finally, getting a yellow lab!

PADS had a last minute switch-a-roo, and i'm getting a puppy this weekend! i wasn't actually supposed to get one until the x-mas holidays, so i'm looking forward to this! tomorrow night i'll be picking up silky, a 5-month old yellow lab puppy. she came in at the same time as fraser, leon and skeena. now i will have puppy-sat the entire bunch :-)

i'm very excited to have a yellow lab.....it'll be almost like having puppy keah again! except not keah. here's keah in her more youthful days....

meet......supertrain!

we have snow
we have ppl who can't drive in the snow
we have a public transit system that is busting at the seams
and now we have......SUPERTRAIN!

regular train = 4 cars
new accordian train = about 1/3 shorter than regular train
long accordian train = 2 of the above linked together, almost the length of the station
supertrain = regular train + 2 cars! covers the entire length of the station

good lordy! i nearly fell over when i saw SUPERTRAIN this a.m. i actually got stuck waiting 2 supertrains and 1 long accordian train before i could actually get on at broadway - i just wasn't standing in the right spots :P

all i can say is i'm glad i left work at 4 p.m. today. on the millenium line, gilmore and brentwood stations were having switch problems, so there were some delays. then at 5 p.m., the expo line shut down. still no explanation as to exactly why....something to do with some sort of power? during the 6 p.m. news, the situation seemed to get resolved and the trains were back online.

i tried to take a picture of the different trains tonight, but due to the darkness and the snowy conditions, they didn't really turn out.












i promise to incorporate something non-transit-related in my next post. well, i'll try. transit is such an easy subject right now.....everyone's on it, everyone's complaining about it, i might as well blog it :-)

it's winter, ppl!

ok, i've seen 2 things that have disturbed in just as many days.

last night when i was getting off the skytrain, there was a young girl, probably in her early 20's, walking ahead of me. i noticed that she was wearing low-rise jeans, had pink underwear on underneath, and her sweater jacket only covered her mid-back. so there was a lot of exposed skin. was she not cold? and seriously, i didn't need to see her butt-crack, but as i'm looking at the stairs down, i can't help but see it in my line of sight :P ugh.

today the weather ppl said it dropped to -5, but was more like -9 with the windchill. brrrr, that's cold! after work i was heading to richmond, so i changed into my jeans, top, long-sleeve jacket, and my taiga jacket. i also had my new good-traction shoes and my gloves. i was all set for the cold and snow-covered roads. then i stepped outside, and saw something that disturbed me. a young asian girl walking around d/t in a mini-skirt. no tights, no leggings, just her mini-skirt and her bare legs. she did have shoes on - i think proper shoes, not sandals. and she had a sweater of some sort. seriously, that's just asking for pneumonia! even if she were en route to work somewhere, you think she'd be able to carry a change of clothes or something!

meanwhile everyone else around vancouver is putting on as many layers as they can. east-coasters can laugh away at us now, cuz they're sitting at a balmy 16 degrees! is this global warming?! everything is ass-backwards!

and yes, skytrain is still a mess. i barely made it onto my trains this a.m. thankfully the richmond bus was fairly civilized and i got a good seat for napping :-)

lots of snow

ah yes, the snow! first, it was the torrential downpour, causing high levels of turbidity in our water. now, vancouver has been hit with an early winter, and it's virtually brought the city to a stand-still. we are ill-prepared for such weather, and particularly now since it's arrived so early. vancouverites are fortunate ppl....usually the snow stays on the mountains, but when it comes to town, good grief! i think everyone east of the rockies is laughing at us!

on this fine morning, i wasn't sure whether i should leave early for work, or just at my usual time. turns out i could've been early, except i couldn't find my gloves or my scarf. then i wasn't sure which shoes to wear - doesn't really matter cuz none of my shoes are winter-worthy. bottom line, i got to the skytrain station at my usual time. of course, i should've known better that the train would be PACKED! and since it travels slowly when there's snow on the tracks, it took even longer to get to commercial drive. and then i had to transfer.....argh! my god, there were a lot of ppl at the station! skytrain thinks they're pretty smart.....less frequent trains, but make them longer. they figured that since a lot of schools were closed, a lot of ppl would stay home and off the roads. but then there are other ppl who have to get to work but aren't comfortable driving in the snow, so they take transit. let's just say i was very glad to get on the next train that came through broadway!

