My First Bitchin' Cowichan

My pronunciation: co-WITCHin
Correct pronunciation: COW-itchin

Anyways I finally got one and completed my Canadian transformation:

Not an original but a good stepping stone for a newbie like myself. 

Thank you Roots.

So today Brian and I are heading out to see two more venues. The first place is called the UBC Boathouse and the other is the 34th floor of the Vancouver Hyatt Regency downtown. 

Yesterday we viewed the inside of the Cecil Green House and it was beautiful. 

Pickity pics:

The main hallway.

The dance room.

Upstairs. Which we have no access to.  :(

The dining room.

The conservatory. 

The only downside to this really is the fact that we have to use their caterer which isn't a problem unless.... their caterer sucks. I was hoping to incorporate an Asian fusion dinner menu but I'll have to discuss our options with the Wescadia company during our tasting. 

Awesome news: Instead of hockey tickets, Brian's landlord, Regina, suggested that we go see the Cavalia show that's in town. It is directed by the same guy who did Cirque du Soleil and Regina had seen the show a few years back and said that it was spectacular. I'm super stoked. The hockey game would've been nice but Regina stressed that this show is only in town for a few weeks, plus it was cheaper. So Cavalia it is! PLUS and most importantly, Nicole Richie approves:

Two thumbs up from Nic.

I have to admit, I'm in quite the mood for a circus act after reading Water for Elephants. Just hoping that it doesn't smell like horse manure in the theater.... 

A Bit of Compulsiveness Never Hurt Anyone...

I'd been in Vancouver for three days and I couldn't shake this persistent itch to do something drastic.

Nothing too crazy. Just maybe something new. Like a piercing or a tattoo or buying the $4000 Lazaro dress I tried on yesterday.

So I opted for a haircut.

Two pounds of hair. Gone.

Vanity Kisses

I wanted to chop it ALL off but Brian threatened to call off the wedding until my hair grew back. So it's nothing too wild. Slightly mullety but the itch has subsided for now. I look like an Asian soccer mom. But the new 'do is refreshing and I have decided to postpone any piercings until I get back to the States.

As I mentioned earlier, I did try on wedding dresses yesterday at two boutiques in Vancouver. One called Bello Bridal World and the other place called Bisou Bridal. Love love LOVE this Lazaro they had at Bisou.

$4000 of tulle

Today we've scheduled a viewing at the Cecil Green House and then we're hoping to do this trail. I'd like to proudly say that I did end up walking to the bridal boutiques and racked up a whopping 2.5 mile walk. Not too shabby for a couch tater like myself.

Oh yes and we went to see Red Riding Hood in Metrotown last night. Fairly entertaining. Amanda Seyfried looked lovely as ever in red. Of course Brian passed out an hour into the movie. Fiction does nothing for this man. I should have just told him that the movie was a documentary based on an actual account of horrible wolf attacks on a poor village in Scandinavia. He probably would have stayed awake a half an hour longer.

Pics to come!

Romantic Horror Movie Night

Yesterday was a glorious day of pure laziness.

Instead of planning venue visits, dress try-ons, and other wedding stuff, I spent the day in bed reading and finishing Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen which was a very enjoyable read. The movie comes out in a few weeks but I don't normally like to watch movies on books that I've read. I rarely find that the characters cast for the protagonists/antagonists, etc., align with my own original envisioning and it's always awkward for to see the story unfold any different than the way it played out in my mind, especially if it's a book that I'm particularly fond of. But who knows. I've never seen Robert Pattinson in anything so maybe it will be a good first impression to see him playing a non-vampiric role. Any other suggestions for good reads? I won't have much time when I get back home for leisure reads but I do still have my seven hour return flight to eke one out!

For dinner, Brian made me a fantastic Asian salad with chow mein noodles and almonds drizzled with an orgasmic sesame ginger dressing. YUM. I did manage to steal a few of his cheese tortellinis when he wasn't looking. After dinner, we donned our raincoats and decided to go for a long walk along 16th street and main. Brian got two slices of pizza for dessert and I indulged in a few gummy wine caps.

