It almost feels as though it was yesterday when I first held you in my arms, and it’s not. It’s been 16 years. Sixteen. Wow. I am so thrilled to see how you’ve been growing, to be a witness to the evolution in your life. How you’ve gone from playing soccer to being an excellent tennis player, and how you are now growing into your own.
You’ve worked so hard to get where you are, and you make me proud every single day of being your uncle. I’ve seen you go from delicate wallflower to being extroverted and bubbly. I’m so happy to share so many common interests, amongst them tennis, and I wish you will always remember that I love you always, as though you were my own daughter.
All the best today and every day. Remember how much I love you and your sisters and that you will always have, more than an uncle, a friend in me. Happy birthday sweetheart!
You may recall that a couple of weeks ago, we had the uber-successful Twestival Vancouver, the third in a row that my good friend Rebecca Bollwitt organized. As you may recall, I sponsored two silent auction items: one was an evening with me for dinner and a theatrical performance
For those of you curious about the other one, it is a three-hour workshop on strategy alignment. I was lucky and grateful that both The Arts Club and r.tl (Regional Tasting Lounge) were willing and able to partner with me to offer a great silent auction item.
The successful bidder on the evening with me for dinner and a show was Jason Sanders, who joined me this past Friday at Regional Tasting Lounge (r.tl). I had never been to r.tl, but was really looking forward to it because, when I first contacted Danica Jeffery (their PR), I was informed about what Regional Tasting Lounge was about, and it sounded like it would be a fantastic restaurant to try out.
I had never heard of a restaurant that changed their menu every 3-4 months with different countries’ cuisines as the themes. r.tl has (from what I learned this past Friday night) gone already through French, Greek and Italian cuisines. We were greeted by Alain Canuel (the General Manager/Sommelier of r.tl), who suggested we try a few dishes and pair them up with a few cocktails.
Or wine, whichever we preferred. I’ll be very honest in saying that, given a choice between wine paired with my food or cocktails, I’ll always go for the cocktails. And the ones that Matt Martin (the mixologist of r.tl) prepared for us were both delicious AND lethal. I am actually surprised I was able to walk in a straight line after dinner, to be honest.
I was really excited to take a lot of photos of our food but my iPhone photos don’t make justice to the food we had at r.tl, quite frankly. We started with an olives platter followed by a ceviche platter ($16). For those of you interested, ceviche‘s origin is presumably South American, but you’ll always have it amongst some of the favorite dishes of Mexican palates. My brothers, parents and I love ceviche!
Since we had to make it to Paradise Garden at the Stanley Theatre, we told Darryl Crumb (Executive Chef of r.tl) we really needed to be out the door by 7:30pm at the latest, we chose our dinner dishes and a quick intermission (dungeness crab & prawn cakes, $15). I ordered the 8oz beef tenderloin with chimichurri spice, chipotle butter, warm potato and herbs salad ($29, though I felt guilty: I ordered it well done).
Jason chose pan roasted cornish hen breast & leg with hot sausage, caramelized lime with pan gravy ($22). I am quite used to Argentinian-inspired steak, so I really enjoyed this version of beef tenderloin (the chimichurri may not have been quite Argentinian, but Darryl made this steak amazingly flavourful. The cornish hen breast was also really good, although I prefer stronger flavors myself. The dungeness crab cakes were delicious as well, although by then I had very little space in my stomach! We shared a custard for dessert that was delicate and fresh.
The drinks, you ask? Well, I started off with a San Sebastián (brandy, sherry, cointreau, organic apple & lemon juices sparkling, orange bitters, orange zest, $11), moved on to a Pistachio Sour (grappa, sherry, pistachio paste, lime juice, orange blossom water, egg white, half salted rim, $12) and finalized with a Va Va Voom (vanilla vodka, saffron syrup, peach liqueur, passion fruit, organic apple, lemon juice, egg white, $10). Of them all, I think the one I prefer is the Va Va Voom and then the San Sebastián. I paired the first one with dessert, otherwise I feel the flavours would have clashed. I loved coming to r.tl for dinner and drinks.
