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.

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 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.

Stop contacting me!

People are interesting creatures. I wish that they wouldn't contact me sometimes.

I have a contact on one social media platform who decided to message me on the weekend. He noticed that a business listing that he had created had changed to something else. I continued checking into said place. He basically said that it looked like I was checking into a government site.

So, what's the purpose of your contacting me? I told him that I was fully aware that I was checking into said location and treating it like the original. He wrote back and said that he knew that, but the new location was further away from where he was.

Buddy, why are you contacting me? If the listing is wrong, go report it. I had already done that, but I didn't want to break the news to him, which I think is what he wanted me to do or was simply clueless.

Folks are not clear with what they are trying to accomplish. Don't complain about it to me. Do something about it yourself.

The diva contacted me about an apparent issue. She inherited part of my workload over two years ago. She still doesn't get it. I couldn't tell whether she didn't understand how document revisions worked or if she didn't understand how to interpret document numbers.

Woman, you have taken over the job for over two years. It was such a basic question where she included our manager that she now looks like she can't comprehend the work that she is tasked to do for a while.

Don't bug me. I've got work to do.

The ex and his boring e-card

The ex decided to send me an e-card on Christmas Day. It was roughly around when I posted yesterday.

I took half a day to finally click the link. It was what I had expected. He wished me a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Boring. It could technically be a form letter.

Months ago, I told him to do me a favour and not contact me. Apparently, e-cards are exempt in his eyes.

The only positive thing is that he was on time sending such a greeting. He's still a jerk.

The jerk is back

I truly dislike my ex-guy.

We work for the same company. Apparently, he let his project manager know about me. This PM sent me an e-mail to let me know that he is in dire need of a writer to put together a user guide.

My ex is a jerk. He knows that I am swamped with work all the time. The last thing I want to do is work on a project that he is a part of and do even more work.

Part of me was angry at first. I thought about it more and it's his odd way to reach out to me -- to go through a loophole. He's actually saying that he misses me in his odd way. I told him to never contact me. Well, he hasn't. Instead, he has done it indirectly, which I don't appreciate.

My manager is now involved, as it's all about time allocation. He knows that our department is swamped with a major software release ahead and my work that I need to get into it. I frankly do not want to work with the ex and I don't exactly want to disclose that fact to my manager should he say yes to this extra work.

Vacation, eyewear, and contact lenses

My vacation has begun. What have I done so far? I have ordered two new pairs of eyeglasses and two boxes of contact lenses.

Riveting stuff, right? I'm off to bed.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Buying items that I need

It's nice when it's payday and I can get items that I have been waiting to buy. I'm either replacing broken items or am about to run out of essentials.

I went ahead and bought two Fitbit Alta chargers. I spent a good $10 on them. I need a backup in case it breaks on me again.

I also ordered two boxes of contact lenses. My usual brand isn't available, so I'm trying a different brand. I'll see how it goes. I'm currently using my last pair.

It's time to go to bed. It has been a long, but good week. Here's to the weekend!

Overtime and contact

I worked overtime on Saturday. I'm tired.

I noticed that my guy was online. I tried contacting him on our work instant messaging app. My guess is that he was so into whatever he was doing workwise on his laptop that he didn't see any of my messages.

Oh, well. There's always tomorrow.

I did manage to finish my work. I now have Sunday and Monday off. Yay!

I'm exhausted. I'm off to bed.

Reflection on my final vacation day

Today is my last vacation day before I go back to work. It has been a well-deserved period of rest.

Naturally, I have reservations about going back to work. I dread dealing with a new employee who isn't the sharpest learner.

On a good note, I managed to reorder contact lenses, so I ensure that I can see for the better part of this year. I have roughly a two-month supply before placing my reorder, so I wasn't exactly cutting it short.

I have enjoyed cooking more while on vacation. I hope to do more of it on weekends. I find it relaxing and fun.

Searching for a piece of my contact lens in my eye

I have been wearing contact lenses since my last year of my undergraduate studies. My experience cleaning and wearing them spans a couple of decades.

You would think that I have seen everything (no pun intended). Well, something new happened to me on Friday morning.

I did my usual routine of taking each contact lens out of my case filled with solution. I put my left lens in. I blinked. The lens immediately came out of my eye. It had split.

I was missing a chunk of it. My left eye felt fine. However, I had a feeling that it was still in my eye.

Naturally, I did a quick scan. I didn't see anything. I tried placing my finger over my eyelid and pushing down gently. I got nothing.

