Okay, so I'm a day late. :-)
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. It's the year of the dog. Since I was born and raised in North America, any traditions I've learned or picked up, I did so from my Mom. Thanks, Mom! :-)
On Saturday, for New Year's Eve dinner, I planned a hot pot dinner and invited a few friends over to enjoy a nice meal. The previous week I had picked up a shabu-shabu pot that I figure would do the trip for such hot pot meals! However, it wasn't realized until we put the pot to use that there were certain limitations...
We were using a burner normally used for fondue. As a result, the flame from this burner was aimed in one area. Unfortunately, this area happened to be the middle of the pot. This resulted in a sort of chimney/volcano effect. Needless to say, the broth in the pot did not get hot enough to cook the foods quickly.
Solution? We brought out a regular saucepan large enough to hold the broth and accomodate all diners. Soon enough, the broth was simmering away and we were eating like kings!
Ingredients used for this hot pot: thin slices of beef, tofu cut into cubes, napa cabbage, shrimp, pork shaped into balls, snow peas, and mushrooms. As a side, I prepared some gyoza (frozen pre-cooked) and some lo bock gow (made from scratch!). Wash it all down with your choice of beverage! :-)
Afterwards, we had green tea ice cream and some cake that one of our guests brought. All in all, it was quite filling and satisfying. :-)
Okay... Note to self.. Never write or talk about food just before dinner...
Monday, January 30, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Hump Day
I started to go through the Rough Guide to London. Let's face it, there's just way too many different sites and stuff to check out in London. It might prove to be difficult to decide on the must-sees. Maybe this weekend we'll take some time to discuss what we really want to see.
The weather this winter has been rather erratic and very atypical. The winter season started off with a 41cm dumping of the nice white stuff, but soon after the usual winter weather took a bit of a nosedive.
During the holiday break, the weather became mild and the frigid cold at the start of the New Year. Since then, the weather has been bouncing back and forth between +10 and -10 (give or take). Tomorrow, for example, the temps are going to dip to about -16 overnight. Then, for the weekend, the temps will climb back up to about +3. Bleah!
The weather this winter has been rather erratic and very atypical. The winter season started off with a 41cm dumping of the nice white stuff, but soon after the usual winter weather took a bit of a nosedive.
During the holiday break, the weather became mild and the frigid cold at the start of the New Year. Since then, the weather has been bouncing back and forth between +10 and -10 (give or take). Tomorrow, for example, the temps are going to dip to about -16 overnight. Then, for the weekend, the temps will climb back up to about +3. Bleah!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Minority Government (again)
Well, as the polls predicted, the Conservative Party were elected into office. However, since they did not get the majority of seats, they are considered a minority government. The Liberals, I think, will be the official opposition. The Bloc came in 3rd and the NDP 4th.
Overall, I think the Bloc lost a couple of seats. The NDP, on the other hand, managed to gain quite a few more seats since the last Federal election.
OK, so enough politics.
I got my copy of The Rough Guide to London from Amazon.com. I've just started to go through it for ideas on an itinerary. I'm still waiting for the latest edition of Lonely Planet London to be shipped. It looks like they are preparing it for shipping. If I'm lucky I should receive it next week.
We still have not decided on accomodations. I think this needs to be resolved soon to avoid missing the boat on any preferred places.
Ideally, it would be a good idea to put together a list of must-sees and then work from there. Decide what can be done in the time we have. Perhaps save a few as a "Plan B" in the event something happens.
In any case, the research continues...
Overall, I think the Bloc lost a couple of seats. The NDP, on the other hand, managed to gain quite a few more seats since the last Federal election.
OK, so enough politics.
I got my copy of The Rough Guide to London from Amazon.com. I've just started to go through it for ideas on an itinerary. I'm still waiting for the latest edition of Lonely Planet London to be shipped. It looks like they are preparing it for shipping. If I'm lucky I should receive it next week.
We still have not decided on accomodations. I think this needs to be resolved soon to avoid missing the boat on any preferred places.
