Hibernation

(Picture taken in June and unrelated to subject.)
Was gonna go downtown and set my alarm at 11. Opened my eyes at 4. What happened? (T_T) I missed the whole day? OK I'm blaming the vampire. I was also pushing it too hard yesterday. (T_T)

Test 2 con't

Last Tuesday's test was postponed to today. To prevent having to move my car every 2 hours, I took the bus. It was drizzling and cold. But not as cold as day 1, when I needed to get up at 7 and compete with the morning rush hour.

It was also eat-out day with brother's gang. I barely made it home, like, 4:50, 10 minutes before the scheduled pickup. But brother was half-an-hour late. We went to see dad first as usual. Then we ate at a Taiwanese place near brother's home. (The girls like Taiwanese cuisine, especially the chicken nuggets). Sis-in-law ordered some kind of mixed steak combo, and one of the "steak" was really bad. It was like minced left-over meat dipped in egg. Totally gross. Don't let the nice-looking photo fool you!

Lindt Excellence Intense Cranberry

From May 2011. Thanks A again for this one. Cranberry itself doesn't have a strong enough taste, so it's totally drowned by the dark chocolate. On the other hand, it doesn't compete with the chocolate. If you pay attention, you'll find its slight tartness in the bitterness. They're still a mild, good match.

Vamp

(Picture taken in June and unrelated to subject.)
Awwww it showed up. But tomorrow I must go to the test! (T_T)

Parcels

(Picture taken in June and unrelated to subject.)
Too late for Christmas now... all the overseas packages are late... oh well... (T_T)

Caffeine

Picture taken a while ago.

An article posted at my chiropractor's.

Thought it's interesting.

Click on it to enlarge.

Black Friday

Since when did it mean the biggest shopping day? Doesn't it mean Friday the 13th?

Took A for a post office pickup, then some shopping. Burnaby Michael's, Queensbro Walmart. Late for my chiropractor but I've let them know ahead so it worked out OK. Then met up with A again to drop off his package because I couldn't unload his stuff when dropping him off. He wanted to eat out and treated me to Earl's. (Thanks!) Parking was so crazy, someone parked in the lane! Yikes! We were lucky to get a spot.

Lindt Excellence Intense Blackcurrant

From May 2011. Thanks A! Lindt's high quality as always. The blackcurrant is as intense as it's name suggests. Reminds me of the Frutips gummy candy.

Bad logo

Picture taken last February. (I guess I do have a big stock photo folder.) This, was a Taiwanese restaurant logo. The place no longer exist, though.

Dressew

The second package of Pinkys from Japan arrived. This was economic shipping and didn't require any signature. The postman left the box in front of our door, rang the doorbell, and left. The content seems to be fine although the item description says it's used and damaged. Cool! (Or maybe I'll find out later.) The box is way too big, though. Yes, it cost extra S&H for this type of cheap shipping, but this is over packaging! I guess I can reuse the box. And, the shipping cost is cheaper than EMS.

It was the crazy Michael's coupon event. Can I miss it? Noooo. However, I didn't go early in the morning. It was late morning and I fear the good stuff would be all gone. Luckily my worries were not necessary. There were plenty of boxes. My main goal was accomplished quickly. It was picking out sis-in-law's Christmas gift that took a long time. When I was done, it was already 2:30.

It was a rare sunny day, a perfect day to visit Dressew. So I call A up, hoping to borrow his bus past. To my surprise, he switched to working from home for the rest of the day. (Awww which meant he wasn't feeling well.) Thanks for lending me your bus pass. I hung out a bit too long at his place. It was 4 when I boarded the train. One hour (actually less) was not enough to look at everything. I didn't even notice when they closed and was literally kicked out. Managed to get some ribbons, but not exactly what I want. I only made the purchase because I was rushed. Oh well, it was only a few bucks. I'll need to go back later.

Test 2

It rained non-stop last night all night. Mom got up around 3:30 AM to check if we're flooded.

