My favourite cafe just closed for good

Yesterday was my favourite cafe's last business day. It is now closed, but will be opening somewhere else down the road.

I stopped by to get a drink. The man who co-owns the place with his wife made me my usual drink. I will miss the awesome service and their knowing what I want without saying a word.

Early meeting and a nap through the first hour of it

Yesterday, I woke up early for my 7 am meeting that typically lasts for four hours. I managed to sleep through the first hour after I said hello at the start.

It was a productive day. I worked on a PowerPoint presentation that I haven't had a chance to do in weeks.

On a completely different note, my friend and I made plans to get together on Friday night. Yay!

Drinks, beer, and ID

Last Thursday, I dropped by RendezBrews. It's a large outdoor patio in downtown Toronto where you can get different beers from all over Ontario and yummy eats.

I ended up getting two alcoholic drinks. One was a blueberry blonde beer. The other was a raspberry lemon vodka soda. The latter didn't have any sugar in it. Both were refreshing and enjoyable.

I also bought some tom yum wings. They were so delicious.

Ontario has a new rule to show proof of vaccination at restaurants and bars. This one never asked me for it. Instead, it was more concerned about whether I was of legal drinking age. Interesting.

My mom fell and is on the mend

On Friday morning, at around 6:30 am, my dad called me to say that my mom had fallen down at home. He needed my help to lift her off the floor.

I sleep with earbuds on. Luckily, I also sleep with my hybrid smartwatch on. When he called me, my wrist buzzed and that's how I knew.

I also don't live too far away. I basically went to the washroom, put on presentable clothing, and drove over to their house.

My dad and I managed to lift my mom off the floor and onto her commode. We then rolled her over to the washroom.

She got up to go to the washroom. We have been trying to figure out what happened. She likely lost her footing, slipped, and fell.

She ended up with a bump on her head and a sore back. I asked her whether she had hit her head on the floor or wall. She has no recollection. Maybe she banged it on her walker as she went down. 

On Saturday, she was doing much better. It was quite the scare, but I'm glad that she's on the mend.

Heartburn

It has been years since I have experienced heartburn. The last time I had it, I was taking pain killers and I had to wean off them to get rid of my heartburn.

This time around, pain killers weren't the issue. It felt like anxiety of some sort, except that I haven't had to worry about anything major as of late.

It was weird, but I had a can of sparking lemonade yesterday and my heartburn went away. Interesting.

Today, my heartburn was minor. I decided to get some antacid while I was out and about. I wish that I could find antacid tablets that don't have any sugar.

I'm happy that my heartburn is on the way out.

Crepes and an iced latte

After work today, I went to get some crepes for dinner.

I had the crepe monsieur with ham for my main course:

For dessert, I got a Nutella crepe with sliced strawberries and bananas:

Both crepes were yummy. I also got an iced salted caramel caffe latte. I'm not a regular coffee drinker, but this espresso drink was fantastic!

Mondays should always be crepe days.

Weekend, rapid COVID-19 test, and sleep

Another weekend has come and gone. I slept extremely well last night. I love the cooler weather.

I have been doing more research on travelling to the States. Things are looking better. I simply need to figure out where I can do a COVID-19 rapid test before I leave. Shoppers Drug Mart offers the test, but you have to call the drugstore and ask. It doesn't give any indication when you look up your local drugstore online.

Have a great week ahead!

Telehealth experience

I did something different this morning. I had my first telehealth experience. My company offers EQ Care as part of its health benefits plan.

For a while, I have not been thrilled with the health care that I've been receiving from my doctor. We have a good rapport. I have liked doing phone calls with her during the pandemic. I don't have to wait at the doctors office for at least two hours.

I don't like her support staff. Everything from telling me to get my health card renewed when the province of Ontario says that it's okay to have an expired one during a pandemic, to another saying that I have to come in for my appointment no matter what, has rubbed me the wrong way.

The catch to doing EQ Care is that you do need your camera turned on. It works rather well through a browser on my phone. I can also download the app.

I had a great experience. I got my prescription renewed and it got sent to my regular pharmacy. A person from my pharmacy called me to say that it would be ready whenever I was free to drop by. Yay!

Muhammad Ali as a category on Jeopardy! and my dad's boxing idol

I watched my parents watch Jeopardy! on TV the other night. One of the categories was Muhammad Ali.

I had forgotten how much my dad loved him as a boxer. My dad got every single answer in the form of a question correct. It was nice seeing him run the board in the category.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wine, Pusheen, and joy

Last night, I went out to pick up a couple of bottles of wine that were a perk. I had the nicest chat with the woman who owns the store.

I then went to a mall close by and spent more time that I had anticipated looking at Pusheen and other plushies. I was in heaven. There was so much joy!

I am looking forward to drinking the wine. I was told that the white can be consumed immediately. The red wine will be even better in a couple of months.

Thunderstorms, a weird transaction, and telehealth

It's thunderstorming hard right now. We are under a severe thunderstorm warning. Here's hoping that it's not as bad as it sounds outside.

I noticed earlier yesterday that I have a pending transaction on my credit card that I do not recognize. I can't dispute it because the transaction hasn't gone through my account. It's a bit of a concern.

I am going to try telehealth soon to see if I can renew a prescription online. We'll see how that goes.

Travelling in December and January

The other night, I booked my first flight in over 1.5 years. I am flying to the States just before Christmas. I'm spending three weeks there.

