What a ride that was. With more up and downs then a roller coaster, there were enough story lines this playoff run to fill a book. Sadly it all came to a bitter end. However you analyze it, this was the best team in during the regular season, and came 60 minutes from winning it all (technically 45 minutes).
I kept quiet during this run, and it looked like it was working for a while. I pulled all the stops out this time, growing a mustpatch, wearing the same clothes, going to the same pubs. I even tried to justify my superstitions by telling myself that it directly affected those around me, which directly affected those around them, and so on and on until it got to the players. The crazy things that happen during the playoffs.
Unlike previous Stanley Cup Finals teams, this team wasn't brought together for one magical run. This same squad will be in tact to go all the way again next year.
Hearing of all the injuries that the players played through during this run made me think of all the greats of the '94 run. All the stories and lore I tell of that team will one day be replaced by the tales of the 2011 warriors. And that is nothing to be ashamed of. So stop giving the team flack.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, November 29, 2010
Football Qwest
For Amanda's birthday, I got her tickets to watch the Seattle Seahawks vs the Kansas City Chiefs. It was as much a gift for her as it was for me. I've been watching football for a while, but haven't ever been to an NFL game. In retrospect I probably should've bought tickets to another game, as this one fell on the same weekend as Black Friday, but everything turned out dandy.
We made our way down to the border, and got there around 8:30AM. By the time my car came to a halt at the end of the line I could see the Peace Arch already. Sharp contrast to the other times where I'd be in line-up for a while before turning the bend to see the Arch.
It took us around two hours from the border to reach Seattle, which is a lot faster then the other times I've gone down. It also helps to have someone to talk to the whole time though.
Amanda needed to do some last minute currency exchange, but being a Sunday there weren't any locations open for exchanges. By the time we finished wondering around Seattle, we arrived at Qwest at around 11:15AM. We made our way through the tail gates being held in the parking lot. I was starving, but didn't know what the etiquette of tail gating was. Can I just approach a Seahawks tail gate, yell out "Go Seahawks!" and get a hotdog? Whatever the case, we ended up walking straight past them and into the field.
An hour and a half before the game started and there were tonnes of fans in the stadium already. Although I was wearing a similar shaded hoodie, we felt a little out of place with everyone sporting Seahawks gear.
With it being early we made it down to almost the front row of the endzone to take pictures. The stadium was massive. Far bigger then BC Place, and looked a lot nicer as well. We walked through a hundred ramps to get up to the third level seating and found our seats with an hour to go. Amanda bought Ivar's clam chowder, which I recommended from a previous trip to Seattle. Me being the genius, I ordered the chili dog. It took one bite before it dripped onto my jeans. A second bite resulted in more dripping to the ground. Then it all went to hell, my hand were covered in cheese and chili, the napkin I was using no longer had any clean spots, I got a little on my sleeve as well. Chili dog is not a good decision.
The seats we had were pretty good, at the 30 yard line, with pretty good visibility. The seats didn't seem too sturdy, but looked like it held up the not so fit individuals in the crowd. Stairs leading up to our seats though were plentiful and steep. Carrying food and drinks while trying to maneuver up the stairs required an unbelievable amount of concentration. The seats lining the sides of the field were pretty well covered, although it wasn't raining at all. The end zone seats were completely wide open, letting in the brisk cold Seattle air.
When the players took the field, we got our first taste of the unique feature of Qwest field. Cheers and jeers from the crowd echoes throughout the stadium, and it's built to purposely funnel the sound down to the field. When the Seahawks are on offense, the crowd quiets to let them properly call their plays, but when the Chiefs were on offense, it was a non-stop boo-fest with the entire stadium yelling at the top of their lungs to drown out the sound of the opposing Quarterback. It was so loud, I couldn't hear myself yell obscenities.
The noise level eventually died down as the score gradually got out of hand. The Chiefs piled on the points, and even though the Seahawks mildly mounted a comeback, it got out of hand after halftime. All the way up to halftime though, my beer stayed frosty cold, as did the rest of my body.
Overall a great experience, it'd be great to go down and watch a more competitive game, or at least watch some better teams play. Time to look up some proper tail gate etiquette.
We made our way down to the border, and got there around 8:30AM. By the time my car came to a halt at the end of the line I could see the Peace Arch already. Sharp contrast to the other times where I'd be in line-up for a while before turning the bend to see the Arch.
It took us around two hours from the border to reach Seattle, which is a lot faster then the other times I've gone down. It also helps to have someone to talk to the whole time though.
Amanda needed to do some last minute currency exchange, but being a Sunday there weren't any locations open for exchanges. By the time we finished wondering around Seattle, we arrived at Qwest at around 11:15AM. We made our way through the tail gates being held in the parking lot. I was starving, but didn't know what the etiquette of tail gating was. Can I just approach a Seahawks tail gate, yell out "Go Seahawks!" and get a hotdog? Whatever the case, we ended up walking straight past them and into the field.
An hour and a half before the game started and there were tonnes of fans in the stadium already. Although I was wearing a similar shaded hoodie, we felt a little out of place with everyone sporting Seahawks gear.
With it being early we made it down to almost the front row of the endzone to take pictures. The stadium was massive. Far bigger then BC Place, and looked a lot nicer as well. We walked through a hundred ramps to get up to the third level seating and found our seats with an hour to go. Amanda bought Ivar's clam chowder, which I recommended from a previous trip to Seattle. Me being the genius, I ordered the chili dog. It took one bite before it dripped onto my jeans. A second bite resulted in more dripping to the ground. Then it all went to hell, my hand were covered in cheese and chili, the napkin I was using no longer had any clean spots, I got a little on my sleeve as well. Chili dog is not a good decision.
The seats we had were pretty good, at the 30 yard line, with pretty good visibility. The seats didn't seem too sturdy, but looked like it held up the not so fit individuals in the crowd. Stairs leading up to our seats though were plentiful and steep. Carrying food and drinks while trying to maneuver up the stairs required an unbelievable amount of concentration. The seats lining the sides of the field were pretty well covered, although it wasn't raining at all. The end zone seats were completely wide open, letting in the brisk cold Seattle air.
When the players took the field, we got our first taste of the unique feature of Qwest field. Cheers and jeers from the crowd echoes throughout the stadium, and it's built to purposely funnel the sound down to the field. When the Seahawks are on offense, the crowd quiets to let them properly call their plays, but when the Chiefs were on offense, it was a non-stop boo-fest with the entire stadium yelling at the top of their lungs to drown out the sound of the opposing Quarterback. It was so loud, I couldn't hear myself yell obscenities.
The noise level eventually died down as the score gradually got out of hand. The Chiefs piled on the points, and even though the Seahawks mildly mounted a comeback, it got out of hand after halftime. All the way up to halftime though, my beer stayed frosty cold, as did the rest of my body.
Overall a great experience, it'd be great to go down and watch a more competitive game, or at least watch some better teams play. Time to look up some proper tail gate etiquette.
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Piece of Me
Was playing hockey with Bob, Costa, and Chuck today on the tough streets of Robson Park. There was a surprisingly large crowd, complete with two goalies! I can't even recall the last time I played a street hockey game with two goalies. Unfortunately the days greatness didn't continue. About mid way through one of the games I ran into the side of the net and my stick got caught in the netting, jabbing the other end right into my stomach. Luckily or unluckily the stick snapped, I almost rather have taken that hit if it meant preserving the stick.
