Vamp

Thanks for holding off until cousin K's gone. However, still had to deal with drainage system estimate. 2 companies came, and 2 other over the phone. It's gonna be at least 20 thousand bucks. (Can go up to 35 thousand.)

With the vampire and drugs, I kept dosing off at my desk all day. Sigh...

Haven't had time to look at the house nearby and it's got drainage system installed already. Darn, missed the chance to ask for an estimate. I wonder how far the other house has progressed.

Edo Pack Chocolate Soft

Oh no, I lied! Not intentionally, though. A lot more of the "picture only" series were found hidden in a "ready-to-use" folder!!! Unfortunately, no write-up is found. So, here goes. All these are written from memory and not accurate.

The picture is dated 2008 March. Yikes!!! This chocolate was covered in cacao powder and reminded me of Winter Cacao Pocky. I don't recall them being bad, so I guess they were OK. Sorry, that's all I can remember.

Last day

Cousin K went home today. I managed to take her to visit dad one last time (while mom and I went across the street to visit aunt Y. She was on oxygen again.) Then lunch at aunt L's favorite Vietnamese cafe. The line up was too long so we bought takeout. Ate at home and it was already time to take cousin K to the airport.

After that, took mom grocery-shopping. Went to Mrs. K's to pick some figs. Her fig tree is tall and fruits are big and plenty. If dad didn't chop off so many branches, our tree would have yielded a lot more too.

Came home, and kept dosing off at my desk. Had a light dinner, and continue dosing off for the rest of the night.

Everyday there's been at least one meat eaten out. And it was mostly Chinese food. My body feels weird. There's something bad in Chinese food... The grease? MSG? Both?

More meals

Ate a big brunch and then took uncle and aunt Y to see dad and aunt Y with cousin K. Car pool is a good thing, but the main reason was because I didn't want to ride in uncle Y's car. His driving... is... horrible.

Uncle and aunt Y didn't have lunch, so we went to that noodle and congee house which I've gotten so tired of. Ran into grandaunt Y! Well, I suppose if we've gone elsewhere, cousin K wouldn't have had a chance to see her again. Forgot to take a group picture, though.

Went home and showed uncle Y how to set up folders and filing in his Hotmail. He knew almost nothing about mail management. I ended up helping him file most of his mail. It was after 4 when they left. Didn't get to take cousin K to Richmond. (T_T)

Then we met again for dinner at 6, plus brother's gang. I'm glad that uncle and aunt Y liked the Taiwanese restaurant. (She's an awesome cook so they're very picky.) There was a Lamorghini parked right outside. Orange is an unusual colour and it looked like the one on display in a certain mall.

Came home and kept dosing off. Actually I've been feeling light-headed since I finished with uncle's e-mail filing. Now a tiny bit of headache too. I sure hope I'm not coming down with a cold. It could be the weather or vampire too. Today was almost 10 degrees lower than yesterday and was actually cold.

Costco

Thanks A for letting us kidnap you to Costco. (To buy quinoa.) Thanks for lunch, coffee, and corn! (^_^) Took cousin K to Metrotown for some window-shopping. (Well, it wasn't restricted to window.) Urban Behavior now has new fall fashion and not much discount. Aren't they going out of business? Did someone safe them???

Got home slightly later than brother's (supposingly) pickup time. He ended up arriving a bit later. 5:30 maybe? Then we all went to see dad. Cousin K stayed with him while the rest of us went across the stress to see aunt Y. She looked better than yesterday probably thanks to her daughter coming to see her form Toronto.

Cousin K treated us to a huge family dinner at a Chinese restaurant. There were 10 of us. Lots of leftovers.

Gastown

Woke up by the pee fairy at 8:30. The washing machine was running, which meant, there wouldn't be enough hot water. I couldn't wash my hair, so I went back to bed. Somehow I've been feeling very bad. Back, neck and shoulders were all wrong again. So soon after a chiropractor's visit?!?! (T_T) It was either the drive to the drainage company, or the night market that screwed me up. I think it was more likely the drive. (T_T)

Woke up again at around 11:30. I tried to stretch my body back into shape and got out of bed at noon. (The stretching didn't help much, but I was able to function nevertheless.) Washed my hair, ate brunch, and out the door at 1:45 with cousin K to Gastown. She was hoping to buy some souvenir t-shirts.

