So for the last week and a half, I’ve been going out to eat with friends and family for quite a few times.

Last Monday after work, I drove out to Renfrew station and picked up Carrie to head to Kefi to eat. Although we left at 6 from the station it wasn’t until 6:45 that we arrived at the restaurant because of traffic. Food was good and we ordered lamb roll as well as a greek appetizer. It’s a pity that the restaurant is quite empty (as usual) despite the fact that it’s quite close to Silvercity and that the food is decent for a reasonable price (I wouldn’t say it’s cheap though-according to Carrie, the most cheap Greek food in Vancouver with big portions would probably be at Stephos, Robson street). Overall it was nice catching up with Carrie and she gave me my belated birthday present, a hand-drawn glass jar with really cute beadings inside. Thank you Carrie.

Then on Tuesday night after work I headed over to my aunt’s place by West 11th Ave and ate a home cooked dinner made by my mom (haha this is a little humorous because you’d think I’d be eating my aunt’s cooking, but instead I still eat my mom’s ) and the three of us enjoyed dinner while watching television and listening to my aunt share about her Egypt trip the month before.

The rest of the week flew by so fast that I couldn’t manage to catch up, and by Saturday afternoon I was already wrapping my present for my dear little Caryl and getting ready to attend her “princess party”. Basically my cousin rented the club house at my place for the afternoon and hired a Disney Princess (Sleeping Beauty) to come entertain the kids. It was an all girl’s party and it was really cute seeing all the little girls dressed up as princesses. Caryl was the happiest of them all and by the end she told me this was her happiest birthday ever because she thought the cake was “the best cake she ever had” and that she “got to see a real princess”. I’m not sure when she’ll come to realize that this was all planned but I suspect that at her age at this moment, the hired princess was as true as it can be. And I’m glad for that because kids should remain kids until they are ready to be adults.

Sunday night after work I headed over to Patrick’s dinner and although I didn’t like the sitting plan (it was really hard to talk to anyone), I was happy to see a few people and I enjoyed the food overall (expensive though!). Coleen and I shared the slow-cooked baby bones with personalized sides as well as a calamari for appetizer, with the total amounting to roughly $27. I could probably order a lot of food to eat at California Sushi for two at that prize (lol I’m starting to get cheaper and cheaper now).

Yesterday was my mom’s first treatment for her Hep C and so I took a day off from the Aquarium. Regardless of the details I just hope that the side effects will dissipate and that my mom can continue on with the treatment with successful results. Prayers prayers prayers. Crossing my fingers.
:
:
:
Sometimes I just hate how I never had and never will have that happy family that friends around me have. And every time I think about it my heart sort of hurts a bit. Sure I know maybe one or two friends who could tell me that I’m more fortunate than they are but really? Is that true? Unless you’ve been in my shoes I don’t think it’s right to judge. Having said that I’m still glad for what I have at the moment but I also worry about my future.

Happily ever after happily ever after when will I ever find you? Haha.

So this past week has been somewhat more hectic as I tried to study for my CHRP exam quite last minute and actually took the exam just yesterday morning. Right after my exam on the same day I decided to treat myself and went for a walk at IKEA as well as spent some few hours doing non sense items including filling my Jones empty bottle with origami and then sticking a Marie pen into the mess (but hey, it’s art!)

I also had a girl’s night out with Gloria which was pretty much a big highlight of the week. That day after work she came to pick me up (I felt so special since no one has picked me up from work here before and just the feeling of walking out and having a car sitting there with someone inside waving at me makes my heart warm and fuzzy inside-note: must be someone I’m close with). Then off we went to Kinyo where we enjoyed 6 amazingly yummy dishes accompanied with two ginger ale vodka drinks. I can’t remember the 6 dishes names but I remembered how I really enjoyed the Mackerel roll (but oh my it was $12!) as well as the egg pudding. The service was extremely well and the waiter was so attentive that he even asked if my cousin was cold upon seeing her put on her jacket and asked if he needed to close the windows for us. I saw a lot of Japanese couples eating there as well so I’m guessing it serves real authentic Japanese food and is a good dating place to go. Anyhow, my cousin and I had a good talk and caught up with each others lives for quite some time, then headed over to Stanley Park for the ghost train ride.

Needless to say, the ride was really meant for children but somehow because of my puny little heart I still got creeped out by the goblins along the way and I ended up taking some pretty scary photos from my iphone of snow white (she was dancing to a lady gaga song though…)

Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy life when you’re sucked into a routine and everything seems so much more dull and unhappy because you don’t have enough of your own time. But sometimes it just takes a click of the mind and change of perspective and everything can look quite different again.

As my cousin shared with me some of her prior experiences when a loved one passed away, I could totally relate to her and exposed to her my fear of losing people around me too. Just the thought of it hurts me and sometimes I’d get panic attacks when I think of how this this that that could happen to my mom when she’s out in the streets. Too many accidents happen everyday and I pray almost everyday that my mom would be safe.

On a happy note, my cousin reminded me that it’s more important to enjoy and treasure the time I have left with my mom.

So…cheers!

What initially seemed like a long anticipated long weekend has already gone like the wind, and what is left is a few laugh backs at the random lovely moments and a pair of sleepy eyes awaiting for the piles of work for tomorrow (ok, it’s actually not as bad as it sounds ).

