This article is for everyone I've ever known who's been ticketed at UBC. Payback's a bitch.
This is already shaping up to be a good concert year. Travis, The Killers, Coldplay, and U2. Dayum! And it's only March! The Doves are also coming, but I've seen them 3 times already and I've got to spread out the concert budget a little. Though I guess I've seen all of the above bands several times each too. Now all I need is for Blur to embark on a North American reunion tour and I'd be in heaven. They've already reunited with Graham Coxon, so that's step one. heehee. I'm still wondering how old I'm going to get before I don't care about any of this anymore. Still hasn't happened yet! hehe
Over the weekend, I was downtown near the convention center. Decided to walk through it, and apparently there was some sort of international cheerleading competition going on. The funny thing was that it wasn't even mostly highschool girls - I basically saw girls from about 8-12 years old. But I was surprised how many of the really young girls there were.
They all had their hair in ponytails with with same gaudy, tacky, blue eyeshadow. On the younger girls, it was really kind of "JonBenet". Very creepy. There was so much damn school spirit in the air, it was a bit much for me. They were all practicing their cheers outside and kicking their legs in the air. It wasn't even cute. I dunno, I find cheerleading, at that age anyway, to be really creepy. I wanted to wipe off the eyeshadow from their faces.
Such a weird culture we have.
Just found out that until the end of March, Ikea is having a special on their meatballs and potatoes meal for $2.99. Too bad I only found out now, or else I'd have eaten there two or three times a week. hehe. But I went yesterday and it was pretty damn satisfying to have an entree, garlic bread, dessert, and a drink for under $7. lol. My dinner companions also splurged on some extras and none of them spent over $7 either. I love that place! Every time I go, I always wonder why I don't go more often. Only thing is that they served it with fries, not the usual nugget potatoes. If you wanted that one, it was $4.99, which suddenly sounded expensive in comparison. haha. See, it's all relative. And if you really wanted to splurge, they have the meatballs, little potatoes, salad and a drink combo for $6-something. Fancy shmancy! lol
On the way out, we noticed that in the shop downstairs with the food, they actually sell the meatballs frozen, and you can buy the jar of lingonberry sauce that they serve with it, plus packets of the gravy. All you have to do is get your own little potatoes and you're all set for an Ikea meal. Brilliant! Will have to try that next time. hehe.
Was talking to a coworker about eating out at asian restaurants, in particular, the ones in Chinatown. One thing I always do is pay only with cash. A lot of those restaurants don't accept anything but cash anyway, so it's just as well, but even if a place does accept credit cards or debit, I won't use it. With small businesses and restaurants, I find that I just don't really feel comfortable giving them my credit card - the restaurants, especially. This goes for most restaurants in general - unless it's one of those where they bring the wireless credit card machine right to your table. Anyway, my point is, cash only. It's easier and safer.
The other thing is that if you're eating at one of those cheap wonton noodle places, please, please, please don't ever tip more than 10%. It's not necessary and I guarantee that the only people who do that are non-asians. The 15-20% tipping rule doesn't apply! That's not to say that if you're eating at a top notch Chinese restaurant with great quality food and service that you shouldn't tip well. I'm just saying that at the regular, everyday, cheap places, it's not the norm. If your bill was $30, then a $3 tip is fine, no more than $4 if service and food were exceptional. Don't you dare tip $6, or I'm going to have to smack you upside the head!
One other thing... I find that if an asian restaurant gets a lot of good reviews in the newspaper or media, and has mostly white clientele, then it's probably not very good. Case in point - Wild Rice in Vancouver. I hear lots of white people rave over this place, but I really don't know what they're talking about. It's Chinese food that's not quite right, and they charge double what it would cost a few blocks down in Chinatown proper. Plus they serve cocktails and it's got a funky decor. It's basically a white-ified/sanitized version of a Chinese restaurant for people who find that a a real Chinese restaurant is too ethnic for them. Let's use this analogy: Pier 1 Imports is to antique flea market furniture as Wild Rice is to Chinese food. Yeah, quote me on that!
On the opposite end of the scale, just because a place is dirty, cramped, gives bad service, yet has good food and looks authentic, doesn't mean it's good. Case in point - Phnom Penh in Vancouver. From what my coworker tells me, it's a dump, service is bad, the food's not that great, and it's overpriced. Oh, and most of the patrons are white. Check, check, and check. Granted, you don't necessarily go to Chinatown for the greatest service or atmosphere, but you damn well should have good, cheap food, and most of the patrons should be asian. If not, then the place either isn't as good or authentic as you think it is, or else you're getting ripped off.
My personal favourites in Chinatown - Hon's for wonton noodle soup, chow mein, stir-fries, and everything in between; and Kam Gok Yuen for roasted/bbq meats on rice (it's busy, it's not the most comfortable place, but the food is damn good, cheap, and fast). Goldstone Bakery has a huge restaurant in the back with decent HK style lunch specials - less rushed than the other two restaurants. Not great, but good, and again, cheap.
Final tip - don't use the bathrooms in any of these restaurants in Chinatown. Just don't do it. If you can hold it, walk over to Tinseltown and use the bathrooms there. You can thank me later.
I haven't posted a real post in about a week, yet my stats are through the roof. Who's reading this dumb little blog other than my friends, who probably feel obligated? hehe. Oh well, whoever you are. Thanks for stopping by.
