Observations:

Learned a few things this week:

1. There are two companies operating mini water taxis across False Creek in Vancouver. I found this out this week upon realizing that the company I was currently working with does not drop off at the Aquatic Centre from Granville Island, and was under the impression that someone did. Later found out who that company was, and also found out that several of my coworkers were under the same impression as me, except thought it was the former, not the latter. Ha! Actually I'm not sure which is former and which is latter, but Granville Island Ferries drops people off at the Aquatic Centre from Granville Island, and the Aquabus does not. So there.
2. Cumin and water chestnuts do not go well together. Nor does baking spring rolls with butter coating vs oil. That’s it for improvising for me…
3. Going to Seattle this weekend… in my research was trying to find a quintessential Seattle clothing store/designer – turns out there are none, they are all chain stores. Sure there is Sephora and Nordstrom but they are large national chains that didn’t even start in Seattle. Save for Tom Binh, who makes cool bags and backpacks. Oh and there are local designers out there, just not in my price range. I mean, Vancouver has John Fluevog and Lululemon… is Seattle’s claim to fame Starbuck’s, Boeing, and Microsoft? Boo. Also Starbuck’s should technically be more of a Vancouver thing than Seattle now, even though it started in Seattle there are more Starbuck’s here than in Seattle (and they have twice the population).

Random

• Am really impressed with my hair straightener. Does an amazing job especially with hair-tie head.
• Am debating the whole public transit to work thing. People on the bus just really bother me. Although this morning wasn’t too bad… perhaps I should switch to taking the 8:05 bus vs the 8:03? Much less aggravation this morning. Maybe it’s because it’s Monday. At any rate, I am giving it one more month by which time it may be bicycle season, so may not need to change car insurance again. Mental note, get bicycle tuned, buy helmet.
• Do you ever see those pictures of people in like, India or Asia where they have people crammed into buses and practically hanging off the rafters? Why is it we find this so… rural or quaint or endearing or at least, “Damn I am glad I don’t have to smell that”… yet we freely stuff ourselves into buses and trains without much thought to how similar these situations are?
• Coffee mug politics. I find it ironic, though, that people would feel free to use my unmarked, unnamed mug (though clearly it is not one of the ‘communal’ mugs that have the company logo on it, or the other blue Ikea mugs)… vs my other mug in the cupboard that says ‘Be My Valentine!’ ? No one has touched that one… too personal perhaps? One of my colleagues, who thinks similarly to me, caught one of our other colleagues with my mug for me. He was like, “I didn’t know!” But both of us were like, “How can you not know?” In a corporation there is only so much personalization one is afforded, that is why the mug thing is a big deal. I mean, it’s not a big deal, but it really is a big deal.
• I HATE Ultimate Circuit. But still go. Just not this week.
• Around the block from my work there used to be some kind of Manpower office where people would go to sign up for day labour on construction sites. Well the office is gone but people still congregate there to possibly get picked up for work. An interesting way to make a living, I think. And also creepy when walking by 20 or so men basically loitering on the street and they all stare at you. This afternoon (and you would think that after a certain time of day they would have given up and gone home…) I walked down the street after my doctor’s appointment only to catch a whiff of MJ and saw some guy rolling up a paper bag package. Interesting, I thought… Interesting. Not only are these guys not actively employed, some are also smoking up to pass the time. Sounds like winners to me.