1 Week Since I came back to Vancouver

I can't believe I've already been here for a week. Time has just flown by for me, probably because I have been so busy. Actually, I probably haven't been busy but it just feels that way since I am still figuring out a lot of stuff like how to use the transit system and where things are. I have also been looking for a place to rent and will do a whole separate post about that soon.

This post is really just a recap. I originally had wanted to do a blog a day in May (BADIM) but... I missed out on Sunday, which made me soo upset. I was so mad at myself for falling asleep before I posted a post. Should have done that before anything else, which is really what I have been doing lately. I told myself to be more consistent with my posting once I get to Vancouver and so far it hasn't been hard to do since I definitely have more of a routine/schedule over here now that I have school. It's easier to keep myself on track. I don't have much to say today since I have just spent the whole day viewing places for rent besides going to school in the morning. Starbucks has definitely been our friend during our hunt for places to rent.

My Starbuck's drink of the day: Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino

If you want to hear about how school's been for me, check out my other blog at: https://tomesarah.wordpress.com/

Qoola - Mini Review

Qoola is a frozen yogurt bar that I had the pleasure of trying a few days back. I love frozen yogurt, ice cream, gelato's, etc. I was excited to try Qoola out the moment my friend and I passed the place while looking for a washroom in the mall.

After we relieved ourselves, we went back to Qoola and we each got a Qoolala as they call it.  There were a bunch of flavours to choose from but I chose the original flavour plus a mixture of strawberry lemonade and a berry mix (I can't remember the name) and I added strawberries, kiwis, blackberries and raspberries on top.

Qoola is one of the frozen yogurt bar's that charge you by weight. I find that this way of charging can end up pretty costly especially if you are like me and like to add fruit on top which tends to weigh more than say gummy bears. I don't think it necessarily costs a lot more than other yogurt bar's that charge this way though.

One thing about these types of frozen yogurt bar's is that you serve yourself. You go get your own frozen yogurt and add your own toppings on to it. It might be fun to get your own frozen yogurt although I prefer when someone else does it for me because than it looks all pretty. I know my priorities may be a little skewed but I like pretty things. Now the adding your own toppings onto it, that's the part that I find CAN get messy. People scooping what they want into their bowls and not putting things back where they belong. This is a huge concern to me since I remember going to one of the places that were like this and the person I was with was allergic to some things. It becomes very difficult to ensure that one container won't be contaminated by the other and makes it near impossible for someone with allergies to pick toppings. Obviously, the person working their will do their best to keep things clean but when your busy, you can only do so much.

Now for the most important part, how did it taste?

I chose the original flavour for this purpose. The original flavour was good but it was more sweet than tart the way an actual yogurt is like, which was a bit disappointing. I love frozen yogurt because it's NOT as creamy tasting as gelato's and ice creams can be, it's usually got a bit of a tartness. I did really enjoy the strawberry lemonade flavour, it seems perfect for the hot summer months but that one was TOO tart in some ways. A mixture was definitely a good choice on my part.

Overall:
The service at the location I went to was pretty good. They had a pretty good variety of flavours I think but most importantly, the flavours that I tasted didn't taste artificial or anything. Price is about the same, but you can save a few cents if you bring back your old Qoola container, it said it in store but I don't see it online so I can't give you the exact amount you'd be able to save. All this being said, I would definitely go back for more.

Have you tried Qoola in Vancouver? What did you think?

To change the name of this blog or not?

This morning, my friend over at mumfection, suggested that I change the name of this blog. She thinks I should re-name this blog "Spoiled Sarah" or just plain "Spoiled" or "Spoiled & Proud". LOL. I wonder why? hmmm.

I always say that I am spoiled because I know that compared to a lot of other people, I have been very fortunate. Although, I don't think I am as spoiled as some people since it's not like my family is THAT rich or anything but my family does give me everything I want in a sense. I never have to worry about money but I do because things happen and I know money doesn't grow on trees (I'm sure we all wish it did though).

So, I guess, what I'm wondering is whether I should change the title of this blog? I know it can be a bit confusing that both blogs are named to: me but still, I am hoping to put it all into one blog at one point. I just need to be more consistent with my blogging before I decide to pay for a domain name and maybe get someone to help me design my website. I know what I want, I just need to figure out if I'll be able to do it myself or not.

What do you think? Should I change the name of my blog? This is the blog where I do reviews and stuff as well as some random ramblings like these. What do you think I should re-name my blog to?

TTC vs Translink BC: First Impressions

One of the things I was most worried about when I decided to move back to Vancouver was getting around on public transportation. I rarely used public transit when I was in Vancouver and when I did, I was always very confused.

Yesterday was my first real day of attempting to figure out how to get around in Vancouver, which is why I wanted to do a first impressions of Translink compared to the TTC in Toronto.

I don't drive so I've been using public transit in Toronto to get around in Toronto so obviously, I have to learn my way around public transit in Vancouver as well.

First of all, I have always found Translink to be very confusing. I don't really know why but it just seems confusing to me, so I might be slightly biased.

Let's start off with fares.

In Toronto, you pay once to get on and if you grab a transfer, you can go one way till the transfer's no longer valid.

In Vancouver, there are 3 different zones, so you either pay for one zone, two zone or three zone if you are going between these zones. Once you pay, you can use that fare for up to 90 minutes within the zones you paid for.

This is definitely, one of the things I find most confusing since I have no idea where one zone begins and one zone ends. So every time I want to go somewhere, I have to punch it into translink's website to figure out a)how to get there and b)how much I have to pay. I'm hoping with time, I will learn where the zones begins and ends. Hopefully!

