I am glad that lately I’m eating a little bit more varied than my usual Ethiopian, Japanese or Mexican food. I had an opportunity to have lunch with Spencer Herbert a few weeks ago (whose office is really near by Olympia) and we decided on Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant. It had been a long time since I had set foot at Olympia (since my Mom and my best friend’s Mom came to visit).
I was very glad to make a trip back. For lunch, I ordered a grilled chicken breast special with rice and potatoes, which took me a long time to finish as the portions were so abundant. The flavors were excellent (I’ve always had a soft spot for Greek food but rarely have a chance to eat it), and I was so full I had to walk back to my office at The Network Hub. Overall, considering that lunch was around $12.00 with drink included, I would say it’s reasonable. I’m more prone to go to Olympia for dinner than for lunch, to be quite honest.
There are a few posts of mine that I really like, that I feel that if I had put a little bit more time into them, I probably would have wrangled a great, well-thought out, articulated post. Admittedly, sometimes I just want to crank out the content and even though the idea is *there*, it may not be fully articulated. There are other posts I really like, like the one I wrote on dissenting opinions. That entry was, I think, solid.
But there are blog entries where I can feel I am *this close* to articulating a great point, and somehow, I’m not fully happy with what I write. For example, I was re-reading the two posts I wrote about Malcolm Gladwell and the strength of weak ties (Granovetter) and I found some beginnings of a gem, but not fully fleshed-out. I do think it’s good to have my blog as a sketchpad, where I can draft some not-fully-fleshed-out-thoughts that I can then polish.
Do you use your blog or Twitter stream as a drafting pad?
I am a big fan of Monica Seles, the tennis player. I was reading this afternoon her Wikipedia entry when I noticed someone had written nasty stuff in her entry (see photo below).
To me, this is the danger of Wikipedia as a self-correcting informational mechanism. Granted, I fixed it as soon as I found out (and as soon as Gregg told me I could edit without even being an editor). Still, it’s scary to think that anybody can deface the Wikipedia entry of anyone.
I’m very lucky to have amazing friends. One of the closest friends I have (CB) came to Vancouver a few weeks ago for work, and on the last day of his stay, we went for breakfast downtown. Hard to find a reasonably good restaurant at the ungodly hour of 7:00am in the downtown core, so CB and I ventured into uncharted territory. After all, most of the places I know DT are mostly lunch/dinner oriented.
I am glad I decided on Manhattan at the Delta Suites Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Not only because the breakfast is, indeed, really good, but also because the Delta Suites Hotel is exactly 15 seconds away from my office downtown at The Network Hub. So, after breakfast, I could have quickly walked half a block and start working (I didn’t because I went to the airport with CB, but I could have).
Prices for breakfast at Manhattan are, surprisingly, quite reasonable and in line with most of the hotels I’ve had breakfast at and most of the middle-to-high-end brunch places I’ve visited. For my breakfast (scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, toast and ham with a little fruit salad on the side), the item was marked at $12 plus tax. Quite obviously
I would recommend Manhattan for breakfast even if the prices are substantially higher than the ‘greasy spoons’ – it will definitely be cheaper than Provence Marinaside and (in my opinion) better!
This past weekend I headed to Victoria (in Vancouver Island) to give a couple of talks at WordCamp Victoria 2010. I had previously spoken at WordCamp, and the main organizers (Paul Holmes and his wife, Katharine Holmes) are good friends of mine, so I rarely say no to anything they ask me. And since they asked very nicely, I obviously agreed to come and speak. Making the trek to Victoria is rarely a trip that I enjoy, because I don’t own a car, and even if I rented one, taking a car on the ferry is really expensive (still, you have to add on the car rental fees, of course). So, I have to take the bus, the Canada Line, the bus again and then the boat from Tsawassen to Swartz Bay. Then the bus to downtown Victoria. By the end of the trip, I am ready to not see anyone.
I missed the opportunity to take the 3pm ferry from Vancouver as I had a very busy morning doing work at home, so I ended up having to wait for a couple of hours at the Tsawassen ferry terminal. There are a number of elements that make this experience rather uncomfortable. First, there are no actual coffee shops IN the terminal. And of course, no wireless. So, I made the trek to the Tsawassen Quay.
