Namchow Rice Cracker

First day back to work after a week of void, it's just another work day, so here's a stocked up review from January. (No, actually I glued fabric edges all day and it was super boring.)

Thanks aunt Y for this one. Never notice the weird brand-name until just now. It's a product of Thailand bought at London Drugs. Doesn't look like they're restocking, which says a lot about the quality and popularity. The cracker is on the hard side and loaded with MSG. It leaves a sour aftertaste in your mouth. Just because MSG keeps you going, I finished the roll and was forced to buy a new one so that aunt Y can have some. (Ordered by mom.) It's only a buck, but this would be the last time I buy it.

Dare Breaktime Ginger

(From January 2010.) Ginger cookie. Yeah, tasted like ginger bread, but not very good. Too dry, too hard, and too sweet. Mom bought this because she knows dad doesn't like it. Otherwise, he would clean up everything, and there will be no cookies left for the rest of us. Sounds mean, doesn't it? But it's true, and sad. Sad because this is not like mom, and might be the beginning of her mind going. I'd rather eat soda crackers than this, though.

Coko Smoki

(From January 2010.) Thanks A for this one. First of all, it's coated in chocolate. The texture is like Cheetos, but sweet, not salty. Kind of tastes like rice. (Sorry can't read the ingredient list.) The fragrance of cocoa is thick, but too sugary. I think I tasted malt too. Overall, it's a bit on the sweet side.

Migraine attack

(Image is stolen from the web.) As I type, my visual field is dissolving away. This time it starts close to the center. Took a Tylenol extra strength right away. Hope I can stop the attack in time.



Yes it worked. But I can still feel some pain and tension in the forehead.

Traffic-pocalypse

The student's grandfather was sick and in the hospital. Luckily he was discharged today. All I could say was, get well soon. Doesn't seem like P is having much luck on his reel lately.

Again, SC completely threw the ball to T. Can I still rely on him about giving me this painting job?

Went to Park Royal afterward. Mainly to get stuff for C. There must have been an accident on Lion's Gate but the news didn't say anything except for a gridlock. Normally it only takes 15 minutes to go from Lonsdale to Park Royal. It took me over an hour!!! It was horrible!!!! A bus used the left turn lane to cut the line. It was super easy because the intersection was left clear. However, other cars started doing that! AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!

Traffic was bad overall, as there was also an accident on Second Narrows at the same time involving a 5-ton truck. (Heard it on the news while stuck in the gridlock.)

On my way back, along Georgia downtown, again, blocked by a tow truck. It was a bad day for driving.

Couldn't get everything for C. The main item was sold out, but got some other unexpected stuff. I guess it was equivalent exchange. Something goes well while others not. But... how come I'm only having bad vibes lately?

Mint Thins

(From January 2010.)
"President's Choice 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Mint Thins". Wow, probably one of the longest name on this blog. Tasted... OK. Nothing special or memorable. On the good side, yummy stuff usually are bad for you, so this should be "good" for you. On the bad side, there's no fragrance or whatsoever. Just... sugary. Need I say more?

Pee trail

(Photo is unrelated to subject.)
Dad beat me to the bathroom by just a few seconds. Sigh...

I had to delay my shower by 1.5 hour to let the stinky smell air out a bit. But it was just foul when I entered. First, he didn't flush. Then, I saw the pee trail on the floor. All the way from the door to the toilet. No it didn't dry completely. This also means, his pee got on the carpet too. Nothing new, I'm just fed up. It stinks. Badly.

Sigh...

Sigh...

Sigh...

Sigh...

I think I stink.

I think other people stink too.

There have been many times that I smell pee on my chiropractor's hands when he works on my neck.

Don't know if it's him not washing his hands, or just me.

I think it's me. This pee stink is etched into my noise or something.

I think I've gone crazy.

How can I not go crazy?

Trap

The basketball display cases evicted the wooden dummy and skeleton. They're too tall. Where can I put them now?

