30.12.04

kyan.

taken from a few weeks ago -- i wish cameron took two shots! from my eyes you could tell that i was excited.:)

28.12.04

new traditions, new beginnings.

i'm quite reflective and introspective most of the time, but especially during the holidays. it is a natural time to take a look back on what i've experienced during the year, as well thing about where i'm going.

christmas at the romero household truly has never been the same since my mother passed away. traditionally our family would take turns at having christmas eve dinner or having everyone over for christmas day. but now since my dad doesn't cook (at all) and my brother and i don't have our s#%t together, we generally rely on the generosity of our aunts (our second moms) for a turkey and all the fixins'. this year was even more different because most of our family went away to the philippines for christmas. i guess this really made me miss mom this year.

however change is good and i've realized that christmas too is not about holding on to new traditions, but on creating new ones. one thing that we still do is to open up at least one gift before we go to bed, usually after mass -- i'm glad we still do that. one is that my dad now sings a solo during christmas mass. it's funny, but my dad used to be super shy, and would take a lot for him to sing in front of his friends let alone the public. but he has a fantastic voice, seriously, great tone and fantastic phrasing, and my mother used to get so upset because he didn't use his talent more. one of the last things my mother and my father did together was to sing in the church choir, so it's great that he has embraced his singing and is sharing it with everyone, not just us around the house.

also, i'm proud to say that my brother and jeanette took a big step forward on christmas eve as well -- they are finally engaged! they've set a date, october 1st, so 2005 is certainly going to be a year of new beginnings, and new traditions for the our family.

i think next year will be a good year to try and bring back christmas dinner to the romero household.

23.12.04

fashion police.

ok, it's the middle of december people. no matter how much you're proud of your body and how much you've hit the gym, taking off your leather jacket when in the mall to expose your black tank top is not appropriate.

21.12.04

nothing to post, really.

busy, busy, busy, but 'nothing' to post really. went to a couple christmas parties on the weekend that were super fun as usual. looking forward however to the quiet time at home and the ten days off from work!

noteable is that it is the third anniversary of my blog! can't believe i've kept at it. a little bit painful to read those earlier posts, but i guess that's the point.

16.12.04

random thoughts.

1. even though i think i use both shampoo and conditioner at the same time and in the same amounts, why do i always run out of conditioner first?

2. does the sock monster live in your house? why do i have a drawer full of mismatched socks? am i hopeless in thinking that the missing pairs will find their way back to my drawer?

15.12.04

how accomplished are you?

At age 32:

Penniless and unemployed, Buckminster Fuller decided against suicide, resolving instead to live out the rest of his life as an experiment to see what one person could do to help humanity.

Alexander the Great conquered almost the entire known world.

Composer, conductor and painter E. T. A. Hoffmann began to write the tales for which he is now primarily remembered.

English artist and poet William Blake wrote and illustrated "Songs of Innocence."

Johann Rudolf Wyss wrote "The Swiss Family Robinson."

English parson Thomas Robert Malthus wrote his "Essay on the Principles of Population."

how about you? check it out.

14.12.04

madama butterfly.

was lucky enough to score free tickets to this. i've only been to one other opera, the mikado many years ago. from a production standpoint, the costuming was brilliant and modern, and the lighting was effective and efficient (gave me ideas for our upcoming show). we had mezanine seats, which gave us a good sightline, however me being half-blind it was hard to see the expression on the singers faces. this didn't matter in the case of Liping Zhang, whose heartfelt, emotional performance conveyed the emotion of 'Butterfly' brilliantly.

10.12.04

queer eye.

ok, so i get this sent to my email, and of course i have to go and see him -- he's my favourite on the show. anyways, i guess the folks at caban didn't do much in promoting the event because there was hardly anyone there. kyan was just roaming the store, checking out the merchandise, etc. In typical canadian fashion me and a friend circled kyan, 'pretending' we were browsing and were so caught off guard when he came and introduced himself to us. again not as tall in person, he looked great (just exactly like he does on the show), and best of all, he was very down to earth and friendly. we came out with three signed books and even went back after we gathered some 'liquid' courage and a disposable camera in hand so that we could get some photo evidence.

will post pictures soon.

8.12.04

dog sledders.

i know most of my american brethren don't feel this way, but we're not all dogsledders.

check out these sound bites, featuring the very balanced reporting of fox news.

5.12.04

recently reviewed.

it's very rare that i get play a tourist in my own town. last weekend, fides came up for a surprise visit over the american thanksgiving long weekend. it is always nice to have fides in town, to talk about art, dance and life. but our most favourite past time is go out for fine dining. last time i was in san francisco, she took me to a wonderful french bistro, le zinc and a great seafood restaurant, catch in the castro. last time she was up here, we checked out glowbal and the fabulous feenies (my current favourite vancouver restaurant).

anyways this time we spoiled ourselves and checked out a few restaurants that i've been meaning to try out lately.

coast
for thanksgiving dinner, we headed out to coast in yaletown. brought to you by the same group that gave us the successful glowbal/afterglow, the highlight of this restaurant is definitely the community table, a first for vancouver. of course fides had the turkey which she enjoyed and memorable for me was selection of oysters on the half-shell, and the pinot grigio we selected. both glowbal and coast had fantastic, friendly service, and the thank you card that i received a couple of days ago was a nice touch.

diva at the met
i've always wanted to check this place out, but the $$$ always held me back. a good way to check out an $$$ restaurant is to visit it at brunch/lunch, which is what fides and i did. let me tell you, all the $$$ is worth it. truly a fine dining experience, impeccable service (place on the right, take from the left), unassuming (and handsome) staff, we spent had an amazing time in a relaxing setting. i truly felt like i was in new york, even though the french toast made me feel like i was in paris. i'll save my pennies so i can come back for dinner.

shiru bay
the newest on the vancouver restaurant scene -- shiru bay, an izakaya eatery, which is basically a restaurant that serves up asian tapas, japanese style with western influences. located in yaletown, this is the first time i checked this one out, after first being to guu (my favourite) and hapa izakaya (not as good). anyways, most of the things seem foreign, especially to fides, where the izakaya has not popped up yet in san fran, but we both agreed the dragon ball sushi and the kimchee udon noodles (not in a soup) was good enough to try out this place again.

parkside
a gem hidden west of denman, parkside is fabulous little space where you feel like you are in someone's very nice dining room. quiet and romantic (we were there on a monday night), the food truly was an experience. fides had the seafood risotto which was divine, and i had the goose (yes the goose), which was a little gamey for my taste. overall the ambience and the atmosphere would probably make me come back for more, especially for a special night. however, as fides points out, there are a tonne of vancouver restaurants that i haven't tried out yet, so a return visit might have to wait.

next time i'm in s.f., i want to go here!