Day 229: Eat Vancouver

This year the event was held at the new convention center. The new convention center is big, clean and new. There was also another convention going on at the same time. It was EPIC and it's about sustainable living. We walked by to see if there was anything interesting to see and if it was worth to go see. It was nowhere as busy as Eat Vancouver.

We got to Eat Vancouver at 12:30. It opened at 11am. The strategy was to head to Bite of Vancouver first then look at the booths. Bite of Vancouver is the section were various restaurants offer bite size portions of a few of their menu items. I wanted to head there first because it would be busy later on the afternoon. There was still so many people. It was a mess. There was no organization with the line ups for the Bite of Vancouver booths. You didn't know where the line up ended. Some booths there was just a crowd of people. Beside the booths there was the seating area. The seating area had large tables and chairs. I think it took up too much space. It didn't make sense to have so many tables. It would've been better to use more of that space for lineup space for the booths. There was also a wine and beer area. We didn't end up going in because the line up was so long. We spent our time walking around the booths to see the products they were selling. There was also a travel section. There were different countries promoting travel to their countries. I think it makes sense because food is such an important part of discovering a different country. I think it would be better if the booths displayed some foods from their country. I only remember India booth displaying their spices and Indonesia had some foods to try from their country. There were also some cooking demonstrations and food seminars. We were there mainly for the Bite of Vancouver. After 2.5 hours of exploring and tasting the foods, it was time to go.

Day 228: High School Life

I watched Fame last night. It is about a bunch of high schools in a performing arts school. I realized that there are many shows that take place in high school. There was 90210 (the old, original one took place in a high school, I am not sure about the new one), 21 Jump Street (it was filmed in my high school), High School Musical, American Pie and Glee. I am sure there may be more but I don't know them. What is the fascination with high school life? Is it about all the drama? Is it about the ranging hormones?

High school was an interesting time for me. It was about which boy I liked and how I can get him to notice me. It was about passing notes in class. It was about gossiping on the phone at night with my friends. The last thing it was for me was about learning. I didn't do well in high school. I didn't want to study. It was about cliques and popularity. But in grade 12, it seemed like we were one. The common bond was that we were all graduating and going on our lives. Reality was sinking in. Everyone was going their separate ways. Some were going to post secondary school. Some were going to work.

Some things I learned from high school:
1- my life doesn't revolve around boys
2 - learning is a life long journey
3 - I should've studied harder
4 - I should've been more concern about my future and been more focused

Day 227: Letters to Juliet

It was a last minute decision, but it was a good decision. My friend, a female, asked me to go watch a movie tonight. Because it was two of us going to watch a movie, I thought it would be a good idea to watch a 'chick flick'. It would be harder to drag guys to watch a chick flick.

It was a such a sappy love story. It was about a lady trying to rekindle her connection with her true love. In Verona there is Juliet's house. There are many ladies who visit the house and ask Juliet for advice regarding their love life. They write a letter or note addressed to her and tape it on the wall. There are these ladies who are Juliet's secretaries and they respond to the letters. There was this one letter that was hidden and written 50 years ago. The main character, Sophie, found the letter and wrote a response. That response letter sparked, Clare, the person who wrote the letter, to come to Verona. Clare wrote a letter to Juliet stating that she met her love of her life, Lorenzo, and she had to leave him. In Sophie's response letter she said if that was the love of her life she should go find him. Sophie and Clare meet and they go on a quest to find Lorenzo, Clare's true love. Of course at the end of the movie Clare finds her Lorenzo. So romantic that they find each other after 50 years of being apart. There were 74 men with the same name as the Lorenzo she fell in love with 50 years ago. They searched within the vicinity to find her Lorenzo.

