Masks

In Toronto, it is mandatory to wear a mask in indoor public areas, such as grocery stores. In my area, this bylaw takes in effect next Friday.

I have eased into wearing a mask, even when we didn't have a bylaw. I find that when I'm in a store that has one-way arrows on the floor to let you know in which direction you should be walking, most folks don't follow them. I'd rather have a mask on in such circumstances.

I own a total of four masks. Three have the same pattern. All four are cotton and have small flowers. I definitely stand out in a crowd. Everyone either has solid black cloth or the blue disposable ones.

For some reason, I can't see myself getting disposable ones. I am good washing my mask and reusing it after every use.

Roles - reversed and maintained

In our relationship, I tend to be the one who is punctual. My guy is the tardy one.

Our roles got reversed today.

I left 1.5 hours before we were to meet at 13:30 for lunch. There was a ton of construction everywhere that I ended up needing an extra twenty minutes to get to the restaurant.

My guy called me just before 13:30.

"Hey, there. Where is the restaurant?" he asked me.
"When you get off the highway and travel south, you are turning right, and then right into the parking lot," I pointed out.
"Cool. I'm nearly there," he advised.
"I'm not. It's pretty bad on the roads,"  I replied.
"It's okay. Take your time," he said.

My guy rarely worries. However, he was concerned when he still didn't see me. I had pulled into the parking lot when he was leaving me a voice message.

"I didn't want to think that you were in a car accident or something," he said.
"I'm okay. It's just horrible road work and traffic today," I replied.

We had forty minutes to eat lunch, which was more than enough time for us to eat and chat.

My guy being directionally challenged and my giving him directions showed that we didn't change our roles there.

Encouragement to seek a side job

My guy and I are supportive of each other. When we first started dating, my guy would often suggest things that I could do to earn extra income on the side.

It's funny, but I don't have that business-money sense like he does. He teaches a course on the side. This semester, my guy doesn't have a course to teach.

He has often encouraged me to teach a night or weekend course, like he does here and there. He also suggested that I do tutoring or provide editing services on student papers.

I decided to do something different. I asked him whether I should earn a bit of money by becoming an Uber driver.

"That's a great idea," he said. "You know your way around the city, you're personable, and you like to drive."
"I'm thinking that it would be a great fit. I could drive on the weekend and earn a bit of cash," I replied.
"For sure. You'd be a great driver."

The good news is that I have been approved. I simply need to register for a business number.

Being late and asking for directions to the restaurant

My guy relies on a GPS, either the unit in his car or his GPS app, to get to where he needs to be. Saturday night was no exception.

He originally thought that his flight was at 17:00. Instead, he texted me, indicating that it was at 22:30. He asked if we could do dinner before my driving him to the airport. I was good with that suggestion.

He left his place and called me.

"Are you running late?" I asked him.
"Yes, a bit. I'm late guy," he explained.
"I'm nearby. I'm punctual girl," I replied, which made him chuckle in agreement.

We are opposites when it comes to directions and punctuality, which may be one reason why our relationship works. We accept each other for who we are.

We chatted as he drove over. He was only eight minutes late, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He had an unexpected change to make, so he ended up forgetting to bring a few items, like his pyjamas and dual-SIM phone. Still, they weren't crucial items. He can always buy the former and he still has his regular cell phone that is unlocked.

My guy asked an interesting question as he drove along.

"Which exit do I take to get to the restaurant?" he asked me.
"You'd use the same exit as you would to get to work. It's the Druxy exit," I replied.
"What do I do next?" he asked me.
"When you exit off the ramp, it's Druxy. At the lights, turn left. On Druxy, you need the far left lane. Find the street on which our workplace is and turn left. At the next set of lights, turn right. Then, you should see the restaurant on your right."

He is good at listening to me. He got to the restaurant. I arrived a bit after he did.

We have never had dinner at our usual Chinese place on a Saturday night. It was busy. However, we were promptly seated and we finished dinner in an hour, just in time to drive him to the airport.

While we were eating, we chatted. He never feels uncomfortable telling me about his challenges with directions.