Accumulated a bunch of photos from the past few months. I don't know how food bloggers do it all the time. Mine are always crappy photos from my camera phone, because I don't really plan ahead to take photos. Anyway, here are some random food pics for ya.
pistacchio macaron from La Baguette at granville island. (not to be confused with a coconut macaroon. i hate when people get that mixed up. completely different!)
roti canai from some new malaysian/thai place on main street. it's a fluffy layered bread that you're supposed to dip into the curry sauce served with it.
spicy noodles with chicken from the same malaysian/thai place as above. cant remember the name of the place.
peking duck. forgot to take pics of the crepes served with it. see, i'm a terrible food blogger.
alaskan king crab legs steamed with minced garlic.
more king crab, i think it was deep fried and served with some sort of sauce on top. yummy.
steamed chicken. so gross how they assembled the pieces to look like the body is laid out. and they put the damn head too. most places don't do that, but unfortunately this one did. we asked them to take the head away because it was grossing us out.
terrible picture. this is the chanpon noodle soup from menya noodles, the place i said sucked and would never go to again. i don't know why but i gave it another shot. ordered this one this time - much better than the ramen. different noodles and the soup was better. i'd go again if in the 'hood, but only for ths one dish. still the least favourite of all ramen shops in vancouver.
terimayo dog at japadog. will have to try the other options someday.
Yesterday on twitter, John Mayer posted a tweet about how Ernest Hemingway once said that he could write a complete story in 6 words. And after doing some googling, I found that there are a few sites out there devoted to this. It's a pretty interesting concept and I've been thinking about it all day.
Hemingway's story was this: "For sale, baby shoes. Never used."
So there's the challenge. If you have any, post them here or email me. I'm thinking of some right now...
After drying off from a shower and getting dressed, I realized that all my bras were still in the dryer, because I had just done a whole bunch of laundry. So I put on everything else and would later go downstairs to grab a bra before heading out.
As I was driving in my car a half hour later, I suddenly realized, "oh shit - I forgot my bra!" and had a moment of sheer panic. But then, reality kicked in and I realized that it actually doesn't matter if I wear one or not. Why? Because to be honest, my boobs aren't that big, so it doesn't make much of a difference. Plus, I was wearing a big ol' sweater and you really couldn't tell.
Was telling a friend about it and she laughed because she said she wished she could get away with that. See, she's got some big ones, so she really needs a bra to keep the girls in place. Me? Meh. When you're this small, there's no need to worry about sagging, because there's nothing there to sag. She said that one of her coworkers was worried about her boobs sagging so she started wearing bras to bed. I was like, huh? Sorry, I can't relate. I have no idea what that means and why it would help.
I remember once, I was meeting up with another friend for a walk and I said that I couldn't be bothered to put on a bra. I'd just put on my hoodie and go. She gave me this look of utter confusion and amazement - I can still see her face. I was like, what? And she too, said that she wishes she could do that but can't. I asked her why, and she said that if she doesn't wear one and she's walking around a lot or jogging, then it kind of hurts. Again, I can't relate. Never been there, don't get it.
Then, in talking to other people about it, the other thing that my boobalicious friends can't do that I can do, is sleep on their stomachs. I've never given it a second thought. But yeah, I guess that would be uncomfortable. They said that it's the reason they don't go for massages either, because when you get a body massage, you have to lay on your stomach for a good portion of it And the girls would get all smashed up. Again, can't relate.
There are days I curse what I've got, but then after hearing stuff like this, I'm actually kind of glad. Who wants to deal with saggy boobs when you get older? Plus, that really would make working out an even bigger bitch. And when you're smaller, you can always wear a padded bra when you need to. But when you're too boobalicious, you can't shrink 'em down, can you? That must suck to not be able to lay on your stomach.
So next time I ever leave the house unsupported, I guess I won't sweat it too much.
Wandering through the mall with a friend when we passed by a bridal dress store. We decided to go in just for kicks. As soon as you walk in, the consultants are all over you. But when you say that you're just looking, they suddenly look disinterested. And that's fine by me. Just leave me alone.
Anyway, I was in the mood to try on some of the evening gowns for fun. Not the bridal ones, but the bridesmaids dresses. Some of them look like Oscar gowns, pretty elaborate. So I picked out a couple and was going to go straight into the dressing room but one consultant was like, do you have an appointment? Um, no. So then she made me grab a consultant at the front to help me. You pretty much have to have a consultant standing around while you try the dresses on, so that they can zip you up and strap you into the dresses. Plus, they want to make a sale.
So a lady with a sour face came to help. Probably wasn't happy because she didn't think I was serious about buying, which I wasn't. So then don't help me. But anyway... I tried on the first dress and it was so damn cute. I loved it. If I had money to burn, I'd have gotten it. You never know when you need a black cocktail dress like that.
But then I tried on the second gown, which was totally like something you'd see at the Oscars. It's not something you'd think I'd wear, but I wanted to try it. (Watching What Not to Wear, I knew that it had all the trappings of a good dress that would be flattering.) This one, the consultant had to come in and do up the lacing in the back of the dress. When I came out of the dressing room, my friend was pretty amazed at how I looked. I don't say this often, but damn it, I looked good!! lol. She kept saying how skinny it made me look and it was the cut, the shape, the colour. It was perfect.
I think that every woman needs to try on a pretty dress once in a while. It makes you feel girly, it makes you feel pretty, even if you normally don't feel that way. I swear, there is a dress for everyone. It's just about finding the right one for your body (and maybe wearing a padded bra. hehe) I should've taken a photo of myself in it. Playing dress-up is so much fun, even at this age.
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