There have been more reports of hate crimes recently, particularly towards Asians, and I never thought I'd experience it in my own neighborhood. My interactions with the neighbors, although limited in quantity, have always felt fairly warm and inviting, but maybe the issue is not with the neighbors. The other day, I was walking home from the park with my baby in the Ergobaby carrier, crossing the street and trying to mind my own business, when a white minivan with Washington license plates tried to pull over near us. 

Were we in his way? Maybe to him we were, because through his rolled down window, I could hear him exclaim, "F***ing Asians."   

I was too shocked to react, and mainly focused on avoiding his vehicle to take down the license plate. A short distance away, I could see that he was finally able to park his car and he was letting his small dog out, probably to walk in the park. 

I recounted this story to a few different friends, and only called this man a "dude", but immediately, my friends knew this "dude" was a Caucasian man, and appeared older. I know it's not right to racial profile, but this man appeared to fit the stereotype of grumpy old white dude perfectly. 

I don't really feel safe around that park anymore, which is unfair, especially as it's my neighborhood park and quite a few families with children visit on a regular basis. Trying not to let this taint my interactions with other neighbors...

Also trying to destress from mom life with some alone time and a baked good from Creme de la Crumb: 

The cafe is at the entrance of one of the office buildings, and I assume it would be packed if not for COVID19, because it is really the only location for coffee in the area, not counting McDonald's. 

The oatmeal cranberry chocolate cookie was crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, just the perfect amount of chocolate chips in each bite. 

 

Matcha latte would be a pass for next time - too sweet, maybe because I asked for oat milk. 

But really, I was running an errand, and it wasn't intentional alone time. It took about 10 minutes to walk over to the Still Creek location from Costco, where my winter tires were being swapped with all season tires. What are the chances that my husband would be OK with me leaving him at Costco for an hour with the baby while I do this again? 

As I'm writing this, others are also describing similar anti-Asian experiences around Vancouver. Check out Steven Ngo's story, which has been picked up by NEWS1130. 

Baby S has been going through a pretty bad sleep regression, and although I expected it around the four month mark, I still was not prepared for it. It is harder than usual to soothe her to bed. The only solution that allows both of us to sleep was for me to lie next to her while nursing her to sleep. However, sometimes, I wouldn't fall asleep that easily, and just as I'm dozing off, baby S is ready for another session of milk.  

Wouldn't it be amazing if there was something for adults where they could be soothed back to sleep by sucking on a pacifier? 

K suggested that I ask my husband to soothe me back to sleep, but I think I'll stick with coffee in the mornings. 

Good thing I am in close proximity to Hey Happy. On the days that baby S gets up bright and early despite waking up every two hours throughout the night, their delicious coconut milk iced latte keeps me alive: 

Sometimes, lumps will form from the coconut milk if I'm busy with the baby and leave it sitting for too long. When it's fresh though, it is the smoothest coffee beverage I have ever consumed. They add in just the right amount of cane sugar to mask any bitterness from the coffee (not that I mind the bitterness because I usually have black coffee; it's a nice change). Wish I could figure out their almond milk to coconut milk ratio too, so I can recreate it at home. 

They used to sell 500mL bottles of these, at $16 per bottle. It's pricey, but if I can buy a bottle of happiness for $16, WHY NOT? Sadly, they're listed as "out of stock" on the website now, so I emailed the Hey Happy team. Turns out that they're currently working on a way to make the packaging more sustainable. Well, good for them and the Earth. 

When I'm there, I will usually pick up one of their chocolate chip cookie too. It's got large chunks of chocolate, and they're topped with a sprinkle of salt, just the way I usually make my cookies. I'll save it for a snack in the afternoon, to go with my orange juice and iron pill. 

For the fall season and Canadian Thanksgiving, they also have a mini pumpkin pie as one of their pastries, which I decided to buy purely because I thought it'd look cute in a photo. Turns out that the pumpkin is perfect. The pumpkin filling is super creamy, and has a good blend of spices and sweetness. Wish I got two so that I didn't have to share with H, and will definitely return for more.  

