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Today was the day of bumping into people. Friends I saw yesterday, friends I saw last month, friends I saw last year, and of course, the second Canadian gold medalist but I’ll talk about that later.

I started off by heading over to Science World again and came across a “We Come In Peace” polar bear. Pretty cute thing.

Seeing as a worker or volunteer or security guard or who knows what he is told me that the Ontario Pavilion had no lineup to get in, I decided to saunter in to see what it was all about. And there really was nothing much in there. The outside is really pretty though, made of string/wires.

Blah, blah, blah, walked around and snatched some free things. Waited about half an hour to get into The Bay, where their Olympic clothes sizes are only M and up and where their cashiers need to pay more attention to what they’re ringing up (they didn’t ring up a $30 hoodie and the cashier had a helper too). Then I stopped for a midday snack where CBC Radio broadcasts and where Bread Garden is.

As I was about to leave, I was notified that Maelle Ricker (Canada’s 2nd gold medalist) was right outside and was gonna be doing a radio interview with CBC, so naturally, I stayed, watched, and took a video.

Whew, today was exhausting, especially pushing and shoving around inside The Bay and listening to one worker’s voice every 5 seconds repeating the same old thing. “If you’re in the Bay and you want to get to the Olympic Superstore, you’ll have to exit through the Georgia doors and line up at the Seymour doors! blah… blah… blah……”

Anywho, on the schedule for tomorrow (Thursday): Canada vs. Switzerland hockey game and Downtown to enjoy the nightlife . And for Friday, ZIP LINING! And more Downtown. Next week (probably Monday), I will be driving my way up to Grouse Mountain at 3am to catch the taping of The Today Show.

Stay tuned for more of my Olympic outings

Boy, my feet hurt. I feel like I’m on a trip. Except that with this trip, I get to drive back to my own home instead of walk back to my hotel. Anywho, I traveled back Downtown today, the main purpose being to visit the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion (500 Granville Street). I got there a little after 9am and the lineup was already massive. It took about an hour and a half to edge my way in there and another 30-45 minutes to get inside the room full of Olympic and Paralympic medals.

Here’s that 100kg of pure gold $1 million coin on display at the Mint.

Now here are the medals. The first set are the Paralympic medals. They’re more square and have braille on the backs of them, which supposedly say “Vancouver 2010″.

This set are of the regular Olympic medals, which are rounder but just as heavy as the Paralympic medals. It supposedly takes a total of 24 hours to make one of these medals from start to finish. Note that each design on each medal is unique, so no two medals are exactly the same.

After visiting the Mint, I went walking, walking, walking, and walking some more (it’s no wonder my feet are in pain). I happened to walk right to the Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby Street), where the Olympic clock sits. The clock seems to be counting up the days now, but it’s saying today is Day 3 as opposed to what I thought was Day 5.

I’m gonna need a better photo of that clock. The biggest Canada flag in the world must be included. (The flag is just across the street from the clock.)

Here’s the bustle and hype of Robson Square (800 Robson Street), where GE Ice Plaza (the skating rink) is and also the Ziptrek Ecotours zipline as noted by the wires in the photo below. There was a performance at the ice rink by some skaters in hoodies and the three mascots: Quatchi, Sumi, and Miga.

It seems somewhat ridiculous, but the mascots got a security escort out of the ice rink. And little kids were screaming, “MIGA! QUATCHI! SUMI! AHHHH!!!”

While wandering the mostly car-free streets of Downtown Vancouver, I came across this copper Goldilocks-cowboy-tingirl hybrid.

When girls and little kids would go up to her for a photo, she would hold out her hand, but when guys would go up to her, she would pull out her GUN. And point it right at their faces. She was really good though.

Anywho, as I continued walking along who-knows-what street, I came across the lanterns that I had previously only seen in photos.

And that pretty must sums up the gist of my day. Oh, and also watching the Canada vs. Norway hockey game at a friend’s house. I was on the lookout for a big Canadian flag today (missed my opportunity yesterday) and later also a Canada Luongo jersey but ended up getting a huge Canada hockey flag and lucking out on the Luongo jersey, which meant I was forced to wear my Canucks Luongo jersey. Great nonetheless.

