Much to say, too little time

So you'll have to apologize my point-form post...

• M's birthday was on Monday, and I was so crazy busy trying to finish a major piece of work that I completely forgot. It wasn't until Thursday that she reminded me and I feel SO guilty about having forgotten her birthday like you have no idea. Given M's sense of loyalty and dedication to her friends, family and work, I feel twice as guilty. Admittedly, I was super stressed. But I should have made sure to send her a birthday email. Luckily I do have her birthday gift already and I'll take her out for dinner to make up for my forgetfulness.

• Had a wonderful American Thanksgiving dinner thanks to the hospitality of M and K. Good friends of mine C and H were also there, as well as three other friends of the hosts. Lots of laugh, good food, and great times. And yeah, I'm still a light-weight. Two and a half glasses of wine made my evening quite the experience, he he he.

• One of my best friends, who is now living a split life between Madrid and Mexico City, called me this morning. It was so nice to hear his voice again. We met in Vancouver around a decade ago, and we have maintained a very strong bond despite the physical distance. This friend of mine (CB) is very successful and it was nice to catch up as though no time had passed.
  

• My best friend from high school's birthday (LEAD) was yesterday, November 22nd. I really did intent to call him but I've been running around so much it was pretty much impossible. Oh, well, I'll have to make it up when I visit.

• My great friends C and B managed to sneak a visit with KW, since she's visiting them for American Thanksgiving. Since C and B will have a ton of friends over for these holidays, I know that it'll be a complete madhouse at their place. But we managed to do lunch together (at Denny's of all places, and it was quite good) and then we did coffee on Granville Island. Spending time with C and B and KW is always really fun, and I got to meet JN's mom and brother too. Very nice people. I still can't believe I've done so much socializing in the past day!
  

On a funny note, while walking around, KW noticed a really cute guy and when I turned left to see who she was talking about, guess who it was? One of the Ashmore twins! I am not sure if it was Aaron Ashmore or Shawn Ashmore (I would probably guess it was Aaron since the Screenwriters Guild of America is on strike, and perhaps Smallville is on hiatus -- thus giving him some time to walk around Granville Island's Market, but I'm not totally sure). He is strikingly handsome in person (I have met other actors in person and they are usually not as good looking in real life as they look on TV). And the funny thing is (oh beautiful laid-back Vancouver) that nobody really seemed to care that he was a TV star. Everyone let him do his thing (he was hanging out with friends of him, apparently). Ah, to live in the West Coast...

The next few days will be crazy so don't expect content to be posted very frequently. But I'll keep you on the loop, I promise.

Restaurant review - The Cat's Meow

I love Granville Island. I love the scenery, I love the fact that it used to be an industrial zone and now it is very residential/a tad commercial. It houses the Granville Market, and the Backstage Lounge, the Dockside and a few other restaurants. I always enjoyed going down to Granville Island because, for a few hours, I just got lost in the scenic beauty.

For a while there, my group of close friends and I used to go to the Cat's Meow for brunch all the time. It was sort of "our joint". The first few times we went there, the service was excellent. The food was awesome. One time, my scrambled eggs got cold because I was too chatty and the waitress said "oh, don't worry - we'll just throw them and make you new ones". You can bet our tip was good, because I personally considered that the best service I had received anywhere in Vancouver.

Then the past few times the service went not so bad to very bad to really bad to I-really-don't-want-to-ever-set-my-foot-in-this-place-ever-again. So now I don't ever come back to The Cat's Meow. Don't get me wrong, they do have a place in the brunch and dinner scene, particularly in False Creek. But I just have been a witness to a deteriorating service.

Would I give The Cat's Meow a chance again? Probably this fall. Not any time soon, but I am sure in the fall I will. Now, if you think I am being unfair to TCM, read these reviews and tell me again after you've done the reading. Hopefully The Cat's Meow management will wake up and say "hey let's make this place as good as it used to be". Be prepared to shell some bucks if you go there, the brunch ain't cheap.

Restaurant review - Dockside Restaurant

Located on Granville Island, the Dockside Restaurant is one of the nicest places you can find for dinner (or drinks). Directly located beside the waterfront (hence the name), you can look over Science World, Yaletown and False Creek all without having to leave your seat. The Dockside Restaurant is part of the Granville Island Hotel.

The food is really good and the service is super attentive. I had stuffed the Chevre and Apricot free range chicken breast, which was unbelievably tasty. I saw a few other items with meat, fish but no full vegetarian option. My dinner did have cheese (a tiny bit) but I survived because the food was so good. The pricing is fairly upscale from the last time I remember ($24-$30 for main courses) and they completely got rid of their pastas but their menu is fairly good, so no reason to complain. Worth visiting if you have a special occasion.