Notes from BC - A collection of writings about life in British Columbia
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March 16, 2010
 

Sushi To Go

A while ago I wrote about going to try sushi for the first time at Shabusen Restaurant in Kitsilano. I hadn't eaten any since then despite contemplating it a few times but tonight we decided to change that and try some takeaway sushi. We went to Shiosai Sushi on Joyce Street in Collingwood.

Shiosai is just around the corner from where we live (literally 2 minutes walk away if that) and when we first moved in we joked that we'd probably never eat there as we weren't keen on sushi. However since we went out with our friends and tried it properly we've walked by this place a few times saying to ourselves we should try it sometime. So this evening as we walked by it yet again we decided to finally try some takeout from there and we were really impressed with it.

We played it safe and went for a Vegetable combo, it only cost $6.30 too. I've been warned that bad sushi places are really terrible and not being a connoisseur myself I didn't want to risk having anything that would be gross but we'll be definitely willing to try more now that we know it's good. It's a very small place inside and ran by two elderly Japanese people, it's immaculately clean and everything is very fresh. With it being in close proximity to our home I'm sure we'll be visiting again soon.

   
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Filed under  //   Collingwood  

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March 15, 2010
 

Martini's, Injuries, Rain and Tea

This weekend started off well. After finishing work on Friday me and two of my mates went straight to The Lamplighter in Gastown. Arriving in the bar early paid off too as we got given a free pitcher of beer. This was because the staff believed everyone should have a beer in their hand at 5pm and we were just finishing the one we'd been drinking, perfect timing! We ended up leaving Gastown around 8pm and then I went for a bite to eat with one of my friends at an Earls Restaurant (I'm not quite sure where, I was lost and was solely relying on my mate CJ's directions!). I even tried a martini for the first time too (I know, manly hey?) those who know me well know that's not usually something I'd touch. Imagine it - two blokes sitting on a private table and drinking martini's together - I joked about what people might have thought about us! By the time I was making my way home Lou had finished work (evening shift) and we both got back to the apartment within about 10 minutes of each other.
Unfortunately Lou had fallen at work after tripping over the wire of a bed alarm and she was in quite a bit of pain when she got home. Lou has a bad left knee after an injury she had a few years back and the fall made it feel really sore and her hands and arms which she'd landed on were really hurting too. The next day she wasn't able to work and she already had Sunday off so we managed to get the weekend off together which was nice, it was just a shame the way it came about! We didn't do a great deal on Saturday, I wasn't feeling raring to go after the drinks I'd had the night before and Lou was in pain from the fall so we just relaxed. Apart from going to get some photos for her permanent residency application we didn't do much else except stay at home and watch a movie which we'd brought during the week.

Sunday was a busy day with there being many birthdays on both sides of our families. We spent most of the morning having video chats with everyone which was nice, then in the afternoon we headed out on the SkyTrain and SeaBus to North Vancouver. We'd planned on taking some more photos and hoped we'd get the chance to walk around more of the North Van area because the previous time we'd been it was very wet. However almost just as we got on the SkyTrain the weather turned and it started to rain this time too (how "Vancouver-ish" haha)! We still persisted though and thought at the very least it would give us the chance to get out of the apartment for a few hours and we'd still be able to go to the Lonsdale Quay market. There is a tea shop in the market which Lou had found on our last trip and she was quick to head back there again this time stocking up on some "White pearl of Fujian". I hadn't had my coffee fix in the morning and was starting to feel the need for one (it's becoming a necessity, it's bad!) so we took a break after an hour of looking around and I grabbed a cookie and coffee (Lou opted for a cocoanut bubble tea of course). After that we looked around the rest of the market and we then made our way home because Lou couldn't be persuaded to walk around in the rain! We got home in time to watch the Canucks on TV beat Calgary 3-1 and that rounded off a good weekend overall.

         
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Archive.zip (8276 KB)

Filed under  //   Gastown   North Vancouver  

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March 11, 2010
 

Olympics End, Normal Life Resumes!

A combination of the Olympics, paperwork, illness, and a new video game distracted me from blogging over the last couple of weeks and I just can't seem to get back in the writing mood. I'm almost having to force myself to write this right now.  Really that tells me I shouldn't write anything but a few people are wondering why I've stopped (and I know the longer I leave it the harder it becomes) so here we go : 

The Olympics are now over and they ended in style with Canada winning gold in the mens hockey final. It was a great game although I ended up having to watch it at home because I slept in late (the game started at noon) and nowhere was going to let me in by the time I could have got into the city. I was disappointed not be with my mates but at least I knew I'd have a good seat for the game on our nice sofa! So, I put on my Team Canada jersey, grabbed a beer and watched one of the best hockey games of my life...at home on my own! Lou was at work but she managed to wangle some time  to watch it most of it too. Canada led the majority of the game 2-1 until the USA managed to equalize with only seconds left in the game. That took the match into over-time and then Sidney Crosby grabbed the winner (sudden death) to make it 3-2 and win the gold. I went crazy when the puck went in and was jumping up and down in the living room, it left me breathless. Our non-hockey fan neighbours must have wondered what the heck was going on in our apartment. It was a fantastic experience and it was a great way for the Olympics to come to an end. After the match we (Lou was home shortly after) stood on our balcony waving the Canadian flag to the drivers who went by and that encouraged many of them to honk their horns in celebration, it was a fun way to be able to share the victory with random strangers! 

Previous to the final we'd watched 4 games in a week, the best one being the semi-final as me and Lou went with friends to watch it in a bar in Gastown. We had arrived there a few hours prior to the start of the game and we were still unable to get seats but we had fun still and the atmosphere was really good. We did however end up spending $140 and we were home before 9pm - we weren't fans of the "Olympic prices" thats for sure!

The week after the Olympics I was ill (again) and had to take some time off work, I keep saying it but I'm fed up of being ill. I originally thought it must be taking my immune system a long time to get used to 'new' germs but it's been 8 months now and I'm still getting sick constantly. I've even started taking supplements too but it doesn't seem to be working. Maybe, it's all the early morning starts and late nights taking it's toll but I just find it impossible to go to sleep early. Anyway that's enough moaning from me for now…

Low and behold the weather has started to turn cold this week and we've even had some snow. It's a little bit late for the Olympic games but to be honest they seemed to do well without it despite all the media hype about it. Fair enough a few events had to be re-scheduled but overall I think things went well. Also, I was telling Lou during the Olympics I was getting fed up of people in the city thinking I was a tourist all the time so I'm glad the games are over in that respect at least. I have definitely noticed less people asking me "So, how long are you on holiday here for?" etc! The city has now become normal again which is nice, the games were great but it's good not to have any of the related chaos anymore! 

This week we haven't been up to much, work has been more or less the same and Lou has been on evenings during this second half of the week so we've not had the chance to do a great deal. Tuesday was the only day we managed to do something fun. Lou came to Gastown to meet me after work and then we went for a few drinks and a meal at The Kingston Taphouse which was really cool (we'd been introduced to place by my buddy CJ a few weeks before and we would have probably never discovered the place on our own). Apart from that I've been busying myself with getting out tax returns sorted and some other mundane but necessary paperwork recently and there's nothing much more to write home about…literally. 

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