Jan-chan’s Tidbits

Ok so it’s past 12:00am so I’d have to say, “yesterday” after the trip to the Apple store, Al and I went to check out EAT! Vancouver in BC Stadium. This is my first year attending this event so I was really excited.

We timed it so we’d arrive at about noon time. Just in time for lunch! After getting a goodie bag from the volunteers by the entrance, we entered the stadium where food surrounded us (yum!). It was still early so there wasn’t a lot of people around. We bought our food tickets and proceeded to check out the stands. There were about 15 stands selling a variety of food. I didn’t want to buy anything just yet so we both decided to check out the exhibitions and find the different stages where some shows were already taking place. As we move up and down the rows of exhibits, we got to try different stuff like rice, chicken, ice cream, pudding, sausages, smoked fish…etc. We got to try a lot of stuff that we never noticed at the supermarkets.

After about an hour of sampling, we were both pretty full. Having food in the stomach means I can finally drink! So we made our way to the wine pavilion where we each grabbed a glass and went around tasting different wines. There were more beer exhibits than wine I found. The most interesting one was the iced apple cider. It was really good and I’d definitely look for it at the BC Liquor stores. When we entered the wine pavilion, we were just in time to catch the Wine & Cheese Pairing seminar by Wine Diva. It cost 4 tickets ($2) per person and since we got so many tickets left over we decided to join the seminar. It was well worth the money. We got to taste 4 different types of cheese and wine and learned how to create a cheese platter for a party.

We didn’t spend too much time watching the celebrity chefs or cooking competition. We did managed to catch the show on Tojo and Bob Blumer. Overall it was a great exhibition and I’d definitely go back next year!

Here are some of the pictures I managed to take while stuffing my face with food. More photos are on my Picasa album.

After fooling around on the Wii Fit on Friday night, Al and I woke up early in the morning to catch the opening of the Apple Store in Pacific Centre (PC). We heard that the first 1,000 people would get a t-shirt so we “had” to go check it out.

We arrived at 9:40 and the line up was already wrapping itself around the outside of PC. It took us a while to find the end of the line. I made Al stay in line so I can go check out the store as well as take some photos and videos (haven’t processed those yet). Just before the store opens, they dimmed the lights and all the Apple staffs inside started clapping and cheering. People at the front of the line followed and it got pretty loud. A lot of by-passers were wondering what was going on. The light came on at 10:00 and the Apple store is officially in business.

When it was finally out turn, we were greeted by a row of Apple staff cheering and giving hi-fives to people walking in. Al and I got our t-shirts, which consist of an Apple logo and the words Pacific Centre next to it on the front. We did a quick look around then bee lined our way to the ipod nanos. They actually have the red nano at the store! I’ve never seen it anywhere else. So I decided to buy that one to replace my old Sony mp3. Actually Al bought it for me as an anniversary gift (gotta give him credit or he’d hunt me down). The specialist which helped us with our purchase were really friendly and knowledgeable. I even managed to take a picture with him (my tourist-syndrome).

Oh one more neat thing I found is that the staffs wear colour code shirts. There are three colours: Black, Blue and Orange. They have “definitions” of the t-shirt (aka the staff’s role) on the back. Check them out in the pictures (click to enlarge):

I was pretty busy this past weekend, from meetings to movies to attending a wedding, this Victoria Day long weekend zoomed by much quicker than it should. Anyways, congratulations Ying & LawLi! I remember when I first me you guys in grade 10, when Ying to her big, gold rimmed glasses and LawLi looked like some grade schooler with his messy hair. I’m glad I could be part of your big day! I didn’t have time to get the photos ready for uploading but I did managed to merge all the clips I took during the open door games (when the groom comes to pick up the bride). Dave picked up a Flip for me when he was a the states last week. The quality is pretty good for something this size and cost. I did have to reduce the quality a bit when I make the movie since it’s 10 minutes long. The current file size is about 150MB. If you want the raw clips, I can zip them up and send it to you. Just fire me an email or post a comment here.

Enjoy! Oh and the hula part is a bit long but it’s pretty entertaining still.

Just want to say congratulations to Mike and Sylva on having their baby boy, Leon, on May 17th, 2008. I gotta mail that gift to you this weekend! Was going to post a pick but I wanted to give you guys a surprise! Hope you’ll like it.

PS: Leon looks like you Mike.

Does your girlfriend gets mad if you check out other walking species with boobies?

Most of you would probably answer “yes”. So now my next question is: why? This topic came up several times between me and a few male buddies. My argument is there’s nothing wrong with looking. It’s like reading/watching porn, but more “3D” as the subject is almost (or is) right in front of you. I think it’s pretty natural to look at what we find interesting, pretty, admirable…etc. It’s like if you see a car on the street that you find interesting, you’d probably give it a good stare, so why can’t it be a person? I confess, I check out guys and girls(!) all the time. People are interesting to look at. From the way they talk to the way they dress. That’s why we have outdoor cafes.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s alright to invade one’s privacy and peep at things you shouldn’t be peeping at (like someone taking a shower). Oh and drooling is bad. Keep that mouth closed while you lock on the target.

I also find it funny when I hear things like “I don’t check out others when I have a boyfriend/girlfriend.” Right. Maybe the idea of “checking out” have different meanings for everyone. Like maybe they just “glanced” at the person. That doesn’t qualify as “checking out” right? Recently I heard this from a person who claimed that they don’t check out other people, “Oh so you didn’t get the cute waiter?” Oops?

Al forwarded this article which I found very interesting: “My ogling makees my girlfriend furious” – by David Eddie. Read it if you want to find out how to train yourself in the art of “nogling”.