R.I.P. GIOVANNI CORSI 1922-2007

I found out this morning that my grandfather had passed away. Nonno Giovanni (whom I am named after) had taken extremely ill a few days before Christmas so my Dad, Aunt & Uncle went back to Italy to be with him and the rest of the family. He got progressively worse during their visit but still clung on to life. With nothing left to do but wait and pray, my dad returned yesterday and this morning (less than 24 hours later), we were informed that he had passed, like he was waiting for his children to leave before he could move on.

We were all expecting it, and honestly hoping that it would happen to end his suffering but it doesn't make it any easier.

Nonno Giovanni and I were not that close due to the language barrier but love was there, he was a good man, a hard working man and a man who was very proud of his family. When he was younger (when I was a kid) he would come to Vancouver every summer or so and work in the gardens during the day and make kick ass meatballs at night (still are the best meatballs ever in my opinion). Honestly, my Nonno was legendary for his meatballs, they were made from a secret recipe that only he knew and I don't know if he passed it on or not! He loved his family and he loved to sit around the table after dinner getting into discussions or debates with his kids. My dad and him talked often and I would talk through my dad to my grandfather when the chance was there. I'm glad I got to spend time with him and I am glad Michelle got to meet him before he passed.

He is the last of my grandparents and I will miss him a lot, not only for the memories I have of him in my life but to see the happiness in my dad whenever he would see or speak to him. While being a man of few words, his presence was felt throughout the family and that was a good thing. He is and will always be a great man. Thanks for everything you have been and done for the Corsi Family, Nonno Giovanni, I love you and will miss you.

XMAS: COME & GONE

All the build-up, all the prep, all the presents, all the stress and over 36 hours or so, it's all over. Another Christmas has come and gone and honestly it was bittersweet. My GRANDFATHER has taken quite ill over the last week, so bad that my dad and uncle flew back to Italy to be with him, this is the first Christmas I haven't spent with my dad. I always thought our first Christmas apart would be because Michelle and I would be traveling, not due to a sick relative. One the positive side though, this is the first christmas that my dad and all his siblings have been together (my dad left home before his two youngest brothers were born). So at least they are all together and spending it with my Nonno (grandfather in Italian).

Another plus is that my entire step=family came up from Portland (Victor, Marisa, Stuart, Tyler & Riley) to spend CHRISTMAS EVE with Gina, Michelle and myself, again odd without my dad but a great night nonetheless.

Michelle and I hosted a CHRISTMAS DAY OPEN HOUSE for her entire family and mine, there was oodles of people and tons of food but things went well and everyone had a great time.

In other pre-Christmas related events, Michelle took part in Andrea's BAKE DAY, I played ROCK BAND with Kevin & Ferraro for the first time and Clint & Andrea held their annual CHRISTMAS PARTY.

As always, there are a ton of pics, so click on the links above to be taken to the goodness.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

LAVERNE IS OK!!!

Just a quick update on our baby girl... Laverne went in for Surgery on Friday morning and everything went well. The Doctor said, it was routine, no complications and she came out of it with flying colors!


We are now on "Puppy Watch" as she is supposed to take it easy for 2 weeks so her wounds heal but you try getting a puppy to chill out and not jump & play, it isn't as easy as it sounds. At least she's going to be A-OK and she came home complete with a fancy "cone of shame" to boot!!!

PUPPY PROBLEMS

So we came home on Sunday night to find Laverne extremely lethargic, shaking & not drinking... very unlike her. She wasn't getting better so we decided to take her to Emergency (love the fact that Vancouver has a 24-hour Animal Emergency Clinic). Anyway, 4 hours later after some blood tests and x-rays, it was determined that she could be pregnant.

Yes that's right... pregnant. We wouldn't know for sure until the test results came in but the doctor was leaning that way with the immediate info available.

How the hell could this happen? She's always with us when she's outside and when she's off-leash she's trained to stay by us. The only way she could have gotten knocked up is at Doggie Daycare. Michelle was perturbed, I was furious. We weren't going to talk to the Daycare people until the test results came in but still, temper was high.

The test results came in last night and luckily, Laverne isn't pregnant but she has a big infection in her uterus, meaning she needs to get spayed. Previous to all this, we had booked her spaying for this Friday so even though we were humming and hawing on whether or not we would spay Laverne or breed her, the decision has been made for us. In a few days, Laverne will be extremely tender and wearing a "cone of shame".

