Balkan Beats!

Last night I went to a club that was playing Balkan music. I was warned to be prepared for the shock of my life in terms of the music. In reality, it really wasn’t all that bad. It was very fast, almost techno-y, but there was definitely a melody. It was actually really fun to dance to. You just let go and move with the music. No one is watching and no one is judging. Everyone is just doing their own thing. Rather liberating I would say.

Halfway through the night, they played a piece of music I recognized! It was Czardas by Monti – a violin piece that I absolutely adored the first time I heard it and then eventually learned how to play. I’m not sure I like the Balkan version of the piece, but it was cool nonetheless. It was definitely strange dancing to a piece of music that I played previously on the violin (in a classical setting) in a club.

Here is an example of what it sort of sounded like:

Teddy Bear Picnic!

Who: Teddy bears galore
What: Dinner party
When: Last weekend
Where: My house
Why: Cause food is awesome

I hosted a dinner party last weekend.  Theme?  Teddy Bear Picnic – entry required a furry creature.  Everything was bite sized stuff, mostly veggie friendly.  Pictures!

Stuffed mushrooms
I made it a bit too salty, but still really good.

Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes [oooh alliteration!] 
Did not like this very much.

Vietnamese Salad Rolls with Peanut Sauce
LOVED the peanut sauce – just needed some actual peanuts in it

Hot Spinach Cheese Dip being nommed by a “guest”

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus


Turkey sliders with jalapeño jack cheese

Guests of honour

Also made some mushroom phyllo bundles, but I forgot to take a photo of it.  I screwed up with the phyllo pastry, but it still turned out okay.  Never used phyllo in recent memory.  Think I used it once ages ago when I was baking with my mom.  Dessert was fondue with gummy bears, pretzels, strawberries and bananas.  I made cupcakes, but instead of making frosting, we just dipped it in the fondue too.  YUM!

Dinner wasn’t very balanced.  I wasn’t all that happy with everything.  Much room for improvement for next time.  Appetizers were never my thing.  It was interesting… =\

Go Canada Go!! My Olympic Experience

It’s taken the country by storm and has infiltrated thousands of televisions and computer screens across the nation – the Olympics are here!  So crazy!  I am definitely proud to be Canadian and proud that Vancouver is doing such a great job at hosting it.  Yes, there are problems, but what event doesn’t have its problems?  The overall feeling though is one of happiness and excitement – everyone has the fever!

I went to Vancouver the day after the opening ceremonies and already there were massive amounts of people on the ferry – it was so difficult to find a seat!  They weren’t very smart and scheduled a smaller ferry for a 9AM sailing.  The Olympics + reading break for UVic made the ferry so so full. 

Driving through Richmond I was so surprised with all the Canadian flags on cars, windows of houses and on people’s lawns.  The Canadian spirit was alive.  It was like I had entered another world.  Never had I see so much national pride displayed so publicly.  Every time I go to the US, I’m always shocked at the number of massive flags flying everywhere, even on private property, so seeing this in Canada was really weird.  And that was only the beginning. 

Downtown everyone was so patriotic.  Everyone was wearing red and so many people were walking around with those red mittens!  I loved it!  It was like one crazy party fueled by the successes of our athletes as they battled for gold.  The energy was just amazing – almost like an AIESEC Conference, but not quite.  I was in Vancouver for about a week… 

Flash Mob

There was an invite floating around Facebook and the resulting crowd was massive.  Everyone knew what was going on which took away from the surprise factor.  There were so many people on that crowded street both watching and dancing.  It wasn’t as cool and fun as I thought it would be =\

 

Livecity Yaletown

Came here 3 times in hopes of getting a light up Coke bottle from the Coke display.  First time didn’t even bother lining up to get in because the line was so long.  Second time, got into Livecity, but people were not allowed to form a line outside the designated queue area due to “safety concerns” from the city so it was difficult to even get into the line.  I was so pissed off.  Third and final time, we managed to get in line for the coke place (and it was no different from the day before – we were still outside the queue area).  I was so disappointed by the Coke place.  There were no light up coke bottles anymore GRAWR I was so mad!  All that effort for nothing.  Wandered around the Vancouver house – nothing special.

