Tatiana's Wanderings

Computer mouse and keyboard, Z-Grip pens, hand sanitizer, MY DARK VANESSA

2020-04-11T00:46:37Z

48 Z-Grip Pens (December 18, 2019) from Staples while I was out anyway / a backup K120 USB keyboard, a backup Certified Data Deluxe Optical mouse, 2000 Flushes with Chlorine, Paul Newman's Alfredo sauce for next year, London Naturals unscented dish soap, Vim bathroom cleaner from London Drugs / half-price JOY dumplings x4 (Pork and Tri-Treasure, Lamb and Onion, Pork and Vegetable, Pork and Chives), Earth's Own almond milk, another Hungry-Man Queso XL bowl, and $9 Saniderm hand sanitizer x4 (the limit) from Price Smart equals another productive shopping trip! I should have gone to the pharmacy next door YESTERDAY since it looks like they're closed for ALL the Easter long weekend! Some dude wondered if the entire building was closed - looked like it to him when he peered in. Oh well... I left at 1 on a 401, and returned at 2:50 on a 407.

This bus seat right behind the bus driver is Out of Service because of the coronavirus pandemic! I was standing on the bus (technically not allowed now) and it was moving, so this is as good a photo as I was going to get.

MY DARK VANESSA is a book title, haha!

Certified Data M40 Deluxe Optical mouse as a backup!

Logitech K120 computer keyboard as a backup!

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Honk if you love Jesus! / Pouya Ghomi?! / Asia Rice?! / Hard for huggers?! HAHA!

2020-04-06T05:24:06Z

How Much Toilet Paper? The Toilet Paper Calculator For Quarantine / Isolation!

We were so bored in Ceriam's Discord server that we were sharing photos of our computer / tech setups. Stallings said that my handwriting on the latest version of my shopping list was pretty, so I thanked him for the compliment.

Andrew came over at 5:15 today, after sleeping in. Hey, no worries, I told him. He didn't want to bother with the whole parking pass rigmarole, which I admit IS annoying. We discussed my eye surgery last year, Merritt, family updates, Search Everything, Chrome, my computer settings, computer drivers, pooping 187 times a day to use up a LOT of toilet paper, his wanting to know the programs so he can determine what's going on (which I understand), and fixing the tangled phone cord. He was over for about an hour, and left at 6:45 or so, not finding anything inherently wrong which would cause the computer to freeze! All temperatures are in very normal ranges since I'm underutilizing the computer's power. Nope, this is not a heavy-duty gaming rig!

He cut me a break on his fee (as Mike said) when I asked what the damage was, since he didn't really do too much: $20 cash sounds much better than $40, even during these times! I thought he would say that his kid stayed at his place so long that the pandemic happened during a week's extension, but it turned out to be much worse! We talked about lining up to shop at Superstore and other places now, and raising his rates six months ago - I know that a full tank of gas plus three jerry cans in the States is value! Or it was, but now we can't just go down there for cheap gas.

He did notice that the computer mouse stopped momentarily whenever the computer made a musical noise, but that wouldn't cause things to freeze... of course, the computer WOULD freeze shortly AFTER he left. It's not like I could have reproduced the issue on demand! At his request / upon his request, I did record a rather choppy phone video of me flipping off the power switch at the back and then turning on the power button again. Sigh. I did update Eric as well via text while noticing some weird font issues on my computer, possibly related to Andrew deleting WonderShare and some other programs. Yes, Andrew is still anti-Windows 10. Still, he has to keep current...

This bumper sticker is from Julie: Honk if you love Jesus! Text if you want to meet Him!

Seen on a bus ad: A realtor named Pouya Ghomi, as in POO-YA?! Reminds me of ghormeh sabzi.

From Julie and Hear Me Out's Snapchat: Asia Rice?! "My name is Asia and I'm getting a faded pink wig."

This glitch is from my Discord server: April 4 is today. April 5 is both tomorrow and today. Okay, Discord!

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THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN, VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS, yellow dragons, Corona Fest

2020-03-31T02:38:07Z

There was a Shaw outage last night at 6:45, so I texted both Erics / Mike before reading a bit and then going to bed at 8:30 PM! Woke up this morning at 5:45, and Shaw was back on since my phone worked... PHEW! Chinese Eric had replied to ask when it would be fixed - I said it was fixed by the time I texted him, but no TV, no Internet, no landline phone or Internet on smartphone, I told him!

From Holidays That Might Get Overlooked: 9th Pass Pern DRAGON SIZES from THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN! White dragon, green dragon, blue dragon, red dragon, brown dragon, bronze dragon, and a gold dragon!

Julie watched a movie called VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS one night, based on Jules Verne's novel OFF ON A COMET or THE CAREER OF A COMET.

From Julie: An awesome yellow dragon with a red sky and clouds!

This surprised yellow dragon statue is from Julie!

From Red's Discord server: Self-Isolation presents the Stay At Home Festival for the coronavirus, March 2020! GUITAR! Couch Test Dummies, The Coughspring, The Indoors, Pandemic at the Disco, No Kids on the Block, Flu Fighters, No Cure, Miley Virus, Men Out Of Work, Depressed Mode, Billy Idle, Wu-Han Clan, Pearl Jammies, and special guest System of a Lockdown! Being me, I had to edit the bad subject-verb agreement in the poster itself using MS Paint. PRESENTS, not PRESENT! BAD GRAMMAR!

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Mistaking kindness for weakness, unsolved murder article, Billie's 2011 birthday

2020-03-24T03:17:26Z

Eric M. says he has a spare 500-watt power supply if needed - PHEW! However, that doesn't explain the keyboard and mouse freezing!

From James: This purple dinosaur (Barney?) is mistaking this rhinoceros's kindness for weakness.

From Ryan B. and My middle finger has a boner: I'm going to cut out a bunch of newspaper articles about an unsolved murder, and keep them in a box in my closet to fuck with my kids' heads after I die.

Billie's 2011 birthday - good times with Aaron and others!

Billie's 2011 birthday - good times with Alana and others!

Billie's 2011 birthday - hanging out on the couch with Dorna!

Billie's 2011 birthday - couch hangouts with Dorna can be chill and fun, too!