The trip was smooth. I even got a good parking spot. $3 for an hour. It should be sufficient. She found the t-shirt successfully, even bought a vest for cheap. My mind was so clouded, I thought our parking expired at 3 while it was actually 3:30. I even rushed back to my car. There were stuff that we wanted to, but couldn't look at. Not willing to waste the remaining 15 minutes, we went into a nearby handbag store, but was scared by the price-tag and pushy sales lady. We ended up wasted 8 minutes, which was 25 cents. Oh well. It's only 25 cents. But I'm more upset about me screwing up the time.

Then we went home for a snack (soy milk and biscotti). I ate a bit too much. Then I tried to work on L's logo but felt asleep at the desk. Bad. Went to pick up aunt L at 5:45, and arrived at uncle Y's at 6. He was eager to show us his trip pictures from China.

Aunt Y's home cooking's always great. Ate too much. Cousin K insisted to wash the dishes so I only got to dry them. Their son H came home, took some food and went downstairs to eat. When we were done washing, it was too late to play with his dog. Oh well... (seemed like aunt Y didn't want us to.)

Dropped aunt L off. Came home. Continued working on the logo, kept dosing off at the desk. Bad.

BTW, the Lindt chocolate bar aunt L gave me today, expired 2010 April 30. Mom said it doesn't matter. Is it really safe to eat?!?!?! (T_T)

Duna Kavics

Photo-only series, 3 of 3. Last of the treats A brought back from home. Again, without trying it myself, I can only rely on the net for info. Seems to be roasted peanuts in a batter shell.

Some shop is selling 6 bags for $10 on E-bay, shipping is $6. Which makes each bag $2.67, not cheap:
The Legendary Hungarian DUNA KAVICS. It's being produced since 1952. A real Hungarian treat!

This shop sells it at $3.50, shipping extra, yikes!

This site seems to have a detailed article, but it's not in English. Don't know how it tastes. Oh well!

Night market

Uncle Y came to take cousin K to the gym at 6:50 AM. Then she was dropped off back here to shower. I got up at 10 and we met up with him again at 11 AM for dim sum.

After lunch, we went to see aunt Y. She looked more plum (probably thanks to the iv) but still couldn't eat anything. Still no appetite and couldn't swallow.

Then we went across the street to see dad. He was sleeping in his dinning seat when we arrived. Mom gave him some dim sum we packed from lunch, and then some figs. Cousin K game him a pack of crackers which I bet he'd finish in one sitting. (And he did.) When I tested his memory, he could name cousin K, recognized mom, but couldn't name me or knew who I was... although he claimed to recognize me. So, I'm officially erased from his mind.

I was more than an hour early, but my chiropractor let me standby. The appointment was badly needed. We were done by 2:50.

By request, I took cousin K back to yesterday's Italian bakery for afternoon-tea cakes. They were kinda small, so 4 for the 3 or us. We also stopped by the Chinese supermarket across the street, but didn't buy anything because the price wasn't good.

Before going home, I went to pay for the drain unclogging bill. I checked online for the location... but of course couldn't remember correctly, and got lost. I should have dropped off mom and cousin K at home first. We wasted half an hour going back-and-forth in my sauna car. At last I found the place and got the errand done. Not before my back was soaking wet. I felt like this stretch of driving canceled out the chiropractor visit.

By the time we sat down at home to eat those cakes, it was around 4. They were kinda warm from being in the trunk. I promised to pick up aunt L to go to the night market at 5, but the market actually opens at 7. So I lay down to rest my back. Almost fell asleep. Mom didn't want to go, so it was me, cousin K and aunt L. Picked her up at 6:10, and got there 15 minutes later. We found a very good street parking spot. (Otherwise $5 parking.) We just chatted inside the car until 6:45 and then entered the market.

We started with chicken skews which was delicious. Then I got some takoyaki... which was a mistake. Well, technically speaking, I should have bought it at the Chinese vendor instead of the Japanese because it was pre-made and kept warm. Soggy. Not nice at all. (T_T) Aunt L's first impression of takoyaki was ruined forever. Cousin K didn't like it either. So I was stuck with 4 pieces. The aunt L bought some crab craws (imitation crab). $5 for 7 pieces, cheap but I didn't like it that much. I was counting on them eating my share because I've eaten more takoyaki, but they couldn't eat that and I ended up eating 2 pieces.

