Mini Update

I have somewhat of a part-time writing gig on Mahalo.com (check it out), writing entries for the sports department (I'm writing some of the entries for the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Cowboys). I am still in the early stages of the training process and so I'm not getting paid much for it. But as people come to my managed pages more and more, I will earn more revenue. Obviously that is something I hope will happen soon, but for the time being at least I'm doing something I enjoy.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Amy told me about a new Ramen place downtown that was supposedly better than Kintaro. Well how could I refuse, since Kintaro is my favorite ramen place? I was told that they had some sort of a ramen accompanied by pork cheek (yes, that means a lot of fat).

We made our way down to Robson Street (near Bidwell) and ended up having an enjoyable time. Plusses for this restaurant were the soup bases and the quality of the meat. But I really didn't enjoy the noodles, which were much tougher than "my favorite restaurant". And the price of my pork cheek ramen was more than it should be. Overall, I would rank it below Kintaro, still the champion!

The Hangover

It seems like only yesterday that Vancouver (and Whistler) was host to the world. Now it seems as if the Olympics never happened. Downtown is back to the congested traffic. Richmond is back to the congested and really bad traffic. The Vancouver Canucks fans are whining about the lack of goaltending and making fun of other teams as they always like to do. I guess things are back to normal.

Undercover Boss

I came across an interesting show tonight that I'd never even heard about. No it's not Celebrity Apprentice. The show is called Undercover Boss, where CEO's of major companies go undercover in their companies to see how things operate. Tonight's episode was the CEO of GSI Commerce in the United States. I thought he was going to fire the cell center girl who was pretty rude to the customer.

To think there is. a reality show on TV that I might actually enjoy.

Inspiration

"Every day is a blessing"

Even though times are tough it's important to stay positive. Throughout this month I've had a lot of time to search my soul and find inner peace. There are a lot of things I need to change about myself and it's time I've started. I took a walk today, something I hadn't done in a long time (what I mean is I haven't taken a walk outside -- as opposed to the 10 kilometers I walk each night at work), and it was very refreshing. Life can be cruel sometimes but to complain and not do anything about it means nothing will be done about it. There are still things I need to sort out but with a clearer mind I know I can do it.

Random English Questions

1) How do you pronounce Tsawwassen? I've always thought it was tah-WAH-sin but I've been told that it's the T that's silent as opposed to the S.

2) Why do you say "A History of Violence" but you also say "an historic era"? Shouldn't it be "a historic era"? This one really bugs me.

3) DISCLAIMER: Skip to step 4 if you don't like foul language... What is the past tense of "I shit in my pants"? Is it "I shot in my pants" or "I shat in my pants"? What about "shat"? I took a shit?

4) What rhymes with orange or month (or purple)?

5) The plural of the animal mouse is mice, it the plural of the computer mouse "mice" or "mouses"?

OK, now I need some sleep.

Maenam

What, Jason off on Saturday? Well after a week of unusual graveyard shifts, I managed to procure both Saturday and Sunday off. I took a nap after getting home at 8 in the morning than drove to Amy's where we started our weekend adventure.

Our first place of note was the 49th Parallel Coffee place in Kits. It was opened by the owners of Cafe Artigiano. She had an Americano and I had a single shot latte which was presented with the famed latte art.

After a short drive and excursion to Granville Island, Amy treated me to dinner at Maenam, an interesting "Asian fusion" restaurant. The menu was small but interesting. We started with a Hot and Sour Sloping Hills Pork Soup. I finally discovered what Sloping Hills pork was, as I'd seen it on a number of menus and never knew what it was. We shared three entrees: Chiang Mai Style Beef Salad, 8-Spice Fish (lingcod), and Pad Thai. In terms of taste I would rank the dishes as follows: Soup, Salad, Pad Thai, Fish. All were tasty but I'll have to say very small in size.

Dessert consisted of Carmelized Baby Banana Fritter with White Sesame Sorbet and a Dark Chocolate Pot de Creme. Both were enjoyable but once again small in portion. While I definitely enjoyed the flavors, I guess I wish there were larger portions!

About Time

Evidently the May 8 Saturday Night Live will be hosted by none other than Betty White. There had been a big campaign on Facebook and others to have her as host. She rules.

Japadog

Even though the infamous Japadog stand had been open on Burrard and Smithe for some time, I'd never tried it due to the price. But with all the hype and supposed 2-block lineups during the Olympics, I figured it was time to see what all the excitement was about. So I picked up Amy and we took a little walk up to the stand. Three hot dogs for $19.25 but I must admit it was pretty good. Still, $6 a hot dog, hmm.... then again I pay $3 for a cup of coffee sometimes.

Holiday?

Weird, it seemed as if the last three weeks were a holiday, when in fact the opposite was true. We were so swamped at work it seemed like I was at another job. But the excitement and craziness has died down now and it's more or less business as usual. Today was my first day back after Sunday's game (and closing ceremonies) and it was nice to have a relatively easy day. It gave me time to reflect on things and try to figure out what the future holds. Nobody knows really. Maybe I need a real holiday.