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Romanovs! / Knorr Cheesy Spinach Dip! / Paulo's birthday Cascade Room and Colony

2020-03-15T10:40:43Z

The Romanovs: The Real History of the Russian Dynasty, Part 1

The Romanovs: The Real History of the Russian Dynasty, Part 2

I left at 4:30 to meet Paulo and Darryl at the Cascade Room (2616 Main Street, near Main and Broadway-ish, more like Main and 10th) for Paulo's belated birthday hangout at 6. I wanted to be early just in case there were stroller / wheelchair delays or elevator shenanigans - surprisingly for once, there were none of those AND I just managed to get a 3 bus which had ten people total in it, but they couldn't find my reservation when I got there at 5:30! I was seated at a high table pretty quickly, though they said they'd move me to a booth once some people left who had been there at 4. Paulo texted me and Darryl said on Discord that he was getting an Uber. We waited to see if Steve would show up (Estefan is in Whistler at the moment), and I finally messaged him. He replied pretty quickly to say he was having a bad day, so no. I showed them both the phone notification, and they joked about guilting him into it since we HAD to find a place that took reservations JUST FOR HIM! Seriously, dude - we could have stayed with the Brassneck Brewery plan!

We were on our phones a lot, which actually is pretty good for me. Talked about Jimbo's opinion on our Superfriends server and how I know I can't change his mind on it (and wouldn't want to - why bother?), the secret chat, all the drama, Holly's opinion on Jimbo not telling us much about his work, the 12 Kings meetup being last year on March 12 already, Brian being sued by some people, and Holly nuking the original server unexpectedly. I showed them some funny toilet paper-related memes, while we tried various food and drink: gin and tonic, Amber something, mushroom poutine, sausage rolls with barbecue sauce (which I spilled on my DRAGON HOODIE - necessitating MORE LAUNDRY when I got home!), white wine, schnitzel, steak, desserts, and more! The Cascade Room was advertising Jameson ginger and lime Slurpees for St. Patrick's Day 2020. Good luck with that!

Darryl said that his buddies might join us, and wondered if we'd mind. I said no, but deferred to Paulo since it was his belated birthday celebration - HE didn't mind, either. Harmony texted me at 7:15 to say not to worry about coming over next Tuesday as they're limiting everything non-essential including public transit trips. They've even cancelled their Harrison Hot Springs vacation next week for Spring Break, which makes sense! If I were a different kind of person, I'd ask if they don't trust me! This is best for everyone's health and safety, though.

Eric M. also texted me: "FYI, VCEFC has been cancelled because of COVID-19 concerns" - that's what I thought would happen when I heard the daily BC health guidelines the other day. MORE FREE TIME FOR HIM! We left the Cascade Room at 8 and walked a block or so to the Colony Bar across the street from Save-On Foods. I'd have gone in earlier to see if they had hand sanitizer, but they probably don't. I told them that my brother lives around there, but that it was probably bedtime for the kids. They joked about invading their place anyway even if the nephews were there, but I knew it was a drunken joke and didn't take it seriously. Paulo offered Darryl a hit of his vape since he'd tried smoking, but he declined due to the pandemic - smart!

We were at the Colony Bar for about 70 minutes or so, with Darryl unexpectedly buying us a round because it was Paulo's birthday. I got a Parallel 49 Jerk Face 9000 beer - I had to order it because of the name! No, I wasn't surprised that Paulo barely touched his beer - they'd already had a lot at the Cascade Room. We discussed alcohol tolerance, Paulo totally forgetting about work once on HOLIDAY PAY, the coronavirus, and whether Darryl's buddies would actually show up. I gave up on them at 9, about five minutes before they DID come in. The guy put his hand out to shake hands - what?! I instinctively shook hands, and then went to wash my hands immediately afterwards since I had to pee anyway. My hand sanitizer was way down in the bottom of my Doge bag, then I had to look for my phone when I got back to the table, which was also in my Doge bag! Habit to look in my coat pocket... not sure what I'll do once it's summer!

Paulo declared that he would call an Uber since he said it was too cold to wait around for the bus for too long. I decided to just wait for the bus since it was more wallet-friendly. The East Indian 3 driver waited THREE TIMES for no reason, holding everybody up on his bus! What schedule is there to make up at 9:30 PM?! You have your breaks now, so that's not a good reason! Of course that made me late for the Brighouse train - it was pretty chilly outside, so I took the opportunity to send Mike a picture of my current footwear at Marine Drive station after fighting with the wifi.

Mike said something about "where's the glim-glam?" so I texted that 1 degree was too cold for bare feet and toeless sandals! (I waited till I was up on the platform since I heard the YVR train announcement from the statue) The train was sparsely populated, too - I got my own little row of accessible seats since an Asian lady moved far away from me instead once I said I needed her seat. I got home at 10:35, thanks to that stupid 3 bus driver - I could have been home half an hour before! Doing laundry seems to have worked for my dragon hoodie, but I can't seem to say the thing for my four towels since I used them to wipe up a flood of water from when I was showering a few days ago. Guess I'll go tomorrow to London Drugs and buy up on-sale zinc citrate, four towels, and maybe a pair of Secret socks!

Knorr Cheesy Spinach Dip for lunch!

( Zinc, bar food, and a special Pi Day 2020 Reddit award! )

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Pure Nail Bar / Biggerstaff?! / Coronavirus T-shirt / Lent / Today and tomorrow!

2020-03-05T08:33:19Z

After COFFEE TIME / SHOWER TIME / CLEANING FRIDGE TIME (yucky sticky prune juice!), I went out at 1:30 on a 401 to finally redeem that Pure Nail Bar gift card from Christmas 2019 for a pedicure before going to help with the kids. I thought I'd be on time, but NO... the 3 bus had to be late, a stroller had no idea what to do on the bus, and then there were traffic delays, causing me to be 10 minutes late! At least they didn't have to call me or anything, and it was just after East 13th! It was pretty relaxing, and I got to choose a nail polish color - Shooting Star silver glitter! They had a fancy nail dryer and a fancy pink toe separator!

After I was done at 3:45, I texted Jon and asked whether he was at the park, then went to Save-On to kill time. I should have gone to the park instead since it took him 20 minutes to get back to me saying they were home now. Fine, sure, I'll walk there - not a big deal, of course. Beckett wanted "Didibug!" which Jon asked about - it made sense, but what was it? Hiero drew me a Bat Signal and a lightning bolt, saying I could keep them in my pocket. I pointed out that it would probably fall out of my pocket, so I'll keep them in my wallet's zippered pouch instead! When I got home, I put the Bat Signal / lightning bolt / Cao Starvingbase Noodle HOO! guy in a Ziploc bag for extra protection.