But I would have just as easily come just for the drinks or just for the dinner! I want to thank r.tl staff, PR and owners for partnering with me to sponsor this silent auction item, and Jason for bidding. I would hope I’m good company for an evening out! And the photo below is what our dinner would have looked like if I were a professional photographer and had a better camera than my iPhone camera!
You can find r.tl on Twitter as @rtlyaletown. r.tl also has an iPhone app, where you can check the menu, tell your friends and find about special deals!
Disclosure: Our dinner and drinks (Jason and mine) at r.tl were complimentary courtesy of r.tl Regional Tasting Lounge, as a contribution on their part to the success of the charitable fundraiser Vancouver Twestival. I wasn’t paid to write this review, nor was I required to do so either. 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.
I have done software and hardware reviews in the past, even though I’m not a total geek. In this case, I was delighted to have the folks at Epson Canada send me a PowerLite Presenter Projector/DVD Combo for review (which I returned after a few weeks, sad as I was to give it back!). The blog pitch was perfectly targeted as I do a lot of speaking engagements, and of course, I teach using multimedia!
There were a number of nice features I liked:
The projector was light. I took it to UBC back and forth several times.
The set up was dead easy. It took me 3-5 minutes at the very most. I never had to restart my laptop
This projector can play DVDs and has amazing sound and projecting quality
The only thing I didn’t like about this projector was the case. I think that there needs to be a better case if you’re going to make it a portable, light-weight, easy-to-take-with-you-to-your-speaking-engagements. I also liked that you can launch your presentation from a USB key, and that you can set it up wireless (a feature I didn’t test but I totally think it’s a life-saver!)
I would seriously consider buying this projector for my own speaking engagements, simply because I think it was really good and served the purpose I needed (I used it for several of my own speaking engagements and also for some multimedia presentations).
I wrote this review of the Epson PowerLite Presenter Projector & DVD Combo as part of a blogger relations program by Media Profile (Rachel Thexton) on behalf of their client Epson Canada. I am not paid to write the review. I did not get to keep the projector, it has been returned. In any review I write, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions or should your company want to send me a product for review, feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.
I have had a love affair with Grounds for Coffee for more than a decade now. It was the first place where I bought cinnamon buns outside of UBC, it is a favorite stomping ground for my good friend JT and myself, and it brings really good memories for both of us. It was also the coffee shop where I met my dear friend LB when I had to read her PhD dissertation for the N-th time 🙂 As a graduate student (who at the time lived on campus), Grounds for Coffee was the place where I would meet my non-living-in-residence friends for a coffee. It was also the perfect place for a Sunday morning “pick-me-up” kind of visit, a cinnamon bun and a coffee for breakfast.
This past weekend, we drove all the way to Broadway and Alma to get our fix of cinnamon buns, and to do a bit of a walk down memory lane.
We had an opportunity to taste the cinnamon buns, which are to-die-for. All the coffee at Grounds for Coffee is certified organic. More information from their website:
Grounds For Coffee is a proud Canadian Company. We opened our doors May 10th, 1993 and have been baking the world’s best cinnamon rolls ever since. Our buns are baked throughout the day and are always served fresh! Join us for a Fair Trade Organic coffee and a Cinnamon Roll at our Vancouver location (2565 Alma Street @ 10th Ave).
We have a fleet of trucks and can arrange for delivery on commercial accounts within the Greater Vancouver Area.
Grounds For Coffee Inc. is a division of Ethical Choice Foods Corporation.
If you haven’t tried the cinnamon buns at Grounds for Coffee, you’re missing out. You should!
I have been chatting about this topic recently with a few of my online friends, because I don’t think we have the concept of a “Plus One” (+1) in Spanish.
We would say “acompañante” (companion) but I don’t think we’d say “mi mas uno” (my plus one).
I looked at Wikipedia (the source of all things crowdsourced knowledge) and yeah, lo-and-behold, there is an actual entry for a “+1”. As quoted on Wikipedia, a +1 is:
A notation on the guest list for nightclubs and similar venues to indicate that people who do not have to pay or wait in line may also bring an additional guest
I really like the concept of a “plus one” because it doesn’t involve any sort of romantic relationship, etc. You can ask anybody with whom you are friends to be your “Plus One”.