Ideally, it would be a good idea to put together a list of must-sees and then work from there. Decide what can be done in the time we have. Perhaps save a few as a "Plan B" in the event something happens.
In any case, the research continues...
Civic Duty
And so, on January 23rd, I performed my civic duty as a Canadian citizen and cast my vote. The candidates were ery difficult to decide on as it seems that each at least the major ones) had some issues that bothered me. Nevertheless, I went to the polling station right after work. This may have been a mistake as I hit the the post-work and dinner-time rush of voters. In all, I think I stood in line for at least an hour just so I can cast my vote.
Whom did I vote for? That will remain private information. As the major candidates weren't too appealing, I decided to make my choice based on which of them were considered the "lesser of the evils". Perhaps not the best way to decide, but then again, better to vote than not to.
I have not yet checked the news to see what the outcome was. I suspect that it would end up being a minority government again with the Conservatives in charge. The opposition will most likely be led by the Liberals.
I've never really been big on politics. In recent elections, both in the US and Canada, I have yet to see any truly innovative, intelligent or exciting candidates. None seem to have that spark that would inspire citizens to rally to their side and give them full support on decisions made. For example, I found on one website the approvals ratings of the US Presidents. Clinton had the highest approval rating at something like 65%. George Dubyah was somewhere around 43%. What does that say to you?
Whom did I vote for? That will remain private information. As the major candidates weren't too appealing, I decided to make my choice based on which of them were considered the "lesser of the evils". Perhaps not the best way to decide, but then again, better to vote than not to.
I have not yet checked the news to see what the outcome was. I suspect that it would end up being a minority government again with the Conservatives in charge. The opposition will most likely be led by the Liberals.
I've never really been big on politics. In recent elections, both in the US and Canada, I have yet to see any truly innovative, intelligent or exciting candidates. None seem to have that spark that would inspire citizens to rally to their side and give them full support on decisions made. For example, I found on one website the approvals ratings of the US Presidents. Clinton had the highest approval rating at something like 65%. George Dubyah was somewhere around 43%. What does that say to you?
Friday, January 13, 2006
UK Bound
I decided I needed a break from work. Since our planned, big vacation was not until sometime around October, I felt I needed a smaller break along the way just to maintain some sanity. Sooooo, we're bound for the UK in March.
Why the UK? Well, the Caribbean could have been a nice destination if it weren't so expensive. Plus, around the period I was thinking of taking vacation, I think a lot of the destinations would have been crawling with Spring Break-ers. Uhm, no. I don't think I want to deal with that.
Another reason is that I do have a friend who lives out there now. At least it's a good excuse to go visit the country as well as see friends. :-)
OK, so the weather might not be sh*t-hot there, but that's to be expected there anyway.
In any case, the tickets have been bought. We just need to tighten up some details in the itinerary. :-)
Why the UK? Well, the Caribbean could have been a nice destination if it weren't so expensive. Plus, around the period I was thinking of taking vacation, I think a lot of the destinations would have been crawling with Spring Break-ers. Uhm, no. I don't think I want to deal with that.
Another reason is that I do have a friend who lives out there now. At least it's a good excuse to go visit the country as well as see friends. :-)
OK, so the weather might not be sh*t-hot there, but that's to be expected there anyway.
In any case, the tickets have been bought. We just need to tighten up some details in the itinerary. :-)
False Allegations
Pinched from Dragonflypurity:
If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often or don't really know each other) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you!
If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, (even if we don't speak often or don't really know each other) please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you!
Friday, January 06, 2006
Change of Scenery
Sometimes I get bored with something and require some change. In this case, I decided to change the look of the blog. Of course, silly me, I forgot to copy down some of the extra HTML from the old template to insert into the new one. No matter, I managed to at least re-insert the weather pixie and the counter. Let's see how long before I get tired of this one! ;-)
In other matters, it's Friday! Thank goodness. This past week has been somewhat slow since it seems that a good number of people are still on holiday. I think things will be back to normal on Monday.
