Investment Banker

I had an appointment with my investment banker today. She transfer the funds my father had bought for us into my name and account. It took us an hour to do this! Sometimes, I wonder how she can keep track of people's money when she herself seems a little flaky. My father has been with this bank institution for years. Well I was a little bit upset that my father put 20% of the money into "risk" or captial growth funds. So that means only 80% of the money will stay put while I have a 5% chance of loss with the other 20%. I guess I can't really do anything about that now and I will leave it as it is for about a year. Hopefully, we won't lose any money and if we gain some, awesome.

Hopefully, I will get it all back though when we decide to buy a house or a condo.

Growing Up

I cannot believe Kay is almost 12. She is growing up so fast. She is becoming more responsible and becoming this little person who isn't so little anymore. It seemed like yesterday, she was learning how to pattycake with her Auntie Fran. Where has all this time gone?

My friend Malu, has this beautiful baby girl. She is growing so fast! I can't believe how adorable she is.
First Born:









Now:












Oh my gosh, how cute she is!

Kay is volunteering her babysitting services today for the School Parent/Teacher Conferences. She and a classmate will be watching over little ones. I can remember when she was 3 years old. Wow, the time is going by so fast! My little girl is growing up, soon she will be a teenager! Aaahhh!!!

Rent

My rent will be increased 3% for the first of January. I guess 3% is not so bad but when it's in $$ amounts, it seems like quite a lot. Maybe I should start looking into buying a home now.

South Granville

Today was a beautiful Vancouver day. The sun shining and the temperature was perfect (warm), although standing in the shade was a bit chilly. Vin (my best friend) was in town (when I mean in town, I mean in Vancouver - he spends every waking minute as his girl's place which is way out there, Coquitlam) and wanted to see if Kay and I wanted to go for a walk or do something. We decided to head over to South Granville as it was a great street to shop and check out. When we were getting close to Granville, I thought we should have biked/bladed down as parking and traffic is horrendous. But it was a good thing we didn't cuz M, called early to be picked up. We probably made it down, 4 blocks before she called. I think he felt bad so he made us come out to pick her up and he suggested we head over to Kits, to have drinks/appys on a patio (Maloney's) which had a great view! The beach, the water and the people! Chilly though, we ended up in the shade, all the sunny spots were taken. He ended up treating us cuz I think he felt Guilty... hehehe.... Kay and I decided to call it in early as we didn't want to be the "third/fourth" wheel!


On Graville Street, there is a jeweller that is quite famous and well known for their custom designs in engagement rings and etc. Although we did not end up going there, I did find their website and they have some beautiful items. The following picture is one of their designs:


I think I will have to do some research and look into having them design my engagement ring....

Freecycle

This is a group that I joined a few weeks ago and it is an awesome group. You can give away your stuff (working or not working) to someone who will take it off your hands, it doesn't get thrown out into the landfill. The rules? You pick it up, no trade, has to be free. I had heard some scary things like people who were playing games with people. But generally, it's a pretty straight forward group and I have had some great responses.

Check out the link: http://www.freecycle.org/

My yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vancouverfreecycle/

Happy Freecycling!

Me @ midnight with insomia...

yes I look wide awake..... because I am! But don't let the look fool you, I'm TIRED...

Samsung LCD

The Samsung SyncMaster™ 173V is a 17-inch TFT-LCD monitor delivering a 450:1 contrast ratio, pixel pitch of 0.264mm, 1280 x 1024 maximum resolution, and a scanning frequency of 30-81 kHz horizontal and 56-75 Hz vertical. It offers advanced image scaling, includes a built-in power adaptor, and is VESA) wall mount compatible.

This is my new LCD monitor, I bought this at a really good price. Even though, R thinks Samsung is crap because they have a really bad reputation on their products. Oh and because they are E.V.I.L. But this is no made in Korea, it's made in Mexico! So I'm not sure if it's much better??

On a positive note, it's so nice to have a flat screen and a 17" wide screen. I have been using either a 13" or 15" monitor forever. But nowadays, these monitors or anything techy are being sold at reasonable prices. My friend (the one who sold this to me) said that the 15" screens are going to disappear, they aren't even stocking them anymore.