I wonder though, if she was pregnant, what those mutt puppies would have looked like cause there are no other Bostons at the Daycare. A Boston/French Bulldog? Or a Boston/Great Dane... could have happened.

PARTY: PART 2

The Holiday party season is in full swing with not one, not two but three parties in the last week. Thursday we celebrated JENNY'S BIRTHDAY, Friday was the PROPAGANDA CHRISTMAS LUNCH and Friday night was CALDER XMAS 2007. Loads of good times and some good pics too, check them out below!!!

JENNY'S BIRTHDAY

PROPAGANDA CHRISTMAS LUNCH

CALDER XMAS 2007

PARTY: PART 1

Tis the season for the party! Fa la la la la la la la la! Last week we attended Sarah & George's kick ass WINE PARTY and this weekend we went to Michelle's work Xmas party where she was the MC. The party was great and Michelle did a fantastic job as the hostess with the mostest! More parties and pics to come (including the fabled Calder Christmas, Holiday at the Ranch and many more), so stay tuned but in the meantime, check out Michelle's great new hairdo! Happy holidays indeed!

BAD MORNING/GREAT NIGHT

Remember last year when I wanted to get out of my MINI LEASE? Well, I should have taken my own advice. This morning, a block from my house, the tempurature gauge shot up to a gazillion and the car started chugging bad, long story short, blown radiator. 1.5 hour wait for the tow truck, 1/2 hour at Mini and still no car till tomorrow. I won't bore you with the the financial damage but let's just say it's costing me between $774 and $776, somewhere in there. Merry Christmas. If you are planning on buying a used car, can I suggest a 2003 Mini? It just got a new radiator!!!

The day wasn't all bad though, for tonight Cam and I witnessed the concert of concerts for closet rockers like us, David Lee Roth and VAN HALEN, it was awesome. Loud, probably the loudest concert I've been to (yes they were louder than Motley Crue and yes I went to Motley Crue - like I said, closet rocker). Anyway, Dave and the boys sounded awesome, bassist Michael Anthony is no longer with the band but Eddie's 16 year-old son Wolfgang filled in for the tour and believe it or not, he did fantastic. I've been a fan of Van Halen since the Women And Children First Album and I saw them first in concert on the 1984 tour! David Lee Roth left the band and was replaced with Sammy Hagar through the nineties and early 21st century (I saw them twice during this time) but now Dave is back and the band sounded great. I got to rock out for a few hours, listen to some classics and forget about the horrible start to the day.

Bad morning... great night!

SNOWY WEEKEND

Well it was the first weekend in December and also the first snowfall for Downtown Vancouver and those of us who live on the East Side. I love the first snowfall of the year and this one will be extra memorable as it was LAVERNE'S first snowfall as well. For a dog who hates to get cold and hates to get wet, she loves the snow! She loves to run in it, chase it and eat it but only for a few minutes at a time cause then reality kicks in and she gets cold but she loves the white stuff, that's pretty cool. As I write this, the snow is slowly turning to slush as it has begun warming up and raining hard but for two days we had a little winter wonderland here and I hope we get to see more of it soon! Some pics of our snowy weekend can be found HERE!!!

LET'S GET OUR BOWL ON ! ! !

Thursday was a good day... why? Well, we (as in my co-workers and I) spent the afternoon at Commodore Bowling & Billiards for a few hours of fun. The entire place was rented out for Propaganda and all the lanes were filled with people bowling their hearts out, others opted for pool and proved that there are some real "sharks" in the company. It was a great team event and a great way to spend the day out of the office with some work mates. Check out the pics HERE

GREEN TEAM

Michelle's industry taken to the extreme. Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly & Adam McKay offer Enviro-tips from the driving force behind the enviromentalist movement. NSFW - so be careful kiddies!!!

HOPSCOTCH

It was a man night to remember as George, Chad, Tony and I attended one of the greatest events in recent history, a booze festival called HOPSCOTCH. Basically, it is a yearly Scotch, Bourbon, Whiskey and Beer tasting event complete with food & cigars. You get tokens ($1 for 1 token) and each tasting costs between 1-4 tokens. The beauty is that you can try some magnificent 21 year old scotch for only 4 tokens, in a bar it would cost you $15-$20!!!! Needless to say we all got slightly intoxicated and it was an awesome night to be sure, and one we will all attend again next year! Check out a few pics from this year's event HERE!!!

