A few days ago I reached the 10 year anniversary of my move to Vancouver for graduate school. August 23rd, 2006. What a milestone!
It was a cold day, I recall. That was surprising since Mexico isn't characteristically cold. My older brother and his family had already left, as he was going to do his PhD in the United States. Five days and my Mom had to see two of her children move to different countries. In my case, I was the one who moved the farthest. My other brother was already in the US, so 60% of my Mom's children were living abroad by September of 1996 (this percentage increased to 80% by 2000).
I reflected on Caro's blog that ten years ago I moved to Vancouver. The reflection being that, before 1996, I avoided at all costs living away from my family. I did my undergraduate degree near my hometown just so that I could see my parents and brothers every other day. And then, one day I told myself "I can do it. I am going to do it." So I packed everything, quit a rather lucrative job, and moved to Vancouver to start my Masters.
And then I stayed... and I decided that this is where I want to live. I fell in love with Vancouver. But moreover, I grew up. I stopped being the wimpy little Momma's boy and became a strong young man with the grit and willingness to face the challenge of a country I didn't know. I graduated from 'mocoso' to 'hombrecito'
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Elements of Soul featuring Mia Taylor - Head Above Water
Wow :)
My first two comments from two well-established bloggers... YAY!
I haven't really taken the time to link to other Vancouver- (or other) based blogs, but sometimes I am not sure I have the content to enrich them... well, I'll give it a good try. This weekend I shall put some time into connecting with some other blogs.
In the mean time, I want to recommend my latest acquisition on Beatport (yes, I do pay for music!)... Head Above Water by Elements of Soul featuring Mia Taylor. It's such a cool song. I've had it in my head for the past hour or so. I can't stop listening to it. It's soulful, it's deep house and it's very much in the lines of The Rurals and Deep Six (as argued by Guidance Recordings in their review). If you click on their webpage you'll be able to listen to the version I bought - (Axwell's Star Beach Mix) -- well, only a tiny bit. Worth the purchase, though!
My first two comments from two well-established bloggers... YAY!
I haven't really taken the time to link to other Vancouver- (or other) based blogs, but sometimes I am not sure I have the content to enrich them... well, I'll give it a good try. This weekend I shall put some time into connecting with some other blogs.
In the mean time, I want to recommend my latest acquisition on Beatport (yes, I do pay for music!)... Head Above Water by Elements of Soul featuring Mia Taylor. It's such a cool song. I've had it in my head for the past hour or so. I can't stop listening to it. It's soulful, it's deep house and it's very much in the lines of The Rurals and Deep Six (as argued by Guidance Recordings in their review). If you click on their webpage you'll be able to listen to the version I bought - (Axwell's Star Beach Mix) -- well, only a tiny bit. Worth the purchase, though!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Restaurant review - Whineo's - A place to remember - and sustainable seafood
Well, it seems like my blog has been all about YouTube and superheros lately. Not a lot of environmental commentary either. I know, I know! I've had family visiting and it's been a hectic few weeks. But I'm back on track now :-)
Mom visited recently from Mexico, and we went for dinner a couple of days before she left. I wondered where to take her since we had done the majority of restaurants I usually like. My Mom has been to Vancouver many times and we've very frequently eaten out so I really didn't want to take her to a 'repeat' restaurant. Dining out in Vancouver is normally not hard to do. There's a gazillion restaurants to please just every palate. But throughout my 10 years in the city, we've been to too many of them. So it took me a while to think of a good place.
However, I had just recently read a review of Whineo's, a neat dining/bar place in the downtown core of Vancouver (right on Granville Street). I knew Josh Manuel, one of the co-owners, through his former job and I thought it might be neat to check this place out. And as I will explain below, I think I made the right choice :-)
Mom and I ordered a platter (for $ 14 bucks, you can't beat that) with all the strong flavours we both like (capers, olives, hummus, anchovies)... yummy! Then we proceeded to order chicken breast with mushrooms in a nice wine reduction. The plate size was right, the price was really inexpensive (under $ 15 for a main course, it is almost unbeatable). We also ordered patatas bravas, although I think by then we had eaten too much. And the cheesecake with blueberry compote... to die for.
My Mom was so happy with the meal that she said this had been the best dining experience she had had in Vancouver this time around. I was quite pleased to hear that, particularly since the staff at Whineo's was very friendly and the food was amazing. I wanted to come back with my brother but he had to fly out and thus we couldn't do it. But I'll certainly be back :-)
Since I didn't take pictures, I had to borrow pictures from Urban Mixer Flickr's website to showcase how the food is presented. You can check it here... You can check Raincoaster's picture of Whineo's indoors here.
I found out that WaiterBlog had reviewed Whineo's so here is the post.
And just a minute before I was about to push the "Publish Post" button, I discovered that Whineo's is an OceanWise member and thus their seafood dishes are certified as sustainable :-) Now one more reason to go for dinner there!
Mom visited recently from Mexico, and we went for dinner a couple of days before she left. I wondered where to take her since we had done the majority of restaurants I usually like. My Mom has been to Vancouver many times and we've very frequently eaten out so I really didn't want to take her to a 'repeat' restaurant. Dining out in Vancouver is normally not hard to do. There's a gazillion restaurants to please just every palate. But throughout my 10 years in the city, we've been to too many of them. So it took me a while to think of a good place.
However, I had just recently read a review of Whineo's, a neat dining/bar place in the downtown core of Vancouver (right on Granville Street). I knew Josh Manuel, one of the co-owners, through his former job and I thought it might be neat to check this place out. And as I will explain below, I think I made the right choice :-)
Mom and I ordered a platter (for $ 14 bucks, you can't beat that) with all the strong flavours we both like (capers, olives, hummus, anchovies)... yummy! Then we proceeded to order chicken breast with mushrooms in a nice wine reduction. The plate size was right, the price was really inexpensive (under $ 15 for a main course, it is almost unbeatable). We also ordered patatas bravas, although I think by then we had eaten too much. And the cheesecake with blueberry compote... to die for.
My Mom was so happy with the meal that she said this had been the best dining experience she had had in Vancouver this time around. I was quite pleased to hear that, particularly since the staff at Whineo's was very friendly and the food was amazing. I wanted to come back with my brother but he had to fly out and thus we couldn't do it. But I'll certainly be back :-)
Since I didn't take pictures, I had to borrow pictures from Urban Mixer Flickr's website to showcase how the food is presented. You can check it here... You can check Raincoaster's picture of Whineo's indoors here.
I found out that WaiterBlog had reviewed Whineo's so here is the post.
And just a minute before I was about to push the "Publish Post" button, I discovered that Whineo's is an OceanWise member and thus their seafood dishes are certified as sustainable :-) Now one more reason to go for dinner there!
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
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