In my case, I have a few good friends who always make themselves available to be my “Plus One” (and I’m usually a fairly available +1 when any of my friends have a party to go to and they don’t want to go alone).
Obviously this only works when my schedule isn’t as packed as it normally is!
My good friends Chris Walts and Minna Van are two of my usual suspect “Plus One”. My friend Lorraine Murphy is, too. And lately, I was lucky to have Nathan Tippe and Jason Sanders be my +1 at different functions.
To everyone who has been my Plus One in the past three years that I’ve been attending so many social media events, theatre and dance shows, and so on (and to those who volunteer themselves in the future) – thank you, as always.
Dulcinea Chocolate Cafe 1118 Denman Street
(near Denman and Davie, English Bay)
After a delicious lunch at Jiro Restaurant (to be reviewed separately), my good friend Airdrie and I went out for coffee. She wanted something on the sweeter side, like chocolate, and I remembered I knew of this quaint little place on Denman Street near English Bay that sounded Spanish and had chocolate and coffee. Dulcinea Chocolate Cafe is the name of this place.
I had a little chat with the owner, who has Spaniard heritage, and she told me about all the variety of chocolate drinks she makes. Airdrie ordered a classic chocolate drink, which from what I could see, was absolutely delightful.
I’m not usually one to decline chocolate, but I just had absolutely no space, after having had sushi AND eaten brunch at The Nice Cafe AND having eaten cinnamon buns. I think I spent from 8 am yesterday to about 8 pm eating. Seriously. The decor at Dulcinea Chocolate Cafe is very cute, shelves are stocked with Spaniard (and other Spanish-speaking countries) delicacies, and a few cute little shirts. I was delighted to see that Dulcinea is a sponsor of LatinCouver, a community with which I need to get more involved. I also found out that Dulcinea offers free wifi (all the time) and live entertainment on certain days, including Flamenco and Spanish Guitar.
I will be coming back to Dulcinea Chocolate Cafe next time I have a craving for chocolate! Thanks Airdrie for joining me!
One of the questions I get asked the most is “why did you start blogging?”. From that question onwards, a variety of serendipitous conversations regarding questions of privacy, publicness, and how I do not refer to my family nor friends by full name, choosing instead to write about them and identify them with initials. I am quite private when it comes to personal matters, in particular my friends whom I’ve met before I was in the online space.
I usually don’t link to anybody who doesn’t have an online presence (I have lots of friends who aren’t online themselves), but I commonly will link to my friends’ websites or Twitter accounts if they do have some degree of online space. I usually ask before linking when it’s a new friend or acquaintance, but for example, I’m quite used to linking to other bloggers’ sites when I write about our shared experiences.
Lately, I’ve been mulling over the possibility of building websites for my brothers (one of them who is an academic, one of them who isn’t, he works in other field) and for my Mom (who is also an academic). I figured I could build a website for them like my own research site, because I believe in owning your own online space by having a website. I figure that it looks better when you Google my name and the first hit is my research site.
As always, I open this space for comments from all my readers. I think that there is value to having one’s own website, and owning the domain associated with your name (in my case, I own RaulPacheco.org because RaulPacheco.com didn’t work out). Thoughts, everyone?
Jiro Japanese Restaurant 315 Broadway
(near Kingsway and Broadway)
There’s one thing I’ll never understand: how can some restaurants be closed later than 3pm, for lunch? It’s not like we don’t eat late lunches! This weekend, my good friend Airdrie and I were looking for a restaurant to have late lunch (an Izakaya, preferably), and the ones we were looking to visit were closed until 5pm. Since we were hungy we settled for finding whatever sushi place we could find.
I had heard good things about Jiro, but had never been. The location kind of looks dicey, but as soon as we walked in the restaurant, we found a half-full place at 3pm. Which means, it must be good. Jiro offers all-you-can-eat sushi for $14.95 but neither Air nor I could really eat that much so we decided to just grab a few rolls and some nigiri sushi and sashimi. The fish was fresh, and I particularly liked the salmon nigiri.
It’s not an expensive place for lunch, I don’t think. And more importantly, it is open all day (since April of 2006, apparently, or so it said near the door). I had a really good time and the food was very good, so I’ll have to come back to Jiro at some point. Good bonus? It’s near where I live, just a few blocks off.
