, green grass of home

2006-01-11T22:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I have just returned from a long and relaxing trip home. I think I was so disillusioned in the summer because my trip was so rushed. This time around I had more time and it was much more enjoyable. I won't go through the whole thing day by day, as that could get really boring. Here are some highlights:
- Sleeping, lots and lots of sleeping. Sometimes until 11-11:30.
- Dumplings, lots and lots of dumplings.
- Christmas in Pickering, as usual. Lots of laughs, lots of food.
- Apartment hunting in St Catherines with Melissa.
- Getting Dad addicted to Sudoku. He'll probably laugh when he reads this, provided he is not still trying to beat my 3:48 record.
- Touring Kevin and Lyndsey's new house.
- New Year's Eve with Jean at Tonic
- Raucous round of UNO at Tarek's. There was broken furniture!
- K-OR-EE-AN food in K-OR-EE-AH town
- Dim sum with Maureen, Randy and (his girlfriend) Tanya
- Catching up on my Macleans
- Reading Lost in Translation in 3 days. I just read the movie synopsis. As suspected following discussions with Jean who has actually seen it, the two only share the same title. The book is set in China while the movie is set in Japan.
- Conquering the double-pointed knitting needles and making a pair of mittens and a scarf. Starting a hat. Not that it's cold enough to need one but, nice to have the matching set. I nearly poked my eye out in the process. They are pretty dangerous.
- Seeing a mouse darting around the tables in Amatos (pizza place). Not shocking, but awfully disappointing/disgusting. I debated leaving, but my pizza (Spinaci) was soooo tasty. Best pizza ANYWHERE!

As for resolutions, mine are pretty mundane. You know, eat healthier, exercise more, start career, buy house, buy dog, find someone to love (and who'll love me back).

I thought I had more to say...but I think I'm tired of sitting at my computer. Here...look at the pretty pictures.

Bags are packed...

2005-12-18T22:05:00.000-08:00

Well, as the title of this post indicates, I'm just about ready to fly home for the holidays. Looking forward to going to a place where I don't need to apologize for being from Ontario! I expect that this post will not be very long, as I need to be up at 4:45 am tomorrow to catch my flight.

I had an exam on Tuesday night, and since then, the week has been quite relaxing. Sleeping in, yoga, working out, Christmas shopping and finishing off half a dozen eggs. Thursday I went on an adventure to Vancouver's North Shore, which included a ride on the Seabus across the Burrard Inlet and a gander around the Lonsdale Quay. The Lonsdale Quay is reminiscent of Toronto's St Lawrence Market or Winnipeg's Forks Market. I had curry soup from the Soup Meister and bought some fancy tea from the Blue Teapot. And drooled over all the food that I couldn't buy because I was leaving in 4 days...I also got my hair cut. (Actually, I got them ALL cut.) Not a big change...just shorter. Last night, Jesse and I tried to get out to Stanley Park to look at the Christmas lights, but got distracted by Shameless burgers, Canadian back bacon and Caesars, and we didn't make it on time. Today I packed and finished off Melissa's Christmas present. I wanted sushi tonight, but for some reason the 3 sushi restaurants on my block were closed. Devastating...

Anywho, I should wash my dishes and go to bed. I should probably also send out a Christmas card while I have access to email addresses...

Life on higher terrain

2005-12-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

We have snow! Not a lot, mind you...but enough to turn Vancouver drivers into idiots and to slow everyone down to 10 km/hr. And there isn't snow everywhere either which is odd. As the temperature is still hovering near the freezing point, altitude starts making a difference in whether the snow will stick or not. Apparently I live on "high terrain" as the snow in our front yard has been there for about a week now. It was especially funny to read on the Environment Canada website: Heavy snowfall warning of 4-8 cm expected. Wusses...Anyway, today is already around 5-6 degrees and the snow seems to be slowly disappearing. Looking forward to going home where we define "cold" more appropriately. You have to laugh when people are complaining about how "cold" it is, when the temperature is 5 degrees and I'm still wearing my fleece jacket.

