Road Trip to Seattle

Sameer and I made a spontaneous road trip to Seattle this Easter long weekend. I've actually never been to Seattle before, so I was very excited. I've always heard that Seattle was a less-scenic version of Vancouver with a cool fish market (as bad as that sounds). For me, I'm conditioned to think of Grey's Anatomy or Sleepless in Seattle.

Aside from our plans to eat a lot, we didn't have much else planned. This "going with the flow" style of trip is largely new to us. We usually have a pretty specific itinerary planned whenever we go somewhere, so that we can maximize our time by hitting up everything (or close to everything) we want to see. I think knowing that Seattle is so close and the fact that we didn't have to fly there took a lot of the pressure off.

Vancouver is about 2.5 hours away from Seattle (half an hour less if you drive fast and don't make any stops). On the way there, we made 3 pit stops - one for food, one for gas ... but really all three for me and my borderline overactive bladder (TMI?).

We managed to snag an awesome hotel deal on Hotwire the night before for a four star hotel right next to the Safeco Field - Silver Cloud - Stadium, Seattle.

Trip tip: book last minute if the circumstances allow for it because hotels often offer rooms for up to 60% off their original price.

A baseball fan being a baseball fan.

I read online that there are tours available to the public for both the CenturyLink Stadium and the Safeco Field. I think we can all guess which one of us was more excited about this prospect. So, our first order of business was to find out when the tours were running and get tickets. The concierge told us that tickets were being sold in the Mariners Store ... and that's where we headed.

Unfortunately for us, the last tour that day was at 12:30 pm (we got there around 1:30 pm) and no tours were running on Sunday because of Easter. After wallowing in a bit (a lot) of disappointment, we accepted it and moved on to check out the famous Pike Place Market. Our hotel offered a complimentary shuttle service that dropped us off right across the market, which was SUPER convenient. This was a plus because I had no idea they even offered this service when we first booked the hotel. It saved us a lot of time and probably frustration that would've ensued if we had to navigate our car through the crowded streets surrounding the marketplace. 

Yes, it was very crowded indeed. 

We headed straight to the much talked about Pike Place Fish Co. stand. This open air fish market was founded way back in 1930 and apparently generates the most amount of money per square foot of retail space in all of America. It's world-renowned for its "flying fish" performances. We didn't stand there for too long because of the crowd, but I'm happy to say that I did witness a "flying" fish!

Our next stop was on Post Alley for some yummy chowder at Pike Place Chowder (click to read about what we ordered and what we thought!). 

A belly full of chowder later, we wandered over to the Market Theater Gum Wall to make our mark. The wall was closed down this past November for a total cleaning for the first time in 20 years. Wikipedia tells me that it took a total of 130 hours to clean and over 2,350 pounds of gum was removed from the wall. Knowing that the wall was completely cleaned merely four months ago, I was shocked to see that the wall was entirely covered with gum already. Nevertheless, I loved all the colours! The whole thing is actually quite artistic :) 

We made sure to keep a safe distance.

Post-Gum Wall, we made our way back onto 1st Avenue to check out the schedule for the Underground Tours of the city. My sister visited Seattle last summer, and recommended that we go on the tour because she thought it was really eye-opening. 

Going into it, we really didn't know what to expect. I knew close to nothing about the history of Seattle. Little did we know, the tour actually turned out to be the highlight of our trip! It was definitely eye-opening, informative, and actually helped us gain a new-found appreciation for the city. 

A little bit a history lesson here ...

In 1889, Seattle experienced a huge fire that nearly took out all of its then downtown core. This fire has since been named the "Great Seattle Fire". The fire started out small and was caused accidentally by an assistant in a woodworking shop that was heating glue over a gas fire. The glue had boiled over the pot, caught fire, spread over the wooden floors of the building. The severity of the fire quickly escalated and became out of control as a result of contact with nearby explosives, major water supply issues, and the fact that all of Seattle's first buildings were made out of wood. The fire burned for 13 hours until it naturally died down. Approximately 120 acres, amounting to 25 blocks of the city, were destroyed as a result of the raging fire. 

