The Order Of Importance

Today I was in a super gloomy mood. The reason is I broke up with my boyfriend yesterday because of his ex-girlfriend.

To take my mind off things, I went to Wink Beauty Lounge to attend Wink Beauty Lounge Friends and Family Night. Everything was so cute!!! The main colors at the shop are white and pink. Displayed were various cosmetics and jewellery! There was also finger food going around: bite-sized hamburgers, cupcakes and more! It was too pretty to eat but of course I ate it! Yummy!

Wink Beauty Lounge also gave out complimentary make-up, nail art decorations, and hair styling services. One of the hair stylist made my hair gorgeous and curly. Since Wink specializes in eyelashes, they were also applying false lashes on everyone!  Of course I had to try it. After the hair and eyelashes, I felt like an actress or a princess so dolled up!

At the end of the night, I left with bronze eye shadow and some blush. I can’t wait to use them tomorrow! The staff was very kind and energetic. Their attitude cheered me up, I almost forgot about the boyfriend!

Today I realized two important things-At first, I should not to rely on a boyfriend especially accommodation. The second, the object I’m most interested in is not boyfriend but myself!!

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Vancouver Street Vendors

Have you ever wanted to try all the different street vendors in one day? Today, Minna, Yvonne and I gave ourselves a tour around downtown Vancouver to at the various street vendors. We picked some stands and headed towards the drool-worthy aroma!

• Licious

Located on Granville at West Georgia.

The company has its own philosophy – healthy living, liciously easy. They have other services like meal delivery and suggesting fitness and diet programs.  They work closely with their nutritionists to create meals, snacks and beverages.

At the stand, salads, sandwiches and smoothies were available. And they serve from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday! The salesperson is so energetic and it definitely rubbed off on her customers!

We ordered the “Very Berry smoothie” ($5.09+tax).  She took it straight from the fridge; already prepared (this didn’t make it seem as fresh!). It was strong in the yogurt taste and it had a berry seed texture.

• Kimono Koi  Crepe

Located on West Georgia at Granville.

The stands use lots of cute pink color! We ate “Tuna eggs crepe” ($6.75). It’s like a tuna egg sandwich in thin and soft wrap. Surprisingly they put seaweed on the crepe! I’ve never seen it in Japan, so this was very interesting! I liked the texture – soft with a bit of crunch from the lettuce. When you want to eat something different from a pizza or hamburger for lunch, it’s a great choice!

• Chinese Skewer King

Located on Burrard at West  Hastings.

There are 4 different types of skewers: Pork, Lamb, Tofu, Vegetables (Each $2.5). We all ordered the pork skewer with spices. After 5 minutes, it smelt delicious! It was soft but well cooked with the pork capturing all the flavours. If you come to this stand on your lunch break, watch out, the smell will have you drooling!

They also sell toasted bread ($1.00) and combos are also available from $5.50!

• Dim Sum Express

Located on Howe and north of Cordova.

We ate shrimp dumplings ($3.50, 4pcs) and “Xiao Long Bao” – pork dumplings ($3.50, 5pcs). The stand is noticeably larger than others – a big station wagon with a whole kitchen. The complimentary hot sauce is pretty intense. So, for people who can’t eat anything spicy, like Yvonne, I recommend that you stay away from it! My favourite was the “Xiao Long Bao”. When you bite into it, watch out the soup that’s inside! It’s delicious but don’t get it on yourself!

Combos were also available.

• Japadog

We ate Japadog at a stand in front of Waterfront station.

Do you know the last year’s top 3 japadogs? Spicy Cheese Terimayo,  Oroshi,  and Okonomi.

The president,Tamura Noriki had a job in Japan and after coming to Vancouver, he launched  Japadog in 2005. Now they have a store (530 Robson St) and 3 stands (Burrad and Smithe St, Burrard and Pender St, in front of Waterfront Station).

Today we ordered “Ebichili”($ 6.75). It had a shrimp sausage that was sprinkled with baby shrimp. The baby shrimp color was so vivid, it made me even more hungry!

We don’t have Japadog in Japan so, to me, it’s one of Vancouver’s specialties. It was so good, I wanted to try all different Japadogs!

I love street vendor food and today I got to try different ones around Downtown Vancouver. It was like my taste buds were traveling to different countries!

I have found a new interest. Where should I go and what should I eat next time …

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November Entrepreneur Meetup!

November 18(Thu) 7:00PM

Location: 422 Richards Street 3rd floor Vancouver, BC V6B 2Z3  

The Network Hub (www.thenetworkhub.ca)

Where has the year gone? We are nearing the end of 2010 and this will be the last Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup of the year! We are going out on a bang with a topic that everyone has been asking for – generating more traffic to your website! I hope to see you all at this last Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup of the year!!!

For many years, a lot of questions have been raised about Search Engine Marketing – How do I get listed on the 1st page of Google? How can I get more targeted traffic to my website? What can I do to increase lead conversion on my website? What is this local marketing or targeted local online marketing?

It is all very dizzying to keep up and get going for entrepreneurs and small business owners. This month we are fortunate to have a leading expert in Search Marketing who will be giving practical tips that you can take and use right away. No lingo, no theory – just useful and practical tips that help you see the impact right away.

Search Marketing is very important for entrepreneurs – it’s an effective method for driving highly targeted visitors to your website. Without search marketing, your website and online store is buried deep in the thousands of results that a search engine produces.

