Eczema

Still comes and goes. (T_T)

The 2-year-old ointment kind of works, but after looking up online, it's only meant for short term use. It seems not as potent as before and I think I've been using it for too long. Stopped and the rash return. Good. (This sounds weird, but it's bad to "have nothing to show" at the dermatologist.)

Gourd

My next door neighbour gave us a gourd from their backyard. (It was delicious.) The plant is quite an interesting sight with all the gourds hanging. We also have a few figs from our own. This year we have about 30. If dad didn't pick a bunch of them too early, we would have a better harvest. (Actually those are the ones in this picture.)

4 appointments

(Picture has nothing to do with subject although taken on the same day.)
Can't believe I forgot my dermatologist appointment. (If they didn't give me the reminder call, I would have missed it completely.) This makes 4 medical appointments next week. I'll have to switch my chiropractor day to one of my dad's tests. The problem is, I have no idea how long the tests will take. This still only gives me 2 days of work. I think I'm in trouble... (T_T)

YMCA

(Picture has nothing to do with subject although taken on the same day.)
Finally canceled my membership. Due to the skin rash, I haven't been able to use their gym and pool for the last 2 months. That's over a hundred bucks! That's it, I can no longer afford flushing 50-something bucks down the drain every month.

... sigh... (T_T)

Milka airated milk chocolate

Limited edition! Wow... Milka never had any limited edition! Are they learning form the Japanese Kitkat or Pocky? Anyway, I'm not a big fan of white chocolate so this is only so-so. Aero gives you bigger and more bubbles. Tastes a bit like condensed milk.

(Aaaargh!!!!! I didn't take a Pinky picture!!!! Aaaaaaaargh!!!!!!!) (T_T)

Aneurysm (2)

Although he would never admit it, dad must be really scared. An indication is how he screwed up on the morning of the specialist's appointment. The toothbrush got put with the cleaning stuff, and the comb on the mug.

The diameter of the aneurysm is 5.6 cm, length 8 cm, on the artery below the kidneys. Surgery is a must. Blood work is done right away. Stress test on the heart will be done in 2 parts later next week. Which means, I'll need to take 2 days off for that. Plus my chiropractor, will miss work for 3 days...... (T_T)

A poem

A poem at my chiropractor's clinic. It reads:
If I had my child to raise all over again I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I would be firm less often and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power, and more about the power of love.

Erased

I'm in the process of being erased. Eliminated. Rid of. Killed. Murdered. I can see my existence evaporating. Object by object. Thought by Thought. Day by day.

Although it is in someone else's mind and life, I can feel it on my own body. Bit by bit. Cell by cell. Atom by atom. My existence is leaving me. It's like looking into a mirror, and seeing your image disintegrating, fading away.

You always say you're not good enough, which I always disagree. But you know what? The truth is, I'm the one who is not good enough, right? That's actually what you've been trying to tell me, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have to destroy me like this.

Cordless handset

(Picture has nothing to do with subject.)
One of our 3 cordless handsets has been missing for a few days.

We have one in the living room, one in mom and dad's bedroom, one downstairs. It is the downstairs phone which has gone missing. Mom thought dad put it somewhere weird, like how he put the kitchen utensils. We searched everywhere. No luck.

Finally, mom sported fragments of the handset on dad's pile of junk downstairs. Turns out he has disassembled it. Sigh... A perfectly working handset. And we need it too. (T_T)

Recently, he disassembled one of our vacuum cleaners. It's an old handy down from my aunt, but perfectly working vacuum cleaner. Now we'll have to carry the remaining monster up and down, or not vacuum downstairs.

Mom got mad. Dad just sat there ignoring her, not giving any response. What was he thinking? What is he thinking? Does he still have a brain? Mom said he's like a 3-year old. He doesn't even read newspaper, listen to radio, or watch TV. All he does is sleep and eat and drip pee all over the place. His pee stinks like hell. A skunk smells 100 times better. He doesn't like to bath. Mom needs to help him shower, cut his nails, and supervise his peeing. But of course it's impossible to catch him every single time. He likes to extract his dick from his pants as soon as he gets up to go to washroom, hence leaving a trail of drips. Sorry, it's true that I'm not helping with these chores, but I just can't deal with this guy.

Looking at him, I'm super scared. Are we all gonna be like that when we get old? I'd rather die sooner.