As an aftermath of the fire, the city leaders decided to make two major strategic changes: 1) all new buildings would be made out of stone or brick, instead of wood, to prevent a repeat of history; and 2) the existing streets would be regraded to stand at least one story higher than the existing street level. 

I know the next part may be hard to imagine without an elaborate visual, but work with me.

Concrete walls that ranged from 12 to 30 feet in height were erected around the buildings, creating small borders around each building. There would be a wider gap between buildings that were across the street from each other, so that the street would be situated along the wide gap. 

The arches on the right are part of the original exterior of a building. The wall on the left side is a concrete wall that was constructed to elevate the street onto the second story of the building. The space between the exterior of the building and the concrete wall is the "border" that ran around the outside of the building that would eventually be underground.

Now, if you've pictured what I've described properly, then you'll likely be wondering how people got over the concrete walls to make it from one building to the next.

In order to allow citizens to make their way along the street from one building to another, ladders were placed along the sides of the concrete walls. As you can imagine, this made it exceptionally tedious and physically demanding for pedestrians to get from one place to the next. Further, it was bad for business from the perspective of merchants because the idea of having to climb an endless amount of ladders was a serious deterrent for ladies shopping in heels and petticoats. Eventually, the city came to an agreement with the building owners that they would pay for the construction of half of the sidewalk if the owner of the building would pay for the construction of the other half. Even with this 50/50 split, there was still a gap between the two sides of the sidewalk that was later turned into skylights for the underground pathway. Although the city has since removed a lot of these skylights, several still remain (as can be seen below).

The skylights are made up of squared glass prisms. 

Prior to going on the tour, I recalled stepping over these squares when we were strolling along the sidewalk. I thought the squares were just tiles that the city had put in for decoration. It was really cool to be able to see it from underground because it was an entirely new perspective.

This is what the squares look like from above, on street level: 

The tour also talked about Seattle's underground "red light district" that the city leaders were well-aware of. This was first discovered by a census of the city that uncovered over 2,000 women prostitutes who were self-acclaimed "seamstresses". The puzzling part was that these seamstresses seemed to be carrying on business without ever owning a sewing machine. Soon after, the city leaders caught on and decided to go along with the euphemism -  a $10/month "sewing machine tax" was imposed such that all the seamstresses had to pay the tax in order for them to carry on "business". This tax ended up generating a significant amount of money that greatly contributed to the city's improved economic status.  

The tour was about an hour and 15 minutes. After all the walking, we were pretty famished. We headed back to Pike Place Market and stopped by The Pink Door on Post Alley (click to read about the best lasagna I've ever had!) for an early dinner. Luckily, we were seated right away and the eating ensued.

After dinner, we decided to check out how long the line was outside the original Starbucks. We had walked by earlier on in the day and didn't feel like lining up outside for 30 minutes for a coffee. By the time we got there, it was around 7:15 pm and the line was pretty short (we probably waited for 5 min). 

I'm sure most of you already know this, but fun fact for those of you who don't - this is the location of the very first Starbucks that opened in 1971.

Sadly, I didn't quite feel like having a coffee ... because I just had beer. I did end up buying a pack of their Pike Place Special Reserve for my parents. Truthfully, I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks' Pike Place roast (I usually order their Veranda Blend blonde roast).

..... skip a bit to the next morning .... 

(We basically went back to the hotel, made some friends from Portland who were chilling with us in the rooftop hot tub, ordered a couple of drinks at the bar downstairs - Jimmy's on First, had some microwavable KD, and called it a night.)

We were starving and desperately wanted to find a place with some solid brunch food. Our initial plan was to try Portage Bay Cafe. We called and found out that it was closed for Easter Sunday. After doing a bit of research, we decided on Tilikum Place Cafe (click to read my full review!). 

Our trip to Seattle was short, but sweet - the perfect place to go for one night over the weekend! I definitely can't wait to go back to try out more restaurants, watch a Mariners (vs. Blue Jays) game, and finally do the Safeco Field tour.

Monday to Friday Food Game

Disclaimer: I don't eat this healthy every day, but this is just a sneak peek into my good days for those of you who might be looking for some meal ideas.