Okay, so last week was our last week of classes, which last year didn't mean a whole lot in terms of workload reduction. But, this year (thankfully) it does. I finished off my last Business Ethics paper on Monday and handed in a big Ergonomics paper on Wednesday. Not much left to do between now and Christmas. Just working with my group on our hazard assessment at Canfor and studying for my Business Ethics exam.

This week my friend Jenny from Winnipeg is in Vancouver. She has stopped here for a week for her training before she heads off to Kobe, Japan to teach English. Unlike Amy and Randy who went with JET, Jenny has signed up with Geos. Essentially they are the same, but I think Geos has more flexible contracts and you have the opportunity to become a travelling substitute after 6 months. A very attactive (see everything) option. I hope Jenny has as much fun as Amy and Randy did. While she is here, I'm sure there will be lots of fun evenings. Especially as she avoids her comic book-reading fellow Geos-ers...not that there is anything wrong with that...

Nothing else to say really. Dad and Kevin are swishing down the slopes with Uncle Wayne in California. As I sit at my computer staring at my Excel spreadsheets and surrounded by gloomy Vancouver weather, I'm trying not to be jealous.

A shout out to Leah! As she heads back to the East coast to spend Christmas with her family and friends, I wish her a safe flight. And she knows, that if she gets lonely when she gets back...she can always come over. (I like her cuffs.)

It's that time of year

2005-11-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

I figured it's about time that I write a proper message about what is going on in my life. To be quite honest, not too much. Since Jenn left, I have been living a lonely existence in my empty basement suite. It's my first time living alone, so it's a bit of a change. Definitely quieter. Not that Jenn was loud, by any stretch of the imagination. But now I don't have anyone to talk to in the evenings. So, I have been spending time at school and hanging out with people from school. The past couple of weekends we have gotten together for marathon-long shenanigans. All good times. I don't know that I can really keep up with these people in terms of how much they can drink, and I will make no attempts to even come close. But, if I don't drink too much and they drink their Revs and Jager bombs then we have about the same energy level. It all balances out.

Last night the rest of the co-op students and I went to present at the American Industrial Hygiene Association BC/Yukon Local section meeting. The turnout was small (only about 15 people) but it was good to see some familiar faces of some former SOEH graduates in the audience. Who knows, these people may be our future employers some day! After the presentations, we had some beers with some of the recent graduates and caught up on their lives. From the sounds of things, the job pickings may be rather slim in BC when we graduate. And as I don't really care if I stay in BC or not, perhaps I will leave the Vancouver jobs for Graham and Sylvio and try my luck in Ontario, which seems to have a much larger pool of jobs available. Who knows though, graduation seems so far away right now.

I am starting to get excited about Christmas. The Christmas lights are starting to go up in my neighbourhood, and I even saw a Christmas tree in someone's living room the other day! If anyone is keeping track, I will be in Ontario from Dec 19th to Jan 8th. My flights were pretty cheap, as I am travelling outside of the peak periods. Yay for Westjet seat sales! With my new Air Miles credit card, I am also racking up quite a few points...I should get a free breadmaker in a couple of months!

For the next couple of weeks though, I will be keeping pretty busy. I'm hoping to be very productive this weekend...starting...now!

Beauty and the beast

2005-11-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

Beauty and the beast
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

For Halloween our department had a beer can costume contest. The costumes were judged on stability (on the table), transferability (to another can), creativity, style and drinkability. This is a picture of Graham and I with our cans. More photos can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dangerouspenguin/sets/1236786/

With Schmalz

2005-11-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

With Schmalz
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Jenn and I in the kitchen on her last day! If we look like giants, it's because we have an abnormally short fridge. Well, maybe Jenn just looks like a giant...

