Computer case

S couldn't decide which computer case he wants, so he ended up buying me and A dinner to make up the lost time. Originally we were supposed to shop for his computer case. Oh well, I do understand the need to have one that says "bingo". I'm like that too.

After we finished dinner and left, we found a dead pigeon a few feet away. Bird flu?!?!?! (Panic!) There was blood coming out from its beak. I wonder how it died.

Walked S to the skytrain station and saw 2 ducks sitting on the lawn. There's no body of water near by. Why do they pick this place to stay???

Sajtos Taller Cheese wafers

From 2010 May. Another treat from A's European trip. Thanks! It was almost like those decorative wadges of wafers you put on sundaes, but this is cheese flavoured. Well, it actually contains cheese. How much? I forgot. (Oops.) For a bite-size snack, this is almost perfect. Except for unlike potato chips, you do get tired soon. Maybe it a good sign that it doesn't have any addictive additives? I was hungry and everything tasted good too.

Late sakura

The very very last Etsy package finally arrived. It's a replacement for a broken watch case. Seems like they took extra caution and used extra bubble wrap so it would arrive undamaged. Cool! However, it's not the same type as the broken one! Awwwwww! Although it's not exactly what I want, it is a more expensive type. It's too much hassle to keep going back and forth, so I'd settle with that. Looking at how my case is dealt with, this seller seems fair and honest to me. I was a little worried to see the negative feed-backs of non-deliveries before I order. Now I do believe most must have been simply typo on the mailing address like mine (which took a month to arrive). At the end, I got my stuff despite taking almost 2 months. They deserve a positive feedback.

Took a walk to the bank, and found some late-blooming sakura trees. Last year everything was gone by mid-April. This year, it's still cold at the end of April. I guess that must be why.

Maya struggle continues... (>_<;)

Holiday Ball WTF??????

What kind of moron would call Christmas tree ornaments "holiday balls"????? This is totally unacceptable!!!!!

Chiropractor

It's especially bad today. I'd blame it on the wind storm. The treatment provided some relieve but after arguing with dad, my back got all tensed up again and canceled the treatment out. He's really a thread to my health. Sigh....................

Eat-out day with brother's gang. We managed to book a table at the Taiwanese MSG-free restaurant we wanted to eat at last time (it was not opened). If they really are MSG-free, why am I so thirsty now??? Brother's trip is postponed a week. This increases the chances of running into him in NY when I go onto my trip. Nevertheless, when he's gone, I take up the responsibility of picking up niece N from school.

Hwai Tai Love Gift Pack

From August 2010. Got it from sis-in-law for new year. Thanks! Impressive-looking packaging. But honestly, I don't have a good feeling about this. I thought it was made in Taiwan, but nooo, it's made in China. We finally opened it in mid August. Once you open the lid, you'll immediately be disappointed. You'd feel betrayed by the picture on the can. As to the taste... it suites the looks, which is not very good. Period.

Maya hell (2)

Spent a whole day and this is all I've got... (T_T) At least the top of the head is better now. Keep adding geometry. Not good, not good...

Finally extracted the keys from A's discarded keyboard. Their shape is a bit different from what I expect, and not very good for making accessories. Oh well... Maybe I'll sell them on Etsy.

Maya hell (1)

Worked on Pinkys. Real ones and Maya. Totally lost... Not even sure if I can do it.. (T_T)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

11:52PM
Ended up staying home today. (Standing-by for the knock.) Ended up spending all day processing picture for the posts. Hmm... (>_<;)

Pre-Easter

Thanks R & B for the lovely Easter party! (^_^) I over ate, though.

Lubecker Edel Marzipan

From 2010 May. A brought it back from his European trip. Thanks! It's unlike any marzipan I've tried before. It's light and not very sweet. The texture reminds me of coconut shavings but a lot finer. (It's almond.) At first the chocolate coating dominates and almost a little too strong. Then the fragrant of almond unfolds, and completes the well balanced taste.