I am hoping that it'll still be safe to travel by then. I am there to attend three hockey games and to pay my respects to my friend.

I am contemplating whether I want to fly in late November. I can see two hockey games and work away from home, but away from home, if you catch my drift. 

Supporting two local businesses

On Saturday, a couple of cool things happened to me. Both deal with small local businesses.

For one business, it had a campaign that invited folks to suggest new flavours for teas and shakes that have no to low sugar. I suggested German chocolate cake. The business tested out the flavour suggestions, and names one tea and one shake after the person who suggested it. I now have a German chocolate cake shake named after me. It's on the place's permanent menu starting on Monday.

I am thrilled to bits to have a menu item named after me. 

The second business is closing its store and strictly operating online to save costs. Its last day is today before the store closes down for good. I went there to visit it one last time.

I am a loyal customer. It's to the point where the owner recognizes me when I walk in and knows my name. 

We had a good chat today. I bought a sugar cookie in the past and she asked me whether I enjoyed it. She also showed me a secret project that she's working on. It was lovely to get that inside scoop from her. I am excited for what she will be offering down the road.

Although I'll miss dropping by this store, I am happy that it's still in business and I can continue supporting it.

Voted early at a shopping mall

We've got a federal election coming up this month. Yesterday, after work, I voted early.

In the past, my advance poll was either at a community centre or school. I feel that the pandemic has changed things. The former tends to be used as a vaccination centre these days. School just started for many here and it's in-person, so having the auditorium as a poll with students, teachers, and voters was probably not the best idea, either.

My advance poll, which is also my poll on election day, was at a shopping mall. It was different and deadly. There's nothing like shopping and eating after voting!

I'm glad that I voted. Happy weekend, everyone!

A twist with spreadsheet hell

On a good note, I managed to create my documents based on two ugly spreadsheets. I was supposed to get an updated set of spreadsheets.

There's a twist in the plot. The woman who created these spreadsheets has left the company. She didn't bother giving me new ones before she left. How considerate.

Then again, since she did such a poor job with them, I can imagine why she walked away from her job. She probably didn't enjoy doing this work.

Two people are taking over her job for the time being, so it'll be interesting working with them.

Spreadsheet hell

I have been writing two new documents for work. They are based on two spreadsheets that are horribly designed.

This person interchanges the software product's name and the software company's name. On top of that, she has merged a bunch of columns, so it's difficult to comprehend. Ugh!

Finally, this person repeats the same list of software products for every software release that our company does. Yet, the list is supposed to reflect a specific release. Huh? It's such a waste of time going through each software release because the versions rarely change.

I am nearly done with this set of spreadsheets for the previous release. I am expecting a new set this week. I have a feeling that they will look equally horrible because this person hasn't bothered to make her spreadsheets meaningful and useful. Instead, it's a dumping ground for her data.

A favourite store is closing, but will still be online

I found out on the weekend that one of my favourite stores is closing its physical store. The owner has opted to do business online instead. It makes sense to cut down on costs.

The sad thing is that I always found it magical to enter her store. I have been a regular customer since the start of this pandemic. I have done curbside pickup to reduce shipping costs. Now that it is operating online, I will have no choice but to shell out for shipping.

I'm thrilled that this store is still going strong. It closes on Sunday. We'll see if I can get down there for one last visit.

Long weekend catching up with friends

This long weekend has been great. I met up with three different friends on three different days. I spent Labour Day at home, resting!

It was great catching up with them. I hadn't seen one of my friends for two years. It was long overdue. It was like no time had elapsed when we chatted.

Thank goodness it's a shorter workweek.

Accidental photo

Hello, everyone! If you have Labour Day off today, enjoy it!

I haven't been writing much this long weekend. I have been catching up with friends and being more outgoing.

I am sharing an accidental photo that I took yesterday. I was attempting to hold my phone and pull up my shorts. I ended up with this photo, which I like. 

It makes me happy.

SIM cards for stateside travel

I have been looking at SIM cards to use while in the States. In the past, I used Roam Mobility and it was awesome. Sadly, the pandemic caused this company to close for good.

I have found a SIM card that provides unlimited calls and texts for thirty days, along with 5 GB of data. It sounds promising.

Down the road, I'd like to subscribe to Mint Mobility. There is a deal where you pay $15 a month for three months. You lock that price in when you buy in batches. The catch is that I would need to buy a SIM card when I am stateside. I can't get it shipped to Canada.

My plan is to get the first SIM card first. I'll then get the Mint Mobility SIM and use it going forward.

It has been fascinating doing research on details that I didn't have to pay attention to in the past.

Hockey games and travel plans

I am analyzing the hockey games that I have tickets for this upcoming season. They require that I travel down to the Twin Cities. One of the tickets is for the Winter Classic games, which is so exciting because it's outdoors at Target Field. I have never been there.

I have my regular vacation just before Christmas till after New Year's Day. I am considering using some of my 2022 vacation to add an extra week to my vacation. It will allow me to take in three hockey games.

There is also thought about travelling in early October for a longer weekend. I can also try working abroad for a week in late November, so I can catch two games after work.

The good news is that I can fly. I am still a bit concerned about the mask situation in the States. It seems less reinforced than it is in Canada. Even though I am fully vaccinated, I don't know whether it's true for those around me.

I am doing a lot of planning right now. It's exciting to think about travelling again. It will be different.