I'm Still Alive

So this is rather embarrassing but I recently realized that I haven't updated my blog in a good 5 months... pretty effective, eh? Well I do hope you will continue to follow my joys and woes of the event world through the eyes of cBoEvents. We have a lot of events coming up in the next few months and I am going to make every effort on my end to keep you all up to date on what's going on. If there's anything you want to know more about, let me know!

So Happy Halloween, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, (happy birthday to me), Happy Valentines Day.... there... we're all caught up :)

Save Second Base - the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Today marked my second year participating in the fight to end breast cancer at the annual CIBC Run for the Cure. A good friend of mine was diagnosed with this horrendous disease when she was 21, and today we celebrate the reality that she is cancer free! But not everyone is as blessed as our friend, and it got me thinking. In one sense, our friends have fun writing inappropriate signs on our backs saying "I'm walking for... (insert odd pet name here)"... and yet we're walking amongst families, children, colleagues and friends who have lost those who are near for them. I almost hugged this one lady who wore a sign saying "I'm walking for myself... I was diagnosed 3 weeks ago". And I'll never forget the scene of walking behind a grandfather, son-in-law and grandson walking in honour of their passed daughter/wife/mother. Or the copious numbers of children walking for "Mommy" or the men walking for "My Wife".

My friends and I are blessed. Kristin survived. But the fight continues, and as we walk in celebration of her achievements, we remember that this isn't the end of the battle.

Having said all that, we decked our selves in pink, wore our "Save Second Base" team shirts, and rallied together as friends to support our friend, and a good cause. It's a fun event, and I'm definitely looking forward to next year's!

The Search Continues

Life is rather random and interesting at times, isn't it? We all speak of societal ideals of meeting the perfect woman and knowing right away that it is love at first sight... then one day you decide to ask out the girl you've been chatting with online for a week to discover that 57mins and $20 in two drinks later, you're back where you started. but i guess that's what the 'fun' of online dating is... meeting random people and seeing if the online compatibility test proves truthful in real life circumstances.

All that to say, I had a great time meeting a wonderful woman today, and that's an experience that doesn't come along a lot for cBo. and so, I look to the horizon, and move on, seeking love and happiness in whatever form that entails.

Events come in all shapes and sizes... today's event, cBo returned to the long-overdue dating world, and is feeling a bit better about himself. Tomorrow's another day, another encounter, another event.

it's time to embrace... the 90s

Well, it's happened. I got bored and started thinking about my next event. Ladies and Gents, I present the latest cBo Event to come.... "the 90s"... it's been a decade... and the dress-up possibilities are endless! Tear away pants, Doc Martins, grunge, frosted tipped hair, puka shell necklaces... so much happened in the once thought 'undefined decade'... this next event is one that will certainly bring lots of laughter and pleasure... mainly because most of us grew up in the 90s in highschool and cared so much... are my jeans baggy enough? is my adidas 3-striper suit cool enough? can she see my boxers? does he like my school girl uniform mini skirt? so here's to the 90s! details to come... this will be an event you won't want to miss.

W5 - a 'retro' event

5th time's a charm! Last weekend I hosted the fifth instalment of the white party... now known as the W5... five white parties over six years... this one was truly memorable in its own way. Last year, aka W4 was probably my most favourite as it was 65 people all adorned in white at my parents residence for a night of fantastical mayhem. However, this year's W5 was subtitled as the "apartment edition"... a smaller, more initmate group of key friends who all demanded a night to dress up in white, regardless of the setup or traditional scale of the event. I had been hesitant to tackle another white party as I had visions of the event growing larger than I was capable of producing; however, the concept of having a retro "back to basics" style event was enticing; invite close friends to a small gathering at one's place and provide them with a dress code. Forget the one month notice. Forget the pre-invitation propaganda flyers individually mailed out to past attendees. Forget the massive rental orders and door covers tickets. Bring it back to the basics...WHITE.

It was a stupendous success as 25+ people filled the 650 sq ft + space of my apartment last weekend, which was semi transformed into a clean pallet of white. I was ever so thankful that it was traditionally warm out, therefore leading to people drinking light beverages, the darkest being a rose, protecting my furniture from a possible disasterous stain.

The legacy cBo Events has created for its White Parties was fulfilled with great music, laughter, a hooka segment, and most importantly, close dear friends dressed head to (almost) toe in white, gathered together for a night of thematic fun.

Who knows what next year shall bring... but for now, cBo Events enjoyed the pleasure of a low key, back to basics night of fun and pure white.

