Jan-chan’s Tidbits

Alright I mentioned that I’ll be doing some bread baking this weekend with Nelson in my last post. Well, the bread turned out really well! I’m so glad because it’s my first time making “real” bread. I’ve made homemade pizza dough but it’s not the same. Anyways, we made it with wheat flour, rosemary and fennel seeds so it’s really “herby” [lol]. It smells so nice! Nelson took me and Allan to an Italian store on Hastings Street to buy some prosciutto and harvati so we can make sandwiches with the fresh baked bread. Oh we also bought the live yeast from there. Usually in recipes it calls for active dry yeast but Nelson said live yeast makes the bread taste better. The problem is, it comes in this brick from, similar to a brick of butter and you only use about a tablespoon size each time so…I have a feeling I’ll be making a lot of breads to finish this brick of live yeast. I hope Chu’s reading right now and conjuring up images of worms when she sees the words “live yeasts” [lol]. Ok, enough about breads for now, on to the photos!

Alright I’m back. Since last entry I’ve been pretty busy with the holiday stuff and this year it’s a bit different due to a few things: 1) Al’s great grandma passed away so we had to call off a couple of parties and just hang out with his family; 2) my grandparents went back to HK so didn’t really do anything with my relatives (usually we have Christmas dinner at my aunt’s); 3) I got sick on the Friday before holiday started.

Anyways, here’s a recap of my holidays activities. Pictures will follow in a later post as I have yet to download them from the camera. Here comes a long post so grab a coffee/tea and prepare to read.

Dec. 23

Went out shopping with the twins since they need to buy presents for their parents. We went to downtown since Ken wanted to look for “specific” items. We hit up Holt Renfrew first to check out some purses and had our eyes on this LV bag but decided to look at other stuff first. Then we went over to Tiffany & Co. because Ken had looked at some of their stuff online and saw a pendant that he wanted. It’s my first time going into a jewelry store (well I’ve went into those Chinese ones with Al’s mom but only briefly and I don’t really look at anything). It was weird because we look like kids who’d walk into a store with their piggy banks to buy presents. @_@ After walking in circles like 5 times, we settled for the star pendant with diamonds by Frank Gehry. It’s really nice and the design is really unique. The twins & their parents also bought a pair of Frank Gehry sterling silver earrings for me as present. It’s like the most expensive piece of jewelary I ever own, I think I’ll tuck it away and like take it out and polish it once in a while…

We decided to get a scarf for the twin’s dad so we headed across the street to LV (seeing a shopping pattern here?) We saw a couple of scarfs that were really nice and comfy (that’s because they are 100% cashmere). I picked the chocolate colour one because it’s easy to match clothes with. Ken was trying on the scarfs and he was rubbing his face on it because it’s so comfy. [haha]

In order to not let their parents know what we got them, we went to Yoko123 (kind of like a Japanese dollar store) to pick up gift boxes and bags. We then transfered everything to the new “shells” and gave it to their parents. They were both really surprised and loved the presents we’ve picked for them. Especially their mom. She was so happy she couldn’t stop smiling for like the rest of the night.

Dec. 24

Al’s childhood friend, Nelson, came up for the holidays from Redmond. Nelson works for Microsoft and he comes up to visit his family occasionally. We went to dim sum after they picked me up at 11:00. As expected we had to wait for 1.5 hours before there was space for us since we didn’t make any reservations (which I’ve told Al to make but he was lazy). Over dim sum we did a lot of catching up and the topic of bread making popped up. Nelson’s neighbours are Italian and they had taught him how to make Italian breads and pizza. So, since I’ve always been curious about bread making, Nelson had agreed to show me how [score!]. After lunch we went to an Italian store, Bosa, and checked out all the cheese & hams & pastas & the $60 balsamic vinegars they have. It was interesting. We’re planning to do the bread baking session this Sunday so stay tune for more later!

After hanging out with Nelson, Al and I dropped by T&T for Mochi and some snacks before heading over to my place for dinner. My family like to do Christmas Eve dinners since most people are busy on Christmas day, which works out better for my brother and I since he can eat at Meg’s place and I at Al’s on the 25th. It’s the first time Meg (my brother’s gf) join us for dinner and since she’s not Asian, my parents are kind of nervous. My dad’s English is very poor and all he did was nod and smile all night. Al brought the Wii over so that helped break the ice in the beginning. We had a lot of fun talking about our childhood memories and of course mom and dad had fun telling Meg and Al about our embarrassing moments like peeing our beds and such.

Dec. 25

Went over to Al’s place in the morning and had dim sum with his parents and pretty much stayed in doors the whole day. We had hot pot for dinner and just hung out with his family and play Wii. It’s a nice change and I was able to rest up for Boxing Day shopping!