Next Techy Toy

Nikon Digital Camera, Coolpix 5600 5.1mp, so sweet and also at a really good price! Best Buy's Price $339.99...

As per Best Buy: Nikon's Coolpix 5600 5.1MP Digital Camera has been designed to make things simple for you and give you greater versatility, without compromising your enjoyment of the moment. The Coolpix 5600 features user-friendly modes automatically controlled camera settings, enabling you to achieve high-quality results with images that range from sunsets to underwater.

Yip, that's my next present to myself :o)

Tossin' N Turnin'

Insomia
My insomia is driving me crazy. Earlier, I was just falling asleep later and later but last night, I was tossing and turning all night. If I even got 4 actual hours of sleep, that is considered lucky. I am surprised I could even get up to brush my teeth, put on my makeup and get dressed. I assume the following reasons contribute to my "worries" which may be causing this insomia:

• Kay is maturing and I'm not ready for it
• I am LATE, almost a week, normally I'm early
• Money (I'm not sure if this one counts as I am ALWAYS worried about money)
• R is away until Christmas and it's very difficult raising an 11 year old tween by myself
• Parents are continously calling me with their problems
• Grandma, she's getting older and she won't listen to reasoning
• No vacation in over 4 years - I really need a holiday
• Problems with my shoulder / back, I should really see a physiotherapist about this one, I think this one should be an easy one to fix although I'm not too sure which physiotherapist to see.....

Ok, I think that is about it. If I come up with more thoughts, I'll jot them down....

"Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lost a
couple of years. If something is wwrong, fix it if you can. But
train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything." - Mary Hemingway

I need to listen and learn from this quote....

SPAM/JUNK MAIL from friends?

I have this friend who sends me all kinds of emails but the one type I never thought she would send is spam mail! She has started her own "jewelry business" and has started sending me emails about her products and website. We have known each other for a long time but we are not close friends (and we haven't been close in quite a while). Many years ago, we had a fall out and only recently,maybe about a few years back, we started to talk again but only as acquaintances. We have not gotten close and very unlikely to get there. We are very different from each other and we have different goals/values in life. But she is a good person with a good heart. Back to my point, she has sent me a link with photos of her jewelry. First off, she needs to learn how to focus on her products, most of the pictures turned out fuzzy or blurry and I could not see the details she was trying to capture. Secondly, it is really really expensive! Even for handmade items. I have seen earrings / necklaces similar with real crystals (hers are made with either stones or glass) at a more reasonable price. I'm not sure how to approach this person. If I should ask to be off her "mailing list" or if I should leave it alone and delete future emails from her.... *sigh* H.E.L.P.

Knock off UGGS

Ok I have wanted UGGS for a while but I am not willing to pay the money for it as I know for me, personally, the boots aren't going to last long in my closet. But I found these great knock offs for $19.99 at Payless. They were regular $49.99 - which I cannot believe! They are not even suede! All man made materials...

Panic

Furious
Ok is it really that hard to make a call? One call in one hour? No it is not. Kay went out on her own today with her friends. She was suppose to come home at 5.00pm. She called me at 4:53pm to ask if she could stay out longer. I told her to check in again in an hour. 6:00pm rolls around, no call. 6:30pm, still no call. I start to PANIC and look through her messy desk to find a list of her classmates phone numbers. Eventually finding it under a pile of papers but the number I am looking for is not on it (this was an old classroom list). Ok so more panic is sinking in and terrible thoughts like OMG, she's been kidnapped or maybe she hurt herself on her bike and she's stranded somewhere.... But another thought kicked in, she may have just forgotten (again!!) and she's having fun and will be home before dark. If that is the case, she is so GROUNDED. I call back the number she called me from at 5:00pm and apparently, it's not A. nor S.!! I had forgotten to ask her to write A.'s number down and put it by the computer or on the table. She did say S. would have her sister's cell phone and she would call me from there if she ended up coming home later. Now that did no good either. But she is finally home and boy did I give her hell. She didn't think it was that big of a deal and she was starting to pull an attitude with me because I was getting upset with her. In the middle of explaining why I was so upset and in a near state of a heart attack, her best friend L. calls and asks to speak to her. I said no, she is grounded. She will call you back when she's off her punishment. Kay then got really upset with me. And we started yelling at each other. She decided not to eat dinner and I sent her to take a shower and do her homework. Argh! I'm so mad.

