Facebook photo album here.

I went to Canada last week with my family, to visit Banff national park in Alberta and see the glaciers. Last year we went to Glacier National Park in Montana, but it was too early in the summer (or something) and our trip was glacier-less. This time, though, was awesome - we were able to hike to and walk on glaciers And I even drank some 300+ year old melted glacier water!

First day we arrived in Calgary, met up with the other family we were to sightsee/travel with, and then headed to our hotel at Lake Louise in Banff. The hotel was pretty amazing, on the lakeside of Lake Louise (obviously). That day, we just chilled and hung out at the hotel, ate dinner, and crashed.

I ALMOST FORGOT. Right when we stepped onto Canadian soil (when we were going through Customs & Immigration at the airport) I was talking about maple butter that Ben mentioned, and the customs guy was like, “What about it?” EXCEPT HE SAID IT WITH A CANADIAN ACCENT. It was so great, I loved it. ABOUT.

Day 2, we all woke up early, ate breakfast, and headed out for a SUPER LONG HIKE. We hiked 5ish km to this random tea house, where we stopped and ate lunch. All the teas there are like, awesome, so I got a maple tea (when in Canada!) and my sister got a blackcurrant tea, which was my second choice. They were both super delicious - I think every since I got random teas from my cousin as a wedding favor, I’ve been more appreciative of flavored tea. ANYWAY, after lunch (or should I say, tea?) my dad, sister, Ollie, Chris and I continued the hike to Plain of Six Glaciers. It was an extra 1.4 km, not too long, but the hike was harder than the first part. We ended up on the side of a random mountain with a waterfall and no path, and stayled there for probably longer than half an hour. It was a slow hike downhill (it was really steep), but we got back, took a break at the teahouse again, and then headed back to the hotel. My ankles were tight against my boots the entire hike, but I didn’t want to loosen it for risk of getting blisters, and they started seriously hurting during the last stretch back home. I got back, changed out of my boots and into my Birkenstocks, and it felt SO GOOD to have arch support and nothing around my ankle. My sister and I decided to utilize the rest of the day for a FULL BODY WORKOUT so we went to the lake and rented a canoe for an hour I like canoe-ing and kayaking, the feeling of skidding across the water smoothly is amazing. After that was a quick snack-y dinner and sleep.

Third day, we woke up and drove to Jasper National Park, just north of Banff. It was a long drive for a few short sights. First, we went to the Columbia Icefields, where we took a bus with ginormous wheels to drive directly onto the glacier! It was really awesome - too bad I didn’t wear my boots because I would’ve loved to walk directly into the glacier-water stream. After the quick trip, we headed to Mount Edith Cavell to see yet another glacier. This time we walked under it instead of on top of it When we were done playing with the glaciers, we went to the Consolation Lakes. There was a fun rocky area where there was barely a path at all, which made me feel like I was really hiking, instead of on man-made paths. The lake was really beatiful and still, and the seclusion made it so serene. Haha before we started the hike, there was a big sign on our path that said RESTRICTED ACCESS. It’s bear territory, so they require groups of 4 or more. Lar, lar!!!! Later that afternoon we drove back to Calgary to stay a night before leaving the next afternoon.

Last day, we woke up relatively late and went into the city to explore. We went to the Calgary Tower and checked out the city, and then basically wandered around, stopping for lunch at a Japanese restaurant. After that, we had a bit of extra time so we got dessert at a hotel (random) before heading to the airport. Flew back home, got lots of sleep, and now, here I am

Nom nom, changed my index page but it looks kind of dull. Don’t know what to do, though.

Karen Wang started reading when she was half years old.

In other news, I have now:
- been to Winchester Mystery House twice in my life.
- gotten a free cupcake from Sprinkles.
- decided that TenRen ≥ Fantasia.
- tried Kara’s Cupcakes. It’s identity is a ripoff of Sprinkles, but the cupcake style/taste is very different. Can’t decide which one is “better.”
- baked ginger snaps following this recipe.
- driven to Stanford!
- gotten sick.

Summer break, here I come! Time for 4 weeks of relaxing and catching up on work. Too bad those are contradictory

I currently have 5400 songs in my iPod, and I have definitely not listened to all of them. Putting my settings on shuffle is always an adventure, because between the slightly recognizable bands and well-known/loved songs, I discover gems like this song by Carolina Liar.

I’ve recently started rekindling a friendship with someone I haven’t talked to in more than half a year, and it’s really mind-boggling how natural things have started feeling so quickly. The major difference between now and half a year ago is, I think, that I’m no longer afraid. I know I’m comfortable where I am, in a relationship that makes me happy, living a life that makes me relatively content. Knowing I can be fine without having this friend in my life makes it clear that it is a choice rather than a dependency, I guess. And knowing that I am strong enough to make a decision to do something like this makes me all the more comfortable with the actual doing of it. Things are changing in a different way now.

This is what I’ve been up too lately. Lots of studying, music, Dvorak-typing, and BUYING PRESENTS. My boyfriend’s brother’s birthday was last weekend, and I sneakily (not) got myself an invite to dinner. The food at this tiny Shanghai restaurant was delicious! I decided that Shanghainese food is my favorite type of Chinese food. I ordered this book a long time ago but it arrived a bit late. I’m not going to say what it is (on the off chance that Justin reads this blog) but when I read it in high school I found it hilarious and inspiring/motivated. And I hope he does, too!!! Also I bought this awesome present worth a million hugs (lol) that only cost $5.08 for my favorite. Woooooo.

I wonder if I’d be a successful north campus major. I think I would be. What steered me so strongly away from liberal arts when I was in high school? The ease of my math and science classes? Sometimes I wish my mind had been more open.