I really love North Vancouver. I have previously blogged about how much I love this city. It’s close to downtown Vancouver, it has a lot of really good restaurants, shops. You can hang out in their parks, and hike in the nearby mountains. I love Deep Cove, Lonsdale Quay, and the Grouse area. Moreover, I have lots of really good friends in North Vancouver, including Dave Olson, Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber, Robert Scales, Michelle Evans, to name just a few.
I commute by SeaBus to North Vancouver, and sometimes the photos I take (despite the fact that they are only iPhone photos) remind me of how pretty is the area where I live. So here’s a more-or-less wordless post about my SeaBus trip to North Van.
I live approximately equidistantly from Main Street and from Fraser Street, and due to the strategic position where my house is located, I’m very lucky in that I can get to my apartment by transit using any of 3 buses that cover the Mount Pleasant area (the 3 Main, 8 Fraser and 19th Metrotown).
I’ve had a fascination for small parks ever since I moved to Vancouver. When I moved here, I was coming from a pretty gray (covered with asphalt) city, where the green spaces were scarce. Thus, seeing so many trees and parks made me think instantly that I had made the right choice.
I am lucky that everywhere I’ve lived, I am within blocks of a park, be it a tiny one (McAuley Park or any of the other pocket parks) or a large one (when I was living in residence at UBC, near Pacific Spirit Park). McAuley Park is a little pocket park located right in the triangle formed by 15th Avenue, Kingsway and Fraser Street. Two gems for foodies are located here: The Lion’s Den (a classic) and Les Faux Burgeoises.
As I was doing some research online to figure out if there was more information about the McAuley Park, I found out on Wikipedia that this little geographical area is called Dickens (and for all I knew, all of this was the neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant!). Quite ironically, McAuley Park is not even mentioned on the Wikipedia entry for Dickens, despite the fact that it is, indeed, within the geographical boundaries of this sub-neigbhourhood!
I love the fact that I can just walk there to see cherry blossoms, and there is a lot of amenities around that make me think that, once again, making the decision of living in East Vancouver was a really good one. I really do think that Fraser is the new Main and it will soon be recognized as that.
Darren invited me to last night’s concert (on April’s Fool’s Day, no less!) by Chris Velan, an extremely talented Canadian musician who is also a lover of the outdoors, and who recently joined One Percent for the Planet (an organization that I knew from when I did my PhD). 1% For the Planet encourages businesses of all sizes to donate 1% of profits to environmental causes. As it turns out, Mountain Equipment Coop’s 1% goes to funding The Big Wild, a non-profit partnership project between CPAWS and MEC.
Coincidentally, I knew Esther Speck (Director of Sustainability at MEC and one of the big proponents of The Big Wild) from way back when, and it’s nice to now be reconnected through a round-about. As I told her last night, I don’t think she knew about my social media presence. Most people in the environmental community in Vancouver don’t. It’s like I live two lives at the same time (social media/PR/tech and environmental/policy). Only a few seem to know about both simultaneously. At the time Esther was doing her MBA and MREM (REM is the ‘cousin’ of RMES, the program where I did my PhD), she was really good friends with a very good friend of mine who was (same like me) doing a PhD in RMES. And now we are reconnected, after a long, long while. Vancouver is too small!
Anyways, I was delighted to be invited along with my dear Emme Rogers, and it was a pleasant surprise to bump into other friends of mine, like Monique and James, Leah and Jay, Jeremy and of course, Julie. Chris Velan‘s performance was excellent (I understand my friends from Mojave were there too, but I missed them! Chris is touring the country in support of 1% and The Big Wild, playing evening concerts and gigs at MEC stores.
Chris kicked off his tour in Vancouver at the Railway Club. As indicated by Darren, Chris’ music is kind of in the Jack Johnson, surfer folk-rock vein. I had a great time, thanks Darren for inviting me along! You can see a video of Chris below.