since i wore my regular work shoes, and nearly pk'd about 10 times outside, i decided winter shoes were on my shopping list. so i left work a bit early, headed to sport mart and bought myself some winter hiker-type shoes. they've got good traction - i didn't slip at all!

and then came the dreaded commute home - turns out it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. i did have to wait 2 trains before i could get on at burrard, but then transferring at broadway/commercial was pretty painless. i even managed to get a seat :-)

and now, on a happier note, the boil water advisory has been lifted for the rest of the lower mainland! yah! except, our water at home is still a bit on the brown side, so i'm going to stick to bottled water a bit longer.

ahhhh, tired after a long day of shopping :-)

at the crack of 5 a.m. this morning, my alarm went off. this was the day we'd been waiting for.....priscilla, vanessa and i were heading down to the states for a day of shopping enjoyment (or shopping hell). i stopped at starbies for my dopio espresso, tossed it back, and then we were on our sleepy way. after a 15 minutes wait to cross the border, we found ourselves at tulalip promptly at 8 a.m. (just as i had predicted). within 2 minutes, priscilla bumped into a co-worker. within 5 minutes, we had recognized yvonne (geoff & sunny's co-MC at their wedding) but since we don't personally know her, didn't say hi, and then we all recognized another guy, danny, from ubc commerce (but again, didn't know him well enough to say hi). and then a little later at banana, pris and i ran into chris & sylvia, sandra's brother and sis-in-law! i guess the only ppl we didn't see were vic and rita. such a small little world we live in :-)

the 3 of us all managed to buy some items.....i was very jealous when vanessa found the kenneth cole sandals i had bought in september, for approx. $50 US, which were now on sale for $20 US! (regular price was $65 US - sweet deal!) banana had 40% off the entire store. i had dressed for the occasion.....long black skirt, slide on sandals, and a tank top with a long-sleeve top to cover up - this outfit eliminated my need for a change room.....smart, eh?! i therefore saved myself at least 20-30 minutes at banana, however, it was almost for nothing, because i always forget that fall/winter aren't my seasons, so i never buy much. i'm more spring/summer. oh well, i still managed to get 2 tops for $18 each :-) i was also looking for a deal for my hubby.....so i hit nike. i made it just in time for the additional 20% savings so i actually bought him a short-sleeve dri-fit top for $8.29 pre-tax! whoo-hoo! i think van and pris fared a bit better at tulalip than me....both of them walked out with great deals on purses/workbags.

anyhoo, the warnings we were provided with turned out to be false alarms.....the outlet wasn't as busy as we were told it would be, and we were actually done by 11 a.m. it's all about the team-work. before heading out we had all highlighted the stores we wanted to shop at, plotted our route by quandrants, assisted each other by lining up to pay while the other shopped, and split up as necessary. this clever tactic gave us lots of time to hit bellevue square for MORE shopping.

we discovered that the mall didn't have quite the thanksgiving sale we were expecting. in fact, pris and i didn't buy anything. van bought a few items, but they weren't exactly on sale. i think we spent about 1/2 hour at the lego store counting flower petals, stems and bushes for roger's lego collection. the development of this garden is now being dedicated to pris and me :-) macy's and nordstrom's did have some decent sales, but nothing we were in the market for. van tried really hard to find some work clothes, to no avail :(

by 4 p.m. we were leaving bellevue square, and en route to burlington to hit the coach outlet and nine west. i perked up at coach when i found a great deal on a suede handbag :-) then it got even better when i found a pair of sling-backs at nine west for only $30! they look exactly like the black shoes i bought in september at tulalip, except they have a sling-back heel, instead of just a regular heel. why mess around with something that works, right?

and of course, then we hit cascade mall, for bath & body works - their anti-bacterial collection was 3 for $10 (good deal!), instead of $5 for $25 (or whatever the deal is). and van checked out another toy store for roger's collection....such a good wife! then it was over to target for some other stuff - i'm not sure what - but van bought yet more lego for roger, it was a sweet deal again - regular price $99 US, on sale for $49 US, and at home it actually costs $150 CDN! so i think roger's the real winner of this trip!

