Tatiana's Wanderings

I went out at 10:20 AM to get some Silk almond milk (the real reason I went to the store), NEW Tostitos Homestyle Salsa tortilla chips / NEW Que Pasa Twist of Lime chips / Heluva Good! French Onion dip to prepare for Chips and Dip Days tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday, 400 more Mead index cards, on-sale Hazelnut / Peanut Butter M and Ms, and a $2 Fry's Peppermint Cream bar. My Tostitos Homestyle Salsa tortilla chips did not exist in the self-checkout (they had to override it with a FOOD code)... and a lady just yelled at the 401 bus driver for "not stopping" when we are all supposed to board at the back doors now... I got home at 11:05 on a 407, at least.


Que Pasa Twist of Lime tortilla chips!




( Que Pasa and Tostitos! BAD NAMES AND BAD SPELLING! )

After COFFEE TIME, I had to go out to Knightsbridge at 10:45 AM on a 414 to see Rishu at Touchstone at 12 noon, which meant that it took up three hours of my day AGAIN since it was way past Cambie and Jacombs! I had made up my mind to terminate our professional relationship anyway, even before hearing that her practicum session was finishing at the end of February. (which she couldn't even email me about...) During my 20-minute wait for the 405 in the windy weather, I tried helping out an old man by moving my bag on the bus stop bench, but he wasn't having any of it. I also realized that I accidentally wore my red AMOUR shirt from H and M outside in public on Valentine's Day - whoops!

I aired my grievances, including her non-receptiveness to replying to email in a reasonable timeframe. I chose to help Jon out on Wednesdays because there was no way I'd get a response from her in time if she didn't reply on Monday or even Tuesday - Jon's requests were more emergent, and I like spending time with my nephews! I also told her how someone else with REAL anxiety and other issues might feel to be seemingly "ignored," although I know they aren't a crisis line, but she needs to learn as a student. The new location was also a factor; although she SAYS she offered rides and to meet up with me somewhere, I had to say I didn't remember that. I think it ended amicably enough, although of course I cried and then had to fill out the required feedback forms and surveys. She gave me an unexpected gift of a sticky thing to hold a card or two, and I put it on the back of my phone after politely thanking her for that and the good aspects of our sessions and time together.

Once I finally got back into my bubble zone of Richmond, I noticed a bus stop sign saying that the $3 KFC Mega Popcorn box deal was only on until the 16th. Since I wasn't planning on going out before then, I decided to take advantage of it even if more time and energy would be spent. I tried taking a photo of the Shoppers sign saying they were out of hand sanitizer, face masks, and rubbing alcohol... but discovered that my Compass Card in the new sticky thing was blocking the camera! Luckily, I came across some Dairy Queen workers who weren't busy, and the girl unstuck the corner enough for me to figure things out from there. PHEW! I bought the $3 fried chicken and chilled at Richmond Centre for a while. Saw a cute teddy bear offering hugs, so I also took advantage of that. I finally got home at 3:45 on a 407.


Document Destruction Service! Yes, of course I am aware of the need to shred sensitive documents. The name just appealed to my morbid sense of humor.




What do you mean, the fire door is inside the men's restroom?! Weird location for a fire exit... I needed to check this out for sure!




( No fire behind the door! Teddy bear hugs! Fried chicken! Sold out of things! )

Jon said he'd be home this afternoon since Harmony would be going to a school meeting, but I could still come by if I wanted. The last time I was around when she went to a meeting, Beckett was quite upset! I went anyway, of course. After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:15 on a 407 to help with the kids. Since I'd just missed a 3 at Marine Drive, I went into Tim Horton's to see if they had those new Dream Doughnuts: no Strawberry Confetti, but yes to Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Truffle. They didn't look that great relative to the ads, but nothing ever does!

I had to wait for six rings before Harmony answered the buzzer, but that was fine. A few minutes later, I told Beckett that I would be right with him after I washed my hands... Wet Wipes only do so much against sticky doughnut crumbs! Harmony said "yes, please - thank you!" Hey, I've heard about the coronavirus too, and so has Ayler, apparently. He says he heard on the news today that the BC patient is in Burnaby ("so not here in Vancouver, but close"), while Hiero wondered what we'd do if Beckett died from it. You can get very sick and possibly die, we told them, but Harmony kept it simple and said that she'd keep them safe and we should all wash our hands.

