Mich Mosh

Dim Sum Fun

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:37:38 -0800

As long as I can remember, trips to Chicago always revolved around dim sum. Family time was, and still is, spent at crowded dim sum restaurants with cheeky decor and a symphony of clanging chopsticks on plates. Hosts clear tables just as they usher you over and hurried wait staff carry towers of bamboo steamers filled with the Chinese version of soul food.

What can be described as a unique dining experience is actually a game of guessing, quick action and spin the wheel. It begins when you ask for a table—usually located on the other side of the restaurant and if lucky, next to the kitchen where you can hear the shouting match between the chefs and servers. The host will try to lose you as they sprint around tables, while you’re left dodging old folks, kids and wait staff trying to keep up. Once seated, you’ll have the chance to play guess what’s in the cart. (Note: this game is only applicable to restaurants with rolling food carts.)

If they give you a paper menu, then the challenge is figuring out how to fill it out properly. Some use a tally system while others employ a standardized test version that require completely filled bubbles. Incomplete bubbles will be returned with questions and will cost time in getting your badly needed fix that seems to develop soon after your arrival. Once the dishes arrive, it’s placed on the spinning wheel of no return. Here you must spin the wheel to determine the dish to eat. Be careful not to knock down any of the water glasses that are often placed near the wheel or it’s game over.

When the wheel comes to a complete stop, you must use your ninja-like chopstick abilities to pick up the slippery item before the wheel is taken for another spin. Act quick, but take care in transferring the delicate goodness to your plate. Dropping it on the table will cost you a shake of the head and a long “aiya.”

While stuffing your face, you must also monitor all tea cups on deck. The two-ounce cups must remain filled to the top at all times. Only when someone covers their cup with their hand, should you allow it below the acceptable tea line. If your cup gets filled by someone else, you must immediately perform the secret signal by tapping the index and middle fingers together—bent at 90 degrees—while making eye contact.

The final challenge is paying the bill. Your goal is to pay for the meal. Beware of sneaky moves. Some will feign the need to visit the bathroom when actually they are paying the bill before it arrives to the table. Others will secretly signal the host and are prepared to make the cash handoff. Still some may just outright grab the “Dan” from your eager fingers. Be sure to have enough cash as most Chinese restaurants accept no other forms of payment. If you win the battle over the bill, but fail to pay, it will cost you loads of laughter and a face as red as chicken feet.

One last thing—if you don’t know the names of the dishes in Chinese, this introduction with audio should help. It’s not comprehensive, but it will give you a starting point. (Tip: you may want to say the names a bit faster when ordering so as not to be mistaken for being slow.)

The Adventures of Ang, Mar and Sar in Vancouver

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:05:13 -0800

Can't complain... the fall weather is actually nice here except yesterday--the day I took off, it rained all day. Bad for me, but good for you because I've finally decided to work on getting out another video from this summer. This one is from Ang, Mar and Sar's visit over the 4th of July holidays.

Here's what you'll see... the girl's sad attempt at working out in the park, Marilyn's stare down with a squirrel, Sarah in the butt chair, Angie tells us of a buddha cookie, a little bit of ultimate fighting, Mar's virtual pet dog named Steve and a whole lot more. Oh, and we also visit with one of Ken's adversaries that we've met in a previous video (can you guess who?)

What you won't see... Angie crying over spilled milk, uh... I mean coffee, me unclogging a toilet and us jumping off a log ten times just to get a good picture. But you may find photos of that here.