Half-price coupon

Went to Michael's to use some half-price coupons. I've got a total of seven. 3 from the cross-border shopping, 2 from a local store, and 2 from flyers. I had to go separately for each item and careful not too soon and tried different cashiers. Even went to Daiso hoping to get a pill box but all sold out. I ended at 6 items. Didn't want to push it too far. What was it that lured me to break my record? Eggs! Egg-shaped beads are close to impossible to find! (At least on Etsy). Oh well, these will do for now... (actually don't know when I'll have time to work on them yet...)

Incontinence

(Photo was taken in November 2009 and unrelated to subject.)
This had happened so many times already. Got up, went to get some water to drink, and found the floor slippy. It was dad. He had left a puddle of pee on the kitchen floor in front of the kettle and then closed the kitchen door. (What? To hide it?) Took half-an-hour to cleanup. Stink like hell. Gross. Mom and I and my aunt were all cursing when cleaning up. His existence is a big hazard to our safety and health, both physically and mentally.

Tired

(Photo was taken yesterday and unrelated to subject.)
Yesterday's driving was 2 to 3 times my normal amount. I'm completely out of commission today. My whole back is locked up. My mind clouded.

Had to take it easy. Did some cleanup and sampled some manga online. Was gonna take a walk but no energy. Was gonna work on Maya but my mind's too slow. At the end, didn't get anything done. (T_T)

Suspension bridge

Happy b-day, A! It's you b-day yet thanks for treating me (and S)!

Lunch at Catcus Club in West Van. Lion's gate was a little congested but once past the bottle neck (catapult lane switching) it was fine. Thought mini burgers would be the right size for me, but they come in 3s. Each of them has slightly more mass than a McDonald's hamburger. Felt for the waitress's solicitation and got salad which turn out to be extra. Grrrr... After eating the salad and finishing off A's leftover fries, I was full. All 3 burgers were packed to go. Oh well. (Ended up eating one at around 4.)

Went to the Capilano suspension bridge. $30 a head before tax... My BCAA membership knocked 10% off but still too expensive! We both agreed the content only worth $15. Perhaps it was still too cold for this kind of outdoor activities. There were some people, but not many. I guess it was good that way, as the bridge shakes more with more people walking on it. At first it was kind of scary, but I was able to free both of my hands on the return trip. The food stands were closed. Only the gift shop was opened. Got A a t-shirt for b-day gift.

We were done at around 4 and I requested to stop by Walmart for the white stripes... which turn out to be bogus! What a scam!!! Grrrr!!!! Walmart sucks!!!!!!!

Then we went to T&T on 1st to pick up some cake (gotta have cake on b-day, right?) plus some grocery. This way we managed to bypass the traffic jam on highway 1.

By the time we picked up S, it was around 6. After much chaos, we decided to eat dinner at Tojo's. (Yikes... but A said he'd treat us all, and he didn't want to eat at a crappy place on his b-day which makes sense...) The omakase was too much food for me and A. S ended up eating whatever we couldn't eat. A little mental note: next time if I ever get to eat at Tojo's again, remember to order an entree, not omakase.

Planter's Peanut Butter Cup

From July 2010. Finally couldn't resist and got one to try. Thanks A! (^_^)

First, it was left in my car with no A/C for... less than an hour on a not-the-hottest summer day. Second, the real thing is not like how the packaging photo depicts. There is no chocolate on the sides. Only on top and on the bottom. The peanut butter filling is also 3 notches runnier than Reeze mini cups. All these adds up to a melted impression. No, the chocolate cap did not melt. But the filling seeps through the edges. Oh, unlike Reeze mini cups, these aren't completely wrapped. They're open-top.

Tastes... different from Reeze. It's less sweet, and you can sense the peanut better. It does feel like a higher quality. So, Planter's is famous for peanuts after all. However, they're still very heavy and breaks your calorie quota. As A calculated, one bag exceeds an adult's daily calorie needs. I don't think I can handle more than one piece per day anyway.

