Having comfort food and reliving good memories with my mom

It makes perfect sense to crave certain foods that bring comfort, or be comforted by something or someone during a pandemic. When it comes to the former, I seem to love carbs.

The other night, my mom and I were reminiscing about meals that she used to cook when I was younger. She fried up some luncheon meat when we were in Hong Kong years ago. It was my first and only visit there. She had never made it until then. It was delicious. So simple. Yet, so good.

I grew up with her making macaroni in soup. Last night, I did takeout at a local Chinese restaurant that has a drive-thru. I got macaroni with veggies and fried luncheon meat in soup. It came with fried eggs, milk tea, and ham. I brought it come to have for dinner. It felt like the comfort food that my mom used to make.

It was yummy. It made me feel happy.

Getting rid of old magazines and putting cube storage together

After work on Monday night, I went to get some more cube storage. Curbside pickup works well. Yesterday night, I spent some time assembling it. I do enjoy this quiet activity.

Last night, I found two huge stacks of magazines from over a decade ago. I don't know why I saved them, but it felt good getting rid of them. 

It has been therapeutic getting rid of items that I no longer want or need. I have been making progress every day, which makes me happy.

Shift in supervision, but this change still feels the same

As I had mentioned late last week, my intern is still with our team. His work term has been extended for another four hours. It's wonderful news. The bad news is that I'm no longer directly supervising him.

This year, my duties have shifted. It has taken at least two full-time colleagues to take over roughly 75% of what I used to do. My manager won't admit that I have tackled more than a full workload for years. We both know that's the case.

I saw how worried he was last week. I was in a meeting with these two colleagues and our manager. I used to be in charge of making sure that we got all our deliverables done for each major software release. We have this release in early June. When I did it all, my manager rarely worried. He knew that he could rely on me.

Since he has handed my former tasks to these two colleagues, he is in panic mode. He turned our checklist into a release plan. Ugh!

Well, he decided to have one of these colleagues supervise my intern. So, how many people does it take to replace 75% of what I used to do? Three people so far.

My intern (I'll still call him my intern, even though I don't mean it in the sense of ownership) is capable of pitching in and probably doing a decent job relieving at least one of them.

On Monday, it felt weird. I am now a team of one. Me. However, I ended up assigning my intern work because he had started it last week.

He does miss working with me and the feeling is mutual. We continued to chat through e-mails throughout the day like we usually do. He actually doesn't mind my assigning him work, as his new supervisor hasn't assigned him a thing. I simply have to let his team lead and our manager know.

Right now, he has little to work on. He appreciates that I can assign him work that keeps him occupied and allows him to think critically.

We also talked about storage and organization. We recently found out that we both enjoy chatting about these topics. We have built a good relationship. It's nice.

Assembling cube storage, being achy, and releasing the hold on items

On Sunday, I did a fair amount of work at home. I put together some cube shelving, which has made a huge difference. I decided to order more cube storage shortly after putting it together and organizing my stuff in it.

Yesterday was the last day of this sale on cube storage. It's 40% off. There is curbside pickup, which worked wonders on Saturday.

Unfortunately, my arms are achy from all that assembly. It's almost as if I need a longer weekend to recover from all this fine work!

Although I'm achy, I liked doing my own thing and decluttering. I have had iPod cases that don't fit any iPods that I have owned in the past. I looked at empty boxes that do not need to be kept. It has been a therapeutic process in getting rid of stuff that I need to let go of.

Eye update and relaxes after decluttering

On Friday, I visited my ophthalmologist. I haven't seen him for five months, which is a good sign.

I called earlier in the week to find out whether my appointment was still on. In a pandemic, sitting in a waiting room to get an injection in my eye is not the ideal situation. The woman at the clinic speaking to me over the phone indicated that safety precautions were top priority.

I asked about seating in the waiting room. Each row has four seats. I told her that I didn't feel comfortable if someone sat next to me. She said that they have measures to space people out. She also said that only patients who needed injections or were emergencies were being accepted. I felt better and went with it.