The irony of it all? It’s quasi-impossible to feel safe trekking from the actual ferry terminal to the Tsawassen Quay. You will see, from my photos, that the walking distances are considerable, and that there are no bridges, or safe walking passages. This is a Quay that is designed for people who come on the ferry by car. So, attention all of you who are interested in the sustainable transportation field – make it EASY and SAFE to walk from the ferry terminal to the quay. Moreover, at the actual Quay, the wireless provider (Happy WiFi) actually does not work. There are no coffee shops that provide wireless of their own.
I only could find ONE power outlet in the whole food court, which also made my experience rather uncomfortable. When I finally sat down to play around with my laptop, I could not log on to the wireless network. So I ended up doing all my writing in BlogDesk. The great thing is, I had a chance to write this rant before I took the ferry (which, by the way, was delayed by 25 minutes). Oh, the irony of it all.
Overall, I love Victoria, but travelling to Vancouver Island from Vancouver by bus is extremely annoying. Even for someone who is trying to take this trip as a bit of a holiday.
As I was growing up, I learned the story of Ritchie Valens (Ricardo Valenzuela) for obvious reasons (of Mexican descent, Ritchie popularized “La Bamba”, a Mexican song that is originally from Veracruz, but that Valens remixed to a rock-and-roll kind of beat), but I’ll be fully honest in admitting that I had no clue who Buddy Holly was. For those who are as misinformed as I was, Buddy Holly died in the same plane crash that took Valens’ life. But his claim to fame was much larger than that. Buddy Holly was considered a big influence in Rock and Roll development.
I was invited to the opening night of Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, staged by The Arts Club at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, and I brought my friend Trevor Boudreau along with me. He loves musicals (perhaps just as much or even more than I do), so I figured it’d be a great show to see together. I did not know what to expect because, normally, I go into the musicals without reading any previews nor reviews. I prefer to give them my own acid test. Whenever I attend musicals on opening night, I am prepared to see mishaps and little mistakes. I’m a stage actor, I can see those errors even when others don’t notice. I didn’t see a glitch.
The story of Buddy Holly, who goes from dorky musician who reluctantly sang country songs while he had his heart set on rock and roll to all-American superstar, is both heartwarming, poignant and light-hearted. Told with a happy musical tone throughout the show, and inundated with loads of musical numbers, the story of Buddy Holly managed to capture not only my imagination but, I believe, that of the whole theatre. Zachary Stevenson’s rock and roll songs, his band The Crickets and the amazing supporting cast brought down the house, encouraging theatre goers to dance on their seats and in the corridors. At various points throughout the show, actors crossed the fourth plane, something I found rather endearing.
I have one word of warning for all potential attendees, in particular, those of you who might be a bit uptight when it comes to performances. This is a performance where viewers are ENCOURAGED to sing along, dance in their seats and/or manifest a substantial amount of excitement. So, if you’re not into that, you might want to loosen up before buying your tickets. I had an individual sitting behind me be incredibly rude with me because I was dancing in my seat and enjoying the performance. My friend Trevor told the rude man that he could have chosen more polite ways to complain (although this individual never admitted he was in the wrong). As a matter of fact, the program DOES indicate that people with potential complaints should talk to the manager or an usher, never contact the person they might want to complain about themselves.
The audience enjoyed the performance so much that they gave the entire cast a standing ovation MUCH sooner than the end of the last song. By the time we were in the middle of the last musical number, the entire theatre was dancing in their seats. I kid you not. Zachary Stevenson himself had to stay put for 3 minutes waiting for the public to stop clapping their hands enthusiastically.
Buddy will be playing until July 11th at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, and I suggest you attend. I’ll be doing a redux attendance later next week. Thanks to The Arts Club for always putting together such amazing shows, and for the continued support they’ve shown me throughout my blogging career.
Disclosure: The tickets to attend Buddy for myself and my Plus One were sponsored very generously by The Arts Club. They have made it explicit that I have no obligation nor commitment to write a review at all (although, in this case, I choose to do so). I am not paid to write the review. In any review I write, 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.
