Summer #5: 2 days in Seattle from the Eyes of a Vancouverite

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Paulina Tsui

Item #5 on my summer to do list is to take a short trip somewhere nearby. I went to Seattle. Why? Well, for one I’ve never been, and more importantly there is this awesome new bus company that sells super cheap tickets. It’s called Bolt Bus. Roundtrip, $15.

They have wifi! If you're lucky you can catch their $1 fares. Sounds sketch but it's not!

From the train station at Science World station, it drops off right outside Chinatown in Downtown Seattle within the free bus zone. (I love that free bus zone. Buses are free to ride in the downtown core!)

No offense Seattle, I’ve always imagined you to be a more boring, less ethnically diverse version of Vancouver. Did it turn out to be? Yes and no. Seattle is a lot like Vancouver but subtly amplified in little ways. For instance, there are beautiful old buildings like in Gastown and plenty of hipster things around like galleries, thrift stores and cafes… just more. Was it more boring? I’d say it depends how into art you are but it felt less bustling, not that Vancouver is very bustling. Usually.

“What the heck was there to do in Seattle?” I heard that a lot when I came back. Here are some ways you can entertain yourself in Seattle for the weekend:

1.) Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour: Highly recommended and I don’t even like tours. I’d say it was the highlight of my weekend. The history of Seattle itself is hilarious. Lets just say they didn’t anticipate a lot of things. Major plus that the guides are great at telling the story. There is also the “Underworld Tour” which is an “adult version” of the Underground. Didn’t do it but I have high hopes for it given how interesting the one I did was. http://www.undergroundtour.com/

2.) On a Sunday, the Fremont Sunday Market: It’s a little street market selling some interesting snack foods and a whole lot of artsy knick-knacks. Jewellery, furniture, picture frames, lots of mainstream old vinyl. My friend bought a polaroid camera and I got an old teacup. If you like Etsy type stuff this is a nice place to go. Getting there >>

3.) Fremont Troll: If you’re going to the market you might as well go check out this cool sculpture on the way. See Wiki page.

4.) Speaking of sculptures, Olympic Sculpture Park: Nice place by the sea for a walk in the evening. The art there is pretty and felt just abstract enough to casually enjoy. It is a few blocks west of the free bus zone. To be honest, all of Downtown Seattle is like a sculpture park. Even the bus stops have neat skylights.

5.) Find Bruce Lee’s Grave: It’s just a grave… OF BRUCE LEE. No, it’s really just a normal cemetery. The interesting part is taking the bus there and looking out the windows in awe of how much Seattle is like Vancouver. Especially the residential areas.

6.) Coffee shops and art galleries: Wander around and you’ll find them easily. Try Pioneer Square area. By art galleries I mean those stores that are selling art that look like galleries. No admissions fees and maybe get inspired… or just straight up confused.

7.) If you’re really bored and with another person, do the clock hunt: I was a little scared that Seattle would be incredibly boring so I challenged my travel buddy to a contest. Who can take the most pictures of analog clocks. A bunch of tourism sites said “Seattle is rich in street clocks.” The catch is that you have to take the pictures without your challenger taking the picture too. My clock count: 11. I was aiming for 40.

8.) For nightlife, try Shorty’s: A bar with pinball machines. Need I say more? Speaking of nightlife, it seems like it is always happy hour in some places. Look for happy hour specials in restaurants, it’s a very affordable way to eat. http://www.yelp.ca/biz/shortys-seattle

Other things to check out: Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, Nordstrom and other American things we don’t have. Just because we don’t have them. I didn’t see much special about the first Starbucks or Pike Place. Pike Place is really just Granville Island’s market but with more fish and flowers. About the museums in the Space Needle area, I didn’t go in so I can’t say if they’re worth it but the building structures are really cool! Local bands and exhibitions are aplenty, find a paper. Lastly, avoid the financial district on weekends. You look up and the really shiny skyscrapers draw you in but it’s really dead. It’s not Burrard. I couldn’t even find an open Starbucks.

Downtown Seattle from afar.

