Crossing the border...

so today after orientation, kylie and i went on our first adventure to WASHINGTON. hahaha so we are only like 200 something miles away from Seattle but that wasn't our mission today. i really just had to go to BoA to take care of some stuff and since the border is only like a 35 minute drive away, kylie was down for driving me as long as we could go shopping =) the Washington border is SUPER SUPER close and i think crossing the border/ getting through immigration takes even longer than the drive there. but whatever, it was a good time.

we went to a small mall in Bellington, WA and it wasn't bad considering i got to go to Victoria's Secret and TARGET (stores that i am deprived of in Canada...... so sad, i know) haha. i didn't buy too much because shopping was not my purpose but i did get some super cheap and nice plain tshirts to wear to work (yes, work is so casual that we don't even have to wear scrub tops, we can just wear tshirts that match our scrubs ^__^), some VS undies and random stuff at Target.....including SPICY CHEETOS!!

now i'm exhausted and it's only 9:45pm and i have 2 day shifts on onclogy ahead of me. we didn't really take pics today but posted one lame one... just to prove that i did indeed cross the border today LOL.

current debate:

yes? no? ehhhh.....idk. -.-

就讓這首歌 on repeat.

所有的痛　就讓時間來破
電影散場之後　就在那回首處
你別走回頭路　我只能頭也不回的藏住感觸
我真心為你祝福
有沒有那麼一首歌會讓你很想念
有沒有那麼一首歌你會假裝聽不見
聽了又掉眼淚卻按不下停止鍵
多少個夜就這樣開著燈到另一個夜




就讓逭首歌今夜一直重複　我們都沒錯
只是看清楚原來不懂的事
沒有什麼好說現在先不要說　就讓我們沈默
最後的擁抱　愛情的終點

是分手的時候就讓我們自由　回憶一幕幕
就像一場電影原來一直感動
電影終要結束結束難免痛苦　心中留下傷痕
就讓這首歌縈繞在耳邊

August.

i can't believe it's August already.... crazy!! it's been a good weekend with lots going on. it's a long weekend (monday is BC day) but it doesn't really make a difference to me... i seriously believe that the only people who care about 3 day weekends are people who work in business. the M-F 9-5ers get an extra day hehe. anyways, saturday was the final celebration of lights show - CHINA! it was soooooooo amazing. chels, kylie and i watched it from Kits beach and it was soooooo much less crowded and more calm than downtown. but downtown is definitely a great experience that everyone should go to at least once in their life. unless you're claustraphobic (omg i actually had to look up how to spell that HAHA -_-). so yeah the fireworks were really good but downtown English Bay is definitely the front and center view. before the fireworks, we spent saturday afternoon at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park. it was funnnnn! i have a new love and appreciation for BALUGA WHALES <3 sooooo cute. i wish i was a water sea animal. swimming around freely, without a care in the world... get fed... float around...tan... seriously, what more is there to life?! hahahaha okok. apparently the famous 2 holding-hand otters are from the Vancouver Aquarium!!!!! but i don't know if they still hold hands or what happened because... i didn't see them holding hands when i went =( maybe it was a phase.

here's a pic from the China fireworks show :) fireworks make me happy. they're so pretty and....romantic. ugh. anyways. today, chelsea and i went to watch Les Miserables!! i think the first time i saw Les Mis was high school..for french honor society? i can't even remember but i do think i still have my t-shirt. anyways, it was a really good show and i loved hearing all the songs again- i dreamed a dream, on my own, lovely ladies, master of the house...... hahaha. why can't life be like a song? music makes life so much better. afterwards, i went to my first bikram yoga class since.... two summers ago? OMG. ok so i didn't want to die nearly as badly as when i FIRST did it but it was pretty brutal. its ok though... i know it's so hard when you first start and it's normal to feel dizzy and nauseated but i really hope i can get better. i love my mat and yogitoes towel though =) just seeing it makes me happy right now HAHA.

so now i'm listening to Les Mis music... there was a definitely a point in today's show where i was like omg... i'm going to cry, but i didn't. why am i still hurting? why can i relate to this character? i'm so annoyed with myself sometimes i want someone to slap me. i have so many more important things to be thinking about. ARGGGGGGH.

