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.:Thursday, January 25, 2007:.
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Not Fair!
A bunch of my workmates just left for lunch, going to Chinatown - which is about a 10-minute walk away. But they will probably drive. I started drooling when they said they were going to Hon's... Arrggghh!
Now normally I would have jumped at the chance to forego my spinach salad lunch (all vegefied and everything, and was so proud to have made for myself last night - even skipped putting meat in it) for some Fried Crispy Noodles with Chicken & Bean Sprouts, or Green Beans with Ground Pork in XO Sauch, or hell, Chicken Fried Rice... but a little voice in my head overrode that decision for me. Bastard! Damn you!
12:16 p.m.
posted by tre
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Odd.
So on my way with the SO to Brix last night, walked down Granville St to kill some time – checked out John Fluevog, continued to Yaletown. On the way down, discovered that they are opening an Urban Outfitters a couple doors down from the Commodore. At first I was like, yay! Finally! Vancouver is cool enough for an Urban Outfitters! We no longer have to travel to Seattle to find kitschy-cool bags and t-shirts and semi-ironic underwear with Muppet characters on them. And then chuckled to myself: since when does Vancouver need an Urban Outfitters? We already have places where you can purchase $95.00 t-shirts (with pre-made holes and frayed edges).
I also noticed on Granville St. that a Preloved store has opened. This is a store that is famous in Toronto for its clothes that have been made out of… old clothes. But it has opened on the sketchy part of Granville St, closer to the bridge (think 1100 block-ish, between a sex shop and a … sex shop, I think.) Maverick positioning strategy or not-very-informed Torontonian business decision? Ho-hum. I might check it out, next time I’m down there… which isn’t very often these days.
Yesterday morning I got on the bus and actually found a seat for once. I sat across from a lady who was staring at me. I couldn’t tell if it was a look of derision or fascination – probably a combination of both. She was looking at me for like, a whole minute, without looking away, which weirded me out. I didn’t take it personally, though – this is public transit after all. Then I looked down to see if I had a hole, or rip in my pants, or something otherwise embarrassing. No. I was wearing my long black jacket with the “T” pin on the lapel, which I thought looked pretty classy. Pink on black. Pink bejeweled pin on black. Other "T"'s would be proud... But then I also had in my lap, my Roots “t” bag. So perhaps she was looking at the T and the t and thinking that perhaps I had an ‘initial’ obsession. Or that I was overly zealous about people knowing what letter of the alphabet my name starts with. At any rate, if that were me staring at someone like me on that particular day, that’s what I’d think. Not sure about this woman though. She looked straight ahead afterwards, continuing to look on with derision at other people on the bus. Ah, public transit.
9:54 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Wednesday, January 24, 2007:.
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So I turned 30 for the first time… that was interesting.
We went to Whistler on Friday night: Dorfmeister, Luscious, Blondie, DTM & I squeezed into the Echo and drove up to our condo at Twin Peaks for the weekend. The drive up was hilarious as we played a great driving game naming cities. Except after a little while ppl got confused over what was a city or not: Mississippi? Kansas City, Utah? How many cities start with N or R? Anywho. Got in at a decent hour, had homemade pizza & wine and played Taboo & Big 2. DTM hit the hot tub at 12:30 but everyone else hit the hay.
Saturday morning MV (now MMcM) & her hubby met up with us to go boarding (only DTM skied) on Blackcomb. MV & I left the boys to their own devices while we graced the green runs. After a long day on the mountains we relaxed in the hot tub prior to getting ready for the Crab Shack & Buffalo Bill’s. The Crab Shack was a’ight and BB’s was a bit of a gong show… we left just as CV & her friends showed up – so L & DTM stayed longer, coming into the condo around 4 AM. I wouldn’t have known, I was dead asleep. They all left Sunday morning pretty early, leaving Dorfmeister & myself to our own devices… I found out I had a massage appointment at the Westin Spa as a gift from the girls (yay!). We had brunch, I went for my appointment, then we walked around the village for a couple hours, bought some pants, then crashed back at the condo and napped for 2 hours. Dinner was another pizza, and a quiet night in. Next morning we got up at 5:30ish and left for home, got into Vancouver at 7:45 for work… man I was tired! Even after a large coffee and donut from Timho’s in Squamish!
As for pressies, I got a t-shirt from DTM from England, the aforementioned spa treatment, and from Dorfmeister: a board bag that matches my board with a whole bunch of hidden pockets and storage areas… very useful! Plus a Mayan horoscope carving, and an Entertainment book – the gift that keeps on giving! All in all, a good weekend.
Anyone want to go boarding this weekend?
9:18 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Monday, January 15, 2007:.
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There are 6 days until my 30th birthday...
... and I've cut my hair to a length that hasn't been this short since I was 11.
