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 childhood friend has COVID-19

Two days ago, I found out that a friend whom I've known since we were both four years old, has COVID-19. Ugh!

She works as a manager at a liquor store, which remains open through this pandemic. She lost her sense of taste and smell last Monday. She got a test done and it came back positive.

She describes having it as if I truck had run over her. She is at home, resting and self-isolating. Her daughter is a newly minted nurse. It must be highly stressful for both of them.

My friend is upbeat under the circumstances. She is achy and tired, though. She also doesn't wish this virus on her worst enemy.

It's scary that certain provinces here want to relax certain policies. On Saturday, Ontario was allowed to have nurseries and garden centres open. All I saw were lineups of folks. As much as I am all for having a distraction and a gardening hobby, I simply hope that there are measures in place at these centres as there are at grocery stores. The last thing we want is another spike in the number of Canadians with COVID-19.

Stay safe and healthy, everyone. This virus is scary.

From booze to writing

On Friday, my team completed our documentation work for a major release. We were unwinding by chatting.

Our chat led to going on the LCBO site to look at alcohol. Earlier in the week, I had made the suggestion to go out to a bar, and celebrate by having a drink and some appetizers. They were good with it.

I had the site on my laptop and was sharing it on a huge TV that we had in this meeting room.

Our manager knocked on the door before entering. I quickly changed screens and threw up our editing tool.

He came in to talk. I have a feeling that he came in simply because he had no one to chat. Moments later, he left.

All of us had a good laugh. One of the writers was impressed that I had switched screens so quickly. It wouldn't have looked that great to have various bottles of booze displayed!

Boyish, girly, and free

In the early stages of our relationship, I noted to my guy that he is boyish. It isn't every day that you hear him say that he is driving along the highway, and decides to take a break by pulling over and getting an ice cream cone.

My guy doesn't like that he is boyish. Growing up, he always wanted to be a rugged, macho type of guy, like Clint Eastwood.

My guy is a combination of boyish and manly. He is the latter when he sees some sort of threat happening to me. It's not typically a life-threatening event by any stretch. When he hears about someone being somewhat mean to me, he wants to protect me and beat that person up.

Of course, that sort of violence never happens. He also knows that I can take care of myself. However, it's always a nice feeling when he is so protective of me.

My guy is in Turkey for business for two weeks. I will join him on the weekend.

We talked over Skype this afternoon. He was telling me how posh the hotel room is and that I'd be pleased there.

My guy is an elite member at this hotel chain. There is a lounge area where you have all-you-can-eat-and-drink access.

My guy was so excited about the lounge area:

"It's free, free, free!" he exclaimed, with his voice getting higher and higher.
"Did you clear out the bar by drinking every alcoholic beverage that you could down?" I asked him.
"No, I haven't been drinking. It's all free!"

It's that playful boyishness that I like about him, among his fine qualities. It also confirms that he likes being Cheap Bastard.

As for me, I tend to be childlike and girly now and again. Last week, my guy came upstairs to visit me at the office. We moved to a meeting room to chat privately.

It was nice to take a break from work. We held hands. I was sucking on a purple lollipop. It was a part of the post-Halloween stash of unwanted candy that a colleague had left in the common cafeteria.

"Is my tongue purple?" I asked him, sticking out my tongue at him while trying to look at my tongue myself.
"It is," he confirmed. "I like how childish you are. It's cute, as are you."

He is a sweet, boyish, and manly.