My dad and his lack of polish when he talks

So much for squeezing in a post in January. At least I'm back a lot sooner than a year later!

I'd like to get a couple of unpleasant experiences out of the way. It happened yesterday. Being a co-caregiver with my dad has not been smooth. 

Yesterday, he was yelling at my mom because she wouldn't swallow her pills. I had to intervene by saying that yelling at her isn't going to make her swallow her pills any faster.

He sets a lot of double-standards. He tells me not to yell at her when I am telling her to stop hitting me. She seems to have dementia, but we are trying to get a proper diagnosis. Having dementia would explain her inclination to hit me. Yet, it's perfectly okay if he yells at her for not remembering how to swallow her pills.

He is a jerk. He can be insensitive. He also can't express himself well.

A couple of hours later, I walked own the stairs with a stairlift that my mom now uses. I heard a thud. I asked what the thud was.

My dad said that it was the smoke detector that I had caused to fall from the ceiling because I was walking down the stairs.

Was he insinuating that I'm heavy walking down the stairs? Rude.

This smoke detector had fallen from the ceiling two weeks ago when my dad and I had helped my mom out of the shower.

I shot back that maybe he should have installed it properly two weeks ago. I did not cause this smoke detector to fall from the ceiling both times. Look into your faulty installation before blaming me.

He can be a prick. He often makes idiot statements.

He has said many stupid comment to me since I've been alive. I'll leave that to another post. All these incidents have resurfaced from memory.

He told my uncle a few years ago that he was fat. I was stunned and embarrassed when he said that in front of my mom, and my aunt and uncle.

My blog will now be focused on taking care of my mom and dealing with my dad who has actually been more difficult to comprehend. I'll also squeeze in good things about my life.

Happy 2026! Thoughts and dry eye

Happy 2026! I hope that your year has started off well.

Where I am, we had a record snowstorm on Sunday. Toronto Pearson International Airport got 46 cm of snow. Those closest to Lake Ontario got 60 cm, including my old neighbourhood of the Beaches.

I live in the suburbs. I got a lot of snow. I don't think it was 60 cm. It was a lot.

Last year wasn't the best. I ended up with a stomach ulcer, which required some medication, yogurt, probiotics, and Gravol. The medication made me gag, which explains the Gravol. Since then, I do feel like I gag more when I see something that triggers that feeling.

Weird.

I keep on saying that I have a lot to say. I truly do. I have a lot to post about my mom's recovery from her broken arm and my difficult relationship with my dad.

I will start off with December and work my way backwards in 2025.

I get my eyes examined every two years in December. Earlier in the year, I noticed that my eyes were getting dry wearing contacts. My eyes felt gritty and I'd often take my contact lenses out.

For most of 2025, I wore my glasses instead. My eyeballs felt better. I'd be putting in eye drops whenever I needed them.

My eye doctor said that my eyes were in great shape and that my prescription hadn't changed. She did notice that the pores were clogged under my eyelids by natural oils. It explains my dry eye.

She recommended putting warm compresses over my eyelids to melt the oils. I did that by heating up a mask in the microwave. It felt great over my eyelids, but the heat would die down after ten minutes.

I bought a plug-in eye mask instead for more consistent heat. I use it every day over my eyelids for twenty minutes. It's me time. I like how relaxing the heat is.

I feel that this eye mask procedure has helped. I wore contacts lenses for the first time in months last week. I had them on for three hours. They were comfortable. I didn't feel any grit. 

I haven't tried wearing them to work. Baby steps. I'll probably wear them this Saturday when I run errands for a few hours and see how I feel.

I still use eye drops. I lubricate my eyeballs twice a day. It has been easy. I have eye drops in the washroom. I remember applying them after washing my face in the morning.

Just before bed, I apply eye drops before I fall asleep.

Time to use my eye mask. I'll try writing another post before January is over. I need to ease into writing more regularly again.