Ayler was blocking Beckett's access to the piano because Beckett would try to play it, and wanted to know if the real Dean could stay later to play "quiet soccer" while Jon taught his sister Lily. I told Dean that he must be special to Beckett - every time someone comes over, Beckett thinks it's Dean! HAHAHA! "Dean! Dean! Dean!" When Harmony got home, she mentioned she was late because the pipeline protesters had been blocking UBC today - UGH! Then she saw silverfish in the bathroom, in her clothes! YUCK! I told her about the time that I had seen one CRAWLING ON MY COMPUTER DESK in summer 2017 - EW! Beckett wanted to say hi to Kayla, and of course was interested in her guitar and the rest of the students.

Jon gave me a tea rag to wipe Beckett's nose with. He's learned "NO!" and uses it frequently! I watched him knock over Jon's violin while he was teaching Willie, and Jon said "NO, BECKETT." A kid named Ethan came for a piano lesson, and his mom stayed in the room. Beckett was very interested in her phone! Ethan asked what I was doing there, so I said that was a good question - what did HE think? Jon answered when he didn't have a response. I read the rest of the DOG MAN book to Hiero, who then wanted to draw Dog Man while Dean and Ayler transitioned to quieter origami.

We had pozole with hominy / chips / Greek yogurt / choy for dinner, plus an almond croissant. Beckett wanted to climb up on the couch and needed my help to sit / stand on the white chair. He picked up the word "funny" and the corresponding grin expression. "FUNNY! OPEN! Block! Magnet! Frog!" Of course he got upset when Ayler stole his stuff... I told Hiero that he had just touched the nose-wiping cloth with Beckett's germs ALL OVER it, so Hiero went by himself to wash his hands quickly! Beckett also showed me where my own eyes / nose / mouth / ears were, with the correct words. He wanted to show me his orange half-shell, so he said "shell" - pretty good!

I left at 7:45, amazingly in enough time to catch the 7:55 3 bus that went to the station. However, I wouldn't get home in time for the second period, because there was an electric scooter that took a minute or so to adjust herself in the bus. She didn't deserve a guilt trip or anything, so I was outwardly patient. Then on the Canada Line at Aberdeen, there was an obstreperous guy who wouldn't get off the train until threatened with the cops by the female attendants! Everyone was craning their necks to look - some old man asked if I was going to save him. Fuck, no! I'll watch from safety! I FINALLY got home at 9:10 during the second intermission. The Canucks played the Coyotes tonight at 7:30, and lost 4-2 thanks to an empty-net goal from behind the Arizona net ALL the way to the other end of the ice.

Fancy nail dryer at Pure Nail Bar.

Fancy pink toe separators at Pure Nail Bar. Nail polish color from their array is Shooting Star Silver.

Pretty Shooting Star Silver toenails!

Better view of the Shooting Star Silver toenails!

I got this weird time glitch on Shiwa's Discord server last night. March 3 is "today" while March 4 is both "tomorrow" and 'today." Okay, Discord...

From Jon and Harmony for Christmas 2019: Pure Nail Bar pink envelope and pink gift card for a pedicure, which I finally used this afternoon!

Biggerstaff tombstone?!

This is from Red's Discord server. Coronavirus as a metal band T-shirt: CORONAVIRUS 2020 World Tour! China and Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, Middle East, South America. SCYTHES! HAHAHAHA!

From Julie: I'm giving up these little glasses of alcohol for Lent. I will be drinking big glasses of alcohol instead.

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February 15 is Cheap Candy Day! / Loving murder documentaries! / Lindt galore!

2020-02-16T03:58:15Z

I noticed that Terrence unfriended me - okay, then! Went out at 3 on a 407 to London Drugs: I got on-sale Morris Gold chocolate coins, on-sale Lindt milk chocolate, on-sale Lindt assorted dark chocolate (60% and 70%), on-sale Lindt strawberries and cream chocolate truffles, on-sale NEW limited-edition Lindt Milk and White chocolate truffles for Valentine's Day, on-sale Febreze odor killer x2 (Tide / original), on-sale NEW Febreze air fresheners x3 (Bora Bora Waters / original with Gain / Linen and Sky), on-sale NEW Burt's Bees lip balm x2 (vanilla bean / wild cherry), NEW Rochef chocolate-covered dried cranberries / blueberries, one litre of Heinz ketchup, on-sale Plackers Micro Mint flossers in a 150 value pack, and on-sale NEW Nutter Butter fudge peanut butter cookie sandwiches. Was home by 4, which was fine by me! The Febreze things were to replace the ones I bought on October 9, 2018 when Jimmy disappeared AGAIN, probably to block people and talk to others. "Just sitting and taking care of Grandma and thinking in the rain," my ass!

From Holidays That Might Get Overlooked: Feb. 15! Don't even think about getting in between me and my half-price chocolate.

From Holidays That Might Get Overlooked: February 15 is Cheap Candy Day!

From Holidays That Might Get Overlooked: I can't wait for February 15! Otherwise known as 50% off Chocolate Day!

From Someecards and Twitter: Find someone who loves murder documentaries as much as you do. There's really nothing better than cuddling with your babe while watching stories about people having their head cut off with a steak knife.

Morris Gold Chocolate coins for Valentine's Day - European milk chocolate!

( Chocolate, Febreze, lip balm, and flossers! )

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In love, delicates, strawberry chiffon, Chinese mushrooms, insurance, pork blood

2020-02-08T05:20:12Z

Hester's husband Ni interrupted me at 1:20 today to investigate my lamp fixture / light bulb cover note. "No safety concern" and "that's the one that came with the building?" and "I have to think"! AIYA! I also had to be an adult (again) since Auntie Vonnie texted me a couple days ago to say the building insurance had expired, so I let Dad know instead. After a bunch of texts, I finally had to go to TXL in person (at least I know where it is?) today and sign a form, telling Sheryl to just bill my dad's credit card instead since they have the number for that. I left at 2:10 on a 414.