"I never exit off Druxy," he admitted. "I normally take the exit after that. Your method is much faster."
"Oh, I didn't know that," I replied.

I then remembered using my GPS to get to work from southwestern Ontario. It gave me the same directions as what my guy got. Everything made sense to me.

"For some reason, GPSs tend to tell you to go to the next exit and wind your way back to the office. It's not the most efficient route, but it still gets you there. Yes, use Druxy instead. See, you learned something today," I remarked.
"I always learn something from you," he said with a smile on his face. "I'm both directionally and technologically challenged."
"You're sweet that way. It's who you are," I replied.

He continued smiling at me.

L is for love #AtoZchallenge

After my guy and I had breakfast together at my friendly neighbourhood Starbucks, we walked out of the cafe holding hands. My guy stopped and was looking around.

"Do you know where you parked?" I asked him.

He was still standing there. I pulled him gently to where his car was. He laughed.

"Ah, there it is!" he said.
"That's why I am with you," I replied. "Can I drive your car?"
"Sure, if you want to," my guy replied.
"What? But you love your car," I replied, shocked that he said yes at long last.
"I love you more," he replied in his sweet way.

We kissed right in front of his car's trunk, still holding hands. I love when he misses me. He just oozes sweetness.

Wake-up call for a last-minute brunch date

I slept in on Saturday morning. I was waking up at my own pace, catching up on reading e-mails on my phone.

I have a Pebble watch. I bought it because the pedometer is accurate and I ended up ditching my Fitbit One. It took getting used to wearing a watch, but I'm good with it now. It also allows me to answer my cell phone.

My phone rang. It was my guy.

"Hey," I said to him.
"Hey, how are you?" he asked me.
"Good. I woke up about half an hour ago," I replied.
"Nice," he replied. "I have been up since 07:00."
"Wow, it's a complete role reversal between us," I remarked.
"Yes," he acknowledged. "I was wondering whether you'd like to do lunch. I am in-between test-driving cars."

My guy has a habit of asking me to go out for last-minute dates here and there. He was a bit worried that I would say no, as he knows that I like to plan what I do on weekends.

My original plan was to go to the One of a Kind Show, which is a great show to go to when you are figuring out what gifts to give for Christmas or other occasions. I did a fine job getting gifts last year. I don't have a need to do it again this year because I have nothing to buy. Instead, I decided to run my usual errands.

"Sure," I said. "Where are you?"
"I'm in downtown Toronto," he replied. "I can take the Gardiner and meet you around Highway 427."

Dead silence on my end. My guy realized what he had said.

"You're east, right?" he asked.
"Yes. The 427 is west, closer to work, sweetie," I replied.
"You know that I am directionally challenged. How about the 404?" he replied.
"Yes," I said, trying not to giggle.
"East, west, north, south. I can meet you south, but I'd be in Lake Ontario," he joked.
"That would not be good," I remarked.

It was nice to have an eating date with my guy. It was lunch for him, but breakfast for me.

Naming places of interest on a map with sexy body parts

My guy is the first to admit that he is directionally challenged. I started this conversation the other day.

"It amazes me how you have trouble finding your car in a parking lot. When it comes to finding and touching various parts of me, you have no difficulty. You don't need a map. Nothing," I remarked.
"That's true. I can find any part of you that I'd like to touch, even in the dark," my guy said proudly.
"I wonder why that is," I pondered.
"Maybe various neighbourhoods need to have sexy body part names, like misty valley or nipple hills. I would find my way just fine," he observed.

He would definitely be happy and would be GPS-free!

Lost guy on a walk

The other evening, my guy called me while he was out for a walk. We had a great conversation, as always. Our conversation then steered into a different direction.

"I think I am lost," my guy said.
"You're walking in your neighbourhood, right?" I asked him.
"Yes, but on this street, I have no way of exiting. There are chain-linked fences everywhere," he advised.
"Oh, no. Well, pull out your Google Maps app and trace your walking path back home," I replied.
"It's so embarrassing," my guy admitted.
"It's okay. It's who you are. You will eventually get home. I just don't want to see on the news that a tall, good-looking guy spent the night hugging a shrub," I replied.