I've had the Easton composite stick for quite a few years now. Different replacement blades have come and gone, but old faithful was always there. This stick was a trooper. Grinding out goals, hacking over zealous oppositions, blocking vicious slashes, this stick was the epitome of team player. And although it will never see another pass, another goal, another game, it's legacy has been solidified as the benchmark of one the sports greatest.
A piece of me laid broken on the floor today. Everything was left out on the rink today, and there's no better way to leave the game.
I've had the Easton composite stick for quite a few years now. Different replacement blades have come and gone, but old faithful was always there. This stick was a trooper. Grinding out goals, hacking over zealous oppositions, blocking vicious slashes, this stick was the epitome of team player. And although it will never see another pass, another goal, another game, it's legacy has been solidified as the benchmark of one the sports greatest.
A piece of me laid broken on the floor today. Everything was left out on the rink today, and there's no better way to leave the game.
Montreal
Day 1 - Friday July 9th
We left for YVR airport at around 6AM, and went through check in without any problems. Almost too fast as we just ended up sitting at the terminal for over an hour. Julio found a $20 american bill on the floor of where we were sitting at.
The flight wasn't too bad. I fell asleep for a bit, but for the most part the soundless Discovery channel and sports highlights from TSN kept me busy.
It took under five minutes after clearing baggage at Trudeau airport for me to realize that my four years of high school French was useless. Reading every other word is pointless, and everyone was talking way too fast for me to comprehend. Luckily it's a bilingual country! We paid $7 to take the 747 express bus to La Centre Sheraton. While on the bus I guess we were talking a little loud, but no less then four people pointed out to us where to get off.
After checking into the airport we went to grab some dinner (lunch our time) at Mr. Steer on St. Catherines and Peel. We had poutine, chicken, burgers, and of course beer. Our waitress was clearly french speaking, but her english was decent enough. This was the same for just about everyone in Montreal. Most people spoke at least a little english (thank god).
Out of the restaurant we stopped at SAQ (Montreal liquor store) and purchased two bottles of sake. That's also where we saw a group of asian kids. Not too many asians in Montreal, outside of Chinatown that is.
We walked east on St. Catherines until we stopped at a La Belle Province to try some of that famous Montreal poutine. I wasn't overly impressed, maybe I played it up to much, but the poutine didn't blow me away.
Back at the hotel it didn't take us too long to drink the two bottles of sake. Sake goes down pretty fast when you include card games.
Instead of cabbing, we walked to another La Belle Province, this time ordering their specialty poutines. We ordered smoked meat, sausage, Italian, and beef poutines, with the smoked meat poutine clearly beating out the others.
It was a long walk back to the hotel, and as soon as I got back I passed out, damn sake. Our new song: Auburn - Perfect Two (don't ask).
Day 2 - Saturday July 10th
We woke up at 11AM, and decided to try out the bike system. The Bixi system is pretty uniques, you pay $5 and you can use their bikes all day, provided you return the bike every 30 minutes. Might seem like a drag but there's a Bixi station every two blocks in the more populated areas.
We biked to the famous Schwartz, but we didn't plan out the route too well as we ended up having to bike uphill on the sidewalk.
When we got to Schwartz there was a line up the length of the building. Luckily for us, the lineup was for the restaurant. We walked in to the deli which was right next door and sat at the back tables. The smoked meat sandwich on rye was a little dry, I had to douse it with mustard, but it wasn't anything special. Zero for two now on the specialties.
After lunch we grabbed some drinks at a local pharmasave (I think it was a pharmasave). Will bought two bottles, one for the road and the other he downed before leaving the store. The reason why we bought drinks was cause Shum had the bright idea to bike up Mont Royal. There's a Bixi station at the bottom of the mountain and there's a station at the top of the station. There was no way we were going to make it up there in half an hour, no way. But we decided to do it anyways. The bike up was grueling. Up hill the whole time, and our bikes weren't designed for that kind of biking. At points in time we were passed by people walking up the mountain, breaks were frequent. There was one couple that passed us four times. We started talking to them the fourth time they passed us. At the top of the mountain, we could almost see the whole city. It was almost worth the ride up. At the top we ran into that couple that passed us four times (Mike and Allison). Funny couple who poked fun at Vancouver, they recommended we go to Crescent street, and made some recommendations on where not to go.
The bike down the mountain was the best part of the whole journey. No pedaling at all, just you the road, and non-stop wind in your face. We started going up at around 2PM and finished close to 3:30PM.
Right by the station was a East Indian Festival, so we decided to check it out. From there we biked to Mont Royal Metro station where we would take the metro to Jean Talon. Famous for the outdoor market, the fruits and vegetables looked really fresh. Plenty of samples to dry, as well as fresh bread and drinks.
Shum kept going on and on about a girl in a blue white striped shirt. As we were sitting at a table that girl came over to talk to us. Unfortunately she worked for CBC and was trying to get people to be an audience for a french show that was airing soon.
We took the metro back to the hotel where we ended up eating at Bar (Sheraton's restaurant). I ordered a smoked meat sandwich that was better then what I had at Schwartz, but again didn't blow me away. We also had a cheese platter, not normally my thing, but it was good.
We all changed and started waling along St. Catherines east bound looking for a place to drink. We must've walked for a very long time cause you could see the scenery change. Somewhere along our route we saw a banner for an African Festival so we kept walking that way, but then we started seeing guys making out with other guys, then drag queens. That's when we realized we were in the Village (Montreal's gay and lesbian district). We just kept walking until we found a good place to drink.
I don't recall where we ended up drinking at but wherever it was they had the cheapest beer ever. It was under $17 for a pitcher of beer. The pitcher was 4L big! 120 oz of sweet sweet golden water. Julio and Will helped but it was mostly me and Shum who finished it.
We were done walking so we took a cab back to the hotel to pass out.
Day 3 - Sunday July 11th
We woke up late again, 12PM. This Bixi thing was growing on us, and we decided to bike to Old Montreal. Today was the World Cup finals so we had to find somewhere fast in order to catch the game. Near the Old Port was a restaurant called Viva. The waitress was really nice and even made a bet with us. We were cheering for Spain, she offered shots for us if Spain scored first. Unfortunately by the time the game was over, 1-0 Spain in overtime, the waitress was off already. She timed it perfectly. While at Viva's we order red Sangria and Rosee Sangria, pretty expensive at $32 per pitcher. Chicken and panini's were on the menu.
We walked around Old Montreal for a bit, admiring the cobble stone road, then made our way to the clock tower. A total of 192 steps and we were at the very top of the clock tower. When we got up there, there were two other groups, with another two groups right behind us. Needless to say it was pretty crammed. You could see most of Old Montreal from there, but the best view was of the islands just south of Old Port.
After leaving the tower we walked along Old Port and took in the view. On the other side of Old Port, we stopped by Scena where we ordered two more pitchers of Sangria. By now Will was red as a tomato, but it was me that dropped my glass of Sangria, part of it got splashed on Julio.
By now it was late afternoon, and we found out that Cirque Du Soleil was performing a free show on the street. We tried to get a good spot, but the crowd was huge. The show had one girl suspended in the air in a hoolahoop. Acrobats jumped off of trampolines and see saws, performing spins and flips in mid air. The whole show was less then an hour, but pretty impressive that they would just offer a random free show. Apparently this is common in Montreal.
We walked further into Old Montreal and into Rue des Artistes. Julio purchased another poutine, I had a few, but by now I was done with poutine. The Rue des Artistes and all of Old Montreal had a very European feel to it. Cobblestone roads, vintage buildings, and crowds of people just walking around. I've never been to Europe, but I imagine it's something similar to this.