Surgery on my mom's arm

Originally, when we went into emergency, the orthopedic surgeon thought that having my mom in a cast to heal her arm on its own was good enough.

I was surprised to hear from the fracture clinic at the hospital the following day, which was a Monday. The woman wanted us to come back to the hospital on Tuesday for a 7:30 am appointment for x-rays and more.

It was a super early appointment. Surgeons tend to operate during regular morning hours, so these appointments happen before and after surgery. We got the before.

At the in-person check-in area at the hospital, we got there at 7 am. I went up to one of the desks and got yelled at. Apparently, there is a lineup before approaching one of them. We were the only ones there at this hour.

The sign is roughly eight feet high. Although I am tall at nearly six feet, I don't look up eight feet to read signs. They should be at a normal eye level.

I said that it was confusing. I disliked when the woman at the desk said that it wasn't. First, it's how I feel. It's my first time navigating your hospital. You work here. You are used to where things are. I didn't appreciate this woman challenging my feelings.

I write user documentation for a living. I put myself into the target audience's shoes. Did you, know-it-all woman? Nope. If I find it confusing, and I'm fairly intuitive, I'm sure I'm not the only one, which includes my parents.

Second, give me a break. It's 7 am. My parents are old. We are the only ones there at this ridiculous hour. You are going to have us to go through your regular process of lining up when we are the ONLY people there? Ludicrous. 

We got x-rays on my mom's arm. The break was just above her elbow. The surgeon recommended that she get operated on -- that she get a metal rod and plates to have her arm heal.

My mom's surgery was the following day, the Wednesday, in the morning. Even getting that time was so confusing between the man who takes off stitches and the surgeon.

Thankfully, the not-so-cheerful experiences at the hospital on this day were the only ones that we had encountered. Maybe Tuesdays are simply days to avoid getting appointments here.

We have a follow-up appointment tomorrow. It's not so early. We'll see how things go.

My mom broke her right arm

Hello! I haven't been writing much here. Things have been busy.

On Sunday, July 27, at roughly 9:30 am, my mom broke her right arm. She was going up a set of stairs, gripping onto the railing on either side of her. She lost her footing, spun around, and sat down on a square platform between two sets of stairs.

She landed safely. The problem was that she was still gripping on to both handrails. My dad and I were with her. We both heard her arm snap.

I called 911. She went to the hospital in an ambulance. I drove my dad up to the hospital. It has not been easy hanging out with my dad. He does not express himself well. He has anxiety. He lets out his feelings by yelling. He is also hard of hearing.

Everything that I do is not good enough for him. He said that I was driving slowly. Um, no. The paramedics need to get my mom checked in first. It doesn't make sense for me to break the sound barrier and try and be there before the ambulance.

My mom was in emergency. She got a makeshift cast after x-rays were done. The doctor said that she'd be back in a week's time. We got a call the following day to come in on Tuesday.

It's probably my main beef. Folks at the hospital aren't great at telling patients what is going on. They also use hospital jargon that does not make sense to a regular person like me.

I'll rant about these points later. I thought that I'd document things now before I forget.

My ex never cleaned out his trolley at the office

Last Wednesday, I was in the office. There are a number of trolleys (lockers on wheels) that are locked at work. A full-time employee can get a trolley to store their belongings, as we don't have assigned desks.

The facilities manager unlocked a bunch of them. There is a high demand for them now that we are at the office more often.

I heard my manager look at the contents of one of the lockers:

This person has a toothbrush. He lived here. He was a trainer. He's long gone.

This trainer was my ex.  He left the company maybe two years ago. He never bothered heading to the office to fetch his belongings. 

The toothbrush detail was interesting. Frankly, he was more concerned about flossing, but the toothbrush was a close second.

I miss the good times being with him. I don't miss being treated like dirt and having my heart torn apart. It took a lot of strength to kick him to the curb when he wanted sex without a relationship. Dumb.

