glowing_dragon: (Poop)
From Julie: "One-Bedroom Condo in Toronto located next to the lake, $2200." It's a sponge in a bed-shaped sponge holder with some green apple Dawn dish detergent at the kitchen sink!




From Julie: A holographic fanny and poop slippers?! Oh my...

glowing_dragon: (LJ Drama)
The kids called me at 6:45 to scream-sing a song about (as far as I can tell) licking bums or nicking bums, and asked me inappropriate questions about whether I'd like to see Jon peeing. No, thank you! Then Ayler asked if I would eat a whole pie (which Hiero said they were having for dessert) because of my "big stomach" - mmm, no, I'm not on MY 600-POUND LIFE! Harmony said that was their father's influence - yeah, I can TELL! I said hi to Beckett, who didn't really say anything. but that's okay. It was pretty brief because they just wanted to sing a song, which is fine. Life is as usual over there, I see! I joked that when social distancing is over, I'd buy a pie to throw at their dad just for all these "jokes."


From Reddit on April 23, 2019: No, PickWhatCar, deliberately leaving things for you to step on is NOT something you should laugh about. It's time to have a SERIOUS TALK with your boyfriend! What if you'd tripped over it and hurt yourself?!




From Reddit on May 14, 2019: No, "I'm blocking you" is not a silly game which should make you giggle. What if you have mobility issues like I do? I don't think you should LIKE being blocked on your way out of a room! For me, the blocking game would NOT be fun. You know I have shit to do and you're getting in my way for fun? Nope, you stay where you are. Besides, you deleted your Reddit account and I still have both of mine, so I WIN!

glowing_dragon: (LJ Drama)
After I had it out with Kate because of her offensive fruitcake denseness (she did NOT apologize properly for calling me a LEAF!), Ayler called me at 4:50 (with Jon sending me a Facebook message just before - which I didn't read till later), to ask what I did today, so I said I had watched a bunch of videos. He parroted, "don't watch too many videos a day" - little does he know that this is what EVERYONE is doing during this time! I can deal with HIS talking about the same thing and I don't mind if he says wrong stuff because I expect less out of him since he's a child. He struggled to remember what they had for lunch - but came up with PIZZA! Yup, I miss pizza! Ayler says he isn't a reading master yet, but does do quizzes because they want to test him. He has 4000 stars, but wants to have 8000 on his reading program - GOALS!

I was on speaker phone, so I heard plenty of Harmony getting Hiero to understand whatever he was reading. Beckett said "Auntie" and pressed a button that left me listening to nothing for about a minute. He obviously understands that I'm not there and certainly recognizes my voice. When Ayler got back on the line, he explained what happened and wondered if I cared about it. I said it didn't matter and I wasn't mad at all. Jon told him to ask me when the last time was that I'd taken a shower - WHATEVER! I looked up the world record for someone not taking a shower: Ah, some Iranian who hasn't taken one for SIXTY YEARS! We set up the next talk time for Saturday afternoon when Jon's done teaching. I guess he teaches at home, so I don't know how that works out - they do need the money, of course. Ayler let me go at 5:05 so he could build a new train track - that's fine! I also didn't know Darryl was autistic, but he seems to cope well, and HE'S my friend so it doesn't matter!


LOL tombstone?!

glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
Ayler called me at 5:25 today, telling me that he's the scooter master, and Hiero is the bike master. He says that they're in an elementary school reading program with badges for quizzes / reading books. Since he has more words than Hiero, so he can do more phone calls for the duration of the pandemic - I agreed that his vocabulary is better. They're having jook / congee for dinner tonight, and I said I would be having dumplings at some point. Hiero got on the phone and seemed enthusiastic about dumplings, saying they'd had them once. I said they could ask their dad to cook some one night if they wanted more. They were outside, but did do their distancing! It doesn't matter to me if they call me at 7 PM once so I can hear their neighbor's O CANADA, haha.

We discussed face masks, goat meat, chicken, pork, beef, lamb, and their nachos with ground beef / jalapeno peppers and optional salsa / guacamole / sour cream. (or vegetarian) Cheese makes it better, he says! For their burritos, Ayler loves salsa. I got to hear Beckett say "Auntie" and "Leslie" (which isn't a guarantee) - so cute! Beckett still knows what I look like because of his baby book. Hiero told me about their train track setup, and Ayler took over to tell me that he might not be able to keep track of the minutes and seconds of our phone call, and that I was lucky that there was no 30-minute time limit. He can call people before dinner, depending on when it is. "I have two people to call today - I had three, but already called one." Interesting kids, for sure! "Keep in touch and don't lose friends in Covid-19 / coronavirus," he says. I AGREE!


From the V4F Discord server and Twitter: In Chapter 1 of JRPGs, you find a lost kitty. In the final chapter, you kill God.




Hungry-Man XL Bowl: Chicken Croquettes!




Old Dutch baked pretzels mini-twists for National Pretzel Day today on April 25!




Miniso disposable face mask test against the coronavirus.

glowing_dragon: (Consumer Whore)
It's Earth Day 2020 today! I also temporarily got QUADRUPLE DIGITS IN MY BANK ACCOUNT again! Hopefully, my spending habits are a little better than they were the LAST time this happened! Also, I won't need to give $900 of my own money for a family trip like the ICBC insurance settlement. Of course, that only lasted for the time it took me to go banking, never mind grocery shopping! I think I'll just continue my usual money habits this time.

After dealing with a stupid Reddit Vancouver troll, I went banking and shopping at 11:25 AM on a 407 with my Asian old lady shopping cart, noting that the 414 shuttle bus would be discontinued next week as per a sign at the bus stop. Briefly peeked into London Drugs, and at least I didn't have to walk all the way around the block from Moore's clothing store to get to Royal Bank this time, unlike LAST payday! I got NEW Iogo cherry yogurt, NEW on-sale Oikos strawberry-raspberry / Zesty lemon-lime Greek yogurts x2, NEW Lysol Click Gel toilet bowl cleaner x3 (SPRING WATERFALL!) which was really easy for me to unwrap and apply, on-sale Earth's Own original almond milk, a NEW on-sale Tao Kae Noi BIG SPICY SEAWEED ROLL box with nine of them, chocolate orange Jaffa Cakes, and Shin Ramyun Black CUP noodles x2.

Also purchased NEW Western Family regular grated Parmesan cheese (green), NEW Western Family light grated Parmesan cheese (yellow), NEW Pulmuone Katsuo Soba Ramen noodles, NEW Ottogi Super-Spicy Yeul Ramen noodles, NEW Ottogi sesame ramen noodles with an egg block, Western Family mixed frozen vegetables AFTER TWO MONTHS, and a LUCKY 24-pack of Purex toilet paper. When I got home at 2:15 on a 407 with a nice friendly understanding bus driver, I paid my Shaw and hydro bills online. after text exchanges with both Erics about life, I went out again at 7:05 and luckily got another 12-pack of Purex double rolls along with some Old Dutch Restaurante salsa con queso (cheese salsa) and a big bag of Western Family mixed frozen vegetables for more peace of mind.

I also got Green Works toilet bowl cleaner x2 since I can just turn the cap and not have to squeeze it in impossible or difficult positions like I have to do with Lysol or Scrubbing Bubbles. London Drugs also has this, and I forgot about this till now. Got home at 8:10 on a 407 and tested out the Starfrit jar opener on the salsa jar. I hit the jar on the counter first to hopefully break the seal, tried opening it a few times, then I made a mistake by tilting the jar.... I think after that spill, I'll postpone a shower and laundry till at least tomorrow!


Hungry Man Boneless Fried Chicken microwaveable meal... YAY!




[Smoking Backyard Barbecue! )
glowing_dragon: (Cherry Cheesecake or Pie)
Ayler called me at 4:15 - yes, he still does the 7 PM cheer and plays O CANADA on the piano to go with his neighbor on the guitar! He had just gotten in from a scavenger hunt where they had to find noises, and I could hear Hiero and Beckett just roiling around as usual. Of course I said hi to them, but Ayler thought that I believed THEY were on the phone... "No, this is still Ayler - you can tell that's Beckett because of his different voice!" Jon was telling him in the background to ask me what Sidekicks I was going to eat tonight - I told him that he was an ugfart! (Ayler asked what that meant, so I told him that it didn't matter) Then Ayler asked what I was having for dinner because they were having nachos - I said I hadn't decided yet, but I had chicken croquettes AND added Western Family Parmesan cheese (non-red container) to my shopping list for tomorrow because of a stupid asshole vegan on Reddit, actually!

He said he could only talk to me for ten minutes today since he had half an hour total to talk to three people, but wanted to set up a talk time on the weekend since he'd have more time then. Sounds good - Saturday afternoon it is! Ayler said he had to go, which is fine by me.


From These Quotes Are Awesome and Positive Outlooks: I am aware that I am less than some people prefer me to be, but most people are unaware that I am so much more than what they see.




FINAL FANTASY Cactuar! JPG and GIF!




glowing_dragon: (Crazy-Eyed Bear)
I called Ayler at 4:15 or so since I noticed he called me earlier. He picked up within ten seconds because he "didn't want to have it ring even though we were playing with trains." He also told me that he and Hiero have "birthday parties" for their stuffed animals every morning - which I knew about - and send the bad ones to "hell" while singing "the Ha-Ha song," which makes fun of the fact that they're now alone. They went out on scooters today, might have burritos for dinner later, and told me a lot about their toy train tracks setup. XL / A / B / C / D, behind the couch, under the couch, and over the mat too! Sounds pretty interesting. I told Ayler to just listen to his parents and the news for coronavirus updates.

Ayler wanted to know what I did today, what I might have for dinner, and whether I'd remember what I ate when we set up the next phone call for Tuesday afternoon sometime. Probably I will - Saturday is Dumpling Night now and for the foreseeable future! We talked about his puzzles, soap, Hiero not wanting to talk to me today, Beckett saying "hello" (any other word apparently means he doesn't want to talk on the phone) and "Auntie," Ayler's "connections" making sure we talked on the phone for at least 35 minutes, and how he doesn't call me every day because he's not sure if I will pick up or not. We did set up the next talk time for Tuesday afternoon sometime. I even briefly talked to Harmony, who had to go because Beckett was crying since Hiero took away his blanket again.


A red fire-breathing dragon 5D Diamond Painting!




From Julie M. and Etsy: Kiefer the lifesize green forest dragon!




Easily Distracted By Dragons!

glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
To my surprise, Ayler called me at 8:55 this morning because I wasn't on time with calling him at 8:45. I know he likes numbers and time, but I was going to call when a long Obsolete Oddity video was over. Beckett was crying in the background later because he wanted his blanket and his balloon, but Hiero had them instead. Harmony was also sanitizing the aforementioned balloon because it had gone outside on the balcony. I have no idea if the coronavirus can survive on concrete, but I guess it's low-effort enough!

