Anni Adventures

So remember how I said that Crown Mountain was my last hike of the season? Well I lied. Last week I was having some bubble tea with a few friends when I got an email from Chasing Sunrise. An impromptu sunrise hike on Saturday due to the last potential of nice weather. It was also a good opportunity for me to test out the SJ CAM that I bought. The last time we did this, the skies were very cloudy and we had maybe an inch of sky between the mountains and the clouds.  The good thing about sunrise climb so late in the year is that sunrise comes later. We started our ascent at 6:20 this time around, whereas last time we started around 4:30 in the morning.

The weather was great this time round. My friends and I started earlier than the group so for a good portion, we were able to stay ahead of the pack and avoid the crowd. In doing so, we managed to summit at around 7:30 am. We were part of the first group to summit and in doing so we got decent seats that gave us good view of the impending sunrise. The view was amazing. Take a look for yourself. The pictures don't justify the view you see though.

The only downside to this, was the crowd at the top of the mountain. It kind of took away from the beauty but, it was also an adventure in itself to be up there at 7:30 in the morning with other people.

There are SOO many things to do in this great city of ours. Whether it be in the spring, summer, fall or even winter. Often times, we take this for granted. I think there is this mindset that since we live in this beautiful city, we've become immune to the beauty that it is and the abundance of things to do it provides. Besides all the hiking that can be done (see my other posts), which it in itself can take you all summer! There are plenty of other things to do, whether it be free or at a cost. Today I would like to share one of the most common touristy thing you can do in our great city! Which is none other than the Capilano Suspension Bridge!

Sometimes, it doesn't take much to find inspiration. This just has to be shared. Whether you're religious or not, please understand this is just something that is part of my life. I'm not going to lie when I say I haven't been to church in a while. Although for the past little bit, I have been busy with my weekend job, it really wasn't justifiable to miss as much as I had. I am glad to that this past weekend, even with my take down the previous night, Drew knew to see if I was still at home just before he left the house. It was my fastest waking in the morning. From rising to out the door was probably less than 3 minutes! No Joke! 

For some reason, this Sunday service felt different for me. It was my re-connection with God and I really wanted to show my sincerity. Who cared who else was there or what was going on with others. It was my time with God who has given me so many opportunities and LOVE along the way. It was the first time I really sat through the sermon and listened intently without falling asleep, or getting sidetracked or not taking it to heart. And it really spoke to me! I felt like it was meant for me and me alone!

The sermon focused on James 1:19 - 26 which focuses on Listening and Doing. The main points were to Listen to God's Words, then Practice God's Words followed by Living God's Words. These words were especially meaningful to me because it was the exact opposite of what I've been doing for the past while. While the pastor tells us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger, I have been doing the perfect opposite. I have been jumping to conclusions and getting angry at the smallest and meaningless things without really listening to others. I couldn't believe how much I really needed to hear that from someone else. It made me truly think about what I am doing with my life. 

At the end of service when we were given our moment of prayer. I really stopped and prayed. I told God of my insignificance to his greater plan and that everything I've been blessed with to date was his to take and give. I praised Him for all he gave me and the days we're given. It was truly a moment with God. It's also amazing to see how quickly he answers prayers. After service, I ran into an auntie who was looking for me and told me about a job opportunity at, none other than, Nordstrom. While I still don't know whether I'm fully getting this job until I actually start working, which would be December, after my trip, but I know that if God wants me here, no one will be able to take it away. 

I just want to share this passage before I end off. 

James 1:19-27

Unfortunately, there isn't a picture to go with this post, at the moment (perhaps I can steal from Niu later), but I just wanted to share my experience today. While it wasn't the first time, it was the second, ziplining, I just had to share it! I bought a Groupon earlier this year for the zip line that would be running at Queen Elizabeth Park this season as part of their 75th anniversary. The Groupon expires tomorrow so I wanted to make sure it didn't go to waste.

Niu came and picked me up after work and we headed to the park. When we got there, the line had, to our disappointed closed already, but after some pleading and waiting, myself and a couple other groups were given the okay to wait in line as well. As we waited, we got to witness the amazing change in the sky that was the sunset. It was truly a sight. To the west you could see a blend of red and orange from the setting sun, and towards the East, you could see a purple aura of the rising moon. I took my turn shortly after 7:15 and had a fantastic 30 sec ride down across the garden. It's really different to do the ride at night, than it is in the day. I'm so happy I got to do this as not only did I not waste my money, but it was something I could cross off my bucketlist as well!

Happy Wunderlust!

I've been missing for a while, and there has been no good excuse, so lets make a good attempt to do this again. I am VERY excited to be sharing this website with everyone. It is called Reviewsio. So what is that you may ask? Reviewsio is pretty much what it says. In collaboration with Amazon, it gives reviews the chance to test the product at next to no cost if at all, and give their honest reviews about the product. 

It will be officially launching on October 1st and who knows what I'll get to try and share. 