Went to Kwong Chow for some Chinese mushroom / bok choy noodle soup afterwards since I'd only had a strawberry chiffon doughnut at Tim Horton's beforehand, figuring I had just enough time between 3 buses to do so. Then some literal children and their knapsacks blocked my view of the intersection so I couldn't see which bus was coming - I only JUST managed to get the Marine Drive station bus! FINALLY made plans with Frances via text for next Monday, the 17th, at the Oakridge White Spot. "I can pick exactly 6!" she said... dude, you're actively making plans with another person?!

At the station, I went to T&T and got Samyang noodles x3 (regular fire noodles / 2X Spicy noodles / black bean noodles), then went to London Drugs on a 401 since I'd just missed the 407. I got a NEW white Evercare delicates laundry bag WITH A ZIPPER (I opened another package in the store to see if it had a zipper) from Aisle 4, then almost lost it because some lady stepped on it in the lineup for the cash register. The Asian lady in front of me thought the cashier was also Asian (so did I), so spoke Cantonese to her as she bought 15 bottles of on-sale Sunkist Vitamin C and three Arm and Hammer toothpaste tubes.

Turns out the cashier is actually Indonesian and doesn't even know any Cantonese, although she attempted Mandarin. The lady gave me a thumbs-up after I told her that the clerk didn't know any Chinese! The lady BEHIND ME wanted to go ahead of me, but NO - I was AHEAD of her! Then she thought I was stealing from the store because I had a huge reusable bag - I told her off! I finally got home at 6:15 on a 407! ENOUGH OF BEING AN ADULT! I also used Paulo as a reminder service, and complained about things to Mike.

This poop emoji is useful if you're in love with the shit.

Strawberry Chiffon doughnut at Tim Horton's!

Chinese mushroom and vegetable noodle soup at Kwong Chow!

They have pork BLOOD congee here at Kwong Chow...

Evercare delicates laundry bag with a zipper for things that shouldn't go in the dryer, found in Aisle 4 of my nearest London Drugs! Much better for my slipper socks!

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Best selfie, blue dragon on Google Maps, Bo Bun Hue, butter chicken wings

2020-02-01T09:37:32Z

Before COFFEE TIME / BRUSSELS SPROUTS TIME / HOT CHOCOLATE TIME, I called Chrystal at work at 10:10 AM to remind her about tonight. I left at 6:50 on a 414 (which actually had the wheelchair ramp slope in use instead of the steps) to get to London Drugs on time at 7:30 or so. Unfortunately, someone caused a delay for me at Brighouse. Why would you try to start small talk with someone in an elevator who obviously isn't paying any attention to you for a 20-second ride?! No, I'm not going to respond to a guy cyclist's "hi, how are you, hope you're okay, ma'am" in an ENCLOSED SPACE, especially because YOU AND YOUR BIKE FUCKING MADE ME MISS THE FUCKING TRAIN AND WAIT AN ADDITIONAL 11 MINUTES! The elevator wasn't on the first floor either when I needed it to be! I saw the train pulling into the station when I had JUST gotten to the stairs outside!

Don't get me started on the three tall white dudes who evidently had something like "Well then! What the?" to say to me when I was running for the train at Broadway on the way home! THEY WERE OBSTACLES IN MY PATH so of course I had to BARREL into them, and I didn't even have time to turn and yell FUCK OFF! Or the guy IN the train who was blocking my path right when everyone got off and I wanted in. People, have some spatial awareness and consideration! Too bad they didn't think I had coronavirus! At least Mike found my text message rants entertaining!

I FINALLY got to London Drugs at 7:45, where Chrystal was waiting for me and wandering near the back of the store. We quickly decided on our default option of Pho Extreme Xe Lua, since Cactus Club would DEFINITELY be busy on a Friday night even if we'd bothered to reserve beforehand! (they made us wait for 45 minutes at my birthday dinner even WITH one!) We ordered a small #1 (special noodle soup for Chrystal), six signature butter chicken wings for $9.50 to share (although she only ate one - we split the bill anyway), and a large #30 Bo Bun Hue noodle soup for me. We talked about my trip (I showed her some photos), her nephews Benjamin and Ethan, Ayler / Hiero / Beckett / Fraser / Henry, my relief that Mom wasn't coming on that trip, the flight delays, toys, that gas leak on Chinese New Year, her sushi Chinese New Year dinner with family, Hiero's UBC birthday party and presents, Beckett learning new words, Hiero being sick, and work not being fun today. I got home at 9:35 on a 407, which I guess wasn't terrible for leaving the restaurant at 8:50...

From James: Might be the best selfie of the year, and it's only January! Cats and dogs!

I got a blue dragon as my home icon on Google Maps on my phone! I set my "home," tapped on the menu icon, skipped the commute, and tapped on the three dots which appeared so I could change the home pin!

Dinner with Chrystal: Bo Bun Hue soup!

Dinner with Chrystal: Signature butter chicken wings!

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GIVE ME THE WEED! / Real-life Hangman / Starman Coffee! Happy Ness in every cup!

2020-01-30T07:20:12Z

The Canucks played the Sharks tonight at 7:30, and won 5-2 thanks to an empty-netter from Pearson and other team play!

Squid selfie! No, the squid is not actually up my nose.

A parody of Uncle Kracker's "Drift Away" from Jim: Give me the weed, boys, and free my soul. I wanna get lost in a sticky bowl and drift away. Of course I sent this one to Mike!

From Nate, Extra Fabulous Comics, and Discord: "How about a C?" "Nope." "An R?" "Nope." "Fellas, I gotta say this is some of the most fucked-up shit." REAL LIVE HANGMAN AND EXECUTIONERS!

From The Onett Times: Special dark roast Starman Coffee! Happy? Ness In Every Cup! Latte art of Giygas, hahaha!

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BRITITANIA Limuel?! / Louisiana Plumber Melton?! / Stop being lonely! Talk!

2020-01-18T04:36:31Z

From Julie M. and JUDGE JUDY: BRITITANIA Limuel?! It's not even Brittania!

From Youtube: Louisana Plumber Melton?!

From Julie: I need to stop being lonely and talk to people. "HEY." ACK!

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Uncle John's BRIEFS, FUNNIEST EVER, STRANGE SCIENCE, and STRANGE HISTORY!

