Hot Time in the City

It's been a really wonderful summer so far, weather-wise. Hubby and I didn't really have any trip planned for the summer. Doesn't mean that I still can't enjoy it, just by being out and about in the city...

Hope you're having just as wonderful a summer!

"I am So Smart... s-m-r-t!"

A woman at work and I could not have picked a better time to walk home than this afternoon *snort*. First of all, it was hot! Second, we decided to take a different route tonight and headed more west. West! In the afternoon! And boy, did that sun shine brightly! On our faces! Are we smart, or are we smart! By the time we walked into a store, I dunno about her, but I felt really icky. I must have sweated an arm or something.

But, along the way, the city did kinda make up for our "smart" decision (not that it was the city's fault)...

For brief moments, I did forget how hard the sun was beating down on us just looking at this view. And since we were close to the water of all, we did get moments of respite from the heat thanks to the sea breeze.

Ah, summer...

Walk and a Movie or 2

Over the (extra) long weekend, I managed to squeeze in a walk on the Seawall. I figured since I spent a good part of the weekend doing household chores that it would be nice to get some sea air,  plus I haven't walked around there in a while.

False Creek

Burrard Bridge

... all under the bridge now:p

...somewhere, beyond the sea

Indeed!

someone's veg patch by the path... zucchini

... when you let the swiss chard just go, or grow...

What a lovely day!

Then last night and tonight, I was given tickets again for an advanced screening for 2 totally different movies. Hope Springs on Tuesday and Bourne Legacy earlier. Talk about dichotomy.

Meryl Streep, as always, was fabulous in Hope Springs, such a natural. It's funny though 'cause this is the first Streep film I've seen in a movie theatre, I think. And Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell were pretty good too. It was such a simple story but so relatable. I know I'm nowhere near the characters' age (they're more like my parents' I say) but I think any couple who's been married for a while, but not necessarily their age, will have a good chuckle here and there for sure.

Bourne Legacy, on the other hand, is a totally different ball of wax. I admit I'm a big fan of Matt Damon in the first 3 flix and was doubtful that Jeremy Renner can fill in his shoes. But not anymore! Oh yeah! Ok, it did start kinda' slow but it picked up, that's for sure. You get the same fast-paced chases, weaving in and out of traffic, quite a feat in this one considering it was shot in Manila (reprezzent!), HAH! And did I mention Jeremy Renner? Why yes I did, didn't I? hehe (I think I just saw hubs rolled his eyes)

Ok, I think I'm movied out for the summer... I think...

Local by Day, Tourist by Night, er, Afternoon

One of the nice things about working at a different office (to compensate at least for being away from my element and peeps), is the change of scenery, especially since I walk home. So, for the last 2 weeks, I've walked in parts of town that I normally don't venture into, not so much because they're far, I'm still walking after all, but more because I've never found a need, that's all.

What makes it nicer is the fact that along the way are tourist areas that as a local, should probably bother me because of the too many people ambling around but I actually enjoy, in moderation, of course. I thought it's quite interesting trying to see things from their eyes. It makes me appreciate my town even more, in a way.

Gastown Steam Clock

I say for the view, I'm willing enough to not focus on the more than usual number of people out and about, although for some reason, there weren't that many when I took these pix yesterday.

Anyhoot, earlier tonight, was able to get into an advanced screening of Total Recall. While waiting for the movie to start, I thought it was quite interesting hearing the conversation of the people sitting next to me. One of them said he's seen it and he guessed the effect was good for its time *gasp*. To which the other person responded that she's never seen the original *bigger gasp* Sheesh, am I that old?!? The movie itself, in my humble opinion, was more of an homage than a remake. Keeping in mind that I've probably seen the original bajillion times so I'm quite familiar with the scenes, I find they switched the scenes around. It didn't have as many funny scenes as the original either. Oh, and some of the funny parts were lost, I thought, on the audience 'cause they were alluding to scenes from the original and the "younger" ones didn't get it, I suppose. And most interesting part, for me, was casting Bryan Cranston as the baddie. Not that he was not good (hel-lo, Breaking Bad!), just wasn't expected, that's all, for me, anyways.

But do I like it? Heck, yeah. Colin Farrell, after all... HAH!

Sunny Day, Sunny Day, Turned Out to be a Sunny Day

Friday. Sunny day. I'd say the first sunny hot day of the year. Perfect timing. A bunch of us decided to meet last minute after work, seeing that it was such a beautiful day.

English Bay

Bellini (Milestones)

... more Bellini:p

California Spring salad

And since it was still early when we left the resto, and there was still time before the real dinner with hubs, our same bunch decided to walk a bit. We ended up at Ayoub's Dried Fruits and Nuts.

an array of nuts (I love their "containers")

Lime, saffron and salt pistachios
... love the colors! Look like tiny rose petals

Ended up getting these...

