Random thoughts of a student of the environment

Now check my own domain!

2008-05-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

It's been WAY too long since I posted on Blogger. Admittedly, some people still end up here (I'm hoping Google will soon realize the errs of its way). Anyhow, just as I told you that my next posts would be hosted on WordPress.com, now may I present to you the new and improved Random Thoughts of a Student of the Environment (if you click on this link you'll reach http://hummingbird604.com, my new domain). How cool is that? Please update your bookmarks and your RSS feeds. Thanks!

New posts will be hosted on WordPress

2008-03-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

I've noticed that some of you have not changed your RSS feeds, changed your bookmarks and updated your blogrolls. I just wanted to say that in the future my posts will be hosted at:

http://hummingbird604.wordpress.com

I have imported all of my posts from Blogger on to WordPress, so even if you liked an old post of mine, you will still be able to find it on my WordPress site. So, please make sure to check that one.

Thanks so much for your continued support and readership!
Raul

Please update your bookmarks and blogrolls - I've moved

2008-03-06T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I figured the time would come eventually for me to move platforms. Blogger, it's been a great time. I created 632 posts on Blogger and I progressed from basically nothing to now having more confidence in my writing and my minimal Geek Factor. But since a number of awesome Vancouver bloggers have offered to have my back if I need help with WordPress (you know who you are!), I've decided not to wait any longer.

So, despite the annoying 'by hummingbird604' little thing over there at WP, I've decided to migrate. It may take a while to adjust, but hey whatever. I am just hoping my loyal readers will have no problems switching their RSS feeds, Google Readers, bookmarks and blogrolls.

So, welcome to my WordPress blog! http://hummingbird604.wordpress.com

Please be patient. I'll be adding bloggers to my blogroll and playing with the themes until I find a nice one.

Review of "Two decades of failed climate change policy" by Mark Jaccard

2008-03-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

First, I want to apologize because while I heard the second half of the lecture, I couldn't take notes as my battery died half way through (actually, exactly half way through). So, the notes you're going to read are pretty much only from the first half. Since Mark is an academic (and so am I), I think I would be making him a disservice if I wrote what I recall. The rest of my notes are pretty verbatim (I type really really fast) so I think I captured what he said.

Second, my overall assessment. I think Mark's lecture was excellent. I know that a lot of people are going to complain about certain points that he made, or about his particular viewpoints on a number of issues (for example, on why he opposes Gateway). And quite honestly, I do disagree with some of his points as well (particularly in regards to carbon offsets). But the truth is, he really made it easy for a general audience to understand the rather conceptually complex theory behind environmental policy instruments. I think that there is a place for academics like Mark who are able to connect to general audiences and explain these concepts to them in an easy and accessible way. I know three other experts in the field of climate change in Canada who have the same ability, although they are based at UBC (not SFU).

He first started by explaining four broad categories of environmental policy tools to reduce GHG emissions from fossil fuels, based on four methods of reduction:

Energy efficiency
Switch to renewable energy sources or nuclear energy
Pollution control (carbon sequestration)
Catch-all

In Mark's words, politicians don't do the above. Consumers, households and industry do it. So, governments only have policy tools to lead us to change actions. The four categories of policies he suggested are:

Information programs
Subsidies
Regulation
Financial charges

Mark made a point that I found interesting - he is NOT an advocate of a carbon tax, as often portrayed in the media, but he said he was an advocate of compulsory policy because research has shown him that's the way to do it. That's not surprising to hear (that his research is often misinterpreted and portrayed in the wrong way on the media - that's happened to a number of other researchers - just ask Robert Putnam and his latest research on social capital, diverse communities and 'hunkering')

Mark also made a point that all previous policies that had been implemented in Canada had failed to meet the target. According to Jaccard, energy efficiency is more costly than we think (what he called the second inconvenient truth), but that doesn't mean that we ought not to do it, we still should do it.

While I have a smattering of other notes, I think that the best I can do is to just give you what were his main points. He suggests that non-compulsory policies (like subsidies, information programs, etc.) are NOT a substitute for compulsory policies.

I was a little surprised (and taken aback) that he apparently doesn't advocate or even like the idea of offsets (as noted below)

With apologies to people who have worked very hard to establish offsets emissions. It can give us a sense that “we don’t need to put in the compulsory policy”. An offset is a subsidy from an individual to another individual. Still has the same problems with subsidy – we have to try to make sure that the money will indeed make people behave differently – how can you be sure of that?

I do like the idea of offsets because (a) at least they're at least a first step in reducing emissions and (b) there are systems that can be third-party audited. But then again, each one of us is entitled to our own opinion.

Overall, I liked his delivery style, and it was an interesting lecture. I think that what VTACC is doing is rather important (educating people on climate change issues). I also think that they can't stop with three lectures and they need to keep this going. You'd be surprised. I got to the Canadian Memorial Church to see a room pretty much full with people who wanted to learn more about climate change. I don't think that VTACC should stop, they should continue the lecture series (and bring lots of other perspectives, even within the academic realm).

VTACC will make his PowerPoint slides available freely on their website (he didn't want us to 'read the slides' so he only showed one or two throughout the conference). If you want to learn more about what Dr. Mark Jaccard does, you can look here.

Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do

2008-03-05T02:35:00.000-08:00

While I admit that I'm somewhat of a clean freak (my apartment is about 450-500 sq ft so it's tiny and thus needs to always be clean and impeccable), I also know myself. Once I'm tired, the only thing I want to do is read, read and read. I hate doing dishes and having to clean up. However, last night (if we consider this Wednesday morning) I felt extremely frustrated by the state of affairs.

Let me explain. I hadn't rented a movie in a long while. When I do, I usually rent either at Happy Bats Cinema or a very tiny local store. On Tuesdays, said store has the 2x1 special. I have almost never been able to make use of it as I almost never make it to the store on time to pick up a movie on a Tuesday.

However, last night I went home straight after Mark Jaccard's lecture (which I will discuss on my blog probably later today or tomorrow) and while tired, I felt still really full from having eaten curry chicken in the afternoon and a very late dinner. So I thought "well, instead of reading, tonight it's time to rent 2 movies". So for the first time in a long while, I have two movies to watch.

I've seen the first one (Sydney White - yes, I know - it's definitely a brainless movie) and I am waiting until later today (tomorrow) to watch the second one (Smokin' Aces with a number of good actors but the one I want to see is Ryan Reynolds in a completely different role to all the ones I've seen him in).

The title of the post relates to the fact that I am still awake after having responded to my cleanliness frustration and urges despite being so tired. While I wanted to just curl on my couch and watch the movie, seeing my apartment as messy as it was before I had this urge to clean up just made me not enjoy the movie. So I decided to do a full clean-up. The floors still need some moping, but I think the rest of the apartment looks ok. Hence the title of the post - sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do. I needed to feel as though my place was tidy, clean and livable. Now, if I could just get back to sleep... :)

The Green Living Show recap

2008-03-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

My good friend HZ and I were talking about the fact that we already lived 'green' and he pondered "how much greener can I live?" I think that while generally I live a fairly environmentally-aware life (that's what I do for a living, so it would be kind of ironic if I didn't). But the Green Living Show did give me an opportunity to see a number of other opportunities for improvement.

For example, transportation choices. Yes, electric cars can be an option, I think. Since I am not a transportation expert, I can refer you to the blogs of Stephen Rees and Paul Hillsdon if you want to talk about those issues. But definitely, walking or biking or taking the bus are the only options we have.

Another area (rather important to me given my busy social life) was beer consumption. I am not kidding! Organic beer is good :) I will send you to check Rebecca's, Keira's and Phaedra's blogs for very good recaps of the Green Living Show that include the topic of organic beer. Furthermore, a visitor to my blog informed me that the Canadian Wildlife Federation's magazine (Checkerspot) was liveblogging, so check them out too. Here I would like to just make some broader comments about GLC.

First, I really think that BC Place was a very good choice, but I wonder if Canada Place would have been better (just simply in terms of transportation access to the show). Although come to think about it, maybe it was just the fact that I didn't remember how to get to BC Place by transit. I attended the Green Living Show on Saturday morning with Phaedra, and we walked from Our Town Cafe on Broadway and Kingsway all the way down to BC Place. It was a very beautiful walk. But if it had been raining, we probably would have had to take the Skytrain. I really had forgotten that Stadium Skytrain station is very close to BC Place.

Second, the overall theme and design of the show was fantastic. I didn't feel that the show was crowded at all. And they really brought some high-powered speakers (Stephen Lewis, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Adrienne Carr). Really, that was a very very good idea.

Third, the only thing I was a bit surprised was that Green Table wasn't there. Almost every aspect of every day life was showcased. To give a few examples, soy-based candles, organic beer, water-saving and energy-saving appliances, sustainable and sweatshop-free clothing, organic snacks. But the question in my head remains - why wasn't our very own Sustainable Restaurants Association there? Of course, I can always email and ask :)

Going there with Phaedra was really a highlight of the weekend, because she is really awesome. We have had the chance to e-mail and comment on each other's blogs, but it was very very nice to really hang out outside the blogosphere. It's always awesome to get to know the person behind the blog.

One of the things that really hit home with me was that the organizers realized that the show would have environmental impacts, and looked for ways to reduce them. You'd be surprised how many organizers of environmentally-themed events don't really look INSIDE their event! But this wasn't the case with Green Living Show. If you click here, you can read all the ways in which they reduced environmental impacts.

All in all, I really enjoyed the show, and will definitely do my best to attend next year's. Kudos to the organizers! Now, on the critical side of things - the statistical profile they provide of a typical Green Living Show attendee would suggest (and thus, even possibly confirm) that to be more sustainable you need to make enough money to pay the environmental premium price (just read this fact - 37% of last year's attendees make more than $ 100,000. Wow!).

I am not sure that I like reading this fact, to be quite frank. Saving money is one of the selling points of going greener in this city (given the exorbitant prices of housing and gas). Thus, if you tell me that I need to first make more money and THEN go green, it becomes a hard sell (particularly for those like me whose money-making power is not yet in the six figures realm).

Overall, as mentioned, the show was great and I'm looking forward to next year's.

Please note: This post is cross-posted on both my blogs (Blogger and WordPress) for the time being, but I think that the time is coming for me to just continue on with WP. I'll post an announcement when that happens.

Small oooooops...

2008-03-04T08:11:00.001-08:00

So I was very proud that I had remembered to write a post to celebrate International Women's Day, and raved about the women in my life, etc. But the small detail I forgot is that I am about four days early! Sorry about that. Since I'm attending a seminar today on the experiences of women researchers investigating gender issues, I seriously thought it was today. But it's not. Ooooops!

So, I fully deserve to have experienced the frustration I felt last night. I was a bit annoyed that, since I wanted to highlight IWD, I basically had to leave all my other ideas in draft form until the day was over (or half-way over) to start posting again. I usually follow this guideline because not everybody is subscribed in a RSS reader, so sometimes they check blogs in the morning, and thus this would be the first post at the top of the page.

But I had a few other ideas on the making (like reviewing the bar Library Square, the restaurant India Bistro) and I didn't write anything because I thought "well, if I do post something AFTER having posted the IWD thingy, the focus on IWD will be lost, so better not to post anything until mid-day". But reading today's Morning Brew I realized... it's March 4th, not 8th. So thus the title of the post... OOOOOOOPS.

:)

Upcoming events - International Women's Day

2008-03-03T17:02:00.001-08:00

Mark your calendars! March 8th is International Women's Day. It is a date to celebrate the contributions of women to society in all realms (social, political, economics, natural sciences, etc.). For me, it is slightly bizarre to have such a day (and before I get bombarded with negative feedback, let me explain why).

Let me start with the most important woman in my life, my Mom. My mother is highly educated, undertook her PhD in political science when she already had grown kids, has lived abroad, maintains a leadership position in her school and has many amazing qualities. The thing is, to me, that has always been completely normal. We (my brothers and I) were raised in such a way that gender really didn't matter. All that mattered was that she was(and is) amazing, period.

Then, let me continue with my friends. As some of you may know, my first degree is in chemical engineering. Traditionally, there has been a distinct absence of women engineers (I have observed this trend particularly in three fields: chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and civil engineering). But the funny thing is (and to my male peers' surprise) that the top six students in my class were the only five women in the class and yours truly. So much for "male superiority in the engineering field"!

As a matter of fact, the person who made me fall in love with chemical engineering itself is a woman (the most beautiful professor of Separation Processes, and Process Control ever). Fashionable, trendy, and extremely bright. To this day, AMVG and I remain really close friends (we became friends after I finished my undergraduate). She was by and large my favorite instructor in undergraduate.

The vast majority of my girlfriends are experts in their fields, some of them in non-'traditionally female' areas. They are urban planners and epidemiologists, geographers, computer geeks and nurses, project managers and strategy consultants, specialists in environmental issues and policy analysts. I have them in all flavors and sizes (and all of them astoundingly beautiful, but that's just a bonus) and they're all leaders in their fields. And some of my best former students are women!

Of course, I am not about to suggest that there haven't been historically gender disparities. I was quickly scanning a report online mentioning that women engineers were earning 70 cents per dollar earned by their male counterparts (sorry that I don't provide the link, I was just quickly browsing and didn't save the source). Income disparity is an unfortunate but real fact of life.

So please join me in celebrating the achievements of women and their contributions to humanity. And to all my girlfriends, sisters-in-law, nieces, fellow bloggers, former students, female colleagues, and former professors: Happy International Women's Day!

Tired from the weekend

2008-03-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Weekends are supposed to be fun and relaxing, right? Well, yeah I did have some R&R and had friends over for dinner, but the weekend was also stressful. Had to deal with a lot of stuff, missed volleyball due to a migraine and literally dozed off on the couch while watching Superman II. Thus, I missed this morning's lecture on climate change and I'm exhausted from a very busy weekend. I need a vacation from my weekends :) (j/k)

Content will be published intermittently. I am preparing a guest post for Rebecca on the history of Mount Pleasant. Have a couple others in draft form.

UPDATE - I forgot to mention that I had a couple of days of tranquility away from my unbearable neighbours. But apparently they're going on holiday next week and then the following weekend (Easter Weekend) I'm house sitting so maybe March will be the month I won't hear screaming kids.

Testing the waters I: From Blogger to WordPress

2008-03-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

It's kind of ironic. Now that I've gained a more-or-less steady readership, and I'm on a few blogrolls (thank you guys for adding me!), I'm in the process of switching from Blogger to WordPress. A couple of days ago I imported my posts (it seems that even though WordPress says that only 500 out of my 622 blog posts were imported, I kind of can't see which ones weren't). And I can see most of the comments even though the converter says none of the comments were transferred.

So, go check my WordPress blog (it's pretty much the same content as here) and if you could, leave a comment or a trackback. I'm trying to see how it works. For the time being, most likely I'll be cross-posting (e.g. posting here AND there) to avoid potential surprises -- please don't change your blogrolls just yet, give me a few days to adjust. .

So, Matt Mullenweg and WordPress, here I come :)

Upcoming climate-change and environmental events in Vancouver

2008-02-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Well, hello sunshine! Today was a beautiful day and thus I had a chance to enjoy the sun for a bit. Worked from home for most of the day, although felt really sleepy at times. Anyhow, for those of you enviro-folks in town, here are some events you can hit.

Via one of my close friends, here is a link to a lecture that will be given tomorrow by Sheila Watt-Cloutier, sponsored by the Terry Project at UBC, on The Right to be Cold: The Global Significance of Arctic Climate Change. This will be at the(Life Science Institute, West Atrium, Friday Feb 29th, 12noon. If you don't know who Ms. Watt-Cloutier is, she was one of the top nominees for the 2007 Nobel Prize (which ultimately went to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

Via Keira-Anne's blog, I found out about the Green Living Show (February 29th to March 2nd, 2008). She is going to head there on Friday with Rebecca (aka Miss604) so if you want to check the show AND hang out with two beautiful women, I'd suggest you head there on Friday. I plan to go on Saturday morning as I have a pretty packed social weekend, and most likely I'll go with Phaedra and probably my friend HZ. I wish I could go on Friday but I'm totally booked (so blog updates unlikely until Saturday afternoon).

Via VTACC (Vancouver's Taxpayers Against Climate Change), I found out about a lecture by Dr. Marc Jaccard on "Lessons for the Future from Canada's Climate Policy Failures", Tuesday March 4th, at 7pm at the Canadian Memorial Church (15th and Burrard). From VTACC website, here's the abstract:

Decades of climate policy under different governments have failed to reduce or substantially slow the growth in greenhouse gas emissions in this country. How has this happened? How can we get out of this muddle so that Canada can do its share in the fight against global warming?
Go here for more information

And, from a colleague of mine, here are the details for a special lecture at SFU Harbour Centre by Professor Michael Grubb: ‘Cutting carbon in Europe to 2020: competitiveness, emissions trading and beyond’, Room 2200 (RBC Dominion Securities Executive Meeting Room), Monday March 3rd, 2008 - 9:00am to 10:30am (yes this is a morning seminar).

I am probably going to attend all four. Hope you can make it to at least one of them!