2020-01-09T05:23:09Z

After COFFEE TIME, I left at 12:35 on a 407 for my dentist appointment with Sean on FRASER instead of Oakridge - sigh. I had to leave myself plenty of time for getting lost (seeing Krista at Gilbert and Westminster - "Ontario is a magical place because I've never been there"?!), and had to take a 99 at Broadway / Cambie, and then an 8 Fraser bus around the corner at Fraser till I got to 19th, right across from Glad Tidings church. I would have been there earlier than half an hour early if SOME PEOPLE hadn't hesitated for 45 microseconds at the Brighouse station elevator - BE EFFICIENT AND NOT SLOW WHEN OTHERS ARE PLAINLY WAITING FOR YOU AT THE DOOR! The new location has more space and okay enough wifi, plus actual hooks for your coats and things! I had to have an X-ray, but it's not my fault that my mouth is SMALL! Learned that Sean is getting married in July, too! I have to wait till July to try The Pie Hole across the street because I got fluoride as part of my treatment today. Also got a receipt where the insurance paid 100%, but for some reason, I'm keeping it for now.

Went to the Broadway London Drugs to buy an on-sale Creature Chumper with 1500 Zorbees for Hiero's birthday, on-sale Stemnex 4D Transforming Robots for Ayler's birthday, on-sale Nescafé Taster's Choice instant coffee in a 250g canister, and on-sale Andes candy cane Peppermint Crunch before going to Pho Extreme Xe Lua to have a large #17 and figure out the wi-fi from the nearby A&W. Some guy ahead of me was in a fucking hurry at the exit of London Drugs, saying "excuse me" - nope, we are both directly headed to the doors, so you will have to wait. I should have dawdled even more because he was an impatient ass! It's not like I dropped anything, after all. I also had to deal with THE most recalcitrant self-checkout machine! It wouldn't give me the correct start-up screen (thinking I had items to re-scan), wouldn't give me enough time to find a barcode, wouldn't let me scan something without a barcode (the coffee), and wouldn't let me pay without calling an attendant! UGH! SO TIME-CONSUMING!

Finally got home at 5:20, and saw Hester and Ni, so told them about the mouse / steel wool problem, which luckily I had a photo of on my phone! I did notice an odd metallic clanking sound coming from my bag, which turned out to be two of Beckett's red / white molecule balls from yesterday's throwing activities. No wonder I noticed him standing at my bag looking into it, but he does have plenty of balls, so he should be fine till next week. He did seem interested in the safety fluorescent slap bracelet, too. I'm also going to wash the socks that Harmony loaned me.

Large #17 at Pho Extreme Xe Lua! Steak, flank, tendon, tripe, and fatty flank!

Creature Chumper with 1500 Zorbees!

Stemnex 4D Transforming Robots!

Nescafé Taster's Choice instant coffee!

From Julie: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader BRIEFS and FUNNIEST EVER!

From Julie: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader blurb for BRIEFS and FUNNIEST EVER!

From Julie: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader STRANGE HISTORY! I actually have this one! STRANGE SCIENCE, too!

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Zoom! Blankets! Mine! Ladybug! Please! / Beckett's balls! / CREATIVE CURSING?!

2020-01-08T07:22:31Z

After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 2:40 on a 401 to help with the kids, but decided to stop by the post office first to mail stuff to Steph and Joan for $4.38 only! It was sort of quick, no thanks to someone wanting to check out her post office box while mailing stuff! I got to the house at about 4, and settled in to play with Beckett, who walked to the door to say hi, and also walked to the washroom to see what I was doing. He's picked up "please" and has a new Summertime word board book, which he plopped into my lap to "read." (he's working on "ladybug" and calls every animal a "doggy" - cute!) When I took his turtle and frog blanket away from him to adjust it a little, he said "mine" and snatched it back. Okay, then! I found his cool blue sunglasses, and he wanted me to put them on him a few times, so I did. He also moved an emotion egg ("dan-dan") around on the freezer door handle, which he found amusing - better than throwing balls into the dishwasher! (and he smiled BIG for the Vitamin D tablets - and loved chocolates!)

Ayler told me about the TAB key and how the SHIFT key meant that you had to stretch your pinky ALL the way - yup, you're right! He also called Beckett "my baby," haha! Hiero "shot" me with a Duplo "gun" which he could turn into a "sword," and they both encouraged Beckett to go to the printer and print something out! Later, I found Beckett's family baby book - he pointed at the page with Myles on it, and called everyone "Cou-fu," hahaha! He pointed at Steph and said "auntie" - he was also pointing at me from the table and saying AUNTIE, too! Hiero asked what I'd do if he called me "Auntie Blah Blah," so I said that I'd ignore him because that was disrespectful. They were making paper "birthday cakes." He also wanted me to read "Weird but True," but I was busy with Beckett, who'd gone to the far windowsill to roll some balls he'd left there. Harmony asked if he was okay - sure, he didn't kill himself on the curtain! We talked about pastors at church when I brought up Pastor Dan leaving.

When Beckett went under the piano bench to sit under the piano, he practiced the word "happy" - that's a good word to know, for sure! We had duck with hair, avocado, beans, hibiscus juice, bok choy, and soup for dinner. They'd had hot chocolate earlier, and Beckett made a couple of big messes with that AND the juice! Uh-oh is right! Random blobs of food even got on my socks (from the Cheerios that Beckett was giving me from his mouth), so Harmony gave me Jon's socks to wear home. I taught him the word "zoom" in reference to a small toy truck that was lying around. He likes spinning the wooden "intersection" from the train tracks, and is less amused by the baby pop-up toy now. When I spread the blankie on my lap, he lay down on it and sucked his fingers. Guess he likes the blankie!

I left earlier than I might, and Beckett knows BYE-BYE and said it a lot to me! Finally got home at 8:35, no thanks to idiots holding open the door at Bridgeport so some guy could get his HUGE bag of stuff in (making someone else move), OR a bike at the Brighouse elevator, OR what turned out to be the 407 driver blocking my direct path to the bus door because he HAD to talk to his colleague about his "twin." I was so annoyed that I said "EXCUSE ME!" Some people need to catch the bus, you know! Contrary to what I usually do, I didn't even thank him on my way out of the bus! The Canucks played Tampa Bay today at 4, and LOST 9-2?!

From Julie: CREATIVE CURSING?! A mix and match profanity generator!

Beckett's molecule balls, shells, emotion eggs, soccer ball, and baby pop-up toy!

