Today I may buy sweatpants

I have almost never owned sweatpants. Not since I was in control of dressing myself at least. Don't get me wrong, they look over the top comfortable, but I have always been influenced by those who would say that sweat pants mean you've given up. That you no longer care about looking good.

Really? Oh Really?!

Well it just so happens that I am in a bit of a dark place today. My depression is getting the better of me, and I'm feeling more than a bit of self-loathing...and admittedly this comes most from my recent weight gain and the recent 'retiring' of my 'skinny' clothes and the barely being able to squeeze into some of my 'fat' clothes. : ( been there?

It's SUPER frustrating, but I suppose I only have myself to blame... don't I? I've been slack on my exercise regime and playing a LOT of video games (Borderlands 2 is rockin' my world), but I am still eating somewhat healthy. And I don't have a car (because Shirley Bond won't reply to my e-mail) so I do walk everywhere.... why am I ballooning steadily? I mean literally...today my skirt slid down a little and my top up a little so that while I was walking my body was rejecting my clothes... THANK THE GODS FOR A LARGE JACKET.

Anyways, I digress... I have cried 2 times this morning alone...and I'm at work so I need to find a way to make it through the day, right. So I start desperately looking through the '1000 Awesome Things' website and found post "#938 Sweatpants aka track pants aka jogging pants". And it made me smile, and it made me wish that I had a pair of sweat pants to slip into when I get home tonight.

Check it out if you're feeling that your clothes are being mean bullies to you today too.

Chin up...there's always sweatpants.

Hot Stone Massage

I buy and use a fair number of Groupons, Living Social and Social Shopper deals. It's great for someone in my financial shoes to get cheaper hair cuts, nice massages, delectable dinners and go adventuring.

Recently I used a Hot Stone Massage Groupon at Pink Lime Salon in Yaletown.

Walking in the door, I was hit with 'loud and smelly'. Hair and nail salon smelly, not yummy spa smelly. And then the front desk woman and I discovered that my appointment was in their system for an hour later than I had thought. No problem- she offered me some tea asked if I could wait a half hour and she'd shuffle some things around! Very kind and apologetic for the miscommunication.

I was taken to 'the back' where the nail smell got stronger but it also got quieter. Luckily the smell disappeared once inside the treatment room.

My massage therapist introduced herself and was inviting and pleasant. We started on my back, face down as is the norm. The lemon essential oils were fabulously energizing and the first hot rock hit my lower back. WHOA! HOT! Sounds ridiculous, but I was expecting 'very warm', so it was a bit of a shock.

So much so that I was surprised she could handle them with bare hands. She confirmed that sometimes they do border on too hot, but aren't so bad.

Ok, so I was expecting mega pressure, deep tissue massage, but apparently the purpose of this treatment is more for improved circulation. I needed pressure, but I decided to just enjoy the experience.

Overall, it was nice. She traded off hands and rock, in soothing strokes. She'd positioned some of the hot stones in place while she rubbed and that was my favorite part. The stones went on hot, but then while you were massaged elsewhere they seemed to become 'one' with your body. You hardly noticed them until she took them off. Really neat effect.

Not my favorite massage type, but surprisingly pleasant. :) Definitely recommend giving it a go!

Plot-oon

I haven't written in a while, which is really only because I find myself too busy either planning Bry-man & my trip to New Zealand, or I'm playing video games! Forgive me internet void.

To make amends, I am sharing this very fun little stop motion project I found on a fellow blogger's site. http://www.likecool.com/

Enjoy: https://vimeo.com/46805017

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Clutter bug

I am in some kind of super declutter, reorganize, downsize mind set. I have been recognizing clothes and items that I don't use much and trying to sell them, making space for the things I do do more often. It's great and terrible all at once, as I LOVE getting organized, but I HATE the mess and amount of work it takes to get there.

First of all, realizing that I am not wearing half of my clothes right now, I've packed up my 'I'm fit' clothes into the very same garbage bag that housed my 'I'm rolly' clothes, and discarded many clothes that even when I am fit, I don't particularly wear due to the fact there are so many other great things to choose from!

