My Visit to Vancouver

I haven't been in Vancouver since 2011 and I went back there this month for a few days. Every time I go there, I always visit family. I didn't know more of the reasons why we wen until we arrived, but it's all good since my I was glad I was able to go in the first place.

This time around we all flied all the way to Vancouver. That was easier. However, when we arrived in Vancouver, my mom noticed that her package had blown up. She then told us that one of the things she put in their was in the freezer. I just thought the whole situation was just hilarious.

When we finally reached my uncle's house, the first thing we did was walk to a Chinese restaurant down the street to eat. It was open at 12am apparently. I also noticed a 24 hour pho place was that less than 5 minute walk away. I love how the streets in Canada are designed.

The next day, we had dim sum. It was one of those restaurants that let you select what you want first and they will get it for you. We don't have that in Sacramento, but San Francisco has something like that. I thought the bill was pretty pricy. But, then again, my aunt overestimated the quantity of food we needed to eat.

After eating dim sum, we were able to walk around for some shopping. We ended up going to Crystal Mall, which was a plaza with a Asian Market, restaurants, and products that looked like what people in China wore. That plaza reminded me of China.

One of the interesting things I notice while at Crystal Mall was this cake.

At night, I met with my cousin Patrick and he and another relative took me and my sisters out for sightseeing of Vancouver and we also got to go the huge mall. But, we had to walk all the way back to the house, which was a 30 minute walk and a unpleasant short bus ride that was unnecessary.

The next day, I went to Tim Hurton's really early in the morning. It was one of the places I wanted to check out ever since I heard about it in "How I met your Mother". I liked it because you can get fast food, donuts, and bakery products all in the same spot and apparently it's everywhere. I wanted to order the chicken sandwich, but it wasn't ready yet, so I got a croissant. I was kinda disappointed they didn't have chocolate croissants. When I got back, I noticed that some people were already awake. Soon later, I noticed something was wrong and my grand aunt had to go the hospital for medical attention. That was when I realized she was one of the reasons why we came.

Since something happened with grand aunt, I didn't expect us to do anything else for the rest of the day, but we actually ended up doing some stuff. We were able to check out Richmond and try the ramen there. Afterwards, I tried an escape room for the first time, which was a very fun experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We went to the snow and I was surprised that it was Emily's first time.

 Even though it wasn't the perfect trip, I still had a good time and it was good to see my relatives whom I don't see too often. I really do look forward to my next trip to Vancouver or for their next trip to California.

2015 in Review

I'd like to start off by thanking everyone who spent time with me this year, who spent time asking me how my days was or even shared a few conversations with me, and/or have done something for me because you all played a part in making my year better. I'm especially thankful for those several people who gave me presents for my birthday and Christmas and I barely hanged out with them or talked to them. Here's to more adventures and getting to knowing you all more.

"Really? You don't seem like a shy person to me."

"You know what? You are one of those who don't like coming to work not because you don't mind what you are doing, but because you wish you were doing bigger and better things, but you aren't."

"This means war"

"You are like the most prepared person ever."

"You know how I can tell that you were going to give me something?...You asked me if I like it, which is like a 90% chance you''ll give it to me."

"They may have went to Berkeley and Stanford and have these professions, but I have a much bigger heart than them."

Sorry if these quotes weren't exactly word for word, but they were very close to what I remember people saying.

The only thing that I managed to do this year that I been wanting to do for a while was go to San Luis Obispo. I been there before, but I wanted to go back. As part of my trip, I visited Morro Bay, which was a nice, small town. I stopped by Hearst Castle, which I loved because of the story and the artifacts you'll spot there and nowhere else. Due to my pinterest activity, I discovered Crystal Hermitage and I'm glad I made the visit there because its beautiful. Oh wait, I also got to go to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, which was a cool experience. I went to my first lighthouse this year in Point Reyes and hope to go to more in the future. Maybe I will go to New York next year? It's been in the talks for a while now. Chicago and New Orleans are still on my list and will forever be until I make the trip. I can't forget about Italy though. I realized that I haven't bothered planning for Italy because I'm took broke. But, then, I realized I should plan early, so I know what to save up for.  It gets me excited even though it might be false hope and will strengthen my travel bug.

