impromptuz

• Day 1 – Vancouver Arrival
  Dinner at 老油條（油炸鬼）
  Richmond Night Market
• Day 2 – Car Tour
  Breakfast at Flying Beaver
  Gas Town 蒸汽鐘
  Downtown District
  Queen Elizabeth Park
  Richmond
  Aberdeen Center (Radio Station)
  Granville Island – Public Market
  Chinatown
• Day 3 -Vancouver relax
  Costco shopping
  Lunch at Downtown “Nightingale” with Bill
  Dinner at “Rodney’s Oyster House” with Ingrid
• Day 1 – Banff
  Plane to Calgary – Calgary Public Library
  Drive to Banff
  Check-in at Banff’s “Peaks Hotel & Suites”
  Dinner at Costco hotdog
• Day 2 – Banff
  Lake Lorraine
  Morraine Lake
  Dinner at “Chaya” for Ramen
• Day 3 – Banff / Columbia Icefield
  Banff National Park – Visitor Centre
  “Banff” Sign
  Castle Mountain (passed by)
  Johnston Canyon (did not enter)
  Columbia Icefield / Athabasca Glacier
  Highest Starbucks in Canada
  McDonald’s (100% Canadian Beef!)
• Day 4 – Banff
  “BeaverTails” Pastry
  Banff Gondola
  Sent postcards
  Melissas Missteak steakhouse – Calgary Beef Ribeye
• Day 5 – Banff/Vancouver/USA
  Tim Hortons in airport
  麗都 Cha Charn Ting – 菠蘿油、乾炒牛河
  KFC in USA
  Check-in “Staypineapple”
• Day 1 – Seattle
  Kerry Park
  Pike Market – Pike Place Chowder
  Museum of Flights (Concorde, Air Force 1)
  Dinner with Annie
• Day 2 – Seattle
  Pike Market – 1st Starbucks, Pike Place Chowder (again)
  Elliott Bay Book Co.
  Molly’s Ice Cream
• Day 3 – Seattle
  Space Needle
  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – Discovery Center
  Chihuly Museum
  Dinner at “Danbo Ramen”
• Day 4 – Seattle
  University of Washington – Bookstore, Suzzallo Library
  Flat tire..random lunch at “Chiang’s Gourmet”
  Dinner with Sally and Eugene
• Day 5 – Seattle
  Amazon Go, Amazon “The Spheres”
  Microsoft Campus
  IHOP
  Dinner with Sally and Eugene at Kirkland
• Day 6 – Seattle Car Tour
  All-day breakfast with Sally
  Tableau
  Trolls / Nordic Museum
  Chittenden Locks
  Open Houses – Floating Homes
  Gas Works Park
  Rainier Mountain from Kerry Park
  Dinner with Tiffany and Sally at “Ezell’s Famous Chicken”
• Day 7 – Seattle
  Seattle Public Library
  Bill Gates Home at Medina
  Panda Express
  Seattle Premium Outlet
  Walmart
  Popeyes
• Day 8 – Seattle / Vancouver
  Drive from USA to Vancouver
  Lunch at 麗都 Cha Charn Ting – 揚州炒飯、糯米飯、蛋撻
  大統華、玩具反斗城
  False alarm at bad hotel
• Day 9 – Vancouver back to HK
  Byebye, bought salmon in airport
  (Did not go to English Bay in Vancouver finally)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

“Home is not where you were born; home is where all your attempts to escape cease.”

• 在大雨期間，我在室內聽著雨點滴答聲。
• 在career break中，雖然no pay，但我還是可以如常消費。
• 原來alumi directory的地址錯了一年多！至少終於發現了…也更正了。

but，由8月開始已經沒有睡過一晚多過4小時。
假期前是早上6點自動起床，假期後是早上3點自動起床。我居然還沒掛掉。

Summary:

• Grit and Quit: The opposite of a great virtue is also a great virtue 👍
• Quitters are not cowards. Cut your losses earlier, it’s a huge win.
• Life is too short to spend time on things that are no longer worthwhile.
• Quit everything else, to free up resources to achieve the worthwhile/right things that can bring you long-term happiness.

Initially, I did not have high expectations for this trip, but it turned out to be a great one filled with enlightening experiences, fresh knowledge, and heartwarming reunions with dear old companions! (Yes this paragraph is polished by ChatGPT)

• 踏上融化中的冰川，黑夜星空圓月，湖畔與巨山、大自然景色前我變得渺小。原來地球還有這麼壯觀的角落，我還沒有踏足過！以往的poetry and art，就是被這些天與地感動到。（飛機上也看了部分Frozen Planet，大型冰川融化好震撼，sea level真的在上升）
• 終於去到期待已久的公司遊：Amazon Spheres, Microsoft Headquarter, Starbucks首店，Bill Gates家門吸靈氣！讓我感受到真正大公司的「豪」，可以支撐整個城市的經濟GDP和就業率。我的公司太小了，做人要看遠一點、看寬一點。
• 與新舊朋友重逢，特別是MCS年代的朋友好開心，原來introvert也喜歡reunion。特別喜歡聽聽各人的分享和觀點，這些是看書也學不到的。有工程師、有阿馬遜PM、有律師、有地產商老闆、有建築師、有設計師等等。（也遇上了可愛的印度小b女，與她手拖手一刻好奇妙）
• 見到好多homeless, drug dealers, people under influence嗚下嗚下high咗癲咗在馬路中心，也目擊了偷車賊in action而無人理。基本上也看不到警察。反思too liberal又是否好事？原來美加也淪落？没人管制著「人性」就會變了這麼亂嗎？但過度的survellience和police enforcement又是否不好？這是一個哲學性的問題。有錢沒錢的地區可以分別好大。
• 好味moments – 乾炒牛河、Alberta beef rib eyes、Panda Express、Popeyes炸雞、揚州炒飯及糯米飯、McDonalds的Canadian Beef XD 見到了90年代size的玩具反斗城（有單車架、和波波架）這些都是香港再吃不到的quantity和quality，香港的好文化傳統要靠外國來保存了。香港租金貴，沒辦法。
• 這次來回都坐business class係爽yy，心情會好唔同！我賺錢唔係為咗買嘢，而係買一個更comfortable的experience。自己舒服最緊要。

其他值得highlight嘅體驗包括：第一次去open house（仲要係floating home靚到喊）、9唔搭8地買了UW hoodies（紫色好靚哈哈）、Elliott Bookstore好多書！等等。

謝謝b安排了這麼多，一起多了美好回憶！