Meanwhile in Vancouver…

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Hey all!

I have not updated in a while…but between juggling Calculus schoolwork and trying to fit in time for my family and friends, I felt at a loss when it came to blogging! But believe me, I have wanted to blog several times after my adventures! So I hope this will allow me to summarize what happened in between these two weeks! Oh, and if you need ideas on what you can do around Vancouver during summer this year, feel free to try these out! Of course, some events are limited to the days they occur…

So to begin, on the 21st of July, Carmen and I went to Metrotown to watch Captain America! It was the advanced screening so we were both excited to be seeing it! Metrotown itself is not exactly a place I like visiting, with its busy customers and practically what seems like 50% of the population of Vancouver there during the holidays, but the movie itself made the trip totally worth it! The movie was amazing and I was going to blog about my feelings and probably a short review of it after the movie, but somehow, that post never got written. I even had the title made up: “And a bunch of Canadians shouted, “GO CAPTAIN AMERICA!” Did I mention special edition 3D glasses?! They are red and blue!

So here are the Cliffnotes version of my reflections on that night. Of course, Chris Evans was eye-candy galore! But he was also a good actor, portraying the weak but strong minded Steve Rogers and then the action-packed hero we know as Captain America. The audience was wonderful, cheering together at the right moments. Many of us stayed behind, hoping to catch a glimpse of the preview of the next marvel film, but sadly, they did not show it for the advanced screening. We all complained, but that did nothing…so we all trickled out of the cinemas. There were fans in Captain America gear, which made you feel like you were part of a legit group of excited people! It was also funny how all of us Canadians were so excited for Captain America, but then again, a hero is a hero. Thanks again Carmen for the tickets and spending the day with me!

Special 3D glasses at Captain America!

Onto the next outing! If you live in Vancouver, you will know that the fireworks display during summer are a big deal to many of us Vancouverites. That is why around 300,000 people showed up to the first day of the Celebration of Lights! You needed to head out there early to get a good spot, but despite the heedings, our group had people there at around 5:30. Connie and Robert were the first ones there and then I arrived a bit later as I had to eat dinner with my family. Slowly, our group all managed to find the rest and we ate snacks and played Taboo as we sat and waited on the grass. I did not expect too much from the fireworks and was mainly there to spend time with my friends, but when the show went on, I was truly stunned. The Celebration of Lights was also a competition between countries to see who can put up the best display of fireworks and on the first day which we went, it was China’s turn to show off what they had to offer. I believe at some point during the dazzling lights, I said to someone “I feel like this is the closest I will get to magic.” The dark night sky was lit up in brilliant explosions of color. There were many different explosions and effects that the fireworks brought about, but my favourite were the ones that cascaded down like a curtain of stars.

After the show, there was the problem of getting home. No doubt, public transit would be congested so we decided to walk to Broadway. It was quite nice walking across the Burrard bridge at night and I eventually found myself on a bus and well on my way home!

iPhone quality..sorry!

Then came hiking. Yesterday, Monica, Josh and I ventured to Lighthouse Park and Whytecliff Park in west Van! Lighthouse park was a series of many trails that you can choose to explore. I had no idea where I was going, but Josh seemed to know his way, and Monica seemed willing to take whatever road seemed most dangerous. And so we hiked. Hiking made me realize how out of shape I am, but asides from that, I have not felt that close to nature in a while. It was nice seeing all that green and it really felt like you were a part of nature while you got lost in the towering green giants of trees. Of course, I was scared of the spiders, bugs, wild animals and whatever else was kept in secrecy among the leaves and bushes. However, we made it out alive and then made our way to Whytecliff park. There was less walking and hiking involved at Whytecliff, but the view was equally gorgeous if not more. We just relaxed near the cliff’s edge, watching the sun slowly set and the waves gently roll by. I saw a seal amidst the waters and I quickly pointed it out to my friends, but it slipped away before they saw it. By the time we got back to Vancouver, it was quite late and we had to Yelp check what there was to eat. William joined us along the way and we eventually settled for Korean food. We were actually craving sushi, but after walking in to an all-you-can-eat place and being told it was $26 (price was sans tax and tip) per person, we booked it out of there. We were also wanting to try “Guu” or “Guu with Garlic” but somehow we went to Ma Dang Goul. The food was delicious, but we were so hungry you could have given us stale bread and we would have scarfed it down.