Have you signed up yet? if not then do so before the launch and have the opportunity to try products out for free! :)

Link: https://reviewsio.com/register?mref=annihsu

There are too many times when you look at the news and there is some sort of disaster going on, or a crime being committed. Rarely do you read, there still is though, on the good in humanity. With the way the world is, I think we as people that are part of it should try to help each other out in whatever way possible. Things that may seem little to us, may mean the world to the person receiving it.

Ever since I saw my friends back in Ontario participate in the Tough Mudder, I've had my heart set on doing the same. Two things have always stood in my way. Timing and Team. It was harder than I thought to convince people to throw themselves in the mud with me. I also had to be in town for the actual event.

He claims to have the best sandwiches in North America. Everyone calls him the sandwich Nazi, and to be honest I don't doubt these claims. La Charcuterie, the name of the deli, is CASH only and cellphones are forbidden. I recommend you not tempt fate on this one. I visited on a Saturday afternoon because the deli's hours are spontaneous and if he runs out of bread, he'll close up for the day.

As you enter, you'll notice the ambiance as something different. I didn't know quite what to expect. He was going on about prostitutes and other vulgar topics, I wasn't sure if I would make it through the experience. The deli has a menu, although its quite useless because he just adds to the sandwich what he feels like, and there really isn't saying no to him. He makes 6-8 sandwiches all at once and while doing so he carries on random conversations.

We bought two sandwiches, and the whole process took about half an hour with the lineup as long as it was. It came out to $20, ($8 each for the sandwich, drink and tip). Considering how much food it is, I'd say that was cheap. If you're a light eater like me, this could equal 4 meals or more.

I took a picture of the sandwich after getting home and opening it up. as you can see, its the size of my fist. you can't even wrap your mouth around it.

The experience was crazy, I'd definitely go back, although I'd personally prefer to add more dressing as mustard was all that was added.

I am so happy to say that I FINALLY get to check skydiving off my bucketlist! This was weeks in the making. For my birthday present almost a month ago, my darling brother bought me a weekday skydive at Skydive Vancouver!

We initially planned to fly the day after my birthday. However, the  weather wouldn't cooperate and ever since then we've had to keep pushing it off. We finally found the time this week to go and the weather was just fantastic!

We took all of our pictures before and after the jump because to the photo/video package would have been another $100+ which was definitely not in our budget.

We got suited up and given quick tutorials of what positions we needed to be in before the jump, and right after the jump out of the airplane. I was overly excited so they had to repeat because I didn't actually take it all in. Once suited, we were brought to another waiting area. There we waited for the airplane to come back after dropping off the last load of divers. While we waited, we got to see the previous group fly in and it was just amazing to see. One tandem in particular did a near vertical drop until the last 15-20 ft I'd say before coming in for a perfect landing.

My instructor, Jesse, was very awesome. We had a quick chat going up and I told him I was up for anything exciting! Once we were up in the air and got to the right altitude, we were the second tandem of six to jump. We did a back flip as we exited the aircraft and proceeded to free fall. Let me just say that that feeling is indescribable. The wind is full on in your face and you see everything below you coming closer and closer. Before I knew it Jesse deployed the parachute. This is when I really got to enjoy the scenery. On a nice day like today Mt. Baker looked extremely majestic in the distance. We did a few spins and drops that just reminded me a lot of paragliding! We touched down for the most perfect landing too! The whole thing, from the plane taking off to landing took us maybe 20 min. It's also the best 20 minutes I've ever had. I told Jesse he had an amazing job, because right after we landed, he and the other instructors ran off to take the next group of jumpers. Imagine skydiving over 5-6 times a day and getting paid to do so!

This experience is one that will be hard to forget and I'm glad I got to do it with someone I love. That made this experience all the better. It's also another thing I can cross off my bucketlist and share with those around me.

Never be afraid to follow your dreams!

I'm very privileged to live in a city where I am minutes away from the ocean and the mountains. There are so many options for a nice sunny day. As I've mentioned before, I've really gotten hooked onto climbing this year. I've made a huge list of climbs I want to accomplish. There are so many choices here in beautiful BC that one year just wouldn't cut it.

I went on a hike with my classmate to Buntzen Lake in Belcara. There are lots of trails in this region and because it's such a popular destination, on a good day, you can expect to see a lot of people on the trails. We opted for the Diez Vista trail which is one of several trails that makes a loop around the lake. The only difference is, this one shoots up the mountain. It is a 15 km trail that has a 4-6 hour RT time.