Ayler and Hiero thought it was funny to encourage Beckett to go to the printer, and also to take Beckett's balls away from him, but he got way more upset over this than Harmony leaving for her meeting. ("MINE!" followed by lots of crying) I was there to give him hugs and a small kiss, telling them that it wasn't funny. Jon did come home a little earlier than 6, and took over dinner duties. Beckett called the Pho noodles "noo-noo," and called the treads on Grandma Joan's slipper socks "boh-boh" - very funny! Ayler asked about school, of course, and wanted me to listen to his piano. Beckett said "help" to me a lot (and wanted me to help put on the yellow "sunglasses" that were missing a lens - Hiero said they were pirate sunglasses), said "bye bye" to me a lot (maybe when I was walking to my bag and then to my coat so he could see the fur and buttons - but I didn't leave), and walked over to show Jon various things like his blocks.

Later, Beckett went to the window to see the "boh-boh" outside and point at all the lights. He also used the blue ruler to "hide" and wanted me to do the same with his toy balls - I just pretended to most of the time. Then he said "HIT YOUR BUTT!" in Cantonese - Uncle Joe taught him that one because it's funny to hear a little toddler say so! Hiero made a "lightsaber" out of a plastic sticker sheet, and a "gun" out of the magnetic rods and balls, and wanted me to say "gun" - I don't know about that one. He also 'teleported" into me, which was NOT fun!

Ayler took out his red-and-yellow stuffed dragon toy... he remembered that I'd given it to him! Beckett seemed to like it as per Hiero - he even said a very close approximation of "dragon" and grinned when he showed it to me! I should tell him that Auntie is a dragon, haha! He also said "monkey" for his stacking blocks, "dog" for his dog book, and "apple" for the Creation story with Adam and Eve in the children's Bible stories book. He's LEARNING VOCABULARY plus CONTEXT! I left at 7:40 (not at 7:30, thereby missing my window of time to get the 7:42 Marine Drive Station bus with the heavy bag of stuff from Mom and Dad) after waiting a few minutes for Jon to finish something while it was the bedtime routine, but not before Hiero called me a "blah blah person" - RUDE AND DISRESPECTFUL! I got home at 9:10 on a 407, having to finish a text message to Paulo first.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: A thin brown Mondi sweater with yellow diamonds, a thin brown Mondi sweater VEST with yellow diamonds, a random white undershirt with an actual bra built in it in a clean produce bag, Ragu Tomato and Basil light pasta sauce which expires in October 2021, more Ontrue green tea roasted seaweed x3, and more toiletries inside a Ziploc bag...

Two plastic shower caps, Kandesn Spa shampoo by Sunrider, a white scrunchie only suitable for a toddler, a Paul Mitchell refreshing citrus facial bar, three Q-Tips inside some plastic, a useless LONDON DRUGS blue circle thing, 40 mL of Agraria San Francisco lemon verbena conditioner, blue Chateau de Chine shampoo, 24 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn lavender verbena shampoo, 24 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn lavender verbena conditioner, Princess Cruises Lotus Spa aloe vera moisturizing lip balm x2, a black toothbrush with a toothbrush cover, 22 mL of Ognnx Lacoupe argan oil complex shampoo x3, and 22 mL of Lacoupe argan oil complex conditioner x2.

A silver Gem hand ground nail clipper, another unbranded silver nail clipper with a nail file, Smart Shield serious sun protection aloe vera lip balm, four more Q-Tips and four makeup wipes inside some plastic (do people use Q-Tips to apply makeup?), a white hairbrush / comb in one, a blue microwavable eye mask with instructions inside plastic, a white Dr. Fresh Turbo Power battery-powered toothbrush with a free Duracell battery, and a small Princess Cruises Lotus Spa linen mist bottle.

50 mL of L'Occitane verbena shower gel, a LaRoche Posay Nutritic lip balm (47 mL), 22 mL of Be Better macadamia nut shampoo, three more Q-Tips and three cotton balls inside some plastic, sampler Oral-B floss from the dentist, a tiny yellow tube of Vichy SPF 45 sheer lotion with Bare Skin Feel, 2 grams of Super Dry Superior Dessicant with a warning on it (??), Chinese Glyso-Derm lip balm with Vitamin E, 50 mL of Crabtree and Evelyn iris bath and shower gel, a 5 mL Avène Canada soothing moisture mask in a tiny tube, 22 mL of Nourish Green Tea hydrating conditioner, and a white travel toothbrush inside a green plastic cover.


Hunt's Snack Pack: Banana Cream Pie pudding cups!




NEW from Tim Horton's: Dream Doughnuts! Chocolate Truffle, Strawberry Confetti, and Dulce de Leche!




Tim Horton's Dream Doughnuts: They didn't have Strawberry Confetti, so I ordered Chocolate Truffle and Dulce De Leche instead.




RIP, Don't Argue pizzeria...




Beef stew with carrots and Pho noodles!




Red and yellow dragon stuffed toy! I gave it to Ayler originally because he is also a BABY DRAGON, but now Beckett likes it too. He knows the word "dragon," and grinned when he told me what it was!




Tomato and Basil light Ragu pasta sauce!