Recalling back to last Thursday, I took half a day off to go to the hospital with my mom for a left thyroid biopsy. Though the word biopsy already freaks me out, the whole process was accomplished within half an hour and by 9:30 am, we were already out the door and smiling because of the good weather and because we wanted to eat so badly. So we visited this Chinese restaurant by north road whose name I always forget to have Chinese dim sum, and I tell you, boy was I satisfied when I saw dishes after dishes of food I always love, including beef ball, carrot cake, duck feet, ham Sui gock, and fried sticky rice. That made my day so well I walked into the office in the afternoon saying hello to almost everybody that I saw with a big smile on my face. Oh and I also joined coleen and others at Mr. mikes at night to chat while they ate half off appies which looked very appetizing

Friday marked the beginning of the long weekend but as usual I worked on both Friday evening and Saturday whole day at Kebe. After work on Saturday I joined Sung yan’s gratuation party and was glad I saw a couple of faces I haven’t seen in ages. I was happy for Sung Yan and coleen and particularly happy for the food that night (hint hint notice how my joy is tailored towards food now). I left slightly earlier because I was tired but it just so happened that I slept the latest that night talking with Calvin over the phone.

Sunday I nearly forgot what I did except that I picked up my mom from church and had lunch with her. I also organized some of my items in the closet and decided to visit ikea the next day to purchase some storage boxes. Then I did a practice exam for my CHRP exam prep, but ended up failing it (by 1%!!!) so I’m in a panic mode now with the exam in less than a week’s time.

Then there’s Monday which is like, the best . I slept in until 12, then went to have lunch with mom at wah wing, followed by a trip to ikea, a shopping spree at sephora, dinner at home, and more studying. I’m thankful for all the slack time I had as well as my mom who was in a good mood today. Just plain awesomeness.

I believe photos are a good way to capture of all the moments we each go through in our lives. Someday I’ll definitely look back with a smile to my face at all these journal entries

Yesterday after work I went over to Granville island’s sandbar lounge to meet up with cousin Carmen. Carmen wanted to celebrate my belated birthday with me and suggested that we grab a quick snack and drink from there. Little did I know that she and Jonathon were planning a big feast for me

I arrived late and when I got in I realized I had no idea where the lounge area was and had to ask the front desk for help. Believe it or not it was my first time being inside the restaurant so I wasn’t familiar and probably looked a bit frantic since I was rushed to head out of work.

Carmen sat at a window seat so we got a very good view with wonderful food. I basically ordered the berry quench while Carmen ordered a beer and we shared a pot of mussels with fries. The sauce was Thai and on first bite, I couldn’t help but smile because the taste was so flavorful and mouth watering that I had to almost cover up my mouth from laughing (yup I’m serious about that!) the mussels were soft and tender so I needn’t worry about anything sticking between my teeth, and the fries were really awesome too since they were thin and tasted like hickory sticks.

After the quick one hour bite in which we got to catch up with each other through conversation, we drove over to her place and met up with Jon and Sherman for some chef cooking hahaha. Basically Carmen and Jon cooked the whole dinner while Sherman and I looked through their photobooks, including their Amsterdam trip, Hong Kong, as well as their wedding photos. I’m amazed how quick time passes by because it didn’t seem too long ago that I was sitting on those white chairs looking intently at their exchange of vows. I’m hoping that this day will come for me someday too.

Food was incredibly dabbling with a lobster risotto served fresh, using a boiled lobster with a lobster soup base for steaming the rice. Jon loves to decorate his plates so every plate looks almost as good as top restaurants…or should I say, even better? But I guess you can’t really go wrong after having learned a few lessons of cooking from Italy .

Main course was steak in red wine mushroom sauce. Sides were mini potatoes, sukinis, and red carrots. I’ve never had such small potatoes before so that was a bit fun and the steak was just so sweet, tender, juicy, and cooked just right that once again, just recalling how it tastes like makes my taste bud want to burst.

Lastly, dessert was served by Carmen who made crisp crepe with pear fillings inside. According to Sherman, who rarely gives out good compliments, the crepes were rated “very good”, a standard that is equivalent to Michelin 3 stars in Carmen and Jon’s eyes. Hahaha. Seriously, I really enjoyed last night. It was a lot of fun just laughing and eating together.

Before I left Carmen gave me a small present which was a Marc Jacob keychain holder. It was very pretty and I like the red colour on it. I can’t wait to use it once I have the time to put everything together.

I’m just so blessed to have such wonderful cousins around me who care and love me for who I am

Today work was pretty nice as I got to meet more employees in the company and make myself stand out a bit more. I think I’m getting more used to the environment now so hopefully the rest of the two months will go by quickly! It’s already been a month!

I also received my package from shutterfly containing my photobook that I ordered three weeks ago, and I’m happy to say that I’m quite satisfied by the quality overall. Now I finally have something that is hard copy to keep for my reference of Europe trip….simply AWESOME!!!!

Yesterday at Kebe was an additional fun when Jack and Sandy brought Janice in to play. The sad part was that when Janice saw me and I started walking towards her she actually started running away and screaming “ah mom monster is chasing me!” Lol. I had no clue how I became the monster but it was a fact that I did in her eyes and she would probably call me that every single time I see her from now on. I also got to work with Crystal after not seeing her for so long and read the card that Brenda wrote to us from Hong Kong (it’s the I love you card in the picture below). It was utterly cute and I loved it.

Today is moon cake festival day and although we didn’t have a family dinner with relatives (we did that on Friday night already), mom and I did decide to eat lunch together at the Lucky Gateway restaurant on Austin, which, I hate to say, was a major disappointment. But anyhow the food still looks good and we had a good time talking about random topics.

We received some moon cakes from cousin Vivian last Friday so I’m definitely in the mood right now and actually ate half a moon cake already. Lets hope the calories won’t add up so quickly! Because I do want to eat another one of those Vanilla puddings I bought from Safeway today (at which, by the way, has free recipe cards to take near the vegetable and fruit section!!!)