Good times

After the morning festivities I jetted off for lunch with my uncle and aunt and got my manditory fill of Japanese food … the salmon sashimi was soo good.  I wish I could get similar quality in Victoria at the same price.

Shortly after, we made our way back to the house where I went through the task of throwing on a dark suit, dress shirt and tie.  I had a wedding to go to that afternoon … four pm out in Langley where there was no breeze and the temperature was already pushing 32 degrees. Tack a suit on there and we’re pushing mid- to high-thirties.  A little spray here and there, and we’ve got the cologne offsetting the B.O. (kidding).  lol … just needed to hide the sweat stains!

Anyway, the wedding was being held at Redwood’s Golf Course.  It was a small wedding comprising of about 100 people - mostly family.  In fact, there only appeared to be one table of friends so I felt quite honored to be there.

As you moved to the right through the tented reception area, the dark cement path lead to a nice porched area if you will (the actual term used to describe it is escaping my mind right now).  I’ll let a picture speak a thousand words this time …

The reception was nice as well … a fairly typical buffet with dinner rolls, pork, curried rice, pasta, salmon, chicken, roasted veggies, etc.  The cake and chocolate fondue fountain with fruit was a favorite among the ladies of course!  There were some funny speeches and what not.  The best line of them all?  "They say that marriages are like a hot bath … it gets cold over time."  This of course generated quite a reaction only to be followed by, "But in my experience, you’re always in hot water!" Pretty clever I’d say.  =)  Anyway, I didn’t stay too long unfortunately … decided to head home a little early to spend time with Grandma since there wouldn’t be much of an opportunity over the span of the weekend.

I’ve broken this out from the previous post to save various people the pain and misery of reading about me drool about cars.  Read on if you like though!

Anyway, after chilling out on the balcony, we jumped in the car and made our way through North Vancouver and over the Lion’s Gate bridge … it was a wonderful day for a drive.  The downtown core in the early morning was pleasant as well with towering buildings surrounding you and the vibrant blue sky creating a nice background as you let your eyes wander - the sun even played peek-a-boo as the buildings whizzed by.  Travelling down Georgia, we darted onto the bridge and drove past GM Place and BC Stadium.  As we approached the end, I had the opportunity to glance over the side of the barrier to the tarmac below … and what a glorious sight it was!  I wish I could have stopped to take a bird’s eye view of fellow drivers at play.

As we got to the parking lot, we couldn’t figure out how to get into the compound.  "You’re kidding me right?  We’re so damned close!"  I had a child-like frown on my face wishing it wasn’t true.  Crafty they were though, some of the lady greeters pointed out the swinging gate from a distance … and we were admitted.  I couldn’t have been happier to be caged in that morning 

BMW had a new 330i in a graphite pearl (similar to the color of my car) sitting out front.  Just behind it?  A large tent with a number of tables situated in front of a projector for their brief marketing spiel.  Surrounding the tables were two other 3-series, one in silver and the other green, and a cut-away version of the new 3 liter inline 6 providing the muscle for both variants of the car.

After the boring marketing spiel, we took to the cars.  They set up a quick course for us.  Get comfortable in the car they say … make sure your driving position is correct, planting as much of your back into the chair.  Roll up to the stop sign and wait for our signal … then, floor the damned thing on the short drag!  When you get to the end (about 80 km/h), slam on the brakes and take the two quick right-handers in to the wide chicane.  As your approach the sand-boxed hairpin, stay wide and power your way through the low traction area.  After a couple quick turns, a soft right-hand turn leads into a four cone slalom and a decreasing radius turn to the finish.

All I have to say is that it was an absolute blast and I had a stupid wide grin on my face that morning!  I was pushing those cars around the track like I do in GT4; tire squeal and all.  I wish I had more track time.  Gray haired and white knuckled, I don’t think my uncle will be in the car with me on a track anytime soon.  Either way, if you’re looking for a new bimmer, make sure you get the 330i with the performance package – and if you’re feeling rich, active steering as well.  Giddy as a school kid I was … I can’t wait for BMW Driver Training in July!  =D

How would you like to wake up every morning to something like this?  That’s what I did on Saturday morning.  I had the opportunity to stay somewhere special and the opportunities are few and far between.  I had better try to make good use of it while the opportunity’s still there.  The temperature was comfortable, the mountain air refreshing, and the view … well, unspeakable.  Stanley Park as viewed from the hill across the way.

I absolutely love the summer months … vball in the sand and on the lawn, short road trips all over the place, and just chillin’ in the sun.  Who could possibly work in this kind of weather?