Skype

Microsoft is retiring Skype. Its two-decade existence will be a memory soon. It makes sense as Microsoft can focus on Teams.

In a way, it ends a chapter in my life. Whenever my ex-boyfriend and I would chat when he was on the road, we used Skype.

It's bittersweet. When our relationship was fresh and new, I loved chatting on Skype with him. There were a few times where he removed me as a contact. I didn't know why. He'd eventually add me back. I got anxiety when he did remove me as a contact. It was the same with Facebook. I feared that he didn't want to be with me when he removed me as a contact. I look back and it seems so silly, but it was real and caused a lot of anxiety.

I don't miss the various connection issues that we faced using Skype.

When he broke my heart, I removed him as a contact on Skype. He sent me a contact request. I ignored it.

It was a bit of his own medicine. I'm glad that I could reciprocate.

At work, we use Teams. Before that, we used Skype. I won't miss it.

The ex and I never communicated on Teams at work. He had left the company just before we switched to Teams.

Skype is a good marker. It cements how final our relationship is.

Messaging an old friend

I wrote a while back that I had found my best friend from grade 7. I was contemplating whether to contact her.

Since then, I have been watching her reels on Instagram and hearing what she has to say. It took a recent reel in which she talked about trying to tell folks about her torture through her body language that encouraged me to finally contact her.

I remember her jumping at touch. She would walk fast with her arms crossed in front of her chest when she was upset. She had that flee instinct.

She was brave to state in grade 8 that she was sexually abused. She didn't spill all the beans about being tortured in a cult because she was still a part of it. It was tough for her to escape and be safe.

I am glad that I contacted her. I let her know that I have always believed her. I hope that she writes back. We'll see.

Heading back to work today

I go back to work today. Luckily, our company goes into the office once a week. It's not Monday, so I'm happy.

I will admit that it was nice working a single day between December 13 and now. I will miss sleeping in and focusing on getting better health-wise.

I am down to a mild cough. I also find that I get tired faster. I'm not sure if it's because I have been indulging in carbs over the holidays or if it's a symptom of coughing up a lung.

If you are heading back to work this week, I wish you an easy transition. I am now trying to figure out when I should take my next vacation!

Happy 2025!

Happy 2025, everyone! I hope that it's a joyous, healthy, properous, and memorable year for you.

Earlier today, I got a text message from my ex, wishing me a happy new year. His text is likely due to my reaching out to him last month because I didn't have the funds to check in to a hotel.

He asked me a day later if I had called him. It was disappointing that it took him a day to respond. I felt like it reinforced one reason why I don't want him in my life. He was never there for me when I needed him to be.

I have been on the fence about responding to his text. I decided not to. My reaching out was out of urgency. I don't want him in my life and my calling him wasn't an invitation to start a text chat.

Check your credit score

Back in October, I applied for a loan with Spring Financial. I didn't get the approval, which was eye-opening. I was also thankful that I didn't. I ended up getting a consumer proposal and focusing on fixing my finances.

Spring Financial recommended that I go with its plan of taking out a tradeline. It is kind of a loan, except that you pay a monthly fee to have this company report good things to Canada's two credit bureaus about your credit history.

I remember getting digital forms from Spring Financial. I declined signing them. I felt that this tradeline was a waste of money. I'd rather get a secured credit card and have that credit card company report my progress to the credit bureaus without paying a fee.

I went on Spring Financial's site and chatted with someone. I asked whether not signing would confirm that I didn't want the loan. The person said yes.

I had a feeling that it wasn't the case. Sure enough, I looked at my credit report that I get through Credit Karma. It's free, which is why I like it.

Spring Financial created a tradeline account for me on October 11. It reported that I was late with my payments for both November and December.

What?

First, I don't have a loan with this company. I never signed any paperwork. Second, it claims that I have a $5000 loan. I don't. Funds were never deposited into my account. Third, I missed payments for two months. I didn't know that I needed to because I don't have a loan.