16 Carnaby peppermint candy canes!

Duck with hair, bok choy, beef, and other things in a soup!

Baked beans and avocado!

This entry was originally posted at https://glowing-dragon.dreamwidth.org/6313160.html. It doesn't matter to me if you comment here or there.

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Unicorns farting as a coloring book, poop emoji alien tattoo, ROYAL FLUSH GAME

2020-01-07T22:15:42Z

I showered today.

From Julie M. and Wish: Unicorns Farting coloring book?! IT'S A COINCIDENCE SINCE IT'S "PASS GAS DAY" TODAY ON JANUARY 7!

From Pete and FART Is A Four Letter Word: This alien is tattooing another alien with a poop emoji, hahaha! "It's a popular symbol from the 21st century. I believe it represents truth and beauty..."

Julie M. saw this ROYAL FLUSH GAME by Play Day at Walmart last June!

Maruchan Instant Lunch beef noodles!

Knorr Country Mushroom Rice Sidekicks!

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What I got for Christmas 2019!

2020-01-04T02:35:28Z

* Lea D. (plop_O) from Reddit: a Christmas card

* Eric M.: Seattle Chocolates truffles in a Woodland Cheer gift box

* Jon and Harmony: Pure Nail Spa gift card and a photo card

* Christy C. (snoopdawg): a Christmas card

* Julie M. (moonshar): a Christmas card

* surprise Toasties Totes slipper socks x2 from Grandma Joan

* surprise $25 Boston Pizza gift card from Ruth

* a trip to Ontario from Steph and Lisa... two weeks!

* A Christmas card and stickers from Janina: Valentine's hearts, cupcakes, birds, flowers, robots, STAR WARS, an anchor, a steering wheel, boats, ships, fruit, ice cream, watermelon, peaches, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, green apples, and ninjas in training! SO SMART! Super job! School matters! You measure up! Looking good! School rules! WOW! So bright - discover! Great work! (pinkfloyd63)

* a Christmas card and stickers from Julie: A question mark, a football, a skull, a Rubik's Cube, dice, UK sneakers, and a shoe on a skateboard! (moonshar)

* Mom and Dad: President's Choice jalapeno cheddar popcorn, a yellow-green Roots knapsack or backpack to "replace" my reusable bags from London Drugs, two Paderno steak knives, small Cuisinart Canada scissors, a 100 Yen coin, grey Touch Gloves mittens, a Gildan black T-shirt with a golden dragon, an Asian notebook, an embossed pink rose journal, two random spiral notepads, and a zippered Doge bag which I switched out with the grey-white bag since Steph probably wouldn't care.

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Go big or go home! / 20% off FUCKING SALE! / Death and cremation options

2019-12-19T04:29:15Z

I had to go banking by myself today with my Asian old lady shopping cart at 11:20 on a 401 (JUST managed to get it), then went to Staples for 60 Z-Grip Pens (July 10, 2019), and wasted time at Price Smart. Stopped at London Drugs for a new Santa hat / on-sale Smokehouse Blue Diamond almonds for the plane tomorrow / on-sale Connoisseur Waterbridge chocolate brandy beans / on-sale portable Wet Ones wipes in citrus scent x4, and Shoppers for tomorrow's breakfast (a salmon poke bowl) plus on-sale Arm and Hammer Cold Water laundry detergent. Royal Bank has these brand new "envelope-free" deposits, and an alkie guy had to sit RIGHT NEXT TO ME on the bus stop bench while horking and drinking his brand new beer from the liquor store - YUCK!

When I got home, I showered and did laundry before texting Deb a reminder about taking me to the airport tomorrow morning, then setting an alarm for tomorrow just in case. Then I had to figure out how to pay my BC Hydro bill when it hasn't come in the mail yet - UGH! I had to phone a 1-800 number and got it sorted out within 20 minutes, so I could finally pay my Shaw and hydro bills online. Steph reminded me about some other stuff too, which is handy to know. I definitely took out some garbage before I forgot - ew, garbage for two weeks!

Chinese Eric is alive! He apparently had problems with his phone and could only access his voicemail, and also wants to hang out one last time before 2020. This is better than my thinking he's mad at me for the pink Ruby Kit-Kat bar, but I leave tomorrow morning, so that won't be possible! I also suspect he could be making stuff up since it's been more than two months, but whatever!

From Julie M. and Introvert Spring: People say "go big or go home" like going home is a bad thing. Hell yeah, I wanna go home, AND I'm going to take a nap when I get there.

( FUCKING GOOD! )

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Computer and lasagna! / Cards! / Noema Alavez Perez?! / Making a Snowquesha!

2019-12-14T08:45:00Z

It's Friday the 13th today!

Mom and Dad wanted to come by today to pick up the "remnants" of the broken Heys suitcase - good thing I found the broken handle INSIDE said luggage before they came by this morning at 10:50 AM, since I thought I'd lost it when it wasn't anywhere on the floor nearby! Dad thought I needed to wash my hair since I wore the old Alaska sweatshirt with dandruff on it - uh, I was chilling at home and didn't need to shower till LATER! Apparently, Mom had to use the bathroom even after going at Dr. Ruby's (and apparently didn't wash her hands at my place - GROSS!) - REALLY?! She also gave me a couple of medium candy canes for the boys in a produce bag (plus chocolate almonds for me in another produce bag), but I was happy to keep them for myself since Harmony didn't want the boys to have too much sugar. Yeah, good luck with that one...

After DOUBLE COFFEE TIME and SHOWER TIME, I went out at 3 on an 401 to help with the kids. Harmony gave me some Children's Hospital Christmas cards with white envelopes, so YAY FOR THAT! I also got a card and stickers from Julie in today's mail, plus a surprising card and stickers from Janina, who deactivated her Facebook profile AGAIN a while ago. That was nice of her, though! Rishu wanted to call me anyway since I "couldn't" make it in to the boonies of Richmond, but was so late about it that I should have just taken a shower at 1 instead of 11:45! Hurry up and wait - UGH!

Got to kill a bit of time at Marine Drive Station, but just spent it online near the statue where I could get a wifi signal from Dublin Crossing pub, and got to Harmony's at about 4:30. She'd warned me about being quiet since Beckett was actually napping, and I said I'd be there soonish. The bus HAD to stop for two minutes at 41st, and then ran into rainy-day traffic crap at 20th or so... I'd rather be safe than in an accident, though! When I got in, the boys were reading a Mercy the Pig book, which I had to finish because Harmony had to tend to Beckett and the lasagna at the same time.

