Tatiana's Wanderings

48 Z-Grip Pens (December 18, 2019) from Staples while I was out anyway / a backup K120 USB keyboard, a backup Certified Data Deluxe Optical mouse, 2000 Flushes with Chlorine, Paul Newman's Alfredo sauce for next year, London Naturals unscented dish soap, Vim bathroom cleaner from London Drugs / half-price JOY dumplings x4 (Pork and Tri-Treasure, Lamb and Onion, Pork and Vegetable, Pork and Chives), Earth's Own almond milk, another Hungry-Man Queso XL bowl, and $9 Saniderm hand sanitizer x4 (the limit) from Price Smart equals another productive shopping trip! I should have gone to the pharmacy next door YESTERDAY since it looks like they're closed for ALL the Easter long weekend! Some dude wondered if the entire building was closed - looked like it to him when he peered in. Oh well... I left at 1 on a 401, and returned at 2:50 on a 407.


This bus seat right behind the bus driver is Out of Service because of the coronavirus pandemic! I was standing on the bus (technically not allowed now) and it was moving, so this is as good a photo as I was going to get.




MY DARK VANESSA is a book title, haha!




Certified Data M40 Deluxe Optical mouse as a backup!




Logitech K120 computer keyboard as a backup!

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!

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...

After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 3:30 on a 401 to help with the kids. It wasn't raining in Richmond, then was very little rain at Marine Drive, but it was like Noah's Ark Flood when I got off at Mount Pleasant! Turns out Beckett was sleeping when I was almost soaked as I got to Jon's place, but that was fine - I finished a book and started another one before he woke up. Jon plopped him on the mat and Beckett just stared at me for a while. Eventually, I gave him a toy and he played with it, doing "catch" for a while until Harmony came home with Hiero and Ayler from swimming. Beckett wanted to climb on me because he liked my San Francisco tie-dye shirt's colors, Ayler told me about his origami and connect-the-dots books (and said he'd test me on the taped crane next week), and Hiero had tantrums and wanted to encourage Beckett to eat random stringy stuff he found on the mat OR to crawl out the balcony window. NO! Hiero also wanted me to read about trains to him, which is fine.

We had stew soup, nectarines, green beans, pasta, and minestrone for dinner. The kids were worried about Hurricane Dorian and wondered whether Los Angeles had hurricanes, then Hiero asked what a sleeping bag was. Harmony said that Mom had sent them five or six emails about "swatch the watch" - I have no idea what that means, but maybe it has something to do with the watch repair place at the Public Market, so I eventually gave her both watches in my wallet just to be safe. We called Dad because Ayler wanted to ask what time he'd be there tomorrow to take him to Brooke's building. Then we also talked about exactly WHY Mom would think I know Spanish... not like I've retained it!

Later, Beckett chewed on my pants and was going to go for my socks, but I stopped that. He made himself laugh by pressing a lot of buttons on a light-up toy which had stars on it, and another one which had noisy letter and animal buttons on it. After trying the baby pop-up toy and laughing, he looked at me and clapped for himself, so of course I smiled and clapped along - cute! Ayler wanted to see if he was taller than I am, and I asked whether he would help me with stuff once he was taller - he said yes, so that's good. Beckett babbled and wanted to grab a Classic Munsch book, so he had fun flipping pages. He also liked when I put him in my lap to "read" a 100 Words book, but was upset when I took him away from the window. Then he invaded the bathroom again when Ayler was taking a shower - I said that I didn't see anything, and closed the door with Beckett in my other arm. Ayler told me that he wasn't strong enough to hold him, but I did appreciate that he kept the baby from crawling out the window.

Some people are such dipshits to the bus driver! Tonight, some people told the driver to shut the fuck up and that he needed more training because he didn't magically stop at 43rd and Main. Then there was the idiot with a huge bag full of pop cans who played the bus equivalent of Ding Dong Ditch. He made like he was going to get off at a few stops (thereby wasting everyone's time), actually got off at one and THEN somehow beat the bus to the next stop, then was going to get off at the stop two stops from Marine Drive... then argued with the bus driver who wondered if he was going to get off the bus, saying "Did I get off the bus or just touch the door?" I swear, this guy made me miss the Brighouse train by two minutes, and it didn't help that the next train stopped for another two minutes for no reason in the middle of the track near Aberdeen, so that made me miss the 9:26 407. I finally got home at 10. SIGH.


From Youtube: Jeanine Mullen, Waltfredo Davis-Mullen, Jaseri Mullen, and Jaion Mullen?! BAD SPELLING OF JANINE!

After COFFEE TIME, I had to go out at 11:20 to meet Mom and Dad for my new reading glasses and some lunch. Mom wondered why I didn't turn my cellphone on - why not save battery life if I don't NEED it on all day? She wasn't impressed when I told her that, but whatever! At home, I just use it to briefly check things like redundant Youtube notifications / Facebook messages and texts. When I'm out and about, it's a different story!

We had stew beef noodles, hot and sour soup, long Chinese dumplings (wo-teep), and siu long bao (soup dumplings) for lunch at Dinesty. Dad told me that she was slowing down, so I had to look after her - if I feel like it, maybe. Then we went to the nearby herbalist (whom she asked for dollar store intel when I'd already told her about Dollarama and Dollar Tree) - where I saw testicles apparently for sale - and Staples where Mom got a bunch of clearance stuff. No, I didn't want any of that even if she wanted to buy it for herself.

Mom also wanted to pay for my one pack of 12 blue Z-Grip Pens (January 17, 2019- the last one on the shelf) which I was going to pay for myself at the cash register. Then she played the martyr about it when they weren't the cheap kind ("why don't you get some other kind..."), but eventually paid for them. The next stop was the Dollarama at Lansdowne, where Mom paid for one pair of reading glasses, then stopped by the Smart n'Save for some crunchy Wah Yuen BBQ fried dough. Mom also almost killed herself by crossing the street too slowly at Lansdowne Mall with oncoming traffic - shades of Grandma! Later, we got one more pair of reading glasses at Dollar Tree before they finally dropped me off at home at 1:10 prior to helping Ayler and Hiero with swimming lessons.


Random stuff from Mom and Dad: two pairs of dollar store reading glasses (2.50 and 2.75 - NEEDED: 3.00), a small pack of Cadbury mini-eggs from the dollar store, a 12-pack of Z-Grip pens which I was going to pay for myself since we were at Staples anyway, Every Living Thing by James Herriot, a thin beige scarf, an ORGANICS FOR LIFE tote bag, a blue neck scarf, a thin white scarf, a knitted white hat which looks like a doily, a knitted black and brown hat, a black buttoned SEQUENCE coat, and a thin sky blue zippered Tabi vest.


Pan-fried pork potstickers or wo-teep! Long Chinese dumplings!




Wah Yuen BBQ fried dough!




Touch toothpicks - 1000 regular ones! Mike almost stole them from me by keeping them at his mom's place in Point Grey because she supposedly needed them for a party appetizer in 2014! Thank goodness I took them back when we were there next time... phew!