Yesterday I woke up early to go to church, only to find that I was late and that the service ended early (so I was only there for 30 min). Regardless, I enjoyed listening to the message and truly believe that the bible is the truth. It is historically and prophetically correct, and no matter what this world says, it cannot prove the bible to be wrong, just like how you can not believe in gravity but gravity will somehow let you know that it exists (ex: you can’t float in the air and you fall).

After church I went back home and don’t ask me why but I started mix matching my wardrobe and tried to find a series that I think would suit me. I did this for about 30 min before my mom came home and went up to Gu Gong to eat Korean food. We always like that place despite of the price because we find it quiet and comforting. Actually, given the big portions of the appetizers I don’t think the price is expensive. So yesterday we ordered a Bibimbop as well as a seafood pancake. The pancake was so big I had to take it home and then pack it for lunch today.

Following lunch I decided we should go check out some sales at the mall and went into H&M to look at stuff. I ended up buying a semi formal dress from the sales section for $15, as well as some personal items from lasenza. I also bought myself some lilacs in early celebration for my birthday.

Dinner at night was not bad. We went to the Keg and I shared a black garlic tiger shrimp in cheese sauce and 10 oz prime rib with Wendy C. I forgot what the others ordered but they all looked really convincing to me. The only concern I had was that I remembered the portions being more friendly when mom and I shared and had it split up. So for example, instead of half a twice baked potatoe they’d give us one each. But it would make sense that they actually split the dish up, given the fact that if they don’t everyone will start sharing plates.

A few days before yesterday I received a parcel from Calvin and it contained some very yummy candy from sticky. I’ve always loved stickies so I’m particularly fond of them. There were also night lights and some hand written and drawn cards from him which I absolutely adore.

The girls and I took some snap shots after the dinner. We then talked for a long period of time before we decided to head home.

The future, the future, what holds for the future?

Tomorrow I shall buy myself a birthday cake. A birthday isn’t a birthday without a birthday cake right???

The other day I received an email from Shutterfly letting me know that I have been offered a free 8×8 inch 20 page Hard cover photo book and that all I had to do was pay for the shipping fee. Thinking that it was too good to be true, I clicked into the link and found out that Shutterfly was actually a transformation of Kodak, an account that I originally owned several years ago.  All of my old photos have been transferred to the new account and attached to the website was an extensive and fascinating Photo book creation tool. 

Thinking that it might be fun to create one for free, with a mind set of creating one for my exchange trip last year, I put myself to gear and finished it within two nights.  Now that I finished with my product, I thought I’d share it online and receive another $10 voucher for free to use next time. .  I really like Shutterfly now.  Do you?

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photobook in progress…

Driving through down town makes me feel that I’m in the middle of everything…yet I’m actually in nothing.

I wanted to be early for work today, but instead of ended up right on time and I literally ran with my fob to the door. Not a very good way to start the day I must say. I really hate the traffic and I really hate how I already left home at 7:40am, which meant that I drove for over an hour to get to work. If you ask me, I think Vancouver’s road infrastructures definitely need some improvement. For example, highway no 1 constructions should never occur during peak hours. Neither should the roads only be merged into one lane. That kills. Like. Really.

Tomorrow I’ll try driving another route other than Hastings. Perhaps there’s a better route than that

On my break today I bumped into one of the talk shows for the Belugas. Seriously, those creatures are horribly amazing. The way their bodies move make me wish that I were them. Although all mammals in the Aquarium are rescued creatures from the sea (so they were not captivated, as many people tend to believe), and so they’ve suffered from injuries, in the end they have a beautiful home and live a care free life everyday, being fed by workers and understood by other creatures with them. That, to me, is just simply enjoyable.

If there was nothing in the world for me to care about, I’d be drawing 24/7. I’ll doodle all day and mess around with paint in my hands. I’d make art and hang them all over my walls. And if money wasn’t a concern at all I’d travel all over third world countries to make art with them together. If there’s one thing I’d like to do, it’d be to make one united art piece that the whole world worked on together. But to this point I highly doubt anyone has done anything like this before. At least not all over the world.

Money. Sometimes I’m just so mad at myself. So mad, so mad, so mad :/.

Some people say the first day of work is like entering into a new relationship without knowing much about your partner (actually, I just made that up ). But to a certain extent I think this is the case for every new job because although you’ve done your part of the research about the company and position, you’ve never actually entered into the company and with that comes and excitement and fear. Excitement for the things you’ll learn and fear for the things unknown (including failure). To me, today was that border date.

I originally intended to wake up at 6:30am but after a hard knock and “WAKE UP” call from mom at 6:15, I couldn’t sleep anymore so I decided to take a shower. Had a brief 2 min conversation over the phone with Calvin afterwards, ate my breakfast milk shake, and then headed out the door at 7:15. Believe me my mood wasn’t exactly in good shape by then. For one thing, I was extremely tired and for another I hated the long drive. 1 arrived an hour later at the Aquarium. 8:15. Work starts at 9. So for the next 30 min I tried phoning Calvin again and talked with him for another 10 min, and then read my bible for 15 min. Entered into the reception area at around 8:45, got my parking pass and asked the reception for Nicole, and settled into my seat at 9am sharp. Orientation went from 9-12, followed by lunch with Nicole and Siu, and another orientation from 1:30-2. Read the employee policies for 2 hours and then got an early dismissal at 4.

So my first day was really really slack.

