Tired

The sun is shinning, but I have no energy. Not sure if it's leftover from Saturday's no sleep, or change of weather. Yup, the weather's been very unstable.

Got up at 1. No one's home. Wow that's rare. Dad's at the daycare and mom must have gone grocery shopping. But there's a puddle of pee in the washroom. Sigh... n o ... h o p e ...

Dad's Handydart was an hour late both pick up and drop off. When he came home, he immediately hunt for food. It's true that the daycare timetable is blank for today. (Normally there're activities.) Mom asked dad if there was lunch at the daycare, he said no. Later she phoned up Mrs. L, and found out there was indeed lunch. She even gave her sandwich to dad. Which means, dad ate double portion of sandwich but fail to remember. Sigh...

Kept dosing off all afternoon. Super tired. It must be the weather. (T_T)

Brother's gang came for dinner tonight instead of last night. We ate out at our usual cafe. I've gotten very tired of that place. But it's the best deal. Oh well...

With Ce's reminder, I realized it's only 2 days before the second cheapest registration cut-off day. So I registered. Can't get off now. Hope I'll be able to come up with something to sell at AE.

Meiji Marron Chocolate

It was a boring work day so here's another junk food review from last November...

Yes it does taste like chestnut, but the chocolate part is a bit waxy. Slightly on the sweet side too. Among the ingredient list, chestnut powder is of course expected, but the other surprise items include: cheese powder, yam powder, trehalose (some kind of sugar), and whey powder (cheese by-product). Hmm... not sure about by-products. Were they just trying to use up leftovers, like the fat from skim milk is added to cheaper chocolate bars to increase mass over here?

Chiropractor

Much much much needed chiropractor visit! (T_T)

Then lunch with Ce and Sa. Thanks Ce for 026! (^_^) It was pouring rain. Had to park 2 blocks away in the side streets. I guess that was already not bad. But my back was acting up again so soon! Damn the unstable weather! By the time we finished lunch, the sun came out.

Got a picture of the broken-in installation at Cambie and 25th. I thought it was some kind of ad, but it's an art installation. This break-in was on the radio news. Someone stole one of the model cars in the glass case.

After lunch, dentist. They ran out of toothbrush so I didn't get any. Only floss.

Went to DeSeres on Main to pick up a punch that I didn't find in Bellingham. A jump ring mandrel set was on sale so I couldn't resist. Also request a reserve on a bottle of ink.

Stopped by Dollar Giant on Kingsway. Got some beads. Just couldn't resist. Sigh... Got lunch for tomorrow.

Before you know it, the day is gone. Scary!! (T_T)

2nd day

With no sleep, I shouldn't drive, and the guys didn't want me to either. No objection from me. I welcome the help. I was in a high state... and not really functional. (T_T)

The motel provides a free continental breakfast. We ate, and were on our way to Tulalip. Halfway there we came across a brand new looking mall with a Walmart. I got my face wash and white stripe, yay!!

Forgot what time we arrived at the Premium Outlet, but I think it was just before lunch. Both A and S got some stuff. If A didn't buy me those Jocky panties, I would have left completed empty-handed. Thanks!

Again, lunch at a restaurant was out. Sorry S! We ended up eating in the food court with pitiful selection and extremely over-priced food. Then it started raining and the sky kept dumping all it's tears on us. With no umbrella, we basically had to wait it out. Didn't go into every store, but managed to hit the necessary ones.

Next... I was hoping Michaels' in Bellingham. But we came across one only one exit after the Premium Outlet. S didn't want to go... but I have 50% off coupons good only for today. Would really want to go. Yes I was mad. Probably because I failed to find anything at last stop. This trip may not be worthwhile if I couldn't get some more stuff.

Thanks S for turning around. However, we missed the exit and was back at the Premium Outlet. (T_T) When we got to Michael's, my 1st and 2nd choice items were sold out. But the rest was OK. Can't complain too much. Thanks for the craft punch, A! Gave S a coupon so he could get some silicone cupcake liners and less grumpy.