Most people who know my multi-faceted life know that I’m working on a project on drinking (potable) water. I have previously written about how we need more water fountains in Vancouver. I rarely find fountains anywhere that would satisfy my design requirements, but I’ve been successful in finding two that I like – I used to have a photo of the first one (with a separate spout to refill water bottles and good flux) but can’t find it. But the photo I show on this post is one of the nicest designs I’ve seen, and it’s located outside my local community centre, in Mount Pleasant. It’s designed for adult folks, young kids AND pets!
By the way, Tylor Sherman created a Google Maps of all water fountains in Vancouver, which I find extremely handy. It’d be even handier as an iPhone app.
A couple of years ago, I would have never thought I would tout myself as a freelancer. For the most part of the past decade, I have been fully immersed in the academic world, writing papers, book chapters and journal articles. The word “freelancing” brought images of journalists, copy writers and editors and editorials in magazines. I never thought I would ever consider myself a freelancer.
Then I started blogging. I got into the social media world, and began writing “freelance”. Instead of thinking of myself only as an academic, I have managed to continue doing consulting, but in the past 2-3 years, my consulting projects have been on my own. I am, by all considerations, a freelancer.
When I was looking at how I would brand myself as a freelancer, I looked up to a friend of mine, Dave Shea (aka MezzoBlue). I really enjoy how Dave defines his design consultancy: a one-man design studio. I like to think of myself as part of a consortium of independent researchers/consultants/writers. I have built long-term collaborative relationships with other freelancers, including recently a partnership with the green marketing company Kiwano.
My good friends Minna Van and Jay Catalan (2 of the co-founders of The Network Hub) are organizing FreelanceCamp Vancouver 2010, hosted by The Network Hub. A number of other volunteers include Natalie Sisson, Cecilia Lu and Cathy Browne. Especial mention should be made of Amanda Farough who created the website (coincidentally, in WordPress).
For FreelanceCamp Vancouver 2010 I will be leading a workshop on the theme of my previous year’s talk at BarCamp Vancouver 2009, a talk I gave based on a post I wrote (and inadvertently, published last year), emphasizing how key it is to value our work and to make sure that we are paid our worth. While I am definitely able and willing to give *some* of my time as a volunteer for worthy causes, I don’t want people to think that I do things for free.
In my 2010 version of the ‘Freelance Is Not Free‘ workshop, I plan to run a roundtable sharing my experience in freelance writing/consulting, and offering the distilled version of wisdom that other freelancers gave me when I presented at BarCamp. I am also integrating what I learned from other very smart folks who wrote about this topic and shared their thoughts in my post.
I would encourage you to attend FreelanceCamp Vancouver 2010, not because I am leading a workshop, but because you will most likely find a wealth of information and the generosity of other freelancers who will be participating. FreelanceCamp Vancouver 2010 will take place from 9am to 5pm on Saturday May 29th, 2010 at The Network Hub (422 Richards Street, 3rd Floor). The EventBrite invite is hosted here.
I remember that a few weeks ago I was feeling pretty nostalgic and watching old episodes of the drama ER while I was washing dishes, they played the song, Over My Head (originally recorded as Cable Car) by The Fray, a Denver-based group. This kind of music, poignant and filled with guitar sounds is totally up my alley. Hope you like it as much as I do.
A lot of people ask me if I ever sleep, because I am so extremely busy yet I am able to crank out content on a regular basis on my blog. Primarily, as I have said before, I write for myself, mostly to keep a record of the stuff I’ve done. I also write to showcase my absolutely beautiful city (Vancouver), my province (British Columbia) and the country that adopted me for the past decade (Canada). But for the past few years, I’ve been also pitched to write about local events, non-profit and charitable causes, theatre, restaurants, etc. I spend a lot of time on the road so sometimes, I don’t remember to write about something.
It’s hard to keep all of my notes on my head, and while many people praise EverNote as a note-taking online application, I am more inclined to write them in my project logbook, specifically in a section with the headline “To Blog About”. So, for example, I write a list of the different posts I am planning to draft, and potential deadlines (because, you know, it’s always embarrassing to write about a theatre show that is over!). I try to carry my project logbook everywhere I go, but I also recognize that this isn’t possible all the time.
There are a number of small notebooks (some of my friends like the brand ‘Moleskine’) that you could use to take notes. I will fully admit that I am not modest in saying that I love my handwriting. I worked for many years to make it readable and pretty.