after 11 hours, we were finally on our way home. yikes! we were just about at the last exit before the border, when all we saw were red tail-lights. i quickly changed the radio to the news and we heard that it was a 2.5 hour wait northbound at the peace arch! crazyness! we were fortunate enough to be able to get onto the exit, turned around, and headed to the truck crossing. ironically, when we got there, the wait was only 10 minutes. we were pretty honest about declaring our purchases, and i was more than a little shocked when the border guard waved us through, without even looking at our passports. i guess 3 asian girls look pretty honest :-) since we didn't have to pay tax on our purchases, it turned out to be a great day in the states. well done, girls!

next year, we're heading to portland for tax-free shopping! whoo-hoo!

and now, chris is home and he needs to eat dinner. so my sleep will have to wait a little bit longer, but that's ok, cuz tomorrow i plan on sleeping in!

going shopping!

a whole day of nothing but shopping!
bring on the sales!

Dine Out Vancouver - It's Coming!

keep your eyes peeled for the participating restaurants and their menus! yum yum :-)


Vancouver Announces Dine Out Vancouver™ 2007
Presented by Visa
January 19 - February 4, 2007

Tourism Vancouver invites you to experience the city's outstanding food and wine scene during Dine Out Vancouver 2007, presented by Visa. From January 19 to February 4, visitors can enjoy a special three-course dinner at one of Vancouver's hottest restaurants for $15, $25 or $35 per person, complemented by fabulous BC VQA wine pairing suggestions. The list of participating restaurants and menus will be posted online during the first week of January.

seared salmon on coconut spinach

recipe by donna hay - off the shelf, cooking from the pantry.
i highly recommend this recipe....not only was it super easy to make, but it's absolutely delicious!

4 x 180g (6 oz) salmon fillets

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 small red chillies, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons asian chilli paste

2 cups coconut cream

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 bunches spinach, stems removed

place the salmon in a shallow dish with the ginger, sesame oil and soy. allow to marinate for 10 minutes on each side. heat a frying pan over high heat and cook the salmon for 1 minute on each side. (personally, if i'm cooking fish for dinner, i like it to be cooked all the way through, so i did about 3-4 minutes per side.)

to make the coconut spinach, place the garlic, chillies and chilli paste in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes. add the cocnut cream and lemon juice and simmer for 4 minutes. add the spinach and toss until wilted.

to serve, place some spinach on each plate and top with a piece of salmon. serves 4.

puppies in the news

yesterday afternoon i rushed home to watch Global National w/Kevin Newman. two of my co-workers had told me that PADS would be in the news. the gist of the story was that some assistance dogs don't receive the same type of treatment that the blind guide dogs do. because assistance dogs take the form of many breeds, sizes and colours, a lot of people don't think that a small dog (like jingle, the papillon) can serve any purpose, and that they're just dogs who ppl try to pass off as assistance dogs. it's more obvious to see that a person in a wheelchair has a disability, and that the assistance dog accompanying them serves a meaningful purpose - like opening and closing doors and picking up items from the floor.

when you see a smaller dog walking with an able-bodied person, people tend to be dubious about them. however, these people might be hearing-impaired. these little dogs make great "ears" because they're small and able to jump up on their owner and get their attention to the noises around them. you certainly wouldn't want an 80-lb labrador retriever jumping up on you to tell you the phone is ringing!

in the news report, it also discussed animal groups coming together to find a way to have a national guideline for the treatment of service animals, rather than having different laws in each province. because these animals are in-training, or are fully trained, they should have the same rights and privileges that able-bodied people receive. restaurants, concert venues, shopping malls and hotels are prime examples where you and i would go to on a regular basis, and not think twice about "are we going to be accepted?" "will we be able to access everything?", but for people with service animals it's a different story. since leon and i were rejected from the korean restaurant, i've never taken a service animal to an asian restaurant. the fear of being rejected still haunts me to this day - the fact that people are so afraid, ignorant and intolerant towards these helping animals seriously disturbs me.