Dec. 26

It’s BOXING DAY! Alright I know Americans don’t have boxing days as I found out after talking to people from the States. I told them I have boxing day off and they were like…what’s boxing day? So for those of you who doesn’t have boxing day, check it out here. Anyways, I was really excited about going shopping on Boxing Day since I haven’t done that since I started going out with Al.

I had planned to go out early to avoid the crowd but I woke up late since I stayed up watching Taiwanese drama the night before. When I met up with Al at the train station there were already lots of people waiting for the train to go to downtown. It’s not as crowded as the morning traffic but still pretty packed. We got to Pacific Center at around 12 and bee-lined to BCBG since everything is 50% off. I picked out a few things and had to line up to wait for the changing room. I walked away with a summer dress that I plan on wearing to one of the two weddings for next year.

We headed to H-Mart’s food court, a Korean supermarket, for lunch before going to the Puma store. Everything in the store is 30% off and so I bought a pair of casual shoes as well as two scarfs for Ken & Al. I was planning to go home but Al wanted to visit the Adidas store as well so we got in line. Even thought it’s only 2 doors down from Puma, there was a line up and it’s the only store that I had to line up to get in. It took us 20 mins to get inside. After trying on a few sweaters and vests, I walked out with a pair of boots and Al got a pair of shoes, both at 40% off so it’s not too bad. I actually wore the new boots for work today since it snowed over night.

Dec. 27

Well that’s today and it’s back to work as usual. The funny thing is this morning when I got to work at 8:20 there was no one in the office. So when I walked through the door the alarm thing went off and I started to panic as I’ve never unarmed the alarm before. Good thing I carry the piece of paper with the code in my wallet or I’ll be stuck talking to some security people. The office is unusally quiet, and there were only 3 of us by 10am. Anyways, that’s it for now, I’ll post some pictures later!

Tell me about your Christmas!

Chu: I wanted the girls group picture. I think you took one with your camera.

Snowy: Did you get my Christmas card? >___<

Brian: Where are you? @____@

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas! A couple more days then I’m having a 5-day break before going back to work on the 27th. There are a few parties coming up. Hopefully I won’t over stuff myself [hehehe] or get sick, like last weekend.

Kaya’s card arrived a couple days ago. Thank you hunnie~! The card is so cute. Speaking of cards, I totally forgot to send one to Mike in Taiwan. >__< I’ll fire him an email this weekend to make up for it. Last night when I went shopping for the company’s x’mas gift exchange, I saw all those cute baby outfits. I wanted to buy some for Mike’s up coming baby but I don’t know if it’s a girl or boy yet. I hope it’s a girl because you get to dress them up more. XD Anyways, I was going to buy a Starbucks gift card for the exchange but ended up buying this bread dipper thingy (flavored oils) at the Artisan Wine Store in Metrotown. Oh when I was there I found this “new” (quoted because it might not be that new since I haven’t been to Metro for about a month) gelato place outside Lids. Of course I had to try it because…well…it’s gelato! I had the pineapple and Al got the Kiwi. It was really fruity (even got chunks of fruits in it) but we found that it’s a bit too sweet (the more you eat it, the sweeter it tasted, and we only got the small cup).

I also bought a knitted hat to wear for winter. I don’t look very good in hats/caps but it’s been windy and really cold this year and I want something to cover my ears. I’ll see if I can take a picture of it one of these days and show you how silly I look. =x

Oh and LawTam sent me the group picture from our X’mas party. Chu you gotta send me the one with the girls. I’m sure you all know which one is me and if you can’t tell, I’m having a tough time trying to sit on an invisible chair while waiting for the photo to be taken.

The BCCA Annual Conference took place on the last week of November. Since it’s a local show, JP and BT thought it’d be a good idea for me to go and see what the conference is like. It might help me organize conferences better.

As it was my first conference, I was really nervous. So nervous that I couldn’t eat/sleep the night before. I think it’s mainly because I’ve only worked here for about a month and I’m not familiar with the product yet. What if someone comes by and start asking questions?! Anyways, I think I managed to sleep for about 5 hours before waking up at 6am. Why so early? Well the conference starts at like 8:30 but I want to get there an hour ahead in case I need to do anything to the booth. Plus the bus ride there is about 45 minutes and I’m giving myself extra time to walk as a snail because of heels.

Anyways so after I’ve dragged myself to the hotel and was welcomed by like 10 fresh Christmas trees at the entrance (they smell so nice!), I was finally at the booth. The sales did a good job at setting up the night before. I was actually supposed to go set up but I figured they were already there for a dinner reception, why would I need to go? NB was there already so we chatted abit before he went off to eat breakfast. I was surprised that the food is free for exhibitors as well as the conference attendees. Anyways, I didn’t get a chance to eat (I’m too nervous to eat anyways) but did grabbed like 4 glasses of cold water. Way to wake yourself up Jan!