A couple of days ago, I went back on Spring's chat. I got disconnected the first time. I got the same representative the second time. I wanted this alleged loan closed. I also wanted this company to fix the erroneous credit reporting to both bureaus.

Well, I got a response from Spring Financial yesterday:

We are reaching out to notify you of an issue we have identified regarding a tradeline created on your credit bureau from Spring Financial.

When you applied with Spring Financial, an account was created under your name; however, due to an error, the file submitted to the credit bureaus included inactive accounts. We have since corrected this and will be sending a revised file to the credit bureaus, informing them of the error. We have directly contacted both Equifax and TransUnion with an urgent request to address this matter promptly, however we have been informed that the update can take up to 30-60 days to reflect on each respective credit report.

We sincerely apologize for this oversight and want to assure you that once the incorrect tradeline is removed, it will have no adverse impact on your credit report or history.

We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this matter. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.

Thank you,

Customer Service

The wording is poor. I identified Spring Financial's issue that directly affects me. I had to tell you about it so that you could investigate it further. Let's be clear. Had I not reported it, Spring Financial would be ruining my credit rating and other people's credit ratings.

I'll be watching my credit score and report like a hawk to make sure that this issue is fixed. Otherwise, I have no problem following up with Spring Financial. It should not be erroneously reporting to credit bureaus when I don't have any products from this company.

I recommend checking your credit score. You don't want a company ruining your score because it is erroneously reporting details to credit bureaus.

In a credit card bind and having to reach out to my ex

A couple of Thursdays ago, I drove up from the Twin Cities to Winnipeg. There was a snowstorm with reduced visibility. I managed to get to Winnipeg safely.

I had a problem checking into my hotel. I had a one-night stay before flying home on Friday. I also booked a hotel near Toronto Pearson International Airport in case I was too tired to drive home. My flight would get in late that night.

At the hotel in Winnipeg, my credit card was declined. I didn't understand why as I had just used it all day for fuel, food, and more. 

I didn't have a backup credit card. My other credit card was in the mail. Canada Post was on strike. The strike is over, but it will take some time to get it.

I had to find someone to bail me out. It was 9:30 pm Central time. It was 10:30 pm Eastern to figure out who could help me out at this time of night.

I did something that I didn't want to do. I texted and called my ex. Naturally, he didn't pick up or respond.

He did text me over 24 hours later. I said that it was urgent. He didn't respond, so I moved on. All I got from that text exchange was a thumbs-up reaction from him.

He was too late. The usual.

It reinforced the fact that he has never been there for me when I needed him. I managed to find a friend who was willing to e-transfer $400 to me.

The hotel room was just over $200 a night. I needed to supply a security deposit, which I felt was ridiculous being almost twice the amount of my hotel room.

I checked out the following day. I immediately sent an e-transfer to my friend for the security deposit. Today, I sent the remaining funds that I owed to her for the room rate.

I am thankful that I have friends who are kind and trusting. I am truly grateful for their help.

It turns out that the hotel by the airport prematurely charged my room and deposit to my card. It explains why I couldn't check in at the hotel in Winnipeg.

I cancelled my reservation at the hotel by the airport. The funds were released. I wasn't impressed by this premature charging move.

What I should have done was to prepay for my hotel in Winnipeg. It would have guaranteed my stay without the hotel in Toronto getting to my card first with a premature hold.

I hope that I never have to reach out to my ex. I expected that he wouldn't jump at helping me. Sadly, I was correct.

Merry Christmas and more!

Hi, there! It has been a while. I hope that you are well.

I'd like to wish you a happy Christmas with family and loved ones, if you celebrate it. This year will be the first time in years in which I am not cooking a turkey dinner. 

I just came back from a week in the Twin Cities and Winnipeg. I ended up catching a nasty cold. I have been sleeping it off for days. Right now, I feel the most energetic in days. I still have a phlegmy cough. At least I am on the mend and don't have to go back to work until the second week of January.