He felt at ease. He did manage to find his way back home. He is comfortable admitting something that could be perceived as embarrassing. I am sure that my accepting that he is directionally challenged without laughing at him made him feel better about the situation.

Naturally, my guy had to crack a pun.

"I'm on the right path home. I am a pathologist," he stated, which made me groan.
"Yes, you are a pathologist of the lost kind," I qualified.

Our conversations and experiences are never boring.

Getting lost, and laughing in the car and in bed

This week has been crazy at work. Our team finally got our work done for a major software release.

It also helped that my guy has been at the office all week. We go out for lunch, which helps me stay sane while enjoying his company.

After lunch on Thursday, he drove us back to the office. We held hands, as usual.

"Did I tell you that I couldn't find my car in Dubai for an hour?" he asked me.
"Nope, you probably thought that I'd laugh," I replied.
"Well, it took me an hour to locate it," my directionally challenged guy admitted.
"How did you eventually find it?" I asked him.
"I walked around and around," he said, smiling.
"I liked when you told me about walking up the street from our hotel in Istanbul. You walked so much that you couldn't remember how to get back. You hailed a cab. I then laughed while we were cuddling in bed, you hiked up my panties and smacked my bottom a few times," I recalled.
"Yes, because you were a bad girl," he reasoned.

It was funny to me. I will risk getting a few smacks for the chuckle. It's who he is. He's my sweet guy.

Sweet phone call and kisses to stop him from whining

My guy is sweet. He called me on Monday night.

"Hey," I said to him.
"Hey," he replied back.
"Are you lost? Are you trying to find your car?" I said, teasing him.
"No, sweetie. I miss you and wanted to hear your voice."

We talked about my vacation and his getting into shape. He was calling me while walking over to the gym.

"I miss you. I like when you kiss me, especially when I whine," he commented.
"I miss you, too. Kissing you stops your whining. It takes a few tries, which I don't mind at all," I observed.
"I don't mind it, either."

We can wait to see each other soon.

T is for things are looking brighter, telephone, and texting

At work, my manager sits next to me. It is a different type of working relationship that has blossomed into a friendship. It's a first for me.

Back in December of last year, a writer, who was highly defensive, quit. I was reviewing the entire team's work for quality. Instead, what I wanted to do career-wise was sidetracked. I had to not only take over her responsibilities, but needed to preserve most of mine.

I was miserable. I told my boss that it was time for me to look for a new job. I revamped my resume and sent it out for various positions.

Lately, I have resorted to eating at my desk like I used to when I was the lone writer. I don't like doing it, but it is better than my putting even more overtime on weeknights. The last thing that I want to do is work on the weekends.

My manager has slowly tried to keep me from leaving. He has finally succeeded.

My boss and I had a talk last week. Early next month, two interns join our team, so I will be training them as I have done in the past with the previous two interns. A writer from a different group in South America will be joining our team, too.

The plan? I go back to reviewing the team's written work on top of working with the interns. The interns take over my work on two development teams. The new writer takes over my work on my third team. Yes, I am on three different agile teams, which is both crazy and ludicrous when it comes to my workload of being the lead writer.

I am happy. I had another talk with my manager on Tuesday, who confirmed that this plan is going ahead. Yay!

As for my guy, I am missing him these days. At work on Tuesday, I managed to park my car in front of his. Of course, I am itching to tease my guy by telling him that he should let me drive his manual car while he is away.

Whenever I am travelling in the States, I change my SIM card in my phone and go with a cheaper phone, text, and data plan than my regular cell phone provider. After work on our first full day in Seattle, my guy tried calling my regular cell phone number. When he got back to the hotel, he had wondered what had happened to me. I told him that I have a different number and texted it to him.

My guy has some decent company perks. Since he travels a lot, our company pays for his cell phone and plan, including travel data packs. So, it's perfectly fine for me to text and call his cell phone in the States with my different SIM card. I would not be that fortunate and would probably fork half my paycheque out if I did the same with my regular cell phone plan.