I read a few pages of CHINOOK CHRISTMAS - way too advanced for Ayler! - before I decided just to play with Beckett, who had just come out and was loopy. He gave me a bunch of toy balls and emotion eggs, wouldn't respond "yeah" to my questions for a bit, and just stared at me for a while. Later, he did warm up (I got a hug!) and "read" the 100 Words book, saying something that vaguely sounded like "what's that?" and pointing at a picture. Of course he knew where the balls were, but also called a kid's head a "boh-boh," which Hiero found hilarious! "HAHAHA, he called it a BALL!"

We had the aforementioned lasagna with kale and ricotta, cherry tomatoes, and grapes for dinner. Beckett was only slightly interested in this dinner, but at least did not upend his tray on the table this time. He cried and was upset, only smiling when he saw the Vitamin D bottle. No, of course we wouldn't let him overdose on them. "NA NA NA!" he said about the Rice Krispies - he also seemed to like the Advent Calendar chocolate halves that he was allowed. Beckett said ATTIE to me, so YAY! He liked giving me emotion eggs, rolling some balls, playing with the shells, trying to fit the stacking blocks together ("Na na na!" he'd say when he wanted me to take it out), and finding the balloons on the stacking blocks AND the "Christmas tree ornaments" in the boys' room. Then he was also more receptive to saying "yeah" to my questions and even grabbing some rolled balls himself. At least the baby pop-up toy still made him laugh, so YAY!

When Harmony was out of the room (having told me about location settings on my phone photos for everyone's privacy reasons - which I figured out later at the bus stop), I asked Ayler what he really thought of screen time at school. He smiled and said he liked it because "it's the opposite of what my mom wants." HAHAHA, nice! Hiero said that he knows what the "other" meaning of PEE-PEE is, and was busy giving "presents" to his mom of random toys in egg cartons and boxes. Beckett repeated some words like "wow" and "after" when he heard us say them, with "MOMMY! BECKETT SAID WOW!" as a reaction from Hiero.

Myles dropped by at 8 (when the kids were still up), only to have Ayler accuse him: "Cou-fu is stealing our lasagna!" HAHAHAHA! No, Jon just made a couple of mega-batches! Myles also managed to fix the printer, which Beckett had somehow managed to knock offline. We talked briefly and side-hugged; while Harmony was preoccupied, Ayler said he had a question for me, but I had to come over and look at the computer keyboard. Sure, why not? He just wanted to know about the very top row of Function keys - at least he knows to ask me, because his parents probably won't answer! Beckett said "Cou-fu" and "Attie" for Myles' video, which was cute. Later on at 8:30, Harmony finally let me go - I was surprised when I was home at 9:30! I did say bye to Beckett, giving him a high-five and showing him that big gold "boh-boh" at Richmond Centre. They don't need me on Tuesday because of the kids' Christmas concert, so that's just more time to do some stuff before my trip!

From Julie: When you find some weave on the road, so you make a Snowquesha! HAHAHAHAHA!

From Julie M. and her local news: Noema Alavez Perez is the mother of the missing Dulce Maria Alavez?! Her name is pronounced No-Emma, she's 19, and has a five-year-old and a three-year-old and was going to have another kid soon as of September 2019?! SHE WAS 14 AS A FIRST-TIME MOM?!

Children's Hospital Christmas cards: Let It Snow snowman and a Holiday Greetings reindeer!

( More Christmas cards and stickers! )

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Writing letters to hated people / Advil and Always / 35 dumplings / 15 dumplings

2019-12-05T06:15:57Z

I looked for the wooden spoon in the drainer and kitchen drawer while actively using it to stir some dumplings before watching the newest SCARY MYSTERIES. Is this how dementia starts?

From Julie M. and Firefighting Australia: My therapist told me, "Write letters to the people you hate and then burn them." Did that, but now I don't know what to do with the letters. HAHAHAHA!

No, London Drugs website, I was searching for ibuprofen. What does Always underwear have to do with Advil pills?! At least I don't have to care about my ex-friend Jimmy supposedly having an allergy to ibuprofen anymore!

35 dumplings in the big Corelle bowl - YAY! Yes, I counted. Mike still says I'm still SO TINY, though...

15 to 20 dumplings in a small Corelle bowl - YAY!

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Bison joke! Buffalo puns! / ENTER SANDMAN lullaby! EXIT LIGHT! ENTER NIGHT!

2019-12-01T05:42:25Z

I had to do laundry today on the THIRD FLOOR, and had to go back down to my suite to grab actual cash money! UGH! The Canucks played Edmonton tonight at 7, and won 5-2!

Mushroom soup!

What did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college? "Bison."

Julie M. sent this ENTER SANDMAN lullaby to me! Son: "Daddy, I can't sleep." Me: "Don't worry, son. I'll sing you a lullaby, Hush, little baby, don't say a word, and never mind that noise you heard. It's just the beasts under your bed.... In your closet and IN YOUR HEAD! EXIT LIGHT! ENTER NIGHT!"

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Toothbrush bristles are NOT Brussels! / Kids should be playing Nintendo games!

2019-11-29T02:26:49Z

I was barely awake or coherent this morning, and snarked at a few people about their assumption that EVERYONE has Thanksgiving today. Also added Kate to Hangouts - she thought that Mike's email address was hilarious! Facebook was also down this morning, and now I can't seem to tag anyone! UGH!

From Reddit on June 8, 2019: No, TheOnlyChoco, we do not refer to toothbrush bristles as BRUSSELS. Are you five years old?!

Captain Strong lecturing Ness at the Onett police station in EARTHBOUND: "At times like this, kids like you should be playing Nintendo games."

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Do Chay Vegetarian Vietnamese food! DOGE BAG! SUITCASE! KNAPSACK! LIGHTS!

