Cold Remedy

or perhaps I should say, more specifically, cough remedy?

I had a cold last week and had really bad coughs. I’d get one cough, which triggers a full on cough attack that runs for a whole minute and sounds like my lungs would come out. Even the chef at Island Soul Caribbean Cuisine came out with a special made ginger honey drink personally.

Hanging out in an Indian household (namely, my boyfriend, his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend, whom, like me, hangs out there), I realized that (perhaps) every Indian kid gets fed this special cough remedy when they were growing up. Turns out they all know of a drink that combines honey, black pepper, turmeric and water (correct proportion unknown).

The one they made for me had… 1/3 a mug of honey, a pour-ful/ bottom of mug visible layer of black pepper, unknown amount of turmeric, and topped off with hot water. It was impossibly spicy and I felt like I drank as much as I could but the mug was still full at the end of the night (because I kept topping it off with more water).

But it did gave me my voice back the morning after!

Awesome Visit to Canada

GOSH! where do I begin? The beginning it is!

Rahul and Sarah was planning a 4th of July extended 9-day trip to Banff & Jasper. Shameek and Ani and I (and eventually Melanie) decided to tag along. Sarah flew in from DC so Rahul picked her up in Vancouver. We all arrive separately at the Banff Lake Louise campground for a 3-day stay, and another 4 days in Jasper (Wapiti campground). Ani and I packed everything into his car, including tent, sleeping bags and mats, OP’s stove, large amount of cooking/ eating utensils and instant food and seasonings. The weather was expected to be cold and rainy during the 4th of July weekend, then sunny for the next 5 days of our trip, so we packed in layers.

So glad I brought my woolen hat, if only I had my gloves too for Lake Agnes. I should get a new jacket more suitable for hiking. My current jacket is great for keeping warm at the beginning of the hike, but doesn’t breathe, so my arms get sweaty wet quickly as I warm up on a hike. The problem is, if I were on the move AND the weather is cold, it’s not very comfortable to keep the jacket on OR off.

My crappy hand-me-down sleeping bag from you-know-who still works for the most part as long as I dress very warm underneath. I also got my very own sleeping mat this time (L) which worked quite well also (as opposed to the bare ground camping I’ve been used to), it kept me off the rocky ground and insulated me from the wet and cold.

July 2
Boyfriend swooped me away from the office downtown around 3:20pm and we began our journey/ drive up to Kamloops through the Blaine crossing. It took me a good minute before I realize the Canadian custom doesn’t care why I’m coming in and what my plans were (they were questioning Ani a bit, but overall surprisingly easy). We arrived Kamloops after 9 pm at Ramada Inn and had dinner at an Irish restaurant where waiters were Scottish quilts and posters sell Dos Equis; menu items include beef teriyaki and cajun chicken with fettuccine (which turns out to be completely bland).

July 3rd
We departed Kamloops for Lake Louise (Banff) in the morning and arrived after a 5-hour+ drive at 3 pm. The gang was already there. Our first order of business was to set up camp/ tent, then we caught up with the folks at Lake Morraine and Valley of the Ten Peaks. It was windy and cold, Ani and I quickly went around the lake on the flat trail and went back to campground for dinner. Turned out nobody did grocery and there is only 1 little one in a village nearby. Luckily my wonderful boyfriend brought a few steaks and a pack of sausages. During the first half of this trip I was still mostly sick so I had to stay medicated for longer than I originally planned. Coughing at night definitely didn’t help…

Lake Morraine

July 4th
The weather wasn’t all that great (and Sarah got sick the night before) so we went into Banff town for the visitor center and grocery. After lunch at the food court, we went to Tunnel Mountain for a 2-3 hour hike, and Johnston Canyon for another 2-3 hour hike (Mel and Shameek continued onto Ink pots which turned out only so-so while we slowly returned to the parking lot and campsite). It drizzled a bit that day and evening but wasn’t too bad.

