The reality is…
Shit…
Sometimes.
And other times…
It’s simply awesome.
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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.
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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!!!)

Last night I got to meet up with Leo and Wendy after work to eat at Gau Bee at north road. Despite the fact that it’s not very well known, the food there is quite decent and the prizes are very reasonable. One can easily be filled up with food for under $15. We ordered a tofu soup combo for two, a sushi roll that consisted of both tuna and salmon (may favourite!) as well as a rice and noodle combo that had both a kimchi noodle and a dried soya sauce noodle. I really liked the texture of the noodles.

It’s been a while since I’ve met Leo so it was a good talk filled with lame jokes and laughter as we ventured through sensitive or stupid topics. I haven’t laughed so much that it definitely cheered me up from the day before and brought back some energy in me to joke.

Unfortunately I still woke up super tired this morning so I was feeling grumpy the whole afternoon. But after my visit to the seat otters and having gotten two free passes to the ghost train at Stanley park later in October, I’m much more enthusiastic and came home to find caryl and rhodery wanting to play with me. Caryl wanted to show me her rainbow nails. They were beautiful.

Life is filled with ups and downs. And sometimes you get so tired that you just want someone to hold you and tell you that they love you and understand you. But the truth is, reality most likely wont provide you with that comfort and probably will continue to push you to exceed your limits. And that’s when you truly grow and shine (ex: Calvin always reminds me multiple necessary qualities that I must possess ).

Maybe I’m not making any sense in this entry because I’m already in my bed as I’m typing this, but either way I’m glad for what I have. May I continue to grow and learn.

Without a doubt, time flies. Time flies so quickly that I can’t seem to remember when the leaves started falling or how it ended up being Wednesday again when the week seemed to have just started.

Sooner or later I’ll probably find myself getting more fat or having physical symptoms since I’ve stopped exercising for a while after work started. Oh boy.

But looking on the positive side I try to remind myself that every single day I’m learning some new and even though I have a small beginning perhaps its training me for what’s coming up next. Speaking of which, this is what I read in today’s devotion (it’s been a while since I’ve read the one on my iPhone):

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The Danger of Jealousy

Anger caused by jealousy is one of the first negative emotions mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 4 tells us that Cain killed his brother Abel because he was jealous to the point of being angry. Although this is one of the more extreme results of jealousy, it reminds us of how dangerous jealousy can be.

In today’s society many people feel their status is dependent on their job or position in the church. Because of this mindset, they’re afraid someone else may get promoted ahead of them. Jealousy causes them to try to be important in the eyes of man.
If you have this problem, understand that God has you where you are for a reason. He knows what’s in your future, and He may have you in training for it right now.

Don’t despise the days of small beginnings. Our rewards come from obeying the specific callings He’s placed on our lives, not from jealously trying to achieve things that you think will impress people. Don’t let jealousy grow in you. Trust God to place you where you need to be.

Prayer Starter: God, jealousy is dangerous and I don’t want to have any part of it. My status isn’t dependent on worldly positions and recognition. All I need is You.

Sometimes I just feel everybody just like following each other’s footstep. For one thing, even though I’m not rushed after getting off of the west coast in the mornings, once I head out the door of the train I’m bombarded with people who storm like crazy, forcing me to speed up with my walk also. In life, I feel the same way too. Maybe I’m not exactly in need or wanting to walk a certain way, but because of the people around me I’m forced to follow.

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According to the book “Think and Grow rich”, people who succeed are persistent, ambitious, dream big, and act differently than other people. May I have the wisdom to dream big, work harder, think and act differently.

Yesterday was one of those days where you know you have lots to do but you can’t seem to motivate yourself to accomplish everything on the list.

I woke up at 9am, talked with Calvin for a while, then got ready to head out for breakfast with mom and go to the dentist. Originally we were headed towards Copa but then ended up going to white spot because Copa was so full and we thought there wasn’t much point to waiting in line since we wanted breakfast and by the time we were at Copa it was already 11am.