Insider / Outsider Perspective

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:33:09 -0800

All this doom and gloom on the news everyday about the state of the U.S. economy is making this crisis much worse than it already is by constantly reminding people of the terrible mess they're in. I like to know what's going on in the world, but this story is one I'd rather not read everyday. We already know we're in a pickle. Let me know when we've got a plan to get out of it. This is certainly not the end of the world. If we step back and look at the history of our economy, we know it has its ups and downs like a rollercoaster. At the moment we're experiencing what seems to be a near ninety degree free fall, but eventually the momentum will bring us back to the top of the next peak. However we'll need to be more patient than the three minutes it would actually take to finish the ride. This one wild ride might take a while, so sit back and try not to flail your limbs about or else you may lose an arm and a leg. If you're young, then relax. Your heart's strong and you've got time to recover from the nausea. If you're close to retirement, then frankly this is bad timing, but you're among the baby boomers, which means the government will have to step in and help, otherwise we'd see a revolt led by angry senior citizens. And besides they're good at bailing out people.

I've experienced two downturns already in the economy while working at a global financial institution (one when I first joined and the other now) and I've only been there five and a half years. This time is definitely much worse. A lot of layoffs have taken place in the U.S. especially with the business unit that primarily deals with the subprime market. This is actually where I started in the bank. We've seen some of the impact in the U.S. trickle here to the bank in Canada, but these are mainly departments that support the U.S. operations. Fortunately the department I work in supports the global IT community so our fate doesn't rest solely in the hands of the U.S. business. Watching the crisis unravel south of the border has perhaps made some Canadians nervous about their own job security and economy. It seems that we get weekly if not daily messages from the CEOs reaffirming that our bank is weathering the storm much better compared to other banks in the market and it has. The bank doesn't need any government help because it is sufficiently capitalized. This bit of news certainly gives me more confidence in the company's management.

Even though Canada's economy is faring much better than the U.S., it is still a main concern for many Canadians because of the close ties to the U.S. economy. It was a major talking point in Canadian elections, which was interesting to watch. From the whole campaigning until the election day, it seemed to occur all within a month. I'm not sure if this is due to the fact that this election was triggered by a minority government. Elections generally occur every four years here, but apparently it can happen anytime with a minority government. Also interesting is the number of parties in Canada. There's the Conservatives, the Liberals, the New Democrat Party, the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois -- at least these seem to be the major ones. I'm still not entirely sure what they all stand for, but it doesn't matter because I don't have the right to vote here. Steven Harper was re-elected as Prime Minister, but it looks though a minority government remains, which will make accomplishing any agenda more difficult. Honestly I know very little about the political process here, which I feel rather dumb about compared to Canadians who seem to be very in tune with the U.S. elections. I don't know if Canadians would support Obama or McCain, but my feeling is most would support Obama. At least the one colleague I asked said that's who she would vote for if she could. Yes, I realize this is not scientific, but I'm biased. Watching the final debate last night, it seemed to me that McCain was desperate with the attacks he kept making at Obama. I don't think he realizes that all that attacking is actually making him look worse than better. McCain's pick of Palin to me shows a serious lack of judgement, which appears to me a political move more than anything. If you don't agree, just read some of what she's said here. It'll have your head going in circles. And McCain expects us to trust that she can jump in and run the country if something were to happen to him? Scary.

Greed At Its Worst

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:08:08 -0800

China's tainted milk scandal is big news as the numbers of infants affected keep growing and growing. It's sad to see that greed was the root cause of this whole mess and not the first time it has happened in China. Greed is also the cause for the financial crisis that's happening in the U.S. It's hard for me to comprehend how short sighted the people who accepted bribes or turned a blind eye to what was happening can be. Did they really think that they could continue to do what they did without getting caught? And how could these people sleep comfortably at night knowing that toxic chemicals would be ingested by infants? Even after all the recalls of pet food and toys last year the quality standards continue to be an issue. People's trust in Chinese products have eroded tremendously. It'll take a complete overhaul in the quality standards and a long time before anyone can feel comfortable in Chinese-made goods. Everyone knows China is the king of fake brand name goods, but apparently so is their food.

And don't even get me started on the financial mess in the U.S. Isn't it worse enough that people are losing their homes and possibly their retirement and now taxpayers will also have to bail out Wall Street? Could it get any worse? Yes, if you consider the Great Depression, but I hope we don't get to that point. I still don't get how Americans could re-elect Bush after the first four dismal years of his presidency. It seems to me Bush supporters see him through rose-colored glasses.

