How about this for a lede:

A person can achieve an average savings of $9,499 per year by taking public transportation instead of driving based on yesterday’s gas prices and the average unreserved parking rate according to the American Public Transportation Association’s “Transit Savings Report”.

Almost $10,000 a year!   There's more:

“As Americans look for ways to tighten the family budget, public transit riders know the cheapest gallon of gasoline is the one you never have to buy,” said William W. Millar, president of APTA.  “This report reminds commuters that taking public transportation is the quickest way to save money from the high cost of commuting by auto or light truck.” The analysis also includes the cost of parking.  On average, according to the 2008 Colliers International Parking Rate Study, the national average for the monthly unreserved parking rate in a city’s downtown business district is $143.  Over the course of a year, parking costs alone can amount to an average of $1,720. In addition to the annual savings, the report calculates the monthly savings for public transit users at $792 per month based on yesterday’s gas price of $3.524 as reported by AAA.

I haven't owned a car since 1991 and take transit most everyday.  I'm not sure we see these levels of "savings"; but even with our increased use of cabs and a monthly weekend car rental, I know we are well ahead of the car game.  Not to mention the health benefits of walking in the fresh air.

Many will disagree with me, I'm sure, but I think we are lucky of transit in Vancouver.  I travel to the Richmond suburbs every day from Commercial Drive.  A good walk, two express buses, and I'm there, rested and ready to go in about an hour.  During that hour, I can nap or read or listen to music or surf the net.  Hard to beat.

I have a trip planned for Toronto. I would go for the 17th and be home on the 21st. I would meet up with one man for two hours on the 18th and make 300, before going to a Madonna concert and staying in the Hazelton with another. Then on the 20th I would fly to Vancouver where I would meet another man and then take the ferry on the 21st home... where I have no home.

I know how I got here, and I find myself thinking over and over, "What the hell did I do to deserve this."

I have found myself at the mercy of those around me. Not a situation I am comfortable with. I have lost friends this year, lost "love", and lost my sense of self. I have been forced into laughing off all these tragedies in the hopes of not burning bridges. I appear to be something of a pyro as I cannot seem to stop all this destruction. I am young, and intelligent. I should be going home to Prince George and rebuilding myself. I can't stop clinging to this pile of rubble though as I'm haunted by how it once gleamed. The flames burn bright sometimes and look beautiful but they always leave me scorned, ashamed, embarrassed.

I feel so stupid about who I am and how my immature heart has only just begun to heal from it's first love. It has taken so much cruelty to get me over it, but it was needed, as I fell so deep into it. I can't deal with any of this anymore. Not tonight. Benevolence.

I close my eyes and tell myself that all the words and memories mean nothing. With every breath I try to blow it off. And with my feet firmly planted on the ground I suppress my love.

Granville St in Vancouver BC is a great street to walk.  From the area of the Pan Pacific Hotel on one end to the ferry dock for Granville Island at the other, there is a lot to see.  Near the Pan Pacific end is Gas Town with its historic buildings.  But try walking up the hill along the Granville St route.  You won't be disappointed.

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God is doing great things!

This photo was taken walking through Gastown one morning just after sunrise.  As I walked by, I couldn't help but notice the sheer yellowness of the garage.  Taken with Canon 5D, Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS lens.

After some speculation which caused a mislead to my earlier blog posting and some well-kept secrets about the Telus/Bell plans to upgrade to GSM/HSPA, it seems that the plan will go ahead as plan - this time it's official - but instead of dropping their CDMA networks for GSM/HSPA, the 4G/LTE network will be deployed.

I was reading through the press releases of both Bell and Telus and by reading those press releases, I realized that they are deploying the 4th Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network coast to coast. Thanks to their recent licences they had managed to secure during the Wireless Spectrum Auction back in May of this year (2008), it is expected that the new network will be ready by 2010. Both Bell and Telus selected Nokia Siemens and Huawei to provide the infrastrucutre that Bell and Telus will deploy. After all, it seems that both companies has the "Angels & Airwaves" on making their network to be adaptable for visitors in Canada - especially the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the recently announced plan for Toronto to bid on the 2015 Pan Am games (which I will cover on my next blog posting).

This is spreading like wildfire! From the message boards to many blogs such as WirelessNorth.ca. The only problem is, how will other providers that run on the big players' networks will benefit from the upgrade - especially Virgin Mobile, Koodo and Solo? It's up to them to decide for themselves.

