Charity fair

Why do I always screw up my sleep? Ended up sleeping less then 2 hours. Why? I was trying to set up display and package some earrings. They're studs and cannot be hung. But why did it take so long? Why?????

Last night, sis-in-law said parking day-passes are only $3, but they're actually $10!!!! Oh well, there's no way I could find parking in this shopping season if I opp to move my car every 3 hours.

Ran into P! Wow! He was volunteering at the fair. We didn't get to chat much, and I failed to ask more about him. OTL

There were fewer than 10 tables excluding food and games, definitely not what I expect. The table size worked out OK, but I still think we could use more space. Sis-in-law bought food for lunch at the vendor tables, and then found out afterwards that staff can eat for free in the office. (Catering food, but wasn't that good.) Sleep deprived, I didn't have much appetite anyway.

There were performances and games. More people than last November's craft fair. But most people were facing their backs to us as they watched the stage. Sales was not good but still better than last time. Sold 6 pairs of earrings and one necklace. Total sales $26. After donation, I pocketed $18 after spending 6 hours. Nope, I'm not in the blacks at all. I wonder if I'll ever be. (T_T)

The event was supposed to end at 4, but people started packing up soon after 3, probably thanks to the lack of customers. Because we were going to a new Taiwanese restaurant for an early dinner, we didn't want to leave mom alone at home. She refused to come at first, but I think brother manged to convince her. Mr. L might be the other reason, as mom wanted to see his new apartment. However, she didn't make an appointment in advance and couldn't reach him today. So mom ended up going grocery shopping at T&T while we sat at our table. She brought back toufu pudding for everyone.

The restaurant was pretty good. Then I noticed they didn't say no MSG. Yup, thirsty.

Well, those labels I made a special trip to get yesterday were never used. OTL

Korean seaweeds

From April 2011. After the 3-11 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, I got a craving for seaweeds. Here are 5 varieties from 2 supermarkets.

Hosan Rosted Seasoned Sea Laver
This was the first one I bought. The default. Pretty good. I though it contains MSG but it's not on the list. The ingredients are: sea laver, sesame oil, corn oil, salt. The shorter the list, the better.

"Rosted Seaweed"
Smaller packaging. 8-packs were on sale for $0.99. Seems to be a good deal. (As long as they're not polluted by Japanese radiation... Who am I kidding? The earth is round!) Tastes... like seaweed with MSG, just like the normal ones. Good, at least I didn't screw up.

ChoripDong Rosted Laver with sunflower seed oil
Same as above, no suspicious ingredients. Sunflower seed oil is not as fragrant. One of the packages was super oily and a bit soggy.

ChoripDong Rosted Laver with olive oil
This one's pretty good. It's on the same level as the first one. Not sure if I tasted olive oil, though.

ChoripDong Rosted Laver with grape seed oil
I don't even know what grape seed oil tastes like. Can't really tell the difference between all these oils. But this still tastes awesome.

Last minute

Needed some last minute shopping and must go to Richmond again. Figured out I need labels and it's better to just buy some than making my own... for which I made a special trip yesterday to buy a paper punch... (T_T) Should have just bought the labels yesterday.

Do malls reuse the same Christmas decorations every year? I don't remember what they used last year. But I'm sure this is the first time I've ever seen upside-down umbrellas under Christmas trees. It may be a clever idea, but doesn't look right.

Gas price seems to have dropped a little...

Richmond

Thought today was the day I deal with the exchange and be done, but nooooo. Michale's has sold out of the 12 x 12 clear boxes. I managed to find one somebody misplaced. But I still need to exchange one more. Oh well...

Thought Netlink was gonna move into the smaller ex-piano store next door. Nooooo they actually are expending. The new section is gonna be a Samsung store.

Resin flower

Gotta take this last chance before the fair to work on the resin flowers, as they may not mail well. (Yup, they've been sitting on the desk for a few days.) Retouching took waaaaaaay too long! Hmm... is this really "you get what you pay for"? They aren't that cheap either.

Korean food

Eat-out day with brother's gang. Mom and I were supposed to wait for them at a small Shanghai restaurant near his place, but the place was full! (Amazingly, mom called brother when we left our house. They're only 2 blocks away, yet still manage to be quite late!) The lady at the restaurant tried very hard to persuade us to sit at a smaller table, but we didn't think it would work. So we decided to go to a Taiwanese restaurant in Richmond. I parked my car at brother's and he drove his van.

To our surprised, that Taiwanese restaurant was closed for staff holiday! By this time, everyone was grumpy, especially brother and sis-in-law. The atmosphere was like, they were ready to fight each other. (They could decide on whether to stay and try next door, or go to the other branch.) Since we've come so far, it was better to stay. So we ended up going into the Korean restaurant next door.

They're family style and the interior reflects it. It really looks like someone's home. The place isn't cheap, though. Plus, there's no small items. All $7 and above. The food has no MSG. Wasn't excellent, but not bad either.

Found out from J that sis-in-law is gonna join the charity fair on the 10th. I admit I'm a little worried about table space. But we'll see.

Olive Oil Potato Chips

From March 2011. Thanks A! This is excellent. You can tell it's good quality. The spice overpowers the potato a bit, but I don't mind at all. Too bad it's very expensive.