I know it can be hard for someone working full-time 5-7 days a week to fill their belly with healthy food ... but it can be done! For me, I think the key is to: 1) have a routine and 2) do a bit of prep in advance.

Although I do like to throw in some variety here and there, below are examples of what I would eat for work on a typical day:

1. Breakfast.

Prep time: 5 minutes.

Ingredients: Several spoons strawberry yogurt, 1 banana, 1 packet of Quaker Harvest's cranberry and almond granola.

I like to eat my breakfast (with my cup of coffee) while I go through my emails in the morning, so I pack everything and bring it to work with me.

2. Lunch.

Prep: 15 minutes the night before and 5 minutes in the morning.

Ingredients: Quinoa, cucumber, tomatoes, mixed beans, red onions, shredded cheese, lemon juice, garlic seasoning, salt, and pepper.

The key here is to do a bit of prep the night before. I usually cook the quinoa and cut all the veggies the night before, so that all I have to do in the morning is put everything together. To avoid having to do timely prep during the week, I usually cut up a bunch of veggies on Sunday and keep them in separate containers in my fridge.

3. Snack

Prep time: nil.

Aside from the granola bar and tangerines (which are self-explanatory), I usually have a handful of this "Power Mix" (I think you can get it from Costco) that consists of edamame, cranberries, pumpkin seed kernels, and almonds.

I usually snack on the Power Mix throughout the day, have the tangerines at some point between my breakfast and lunch, and save the granola bar for sometime in the afternoon after my lunch.

4. Post-Work/Pre-Dinner Snack.

Fruit smoothies!!!

Note: I will add in a scoop of protein powder if I'm feeling extra hungry.

Prep time: 5 minutes.
Ingredients: Baby kale, strawberries, tangerines + water and honey.

Prep time: 5 minutes.
Ingredients: Baby kale, 1/2 of a chopped apple, 1/2 of a chopped pear + water and honey.

Prep time: 5 minutes.

Ingredients: 1/2 a slice banana, strawberries, blueberries + milk.

5. Dinner.

Prep time: 20-25 minutes.

Ingredients: Kale, quinoa, garlic, tomatoes, white onions, mushrooms, and chicken breast, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Dinner tends to be the most unpredictable meal of the day for me. It's also my favourite meal of the day and I look forward to it the most ... so I try to mix is up as much as I can. This is just what I happened to have for dinner tonight. As with my lunch, I cooked the quinoa and chopped the veggies the night before. Most of the prep time had to do with cooking the chicken. I only throw in the kale at the very end, so that it's barely cooked. While the chicken is cooking, I mix the chopped up kale in a separate boil with some olive oil and salt.

Love Is to Be Celebrated

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I've had a love-hate relationship with this "holiday". In elementary school, I loved Valentine's Day. I remember learning how to make heart-shaped doilies and candy necklaces. Our teachers would send us home with a complete list of the names of the students in the class so that we could (realistically, so our moms could) prep "valentines" for everyone in the class. My mom would let me pick out the valentines I wanted to give out that year. There would be so many different ones to choose from - from Rugrats and Harry Potter to Winnie the Pooh and Charlie Brown.  I always looked forward to going to school that day. We would all have a paper bag with our name on it taped to the back of our chair. I liked being able to walk around the classroom to drop off my valentines into each person's bag. I liked going through my bag after and reading all my valentines. I liked it because no one was left out. 

In high school, Valentine's Day became a lot more complicated. Cute and innocent valentines didn't exist anymore. It was a time of candy grams, hormones, and anxiety. Valentine's Day was no longer a fun and light-hearted occasion. Instead, it revolved around infatuation and popularity, and was often tainted with jealousy and competition. Valentine's Day very quickly became a day that highlighted the gradual (albeit unfortunate) transition from inclusivity to exclusivity. All in all, it was stressful!

In undergrad, I hated Valentine's Day. There were no more candy grams and hormones no longer played as big of a role. I was a life science nerd at U of T and I was always busy studying. I was surrounded by hardcore pre-med students that were frighteningly ambitious. In attempts to keep up, Valentine's Day naturally became an insignificant day for me. I actually resented it. I was annoyed at the idea that there was a day dedicated to romance. Didn't people have more important things to worry about? Shouldn't people love each other everyday day? Why just this day?  Obviously, I was very opinionated ... and naive. 

