Thursday, May 04, 2006
Back to Vancouver.
Announcement: Are you sick of the mindless one-sided drivel tt comes out of The Straits Times? If you are, then get your facts straight and come over to The Straight Times instead! It is after all, Singapore's inimitable news source.
Today we woke up nice and late for a slow leisurely drive back from Seattle to Vancouver. We stopped by for lunch at this 24 hour eating joint called "13 Coins", established since 1967. Apparently it wasn't a diner, but an upmarket restaurant. Everything cost upwards of at least US $10, which was kinda painful. But tt said, it was posh and furnished with lots of dark and oak; and we got to sit at the counter in front of the display kitchen where they would grill their steaks over large open fires.
We were seated in front of the sandwiches and salads section, and this black guy was making the salads. We'd talked to him for a bit, and we asked him how it was working in this restaurant. He said tt it was "good work. Helped keep him out of a lot of trouble." He'd been born in Chicago but he'd chosen to move to Seattle where it was more peaceful.
Reminded me of tt racial stereotype, where in the US life wasn't great as a black. As Dave Chappelle succinctly put it, the only way to make it big was to "rap, play basketball or sell crack." A statistic showed tt at least 50% of men between 20 and 50 had been into, or were serving their time in prison for some crime or other. Out of trouble. Gave me something to think about. But he was really nice. All the people in Seattle were really nice, in fact! And I never get tired of hearing black speak. I think the accent is so cool. If I could go to motown or revisit Chicago or Harlem in New York, I could make believe tt I was in a rap vid all over again. Wahaha. But this is all just my glamourised day dreams.
In spite of 2 previous days of driving, my father hasn't yet gotten used to the roads. He still turns left on greens and into oncoming traffic. So we barely avoided a series of very near accidents. He has a tendency to drive in between lanes all the time, so we got horned at quite a bit. And all this while driving slowly enough to infuriate the Americans and Canadians. Wahaha. Damn. At this point in time I really wish tt I could drive so tt I would drive instead. It would definitely be less stressful for me.
And when we stopped at the Home Depot by the I-5 so tt my dad could take a toilet break, my mom saw this US $899.00 stainless steel BBQ set and wanted to buy it immediately. And there I was wondering what the fuck do you guys intend to do with this huge stainless steel BBQ set, considering tt we only have a family of 3 and it's not like we entertain tt often.
Thank god Home Depot didn't offer delivery services. My mom seemed hell bent on getting the damn set.
I also realised tt my accident-proneness was yet another thing tt ran in the family, along with my sad lack of height. Yesterday, my dad kicked a stone and it flew up and bruised his elbow. This morning, he banged the heel of his foot into the corner of a chair while trying to talk to me, and subsequently said tt his heel might possibly have been broken. And my mom just sprained her right thumb a couple of days ago. So far, I seem to be the only accident-free one, slightly sprained right finger still nonwithstanding. For now, at least.
We barely managed to make it back, check into the Holiday Inn on Broadway and return the car back on time before Avis closed at 6.00pm. I was getting pretty impatient with my dad because he didn't seem to want to listen to me, and then blame me whenever we entered a wrong lane or had yet another almost-accident. And then he asked me if I always got so impatient with the other people tt I'd guided around. I said tt I only get impatient when the other people think they are right, but I know tt I am right. Wahaha.
We had dinner at the Golden Great Wall Garlic Szechuan Restaurant right by the hotel. So much for a light dinner. On his own my dad happily ordered a Peking duck, a whole steamed fish, a large bowl of spicy garlic wantons and a large plate of long beans. We were eating till we were totally stuffed. Thank God tt Blenz next door had ceremonial iced matcha tea (i.e. iced green tea without milk or sugar). Die lah. When I come back to Singapore I shall be coming back with yet another 10 pounds on me. SIGH.
After dinner we were supposed to do laundry, but there were so many delays tt by the time we were ready to go down it was almost 11pm, which was the time the laundry facility was about to close. The laundry facility is on the same level as the casino, but unlike someone I know my parents had absolutely no inclination to gamble. Not even one bit.
