Dragonette @ Venue

Whidbey Island

Derek was back from Montreal for two weeks so we decided to spend a couple nights at Whidbey Island. Not much to see there except Deception State Park and Bridge, which are pretty, but I think I am too spoiled by Vancouver mountains and scenery because I wasn't as impressed as I felt I should have been. We couldn't find anything to do at night time so we spent hours inside the 24 hour Walmart!

Derek and I dubbed this our "hipster holiday" because he had packed hipster clothing, and we determined that I am 50% hipster...

Tegan and Sara @ The Vogue

I felt extremely cool standing in the photo pit while the fans were going crazy at Tegan And Sara's sold out show at The Vogue. It is so nice not having to fight with the crowd when taking photos! I had forgotten that the photographers were supposed to meet before the show, so I plunged straight into the crowd and started pushing my way to the front. One girl behind me called me a b*tch and I turned around and glared at her until she apologized. Those girls can be so mean.

I was glad it was an early-ish show (started at 9:15) because I had to be up to fly to Courtenay at 5:30am the next day!

Mother Mother @ Zulu Records

I love how one of my favourite bands just happened to have a free performance at Zulu Records on my day off. FREE!

Peak 3

It actually took longer to go down than to go up the third peak of the Chief (1 hour up, 1.5 hours down)! It was nice going on a weekday because there was virtually no one at the top, so we got to hang out and enjoy the view without having other people around.

Classy

This is the result of me owning no vases. The only option was a beer bottle!

Hot Chip / Yacht @ Commodore

It was a super dance party, with Yacht and Hot Chip playing at the Commodore. Yacht opened up the show, and they were amazing!

When Hot Chip came out, I was shocked to see how geeky they were. I have never in my whole life seen so many gay men reach out their hands to try to touch someone as nerdy looking as the lead singer of Hot Chip.

Austra @ Venue

It was my first time arriving at a show right at 11pm. I usually go a bit early and catch the opening act, but Leonard was my plus one for this show and we didn't really feel like standing around. We killed some time by spending an hour at the rooftop bar at the Hotel Georgia - that place is really cool. I had forgotten my phone at home so I didn't take a picture (I didn't want to take out my very conspicuous SLR at this fancy bar), but I wish I had. There's a fire in the middle of the patio and lots of little cabanas and waterfalls!

Anyway, so Austra was better than I expected. It was pretty packed in there, but I pushed my way through and dragged Leonard right to the front with me. It is very helpful to have a big camera to wave in front of people's faces so that they will make way for you!

Filipino Pulled Pork Adobo

So easy to make using my brand new crock pot! I just threw in the pork and sauce, turned the pork over after 4 hours, then shredded the pork after another 4 hours. One of my tastiest meals yet.

Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese with ground beef, broccoli, and onions. I made eight servings and have been eating mac and cheese for four days in a row!

Brandywine Meadows

I felt like I was in a fairytale while I was hiking this trail. Fields of flowers, surrounded by trees and snowcapped mountains..I've never been anywhere like this before. It was rated "difficult" (as in, same level as the Grouse Grind and harder than The Chief and Garibaldi) but I didn't find it particularly hard. The beginning is very steep (some parts are steeper than the Grind), but it was really just the downhill at the steep section that I found to be challenging. It's like going down the Grind, but instead of having steps, having loose soil in their place... there were also lots of obstacles, like mud and climbing vertical logs and giant trees that had fallen onto the trail. It was fun! It was my kind of hike. And a great reward at the end.

(Pics 1,2,3,9 via Allen)

Wipeout

A picture of my wipeout from Jason's Gopro. My body is now covered with bruises (15 on my last count).

Hehe best part was when Allen (my manager) told the new girl at work that I am tough and got into a barfight. "Yes!" I said. "I got into a fight and someone punched me in the stomach!" I then lifted up my shirt and showed her the bruise I got from falling onto the handlebars. The new girl's mouth was agape and she was like, "WOW! I can't believe you got into a fight!" :O   Hehehehe.

