"Things to do in Vancouver"

I'm trying to make a suggestion list of things to do in Vancouver. Considering that I'm going with so many people who love to plan things, I feel pretty confident that no one is depending on me to plan, which is nice. But I figure I should see what there is to do so I can get my two cents in. (why is the saying "two cents?" Maybe my ideas are worth a dollar.) Ideally, when I type "things to do in vancouver," I would get people's blogs, where they post things like "I went to ____ for the first time and I can't believe I've never gone!" I want things that resident Canadians would really enjoy. Instead, I will only get commercialized listings. I hate when there is a list of things to do, and half of them are artsy/cultural things. I'm not 60. Also, just because I'm 20 doesn't mean my only other option is clubbing.

I never trust these "top things to do" lists that are publicized by travel companies. For instance, Fisherman's Wharf would be a top thing to do in SF, except Fisherman's Wharf is totally lame. And all tourists go to Alcatraz Island, but I've met tons of people who live in NorCal and have never been. Similarly, I have very rarely ever gone into downtown LA, and I only go into Hollywood when I have to accompany visiting relatives. Who decides that a place is a "tourist attraction" anyway? Did locals REALLY go there once upon a time, or is it all marketing?

HAHA I just looked up top things to do in Berkeley just to test it out. Someone suggested a gourmet ghetto walk, starting with "Gregoire's -> Cheeseboard -> Love At First Bite" HAHA THAT WAS THE EXACT order that 1:00-4:00 of the 12 hour food marathon was. I guess they didn't qualify the shack of Brazil Cafe as "gourmet eating"

You know what would be awesome is a trip advisor where you can select some characteristics that you have. For instance, I enjoy eating at small, unknown restaurants. Check. I enjoy walking through clean, new-looking commercial areas. Check. I enjoy looking at crafts. No check. Then it aggregates this and gives you a result. And my result would be: walk down North Berkeley, Shattuck Ave. Do not walk down Telegraph. Stop at Gregoire's for lunch. Also, possibly visit College Ave. And I'd be totally satisfied with these results.

Other grand ideas I have come up with, and if only I had the capital or the technical know-how to get these running, I would never even need a job!

1) A new office-wide email program that trumps Outlook. I HATE outlook. Intensely. Clearly, the only reason companies continue to use Outlook is because it comes preinstalled, and because it's been in use for so long that it would take a tremendous amount of resources to switch over. But omg, every time I use Outlook, I feel like I'm back in 1998. I didn't really get why Equilar used it at first, but I was kind of whatever since I didn't get too many e-mails. Then I go to my job now, where people send emails left and right, and I'm like OH GOD WHYYYYY. There are SO many inefficiencies. And the layout is hideous. I was complaining about it to Laura/Soo Jin and was like "I hope I never have to use Outlook in the future" and they were like "uh... every company uses Outlook." UGH! Gmail should create a program specifically for office use.

That was actually the only idea I had that could be considered a profitable venture. The other idea I had was a food blog that gave Chinese recipes ... in English. I can never find people who will teach me how to make Chinese dishes. All I ever read are dessert recipes (no thank you! I'm on a diet, as delicious as everything looks) and things that look like they'd be served in an upscale restaurant. I just want to make things that have a max of three ingredients. Maybe one being water. Flavor is not required.

I guess instead of making a suggestions list, I ended up blogging. Whoops. I really, really want something sweet. Strange, because I don't think it's time for my period cravings yet. I think they are just hunger cravings. NO COOKIE. I feel fatter than I did last week. I ate too many carbs :( I will never be thin.

I realized a couple hours ago that I "know" a lot of Canadians. For some reason, a ton of tv recappers/people who write the tv blogs I read are Canadians. Unfortunately, I don't bother making online friends, so I can't ask any of them "what can I do in Vancouver?!" I should have networked earlier in life.