I wasn't intending on ranting on the failed policies of the Bush administration nor the tainted milk scandal in this entry, but somehow it happened that way. My main intention was to share with you all the grocery product recall list that someone emailed me today. I was quite surprised to see a number of mainstream products that are being recalled due to the tainted milk in China, I assume, including M&Ms, Snickers, Dove chocolate, Dreyers ice cream, Nabisco crackers, Kraft cookies... it's a two page list. Definitely check it out and avoid these products. I've come to the conclusion that I might as well grow my own food and milk my own cows.

Family in Town

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:36:07 -0800

Recently Mom, Popo and Uncle Ray were in town for the week over the Labour Day holiday. That's how it's spelled here in Canada. They use the Queen's English here you know. So far this year I've had 14 visitors. I didn't even realize until my uncle asked me. Mom said, "You know Michelle... you have contributed a lot to Vancouver's tourism." Somehow I've contributed to Vancouver's economy by giving friends and family a reason to come visit me. I should get some sort of tax incentive or even just a badge for being such a darn good tour guide. It's not hard convincing people why Vancouver is one of the top cities in the world to live in. Every time someone visits me, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to be living here. I've been exploring lots of new places in Vancouver this summer and there still remains a lot to be seen. Even though we didn't do any hiking because Popo would have a hard time with the rugged trails, we still spent a lot of time outdoors. I can now see why this city is so friendly to its senior citizens. Thanks to Sarah's walking cards, we found lots of great parks and neighborhoods to go visit including Whytecliff Park, VanDusen Botanical Gardens and Dundarave. Pics are posted in my gallery, but videos will have to wait for a rainy day.

City Walks Vancouver #42: Lynn Canyon Park

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:19:51 -0800

Warm day, cool waters makes for a nice dip in Lynn Canyon Park's 30-foot pool. That was exactly what the group that had gathered here had in mind on one of the uncommonly above 80-degree days experienced here in Vancouver. Not far from Lynn Canyon's suspension bridge, this oasis is tucked away in the middle of the forest and is a great getaway to enjoy the natural beauty of BC's forests. I found some brave souls diving into this natural pool along with a number of spectators cheering them on.

The lesser known suspension bridge here at Lynn Canyon Park is smaller and narrower than Capilano's, but also a lot less touristy. Perhaps the best thing about it is that it's free and along with it you'll find 617 acres of forest to roam. The overly-priced Capilano Suspension Bridge may be more family-friendly with wider trails, well-placed educational kiosks and staff musicians, but Lynn Canyon Park is the local's best kept secret with more trails of varying degrees of difficulty, a natural 30-foot pool, waterfalls and its very own suspension bridge.

Located only 20 minutes north of the city, this park is a great place to soak up the natural beauty of Vancouver and best of all it won't cost you a dime for parking or entrance to the park. For more photos, click here.

City Walks Vancouver #30: Queen Elizabeth Park

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:33:59 -0800

Nothing beats a nice walk in the park on a beautiful sunny day and Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver is just the place to go. Named for the Queen Mother after her visit to the city in 1939, this park with its beautiful flowers and interesting greenery is well tended to with not one blade of grass out of place. It's probably why so many brides and grooms come here to get their wedding pictures taken especially on such a picture perfect day like the one experienced on my walk. The dome-shaped building in the picture above is the Bloedel Conservatory, which sits atop Queen Elizabeth Park. Behind the conservatory are panoramic views of the city and mountains, which makes a great backdrop for pictures. One of the delights of this park is the water fountain pictured above. Kids have the most fun with it running in between the shooting towers of water. Also interesting is the Henry Moore sculpture — Knife Edge-Two Piece set next to the fountain. Photos of the park are posted in my gallery. Be sure to check out the life-size, picture-taking statues that seem to be frozen in time.