Music review - Trouble by Pink

2008-02-27T23:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel guilty about writing 'Music Reviews' as I rarely have 'new' songs on this blog, but mostly these are songs whose rhythm and/or lyrics and/or vocals I enjoy (or hate, like in the case of a remake of 'You Really Got Me Now"). This song, Trouble (by Pink) is particularly enjoyable.

While the video is themed as a 'Western' movie, the song itself is kind of rock-ish. But the video is hilarious. Pink basically starts a brawl (something I've always dreamed of doing -- yes I know, it does sound crazy). But mostly, this song is the first one that comes to my mind whenever any of my closest friends smirks and tells me "oh, Raul... you *are* trouble" ... and yeah, I got to admit, sometimes I can be a little bit of trouble :-)

Video from YouTube.

Upcoming events - BC Anti-bullying Day

2008-02-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Given that the Government of the Province of British Columbia has proclaimed February 27th, 2008 as BC Anti-Bullying Day, and a number of organizations (like CUPE) and public figures (including Christy Clark) are encouraging the public to wear pink (by the way, great website from the CKNW), I figured that, in celebration of BC Anti-Bullying Day, I'm should share with the blogosphere an intimate look at a part of my life I wish I had never had to endure, and how I dealt with it.

When I was in primary school, I used to be as tiny as a midget. For some bizarre reason, I started growing when I was 17. I am not kidding you. Nowadays, at a my 5'11" (6' on a good day) and 170 pds, it's kind of hard to mess around with me (well, my height/weight and my martial arts and street fighting training kind of help). Unless, of course, you're 6'7 and super strong... but I digress.

So back then, when I was short and wore glasses, I was bullied by taller, stronger young men. After all, "I was in an all-boys school and had to learn to fight" (their words, not mine). Many, many times, my brothers (particularly my eldest brother) had to intervene and calm some of these bullies. But I couldn't have my older brothers always protect me. I had to learn to do it myself.

I have always been privileged in that my parents have always been my best friends, so I needed to tell them what was going on at school. After careful deliberation we (my parents and I) decided that I needed to take martial arts training. Not because I enjoyed kicking people's butts, but because I wanted to be able to defend myself should I ever need to do so. As a young kid (and to this day), I always tended to be extremely sensitive, emotional and sweet. These were not traits that aggressive bullies would take in a positive light. But I didn't want to be a victim or a target. I wanted to empower myself and be able to break through to these bullies.

One day (several months after I had started my martial arts training), a guy who had bullied me for a long while started picking a fight with me (Gustavo was his name), right before school was over. I was faced with the choice I never wanted to face - "do I fight or do I run?" I decided it was time to fight back. I grabbed Gustavo's arm and applied a judo move on him. I threw him over the top of my shoulder and, strategically, forced him to land with his back towards a trash can. I did this purposefully as I knew that would immobilize him completely. He started crying on the spot and ran away from me as fast as he could.

My classmates were astonished. "How could Raul, the tiny little midget, defend himself now? What happened to him?" From that moment onwards, I never looked back, and never had to face another bully. The word was out: Raul was never going to let anyone else pick on him ever, ever again.

So, in celebration of British Columbia's Anti-Bullying Day, I am going to wear a pink t-shirt to the office tomorrow (Wednesday February 27th, 2008). I encourage you to do so, too. Because bullying is simply wrong, and because once upon a time, I had to fight back too. And if you know someone who is being bullied, there are resources out there that can help him/her deal with it.

Music review - Somebody Help Me by Full Blown Rose

2008-02-26T00:35:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite songs, and used to be the theme for a TV show with Eliza Dushku, "Tru Calling" - which by the way was filmed in Vancouver). I am sure that if you hear this song, you'll love it too.

It has rock sounds, nice vocals, and lyrics that make me cringe because I don't really think I need help right now (well, unless you wanted to give me the job opportunity of my life, but that's not the point right now). Apparently, Full Blown Rose is now defunct. Seems like people didn't heed the call for help on time (sorry, had to make this joke!)

Video from YouTube.

The politics of award-winning

2008-02-25T09:13:00.001-08:00

Well, the Oscars have come and gone. I missed a large part of the ceremony because I had other social commitments, but when I heard that Julie Christie hadn't won Best Actress and that it had gone to Marion Cotillard, my heart broke into small pieces. I had been hoping they would give it to Julie Christie for her heart-wrenching performance in Away from Her, but the Academy didn't.

Not to say that Cotillard's performance wasn't good, because that'd be a lie. But I really believe Christie's work was much more worthy. This event made me reflect on the politics of award-winning, both in glamorous Hollywood and in my own professional life.

I'm a competitor, have always been. Ever since I was a little kid, my parents groomed me and my brothers to succeed. Don't be confused though. Mom and Dad never demanded me to be a straight 'A' student; the only thing they ever demanded was that I gave my very best, that I tried as hard as I could. If my best effort won me a "B+", then so be it, but at least I gave it my all. That has been my philosophy always, to live to the fullest and to try as hard as I can.

Of course, in the trials, you have to face other people and you have to try and win. That's why I said I had always been a competitor. I've been faced with lots of competition, academically, in sports, in art, and in everything I have done. I don't hate losing in and of itself, I hate losing AND knowing I could have tried harder. But when I try hard and I'm competent enough in an area, success has frequently translated into winning awards and trophies.

One of the areas where I have always been frustrated with the politics of award-winning is teaching. A few years back, I was teaching at a high-end, upper-class high school and (as I usually do) I gave my students my very best. I tried so hard to help them in and outside of the classroom, not because I wanted a 'Best Professor' award, but because I felt that I should give my best.

Soon enough, a competition for 'Best Professor' ensued and, while I was nominated, I didn't win. The shock for me wasn't that I hadn't won, but that the professor who won was 'the sweetest one'. I thought "What the heck?!?!? Am I not sweet enough? Am I not dedicated enough?". I was devastated.

The Monday following the awards ceremony, three quarters of my classroom's seats were empty. My beloved students, the ones who totally swore for me, the ones who thought I was 'simply the greatest ever', were absent. Why was that? I wondered if they felt that they couldn't face me after having voted for someone else and not for me.

I couldn't let this go for a long while, so one day I actually attended a lecture given by the winner. I was quite unimpressed, but I could now clearly see why I hadn't won: I was too demanding. Yeah, I was sweet and always available to my students, but I pushed them hard. But this professor was so laid-back and care-free that his students liked him a lot. So much they wanted him to win. So he didn't win for being the most competent teacher nor the most skillful. He won because he was popular.

In more recent years, my teaching experience has been actually quite the opposite from previous stints. My students have loved me not only because I care for them but because I have pushed them hard. I have cared for their personal growth and their development, but I haven't made it easy on them. And I have been handsomely rewarded. My former students (the very recent ones) often write to me to ask for advice, ask for a letter of reference, let me know what they've been up to, or just inquire how I am doing and what I'm up to. Knowing that my former students respect me and understand that I pushed them to be better because I saw potential in them, and because I cared, is the best award I could ever win.

Embracing destiny

2008-02-24T08:14:00.000-08:00

While I was not able to sleep well from Friday to Saturday, I had a great night of sleep from Saturday to Sunday - although it was hard to get to sleep because I had tinga poblana and flan at AF's place (and while I love tinga and she is an amazing cook, it was heavy on my stomach - so I ended up feeling totally full until past midnight, even though we had dinner at 7).

It was quite an enjoyable evening, as SF was there too, and we joked, ate great food and enjoyed each other's company until about 9.30. They stayed to watch a movie, but I just wanted to go home and sleep. Was really exhausted. Brunch was also really fun, at The Nice Cafe, with C, B, J and L.

What I was meaning about embracing destiny on my post is that we should just go with the flow and not fight destiny. Let me explain. My upstairs neighbours, with their usual lack of regard for our sleep (my and my next door neighbour's), woke up at 7 am and started doing their usual rounds (stomping on their floor - my roof - and making noises). So instead of fighting it, I went along with it, and turned on my TV (as loud as I could possibly have it without being annoyed myself) and made breakfast. That has allowed me to be prepared for volleyball just in time. And I've had a chance to watch the news (which is rare for me, as I'm always super busy).

This evening I'm sure we are going to be watching the Oscars. I've got my bets on Julie Christie for best actress (despite how much I do like Ellen Page). Most people think Daniel Day-Lewis will win best actor. What do YOU think?

Ah the paradoxes

2008-02-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

I'm usually a night owl. Love staying up late and work my way through stuff. Only problem - I love waking up late too. But I've been awake on and off since 3.45 am. ARGH! Why, on the only day that I can sleep in (I can't on Sundays as I have volleyball), why can't I just sleep my way through the night? Frustrated.

Vancouver Blogger Meetup - February 2008

2008-02-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

This month's Vancouver Blogger Meetup was sponsored by Voxant and the folks of Smarter Than Your Average Blog. Had very nice conversations with Matt, Jan, Isabella and a few other folks. And of course, got to meet Rebecca's husband in person (though I've commented on his blog quite frequently) and Duane Storey. We had a very good time (photos on my Flickr stream).

Pondered for a while there about whether I wanted to post my own photos publicly on Flickr, you know, with the privacy thing, the anonymity, etc. So I decided to post some that I think can be public (the rest only my Flickr friends - which include some good blogger friends - can see them).

Normally I would embed my photographs here, but I haven't figured out how to do it without having Flickr have a hissy fit on me, so I'll just send you to my Flickr photostream. I left VBM unusually early (around 7 pm) because I was exhausted, and also because I have another social commitment. Hope you guys are having a great weekend!

Band review - Delhi2Dublin

2008-02-22T14:16:00.001-08:00

D2D in full force
Originally uploaded by Raul P-V (Rolex)

Great friends usually means great perks. And having a close friend who is a die-hard fan of talented local bands usually means getting dragged along (very willingly I might add) to impromptu gigs. So HZ brought JH and myself along with him to see a live, in-studio performance of Delhi2Dublin. His review of the evening is here.

I don't think I can add much more to his review. You have to listen to D2D to really understand the uniqueness of their music. They simply rock (and no, they don’t actually do rock – it’s a fusion of Irish, Indian with some overtones of African I’d say).

It had been a long time since I saw a live performance (admittedly I am a fan of the Backstage Lounge, which is one of the venues where you'd see local bands perform). But, back to the D2D review. I was absolutely transported, and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. One of the things that I would have personally enjoyed would have been to hang out with them after the performance (maybe have a drink or something). I've done that with other bands and the insight you get into their music and style is much better.

In this case, we ended up doing dinner (where our good friend BS joined us) and then a drink at 1181. More in-depth review forthcoming. But here is a picture of the performance last night. I am SO sorry that it's such poor quality, but I don't have the equipment. JH and HZ, on the other hand, are much better photographers and own better tools for their hobby. So, I am sure that at next D2D's gig you'll get better pictures. For now, you'll have to do with mine.

Northern Voice and Vancouver Blogger Meetup

2008-02-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I'm going to miss most of Northern Voice 2008 because I forgot to register well in advance. But you can get the scoop on many local bloggers' sites: Rebecca, John, Duane, to mention just a few... I am sure just about every Vancouver blogger is posting about Northern Voice (myself included and I'm not even there). Best bet to read EVERY Vancouver blogger's account of Northern Voice? Simply Google "Northern Voice 2008". Easy as that.

I'm going to be at the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup though, and afterwards will head to meet my good friend AF for some flan and tea and much-needed catch-up. Of course, I am not sure how coherent I will be given that VBM is post-Friday drinks in my office. Oooops :) But I really want to meet some of Vancouver's bloggers (and my Team Blogger teammates!). Slowly but surely I'm getting to know in person some of these brilliant folks.

On Wednesday I met Rebecca in person for the first time, after having communicated via e-mail, GChat and on our respective blogs. Were you wondering if she's as pretty and sweet in person as she is in her blog and pictures? Yeah, she is. Totally. And moreover, she makes such a cute couple with John... makes me hopeful that I'll find true love some day!

Coffee shop review - Our Town Cafe (Kingsway and Broadway)

2008-02-22T01:39:00.001-08:00

Well, while we are on the topic of coffee shops, I have to say that one of the cutest (and most relaxing ones) I’ve ever been at is Our Town Café. Located at the corner of Kingsway and Broadway, Our Town Café is the epitome of relaxation. I wouldn’t recommend you to come to OTC if you really like to have an ebullient atmosphere.

OTC is the ideal coffee shop to come and read a book, relax, take the day easy. The food is nice (they’ve got some organic items there too) and the coffee is good too (although I wouldn’t actually say it’s Artigiano’s coffee). The most important element: the relaxing atmosphere you get here. Best place to have a nice coffee or tea and read a book. Even when it’s raining.

Coffee shop review - Cafe Artigiano

2008-02-22T01:37:00.001-08:00

There are few things I love more than coffee. Real coffee. The stuff that makes you smile when you wake up in the morning to the smell of a dark, freshly brewed concoction. Unfortunately, my tummy has begun to be slightly sensitive (please replace that with VERY sensitive) to irritants, and therefore coffee is now more or less off grounds.

The problem with this is that my daily routine does involve coffee. Even if I work from home for about one or two hours before heading to the office, that’s the first thing I do: I wake up, barely conscious, stagger until I reach my coffee maker and turn it on. However, I’ve recently had several episodes of stomach ache that are associated with dairy consumption (cheese, of all things!) and caffeine consumption.

Therefore, what I did today (as an innovation) was to make a pot of English breakfast tea, and start working. The kick wasn’t enough, I got to tell you. So, when KP said that she wanted to meet for coffee downtown, I jumped at the possibility. Particularly since we haven’t seen each other (and I totally missed her birthday!) and so she suggested Café Artigiano.

Now, to the uninitiated, this could be just any other coffee shop. But no, don’t be fooled. This is Café Artigiano. The one and only. This is gourmet coffee, even the Americano is amazing. The atmosphere is extremely warm. And the staff… not only are they beautiful (physically speaking), they are so incredibly sweet. *swoons*

I have been to Café Artigiano many a time, but had never actually had the time to sit down and write a coffee shop review, so now that I’m waiting for KP to show up, it’s the perfect occasion.

As I write this review, I’m looking at the baristas (both male and female) and they keep smiling. How do they do that, particularly after a really long day at work? I don’t know, but those smiles are beautiful and I feel so welcome at this place, it’s going to be kind of hard to leave. Of course, the incentive to get out of here is that I’m heading down to CBC Studios to see a live performance of Delhi2Dublin. I’ll tell you all about it afterwards.

Small inconvenients of Café Artigiano:

If you’re a blogger or need a wireless connection, you are pretty much SOL. This place doesn’t provide wifi. But on the plus side, if you actually want to work on a paper or read stuff, you can do it without the added distraction of having an internet connection.
The people coming here (and working here) are pretty damn hot. That may be a bit of a distraction if you’re trying to concentrate on a project. I have a very, very short attention span and can easily be swayed away from an assignment with a beautiful smile [ that being said, I’ve also been blamed for charming people away from their work by using my eye-lash batting powers and my mega-watt smile… ooops :o) ]
Not enough power outlets to connect your laptop. So, make sure you got a nice battery before heading down here to do work. I managed to sweet-talk my neighbours into letting me connect to the power outlet and run my cord undernearth their legs, but it’s slightly embarrassing.
The atmosphere is quite animated, so if you’re trying to concentrate on something that requires attention, you may be SOL. I am wearing my headphones and listening to Miguel Migs on my iPod and still can hear my neighbour’s conversations.

Overall, I still would come to CA (Hornby and almost Robson, near the Vancouver Art Gallery). Just accompanied with a nice book though ;)

Putting this beautiful day to good use

2008-02-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

Normally, I work from home on Fridays (I used to do this to avoid being dragged out for a pint, but then I caved in and it has become a nice tradition). Anyhow, I'm working from home today as my building is not going to be well-heated and thus I preferred to be here. While I can't complain (I'm getting lots of natural sun light through my windows), I think it's a waste of a beautiful day to work at home. So I'm going to take my laptop and go somewhere to do work (and take this opportunity to take some nice photographs).

Suggestions for good locations to work? All I need is wifi :) Was thinking of hitting the Lonsdale Quay (I know of a fairly secluded spot where I read lots of research papers related to work). But other suggestions accepted. I'll have online access so I'll know what you suggest :)

Movie review - Shoot' Em Up

2008-02-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

I was kind of expecting my good friend Nomade Moderne to do a review of "Shoot 'Em Up" (he has a great sense of humor and would probably have written a very witty description of the movie) but I know for a fact he's up to his eyeballs in work, so you'll have to do with my review.

If you have seen anything with Clive Owen, Monica Belucci or Paul Giamatti in it, you know that they're pretty serious actors. So when you see a movie where a British hit-man, all-around assassin becomes the unlikely nanny to a cute baby (whose destiny is to become a bone-marrow donor for an ailing politician), you know that you're in for a laugh.

Said British nanny (played by Owen) is trying to save the baby from Giamatti's thugs, and in the process, making extensive and very creative use of carrots (you have to see the movie). Since he is incapable of feeding the baby by himself, he seeks a working woman to help him out (Belucci). The rest of the movie is so over the top that we couldn't stop laughing.