Aunt L was interested in the spiral potatos but we were almost full. We bought water at a cream puff vendor where every drink comes with a cream puff. (I dropped my glass water bottle and it broke.) The cream puffs were delicious!

We were full, so we started looking at the non-food booths. Those glass pendants were $3 each! A bought me one for $5 last time. Cousin K bought 2. I couldn't help it and bought 2 more. (Good for gifts.) She also bought 6 pairs of socks for $10, a good deal even by her standard. (Which means they'd be more expensive in the States.)

Aunt L ran into 2 of her ex-colleagues, not once, not twice, but 3 times! Wow! We finished looking and went back for dessert: those red bean filled taiyaki. It's always good and a must. Although we didn't have room for the spiral potato, we were satisfied. We even got one takoyaki to take home for mom.

After dropping aunt L off, got home around 10:30, exhausted.

Vietnamese cafe

Worst day in terms of my shoulders and neck and the whole back. Grumpy. Brain not functioning. Frustrated. Monster mode. (T_T) The original plan was to go to Granville Island. Lots of other things happened.

Aunt L treated cousin K (including mom and I) to a Vietnamese cafe for lunch. Their sandwiches were awesome! (I was hungry, so it probably tasted better than normal. And, I forgot to take a Pinky picture!) The 4 of us shared 2 orders of sandwiches and one large beef noodles.

After lunch, I thought I'd take cousin K to a genuine western bakery for some bread which she prefers. Nobody, no one, was interested to leave the car when I arrived at A's favorite Italian bakery. Of course I intended to buy her the bread so I didn't say anything except for I wanted to look at something myself. Hoping for raisin buns or non plain bread, I was disappointed. However, I got some day-old biscotti which originally sell for over a buck a piece. $4.50 got me a good size bag. When I was ready to pay, a lady who's been picking out pieces of cake was still asking the clerk tons of questions, like what's in this cake, what's it like, etc. Sigh... Then the clerk was very slow too. I know I probably had a super long face and look evil, but can you blame me? I had 3 seniors waiting for me in a cinching hot car. That annoying customer even couldn't make up her mind on "would you like a bag"! Sigh... (See? I had more than enough time to take a few Pinky pictures in there. I was extremely tempted to shoot the cake display so I can show cousin K their selection later. But it didn't seem appropriate so I held back.)

Aunt L had to wait for the lawn mower man, so I dropped her off right away. Then mom wanted to visit Mrs. K about figs, and then buy some fabrics to make dad's one-piece full-body under garment. If she wants fabric, I want to take her to Dressew. We ended up all going home first. I had to brush my teeth and put on some canker sore gel. Cousin K took care of her knock while I took mom to Mrs. K. We exchanged figs. Her tree is quite big and hard to reach the fruits. We talked for too long, then I stopped by the bank machine while mom went next door to check out that cheap clothing shop to see if anything's good for dad. We picked up 2 pairs of pants for just $7, but not before chatting with the sales lady. I though this short trip would only take 30 minutes, but it actually took an hour. It was 3:10 when we got back.

Then we all started eating figs. Both Mr. K's and ours. I had to brush and put canker sore gel on again. By the time we stepped out, it was 4.

Cousin K read a magazine article about Commercial Drive and showed some interest, so I took her there thinking we'd spend an hour or two. Nope, she didn't even want to stop. So we just drove by the area. There're plenty of cafes but I couldn't see much else.

I've already given up the idea of going to Granville Island so I stopped by Fujiya near Clark. Almost bought some Japanese curry cubes. Came out, phoned aunt L as I want to treat her to tonight's Japanese dinner. But the lawn mower man hadn't shown up, and she wanted to stay home. Then I called mom telling her I'd pick her up for dinner. But she said she wanted to keep sewing, and wanted to clear out some stuff that's been sitting in our fridge. That's so wrong!

Not sure if it was my blood sugar or exhaustion, I sunk. Cousin K probably thought I was depressed because mom wouldn't come out to eat with us. (Well, that's true too.) She gave me the idea of eating at a closer place, so I turn to Zakushi. But it didn't work. Mom insisted that she wanted to stay home. Oh well...