Eat-out day with brother's gang... actually it was takeout sushi. I prefer this because it's always the same 2 or 3 restaurants if we eat out.

Spent a whole day on paying e-mail debt. At the end of the day, only sent out 2 instead of the targeted 4. What's going on? I didn't slack off on anything. (T_T)

Thanks so much for calling me and the talk, C. You made me feel like I'm not alone. Maybe there is a God after all. And he sent SY and C to call me when I need it most. Thanks...!

Why border, eh?

From Engrish funny.com.

Chiropractor

Felt better after the treatment for only 20 minutes or so. As soon as I drove away, it started raining. (OK it's been drizzling a little before.) The right side of my neck and left side of my hip immediately froze up. Sigh...

Yup, the fee is going up to $45 per visit. It's quickly approaching unaffordable. Sigh... (T_T) He must have a really nice garden as he decorates his clinic with flowers from his backyard.

Thanks S for lending me your discount card! Greatly appreciated.

And thanks SY for calling me long distance. That was totally unexpected. You rescued my day, as I've been feeling God had abandoned me, and I should go kill myself. Thanks! (^_^)

Black sesame

Decanting the 7-pound bag of ground-up black sesame took 1.5 hour. Extremely messy too.

Thanks A for the ice-cream!

The student canceled on me again. That's like 3 times in a roll. And he does it close to last minute too. Tomorrow's plan goes down the drain. Sigh... (T_T)

Why isn't anything working?

Dad's diaper from the other night is finally found. He hung it behind the downstairs washroom door. Camouflaged by a towel. Sigh... I bet you the diaper's got pee on it.

Watermelon dinner

Good for you, A, for winning the battle against temptation over unnecessary spending at Netlink. And I got my huge bag of supposed-to-be-hard-to-find grounded black sesame, and yogurt too (thanks.) Mission accomplished. For now, the escaped monster seems to be under control. Need more positive happenings, though. I don't feel any particular pain, but I'm definitely extremely irritable and grumpy.

Thanks for the watermelon. Don't think it was right for dinner, though. Haha...

Wasabi Kitkat!

Here's a review from Gigazine. Apparently not bad. It's one of those "local" Japanese Kitkat. I'm dying to try it! But I don't think Candyland would import this risky flavour.

Spinach pie

Thanks A! I over ate, though.

Somehow I've been feeling low. Pimples are breaking out on my face and back. But it should be the best skin week in the cycle. I wonder if it's hormonal unbalance.

Week off?

(Photo was taken on May 3rd and is unrelated to subject.)
Boss canceled next week completely because she's got guest in town. With my current compromised speed, I wonder how much of my own stuff I can get done. No work = no pay. Not good.

Finally, mom had enough and made dad wear diapers last night. He didn't want to, as usual. But I backed mom up and joined the conversation. He caved in at last although you can clearly see that he's not happy. Basically, he wets his pants and the floor every single time he goes pee. Every single time. Plus, he takes his dick out on his way to the washroom, and drips drips drips drips drips drips drips on the floor. We have carpet floor which cannot be washed easily. That's why it feels like living in a public washroom. I didn't realized how bad it is until our last visit to brother's place, where he drips pee onto half the length of the hallway. (Brother has hardwood floor.) Dad never ever clean up after his spills. I suspect the reason why he sits on the toilet for at least 30 minutes even for peeing, is to wait for the spilled pee to dry. What's he thinking? Is he dumb? No. He's super smart. He know how to eliminate evidence. But dried pee still stinks. And it sucks! S*U*C*K*S*!!!!!!!!

And, as usual, when I was showering, dad went downstairs to use the washroom. That was around 2 AM. When I went to bed at 4:30, he was till downstairs. That was a full 2.5 hours. What was he doing? I hope he wasn't taking things apart.

This morning, mom said his diaper's missing. I knew it! It's too good to be true that dad would keep the diaper on. I can see that he'd take it off ASAP, like, the next time he goes pee. Mom's searched everywhere for the missing diaper including the drawers and closet, but no luck.
Mom:"Where did you put the diaper?"
Dad:"Can't remember."
Mom:"Did you tear it into pieces and flush it down the toilet?"
Dad:"Maybe."

