Sometimes, it feels like the world is ending, and things are closing in… Maybe it’s just my world, but if Stephen Hawking (one of the smartest guys on Earth) says the same, then really, we should perhaps try to take this more seriously. Technology is literally taking huge leaps (look at Atlas!), and I’m still just sitting here at home on Christmas vacation. I’m trying to find something productive to do, but really, all I want to do is drink lots of coffee and find somewhere nice to fly my drone.

Here we were at Aubade, a super minimalistic coffee shop. The coffee barista was actually the owner, and he was super friendly and easy to chat with. The milk for the espressos were made with nut milk (and some other organic healthy stuff), just a warning that they don’t have other types of milk. Other than espressos, there were all the other types of coffees that you could possibly imagine, all done in a corner of a thrift shop! It was all very cozy, and I would go back again, next time I have time.



Seriously though, check this place out, and while you’re in the hood, go check out the shops along Union St for some inspiration to live while we still can – Hunter & Hare, Charlie & Lee. I am motivated to work towards acquiring this convertible Vere Verto Macta bag/backpack for just under $700CAD:

WANT vs NEED…

Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep…
 
Maybe it’s all the coffee, but I haven’t been sleeping enough and I can feel the brain fog coming on. Made it through the rest of the work week, and now it’s time to stop thinking about it!
 
Right?
 
If only it were that easy to flip off the work switch.
 
My solution is to go to coffee shops, like the new Spade Coffee along Commercial Drive:  

Disclaimer – not my hands, not my ring, not my Apple products.

This used to be the old Waves location, which I used to love visiting. The new coffee shop has a few newer tables, counters, and fresh paint with their logo on the outside. We didn’t get any food, so I might go back for some next time. Coffee here is good though. I had a latte, and as R would say, “it comes in a cool glass”. We were here on a Sunday, and all the families were out, which could become distracting (ie, bored children ready to go home for a nap).

One more week till 2018!

What's the trick? I wish I knew
I'm so done with thinking through all the things I could've been
And I know you want me, too
All it takes is that one look at you and I run right back to you
You cross that line and it's time to say F you
What's the point in saying that when you know how I'll react?
You think you can just take it back, but shit just don't work like that
You're the drug that I'm addicted to, and I want you so bad
Guess I'm stuck with you, and that's that
'Cause when it all falls down, then whatever
When it don't work out for the better
If it just ain't right, and it's time to say goodbye
When it all falls down, when it all falls down
I'll be fine
I'll be fine
You're the drug that I'm addicted to
And I want you so bad, but I'll be fine
Why we fight? I don't know
We say what hurts the most
Oh, I tried staying cold, but you take it personal
All these firing shots and making ground
It's way too hard to cope, but I still can't let you go
'Cause when it all falls down, then whatever
When it don't work out for the better
If it just ain't right, and it's time to say goodbye
When it all falls down, when it all falls down
I'll be fine
I'll be fine
You're the drug that I'm addicted to and I want you so bad
But I'll be fine
I'll be fine, fine, fine
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine
I'll be fine, fine, fine
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine
I'll be fine, fine, fine
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine
I'll be fine, fine, fine
Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine
'Cause when it all falls down, then whatever (Then whatever, babe)
When it don't work out for the better (For the better)
If it just ain't right, and it's time to say goodbye
When it all falls down (When it all, when it all)
When it all falls down (When it all falls down)
I'll be fine
(Fine, fine, fine) I'll be fine (I'll be fine)
You're the drug that I'm addicted to and I want you so bad
But I'll be fine (I'll be fine), and that's that

I’ve been trying to find more time to read, so in between running errands at Park Royal, H and I went for coffee at Faubourg:



We had a peach danish, a latte, and a cappuccino. Is the food here average or is it just me? The pastry could have been fluffier, and the coffee game was not strong enough. I’ll give them points on the cozy back corner, great spot for people watching and doing work. I did get some reading done…



Reading books about different places really inspires me to travel. I can’t wait to hit the road again, but looking at horoscopes for Dragons next year, it does not seem like I will be lucky in travels. Actually, it looks like I will not have any luck at all next year. This year was tough, but fun with lots of trips and new experiences. If next year is going to be even harder… Well, it’s going to be a very interesting new year. I’m going to keep my eye on the prize though, and just try to remember what I’m aiming for.

After dinner, we were craving something sweet, so we decided to go to Snackshot for some classic Hong Kong style dessert:

 

This was their glutinous rice balls with sesame paste, in a ginger soup. Pretty good ratio of sesame paste filling to exterior:



We also had the hot almond paste dessert (top bowl with white substance), and a hot ginger tea (bottom glass of orange substance):



The almond was average, and the ginger was not something I’d get again.

While I really enjoyed the cute decor and Supreme cutlery, I wouldn’t come out of my way for this again. There are better places in  Richmond and Burnaby for Chinese dessert, but if I were in the neighborhood, I wouldn’t mind stopping in again to get their dessert set.