Passport (2)

Stopped by brother's place to get his signature before submitting the form. Even ran a few errands including printing out L's picture (finally!). Things went according to plan, which was pretty rare. I'm glad.

It's brother's b-day plus eat-out day. We went to the nicer Taiwanese restaurant. Dishes there taste heavier than other Chinese restaurants but today it was even saltier. Does this mean my salt craving is finally over?

Recorded the craft supply from the cross-border shopping trip. Still have to file them and then deal with the clothes.

Passport (1)

A set of Nutella sample came through the mail. 2 portions. Wow... I'm impressed. That's quite a generous sample!

Thought I could use the simplified form, but noooo~ my passport has expired past the time limit. Had to get another one from the post office. Ended up printing the online one since it looks more up-to-date. Printer still misbehaves. Thanks A for helping me fix it. I would never have realized plugging into a different USB port screws things up. (Thanks to having to bring the tower to A last time and needed to disconnect everything.) Took the photo too, so the walk wasn't wasted. Will need to apply in person tomorrow. Not much time left.

The photo lab has a half-price sale that ends in 3 days. Finally finished off L's picture because of that. Geese... I'm so cheap... (T_T) Can't help it when funds are low, though. (T_T) Didn't get to write any Japanese mail again... (>_<;)

2 days in a roll, dad peed on his dining chair. Not leaked, but fully peed. This is so bad. I can't believe he still refuses to wear diapers! Keeps giving us the "umm" response while doing completely opposite things. How come he behaves so normally with visiting guests? I'm sure he's toying with us. He must hate us or something. (T_T)

Sakura

Started the day late. Not sure about the morning but it was quite nice in the afternoon. Managed to catch some sakura with A. So cold... it's like February! Ate at Zakushi on 4th. We haven't been there for a year, and their menu changed. A was horrified to find out his favorite skewer was eliminate. However, after chatting with the waitress, the chef (manager?) said he'd bring it back next month when the new menu comes out. Cool!!!

The day was so nice, we went downtown for gelato. It was cold, though. First time ever to try out those phone-operated parking meters. Thanks A! Pricesmart was on our way back, so I got the grocery mom requested. It's been a productive day.

Cross-border shopping

Tagged along brother's shopping trip. This time it's my older niece's turn to replenish her wardrobe for outgrown clothes. Kids are growing fast these days...

Departure time was set to 8:30AM so I had to get up at 7:15. Did that, and had plenty of time.. so I thought. I gave my printer one last try, but it just wouldn't co-operate. Oh well. Phoned up brother as asked him to help print the tiled page out, and he said he's already done so. (However, turn out later that he printer out the stuff from the previous mail I sent him, and this tiled one wasn't even read.)

Today brother's church friend J and her daughter L also joined us. We hit the usual place... Joann, Michael's, K-mart, Khol's, Sears, Walmart... I bought a bunch of clothes at Sears that are greatly discounted. A down coat only $25, and most other items are under $5. The catch is, they aren't really "bingo" items. But at this price, I couldn't resist. I do believe in "it's better to regret after buying then regret after not buying." It's only a few bucks... but they add up!!!!!

Khol's had an even bigger discount! Sis-in-law and J found lots of stuff. Meanwhile we forgot Costco closes at 6 on Saturdays, and missed our chance to eat dinner there. The second choice was the $5 large pizza at Little Ceasars inside K-mart. However! It was also closed when we got there! AAARRRGGGHHH!!! We ended up eating at Wendy's again. We ate lunch there, at that exact branch. I don't mind, though.

The 7 of us spent about $900 in total. Luckily the custom officer wasn't picky and we didn't have to pay tax. (Thanks!) However! The usual route was closed so we had to detour... and got lost. The second choice was also closed! Incredible! That, was about 11:15PM. No one was working if that was road constraction. I wonder what caused the closure. It took us longer and a few more circles, but we managed to get home safely. Thank God! By the time I got home, it was 1:15AM. (Yup, this post's time was adjusted to fit back in to the right day.)

