Cancer, as many of you may know, has touched my family and friends personally (I lost 2 aunties and my grandmother to various forms of cancer). I have done Blogathon two years in a row raising funds for the BC Cancer Foundation. Thus, whenever I receive any requests to highlight fundraisers associated with cancer, it’s almost sure that I will say yes. This time, The Starlight Children’s Foundation approached me to inform me of their 2010 special edition teddy bear, which has been named in memory of Finn Sullivan, an extraordinary little BC boy who has inspired the fundraising of over a half a million dollars for cancer research.
Finnspiration Bear is the name of this cuddly bear, and proceeds from its sales ($20.00) will help the Starlight Children’s Foundation in their goals to grant wishes and create beautiful memories for seriously ill children and their families. I was told a bit about the origins of the Finnspiration Bear:
Finnspiration Bear was designed with love and laughter by Finn’s twin brother Baird, and big sister Sarah. He has big brown eyes just like his namesake, and a touch of pink – Finn’s favourite colour. The rabbits on Finnspiration’s paws capture his joyful and energetic mantra. Finnspiration Bear’s long bunny-like ears are a tribute to Finn’s favourite and much-loved ‘Pink Bear’ – a soft rabbit toy that brought him comfort through many difficult times during his brave life.
The Finnspiration Bears can be purchased for $20.00 at any Toy R Us nationwide and online. All net proceeds will be donated to the Starlight Children’s Foundation in support of seriously ill children and their families. For more information on the Starlight Children’s Foundation you can visit their website.
I have been bestowed with one Finnspiration Bear to give away to one of my lucky readers as well. For a chance to win this Finnspiration Bear, I’d like you to comment on this post mentioning what inspires you to grow. It may be a specific quote, it may be knowing that you want to be better for your spouse/partner/friend/yourself/your children. What/who is your main source of inspiration? I will have to say that my Mom, my family and my friends all inspire me. My former PhD advisor, my colleagues also are sources of inspiration.
I will draw a random winner from all entries I receive until December 5th at 5:30pm.
November 29th, 2010 in
cancer,
charities |
12 Comments
Despite the fact that I am now geekier than I have ever been (heck, I even created a whole website all on my own, “look Ma no hands” style), I tend to NOT follow social media fads. I wait until I have seen how others have explored the platform, how I see them working, I play around with them for a bit and then I decide if I stay or I go. It took me a solid 3 years to decide whether I wanted to join Facebook.
There are a few social media platforms that I dislike, particularly Foursquare. As I said at a recent Social Media 101 Roundtable where I spoke, I can’t see Foursquare building community. You could say “hey, but I have my friends on Foursquare already and when I tell them where I am, they may want to check the place out or share it with their friends as well”. Um, no, actually that’s not totally true, particularly if you already have a community built (likely, by being on Facebook or Twitter, or simply by having met them in real life) and Foursquare imports your contacts. Foursquare, I repeat, is not a community-building tool. I have criticized it before.
I’m less likely to follow your Foursquare updates if I don’t know you even if you’re Foursquare friends with my own friends. But I may follow you if you are followed by my friends on Twitter or friend you if you’re Facebook friends with mine. I have used both Foursquare and Gowalla and I got bored faster than you can say “I’m here”. And I have all but looked at the many ways in which I can try to erase “Facebook Places” on my Facebook account (you can’t, but that’s another story about how Facebook manipulates what you do).
I have a few friends who are Foursquare happy (some of the check ins make me roll my eyes – albeit, just as much some of my Twitter updates make THEM roll their eyes). That wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t have their check-ins cross-linked with their Twitter account. But sometimes, the frequency of those check-ins (particularly those that don’t offer ANY value, e.g. “I’m here” instead of saying, for example “here to try their allegedly fantastic pancakes”) just drives me insane. I finally found where I can remove all Foursquare checkins on TweetDeck (HootSuite, I’m waiting for you to have that option).
But there are two areas where I think cross-linking is actually good. The first is Flickr-to-Twitter (thanks to Rebecca, Gus and John for letting me know how to set up my Flickr to cross-link via e-mail). And the second one, that I was kind of reluctant to accept, is the Twitter-to-Facebook. Because you can hide it from your Facebook, if you’re friends with someone you follow on Twitter.