 

  

BC Pavilion

Probably my favourite pavilion I visited.  They had tons of interactive displays sharing with the world what BC is about.  In one room, they had these touch screen computer screens where you could control the weather by making it snow in the winter or have thunderstorms in the summer.  I went crazy, pressing everything. 

 

Oldest Hockey Stick

This was so random.  It is in the Harry Rosen store in Pacific Centre.  I felt so awkward walking into there – all these guys in suits starting at you as you made your way across the sales floor filled with suits, dress shirts and ties.  The stick itself looks pretty rough, but that is to be expected right?

Robson Square

Free skating anyone?  Free zip line across Robson?  Its all there … if you want to stand in line for hours.  So many people – its great.

Ozone

I really really really wanted to go to the Holland House, but man the lines were crazy!  A couple of hours at least.  I wanted food too but I guess I should have made a reservation earlier.  With a reservation you can jump the line.  You can also jump the line if you are a Dutch citizen – I wonder if my expired Dutch study card would have worked… hmmm.  Other than that, there wasn’t too much to see at the Ozone.  There is a stage and an outdoor skating rink.

 

Colbert Report

I went because I could.  AND I SAW MICHAEL BUBLE!!!  So cooool!  Not super keen on Colbert, but the crowd was pretty cool.  There were so many people there!  He showed up late too and I got annoyed standing in the mud.  Thankfully it didn’t rain, but it was still pretty cold.  The breeze coming off of False Creek was pretty chilly.  I left half way through. (click for bigger photos)

 

Sochi World

Science World was transformed into Sochi World for the Olympics.  Sochi is hosting the next Winter Olympics in 2014.  The coolest thing I found out was that Sochi has an interesting climate.  Where the athletes village and other indoor venues (ie. speed skating, figure skating, hockey) are being held has a somewhat Mediterrean climate, but then you go up into the mountains where the alpine events will be held and then there is snow and its cold.  Blew my mind.  So cool.  The photos made it look so pretty – I almost want to go and see it.  Upstairs they had the most amazing couches ever.  I didn’t want to get up, especially after standing in line for so long.  Otherwise, the whole display was just okay.  Nothing too interesting.

 

Women’s Super Combined

I didn’t buy any tickets to any Olympic events, but I got lucky and managed to go see the Women’s Super Combined up at Whistler Creekside.  It meant waking up ridiculously early – we had to be at Langara College by 5:45 for the bus to take us up to Whistler.  The event started at 9:30 and we arrived around 8:30.  Our tickets were for the standing area and already the best places were taken. 

 

We had a couple Canadian’s in the event, but they weren’t expected to make it to the podium.  The super combined has two events: the regular downhill race and then a slalom race and the two times are combined.  The crowd was pretty into it too and you could feel the high energy.  There were so many Americans – there probably to cheer on Lindsey Vonn.  The first run was done in an hour.  When I first saw there were 30 people to go down I thought it would have taken awhile, but really, it was really fast.  The second event started at 12:30.  In the end a German took the gold.  The highlight?  Seeing Lindsey Vonn ski past – she is really the only person I recognize.  The boy in front of me asked her to sign his hat, but she said she would do it on her second run.  She didn’t come back, but if she did, I was going to ask her to sign my ticket.

 

My Olympic Highlight

The best moment of my Olympic experience wasn’t something that was planned or organized by anyone affiliated with the Olympics.  The best moment came as a result of being at the right place at the right time.  Any earlier and I would have missed it, any later and I wouldn’t have known something life changing had just happened where I was standing.  Life changing not necessarily for me, but for those involved.  I was at Robson Square looking around, watching people go across on the zipline when I saw a sign.

Someone was wanting to propose!  The girl was going down the zipline the wrong way so she didn’t see the sign, but a  bunch of people under the zipline saw the sign and started yelling her name, telling her to look over at the sign.  She finally saw the sign and the guy that was going down the zipline with her got down on one knee.  At first we didn’t know her answer, so the crowd started pestering her and she finally yelled yes.  It was so adorable and I loved how the crowd came together to made sure it happened.  Definitely my favourite moment of the Olympics.