O H M Y G O D ! ! !

Wait, is there still a God? (T_T)

Napolitanki Rum

(Another stocked up review from January.)
Thanks A for this bite size wafers with cream filling. It was......... so-so. (Sorry!) Don't take me wrong, it's not bad or anything. Just... nothing stands out. The wafer is a little stale, and the filling a bit on the sweet side. Can't feel the "rum". Perhaps I should have picked hazelnut instead. Oh well. Didn't feel that fresh either. Can't find an expiry date on it. So I suspect it might have expired.

Depressed?

Eat-out day with brother's gang. There seemed to be a police incidence but my camera couldn't focus. Oh well.



Am I depressed? Feels pretty bad. I think I'm slipping away...

No energy.
No hope.
No motivation.
No concentration.
Keep sidetracking.
Can't get anything done.

Yet lots and lots need to be done...

Only managed to clean up some of the junk that's been piling up.

Lindor Hazelnut chocolate

It's just another work day. So here comes another review. This one is extremely rare not from the stock. (Thought I'd keep all the Lindors together.)

The previous Lindor milk and pepper mint were smooth. I thought this hazelnut would be too, but I'm wrong. There are small pieces of ground-up nuts in the truffle filling. A different texture in the same delicate taste. I usually prefer smooth chocolate, but this is better than any nut chocolate I've had. Or, maybe I'm just hungry, hehe...

I do find the fillings to be quite irregular in shape. Lots of bubbles.

Magnetic photo frames

Originally $26.99, now $2.99! How can I resist? Although they're a bit too pink... (Blue ones are $4.99 while black ones are not on sale.)

Pinky photo processing continues...

Table

(Photo has been brightened.) It's 5:30 in the morning. Dad finally came out of the washroom. (No, this time I didn't catch when he went in, so I don't know how long he's been in there.) He set the table up for lunch or dinner. And, "organized" the utensils. (Lining them up half sticking out along the edge of the kitchen counter.)

Lindor Milk

(Stocked up review from last December.)
This is more like my choice. Nothing fancy, just milk chocolate. Lindt is a brand name you can trust, and I have not been disappointed so far. Price and quality always go hand in hand. This is not the addictive kind either. That's when you know they use good ingredients.

Coupon

(Backyard fig trees.)
Evil half-price Michael's coupon got me again. Oh well it was a relatively nice day and I should go outside. (It's gonna rain in 2 days according to the forecast.) The vampire slows me down. Left at almost 4. Found a clearance acrylic basketball display case for $14.99. Originally $69.99!!!! After struggling for about 5 minutes, I took it to the cashier. I'm glad I found it, but now I have to make room for it. Not an easy task. It's finally time to fill up that very last corner in my room with a specific size book case. It has to be (1) pine colour, (2) 26 inch wide, (3) 10.75 inch deep, (4) 5 ft 11 inch tall.

Bought nice pastry for tomorrow's lunch at St. Germain. Came home only to find out boss has canceled tomorrow. Oh well. Kept working on my Pinky blog for the rest of the day. Processing images is a lot more time-consuming than I thought. (And I made some decision mistakes too...)

Vampire

The vampire came right on time again. Good. However, the pain-killer rendered me too sleepy to go anywhere or do anything that need brain power. Ended up working on my Pinky blog. Long over due photo clean-ups.

Didn't get a chance to use A's air-brush. But I need to finish the Pinky parts first, so that I can have something to paint on.

Dug up some really old Chinese stomach supplements. I think I was using them in 2003 or 2004. Which means, that box's been siting on my book case for 6 years...

Tamiya's open house

Just thought these cars are hilarious! (From Tamiya's open house.)

Chiropractor

Yay~ chiropractor day to relieve my sore back! Actually, my back was better than yesterday. Not sure if it actually heals itself, or I'm just getting numb to the pain.