There is a place for cross-linking content across your social media platforms. I’m not 100% sure everything needs to be cross-linked, though. Sometimes it drives me crazy to see Facebook updates from friends I also follow on Twitter and those updates are actually Plancast-to-Facebook-to-Twitter. Just as I have tried to tone it down on Twitter (and also, really, I don’t have as much time to tweet anyways), I’d hope people tone it down on the excessive cross-linking.
And for the love of God, if you test “TweetBuddies” or any other of those applications that automatically tweet for you, please check off the box that says “post to Twitter”.
A year ago, well, to be fair, almost 11 months ago to this day, I blogged my 2010 Manifesto. I promised myself that in 2010, I would focus again on me, my personal growth and what makes me who I am. On becoming an integrated person again.
I promised I would focus on the following:
- Feeling an integrated person again.
- Dancing competitively again.
- Focus on my own personal growth.
- Coming back to competitive volleyball.
Feeling integrated for me was the most important part of focusing on my own personal growth. As an educator, and someone who was born to parents who were educators as well, I have lived a life of helping others. I teach, volunteer and give back to my community as though it was second nature to me. It’s imprinted in my DNA, I think. However, the drawback of this life training is that I am always focusing on others and I sometimes lose the focus and forget about myself (and at times, I work myself to sickness).
2010 was a key year where the most important word I learned was “NO“. I felt so incredibly guilty when PR people pitched me stuff and I had to say “NO, sorry, I can’t write about it / attend your event / do this or do that”. Even now, I still catch myself unable to attend events I’ve RSVP’d for because I am so overworked.
But the positive thing is, I do feel integrated again. I am exercising every day, I do my academic stuff, I teach, and I do consulting. And I do arts as well, while not dancing competitively, at least I am witness to at the very least one theatre production or dance show every week.
While I certainly did come back to dance, I did not come back to the competitive part. I learned a new style of dance (two-step) and I shared that experience with one of the people I love the most in this world. So, I think at least I came back to dancing. Moreover, I’ve been watching so many more dance performances this 2010, I think that counts too.
Around the time of my birthday this year, I considered shutting down Hummingbird604.com. It had become too much of a(n unpaid) chore. Luckily, I found a way to book time to attend to Hummingbird604 (sadly, still I work on social media and my blog over the weekend to devote the rest of my week to academia and consulting).
My Mom visited this year for a full month and my eldest brother A also came to Vancouver recently to stay a few days with me. I visited my brother S and his family in Calgary, and they all agree that they see me happy, fulfilled, super busy but integrated again. This was incredibly reassuring, because my family and loved ones are my priority and I always seek their advice.
I did not come back to competitive volleyball because this year I have been doing a lot more travel and it conflicted with my volleyball schedule. But next year I will be playing competitively again as this year I have been working out 6 days a week and feel much stronger.
In balance, I think 2010 has been very good to me. I have taught 2 courses (Global Environmental Politics and The Comparative Politics of Public Policy) I had never taught, and it was a great challenge. I revamped my syllabus for Environmental Politics & Policy this term entirely, so it’s been a year of innovations. My consulting is going great and I still have had time for my friends and my loved ones. My research has also taken off substantially.
In short, I think I kept to my manifesto, and I need to start thinking of what my 2011 is going to look like. I have not felt this fulfilled in a long, long time and I am excited about it and I’ll never apologize for being successful, because let me tell you, I have been in DARK places. And I survived and came out of those dark places, thanks in great part to my loved ones, but also to my long hours of hard work every single day.
As I said earlier this year, I may not have everything I want but I love everything I have.
November 27th, 2010 in
personal life |
4 Comments
Many, many people who have either met me in real life at a local event (or national, whenever I’ve met people from the online world in other cities), or at one of my speaking engagements, have asked me why do I run contests and giveaways given that I’m not, as they would call it, a professional blogger (e.g. I don’t get paid to blog on Hummingbird604.com).
The truth is, it’s become slightly addictive 🙂 The first contest I ever ran was a snowshoe-ing experience at Cypress Mountain coupled with a chocolate fondue dinner for two. That was in February of 2009. As time has gone by, my blog has become much more widely read, I’ve gained many more thousands of followers on Twitter. Hundreds of PR folks pitch me on a daily basis.