I asked him if he talked to Steph - "no, because they do a call on videotape." Hahaha, that's true. He asked if I knew all the people in Beckett's baby book: of course I do! When I asked if he missed his school and church friends, he said he had a meeting with his school friends before online school tomorrow, and they did an online kiddy Easter church service. Hiero talked to me briefly about biking on the Fraser River, and I said hi to Beckett, who said a couple of his words into the phone. Ayler said they had 120 Easter eggs

I updated him on Fraser asking people whether they liked ice cream or cake better, told him that the Dairy Queen website is broken, and asked about their balcony activities. He asked me whether I worked from home (I could hear Jon and Harmony laughing in the background), and what my plans were for today. I'd had my coffee, so could go shopping after I ate breakfast. (they had granola and stuff) Ayler asked if there was anything else I wanted to talk about since he had run out of things to say. Then I said that the phone call had run its course - which is totally fine - so we could talk later. Yes, I called because I missed them, but also to wish them a Happy Easter 2020!


Hardin Long has a tombstone?!

glowing_dragon: (OMFG Yay!)
I called Ayler briefly at 6:30 after Jon said at 6 that they were still eating dinner. Jon said that it was Phone Call Overdose at their place - from what Ayler describes about his phone list, that's probably very true about overload! Ayler asked what I did for the 7 PM cheer for the doctors and nurses; did I poke my head out of the balcony window and yell? I said I did. I asked what HE did for the cheer, which led to a bunch of drumming on a metal object on the other end and Hiero explaining it. That definitely would create some noise and be appropriate! I said that fire engines, police cars, and ambulances showed up right outside my window for the 7 PM cheer. He asked about the world's oldest woman right now - 117 years old - and wondered where I got my Guinness World Records books from. The bookstore, but I was looking these things up online as he asked about them.

I told him that I'd gone for a walk at Minoru Park, then heard nothing, so I hung up. He called back to say that he'd pushed the MUTE button by accident instead of the VOLUME button. "You're lucky I called you back... before you got busy!" Gee, thanks! Totally understandable, and I said I understood it was an accident - not a big deal at ALL! (he needs that) He said he and Hiero were working on a 500-piece puzzle, which he might have told me before, but sometimes he forgets things. Of course I also said THAT was okay because I do the same thing! I told him that I'm glad he's my nephew, too.

Hiero was busy preparing his drumming and Beckett was busy just carrying his blanket around. Sounds normal to me! "Any other ideas about our day before anything? I can't talk to your family because you live by yourself." He wants to talk again in "a few" days, meaning Sunday or Monday. Fine by me! People who complain about loud noises should know that it'll start around 7 EVERY EVENING, and prepare themselves or their pets accordingly BEFOREHAND! It only lasts for about two to five minutes TOPS! Unless you have a baby who JUST got to sleep, then you don't get to complain!


Virgin tombstone?!

glowing_dragon: (Devilish Smile)
Ayler called me at 3 to talk about Beckett going around with a blanket on his head (the same one that Hiero pulled off - and then Hiero was upset for five minutes), playing a six-page version of PACHELBEL'S CANON which took seven minutes to complete, knowing a couple of six-syllable words ("onomatopoeia" and "responsibility"), his doing online school tomorrow, Beckett's boh-boh and eggs, talking to his list of people (Uncle Joe / Auntie Wing Yee / Eric / Randal / Jeremy), his liking to talk (I can tell!), and their lunch of tuna melts. He said he goes outside and likes to play tag if he can, but plays CONNECT FOUR inside, and also reads books and keeps Beckett safe when he can. I told him that his pieces were nice (except for Hiero / Beckett crying - which he said "sorry" for later), and thanked him for playing... also when he played the Willowbrook Waltz.

He gave me his grandparents' phone numbers, said that he had reached me first before I called them, and described a magic trick he could do in person. I heard Beckett say "Auntie," so I told HIM that as soon as I can, I will go over there so we can hang out. Ayler asked how old the oldest man was, since the oldest woman ever was 122 years old. I looked it up: 116 years old ever, and a man was JUST awarded a Guinness World Record for being 112 years old. Ayler asked whether Jeanne Calment had been in good health - well, she did smoke a lot (being in France) and ate tons of chocolate, but other than that, I guess so. Ayler told me that he liked being creative and writing stories - awesome! I should tell him about my "goat royalty" stories as a kid around his age, haha.

He asked me whether I had allergies because of the cherry blossoms and spring; I told him that I did not, but I was apparently very lucky. Harmony had told him that I was born prematurely - I am a dragon like he is, which is why I gave him the red-and-yellow stuffed dragon that Beckett has in his crib now. Hiero is a Snake, and Beckett is a Dog. I told him that learning was a good thing, while he wondered if my clock did minutes and seconds - apparently, he tells Jeremy what time it is and counts it up!

He asked me whether I knew that his dad's "special sleep window" was 11:30 PM to 3 AM, since that's when Jon can sleep best. Haha, no! I do not currently have trouble sleeping, so that's good. He ended the call at 4:05 or so, during which I could hear Jon in the background, so he was home then. We can talk next on Wednesday after his online school and everything else - no, I'm not likely to be available before then at 8:45 AM! He told me, "I'm glad you're alive because then I can talk to you, and you can take care of us. If you die, my dad will be the oldest, right?" HAHAHAHA!


Nacho tombstone?!

glowing_dragon: (Crazy-Eyed Bear)
Ayler called me at 9:40 AM to read me their schedule for the day: free play, mealtimes, piano, spelling, reading, and bedtime at 8 or so! He also says that his new rule should be that he can stay up 15 minutes later every year on his birthday. I said that sounds like a good rule, and wondered how long it would be until he just stayed up all night. Hiero said that he made a birthday card for his mom - yes, Harmony's birthday is today! Ayler also made a birthday card for her, but said that they were giving her a good birthday gift: sleeping in until 10 AM! He also gave me a play-by-play: She wasn't up when he called me, but was when he was going to end the call at 10:10. Beckett was still eating a breakfast of oatmeal and honey, so I didn't really talk to him.

I asked Ayler how he could tell that Beckett missed me: apparently, he goes around saying "Goo-Mah" - cute! Ayler also thinks that Steph lives in a different country because her timezone is different - HAHAHA! We discussed Jeremy's cat Hudson, how burping works, how Ayler really likes talking (so he can talk on the phone to Jeremy for 90 minutes!), my banana yogurt being "gross" (HE'S not eating it!), Hiero thinking I was sleeping when they called me yesterday (I told them that sometimes some people like having their phone off when they're doing other things), my saying happy birthday to Harmony when she WAS awake, my eating all of the chocolate I got for Harmony's birthday this year since there will be no family gathering this year, and our keeping up my coming over when coronavirus is done. He said bye at 10:10 after confirming that it was 10:05 on my end, and also said that I work from 9 AM to 10 AM. Jon's also teaching him questionable things about me, if HIS laughter is any indication!


The Butt brothers Ralph and Roger have a tombstone, AND they died on the same date a year apart?! QUIRKY COINCIDENCE!

glowing_dragon: (OMFG Yay!)
Ayler and Hiero surprisingly called me at 10:20 AM, which is how I discovered that my phone was still on from last night, but that was a good thing in this case! This time, I was prepared with the light on AND my reading glasses very nearby! They wanted to call since we only talked for a very short time yesterday - I said that was nice and thanked them! We discussed a 300-piece Thomas Ravensburger puzzle, Hiero building something, Ayler playing a long piano piece for me, Ayler thinking that Beckett misses me (he probably doesn't understand why I can't come and play), Beckett saying "Goo Mah / Auntie / Yeah" into the phone, and Ayler wanting to play piano a lot. He doesn't want to disturb the downstairs neighbors, so I reminded him about the soft pedal. When they asked me what I ate for breakfast, I lied and said "oatmeal and a granola bar" as I hadn't eaten yet. Turns out they "also" had oatmeal, haha! Good choice!

I reminded Ayler to protect Beckett when he goes on the couch by either blocking him or holding his hands. He said that they play with the red and yellow stuffed dragon, asked me if I knew what "Didibug" and "Didibop" were (interesting - LADYBUG!), and said that they go outside instead of going to church. Hiero wanted Beckett to repeat "John Horgan / Kennedy Stewart / Justin Trudeau" for me, but no dice! Beckett just said my name into the phone, which is good. Harmony asked how I was doing, so I told her about Pathways closing because of the coronavirus pandemic. I also asked about her parents, who are both being cautious. Told her that Dad had texted me asking about my food situation - I was like "NO, DON'T COME HERE!" Harmony said that Mom was more upset about missing the sales than the special senior hour for grocery shopping, of course! That was interesting and good to talk to them.


Mathias Jakshitz and Theressa Jakshitz have a tombstone?!

glowing_dragon: (Crazy-Eyed Bear)
Ayler called me briefly at 6, but I had to scramble to get my reading glasses in order to read the Caller ID, so I missed it. When I called them back immediately afterwards, the phone was busy! I checked my text messages instead, in hopes of getting ones from yesterday. There was one from Barry saying that the Pathways office was no longer open, so sorry, but he couldn't help me with my shopping trip on Wednesday, but hopes I am well and keeping cautiously safe. No direct contact is allowed, as I thought... not sure how he would work from home with that job, but if my sister can do it with writing RCMP reports...

Then Dad asked about my food situation - I said it was fine, as they should NOT show up here under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! Eric Ho said that he wouldn't come by for a while, as per my wishes, and has constantly-changing shifts at work. They haven't closed down the art gallery yet?! He says that the NHL might have a 24-team playoff format. Interesting! I'd never heard THAT! He's right that we have lots more time now to watch stuff on Youtube!

I finally called the kids back twenty minutes later, and Hiero said they'd called me "many times" today - three times, according to his brother! Then Ayler said that they'd had pork for dinner to gain weight to help them, asked me why I wanted to call every few days, said that his dad could make banana bread for me (maybe when this is over), and asked what I did today. (watching Youtube videos, I told him) Hiero asked if I was still sleeping when they called me at 9:15 AM - YES! Then he said that they called a lot of people today: their grandparents, Myles, Holly, Peter, Evander, Everett, and even Jeremy! Ayler said that Jeremy had more connections than I did - I guess so. He hung up on me, so I called him back to see what was up, and to make sure he knew that the playgrounds were closed - "they are, right?" Definitely! We ended with a BYE!


Ima Hogg?!




Ima Hogg's tombstone!




