Paolo Gaspar

I turned 24 around 6am this morning.  I’m glad not to be 22 or 23 any longer - I just like the way “24″ sounds.  I’m at work right now though, then I have school later where I’ll be quizzed on how to calculate taxable income.  My prof is really adamant about teaching us in a way that would make people think that we’re all going to go on to work for the CRA.  I’m sorry … I have no interest in working for the same people who will be taxing me as well.

Early Morning

I actually greeted my birthday while I was at Tim Horton’s.  Meg called me at about 5 minutes to midnight to say Happy Birthday.  I tried to do the same on her birthday back in December, but I fell asleep and called at like 12:30am.  I stayed there until about 2am when I went home to go to sleep.

I woke up this morning and went to work … late.  I got in at 8:30 when apparently I was supposed to have started at 8am.  Our schedule has been changed around quite a bit, making a usually predictable schedule a little unpredictable at time.  Now, whenever someone has a birthday at work, there’s the obligatory “All Branch Staff” email sent out to make everyone aware of who was turning how old.  That didn’t happen today, and I’m actually quite happy about it because those kinds of birthday wishes make me have to talk to people who I don’t want to talk to (ie. ever had to say ‘hi’ to a co-worker simply cuz you’re walking past him/her?  that’s the kind of feeling I wanted to avoid).

Hungy!

Lunch today was REALLY good.  Meg and I went to Pho Tam (which is an AWESOME little pho place by Surrey Central Station).  It’s a diner style restaurant with a focus on good food and a high turn over;

• The food is good and you get full fast
• There isn’t a whole lot of decor, so there isn’t a whole lot of reason to stick around
• It’s cheap so there’s always a high demand ($8.25 gets you a LARGE bowl of noodles and the best deep friend spring roll in the Lower Mainland)

Today I got a french coffee as well, which is basically coffee brewed using a Vietnamese filter and dripped directly into a cup with condensed milk.  The taste of coffee is strong, but is balanced with the sweet and creamy taste of the condensed milk.  Meg had her usual “small #3 with a spring roll and a coke”.  It’s a winning combination and we’re not likely to change that any time soon.Something funny happened in that we sat down a guy who looked like one of the Mandelbaum’s of Seinfeld fame.  haha.

Tax Sucks 

There wasn’t a whole lot that happened after lunch and by the time I got home, aside from getting thoroughly ROCKED by the tax quiz that I had to go through today.  I’d much rather go through a colonoscopy; at least that way, I’d be fast asleep while being violated.

Back Home

When I got home my family was there to greet me and wish me a Happy Birthday.  My dad forgot how old I was and that it was even my birthday:

Mom: It’s your birthday isn’t it?!
Me: Yup!
Dad: It’s the 19th already?!
Mom: ..!!
Me: Yup
Dad: So you’re 25 now, right?
Me: … umm … I’m 24

Hahaha … I think he was joking around … I’m not really sure, but it’s funny anyways

I Feel Special =) 

I got I came across my brother’s present for me: a bluetooth headset!  If you guys recall, Meg had given me a BlackBerry Curve as an early birthday present, so this headset complements it nicely!  

Aaron also gave me a t-shirt that he ironed The Shocker on to during the St. Patty’s party at his house on Friday where Meg also presented me with an ice cream cake with Dwight Schrute on it.  Rad!  While my birthdays are relatively quiet, they always end up being spectacular! =) 

So I’ve been dating my girlfriend, Meghan, for a year on Sunday Tuesday, March 11.  We celebrated on Sunday by getting a room at the Hyatt Regency and having dinner at Gotham Steak House.

The Flowers

I hopped on to google and searched for a florist in downtown Vancouver.  I wanted to find a place downtown because I wanted to set up the flowers in the hotel room prior to our check in.  Instead of finding a place downtown, I found a store in East Van by 29th avenue station called Vin’s Flowers.  The products were great and the price wasn’t ridiculous.  I picked up the flowers and buckled them into the front seat of my car.  They were good enough to provide me with a nice box to keep it steady as well.

To make them extra special, I also made tags for the dozen roses (one for each month we’ve been seeing each other) and wrote a quick blurb about what happened in that month.  I was afraid that it would make everything look a little busy, but as you can see, it turned out quite nice!