Overall, Seattle is a city of nice walks lined with beautiful buildings and random art everywhere. Boy, do I mean everywhere. If you’re stuck in Vancouver this summer and just want to get out but have little time or little money (or both), Seattle is not a bad choice. Be prepared for hills.

Summer To Do #6: Watch a band play live

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Paulina Tsui

Summer To Do #6: Watch a band play live. Arkells rockin' it at Vogue!

I can’t say I’ve never seen bands play before or went to a music festival, but I’ve never paid for one nor deliberately went to see a favorite band before. That is why “watch a band play live” was on my summer to do. How lucky was I that Arkells, one of my top 5 favorite bands, came to Vancouver yesterday!

Nothing says bromance like 3 bands coming together for one song! (Arkells, The Maine and Lydia)

There’s a huge difference watching a band you don’t know and a band playing songs you actually can sing along to. The thing I love about this band from Hamilton, Ontario is that even when you don’t know them, you can enjoy the show as if you did. The first time I heard them was when they played before Our Lady Peace at one of the free shows during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Even though my friends and I had never heard of them, their tunes were so catchy we managed to sing along anyway and had a great time.

Here is one of my favorites off their first album, Jackson Square. (Of which I thoroughly enjoy every track, how many CDs can you say that about?):

Sometimes I can’t figure out why I would want to go to a concert. No flying elbows, secondhand smoke, ringing ears, and I can sing and dance along with less self-conscious hindrances when I’m in my own room. Plus I’m only 5’2 so the view isn’t always so awesome. But meeting people who hold that music as close to themselves as you do, that feeling is just something else. There are no awesome opening acts of a band you’ve never heard of at home either (well… sort of.)

Vogue Theater on Granville

This was also my first time watching a show at Vogue… boy did I feel like a concert virgin when I joined the line 3 blocks away.

Tip: go early to line up if you want to get the best standing spot. Maybe an hour and a half? If the band starts tweeting about the line, you should put down your terriyaki bowl and haul it (and pay first of course, not condoning dine and dash!)

5 iPhone Apps for Productive Commutes

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Paulina Tsui

Commuting always feels like a big waste of time to me. The act sucks up energy too. I usually end up more tired than I was getting on the bus. I try to fill up my time with random school related things like studying flash cards, highlighting case studies (or at least attempting to,) napping and pre-reading notes. Mostly napping and flash cards.

Being sick of the routine, I downloaded some apps to play with during my commute. 2 hours a day * 5 days a week = 10 hours. I think one can only have so many hours of Angry Birds before wondering if there is something more meaningful out there. Of all the apps I tried out, below are 5 that have stuck that I am using pretty actively.

All of the apps I’ve chosen are free and 4 of 5 are offline.

1. Flashcards+

What can I say? I find flashcards helpful! And with this app, I can even make them on the bus too! (Although I’d say the paper ones are better, I find myself coming back to this app when I want just enough productivity that isn’t strenuous.) You can make multiple decks, flip them around, and even download ones that other people made.

2. iTunes U

Free access to lectures and course materials from universities around the world. When my brother first told me about this I rolled my eyes at him and said “yeahhh ok, I’m not that much of a nerd.” But now that I’ve actually tried this out, it’s pretty awesome. I get to listen to lectures for classes that I’m interested in but will probably never take. Like music history and robotics. Plus the lectures are nice things to sleep to on the bus too 😉

3. Orchestra

It’s a to-do list app. The bus ride in the morning is a good time to plan out what I need to do everyday. I was never a fan of planners because I’d always forget to bring them one day and stop using it after that. I’d never forget my phone though! (That’s not true, but if I did, I have bigger things to worry about then.) I tried a lot of list apps. I stuck with this one because you can make multiple lists and the tasks are sorted as today, someday, and some specific day. I like the “today” option because I just ended up making a list called “today” with the other apps anyway. The most unique thing about this app is that you can share the lists with someone else. The creators were looking for a way to “orchestrate” family to-dos. (It’s a good pun eh?!)