One last chance to shop: Costco. I needed windshield wiper blades badly. A bought backup power supply. Tried to install the wipers but was too cold. Thought I could figure it out but not. The guys got mad at me... (T_T) ... because it was too cold? It took too long? Or grumpiness from low blood sugar? Or I was just stupid? (T_T)

We ended up stopping by a small area with a few restaurants near the outskirt of Bellingham, and ate at the Japanese one for dinner. That was the very first time ever that I've seen Japanese restaurant giving you a large glass of ice water instead of a small cup of tea.

Perhaps A's bottle of ice wine from the duty free gave us trouble at the border. Otherwise we could have gotten away without having to stop. He didn't present it's receipt and it ended up on my bill as I was the last in the group. For the $140 I spent counting the ice wine, I had to pay 20-something bucks. So the shoes may not have be a good deal after all. However, it is my size, and may still be worthwhile.

S took Peach Arch and didn't give me a chance to fill up on gas before crossing the border. (T_T) Was he mad or something? But thanks for helping me install the wipers at your parkade. Much appreciated. I couldn't have figured it out myself.

It was around 11 when I got home. Need to work tomorrow. Need to shower. Need to wash my hair. Need to unpack. Most of all, need sleep!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cross-border shopping

Tried to prints some coupons last night but couldn't get the printer to work. Only slept 4 hours. Didn't finish packing either. (T_T) Will I be able to drive? Should be fine until my monster takes over.

So this is it. Didn't get a reply from Sy but I'd still declare visiting her as part of my trip purpose.

Everyone met at A's at 10:30. S was late and we left at around 11:30. Just because I screwed up at the traffic light and no one let me merge into the line, I had to go into the duty-free shop. A bought a bottle of ice wine for under $30. His original choice was something $78... yikes! ($18 more than what I make in one day.) We still had to wait 1.5 hours. Did the duty-free buy us any time? Don't know. I get the feeling not. But I still would like to believe it did.

By the time we reached the Birch Bay outlet, it was... 2:30? 3-ish? Argh forgot! S's plan of eating at a restaurant was ruined. Sorry, but this is what happens when on a trip. Especially to somewhere unfamiliar. We ended up eating snacks at a coffee shop. Didn't expect to, but got a pair of Bass shoes. Too bad the guys didn't find anything at Van Husen. Filled up on gas and we were off.

Next stop, Bellis Fair. Turn too early and ended up in some trailer home area. Looked like low-income housing right next to a mall. Quite a contrast. Came back out. Our actual destination
was a bit further down the street.

Walmart, Costco, Bestbuy, Michael's.... what else? Walmart didn't have my Olay face wash! How shocking! No white strip either. Only got dental floss. (I forgot to bring face wash and floss.)

Ate dinner at Red Robin. Kind of regret not ordering the onion rings. Hmm...

Next, Jo-ann! Turn too early again and ended up right back on the highway. (T_T) Nevertheless got there after wasting some time and gas. Their normal beading stuff was buy 2 get 1 free. Not exactly a good deal. Managed to find some clearance stuff, so I didn't go empty-handed. Thanks for the wooden beads, guys! (^_^)

Next, motel. We came across an Econo Lodge near Bellis Fair. The $59 sign outside seemed like a good deal, and we decided to stay there for the night. Turn out a room for three is $79. My CAA membership got us $10 off, yay!

Couldn't find any pay phone to cal Sy with, but found a computer with internet. So I sent her an e-mail instead. It would be long distance if I called.

The motel room wasn't too bad for the price. Since S didn't like to share a bed with A, I share with S. Not a problem. However... I couldn't sleep. Both of them snore, plus S grinds his teeth. The biggest problem was the bed. It was too soft. I was lying there afraid of turning might wake S up. I heard every single snore and grind, cough and sneeze.... (T_T)

Camera injured

Slipped and dropped my camera last night. (T_T) Now it won't focus in normal mode. It only works when in super macro, or macro zoomed in. (T_T) The corners have dark shadows too. Sob sob sob sob sob sob......

Bus ticket

Ugly weather. Well, the up side is, we need water for summer. And here it is.

There was a ship blocking our way. The Seabus had to go around the ship. That was kind of interesting. I wonder, how does the Seabus fit so tightly into the dock?

