When I was in Vancouver, I had a chance to try out many of their coffee shops - they have 3 chains that we don't have in Ed... Cafe Artigiano, Blenz, and Waves.  I was in LOVE with their drinks - mochas, iced chocolates, etc... something about their drinks tasted REALLY good... I didn't realize what it was until I peeked behind the counter and noticed that they use WHOLE milk in their drinks...   No wonder it tastes so good!  Here in Ed, by default, if you do not ask for skim/low fat, they use only 2% milk.  What a difference that makes...hahah!  Their drinks were creamier and held the flavour better... why are all tasty things fattening?! 

speaking of tasty things.. here's a sampling of food that I had on my trip... and yes, I definitely gained weight after all this food!

I'm back from my vacation... took a short week down to Seattle and Vancouver.  I was really amazed by the fall foliage on the west coast.  Since Edmonton had some early snow/wind storms, much of the leaves on our trees have already fallen.  Usually, we get mostly yellow leaves and evergreens... so our fall scenery is just yellows and greens.  When I went to Seattle, I visited the Washington park aboretum and I was AMAZED!  I saw red leaves, orange, yellow, peach, etc.  It was such a beautiful sight!  I honestly think it was the first time I saw such beautiful fall colours in my life 

Not sure what this was... it was at the entrance of the park... looked like giant lettuce leaves!

So apparently, it's been 22 days since my last blog entry... crazy!  Here's an update of what I've been up to...

Watched 'Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs' in 3D... totally awesome movie.  Very funny and entertaining for kids and adults alike

Finally cut my hair!... I can't believe it was almost a year since I last had it cut...yikes.  I think I took off around 5 inches... and my hair is still shoulder length!

Finished module 2 of my Project management course - learned that I am an "introverted feeler" which pretty much describes me at work.  I think in life, I'm more of an extroverted feeler   There are 4 major personality types that we discussed:  Blue (Introverted thinker), Red (Extroverted thinker), Yellow (Extroverted feeler), and Green (Introverted feeler).  It was really interesting to see our class split up into the different groups.  We had about 9 blues, 9 reds, 3 greens, and 2 yellows.  The North American stereotype for the personality of leaders/project managers tends to be Red (type A, driven, loud) but in reality, the majority of project managers in the business are Greens!... hehehe.. yay!

I'm taking a week off next week - going to Seattle/Vancouver again...hehe.  I'll take advantage of the Columbus day sales plus, since I'm from Alberta, I don't have to pay ANY taxes in the state of Washington... it's some sort of trade agreement we have with that state...

One last thing... it started SNOWING here today!... it's super cold... usually, we don't get snow until Halloween so it kinda sucks :(  Just 3 weeks ago, we had temperatures at 33 degrees celsius!  The weather is so crazy and unpredictable now :(

It's funny how time seems to pass by so quickly... is it because I'm getting older and the daily routine has made life just 'pass by'?  It's scary to think that sometimes, it's hard to differentiate from one day to the next...

I tried a new sport last weekend... archery!  There was a one day clinic and I was able to learn/practice for 1 hr and then compete for another hour.  It was really fun!  I may go out to the archery lanes this weekend :)

Something cute and free that I came across .... Hoops and Yoyo!

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article|10001|10051|/HallmarkSite/hoops_yoyohome/Downloads/HYY_PRINTABLES

First up... District 9

I walked into this movie with very minimal knowledge of what it was about.  I had not seen any trailers or read anything other than a quick summary review.   Some of my coworkers had watched it and kept telling me to go see it!  They were unable to say much because apparently, they couldn't discuss the film without giving it away.

What can be said after seeing this film is that stylistically, it was very unique.  The transitions in the style of filming was effortless and the acting was intense.  There are no big names in this film and the lead is not your usual Hollywood hunk.  I also read afterward that the lead actor ad-libbed all of his lines - which probably added to the 'naturalness' of his acting.  The story can be read as a loose analogy to the South African apartheid but what makes it easier to digest is the fact that they used 'Aliens' and they managed to inject some strange humour throughout the film.

There is quite a bit of violence in this film but nothing more than you would expect from an action film.  I highly recommend this film as it is definitely different from the usual summer blockbusters.  It offers a mix of action and intelligence that you normally would not see in the theatres.


Next...Inglourious Basterds



I can't say that I am a devoted Quentin Tarantino fan but I definitely enjoyed the movies that I have seen by him... Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill series.  Whenever I watch his films, I go in with an expectation that it will be cheesy, campy, violent, over the top, stylistic, and fun.  It's his style that sets his film apart from the mainstream movies.  In Inglourious Basterds, we are treated to a 'spaghetti western' telling of WWII and the Nazis. 

Again, I went into this film without seeing the trailer or knowing too much - the only knowledge I had was that it was a Nazi movie - starring Brad Pitt.  Large portions of this movie is sub-titled as French, German, and Italian are spoken.  I really liked this idea as opposed to having English speaking actors attempt a French/German/Italian accent.  I was totally drawn into the film and didn't even realize how long it was until I looked at my watch at the end of the movie.  Although the events of WWII portrayed in this film are fictional, it does make you happy to see what happens to the bad guys.

If you are fan of Quentin Tarantino, this is a must-see.  Don't let the prospect of this being a war movie turn you off - there's more to this movie than battle scenes.