Upper Fall, Johnston Canynon

July 5th
The most strenuous hiking day (after that day Ani’s knee got hurt so we stopped most hiking activities). The 4 of us went up to Lake Agnes, Big Beehive and all the way to Plain of the Six Glaciers (so pretty!). It was a 5-hour round trip with lots of elevation gain. For the most part I was a pretty happy hiker. I realized I ascended at a much quicker rate than the other 3 (who were struggling up hill as much as they were downhill). After a long way up we reached Lake Agnes, which was pretty cool and gave a good sense of accomplishment, but also freezing cold!!! It was insanely windy and the glacial water temp didn’t help. We stopped at the tea house for a cup of hot tea and to layer on a bit (Shameek was the most prepared, with hat, jacket and gloves) and for a bathroom stop. Apparently horses help carry ingredients to the tea house (and for some reason they also go even further up the mountain), so 50% of the trail was littered with horse poop which stunk really bad.

Lunch at Lake Agnes

We then continue along Lake Agnes and up on the mountain to Big Beehive, which gave a nice aerial view of Lake Louise and a gazebo for rest at the view point. The last climb up to Plain of Six Glacier is perhaps the most strenuous. By then we were already pretty tired, and the elevation is higher than before. Right at the tea house (where the trail continues to the look out), we ran into Rahul and Sarah (who later felt sick again and eventually have to leave camp early to stay in Banff for better rest instead). From there on we saw quite a bit of wild life, some goats far away on the hill side, marmots and porcupines along the way. The bit past the official lookout was a ridge to a scramble. it was quite difficult (mostly requiring concentration and a little more determination to get to the better view point).

Plain of Six Glacier

July 6
We were all up for a slow and relaxing day as we migrate from our campground in Banff (Lake Louise) to the one in Jasper (Wapiti). We got some hot coffee and breakfast from the bakery in the little village in Banff and recommendations from the visitor center for view points/ mini hikes on the way to Jasper. We drove on the Icefield Parkway. The lakes are numerous and all beautiful. I have a hard time recognizing them in pictures by their names… Columbia Icefield was also on the way, and we took the tour to take a walk on the icefield!

Columbia Icefield

July 7 & 8
Wednesday and Thursday kind of all blurred together for me; they were both mellow days. Minimal to no hiking. We went up the Whistler mountain by tram. It’s a 7-minute ride up 2km of elevation (they also have a hiking trail that starts from the bottom), where you can begin a 1-2 hour hike to the summit (where the trail ends). More experienced hikers can choose to go beyond the end of trail and out to the ridge, etc. The view is magnificent as the Whistler is one of the taller mountains in the area, and it’s surrounded by others in the Canadian Rockies. Despite the overcast, we were still able to see Mt. Robson, the tallest mountain in the Rockies, far far away in the background. Ani’s knees were hurting real bad going up and down hill/ stairs, so we took it slowly and enjoyed the view.

Mt Robson in the background

Since there weren’t much flat hikes we could do, we visited the various lakes in the Jasper town area (Lake Annette, Medicine Lake, Lake Maligne, etc). Meanwhile, Shameek and Melanie went off to conquer the Sulphur Skyline trail. It’s a strenuous 4-5 hour hike which starts from the Miette Hot Springs. We met up with them in the evening at the hot springs. The hot springs (pools) are well maintained with facilities and have a cheap admission rate. We moved between the 4 different temperature pools (mostly the really hot and really cold pools) and get our muscles relaxed and my swollen bug bite deflated.

July 9
We had a very enjoyable Friday morning chilling by the Maligne Lake while Shameek and Melanie canoe-dled. The morning sun was warm, and we had coffee and tourist watching on the deck at the lake side cafeteria.

Shameek and Melanie Canoeing in Maligne Lake

After meeting up with Rahul and Sarah for lunch in Jasper, we took off for Merritt, on our way back to Vancouver. Merritt seemed to be an even smaller town than Kamloops. We arrived in the evening, had dinner, games and some beer, slept and took off in the morning.