Punishment
How long should she be grounded for, that is the question. This is not the first time, she has put me through this.

Sleepover
She is suppose to attend a sleepover this Friday, I'm not sure if I should allow her. Well I guess it's been planned already so I shouldn't be the big meanie and take that away from her.

COACH Rainboots

Must have for Fall and Vancouver Rain
These Coach rain boots are the cutest rain boots I have ever seen. I want them for fall and rain (Vancouver's Fall is just RAIN until winter!). At a great price for $110.00 CDN. I have looked in the mall for rain boots and they are approx. priced between $75.00 to $175.00 CDN. So I think this is a great price for rain gear! Now I just need to decide on the colour.....

No "i" in T.E.A.M.

Our receptionist is away sick today. For days when she is sick, we do not hire a temp. Instead, the ladies in the admin on our floor take turns doing switchboard. We are all very busy and have our own things to do but when one of us is down, we help each other out. This one lady, who drives me a little bit crazy, she's not all there and she seems impossible when it comes to explaining to her details on procedures / instructions (which I seem to have to do over and over again). But the worst thing she does is moan about how busy busy busy she is! We are all busy but suck it up and do the shift like everyone else. I know she has an impossible boss to work with (he's a real arse) but whenever she needs something, one of us helps her out without a hitch. It is not like we are asking her to do the whole shift. Just SHUT UP and sit there for the hour and make the best of it. GAWD....

I ended up snapping at her this afternoon because she said it again! When I asked her about something she forgot to do with the couriers. She said, I'm sorry but I'm soooo busssssseeee.. OMG!! I said, B we are ALL busy. But we have to take our turns helping out. She had this look on her face. But I think she got my point. I should have added there is no "i" in team.

Ok enough venting....

It's been a while....

It has been a while since I have last updated. Which means I have a pretty boring life and I have nothing interesting to write about it..... The recent happenings in my life:

Insomia
I have been having problems sleeping recently. Ok not so recent. It's been a few weeks that I have been having problems. I'm not sure what it is. I guess I could try picking up a bottle of red wine. Sometimes, that helps. I will see if I can get to sleep on my own this week and if not, I will buy a bottle of red for Sunday night. hehehe :o) What an excuse!

Season Premieres
Another thing, I love about fall besides the fall fashion, is the new shows for my telly addiciton. All my shows are back and no re runs!! Yipee. I caught Las Vegas on Sunday night and boy was it good! Not what I expected either. Also, CSI is on Thursday! Everybody Hates Chris is also Thursday! I can't wait. Finally some good stuff to watch while I veg out on the couch and shut my brain off......

Therapy?
Sometimes I feel like I am a therapist for both my parents. Really. I feel obligated to go over to my mom or my father's to listen to them bitch about anything and everything. Sometimes, it's draining. But I feel guilty. I am their daughter and I only see them once a week (which by the way is quite a lot as I know some people who only see their parents once a month!) and even though I have had a long work week, I feel I need to be there for them. Plus they always take me out for dinner or lunch and when I come home, I'm never empty handed. Guilt is a powerful emotion.

Friday Night
I am suppose to hang out with my best friend and his girl on Friday night, she is leaving for Australia for a few weeks and wants to catch up before she heads out. The only problem is my best friend is a flake sometimes. I am POSITIVE he said Friday night but when I emailed him today, he told me no it was Saturday night. I am a mother of one sometimes two (hehe kidding!) and I always mark appointments/notes/anything to do with TIME on my huge calendar. I wrote it down for Friday. Fine, no big deal? Uh.... yes it is. Kay made plans for Friday night sleepover so I could go out and have some fun without worrying about her. She did ask me if it was ok for Friday or Saturday. Shoot, I should have reconfirmed this with my friend. So now I'm not so sure if I can go out now. I will have to call Kay and see if she can arrange it for Saturday instead. If not, I may only go out for a little bit and not drink. Which I guess is probably the best thing as I can't really afford to go out and drink. Or eat out either. Maybe Kay and I will catch a movie instead. Damn, was looking forward to dressing up and heading over to a nice restaurant/lounge/bar......

