Tatiana's Wanderings

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! )

I noticed that Gemma Wright unfriended me on Facebook. Hahaha! She always said she'd post spider pics in her comments, but that doesn't work if THE VERY FIRST THING you see is a tarantula! She thinks that spiders helped her get over her fear - whatever! Kate agrees with me!

I also noticed that Facebook can't find either Dustin's or Geoff's accounts - OH MAN! :(


Dijonnaise Norman?!




Mathew Dumba?!

From Julie: Poop emoji salt and pepper shakers! Do we really need to dumb down the word "emoji" to "emo-gee," though?!




From Melissa and Buzzfeed Canada: An ACCIO POOP coffee mug!




From Julie M. and Wish: Fake human poop?!

After COFFEE TIME, Barry called me at 11:50 to see if I could change our food shopping appointment next week from Wednesday to Thursday, which I had no problem with. I left at 12:25 to get to the Burrard eye clinic for my appointment with Dr. Wise for a one-week followup, even if the construction zone around here is annoying. Still got off at Yaletown-Roundhouse and was in time to catch the 6 Davie in the land of the pink bus stops, which is what I know now. I got there at 1:05, but that was fine. The doctor says my eyes still look healthy and are improving, that I can't dislodge the cataract lens even if I tried, and that I could throw out the antibiotic with zero refills, which was fine by me. She says there is no need to rush to get newer glasses because my prescription is not fully formed yet - apparently, a bunch of people DO waste their money and do just that. My next appointment is the six-week followup on Feb. 27 (a Wednesday) at 2:15, which works for me.

Later, I took the opportunity to play with the Shaw wi-fi while I was still at the clinic office, then decided to do my shopping in Vancouver. I should have done it in Richmond or on Broadway to save some time, since some asshole decided to hit me up for some Canadian coins outside Vancouver City Centre under the guise of "a dumb American question" while I was looking at a map. I went to the London Drugs right there to get Scotch Expressions orange masking tape x2 and red $2 MARTEX washcloths x2. They didn't have any duct tape, so I asked an employee where the nearest Staples was - near Burrard Station, which wasn't too far away.

Thanks to the aforementioned asshole, I got three blocks to Burrard Station which was very near the Staples at 1055 West Georgia. I eventually managed to find the entrance, and had to walk a bit to get into the actual store. I bought Z-Grip Pens x60 (June 24, 2018) and black duct tape, temporarily walked in the wrong direction, and eventually got home at 4 on a 407. No more two-hour service gap at Brighouse!

Deb emailed me again at 6:15 to ask how the appointment had gone, and to wonder if I'd seen Declan's orange Beyblade Pokemon stadium and toys. Nope, but it could be anywhere in that alcove or townhouse by now! Someone named Emily Harris added me to Facebook - possibly Kurt's girlfriend, but she never responded to my message asking who she was. What the heck?! Then I noticed that Emilie Mak unfriended me, but that's fine - I only knew her as an Awana kid from 2007!


From Sara, Reddit, and r/funny: The Grammar Police are here to serve and correct... just look at their uniforms!




From Julie M. and DR. PHIL: Zona?! Reminds me of Zoma in DRAGON WARRIOR 3! She also claims that she's been pregnant for three years and seven months...




1500 HEARTS AND LOVE on my Facebook posts!

PRODUCT WARNING: I am banning Tetley Tea from my apartment. The strings on the tea bags break way too easily! What's the point of having one dangle from your mug?!


From Someecards: Creepy Easter Bunny 26!




From Diane: I'm only having one Guinness on St. Patrick's Day.