Safeway chips

Safeway Homestyle original potato chips. Picture taken May 2011. Usually, Safeway's store brand is pretty good. However, this one is very disappointing. The chips are too hard and there's no potato flavour. This satisfy neither the crave for crunch nor salt. Don't think I'll touch this ever again.

Rehab

Thought my appointment was at 2, but it was actually at 11. Knew the vampire's gonna show up. Couldn't sleep. Feel horrible. The doctor felt like a manipulator. Although he said good things, but does he really want to help me? Or is he just brushing me aside? I knew there's no help, no hope, no one to trust.

Pick mom up at dad's when I was done. As usual, his room stinks. Mom told me afterwards that the staff had to unlock dad's door before bringing him lunch. Which means, he might be locked up regularly. This doesn't sound right.

Ate a late lunch at 2:10 at mom's favorite place. Only cost $11:50 after tax and tip for the 2 of us. No wonder why it's her favorite.

Got home around 3:30. Didn't feel like going out so tried working at my desk, and of course, dosed off. Which is exactly what I should not do. But I could not help it! With the vampire and heavily drugged, there's just no way I can keep myself up until midnight. (T_T) Why do things have to be this way? Why am I so screwed up?

Skewers

Got up late and didn't get to meet A until 5. Dinner at Zakushi. Thanks. I agree their food is almost always good. Gotta try their Dine Out special next time.

Took A grocery shopping at Safeway and saw canned soup were on sale. Phoned mom up to see if we need any. She grabbed me and started yapping on unrelated stuff. Like, she was talking to aunt L when I phoned, and thought I was Mrs. L, and our next door neighbour Mr. S passed away around 3 PM... Yeah... of course that's how she fills her contents... with other people's stuff. Mine cannot escape so I cannot tell her anything.

Top of the Rock chocolate

Top of the Rock Observation Deck chocolate. Souvenir from NY. May 2011. Not for myself, so I didn't get to taste it. Sorry, no review. Just a picture.

Postponed

(Photo taken on the 15th and unrelated to subject.)
Finally heard from N. She didn't think I'd know L's b-day and never expected me to hand in the picture tomorrow either. Now I can relax a bit. But the damage form not sleeping last night is done. I went to bed at 9 AM and got up at 8 PM. Wasted all the daylight hours. Why do I keep screwing up? What am I gonna tell Dr. H? (T_T)

10-grain rice

Still mad from last night.

Got to lie down for about 4 hours, but no sleep. Couldn't fall asleep. And I always end up covered in sweat when I do that. My internal clock must be all messed up.

As promised, got ready by 11. Uncle and aunt Y picked up aunt L first, and we all went to visit dad. Mom made sure he's dressed before letting anyone into his room. The floor was wet and looked like it was just mobbed. However, the moment you enter his room, the strong stinking urine smell makes you jump back out right away. Was the floor actually mobbed? Or did dad smear whatever puddle was around trying to hide it?

We only stayed for about half an hour. Uncle took us to a dim sum place we've never been to. The food was good. And we managed not to over order, which always happens when we have dim sum.

After lunch, we went to the T&T across the street looking for the 10-grain rice on sale. Too bad it was sold out. Then we went home. It was 3:30 so I decided to try the Richmond branch. Mom went with me. Bingo, they had tons. Strangely, their price was marked higher, but the cashier charged us the sale price. Perhaps that's why it wasn't sold out. Everyone thought it wasn't on sale. The difference was less then 50 cents, though.

While dosing off at my desk, I worked on L's b-day picture for the rest of the day and all night... Can't come up with anything I like... Kept changing the picture... Why has drawing become so difficult??? (T_T)

Installation (2)

Mom didn't finish altering dad's pants so she didn't go visit him today. I of course didn't go out until 4. Haven't heard from N, and L's home phone number is no longer good. His cell phone only took voice mail. So I went to uncle Y's to look at his computer without visiting L&N. Since I've been so used to seeing the newest stuff at A's, his gigantic laptop looks like a dinosaur. Yet he still keeps the clear wrap which is by now all warn and very gross. His screen is somewhat blurry too. I didn't think I could fix his problem but I'd still take a look. After guessing and trying a few things, and with A on the other side of the phone, the software was installed successfully. Phew... (Amazing... ooops, I forgot to buy a lottery ticket!!!)

Mom used me in her phone conversations again. Very upset. Very angry. How can she accuse me of not telling her anything? She has no one to blame but herself. I swear I'll never tell her anything ever again. Never. I'm so upset I can't sleep. There's a big visit and I'll probably end up with less then 4 hours sleep. Yet I don't care. I'm in self-destruct mode. Yes, the vampire is around the corner. I don't think I can control it.