I was asked to wear a mask when I dropped by the clinic. I let her know that I didn't have one (I have since ordered one, which came in the mail after my appointment), and used a scarf instead. It worked well.

Sure enough, staff were great making sure that everything was sanitized. My regular diagnostic tests were streamlined down to my right eye, which had the issue.

My ophthalmologist was in good spirits. He said that he'd evaluate my eye in another five months and will likely stop injections. So, it is possible that last Friday was my last injection, which I am grateful.

I am fortunate that my blood vessel burst hasn't recurred. I bounced back nicely and my eyesight is practically back to what is used to be.

Switching gears a bit, I have been reorganizing my bedroom and decluttering. It's therapeutic. I feel relaxed and accomplished.

Still reorganizing, and discovering my love for lacy panties and bras

I am still in reorganizational mode at home. Later on today, I am picking up a few storage cube organizers. I am enjoying the process of getting rid of items that I don't need or use, while reorganizing what I want to keep.

A couple of hours ago, I found some pretty lacy bras. I had completely forgotten that I had purchased them. At this rate, I won't need to buy bras for a few years.

Some women like a matching set of bras and panties. I have never been that way. As long as they look pretty and I feel good in them, they make me happy.

In the past, guys have enjoyed my wearing black bras and panties. The colour matches my hair. I feel sexy in them.

I haven't wore a black bra for a while. I should. I do wear black panties far more often. I love lacy panties. They are surprisingly comfortable.

My intern's work term has been extended at the eleventh hour!

It's amazing what a difference a day makes. Well, it's kind of more than a day.

On Tuesday, I had a talk with my manager. He let me know that he was trying his best to extend our intern to stay an additional four months. He told me, "Don't hold your breath." It has been difficult due to hiring freezes.

Yesterday, I had a good chat with my intern. I thanked him for everything. He said nice things about working with me. It was great.

Well, in our team meeting, our manager asked me if it was okay to assign work to our intern. I had to remind him that his time with us was limited. It was only then that my manager said that our intern is with us for another four month.

Both my intern and I are ecstatic that he's staying. He genuinely likes working with us. It was just odd how secretive our manager was about sharing this news, which drives me nuts.

The best part of the chat that I had with my intern was that we both like Marie Kondo's method of organizing. He has her book. Impressive!

My intern's final week at our workplace and during a pandemic

This week is my intern's final week at my workplace. It's odd that I cannot wish him a proper farewell during a pandemic.

I normally get a small gift as a token of my appreciation for all the hard work that each intern brings. This intern, in particular, has been outstanding. We share a love for food and get along well.

As a team, we send each intern off with a farewell lunch. I have told him that we'll have a deferred one for him once we are able to socialize again.

Last night, I sent him an e-gift card. It seems informal, but I wrote a personalized message. It's better than doing absolutely nothing.

Luckily, we get to talk tomorrow. We have exchanged cell phone numbers, so we'll keep in touch.

I'm not sure how my team will manage without him. He has played such an important part of our team that the void will be difficult to fill, especially when we can't backfill his role.

Panties and a hand spanking

I find that a bit of my butt cheek peeking out of my panties arouses me immensely. I can either spank what bare skin is there, or I have the option of either hiking my panties up or taking them down for a spanking.

My recent self-spanking session was a hand spanking. I like a good hand spanking because it's personal. It's human hand contact on ultimately bare skin.

I ended up pulling down my panties and giving myself a decent hand spanking. I started with soft taps that gradually became harder. I have forgotten how much I love the sound and feel of a hand across each buttock. I like the sting that gradually forms. I love how pink my backside gets.

It was good. I have also missed reaching orgasm. I have also missed waking up to a sore bottom.

I do miss having a partner who enjoys spanking a bad girl. This session shows that pleasuring myself is a nice form of self-care.

Looking back through external drive files

I have spent a good hour looking at files on an old external hard drive. It's interesting looking back at a snapshot of my life.

I looked at files from 2007. There were photos that I had taken. Music that I was listening to. A resume that was developing. It was cool looking at me back then and how much I have grown since then.

Things seemed so simple then. I wasn't heartbroken. Then again, there was so much drama at work that perhaps things weren't as simple on the surface.

