Family BBQ 2008

Thanks to cousin May, we've got our very first gas BBQ in the house. And today, we had our very first family BBQ in Canada. Certainly something to write about.

Parents, Sister and family, Charleston, and us. I thought I would show my culinary side of me, but due to work and other excuses, we bought marinated meat from a local BBQ shop instead.

Pork chops, chicken wings, veal ribs, salmon, fish balls, beef sirloins, corns, zucchinis, and yams were on the menu. Charleston was really the chef, I the sous chef this time.

I'm delighted to have the family all gathered today to have some joy and fun together. Sister's two young sons were quite energetic today. Brandon, usually moody or aloof when sleepy, was extraordinarily playful and interested today. Matthew, the younger one, follows his brother however he acts and where ever he goes. It's good to see the two getting along. Though the elder sometimes can be a bit of a bully.

Wife bought a bubble gun for the young ones, to keep them occupied and engaged. It was a marvelous idea and it played out very well indeed. Brandon loved it so much, he asked if he could borrow it for a day. He was still not too keen on eating grown up foods, but in time, I, as his Uncle, will do whatever I can to see that he will grow to be a healthy and responsible person.

Mom and dad was enjoying the food and the company of his children and grandchildren. No pictures were taken, we're not the photogenic sorts I suppose. Anyway, food was pretty good. Parents liked the purple yams, corns, and chicken wings and pork chops were nicely prepared.

The first BBQ certainly ended with everyone filled and happy. Next week will be a long weekend and we plan to have the 2nd BBQ on the Sunday.

Goodbye to Facebook

After 2 years of facebooking, I finally decided to put an end to it.

I've enjoyed the little applications, games, staying in touch with 'friends', browsing other's photos and mini-feeds.. I think it's just time to stop and do something more valuable, especially when over half of the people you know are there but not really there... it's a disappointing feeling. It's a virtual world afterall.

Almost all social networking tools or applications I tried ended up like this. I remembered 10 years ago there's a cybercity thing where people logon to play MJ, poker and other games.. you can walk around the hall to meet/chat with other players.. Then there came the ICQ legacy.. I joined pretty early too.. got a few dozen of friends added.. spent a fair share of time chatting and just killing time over the net. At that time, ICQ has frequent updates and we kind of stayed fairly updated with that. Then came MSN... same old stuff.. had video chat.. even sound later on.

Now facebook is just another hype that one must spend some time on. 2 years is enough for it. I don't seem to stay socialize as I hope. I guess facebook or any other tools certainly provided the platform or the means, but at the end, it's really up to the users to play their part.

So long facebook friends. The online me will continue in my blogs if you care to keep contact.

A day at Queensborough Landing

Haha, I've added this topic two months ago. And finally last Sunday we went shopping at Queensborough Landing factory outlets. That's how good my foresight is.

We wanted to try the new Kirin chinese restaurant next to Starlight casino there, but since M & D wanted to lunch somewhere close to city center, we ended up at a dim sum place at Cambie and No. 5 Road. Anyway, we arrived at Queensborough around 2pm.

It's only 15 mins away from the dim sum place, but it's like very remote already. Had the feeling that we actually went to the States. There're quite a number of shops, we literally went in each one of them... well, except the one that sells mattresses.. some have pretty reasonable prices too.

Last stop was Walmart. Wow, it's huge... like the one near Seattle Premium Outlet. I can't believe I actually bought a few pairs of sandals there... a few bucks each. What a cheap person I am. Hey, just trying to support our economy. Every penny counts, doesn't it?

I was also surprised that we could actually spend the whole afternoon there. Left the place at almost 8pm. We'll have to visit the casino next time. Stay tuned for an update later.

Swimming with mom

Couple months ago when she returned to Vancouver, my mom asked me to take her swimming. Last Saturday I finally had the time and a healthy body to go with her.

Swimming is the only exercise doctor recommends her which is better for her knees. Mom's not too old, but she's been complaining about sore knees. Swimming can strengthen her knees without putting much stress on them.

Now that I think about it, I do not recall swimming with mom at all. She doesn't swim, by the way. I guess that explains why. Anyway, here we were at Kensington's community centre.

It was a fairly new facility. We got in, mom and dad passed an application form to the reception and got a free pass with their photo on it. Somehow they were eligible for free admission year round.

There's a 25m pool, a family pool with water slides, a whirlpool, and a steam room. Mom spent most of the time in the shallow area of the family pool. She exercised her knees while keeping herself afloat using a lifesaver secured on one leg. It doesn't look like a lot of exercise, but she needed a break after 5-10 mins.

We tried the whirlpool and steam room as well. There are quite a number of people, mostly kids. I was surprised to see a 'universal' changing room section there too. It's a brilliant idea for families or even friends who do not want to go separate changing rooms for male and female.

I swam for about 20 mins in total. Mom seemed to have enjoyed her first 'swim' ever. Now that she is familiar with the place, she will go with dad as she wants without having to wait for me to be available. In fact, after that swim, I also want to go more often. Swimming was fun and very relaxing. That keeps my mind clear, and that's what I needed now.

Jump-started

It's July. Couple of unproductive months has passed. Gotta get back to my life, online and offline.

It's the stupid health problem that's been bothering me for years. Friends and colleagues would know by now that I am particularly vulnerable to climate change. I got sick every time. I am really sick of being sick.

Sickness is bad not just because you suffer from the symptoms of it, but it also wears you out and rids you of the very things that constitute life. You are forced to eat food that you don't like, you don't have the energy to entertain, to socialize. And in my case, I lost the drive to write. My brain was just drained during the period. No more crazy ideas. No more creativity. Just no more mood. To me, that's more painful than the most dreadful illness there is.

I am struggling to write this piece, but I hope doing so will revive myself. I know that if I don't start typing the first word, I won't have a chance to come back to this. I have a goal this year but I am afraid I may not be able to achieve it.

Gotta live on.