From Shiwa's Discord server and Nerfnow Comics: Treasure! Here's a treasure chest around the corner: TOILET PAPER to protect against the coronavirus hoarders!

glowing_dragon: (French Toast)
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! )
glowing_dragon: (Bubble Tea)
Ayler called me at 6:15, wanting to know if I had gotten coronavirus yet. Not yet, and they haven't either! They made banana bread yesterday, and had fish and chips for dinner today. Beckett ate only the sides of the fish, but Ayler says he himself can eat one pompano - hahaha, sounds good! He says they played SORRY and explained the game to me, asked (when prompted) what I did today (caught up with friends / watched videos [they need to know that videos exist] / reading books), and was fine with my saying that we had to stay away from each other for now. Harmony had apparently bought a new outside ball for Beckett recently, who loves it.

I said hi to Hiero and Beckett, who wanted to show me an egg over the phone! ("dan-dan!") Ayler mentioned that they could have stuffed animal parties every morning now, since Spring Break means that he doesn't have choir at 8:30 AM - sounds good! Harmony said that Jon talked to my parents today, who said they were only taking walks outside, which is permissible according to current health guidelines. Ended the call at 6:25, which is fine for a brief catch-up. Ayler asked when I was going to talk to them again - next week! Then I asked when HE wanted to talk to me again; next Monday or Tuesday should be fine for sure! Harmony said to let them know if I needed anything - definitely!

Ayler: "We made banana bread yesterday, and we finished all three loaves today because my family has five people and eats fast! I know why you don't have the coronavirus - you have an iron stomach, right?" HAHAHAHA!


From Youtube: Rannita Williams and Johnathan Robinson?! BAD SPELLING OF JONATHAN!

glowing_dragon: (Cherry Cheesecake or Pie)
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! )
glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
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!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
I had fun watching Twitch Sings this morning with Red for his birthday! Song challenges, oh my! Then I went out at 2:55 to London Drugs to buy is back with on-sale Kleenex 110 three-packs x2 (lotion / ultra-soft), on-sale Ruby Cocoa / white chocolate Kit-Kats x2 for White Chocolate Day, NEW Aero Dark Cherry / Dark Chipotle Truffle bars x2, Aero white chocolate for White Chocolate Day, replacement birthday chocolate x2 for Harmony (Whittaker's Dark Ghana 72% / Lindt 38% Hazelnuts and Caramel), store brand extra-large Ziploc bags, on-sale Glad plastic wrap, Kortari kitchen scissors x2, and Jergens Nourishing Honey moisturizing lotion. Got home at 4, which is great timing since I was on time for the 407. The Canucks played the Avalanche tonight at 7, and WON 6-3 with an empty-net goal... NO MORE LOSING STREAK AND A PLAYOFF SPOT!


Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie OREOS for Oreo Cookie Day today on March 6!




More chocolate and Kleenex! )


From Julie and Anorak UK: Curl Up and Dye?! Amigone Funeral Home?! Reminds me of Ben / Amigone from the SDMB!




From Julie: Amber Rose named her son Slash Electric?! How do you go from Sebastian to something like THAT?!

glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
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.

glowing_dragon: (Devilish Smile)
After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 2:40 on a 401 which JUST waited for me to help with the kids. Six minutes according to the new Translink website is not enough time to be comfortable - ten is way better! I got to the house at 4, managing to have a text conversation with Term about Jimbo leaving our Superfriends server and all the VioletNym (Faith) / Michelle drama and jealousy in V4F. While I was killing time at Tim Horton's with a cheese tea biscuit because I'd JUST missed the 3 bus, I quickly messaged Jimbo to ask why he would leave Superfriends. I got the answer when I got on wifi at Marine Drive at the station on the way home, as I thought.

Apparently, he thinks it's too toxic and we bitch all the time. (Darryl thought it was his fault when I told the server later!) So if we're not supposed to bitch on V4F about that server because we'll get modded, and we can't bitch on Sober Server because it's ALL about positivity, then where else can we complain?! Geez! Most places which are ALL POSITIVE ALL THE TIME are not realistic! I did leave Sober Server when I got home since it's dead anyway - even Violet Hour / Kevin had left! Lots of splintering of the big group for sure - even the secret V4F chat is deleted because Tony threw a bitchfit since Violet Hour's friends joined to troll him about things!

When I got to the house at 4, Harmony let me in, where I saw Uncle Joe. Beckett came up and answered his question about who I was: Yes, I am Auntie! He wanted to show me his light blue "God is love" rolling pin while I was washing my hands! I washed my hands some more after he sneezed on me, for sure. Then he said "DIDIBUG" - I clearly had no idea what a DEE DEE BUG is, so he walked over and showed me. Turns out it's his word for LADYBUG, which is on the orange alphabet board AND a soft ball for throwing! Makes sense for a baby pronunciation, I guess!

Talked about the news and a possible coronavirus quarantine / emergency kits (the kids had questions!), reading BATMAN / THE ADVENTURES OF DOG MAN to Ayler and Hiero (which Harmony thanked me for later), my gigantic bowl of congee and shredded pork (yok song) plus some choy, Beckett licking the Play-Doh lids ("that's gross, Beckett - YUCK!" Then he repeated, "Gross!") / the toy train ("Go!") while wanting to spin ("PIN!") the intersections from the wooden train set. Also discussed OPEN for the Play-Doh lids and boxes, BEI-TEI (snot / runny nose), COME UP for his wanting to sit on the little white chair like a big boy (Hiero questioned that - but I'm RIGHT HERE in case something happens!), going on a trip for Spring Break, going to Portland in the summertime, and Penny coming later than scheduled because of traffic.

Beckett was very curious and said "Penny!" a bunch of times, even walking to the door to say hi. He even got into the cards they were using later, but I figured that was okay as I used my normal voice to get him out of there - there isn't much space in that apartment! He said "MINE!" - so I corrected him. Much better than Ayler yelling at him! He noticed Penny's earrings, so called them BOH-BOH and wanted to touch them. I read a word book to him, found the apples in the Bible storybook, and generally kept him occupied most of the time. We ate dinner together since I wouldn't eat at 4:15! Left at 7:35 and got home at 9:05 on a 407, telling Harmony that I'd text Jon tomorrow when my pedicure was done even if he'll be at the park if the weather is actually nice.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: a bag of No Name ketchup chips which expires on May 1 of 2020, and Paldo Gomtang instant noodles which expired on October 20, 2019... I threw the noodles out when I discovered the expiry date! EW!


Schwing tombstone?! PARTY ON, WAYNE!




No Name ketchup chips!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
MORE COFFEE TIME! IT IS LEAP YEAR 2020 TODAY! The Canucks played the Leafs today at 4, and lost 4-2... DAMN EMPTY-NET GOALS AND MY BIRTHDAY BUDDY AUSTON MATTHEWS! Eric Ho confirmed yesterday via text that he was coming over, and also called me at 12:10 to iron out some details, so YAY! I got him to pick up a 24-pack of Nestlé Pure Life bottled water from Price Smart on the way since I was running out. He got here at 2:15, so that was good. We talked about the parking pass / my spare keys, the skyrocketing coronavirus news, Nathan being overseas right now, the 2001 version of THE MUMMY RETURNS with Brendan Fraser, Jeremy, washing hands, my Ontario trip, the bacon quiche / Reser's mashed potatoes / meat lasagna / macaroni and cheese / Peanut Butter Pie Oreos / Mackie's Crispy Bacon chips / Mackie's haggis and cracked black pepper chips, the Lindt / Nutter Butter I gave him in a Ziploc bag, and David Ayres the Zamboni driver. He also called "coronavirus" SARS, and called the Alcan aluminum foil "cling wrap - you know what I mean." Not really or not at first, but he's still a good friend of mine!

Also discussed Jann Arden / a halftime show, 2011 and the Boston Pizza name change, HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, my slipper socks / high heels bag / Boston Pizza gift card from Ruth and Joan, Carey Price / Patrick Roy (possible) trades / the trade deadline activity on Monday, ICBC driver premiums and car insurance, whether I caught any of Sedin Week, and the 9-3 Boston Bruins blowout the other night. Conversed about his smelling my hot sauce, the playoffs, Jim Hughson, his not preferring to drive during sunset / twilight hours, a cow in a plane for a THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR movie scene with Jet Li, and Don Cherry's podcast / being fired, the Juno Awards, the Simpsons controversy, Apu, and Krusty the Clown before he left at 6:40 after a disappointing Leap Day / Leap Year LOSS! DAMN EMPTY-NETTERS! Sure, I'll collect my empty bottles for him to redeem somewhere if he offered! Of course he did the dishes WITHOUT COMPLAINING!


Happy Leap Year Day 2020! Leap Year Day FROG! February 29! Feb. 29!




February 29! Leap Year! Food and water! )
glowing_dragon: (No Netspeak!)
Today is Mardi Gras 2020! I had some New England Clam Chowder today for National Clam Chowder Day. After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 2:45 on a 401 to help with the kids, but I just missed both buses - UGH! Got to the house, where the kids seemed to be better. Beckett walked around calling for AUNTIE - haha, so cute! He wanted me to OPEN the Play-Doh containers, wanted me to get the balls (BOH-BOH) from under the couch (I made him say "pease"), and then LICKED the Play-Doh lids while looking at me to see how I'd react. He thought it was funny, but I said it was GROSS! Ayler and Hiero wanted to sniff buttcracks - that's not great, but better than Hiero insisting that his hitting my leg was funny and that I thought it was funny too! Never mind "hit your butt!" in Cantonese...

I'm just glad I had time with Beckett, of course! Ayler is encouraging Beckett's words by making him say what certain things are; Beckett just wanted "book" and "apple" (the Bible stories book with the Garden of Eden), and said "eat-eat" and "Poo-poo" and "bye-bye" at certain times. I'm not leaving every time I go to the couch, but I told him BYE-BYE anyway. Not sure what he expects me to do about poo, OR his wanting to eat at 5 PM, but I'm glad he tells me and can communicate. His pronunciation of MAGNET seems to have suffered in the last two weeks, but that's okay.

Harmony had to "remind" me not to take photos of the kids - DOES A STICKY RICE PHOTO LOOK LIKE A PICTURE OF HIERO TO YOU?! One of these weeks, I'm going to lose it. Unlike her, I let Beckett wander the house now as opposed to a few months ago. He can climb on the couch, but I do get him down from there just in case. I wouldn't want anything to happen to him! Ayler told me that I was bald - oh, that's rude for sure!

Ayler says his friends wrote him a letter, and one of the lines was about poop - of course. I should have taken a look at it, but I had already used my reading glasses to read some Ninjago Lego comic to Hiero for a bit, who asked what the BOOM! was on my phone. Just Jeff crashing his Sky Runner into the Threed graveyard on EARTHBOUND, hahaha! I took a list of Penny's list of "good words" on the wall after Ayler said he hated Hiero's crayons or something. It's okay to hate things, but they do need to learn to be kind for sure... it's a process! The Canucks played the Canadiens today at 4, and won 4-3 in overtime! Got home at 8:40 on a 407 - thank goodness the driver actually waited for more than a minute at the Brighouse bus stop!