We went up to Joffre Lake the other weekend, and I think we stayed just long enough to feel pleasantly tired out. We were even there at the right moment to catch a game of ice hockey:



We had our work Christmas party this Friday, and I think we stayed just long enough to leave an impression, but not too long before all the taxis were taken. Then, on Saturday, we had a fabulous pot luck with some high school/university pals, and today (Sunday), I had a gathering with some girl friends. It’s a busy time of the year, and I think this year, I’ve learned when I have to leave and not stay a minute longer, because if I do, I’ll be exhausted and drained for weeks and months afterwards.

Have you found that balance of just enough?

5 more work days before Christmas holidays! I feel like a kid, counting down to sleeping in, and no (home)work.

Came here for waffles with J and K, to casually catch up. We had the berry and mascarpone waffle (on the right), as well as a special pumpkin spice flavored one (I think it was pumpkin… on the left).



I was way too full to eat, so I just ordered the Earl Grey Latte (ie, London Fog). Everything was just OK… J and K didn’t seem too impressed by the waffle quality. I had a bite of the berry one, which was fairly fresh. The London Fog was a tad sweet.   



The whole thing was also a bit overpriced, as usual with anything in Vancouver. The two had just returned from Calgary, where they could have afforded an actual house with land. Instead, here they were, renting a little box in Vancouver. They were just settling in to their new Vancouver home now, and I am assuming they’re really enjoying being closer to family, but what about owning their own front lawn?

I’ve been worrying for most of last week about getting and paying off a mortgage, starting next year, but I think I’ve come to terms with it. I should probably figure out what Christmas gifts to get for people first… We’ll see where life takes us.

On the way back to Taipei from Shifen, we stopped at Keelung to explore the Miaokou Night Market. We were not disappointed by the food choices. Here’s the mung bean shaved ice from one of the supposedly famous stands at this night market:

I can see why they’re famous, look at how many famous people have eaten here. Excellent syrup to ice ratios:

We were disappointed by how quickly one of the braised meat rice stands sold out! We had to go to the one next to it, and had this instead, which really wasn’t bad:

\

Clearly, that wouldn’t be enough food for both of us. We kept walking and found the best bun with freshly grilled pork:

What really caught our attention at first was the huge slabs of pork, cooking on the grill, but we ended up getting the bun because it was just too much meat to carry around. The buns were crisply toasted to just the right amount, and so fluffy.

Overall, the food here was better than at Shilin.

That’s it for this trip (finally, you might want to say). If you want to read from the beginning again, here’s the whole trip:

DAY 1 – HIKE IN HONG KONG
DAY 2 – TAIPO AND CAUSEWAY BAY
DAY 3 – SHUM SUI PO AND MONG KOK
DAY 4 – YONG HE AND BEITOU
DAY 5 – SHILIN
DAY 6 – TAIPEI
DAY 6 - ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN AND IN PARADISE
DAY 7 – COFFEE IN TAIPEI
DAY 8 – SHIFEN

Shifen waterfall is just one of many that can be found around Taiwan. We only made it to this waterfall on this trip, but I’m sure we’ll be back to visit the other parts of Taiwan. It takes a bit of work to figure out which trains to take, because there was a transfer on our trip, and it was a 2 hour ride in a packed train (we left Taipei around 11AM), so we were famished by the time we arrived. The first thing we did was get a bite to eat from the vendors that line the railroad tracks at Shifen. Here’s a pancake with chives and I think there was egg:



Pork in steamed bun (must must must have this), from a stall right next to the station:



Please keep in mind that this location is a tourist trap. Notice the dots in the image above, those dots are not a dirty spot on your monitor., These are paper lanterns that were released into the sky by Shifen visitors, who write their hopes and dreams on the paper lantern. The lanterns fly up over the river, then land in the river when the fire making them rise up is extinguished. I didn’t like this concept, too environmentally damaging. There were a few scavengers on the river shore, picking up the dead hopes and dreams lanterns. One even landed right on the train station platform, still in flames, but it didn’t cause much damage because an attendant came by to fix it.

Beautiful waterfall, good food, busy atmosphere, I will not be back to this spot in Taiwan.

Here are more photos of the train routes:

I only had coffee twice on this trip, and both times, it was a bit more expensive than Vancouver, but just as good. First coffee shop we went to was Woolloomooloo:



Decent food, friendly service, and newspapers from around the world, lined up on the wall for customers to read. I would come back, if I were homesick, because the food and coffee were very similar to what’s served in Vancouver.



The 2nd place was Rufous Coffee Roasters:


I had high expectations for this place, mainly because I usually expect coffee roasters to really know their stuff and have amazing brew. The photo above was taken in their outdoors seating area, where they had planted cute little succulents and tropicals along their fence. It was pretty much perfect coffee, from the latte art to the amount of caffeine actually extracted into that little cup. H had the pour over, and a sip of that could pull you through 24 hours of no sleep. The server greets as the door opens, helps to find you a seat and then gives you a basket for your belongings. Beware that the place was quite small with limited seating and dim lighting, and the bathroom is a bit tricky because there’s a step to get inside.


Back to present day, it’s December, which means 2 things...

1. Time to start Christmas shopping. FYI, I want all the things from Everlane.
2. Time to start birthday present shopping. My birthday is in a month, and again, I want all the things from Everlane.