The weather was absolutely amazing last week … it was so nice that I made myself drive the Miata to work all week (like anyone had to twist my arm!).  It’s been a long time since I’ve really taken the car out and it’s just so much fun to drive.  I loved every minute.  The whole week I strolled into the office in shorts, sandals and a t-shirt - it’s great when you’re able to do it.  Anyway, tuesday night was so nice that I couldn’t make myself head home early.  After a not so pretty, greasy dinner, I chilled out a while at Beckwith park watching some buddies play v-ball.  It was nice to just lay out in the sun on the cool grass … though the hayfever was starting to act up!  =(

Wednesday was cool.  The office arranged for us to go bowling at Mayfair Lanes at 4pm.  I didn’t have a chance to play but chilled out with the crew nonetheless - gotta be a team player right?  Anyway, the night ended up being a pow-wow at work despite the beautiful weather (I must have been a little insane there).  Put in an extra few hours so that I could leave early on Friday … ended up leaving at 9pm.  Didn’t end up going home though … we ended up tossing Fight Club into the DVD player but I was way too tired to really follow everything that was going on in the movie.  I’ve gotta watch it again … from what I saw, it seemed pretty interesting.

Thursday was interesting as well.  It started off as usual but when it hit 2pm, the power went out … to the entire grid.  So, blessed with 30 degree weather, the entire office went outside to chill out and bake in the sun.  The office called in an ice cream truck for us to buy some sweets to cool down.  By that time, I had found out that the garage was open so I went for a spin in the car to get some bbtea  =D  By the time we got back, most of the office staff was let go for the day and shortly after we found out the power was coming back on at 4pm.  I booted it out of there only to find my way back because I left my cell charger at the office - I was a good boy and stayed after that.  Too bad I left before the free pizza came  :(  Anyway, back to the wicked night.  It was the third day in a row with unlimited sun and some buddies called me out to Sticky’s for some sand v-ball on the rooftop.  I was there in a second and actually got a couple hits in … didn’t play long since my ankle was still messed.  On my way out, I got pulled out again … some other buddies were setting over at Willows as well so I got a couple quick games there as well.  It was good to see everyone … good times … i just wish i could play!  God, why are you testing me?!

Friday was kind of cool as well, though I was bombing around Vancouver like a chicken with it’s head cut off … It seems as though everyone was enjoying the sun that week.  At the ferry terminal there were a healthy number of people sitting in the shade, reading in the sun, going for brief walks, doing a little shopping, and of course, buying some of that wicked kettle corn from the largest popcorn popper I’ve ever seen!  As i sat in the sun listening to some music, my eyes started to wander looking for anything and everything interesting … from people to products to design.  It really is nice to just take a moment to take in what’s around you … you see things in a different perspective rather than the blur that it usually is.  Kids trying some kettle corn for the first time to only bolt to their parents and ask for their own bag.  People kicking around a hacky-sac or walking their dogs.  Even the leaves on the trees are interesting with it’s brilliant green color contrasted by the shade, bright sunlight and wonderfully blue sky.  Dreamy isn’t it?

Anyway, I forgot a belt for my suit so I ended up looking around for one at the Gap.  Went to Richmond Center where I picked up a late wedding gift for Jon, walked all the way around the mall looking for a Hallmark because I couldn’t find a directory for the life of me!  Oh, btw, do you have any idea how many lame wedding cards there are?  Anyway, the Gap didn’t have anything in Richmond Center, nor did Oakridge, but I was able to hold one at the Robson location.  By that time, it was 8:15, I was getting hungry and Samauri sushi was staring me in the face (it was just across the street).  For some reason, I decided the belt was more important and the Gap closes at 9.  I boot it down there and it didn’t even occur to me that it was Friday night … good luck finding a spot anywhere, let alone move at anything more than a snail’s pace.  I just gave up after that and got something to eat.

That’s enough rambling for now i think …

Yup, the friday before any long weekend is typically a little slack, and this past friday was no exception to that rule.  In fact, it was more slack than usual  =)

The day started with me spending more money - money that I don’t have but what the heck.  BMW Driver Training should be a good time and it’ll be an opportunity to do something with my dad since there aren’t that may opportunities it seems.  Anyway, the Advanced II course covers steering technique, vehicle dynamics, emergency manoevers, front and rear wheel skid control, etc.  It should be a good time - we’re hitting the tarmac at Boundary Bay Airport in July.  Maybe now I can do that Skip Barber driver training down in California next time (two days, Laguna Seca, 500+ hp Dodge Vipers).

Next up?  Did about an hour of work and then started prepping for an interview.  The prep and interview took a good two hours and the office even put out for lunch  =D  After an hour’s worth of work after lunch, we geared up for our team meeting … 3:20 at SilverCity to watch Star Wars …  =D  We booked it out of the office around 2:30 … a productive day indeed.

The Star Wars flick was pretty good … better than the other two at the very least.  The action scenes were good, Yoda rocks as usual and Lucas still needs to hire someone else to do those cheesy love scenes.  A frequent comment from co-workers?  "Talk is cheap, start killing something!"  All in all, it was good and there’s not too much to complain here.  This rather dark movie leads in well to the original three episodes.  If you want an indepth review, you’ll have to look elsewhere … I’ve never been a hardcore StarWars fan.