Moreover, I use color pens (I like to write headings in red, as well as the asterisk sign * which for me represents an action item). I often use other contrasting colors like purple and green. In closing I make pretty notes by hand on what I want (or need) to write about. You may want to consider doing that yourself.
Thanks to Darren Barefoot for pointing me out through Twitter to this awesome database of superheroes (ComicVine). Even my favorite English superheroine was there (Godiva). I will have to give kudos to the person maintaining the database because there are few people that I know that know as much as I do about comics (and in particular, superhero comic books)
Moreover, the fact that the database includes Godiva makes me want to give praise to the compiler of this dataset. I think it all started with a tweet from Darren about hair-manipulating (prehensile) superhero(ines). Yes, I’m a comic books nerd. I roam the streets of Vancouver taking random photos of superhero action figures. I review superhero-inspired movies.
I’ll fully be the first to admit that A LOT of people comment on my blog. But I have the feeling that readers have resorted to NOT commenting and just tweeting quick replies to a full, well-written, well-crafted blog entry. It looks like I’m not alone in feeling this way. What do YOU think? This (the decline in number, and even perhaps quality) of comments on blog entries seems to be the reason why so many people say “Blogging Is Dead” (and of course, those are total link-baiting posts). Thoughts and commentary much appreciated.
I began my journey to Victoria by transit taking the Canada Line from Broadway and Cambie (Broadway City Hall Station) to Bridgeport Station in Richmond. Note that the 620 from Bridgeport to Tsawassen ONLY runs every half hour, so if you miss it, most likely you will have to wait about 30 minutes for the next one (and chances are, you will miss the ferry you actually wanted to take). That happened to me, as I left Broadway and Cambie at 1.40pm and I made it to Bridgeport in time for the 2.27pm bus (as I got to the stop BARELY AFTER 1:57pm, so I missed the bus). And then I had to wait for 2 hours (on top of the 30 minutes I had to wait for the next bus).
There are a number of drawbacks and inconveniences to taking transit to Victoria, and I will outline them in this post. First of all, the 620 only runs every 30 minutes on weekdays. So you need to plan your trip really well (use the Translink trip planner). The second nuisance is that the exit at Bridgeport and the location of the bus stop for the 620 is not clearly marked. As you take the electric stairwell and leave Bridgeport, walk to your LEFT.
While you will find the River Rock Casino at Bridgeport, you will not be able to entertain yourself (unless, of course, you DO like casinos). Since I do not, I searched for nearby coffee shops. None within a short walking distance. Very frustrating. I had to wait at the Bridgeport Canada Line Station. Owners of coffee shops, take note: you should install a shop exactly AT Bridgeport. You would definitely get business from all the people who drive in from and to Richmond and who park their car there to take the Canada Line.
When I got to the Tsawassen ferry terminal I had to wait for 2 hours, so I went to the Tsawassen Quay. Again, the distance is substantial (but I have reserved that for another post). My suggestion: pre-charge both your phone and your laptop. The waiting area at the ferry terminal is not all that bad, but it is not really all that comfy (well, again, depends on what your definition of comfort is – for me, free wireless and comfy couches make my travel easier and more pleasurable).
I did do two things to make my trip more comfortable that you might want to consider. On the ferry, I paid $ 10 to get into the SeaWest Lounge. It is, for me, totally worth it. The chairs are much more comfortable, the lounge is air conditioned and it provides snacks and coffee. Still, it would be nice if one could get wireless on the ferry. The second thing I did is I paid $ 11.50 to get on the PCL (Pacific Coach Line) so that I could bus directly into Victoria (the PCL drops off right at The Fairmont Empress). I did this to avoid having to schlep my luggage and laptop bag on a BC Transit bus.
Admittedly, these two elements of additional comfort cost me $ 22.50 overall (on top of $14.00 for the ferry ride, $ 3.75 for the bus and Canada Line trip, and all of this is one-way). But they were totally worth it. If you are going to Victoria by ferry and public transit, you might want to consider these.
I have been a fan of the UBC REC program for over a decade, having participated in many of their internal tournaments (volleyball, primarily) first as a graduate student, later as a faculty member, and now I’m more excited than ever to be a part of the summer instructional offerings. Over the summer, UBC REC offers a variety of instructional programs that include jazz, Tai-Chi, yoga.
