This Is Where I Belong

Last week, I passed my 6-month probation at work. I'm relieved. This job has been really good for me, and I'm glad that my supervisor is extremely happy with all the work I've done so far.

I remember when I was in high school. I was debating between taking up Political Science (to go into law school) or Information Technology. I chose the later. I wanted to be a Systems Analyst. I figured that moving forward, computers would make the world go round. I was right, and I can't believe that here I am, in my first IT job in Canada, and I am a Systems Analyst. I've got a lot to be thankful for.

A Systems Analyst practically means problem solver, and the job is not without stresses. Working with archaic systems would be the first issue. Then you have your users. Patient though they might be, it's still concerning when your main purpose in the workplace is to solve their problems. But I feel right at home. This is what I spent years in school for. This is what I'm supposed to be doing.

Recently, I've been regretting not wanting to go to med school when I was younger. After all, my horoscope says I would do best as a surgeon. Unfortunately, the thought only occurred to me about a couple of years ago. It's definitely too late. But it's okay. I'm content. On almost every single day, I'm in the mindset that I would rather not be doing anything else. 

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Smells Fishy

I love fish, especially fish heads! My husband thinks this is super gross, but when fresh from salt water and cooked properly, they are actually very tasty. When I was in the Philippines, I took fish for granted. In fact, I would sometimes sulk, because my parents are huge fish eaters, and it seemed all we ate was fish fish fish. Now, living in Alberta, I actually miss having good, fresh fish.

I'm sorry to say that the fish available in Alberta suck. It's quite understandable because it's a land-locked province in a country with the second largest land area in the world. I now completely understand why most Albertans dislike eating fish. Because by golly, I can barely stand eating fish here. Only salmon and haddock taste like they're supposed to. The rest are just gross.

I remember last year when we went to T&T Supermarket in Edmonton. T&T is an Asian food store and I was so happy because they had fish heads for sale. I bought one and when it was time for me to cook it, it was the grossest smelling thing ever! I think it might have already gone bad. To make it worse, because of the pungent odor, we suddenly had a whole bunch of flies trying to get into our place. Despite the bug screen, some of them got in. While there's only flies here for a couple of months a year, they're big and nasty. I think it took days before we finally got rid of the stink from the apartment and longer to get rid of a couple of flies lurking around. Needless to say, it was my most horrifying fish-cooking experience to date.

 Recently, I've been craving milkfish...

Milkfish is the national fish of the Philippines, and it's very abundant in the country because of aquaculture. I love milkfish--not the cultured ones, but the ones from the ocean. Again, I was overjoyed when I found milkfish for sale at the Real Canadian Superstore. Fresh, er... frozen from Taiwan, I thought it would taste as good as I remember.

Durrr. This particular stock was obviously cultured, and it made me remember why I didn't like cultured milkfish in the first place. It stunk up our place again. It wasn't nearly as bad as the previous fiasco, but enough to put a grimace on my face. I really need to learn, and stop buying fish in this province.

I guess what I've realized is, there is definitely a reason why different people in different parts of the world like to eat different things. Fish might not be desirable in Alberta, but beef is, and it's the exact opposite in the Philippines. I'm hoping others realize this too, and not limit themselves to what they are used to in their part of the world.

Maybe, just maybe, I will miss good fish so much and it would make me want to vacation in the Philippines. It hasn't happened yet, though. Now lechon, on the other hand... that might just be another story.

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Best Oscars Ever

I don't normally like watching awards ceremonies. They usually bore me. Last night was different. It was probably the best Oscars ever! I love that they had Ellen DeGeneres host it again. She was just unbelievably brilliant. She's truly awesome, and no one--no one, can host the Academy Awards better than she can.

The nominated movies seem to be really good. I'm excited to watch them. I know I should have watched them already, but I'm not too big a fan of movie theaters so I've waited for them to come out on home video. I'm so psyched that I have a ton of good movies to watch in the coming weeks!

The speeches last night were also phenomenal. Jared Leto (Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club) and the newcomer Lupita Nyong'o (Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years A Slave) especially, gave incredibly inspiring speeches. It was Hollywood on a different level.

Star power and fashion last night were also awesome. Cate Blanchett was astonishing, as usual. Lupita Nyong'o, again, as with all previous awards ceremonies this season, wowed with amazing class and sophistication. And even though I didn't like what my favorite Julia Roberts wore, I still love her. My bet for best dressed would have to be Jennifer Lawrence in her red Dior Haute Couture gown.

