Tatiana's Wanderings

HAPPY EASTER MONDAY 2020!


I went shopping at 11:10 on a 401 today, getting home at 12:10 on a 407. Got 100 regular garbage bags for $20 (40 for $8.99), on-sale Jergen's Ultra Care Restoring Argan lotion in 100 mL / on-sale Jergens Original Cherry Almond lotion in 600 mL since I'm running out, store brand lemon dish detergent, on-sale Lindt mini Gold Bunny with mini Easter eggs, on-sale Russell Stover milk chocolate Iddy Biddy Bunnies (50!), on-sale Russell Stover coconut cream / marshmallow and caramel / strawberry cream / caramel / marshmallow Easter eggs, on-sale Russell Stover marshmallow and peanut butter Easter bunnies x2, on-sale Reese Easter eggs stuffed with Reese's Pieces, an on-sale Waterbridge Spring Masterpiece box of Swiss and Belgian chocolates, on-sale Febreze Fabric Refresher, a $5 box of Girl Guides chocolate and vanilla cookies, Gillette bar mop towels x8, a yellow LifeCandy shower pouf, and Heinz white vinegar 1L x3.

It was the first time that I had to board on the back of the bus with my Asian old lady shopping cart because the front area is blocked off with a rope - easy BEFORE the shopping cart, but not so much afterwards! At least I was able to get on and off the bus home - a poor lady in an electric scooter had to find another way to get home! I still think the bus driver was bitchy because I have mobility issues, and I should have noted down her bus number so I could report her later! UGH!


Hungry-Man turkey microwaveable meal, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn on the cob, and an apple cranberry dessert for my Easter Monday 2020 dinner!




( Lotion, Easter chocolate, and more! )


From Julie: Winnie the Pooh is checking on his summer body progress in a mirror. Haha, yep, still fat as shit.




Breakfast: Nissin black garlic oil noodles!

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! )

Before COFFEE TIME / BRUSSELS SPROUTS TIME / HOT CHOCOLATE TIME, I called Chrystal at work at 10:10 AM to remind her about tonight. I left at 6:50 on a 414 (which actually had the wheelchair ramp slope in use instead of the steps) to get to London Drugs on time at 7:30 or so. Unfortunately, someone caused a delay for me at Brighouse. Why would you try to start small talk with someone in an elevator who obviously isn't paying any attention to you for a 20-second ride?! No, I'm not going to respond to a guy cyclist's "hi, how are you, hope you're okay, ma'am" in an ENCLOSED SPACE, especially because YOU AND YOUR BIKE FUCKING MADE ME MISS THE FUCKING TRAIN AND WAIT AN ADDITIONAL 11 MINUTES! The elevator wasn't on the first floor either when I needed it to be! I saw the train pulling into the station when I had JUST gotten to the stairs outside!

Don't get me started on the three tall white dudes who evidently had something like "Well then! What the?" to say to me when I was running for the train at Broadway on the way home! THEY WERE OBSTACLES IN MY PATH so of course I had to BARREL into them, and I didn't even have time to turn and yell FUCK OFF! Or the guy IN the train who was blocking my path right when everyone got off and I wanted in. People, have some spatial awareness and consideration! Too bad they didn't think I had coronavirus! At least Mike found my text message rants entertaining!

I FINALLY got to London Drugs at 7:45, where Chrystal was waiting for me and wandering near the back of the store. We quickly decided on our default option of Pho Extreme Xe Lua, since Cactus Club would DEFINITELY be busy on a Friday night even if we'd bothered to reserve beforehand! (they made us wait for 45 minutes at my birthday dinner even WITH one!) We ordered a small #1 (special noodle soup for Chrystal), six signature butter chicken wings for $9.50 to share (although she only ate one - we split the bill anyway), and a large #30 Bo Bun Hue noodle soup for me. We talked about my trip (I showed her some photos), her nephews Benjamin and Ethan, Ayler / Hiero / Beckett / Fraser / Henry, my relief that Mom wasn't coming on that trip, the flight delays, toys, that gas leak on Chinese New Year, her sushi Chinese New Year dinner with family, Hiero's UBC birthday party and presents, Beckett learning new words, Hiero being sick, and work not being fun today. I got home at 9:35 on a 407, which I guess wasn't terrible for leaving the restaurant at 8:50...


From James: Might be the best selfie of the year, and it's only January! Cats and dogs!




I got a blue dragon as my home icon on Google Maps on my phone! I set my "home," tapped on the menu icon, skipped the commute, and tapped on the three dots which appeared so I could change the home pin!




Dinner with Chrystal: Bo Bun Hue soup!




Dinner with Chrystal: Signature butter chicken wings!

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!



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