I think I need a vacation. Not a terribly long one, but maybe a week off somewhere. I've looked into the cost of a Caribbean vacation, but it's so costly for 1 week of doing next to nothing. Maybe I should look into a different type of destination? Maybe a week in London or something? Something to think about nonetheless.
I've been working a a small project at home recently. I have these movie clips (mpeg) I took when we visited Japan last spring. Since the clips were done in 640x480 resolution, the sharpness really isn't that great. I managed to splice together all the video and audio (after spending some time to figure out how to demux the mpeg files!) using iMovie on the Mac. Then I used iDVD to create a DVD img file that could be burned to disc. I burned the current results of this endeavor into a re-writable disc. On the TV, it's not that bad, but you can see artifacts and a certain amount of pixelation. It's worse on a computer screen. I think, if I have time this weekend, I will see if it's possible to improve the picture quality. If not, then I might just see if I can add extra features and stuff to make the resulting movie more easy to watch! :-)
In other matters, it's Friday! Thank goodness. This past week has been somewhat slow since it seems that a good number of people are still on holiday. I think things will be back to normal on Monday.
I think I need a vacation. Not a terribly long one, but maybe a week off somewhere. I've looked into the cost of a Caribbean vacation, but it's so costly for 1 week of doing next to nothing. Maybe I should look into a different type of destination? Maybe a week in London or something? Something to think about nonetheless.
I've been working a a small project at home recently. I have these movie clips (mpeg) I took when we visited Japan last spring. Since the clips were done in 640x480 resolution, the sharpness really isn't that great. I managed to splice together all the video and audio (after spending some time to figure out how to demux the mpeg files!) using iMovie on the Mac. Then I used iDVD to create a DVD img file that could be burned to disc. I burned the current results of this endeavor into a re-writable disc. On the TV, it's not that bad, but you can see artifacts and a certain amount of pixelation. It's worse on a computer screen. I think, if I have time this weekend, I will see if it's possible to improve the picture quality. If not, then I might just see if I can add extra features and stuff to make the resulting movie more easy to watch! :-)
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Happy New Year!
Well, another year has come and gone. And being the non-party type, we more or less slept through it.
New Restos:
Recently a couple of new places opened up in the neighborhood. I think they are owned and operated by the same people as they two restaurants are right next to each other. One is called Maxi Nouilles and the other Maxi Pho.
The noodle place was the first to open so we tried it their first weekend at the end of October. In general, the decor was modern, contemporary, not like some of the other more established asian food joints in the area. The menu was somewhat extensive, with the main focus on noodle dishes, of course.
Not sure what to order, we decided on one of their lunch specials which included soup, main entree, egg roll and rice. I ordered the singapore noodles and D ordered a rice noodle dish. Now something to take note of: why serve rice with noodles? Starch plus starch? It might be a good idea to subsititute the rice with something else. On top of that, D's rice noodles were not all cooked through. Service was very spotty as it seems that the wait staff were all over the place. I noticed that some people were not given menus once they were seated. Service needs to be more attentive and better organized.
A couple weeks ago we tried the Maxi Pho place which opened some time after Maxi Nouilles. Again, similar decor and menu with different soups and sides. We each ordered pho: D had the beef and I had a dac biet type pho. Again, the service was quite spotty. We saw a few people who wanted to pay and had trouble flagging down someone to pay. Again, people not getting menus soon after being seated. As for the food, the pho we had was pretty standard. I did not find anything special about it.
In summary, both places can stand a huge improvement in service. I'm not sure what sort of clientele they're trying to attract in the area, but if the service is not great, then don't expect too many returning diners of any kind!
New Restos:
Recently a couple of new places opened up in the neighborhood. I think they are owned and operated by the same people as they two restaurants are right next to each other. One is called Maxi Nouilles and the other Maxi Pho.
The noodle place was the first to open so we tried it their first weekend at the end of October. In general, the decor was modern, contemporary, not like some of the other more established asian food joints in the area. The menu was somewhat extensive, with the main focus on noodle dishes, of course.