just this past weekend in my own condo building, i actually had people NOT get in the same elevator as me because they were afraid of fraser. or at the skytrain, when i got into the elevator with other people, they would actually squeal (in fear!) and move back and cower in the corner. or my frustrating experience going home last night.....i managed to get a seat (right by the door) on the skytrain, fraser curled up under the seat, and i protected his nose and paws with my feet. we have to get off at broadway, and the train was super packed. the doors opened, and i started to get up and wait for the other people around me to get off. then i got fraser up, and we started for the door. unfortunately people are so inconsiderate and no one moved for us! fraser was a little nervous because there was no clear path for him to exit, and i was starting to choke him because there was nowhere for us to go. people are actually getting ON the train, and i'm still trying to get OFF! so what did i do? well, i barrelled my way through with my big backpack and fraser in tow. i couldn't believe that people, who were blocking my exit, were getting exasperated with ME. i wasn't going to stay on this stinking train for another stop! besides, the sign on the trains say to let passengers get OFF first, before getting on. i thought i was fairly polite by waiting for others to pass us first, which is also what i do when we get on the train. but next time i'll know better!!

i've been on a puppy-post lately, so i've changed my slide show to my vacations :-) something happy! unlike my mood yesterday :P

busy, busy, busy

busy busy weekend! on saturday afternoon, fraser and i headed over to the The Bay at Richmond Centre where PADS was selling their 2007 calendars and holiday cards. the puppies had a great day together - fraser hung out with his brother leon and sister silky; caper, a 5 month old chocolate lab had TROUBLE written all over her face; jingle, a 1-year old papillon was bouncing around; and 7 month old yellow lab, robo, was the big boy of the bunch - i estimated him to be at least double the size of fraser! the afternoon was a great success, and almost all of the calendars were sold!

by the end of the afternoon all of the pups were fast asleep at our feet :-) so sweet! for dinner, we headed over to boston pizza. since i knew i'd be on my feet all afternoon, i was in no mood to cook :-) fraser was an absolute angel - he was so tired and just went right to sleep. this guy loves to cuddle. if you're sitting on the floor, he will just curl up right against you and rest his head on your lap.



sunday morning i had fraser all over the place :-) we headed over to costco cuz i had some shopping i needed to do. then we hit metrotown for some more errands. he was one tired little puppy by the time we got back home! worked well for me, cuz we took a 2 hour nap together :-) i was supposed to cook dinner on sunday, but i had a killer headache, so we went to earls. it was a busy day for sports fans....we caught the last 7 minutes of the grey cup game, and then in the car en route to v-ball, we were listening to the canucks game. also on this sunday, it was the release of nintendo wii and there was a huge lineup outside EB.

i think fraser has been my favourite puppy so far. regardless of the situation you put him in, he's totally comfortable and laid back. he doesn't pick up stray leaves that blow by, he doesn't pick up any garbage along the way, and he doesn't jump up on people. however, i did notice that he doesn't like puddles. he would go out of his way to avoid the smallest little puddles around. when we were walking through the grass and he hit a wet patch, he'd lift his legs high off the ground and walked gingerly back to safety. such a funny little guy! i hope to have him again soon :-)

pretty fancy, eh?

well, i saw a blog with a slideshow on it, so i thought i'd do the same thing, too :-) i'm going to change it every once in a while, as i take more photos or get inspired by something.

obviously, right now it's all about the PADS puppies! my 2 other ideas in the works are my cooking artwork and vacations i've taken. i think i'll rotate those 3 ideas every week. variety is the spice of life!

*******

anyhoo, burnaby is still under a boil water advisory, so this morning chris and i headed over the zellers and bought 90 (individual size) bottles of water. i thought 2 cases would be ok, but then we opted for a 3rd. after all, it's good to be prepared especially since the rain is going to start again tonight/tomorrow :P plus, i have fraser with us this weekend, and the puppies need to have safe water as well. the concern for them is higher since they just got over an infection and we don't want them to have a relapse!

WARNING! watch out for the cranky people!

so in case you've been hibernating for the past 24 hours, most people in the greater vancouver area already know about the boil water advisory. what most people don't think about is their local coffee shop or restaurant that they frequent. starbucks has stopped serving hot beverages, or anything with ice in it. they're warning customers that they don't have the proper filtering system to clean the water, and their water/milk doesn't reach the boiling point for long enough to meet the minimum requirements.

some tim horton's have also followed suit, and might not be serving their regular deli food, since the veggies now have to be washed with clean water. this also affects fountain beverages. depending on what newslink you follow, different warnings are being advised. i read somewhere this a.m., that now fruits and vegetables need to be washed with bottled water. brushing your teeth is also following this same "rule".