4. Adobe Reader

Reading on the bus! I don’t own very many books and I don’t go to the library often, but I am on the internet a lot! Digital books ftw! They may hurt your eyes if you have a small screen but still equally as engaging to me!

Runner up: iTunes -> audio books! Sounds lame at first, but give them a try!

5. Flipboard

This one is for people with data plans. I don’t have a data plan but this app makes me wonder if I should get one so I can use it on the bus. It’s pretty much an RSS feed that grabs articles from news and blog sources and displays it on a pretty layout where you can “flip” through the articles. (With an animated flip of course!) If you find the Metro and 24 Hour isn’t cutting it for you, check out this app. I’m not much of a news reader myself but this app has got me into it, I use it almost daily now. How it’s better than RSS: they have a list of stuff in different categories that you can select from so you don’t have to look it up yourself. If you’re not totally sure what you like, they have curated selections of articles too.

The apps I mentioned are all iPhone apps but I’m sure you can find similar ones for Android! Do you have any suggestions on how to have more productive commutes?

Oh the amusement of our differences.

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Paulina Tsui

I’m surprised at my ability to find amusement in lame things despite feeling stressed about everything (academically related.)

Aww you Blogsquaders make my day.

Good luck on those last days of midterms before the break =)

Lazy Summer Mornings.

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Paulina Tsui

From a distant perspective, school starting on the 2nd week of September always makes me feel good. Like as if I’m cheating time for a longer summer. However, in the moment right now, it feels more like an extended funeral with 5 days of mourning. Or perhaps sort of like how I would expect myself to feel if someone told me I was dying and I was out to suck some marrow of life, except I’m not dying so I laze around with the intent to suck the marrow out of life.

Did I have plans for my summer at home? Yes. Did I fulfill them? Not all of them. Did I attempt to? Yes… sort of. Will I keep trying? Well no, the summer is over. What keeps me from doing these things even though summer is over? …

Note to self: just because it’s not summer doesn’t mean you can’t do all those things you “wanted to do but didn’t have time for” over the school year. Key word = prioritize. What makes you happy? Long run and short run.

So how am I spending my last cherished Saturday morning? (Whatever happened to Fox Box!?)

I’m looking at pictures of nebulae (nebula…s).

And for some reason I’m getting a slight motion sickness kind of feeling when I look at them.

I get this same feeling when I’m on Google Maps looking at things like mountains or bodies of water in satellite view.

I guess I’m just not cut out to be an alien.

Headless warrior is a great plan B though.

Distractions, distractions everywhere.

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Paulina Tsui

You think that when one distraction has run dry you’ll go back to studying. It just keeps on coming. Internet, you’ll be the end of me.

Mind over matter… mind over matter…

My First University Midterm.

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Paulina Tsui

Math. 1 hour. 4 questions. 40 marks. Each question had sub questions.

Here is what I learned/relearned/confirmed about the test taking process.

1. Skip the questions you don’t know. (In my case the first 2 pages.)

2. Breathe.

3. If there is a question you cannot finish all the way, mark it on the side so you remember to come back to it.

4. Remember to go back to it.

5. If you really don’t know, make educated guesses. (Unless it’s those multiple choice tests where they take off marks for getting it wrong and nothing when you don’t answer)

6. In the case of math, if you do all the work and you get an answer, but you know the answer is impossible/wrong, and you are almost out of time: use whatever answer that seems to be possible/right (ie. from plugging into calculator)

7. (#6 is something I learned in highschool. Comes from the idea that doing the work right gets you marks and getting the right answer gives you a mark. However, it may not be the case anymore. I’m not sure.)

8. Water = good. It helps your brain work better.

9. Too much water = bad. Don’t want to have to go for a bathrooom break…

10. Breathe, stay calm. Even when it is over and you are thinking “FML.”

[side note] I do not guarentee that these “tips” work. I am not liable for any mistakes you may make. The truth is that even I don’t follow my own ideas all the time. Espicially #10. If you saw me on the #43 today going home, then you understand.

This always cracks me up: