Tatiana's Wanderings

The Romanovs: The Real History of the Russian Dynasty, Part 1

The Romanovs: The Real History of the Russian Dynasty, Part 2


I left at 4:30 to meet Paulo and Darryl at the Cascade Room (2616 Main Street, near Main and Broadway-ish, more like Main and 10th) for Paulo's belated birthday hangout at 6. I wanted to be early just in case there were stroller / wheelchair delays or elevator shenanigans - surprisingly for once, there were none of those AND I just managed to get a 3 bus which had ten people total in it, but they couldn't find my reservation when I got there at 5:30! I was seated at a high table pretty quickly, though they said they'd move me to a booth once some people left who had been there at 4. Paulo texted me and Darryl said on Discord that he was getting an Uber. We waited to see if Steve would show up (Estefan is in Whistler at the moment), and I finally messaged him. He replied pretty quickly to say he was having a bad day, so no. I showed them both the phone notification, and they joked about guilting him into it since we HAD to find a place that took reservations JUST FOR HIM! Seriously, dude - we could have stayed with the Brassneck Brewery plan!

We were on our phones a lot, which actually is pretty good for me. Talked about Jimbo's opinion on our Superfriends server and how I know I can't change his mind on it (and wouldn't want to - why bother?), the secret chat, all the drama, Holly's opinion on Jimbo not telling us much about his work, the 12 Kings meetup being last year on March 12 already, Brian being sued by some people, and Holly nuking the original server unexpectedly. I showed them some funny toilet paper-related memes, while we tried various food and drink: gin and tonic, Amber something, mushroom poutine, sausage rolls with barbecue sauce (which I spilled on my DRAGON HOODIE - necessitating MORE LAUNDRY when I got home!), white wine, schnitzel, steak, desserts, and more! The Cascade Room was advertising Jameson ginger and lime Slurpees for St. Patrick's Day 2020. Good luck with that!

Darryl said that his buddies might join us, and wondered if we'd mind. I said no, but deferred to Paulo since it was his belated birthday celebration - HE didn't mind, either. Harmony texted me at 7:15 to say not to worry about coming over next Tuesday as they're limiting everything non-essential including public transit trips. They've even cancelled their Harrison Hot Springs vacation next week for Spring Break, which makes sense! If I were a different kind of person, I'd ask if they don't trust me! This is best for everyone's health and safety, though.

Eric M. also texted me: "FYI, VCEFC has been cancelled because of COVID-19 concerns" - that's what I thought would happen when I heard the daily BC health guidelines the other day. MORE FREE TIME FOR HIM! We left the Cascade Room at 8 and walked a block or so to the Colony Bar across the street from Save-On Foods. I'd have gone in earlier to see if they had hand sanitizer, but they probably don't. I told them that my brother lives around there, but that it was probably bedtime for the kids. They joked about invading their place anyway even if the nephews were there, but I knew it was a drunken joke and didn't take it seriously. Paulo offered Darryl a hit of his vape since he'd tried smoking, but he declined due to the pandemic - smart!

We were at the Colony Bar for about 70 minutes or so, with Darryl unexpectedly buying us a round because it was Paulo's birthday. I got a Parallel 49 Jerk Face 9000 beer - I had to order it because of the name! No, I wasn't surprised that Paulo barely touched his beer - they'd already had a lot at the Cascade Room. We discussed alcohol tolerance, Paulo totally forgetting about work once on HOLIDAY PAY, the coronavirus, and whether Darryl's buddies would actually show up. I gave up on them at 9, about five minutes before they DID come in. The guy put his hand out to shake hands - what?! I instinctively shook hands, and then went to wash my hands immediately afterwards since I had to pee anyway. My hand sanitizer was way down in the bottom of my Doge bag, then I had to look for my phone when I got back to the table, which was also in my Doge bag! Habit to look in my coat pocket... not sure what I'll do once it's summer!

Paulo declared that he would call an Uber since he said it was too cold to wait around for the bus for too long. I decided to just wait for the bus since it was more wallet-friendly. The East Indian 3 driver waited THREE TIMES for no reason, holding everybody up on his bus! What schedule is there to make up at 9:30 PM?! You have your breaks now, so that's not a good reason! Of course that made me late for the Brighouse train - it was pretty chilly outside, so I took the opportunity to send Mike a picture of my current footwear at Marine Drive station after fighting with the wifi.

Mike said something about "where's the glim-glam?" so I texted that 1 degree was too cold for bare feet and toeless sandals! (I waited till I was up on the platform since I heard the YVR train announcement from the statue) The train was sparsely populated, too - I got my own little row of accessible seats since an Asian lady moved far away from me instead once I said I needed her seat. I got home at 10:35, thanks to that stupid 3 bus driver - I could have been home half an hour before! Doing laundry seems to have worked for my dragon hoodie, but I can't seem to say the thing for my four towels since I used them to wipe up a flood of water from when I was showering a few days ago. Guess I'll go tomorrow to London Drugs and buy up on-sale zinc citrate, four towels, and maybe a pair of Secret socks!


