some breathing space

i'm coming out of an intense few weeks:
- daily trips to richmond to check in on my dad post-surgery
- preparing for a party on canada day
- watching about 40 films for the film festival
- my mom arriving for an 8 week visit


1.
and now that i'm on the other side of that (well, except for my mom's visit), i can safely declare that i've gained about 20 pounds and desperately need to increase my physical activity.

i've been researching yoga studios and will be purchasing a week's worth of passes at bikram's yoga on commercial drive then deciding if i like that or the more sedate hatha yoga.

coincidentally, i came across an interview on National Geographic Adventure with the researcher who is looking at those communities with people who tend to live long lives.

the article is very interesting and encouraged me even more to return to yoga.


2.
ELTEE is currently being edited by the very capable KT. can't wait to see his first cut.


3.
this has been a bonanza summer for plant growth on my patio. i'm pretty excited to taste my first tomato and zucchini. however, due to the greying of the skies yesterday and today, i wasn't able to take a picture of said LUSH GROWTH.

the past week

family bbq_______
had a bbq at my brother's last week. my dad and nephew were checking out B's mino flip.



my dad checking out the mino and expressing slight amusement



my nephew holding onto the hockey stick and the mino unwilling to choose one toy to play with. those are my sister-in-law's hands about to wipe away his bloody snot. um, yuck.


here's a short video of what the mino captured that afternoon bbq.

family bbq - june 3.2009 from chinalily on Vimeo.

thrift store finds_______
i scored some major finds at the value village on edmonds/kingsway as well as the burnby hospital thrift store. on that same day i also got an unbelievable deal on a pair of club monaco houndstooth pattern pants and silky black top - both for $29 each.


sierra patten from ironstone - i picked up 8 plates and 5 bowls. now the search for more pieces begins. in the meantime, i'll be moving out other plates.



the most awesomest desk lamp EVER! it's got the sleekest profile ever. not a single percentage of body fat on this one. i love this thing.

it's the tops

for those of us who like to compile (and read) these things, here's my top lists for the year.


. FILMS. . .
#7 Orz Boyz
#6 Still Walking
#5 Synching Blue
#4 Heima, a light documentary about Sigur Ros
#3 The Savages
#2 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
#1 Lives of Others (ok, i know this film came out in 2007 but i only watched it this year)


. MUSIC. . .
#5 Black Mountain: In the Future
#4 Ladyhawk: Shots
#3 Fleet Foxes: s/t
#2 Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid
#1 Radiohead: In Rainbows


. EATING OUT. . .
#6 2 chefs/aurora/medina
#5 Trattoria
#4 Chambar
#3 Grub
#2 Pied-a-Terre
#1 Boneta

this might be my favourite picture from 2008:

hanging with dad and the fam

during the long weekend, i spent some much needed time with my dad and family.

my dad did some tai chi healing on me, showed me some exercises to do and gave me some seeds from his garden.






then, for thanksgiving, we all babysat ethan. look at rob's mad babysitting skillz

summer memories

there are two specific memories that, without fail, return to me during the summer:

1) LOS ANGELES: the warm nights reminds of a trip to los angeles my family took when i was around 9. the memory is specifically around warmth + evenings. this was when my first dad was still alive. i don't know why LA and why nights but memories are memories.

btw, i haven't colour corrected these scanned photos.





god, my mom is absolutely beautiful. she would have only been 31 then.


