Canada

cross-country skiing

The extremely cold weather has been on a roll lately… our area became the coldest place on Earth in early February. I’m hopeful that the cold snap will end soon… as my series of winter activities posts is coming to an end (for now). 😉 After talking about my amusing experience with snowboarding, skating, winter hiking, and downhill skiing, let’s move on to cross-country skiing.

Growing up in a country that only has rainy and dry season – both of which are hot compared to the freezing weather in Canada – I have very little concept of winter activities, especially cross-country skiing. For all I know, it’s skiing all over the country… literally! 😐 😬

One weekend, Jellybean and I drove to Lost Creek Resort at Prince Albert National Park for me to have a first hand experience on cross-country skiing on groomed trails. To put it simply, imagine a train going along a set of railway tracks… it’s similar to that idea. Cross-country skiing on groomed trails is like skiing on a “railway” track.

I found it restricting at first because it’s not free-flowing like downhill skiing is, you have to stay within the constraints of the track to ski smoothly. It’s important to have enough momentum to make it up the hill and not slide back down. Otherwise, you have to walk funny going up the slope… either walking sideways or “skating” with the skis in a V-shape (similar to reversed pizza move in downhill skiing). It’s just tiny a hill though so there’s no need for a conveyor that would take you up the hill like in downhill skiing.

So far, I still prefer downhill skiing over snowboarding or cross-country skiing. Hmmmm…. What winter activity should I try next? 😊

winter hiking

Growing up in a tropical country makes me extra curious about winter activities. My first-hand experience in snowboarding and skating got me pumped up to try winter hiking in Johnston Canyon (Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada).

Powered up with a hearty breakfast, we set out on our hike. We hadn’t made it ten feet out of the parking lot when we realized how slippery the trail was. Jellybean, my husband, had to help me navigate the path and kept me from slipping.

I was still on high spirits as we walk passed the sign, but my excitement was quickly overshadowed by my clumsiness and fear of heights. 😱 There were icy patches all over the trail and the treacherous cliff made my knees weak.

To avoid the scary path, I decided to walk in the deep snow which was “conveniently” located up the “hill” from the trail… Lucky me, I made things worse because I had trouble going back to the trail when I reached a dead end. Jellybean had to rescue me and get me back on track. 😅

With all the struggles that I went through on our way up, Jellybean, Mike and Shara encouraged and supported me even though I felt like I was being a nuisance.. 🙁 While I was looking like an idiot, Shara was gingerly walking on the slippery path like it was a fashion runway. 😲

should I go back?

Surprisingly, my fear disappeared on our way back and I managed to enjoy the walk… errr… slide. Learning how to traverse the icy path made a world of difference.

Watcha up to Mike?

The amazing view, the breathtaking winter water falls and the awesome company made the winter hiking a memorable experience.

See you again, Johnston Canyon!

Charles-isms

I first met Charles five years ago when he was almost two years old. He’s such an adorable kid… and I so so so love him dearly! 😀

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Click the links below to read the related posts:
Mr. Anderson Where’s Charles?
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Up to this day, Fritchie (Charles’ Mom) and I still shares a good laugh whenever we recall Charles’ funny antics. 🙂 Here are some new ones that are truly remarkable. Read on!

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SENSATIONAL SPELLER
Charles got an award in school. Sensational Speller

Charles: Mommy, I can spell anything now! My level is grade 3 level… that’s what Ms. Whiteside said
Mommy: I know Charles, you did a really good job in school and we are so proud of you.

(as Charles enters the house…)

Charles: Daddy… Daddy! I got a trophy! I’m the best speller in our class, grade 3 level. I can spell anything now.
Daddy: Ohhhh really? Spell “anything”
Charles: E N I T H I N G

Mommy and Daddy looked at each other stifling a laugh and they both tried to sound out the word “anything”.

Charles: I know! I know! A N Y T H I N G I told you I know!

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BEDTIME
In bed… Daddy was snoring, Charles couldn’t sleep, and Mommy was pretending to be fast asleep.

Charles: Daddy, Daddy… I’m bored… I can’t sleep… Can I have the remote please?
Daddy: Go to sleep
Charles: I can’t. I’m too bored. I wanna watch TV.
Daddy: Count the holes on the wall
Charles: What? There’s holes on the wall?
Daddy: Pretend there are holes on the wall and count it.

(Mommy was trying hard not to laugh because she’s supposed to be fast asleep.
After two minutes)

Charles: But Daddy I can’t see the holes. Can you please turn on the light?
Daddy: Charles go to sleep

(After few minutes….)

Charles: I can’t really sleep. I need the remote.

