Blogger Comeback

Alright...looks like Blogger has a new version out. The wordpress one was a little cumbersome to use, and I also had occasional server problems.

I've moved..

my blog that is... check it out. I'm still tweaking the format and look. But tell me what you think.
Its just an experiment for now. If it doesn't work out, i could always move back here....

Big Ridge

On Friday night, D & V, M&J, and Nicole and I tried to make it into our "regular" hangout...the Guildford Station Pub, but the place was jam-packed. So we made our way to Fleetwood Arms and....no room either. SOOOOOO...after standing in the shivering cold while we pondered Plan C, we finally decided to make our way to Big Ridge on Hwy 10. Big Ridge is owned by the same group that owns Dix in downtown. It was my first time there, and I must say i was pleasantly surprised. They made us wait 20 minutes for a table, but during that time the bartender gave us samples of their homebrew beer...(four glasses!).. Marty tried asking for more samples, and the bartender, to our surprise happily obliged. The ploy sure worked...cuz we ended up buying a couple pitchers. The food was fantabulous....the pizza had the freshest and tastiest ingredients I've ever had in a long time, and the honey garlic wings were just how I like wings cooked...light on the sauce, yet crispy. The girls were having enough fun without drinking too much, so Marty & I had to polish off the two pitchers of beer. As you can see from the pics we had some good times filled with some silliness in between.

I've got the hookup....the chocolate hookup.

My sister recently quit her Pastry Chef job making desserts at West Restaurant to work for Thomas Haas making....umm..chocolates. Its a sweet job (pun intended) working for one of Vancouver's best Pastry Chefs - she loves making chocolates, and i love to consume them. Here she is presenting me with my very first box of Thomas Haas chocolates for my birthday. If you ever want to try GOOD chocolate, try these. But be warned, you might need to go to Confession if you do... So what kind of chocolates? Try an Espresso with Amaretto Amaretto di Saronna - which is just a "dark chocolate ganache infused with espresso coffee beans and Amaretto di Saronno, dippedi n crystl sugar". Or how about something as simple as Lychee - "A silky dark chocolate ganache paired with a thin layer of fresh lychee, topped with a hand painted chocolate plaquette". Kids these are far from your Pot'O'Gold chocolates or heck, even Godiva couldn't touch these. All the chocolates are handmade, and most are 60-75% pure cocoa - mandatory for a discerning chocolate connoisseur like WT ;-). Oh, and did I say they also make chocolate cakes? yum.

Somebody!

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Originally uploaded by JCee.

For my birthday, Nicole got me two tickets to see Russell Peters, "Somebody" Show at QE Theatre on Sunday. To be honest, I didn't know alot about him other than he's Canadian (born in Toronto), he's East Indian (can't you tell from his name?), and that he's damn funny. He was the one who made this joke about how the Indian and Chinese can't do business together. If you still don't know who he is, go check out his site. He's well known for his racial themed jokes (note..i didn't say racist), cheeky grin, and his repetoire of South-Asian accents.....(but he can do an absolutely splendid British accent as well). The show was absolute torture on the stomach..i don't think i stopped laughing for more than two seconds - heck, I was even crying at times because it was too much. Unlike many other stand-up comedians who resort to a lot of in-your face, derogatory, crude and sick humor, Peters comes across as just a nice down-to-earth guy who can tell good jokes without being sick. Yes, his jokes involve race almost all the time, but I don't think its derogatory..he doesn't make fun or put down people, he just "talks" about them. He pokes fun at his own race most of the time, and the East Indians in the audience (who made up at least 60% of the crowd) just lapped it up. Anyways...i won't repeat any of his jokes here just because I wouldn't be able to do them justice...so you'll just have to watch one of his shows just to see for yourself. Or if you're too cheap, watch here :). What's tres cool, is that Sunday's show was being recorded to go on his next DVD in June. Maybe I'll be on it too...NOT.

White guys dating asian girls vs Asian guys dating white girls

Why does it seem that there are more white guys dating asian girls, than there are asian guys dating white girls?

It's been an age-old question among Asian guys since the beginning of time...and perhaps this finally answers the question.

Warning: Its almost 15-minutes, but its worth it. So get a coffee, sit back, turn up the headphones, and get ready to Alt-Tab it when the boss comes around.

Yvonne's Big Fat Greek Birthday

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Originally uploaded by JCee.

To celebrate Yvonne's Birthday, Nicole organized a little dinner at Taverna Greka Restaurant in New West. The yummy food and good company made for a fun evening... the only thing that was missing was the "Oompah!" dance, and the breaking of the dishes... (more pics from the dinner).