I've got half the bedroom closet done, (shirts and dresses) and moving on, I'll be doing the tops and skirts next. I have these mixed feelings of bitterness and cleanliness! Not having to house two differently sized wardrobes at all times would be nice! But I do it to save money when I inevitably gain back all lost weight. There's the bitterness. If I could just maintain a weight, I could have one HUGE wardrobe ;) But then again, it gets sloppy and what's the point of keeping things that I don't wear.

Other than clothes, I've been downsizing the amount of recreational and home decor stuff I have. My piano, my saxophone, my Beatles Rock Band set (soon to go), room divider, etc. I just don't seem to make time for this stuff like I do for playing board games and video games, so it was time for them to go-go.

With technology moving forward, we copied all of my movies and music to Bry's external hard drive, and are now selling off my DVDs and CDs. HUGE space saver. Though we've watched one movie so far where the automatic subtitles that would play were some how erased, so we had a bit of fun paraphrasing what the actors were saying. This was actually a really good measure for how well an actor matched his hand and body gestures to what they are saying. Also a good measure of how much my Grade 8 French stuck. Not great, but surprisingly not bad!

It's hard to let things go. Especially those little treasures that were found or given as gifts. But when  you live in a 1 bedroom apartment  it's all about the quality and quantity of use vs. "I like it". The space is really coming together nice, and it's brilliant to walk into our storage and be able to easily (at least somewhat) access what we need. Bry-man has been given many a task to complete in the 'prettying' of our apartment, which a new drill has helped encourage, and make it a bit easier.

I'll be happy when its done, and I move on to my next project!

This isn't living...

5 days... I want to say I've noticed a difference, but I don't think my body works that fast. This diet though is starting to feel very ... I dunno, boring seems like the best word to describe it.

Remember, that for almost an entire year now, I have eaten the same breakfast, the same 3 mini-meals consisting of fruit and protein, and the same chicken salad for dinner with some exception as a treat, and I didn't find THAT boring.

This fella eats some random things for dinner, but the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday! I LOVE salad, but even I find salad for two meals a day tedious.

I remember being hungry in the first week, and I am again this time. I go to bed a wee bit hungry, but I know that this is about re-training my indulgent tummy to need less food. But this guy is eating the same vegetables all day, no fruit, no full grains. Something in my head is screaming that this is not an healthy way to lose weight.And again, it's kinda boring.

So what to do? I think I am going to use both diets, mashed up and see if that makes me a little happier. A little of this, a little of that is always the magic recipe that my honey uses to whip up his delightful meals in the kitchen.

*I'll keep the 'no booze' aspect. That's just good for my wallet.
*I'll keep the 'monster salad' for dinner, since that is essentially what I do regularly anyways.
*I'll keep up the 'no sugar', but revise it so that it's more about no 'refined sugar' and allow myself some fruit as a treat.
*I'll introduce some whole grains to my breakfast because I can't cook omelets at work and really wasn't enjoying having the same veg in my omelet that I had in my salad for the TWO meals!
*I'll have to figure out some of the smaller meals, but I will keep fruit and dairy to a minimum. - this will need a bit more thought.

What really prompted me to write this today was the 'going away' party that occurred for a co-worker. One of my favorite treats, in steady competition with Peanut-butter cups, is mini coconut cupcakes from 'Cupcakes'. I FRAKKIN' love these tiny crack-cakes and there they were just asking to be devoured by me. I was literally huffing the smell of them as I passed them on. Believe it or not that actually helped me with my will-power. Yes they would be delicious but it would also make me feel guilty. But I DID pass them on.

I was proud of myself, true, but the denial of pleasure I would have derived from that decadent morsel made me question why I am doing this. I am a FOODIE people! I LOVE food. Next to my loved ones, it's my passion. I watch the Food Network religiously and believe that it's the only reason to have cable other than "Game of Thrones". (If I could have HBO and Food Network only, I'd be a happy customer - hint hint ROGERS). Anyways, this whole denial thing feels terrible. Isn't this why we live? To indulge in what makes us most happy?

Ultimately, I think my lesson learned here is portion control. I eat pretty healthy most days, but when I indulge I indulge BIG, so let's see how I do with moderation. :)

Here's to happy tummies.