2) STRAWBERRY FIELDS: when my parents and i (my brother stayed in taiwan) first came to vancouver, my mom did some work harvesting strawberries. i was 3 at the time and since they couldn't afford a babysitter, i stayed with my mom. so now, whenever i smell strawberries, i'm taken back to a certain sense of excitement, unending strawberry fields and my mom hovering above me.

july 2. 2008

my mom returned to taiwan on july 2nd.

my brother decided he really wanted family photos before her return. originally, we were to have family photos on june 26 then it was moved to june 29, then to june 30, then to july 2nd.

so on july 2nd, after a full day at my job, rob and i rushed (by bus) to richmond to take photos at minoru park.

minoru park has that little wedding chapel that is a favourite of many brides. the park also has many large willow trees and a large pond.

additionally, rob had a hangover.

here are my favourite ones






so we quickly took photos, hurried to the Boathouse (i loathe the Boathouse) for dinner then hung out at my parents' house as my mom finished packing and watched a chinese soap show until 11:30pm. my dad was busy killing flying ants and trying to figure out how they were getting into the house.

at 11:30pm, we (rob, my brother, my mom, and i) went to the airport to send my mom off. her flight was at 2:20am.

we did the usual and bought some donuts, drank hot chocolate and stared at each other with 'tired eyes.'






i won't lie to you, i was really tired when, at 1:15am, we walked our mom to the security gate.

dinner with the family

this past wednesday, the usual suspects gathered at Jade Seafood Restaurant on Alexandra Road in Richmond for some food. it was... okay. the desert, a light broth of brown sugar and ginger with dates and dried longans was a big disappointment.

also, it seemed super loud so we didn't talk much which is unusual for my family. so, i'll let the pictures do the talking.

after taking this picture i asked my dad what he was thinking. his response: "I was wondering." fyi, that's a plate of smoked chicken infront of him. yummy.

dinner with the family

my mom, my dad, my brother, his wife, my nephew, and rob converged on Chen Shanghai Restaurant off Park Place in Richmond tonight.

and yes, the xiao long bao was really good but everything else was WAY TOO SALTY. we all decided the restaurant was attempting to cater to the new immigrant from China which prefers super salty foods.

let me just say this: rob didn't ask for soy sauce.



look at what i made my mom do; the heart symbol from 'lost in translation'




then afterwards, we visited my grandfather (my mom's dad) who lives close to steveston in richmond. it was a very nice visit. my 'jojo' (my mom's younger brother) was there, too.




and look what i found in my grandfather's room, a picture of my brother and i that i don't ever remember seeing. i think it's super cute.

shhhh.... read quietly plse

on the flight home, i slowly sipped ginger ale and gently ate "turbo sticks."

yes, i am hurtin'.
yes, i hurled 3 times last night.
yes, i had a good time.

rob was telling people today at the out-of-towners lunch with the newlyweds that i was the designated drinker. i don't know why i got wasted and not rob.

if, after filming another family's celebration and drama, i felt that i missed my own family and their own specialness, i didn't have to wait long before i got a dose of my own drama.

on the way to picking me up at the airport, my dad was rear-ended. i was on the phone with my mom (she had just returned from taiwan for a 3 week visit) when it happened and she freaked out on my dad so then i felt compelled to defend my dad, then my mom got mad at me. so, because she was so mad, she demanded that my dad drive her home and go pick me up by himself.

ahhh, it's never a dull moment with my family.

rob is staying in edmonton for 1 more night to hang with family and friends.

i'm probably going to bed at 9pm.

here's one of my favourite photos from the wedding; it's rob's nephew, ryan, who was the ring bearer. i love the look on his face. he's only 5 but i can relate to the expression he's wearing.

small crisis

you would not believe the look on my face as my dad (who works at the airport) is telling me that there is no golden arches outlet at the airport.

hence, i was denied my bacon mcgriddle combo meal which was to be my reward for getting up so freaking early today.

other options were not appetizing enough for me so i settled for a chai latte, half sweet.