Ode on a Texan

2005-10-26T00:15:00.000-07:00

There once was a girl named Jenn,
Who wrote Post-its to herself with a pen.
One day she came to Vancouver from Texas,
Driving up in a Mary-blessed Honda, not Lexus.
With her she brought belt buckles and cowboy boots,
Adopting a fleece wardrobe but not forgettting her roots.
She took baths and drank Wild Turkey,
Ate cranberry sauce and made many a cookie.
But alas, to Houston she must now return.
She will be missed; for her company I will yearn.

George (the Turkey)

2005-10-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

George (the Turkey)
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

We named him after our not-so-favourite American politician knowing that we would be eating him at the end of the day. Boy was he tasty...

I am thankful for...Leftovers!

2005-10-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

Whew...what a night!

The turkey turned out very nicely, thanks to the detailed instructions provided by my friends at Butterball. Definitely will have to work on the carving technique though. By the time Jesse and I had finished with it, we had a plateful of turkey fibre bundles rather than slices. According to the Food Network website you are supposed to slice the breast parallel to the breast bone. Now that I have a meat thermometer I will have to roast some chickens in practice for next year! Also will need to discuss with Kevin gravy-making tips, if Mr. Gravy (as we call him) will divulge his secrets.

So, in the end we had 14 people, including Jenn and myself, crammed into our laundry room. (I know...The ambiance at Chez J and J leaves something to be desired, but the food will have you talking for weeks!) I literally had a handle from the foosball table digging into my back throughout dinner. Luckily eating didn't take too long and we could dismantle at least one of the tables to make more room to move around. The final guest list was varied, and full of an entertaining cast of characters:
- Me (drunk, red-faced and divulging secrets)
- Jenn (empty stomach made her particularly sensitive to the brandy-filled cranberry sauce)
- Kevin (loud as usual and drawing Cock-turkeys on the fridge)
- Cory (Kevin's cousin. He brought us two cartons of Breyers ice cream...we like him.)
- Lindsay and Chris (newly married, and slightly ADD - they left before dinner)
- Rodolfo (random Mexican guy who makes a mean mojito)
- Lance (friend of Rodolfo, music snob, and a big big jerk)
- Kate (a redheaded Hawaiian, lives up to her AloHo status)
- Britta (maker of pumpkin pies, and former Burwash buddy)
- Jesse (my Hamilton homeboy and carver of turkey...you'd think 3 turkeys in one week would make him good at it...)
- Mike (left his flowers at home, and drew a butterfly for the fridge...go figure...)
- Leah (you can't make friends with salad, which is why she'll be eating her leftovers for the rest of the week)
- Rakel (emptied out her parents' fridge, and (yay!) brought leftovers home!)
- Karen (always entertaining...the crepes, the Igminer, the salsa dance...party wouldn't have been the same without her)

Anywho...it was a really fun time. I wish I had taken photos...but I only took one...of the turkey (stop laughing!). We have loads of leftovers...especially desserts. So if anyone wants some pound cake/mousse/pie/ice cream...c'mon over.

Flipping the bird

2005-10-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

It seems there are pros and cons to blocking the "comments" section of my blog. On the one hand, I won't get irritating spam disguised as actual comments, but on the other I block access from anonymous other people that can be really cool. (Like the girl who said she liked my perogies!) I guess I will have to deal with the spam, unless someone has another suggestion for me...

So, this weekend will mark my first official Thanksgiving away from home. I know, last year I was also away. But, because I was in Edmonton and thoughts of turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie were far removed from our little cabin in the woods, it passed largely unmissed. On Monday, having been surprised by the imminence of the upcoming holiday (for some reason I thought it was NEXT weekend), my mind started quickly reeling to figure out how I would "celebrate". Flights to Winnipeg and Edmonton being well out of my price range, I would have to somehow make do here in the city.

Maybe I would make a turkey...but then, who would eat it? So, I came up with a (bright) idea. I would invite lost souls (i.e. those who didn't have a place to go for Thanksgiving) to our apartment to eat turkey. In exchange they only need bring a side dish of some sort. Jenn was in full support of this idea, Thanksgiving being the one meal where she can pretty much eat anything that is prepared without breaking out into a rash or becoming comatose. Not that she needs an excuse to eat cranberry sauce. Haha!

Yeah, so good idea...but, really most people that I know here have family here. So, I didn't expect much of a turnout. In fact, when i first broached Jenn with the idea, I added the clause "if no one comes, we can still make a chicken." Now, it has escalated to a point where we worry that our living room-less and definitely dining room-less apartment will not be able to accomodate the potential number of people that have agreed to come. Our current guest list stands at 13. With a possible 4 more people. Not that I'm ungrateful. I think it will be a blast. Or at least a good story for our grandchildren about the time when our landlady set a 'Thanksgiving surcharge" on us.

This also means that I get to make a turkey. I have never made a turkey before, but the websites make it out to be really quite simple. I have roasted a chicken in cooking class, and I imagine that it will be quite similar. And I have watched my dad make them before. I don't have a turkey lifter, or any fancy mechanisms to tie it up with, or a meat thermometer, but I'm sure these will be exciting purchases.

I will write on Monday to let you know how it went. Gobble, gobble everyone!

Approach

2005-10-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Approach
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

I enjoy the symmetry in this photo...The relief of seeing the shore approaching!

SOEH/BRIDGE longboat team 2005

2005-10-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

SOEH/BRIDGE longboat team 2005
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Still fresh after Saturday's race...and hey...the sun is shining!

The finish line

2005-10-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

The finish line
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

During today's race I had to go bang the gong with a baton that we had picked up from shore earlier in the race. I am nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion in this photo.

My, my...what a longboat you have!

2005-10-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

Once again, SOEH entered a team into UBC's Day of the Longboat event. Decked in red and wearing pink and green clown wigs, not only were we a sight, but we also kicked some longboat ass. The turnout this year was phenomenal. With over 200 teams and almost 3000 participants, this is the biggest voyageur canoe event in North America. And, we did our department proud...

All week long the meteorologists had been predicting rain for this weekend, but we lucked out on Saturday. It was sunny, and almost...dare I say it, warm...In our co-rec mixed heat, we came in a respectable second, moving us into the co-rec grad studies final today.

Today, however, the weather was not nearly as co-operative. As I left my house for the Jericho Beach Sailing Centre, little droplets of rain were moistening my face. By race time, the drizzle had stopped but there was a definite chill in the air. The water was also quite a bit choppier. Despite residual muscle strain from the previous day's event, we paddled along. And once again came up with a second place finish.

Second place, we figure, is the sweet spot. It's a respectable enough standing such that we are not embarassed, and also (thankfully) not good enough to force us into the co-rec final, which we would never have won anyway. Instead, we got to change out of our cold wet clothing into warm dry fleece (of course) and headed to the pub for beer and food.

Fresh from a hot bath, and still wearing Graham's oversized fleece sweater, I am now exhausted and sore, but warm. I think I will do some reading and hit the hay early tonight. Going for a site visit to the fibreboard company tomorrow and have to wake up at 6:30am...ick...

There's a storm brewing...

2005-09-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been awhile since I have written. With all the excitement of starting school again and all the responsibilities that are attached to that, I haven't had much time. That and I just got internet installed on Monday afternoon. So far things are not super busy on this end, and I'm not sure that it will ever get as stressful as it was last year. I consider this to be good news...

My classes this year are Ergonomics, a group practicum and Business and Professional Ethics. Ergonomics seems fine, pretty straightforward common sense information being presented. Rumour has it that the prof is a tough marker though, which could end up pulling my GPA down. Don't think I really care, so long as I am above the average. Our group practicum is a workplace hazard assessment at a fibreboard and woodmat manufacturing company in New Westminster. Should be interesting. Business and Professional Ethics is a Distance Education course. The readings are interesting and less "sciency" than my usual work.

Kirsten, formerly known as my German penpal, is now in BC/Washington state. We have gotten together a few times during her stay. The first night I took her out for sushi and got her addicted to yam rolls (another one bites the dust). On Friday Jesse and I met her at UBC for a cheap concert (Wide Mouth Mason and Finger Eleven). Both were lively performances. Afterwards we went for drinks and cheesy nachos at Darby's. Then Saturday I took her to Granville Island and the less touristy Commercial Drive. She is in Seattle now, and will get back today/tonight.

On Monday night we had a welcome back BBQ for the students in my department. We filled ourselves with burgers and munchies and then rolled ourselves into the living room for an evening of karaoke. I love karaoke...so it was a good time.

Jenn's family has to evacuate their home due to the threat of Hurricane Rita. They live between Galveston and Houston. It remains to be seen what they will do with all their domestic animals (4 dogs and 9 cats) and the animals that her mother has rescued (mostly birds I'm guessing). A bit ironic that she has saved them from one disaster and has to save them from another.

Speaking of hurricanes, there was a poignant article in my Macleans last week. http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/world/article.jsp?content=20050912_111925_111925
I was feeling pretty choked up by the end of it. Really makes you pause and wonder what you would do if there were ever a natural disaster up here. It seems like Southern Ontario is pretty sheltered, but Winnipeg could suffer another flood and there could be an earthquake in BC.

Flux

2005-09-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Have you ever returned to a place you once lived and expected everything and everyone to be exactly as you left them, but then they weren't? That is pretty much how I felt on my recent visit to Hamilton and Toronto. For instance, has Toronto always been so noisy, busy and overpopulated, or did it become more so over the past year? Maybe it's me...maybe somehow over the course of the past year I have changed so much that I can no longer appreciate the big city life. Or maybe it's the city that has changed on me. There certainly were a lot of changes, so maybe we have both changed. But really, we are all changing aren't we? Constantly. We are in this state of flux where we can never, no matter how much we want to, return to where we once were. I'm different now; my view on life and my expectations of it have changed. The city has changed; it's not as I left it. And my friends and family have moved on, seemingly without me. Sure I miss them, and they miss me...but, that time that once was, is gone. I don't mean to sound wistful or sad, although in some cases this is understandable, because change is good. It means we are evolving, becoming better versions of ourselves. Does this make any sense to anyone? Or am I just rambling?

Anywho...I won't go into a lot of detail about my trip home, because most of you were there...so you know what happened. Essentially, there was lots of eating (I don't think I went hungry for the entire 7 days), lots of laughs with friends and family who I haven't seen in a while, and in general good, happy times.

So, now I am back in the 'Couve. I don't have internet at home yet as I am waiting for Shaw Internet to call me back. But, this is not so dire, as I don't have a monitor for my computer yet anyway. I abandonned my big, clunky, old one in Winnipeg and will soon purchase a new, sleek and slim flat-screen monitor. Yay! Other exciting purchases that are in the works: steel-toed boots (OOoooOO), tuition and textbooks.

Jenn and I have moved back into our cosy basement suite. I rotated my bed to give me a different perspective. The result was me waking up very disoriented the other night. The sounds in the house are familiar but they are coming from a different direction now.

Kirsten (formerly my German penpal) is here on vacation with her friend (name forgotten). We went out for sushi last night. I had yam rolls, chopped scallop rolls and California rolls, and edamame. Mmm...so good...

School starts on Tuesday and things will start to get busy soon. Until then I will enjoy what I am predicting will be my last free weekend in 8 months.

Have a good one...

End of days...

2005-08-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

So...my last weekend in Winnipeg, sigh.

Friday, I went out for lunch on Corydon (Winnipeg's answer to Little Italy) for my friend Michelle's farewell lunch. The weather cleared up just in time for us to enjoy a relaxing and laughter-filled patio lunch at Saffron's. I had a delicious veal sandwich with grilled red peppers and zucchini and melted feta cheese, and salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Afterwards we went to Nucci's for gelati. The mango and coconut flavours were both quite delectable...I could feel actual pieces of coconut!

Didn't do much of anything in the evening as my plans fell through and instead enjoyed conversations with Jean and Eddie on MSN.

Saturday, I rollerbladed out to Assiniboine park. Happily, it only took 50 minutes and not the hour and a half that Rob was predicting. This park is really beautiful. Winnipeg's answer to Stanley Park but with smaller and less red trees, more bike paths, a locomotive, a zoo instead of an aquarium, and a duck pond. When I was there a month ago, we saw a deer on the side of the road! Unfortunately, by the time I got there, I was exhausted and the sky had turned an ominous dark grey. So I quickly bladed over to a bus stop and hopped a bus to Mel's house. Once there, we sat around chatting, went to see a little house she was contemplating buying, and watched the Upside of Anger. The movie was slightly interesting...but definitely glad I waited for it to come out on video. In the evening, Mel and I went to dinner at LuxSole, a restaurant located essentially at the end of my street, and voted as the best restaurant in Winnipeg. It was excellent. The menus, glued onto old record covers, had some quite unique entries. I had lamb chops with sweet potato (or was it yam??) and corn mash, and a spinach salad with mandarin oranges, toasted almonds and (you guessed it) raspberry vinaigrette. Afterwards we went back to Mel's for a few drinks and waited for Jenny to join up with us. She was at another party and so couldn't make it to dinner. Then we went to the infamous Palomino bar. The best description I can come up with for this place is saloon turned niteclub (rather unsuccessfully). The sign out front has a rearing (Palomino?) horse on it, there was a set of swinging saloon-type doors (just like in a Western movie), and a half-dozen girls wearing cowboy hats. This bar has the reputation of hosting a lot of cougar on 19-year old boy action...and it didn't disappoint, although it was less rampant then I had expected. Other downsides to this place include: the nearly 2 hour wait to get in, slightly above-average drink prices by Winnipeg standards, and shameful favouritism to firefighters, cops and paramedics who get to go in the backdoor and bypass the line and cover charge. One of the highlights of my night at the "Pal" was dancing with a real-live Mountie who was sadly out of uniform. There were other highlights, but those are unmentionable in this type of forum.

On Sunday, as Mel was experiencing a debilitating hangover (we've all been there...) I took the bus home. In the afternoon, I went and took a photo of my favourite "Bear on Broadway" and the legislature building. I did enough packing to remember how much I hate packing. I'm trying to clean out my food from the cupboards and the fridge so meals are getting less and less exciting. Last night was no exception; I had "gourmet" Chef Boyardee (i.e. a can of Chef mixed with frozen veggies and parmesan cheese).

This is my last half-week of work. This basically means tying up all the loose ends and making sure that I'm not missing anything crucial for my project, and having farewell lunches.

I fly out to Hamilton this Thursday and then to Vancouver the Thursday after that, so this is likely the last you will hear from me in a while. I intend to pull apart my computer tonight and pack up all the pieces...

I double dog dare ya!

2005-08-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

Macy and Gemma 2
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

For the past two days Gemma (right) has been visiting her sister Macy (left). Aren't they cute? Gemma belongs to Rob's sister. I took about half a dozen photos of furry grey blurs before I got them to stay still by holding a nacho chip in my left hand and snapping the photo with my right. Dog critics may think that these animals have no personality, but they do! Macy is intelligent, sneaky, hyper and the leader of the two dogs. Gemma is polite and calm, but not as "with it" as Macy.

St. Boniface Cathedral from across the Red river

2005-08-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Cathedral far
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

This is the same cathedral that I posted a night picture of earlier, but during the day and from the opposite side of the river bank. I think this pathway was deliberately paved so that you walked towards the Cathedral. Isn't it beautiful? This photo was also taken at the Forks.