References:

"Vendors cheer Bell-Telus network announcement, posts unoriginal quote." National Post. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpposted/archive/2008/10/10/carriers-cheer-bell-telus-network-announcement-posts-unoriginal-quote.aspx>

"BCE and Telus announce joint network upgrade." National Post. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=873515>

"Bell, Telus to upgrade networks." Toronto Star. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/515644>

"Telus and Bell announce GSM plans for Canada - HSPA 3G networks by 2010." IntoMobile.com. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.intomobile.com/2008/10/10/telus-and-bell-announce-gsm-plans-for-canada-hspa-3g-networks-by-2010.html>

Changing gears, after a two week strike set up by union members who operate the Viva bus service all across York Region, it seems that they have accepted the offer and it is anticipated that full VIVA service will be back up and running this weekend. It seems that people in York Region are coping with the situation, quite similar to our strike in the Durham Region back 2 years ago. The strike will be distant memories for me of course.

References:

"Viva strike over." Vaughan Today. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.vaughantoday.ca/story.php?id=1133>

"Drivers vote to end Viva bus strike in York." Toronto Star. 10 October 2008. 10 October 2008. <http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/515754>

First stop was Shogun.  However, once we've arrived, it turns out this place closes at 4pm every working day.  It also seems like it doesn't open on the weekends or holidays.  What a way to do business huh?

Fortunately I anticipated this mishap, as these things seem to happen often.  We always seem to venture out to a place only to find them not open on the exact same weekday we visit.  My next choice is Noodle Express.

It was relatively easy to find.  There's a parking garage nearby too on Alberni Street, above the liquor store.  It costs $2.50 per half hour, and you can ONLY pick between half an hour or 24 hours parking.  Weird.

As with most ramen places, you have a choice between Miso, Shoyu and Shio soup base.

It wasn't busy at all the day of our visit.  It was a weekday afterall and it wasn't quite dinner time yet.  They have quite a selection on their menu, and there were items posted on the walls all around also.  This led me to the suspicion that this is not a japanese-owned restaurant, as we would've like for a ramen place.  My suspicion was confirmed later when the waitress talked to the cooks in the back in mandarin.

First up Hanz was enticed by the menu item Roasted Beef.  Upon reading I would think this is equivalent to the chinese style of five-spice marinated roast beef.  So we had high hopes for it.

Unfortunately, this was obviously reheated in the microwave (we could hear the beep of the microwave).  Despite the dark coloring of the meat, it was bland and dry.  The only good part was the part near the tendon, and that had barely tasteable flavor.  I suggested we leave it to dunk into the ramen soup later.

I ordered the Pork Toro Shoyu Ramen.  It came with succulent pieces of fatty pork belly meat.  They were the best part of the dish.  They were perfectly marinated and prepared, soft and melted in my mouth.  Good for my tastebuds, not so good for my arteries~

I like the fact that they serve their ramen they way sapporo style should be -with bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and corn.  The fact that Ezogiku changed their ways and serve it with cabbage, artificial crab and bak choy (sometimes) had disappointed me little by little.

The soup base was just okay.  It didn't live up to my expectations since that one time I had the best shoyu soup base at Ezogiku, and even THEY don't live up to it anymore.

Hanz's choice was Chicken Teriyaki Shoyu Ramen.  Everything else was the same as mine.  The chicken was not as flavorful though.  I found it rather bland.

Having said all that, I'll still come back, perhaps to try their miso soup base to see if it's any good.

När han i somras var hemma i Östersund körde han runt i en 93! Som SAAB-frälst så tackar jag för den reklamen, men kunde man inte tryckt upp den lite extra, varför låte stans just nu enda NHL-proffs köra runt i en sniken 1,8?

one tonight in burnaby at SFU.
shit's like 5 bucks, and you'll get to see a long way home AND conversation.
badda bing badda boom. intense.

tomorrow harrison and conversation are hitting it up at the chapel.
horizons, ill intent, the grave life and along way home will be joining in as well!

do it up.

No nos habíamos decidido hasta ahora a hacernos un blog. Hubiese querido abrirlo al principio de venir a Vancouver pero por una cosa u otra se iba pasando.

Intentaremos publicar algunas fotos y comentarios sobre los sitios que hemos ido visitando a lo largo de nuestra estancia en Canadá.