I could then feel something when I moved my eyeball left and right. I decided to gently cup water in my hand and dunk my eye in it. I did it several times.

Finally, I blinked my left eye and the remaining contact lens piece came out. Yay!

This experience was unexpected. I'm just glad that the missing contact lens puzzle piece has finally been solved.

Tax time and T4 slips

I had planned on going into the office on Tuesday. I decided to work from home instead.

I wear contact lenses. On Monday, my right contact lens ended up tearing while I was at work. I took it out.

It's a good thing that my nearsightedness is slight. I function just fine without a corrective lens on my right eyeball. It allows my eye to breathe. So, I will work from home and continue having my eyeball breathe and heal.

Tax season is here. In Canada, we get an employment income receipt, which is also known as a T4 slip. At work, I got an e-mail, saying that this slip was available to download from our payroll application.

My guy is oddly not on this e-mail distribution list. He is often left in the dark about such matters. I always remember to forward him this information.

"Hey, sweetie. Your T4 is available if you're dying to do your taxes today," I said to him.
"Thanks, sweet thing. You know me so well. I will probably do my taxes in late April," he admitted.
"I know. It's who you are," I noted.

I am the opposite. In recent years, I tend to complete my tax return in March. In the past, I would end up doing it in mid-April, simply because I was a grad student and my term ended in late April.

I'll need to buy tax software soon. Ah, the joys of doing one's taxes!

Saving money thanks to my stable eye prescription

It has been two years since I last got my eye exam. Although I have felt that my nearsightedness hasn't changed, I still needed a new prescription.

Ah, the joys of getting older! Two years ago, my optometrist indicated that my nearsightedness was improving, which meant that I would start seeing changes when I read. Sure enough, it has slightly. I read better with my contact lenses out or my glasses off. Otherwise, wearing my contacts with my reading glasses (it's an extremely low prescription) works just fine.

On Wednesday, I had my eye exam. Typically, it costs me $90, with my health insurance helping to cover that cost. Since I had my eye stroke, my eye exam was considered a followup appointment. As a result, the Ontario health care system picked up the tab instead. Sweet!

My prescription hasn't changed. I get to keep my existing pairs of glasses. Yep, I got two pairs two years ago. There was a deal that essentially got me two pairs for the price of one. I love the cost savings!

Today, I ordered a six-month supply of contact lenses that combine correcting my nearsightedness and reading. I am looking forward to them. I tried them in the past and they were helpful, but that was roughly a year ago. My insurance picks up the tab.

It's nice saving some money. I am thankful.

Reminiscing about my eyesight these days

I have been nearsighted since I was sixteen years old. The nice part about my nearsightedness is that it has never been a horrible prescription.

For a few years after getting my first pair of glasses, I could still get away with not wearing my glasses all the time. It wasn't until I got my first pair of contact lenses towards the end of my undergraduate years that I embraced my prescription.

I have been working from home these past couple of days. On Wednesday, I did a quick outing. I hopped in my car and drove off.

It wasn't until I was at the stop sign at the end of my street that I realized that I wasn't wearing my contact lenses. I was letting my eyeballs breathe. I didn't have my glasses with me, either. Yet, my sight was pretty good. I continued to drive to run my errand and was fine.

My right eye has gone through an eye stroke back in March. It's amazing how far I have come. My eyesight these days reminds me of being sixteen years old again. It's neat. I am just glad that I'm not that age!

Being contacted by my manager while on vacation... really?

My manager is in worry mode, as my guy had predicted.

I received a long e-mail message from my boss, asking me to prepare a list of who, out of my three students, will be handling a number of tasks while I am away.

I dislike when my manager gets in this mode. He only asks this task from me. It does not happen to anyone else on the team.

The kicker is this last request:

In case of emergency, how to contact you with a minimum (not maximum) 24-hour response time.

What? I am on vacation. There is a reason why I am on vacation. I am not doing work.

I don't think that the mandatory course that we all took about work-life balance has properly register in his head. As someone who has worked from home for years, I am pretty good at distinguishing between doing work and then stopping to focus on my life.

How would you handle such a request? I am inclined to say that I am on vacation. I need to de-stress and recharge. Being contacted by my manager on vacation is not ideal. I should not be checking work e-mail or picking up work calls.

Last September, I took a Friday off as a vacation day. A contractor had quit after three days. My manager sent me two e-mails about this contractor's departure and then left me a voice message on my home phone. To me, this situation is not an emergency that warrants contacting me at home. I foresee a repeat, but amplified in a negative way.