My Famjam

display in holt's contemporary dept.

 army food at insadong

 albap at kimbap heaven

 going to work long 12th like every tues and thurs

so apparently this house (which, if you look around, is the least attractive house prob in the whole neighbourhood) is asking for $1.8 million. location location location!

 waiting for my brother to finish taking his composite pic

deer in headlights
the gowns... saw some ppl i knew on the walls down the hall

 dinner at the new bohemian after brother's grad pics

parents! happy birthday daddy!

w/ brother... 

he finally smiles. we look like ernie and bert lollll

 appies! moroccan lamb meatballs, spinach salad, seafood ceviche

 crab ravioli feature and _____ chicken pasta

 couscous, humous, dip dip dip, salad.. umm.. forgot what they're called.. platter for 2

 so good - lemon (and other spices) braised meats

testing out the self-timer for a family photo at home lol.. and then mommy joined in

kkkkkk

can't believe i've never been to a club in korea that played just kpop haha

once in a while, there are some kpop club nights in town so me and a few of my kpop loving chingu deul (friends) went, excited to finally be able to dance to kpop outside of our houses and karaoke rooms

it was fun! they played some of our fav. songs, but they needed to play more.. MORE (and the club needed to stay open much later...)!! i always love korean energy. it radiates!

anyway, here are a few pics

of course, the ham i am needs to take up half the picture lookin' all bobblehead-esque.

sleepover at M's and vietnamese food the next morning with a much needed iced vietnamese drip coffee with condensed milk.

 yum yum yum

Yesterday, All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away

Dammit. I obviously forgot. Bad idea to get that Spanish Latte so late. I went to bed at 2AM and now I'm fully awake at 7:15AM (I woke up a couple times in between, too). So yea. Busy day yesterday and since I brought along a digi, I have a few pictures to share for once~

Sooo convocation was early in the morning. My grandparents, parents, and brother came. My grandparents got me a pretty and girly bouquet, a graduation bear from the bookstore (that my mom helped me name "Geo" for Geography), and a necklace my 2nd cousin made (she sells her handmade jewelry as one of her many jobs and really ran around to find the right quality pieces for it). The whole thing was 2 hours long (zzz) and we all walked across the pond and down the stairs of the AQ while the whole group of bagpipe players (SFU tradition) blew air into their instruments EEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR which left 10 minutes to take a few quick snaps before we rushed off to the Milestones near my house and then to the office. 

(I got a BA in the Faculty of Environment, btw.. Geography major). There was this one graduate who had a 4.24 GPA.  He did a joint major in (something along the lines of) molecular biology and biochemistry and minored n psychology! He has 36 A+ (not a single A-!). CRAZY.

Oh, I picked up 2 Anna Sui polishes and was pretty excited to use them. I saw someone swatch the peach colour, but I was taking a chance with the purple and I was so disappointed when I painted my nails! (Oh yea, btw, I totally did not fulfill anything in the challenge yesterday... I wore mascara, straightened my hair, and painted my nails.. bad... I know :( I'll make up for it Tuesday). 

Super adorable packaging and the polish has a nice rose fragrance, which was a nice surprise. I was hoping the purple would be a dupe of the YSL one I wasn't fast enough to get earlier on in the Spring. The Anna Sui purple (208, for reference), was totally NOT anything close!!! It was darker, way ugly, and had this blue under-shimmer that made my nails look like I stole my little cousin's DISNEY nail polish! It looks cheap and the shade is more than awful. It's hard to see just how terrible it is in the picture... but I guess you can imagine. (Yes.. I'm a nail drama queen.. I think it's because the polish was $15 which is pretty expensive, but I swear, this is my extent of my drama....... hehe).

Met up with M and Yena downtown to do some shopping after and M brought me 2 rolls of chamchi (tuna) kimbap from Port Coq. because that store has the closest thing to the best chamchi kimbap rolls like the ones we had in Korea. That was dinner, thanks! Bought a huge fluffy hot metallic pink and black (so not me haha) powder brush from Sephora I will test out. It was very pricey so I hope its price will reflect its performance... also got a basic form-hugging tank dress from True Value Vintage for only $19! Deal of the day. I think that's all I bought. 