As I finish up this post, I'm typing as fast as I can, because baby S could wake up from her nap anytime. According to the Wonder Weeks app, she has another 10 days remaining for this mental leap of Events. It's this leap that is contributing to her poor sleep. Guess that means 10 more trips to Hey Happy. 

The last meal of this trip was at the airport and full of vegetables. I had a Cobb Salad from Woody Creek Bakery:

I was exhausted, extremely hungry and probably dehydrated, so choices were difficult for me. I think the lady who took my order was well aware of that, and she was very patient when I couldn’t choose the dressing. After ordering, I went over to the cashier, where there were pastries, beverages, etc. I was eyeing the cookies, which looked really amazing, but I knew I didn’t need more junk food on this trip. So, I paid, and waited for my food with my order number. The last step of this order process was for them to deliver the food to me, which came in a paper bag. I went oveer to my gate, opened the bag, and discovered a chocolate chip cookie that I hadn’t ordered!

I forgot to take a photo of the full thing… Sorry. Too hungry. The salad was good too – they gave me extra avocado because they didn’t have eggs left. Thanks to whoever gave me an extra cookie!



That’s it. Go back through this trip using these links:

PT 1
PT 2
PT 3
PT 4

We started off the day pretty late, recovering from our plane ride and whatever jet lag we were experiencing. To help us feel a bit better, we decided to explore Old Reykjavik, grab a quick bite, and go hiking. What else could be quicker than hot dogs?

These are the famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (literally translates to The Best Hot Dog in Town):

They were OK. Fried onion, mayo, ketchup, mustard toppings. All the boys seemed to like them, but TPL and I both weren’t really feeling it.

After lunch, it was time to start the real adventure.

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Side bar to real time:

Baked some cookies tonight because I got bored and hungry. Tried out Tara O’Brady’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, which according to Buzzfeed Food is one of the best out there. Crispy outside, soft inside. I should remake these – the butter got heated up too much:

Announcement of the Facebook VR rig using our cameras came out recently, and we're all pretty proud of this. I got my laptop dock, so I’ve switched over to it, and fiddling with it/getting used to it has wasted a bit of time. Brought work home for the past few days. I could feel myself crashing before lunch today… This week has been busy, and the answer to motivating your employees is GOOD FOOD.

Probably not enough coffee today too. NO PROBLEM! Fixed it with a batch of chocolate dipped butter cookies that our kitchen staff brought out after teriyaki chicken lunch. Here’s a few other desserts we’ve had in the past for Friday Birthday Lunch:

CRACK BROWNIES.

I love working here. There are a few things that could make it better, like not being in the middle of nowhere in Richmond. They could hire a few more people, maybe an assistant just for me to do all my expenses and data entry and screen some phone calls. Along that note, they could hire an in house Japanese chef to cook for all of us, because we ALL love Japanese food. I think I get the recognition I deserve and my opinions are listened to. The job’s not too stressful, and any job that involves working with the public will have its own quirky aspects (customer’s always right?), which I find hilariously entertaining.

Just blast my music and motivate myself to type faster – Tritonal – Blackout (Madison Mars Remix):


It’s you and me, you and me, against the world. Don’t you worry baby, there’s a fire for us. No we’re not going down in a blackout…

Anybody looking for a job? Pay attention to this: www.ptgrey.com/careers

Nice day on the water, back in August:

Rented out double fibre glass kayaks from MEC for a day when H’s HK friend came to visit. About $60 for one, including paddles, life jackets, and all the other gear (rates found here). Compared to renting at Deep Cove, it was much more cost effective.

The only thing was we had to figure out how to transport it from the MEC in North Vancouver to the waters of Deep Cove. They gave us hooks and straps, and we somehow drove the boats back to my house to store for a night on H’s Kia Soul. It was a bitch to carry and load, but overall, worth it. Would do again.

Cookie day at work today, check out the oil in this thing:

 

I’m so tired. I can’t wait to get outdoor.