Anyone want to get me a proper hair straightener for my birthday? Also, Staedler ballpoint pens in blue. I think they sell them at the UBC Bookstore. And perhaps "Shopaholic & Baby" even though it doesn't come out until late February.
2:02 p.m.
posted by tre
.:Friday, January 05, 2007:.
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Waiting for meeting to start…
One of my pod-mates has the Canada-Russia Jr Hockey game online. We are winning 3-0 in the first period so far. Today is Casual Friday. I am wearing my new Esprit jeans that I didn’t get on sale but whatever. I last wore them at a New Year’s party and have found 2 wads of tissue paper in each back pocket. Did I sneeze a lot? The main thing I remember was someone abruptly stopping a conversation about ‘the squirts.’
Ho hum.
PS scratch Axis GC off the list. I am doing that within the next week or two. Hair is getting too long.
11:09 a.m.
posted by tre
.:Wednesday, January 03, 2007:.
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This...
 ...is what I want for my birthday. It comes in three different colour patterns: brown & pink; black & beige; or olive & brown. I covet all of them. Of course, most of my wardrobe goes with the first two, but that's besides the point.
Or this:  ... I think it's pretty. But then I did just get a new handbag/briefcase... but one can never have too many... Plus it's my birthday. When do I ever get to be this self-indulgent? Or, in no particular order:
- a John Fluevog GC
- a AXIS GC
- tickets to Keane on Jan 31 (don't gag, AW)
- someone who likes Keane and would go to their concert on Jan 31
- an idea of where to go on vacation next
- a winning lottery ticket
- age-appropriate jewelry
- coasters for my coffee mugs at work
10:01 p.m.
posted by tre
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A day-by-day account of my trip to BelizeCheck out the pics at Dorfmeister's MSN Spaceand Terra1ncognita photoshare (not complete yet) Friday, December 8, 2006Last day of training at work... then left for SeaTac Airport. We got to the airport around 9:30-10:00 PM, good timing to check in. We thought we'd be smart and do the self check-in and skip the line but the computer wouldn't accept our tickets (turns out self check-in is only for 'domestic' flights, not ours even though the first leg was a domestic flight... but whatevs)... we managed to skip the line-up altogether because the guy at the counter took pity on us ignorant folk and checked us in right there. Hooray for American Airlines! Ate pizza at kiosk. Flight left at 11:59 PM to Dallas, and was uneventful. 
Saturday, December 9, 2006Arrived Dallas at 6:00 AM local time (so about 4 AM Pacific). With a 6 hour layover and not a lot of sleep, we took respite at our intended gate thinking because it was early in the morning, it would be quiet. It would have been, if not for the big screen tvs all over the place blaring CNN 24/7. Seriously! We tried laying on the floor but it was cold and there was a draft. Needless to say we were not very comfortable and the sleep I did get was because I put in earplugs (that only concentrated the CNN noise) and wore an eye mask. I also dreamed I was watching CNN, which didn't help. We got into Belize City around 3 in the afternoon, to our hotel by around 4:30. Taxi ride was $25 USD flat rate. I think we tipped the guy about $5. After we checked in we went for a walk. The city was busy, and everyone could tell we were tourists and demanded our attention. Aggh! Met a fellow guest named Nate, whom we hung out with, used his laptop, and went to dinner with at a restaurant nearby. This is where we were introduced to Belikin beer. Beer is beer to me, but Dorfmeister lurrved it. The place we stayed at was called the Hotel Mopan, and stayed for 2 nights. We paid approx $40 US/night for non-view, fan only. We didn't count on all the rain.  Sunday, December 10, 2006Sunday was dead in BZE. Seriously, nothing going on - no stores or restaurants open, nothing. We ended up walking for about an hour to the Princess Resort & Casino, had a large-ish lunch and watched Casino Royale. Yep, that's pretty much it. Basically waste of a day. 
Monday, December 11, 2006Weather cleared up a bit, we checked out and walked to the bus station. Had mini tiff over walking vs. $4 cab ride. Anywho, it cost $5 USD to take the bus all the way to San Ignacio, a jungle town approx 4-5 hours away. From there we took a cab to our accommodation, the Parrot Nest Lodge. We were to stay in a tree house near a river. The room rate was also approx $40 US/nt. On account of the rain the river was pretty high, and the accommodations a bit soggy due to the humidity, and there were a lot of bugs. I for one was not very comfortable. We signed up for a tour the next day to see some Mayan Ruins at Tikal. We figured we'd do the major one since we were only around for 2 days. If we were to have stayed longer I would have been into doing some caving/canoeing but we were saving that for Monkey Bay.  Tuesday, December 12, 2006Day trip to Tikal, Guatemala. What an adventure! Because of the rain, the roads were nearly washed out which made for a very interesting drive to and from the ruins. Well mainly one stretch of highway approx 2 miles long that took about an hour to get through because it was hilly, and a dirt road, and the dirt road was saturated. Kind of like driving in snow... except all these vehicles were not equiped with snow tires, or chains, because come on people - it's Guatemala! So it took a while for everyone to get up/down this hilly area. When we finally got to Tikal we got to see some magnificent ruins. And had lunch. And then stopped at a souvenir shop. But didn't buy anything. When we got back to San Ignacio we stayed in town and had dinner, drank, danced, and made merry. Then took a cab back to the lodge (which is about 15 minutes out of town). 