Why would these actors choose to do this movie? I don't know. But I can tell you that the Wikipedia summary doesn't do it justice. You *have* to watch it to really get it.

And while we are at it, you should really check the most recent post of Nomade Moderne, where he published some of his photography (he recently purchased a Digital SLR, so he's making good use of it).

And here is the YouTube trailer for the movie:

On randomness

2008-02-20T23:48:00.000-08:00

Very quick pre-sleepy time post, just to answer a question that was raised at today's Green Drinks, and at last night's Third Tuesday. The question was - what do you blog about? And my long winded answer is always "well, I'm interested in environmental issues, so it started like that, but now I blog about very random things".

The general response I got was (with the exception of a few individuals particularly at Third Tuesday) ... "so, say you wake up thinking about something, you just blog about that?". That got me thinking about a shorter way to respond. I blog about what peaks my interests, what I have on my mind or what I want to articulate for future reflection. That may be a very complex issue, or just a song that I want to find and keep here.

So, for example, I got very light-hearted and non-reflective pieces like the 'music reviews', but I also have some fairly complex analyses of Vancouver-related or environmentally-related issues. For example, I think one of my best pieces is the discussion around Al Gore/IPCC winning the Nobel Prize. Another one that I liked was my comparison of Vancouver's and Mexico City's transportation systems. Ah, and lest we forget... my discussion about the meaning of 'forever' in relationships.

So, in short - my blog is titled "Random thoughts of a student of the environment" for that reason: because I want it to reflect whatever random thoughts cross my mind. I am still interested in environmental issues, and I can write reflective and analytical essays. However, that's not the end of it all. I am here to have fun, and hopefully, so are you.

No recap of Green Drinks :(

2008-02-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry guys, but as it turns out, in my intent to be as "non-specific" and "protecting everyone's privacy", my photographs turned out horribly and thus I don't want to post a detailed, non-pictorial recap of Green Drinks. Suffice it to say, it was fun and I had a really delightful time. I think I actually need to bring my business cards next time. And perhaps ask people in advance if they mind photographs, because the ones I got are hideous and really don't show anybody's face.

Green restaurants: More than a gimmick

2008-02-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

While reading Morning Brew this morning, I came across a commentary from John Martin (published by The Province). Up until now, I had never heard of Martin, truth be told. But the commentary (provocative and somewhat shocking) made me think that people aren't really aware of what green restaurants (or sustainable restaurants) are, and that in a very similar fashion to carbon offsets, the public is criticizing the idea before really understanding it.

So I went back to the Green Table website to see if they had put up something newer that could help educate the readers (and perhaps Martin himself if he comes across my blog) about the concept of greening a restaurant. They now have an educational video that might be of some use. You can see it here (I copied the original link from Green Table's site).

It is clear to me that being oblivious to the reality that global environmental change is happening is just a demonstration of what I've called the "ostrich technique" (otherwise known as putting your head in the sand). Admittedly, I am one of the advocates of not putting all our eggs in the climate change basket. I want the public to know that there are many pressing environmental problems other than just climate change (e.g. wastewater, hazardous waste, e-waste).

The way Martin frames his article is very much that of the opinion of someone with limited exposure to the idea of sustainability in the food industry, and that's ok too. There is one basic fallacy though, that should be rebutted. Being a sustainable restaurant does NOT mean being a lousy restaurant. That's something people should be very well aware of. The idea of greening a restaurant which is already high quality is important, and I would hope that good restaurants will want to transition to becoming greener restaurants.

Take the list of Green Table members, and tell me which one you think is NOT a good restaurant. Hard to do, right? So, it's not that hard to be greener AND high quality. There will be some trade-offs, for sure. And there are products for which solutions are harder to find (I dare you to pack a steaming curry with basmati rice in a non-styrofoam container).

I can understand the frustration of Martin if the restaurant's efforts aren't legitimate or true. He clearly says in his article that he doesn't want 'pseudo-green gimmicks' confused with real efforts to be energy efficient or water efficient. That's why you have third-party certification and audits. That's why you enter in an eco-labelling scheme. That's why you make sure that restaurants comply with industry codes of conduct. That is precisely the reason why we have an organization like Green Table: to avoid restaurants with poor environmental performance to use green marketing to position themselves without actually making real efforts to improve the environment.

Just my $ 0.02 ...

Third Tuesday quick recap

2008-02-19T22:56:00.000-08:00

So I went to Third Tuesday Vancouver (brilliantly organized by Tanya and Tod) which was held at The Network Hub. The gracious hosts at TNH offered wine to all attendees and were extremely personable and sweet. The venue was phenomenal. TNH provides office space (all the back end for new technology-based startups) and they also may be able to fund some entrepreneurial ideas.

The speaker was Jeff Young, an intellectual property lawyer with a great personality and a fantastic wit. He made the evening absolutely enjoyable. Some of the familiar faces I saw, in addition to Tanya and Tod, were John Biehler, Monica Hamburg, and in addition, some new friends were made (shout out to Vern, Chris, Dario, Ryan, Rastin, Jennifer)

After the event a smallish group moved down to Century (pretty much next door to TNH), a very nice restaurant that I'll have to check next time. I was somewhat surprised at the Mexican food choices that their menu presented, so I'll have to see how well they work. It was a very pleasant evening, and I learned lots about intellectual property (and actually Jeff would be proud of me, as the post previous to this one makes a political opinion, yet it is within the proper boundaries of IPL!)

UPDATE - Oh my God, Warren and John were faster than I was in blogging about it! Click on their names for their recaps of this evening.

Green shoes, green taxes, green hypocrisy?

2008-02-19T22:44:00.000-08:00

One of the things that really irks me is the announcement of a new budget, because it usually brings the associated element that the Finance Minister wears new shoes. Nobody really knows the origins of this tradition, but I've seen the BC Minister of Finance unveil new budgets and wearing very expensive shoes. As noted in local newspapers, the current BC Minister of Finance, Carole Taylor, will be wearing 'green shoes' to go with her new 'green budget'.

There are several ironies here. First, shoes are very expensive (particularly in Canada). Wearing new shoes when you are about to hit taxpayers with new taxes or to speak about budgets doesn't really reflect very well on you. Second, shoes' manufacturing process is not really environmentally friendly (I do know this for a fact, and if you want to challenge me on this particular area, I dare you). Therefore, to say that you're wearing 'green shoes' is somewhat of a contradiction (yes there are more environmentally-friendly materials for shoes, but I saw a photo of Taylor's and they don't seem to be manufactured in that way). Third, shoes are often the commodity that homeless and poor people can least access. Thus, it's somewhat ironic that Taylor spends a few hundred dollars in a new pair of shoes that could very well be spent on feeding a few homeless people.

Wouldn't it be better if (even if just for PR purposes), every time a new budget was tabled, the Minister of Finance actually auctioned his/her shoes and all proceeds went to charitable causes? Or that the actual money that they were supposed to spend on new shoes goes to those charities? Oh, no... That might actually require to have some degree of sensitivity for the poor and marginalized, something that it is clear, politicians in this province, city and country don't seem to have that much of.

Recognizing heterogeneity in Vancouver's urban form - The pitfalls of EcoDensity

2008-02-19T02:15:00.000-08:00

In a very recent post, Stephen Rees links to an article written by Erick Villagomez (a Vancouver-based architect, and I might add a very fine writer) on the actual urban densities in Vancouver. Making use of really nice visualization tools, Villagomez shows that East Vancouver is highly dense (despite whatever people's perceptions may be).

Since Rees asked the question "do you think EcoDensity(R) will make a difference)?" I figured I'd answer with a short essay of my own. Furthermore, I wanted to express some ideas that relate to the concept of urban density and the realities of sustainable urban form.

First off, we need to think about what we define as urban density. The statistical figures offered by Villagomez are in dwellings per acre. While one could criticize his data for not actually including the number of people in each dwelling, these data shed some light on whether there has been an increase in urban density (as measured by dwellings per acre) or not. Let's accept his data for the insights they provide - there are more physical units in more denser areas than there are in less dense areas. We don't know if there are more people there, but we could safely assume that it is the case (imagine 10 houses per acre with 4 people each house, vis-a-vis 10 buildings per acre with 10 apartments each with 2 people - the ratio is 40/200 or 1/5)

Clearly, from Villagomez's map (which you can find here) the Downtown core is the most dense area. There are some surprises with areas like northern Kitsilano having a comparable density to that of downtown (or at least so would appear from Villagomez's map). What I find interesting is that there is now evidence to support the statement that the West Side of Vancouver needs to increase its density.

Villagomez's point seems to be that we should look at homogeneous densification processes (e.g., achieving the same densities in East Vancouver and the West Side). That would be a good idea. The problem is that it would go against the realities of heterogeneity in urban form in Vancouver.

That is the point I am making in this essay: That we should recognize the heterogeneity of communities and populations in Vancouver. The West Side has been traditionally considered affluent and wealthy. The East Side houses more middle-income (and in some areas, low-income) population. There are natural heterogeneities in Vancouver's urban form that have been in place longer than I've been on this planet. We should find rational and smart ways to address these heterogeneities, and first of all, we should recognize them.

Now, don't get me wrong - I am not saying that recognizing this heterogeneity means that we should just keep our arms crossed. Not at all! I think what we ought to do is to call things like they are and tell the politicians that we are aware that there should be a middle-ground where some single family homes may need to remain. However, that doesn't mean that densification shouldn't occur. The chasm between the East Side and the West Side can be bridged with smart densification strategies.

One of the problems I see with urban planning consultations is that they are very prone to problems of NIMBY-ism (Not In My BackYard). Sometimes, communities even go as far as to go BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone). We should try to make it clear to the people living in areas that are potential targets for densification that the intent is not to bring crime to a certan area, but to reduce car trips, build vibrant communities and strengthen social capital. These would all be good objectives of an EcoDensity strategy. And to respond Stephen's question - no, I don't think EcoDensity is making a difference right now. But I would like it to. So, here's hoping...

Music review - Give It to Me Baby by James Rick

2008-02-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

If you grew up in the era of funk, you'll immediately recognize this song, which remains one of my all-time favorites! Since I'm planning to get my close friends to go out and do karaoke in the not-too-distant future, I am browsing through my old archives of awesome music, to decide which tunes I think I can sing and which ones I want to see them sing. This is definitely one of them.

Music review - Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone

2008-02-18T23:33:00.000-08:00

I've reached the 600 posts mark way faster than I thought! If you think about the fact that I am not a geek, don't do this for a living, and I reached 500 posts in December (and it's only February now), this is an important milestone for me.

So I thought I'd celebrate it with some music. The song featured here is "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone. Admittedly, this tune has been listened to much more in Anglo-Saxon North America than it has elsewhere (for obvious cultural reasons).

I just heard it for the first time in the first 3 minutes of the movie "Definitely, Maybe" which I just reviewed. Again, I insist... The song sounds so much better in a movie theater with surround stereo sound. Great choice of song to begin the movie (you have to see it to understand what I meant).

Video from YouTube. This is not the actual video of the song, but I couldn't find a rendition that sounded similar to the one I heard during the movie.

Movie review - Definitely, maybe

2008-02-18T19:31:00.000-08:00

Last week, I scored free passes to the advance screening of "Definitely, Maybe" thanks to LaineyGossip.com, so I invited my good friend HZ to join me (this could potentially be seen as a Valentine's Day movie, or a chick flick, but he didn't mind the movie, even though it was fairly cheesy).

First of all, for the Ryan Reynolds lovers out there (ladies and gentlemen alike) - he does NOT show his abs in this movie. He does NOT take his shirt once. Not ONCE. So, if that was something you were hoping to see, you're watching the wrong movie (see Blade: Trinity, Buy the Cow, or The Amityville Horror if you're looking for Ryan showing skin).

However, he does what he does best: make people laugh. The basic premise of the movie is a single father who tells a story to his daughter about the three women he loved: the girl's mom, a journalist who ends up being a lover and a free-spirited young woman. While I won't spoil the ending for you, I sort of expected this movie to be a bit more Hollywood-esque.

Don't forget that you're reading my review - I'm a fan of Ryan Reynolds, have been for a long while. So, I have to admit that I did like the movie. It made me laugh considerably, and it had some moments where it demanded a bit more range from Ryan. That being said, as HZ rightfully pointed out, I should watch "Smoking Aces" if I want to see Ryan in a totally different light.

If you have a chance to go see it, leave a comment and let me know what you thought of it.

Restaurant review - Arms Reach Bistro (Deep Cove) [dinner]

2008-02-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

Normally I don't do two reviews of the same restaurant even if I've been there for dinner AND brunch. I went to Arms Reach Bistro for brunch a few months back, but I hadn't been there for dinner, and it was a whole new experience. First of all, we were lucky because even though it was a Sunday night, they were completely full. They only had one table for two, which was the one that we got. Phew!

The staff is extremely nice and very friendly. The service is top-notch, although maybe slightly slow (I am not sure if it was the fact that they had full house or maybe we were just super hungry as we had just done the Baden Powell trail hike - I wanted to take photographs from the wonderful view of Indian Arm).

I ordered a dukkah crusted B.C. salmon with crisp madras potatoes and yogurt which was very well prepared, and the main course (while not inexpensive at $ 25) was very good. The desserts are to-die-for: the chocolate torte ganache and the tower of power cheesecake were by and large the nicest cakes I've had in months. I would seriously recommend Arms Reach Bistro for dinner. They do have more affordable entrees [if you are on a budget]. You may want to go for the pasta, which also looks very tasty.

The view at night is wonderful, the food is great, the staff is impeccably trained and on top of everything, they provide you with small blankets in case you are cold (yeah, the restaurant can get a bit chilly - and since I'm always cold, I would say this is one of the most thoughtful ideas I've seen in a restaurant). Will definitely be back.

I'm normally very smart, but...

2008-02-17T03:10:00.000-08:00

In general, my planning background comes handy when I have social engagements in my calendar. The past few days have been lovely in regards to having some opportunities to spend time with friends (although I have not had a chance to see others). Thursday was a wonderful Valentine's with dinner and a movie.

Friday was JH's birthday which we celebrated with dinner and a movie as well (HZ, ML and myself). Now, this is when I explain what's behind this post's title. I generally do not disclose that I am lactose-intolerant as I love ice cream, yogurt, milk and other dairy products with the exception of cheese (which I, luckily, hate to the bottom of my heart).

Whenever I go on a dairy binge, I start taking my medication well in advance so that my tummy can take it. Well, stupid me, I did not take it on Friday (nor early in the week) even though I figured we might end up ordering pizza in at HZ's apartment. Quite obviously, the logical result is that my stomach gave me cramps all day today, and they got to the point tonight where I am in pain right now.

That was a very stupid idea - I should have planned better to just not eat dairy, period. Or simply take my medication. Better luck next time, because right now I am in pain. I'll have to deal with this tomorrow. For now, I'm just going to go to bed very happy as it was a lovely evening at JH's (cheese fondue - which I did NOT touch - and chocolate fondue - on which I binged on). Come to think about it, maybe there was some dairy in the chocolate fondue as well, because my tummy really got in extreme pain right after that. Oh well, who cares. It was a great evening, in my books.

Curry chicken with basmati rice

2008-02-15T17:51:00.001-08:00

Curry chicken with basmati rice
Originally uploaded by Raul P-V (Rolex)

Rice is tough. Rice is very tough. It's hard to make rice the right way the first time around, I find. So when I score and end up having a great bowl of basmati rice with curry chicken, I feel like I am in heaven. The only drawback is that when I save the rice for later, I need to add more water and microwave it for 3-4 minutes before it has the same consistency and texture.

And this is so wrong on so many levels, but as soon as I tried to modify the code for the caption of my photograph, it hid it (see what it did to my Mount Pleasant clock photo). I am not keen in having my own photographs captioned as "Originally uploaded by Raul". Those are MY photographs, not only did I UPLOAD them but I also TOOK them!

Grrr... I think I'm going to get serious about the Blogger to WordPress transition.

Blogging from Flickr

2008-02-15T17:10:00.001-08:00

the clock mt pleasant
From the Flickr photostream of Raul P-V (Rolex)

Given the number of entries I've posted on this blog (nearing 600!), you'd think I'm more of a geek than I admit to be. Well, not really. My good friends are usually the ones I run to, asking for advice on "how should I sync my iPod with my computer?" or even the super lame "I can't get my GMail to talk to my Flickr".

Anyhow, I have managed to link my Flickr to my Blogger pages and now I can blog a photograph directly from my Flickr photostream. Nomade Moderne suggested in a recent comment that I should find a way to add the Creative Commons license to my site and to my Flickr account so that people can use my photographs and content and link back to it. I think that his idea is pretty smart and I have started doing that, now that I have a bit more time. I am not 100% sure I have the right license on my Flickr account, but I think that the right one is here in my blog.