It was my first time eating breakfast at white spot and to my surprise, then actually serve brunch which was very appetizing and with a reasonable prize. I ordered the pulled pork burritos which came with two pieces of flat baked potatoe as well as a large burritos cut in half filled with green onions and amazing pulled pork. The prize came to be $10.99. On the side were three sauces: avocado with corn, sour cream, as well as taco sauce. To me it was a very good lunch. Mom ordered their blueberry waffle for $7.99 and all I could say was that the waffle was very fresh and thick with fresh made blueberries

I made it in time for my dental appointment and had my teeth cleaned after three year’s time. Yes that’s right! I’m so freaked out by dentists in general that I try to avoid seeing them until in times of need. And this time it’s mainly because I’d like to get my wisdom teeth examined and see if I’ll need to take them out. Well, it turned out that I’ll have to consult with a specialist about my three wisdom teeth haha. Hope I don’t have to spend too much on pulling them out!

When I came back home initially I was really motivated to study but what started from a sofa comfort turned out to be a sleeping episode. Dot dot dot. When I awoke it was already time to head out to a friend’s wedding dinner and I quickly got dressed up in a flower bloom dress I got from H&M last week for a mere $15. If you ask me I think it’s a really good deal considering how the original prize is $30 and you can’t tell that it’s cheap quality.

All I can say about the wedding dinner was that the food was really good and that I was stuffed to the max. We ate at Golden Harvest restaurant situated on 4818 Main Street. A simple look at the food they serve should be enough to motivate anyone to go try. I’m not sure how the normal dishes they serve are like but I especially liked their lobster as well as bao Yu. . I’m not so keen on the shark fin and really do oppose to the capture of sharks for the sake of shark fins, although its been a tradition of the Chinese culture to eat them during special events.

Rita and Eric’s was quite simple but sweet in the sense that they shared a very fun an unique love story, and from all the games and interactions that occurred last night, one can tell how “fun” this couple is. Of course, with every married couple comes a unique love story of their own, and I hope that some day I can have a unique story of my own to share too.

By now, I’m two days late in posting this but its always late than never right?  Memorable moments come and go so it’s definitely important to keep track of them so as to not lose sight of them when I need them in the future.

I still remember that morning when I was cramming like crazy to get to the train station so as to not miss the West Coast Express.  I probably looked a bit frantic to people but fortunately, I managed to secure a seat after someone left their spot at the Port Moody station.  There were a bunch of ladies sitting beside me who were laughing away like crazy.

Work was normal but in the afternoon I managed to have lunch with both Sue, Bratt, Ann, Jenn, and Jan and then had a walk through the park with Jenn and Dana.  Came back to the office and worked on some stuff before Nicole called me in to Lori’s office to have a “meeting”.  Turns out Nicole bought me some cupcakes for birthday and they wrote me a mini birthday card which I have now somewhere tucked in my drawer.  I was quite happy for the mini surprise.  We talked for a bit, and then I went out and worked a little more before I packed my stuff to leave.  I couldn’t make it for the 4:50 train so I ended up riding the 5:30 and arrived at Coquitlam at 6.  Rushed over to Milestones where I had a fast but nice dinner with my mom and cousins.  Caryl and Rodery were there too so all the while they were very excited and kept on taking pictures of me and mom. 

Apparently Milestones has a birthday deal.  As long as you registered online for their deal with your birth date information and bring the coupon they send you via email with your identification to the restaurant, they will provide you with a free entree.  The only condition is that it’s on your actual birthday and that you bring three other friends along who order three actual entrees.  But common, it’s still worth it right?

Dessert came to be my birthday cake, which I ordered from Dairy Queen.  But as I was eating the oh so delicious cake, I couldn’t help but remember how it was like last year.  And I missed it dearly.  I truly miss my friends from exchange and remembered how they spent so much time to create a mini celebration for me.  Karen and Bonnie took the time to create me a cheesecake as well as Bernia’s fruit cake.  Those times were unforgettable and will forever remain in my little tiny heart