Now, fast forward a bit (a lot) ... so, what do I think of Valentine's Day now? I enjoy it! I celebrate it as a day of love. Love - not just for my significant other, but just love for people, life, and myself. This Valentine's Day, I am back in Toronto. I am spending it with my family - the people who I love the most. Sameer wasn't able to come back to Toronto with me this time, but that's ok ... we celebrated early! 

Love is to be celebrated. 

It's important to celebrate love. It's what keeps people together. It's what fuels your passions. It's what defines humanity. It's what helps us persevere through a lot of hardships. And although Valentine's Day has inevitably become commercialized (like all other holidays), the concept behind it is still meaningful and sincere. It's not the day of the year where you should love or express your love more to those you care about. It's the day of the year that reminds you to celebrate, honour, and cherish the love that you already have in your life everyday. 

So What Do They Say About Salad?

I know they say you can't make friends with salad, but you totally can. Salad could never replace my best friends (i.e. mac n cheese and poutine), but we're friends. It's unfortunate that I only came to this conclusion fairly recently.

When I was articling in Toronto, there was a salad place right across from my office, right around the corner of Bay and Richmond (Sandwich Box - yes, they also makes sandwiches). I used to go there several times a week with my co-workers and we would obsess over how good the salads were. The only thing I didn't like was that my salads would come to $10-12 dollars every time. 

If you're wondering, it's one of those places where you can pick your own ingredients and the price is based on the weight of the final product. So naturally, it gets expensive because the good stuff always weighs more. 

That was my dilemma - I loved the salads there, but I hated spending that much money every time. After a bit of thought, I realized that the reason I liked going there so much was that: 

1. I could control what I wanted/didn't want to put in my salad;

2. I could control how much of everything I wanted to put in my salad; and

3. It was quick and I could easily take it back to work with me or eat it wherever I wanted.

Then I thought...

"Well if that's the reason, why am I spending the money and agonizing over it when I can just do the same thing at home?"

BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE TIME!!!

But, how long does it really take?

I already know what ingredients I like in my salad because I get the same thing every time. It's just a matter of doing groceries and getting everything that I need ahead of time (weekends are usually a good time!). If the plan is to wash and cut up veggies every morning before work to put in my salad, then yes, that would be time-consuming, inefficient, and impractical. But, if it's a matter of spending 30 minutes on a Sunday evening to wash and cut all of my veggies and cook quinoa, tofu, chicken etc. ... then it's well worth it. Meal prep, my friends. Admittedly, I initially thought "meal prepping" was just some obscure phenomenon that fitness fiends rave over. But, now I know better - it's not just for fitness fiends; it's for everyone. It's quick, efficient, and makes me feel productive and prepared for the week. And with that, I embarked on my journey and resolved to commit to meal prepping. It hasn't been easy on weekends where all I want to do is just lounge ... but then again, that's just life. And to be clear, what I'm advocating here is not that I don't enjoy eating out (because I love it!). When I don't feel like making my own salad, I still embrace the indulgence of paying for someone else to make my salad. 

I'm just saying ... 

All it takes is a little preparation and forethought 

(...and a bit of time and commitment)

... to achieve the same results yourself, as you would get elsewhere. Not just for salads!!! So, I guess that's the moral of my story.

It's All About Perspective

I've recently been obsessed with the show Walking Dead. I know I'm a bit late to the game, as the show is now on its 6th season. Admittedly, I was very hesitant to start watching because the idea of zombies wasn't too appealing. Having now watched 5 seasons, I have to say that despite all the guts and gore, the show has much more depth than I expected. In particular, there was an episode that really resonated with me.

Just to provide some context for those of you who don't watch the show - the world is in an apocalyptic state as a result of a plague that has turned a majority of the population into mindless cannibals aka "Walkers". The main characters are largely strangers that have come together to form an alliance of sorts in an attempt to survive in the face of Walkers and limited resources.