Around 9:00am people started pouring in for the food, coffee and tea and hurried off to the sessions. Some people stopped by and the sales handled that. I just stood there, smiling and nodding the whole time. CK and I found that we did not have a demo kit with us so we decided to head back to the office since it’s kind of quiet during session periods. It was funny because at the office, no one recognized me in my suit >_< Someone thought I was there for an interview, then they were like “wait a minute…” =_=

CK and I made it back to the conferece room at 11:30 and the lunches were already there. So we grabbed a bite to eat before the crowd came in. There were mini sandwiches, soups, salads, 3-4 different type of juices and some other stuff. I was really hungry by then so I had some potato salad and 2 mini sandwiches. Just before lunch time I met Ying at the restroom. I actually didn’t see her (wasn’t wearing my glasses!) and she was drying her hands at the time and I just made a bee-line from the stalls to the sinks. Seeing her made me relax a bit and of course having food in the tummy always makes me feel good.

So the fun begins after lunch. CK was getting really sleepy so she took off for a walk (sessions after lunch so we didn’t expect too many people stopping by until maybe the next round of food which is the 3:00pm tea break). NB went off to chat with other sales people around the room so I’m left at the booth by myself. I was kind of sleepy too (I blame the carb) and I tried to keep my mouth shut when I yawn so it’s not too visible [lol].

10 minutes after both the sales were gone, a couple of students dropped by. That’s fine, I briefly explained what our test does and stuff (when I say brief, I meant summing it up in like 2 sentences). Then he went on asking me about the technology behind it using those big, long scientific words which I have no idea what he’s talking about. I probably have this giant question mark on my face when I said “I’m not quite sure about the specifics but if you’d leave your name and contact number I can have one of our scientists or engineers get back to you.” *smile smile smile* At the same time I’m thinking “Dude, I’m just a marketing coordinator >_< take your big words and go away!!!”

After he left I had to take a few minutes catch my breath but the fun didn’t end there. This time three people stop by and so I repeated the 2-sentence speech but they wanted to know exactly how our test works. Good thing I actually paid attention to what KC & NB were saying when they talk to those doctors. I shortened their version and gave it in as plain and simple as it can possible get. The crowd seemed to be satisfied (YAY!) and some asked a few more questions before moving on. My energy level dropped to 20% after these people stopped by. [lol]

At 3:00, everyone from the sessions came out and started nibbling on the cheese/crackers & juices. I had my share of them as well as I needed a refuel. A few more people dropped by during the break but CK & NB were there so I’m back to smiling and nodding. CK told me to leave early (around 4pm) since the day is almost over and she said I needed a break from standing all day.

Overall it was a really good experience for me to see what actually goes on at the show. I know what to prepare for next time. The best part though, was the food. Free food is always good. I wouldn’t mind going again just to eat…XD

Yay another post! Well, I’ve been kind of bored at work lately with JP out of the office and the holiday season just 2 weeks away, the office is extra quiet. I am trying to calculate the annual budget we spend on conferences and it’s driving me nuts because the spreadsheet they current have does not show currency, so I’m not sure if the numbers are in Canadian or US or Euros. Also, some of the numbers doesn’t match the actual PO in the conference folders so it’s really messy. I don’t know how the person before me set this up as it’s confusing and full of errors.

Anyways, enough about work! I’m in the holiday mood and actually want to just stay home and bake. [lol] I might actually do that tonight since my mom wanted me to bake some brownies for her to take to work. I don’t know how this whole brownie thing got started. I used to just bake for the twins since my parents doesn’t like sweet stuff. Then some how Willy got his hands on them as well as Mike and next thing I know I have people messaging me about brownies. Maybe I should start my own brownie business.

I baked 2 batches of brownies for the Christmas party we had on Saturday. Aside from maybe just slighty underordered the amount of food, I think the party went quite well. I had a lot of time catching up with the girls and people were kept busy by the hockey game and the Wii. It’s really funny watching people play the music game in Rayman 2. I’ve never seen people shake the remote with so much force before. I think they should put a strap for the nunchuck since it’s just about to fly out of some people’s hands as they are shaking it. I’ll post some photos when I get them from LawTam and Chu. I didn’t get a chance to take photos that night.

PS: I totally forgot to mentioned about my experience at the conference (Nov 29 – Dec 1). It was my first time attending a conference as an exhibitor and there were some funny storiest I’d like to share in the next post so come back in a bit!