Volvemos a hacer una gran mudanza ya que nos volvemos a Europa, aunque de esto ya iremos informando.

We visited on a rainy morning and were entertained by a movie being filmed across the street (how Vancouver is that?). We noticed one of the actresses from a TV show wolfing down a commissary sandwich. She should have stepped out of the rain into Café Medina. Dry and the food’s a damn sight better.

Theresa’s brekkie
Both Jenn and I opted for the waffles with different toppings and sides. I ordered two waffles with maple syrup and bacon and I stole (read: ate most of) Jenn’s roasted potatoes.

The waffles were really good. They were crunchy on the outside, and moist and dense on the inside. The bacon wasn’t what I expected. These were nothing like the lame slices you normally get for breakfast. These were what our resident foodie, Jenn,  called “Danish” bacon. These babies were thick and meaty. Once I trimmed the fat away, they were tres yummy. And the portions were more than enough to share. The roasted potatoes were really good too-and they came with melted cheese.

Café Medina also gets serious points for serving the tea in an insulated carafe with loose tea and a very cute retro cup and saucer set. The water, however, wasn’t hot enough.

Jennifer’s brekkie

I had heard that Cafe Medina was known for its waffles so I thought I ought to sample their fare. Waffles at Medina are sold individually and you select your preferred toppings from the likes of raspberry caramel, pistachio white chocolate, fig orange marmalade and lavender milk chocolate. I ordered two waffles with sides of maple syrup, mixed berry compote, and dark chocolate. The gooey warm chocolate mixed with the juicy berries atop my crispy yet moist waffles was fabulous, I must say.

We also shared some very hefty bacon slices and gorgeous roast potatoes with melted cheese and carmelized onions - big yum. I rounded out my meal with a foamy latte but I wish it hadn't been served in a clear glass with no handle.

The facts:

Café Medina
556 Beatty Street (between W. Pender and Dunsmuir)
www.medinacafe.com

Breakfast for 2 cost us $31.99
Theresa’s rating: 4 eggs out of 5
Jennifer’s rating: 4 eggs out of 5

Theresa' Brekkie

Jenn made comment that I like wraps, and I do. They're nice and easy to eat and every bite has a mix of different flavours. What's not to like about that? So I ordered the breakfast wrap.  The menu says it's a mix of scrambled eggs, bacon, peppers, mushrooms, red and green onions, diced tomatoes and homefries in a tomato basil tortilla.  It was okay. The filling was kind of cold (I think it was pre-prepared), the bacon was way overcooked and there were salty spots in the filling. Plus I was expecting scrambled eggs. What I got were eggs cooked into a thin, pancake type thingie. It was kind of spongy. It made me wish I was at Aphrodite's. I also asked for a received some salsa on this side. It was way too salty. It made me wish I was at Paul's Place Omlettery. Sigh.

On a good note, the wrap came with a fruit salad. It was just right - fresh and nothing added to it like sugar or syrup. It had pears, apples, bananas, kiwi and half of a finely diced strawberry on top. And for once, I was glad to be at 9th Avenue.

Jennifer's Brekkie

Turns out I wasn't in the mood for anything fancy so 9th Avenue Grill fit the bill nicely. I ordered the 2-2-2 which consisted of 2 eggs any style (I'm a scrambled kinda girl), 2 pancakes (or splurge and have french toast for an extra buck) and your choice of bacon, country sausage or honey-smoked ham (sausages for me please). It was a very basic meal that I can't rave about but which I did enjoy.

Sadly, 9th Avenue does not have an espresso machine (what is this world coming to?) so I settled for an Earl Grey tea. And the Saturday paper, which was graciously offered to me by the waitress while I waited for Theresa to arrive. Basic eats, reasonable prices, friendly staff - I can't complain.

The Facts

9th Avenue Grill
9th Avenue Grill, 1822 West Broadway
Tel. 604.714.0744

9th Avenue Grill On Howe, 1060 Howe Street
Tel. 604.688.0717

www.9thavenuegrill.com

Breakfast for 2 cost us $22.42

Theresa's rating: 2 eggs out of 5 (the fruit salad gets a perfect score)
Jennifer's rating: 3 eggs out 5

Why Cruise To Alaska?

