The Chief

No, this is not about Sir Chief (which by the way, thanks to my recently installed TFC, I can now watch Be Careful With My Heart again).

I’m talking about Stawamus Chief.

After two years, I got to climb Stawamus Chief again! I thought it was three years ago, but I guess not – it was two years ago based on this blog post.

The hike this time around was much easier from what I remembered before. I think it’s because the mountain was dry, making everything a little easier, especially climbing up. Aside from that, I also remembered that the when we got up to second and third peaks, there wasn’t much of a view to see because it was very foggy. But this time around, I finally got to see the view, and what can I say, it was amazing.

This was the view from the top of the second peak. We skipped the first peak and went straight to the second peak. Took around 1.5 hours, I think.

By peak 2.5, (half way to third peak), this was the fantastic view of Squamish:

Here are my friends enjoying a short break:

I find that hiking down the mountain is as hard as hiking up. Going down puts a lot more stress in your ankles and your knees. I woke up this morning with my legs hurting like crazy.

3 of us, out of 5 got stung by bees though. We accidentally plowed through a path full of bees. Their sting was quite painful. I got it by my right calf and it was swollen a bit for some time, but eventually subsided. I put some meds after as it was aching a bit last night, and I woke up this morning feeling nothing on the sting bite. But then again, my whole legs are still aching.

After wards, just like our previous chief hike, we went for a nice meal after at Whitespot. I had two full glasses of milkshake (butterscotch and blueberry). So much for all that calories I burned during the hike! I may actually even have gained.

Until next time the chief! Hope to see you again.

some random thoughts

The thing that I really miss the most about the Philippines is my family and friends. To be honest, there are times that I feel sad because I know I am missing a lot of memories from there. Events like, birthdays, parties, or even just regular get togethers with the family and friends.

But whenever I feel sad, I try to focus on the positive side of things.

I think about how blessed I am to be here. I think about how I can walk around here without much stress. I think about how I can run around the neighborhood, how I can ride my bike for 30 kilometers within the busy city and still feel safe. How about the outdoors here? Beautiful. Traffic here is nonexistent in comparison to Manila’s horrid traffic. There’s so much more to say.

Aside from these, the friends and family that I have here reminds me that even though I am away from my friends and family back home, that I still have people here who I can enjoy and have fun with.

This summer was extra special too (and jam packed). I got to attend a few bridal showers, plus just last Saturday, I got to join a few friends for Lechon, Vancouver style!

 

Things like these remind me of how blessed I am.

It does help too that I’ve been here a few times for the past five years so home sickness is really not something I feel every now and then.

Not that I don’t miss home. It’s still a place I terribly miss. But thanks to technology, I can still feel close to the family back home.

Things are different from before because of technology. Now we have Whatsapp, Skype, Hangouts, email, you name it. We even have a whatsapp group where I chat with my family regularly. You can send photos too! Which is why I’m always updated with how the nieces and nephew are. And don’t forget about skype too. When the family recently had a small get together to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday, I got to be in the photo too! Digital anyway! Pwede na! This is proof that technology can still keep us together even if we’re continents apart!

 

And how about sending post cards to people back home? It gives me a smile just thinking about how surprised my friends were when they got the cards (at least I hope they were!)

Being away from home can be quite challenging. And it never ever helps to sulk about the situation because thinking of the glass half full, instead of half empty is the much better perspective on how to look at any situation. I can’t say things are perfect here either. But I choose to be happy.

And of course, it does help that I have something to look forward to in a few months time!

Oh, and how about passing my road test exam yesterday? I am now officially a licensed driver here in British Columbia!

Kona

A year or so ago, I bought myself a new bike back in Manila. Check this post. It was a good bike, but not great. And unfortunately, Malabon area wasn't suited for cyclists so I ended up not using it as much (but that's just one of my excuses). Now it's currently gathering dust in our garage. Hmm, maybe I should just sell that.

Anyway, over the past few months, I've mentioned that I’ve been using my aunt’s old mountain bike to ride around the area. I’ve been enjoying biking here because Vancouver is a cyclist’s city. It’s very bike friendly. There are bike lanes and paths everywhere. Especially during the summertime, there are a whole lot more cyclists you’d see around the city. I’m still not a cyclist commuter, but who knows, maybe next time I’d be like my teammate, who goes to the office using her bike.

