One Year

What a difference one year makes. One year ago around this time, I was unemployed, betrayed, hurt, and just felt like everything I had known crumbled beneath me.  I was angry. Oh I was angry and frustrated and bitter. I lost my confidence. I lost sight of the horizon. This bitter resentful person took over me. It was awful. It took a long time to realize what a nasty person I was becoming. I've always been realistic. But never so pessimistic. I'm still working on it. But I've made it through the hardest part. I'm whole again, as I have been for a while. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I'm still here.

I have completed my first legitimate year of university, with grades that I never thought I would achieve. I've started a new job that is related to my aspirations for a future career. I'm actually having so much fun at my new job. I'm eating healthier. I'm (trying) to exercise more. I've met so many new interesting people. I'm so excited for whatever tomorrow will bring. It might be forecasted to rain, but the sun will always rise again.

Normalcy

I opened my eyes this morning. I remained there with my head on the pillow, not moving, just breathing. Something was amiss. It wasn't until I realized for the first time in days I felt normal. The throbbing pain my head was gone and my throat no longer burned. I had been sick with the flu for the past couple of days. Completely knocked me off my feet. I just stayed in bed because my whole body just ached and my throat felt like it was being torn up. 

Stayed by me when I was sick. Actually.. he sleeps on me all the time anyways.

So I actually exhaled a sigh of relief this morning when I realized I was feeling better. It felt good to know I'm recovering. What I think we sometimes take for granted is the state of 'normal' that we are in. We never really miss it or crave for it unless there is something wrong. Like when you have a headache, or some sort of pain. I have a friend recently told me they are in chronic pain. I wasn't even sure of the proper response you give to someone who tells you that. I guess I didn't even think about it too much until after, especially when I was just laying in bed sick. I knew I was going to get better. But how would it feel when you aren't sure when there's an end to the pain? Or if it will get worse? A very scary thought. There's nothing I can do for them, at least nothing I have thought of so far. Any ideas?

So if you are currently sitting here, just feeling normal, take a moment to enjoy that because really its a wonderful state, it could always be worse.

edit:

I just need to add in somewhere that neocitran is the fucking shit.

Review: What8ever

The other night a couple of friends and I decided to venture over to Richmond for a bubble tea run. This is not something I would usually do since I'm just not quite that Asian. However that day was an exception because we were going to this cafe called What8ever Cafe. Why is there an 8 in the middle of it? I have no clue. It doesn't even make sense...if anything it should be Wh8tever cafe. Anyways, we heard of it because they served the mother of all thick toasts so we figured it'll be worth the drive.

What8ever Cafe
1108-8328 Capstan Way
Richmond, BC V6X 2H6

Upon entering the first thing you notice is that the place really is tiny. There are probably like 8 tables or so, and it was recommended that you make reservations (which we did) so we were seated right away. I had never heard of needing to make reservations for bubble tea but now I see why. I wonder if they ever plan on expanding since I don't think such little tables will be a profitable. There's also a time limit of 90 minutes for each table.

Hot Milk Tea Bubble tea

My favourite flavor of bubble tea is milk tea. It is like the standard that I always order. Sometimes when I am feeling like going wild and off course, I will order a green milk tea. I am never a fan of the fruit flavored ones and it is called bubble tea for a reason. Also it allows me to easily judge the competency of a bubble tea cafe. If you can't even make a proper milk tea with pearls, then there's no more need to revisit. It is so disappointing to me when I walk into beautifully decorated, ambient cafes and be served a cup of watery sweet tea with pearls. Doesn't matter how nice your cafe is when your milk tea is shit. 

The milk tea at What8ever Cafe was well done. It had a strong body and wasn't overly sweet. They used a different type of tea that gave it a unique flavor compared to the regular black tea you would find. I think some wouldn't like that taste but I enjoyed it. I opted for a hot version because it was freezing that night. The tea was served in a coffee press with the pearls on the side. It was actually a huge serving and managed to fill over 3 cups. For those who have never had pearls in hot bubble tea: try it. It makes the texture nicer.

Strawberry Waffle w/ Ice cream

The service was pretty bad. There were two people working behind the bar and one server. With so much staff it shouldn't have taken us so long to flag a person down to take our order. Remember: this place was tiny with just 8 tables.

The presentation for the food was simple but pretty. I don't think the waffles were made fresh because it was really chewy, so I think they may have just reheated it. I've had fluffier and nicer waffles at the local ihop, good thing there was ice cream accompanying it otherwise it would have been so dry and hard to eat.

That is what we had come here for and I think what was making this place popular. It doesn't have an official name because its actually not a menu item and you have to request for it. So I've affectionately named it the mother of all thick toasts. It is exactly what it looks like: a half loaf of bread. We chose to have matcha ice cream, red bean and custard toppings. How you eat it is you cut open a side and there are sticks of the bread inside that have been toasted and coated with a sweet syrup, I'm thinking either honey or condensed milk. Together with the ice cream and toppings it was very nice. The bread was a little over toasted in some areas, you can sort of see in the picture how it was burnt. But that was okay since you don't eat the outer crust, well I guess you can but we didn't.

Overall I had a really nice time at What8ever Cafe. Though I think the majority of that reason was the company I was with, not so much the service there. Its worth a visit. Any place that can serve up a good cup of milk tea is a fantastic cafe in my book. Though I suggest making reservations beforehand.

Finding Nemo

I went on a field trip to the Aquarium for my Marine Tourism class. Back in high school field trips were always pretty exciting and everyone would be pretty enthusiastic for getting out of the classroom. However in University everyone just acts all nonchalant about it. Like, oh look just a beluga whale that I'd never actually get a chance to see in the wild because its up in the arctic.