July 10
We arrived in Vancouver after 1pm, checked into our hotel, and went straight to Saravanaa Bhavern for a delicious South Indian (vegetarian) buffet (weekends only). BEST BUFFETT EVER. Wish we could have stayed longer and ate more but the buffett closes at 3pm (although there’s not really any room left). I wish they’d come to my backyard and make me dosas.

Saravanaa Bhavern Chefs Make Dosas In Your Backyard

Delicious lunch!

After lunch, we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge and Stanley Park. It was sunny and hot so it was nice to be outside and about. In the evening, we went to a bar with outside seating on Robson street and people watched over delicious Okanagan Spring Lager. Later on we moved to another Irish bar around Burrard and Davie for food and more beer. Good times!

July 11
World Cup Final! Spain vs. Holland! How could we miss it? We went back to the Irish bar and Shameek and Mel and Rahul already saved us a good seat in front of the tv. It was an exciting game and we were happy that Spain had won at the 2nd extra time *yay* We left after the game to head back to Seattle. Custom went relatively smoothly. Soon we were home and getting ready for going back to work on Monday.

Beautiful Seattle Weekend

Lovely lovely weather this weekend. It was super sunny and warm (high at 17 degree Celsius) on Friday. Weather continues to be beautiful through Saturday and Sunday.

Ani got Mariner’s tickets so we went after work to see them against LA Angels on Friday. Got hopelessly beat 8:0. Beer and garlic fries were good nonetheless. Slept in on Saturday; decided to go for a walk in the Olympic Sculpture Park since it was so nice out and neither of us has been there. Ended up spending the whole afternoon in the waterfront area, enjoyed some chowder and clams and mussels at Elliot Bay’s while doing some reading for our road trip to So Cal at the end of this month. Headed home and watched lots of True Blood afterward. It’s a strange strange show and Ani watches way too much TV. o we also got IMAX tickets for Ironman 2 ’cause Ani enjoyed it a lot the first time he watched it on Friday morning with co-workers. Ani’s brother wanted tickets too so I have innocently bought 4 tickets for next Wednesday (without thinking that he would be bringing a little cousin or a date… I kinda assumed it would be Ben :p).

Got up around 8 Sunday morning to get some work done for MBA applications and woke Ani up for the soccer game. Chelsea won so it’s not good for Man-U. We were going to build out the new dresser I got from Ikea last week, but turns out there’s a duplicate of the left side panel and missing 1 right side panel, so we went for a 30-minute run along Eastlake around 1 pm instead. Took an easy pace and totally beat out Ani :p It was actually really nice to have a running buddy but he didn’t like that I out-ran him. He’s determined to get back in shape and beat me. We’ll see… After run we went to Costco for some groceries and the Blue House for BBQ. It was so nice! The weather was perfect, the food was awesome (we tried out habanero with pepper jack cheese sausage from Costco yum!), and it’s been a while since we’ve all hung out (since Hula’s parents were visiting for a month and I was home for 2 weeks during then) and Nanna wasn’t all stressed out even though OP’s dad was there too. Had a good time and left around 7 pm (when sun was starting to set). Ani ended up watching true blood at home while I continue researching MBA stuff.

I was all dressed and ready to go for a row this morning but I overslept in my mini nap and woke up at 5:12 Went back to bed and woke up to heavy rain at 6. Guess I was lucky I didn’t go or I would be drenched and cold. Weather is expected to turn for the better starting tomorrow for the rest of the week. woohoo.