After our 4 mile walk, Brian and I decided to have a romantic movie night with this gem that I picked out:

Super lovey dovey.

I figured that it was finally time to expose Brian to Korean cinema since Korea's film industry is slowly starting to make its mark. Additionally, I thought it would serve as a bit of a cultural tool and reveal a bit more about my peoples and my roots.

The movie was aight. The actress who played the mother was surprisingly good but the overall plot was nothing impressive and semi-predictable. Brian, as expected, fell asleep towards the end which was fine except for the fact that I was still wide awake when the film was done and ended up watching movie bloopers/outtakes on Youtube for the next hour. So romantical.

So today I'm hoping to actually leave the house on my own. The nearest bridal boutique is approximately a mile and a half away so I plan to kill two birds with one stone and get to walkin'. Brian is at work until 2pm and then has the rest of the week off so I should really start booking venue visits.

As for the rest of the week, we're hoping to snag some last minute tickets to either the Thursday or Saturday Canucks game. I was willing to buy them at $200/each legitimately but of course Brian would not stand for it. So here's to hoping that Brian is scalper savvy and is able to pull off some tix!

Vancouver weekly forecast? Rain. And tons of it. On second thought, maybe I'll just take a taxi today. Who wants to walk 1.5 miles in cold wet sneakers? :)

Couvertown Thus Far

Yesterday Brian and I conquered the Seawall.

Proof:

Nice cloudy day for a 10k walk.

Kinda creepy if you ask me.

Wall walkin'.

Moi and the cool rock. 

So after our 2 hour walk we decided that the only thing that would make our walk even better is to follow it up with CUPCAKES. GENIUS, I KNOW.

Winning!

Obvi.

For the record, I only finished half of mine. Brian did the remaining honors. 

Happy seawallers.

 The next day, Brian and I woke up early to attend the Vancouver Wedding Show at the Convention center and I entered into 78 contests. Those entry forms took FOREVER to fill out. Seriously. I better win SOMETHING. Seriously. The expo ended with a bridal fashion show with many lovely dresses.

Wedding Show Bliss.

Lovely.

Back view

 After the show, Brian and I were craving our favorite -- Legendary Noodle!!! So we had to hit that jaunt up.... But we couldn't eat legendary noodles without a legendary mini photo shoot, naturally.

Feel the wrath of my zebra printed fingers!

Nonchalant.

Vogue.

Green onion pancakes! Oh my!

Legendary House Tea.

Happy ninja.

Uh. Mayzing.

After lunch, we decided to go check out some potential wedding venues. We scoped out the Seasons in the Park restaurant in Queen Elizabeth Park, Van Dusen Gardens and the Shaughnessy Restaurant, and The Cecil Green House in UBC. Out of the three I saw today, I would definitely say that the Cecil Green is the top choice. I'm hoping to go see a few more places tomorrow while Brian is at work. Here are few pics of Seasons in the Park which had a spectacular view but the layout of the dining room itself was not ideal.

The restaurant.

The amazing view.

 After venue visiting, we went to meet up with a few old friends for dinner and a round of bubble tea. Meet Yenah.

Too cute for her own good.

Yenah and fam.

Yurm.

Yes. I got an upgrade on my engagement ring.

What a porker! Sike. :)

So far, I'm having a blast with my lovah. Tomorrow, I'll be doing some school work (Ew) and then going for dress try-ons! :)   Stay tuned for more Vancouverite updates!

Canadialand!

Quick little update:

I'm back in the land of national health care and natural beauty! The beau has cooked a magnificent breakfast (See Figure 1) and we're on our way to conquer the Seawall. The rest of the afternoon will be dedicated to looking at potential wedding venues and BOWLING! :)

Tomorrow! Vancouver Wedding And Honeymoon Show at the Convention Center! Yay!

Vita pulchra est!

Figure 1. Mozzarella and Tomato Omelette with Multigrain Toasted to Perfection.