Installation (1)

(Photo taken on the 13th and unrelated to subject.)
Uncle Y called. He bought an input software but fails to install it so he wants my help. I'd have to take a look in person tomorrow. Yikes... me? Trying to fix someone else's hardward / software problem? Unlikely. I'm usually the one needs help. I'll have to buy a lottery ticket if I manage to fix it.

Cinnamon-Orange tea

Stocked up photo. Market Spice Cinnamon-Orange tea. Souvenir from Seattle trip back in May 2011. That day was very chilly and I totally fell for the self-serve free sample in the store. The cold weather adds to the experience. Although no sugar or flavouring is added, there's a sweet taste... that lasts into a nice aftertaste. Very interesting. The cinnamon is quite strong, though.

Happy Chinese new year

Got a rehab and chiropractor's appointment. Bad omen for the coming year?

Dr. H didn't give me any tools this time and had me come up with my own. What am I gonna do? I need help!

Stopped by to see dad after chiropractor. New year's dinner with brother's gang.

Aches

(Photo taken on the 15th.)
It's so bad... I couldn't sleep... Totally non-functional today... Zombie mode...

Cleanup

(Photo taken on the 15th.)
Could no longer stand the filthy bathroom and cleanup a bit. The shower tiles are just gross. Lots of scrubbing. And then... of course... I knew it... my body doesn't like it... I couldn't move... All frozen... Everything's wrong... Extremely wrong... Extremely grumpy....

Ferrero Rondnoir

Picture taken February 2011.
Dark chocolate base, sprinkle on the outside, moose on the inside, with something crunchy in the center. (Not sure what it is.) This is delicious and addictive! Dangerous!!!! The best part is, no sour after taste. When on sale, a pack of 4 costs just over a dollar. Excellent value! However, this may not be available all year round.

Coldest night

Minus 8!!! Freezing!!!

Wikki protest

No Wikki for a day. I agree with them, though.

Something strange is happening. Salt doesn't taste salty. That salt was from sis-in-law. And then there's a constant sour taste in my mouth. Especially after eating carbohydrates. Even after rinsing with salt water, I still taste sour. (T_T)

Terry's chocolate orange

Can't believe I haven't written anything yet. This chocolate has been around forever! Way back then only available during Christmas, but nowadays you can buy this anytime.

To me, it's orange flavoured milk chocolate alright. The size of each wedge is just right. You're supposed to bang the orange hard on the table to loosen the wedges, which I find a bit violent. And doesn't always work either.

One of my friends told me her dog who used to eat anything, stayed away from this. No, no, the dog ate chocolate fine. But he only smelled this and left. So, did he know something we don't? You decide!

Rehab

Failed to go to bed at my ideal time. Couldn't fall asleep and ended up with no sleep. (T_T) This, is the first thing the doctor's gonna help me fix.

Brother came over for a hair cut. As usual he shower and wash his hair afterwards. The bathroom is right next to my room, so the noise bugged the heck out of me. Of course stayed awake during the whole time he was here. When I finally got up, everyone's gone. He's taken mom to see dad. I was supposed to drop her off before my appointment. Oh well... She could have at least left me a note. Alone in the house, I felt a bit lost.

Late for my appointment for 10 minutes. Handed in my homework drawing which I failed to relate to. Perhaps the doctor thinks the original plan wouldn't work. We ended up jumping into some kind of behavior modification treatment which name I forgot. (Bad at taking notes.) Hope this works on my sleep.

Called up brother, no answer. Called home, no answer either. Felt lost again. So I just headed to dad as originally planned. Here, mom was waiting in his room. Turns out she did write me a note, but didn't display it. OTL

Picked up some grocery on our way home. It's gonna be -7 degree tonight. Tomorrow's highest is 0. Will not be a good day to go out.

My heating pad chose the coldest night to break. (T_T)

Movie

Thanks A for coming with me. Actually I failed to sleep early again and ended up with less than 4 hours. Was hoping to go to Richmond but of course time wouldn't allow. A wanted pizza for lunch so I pick it up on my way. Expecting parking difficulties, we took transit.

We just made it. The movie hadn't started yet. I expect to see ads forced onto the audiences, but there was none! The screen stayed back without music. I suspect the theater was waiting for more people to show up and postponed a little. Then, then I couldn't believe my eyes. A text-only Blu-ray menu! A confirmed it. Yikes! Didn't this mean I've paid full ticket price to watch a Blu-ray???? Why??? What happened to the film???

Of course the image quality was disappointing. But the unpleasant theater stuff wasn't too bad, probably thanks to a less then half full Sunday lunchtime showing. (I hate the smell of second-handed popcorn and being disturbed by noisy little kids.) Today's experience was pleasant. Well, largely because I'm a big fan.