In addition to the 410 things I had to do last night, I had been invited to the final of Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model. As it turns out, the one I thought and expected would win (Riley) didn’t, and the one I suspected would be the winner had Riley not won (Rob) didn’t win either. So, it turns out it was Fraser (the one that I actually by pure sheer luck I got an iPhone photo of, and that it is reasonably decent and not so blurry). I got a chance to hang out with the boys from V-Rag (Skipp and Cole), and saw Sean Horlor very briefly. My photo set is quite blurry, but I got a half decent photo of Aaron Ursacki, the winner of the first Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model.
I also got a quick shot of Rob Easton and Sean Horlor, who have a TV show “Don’t Quit Your Gay Job Yet” (I’ve talked to Sean about talking to both him and Rob and interviewing them here on my blog, but haven’t gotten down to it yet.
The money raised from Vancouver’s Next Gay Top Model goes for the charity “Friends For Life” which provides meals for people living with HIV/AIDS.
I have been following the tweets of the Developmental Disabilities Association (DDA) of Vancouver, and I’ve met some of the folks who work with the DDA at various events. I’m always in awe of the work they do (I have profiled on my blog before). While this term I am teaching Comparative Public Policy and we didn’t use autism policy as a case study, I’ve always been interested in this particular developmental challenge. Autism is so often stigmatized, and misunderstood.
World Autism Awareness Day shines a bright light on autism as a growing global health crisis. WAAD activities help to increase and develop world knowledge of the autism epidemic and impart information regarding the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention. Additionally, WAAD celebrates the unique talents and skills of persons with autism and is a day when individuals with autism are warmly welcomed and embraced in community events around the globe.
By bringing together autism organizations all around the world, we will give a voice to the millions of individuals worldwide who are undiagnosed, misunderstood and looking for help. Please join us in our effort to inspire compassion, inclusion and hope.
Folks are encouraged to wear blue on this day as blue is the color for WAAD.
For the first few weeks that I began with my crazy back-to-working-out schedule, I felt that I had it all under control. I was eating well, exercising, teaching, doing research, attending social media events, etc. Admittedly, I do feel much healthier and my energy level seems to be really high.
The only problem is, I still feel the need to have a nap in the middle of the day. The need for a nap usually arrives around 4pm (which is more or less when my day should be over, technically, since I’m awake since 5:00am to do my workout). A need for a nap is quite ok when I am at my office at The Network Hub, since our couch is very comfy and I feel comfortable and safe.
The problem comes when I want to take a short nap at my UBC office, or even on the bus as I commute. If I fall asleep too soundly on the bus, I may miss my stop. And it’s not as good of a rest as a real nap. Moreover, where the heck could I sleep at my office at the university?
But, seriously, I think that there are many health benefits to napping. Admittedly, during my many years of graduate student life and as someone who has always worked very long hours, I usually have been running a sleep deficit. But that seems to be correcting itself in 2010!
Now, on to you, my dear readers – do you take naps?
Ever since I started blogging and going to local events, I’ve loved the Vancouver Wellness Show, now in its 18th Edition. I pride myself in taking care of my body and soul, and in general, I work hard at keeping myself in balance. Every time I think of The Wellness Show, I think of the variety things I could be doing for my own well being. The Wellness Show is a good trade show with exhibits that showcase a variety of businesses focused on helping you towards a healthier-living. And this time, thanks to Rebecca Coleman, I have a bag of goodies to give away (prize valued at about $200). I checked out the package that arrived to my office at The Network Hub.
I can tell you, it’s a good assortment of goodies! The Wellness Show takes place April 30th, May 1st and 2nd, 2010. To win this bag of goodies all you have to do is drop a comment on this post. The tagline for the Wellness Show is “all the resources to help you find balance in your life” and I really like the concepts behind. There will be workshops, talks and a variety of exhibitors (you can read the program here, it’s a PDF)
I will be drawing the winner of my bag of goodies on April 25th, 2010April 27th, at 2pm. Good luck everyone!
The Wellness Show takes place at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Exhibit Hall B & C, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada (under the five sails). Tickets are General Admission $12.50, Seniors (65+) / Students $10.00, Children (6 – 15 yrs) $5.00, Children (5 & under) FREE and 3-Day Pass $27.00. For tickets, cash only at the door, or online.