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: Vifon beef instant noodles x2 with some Czech, (Instantna Rezancova Polievka or Instantni Nudlova Polevka s Prichuti Hovezi), two 40g bags of Old Dutch Salt and Vinegar chips which expired yesterday (so still very fine for eating), and 175g of Cherubin [NOT A TYPO!] hard candy hearts / 120g of Cherubin [NOT A TYPO!] marshmallow hearts from Dollarama for Valentine's Day 2020.


From Julie M. and DR. PHIL: Andromada Deberry?! BAD SPELLING OF ANDROMEDA!




Vifon beef instant noodles with some Czech! Instantna Rezancova Polievka or Instantni Nudlova Polevka s Prichuti Hovezi.




Old Dutch Salt and Vinegar chips!




Not a typo: 120g of Cherubin marshmallow hearts from Dollarama for Valentine's Day 2020!




Not a typo: 175g of Cherubin hard candy hearts from Dollarama for Valentine's Day 2020!




Banana leaf-wrapped sticky rice or joong! I wonder what color it is...




Savory white joong or sticky rice!




They have sweet purple joong or sticky rice now?!




Okay, Google, I'm not a time-traveler here, so there is no way I last visited the Pure Nail Bar website on December 2, 2020. I use month-day-year Date Format as it's less confusing, so the date should be February 12, 2020! I had to fix it by going into my Google settings and choosing the USA as my region... *rolleyes*

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
In exactly two years, it'll be 2/2/22! WHAT A NUMERIC COINCIDENCE! The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 6-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes' Zamboni driver David Ayres playing an emergency goalie role! HAHAHAHA! The Canucks played the Bruins tonight at 7, and WON 9-3! Tyler Toffoli got two goals!


From Reddit: The referees have unveiled new uniforms for tonight's Canucks game against Boston...




From Julie: NAKED! I showed this kiddy book to my ex-friend Jimmy once, hahaha.




Friends-only banner 1: An injection, a pentagram, and a cute blue crab baby! PNG and GIF!






Friends-only banner 2: A cute lemon banner! PNG and GIF!






Friends-only banner 3! Let it play out. Buy the rights to endless love! If your friends don't like it, you can tell them for me to... Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off. Friends only! MATTHEW GOOD BAND and RICO!

glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
Leap Year Day issues! February 29!


After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:05 on a 407 to help with the kids... of course I just missed a 401! I still got to the station in enough time to kill time at both T&T (premium Shin Ramyun Black noodles, Palmolive Oxy Power Degreaser in an 887mL bottle - my limited Cantonese for "washing dishes" won again!) PLUS Tim Horton's where I got a cheese tea biscuit. Despite some shenanigans, I got to the apartment at about the usual time. Seemed like everyone had a cold and cough, especially Beckett, so I used his hoodie to wipe up his runny nose. Even I was getting one a bit later while reading stories to Hiero, so I used the frog blanket to wipe my own nose... it's probably not the worst thing, and I'm pretty sure they launder it anyway! When I got home, I had peppermint tea / Vitamin C / zinc / garlic.

Beckett just wanted me to get balls from his throwing them around most of the time, even when Barry called me at about 5:50 to try rescheduling a food shopping appointment AGAIN! That's fine - I just dealt with that the same way I dealt with Karen Choo calling me while I was talking to people in the car years ago, namely addressing the immediate situation while still being on the phone call. I didn't care what she thought then, and I didn't care what Barry thought if he heard "here's a boh-boh"! Later after a very early dinner of lotus soup / goji berries / kumquat / miso soup / noodles / vegetables / eggs, Beckett got a word book. I sat him in my lap and read to him, then spied a newer word book with textures. He seemed to like the OWL page at least. Showed Ayler and Hiero the contents of my wallet as I was looking for my scissors.

Later, I spied a Pokemon circle, and got some balls from way behind the couches, requiring me to move them! I got Beckett to say "please" a couple of times for that amount of effort, definitely. When he wouldn't just settle down and sleep, I was drafted in to help by just sitting by the crib to keep him company before he hopefully fell asleep. I told him that it was Auntie, got a fish cushion and the stuffed dragon from the floor to his crib, and also held his hand briefly. He didn't throw anything around - just moved them around and fell asleep within five minutes or so. Harmony thinks he just likes the company vs. being afraid of the dark - last night, she couldn't do anything much because he wanted her to sit around for two and a half hours! AIYA! I left at 7, which was SO EARLY that I got home at 8:05 on a 407. WOO!


Weird Owl Yankovic!




Shin Ramyun Black Pot-Au-Feu noodles!




Palmolive Oxy Power Degreaser dish detergent, 887 mL!




Cheese tea biscuit at Tim Horton's.




Lotus soup with goji berries. Miso soup with noodles, veggies, meat, and eggs.

glowing_dragon: (Default)
After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 11:40 on a 414 to help with the kids, but first went to Dublin Crossing Pub. Noticed the Canada Line was slightly slower on the tracks, but that's fine since it snowed yesterday and had pretty much melted today. I had to go in early to help by staying with a sick Hiero at home while Jon and Beckett did school pickup. I had an ahi tuna bowl at Dublin Crossing and bought a mocha Starbucks / on-sale pomegranate Canada Dry ginger ale at Shoppers, which had a sign saying that the store was sold out of Asian face masks and hand sanitizer! Luckily, I built in extra time to wait for the 3 bus - thank goodness it wasn't late, but it did have an alarm delay and other things going on with the passengers... I FINALLY got to the house at 2:10! After some Jello and other food, Jon and Beckett left the house to go pick Ayler up from school. Hiero and I read some CHARLIE BROWN storybook, and I let him have a little bit of my ginger ale.

When everyone else got home, I switched from reading on the couch (and exposure to germs) to playing on the mat with Beckett. He had learned HELP, POO, AYA (for Ayler), MAGNET, OPEN, MONKEY, DRAGON, HELLO (to make the coin purses inside-out), and JOW for JELLO... and also picked up OKAY from me tonight. At 4, Ayler asked when I was leaving - gee, thanks! Jon let him know what people would think when he asked him that, and clarified to me that he was just curious about time. (of course!) Turns out Jon had a few music students; Beckett was interested in the silver things on Kayla's guitar (so tried re-tuning it) AND her green guitar pick on the black piano bench, thought everyone calling to come over was Jon's student Dean, and was generally curious. Later, we had bean soup and French onion soup with bread for dinner. Ayler asked about apostrophes, a gratitude list (the "big Jello" item was pretty funny!), what "philosophy" meant, and wondered who would win his eating competition.

Hiero seemed pretty out of it for sure, lying down on the couch when he wasn't fighting with Ayler. He wanted ANOTHER day off school tomorrow despite his snow day yesterday from his mom. I just talked to Beckett about the toy balls, tested whether he knew what things were, and didn't mind if he wanted to play with the "boh-boh" on my shirt OR socks. He showed me a stack of dry noodles and said "Noo-noo!" (his word for "noodles") For my own amusement, I asked him if he would eat them all. He said "okay" - not that he ever would or could right now! He still likes to look out the window to see some lights across the street, which is cute. Jon left and came back later to teach yet another student, and I finally left at 8, having probably just missed a 3 bus, and got home at 9:35 on a 407. Lots of people wearing Asian face masks today!


From Julie: A female lion-human hybrid!




Even the Mona Lisa is protecting herself from the coronavirus by using an Asian face mask!




Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl at Dublin Crossing pub: Sushi grade marinated ahi tuna, dynamite slaw, avocado, edamame, mango salsa, pickled onion, cilantro, and sesame seeds served on a bed of coconut jasmine rice and topped with crispy wontons!




Canada Dry pomegranate ginger ale!




French onion soup!




Bean soup with Play-Doh!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
There was snow this morning at 11 AM! Of all the people, Auntie Vonnie texted me (at least identifying herself, unlike either of my parents) saying that the building insurance had expired as of January 4, so I had to call Hester to find out if I still needed it (yes), and then tell her about the light bulb issue. "If the light bulb is broken, that's your job. [NOT what I was calling about...] Turn the TV off. [NOT the TV! THE PRE-GAME SHOW!] Write a note. If I can't understand you, you can't understand me. [WTF?!]" Called the insurance office to see how much it was: $375!

I also got banned from R/Relationship_Advice for literally telling a guy that he was scum since his comment was "My girlfriend got raped and I'm having a hard time with it because I would have been her first if her ex hadn't done that." Fuck that! YOU ARE A SCUMBAG AND A SCUMBUCKET! Then someone on Youtube tried telling me how an insistence on proper spelling and grammar could be ableist and classist - HA HA HA! I don't excuse it EVER unless you are a kid just learning how things work. The Canucks played Boston today at 4, and lost 4-0. I showered today.


From Julie and Anorak UK: KidsExchange?! Master Bait and Tackle?!




I about had a heart attack when some lady pointed towards my waist and said, "Looks like your caulk is falling out."




From Mikey in the V4F Discord server: When there are too many new genders and you want to be clear: DICK OWNER!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
COFFEE TIME! The Canucks played Carolina today at 11 AM, but lost 4-3 in overtime and the shootout. I found four packs of Vedan Bah Kut tea noodles that expired on Jan. 25, one pack of Mamee chicken noodles that expired on Jan. 29, and three packs of Mamee vegetarian noodles that expired on Jan. 26 - I'll be eating them all in the next week! INSTANT RAMEN NOODLES FOR DAYS!

I showered today once Jon switched my childcare dates from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Mom said "can you tell me whether there will be autism on Tuesday or Wednesday this week?" What the heck?! HAHAHA! I also accidentally overdosed on those Vitamin D gummies, but called the nurses hotline at 811. They were professional and very helpful (and I got through in 30 seconds despite the Reddit fear-mongering about the coronavirus), directed me to Poison Control, and all I have to do is chill on the gummies till the weekend. Nice!


From Jim and CANUCK NATION: If they say size doesn't matter, they're probably NFL fans. Stanley Cup vs. the Super Bowl trophy!




From CRIME WATCH DAILY and Youtube: Harley Burns and Autumn Burns?!

glowing_dragon: (Consumer Whore)
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!

glowing_dragon: (Crazy-Eyed Bear)
I got roped into going to a Chinese New Year dinner tonight by Jon's text... so I had to shower, have COFFEE TIME, and give up a few hours of alone time! Left at 4:30 on a 407, and then got to Kwong Chow at 5:35 or so. We talked about the new coronavirus, my reading about Lego Ninjago to Hiero, Ayler asking me weird questions (and soaking up his 90 seconds of screen time with the All-Star Game), Beckett imitating his brother doing an angry face and waving his finger around (so funny!), Beckett saying "yeah" to some stuff (but probably not knowing what it means), Beckett saying MINE! about the plastic bowl from the restaurant, Beckett noticing my bling on my red shirt ("Boh-boh! Auntie!"), and my getting some leftovers AND $10 in lucky money.