Whytecliff

Asides from keeping up with things around Vancouver, I also started watching TV shows. I guess that is what a big chunk of my time is used for these days. I just roll in bed and watch them until I get tired. Not the best activity there is, but I am addicted. I finished Game of  Thrones (wonderful TV show by the way! Would not be surprised if I write something about it soon!) and then realizing I had nothing better to do, I started to watch Dexter. Both AMAZING shows and thus why I do not feel guilty wasting my life on them…well, not too guilty anyway.

Well, that is all for now! Hope your summer has been as fun as mine so far!

Karen

Contingent Contemplation: Harry Potter- End of my childhood

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It all ends here…=(

So a day ago, I watched the last Harry Potter movie– Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It was amazing. I re-watched Part 1 the day before and I was pleased to find that the two movies connected seamlessly! I was prepared for a sobfest at the cinemas so I was armed with 2 packs of tissue!

Waiting in line was not as long and tedious as I thought it would be! My friend Edna lined up for the whole day! Well…from 11:50am til the midnight premiere! And I got in line at around 3:20ish in the afternoon, prepared to be super bored while waiting– or at least super cold! But time flew by! We started off with some board games, namely Taboo and then moving it on outside with Cranium as we were sure to get loud and rowdy while playing! We took trips to the food court, Safeway and basically walked around Oakridge Mall several times. Later on at night, we started a game of Wizard Ninja, with more and more random strangers joining in! Super fun! We took pictures with some of the fans who dressed up as characters from the movie, watched people freestyle rapping and invented new spells! =)

Josh and I trying to reenact the part where Harry and Ron goes for the Gryffindor sword

Cranium to pass the time =)

Waiting…

When it was finally time to enter the theater, everyone was super excited! We all sat down waiting for the movie to start, and of course, everyone applauded when it finally came on!

It occurred to me the night before the midnight screening that my childhood was coming to an end. I am now seventeen and when you’re seventeen, you feel like you have grown up and left your childish ways behind. I like to think that way anyway. Harry Potter was a connection to my childhood. It seemed like only yesterday when I read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (yes, I read the 3rd book first. I don’t know why, but I was like 9-10 back then so don’t judge). I remember pre-ordering the last book back in Hong Kong and then reading it in Thailand after picking it up and then realizing I had to leave for my family vacation the next day. I also remember thinking “At least there is still the movie! Harry Potter does NOT end yet!”. But now, what else is there to look forward to? I will always remember the magical adventures that was Harry Potter…but that is not the point! I do not want it to end! Its end seem to symbolized an end to a period of time in my life where I was happier, more innocent and more carefree. A time when I actually checked my mail for my Hogwarts acceptance letter when I was 11! (I never did get one when I was 11…obviously. But at that time, I did not give up hope! I remember rationalizing to myself I would get it next year because my birthday was late and Hogwarts started before I turned 11.)

Anyway, I do have a bit of hope left for Harry Potter as my friend Josh introduced me to Pottermore. It was created by J.K Rowling so that the story never ends! I seriously NEED something like that in my life! I am super excited to see what will be in store!

Oh and before I forget, here’s a excerpt of a dialogue from the FAKE HARRY POTTER fans ahead of us in line that day. We were second in line, so despite being fake fans, they were there first. Which was kind of annoying.

Fake fan #1: Hey, which house is Cedric Diggory in?
Her friend: Either in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, I think?
Another friend: Yeah, in Gryffindor I’m pretty sure.
*All murmurs in agreement with an “OH YEAH!” from Fake Fan #1*

Infuriating.

Credits to Josh for Photos, thank-you William for helping me get the tickets! TY ADRIAN FOR GETTING ME A PAIR OF THE 3D GLASSES!! EKK! Thanks to everyone else who helped make the time fly by!

Just had to include this! Stolen off Tiffany, but I’m sure she stole it off somewhere too =P JKS THX!!! XD

Vancouver Jazz Festival- Stressing out about course registration…

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Hey all!

Yesterday, I was with William and Josh at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival downtown! We got there as an act finished and so we walked around the park, chatting. Well, it was mostly me talking I guess. =P Thanks for listening guys!