The Adventures of Tom and His Mom in Vancouver

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:09:47 -0800

My friend Tom and his mom came to visit a couple weekends ago during BC Day weekend. Since they were only here for a couple days, it was a whirlwind visit. It was like doing a tour of Vancouver on crack. Tom tells me that there's a blog called Caroline on Crack whose author is considered the definitive source for L.A. hotspots and that I should do something similar, but call it Michelle on Meth.

It was a crazy weekend with tons of people out, more than I had ever seen before of all the times I've been to these touristy places. Parking was completely full but amazingly we somehow managed to score a great parking spot everywhere we went. Thanks to Tom's mom I had the opportunity to try some really interesting and exotic fruit. I have no idea what the names of them are except for the jack fruit I did try, but you can find some pictures posted in my gallery.The jack fruit is especially pungent, but good and I wonder if I would enjoy durian despite its smell.

The last thing we did was go to Grouse Mountain. Tom did the Grouse Grind in a little over an hour, but I decided to try the "easier" BCMC trail up the mountain. It wasn't a cake walk as I had thought it would be. Although it might not have been as steep as the Grind, it was still quite challenging. The BCMC trail is not very well marked and you can easily get lost merging with another trail, which happened to me. Fortunately I ran into some folks who directed me back the right way. Two and a half hours later I finally made it up the mountain. Tom who so patiently waited for me was able to find a way to get us back down the mountain without having to wait over an hour in line for the gondola ride back down. I think I'll stick to the Grind from now on.

Captain Tom cruising the waters of False Creek.

Click to play

Fish and Chips

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:21:34 -0800

Theo raved over the "bottomless pop" and not the all-you-can-eat fish and chips meal that it came with. I wasn't entirely hungry at 11:30, almost two hours before my usual lunch time, but what the hey for $8.95 I'll go for it. The joint was pretty quiet when we arrived, but filled up quickly by the time our plates of fish and chips were set in front of us. Two pieces of fried cod over a bed of fries and my bottomless root beer — this had to be my most unhealthiest meal since I've moved here to Vancouver. The fish was super crispy and so were the fries. It was better than what I had in Steveston last weekend.

"Oh this is much better than in White Rock." Mario tells me to never eat the fish and chips there. "They don't let all the oil drain after its fried and it becomes all soggy. You know? Of course you know, you have a restaurant!"

"No, I don't have a restaurant. That's my dad's." Venessa jumps in, "But you'll inherit it!" I laugh. Funny... how that reminds me of all the times when people used to say that to me and Sarah when we were little.

"Tell Theo and Aggie how old you were when you started peeling peapods." I think I was four or five... all I know is that I was small. Dad would sometimes bring me to the restaurant and give me a box of peapods to peel. He showed me how to peel them and told me to do them all. Of course, I'd do a few and then go play with my remote control car. I don't really remember how old I was when I really had to do a full box of peapods, but it was always something I dreaded. "Peapods, not again!" I'd always whine. Angie, Sarah and I all wished that peapods could come peeled already. And now they do! What took them so long? Did they always exist? Or was there suddenly a demand? Probably a better source of cheap labor than kids who whined all day about peeling peapods.

The waiter asks if we want more fish. Barely able to finish our plates of fried goodness, we all said no thanks. And Theo who raved over the "bottomless pop", could only get through one glass of coke. I think I've had enough fish and chips for the year.

City Walks Vancouver #37: Steveston

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 21:53:49 -0800

From City Walks Vancouver, 50 Adventures On Foot, I selected card #37: Steveston, to explore the hidden gems of Vancouver. Described as a bustling fishing community, it's located south of Vancouver in Richmond about a 30-minute drive from where I live. Not as touristy as other local attractions, Steveston's charm is perhaps in it's unique history as a small fishing village made up of Japanese, Chinese and European immigrants. You can still see remnants of its interesting past today of the abandoned cannery, which once was the largest canning operation in North America, along with historic residences that were occupied by Japanese and Chinese families near the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Part of the fun of coming here is seeing all the fishermen and their boats full of different varieties of fresh fish and shrimp caught that day. The best part about buying from these fishermen is knowing that it's fresh and where it comes from. And at ten dollars for three pounds of shrimp, prices aren't bad either.