I miss tt someone.
now playing: hotel costes - cafe de flor
Today we woke up nice and late for a slow leisurely drive back from Seattle to Vancouver. We stopped by for lunch at this 24 hour eating joint called "13 Coins", established since 1967. Apparently it wasn't a diner, but an upmarket restaurant. Everything cost upwards of at least US $10, which was kinda painful. But tt said, it was posh and furnished with lots of dark and oak; and we got to sit at the counter in front of the display kitchen where they would grill their steaks over large open fires.
We were seated in front of the sandwiches and salads section, and this black guy was making the salads. We'd talked to him for a bit, and we asked him how it was working in this restaurant. He said tt it was "good work. Helped keep him out of a lot of trouble." He'd been born in Chicago but he'd chosen to move to Seattle where it was more peaceful.
Reminded me of tt racial stereotype, where in the US life wasn't great as a black. As Dave Chappelle succinctly put it, the only way to make it big was to "rap, play basketball or sell crack." A statistic showed tt at least 50% of men between 20 and 50 had been into, or were serving their time in prison for some crime or other. Out of trouble. Gave me something to think about. But he was really nice. All the people in Seattle were really nice, in fact! And I never get tired of hearing black speak. I think the accent is so cool. If I could go to motown or revisit Chicago or Harlem in New York, I could make believe tt I was in a rap vid all over again. Wahaha. But this is all just my glamourised day dreams.
In spite of 2 previous days of driving, my father hasn't yet gotten used to the roads. He still turns left on greens and into oncoming traffic. So we barely avoided a series of very near accidents. He has a tendency to drive in between lanes all the time, so we got horned at quite a bit. And all this while driving slowly enough to infuriate the Americans and Canadians. Wahaha. Damn. At this point in time I really wish tt I could drive so tt I would drive instead. It would definitely be less stressful for me.
And when we stopped at the Home Depot by the I-5 so tt my dad could take a toilet break, my mom saw this US $899.00 stainless steel BBQ set and wanted to buy it immediately. And there I was wondering what the fuck do you guys intend to do with this huge stainless steel BBQ set, considering tt we only have a family of 3 and it's not like we entertain tt often.
Thank god Home Depot didn't offer delivery services. My mom seemed hell bent on getting the damn set.
I also realised tt my accident-proneness was yet another thing tt ran in the family, along with my sad lack of height. Yesterday, my dad kicked a stone and it flew up and bruised his elbow. This morning, he banged the heel of his foot into the corner of a chair while trying to talk to me, and subsequently said tt his heel might possibly have been broken. And my mom just sprained her right thumb a couple of days ago. So far, I seem to be the only accident-free one, slightly sprained right finger still nonwithstanding. For now, at least.
We barely managed to make it back, check into the Holiday Inn on Broadway and return the car back on time before Avis closed at 6.00pm. I was getting pretty impatient with my dad because he didn't seem to want to listen to me, and then blame me whenever we entered a wrong lane or had yet another almost-accident. And then he asked me if I always got so impatient with the other people tt I'd guided around. I said tt I only get impatient when the other people think they are right, but I know tt I am right. Wahaha.
We had dinner at the Golden Great Wall Garlic Szechuan Restaurant right by the hotel. So much for a light dinner. On his own my dad happily ordered a Peking duck, a whole steamed fish, a large bowl of spicy garlic wantons and a large plate of long beans. We were eating till we were totally stuffed. Thank God tt Blenz next door had ceremonial iced matcha tea (i.e. iced green tea without milk or sugar). Die lah. When I come back to Singapore I shall be coming back with yet another 10 pounds on me. SIGH.
After dinner we were supposed to do laundry, but there were so many delays tt by the time we were ready to go down it was almost 11pm, which was the time the laundry facility was about to close. The laundry facility is on the same level as the casino, but unlike someone I know my parents had absolutely no inclination to gamble. Not even one bit.
I miss tt someone.
# posted by Kitana @ 5/04/2006 02:32:00 PM 