8:40, the clinic called to inform me that the examiner is sick and my test is postponed for a week. So much for getting up early. Weather has been bad and so is my body. No energy and achy. Thought I'd sleep until 11 or so, but woke up at 3. Sigh... why did I forget to set the alarm?

Despite sleeping that much, I kept dosing off at the desk and didn't get much done. At least started on the black and white pompoms... thought I could finish them, not. Sigh...

Parcel

(Picture was taken on the 18th and unrelated to subject.)
The first package from R arrived. EMS took exactly a week. Signature required. One of the two used Pinkys has some major defects. One leg is short, and one arm was glued crooked. There are also some paint blobs. But it was cheap. Can't complain. They're for mutilating anyway. Lets see when the next one (by slower economy shipping) arrives.

Reme Rey Hedge Hogs

From March 2011. It's organic! Thanks A for sharing! This is no comparison to the ones at Purdy's, of course. Less dense, less rich, but doesn't mean that it's not good. Although it's milk chocolate, it tasted a little bitter like dark chocolate. The filling tasted like... Ovaltine! Overall, much lighter than those specialty chocolate store ones. And I liked this lightness.

Dinner

Sis-in-law seems to be starting a cold, so brother alone took us to see dad. (Actually he drove us. I should have driven.) The girls stayed home too. First time to ride in his new car. I think he chose well.

Mom brought dad sliced apples. He ate them without his dentures! How did he do that??? If mom hadn't notice, he would have eaten all of them without dentures. And of course, the floor was spotted with his spit, and his bed wet with his pee... Sigh... (T_T)

We ate dinner near brother's place with the girls. Sis-in-law stayed home and ate left-overs from lunch. Played with the Guinea pigs for a little bit after dinner. Sis-in-law showed us the new pressure cooker.

Wrote some mail, and then tried to view my credit card bill online. Kept entering the wrong password and my account is lock!!!!! Aaaaaarrrrgggghhh!!!! Sucks!!!!!! Sigh... it has to be this way, doesn't it? I can't even complain. The only thing to blame is my brain. Not feeling well, it must be the weather. Forecast says snow sometime this week. I agree.

Freezing

Y&T's trip finished today. My job is done.

Finally activated my new credit card which expires next month. The online bank has been sending me a few reminders. It took 15 to 20 minutes to complete the activation. Lots of keys to punch. And then, what bugs me most was the operator kept soliciting me to join some kind of insurance program. I had already said no. She still wouldn't give up. When I told her straight that I'm already unemployed, she finally let me go, but her voice became grumpy. I wonder if she receives any commission from signing on each new customer.

Thanks to that, A ate lunch at home. Sigh... He complains that I seldom get up early enough to lunch with him. Sigh... When I finally had a chance, I blew it myself. Why can't I do anything right? I could have called him before calling the bank...

To save time, I gave up cooking lunch at home, and ended up eating junk food at his place instead. Then we went to get his coffee. Then Price Smart for mom's grocery. That branch had a reopening from renovation and was pretty crowded. Parking was hell! There were lots of stuff on sale too, but I couldn't take a look because (1) A hates crowds, and (2) he needed washroom badly. I knew there was a washroom, but couldn't find it because the walls are now covered with new counters. A wanted to go to Landsdowne mall's washroom instead. Was he crazy? We were so lucky to find a parking spot! If we give it up, we'd never come back! He'd rather give up logic to avoid asking for directions. Sigh... So I asked. I don't mind asking on his behalf at all, but don't like it because it shows me how he lacks backbone. Sigh... it was very simple too. The washrooms are now outside the checkouts. So! I went to line up at the cashiers while he went to washroom. If my cell phone had not run out of battery, I would have looked around a bit more. Who knows? I ended up waiting for him in front of the washroom for a while, just standing there, doing nothing, wasting time.