I have also increased the number of photographs on my blog posts, not only to make them look pretty (although they are nowhere near as pretty as some of my fellow bloggers!), but also to start transitioning from Blogger Padawan to Blogger Jedi. And yes, I know... that transition may require WordPress! :)

The things I hate the most

2008-02-15T14:05:00.001-08:00

I am a very loving guy, and most people would agree that it's really hard to make me angry or mad. That being said, I was over at Meg Fowler's blog, and with my newfound freedom, I proceeded to take the time to actually reflect on the things I hate. All my friends know that I hate cheese and Chinese food, but ... did you know I also hate this rainy weather?

So, without further ado, here is a list of the things I hate. You may find some surprises, you may share the same hate for some things, or you may actually love the things I hate. Everything is fair in love and war! By the way, the list has expanded from what I commented on Meg's post ...

The original list of the things I hate...

Cheese
Chinese food
Celery
Rainy days
Pushy panhandlers
Idiotic people
Bureaucracy and red-tape
People who aren’t flexible
People who only follow rules
Stubbornness without respect
Improper attribution of ideas
Drivers in Vancouver (generally speaking)
Politician’s lies
People who talk out of their … pretending they know something they don’t
My upstairs neighbours
… and their kid
… and his tantrums
… and their callousness and lack of respect for my and my next-door-neighbour’s sleeping patterns
Telemarketers
Arriving late
Having lost my cell phone
Sleep deprivation
When someone stands me up
When someone changes pre-existing plans without consulting with me first (and those are our plans)
Not being able to blog when I want to
Not having good ideas to blog about
Self-pompous people who think they’re all that and a bag of chips

And more recently (e.g. within the past few hours) I remembered other things I hate...

Living in a different country than my parents and my brothers
Forgetting friends' birthdays
Double-booking myself
... and triple-booking
... and booking myself multiple times
... because I don't have a Palm Pilot to keep my Google Calendar organized
Missing wonderful Christmas and New Years parties because I spent mine 6,000 miles away from my dear Vancouver friends
Not being fully fluent in French (even though I'm fairly conversant)
The smell of cigarettes
... and second-hand smoke
Having some people take me for granted
Dry martinis (I know - shocker! I should get my bartender license revoked)
Not being able to leave trackbacks in WordPress-powered blogs because I am still with Blogger.
Running for a bus only to have it leave me behind for a fraction of a second
Buses filled with drunken kids who tend to grab my derrière
Losing a block on the net because I was too distracted looking at how cute the power hitter was (despite the fact that I did indeed have a good position to block the spike!)
Missing serves (both in tennis and volleyball). My serve used to be my best weapon.

Wow. That was a long list... But honestly, I swear, I love lots of things :)

Upcoming event - Green Drinks (Vancouver) Wednesday Feb 20th

2008-02-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

I have been so insanely busy that I have missed many of the most recent Green Drinks events. However, this coming Wednesday I am NOT busy and thus will definitely be going to Green Drinks. This is a gathering of enviro-minded folks from ENGOs, academia, industry, etc. Yes, there are actually 'green drinks' on tap.

From the Green Drinks Vancouver website:

There's no agenda or other formality - it's just a chance to meet regularly to chat, debate, socialize and connect with others in Vancouver who are passionate about environmental and sustainability issues. Whether you're keen on green building & design, sustainable energy, organic gardening, or something else entirely, you'll find like-minded people. Please feel free to bring your business cards, brochures, info sheets, magazines and newsletters to put on a table for people to take away with them. Do make sure to take whatever you left on the table with you when you leave.

I suggest that you check it out. I am not generally a fan of Steamworks, but it's a great pub for this kind of gathering. Plus, I always end up bumping into lots of friends of mine from the environmental field (kind of the point, isn't it?). Plus, if you end up going, you'll get to see my megawatt smile :)

Movie review - P.S. I Love You

2008-02-15T00:35:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the best movie of the year (and yes, admittedly it is only February 14th), this is one of the nicest films I've seen in a long time. While I admit that Hilary Swank is not one of my favorite actresses (not because I don't believe in her acting ability - she has two Oscars, after all!), she has had some excellent work (particularly her 'Boys Don't Cry' which gave her the first of her two Oscars).

This is, by and large, the best performance I've seen of an ensemble cast in a romantic comedy. With actors of the caliber of Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Gina Gershon, Lisa Kudrow, James Marsters, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Harry Connick Jr., I wonder how much pressure the director felt. Often times, it feels as though there is a risk that the movie will place too much emphasis on just one character and leave the rest underdeveloped. That's definitely not the case in "P.S. I Love You".

One word of warning before I continue with my rave review (yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie) ... I wouldn't recommend seeing this movie if you've gone through a recent breakup or if you've lost a loved one (as the film deals with how Swank's Holly Kennedy deals with the death of her beloved husband, Gerry Kennedy, played by Gerard Butler).

The movie traces the evolution of Holly's coping, mourning and moving on with her life after her husband Gerry dies of a brain tumor, a short ten years after getting married. The ultimate slacker, Gerry is a happy-go-lucky, free-spirited man (in contrast to Holly's uptight, all-around planner personality). However, in a movingly sweet display of maturity and love, he plans (and writes) a series of letters to Holly. Each letter is supposed to help Holly inch forward towards moving on and accepting Gerry's death. And guess what... without giving away the ending, I can assure you that she ends up being alright, although in a non-Hollywood kind of way.

Admittedly, "P.S. I Love You" can be categorized as a chick flick. I have read some rather negative reviews (one even coming from The Globe and Mail). But the truth is that I spent half of the movie with tears in my eyes. And I can assure you that I wasn't the only one in the theater who had that reaction.

I found many positive aspects to the movie, some of which I discussed with JT. One of the best elements of the script is that each letter actually does push Holly forward. Holly does not have emotional ups-and-downs during the grieving process (which truthfully may be a little bit of a stretch). Maybe it's just because I believe in the power of self-awareness. Holly finds out more and more about herself and about the immense love that Gerry had for her. And in the process, she learns to let go of her deceased husband.

Swank delivers a very nice performance, as does Butler. The rest of the cast is phenomenal, and Kathy Bates steals many scenes as the overbearing, possessive yet absolutely adoring and loving mother of Holly. In one of the main scenes, where Swank's character lashes back at humanity and destiny for having had her husband taken away from her, Bates does an absolutely amazing job of comforting her and explaining that fate isn't fair.

Of course, some of the climactic moments are associated with the title of the movie. After imparting wisdom, offering reflections on their life together and on how the future should shape for Holly, or simply suggest that she takes the time to go out on the town and enjoy herself with her two best friends (impeccably played by Gershon and Kudrow), he always signs each letter... "P.S. I love you". I couldn't help but get goosebumps and shed a few tears every time he read out loud these words.

It is a good movie, despite whatever negative comments some reviewers have. Honestly, I don't know if the people who wrote the reviews are just jaded or what, but I for one, absolutely loved the movie, particularly because I saw myself reflected in many instances. This movie reminded me that, once in my lifetime, I was entirely, unabashedly, totally and fully in love. For an amazing year, my former partner's first words every morning used to be "Good morning. How can I make you happy today?". No wonder why this movie struck a chord with me. I have previously indicated, Amado Nervo was right about me in his poem. Truthfully, yes, "I loved, I was loved, the sun graced my face. Life, you owe me nothing. Life, we are in peace".

"P.S. I Love You" is a great Valentine's movie and I couldn't have asked for a better movie to see on Valentine's Day. My evening was simply perfect. I hope yours was too.

Trailer courtesy of YouTube.

Happy Valentine's :)

2008-02-14T08:05:00.000-08:00

I know that some people hate this Hallmark(TM) day, but at least in the case of my close friends, Valentine's is a reminder of how lucky we are to have the friends and loved ones that we do. I have used every opportunity to rave about my friends and family (wherever the country they live in may be).

There have been good times, and not so good times, and in moments of despair, I have always had close friends near by to remind me of who I am and where I am headed. I have had my family and my friends to stand by me, to help me along the way and to keep me sane. For always being there for me, I'm forever in your debt. I love you guys.

And the great thing is that, through the blogosphere (and volleyball), I've made new friendships... how cool is that?

QUESTION PERIOD: How to deal with relationships and dating?

2008-02-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

Given that Valentine's Day is coming up (February 14th), I figured that a QUESTION PERIOD post should address Valentine's and how we celebrate in Vancouver. I already gave you a list of the most affordable (and nice) restaurants to do Valentine's (in my humble opinion), and now for QUESTION PERIOD I'm going to ask you - how do you deal with relationships and dating? This is a question I have been asking myself, but with a recent post by Tanya (aka NetChick), I was reminded of the issue, and thus I thought I'd use this as a lead in to the post.

Having been single for over four years now, it's kind of interesting when people ask me if I am in a relationship, or whether I'm dating anyone. I have been in complicated relationships before (a term I commonly use for those is situationship -- although I did not coin the term itself). Recently, because of conversations with very close friends, I've started to reflect and think about the issue. Not in much depth, truth be told. But just began thinking about it again.

I haven't paid much attention to dating as I've been lucky in that I get many of the perks and very few of the problems when I'm in a situationship. Don't get me wrong. I am a very loving guy, and for sure enjoy the idea of a life partner. There are complications to being in situationships too. But if I were to really buckle down and get serious with dating, there are still a few things that stand in the way, at least at the moment.

First, I need to find myself a job that will pay for the kind of lifestyle I want. Having a romance at this moment in my life is therefore pretty secondary. Second, I want to make sure to be in a relationship for the right reasons. I don't want to be attached just because I am alone (and trust me on this one, I am NEVER alone -- my weekend fills by Tuesday morning and if you are lucky, I'll book you for next week). Third, I want to ensure that I am not chasing the perfect relationship. I am not perfect by any measure, nor do I want to be. I'm happy to grow with a partner as time goes by.

I've always been curious about what people think of the dating process, and particularly, of whether the fact that I've been out of practice for so long does make any difference to whether I will be able to find someone or not. Somebody told me that the only way that one can really develop the skills necessary to date is to engage in the process. I am someone who believes in learning by doing. That's the reason why I took up modeling. That's how I learned so many languages. I learned to be a bartender just because I thought I might need the skills sometime (I already have put them to good use, so ...). Therefore, my question is, should we just plunge in the dating pool just because we need the skill set? How have you dealt with your relationships? Have you faced any particular challenges?

Note - I've enabled comment moderation since a short while ago, so if you don't see your comment posted, don't take offense. I'm just a bit slow at the moment in getting through comments.

Blogging for Big Brothers - Registration :)

2008-02-13T01:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally found my donations page :) You can click here to sponsor me. The funny thing is that the message is not mine. I'll update it with a more personal message (because the reason why I joined the team is not the one on the main page) but for now, it should work. I just think it's a great cause.

And it should be fun to share these good times with the bloggers I've always read but so far, have not met in person!

Different methods of relaxation

2008-02-13T00:15:00.000-08:00

For the past two years, I've been super stressed with work, and in particular, have put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. So, as an important deadline nears (and since I already have the product ready), I am in the extremely rare position of actually enjoying myself without any guilt or pressure.

While I haven't written weekend reviews in a couple of weeks (I should do that one soon), I can't say I haven't had a chance to relax. Went to a movie recently with Nomade Moderne, did dinner with C, B, J and M (sushi), but still had to do a lot of work. But today, as I arrived home from work, I just prepared a pot of English Breakfast tea, took my bag of Chipits (mini-kisses from Hershey's) and just curled on my couch to watch TV.

I ended up (not surprisingly) having a fairly long nap, but the most interesting part of it all is that, despite how much I brag about getting really drunk with lychee martinis, I end up having a much more mellow approach to relaxation. I actually do have some vodka at home (and some Kalhua) and I didn't even want to make myself a drink.

How do YOU decompress? What is your idea of a relaxing, chill evening?

This is a test entry

2008-02-12T00:23:00.001-08:00

DSC01341
Originally uploaded by Rolex PV

Since I promised Rebecca that I would write a guest blog post on Mount Pleasant, I needed to experiment with my photographs and my Flickr account. As it turns out, I've got also a PicasaWeb, and miraculously (for someone who isn't that much of a computer geek like me) I have managed to link them all.

Since Rebecca and other blogger friends link to Flickr, I figured I should test if my blog links to my Flickr account. So, here is my first attempt. In the photo you can see the mountains and on your right, the new building for the Mount Pleasant Community Centre, at 1 Kingsway.

Vancouver's most romantic restaurants for Valentine's Day 2008

2008-02-10T23:50:00.000-08:00

As many of you may, or may not know, I'm one of the contributors to UrbanSpoon - Vancouver that has the highest number of restaurants reviewed (I think my latest count was 42). I am not saying that this makes me a food critic, but I would like to believe that I know the restaurant scene pretty well.

I keep in touch with Ethan from UrbanSpoon quite often, we communicate via email and share some ideas and stuff. But even though we correspond, I did not know that they had a blog. And in their most recent post, they review the most romantic restaurants for Valentine's Day 2008.

While I must admit that I am totally tempted to tell you which ones I think are the most romantic (thus increasing the probability that I will end up bumping into you on Valentine's Day), I think I'll just indicate my own suggestions for where to take your loved one for dinner on that special day (or your friends, as the case may be).

However, I thought I'd plan this post in a slightly different way. Instead of telling you the most romantic places to take your sweetheart or go out with your friends, I'm going to give you a few suggestions of places to go based on how expensive the deal may get.

So, say that you are a starving student yet you still want a nice meal out with a loved one (or a group of friends)... or you are getting paid the big bucks and want to surprise your sweetheart... here are my top recommendations for dinner for Valentine's Day (bear in mind that I will definitely recommend local business over chains).

On the budget-savvy side of things...

The Red Sea Cafe - One of the best, if not the best Ethiopian food in town. Definitely romantic, has a nice atmosphere at night. Great service. Good food for your coin.

The Cascade (I think they've dropped the 'Room') - Excellent food and service, and not really expensive. However, I don't expect them to have a lot of space for Val's Day.

Cafe Luxy - Great Italian food, although with all the Davie Street crowd overflowing with love, I'd probably say that they'll be fully booked.

The Dunbar - Yes, I know that it may look a bit like a pub now, and have pub food. But it can get romantic, for sure. And it's not really expensive.

A bit more expensive, yet affordable...

Burgoo - I am afraid they may be fully booked for Val's Day. Great stews, soups and burgoos.

Ouisi Bistro - Definitely great Creole food. Romantic, and not too too expensive.

Enigma - Oh yeah, romantic for sure. Although a sure destination for UBC students who will want to take their girlfriends/boyfriends out for dinner, I imagine.

Crave - It's good for dinner - and not horribly expensive. Though I am also thinking it may get a little bit busy.

If you really want to go all out...

Aqua Riva - Many people hate it, but I love it, and it's one of the nicest views in town. And yeah, it can get expensive.

The Observatory at Grouse Mountain - You'll pay $ 35 dollars for the lift, but the view is SO worth it.

Horizons - I went there with a very close friend of mine, we probably should've waited for a much more meaningful occasion but it was great. And yeah, it's a bit on the pricey side.

Seasons in the Park - Located at Queen Elizabeth Park, this is one of the best spots for a great view of the city. And yeah, it may burn a hole in your wallet.

Cloud 9 - Enough said. Revolving restaurant, great view. And costly! But definitely worth it.

If you want, of course, you can leave a comment and tell me what you think of my suggestions, or make different ones... or simply tell me where you plan to go out for Val's Day. Whatever it is that you do on that day, I hope you enjoy it!

Blogging for Big Brothers - and bowling too :)

2008-02-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

So Rebecca (aka Miss604) is organizing a team of bloggers who will be bowling for Big Brothers. As most of you know, dear readers, I have a tendency to volunteer. I've done a lot of charity work -- literacy campaigns, sex education, meals-on-wheels, etc. Since I became a blogger (and again, thanks to the positive influence of Rebecca), I found yet another avenue to give - the Blogathon. This was one of the most fun things I have done for charity.

Must confess that I was deciding whether I should Bowl for Big Brothers, and I factored a number of elements in my decision. First, it's a charity and an important one. Second, it would give me a chance to have fun with my fellow bloggers, hang out and do a good deed. Third, it is important for a dear friend of mine (the event itself, Bowling for Big Brothers). And fourth, although I am definitely busy, I'm not as crazy busy as I've been in the past couple of years.

Well, I did it. I signed on. I'm not 100% sure that my page is correct, so I can't link you to my "Sponsor Raul" page right now, but I'll get to it. The first thing (and most important thing) is that I signed up :)

I was considering the possibility of raising funds through carefully written posts. Yeah, kind of what I did for Blogathon. My individual goal is $ 100, so let's say that I wanted you all to contribute. So I'd basically do a 24 hour Blogathon to raise the funds, and I'd be asking people to say, give $ 0.50 (fifty cents) per blog post (so if I did 48, that automatically would ensure a $ 24 dollar donation). I'm mulling over how to do this. Suggestions accepted.

I will of course be bugging my close friends to sponsor me, but I also kind of want to 'earn' the sponsorship, particularly if it comes from my readers. I mean, there must be some kind of reward or incentive for you all, right? :) Anyways, suggestions taken for a fun method to raise funds for Bowling for Big Brothers. My individual goal is $ 100.00 but I'd be more than happy to surpass it.