Mountain Biking @ Whistler

A.k.a. the most dangerous activity I have ever done (including skydiving and bungee jumping).

I don't think I really understood what mountain biking was, when Jason and Hugo invited me to come along with them.  I have never gone mountain biking before, and I was just not prepared at how steep, narrow, and curvy the trails were. The whole time I was going down, I was thinking about how I didn't want to die... Pretty much if your bike skidded off the trail you would hit a tree and/or roll down the side of the mountain!

I fell once on a green run, but I was fine and barely felt anything because it was just to my side. We did the greens three times, and by the end of it I was pretty confident. We then went onto a blue run and it was so much fun. There weren't as many curves but there were tons of little slopes and hills, which meant that we went much faster and higher, but it felt safer to me because the landings were straight. It was the turns I was really worried about anyway.

After lunch, we went back on the blue run we had gone to the first time, and I fell right in the beginning. This time, I flew over the handlebars and landed face first and on my stomach, on the gravel. I was so thankful for the helmets they gave us, because I would have a scarred face right now instead of a little gash on the chin. I remember thinking, "Uh oh, my face is going to hit the ground. My chin just banged against the ground. My stomach just hit the ground. I can't move! But I should yell out that I'm ok so they'll know I'm still alive." Jason actually thought I was unconscious until he heard me say that I was ok, just because of the way I landed and wasn't moving. My shoe even came off in the fall! I was thankful that it was the one time I wasn't in the back of our group, because Jason moved my bike off the trail, grabbed my shoe and put it on my foot, and had me roll to the side, just as a big group of bikers came down and passed us on the narrow trail.

What he said he saw happen was that I had gotten a bit of height and landed on a gravelly spot, tried to correct the position of my bike, and that made me slip and fall. I had only had the wind knocked out of me and was otherwise fine, so I just rode down more cautiously the rest of the way down, and felt well enough to go up for another blue run.

The next blue run was fine, except at the bottom when I again had my bike slip on some loose gravel. This time, my handlebars had turned around so they were protruding up, and I landed with my stomach right on the handlebar. I felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach. I knew I had to move my bike as fast as possible, so I quickly got up and moved my bike to the side, but couldn't move anymore after. I was in so much pain and shock. I was lying there in agony, until a random lady offered to help bring my bike down and Hugo came to collect me.

I ended up having to sit the rest of the afternoon out, just because I had lost my confidence and my stomach was in pain (it has a big handlebar-sized bruise now) and I was so tired from all the adrenaline, lack of sleep, and the alcohol from the night before. I even cried in front of a stranger! Since I had wiped out at the bottom, everyone at the gondola and chair lifts saw me. I was sitting and grimacing while waiting for the Jason and Hugo to finish their runs, and an older man came up to me and said "I saw you crash! Are you ok?" I replied with, "IT HURTS! I LANDED ON THE HANDLEBARS! WAHHHH!" with tears coming down my face. Hahaha it was not my best moment. The man then pointed to his protection and said, "And this is why you should wear body armour!"

Honestly, I thought this was the most dangerous and extreme thing I have ever done in my life. Skydiving was nothing compared to mountain biking up in Whistler! This was four hours of being scared for my life. Although it was fun and gave me the hugest adrenaline rush, I knew in the back of my mind that making one wrong turn or slipping up could mean a serious injury. I don't know if I could ever do it again, just because I have a fear of falling now. I would have to be wearing some serious body armour if I were to do it again.

At the end of the day, the guys turned to me and said, "You were amazing. We don't know any other girls who would have been able to do this. You kept up with us until your big wipeout!" Amazing, or CRAZY? Anyway, my once-white shirt has now turned brown because I kept falling onto my stomach. And I ate lots of dirt today. It was definitely an epic day.

As an example of what we did today, here is a picture of Jason getting a bit of air during the blue run:

Gastown

I went to Gastown after the Keane concert (the photography was so strict and was such a big joke!) to Peckinpah for some deep fried cornbread and bourbon. Good southern times.

Zesty Shrimp, Lime, and Avocado Salad

Shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, red onions, lime juice, and cilantro