So, naturally, the variety and number of giveaways I run has increased. From tickets to Flamenco dance exhibitions to luxurious travel packages to dinner and a theatre show, to cases of locally-produced soda pop, to external hard-drives, to tickets to international film festivals, to color printers to a weekend of music, beer, travel and adventure I’ve done quite a broad variety of giveaways. And I love it, particularly when people email me to say how much they enjoyed the experience. I blogged almost a year ago how much I loved doing contests.
I do know that some bloggers do charge a contest administration fee. I think that’s a smart idea, and I may do that in the future (of course, as I always do, I disclose who sponsored the giveaway and if I were to get paid, I’d disclose that I got paid to run the contest too). You may have read my Giveaways rules page.
For now, running giveaways on my blog gives me same warm and fuzzy feeling as writing on Hummingbird604.com. It makes me happy to be able to, in some way, promote local businesses and worthy causes as well as give some of my readers a chance to enjoy stuff they otherwise perhaps couldn’t. And that’s a fantastic feeling.
The holidays are coming, the Christmas decorations are going up and I’m beginning my winter season giveaway roundup. I have a few great prize packages for my readers to give away coming up. The first one is dinner for two at The Helm (located where UnWine’d used to be on Howe Street) and tickets to a theatre show at Pacific Theatre (on 12th Avenue and Helmecken). I’m very grateful to The Helm and Pacific Theatre as usual for partnering up with me to reward my readers with great contests and prizes.
Christmas on the Air (Pacific Theatre) promises to be a great holiday show. Playing December 10, 2010 – January 1, 2011 Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm with 2pm matinees on Saturdays at Pacific Theatre, 1440 W 12th Ave., there will be an Artist talkback Friday, November 12. For tickets call 604.731.5518 or buy tickets online. CHRISTMAS ON THE AIR, from the publicity I received, is a family-friendly, nostalgic romp set in a fictitious Vancouver radio studio on Christmas Eve of 1949 during a live radio broadcast. The audience is part of the broadcast, participate in the “live radio show” and witness the backstage antics.
I’ve attended shows at Pacific Theatre where there’s participation from the public (I remember sing-along), and they are awesome.
Percival Frank (DAMON CALDERWOOD) tries to keep his annual Christmas show on track and on time in spite of a huge snowstorm and in spite of a potentially awkward revelation on the part of Kitty McNally (DIANA KAARINA), the newest member of his radio family. It seems Kitty forgot to tell her boss or his Dutch wife Yolanda (LALAINIA LINDBJERG) and their enthusiastic son Danny (BENJAMIN ELLIOTT) that she has a child. By a man who abandoned her upon learning she was pregnant. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Danny is in love with Kitty and this is the first he’s heard about the baby! Sylvia White (SEANA-LEE WOOD), the radio show’s pianist, tries to hold everything together as music soars on show-laden winter winds and Christmas Eve ticks ever onward.
But the show is not all… I have paired this great show with dinner at a fantastic new restaurant: The Helm.
I had heard awesome things about The Helm from my friend Kimberley Bowie. At the beginning of November, celebrity chef David Adjey of the Food Network’s, “the Opener” got into the newest kid on Vancouver’s food block, The Helm. The executive team of The Helm is Angela Moore, 28, Cameron Wasnea, 26, Laura Francis, 23 and David Carlini, 33. The new restaurant is located at 1180 Howe Street and have turned the lofty space into a sleek yet unpretentious supper club, “akin to those in Montreal and Toronto, bringing the “social” back into socializing”, as Angela told me over coffee earlier this morning. Chef Tobey Nemeth has been hired to lead the kitchen and she brings with her a wealth of fine dining experience as well as sharing the team’s vision of local, luxurious meals bringing celebrating the joy of the dining experience.
I can’t wait to visit The Helm (their opening is December 3rd). For the purposes of this giveaway, the dinner for two will take place on Friday December 10th, 2010, before heading to the 8pm showing of Christmas on the Air at Pacific Theatre. I will make reservations for the winner of my prize package and his/her Plus One, both for The Helm and Pacific Theatre.
You can enter my giveaway by telling me what your resolution for New Year 2011 will be. Have you ever kept your resolutions throughout the year? I can honestly say I have. And since this package links both young entrepreneurs who are launching a new restaurant and the Christmas spirit, I would love to hear your stories about your resolutions for the new year. The Helm’s resolution seems to be become one of Vancouver’s most awesome restaurants and I look forward to witnessing them do that. And Pacific Theatre always puts together fantastic shows, something I predict will continue next year.