Disclosure: The goodie bag is sponsored very generously by The Wellness Show. I am not paid to write this post, nor do I get any monetary or material benefit. In any contest giveaway 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.
I had expected “Billy Bishop Goes to War” to be a good show. I just didn’t expect it to be THIS good. Last night, I had the pleasure of attending Opening Night for BBGW, at The Arts Club. I had given away tickets (thanks to the kind sponsorship of The Arts Club) and Gus won them, so I got a chance to hang out with him and Russ, as well as with Nathan Tippe who was my +1 (Plus One) for the evening. While I loved Ryan Beil’s outstanding performance as numerous characters in addition to the main character, Billy Bishop, I think that Zachary Gray tends to be overlooked. As the multi-talented piano player/guitarist/singer/accompaniment, Gray is a perfect compliment to Beil’s Billy Bishop.
I found Billy Bishop fun, exciting, funny at the right times, and serious at others. Beil shines in his performance of the young and hopeful Canadian soldier hero. Sarah Rodgers (Director) manages to bring the best out of both Gray and Beil, who wins our hearts and controls our actions (I would tell you more, but you’ll have to see it).
I will also have to offer kudos for the incredibly well done job on the props. Let me just say that there is a plane in your near future if you go see Billy Bishop Goes to War. I found the second act much lighter and easier to follow
That’s probably because I had the intermission to take a little bit of a break. Overall, I can definitely recommend BBGW and I want to comment both Gray and Beil’s performances.
Disclosure: The tickets to attend BBGW for myself and my +1 as well as for the winners of my contest 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. 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.
It’s been obvious on my blog that I’ve been a critic of our regional transportation authority (currently Translink) for a number of years. I almost failed my PhD comprehensive exams thanks to the 2001 bus drivers’ strike (I couldn’t get from 12th Avenue and Granville to UBC with ease).
However, even when I’ve criticized Translink, I’ve also praised them on what they’re doing well. The woman behind the @SkytrainLady Twitter account, Jennifer Siddon, has done a marvelous job of engaging with citizens. Sg. Tom Seaman (@TransitPolice) has also worked hard on this account (although lately he seems to have stopped tweeting).
But after investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in a campaign to make the citizens of the Metro Vancouver area “Travel Smart” so that they abandon their cars, and find more sustainable modes of transportation (of which I approve – I walk everywhere and I bus/Skytrain/Canada Line when it’s a longer distance), the regional transportation authority is slapping citizens with a $8 increase (I used to pay $73 for my bus pass, now I have to pay $81).
Given that it’s almost an $100 increase per year, the incentive is NOT to make people use cars LESS, it’s becoming an incentive to use them MORE and to make the calculation of trade-offs much simpler – it’s more expensive to take transit, I now will want to drive.
Every time people ask me about what keeps me productive, I’ll have to start first with what makes me NON-productive. A messy desk really wears me down. I can’t focus on any particular task, thus spending an inordinate amount of time trying to find papers, organize them, etc. I decided long ago that at least, once a month, I would spend time cleaning up my apartment. I also try really hard to keep my desk organized at all times.
I’m usually very successful at organizing my desk at The Network Hub because I can have clients drop by any time. Also, having my colleagues from The Network Hub see a messy desk at my downtown office would make me feel embarrassed.
But since professors are seen traditionally as “messy”, I didn’t spend much time cleaning and organizing my desk at UBC. Until this past week. I decided it was over, and that I needed all my work desk areas (at home, at The Network Hub and at UBC) to be perfectly organized. The photos included in this post show you how my desk looks now.
Organizing my desk at UBC is key because it allows me to have the peace of mind and clean desk in order for me to plan for the month ahead as well. Now if getting rid of the Box of Miscellaneous Stuff was so easy! It took me about 3 hours to clean my UBC desk, I don’t want to think how long it’ll take me to sort the BMS!
So my suggestion is, keep your work areas (ALL of them) organized at all times.
Almost every morning, as I head out of the swimming pool and towards my office, I stop by Blue Chips Cookies at The University of British Columbia (UBC) for a coffee or a tea (I know, I’m riddled with guilt every morning). Being able to visit Blue Chips has brought me many good memories from when I was a graduate student. I started teaching at UBC in 2006 and have always kept Blue Chips in my heart.