2019-11-26T09:22:23Z

After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 4 on a 407 to hopefully make it on time to Do Chay Vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant at Kingsway and Knight. The Brighouse stops have changed because of some construction for a new bus loop - will we ever get to use it? (old Richmond Centre stop is a block back - the Brighouse stop is the old 410 stop) I got there at 5, so killed time by going to the crowded Dollar Tree. I should have just gone into Save-On Foods because I almost killed myself going out of the store since their outside lighting left a lot to be desired. THE STAIRS AND RAMP SHOULD BE LIT UP! I eventually walked back a block to the Save-On, where I bought Teriyaki Noodles Sidekicks and Allen's Malt Vinegar before taking advantage of their wifi connection to copy-paste a NON-MMS text message to Mike into Hangouts instead, and catch up on Youtube comments. No, idiot, you can't police public comments and say "normal" people can't hijack others OR wish staph on me! BAD SOCIAL CUES!

I STILL got to the restaurant first, but hoped that Jon had reserved a table when he wouldn't answer my text messages. Hiero came in a couple of minutes later with Mom, Dad, and a wheeled small suitcase. Dad showed me how the luggage handle worked (push down / pull up), got me to try it out, and gave me some tiny keys which weren't for me. Geez, they're going to set off alarms at the airport! Apparently, they're NOT driving me to the airport anymore - WHAT THE FUCK?! Ayler asked me how many pounds I weighed, only to be shot down by various people.

We talked about monsoon rolls, their running out of coffee, the pub down the street KNOWING they get busy and send people there to wait, tomorrow's plans (Harmony's parents are coming by - so I MIGHT come on Friday if I let her know by Thursday evening), Harmony working on Friday, Beckett liking to look at all the lights, satay noodles, spicy soup noodles, Ayler asking the server about how busy the restaurant gets on weekends (I said he had a question... A TWO-HOUR WAIT?!), Steph meeting Mark Messier, and Dad's choir tonight. It was definitely cold outside when we left at 7:15 or so! I got home at 8:05 on a 407, thanks to Jon and Harmony driving me to King Edward Station. Ayler and Hiero thanked me for my Christmas gifts - I still have time to give Beckett the stuffed Santa dog, I think. The Canucks played Philadelphia at 4, and lost 2-1.

Random stuff from Mom and Dad: President's Choice jalapeno cheddar popcorn, a yellow-green Roots knapsack or backpack to "replace" my reusable bags from London Drugs, two Paderno steak knives, small Cuisinart scissors, a 100 Yen coin, grey Touch Gloves mittens, a Gildan black T-shirt with a golden dragon, an Asian notebook, an embossed pink rose journal, and two random spiral notepads. Mike would be jealous of the Doge bag!

President's Choice jalapeno cheddar popcorn!

Zippered Doge bag!

( Do I really need a packing list? )

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2019 Yearly Recap!

2019-11-16T09:02:50Z

2019 Yearly Recap!

This is the 2019 recap. Fitting for the last day of the year, no?

JANUARY

* Hung out with Vanessa and baby Cassidy pre-surgery at Lansdowne: Fresh Elements bubble tea, good dumplings at the food court, GOLDEN DRAGON SUSHI, and more! She helped me open the ridiculous eyedrops bottles, too! [Jan. 7]

* Had eye cataract surgery at Mount St. Joseph's - yikes! Luckily, I had love and support from my friends, and my parents DID drive me home! [Jan. 10]

* Had a one-day followup appointment at the eye clinic. Thank goodness that Barry was able to drive me! Things looked healthy! [Jan. 11]

* Crashed at Deb and Dylan's for about a week. Declan and Elysse liked me from the start, and it was pretty interesting and funny. ("I have my dad's old phone, Elysse." "Did he die?!" Haha!) Lots of meals and Swiss Chalet plus lamb and ribs and packed lunches! I appreciated their support, for sure! [Jan. 11-16]

* Had my one-week followup appointment at the eye clinic. My eye still looked healthy and there is no need to rush on any new glasses! I got hit up for cash at Vancouver City Centre, but I said NO. He should have fucked off instead! [Jan. 17]

* Had Hiero's birthday party: glow-in-the-dark bowling at Grandview Lanes! Dylan and Deb kindly gave me a ride back, and Mom did NOT have to insert herself into our post-church plans by thanking them for "looking after" me! [Jan. 20]

FEBRUARY

* Got a chance to three-way call with Kate and Pothead Mike right after the hockey game, which the Canucks won 4-3 in a shootout against the Flames! It was pretty good to hear their voices as we chatted about a bunch of things including Ed Kemper and the RCMP tank in Surrey. [Feb. 9]

( Highlights and lowlights! )

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Dellen Millard was a serial killer?! / Topokki and chili / Brandy left outside

2019-11-13T05:38:45Z

I showered and did laundry today since Harmony gave me a day off. The Canucks played the Predators tonight at 7, and won 5-3 thanks to two goals from Pearson (one an empty-net) and two goals from Pettersson (one an empty-net) on his birthday!

My neighbors are at it again, this time leaving a box of St. Remy VSOP brandy just outside the front door, halfway to the dumpster...

Samyang Topokki fire noodles with broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peas, and corn for lunch!

Chili with brown rice and Frank's Red Hot sauce for dinner!

From Youtube: Dellen Mallard is a serial killer? BAD SPELLING OF DYLAN!

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Not keeping calm when hockey's on! / Bitchfield, England?! / Starring on SNAPPED

2019-11-04T05:07:33Z

Today is National Sandwich Day! :D I had to change the clock an hour back - UGH! Shaw had a five-hour outage at Minoru Park - DOUBLE UGH! I survived by napping (had a dream that I couldn't get out of bed and the electricity was finicky), reading TRUTH TRIVIA AND THE PURSUIT OF FACTINESS (Bathroom Reader #32), texting Paulo / white Eric about Chinese Eric / Pothead Mike (no, I'm not thinking of losing touch if I switch communication modes!), and eating some Stagg Chili Southwest Chicken Style with jasmine rice.

From We Love Hockey: I can't keep calm when hockey's on!

Bitchfield, Lincolnshire, England?! That's where my ex was born!

From Janina: You're about one smartass comment away from being my co-star on an episode of SNAPPED.

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Once Brewed, Northumberland?! / Let that sink in! / Maygen Muir?! BAD SPELLING!

2019-10-31T05:35:29Z

The Canucks played Los Angeles tonight at 7:30, and won 5-2. Brock Boeser had a hat trick!

Once Brewed, Northumberland?!

From Reddit: Let that sink in!

From Vellum and Vinyl via Krista: Maygen Muir?! BAD SPELLING OF MEGAN! Everyone knows how it's pronounced!

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