It’s definitely been a weekend full of birthdays.  The weekend was kicked off with Gavin and Kendrick’s b-days at South Bay.  Dinner was good and the after party was pretty low key.  Later in the evening, I jumped over to bbtea and met up with the rest of the crew - had a good chat and played some cards.

If you can, do something nice every day.  Just this past week a good friend of mine was having a rotton week (for various reasons).  She popped up on msn one morning to see how I was.  Unfortunately, she brought some bad news herself.  After the brief chat, I promptly gave the local florist a call to send something small to her at the office hopefully to brighten her day.  The surprise did just that.

It’s always nice to do something nice just to make someone feel better or smile.  It warms their heart, and takes whatever problems away -  even if only for a moment.  On the days that you’re feeling down, bringing a little bit of joy to someone else, can brighten your own day as well.

It’s the little things in life that count and stand the test of time.

The past week’s been pretty insane and personally, I’ve been down in the dumps.  No motivation what so ever, feeling alone, and all that crap.  What’s it from?  I’d say it stemmed from work.  I had a presentation this past friday.  The prototype of the application I’ve been working on for months was shown to the major stakeholders at the office.  Pressure was definitely there.  For the entire week before it, I was working my ass off.  Starting at 8am to about 6:30pm I was at my desk focused on work like you wouldn’t believe.  Sit down and don’t move for 3 hours kinda work pumping out 40 or so bug fixes and feature requests.  It was a freaking wild ride and it lasted for 5 straight days.

In the middle of it, I found some time to get my first massage in.  The therapist was wondering what the heck I was doing.  My whole upper back and shoulders were unbelievably tense and stiff … the massage helped.  It was pretty bad, during that whole week I was walking around with my shoulders contracted … like I wanted to be a turtle or something.

Thank god the presentation went well … I would have freaked if it didn’t … at least I could relax a little at the end of the week.  One of the other problems?  This stupid ankle.  It’s still keeping down and out.  Timing was pretty bad as well.  It’s usually my escape from the stresses of work, but instead, it’s making me go insane very slowly.  Four weeks in, it’s still swollen but I’m walking fine, hopping a bit and living my body weight with it.  Hopefully some acupuncture will help as soon as my damned acupunturist gets back from vacation!  He conveniently left the week I injured myself.

Counting the days until I can play again … hopefully I won’t go insane first …

Admittedly, it’s been a long time since my last post - and there’s a reason for that.  I’ve been busy, like the rest of us.  So here’s the first of a series of posts to catch up.

After the ankle sprain, I simply haven’t touched the LSAT.  That ambitious feeling’s pretty much gone and for some odd reason, I just can’t handle any type of focused logic right now.  I think I’m just mentally exhausted from work.  The last few days I’ve been pushing hard to get things done and when you need to study later on that same day, it just doesn’t work.

I honestly can’t say that the last couple weeks have been all
happy.  I just came back from a funeral over the weekend.  My third uncle on my mom’s side passed away.  He had termal cancer and as of the end of last year,
he apparently had till the end of this summer to live.  He went
into the hospital two weeks ago and the doctors gave him two
weeks.  I had planned to go visit him over the weekend but he
didn’t even last that long.  The friday of that week I got a
message from my cousin telling me that he wasn’t doing so well.
Everyone got called into the hospital at 6am.  12 hours later, he
was gone.  So very sad - he was only 63.  So, the funeral was
for him the other weekend.  It was hard going through all that with the
family but it’s just a fact of life I guess.  At least he passed
away in peace.<!–
D(["mb","

\r\nGrandma seems to be doing ok right now - though my dad had a meeting\r\nwith the doctor a couple weeks ago.  He said that she\'s got a sack\r\nfull of gall bladder/kidney stones and they don\'t have a clue when it\r\ncould go.  It\'s scary ... a ticking time bomb it is.  Knock\r\non wood; I hope she\'ll be fine.
\r\n
\r\nSorry for all the sad news - it\'s just been what\'s happening lately.  What have you been up to?
\r\n
\r\nThere were some good things that happened over the weekend\r\nthough.  Steven decided to lend me his ipod indefinitely because\r\nit "complicates [his] life".  I\’m having a good time playing with\r\nit and should provide hours of entertainment 
\r\n
\r\nWell, it seems that it still holds true … when i get into writing\r\nemails they\’re long.  I hope it wasn\’t too boring though - always\r\nwant to keep my reader\’s entertained to some level 
\r\n
\r\nI hope to hear from you soon.  <big hug>  If I don\’t\r\nhear anything from you at all, I\’ll send it over to your hotmail later\r\nsince I don\’t know if you check your gmail anymore …
\r\n
\r\nAs supportive as ever.
\r\n
\r\nLove,
\r\n
\r\nChris
“,1]
);

//–>

On a ligher note, there were some good things that happened that weekend.  My buddy decided to lend me his ipod indefinitely … more on that later.  What else?  I finally picked up my TV Tuner card from eBay.  Although I don’t have that much to compare to, the ATI TV Wonder Elite card I got’s great!