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! )

The Canucks played the Predators tonight at 7, and started off Sedin Week with a 6-2 WIN! Markus Naslund, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Trevor Linden, and Stan Smyl were all in the building for Sedin Week! Pavel Bure also had a message!


From Julie: Most girls on Valentine's Day want roses, chocolate, jewelry, and lingerie. Me, I just want a heart-shaped steak!




A Nicolas Cage pillowcase which I sent to Julie once: See you in my dreams!




From Reddit and r/canucks: When Canucks lose the game and people say, "Don't be negative - go out and enjoy life," I cosplay as the Grim Reaper with a scythe instead.

After COFFEE TIME, I left at 12:35 on a 407 for my dentist appointment with Sean on FRASER instead of Oakridge - sigh. I had to leave myself plenty of time for getting lost (seeing Krista at Gilbert and Westminster - "Ontario is a magical place because I've never been there"?!), and had to take a 99 at Broadway / Cambie, and then an 8 Fraser bus around the corner at Fraser till I got to 19th, right across from Glad Tidings church. I would have been there earlier than half an hour early if SOME PEOPLE hadn't hesitated for 45 microseconds at the Brighouse station elevator - BE EFFICIENT AND NOT SLOW WHEN OTHERS ARE PLAINLY WAITING FOR YOU AT THE DOOR! The new location has more space and okay enough wifi, plus actual hooks for your coats and things! I had to have an X-ray, but it's not my fault that my mouth is SMALL! Learned that Sean is getting married in July, too! I have to wait till July to try The Pie Hole across the street because I got fluoride as part of my treatment today. Also got a receipt where the insurance paid 100%, but for some reason, I'm keeping it for now.

Went to the Broadway London Drugs to buy an on-sale Creature Chumper with 1500 Zorbees for Hiero's birthday, on-sale Stemnex 4D Transforming Robots for Ayler's birthday, on-sale Nescafé Taster's Choice instant coffee in a 250g canister, and on-sale Andes candy cane Peppermint Crunch before going to Pho Extreme Xe Lua to have a large #17 and figure out the wi-fi from the nearby A&W. Some guy ahead of me was in a fucking hurry at the exit of London Drugs, saying "excuse me" - nope, we are both directly headed to the doors, so you will have to wait. I should have dawdled even more because he was an impatient ass! It's not like I dropped anything, after all. I also had to deal with THE most recalcitrant self-checkout machine! It wouldn't give me the correct start-up screen (thinking I had items to re-scan), wouldn't give me enough time to find a barcode, wouldn't let me scan something without a barcode (the coffee), and wouldn't let me pay without calling an attendant! UGH! SO TIME-CONSUMING!

Finally got home at 5:20, and saw Hester and Ni, so told them about the mouse / steel wool problem, which luckily I had a photo of on my phone! I did notice an odd metallic clanking sound coming from my bag, which turned out to be two of Beckett's red / white molecule balls from yesterday's throwing activities. No wonder I noticed him standing at my bag looking into it, but he does have plenty of balls, so he should be fine till next week. He did seem interested in the safety fluorescent slap bracelet, too. I'm also going to wash the socks that Harmony loaned me.


Large #17 at Pho Extreme Xe Lua! Steak, flank, tendon, tripe, and fatty flank!




Creature Chumper with 1500 Zorbees!




Stemnex 4D Transforming Robots!




Nescafé Taster's Choice instant coffee!




From Julie: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader BRIEFS and FUNNIEST EVER!




From Julie: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader blurb for BRIEFS and FUNNIEST EVER!




From Julie: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader STRANGE HISTORY! I actually have this one! STRANGE SCIENCE, too!

DIRTY JOKES!

How is pubic hair like parsley? You push it to the side before you start eating.

( Dirty jokes from Red's Twitch stream! )


After DOUBLE COFFEE TIME, I went out at 6:55 on a 401 to meet Chrystal at the Broadway London Drugs. Good thing I left early since the next Waterfront train was out of service at what HAD BEEN a surprisingly empty Brighouse Station! There was some guy clapping like a seal on the bus and at the station - thank goodness he wasn't in my train car! I got to London Drugs at 7:30, and was happy that there was no lineup at the post office so I could mail Corey and Julie's cards. However, I got a postal worker who was grumpy as fuck: I have NEVER been told that I shouldn't write anything in the corner of the envelope, otherwise the stamp would obscure the destination address! Fuck you, random guy!

Chrystal and I went to Pho Extreme Xe Lua: #17 and #1 it was! SPECIAL! We talked about her nephews Ethan (4) and Ethan (1 and a bit), Ayler, Hiero, Beckett discovering new words and the door, Beckett being "smart" by banging his head on the hardwood floor to delay Harmony's leaving for a school meeting, Beckett being really smart by putting all his molecule balls on the far windowsill so he can play with those and look at the reflected lights across the street at the same time (I left him to do that for a minute - he's fine and preoccupied), my broken suitcase, my replacement suitcase, my upcoming trip, and her just doing family things at home this holiday season. Angus and Melia and Phil and Grace have their own families now, and it would be pretty huge to have a family gathering! I got home at 9:05 on a 407, which is pretty good for leaving at 8:30. (Chrystal bused home again!)


Pho Xe Lua # 17 with Chrystal as a pre-Xmas 2019 dinner: Steak, flank, tendon, tripe, and fatty flank!




Right after Halloween, I was ChristmasFlamHam in Shiwa's Discord server!




From Tommy Chong: What's Your Stoner Elf Name? Mine is Smokey Jingletokes! Mike would be Buddy Evergreens! My ex-friend Jimmy would be Danky Sparklepipe!




Borked Heys suitcase which came with a busted zipper and an almost-impossible push handle...




Successfully packed replacement carry-on American Tourister suitcase with enough room for ALL my stuff, a working zipper, and a much simpler non-push handle! Way easier to maneuver on transit, too! My parents should have just lent me this one in the first place, then I wouldn't have had to store the first one in a weird way so I wouldn't have had to push the handle down every time I wanted to access it. *rolleyes*