We walked up Place Jacques Cartier (centre of Old Montreal) where we saw a bunch of street performers. Guitarists, violinists, artists. Vancouver street performers look like hacks next to these guys.
We Bixi'd back to the hotel, then decided to hit up Crescent street. Crescent street was a pretty busy area, with quite a few bars and restaurants. We decided to eat at Vino's on the corner of St. Catherines and Crescent. By now it was 1:45AM and they were open for a little longer then that. It was mostly a seafood place, but the best part of the restaurant was the fact that we sat on the second level, on the outdoor terrace. Something special about sitting outside like that just relaxing. Our waitress (Vanessa) was smoking hot.
Day 4 - Monday July 12th
The previous night, Julio and I craved breakfast so we decided to wake up early. Up at 8:30AM this morning we made our way to the Latin Quarters to eat at Brioche Lyonnaise. I didn't get a true definition of Brioche but I assume it's some sort of bread. We had omelettes and brioch, as well as latte's. Brioche Lyonnaise is one of those hole in the walls, we barely spotted it and we were trying to look for it. I'd recommend it, decent breakfast.
We walked along Latin Quarter, but there wasn't much to see, it's more of a night time place. From the Fromme's book that we had, Latin Quarters is where the students hang out?
We passed by the University of Quebec Montreal (QUAM). From the outside it had us confusing it for a church. Very gothic like structure. Inside was very disappointing though. Very ordinary, didn't match the outside at all.
From the university we Bixi'd to Chinatown where we spent the next several hours. We ate at Kam Fung restaurant for dim sum. Their dim sum had way too much white pepper, you could taste it in the ha gow and in the sui mai. Their chicken feet was really good though. After dim sum we wondered around Chinatown some more. Shum bought a China style triangle hat (think Raiden). Weirdest part of Chinatown was seeing all the Chinese people speaking french, not something you see all the time.
We walked to Old Montreal where we visited 20 different souvenir shops, which was a huge waste of time, because each of the souvenir shops sold the EXACT same things.
Made our way to Place Jacques Cartier where we had some drinks at Le Fripon. Sat on the outside terrace again, but it was unique in that they had little sprinklers above which shot mist out at random intervals. Probably to cool you down? Didn't make much of a difference though, we went to Montreal at a bad time, it was crazy hot. Throughout the whole trip it ranged from 28 to 32 degrees, but with the humidity it felt much hotter. At Le Fripon Will and Julio ordered some fruity drinks, Shum had the Aphrodisiac beer, and I ordered a Rosee beer (both from local breweries).
After cooling off we did a little more souvenir shopping, and then decided to eat. The book we had recommended going to Club Chasse. The map that was inside the book was completely wrong, and it didn't help that the street signs were all french, but it took us almost half an hour to find Club Chasse. And when we found it, we also found out they were closed on Mondays. Our second choice was Chez L'epicier, but after looking at their menu it was a little too pricy for us. We decided to look for Cafe Stash, but again couldn't find that restaurant either so we just settled at the Keg. Prime rib for everyone but Will who had the filet mignon, stick with what you know. Our waitress was really nice, and spoke perfect english. She said that in Montreal about 50% speak both english and french, Quebec city was more 95% french to english.
It was raining pretty hard outside, and being the geniuses we are we decided to walk it back to the hotel. At one point we were counting the distance between the flash of lightning and the thunder, and counted 20 seconds (supposedly 20km away). The rain was coming down pretty hard so we had to take a cab. In the cab, we saw a flash, and before any of us could count to one, we heard the thunder. Plus one for taking the cab.
Back at the hotel, the lobby elevators were packed, and when we made our way up to the 34th floor where our room was we figured out why. The ground was wet. When we got into our room, the washroom was drenched. We packed our bags and after Shum talked to the front desk, we had a new room, except this time it was on the 14th floor (1424), half as high as before. To compensate we got free water and WiFi for the week, and two free toothbrushes!
Afterwards we went to the casino, which cost us $18 in cab fare. A quick look around showed us that the minimum bets were $25, I guess you can do that when you're the only casino in the city. We ended up playing Royal Ascot horse racing, just like real horse racing, minus all the wait times. Shum and Will ended up down $5, and I was up a whopping $2. On our way out of the casino though, Julio found a $25 chip, how does he keep doing this?
Day 5 - Tuesday July 13th
Again craving breakfast, we woke up early and had breakfast at Eggspectations on Maisonnvenue and Peel. This was the breakfast we were looking for, omelettes, crepes, and benedicts. I had the crepe benedict (crepe instead of the usual biscuit). Also had cappuccino. After the hearty breakfast we walked to Centre Bell and took pictures of all the historic statues, and monuments of past Canadiens. Really makes you admire the team they had, with so many greats wearing the Habs jersey.
Inside Centre Bell I picked up a Carey Price jersey for Amanda. We then walked to Peel Metro station where we explored the underground shopping malls. It took us a while to get there, and it was a little disappointing when we finally arrived. There weren't any unique stores, pretty much whatever we have in Vancouver.
During the trip we were doing a lot of "That's what she said" jokes. Shum killed it today though. He wouldn't shut up about it, and even stopped trying to be suttle after a while.
We took the metro to the Olympic stadium. We tried to visit the Insectarium but there was a strike and it wasn't open. Back at the Olympic stadium, we paid $15 to ride up the arm of the structure. It's quite a unique structure, especially given that it was built back in the mid 70's. From the top of the stadium we could see parts of Montreal that we couldn't see from the clock tower or Mont Royal. Montreal doesn't have too many houses. In fact I don't recall seeing any houses, it was mostly condo's and row housing. Much like Vancouver the city is filled with greenery.
After the stadium we took the Metro to Mont-Royal station, where we talked to a fella t the information booth. We wanted to go to a restaurant that allowed us to bring our own booze. He made a recommendation (La Cantine) and even told us where to buy the wine. We ended up buying Chateau Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers Sauvignon Blanc white wine, and Domaine de Moulines Merlot. When we finally found La Cantine, the hostess told us it wasn't one of those restaurants where you bring your own wine, grrr. We go back to the information booth, luckily for the guy, he wasn't there anymore, replaced by a new girl. She recommended we go to L'Academie on Duluth and St. Denis. Despite the pouring rain, we walked for 3-4 blocks getting soaked, then decided to take a $5 cab ride for the remaining 2 blocks. Don't ask.
At L'Academie, the waiters knew right away and had an ice bucket for our wine as soon as we sat down. The food was amazing, we had lamb chops, cannelonni, filet mignon, and duck breast. We also had an appetizer meal of clams.
Back at the hotel we went back to the Bar and ordered some wings, cheese platter, more wine (White wine Vigneto la rosse), and some more drinks. I ordered a dry martini with gin, James Bond's drink, he can have it back, way too strong.
Day 6 - Wednesday July 14th
We woke up late today, around 12:50PM. After some calling around we decided on jet boating. The concierge helped us book, and was roughly $65 per person. We Bixi'd to Notre Dam Basilica, the famous church in Old Montreal. $5 to get in, and the inside was beautiful, reminded me a lot of the St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The stained glass and decor all around was astonishing to look at. And to think it was built in the 1800's, amazing. After the church we ate at a Vietnamese ran Chinese food, Noobox. Selling point for us was the Chinese take-out box.