Amazingly, it was 5, and I felt that we'd still have time for Granville Island. (Cousin K likes to go to places so I try to stuff the day full.) However, she wasn't as enthusiastic and stressed that she's been there before. Maybe she was tired? I only took her to the market, bakery, and net loft. No water-side walk this time.

Then we went to Ajisai for our favorite chirashi. Haven't been there for half a year, and their quality is still awesome as before. Took a walk at the LD nearby, and we went home. Uncle Y is gonna take cousin K to a community center gym early morning... like 6:30 tomorrow. Way too early.

Meeting

Mr. L wanted to visit dad so I had him car pool with us.

First care meeting at dad's nursing home this morning. As expected, mostly complains, especially about dad's shredding his diapers, peeing, spitting, and shooting snot. Mr. W has been moved to another floor. Dad seems to be happy to have the room to himself.

Went across to the hospital to see aunt Y. She looked slightly better than yesterday, but still couldn't eat anything.

Third stop, took cousin K to see grandaunt Y. She's been doing well since her hip-replacement surgery. Again, she won on bill-snatching. She treated us to lunch last time cousin K was here.

All of us went grocery shopping after lunch. By the time we got home, it was already 5. Where did time go???? Although Mr. L said he was free the whole day, he insisted of leaving without coming in for a cup of tea. Hmm...

I was thinking of taking cousin K to Metrotown... but she started showing me her tomato soup. We ate dinner at 7. Took a short walk (still no sign of the friendly cats). Didn't get to do much today again.

Visits

I couldn't get up in time and mom took cousin K for bib shopping nearby. We met up for lunch. I was delayed by phone calls and was probably hungry enough to forget to take a Pinky picture.

After lunch, we brought some fried rice and fruit to dad. He looked extremely puzzled when I asked him why he pushed Mr. W onto the ground last night. So extreme, it looked fake. But I do think he could not remember. Mr. W said yes, but he was talking to mom in dialect so I couldn't understand much.

Then we went across the street to the hospital to visit aunt Y. She looked much worst than yesterday. Her lunch was still on the table untouched. She couldn't swallow and liquid intake instruction sheets were posted on the wall. Yesterday they found liquid in her lungs again. (But she was looking much better than today, though!)

We went grocery shopping on our way home. Cousin K needed to make a few calls. Then she showed me one of her cream soup with no cream. (Substitute with potato.) It was cream of broccoli, simple and delicious.

Took a walk with her and ended up walking to uncle Y's house. He wasn't there. Only aunt Y was at home. We caught her in a shower. Sorry! Played with their son's dog a bit, and talked a bit, and it was getting dark. I notice aunt Y stopped being as friendly to me as before. I wonder what happened. (I've had numerous cases of loosing friends because of rumours, and I'm paranoid.)

So, technically speaking, didn't take cousin K to any fun place today.

Negro Odzacar Grla

2 of 3 of the photo-only series. Part of the goodies A brought back from home. (Sorry it doesn't look too delicious...)

What a name! Since I haven't tried any, I can only rely on the online community for info. And here's what I found.

• NEGRO ODZACAR GRLA: Do you know how fucking heavy this “black licorice chimney sweeper for your throat” is? In WWII the Nazis set up a puppet regime in Croatia called the Ustashas and their job was to kill every Serb, Jew and Gypsy they saw. Today calling a Croatian an Ustasha is like calling him a nigger. Then there’s this Serbian candy that’s been around since WWII, called Negro! With a guy on it that is dressed exactly like an Ustasha. What the fuck!?
• Our first candy treat is (hopefully) going to be the most politically incorrect one. Apparently Yugoslavian in origin, it has apparently been used as a prank candy for Halloween, due to the culturally inflamitory name stamped in big red capital letters on the side...

So it seems to be some sort of strong licorice candy with a weird name...

PNE

Free admission from 9 to noon. We imagined that it would be packed.

Ended up sleeping for 4 hours only. Oh well... my own fault. Set alarm at 7:30 for a 8:15 pickup. Woke up by brother's phone call at 7. Turn out pickup was delayed for an hour. Worked out fine for me.

It was raining all day non-stop. We arrived at around 9:40 and were super lucky to find street parking thanks to some people leaving. Perhaps they decided that the rain wasn't worth it.