Gazing out at icebergs and wildlife during the day, while taking advantage of all the amenities on board as you go. On cruises to Alaska, you'll find state-of-the-art fitness centers, spas, sports courts, swimming pools, and even computerized golf. They're also great for families with something for everyone.

Best Alaskan Cruise Inside Passage Cruises (Seattle Round-Trip)

If your time is limited and you just want to focus on the breathtaking glaciers and colorful ports of Alaska's celebrated Inside Passage-like Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, B.C.- then this is the ideal choice. With hundreds of Alaska Airlines flights to Seattle from all across the country, you'll save money on airfare and enjoy the ease of sailing round trip from Seattle.

Revel in the dazzling views and premium luxury cruise experience of a five-star vessel designed for Alaska cruising. Savor days and nights at sea complete with fine dining, enriching activities, and nightly entertainment, plus more time ashore for helicopter sightseeing, exploring glaciers, salmon fishing, and touring local museums.

Alaska Airlines Alaska Vacations features the best itinerary for cruise-only passengers. Sail aboard the MS Noordam, the newest ship in the Holland America fleet. Our special staterooms aboard this lavish Vista-class vessel are more spacious than those on ships of comparable size and feature premium amenities like fine linens, Euro-top mattresses, and plush bathrobes. Many staterooms also include the luxury of an extra-large private veranda for open-air views.

You'll enjoy the ease and security of a pre-planned itinerary, plus the ability to customize your experience and costs by choosing your stateroom and picking shore excursions to match your personal interests.

Sail any Sunday on 20 departures from May-September.

Best Cross-Gulf of Alaska Cruise (Vancouver-Whittier)
Experience the magic of Alaska's Interior on a land tour with our cross-Gulf of Alaska cruise. You'll see twice the number of glaciers as on our Inside Passage itinerary.

Princess offers some of the most well appointed ships and the most affordable private balconies on this itinerary. And your seven days at sea blend seamlessly with our Denali land-based adventures. Instead of sailing round-trip, you'll travel one-way-northbound from Vancouver or southbound from Whittier, Alaska on a scenic route that takes you through the Inside Passage to the awesome calving glaciers of Glacier Bay National Park.

But why stop there? You'll continue 500 miles further across the Gulf of Alaska and cruise into glorious College Fjord, where 16 tidewater glaciers surround you. All of the top coastal attractions are on this one 7-day voyage, including the most popular ports of call: Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.

There are multiple departures from May-September.

I set my alarm an hour earlier than the time I need to get up and then for one hour, I play Whack-a-Snooze.

:00 - beep buzz beep buzz WHACK

:09 - beep buzz beep buzz WHACK

Every nine minutes, my awesome reflexes sweep my arm across the bed and bring my hand crashing down on the snooze button- if it's a good day. Foreshadowing a crappy day are the mornings when listening to the alarm ring just doesn't seem so bad.

I like to think my morning game of Whack-a-Snooze prepares me for the glorious day when I'll need my reflexes to kick some ass on Family Feud:

WHACK! Dogs!

Survey says: X

Well, Family Feud aside, I still find it is a much better way to wake up in the morning. I am willing to sacrifice an hour of real sleep for a game of Whack-a-Snooze in order to wake up gradually. Unlike those who try to steal an extra hour of sleep and burst out of bed, still half asleep, and end up brushing their teeth with Prep H or whatever happens to be in the closest tube their squinty eyes can't read.  I get up after a game of Whack-a-Snooze feeling awake and slightly annoyed which is, to my estimation, the best way to greet the day. Plus, it is a great deal more practical than some of the other "Whack-a" games my brethren are wont to play first thing in the morning.

On a completely unrelated note, I have decided on a new "Best Thing Ever":

Discovery Channel's new TV spot. It makes me smile everytime.

Boom De Ah Dah Boom De Ah Dah...

From Friday, October 24th - Sunday, October 26th, Jimmy and I will be heading up to Vancouver for the Vancouver Sports Collectibles Show. This is "Western Canada's Largest Show".

Avoid shipping fees and drop of any cards you would like to have added to the site. We look forward to meeting you.

Heading into the long weekend, I felt it would be appropriate to post a very brief report, in similar fashion to a previous entry. We at Foodosophy can certainly use a break from our busy schedule, so we hope you can understand our brevity today.

May I introduce, a contender for the title of Weakest Fast Food Tacos Ever Created.