Sugar honey nuts
(hubs said that's like describing me and sisses... who's the sugar?
who's the honey? and who's the nuts? I wonder... hehehe)

Dried veg (okra)... yum!

I could have probably stayed in that store for hours, just examining everything they have. I like the homey feel of the place with a touch of exotic...

I didn't think the weekend would come fast enough, but luckily, it did.

Saturday. Sunny day. I knew it was going to be another gorgeous day. And despite not having any real plans for the weekend, I was sure of one thing. That there's gonna be a walk on the Seawall. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with the same idea.

...heading toward Sunset Beach (a route I've taken so many times,
but only noticed for the first time)

... heading back, towards English Bay (and yes, those are people)

B-e-a-u-tiful day indeed!

Sunday. Turned out to be a sunny day. Didn't think it would be. Again, another day with no plans. So, just kinda' ended up at the bookstore.

... summer reads (on sale!), and a side of  Mocha Cookie Crumble Frap:p

I happen to be one of those people who prefer light reading in the summer. The more mindless, the better (no offense to anyone), especially taking work into consideration. Bios, serious lits and enlightening ones may just have to wait in the Fall...

Am I ready for the summer or what! HAH!

"R"andom Things-- Rain, Respect the Shoes, Race

Weather's been weird the last few days. The temp can't seem to rise past double digits. It'd  be raining for the most part of the day, then it would kinda' stop in the afternoon, and the sun would come out just long enough to remind us that it's still there. So at the end of the day, deciding whether to walk home or not, you couldn't really tell if you'd be caught in the rain or bask in the sun.

A bit of sun shower tonight, for example, during the walk home.

Once I get home, a way for me to relax is to go the computer (yes, I apparently don't spend enough time in front of the computer at work) and get a dose of my blog reads. One of my fave blog, respect the shoes, (I love how her posts are so engaging) talked about her childhood and how her heritage played into that.

Which made me remember this documentary I once saw when I was just randomly flicking thru' the channels. It was a film about family, racial identity, inter-racial marriages. From where I stand, the creator of the film might as well be talking about me and my family, or what my family could potentially look like a generation or 2 down the road, give or take. My family plays a big role in my life. My family is an immigrant family. I'm in an inter-racial marriage. So is my sis, which makes my nephews and niece "half-races".

The most interesting part I found in that film was the part when the film creator "interviewed" his younger cousins, kids, and asked them the question "What are you?" (or something to that effect, it's been a while since I've seen the film). Most of them had these confused looks on their faces. One of them, I think, actually answered something like "I'm a person(?)". And when he posed the same question to his older cousins, in their late teens/20's, they all practically started their response with their race, as in half Japanese/half white, or part Japanese/part Irish/part something else, you get the idea.

(Of course, like I said, it's been a while since I've seen the film but you get the gist...)



That's quite telling, no? And very interesting...

A friend at work, who's Caucasian and married to an Asian person, once told me how the daughter was asking if she's mixed and how (because that's what she was asked at school), and the friend told her how she should respond the next time she's asked. That she's "shaken, not stirred". HAH! Love it!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

First day back at work today. Blech!

Wasn't even supposed to come in today, but I kinda' said I would. Bah!

I swear, my brain was only at half capacity today. Tried as I might, I couldn't bring myself to think, move, or walk faster.

On the other hand, it was nice to see colleagues again.

I did survive the day, whew! hehe

Coming home, couldn't decide if I should walk home or not. Here's an excerpt from my conversation with hubs as I started walking:

Me: Should I walk home? I feel I'm still not 100% percent better. I'm even having a hard time breathing. What's wrong with me?
Hubs: Sorry to hear that. Why don't you just take the subway? It's your first day back, just take it easy.
Me: I should, eh? But I do need to walk too. Remember, I didn't get any workout at all during vacation.
Hubs: Ok, maybe you should walk then.
Me: But I'm still kinda' feeling off.
Hubs: Ok, take the transit then.
Me: Hmmm, maybe I should walk. It's not raining. It's kinda' mild out anyway, plus it's still early.
Hubs: So you're walking then?
Me: Let me think about it.


Yes, I certainly know how to drive my hubs nuts. LOL

And yes, I did end up walking home. As always, so glad I did.

... my view on my way home

And it's only Monday! Bah!

Spring Forward, Fall Back

There's something to be said about manually turning your clock back, thanks to Daylight Savings Time, that it almost makes you feel you're buying yourself time physically. But with all these smart technology we have, there's almost no need to do so, as all the gadgets we have laying around the house do it automatically.