So, mom, cousin K, and I formed one team. Brother and the 2 kids another (they were also waiting for more friends to arrive). We went our separate ways. Mom was interested in the dog show, so we headed towards the Colosseum. Almost everyone went there because of the rain. It was packed! Near the aisle was an Asian old man spreading out both arms to take 2 extra seats. I asked if any was taken, and he said all was taken. Mom found a seat one roll down, and another one on the other side of this man's territory. So I took that one... only to find out that man put his backpack on the inside seat. I was very unhappy but perhaps he was waiting for 2 friends. Cousin K insisted that mom and I sit down. She ended up standing all through the show (about an hour). Midway through the show, another old guy did come to take the aisle seat, but the inner one stayed empty. I was extremely pissed off. That's why his photo is here.

After the dog show, we went to the Home Depot area. Didn't expect to find an estimator for our drainage system. Next, we went to the Safeway barn. I though there would be produce but noooo, only livestock. It stunk too. It was a rare chance to touch farm animals but mom and cousin K didn't want to stay long. Oh well...

We just followed the flow, so, container art was naturally next. The rides nearby were almost empty. The octopus operator would run the machine for just 4 people. While waiting for brother to meet up with us, we entertained ourselves by watching people throw up. It was super tempting to take pictures.

It was lunch time. We all had our hands stamped and brother showed us to a nearby Chinese restaurant off the site. It was pack! I bet everyone there was a PNE goer. My back's been feeling really bad so I ditched my regular handbag and went for a waist pouch. Hence no Pinky, no Pinky picture. Seems like this restaurant is used to crowds. A simple menu helps. Quality is quite good too.

After lunch, we went back to PNE to finish off with Market Place. There were lots of massaging machines and cleaning tools. Almost bought one of those spin mops. At $50, no way.

Met up with brother at 3:10 and he dropped us home. Niece G stayed behind with her friends and would be dropped off by her parents later. I can't remember much after that. Kept dosing off at my desk.

ER (2)

I'm exhausted. Have not been able to function. 2-hour sleep (bad), back aches (bad), body aches (bad), throat sore from too much talking to medical staff and dealing with friends and relatives' phone calls (bad), dehydrated (bad)...

Still took mom and cousin to London farm. Visited dad and aunt (she's doing better, but now we know that she's terminally ill and probably wouldn't see the end of this year.) Had dinner near brother 's place, came home and it was after 9. I almost pass out many times when driving home.

Aunt Y's poop's stink hasn't gone away. I tried to light some candles to neutralize that, 3 out of 5 existing candles don't work. (Wick either too short or buried too deep in wax.) Luckily, got some new ones. The big one doesn't have any container so I was digging up and down for something to put it on. Finally finished with the candle business and tried to take some Ninjiom Chinese throat syrup but we're out. Tried to eat an orange to help my throat but I'm too full. Tried to make it into orange juice but the juicer had not been used for several year. I washed it but my back and shoulders feel too bad and couldn't squeeze. While doing that, I found out some of the stink was from a mini trash bucket for food waste. The stink came from byproducts from mom butchering a fish yesterday. By then I was already off the edge. The bag was leaking liquid too. Rotting oozing fish intestines. Super gross. Trust me, s u p e r g r o s s !

I layered it into another bag, and found out some contents had leaked and fused with the bucket. OMG I lost it. Mom said she was going to use that as compose. Sigh... OK she didn't realize she forgot to take it outside... or did she? Perhaps she thinks we can make compose in the kitchen!

So, ugly. We had a fight. Cousin K knows about my dark side. So I said to her, you see my luck? God wants to torture me till I kill myself. Mom then said, let's do it together. Let's drive into a wall. Sigh... This is when I loose all respect towards her as a mom. Is it just a beautified illusion that mothers would always guide children away from harm????? I told cousin K the exact same thing again. How can I have any hope with my mom keep pushing me over the edge? Mom said, let's see who dies first. I said, you think dying first wins? She said, not win, but relieve. I said, you think relieve wins? Sigh... endless... hopeless...

Thought my problem would resolve when dad went to nursing home. How wrong.