Battle of my bulge

Ah weight gain... FUCK YOU!

ahem, well now that that is out of my system allow me to continue in a more lady-like manner.

I'm on a diet again. Y'see, I was born with an inactive thyroid. The useless gland just sits there, and has caused me many, many years of grief with regards of my weight. It is the roller coaster that I am constantly riding in the background of my life. I go for blood tests regularly, have seen specialists for most of my life and take a pill everyday, the dose of which changes regularly depending on my weight.

Last year, at the heaviest I've been since I was 18 (I was 190lbs at 18, about 160 last year), I was finding that all of my clothes weren't fitting and I was struggling to want to get dressed in the morning; in general I was pissed off at my weak-ass metabolism, and moody. So I started this awesome meal plan that was super simple, and suuuuuper effective. My co-worker had concocted it for himself, then modified it for women, it worked and I loved it.

The Plan: For breakfast I had the superhero breakfast, a protein bar for a snack, 1/2 cup pineapple and 3/4 cup cottage cheese for lunch, an apple and egg for afternoon snack, and then a chicken salad for dinner with a tablespoon of oil and one of vinegar. I ate like this repeatedly for 6 weeks, and lost about 40lbs! I did yoga for exercise about 3 times a week. None of that wimpy 'Yin' yoga, it was allllll about Hatha and Power yoga!

I was in bliss.
I felt amazing!
I wore clothes that I had held onto for yeeeeears and had fantasized about wearing but never thought it was possible. I didn't have 'skinny' clothes, I had 'fantasy' clothes.

I managed to hold onto that weight and fitness for a whole year, and still drink beer! I met and fell head over heels for my BF, Bry-man, and felt sexier than ever!It was so effective that I just kept on eating the meal plan for most of that year.

But then... just when happiness was at it's zenith for me, I went back on the birth-control pill and seemed to balloon over night. BOOOOOOOOO MOTHERFUCKIN HORMONES! Whoa, I lost my calm again!

Yea, I blame the hormones..... combined with Bry's and my love affair with IPA and other craft brewed beers.... combined with that shitty, useless thyroid, and weak-ass metabolism. I just want to scream at them and tell them to wake up, get to work, earn your keep!

Well, I'm back up to about 160lbs (it's approximate because I loathe scales and prefer to base my happiness on what fits vs. my weight). And now I'm giving myself 28 days with no booze, dairy and super minimal sugar to see if I can get back into at least some of the new clothes I bought while fit in the last year.

I'm following this fellow's basic diet on www.blobmosis.com. I'm on day 4, and I'm doing good. Eating healthy, looooots of water, and actually not craving any of the stuff that I've cut out. The fantasy of fitting back into clothes I love is a very strong motivator.

All of that said... it's frustrating to think that if I want to be happy and eat and drink the way I'd like to, I will just go back to the same weight. I enjoy big Indian dinners, paired with a nice wine, pizza, burgers, beer.... but alas... my metabolism keeps putting in Workers Comp claims and the work keeps piling up in it's absence.

Gosh, it'd be nice to plateau for longer than a year so I could keep just ONE wardrobe! :)

I'll keep you posted on my success. I'm feeling pretty good right now, but haven't noticed any weight loss. Probably because I make HUGE salads. Well, hopefully I'll see some results!

Day 28 lands on my birthday, on which day the champagne will be free flowing!
Wish me luck, or don't. Either way, it ends with Champagne! :D

D&D live at the RIO

A few months ago, (and every month since) Bry-man and I had a nice date night break to alleviate my major project deluge and took to the Broadway and Commercial area for dinner and a show.

Dinner needed to be nearby the Rio theatre (our entertainment venue for the eve) so we headed to St. Augustine's pub .... This isn't just ANY pub! It boasts 40-odd craft beers scrolling on a large screen TV, displaying how much of each keg is left. So you know before you order if your choice is available.
 

They have the most impressive selection of IPA's that I've ever seen on tap (with Toronado's in San Fran, the title holder) and most of them, if not all, were from the west coast. Bryan and I dove in. I had a light, jasmine-infused beauty from Seattle first and a second from Oregon that claimed to have all sorts of flower and spice essences, but yielded a standard but delicious IPA flavor.