anyways, that's it for today, ttyl.

the city goes to bed
now i can live inside my head.

current excerpt from Shopaholic that are basically the EXACT thoughts in my head:
"We swing round a corner- and my heart gives a swoop of excitement. Tiffany's. It's Tiffany's, right in front of me! I must just have a quick peek. I mean, this is what New York is all about. Little blue boxes, and a white ribbon, and those gorgeous silver beads... I sidle up to the window and stare longingly at the beautiful display inside. Wow. That necklace is absolutely stunning. Oh God, and look at that watch, with all those little diamonds round the edge. I wonder how much something like that would... And for awhile I really try to concentrate. But it's no good. I can't listen. I mean, come on. This is Fifth Avenue! Everywhere I look, there are fabulous shops. There's Gucci... and oh God, look at that window display over there! And we're just walking straight past Armani Exchange and no one's even pausing... what is WRONG with these people?"

old friends...

i had this weekend off and i gotta say i love my days off. work makes the week go by pretty quickly... can't believe it's already monday tomorrow! i had the most boring shift of my life thus far on friday night. it was so calm it was... weird. i had finished everything i was supposed to do by like 10pm and all i had left was hourly checks... those are the times when i am so thankful for my lovely lovely wonderful iPhone. it saves me from boredom.... until i abuse it until it runs out of battery HAHA =(

on saturday, i met up with michelle and tina :D! their cousin took us out to eat korean food and then we watched fireworks! so every summer, Vancouver hosts the HSBC Celebration of Lights which is basically an international fireworks competition over the English Bay. this year's participating countries include Canada, South Africa, UK and China. so saturday was South Africa and it was pretty amazing. in justin's words, "South Africa just kicked Canada's ass." hahahaha. dinner was soo good, i haven't had DUKBOKI in hellllllla days. soooo yummy yummy yummy. then we had Qoola for dessert (frozen yogurt place) and it was actually REALLY good! it tastes like a medium between pinkberry and red mango.... like tart but kinda creamy... i think i need to eat it plain to judge it more accurately but i think it will definitely satisfy my random pinkberry cravings when i'm here. it rained the whole night and we had NO umbrella so we basically got soaked while watching the fireworks but it was so worth it. i just posted some pics on my facebook so i'll post a video here:

i'm so glad i went. i'm excited for next saturday's show (since i can't go to wedneday's because of work booo) but saturday is the finale so its supposed to be extra good. i will cross my fingers for nice weather...

today i met up with ian ~ a super old friend from good old hong kong beacon hill times! it was kind of funny how he thought i grew up with him all the way from primary school but really... i was only there in 5th grade LOL. anyways, i think i have found a new shopping buddy. this guy wears gucci shoes, gucci wallet, D&G jeans, LV belt..... and doesn't shop anywhere cheaper than AX! LOL <3 he is a self-proclaimed and unashamed brand whore. i love it. we had dinner and drinks at Cactus Club and it was a good time catching up on our lives post-5th grade! on the way home i realized how lucky i am to have friends all around the world. i used to hate the fact that we moved so much whether it was from country to country or from this house to another house. but from living in Toronto, HK, California and now Vancouver... i've met people from all those places and kept friendships that have lasted 12+ years!! and friends kind enough to take the initiative to CONTACT me after 12+ years without even knowing whether or not i even remember them or even knowing what kind of person i am today. anyways, i now appreciate moving around during my childhood and making cool friends! and each and every one of you are one of those people so :)

current quote:
"Turns out it's not where you are but who you're with that really matters."

改變自己

one more night shift on neuro/surg and next is oncology! i had two pretty good shifts since my preceptor was interesting and my patients were... interesting as well. my preceptor was this...huge british man who definitely had a british accent and it took me 15 minutes to start understanding what he was saying. i got used to him saying "pomp" = "pump", "me" = "my" and i counted that he said "bloody" 34 times during the 2 days i was with him. well i still have one more shift with him tonight so i guess my count's not over. he walks so fast and sweats........ and smells. ew. i try to make sure there's some distance between us haha. but he's been teaching me a lot and makes the shift interesting. as for patients.... i learned how to communicate with whiny, sensitive, bossy, attitude-y, drama queen teenage girls and i consoled a little 7 y.o. crying girl with a cherry popsicle. i had a pretty cute baby who had a hip dislocation so she came up to the unit after her hip surgery. the poor girl was in a hip spica cast which totally restricted any movement of her lower body and her legs were like in this spread position.... poor baby. i would constantly cry if i was her! anyways... one more 3R shift to go.