Second time practicing airbrush. Lines this time. The index finger tired out very soon. The thumb lasts longer but doesn't have fine control. Nevertheless, need more practice. Will go back next week as there is a trip this weekend.

Need to buy some bus tickets for dad. If we increase his daycare frequency to twice a week, we'll need 4 tickets a week. 3 times = 6 tickets. I started around the Metrotown area. Save-on sold out London Drugs no, Saveway no, a small convenience store at Royal Oak no, 7-11 no, Saveway no. The London Drugs near Joyce station no. That was 6. Last stop of the day, the London Drugs at 41st and Victoria. Bingo finally! Yay! It was 9:45, 15 minutes before closing. I could have easily given up and not go. This is one case of my "bad at given up" being good.

Snyder's Veggie Crisps

Photo was taken last October.

Not sure if this is exactly the same thing, but it looks close enough to the one at Superstore which I love. And, it's only $4 for a huge bag! (Superstore is over $6.)

It looks like Styrofoam packing chips, and the texture feels like it too. No, I've never eaten Styrofoam chips, but you know how they snap when you break them by hand? It's slightly harder that. Somehow it feels a bit powdery too. Perhaps under cooked? (Shouldn't be, though.) It tastes like there really are veggies. Gives you a "healthier" feel. But chips aren't that healthy to start with, haha.

Airbrush

Thanks A for lending me a bus pass. It must have been over 10 years since I last took the Seabus to North Van.

First time in my life to hold an airbrush. What they have is primitive comparing to the online info. No air tank, no pressure gauge. Not sure if that made me more nervous or not. Nervous yes I was.

Started with plain water on some old newsprint I bought. Although I had Liquitex and airbrush medium with me, I was too nervous to use them. Instead, I did what Sc suggested, and used the ink at the spray booth. Following the online tutorial, I practiced with dots and seem to be able to control it well at the end of the day. However, the lines still need much more practice. I'll be back.

Kellogg's Fibre Plus

From last September again...

Kellogg's Fibre Plus granola bar Dark Chocolatey Almond. ("Chocolatey", haha! Wait, isn't fibre spelled as "fiber"?) Thanks Andrew again. They were giving out free samples at the Broadway station. Not fractions of a bar, not even a whole bar, but a full size box than contains 5 bars! Wow how generous! (I personally think this is better advertising than running ads.) The bars are in fact very good! It's the best tasting granola bar I've ever had. Others are either too sweet or feels like cardboard. This chocolate is not that sweet and the texture is just right. It's perfect, except for the ingredient list contains many hydrogenated whatever oil, which scares me away.

Customise Pinky

If I were to practice airbrushing, might as well use my work-in-progress customise Pinkys. They've been on hold for almost 2 years! (Last summer I was working on Miki's stuff.) They still need a lot of work. I don't think I'll make it... (T_T)

Airbrush info online are somewhat conflicting. Either, vast. (T_T)

Airbrush medium

Chiropractor day. Not feeling too well since yesterday. The weather hasn't been bad, but my body feels all wrong. Of course I didn't follow the weather report. The wind and rain came later in the afternoon. So, this time it was a 2-day ahead body-ache forecast.

Finally got a bottle of airbrush medium. Been looking for one since last Thursday. I was surprised Michael's doesn't have it. After phoning around, the Burnaby branch is the only one that has it among the 4 branches. But it's out of the way. Ended up going to Loomis. Since when was their name changed to DeSerres? Anyway, it was refreshing to visit a new store that I've never been to. And they have plenty of good stuff too. Not cheap, though.

Continued working on Pinkys so that I'll have something to paint on Tuesday.

North Van... not

Was hoping to go to North Van, but not feeling that well. My body's feeling like a piece of paper being crumbled into a ball. Very stiff and tight. Is this normal wear? Doesn't look that normal. But... it is the day before my chiropractor's appointment after all.

Spent too much time searching online for airbrush medium. Spent too much time searching for airbrush tutorials.

Started working on some half-done Pinkys from 2 years ago. Need something to test an airbrush with. It's more like, practicing how to use an airbrush instead of trying to paint something.