We sat down as Gypsophilia started their performance. It was nice and interesting! They introduced one of their songs as a blend between “Jamican music with some Jewish music”.Very interesting. That grabbed my attention and overall, I enjoyed their performance! Their main speaker was Ross Burns (I think?) and he was charismatic and that of course, captured the crowd.I loved watching people just getting up and swaying or dancing to the music. Wish I had the guts to be one of them! At one point, a guy with a parrot stood next to us. Seriously, a real live parrot with beautiful blue and yellow feathers!

However, I must say, I would have enjoyed the Jazz festival a lot more if I was not stressing out about course registration. I was constantly checking up on my worklists that I have made ready to register for courses at UBC and realized spots were running out! I was panicking at many random times that day over course registration!

Oh! And we went to Lucy’s at night for food. (Yeah, real smooth way for me to include that little event in here, I know) I have not been there as many times as I would have like but both times, I must say, they had great food! I had the pulled pork sandwich…delicious! Who does not want pulled pork sandwich at 10pm? =D That plus the fact that they are opened all the time, so perfect for our hangouts!

Pulled pork sandwich =)

Diner, drive- ins and dives! That's all I could think about while there!

I was up today at 7a.m…which is probably not going to help me today. I was so nervous I could not fall back asleep! So I guess I will be running on 4 hours of sleep for my first day of calculus 12 summer school as well as my friend Edna’s party.Oh and that also explains why I am blogging at 8:30…but it helps relax me. At least better than talking to other frantic undergrads on Facebook!

For future reference and as a tip to other soon-to-be undergrads out there:
-make more than one worklist
-make sure you understand the restrictions that come with the courses you take (if you are allowed to take them, whether they are reserved for certain faculties or timetables, etc.)
-if you do not understand something, ASK!
-plan your worklists ahead! DO NOT WAIT TILL YOUR DAY OF REGISTRATION!

Believe me, I was up until 3 last night trying to make new worklists. Sadly, my electives do not really fit with any other standard timetables, which I am required to take. =(

Wish me luck, and of course, I wish everyone else registering for courses the best of luck!

Karen

 

High School is over! Thank you to you, and you, and…

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So today was the last day of high school for me! I took public transit and ended up being half an hour late! Thanks Carmen for picking up my report card for me (<3)!

Of course, I am overjoyed that everything is finally over. After so many years of secondary education, I am more than ready to leave and forge a new path! Leaving behind the drama of high school and getting a chance to meet completely new people in a new environment. I am so glad that the transition from a Hong Kong high school to a Canadian one was not too difficult. Sure I had the scares of universities doubting my English competence and thus issues with processing my application arose. Then there was that time when it appeared on my transcript that I did not do Science 10 and therefore was unable to graduate. Thank goodness that I got through that! Excitement for what is to come in September can barely be described in words and I am sure my thoughts are echoed among many others in grade 12– or should I say, the new Tupper alumni? Grads of 2011 FOR THE WIN!

However, as with all good things, there is the negative side to it. I am scared of the transition from my small high school into the big world that is university. Who know how I will adapt? I feel like university will feel a lot less personal than high school. Many people also often say that high school is the best years of your life. It was hard imagining it that way when you are a teenager and life seems to have thrown all its obstacles at you while you progressed through secondary school. I guess with time, I will look back and realize the easy, carefree life that was high school and truly appreciate it. I guess now that I am out of high school, I will eventually have to pick something I want to do with my life. That is going to be hard as I am usually indecisive. At this moment, I have no idea as to what I want to do. Hopefully, university will open my eyes to the possibilities!

Now for some shoutouts to people that helped me through highschool!

Yes, I know I did not give a shoutout to my family, but they know what they’ve done! So I decided to put a picture of them here! I am so blessed to have them in my life!

Glenda Chou, Priscilla Lam, Jailen Doton, Linda Le:
You guys were the group of grade 11s that I hung out with– correction, you guys were the only group of grade 11s that I hung out with last year! You helped make my transition into grade 12 smoother and I am so glad you guys were there! You guys put up with me during my bad days and my probably even more annoying good days! Getting ready for grad, artona and everything else at school was so much easier knowing I had a solid group of friends that would be there for me! Remember the Victoria trip last year? Remember us going karaokeing for the first time together? Remember me forcing you guys to go to Youth For Change? =) Glenda, I remember us first really talking to each other in the cafeteria line! You asked me if I liked Big Bang and we hit it off right away! Then there was working at Stitches! Priscilla, my twin from creepy twinville. I still cannot believe all the similarities we have! Virgos ftw! Linda, the LG that lit up our group frequently. We were supposed to have more than one class together!! GRR! Jailen, your birthday was a blast! So much sushi we wanted to die! And then you were always there when I needed you for Youth for change or when I needed someone to go with me to Student Council! Again, thank you all for being that positive energy I needed in life, and being a pillar of strength that I have found myself leaning upon!