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Checked out of Parrot Nest, headed back into town for a little while, did some souvenir shopping, and then took a bus back towards Belize City but stopped approximately halfway at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, where we were to stay for 3 nights.
 Yeah that didn't work out so well. The accommodations were slightly better than at Parrot Nest but I found the place a little too isolated. Plus we didn't feel we were getting a very good deal out of staying there - $15 pp/nt, so $30 USD/night, plus food was $20 pp/day for 3 meals. Because of the rain (again, the rain), all the activities we wanted to really do (zipline, river kayaking) were out of the question because the roads were washed out, and we were also thinking of going to see the Inland Blue Hole (a cenote, where an underground river comes to the surface), but apparently it wouldn't be very blue because of the high water etc. So that was out. But that day we went to visit the Belize Zoo. We walked 2.5 miles to the zoo and I DID NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT IT, although my counterpart did, apparently suddenly realizing we were on vacation and didn't have to work so hard to get from Point A to Point B. Anywho. Belize Zoo. Small. Interesting. We decided to check out the next day and head south to Dangriga, where we were to meet up with Island Expeditions for our trip to Glover's Reef on Saturday.  Thursday, December 14, 2006
Checked out of Monkey Bay early. The people were surprised to see us go, but what can you do, eh? They didn't charge any more than the previous night's accommodation and meals, and that morning's breakfast - although we were a little miffed at the breakfast charge - $6USD pp. In North America that would be cheap but we were already used to breakfast for like $3USD. And for $6USD we got granola and toast, and a selection of jams. Woohoo.
Bus ride to Dangriga was something like $4USD. We arrived in Dangriga around noon. Checked in to the Bluefield Lodge, where they were surprised to see us early, but luckily they had room. Over the course of the next couple of days I realized I had made an error in thinking the trip to Glover's Reef was supposed to leave on the Saturday when in fact it left on Sunday, and my paperwork supported the fact that it left on Sunday. So when we arrived in Dangriga we were actually 3 days early instead of 1. Oops! Luckily they had room for us. Cuz otherwise we would have been SOL. Rates at the Bluefield were approx $25USD/nt.
Dangriga is a sea-side town... not much in the way of attractions, but we walked around in the afternoon, took some pics. Dorfmeister was enthralled with the amount of pelicans nearby diving for their dinners. We ourselves ate at The Riverside Cafe daily, mostly because it was cheap and clean and had a palateable menu.
 The weather was CONSIDERABLY better so we were glad when we got there, that there wasn't any rain! Friday, December 15, 2006
This was the day I realized we were in Dangriga ahead of schedule. We walked down to the Island Expeditions office to check in, and walked around the town some more. Basically laid back. Bought calamine lotion for the bug bites.
 Saturday, December 16, 2006We rented bicycles, and also decided that with all the money we DIDN'T spend on zipline tours or other river expeditions, that we would save time and fly to Caye Caulker from Dangriga when we got back from Glover's Reef. $65USD pp to fly... it would take about 1.5 hours. 2 x 15-minute flights plus layover in between. Another laid back day.  Sunday, December 17, 2006Got picked up by Island Expeditions for our Glover's Reef Getaway, took a water taxi ride approx 2 hours with stops at Tobacco Caye to drop off people, and then another Caye to pick up people, and when we got to Glover's Reef we dropped off the second set of people at the middle caye so they could sail to the southwest caye where we would be spending the weekend together (there were only 4 of us on the Glover's Reef Getaway, the others were part of a 10-day Ultimate Adventure that encorporated 3 days on Glover's Reef). They really treated us very well here. When we got in, we unloaded, got to pick our tents, and they had lunch ready for us. Then we went for a kayak/snorkel in the late afternoon. The Ultimate Adventure people finally sailed in, and we all had dinner together. We played a card game called Pit. That was fun.  Monday, December 18, 2006We did a kayak/snorkel in the morning, and then I ended up diving in the afternoon. Good times. Except for the foggy mask, and the no-see-ums attacking my legs.  Tuesday, December 19, 2006
We did another kayak/snorkel in the morning, except no one felt like kayaking so we took a skiff out. We snorkeled on the outside edge of the reef which was cool - we got to see a turtle! Albeit 60 ft away, but still. Plus other coral and fish. After lunch we boarded the water taxi again and headed back to Dangriga.