The jet boating was located near the clock tower which wasn't too far away. We suited up with life jackets, wet boots, and wind breaking poncho's. The boat itself was 1,400 HP, and took us way out to the rapids. The tour guide person was unbelievably brave, tippy toeing his way around the ledge of the boat even when it was in motion. The tour guide told us that we'd be facing 4.5 to 5 level rapids, in comparison Niagra Falls is a level 6. Those rapids hit you pretty hard, if you're not ready for it, it would be pretty easy to hurt yourself. We went through the heavy rapids around five times, and it felt like each time was more and more intense. The boat also did 180 degree turns. One of the guys on the boat was sporting a Blackhawks t-shirt, took a lot of willpower for me to not say anything. It wouldn't have been pretty to see me taunt a team that knocked us out of the playoffs two years in a row, and then won the cup. The boating was around 2 hours, and finished at roughly 7PM. On our way out of the port Julio found $2, how does he keep doing this?
We took the Bixi back to the hotel to change then Bixi'd our way to Duluth and St. Denis. Half way there we took a break, and Will was drenched, not a pretty sight, funny but not pretty at all.
The restaurant we wanted to try was Au Pied de Cochon (cochon meaning pig). Not surprisingly there was a wait of half an hour for the restaurant. Well worth the wait though. By and far the best food I've eaten in Montreal. We started with appetizers: duck carpaccio, and foie gras poutine. Up until this point I was pretty disappointed with Montreal's poutine, the supposed birth place of poutine has yet to blow me away. The foie gras (duck liver) poutine, did just that. It cost $23 but by far the best poutine I've ever had, I was eating the liver gravy by the spoonfuls. For entrees we had lamb shank, bison rib, pork chop and duck in a can. At first I was going to order their Au Pied de Cochon, but after the waiter said that it was a stew of pig feet, brains, and eyes, I changed my mind. The duck in a can was really good though. Literally a duck in a can, they put a plate in front of you, and then they bring a hot can of duck that's been cooked in it's own broth and other ingredients. Open the can, pour on plate of vegetables and serve. Dessert we had creme brulee which was alright, not the best though. And of course for drinks we ordered Trembly beer and a cider called Cidre du Minot (I think).
After dinner we worked it off by biking around the Mont Royal and Plateau area. We made our way to Thursdays back at Crescent where we sat on the second level terrace enjoying our Rickards. We decided to go back to the casino again, where we horse raced till roughly 5AM.
Day 7 - Thursday July 15th
Last day in Montreal and we woke up around 11AM. Will and I went souvenir shopping, and after a long walk on St. Catherines, I ended up buying a blue and white striped dress for Gloria. We also stopped at Chocolatier on Masionnvenue and Montagne where we bought four boxes of specialty chocolates each.
Checking out of the hotel at 2PM, we went back to Eggspectation for one last breakfast/lunch of California benedict, corn beef hash, smoked meat and swiss cheese omelette. We sat there for a bit reflecting on the trip and coming up with ways to improve future vacations.
We went back to the hotel and grabbed our bags, took the 747 express bus back to the airport. At the airport we had a perfect view to see our luggage get moved onto the plane. The two guys loading luggage onto the conveyor belt didn't care at all. They were heaving and body slamming bags like they hated them. I watched helplessly as my bag hit the conveyor belt, bounced up did a 180 and then barely stay on the belt. A lady behind us must've heard us talking, cause she approached us to tell us that she worked for West Jet, and those luggage handlers are not employed by West Jet, they're employees of the airport. She told us to rest assure that she'll tell somebody about this.
Our flight back involved a stop at Toronto, making the initial flight very fast, but once at the Toronto airport, we found out that our flight was delayed an hour. We grabbed some quick food at Tim Hortons and waited out till our plane took off at 9:45PM. The flight from Toronto to Vancouver was pretty long, just about as long as it took to go from Vancouver to Montreal (4 hours, 45 minutes). Shum ordered a caesars, but it was too spicy so I took it. I ended up falling asleep before finishing it, and when jolted awake, I knocked the cup over. Luckily the splash didn't hit the girl beside me it was all contained on me...
We cleared baggage reasonably fast, but our luggage was wet, cause it had been raining in Toronto, or maybe our luggage was crying from the abuse. Amanda picked me up, but unfortunately she didn't know about the delay.
Reflection
Montreal is a beautiful city, with plenty to do even after what normally would be last call in Vancouver (11AM). It's a great place to visit to just sit and chill, with a drink in your hand. Just don't go when it has a heat wave like we did. From talking with the locals, the hot temperature isn't a common thing. Vancouver needs to take a page out of Montreal and retain it's history. You can see the history of Montreal everywhere, especially in the buildings, whereas in Vancouver it's all about modernization and green. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but nostalgia is never a bad thing.
We left for YVR airport at around 6AM, and went through check in without any problems. Almost too fast as we just ended up sitting at the terminal for over an hour. Julio found a $20 american bill on the floor of where we were sitting at.
The flight wasn't too bad. I fell asleep for a bit, but for the most part the soundless Discovery channel and sports highlights from TSN kept me busy.
It took under five minutes after clearing baggage at Trudeau airport for me to realize that my four years of high school French was useless. Reading every other word is pointless, and everyone was talking way too fast for me to comprehend. Luckily it's a bilingual country! We paid $7 to take the 747 express bus to La Centre Sheraton. While on the bus I guess we were talking a little loud, but no less then four people pointed out to us where to get off.
After checking into the airport we went to grab some dinner (lunch our time) at Mr. Steer on St. Catherines and Peel. We had poutine, chicken, burgers, and of course beer. Our waitress was clearly french speaking, but her english was decent enough. This was the same for just about everyone in Montreal. Most people spoke at least a little english (thank god).
Out of the restaurant we stopped at SAQ (Montreal liquor store) and purchased two bottles of sake. That's also where we saw a group of asian kids. Not too many asians in Montreal, outside of Chinatown that is.
We walked east on St. Catherines until we stopped at a La Belle Province to try some of that famous Montreal poutine. I wasn't overly impressed, maybe I played it up to much, but the poutine didn't blow me away.
Back at the hotel it didn't take us too long to drink the two bottles of sake. Sake goes down pretty fast when you include card games.
Instead of cabbing, we walked to another La Belle Province, this time ordering their specialty poutines. We ordered smoked meat, sausage, Italian, and beef poutines, with the smoked meat poutine clearly beating out the others.
It was a long walk back to the hotel, and as soon as I got back I passed out, damn sake. Our new song: Auburn - Perfect Two (don't ask).
Day 2 - Saturday July 10th
We woke up at 11AM, and decided to try out the bike system. The Bixi system is pretty uniques, you pay $5 and you can use their bikes all day, provided you return the bike every 30 minutes. Might seem like a drag but there's a Bixi station every two blocks in the more populated areas.
We biked to the famous Schwartz, but we didn't plan out the route too well as we ended up having to bike uphill on the sidewalk.
When we got to Schwartz there was a line up the length of the building. Luckily for us, the lineup was for the restaurant. We walked in to the deli which was right next door and sat at the back tables. The smoked meat sandwich on rye was a little dry, I had to douse it with mustard, but it wasn't anything special. Zero for two now on the specialties.