Life is definitely mine to discover. I wouldn't change a thing from my past.

The voicemail-blocking app works!

Good news! My phone app that not only blocks unwanted calls, but also disconnects them from heading over to voicemail works well.

The stalking ex called my number yesterday evening. I looked at the app and sure enough, the call was blocked and I didn't get any voicemail. Yay!

It is scary when someone doesn't accept no for an answer and is in denial that the relationship is over. Constantly calling me isn't helpful. This app is great and I am happy with it so far.

On a completely different note, I am able to do twenty pushups in a row. Roughly two weeks ago, I could barely do five. I'm pleased. My biceps are slowly toning up.

This weekend went by too quickly. Here's to another workweek at home.

Positivity snacks and a jerk who got what he deserved

Some places in the States do not ship to Canada. Recently, I contributed my thoughts about positivity on a company's Instagram account. This company ended up sending me a huge box of snacks as a gift. It was an extremely generous gesture.

Sadly, this place doesn't ship to Canada. However, I have a way to have items shipped up here through a shipping service.

There is one person at this shipping place who has been a pain to deal with. The first time I dealt with him, he asked for my ID. I was fine and asked if I needed to present it all the time, as none of the other staff members had asked me for it. He said no and that it was a one-time thing.

I dropped by a month later and he asked for ID. I reminded him that last time, he said it was a one-time thing. He made up a reason on-the-fly by saying that he will stop asking until he knows me. Um, I have been dealing with your business for four years. I'm a regular. You happen to be new and are making rules up as you go.

The third time I had to deal with him, he stopped asking me for my ID. Yay! The jerk, however, said my last name wrong. It's not a difficult last name or word to pronounce. I happily corrected him, staring sternly at hime. He actually apologized for a change.

On Saturday, I went in to pick up my box of snacks. This jerk was dealing with another customer who was yelling at him and dropped the f-word several times. I grinned. What goes around, comes around.

Luckily, I dealt with his female counterpart who was respectful and nice. She recognized me as a regular. I got my shipment, said thanks, wished her a good day, and left.

It helps to be kind to folks. If you're a jerk, there will be consequences to your attitude and behaviour.

The weekend and change

I am thrilled that it's the weekend. Friday was busy work-wise. I managed to train someone on a major task that my entire team has handled for years. Frankly, I have done this task since I joined this company.

I am happy to hand this task over to another colleague in an entirely different department. The problem? My manager has difficulty letting go.

When this change was proposed by another manager, he asked me for my opinion. I said that other units across the company do not have folks like me do this task. We should follow suit. I personally do way too much work and would be more than happy to stop working on this specific task.

My manager was adamant that we should maintain it. Well, we went into a meeting and he completely caved. He definitely does not have a backbone.

Recently, a project manager created a transition plan. He wrote to me and suggested that we delay the handover until we are "back in the office." I had to level with him and say that this pandemic could last longer than a couple of months, which is what he thinks. So, I went ahead with training the woman who will take over for me.

I do enjoy training people. I like creating training materials. I feel that I am good explaining concepts. I also have the patience.

It's just a shame that I have a manager who doesn't seem to get with the program. Oh, well.

It's the weekend. It means that I do grocery shopping later on today.

Stay safe and have a good one!

Spanking fantasies

After work yesterday, I spent some time thinking about being spanked. I fantasized about getting a harder spanking because I haven't been spanked for a while.

I enjoy the thought of being over a man's lap, having my panties pulled down, and getting a sound hand spanking. It makes me highly aroused and happy.

This weekend will be perfect for a self-spanking session.

National Takeout Day

Wednesday was National Takeout Day in Canada. Each Wednesday, we are encouraged to get takeout, either by picking it up at the eatery or have food delivered. It's to support local restaurants during this pandemic.

Ever since I have been working from home due to COVID-19, I have been ordering takeout on Wednesday nights. After work, I'll order some food through an app and pick it up. I also do groceries while I am out and about. Getting takeout twice a week gives me a bit of a break from cooking.

Technically, I don't need such a movement to support local restaurants. I'm doing it. However, it's good if lots of people join in.