So, it was OK to wasted my time, right? Not his, right? I had to give up my chance to save money because I'm not allowed to look around, right? What bugs me was that, he also bought some stuff too. It's not a purposeless place for him, yet he treats it like it is.

Next, liquor store for A, also Best Buy, Future Shop, and Netlink. All these, I had no business in. But I tagged along. Last was Mobilicity to check out their half price deal. Mom still refuses a cell phone. A's iphone plan is also such a rip off, I'm sure he'd like to look around too.

When I tried to go to Daiso, A complained like it was a huge deal! I couldn't believe it!!!!!! I drove him to 4 places that I had absolutely no interest in but didn't say a thing, and now he complained!!!! And he said it's the way he is!!!!!! No apology!!!! It's times like this that I seriously think maybe we can't get along. Nevertheless, he went with me after I reasoned with him. He even bought a cushion and some batteries! Why did he have to complain, then? Again, it wasn't a purposeless place!

Then we went to Pisces for fish and chips. It was freezing. 3 degrees? Their TV was on the weather channel and A had his eyes nailed onto it. Otherwise he was doing something on his iphone. He even asked me if I want to play with his ipad! Jesus!!!! I haven't seen him for a week, and this is what he wants? Both of us playing with electronic devises rather than talking to each other?!?!?! Sigh... what is this?!?!?!

Did that make me feel good? No.

But the worst always comes when I take him home and hang out at this place. What am I? What am I to him? Am I only good for one thing? What does he think I am? Yes I flipped. In the back of my head, I understand that he doesn't want to be with me long term. But I still like him because he's honest. But is honesty alone enough? Well, I AM thankful for the stuff he buys me. But that's different. He had improved a lot since we fist met, but I'm still fighting a loosing battle, am I not? We no longer watch anything in front of the TV anymore. We don't even sit on the couch together anymore! He absolutely hates the documentaries I choose to watch. And I don't like dramas. What usually happens is, he'd play games in his computer room or in the living room, and I'd read flyers in the kitchen. When he approaches me, it's always sexually motivated. He stopped giving me back rubs because "it turns him on too much and not fair to him". Fine. At this point, that's the only time I'm comfortable with his touch. I don't seem to feel complete trust. I bet he doesn't understand that he's giving up the chance to get closer.

Got home past midnight. Got M's mail when I was eating congee. Tried to use up mom's expiring phone card. Her record said $1.95 left, but the system said $0.15! What?!?!?! Fine. That seemed to translate into 7 minutes, but it actually lasted less than 4!!!! Was that a rip off??? M called me back to talked about the sight-seeing. She's done so much! Yikes!!!! I owe her one. Lets hope her trip next year would go smooth, and I'd be waiting for her.

Standby

OMG winter is here!

Y&T's main even today. Just in case they'd mail or call me, I set myself on standby mode all day. The last mail from M was that she met up with Y&T successfully. Nothing after that. I hope it went well.

Mail

(Picture was taken on the 8th and unrelated to subject.)
Wrote mail all day. It's not easy trying to use 3 different languages going between 3 people. M was awesome in planing! She called me up twice, long distant too! Thanks so much! You're awesome!!!

Pocky: Chocolate Caramel

From March 2011. "Chocolate on Chocolate Caramel". Thanks A again for sharing. There were 4 bags in a box, and each bag has 3 sticks. Yikes... 12 sticks in total... very expensive! The caramel was intense, yet you can still taste the chocolate. The candy shell is so thick, it almost felt like eating Twix. It's nice, but out of my budget. (Meaning, won't go back for another one...)

No fancy toothpaste

We usually use regular toothpaste. Mom's dentist gave us some coupons for free tubes of fancy toothpaste, so why not? No one's gonna say no to free stuff.

Let's say, I remember reading somewhere that there's no need for fancy toothpaste unless you have sensitivity. (Just like facial lotions.) This particular one is more runny, and contains tiny grains. I don't mind it at all, but mom doesn't like it. Hmm... Honesty, I can't feel any difference between this and regular toothpaste. Nor do I get any noticeable result. So, no need to spend extra. (Oh yeah, this costs like, 4 or 5 bucks if we didn't have a coupon.)