Had to use the alarm this morning as I was meeting a friend for an early walk. Shortly after I got up, hubby got up too and reminded me about the time adjustment. For a brief moment, I seriously thought I had an added hour that I forgot about, but realized soon (too soon) after that my alarm clock has adjusted itself and that, indeed, I am looking at the right time. I kinda' felt jipped. As if there was that hour that I thought was a bonus and I didn't get it, even though in reality, I/we did gain that hour... *sigh*

Anyhoot, last Friday, 'went out with some friends to celebrate a friend's birthday belatedly. We ended up at one of the celebrant's fave dining place.

Burrata with prosciutto

Walnut pesto, gorgonzola & pear crostini

Chicken liver with balsamic onion crostini

Quince jelly and provolone crostini

And for the main part of the meal,

Campanelle with pancetta, leeks and chanterelle
(with mounds of grated cheese... pecorino, I think)

I normally don't have pasta in a restaurant as I have it often enough at home and I know how much it cost to make them, so for me to try this house-made pasta says a lot about the place. The food was yummy, and the restaurant lives up to its "neighborhood restaurant" feel. The night itself was not without drama, but hey, I suppose that's all part of making memories. In the end, everyone's had a good time and another memorable night made with friends.

Come Saturday, I just felt really exhausted and seriously thought, again, that I was coming down with something. Shortly after our coffee in the morning, I went back to bed to get some more rest. By the afternoon, fortunately, I was feeling much better.  When dinner time came, I wanted something home-y and comfy.

Mac n cheese with ground beef

I call it my homemade version of the Hamburger Helper. It was creamy, cheesy, and best of all, comforting.

By this morning, thankfully, I was feeling much better. The walk that me and my friend planned didn't quite happen. She was feeling a tad lazy. I was too quick to agree, hehe. So, we decided to just go for dim sum then walk around downtown after. Guess we did kinda' got to do our walk.:p

So, all in all, I say the weekend turned out alright... Looking forward to the next one already... HAH!

All Day Walking, Practically

Girlfriend and I decided to walk the Seawall today. The fact that it was raining, albeit a tad, shows, I think, our dedication in trying to maintain a healthy(ier) lifestyle. HAH! Ok, maybe not that dedicated, but it should still count for something, whatever something is.

As per usual, after our walk, we were ready to fill our tummies. Well, gotta reward ourselves for that almost 10km walk, no?:p And since the temp was on the cool-ish side, we decided to go for ramen. 

Pork gyoza

Spicy Akaoni 

Warm to the belly, yummmmm!

I seriously thought I had no room after that late lunch but as we were about to start our "browsing" around town, I remembered this patisserie that recently opened in the area that I've been meaning to check out. May not have been the best decision, in retrospect. Why?

French macarons

... what we ended up with

LOL...

It was sooooo good! With a nice cup of Americano, how can you go wrong?!? So, yes, may not have been the best decision if you're trying not to indulge... teehee... Well, I say every once in a while is fine by me.

With our belllies really full this time and caffeine running through our veins, browse we did!

Needless to say, "all" my milestones have now been reset to Day 0. *sigh* O well...

Went to 2 of the usual "haunts"... Zara and H&M. And then a few more, in between:p Didn't get anything at Zara, whew! But alas, can't say the same for H&M. Again, o well.

You'd think we'd have been pooped by now, but apparently not. So we went to The Bay which would end up to be our last stop, for real, this time. And lookey what we found! Almost forgot about them coming to town, finally.

The whole lot was on sale too! I'm feeling my resolve, if there's any left, just totally melting away, oy! {Un}fortunately, most of the stuff in my size are gone, another whew. Saw this plain shirt with rolled sleeves that I almost got until girlfriend reminded me that I'm probably only willing to pay for it at that price because of the label, sale or not. Sadly/scarily enough, she was right. So, with a heavy/light heart (haven't quite decided), I put it back. Boo/Yay (haven't quite decided)! lol

Now, if and when:p sky's the limit, I wouldn't mind "browsing" here-

... well, a girl can dream...

Extended Break

It seems like mother nature decided to give us here on the West Coast some break. As the summer wasn't much really, we're now getting summer temperatures, in September! Woohoo!

This week has been a really short work week. 3 days, to be exact.:)

Regardless, let's just say TGIF!

Partyin', partyin', yeah!... No, not really, teehee... Just gonna' chillax, that's it.

It was another beautful walk home.

Notice the little red circle near bottom left? That's me, and my shadow:)

Then, to extend summer to the table...

Watermelon salad with feta, red onion and mint

Corn salad with tomatoes and red onion

Aah, summer!

And I thought I'd share a pic I found on my phone. No clue where I was nor what it is. I can't help but keep staring...

Looking forward to tomorrow as I hope to embark on a new road to good deeds...

Happy Weekend!!!