BE SAFE OUT THERE!

Coffee shops and restaurants affected by boil water advisory
November 17, 2006 - 7:15 am By: News1130 Staff

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - For most of us, it's just a hassle but for coffee drinkers this morning, it's almost like the end of the world. At the Broadway Tim Horton's, coffee, tea, fountain pop and sandwiches aren't being served because of the GVRD boil water advisory. There is a sign posted on the front door to warn people about the contaminated water problem but it's still catching people off guard. Many people didn't know there was an advisory and they're upset they can't get their morning cup of coffee.

Bottled and canned drinks are the only beverages being sold at many Tim Horton's locations. However, there are reports some locations are using bottled water for their brews.
Dr. Patricia Daly, Medical Health Officer with Vancouver Coastal Health says high levels of turbidity is the reason why people should only be drinking bottled water or water that has been boiled for a full minute. The torrential downpours have led to this unprecedented advisory. Contaminated water may cause stomach illnesses.

Collette O'Reilly, the Manager of Health and Safety with the Vancouver School Board, is asking parents to send their children to school today with bottled water and drinks. She says school drinking fountains have signs posted on them saying 'do not drink.'

Keep in mind water filters won't work and it's best to avoid all tap water if you can, even if it looks clear. The advisory does not pertain to those in the Fraser Valley communities like Abbotsford, Mission, and Chilliwack.

no water

first it was "no words", now it's "no water". i still have a brita-full of pre-rain water, but i think chris is gonna use it for v-ball tonight :P

because of the boil water advisory, and because boiling it doesn't get rid of the brown colour (i'm all about aesthetics), i've taken the expensive route and decided to buy bottled water. well, GOOD LUCK FINDING WATER!

i tried zellers first - nothing! i next i went to london drugs - nothing! but wait! as i'm about to leave the store, the employees are carting out a load of more water....whoo-hoo! unfortunately i have no buggy and i'm shopping solo, so i can only manage a small 12-pack of water. all of a sudden the hoards came crashing in, and in 2 minutes the water was gone!

then i had to grocery shop at superstore and i figured i could buy more water there, since i had a loonie for a buggy - but nothing! they actually ran out of water for their refillable jugs. haha! i thought about hitting costco, but i was getting hungry for dinner, and i was running low on gas, so i hit chevron, where i bought 2 1-litre bottles of water.

so now i'm going to savour every drop of my pristine water and hope that all the stores re-stock their shelves overnight!

i should be very thankful that i didn't lose power last night like my parents did in richmond. they were without electricity for 24 hours, poor family :( it got me to thinking last night.....what would i do without power? i'd have no computer, no internet, no cable, no lights, NO FUN! it doesn't help either that chris worked until 11 p.m. yesterday, so i wouldn't have even had anyone to talk to! at least i have my cell phone, but if my battery died, i'd be a little screwed.

hmmm, that reminds me. i wanted to buy another flashlight.....better do that tomorrow.....and batteries.....and something from london drugs that was on sale, but now i can't remember......oh yeah, and cookworks has a calphalon pan and cookbooks on sale......

no words

ah, so it's been almost a week since my last post. i've been busy posting comments on sandra & sharon's blogs, but nothing on my own. i actually started to blog on monday with a "weekend update", but i lost interest after a couple paragraphs. there hasn't been a lack of things to write about - i just wasn't in the mood. since i'm so good w/words, here we go.....

friday - girls night reunion.....after a brief hiatus, the 5 of us girls are back together. hmmm, the spice girls, n'sync, nkotb and the bsb could take a lesson from us :-)

saturday - chris and viv's wedding. weddings are always fun :-) went to joey's in-between the ceremony and reception - had a burger - very yummy.