NOVEMBER LONG WEEKEND...

We celelbrated our last long weekend before Christmas in style. How? By pretty much not doing anything. Lots of dogwalks, photos, cooking, cleaning and hanging out with friends otherwise, very relaxing. Hope it was for all of you as well. Check out some weekend pics HERE!

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN THE WATER...

I don't know what's going on in the world these days but something is causing people to get ENGAGED and it's great! Over the last few months, six couples have started down the road to matrimony... six, not one or two... six! A big hearty Corsiworld congratulations to all our dear friends:

Sean & Lea
Clint & Andrea
Chris & Holly
Jason & Saisha
Hopkins & Bonnie
Aamir & Denise

The marriage club just got a whole lot bigger!

THE CORSI BOYS TAKE ON VEGAS!

Going to Vegas with Michelle or the guys is one thing. Going to Vegas with your dad is entirely different. Still, the weekend with my father (who I haven't traveled with since I was a teenager) in Las Vegas was fantastic and a memorable time I won't soon forget!

Usually a Vegas weekend is filled with drinking, gambling and shopping, this weekend was centered around food, wine and hotels. As you may or may not know, my dad is in the restaurant business so having all of these top hotels and restuarants in one location was too much for my dad to pass up so we checked them all out. For hotels we explored: Monte Carlo, Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn, TI, New York New York, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Paris, Bally's, Caesar's Palace and Planet Hollywood. My dad liked Wynn, Caesar's, Bellagio, Paris and the Venetian the most, obviously he leans towards the European flair.

But the real reason for the visit was all that food! I started off by continuing tradition and introducing dad to BUFFALO CHICKEN ROLLS at the Venetian, he loved them. Luckily, the Venetian also housed two restuarants from my dad's favourite chef MARIO BATALI and we ate at both. B&B is a more upscale Trattoria full of flavour, and ENOTACA SAN MARCO is a robust antipaste pizzaria filled with foody delights. I recommend both but the Enoteca has the better price points. We also enjoyed a fantastic crab lunch at JOE'S in Caesar's. I'm not the biggest crab fan, but these claws were divine and the Key Lime Pie for dessert? Booya! Dad had always wanted to eat at Joe's (also found in Florida and Chicago) and I'm happy it was on his list, I will definitely go back!

We did do some gambling ofcourse. I won some cash on the Big Six Wheel, Wheel of Fortune and Star Wars Slots but lost it all on Roulette and Blackjack (I ended up breaking even so it's all good). Dad however, ended up in the hole, never having the chance to entice Lady Luck. That didn't tarnish his trip though and dad will be going back. I'm glad we finally got to go to Vegas together and this will definitely be a father/son trip to remember! Pics of the adventure HERE!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Hope everyone has a great candy-filled Halloween! And remember, let's be careful out there!

DINNER, DOGS & DANCE

Well it was the weekend before Halloween and you know what that means: DINNER, DOGS & DRINK. Let me explain...

DINNER
On Friday night, we had the first (of hopefully many) SUPPER CLUBS. Basically, one day when we were hanging out with Jason & Saisha and Ali & Todd, we six decided to throw a dinner party where we choose a region of food, everyone cooks some dishes and we all dine in style. So for the kick off meeting, we chose New Orleans and let me tell you, the food was fantastic (Meatballs, Jambalaya, Fried Chicken, Chorizo and Okra Ratatouille, Yam & Apple Salad, homemade cake & donuts), as were the bevvies! The host couple (us) also has to make a signature beverage for the evening, we chose RUMRUNNERS (a mix of dark rum, creme de banane, OJ and pineapple juice) and let me tell you, they were stellar. If we can keep these up, more couples will be invited into the mix, we just wanted to see if we could pull one off, and we did! Hooray for the birth of Supper Club!

DOGS
Laverne is a proud member of CANINE CORNER doggy daycare and Michelle has come to know the staff quite well. Kathleen (the owner) knew we were into photography, so she asked Michelle, if we could come in on the weekend to take some pics of the staff dogs. Pictures? Dogs? No problemo! Michelle and I spent a couple hours playing with the pooches, talking to the staff and snapping pics all the while. Great practice for us and I can see why Laverne has so much fun there when she goes!