No fancy toothbrush

These fancy toothbrushes are horrible! They suck!

They're more expensive, yet...
They have less hair.
The angle doesn't help.
Those "sticks" fall off.
They're bulky and prevent brushing movement.

What a difference when I switch back to ordinary toothbrush!

They just don't clean well, period. Don't buy those! They have to be a conspiracy to squeeze money out of you while making your teeth worse!

Torn / chiropractor

Yup, dad torn up his own clothes again. This time it was his underwear. Mom has to mend it as usual. When will I be able to ask her to hem my 3 pairs of pants form May?

Eat-out day with brother's gang. We ate near his place so mom could make phone calls after dinner. This time she brought the numbers. The Guinea pigs seem calmer after they switch to lining the cage with hay. I still think they're dumb.

No visit

(Picture was taken ages ago and unrelated to subject.)
Brother was busy with church matters and decided to postpone our eat-out day. However, he still went to see dad by himself.

Pocky: Sweet Pumpkin

From March 2011. Wow it's been a while since I had unusual Pocky. Candyland no longer carry funky stuff. Thanks A! This one was nice, but I can't say I tasted pumpkin. A thought it was artificial, but I didn't pick that up. It did hint towards vegetable although I couldn't pin-point what it was. Rather, it reminded me of caramel, haha! But it was nice. The sweetness was perfect and didn't leave any aftertaste. The flavour of the cracker dominated the dipping, though.

Lame

... rain...
... dark...
... achy...
... had a fight with S...
... lame...

Thanks A for trying to resolve the situation.

Confirmed. No one can understand what I'm going through. There's nothing to live for. I suck. I'm good for nothing. I should just die.

Cross-border shopping

Hitched a ride with brother across the border. I didn't know it was a group trip with his church friends and would go further south than usual. My objective was to pick up Christmas gifts and a little bit of grocery and everyday items.

Line up at the border was bad, but I've seen worse. Perhaps the bad weather helped? (Like, made some people drop their plans?) I'm not sure why, but I almost always fail to sleep well the night before such a trip. (More like, fail to go to bed early.) So I've been groggy all along. Can't remember much.

Didn't want to leave the Premium outlet empty-handed, so I picked up some panties. (Need some anyway.) The price went up! By the time we went back to the car, the parkade was full!! Yikes!! Lunch was at a burger joint which looked like McDonald's class but was actually closer to Fat Burger inside.They bring you your food.

Brought some food items at Wincos, Ross, and Walmart. Dinner at Costco. The rain finally stopped at sunset. Oh well. We didn't get to stop at any Michale's. Joann only lasted less than 30 minutes because one of the families had no interest in craft supply and was waiting in the car. Brother didn't want to keep them waiting. All I managed to do was to buy a roll of ribbon. Did not get to see anything else! Fail!!! That, was the lamest Joann stop ever!!!! (To be fair, I did get some food stuff, so I can't say the trip itself was lame.)

At the end, I didn't find any shoes or cloths. I wanted to get some vertical strip ribbons and tiny rubber alphabet stamps too. Of course didn't happen. Oh well...

The back of the van was full. We did buy lots of stuff.

Mail

(Picture taken 2009 November and unrelated to subject.)
Control room of CT scan (when dad had his appointment back then). We can no long bring him out of the nursing home thanks to his uncontrollable spitting. Just thought I'd use us some of my stock photos. Wrote Japanese mail all day and didn't do anything else... OTL

Resin flowers

Time to use those large resin flowers...

Wildroots trail mix

2011 February. From brother, to dad. This, is good stuff! "100% natural". There are almonds, cashews, dried cranberries and blueberries, and yogurt chips. (I thought those are white chocolate, dooooh!) Not only does this taste really good, it's healthy! Even at addictive level. I'm not sure how much it costs, but I'd like to buy one if I find it. Probably not cheap, though.