It is such a sappy love story that I think something like that only happens in the movies. If I was Clare, I don't know what to think if I finally got a response after 50 years. Maybe it was a joke? It is true dedication to try to find her true love. I guess you would search high and low to find your first true love. Would I be like Clare to search for my true love? Maybe. I think it would depend on my situation in my life. Can I just go and leave everything to do my search? Do I have a support system in place? Do I have the time and money to do my search? If the answer is 'yes' to all the questions, I would do my search.

Day 226: Donating / philanthropy

I have done lots of volunteer work in my lifetime. I haven't been volunteering in the last few years. I would like to get back into it.

I have been thinking the last few nights about organizing a team to do volunteer work. I am thinking about helping kids and / or schools, feeding the homeless, volunteer at festivals, etc. I would like to contribute to society. I donated money to the Canucks charity. I know donating money is good. But maybe by giving my time it will be more valued / cherished. If I give money, I don't know if all my money will go to the cause I believe in.

Volunteering is about giving to others. I have volunteered with kids at a summer day camp and at the Boys and Girls club. It is nice to know that they look up to you as a role model and you make a difference in their lives. I volunteered with various festivals. The many festivals rely on volunteers. What I haven't done before was giving to the homeless. I am thinking of providing food for them in the Downtown Eastside. It will be totally out of my comfort zone. I have to give it more thought before it becomes reality.

Day 225: Adoption

I was watching Glee tonight. (Not surprising cause it's Tuesday night.) One of the minor storylines is adoption. Quinn is giving her baby up for adoption. Originally Quinn was going to give it to Terry, Mr Shu's then wife. But Mr Shu and Terry broke up. I am not sure if Quinn will still be giving the baby to Terry anymore. Rachel was on a quest to find her mother. She found out that her mother is the coach for the competing team, Vocal Adrenaline. Her mother was paid as a surrogate and never had contact with Rachel since she was born.

I think adoption is a personal choice and it depends on your situation. If I were to carry a baby for 9 months I would build a bond with it. There is the emotional bond and the physical bond. It would be very hard for me to let it go to someone else. For the next 18 years (assuming I don't have contact with the baby till it is 18), I can't help but to think about the baby and the future of the baby. When it gets older, will it want to find me? What if the baby (now adult) doesn't want to locate me or talk to me? I would be so hurt.

I think there is a maternal instinct for most woman to want to become a mother. It may come early for some and later for others. In this generation, I think it comes later. I wanted to have kids in my 20's. Looking back I wasn't ready to have kids at all. I was too busy going out and enjoying my life. Now in my 30's I am more ready than I was when I was in my 20's. I think you can be ready if you have one already and are preparing for another one. But if it is your first baby, it's all about the trials and tribulations.

The only way I would give my kid up for adoption is if I didn't know I was pregnant until after I was 5 months and I am not ready to raise a kid. I am pretty sure I will know if I am pregnant before I am 5 months along. If I found out before 5 months and didn't want to keep it, I would have it taken care of. I don't think my parents would approve of my decision of giving it up for adoption. The concept of giving up a baby for adoption is very foreign to them. They didn't live in a society where babies were given up for adoption, maybe abandoned but not given up for adoption. They don't know anyone who gave their kids up for adoption. They are in their retirement stage. If I have any kids, I'm sure they have the time to spare to help me babysit.

Day 224: What is on your bucket list?

I have my bucket list. I am not sure how many people are following my adventures in completing my bucket list. But I would like to turn the tables around. I would like to help my friends with their bucket list.

I know everyone has something on their bucket list. You may not have written it down like I have. But there is something in your mind that you have always wanted to do. It can be something small or something big. You just have to weed out all the interruptions and excuses. What is it that you want to do before you die? Do you want to do some traveling? Do you want to learn a new skill? How can I help you? You don't want to die knowing that you haven't at least tried.

Day 223: Valentine's Day

It just came out on DVD. It's a interesting movie. It is about many couples and how they celebrate Valentine's Day. There are many A listers in the movie. There are couples who are love birds. There are ladies who are anti-Valentines. There are 'unconventional' couples. There is a couple who broke up on Valentine's day.