Not sure what to order, we decided on one of their lunch specials which included soup, main entree, egg roll and rice. I ordered the singapore noodles and D ordered a rice noodle dish. Now something to take note of: why serve rice with noodles? Starch plus starch? It might be a good idea to subsititute the rice with something else. On top of that, D's rice noodles were not all cooked through. Service was very spotty as it seems that the wait staff were all over the place. I noticed that some people were not given menus once they were seated. Service needs to be more attentive and better organized.
A couple weeks ago we tried the Maxi Pho place which opened some time after Maxi Nouilles. Again, similar decor and menu with different soups and sides. We each ordered pho: D had the beef and I had a dac biet type pho. Again, the service was quite spotty. We saw a few people who wanted to pay and had trouble flagging down someone to pay. Again, people not getting menus soon after being seated. As for the food, the pho we had was pretty standard. I did not find anything special about it.
In summary, both places can stand a huge improvement in service. I'm not sure what sort of clientele they're trying to attract in the area, but if the service is not great, then don't expect too many returning diners of any kind!
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Cool Weather
Today, the skies were mostly cloudy and it was rather windy. It made for a relatively cool day. The sun did peek out at some point early in the afternoon, but it did not last.
We went around the open-air market to check out what's new. I picked up some silver earrings as gifts. I also picked up another batik piece. It was one of a toucan and a parrot. I think it's a nice piece. :-)
Tomorrow, I think we will head over the Iguatemi Shopping mall. There are some nice shops and boutiques there.
One more week to go...
We went around the open-air market to check out what's new. I picked up some silver earrings as gifts. I also picked up another batik piece. It was one of a toucan and a parrot. I think it's a nice piece. :-)
Tomorrow, I think we will head over the Iguatemi Shopping mall. There are some nice shops and boutiques there.
One more week to go...
Views from the hotel
Another shot from the hotel. Many of the apartments here have an additional shutter on the outside. This is to keep the heat of the sun from warming up the apartments. Believe me, it does get quite warm here during the day!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Girl from Ipanema
When people heard I was heading down to Brazil for 4 weeks for work they all thought I was going to have a great time and spend a lot of time at the beaches. Well, guess what? We're a few hours from any beaches. And it's been work, work, work and more work.
The past 2 weekends we spent trying to recover from work and late dinners. It's our only chance to really get a full night's sleep! It's not that we're partying (and we're not!). It's that by the time the shuttle drops us off at our stop it's about 6:00PM. There's really not a whole lot of time to unwind before thinking about dinner. Some nights, supper is fairly light washed down with a glass of beer (which seems to be cheap and plentiful here).
So this trip is half over. I am really looking forward to flying back home to zero-degree weather.
The past 2 weekends we spent trying to recover from work and late dinners. It's our only chance to really get a full night's sleep! It's not that we're partying (and we're not!). It's that by the time the shuttle drops us off at our stop it's about 6:00PM. There's really not a whole lot of time to unwind before thinking about dinner. Some nights, supper is fairly light washed down with a glass of beer (which seems to be cheap and plentiful here).
So this trip is half over. I am really looking forward to flying back home to zero-degree weather.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Trick or Treat!
Happy Hallowe'en! Or at least where it's celebrated. In the paper today, President Chavez in Venezuela was trying to convince citizens to not celebrate this gringa. To some degree I agree with him, but then again, if people have bought into it, what can you do?
As most people probably know Hallowe'en has its origins in Europe. For more information, check it out on Wikipedia.
In other news, nothing came up with my application to the other office. Oh well. We'll see if something comes up later on. It seems that (according to my contacts) that there might be something big coming down the pike where they will need more people. Patience.
This winter I would like to go somewhere warm and sunny to relax and de-compress. The problem is, I haven't a clue where to go. I know that I would like to avoid the usual destinations that the folks around these parts usually go to (Cuba, Dominican, Mexico). However, some of the other islands are rather pricey. :-p
Next week I am suppose to head off to Brazil. For four weeks. Of course, this is all for work. If it weren't, I wouldn't be complaining about want to go somewhere to decompress! ;-)
*sigh*
Another Monday to endure...
As most people probably know Hallowe'en has its origins in Europe. For more information, check it out on Wikipedia.
