Happy Thanksgiving!

Wrong way to cook a turkey. Plus a fake Oktoberfest. Was hoping to do something with Oktoberfest, but I think it's over already. Oh well. There's something on Granville Island this coming weekend, but it's only beer. Nothing else.

Finally went to the Richmond night market. Today is the last day this year. There weren't many people comparing to all the previous times I've gone. There were even some street parking left. Perhaps it's just the last day, or people have to work tomorrow, or everyone's still on their way back from cross-border shopping, or the $5 parking.

Gotta have some fresh takoyaki. Unfortunately, the one of 3 takoyaki stands I bought from, store the finished products in a warmer until it's sold, and it wasn't as fresh as I hope. The people are real Japanese, though.

And then, rumor has it that the night market gives out gifts to balance the $5 parking fee. Yes it's true, and here it is. A cheap cell phone strap, an ugly logo key chain, and a balloon. There's also a big orange plastic bag with the "Yeah!" logo. Completely useless. Most people discard the bag right away.

I'd say, the $5 parking is robbery. If they feel guilty, they should just lower the fee! A "gift" like this is not sincere at all. Anyone can get it regardless of parking there or not. They had a hard time getting people to line up, though. Out of curiosity, I lined up for a few minutes, and then decided it's a waste of time, and went on with my browsing. By the time I was done, there was no line up and still tones of "gifts".

$5 for parking is not worth it. If I can't find free street parking, I simply won't go. I'm pretty sure that's why attendances dropped drastically this year.

There's something I don't really understand. The organization collects rent from the venders, right? So that should cover the rent of the venue, right? So, does this mean, the parking fee is net profit? And how can they fence off parking area from surrounding malls and collect parking fee? Especially when the stores are closed, do they still need to pay rent? Or do they just "claim" the area? (Sigh... conspiracy mode on.)