I know it's May and it's three months past Valentine's Day but I'm still going to write my thoughts on it. This year's Valentine's Day was also Chinese New Year during the Olympics. I hung out with a group of friends, most of them are single. We spent our time together hanging out seeing Olympic festivities. I think Valentines Day is a commercialized Hallmark holiday. If you are in a relationship, you are expected to give your significant other presents to show your love / lust / infatuation for each other. If you don't give each other presents, does it mean you don't love / like each other? I just wish there wasn't that expectation. Maybe I can give my significant other presents on other days which may hold more meaning? I can show my love on any random day to show I care. Last year I gave my ex some chocolate, some romantic hearts with romantic messages. That relationship didn't last long. Well, all that time and effort to waste! If it was a long term relationship with someone I loved, I wouldn't think of it as such a waste of time and effort. He gave me a recipe book on street food of various countries. Yes, it's the thought that counts. But it seemed so uneven. His gift wasn't so romantic. But how do I know what he would give me? I can't take some stuff back if I think I gave him too much. Maybe we should just come to an agreement on what to give each other? Maybe just exchange cards?

Day 222: Homemade Japadog

Living in downtown, Japadog was right around the corner within walking distance. It is there all the time, never know when it is open or when it is closed. (It would help if I checked out their website. Their hours are on there.) But I know it will be there even when it snows and rains. The stars love it when they are in town (I read the posters on the sides of the cart while I'm waiting for my food). The main cart is on Smithe and Burrard in front of the wine store at Sutton Place Hotel. During the Olympics, I had a japadog at their second location on Burrard and Pender. It was amazing, there was no line up. We got to the cart and ordered our food. While we were waiting for our food, a line up formed. With no line up it just seems so weird. Most of the time when I go to Japadog there is a line up. It's just normal to see a line up. Some people have had it before, some people are having it for the first time.

Since I moved back home (away from downtown), my encounters with Japadog has diminished. I only need half a japadog to satisfy my craving. But I can't head to downtown just to have a japadog. That would be just crazy!

I told someone about my love for japadog. He said you can just buy the toppings and make it at home. The other day I decided to make japadog at home. Japadog is the name of the Japanese style hot dog. There are options of having it with different kinds of wieners and different types of toppings. My favourite one, the classic, is the teri-mayo. It is a beef wiener and bun with seaweed, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo and fried onions. Seems simple enough! I went to Fujiya to get my Japanese ingredients. I got the Japanese mayo, a sauce like a sweet bbq sauce (it is used for Japanese pancakes) and the seaweed. I went to Superstore to get my wieners, buns and onions. I cooked the hot dogs, then fried the onions. Then toasted the buns. I started putting together my homemade japadog. I started to put the fried onions on my wiener. I then put the bbq sauce and the mayo then I topped it off with seaweed. It was so delicious. I had two of them. I was soooo full for the rest of the night.

http://www.japadog.com/en/

Day 221: Jang and Amy's Wedding

The big day has come for Jang to get married. I have known Jang for a few years. He's a great guy; funny and easy going. It was just a matter of time till he met his someone special (who is ok with his love of comic books). I think I met Amy at one of Jang's parties'. She is very sweet and spunky and has an identical twin sister.

Their wedding was held at Newlands Golf Course in Langley. I carpooled with a few friends to the wedding. On the invitation it says that the ceremony starts at 2:30pm. At 2:30pm people were still straggling in. Jang and Amy are very smart. They knew that people won't be on time. It wasn't until about 2:45 that the wedding party starting taking their positions. It actually started at 3pm. They said their vows and signed the registry. It only lasted about 15 minutes.

I attended a wedding last year at Newlands. At last year's wedding, in the middle of the ceremony, we heard one of the golfer's say 'fore!'. We were a bit worried at a golf ball coming our way. At Jang and Amy's wedding, a golfer actually hit a ball into the area where the ceremony was held. The golf ball actually hit one of the attendees on the arm. It was a surprise to everyone.

