As I briefly mentioned in my previous post, this is my last term as a university student. Now, of course I’m happy to be done, but I am an emotional person and it feels bittersweet that it’s all coming to an end. Might as well go out in a festive fashion! 🙂
What was my goal this week?
I had no expectations really, but I was hoping for a night out some friends from work or school to bring in the cold weather and end of the term. Luckily, I got both during the week. We planned to celebrate a university friend’s belated birthday by hanging going to dinner and visiting the Christmas Market, along with anything else we could find along the way. As a secondary goal, I wanted to celebrate finishing school with a friend from work over dinner or a fun night out. I’m lucky enough to say that both outings were very heart-warming, exciting and a lovely way to end the term.
How did it go?
If I could sum it up, it was spontaneous and surprising. For my friend’s birthday, the group and myself went out to Danbo Ramen (which always has a line up). I’ll admit, I was expecting the place to be overhyped because it’s always super busy with people, but I must say, that was some of the tastiest broth I’ve ever had. Would I wait out in the cold to line up? Yes, I would.
After ramen and opening gifts, we decided to head to North Vancouver for some ice skating and exploring. We took the Sea Bus just before the sun was setting and rented some skates to hit the ice. While it was SO busy and we were terrified of crashing into kids, it was a cute moment to be skating outdoors while Christmas music was playing.
After some sore ankles from the skates, we headed around the area to explore the markets, shops, and grabbed some ice cream. Once we saw the Sea Bus closely approaching, we ran to the terminal and hopped on board to make our way to the main event: The Vancouver Christmas Market!
It was buzzing with people, but luckily it wasn’t too crazy! We walked around the booths and took turns lining up buy food so we could share and try more dishes. I think my favourites of the night would have to be the pork hock, and the roasted sweet walnuts! Wayyy too delicious and we finished a whole bag in no time.
We still had some energy in us, so we went to JOS restaurant and made a last minute stop at a little hole-in-wall place called Pizza Coming Soon. I’ve got to say, it’s one of the coolest and oddest little restaurants I’ve visited in the city. it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but once you’re inside, you’re transported into this retro, funky, colourful booth that is way too cool for you.
From the menus to the wall art, and even the interesting choice of snacks and drinks; I’m definitely coming back here soon. Did I mention that there’s Kit Kat clocks literally everywhere! We chatted over drinks and 3 orders of these garlic fries that we couldn’t resist and were actually quite cheap. Honestly, this place was probably my the least expected but my favourite part of the day.
How did I do it?
I think being flexible and spontaneous with plans make for more fun nights. The only thing we had semi-planned was Danbo and the Christmas Market at some point in the night, but we had the evening to do whatever we felt like. Be open!
How do I feel?
Festive after all those activities, but almost in a disbelief that 6 years of study are almost over. To add, I also feel very grateful; university allowed me to meet my lovely friends, and have so many experiences and opportunities to grow as a person. This weekend was a charming and caring way to bring it to an end, and I know I’ll carry these memories with me long into the future.
Next week’s goal
While blog may be over, I consider it a starting point to how I want to change my weekly habits; whether it be how often I go out, what new skills I pick up, or how I document the finer moments in life. I genuinely do what to continue journaling and attend a cooking class, and be more grateful for the smaller joys and accomplishments in such a fast paced life. This blog helped me realize that allowing yourself to do and celebrate these tiny triumph, is a triumph in itself. So I guess my goal for next week, and the weeks after, is to continue pushing myself to *choose* to enjoy something every week. And it doesn’t have to always be something big and new; tiny triumphs are worth celebrating too.
Song of the Week