As for the proposed Wednesday nighttime outing, that has been postponed until Thursday. As for Wednesday, I still will be heading out yet again to Downtown, I forget for what right now (I’m exhausted), and another hockey game watching will happen on Thursday along with an outing. And another outing on Friday, places to be determined.

If this doesn’t sound like a trip/vacation to you, I don’t know what does.

So I decided to hit up the city today. I hadn’t been down there in what felt like a lifetime, so I figured it was time to go back. Only fitting, right? It was also somewhat strange hopping onto transit for the first time in months. (Yeah, I’m a spoiled brat.)

First stop of the day: Main Street – Science World, or what they now call Main Street – Science World – Canada Hockey Place – Olympic Village – Who Knows What Other Extensions They’ve Added On. It seems that Science World has become a place for Russia to broadcast its Sochi 2014 flair. Long lineups to get into that, I must say.

Of course, across the water, there’s the Olympic Village, but I’ll show you that later. Here’s the biggest Canada flag in the world first.

I passed by LiveCity Downtown, and saw yet another ginormous lineup. I honest-to-goodness have no idea what goes on in half of these places during the day, and I don’t care for long lineups unless I’m interested, so I was just passing by them.

Next up: Waterfront Station (en route to visit the Fortress-of-Solitude cauldron). I found this very interesting and cute “Welcome” sign at the station.

The 2 phones there actually work (although they suck at identifying what you’re trying to touch). Interesting nonetheless.

Here, more mobs of people by Canada Place/Convention Centre because…

of THIS!

Ah, yes, the Wayne Gretzky-lit cauldron. Poor thing’s being caged out from the world, although I can understand why. I don’t think I’d want to be potentially vandalized or climbed on if the whole world could come that close either. They should probably change the caged fence into some bulletproof-can’t-shatter glass for the sake of those thousands of cameras that don’t want obstructed views.

It seemed like no one except VIPs could get into the Convention Centre, but that didn’t stop me from snapping away.

Did you notice the huge Earth hanging around in the photo just above? It spun too.

They made the funkiest signs and structures for the Olympics here.

Since I happened to be right there, I went to see what was inside Concord Pacific. They have the coolest models of real estate and whatnot in there, and I got a free recyclable bag, stuffed tiger (I suppose for Chinese New Year), and a lanyard.

And of course, there was the Molson Canadian Hockey House. Two things about that place: (1) too bad you have to pay to get in (and it is not for the light-wallet-ed), and (2) too bad I’m not legal yet.

Turn around, and it’s back to the water and Olympic Village (across the water). I discovered a zoo of inukshuks along the edge of the water.

Here’s another one of Olympic Village. The sky was getting darker as I continued snapping pictures.

And here’s Harbour Centre in the distance, seemingly still decked out for Christmas in its little Santa hat.

After going through the Plaza of Nations/Science World area again, I was on a mission to find the Bell Ice Cube (and am I glad I did). I found this first, and I don’t know what it is. Music played in there; that was all I saw.

And… victory!

And why was I so glad to find the Ice Cube?

I discovered this! But whose writing is that on the torch…? None other than…

…#87, Sidney Crosby (one of my friend’s idols).

There wasn’t much at the Ice Cube though. But I did score a set of ear buds (not that I don’t already have enough Apple ones from multiple iPods and my iPhone) and a cowbell (I know, weird).

And that was that. Time to call it a day. My poor blistered feet were begging for it. However, I will head back tomorrow to check out the Royal Canadian Mint and whatever else I may run into. And Wednesday will be for checking out the nightlife The city is more alive when it’s dark out.

Things I noticed today: every other person had a pair of Olympic mittens, every other person owned some sort of “CANADA” hoodie, and… I love that the world has arrived in my backyard, ready to embrace and are embracing the place I call “home”.

On Thursday, February 11, 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay continued on its 105th day, going through the Lower Mainland including Coquitlam and Burnaby. Now, being a student at BCIT, I was fortunate enough to be able to go outside and witness this Olympic hype. Until that day, I wasn’t even looking forward to the Olympic break.

Thankfully, my one and only break on Thursday was during the time the torch bearer, Joel Pineau (a BCIT student), would be set to pass BCIT. The crowds gathered and cheered, waving Canada and Coke flags alike, watching and waiting for Joel to come.

It looked as though the weather gods were on our side, because as the time came closer, the rain kept away. Umbrellas closed and views got better. Fast forward another 30 minutes, and the view of two torch bearers exchanging flames is visible from a distance (from my view on top of a small hill at least, and not pictured here unfortunately). 10 seconds later, Joel passes, waving at the crowd, who is cheering back at him.

I managed to get a somewhat shaky and not-so-great quality video from afar of the run.

Now that I’m free from the chains of school, I obviously have more time on my hands. And what have I done with my time so far? I watched the Opening Ceremony from the comfort of my own living room. I was stunned by everything during the ceremony. Until that will-be-infamous mechanical glitch with the last cauldron. Embarrassing much, Vancouver? I’ve seen all the Twitter posts about it, from how they handled it well to the fact that Canada invented insulin and not Viagra (@uranowski).

I was disappointed with that snafu. I will say though, that other than that, everything was well done. There were just a few minor things, like lip-syncing, canoe-guy and his shadow movements not matching up, tap dancing clicks not sounding at the correct time… but overall, I was very impressed. I can only hope now that the closing ceremony won’t have silly glitches like the ones in the opening ceremony.

I’ll hopefully be going around the city touring, checking out the sights and sounds, and snapping them photos. Needless to say, I’m now so glad I get a two-week break to recoup, watch the Olympics, and be proud to be a Vancouverite, and a Canadian. Despite our embarrassments.

I need to update this blog. Someday. Soon.

Current obsession:

I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.

Happy Labour Day!

As this is the last day of summer (for students like myself), I’ve decided to dedicate this blog post to recapping what I did this summer. I have to say, this summer was one which will hold the most memories.

(06.26.09 – 07.04.09) My summer started off with a bang, jetting back to the iconic New York City that I hadn’t seen in 3 years. While there, I walked down 5th, saw West Side Story on Broadway, walking past the Pride Parade that one Sunday, and even going all the way to Greenwich Village to see the Friends apartment (I know they didn’t even film in New York).

(07.07.09) Soon after arriving back in Vancouver, I was among the first group of people to see the VIP screening of the new 4D Theatre at the Vancouver Aquarium. I’ve seen the same thing 3 times already and quite frankly, I’m sick of it (until the next “movie” comes out). I do have to say, it is a very entertaining (and scary) 12 minutes.

(07.17.09) Before I knew it, I was gearing up to host my summer party for about 20 friends. We ate and talked and chilled until the sun set and we all had a ball.

(07.29.09 – 08.01.09) Now, what’s summer without going to the beach and waiting for hours on end for the spectacular fireworks? This summer was actually the first year I’d gone to the fireworks, and I must say, I am impressed with the outcome of my photos (most of them, at least).  It’s unfortunate I didn’t see South Africa’s, which I really liked after seeing it online.

(08.03.09)And it’s right back to the Aquarium for the sea turtle encounter. I was able to feed Schoona the green sea turtle and touch her shell.

(08.04.09) One of my friends told me about Teen Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Granville Island so a bunch of us went to see that.

(08.06.09) I decided to check out the track and field portion of the Police & Fire Games. It got pretty boring after a few hours so off to Granville Island I went for some fish and chips.

(08.07.09) Well that was a fun day, driving up to North Van to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, getting clogged in traffic on the Lions Gate Bridge, and going up to the Vancouver Lookout with a friend from the States.

(08.09.09) Seeing as I could get into Grouse Mountain for free, I took advantage of that and took the Skyride up to Grouse for a day of looking at grizzly bears and birds, and watching a (really lame) lumberjack show. It wasn’t the best day to go, but it wasn’t horrific either.

(08.11.09) Maplewood Farm was another place I could get into for free, not that it’s that expensive to get into anyway. Cute animals there.

(08.12.09) I’d never been down to Steveston (in Richmond) before, so I went to check it out on a nice, sunny August day. I also checked out the Buddhist temple close by.

(08.22.09) Of course, there was the PNE the first day it opened. Can’t forget about the annual two-week event, complete with Superdogs, concerts, and tons of people.

