I’ve always wondered about these pop-up sponges, but not enough to want to try them. I read a short write-up on them on Apartment Therapy and decided to give them a go. I’ve been looking for an eco-friendly sponge to go with my eco-friendly dish washing liquid, so these seemed like a good idea.

There are apparently common in France, where most of them are made.

The sponges are made from natural vegetable cellulose and are 100% biodegradable. You can throw them in the compost bin when you’re done – be sure to wash the soap out first.

The cool thing about them is you buy them compressed wafer thin, you dip it in water and it expands to a full size sponge. This is fun to do. It doesn’t take up space until you need it.

That aside, these are pretty good sponges, great for doing dishes, they’re very absorbent and feels very sturdy and nice and lathers up quite well, and it doesn’t get that mildew smell over time or get tiny food particles trapped in the crevices. It Rinses off clean, doesn’t crumble and a quick nuke in the microwave and it’s sanitized. I use them for general household cleaning too – counter tops, sinks, tub etc.

I bought mine from Trader Joe’s; there are 12 rectangular thin wafers in a pack for about $7.00USD. Williams Sonoma, Caldrea and many other stores carries them as well.

I’m very glad I decided to try them.

My work colleagues and I stood around the ‘water cooler’ (in our case an old drafting table in the hallway by the kitchen) discussing Michael Jackson’s sudden death.

Most of us remember loving his songs when we were kids; a colleague recalls his Bad album being the first ‘tape’ he ever bought with his allowance. I had the Bad album too; my brother Paul got it for me when he went away to school in California. I knew the words to all the songs.

It’s incredible how one person’s music has affected so many lives, that’s the Michael Jackson phenomenon and hopefully his legacy lives on.

People often ask me why I moved to Canada and specifically Vancouver – I have several reasons, all valid but there’s a one that’s very old and impulsive that I don’t talk about often.

When I a ten year old living in central Freetown I watched a short clip of Michael Jackson (Jackson Five) on tour in Vancouver, BC. I think that was the very first time I heard of the city. It was an old video, probably from a special on his 1984 Victory tour; it had clips from other cities as well. The clip included shots of Vancouver, it’s not anything like I remembered now but the views of the water and mountains were still pretty amazing back then.

Years later when we were presented with the opportunity to live in Canada, I chose Vancouver remembering that video, and was pleasantly pleased after a little research into the city.

By the time I got to my teens, I’d gone from living with my mom, dad and siblings to living with my dad, his new wife and a bunch of strangers. My mom and siblings had all but disappeared from my life, and these new folks were not very nice people.

Michael Jackson’s “You Are Not Alone” helped me through some very turbulent times. I used to play the song over and over again. I still get misty eyed when I hear that song sometimes. Before then, my ‘woe is me’ song used to be Madonna’s “Oh Father” but I could only play that on my Walkman.

If I were to make a compilation of the soundtrack to my life, it’ll include a Michael Jackson song.

Two beautiful sunny Saturdays ago we took the Seabus over to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

I haven’t been to Lonsdale Quay in years, which is sad because it’s only fifteen minutes away by Seabus.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind that we forget the small pleasures. Lonsdale Quay, the market and the Waterfront Park nearby makes for a nice afternoon getaway. I have a unique fondness for North Van, especially the Lower Lonsdale area. I lived in the neighbourhood when I first moved to Vancouver and it felt so much like a very long vacation. I especially liked taking the Seabus into the city; it made going to work in the morning extra special.

These days I just zip over the Lions Gate Bridge whenever I need to get into North Vancouver.

I’ve been meaning to get back out there and explore, reminisce and bask in that feeling of newness I used to feel.

We spent time at the market browsing the shops, picking up cute knick knacks and food items. It felt nice to play tourist for the afternoon, people were so nice (not that they aren’t ordinarily) and kept asking us where we were visiting from, It was so much fun we played along.

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After a quick scrumptious lunch, we took our desserts to the Waterfront Park. We watched the kids play and enjoyed the view of the downtown skyline.

Here are more pictures from my flickr set

Guy sent me a text saying “Congratulations! I see you’ve turned your love of being photographed into a hobby of photography” he’d just seen my photos on Flickr.

Of course he’s being sarcastic, but he’s right about one thing; my newest hobby is photography. It’s not an entirely new hobby but I’ve been taking a lot of pictures lately.