Overeaters Anonymous

So I had been thinking about attending a meeting for quite some time now.


I had recently attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for school and I was inspired by the philosophy and the methodology behind AA. As I left the meeting, I mentioned to Anneliese and Katie that I thought the meeting was brilliant and stated that they should definitely set one up for fatties like me. Annie told me that such a group existed and that it was called Overeaters Anonymous. I went home and did a little research and found that there indeed were meetings held for people who needed support with their eating habits. Under the "Is OA for you?" section I came across the following:

Are You a Compulsive Overeater?

Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. This series of questions may help you determine if you are a compulsive eater.

1. Do you eat when you’re not hungry?       Totally.
2. Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?           Yup.
3. Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?     Damn straight.
4. Do you give too much time and thought to food?      Probs.
5. Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the time when you can eat alone?     Umm... Alone? No. I have no shame to my game.
6. Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?       No,   wierdo. 
7. Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?     Nah. Like I said, I'm a loud and proud glutton through and through.
8. Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?    I'd say so! Dieting is making me miserable!!!
9. Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?    Try all my life.
10. Do you resent others telling you to “use a little willpower” to stop overeating?     Yes... Ahem. MOTHER!
11. Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet “on your own” whenever you wish?      Yes. I can do this! I just need to get my ass on the wagon!
12. Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?   Hello? Ice cream sandwiches taste the best at midnight.
13. Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?    No. I eat to eat. 
14. Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?    Not yet. *Crosses fat fingers*
15. Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?    *Insert cathartic sobbing here*  YES! You win! Sign me up! I'm ready to take the first step! I'm a compulsive eater!!!

So yeah. The website recommends that you attend a meeting if you say yes to THREE of these questions. I obviously should just run for OA President.  I mentioned that I was planning to attend a meeting and Anneliese offered to go with me for support (She's such a great friend!). Conveniently, there was one within walking distance of Annie's and we decided to go the day after our NYC/Kleinfelds trip.

Of course I felt like death the day after NY just due to sheer exhaustion but I got my overeating ass up and headed to Annie's. And of course before we headed over to the meeting, I helped myself to a cupcake breakfast (leftovers from the birthday party the night before). Yum. 

The meeting consisted of nine people, mostly older adults in their 50's and 60's. There was one other person in his 20's, four men and five women. Four of the attendees were regular members (who were not visibly overweight to any degree) and the rest of us were newcomers "thinking about taking the first step." The meeting itself was very similar to the AA format: readings done aloud and following the 12-step to recovery paradigm. I thought it was interesting that the anonymous meetings all incorporated "a higher power as you understand him" which really added a spiritual feel to the whole experience. They don't claim to be affiliated with any religious organizations and everyone just referred to this higher power as God. Aside from the liturgical aspects of the meeting, the remainder of the time was opened up for testimonials and personal stories. The regulars shared first and I got the sense that eating was more of an OCD issue for them (Not trying to judge/analyze/diagnose people here) due to the fact that they would perform bizarre rituals regarding the food they ate. One gentleman stated that he would go out late at night and buy boxes of Little Debbie cakes and only eat them in his car because he had to dispose of the evidence at a public trashcan far from his home. Another lady made herself walk 10 miles every time she ate something outside of her meal plan. She had to stop doing that when she started developing arthritic changes in her knees. An underlying theme to all the regular members' testimonies were that they lied about what they ate constantly and without reason. One gentleman stated that he KNEW that no one cared about what he ate but he still blatantly lied. I suppose I would lie as well if I was eating whole boxes of Debbie cakes in my car in the middle of the night all the time. I eventually said my own piece towards the end, introducing myself as Gina-a-compulsive-eater and told everyone that I would like to no longer be controlled by my eating habits and would like to be able to learn how to manage my disorder in an effective and healthy manner. They all welcomed me and thanked me for sharing. The genuine support that these people were willing to give was quite moving and it felt great to be understood. The mechanism that the OA organization encourages its members to adhere to is meal planning. There were others but this was the main one. Pretty much all it is is writing a daily meal plan as soon as you wake up in the morning. You start off with really doable plans and then slowly change it to what you want it to become. An additional tool OA recommends is having a sponsor, someone you check in to everyday to encourage you to continue your progress. Pretty simple, eh? I quite like the simplicity of it all and I have already agreed to attend another meeting once I'm back in Delaware with my trusty sidekick, Annie. They say that you should attend at least 6 meetings before you decide to join and I'm open to that suggestion. Who knows? Maybe this compulsive eater still has some hope left in her yet! :) 

