Life on University Blvd.

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I used to think that flips flops were footwear sent from hell, along the same lines with crocs, Birkenstocks and gladiator sandals:

Recently though, I’ve taken a real liking for them, so much so that I actually went hunting for a good pair of them for a week. Then when Hollister had a 20% off sale (still going on by the way if you’re interested) and I got a great pair for $14. Although it’s bit pricier than what I would pay, these are real comfy and look pretty good too.

Comfort first.

After wearing them for a few weeks, I’ve come up with my list of reasons why flip flops aren’t fashion faux pas and why they are awesome.

1. Your feet enjoy the fresh air. It’s a great relief from having them stuffed in Vans or runners all day when you’re out, especially when it’s been pretty hot out.
2. Easy in, easy out. Just slip them on when you’re in a hurry and take them off whenever you step inside the house.
3. Take them off even when you’re out. Sometimes the thing between your toes isn’t very comfortable. So just take off your flops for a bit and get comfortable.
4. No socks. Along the same lines with having your feet stuffy in things, socks aren’t great.
5. No smelly feet when you take them off. The air naturally disperses the odours so they’re sorta clean smelling, not that I’ve smelled them before.
6. Lots of styles. There’s plastic ones for the swimming pool or the beach. Leather ones to go out. Plenty of colours and fabrics. You won’t be bored with what you wear, just like shoes.
7. Cheaper than your average shoe. The first pair of flip flops I’ve ever had were from Old Navy. I bought them a year ago at their annual $2 flip flop sale. They were plastic and cheap, but I could only stand wearing them for a week. But the good ones I got from Hollister were only $14, much cheaper than $40 that I’d often buy my shoes for.
8. They make music. The clap clap sound is like your personal theme song when you’re out and about.
9. Show off your toes and accessories. Got a great pedicure? Why not show them off to the world when you’re wearing your flops? I don’t paint my toe nails, but I know most girls do so why not take them out for a spin and show off your colours? Also, if you have tattoos or rings on your toes, flip flops gives them ample catwalk time.
10. Wear them anytime, anywhere, with anyone. Someone I know from school wears flip flops everyday of the year if he can. Snow, hail, rain, it don’t matter. Flip flops are pretty appropriate for any occasion.

Go on and get yourself some flip flops! You won’t regret it.

Yes you can.

One of my favourite TV shows is 30 Rock. It follows the hilariously awkward life of Liz Lemon, head writer of TGS with Tracey Jordan, a Saturday Night Live parody. She works long hours, deals with idiots otherwise called her staff and actors, while trying to achieve the impossible: having it all. Having it all means getting a boyfriend, having a baby and eating healthy, none of which have panned out except for the first one in the lastest season.

At times, everyone puts exceedingly impossible goals for themselves. Getting a six pack. Going into space. Holding Walt Disney’s cryogenically frozen hand. But what Liz is trying to do isn’t impossible. There’s a push and shove. She doesn’t want to give up anything like time in her work and eating Cheezy Blasters while achieving her goals, but sometimes you can’t “have it all”. You can have certain things, but not everything.

Liz’s crazy life has got me to thinking about balance and achievable goals. I’ve set goals for myself for this summer, within the next year, within 5 years, and my entire life. Something’s gotta give and I have to be realistic. I’ll probably never date Jennifer Aniston or be an animated Disney character, but that’s ok. I have other goals. Goals that are doable. Goals are dreams with hard work. Goals I am working towards bit by bit every day.

As long as you are a little bit crazy, crazily passionate, dare to dream a little higher, you can do anything. Don’t give up on what you like. As Lemon says:

Hey, I don’t bail. I am still watching Smash, Criss. – Liz Lemon

When it comes to picking out a restaurant for dinner, I’m usually the best and worst person to be given this task. Due to my habit of going on the internet late at night, staring at food porn (a.k.a. beautiful pictures of delicious food), and reading restaurant reviews on Urbanspoon and Yelp, I’ve become somewhat of a snob when choosing places to eat. I figure that since I’m spending my own money, or what little I do have, that I should be efficient with my purchases and get the most benefit from my 65 cents and bits of string. So when friends or coworkers ask me for recommendations they always get a great choice and have an awesome time there, but only after hearing me compare 10+ different restaurants with varying price ranges, cuisines, locations, and my colourful commentary on what I think the waiter should do with his stale piece of bread.

But this isn’t always the case. I often find myself choosing the same restaurants time and time again. Lin’s Chinese Restaurant on West Broadway. Cazba on Davie Street. Dai Tung on Kingsway. My reasons for doing this is partly because I’m lazy, but mostly because if I’ve had great food at a restaurant before, why not again and again forever? What can I say: I’m faithful.

