Tatiana's Wanderings

Free Canadian healthcare = free feelings check / Tacy Gash?! / Auston Matthews?!

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 05:12:09 GMT

My computer gave me a heart attack this morning when both the keyboard and mouse weren't responsive. I had to restart the thing! THEN it happened again this evening, of course right when I had stuff going in Notepad! I figure that Eric has to come over here and update the computer drivers, so texted him about it. It is difficult to diagnose a problem over text messages, for sure!

Edit at 10:30 PM - Now I have to do laundry because there was a flood of water all over my bathroom floor after I took a shower! Did I piss off Poisedon, too?! I probably need to get a new shower curtain anyway...

From Julie: Every time I hear a mean joke about being Canadian, I go to the hospital and get my feelings checked for free.

From Julie M. and her local news: Tacy Gash was a burn victim?! That's an unfortunate last name...

Auston Matthews plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs?! BAD SPELLING OF AUSTIN! He is my birthday buddy like Alexander Ovechkin, though!

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What I got for Christmas 2019!

Sat, 04 Jan 2020 02:35:28 GMT

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

Sat, 14 Dec 2019 08:45:00 GMT

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

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 09:22:23 GMT

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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Moon, Pennsylvania?! / Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 as Albin?!

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 20:04:01 GMT

COFFEE TIME! The Canucks played the Rangers today at 10 AM again because of MORE "lovely" East Coast scheduling, and won 3-2 in a crazy game even though they lost the shutout bid thanks to Trouba!

Moon, Pennsylvania?!

Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, pronounced as Albin?!

( The Earth doesn't revolve around YOU! / Dulce Maria Alavez / Wacey Hamilton / GO CANUCKS GO totem pole / HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! IT'S THE CANUCKS REBUILD! )

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Vancouver Canucks orca! / Marcea?! / Colin Pitchfork murdered two children?!

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 01:55:17 GMT

Julie got my birthday package today!

Sticker bonanza!

Outside of birthday card: "I heard that people don't want stuff on their birthday. They want experiences."

Inside of birthday card, complete with gold / silver / bronze Sharpie birthday greeting: "I hope you have enjoyed this greeting card experience."

A Vancouver Canucks orca in a red and yellow V skate jersey with a hockey stick!

From Julie M. and DR. PHIL: Marcea?! What was wrong with Marcie or Marcy?! BAD SPELLING!

From Youtube: Colin Pitchfork murdered two children?!

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Helping out with the kids post-cataract consultation! / TAKIS SNACKS AT SAFEWAY!

Fri, 27 Jul 2018 06:18:57 GMT

After Barry dropped me off at Oakridge at 10:35 AM, I bought NEW Taki's Fuego Mexican snacks / NEW Taki's Xplosion Mexican snacks / NEW Taki's Angry Burger Mexican snacks / NEW Taki's Crunchy Fajitas Mexican snacks / NEW Peace Tea Peach Party iced tea / NEW Mini Rolos as a treat after my eye exam / NEW Take Home Size Maltesers at the Oakridge Safeway. I also had a NEW Korean Pulled Pork six-inch sandwich at the Subway in the food court since I was right there anyway and needed to eat. Then I returned the chocolate - TOO HOT AND IT WOULD MELT IN FIVE MINUTES!

Later at Oakridge Station, some guy practically threatened to sue me over incidental contact with my bulky reusable bag. This city, I swear. Just because you wanted to get by after maneuvering your bike into the elevator does NOT mean you get ALL THE SPACE EVER! I wasn't even in his way! That wasn't even the first person who had a problem with my reusable bag, as there was some lady on a crowded Canada Line train who said "You're excused" after I entered the train at 49th and got a seat.

When I got to Jon and Harmony's at 2:10, the door was open since it was still pretty hot, so I just got to invade the living space. The kids greeted me with "YOU BREAK IT - YOU FIX IT!" but calmed down and told me that they'd gone to Granville Island today. We heard about a Canada Line emergency - thank goodness that it didn't affect me, only Olympic Village to King Edward! (it did affect Jon coming home from teaching) The skating lesson went fine - I told Harmony that no, I didn't have to pay anything for the eye ultrasound or cataract surgery!

Hiero told me that he didn't like it when I farted - he just likes his own farts. Okay, then! We had pizza, more laksa, blueberries, and corn on the cob for dinner after I read some more Robert Munsch stories. I got to hold a content baby Beckett for a while (and show him a few books) when Jon was finishing up with his piano student Curtis, but the baby started crying almost as soon as Curtis left! (before, I told Curtis to "quick - play some music!" when Beckett started fussing at the start of the lesson) I went through the Translink route map with the kids when Harmony grew tired of it, and left at 7:30, just managing to get a 49 before getting home at 8:10 on a 401. I was NOT waiting 20 minutes in the muggy heat!

( SPICY SNACKS AND SUBS! )

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WHY GRIZZLY BEARS SHOULD WEAR UNDERPANTS! / Laksa, salad, smoothies, and ZOOP!

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 06:23:56 GMT

After COFFEE TIME, I left at 2 on a 401 to make it to Jon's by 2:30 or so. Ayler asked me whether I brought chocolate this time - nope, because I chose not to, despite what he said about how that wasn't true. He also told me that Jon said I had to fill up their bath water later - I DON'T THINK SO! We made it to Sunrise for skating lessons, with slightly more time to get the kids ice-ready. Harmony and I talked about the baby, Portland, Squamish, Nathan, family, the cute kids on the ice, my toilet book, and how it takes an equal amount of time to leave the house and get ready as it does to have the half-hour lesson. Got home to have fish cakes, lime, laksa noodles, leftover pizza, cherries, and a green melon smoothie with some seeds for dinner. Hiero said that the toy trains were diaper trains, said that Bambi started "fire-burning" by kicking people, and wanted me to read LILY AND TROOPER to him. Ayler just wanted to "show Hiero a trick," which I was 99% sure involved taking my hat off, so I said that I wouldn't read to him if that was the case.

I talked to baby Beckett in his crib when he was being fussy, and later held him for about ten minutes in the rocking chair after doing the dinner dishes. No, Ayler was not allowed to wake him up when he'd just fallen asleep. Harmony had gone to the lards' place briefly to measure stuff after a few people all came at once to view their place - one party was rather late! Jon asked about next week, but I wasn't quite sure with my eventual vision issues. Maybe I can get Barry to drop me off at Oakridge that day... I got home at 8:25 on a 407 because I read bedtime stories to the kids before leaving. Harmony got home again just a bit before I did, actually.

From Julie: WHY GRIZZLY BEARS SHOULD WEAR UNDERPANTS?!

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Genuine Potts?! / Nando Eggenberger?! / Fabian Eggenberger?! / Toriana?!

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 06:09:28 GMT

Genuine Potts?!

From r/canucks: Nando Eggenberger?!

From r/canucks: Fabian Eggenberger is Nando Eggenberger's second cousin?!

From Julie: Toriana?!

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