sunday - borat! funny movie, but left a bad impression of people, in particular intolerant americans. can't we all just get along? family-style dinner at macaroni grill for ang's b-day. i was all calamari'd out by the end of it :-)

monday - stayed home, caught up on my chores. dinner at house of tofu soup. yes, after my anger at being kicked out with leon, chris and i actually ate there. it kind of contradicts my sunday comment on disliking intolerant ppl. oh well.....i can't have everything my way :-)

and the rest of the week thus far can be summed up with a BOIL WATER ADVISORY IN PLACE FOR THE LOWER MAINLAND for at least the next couple days! i don't think there's ever been such a wide-spread advisory before in bc. be careful, ppl!

a happier morning today

so after my frustration last night, i have been reassured by my workmates that my cookies are in fact pretty tasty. i'm pretty sure they're being sincere :-)

also, in addition to my lessons noted last night, i have one more to record.....more lemon zest. there's a very subtle hint of lemon, but not overly powerful. so next time i'll do 2 lemons for the actual cookie, and then add lemon juice to the icing instead of milk. also, i think the reason i was so disappointed and my workmates are happy, is because the cookies aren't as sweet as i usually like. i was considering adding more sugar next time, but everyone seems to be ok w/the sweet factor.

since i haven't decided what i'm making for the cookie exchange, i'm going to hold off on sharing the recipe for now. i have another dessert item i want to test out first - it involves chocolate :-)

oh, the frustration!

chocolate chip cookies - superstar!
butter tarts - rock on!
lemon frost cookies - total suckage.

argh. i started prepping my cookies at 8:45. it's now 11:30, and i just finished them. i don't think they should have taken this long to do :P

• first, next time i go shopping, i'm buying a 2nd cookie sheet - 1 just doesn't cut it.
• second, i'm also going to figure out how to replace the electrical cord on my kitchen-aid - the handmixer is great, but it's hard to mix and pour ingredients simultaneously.
• third, now i know how important it is to roll dough evenly - i think i might have some raw cookies.
• fourth, i need to clean up my counters - i keep prepping and baking on the same counter space.
• fifth, it's pretty important to follow the instructions. perhaps things didn't turn at AS well because i didn't have the butter at room temperate. oh well, live and learn.

i'm not even going to bother with a picture. they didn't turn out like the picture i saw. now that they're iced, you can't even tell they were once star-shaped :P

ok, it's officially christmas-time

i'm having my first starbucks eggnog latte! starbucks blinged out their stores overnight and everything is now red and green. 'tis the season!

another puppy-filled weekend :-)

this past weekend, we welcomed skeena back into our home. she was our first puppy-sit at 11 weeks of age. and now at 4 months old, she was a bundle of a bit more energy. i knew she would be trouble when i found her sitting on my drivers seat, and then at home when she decided my couch would be a good place to rest :P

on friday night, we went to montana's for dinner to celebrate melanie's 26th birthday. skeena was a bit excited by all the smells and people around her and just wouldn't settle down :P of course, when she finally decided it was time to lie down, she decided the middle of the pathway would be ideal...silly girl!

i've gotten used to the idea of being late. i'm usually a very punctual person, but having a puppy kind of throws it all out the window. we were supposed to be at the vancouver library at 10 a.m. on saturday for the "dog days at the library", but we were running 1/2 hour late :P when we finally got there, skeena and leon were VERY excited to see each other. leon was so excited in fact that he couldn't stop lunging for skeena and barking HELLO to her :-) we hung out for an hour, because i had other things to do in the afternoon.

after being up for many hours in the morning, i left skeena at home to sleep while i went shopping at the gourmet warehouse with sandra. i bought a bunch of baking stuff that i need for the cookie exchange in december. unfortunately i have to go back this weekend to return a strainer i bought....i forgot that i had previously bought one at the bay (or cookworks). oh well. i was disappointed to find that they don't sell very many appliances - i was hoping to buy an ice cream maker :-) i know cookworks and another store at metrotown have the exact same maker, for the same price. now i'm hoping chris will buy it for me for christmas......HINT, HINT, hon!

since i was down near clark, i stopped at fujiya to grab some yummy lunch.....gyoza, chicken karaage and a spicy tuna roll. unfortunately my meal was interrupted at home by the light fixture falling down. i definitely did panic when that happened, especially since skeena was so excited to be out of her kennel, and didn't want to be put back in :P i was so frazzled by the afternoon, that i thought i should stay home for the rest of the day, but we had miguel's 30th birthday party to attend. so off we went to hippo's for dinner. skeena was very well-behaved and went right to sleep.