Found dad's dried up bloody booger on the dish cloth again... Sigh..... (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

Hardbite Potato Chips

Photo was taken last September... I'm way behind in these junk food reviews. (Let's say I've stocked up well, hehe...)

Himalayan Crystallized Salt. (Hey, isn't salt a crystal already?) Made in Canada. Maple Ridge BC to be exact. Very rare to see local product. Not cheap, though. $2 for 150g. The aroma is unlike anything I've experienced. It's very "potato" but sweeter. By "potato" I mean it includes the grassiness. Light in salt (whatever fancy salt it is). But still a bit greasy. As the name suggests, the chips are a bit thick and hard. Somehow some chips are soggy. This bag expires in 2 months, so I don't think it's a freshness issue. It's thickness.

It doesn't have the addictiveness that Lays does. Seems to be more healthy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's day? None of my business...
There were 2 ladies at the post office with 3 cartons full of envelopes to mail. All needed to be weighted and stamps purchased. I thought they must be tax forms, but the thickness varied too much. Hmm...

Anticipated a long wait, so I took these pictures as proof just in case my boss thought I was doing something weird. Luckily a second cashier opened and I didn't need to wait long at all.


Tired... must... research... on... air... brush...

Looks like I need to buy some more supplies. Great... (T_T)

Car door

No work today. Vampire showed up last nigh. Didn't sleep well. Got up really late. In fact, I got up when P came at 1. Without a chance to use the washroom or drink any water, I proceeded with the meeting. Completed with bad breath and oily face. P hasn't eaten lunch. Too bad all we had was snack-type food, and could only offer the sesame cake and chocolate covered cookies. Not good for lunch.

Went to finish fixing my car door afterward. I still can't believe that one strip of plastic costs $40. Which means labour was $20. It only took him less than 10 minutes to install, though. Is that garage cheap? Not sure. The guy was sanding some parts and was covered in powdery stuff, leaving powder all over my steering wheel, floor mat, and door. Probably the seat too, but I didn't check. Oh well...

Tuesday = dinner with brother's gang day. This time we ate out at Mui's. Love their curry beef rice. It seems to have started some pimples right away...

Crispy Chicken Squares

(It was just another work day today with nothing worth writing about. So, the stocked up review continues.)
Fake chicken nuggets. Thanks Mrs. L. (She's in her 70's yet she buys junk food like this. I can't imagine her eating this kind of stuff, though.) Oops forgot to check where it's made in! Looking at the traditional Chinese characters, I think it's Taiwanese. But again, very suspicious.

This is probably in the lowest 1/10 of the healthy scale. (The Japan Roller is even lower.) It's Cheetos again. But denser and directionally textured. (Wow they try to mimic the muscle strands of chicken nuggets.) It's fried and full of MSG. Worst of all, addictive!!!!! Extremely easy to overdose. Yes it tastes good but... stay away from it!

Pi day?

Just because it's 3-14, someone made today "Pi day". Is it such a big deal that we need a day named after it?

North Burnaby Costco, Rona. Thanks for the gas, A!

Daylight saving time started last night, but my Fido phone is still not adjusted! Why? Does Fido suck? Or is it because I got a cheap plan? (Sucks either way!)

Sorry, it's the monster talking again. The vampire is lurking around the corner and my stomach hasn't been feeling that good all day.

Not to mention loosing an hour sleep makes me tired and grumpy.

Truly Chips Regular

(Yet another stocked up review...)
On sale at $0.99! Could I resist? Actually this is only 150g. The 250g Lays can be bought at $2.50 when on sale. Hmm...

Expires in about 3 months. Should be fresh enough. But, hmm... there is not much potato flavour or aroma. Some of the chips are also cut too thick, hence heavier and less crunchy. I'd say Lays is still better.

Boss swapped Thursday with Saturday so I had to work today.

Lemon roll cake

Thanks for the cake, aunt Y! (No, I didn't take this picture. It was found on the net and manipulated.)