Went to Avalon to see if they have any parchment card stock that my boss is looking for. She's searched online for hours, but found no where that sells the stuff in Canada! Not a single place! The US stores don't ship outside the States. She's pretty stuck. Sounds stupid, but she might have to drive across the border just to buy paper. Avalon has gray and natural. She's got blue and yellow from... was it Staples or Office Depot? But she needs green and pink the most.

Picked up a few nick-nacks as well. Finally found a dollar store that sell memo cubes. You know, those blocks of memo paper shaped like a cube. I've been to a dozen dollar stores and none of them have it. Looks like it's going out of fashion???

Also got a cow magnet for T the big cow fan. (^_^)

Muscle ache

Yup, all the cutting from yesterday gave me back ache today. Am I so fragile that I can't even cut some stuff? (OK it was most of the day and not just "some stuff".) It was also lots of packaging. A little bit of painting. That was all. Even if I get to work on components for actual pieces, it's boring, and taxing on my eyes, neck, shoulders and back. She's still holding back most process. Seems like there's no more to learn at this job. No room to grow. This is very bad for personal fulfillment. I need a different job badly...

Lindor Dark peppermint

(Stocked up from last December.)
Looks like a Christmas edition. It was mom's choice. Usually I'd stay away from chocolate + mint. I must have had a bad experience in the past. Don't remember anymore, though. However, this Lindor is very nice! (Of course, it's Lindor!) Not too sweet, very smooth, and the mint-chocolate ratio is perfect.

Kits / baskets

(Pictures borrowed from the web.) Putting together kits all day. Lots of cutting and bagging. A little bit of painting and sanding.

Mom phoned me at 5:45 asking if I were off. She knows that I get off at 6. And it's "eat-out with brother's gang day". She said she's bought Vietnamese steam rolls but the kids want to eat out. (Hello? Isn't it "eat-out day"???) She told me to come home to eat the steam rolls instead of meeting them at the restaurant.

What? She's ditching me? Because she's bought food that no one wants to eat? I couldn't believe it!

I was mad.

Yes, very mad.

But I'm also aware that it could be the up-coming vampire.

Needed some time-out at Michael's.

And guess what? They're having a grab bag clearance of fabric-lined wicker baskets. $2 for a pile of about 7 assorted sizes! The larger ones are big enough to be used as laundry baskets! Those are good stuff too! So cheap, it was unreal! They look like something my sis-in-law can use. After a short phone call, I walked out the store with 2 piles. Had to carry them in two rounds.

Sis-in-law couldn't believe they were that cheap either. Turns out old merchandise get destroyed at Michael's. This kind of "grab bag" sale prevents perfectly good stuff to be wasted. Apparently not too long ago, they had that on artist paint. A hundred bucks worth of paint for just $2. Oooooo wish I were there!

Aaaaargh! Forgot to take pictures of the baskets!!!!!!!!

Airport

Slept in. Still feeling surreal from last night's chapter 107. Even had a dream about how it's gonna end. Not a good one, though. (T_T)

Was hoping to go out earlier, but washing my hair with one hand proves to be difficult. Y's parcel came. Leaving a message at her blog took longer then I thought. Only had time to go to A's place to check his fridge. (And washed a load.) His flight was delayed. At least the volcano didn't do as much damage to the schedule as last time. I underestimated the travel time to the airport. Forgot that if you hit one red light, you'll hit all. Took him to pick up that missed Fedex package afterward. It was the compressor and air brushes that was supposed to come by regular mail. Hmm...

Thanks A for all the goodies! (^_^)

Rotary cutter

Needed to cut a bunch of fabric for kits. Scissors took too long, so I used a rotary cutter. It's awesome! I have never experience this kind of ease! Just as I was praising it in my heart, it happened. My left index finger stuck out too much, and...

Yup, the blade went into the tip, almost cutting off one corner. Luckily it didn't completely cut off. Breaking the skin or bleeding is no problem. It's touching. Any force, the slightest pressure on the finger opens the wound and hurts a lot. Can't use it for a few days. It's so inconvenient... Oh dear, how am I gonna wash my hair tomorrow?!?!?!?!