As much as I love riding around that bike, there are two major problems with that bike. First is that the lower gears are very noisy. Since it wasn’t used for a long time, it just probably needs more tuning, or maybe even parts replacement, who knows. I had it checked out previously, but he said that it might have to be replaced. The challenge with being unable to switch to lower gears is when you’re riding uphill. Bike just gets too heavy that I have to just walk the uphill area.

And this brings me to the next concern that I have – the bike is a bit too heavy for me. It’s actually built as a mountain bike. I wanted something of a hybrid between commuter and road bikes.

And besides, it’s really not mine, it’s rusty….

And… ok, I’m giving myself a lot of reasons why I need to get myself a new one.

And thus, last Saturday, I finally got it. My new toy!!!!

It’s a Kona Dew 2013 model. It’s the basic model of the Kona line of bikes and it’s a hybrid between commuter and road bike.

My cyclist friend recommended a nice bike shop by Burnaby and so I decided to drop by there last Saturday. My friend actually recommended this brand as well, and when I asked the shop keeper what he would recommend, he actually recommended this Kona Dew for me. It’s a pretty good bike model for someone who’s simply looking for a good ride to get around the city.

He allowed me to test the bike outside the bike shop (there’s a bike pathway just by the back). After riding it for just 5 minutes, I loved it so much that I went back and bought it at once! 

It is however on the pricey side…but nothing to worry about because I’m loving it so far!

I had to wait for Sunday night to finally ride it out in the city.

My first ride on my Kona was going to Granville Island, which was roughly around 16.6 km according to Runkeeper. I rode it at night, while the sun’s just about to set. And such a wonderful experience because not only did I get to see the sun set by False Creek, but also discovered that there are public pianos situated at different locations along the seaside path, and anyone can freely play on it. I got to watch this awesome lady playing and you can actually see a crowd forming already.

My second bike ride yesterday, I took a different route – towards the Langara golf course. Nice route too. I still hate uphills though (who doesn’t?).

This weekend, I’m planning to go ride further out to Stanley Park this time. A lot of cycling routes available so it should be a good and safe ride too.

Now, the next project I have to sell off my aunt’s old bike, that is if it still has some value. Who knows, maybe we can still get some money out of it.

Eventful Summer

2 bridal showers, and 2 weddings.

3 down, 1 more to go.

Looks like I came here just in time to attend these special events.

As it always is when you’re moving to a new place, it’s quite hard to meet new people, let alone make new friends. I am quite blessed and lucky that I’ve been here a few times, which helped me establish some nice relationships with people already. And that made it possible for me to attend such nice and memorable events. In fact, after all the preparations that the friends did just to help make the special occasions awesome, I realize more how great and nice these people are and how much they care for their friends.

Now last Saturday, we had a party in…. guess where…. a yacht! How cool is that.

And you know what made it even better? It was also one of the nights of the Honda Celebration Of Light. It’s similar to what we have back in Manila – PyroOlympics. That night, it was United Kingdom and their theme was James Bond! This is the first time I got to watch the fireworks here, and add to that, watch it from the best seats on the house – from a yacht! Awesome! 30 minutes of wonderful fireworks. Unfortunately, I only had my phone with me so I didn’t get some nice shots. Themed music was also playing in the radio so that everyone can enjoy the show more.

So of course, the nights ends with almost everything perfect, except that I had to carry this small table, that unfortunately pulled a strand out of my dress, which clearly shows that there is a “run”, just like in stockings. It’s just a small damage, however, the thing is, I just borrowed this dress! Grrr! What a way to spoil the day!

Hi Jollibee

Hi Jollibee, we meet again. I travelled 3 hours each way, plus an hour wait in the border, just to see you. I was in the road for most of the day.

But it was worth it, just to be able to eat this. I thought additional side dish lang yung fries. I should’ve picked steamed rice instead. Chicken Joy’s the best with rice!

Running

Summer’s here and my friend Ally has convinced me, for two consecutive weeks, to go running out about in Vancouver.

Last weekend, we went running around Stanley Park. I was there way too early and while waiting for her, ended up talking to a Romanian veteran. He had so much to tell me that he can actually write a book about it and I think it’ll sell. But I’ll save that for another post.