I tried on my first one-shoulder dress at TVV. It feels weird putting it on! It's like when I first tried on my mom's 3/4 length sleeve shirts back in elementary school - it felt soooo weird.. as if material was missing.  It looked really bad on in person (pictures are a bit deceiving and it was way too small at the hips) but I really like the look of [most] one-shoulder dresses. I like this general shape because one side is a "long" sleeve. I see so many sleeveless versions out there, but not many one-sleeve.  One-shoulder is the new strapless!

Quick snap of my simple outfit of the day before I left Urban Outfitter's change room.. (I tried on some really cute pieces but the debit card machine was broken). Club Monaco sun dress, cropped 3/4 sleeve cardigan from Korea, UO Sabina Convertible leather bag, cheapie elastic + metal belt from Korea, and the only shoes that fit me from Vince in Malaysia (and the only heel I can walk all day in) that I noticed after was a replica of a Nine West heel.

After, hung out w/ the Kgroup... (lol I don't think I've ever made a name for them) at Jerry's apartment. We were originally supposed to go sing, but I kind of like just hanging out 'cause I haven't seen them for a long while. It was in celebration of Jerry's birthday. 

Bern has all the better pictures... we tried to surprise him by lighting his candles in the bathroom and then coming out. Guh.. now that I look at this picture, it looks really really unappetizing! LOL

Jin is leaving to return back to Korea on Monday~ InJae is leaving mid July~ Jerry is leaving mid Aug. Sad!

Oh yea, the boys created Korean names for me and Bern. I like them. They went through the effort to make it as close as possible to our Chinese names (but really, only our last names were very accurate).

Bern = IM BO-MI (Bomi is a very popular Korean name, I knew 4 Bomi's in Korea. It suits Bern 'cause her nickname is "Bunny" and if you say Bomi in a certain way, it sounds like Bunny! or maybe you can even hear "Bher-ni[ce]" lol so I think it really really suits Bern!).

Me = OH SO-NA (Very unique apparently - only 1 other person has this (full) name in Korea lol - you can check online! The "So" is close to my middle character of my Chinese name "little".. and the "na" resembles "Natasha". It's funny how easy it is to write (and say) my name in so many languages)

Anyway, thanks to M for letting me borrow her camera. Good day, especially since it warmed up! I shall get my Canon S90 within the next month if I find time (and someone) to go down and pick it up from the States with me. :)

23rd Year

Melanie celebrated her 23rd birthday with a girls night out.

Her house, Twisted Fork restaurant on Granville, Caprice Nightclub, sleepover, breakfast = good fun

@ Twisted Fork

Super good frozen chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet

On the streets (perfectly warm/cool out)
Got a pair of 3D glasses (it came with some free gum package) on the way to Caprice. 

@ Caprice (yay for free cover, free taxi ride, and free breakfasts!)
Me with the birthday girl ^^

The girls

Thanks to Bern for the pics! We love weekends.
And I really need to get my own camera again and start taking pictures!!

Saffron

Went to La Bodega for a birthday dinner today~ quaint-ish restaurant serving food from Spain. Service was wonderful and the menu had a good variety - it was mainly a tapas restaurant so we ordered a bunch of different dishes. I had rabbit. It tasted like meaty chicken mixed with turkey. Tried their Sangria and paella, both of which they claim to be really good. Could just be my tastes, but I've had better of both before. I say even my mom makes more flavourful paella.. so yea it was good, but not memorable. I'd go to that restaurant again, though.

A bunch of the guests chipped in to get Helen a gift card for an iphone ('cause her old cell got stolen at a club and her new one is kinda broken) and right when we started talking about it while she was at the other end of the table, her closest friends started betting money on whether she would cry or not when she received it haha (she has a history of doing so when she's really really happy) - and she did actually cry because she was so touched! Awwwww~ that girl is seriously so darn cute!!

