Thursday was my last day of work for the year. We finished off the year with a company wine and cheese event and a little company poker tournament. The wine and cheese was nice, and the poker was awsome, mostly cuz I won. I really showed the boys at Jatheon how it's done! I like to think of it as my Christmas bonus. I got home and watched Hotel Rowanda with Allan, a really good movie. After the movie, I went home and packed for my trip to Seattle/Whistler.

On Friday I went to the airport, and there was a little hitch upon boarding the plane. Apparently you need the address of where you'll be staying in the states in order to cross the border. I didn't know, and since it was my first time going on a plane on my own, I was in full panic mode. I called Rach, Gus, Neeta and even Neeta's sister to get an address of where I was going to be staying in the states. After calling each of them about 20 times, and leaving messages on their phones, I had to find an alternate solution. I called Nat and Allan to see if they knew anyone from Seattle that they could give me the address of. In the end, Allan gave me a fake address in Seattle, and they finally let me board the plan. I finally got on the plane, and found my seat. Funny little story. There was this little kid who was assigned the seat next to me, he was about 4 or 5 years old. He looks at me and says to his mom "You sit beside him, I don't want to sit beside the China guy" I laughed a little, he was just a little kid so I wasn't really offended. Anyways, the kid sits next to me and we start talking. We talked about his Christmas holidays and the presents he got for Christmas. He read me a story staring our favourite Curious George. I even played "Crazy 8's" and "Go Fish" with him and his mom. A really cute kid, and they had a really cute dog on board the plane too. Seriously, I am great with kids. So, I landed in Vancouver as a stop over to my flight to Seattle. When I got to baggage claim, I couldn't find my beautiful, beautiful skis. I searched and searched, but I coudln't find them and my flight to Seattle was leaving, so I didn't have time to find them. Anyways, I left a missing baggage report, but as of right now, I still don't know where they are. So, I got on the plane and flew to Seattle where Gus and his friend Will met me. We had dinner at a really nice Italian place, the food was really good. After dinner, I went over to Gus' place and we just hung out and stuff. We looked pictures and talked about the good ol' day from university. I haven't seen Gus in quite a while, and we got caught up on what everyone's been up to and the gossip that Gus has been missing out on. So, that my first flight on my own, what an experience.

There are some really strange people out there. This morning I take the VIVA to work, and this crazy guy steps on the bus. You guys know the crazy public transit people I'm talking about, the ones that are talking to themselves and yelling at nobody. Well, I'm still kind of uncomfortable being around him, and the guy is obviously "special" in some way, but I'm pretty sure he's harmless, so fine. Then I'm walking from the subway to my office, and I watch this girl charge straight into the guy walking in front of me, almost pushing him into a bunch of stuff in a store. I'm thinking, "she must know this guy, that's kind of funny", and when she looks at me, I smile and laugh a little. Then, as I'm walking past her, she sticks out her leg and tries to trip and she says "sorry, I didn't see you there". Now I'm thinking, "this girl is really messed up, what the eff is wrong with her?" That's when I hear someone call out my name, it's Neeta. I turn around and I watch that girl plow straight into Neeta. What a strange girl, the one who tried to trip me was kinda strange too. Some really weird people out there.

So, yesterday was fun. After work, I met up with Neeta and Ryan and we went out for dinner. Ryan's been talking about a really nice Indian restaurant, so we decided to check it out. The food there was great, the best Indian food I've ever had, but then again, I really haven't tried too much Indian food. Well, the food was good, but the portions were tiny, and we were all still hungry after we ate all the food that we ordered. So, we pretty much ordered a second meal. Anyways, it ended up costing me more than I've ever spent on a meal. Pretty pricey, but then again, I'm also pretty stingy.

Well, yesterday was a lot of fun. After work, I met up with Jon and Allan for sushi buffet, with special guests Britta, aka B. Knight, and Puja, aka PhunkMasta P. I haven't seen Britta and Puja for the past 3 years or so, it was really nice seeing them again. While stuffing our faces with raw fish, we talked about the good ol' day from high school and where everybody is today. Well, I had a very smart group of friends back in highschool, and it seems like everyone's doing masters, applying to med school, or in some sort of pseudo med school (chiro/vet/dent), or becoming lawyers. We also discussed old flames from back in highschool, including big, beautiful, hypnotic eyes, as well as new flames that will ignite once prerequisites of med school acceptance are met. Some people are even engaged, which is pretty crazy. I wonder who I'll be with, say 5 years down the road. I guess only time will tell. It was a really fun dinner.

