crush

Today as I was walking off the subway platform, I noticed one of the transit staff standing there among the throngs of people. He caught my attention because I recognized him. He was a guy I had a crush on when I was in junior high; it was unmistakable. I just looked at him for a few seconds and kept walking. Wow. He was never one of those top students but I always thought he was good looking. It was just so strange to see him in a transit uniform.

grouse mountain

It was decided yesterday that P. and I would make a trip up to Grouse to do some snowshoeing regardless of the weather. It was pouring down where I lived, but a call to guest services indicated that the trails were open and that it was a balmy 2 degrees. Lucky for us, when we got up there, it wasn't actually snowing or raining at all. It was just a bit foggy. The trails however, were a disappointment. Unlike Whistler, where there are dedicated snowshoeing trails through the forest, these trails were more like crosscountry paths and to add insult to injury, the snow was slushy at times. We managed to walk up to the grizzly bear sanctuary and saw the 4 wolves that were there as well. The wolves were retired 'movie wolves.'

I was starved for food - I had not eaten lunch because I thought we were having lunch together. We ended up driving to Londsdale Quay, which to my disbelief, P. had never visited. There, I got a chocolate hazelnut beaver tail and to stave off the hunger til dinner time. We went to the Rugby Beach Grille on Broadway where we had a seafood platter and of course a chocolate dessert - it was easter after all!

Played a game of Zigity which I won and then P. drove me home.

daytripping

After another hectic day at work on Thursday of which I worked right through lunch, I headed home early to unwind and to decide what I should do on the long weekend. Seattle and Skagit Valley to see the daffodils and tulips, or snowshoeing up at Grouse Mountain, which had conveniently reopened the ski hills due to the large amount of snow it had just recently received. The weather forecast called for Friday to be the best day of the weekend (i.e. not raining) so I would only be able to do one and not the other. It was decided that the tulips would be worth going to.

So yesterday I was up early to prepare for the trip (passport, money, snacks, maps etc.). P. picked me up and we ended up waiting an hour at the truck crossing border. On the radio, it was a 30 min. wait but by the time we had gotten there, it was double the time. I drove his car (standard) a bit as we inched along. At the border, I was asked by the customs officer if I had worked in the states before, how long I'd lived in Canada, and why I had a permanent residence stamp in my passport. This was not the first time it's happened. It's all due on my part to fill up my book a little bit. I had just gotten a new passport and the only stamp I had was from Cuba. I asked the guy if he'd stamp my book when I went to Las Vegas last winter; he said normally they don't stamp the passports, but he did probably because he was humouring me. So I guess the guy must have put the wrong stamp in the book as everyone keeps asking me about that!

Off we went to Skagit Valley to see the tulips and daffodils (www.tulips.com) They started charging$2 admission last weekend and there were about 5 fields of daffodils and 6 fields of tulips in bloom. Sunny day with some clouds but otherwise phenomenal. People come from all over to view this and I was glad to be a part of it. Of course as soon as I got out my bag to pull out my camera, I was just KICKING myself! I had left my camera at home!!! The night before, I had taken it out to test and check the battery. I forgot to put it back in my bag. Thank GOODNESS P. had his, even though his was slow, clunky, and just not as good. *sigh* Beggars can't be choosers but at least he let me take control of it and I just clicked away. At least we share the same type of memory card so I can transfer the files over easily.

We left around 12:45 and headed off to Bellevue to do some shopping. We got there around 2:30 and checked out a few places to eat. Found a Z'tejas that had half price appys from 3-6pm so we figured we would just shop for half an hour and head back for a super late lunch. We shared 4 dishes plus cornbread. It was pretty good but ah, so rich. Off to do some more shopping in a rush to head over to Pike Place Market before everything shut down at 6. We made it for 5:20pm, parked and then wandered through before walking to downtown itself. Merchants were beginning to close up and I just wanted to show P. a taste of the market. We had more important things to do, like shopping downtown at Nordstrom's Rack and Macy's! He had a great time, probably because I knew my way around so we weren't standing around wasting time and I was such a quick shopper. I only bought a Swarovski butterfly pin (cute! and half price!) and some Hue socks...didn't want to spend too much because I didn't want to pay duties at the border.