**warning if you opt to do this trail, there is horrible reception up here**

We started around 10:15 am at the south end of the parking lot and made our way down on the trail going clockwise. This trail can be done in either direction and as I learned later on, it is easier to complete the hike in the reverse direction because the incline would be more gradual. By following our route, we reached the very anti-climatic viewpoint in about an hour/hour and a half. We didn't even realize it was the main view point because reading on the trail they said there were about ten view points along the trail. The view, while beautiful, wasn't spectacular. And because it happened so early on in our trail, we had nothing really to look forward to but the long descent down. The rest of the trail, which was more than half the trail was longer and more taxing on the legs. There were roots and loose rocks that made the hike more difficult. Once we completed the descent, we weren't completely done though. The descent ended at the top of the loop, meaning there was still half the loop to get back to the parking lot. While I thought it would be all flat on the remaining trail, I was proved wrong. The trail along the beach was full of ups and downs, which weren't particularly difficult, however after a long hike, it felt difficult.

As I've said before though, even though the trail was long, having completed it made it feel so rewarding and satisfying. The food we devoured afterwards was that much more delicious too.

Have you hiked the Diez Vista trail? What did you think?

We had yet another weekend of beautiful summer weather this past weekend. I was invited by a friend of mine to join her and a friend for a hike up dog mountain. For those who don't know where that is, the trail is just off of a run at Mount Seymour, about a 45 minute drive from home (Surrey). Its about a 5 km hike roundtrip, which is about a 2 hour hike.

We met up on the mountain and started our hike around 1:45 pm. The trail is not particularly hard altitude wise, as you're already fairly high up in the mountain. However, it is rather technical. There are lots of rocks and roots on the trail that makes stepping very difficult. There was also a LOT of mud too. Just before we reached the first lake, which acted like a checkpoint, my friend and I both managed to slip on the same rock and fell in mud. We managed to clean ourselves off somewhat at the lake and witness some fellow hikers playing on the half frozen over lake. One of them decided to run across the lake and, as if I really needed to explain what happens next, without warning he falls through the ice. Luckily for him the lake is very shallow and he is alright, albeit a bit wet.


We continued on our hike and finally reach Dog Mountain after hiking for an hour. The view was amazing. Although we didn't have a unobstructed 360 view, the weather was so nice and clear we could see the entire lower mainland and as far away as Mount Baker. The feeling of climbing to the top really was amazing. It wasn't as crowded as Quarry Rock a week ago, which was awesome. You could just sit and relax and soak it all in.



The descent was equally long as the ascent. You would think it would be faster but because of all the technicalities on the trail, it took just as long. We made it back to our car dry but muddy. So a word of advice if any of you ever decide to hike to Dog Mountain. DON'T wear your nicest, cleanest sneakers/runners/shoes. You will get them dirty and they WILL be hard to clean. I learned that the hard way.

What a weekend it has been. It really feels like it ended before it even began. So what did I do? On Friday night niu's friend held a birthday party for another friend who turned 19 the previous week. We went over to drink and play games. I had to run back and forth between the party and church because my dad wanted to practice basketball for a tournament the following day. We played different Asian drink games that were simple but fun.

Saturday morning was particularly hard for me as I am really not a morning person. I don't like to wake up so early on my day off. But the tournament started at 9 am so we had to get there by then. I was very nervous for the day because I hadn't really played in years. The last time I played in a game was back in Waterloo with my friends. Our team was called "The Legends" and with good reason too because the age range for my team was the highest. We probably averaged around 40 years old. My first game was hardest as my body became accustomed to the intense stress I was putting it under. It was also because I tried my hardest. We were up against my ex. It gave me that much more motivation to try my hardest and beat them. I managed to score twice playing four on four (3 guys and 1 girl). My second shot was a nifty spin-around that I didn't even know I was capable of doing. I can still remember the crowd ohhing at my move. The rest of the tournament was lots of fun. We only lost two of the seven games we played, although we never really played to win. Just to have fun. It was really intense though because the games would come down to within a point or so of each other. The best part was getting to play with my dad who is 62 this year! I'm so proud of him, playing against people over half his age.

After the tournament ended, we went out to eat as a celebration at New lakeview Restaurant. After dinner, we went over to another friend's place to play board games and hang out. We ended up watching Suits, which I am now hooked onto and played Takenoko.

On Sunday, I went to church as usual, early in the morning for my nursery duties. I swear the kids get cuter as they grow up but just as rebellious. There was one girl who just refuses to do as she's told. After nursery, Sol picked me up and we headed for the GAME! I received tickets from work to attend the Sunday Canucks game against the Wilds. The seats were the best I've ever sat in. We were in the ninth row right behind the opponent's goalie, which meant we saw the Canucks attack twice! The goals made by the Canucks were a direct line from where I was sitting. It was such an amazing experience. The only thing that really clouded the whole game was my phone had disappeared miraculously in between, while I was at my seat. But it was eventually found by security in a completely different place. I'm not complaining, but even now I still find it weird. We lost the game 4-2 due to horrible reffing and an empty netter.




That night, to celebrate Aaron's 22nd birthday, we went out to Red Robin to eat as a family. It isn't very often we do this anymore so it was nice to just spend some quality time with them. And just like that the weekend was over.

What did you do this weekend?