I guess the reason why I didn't travel so much this year was because I tried so much to change my situation so that I won't be lazy and to make myself do more with my life. But, as always, life doesn't turn out in my favor. Just because I changed a thing or two, it doesn't guarantee another. That's something I have to continually remind myself because that's a hard lesson for me to accept.

I think one of the most unexpected ways I changed this year was my thoughts of dogs. Before Jack came along, I would be afraid to go near most dogs. I have 2 dogs before Jack, but they are outside dogs and more unpredictable and not trained, so that's why I'm not around them much. But, Jack helped changed me thoughts of most dogs. I check out every dog that I see and think of how precious the dog is instead of fearing the dog.

I don't watch much of anything anymore, but this year I tried to incorporate more shows into my life. One of them was watching an old show from childhood, which was Ally McBeal. I mostly wanted to watch is because I remember Robert Downey Jr. in it and wanted to know how he was a part of the show. The show didn't seem appealing to me in the beginning, but as I kept on watching it I liked it. One of my favorite lines from the show was from John Cage (Peter MacNicol)- If you think back and replay your year and if it doesn't bring you tears either of joy or sadness consider it wasted. I really liked that quote. I liked it because it accepts sadness and negativity, which is often not mentioned as something that should be part of your experiences. But, there are dark times in people lives even though they don't want to mention it.

I'm not the most selfless person out there. But, this year, I really noticed the selflessness of some friends. This year, I realized that some people had a bigger heart than I realized. They watch out for others and think about others. They buy food for their friends and worry if they ate or not. Those friends have taught me to do more things for others and to put others first in more circumstances. I'm not a greedy person, but I'd say independent and usually only take care of myself and my own needs. Well, I guess that means greedy in my time and my efforts. I've learned to also think more about others and how I can help them. It meant that I wanted to do more for my friends because I wanted them to know how much I appreciate them. And, I learned the values of others and to appreciate what you have in friends and other things.

This year past by so quickly, it's kind of like a blur for me. I would like to say it's complete for me because so many good things happen and I'm surrounded by wonderful people. But, I can't just because there's goals I haven't completed and I feel disappointed at myself a lot of the time. I just can't until I get what I been wanting for years.

Lessons I've Learned

I felt that I've learned a lot in my life. I've learned them at different points in my life. The lessons I've learned have taught me to be more accepting of others and my unhappy situations. 

1. There will be times when you have to do things how other people do it, which may be different from how you do it.

2. You might work really hard, but the results you want aren't always guaranteed.

3. No matter how educated or more well off financially a person is it doesn't mean that person is perfect or better than you.

4. If you wait for others to sign up or do something with you there's a possibility it won't ever happen. Instead of waiting, you should make deadlines and see if others can meet it.

5. There's always someone watching or observing even if it doesn't seem like anyone is paying attention. This applies to what you do in social media, work, school, or even the mall, especially if you have a regular routine.

6. You will feel happy or special when someone mentions or remember something that is not mentioned often.

7. No matter how good your memory was in the past you can't remember everything.

8. There will be things that you will never get tired of, while there will be things you will be tired of. Moreover, people are happy doing the same things over and over because that's what makes them happy. While others crave something new and want adventure and spice.

9. Don't worry about not being the fastest, smartest, or the slowest because eventually everyone will catch up and it's all about taking the next step and getting things done right.

10. Some things won't ever be finished or won't ever happen.

11. Motivation comes in many different ways. Since every person is different in experiences and thoughts each person is encouraged by something different be it fear, challenges, or even discouragement. It's all about perception.

I wanted to list 21 or 25 lessons. but I couldn't think of anymore lessons. But, I will settle for 11.