DANCE
Saturday night meant Halloween night and we were invited to a HALLOWEEN BOAT CRUISE by our friends Eric and Mark Rasmussen. The crew got into costume, got together and partied as the boat sailed around the city for four hours. I got a wee bit seasick but otherwise a good time was had by all! The costumes were fantastic as well. Here's what we had:

Gio - Julius Vodka Caesar
Michelle - Cosmo Cleopatra
Clint - 70's Sabotage Cop
Andrea - Futuristic Warrior
Bunting - Dean Martin from Cannonball Run
Angela - Lady Luck
Raime - African Man
Jen - Construction Worker
Ferraro - Dead Sumbarine Captain
Andy - Peter Griffen from Family Guy
Eric - Pirate
Mark - Sailor

It was a great way to spend Halloween and great to see all our friends in costume. You can check out pics of the weekend HERE!!!

BACK OFF MAN... I'M A SCIENTIST!

This blog is usually very "Gio-centric" talking about our activities or Laverne, from my point of view. Only once in a blue moon does Michelle tickle the keyboard and write a few installments of her adventures or Corsiworld. Recently, it came to my attention as I was talking to Michelle, that I have never seen her at work in "the field", I saw her once water sampling at a gas station, but I have never seen her in "the field", you know with Drillers, Rigs, Dumptrucks full of soil, contaminated elements of who knows what.

Yes, you read that right. Drillers, Rigs and contaminated who knows what. Michelle is an Environmental Scientist and that means that while I'm out there trying to corrupt the world through Video Games, Michelle is trying to save it.

I find her work fascinating and I asked Michelle if she could get a picture of her in "the field" one day. So she sent me this. Look at how awesome she is, hardhat, fire-retardent suit, work boots, safety glasses, gloves and a smiile that melts my heart. I love my Environmental Scientist wife, she's just so damn cool.

QUIET WEEKEND

It started with the biggest buffet of BBQ MEAT you've seen in a while. Yes, we had a Memphis Blues Luncheon at work Friday and as tasty as it was, by 3pm that afternoon, some folks were fast asleep at their desks. I also came home and surprised Michelle with her own Macbook... she's excited! Saturday we went to Ikea and Eurotile to prep for our home renovations (we are redoing the bathrooms), then on Saturday night we had a great evening of dinner and drinks with Clint & Andrea, Eric and Brimstone. Sunday, Michelle hung out with Caz while the guys and I caught 30 DAYS OF NIGHT (awesome). As for Laverne, she's not wearing the "cone of shame" yet as she started her heat this week and for safety reasons, we are going to wait before she goes in for her operation. Pinchy is still planning for world domination.

All in all a good yet "quiet" weekend.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Comedy from the duo called FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS...

THE GARBAGE STRIKE IS OVER!!!

Sweet fancy moses! After about 13 weeks of living with bad smelling garbage piling up in our garage and all over downtown Vancouver, the Outside Workers finally came to an agreement with the city and they are going back to work today! Awesome news! AWESOME! For those of you who know me well, you know I have a very sensative "gag reflex" and sometimes that old garbage smell has caused me to... gag on more than one occasion. It's going to take a few trips to clean up the city but at least it's happening!

Other than that, it's been a busy weekend. Continued pics with the 40D, gardening, taking care of our neice Shannon and nephew Colin (who schooled me at Halo 3) and celebrating Lorissa's Birthday with a surprise bash at the Alibi Room (Chad's pics can be seen HERE!!!).

Other than that, going to a Canucks game this week and Laverne goes in for her surgery on Friday. Get ready for the CONE OF SHAME!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Today, October 8, 72 years ago my dad was born and boy am I glad he was!! For those of you who have not met CAPTAIN BOB (as Gio likes to call him), he is a man of few words but with a huge heart. We gave him a Nintendo DS with "Brain Age" just to help keep him sharp. Big thanks to Mario for hosting a lovely intimate birthday dinner, to Gina and my mom Ruth for keeping the evening entertaining with their stories, and to Teri, my sis for driving the birthday boy home. A great night was had by all, it was a Thanksgiving Birthday to remember!

We love you dad!

PAPA'S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG...

Say hello to my new little friend. Photography just got a whole lot more exciting...

THE CANON EOS 40D


Stay tuned for some new pics coming this weekend!