(Daddy ignored Charles)

Charles: Can I watch TV now Daddy? I will sleep if you give me the remote.

(Then, Daddy eventually gave him the remote)

After ten minutes of watching TV, Charles’ finally fell asleep.

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CHRISTMAS CARD

Mommy: Can you write a card for Mlle. Dorman? We will go out tomorrow to buy her a present.
Charles: Ok Mommy. (then he proceeded to get his markers and paper)

(After 10 minutes, Charles went to the kitchen to show his work of art.)

Charles: Mommy I did it. I even did it in French and I made the letters in patterns like red and green. (He also drew a Christmas tree)
Mommy: (wondering) Charles, how did you know the French words for Merry Christmas?
Charles: Mommy I searched it in Google. Everything is in Google you know, Mommy.

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See??? Isn’t he adorable? 😀 See you again soon!

O Canada!

For some odd reason, Canada was not included in my dream destination but fate had other plans for me. I might not have understood it before but slowly, I started to connect the dots.

At any rate, the road to Canadian citizenship is not as easy as people think. Gathering the required documents alone was an extremely painful process.

It took me months to gather the documents and fill out the paperwork and the processing time took roughly a year. In short, the experience was very stressful and costly.

Thankfully, I managed to pass the required tests (English Language Tests and Citizenship test) as well as the short interview. Otherwise, I’d be a goner. :p

The excitement was starting to turn into uneasiness when the wait for the Oath-taking ceremony reached almost four months! It took longer than I had expected. 😦

Anyhow, I was pretty pumped when the day finally came and I even agreed to give a brief message on stage as a new Canadian citizen.

I was under the impression that there would be few of us lining up to deliver a message but to my surprise, I was the only attendee that got called on the stage. It was pretty nerve-racking but at the same time, an unforgettable experience.

A local newspaper even interviewed me after the event. It was definitely the day’s icing on the cake! 🙂

Oh… Did I mention that the oath-taking ceremony happened on my birthday? It’s indeed one of the best gifts that I’ve ever received! Woot! 😀

O Canada… Our home and native land… Until next time! :p

what happened?

Happy 2016! 🙂

It’s been almost a year and a half since my “hiatus” post. It appears that the hibernation took longer than I had planned. -_- Obviously, thecuriousme.com needs a lot of love and some updating…. 😦

Anyway… here’s the synopsis on what happened:

Golden Gate Bridge	Fisherman’s Wharf
Boston Cruise	chillaxin’ in Boston
my folks trip to Canada	my folks… gallivanting
Popsters, guess who? 🙂	catching up on the AlDub fever!
my cross stitch project	Facebook’s needy eh? 😀
wedding 1.0	wedding 2.0

Details on my next posts… Watch out and chillax! 🙂 mmmmmwa!

basketball

Is basketball only for tall people?
Think again…. 😉

Tacloban-After Typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda) courtesy of: http://l3.yimg.com

intramuros-basketball — Intramuros, Manila (photo courtesy of: Wikimedia.org)

Filipinos love for basketball can be likened to Canadians innate love for hockey. Every street corner in the Philippines is an impromptu basketball court… and people play the game whether they are wearing flip flops (a.k.a. tsinelas), sneakers, leather shoes, or even barefoot!

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) (courtesy of: http://www.slamonlineph.com)	Canada Hockey (photo courtesy of: Google 🙂 )
street basketball (photo courtesy of: http://www.bubblews.com/)	street hockey (photo courtesy of: http://www.womenshockeylife.com)

You betcha! I remember when I was 15 – 19 years old, I used to be a basketball announcer whenever there was a tournament in our community; that was one of my tasks as part of the youth council.

One basketball player was always assigned to sit beside me to help me interpret the referee’s call and the names of the violations committed during the game. In other words, he needs to make sure that I don’t screw up! 🙂 All I had to do was announce what’s going on in the court, joke a little bit to liven up the game, and speak with conviction regarding the violations.

The tournament was something similar to the photos below:

kids-basketball — photo courtesy of: http://mati.gov.ph/

It’s fun and at the same time scary… especially if the intensity of the match was too high! Whew! Even though the games were a frenzy, they never broke into riots.. there were no cars being set on fire like during the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. :p We know how to keep it under control. 😉

Riot – Vancouver (photo courtesy of: http://www.ctvnews.ca)

Riot-aftermath-Vancouver — Riot Aftermath – Vancouver (photo courtesy of: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/)

By any means, the Filipino fascination (or should I say obsession?) with basketball prompted American author Rafe Bartholomew to go to the Philippines, conduct a study, and write a book about it. (Click here to read the snapshot of his book, Pacific Rims).