We had a late, late dinner. Went to Il Fornaio for dinner as I loved the butternut squash and walnut ravioli the last time I was there in December. We went in around 8:20 and dinner wasn't served til 9:15...almost an hour later. Slow, slow service. P. was not impressed. He had wanted to go to Ivar's but I wasn't up to running around all over the place so we settled for this Italian place instead.

We left Seattle around 10:30 and I got home by 1:30. No delays at the border; the lady didn't even check our passports!

I slept in until 9:30 - automatically waking up...have been sqaundering the day away; torrential rains last night (even on our way back) so I was just super glad that I we had decided on Seattle yesterday. P. hadn't done a road trip like this for a few years so he was all hyped up. If only he didn't treat driving like a video game and everyone else on the road as cars to pass! I will most likely be housebound for the next couple of days but I'm ok with that...

flipflopping weather

I'm sitting here in front of my computer after having watched the Manchurian Candidate - a suspense, sci-fi thriller. Good movie and while awaiting a delicious smelling dinner (honey-garlic chicken wings!) I think how we're almost back to fall weather! It rained and poured last night, with the wind howling madly. I slept in, loving the luxury of doing so on a Sunday. Slow day. Tried to get some reading done for the $&*# book review that's due soon.

A recap - work week has been slow and painful as usual. Thursday night I attended an association meeting in the medical field. I am desperately trying to switch out of my current job and met some really nice ladies during the meeting. We'll see if anything comes up. I met up with P. afterwards at the Holiday Inn where he had HIS meeting and he took me home.

Friday after work, I met up with a friend, K, who has been in Australia for a year and a half now. I waited for her at Guu on Thurlow and we had a good old time catching up. Restaurant was a bit noisy but food was yummy. It wasn't enough time so we'll need to meet up again sometime soon! She was engaged but called it off. P. picked me up so she was able to meet him before we left. P. hadn't eaten so we ended up going to Aria (as usual!) and he ordered their gourmet sirloin burger (and I stole some fries) and then a tasty grand marnier creme brulee (but where was the alcohol??).

Yesterday I went to visit my chiro and to do some qi gong and that was the day! It doesn't take much to squander it, especially when it isn't very nice outside. Ahh. I long for summer!

spring awaits

My sister has gone back to school and we are left behind to settle quietly back into our lives. My mother has submitted her retirement letter and will be finished by the end of May. Quick update on the last few days. On Thurs., P. was downtown for a conference so we met up briefly for lunch. We ended up hanging outside in the glorious sunshine and I spotted my eagle sitting atop the last post of the white sail at Canada Place. I watched it for a while until it finally flew off to land at the Woodwards landmark "W". It was an unexpected visit with P., so it was nice.

I spent a lovely Friday with P. dining at the lounge at Pan Pacific. The sun was still out (days are still bright!) and I saw an eagle come swooping close by. I actually got up to look over because I thought she was going to dive into the water. There were a couple of ladies at table closest to the window who also got up to see what was going on. It was such a beautiful sight and then the eagle flew off towards Stanley Park.

Sat. was another beautiful day but I had to see the herbal medicine guy to get some herbs for my allergies. A trip up to Burnaby Mountain with my folks and then a nice nap in the afternoon to help with my headaches (sinus-related). Sat. evening was spent quietly around the house.