I am a big supporter of student-run businesses, so that’s why instead of going to Starbucks or any of the other on-campus coffee outlets, I usually get my caffeine fix at Blue Chips. The one thing I don’t buy there is my chocolate chunk banana bread muffin, which I buy at The Deli (downstairs too at the Student Union Building, SUB).
Blue Chips serves only fair trade coffee and charges an environmental tax if you don’t bring your own mug but offers an environmental discount if you do.
Via my friend Mark Busse (Industrial Brand) I found out about Design Currency, the Design Week that will take place from April 26th to April 30th, 2010. The speakers list looks super impressive.
I was particularly excited to see that the speakers list not only includes international folks but also these people have very versatile backgrounds. Design Currency 2010 is presented by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) in partnership with the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda). While I am not a graphic designer myself, I interact with them on a daily basis (because of the fact that I am immersed in the social media/tech/PR field.
You can get more details about Design Week Vancouver from the Design Currency website.
I was talking to my best friend from childhood (he lives in Mexico) and he was telling me about some exciting news he had to share. We had a lovely conversation on MSN and at the very end, he told me “it sounds like you’re living the life you’ve always wanted to”. I paused for a moment to read what AJAF had just told me, and I agreed.
There are times, of course, when I wish I had never entered the world of social media. The potential for drama is HUGE. It’s difficult sometimes to distinguish when you’re doing the right thing. But there is one great thing that social media has brought to me: meaningful relationships. I’ve gained a lot from building an online presence. I’ve found life-long friends.
I have exactly the kind of life right now that I have always wanted. Not to say that I didn’t before, but right now, I’m doing pretty much the perfect mixture of what I want to do. I have a life with fantastic friends. I lead a healthy life, I do research, write on my personal blog, publish papers, attend conferences, give talks and I teach. I have an opportunity, in particular, to do what I am passionate about.
And that is something to be grateful for. I love my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anyone. I am by no means rich. I hold a crushing debt. I live in a tiny space. I budget my expenses. I don’t travel as much as I would love to, nor do I spend enough money buying clothes (which I love) nor gadgets (which I also love)
But you know what? I think I have exactly the kind of life I love. As I told my Dad over the phone the other day: I wake up every morning, smell the breeze and I feel SO incredibly alive. That feeling is pure gold.
Via my friend Trevor Ellestad, I found out about the High-Steppin’ Walk-a-thon Parade along 49th Avenue that Langara College is organizing. From the media invite:
Wear your crazy high heels, cleats, and clogs at the first annual High Steppin’ Walk-a-thon parade. Studio 58 and Langara College Advancement invite students, faculty, staff, and the community to participate in the fun and celebration. Dress up in feathers, glitter and glam, and dance to the funky beat down 49th Avenue.
The High Steppin’ Walk-a-thon will feature music by local DJ talent r i c c o, and awards will be granted to the most outrageous participants by a distinguished panel of judges from the Vancouver theatre community.
I heard a tune by The Presets at Chill Winston (they’ve redeemed themselves, Chill Winston – the service at the #OrangeDay Tweetup was great), and again, my Shazam app didn’t recognize it but luckily the server who was taking care of our table. This is probably not the song I listened to, but I loved it. It’s called This Boy is In Love and the group is The Presets (apparently, Australian?)
I was just at the #OrangeDay Tweetup and Chill Winston provided a few really good, relaxing tunes. This one really caught my ear, but the annoying Shazam iPhone app didn’t provide me with the name. Thankfully, Leah Gregg (UGM) did tell me the name of the artist: The Whitest Boy Alive. I think this was the song I was listening to, but anything by TWBA is fantastic. Do let me know what you think.
Every time I head out (I live in East Vancouver, near the Main Street area), I walk by a tree that has a lot of what appear to be cherry blossoms. Last year I was contacted to write about the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, but this year I haven’t heard a peep. That said, I have been noticing them so figured I’d post a couple of my own photos. One of the coolest things I found last year was this interactive map of where you can see the cherry blossoms and the different states at which they are (e.g. about to bloom, already in bloom or in decay). You can check that map on the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival page.