Work
Not much happening here. I have a pretty stress free work enviroment. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have my moments. But I am quite happy and lucky to work with the people I have to work with. My project director is away on personal business and we are not sure when he will be back so it's a little quiet for me. But I do have some stuff I should catch up on. Some documents have been sitting on my desk cuz it's really boring and I am putting it off until the last moment.

Postlady not postman
I called the management company today. Yes I forgot to do it yesterday. Did end up being a little busy plus our receptionist had to go home cuz she wasn't feeling well which meant all the ladies on this floor had to do switchboard relief. I left a message with the person in charge of the building. Hopefully, he will get back to me today and I can pick up the remote controls from the downtown office as I work right by it. Not close but walking distance. Every week I have to go over and check's R's mail. But last week, Kay and I found out they are changing the security system and we need to purchase new remotes. The new security system is quite good. To access the elevator, you need to swipe the card or use the remote, we haven't figured that part out yet. But hopefully, we can purchase these remotes but I'm sure we are going to go through some problems in getting it cuz I'm sure they just won't allow anyone to purchase it. I bet, I will need R to either give them a call or write an email or letter stating that I am taking care of the apartment and I should be allowed to purchase them on his behalf. Who knows, we will see....... will update..... if not, your mailbox will be stuffed and the postman will stop delivering once it is stuffed.....

Fall Fashion
I love Fall Fashion and the other day, I got some really great deals at Winners. I love Winners. I got a chocolate brown suit with pink pinstripes. Beautiful, now I just need to alter the pants as they are just a tad too short. I also got a beautiful pair of black pants with white pin stripes. Also needs to be tailored. Kay and I ended up at Metrotown last week (while checking someone's mail) and we didn't get a chance to go into the new Winners at Metrotown but it's HUGE and it's NEAT and ORGANIZED. LOVE IT. I can't wait til we head back over there, we are going to go a little bit earlier so we can check out the new Winners. *sigh* wish I had a credit card that had an endless amount and that the bill never came to me.....

That's it for now.... back to work....

Lord of War

Movie Premiere

I won tickets off The Province to preview this movie on Wednesday. This was the first time I entered a contest in The Province and I won. Cool.

Nicholas Cage, Jared Leto, and Ethan Hawke (small part) are in this movie. At first, I thought this movie was an action film. But it's not. Some really great scenes. And although, I really had no idea what the movie was about and what to expect. It really was a great movie and very interesting. I recommend catching the film if you have a chance.

See link for movie details: http://lordofwarthemovie.com/

See link for IMDB user comments: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/usercomments
See link for Rotten Tomatoes Reviews: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lord_of_war/reviews_users.php

Monday Blues

It's Monday and I am feeling really crappy, Monday Blues. I feel that I have been working 7 days straight. Which is kind of true. I didn't really get any time for myself or with just Kay on the weekend as we were helping out my dad / brother with the painting on Saturday. Sunday, I am obligated to see my mom, we went over there for lunch / chit chat for the afternoon. We did go grocery shopping that evening together but it wasn't really a "fun" activity.

I guess it's because I really wanted to go for a bike ride or something on Sunday and we didn't get a chance to do it. We also had wanted to check out the Bird Exhibit at Vancouver Public Library on the Saturday. I guess we will shoot for something fun this coming weekend.

Hopefully this feeling will pass.... I guess maybe once I get some food in, it might energize me up.

Painting

I never realized painting walls were so hard and time consuming. With 3 adults painting a 2 bedroom apartment, it took us almost 5 hours. Gosh.... my brother owes me. When I move into a new house and need walls painted, he is the FIRST one I will call.

I am sure I got a great workout though. And even though I went to sleep quite late last night and woke up so early, I didn't pass out. I think the Mickey D's helped keep me going. Dad treated us a snack before we started and the two "kids" (my step brother and daughter) wanted Mickey Ds, that's where we ended up at. Usually, I do not allow Kay to eat that crap but I figured it would take a couple of hours to paint and thought it was probably a good idea for the kids to eat first. And I didn't feel ill, like I usually do!! And thank goodness we did go to McDonald's before we started, as we didn't finish until almost 9.30pm .... ugh... sore back, sore arms and paint splatters all over my arm!