They have some pretty incredible nachos (but Bryan's are better) which we elected to add the pulled pork to. Damn fine choice, and I can't believe we finished them!

Spitz takes it in the face--AGAIN!

At 7 we headed to the Rio Theatre to enjoy a D&D live improv event called the Critical Hit Show. Joanna Gaskell (Edda the Barbarian) from Standard Action was present, along with her co-stars "the players", namely: Shaun Stewart (Thrask Hellbeard), Allen Morrsion (Spitz Lube'n), Ian Boothby (Benoit the Anointed), Lauren McGibbon (Grima Windwords) and the DM: Eric Fell. Each played out a D&D character armed with toy weapon and power reference cards.

The show was interactive, and audience members were brought up to play the villains! It was a hilarious night, and is fun for anyone that does or has ever play D&D.Though haters be warned, they play 4th Edition. I could easily see this becoming a dress up event as popularity grows!

The Rio is licensed and offers wine, beer and some cocktails! Some decent beer selection too! Local Granville Island selections and Red Racer were available.

Be sure to check out the next Critical Hit Show, happening the last Wednesday of the month. Good fun for $8 bucks!

That damned depression

First of all... I am here writing right now because I don't want to further burden my loved ones with my CONTINUOUS inability to be happy and content.

It's been months since I've felt like I had anything to write about here, and I still am not sure that this is something I want to post here. I think I may actually change the name of the blog to "the damn hard struggle to happiness".

I hate depression. I FUCKING HATE IT. It makes me hate myself, or at least not see any value in myself. It makes me bitter, it blinds me to the wonderful things I have going in my life. It comes on from the smallest of things and sticks around for days.

For instance: I found out this morning that I get paid the lowest salary in the office. The office where I've been covering three positions for a month now while the receptionist went to Greece and our finance officer got a better paying job somewhere else. I don't know why that changes things... but something in me, the something that never lets me buy things brand-new, the something that wishes I didn't have to CONSTANTLY wonder when I will be able to afford new shoes or bras, that something is close to tears, despite the fact that I'm not starving. I know I'm not in a bad situation, BUT I also know that I stretch my dollar as far as it'll go, and I'm very frugal... so sometimes I just wish I didn't have to think about that *so* much.

I start thinking: What's it like to make 100,000 a year? Hell...what's it like to make 60,000 a year? I know you get taxed heavier, but you probably also buy a shirt that costs over $30 and don't blink. I look at clothes sometimes and wonder WHO can afford to shop for this stuff.

Anyways, the depression isn't just about money... I got a DUI a year and a half ago, and I haven't been ABLE to repay my debt to society because the laws in BC state that the only way I can redeem myself will cost me about $5000.

First off people-who-are-already-judging-me... I AM SO SORRY for making such a dumb mistake. I'd never done it before, and I have no idea what made me get into the car that day. I'm lucky that no one got hurt, and I know it and I'm grateful. OK!!!!! I don't need anyone else adding to my mounting guilt.

Still.... I can't afford to wipe the shame away. Is that the point? I have written letters to the Solicitor General, and was told that while my statement of financial burden may be valid, but I didn't acknowledge the terribleness of drunk driving and the impact it has on our society. Of course I do. I'm ACTUALLY sorry. You know who isn't? The guy who gets his second or third DUI and has a system worked out where he switches the license plate on his two matching cars so he can drive the one WITHOUT the breathalyzer when he IS drunk!!!!! These are the people who are not remorseful... and I don't see this money grabbing tactic stopping them.

I haven't had an opportunity to drive in over a year and a half, and I had to sell my car to pay for the impound fees, so now I'm unable to comply with the rest of the expectations the province expects of me. I just can't afford to buy a car, and no one wants to let me put a breathalyzer in theirs (and I mean really what does this prove other than my friend doesn't drink and drive... since I won't have their car) so I asked them... "can I do community service to earn back my license?" and they said no. There is no flexibility. There is no hope for those without money. You may recall what happened when our Premier -Gordon Campbell- was arrested for DUI in Hawaii. He had a driver to dote on him the entire time he had his license revoked. Not a luxury a lot can afford, and now in BC we don't even have the option of WAITING a term to get our license back. Quite simply put, we have to PAY for it back.