 

Today is the closing ceremonies.  As I sit writing this, the men’s hockey gold game is happening between Canada and the US.  Go Canada Go!  We win this medal and we break the record for most gold medals won in a single Winter Olympic games ever (last was Norway in 2002 with 13 goals).  We already have 13 right now – the most any host nation has gotten in a games so we already broke that record. 

After these games, I definitely am proud to be Canadian.  The world came and the world saw.  Vancouver you did an amazing job.  Go Canada!

A Year in Review

WARNING: Ridiculously long post!

The year is drawing to a close and as people make resolutions for the year to come, I’m looking at the year that has just passed.   2009 was an interesting year, it had its ups; it had its downs.  I think I grew a lot this past year, through changes in my personal life, experiences at work and AIESEC, and then just the sheer fact of getting older.  Here are some the highlights (and by highlights I mean ridiculously long essay >.<”) with pictures of the past year:

January

I rang in the new year at National Congress 2009, held in Vancouver.  I had just returned from my semester abroad and it was freezing cold.  Snow was up to my knees and the city had slowed down drastically.  NC was probably one of my favourite conferences ever – the sessions, the people – it was a great re-introduction to AIESEC.  I was suppose to start a co-op term in January, but I couldn’t find anything while I was abroad.  I spent a decent amount of my time in January trying to find anything I could.  I interviewed for a bunch of positions, but nothing turned out.  I just resolved to keep looking, but also work on some personal projects.  The rest of January was spent getting reacquainted with friends in Victoria, while living at home with the parents. 

 AIESEC Victoria delegates @ NC 2009

 Home sweet home – missed the ocean =)

February

February was a rough month.  I was having problems adjusted back to life in Canada and, especially, living under my parent’s roof.  A number of things had changed since I left and it was difficult to get back into the swing of things.  Worst of all, I had things to do in Victoria, but no place to live, but in Vancouver, I had a place to live, but nothing to do.  I had a bunch of personal issues to sort out as well.  Things were pretty grim and I was fairly unhappy for most of the month.  Because I had nothing else to do, I threw myself into lots and lots of AIESEC related things.  First, Coastal Conference – as Victoria was hosting it this year, I helped out with some of the logistics, planned a couple sessions and facilitated during the conference.  The conference came together pretty decently at the last minute, despite a number of things lacking.  All in all, it was a good experience to see what it was like to host and conference and things to expect, seeing as October was coming up fast.  Next came turnover and year planning for the executive board as we prepped for taking over the organization.

  One of our sponsors

 Year planning

March

I moved back to Victoria in March – I didn’t like having to be in Vancouver with nothing to do.  I don’t remember how I managed to convince my parents, but I did it and it was a great choice.  The only problem was that I was going to be sharing my old apartment with my old roommate – our friendship had since changed with me going to Europe.  I passed my time working on AIESEC related things, searching for a job in the summer and just having fun with friends. 

April

April was a good month – such a change from the dark and depressing months I had passed previously.  I finally found a JOB for the summer, the sun was coming out and with a bunch of my friends graduating, I got to attend a number of parties and grad events.  Looking back at my pictures, April was a really good month – I did everything from picnics to days at the beach to eating lots and lots. 

 Heading out on our picnic

May

May started off with a lot of traveling.  Within a span of five days or so, I was in Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver and then Halifax.  Why was I in Halifax?  For National Leadership Development Conference 2009 of course!  Probably the best conference I’ve ever gone to.  Somehow the combination between the location, the people, the sessions and the OC, made it one of my most memorable conferences.  I had a great time meeting people from different LCs and really networking – something that I hadn’t done as much before.  I was also able to spend 2 days wandering around the city of Halifax too, so I got a bit of my need to travel out of my system.  After returning from the conference, I started my new job at the Department of National Defense and, man, did I love it (no not all days were like that – I did actual work too!).  It was a bit overwhelming because all my coworkers were so knowledgeable on the topics we had to cover and there was just so much news and things to know.  My coworkers were great and there were so many other co-op students on the base which was a lot of fun.  One highlight, was being able to go on a day sail on one of the ships.

Halifax + NLDC 2009 (click for larger photos)

  
Day sail on HMCS Regina

June

June was happiness.  I had gotten involved with couch surfing and my new roommate and I were hosting two girls from Ontario and it was really that experience that made me really like this project.  I went camping for the first time in years and enjoyed the wide variety of wild life that walked around the base at work.  AIESEC wise things were starting to pick up – we were meeting with hotels, raising money.  June was a good month.

