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.

Sore arm observations and patio dining

What's different after my second vaccination shot is the duration of my sore arm. It's longer.

I've been told that it's a good thing. It doesn't bother me until I touch it.

I'm meeting a friend at a patio for dinner later on today. I haven't been on a patio since last October. I haven't dined out since March of this year, just before our third lockdown had started.

I am so looking forward to patio dining.

Fully vaccinated and I'm okay!

My second shot went well. I got it at 2:58 pm. The process was fast and efficient. I liked sitting there for fifteen minutes afterwards, outside, in the shade, with a cool breeze!

The drive was congested in certain spots of the highway that I was on. It's crazy that there is so much congestion when the weather is better, and more people are out and about.

My side effects after the second shot are similar to my first one. I have a sore arm. Nothing crazy like what I heard from my friends or colleagues. I am lucky. It's also amazing how our bodies handle vaccines differently.

My friend and I texted each other as I sat outside. We are both fully vaccinated. Just that fact made me absorb its significance. It's a great feeling.

I had taken half a day off as vacation time to head over and get my vaccination shot. My manager sent me an e-mail. He was okay if I took the afternoon off as a sick day and saved my vacation time. It was a nice gesture.

Four more workdays to go. The countdown to my real vacation continues!

Weekend reflections

Blink and just like that, the weekend is over.

I got two free bubble tea drinks on Saturday. I cooked and baked on Sunday. I also trimmed my bangs and can see again. It was been nice, relaxing weekend.

The spot on my arm where I got my vaccine injection is a tad sore. It's not horrible. I can sleep on it just fine. I only notice it now and again.

My friend and colleague checked up on me after I got my shot. She's sweet that way.

Have a great week, everyone!

Happy 2021! Hello, shoulder pain... ugh!

Happy 2021, everyone! Here's to a better year filled with joy, health, optimism, and happiness.

For a few weeks, I have had a nagging pain in my right shoulder. It escalated two days ago. It feels like I have a pinched nerve.

I decided to make circles with my right arm. It felt knotted. After several rotations, my shoulder was sore, but felt better.

Today, my shoulder is doing much better. I can extend my arm up to the ceiling and not feel a ton of discomfort.

I have a feeling that lifting a 15-pound turkey, moving my stationary exercise bike every day, and playing games on my phone have contributed to this pain. I have stopped lifting heavy items with my right hand and take breaks when I am using my phone. I am also doing shoulder and neck rotations. So far, my shoulder is doing well.

It's interesting starting a new year with an ailment.

Flu shot and interviews

Yesterday, I got a phone call to get my flu shot. The call came in while I was conducting an interview with my manager. I actually had to tell the guy from the drugstore that I needed to call him back and that it was a bad time for me to talk to him.

Yesterday was a crazy day. I have a bunch of documentation updates to make on top of having three interviews with candidates for one intern position. It means that I am likely conducting training in early January.

My arm that got the flu shot is sore right now. Other than that, it went smoothly.

My guy is lo mein!

On Saturday, my guy ordered the beef and mushrooms on a hot, sizzling plate for lunch. I had brought my appetite to the Chinese restaurant. I hadn't had anything to eat since 19:00 on Friday. I went with the special fried rice.

Both dishes were yummy. My guy needed help polishing his food choice.

"You aren't eating the beef dish. You need to work on that," my guy noted.
"I have been focusing on the fried rice. It's so good," I reasoned.
"I know, but you need more protein," my guy stated, pushing the dish closer to me.
"You're such a meanie," I teased.
"You mean that I'm chow mein," he said, being punny.
"Horrible!" I exclaimed, while laughing at his terrible pun.

After we had finished lunch and left the restaurant, he continued with his pun.

"I'm still chow mein, right?" he said, giving me a side hug.
"You're lo mein," I replied.
"Hey, that's better," my guy observed.
"Lo mein. So mean. It's a closer pun," I said.
"See, my puniness is rubbing off on you," he said, grinning.
"Horrible!" I exclaimed, which prompted my guy to squeeze my left arm.

He's a sweet guy who enjoys puns.

Things are good, but busy

All is well. Things are simply busy on my end.

My team at work went bowling as a team-building exercise. My right arm is a bit sore right now, but it doesn't prevent me from writing this post.

I am getting ready for a conference. I fly out to Los Angeles on Saturday, so I have been busy packing and getting as much as I can get done before I leave.

My guy and I have been having lunch dates practically all week. It's nice. I'll elaborate more on them later.

N is for numb

By numb, I mean in a good, temporary sense. I don't mean that I am numb from negative behaviours that I see my colleagues exhibit that pull me down. 

I have been sleeping better lately. I don't know if it's because work is so busy that my body insists on getting rest. I don't mind it at all.

The other morning, I woke up on my left side. I typically sleep either on my back or my right side. It was a bit of a shift -- physically.

Apparently, I had been on my left side for a while. It was so unnatural that my fingers on my left hand were asleep, too. Part of my arm also decided to partake in falling sleep.

It took nearly five minutes to get my left arm and hand back to normal. I would have been concerned if the tingling was permanent.