I was too weak and sick to hit the grocery store. I'm fine with soup and items that I have at home. It's just not a full-blown turkey dinner that I typically make for my parents and me.

On Christmas eve, I had a financial counselling appointment pertaining to my consumer proposal. The Teams link didn't work. I sat there waiting to be admitted. I cancelled the call, which prompted the woman to say that we could do it over the phone.

I have a lot of thoughts about my consumer proposal. I am happy with it on the whole. The firm preparing those who are going through one for the first time needs to provide more support.

I hope to write more here. It has been a challenge trying to focus when my blog has changed its original purpose. It will be about whatever I am experiencing in my life. I haven't thought about spanking in ages.

Consumer proposal for debt and bank account change

I have been swimming in debt for a while. It felt like I wasn't progressing with the high interest that I was paying on my credit cards and loans.

I decided to get help. I'm currently in the process of getting a consumer proposal. It's a government program that involves repaying a portion of your debt. A licensed Insolvency Trustee negotiates with creditors on how much you need to repay.

This proposal consolidates the debt into manageable payments. It freezes debt interest charges. It also reduces stress.

The catch is that I needed to change banks. I can't have a credit card that is a part of this proposal with a bank account that gets my pay directly deposited. When this proposal is approved, sometimes credit card companies will take money from your chequing account to pay off the credit card before it is communicated that the proposal is official.

I had to change where my paycheque would be directly deposited. The change was straightforward through our Dayforce site. 

I was a bit stressed out that I did this change on Thanksgiving Day and it was immediately approved. I didn't know when the change would kick in. Would it be seamless or would I get a cheque mailed to me?

Well, all that stress went away. My pay was deposited last night, which was early. My payday is officially on Thursday. Bi-weekly.

I'm relieved!

I asked about how long it will take for my consumer proposal to be official. I got 1.5 weeks at least. I'm approaching one week on Friday. We had Thanksgiving Day, so I need to take that day out in my calculation.

Finding my best friend from grade 7 and debating whether to contact her

I don't write as much as I used to here. It's partly life. It's partly because I am not in an intimate relationship.

I have topics to write about. I haven't prioritized posting them.

I do have some news to share. It's good news. I'm just not sure if I should take the bold step and reach out, or let the past stay in the past.

In grade 7, I was best friends with a person. I'll call her Candy. She was awesome, except that she was teased whenever someone would tap her on the shoulder or give her a hug.

I don't think we ever hugged. I didn't want to trigger anything. I never asked why she was so sensitive. I figured it out in grade 8.

We were in extended French class. We had an exercise to reveal a secret by writing it on a piece of paper. It would then be placed in a jar. Each one of us would fish out an entry, read it, and figure out who it was.

Candy asked how to say abuse in French. It caught my attention. It also caught the attention of two of our classmates.

We reported it to our French teacher. She spent a lot of time talking to counsellors after she shared what had happened to her. Our friendship started to change, well into grades 9 and 10.

She became a feminist. She didn't like eating lunch with our usual friends in the cafeteria. She preferred to eat lunch in the washroom.

We used to walk up to school and home together. All that stopped.

She changed high schools. We drifted apart. We saw each other a couple of times in Toronto. Once was when we were in grade 12. The last time was when I was in my second year of undergraduate studies. We met in a store on Yonge Street. She called my name. I said hi. That was it.

I have thought about her often over the years. I'd try searching for her online. Nothing.

I gave it a try today. Somehow, my persistence worked. It also helped that she openly stated her birthday on her Web site, right down to the year. I looked at her birthmark on her forehead and immediately knew that it was her.

She is definitely more verbally articulate than she used to be. She is far more open about being abused and her past. I didn't realize that she automatically grew up in a cult and ran away from home shortly after she changed school.