Pictures of the event are accessible at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031767&id=129500673

Sacred Hills Wine Tasting @ Everything Wine

When I first walked into the classroom at the back of the Everything Wine North Vancouver store, I was instantly impressed with the white-linen-lined tables adored with pre-poured tasting glasses of the Sacred Hills Wines that we were going to be tasting that evening. The 15 of us or so participants took our seats after having a personal introduction from Tony Bish, the actual winemaker from the New Zealand winery. I have participated in wine tastings in the past, even at wineries, yet this was the first time that I actually met the man in charge of finalizing the tastes of each of Sacred Hills Wines. I knew I was in for a real treat, along with the four friends I had brought along with me.

Tony began by giving us a little history on the family-owned Sacred Hill Winery, which began its’ journey in 1986. As with many winery names, one tends to question the origins of the chosen name, and Tony made certain to tell us the tale of ‘Sacred Hill’, the known nickname for the town’s regional local pub. Tony described how the the first vintage’s Sauvignon Blanc produced 350 cases and was sold all at once to one single buyer. Today, the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc, along with other wine varietals, now produce a combines 400,000 cases of wine a year, and since 2001, Sacred Hill has won multiple awards and medals.

I know what you’re thinking – “get on with the wine!”, and just as I was beginning to feel the same about the history lesson, Tony Bish began the fun part of the night – tasting the wines in front of u

First up was the original member of the family – the Sacred Hill Sauvignon Blanc. With the first inhale of the lightly coloured wine, your nose was filled with aromas of citrus fruits and green grass. Another deeper sniff brought out hues of gooseberry, and fig, and was everything that one would come to expect a world famous Sauvignon Blanc to be. This wine is light and fresh with just enough acidity to balance the pallet with elements of melon and pineapple coming through overtime. The flavour was characteristically short and had a quick clean finish to it; perfect for summer afternoon sittin on the patio!

We soon jumped onto the Sacred Hill Pinot Grigio, whose delicious aromas of spicey pear and caramelized ginger were rich in introductory flavour while being mild on the pallet with a gorgeous smooth finish to this low acidic white. The Pinot Grigio (or Gris, depending on the country in which it is sold) has a much sweeter taste when compared to the Sauv Blanc, and is considerably heavier in weight with a dominiating pear tasting. Each vintage comes from a single vineyard blend of Pinot Grigio from three stages during the fermentation process resulting in a well balanced consistent flavour and texture. This oily-textured wine would be a fantastic with a caesar salad or any salad with an oil-dressing on it for that matter.

Tony concluded the whites with a 93 point 2007 Sacred Hill Rifleman’s Chardonnay, and what an amazing treat! The initial smell and taste was incredible; buttery aromas and oak exploded with the first sniff which was no surprise when looking at the thick golden colour of this smooth nutty wine. Leather and hints of acidity complimented the wine’s lingering finish with wonderful full-bodied citrus that enveloped the rich influencial flavours of Fench Oak. To those who have never explerienced the joy of a Chard, you have to try this amazing vintage.

Then we were on to the reds. Tony invited us to try the 2008 Sacred Hill Pinot Noir. My first reaction when I smelled the lighter red-colour vino was “earthy!”, which pays tribute to the land in which these vines struggle to grow. Smells of strawberries and other lighter berries fill your taste-buds as elements of licorice dance upon your taste buds. The Pinot Noir had a soft and elegant texture to it with a short crisp finishm and it was suggested that a delicate wine such as this pinot woul pair beautifully with a lamb.

Just when I thought I had found a new pinot love, the big daddy of the pinot varietals was next: the 2006 Sacred Hill Prospector’s Pinot Noir. The difference between to two pinots was astounding! The first immediate difference was how much deeper the strawberry flavours were and how much more volume in length this smooth pinot entailed. It was love at first sip, and I long for another encounter with my new berry-chocolate flavoured friend.

Tony then introduced us to the Gimblett Gravel area’s Sacred Hill Merlot. This variety is as many merlots tend to be; smells and tastes like dark berries, olives, cigars and hints of blue cheese. It was far more tanic on the pallet compared to the other bigs reds and would pair lovely with any red meat. Having said all that, and being a merlot-lover, at $22.99 a bottle, I wasn’t all that impressed with this wine, especially for the price point. It was everything one would expect a merlot to be; however, I did not find anything too exciting about it. But that’s the joys wine tasting and the fun of the whole experience.