If you'd rather eat out than cook your own seafood, you can certainly find a number of seafood restaurants right along the docks. My first mission upon arriving into Steveston was to find some good fish and chips to fill my empty stomach. It didn't take long before I found myself at the Sockeye City Grill ordering a one piece cod and chips. Their menu also featured a choice of halibut or salmon. Not exactly a fish connoisseur, perhaps I can try the other varieties of fish and chips and develop a more sophisticated palate later on.

After lunch, I decided to walk off my meal so I could return for some ice cream that everyone seemed to be enjoying so much. The walk led me to Garry Point Park which is surrounded by great views of the water and offers plenty of space for kite flying. There definitely isn't a lack of seating areas in this park as numerous benches are placed along the gravel trails and a few sandy beaches with logs makes it easy to plop down anywhere and enjoy the view.

Of course this walk can't be complete without some history, which is just what I got as I walked east on the boardwalk. Along my walk I came upon an old cannery and some historic residences. One of them known as the Murakami house is open to the public for viewing. Built around 1885, it was the home of a boat builder named Otokishi Murakami, his wife Asayo, and their children. Asayo arrived in British Columbia as a picture bride and was to be married to a Japanese fishermen she'd never met. But when she saw him, she knew it could not work and broke off the marriage. Talk about guts! She worked the next three years picking strawberries and at a fish cannery to repay her suitor for the voyage. Later she was introduced to Otokishi by a matchmaker who she married. Asayo passed away at the age of 104 and was considered to be the last living picture bride in Canada. For pictures of the Murakami house and highlights of this walk, please visit my gallery.

Free Music Online

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:06:22 -0800

When the radio can no longer fulfill your musical appetite, it's time to find an alternative. Especially after playing the same tracks over and over again like a cd left in repeat. Having come across Deezer a few weeks ago, I have only visited this site a handful of times, but it serves as a great online jukebox. The only difference between this online jukebox and an old-fashion one is that the music is free! But just like a jukebox, you can't take the music with you. Instead you enjoy it in the moment on your computer. So why would anyone care to tune in on Deezer if they can't download any music? Simple. It's got some great tunes you can share with friends. Plus you can broaden your musical tastes and discover new artists. Deezer's song collection is probably nowhere near iTunes, but being able to listen to entire albums for free compared to 30-second clips on Apple's music store, makes it easier to determine if it's worth adding to your collection (although you'd have to buy it somewhere else.)

What I like about this site immediately from the first visit is it's user-friendly features. For one, the music player is embedded on the right and stays in place no matter where you browse on the site. This allows you to continue listening to music while you click around. Another nice feature is the music player itself, which lists the previous and next song. Don't like what you're listening to? Click on another song and the current one will gradually fade out for a smooth transition. Want to add what you already own on Deezer? You can by uploading your mp3s to the site so all your favorite music is in one place. Create playlists and share with friends. If you'd like to give it a try feel free to add me to your friends list. Just search for "michellerlee."

So what are the drawbacks? Well, it would be nice if Deezer gave you the option to buy and download what you like so you can take the music anywhere you please. Hopefully its music collection will continue to grow, but there certainly isn't a lack of a diverse range of music. And oh, in case you're wondering, it's legal.

Reflections In The Mirror And Your Perceptions Of Them

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:14:08 -0800

So I recently read an interesting article about how people perceive of themselves in the mirror, how it affects human behavior and people's misconceptions of their reflection in the mirror. It's quite fascinating and worth reading.