After I was going to go to Artemis's going away party at Lamplighter but found out that it was way too busy for me to get in by the time I got near around 11 so it was a semi-early night home.

Stepped into Shoppers to browse - I was super intrigued to try Lise Watier's new lippies.. they're pretty much felt pens that stain your lips! There were 6 or 7 different colours and they had a nice pigment to them.  My favourite (as was the SA's) was Peach which is this orange shade - think Mr. Sketch orange haha. For some reason, I can't find any info about them at all online - not even on Lise Watier's official website! So yea - they're apparently quite long lasting. You colour your lip with them and then put a clear gloss on and tada!! Weird way to apply them though.. seems like you have to be quite careful. Not exactly an on-the-go thing - you'll always need a mirror. They go for $20 ,which I think is super pricey for a stubby marker in a plastic case. I really might as well draw on my lips with a smelly marker since they're supposed to be all kid-friendly and washable.. but I think the LW one would look quite nice.

No pics - returned the camera.

I guess I should sleep - it's technically 3AM now instead of 2 b/c of daylight savings.

Testing Testing One Two Three...

So I bought the Samsung ST550 at Futureshop last night! There are a ton of pros, but unfortunately, the 1 con (photo quality) is outweighing the pros, which will earn itself a return in a couple of weeks. Other than the con, I am super super impressed. I love how haptic it is and the dual touch screens are fabulous. Also like the editing functions (changing the effects, cropping, rotating) and I find it even easier to use than a Canon! The HD video capability is also a pleasant plus.
Took a few quick pictures today to test it out:

The sticky note on the TV is mine, reminding my parents how to turn off the TV properly.. ever since we got the digital box, the TV has been left half on (has a blue hue coming from it) when I come home late. Bad!
Also bad portrait turn-outs (colour).

I think these outdoor pictures came out a bit better colour-wise, though. Less grainy, too.

Across the street... It's kind of strange. My current house is built on a new street and all the other 19 houses surrounding it are built by the same builders so they look similar.. and these houses are quite different from the other houses in the neighbourhood. When you turn into the cul de sac, you find yourself feeling as though you're somewhere in the suburbs.  My favourite part is how every house has a little tri-lamp pole in front. It would look adorable when they're all lit up!
Gloomy, wet, miserable day. We're facing the mountains but you can't tell.....

Made my mushroom orzo dish for B's bday potluck at her house~
M picked me up some mushrooms and we made our dishes before heading over.

We watched the Canada vs. Slovakia mens hockey semi-finals with a WIN for CANADA!!!! Secures us either a silver or gold medal against the USA this Sunday at noon. THIS is what I look forward to most for the Winter Olympics. OH and I'm so proud - Canada has the most gold medals out of all the countries and we have the third highest number of medals so far!
Watched the women's figure skating last night at work. The restaurant was so quiet when Joannie Rochette (Canadian) performed. Everyone stared at the TVs on the centre column. Some people were still murmuring about the sudden passing of her mother a few days ago.  Huge cheers when she landed those jumps and when she finished! Triumphant. She won a bronze medal. Kim Yuna got gold and had a super high score - no surprise there. Mao Asada won silver.
Anyway, after dinner, we played 2 rounds of Telepath which was fun ^^

Self-timer! Kinda cute how the front LCD counts down for you so you know when to smile.

One Week Left

Brr it's be really sunny out the past week but also really chilly in the shade! 

 

I had a full day yesterday - M and I went to Secret Nail and Beauty Supply store on Kingsway.  I got a few goodies: 10 pairs false lashes for $10.99 in a dramatic cut, crystal nail file (apparently will last forever and is much more sanitary than other nail files), another nail polish remover pump, and 3 O.P.I polishes for $5.99 each: Modern Girl, A Good Man-Darin Is Hard To Find, and Samoan Sand. Then we walked down a few blocks to look at some Korean DVDs to buy but for some reason the store was closed. But, I got a couple decadent squares of treats from this small Vietnamese/Chinese bakery ^^ Indulgence.

