Today is the start of my holidays! I have a few days to kick around Vancouver to finish last-minute shopping and packing and then I fly out to Malaysia and Philippines for a month! I can’t wait. My last check of the weather for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was about 32 degrees celsius! It’s gonna be hot and humid. I remember the last time I was in Malaysia a few years ago. As soon as I stepped out of the airport it felt like I hit a huge wall. I want the same feeling. Hahaha. I will remember to bring a small towel with me everywhere I go.

Other than visiting Phebe’s friends and family, my other plan in Malaysia is to climb the world’s highest “via ferrata” on Mt. Torq which is located in Mount Kinabalu. I have not read or heard much about this other than reading on the website. Via ferrata literally means “iron road” and is basically a mountain path which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridgers that opens up routes to the average hiker that were only previously accessible to experienced climbers and mountianeers with specialized equipment. So when I saw the pictures on the internet of the people climbing, I got really excited and called Phebe’s dad right away to get me a ticket.

I will also be going to the Philippines at the start of January for some backpacking and I also have a friend’s wedding to go to on the 10th in Boracay. It should be fun. It will be a beach wedding. I am not prepared on what clothes I have to wear so hopefully I can find some in Malaysia. With the limited internet access that I have when I’m over there, I hope to keep you all posted on my adventures.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

At the end of every year we have our annual Christmas lunch and auction at work. I look forward to this day every year because you get the whole afternoon off to eat, laugh, and most importantly not work! This year’s lunch buffet was catered by Azuma sushi and it did not disappoint. I had the beef teriyaki special with rice and salad. What kept me going for seconds and thirds was the special steak sauce they put on the rice. It’s so yummy! There’s a saying in Chinese -  “Mo Fay, Mo May”, which literally means, “No Fat, No Good”!! This was definitely the case!

After lunch we had our auction. People voluntarily donate something to the auction in hopes that people will buy that item. It’s all good since all the proceeds go to charity and you get a tax credit for the item you sell. This year’s chart will go to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. Last year we raised about $6,070. We shattered that mark this year. We auctioned off a total of 96 items for a total of $7,765! I was in charge of auditing people’s bids and recording the amounts on a spreadsheet. It got pretty challenging at the end when all kinds of people started to ask what they owed and to keep track of the float. I didn’t buy anything but had some very good laughs.

After the auction, several us from work headed over to my co-worker’s place (Albert) to eat some pizza and play some mahjong (aka MJ). We invited Brian from my work to play. Why do I say? Well, he’s white and wanted to learn how to play. We had to write down the Chinese numbers and winds for him. It was quite funny to see him play but at end he got the hang of it. He actually won a few hands on his own (chicken hands but still he won). Last week I played and won $6 bucks. However, this time it was a different story. I lost a total of $3 as I only won twice. Actually, I won another time but I did not get any points. We were playing for .10 cents a chip. It just wasn’t my luck that night. I think we will start a MJ club at work and play twice a month.

A whole slew of goodies

Ken on the left won the “Ugly Sweater” contest…you be the judge

Betty getting crushed by Santa and Rudolph

Looking intently at the next auction item

It was a challenge fitting over 90 people in this room

It was a devastating day yesterday. I use the word lightly as there are many other things more devastating than not passing an exam. The UFE results were posted at 7am (pst) on December 4th. I looked up my candidate number online and was disappointed that I did not pass.  I had to check my candidate number again just to make sure. I also checked 20 minutes later just in case there were revised marks. My mark did not change. I knew heading in that I had a slim chance of passing. However, I was still disappointed on the outcome.

To be honest, what worried me the most was if there was somebody else at work who did not pass. We had a total of 11 writers including me and 9 of them made it. There was another girl who did not pass and it was her 3rd time writing. It is too bad that I did not get to celebrate with my other co-workers but I guess that is the way life goes sometimes. I believe there is a reason for everything and I know I will learn from this experience. I will continue to trust in God’s plan and his timing.

This is a tough but passable exam. I know I will get over this hurdle and try hard again next year to achieve my goal. I may be down but I am not out. I will be back. I still have responsibilities at work and will remain to have a positive attitude and do the best job I can.

On the bright side, I now get another summer off and have another crack at getting on the honor roll;) My new tag line now is “I liked the exam so much I decided to write it again next year”. It always gets a good chuckle.

I congratulate my fellow co-workers in their acheivements and wish them great success in the future.

I just got back from a friend’s wedding. Not sure when was the last time I went to one. Maybe a few years back. Now they are coming in spurts. I have two more in January that I will be attending.One in the Philippines and one in Abbotsford.

My friend’s name is Brian Kool. So yes, he had one “Kool” wedding. Haha. I’m gonna miss this guy a lot. He will be taking off to Edmonton to be with his wife, Joan to live happily ever after. God bless both of you!

Brian and Joan exchanging vows

“Here, you can have my piece, I’m on a diet”

Listening to people’s speeches

“Soon I will have two kids of my own” – Brian

Men in White (Chris the best man beside Brian)

Who’s the good looking guy in the middle?