Definitely, Maybe - Well, I'm definitely lucky!

2008-02-08T14:21:00.001-08:00

I *never* win anything. Other than tournaments, of course, when I play a sport competitively. What I mean is that I never win raffles or any kind of contests. Well, recently, the Vancouver-based gossip doyenne Lainey (from LaineyGossip) held a contest for advanced passes to the movie "Definitely, Maybe"

Everyone and their mother know that I really like Ryan Reynolds. Not only he is from Vancouver, he is funny and good looking and has some really cool movies. This one is a pretty sweet one, so I'm quite excited about the prospect of seeing 'Definitely, Maybe'. Well, lo-and-behold, I ended up winning some sweet swag from LaineyGossip, so I am headed to an advance screening on Monday. I can't tell you how happy I am!!! If only Ryan was at the advance screening, hehehe... just kidding!

I'll do a movie review after I've seen it. In the meantime, thanks so much to Lainey for the swag, and keep up the great work with the celebrity gossip site!

Focus on Vancouver: Cold Squad and Canadian actors

2008-02-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

I had previously written about Canadian content policy (Cancon) and how the fact that Cancon had been implemented as a national policy. In particular, I think that it has allowed me to gain a better understanding of Canada as a multicultural nation. Sure, we do see Canadian actors in American television, but I really enjoy watching Canadian actors in Canadian TV shows.

One of my favorite shows was (and still is) Cold Squad, even though it's been cancelled. The show's premise revolved around the Vancouver PD Homicide Squad, tasked with solving cold cases. The main character, Ali McCormick, is played by actress Julie Stewart. It was a good show, with a smart premise, excellent writing and great filming. But the best part is that it showcased Vancouver.

In many episodes you could easily recognize landmarks or elements of Vancouver (such as Commercial Drive, or the Downtown Eastside, Cordova Street, or the bus 20 Victoria). I feel such warm fuzzies about Intelligence as well, DaVinci's Inquest, and Robson Arms, all shows that depict the day-to-day life of Vancouverites as we know them.

Of course, I'd like the depiction to be realistic yet not so grim. The fantastic movie Mount Pleasant (which I reviewed here a couple of years ago) does have a lot of location work done around the area near Fraser and Kingsway, but it still paints a sketchy neighbourhood, which is getting better and nicer through time.

Perhaps one idea for a new show would be to film something on Mount Pleasant or South Main. Trust me, there's enough action and day-to-day drama to fill a new soap opera!

QUESTION PERIOD: How has Citizenship and Immigration Canada touched your life?

2008-02-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

As my readership has increased, I had begun to think about how my blog would evolve. I figured I'd start a new series of blog posts, asking a broad question for people to discuss. I know that more people read my blog than comment on it, so this is your chance. You can comment anonymously or leave your name. So, on to the first Question Period...

Considering that I have many, many friends here in Vancouver who are not originally from here, it's not surprising that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has touched my life. What do I mean by that? Well, that I have had to deal with it at least once, if not more times. Now, how has CIC touched your life? Feel free not to give too many details, but I'm just curious.

Of course, the question is not as much targeted to Canadians who have to wait in line for long for their passports. I am hoping it will be a much broader question. For example, did you immigrate to Canada? Are your parents/friends/family immigrants? Do you have any stories to share on, for example, lost citizenship due to being a war child? Are you sponsoring a loved one to move to Canada? That's the kind of question I am trying to pose. Looking forward to the responses.

Music review - D.A.N.C.E. (Version Finale) by Justice

2008-02-05T17:49:00.001-08:00

While I'm ultra-busy with my own work, I have managed to still maintain some degree of social life. The weekend recap is coming up, but in the mean time, you can hear the song that is played in the trailer for the movie "27 Dresses" (which I recently reviewed). It's called D.A.N.C.E. and apparently it includes a homage to the work of Michael Jackson. And I just realized that it's nominated as one of the Best Dance songs at the Grammys. I love the music that Justice creates!

And then it's done!

2008-02-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

One of the motto's of my good friend Nomade Moderne is "just get it done", referring to the idea that one should just focus on the task at hand and finish it. Coincidentally, one of my sisters-in-law's motto is a complementary (and rather cheerful) phrase: "... and then it's done!" (usually uttered with a joyful smile).

So if you were to combine their motto's in one sentence, you'd say "oh come on, just get it done... just finish it and then it's done!". I can almost hear their voices in my head. Well, this morning I applied their motto to a particularly unpleasant task. I hate doing dishes, I really do. Having been totally busy this week and weekend, I managed to accumulate two sinks full of dishes.

Now, it is indeed a rarity for me to have so many non-washed dishes in my apartment, but I just couldn't bring myself to separate from the tasks at hand to just focus on washing them. Finally, this morning I broke down. Since I had to make breakfast, I needed a frying pan. I had none, all of them were dirty. Guess where they were? Yes, you guessed right... in the sink.

So, I figured "well, I can just wash the frying pan, make breakfast and then wash all the dishes this afternoon when I want a break from work". However, I thought to myself the phrase I just wrote above, and I figured "I might as well just get them done". So I can happily report that my dishes are all clean :)

Despite the fact that this could be just a waste of three minutes of your life, I think that there is a lesson to be learned here. The initial push to start a new project or to just complete a certain task may be really difficult to overcome. But once you've started it, you should just focus your attention and get it done. If you are able to sustain the focus, you can gain momentum and finish sooner than you actually may have estimated. And then, it's done! :)

Why the pause, you ask? Well, here is why.

2008-02-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't blogged anything substantial since Wednesday's Vancouver Blogger Meetup, but you'll agree with me that liveblogging can make you really tired. Besides, I really have had a lot of work on my day job, so that's prevented me from doing anything substantial.

But these two are just excuses. The truth is that this February the 1st was the 9th anniversary of the passing away of one of the persons I loved the most in the world, my aunt. She was pretty much my second mother. I can't believe she has been gone for almost a decade. I have noticed in my own behaviour through the years (after my aunt passed away) that I can't really do much or think much around Feb 1st.

I think that sort of mental block applies to everything, including my blog. However, since I have an urgent deadline for Monday, I have had to work really hard even through this past Feb 1st and thus haven't really had the time to reflect or rest. Once this deadline is over, I'll be able to focus more on other stuff, including blogging.

At any rate, I hope to be back to my regular blog update as of today.

I'm just riding it

2008-02-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

For the first time in three days, I feel sleepy before 1 am, so I'm just going to ride it and not do anything else. I am just going to go to bed and have a good night sleep. I'm slightly disappointed that, after peaking at an unheard-of all-time high of 160 visits per day, my average has again dropped to 40-70 visits per day :( Where are you people? Come, hang out! Read!

I jinxed myself - so that was that...

2008-01-31T20:11:00.000-08:00

My neighbours upstairs are incredibly noisy and often times, disturb my (and my next-door-neighbour's) quiet enjoyment. They have a 2 (maybe 3?) year old kid who is unbearable by any measure. Admittedly the kid is cute as they come (beautiful blue eyes, blond hair, ultra cute smile) but his behaviour is totally unacceptable. He throws tantrums like you have no idea and gets on my nerves faster than a speeding bullet. He runs in the house (and there is no noise insulation whatsoever in this house), throws things on the floor, etc. True, if I could afford rent elsewhere in Vancouver, I probably would move. But truth be told, I love Mount Pleasant and don't intend to move any time soon.

So this morning, I'm having a conversation with my next-door-neighbour where I say that the best moment of my day (when I am working at home, as I did today) is when the kid leaves the house with his parents. On any given day, they'll give us two or three hours breaks, and then come back and inflict as much noise as they possibly can.

However, today I started to feel strange when by 1.30pm, I was still writing along and enjoying a nice work pace. "Nobody has interrupted me... hmmm... this is suspicious...", I thought to myself. 3 pm came along... still having a wonderful working afternoon. Very suspicious. Finally, I broke down and told my neighbour "hmmm... I think they're gone for the day" and she quickly stopped me on my tracks "DON'T JINX IT!!! If you keep saying that they're gone, they'll be back!!!". Quite frankly, I kind of doubted it, but stopped mentioning it anyways.

So, it's 8.15 pm ... and I jinxed it. They are back. And noisy as ever. I did, admittedly, have a wonderful day of working at home, but I could have used a few more hours where I could have had a nap, or keep working. Now, back to my earplugs and my writing...

The life of a personal assistant

2008-01-31T15:14:00.000-08:00

I started working since a very early age. Working hard has always been both a motto and normal behavior for my family. We are so used to being workaholics that most people who know me ask me "when do you sleep?". Truth is, I sleep very little, because I really work very hard. But I also play hard. And one of the things I've done (one of the jobs I have had) is that of a personal assistant. At 11 years old. I am not kidding you.

This post has two reflections embedded in it. The first one refers to me as a personal assistant to people. For the longest time, I have been helping people succeed. So, I often have wondered "well, after all this helping people out, who helps me out?". And that led me to the second reflection, which is associated with the title of this post. I have had a personal assistant. And he was FANTASTIC.

On to the first part. Me as a personal assistant. People tend to ask me for help and/or advice all the time. That doesn't make me their personal assistant, true. But, I have helped my parents, some of my colleagues and my boss to lead their day-to-day lives. That's because I'm pretty damn organized, and I can recall things very easily (since I have a photographic memory). I am, in some senses, the perfect personal assistant.

However, I have to admit that I much rather have a personal assistant than being one. That's the second part of this post. My former personal assistant, MV, started out as just an intern (my co-op student, if you might). He then took on more and more duties, and learned to basically read my mind. How did I manage to finish so many writing projects, papers, attend so many conferences, etc. and still have a personal life? MV was there to help me out. He was the one who convinced me to get a cell phone, he knew what my calendar looked like, we shared access to my Outlook to book my appointments, and he even used to call the people I was supposed to meet to confirm.

Having someone to help you with your day-to-day life is a blessing. Trust me on that one, I've been on both sides. I have been the one who tells my Mom "you have to give a lecture here, you are supposed to meet with so-and-so at 5 pm, this is the dress I think you should wear, etc." Same with my Dad "Dad, so this is your 3 pm appointment, then I am going to transcribe your document, see you at seven - we have dinner with So and So, blah blah".

On the other hand, I have been successful (and as some people have called me, a 'star') because of my very capable personal assistant. Now, there are a few questions I have.

First, do people value their PAs?
Second, does everybody need a PA or are we so technologically-advanced that we don't need someone to help us with our day-to-day lives?
And third, why on the planet does academia fail to recognize the need for a project manager (who will indeed make sure that you don't overspend the budget of your research grant, and ensure that you'll be at the conference in the country you are supposed to be delivering that talk)?

Just some thoughts...

Liveblogging Vancouver Blogger Meetup

2008-01-30T19:28:00.001-08:00

9:56 pm - Well, Mom wasn't available on Skype and I feel as though I let down my neighbour DMcN as I didn't pick up a jug of cider but we'll leave that to the weekend. I was too busy with the liveblogging! Exhausted and starving, I had to pat myself in the back for having prepared dinner and lunch for the next three days. Quick defrosting in a microwave and now I'm enjoying a nice curry chicken with basmati rice while I polish my liveblog.

9:06 pm - This would be the end of my liveblogging as I have to run and chat with my Mom on Skype, but I hope you guys enjoy the liveblog. It was fun. Rebecca, if you're reading this, you can tell me what you think ;) [Man, am I ever hungry...]

Damn - I almost forgot - had a chance to chat with Jan (the great Dane) who happens to be friends with Tanya (aka NetChick). So... in the chat, Richard is mentioning that he is going to do the introduction to blogging seminar at Northern Voice, YET he is not blogging that much! That is so funny :)

Here's the pic with Richard, Jan and Na'im.

8:56 pm - Even though he's about to leave, it was nice to chat with John Biehler. John, Al, Monica and I were discussing about what my blog is about, and Al made an important observation when I ranted about the young woman who refused my kindness this morning - he said "you should've just asked - do you need a hug?".
I normally would be just that bold, but for some reason, I didn't feel up to it. But his point is well taken. In the picture you can appreciate John, Al and Monica.

I also had a chance to chat with Carola from The Jem Gallery and Bev Davies. Bev is a photographer and you should totally check her Flickr stream. And Carola is appearing on The Georgia Straight tomorrow, so we'll have to read it!

8:40 pm - Jonathon and Na'im have left (well, Jonathon is on his way out) but I already made new good blogger friends. Had a very nice (but short) chat with Morten (who has 6 blogs?!)... but it's really hard to liveblog, pay attention, socialize and then upload photos. Hope everyone is having fun though!

8:27 pm - Unbelievably, I bumped into Jonathon Narvey. You'll wonder - why unbelievable? Well, because when you start reading someones blog, it becomes a fun phenomenon when you meet the person. And he is so nice to talk to... we have some very similar interests, and of course, we will continue having opposing opinions sometimes, but definitely, we respect each other very much. That's always fun. And in this photo, you can see Jonathon and Shane (yes, Shane from the contest to reclaim top Vancouver blogger spot). It will be fun to see what happens with the contest :)

8:06 pm - Just had a very pleasant chat with Ronald where he asked me why I am on Blogspot. Truth is, first platform I knew. So, now I need to move over to WordPress. But I feel a bit as though I'm breaking up with a partner... it's hard to let go! But his site is on WP and he says it is awesome so I have to try it. Angela and Morten also were trying to sway me on the WP bandwagon... and they're right! They are SO right! This liveblog would be SO much easier if I were on the WP platform. *sigh* Lesson learned :)

I have to admit that I was very amused with the Pink and Yellow website (since Angela says she's yellow and Morten is pink - for someone like me, who is an immigrant himself, this type of characterization is fun to make - in my case, I guess I'd be hmmm... red [because of the chillies?] ... dunno, maybe stretching the analogy). In the picture, Angela, Morten, Ronald and ... I forgot his name, rats... I'll ask him :)

7:52 pm - Na'im kindly collected the names and blogs of the "side tables". We're pretty much clustered in two groups (this coffee shop is awesome, but it doesn't have enough seating for us right now I think). I have been to the Our Town Cafe before only once, but EVERY time I walk by, I see at least two or three people reading a book LEISURELY. I am not kidding. You can tell that they are enjoying their reading and it's pleasant. The last time I read a book at my leisure was, what... 2001? *sigh*

Ok, so in the picture above you see Karen, Na'im, Al, David ... I am a bit embarrassed to have had to ask them to write their names and all, given that I have photographic memory, but I think I'm a little bit too excited about being here. Al and I should totally talk, since he is the creator of the Bokashi method, a simple, indoor, hassle-free composting method. And quite obviously I am a student of the environment, so...

* Feel free to submit comments on the liveblog!

7:45pm I begin taking pictures and introducing myself. Maybe a little bit intrusive on my part as I interrupted a couple of conversations. But it's always nice to actually put a face to the person. I am actually missing Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss604) a lot, since I spoke with her on GChat earlier and she mentioned she was super busy before she heads to the island with Keira-Anne. And since she's not here, I guess it's up to me to live-blog. I hope I can live up to her high standards, because she IS the top Vancouver liveblogger!!! On the picture you find Isabella and Katy.

7:30 pm Na'im from VancouverVibe.ca just came to kindly introduce himself. Very pleasant conversation, we were commenting about the fact that I hate linking my own stuff on VancouverVibe.ca, but if you feel some of my writing is worth it, then by all means, please feel free to link it there. As for me, I'll link the stuff I read and I find exciting. Also very exciting to see that Karen Fung is here (the organizer from TransitCamp).

7:15pm - I arrive wet but in one piece at the Vancouver Blogger Meetup. Quickly I get introduced to Isabella Mori and Richard from JustAGwailo (who overheard my blog's name and just mentioned that he 'hears' the voice of the blogger once he meets them). Very fun to be here.

Note - VancouverVibe.ca already has a blog!

I have my digital camera so I'll try to post some as soon as I can. We are at the Our Town Cafe at the corner of Kingsway and Broadway.

Snowing in Vancouver (part 2)

2008-01-30T16:05:00.001-08:00

Since Blogspost is going to have an outage, I figured I'd take this opportunity to insert a photograph that I took recently. The photo shown below is looking outside my bedroom window. It does look kinda cute. But OMG, is it ever cold! It's hard on my eyes, unfortunately. Not because of the beauty (it is indeed beautiful) but because of the sunlight reflected on the snow.

I won't be a good samaritan anymore (at least in Vancouver)

2008-01-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

On the way to my office today I saw a young woman who was on the brink of bursting into tears. As I usually do, I pondered whether I should say something or not. Usually, I try to help people out and offer a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. But in Vancouver (in Canada, in general) I find it really hard to do that, because people are quite jealous of their personal space.

I figured "hey, what the heck..." and I approached her gently, asking "are you ok? I saw you a few minutes ago and saw that you were about to cry. I just wanted to make sure you were ok" and she said to me, rather bluntly "I'm fine." FINE, WHATEVER. That's what I get for trying to be nice.

