the other me

i've been a member of "insert name of big, low-end fitness chain" since 1991. that's a freaking long time.

for the past 5 years or so, i've only been going to the cambie and 12th location because it smells better and the equipment is nicer.

and for the past 3 years, every time i walk in ms. grumpy employee is standing at the front counter staring me down. EVERY TIME. there were the rare times when she wasn't standing at the front counter and i rejoiced inside and became a social butterfly with the other staff standing behind the counter.

some of them would be nice back to me but most were too busy looking at themselves and gossiping about us "members" to even notice I'd even said hi to them.

anyways, about 50% of the time that i don't see ms. grumpy at the front desk, it was because she happened to be sitting in one of those glass-walled offices where they put the HARD SELL in people who want to join.

as soon as i see her, i'd get all nervous and avert my eyes.

i never understood why she was like this to me. i would always watch her after i left the counter and see if she was as grumpy to anyone else. she was always nice to everyone else but me.

SHE CLEARLY HATED ME.

why?

i just found out why. BRACE YOURSELVES. SIT DOWN FOR THIS ONE.

this past wednesday, i was at the gym (after a 2 month hiatus) and thought i heard someone yell my name. it happens all the time and usually, the name is close to mine but not my unique, cool name.

but the person (a staff member) repeated my name and the person who responded back was ms. grumpy.

holy f*ck.
that's why she hates me.

she thought she was the only one with a cool name like mine and then 3 years ago, i eradicated her fantasy world with a simply membership card swipe that auto pulled up my name on her computer monitor.

a name that she thought was unique to her.

it all makes sense to me now.

pne

monday night after work, rob and i went to the pne. here is what we ingested in the order of ingestion:

fish and chips
buckeye rootbeer
bbq chicken
scones (warm with jam and whipped butter)
little mini donuts
beer

all within 3 hours.

i know, i know. i'm disappointed in myself, too.

i used to be able to eat all that food in 2 hours and still have room for more. i blame not going to the gym enough. clearly, i need to "get in shape" and i know the perfect training spot: the richmond night market.

helping out

rob and i helped out KT on sunday with his short film that's part of the mighty asian moviemaking marathon that's part of the vancouver asian film festival.

we both played 2 parts:
rob = deceased dermatologist laying in the coffin
rob = cafe patron sitting at a table with 2 asian chicks and bopping his head from side to side during a song performance
me = asian chick cafe patron #1 that jingles a tambourine during a song performance
me = mourner at the funeral of a dermatologist who clangs chimes during a song performance

rob really got into the dead guy part and we all thought he might have taken a little nap during the filming. everybody else thought it was creepy laying inside a coffin but rob was a true professional and didn't complain or anything.

another interesting thing is that the richmond funeral home on cambie, where all of this was shot, is the swankiest funeral home i've ever seen with a full on restaurant-type area and gigantic patio in the back.

we had fun hanging out at a shoot where we weren't the ones stressing over everything.

culinary adventures

to appease the techie at "insert name of former employer" wondering where i'm hiding all the restaurant recommendations, here is a review of recently attended eating establishments.

>>> pork cutlet <<<
"pork cutlet" is actually the name of this korean hole-in-the-wall located downtown (on dunsmuir between richards and seymour). the tables and chairs were rather uninspiring but, H E double hockey sticks were the fried items perfectly cooked and tasty.

rob had the chicken cutlet with curry sauce that came with 2 yellow-shaded pickled turnips, rice that was flattened down, half a cup of coleslaw and 2 tablespoons of macaroni with mystery sauce.

i had the fried fish with tartar sauce and the same sides as rob.

both our items cost $7.99

verdict: there is a skilled deep fryer cook in this place that has perfected his skills. go there for the food if not for the novelty of it all.

>>> zawa <<<
zawa replaced zesty's which is a restaurant located right at the corner of commercial and venables (a mere 2 min walk from my place) yet it serves mediocre breakfast and a poor-man's version of an earl's menu.

verdict: run away.
a better alternative for the same price: crave (main and king ed)

<<< places i want to try >>>
1/ chow on granville near 12th ave
2/ salvadorian cafe on victoria near 1st ave

small farming opportunity

my condo is surrounded by a 6 foot hedge that protects the occupants (who couldn't freaking afford a place in kitsilano) some measure of privacy from the tragicomedy that occurs on a hourly basis.

and what exactly is behind this hedge?



besides garden patios (like mine seen on the left), the hedge is hiding a small-scale dandelion farm.

ah, you laugh but dandelion leaves are tres trendy. when i ordered a salad at the golf club restaurant where rob's mom works in kelowna, there they were. even kelowna is hip to this trend.

and now the strata council, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to enter this field figuratively and literally.

unfortunately, the grounds keeper wasn't told of the new business plan to cover our leaky condo fixes and mowed the whole thing down the day after i took this picture.

the week in review

__new job__
every morning this week, during my commute to and from my new employment situation, i listened to the latest feist album. specifically, i would start off with "My Moon My Man" and then go onto "1234."

every morning while riding the bus to work.
and.
every afternoon while riding the bus back home.

you know how certain songs trigger strong connections to events in your life? well, i was trying to associate my first week at "insert name of new employer" with the latest feist record.

also.
from the safety of the bus, i saw no less than 3 fights breaking out on hastings near main. just lovely.

