First post-surgery appointment

Kept saying I'd repaint the nurse cap to go with the white outfit, still hasn't happened. Got as far as stripping the gray paint. I'm not using the nurse Pinky until the repainting is done.

So, I thought dad's surgery failed because he's still stinking up the bathroom. Turns out it needs at least 3 months to heal. (Really? For physically removing the blockage? Shouldn't the effect be immediate?) Anyway, this means there is still hope. I'm glad, but his mental ability is deteriorating fast everyday. Today, (1) he ate 1.5 cheese buns thinking they were "pineapple buns" (Chinese stuff, named after the appearance, no real pineapple is used) and didn't notice the difference in taste at all. And he always says he hates cheese. Sigh... (2) He put orange peel into the main garbage can instead of the one for food waste.

Still can't believe I bought the plane ticket on Monday. It all happened within less than an hour. But I guess it's inevitable since I've already gone crazy from all the stress. I'll seriously kill myself if I don't go away for a while.

First the Japan-HK package is around $2600 which is too expensive. (With other expense, it's gonna be around $3500.) Tickets to HK alone costs $1235. So I thought going to Japan from HK would save a bit. Wrong!!! As I only found out today it costs over HK$7000 which is almost $900! Aaaargh!!! However, the biggest problem is, (1) I can't get those tickets unless with help from a HK friend. It's great that she'd like a trip to Japan too, so I'm happy that we can travel together. (2) The event I want to go to is on the last 3 days in December. The event she wants to go to is on Dec 7. this means we'll have to stay there for at least 27 days! Accommodation is gonna be astronomical!!!! Renting an apartment for a month might be cheaper. But as we're foreigners, chances are really slim.

If only I knew the HK-Japan ticket would be that much, I would have gone for the package in the first place. This, is going to exceed $4000. Aaawoooo what am I gonna do... (T_T)

Korean food

More visiting relatives. This time it's my sister-in-law's younger sister with her husband and daughter. The Korean food was excellent.

Not feeling well tonight. (Vampire...)

Milk Cocoa Pretz

Part of Sora's parcel of goodies. Thanks! (^_^) This one is kids size with 31g all in one bag. Smells like malt. Very crunchy, light and fresh. Tastes... sweet, but not really cocoa. Kind of like honey. Maybe a touch of malt. There is no milk in the ingredient list, though. Only "milk seasoning". Plus margarine and vegetable fat. That, doesn't sound too healthy although it tastes good and has no aftertaste. (>_<;)

Tai Pretz

Well, it's about time to release the junk food reviews I've banked up, for the black hole has swallowed what remaining brain I have.

Tai is sea bream? Red snapper? Both?
Thanks Sora for this one again! (^_^) I've never seen giant Pretz in this size. Usually the box is at least twice as wide and contains much more. Also way more expensive at around $15.
At first I thought it was taiyaki, but no, it's the fish. Yikes! The smell reminds me of the shark fin soup Pretz, but not fishy at all. Can't really pinpoint it. The taste is actually quite good! I think I tasted chicken. Haha... but this is supposed to be fish. Weird. Oh well, I don't care as long as it's good.

To Crystal (birthday)

Happy birthday!

Exploded

Yup, I've exploded. Or rather, imploded would be a better word.

My dad is not the only one who's loosing it. Guess what, my mom was peeling strawberries. It's not the first time she's eaten strawberries. All of a sudden she's peeling them, saying the seeds are bad. She also kills earth worms saying they eat her plants. (Which cannot be further from the truth!) Come on! Gardening has been her hobby since I ever remember. There can be only one conclusion. She's loosing common sense!

W h a t a m I g o n n a d o ? I can't deal with this. Helpless and hopeless. The frustration has gone inside. For now, a few marks on a certain somewhere helps pull me together. I don't know when I'll actually bang my head against the wall. (Huge urge of doing that.)

Working on Pinky also helps a little.
Thanks, Pinky.

... and sorry this blog has turn into whinning.

Corner house

Last time I took a picture of this house, there was a crane working on the foundation.

Grrrrr...

Dear God, please take away my dad's old shoes. My cousin gave him money and ordered him to buy new ones. So finally today my mom took him to the mall. (Without telling me or I could have given them a ride. Grrr...) He was urged to discard the old ones but he wanted to wear them home "because they're more comfortable". OK that's a valid reason. But one of the soles is separating and there's a 3 inch gap. After he got home, he still refuse to throw them away, saying he want to wear them some more. Grrrr... he's got weak knees → doesn't like to bend his knees → doesn't like to wear socks → his shoes stinks! Grrrr.... My mom lets him have his way no matter what. Even if it's totally against common sense. Grrrr... Not to mention he denys he's still spraying pee after the surgery, still stinking up himself and the whole place. Grrr....