The Ultimate Adventure people were going on into the jungle to do some river kayaking, and the rest of us were left to our own devices. The group was pretty good, all definite characters. If that trip was a Survivor game, most of the stereotypes were there: labour nurse/nurturing mother type, army guy, shifty guy from Alabama, young college students, overacheiving Girl Scout (Dorfmeister thought she was a showoff), quiet lawyer. Not sure where we would fall under the stereotyping category... perhaps Dorfmeister would be the Alpha Male Who Gets Frustrated His Mask Keeps Leaking Until He Figures Out The Snorkel Is On The Wrong Side... and I would be somewhere in between "Here for the Party" Girl, Air-hog, and "Sure you can do all the paddling" Girl.
Anywho, back to Dangriga for the night. Stayed at Bluefield Lodge again. My only major complaint about the place is that it has no noise buffer whatsoever. Really actually very annoying, because it's on a semi-busy street, and you can literally hear people talking outside the window 30 feet away. And the dogs... oh the dogs... I love dogs, but I seriously wanted to shoot every one in Belize. Thank God for earplugs!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Off to Caye Caulker! We took a taxi to the air strip, only to find out that the air strip was closed, but luckily we were going to be transported to a nearby airstrip for the flight. This was a first for me, being in a small Cessna and watching planes land/take off from a dirt air strip. We had to fly to Belize City Municipal Airport and change planes there. Our layover was approximately 1 hour. Then the flight to Caye Caulker also included a stop at the Belize International Airport which I thought was strange. Actually our flight was also going on to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, so there were 3 stops total (but we only had to endure 2).
 We had decided to do an apartment rental here, as the rates seemed as reasonable as regular hotel rates, and was so glad we did. The place we stayed at, "Amanda's Place" was graciously appointed. It was a simple bedroom + bathroom + kitchenette for $80 USD/nt x 4 nights, the most expensive place we'd stayed at so far, but after 'roughing it' for the previous 10 days, we certainly deserved it!
 We took a walk up and down Front St, checked out some restaurants and took some pictures, and signed ourselves up for a sailing/snorkelling trip, and signed myself up for some diving. We had dinner at a place called The Sandbox, where Amanda (our host, and apartment rental caretaker), was having her birthday. Cheers for Amanda!
 Thursday, December 21, 2006We sailed with Ragga Muffin Tours to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and snorkelled at 3 spots: Shark Ray Alley (we got to snorkel with nurse sharks and stingrays), Hol Chan Marine Reserve (reefs and fish, the odd ray and nurse shark), and Coral Gardens (more reefs and fish, and Dorfmeister got spooked by a resting nurse shark). They served us lunch abour the sailboat, then after the 3rd snorkel they served up some conch ceviche (basically a salsa with raw conch and lime juice) with chips, and rum punch. A LOT of rum punch. We were very tipsy getting off the boat, and that wasn't because of seasickness! We had dinner at Habanero's, arguably the caye's best restaurant. Then we crashed.  Friday, December 22, 2006I had to get up at 5:00 AM to go diving with Frenchie's. We were going to the Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef. We left at dawn and were the first boat to get to the Blue Hole, again I got to dive with reef sharks and went down 140 feet! The next dive at Lighthouse Reef was pretty cool, then had lunch on the boat and stopped on Halfmoon Caye for an hour, took some pics and headed back for our third dive at The Aquarium - named because of the diverse types of sealife by Jacques Cousteau. The postcards you would get from this area DO do it justice. Amazing. When I got back, I was met by Dorfmeister and we chilled for a bit before dinner at Syd's... not that interesting. 
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Relaxing day. Walked down to The Split to sunbathe. Had lunch, hung out in the shade to cool off, drank some rum & mango juice, then went to dinner at a fish place that also had a live band. Relaxing way to spend our last night in Belize.
 Sunday, December 24, 2006Checked out of Amanda's, had breakfast nearby, walked down to the water taxi pier to catch a water taxi back to the mainland... Uneventful for the most part but very bumpy and I got splashed quite a bit. Emerged in Belize City, soaked, to find the city actually quite busy. We asked some locals why it was busy on a Sunday, they replied that it was because it was Dec 24, and not because it was now officially the Tourist Season. Ho-hum. Had lunch from a vendor, then cabbed it to Belize Airport. Not impressed with Belize Airport, that's all I have to say about that. We flew back to Dallas, changed flights, and arrived back in Seattle around 11:30 PM... then drove to Vancouver, got in around 3:45 AM. Ergh. Crashed. And that was it! We found that we had taken over 550 digital pics and 13 rolls of film... so over 850 pictures total, plus little videos. If it's one thing we learned on this vacation, next time we'll take one that requires a lot less work on our part! All-inclusive, baby... yeahhhh. 
5:42 p.m.
posted by tre
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copyright? what copyright? (2005)
guess what?
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