Got home by 5 as new year reunion dinner started at 6. Mom had arrange brother to pick us up at 5:30 but he didn't show up until 5:45. We made it on time but everyone else had arrived (which was what mom fear). Oh well. There was lots of leftover food after the feast.

Rene Rey

Rene Rey Cocoa 80 Truffles. From January 2011. Thanks A for this one. I shared it with my niece... but somehow I can't remember how it tasted as I forgot to take a note... OTL. It's 80% cocoa, pretty dark, organic and "with a hint of vanilla"... so it should be good. However, knowing the sour after taste of north American chocolate, I think this one is no exception. It must have lacked distinctiveness so I completely fail to recall. Sorry...

Snow

It started snowing last evening non-stop and it sticks. I hope tomorrow's gonna be better as it's my big movie day plus family reunion dinner.

Black Friday

It's Friday the 13th! Luckily nothing bad happened. Thank God for chiropractor day. I need it badly. All of a sudden I realized why. The radio said it's gonna snow tonight. Mystery solved.

A canceled the pickup so I was ready to go home. Then I realized there's a Shopper's next block. So I got back out of my car and went to take a look. Bingo! There're still a bunch of Christmas gift wrap! And! Even cheaper! $0.50 to $0.99 each. As of making up previous disappointment, I grabbed 6. One of them is a 4-pack originally $9.99 with a missing cap on one end, which makes it $0.50! Amazing! It make me feel so lucky! (Thank you God!)

Got home and kept dosing off at my desk. Tried to install the security software from A, then he called. He was on his way to my place. Wow... the sun's gonna rise from the west! I guess it only takes him one bus ride from work. So he showed up and helped me with the installation. Then we went to Richmond to pickup his order as originally planned. I took care of my cell phone bill deduction in Aberdeen. Dinner at Aoyama. Thanks~

However, my back was going bad fast. Just like last time, I could feel it when driving. My mood also dropped. It dropped so much, A noticed my negative energy burst. I guess these are things that I don't notice myself. What can I do... what can I do...? (T_T)

Down the rabbit hole

I think I found an answer to my problems. Some of the ideas are extremely creepy, though...
The original video has been blocked. If this doesn't play, search with "What the Bleep Do We Know!? Down The Rabbit Hole". It's worth watching.

Seems like I'm already addicted to negative thoughts. But it also says I can change it. May not be easy, though...

Tune-up

Car tune-up day. Cost less then I thought because the brakes don't need fixing yet. However, my mechanic advises against driving this car south of the bolder. Oh well... so much for visiting J&M. (T_T)

Got home sooner than mom. Should have dropped by dad's. Took a bunch of pictures including those I accidental deleted last night. Kept dosing off at the desk.... OTL

Swiss Delice Brasilia

From August 2011. Actually a Christmas present from December. It's moose sandwiched between 2 layers of meringue and then dipped in chocolate. Kind of rich but light at the same time. (I'm contradicting myself.) Not too sweet either, and not too addictive. (Well, depends on how hungry you are.) Since it's so low density, it's hard to stop at just one. I always eat 2. Overall it's quite nice. But it can only be classified as candy. Not filling at all.

Rehab Center

The first online order arrived, cool! I was gonna drop mom off to dad before my appointment but she wanted to be there at noon, so it didn't work. We took separate trips.

First treatment appointment today. Basically just goal setting and a simple homework assignment. One more thing nailed. My thought process is chaotic.

Of course mom got home first. With no time wasted, I didn't even go in. Picked her up and went to Mrs. K's who's on a trip. Mom's been checking her home while she's gone. Yesterday the carbon monoxide alarm has been beeping so mom got nervous. We checked today and it didn't seem too dangerous, except for it's plugged into a wall outlet. My dying battery theory doesn't hold up. We decided not to mug with it after calling Mrs. K up.

Ran a few errands... the teller tried so hard to sell me "investment accounts" which turn out to be the $5000 tax-free saving account. Geeze... He didn't even know what he was talking about. Wasted a lot of my time. I should have just said not today right away. They must be getting a commission for each sign-up or something. Got F's baby card... Got some grocery... Went home kept dosing off at the desk (as usual). It's eat-out day with brother's gang. Today's also niece G's b-day so we went to get some mini fruit tarts (as usual). Mom made a bunch of calls at brother's. Came home, and again, kept dosing off at the desk. (T_T)

A might be changing his mind about this Sunday's movie. It would be good if he can go.

Calendar

(Forgot this photo...) Thanks A, R&B for the calendar. Thought I'd have to give up this year. Thanks!! (^_^)

Again

Mom answered the phone call, I didn't. Apparently dad pushed a fellow resident onto the floor on Tuesday. (Why didn't they call sooner, then?) The lady fell and broke something... probably her hip, and went to the hospital for a few days. Mom speculated that the lady might have gone into dad's room, and he tried to drive her away. Of course, we'll never find out the truth. We constantly have to apologize for him. But that can't fix the physical damages he's done.