Meanwhile, I have decided to re-study and re-take GMAT by end of August to see if I can get to 750. I also need to find time to sit down and type out some draft essays. Today I will be meeting Gretchen and Katie from the FIUTS BoT after work to see if I can get into the Board. Hula said they’re looking for people to help with the Alumni side of things and I already had long affiliation with FIUTS so this should be good More to my resume and story to tell for MBA applications. It’s interesting to go through personal history to look for stories to tell. Sometimes things that seem so far away and minor may help make a good story (not a lie, of course). Over time, even without intentionally trying to go for a theme, I do ended up doing things I like which all falls in line.

Looking forward to my meeting (interview?) this evening, Ironman on Wednesday and my missing dresser piece in the mail later this week.

Lovely Monday Morning Row

Got up for our usual 5am practice ready to give the 8+ another go. The group ended up going out in a 4+ and Ani and I sculled in a double

The weather was good (not raining), water was calm, sky was (mostly) clear. Ani and I sculled in a double long time back (probably when we first started intermediate I mid summer ’09) and he was in the bow seat. This morning I was in bow (and much better at coxing than the last time) and we rowed together nicely. We focused mostly on ratio and pressure, and rowing together. It was a fun and good row, I enjoyed it very much.

Back from CA

Came back to Seattle last night, just in time to catch my first NFL/ Seahawks game. My apartment is still in a mess, with all the dehumidifiers by the bathroom/ apartment entrance and all my stuff piled up in the living room and bedroom Went home, dropped off bags and took the bus to the Qwest stadium.

Been a long time since I last watched a football game (back in the days when UO football was THE happening thing in Eugene – well, it probably still is). This time we’re in an even bigger stadium, I can actually have a beer, I’m no longer sitting in the ‘student’ aisle, and it’s not freezing cold/ raining out, and I have Ani to teach me all about football play by play. It’s pretty fun and I think we’ll continue to go throughout this season.

Caught up on some Battlestar Galactica (did I mention Ani got me into watching Sci Fi TV? :p this one is pretty addicting) and went to sleep.

Went to level 2 rowing (8 am) this morning. Rusty start, but got mostly back to pre-vacation level by the end of class. Blisters are back. (Calluses mostly went away during my week long vacation; so did my bruises – probably helped that I have stopped taking fish oil).

Brunch @ The Dish was delish. Went to Barnes & Nobles to catch up on work and personal emails.

Urgh. Tomorrow is Monday. Back to reality.

Took close to 300 pictures during my 7-day stay in CA. Probably won’t have time to upload/ share until my apartment get fixed up to a livable condition again though. boo booo.

Flood mgmt ppl will be re-assessing apartment situation tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes…hopefully things will return to normal soon so I can get some laundry done and stop living out of a bag. bah.

Seattle Heat Wave

Yesterday Seattle has broken the all-time temperature record with 102 degree Fahrenheit (39 Celsius).

My apartment was hot like the oven. So glad that Ani got the air conditioning figured out.

Few & Infrequent Postings Lately

Last week pretty much flew by with stress and work. Rowed all 4 days the past week, through good and bad weather.

Friday we were invited to a comedy show at Parlor Live and went to an Irish pub before hand. It was a fun night out.

Saturday was PRC (www.pocockrowingcenter.org) 15th anniversary and open house BBQ. Terrific weather and Susan and Peter came by for a free LTR lesson Very glad they got the opportunity to try rowing out. It was also very nice to finally meet some of the operative staffs and members of the center. We stayed after morning rowing for the member presentation.

Sunday morning was freezing cold and there was barely any boats in the water. There was thunder 10 till 11 and we were just heading towards U-bridge so we immediately rowed all four back to the dock :p Very happy to hear from Kip that Ani and I are ready to move up to Level 2 intermediates. We are both looking ahead to join competitive teams down the road. Went to the French Bakery afterward for some hot breakfast Later in the evening we went to Golden Garden beach for Kara’s farewell BBQ. It was cold but good to meet up with some folks.

Have a feeling that I’m becoming lactose intolerant. My left middle finger has also been acting up on me since Mt. Rainier weekend. It’s like the bone or tendon/ ligament is off or something; can’t fold and unfold naturally and can’t really use much force. Need to check it out soon; hope it’s nothing too serious.