BAH PARTY

Michelle and I decided it was time to throw a party. We had yet to have a housewarmer and since we were in Toronto for my Birthday, a party on the 23rd was out of the question, so we went for a BAH! What is a BAH you ask? It's three milestone celebrations rolled into one...

B is for Birthday - my 35th to be exact
A is for Anniversary - we've been married for 2 years
H is for Housewarming - introducing people to "Casa Del Corsi"

The day started with cold & wet gambling on the ponies at HASTINGS PARK. Summer is definitely over but a handful of us braved the elements for some beer, burgers and betting on the Horses. Unfortunately I didn't win a cent, not one cent. Lorissa did (betting on the fourth horse in the fourth race to win) and she wasn't even there! Tells you what kind of luck we were having.



After that, it was HOUSE PARTY time but we added a HAT THEME which 90% of the guests stuck too, awesome. The rum was flowing, the Guitar Hero was hopping and the good times were plentiful. It was great to see peeps together again and even Laverne had a great time, mixing it up with the folks!

Special thanks to Victoria for the prep help, bringing Birthday Cake and Cupcakes, Chad for being the official photographer of the festivities and Chris for helping clean up the disaster afterwards. You know it's a good party when the rummy in the alley is thanking you for the boatload of empties from the night before.

Thanks for everyone who took part in the BAH PARTY and thanks for all the great gifts, we now have enough wine to last us through the apocalypse.

MADE ME LAUGH...

Got this sent to me on the ol' email...

THE BIG SMOKE

When we told people we were going to Toronto, most everyone asked the same question... "why?"

Well, both Michelle and I had never been, we have a few friends who live out here that we've never visited and I really wanted to see TSN's so-called "Center of the Universe". So for 5 days & nights we experienced Toronto and guess what? We loved it!

If you were to take Commercial Drive, Main Street, Robson Street plus a little bit of Victoria and smash them all together, you would have Toronto, a wonderfully diverse, cosmopolitan and surprisingly clean city filled with great architecture and things to do. We stayed with our friends SEAN & LEA who live in KENSINGTON MARKET, a great little area filled with vegetable stands, quaint eateries and more vintage shops than you can shake a stick at. We played tourist and saw QUEEN STREET, MUCH MUSIC, THE CN TOWER, UofT, YORKVILLE, ROSEMONT, THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME, UNION STATION, ST. LAWRENCE MARKET and we attended a taping of THE HOUR at CBC.

We also ate some amazing food at places like MINI, BISTRO DE SELECT, GIANCARLO TRATTORIA, LA PALLETTE, SUPER MARKET, ONE RESTAURANT and THE DRAKE. Toronto seems to really be into French Cuisine as there are a number of French places to choose from but all of these places were funky and worth trying. One of our favourites however was a little joint in the Market called PATTY KING that sold $1.25 DOUBLES, a small fried, curried chick pea sandwich from Trinidad & Tobego that tasted like gold. Gotta have a double! ! !


It was also cool to see some old friends. SEAN & LEA ofcourse who were gracious enough to open their fantastic home to us and made us feel so welcome, their hospitality was over the moon! The Marley Boys, RYAN & JAY who came out for all the big events and thanks to Ryan, we got to see the CBC and a taping of The Hour, good times. BETH & ANGUS who have probably been living out in TO the longest from the Vancouver crew and are doing fantastic. NICOLE & JUSTINE, gals who I went to High School with and who it was great to reconnect with. Finally, we got to hook up with SHONA which was awesome, she's now in Toronto continuing her Art Education.

All in all, it was really hard to leave Toronto as our friends and experiences within "the Big Smoke" were all positive and all memorable. We even had three big birthdays there, Shona, Sean and I all celebrated one within 3 days of each other, which was pretty cool. We can't wait to go back and experience more of Toronto but for now, check out the adventure HERE!!!.

MICHELLE & GIO: 2 YEARS STRONG

Two years ago today, September 17th, Michelle and I tied the knot with a memorable wedding at the Vancouver Rowing Club and we've been smiling ever since. I can't believe that it's already been two years, time truly does fly when you are having fun. I feel like everyday is worth celebrating but today is our "official" day... I love you Michelle, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me, thanks for two fantastic years and here's to many more!

