YESTERDAY:

• drove up to Banff!
  • about 1.5 hours away
  • picked up sandwiches at a cute cafe
• went to Bow Lake first
  • lovely lunch by the lake
  • got attacked by a bunch of flies
• drop by Lake Peyto next
  • apparently Peyto was an explorer
  • did a fun hike over a mountain to look back at Bow Lake
  • mistook the incline of 250m for 60m
• head back to Banff to check into hotel
  • they included a free local bus pass for 3 days
• found a restaurant serving a tomahawk bison steak!
  • got seated right away
  • sirloin steak was better than the bison
• wandered around downtown looking at gift shops
• bit of work
• got to sleep around 1 am

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YESTERDAY:

• work from home in morning
• head over to Auntie Michelle’s place
• lots of meetings
• tasty lunch!
  • so much food
• more meetings
• took a nap around 4:30 pm
• woke up 5 mins late to another meeting
  • helped out with a PGSS mentorship sync
• last meeting finished by 6:15 pm ish
• head out to pick up James
• head to a Singeporean place for dinner
  • they had chili crab!
  • hokkien mee was so-so
  • crab could have been more spicy
• head home
• finished another few pounds of blueberries

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YESTERDAY:

• work from home
• had two lo mai gai at home for lunch
  • pretty decent!
  • also a bunch of blueberries
  • Jackie’s dad bought us five lbs!
• helped a bit with PGSS
  • Google Drive desktop application lets you play with files as if they were on your computer
• helped my Dad with some stuff
• head over to Auntie Michelle’s in the afternoon
• stop by Sungiven to see the fancy market
  • Franco called it a Chinese Trader Joe’s
• dropped by T&T
  • haircut place was closed by 9 pm
  • checked out the hot food section
  • didn’t buy anything
• Uncle Herbie dropped us off to take the car for Tuesday

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YESTERDAY:

• woke up around 10 am
  • Brian missed our mentor meeting again q.q
• found that missing jacket … in my backpack
• head out to lunch with Franco
  • traffic was a bit awful
  • lovely Japanese place called Toyokan Bowl
  • didn’t realize it was mostly chirashi!
  • had some delicious wagyu instead
  • fun conversation about Franco’s work situation
• walked around a bit
  • massive tree fell over in the local neighborhood
  • it did hit a parked car, but luckily missed a house
• drove over to Granville Island
  • horrible parking situation
  • got very lucky with street parking
• checked into our whale watching tour
• happened upon a street performer
  • juggling knives and a torch on a 10-foot unicycle
  • hilarious with the audience participation
• whale watching was fun!
  • saw two humpback whales preying on fish
  • also saw two separate pods of orcas hunting for food
  • lots of smelly sea lions
  • took some photos for a fun family
• went to a social on the island afterwards
  • mix of bachata and salsa
  • ended up leading salsa a few times xD
  • good energy with folks!
• started raining like crazy!
  • head to T&T
  • lucky I had an umbrella in my backpack
  • massive grocery store!
  • three types of frozen lo mai gai!!!
• dinner at No. 9 restaurant
  • open 24/7!
  • also a massive menu!
  • sadly, it was a bit pricy for what we got …
• got home around midnight

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YESTERDAY:

• work
• head to lunch with Jackie’s dad!
  • HK BBQ Master’s
  • amazing bbq pork and roast pork
  • hostess at the restaurant recognized Jackie’s dad
• dropped by Canadian Superstore afterwards for some frozen lo mai gai
• realized Jackie’s dad doesn’t have a lot of freezer space …
• finished work around 5 pm
• head to Shannon’s place
  • carpooled to the Olympic Oval
  • took a call from the cafe there
  • climbing at the Oval!
  • so much incline!
  • failed an interesting route
  • required a compression followed by a dyno into a heel hook
  • I’m still not sure how Shannon pulled that off …
• dinner at a malatang place afterwards
  • fun convo with Jackie’s friends
• got caught up on their latest gossip
• got home pretty late

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YESTERDAY:

• internet still out!
• head to Jackie’s aunt’s house that still had internet
• productive in the morning
• head out for lunch
  • picked up James who lives a few blocks away
  • went to Lunch Lady, a Vietnamese restaurant in east Vancouver
  • soft shell crab appetizer was delicious
• head back
  • dropped off James on the way
• work into evening
• dinner with Jackie’s aunt
  • tasty homecooked food
  • chicken + potato reminds me of my parents dish
• head out for social at Baza dance studio
  • decent leads and follows!
  • had fun with a switch that got confused whether she was leading or following
• drop by poutine place next door!
  • first time!
  • vegan cheese was … not as melty as it should be I think
  • pretty tasty though for a late night snack
• got home late in the evening

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YESTERDAY:

• head to drop off a bag to Mel
• picked up some shrimp skewers from a Canadian Superstore
  • it’s actually pretty massive
  • beef prices are super low compared to the US
• found out our afternoon plans had to change
  • originally was going on a hike with a friend
• dropped by to pick up some dance shoes
• head to West Van (not to be confused with Van West)
  • bbq!
  • apparently it’s the 18th anniversary of Jackie’s cousin’s husband’s BJJ studio
  • met an interesting guy from Colombia
  • also relearned how to throw a football with Alex’s son Liam
  • he’s so much bigger than when I first met him!
• delicious picanha!
• head to downtown Vancouver for a free social at Robson Square
  • mix of salsa and bachata
  • picked up some basic on-1 steps
  • had fun with a few folks
• head back to Richmond to enertain Melissa’s kids
  • took a nap in the car
• head to dinner with Jackie’s parents
  • picked up Jackie’s dad on the way
  • amazing crispy roast pork belly!
  • and it’s only 4 minute drive from Uncle James’s house!!
• head back to hang out
  • finished off three mangos for dessert

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YESTERDAY:

• head to work
  • got a bunch of things finished in the morning
• bento box for lunch!
• one nap
• head back early
• finish packing
  • forgot to switch my shoes
  • also left my kindle behind q.q
• Dad took us to the airport
  • Flair requires us to show up like 3 hours early
  • but flight was delayed by 1 hour
• found a cool exhibit on afro-futurism in the airport
  • with an artist from Pittsburgh!
• flight was pretty smooth
  • switched seats with lady so she could sit with her daughter
• got picked up by Jackie’s family
  • late night noodle soup at one house
• took Jackie’s dad’s SUV to his house
  • some trickiness with the gate remote not working

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YESTERDAY:

• head to work
• ginger chicken for lunch
  • not too gingery
• busy day
• head to solidcore class in Palo Alto
  • met up with Ann there
  • lovely class, lots of hamstrings and triceps
• Sara caught up with us for dinner
  • took Ann to Marugame Udon since she’s been without Asian food on travels in Europe
• picked up my bike
• head home
• packing for Vancouver trip

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YESTERDAY:

• head to work
• karaage bento box for lunch?
  • pretty chunky sushi too
• few naps
• head to solidcore class in Mountain View
• quick shower
• Jackie brought back Google food for dinner
  • another chicken and avocado toast
• one more episode of the Eternaut
• won’t see Thorvald for ~3 weeks

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