This is disturbing. In a city already renowned for being aloof and unfriendly, there are still a few of us who will want to approach random strangers and offer our help. And what do we get? Almost a slap in the face. Sometimes, I wonder how can campaigns like "Free Hugs" succeed in a city like this. At any rate, I learned my lesson. No more "Good Samaritan"-ing.

The historical development of Mount Pleasant in Vancouver (teaser)

2008-01-30T01:24:00.000-08:00

I promised Rebecca (aka Miss604) that I would write a whole post on the history of Mount Pleasant (the neighbourhood where I live now), but just wanted to give you all dear readers a mini-teaser. I am a bit frustrated because I can't find the photographs I took from the intersection of Main Street and 12th Avenue, but I'll take a few pictures and upload them to complement said guest post on Rebecca's blog.

But for now, let me just tell you that I'm a big fan of industry. Yes, I admit it. Having factories is a necessary element of societal development, and despite the current apparent trend towards a "post-Fordist" society, where industry will decline, we still need industrial plants. And Mount Pleasant used to be an industrial area.

One of the elements that makes Mount Pleasant very interesting and peculiar is that there are still some signs of evident industrial activity. For example, if you have ever been to The Whip (on 6th Avenue and Main), right across from it you can find what used to be a brewery.

I am fascinated by this trend of transforming industrial land to residential zoned areas (this is something I actually analyze in my day job). It was also funny to find out that there used to be two slaughter houses and a tannery (not surprisingly, since these industrial activities are part of the same commodity chain). From the Vancouver Archives, I dug out some information and apparently this tannery was to be built around 1890.

The City of Vancouver's website provides some interesting tidbits on the history of Mount Pleasant: [City of Vancouver]

The proximity to the business district of Vancouver and the availability of a quality water supply (Brewery Creek) made the area an ideal place for early industry and settlement. Early expectations were that Mount Pleasant would develop as Vancouver's fashionable "uptown." The area high above False Creek was named "Mount Pleasant" in 1888, after the Irish birthplace of the wife of H.V. Edmonds. Edmonds, clerk of the municipal council in New Westminster, was the original owner of much of Mount Pleasant.

By 1904, Mount Pleasant was home to a tannery, two slaughter houses, four breweries, and a train station. Industrial expansion brought residential development. By 1912, Mount Pleasant had a thriving residential population and community facilities such as an elementary school (the Kingsgate Mail site), a firehall, a first run theatre, and Vancouver's first skyscraper (the Lee Building). Mount Pleasant was also a terminus for the streetcar network.

I really hope that development plans for this area will try to preserve the peculiar flavor of this industrial/residential neighbourhood. Have you ever walked on 17th Avenue almost corner of Ontario Street? You will find a wax factory (not sure if it still operating, I would seriously doubt it).

My dream house? The house at the corner of 18th Avenue and Columbia Street. It has a little detached place that I am guessing used to be a corner store. I am sure I shared this story with many of my friends: I would have loved to buy that house, and start a little coffee shop or a dance studio in the space where the corner store used to be.

There are lots of haunts that I could talk about and that I am sure you'd love to visit in your next stop by Mount Pleasant. However, that'll have to wait until I finish writing the guest blog post for Rebecca. Until then, stay tuned!

Eatery review - Sushi Sky (West End)

2008-01-30T00:48:00.000-08:00

Given that my budget for dining out has shrunk considerably, and that my friends and I are trying to be more conscious about that (I'm glad they are, because I am pretty broke right now!), it was nice to find yet another place with good sushi for less than what I would have paid at Tanpopo or one of those other restaurants.

Sushi Sky is a little hole-in-the-wall kind of place on Bute Street, near Davie. If you know the Jupiter Cafe, it's pretty much right beside it. I have to say that it's such a strategic location. Three of my closest friends live within three blocks of this place. I went there with J for a quick dinner before watching "Brothers and Sisters" at his place a couple of Sundays ago.

The sushi is really good, and for less than $ 6.00 you got yourself dinner. I think the total for two with tip was $ 15.00. I mean, there are times when I pay that much at brunch! So, I'm pretty happy with this little place. Inexpensive and tasty. I'll be coming back again, for sure.

Upcoming event - Vancouver Blogger Meetup January 2008

2008-01-29T23:28:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to attend one of the Vancouver Blogger Meetups and haven't had a chance to do it (been out of town, triple-booked, etc.) At any rate, I just checked the link (it says the event is full, but I don't care - I am still going to show up). Here are the details, as shown on the Vancouver Blogger Meetup website.

When: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 7:00 PM
Where: Our Town Cafe, 245 E. Broadway, Vancouver , BC V5T 1W4

I hope to see a few of the bloggers whom I have chatted with on email there.

Snow in Vancouver can make you happy... or not

2008-01-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

Some of my Vancouverite friends are so excited about how beautiful the city looks with all this snow. I admit it, it looks pretty. But if I tell you what happened to me last night, you'll understand why I am so angry at the weather. I was working late, but I knew that unless I took the last 99 B-Line, I'd be stuck at my office, so I ran out the door (in the snow, without an umbrella and without a toque) and headed to the bus stop.

As I was making my way to the bus stop, the 99 B-Line started its engine and quickly left. I was literally 4 seconds away from the bus, and the bus driver still didn't wait for me. I screamed "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT" at the top of my lungs and he still wouldn't do it. I'm not that surprised, but I got really angry.

So I figured "oh well, I'll just stay overnight at the office" and what is my surprise when I realize that I don't have my electronic key to the building. So now I am all wet, my hair is white from all the snow, I'm freezing and have to wait for the stupid bus.

It took me a good hour and 20 minutes to get home (a commute that on a good day is 30 minutes). By the time I got home, I was furious. But surprisingly, I was still in good enough of a mood to do some work until 4.30am. I work really well at night. But this morning I saw the heavy snow and I decided I was going to work at home.

I may (potentially) get out and snap a few pictures, just for the beauty. But I am SO happy that a friend e-mailed me the piece of work I had to process today. So very very very happy! I did not want to go to the office today.

I need a new cell phone, so I'm accepting suggestions

2008-01-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

I lost my cell last November, and I've refused to buy a new one simply on principle. I hate cell phone companies in Canada (well, don't hate them, but did you know that whenever you receive a call in Mexico the caller is paying for the phone call and it costs you zero, zilch, nada? Same deal in Spain).

Anyhow, so I want a pay-as-you-go, super cheap, no-frills, nothing fancy, ultra-basic phone. The only thing I really, really would like is unlimited incoming calls. The problem is, with the super busy social life I have, it's stupid for me not to have a cell. I *need* a cell. If there's anyone who needs a cell here, is me.

I've seriously considered the possibility of buying the 7-11 package (100 dollars phone with 100 dollars worth of air time). I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Upcoming event - Vancouver's Next Gay Top Model

2008-01-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

I first heard about this event from the Georgia Straight, then I saw a link at VancouverVibe.ca, and finally I decided to check out the website. Something that really made me happy was to find out that the organizers are raising funds for an important charity: Friends for Life.

This past summer, I Blogathoned in support of 'A Loving Spoonful' (I doubt they actually knew that I did this to raise funds for them, but quite frankly I don't care - I did it because I thought it was a worthy cause). More information about Friends for Life:

The Vancouver Friends For Life Society serves as a catalyst to enhance the wellness of individuals living with a life threatening illness by providing complementary and alternative health and support services.

Friends For Life was built on the belief that no one should have to face the many challenges of serious illness alone. Our philosophy recognizes the connection between the mind and body with a view towards treating the whole person - the mind, body and soul - rather than treating the illness alone. [Friends for Life Society website]

This is a worthy cause and of course I encourage you to participate. It should be fun. The list of contestants (with pictures and all) can be found here.

Weekend roundup

2008-01-28T00:54:00.000-08:00

Even though I didn't have my usual Friday dinner with C, B, L and J (as we usually do), I ended up being triple-booked. But that's not unusual in Raul's life. As somebody would say, another day at work, hehe. My weekend started on Wednesday with a lovely dinner at Kishu Mountain with LB. Since we don't work together anymore, I had not had a chance to see her and it was so lovely to touch base with her. It was very refreshing to have again some time just to hang out the two of us.

Friday I went to the office party and then we proceeded to go to a post-office party at J/B/P's house. That was a blast, and I got a nice invite to a party the next evening at B and M's place. I had such a great time at B and M's (although I did manage to exact some damage on my liver and my head - note to self - don't drink and dance). Saturday morning I had brunch with BS at The Nice Cafe, which was also wonderful, and spent part of the afternoon just doing some work around the house.

Sunday morning was my traditional volleyball followed by a very nice brunch with M, L and A. As it has become tradition, Sunday evening was dinner and a movie with J. And strangely enough, I felt a bit depressed/sad after J dropped me off at my place after dinner at The Red Sea Cafe. Not sure why. I think it's because I've had such a social weekend, filled with people, new friends, new bonding processes (friendship bonding, I mean). I am a bit overwhelmed, but at the same time, I kind of miss my friends. It's a strange feeling. I have seen so many of my friends in the past two weeks and yet I still feel as though I haven't seen enough of them. Weird. This too, shall pass.

Restaurant review - Seto Cafe (Commercial Drive)

2008-01-28T00:40:00.000-08:00

I write this review as I am listening again and again to the song "Who Knows" by Natasha Bedingfield (by the way, I just found out that the song is not included in the soundtrack, which totally sucks - this song would be the sole reason why I'd buy the soundtrack). Anyhow, this afternoon (just before meeting J for dinner and a movie), I had brunch with L, M and A after our volleyball game at a nice little cafe that has one of the cheapest brunches in town ($3.50 for breakfast is hard to beat).

Cafe Seto (on Commercial Drive) is located pretty close to JJ Beans and near 6th and Commercial (if I'm not mistaken). It only takes cash and debit, so that's a bit of a problem for those like me, who totally love plastic (e.g. credit cards). But the price is almost unbeatable. And the food is REALLY good.

It was very nice to spend some time with L and M (two of my best volleyball players) outside our customary environment (e.g. a volleyball court). I have to say that I am pretty damn proud. My volleyball team this term is super solid, and we get along famously. As S put it very truthfully, "we are freakishly laid-back".

Back to the review. I had their All Day Breakfast (actually I ordered the ADB but they gave me the 2-2-2, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 pancakes). Awesome, very filling. I think that the only issue I am having with brunch at the moment is that I do need coffee with my toast and a soft drink (e.g. Pepsi) with my eggs. Call me weird, but I can't really fathom a brunch without those two drinks. Anyhow, I highly recommend Cafe Seto. Cheap brunch - almost unbeatable!

Music review - Who Knows by Natasha Bedingfield

2008-01-28T00:34:00.000-08:00

This song is part of a number of awesome songs that are included in the movie 27 Dresses (which I just reviewed). I have to admit that the song, Who Knows by Natasha Bedingfield, sounds SO MUCH BETTER in a movie theatre. Or perhaps it was the fact that I was so into the movie that it just seemed to fit perfectly. You judge. I love the song. The video shown below is not the official one, but it's one I found on YouTube.

Movie review - 27 Dresses

2008-01-28T00:02:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, one disclaimer. Well, actually two. First, I *love* Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. They are two of my favourite actors, so anything with both of them will probably fly with me. Second, I am a romantic at heart, so chick flicks and I are very good friends ;)

Ok, on to the review. This review involves also some degree of personal insight into my own life which I thought I'd blog about at the same time. That element is perhaps worth a completely separate blog entry, but I'll see how the writing comes along and then if I need, I'll expand.

The movie 27 Dresses revolves around Jane (Heigl), who works for an eco-tourism tycoon (Edward Burns) who in addition to being handsome, is filthy rich. Jane fell in love with weddings. Since she was very young, she proved a phenomenal wedding planner (who doesn't actually do that for a living, but is always there for her girlfriends who get married). Hence, she is always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

Jane is the perfect bridesmaid (and sometimes maid of honor). She keeps being there for her bride friends, in hopes that one day all of them will be there for her. But that special day has never arrived, and now the number of dresses she has accumulated amounts to 27. Actually it's pretty cool to see all the different weddings she's been to (a goth wedding, cowboy-themed, under-water, a Californian wedding, a wedding in Japan, an Indian wedding, etc.)

She is hopelessly in love with her boss, who falls for her baby sister. As you can (predictably) surmise, issues ensue. The great thing about 27 Dresses is that there is an entire side plot around Jane and her (predictably hot) suitor, the cynical Kevin (Marsden), dumped by his wife on the wedding day which makes him obviously sour to the whole idea of marriage.

I have to say that I absolutely loved this movie. There are so many clever and witty phrases in the dialogues that I actually would love to use at some point, it's a really funny and heartwarming movie. Here is the trailer - worth watching. Go see the movie. With a loved one. Now.

Trailer available from YouTube.

My faith in the world has been restored.

2008-01-26T17:15:00.001-08:00

Or at least, partially (if my neighbours were a lot more considerate about not letting their kid run in their house, I'd say it has been almost totally restored). Anyhow. Today I went for brunch with BS to the Nice Café. It's a nice neat little restaurant on 8th Avenue and (almost) Main.

We had (as we usually do) a great time. At some point, as it happens when I'm enthralled with the conversation with my friends, I must have pulled (inadvertently) my house keys off of my pocket. Since it was so cold, I didn't have my gloves nor toque, the sensibility of my fingers was minimal. Therefore, the keys fell off without me noticing.

When I got home, my keys were nowhere to be found, and of course, I panicked. I re-traced my steps, hoping that someone would have found my keys and left them at one of the places I had just been to. Well, lo- and behold, my keys were sitting in a small wedge on the corner of Broadway and Main.

I have to say that, while I am extremely grateful, am not so surprised. I have always had a good feeling about the neighbourhood, so finding my keys only came to reinforce that positive energy I get from here. Clearly, there are reasons to be grateful to The-Powers-That-Be, and I am indeed very very thankful. Hence why my faith in the world has been restored.

Restaurant review - The Old Spaghetti Factory (Vancouver)

2008-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

There is no better way to spend a nice lunch than with extended family and friends, at a great restaurant: The Old Spaghetti Factory. We went to the Gastown location, although I have been there and to other locations with J, my brother, and other friends. I recognize I should have written this review LONG ago, but anyways.

The great thing about the OSF is that there is no way in hell you will not be full at the end of your meal. I ordered a spicy chorizo penne, and to be honest, I don't think I could have eaten it all had it not been for the fact that I had not had breakfast (I was too busy trying to finish off some work, as I knew that my afternoon was a total write-off - I had family members visiting).

The food is, as always, great. The staff (servers and host) were very nice, greeted us with drinks and bread and butter, and provided us with soft drinks refills all the way. So I can't complain. The best part was visiting with extended family, but also it was very nice to just have some really good food. If you have a large group, it's really worth the price of the food (less than $ 20.00 for a REALLY GOOD lunch). I'd seriously recommend it.

Cleaning up the house - literally!

2008-01-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

I am a bit afraid that two of my most relevant pieces this week (the diatribe about Translink's decision-making process and the upcoming climate-change related events here in Vancouver) will disappear into oblivion if I keep writing these "light content" posts but I've been wanting to say this for a few days now. So here it goes (and apologies to those who will waste 3 minutes of their time in reading this post!)

Last night, I completely cleaned up my apartment. As in, I sat down, went through the piles of papers that had accumulated in my living room, on my bed, on my kitchen table and on my (rather small) desk. You'll see, I live in a REALLY tiny apartment (to see a layout of what my apartment looks like and be a bit frightened about how much I crammed in less than 500 square feet, click here).
(when decorating apartments in Vancouver, you have to deal with VERY limited spaces).

Anyhow, I digress... Given the very small amount of space I have in my apartment, I really have to keep it rather clean and organized. So, I got rid of a few items (donated to Triage, a non-governmental organization that provides emergency services to homeless and low-income people, but I'll blog about that later) and organized all my files (yet again). You'd be surprised to see my apartment now. It looks almost immaculate.

On the cleaning up the house side of things, I should also mention that I've decided to be more financially conscious. So, the number of restaurant reviews will probably decrease in 2008 (unless I find a REALLY good new job and make enough money to actually dine out as much as I did in the past). Admittedly, all the dining out I did in 2007 has allowed me to have a very clear panoramic view of the restaurant scene in Vancouver and surrounding cities, and I've managed to find some very good cheap eats.

Cleaning up the house also meant reviving a few friendships that were dormant in 2007, and looking forward to spending some good times in 2008. It also means that I have to make a conscious effort to keep my apartment in good condition so that I can feel comfortable both spending more time here and inviting friends over. As J very clearly said, I take pride in being able to invite friends and entertain guests, so I should keep it up.

And while we are at the topic of beauty, I leave you with a photo of the scenery as you would see it from the Rose Garden at UBC. Now, you can understand one of the reasons why I am so happy in this city! (by the way, I have to find a way to upload my photos to Flickr so that people can use them with attribution) - but too busy to do that today! - thanks to Nomade Moderne for the suggestion though).

Dine Out Vancouver 2008 - my $ 25 per person recommendations

2008-01-25T00:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now on to the $ 25.00 dollar mark recommendations. I've been to these restaurants and I should have written restaurant reviews, might do so in the near future.