SKIES CLOUDS SUN MOON

We've been taking a lot of sky pictures and looking back through Flickr, we've taken some pretty cool ones. Take a look at these in this new set I simply called SKY

GOLDFISH & DOGS

On Saturday night, Michelle & I tried a great new restuarant in Yaletown called GOLDFISH. Specializing in West Coast Seafood, the place was very cool, very busy, well decorated and it has a cocktail list to die for. Here's what we tried:

1) Seared Scallops with Mango Salsa

2) Grilled Short Ribs with chili oil & roasted peanuts

3) the Sweet Potato & Pork Curry with fresh tumeric caramel sauce & Jasmine rice

4) Pan-roasted Halibut with sautéed pea leaf & pineapple coconut sauce

5) Pan-roasted Corn with green chilies& cilantro

6) Warm Banana Spring Rolls with cashew butter, caramel sauce & lychee mint salad.

It was a great meal and we will definitely be going back!

On Sunday, we took part in the SPCA: PAWS FOR A CAUSE walk at Vanier Park. We grabbed Laverne and Bozlee (we were watching him for The Forbzez) and went to enjoy the fundraising festivities on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Once there were hooked up with Colin & Natsuko and the four of us took the dogs on a little 2.5 km walk to help support the animals. Great way to start a Sunday, me thinks!

NEW YORK CITY GIRLS

Our good friend KYLIE is currently living and going to school in NEW YORK CITY, following her dreams of becoming Top Baker in all the land. She's loving it but missing all of her friends & family here in Vancouver, so like the great pals that they are, MICHELLE, ANDREA & JEN went to "the city so nice, they named it twice" for a little visit.

The first thing, New York is huge, you can't see everything as there is not enough time to do it all. For instance, Michelle didn't see The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building or eat a Meatball Sandwich in Little Italy (a personal request by Gio). She did however see CENTRAL PARK, ROCKEFELLER CENTER, TIMES SQUARE, THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, TONS OF COOL RESTUARANTS & SHOPS and eat PIZZA in Little Italy (I guess the rest of the ladies weren't into Meatball Sandwiches). They also got see a great off-broadway play called CURTAINS (starring David Hyde Pierce of Frasier fame) and see many other cool parts of "the Big Apple".

All in all it was a great introduction to New York, it was great to travel with Andrea & Jen and it was great to see Kylie again.

Check out the adventure HERE!

SAY HELLO TO MURDOCH

I never thought I'd see the day. You know, the day where my old roommate, my old drinking buddy, my best man, my friend... had a kid. Well, that day has come. A few weeks ago, Jason and Andrea gave birth to a 6.6 lbs, healthy bouncing baby boy that they named MURDOCH.

Now where does Murdoch come from? The stork ofcourse! But really, the name means "wealthy sailor" and that's what he's gonna be, wealthy (a sailor remains to be seen). Anyway, congrats to the Johnson-DeLong clan or as I have now christened them, JAM (Jason, Andrea & Murdoch). We love you guys!

OLD SKOOL

It's amazing what cleaning out a storage area will uncover. My parents have a RED ROOM, the red room is the room in the house where everything that isn't being used goes to gather dust. I haven't touched this room in years but last week my folks decided to clean it all out and get rid of a bunch of stuff including all my stuff unless I came to pick it up. Luckily, they were nice enough to put all my stuff into one corner for Michelle and I to inspect before they toss the whole shebang. Anyway, during our search I came across some great old photos of my childhood and school years, I scanned them and posted them on Flickr in a set called OLD SKOOL. Check 'em out if you like. I'll get Michelle to add some of her favorites as well to make it a true Corsiworld set so check back soon!

WE'LL MISS YOU ROY!

On August 22nd, Michelle's brother Roy passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, it was a tragic loss that hit the family hard.
Yesterday, we all headed to Roy's farmhouse outside of Nanaimo, BC for an afternoon CELEBRATION OF LIFE... it was fantastic. Over 100 of Roy's close friends, old co-workers and family from all parts came to the house to share stories and fond memories of Roy. Ofcourse there was sadness but mainly there was laughter and that I'm sure is what Roy would have wanted.