I realize that people will read this and form opinions of me, hate me, etc. not much I can do about that. I deal with the way people look at me and judge me when they find out about the DUI all the time. It breaks my spirit on a regular basis... because what can I do to fix it other than go into further debt?

So I'm dealing with that, and sure, yes... when I look at other people's wages and see that they make twice as much as I do, well I think... DAMN, I could have fixed this immediately and been not to much the worse for ware.

I also have trust issues, and deep-seeded self-esteem issues. Always being the chubby girl and then been used casually and discarded by men will do that to a person. So now that I'm with someone that claims to love me for who I am... I find myself regularly sabotaging the best thing in my life because I can't exude confidence nor trust that he's not going to eventually get fed up with me. It's a truly terrible cycle of paranoia that leads to destruction. Yet know this, I can't seem to stop it's hold on me.

Alright.... I've vented it out there now. I don't know to what end.I WANT to be happy. I want to know what I have and be calm in my heart. I want to not torment people around me. I don't know why, but that seems like it needs money to happen. Fuck... I don't know how to do it. But I want to be happy, just like everyone else does. So go ahead an ignore me and my first world problem rants.

I just had to tell my troubles to someone... and the internet void seemed like a good unburdened receptacle.

The end. Jeez I hope you didn't read all of this.

Time to write

My 'pologies for not being inspired as late to write. However my work station at work just died via burnt fuse, so instead of twiddling my fingers, I thought I'd write of my new shoes and the pain of breaking in the 'new'.

I bought a pair of cute slip on ked style shoes, which fit magnificently at the store, but when worn in reality, decided to plant a blister on all four contact points on my feet. I had barely walked for 5 minutes, and I already knew that back up shoes would be necessary.

I barely limped into work, where I spent the rest of the day either barefoot or in flip flop sandals I'd left here for when I go swimming. Thank the gods for that.

Just when I had resolved myself I never wear the adorable (sadistic) things again, my co-worker told me she applies scotch tape to her blisters and the harder plastic protects and sticks better than your average band-aid!!

Though truly ghetto, I was willin to try anything to not be in pain. And what d'ya know... It worked! Even on the really sensitive raw skin!

I felt extremely enthusiastic as well when I put on the mean-ass shoes and was mostly fine! About an hour later my heel tape had split right down the middle, but it had held on reasonably well!

This also works with blister that haven't popped yet, as well as a preventative measure!

There, now you know. Go my friends, be blister free and fabulous! :)

Body Image, just an observation.

I've taken to going for a swim for 20 minutes a day during my lunch hour lately, because with school, and my social life (and my budget) I haven't really been finding time for my regular work outs after work.

Mirrors lie.

Well, while I was in the change room, two stick thin women were talking nearby about the effectiveness of some pills they have been taking TO LOSE WEIGHT! I couldn't believe my ears. Here is me, at 155lbs, about 10 lbs heavier than the ideal body weight for my height, beating myself up about excess body fat every chance I get, and I DON'T read beauty magazines. (preferring sic-fi and fantasy novels thank you very much). Yet here are these girls popping pills to get thinner than their bodies should be. 

Y'know, realistically the only reason I've ever wished I had a different body type was to fit into clothing styles that I really liked. Still, I would never resort to un-healthy means to get there. (well except for my fancy of a beer-only diet) It really made me sad that these girls have what other girls only dream about, and yet still weren't happy. It really made me think about how often I tell myself I'm 'ugly' or 'fat', yet I'm actually quite healthy, and pretty (if I may say), and really, telling myself this terrible stuff isn't HELPING me feel better about my body image. I have to get my perspective fixed. *shake my head, slap my forhead*

Smarten up Bitches.

Just then, a woman in her golden years, full and round, plump and NAKED (respect lady!) comes waltzing by without so much as a wash cloth covering her; and it struck me that women are mis-guided, fucking morons. WHY oh why do we spend so much time in our youth worrying that we aren't: skinny enough or pretty, or how we look in a bathing suit; instead of thinking of what MAKES us beautiful, individually? Ahem: Self-respect, kindness, open-mindedness, empathy, etc.


