Westcoast Trails
When my mum got sick last month I realized how long it had been since I'd last her. 18 months to be exact. So during my school's Spring break I packed up and headed home for 10 days of relative warmth and sunshine. It was really nice to be home and see lots of my friends again. The other major bonus is getting to eat my favourite foods and go to my favourite restaurants again. Ahh, the Capitol Hill Szechuan Restuarant, where would I be without your $5.50 lunch special and vegetarian menu. It's also very fun to see my dogs again. Seeing them makes me want to get a dog here in Japan, but our apartment is just too small and Yukiko & I are just too busy.
My mum is doing just great after her illness. She found out that she has developed diabetes so she is eating a special diet and making sure to gets lots of exercise (which she was already doing before though). She is eating about half of what she did before and yet she feels fine. So probably she was overeating before. The result is that she has lost a lot of weight and is looking great. Way to go mum!
Here's the new & improved Mum & the same old beagles.
The old dude on the right is my dad. He's lost weight too and is looking mighty fine. So now I'm definitely the family fatty :(
Everyone will be expected to memorize which beagle is which below. You will be tested on this:
This is Jean-Luc (yes he's named after the Star Trek captain). He's the fast running, high leaping one. Our vet called him a harrier.
This is Lancelot. He's the lazy, lap-dog one.
Have to get at least 1 shot of me and the dogs.
I was able to meet up with a bunch of my friends in Vancouver too. Some of them I hadn't seen for a few years.
My friends Neil & Rachel recently bought a big new house in Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. It dwarfs everthing but sports stadiums and adult video shops here in Japan. It's also located next to a nice, big park so their neighbourhood is very quiet and green. Made me realize how much my neighbourhood in Japan is covered in pavement and jammed full of little tiny houses and little tiny cars. Neil & Rachel are also expecting something wonderful in about 2 month's time.
Neil & Rachel
I didn't want to say anything to Neil but I think Rachel has put on a few pounds since the wedding. Must be those yummy Money's Mushroom Burgers.
The pic is a little dark but check out the size of their house. That would cover about 3 city blocks in Japan!
Next up on the chopping block is my friend Chris. He used to be a teacher in Japan but is now living out his dream by working at a video game design company, Radical Entertainment, in Vancouver. He took me on a tour of his workplace and it just awesome. The employees lounge is the size of a school gynasium and features; a movie theatre sized screen for conferences & gaming, a pool table, ping pong table, old classic arcade games, big screen TV & loads of DVD's, free food & drink bar, and probably lots of other stuff that I just didn't notice. I also got to try out the new game his team is developing, but because it's not listed on the company's webpage it is probably a secret so I won't mention the name here. He and his wife Eunjoo were also in negotiations to buy a house. Hmmm, all my friends are buying houses while I'm still struggling over whether to upgrade my mobile phone or not.
I also got a chance to see my friend Mark for the first time in years. He was a roommate for awhile at UVic and a fellow Creative Writing student. He's working for the world famous anti-corporate magazine called Adbusters.
Another highlight of the trip was going to see a live play. My parents have always had season's tickets for the Vancouver Playhouse and I used to see plays all the time while I was in Vancouver. I was lucky enough to get an extra seat and join for an evening of Copenhagen, a somewhat difficult piece about physics, memory, and morality. A good explanation of the play can be found here.
As an added bonus I ran into a friend who I used to play soccer with. He was working at the airport and recognized me when I gave him my ticket and passport prior to boarding the plane. I didn't recognize him at all until he told me his name. What a dummy. We chatted for a little while about we've been up to but then I had to board the plane. All in all it was a great trip. It would have been better if Yukiko could have joined me but she couldn't take the time off from work. Oh well, in a sense she payed for my trip and that's not too bad!
My mum is doing just great after her illness. She found out that she has developed diabetes so she is eating a special diet and making sure to gets lots of exercise (which she was already doing before though). She is eating about half of what she did before and yet she feels fine. So probably she was overeating before. The result is that she has lost a lot of weight and is looking great. Way to go mum!
Here's the new & improved Mum & the same old beagles. 
The old dude on the right is my dad. He's lost weight too and is looking mighty fine. So now I'm definitely the family fatty :(Everyone will be expected to memorize which beagle is which below. You will be tested on this:
This is Jean-Luc (yes he's named after the Star Trek captain). He's the fast running, high leaping one. Our vet called him a harrier.
This is Lancelot. He's the lazy, lap-dog one. 
Have to get at least 1 shot of me and the dogs.I was able to meet up with a bunch of my friends in Vancouver too. Some of them I hadn't seen for a few years.
My friends Neil & Rachel recently bought a big new house in Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. It dwarfs everthing but sports stadiums and adult video shops here in Japan. It's also located next to a nice, big park so their neighbourhood is very quiet and green. Made me realize how much my neighbourhood in Japan is covered in pavement and jammed full of little tiny houses and little tiny cars. Neil & Rachel are also expecting something wonderful in about 2 month's time.
Neil & Rachel
I didn't want to say anything to Neil but I think Rachel has put on a few pounds since the wedding. Must be those yummy Money's Mushroom Burgers.
The pic is a little dark but check out the size of their house. That would cover about 3 city blocks in Japan!Next up on the chopping block is my friend Chris. He used to be a teacher in Japan but is now living out his dream by working at a video game design company, Radical Entertainment, in Vancouver. He took me on a tour of his workplace and it just awesome. The employees lounge is the size of a school gynasium and features; a movie theatre sized screen for conferences & gaming, a pool table, ping pong table, old classic arcade games, big screen TV & loads of DVD's, free food & drink bar, and probably lots of other stuff that I just didn't notice. I also got to try out the new game his team is developing, but because it's not listed on the company's webpage it is probably a secret so I won't mention the name here. He and his wife Eunjoo were also in negotiations to buy a house. Hmmm, all my friends are buying houses while I'm still struggling over whether to upgrade my mobile phone or not.
I also got a chance to see my friend Mark for the first time in years. He was a roommate for awhile at UVic and a fellow Creative Writing student. He's working for the world famous anti-corporate magazine called Adbusters.
Another highlight of the trip was going to see a live play. My parents have always had season's tickets for the Vancouver Playhouse and I used to see plays all the time while I was in Vancouver. I was lucky enough to get an extra seat and join for an evening of Copenhagen, a somewhat difficult piece about physics, memory, and morality. A good explanation of the play can be found here.
As an added bonus I ran into a friend who I used to play soccer with. He was working at the airport and recognized me when I gave him my ticket and passport prior to boarding the plane. I didn't recognize him at all until he told me his name. What a dummy. We chatted for a little while about we've been up to but then I had to board the plane. All in all it was a great trip. It would have been better if Yukiko could have joined me but she couldn't take the time off from work. Oh well, in a sense she payed for my trip and that's not too bad!
posted by Jason at 8:22 PM
1 Comments:
I saw Taxi and Sky Captain on my business trip as well! Wow what a coincidence!
Taxi was poopy. And Sky Captain just didn't do it for me. Although I like the idea of transformable planes. That's right up there with the Japanimation I like's.
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