grandma dearest

those who know me know that i visit my grandma pretty often. sometimes i just go there to sit around and watch chinese tv with her. the shows on tv may or may not be in mandarin and since i don’t know much/any mandarin i’m usually just sitting there looking at pictures. other times we’re talking about things going on in my life. she’ll do the usual badgering about getting a girlfriend and i’ll respond with my typical good girls are hard to find spiel. of course her reply will be to stop being so picky.

it’s always a fun time at her place. if it wasn’t for her i wouldn’t know how to say peru or iceland in chinese. not that she taught me it, but i needed to find out so i could tell her where i was going. you also learn a lot about family history. like she used to dye leathers back in the day with my grandpa.

today was an interesting conversation about condos since i am trying to find a place downtown. she wants me to get a big place and i’m telling her that i don’t need all that space. she starts yelling at me that i’ll need space for a wife and whatnot. it wasn’t so much the wife comment that got to me as the raised voice. she wasn’t angry but merely pointing out how silly i am for not considering the future. it’s her way of showing she cares. we chinese don’t exactly say i love you a lot

i’m thankful for her in my life. she’s over 80 and very self sufficient. i’m also pretty sure she can drink me under the table and she’s only half my weight. thanks for being there for me and thanks for the great genetics

iceland recap

it’s time for the iceland recap. i know you’re excited so let’s get started. the first 4 days we spent driving across the country. we covered 1200+ km in our rental and saw a lot of beautiful places. we only did the southern part of the country though. next time, we do the north! i warn you, this is long. you may want to just go to my picasa page for pictures. but if you’re interested, read on…

back again

i’m back from my trip to iceland. came back late sunday night and had to work monday morning.

i’ve been pretty tired the last few days. or at least i thought i was. we partied until 5/6am iceland local time the last few nights we were there. for the most part i should be readjusted to pacific time because of that. i felt pretty crappy on monday and i feel even worse today.

it’s not jet lag… i think i might have post vacation depression. i’ve had it before when i went to hawaii many years ago. now i think i have it again.

yes the vacation was that awesome that i’m sad when i’m home. i guess i’ll just have to give it time so i can heal.

recap and pictures to come.

i got iceland on my mind

i was in a meeting today and some people asked me where i was going next week. i told them “i’m going to iceland”. someone piped up and was like that’s the new “i’m on a boat”. now i can’t get that damn song out of my head. for those who don’t know where it’s from check it out.

so i leave for my next trip on friday. it’ll be my last trip for about 3 months. what will i do? i guess i’ll just have to truck on. hm i just realized that sounds like i’m kinda rubbing it in. my bad ;p

i’m at a bit of a loss on what to pack. half the trip we’ll be semi-slumming it and travelling across the country in a tiny rented hatchback. the other times we’ll be in the capital enjoying all the modern amenities that the 21st century has to offer. i want to pack light but at the same time i want to dress well in the city.

finding that happy medium is difficult. especially when i don’t want to bring an extra pair of shoes.

the minus 1 rule

men judge women on a scale of 1-10. it starts off looks only of course, because we haven’t spoken to you. once the words come out you’re either going to go up or go down that scale. yes even if you’re hot you do go down the scale if you’re a complete moron. at least my scale.

the internet has thrown an unusual spin on things. facebook, myspace, plenty of fish, whatever you use to do your social networking. let’s face it you pick and choose which picture you want to put up to represent you. which angle, which top, which amount of makeup.

to this end i’ve devised a modified rule for men. look at the picture and make your judgement. but you must remove 1 point. that picture will never be an accurate representation of the girl. i know you’re thinking that some people actually look better in real life. that’s the exception, not the rule.

so ladies of the internet, make sure you put your very bestest picture up. everyone is going to judge you. your friends, your family, your coworkers. there are no secrets.

it doesn’t stop here. you post a picture that’s clearly done in the studio or photoshopped and we will judge you harshly. it’s a delicate balance. or you can be like me and say fuck the world and do as you please

midway check up.. kinda..

alrighty it’s almost june. while technically the end of june would be closer to the middle of 2009 let’s do this a bit early…

my first goal was to go on 3 vacations. i’ve been to yellowknife, calgary, and peru so far. i don’t really count yellowknife and calgary though, so right now the count is at 1. iceland is 2 weeks away! someone remind me why i’m going to northern europe and planning a trip to western europe later in the year? bad planning on my part.

next goal is date more. i have no numbers from last year so i have no idea if i’m doing better or not here. i’ll just play it safe and say no. there was a girl earlier this year that i was seeing for about 2 months. after i got back from peru though things just fizzled away. unfortunate… for her! gotta work on this goal.

number 3 is eat healthy, be healthy. still going to the gym. lost about 2 months because of laser eye and trying out a worthless workout routine. lost 7 pounds in peru so i’ve been eating quite badly actually. gaining my weight back but it’s coming as fat. i’m not too concerned though, but i need to stop eating junk food. another goal i need to work on.

final goal. hard to say. i got promoted this year but no raise because of a salary freeze. i have my 2 year review tomorrow actually, 1 month late. i will push for a raise even if there is a freeze since i was promoted. we’ll see how this goes.

a month is a long time and i think a lot of things will happen by the time we hit july. stay tuned.

peace in the middle east

i went to see an apartment today for a second showing. for some reason the owner’s soon-to-be-wife was asking me where i was from. she thought i looked like i have some middle eastern in me. i found that odd. that was a first. sometimes some people think i’m a mix of something, other times people can see i’m full chinese. guess it depends on the person. i don’t really mind being viewed as mix though since society seems to think mix is good

as for the place. i’m thinking of putting an offer down on it. it’s in downtown vancouver and very close to my work and other necessities for living. the only qualms i have is when i was leaving the second showing another person was leaving his unit on the same floor. he said he didn’t really like the building. he also said he was in real estate and never showed the building…

so i’m a bit torn, but i am planning on lowballing them. their asking price is way too high. if i can get it for cheaper, why not? oh another bad sign, when i was leaving another unit was blasting their music so loud i could hear it in the hallway. within the unit though i couldn’t hear anything.

i’m going to walk around the building tomorrow night and mull it over. anyone have any thoughts?

peru peru i see you

so at the end of the trip i came home and weighed myself a few days later. i had lost 7 pounds. i’ve been eating furiously since and gained about 2-3 back. i’m not sure if that’s water weight or what. but i’ve been eating a lot of fried things lately. good bye 6 pack

the long and detailed peru recap for your reading pleasure. you know you wanna click it…

moving!

i’m moving out of my place in 2 weeks.

i’ll be moving back with my parents temporarily until i find a new place. i’m a bit nervous about moving back after over 3 years on my own. i don’t know how long i’ll last. hopefully for at least a month. i don’t really see myself going anywhere until july-ish.

peru recap post is coming…

i am sad

there are many reasons for people to be sad. but today i am sad for mainly one reason.

the canucks

i believed. when they lost game 5 it was upsetting, but i shrugged it off mostly. they’ll come back in the next one. i’ll attend game 7 and my luck will cause them to win.

alas, i didn’t have the chance to put my undefeated record to the test.

perhaps next year. i hate saying that.