After dinnner, we all came over to my place. Why my place you ask? It's obvious, cuz I got the Bowflex. Seriously, that Bowflex has changed my life in so many ways I can't even begin to imagine how my life would be without it. It's sculpted and molded my life in more ways than one. We tried to play a little DDR, but the PS2 was acting up again. Nat and Laurie (who I also haven't seen in years) came over and we played some poker. We flipped through my yearbook while playing poker, wondering what everyone was up to and throwing up ideas of highschool reunions. Nat took home the pot, meaning I'm winless for the last three games of poker. I think they're onto my strategy, I never bluff. It was a really fun night.

So, I've had a pretty enjoyable weekend so far. On Friday, I met up with Jon and Allan, and we had a little dinner. We decided to rent "40 year old virgin" and watch it at my place, it was a pretty funny movie, but it really seemed to drag on towards the end. My cousins Mark and Justin were also at my place, and Nat stopped by and we all played a bit of poker. I was pretty disappointed that Nat took home the pot.

On Saturday, Jon, Nat, Pramod and I went to Blue Mountain for a little warmup for our Whistler trip. Let me tell ya, the snow conditions were amazing! Quite possibly the best conditions I've ever skied in. The temperature was a nice -5, just about every run was open, not a single icy patch on the moutain, and plenty of well groomed natural snow. It really was quite a treat carving up that moutain on my beautiful brand new skis. Also, to top things off, Nat graciously offered to buy a round of nice and warm hot chocolate for all of us. Thanks Nat! A really fun day.

So, last night I went to fellowship again, it was pretty fun. We had a small little gift exchange thing, it was all right. I bought my gift from a small hobbies/games store near Bay/Bloor, tt was a pretty cool gift. I bought a gag lighter, and when tried to use it, it would give you a small electric shock, and it REALY worked. Just about everyone who tried it dropped it instantly, and some of the girls even screamed, I think I gave a little yelp when I tried it. It was pretty funny. I don't know too many people who smoke, but next time you ask me for a lighter, beware. I got 2 decks of pretty neat playing cards.

This post is dedicated to Jon, Allan, and all other Warcraft III Frozen Throne haters out there.

So, yesterday, I got home, had dinner, and decided to play Warcraft with Dwight. So I drove myself over to the internet cafe and we played Warcraft. What a great night for Warcraft. Dwight and had a 5 game winning streak, but finished off with a loss. Dwight and I are trying a new strategy where he uses undead, focusing on getting the ranged units consisting of Crypt Fiends, Obsidian Statues, and Destroyers. I focus on getting the "meat" and go for 2 barracks making Footmen with defense and teching up to Knights. We're trying a new strategy where we go for a strong rush with 2 barracks making men, upgrading defense for footmen, and getting items from the shop. This has proven very effective since we won 5 straight games last night. What a great night for Warcraft.

A quick weekend update post. Friday, had a hot pot fellowship dinner.

Saturday, dim sum and errands with Mama-D and Loser-J. Nat and Allan came over for bowflex and PS2. Dwight came over and we hung out and watched the Leafs game, followed by warcraft.

Sunday, finally watched "Crash", good movie. Went for a swim with Nat and Allan.

So, yesterday after work, I met up with Ryan for a little dinner. We decided we'd try a Korean restaurant in North K-town, by Finch station. My food was delicious, I had Bulgogi (sp?) cuz that's all the Korean food I've had before, and I know I like it. I also noticed a lot of cute girls in that restaurant, definately a lot more cute girls than if I went to say... dim sum. I think Jon and Allan may be onto something with that whole Korean culture thing. Afterwards, Ryan and I went to an internet cafe and played some 3v3 warcraft with Dwight.

So, this morning I left the house at 8:00 and got to work at 10:30. It took me 2.5 freakin hours to get to work this morning. WTF is up with that? The weird thing was, I slept the entire way on the bus, and didn't even realize it took me an extra hour to get to work. I got to work an hour late, and was wondering what happened to that hour of my life. It's a very eerie and unsettling feeling when time suddenly goes missing and you're not sure what happened to it.

Yesterday, the unthinkable happened, the unimaginable occurred, the term "Bowflex challenge" will forever have a new meaning for me. The challenge will no longer be to "burn fat, build muscle, get the results you want in only 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week" but to never let Allan "Prom King" Kwong lift more weight than me ever again. Yes, it's sad, but it's true, last night Allan did lift more weight than me on the Bowflex. He disgraced me, and utterly humiliated me in my own home when he bent 5 lbs of power rods more than me on the shoulder raises. Who would have known when I took him under my wings a mere two weeks ago, that the apprentice would become the master in such a short period of time. Quickly, someone call the plumber! Allan's pipes are about to burst! Anyways, the only solution I can think of that will amend this problem, is to never let Allan touch the Bowflex again. Maybe two years from now, and after I've gained about 50 lbs of muscle will Allan be allowed to set foot in the Bowflexing area again.