I thought I'd only spend about $50. Ended up spending close to $130. Yikes... Now that I look back, I regret buying 3 of the clothing item. Oh well...

Too much walking. Too much standing. Tired...

Camille Bloch Mousse Chocolate

From 2010 April. Thanks A! Smooth and delicious with just the right degree of sweetness. Best of all, no after taste! That's all.

Yup. Nothing to pick on. However, situation called for it to be stored in my closet. When I ate the second last square, I saw a tiny caterpillar crawling on the last piece. Eeeeewwww!!! Reflex had me spit out whatever was in my mouth. After examining the little monster for a moment and then got rid of it, I ate the very last piece. Of course not before brushing the surface lightly. That was probably a moth caterpillar. Should not make me sick. Hopefully.

Chiropractor

Couldn't get up. Had to wash my hair (it was gross). Was already, then discovered a puddle of dad's pee on the floor. Had to clean up. Sucks. (T_T) Ended up late for over an hour. (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

Then there was an accident at Cambie and 16th which put traffic to a halt. Took forever to go that half-a-block. Plus, watching the parking spaces being taken, I was cursing the whole world. (T_T) Luckily, someone happened to leave so I managed to get a spot. Thanks...

Was going to take a walk to down to Broadway but it started raining. So I went home. My condition was really bad before treatment. Made a huge difference even as I drove away.

Some cleanup and some coupon-hunting for tomorrow. Joann's in-store coupons are so hard to find! My printer stopped working so I e-mail a copy to brother and asked him to print it out. Only got less then 3 hours sleep...

Dream

Why do I tend to remember the dreams only when I fall back asleep?

I was in a waiting room (?) of a church-like building. The walls were all wood paneled. Apparently I was someone else (not me), and meeting the family of (someone else's) dad's second wife. (Well... perhaps I don't believe my dad has the capacity to cheat.) That woman was very rude. They occupied the sofa area (living room?) and squeeze my group to the table and chair (kitchen?) area. She also refuse to even talk to or look at us.

Hours pasted, the other group left. We were preparing to leave too. I looked at a black-and-white guinea pig (somehow it seemed to belong to us). It was tiny, only the size of my thumb. It was not confined, on top of a counter and eating coarse whey or something. It's poop was as tiny as caterpillar's poop. There was a light brown bunny or another guinea pig on a lower cage (fish tank actually). I tried to transfer the tiny one there so it won't be so lonely. It jumped into my collar and down my sweater. Then I notice it's size became like a normal adult guinea pig. I lifted my sweater and boom! There came 3 other full size guinea pigs of various colour!!!!!!! I put them all into the fish tank.

The scene changed slightly and the fish tank of guinea pigs was in the middle of the living room area, still in the church, though. Mom came to take a look at the pigs, and I explained to her that removing a certain part of the brain resets the age and size of the animal. (WTF?!?!?!) That tiny one was the experiment.

The scene changed again. It was like 7 AM and I was watching Madoka on TV (it's just sitting on the floor) in a hallway on the second floor of a huge household. So huge, it felt like a hotel. White walls white railings, carpet was kink of... dusty rose. Then a man... (felt like some kine of distant relatives from mainland China?) got up and I had to go back to my family's room to continue watching TV. Everyone seem to be guests of this huge household. There were more to this segment but I forgot.

Scene changed again. I was in a concert hall, a few rolls from the stage to the left. A rock band was singing FMA theme songs in extremely rock arrangement. Someone dressed as Oscar in ROV came from backstage and went into the audience seating. There was another such person in white costume too. W was there, on my right. He wanted coffee. I told him there's a free beverage machine a few rolls behind us. He went looking for it. I wanted juice, so I fallowed him shortly and took a peek into the backstage. (The area was kinda open and you can see right through.) The stage was dark (of course) but behind a door at the back you can see a brightly lit room or something.