It's About Freakin' Time That I Freakin' Updated!

Disclaimer: This entry was started on Wednesday but I wasn't able to finish it until today! So yes! I am in Vancouver with my yonce right now! :) 


Whew. Quite possibly one of the most stressful three weeks ever. Eh. VURR.

Exams are FINALLY done for now and the day after tomorrow I am traveling cross country to my patient and loving life partner for some hardcore R&R. And quite possibly (shield your eyes children) some much- needed-snuggling and spooning. Unfortunately, although my immune system has courageously been warding off the pitfalls of chronic stress and lack of sleep, it is slowly losing ground. I feel prettttyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy damn sickly. I'm gonna pop some vitamin C, brew myself some chamomile tea, and tuck myself into bed tonight hopefully no later than midnight.

There's a ton to update on so I'll have to break up the weekend saga into separate posts. Here's the update from my trip to Kleinfelds and NY:

SATURDAY: NYC
The long-awaited day trip to the city was so much fun and everything I needed since having enrolled in this semester from hell. Woke up early to pick up the Delaware crew (I conveniently tow a shaggin'-wagon that holds up to seven people) and headed to New Jersey to meet up with another friend. The drive was pretty uneventful save for a few frustrating moments of Police-induced traffic but we made it to Journal Square safe and sound. We grabbed a quick coffee and snack and made our way to the city and Kleinfeld's for my 11:15am appointment. The six of us were joined by a seventh and we all giggled and screamed like little girls when we saw the sign outside the bridal boutique. Of course I had to take a picture being the tourist that I am.

Kleinfelds!

Once inside, more squeals could be heard as everyone was oooohing and ahhhhhing over all the dresses that were on display. The place was bigger than I thought and my excitement only escaladed when I spotted a video crew filming a patron in the main show room. THIS COULD BE MY BIG BREAK! BYE-BYE NURSING SCHOOL! Our consultant Rita took us back to a dressing room which barely contained all of us plus felt like a freakin' sauna due to the glaring spotlights overhead. I gave Rita the breakdown of what I was looking for: bling, big, tulle, train, ballgown, sweetheart neckline, glam, rockstar, royal, majestic, and all under $5000 (This isn't really my dress budget, but I figured I could have some fun while I was there). Rita said "I got you honey" in her thick middle eastern voice and came back with THE. DRESS. OF. MY. DREAMS. It was a Pnina and was MASSIVE. I had seen it online and I had LOVED the photos of the dress but I had told myself before getting to Kleinfelds that I wouldn't try it on because I also knew the approximate price of the dress. It starts at a WHOPPING $10,000. That conniving little consultant! She grabbed a dress DOUBLE the price range I gave her! Of course by then it was too late: I was already stripping down. The functions of logic and reasoning that were supposed to kick in were dumbed down by all the magnificent sparkles and radiance of the dress. My girlfriends thought the dress was pretty major. Rita laced me into that dress and marched me out to the main floor to where all the big mirrors were and I was in love (Oh yes, and I intentionally walked in front of the rolling cameras and blocked their shot of the bride they were filming. Look for me! ). It was everything I wanted in a dress. However when Rita told the girls the price of the dress, they knew that I shouldn't/couldn't REALLY fall in love with the dress. And I knew this. However, logic and reasoning suddenly began to work again and I began contemplating selling my car, my furniture, my bed, and even a few of my ovum. I could totally sell my unfertilized eggs! It wasn't like I was using them! That could bring me an easy $5000! This could totally work! My loving and trusty galpals slowly brought me back to reality and gingerly coached me out of that cursed dress and asked Rita to bring out the next dress so I could begin the grieving process.