In one of the episodes (season 5 - episode 2, I think), two of the characters (Bob and Sasha) play this game about "perspective". Sasha would come up with a seemingly negative situation or circumstance and Bob would counter by giving it a positive spin.

"Wet socks -- Cool feet"

"Mosquito bites -- Itching, to remind you that you're alive"

"Danger around every corner -- Never a dull moment"

"Sun beating down on you -- Glorious tan"

"No privacy -- Captive Audience"

Bob is one of my favourite characters on the show. His character's personality and perspective on life is refreshing, especially when juxtaposed with the show's motifs of doom, hopelessness, and struggle. His character is a good reminder that even in times of hardship, your attitude can really influence how you perceive your situation or circumstances.

It's all about perspective.

Even though Bob's character is fictional, people like Bob do exist in this world ... and I admire them! I admire them for their courage to accept adversity. I admire them for their ability to see beyond their current struggles. And I admire them for their unwavering perseverance to continue to enjoy life even when the odds are against them.

Over time, I've come to realize that self pity does no good (in any situation). All it does or will do is create a focal point for you to fixate on all the things that are not going right in your life. Life is not fair. Instead of thinking about how life has treated you unfairly, you should be grateful and thankful for your circumstances because there is always someone out there who is struggling harder. There is no sense in wishing away the negative and wishing for the positive, when at the end of the day all you're doing is wishing. Your life is what's been given to you, so live with it. Live "with" it sounds bad. But, I say that knowing that often times it's very difficult to change your perspective on something, especially when you're used to viewing it as being negative. Ultimately, the goal here (and this is a huge goal for me!) is to become so well-adapted to perceiving the positive in every situation that you're not simply living with it, you just live it. 

So, what was I thinking when I recently got the flu? (or at least I tried  to remind myself to think)

"I have the flu -- It's not fatal, I will recover"

"I have no appetite -- This will help curb my overeating"

"I can't make it to work -- I can catch up on sleep"

"I don't have the energy to workout -- I have more time to watch Walking Dead"

Set Your Intentions and Make It Happen

Welcome 2016!

January 1st came and left just as quickly as 2015... and now we nearing the second weekend of January! I came back from vacation several days after New Year's and never got around to making a post about my new year resolutions.

Although, I make "new year resolutions" in anticipation of a new year (like many others) ... my resolutions are more like daily resolutions that I like to reaffirm when a new year comes around. 

(Similar to how some people renew their wedding vows from time to time)

This is because I can never wait for a new year to come around to resolve to make an improvement in my life. LIFE IS SHORT. However, this is not to say that I don't support people who find meaning in making new resolutions every year. To each their own! For me, when I recognize an area in my life that is in my control to change for the better ... I want to start that change right away!!! At the same, this doesn't mean that the actual change happens right away, nor does it mean that I'm always successful in making every change that I want to make. It simply means that I acknowledge when a change is necessary and I commit to making the change. 

But like I said, I'm not always successful in my endeavours. Change doesn't happen overnight; it's not easy and it takes time. I know lot of people (myself included) often give up before the change can even happen. This is more than understandable, considering most changes involve struggle and failure. BUT, I've learned time and time again that authentic change requires motivation, determination, commitment, and resilience (yes, all those powerful things!). In addition to that, I've gathered some other tips that have proven to be helpful and here they are: 

1. Be positive

Be optimistic about your ability to change and believe that you are capable of doing it!  Be confident in yourself and focus on the little steps you can take to eventually get to where you want to be, instead of worrying about potential hardships or obstacles that might stand in your way.

2. Be realistic

Even though you should always be optimistic, it's important to also be realistic. Ambition is great until it pushes you to make unrealistic goals that lead to inevitable failure. Start small and take little steps. It might take longer for you to get to where you want to be, but slow and steady wins the race! There is no point is setting unachievable goals because that's just going to discourage you from continuing.

3. Have a plan

Another reason why I think a lot of people give up before change happens is because they don't take the time to plan out how they are going to effect the change. You can't get from Point A to Point B without figuring out the route to get there! Visualize the change in your mind and visualize yourself taking the steps to do it. This always helps to motivate me and helps me to take my first steps in the right direction.

