If We Took a Holiday, Took Some Time to Celebrate
(The Strokes - Between Love and Hate)

You know what I hate? Reading blogs that are simple recounts of someone’s weekend/week. And I’m about to do the exact same thing I hate so I’ll try and make this as brief and to the point as possible.

First 4 Days in BC – The Sunshine Coast
Highlights
- Granville Island (just before we headed to the ferries
- Riding the big BC ferries to the town of Sechelt
- Fishing, oyster picking, clam digging, crab trapping.
- Feeding the bald eagles.
- Cruising davis bay and the inlet in a 17 foot boat.
- Eating our catches at Sonia’s uncle’s restaurant.
- Steamed rock cod, deep fried salty spicy shark, crab, fried oysters and clams.
- Canning fresh salmon to take back to Toronto.
- Watching the sunset over the mountains while skipping rocks on the water.
- Doing a 2 hour hike through a temperate rainforest to the Skukamchuck rapids/whirlpools.
- Picking seaweed.

Last 3 Days in BC – Vancouver, Vancouver Island
- Stanley Park and the Aquarium
- UBC and the Museum of Anthropology
- Grouse Mountain
- The Vancouver Art Gallery (Andy Warhol Exhibit)
- Vancouver Island
- The Butchart Gardens
- Daiso and the bad drivers in Richmond.
- Dinner at some Thai restaurant in Yaletown.

Observations
- In Vancouver people buy used adult magazines; sticky pages and all.
- The roads are a lot narrower and people drive much slower.
- Unmarked cop cars are really unmarked.
- Sashimi is fresher than me on a first date.
- The city is basically a smaller version of Toronto with a mountain backdrop.
- I want to retire to the Sunshine Coast one day.
- Seagulls on Granville Island look like well-fed chickens.
- Wild blackberries grow everywhere.
- They taste great and I’m mildly allergic to them.
- Richmond is the home of Canada’s worst drivers.
- Gas and house prices are ridiculously high. Cheapest gas price I found was 79.9. My parent’s house here in Toronto would cost somewhere around $800 000 in Vancouver. I could never afford to live in Vancouver.

Overall it was a great vacation. The city of Vancouver is just like a smaller version of Toronto and I wasn’t as impressed with the city as much as I was impressed with the Sunshine Coast. The pace of life on the Sunshine Coast seemed very lax like myself. The sunsets are beautiful. The people are nice. The fishing and seafood are amazing.

Hopefully I can make this a yearly trip with Sonia to BC.

I know you're expecting an update but I'm too tired tonight. Here are some photos to hold you off until then...



Sunsets are beautiful on the Sunshine Coast of BC.



We saw a lot of beautiful weather on our vacation.




Jellyfish rock. Feeding the bald eagles friggin rocks!

Damn You Fruits!
(Madonna - Holiday)

So apparently I have Oral Allergy Syndrome according to Vanessa. No that doesn’t mean I’m allergic to oral sex.

Here’s a list of my kryptonite.

1) Cherries
2) Apples
3) Peaches
4) Apricots
5) Plums
6) Almonds

Symptoms include rapid onset of itching of the lips, mouth, or pharynx, swelling of the lips, tongue throat, and palate, and crying/whining like a baby.
…

By this time tomorrow I will be in Vancouver basking in the sun and warm weather with Sonia. I apologize ahead of time for my lack of bloggage over the next week. Pretend it’s a very long awkward silence.

So…

Melodrama for your Mama.
(Lauryn Hill - Killing Me Softly)

Top 5 : Two things that shouldn’t go together but more often than not do.

1) Melodrama and a big mouth.
2) Dumb athletes and camera time.
3) Intelligent peope and pretention.
4) Village idiots and weapons (at least in the US).
5) Underwear and my ass crack.

Bassmasters
(Chantal Kreviazuk - Surrounded)

I just had the most awkward conversation with one of my managers. I was in the bathroom and just about to leave when he came in and started talking to me about his computer. Eventually he made his way over to one of the stalls and sat down and I thought the conversation was over. Then as I was creeping closer to the door to try and make my get away, he started a new topic! So here I am with the door propped half-way open because I was about to leave and he’s asking me what I normally shoot on the golf course. Then he said that we should get a group together in the office and go golfing one of these days.

I believe there’s a code in the guys washroom that forbids any type of conversation while doing #2. I feel a bit violated and dirty.
…
Saturday I enjoyed an evening picnic with Sonia while watching Shakespeare in the park. To be honest I’m not a big Shakespeare fan. The language is distracting and the story is often a bit too melodramatic. We watched As You Like It and it was exceptionally done by a group of very talented actors. The language was still Shakespearian but the music and the set was modernized. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I think it definitely had something to do with the company I was keeping. Here are some pictures.




This Week’s Picnic Tip : Don’t bring sushi that’s going to melt in the sun. It’s not very appetizing.

This Week’s Shakespeare in the Park Tip : If you’re wearing a funny looking hat, look for others who are wearing funny hats so you can sit together and start a funny hat’s only section.
…
Sunday. This may have been our best fishing day ever. You guys are in for a bass bonanza!

Next week – saltwater fishing on the coast of British Columbia.

Jolly good.


Bassmaster Tom <-- and --> Bassmaster Khiem.


Thankfully we brought the net. <-- --> This fish has a tumour that bears an uncanny resemblance to Dan's head.


Bassmaster Dan. Making it look easy.


I think Tom swallowed the hook. <-- --> When the fish weren't splashing, the baby deer were.

Note what's on my right arm. It's a Cure pin. I got 3 of them free with the purchase of their new album. They're also here in concert on Monday. If all goes well maybe I'll be there.

You've been duped...
(OLP - Thief)

Shaky - "If you wrote an objective, honest evaluation of your own personality and made it public to the world, would you feel as naked as I would feel? Could you even write an objective, honest evaluation of yourself or would you lie? "

Self-Esteem - "Would you know if I lied?"

Shaky - "Why lie? If you don’t understand yourself, how do you expect anyone else to understand you?"

Self-Esteem - "Stop kidding yourself, we’re all strangers to each other. "

Endless Spiral of Self-Deprecation
(UB40 - Red Red Wine)

I’m sleepy and I’m hungry. If I eat, I’ll probably get sleepier. If I sleep, I’ll get fired. What a shitty combination.
…
My efforts to stop shaking my knee seem to be working. I’m a lot more aware of it which gives me the chance to consciously stop it. However, I think I’m cracking my knuckles on a more frequent basis now. I think if I try to stop cracking my knuckles as well I’ll likely pick up a new annoying habit like smoking.

Look what I’ve started. It’s like an endless spiral of self-deprecation.
…
I bought the new Cure cd a few weeks ago and I got 3 free pins from them. Sweetness to the extreme! Then on top of that earlier this week Best Buy had some crazy sale where I got the Coldplay Live DVD and CD for $9.99. The regular price is $23.99! I don’t usually like to shop but damn I’m having some good shopping karma lately. I bet if I stop off at the adult video store on the way home to buy a movie, they’ll throw in some free hand sanitizer and some moist towelettes as well!
…
Having a rough day? Someone sent me this today…I think it’ll cheer you all up…

POSITIVE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
When you feel that nobody loves you,
Nobody cares for you,
And everyone is ignoring you,
You should start asking yourself…

Am I TOO sexy?

I'm just your ordinary, average, everyday sick psycho.

Never compromise your own integrity to be nice to those without integrity.
(Morcheeba - World Looking In)

Don't stop just yet
We've got the world looking in
Our Window

...
I know nice guys always finish last but I don't have to be a graceful loser.

You've screwed me over for the last time. I won't forget (neither will Karma).