A guy beat W to the machine. They both wanted coffee. I told W that A said this machine makes really good coffee. (WTF?!?!?!) But the guy in front screwed up, and the water was pouring furiously away in the back of the machine. They tried to fix it and fiddled with the buttons. The water then went down the drain, then the drain partially closed and forced the water to back up. Instantly created a high pressure fountain that lifted the top panel (?) up 8 feet or so. They were both shocked, but still trying the buttons. Then it activated some kind of alarm and sprinkler system in the hallway. A staff finally showed up and fixed the machine. They got their coffee. I got some juice.

Then W and I left. On my way out, that beverage machine was operated by a chef demonstrating how to cook hamburger. It turn into a mini kitchen. He was just starting to cook so we didn't get any free sample. Smelled and looked really good though. (I must be hungry???) We left the hall and went into a high-tech yet art nouveau looking walkway. We were on the 5th or 6th floor. There was a huge atrium. Along the side of the walkway there were desks. Somehow I knew the building was a culinary school and those desks belong to students. Some had interested potted plants (herbs).

Then that was it... I'm late for my chiropractor appointment. At least most part of the dream was bright.

Lay's chips betrayal

4th bag... Hope this is the last of my current chips craving... Something's wrong with me...

I've trusted Lay's chips because its ingredient list contains only 3 items, and nothing I can't pronounce. Today I looked again and notices in horror that "sunflower oil" has changed into "vegetable oil"!!!! Is this the new type of hydrogenated transfat?!?!?! Why can't they state clearly what kind of oil it is?!?!?! OMG I will not buy another bag of Lays' chips anymore!!!!!! (T_T)

Weather's been bad. Took me an hour to get out of bed. Late last night there was hail. Then it's been raining all day. My back feels horrible. First from lifting those computers, then the weather. My whole back especially the hips are totally frozen. Can't feel any touch from shoulders to mid-back. I also seem to be compressed vertically this time. Numb, just numb... Can't think either. It's been bad since Monday, but today is the worst!

Eat-out day with brother's gang, but it's too much trouble to prepare dad to go out in this weather, so brother brought take-out Chinese food. I think it works better this way too, as mom pointed out that dad usually go crazy at night on the days he's been out. (Like tearing up diapers, wouldn't sleep, and refusing to cooperate.) However, even without going out, he left a puddle of pee in front of the kitchen sink again, like yesterday. Super gross! Yuck yuck yuck yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Veggie Straws

Another goody from Costco July 2010. Thanks A! Oh my oh my, this is my cup of tea. I've tried a few other similar ones, but this is the winner. Those other ones leave a film of... weirdness inside your mouth. Kinda powdery, kinda oily. But this one is completely clean. The ingredients list is good too. No MSG again. It's less addictive. Costco chose right. I'll definitely go back.

Geriatric sucks

Dad's geriatric appointment today. He scored lower in the memory test. The doctor said let's change drugs in 6 months. I so want to tell her mom wants to stop the treatment. It's only prolonging our suffering.

Why does the system only care about the patient but not those around him? We are the ones who are getting sick and seriously need help! She wouldn't even want to hear us. We don't need more education. We know the facts already. We are already grossly over our limits. "He's like a baby now", yeah right... baby your ass. Let's see what you'll say if he's living in your house.

Ate out for lunch, grocery shopping, picked up some hand-me-down food from Mrs. K, dad had to go pee and ended up urinating in her backyard. (T_T) Came home, dad immediately hunt for food. (T_T)

Maya, nap, Maya, nap, brother came over to have a hair cut. More Maya, more nap. Spending way too long to model a Pinky head. Looks simple but not! No help. 90% of my time was spent hunting down answers online. But the web only goes so far. Am I fighting a loosing battle?????????