I’m in a bit of a scattered brain mode. Maybe it’s time for some coffee.

4-Day Weekend @ Rainier

Ani and I took a day off on Thursday (7/2) to get a head start at Mount Rainier National Park. We arrived the park Thursday at noon, pitched tent at Cougar Rock Campground, and had some lunch then took off for our first hike (of the year?) to Charter Fall/ Madcap Fall/ Narada Fall (3-mile portion of the 93-mile Wonderland Trail). The trail was mostly nice and mellow, completely dry. The first 2 falls were very much hidden though so we missed them the first time around; not all that impressive anyways. The Narada fall was awesome and totally worth the hike (although many would just drive to it). After returning to the campsite, we drove to Paradise for some more visitor’s information and back into Ashford for some last minute grocery/ ice.

Day 2 we went to Paradise for the hike up to Panorama point. 90% of the trail was snow covered. There were lots and lots of visitors at the beginning of the trail. The steep ascend drive lots of them off the remainder of the trail. We just took our time slowly going up while enjoying the view, reapplying sunscreen every hour. Took 4 hours to complete the 4-mile round trip. The view was very nice and the snow cold breeze under the hot hot sun was pretty pleasant as well. We were going to do the Nisqually Vista as a nice after-stroll as the ranger suggested, but was unable to locate the trail beyond its trail head. So we went back for some camp fire and nice dinner and called it a day.

Day 3 we mostly chilled and relaxed (true purpose of vacation) in the Longmire area of the park. Longmire hikes are mostly very easy and accessible from spring to fall. We started with Kautz Creek, a 1.2-mile in-and-out trail. 0.5 – 1 mile into the trail, our bear bells alerted a couple of deers on the trail and we also noticed and stopped. After a few minutes of staring and no signs of the deers retreating from the trail, we decided to turn around. Then we moved onto Trail of the Shadows, which is a very nicely groomed interpretive trail with history of the Longmire family business. 0.5 mile into the 0.7 mile trail, we discovered one end of the Rampart Ridge loop trail and decided to take the detour. The trail has lots of steep ascend and switchbacks. Neither of us brought our day pack for the interpretive trail, but Ani has a bottle of water that lasted us for the 1.75 mile up to the viewpoint and back. After the unexpected (thus hard) hike, we retreated to ice cream and soda treat and lounged outside the Longmire inn with a view of the Rainier mountain for the rest of the day

After 3 days without a shower, we decided to give it a major rub down at the campground and I even managed to wash my hair. It felt gooood

Day 4 we got up in the morning and drove home. Got home at noon and immediately jump in for a real shower. Clean clean clean The rest of the day was spent unpacking and re-adjusting to civilization.

Check out my pictures here:

MtRainier4thJuly09

In Response to Dooce…

Got the questions from Heather Armstrong @ dooce.com. Looks like a fun exercise. So here are my answers.

1. What are your middle names?

He doesn’t have a middle name, and my middle name is really my Chinese name.

2. How long have you been together?
We’ve been dating for 514 days (or 1 year 4 months and 25 days) according to my day counter app on Google.

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?

We first met on the Badminton court in college. We were both avid players for over 10 years and enjoy pick-up games. For 2 years we didn’t really talk, we just see each other on the court and play our games (I believe we’ve even partnered in double games, but we are both experienced enough to know where the other person is and no talking is needed). We graduated 2 years later and ran into each other in the bus close to where we worked; we exchange contacts and agreed to lunch. The rest is history.

4. Who asked whom out?

I think technically neither of us did. It was mutual understanding and affection. I might have pushed a little harder to stay together when he was freaking out about the idea of us dating.

5. How old are each of you?

We are 2 years apart.