After lunch we grabbed some drinks at a local pharmasave (I think it was a pharmasave). Will bought two bottles, one for the road and the other he downed before leaving the store. The reason why we bought drinks was cause Shum had the bright idea to bike up Mont Royal. There's a Bixi station at the bottom of the mountain and there's a station at the top of the station. There was no way we were going to make it up there in half an hour, no way. But we decided to do it anyways. The bike up was grueling. Up hill the whole time, and our bikes weren't designed for that kind of biking. At points in time we were passed by people walking up the mountain, breaks were frequent. There was one couple that passed us four times. We started talking to them the fourth time they passed us. At the top of the mountain, we could almost see the whole city. It was almost worth the ride up. At the top we ran into that couple that passed us four times (Mike and Allison). Funny couple who poked fun at Vancouver, they recommended we go to Crescent street, and made some recommendations on where not to go.
The bike down the mountain was the best part of the whole journey. No pedaling at all, just you the road, and non-stop wind in your face. We started going up at around 2PM and finished close to 3:30PM.
Right by the station was a East Indian Festival, so we decided to check it out. From there we biked to Mont Royal Metro station where we would take the metro to Jean Talon. Famous for the outdoor market, the fruits and vegetables looked really fresh. Plenty of samples to dry, as well as fresh bread and drinks.
Shum kept going on and on about a girl in a blue white striped shirt. As we were sitting at a table that girl came over to talk to us. Unfortunately she worked for CBC and was trying to get people to be an audience for a french show that was airing soon.
We took the metro back to the hotel where we ended up eating at Bar (Sheraton's restaurant). I ordered a smoked meat sandwich that was better then what I had at Schwartz, but again didn't blow me away. We also had a cheese platter, not normally my thing, but it was good.
We all changed and started waling along St. Catherines east bound looking for a place to drink. We must've walked for a very long time cause you could see the scenery change. Somewhere along our route we saw a banner for an African Festival so we kept walking that way, but then we started seeing guys making out with other guys, then drag queens. That's when we realized we were in the Village (Montreal's gay and lesbian district). We just kept walking until we found a good place to drink.
I don't recall where we ended up drinking at but wherever it was they had the cheapest beer ever. It was under $17 for a pitcher of beer. The pitcher was 4L big! 120 oz of sweet sweet golden water. Julio and Will helped but it was mostly me and Shum who finished it.
We were done walking so we took a cab back to the hotel to pass out.
Day 3 - Sunday July 11th
We woke up late again, 12PM. This Bixi thing was growing on us, and we decided to bike to Old Montreal. Today was the World Cup finals so we had to find somewhere fast in order to catch the game. Near the Old Port was a restaurant called Viva. The waitress was really nice and even made a bet with us. We were cheering for Spain, she offered shots for us if Spain scored first. Unfortunately by the time the game was over, 1-0 Spain in overtime, the waitress was off already. She timed it perfectly. While at Viva's we order red Sangria and Rosee Sangria, pretty expensive at $32 per pitcher. Chicken and panini's were on the menu.
We walked around Old Montreal for a bit, admiring the cobble stone road, then made our way to the clock tower. A total of 192 steps and we were at the very top of the clock tower. When we got up there, there were two other groups, with another two groups right behind us. Needless to say it was pretty crammed. You could see most of Old Montreal from there, but the best view was of the islands just south of Old Port.
After leaving the tower we walked along Old Port and took in the view. On the other side of Old Port, we stopped by Scena where we ordered two more pitchers of Sangria. By now Will was red as a tomato, but it was me that dropped my glass of Sangria, part of it got splashed on Julio.
By now it was late afternoon, and we found out that Cirque Du Soleil was performing a free show on the street. We tried to get a good spot, but the crowd was huge. The show had one girl suspended in the air in a hoolahoop. Acrobats jumped off of trampolines and see saws, performing spins and flips in mid air. The whole show was less then an hour, but pretty impressive that they would just offer a random free show. Apparently this is common in Montreal.
We walked further into Old Montreal and into Rue des Artistes. Julio purchased another poutine, I had a few, but by now I was done with poutine. The Rue des Artistes and all of Old Montreal had a very European feel to it. Cobblestone roads, vintage buildings, and crowds of people just walking around. I've never been to Europe, but I imagine it's something similar to this.
We walked up Place Jacques Cartier (centre of Old Montreal) where we saw a bunch of street performers. Guitarists, violinists, artists. Vancouver street performers look like hacks next to these guys.
We Bixi'd back to the hotel, then decided to hit up Crescent street. Crescent street was a pretty busy area, with quite a few bars and restaurants. We decided to eat at Vino's on the corner of St. Catherines and Crescent. By now it was 1:45AM and they were open for a little longer then that. It was mostly a seafood place, but the best part of the restaurant was the fact that we sat on the second level, on the outdoor terrace. Something special about sitting outside like that just relaxing. Our waitress (Vanessa) was smoking hot.
Day 4 - Monday July 12th
The previous night, Julio and I craved breakfast so we decided to wake up early. Up at 8:30AM this morning we made our way to the Latin Quarters to eat at Brioche Lyonnaise. I didn't get a true definition of Brioche but I assume it's some sort of bread. We had omelettes and brioch, as well as latte's. Brioche Lyonnaise is one of those hole in the walls, we barely spotted it and we were trying to look for it. I'd recommend it, decent breakfast.
We walked along Latin Quarter, but there wasn't much to see, it's more of a night time place. From the Fromme's book that we had, Latin Quarters is where the students hang out?
We passed by the University of Quebec Montreal (QUAM). From the outside it had us confusing it for a church. Very gothic like structure. Inside was very disappointing though. Very ordinary, didn't match the outside at all.
From the university we Bixi'd to Chinatown where we spent the next several hours. We ate at Kam Fung restaurant for dim sum. Their dim sum had way too much white pepper, you could taste it in the ha gow and in the sui mai. Their chicken feet was really good though. After dim sum we wondered around Chinatown some more. Shum bought a China style triangle hat (think Raiden). Weirdest part of Chinatown was seeing all the Chinese people speaking french, not something you see all the time.
We walked to Old Montreal where we visited 20 different souvenir shops, which was a huge waste of time, because each of the souvenir shops sold the EXACT same things.
Made our way to Place Jacques Cartier where we had some drinks at Le Fripon. Sat on the outside terrace again, but it was unique in that they had little sprinklers above which shot mist out at random intervals. Probably to cool you down? Didn't make much of a difference though, we went to Montreal at a bad time, it was crazy hot. Throughout the whole trip it ranged from 28 to 32 degrees, but with the humidity it felt much hotter. At Le Fripon Will and Julio ordered some fruity drinks, Shum had the Aphrodisiac beer, and I ordered a Rosee beer (both from local breweries).
After cooling off we did a little more souvenir shopping, and then decided to eat. The book we had recommended going to Club Chasse. The map that was inside the book was completely wrong, and it didn't help that the street signs were all french, but it took us almost half an hour to find Club Chasse. And when we found it, we also found out they were closed on Mondays. Our second choice was Chez L'epicier, but after looking at their menu it was a little too pricy for us. We decided to look for Cafe Stash, but again couldn't find that restaurant either so we just settled at the Keg. Prime rib for everyone but Will who had the filet mignon, stick with what you know. Our waitress was really nice, and spoke perfect english. She said that in Montreal about 50% speak both english and french, Quebec city was more 95% french to english.
It was raining pretty hard outside, and being the geniuses we are we decided to walk it back to the hotel. At one point we were counting the distance between the flash of lightning and the thunder, and counted 20 seconds (supposedly 20km away). The rain was coming down pretty hard so we had to take a cab. In the cab, we saw a flash, and before any of us could count to one, we heard the thunder. Plus one for taking the cab.