Happy Mother's Day!

Couldn't get up early enough. Of course it avalanches onto everything afterward. Was hoping to get a few things done before going to brother's for dinner. Didn't leave the house until 5:30. The mini fruit tarts were sold out at Maxium's. To prevent leaving empty-handed, I bought buns for tomorrow's lunch instead.

What a feast at brother's. Over ate. Finally took pictures of his Guinea pigs... with Pinkys! Yay~!

Richmond

Ran around for almost nothing. Got some wooden dowels my boss needs. The store sold out. We need more. Other than picking up some supply at Daiso and Superstore, I didn't get anything for myself despite running around a lot. I guess I needed the outing.

J still doesn't have the matte finish spray.

Picture 1: found a weird-looking cross walk button sign. In fact, I've never seen any with eyes.
Picture 2: "Rebirth of Retail"???? in Richmond Center. Yes, that corner has been really, really, sad. Now it's all boarded up.

Picture 3: Installation art along the Skytrain on #3 Road. They're using the space for art instead of ads. Good for them, but don't complain lack of funds.

Edelweiss Chocolate coated puff rice

(From last December...)
Very light. So light, you risk eating the whole bar. Well, it looks bigger that those 300g giant Lindt bars, but this is 200g, and since most of it is rice puff, it's actually not much.

Taste... so so. Kind of sweet. You can tell the chocolate isn't particularly high grade. The rice puff aren't crunchy like Nestle Crunch. They're slightly soggy. But don't take me wrong, this is not stale, and still pretty good.

Class reunion

OMG! Has it bee 15 years? Thanks J for hosting it! It was great to see you guys again!

Quarter-inch scale

Worked on quarter-inch scale (1/48) boxes all day. They're waaaaaay too small! Not enjoyable at all. My eyes can't focus. My neck and shoulders are killing me. And I just had a chiropractor's visit yesterday! Next one is in 9 days... (T_T) Had to see J for a half-session after work. I could hardly keep my eyes open. Couldn't even talk properly. (T_T)

Came home, and found dad's "organized" the stuff in the garage cabinets. Mom told him to. Looks like he's bee hiding junk in there. But... can we still trust him on judging what's "junk"?

Chiropractor

Thank god it's chiropractor day. My back was so bad it went numb. My thinking was affected too, since I completely forgot to look at crochet thread when I went to Dressew last time. (Plus, looking back yesterday's not using a cart at Extra Food, my thinking was definitely gone.) Made an attempt to Dressew by transit, but after walking for a block, I realized there wasn't enough time. Yes, I had half an hour. Skytrain should only take 10 minutes, but I don't think I can walk fast enough. I'd end up stepping into the door and only have 5 minutes if I were lucky. So I gave up and went to the Kingsway Pricesmart instead to pick up the rainchequed mushroom soup. Parking was really busy. There was an annoying van "adjusting" it's position to the left, into the parking spot I was going to enter, making my spot super tight. The driver, a young woman with a kid, couldn't get out because she didn't leave enough room. Yet she looked at me and kept shaking her head as if I was doing something wrong. You bitch... OK I'm gonna be nice today and back up to let you get out of your van. I even left before you did so you can open your door. Originally I was gonna leave the car there and walk across the street to Dollargiant. Consider this karma. If I didn't have chiropractor, I probably wouldn't care. I really hate not having control over my mood, emotions, and reactions.

Found the washing net A needs at Dollargiant, but forgot to take them upstairs when I went to check his mail. (T_T) Oh well, next time. Looks like the parcel hasn't arrived yet.

Wrong store

First day of work after my boss' trip. Went to Park Royal after work, thinking I could get those rainchequed mushroom soup. Of course, that wasn't Pricesmart. It's Extra Foods. And I didn't find out until I took 2 pack = 24 cans to the cashier. How embarrassing, and I knew my back was screwed up right away. Yup, I didn't use a cart. Strangely, I didn't care. Didn't care anymore. Yes, tomorrow is chiropractor day. But my back still took a bigger blow than it should have.