And, I finally got a DSLR camera! A long time ago when I started noticing non-professional DSLRs, I promised myself that my next camera was going to be a digital SLR camera.

Even though I loved taking pictures, I’d never really considered my cameras before. My last camera was a Samsung NV7 OPS; and I got it solely for its looks. I fell in love with it while on vacation in the UK, it didn’t have great reviews so I resisted buying it, but the price dropped and I relented.

I loved it! It took amazing pictures, was a great conversation starter and turned me into a bit of a shutterbug. I loved it so much I put aside my dream of owning a DSLR and happily used my NV7 for two years.

I started researching DSLRs again after I joined a photography forum. I researched, read reviews and walked into camera shops and just talked to the staff. I found out that most of them are professional photographers in their other lives. I had very simple requirements for my first DSLR; I was looking for a budget friendly and good entry level DSLR that takes great pictures.

After much research I finally settled on the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (Canon EOS 500D). I went with Canon because P. has the 450D, we can share lenses and the 500D because it shoots HD videos.

I’ve been going out a lot since I got it; I’ve taken almost two thousand pictures and it hasn’t even been a month yet. I’m walking more, and getting better. I took one of those Intro to DSLR photography classes to familiarise myself with the controls, settings and jargons. I learn something new every time I take a shot as a digital SLR newbie.

I’m still using the kit lens, I’ll hold off getting a second lens for now, I’m researching. This weekend I’m going to rent a couple of lenses from a camera shop that has rentals and take it with me on my trip to Bowen Island.

My mom’s greatest fear when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer was that she was going to lose her breast.
This is the case for most women after the initial diagnosis, because no one can fathom losing something that is not only very much a part of you, but also embodies who you’re supposed to be – Woman.

Months ago through chemo, radiation, an infection, low white cell count, being constantly short of breath and finding that Herceptin was damaging her heart, my mom surprised us all by choosing to have a mastectomy.

This mustn’t have been an easy decision for her, although I hoped everyday that she would consider this. My mom is a very traditional woman who regarded “chopping off” her breasts just as vicious as the disease itself.

Tomorrow my mom will undergo a mastectomy. We’ve come a long way since that first diagnosis in 2003.
Cancer is a great teacher, it’s changed us. Losing a breast is no longer my mom’s greatest fear; her (and our) greatest fear is that the cancer will recur or metastasize. Cancer teaches you to be a fighter, to go at it with all that you have. And “chopping off” her breast is just one small step my mom has to take to beat this.

One of my mom’s oncologists, a Zimbabwean-born older gentleman with kind eyes (and a last name only my mom can pronounce correctly) joked that after five kids my mom is wise to want to trade them in for newer ones. He gave her some sound and practical advice too; he’s the first person she really listened to on the subject. She called him her brother and pronounced him… “My favourite doctor of all!” she paused for a second, settled down and added “…after Dr. Lim, of course”, Pearlsa and I said in unison “Of course”.

Of course, Dr. Lim is her primary oncologist, an extremely nice and polite young man who apologises when he has to prescribe those nasty cancer fighting drugs. He explained that she had options and that she’s not alone.

My mom warmed up to the idea even more when reconstructive surgery was brought up, we had several consultations with a plastic surgeon, the possibilities seemed limitless. She could even have a mastectomy and reconstruction during the same operation. In the end, she said she wanted to wait, and concentrate on healing.

An old friend upon hearing the news sent me an email “I’m sorry to hear of this turn for your mum” it said. This annoyed me a little (again, forgive me?) because I don’t remember getting an “I’m sorry your mum has to be pumped with deadly toxins” email.

There really are no right or wrong words for instances like this, it’s just a highly emotionally charged moment – but that’s why we have psycho-oncologists (cancer shrinks).

Tomorrow my mom will go to sleep and wake up with her breast gone – I can’t imagine what that is like.

I wonder what she’ll think of when she goes to bed tonight, her last moments with her cancer ridden breast. Does she hate her breast? Is she glad she’s getting rid of them? I asked her this morning, but she just laughed it off, held up her breast and said “these things have caused me so much trouble, maybe it’s time for them to go”

My friend J says only strong people get cancer, or maybe cancer makes people strong. I don’t know.