Aneurysm (1)

(Picture has nothing to do with subject.)
Dad's aneurysm has grown from 5cm to 8cm. Our regular family doctor is on holiday. The substitute doctor seems to be more attentive. Not only did he got us an urgent appointment with the specialist, he also phoned us afterward about emergency situations.

Well, didn't know dad's condition is this bad since he always says he's fine. (Aneurysm has no syndrome, though.) But if he feels pain on his back or stomach, it will be 911 immediately.

Chiropractor

Finally feel like a human being again. Sigh...

Picked up some Mylar on Granville Island for A.

Face

Doesn't look like my younger niece has grown as normal as I thought. She likes my Pinky dolls, and always ask if I have any when we eat out. She's been pretty good with the dolls, but tonight she poked a pen into the hole of my Pinky's hand and got it dirty. I said, you naughty girl, and took the Pinky back. Then she cried and hide her face all throughout dinner. (But she was absolutely calm and normal when she ate. Then after she's done eating, she cried again. So fake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) She would not answer when I asked her why she cried. I tried to talk some reason into her, but she completely ignored me. Her whole body language was saying, "you have done something terrible to me."

What the heck is that? Who's the victim here? Obviously, her tears was not because she felt sorry she's done something wrong, but she thought I was mean to her. How can she think she can do whatever she wants, and whatever she wants is right? How can a 9-year old not understand action and consequence? What made me upset, was her mom being on her side instead of teaching her to behave. Sigh...

I know, I know. This is exactly why I should not have kids. And this is exactly why my life is at a dead end.

Tim Tam

I thought it's from England, but I'm wrong! It's from Australia! Reminds me of Twix except for the shape and the texture of the cookie. Since Twix is one of my favorite, Tim Tam scores high on my chart. However, this is quite fattening. Can't eat too much. Especially when my spare tire is growing fast. Getting old. Sigh... (T_T)

Migraine headache

Haven't had any migraine attacks for years. Tonight it hit again. The trigger was probably a phone conversation with A. (Got kind of agitated...) (T_T)

The dancing fractals are different from what I remember. The rotating diamonds seem to relate to pain in the back of the head. This snake of primary colour checkers is the top of the head.

One pill of Tylenol extra strength doesn't completely get rid of the headache, but makes it bearable. Went to bed early, but my heart was pounding from the Tylenol and couldn't sleep till 3. (T_T) Have to work the next day too. (T_T)

Kitchen utensils

Dad puts things where they're not supposed to be. And he considers them clean after just rinsing with plain water. Sigh... (T_T) I'm out of things to say. This is just a record.

Coffee shop

Lace blob

First time using a sewing machine since high school. Quite difficult to sew straight. I learned on a foot pedaling man-powered machine. (Yes, they don't exist anymore.) The electrical ones are fast and scary. Not to mention I've forgotten everything already.

Jaffa Cakes

A Serbian product(?) It's got enough dough to be classified as a cookie instead of sweets. Basically a shortbread-like cookie with a blob of orange jam or jelly, then the jelly side is covered in chocolate. First impression, the orange is very artificial. The short bread a little stale. But the more you chew on it, the more you'll realize the orange is actually OK. The cookie being in contact with the jelly, it's gonna be a bit moist. It's not staleness. Plus, it's like short bread. The jelly also helps moisten the whole thing in your mouth. I thought it's gonna be really sweet, but the sweetness turns out to be perfect (not that sweet at all). Overall it's an excellent combination. They've got it right.

叱られるより褒められたほうが伸びる

叱られるより褒められたほうが伸びる- 人を動かす三原則, 好かれる六原則, 変える九原則

●人を動かす三原則

・批判も非難もしない。苦情もいわない。

・卒直で、誠実な評価を与える。

・強い欲求を起こさせる

●人に好かれる六原則

・誠実な関心を寄せる。

・笑顔で接する。

・名前は、当人にとって、最も快い、最も大切な響きを持つことばであることを忘れない。

・聞き手にまわる。

・相手の関心を見抜いて話題にする。

・重要感を与える―誠意をこめて。

●人を変える九原則

・まずほめる。

・遠まわしに注意を与える。

・まず自分の誤りを話した後、相手に注意を与える。

・命令をせず、意見を求める。

・顔を立てる。

・わずかなことでも、すべて、惜しみなく、心からほめる。

・期待をかける。

・激励して、能力に自信を持たせる。

・喜んで協力させる。

Babysit

Brother can't make it to my younger niece's tutor, so I'm naturally her next guardian on the list. (Sister-in-law has to look after day care kids at home.) I rarely get to spend time alone with my niece, and was surprised to see that she's improved tremendously. Before she enrolled in special need school, she was unhappy, frustrated, and violent. She was like an out-of-control tank. I'm very glad that she's happy and calm now. Not to mention more reasonable and obedient.