Luvlayyyy.

But could you believe it?? That horrible wench Rita brought me out ANOTHER Pnina! A TULLE Pnina! Of course the cycle of destruction continued and I once again loved the dress for all its sparkles and tulle and corset body. I didn't want to ask but I did anyways and Rita told me that this one started at $8,000. Oh, the joys and heartaches of gown shopping. The girls once again ushered me out of the dress and in order to counter the depression that had begun to cloud my face, they grabbed other dresses that caught their eye on the sale rack and other "non-Pnina" sections. But I think I was done for the day and Rita knew this as well. I was going to try on a couple more since I had dragged my girls there but what I really wanted to do was leave and get my city on. I knew I wasn't going to end up buying anything from Kleinfelds and I'm sure Rita saw it on my face and that's why she went straight for the jugular. I did ask to try on an Eve of Milady but it wasn't the same. I tried on another dress that was pretty and sweet but wasn't me and I think I tried on another one that was totally forgettable. I announced that I was tired of getting naked, I was hot and sweaty, and how 'bout we get our drink on and the girls readily agreed. You win this time Kleinfeld you big ol' heartbreaker you. But honestly, I don't regret going because I thought it was a fabulous experience. It's quite ritzy and glamarous in the boutique and I definitely recommend it for any diva bride. I even recommend it for girls just wanting to be pampered! Kleinfeld it up ladies! :)

At Oralfix

Okay, next stop was Limelight which was this really hip market inside of what used to be a massive church and my good friend Julie joined us at the bar inside. All of the original external structures were left intact, including the beautiful stained glass windows. We grabbed a quick lunch and the girls all had a drink and then we headed to the Museum of Sex which was so much fun! The tour included a history of pornography, homo-erotic material, fetishes, animated porn, sex toys, a history of contraceptives, and modern art relating to sex in general. My favorite segment probably had to do with Pony Play. Yes, look it up. After the tour, the girls had another round of drinks at the bar downstairs called Oralfix. We then took a long trek around the city to the awesome and amazing Chelsea Market and browsed through the shops and stores inside. We did an early dinner at Park restaurant which was soooo cool. The venue looks like we're outside eating in a park but we're really inside a rennovated garage. Too trippy. The food was fine, service was horrendous and my BILL WAS A MASSIVE SCAM. The restaurant is decently priced and the girls were getting good portions with their pizzas and sandwiches. I ordered a pasta dish that I thought looked skimp but didn't put up a fuss until I got my $20 bill. There were two portion options on the menu: a $10 portion and a $20 portion. If the portion that was served to me was $20, then I pretty much paid a $1 per penne noodle.

Park toasting.

Pasta insufficiency. Not altered in any way. Photo taken immediately after it was placed in front of me.

Happy Bridezilla.

Of course I put up a fight, that was met with three levels of resistance, which I countered with threats, announced that I had photographic evidence and that I was going to BLOG about Park restaurant being the biggest scam in the city. The head manager came out, requested to see the photo then promptly voided and replaced my original check for the more suitable $10 bill. I was placated and was ready to get out of there and get dessert. See? It totally pays to take pictures of your meals! :)

Post dinner we went back to Chelsea Market for desserts. I got the best hot chocolate in town and the other girls got cupcakes and wine for the ride back home. The ride home was filled with side-splitting laughter that barely left me capable of driving. But we made it back in one piece. Believe it or not, Anneliese and I partook in birthday party debauchery when we got back and needless to say, when I finally got home that night, I pretty much just passed out with all my clothes on.

Best Freakin' Day Ever.

More updates to come!

The Cecil Green Venue Visit

My mom and I did a visit to the Cecil Green and it was pretty awesome.  Check it out!

The Cecil Green house and property

Side View

Front Window Room

More...

Front

- Brian