Now the actual buses seemed the same-ish till I saw one number being used with two different names and that confused me. I am not sure what it means and I haven't had to use a bus with two different names, so I'm really not sure.

Subway vs Skytrain

I definitely prefer the subways in Toronto over the Skytrain. First of all, the Skytrain is like one big loop while the subway goes north and south and east and west. The subway is a lot easier to understand in my opinion than the skytrain. I also couldn't figure out, which side I was supposed to be on because the instructions only told me to go towards say Waterfront but the platform doesn't say that anywhere till the skytrain actually comes into the station. Again, so weird and confused me.

Those are just some of the things that really stuck out to me and made me miss the ttc. I know that not a lot of people are a big fan of the ttc in Toronto but I like it because of it's simplicity and how easy it is to just get around.

Here in Vancouver, things just seem more confusing and I am seriously hoping that once I get use to it that I won't feel that way however I highly doubt it.

In Toronto, I use to just google map where I wanted to go. In Vancouver, I have to google map it and go on the translink site to see how much I need to pay. It's an unnecessary extra step.

Where have you travelled to that had the most confusing public transportation you have ever used?

Cosmo's reading my mind

I always pick up a magazine or two when I fly, it's become a habit of mine that I just can't shake.

This time, I picked up a copy of Cosmopolitan Magazine because Rachel Bilson was on the cover and I love her. I didn't really look at what was actually in the magazine so I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading it on the plane. I was surprised because they had an article called "The Crazy Path that Made My Career" and another article called "How To Throw an Awesome Bachelorette Party".

Both of those topics are what I have been thinking about a lot lately. I have been thinking about my career since that was one of the main reason's I moved back even though I am not sure how the job market for my career choice will be like but this is where I would want to work. And, the other topic was all I have been thinking about since my friend made me her Maid of Honour. I really want her Bachelorette to be just the perfect bit of fun, laughter, and drunkenness.

It's funny how things just randomly seem to be meant for you, isn't it?

Have you ever felt that way about something you picked up randomly?

My move and my flight and Blog a day in May?

My Move

OMG!! I have moved a lot in the past but damn, this one was a tough one. Who knew I had THIS much stuff?? I sure didn't! I probably would have hired movers had I known that I would have as much stuff as I did but I didn't and ended up shipping 5 big boxes and 3 smaller boxes. CRAZINESS! I have to admit, I procrastinated a lot on packing because I just couldn't think of a good way to pack everything in an organized fashion. I tried to organize everything as best as I could so that unpacking would be easier but I just had an overwhelming amount of stuff. It's all done now but this move definitely reminds me why moving is one of the biggest stressors in a persons life. All I can say is No Kidding!

My flight

My flight was ok. I might have drank too many liquids before I boarded though. I had had a booster juice around 4pm and then when I got to the airport and saw David's Tea, that I just had to go get myself a tea as well. I went to the washroom before I boarded but once the plane was ready to take off, I REALLY needed to pee again =S Such a bad idea to have that many liquids before a flight and I had chosen a window seat because typically I either don't pee on a flight back to Vancouver or I only pee once. I felt kind of bad but what can you do, when you gotta go, you gotta go. Other than that, it was ok. I ended up being kind of productive on the plane. I wrote a post for my main blog and started this one as well.

The only place I found that sort of said where I was.

If you want to see more about the day of my move, you can go check out my vlog below.

Anyways, I am thinking about doing a blog a day in May (#BADIM), and I know this isn't even going up on the first of May but I am having some technical difficulties, ie. I was having trouble editing my vlog. LOL. It's still May 1st somewhere in the world I think.

Ta ta for now,

Sarah

to: me - train and plane ticket advice that you should take next time

To: Me

You took a gamble this time around and lost. The gamble you took was with the train tickets, who knew that at the end of the month, EVERYONE seems to like to take the train. What is up with that? Anyways, since you lost, maybe it's time for you to remember some tips you have collected.

Train Ticket Tips for Getting the Best Deal:

1. Don't take the train at the end of the month especially coming from Toronto - Vancouver.
2. The best deals for the train (VIA Rail) is the express deals for economy.
3. The best deal for a sleeper car is when they have their sales.

Plane Ticket Tips for Getting the Best Deal:

1. Know which days are cheaper to travel. Tuesday is usually a good bet for anywhere. There are usually other days but those can sometimes depend on the location I think.
2. Know when companies have seat sales.
3. Don't just check sites that list them all, sometimes they don't have all the available times for that price. So, check the airlines site as well (especially AirCanada for those in Canada, sometimes AirCanada's cheapest price doesn't even show up on those sites that search all the airlines).

General Guideline:

• STALK the sites at the very least, 1 month prior to purchasing/travelling.
• Take note of which days during the week are typically cheaper. (For trains, take note of the time of the month that certain fares sell out or doesn't have express deals.)
• Take note of the prices you typically see, so that if there is a "sale" that you won't be duped because it could very well be a sale for that particular travelling day but not in general.
• Remember not to take a gamble unless you are prepared to lose. I took a gamble in waiting to see if I can get train tickets for cheaper, I lost. So instead, I will be flying.
• Also, if you aren't just purchasing tickets and you are looking more for a package (flight and hotel) kind of thing, make sure to check out the travel sites and see if those sites are on cashback sites like ebates.

Hope these tips don't just help me but help all of you out there looking to get a deal on plane and train tickets. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask me =) I'm always happy to help.