Board Game Night

Life as a university student can be rough.
Aside from going to school from the am to pm, almost all my free time is dedicated to studying (and daydreaming about vacations).
That being said, I do get a window of opportunity occasionally to get drunk with my friends.  Thing is, when all you do is homework, there's no time to work for dough.  No dough means no money to spend means no expensive night out at the clubs with the homies!

Solution:
BOARD GAME NIGHT!
The adult version-- which basically means there's alcoholic beverages involved.

and more specifically, JENGA!
With a twist though, cause that's just how adults do nowadays.

On each Jenga block, we wrote little things the player has to do if he/she happens to pick out that block to stack.  Not only does the player have to do the "dare", he/she must also successfully re-stack the block.  If the player fails, and the blocks goes Jenga!, the person has to drink a shot.

The "dares" can be something really simple:

Do 15 jumping jacks

Or something that crosses personal boundaries:

Take a body shot from the person beside you

Best thing about this game is you can play it for hours and every player gets a chance to humiliate themselves... and they won't even care because they'll be too intoxicated to notice!

When you're finished with Jenga, play Taboo.  It's hard enough trying to describe something without saying particular words, but doing so while you try not to slur?  Oh... good times!

Hope you guys have a great time kickin' it.

Until next time,
Bottoms Up!

Lunch, Dinner, and Girlfriends

Vancouver's a beautiful city, and the best way to enjoy it is with a bunch of friends and endless laughter.

Patio lunch at Burgoo - 05/18/2011

One of the many lunch outings with these girls.  It's only mid-May here and we are already out on the patio.  What you can't see are the heat lamps keeping us warm.  Beggars can't be choosers, so any kind of sun we get in the city is considered a luxury... and you bet we make great use of it.  Burgoo boasts some of the best comfort foods here in Vancouver, so you must try their soup+sandwich combo.  So hearty and great for the soul!

Speaking of comfort food, Society in Yaletown is worth a visit when you feel like getting all bougie but still want to relax and enjoy being a tiny bit of yourself in the pretentious neighbourhood.  How can you not want to kick it with menu items such as Deep Fried Macaroni Balls and Lobster Shepherd's Pie?  Omnomnom!

Even though MS and I were really full after our dinner date, it did not stop us from making a trip down to the Richmond Night Market to meet our friends.  It's an outdoor night market that's open every weekend in the summer until midnight.  With rows and rows of stands that sells anything from toothpaste dispensers to fake LV wallets, there's pretty much something for everyone... not to mention an entire section dedicated to food vendors!  Bring $10 with you and you'll likely find yourself stuffed with a decent three-course meal from around the world.

Richmond Night Market - We needed these socks for bowling afterwards

From noon until midnight, Vancouver's got a lot stored for us.  Whenever you find yourself in a situation where you can't find anything to do, don't be afraid to Google "10 Top Things to Do in Vancouver".  Who knows, you may be in for a little bit of a surprise!

Until next time,
Carpe Diem!

Lynn Loop Valley - 31/05/2011

Went on my first hiking trail of the summer a week ago.
Traveled across the 2nd Narrows Bridge on Tuesday to get to Lynn Loop Trail.  Luckily, we went early in the morning, since we barely escaped the rain that was coming down 2 hours later.

Boulders - one of the attractions along the trail.

Clearly we were thrilled to have made the trek up there.

The river that flowed along side half of the trail.

Difficulty - 2/5
Overall Experience - 7/10

I love exploring new trails.  Not only does it encourage me to be active and enjoy nature, but going on hikes is a great and inexpensive opportunity to hang out with friends too!
You'd think that since 3/4 of the group were girls, we'd be doing a lot of gossip and all that stereotypical stuff, but the main topic of our conversation was about food.
Needless to say, we stopped by Boston Pizza on our way back into the city for their cheap pasta Tuesday.  It was great, I spent a total of $13, including tips, for lunch that day.

Until next time,
Go out and explore!

Here Comes the Sun

It's hard to post pictures up when you don't have a working camera at the moment.  I have a few memories to share of this weekend, but unfortunately they will just have to wait.  I'll make it up with a Beatles cover instead, okay?

 

This video is telling you no lie.  The sun has finally (and so generously) shined its magnificent rays upon us this weekend.  Just in time for everyone to celebrate the Canucks' win yesterday too!

Granville Street during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals; It's a freakin' street party!

At one point, there were 40,000 people who gathered in the downtown core to celebrate.  I don't normally enjoy crowded places, but I am definitely loving the enthusiasm that is all too rare in and around Vancity.  It feels like Winter 2010 all over again!  Sooo looking forward to all the high fives and being randomly lifted off the ground by insanely happy strangers.

Until next time,
Stay good to me, Vancouver!

Hello, Vacation Land!

After days of endless rain, I've been complaining about how sucky life in Vancouver can be.  Don't get me wrong: I love my city!  But city, you can get a little bit dull.  Everything is overpriced and so generic... and sooo not good on the average college student's wallet.
Unfortunately, complain all I want, but that will not get me anywhere in the Lower Mainland.  I must do something about this non sense.  I could splurge a little bit and invest in some vacation time and get out of the city for the summer... OR I could learn to love this place even more. There must be something to do in Vancouver.  After all, we do boast a very lucrative market in the hospitality/tourism industry.

Option two it is.

From now on, whenever I have some free time, I am going to go explore this city, and discover all the (hidden) jewels that Vancouver has to offer.  It will only be more fun if I pretend to be a tourist in my city.  That way, I'll be able to delude myself of being on a vacation.

Can't wait to see what the city has in store.

Until next time,

Happy Vacationing!