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! )

It's Friday the 13th today! I showered and did laundry this morning, then made reservations at the Cascade Room for tomorrow.


Julie M. was on vacation and saw this map at a Pennsylvania visitor centre: Hop Bottom?! HAHAHA!




The whole world can hear you trying to open this plastic cake box late at night. I can hear this picture!

It's MARIO DAY today! After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:10 on a 401 to help with the kids. Surprisingly, I just managed to get the 3 despite the elevator buttons not responding to my commands. I got to the house at 4:10 despite an electric scooter not knowing how to maneuver smoothly on the bus (I had to move), but those things can be unwieldy! Thank GOODNESS it stayed on the bus AFTER 16th, so I wasn't delayed any more! Once I got in, Beckett wanted to play with me, but my washing hands coincided with his diaper change. After that, we played with blocks / magnets / balls ("boh-boh!") / Play-Doh. He ALMOST licked the Play-Doh lids, looking at me to see how I'd react. I said that was gross and not to do it. He said "come up / yeah / block / ma-net / open! close! / lid / pease / light / purple / Auntie" a lot. Later, he almost fell down, but I was there to catch him and put him on the couch, where we sat together and "talked" about the "funny" blanket and the happy / sad eggs.

When Ayler told me to guess what time he went to bed last night, I actually got the right time: 10 PM! Apparently, there was a choir concert last night at St. James (Jon's old orchestra hangout space), WITH a rehearsal before AND a mass choral recital afterwards, so nobody could leave early even if they wanted to! I realized that they had scheduled it for the day after Daylight Savings, which is NOT GOOD! Hiero spent his time making Superman signals and wanting Popsicle sticks and special paper. He also was less than polite when he laughed at people. Apparently, roasted broccoli is not his thing!

Beckett wanted me to look out the window at the alley because of the lights - good choice! Hiero wanted me to play a game, but I wasn't up for that. There was a felt book with multiple felt pieces, and Beckett identified an X for Tic-Tac-Toe correctly some of the time. He also knew what the moon was, so he's getting smarter! I told him what a flower was when he identified it as a boh-boh (hahaha), and he picked it up from me. When I took my phone out to take photos that were CLEARLY of the food and NOT THE KIDS, Beckett said "gung-gung"... hahaha, I thought he associated the phone with Uncle Joe last week!

Ayler said that their trip is after Tuesday next week, so I said that I know that they get to listen to TICKET TO RIDE on the ride over. "How do you know?" was easily answered since I saw Jon's Facebook status earlier about borrowing someone's copy. Hiero told us about MINECRAFT, but Harmony wondered where he learned about that. The school computers offer that as an option for ALL the kids, apparently, so Harmony says she'll talk to the teacher about that. I did not volunteer that there was Preschool MINECRAFT - she'd be horrified! I left at 7:30 and surprisingly got home at 8:35, despite the stroller at 16th! If you can't be ready when the bus stops, then don't be surprised if a passenger gets on before you maneuver your stuff off the bus! I know it's safer to wait till the bus stops, but come on now - be aware and at least make your way toward the door!


From Janet on LJ, aka Ghost_Light: Your birth month is your muppet. Ernie, Elmo, Big Bird, Abby, Slimey, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Snuffleupagus, Rosita, the Count, Cookie Monster, and Grover!




Chili, beans, and cheese!




Red Jello and mango pudding made by Jon!

Since I couldn't sleep because of the neighbors stomping around upstairs at 3:30 AM (FUCK YOU - PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!), I got up at 6:30 AM and ate my sushi. To my surprise, Chrystal of all the people had texted me last night to say she can't make it to dinner tonight because she has to go out and eat Chinese New Year dinner with her family instead. Sure, I can accept that as an excuse! I cancelled on Rishu since I got up from my much-needed nap at 2:15. At 6:10, Chrystal texted me back: January 31 sounds good to her!


6:30 AM sushi, Roll D!




From Julie M. and the Daily Mail: Busy Philipps named her kids Birdie and Cricket?!




From Reddit and r/raisedbynarcissists: Dr. JONICE Webb?! BAD SPELLING OF JANICE! Yum, jaundice!

It was COFFEE TIME today! I went out at 11:15 AM to Shoppers and London Drugs in the cold weather before the snow might hit later! I bought bulk pads x2 / on-sale Nescafe coffee in a tall canister / Webber Naturals Vitamin D3 gummies x2 (a bottle of 90 is CHEAPER than a half-price Jamison bottle of 60 at Shoppers Drug Mart?! -- but chewables have 180 for the same price...) / a Ragusa Noir chocolate bar / Niederegger Lubeck orange and classic marzipan bars x2 for National Marzipan Day from London Drugs. Also got on-sale Lipton Cup-A-Soup x9 (Spring Vegetable / Chicken Noodle / Chicken Noodle Supreme), NEW on-sale Lindt Creations dark 34% hazelnut and dark 31% almond chocolate bars, NEW Central Roast Crave mocha spice espresso beans, and an After Eight chocolate bar before getting home at 12:25 on a 407. The Canucks played Minnesota today at 1, and won 4-1.


Quvenzhané, Qulyndreia, Venjie, Qunquekya, Vejon, and Venjie Wallis?!




( Vitamins and chocolate! )


First, it's bubble tea with cheese foam. Now it's bubble tea with salted cheese at Happy Lemon?!