Pregnant
My friend Erin is pregnant!! Yeah!! I'm so happy for her, she is sooo excited. And now that I have started to knit, I can't wait to knit her a little tuke for her newborn! I'm so excited, the excitement of her being pregnant almost makes me feel like I am ready for another, almost, not quite, maybe soon....

Transit Part 2

I decided to email a formal COMPLAINT to Translink about the #15 bus. As I overheard a coworker say people on the elevator were talking and complaining about the bus. I also spoke to another coworker who also takes the 15 bus and she was also complaining and she got off later than I. She was stuck at the bus stop for over 30 minutes and when she got to the bus stop (around 6.00pm), there were already many people lining up and when it finally came, not everyone was able to get on the bus. That is NOT ACCEPTABLE. We both decided to write in an email.

My Complaint
To whom it may concern,
When Translink announced the new plans for the #15, I thought it would have
been a little better than the current service even with the route change.
But since Tuesday, trying to get home from downtown has been insane and very
very frustrating. Tuesday, I had to wait 15 - 20 minutes for the #15 Cambie
on Granville/Georgia. Wednesday I waited 30 minutes for the #15 on
Granville/Robson. This is ridiculous and NOT ACCEPTABLE. With the
increases in fares and with the RAV line finally being built, I am happy to
see the needed improvements but I do not see any changes with the current
bus services especially the ones that affect me the most. I sincerely hope
there will be improvements with the Cambie bus or I will be forced to drive
to work.

Someone else told me for every ONE complaint equals to ONE HUNDRED complaints as not everyone that was unhappy with the service would complain. I sure hope that is the way it works!

Transit

I AM SO ANGRY!!

After work, I had to wait 25 minutes for MY BUS! I could not believe it!! 25 minutes, this is a bus that is suppose to come every 7 - 8 minutes on this route. The day before I had to wait 15 minutes. Ok, I know it's probably just one of those weeks where everything just goes wrong. But I had a long day at work, was starving and had to finish a book so I could return to the library. That just really made me mad. And they keep raising the price to take transit! It's crazy. We need some improvements!!! Argh!

First day of school

Kay had a great first day of school. She woke up and left on time for school. She has also decided she does not want to be part of morning care which is nice, it means I will save an extra $50.00 a month. But the program now charges extra $30.00 for Professional Days! Gosh... they used to include ONE professional day per month - although it seems like they had one every month, they didn't! We will have to figure something out for those days.

Tomorrow, Kay has a full day of school and she should know by the end of the day who's class she will be in. She had an hour at school today and played all afternoon. How nice was that! The weather was perfect today for playing all day! :o)

I am almost completely over my "cold". I think by tomorrow I should be totally fine. Work was busy, not too busy but I was running around a bit. For the rest of the week, we have vendors coming to bid on some of the contracts and I know it's going to be busy. I really enjoyed the nice pace of today.

Transit to Work
On Sept. 5, they changed my bus route to accommodate the RAV line (as it's being built on Cambie Street). Fine no big deal until I realized that now I have to walk about 3 1/2 blocks on a busy street to get to the bus stop because it no longer stops on the street where I work at. It's not too bad of a walk in nice weather but once it starts to rain and gets cold, it will be a very long walk to work. I guess I could take a bus down the busy street as they are a few that go down Georgia Street. I guess I'll just have to live with it. On a good note, the bus is no longer a trolley bus but a diesel bus so it gets to my destination about 10 minutes faster. Woohoo!

Tomato Basil Cream Pasta!

Ooooh it turned out pretty darn good! The picture is a little blurry but it tastes better than it looks! Yummy!!

Granville Island

Kay and I biked down to Granville Island today. This was a goal of ours to bike before the end of the summer and it happened, yeah! Today of all days, which is kind of funny because I am not exactly feeling the best (still getting over my "cold") but it was a great bike ride. I can't believe it took us 3 hours though. Well of course, we did end up walking around the island. And it was kinda sad but happy too. I guess because the last time we were down there, we were with Richard and it was a good time. We always have so much fun together and now that he is back in Taiwan, it is not the same without him. Well, Christmas is just around the corner!