(08.23.09) With the Canada Line opened for about a week, I went to ride it for my first time to Aberdeen and the airport. Definitely new and modern, but full of delays that day.

And that about wraps up my summer. I mean, of course, there were other random outings in between, but that’s the gist of it.

Now, I’m about to start a whole new chapter in my life. Not sure if I’m excited or nervous about it. Indifferent at the moment, I suppose.

Every year, the PNE opens for 2 weeks at the end of the summer for everyone to enjoy everything from Superdogs shows to concerts to buying goodies from the Marketplace. This year, I went on the 1st day (Aug 22), where there was free admission from 9am-12pm.

One of the first things I did was go to grab a spot at the Superdogs show @ 10am. Normal days at the PNE don’t have Superdogs shows in the morning. This was a special one, some sort of “opening ceremony” with Raymond Louie (the chair of the PNE, something or other).

Some of the dogs at the Superdogs show were really, really cute.

Look at the shaggy one up in the middle front!

Shaggy doggy has a ponytail!

Any time you’re at the PNE, the crowds will be right there with you.

Just look at that pile of people leading from the PNE side to the Playland side and vice versa. Crazy!

Global BC has their amphitheatre set up here, and this is where concerts and whatnot are played. Red Robinson and others perform on this stage.

This barn-like place houses animals from horses to sheep to pigs to chicken eggs.

This sheep would not quit “bahhh”-ing! And he was SO loud!

More crowds of people outside the Pacific Coliseum.

I also saw a lumberjack show. It was as lame as the one up at Grouse (Mountain). And worse than being packed like sardines in a can. Because you’re sitting there and legs are climbing all over you trying to get up and down the bleachers.

I also saw the RCMP Musical Ride, which consisted of about 32 horses and RCMP officers “dancing” to music. Raymond Louie was also at that show. The show was really good.

Here they are in windmill formation.

This formation was supposedly on the old $50 Canadian bill.

Then, there’s Miller Drive, which features things like the sand castle competition, which hadn’t started yet on the 1st day of the PNE.

Of course, there is much more to see at the PNE like different concerts every night and painting the art cars, but that’s the gist of what I saw while I was there. Now here’s something cute.

KC! He’s the mascot for Playland or PNE or both.

Adorable!

Wouldn’t you love to meet and feed a sea turtle? That’s just what I did last Monday @ the Vancouver Aquarium. It was all part of the Aquarium’s Animal Encounters, where you get to “go behind the scenes and find out what it’s like to feed and train the animals of the Vancouver Aquarium alongside their trainers.” Of course, you have to pay a hefty price, but it’s worth it.

Schoona (SKOO-na) is the resident sea turtle at the Aquarium. She has been there for a number of years now and is estimated to be between the ages of 10 and 20. She was brought to the Aquarium after being found along the coast of BC/Alaska, lost, alone, and starving. 6 of the 7 species of sea turtles out there are not meant to swim all the way up to places like BC as it is much too cold for them (considering they’re cold-blooded and all). A fisherman found her and rescued her, some other things happened, she was rehabilitated, and wound up at the Aquarium. She was unable to be released because nobody knew where she was from. They could’ve put her back out by, like, Mexico or something and for all they know, she could’ve gotten lost again.

That was the gist of the story of Schoona we were told during the Encounter. We also learned about sea turtles in general, their shell, and other facts about them. After that, we went up to an area behind the scenes to “make” Schoona’s lunch. Sea turtles are mainly vegetarians, so the trainers give her red peppers, string beans, broccoli, lettuce, some fishy/squid stuff, a gel diet (this block of dark green stuff), and a vitamin E capsule. She needs so many grams of everything so what we did was weigh everything out.

Then, off we went to the shark penthouse (basically the area above the shark habitat).

Yes, Schoona swims with the sharks. Stingrays and some fish too. In order to section Schoona off from everyone else swimming around and to feed her, a pair of really bright lights (which is supposed to have vitamin D for her shell) is turned on, a red paddle is dunked into the water, and a shaker is rattled. Schoona immediately swims into this little section and a clear plastic board is placed so she doesn’t get out.