Did you know that the only other nonhuman species that have the ability to recognize themselves in the mirror are apes, chimps, gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, dolphins and Asian elephants? This confirms my theory on the intelligence of elephants. But also interesting to note is that people tend to see themselves in the mirror as more attractive than they really are according to research.

Maybe I should leave a warning for anyone who reads this article because you might feel worse afterwards. Not only do you discover that you may be self-delusional, perhaps ugly, but also bigger than you thought. That's a triple whammy. If you believe that your reflection is the same size as you or close (which I did), then you're wrong. It's actually half the size. How can this be? I know what you're thinking. In fact I still have a hard time wrapping my head around this one.

The important point is that no matter how close or far we are from the looking glass, the mirror is always halfway between our physical selves and our projected selves in the virtual world inside the mirror, and so the captured image in the mirror is half our true size. —New York Times

So in essence, you are bigger than you appear in the mirror. You can test this theory out by tracing your face in the mirror after taking a shower and you'll see that it's half the size of your actual face. What's even more interesting is that no matter how far you step away from the mirror, your reflected face remains the same size in the outline that you've just traced. Doesn't this information just turn your world upside down? It sure boggles my mind.

City Walks Vancouver #46: Lighthouse Park

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:45:00 -0800

Songbird meadow in Lighthouse Park

What better way to explore your own city and stay healthy than exploring it on foot? Sarah gave me these fantastic pack of walking cards of Vancouver with "50 Adventures On Foot." Yesterday I decided to try them out and selected card #46: Lighthouse Park. About 30 minutes drive from the city, it's a great escape into nature with abundantly tall trees and panoramic views of the open water and sky. Oh, and there's a lighthouse to boot. The lighthouse is closed off to public access, but with so much to explore you'll find enough great spots in the park that it won't even matter.

Once occupied by Canadian forces during WWII, the lighthouse served as a location for surveillance of enemy ships and submarines that might slip into the Burrard Inlet. Barracks were built in the forest behind the lighthouse to house officers. Surrounded by water on most sides and heavily forested, it's easy to see why this natural area served as a good lookout for any signs of danger.

This was a great walk, which I would not have known about if it weren't for those walking cards and I'll definitely return to explore other trails. I've already planned on which card I'll be trying out next weekend and am very much looking forward to another great walk.

There's actually a website that scores cities based on its walkability. It's great for people who are planning to move to a new area and would like to live in a walkable neighborhood. You can type in the address and the site will return a listing of the nearest restaurants, grocery stores, shopping areas, etc. nearby as well as give a score for that neighborhood's walkability (100 being walker's paradise.) The site ranks San Francisco and New York as the top most walkable cities in the U.S.

The Adventures of Ken and Godzilla in Vancouver

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:05:22 -0800

Click To Play

He came alone, but didn't expect to leave with a lifelong pal. Wherever Ken goes, Godzilla goes. Pictures of the dynamic duo are posted in my gallery.

Working for Peanuts

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:11:37 -0800

Ok, I've seen some incredible pet tricks, but this one has to top them all. Thanks to Sarah for sharing the link, who on one of her many nightly YouTube binges, passed on some crazy footage of an elephant drawing. I don't mean of an elephant drawing as in a drawing of an elephant, I mean an elephant drawing on paper! And it is not a 3-year old scribble or paint splatters that could have some distant resemblance to Jackson Pollock's work. It is a darn good drawing that puts me to shame. I'm amazed by the deliberate way in which the elephant places the brush on paper and carefully maneuvers it with each stroke. Also, the emphasis on line weight near the belly where there are naturally shadows and effort in adding the detail to the flower is astounding. I'll never look at an elephant the same way.

Just imagine, headlines read... Designers' Jobs Outsourced To Elephants, Designers React: 'We Can't Compete With Peanuts!', Designers Want To Know: 'Who Ate All My Peanuts?'. Yep, it seems my new career will be that of an elephant trainer where I'll be sent to India to manage the elephants and their design work. After all, peanuts are probably cheaper in India.