Kay and I picked up some fresh Okanagan grapes and some fresh pasta / basil!

<--- Grapes.....


Yummy, I am going to attempt to make the tomato basil cream sauce that I have been planning to make for quite some time now.... I hope it turns out, we bought the fresh pasta to go with it tonight. If it turns out looking really nice and yummy, I will post a pic :o)


It was so much funtoday. Kay and I always have such a good time biking around. We talk about what's going on, what she is thinking about, what we are planning to do and girl stuff. Although, she was not too thrilled to be biking it all the way to Granville Island. But I was able to convince her. Besides, it was a quick ride down but on the way back up we had a few hills to conquer. Kay did pretty good though.

I am so glad we end up going outside. The sun was out and it was soooo nice, I could not resist it! But I'm glad I did, I think it might have cleared up my throat! The fresh air did us some good, especially since we have been stucked inside most of the weekend!

Vancouver is beautiful in the summer and we should enjoy it while it lasts....

School Shopping

I am not feeling that great today and Kay had insisted on going school shopping. Most of the day, I was lying on the couch and napping. But around 5:15pm, I decided I was feeling a little better and thought I better take her shopping so she would stop bugging me. Gosh, I can't believe how much she has grown! I'm also glad we decided to go later in the afternoon as the mall closed at 7pm and it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be.

But the whole afternoon, I had a huge headache. I should have taken some Advil. Oh well. Kay got a few neat things like sneakers for $9.99, Old Navy - jeans, t-shirts, blouse. By the time, we finished shopping at Old Navy, the mall was closing.

Since, I haven't had much of an appetite, we decided to go to Superstore to pick up some soup. The drive home was quite hard. I really should have taken some Advil.

Well I'm glad to have gotten this school shopping done as now I can just relax and maybe get some rest so I may get over this whatever I'm trying to get over. My mom thinks I have a cold or flu but I'm not quite sure what I have.

I need to go to sleep but Kay insists on watching Mad Tv. She loves that show. Ok, well it's almost over.

Losing my voice!

Oh my gosh, I am losing my voice! It is now down to a whisper! I don't think I will be able to speak tomorrow.... gosh, I bet that ice cream cone with nuts didn't help :o(

I have been really busy at work lately and it's been so hectic. My project director is a little stressed (ok way more than a little) and I have been trying to stay out of his way. I guess as this project gets going, it's only going to get more stressful! My pd has decided to take tomorrow off which means he gets a super long weekend. I cannot believe it's already September. Wow, where has the month gone?

School shopping, oh gosh I am not looking forward to that. Kay has been harassing me about it for weeks and I have totally put it off. Well she's coming home tomorrow and I'm sure she is going to bug me some more.

My day went by pretty fast. It seems like I don't have enough time in the day to finish everything that needs to be done. But I'm so glad tomorrow is FRIDAY! Yipee... and Monday is a stat. Sweet :o)

Tonight I went over to my mom's for dinner and Aunt Ing brought over a movie. Monster In Law with Jennifer Lopez. The movie had some funny parts but I am glad I didn't rent the movie, I wouldn't have picked that one anyways. But I soon got tired after the movie and had to leave right after. They stayed and chatted some more. My mom is leaving for HK in about 2 months and boy is she excited. I was suppose to go to HK in October but of course our schedules don't work. It would have been nice to see my sister and to take a little vacation away from Vancouver/work/Kay but it was just not meant to be this time. Maybe next year, Vegas! :o)

Ok, I'm sooo tired and sooo sleepy. I need to go to bed now. I guess I will try to update this some more.

Oh! I finally got my calendar today! And it is so much fun, I can't believe I could get excited over a calendar but this is the coolest calendar EVER. And it starts in September not like every other calendar that starts in January cuz really mom's calendars start in September! And the squares are twice the size (and with lines!) of the regular size calendar. With stickers and a back pocket for notices/stuff. I love it. More on this calendar here: http://www.moretimemoms.ca/products/products1.html#FO2005

Ok that is about it. Nothing really exciting happening. Time for bed.