My favourite text exchange was on Friday afternoon. We had discussed having lunch together before my guy left work work. It didn't pan out, though.

MG: Hi, guys want me to have lunch with them to ask some questions. Sorry our lunch plans have to be cancelled. Will see you shortly after lunch.
Me: Hey, no problem. Just need to deal with you later about that. =) I'm music-shopping. Ping me when you're done. Enjoy lunch and hope the questions aren't too hard.

When we text, we actually write full sentences. We don't find that weird at all. We aren't too crazy about short forms, which is nice.

My guy did call me when he had arrived at the mall, in a specific store. It was nice to hear his voice. I had to ask him where he was. I found him in the men's clothing section. It would have been much worse had I asked my directionally challenged guy to find me in the store!

We did spent our final night in Seattle shopping, eating, laughing, and more.

Lunch date before my guy's flight

Over a couple of weeks ago, I had my first discussion with my boss about how I tend to be the reliable one on the team. When someone is in a jam, I am the one who ends up bailing that person out.

However, when I asked the team whether they could share a task that I have been doing for over five years, I got nothing. Figures.

This whole conversation, along with taking on more tasks because we are short-staffed, made me feel depressed. I told my guy that. He didn't like seeing me sad.

He was his typical sweet self. He wanted to cheer me up by taking me out for lunch before his flight to Seattle. I said yes without hesitation. We would be dining at our old hangout -- the Chinese restaurant by our old office building.

My guy and I both got there early and at roughly the same time. He looked good in his blue wool sweater. He was once again proving that he was my woolly mammoth.

Staff there are always nice and welcoming. I had finally written a review on Yelp after eating there for four years. The server thanked me for such a nice review. It was the least I could do. I also love eating there, as does my guy.

My guy and I both went with spicy dishes. He went with spicy beef. I went with spicy chicken. The food was consistent and yummy. We had a nice time chatting. It was nice being back that our favourite Chinese restaurant.

I asked my guy whether he needed a lift to the airport. He asked if I was okay with it. I was. He was happy to kiss this cab driver.

Naturally, my guy wanted me to lead us from the restaurant to our office. He is directionally challenged. He also admitted that he "likes following me," but not in a stalker way.

We got to the office and loaded my car up with his training materials and suitcase. We then held hands, laughed, and chatted as I drove him to the airport.

Once parked at the terminal area, I attempted to unload his lighter belongings from my car. He looked at me with his just-stand-there-and-look-cute-or-I-will-spank-you-hear look. He is protective of me and does not want me to do something crazy with my back. Instead, I watched him put all his stuff on a cart.

We hugged and kissed. He whispered that he'd call me soon. We then waved and I saw him walk into the terminal.

Directions, lunch, and woolly mammoth

On Thursday, my guy (MG) let me know on our corporate instant messaging application that he was ready to go our for lunch.

MG: Hey
Me: Hey, WM. Ready for lunch?
MG: Yes, you?
Me: Yep. Meet you downstairs.
MG: See you soon!

I got into an elevator with roughly eleven other people. I was the last one in and the first one out. Seconds later, my guy walked out of another elevator all by himself. Ah, the luck!

We walked to his car. I asked him where he had parked. He pointed west, but he was standing right in front of his car. I couldn't help but laugh, which was probably a good reason for him to spank me soon.

He drove us to our usual restaurant for lunch, with us holding hands along the way. He parked and we walked over to the restaurant, which wasn't too busy.

We sat down.

"My bottom doesn't hurt sitting on this wooden chair anymore," I stated factually.
"That's not good," my guy said.

We looked at the menu and placed our orders. We got free calendars, which was a nice touch.

"What does WM stand for?" my guy asked me curiously.
"Woolly Mammoth," I replied, which made him nod and smile.

My guy was wearing a blue wool sweater. He is indeed my woolly mammoth.

My guy and his quest to find his car daily

My guy is pretty good at practically everything that he does. Naturally, there are exceptions to everything. In his case, he is horrible at directions and finding where he parked his car.