List of songs:

Breathe
Get On Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day (with a few lines from In God’s Country)
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, with coda of Stand By Me,
Stuck In A Moment (acoustic guitar version)
No Line On The Horizon,
Elevation,
In A Little While (last verse spoken by an astronaut in the International Space Station),
Unknown Caller,
Until the End of the World
The Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights,
Vertigo,
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Sunday Bloody Sunday,
MLK (Martin Luther King tribute),
Walk On (Aung San Suu Kyi tribute) with Never Walk Alone snippet

Desmond Tutu recorded message

Encore:

One
Amazing Grace
Where the Streets Have No Name
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender

This Thanksgiving weekend I went back home to Nanaimo. Thanksgiving is always special not only because I get to eat a big turkey dinner but it’s also a celebration of two birthdays. My dad’s birthday is on the 10th and mine is on the 11th. So you can imagine there is a lot of food! For my Dad’s birthday, we celebrated by having a big turkey dinner with all the fixings. I was stuffed to the max. I was so full I couldn’t even bend down to tie my shoes. I just had enough room for cake at the end just to fill in the cracks.

For my 30th birthday, Phebe and I decided to go to The Keg to celebrate. I had the top sirloin dinner and Phebe had the mushroom balsamic chicken. I was stuffed to the max as well (I think it’s because of the bread they give out at the beginning). We also had complimentary cheesecake for my birthday. Later that evening I also had my birthday cake at home. I was all “caked” out.

To see more pictures click here

Enjoying our turkey dinner

Putting on the candles for Dad

Dad blowing out his birthday candles

Phebe and I at The Keg

Enjoying my top sirloin dinner

My parents and I at home with my birthday cake

During our drive back to Victoria from our Mt. Arrowsmith trip, Chris and I decided to hike up Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan. I had hiked this up before but it was about four years ago when I hiked with Phebe (Read 2002 post). I thought I could feel my way to the parking lot but the surrounding area had changed dramatically due to new development in the area. I had to go to somebody’s house to ask for directions. I remembered the last time I hiked it. It was about less than an hour hike to the top with stunning views of the Cowichan Valley. Chris and I made good timing but after the one hour mark we got a bit worried. We had somehow missed a turn. Unfortunately we took a wrong turn and ended up turning a 40 minute hike to an over 2 hour hike! There were so many trails to the mountain (see map for more details). Eventually we found our way up. Unfortunately we had to share the views with other people on top of the mountain. On the way down we decided to take a different route to get to the car. Bad mistake. We ended up in Providence Farms which is basically on the other side of the mountain! So we decided to head back uphill and along the way we met up with the people we saw at the top. They said it would take us over an hour to hike back up and to the parking lot! As it was getting dark soon, we decided to get a ride from them.  They drove us all the way around the mountain and back to our car. As a reward for our efforts we decided to treat ourselves to the two whopper special at Burger King. Giddy up!

For all pictures of Mt. Tzhouhalem, click here

September 26, 2009

This past weekend I had the opportunity to hike Mt. Arrowsmith which is located just outside of Port Alberni. It is the highest mountain in southern Vancouver Island at 1819 metres. My friend Chris and I chose the Judges Route as it was probably the most accessible route to the top and less technical than the others (quickest way to the top I believe).  The trail to the top is steep (elevation gain of about 1000 metres) and is about 6 km round trip and should take about 5 hours round trip. We did it in 4 hours – 2 hours up and 2 hours down. The views on the top are simply breathtaking. You get a 360 degree view of the Alberni Valley and the mountains in Strathcona Park (on a clear day of course).

For pictures of Mt. Arrowsmith, click here

Directions on how to get there (Judges Route Trailhead):
There was some confusion on how to get to the Judges Route trailhead. Some of the sites out there provide different directions so I will hopefully clear things up. If you are coming from southern Vancouver Island follow Highway 19 and then take Highway 4 heading west to Port Alberni. You will go through Cathedral Grove and Cameron Lake. Just west (approx 1 km) of the Alberni Summit you will need to watch for a gravel road on the left side (this is Summit Main). There is a small sign that says “Mt. Arrowsmith” at the start of the gravel road so make sure you don’t miss it. If you are coming the other direction, it is about 5.5 km from the Visitor Information Centre (travelling east) and turn right onto Summit Main. There is no “Mt Arrowsmith Ski Hill” sign so make sure you slow down and watch for a gravel road. After you’ve found Summit Main, it is a good idea to set your trip meter to zero here. Follow Summit Main for 2.7 km to the junction with Cameron Main.  Turn left and drive 7.7 km to the Pass Main junction on your left. Drive about 2.8 km up Pass Main to the intersection of Pass 32 (I think it’s Pass 32 but just follow your trip meter). You will see a sign “Judges” on the right. Park a little further up Pass Main on the left side. Enjoy the hike!

I am done! I just wrote my 3 day (13 hour) UFE exam.  No more studying. No more exams. Although I am glad it’s over and done with, I don’t have a good feeling about it. Pretty much everyone feels the same way though. The results will come out December 4th. Until then I am going to sweat, cry and moan for 2.5 months. This summer treated me good though. It was good not to work. It was good to wear t-shirts and shorts all day instead of dress pants and dress shirts. It was good to have the afternoon off to play tennis. But most of all, it was good to grow a beard! I had to shave it before I wrote the exam or else the invigilator would’ve mistaken me as a bum off the streets! Haha.

Yes, I am on YouTube! Here is the student recruitment video I am in. I am the one riding the bike.  Let me know what you think of it.

Another video that talks about Office of the Auditor General of BC and the work I do. Enjoy!