. . .

it's been a long day, here's a quick recap:
4am - i'm up. god, i can't believe i'm up.
5:30am - arrive at my parents' house
5:45am - check in
6am - sitting with my dad and rob in the domestic terminal eating area, watching rob eat an a&w breakfast.
7am - mail off the ladyhawk doc to another film festival from which we will probably be rejected.
7:15am - sitting at the required gate with my dad, waiting for boarding at 7:30am.
8am - plane takes off
10:30am - plane lands in edmonton
11am - sit down at the "golden rice bowl restaurant" with rob's dad and step-mom for some dimsum
12:30pm - arrive at rob's mom and step-dad's hotel room and hang with them and about 8 other family members until 2pm.
2:30pm - quick trip to the mall
4pm - arrive at yellowbird community centre to film "decorating the hall"
5:30pm - drive back to rob's dad house (where we are staying) for dinner, wine and lots of catching up.
8:30-9pm - quick nap
9-11pm - rob's friend (who is getting married in july and rob is the best man for his wedding) arrives with fiancee and i get to hear stories of rob's youth.
11:30pm - crash and burn

last weekend / this weekend

LAST WEEKEND, i picked up 2lbs of spotted prawns from granville island and brought them home for dinner.

rob decided to go with a garlic butter dip and i went with the canola oil and soy sauce dip. both were very delicious but i think my dip tasted better.



it was suggested to us at the new humongous wine store in north vancouver (www.everythingwine.ca) that the barossa 2007 semillon sauvignon blanc from australia would be the perfect compliment to our feast.



interweb search results indicated that the prawns should be steamed for only 3 minutes. i steamed them in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding.

in the first batch, i steamed them for 2 minutes but didn't shake the steamer. for the second batch, i steamed them for 3 minutes and shook the steamer a couple of times.

here's the difference that made:
- first batch was perfectly unrubbery.
- second batch was in the rubbery territory.

the other consequence of this was that the prawn heads in the second batch were cooked perfectly but the prawn heads in the first batch were undercooked.

which is fine. because prawn heads are rather high in cholesterol. surprisingly, rob did not partake of the prawn head slurping and consuming.




the wine was a good match although i think a better pairing could have been had but for wine that's under $15, i was very pleased.

overall, we found the prawns fresh, sweet and delicious. a perfect feast.


. . . . . . . . .

THIS WEEKEND, rob and i will be in edmonton for his sister's wedding.

yes, we will be videotaping the wedding.

that is all.

random stuff

.... all taken on my iphone ....


i forced rob to stand infront of this rather large lunar new year display at aberdeen mall. i love making him do shit like that.


a great looking bench at the seabus terminal



at the dean and britta show last thursday


lunch with my family last saturday at lido restaurant - their big draw is the pineapple bun with a slab of butter inside. please note that the pineapple bun doesn't taste at all like a pineapple. it just tastes like a buttery bun.

status

. . .
our little documentary is starting to get noticed by the indie music world:
see fader
see MOG
see ELB.OWS

rob made sure i noticed all the text written about me in MOG as opposed to him. he finally got a taste of what i've had to deal with all his indie music peeps thinking that the documentary was all done by him (rob).

made me laugh, though.


......
we're currently in a state of "breath-holding" as we wait for the final word from SXSW which will happen later next week, i think.

.. .. .. .. ..
meanwhile, here's a photo of my dad and i. i'm showing him how to use his new mac mini. it's pretty funny trying to explain youtube to him. i've also had to lay down the law and forbade him from ever entering his credit card info on the internet.

weekend with the in-laws

rob's mom, step-dad and their dog (jj) drove down to vancouver this weekend. they stayed with us.



it was fabulous.

we just ate and ate and ate...

when they arrived at 7pm on FRIDAY night, they brought with them about 10 lbs of frozen alaska king crab, spaghetti squash, and baked stuffed potatoes.

rob's mom also brought frozen perogies for us to eat later. that would be a MUCH later.

so we steamed the crab and feasted.

on SATURDAY, while his step-dad attended a health seminar, we took his mom to Enigma (by UBC) for brunch. i had the smoked salmon omelette.

for dinner on SATURDAY, the four of us dined at Memphis BBQ. we had an elvis platter. bellies grew bigger.



then for SUNDAY, we met up my dad and my brother (his wife and his son) for dim sum in richmond. the best part was my dad telling rob's step-dad not to put soy sauce on anything.

this was the first meeting of our 2 families and it was pretty great. the 2 dads got along really well.