Feeling refreshed after spending lots of time with friends and le BF, combined with night skiing at Cypress yesterday:



…and drinks after work on Thursday at the Irish Heather:



They don’t skimp on their alcohol here. This bright red negroni just melted all my stress from  Thursday (end of quarter, beginning of long weekend, loads of work). We were a bit too late to get food there, because their kitchen apparently closes at 9PM, but I guess it all worked out because I’ll save those food calories for the carbs from all the alcohol in their drinks.



Pretty good vibes here for catching up with friends who are actually about to leave the city… Goodbye, R! I can’t believe it’s already been 5 years since we became friends. It’s impressive that she spent about the same amount of time in a long distance relationship with her fiance. It’s so important to spend time with your partner, but it’s even more important to spend time apart and become an even better version of yourself. Sorry H! I know you’d like to spend every minute with me, but space is NOT just a word made up by someone who’s afraid to get too close (channeling S and Nick Jonas).

I think this was a weekend for revival (no religious associations intended). It felt like I actually restarted relationships with skiing, my friends, who I don't get to see a lot. Took some great naps, and replanted some dying aloe in my house.

As the 45th US president was being sworn in, some Canadians were watching closely. Others, like me, decided to hit the slopes at Whistler. There was quite a crowd, even though the snow wasn’t the freshest and the sky wasn’t the clearest. A mountain day is always a good day… 

We drove up to Whistler on Friday night, right after work (9-5 office life for all 4 of us in my car), stopping by Squamish to grab a late dinner at Mag’s 99:

 

Top: Fried chicken, fries. Bottom: Chimichanga

This must’ve been the best chimichanga I’ve ever had. It was packed with rice, and the pool of mysterious orange sauce it was sitting in really complimented the flavors of the rice and meat inside. I’m hungry just thinking about it. This was enough to put all of us into a food coma.

It was not easy to finish it off, because LOOK AT ALL THE RICE, from just a quarter of the chimichanga!

The chicken was OK, slightly dry. I’d give this a 3/5 for the chicken and 4/5 for the chimichanga. 

We got to the hotel, started playing Machi koro, and didn’t get to bed till 1:30AM… Staying up late and struggling to wake up the next morning seems to bring us together.

Met up with A, who was back from the far away lands of northern (middle?) BC, at Le Marche St. George. The soup was a bit too sour, but tasted really organic and super healthy. It was balanced quite well with the crispy, cheese croissant toast. Coffee very strong. Forgot to ask A how her London Fog tasted, but it looked really pretty with the latte art on top. This little corner shop cafe is just bumpin’. I’m sure I’ll be back with other friends too.



We talked about life – work, family, house, boys, cats, food… A’s sister apparently thinks I’m always in a sunny place, from following my Instagram. That made me laugh a little. Thanks, young A!

Trying to clear out some junk in my life to make space for new projects…

It’s so nice to catch up with friends and share new ideas, like this whole culture of being non-binary/gender neutral.  We caught up over dinner and drinks at Sai Woo, a Chinese fusion restaurant downtown, with petrified trees “growing” and decorating the place. I knew the portions would be quite small and expensive, so I went and had pizza before this adorable pulled pork slider:

This was about $5. I had a couple of average drinks there with funky names, but they didn’t stick out (Chill Winston has the best funky cocktails so far). Nice atmosphere, and great place to have long conversations, as it wasn’t too loud inside the restaurant. Awesome service too!



Are you familiar with this new phenomenon of using the pronoun “they” or "ze" (pronounced like he or she, but replace the "h" or the "sh" with "z") for those who do not identify with either the female or male gender? I only recently heard these different terms while working at the VFM, about 2-3 weeks ago, and it came up again recently at dinner for C's birthday. Apparently, it’s progressive to ask people what gender they identify with, and I’m cool like that because I did it.

To re-inspire myself, I’m making a list of things that inspire me (in no particular order):

1. Food, particularly pizza.

Took advantage of the extra day off to spend more time with my lovely friends, who I feel like I haven’t seen in forever. I may have been neglecting them a bit, but weekends are now for working and napping. S and I went to Nelson the Seagull in Gastown…

Above: Poached eggs with mushrooms for $11 + $3 = $14. These were a little difficulty to eat because they were poached hard. I suppose I should’ve specified medium, but who likes hard eggs?! Other than that little blip… The bread was very fresh and good (IT BETTER BE, THEY BAKE IT IN HOUSE). The salad and mushrooms were acceptable, and tasted like they’re probably freshly grown/local.

Above: The Full Nelson – I don’t remember how much this cost. $13? Black forest ham, tomato, lettuce, and cheese (swiss?). Question marks because S ordered it and devoured it to soak up his hangover. He seemed to enjoy it, although the ham was all piled in the middle and not evenly distributed, according to S.

Below: Latte with almond milk, made in house, and a little plant.

Overall, a good experience, because it’s a nice atmosphere to meet friends and the coffee’s strong enough. I would not recommend eating here, because there are other breakfast/brunch places with better eggs.



And yes, I’m happy. As happy as an angry little girl could be.

They start ditching out, not calling/messaging first, not calling/messaging back.  Worse yet, something happens (like last year, or the 3.5 years before that), and other than just drifting apart, you’re not even friends anymore.  Nobody wants it to happen, but it just does.  Then, when you’re put into certain situations, you pretend you’re friends to avoid causing an awkward scene for the rest of your friends. 

What’s a girl to do in situations like these? Drink&dance.