Between the ceremony and the reception, there was a a few hours to kill. We decided to go hang out at the mall. There weren't any particular shops to go see. We just walked around. There were five of us that went to the mall. When one person wanted to go into a shop, I just wanted to sit. My feet were hurting and I wanted to get as much rest as I can. Another girl had the same problem as me. We also sat in the furniture section of the Bay. We 'tested' out many couches. Most of them were quite comfy. After walking around the mall a few times and having ice cream / orange julius and going to the bathroom and grocery shopping it was time to get back to Newlands to the wedding reception.

Jang and Amy booked the room with the solarium. It was a very clear day and the sun was shining through. There was about 18 tables. There were a few tables of their family. It was mostly their friends. The buffet had lots of delicious food. They had many types of salads and cold cuts. Their hot dishes consists of some vegeterian dishes, pasta, ribs, butter chicken and turkey. Beside the buffet was the dessert table with a beautiful ice sculpture. After dinner, there were a few speeches and open mic. After all the speeches, it was time for the dancing. The dance floor was pumping until midnight. There was a limbo contest. There was a bit of bhangra dancing. There was a bit of macarena.

Day 220: Underground Restaurant

My friend forwarded me links on these underground restaurants. It was an intriguing and mysterious concept. I reserved for a dinner of 10. We didn't know the address of the location until a few days prior to our reservation. We didn't know the menu until we got there. It was the chef's house on Point Grey Road. There was a chalkboard on one of his walls with the list of the dishes for the night. It was a six course meal for the night.

The first course was melon and prosciutto. The presentation was nicely done. Once the chef gave everyone the plate, the chef and sous chef went around to add the melon juice and mint oil on everyone's plate.

The second course was trio of scallops. It was scallops done three ways. It was delicious. The presentation was nice and simple.

The third course was slow cooked fennel porkbelly. The pork belly was similar to Chinese roasted pork. The amount was small but there was three more courses to come.

The fourth course was pink grapefruit sorbet with sliced candied ginger and campari. It was presented on a chinese porcelain spoon. It was nice and refreshing.

The fifth course was soy cured salmon with lime creme fraiche and asian pear. Some people didn't like the taste of the cured salmon. It was a bit different. But the portion was small enough that it was bite size. I thought it was ok. If the portion was bigger, I wouldn't have finished it.

The sixth course was cherry and chocolate filo pastry. It was the first time the chef was serving this dish. It was too hard on the outside. I generally don't like cherry flavoured anything. But this dish had such minimal cherry flavour, that it didn't bother me. There was also hazelnuts with the cherries.

Overall, it was an ok experience. It was a neat experience to try once. I think there isn't much value. The food portions were quite small. I was hungry by the time I got home. It was good service because we were a small group, they can cater to us. The atmosphere is very homey (because it is the chef's home). I wouldn't do it again for that price. If the price was a bit lower I may consider.

Day 219: Competition

Competition is like a drive to do better. I have never been a very competitive person. I think it depends what is the prize at the end. If it is a good prize, I am more motivated to do better.

I have a friendly competition with my friend. His ideal job is to be a writer. I am practicing my writing skills with this blog. The competition is who will get anything published in a local publication (magazine, newspaper) first. I have a feeling he will win because he has been very active with his writing. I have seen a few of his comments in the Province already. I haven't written anything else other than my blogs.

When I was doing the Sun Run, it was like I was competing with 50,000 other people. I didn't think I would be anywhere near the front so it didn't matter if I ran or walked. It was a competition with myself. I wanted to walk the 10 km faster than I walked it the week before.

A few Christmas' ago there was a competition at work to see who would be able to rent the most colored stemmed glassware. The prize was a $50 IKEA gift certificate. It was a good prize. It was fun. It was kinda hard to track the progress but overall there was a winner. The competition was healthy and it got everyone to push the product.