Self-isolation and debt improvement

I am fortunate to be able to work from home and get paid. The shift from working a couple of days a week to every week at home isn't a huge deal for me.

However, what I have noticed is that I am saving money. As a result, it is helping me pay off my debt. I am in better financial shape at this point than I had predicted.

My commute is roughly 50 km in one direction. I used to fill my car's tank with gas each week. I do it once a month now. With gas prices being low these days, I have been saving roughly $160.

These days, I make most of my meals at home. I go out two times a week to get groceries and takeout. I don't eat out as much. I don't go to Starbucks as frequently as I used to. Again, I save more money.

I haven't travelled in over a month. I don't have airfare, hotel, or car rental bills to pay off.

A while back, I pointed out that I was doing well paying off my debt. Well, I am nearly done paying off another credit card. I will be down to two active credit cards. I will be keeping both of them, but one will sit there as a backup. The reason for keeping it is that I've been a customer for well over a decade with this credit card company. It looks good on my credit report if I continue having it. It's not my favourite credit card, so that's another reason why I am not tempted to use it.

Things are looking up financially for me. It has been a lot of hard work to get to this stage. Sticking with a budget helps. Being isolated at home is another method that has helped, which I didn't expect as a benefit.

Sleep and a persistent ex

Last night, I had a difficult time getting to sleep. I sort of drifted off for the first hour and then woke up wide awake.

I did a bit of reading before I went back to bed again. I woke up at my usual start time these days and felt sluggish. I decided to take a sick day and napped throughout the day.

Last month, when I had a number of foot pain issues, I worked through those days with perhaps a couple of hours of sleep. I'm not sure what possessed me to carry on. I didn't have that feeling today.

Perhaps an underlying reason why I didn't sleep well is because my ex-romantic interest keeps calling me. I made it perfectly clear that it was over and that I didn't want him to contact me. Yet, he still continues to call.

He has used three different phone numbers to contact me. I have blocked them all. The downside is that he uses one of these numbers to call me. The number gets blocked on my cell phone, but it still goes to voicemail thanks to my having an Android phone. He leaves me messages, but I don't listen to them. I access my voicemail, delete them, and move on.

Moments ago, I downloaded an app that takes blocked phone numbers and lets them go into its voicemail. Once it does, it disconnects the number, preventing the person to leave a message. I hope that it works. I have everything set up.

Now you know the main reason why I broke up with this jerk. He couldn't take no for an answer when I had helped him financially the first time, but he asked again the second time. I said no and he asked again. He was relentless. I knew that he was bad news.

When I broke up with him, he obviously didn't and can't accept it. Thankfully, the e-mails have stopped and those are easily blocked. I have blocked his text messages, which works well. Phone numbers are all blocked. It's just this one phone number that he uses where he is adamant to leave voicemail.

Here's hoping that I'll have some peace of mind soon.

Yay to turkey leftovers!

I roasted a 15-pound turkey on Easter. It turned out well. I'm happy that I have leftovers for a few days. It makes meal preparation a lot easier!

I have a convection oven. It works well and I love how efficiently it works.

Sadly, this long weekend has come to an end. It has been a productive one on the whole. The downside is that I have dealt with two exes, which put a bit of a damper on things. However, I am in good spirits and am okay.

Here's to another week!

Happy Easter!

To those who celebrate Easter, may it be joyous and peaceful.

On Saturday, I probably purchased the most expensive turkey in my life. I had to get one that was already stuffed. Slim pickings this year. That's okay. I look forward to leftovers.

Cooking is healing and comforting. I'll need it.

The ex-guy strikes a text conversation

A few posts ago, I wrote about my ex-guy sending me a short e-mail after realizing that I had not sent him any birthday greetings this year. He had included a picture of two purple birds. Purple is my favourite colour. I read that the two birds represented us.

Well, unfortunately, I was correct.

When I was writing yesterday's blog post, he texted me. I fought through putting that post up, as I was upset.

Ever since he has broken up with me, I have not shed a tear over him. I cried on and off yesterday. The hurt and painful feelings came flooding back.