Failed to write Japanese e-mail again. Really tired after work. Fell asleep at the desk right after dinner. (T_T)

Car

Of course couldn't sleep last night. Went to bed at 6:30. Don't think mom's 100% serious about suicide but you never know. Just because something she said, she destroyed my peace forever. Thanks so much! Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

Got notice from my boss yesterday saying no work today. Works out fine for my car tuneup. But I stopped the alarm and fell right back to sleep. Ended up an hour late. The garage was super busy. Oh well. It was my own fault and I was prepared to wait. It's just that, there is no heat or air-conditioning. Quite cold. And the place's a mess and dirty.

Finished at around 2. Mr. C recommended Mr. D for fixing my door, so I paid him a visit. Same kind of messy place but slightly better. If memory serves me right, Mr. D fixed my window last time I got broken in... (But I can't trust my memory.) The parts could not be ordered and arrive on the same day. So I paid deposit for the parts and will go back for the installation another day. Need to maximize my work day as I don't know when my boss will be out of town again. She seems very reluctant to tell me the exact day. Come on. It's not like I'll go break into her place or something. Makes me feel I'm not trusted and uncomfortable.

As usual, dad "organize" things his way. Again, he puts cutlery underneath the wire basket, directly in contact with the tray that catches water.

Suicide thoughts

Dad pretty much cleaned up the whole plate of pumpkin at dinner and only left 3 pieces. Mom ate one. I ate none. Mom was quite upset about dad's lost of courtesy and manner. To him, he owns the world and can do anything he wants at anytime. No one else in the world mean anything anymore. Not even his family. Not even his wife who takes care of him so much. Who cleans up after his every pee spill. Because of that, she gets waken up a few time every night and gets no sleep. Dad doesn't seem to care anymore.

Around midnight, after saying yes to mom's call for brushing his dentures and then go to bed, dad did not only skip both, but took frozen buns from the freezer and started microwaving it. He knew he was doing something wrong, as he stopped the microwave when I caught him red-handed. Although mom was in bed already, she couldn't help it but to get up.

It was a serious conversation. We told dad that we could quit stopping him from excessive eating. But we do because we don't want him to get sick. If it's his will, we could quit right away, and let him eat himself to death. But he just kept on eating that half-microwaved bun quickly as if we were gonna take it away, ignoring us, not saying anything, or even look at us. Did this mean he wants to eat himself to death?

Mom was mad alright. So did I. She said dad's afraid of death. Apparently she's told dad before, let's die together. She'd slash his wrist first, then her own. But dad said no.

(1) If dad's afraid of death, wouldn't he stop eating that bun right there? Or can I even look at this with logic?
(2) Mom seems to go crazy too. Not only does she give me no hope, she's gonna drag me alone.

I was actually really mad inside. Mad at them both. Somehow the direction of the conversation had me saying, I have no choice but to suicide with them if they do so. But bleeding to death is too slow and painful. She said, then what's good? I said, jumping off a high-rise. You can even experience flying one last time. Actually I've been thinking about that for a long time. (And this is true.)

Just when I thought there might be some hope in my so-called life, it's gone.

What am I gonna do?

I wish dad no harm. But I can't deal with the situation. Dad is torturing us. I admit I've wondered when he would leave. Because of that, I deserve to die and go to hell.

And I can't believe I don't mind dying that much. There's nothing fun anymore. If Sc didn't give me that job yesterday, and showed me someone in this world still believes in me, I'd truly have nothing to hold me back from jumping off a building.

Chiropractor

Chiropractor day again. Will this continue until I die?

More sakura started blooming in the neighbourhood.

Went to Granville Island afterward to drop off some reusable stuff. Good to be able to walk around for a bit. The weather was cold and rainy, though. Didn't know they have an outdoor gallery.

EDL

Chances are, I won't be flying anywhere within 2 or 3 years, so I took the opportunity to get an EDL. This would allow me to cross-border shop.

However, I don't know if it's because of this "enhancement", I lost my English name!!! They followed the one on my citizenship card, which took my name from my ☆☆ ID. Which, did not have my English name. To make things worse, there's not even a hyphen between the second and third character! So, I'm all of a sudden an unpronounceable one syllable name!

Sucks!!!!!!!