On the other hand, mom is going crazy. I found her leaving half a banana on her sewing machine. Sigh...

Dinner

Thanks B for the b-day dinner invite. (It happens to be the same day as the Orthodox Church Christmas eve.) Got up late again (fail!) and as a result, went to Richmond late. Got A his coffee beans, and forced CT into my trip. I was very disappointed that the measuring cup with lid was 2 liters. Way too big. (The flyer didn't say how big.) The glass Tupperware was way smaller than I thought. (Again, the flyer didn't say how big.) Not willing to leave empty-handed, I got a set anyway. Those are useful stuff. (However, I forgot about the $1 magic eraser! Fail!)

It's been raining and traffic was bad. I could feel my jaws, neck, shoulders, back, hips and legs tensing and freezing up. Of course my mood also dropped. Got really pissed off at other drivers (got cut off many times when traffic was already hardly moving, plus way too many red lights). Picked A up from his place and went to Costco for B's b-day gift card. I needed washroom while he ate a hotdog. Got 1/3 of his hotdog.

We were late for half-an-hour at R&B's. Luckily R was still not home picking S up from daycare. S was really interested in A's i-pad... at such a young age! (Well... there are frogs and lizards playing i-phone games on Youtube.) Parking ran out at 7:30 so A bought another hour. We stayed until 9:15. Drove him home, hung out at his place and read flyers. Too bad he only has Fridays'. The CT one was from Wednesday. I searched online but failed to find which store has the $1 magic eraser. Oh well...

Connoisseur Grand Marnier

Photo taken last January... yikes! (Why do "stock" photos keep popping up?) Grand Marnier is one of the most yummy liquor IMHO. It's still yummy inside chocolate. (Actually, all these liquor chocolate taste kind of similar.) These small packs are perfect as small gifts.

Disappointed

Super disappointed. A refuses to see Milos with me. This is one of those "I need you" instances but he pushes me away. ("I need your help", "I need your understanding", "I need your support"...) Funny he made it sound so logical and democratic. Crap, is this actually funny? Maybe not. I'm more upset than I think I'd be.

Not sure if there's anyone else to ask. Tried J&M but no answer yet. They may not even be in town next weekend. Can't mix with C&S. What should I do... what should I do...?

Worst case scenario, I might have to go alone, which, will not be a pleasant experience. Sigh... I know I can't force A. It's not fair for me to make him do something he dislike. But there are way too many instances that make me think he's just excreting excuses, as he considers his time is so much more precious than other people's. (And what does he do? Play games or search for online deals.) Sigh... Is a companion to see a movie too much to ask for? (T_T)

Chiro, day-timer

Thank God for chiropractor day. It's been exactly 10 days, but feels like 20. I know, I know, I haven't been exercising at all. It's bad. (No, worst.)

Stopped by the Broadway Staples to get my all-important 2012 day-timer. My worries of selling out was unnecessary as there are still plenty left. Still not cheap, though. About $6.20 after tax? Office Depot might be cheaper if they hadn't gone out of business. Oh well. However, only black ones are left. I may not be as "early" as I thought. This means, there's no difference between the old one and the new one!?!?!?! Yikes!!!!! (This company does not print the year on the cover!)

DeSerres is a block away. Could I resist? Ended up picking up a bunch of discounted scrapbook paper. Sigh... I've told myself not to buy anymore, but every time I fail. (I just need to actually make stuff out of them...)

Blank

(Photo taken on December 4th and unrelated to subject... or does it?)
Sorry, totally missed today. This is just a space-filler...

Last day off

Pouring rain. Didn't go to the Festival of lights. Oh well. Met up with A for dinner. Then watched one of the 3 Andre Rieu DVDs.

Maitre Paul

Same brand, but a different liquor from this. Comparing to the other bean-shaped one, this chocolate seems to be softer and more creamy. I forgot to check, but I think the other one is dark chocolate while this is milk chocolate. The alcohol seems weaker, though. Don't take me wrong, I'm not complaining. After a while, they kind of all taste the same, though.

New year

Dinner at brother's. Stopped by to see dad before that. These days, sis-in-law and the girls have dropped out. Can't blame them. Dad stinks too much, and his behavior would scare the girls. Today, he wasn't wearing anything but a fleece vest. (Yup, no pants at all.) His spitting is absolutely hopeless.

Sis-in-law cooked up a feast. We has steak, pita bread and salad. Made a bunch of phones calls and went home. Brother had a meeting so we didn't stay too long.

And then, why did I keep dosing off at my desk again?