I JUST MISSED THE 3 BUS GOING ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE RESTAURANT AT 7:30! Then I had to wait 25 minutes for the next one, then was waiting for at least 45 minutes for info about a 407 not coming at Brighouse. Turns out there was plenty of police activity across the street at Moore's clothing store, which was cordoned off with crime scene tape - the street was blocked off, too. Nobody else knew what was going on since my text alerts only said "detour on X streets" (and NOT WHY) and someone else's app was wildly inaccurate as to where the next bus was. Someone else smelled gas, so figured it was a gas leak - a bus driver FINALLY confirmed it. A poor girl had been waiting for an hour by the time we got confirmed info! I texted Paulo, Eric M., and Harma about it, finally got home at 9:40 on the THIRD 401 I saw, and had to change the CFL light bulb in my living room because it fizzled out!


From Cuya and Twitter: Happy Chinese New Year 2020 with rats, mandarin oranges, and flowers!




From Julie: Happy Chinese New Year 2020 with a rat, lanterns, and flower!




Food! Happy Chinese New Year 2020 with rats and lanterns! )
glowing_dragon: (Crazy-Eyed Bear)
I finally left that V4F Discord server run by cliquey millennials with double standards for the original members vs. people who joined later, because the "mod" SJ and a person with "just his opinions on your food photos and presentation" (KPOP) HAVE PISSED OFF THE WRONG PERSON! I am the FIRE DRAGON! "Vancouver for friends," my ass! Violet / Faith put me in touch with the server owner - after a brief conversation with Divine Sword, he isn't going to do anything about it because I was snarky as well. Uh yeah, of course I was.

Mom also sent me a WhatsApp message asking whether I said thank you to Eric for his Sunday ride. First of all, he was going to UBC anyway for hockey! Secondly, what's the more reasonable assumption: I did, or I didn't?! I don't need to be treated like a child! Fuck this shit. That's why I ignore her. She also asked whether I said thank you to Harmony's parents - I ignored that, too.

After I had COFFEE TIME, Barry picked me up at 12:35 and we went banking and to Price Smart. I got NEW on-sale Wei Chuan dumplings (Pork / Green Onion, Pork / Leek / Shrimp, Beef / Green Onion), NEW Edo spicy noodles, bananas, Joyya unfiltered chocolate milk, on-sale Western Family spiced apple cider, on-sale Western Family juices (pineapple / regular apple / pure apple / mango / grape / mixed berry / orange), and NEW Japanese matcha green tea Kit-Kats. I also got Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Oreos for National Pie Day and National Peanut Butter Day today, Sour Cream and Onion Goldfish crackers, NEW Nando's Peri-Peri sauce, Mentos Fresh Mint / Cherry Mint / Spearmint gum x3, on-sale Earth's Own almond milk, on-sale Lysol 110-pack wipes x2, on-sale Cottonelle toilet paper x2 (almost half-price), Stouffer's Sauté Sensations meals x4, on-sale sushi roll D ($2 off because it expires tomorrow), on-sale shredded Soo Keta wild Pacific salmon, and Shirakiku prepared hot shredded squid. Later, I paid my Shaw bill online at home. I had to use my NG lungpower 12 times today on millennial phone zombies, oblivious Asians, and people with no spatial awareness who blocked my way in aisles or otherwise - they weren't even looking around / for things! I just said "EXCUSE ME!" since I had no patience for anything else! Saw Chris Noble at the store, who seems more out of it than he did 20 years ago, but at least I said HEY to Ray.


Spicy Samyang fire dumplings!




Wei Chuan dumplings, Nando sauces, Edo noodles, matcha Kit-Kats, and Western Family juices! )
glowing_dragon: (Happy Birthday!)
Jon sent me a Facebook message at 8:50 AM to wonder if I could come over at 2:15 today instead because Harmony had to pick up Hiero from school and actually wanted to be on time, and Ayler wasn't feeling well. I assumed I had to hold down the fort there, especially when he called a few minutes later after I'd already sent my reply to ask if they were puking or loopy, so I agreed. Then Barry left me a voicemail, but I delete those, so I called him back to find out that he wanted to move grocery shopping to Thursday instead of tomorrow. What did they do - leave the messages and then run away within two seconds?! Sheesh!

Later, I had some New England Clam Chowder today for National New England Clam Chowder Day, right when Harmony sent me a text wondering if I could come slightly earlier. That's on the buses, not on me! After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 1 on an 401 to help with the kids, just missing the early C94 and the early 407. The 3 was seven minutes LATE at Marine Drive Station! GEEZ! I finally got to Jon's at 2:15 - so much for shortly BEFORE that time! At least there were no random two-minute stops along the route, wheelchair / stroller delays, or elevator shenanigans today!

When I got there, Harmony and Beckett left within five minutes, but Beckett did show me his Gorilla Munch cereal, which were indeed balls! He also showed me a huge yellow Blockbuster chip bowl and the blue tub, which he had fun with later. It was good to have some time alone with Ayler, who thinks that I won't get what he has because his dad said so. Haha, I wish germs and viruses worked that way! We talked about Fraser, Henry, racetracks, the school secretary, no nurses at the school, Harmony just driving to the school today (walking 30 blocks in the rain with a toddler in a carrier?!), my phone photos and calculating how many seconds were in a year by using the Calculator app, hand sanitizer, texting, oranges, what it meant when you vomited, water, and reading some children's Bible stories like the Good Samaritan / the Feeding of the 5000 with fish and loaves / Daniel in the lion's den. He wanted to teach Beckett about word patterns and especially the word "gun" since Beckett will repeat anything. Uncle Joe has taught him "hit your butt!" in Cantonese since it's funny.

Everyone else came home at 3:40 (thus ending our freedom to talk), and Beckett had fun with his toys and plopping into my lap to "read" the summertime book and the Christmas piano book cover because he saw "balls" (ornaments) on there. No wonder the piano had wings - there was Santa in his sleigh, too! I gave Hiero his birthday card, which he seemed to like - he also was enamored with the Creature toy I'd given him on Sunday. Hiero opened all the rest of his birthday presents - turned out that Mom had forgotten to write in the birthday card she gave him, but had also given them a pack of Ontrue seaweed in the regular flavor! He also got at least four Lego sets, a PAW PATROL puzzle set, a science toy, and Rain or Shine ice cream gift cards! His friend Leanne gave him three gifts - WOW! Beckett stood on top of a puzzle box (and wanted some grey robot toys - saying "MINE!" when they were Hiero's), and I accidentally squished the Lego STAR WARS box.

We had peas and macaroni in soup with some grapes, cherry tomatoes, and sticky rice while discussing last week's snow and other things. Ayler said the soup was salty, but it really wasn't - it was really bland and just what you might want if you were sick with tummy upset. Beckett threw cheese and some other things on the floor, but liked his cereal as usual - and smiled BIG for the Vitamin D tablets! I had some leftover cheesecake while the kids had some orange Jello which was rather liquidy in consistency! Hiero did some "home reading" with me - but I had to sound out words and make sure he knew what was going on. Beckett and I played with balls, the stacking blocks ("doggy!"), and the toy train which can zoom on the wooden floor. When I showed him my doggy slipper socks from Grandma Joan, he sniffed them and played around with the "ears" - silly kid!

Just as I was about to leave at 7:25 (with Beckett saying "BYE BYE!" in a serious manner a few times), Ayler vomited on the bathroom floor and surrounding floor area! Yes, I could stay even later because that had happened and Harmony had to do clean-up. She barricaded the area with a garbage can and laundry basket, while I made sure Beckett stayed on the mat. That meant he could read even more, relax with the blanket, look out the window at the lights, and call the new 3-D Glowing Planets "boh-boh"! When Hiero took things like the action figures away from Beckett, he cried - so of course I gave him some hugs and told him that his brother was terrible! Lately, Beckett has learned the word "help" and is using it in the proper context instead of just pointing at things and vocalizing - good job! He usually needs it to get balls out from under the couch, or to get balls out from small boxes and blocks!

Turns out Ayler requested that I stay to watch him eat his banana and drink some water while Harmony bathed everyone else. Sure, why not? We talked about applesauce, tuna NOT being part of the BRAT diet, the school having a janitor / custodian at least, my opinion that he should probably stay home, math, "my baby" being Beckett, Beckett's talking in his sleep (to say "please" and other simple words), and more things. I finally left at 8:10 (encountering an Evo driver who liked driving on the sidewalk...) and got home at 9:35 on a 407. PHEW! Extended Nephew Time on BOTH ends of the time spectrum!


Campbell's clam chowder and a Nature Valley granola bar for National New England Clam Chowder Day and National Granola Bar Day!




From Julie M. and Etsy: A dragon agate necklace!




VIGOROUS DRAGON AND LIVELY TIGER artwork at the hospital across the street - YAY FOR DRAGONS!




VIGOROUS DRAGON AND LIVELY TIGER, by Shirley Chiang, donated in 2015!




From Dragons: A red dragon with piles of books in a castle! INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

glowing_dragon: (French Toast)
I discovered that Andre had unfriended / blocked me on Facebook - WHAT THE HECK?! Eric picked me up at 8:50 AM so I could use church as a vehicle to get to the Osborne Gym at UBC for Hiero's 6th birthday party. It helps that his hockey is all the way out at UBC, too... and it turned out that his hockey building is practically right next to the Robert Osborne building! He said that the LUFIA music sounded like something crazy was going on at my place - HAHAHA! I packed the Creature Chumpers toy (but forgot the birthday card), a bottled water, my Doge bag, and the other Starbucks Cold Brew before putting my boots on just in case of slush. Made my bag heavier, but it was okay. Eric and I listened to the radio for a bit until some guy came on who just monologues at you all the time - not his thing, and not mine either!

When we got to church, there was still plenty of parking across the street. As I thought, the car door went CLONK into a slush accumulation. Luckily, Eric could pull forward a bit so I could go into the nearby parking lot and then cross the street after getting on the clear sidewalk. I waited around outside the sanctuary, saying hey to Joe. When we were allowed to go inside, I said hi to Geoffrey and Sheena, and was respectful of the service. Hiero was there with Jon (who was preaching today), so I asked him if he wanted his birthday gift now or later... of course he chose now, before the Children's Sunday School.

I realized I'd forgotten the birthday card, but I can always give it to him later. He seemed out of it for some reason, but I wouldn't find out why till much later. Then he was trying to get Jon's attention, but he was busy talking to Pastor Dan. When I got back from the handicapped restroom (seeing empty water jugs inside and hoping a grandma didn't have to use it), Hiero had gotten Jon's attention, who told him to say thank you. I said that he already had (when I prompted him), so of course he didn't have to say it again! I did see Uncle Eric and Auntie Brenda at different times, and an uncle said hi to me as well.