Back at the hotel, the lobby elevators were packed, and when we made our way up to the 34th floor where our room was we figured out why. The ground was wet. When we got into our room, the washroom was drenched. We packed our bags and after Shum talked to the front desk, we had a new room, except this time it was on the 14th floor (1424), half as high as before. To compensate we got free water and WiFi for the week, and two free toothbrushes!
Afterwards we went to the casino, which cost us $18 in cab fare. A quick look around showed us that the minimum bets were $25, I guess you can do that when you're the only casino in the city. We ended up playing Royal Ascot horse racing, just like real horse racing, minus all the wait times. Shum and Will ended up down $5, and I was up a whopping $2. On our way out of the casino though, Julio found a $25 chip, how does he keep doing this?
Day 5 - Tuesday July 13th
Again craving breakfast, we woke up early and had breakfast at Eggspectations on Maisonnvenue and Peel. This was the breakfast we were looking for, omelettes, crepes, and benedicts. I had the crepe benedict (crepe instead of the usual biscuit). Also had cappuccino. After the hearty breakfast we walked to Centre Bell and took pictures of all the historic statues, and monuments of past Canadiens. Really makes you admire the team they had, with so many greats wearing the Habs jersey.
Inside Centre Bell I picked up a Carey Price jersey for Amanda. We then walked to Peel Metro station where we explored the underground shopping malls. It took us a while to get there, and it was a little disappointing when we finally arrived. There weren't any unique stores, pretty much whatever we have in Vancouver.
During the trip we were doing a lot of "That's what she said" jokes. Shum killed it today though. He wouldn't shut up about it, and even stopped trying to be suttle after a while.
We took the metro to the Olympic stadium. We tried to visit the Insectarium but there was a strike and it wasn't open. Back at the Olympic stadium, we paid $15 to ride up the arm of the structure. It's quite a unique structure, especially given that it was built back in the mid 70's. From the top of the stadium we could see parts of Montreal that we couldn't see from the clock tower or Mont Royal. Montreal doesn't have too many houses. In fact I don't recall seeing any houses, it was mostly condo's and row housing. Much like Vancouver the city is filled with greenery.
After the stadium we took the Metro to Mont-Royal station, where we talked to a fella t the information booth. We wanted to go to a restaurant that allowed us to bring our own booze. He made a recommendation (La Cantine) and even told us where to buy the wine. We ended up buying Chateau Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers Sauvignon Blanc white wine, and Domaine de Moulines Merlot. When we finally found La Cantine, the hostess told us it wasn't one of those restaurants where you bring your own wine, grrr. We go back to the information booth, luckily for the guy, he wasn't there anymore, replaced by a new girl. She recommended we go to L'Academie on Duluth and St. Denis. Despite the pouring rain, we walked for 3-4 blocks getting soaked, then decided to take a $5 cab ride for the remaining 2 blocks. Don't ask.
At L'Academie, the waiters knew right away and had an ice bucket for our wine as soon as we sat down. The food was amazing, we had lamb chops, cannelonni, filet mignon, and duck breast. We also had an appetizer meal of clams.
Back at the hotel we went back to the Bar and ordered some wings, cheese platter, more wine (White wine Vigneto la rosse), and some more drinks. I ordered a dry martini with gin, James Bond's drink, he can have it back, way too strong.
Day 6 - Wednesday July 14th
We woke up late today, around 12:50PM. After some calling around we decided on jet boating. The concierge helped us book, and was roughly $65 per person. We Bixi'd to Notre Dam Basilica, the famous church in Old Montreal. $5 to get in, and the inside was beautiful, reminded me a lot of the St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The stained glass and decor all around was astonishing to look at. And to think it was built in the 1800's, amazing. After the church we ate at a Vietnamese ran Chinese food, Noobox. Selling point for us was the Chinese take-out box.
The jet boating was located near the clock tower which wasn't too far away. We suited up with life jackets, wet boots, and wind breaking poncho's. The boat itself was 1,400 HP, and took us way out to the rapids. The tour guide person was unbelievably brave, tippy toeing his way around the ledge of the boat even when it was in motion. The tour guide told us that we'd be facing 4.5 to 5 level rapids, in comparison Niagra Falls is a level 6. Those rapids hit you pretty hard, if you're not ready for it, it would be pretty easy to hurt yourself. We went through the heavy rapids around five times, and it felt like each time was more and more intense. The boat also did 180 degree turns. One of the guys on the boat was sporting a Blackhawks t-shirt, took a lot of willpower for me to not say anything. It wouldn't have been pretty to see me taunt a team that knocked us out of the playoffs two years in a row, and then won the cup. The boating was around 2 hours, and finished at roughly 7PM. On our way out of the port Julio found $2, how does he keep doing this?
We took the Bixi back to the hotel to change then Bixi'd our way to Duluth and St. Denis. Half way there we took a break, and Will was drenched, not a pretty sight, funny but not pretty at all.
The restaurant we wanted to try was Au Pied de Cochon (cochon meaning pig). Not surprisingly there was a wait of half an hour for the restaurant. Well worth the wait though. By and far the best food I've eaten in Montreal. We started with appetizers: duck carpaccio, and foie gras poutine. Up until this point I was pretty disappointed with Montreal's poutine, the supposed birth place of poutine has yet to blow me away. The foie gras (duck liver) poutine, did just that. It cost $23 but by far the best poutine I've ever had, I was eating the liver gravy by the spoonfuls. For entrees we had lamb shank, bison rib, pork chop and duck in a can. At first I was going to order their Au Pied de Cochon, but after the waiter said that it was a stew of pig feet, brains, and eyes, I changed my mind. The duck in a can was really good though. Literally a duck in a can, they put a plate in front of you, and then they bring a hot can of duck that's been cooked in it's own broth and other ingredients. Open the can, pour on plate of vegetables and serve. Dessert we had creme brulee which was alright, not the best though. And of course for drinks we ordered Trembly beer and a cider called Cidre du Minot (I think).
After dinner we worked it off by biking around the Mont Royal and Plateau area. We made our way to Thursdays back at Crescent where we sat on the second level terrace enjoying our Rickards. We decided to go back to the casino again, where we horse raced till roughly 5AM.
Day 7 - Thursday July 15th
Last day in Montreal and we woke up around 11AM. Will and I went souvenir shopping, and after a long walk on St. Catherines, I ended up buying a blue and white striped dress for Gloria. We also stopped at Chocolatier on Masionnvenue and Montagne where we bought four boxes of specialty chocolates each.
Checking out of the hotel at 2PM, we went back to Eggspectation for one last breakfast/lunch of California benedict, corn beef hash, smoked meat and swiss cheese omelette. We sat there for a bit reflecting on the trip and coming up with ways to improve future vacations.
We went back to the hotel and grabbed our bags, took the 747 express bus back to the airport. At the airport we had a perfect view to see our luggage get moved onto the plane. The two guys loading luggage onto the conveyor belt didn't care at all. They were heaving and body slamming bags like they hated them. I watched helplessly as my bag hit the conveyor belt, bounced up did a 180 and then barely stay on the belt. A lady behind us must've heard us talking, cause she approached us to tell us that she worked for West Jet, and those luggage handlers are not employed by West Jet, they're employees of the airport. She told us to rest assure that she'll tell somebody about this.