Will take cousin to the free PNE tomorrow. Brother's pickup arrives around 8am. Need to go to bed N O W ! I'm exhausted and aching all over, but too angry to sleep.

ER (1)

Last night around 2 AM, I heard some soft banging noise. I thought it was my neighbour forgetting her keys, which was not uncommon. But there was no one outside when I looked. So I went back to e-mailing.

After a short while, more noises. This time it came from our hallway. It was mom taking dad's commode downstairs. Aunt Y pooped her pants. What happened was, she wanted to go number 2, but felt nauseous and couldn't get up. So she banged on the wall trying to get help. It wasn't loud enough and she pooped in her pants. (Extremely gross and stinky.) It was so stinky, it woke mom up. By the time I joined in, mom was helping her onto the commode. Aunt Y was looking very bad. She was completely limp. I was holding her up around her armpits from behind, and was shocked to find out she's down to the bare skin and bones! She kept saying she wanted to vomit and couldn't breathe. It was time to call 911.

I went upstairs to do that since the wireless handset in that room is useless. I couldn't answer the operator's question of "whether she's changing colour or not" because I couldn't see her face. Then I realized she could die. After hanging up, I went outside to standby as instructed. Although I'm not exactly fond of aunt Y, that few moments felt like an hour.

First the firetruck came. 2 paramedics started tending to her while one took info. Then 2 more ambulances showed up and all of a sudden there were 7 paramedics in our basement. I thought this would wake cousin K up, but nope. She must be very tired form the flight despite acting energetic. Aunt Y was given oxygen, and then carried out in a back-pack chair by one of the guys. Mom went with the ambulance since they could only take one person, and I drove there after. The whole house was stinking badly.

It was around 2:30am when I arrived at VGH. Amazingly, the ambulance arrived only moments ago, in spite of me having to change, preparing water bottle and snack for an unknown duration in ER, and turning off the lights. Mom said they drove slowly. Hmm... Aunt Y got a bed in ER very soon. Some people only got stretchers in the hallway. There were a bunch of medical staff asking tons of questions, mostly medical history. I don't know much about that. That was why mom was there. She was smart to take aunt Y's day-timer with her. However, she was sleep-deprived and nervous, so I was there pretty much to translate and relay. Aunt Y speaks good English but she was too weak. Somehow my back felt very wrong. Adrenaline was the only thing that kept me going.

Aunt Y's blood pressure was too low and heart beat not regular and with a murmur, and her skin was icy cold. (Scary.) I over heard the paramedics said that they had not have a good reading (of something) since they arrived at our house. Not sure what that meant, but it really didn't look good. Mom said when I was upstairs calling 911, aunt Y was turning purple.

All the time, staff came in-and-out, asking similar questions. They gave her a chest x-ray and suspected that she might have a blood clot in her lungs. A CT scan was quickly arranged and risks explained. At the end, there was no blood clot, which was good. However, they couldn't find out why her blood pressure was so low. Poor aunt Y got poked and pressed multiple times from internal bleeding exams. She had been nauseous and vomited every time she was moved (mainly for the CT scan). She was throwing up dark green bile. After the 5th time, they finally gave her nausea drugs.

One of the doctors ask if anyone's told her what stage of cancer she's in. We couldn't answer because we never heard anything. Then it dawned on me that aunt Y may have very little time left. The doctor also brought up resuscitation wish issue. Since she has osteoporosis and so tiny, CPR will for sure break her ribs. I didn't think she had a clear enough mind to deal with it at that point. Nevertheless mom kind of asked her. She didn't say anything. It's a tough issue for anyone.

Mom was commenting on how the IV fluid pumped aunt Y up, and she looked much better. Even her panda eyes disappeared. 2 liters went in and she never needed to pee. I suppose she was extremely dehydrated. Seemed like the potassium (or was it sodium???) they gave her helped too. Then the second bag of IV started and after a while she needed to pee. We were asking the staff for bed pan every... I had no idea how long. After 3 times, they decided to set up a catheter. I suspect there weren't enough bed pans in ER.

Around 6:30 she complained less about being cold or couldn't breathe or nausea. Around 7 her skin was warm again. Her blood pressure was back to normal. She was talking much much better too. All the paper work was done for admission, she was stabilized, and we could finally go home at 8.