But there were two things that really made my night last night: Ellen ordering pizza for the celebrities (poor pizza delivery guy, he had no clue!), and this selfie--

Ellen wanted everyone to retweet it to try to break retweet records. All the traffic broke Twitter for a few minutes instead. Awesome, just awesome.

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Beautiful Sylvan Lake

Every time I watch a movie or TV show that's set in a quaint little European-looking (but actually North American) town I always go, "I wanna live there!" I get even more excited when, in said fictional town, I see a body of water with a few small boats or yachts docked here and there. Unfortunately, I don't think such a place exists in this part of Canada. I'd probably have to go to Nova Scotia, or maybe Newfoundland and Labrador to find such a charming place. Or so I thought, until I visited Sylvan Lake.

Sylvan Lake is a fast-growing town of around 11,000 people in Central Alberta. It is approximately 20 minutes west of Red Deer and is named after the 15 kilometer long freshwater lake in the area. Being in a land-locked province, Albertans get pretty excited about water. So you can imagine how Sylvan Lake becomes so popular in the summer. It is said that the lake gets over 1.5 million visitors each year. Because of its popularity, Sylvan Lake has been beautified and maintained. It has an esplanade with a marina, and quaint shops and restaurants lining the street. It apparently even has a lighthouse, that I have yet to see!

I love living in Red Deer. With its population of around 100,000 people, it is the perfect size for me. But visiting Sylvan Lake has put thoughts in my head. Wouldn't it be cool to live there? Maybe buy a small boat and turn the lake into my playground? When the time comes for us to buy our forever home, the question will definitely arise: Red Deer or Sylvan Lake? The good thing is, they're really close to each other.

Right now, the lake is frozen. I did take a few pictures when we visited the other day. It's beautiful, but I'm sure it will be more beautiful and super fun in the summer. And for that I cannot wait!

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I Volunteer

One thing I've always wanted to do and is an item on my bucket list is to volunteer for a non-profit organization. Strangely, and for reasons unknown to me, I was never able to do it in the Philippines. Recently, I was able to volunteer for a local animal rescue society.

Hope Lives Here Animal Rescue Society is an amazing rescue organization in Central Alberta. Over the holidays, they needed a graphic designer.  Having some designing capabilities, I jumped at the opportunity to help out. Here are some of the designs I came up with:

Designing does not come easy for me. I also know I'm not very good at it. I feel that my design process is forced and I have to squeeze out the results. Unlike my former classmate and colleague, Kat Michelle, who is an amazing graphic artist, I don't feel like I have the artistic talent at all, but is just someone who knows how to use the Adobe Creative Suite more than others. Nevertheless, designing makes me really happy. There's nothing like the joy you feel at having come up with something (somewhat) beautiful. To be able to use it for a greater good is even better.

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The Blind Side

Today, I watched The Blind Side. I'd heard a lot of good things about the movie for the longest time but just never had the chance to watch it previously. All I can say is, wow. What an inspiring tale.

For those of you who have not yet seen it, The Blind Side tells the story of Michael Oher, an NFL player for the Baltimore Ravens. Oher used to be homeless, but a well-to-do family took him in, adopted him, and paved the way for him to become the pro-footballer that he is now.

The movie makes me wonder: "Who does that?" Who takes a random person off the street, to live in their home, not knowing what kind of person they've taken under their roof? It takes a pretty special person to do that, and obviously, Oher's adopted family are pretty special people.

To be honest, sometimes I feel like I've lost faith in humanity. You help people, they stab you in the back. You're nice to someone, they take advantage of you. The Blind Side lifts my heart. It shows me that there are still kind people out there, and most especially, that there are still people who don't take advantage of the kindness of others.

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#WeAreWinter

I love it--the hashtag that has caught on for so many Canadians following the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. I never expected to be so caught up in the games either, but here I am.

In the Philippines, very few care about the Winter Olympics. We are followers of the Summer Olympics all the way. This year, we have our first Winter Olympian in the figure skater Michael Christian Martinez, and he has brought a huge sense of pride to Filipinos around the world, as well as increased the popularity of the Winter Games in Filipino homes. But this was never the case before Sochi. My husband therefore, found it quite understandable when I vehemently expressed that the Winter Games were lame and no one cared about them. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I now know the truth. The Winter Games are awesome. It's like watching one adrenaline-pumping extreme event after another. One week into the games, and I'm hooked. My husband is amazed that I now know more Winter Olympians than he does.

Canada has been doing really well in Sochi. And as I have adopted this land as my new home, I am extremely proud of how the Canadian athletes have been doing. I am so excited, you can see it through my Facebook profile and Twitter feed. In fact, I seem to be more excited by the Winter Olympics than your average Canadian.