__ladyhawk doc__
rob and i are making good progress. we've split up the doc into sections and are now attacking each section; bit by bit. rob is putting together some freaking awesome looking segments.

also, on facebook, we put up the teaser trailer we mailed last week to ladyhawk's record label. viewing permissions is restricted so that only our friends can see them.

__kitchen__
thursday night, i decided to pull everything from the shelves and put them on the floor infront of the oven, the counter and the dining table for review and editing.





but i haven't had time to get to them until today. so we haven't been able to use the dining room table to eat at or barely the kitchen to cook in.

but i can't help it. i feel the need to purge.

here's how i'm doing it.

plastics: only the stuff i actually use stays. the rest goes to VV or my dad if it's tupperware

glass: i'm keeping 5 cutesy, flower-holding ones and recycling the rest

bowls: this is my biggest category and i had to break what i own into 3 piles
bowl pile 1 = use on a daily basis
bowl pile 2 = don't use on a daily basis but have huge sentimental value
bowl pile 3 = don't use on a daily basis but have medium sentimental value

i'm also rearranging where i put all the kitchen crap.

i know. exciting stuff.

__tomatoes__
by popular request from my gal pals at "insert name of previous employer" here is a photo of the current state of my tomatoes.



i ate my first cherry tomato TODAY and it was deliciously sweet. it almost seems worth the bi-daily watering schedule. almost.

my dad is awesome

on saturday night, rob and i took the bus to richmond (which is a totally painful excursion) to have a dinner with my dad's side as his brother/wife/son from ottawa had just docked from an alaskan cruise.

there's around 15 of us at a cantonese-style restaurant (thyme seafood restaurant on leslie rd) and the conversations were 80% in cantonese.

but it was all worth the 1 hour bus trip and the incomprehensible conversation for what my dad said. the conversation was about the first words and phrases that kids pick up.
dad's brother: my son's first word was "No"
my dad: laughing
dad's brother: then my son said "No way"
my dad: laughing more
dad's brother: then my son learned how to say "No way, jose"
my dad: laughing even more
my dad: "who's jose?"

rob and i just looked at each other and beamed smiles of appreciation and giggle like teenagers.

goodbyes

some milestone goodbyes for me

1. goodbye to "insert company name here"
today was my last day at "insert company name here" and it was pretty emotional for me made worse because i forced myself not to cry. there was an extravaganza with cake (see picture above) and gifts. i didn't have a speech prepared and i sounded super goofy trying to come up with something on the fly.

afterwards, i went around the building and said goodbye to people whom i thought i would be working with for the rest of my life (not kidding).

good thing i was wearing my all time favourite skirt that i finally managed to fit back into, thanks to the cleanse.

i'm going to miss a mighty fine bunch of people but glad to have been lucky enough to meet people who are going to be lifelong friends.

2. goodbye to Patty
my divorce finalized 2 years ago and a mere 1 month later, my ex accidentally moves into my building.

because my ex didn't want his current mate to know that i was living in their building, i agreed to pretend i didn't know him whenever i saw him. yes, the guilt made me do it.

partly to cope and mostly to celebrate the absurdity of the situation, i came up with a lobby name. this was the name that i was to be called outside of the condo.

the name was patty.

why patty? it's a long and not so interesting story so i'll save it for another time.

fast forward 2 years....
so, when my ex told me that he was moving out of the building on july 8th, i didn't realize he meant that he would start moving out on july 8th but won't be done until july 31st.

not a big deal, right? sure, it's not a big deal if you're not me.

i mentally prepared myself for july 8th. i spent some time on july 7th reopening some wounds so i could properly heal them. then i see the f*cker's car next to mine for the whole month of july.

but he's finally gone. absolutely. completely.

the possibility exists that i could never see him again; this person whom i married in august 1993 in front of all my family and friends.

goodbye, patty.

the vaca

on thursday afternoon, we drove up to kelowna and last night, we arrived back home.

the stuff in between:
> rob, his niece and his nephew had some trampoline time
> kelowna's saturday morning farmers' market (4 times as big as the trout lake one)
> imbibing and catching up with rob's family
> eating delicious meals
> sharing a trailer with mice
> dumpster diving and finding some vintage super 8 film and slides
> wine sampling
> treating rob's mom to lunch at the winery bistro

ma mere

my mom returned from taiwan yesterday so i went to see her today.

something happened.
maybe she's different. maybe i'm different.
different good or different more chill.
regardless, it was calm and lovely to sit and chat with her.

it was the sort of mother-daughter interaction that i would imagine other people having. but it was us this time. and as i pulled out of my parents' driveway, i felt very emotional.

also, this.
i have my mom's jowls.

here's a picture i took of my mom with my new phone camera. she insisted on looking at this photo after i took and she remarked: oh, i think i look very good in that picture.

she cracks me up.