Our flight back involved a stop at Toronto, making the initial flight very fast, but once at the Toronto airport, we found out that our flight was delayed an hour. We grabbed some quick food at Tim Hortons and waited out till our plane took off at 9:45PM. The flight from Toronto to Vancouver was pretty long, just about as long as it took to go from Vancouver to Montreal (4 hours, 45 minutes). Shum ordered a caesars, but it was too spicy so I took it. I ended up falling asleep before finishing it, and when jolted awake, I knocked the cup over. Luckily the splash didn't hit the girl beside me it was all contained on me...
We cleared baggage reasonably fast, but our luggage was wet, cause it had been raining in Toronto, or maybe our luggage was crying from the abuse. Amanda picked me up, but unfortunately she didn't know about the delay.
Reflection
Montreal is a beautiful city, with plenty to do even after what normally would be last call in Vancouver (11AM). It's a great place to visit to just sit and chill, with a drink in your hand. Just don't go when it has a heat wave like we did. From talking with the locals, the hot temperature isn't a common thing. Vancouver needs to take a page out of Montreal and retain it's history. You can see the history of Montreal everywhere, especially in the buildings, whereas in Vancouver it's all about modernization and green. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but nostalgia is never a bad thing.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge
For the first time the gang got together to form a team in the ever so formidable sport of dodgeball. Despite it's reputation, dodgeball is taken very seriously.
The orientation at the beginning of the season bolstered our ego's. From what we saw, team wise we had an above average team, but we were horribly wrong. When the season started, it was evident that the only people who showed up to orientation were the newbies. We gave it our all but in sixteen games that first week we came up under 500, I don't recall ever having a record better then 500 in any of the weeks (although we did come close at some points).
The entire league was very well run, especially given the fact that it was all volunteer. Every team we played showed great sportsmanship, aside from a select few. It really is a pleasure to play against teams who have the same smile on their face at the beginning of the match and the end.
Throughout the eleven week regular season, we had a mediocre record with some weeks better then others. For a game that consisted of throwing foam balls at each other, there's surprisingly a lot of strategy. Some of the more experienced teams we played showed us how much of a difference a year or two of dodgeball makes.
Luckily for us every team got to play in the playoffs, but unfortunately for us, we got creamed in the playoffs. Putting a swift and punishing end to our playoff hopes.
Highlight of the season would be any game that we won. It's a great feeling to completely dominate a team, but the best games were the close ones. The nail biting games where any throw could've been the last, those are the games that I remember best.
Lowlight would be our morale breaking back to back series losses in the playoffs.
What the hell moment of the season would be Costa's one on one showdown with an opposing girl, where he chose to adopt a very 'stalker' like predator prey approach.
It's doubtful the team will return for another season. Dodgeball is a great sport that pretty much anyone can pick up, but like most competitive sports, dodgeball is a tough sport to compete in. So what comes after dodgeball? Not sure myself but I'm pitching for a football team.
The orientation at the beginning of the season bolstered our ego's. From what we saw, team wise we had an above average team, but we were horribly wrong. When the season started, it was evident that the only people who showed up to orientation were the newbies. We gave it our all but in sixteen games that first week we came up under 500, I don't recall ever having a record better then 500 in any of the weeks (although we did come close at some points).
The entire league was very well run, especially given the fact that it was all volunteer. Every team we played showed great sportsmanship, aside from a select few. It really is a pleasure to play against teams who have the same smile on their face at the beginning of the match and the end.
Throughout the eleven week regular season, we had a mediocre record with some weeks better then others. For a game that consisted of throwing foam balls at each other, there's surprisingly a lot of strategy. Some of the more experienced teams we played showed us how much of a difference a year or two of dodgeball makes.
Luckily for us every team got to play in the playoffs, but unfortunately for us, we got creamed in the playoffs. Putting a swift and punishing end to our playoff hopes.
Highlight of the season would be any game that we won. It's a great feeling to completely dominate a team, but the best games were the close ones. The nail biting games where any throw could've been the last, those are the games that I remember best.
Lowlight would be our morale breaking back to back series losses in the playoffs.
What the hell moment of the season would be Costa's one on one showdown with an opposing girl, where he chose to adopt a very 'stalker' like predator prey approach.
It's doubtful the team will return for another season. Dodgeball is a great sport that pretty much anyone can pick up, but like most competitive sports, dodgeball is a tough sport to compete in. So what comes after dodgeball? Not sure myself but I'm pitching for a football team.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
My Hunt for Red October
After weeks of anticipation and waiting, I went to Science World (Sochi house) to see the Russian Rocket. It was written on various online sources that Bure would be at the Sochi house on game days:
"A Table Hockey Tournament; Games with famous hockey players (for example, «Score a Goal Past Tretyak» and «Best Scorer» with Pavel Bure and others)"
It was just before 11AM when I got there I was met with a line that twisted six seven times over around the outside Science World. I would've waited for hours to see Pavel Bure, but I wasn't 100% sure that he was going to be there. Waiting in line for hours based on a hunch is a crappy way to spend a beautiful Sunday morning/afternoon.
It took us till almost 1PM before we got in to the Sochi house, and it was clear they spent quite a bit of change renovating the whole area. I immediately went to the information table to ask if Pavel Bure was here as stated online. I was met with half answers, and cold stares. Walking throughout the Sochi house there was NOTHING to do. There were various rooms, none of which were anything more then boring. I wasn't there for the activities though, I walked throughout both levels of Sochi house, and talked to three other Russian workers to see if they could tell me when and where Bure would be. No one was able to tell me anything, no one was willing to tell me anything. I don't know whether it was the language barrier but it sounded like they were hiding something: "Bure? Maybe, maybe not. He might be here after, or maybe not. I don't know, I can't say." They told me enough to not answer my question and then would end it with I can't say. I kid you not, Hollywood portrays Russians dead on.
I left the Sochi house around 2PM, disappointed and a little bit paranoid that maybe I knew too much. Lesson learned, you can't put all your faith in online sources. What a waste of time. I know Bure is in Vancouver for sure to watch the game, but this may be the last chance I'll have of meeting him face to face. Arrghh...
"A Table Hockey Tournament; Games with famous hockey players (for example, «Score a Goal Past Tretyak» and «Best Scorer» with Pavel Bure and others)"
It was just before 11AM when I got there I was met with a line that twisted six seven times over around the outside Science World. I would've waited for hours to see Pavel Bure, but I wasn't 100% sure that he was going to be there. Waiting in line for hours based on a hunch is a crappy way to spend a beautiful Sunday morning/afternoon.
It took us till almost 1PM before we got in to the Sochi house, and it was clear they spent quite a bit of change renovating the whole area. I immediately went to the information table to ask if Pavel Bure was here as stated online. I was met with half answers, and cold stares. Walking throughout the Sochi house there was NOTHING to do. There were various rooms, none of which were anything more then boring. I wasn't there for the activities though, I walked throughout both levels of Sochi house, and talked to three other Russian workers to see if they could tell me when and where Bure would be. No one was able to tell me anything, no one was willing to tell me anything. I don't know whether it was the language barrier but it sounded like they were hiding something: "Bure? Maybe, maybe not. He might be here after, or maybe not. I don't know, I can't say." They told me enough to not answer my question and then would end it with I can't say. I kid you not, Hollywood portrays Russians dead on.
I left the Sochi house around 2PM, disappointed and a little bit paranoid that maybe I knew too much. Lesson learned, you can't put all your faith in online sources. What a waste of time. I know Bure is in Vancouver for sure to watch the game, but this may be the last chance I'll have of meeting him face to face. Arrghh...
