Going back to a place where you’ve grown up shouldn’t be so hectic! But since I went to all school levels here and left wayyyyy later at age 25, I have to meet up w/oodles of noodles (peeps) and can you imagine the big giant bowl of pho I’ve brewing in this town….

So many ppl to catch up w/that it’s not possible.
More highlights include:

1. Grease the musical at theatre under the stars in Stanley Park….61 yrs in production…first ever for me….still need to do Bard on the beach

2. Horseback riding…yeehaw! I cannot cross my legs or walk today….but I am appreciative of these lovely creatures w/personality. They try to eat treats, don’t listen to directions and wanna run for it! Horses are great…who’s gonna buy me one?

3. Speedboating — after a disappointing LUSH party (we didn’t win the prize basket), we hopped on a v.unsafe boat chase at a beach in Richmond w/o lifejackets or seatbelts and found ourselves at a v.secluded beach patch where 2 Nammer bbqs were taking place. It was bouncing harder than a rapper’s pimped out ride! Dee’s hot $300 sunglasses fell to the floor but we still got ACTION pics…I’ve got a backload of like a million photos to upload! Then chowed down on crab n chicken wings! Yeah!

4. Food n lil Asia Richmond rox! If ever u wanna have an Asian fix but find urself in N.America….just come to Vancouver and you’ll be satisfied. I had my fave all-u-can-eat sushi w/raw oysters and then hit the night market….it was so great. Bot some Korean drama series DVDs, ate dim sum at nite, bot blingin hats like the ones in TYO, got cheap trinkets and bags made in China and met some Asian boys! How does this all happen in my hometown? Well, just FYI, Van is not a town where Asians are lacking! And it’s great for curing all Asian cravings…stinky tofu, kim chi, bubble tea, green tea n sushi, cheap Honger eats, congee, egg tarts and all the other artery-clogging goodies that I love and miss. Hot n sour soup is the bomb! But I can still do all this while searching BSB’s new song on youtube! Yipee!

5. Campus peace n pimpin! My old school UBC has changed so much in the past year! It’s got a spaceship-y hockey arena under construction for 2010 and all these new and $$ restos. It’s weird and interesting as I sit in my fave old dark oak cubicles doing work in places where wireless was not accessible not too long ago….strange to be at a place which you thought you knew only to have it change….I’m gonna stay at Koerner til it closes…just like in my student days.

6. Eating and drinking: basically I have this mentality “chomp, whoosh, gurgle (but no burp!)”
I have been stuffing many things down my throat….like bellinis, fresh berry cocktails, spinach/7-layer/artichoke dips, many types of chips n salsa, frozen delights (dinners n perogies), sauerkraut n sausages, fresh west coast salads (honey dipped pecans, thai noodle, mango salsa, chevre n spicy chicken, tomatoes, olives etc.), lamb although I’m not done w/this one quite yet, pasta (like the homemade red wine/tomato mushroom risotto of last week), burgers n ribs etc….I will work out later…maybe in November I think!

Too many things to come: Garibaldi, PNE, new friends and drinking adventures coming (Sarah!), bdays, packing, flying and crying!
Once back in VN, things won’t cool down so I’m in and then out….

ttys I hope

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That’s rite Boram, be jealous!!!!!

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Nah, I just like alliteration! So now that I have ur attn:

I must say, it’s the big city for me! So clean! And the Japanese don’t lock their bicycles….and no one dares to think to steal them except the foreigners! I have to admit…I wanted to…kinda….but didn’t…cuz I look Japanese! haha!

So 12 million ppl and safety and no rats or cockroaches! (It’s a new land!) Wow! I ran barefoot (too much clubbing/walking in my 6 new pairs of shoes) in the streets and no cuts or slivers appeared….it’s not Paris nor London, c’est vachement mieux!

What’s hot? The question is: what wasn’t???!!! Tis amazing comme ville et je l’adore vraiment. Ca me fait oublier le Vietnam….

OK, Cathy, be brief!
1.SHOPPING! I spend oodles b/c I hadn’t seen a pair of jeans that cost more than $15 in a good long while! I got one pair this is black denim on one side and dark blue on the other! IT’s hot, subtle but I luv it! Layers (sheer on dark, different materials fused together) and creative designs (shoes that look like frayed jeans and the hottest short, tight dresses I’ve ever seen on girls w/fabulous wild hair and crazy candied nails) and funny store names (Barbie, Pinky Girls) means that the MC card was always in use….”Kon-ba-wa, Mastercard?” — “Hay!”–”OK I buy!…Arigato!”

As an Asian, I could get away with the craziness so I just pretended I was Japanese….blingin’ gold caps, too much jewelry, neon fishnets, handgloves, clothes I’d never wear in Canada. But in DN, I can…they think I’m weird already so I might as well “act out” and go more on the strange side…whatever But at the end of the day, I luv Japanese fashion and the notion of wearing whatever you want. My faves: Minnie Mouse, Little Bo Peep (ruffled dresses and a cane!), Rainbow Bright, Jap suit boys (I’m in business but I’m still oh so cute) — just so you know, these were actually outfits worn by real ppl! I was thinking that Hulk Hogan and Lambchop outfits would not go unnoticed….

Another cool thing is that you can have Rainbow Bright gal hanging out w/rocker chick and their other friend might be Hello Kitty. That was cool. Sure, you have the punks n hip hoppers (I luv them) and ppl tend to dress like their friends but there was a nice mixing of crowds too

2. FOOD = RAMEN, RAMEN, RAMEN! SUSHI, SUSHI! POCKY, POCKY! CANDY! MACHINE BOT RESTO MEALS!

I had to order from a machine to get a meal…I couldn’t do it…I pressed a million buttons and after a million minutes, s/o helped me out. I didn’t know what I ordered except for the gyozas (yeah Vancouver!) and I didn’t know what I was drinking…but I got it and it was delish! (It ended up being noodles in miso or some broth w/iced coffee.) TYO is just like that: you don’t know what you’re doing cuz no one is speaking to you (and they’re pretty quiet as well) and you can’t read many of the signs so you just point and guess but always end up doing smthg fabulous! It’s like “YOU r a WINNER!”…everytime

Pocky, aka Micado in France, rock! They’re lil sticks dunked in flavour. So the regs include choco and strawberry but why eat that when you can have wasabi and squid and mango cream and green tea and sausage n cheese and tomato and pistachio and seaweed? $50 later… on candy (sparkly) and pickled prunes, your mouth is is heaven and so r ur friends at home who rip into ur bags of Pocky…I still have some left

SUSHI is fabo here! Van is a good training ground for Jap and HK foodwise but man, nothing beats the real thing! Uni, unagi! Tobiko! Miso! Yummy! Happy! So the best are jellyfish/mint, sea urchin, and my new fave (arigato Aikawa-san!) eel! But I still luv my lil fish roe and spinach!!!! Scallops rock too! Next trip to TYO must include a food translation book to identify all the fish I’m eating

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