Anyway, I haven’t been to Stanley Park for two++ years and I haven’t ran that long for a while, so I was feeling uneasy about running an 8-10km run path. But anyhow, I prevailed, and here’s the result:

 

I didn’t like my run during this time because I was wearing my jacket, which was heavy, and during the middle of the run, the sun showed up all of a sudden. Needless to say, it was very very warm the second half of the run. Plus the fact that I didn’t put any sunblock, so there you go, I was dark right after the run.

On the other hand though, who would not enjoy running when this is the view that you see:

It was a rather tiring yet fulfilling run. I was dead tired the last 2 km, but right after I got to the finish line, and started walking instead of running, I felt better once again. Of course it helped that I gobbled up a nice breakfast of two scrambled eggs plus two toasts after! Think about it, by 9 AM, I’ve done my morning exercise and breakfast. I’m guessing on a Saturday morning, majority of Vancouver are still in bed!

It seems like I want to torture myself because this Saturday morning, once again, Ally invited me to run and I said yes once again. But this time, instead of Stanley Park, we ran via False Creek area. I think the running path of Stanley Park is much better because the path is paved. As for the False Creek path, there are some that are stone and gravel paths. Still pretty nice.

Ok, here are my results:

Compared to the previous run, it looks like I’ve improved my pace quite a bit. Not much though. I still can’t run the 10k under 1 hour. That’s my target for this year.

As usual, the view is magnificent. But the best part? Eating at Terra Breads Cafe right after. I don’t think I was just swayed by the fact that I was tired and hungry after the long run, but really, I had one of the best sandwich paninis and hot chocolate by a long mile compared to other stores. I would definitely go back here. Maybe next week again?

 

For some reason, I still ask myself why I want to run. I run during the weekdays (1-3 times) and then now on the weekends as well!

And so I’ve thought and thought about it recently, and here are some of the answers I have:

1. Running is an exercise, and exercise is something I always crave for. I feel lousy when I haven’t gone exercising for a long time.

2. Running allows me to see different places from a different view.

3. I am inspired to run more whenever I see a senior citizen still running, or a family who is running with the dad or mom pushing the baby cart (with their kid in it). When I get to have a family of my own, I’d like to bring my kids with my on my runs and exploration (even if they don’t do the running and I do the pushing).

4. Running makes me feel free. It makes me forget a lot of problems, sadness, and it makes me feel happier!

5. Whenever I get to improve my time, or maybe finish a 5 or 10 km, I feel really accomplished. And the fact that you, on your own, worked hard for it. It feels great.

6. And best of all, you look forward to reward after the run!

Maybe I’ll find more reasons next time. But for now, I still enjoy torturing myself. :)

* By the way, I am using Runkeeper app and it is fabulous. I love love the data it’s able to save, and most importantly for me, is the map and the pace (splits).

yummy!

 

Doesn’t this look yummy?

Don’t be fooled though. I only cooked the chicken, the mexican rice is actually one flavor of Sidekicks, a.k.a. easy to cook meals. :)

But last weekend, I did prepare, with the help of my Aunt – my amah’s amazing, yummy, delicious siopao! I still need to work on properly closing the buns. If you don’t close it properly, there’s a tendency that the sauce from the inside will ooze out – as we call it… “sinipon”. You’ll actually see a lot of the siopao in the pictures below that were not closed properly.

On another note, I’ve also been into making healthy fruity smoothies lately. It’s very simple to make – grab some fruits, chop it, blend it with crushed ice. Healthy and yummy! I bought a ton of mango and grapes (my favorite!!!) and instead of just eating them all the time, I just decided to make smoothies out of them as well.

The one of the left is the grape. This is my favorite so far – but I still can’t mimic the grape shake that I love from Pancake House.

The one on the right is the Mango shake. I’ve also mixed mango with banana or apple. I find the mango-banana combo much better than the mango-apple.

One thing that I find nice with my new life here in Canada is that I feel like I have more time to do things. Maybe it’s because of the lifestyle here. Kahit walang katulong, I get to do more things. Or maybe since we do everything here on our own, I’ve become less lazy.

But I’ve been thinking about it more, and I really think one of main reasons is that I have more energy to move because I’ve been sleeping pretty well here, given the “regular” work hours now and the relaxed commute. Not only that, I do get more exercise these days which gives me that extra energy boost. So even though I find myself getting sad (missing family and friends back home) every now and then, I still find the positive side of things – that I can wake up each morning to a nice place, to a great job, and to a wonderful family and friends who I am still in contact with regularly (thanks Whatsapp! and gtalk and skype).