I can't take it any longer!!!!!!!!

Yeah, and I notice I've been loosing hair. There's a bald spot on my left forehead. All from stress. Stess ! Stress! Stress from all the smelly garbage my dad collects. If he wants to stink like old folks, go ahead. Don't stink me up too!!!!!!! Grrrrr!!!!!! Yeah I've been drowning in repusive odor and holding it in for years. The shoes are the last straw. Now that physical signs are showing up, it's over. That's it.

Photo: Line up in front of Toshi at around 5:30.

Again

Another cousin is in town. More eating out. Aaawwww my waist... (T_T)

Pineapple

Pineapple with Mikuru Pinky from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Matcha Kitkat

Ah, this is the "good" green tea Kitkat! Matcha (powder green tea) is supposed to be higher class than the leafy one. This Kitkat smells grassy like matcha alright. Quite milky, though. Taste... good of course. But I must say I was bias because I was hungry. (There, a friend said how can I be skinny even with all these junk food. The answer is, I don't eat when I'm not hungry.) Somehow this Kitkat is more milky than what I had around 2002. That was I believe their first green tea flavour. Just green tea, not matcha. And it was green like this one. Hmm... is it just me, or the recent Kitkat actually are more milky?

Kitkat: Cookie and Milk

Is this the same as cookie and cream??? It has a strong milk smell and... can't really taste anything but sugar. Way too sweet! Argh! Maybe I'm not a big fan of milk. The chocolate is white and as usual, contains nothing but fat and sugar. The cookie part should be chocolate, but can't taste any. The top half is the cookie bits while the bottom half is the regular Kitkat wafer. Seems like the only thing good is the texture.

Phone popcorn secrets revealed

There you go. Simple is best, haha...

Air care

The insurance isn't due until the end of this month, but since the engine warning light is still on and doesn't look like it wanna go off any time soon, I did air care early. Just in case it fails and need time for repair. The test was really quick. As soon as I finished snapping 3 Pinky photos, it was done! Much sooner than previous times. Yikes! Did I fail right away or something? Luckily, I pass. That's $45. (T_T) At least I'm glad that I don't need to do it again for another 2 years. Will I still pass? Hmm... (Hope so.)
$60 violin + bow + case + rosin? Is that for real???? The case alone worth more than $60! (Well, that's when I last looked 10 years ago...) I bet that's made in China. Quality... questionable.

Strong wind

Ah-ha! That's why I was aching like hell. It totally sucks. The sun was shinning, the sky was blue without clouds. Yet all the bones in my body felt like they've got their marrow vacuumed empty. No energy. (T_T) The chiropractor appointment helped a little bit.

Yeah, the wind's pretty strong. Didn't know trees actually fell and hit power lines etc. Power outage followed. Luckily not in Vancouver. Streets are littered with broken branches and leaves, though.
No, that car wasn't leaving. It was parked like that. And there's an ally right in front so the driver should have no excuse.

Fonts.... (T_T)

Still can't get that Japanese font to work... Sob sob sob... (T_T)

Firefox 3.0... SLOW!!!

Relatives left. Back to my old boring life. But I'll have to say, going out and eating out everyday is exhausting. I'll need a few days to recoup. Will I ever get rid of the extra inch around my waist? (T_T)

First, need to finish up a greeting card that contains Japanese text. Have been searching online for half a day. Finding the right one is time-consuming. (And, in the process, picked up a whole bunch of fonts that I don't have... and possibly don't need...)

So, got the Japanese font I want, but Photoshop won't read it because its name is in Japanese! (T_T) Aaaargh!!! Help... !!! (T_T) It's the font name, not file name. So I can't rename it. (T_T)

Somehow Firefox 3.0 downloads much more slower. Grrr... Must be that added virus scan every time you go download or "right click save as". It's a nuisance when you have to download the fonts one by one. (T_T)

Chinese food and mall

More Chinese food, more shopping malls. That recently opened Chinese restaurant in Richmond right next to Yaohan Center looks nothing but Chinese. Apparently it's owned by a Shanghai tycoon. The food is really good. A bit expensive, though.
My cousin prefers shopping over sightseeing. She's been successful in finding good deals like $10 jeans. I, on the other hand, haven't been as lucky. Oh well, I've bought 3 shirts and a jacket for $10 each before she came, so it's even.