You have until Tuesday December 7th at 5:30pm to enter my giveaway. A first entry into the contest is a comment on this blog post, as indicated, mentioning your New Year’s Resolution. A second entry may be gained by tweeting the following:
Entered to win dinner at @HelmVancouver & a show at @PacificTheatre from @hummingbird604. You can too! http://is.gd/hMP7T #hb604xmas
Again – just to re-emphasize – the first entry is gained by commenting, the second one by tweeting about the contest. And remember, if you win the prize but can’t make it, you need to let me know at least 24 hours in advance as indicated in the rules of my Giveaways. Leave your Twitter ID on the comment if you have Twitter so I can contact you quickly, otherwise I’ll contact you by email. Good luck everyone, and thanks to The Helm and Pacific Theatre for sponsoring one of my Christmas giveaways.
I had the pleasure of attending Share DDB, a fundraiser and silent auction organized by local interactive/digital/social media agency DDB. Invited by my good friend Chris Walts, it was a great opportunity to see good friends and spend time with them as well as bid on some great items, all for a great cause.
Kudos to DDB for organizing this wonderful event.
UPDATE – my friend Chris Walts just updated me with the following information:
The event was a huge success, we raised over $20,000 to be split between The James Lee Foundation and the Lookout Emergency Aid Society.
At my Mom’s place in Mexico, I have what I think is the quintaessential definition of a good home office. Check it out.
Of course, I don’t have the space in my microscopic apartment to do this, but once I move to a larger space, I will definitely use this design. My brother designed this home office, I paid for its construction (the carpenter was a genius and so is my brother).
I was invited along with my good friend Gus Fosarolli (Marketwire), Natasha N. Davies (Peak Communications) and Dale Tournemille (Coast Capital Savings) to be part of a speed-dating-style series of roundtables (four in total) where we spoke with recent graduates, students and other PR and communications professionals on what we know in Social Media, giving tips and sharing our experiences.
As someone who is an academic and an educator but at the same time a power user of social media, I felt it was important that I volunteer my time to this type of events, because it is by spreading my thinking on social media to other folks that I’ll be able to enhance and further the field (a goal of mine since I arrived into the social media scene in Vancouver).
You can read tweets associated with our conversations by following the hashtag CPRS101SM on Twitter. I will try to do a series of screencaptures as I know that tweets are rather ephemeral and I did not live-blog the event (as I was speaking). I hope everyone found our insights useful! And thanks Nick Seliwoniuk for the invite.
Admittedly the photo is not exactly from the American Thanksgiving class, but hey, that is the photo that PhotoDropper found. At any rate, I am very blessed to have numerous friends from the United States of America (I do recognize it’s my pet peeve that they call themselves American when I *am* American, not from the USA, but from Mexico). Anyways, today the United States of America and its citizens (and permanent residents, like several members of my family) celebrate American Thanksgiving. The Canadian version was a month ago, so I take today a moment to give thanks for all of those friends of mine who were born in the USA, for those who live there and for those who celebrate American Thanksgiving. I know it’s a big deal in the USA, so Happy American Thanksgiving!
November 25th, 2010 in
local events |
No Comments
So, despite the fact that I *did* get an invite to the opening night of The Charles Bar (and I actually have been invited to tweetups there, and stuff), I had not made it. Embarrassing, if you think about the fact that The Charles Bar is located at the Woodwards complex in Gastown. Literally, less than 5 blocks away from my office at The Network Hub. I know, I’m horrible.
But I digress. I never get a chance to spend enough time with my good friend Janice Mansfield and her sister Nicole, both of whom, like me, have an adoration for all things great food and awesome places. So during a very short stay they had in Vancouver (Janice lives in Victoria) we decided to go grab some drinks and food at The Charles Bar.
I ordered one of the traditional burgers ($12) and requested fries with truffle oil and lots of garlic (for an additional $2). With my meal I had a glass of a very good red wine (Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon, $6.75). Overall, the service was great and the food was comforting. The company was awesome, as I love Nicole and Janice. I’ll definitely come back to The Charles Bar.
Disclosure: I paid for my and my friends’ dinner and drinks out of my own dime.
November 25th, 2010 in
dining out,
Gastown |
No Comments
Walking in the freezing cold last night made me realize how lucky I am to have a warm and dry bed to sleep in, warm clothes and an income. Many folks out there don’t have any of those. While I have seen a lot of conversation around finding shelters for the homeless and donating clothes (my good friend Rebecca wrote a list of places to donate blankets and other clothing in Vancouver), I haven’t seen much in terms of interim measures.