- Aqua Riva - I love it.

- Dockside - Love it too (and reviewed here on my blog).

- Gramercy Grill - Not convinced from the brunch menu, but perhaps curious to see dinner menu.

- Hell's Kitchen - Had brunch here, don't know about dinner.

- Horizons - HELL YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. One of my best evenings was dinner here with J.

- La Bodega - YES. HELL YES. OH MY GOD, I HAVE TO GO! Reviewed here too.

- Mosaic - Excellent brunch, figure dinner is just as good. Reviewed here.

- NU - Hmm. Not convinced. May try this one.

- Ouisi - Excellent dinner food. Worth trying. Reviewed here.

- Red Door - I hated it, but who knows, maybe people will want to go. Reviewed here.

- Seasons in the Park - I'm tempted to try this one.

- Steamworks - Not worth it for dinner. Been there, done that. But good food nonetheless. I just wouldn't do Dine Out 2008 there.

- The Boathouse - Awesome food. I fell in love with this restaurant. Worth going on Dine Out.

- The Cats Meow - Hmmmm. Should I attempt one more try? Reviewed here.

- Cloud 9 - Hell yeah. If they have a $25.00 menu, I am SO going. Also reviewed here.

- The Transcontinental - Never done dinner here. Not interested. Good drinks and appetizers though.

- Tropika - J loves it. I hate it.

- Water St. Cafe - ABSOLUTELY. I swear by the Water Street Cafe.

- Trafalgars Bistro - hmmm... curious about it.

Dine Out Vancouver 2008 - my $ 15 per person recommendations

2008-01-25T00:10:00.001-08:00

I know, how on Earth did I manage to not talk about Dine Out Vancouver 2008? Particularly since my dining out posts are the most popular on my blog. I know, guilty as charged. Truth be told, one of my New Year's resolution was to be more budget-conscious. And that can't be done if I'm dining out every week/weekend. Still, I've been to a few restaurants already (but trying to have more budget-conscious brunches and dinners). Couple of new restaurants I'll review in the next few days.

Now, since we're talking about budget-conscious, what are your options for Dine-Out that I would recommend. This list is taken from the Tourism Vancouver website, just adding my own personal opinion.

The list of participating restaurants is here.

And now, for my own personal recommendations

- Ashiana - had dinner here once, it was fantastic. Worth trying.

- Nyala - already reviewed on my blog, excellent food.

- The Old Spaghetti Factory - can't go wrong with this one. Abundant portions, tasty.

- The Sunset Grill - reviewed for brunch, excellent dinner items too.

Curious about

- Migz - hmmm... never been, interesting menu.

- Maria Taverna - can't recall if I've been (I think I have). Interesting menu.

- The Irish Heather - I've been, but not in a long time. Interesting...

Let me know if you have any other recommendations.

Upcoming event - Climate change talks organized by VTACC (Vancouver)

2008-01-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

Voters Taking Action Against Climate Change (VTACC) is a non-partisan group that is organizing a series of talks on climate change that will take place within the next few weeks. I don't know the first couple of speakers, but I do know Dr. Mark Jaccard and he's a brilliant speaker. Many people may disagree with his views, but he is certainly a rigorous scholar who does good social science and that should not be discounted.

From the VTACC website (all talks take place at the Canadian Memorial United Church at 7 pm, on Burrard and 15th Avenue):

Global Warming: More than Hot Air?
Dr. David Chapman, Professor of Geophysics, Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Utah
Tuesday, February 5th, 7 pm.

Global Warming as Spiritual Crisis and Opportunity
Bruce Sanguin, Minister, Canadian Memorial United Church
Tuesday February 19th, 7 pm.

Lessons for the Future from Canada's Climate Policy Failures
Dr. Mark Jaccard, Professor at the School of Resources and Environmental Management at SFU
Tuesday March 4th, 7 pm.

I am a bit surprised about the fact that very little has been talked about the politics of Canadian climate change policy (that is, about the political climate in Canada and how that is impacting implementation of post-Kyoto commitments). Would be worth examining, I think. And let me know if you attend any of the talks. You're even welcome to guest-blog!

For more information about VTACC:

VTACC is a group of Kitsilano neighbours who are deeply concerned about global warming and want to mobilize people to get engaged politically to call for immediate and deep reductions in emissions.[VTACC website]

Stupid decision-making in Translink?

2008-01-24T17:02:00.000-08:00

While I was traveling in Mexico this past December and early January, I felt guilt-ridden because I drove a couple of times a single-occupant vehicle (SOV). Admittedly, most of the time I drove my Mom and my friend ML, in addition to a couple of my nieces, so really it was a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) for the few weeks I was there. Nevertheless, whenever I am in another country (e.g. France, Germany, Canada), I make a conscious choice to commute by transit (bus, train and metro). Thus, as a frequent transit user, it frustrates me to no end that (apparently) stupid decisions are made which affect my daily commute.

Recently, a few of these decisions were put in place: the stops at Main at 10th Avenue (on both the east and west sides) were removed, and the Main and 15th (northbound) was moved to Main and 14th (right across from Zigz). Furthermore, I don't know whose "bright idea" was it to only have a couple of routes on Broadway (9 and 99 B-Line) and one on King Edward (25) but none on 16th Avenue, basically from Macdonald to Fraser. We need a route along 16th Avenue, even if it's only a Commuter Bus (like the ones that Translink provided for short trips within UBC, or the C21 and C23 from Main Street Skytrain station to the West End and back). Why hasn't this happened?

I could cite the other dozens of stupid transportation policy decisions that have been made in the Metro Vancouver area, but there is a point I've been thinking about bringing across. When we complain about transportation policy, we often say "Translink should do this" or "Translink should do that" as though Translink is a homogeneous body. This is not the case.

The truth is that organizations are composed of individuals, each one with a different view of the world. Unless we recognize this heterogeneity in organizational composition, we are bound to be frustrated by the decision-making processes of an organization that doesn't really make decisions itself. When we speak about "Translink's decisions", are we referring to the decisions of its Board of Directors, or their planning staff, or the CEO. Who *decides* within Translink? I am very curious to find out, quite frankly. Translink's new governance model is quite puzzling, admittedly (and this comes from someone who actually has read the academic literature on governance!)

And yes, I recognize that I'm guilty of what I am pointing out (e.g. assuming Translink is a homogeneous entity). There are two reasons why I pointed this out. The first one, is that the decision-making in Translink (and the rest of this region's governmental agencies) is much more complex than one would think. The second one is that I believe that transportation policy in the Metro Vancouver area should have much more citizen involvement than it has right now. Who was consulted about moving the Main and 15th Avenue bus stop? Has nobody in this city pointed out to the lack of a bus along 16th Avenue? Is there evidence that consultation took place, and is there any degree of accountability for these decisions? How did "Translink" decide? (e.g. who at Translink made this decision and how was it made?)... inquiring minds want to know...

Coffe place review - Bean Around the World (Main and Broadway)

2008-01-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

Theoretically, this location will eventually become Bean Around the World. Right now, it is a coffee shop right beside where Monsoon used to be and in the location formerly known as the home of SoMa. The coffee is good, not too harsh on my tummy, and the barista is pretty nice.

I actually couldn't use the wireless, although they do have it, but my wireless card didn't seem to be talking with their router. The place is well illuminated, and quite spacious. It looks as though a few people have taken it up as their centre of operations. I still see many more people at Waves, or at Lugz. But as somebody said, there's always space for everyone.

If I had woken up at a decent hour, I probably would have come here to work and spent the whole day looking at the beautiful mountains (this location has a gorgeous view of the snowed mountains). The night lighting is quite good, and if you need to stay late, you could very well stay here until 10pm. But that's the drawback. This coffee shop only opens until 10pm (and I think only until 8pm on weekends).

I would still come back to work here. There's more than enough space to work, and enough hotties that walk by to provide good eye candy. It's a good place to do people watching too.

Where is my blog headed? A couple of thoughts

2008-01-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Having had dinner with R, T and J last Thursday and being asked "what is your blog about?" I started pondering and asking myself this precise question. I started this blog with a focus on environmental issues (since I study human/environment interactions in my day job). Then I began discussing other things, and opening up my own internal world, my thoughts and activities to the world.

Through the course of the last couple of years (I began blogging in April 2006) I have become somewhat famous for my restaurant reviews, although I have also noticed that some of my most popular posts are actually think pieces (see for example my discussion of Gore/IPCC Nobel Prize and the comparison between transportation infrastructure in Mexico City and Vancouver).

I have training in urban planning, sustainability, policy sciences and geography. I have also traveled and lived in a number of countries, which I think allows me to bring a different perspective to Canadian issues. And I am very interested in the development of Metro Vancouver.

Thus, I think I'll try to write at least one Vancouver-centric, or Canada-centric , relevant think piece a week (or every couple of weeks). For those of you who read my blog for the other stuff (e.g. my adventures, restaurant reviews and all that), I plan to continue doing that. But I also want to contribute to the overall discussions on the future of Vancouver, the Metro Vancouver region and Canada. I hope to make at least a small contribution. Thoughts, opinions anyone?

Coffee shop review - The End Cafe (Commercial Drive)

2008-01-21T16:39:00.001-08:00

There is a gazillion reasons why you should mosey over to Commercial Drive. It's a vibrant and diverse community that has managed to create a mosaic of exciting and fun events. If you want to be up-to-date on the comings and goings on The Drive, I'd recommend the blog "Commercial Drive - Live!".

I'm writing this post as I sit at The End Cafe (corner of N Grandview Hwy and Commercial Drive, pretty much at 6th Avenue and Commercial). I have met friends of mine here on our way to dinner or a movie. However, this is the very first time I actually have spent any time at The End Cafe.

I have heard rave reviews of the place, particularly jazz nights on Sundays (7-9 pm). Admittedly, that kind of clashes with my evenings with J, but I am sure I can convince him to come and listen to jazz (he wasn't very keen on acid jazz when we went to the Fairview pub, but hey it's all about having an open mind, don't you think?)

The coffee is pretty good, and I have to say that the layout is very conducive to doing everything: from doing work on your laptop (there are two side bars with plenty of jacks to connect to the electrical energy, and free wireless internet) to having a relaxed evening reading a book and having a coffee (comfy couches) to doing school homework (plenty of tables with enough seating to entertain a small army of school brats) to having a drink (they're licensed to serve alcohol until 11.45pm).

I read on the Girlports website that there is an informal queer women group every second Wednesday at the End Cafe.

Another habitual haunt for the lesbian set, the End Café is especially helpful for travelers with their free wifi access. They’ve got a nice loungey feel and serve coffee, soups, fresh organic sandwiches, burgers, breakfast and desserts. Every other Wednesday there’s an informal lesbian meet’n’greet you may want to keep your eyes open for.[Girlports website]

I can't praise enough the management of End Cafe for being this queer-positive. Of course, this is one of the most diverse and culturally-aware neighbourhoods in Vancouver!

The potential move from Blogger to WordPress

2008-01-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

My readership has steadily increased, but there is still a few hurdles to broader dissemination of my writing. Apparently, WordPress is a better platform for trackbacks. Whenever I try to trackback on any blogger's site, it never appears. That's kind of frustrating, as I find the Blogger platform very user-friendly.

So, it seems as though, unless I can find a way to make Blogger speak to WordPress and link the trackbacks, I will be switching to WP any time soon. I'm sort of worried about the amount of time I'll have to spend cleaning up my entries, but at the same time, I do want my readership to increase, and it'll be hard to do unless I switch to WP.

Test the Nation: Bloggers Sweep!

2008-01-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

I was hanging out at J's (as I often do on Sunday evenings) and we got to see the first few minutes of "Test the Nation", a Canadian trivia show where six teams of contestants (bloggers, celebrity look-alikes, chefs, cab drivers, flight crew and backpackers) answer trivia questions.

I am a bit surprised that nobody from the psychology field has criticized the show for touting itself as the "Canada's First IQ Test for the Nation". Anybody who has read the literature on IQ (and I certainly have, as my parents sent me off for numerous tests in my childhood) knows that there is a large debate surrounding mental testing.

So, for a show like this, to promote itself as a mental testing show, it does beg the question - how much do they really know about IQ tests? And how much does the team of experts know about IQ tests? Trivia tests are not exactly mental tests that will yield any statistically significant results on mental prowess. And the team of experts does seem to know a lot about culture and pop culture, world affairs, but certainly nothing in their credentials indicates anything about mental testing.

Of course, I'll unashamedly admit that I did want to be invited (I wanted to be on the bloggers team, but for one reason or another, I never made it). I guess I could try to be on the "New Canadians" team. Not sure that after my criticism the producers will want to invite me, hehe. But I still would recommend to the producers of the show to get some expert advice from a Canadian psychologist who specializes in mental testing. It would add credibility and depth to the show, I think.

And on the other hand, I want to congratulate all bloggers, and especially those of you West Coasters who represented us. The two I clearly recognized were Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss604) and Lainey Lui (aka Lainey Gossip). Love both of their blogs! Congratulations again!

Upcoming event - Ecodensity workshops (Vancouver)

2008-01-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

It annoys me to no end that important events aren't promoted and/or broadcasted in mainstream media. Even though I was alerted to these workshops by an email from my friend J, I didn't see it in the news. Thus, I make it my duty to try and promote local, Vancouver-based events whenever I can. This is one of those important dates you shouldn't miss.

Ecodensity workshops will take place in the remainder of January 2008 and February 2008. From the City of Vancouver's Ecodensity website, here are the dates of the next workshops. If you want to meet me in person, I'll most likely be at the January 30th (unless, of course, Vancouver Blogger Meetup is the same day - which then would mean that I'd have to attend another date for the workshop).

The workshop dates are as follows:[City of Vancouver Ecodensity website]

Saturday, January 26, 1 - 3:30 pm
Van Dusen Gardens, Floral Hall
5251 Oak Street
Map
Wednesday, January 30, 7 - 9:30 am
Polish Community Centre
4015 Fraser Street
Map
Sunday, February 3, 1 - 3:30 pm
Croatian Cultural Centre
3250 Commercial Drive
Map
*Chinese facilitation available
Tuesday, February 12, 7 -9:30 pm
St. James Hall
3214 West 10th Avenue
Map
Saturday, February 16, 1:30 - 4 pm
Chinese Cultural Centre
50 East Pender Street
Map
*Chinese facilitation available
Please RSVP to ecodensity@vancouver.ca

Let me note that the locations for the workshops are fairly low-to-medium density. I wonder how would West End or Yaletown residents react to Eco-Density workshops. Same thing goes for areas like Shaughnessy or Dunbar. At any rate, I think you should participate, and feel free to spread the word.

Of bloggers, geeks and other musings

2008-01-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of having dinner with R, T and J last night. We engaged in a very pleasant conversation where we frequently used the word "geek". Wikipedia's article on the definition of geek is tagged as needing revision, re-writing and pretty much every other "re-" you can imagine. But the interesting thing is that, at least in my realm (in my day job, I'm an academic and a consultant), being a geek is not derogatory at all.

While the definition remains quite loose, I would say that geeks have particular technical skills in a specific field. For example, I am very lucky to have in my life an information technology geek. He is quite competent with computers and is usually the one to whom I run with questions as stupid as "so which webcam do you think I should buy?" or "how the hell do I recharge my iPod?". Yeah, that's me. The non-computer geek. J often jokes that I'm about five years behind in regards to technology (I don't own a plasma TV, for one, and my cell phone is as basic as you can imagine! - no camera, no data transmission capabilities, etc.)

That being said, I think I could say I'm an enviro geek. I am more than happy to engage in long-winded discussions on climate change, pollution, the state of our world's sustainability, etc. One time, I had a 39 oC- fever and had just flown to Germany to attend a conference. I sat through 4 and a half hours (non-stop) of talks on environmental affairs, and I didn't even twitch in my seat. That's a sign of passion, and I am very passionate about sustainability. I guess that also makes me an enviro geek.

I think (and I don't believe I'm that wrong) that many people equate bloggers with geeks, and admittedly, I can see how many bloggers may have great technical skills (web savvy for example). But I would argue that not every blogger is geeky. I, for one, couldn't backtrack to save my life until Rebecca (aka Miss604) told me that sometimes, trackbacks don't work between Blogger and Wordpress. Yeah, sadly, I'm not that good when it comes to platforms, and so on.

I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on the topic. As I had mentioned before, I feel as though I belong to a community of bloggers, and I wonder if this community thinks of themselves as geeks.

The Provincial Transit Plan and Mexico City's case

2008-01-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

There are lots of people raving (and some ranting) about the recently unveiled Provincial Transit Plan, with ambitious goals of a Skytrain to UBC, amongst others. Since there are other bloggers who have covered the issue much better than me (like Stephen Rees, Gordon Price and Paul Hillsdon), I figured that I should examine the issue from a different perspective, so here it is. I'm not a transportation policy expert, but I do know a few things about urban planning and sustainability.