Day 218: Me vs Julie (from Julie and Julia)

I started writing this blog last July. A few months later my friend suggested I watch the movie Julie and Julia. I did end up watching the movie. Part of the movie is about Julie who wants to write a blog.

The only similarity is that we write on our blog. I try to write everyday, but it has become every other day or every three days. Julie writes every day. Julie's blog is about her working her way thru Julia Child's cookbook. She cooks a recipe everyday and writes about it. It is simple for her. She knows what she will write about. It is very difficult for me. I'm trying to write about a different topic every day. Sometimes I write about the same topic. I have written about my bucket list but I try to write about it when I have updates. I have written about the Canucks a few times. Some days I don't feel like writing. It is so easy for me to not write and just go to sleep. It's discipline to actually think of a topic and write about it. Let's say I duplicate topics in 50 postings out of the 365 posts. That's 315 original topics. Sometimes inspired by my activities during the day, sometimes inspired by what I'm watching on TV, sometimes inspired by my conversation during the day with someone. Let's see Julie write about something different everyday!

Day 217: Vancouver Sun Run

Finally! All that training for this one day. Ok, it wasn't that much of training, but it was the only thing I have trained for. Ten kilometers seemed so far fetched at first. One baby step at a time. It was one kilometer at first. Then I extended my walk / jog to 7 kilometers. My last training was walking the Sun Run Route a week prior to the Sun Run. The day I walked the Sun Run route it was sunny, clear and a bit chilly at 2:30pm. After about an hour of walking, it started showering and then just started pouring rain. I was lucky today. It was sunny and warm today.

This is my first experience with the Sun Run. My friend asked me to join. It happened to be a team with his friends. If you are on a team, it is cheaper than joining as an individual. We were on the the Emily Carr Elementary School team. We were purple runners. Runners are categorized in different colors. The faster elite runners run first then the slower walkers go after them. There were so many people. It was just a sea of people. Almost like the fireworks nights. I convinced my friend to walk the whole thing. We weren't in any rush so he agreed. When we got to English Bay there was a hot dog stand and a pit stop with water and some fruit. We stopped at the hot dog stand to get a juicy jumbo hot dog. That slowed down our time a bit. We just checked out the fruits that they had available but didn't pick any up. Even with the hot dog pit stop, we managed to finish the walk in 2.5 hours. After the walk, there were tents with many free stuff. There were line ups everywhere. The mayhem you get when you offer people free stuff. I replenished my body with some free bananas and oranges. There was a band playing to liven the spirits up. They played Black Eyed Peas 'I've got a feeling' and about half the audience started jumping up and down. I was really too tired to jump so much. I am glad it is over. I have finished my very first Vancouver Sun Run. I am not sure when and where the next run / walk will be, or if i will do another one at all.

Day 216: Canucks vs Blackhawks, game 4

I didn't plan to go to tonight's game. It was a last minute decision. I planned to go to the pub with my friends in Yaletown tonight. Last night, when I was sleeping, my friend texted me to see if I wanted to go see the game tonight. Because I was sleeping, I thought I was dreaming that he texted me. I slept on it and thought about it. I was debating if I wanted to spend more money on watching a playoff game. I went to one playoff game and thought that was enough. But the Canucks were playing Chicago Blackhawks tonight. I was a temporary Hawks fan when I was in Chicago. So it was really exciting for me to watch the Canucks and the Hawks face to face. This morning I looked at my phone again to make sure that I wasn't dreaming about the tix. I texted my friend to tell him I wanted to go to the game tonight if he still had the tix. He still had the tix. I was soooo ecstatic. A great way to start my work day. I was looking forward to the game all day. After I found out I was going to the game, I had to let my friends know that I wasn't going to join them at the pub. I kinda felt like I was ditching them. But I hope they understand that going to the game is more exciting and an opportunity that I don't get very often.