20 minutes later, we were home. Felt like a whole year. There were still aunt Y's poop and the commode to clean up. Mom was doing that. (Sorry... I'm unable to face that kind of stuff...) The house stunk because when mom was trying to put the tighter lid on, the paramedics were leaving and she had to leave immediately. The seat cover was down but not air tight. I still hadn't showered from last night so I had to do that. All the running around and staying up made me feel sticky.

Since I didn't leave a note before I left, I worried that cousin K might panic after waking up in an empty house. But that was unnecessary. She finally got up after I finished showering. Turn out she heard the wall banging, but thought it was me hammering upstairs. Yikes... (T_T)

Ended up going to bed at 9:30 am. Need to get up at 1:30 pm the latest if I were to take mom and cousin K to London Farm.

But... but... right at noon, the hospital called me to update aunt Y's condition. (Which gave me and mom 2 hours sleep each...) Aunt Y was doing well, but they're keeping her there for at least a few days. Plus, for terminally ill (?!) patients, they will not give CPR. I didn't know she's terminally ill. I thought lung cancer can be shrunk with just pills. I've been wrong.

The first day my cousin visits, and this... yikes...

Airport

Cousin K arrived today. Not before some fish trouble. The fisherman brought a bunch of fish for us (including our next door neighbour M and across the street neighbour V). Without letting us know, V invited his friend (?) to join the "fish club", and they together took all the fish. None left for us or M. We were very unhappy. Somehow mom managed to complain, and got 3 from V. M didn't complain and got nothing. Sigh... It was M who started the fish club thing in the first place yet he got nothing.

Picked up cousin K from the airport. It went smooth except I was unusually frustrated about red lights. (Well, we hit a construction zone and way above average red light frequency.)

Cousin K's flight served no lunch so we went for an afternoon mini meal. Couldn't eat dinner at normal time so we just had some soup instead. Aunt Y had some leftover noodles she brought back from dim-sum with friends. We went for a walk in the neighbourhood.

The fisherman came in the evening as promised. Since mom's got fish from V, we didn't need any more. So I told him to talk to V and M. However, mom thought a friend might want some, and starting phoning. I ran out to tell the fisherman, but he was gone already! Maybe V and M weren't home. Oh well, too bad...

Cousin K was super talkative. (However... somewhat repetitive...) We plan to have afternoon tea at LF as a late lunch tomorrow so I'd better sleep early.

Milka Noisette

A series of picture-only candies from May 2010. 1 of 3 of a bunch of goodies A brought back from home... except for I haven't had a chance to try them. Only pictures were taken.

Milka chocolate is always good. This Milka Noisette definition at an online shop says...

Milka Noisette is delicious with creamy-nutty Noisette Milka Alpine Milk Chocolate in an extra-smooth, 100% Alpine milk. Cocoa: 30% less than in the Alpine milk chocolate. Warning: may contain traces of other nuts, peanuts, and wheat protein.

I didn't know Amazon sells Milka chocolate too. Wow...

Drain (2)

The estimator never called. Grrr...
Did some more cleanup and dug up a pile of used brown paper envelope. Why were they kept? Why were they kept for 20 years??? (OK there are some unused ones too.) Also found a collection of old freebie day-timers form banks etc. The oldest one was from 1981. OMG! Why why why??? (T_T)

Washed my car. I waited too long (for the sun to go low enough not to shine directly into my eyes). Dug up the tub of Pink Solution but no time to cook it. So... the car was washed without any detergent. Not sure if it would be any good, but still better than nothing.

Drain (1)

Thought the drainage company would call early so I set my alarm early... but they actually called in the afternoon. Didn't get much sleep. They showed up around 1 and finished at 2:35... but the guy wrote down 2:45. I caught him... but he said it was close enough. That's why I asked V to come over to back me up... but he disappeared during that time. (Turns out he went with Mr. M to buy fish.) Anyway, the drain unclogging failed. The bill will come in the mail. And we'll get an estimator to come tomorrow. Thank God the estimate is free. Using the camera alone costs $250. Each man hour costs $55. A team of 2 x 1.75 hours = $192.5 plus camera = $442.5 plus tax = $495.6! (p.s. My mistake. The $250 camera fee actually includes the first hour, so the total was $110 less.)