I thought brother and his gang would come over tomorrow, wrong. (x2) Takeout sushi for dinner. They were finished by the time I got home, but they saved some for me. Too much food. I over ate. (T_T) Bad... my spare tire's been growing. (T_T)

Shouldn't be saying this. There are too many people in the world who don't have enough to eat. (T_T)

Windy haircut

Was hoping to get an appointment on Wednesday, but Monday is the only available spot for the whole week. Oh well, will have to do. Boss' e-mail came at around 11 asking what happened. That's my line. I've been waiting for her confirmation e-mail which never came. Yes we set today up before her trip, but usually she would first let me know that she's back in town. I'm not gonna drive all the way to N. Van unless I get her notification. So, tomorrow instead.

Don't know what happened, but I was late for my haircut again. I'm always late. Yes I know I'm guilty of leaving at last minute, but little things add up. Red lights, pedestrians, lack of parking spot, even buses have to stop in front of me to prevent a small short cut. Luckily I was there only about 13 minutes late. Since I had no choice on which stylist, I landed on one I've never seen before. She's fine, I'm glad. That place doesn't have bad stylist. It was 2:57 when I walked out the door. This means the actually cut only took half an hour.

Stopped by Dressew hoping to find 24g silver wire. Nope, they don't have it. Looked around a bit and picked up some studs. Before I checked mail at A's, I visited the two dollar stores in his area. The first one does have some sort of memo block in a plastic tray, but it didn't feel right so I skipped. The second one has black memo pad for gel pens. Covered in dust an inch thick! Otherwise I might have gotten some just for fun.

Looks like the package hasn't arrived at A's.

The wind storm cause power outage in many places in town. While I was walking around in A's neighbourhood, I saw a blown-down tree and collapsed fence. My back is so wrong, it went all numb.

Stinks!!!!!!!!!!

Dad just went pee and wet himself and the bathroom floor as usual.

It stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

Ghirardelli Squares

(From last November...)
Milk chocolate with caramel filling. Halloween edition. (Yup, this is an stocked up review.)

The quality is no comparison to Cadbury Caramilk. It's much more fragrant and a lot smoother. It's true that you get what you pay for. Although it's less sweet then Caramilk, I think it can still be toned down a little bit more.

Lunch

Uncle Y treated us to a restaurant after it's renovation. It was an unbelievably good deal. Dimsum for 5 cost less than $30. (But we aren't big eaters.)

Came home to a sundeck full of garbage. Dad left the bag of kitchen garbage there overnight and the crows destroyed the bag. Sigh...

The nicely parked van of another customer at the restaurant. Actually, I'd be really mad if there weren't enough parking space. I hate this kind of lousy drivers.

Another one gone

S will be moving to a small town 14 hours drive away. Why do the good people I know all move away? (T_T) Can't blame him, though. It's unreasonably expensive to live here.

Finally, got to go out. Fixed A's key at MT. The lady cut me a new one because the old one was done wrong. Stopped by that dollar store near IGA, hoping to get some 26g silver wire, only to find out they're having a closeout sale. Everything half price. Would have been nice if that wire wasn't sold out. Got some other colours and beads nevertheless. Selection wasn't good.

Then I went to check on A's place. No mail? Hmm... OK the new key works. And... as I opened the door, surprise! R was there! Hahaha! He beat me to the mail! It works out fine because I get to see B and the baby.

The Olympic red sweater Pinky got scratched and the paint came off. (T_T) Wrote some mail and the day is over. I can't believe it... (T_T) Most of all, it's May already!!!! 1/3 of the year is gone!!!!!

p.s.
Dad was "organizing" things again. He got his hands on a lucky money red envelope, and torn it to pieces. There was a $5 bill inside! He didn't check if it's empty. Sigh... tearing up money... Sigh... sigh... sigh... sigh... (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)