Camping

submarine

I’m back… (…again)! 🙂

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Before I get carried away blabbering about why I disappeared, I would like to thank Jellybean and Sothi for the enlightenment about the transformation of thecuriousme’s logo. Most of all, my heartfelt gratitude to Chihhang for helping J and @TheSoulfulVixen tweak the new look of the logo (click here to read the blog entry,”renovation”). Maraming salamat (Thank you very much)! 😀
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Sooo… I had gone on hiatus for a couple of months (right… almost a year!!!)… Kinda like a submarine… You know… submarines float and then dive under the water… then resurface… then disappear again… -_-

Let’s just say, I was trying to live my life to the fullest and not waste time hiding in my cave. Yeah… I used to lock up in my nerd cave, living in a virtual world. I’ve realized that there’s more to life outside the four corners of my rock shelter! Life is indeed colorful and too short.

Expect to see fascinating new blog entries soon! 😉 FYI. Posts will be in no particular order.

To give you a birds eye view on some of the upcoming posts, here are some photos:

driving	skating
snowboarding	camping
Olympic Village	Ottawa
Montreal	Virginia
Washington DC	New York

Are you ready? *blink* *blink* 😉

British Columbia

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Click below to read related articles:
Ontario

Alberta

Banff & LakeLouise	Calgary Zoo	Pacific Place
Crosslink	road trip finale

Saskatchewan

snow	summer party	winter party	“warm” weather
the berry barn	airshow 2011	folkfest	single ladies
mineral spa	danceland	flea market	big fat ass
luau?	beach(?)	tent	camping
MoSo	barcamp

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British Columbia (B.C.), Canada is definitely my next target after enjoying the tourist spots of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. I was planning to travel last June 2012 but for some reason, it got pushed back from my bucket list.

Later on, my cousin, Jaime (a.k.a. Chancee), informed me that he’s flying to Winnipeg for a study tour and asked me if it’s possible for us to meet up. We both agreed to see each other in Vancouver and stay in one of our relatives place whom I haven’t met.

I was so pumped! I’ll be hitting four birds with one stone! Err… it would also be cute to say, with one airfare. Well, it’s surely worth it. I’ll be able to:
*** Chat with my cousin
*** Meet & bond with my new-found relatives
*** Take a well-deserved holiday
*** “Get to know” British Columbia

Indeed, God is good. Through His “magical hands”, the wonderful trip took place and it certainly paved the way to connect some of the missing links of my life.

So, what happened during the trip? Hmmm… I’ll let you know in a bit. :p

camping

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Click the links below to read the related articles:
luau? tent beach(?)

Also, click here to check out the “Behind the Scenes at VendAsta” video 🙂
It’s definitely a must see video! I guarantee, you will have a good laugh! 😀
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I’ve never experienced camping in this side of the world, hence, I was really looking forward to the first ever company camping at the Palliser Park Marina. Impediments such as upset tummy, last-minute change of transportation arrangements, lack of camping gears, and among other things did not stop TheCuriousMe from joining the said activity.

Initially, I requested to car pool with YW but something unexpected happened so I had to ask P and N for a ride. Thanks for making me feel welcome P and N!

The “shortcut” to our destination was to cross the Lake Diefenbaker via ferry. The ferry ride was awesome! I admit, it’s also my first time to board a ferry while inside the car. :p

IMG_20120817_161343 — waiting for the ferry

The social committee agreed to designate the meal preparation to each team. For the booze and pop, everyone were encouraged to bring their favorites.

TP,TheCuriousMe,&Bryce
breakfast	lunch
most anticipated supper

Overall, we had a great time! A good bonfire, colorful fireworks, interesting (!) chitchat, relaxing music, endless supply of food and booze, crazy antics, and hilarious moments. 😀

“lil execs” meeting	badminton
TheCuriousMe with Julia Roberts younger version	“i have big head and little arms”

German S’mores	American turned Canadian S’mores

The camping activity indeed helped us bond, get to know each other on a more personal level and bring to light everyone’s quirks. It was an absolutely amazing discovery! I’m glad I joined.

Famous word of the entire weekend: Positivity!

P.S.
S’mores are so tasty! Right Alan? 🙂

tent

The group “kitchen” tent was already set-up in the middle of the campsite when we arrived. I thought it might be a good idea to station “my tent” near the food section. What ya think? *wink* *wink*

Furthermore, Baby JC was kind enough to lend and help me set up the camping paraphernalia. I was super excited because I had the most unique and coolest tent in the whole campsite! It’s a vavaboom, old-school tent! Rock and roll!

tent	the clueless me
find me!	“paraphernalia”

Believe it or not, I slept like a baby. Ha!

Except for one instance when someone was running around dancing and singing at 3 a.m… I guess, I was not the only one who heard it because someone yelled “go to sleep”. 🙂 All I can say is, “Silent water runs wickedly deep”. :p

I’ll shut my gob and let you check out the “tent-tabulous” collapsible shelters in the group campsite as well as feel and enjoy the peaceful “scenery”:


	most challenging tent
Aussie Enclave

Camping is a life changing experience indeed! Until next time!
P.S. Can I stay in a camper for a change, pretty please? 🙂

luau?

Before we went to Palliser Park Marina (the camping site), there’s been a big mystery on what supper will the Executives’ (a.k.a. Execs) prepare on the Saturday night of the company outing.

Two execs kept the whole employees guessing… The anticipation heightened when one of them mentioned that it can either be the perfect supper ever or a complete disaster. Ha!

Questions kept popping up especially when people saw one of the Execs digging a pit within the campsite. Eventually, someone let the cat out of the bag before the first camping night was over. So much for the secrecy. 😉

Apparently, the “special” supper is part of a tradition done in Hawaii and it is called luau. Therefore, the Execs decided to have the VendAsta version of luau for the first company camping.

Here’s the summary on how it was done… the VendAsta way:

pig (& chicken) :p	sprinkle with magic spices
wrap	“ritual”
throw in the hot pit	cover
take it out after 10-12 hours	wait…
ready?	ready… for real?

Result: Epic fail.

But wait…

Being real troopers, that did not dampen the Execs’ spirit. Plan B was thought of in a flash. And the VendAstians helped out to make it happen.

Output: Tasty deep fried whole chicken and grilled pork

(Err… I don’t eat pork so I just had my share of the delicious deep fried chicken which reminded me of the Philippines’ Langhap Sarap Jollibee endorsed by Sarah Geronimo and Gerald Anderson (a.k.a. AshRald) 🙂 )

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On a side note, the Philippines has it’s own tradition of roasting pig. The roasted pig is famously called “lechon baboy” and it’s present in almost all occasions like family reunion. Click here to read family reunion article.

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P.S. What went wrong on the “luau” thingy, will forever(?) remain an enigma. :p