Jon had an engaging sermon on Mark and seeds, at least. Even Julie S. agreed with me later on! I said hi to Sam, Auntie Cathy, Auntie Catherine (hug), Auntie Esther (hug), Cordia's mom, Helen C., Joe T., Ivan, Lesley, Dylan / Deb / Declan / Elysse (who thinks it's crazy that Hiero will be her age by next week AND who was eating sugar cubes), Cordia / Amasiah / Julie S. / Denise (who sent a photo of me to Steph) / Julie M., Auntie Susan x2 (Karen Grace's mom and Vivian's mom), Darren L., Martin T., Acer, and others. I could hear Acer swearing in the fellowship hall while talking about DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, but whatever.

Soon enough, it was just a little group of me, Eric, Cordia, Amasiah, their friend Jeremy, and Acer since everyone else was staying for the Larry and Bella Mori missionary lunch before Missions Fest later in the month. Once we were shushed by Auntie Ada (Benedict's mom) since the Cantonese service was going on, we moved to the stairs, where I noticed a few minutes later that we were blocking the way, so we stood around a little outside the sanctuary in the "hall" until the bench cleared up. We still had to watch our volume, though!

Jeremy insisted he wasn't a weeb just because he went to Japan with some guys - including Acer's cousin - and had to translate for the group, Cordia said she's accepted who she is, and said that Amasiah was morbid like me - SWEET! We talked about the Japan trip, Japanese people KNOWING when you're "foreign" to them even if you're Asian and fluent in the language, Sharon's health woes in the Osoyoos (being literally stuck at home), 80 cents for a medium bottle of milk tea in Japan, the Mori kids Timothy and Tiffany, Molly, people following others on Instagram, pressuring Amasiah to buy some Pokemon figurine on Amazon since she didn't in Hong Kong, my trip, the snow and slush, anime / manga, otaku people, Discord, and lunch plans. Eric and I went upstairs to see if we could get some extra $2 sandwiches (Benedict had five pink tickets from his mom!), but he decided not to bother or distract anyone in the rooms, which I noticed are now labelled. They even upgraded the water cooler from a huge jug to a black self-cleaning one!

A few minutes later at 1:25, Eric asked if I was cool with going to Broadway / Cambie instead. Sure, why not? We could get fast food burgers, so we went to A and W where he kindly paid for my Mama Burger and we shared his fries before going to Pacific Spirit Park and a parking garage on UBC campus. He pressed the crosswalk button for me in the rainy weather, and showed me which building to go into. I went into the Robert Osborne building, connected to the Wi-Fi, and looked for a specific gym on the Evite to no avail, so I had to text Harmony about it. "No, gym" is not really a great answer to "should I meet you on the second floor?" when there are at least three gyms and lots of lockers in the entire place... as I told Steph, I wonder how many "where is this place specifically?" calls and texts they got before the birthday party.

Jon and Harmony were actually early with the kids, probably because they had to sign a waiver and were nominally hosting 15 kids and their parents. I showed Beckett the balls that he had dropped in my bag, but he seemed too out of it even for just waking up. He did look at them with widened eyes, but said nothing. After I met Hiero's friends Emmett and Huxley (what a name!), I heard that Hiero had puked on the gymnastics equipment when Harmony was explaining what had happened in Chinese to her parents! IRRESPONSIBLE AND GROSS! WHY WOULD YOU SUBJECT KIDS TO THAT?! Even Ayler was complaining of feeling sick at the end of everything later! While I was there, Chinese Eric replied to my text about the All-Star Game, saying he'd get back to me later. Why don't you figure it out first, man? I'm not like my ex Mike who wants an almost-instant response! Uncle Joe and Auntie Wing ended up driving me home after the refreshments since Costco closes early on Sundays, so I got home at 6:25. AWESOME!


Random stuff from Mom and Dad, who definitely wanted the tiny tote bag back if Mom dug through my bag for it: Cao Is Starvingbase Chongqing instant noodles, Paldo Jjajangmen Chajang instant noodles, Country Life pure soap, a random floral soap circle, Princess Cruises Lotus Spa shower gel x2, a shoe brush, a Bath Aquatics h2O+ bath bar, and Ontrue roasted seaweed x2 in green tea flavor! It's MINE after I put it in my bag - come on now, WAIT FOR ME TO GET BACK FROM THE WASHROOM AND THEN ASK PERMISSION! Even Beckett has more respect than that! When he dropped his balls in my bag, he just stood by the bag and didn't go through it... I'm sure he doesn't have the words to ask about the balls, but that doesn't matter!


The Tiger Tiger Sukiyaki noodles did come with a lot of packets in the bowl with the handy lid, all crammed inside!




Gummies, water jugs, hot water advisories, and party food! )
glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
Reminded Eric about tomorrow's plans... 8:45 AM tomorrow because of PowerPoint?! AIYA! I went out at 12:50 on a 401 with my wheeled shopping cart to London Drugs and bought Heinz pure white vinegar x4 from the beverages aisle, Joyya 2% milk (1L, needs the jar opener), NEW Tiger Tiger Japanese-style Sukiyaki noodle soup for tomorrow's breakfast, Starbucks Cold Brew x2, London Naturals orange cleaner, and on-sale peppermint Twinings Tea before getting home at 1:40 on a 407. The Canucks played San Jose tonight at 7, and won 4-1... I also showered after the game since I might not have time tomorrow. Harmony says Jon is preaching - oh boy!


From Youtube: Alajawan Shakur Brown?! BAD SPELLING OF OLAJUWON!




Tiger Tiger Japanese-style Sukiyaki noodles in a big bowl: Fried rice noodles with mushrooms and bold flavor!




Joyya chocolate milk - needs the jar opener!




Joyya homo milk - needs the jar opener!




Joyya 2% milk - needs the jar opener!




Joyya skim milk - needs the jar opener!




Twinings peppermint tea!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
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?!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
COFFEE TIME! I showered and did laundry today, like the red dragon hoodie with white flecks from Steph's laundry detergent OR leaving it in the washing machine for days, AND Jon's socks which Harmony loaned me - the hoodie now looks awesome again, thanks to white vinegar! I called Chrystal at work at 3:15, and 7:30 on the 24th sounds like a great time to catch her up on my trip! The Canucks played the Panthers today at 4, and lost 5-2. Eric can give me a ride to church and UBC on the 19th for Hiero's party, thank goodness! His hockey is at UBC, so I'm glad I remembered that little detail. Rishu also wants to reschedule tomorrow's appointment since she's sick - fine by me, since I don't particularly feel like busing in the potential snow!


I got my first Reddit silver on September 13, 2019 for tagging LittleYeti11's assoholic boyfriend, CrazyPotatotoes! Woo!




My Daffy Duck vest: YES! I AM TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
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.
glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
After DOUBLE COFFEE TIME, Eric texted me to say that he was heading out from home, so could pick me up around 4. PHEW! At 4:25, he picked me up for the belated family Christmas 2019 dinner with the Fritos Hoops (in my new bag just to show it off) and the American Tourister suitcase and yellow-green Roots knapsack. We didn't talk much on the way there, but that was just fine. At the house, we parked around the corner, and Jeremy was there as well to my surprise. I said hi to everyone and Ayler wanted to test my piano skills. He also wanted to test everyone's math skills at dinner, oh boy! Hiero wanted to show me the PETER PAN library book, telling me who the characters were. I was interested to see if he liked it, anyway. He also cannonballed into his mom - not a good idea!

Beckett just wandered around, thinking that Eric's watch was a ball (not really) and amusing us with his "yeah" answers to questions like "do you want a beer?" He's picked up "please" and some other things while I was gone. Mom insisted on FaceTiming Steph at 8 PM there, and after she didn't want to talk to Ayler (telling him that it was "too noisy"), she did want to see Beckett, who called her "Attie" too. He definitely wanted all the blueberries from the dessert, calling them "boh-boh" (like the pom-pom on the end of my Santa hat), and smiled when Jon got out the Dewdrops bottle for the kids! Later, he wanted me to put some cool sunglasses on him, then plopped down into my lap with what was a very dilapidated 4-page "100 Words" baby book. Turns out Harmony recycled most of the already-broken book when I was gone.

Told Randal about Henry's "Dear Santa, my brother did it" shirt, which he seemed amused by. Ayler wanted to see how much taller I was since he's 4 foot 2, and also used Eric as a piano bench because I'd used the actual bench to sit on at the dinner table. That was pretty funny! Hiero called everyone in the room "Captain America," and Mom almost wore my coat when she left, thinking she'd left hers on the couch - NO! Mom also said she gave Deb a gift for taking me to the airport (why?!) and Dad wondered if I'd said thank you "enough." *rolleyes* She also claims Pastor Dan is leaving VCEFC, but when I checked with Jon later, he was as surprised as I was, and Eric said "that's what your mom says..." He had slept in and missed church this morning, but caught some of the last World Juniors hockey game. I got home at 8:45, which wasn't bad at all. Jon thanked me in advance for coming this week. Interesting, indeed. Harmony said that they'd given me a pink Pure Nail Spa gift card, and to call ahead first. She also said that it looked like I'd had a fun trip - for sure!


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: Two wrapped plastic straws, a broken candy cane inside a Ziploc bag, Carnaby marshmallow Christmas trees x2, Ottogi Jin Ramen Ppushu Ppushu noodle snacks (BBQ x2 and Bulgogi) which expire in three weeks, Maruchan Instant Lunch beef ramen noodles x3, a Reese's Pieces carrot, a pink Smarties bird, my $10 back, and two hats where the brims are too large.


Knorr Three-Cheese Sidekicks!




Hats!




Carnaby marshmallow Christmas trees, a Reese's Pieces carrot, and a pink Smarties bird. QUIRKY COINCIDENCE since it's National Bird Day today, January 5!




Belated family and friends Christmas 2019 dinner: Duck with hair, soupy rice, chili, Chinese mushrooms, and sweet potatoes!




Dessert for our belated Christmas 2019 dinner: Candied citrus peel and homemade panna cotta with blueberries!




Seattle Chocolate truffles in the Woodland Cheer box for Christmas 2019 from white Eric!




Maruchan Instant Lunch beef ramen noodles!




Ottogi Ppushu Ppushu BBQ noodle snacks!




Ottogi Ppushu Ppushu bulgogi noodle snacks!

glowing_dragon: (French Toast)
* 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.
glowing_dragon: (OMFG Yay!)
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! )
glowing_dragon: (Happy Birthday!)
Cards Received, 2019!


Metallica, "Jump Into The Fire"


Special 2019 (1)

* Nepenthes: "Flamsterette_X, I hope this feminist BEFORE YOU ASK, THE ANSWER IS NO pin makes its way quickly to you. Thank you for rehoming her. :) Enjoy. My name's Latin for a type of pitcher plant."