 Camping

July

July was a great month too.  I spent a lot of time traveling between Vancouver and Victoria, enjoying the best of the two cities.  Summer is really the best time to be in Victoria and this year it was no different.  The city is awaken by the vast number of tourists and the seasonal businesses that revolve around them.  For the conference we finally finalized a hotel, managing to negotiate a really good price for our food and rooms.  We were done our website and were working on our promotional video.  More money was raised.  July was very productive and I was still really enjoying work.  I went to my grad party with the rest of the BCom faculty.  It fun getting all dressed up – reminded me of high school grad (but on a less grand level…) and seeing everyone that I hadn’t seen for awhile.

 Grad party (picture stolen from J.)

August

The summer was winding down, working was ending, and I was getting ready to go back to school.  Man was I excited.  It had been over a year and a half since I last took classes at UVic between my co-op terms and exchange.  I was really excited to get back into the swing of things and back to school shopping!  Stationary galore!     I wrapped up my co-op, finishing a paper on water security in China.  Said goodbye to friends that were moving home or moving elsewhere for work / co-op.  I went up to Cowichan for the first time in an attempt to go tubing, but the day was cold and I didn’t dare enter the water. 

 At Cowichan

September

School was exactly how I remembered it.  Long hours of boring lectures for the most part.  I was taking all my core classes needed for my specialization: International Finance, International Marketing, Cross National Management, Business Law and Strategic Management.  My schedule was horrible, especially my Thursdays were ridiculously long – class started at 10 in the morning and went until 9:30 at night (had breaks between 11:30 – 1 and 2:30 – 4:30 but otherwise in class).   Coupled with my meetings for WRC and on the EB, I was spending ridiculously long days at school.  That said, I had Fridays off so three day weekend =)  Before school started, I spent one glorious week in Vancouver soaking up the sun and catching up with friends. 

Riding the new Canada line! 

October

Two things dominated in October – WRC and midterms!  Both pretty much happened within the same week too which was a big pain.  WRC was October 16 – 18 at the Harbour Towers Hotel in downtown Victoria with 140 delegates. 

The conference + the organizing committee (plus local committee president)

It went amazingly well and I was so happy and proud of what my team and I were able to pull off.  I got so many comments from delegates on their experience and its cool to think that I’ve had an impact on jumpstarting someone’s AIESEC experience.  There were some unforeseen challenges and problems that needed solving, but I think we were able to plan and figure out many of the logistical details before the start. I pretty much slept 8 hours in 3 days, but I had so much adrenaline in my system that I was awake and with it for the most part.   Thankfully I was able to postpone my exam the day right after the conference (finance too!) which really helped out.  I think that Monday after, I slept at least 15 hours if not more.  But after that week, I was done the conference.  I was done my midterms.  I was looking forward to a relaxed week before my birthday.  I didn’t get too crazy for my birthday, just dinner with close friends and good food. 

November

With the conference done and my midterms done, I got incredibly lazy.  I didn’t want to go to class, I didn’t want to go to group meetings, I didn’t want to do anything related to school.  I travelled back and forth between Victoria and Vancouver a lot.  I went to go see the So You Think You Can Dance Canada tour which was pretty cool.  I didn’t follow the season too much so I didn’t know the dancers that well.  I also went to see Lights in concert.

December

I think of December and I think of sick, pain, and confusion.  That is how I spent the first 2 weeks of December – in bed.  I got better just in time to write the last exams of my undergrad degree and then I was FREE!  Now all that is left in the year is to celebrate the holidays.  The family didn’t too too much in terms of the holidays – for the first time ever we didn’t have a tree.  Instead I went crazy with baking hoping to make up for the lack of holiday cheer and to get me in the spirit. 

Phew! You still here with me? Congrats! I’ll give you… a cookie hehe.  There are still 2 more days in 2009.  I can’t wait to ring in the new year =)  I’m ready to say goodbye to this year.  So many ups and downs – its been interesting for sure.  Can’t wait for a new year, a new decade! A clean slate, a new beginning, hopefully full of new opportunities and crazy adventures.