Not to mention I hate my original name. (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

On the other hand, thank Sc for giving me work. It's more than work. It's hope. Maybe I'm not completely useless. I hope.

Canned soup

(Photo was taken last November and unrelated to subject.)
Brother's gang came home for dinner tonight. For the past 2 or 3 times, he bought takeout sushi instead of eating out. I guess we all got tired of the same 3 places we've been going to.

Mom asked dad to fetch 2 cans of vegetable soup from the cold room. He brought back 4 cans. 1 can of vegetable soup, 2 cans of chicken noodles, and 1 can of salmon. Not only did he brought the wrong cans, he opened them all up! (T_T)

All but the vegetable soup had to be moved into containers and then into the fridge. Mom asked dad to bring another can of vegetable soup. He ended up bringing another 4 cans of assorted stuff, for mom to choose.

What the heck is this?

Blueberry Brown Sugar cookie

Same series. Peek Freans Life Style Selection: Blueberry Brown Sugar. Long name again. Same milkiness which is not my cup of tea. The blueberry is less tart than cranberry. What masks the milk is the sugar. This seems to be less healthy. So, less cardboard-like. For taste, I'd vote for the cranberry.

Cranberry Oat Crunch cookie

Full name: Peek Freans Life Style Selection: Cranberry Citrus Oat Crunch. Phew... what a long name! Well, Peek Freans runs plenty of TV ads and seems to be a famous brand. The taste... a bit too heavy in milk! And it is slightly cardboard-ish. (Hard and dry.) Is it because it's appealing for being healthier? Haha... The cranberry's tartness offsets the milk, and I think this is quite edible. Especially when you're hungry, this tastes quite good. Can't guarantee otherwise, though.

Richmond, more sakura

Needed to run a few errands in Richmond. Ended up dragging A and S along. Sorry for interrupting.

The weather took a turn for the worse. The clouds were so low, they looked like they could fall to the ground.

The consistent warmth seems to have caused cherry trees to bloom sooner. Saw quite a few nice ones in full bloom.

Thanks S for the Korean b-day dinner! Oops... forgot to take Pinky pictures! Doooh!!!! Snapped one on our way out at the cashier of the ginseng but it wasn't appropriate to take my Pinky out. Oh well.

Pants

Just now, as usual, I went to check on dad to make sure he flushes the toilet. He was sitting on the toilet naked from waist down. I asked him if he's wet his pants, he said yes. And there's a trail of drips on the floor. (T_T) BTW he doesn't close the door when he goes to washroom. Gross...

(Photo was taken last July and unrelated to subject. Forgot which mall I took it at.)

Kirkland: European Cookies

(Yes, this is another stocked up review.)
Mom gave aunt C a salmon for birthday and she gave us back this huge can of cookies. Actually, with almost everything covered in chocolate, I'm not sure if this is more like candy than cookies.

Some of them has that white powdery separation of fat on the surface. I wonder how old this is. Unfortunately the outer wrapping with the expiry date has been discarded. The other hint is the current form of this product at Costco uses a brown can and in a different (slanted leaf) shape. Oh well...

Half of them taste like wax. The chocolate-covered wafers are definitely stale. The other half is OK. All of them are too sweet. Looks like those with more cookie than chocolate taste the best.

Updated 2010 Mar 6th.

Got the same thing from sis-in-law for Chinese new year. Oh yes, this can has a better (more current) shape. And the cookies, much, much, much better than the one from aunt C. However, they're still a bit too sweet for my liking. And, very fattening. Not addictive but still dangerous as it's so easy to pop one in your mouth when you're near the can.

Wrapping out

Wrapping miniature boxes all day... (@_@)

Mailed 3 parcels. Still 4 more to go.

Appointments continue

Called to book my driver's license renewal appointment. Didn't like the lengthy recordings at all. (Who does?) Got one early next week. Phew...

Next, time to deal with my car... I wonder how much it's gonna cost me. (T_T) Don't know what days to work next week, though.