Rafe Bartholomew (photo courtesy of: http://rafebartholomew.com/sites/)

pacificrims_cover — Pacific Rims (photo courtesy of: http://rafebartholomew.com/)

Who wants to play ball? Let’s go, let’s go! 😀

Montreal

Montreal is dubbed as the sin city of Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It is said to be the second-largest in Canada and the 8th-largest in North America. There’s so much to see and do in Montreal… it would probably take a month or so!

Little did I know that I would be in for a challenge when my Popster friend, Mydzz, and I decided to go to Montreal via train (VIA Rail) last October 9th, 2012. Thanks to Google, Mydzz found the a number of popular places in Montreal to visit in our 4-hour time frame.

As expected, we had several bloopers during our trip…

1. Confused!
We nearly got off at the Dorval station, one stop away from Montreal, because we got confused with the announcement for the next stop.

2. Photo oppsie!
I was taking my photo (a.k.a. “selfie”) with the Notre-Dame Basilica in the background when a guy across the street offered to take my photo. His shouting was so loud and animated that I ended up being the center of (unwanted) attention. OMG! Mydzz laughingly walked away and pretended not to know me. O_O

It’s a good shot though…. 😀 Hmmm… better than my “selfie” on the right… Don’t ya think?

3. Train seats mixed up.
We were finally settled in our designated seats when the VIA Rail officer asked us to move. Our fellow passengers told us that there was a glitch in the online booking system that mixed up the seating arrangements.

4. So French!
The VIA rail employees were talking to us in French while directing us what car to take. All we could do was to smile and say thank you. “Car 4” was the magic word that we needed to hear to put together all the things they were saying.

5. So lost!
Our million dollar smiles opened the hearts of strangers, happily chatting with us and helping us find the best views in the city.

Below are some of our snapshots:

Notre Dame

Surprisingly, we covered several tourist spots in 3-4 hours with no tour guide. Ha! We spent an hour having lunch in a Chinese buffet… we pigged out at the Jade Restaurant! :p

The trip to Montreal proved to be enjoyable after all. Until next time! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwa!

The Chancellor

Click here to read the related blog entry for a preview -> “Boy & Cel”
While visiting the Olympic Village in Whistler, British Columbia… I had a chance to ride the Peak 2 Peak Gondola with my cousin Chancee (a.k.a. Chancellor) and Kuya Freddie. The long cable-car ride gave us some time to enjoy the view and chat about life… somehow the topic of my blog (thecuriousme.com) came up and how I use it to chronicle my trips, funny moments and embarrassing experiences.

Chancee was enjoying the scenery when he turned solemn; lost in thought. The abrupt stop of the peak 2 peak for almost half an hour heightened his reverie. Most probably out of boredom, he started a monologue, his tone was like a politician delivering a melodramatic speech. :p It’s also his way of giving me “materials” because he wants me to write a blog entry about his adventure in Canada.

The gist of his monologue as I remember it was some crazy plan on how to get out from the peak 2 peak, just in case we will be stranded… Here you go:

Three options!
1. Walk through the railings and climb down using one of the posts.
2. Jump down to the forest straight from the peak 2 peak.
3. Wait for someone to rescue us.

Lucky for us though, the cable-car started running again and we got back down safe and sound. Thank God!

Moving on, see below for the snapshots of Chancee’s adventure in British Columbia, Canada:

Whistler (Peak 2 Peak / Olympic Village)	snowmobile (Whistler -Olympic Village)
glacier (Whistler / Olympic Village)	Queen Elizabeth Park
Shannon Falls	Capilano Suspension Bridge
	Canada-US border

See you again soon Chancee! 🙂

Lake Louise

On our way to Lake Louise, I saw some sceneries that reminded me of the Drielandepunt in Netherlands. Drielandepunt is where the boundaries of Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands meet.

In Lake Louise, the view is absolutely breathtaking! Glaciers on the mountain make the panorama picturesque. A truly sight to behold!

nice background ey? LOL — nice background 🙂

After an hour or so, we headed back to downtown and searched for the Devounian Garden. Unfortunately, it was already closed. Chinatown was the other option, however, the shops are also closed.

We all decided to go to the mall to grab a bite and walk around a bit. When we are about to go home, we bumped into James classmate and best friend, Jedd. The two six-year-old kids run towards each other with open arms then stopped abruptly. 😀 That surely elicited laughter from all of us.

We all thought they’re going to hug like they haven’t seen each other for a million years. The truth is, they just saw each other few days ago.

It’s a good way to end the day… Gotta snooze now. Another exciting day tomorrow. Mwwwwwwa!