on sunday chris was supposed to go to work, but after sleeping in he decided to stay home :-) so the 3 of us did absolutely nothing! i did drag skeena out in the pouring rain so we could watch the v-ball crew.

skeena accompanied me to work on monday. she might be going through an identity crisis now because everyone kept saying "hi, leon!", since he spent 3 days with me before. she was a big hit, and enjoyed lots of playtime with my co-workers.

i can definitely see the growth of these puppies, not just physically. they're awake for longer periods of time, and are more willing to get up on their own. in the past week they all learned to shake hands, so skeena was very excited to meet ppl. i think she shook renee's hand at least 20 times :P the only time i saw skeena hesitate was getting into the elevators at work. i'm not sure why they freaked her out, since we go up and down the elevators at home dozens of times a day.

when i took her back on monday night, she was very excited to see her siblings. the sad part was seeing fraser in a kennel by himself - he seems to have caught a bug, and his samples were sent to the vet for analyzing, so for now he's in solitary confinement :( poor guy, he kept whining as the other 3 played together. leon also seemed to be out of sorts, being stuck in a new kennel with 2 girls! he marked his territory at least 6 times inside, and then another 3 times outside.

and now i'm looking forward to a puppy-free weekend, and i hope to get lots of chores done, since i'm sure i'll have another rugrat the following weekend. pads is supposed to have a display booth at a bay location to sell their 2007 calendars.

too dark to cook :-)

hahahaha, as if i didn't have enough excuses to NOT cook, now i have another one to add to my list.....our kitchen light fixture came crashing down yesterday afternoon! well, not exactly CRASHING, but it was hanging precariously for awhile. unfortunately chris was at work while i panicked about the light fixture, so i called roger and asked him to help me out :-) luckily he was home, and he came over and managed to unwire the fixture and brought it safely down. thanks rog! turns out that the screws holding the light up had actually snapped off and fractured, so the lights were only hanging on by 3 wires :P in my panick, i also called my dad and he covered the loose wires with electrical tape :-) fortunately we're still covered under the warranty, so i'm going to call the developer tomorrow and tell them to get their butt in gear and fix my freaking lights!

after looking at the the ceiling, we think that they might have tried to install it once, but then it didn't work, so they drilled more holes. i'm sure that didn't cause it to fall down, but seriously, they should've patched up the first holes anyways (see the bottom picture - 4 holes).....there were only 2 screws holding up the fixture in the first place.

pain, pain - go away!

oh, the pain! oh, the agony! i would like to rip out my teeth. seriously, i would.

many many years ago, i stopped going to the dentist, mostly because i didn't like him. this was a bad, bad decision on my part. once i started working downtown, i sucked it up and made an appointment at a dentist who had been referred by a few co-workers. she was super nice, and walked me through everything she was doing. yes, there was some pain and discomfort, and of course, yes i had several cavities that needed to be filled. fine, i got them all done in one-shot, and everything was hunkydory. since that time 4 years ago, i have been going to the dentist regularly. yah!

whenever i have to go the dentist i get all worked up. i always fear the worst case scenario, whatever that may be. i guess a root canal would be pretty bad. luckily those words haven't been spoken yet. unfortunately, i do have a bunch of cavities - i hate to admit it but i hate flossing my teeth....it could actually be due to my wisdom teeth crowding the rest of my teeth. my dentist even said that was probably my problem.

so when i went on saturday, the hygienist was flossing my stubborn teeth, and one of my fillings came out :( ouch! just getting the temporary filling put in was a pain in the arse, so i really wasn't looking forward to getting the proper filling in yesterday. during the procedure i remembered exactly why i was so nervous.....first, they use needles to freeze your mouth - i have this ridiculous fear of needles (usually because when i go for blood tests, it takes them 15 minutes and 3 people to find a vein); second, my top teeth freeze fine but my bottom teeth don't freeze properly, so after 2 injections i still wasn't 100% frozen, so the dentist used something else and then i was fine; third, i produce a lot of saliva, even more when i'm actually at the dentist....sometimes i wonder if i'll drown in my own spit :P