So, yesterday was pretty fun. I met up with an old coworker, Pramod, to watch the Leafs game. The Leafs played the Kings last night, and Pramod's a Kings fan for some reason, even though he's from Ottawa, and the Sens are on fire this season. Anyways, it was fun, we went to some sports bar in Etobicoke called Bert and Ernie's. It was jokes, the guy's got some serious lady issues, but then again, what guy doesn't. Well, it was fun, except that the Leafs lost 2~1. Kings suck.

Well, I had a fun weekend. On Friday after work, I met up with Allan do pick up my skis and do a little shopping. We went to Hillcrest, and first thing's first, we picked up my skis. Wow, they are sooooooo beatiful! I can't wait to carve up the slopes of Whistler with them. And my boots, they're sooooooo comfortable, I just love them. Allan and I are both looking for runners, and Allan heard there's a buy 1, get the 2nd for half off sale at Foot Locker, and he also had a coupon for Foot Locker, so we went shopping for shoes. Nothing caught our attention, niether of us bought anything. After shopping, Allan came over for a back and bis workout on the bowflex. Nat came over later, and he brought over some of his friends. Nat's friends were hilarious, he told them he was coming over to use the bowflex, and they decided to tag along just to check it out. I showed them how to do a bench press on the bowflex, they all tried it out, and they were sold. They all wanted to purchase a bowflex on the spot. It was absolutely hilarious. One of Nat's friend that he brought over was someone that I knew back in highschool, Johnny. I haven't seen Johnny much since highschool, and when I saw him on Friday, he was saying how much bigger I got. Well, I gotta say, I love it when people notice I've gained weight, but the way they were going on, even I was getting embarrassed, pure jokes. Allan also gave each of them back adjustments, and we also played some poker.

On Saturday, I headed down town to meet up with Neeta, Dwight, Ryan and Eric. We had a little lunch, and then went out to watch the "Blue Man Group". I loved it. I thought it was absolutely hilarious, and the percussions were amazing. It's kind of hard to describe the show, but I thought it was great and I recommend seeing it for yourself. After the show, we went back to Neeta's place and went for a quick swim in her pool. After a fun swim, we had dinner at Spring Rolls which was delicious. After dinner, we went back to Neeta's where Neeta, Ryan and I just hung out and played a little Taboo. It was a fun day, I crashed at Neeta's.

Sunday we slept in, and didn't do much in the morning. Mostly watched Neeta take an online IQ test. That girl can be really competitive with certain things, and really sucked the fun out of a simple IQ test when she got stumped on a question, but it was pretty funny. I went home in the afternoon and met up with Allan for a little lap swimming. I was actually really surprised when I jumped in and I wasn't too out of shape. I went for a quick swim about 2 weeks ago, and I was practically drowning. I felt a lot stronger on Sunday, and the swam felt pretty good. We even got to go down the water slide, thanks to Allan's connections. After our swim, I went home for dinner. After dinner, I finished off the weekend playing a little more warcraft with Dwight.

So, yesterday after work, I got on the bus and took it home as usual. I've been pretty busy Monday and Tuesday, and had to stay late both days, so I've been pretty exhausted. I decided last night that I wasn't going to have another late night in the office. The bus ride home was actually pretty relaxing, I had a really nice nap on the bus. I got woken up by Nat calling me on my cell phone asking me where I was, I was supposed to meet him at Blockbusters to get a movie. I got up, looked around a bit, and realized that I had no clue where I was. I slept way past my stop and was somewhere in Aurora. Thank goodness Nat woke me up, I'm pretty sure I woulda slept all the way to New Market if he hadn't. Anyways, I get off the bus a little peeved having missed my stop and crossed the street to take the bus back the other direction. I get to Blockbuster and meet up with Nat where I buy "Crash" on DVD, we then headed over to my place to watch it. I get home and talk to my brother for a bit, and he asks where the van is. That's when I realize that I actually drove to work in the morning, and shoulda drove home instead of taking the bus. Now I'm really pissed cuz now I gotta drive back to Finch station and pick up the van. Oh well, I guess everyone has days like that. After I brought the van back home, Andrew brought back a pizza from Pizza Hut, and then Allan showed up for yet another shoulder Bowflex workout, and so I was happy again.

Thanks to everyone who called or wrote me an email. I really appreciate it.