Boy & Cel

Within the short span of time since I’ve migrated in this side of the world, I’ve observed that some immigrants who stayed here for more than 15 years tend to hold themselves with high regard and most often than not, belittle the newbies like me.

The most painful realization is, the people who do this are not strangers but they are somewhat connected to you either by blood relation or via friends. It’s a harsh… sad… reality. No pun intended.

Sigh. I know, I’m blabbering. Shoot me.

On a happier note, my trip to Vancouver, British Columbia was very rewarding because I’ve received one of the greatest birthday gift ever! That is, meeting Kuya Boy and Ate Cel for the first time. Ate Cel’s mother and my father are first cousins. It was my cousin Jaime (a.k.a. Chancee) who introduced me to them. And what do you know… I had a chance to meet Kuya Freddie and AJ too! Awesome!

If I cried myself to sleep during my last year’s birthday (yeah, I cried my heart out), I had a silly grin on my face this year. Thank God!
(Note: “Kuya” is a Filipino word that denotes older brother or it’s also usually used as a sign of respect for older males.
“Ate” is the equivalent term of “Kuya” for females.)

I must say, I was ecstatic when I got to know Kuya Boy and Ate Cel because they are one of the few humblest Filipino-Canadian couple I’ve ever met in this side of the world. I was over the moon because it gave me hope. And most of all, it made me realized that migrating here is not an “awful” decision after all. I guess, I was a bit traumatized on what I’ve been through. Trusting people became an extreme ordeal for me.

Kuya Boy	Ate Cel

My late mom reiterated when I was growing up to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground whatever happens. That’s why, I get so annoyed when I see people fly inside a bubble like there’s no tomorrow and lambast people who are “below” them. It really gets into me and at the same time, it makes me sad.

It’s good to know though, that there are still few people like Kuya Boy and Ate Cel who did not place success into their head. Indeed, finding the chosen few made my heart burst with happiness.

bc2012- 809 — Ate Cel & Kuya Boy’s garden

Kuya Boy and Ate Cel, my heartfelt thanks for your warm hospitality, words of wisdom, and most of all, for wholeheartedly accepting me even though you have just met me . I’m super overwhelmed! See you again soon.

Click here to read related article -> “b.c. link”

beach(?)

With the excitement building up at the campsite, the group also can’t wait to head out to the beach to hang out during the day and watch the fireworks at night.

At first, I was baffled because I can’t find the usual white sand and big waves that I was accustomed to. I guess, I have somewhat a different definition of the word “beach”. Don’t shoot me please? I grew up in a tropical country wherein it’s summer all year round and beaches with white sand and big waves are all over the place. Oh. Did I just define “paradise”?

courtesy of equalizerpost.com — “paradise”

As a typical Asian, I have this love and hate relationship with the sun. Yeah, I always find myself hiding from the harmful sun rays since time immemorial. At the beach, Nathan R’s shirt served as my improvised umbrella. TP thought I looked funny. I must say, so long as I have a “shade”, it doesn’t matter if I looked weird.

Anyway, TP lent me her fancy “semi-tent” (i think, it’s called a montage) when we went to the beach the second time around. It certainly made a world difference from the “umbrella-shirt”. Totally cool! Ha!

IMG_20120818_152310 — disassembling “the montage” with Baby JC

Below are the beach “kodak” moments:

	Moose Jaw sandcastle
basking under the sun	“sun scowl”

German Engineering with Canadian Little Workers	sunny sunshine!

Until next outing! 🙂

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

MoSo

The MoSo conference (Canada’s mobile & social media conference) definitely increased my level of awareness on the dominance of mobile and social media as a ”neutral” marketing arena for start-ups, small and medium businesses, as well as the gigantic companies.

So, what is MoSo Conference?
“A gathering of super sweet peeps for great talks, music, eats and tweets. It’s all about everything mobile and social. It’s a community. It’s a festival. It’s, well, you’ll have to find out for yourself.” – mosoconf.com

Check out below for some of the wonderful insights from the conference:

@DanMartell – Five Unconventional ways to entrepreneurship

Failure is part of the process.
Hustle to help with no expectations.
Motivation is everything.
Pick 5 people with the same goals and drive to help you move forward.
Set a goal and tell the world so that you are committed.
Make no small plans.

Karyn Zuidinga (@Analytic_Design) – From insight to innovation: The Search for Unconventional Wisdom

“Within organizations, the pressure to ‘innovate’ is very high and very real, yet most have no clear idea what it means.”“The trick to bringing real innovation is to understand that it isn’t some moment of divine inspiration or paradigm shifting invention. True innovation is part of a process, and can be found through understanding: The search for who your users are, what they need, and what they want.”