anyways, after 2 hours, 3 injections, and a lot of suctioning later, my teeth were all fixed up. the horrible thing after fillings is how numb your face is. i thought sleeping would help, but when i woke up after only 5 minutes of napping, i thought i might actually choke on my own tongue :P so i gave up on the nap, and switched to tv-watching. and hoping. hoping that i would regain my feeling so i could eat dinner and that i wouldn't be in pain. well, by 8 p.m., i had regained most of the sensation in my mouth....only 1/2 my lower lip and 1/2 my tongue were still not fully there. luckily it didn't stop me from having dinner w/vanessa :-) i thought a salad would be fairly easy to eat, and i was right. in hindsight it was actually a good thing i was still somewhat frozen, because as of this a.m. my teeth are still hurting, and i can't chew w/my back teeth.

i thoroughly enjoyed my cajun chicken caesar salad at earls....yum yum! by 9:30 i had full function of my mouth and i dove in and ordered a chocolate sundae :-) the only thing was i couldn't eat the candy snap basket....oh well.

at least i have a supply of advil and tylenol close at hand. i think i'll be popping those for the rest of the day. i hate being in pain. just wait till i have to get my wisdom teeth taken out in the new year.....i'm SO not looking forward to that :(

fire!

in my 28 years of living, i don't think i've ever seen a fire up close. that is, until last night. technically, we weren't THAT close, since we were in the car driving, but still, i think it counts :-)

we were on our way home from dinner at my parents' house, and coming across the knight street bridge we could see several different parties with their fireworks - some of them were pretty impressive, some were not. as we drove along marine drive, a fire chief suv raced by us. hmmm, someone's fireworks have done some damage! we continued along, and an ambulance was speeding down marine drive in the opposite direction. wow! busy night. then we carried on and as we approached boundary the visibility changed to hazy and the smell hit us. as we rounded the corner to boundary, there was smoke in the air, and the smell was disgusting. there it was.....a warehouse fire!!

the flames were shooting out of the warehouse into the sky. the fire trucks were already on the scene trying to extinguish the flames. the paramedics were there as well. the fire seemed quite close to boundary.....i'd say about 25 feet, so we got a pretty good view of it, especially since they hadn't closed the east side of boundary. as we left the fire area, more fire trucks were zooming down the hill. chris, being the suspicious person he is, automatically decided it was a meth lab on fire :P what else could smell that bad? when i saw the location, i immediately thought of a wedding florist i had visited in that area, hopefully her business wasn't affected! (in hindsight, i think her building was further inside, not quite visible from boundary.)

anyways, we got home, and i was determined to stay awake for the 11 o'clock news. well, i waited in vain for some big breaking news story.....all they said was a warehouse fire in burnaby was keeping fire crews busy :P so i went to sleep. this morning, i checked out my local news online, and this is what i found on www.cknw.com....

Movie fire turns real - injures several
Nov, 01 2006 - 1:30 AM

BURNABY/CKNW(AM980) - 5 people including 2 fire fighters are injured as a result of a 2 alarm fire in a Burnaby warehouse. Fire officials say the blaze was caused by a movie effect gone wrong.

Fire fighters were already at First Light Studios near Boundary and Marine Drive in Burnaby before the fire started. According to Assistant Chief Kerry Dempsey, they were there to make sure a special effect for a film shoot didn't get out of hand, "They were doing some kind of pyrotechnics during the filming and it got away and just went from there."

Much of the roof has burned. 5 people have been take to hospital with minor injuries including 2 fire fighters with burns to their hands and smoke inhalation.

i called chris, who was still at home, and reported this update to him. as he was driving to work he called me and report that the fire crews were still on the scene dousing the warehouse. must've been some fire! i guess another concern would be all the trees in the area.....it's pretty forest-like along marine drive and boundary.

fires really scare me. i'm so scared in fact, that i've never lit a match or used a lighter. i've tried to use a lighter, but for whatever reason, it's never worked for me. and yes, i know about the child safety lock on them :P maybe this weekend when i go to gourmet warehouse i'll buy one of those lighters that are a foot-long and my fingers never go near the flame (do they sell lighters there?). it's probably a good idea to have a lighter or matches around.....after all, i do have emergency candles if i ever lose electricity for an extended period of time. what good are candles if i can't light them?