I was on one side of this sectioned-off area and some others were on the other side, both with our bowl of food for Schoona. From there, she basically swam around in circles to get each piece of food put into the water for her. Of course, we didn’t plunk our hands into the water to put food in. She could easily bite a finger or more off, so instead, we used plastic tongs (the nicer ones that are used to pick up scraps of garbage) to put in a piece of food at a time into the water, making sure we released the food before she could get a bite of the tongs as well.

That went on for about 15 minutes, and I had the privilege of touching her shell, which is pretty smooth.

Here she is taking a breath. During the duration of the Encounter (which was 60 minutes long), she took about 4 breaths.

She’s reaching for a string bean here. From above the water, Schoona is enormous compared to when I usually see her swimming around (not above water).

She’s heading to the other side for some more food. The green plastic bowl clearly shows her food sitting in there. Look at that giant shell!

Schoona gets fed only once a day and usually, it is the people doing the Animal Encounter that feed her. Cute.

Hm. I’m not sure what to say about China’s fireworks (“Through the Looking Glass”). I mean, the fireworks themselves were very nice, but personally, I found their show too slow-paced, making it kind of boring. I’m sitting there, camera in hand, expecting huge blasts of light and sparks, but there was nothing that gave me chills (uh, the chills that make you think, “OMG that’s amazing!”). The choreography was outstanding of course, and I’m sure their fireworks were something the judges were looking for, but it didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t too fond of the music either.

I have to say, I really liked South Africa’s despite not actually seeing it live. Their fireworks may not have been as creative as China’s, but their music was incredible. The Pirates of the Carribean theme song always gets to me. I could watch that minute and a half over and over again. UK put on a great show as well. It’s unfortunate they didn’t leave their big blast for last. And as for Canada, well… after watching it online, complete with music, I didn’t find it all that great. The Wizard of Oz music was never meant to accompany fireworks. The fireworks were just blasting away however they liked and the music was just there for the sake of being there.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I went to the fireworks this year. Being out in the summer night, driving (aka idling) in the fireworks aftermath, chilling with friends, ah. Will look forward to next year’s fireworks.

Enjoy the following photos. And South Africa FTW!

Onion rings look-alike much? This is actually fried calamari from Watermark (the restaurant @ Kits Beach). Needless to say, they look remarkably different from last Saturday’s fried calamari. Apparently, they changed things around to be all Ocean Wise, thus the new look and way of cooking and taste. All I can say is… yuck. (Sigh, and they changed it because of something the place I volunteer at started.) Fried calamari isn’t the same when there isn’t a crispy surface.

Market Greens

They redeemed themselves (sort of) with their delicious (and obviously overpriced) Tiramisu Cheesecake.

The view of Kits Beach from Watermark

Last night’s sunset was the fastest I’ve ever seen in my life. You could seriously just sit there and see the sun move behind the mountains within minutes.

And now, time for the fireworks photos themselves. (Fireworks mode FTW again.)

And that pretty much wraps up the Celebration of Light 2009. I’m hoping South Africa will win, but part of me doubts they will. I don’t know when the winner will be announced, but I do know I’m already looking forward to next year’s fireworks (hopefully they won’t be briefly cancelled again like they were this year).

All I can say is, UK night (“Parasols Over the Pacific”) was spectacular. UK > Canada. I can’t exactly compare it to South Africa’s because South Africa’s was really good too, and I didn’t watch it live. But hands down, UK’s was much better than Canada’s. The only thing is that UK’s 20 minute mark really should’ve been their 25 minute (aka ending) mark. I’m sure many people, myself included, thought the amazing bursts of gold and whatnot was the end, but a quick check of the watch clearly stated there were 5 minutes left.

Last night was also the discovery of fireworks mode!! They really make the photos pop. Check them out.

First, a sunset photo from Kits Beach.

Before I discovered fireworks mode. Doesn’t it just look kinda… blah? But I’ve gotta say, the view this time was much better than on Canada night. I like the silhouettes of people.

Everything following this photo will have been taken using fireworks mode.

I believe this last photo here was @ the 20 minute mark. Awesome.

Well, that’s 3/4 Celebration of Light nights. China night, the final night, will be this Saturday. Looking forward to it!