Birthday 2019 (3)

* Julie: "Happy birthday to you! Here's to many more years of memes, bad names, strange foods, and mass murderers! Have a great day!! :)"

* Jeremy: "Guess what? Chicken butt. I'm glad to celebrate another birthday with you, Leslie. Here's to many more, lots of laughs and good times. Jeremy."

* Randal: "Dear Leslie, The elephants on this card are not a reminder to vote Republican next year. Even if you could, I would not want you to. Rather, I want to say that Donald Trump is proof that not everyone gets better with age - but some do. I believe that you are one of those who gets better with age. Randal."


Christmas 2019 (0)

* s


Total: 4
glowing_dragon: (Bubble Tea)
THIS ENTRY IS ALLOWED TO HAVE NON-ALIGNED TAGS.


What I gave for Christmas 2019!

* lots of Christmas cards and Christmas stuff for my real-life friends! [Windel Advent calendar for Jeremy, Wendel Advent calendar and Delecto assorted dark chocolate box for white Eric, stuffed Santa dog / hot cocoa Hershey's Kisses / Advent calendars for Jon's crew, cards for Corey (with bonus birthday card) / Julie M. / Jan M.]

* lots of online Christmas wishes! [s, s, s]

* s
glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
The Canucks played the Sharks tonight at 7:30, and s.


From Scott C. in CANUCKS NATION: A baby wearing a MADE IN VACHINA bib. "Really, Dad?"




From Julie M. and I Love Skulls: Animal skull bonsai trees weave life and death together in darkly beautiful art.




From Julie M. and Amazon: A Carlie cute cat glass cup tea mug with a fish. A tea infuser, tea strainer, and tea filter!

glowing_dragon: (Devilish Smile)
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! )
glowing_dragon: (OMFG Yay!)
After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 2:50 on a 401 to help with the kids. I would have taken the earlier 401, but someone took FIVE MINUTES to maneuver a wheelchair into that bus! I don't expect people to be extremely fast when it comes to that, but I always appreciate the actual wheelchair users who are fast and efficient movers when they see others are waiting! (she was... not, and held up everyone else) There went any extra time I had to buy lotion and dish soap at Shoppers! At Marine Drive, I actually managed to get a 3 within a few minutes, which was amazing! No incessant talker today, thank goodness. Finally got to the apartment at about 4:10 in the rain, and Beckett was sitting on the mat and waiting for me - so cute! I gave the kids some Mars bars and Coffin Crisp plus a Christmas card later on. Hiero confused a CARD for a CAR, asking me where the Christmas CAR was, hahaha! Harmony set him straight, though. (my phone had randomly saved photos of Beckett eating out of a pot earlier, hahaha)

Ayler and Hiero did origami / cut-out snowflake crafts at the table after one too many "no scissors on the ground" directives that got ignored, so Beckett and I spent our time rolling balls to each other / being distracted by "boh-boh" (the bling on my white sweater AND the pom-pom on my Santa hat, which he batted around at times) / "reading" books while sitting on my lap (he picked up "yummy" from me!) / his giving me his blocks and balls and emotion eggs / his saying "yeah" to my simple questions of whether HE would get the balls instead of me (but he didn't) / his knowing where my fuzzy purple winter coat was with all the big buttons. Harmony said that balls were his very favorite thing in the whole wide world, which I can believe! (LOTS OF ALLITERATION!) She'd taken him across the street since there was a Christmas tree with lots of ornaments, and he'd loved seeing all the "boh-boh!" He also wanted to look out the window, but was stymied by the Venetian blind being down, and thus blocking his view. His other window was blocked off by chairs and couches, but he managed to throw balls in that restricted area, which I of course got out for him.

We had pork and mushroom jong (sticky rice) with garlic, cherry tomatoes, gai lan, and water for dinner. Beckett actually ate more than usual, but Harmony thought that was down to the sticky rice, some of which did fall in his bib, but luckily did not smear or smudge on my Heat Holders socks! Ayler told me that he had a Christmas concert next week, and a winter party because his class had received a lot of points to go towards one. NICE! I asked if he was going to have ornaments, but he says no because it's not Christmas. That made sense, I told him. After they learned about butterflies and cocoons and the chrysalis, Ayler wanted to hug me! I said that he could hug me, paused, and added "only if you want to." He did! That was amazing!

Ayler and Hiero didn't like it when Beckett climbed on them, but he's so light! While Harmony was out of the room for a bit, Ayler told me that he gets screen time at school (as does Hiero), and his mom doesn't like it. I had to laugh, since I could see this coming years ago! When I left the apartment at 7:50 (so late!), Harmony said that Beckett had called me "Attie," and he called me that again while pointing to me. HE KNOWS WHO I AM AND WHAT MY NAME IS - SO CUTE!Hiero told me seriously that his school friend knows Punjabi and she wanted to teach him some language skills - good for them! Harmony wanted to know if I could come on Friday the 13th, so I said yes. As it turned out, I hope fervently that I used up ALL my "bad luck" tonight - I kept on missing trains and buses galore! EVERY SINGLE ONE! I got home at 10, which is pretty fucking late!


From Reddit: For the first time since January 10th, 2006 (which was also a Tuesday), the Vancouver Canucks will finally host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 PM PST. The Canucks played Toronto tonight at 7, and lost 4-1. UGH!


Random stuff from the family: Novelty HOT FLASHES socks from Hatley, Ontrue roasted seaweed in Wasabi flavor, a pink "XXL" Xi Fu Fen pajama set (more like Small), a light brown Rice Balls (actual brand name) sweater with purple stars from Korea, and a 52mL tube of Colgate MaxFresh Knock Out toothpaste.


From Julie: When you're washing the dishes and the water hits a spoon! WATER IN YOUR FACE AND ON YOUR CLOTHES!




Snowflake art on the bedroom door!




Hiero insisted on having a green heart on the bathroom door! No double-sided arrow, however!




Ontrue seasoned and roasted seaweed in Wasabi flavor! Thanks, Mom and Dad!




Red bling shirt for Christmastime!




White bling sweater for Christmastime!




SANTA HAT TIME!




Thanks for the Hatley socks for my non-existent HOT FLASHES, Jon and Harmony...




A Rice Balls brown sweater made in Korea... thanks for the Engrish, Mom and Dad!

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:15 (first refilling my yearly prescription at the pharmacy next door) on a 401 (JUST IN TIME) to help with the kids. I had to leave room for a suitcase and also remember to get to the house after 4:35 because of a water shutoff till 4. Lovely! I killed time at the Save-On nearby, and when Harmony said they were fine at 4:35, I said I'd be there soon, but made a necessary pit stop at Kwong Chow first. That meant I washed my hands twice within ten minutes, but whatever. The replacement black carry-on suitcase looked okay, and I later found out that ALL the zippers were fine and that it was way easier to handle and maneuver! When I got there just after 5, Beckett wanted to see me and say hi in his own way - so cute! Harmony said that Jon was doing his West Vancouver holiday gig, which is totally worth it, but means a little extra work on everyone else's part. Ayler wanted to know why, haha. My nephews are smart and curious kids!

Hiero wanted to show me his "enchanted airplane," Ayler wanted to show me some piano techniques and quiz me on piano (and quizzing me on math at dinner), and Beckett just wanted to show me all his balls and have this cute confused look when the balls wouldn't go through the holes in that wooden toy. He did go over to the far windowsill (almost obscured by the curtain) and play with the toy molecule rod and balls there while looking at the lights across the street. (and did it with the near window, too - spouting gibberish as usual) I found another emotion egg later and gave it to him. He wanted to go after the pom-pom on my Santa hat (Harmony thought that was funny), explore my bling shirt, and gently touched the keloid scar on my neck later out of curiosity. (I told him that this wasn't a "ball-ball") He climbed on top of Ayler, who didn't like that, and then climbed on top of Hiero, who was a bit more acquiescent. When he threw the balls around and pointed at them, I asked him if he wanted me to go get them. After a pause, he said "yeah," so I said okay. Hiero wasn't sure if he knows what that means, but he did say "wow" tonight for the first time!

Beckett also has discovered the apartment door, and sometimes crawls to it for whatever reason. I picked him up and got him out of there, of course. He wanted to sit on my lap and "read" the 100 Words baby book, which I of course let him do because he's much lighter than his brothers and my legs don't complain! I did have a toe cramp much later, but it was okay within a few minutes of agony. We had beef tendon and beef brisket with broad white noodles and vegetables for dinner - even with cereal, Beckett didn't eat much. Harmony crammed some Rice Krispies into his mouth later a few times when he was preoccupied with me and the toys, otherwise he'll be way too hungry tomorrow morning! She bought some stuff on the Black Friday sales, and I told the kids about the KFC 50% Bowls and Buckets deal yesterday when Harmony was gone temporarily. Hiero asked if I wanted to buy it - not after I heard the website was pretty broken! Ayler asked me what a website was, so I asked him if he remembers Kids Physio. His face brightened at that: YES! I told him that a lot of stores and businesses and people had websites on the Internet these days. He seemed to accept this explanation. I didn't mind if Harmony gave Beckett some shortbread at all.

I left at 7:30 and was thankfully able to catch the 3 Marine Drive bus earlier instead of later, and got home at 8:40 on a 407 in time to catch the last five minutes of the second period. The Canucks played Ottawa tonight at 7, and won 5-2 on the Alex Burrows Ring of Honor evening! Fantenberg and MacEwen got their first goals! I also managed to pack everything into that suitcase without anything breaking or being overstuffed... SUCCESS!


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: Cozy Christmas socks and a green PEANUTS water bottle!


Dinner tonight: beef tendon, veggies, and noodles!




From Julie: Christmas is so much harder when you get older. It's like, "What do you want this year?" I don't know... maybe a sense of purpose, some financial security, could use more sleep, a bottle of wine, and maybe some new bras. I had to use MS Paint to edit in an Oxford comma LIKE IT SHOULD BE!




The Famous Grouse whiskey shortbread!




Cozy Christmas socks for me, Steph, and Lisa! Pig coin purse for Steph! FUZZY SOCKS!




Western Family condensed cream of mushroom soup!




Green PEANUTS water bottle for me!

glowing_dragon: (Bert and Ernie)
After COFFEE TIME and a phone call from Rishu which didn't involve me going out to the boonies of Richmond and a risk of being LATE, I went out at 3:05 on a 401 to help with the kids, and I had Beckett's stuffed Santa dog this time. I got to Marine Drive early and saw some Vermont Curry at the supermarket - what?! The 3 was a bit delayed - waiting in the freezing weather was still better than not having transit at all, I had to remember. I finally got to the house at 4:40 (no thanks to some "lady" wanting to get on with her milk crates and huge walker), and Hiero was "dancing" with Beckett, who didn't seem to like it much. When I'd washed my hands, Beckett was on the floor and Hiero showed me how he was going to make an envelope with scissors and paper. Ayler was just playing piano and making something else on the mat. When I gave him the stuffed Santa dog, he threw it on the floor and then associated its eyes with his own and mine. Yes, we ALL have eyes - you're getting so smart!