I only met Roy a handful of times as he lived on the Island and rarely came in to Vancouver but man, was he a funny guy. He was a man's man, big into hunting, fishing, camping and working on his farmhouse (a shabby one level house, turned into a beautiful two level home - mainly done by him). He liked things done his way and he wasn't afraid to tell you that, no, it's fair to say that Roy lived life to the fullest and had a good time doing it. Roy was also big on visitors, his door was always open, his kitchen was always full and his hot tub was always ready. He (and his wife Debbie) were always happy to have guests, share in some laughter and they always made you feel welcome. Michelle and I were planning on visiting in October, it's a shame we never got to go sooner.

I think the best part for me personaly, in this whole "celebration of life" day that we experienced, is seeing people come up to share stories and memeories of Roy - Roy's daughter, his brother Robby, his sister Teri and his best friend Elvis. I kid you not, Roy's best friend is an Elvis Impersonator who gave an amazing speech and even sang two songs - the King is alive and well and living on Vancouver Island.

Now that we are home and the day has passed, it's kinda hit home again. I wish I had known Roy better and Michelle wishes she could have spent more time with Roy but we are both happy with our memories of him as those will last forever. We'll miss you Roy.

Birthdays, Star Wars & Those Little Donuts

It was a busy weekend but before I get to that, allow me to say a very belated, very happy Birthday to our lovely friend LESLEY who has turned 29... yet again!

Anyway, we celebrated another milestone this weekend, the 30th Birthday of the fabulous VICTORIA. Not only was it her 30th, but it was the first birthday she's spent in town in the last decade or so. We opened up our humble abode to Vic's friends and family to celebrate the event and Lorissa even made one of her kick ass CAKES for the night. Sweetness!

Then on Sunday, we visited the PNE. For me there are two reasons to go to the PNE every year: 1) SUPERDOGS and 2) THOSE LITTLE DONUTS. Both of these favorites were there in full effect as well as Sand Sculptures, Corn Dogs, Flying Canucks, Farm Animals, Star Wars, Home Shows, Games and Rides. The PNE is still worth a visit every now and then, good times.

GASTROPOD

So last night, Jason & Saisha, Todd & Ali and Michelle & myself went for dinner at GASTROPOD. According to the website: Gastropod is a restaurant featuring modern European cuisine in a chic and inviting setting. The philosophy of the cooking emphasizes balance and innovation. The ingredients are prepared using the most contemporary techniques, while expressing an affiliation to traditional haute cuisine cooking. Each dish is a creation of Chef Angus An and reflects his desire to present flavours and textures in newly delectable ways.

Although the portions seemed small, the food was fantastic and we all left feeling satisfied! All six of us tried the taster menu (One appetizer, one main and one dessert for one fixed price) and tried a multitude of different items (Venison Tartar, Cumcumber Salad, Oysters, Lamb, Chicken & Salmon), all of which were unique and tasty. The prices are a bit steep but their ingenious cocktails and original food make a visit to Gastropod worth while for any special occasion.

Gastropod = Thumbs up!

WE ARE FAMILY

It was a big family weekend. Why? The Hoiem's came up from Portland. Victor & his girlfriend Chanda were already here. Cousin Marco is staying with my parents while attending school and finally, Gina's mom came by for a visit. Talk about a full house!

It was also Ida & Albert's daughter Sofia's first birthday. Man that's a lot of family shenanigans.

Take a look at the action HERE

TIKI BAR TV CAST ON TORRENT

My friend ELIZA is the host of a new online show called TORRENT and she came by the Tiki Bar to interview the cast of TIKI BAR TV. It was my first time interviewing with the main cast as well, cool! It's a fun little segment although in the end, it appears that I am Portuguese. Oh well, I'm a Portuguese guy playing a Russian on an online show about Drinking - things could be worse!

FAMILY REUNION

LAVERNE attended her first family reunion on the weekend, meeting up with mom TINKER, her five siblings (BOZLEE, EASTON, ELIZABETH, AMICA and EMMA) and here half-sister ZOE. It was a Boston Terrier Festivus like no other with all eight dogs, running, jumping, fighting, swimming and eating everything in sight at our Breeder's backyard in Cloverdale. Getting all the pups together solidified a few things for us though:

1) Bozlee is huge, the biggest and strongest of all the litter

2) Laverne is a potato, exactly like her mom Tinker

3) Laverne although small, is about the same size as her other siblings, thus it is a small-sized litter.

4) Boston Terriers are awesome!

We took a bunch of pics and posted some HERE, Chad also took pics and they can be found HERE.