Starting this past May 15th (and yes, sorry, I recognize I’m late posting this!) UBC REC is offering a full week (Shopping Week), until May 21st where you can drop in and sample any of the classes FOR FREE. You should totally check them out. I am particularly interested in the modern jazz class, because I’m a former competitive dancer and I still love it.
I am particularly fond of the UBC REC mission statement, because I think it encompasses many of my own values – wellbeing, community and sports.
To engage the university community and promote well-being through a dynamic and innovative UBC sport and recreation experience that is second to none.
UBC REC is now on Twitter, you can follow them at @UBCREC. All the instructional classes are held on the UBC campus. I’d thoroughly recommend signing up!
I was invited by Paul Holmes (IdeaZone.ca) to give a talk at WordCamp Victoria 2010. Having already spoken at the 2009 edition, I figured I would do a brand new presentation. I have discovered in the past year that writing a brand new talk or preparing a completely new slide deck challenges me to think in different ways about the same issues.
One of the things I’ve been thinking about in the last two years, and in particular in 2010 has been how I (despite always suggesting my audiences to create a unified identity), I continue to keep both my academic self and my personal self separate. I find value in having distinct blogs/websites because the writing in each one has a different audience altogether.
Here is my slide deck – bear in mind I do live demos, but apparently there is video of my talk, so I’ll be happy to link to that once I get the link. I hope attendees liked my talk!
Since BC Ferries still hasn’t set up wireless on their vessels, and given that I am not about to pay an exorbitant amount of money for a data plan (because, let’s face it, with a data plan I’d be online ALL THE TIME), I decided to do some off-line blogging, as well as catching up on my reading. Did some client work, and I also began rearranging my photographs (now with the iPhone I take hundreds) and organizing them by event, people I hung out with, etc.
When you take the ferry over to or back from Vancouver Island, what do you normally do?
– I am an over-packer. I brought with me two huge bags for a 3 day weekend. Seriously, I suck at packing even though I have travelled extensively for more than 2 decades.
– I need to pack a specific “travel toiletries bag” and JUST use that one. Every time I re-pack it with every trip I do, I forget something. This time, not only did I forget a razor blade to shave but I also forgot my toothbrush, toothpaste AND the case for my contacts. Lovely, eh?
– Next time I come to Victoria to give a talk (or elsewhere), I am giving myself an extra day to recuperate. WordCamp Victoria was an intense unconference, so I really needed some down time to get back into the swing of things.
– I feel incredibly at home in Victoria, despite the fact that my ex is from there (well, a bit North, but still). I think it has everything to do with the social media community in Victoria, I really enjoyed hanging out with everyone AT WordCamp Victoria and afterwards at Clive’s.
– I really hate being the last speaker in a full-day conference. By then, many people have already left. Also, next time I speak at any of the upcoming WordCamps I’m going to give a talk that is more technical. Still, I think everyone who came to my talk liked it.
– When in Victoria, be as relaxed as Vancouver Islanders. I am used to a different pace in Vancouver, and I really enjoy the more relaxed, laidback approach in Victoria. Obviously, nothing to do with Toronto which is incredibly fast-paced.
– I am eternally grateful to Paul and Katharine Holmes from IdeaZone.ca for always being incredibly generous with their time and their money. Paul and Katharine are both good friends of mine, and despite the fact that I was pretty much non-functional over breakfast, I really enjoyed seeing them.
– Distances in Victoria seem to Victorians incredibly long when I think of them super close. From The Empress to say, Quadra, is about 20-25 blocks and I could have walked it.
– You can’t enjoy Victoria in a weekend. It deserves a longer stay.
– The Fairmont Empress is as luxurious as they have always told me. My stay was generously sponsored by The Fairmont and I am eternally grateful (blog post to come).
Earlier this year, I invited Andre Malan and Tris Hussey and Glen Lowry to submit a panel proposal for Northern Voice 2010 that would aim to share our experiences on teaching social media AND teaching WITH social media (our panel was titled “Beyond the Hype“). Unfortunately Glen had to bow out at the last minute because of a last-minute emergency. Our panel was moderated by Jonathon Narvey (thanks Jonathon!). In a quick summary, I think our panel primarily showcased the tools Tris and I have used in our teaching, and Andre has helped a number of instructors (myself included) to enhance their teaching with online platforms. Several points were made in the panel.