I thought that maybe I could get people to rally around offering warm beverages to people in need on the streets or at shelters. Asked on how I would operate the distribution, I really don’t have much of a clue. I’ve not had much time to give it thought, but I figure that at least I could get people to volunteer and maybe we could organize a Tweetup or something to distribute. Or as Mike suggested, maybe have people donate to the Salvation Army.
What I do NOT want to do is to drive all efforts to just ONE charity. There are many, many other very worthy charities out there and I’m not fond of always channeling resources and energy to just one. So, I’m looking for ways to help not only the Union Gospel Mission or Covenant House, but other places like WISH, etc.
I’m sure Vancouver is scrambling to find spaces to accommodate all the homeless people out there, and I’d like to help in any way I can. Thoughts, everyone? Do feel free to share this post widely.
November 24th, 2010 in
charities |
3 Comments
There, I said it. And yes, I have a collection. And yes, there is proof.
Now you know what to get me for my 2011 birthday. You’re welcome.
Thanks to the absence of the absolutely gorgeous and incredibly dashing Raul (aka Hummingbird604), I was fortunate enough to steal his ticket to attend Sexy Laundry at the Gateway Theatre in Richmond. It’s been years since I’d been to the Gateway Theatre and I must say after an absolutely delightful evening it struck me as daft that I didn’t make it out to this theatre more often. First off, because it is a beautiful arts facility with three well designed performances spaces (even the smaller studios are a joy to watch a performance in). Secondly, because I have never seen a bad play here. They always craft their performances with creativity, humour, a well designed set and talented actors. You can tell that everything they do is crafted with passion, hard work and talent.
Speaking of passion, their current play, Sexy Laundry, is just that, a story of passion or more aptly, relighting the fires of passion after kids and years of marriage. Now I’ve never been married, but I have lived with a man and that relationship admittedly did spiral into a rather dispassionate place. So I took out my notebook and started taking pointers. As the characters – Alice and Henry (well played by Janet Michael and Gerry MacKay) fumbled their way through the wisdom of ‘Sex for Dummies‘ (a book which I now have an insatiable curiosity to pick up), things spiralled from bad to worse, one misunderstanding and angry word to the next in a comedic way that many of us regular, everyday folk, could associate with as we try our damnedest to play out fantasies from a Harlequin Romance or porn tape (or is this just me?). I’d like to think that that’s because such ‘fantasies’ in the Harlequin Romances or on the porn tape involve editors.
Thank goodness, most of us don’t have editors in the boudoir. And upon thinking about it, I’d rather not be with a fellow that can pull of such fantasies, as it might make me feel a wee bit played and there is something to be said for the chuckle that it gives you in seeing someone stumble there way through trying. It’s cute, it’s funny and clearly they’re not a player, just your loveable and oh so endearing guy or gal. So what’s the moral of this story? You’ll have to come see to find out!
There are still four performances left (between Wednesday November 24 – Saturday November 27) and whilst Saturday’s performance is sold out there are still tickets available for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night at 8 pm. Thursday is your best bet not to be disappointed.
Kisses,
Emme xoxo
Our offices at The Network Hub are pretty much full all time of the year. However, by sheer luck, in December 2010 two private offices are vacating and thus we will have office space opening up before the end of the year (a first in a long while). A smaller office (which still can hold three desks without any problem) is available and also a larger office. I took photos of the larger one today as it was a beautiful sunny day.
If you are interested in either of the two offices for rental, please feel free to either drop a comment on this post or contact me on my Network Hub email.
Disclosure: I sit on the board of The Network Hub and as such I am considered part of their team. I provide strategic advice to the cofounders, in addition to being an entrepreneur with a desk on their third floor. This post is neither paid for nor requested. I just thought it would be a good idea to promote the fact that we will have private office space available for rent in our coworking facility (something we haven’t had in a long while) and I wanted to inform the larger Metro Vancouver community. We are always excited to welcome new entrepreneurs to our coworking space.
You all may know that I co-organize Mental Health Camp Vancouver (and I spearhead the Mental Health Camp movement as well) with my dear friend Isabella Mori. I have a very big stake in de-stigmatizing mental illness, and thus I’m a big supporter of anything that is associated with, and promotes wellness, health and de-stigmatization for folks afflicted with mental illness.