She changed her last name after she ran away from home. It explains one reason why I had a tough time finding her.

I'd like to contact her and say hi. I don't know whether that's a good idea. The abuse that she endured happened while we were best friends. She couldn't tell me anything because her abusers threatened to kill her, which is understandable.

Part of me wants to because I care that she's alive and seems to be doing well. Part of me thinks that if I do reach out, I will be resurrecting the horrible abuse flashbacks that was happening. 

I would like to think that our friendship was maybe an escape from this abuse. I just don't know.

I will sit on it and think some more. I am happy that she's doing great. She seems healthy. She is an author and an artist. 

My mom chewing and spitting out her food

I keep seeing my mom change these days. Her memory is on the decline. She says hi to me multiple times within a five-minute span. She has incontinence issues and often doesn't know whether she needs to relieve herself.

As of late, I've noticed that she chews her food and spits it out. I don't know if she has now forgotten how to swallow or if she physically can't swallow solid food.

She is fine with drinking fluids. The worst case scenario would be to blend her foods and have her drink shakes.

She will chew fruit and spit it out. It's more textured foods that she doesn't seem to swallow.

It has been interesting. I can see how frustrated my dad is with her. It's a challenge to say the least.

Hairbrush incident at my local drugstore

It's a long weekend. Today is Victoria Day in Canada.

I had meant to do a trip to Winnipeg this long weekend. Due to my getting a head cold on Tuesday and saving some money, I made it a staycation. It's a longer long weekend for me.

On Thursday, I was feeling a bit better. My mom is having issues with incontinence these days. She is losing her memory, and doesn't seem to know when she needs to use the bathroom or where she should go. I decided to find some incontinence pads at a nearby drugstore.

When I got there, I cut through the hair accessories aisle to get to the incontinence section. There was a woman there. She took a brand new Goody hairbrush and proceeded to brush her hair with it.

One word: Ew!

I was congested and grossed out by what I had witnessed. I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself.

Me to the woman: Are you going to buy it?

Crickets. She decides to put it back on the hanger.

Me: You just used it. It's unsanitary and gross to put it back.

I walked away. I thought that I had felt good to come shop here. I didn't after seeing that move. Disgusting!

Now when I go to the hair accessories aisle, I'm not taking the first brush hanging there.

On the receiving end of road rage

Hello! It has been a while.

I recently when back to re-reading posts that I wrote years ago on another personal blog. I wrote about concerts. I wrote daily, similar to what I used to do here. I loved the level of detail that I had in each post.

I'd love to return and do the same thing here. It was inspiring. It was nice to read what I had written. I realized that I was a decent writer then.

This post is about a road rage incident that happened to me last Thursday.

I have so much to say about a company that I didn't expect to write about. If I could give this business zero stars on any business review platform, I would. The only positive aspect of my experience was talking to Eugene when I reported a disturbing road rage issue. Highlight Motor Group needs to highlight his excellent listening, reporting, and investigative skills. Otherwise, I have a tainted, disturbing impression of this company.

On Thursday, after work, I left work to head to Mississauga. I decided to take highway 401. Normally, I do the 407 heading there and backroad it home. Part of me regrets doing my norm.

I was in the express lanes. Avenue Road has construction and is down to two lanes. I needed to stay in the express lanes. I signalled, found a reasonable space to merge into the right lane.

The truck behind me took offence to my move and leaned on the horn for maybe five seconds. I waved to him, thanking him for letting me in. Another car did the same move as I did and was now between me and the truck.

What I didn't expect was this truck moving into the left lane. It ran parallel to my car. The guy in the passenger seat lowered his window and threw an object at my car door. The object looked like a full can of soda, but it was shorter height-wise and wider in the middle.

A friend recently told me that I'm an extremely calm person in crazy situations. I was definitely shocked when I heard the thud. My first thought was wow. My second thought was to document the situation. I'm a writer. I tell stories. This one is mine to own.

Road rage is real. It was my first time experiencing it at this escalated, physical level.

The two men in the truck are obviously not gifted intellectually. Do you think that you can throw a tantrum because you have no grace letting someone into a lane and get away with it? You're on the 401 at rush hour. You can't flee and not have me take photos of your truck, your freight number, and licence plate.

I took three photos. I called the toll-free number, and got the compliance and safety department. I talked to Eugene, who was a good listener and was understanding.

I took this photo seconds after the trailer in the left lane threw an object at my car

Trailer details

Third photo capturing licence plate details and more

He asked me what colour the truck was. At first, he thought it was a trailer and the truck may be leased to another company. That's when I said that it was indeed a truck and I could send him photos.

He wanted to give me his cell phone number. I said that I was driving. It would be best that he take my cell phone number and text me. This company has call display. He sent me a text. I sent him my photos. He confirmed that the truck was theirs.

He said that he would have the folks dispatched to get the scoop on what had happened. I appreciated it.

I let him know how I felt. Both men needed anger management help. No one is safe being on the same road with these men who are jerks. Why launch an object at a vehicle because you're immature, you don't know how to handle your emotions, and you can't be courteous on a highway? You are unprofessional and are unfit to drive on any road.

These men picked the wrong person to target their road rage. I am not afraid to report you. If I really wanted to seek legal counsel, I could. It's illegal to throw objects on any 400-series highway and cause mischief.

You targeted me. You didn't feel the same rage with the person behind me who made the same move. Why? Do you want me to pull the female, Asian card out? I could. You've proven to be dense with your stunt that it wouldn't surprise me that you're also biased and full of hate.

You both were cowards. You realized that you couldn't pull ahead quickly in time for me to get your truck information. You moved in front of the trailer in front of me after this detailed hit you. Too late.

You should have thought about the consequences of your actions. You're dealing with me. You tried to cause harm to me and my vehicle. You're in for an unpleasant ride.

Today, I followed up with Eugene. He let me know that the driver had a meeting and "we will come to a solution on how to best resolve the situation."

Texting with Eugene from the company's compliance and safety department

As long as this company doesn't sweep this incident under any rug. I'll be pleased. I truly want them to get help with their anger or get training on how to be respectful drivers. Their actions were unwarranted and need corrective action.

I read this company's reviews on Google. You get a mix of employees who give high praise. Reviews with five stars automatically get a response of thanks from the owner. It seems wrong to review your own employer. If you have a rating that isn't five stars, the owner doesn't acknowledge it.

One word: suspect.

There was one review in which a driver had both feet up on the dashboard, on an interstate, driving. There were photos. The owner never acknowledged the need to talk to this driver about how unsafe it was to drive this way.

I'd stay away from doing any business with this company. It's in your best interest to stay alive. If I spot any vehicle from Highlight Motor Company, I'm steering clear from it.

My mom and her memory

I haven't been writing a whole lot here. I don't think it's because I have nothing to write about or that I'm lazy.

I haven't felt the need to write anything just yet.

It's likely because I'm still processing things. Trying to come to grips with my mom's memory loss is one of them.

She often opens and closes the front door. She'll bolt the door with the security chain lock without remembering that either my dad or I are about to return to the house. It's weird.

She will also open and close the washroom door on the main floor. It's a bit difficult to tell whether she needs to use the washroom and forgets to walk through the door, or if it's the same habit that she has with the front door.

Last Monday, she fell down in the washroom. My dad and I had to help get her off the floor. Thankfully, she doesn't fall down often. When she does, it's a bit scary. Luckily, she was fine.

October panties in November

Hello! I hope that you are well.

To those celebrating Thanksgiving across the border, I hope that it was enjoyable and memorable.

Canadians celebrated in October. I managed to make a Thanksgiving meal (a past post) for my parents and me between two trips. I was pleased because we didn't have a lot of leftovers left over.

