To my LSM Classmates

My LSM classmates are working so hard to get the homecoming done right. They have planned for over 2 years now, working hard to raise funds for that day in February. Here's to my comrades - may good karma follow you the rest of your lives.

Aerial Shot

Great shot of Vancouver, the city I now call home. Grabbed this from reddit.com.

Horshoe Bay Photo

Coffee - drug of the working class like us. Taken back in July, 2009.

New Day, New View

Just a few minutes ago, this rainbow popped up and decided to show herself before the cloudy day covered the sun and the mountain. I just finished setting up my laptop when she appeared (I am sure rainbows are female.) I grabbed the cheap camera and took what I hoped was a good shot. Soon after that, it was gone. Very exhilarating. I think this is what Raul told me once --- that the photo is a moment captured, gone thereafter.

Office Wall

We had a team outing, it was one of the better team outings I have ever had in my mediocre career. I got a chance to work with peeps I don't usually deal with, and that was really fun. I am lucky : the people in my office are really really nice folks, and they outweigh problems we have with work.

Canada Line Opens --- what a line

Richmond to downtown - in 26 minutes. Goodbye 1 hour ride. But since it just opened today, this line showed up. Over 2 hours of waiting just to ride for free. Oh well, lets wait tomorrow when everybody has to pay to ride.

Lynn Valley Centre, July 31, 2009

 
Party in full swing! This was taken at 7pm, at the centre. Free Live Music and happy summer times.

Why so serious?

 
Let's put a smile to that face....

Two boys

 
Just goofing around Horseshoe Bay.

Didn't catch the Ferry...

 
We wanted to visit Bowen Island, that's the ferry that would have taken us there. But we didn't have luck on getting parking so we ended up just having brunch in the Horseshoe Bay community.

Funny, eh?

 
My brother smiling about the porn he watched the other day. Couple of other guys thought it was funny to.

Bike Path

  More of the Stanley Park Bike Path. Notice the curious bikers admiring the view.

Vancouver Downtown

 Don't mind the Ugly floating Chevron gasoline station, Vancouver downtown is nice.

Bike Day

 We rented bikes in the Denman area, and went to Stanley Park to check out the 5 mile route. It was a beautiful day to step outside and just ride. We are very lucky that we live in a beautiful country --- where you can actually see where your taxes go!

Going through Lion's Gate

 After the 5-mile bike ride, it was time to go back. We were tired, and it was nice to travel through the bridge. If you check out the previous post, you'll see the bridge's under belly. I hope my friends can visit one day.

Under Lion's Gate

 When we went out for a bike ride, we found ourselves under the Lion's Gate Bridge. This is a famous bridge for Vancouver peeps. It connects the North Shore to the downtown core, and is a world of hurt for cyclists and runners. For more info, here's more reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_Gate_Bridge.

Stanley Park, Bike Day

  Whilst the little boy was in Burnaby with his cousins, the wife and I went to Stanely Park for a bike ride. It was a sunny day to do it, and it was perfect timing to finally do what we promised ourselves. The ride was awesome. More pics later.

Vegan?

Exactly how I feel. Keep being awesome! Wherever you are.

Evil Vendo Machine

The Evil Vendo Machine in the office, not only beckons you to consume the not-so-nutritious food in its belly but also steals your money. Notice how, after releasing the potato chip post-payment, it trapped the pack right smack in the center ... so you can't get it and you just lost your money.

Iran channeling People Power

As I write this, I am monitoring the situation on twazzup ( http://twazzup.com )on Iran. Its getting scary, and as you read it, it sure feels like Manila's first quarter storm. Maybe this is what the Philippines also needs to kick out the current government.

Totem Pole, UBC

We visited the UBC Museum of Anthropology, and couldn't go in because they were charging entrance fees. We decided to go around, and saw this totem pole along with a reconstructed First Nations village. I think the totem pole looks like a big middle finger to everyone. I totally get it.

Richer...

... Because of the Lottery. This couple won and claimed their prize in the lottery office. They've been betting on the same number for over 20 years. This time, they won.

Deep Cove

Two weekends ago, my wife and I took my brother to Deep Cove, an North Eastern area near where we live. A lot of rich folk live there, using it as a retirement area. The place smells like ka-ching. We loved the fact that the homes are built around the cove, and the downtown area was just a strip of small mom and pop stores. It's quite lovely for a day trip, and I hear the hiking trails are awesome. There will be time for that on our next trip to that place.

6-49 is now $40Million

An officemate started a pool for the 6-49 draw now valued at C$40Million. Historically, the highest number this lotto ever acheived was $48Million, and that was won by a pool of workers in god-knows-where Canada. Right now, our office pool consists of 14 people, that is rougly $2.8Mil gross winnings equally split among 14 people... if we are lucky enough to win. And if ever that happens, I can only imagine the long investigation our pool would have to undergo. Still, that's $2.8Mil I would gladly wait for. I would definitely go to the office the next day with a Cuban. Ha!

Empty Car Park

The Car Port is empty, except for a few cars. Its 5:30pm when I took this picture, and the sun was still up like it was frikkin noon. I wanted to capture the bright blue sky and the yellow tree, but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it. There maybe some art of taking pics with your blackberry, because this pic has some promise. I think. Anyway, went straight home and the sun went down only at 9pm. Jeez.

Going Home, this is another View

I take the highway going home, and one part is this area in Richmond. Its a large trac of land that is undeveloped because it is owned by the First Nation tribes. It has a great view of the north shore mountains.

Conference Swag

Just came from the BCAMA Conference. It was a very good one, with speakers from ex-VP of Harley Davidson, and the VP Marketing for West Jet, among others. The swag was okay, but the content was superb. Lots of interesting ideas, but some of them I've already heard three years ago. All in all, there were good ideas to take back to the company which we should explore: (1) If the consumer is truly important, is the company ready to have a dialogue with her? Read: Social Networking (2) A truly engaged company is one where everyone has a stake in ownership.; and (3) Innovation is the corenerstone in a turnaround economy.

Swine Flu Origin

LOL!!!

Running Path

A photo of part of the path i use taken on one of those rare occassions I run in the morning on Grand Blvd. It's downhill first, then uphill. I also rather run in the evening, when its darker. Trees here are relatively scarcer, so dusk to night time is the best time to do the cardio thing and avoid the UV rays. God knows I need to loose a lot of fat. Its easy to get big here, because the food is just great. And loaded with butter. So -- running is the cure.

The Parking Lot

Our rental's parking lot is surrounded by very nice trees like these two (with white and red flowers). These are directly in front of our unit, and can be seen from our units' windows. They have blossomed for the season, and add color against the blue sky. D and the other kids play under the red tree when they battle each other's pokemon (using the Nintendo DS of course.) There are nice places in Richmond too, and I'll work on getting more pics when I get there later.

Nature's a Biii-ottch.

Spring is back ... with a vengeance. Taken when la familia was out and about. The far left areas shows the mountains' ski resorts and last vestiges of winter. Resorts are closing to prepare for the summer months. These flowers are on the corner of Keith and Grand Blvd.

Shout Out to My Homies

This one's for you. I think you might have forgotten what I look like, so here you go. It was taken by M when we went out this morning for coffee. I read Ech's email and noted a hint of nostalgia mixed in the air. I wish the horsemen and my buddy dentist were here. Until then, its all good.