- bland, flavorless meat that was stewed in a watery broth
- the meat and watered down sour cream transferred too much moisture to the tacos, rendering them a soggy mess
- uninteresting toppings that added little to the overall lack of taste
- each of the four tiny tacos in the set could literally be eaten in two bites, because most of it was dropping out of the runny shell

Quick and fast perhaps. But a satisfying meal, it is not.

I find the definition of existing and new town and neighbourhood centres interesting.  One is the tip of the hat to Surrey Central/Whalley as a new Metro Centre.  We know that Surrey is growing at a faster rate than Vancouver and will likely overtake Vancouver as the most populous municipality in the next decade or two.  There are also new town centres such as Oakridge in Vancouver, Fleetwood in Surrey, and Lynn Valley in the District of North Vancouver.  Being in the City of Vancouver, I think it's exciting that we are looking at an area outside of the Metro Core to drive development of shops and residences.  There is already an exisiting Oakridge Centre Policy from the City of Vancouver.  There is also a PDF for the policy.  It will be tough to develop more in and around Oakridge because it is in the very NIMBY west side of Vancouver.

There is also a new emphasis on protecting existing industrial land in order to preserve a certain employment base in the region.  The draft re-emphasizes the need to preserve agricultural and natural assets as well.  There's an outline of a new regional greenway network.

On the transportation front, there is a reiteration of current transit plans, although I don't remember previous plans proposing a SkyTrain extension to Fleetwood.  I know the Ministry of Transportation wants to extend it to Guildford, but this draft suggests taking it south towards Fleetwood.  Not really my personal preference in terms of modal choice to Fleetwood.  I think Surrey really needs Bus Rapid Transit to build up a "culture of transit" first and then SkyTrain or other rail transit could become more viable.  Although, Guildford may already have numbers needed to bring the SkyTrain there.

Location Scouting-22, originally uploaded by Simon Chester.

I have a couple of upcoming shoots; one with a fashion model and one with a budding actor for his portfolio. So I needed to find a good place to shoot with plenty of variety and no imminent death possibilities (like fast moving trains/gangs and piano's).
A good afternoon spent with a good mate driving round some of the seedier area's finally threw up this location by the railway tracks which, aside from an incredible amount of dogshit, was perfect! Or so I though. Turns out every, and obviously his dog, in Vancouver shoots here, and it's been featured in numerous international campaigns. I blame the film industry!
Oh well, more scouting to do....

I will be working a few days at the local coffee shop called Grand Central and all my other time will be spent creating, drawing, writing, sewing and being secluded in the woods with my dog. I will be blogging my experience as a type of experiment. For those people interested in the process behind the art, what a person goes through to make a beautiful collection, and how an artist fares in the woods alone you should tune in over the next months.

This marks the start of journey. A journey of facing fears, a journey of expression, a journey of going inside and a discovery of self that manifests itself as an enchanting collection of clothes.

kdon

photo by kris krug

The story has to incorporate the following sentence into it: "The legwarmers fit surprisingly well considering the shoddy workmanship and questionable yarn."

I actually started writing a bit tonight, but so far only have two paragraphs. Once I have written a bit more I might post it, but only if people promise to help me improve it! I would love to have a bunch of my friends enter this contest so we can compare pieces, even if you don't actually submit your work, just so that we are all working on the same project.

My challenge to everyone reading this: write a story using that sentence from the Vancouver Courier. Whether you enter the contest or not is up to you. Please post a link to your story in my comments!

Thinking back on it now I still can't believe the conversations we had over a table just about every night. Whether that was at the dinner table or a coffee table we listened to each other's stories and genuinely enjoyed each other's company. So we are going to do that here in Spring Hill too. After small group tonight we invited all of them over for dinner on Sunday. We are going to invite others too, to build and create relationships and community here. I believe that is what God put in our hearts while we were there. To build community here, in the burbs, where we live far apart and are busy and have a million other commitments. But we need each other (and Chris if you read this, we can't wait to have you back!).

So thank you to Becca, Jenna, Russ, Jason, Colletta, Kelsey, and Heather. It is amazing what a week can do and I am still frustrated that I cannot articulate the experience very well. But the conversations were full of life and his Holy Spirit is still with us! Thank you to all the staff there as well. You all helped Amber and I grow and hopefully will continue to do so.

"Time spent around the table with each other in time spent with God." Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis