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!