i made pierogies for lunch today and as i ate them with sour cream (LOW FAT) i realized it was quite plain so i looked up sauces and i'm going to try to make it next time! or i'm so going to add onions, garlic, mushrooms and peppers to it. mmm.. OH YEAH i've also discovered kimchi salad and i like it.

sigh. well it's kinda hard for me to blog because i can't pretend like everything's okay when it's not. all i can say is i'm learning to stay positive and keep my head up and move forward. when life gives you lemons, make an arnold palmer right? hahaha sigh.


i think i'm going to post a current thing after every post. today's will be.....lyrics!

current lyrics:
我們都接受
一定是彼此不夠成熟 在愛情裡分不了輕重
誠實得過了頭 不能退後也無法向前走
愛是一個自私的念頭 把寂寞消除的理由
剩下的那些感動 能記得多久

該這麼說。。

你不在　當我最需要愛　你卻不在
無盡等待像獨白的難捱
你不在　高興還是悲哀　你都不在
我受了傷再偷偷好起來　但你不在　不在




難過。 我要加油。

1 more day off!

these 5 day offs are quite long. i feel pretty relaxed. i'd almost rather have some work because at least then i get paid. but i guess my 4 days in row will be tiring and stuff so i'll be happy when that's over. my landlord's probably don't even think i go to work since they see me around so much. LOL -_____-

ugh i did not wake up for lululemon yoga this morning because i got such bad sleep last night i just couldn't get myself out of bed at 9am. i suck haha. i could've done some laundry too... but i didn't. instead i went to the beach and read Shopaholic. so funny. once again, it is really sad that i can identify with some of her thoughts. and i made my first ASIAN meal - i'm kind of proud of myself. well ok... i didn't really MAKE anything. i more like boiled some 水餃s, added spinach and an egg and some kimchi on the side. yeah..... but it made me happy! i took a pic and sent it to my mom so she won't worry about what i'm eating all the time haha. sigh. growing up sucks. i want to live at home so i eat free food and not pay rent. i clearly have a lot to learn about managing money... which is why i bought THIS BOOK:
hahaha yeah i haven't started reading it but i will soon! well hopefully it will give some good tips and if there is anything that especially intrigues me i will post it here for all you girlies to read. :)

i had really good day yesterday though - i went to Taste of the City with melissa and vince (my new richmond friends YAY!!) and it was really fun. a bunch of Vancouver restaurants set up a little booth and organize a small menu and you can order small plates/samples of their dishes. and they're pretty big so you can share between like 2 people and just try lots of food. afterwards we went halfway up a mountain (i forgot what it's called) where we could see the WHOLE city of Vancouver basically and it was sooooooooo pretty. you all probably saw the pics in my facebook album so i'll just post one of my favorite pics.

the most PERFECT cloud! and afterwards i had a very spicy but delicious taiwanese dinner at Estea before going home. so satisfying.

i like this city a lot... though i probably won't like it as much when it starts raining a lot, but i think for sure it will be better than dealing with snow and -20 weather and ice and stuff...>_< i am generally happy here although of course i do miss all my friends and family in california and toronto. but thank God for texting and skype or else i would die. but i wish i could put all my friends on a plane and have them here with me. then i would have people to do stuff with. i think that's my main thing... i have sooo much i want to do/see but i need people to do them with. like who is going to do all the fobby things with me?! who?! sighh. haha ><

today when kylie and i were driving home from the beach and i was searching for radio stations for her. suddenly 21 guns came on the radio and i stopped searching and let the song play. then kylie started to talk about something excitedly but all i could hear was the song. and i thought about you. it was like one of those moments that you see in movies where someone is talking to you, trying to tell you something really exciting but it's totally blocked out and sounds like gibberish because you are only thinking about one person. it was one of those moments when i realized once again...this is so hard. sigh. imy.