Mom tried to throw away some old clothes. There was a pair of pants dad refused to let go. The material was pretty nice, so mom decided to alter it so it can fit dad's grossly expanded waistline. Who knew, this pair of pants was tailor made for dad in 1978! That's... 32 years ago! OMG!!!!!! Looks like dad hasn't worn it too much. It must have been some special pants. Too bad it's got enough age so the threats are disintegrating.

The most difficult part of sending parcels is, finding the right box. It's never the right size or the right weight.

Hair cut

No work today, so I tried to book some appointments. My overdue car tuneup, hair cut, driver's license renewal plus upgrade, BCAA membership renewal, lunch with C and S, lunch with Sc... awwww....

First one up, hair cut. I'd like tomorrow, but it's fully booked. Instead, there was one today... at 1! OMG, it was already noon. But if I don't take it, there may not be enough time before my driver's license photo. So, the original plan of borrowing A's bus pass went out the window.

After quickly eating lunch, I rushed to the Nanaimo Skytrain station. I'm more familiar with Joyce station's geography (like where I can park), but I chose Nanaimo because it's closer. Of course it backfired. I circled and circled around and couldn't fine non-residence parking. Finally it was 3 blocks away that I could leave my car. At the end, I managed to get there only 10 minutes late. Well, I guess that wasn't a complete disaster.

Took advantage of the "free" time, tried to go to the London Drugs I thought on Granville or Howe, but it wasn't there anymore! Not event the one on Georgia! Sob sob sob... Finally saw a set of the PVC mascot figurines at a corner drug store (forgot which). At $35, I must pass. (T_T) Stopped by Dressew, and then the Bay. The Olympic store was still sealed off, but no more line up outside the store. It was pretty crowed inside, though. No more red mittens, of course. (T_T) But there were other stuff, still at full price and way too expensive. People are still buying and lining up at the cashiers. In the kids clothes section, a bunch of giant mascot plushies seemed to be placed there for photo purpose. People kept taking pictures with them. I had to wait for my turn. (But most people just budged in... sigh...) Too bad I was alone and no one could take my picture.

And, today's special was, if you spend $50, you'll get a Quatchi plush for free. Valued at $40. Does this means Quatchi is the least popular?

Got lots of walking today. So much, I passed out at my desk soon after I got home. Exercise is good.

Tried to book the driver's license renewal appointment online since yesterday, but couldn't because "my name is different from the one on file". What the heck? No choice but to call.

Mom asked dad to bring back a copy of the daycare schedule. It's a pink printout. Dad brought back a piece of pink paper alright, but it was his name card at lunch time. Sigh...

Last purchase

Went around after work to hunt for Olympic stuff for some friends. Zellars North Van and Park Royal. Zellars had nothing good. The Bay West Van still had some stuff, but at full price, it's too expensive. The store closed before I had a chance to get out. A lady who worked there told me I had to walk through the second floor parkade and go down the ramp for cars to get to London Drugs. But I didn't believe there was nothing for pedestrians! After stomping around like a headless chicken trying to get to my car in front of the Bay, I gave up and walked the whole length of the quiet and creepy parkade. There were some stair cases that should let me go down, but no access! Sucks! What an unfriendly mall!!!! And then there was a guy seemed to be following me until I finally found one stair case that worked. That, was extremely creepy. (At least he was wearing one of those sold-out black Olympic jackets with "Canada" across the chest.)

The sale was still on at London Drugs. Not much was left, though. Got some plushie key chains, but couldn't complete a set. I was told to try the one at Lonsdale, so I did. Not before stopping at the Michael's there, since they have some stuff too. Yes, they're half price, and of course nothing good was left.

I complete the set of plushie keychain at the other LD. Plus a red mitten Miga. Ran out of time when I tried to stop by the Michael's on Main. Oh well. At least I got some stuff. Will this be my last?

Lynn Valley, red mittens

(Picture was taken last December and unrelated to subject.)
No, I know it's impossible. But it will bug me if I didn't go, because it's so close to work. So I went after work, after dropping off a parcel at the post office. No, there's absolutely none left. Not even a single piece of red lint. But their postcards are 70% off! Aaaaargh! I bought a bunch exactly 7 days ago at full price! So I picked up a few more. They're going to Japan.

It's March already! A short February makes time fly even faster!