Each of us, the skinny bitches, the boxy curvy's are going to age, wrinkle and sag. So I've decided to try focusing more on the healthy body I have now, before I'm just another crinkled lass.

Morrissey Pub on Granville ~ ambience and good value

I ate at the Morrissey Pub tonight for the third time. Drawing me there was the availability of Whistler Brewery Chestnut Ale (seasonal!!! and not available in BCL). If you are a fan of Granville Island Winter Ale, this is like it's tougher big brother, it's delicious!  There is about a month left on their keg, so head there soon before they run out!

Anyways, to the food. My first visit there with Bry-man we splurged and pigged out on the Gruyere cheese fondue with cheesy bread. It was phenomenal! Really, truly awesome. So awesome that only it, and the chestnut ale can be recalled about that meal, despite having had mains afterward.

Now tonight I tried out their Hippie chick burger (see their menu and description here). It was AWESOME. Priced at only $11.00 I decided to upgrade to the 1/2 fries & 1/2 salad option. For those of you going to visit on my recommendation, please don't bother with their salad. It's just a small piling of lettuce. There is not a single bit of vegetable on there, and was a serious disappointment, even for a side salad.  The fries were good though I would go with this option.

The big bonus was when the check came. They didn't point it out but my burger was only $6.00... because it was Wednesday?... I think?.... but I was quite pleased by the surprise. Overall, the ambience is very cool and eclectic, and at night it's candle & lantern lit adding a bit of romantic sway. The menu is brief but satisfying and quite delicious.... but don't bother with the side salad. Enjoy :)

Crap...am I really writing about Twitter?!

Here I sit.... I have NO idea what to write about. I think this is what I like about Twitter really. The thought comes to you, and you tweet it.

I also get to follow all of the random famous people that I usually enjoy from a distance. Not in like a creepy stalking kind of way (well, except for Alan Tudyk -- major heart on for that fella) but like we are good friends, sharing thoughts and photos.

Before I met Bry-man, I ignorantly hated Twitter. Mostly because a friend of mine couldn't peel his eyes off his phone when we arrived in Edinburgh, due to his desperate need to 'tweet' about what we were doing or seeing, or JUST did.

So I decided to shun Twitter, like I had IRC, and anything to do with Yahoo.

I shun these things usually out of a basic need to not further complicate my life. I have plenty of 'things' cluttering my mind, and requiring my attention why add another??

But my BF didn't use any other form of social media, so I decided to follow him on Twitter when we first got together, so I could see who I was getting involved with.

Well, that was successful, and so much so that I now follow our mutual favorites: The Bloggess, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Patton Oswalt... and then I added my own tastes in : Krafty Kuts, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Smith, etc.... what a slippery slope. Thing is, I can't stand those crazy Re-tweeters and those people who tweet about what they are watching and tweet like 20 times in a row (really people, this is what a blog is for!). The WHOLE IDEA is to get your thought across in 140 characters max (why this number I'll never know). Succinct, specific, short. I like it. It's a great exercise in self-editing... "Is everything I'm trying to type REALLY necessary?"...usually no. Hell, sometimes you'll completely give up on the "tweet", because the moment's passed.

Thank you Twitter, for kicking Facebook's ass because you don't allow people to play stupid barn-yard animal games on you, thereby not creating reasons to bother your old schoolmate from 20 years ago to 'play with me'.

Incidentally, follow me on Twitter if you like! @JCurllz. ;)

Size is almost always exaggerated in memory

I re-visited my preferred cheap eats joint on Thursday before my first class in Technical writing. Thinking that this would enhance my 'student' cred. by eating at a cheap food joint. Of course I basically would have eaten there anyways because I'm a cheap mo'fo, and the beer that I paid 6$ for definitely trumped the savings I would have been trying to achieve were I an actual student on a budget.  Or would it?

Though it was about 8 years ago that I was last in school, I seem to recall buying the 1$ pack of Mr. Noodles at Superstore for dinner, because I was on a 'budget', and then going out and buying a 12 pack of beer for the 3rd time that week. As a student, you quickly learn your priorities.