Then I headed downtown - the skytrain was packed! It came every 4 minutes but I had to miss 3 trains because there wasn't any room in them! Met up with Artemis and we tried scouting out restaurants/bar/lounges with TVs to watch the Canada vs. USA hockey game. After putting our names on the waiting lists at 4 or 5 restaurants with 1.5-2 hour waitlists, we wound up walking towards Denman and went to Chau - this Vietnamese restaurant (with yummy cocktails) and got good seats in front of the TV. Her friend, Steve, came to join us and it was cute - the whole 20 of us (3 + strangers) cheered, roared, and awwed it out. It was a good game even though Canada lost. 

Walked down to Denman to meet up with B and a few others at Banana Leaf where we shared Malaysian dishes! On the way back up to Granville Station, we saw those strobe "art" lights you can design and control online. 

Met up with Artemis. One of her friends is opening for a DJ at this small club on Hastings called Pop Opera.  The venue was previously known as 686 but has now changed and renovated. Quite nice inside with sleek seating, streamlined, white quilted banquettes, neat pendant lighting, and two bars - both cleanly lit from beneath. She invited me right before dinner and so I obviously wasn't dressed at all being in my scrubby work flats, a white t-shirt (my attempt to show off some canadian pride.. worn with my red and white CANADA scarf seen on every 3rd person downtown) and a casual cardigan. She brought me a black dress, though so it was fine - and my feet didn't hurt at all 'cause I didn't wear heels!

So even though cover was free for me, coat check was $5 PER ITEM. Expensive much?? That's what the Olympics bring.. inflated cover and coat check prices. Pop Opera wasn't totally happening, but A's friend, Ryan, was a great DJ! He's only 19 or 20 yrs old, too. He started off with the beginning of the Lion King's Circle of Life song (the tribal part) and mixed that which turned out to be really catchy and brought ppl to the dance floor. At midnight, everyone from PO went to Republic because there wasn't enough of a crowd to keep the club running so we limo-ed it over (my first time in one, actually). Republic was neat - also my first time there. I like it - very narrow, 2 floors, nice bar areas, nice, clean washrooms.

Sunday was Reggae night so we had this guy sing for a long time - he was so good. Sang Bob Marley and The Police (that's all I recognized haha). Ryan's cousin was in town and he wanted to show her some other clubs on Granville so we hopped across the street to Caprice. That was surprisingly a lot of fun - they were apparently playing Deadmau5 (I'm slowly getting to know these DJs...) and had overall awesome music. 

Someone mentioned that team Germany and USA? was at Republic last night... and that Alex Bilodeau was at PO on Saturday night.  I had a good time - M picked A and me up to drive us home~

Had lunch at Sushi Town with Becky today!

Oh I dyed my hair, too. It's pretty light.. we were going for an ash shade. I think I'm going to go back and get it redyed darker, though.

Man, I wish I had pictures to show you! Text on text is no fun to read or show. 

Currently typing e-mails, eating melba toast with tsatziki, blogging, waiting for laundry to finish...

Last Weekend...

Shogo had his farewell party at Posh, Friday night! People think, since I work there, I eat there a lot and should be an expert sukiyaki eater.. but in truth, I only eat there 5-6 times a year and I'm actually pretty clumsy...

At the end of the night, B and I rode the skytrain home and to my happiness, they had pasted a large floor poster of the Olympic mascots! I think they did a great job in designing these little buggers 'cause I love them... especially the offical sidekick, Muk Muk!

Speaking of Olympics, they have been putting up various artsy things on Granville Street for the past two weeks... and Robson is teeming with "Canadian pride" posters, ads, and merchandise.

The building houses The Hudson Bay Company (HBC) department store.