I do this with TV shows, songs, books, and places too. I’ve watched all 10 seasons of Friends so much that I know what line of dialogue is next and I don’t even laugh at the jokes anymore. I often have songs stuck in my head for months before I’ve moved onto something else. My friends were really glad when I stopped singing Set Fire to the Rain whenever I opened my mouth. I must have read the Time Traveler’s Wife 4 times already within the past 3 years.

With places, it’s been Rocky Point Pier in Port Moody. I was introduced to this place years ago in high school, but, being naive and foolish, I only noticed the jungle gym. This summer, a friend told me about the Boathouse there and their $5.99 happy hour appy specials from 3 to 6 pm. I’ve been hooked ever since. The Boathouse should give me a VIP card for all the business I bring them.

But it’s not really the cheap food and drinks that brings me back again and again, although my empty wallet does steer me in its direction an awful lot. It’s actually the view of the lake and mountains from the pier and watching the sunset that’s addictive. I mean, just look at it.

Daisy’s house is just across the water. #booknerd

Continue Reading

Why do I write about love?

Because it satisfies you life like nothing else can.

Should you find love or wait for love to find you? I say you discover love. Love grows from friendship. Love grows from passion. It doesn’t magically appear in your life. It won’t do all the work. You’ve got to put in the effort for love to happen.

1. My class last was one I wanted to avoid. I had already gone to the gym in the morning
2. Perhaps it was a fitting end that my last class was with an instructor that I could not understand.
3. Water: super important. I cannot stress this enough. It’s very important to be hydrated before you go into a class because if you’re anything like me, you’ll be sweating buckets. This blog post suggests around 8 cups of water during the day before your class. This is hard to do if you’re having your class early in the morning, but just try get a couple cups. Bring a water bottle for the class for sipping between poses. The instructor will tell you when it is appropriate and inappropriate to drink. I suggest a larger bottle just in cause you’re really thirsty.
4. Having said that, for one of my classes I forgot to bring a water bottle and only realized once I got to the studio. I didn’t want to pay $10 for a bottle I’d use once for my own mistake so I drank a lot of water from the tap at the studio before the class and prepared for the worst. And the worst wasn’t actually that bad. Class would have been more enjoyable if I had water (my instructor had described water as champagne during yoga), but it wasn’t terrible either. So if you forgot your water bottle, it’s ok, don’t sweat it (pun INTENDED).
5. Instructors are the most important part of your class. Whether you are a seasoned yogi or a beginner, the instructor is very important. Why? Because they seem to be trained in Auction School and can talk a meter a minute about every single pose and what you need to do, non stop for 90 minutes. I sometimes forgot the agony of class because the instructor’s voice pierced through every negative thought I had and then suddenly class was over.
6. The instructors are very nice people. The really want you to do your best in the 90 minutes. They’ll tell you every step you need to do.
7. Due to his heavy accent, I couldn’t understand my last instructor very well. Although I went to 12 classes already, I still needed my instructor to guide me through the class and I made a few mistakes. Also, I didn’t concentrate as well as I would if I understood my instructor’s words fully.
8. I

It is an uncomfortable truth that when friends or people ask me what my dad does for a living, I have often lied. More like always. For years, I’ve said he either owns or works at a shipping cargo company in Hong Kong where his position allows him to work online in Canada while occasionally going to Hong Kong. I would get asked if I were to take over his company in the future and I’d say he would never force to do such a thing if I was not interested, and that was usually the extent of others’ curiosity.

This lie does hold some truth to it. 18 years ago my dad did own a shipping company in Hong Kong and he visited my mom and I in Vancouver a few times every year. But since then, my dad sold his company, immigrated to Canada, and held many jobs over the years that were a lot less glamorous as operating one’s own business. Warehouse worker. Sales associate at a cell phone company. Fish packer. Baker. Selling health products. Here in Vancouver with my mom and I.

For the same reason that kids want to sit at the “cool kids” table, I wanted my classmates and friends to like me. “And how do I get people to like me?” I thought, when I was 11. “Lie.” And so one lie about my dad’s job, which I considered “not cool”, lasted 18 years.

I am not proud of the way I acted and I am deeply sorry. If Confucius is a god, I would have struck by one of his books from heaven by now. It is shameful that I chose to lie about my dad’s occupation because I wanted to save face or that I considered him to be less successful because of the jobs he had to take because he could not get better ones in Canada. I pretended that my dad was the same person he was 18 years ago.

Put your hands in the air and wave ’em like you just don’t care.

In many ways, my dad is the same. Continue Reading

Please find me at my new blog: www.ericchow.me/blog.

Same great content, different url.