Memories

A lot of images and memories come to mind about the last 17 days, images I'll never ever forget. Here are my most vivid ones (what were yours?):

1) Joannie Rochette blowing a kiss to her Mom at the end of her skate. She redefined the word courage and determination.

2) Golden Goal - no other words are necessary. I don't even want to think what would have happened if it was the other team.

3) The first gold medal by Alexandre Bilodeau. We all knew there would be more but the first one is always the best one.

4) Patriotism in the streets. I guess the downtown residents can get some sleep now, or come back from their holidays visiting people elsewhere. I only wish this patriotism isn't a one-time thing. But the word bandwagon comes to mind.

5) My live Olympic experience watching both the Pairs and Women's Figure Skating Finals. It was touching to see how the fans cheered competitors from all nations. I did not hear one boo. This is what sports should be about, cheering for the effort.

What Else?

Flashback to a late September day in 1972. I'd only been in Canada for 3 months, but I'd already discovered the game of hockey. I was a cute 6-year-old boy who rushed home from school so fast because it was Game 8 of something called the Summit Series.

"Henderson scores!"

And now, almost 38 years later.... Canada is once again on top of the world. I was going to post about how disappointed I was that they didn't blow the game wide open with their firepower. If this is truly our game then why are we struggling to keep a lead?

But no, I will post about how a nation breathed together a sigh of relief, about how a young kid from Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia made us all proud to be Canadian.

To the American team, you played great. Ryan Miller, you were next to unbeatable. Congratulations.

To the Canadian team, cheers.

GOLDEN

O Canada!

Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Flag Bearer

So who should carry the flag at the closing ceremonies? While I think that Joannie Rochette deserves the honor more than anyone else, I would understand if she declines due to the "festive" nature of the ceremonies. It won't be the hockey team because win or lose on Sunday they don't deserve it.

Courage

For the second time, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to experience an Olympic event live. Last week was the pairs figure skating final, and last night was the absolutely breathtaking women's figure skating final. It was truly an international affair, as we saw many flags from many countries all over Pacific Coliseum. Aside from Canada, there were many Korean and Japanese flags, and even a row of Finnish fans as their country was well represented.

The performance of the gold medal winner, Yu-Na Kim was amazing. She won by such a wide margin and it was fully deserved. The silver medalist Mao Asada had a powerful skate which maybe lacked a bit of the grace of Ms. Kim.

But by far my most memorable moment of these Olympics, and one of the most memorable of my life, was watching someone tune out the most saddest moments of her life to deliver a truly inspiring four-minute performance. Joannie Rochette taught me a lot about courage. No matter how sad or angry or down you are, sometimes you need to tune it out and turn it off and go on with your life. I don't know if I could have done what she did, but the whole country (and most of the world) was with her. And she had a loving mother watching from the heavens and smiling. When Joannie blew a kiss to the rafters at the end of her skate tonight, well, that was (I'm speechless here).

Congratulations to my Korean friends on a well-deserved medal. But to the Rochette family, merci.

Our Game Again

I've had a lot of fairly negative comments about the hockey team, because they only play hard when they need to. The "blame Brodeur" reporting was uncalled for, because the whole team let me down. You don't score 2 goals in regulation against THE SWISS and expect me to be impressed. They played badly against the US and all I heard was, well it's better they play another game. That's silly. But at least last night they played like they should. Why couldn't they do that in their last two games? Is it too much to ask that they play 100% like the women's team?

Bring on the Slovaks.

Owned

Who says we can't own the podium? Right now we are tied for first in gold medals. I'm not saying the other medals aren't important but we have 4 potential golds staring at us in curling and hockey. And there are still many other events too. US may win in overall medals but wouldn't it be something if we win the gold medal race? Onward!

Merci

What a night for skating, and strangely I'm still not talking about hockey. Yes, we won, as everybody "thought we would".

But tonight at the Pacific Coliseum I once again saw what being in the Olympics is all about. It's not about the medal, it's about the effort. If you put in your best effort and fall short than there is nothing more you can ask for. Two nights ago Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir put in their best effort and came up with the most beautiful four minutes I've seen in a long time. Tonight, Korea's Yu Na Kim gave an amazing skate to be in first place.

But she didn't have the best skate. Any Canadian, any skating fan, anybody with a Mom that they loved, well they all knew who had the best skate. To Joannie Rochette, I have no words to offer. It was breathtaking. You already won the gold medal for your effort in the face of adversity. O Canada.

O Canada

Tonight I was so proud to be a Canadian, and so proud to be a part of history. It was tonight that I saw what the Olympic spirit was all about. Yesterday night I lost a bit of my patriotic blood when I saw a disappointing performance from a bunch of overpaid skaters. Tonight I felt the blood rush back as I saw a beautiful skating performance from a beautiful 20-year-old lady and a dashing 22-year-old man. To Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, you have redefined grace and beauty and poise. They should put a picture of you two in the dictionary beside the word beauty. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thought of the Day 2

We should invite the curling team to play some Squeeze Baccarat. Think about it.