Lantern trees - most of them are drawn by kids, though there are some professionally done and some branded ones, too. Some creepy man (and my chipmunk cheeks) ruined my picture.

Piece of garbage.. kid saying "hello" to M. HI! (I meant the piece of art is garbage (not the kid) but not in the connotative sense)

Here are the Olympic gloves in the window display for The Bay that keep getting sold out.

Earlier on Saturday, I went with my parents to inspect our new house for minor flaws, nicks, etc. We all had green painter's tape and taped every little thing that needed some TLC for an hour. The house sure looks much better now that everything has been put in and cleaned.  I have a bit more room on my bathroom counter than I thought I would get.  My dad showed me the neatest thing! On the side, hidden under the kitchen island, there's this 3/4 foot narrow slot-type thing where you can open it and it automatically sucks in the air so you can easily sweep in dust/dirt/whatever you spill without having to carry out the big vacuum! Genious.

Then I had lunch @ Hon's (Chinese "fast food") with Jess who came back from her exchange to Singapore, her friend Henny visiting from Germany, her friend Morgan, and M. We had a vegetarian lunch and I tried fake chicken for the first time. It was MSGed-deliciousness! I think it's just "jai" (a bean curd), though. I'd totally order it again.

I was waiting for the picture before I posted this, but I don't think it's going to come for a while. I wore my "cocoon", as I call it, that day It's a huuuugely oversized beige  dolman-style sweater that's super thick, warm and cozy. No wind can penetrate that thing! It was actually one of the "risks" I took when ordering from Zipia and I'm glad I have it but it's not something I wear or would wear often.

Sunday was another eat-out day haha.. M and I tried the new Sushi Town out in North Vancouver for lunch! Sushi Town has been the "it" spot for me and my friends when it comes to sushi. I guess they've been doing well since they now have three locations.  The one we usually go to is this very modest-looking shop that's almost always busy on Hastings, down the hill from SFU.  It's Korean-owned.  What we love about it is that it's very reasonably priced and sells the fresh, generous slices of salmon sashimi!  You can get 9 huge pieces for $7.95CAD! It's so much we think we've consumed half a salmon by the end of our meal.  This is the full order, missing 2 pieces haha

My friends and I also love their version of "spicy salmon sashimi". I don't know what they do to it, but it's delicious and flavourful.  We usually order a half-order for $4.50 or something like that but it looks like a full order.

Anyway, the North Vancouver restaurant is such a modern place - a huge contrast to their original location. It reminded me a lot of Joey's (another restaurant in Vancouver) interior! That restaurant had a good variety of seating from long, crushed, red velvet quilted-back banquettes to raised booths that fit either 2, 4, or 6 people with cute little tree-like hooks between booths where you can hang your coat. Intimate.  M and I both agreed that it would be a great place for a date haha They even had those "slide-in" scallop booths (as I call it) where the long bench is a U-shape.  Didn't take any pictures of the decor. I will next time.

Anyway, for some reason, the servers seemed to be much more chipper than the ones at the Burnaby location, but some of their English skills aren't great.
I tried asking one server (because I was curious what kind of estaurant Sushi Town took over to have such decor):
Me: Which restaurant/what kind of restaurant did Sushi Town take over?
Her: Ohhhh... you want... take out???
Me: No, take over. [think think think] Ok, before Sushi Town, what restaurant was here?
Her: Ohhhh.... [silence] sorry...
haha aw I felt sorry for her. Didn't end up getting an answer. I'll ask again next time.
Everything is plated so much more nicely, too ^^. I heard that they're fully booked for the whole week at night for large parties! That's amazing, I think! Maybe I'll have my birthday party there. It's chic and affordable!
Worked for the 2nd time this month because I took over a shift for my coworker. Had a couple of funny tables and a polite group of 12 that drank a LOT. I was weary whether I should fulfill their drink requests... I think they came out at a bit over $50 per person including tax and gratuity! But huspaz for me ^^