It wasn't good hockey tonight. They played poorly. The referees seemed like they were on Chicago's side. The atmosphere was great at GM Place. So much excitement and energy in the building but that didn't work to help them win. Soooo many penalties againest Canucks. We all know that Canucks aren't that great at penalty killing. The Green Guys where there to intimidate the other players. They even brought a cardboard cutout of Vince Vaughn wearing a Canucks jersey. I brought my Canucks fleecy to keep me warm. When I was sitting at my seat for the first period, my fleecy was behind me against my chair. When it was intermission, I grabbed it because we were heading to the washrooms. It was kinda wet. I realized that it got wet because the guys behind me probably spilled beer on it.

I updated my facebook status saying that I was at the game. I got texts from three friends saying that they were there too. They were asking where I was sitting. For one friend, I took a picture with the friend I was with and sent it off to him. He was basically sitting across the stadium from me in a suite.

I was yelling and screaming and encouraging the Canucks to score. There was lots of towel waving. I don't know if there is much, as fans, that we can do to help them win a game. Maybe we should pray harder?

Day 215: Six degrees of separation

They say that you are only separated by everyone by six degrees. That means eventually we will all know each other. Seems like a coincidence that my friend knows someone that i know? Not really. I shouldn't be surprised. It makes good conversation that we have a mutual friend. We can talk for minutes or hours because we have something in common. It gives us a connection. It bonds us together.

A party can be scary for some people because they feel a distance between them and the other party goers. A person naturally gravitates to someone they know. If they know everyone at the party, then they will talk to everyone.

It's who you know, not what you know. It's networking. I heard a rumour that a good way to find a job is from someone you know. I met someone who has 4000 contacts. It's a lot of people. Is it quality or quantity that is important? Obviously she spends a lot of time networking.

I have my 'Bring a friend that Lisa doesn't know party' every once in awhile. It's a good chance for my friends to help me expand my circle of friends. My goal is to know every one in Vancouver. hahha. I know that is a big goal but one day it will happen, just like winning the lottery or making myself a millionaire.

Day 214: Go Canucks go!

I am a Canucks fan. I haven't always been a Canucks fan. Five or six years ago I detested hockey. I thought it was boring and such a guy thing to do. If hockey was playing on the TV, I would do something else in another room. It was only the last few years that i got into watching the Canucks. I am not sure how and when exactly i started watching. The more I watched the more I got into it.

The first time I saw Canuck players was in 1996 when my friend took me to the Canuck Carnival. The Canuck Carnival was held at BC Place Stadium. It was a fundraiser for Canuck Place. There are also amusement games. He also got me a jersey, the one with the yellow skate on the front. You can get your picture taken with the Canuck players and they can also sign your jersey or whatever you want them to sign. I got Trevor Linden to sign my jersey. I also had my picture taken with him. My friend also took me to a hockey game. I dont remember our seats. But between 1996 and 2007ish i didnt watch any hockey. In 2007ish, i started going to hockey games. It is really fun at games. It is also very expensive entertainment. When i started going to games, I only paid about $45 a tix. I went to the Canucks vs San Jose on March 18. I spent $66 on that tix. I dont spend very much on food inside the stadium. It is soo expensive. I may slurge on some mini donuts. It is as close to the mini donuts as i can get to the PNE's mini donuts.

Nowadays i try to watch every game. I missed some games when i was in Palm Springs and Chicago. When I got back, the Canucks made it into the playoffs. I got a chance to go to Game 5 round 1 game at GM Place. It was soo fun and exciting. We whipped LA's ass by winning 7-2. These days for round two playoff games, because i cant afford to actually to go to the game, i watch it at home or at a pub.

I dont want jinx them by writing too much about them.

Go Canucks Go!!!!!!!






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Day 213: Money

Health and Wellness blog: http://lisahealthwellness.blogspot.com/

How important is it in my life? Do I need it to live a happy healthy life?