We knew it was a good day when Laverne slept everywhere she could for the remainder of the day, she was tuckered out!

Can't wait for the next Boston Terrier reunion!

BACK FROM VEGAS...

...and man are we tired.


Along with our friends THE DALLS (Michelle & Bill) and THE DAVIDSONS (Caz & Rob), we spent five days & four nights hamming it up in the City of Sin, Las Vegas.

***We ate our faces off (Deep Fried Sausages? Are you kidding me?)...
***Drank our livers silly (Yard Stick Margaritas?)...
***Gambled more than needed (Roulette, Let It Ride, Slots and Blackjack)...
***Got our "shop" on (Puma for me, Betsey Johnson for Michelle)...
***Saw a Cirque show (Mystere @ Treasure Island - awesome!)...
***Went clubbing (Tangerine, Tao and Pur)...
***Bought a Time Share (not part of the original plan but a good deal is a good deal)!


All in all it was a memorable trip and the photographic proof is right HERE!!!


Vegas Baby... Vegas!

ADAM & JEN TIE THE KNOT

My buddy Adam finally took the plunge and married his longtime sweetheart Jen at their fantastic wedding in Stanley Park. 130 friends and family members gathered for a wonderful outdoor ceremony and then we headed inside for drinks, dinner, speeches, cake and dancing. I was the MC for the evening and had a blast doing it, Adam's brother Dave delivered a homerun of a speech, DJ Paul delivered solid tunes for the entire evening, the dinner was delectible and the booze flowed freely all night long. Jen's family came up from Michigan and made everyone feel loved and Adam's family was dynamite as always (even though Brad didn't have any ribs on hand)! It was a hell on an event and the best part were the smiles plastered on Adam and Jen's faces all night long. They're off on their African Honeymoon but you can relive the event through pictures HERE!!!

A QUIET WEEK...

Been a quiet week around Corsiworld, PUPPY TRAINING, dinner with ADAM & JEN, playin' GUITAR HERO, eating massive STEAKS, practicing PHOTOSHOP, tasting Lorissa's homemade KEY LIME PIE and a great pre-wedding dinner with GEORGIA and TIM.

I also set up two new FLICKR GROUPS! Check out 250+ VIEWS and FOOD.

Like I said quiet...

LACH FREGUSSON: MARRIED MAN

So this week saw my buddy LACH wed his long time girlfriend Amanda over in London (current home for them both). Some of the old school crew (Peter, Kev, Ice & Jeff) made the journey to be there with our friends which is awesome. Lach has been living abroad for quite some time now and been on many an adventure (working with the U.N., living in war-torn countries & riding across Africa) but for the last few years he's been lucky enough to have Amanda at his side or leaving the light on for whenever he made it back home from some crazy job.

Michelle and I raise our glass to you both. Congrats on your wedding and we can't wait to meet you in person Mandy. Hopefully you'll both come and visit Vancouver soon!

JERICHO

One of those weekends where you get to hang out with friends, play some Bocce, BBQ some meat and catch up with some buddies. No better place to do it than JERICHO!!!

ADAM'S STAG: THE VIDEO

If you haven't read the POST about ADAM'S STAG or seen the PICS, do so before watching this video. Here is proof of the weekend shenanigans.

WARNING - This video contains excessive drinking, swearing, laughing, violence and projectile vomiting (I kid you not). Enjoy...



Thanks to BLOCK ROCKIN' BOYES for putting this masterpiece together. Good times!

WHAT A WEEKEND!

This was quite the liver-damaging weekend.

First off, I attended ADAM BOYES' STAG at his family's cabin in Princeton. 16 guys, lots of BBQ meat and probably the biggest mountain of beer you've ever seen. You see, Dave (adam's bro) planned for some BOOZE OLYMPICS this weekend and most every event involved some form of beer and chugging. It was pretty hilarious. I didn't get too many pics but here are the ones I did get.

ADAM'S STAG


Once I got home Sunday morning, I basically showered and changed so that Michelle and I could attend my COUSIN PATRICK'S BIRTHDAY PARTY. Patrick knows how to do it up right, he closed down Quattro, invited his friends and family and held a kick ass dinner. It was a grand time, I wish I wasn't so hungover for it. Check out the pics.

PATRICK'S PARTY

Thanks to the Boyes family for providing a memorable weekend and congrats to my cousin Patrick, hope you had a great birthday.