Chromilo Amin

We had a fun time at the Surrey Cloverdale Rodeo this past Victoria Day long weekend. Always enjoyed going to the fair since I was little and this fascination hasn't faded. I think the kids also enjoyed themselves (at least until the little one dozed off in the stroller for most of the day). We bought cheap tickets across the street at London Drugs for $8 a piece and kids were free. Parking was also free as I found street parking alongside the Holiday Inn. As soon as we were in the grounds, we dove in and started with the kid rides. My boy liked the Chochoo Train ride and we rode it twice. I didn't like the Monster Truck ride as it was hard on your derriere. I had to go with him on most of the rides as he isn't too comfortable going at any on his own yet. The only thing I didn't like was coming to the fair unprepared for the ride tickets. They didn't accept debit or credit at the ticket booths so I got dinged $3 plus additional bank fees to take out money at ATM mac...

We had dinner last night at our friend's new home and had a great time. They moved a few blocks away from their previous townhome and into a gorgeous house, right beside the river. Loved the bathrooms, high ceilings, and the backyard was set up so that you never have to maintain it. There was talk of a hot tub in the backyard in the near future as well. We had a cozy dinner where dining room was expanded to include the kids table. There was wine, pansit, salad, ribs, corn, baked peppers, beets, and home-made desert. During dinner, an Apple iPad 2 and a Blackberry Playbook was passed around for comparison. I got to try out both devices firsthand and believe that I am now closer to making my decision on which item to buy. After dinner, we played some of the Nintendo Wii sports games. They had a great family room set up for this. I lost in boxing, skiing, and tennis. I found out that I was basically 'unbalanced' as far as the Wii was concerned. Kids enjoyed themselves running ...

We couldn't wait for the fight all week and when the event finally aired on pay-per-view this past weekend, it was awesome. The fight itself wasn't that great and as I predicted, would last past round 12 for a unanimous decision. There were tons of people there including family, friends, and neighbors. Kids were running up and down stairs, and there were tons of Filipino food prepared by killer combo of cooks Ava/Weng/Grace. The Canucks playoff game was on another channel against Nashville which provided a great filler while we waited for the main event. As you know, we lost that but I'm not too worried. What is important is that I won the pool that night by guessing a unanimous decision for our boy PacMan. Cha-ching. The night was followed by a friendly game of poker and tong-its. There was a few late-comers carrying case of beer that night, and it was a great party. Kudos go out to Ava and Philip for hosting it.