Checking in to say hi

Hello, everyone! It has been a few days since I last checked in. All is well.

I am in the States and I am having a great time so far. I have been constantly in motion since Thursday. Luckily, it will be a slower-paced Monday.

I did take in a Minnesota Wild game on Sunday afternoon. The team won. Yay! It was my first time seeing the team win at home.

I hope that you are all doing well. I'll write more soon.

Dentist, antigen test, and packing

Several hours from now, I'm getting my COVID-19 antigen test done. It's finally hitting me that I'm about to travel.

Packing is going well. I'm nearly done, although I feel like I'll miss something.

My dental appointment went well. My teeth are great. They feel so clean.

My rolling bag preserved since March 2020

I have a rolling computer bag that has enough room to also be an overnight bag. I haven't used it since early March 2020.

In a few days, I'll be travelling. I took my rolling bag out of hibernation.

It's like time had stood still. I have a few pens in there. They all work. They are there to fill out custom forms and more.

My bag doesn't have any candy or snacks. I was always good at making sure that they were consumed.

It feels both foreign and familiar to rummage through it again. I have missed travelling.

Good weekend and packing

It has been a great weekend. I saw two friends on Saturday and went out on Sunday to fetch a few things.

I'm starting to pack for my trip. I leave on Friday. This week is rather busy, especially with a concert on Thursday night.

It'll be nice to relax a bit once I'm over the border.

Great conversation and dinner

On Friday night, I went out for dinner with a good friend. She was sweet to treat me to dinner. We are also colleagues.

I gave her Christmas gifts early. Next week, I'm travelling. I get back in early December and fly out again in less than two weeks. I didn't think that we could squeeze in another get-together.

It was great chatting with her. I don't normally talk about my ex-hubby or exes in general, but I did, as did she. It was therapeutic and I realized that I am in a good place in my life.

Later on today, I am getting together with a couple of friends that I haven't seen in over a year. I'm looking forward to it!

I'm famous!

I had mentioned a while back that I have a shake named after me at a local cafe. On Monday, I went there to pick up my order after getting my winter tires installed on my car.

There was a woman waiting for her order. She heard one of the owners say my name.

"Is that Cutiebootie as in the shake named after Cutiebootie?" she asked both owners.

"Yes!" they exclaimed.

"I feel so honoured meeting you," she said to me.

I didn't let the fame go to my head... haha!

My costco trip

I hadn't stepped foot in a Costco store in 1.5 years. I ended it last night.

It didn't feel intimidating going into the store at 5 pm. There weren't a ton of customers and I felt safe.

I had to get contact lens solution. A box contains two bottles and a small travel-sized version, which is perfect for my trip next week. I can't believe that I'll be flying soon!

It was great finally using my voucher, although it took multiple tries to get scanned on my phone. I hadn't used it in a long time. I did save $88!

I got lobster ravioli. I am definitely looking forward to trying it out tomorrow.

A hot dog with a fountain drink is still $1.50. What's different is that you have to pay at the kiosk and then pick up your order at the counter. You no longer approach the counter to pay and get your food.

I have been living under a rock for 1.5 years when it comes to dropping by Costco. I had a great experience getting reacquainted with the store.

Costco

I haven't been to Costco since April 2020. I have a voucher that I need to use. I'm thinking that dropping by later on today is in order.

I generally go grocery shopping on Wednesdays. Here's hoping that I don't end up buying $200 worth of stuff that I don't need!

While I'm there, I may hit the food court and get something to eat for dinner. It has been ages!

Winter tires and appraisal

When I filed my insurance claim on Saturday, I decided to give uploading photos of my car's damage to an appraiser a try. I was supposed to get a link to upload them within 24 hour. I never got it.

I got my insurance advisor's name and sent him an e-mail. He was kind to not only write to me, but also call me.

He let me know that there are problems with this link. He first offered to get an appraiser to come to my home to inspect my car's damage. He then asked where I wanted to get my car fixed. I had a shop that I worked with in the past. He let me know that it does both appraisals and the actual work.

He arranged to get my claim information to them and I could simply drop by. After getting my winter tires installed, I drove over there.

The man helping me was nice, but not all there. He couldn't find my claim number after we verified it three times. He finally found it in his system.

He then couldn't get the printer to work. His counterpart wasn't wearing a mask when the sign on the door clearly stated that everyone needed a mask. Hmm...

He then asked whether I knew what my deductible was. I said that it was waived because I had reported the incident to the police. He asked me to check with my insurance. I said no. I got that fact from my insurance advisor this morning.

Sure enough, this guy saw the note that my insurance advisor had made on waiving the deductible. Yes, I don't need to do any checking.

Weird. I had a better experience my first time at this shop. Maybe he needed some caffeine.

Sunday thoughts and snow tires

I spent Sunday cooking and relaxing. I savour weekends a lot these days.

Later on today, I get my snow tires installed on my car. It's currently snowing lightly. Perfect timing!

Hit-and-run bumper scratches

On Friday night, I went out for a drive-thru event. After it was over, I went to order some pizza for dinner.

I parked in a plaza that I hadn't been in over a decade. It was raining and windy at around 8:30 pm. I got my goods and headed back to my car. The rain had stopped.

There was enough light for me to notice that my passenger front bumper had yellow scratches on it. A yellow vehicle must have grazed my car.

On Saturday, I went to file an accident report. It went smoother than I had anticipated. I then went ahead and called my car insurance to create a claim. I am waiting for a link to upload photos of my car's scratches and then find out when I can get my car fixed.

Ah, the joys of a hit-and-run incident. Luckily, I wasn't in the vehicle and this issue can be fixed.

Weekend and a new cafe

Happy weekend!

My ophthalmologist appointment went well. Instead of going in for a follow-up appointment every six months, it's now every eight months. Yay!

There is a new cafe that has replaced my favourite one next door to my ophthalmologist. It has Japanese-style sodas. I got an orange mango soda and it was so good. I will return.

I also got a chocolate croissant. This place is extremely generous with the chocolate filling. Yum!

Ophthalmologist appointment without the cafe next door

I've got an ophthalmologist appointment today. It's weird that this place no longer does reminder calls.

It will feel weird dropping by. My favourite cafe next door closed in late August. There's a bubble tea place, but it opens at noon. I never stay there long enough to drop by.

Frother

I got a frother. I can't wait to use it.

My main reason was to make hot chocolate and have it froth up. It is also great to make omelettes and scrambled eggs.

Fun!

Sore neck, GPS, and social meetings

I have a sore neck. It's only on the left side. I'm not sure what I did. I'm trying to stretch it out.

I pulled out my old GPS. I charged it and updated the maps on it. It's interesting how outdated it looks, but it's reliable. I am happy that it works.

As far as work goes, I finished adding a bunch of content into two documents. I haven't looked at the output because the system that builds our documentation libraries was down.

Things will start to pick up socially. I made plans with three friends to meet up for dinner. Fun!

Antigen and PCR COVID-19 tests

I am a researcher. I have been researching COVID-19 tests in my area and in Minnesota.

Here's the weird thing. To get over the border and enter the US, Canadians need an antigen test. A test starts at $40, which isn't horrible.

When coming back to Canada, an antigen test is not accepted. Instead, a PCR test is required. The cheapest price that I have seen to get this test done is $199 USD at MSP airport, which is where I'm flying in and out of.

It's not cheap. I am glad that I am staying for over a week at the end of this month to take in two hockey games. Before this pandemic, I would have made two separate trips. If I did the same thing now, just these two PCR tests would cost me the price of a round-trip flight to the Twin Cities. Yikes!

I am hoping that, down the road, PCR tests won't be required. Either Canada will accept an antigen test or possibly drop the test for those who are fully vaccinated.

Weekends need to be longer

Weekends are so short. They are much needed for me to recharge.

I liked the extra hour to sleep in. I felt refreshed.

I would love a three-day weekend all the time.

Daylight saving time - falling back

I like when we fall back an hour. I get to sleep in.

On Saturday, I finally saw Chang-Shi at my local movie theatre. I loved it. It's even more special when I used a voucher and didn't have to pay a thing.

Weekend and a pro

Yay, weekend!

I got an extension on the last-minute work that I couldn't complete by Friday. I'm good not killing myself.

I got a nice request from a fellow colleague to edit his work because he needed "a pro" to help out. I appreciated that compliment.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Ridiculous workload that impacts me and no to a cryptocurrency seminar

It looks like someone dropped the ball at work and I will likely be working more hours to get a rather large update into our software build. Fun.

We have a freeze deadline of Friday to get all our updates in. I won't likely get this new chunk of content in by then, as I have two other documents to get through.

Our team is asking that this freeze date be changed. We'll see what happens. I'm leaving it up to our two project managers, who aren't that swift, so I'm just continuing with my work.

In other fun news, someone followed my social media account and became overly chatty with me. I figured out that she's a part of a cryptocurrency wave. It took her a few days to get to this stage. She isn't that swift, either. She asked me to join her seminar this weekend.

I told her that I wasn't interested. It sounded like this seminar was in person. She's in the States. I am not. I made it perfectly clear that I was in Canada.

No means no. She continued asking if I was coming. I unfollowed her and then blocked her. No.

Health card renewal

I need to get my health card renewed. I can't do it online. I need a new photo.

I plan on getting it done later on today. Here's hoping that the lineup isn't horrendous.

Long nap and later meeting start

I took a long nap after work on Monday. I did so much that I crashed after my workday was over.

Here's hoping that I can sleep well tonight.

Every month, I normally have a ridiculous meeting at 7 am that goes for four hours. Since Daylight Saving Time happened in Europe, and not in Canada, my meeting starts an hour late. So, I start at my usual time of 8 am. Sweet!

Popcorn

On Sunday, I went out to pick up a dessert order. I rarely go out on Sundays, so it felt weird.

I managed to drop by a popcorn store that I haven't visited in over a decade. I was so happy that it's still up and running.

I love popcorn. I bought three large bags. There was a special where you buy two bags and get your third for free.

My popcorn stash should last me another week.