Carmen Fu:
You probably don’t need me listing what you have done for me. Despite the fact we have only met each other this year (and the latter part of this school year to be exact), I can honestly trust my life in your hands. I ranted to you, I stressed out on you, I needed so much help from you! You were always there, ready to lend a hand! Again, one of the best things I have accomplished this year was no doubt becoming friends with you! We started as strangers, and quickly worked our way into becoming besties! Youthpolitiks, P.E and all those random times when we would just see each other ❤ Work out buddies next year! =)

Connie Leung:
CONNIE! I remember being very worried about Day 2s because it seemed like all the close friends I had would not be part of my Day 2 life! Then, I met you! From the first day in P.E, you were super nice to me! Eventually we ended up sitting next to each other in Law and hanging out during our free blocks! You are unjudging and listen to me when I needed it. And to be honest, I tried persuading you away from UBC Okanagan for totally selfish reasons! =) I am so glad you will still be within transport reach of me and again, we have so much we still need to do together!!

Tammy Ho, Maria Piansay, Angela Li:
Grouped you guys together because I see all three of you in free block! ^.^ You three were some of the first friends I made in grade 11! Socials class with Ms. Burnell remember? Tammy, you are the cutest being on earth! You are always happy and supportive and I am very glad I met you! We had how many classes together? Geography, Literature, Biology, Free block, and P.E (kinda?)! For two years running, you are the person in my grade that I shared the most classes with! MARIA PIANSAY! The first girl to approach me at Tupper. Still calls me Hong Kong-nese for reasons I cannot understand. I will miss you so much!!! Thank you for reaching out to a stranger when you saw one! It made my day…no make that my high school life! Angela Li..I never see you in class! Well, whenever I do, I know I am in for a fun class! Actually, even when you are not and I see you outside class, you give me a good time anyway! I remember you going like “WHAT?! THERE IS A TEST!?! ARE YOU SH*TTING ME?!” LOLOLOL!

Kim Sunder, Lauren Crossfield, Nancy Lok:
I’m pretty sure you guys know why I grouped you together. Yes it is the stupid nickname. Yes it is stupid. But! I still love you guys!!! It is amazing how being bullied can bring you closer to your bullies! If that made sense! Kim, it was fun arguing against you and Nancy for law! I will always remember you as that gorgeous Indian princess ❤ Oh and as the girl that kept stealing the top spot in biology last year. So no, the nickname does not apply here, now does it Kim?! Lauren, Lauren, Lauren. Again, sorry for the UBC thing! But you can bet your butt I will be seeing lots of you next year! You were amazing this year, putting together all those events for Tupper! I cannot wait to see what you will accomplish in the future! Nancy! Sigh..Nancy. I spend half my time super scared of you, and the other half wanting to just chill and chat! Haha! Yes there are many things and iPhone can do, so get one! Then we can FaceTime!!! To all three of you guys, we need to hang out more. Seriously.

Mindy Kan:
Girl, you have been there when I needed you so many times this year! Guess I can’t name all the instances, but you know what they were! I love you to death!! I loved just texting you when I needed help, or if I simply needed to talk! I missed you so much during the past year! I am very touched that you bought me lunch on my birthday! ^^ I need to return the favor!! Out of everyone I turned to for help for graduation itself, you were indispensable! Giving me tips on how to successfully get through grade 12!! Thanks again Mindy and I hope we see each other more often!!