Knorr Cheesy Spinach Dip for lunch!




( Zinc, bar food, and a special Pi Day 2020 Reddit award! )

There was an unexpected water shutoff today! Of course Amacon posted a notice at the front door to let people know... come on! Not everyone leaves their apartment once a day! UGH! I briefly called Chrystal at work at 4 to wish her a happy belated birthday since she'd been off last week. She thanked me and said she appreciated it. The water was FINALLY back on at 5:45, NOT 1 PM as stated in the notice! Geez.


From Wesley: This sign at the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church says, "Easter comes once a year. How often do you?"




From Julie: When your kids are too old, but they still want an Easter basket... give them a laundry basket with a lot of cleaning supplies instead!




From Reddit: Bill STONER is the Squamish fire chief commenting on a burning MARIJUANA grow-up on April 9?!

I went out at 9:30 on a 401 to meet Mom and Dad at Main and 15th at TXL Insurance, Uncle William Ng's company. (10:30 AM?!) After we had lunch at Kwong Chow and finally took care of the insurance, I did some shopping at the Broadway London Drugs. Bought 400 Mead index cards, store brand all-purpose cleaner, a three-inch Avery binder for my important documents (a definite upgrade!), a red $2 MARTEX washcloth, a GUM toothbrush, and two dark blue $2 GOODY toothbrush covers. Got home at 1:40 to a Purolator notice (ugh), a phone call from Dr. Wise's office, and some other mail, so I had to deal with all of that.

I got a BUDDY THE ELF Christmas card / Tazo Tea x3 (passion herbal tea, vanilla caramel chai, and green ginger tea) / magnetic Fool Moon treasures crow bookmark from Angie H. (auralily) and a Ringo the dog Christmas card from Kitty (bornwitch / dutch_kitty) in the mail. Then after calling Dr. Wise's office back, I GOT MY SURGERY TIME! 11:45 at Mount St. Joseph's isn't TERRIBLE! After letting Barry know about the surgery date and then fielding an inconvenient phone call from Mom (I was going to go out before it got dark!), I trekked near YVR on Jericho Road to get to the Purolator via YVR Airport Canada Line, placing myself nearer the airport than I'd intended today, as I told Corey when I got back. Are You Shitting Me?: 1,004 Facts That Will Scare the Crap Out of You (Cary McNeal)


A Christmas 2018 gift from Steph and Lisa: ARE YOU SHITTING ME?! 1004 Facts That Will Scare The Crap Out Of You!




Salsa is temporarily free from Fassad during the Happy Box delivery in MOTHER 3, and does a trick for Betsy in the Yado Inn, with Jackie and Bob in the background. "Received AN Nut Bread!" BAD GRAMMAR!




Salsa stops by Bronson's house while the Happy Box delivery is on in MOTHER 3. "This is a hammer used to pound red-hot iron into different shapes."




Salsa stops by Bronson's house while the Happy Box delivery is on in MOTHER 3. "This is an oven for turning iron red-hot."

I went out to the nearby medical clinic to get removal for hearing at 1:30 today, and still had to wait almost an hour, getting home at 2:25! At least now I can hear better!


Edit at 6:30 - I used up the last of my milk unwittingly, so I had to go out again at 5:35 on a 407 to London Drugs. I got Silk almond milk and on-sale Pepperidge Farms cookies x2. Strawberry thumbprint cookies and chessmen butter cookies! I got home again at 6 on another 407.


Pepperidge Farms chessmen butter cookies!




Pepperidge Farms strawberry thumbprint cookies!




From Not Always Working: This is a good reason for Canada Post not to deliver your mail: BEAR AT DOOR!




Lucas, Kumatora, and Boney get off the coffee table on the highway in MOTHER 3. They're on their way to rescue Duster and the Mr. Saturn characters in Saturn Valley. Look who it is! "It's me, The Squeekz! That hip chick magnet you met by the pond earlier."




From Julie: Kemp?! Last names as first names strike again!

I showered and did some laundry today, so at least I can feel more human and less like a desiccated corpse!


I got a free sample of Excel Soft Chew peppermint gum in the mail yesterday!




From Reddit on August 16, 2017: "All these RED FLAG questions are so negative!" DUH! I'm very surprised that Sikamixoticelixer thinks that RED FLAGS would be positive...




From Reddit on August 24, 2017: No, Bmoreisapunkrocktown, tampons are NOT heteronormative! They're simply one option to use while you're on your period. That's ALL there is to it!