Among all the Canadian athletes, figure skater Patrick Chan has amazed me the most. He is so good! His silver medal finish just a couple of days ago was almost devastating. He was so close to the gold! But despite finishing only second, he has won the hearts of so many Canadians all over the country

There are still a few days left in this year's Winter Olympics and the best is yet to come, with games such as Curling, and Ice Hockey still under way. Here's hoping that Canada will kick ass! #WeAreWinter, after all.

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And The Mountains Echoed

Let me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of Khaled Hosseini. His first novel, The Kite Runner, is unlike anything I've ever read before, and in its poignancy, still haunts me to this day. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was also remarkable in itself, so one can imagine my excitement when I found out that his third novel was out.

In a nutshell, And the Mountains Echoed, Hosseini's third book, tells the story of Abdullah and Pari, siblings who are separated as children in mid-twentieth century Afghanistan.


Normally, in a story like this, you would expect to know what happens to the two after they are separated. But no, Hosseini proceeds to tell you stories about other people, some of them, yes, vitally connected to the main plot, but others I found to be insignificant.

It feels to me as if the book can be summarized into two thoughts--the siblings getting separated, and then reunited--and since that is so simple and makes all of two pages, he inserts anecdotes about other people in the middle instead. I found myself either asking, "What was the point of that," or getting submerged in a subplot only to be subsequently left hanging. 

Hosseini is a very talented storyteller, and it still shows in this book. It is just not as good as his previous two. I was less invested in the characters. I didn't really feel what they were going through. I barely even cried! And I think that even if I stopped comparing it to his previous work, I would still not be too impressed.

I wonder if I expect too much from this author. I did only rate the book two stars or it was ok on Goodreads.com. In all honesty, rating a Khaled Hosseini book with just two stars seems blasphemous. But that was it. It was all the impact this book made on me. It was just ok.

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Moraine Lake

If you google images of Canada, there's a popular picture that is sure to grab your attention. In fact, if you do that right now, I'm 100% positive your eyes will hone in on a picture of a lake, with trees around it, and with the Rocky Mountains in the background.

That, my friends, is Moraine Lake at the Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest national park in Canada, right here in Alberta. That image, because of its astonishing beauty, has haunted me for years, even before I knew I was coming to Canada, even before I knew I was marrying a Canadian. A few weeks ago, after being in the country for 8 months, I was finally able to behold it with my own eyes.

It's funny because my husband didn't even know Moraine Lake existed. But I insisted, and googled, and thankfully, GPS led us there. Although still inside Banff National Park boundaries, it's actually not anywhere near the Banff town center, but some 60 km away in the town of Lake Louise (74 km if you consider the drive up to the lake itself). It was almost sunset when we drove there, and I was freaking out, because we were in a narrow, winding mountain road in the middle of nowhere and we didn't exactly know where we were going. When we arrived at the lake area though, I was relieved to see a lot of people, and when I saw the lake itself, I actually had tears come to my eyes.

Moraine Lake was breathtaking! It was every bit as beautiful as in the pictures, maybe even more so. And it was very humbling, actually being there, a place I never imagined I would be able to visit...

It was definitely a dream come true.

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Rueon Thai Restaurant

I'm not too big of a fan of curry, and since I've never really had real Thai food, I thought I wouldn't like Thai cuisine. Boy, was I wrong.

Last night, on our quest to find as many ethnic restaurants in Alberta as we possibly can, hubby and I stopped at Rueon Thai Restaurant in Red Deer. The place is highly recommended by a co-worker and has a 5-star rating on Google, so we thought we'd give it a try.

Rueon, apparently meaning "wooden house", is a gem. The restaurant decor is simple, but the food and service was great. We had Spring Rolls as an appetizer and it didn't disappoint. It was perfectly cooked and tasted really good with hoisin sauce and sriracha. It was so good that we had to order another serving! We also had Pad Thai. It was our first time having it so we don't have anything to compare it to, but it was delicious. The best food of the night, however, was the Mas Mann or Massaman curry (pictured above). Like I already said, curry is not in my list of favorite foods, but Rueon's take on this concoction of coconut milk, peanut sauce, and of course curry, is heavenly. It's a mixture of flavors that ends up as a party in your mouth. The added star anise made it the most engaging dish I've ever had in my life. By engaging, I mean: I wanted to look at it, I wanted to smell it, I wanted to eat it--and not stop. LOL!

It's been a while since I wrote about a restaurant on my blog. This post is proof of how inspiring Rueon is. I can hardly wait to sample more of their exciting offerings.

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