Weekends are never long enough...

Is it just me, or are the weekends getting shorter? This past weekend was jam packed with a whole lot of everything and a little bit of nothing. I hit up the mall on Sat to run a few errands, one of which was to drop into Bell Mobility, where I wanted to check if I could sign up on this new plan (through APEGBC) to save me some cash, and get me a new phone - ummm...I've been eyeing that new Moto Razr! But my hopes were dashed when the lady explained to me that it only works for new activations, and I'd have to give up my phone number - which i was very adamant about keeping. Its NOT FAIR!! Here I am, willing to convert my month-to-month to a fixed-term contract (which equals guaranteed revenue). But they won't let me do it, unless i give up my phone number. Gosh, I can't wait when number portability (ability to keep phone number through different carriers) comes into effect.

The highlight of the weekend was probably Saturday night, when Nicole and I dropped by Casa De Raf to celebrate Rafael's 29th Birthday. After a few drinks and some good company, we made our way to Shine for some dancing (awesome music!)..and so more drinks. It was a memorable night...especially for Raf (read his blog for his account and some pics). Fortunately, he made it home in one piece. I have this feeling that he'll do something a little different for his 30th Birthday ;-) Perhaps we're getting too old for clubbing. You never know just what might happen. For example, I left Nicole for a few minutes to go to the washroom and when i came out, I saw this strange guy talking to Nicole, who had just moved to a table (because she said a fight had almost broken out where she had been). When this guy saw me, he quickly turned around, and just b-lined it back to the bar. Hmm..so impolite...now why wouldn't he want to stick around and be introduced to her soon-to-be-husband? ;-)

Sunday was Chinese New Year (Gung Hay Fat Choi!, everyone!). It was also MY birthday under the chinese calendar, but no one except my parents really care..and even then they just say the same thing every year "Did You know you were born on Chinese New Year?". OK..sure...now give me my red envelope! hahah. I went to lunch with my parents, after which Nicole had to go to a Baby Shower, which was women only, so i had to kill some time and cracked open my new book - Paris 1919, by Margaret Macmillan. The book came highly recommended, so if you're into 20th century history, this book is supposedly for you. I'll try to write a book review..might have to wait awhile though, its hefty 500+ pages.

I capped off the weekend by heading to Nicole's uncle's house for another Chinese New Year's celebration. I love Nicole's family. Other than the fact you'll always have a good time in good company, you never know quite what to expect. The most memorable part of the night was when all the "kids" - aka. The Twentysomethings were in the living room chatting and playing poker, while the "Adults" - the 50+ club, were downstairs line dancing to loud music videos. Us "kids" were tempted to march downstairs and tell them to settle down. Fun times, fun times.

Now its time to catch up on sleep, and finish this freakin' 10-page work experience summary for my P.Eng application.

What's wrong with me?

Chocolate inventory as of today:

• 1/2 bag of Mini-Reese Pieces
• 1/2 bag of Hershey Caramel Kisses
• 1 Aero Bar
• 2 Fruit & Nut Bars
• 2 Toblerone Bars (400g)
• 1 box of Pearson Mints
• 1 box of Truffles

Being the intensely devout chocolate lover I am, my rate of chocolate consumption has hit an all-time low. I'm honestly suprised by how much chocolate I still have left from Christmas. A few years ago I could consume one large box of Ferrrero Rocher in one sitting. The exact cause in the decline is not clear to me. One might ask how much chocolate I've eaten since Christmas and its not that much...one box of Purdy's, one bar of Toblerone, some Reeses Pieces and Kisses, and a few chocolate mints. It's a very modest amount by my standards, so i must ask...what's wrong with me? What's even worse is that I don't even want to share my chocolate!!! Talk about selfish, eh?

Over the Edge?

Vanessa, a fellow blogger, has started this campaign against Spencer Gifts because of some racially provocative and offensive T-Shirts they're selling. You find all kinds of "joke" t-shirts in stores like Spencer Gifts, San Fransisco (eg. the store that says its always having a closing out or clearance sale!!), Dog's Ear (??), etc - some are witty, some are crude, but most are pretty harmless. But when the so-called "humor" targets a specific race (in this case, Chinese), you're really pushing the edge of good taste and is not acceptable in our society (especially Canada) - especially as a consumer product. If you agree its over the top, here is a link to a petition. If you think there's nothing wrong, I'd like to see how'd you try to defend it.