I had not replied to the birds e-mail. Last night, he texted me and asked whether I was ever going to write back to him. In my head, since he ended our relationship, my first thought to that question hasn't changed. I told him that he broke my heart. I had nothing to say to him.

He wanted to chat over the phone or meet. I said that I wasn't interested in the former and that I needed to practise physical distancing from COVID-19.

The annoying part of this text message exchange was that this jerk decided to negotiate terms of a relationship with him. What? He said that it would be the same, except that we'd take out hotel stays and trips together.

I told him off. He claimed that he misses me and the fun times that we used to have. If he truly wanted me back, I would expect him to not take away aspects of our relationship that we once enjoyed as a couple.

I got a number of points off my chest:

• I wasn't interested in talking to someone who broke my heart and has caused me so much sadness
• I let him know that he treated me like dirt and that his needs have always superseded mine
• I pointed out that his conditions and restrictions cited in this new set of relationship terms was nonsense and stupid
• I had no problem telling him that if he had a heart, he'd understand that he was upsetting me by contacting me
• I stated that I wasn't going to settle for these stupid relationship terms
• I dictate the terms -- he doesn't
• I didn't want to talk to him because things aren't the same between us

Yeah, it's sad that he ruined the start of my long Easter weekend. Although I am intermittently sad right now, I am proud that I stood my ground. I'm stronger than I realized.

In the meantime, I am listening to a lot of music to make me feel better.

My new panties are here!

A while back, I had mentioned that I have subscribed to a panty service. Well, my first pair finally arrived in the mail. I love them!

I'm subscribed to Knotty Knickers. I'm on a subscription where I receive a pair of panties every two months. I have started with a pair of panties. You can choose from Naughty (thongs and g-strings), Nice (panties without any thongs), or Sugar and Spice (mixed).

I got these pretty panties with a floral pattern. The packaging is simplistic, but cute.

Here's the other side:

The material is buttery soft. I love the feel. They are high-cut panties. They are comfortable and fit perfectly.

I'm happy with my purchase. I can change the shipment frequency, quantity per shipment, and type of panties that I want. I like it so far.

Warm, sunny evening, with few people around

After work yesterday, I did my usual grocery run and picked up some takeout before coming home. It was 13°C outside. Sunny. Warm. There was a breeze.

It was such a nice evening. Hardly anyone was out. It still seems odd, but it's becoming the norm.

I will do another grocery run on Saturday. I hope to get a turkey for Easter. The leftovers will last for several meals. I don't get tired of eating turkey. I've had it twice already this week.

Thankfully, there's one more workday to go. I hope you are well, safe, and healthy.

Waking up early for a work call

It has been a while since I got up at 6:45 am for work. I needed to be on a conference call at 7 am. I haven't had to take this call in nearly two months. This call lasts for four hours.

I oddly woke up just fine. It's amazing how solid my sleep has been for the past week. I haven't had any foot pain since I've reintroduced exercise into my life. I am still eating a banana a day. I need to get it down to half of a banana a day and see how that goes.

The best part about starting my workday early is ending it early. I was so happy to call it quits just after 3:40 pm.

The drawer exercise continues. I only do fifteen minutes of reorganization a day. I have realized that I have more white socks than I had anticipated. I don't wear them to work. I'll need to wear more of them when I work out.

Losing track of days, except for Wednesdays and Saturdays

I have been losing track of the days since I have been working and staying at home. I realized on Monday that Good Friday is coming up.

It's Easter this weekend. Wow!

Luckily, I do know when it's Wednesday and Saturday each week. I go out to get groceries and more those days.

I'm still working on my drawer organization. I need to deal with my pajamas next. I'm not thrilled with a lot of them, so I'll end up donating many.

Reorganizing plastic bags and panties, fixing earrings, and more

Over a year ago, I was getting rid of stuff at home that I didn't need and reorganizing the stuff that I wanted to keep. I then went on what I didn't know was my last trip with my ex-guy. Since the breakup, I haven't had the motivation to reorganize my stuff and pick up from where I had left off.

I am motivated now.