Full day

After yesterday's rest, it's back to a full day out today. We had Chinese food for both lunch and dinner thanks to my uncle... He's quite pushy in terms of food. (Well, the food was good so it worked out fine.)
More shopping at Metrotown after lunch. Richmond night market after dinner. Only one lane was open at the end of the Knight Street bridge. There was some kind of construction.
The weather is still fluctuating so my back is still whinny. Not as bad as yesterday, though.

Mall

Shopping at Metrotown. Stayed home for both lunch and dinner to clean up all the leftovers from previous days. My cousin's daughter got up at around 6AM and left at 6:30. There's no way I can get up that early so I said bye the night before.

The weather's bad again and my body's reacting. To think of it, our guests saw the worst of me on Wednesday and Thursday. I was grumpy like hell from the aches. Lost all smile. Sigh... (T_T) Hope they understand. I did explain, but most people say they understand while they actually don't.

Very tired. The weather suck all the energy out of me. Already napped on and off for over an hour at my desk. Looks like I'll be going to bed early.

A break

Feel much better than yesterday. The headache is 90% gone.
My cousin's daughter leaves tomorrow, so today's her last day. My cousin stays for another week. We had lunch at the Congee and Noodle House. (Oops, forgot to take a Pinky picture.) Original plan was to spend the afternoon at Metrotown, but we ended up staying home and cook. (Not me, I can't cook.)
The photo is a house construction site next block.

Headache

Grrr... missed the date stamp.
Yesterday's headache was gone when I woke up, but came back by the time I left the house. I've never had one this bad. (Besides migraine.)

It's harsh to eat out everyday. All of us over ate. So today we had a light lunch at home. Then I dragged our guests to my weekly chiropractor appointment, so that we can make it to the Japanese restaurant in time. My parents were invited by default, but mom rather take a nap. It was only the 3 of us.

That restaurant neither take reservation nor provide take-out. They open at 5PM. People start lining up at 4:30. We got there at 4:40 and were the second in line. Food is excellent as always. Apparently Ajisai's chirashi tastes better. One of these days I'm gonna try Toshi's chirashi.

Granville Island

Telus came to fix our noisy phone and took about 1.5 hour. We failed at every check point. (e.g. not all the phones use filter, broken hook on the jack, loose wire in the fuse box.) He finally had to check the street box a few blocks away. Turn out the problem was with the head office. He asked for a reset, and our phone has been working fine since (so far).
Today is basically a make up for yesterday. Both Ajisai and Granville Island were closed. (Well, the later was closed to cars when we got there. Pedestrians were fine.) Ajisai is a must-go, and their chirashi is a must-eat. The dehydration headache kicked in at Granville Island, so I only took a few pictures.

Then we went to La Casa Gelato (AKA International Ice-cream Factory) and then went home after picking up some fruit in my neighborhood. My headache exploded. But we had to visit my brother at his place. I only managed to down a mug of water and a little bit of water melon. Had Chinese food (again) for dinner. Shanghai to be exact. 2 huge glasses of water helped. However, the pounding headache came back when I got home, and it's still here as I'm typing this. (T_T) I'm not sure if it's purely dehydration, or the weather. Probably a combination of both. It rained like a huge earthquake is coming or something. I'm feeling like a cat being picked up by grabbing the back of its neck. (T_T)
My cousin's daughter has been doing all the driving since they arrived. She's reached her energy limit too. I can't help because it's a rental car. I'm not registered as a driver. And the lack of A/C in my car is the other reason.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!
Chinese food for lunch (again). Tried to go to Granville Island but traffic was impossible. By the time we got to the entrance, the island was closed and no more cars were allowed in, and we had to leave. (Booooo!)
So we went to Chinatown instead, which was very quiet. (Strange.) The tofu pudding was good. Then we stopped by Gas Town, only to find out the steam clock's broken. It's stuck on 4:55 and never blows steam. Sigh... Nevertheless, my cousin bought some souvenirs. Then we head off to one of my favorite Japanese restaurant in Kerrisdale. Aaaargh!!! They were closed!!!! OK I kind of suspected that and phoned this morning. No one answered but it was before 11. They may not have opened that early. Turns out they do take today off. Sigh... We ended up eating at a nearby Hong Kong style cafe restaurant. Luckily the food was surprising good.