This month, our guest speaker is Adrian Eden. Adrian has experienced a great deal of success in increasing visibility and profitability of his clients thanks to his ability to consistently deliver exceptional results.

Adrian, borned and raised in Salmon Arm is a small town boy who moved to Vancouver after many years in Costa Rica, is the founder of YaletownSEO.ca – an online search marketing company. He spent many years holding key marketing roles in Fiver Media and Riptown Media, executing results for the Bodog Brand. Right now, Adrian is one of the key people behind the Search Marketing and Social Media Strategy for Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning.

If you want to get practical tips to increase traffic to your website, increase engagement online and more importantly, increasing your online profitability – make sure you RSVP to hear Adrian Edenspeak!
The event is FREE but we do appreciate a bottle of wine to share with everyone.

Sign Up!

http://www.meetup.com/vancouver-entrepreneurs-startup-vancouver-office-space/calendar/15383841/?from=list&offset=0

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October Entrepreneur Meetup!

October Entrepreneur Meetup!  “Can social media help grow your business?”

On October 21, The Network Hub held the Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup at the office (422 Richards Street, Vancouver).

 We had a guest speaker Yu-kai Chou and over 150 people in attendance. Yu-kai is a Serial Entrepreneur and Social Media Advisor with over 5 years of adventures in the high tech startup world. He is the Founder and CEO of Viralogy Inc., a Social Personalization and Analytics Platform for eCommerce sites. Yu-kai’s team has also run many successful social media campaigns for LG, Levi’s, Los Angeles Lakers, Activision and more.

He spoke about the importance of social media. When he asked the audience if they were using social media, almost everyone raised their hand. Social media is one of biggest marketing tools and strategies out there. So, the audience listened carefully and asked lots of questions.

The meetup was packed with energetic people! There were lots of different business ideas being discussed. I think new connections and resources for business were made!  

I enjoyed meeting, chatting, and wine-ing with cheerful and dedicated people. In addition, Goldies Pizza supplied us with a few tasty pizzas and those were gone instantly! And thank you to Lonsdale Event Rentals for sponsoring us with beautiful glasses and tables!

  The Network Hub is planning a bigger meetup in early December. Don’t miss out!

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Salmon Rush-Hour

When a salmon jumped, I unconsciously said “Go!”

Yesterday, I went to Capilano River hatchery. The facility is operated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to protect important and rare fish species.

After seeing the salmon exhibition and reading about the facility, I went to see the fish ladder. Amazingly, salmons jumped up the ladders against the rapid stream. The ladders were almost the same length as their body! If I were a salmon, I would need to jump about 160cm (my height). And even though they were able to get over, the next step was packed with other salmon – it was like a crowded Skytrain at rush-hour. So, lots of salmon slipped down to the previous step due to the rapid stream. The numbers of salmon going down were much more than ones going up. After all that jumping and dropping, they had injuries; I could see it in the meat. I thought to myself, if I were a salmon, “After the first jump, don’t swim to the surface. There is no space. At first, I need to take a rest and try the next ladder after recovering!”

I love salmon and ikura so much! However, today I witnessed a page of their life. So I won’t eat them…maybe for one week.

 

Capilano River Hatchery

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sep-pmvs/projects-projets/capilano/capilano-eng.htm

Best Times

Chinook Adults	October – November
Coho Adults	June – November
Steelhead Adults	March – April
Coho Juveniles	All Year
Chinook Juveniles	March – May

 

There is no charge!

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An Arresting Experience

No, I didn’t run into any trouble. It’s just an exhibition at The Vancouver Police Museum. It’s a small museum but it collects, preserves and interprets the history of the Vancouver Police Department. Visitors can learn how to detect counterfeit bills and other crime related topics- like forensic entomology to determine the time of death from the flies’ growing speed. I also saw an autopsy room with many specimens. On top of that, I learned how to mark cards for gambling. I’ll try it when I meet with my sister!

They also have various public programs- “Halloween at the Police Museum”-“An Evening at the Morgue” and “Haunted Trolley Tours”. Or if you have small children, you can have “Birthday Parties at the Museum (for ages 4-12)”.

It will be an arresting experience!

Hours

Monday – Saturday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Closed Sundays and Statutory Holidays

Admission

Adults: $7.00
Seniors and Students: $5.00
Family: $20.00 (two adults, two youth under 17)
Children under 6: Free
Historical Society Members: Free

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Beautiful Yaletown

My favourite singer/actor, Akihiro Miwa, said “Humans are made up of body and mind. Now we can easily buy enough food or nutritional supplements. So, do you know what the food for our mind is? It is culture – beautiful music, art or scenery can make our mind calm and stable.”

Today I visited Yaletown – formerly a heavy industrial area dominated by warehouses and rail yards but since Expo’86, it has been transformed into an attractive urban area.

At Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, I said hello to Engine 374- the CPR Engine that pulled the first transcontinental train into the city. After a quick visit to Roundhouse, I walked along the seawall. It was calming and the water was so clear, I could see to the bottom.

I kept walking and I got into lovely interior shop with gorgeous chandeliers, glittered tableware and European furniture. It was like walking into a romantic honeymoon suite! I thought, what do I need to change in my room in order to be like this shop? … Unfortunately, everything was different. I needed to make a huge effort to get a beautiful room like theirs. Of course, I can’t buy this beautiful furniture easily but this furniture inspired me. I’m going to clean up my room and work at it. And I’m coming back this shop in Yaletown! 

  

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