Beckett showed me the magnets and his collection of balls on the far windowsill (which actually went with the colorful magnetic rods) which he had put there. I guess it combines his two favorite things right now: balls / projectiles and looking out the window at any (reflected) lights he can see! Jon and Harmony should take him to see the indoor Christmas light displays at the Hyatt and other places again this year, for sure. Beckett went to the window and spouted gibberish at me about the lights across the street multiple times: I told him "good job" every time he "found" the lights again! He also liked trying to fit the balls into a wooden toy with circular holes, likes the emotion egg, threw blocks around, and has enough strength to make the baby pop-up toy work by himself about half the time. "Pop! Ball-ball!" he told me. Yes, even more evidence of being smart! He laughed at the toy, and was enjoying himself rocking out with Holly's light-up musical toy, so he gave me a big cheesy smile - so cute! I introduced him to saying "hahahaha" when he finds something funny, too!

We had more Waterzooi de Poulet with buttered bread and grapes and "hash browns" for dinner. Beckett started throwing food pretty early, but also had apparently been awake for six hours in a row, and had been awake for nine hours in a row yesterday - that's so long for him! We talked about CAPS LOCK and Shift keys on a keyboard (Ayler's learning typing at school), how old teenagers are, Beckett yawning, ZELDA, Chrystal and Vivian travelling together, the tall kids at school, the kindergarten class being sick, and my seeing Steph next month. Ayler would like me to say hi to her for him - sure, why not? Then he asked if he was taller than me yet - nope! Harmony wondered what was going on, being preoccupied with Hiero not eating. I told her Ayler just wants to be taller than me. We said that Steph would probably think they were tall because I basically see them all the time, unlike her.

Then he wanted to ask Uncle Joe if they could have crab next time he saw them since Auntie Wing Yee sent them a photo of some. "Is it really Friday? Maybe it's Tuesday. It's Friday, but it feels like a Tuesday!" Yes, because I had basically switched days this week with Uncle Joe and Auntie Wing Yee. I later had to suppress a laugh because he told me, "See you next Tuesday." (CUNT) I read one story to Hiero, who sat on my lap - he told me that "oh my God" was a swear word, so I said that it kind of was, but it IS mild. Then he asked me what "mild" meant - I wasn't sure how to explain that. I bet that was a fun bedtime discussion when I left at 7:30.

I waited for quite a while for the next 3 Marine Drive bus (which finally showed up at 8:10), but a guy passing by told me that I'd dropped my Compass Card "on the floor." GEEZ, I ALMOST LOST IT AGAIN! I thanked him politely without mentioning that the "floor" was ACTUALLY the GROUND (he looked white so he should know the difference...), and made sure to zip up my winter coat pocket. I was lucky and was one minute ahead of the Brighouse train, and managed to get out of the Brighouse station a few minutes before the 401 and 407 showed up, no thanks to other people wanting the elevator and then SLOW-ASS people on the way out of the station. (including someone looking at their phone / consulting something IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PATH... MOVE YOUR ASS TO THE SIDE!) I get in my apartment at 9:05, none too soon!


Knorr Chicken Fried Rice Sidekicks for lunch!




That's a suitcase handle, not a weapon or an axe!




I borked my suitcase... no handle! QUATCHI!




Maybe this "zipper" is from my mom?




From Julie: California is banning all words with the prefix "man" in them. So this is now called a bitch biscuit...

glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
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? )
glowing_dragon: (No Netspeak!)
Went to London Drugs at 3:15 on a 407 to get some cheaper Advent calendars x7, which I finally found in the form of on-sale $2 Windel Advent calendars. I'm not paying $9 for one, LINDT! I also got American Greetings Christmas stickers x5 (ornaments / cats / dogs / snowflakes / reindeer / winter), ten Scrub Daddy sponges, and 400 Mead index cards, getting home at 4:20 on a late 407. I also had to measure my duffle bags


Word Counter Tool since CharacterCountOnline.com is offline now for whatever reason. At least the annoying SEO Keyword Tool stuff is BELOW what I need! There was another Word Count Tool, but I don't care about the readability level of my blurbs right above the text box.


Christmas stickers and duffel Tracker bags from Bentley! )


From r/relationship_advice on September 18, 2019: No, aliibe, 36 and 24 is not "literally almost a decade." It is in fact 12 years... MORE than a decade! Reminds me of these ditzy girls that my sister saw at the park once. "75 minutes?! That's, like, almost an hour!"

Also, throwawaypeen12345 is NOT making himself look good with the clickbait (he has no penis) OR trying to downplay the MAJOR age gap when he LEADS OFF with that…




From Reddit and r/vancouver: Maranda Johnson?! BAD SPELLING OF MIRANDA! Or is it like the FINAL FANTASY VI town?

glowing_dragon: (Consumer Whore)
After I had COFFEE TIME and called Dr. Ruby's office back to grudgingly set up an appointment for tomorrow at 3:30 and NOT today at 2:45 (HOCKEY AT 5?!), Barry picked me up at 11:50 and we went banking and to Price Smart while discussing his recent Japan trip / XTC / the Buzzcocks / my own life. I got NEW Western Family Foglie D'Autunno pasta / NEW Farfalle Tricolor pasta / NEW Connchiglioni pasta / NEW Orecchiette pasta / NEW Trofie pasta / NEW Trecce Dell'Orto pasta / NEW Gomitoni pasta / NEW Arcobaleno pasta / farfalle bowtie pasta / Alphabets pasta / penne rigate / Cavatappi pasta / Small Shells pasta / rigatoni, NEW Samyang Fire Noodles 2X spicy gyoza dumplings, a DRAGON MASTERS kids book for obvious reasons, American Greetings construction and vehicle and dinosaur stickers for my nephews, Western Family white vinegar x2 (one litre for laundry and four litres), NEW on-sale Danone YoPro Skyr yoghurt x3 (plain / strawberry / vanilla), NEW limited-edition Ruffles Jalapeno Cheddar chips, and on-sale Earth's Own almond milk which expires before my trip.

Also got ALL the on-sale Knorr Sidekicks flavors x22 for hopeful food photo purposes (including NEW Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo), NEW Samyang noodles dumplings x4 (Kimchi / Seafood / Vegetable / Chives), on-sale GOING BANANAS chips snacks, NEW Mentos gum x3 (Cinnamint red / Fresh Mint blue / Spearmint green), Nissin black garlic oil noodles, NEW Western Family peanuts x4 of 400g (Chili and Lime / Sea Salt / Sea Salt and Pepper / Jalapeno), GOOD TASTE Pork and Celery dumplings since the store finally had them after a couple of months, and a NEW Softsoap Aquarium refill. After that, I paid my Shaw bill online when I got home at 1:30. Barry and I will set up an appointment when I get back in January OR before I leave in December, probably!


From Julie M. and Introvert Spring: I am a daydreamer and a night thinker.




NEW limited-edition Ruffles Jalapeno Cheddar chips!




Nosh and Co. soft chewy mints!




Campside marshmallows: Strawberry Twisties!




Exotic pasta and SPICY DUMPLINGS! )
glowing_dragon: (Vancouver Canucks hockey!)
IT'S WORLD TOILET DAY TODAY! After DOUBLE COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3 on a 401 to help with the kids. I had a bit of time to finish Jon's birthday card with a Sprite and Coke, nacho / pizza Goldfish since Beckett can eat those, one limited-edition Kinder Bueno chocolate bar, the Caramilk bar and a half, and NEW $2 Weinrich's Porta chocolate bars x4! (Peppermint / Raspberry / Blueberry / Strawberry) Got to the house at the usual time, no thanks to a couple of delays like a bike and crowds! Harmony was trying to get Beckett to sleep in his carrier, but Ayler and Hiero seemed enthusiastic to show me their "new" magic trick set. They even told me how things worked! Magic wands, haha!

I read a book and a half to Ayler as he sat in my lap - Mr. Watson and his pig Mercy. OH MY! He seemed to like some of the funny drawings, anyway. Later, Beckett did wake up, so we played for a bit before eating dinner. He did like the green balloons from Kids Physio, batting them around the room. I didn't care if he played the piano, but had to watch that he didn't close the piano or rip Ayler's music books! Ayler said that Jon was tired of buying new books, so he had to keep those ones in good condition. Sounds reasonable to me! I managed to open the Blue Diamond wasabi and soy sauce almonds while I was at the house (thinking I'd get Ayler to help me instead), so since he asked what they were, I fed him one. He seemed okay with it.

We had soup, jap chae (Korean glass noodles), chicken legs, dumplings, and yogurt for dinner. When Harmony gave him Goldfish, Beckett wanted the "newer" ones inside the Ziploc bag, although the ones on the table were the same thing! ("NA NA NA NAAAAAAA!") We also wouldn't let him overdose on Dewdrops, which made him upset. I think he's entering the stage where he just wants to be with Harmony a lot because every time she left to do something or take care of the older boys, he also was upset and crying. Of course I hugged and safely kissed him anyway, though! He wanted to look out the window and spout gibberish at me about whatever he saw out across the street, and pointed at the lights.

I told Harmony that yes, I was excited for my Ontario trip. Then I asked whether Jon's birthday restaurant on Sunday was in Burnaby again like last year. Apparently, Do Chay Vegetarian Vietnamese Restaurant is on Kingsway and Knight, and we'll be going there on Monday since it's Jon's actual birthday. Yes, I did see the part of the email exchange where Mom said that we could just save Jon some food if he couldn't make it, and Jon's response that he would actually like to be there at his own birthday dinner! HAHAHA!

Beckett can say "yeah" and "goh-goh" (comes out as "gah-gah" these days), and did say YEH-YEH for the first time the other day. So then I pointed to myself and asked him if I had a name! Reasonable question, even if he may not understand it! When I was leaving at 8, he pointed to me, so Harmony told him what was going on. I guess I'll see her either on Sunday at Jeremy's or Monday at the restaurant in the afternoon. She has to go there after work, so she definitely hopes the buses are still running for both of us! (Mom only mentioned HER in the email...) The Canucks played the Stars today at 5:30, and lost 6-1?! Luckily, I got home at 9 on a 407.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad inside a produce bag: Two extremely old and very used orthopedic shoe inserts (wouldn't be surprised if they were from my childhood...), a 175g bag of Nosh & Co soft chewy mints, a Colgate Extra Clean toothbrush, a regular 100mL tube of Cavity Protection Crest toothpaste, 400g of Campside strawberry Twisties marshmallows, and a Knorr Fettuccine Alfredo Sidekicks package that expires in July 2020.


From AskReddit: Mike Litterst?!

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