One of the things that surprises me (to this day) is the size of the Metro Vancouver region (formerly the Greater Vancouver Regional District) and it poorly designed transit system. Compared to Mexico City, Metro Vancouver has roughly one-tenth of the population, and a GDP per capita about ten times higher. However, if you look at the Metro system in Mexico City, the latter is so much better and so much more used than the Skytrain, that it does beg the question - why is it that a city in a third-world, relatively poorer country can have such a stellar transportation system as compared to Vancouver (which is supposed to be a world-class, affluent, wealthy, first-world kind of city).

The Metro system in Mexico City [Photo credit: Wikipedia's entry on Mexico City Metro]

Don't get me wrong. There IS a reason why I live in this city. But it's not its transportation system, for sure. I am well aware of the air pollution problems in Mexico City, and I also know the argument that these problems are in large measure due to the excessive number of cars (here is a link to a study that looked interesting). However, it is indeed true that the Metro system in Mexico City kicks ass. You can get pretty much anywhere within the urban core. So much that, when having conversations with residents of Mexico City, they make geographical references to specific Metro stations. For example, one of my very best friends used to live a block away from Metro Mixcoac. The bus station is at Metro Autobuses del Norte. The Benito Juarez International Airport has a station at Metro Terminal Aérea. The Zócalo has a Metro station, so does the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and the Plaza de las Tres Culturas is pretty much within five blocks of Metro Tlatelolco.

Having enjoyed the Metro system (and the peseras) in Mexico City less than two weeks ago (accompanied by a Canadian, indeed), I can't help but laugh at the irony that Mexico City's transportation system can be so much better than that of the whole province of British Columbia (in my opinion, of course ... if you have enough data and a good solid argument to defeat my proposition, I'm happy to discuss it).

Viewing this issue from another angle, if you think about it, unless Metro Vancouver creates a smart growth/smart transportation strategy, its air quality going to end up much worse than Mexico City. Just think about it for a second... if it is true (I still have my doubts) that Mexico City's air pollution is due to the excessive number of polluting cars and other vehicles, even with a kick-ass, world-class Metro system like the one it has, can you imagine what will happen to Metro Vancouver a few years down the road?

Sometimes, when analyzing policy (and creating new policies), it's useful to look at how other cities/regions/countries are doing things, and first-world countries can learn from third-world countries too, just as much. It would be good for Metro Vancouver to look at Mexico City as an example of a solid transportation system that moves millions of people around. Thoughts anyone?

Canadian content policy - Yes, I like it

2008-01-14T23:37:00.000-08:00

I moved to Canada almost 12 years ago. In doing so, I decided to learn more about the country, its history and culture, demographics, etc. Thanks to the Canadian Content policy (Cancon, as it's often referred), I have been exposed to made-in-Canada TV, Canadian actors, musicians, writers, etc. That's how I discovered Shania Twain, Jann Arden, Sarah McLachlan, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, etc.

Some people seem to find it annoying that Cancon is in place. Even the Wikipedia entry indicates that there is controversy surrounding the restriction of freedom that Cancon puts on choices of entertainment sources. Since this is my blog, I thought it would be appropriate for me to say that I am quite happy with the existence and enforcement of Cancon. I am happy that we are forced to be exposed to Canadian productions, shows and artists.

Admittedly, there is already Canadian content in US television shows. Smallville, for example, employs a large number of Canadians (some of which are incredibly talented such as the Ashmore twins - Shawn and Aaron - Kristin Kreuk, Emanuelle Vaughier, Eric Johnson, Laura Vandervoort to name just a few in the main cast). The show is filmed in Vancouver (although of course, it's set in Kansas). But I think it's also good that Cancon is in place and enforced.

You can call me nationalistic, or weird, but I also enjoy Vancouver-centric or Canada-centric shows. Robson Arms, for example, is a show that focuses on the tenants of a building in Vancouver's West End. From their website:

Welcome back to Robson Arms, the once-grand low-rise apartment building in Vancouver’s West End. Season 2 of Robson Arms picks up 6 months after Season 1 left off. The previous owners of the building are dead, earthquake repairs are still underway, and a “For Sale” sign sits front and center outside. As with any apartment building, some tenants have moved on… and others have moved in.[Robson Arms' website]

Other great shows, such as Intelligence, DaVinci's Inquest, Cold Squad, have done a great job in portraying Vancouver and its problems. I am proud to live in this city and also proud of the great job that Canadians are doing in the entertainment industry. Why not support them? Why not encourage their development?

I like the shows where Canadian life is examined, where Canadian cities are shown as their real selves (not like in the case of Queer as Folk, where Toronto passed for Pittsburgh). And yes, I do support the US writers in their strike and am waiting with baited breath for some shows to continue (such as Smallville, Brothers and Sisters, Supernatural).

But if the circumstances of the writers' strike lead to an increased focus on Canadian shows, I say this is good. Note: I am not saying that it's good that the US writers aren't getting what they deserve, on the contrary, I really support their cause. But what I am saying is that I am happy that, with all the worry surrounding the lack of content in Canadian television because US shows will be doing re-runs, there is more attention being paid to Canadian-produced shows. Too bad it's due to circumstances, rather than based on a strong development plan for the Canadian entertainment industry!

Intensity

2008-01-14T22:19:00.001-08:00

Not sure why I'm so exhausted. Probably because I've tried really hard to juggle a thousand things and because my calendar, both work-related and non-work related, is filling up pretty fast. I had high hopes that I'd be blogging everything I did during my holiday, but I'm getting tired at an incredibly fast rate.

Processing speeds

2008-01-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

I've been back in Vancouver for less than a week. During that period, I've had to do a lot of work (both personal, chores, errands and work, work). Normally, my processing speed is quite high and I end up doing a gazillion things. But right now I am tired and don't want to work as hard as I did in 2007, so I think I'm going to take the rest of this evening easy. Particularly since the weather is not cooperating! The wind is so strong that I thought I was going to start flying.

I need some time to just be on my own as well. Some ME time (which seems unlikely since there's a tonne of stuff to do). Perhaps I'll end up going to bed early. One thing I will do is to turn off my phone. Friends of mine have had the bad luck of calling me at 10 pm when I've already gone to sleep, and it really screws my sleeping patterns, so I will nonchalantly turn it off.

Old habits die hard

2008-01-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

After spending a few days in Victoria with J, I got used to waking up pretty early and do work, but in the past couple of days, it looks like I'm back to being the night owl. Don't know why, but I'll see how things go. I still wake up early but my brain starts functioning in the afternoon. Maybe it's true that old habits die hard.

What a great weekend!

2008-01-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

Phew! Back to the grind, and also back to my usual social routine. I went for coffee with J, B and C on Friday night (lots of laughs and good times). Saturday morning, brunch with Nomade Moderne and CS. Great times too (although I arrived late! ooops, hate it when that happens).

Saturday night, JH was my date for a wine and cheese party. Great hosts, wonderful people, amazing wine, and one of the hottest girls on the planet as my date :) Great times indeed! I got home around 3.30am. Sunday I should have played volleyball but was way too hungover. So I just went out to do some Costco/Safeway/shopping runs with J. We spent a quiet and nice evening, which included installing some software and hardware on my computer (yeah, I'm turning into a geek).

The week looks a bit daunting as I have social and work commitments pretty much all week, and my weekend is already booked (with the mere exception of Saturday morning). WOW. And here I thought I was going to have quiet times when I got back. Think again, Raul!

Restaurant review - IHOP (International House of Pancakes) [Richmond]

2008-01-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Best way to be welcomed to Vancouver? Brunch at IHOP with my close friends C and B. They were kind enough to pick me up at the Vancouver International Airport, and since I had eaten only airline snacks, they thought it would be better for me if I actually ate good food.

I've been a customer of IHOP for many years now, but I rarely go because there's none in Vancouver. I've been to the one in Delta with my brother, to the one in Brentwood Mall (Burnaby) with J, and now to the one in Richmond (close to the airport) with B and C. And if you read this sentence carefully, you'll realize that none of these are actually in Vancouver. Hence why I never go to IHOP. Which is regrettable, because their food is SO GOOD!

I had one of their International Passport, which was enough food to keep me going through a really busy afternoon (had to register my volleyball team by 4.30pm). The best part, of course, is hanging out with B and C. They even took me to my office after dropping off my luggage! They are such a cute couple, and such a perfect team! And I'm very proud of counting them amongst my dear friends.

So, all in all, I would seriously recommend IHOP. Normally, I am the type of guy who will endorse only local products and services (e.g. I'll have coffee from Blenz rather than from Starbucks), but IHOP is a good international franchise, and it's good for your stomach (and your wallet!)

The hard task of parenting

2008-01-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

My upstairs neighbours have a 2 years old child, who is by anyone's definition, a living hell. The kid screams, yells, throws tantrums, smashes things on the floor, argues with his parents (!?!?!? - yeah, incredibly, the kid argues with his parents at 2 yrs old, and they argue back!) and has absolutely no sense of when to stop crying.

In my opinion, this isn't the kid's fault, but the result of bad parenting. However we want to look at it, a child is the product of his or her parents. I see my nieces and nephews, and they're all great kids. That's the result of my brothers' and their wives' efforts, not some random DNA strand.

Naturally, some of my brothers are more strict than others. There are specific circumstances that have colored each kid's life. But the overall result are great girls and boys. In the case of my neighbours' little guy, he can be cute as a button, but it's a pain and a torture to live in my apartment when he is around.

Is there anything that can be done? Yeah, for sure. Teach his Mom and Dad how to be better parents. However, there is no real school that prepares you to be a Mom or a Dad. My parents weren't prepared either! Nevertheless, I am proud of what my parents made of me and my brothers, and I'll have to admit that it was pure damn luck combined with a great dose of love.

My parents might have been very strict, sometimes dominant and at times overwhelming, but they loved me and my brothers very much (they still do, because thank God, they're still alive!). They were visionaries in that they wanted to create diamonds out of us, and I believe they succeeded. I don't know how to pass my Mom and Dad's parenting lessons to my neighbours, but one thing I can tell you is that my parents were very disciplined and taught us to behave properly under every circumstance. Maybe my neighbours will learn the lesson sometime.

The things I love...

2008-01-11T20:59:00.001-08:00

There are many things I love, but here is a short list that I'm loving at the moment:

Chocolate mints - "After Eight". One of my former students gave me a box as a token of appreciation. I was really touched, and honestly, I have to say that it made me very happy as I can eat a full box of chocolate mints, right by my side when I'm writing a paper or a report. Coffee + chocolate mints + my laptop + an interesting project to work in = bliss.

A busy social schedule. Not surprisingly, my weekend is full already. Brunch/lunch with Nomade Moderne and his girlfriend tomorrow (Saturday), a wine and cheese party on Saturday night (although truth be told, I will not be consuming cheese for obvious reasons - I hate it), volleyball on Sunday, then most likely brunch with LF and potentially W, K and R. Sunday evenings are already taken by J, so that brings me to next week... and I'm already booked for next Wednesday, Thursday and potentially Friday. Possible tea and coffee tonight with J, B, C and L.

My local travel equipment. This includes my laptop-fitted backpack, and my iPod. It's so nice to be able to move around town and know that I have the equipment to do work wherever I choose. That's one of the greatest things about doing the type of work I do, that you can work anywhere...

Transportation policy Hillsdon-style

2008-01-11T16:59:00.000-08:00

I learned about Paul Hillsdon's blog through other bloggers, such as Miss604, Keefer, Gordon Price, Erika Rathje and Stephen Rees. I was shocked at first to hear that he was just 16 (at the time, he's now 17). His posts are extremely well written, coherent and articulate.

Well, his readership is exploding now, in part because he wrote a really well-researched plan for transportation South of the Fraser river (I would suggest you go to Price' or Rees' blogs for discussions on the matter, as Paul's server is overwhelmed - you can also check the Livable Region Coalition blog).

The point I would like to make (since I am not really a transportation kind of guy - but I do have other strengths in urban planning and sustainability) is that instead of just complaining, Paul's plan is making suggestions. I would like to encourage other bloggers, readers, citizens of Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver (formerly GVRD) area to write proposals and offer suggestions. It's easy to rant and whine, and hard to research a topic and put countless hours into developing a coherent and well-analyzed report. Let's all try to follow Paul's example and use the second strategy. Congratulations Paul!

Eatery review - Uncle Fatih's Pizza (Commercial and Broadway)

2008-01-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

Since I got back to Vancouver, I've been working at the office and doing lots of errands. Thus, by the time I head back home, I'm totally exhausted. As it often happens to me when I take the 99 B-Line home, I ended up sleeping and missing my stop. So I had to go back from Commercial and Broadway (good thing the 99 B-Line wasn't one of those 'Boundary' ones or else I would've been royally in trouble).

On my way back, a nagging feeling and a slight headache started to bug me. Having just shopped at Safeway, I figured that it was nothing, but by the time I crossed the street west over to Commercial and Broadway, the lion inside me woke up and started to demand food. Being the case that pizza is the only thing with cheese that I allow myself to consume (just because I can't even taste the cheese with all those toppings), I stopped at Uncle Fatih's Pizza.

Since I started hanging out on Commercial Drive, I had promised myself that one day, I'd make a quick stop at Uncle Fatih's. The line-up is always long and there's all sorts of people (from men in suits to young guys in rags) consuming pizza. Determined not to let this opportunity pass, I stopped and ordered a full dinner (2 slices and a pop for a whooping $ 3.50, even cheaper than a latte at Starbucks).

Admittedly, my definition of cheap eats is substantially different to that of Andrew Morrison from Urban Diner (I just read his weekly West Ender column on cheap eats, and he suggested that he could do dinner for $20 or so - my definition of cheap eats is dinner for less than 7 bucks). This is most definitely a place for cheap, affordable, tasty and satisfying pizza. I'll be back, for sure!

And apparently other reviewers agree with me :)

Not that I'm endorsing a product, but...

2008-01-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

Given that my lower teeth are crooked, I require much more dental care and attention than most people. Not only do I have to floss, but I also need to frequently brush my teeth. Sometimes, since I'm always busy, I forget to do that (or I'm on the road). Therefore, at times I suffer from gingivitis and/or bad breath.

Tonight, just before writing this post, I figured it was time to come back to my normal dental cleaning routine. When I am away, I can't really do as much as I do here (brush my teeth, floss, use plaque remover, and apply a water-jet cleanser). I don't have any reasons to do commercial endorsements (since I make no money out of this blog), but I have to say that Waterpik has definitely given my gums and teeth a great treatment.

Why do I use a water jet? Because the dentist prescribed it to me. But I specifically use Waterpik because my brother S suggested it (he used it when he had gingivitis and it helped him a lot). And since he's the one who bought the water jet for me, I figured I owed it to him to at least try it. And it's done wonders for my mouth's hygiene.

The one I use is a counter top dental water jet, but I've always been tempted to buy a cordless one. But since I usually brush my teeth at home in the morning and evening, I figure I will see how well I do without the cordless. Remember to always visit your dentist at least once every six months.

Almost done unpacking :)

2008-01-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

Since I've been suggested by various commenters to just keep writing, I'm doing that exactly... feel almost like I'm live-blogging my unpacking journey. I brought several small gifts for friends, so I also have to organize those. I also did laundry, cleaned up part of my bedroom, fixed a bookshelf, had a shower (that counts as a chore, let me tell you) and went shopping for some soda (I can't have burritos with plain water).

I found out that I'm quite capable of eating half a bottle of cajeta with toast. Ooops... there goes my diet again. But seriously, I'm in Vancouver, it's pouring rain, the sky is gray and dark, and I need a "pick me up" after six weeks of sun and warmth. So hence why I have eaten so much cajeta, hehe.

Sorry for having just wasted three minutes of your time, but honestly, I've got no good content yet. It's either I stop and wait until I blog something meaningful or just go with the flow. I'm testing the second method :)

How fast is your typing speed?

2008-01-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

Via Tawcan, who left this at NetChick's website, I tested how fast I type. Boy, am I intense or what? I type 105 words per minute!

105 words

Touch typing free

The writing is not flowing :(

2008-01-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that I've been quite productive in that I've been submitting letters and writing some work-related e-mails, my own writing is not coming. Neither the work writing nor the blog. Not too happy about that. I've been working at home, and yeah, I can't complain about productivity in that I got a lot of my errands and chores done, but still don't feel as though I can sit down and write well.

Not sure what to do about it. And I'm a bit afraid of reading blogs right now as I know I can spend HOURS doing so. However, I would want to accomplish a fair bit (work-wise). What do you do if your writing is not flowing?

It's all about the equipment # 8 - flannel pajamas

2008-01-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks, I've been sleeping in a non-thermally conditioned room, so I've had to sleep with a few blankets and pajamas. Now, I rarely use pajamas because in Vancouver, my room is thermally conditioned. But then my Mom found a great deal in flannel pajamas and bought them for me (baby blue).

Boy, oh boy! Did I ever sleep well! These flannel pajamas are amazing! I have worn thermal underwear sometimes as I'm not very well adjusted to the cold weather yet (despite my lengthy residence in Vancouver) but these pajamas do wonders. I did not wake up a single minute and slept like a baby. Hence the title of the post: it's really all about the equipment, even when you go to sleep!

PS - A good pair of earplugs has also done wonders for my sleeping patterns.