The Art Studios is a program within Vancouver Coastal Health that offers art classes, art workshops and mental health programming to Vancouver residents (age 16 – 90 yrs) who are living with mental illness. This is a unique program that currently services 300 residents in Vancouver who live with mental illness. The Art Studios is in high demand with approximately 100 people waiting to participate in their first art class.
I asked Lisa Wallace from VCH to share some of the stories of the participants in the program.
Sandra is one of the active participants of the program. Sandra was diagnosed at the age of 14 with schizoaffective disorder. Not allowing her diagnosis to dictate her life, Sandra went on to get a university degree and work a 9-5 job. When Sandra suffered a relapse in 1998, she was forced to quit her job after working for eight years. Discouraged and concerned now without her day to day working routine, Sandra discovered The Art Studios. Through her time at the Art Studios, Sandra rekindled her interest in painting, received valuable support, and created new friendships.
Darcie is another active participant of the Art Studios program. Darcie suffered severe depression as a result of a car accident and subsequent back injury. Prior to the accident, she was worked as a nurse and had a busy, full life. Darcie has been a participant of the studio for the past three years. She feels that it provides her with “a place of both understanding and acceptance; a place to socialize, to meet new friends, and a place to go when I need some gentle support”.
The Art Studios has been an important piece of Sandra’s and Darcie’s recovery. It has given them a sense of belonging and community, art skills and opportunities, empowerment and hope for the future.
On Thursday, November 25th, at the Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, Vancouver, from 12-8pm. Sandra and Darcie will be one of the many participants of the Art Studios’ selling their works of art at the Art Studios’ Annual Winter Sale and Silent Auction. Lots of wonderful Vancouver businesses have donated items to the Silent Auction. The Art Studios greatly benefits from public support at this event. Art Studios artists keep all monies from the sales of their own art. All funds raised through the Silent Auction and admission donations go towards additional quality art supplies for the Art Studios. Please consider attending and buying some of these fine works of art.
The Facebook page for the event is located here.
A few weeks back, my good friend (and fellow academic) Christopher Parsons came to Vancouver to give a talk on digital privacy. I could have invited him over to stay with me but my apartment is too small. I approached The Victorian Hotel (where my good friend Jo VanEvery stayed about a year ago) and they were kind enough to sponsor Chris’ stay.
I went to visit Jo last year at The Victorian Hotel and noticed that the hotel is actually much bigger than you could possibly think from looking at it from the outside.
Breakfast is included in the price of your room, and can be taken in their first floor dining room.
In addition to the beautiful rooms they have, The Victorian Hotel offers two workstations with computers with internet access and a printer. All rooms have free wireless as well as the usual amenities.
There are two types of rooms: smaller ones with shared bathrooms (for $59 in low season, $99 in high season) and De Luxe with their in-suite bathroom (absolutely beautiful as well, $99 in low season, $169 in high season).
Overall, I would strongly recommend The Victorian Hotel for an affordable, inexpensive and beautiful option for lodging in the heart of the downtown core of Vancouver. Having had at least 2 friends stay there and tell me they really liked it, makes me think that it’s totally worth it.
The Victorian Hotel has a very long history, and it has great amenities and features.
Built in 1898, as one of the first guest houses in Downtown Vancouver, the Victorian Hotel has been revitalized with modern amenities yet maintains its historic authenticity with high ceilings, original hardwood floors, intricate woodwork, and majestically large windows.
Disclosure: Chris’ stay at The Victorian Hotel was sponsored very generously by the hotel in support of the Social Media Club Vancouver. I wasn’t paid to write this blog entry, nor was I required to do so either. The purpose of this blog entry is just to highlight a beautiful hotel in Vancouver that has also supported my efforts. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
There are a few things in which I don’t “cheap out”. I don’t scrimp on warm clothing, nor food, nor anything that is vital for my performance as an academic, consultant or individual. And there is one thing I never scrimp on when I travel – on the food and comfort. So, whenever I travel using BC Ferries, I make sure that my comfort is always my top priority.
The last media trip I took to Victoria, I traveled extremely early to ensure I would arrive on time to give a seminar at the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria, before a relaxation weekend (yes, I prioritize work over relaxation – so sue me). Thus, as early as I arrived to the BC Ferries’ vessel, I decided to go in and eat at the Pacific Buffet.