I had meant to post my October panties that I got in the mail. Things got a bit busy. I ended up flying stateside twice. 

I am not travelling for a bit, so I can attempt catch up with my posts here.

Here's are the lacy panties that I got.

 The front: 

 

The back:

The colour scheme screams Halloween. They are comfy and nice.

Blown, shredded, flat tire

The good news is that I'm blogging more. I'm not great blogging once a week, though. We'll see if I get better at it.

Last Wednesday, I was going into the office in the morning. I was briefly on a toll highway and my drive sounded odd. Sure enough, I felt that one of my passenger tires wasn't normal and finally exited using the next offramp. I immediately pulled off to a wide shoulder. I looked at my passenger front tire. It was shredded.

My car doesn't come with a spare tire. It's new, so you have no choice but to get a tow truck.

I called roadside assistance. I got a technician dispatched from a towing company. I looked at the link that I got in a text message. It was based in Oshawa, but had my city after its name. Weird. It's roughly an hour away.

I got an ETA of a maximum wait time of 90 minutes. Well, it was more like two hours.

This guy seemed to take his sweet time getting to me. He didn't have any calls. He called me four times. Excessive? Yes.

The first time was fine. I described my location. It was the same as what I had described to the roadside assistance agent. He would have had notes.

I was parked safely on the shoulder of the westbound exit ramp. It's not difficult. There's one offramp westbound. There's one toll highway. There's one street in my city with this name.

Nope, not for this guy. I could tell that he didn't like that I was on a toll highway. He said that he'd charge me $15 for hitting it. I'm covered by roadside assistance. Deal with them, not me.

He then said that I should contact 407 ETR, the toll highway, as they have roadside help and may get there faster than he would. Interesting. He said that he would send me a link. I never got it.

The second call came from him. He asked if I got a hold of 407 ETR. I said that I was waiting for his text message. I got nothing. He finally sent it.

I got a hold of someone at 407 ETR. The woman dispatched a technician.

I got a third call from this technician. He was now in Pickering. Yep, he was taking his time. I let him know that the 407 technician was coming. I didn't have an estimated time. He then asked me whether I could move out of the 407. I said that it was original plan, but I heard metal to the ground and pulled over immediately.

It was clear that this jerk did not want to help me because I was on the 407. Toll fees. He didn't want the extra charges, likely because he didn't have a transponder or want to incur these fees.

This guy called me a fourth time. He asked me how many feet away from the major street I was located. I lost it. He claimed that he was new to the area and needed more details. I say that he was a jerk heavily dependent on technology and reluctant to help me out. He seemed to be stalling.

He actually made me share my location with him through Google Maps. I hated it. It showed sheer incompetence. I had to switch my settings to sharing my location all the time. I told him so. He hung up on me.

Jerk.

What if I didn't have a data plan? You would need to rely on clear location details, like you should have in my case.

You know what's crazy? He never said his name to me. I now know why. He's a horrible technician.

407 ETR had a technician get to me. He was great. He was there to make sure I was safe and waited for this AA Roadside guy to arrive.

We talked. I told him that I've been waiting for 1.5 hours at this stage for this technician. This ETR man drove from the west end to get to me. He also said that he had no difficulties finding me.

So, the jerk arrived in a Subaru Impreza. What? No tow truck? Such a waste of time. I had to call roadside assistance yet again, but to dispatch a tow truck. I also shared my sentiments about this jerk. I look forward to the survey. It's a form of therapy.

The ETR technician waited with me for the tow truck from another company to arrive. He even had pylons set up around my car. That's the level of service and safety that I was expecting from this jerk.

The time that it took the second towing company to get to me after getting word that I needed a technician? Fifteen minutes. 

After the jerk left, the 407 technician said to me, "He did nothing." He was right, except that he wasted my time and a bit of this 407 technician's time.

The good news is that my car has a new tire and I have wheels again.