My Alumni Buddies (David Decolongon, William Zhang, Josh Decolongon, Monica Vuong, Wendell Mortel, Connie Zhou and everyone else! It’s just that the majority of the times I’ve met, it’s with the people I’ve named and thus…I named them. =P):

I was devastated with not graduating with you guys. But, we kept up pretty well! I remember the start of my grade 12 year, when I kept referring to you guys as the grade 12s! I finally settled on calling you guys the alumnis ❤ But I guess now I am an alumnus as well! Thank you for helping me with decisions for next year! Solving dilemmas that I faced in high school by sharing your past experiences! I am so glad that I got to hang out with a group outside of school so I can seperate my time and life, making everything easier to manage! David, you have always been there to listen, comment and give advice! Yeah we share some of the same problems, so that really helps when one of us is trying to get through stuff! Although I am not going to arts next year, you never know! Remember to hook me up in Political Sciences!!!
William Zhang. If no one else was there, you were. The most self-sacrificing in the group, I feel like you are the true meaning of friendship, keeping the group together! You have been a wonderful help during this past year, guiding me through though decision I had to make. Thank you so much for being there!
Josh! It is weird how I finally got to know you, but it wasn’t in school that made it happen! It was fun just hanging out with you because you always put a smile on my face. I seriously just find myself cracking up and laughing till I’m nearly in tears when I am around you and Monica! I think it is your sarcasm. Thanks for introducing me to Jake and Amir!
And now on to Monica! Whenever I think of you, I instantly think about the French project. Fun times. You gave your comments when I needed them and they were honest. I really appreciate that! I still am not a Hufflepuff though. Oh! I suddenly remembered us trying to not get a bad tan during the Stanley Cup Finals! I hope I will get to create more ridiculous memories with you in the future!
Wendell! You listened to me when I had my problems. You were that guy that I found myself sharing a lot of my secrets with! True, those secrets eventually got shared around, but a lot of the times, I talked to you first! I’m sad I’m now seeing you less! We had the same spring breaks and stuff so that gave us more time together! Despite the fact you’re at BCIT, we still have to hang out lots next year!!
Connie! My idol in so many things whether you know it or not! I am glad we hung our more this year and I got to know you! Again, you were supportive and I felt I could really talk to you! Next year, I hope I’ll be seeing you lots around campus and you will continue to be there for me when I need help! OH YEAH! Bake me something! ^^

There are probably a hundred other people I need to be thanking for helping me get this far! But this is done rather hurriedly, so please excuse me if I left you out! Some other people I must thank are my fellow grade 12s, my wonderful teachers and of course, my family. As I say time and time again, this would not have been possible without you guys!

So I guess this is it! University, here I come!

Karen

Doing my part to help Vancouver become the Greenest City by 2020!

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Hey all!

Very exciting news…at least for me it is!! I have been wanting a bike for the longest time since coming back to Canada. To be honest, I wanted a bike back in Hong Kong too, but it was too hot most of the time for me to want to go out and bike.

I went with my dad to Canadian Tire to look at bikes and walked out with one that I LOVED! Now I can go explore further than my legs can usually take me, and I am sure my friends who already have bikes can give me some heads up on how to properly use it around the city. However, to begin, I searched up the city bylaws regarding cycling and now know the required accessories one must have to legally ride a bike.

http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/safety/regulations.htm#provrights

Here are some that I still have yet to buy:
-front lights
-back lights
-a bell

Asides from this, I have to get a lock. I already have a helmet…but must get the other accessories! Anyone know a good place to buy cheap bike stuff in Vancouver? =)

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Greenest City 2020

 

Anyway, moving on to the topic of Vancouver Greenest City initiative, biking will definitely help this cause! For those of you who do not know, the Greenest City 2020 initiative has a goal for Vancouver to become the greenest city in the world by the year 2020. We already have one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world and is one of the best places in the world to live in! Our ambitious new goal is to be the best at being green!

It is not only vehicle emissions, but also other aspects such as clean water, a green economy and allowing for the availability of local food. Ambitious, it is, but there have already been significant steps taken since the formation of this goal in 2009.

What gets to many citizens is the cost. The newly installed bike lanes downtown cost a whopping $3.2 Million. Will they be as useful as intended? How much of the population will actually use them? I feel it will be hard for everyone to suddenly turn to biking. Cars are just too useful a way to get directly to your destination. However, with more programs steering towards sustainability, perhaps encouragement and changing of mindsets will appear. 2020 is coming up soon, especially with the vast amounts of change that we want to happen. But at least we are getting the idea out there. It will help raise awareness for the cause and I believe change will eventually occur. Again, I’m only an optimistic 17-year-old voicing her outlooks on Vancouver’s future! So ignore me if you disagree =) Now armed with my new bike, I hope I will be contributing more to this initiative!

Karen