Chromilo Amin

After a few days of intense non-stop work, we were glad to unwind with a friend who lives in Toronto. Driving to his place was an adventure even with a GPS, as we unintentionally got onto railroad tracks towards incoming train cars. Honest mistake. We went to his quaint lowrise condo in the Toronto proper for some chips, chicharon, roasted almonds, home-made salsa dip and guacamole. His condo complex is a long brick warehouse on the west side of Lansdowne just below Davenport. This converted warehouse has a very big atrium for residents and it's very beautiful. It reminds me of the houses in the Yaletown district in Vancouver. He also served some local beer, including Coffee Porter beer which I enjoyed last time we visited with him at a local distillery in the old Toronto area. For dinner, we went out to Zocalo bistro / restaurant at The Junction, which is an up and coming neighborhood hangout for the working-types I am told. We had three different types of cheese, a few shareable...

I saw this homeless man sleeping on the Canada Line on my way to the YVR Airport. I forgot to disembark at the terminus station and the skytrain started heading back to the Waterfront station. I noticed that the homeless person stayed on and continued sleeping, so I gathered that he probably had been sleeping on the same train going back and forth between terminus stations. Nothing wrong with that because I know that riding the skytrain lulls me to sleep everytime I take it. Its a little chilly outside before 8am so I'm sure the poor guy was probably just trying to keep warm. I hope transit officers don't kick him out for overstaying on the trains as it appears it isn't too busy.

This is the first year we have donated to Samaritan's Purse www.samaritanspurse.ca for the Operation Christmas Child program. Great to actually do that on top of or instead of just buying family gifts during Christmas. We have just dropped off our one shoebox filled with toys, clothes, and a personalized Christmas card for a 2-4 year old girl. Hope she(her parents) keep in touch. We have also included a monetary donation on top of the $7 fee to cover shipment charges for the shoebox. The shoebox is bulging and barely closes shut because we have squeezed in all the items below: - Doll - Teddy bear - Toothbrush - Crayons - Sweater - Shirts I thought we missed the deadline for the shoebox dropoff but luckily you have until November 27. Just go to their website to find the closest dropoff location to you, or call them per below: (Samaritan's Purse, www.samaritanspurse.ca , 1-800-303-1269)

I'm not sure if I mentioned that my wife has recently gone back to work after close to 5 years of staying home to raise a family. Although it's under 20 hours per week, she's excited to go back and says it's a good change. I'm happy if she's happy. This means that I take care of the kids for those days that she's at work. Day 1 was scary and my main concern was making sure I provide a good explanation when they start asking for mommy. I've been saying that she has gone to pick up more waffles at Shoppers Drugmart or that she had to go get more eggs at Costco. This worked and they have been content with that but on Day 3, I think my eldest suspects she's really just gone back to work. One thing that someone brought up the other day was in the incorrect use of the term "babysitting". He made a mistake of saying that he was babysitting his kids and was reprimanded because technically, babysitting means you have to hand them off to someone afte...

I just handed my completed ballot, inserted upside down into an electronic reader (ATM machine it looks like), at a designated voting location for the 2011 Municipal Election. The closest one to me is Sullivan Heights Secondary School on 6248 144th Street, in Surrey, BC. There wasn't any lineup and we still have under 3 hours to go before the polls close so make sure you go out and vote. If you don't, then my friend Julie says it best - "keep your mouth shut for the next three years about property taxes, garbage, parks, schools, .."

My brother and Weng are again hosting the boxing match on pay-per-view this coming Saturday. Everyone will bring their favorite Pacquaio attire (or Marquez, don't hate the playa..) Can't wait to try out little K's new Pacquiao t-shirt that his Tita Cherry got for him from her last trip to the Philippines. It's going to look awesome. After that, we'll have another poker tournament. Philip had an unbelievable straight flush in our last meetup. Unreal. It's like out of the Casino Royale movie with Daniel Craig's James Bond. Ava will also set up a boxing pool, where you pay $2 for any of the 12 spots that represent a boxing round where a TKO is declared, and a 13th slot for a unanimous decision. I always go the 13th slot and haven't been wrong yet. It's going to be WICKED.

I just passed by a truck carrying a full load of yellowpages books in the back. Who still uses yellowpages nowadays? I know I don't and the 2011 edition is still in the garage untouched and in mint condition. That will sadly go into the recycle bin unused so I assume we aren't really wasting trees, especially if the same books are all recycled to make the 2012 edition. I'm not sure if we are able opt-out of receiving these every year. Does anyone know? I have already converted to receiving electronic statements instead of printed statements for utilities, hydro, bank statements, etc. Being able to opt-out of receiving the printed yellowpage books is the way to go in our eco-friendly society. Most households already have the internet and can Google anything they need. I don't remember ever going for the printed yellowpages since I got internet hooked up. Seeing this truck filled with yellowpage books screams legacy and waste.