4. Be kind to yourself

A lot of people always think to be kind to others, but seldom remember to be kind to themselves. Be kind to yourself! Be patient! Remember that it's totally okay to not achieve all your goals all at once, as long as you are moving forward. And even if you take a couple of steps backwards ... it's ok! As long as you learn from your mistakes.

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." - Confucius

I'm not going to share my entire list of personal resolutions, but for the sake of giving an example:

Ever since I started working full-time, it's been difficult for me to stay on track with my workouts. Being active and healthy is very important to me. So, whenever I feel that I'm not getting in enough exercise, I feel anxious and even disappointed in myself. For a long time, I've contemplated the idea of fitting in my workouts before work. Although I am likely more of a "morning person" than a lot of people I know, I am not a natural early-riser and waking up earlier than I have to (especially on a work day) is difficult for me. At the same time, I've discovered from past experience that working out first thing in the morning makes me feel great. It helps to energize me, boost my metabolism, improve my mood ... and the list goes on. 

Recently, I've decided to stop making excuses for myself. I realize that if it's THAT important to me to stay active, I can find the time and willpower to get up early. I started by committing to waking up early 2-3 days/week to workout before work. I knew that if I started out by forcing myself to get up 7 days/week, I would give up quickly because that would be unrealistic. So far, I've managed to stay on track. Perhaps I'll check back in 3 weeks or so to write an update about my progress :) Once I get used to waking up early twice a week, I'll likely push myself to wake up 4 days/week.  In any case, I realize that at the end of the day ... my reason for wanting to make this change is so I could feel better about myself and be happier. That in itself motivates me to keep going.

With that being said, always remember that any change you want to make should be about YOU. There's no point in trying to change when you don't want the change for yourself. You will not be motivated to work hard otherwise. 

25 Was Good to Me

As I've said before, December is a very special month for me. Especially because my birthday is so close to the end of the year, it's usually the time for me to reminisce about the past year; the time for me to remember the obstacles I've faced and also the good times that I've had.

Yesterday, I turned 26! As usual, I didn't feel any older ... and I am glad. 25 was good to me. 2015 was a good year and I couldn't be more grateful. I finally finished a year of articling that felt like it would never end, I got called to the Ontario bar (officially became a lawyer!), I got a job in BC, I moved to Vancouver, I got called to the BC bar, two of my closest friends got engaged ... and that's just to name a few. It feels like I just celebrated my "quarter of a century" birthday with my friends in Toronto. It feels like just yesterday that I was thinking about what 2015 would bring. It's both thrilling and scary to think about how fast time "flies". Thrilling because I've experienced so many new opportunities in such a short amount of time and scary because I realize that time passes no faster now than it always did. It just seems like it goes by quicker because we forget to live in the moment.

As much as I hate to admit it, living in the moment is actually something very hard to do (at least for me). I'm a "planner" and perfectionist ... and if you are too, then you will understand what I mean when I say that oftentimes it's very difficult for me to enjoy the present moment without (over)thinking about or planning for what's ahead. Nonetheless, I am very aware of this, so I try to catch myself when I'm not being present.

On Friday, Sameer planned a surprise birthday dinner for me. The plan was for us to go to Chewies downtown Vancouver for dinner.  I thought it was just going to be the two of us, but he had invited a lot of our friends without me knowing and it was an awesome surprise. At the beginning of the night, I caught myself obsessing about insignificant things i.e. whether I was over/underdressed for the restaurant, I forgot to spray on my perfume before I left the house, whether I seemed surprise when I walked in ... and the list goes on. There was actually a moment that I remember very clearly when I looked around at all the people who had come out to celebrate my birthday and I realized that likely no one really cares. And in that moment, (believe it or not, in my state of semi-inebriation), I had some form of epiphany ... in 10 or 20 years, what I'm going to or want to remember from the night is not that I was over/underdressed or that I forgot to put on perfume, etc ... What I would want to remember is:

1. how happy I felt to be able to enjoy such good company;
2. how grateful I was to have someone who cared about me so much to go out of their way to plan a surprise for me; and
3. how lucky I am to have so many people who would take time out of their day to celebrate my birthday with me.

"Forever is composed of nows." - Emily Dickinson