In other news, nothing came up with my application to the other office. Oh well. We'll see if something comes up later on. It seems that (according to my contacts) that there might be something big coming down the pike where they will need more people. Patience.
This winter I would like to go somewhere warm and sunny to relax and de-compress. The problem is, I haven't a clue where to go. I know that I would like to avoid the usual destinations that the folks around these parts usually go to (Cuba, Dominican, Mexico). However, some of the other islands are rather pricey. :-p
Next week I am suppose to head off to Brazil. For four weeks. Of course, this is all for work. If it weren't, I wouldn't be complaining about want to go somewhere to decompress! ;-)
*sigh*
Another Monday to endure...
Monday, September 05, 2005
Amazing...
This obscure blog has been comment-spam'd! :-p
Well, it looks like the painting will have to be completed over the next night or two. We ended up repainting the doors of the laundry area. I think after the bathroom is done we will look into re-painting the other doors and trip around the place. Ultimately we'd like to re-paint the whole place, but that will take some time.
Well, it looks like the painting will have to be completed over the next night or two. We ended up repainting the doors of the laundry area. I think after the bathroom is done we will look into re-painting the other doors and trip around the place. Ultimately we'd like to re-paint the whole place, but that will take some time.
Labor Day Weekend
Well, it's nearly the end of a nice 3-day holiday weekend. Not so nice if you have to drive and pay such outrageous prices for gas! :-p In our case we didn't do too much driving. My brother and father came up for a visit. We went into town and had dimsum in Chinatown. Then we walked around a bit before coming back here. My brother and Dave went off to see a movie after dinner. Dad and I just chilled and watched TV a bit.
Yesterday, after we saw the boys head off back home, we did some groceries. Afterwards, we decided to get going with the painting of the downstairs main bath. So we went to the Rona to pick up a few things. Then we went to the Benjamin Moore paint store to get a few color swatches and primer. Once home, Dave removed all the hardware from the walls and started to patch up the holes. I'm going to have to think about what new hardware to use in the bathroom after it's been painted.
We primered the trim and the edges. We didn't get to primer the rest of the bathroom until today because the plastered holes were not dry yet. We repainted the door and trim instead. Hopefully we can get some color up later today.
Anyway, it's been a couple of weeks now since I submitted my CV to the other office. I really don't know how long it will be before I hear anything. That is, if I hear anything. Oh well. Must continue.
Yesterday, after we saw the boys head off back home, we did some groceries. Afterwards, we decided to get going with the painting of the downstairs main bath. So we went to the Rona to pick up a few things. Then we went to the Benjamin Moore paint store to get a few color swatches and primer. Once home, Dave removed all the hardware from the walls and started to patch up the holes. I'm going to have to think about what new hardware to use in the bathroom after it's been painted.
We primered the trim and the edges. We didn't get to primer the rest of the bathroom until today because the plastered holes were not dry yet. We repainted the door and trim instead. Hopefully we can get some color up later today.
Anyway, it's been a couple of weeks now since I submitted my CV to the other office. I really don't know how long it will be before I hear anything. That is, if I hear anything. Oh well. Must continue.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Tourist-Free Tsumago
I think this was either late in the day after all the tourists have gone, or early in the morning before we left Tsumago.
View from Magome
I figure I'd post a couple of shots from our trip to Japan this past April. This was taken in Magome. Very nice scenery.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Idiots are killing us!
I have just this one comment about work: Idiots really do want to kill you.
Should I elaborate? Maybe a little. When you have someone ask "How do I open this Word document?" then you really have to wonder. OK, so maybe the person may be a bit burnt out at the time, but still...
In other news...
I have seriously been thinking of looking for a position elsewhere. I won't be leaving the company as such. I'll essentially be looking for a job at another office. Maybe somewhere halfway around the world. It would be an adventure. And I do hope to learn more and be able to contribute as well. I've already taken the first step of sending out my CV. We'll see where that leads.