On Sunday, I looked at all plastic bags that I had thrown into multiple bags and folded them up. They are now organized by size. I also found my iced tea flask. I will be brewing iced tea with a bunch of tea bags that need to be used.

I folded all my panties and bras in my drawer the way Marie Kondo does hers. I will say that it's such a major improvement and I have a nice, cheerful collection of panties and bras. I'll be doing socks and pyjamas next.

Finally, I have been converting earrings with French hooks over to leverbacks. I don't like the former because the hook part jabs into me when I wear them and I don't like the tiny plastic backings on the hooks. The conversion is pretty simple. I need to reorder more leverbacks.

I like that I have various projects on the go. It's great that the time that I used to spend commuting to and from work is put into tasks that are meaningful.

Sorting my panty collection

Shipments are delayed. It's expected as more folks are turning to ordering items online.

I subscribed to a panty service nearly two weeks ago. I was expected to receive my first shipment last week. I haven't got it yet.

Although I am anxiously looking forward to getting my order, I am a patient person. In the meantime, I'm looking at my current panty drawer and seeing what I have.

I like comfortable panties. I also like lacy ones. I have a good mix of them.

It has been nearly a year since my ex-guy broke up with me. It has been less than a month since I ended a brief stint with my love interest. Looking at my panty drawer more closely has been the furthest thing from my mind.

I'll need to sort it out. I simply threw everything in as storage. I have another drawer for panties that I regularly wear. I need to amalgamate the two drawers and give my panties that I have the proper love that they deserve. I also need to work on self-care.

Eating a banana and exercising are helping with my foot pain

The workweek is over. I am thrilled.

I have been sleeping much better since I've made a couple of changes:

• Exercise more
• Eat a banana each day

Ever since I have been working from home five days a week, I get uncomfortable pain in my right foot. It wakes me up and I stay awake getting through the day in a zombie-like fashion. I generally get it perhaps once a month, but the frequency has increased as of late.

I first thought that my potassium levels were low. I take supplements, but they didn't do much.

One morning, I woke up with foot pain at 5 am. I decided to eat a banana. Roughly 1.5 hours later, I went back to sleep and my foot pain gradually subsided.

I tested my theory out since then by eating a banana every morning. So far, the pain hasn't returned.

I also think that exercise has played a part. I might adjust the banana routine by having half of one each day and continuing to exercise.

It has been an interesting experiment. I am thankful that the pain hasn't returned and I can sleep better.

Sleeping better with exercise

I haven't been sleeping well since I have been working from home every day. I did much better when I went into the office three days and worked from home for two.

I figure the reason is that I was more active. Staying at home and having deadlines to hit has made me put exercise on hold.

Well, I have changed things up for the last three days. I'm taking it slow. I'm doing pushups and situps. So far, so good.

For the last couple of days, I have slept soundly. I may up it to getting back to using my glider daily.

My ex-guy wrote after realizing that I missed his birthday for the first time

A few posts ago, I wrote about deciding not to wish my ex-guy a happy birthday. I felt good about my decision.

It's not shocking, but he noticed that I didn't. I remember dates well. It was always like clockwork to send him an e-card or an e-mail to wish him a happy birthday.

Last night, he wrote back to me. In the Subject line, he said, "Hope you're doing well!" He then enclosed a photo of two purple birds perched on a tree.

Purple is my favourite colour. Birds are okay. They aren't my favourite, though.

There were two of them. Am I reading into the whole thing too much that they represented us? What we used to be or what we should be?

I also thought it was fitting that he wrote on April Fool's Day. I'm not sure if he was being genuine or playing a sick prank. Perhaps it was simply coincidence.

Deleting large files is painful on an old Mac mini

I have an old Mac mini. It took nearly a day to move my 2.12 GB photo library to trash. I am now emptying this file from the trash. It is taking a long time. I suspect that it'll take another day.

On a good note, I got rid of roughly 3 GB of old files. I expect my Mac mini's performance to be a bit better.

It's nice that I can find activities to do while I am staying at home. One of these days, I hope to get a new Mac mini, but we'll see if I can make my current one stretch a bit.