– Andre made the point that it’s important not to forget as an instructor that if you social-media-ify your class, you need to take some stuff away so that you don’t overwhelm students.
– Tris made the point that his students need to use all sorts of platforms. Since he educates folks in the online social media world, his students DO have to do websites AND use social media.
– In my case, because my students are political science students, they really don’t necessarily NEED to use social media, but I wanted to implement the tools, so that’s why I used Wikis, blog entries, Facebook pages and Twitter.
If you attended the panel, feel free to drop a comment here. Thanks!
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I’ve liveblogged Rebecca’s talks a few times, but this is the first time I’m going to do it on ScribbleLive. It’s given me a heck of trouble lately, so not sure it’ll be the best tool, but here we go.
Selecting a plugin – Plugin Directory – for the best service, more secure and verified, you want to go to the plugins directory. You want to look for the last updated. Make sure that your plugin is up-to-date and plugin ratings. What other people are saying.
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:02
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Akismet – Helps you block spammers .
WPBackup – Allows you to backup tables (comments, polls, tables).
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:03
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– All In One SEO – Improves your SEO Search Engine Optimization — also use keywords in your posts. You can use plugins, but also some simple things.
– WPTouch – To make your website accessible via mobile.
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:06
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Front End Flickr plugin – Flickr sets – Flickr Gallery
Back End Flickr plugin – Use lots of photos into your WordPress website – Flickr Photo Album
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:08
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AddQuicktag – WP QuickTags – one-button elements
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:10
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SOCIAL PLUGINS
WordTwit – Promote on Twitter your post – particularly great if you are scheduling blog entries.
TweetMeme Button – Shows you how many retweets do you have on any particular post.
WP Facebook Like Button – Shows you how many people are liking your posts on Facebook.
ShareThis Buttons – Share on other social networks.
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:13
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Ad-Minister – Great to manage the ads on your website.
WP-Polls – Great to manage polls.
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:14
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Show some love, provide reviews and ratings for feedback. Nothing says “I love you” like cash.
Saturday May 15, 2010 2:14
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The rest of Rebecca’s talk I think is going to be pretty much a Q/A – I’ll leave it up to people who want to comment on my post.
I’ll be liveblogging the Top Ways To Get More From a WordPress.org Installation.
– Total control
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– Custom plugins
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Custom and Premium Themes – allow you to create the website of your dreams.
I was alerted by several friends who are realtors with Royal LePage about an event touted ‘Garage Sale for Shelter’, part of a national campaign in suport of the RLP Shelter Foundation. As probably everyone who reads my blog knows, I’m a big supporter of non-profit causes and anything, in particular, I am quite fond of fundraisers that have to do with ending domestic violence.
You can donate, and/or shop at the event, which takes place May 15th at 3333 Main Street (17th and Main). Coincidentally, that’s actually within my neighbourhood, but unfortunately I won’t be able to attend as I am heading to Victoria for the weekend (I’m speaking at WordCamp Victoria tomorrow). Good luck to Royal LePage!
I have been walking around my neighbourhood with a t-shirt this past couple of days. I live in the Mount Pleasant/Main Street area, and my downtown office is in the urban core, near the Waterfront Skytrain and Canada Line stations. My UBC office is, of course, on campus, so when asking about your favorite patio in Vancouver, I’m kind of asking for those patios OUTSIDE of the actual core of UBC. I know that some folks tend to like Chill Winston’s patio in Gastown, and I am quite fond of Six Acres’ patio (also in Gastown). I had beers with Andy Peatling about 2 years ago (wow, that long ago!?) at Public Eatery on Main and 17th and it was a great little patio.
So now that it looks like summer is finally coming, Vancouverites – which restaurant has your favorite outdoor patio? Feel free to retweet and share this post, the more suggestions I receive, the richer this post will be and more options will be available for local folks. Also, if you don’t live in the city of Vancouver but have other spots to recommend (Coquitlam, New Westminster, North Vancouver), please feel free to do so.
Breakfast and brunch (e.g. breakfast/lunch) are two of the meals I really love the most, both cooking AND eating. During my years in Canada, I have noticed that for many people, the beverage of choice for breakfast is orange juice. I, however, grew up in a household where the juice of choice to accompany breakfast is carrot juice. Not surprisingly, whenever I need to feel good, I drink carrot juice.
