Yes!

To Doug McLean and the rest of the TSN crew who didn't give them a chance, to all the Habs Haters out there who said they didn't have a chance, to those who laughed when they were down 3-1, you know where you can go. There is something called faith, something called believing, and tonight everything came true. There is something called cheering for your team through thick and thin, never giving up even when times are rough.

To the Washington Capitals, it was one hell of a series. Ovie, you are indeed amazing. But something happens when you don the goalie pads for the Habs in the playoffs. You become unbeatable. The longstanding tradition that started with George Hainsworth and was passed through to Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, and Patrick Roy, well, it looks like the torch has been passed.

Thank you for 101 years, how sweet it is. Bring it on, Sidney.

Game 7

And so I sit in front of my computer, hoping to get some sleep. I've had a relaxing few days off, and took a short holiday for personal reasons. But the timing is good because in about 15 hours it's Game 7 of the Eastern Semi Finals. Will Jaroslav Halak stand on his head again? Will the little men Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta come through? Will Alex Ovechkin be shut down? It remains to be same. Either way, this is what it means to be a Habs fan. It's in my blood. Few people can understand the feeling. Of course I hope they win, and of course I hope they can beat the Pittsburgh Penguins. You never know.

High Tea, Ramen

This weekend our adventures took us to the Fairmont Vancouver downtown for high tea. My Mom had taken me here before so I thought Amy would enjoy it. Actually, we'd originally planned on going to the one at Sutton Place Hotel but that was booked full, and we discovered that the Fairmont had "walk-ins" so... we walked in. We chose our teas and then they brought us a nice two-tiered display of bite-sized sandwiches and delicious scones. Ooh those scones. Yummy. Afterwards we went for a nice stroll in Stanley Park. We couldn't decide on dinner (Kintaro again?) until we walked by a "new" ramen place on Denman called Motomachi Shokudo. It was a small little place. I had an "extra BBQ Pork" ramen which meant pork ribs were included, while Amy had some sort of a bamboo-based ramen. Delicious soup and ramen for me (Amy thought the ramen wasn't chewy enough) but not much in the way of meat. Still it was a good time.

Date Night

It'd been a while since Amy and I went out for a movie, and even longer since we went for a matinee. But we'd heard a lot about this movie (and of course it stars two of my favorite actors, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey) so we went after lunch. The beginning was a bit slow but once the two got to demonstrate their comedic talents the film was quite enjoyable. Tina Fey is an amazing actress with a lot of potential. And Steve Carrell is hilarious as well. I hope the two of them do more movies together.

That Time of the Month

...when the hockey playoffs start. It's time for the dormant city of Vancouver to get on the bandwagon and pretend they are hockey fans (no not all but most). For me, it's time to start believing in the improbable. I remember way back in 1993 nobody thought the Habs would go far. They'd even fallen behind in the series against the Nordiques. And then Patrick Roy took over. This year they barely got into the playoffs but who cares? Anything can happen. All the series were at 1-1. You never know. Hockey is in my blood.

Mahalo

As I wrote at the end of March, I've started a part-time writing gig at Mahalo.com, which is a search engine with a business model (don't bother trying to figure that out). Basically people do searches on the site and as their "answer" is clicked on, revenues are shared (basic Internet advertising). I managed to get accepted into writing/modifying some of the pages of the Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Cowboys, and even Marie Osmond! Payment is slow to begin but as time goes on, hopefully things get better and better. Some of the pages I'm managing are below.

Marie Osmond
Carey Price
Jaroslav Halak
Montreal Canadiens Roster
Montreal Canadiens Videos
Dallas Cowboys Videos
Dallas Cowboys Jersey

Locus Restaurant

Yesterday the Vancouver Brunch Adventures restarted after a sojourn to Las Vegas. Amy had come across a small place on Main Street that I must have driven by many times. The Locus Restaurant is situated on Main Street close to King Edward. It has an extensive menu for all meals. Amy had a Classic Breakfast with rosemary chicken sausage (?) while I opted for an interesting Pumpkin Spiced French Toast with a side of bacon. Both were delicious, perhaps one of the best so far. We will definitely come back to this nice find.

Thought of the Day April 10

If they say that sex before the big game works, how come Tiger isn't at 20 under right about now?

Vegas 2010: Hotel

We stayed at the Vdara Hotel, which is part of the new City Center complex beside the Bellagio. There is also the Aria Hotel and Casino, the Crystals Mall, and the Mandarin Hotel. I was quite impressed with the design of the complex, especially our hotel. It was very "artsy" and very welcoming. Without a casino, the Vdara is a "boutique hotel", and the room was spacious, with a kitchenette, dining table and large "main room". The washroom had both a tub and shower. The big problem was the door would not shut properly and every time I had to manually close it rather than let it automatically close on its own.

The Aria Casino was not one of the best casinos I've visited in Vegas. It was a bit dark (not as dark as the Mirage) and unwelcoming. But the layout was pretty good.

Overall I liked where I stayed at. As said before, it was quite convenient as the Bellagio was just next door.

Vegas 2010: Food

I had a variety of delicious eats at Vegas. The first night, Amy and I joined her godsister and boyfriend at Michael Mina (at the Bellagio). The chef Michael Mina has a number of restaurants in Vegas, and this one was called simply Michael Mina. Then again maybe it's called Michael Mina at the Bellagio. Amy had a lobster pot pie which had high marks for presentation and preparation. I opted for a nice 6 oz. American Kobe Beef. Both were delicious but of course for me, 6 oz. of beef is nowhere near enough. This was my overall observation of the restaurant; very nice atmosphere but the value was lacking.

For breakfast the next day the four of us went to J.J.'s Boulangerie at Paris. We had nice waffles and continued on with the day.

Night time was buffet time. We'd heard some good reviews about the Wynn Buffet so that was our destination. At a price tag of $34.95 I was hopeful that the food would be good and I was quite impressed. I don't usually go to buffets in Vegas because I guess I would rather have good, fresh food rather than pick from a large variety of not-so-fresh food. A prime rib just out of the roaster is amazing, but at a buffet that isn't the case. Nevertheless I liked everything. I had a few slices of prime rib plus some really good veal shortribs (my favorite) followed by some good creme brulee. It wasn't brilliant but it wasn't too bad.

Wednesday we woke up a bit later than usual and only had time for lunch at Caesar's, at a nice little cafe called Serendipity 3. I had a "Hangover Omelette" which had bacon, mushrooms, and fries. It came with a side of waffle fries (yup, that's fries and fries); Amy had a turkey and brie sandwich. It wasn't too bad.

At night we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Voodoo (at the Rio). Their menu had changed since my last visit. I remembered having a Wagyu Beef cut last time for $120 ($15 an ounce) but this time their best was a 8 oz. A5 Kobe New York for $80. It wasn't as delicious as the Wagyu but it wasn't bad. Amy had a yummy Filet Mignon.

There are a lot of other nice restaurants in Vegas I'd like to try. Is that a good enough excuse to visit again?

Vegas 2010: 2 Shows

Our first big show in Vegas was Viva Elvis!, which was a Cirque du Soleil-ish show based on the music of some guy named Elvis Presley. I guess with the success of the Beatles-based Love, the Cirque (and Vegas) folks decided the "based on the music of" idea would work again. Well, while the music was awesome, the show itself was more like a musical than a Cirque show. There weren't any of the great acrobatic acts of shows such as Ka, Mystere, and O. While it wasn't the worst Cirque show I've seen in Vegas (nothing will beat the Criss Angel show for badness), it was a bit of a disappointment.

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.