Summer is almost over. :-p The weather has not been the warmest this past week, although it has warmed up nicely yesterday and today. It might start to get rainy again by Sunday and Monday. Nevertheless, I shall continue to bike to work when I can! :-) I've actually done quite well this season.
Should I elaborate? Maybe a little. When you have someone ask "How do I open this Word document?" then you really have to wonder. OK, so maybe the person may be a bit burnt out at the time, but still...
In other news...
I have seriously been thinking of looking for a position elsewhere. I won't be leaving the company as such. I'll essentially be looking for a job at another office. Maybe somewhere halfway around the world. It would be an adventure. And I do hope to learn more and be able to contribute as well. I've already taken the first step of sending out my CV. We'll see where that leads.
Summer is almost over. :-p The weather has not been the warmest this past week, although it has warmed up nicely yesterday and today. It might start to get rainy again by Sunday and Monday. Nevertheless, I shall continue to bike to work when I can! :-) I've actually done quite well this season.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Work and the Future
It's been a while since I last wrote something. It may be a combination of laziness and a lack of anything inspring to write about.
Recently, we've decided to start planning our next vacation. One of the first ideas was a trip to Japan, Korea and China. But after some discussion and stuff we decided that it might be too much to try in a short time (approx. 4 weeks). We didn't want to plan a trip where we would feel a bit too hurried or did not spend enough time at.
We finally decided to narrow it down to just China. It's a large enough country that we can probably cover enough of the key sites and cities within 3-4 weeks. So we started to sift through the guide books and web sites. We found that there are some tour outfits that offer private customized tours. Looking into the pricing, it seems like the way to go.
In other things, after talking with some people at work, it might be worthwhile to take a shot at getting a position in Japan. So tonight I've sort of brushed up on CV for review by a colleague. We'll see if I have what it takes. :-)
Recently, we've decided to start planning our next vacation. One of the first ideas was a trip to Japan, Korea and China. But after some discussion and stuff we decided that it might be too much to try in a short time (approx. 4 weeks). We didn't want to plan a trip where we would feel a bit too hurried or did not spend enough time at.
We finally decided to narrow it down to just China. It's a large enough country that we can probably cover enough of the key sites and cities within 3-4 weeks. So we started to sift through the guide books and web sites. We found that there are some tour outfits that offer private customized tours. Looking into the pricing, it seems like the way to go.
In other things, after talking with some people at work, it might be worthwhile to take a shot at getting a position in Japan. So tonight I've sort of brushed up on CV for review by a colleague. We'll see if I have what it takes. :-)
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
When last we wrote...
Well, it's been about a month and a half since the last posting..
Sis gave birth to the twins on June 2nd. Some small complications with some post-partum hemorrhaging but they fixed her up. A bit hairy at the point, but everyone is fine. The twins were both a healthy 6+ pounds each!
I've been trying hard to get in at least a day or more of commuting to work by bike each week. During the holiday weeks it was difficult. Also, there were two days (a couple weeks apart) where we had torrential downpours. The most recent one (a week or two ago?) was bad enough that it caused flooding on the Decarie autoroute!
Workwise, things haven't changed much. Almost everyone in my group have found a new position. The transfer of our current work is moving slowly. I still have my doubts about the success of this transfer. Oh well.
Otherwise, the weather has been hot and humid. I think it will be less humid enough tomorrow that it should make the ride to/from work more bearable.
Sis gave birth to the twins on June 2nd. Some small complications with some post-partum hemorrhaging but they fixed her up. A bit hairy at the point, but everyone is fine. The twins were both a healthy 6+ pounds each!
I've been trying hard to get in at least a day or more of commuting to work by bike each week. During the holiday weeks it was difficult. Also, there were two days (a couple weeks apart) where we had torrential downpours. The most recent one (a week or two ago?) was bad enough that it caused flooding on the Decarie autoroute!
Workwise, things haven't changed much. Almost everyone in my group have found a new position. The transfer of our current work is moving slowly. I still have my doubts about the success of this transfer. Oh well.
Otherwise, the weather has been hot and humid. I think it will be less humid enough tomorrow that it should make the ride to/from work more bearable.
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