Beluga please, they were SO cool. The beluga whales are one of my favourite animals at the aquarium. I guess in their natural habitat there would be more snow and ice for them to blend in but they stand out so much against the blue waters. Did you know a beluga has a flexible neck? They can totally do the neck swing, and if they had fingers they'd probably snap and go "Beluga, PLEASE."

We got to work in the wet labs and I had the chance to touch a lot of things. I like touch stuff. I got to touch a sea anemone!! It was so awesome. The feelers would grab my finger and try to stick it into their mouths. I know a lot of people had the chance to do this when they went to the aquarium when they were younger, but for some reason I never had that opportunity so you bet I was damn excited. We had the chance to hold and feel a lot of different other animals too, there were girls in my group that were all "Ewww I don't want to touch that its slimy!" Are you serious? Or are you really such a little bitch? You're taking a marine class. They didn't like it I told them to man up. In other news, I got to let a sea star eat my hand! Wish I got a pictures of me touching stuff but I didn't get a chance.

A theme that the Aquarium kept focusing on was sustainability. If you go around to restaurants in Vancouver on some menus you'd probably see a little symbol, its to show the item is a certified ocean wise. Meaning the seafood was caught in a sustainable way. I've actually seen it before but never paid much attention to it. It was actually pretty interesting to learn of some ways people are catching fish and destroying entire ecosystems along the way. I always assumed the Ocean Wise program was just another shnazzy way for restaurants to glam up their menu and act like they care.

After the wet lab session we got to roam around the aquarium.

I really liked the turtle and shark exhibit too. Right after this photo was taken this stupid soccer mom just shoves her kid into my frame, no excuse me or anything and gives me a look like I need to get out of her way. Beluga please.

I wish I had more time to look around but my friends were more interested in beating rush hour and leaving. I also saw a sloth for the first time in my life. So awesome. They actually move pretty fast. I aspire to become a sloth.

So after a day of watching a lot of sea animals and fish I decided the most appropriate next step was to go eat sushi. I was recommended by a friend to try this new place.

Sushiholic
3311 East Broadway, Vancouver BC

Its a tiny little restaurant, nicely decorated. I looked and unfortunately none of their menu items were ocean wise. I was only doing this since I just learned about it. I still ordered fish anyways. The quality of the fish was fantastic. Very fresh, very well sliced and presented.

Deluxe Assorted Sashimi

Even my mother, the sushi snob was impressed. This is saying a lot. For those of you that are just scrolling through to look at pictures this must be horrifying to see Aquarium pictures turn into Sushi. I should go to the Zoo next.

Awesome Roll

The rolls were also well done and very well proportioned. I know Gordan Ramsey says pictures should not be in menus but I like having pictures, and I'm glad to say their pictures and their product looked pretty similar. Mcdonalds take note of this. 

Katsudon

So I've been posting a lot about food lately. I like to go try new places and its fun to pretend I'm a food critic. I also like trying to take a bunch of food porn pictures and this is the perfect excuse to post them. I know they aren't very structured and more or less just me rambling, haven't really decided on a format yet. This is fun to do though, so I think I might keep up with this.

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Fine Dining

For my second Dine Out Vancouver 2012 restaurant I went to Five Sails at Canada Place. I was looking forward to it just because it is a Vancouver landmark, and I normally would never go to eat at a high end place like that regularly. I went with my usual group of girlfriends, minus a couple because they are currently out of town (sniff sniff). It was kind of neat though, since there was just the five of us, we all fit into one car! I've seen the outside of Canada place and the five sails many times, but I've never really been inside. I sort of imagined to be under the masts or something like that. So when we went into the restaurant I was kind of disappointed to see the ceiling at normal height, in fact the ceiling seemed kind of lower than normal. Maybe it was because I was expecting sky high ceilings, that or I was wearing high heels.

The main selling point of the restaurant was the amazing views you're suppose to see. We went at night so I was expecting a lot of pitch blackness of the waters below. However that night it was actually really foggy. So our view really was just of misted windows. Could barely even see any lights. Thanks to some previous reviews from others of the Dine Out menu, we were already expecting tiny portions. & Yup. It was tiny. Surprisingly though the three course meal left us sated. I think a big part of that was the bread though.

For $38 you get a three course meal. That was my main entree. It had a nice fancy description to it:

Duo of butter poached 1/2 fresh Atlantic lobster orange & tangerine scented butter emulsion
Crisp Kurobuta pork belly berry gastrique, roasted squash puree & shiitake mushrooms

 In case you were wondering, I had a lobster bisque for an appetizer and some napoleon-like dessert. I'm not bothering going into them because it wasn't anything special, plus my pictures of those dishes came out horribly.

I'm on the fence about the service. On one side our server was attentive and our glasses were never empty. As well he had some ninja skill because I had my plates and cutlery arranged without me even realizing it. However they also mixed me up and served me someone else's drink and another person's entree. I almost ate Angela's steak!

Personally I was pretty disappointed with the food at Five Sails. Yes I was expecting small portions, but I also expected flavors that were going to blow my mind. The tiny portions and mediocre flavors were not worth the amount of money I paid for. Everyone else seemed alright with the experience, upon asking what their thoughts were I got a solid round of "good". But this is my blog, so my opinion.

I realized a lot that goes into fine dining really is all the frills. I think they probably hired a writer just to write up their food descriptions, throw in a Chefs name to promote it and boom, there's your $50 meal. I guess fine dining is just not for me. I prefer normal portions for half the price and having it just as tasty. Maybe one day when I have the money and understand the finer finesse of things I'll like it more. However even if that day comes I don't think I will be going to five sails again.

A quintette of companions gather in the foggy veils of night in the foreground of the meritorious Vancouver Convention Center

They should hire me to write up their food descriptions.