Fishing trip planned

We're planning on going fishing this coming Canada Day. Only 3 more days!

I don't know why I love fishing so much. I think part of it is the sense of accomplishment that I can go and get a meal or two without negatively impacting the environment. Recently I watched "Food Inc." and ever since then I have a bad feeling about meats and vegetables in the grocery stores. I've been trying to only buy seafood that is maintaining it's population levels, such as pollock. Also, I'm thinking of getting my veggies & fruits from a farmer's market nearby on Fridays. As for red meat.. I can only wonder where it's been.
But anyway, back to the fishing. A couple friends of ours are coming with us this time. They haven't really had any experience with fishing, so we're going to rent a boat for the day. Should be loads of fun! :) Watch out largemouths, here I come!

Note to self: Gotta remember my sunblock!

Last year!

G20 in Toronto - June 26th

Wow.

That's all I can say after a day like today.

Is it really worth it to destroy other people's property for the sake of making a point? I wonder at the logic of people when I see store windows being smashed and cars being torched on the streets of my hometown. I suppose that it's all just to get a reaction, but still. We're just coming out of a recession and those stores are people's livelihoods. It's unfair to attack others just to make sure that everyone knows you're annoyed. :( This does not help your cause in any way.

I wanted to see the peaceful protests downtown, but now I'm afraid of going and getting tear-gassed when some guy behind me throws a hatchet through a bank window.

What is this world coming to?


Check out this amazing Flickr set by jen: G20 Toronto 2010
Her pictures say it all.

Soccer fever has abated

So Korea lost to Uruguay today. Score was 2-1 in Uruguay's favour.

My husband is not having a very happy day as a result. Poor guy.

Buying a new car - The Horror!

So I've had my eye on a Toyota Yaris for the last year. I think they look like a nice little car.. the sedan still has a spacey backseat as well as a nice trunk. And the price can't be beat. Unless you're looking at a Neon.. hehe.

Anyway, I found a couple good 2008 ones on the Toyota website, called the applicable dealership and made an appointment for today. It was a little out of my way.. well, more than a little. I drove almost 60 kms to get to my appointment today.. with no air conditioning.. in 30+ weather..

So I get there 20 minutes early. The guy I had my appointment with isn't there, which is fine. I tell them I'll wait. Then, past my appointment time, another guy comes out and explains that he'll help me today instead. I think nothing of this. Happens all the time.

I test drove a couple Yaris'. One had black smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I was told this was normal when you first start it up. What I do NOT think is normal is black smoke coming out the whole time while he drives away and around the building.
The next one had a hesitation when you hit the gas pedal. He claims to have not felt it. At this point, I'm losing whatever trust I might have had.

Later, we're sitting in his office and I'm assured that any mechanical problems will be taken care of, and that there is a warranty to cover these things for 30 days. I'm feeling a little more trusting than I was in the parking lot.
So I want to discuss price. Any possible deals that could be wrangled and all that. I'm told that deals can be made.. but the guy who handles financial things has stepped out. Alright. I'm a touch annoyed now. I'm then told to go have lunch somewhere and come back in the afternoon. Maybe the guy will be there then. Maybe.
At this point I'm sure that I'm not buying today or maybe not ever. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the finances to be taken care of while I'm there. After all, I DID make an appointment after all. So I ask for a written quote to see if I could shop around. He then prints off the exact car from the Toyota website. It clearly states the price as $300 cheaper than the price on the car itself. So I ask him if that's the price that will be honoured, since it's their official website after all. But no. He can't do this at this point. Sorry.

So I left. And drove home almost 60 kms in the sweltering heat. That's a total of 120 wasted kms. Thanks.

Honestly. I did not feel as if I was being taken seriously at any point during my visit. And this is coming from an actual dealership.

Oh, and did I mention that my t-shirt was on backwards the entire time? Cause it was.

Sigh.

Edit (Aug. 9/10):  I ended up getting a Corolla after all.  And I must say, it does drive much better than the Yaris!  Good job, me!  :)

Buying a new car

So it's that time again..

My old Sunfire has decided that it's not going to be good to me anymore. After almost 6 years of awesomeness on it's part, I feel like it just wants to be retired already.
I bought my '99 Sunfire from my Aunt in 2004. It was my first car! You have no idea what kind of feeling it gave me to have freedom. I was able to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And since I was still living at home.. that was a good thing. I didn't have to ask for a ride anymore or take the bus :) My sister and I road-tripped in it one summer all across eastern Canada.My little blue Sunfire was perfect for quite a few years, but lately I've been taking it in a lot for random repairs: signal light clicker, throttle position sensor, etc. The air conditioning is broken, as well as the CD player, so it's not as fun to drive anymore, either. And now I'm afraid to take it anywhere far because I sense that there is a transmission problem in the making.

So it's a sad, sad day.. but I've decided to replace the old dear. :(
I will miss you!
Let us remember the good times:

Running out of gas in the middle of nowhere on the NB/NS border

Meh.. it was worth a try

Second time in the ditch is the charm? No?

:)

I love picnics!

Saturday was our annual Sunday school picnic. I had to work :P but I still went in the evening for a potluck dinner and some games. It was a lot of fun!

Have you ever played the donut eating game?
You hang up powdered jelly donuts and everyone has to race to eat them.. with no hands!

Lots of fun, and it makes for some hilarious photos :)















Another game we played was water balloon volleyball. Both teams have a bedsheet, and basically you launch overfilled water balloons over the net at each other.

Wow, we got soaked.

Ah, I love camping

Did you know...

Hammocks are not made for two ;)

photos courtesy of my sister - bonjourstacy

Love

My internet connection has been down for almost a week. Hopefully it will be fixed this week.

In the meantime, remember to love!

1 sparkler + 1 open-shuttered camera = LOVE :)

Black bean noodles!

MMmm.. these are tasty.

Ja-jang-myeon is Korean Chinese food. They are fat, soft noodles, onions and other veggies, with black bean sauce. And the portions are HUGE. I honestly don't know how ANYONE can finish a full bowl. Sometimes the portions in Korea confuse me because how can so many skinny people be eating such large amounts of food??

But anyway..

On black day, my husband took me out for seafood black bean noodles. And they came with these little biscuits that tasted inbetween a croissant and a fortune cookie. Weird, eh?

Sorry for everything being half-eaten in the photo.. we were starving!

Learning Hangul

image source

That's it! I've decided that I'm going to give Hangul a better try than I've previously done. My husband is going to talk to me as much as possible in Korean, and I'm going to learn online as well.

Fingers crossed! It would be nice to actually talk to some of his family members once in awhile!