The Pacific Buffet offers ocean-view dining on sailings from Vancouver to Victoria and features a wide selection of hot and cold items, a fresh salad bar, and a decadent new dessert bar featuring mounds of chocolate and rich and creamy cheesecake. Yours to enjoy for one all-inclusive price.
Selections range from traditional breakfast fare to dim sum, chicken with tarragon sauce, wild BC salmon with lemon dill sauce, and our famous clam chowder, depending on time of travel.
You can tell that I couldn’t eat everything even though I tried really really hard. Breakfast (7 am to 9 am) is $16.50, Brunch (11 am) $19.00, Lunch (1pm to 3 pm) $19.00, and Dinner (5 pm to 8:30 pm) $22.00. Admittedly, these aren’t prices that people who are really cash-strapped, but as I mentioned, for me it’s important to not scrimp on food.
Disclosure: While my travel to and from Victoria was sponsored by BC Ferries and Pacific Coach Lines (PCL) for my media trip, I paid for my breakfast at the Pacific Buffet on my own dime.
November 23rd, 2010 in
travel |
2 Comments
I have only sampled their coffee but it’s good, and they have a good selection of cupcakes. And more importantly, they are a local company, and you know I’m always a promoter of all things local business and entrepreneurs.
I love giving away prize packages. I love travelling. And the Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association has been kind enough to sponsor a giveaway on my site for a travel and luxurious treatment gift basket for a lucky reader (and a plus one).
The basket includes gift certificates for three nights’ accommodation in hotels in Kelowna, Osoyoos and Kamloops, credit towards a spa treatment at Beyond Wrapture in Kelowna, gift certificates for restaurants and spas, an Okanagan Wine Cheese Plate made from recycled VQA Wine Bottles, and a bottle of Okanagan-Similikameen wine.
Here’s the full list of what the prize pack includes:
– Accent Inns: one nights’ accommodation for two.
– Beyond Wrapture Spa: a Red and White Vinotherapy spa lotion and 20 “Spa Dollars”.
– Best Western Kelowna: one nights’ accommodation for two.
– Okanagan Wine Cheese Plate made from recycled VQA Wine bottles.
– Okanagan Wine Festivals Society: one bottle of Okanagan-Similkameen Wine.
– Sandman Group Kelowna & Chop Restaurant: complementary upgrade to one bedroom executive suite for two people and a $25 Chop gift certificate.
– Smudge: one body butter cream sample.
– Summerhill Pyramid Winery: $10 coupon towards a wine purchase at their Wine Shop and a tasting and tour gift certificate.
– Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association 2010 Vacation Guide.
– Watermark Beach Resort: one nights’ accommodation in a complementary suite and a $50 credit at the Wine Bar.
– Wineries Refined Fall/Winter 2010 Magazine.
To enter my giveaway, I want you to drop a comment on this blog entry telling me your best travel story. Maybe it was a romantic getaway with your loved one. Maybe it was a backpacking trip through Europe. You name it. My own personal best travel story has to do with (not surprisingly) an academic conference.
I had been having a fever for several days and was terribly sick when I first travelled to give a talk at the Berlin Conference on Global Environmental Change. My first time in Berlin. I spoke no German. I was ready to give up and take a plane back to Vancouver (I flew Vancouver-London Heathrow-Berlin Tegel. And the next day, as I sat down to listen to the first talk, my body transfixed. I sat through 8 hours of non-stop global environmental governance talks, and I had enough energy to give my own talk. And it was amazingly well received.
That was the moment when I found out that, despite however challenging my life could be, or how damaged my health was, I was so passionate about environmental politics that my body would simply react and overcome my illness to enable me to succeed in my chosen academic field. And of course, a good night rest and lots of NeoCitran allowed me to visit Berlin and enjoy it to the fullest. That’s one of my best travel experiences, ever.
You have until December 3rd, 2010 to enter my giveaway. You can gain an additional entry by posting the following on Twitter:
I want to win a prize pack from @hummingbird604 and @totamedia. Visit the Thompson-Okanagan region these holidays!
You can explore more ideas on food and activity pairings on their website: thompsonokanagan.com. Or, for more Thompson Okanagan trip ideas and special offers, follow TOTA on Facebook or Twitter.
I will be drawing a random winner from all entries on December 3rd, 2010, at 5:30pm.