6. Whose siblings do you see the most?

I’ve met his brother twice, he has met my sister way more. The first time I introduced them we weren’t dating yet, and then it was my big birthday dinner, and another birthday dinner, and my big Chinese New Year feast at home. There’re probably some more outings here and there with my friends when they were both present. I like to make sure my sister likes him and accepts him, or at least they could relatively comfortably be in the same room. Same with my friends and our mutual friends; I have not yet met ‘his friends’.

7. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?

Can’t quite think of ‘hardest’ on top of my head, but one of the tougher scenarios is when he loses his cool. Both of us know and well understood that I’m quite a short circuit and I could blow up really quickly, and for a really short time. Usually he would just keep quiet and let that moment go, then I’d come back to my normal self and apologize, and cuddle to make things better. Otherwise, it’d just be a vicious spiral downwards. We’d get mad at each other for the other person being mad for no apparent reason, etc. But we’d eventually hug and make good.

8. Did you go to the same school?

We both graduated from UW. He graduated with EE master and I graduated with Business and Econ bachelors.

9. Are you from the same home town?

No. Vastly different background. He’s from Kollam, Kerala, India; I’m from Hong Kong. I still haven’t been to India and have very little concept of how big/ crowded of a town he’s from. I most often hear people comparing Hong Kong to NYC, whereas Kerala, as far as pictures go, looks like a beautiful tropical forest. The truth seems to be closer to some sort of a dense city though.

10. Who is smarter?

Depends on subject matter. I’m the planner/ control-freak so I’m really good in making sure everything is done on time and proper. Otherwise, he’s pretty smart too.

11. Who is the most sensitive?

Me… very self-conscious and needs constant reassurance/ recognition as I achieve perfection.

12. Where do you eat out most as a couple?

I’d say either my favorite hole-in-the-wall sushi place Musashi or the taco truck around the corner from his house Rancho Bravo Taco.

13. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

San Francisco…

14. Who has the craziest exes?

Don’t think either of us has any really. If one day I became an ex of his, I would be it.

15. Who has the worst temper?

Me again. I lose it when things are not perfect that way I want it (surely there’s a range of emotions, starts from sulking to snapping off for 1 second to completely pissed off for a day).

16. Who does the cooking?

He’s the head chef; I’d help if I really need to. I don’t like to cook because I don’t have any creative ideas (in general and cooking in particular). My top of mind recipe is top ramen + fishballs, or any instant dinner like frozen pizza, canned soups, toasts, or chips.

17. Who is the neat-freak?

I just know how things need to be kept in order to avoid situations where one is likely to lose or forget about things, as well as maximizing sense of space in a small room with lots of piles.

18. Who is more stubborn?

hmm I haven’t thought about that for a while. I think we’re both stubborn up to a certain level, but not too bad really. We’ve grown up. lol

19. Who hogs the bed?

That’s up for debate.

20. Who wakes up earlier?

Me, and I stay up later too. He’s the ‘weaker sex’ (just kidding)

21. Where was your first date?

Neither of us grew up with the concept of ‘dating’ so there wasn’t really a first date, future dates unlikely either.

22. Who is more jealous?

lol ask him.

23. How long did it take to get serious?

I have always been serious. Then again, if we define serious as “planning to get married” that takes thing to a whole new level that neither of us can be sure. After all, it’s India vs. China.

24. Who eats more?

If the question is ‘who CAN eat more’ the answer would be him; after all he’s 0.7lb/ inch heavier. Otherwise, it depends on the day.

25. Who does the laundry?

We do our own. He’s the one who has piles all around the room though.

26. Who’s better with the computer?

He is.

27. Who drives when you are together?

So far, mostly me, mostly because my car is older and I have more confidence driving in the States (he’s used to driving in India where there are no lanes nor traffic rules). So when we go to Snoqualmie we’ll take focus when we’re traveling between our own place and / or other errands, he’d drive. Otherwise he prefers to drive when he’s comfortable enough.

I love him for making me a better person.