The grand finale was next, and Tony did not disappoint! We completed our evening sampling the Sacred Hill Hemlsman Cabernet Merlot, and oh-my-word, this 97 point wine most certainly earned its status of rivalring some of the greatest bordeauxs in the world. With flavours bursting with dark berries, blue cheese, smoke and spice, peppery and tanic, rich plum and leatherm the Cabernet Merlot was far superior to its Merlot brother. And at $56.99 a bottle, this is a real treat for a special occasion. If you are able to get a hold of a bottle or three, I highly recommend you do as this wine can be stored for 15-20 years. Buy it today to celebrate the birth of a friend’s child and open it when he or she graduates from high school, or have it tonight.

One thing to note is that every bottle of Sacred Hill has a screw-cap top. Tony said they gace up on corks years ago when they were loosing anywhere from 10 to 15 to 50 per cent of their product to corkage, and as a relatively young winery, these numbers were unacceptable. Tony said that a lot of the time their wine may be slightly corked, unnoticeable to most who would assume that the wine just wasn’t good and stear them away from buying it the next time; business-wise, the traditional cork meathod was more of a hinterance to the reputation of Sacred Hill than the romance of corking a new bottle, which I found to be the most facinating explanation I have heard in the debate of cork versus screw cap.

The Sacred Hill wine tasting at Everything Wine was an incredible experience, and I do hope that you are fortunate enough in life to try some of the best that New Zealand has to offer.

Swimming Over the Seas

Yesterday I had the royal pleasure of paying a visit to my masseuse, Mandy, at Spa Utopia in DT Vancouver. I have been seeing her for a few sessions now and I simply love how chill she is. Rather than being all "spa-talky" which makes me uncomfortable, she talks to you like she's talkin to one of the guys and just gets down the business... the massage itself was a wonderful mixture of painful torture and blissful relaxation. But what was extra special about this session at Spa Utopia @ the Pan Pacific is their new partnership with the Pan Pacific Hotel and the use of their outdoor heated pool and hot tub on the 8th floor of the high end hotel. I went extra early to my appointment to ensure I had plenty of time to try out this new feature. I checked in at the front desk and got changed, grabbed an extra towel, and headed up to the 8th floor. The only awkward moment in this whole experience was having to walk out of Spa Utopia to the elevator lobby, which looks out to the parking lot, taking the elevator up to the main ground level, and having to switch elevators to the main hotel elevator while walking past business execs in the convention centre in my robe and sandals. That said, I sucked up my pride, and scurried over to the elevator which took me to the 8th floor. I swiped the security card and walked out to the pool deck and had to catch my breath -- the view.was.amazing! The sun had just broke over the rainy Vancouver city. Standing on the pool deck, you could see over Stanley Park to the left and all the way over to Deep Cove and beyond to your right. Below was a cruise ship boarding for departure later than day. As the sun had literally just come out, no one was on the pool deck yet. I stepped into the perfectly heated pool and began to swim some lengths, pausing occasionally to stare up and around all the city of glass surrounding me. It occurred to me from time to time how exposed I was to people spying on me, and my private experience was slightly shattered when I considered how many people could be watching me... but i got over that. I had a good 45 minutes of uninterrupted swimming and hot tubbing before guests of the hotel took the chance to swim in the semi-sunny weather and came to the pool. I got a little irritated, and like an only child, didn't want to share... so I left and decided to make my way back down to Spa Utopia, dripping and sandle-squeaking through the Convention Centre as I had to switch elevators again.

Mandy was amazing as always. She decided to incorporate a Hot Stone Massage treatment on my back. It was the coolest feeling! Smooth and slick, but hot and at times a little painful... nothing I couldn't handle. My massages with Mandy are usually a mixture of physio and relaxation - at times I wince as she works through a knot in my back, and other times I drift into a coma like world as she massages my scalp or rubs my feet. But all in all, over the year that I've gone to Spa Utopia, I have definitely noticed a change my car-accident-caused lower back problems lessoning each session. And I highly recommend if you have a benefit package, as I did, to use it towards treating yourself to a little body therapy... in the crazy hectic world we live in, we all deserve a break once in awhile. And Spa Utopia @ The Pan definitely goes beyond their means to ensure you have a fantastic experience.

I can't wait to go back... hopefully next time, the sun will be out full time and I could include some summertime suntanning as my experience :D

Check out Spa Utopia's signature massage treatments at - http://www.spautopia.com/massage_bodywork_hydrotherapy/signature_massage_treatments.htm#uhgsm