Sun. Early morning lunch with my aunt A. and aunt V. and her husband, uncle R. It was out in Richmond at the restaurant Jade. Very innovative dishes for a Chinese restaurant, I must say. P. came to pick me up and then we headed to downtown where we stopped by a couple of preview buildings to look at condos. We spent a lovely afternoon out along English Bay and then popped into Black Tuna for a Japanese fusion tapas dinner overlooking the water. Good food with a bonus appy for their opening special. We talked some more, about the future. I left though, feeling quite sad and torn; I'm still not certain I can or should accept his future plans of going into politics...it bothers me that it's such a dirty business and that he would be away from me for such long periods of time. He's hoping to get involved in it for 10 years but who knows how things will turn out? If he's successful, it could be more than 10... I don't know...I'm just a bit troubled about the whole thing. He told me it's my decision; he's laid it out on the line and whether I accept it or not, I think he'd fine with it. I still don't know...

pink death

So after all the nice sunshine, the flowers and cherry blossoms will be the death of me. They have opened and polluted the air with their pollen. It's been a couple of years at least since allergies have hit this bad. I've got a headache and itchy watery eyes, and the typical runny nose. At first I thought I was getting a cold but it isn't.

I was supposed to meet a friend of mine for dinner on Friday. P. was to pick me up afterwards. My friend felt ill and she cancelled, so I called up P. to have dinner with him. He lost the extra hours he thought he had gained...but picked me up (late, as usual, I might add) and we went to Guu on Robson. Good thing we went right when it opened at 5:30. By the time we left, there was a wait. Yummy small inventive tapas dishes. I chose calamari as one of the dishes (of course) and it was fantastic. We meandered over to Capers afterwards and then to Metrotown so he could pick up his ding-dong motion detector then home to watch Good-Bye Lenin. Good movie, but a bit long I suppose.

Sat. was spent at home drowning in my monthly misery. I glued myself to the tube until P. came over for dinner. K. had a friend come over as well so we all had a dinner and then I watched Stepford Wives with P. Another Nicole Kidman movie but this one was light and funny. Then we spent a bit of time planning our Maritime trip for this summer.

Sun. was spent with a trip to get some chinese medicine and then to physio. I ended up doing an hour and a half long treatment - headaches which she said were probably due to allergies partially but I almost felt the treatment could have kept on going. P. came over to pick me up for dinner seeing as K. is here and we're supposed to do a family dinner on Tuesday so I won't see him then. But of course she's sick and recovering so we don't even know if that's happening at the moment. Too many things going on right now. And a tight deadline for me since I still haven't started the book I'm supposed to be reviewing.

Plans for Easter are a bit up in the air. P. agrees with me and wants to go away but there is just so much planning to do and I don't want to stress over that either so we'll see. Yipee...it's finally starting to rain...and hopefully my sinuses will clear up a bit! Apologies if the thoughts seem out of order - I'm not quite all here.

nightmare

Remind me again why I should never watch a horror flick. It wasn't even a really bad one at all - in fact, the only reason why I watched it was because I knew the whole story pretty much. Someone had told me about the ending [the movie was The Others with Nicole Kidman] as I said I'd never watch it. And then my mother borrowed it for my grandmother who absolutely loves ghost stories and I saw it and said, "We should watch it!" Well, I met P. after work and we picked up some sushi for dinner and headed back to my place to watch it. It really was a good movie, aside from some visual images that were hard to get rid of. For those bits, I did my usual peek-through-the-fingers, but P. didn't help at all; instead, he tried to actually scare me and make it worse. Harhar. I told him I will never watch another ghost story with him unless he's willing to stay up all night with me. I ended up going to bed around 11 and woke up at 2am. That was it. I was dead all day long yesterday and could have fallen asleep at work. P. on the other hand, got a good 8 hours rest. The lucky bum. He's lucky I didn't phone him up at 2am!!

5th year celebrations

So it's my firm's 5 year old bday since we merged. I wasn't even here at that time, having joined the firm a few months later. Arrived at the office and found a cupcake with green cream cheese and a piece of chocolate (stamped with our firm logo) on top. I made my way through the whole thing even though I probably shouldn't have; trying so hard to keep a better diet but it's so difficult sometimes! Speeches and presentations were supposed to be done but that didn't happen as it got postponed so that one of the retired partners could attend. Just as well. I don't care either way.

On another note! My sister's coming back...tomorrow!! for a visit. She wasn't expecting to but her boss was kind enough to let her take enough time off over her spring break to come so she'll be arriving here for a week. She had already gotten me to book a reading for next week so I am eagerly anticipating that as well!