The Hotel

I decided to book a place at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver.  I was going back and forth between the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and the Hyatt, but the Hyatt’s modern decor won out in the end.  We got a Regency Club room on the 29th floor (of 35 floors) which entitled us to a personal concierge, and a private lounge with a balcony and continental breakfast.

So far, aside from the Hyatt, I’ve only stayed at the Pan Pacific (Vancouver, Whistler Mountain Side, and Whistler Village), and The Hilton Whistler, but I’ve gotta say that the Hyatt has definitely topped them all.  The flatscreen TV, Kohler fixtures, and backlit headboard really put them over the top.

Oh, did I mention that the staff there are SUPER courteous?!  They were happy to arrange the aforementioned flowers in the room for me prior to our check-in.  They also said “hi” everytime I came out.  At times it was weird, but it feels nice being treated that well.

My Present

Meg had done a great job putting together a collage of pictures from the past year.  I’ve always wanted a picture frame like this.  As I looked closer, I noticed some tickets in the frame.  I thought they were stubs when I read it closer and found out they were FOO FIGHTERS TICKETS!!!  I’ve been trying to get them for a while, but that didn’t work out for me cuz I didn’t want to pay something like $200 a ticket.  Meg was able to get them for face value, AND they’re general admission too!  I’m stoked, and of course, she’ll be coming along with me!

The Restaurant

I got reservations at Gotham Steak House.  Anyone who lives in the Lower Mainland knows that Gotham has a  reputation that preceeds itself as the best place for steaks in the city.  After our experience, I have to agree!

Our appetizer was the fresh oysters.   We LOVE oysters.  The oysters they served us were nothing super special compared to others we’ve had, but they were of a nice size and not wimpy looking ones like we’ve had at other places.  I inquired about the Oysters Rockefeller, but something about cooked oysters kinda turns me off.  It wasn’t a night for experimenting - it was a night for getting what we wanted.

For the entreé, Meg wanted the most tender steak they had, so she went for the Filet Mignon.  I’ve always drooled at the picture of a really well-marbled steak, so I got the 24oz Bone-in New York Strip as recommended by our waiter, Bob.  They both tasted great!  The Filet was super tender and had that “buttery” softness to is as Bob had said it would.  Mine was a little fattier than I thought it would be, but it was still absolutely fantastic!

Dessert was a giant creme brulee for Meg and a open faced apple pie for me.  Meg’s creme brulee was really good (though not quite as outstanding compared to its peers like the steaks were) and my apple pie (which came a la mode) didn’t have a crust … at all.  Perhaps I’ll go for the cheesecake next time.

Lots of people say that it’s super expensive to eat there, but I guess that’s all relative.  We were extremely happy with our experience there which made every penny spent worth it.  On the other hand, we’ve heard from friends who have spent more on dinner but weren’t quite as satisfied, making such dinners feel a lot more expensive than its real dollar cost.  Our dinner came to $150 or so and Bob was tipped $30.  So $180.  Not bad at all!

Aprés

We headed back to the hotel room and laid in bed.  It was very comfortable!  The pillows were nice and firm, but not overly so.  We also ordered 27 Dresses on the hotel’s Pay Per View system since Meg had been wanting to watch it for a while.

I eventually had to drive her back home at around 2:30am bringing an end to a great night.  The valet was nice and quick about bringing up my car as well.  As a reference point, the Pan Pacific in Whistler Village used to take like 10 minutes where as the Hyatt was done in about 2-3 minutes.  Wonderful!

When I got back to the hotel, I was surprised to find that a copy of the latest National Post was already on my doorstep.  I don’t read the National Post as much as I used to, so I just crawled into bed and went to sleep soon after.

I woke up the next day to rainy skies - your typical spring day in the Pacific Northwest. 

While waiting for the valet downstairs, I decided to hop into Timmy’s next door for a triple triple.  When I got back out, I noticed them putting the picture frame into my trunk.  I guess they gave me a weird look because they saw the beer bong in the back (how’s that for alliteration?!)  hahaha.

I drove away happy as can be.  Best Sunday, ever!