@BrendanKing – They can’t say that… can they? Managing your reputation online

“Online Reputation Management” is no longer a buzzword, it is now something that every successful business devotes effort to.”Reputation today is airborne and contagious!

What is Reputation Management for SMB’s
Local Presence Management / Visibility
Monitoring structured data reviews
Monitoring User Generated content (UGC) – including employees
Comparing yourself to your competition
Engaging customers and tracking ROI

@DaleZak – Harnessing the Power of Mobile

“Mobile devices are revolutionizing our world allowing us to connect, communicate, and collaborate in ways not previously possible. But to understand the true power of mobile, one must appreciate the full spectrum of device capabilities.”

The Perfect Storm
Connectivity Availability Speed Power Features Price

@SaulColt – Is influence a good thing?

“Marketing is about influence
Influence comes from making a connection
Connections come from experience
Experience must include emotions
Emotions come from entertainment
Entertainment comes from magic
Magic = Marketing”

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Click this link for Annelise Larson’s (@veriatweet) comprehensive summary of the MoSo conference.
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Fun times at the MoSo after party (Venue: Lydia’s)

MoSo Speakers
	Tiffany & Alan biting the @VendAsta bear!!!

It’s raining beer! Too bad I can’t stand the taste of beer. :p

(TheCuriousMe Note: I admit I had second thoughts in attending the MoSo conference because I wanted to finish my month end checklist. I’m glad I decided to show up! I had a grand time! 😀 )

Until next conference. 😉

Niagara Falls

At first, I thought the falls was a curtain-like water flowing from a huge mountain that blocks the other side of the world. I know, it was a pure insane imagination. In reality, the Niagara Falls is sandwiched between Canada and United States of America (in which I’m sure you perfectly know that. I’m just reminding myself. ).

I was surprised when I had a glimpsed of the buildings from the USA and realized that it’s a “hair-strand” away! I was resisting the urge to dive in the cold water and swim to the other side. Errr… Too bad, so sad… I don’t know how to swim (click here to read my swimming experience). 😉

Although it was drizzling, we still took photos like crazy!

Below are more photos near the Niagara Falls area:

SkyWheel
big fat me! 🙂

For the fireworks display, Charles had a splendid time looking and naming the beautiful colors. I can still hear his quirky voice shouting, “Yellow! Green! Purple! Red! Orange!”. ;D

It was a long drive but it’s worth it! Thanks Bob for taking us there and for (reluctantly?) giving in to our whims !

P.S.
Click the links below to see the related articles:

towers

Alright… I confess… I have this thing for towers and other skyscrapers (in which I still prefer to call as tower… :p). Being drawn to towers is one way (I think) of conquering my fear of heights. Is it psychological?

Towers do make me feel tall (since I’m extremely petite :p ) and powerful! From the top of the sky high tower, I feel like I’m the Queen of the world looking down at the “microscopic” objects and “tiny” creatures called human beings. :p Well, climbing a tower is more attainable than aspiring to fly. Ha!

Looking back, below are the towers I’ve visited and climbed so far:

Menara Kuala Lumpur (considered to be the 7th tallest tower in the world)

Located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Visiting this tower is very interesting because you can also have the option to ride a horse (not inside the tower! ), stopover at the animal “kingdom”, watch cultural shows, and become an “F1 driver”. 😉 Since I’ve been there thrice, I practically did most of the activities except riding a horse :p


my nephew

CN Tower (the 3rd tallest tower in the world)

Located in Toronto, Canada
I particularly love the “transparent floor”. It scared the hell out of me. (see related article -> Toronto)

Eiffel Tower (dubbed as the 30th tallest tower in the world)

Located in Paris, France
I personally consider this as the most magical tower in the universe! Call me hopeless romantic, but I had goosebumps while watching the sunset from the topmost part of the tower. It’s the most magical feeling I’ve ever felt! And I want to be there again in this lifetime. (see related article -> Eiffel Tower)

Petronas Twin Towers (Menara Berkembar Petronas in Malay)

remain as the tallest twin buildings in the world ever built (according to Wikipedia)
Located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
There’s no entrance fee but you need to queue at day break to be included in the lucky 100. If my memory serves me right, they only allow 100 visitors per day. One thing that I find interesting about Petronas Twin Towers is the connecting bridge. It’s like the hands of the two towers are “intertwined” tightly with a promise not to ever let go. 😀 (see Kuala Lumpur related article -> lost momentus)

I’m looking forward to checking more towers and buildings …and I surely have a long way to go. Ha! Check out my “wish” list in my next post. 😉