How do those fake virus scans hijack any web sites? I keep getting hit. Super annoying! I think I'm running self-destruct mode. 3 huge bags of chips in 3 days. Why? Why?Why?Why?Why?

Dad left a puddle of pee in front of the kitchen sink, and he denies it as usual. Gross gross gross gross gross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why didn't his pants soak the pee up as it ran down his legs???????

Sakura

It was supposed to rain but turn out nice. Noooo I'm not complaining. Took a walk to the bank. Some sakura trees are almost gone. No fair... all weekends have been rainy. Finally gave in to the cravings and bought Lay's chips.

Maya is still so frustrating. Had to take a break and made some earrings.

Chips craving --> Terra chips (thanks s!) --> Lay's chips --> itchy neck --> rash!

Yikes... (T_T) Was it something in the chips? But I've never had rashes from chips... I'm blaming it on unstable mental state.

Defragment

(Photo taken on the 3rd and unrelated to subject.)
Cleanup some more on the computer. There's a folder with nested corrupted image files that cannot be deleted. Cannot get rid of the "read-only" setup. (T_T) Apparently my last defragment might have sealed the corruption. (T_T) Can't do anything. Hope this won't turn into a time bomb.

Pop Chips

From July 2010 at Costco, thanks A! It's not fried or baked. Just heat. (Huh??? Not sure if I fully understand.) The ingredients list seem healthy enough. Taste... very intense. Very strong. I was shocked no MSG is used. There's some sweetness within the saltiness. Plus slightly hot and spicy. Spicy is no problem, but hot... burns your tongue. The bite-size should be just right, but it scratches the inside of your mouth. I guess the shaped is too rough. Texture is kind of like rice crackers. I got a sore throat after eating it. However, it's good enough for a second bag, but not too often. Under $6 for a huge bag, I think it's a pretty good deal. I don't have Costco membership, though.

Computer crisis (3)

Got another 4 packs of toilet paper at Zellers. Now we should have enough for a while (a total of 96 rolls). I don't think you can get better than $0.47 a roll.

Thanks S for the chips! They're awesome! Thanks A for the computer. No rush no rush! (^_^;)

Computer crisis (2)

Thanks A for helping me fix my PC. Wouldn't know what to do without you. A thousand thanks!!! (^_^)
I was surprised A bought an i-pad 2 so casually. That's his b-day present to himself. Well I suppose he's been thinking about it for a while. Aaaaargh!!! I shouldn't have return the i-pad sticker! (T_T)

Computer crisis (1)

The second-last Etsy order finally arrived after a month! They wrote my address wrong. No wonder. Just when I was about to leave a positive rating, I found one of the watch cases is broken! Aaaaarrrgghh!!!!! (T_T) Sigh... oh well, I'm still glad that the package wasn't lost or stolen. Hope they'll replace that broken one.

Also e-mailed the other seller about my last order that took a month. It's local, so there's no way it should take that long. And the status is still at "paid", not "shipped". I really hate having to deal with such situations because I always get a feeling that it's not gonna turn out well. (T_T) But why? Am I just negative? I do have bad experience before and I think my worries are valid.

Went to Zellers to stock up on toilet paper. With dad's wasteful habit, we go through a roll a day. I only got 4 packs and should go back to get some more maybe tomorrow.

All of a sudden my computer stalled. It still runs but stalls so badly it's close to impossible to do anything. Would it be that latest fake virus scan hijack? But my anti-virus picked it up and took care of it right away! Taking no chance, I performed a defragment, rebooted, and did a full scan. It was pretty much the same. Then I realized I haven't backed up for months! (Panic!) And quickly saved to the external drive which haven't even been turn on for months. 4 GB took about 30 minutes to copy. It couldn't be right! Something's definitely wrong!

Meanwhile worked on Pinkys but didn't go very far. I suppose I need solid 2-part putty (forgot its name). I only have the toothpaste type. It keeps falling off. (T_T) A waste of time and putty. (T_T)