Forks waterbus dock

2005-08-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

Forks waterbus
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

The Forks are one of my favourite spots in Winnipeg. This is where the Red and the Assiniboine rivers converge and it used to be the meeting place for travellers as it was easy to find. Now, there is a nice park, some museums and a market there. Two years ago when Melvyn and I were in Winnipeg, we spent hours sitting on the grass at the Forks enjoying the sunshine and playing cards. This summer I listened to a concert here during the jazz festival. This past weekend I had a Chilean hot dog in the market. It is a chicken hot dog topped with sauerkraut, tomatoes, mashed up avocado and mayonnaise. Sounds a little wierd, but it was delicious...especially if you are an avocado addict like me! Unfortunately the heavy rains that we experienced in May, June and July made the water levels rise so that we could not make use of the waterbus dock. If you look closely, you can see where they had to re-sod the grass.

Exchange district

2005-08-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

Exchange district 2
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

The weather last Saturday was perfect for walking around and seeing some of my favourite places in Winnipeg. The Exchange District was the business centre of Winnipeg in the early 1900s when they would trade grain for other goods. The architecture is unique and well-preserved. I don't know enough about architure to be able to talk about it intelligently, but I like old buildings. And this is no camera trick (not that I know any), this building (name unknown) is actually curved like that.

Last minute addition...

2005-08-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

And I will miss Brendon...sorry B! Why? Because he does the best damned imitation of a brown guy I've EVER seen!

Stay tuned because coming soon...things I WON'T miss about Winnipeg.

The home streeeeeeetch!

2005-08-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

So, I only have another week and a half here in Winnipeg. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement, shock, dread and sadness. Excitement because I can see my dad, family and friends in Ontario. Shock because I'm surprised that the summer went by so quickly. Dread because I don't want to have to return to school (and actual work). And sadness because I have actually grown accustomed to life and Winnipeg, and will actually miss the people that I have met here. It was pointed out to me, that I have spent nearly as much time living in Winnipeg as I have in Vancouver...which is really true. And since I had more spare time here, I probably know this place a bit better.

It was surprising to me to me the other day to find myself defending Winnipeg to Eddie when he called the people here "cowboys" and "hicks". It's just that ignorant superior Toronto/Ontario attitude that makes the rest of the country hate us so much. It makes me not want to admit that I'm from there.

It's beautiful here. Not everywhere and all the time, mind you, but when the sun is shining on Winnipeg and the bugs have been fogged to death, it's not so bad. Things that I will miss most about my time in Winnipeg (in no particular order):

- watching the sun rise over the Red river during my early morning rollerblade
- summer festivals
- cheap alcohol
- Mel and Jade and Jenny
- Macy (not when she is being a brat)
- a rigorous yoga schedule and almost being able to stand on my head!
- people watching at the Forks
- Capoeira dancers
- patios on Corydon
- the buzz of dragonflies
- sleeping in
- no homework

Anywho...back to work! I have things to do now. Yay!

Jade at the Pits

2005-08-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

Jade at the Pits
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Another photo of Jade...How can I not love a dog that has nearly the same name as me?!

Jade and Mel at the Pits

2005-08-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

Jade and Mel at the Pits
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

Mel is one of the coolest people I have met in Winnipeg. And her dog is really cute too, but incredibly powerful. I have gotten many a rope burn from her leash and my shoulder has been thrown out of whack from playing tug of war with her.

Prairie land

2005-08-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Prairie land
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

This is the road we take to get to the Pits. Isn't it spectacularly flat?

Taiko drumming at the Japanese pavillion

2005-08-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

Taiko drumming at the Japanese pavillion
Originally uploaded by Jadine.

We were sitting pretty far back, so it was hard to get a good photo...but the drumming was amazing and super powerful. I also took a video, that came out a lot clearer.