The Fries were bigger.

Well, there I was sitting down to enjoy my Crispy Chicken Ceaser wrap having craved one ALL day, and when the damn thing arrived, I felt like the blushing virgin on her wedding night who has been fantasizing about the endowment of her man, only to spot a teeny weeny peni. (not that there isn't truth to 'its not the size it's how you use it', creativity props) ... (This is why its always good to inspect goods before committing, btw). Anyways, I had previously given such a glowing review of the Warehouse and it's ceasar wrap when reviewing the cheap eats joints, I felt it only fair to note that the $5.95 wrap at 'Moose' WAS in fact the same size-ish as 'The Warehouse'. It's my duty to give credit where credit is due. Or in this case, just about no credit to anyone regarding size. It's just frickin' lettuce, dressing, a bit of parmesan, a few crumbs of bacon, and maybe some cheap chicken parts, they could afford to be a bit more generous.  Sort of like how I was being generous to The Warehouse. ;)

Eat on Granville for less than $6.00.... REALLY!?!

GOOD (CHEAP) EATS INDEED!

There is an interesting trend happening on downtown Granville Street.

Between Helmcken and Smithe, there are (at least) 3 different restaurants that are flaunting menus where all food costs $4.95 (The Famous Warehouse) or $5.95 (The Moose, and The Factory).

I've visited The Famous Warehouse now a couple of times, and the $4.95 menu is rad. However, they now have things on the 'all $4.95 menu' that are $6.95 which is a little annoying, but I am not going to nit-pick when those items are things like 'All you can eat Tacos'.  Good luck getting a table that night!!! The decor was really light and fun. Good tunes were playing, but you could still hold a conversation over it.  A somewhat 'surfer/mexican' feel to the joint. (http://thefamouswarehouse.com/2012/01/15/new-menu-all-food-4-95/)

At first I was skeptical about what would be on the menu, and what would the portions be like... however I was VERY pleasantly surprised, and will certainly be returning. Since I've been, the menu has changed slightly and the delicious burger with avocado that I had had is no longer on the menu (note: the veggie burger still has the avocado), but the works burgers look preeeeetty darn good! Update a-coming? I think so.

The Moose boasted a $5.95 menu, and theirs also has a couple of items that were priced higher, and one that was lower (soup).  The crispy Chicken Cesar wrap didn't quite live up to the same portion standards I experience at The F. Warehouse, and their fries were MEGA salty... but also pretty tasty being pre-peppered. Still... a bar has been set now for 'frugal-foods'. The restaurant was all but empty at 5:30 on a week night.  They had Winter Ale on tap, so bonus points for them.  Anyone without Winter Ale on tap when available, deserves a bit of a shunning.  The overall feel of the place was similar to that of any run-of-the-mill pub in Vancouver. Rather dull actually.

Lastly I tried The Factory (because I had to make a fair comparison between these fantastically priced venues). Another $5.95 menu... booooo the extra dollar! The environment was obviously more geared toward young grungy rockers (posters of "Eye hate God" on the wall) and music intended for shouting over rather than talking over. It was a pretty fun environment to walk into with my man, sister and mom in tow. WE stood out like big blue thumbs in this place. Bry-man and I ordered beers, and the selection was alright. Mom wanted a glass of wine, and the selection was "White or Red". It came in a tumbler glass. No biggie, mom doesn't put on airs.

EAT ME, I DARE YOU!!
- Famous Anaconda

The food.... well this is what they offer: http://thefactorygranville.com/food-menu/ and though I was pining after the linguine or the perogies, I've been trying to shrug 10 pounds, so I went with the Pesto Chicken wrap. It was a far cry better than Moose's Cesar wrap, but it had too much Mayo! Bry-man had the famous Anaconda..... it doesn't come with sides, but the 4 sandwiches in one was more than enough food for a single person. Hell, you had to push it down with two hands to even TRY to fit it in your mouth. It treated him kinda roughly later, so beware if your stomach doesn't a)tolerate grease or b) isn't exposed to it much.

All in all, I think The Famous Warehouse is tops for value, food, and atmosphere.

This bitch is conquered!

Now get out there and get your Cheap Eats on!