Chances are, we need to replace the whole drainage system. It involves digging up the sidewalk. We're looking at 20 - 30 thousand bucks... (T_T)

Thanks to the lack of sleep on top of the tension of dealing with the drainage people, I lost my guard. Someone rang our door bell. I thought it was the estimator and let a stranger in. He seemed to have legit "government" ID and was very eager to "come in and and sit down" and tried to get us to "register" on some utility thing. Suspicious. But my clouded mind was having trouble understanding what he was trying to do back then. And I was naive to think as long as I don't sign anything it should be fine. (Not!) Luckily this guy was dumb too. He rang my neighbours' door bell and didn't wait long enough. So 3 households came out to investigate and they all ended up in my living room, and kicked that guy out. He ran like a rat. I almost let him see our power bill. (Because he said he can show us how much we can save. Which is very dangerous as it's got all sorts of info.) Sigh... I failed. I failed seriously. I failed myself, and I failed my mom. I also failed my neighbours. (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

That guy was definitely up to no good. He disappear so fast, it was like running away from us. His ID was government certified something something... Oh, now looking back, he didn't wear the ID on his chest or neck, but kept it inside the binder. He only flashed it to me a few times. OMG... OMG... I'm so thankful to have such good neighbours.

Never let any stranger into the house. Never show any bills.

OMG... I don't think I can survive alone... I'm clearly the one evolution will discard... (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T) (T_T)

Muffler

Made the actual appointment with the drainage company and then went to my over-due car tune-up. Yup, got there at 1:30, late for half and hour. Mr. C was busy with the phone and other customers so I was left alone for 15 minutes. Serves me right for being late. When the mechanic came for my keys, it was 2. Mr. C's got good business because he's honest. Caucasian customers seem to have doubled since my last visit. It was 4 by the time I was done. Cost 300 bucks, though. The muffler needed to be replaced. I'm sure it would be a lot more expensive elsewhere.

Went to the recycling depot to dump a bunch of stuff. The junk at home hardly decreased. There's no time left for more dumping. Cousin K comes this Saturday.

Costco

Met up with A and went to Costco. Am I not reasonable to be mad that he left for the inland trip without a word?

Then dinner at McDonald's, A's favorite restaurant. (T_T) Why is he so picky about food, yet chooses McDonald's as his best??? That branch, however, was the most deluxe one I've been to. It was huge and there were leather sofas in front of a big screen TV.

After dinner, we went to Walmart for stuff that Costco didn't have. Picked up some fresh corn form a road-side vendor van. Thanks for the chips and stuff.

p.s.
Out of the 6 ears of corn I got, 3 are very small and under developed. One even has a hole on the side. We let the vendor pick for us. That was a mistake.

The 3 half-bags of chips from A were not half, but only a mere handful. The bags were oily, sticky, and gross. I do appreciate hand-me-downs, but these... makes me feel like a scavenger. He still can't distinguish between "sharing" and "discarding". Sigh... (T_T) Well, he did give me lots of other new stuff too. Maybe I shouldn't think this way. But I can't help in...

White Lover

From last December, a gift from cousin D's Japanese trip. Thanks! He went to Hokkaido with his wife and toured the factory of this famous white chocolate cookie. Usually, white chocolate is not my cup of tea because there's nothing besides sugar and fat. But this is delicious! It's not like others, but fragrant with milk... I don't like milk, but this is magically different! The cookie part has perfect texture and flavour. Extremely addictive. Why are Japanese so good at making such awesome candies???

Chiropractor

Got R's address confirmation so I needed to pack and mail the book today. Took longer than I thought and was late for chiropractor. Only 12 minute but he was running late anyway. There were 4 people in front. By the time I was done, it was almost 5. As usual, I went to check out DeSerres' on-going moving sale. Almost bought something I don't need. Also went to Urban Source for the small test tubes. However, on second thought, they are too easy to break and not good for mailing. So I didn't make the purchase. I think I'm controlling my spending better now... but ended up wasting gas. Oh well!

The nearby house has started the base for a new foundation. The other one... wooden structures are already up! Yikes!!!!!!

Cat #2 seems to be living with a parent (probably mom) and she was very cautious against me (or strangers in general). She ran in front of #2 to block him/her. Then #2 seemed to understand, and kept his/her distant. Awwww... (T_T)