As I was growing up, I remember I would drink litres of carrot juice (mostly, because of the flavor, but also because I thought that it would benefit my eyes – I still suffer myopia, but at least I made the most of it, and I am guessing those beta-carotenes must do me some good). Carrot juice also has a little sliver of emotional attachment. My (late) auntie would make carrot juice (as she knew I loved it) every morning before I headed to my volleyball training. She would even pack me containers so that I could drink carrot juice throughout my rather rigorous exercise regime.
And now it has become a symbol of care and love for me.
It’s a beautiful day out there in Vancouver, and I just have had such a wonderful time today. I had the opportunity to meet with two friends of mine whom I really adore before this afternoon, and I’m going to spend the evening with another very dear friend. So, overall, the day has been great (in addition to having done, of course, work!). And I feel so incredibly alive that I think this song captures how I feel – Alive by Black Eyed Peas. Enjoy!
I’m always positively impressed with PR companies who pitch me stories that are very specifically targeted to what I write about on my site, and when I am invited to events where elements that are key to what my stories are related to are displayed. This was the case with the recent opening of Canon Canada’s Vancouver office. Before I received Reena’s email, I wasn’t sure I was the right fit for this kind of event. After all, while I have reviewed printers before (Epson and Hewlett Packard), I always associate Canon with cameras. And, as you know, I don’t actually have right now a digital camera that is functional. But the key element that interweaves with my own blog is that I was invited to participate in a gala where Canon Canada presented Mayor Robertson $60,000 for his Community Urban Agriculture Fund (formally the City of Vancouver’s Community Garden Project).
Now, something that is relevant to improving the environment (as high or as little as it may be) is worthy of mention on my blog. Plus, let’s face it, it’s hard to say no when you are invited to a gala where the main appeal is to listen to Maelle Ricker’s wonderful Olympic story and to Sarah McLachlan’s angelic voice. Sarah McLachlan has been my favorite singer for over a decade, and I wasn’t about to say no, and I’m glad I didn’t because I had finally a chance to hang out with my good friend Linda Solomon, founder of The Vancouver Observer, and saw Catherine Barr from a distance, as well as other folks from My Vancouver and Linda’s right hand Kei.
The event itself was very well put together, and while I thought for a minute that I was going to be exhausted (it was marked from 11am to 2:30pm, and I figured it was a bit too long before I was actually there), it was actually quite well organized. Sarah McLachlan sang for about a solid hour, we had a fantastic three-course menu (props to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for providing free wifi at the main event), and we had an opportunity to listen to an inspirational speech by Maelle Ricker. I even had an opportunity to hold a gold Olympic medal!
Quite expectedly, after the speeches were over and Sarah’s performance was completed, we all ran to get our photo taken with her. I will fully admit to being a Sarah McLachlan die-hard fan. I’ve bought each and every one of her albums, and I have had my heart broken to the tune of Elsewhere and Hold On. I always thought of Sweet Surrender as my anthem song. So, when given a chance, I’m always going to go for it. The photo doesn’t do justice as it shows my triple chin (heh) but I loved the opportunity and Sarah was really gracious. Also, the swag bag was fantastic – a bottle of ice wine and Sarah’s Best of Sarah McLachlan’s newest CD
Side note — (I hear she’s launching a new one on June 15th). Kudos to Canon Canada for their environmental initiatives, and hopefully I’ll have a chance to review some of their products (particularly their cameras, heh!). Linda’s post is already up so here it is another recount of the event. Linda actually took a MUCH better photo of me and Sarah which I’ll ask her to send me.
Thanks to Canon Canada for the invite, in addition to a great luncheon and inspirational talk by Maelle, I had a wonderful time listening to our very own Sarah McLachlan. I feel like such a starstruck fanboy!
I am glad that lately I’m eating a little bit more varied than my usual Ethiopian, Japanese or Mexican food. I had an opportunity to have lunch with Spencer Herbert a few weeks ago (whose office is really near by Olympia) and we decided on Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant. It had been a long time since I had set foot at Olympia (since my Mom and my best friend’s Mom came to visit).