I had some money problems when I was younger. I made some bad decisions and had to get myself out of the hole I dug myself in. I worked part time for many years. That didn't cut it to pay off the bills. In 2006 I worked at the casino and that helped me pay off my bills. I was extremely happy when I paid off all my student loans. I am debt free now. I just have to pay the bills that come on a regular basis (phone, internet, rent, etc).

I went to Annie and Markus' wedding on Sat night. It was a beautiful wedding. It seemed like they had an unlimited budget. It would be nice to have an unlimited budget for anything. But will that make me happy? It may give me more opportunities to enjoy life. I don't know if I will have an unlimited source of income anytime soon. I have to watch my money. I don't think I penny pinch. I may be a bit more 'resourceful' than others. I may spend more on dining out than others. Maybe that is my vice? hahha. I spend my money mostly on food and gas.

I have to work harder and wiser now to try to achieve my unlimited source of income. It would kinda be like winning the lottery. I know it takes lots of time and effort. One day at a time!

Day 212: Annie and Markus' Wedding

Markus (the Big Fish of Plentyoffish.com) and Annie had a fantastic reception at the Fairmont Pacific Rim last night. On the invitation it said 'black tie'. No problem. I dressed in my best dress. Once we got there, we realized that black tie was part of their theme. Their theme was Venetian mardi gras. Their reception was held on the third floor of the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Once we got to the 3rd floor, the entrance to their reception was floor to ceiling white drapes. There were also two cherub ice sculptures in front of the white drapes. Behind the cherubs is a vase of calla lillies. After we walk passed the white drapes, on the right there were the Venetian masks. There were actresses dressed in Venetian costumes. They were there to help put the mask on the guests. We got to pick which ever mask we wanted. After we put on a mask, we walked into the festivities. There was a stilt-walker. There was a contortionists trying to fit herself in a cube. There was also a magician which really looked like Bill Nye the Science Guy. He juggled and made balloon animals. We enjoyed the festivities from about 6:15 to 7:30pm. There were also two areas like a lounge with couches and coffee tables. It was beautifully decorated with white drapes and a chandelier in the middle.

It was announced that dinner will be served in the ballroom. Wow! It was beautifully decorated. The walls were covered in the white drapes. The center piece for each table was a five arm candelabra with flowers in the middle. The chairs had seat covers and sash. The table setting was very elaborate with each setting having 3 forks and 3 knives and 3 wine glasses. It was a plated dinner with a salad, pasta, sorbet, entree and dessert. The salad was heirloom tomato, Buffalo mozzarella salad, speck, oregano creme fraiche. The pasta was smoked sablefish ravioli, sauteed spinach and tomato concasse. The sorbet was like an amuse bouche. It was a Grenadine sorbet with a splash of prosecco. My entree was a red wine braised veal cheeks, cannellini beans, white truffle essence, vegetable ratatouille and sage pan jus. The dessert was the Fairmont Pacific Rim Tiramisu. The presentation of the foods was fantastic. As background music, there was a quartet with a singer. It was like a mini symphony with an opera singer. Between the dishes, there were also a few speeches, some planned and some impromptu (because it was open mic). After the food and the speeches, the party got started. Once the dance floor opened, their slide show also started. It seemed like everyone (all 180 people) got their groove on the dance floor. After boogying for about an hour, it was time for us to head out. Once we got outside of the ballroom, it seemed like there was a party outside. There was after dinner snacks; pizza, an ice cream sundae bar and a platter of fruit. We had a little bit of fruit then we saw the bride and was saying bye to the bride and groom. The bride said we had to take our picture at the 'photobooth' before we headed out. The 'photobooth' was a backdrop made from the white drapes to make it look really classy and romantic and there was a photographer to take the picture. They had a printer on hand to print the images. We just had to wait about 5 minutes for the pictures. While we were waiting, there was a scrapbook. We got two sets of pictures: one we got to keep and the other was to be put in the scrapbook. The scrapbook had questions like how you met the couple and any advice for them. After all the festivities, it was time to call it a night.