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Best of 2009
Blink and you'll miss it, 2009 has come and gone in a blur. I started the year feeling old, and that's the way the year has ended (I didn't get ID checked while buying liquor for New Years). And with that here's a countdown of my 2009 events. 2009 has been a year of new for me, new experiences, new starts, new decisions, and most importantly new memories:
1) New York New York: I have a hatred for the New York Rangers that stretches deep down to the depths of my soul, and for me to say that I would consider living in New York goes to show how spending one week there has changed my views. I still hate the Rangers, but the city of New York is sensory overload. You could live there for years and wouldn't see all it has to offer.
2) Julio's Whistler Birthday: Surrounded with friends, watching the UFC ppv in an outdoor pub, with all of Whistler as a backdrop. It's times like these that make you wish you had more free time.
3) The Playoff Haul: The season started in 2008, but my first organized hockey playoffs was in 2009. The famed Chow Dang Chen line distracted the other team's top defencemens allowing the rest of the Sharks team to rack up goals in the playoffs. The lessons learned in organized sports is not something you'll find anywhere else, and having the opportunity to play on the same line as two friends made it all the more memorable, even if I didn't manage a single point in the playoffs...
4) Meeting Mr. Canuck: Fifteen years of tried and true dedication, I finally met the only man worthy of the title Mr. Canuck. I only managed three sentences, and I'm sure from the other end it was a jargled bunch of nonsense, but that was the best conversation I ever had. EVER.
5) Portland Scuffle (April): Shopping, indoor skating rink, Mark's ticket for dangerous lane changes, the Kevin Garnett bouncer, Shum's worse hangover ever. The thing I'll remember most will be the Starbucks latte that almost started a fight between us, the elementary african american kids, and the hispanic kids.
6) The Perfect Grape: I set out in 2009 to find a classy drink to order at upscale restaurants. Must've went through boxes and boxes of different wines. What started out as a search for the right wine turned to long nights of reminiscing with the pals. I hope I never find the right wine.
7) Festival of Festivals: Caribbean festival, Japanese festival, farmer's market, random street festivals. I never knew how many events took place in Vancouver until I actually checked. Most of which took place during the summer time. Vancouver needs to have more of these events, and a centralized calendar to promote from, and some events during the winter time.
8) Coastal Party: I had a blast at the party. It means even more now that I'm no longer with the company.
9) Outdoor Hotpot: An annual tradition, we proved that it's never too cold to cook food around a boiling pot of water. I was also able to use my super bright commercial painters light. Any chance you have of using a light like that, you take it.
10) Controlling The Dragon: First, and probably last, time dragon boating this year. Last because I doubt I'll find 10 others who want to form a team with me. Like all sports, technique plays a huge factor in dragon boating. It was really amazing to see the difference between a unisoned rowing team and a team that's just winging it. False lake water is nasty.
With that, 2009 is done and over with. Bring on 2010!
1) New York New York: I have a hatred for the New York Rangers that stretches deep down to the depths of my soul, and for me to say that I would consider living in New York goes to show how spending one week there has changed my views. I still hate the Rangers, but the city of New York is sensory overload. You could live there for years and wouldn't see all it has to offer.
2) Julio's Whistler Birthday: Surrounded with friends, watching the UFC ppv in an outdoor pub, with all of Whistler as a backdrop. It's times like these that make you wish you had more free time.
3) The Playoff Haul: The season started in 2008, but my first organized hockey playoffs was in 2009. The famed Chow Dang Chen line distracted the other team's top defencemens allowing the rest of the Sharks team to rack up goals in the playoffs. The lessons learned in organized sports is not something you'll find anywhere else, and having the opportunity to play on the same line as two friends made it all the more memorable, even if I didn't manage a single point in the playoffs...
4) Meeting Mr. Canuck: Fifteen years of tried and true dedication, I finally met the only man worthy of the title Mr. Canuck. I only managed three sentences, and I'm sure from the other end it was a jargled bunch of nonsense, but that was the best conversation I ever had. EVER.
5) Portland Scuffle (April): Shopping, indoor skating rink, Mark's ticket for dangerous lane changes, the Kevin Garnett bouncer, Shum's worse hangover ever. The thing I'll remember most will be the Starbucks latte that almost started a fight between us, the elementary african american kids, and the hispanic kids.
6) The Perfect Grape: I set out in 2009 to find a classy drink to order at upscale restaurants. Must've went through boxes and boxes of different wines. What started out as a search for the right wine turned to long nights of reminiscing with the pals. I hope I never find the right wine.
7) Festival of Festivals: Caribbean festival, Japanese festival, farmer's market, random street festivals. I never knew how many events took place in Vancouver until I actually checked. Most of which took place during the summer time. Vancouver needs to have more of these events, and a centralized calendar to promote from, and some events during the winter time.
8) Coastal Party: I had a blast at the party. It means even more now that I'm no longer with the company.
9) Outdoor Hotpot: An annual tradition, we proved that it's never too cold to cook food around a boiling pot of water. I was also able to use my super bright commercial painters light. Any chance you have of using a light like that, you take it.
10) Controlling The Dragon: First, and probably last, time dragon boating this year. Last because I doubt I'll find 10 others who want to form a team with me. Like all sports, technique plays a huge factor in dragon boating. It was really amazing to see the difference between a unisoned rowing team and a team that's just winging it. False lake water is nasty.
With that, 2009 is done and over with. Bring on 2010!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Last of the Legends
Last of the legends
Mark your calendar kids, January 19th, 2010: end of an era. The last of the legends has finally retired. Mike Peca was the only remaining active player from the 1993/94 Canucks team. The last remnant of the greatest team to wear a Canucks jersey, is now gone.
You know your old when the players you idolized growing up, don't even play the game anymore.
Fifteen years later, and 1994 was still the closest we've ever been to the cup. Vancouver needs to win the cup bad.
Mark your calendar kids, January 19th, 2010: end of an era. The last of the legends has finally retired. Mike Peca was the only remaining active player from the 1993/94 Canucks team. The last remnant of the greatest team to wear a Canucks jersey, is now gone.
You know your old when the players you idolized growing up, don't even play the game anymore.
Fifteen years later, and 1994 was still the closest we've ever been to the cup. Vancouver needs to win the cup bad.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Notebook crook
My laptop died today. The bootup screen doesn't even come up. Its a black screen and an endless cycle of 15 second automatic restarts. This is complete bull because I had this exact problem a year ago. First the wireless stops working then the whole computer just dies a quick and brutal death.
I shipped my computer in last year after having this problem and they claimed to have fixed this. The hell they did! I called support to see if they'll fix it again, but they said that my laptop is no longer under warantee. But if I wanted to I could pay $399 to fix it. $399!
HP dv6000. Pretty much just stay away from HP all together. This is a well known / documented problem. It's all over the internet even on HP's own forum. Hardware issues, that HP refuses to declare a recall despite what looks to be a laptop pandemic.
For the price of repair, I could just get a new computer. This sucks. I'm never buying another HP, and neither should you.
I shipped my computer in last year after having this problem and they claimed to have fixed this. The hell they did! I called support to see if they'll fix it again, but they said that my laptop is no longer under warantee. But if I wanted to I could pay $399 to fix it. $399!
HP dv6000. Pretty much just stay away from HP all together. This is a well known / documented problem. It's all over the internet even on HP's own forum. Hardware issues, that HP refuses to declare a recall despite what looks to be a laptop pandemic.
For the price of repair, I could just get a new computer. This sucks. I'm never buying another HP, and neither should you.
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