Update: It's available at Costco for about 12 bucks. And yes, I've since bought some more.

Finally done

Finally finished Y's Pinkys... and mailed them today. I'm behind and time is tight. Airmail is more expensive but express is much worse. Should be able to make it before her trip. Also mailed T's book and trail mix by sea. Her last parcel should arrive soon... I hope it won't be the one day she takes off for the trip.

That Blockbuster is gone... and its parking lot taken over by some parking company already! (I hate parking companies!!!)

Test 1

Big day for the full-day test. Parking wouldn't work, so I took the bus. It was rainy and cold. Besides the doctor, there was actually a separate examiner who gave me the test. Somehow the doctor didn't know she's got a medical appointment around lunch time, so we rushed the test a little. It went well. Then she went to her appointment, and I ate my lunch (pastry) in the reception area. Luckily I cold get some hot water from the cafeteria.

Despite finishing the first half of the test early, we only had half-an-hour for lunch. The examiner was late. At first, I was told to wait in the office, but after a while, the doctor asked me to wait in the waiting room instead. He said he wanted to talk to the examiner before continuing with my test. The she came back, trying to bring me back to the office. But of course I told her the doctor wanted to talk to her first. I kept on waiting in the waiting area.

A few moments pasted. The doctor came to tell me that it was for everyone's interest to continue the test on a later day. The examiner seemed to be upset. (I wonder if it has something to do with her "medical appointment". However, as far as I could see, she looked fine after lunch.) The funny thing was, I left my coat and water bottle in the office. Instead of letting me pick them up myself, the doctor asked where I put them, and fetched them for me. I followed him to the door. It was a super awkward goodbye. Hmm...

The rain stopped on my trip home.

Visit day

Eat-out day with brother's gang. Not before visiting dad. The drug seems to be working. Dad knew my name! Wow! Afterward we had dinner at the Broadway noodle and congee house. Haven't been there for a long time. Parking was always challenging. Thank brother for driving...

Y's Pinkys continues...

Pinkys

Y's Pinkys continues...

Merci

From 2011-02. Christmas 2010 again. Thanks R&B! My first experience of this was at A's. I kept thinking this is a Japanese product, but it's actually German. Probably because there's no bad aftertaste. There are 4 different flavours inside each box. Dark cream, coffee and cream, dark mousse, and marzipan. All of them are good, but my favorite is marzipan. There both dark and milk chocolate varieties.

Chiropractor

The small bottles from E arrived. Seems OK. One has a missing bottom, though.

Got a call from a doctor from the rehab center. It's been about 6 months? I thought the neurologist had given up on me, but I'm glad that he didn't. The waiting list is 8 months. No wonder.

Went to get the glass bowl set at CT. Parked at Whole Foods for their parking refund. However, my usual favorite chips was discontinued. Took a while to come up with the right thing to fill the minimum purchase.

For the first time ever, I forgot my Pinky (at the chiropractor's). I tried calling immediately, but strangely, my phone didn't work. I tried calling home and it didn't work either. I waited until I finished at CT, only then my phone worked. Very strange.

Nevertheless, the reception lady put my Pinky aside, and I went back for it afterwards. Even got time to pay my B card bill. Amazing.

Spent the night cleaning the vials that arrived today... plus those I put off cleaning. Didn't get to pint... Technically speaking, I must mail the stuff before the 8th.

Micorwave and florescent

Brother brought us a microwave and some spare light fixtures. I thought mom would go with him to choose but she didn't.

Hail came down around 3. By the time I went to pay my card bill around 4, there were 2 rainbows in the sky! It was amazing! Too bad (1) my camera lens is not wide enough, (2) the car window probably filtered the uv out and make the colour dull. I tried again when I reached home, but by then the rain was almost gone and the rainbow faded quite a bit.

Pinky painting painting painting...