Nurture can turn a monster around. I do believe that, in most cases. (T_T)

Figs

Thanks Mr. and Mrs. K for the figs! (Normally I'd show a picture of the actually figs, but most of them are so ripe, they're squashed. Not very pretty...)

Chiropractor

My body has been relatively fine until last night. Is it because it knows I'm gonna see the chiropractor today? (Naaah, it's gotta be the weather.)

Rain makes me ache, but we need rain for the forest fire. (T_T)

Rain

They say we catch up with a month's worth of rain in one day. Good for the forest fire.

Photo is taken on the 6th in Richmond, of some kind of truck with animated ad. Extremely distracting.

Dressew & Michael's

Met Y (friend of a Japanese blog friend) for the first time. She's here for a 1-year working holiday. Oh~ wish I could do the same in Japan...

Went to Dressew. Picked up a bunch of lace ribbons for doll accessories purpose. Michael's 50% off coupon starts tomorrow. Bummer... Still managed to find a pack of $0.98 findings. Better than none. Oh well.

Faces of Death

How appropriate for today. (Warning: not for weak stomach.)

Sorry, God, I failed you, and I failed myself at the end.
It's impossible for him to know the weight, responsibilities, and consequences of ones actions.
He is unable to put himself in my shoes.
To him, I'm always the bad guy.
God, were you trying to test me? Or just toying with me?
No, sorry, I take it back. He's the one doing that.
Yes, I'm very sad, and very, very tired. Tired of wasted efforts.

Kit Kat Senses

Looks like they're trying to compete with Bueno, but quite different. I bit open a square along the long side, and found it filled solid with wafer unlike the picture on the packaging. (i.e. no special compartment for the "cream". Besides, the texture is also very rough. (Of course, it's wafers.) At the end it feels heavy and a bit too sweet with a strong presence of condense milk.

IQ test

110... normal. Yay. But I took quite a few guesses.
If you have 40 minutes to kill, try here.

Eczema?

Getting worse. The area on my arm is even worse. It's formed a lump and is sore on the touch. The itching got to the point of interfering with my sleep last night. Woke up with scratches all over. Must be the hang nail. I don't have a cat, but my arm looks like it. (T_T)

Went to the family doctor and got a referral to a dermatologist. Takes a month!!! Not sure if that doctor is or will be on holiday. Missed my chance to find out thanks to that guy in front of me who came back and bucked the doctor some more. (He had some forms filled by the doctor and the receptionist was busy dealing with his receipt.) Grrr...

House sitting 3

Mission completed. Brother came home today.

If I don't take advantage of his house's location and not go to Richmond, I'd regret it later.

Well, I'd say in the past 3 days, I've been more productive than the past 3 weeks. A change of environment works magic.

House sitting 2

Things went well. I'm enjoying having the whole place to myself, hehehe... Even had a chance to go out for a while for this long weekend. Thanks Andrew.

The Koren student speaks very little English so communication is difficult. She wanted me to pack sandwich for lunch for her picnic in Stanley Park tomorrow. Too bad I don't know my sister-in-law's kitchen set up. Can't help. (Later found out, requesting isn't part of the deal anyway.)

Didn't get to continue on the Japanese input on Mac research. I've gone as far as finding an info site, but just not enough time to actually set anything up. Oh well. In return I got more beading done. Don't mind at all as my own place is too hot to work on such things.

Also made 2 of the 3 calls from yesterday. The failed one failed because my friend slept early. I ended up waking up her sister. (Sorry...) Argh! Why didn't she e-mail me the change of plan? (T_T)

House sitting 1

House sitting for my brother starts. Will be spending 2 nights at his place when he goes camping with his family. My sister-in-law has prepared units of food for the Koren student, so all I need to do is to hand her 3 units at around 5pm. (That includes breakfast and lunch for the next day.) Oh, and feed the fish too.

In return, I get to use their unlimited long distance call. However, it didn't work tonight. First person I didn't send any notification ahead and she was at work. (She has to work shifts at the custom.) Second person didn't check mail and I got her at a bad time. Third person was also not contacted in advance, but I gave up before even trying. Oh well, tomorrow.