I was invited to the re-opening of Pier 73, the restaurant of the Delta Airport Hotel. I have previously reviewed Delta Hotels’ restaurants, for example, I took CB to Manhattan earlier this year, for brunch. But this time, I wanted to check Pier 73 at the Delta Airport Hotel in Vancouver, and even though I had to attend the 70’s-themed launch party on my own I was glad I made it, as I got to bump into my friends Jay Minter and Mijune Pak.
The Delta Vancouver Airport is situated in a beautiful garden setting on the banks of the Fraser River with a 138-slip Marina. Only 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver and on the doorstep of the Vancouver International Airport, this waterfront property is an oasis for all travellers. Cycle or take a leisurely stroll on the more than 20 kilometres of riverside trails that connect to the hotel.
They had a band playing 70’s hits
And the food was simply delicious…
PIER 73 Restaurant is a great destination for casual lunch meetings, relaxed dinner gatherings, or evening drinks with friends. With floor to ceiling windows and a magnificent view of the Fraser River and North Shore Mountains PIER 73 offers an eclectic yet comfortable menu. Located behind the hotel and suspended above the Fraser River in the heart of a 138-slip Marina, PIER 73 is a popular spot to take in the beautiful West Coast Sunsets after a long day of travelling or meetings.
This is what the hotel looked like back then.
I’m grateful I got an invite to check out Pier 73 and I am also very happy to know that there is at least some transit coverage that increases accessibility by bus and Canada Line. You have to get off at the Bridgeport Canada Line station, and then take the community shuttle C92. It’s my understanding that the Delta Airport Hotel also has a shuttle to Bridgeport Canada Line station but don’t trust me on that one yet.
While it looks pretty, let’s not forget about those less fortunate who live on the streets.
Rarely do I trust anyone with my life when it comes to bars and restaurants. But my good friend Meghan Warby is one of those few people who I do trust. And so this past September when I went to the Canadian National Water Strategy, I put myself in the capable hands of Meghan and her friends Karim and Ryan, so we headed to The Embassy Bar (on Augusta Avenue, in Kensington Market).
I can tell you that the music was fantastic, the cocktails were superb, but the company was what made The Embassy for me. I would definitely come back.
Remember that old post where I said that, much as Fraser Street was gentrifying and getting nicer and that we needed more coffee shops on Fraser Street? Well, Katharine (the owner of The Outpost Cafe) was kind enough to read my suggestion and she went ahead and opened a coffee shop (with wifi and all) at Fraser and 24th. Which is something this neighbourhood needed, quite a lot!
The Outpost Cafe is located almost at the corner of 24th and Fraser at 3992 Fraser Street, and is a locally-owned coffee shop, with free wifi, and a fantastic selection of tea. I went there with my good friend Emme Rogers on a walk and we had an opportunity to enjoy a lovely coffee. The peppermint tea was very strong from what Emme tells me and she loved it.
The Outpost Cafe is on Twitter (@TheOutpostCafe) and they also have a website. Kudos to them (please don’t overwhelm them on the first week since they opened only this weekend – I know that many of my readers will be keen to visit them, but please be kind and patient to them).
The holiday season is upon us and with it, the festive plays that remind us of the positive, warm-hearted spirit of the holidays. Thus, it’s with great pleasure that I am able to give away a pair of tickets to The Patron Saint of Stanley Park, a great production put together by The Arts Club (who have partnered with me and been my steady supporters throughout the years).
On a wild and stormy Christmas Eve, a mysterious vagabond (Brian Linds) rescues two fatherless children (Valsy Bergeron, Joseph Gustafson) and takes them to a fantastical world beneath Stanley Park’s Prospect Point. During the course of the magical night, the children will experience wondrous visions—visions which may help them understand the truth about their father, their mysterious saviour, and the healing power of love.
The Saint Patron of Stanley Park takes place from November 25 through December 26, 2010 at the Revue Stage on Granville Island. I have a pair of tickets for a lucky reader for the Friday December 3rd show. To enter, simply drop a short comment on this post detailing what is it about the holiday season that you like the most (maybe the Starbucks holiday drinks, maybe the Christmas decorations, maybe the snow, you tell me).
To earn an additional entry, as usual, post a sample tweet as shown below:
I entered to win tickets to The Patron Saint of Stanley Park from @hummingbird604 and @TheArtsClub – you can too! http://is.gd/hzdt7