But I found my first fault at work already. It’s hard to make new friends without being initiative. And quite frankly, it’s hard when you’re in a cubicle setting and everyone is already working over the phone or occupied with their work when you enter in. Maybe I’m having the first day “newbie” freak out but I hope tomorrow and the remainder of this week will be better as I familiarize myself with the work environment and people. I can’t imagine myself working in the HR department if I’m not even people-oriented enough in my workplace.

But a few happy things for today:

1. I got a new Vancouver aquarium mug and two coffee vouchers
2. I saw the Belugas and sea otters again . I also saw the penguins for the first time!
3. I got a tour around the 4 levels of Aquarium and it is amazing. They have a library with books dating back to the 1800s! Imagine touching a book 100+ years older than you!
4. I read the perks that I get to receive
5. I drove home safely without crashing into anything

Tomorrow I shall bring a few more things to work that will help decorate my beautiful cubicle. Though a little on the loud side, I’m sure I’ll be able to cope with it.

Besides my lazy legs that won’t step into the gym today, I’ve been pretty much accomplishing everything on my to do list today. I went to suzuki dealership or car maintenance, where I spent the 2.5 hours they were doing to service studying my HR material at McDonalds, went to JYSK, Michaels, and the bank, went home for lunch, and then went up to SFU to help out with the GPS event.

Needless to say, I was quite happy to see a lot of international students today and got to chat and mingle for a bit as I was helping out with the Canadian Photobooth. Seeing how the students walk in reminds me of my experience walking into Lund University as an exchange student more than a year ago. I remember the excitement and the nerve racking experience walking up to people to make friends, but I quickly adapted to the social norm and developed long lasting friendships that still have an impact on me today. In particular, while helping out at the front desk I met a guy from Singapore and it totally aroused my Friend-sickness (if there even is this word) for my friends in Singapore. I don’t think words could describe my feeling at that point.

I also met a girl from Lund university and it’s great to find out that Swedish exchange students are finding Vancouver an attractive place to be. Norway people seemed a little bit more reserved though I must say and the Australians are just laid back as usual, enjoying themselves in small groups. But overall everybody seemed to enjoy themselves and no one looked left out from what I saw.

Many students asked me if I wanted to go for another exchange if i could and my response was “of course!” I mean, why wouldn’t I? And it’s always fun seeming more knowledgeable just because I’m a seniour and have gone through many of the things so many of these students are going through right now.

Oh dear, I’m starting to miss school already!

Sometimes I do want to make my day feel accomplished but sometimes I just can’t remember exactly what it is that makes my day. And today is one of those days. Besides talking to Calvin in the morning and then working a 7 hour shift, I haven’t been doing a lot of other things except eat…eat…and…that’s right! EAT!!!

So right now I’m reading my textbook and trying to understand the material to the best of my ability. Despite the fact that I’ve read this textbook once before, I’ve already forgotten everything and with a pre-diagnostic score of 85%, maybe I need to work harder to aim for 95.

Can’t wait until Sunday!
I just love my nail polish

Today mom and I went out to downtown in the morning to check out the last day of Aritzia warehouse sale at the Vancouver convention centre. Because it was a holiday, so I managed to park at the easy park parking lot by West Cordova street for a mere $7.00 whole day, much better than what you have to pay on weekdays. When we arrived at 10:45am, there were already a lot of people in the warehouse so after checking in our bags, we quickly skimmed through the aisles to find the best deals.

Despite the fact that the clothing was marked down at least 1/3 of the original pricing, with tank tops selling at $9.99 and other clothing pieces at 19.99, $39.99, and above, I couldn’t find anything that I thought was worth the buy and ended up walking out almost bare handed. I did see a fall jacket I was interested in but with a price of $99 I wasn’t sure I was in the position to purchase it. (maybe some people will think I’m being too thrifty since I’m actually comparing normal clothing to Aritizia clothing that tends to fall under the expensive category) . Luckily for Aritizia, in the end while walking out I managed to spot a bunch of good quality laptop bags selling for $14.99 and bought myself one (so they didn’t lose a valuable customer like me ) .

Afterwards, mom and I walked towards McDonalds on burrard and she enjoyed a wonderful McChicken meal (while I watched her eat because I was upset over some conflict we had while walking there. Sometimes I wonder why we always have so much conflicts. And it frustrates me).

Next up was Sears at pacific center . We practically scanned the whole 6 floors including the underground floor for best buys since it’s closing down for Nordstrom, and I managed to purchase some wonderful silk skinny stockings for a mere $1.49. Talk about thrifty . And after the wonderful Sears experience mom spotted a yellow backpack (yes my mom wears backpacks and yes she loves yellow) at Urban Outfitters for $20 versus it’s original pricing of $70 and I managed to eat a veggie taco burrito at taco bell for $2.49.

Lastly, we walked around granville street to take in the last day of the Taiwan festival and noticed how there were lots of food stalls in conjunction with freebies from commercial service stalls. As I walked across the street a friend who was working at the telus booth spotted me and gave me two gotta Getta gund plushies for free. They’re totally adorable and I have them stuck to my bed frame now. Let’s see how long lasting they can be.

The walk back to the car was tiring while carrying the few things we bought, but overall everything was good (the weather was nice, we got to see a lot, and I got freebies and discounts ) and we ended up eating at the House of Tofu Soup at north road for dinner (which, I think, has the best tofu soup ever!!!)

So all is well and well is all

And to add on to my mom’s day she got two souvenirs from her friend and friend’s daughter: a yellow umbrella and necklace that helps cool your body down while cooking. :O amazing yes???

Now back to work tomorrow