I tend to cringe whenever we go to the parking lot at work. He is kind to offer to drive, but he often does not know where he parked his car.

Monday's issue was my guy figuring out whether he had parked in the lower lot or the top one. We started going upstairs and it clicked that he had parked downstairs.

The rest of the week, he got the parking lot level correct. The specific part of the lot was problematic.

On Tuesday, I asked where he had parked. He stopped and told me that he had parked "somewhere over there." I basically rested my forehead against his back and told him that we'd never have lunch. He laughed. He went with pressing the lock button on his car's remote and guided us to the sound of his car.

Thursday was amusing. I asked him where he had parked. He stood there, pointed where he thought he had parked, but he was standing right in front of his car.

I have mentioned various phone apps to him where you can save your parking location and easily find it when you need it. I will need to convince my guy to give at least one of them a try. I can't have him walk aimlessly around a large mall now that the Christmas shopping season is in full gear.

Remembering where my guy had parked his car means a spanking for me

My guy is directionally challenged. He relies on a GPS to get him to any destination that he needs. I don't even want to know what would happen to him if this gadget wasn't even invented!

The other day, my guy and I headed out for lunch. I start getting worried when he wanders around the parking lot.

"Do you know where you car is?" I asked him.
"It's somewhere over here," he gestured.
"That's half the top floor of the parking lot," I pointed out.
"I will eventually find it. See, there it is!"

We got into his new car and my guy drove us to our regular restaurant. He can figure out the general vicinity of the restaurant these days. He no longer needs to pull up this saved location on his GPS.

"I decided to do away with my GPS," my guy stated along the way.
"What?!" I questioned and exclaimed simultaneously.
"I have decided to use Google Maps on my phone instead. It's more reliable," he admitted.

I was relieved.

He parked the car and we entered the restaurant. We are regulars there. We are always promptly greeted. The food was yummy. We ordered our usual dishes. I went with the spicy garlic chicken. My guy ordered the spicy ginger beef.

We love spending time together, even if it's for an hour at lunch.

After we had filled our tummies up with good grub, my guy picked up the tab, and we proceeded to walk out the restaurant.

My guy was heading in the wrong direction.

"It's this way, sweetie," I said, pulling his hand in the correct direction.
"Ah, I knew that," he said, smirking.
"No, you didn't. You would have wandered around the entire parking lot, like you normally do," I stated.
"You are such a bad girl," he replied.
"No, I'm a good girl. I am leading you to your car," I stated factually.
"I need to lead you over my knee," he replied.

It's a good thing that I am good with directions. Otherwise, we wouldn't make it back to the office at a decent time. And, I wouldn't get a spanking so quickly.

Fixing issues after my operating system woes and talking to my directionally challenged guy

My guy and I work in the information technology sector. He often tells me that he hates technology. However, he is good at practically everything he works with. His skill set constantly amazes me.

He only has one downfall -- he is directionally challenged. He is heavily reliant upon his GPS, so I know that he never forgets to have it with him.

On the other hand, I sort of make up for his couple of weaknesses. I tend to remember where he has parked his car whenever we are out. I am a geek when it comes to technology. We have mutual respect and admiration for each other's strengths.

So, this post will probably be my last one about my Mac mini issues. Here is the latest since a representative at my local Apple store's Genius Bar wiped out my hard drive and reinstalled the seemingly problematic El Capitan operating system.

The unfortunate part was that none of my external devices were not syncing properly after El Capitan was successfully installed. I am hoping that the next operating system release doesn't cause so many problems!

I am putting together this list of issues and what I did to fix each of them, in case I need to reference what I had done in a year's time:

• Photos library does not appear in iTunes
  It turns out that you need to make your Photos library a system Photos library in the Photos application. The change has to be done in the Photos > Preferences dialog. After you make this change, other applications, like iTunes, can find your Photos library.
• iPhone does not sync properly in iTunes
  It applies to most Apple devices that sync with iTunes. The existing content was a part of my old configuration on my Mac mini. That old configuration no longer exists on my Mac mini. As a result, in the case of my iPhone, it needed to be restored. I could then fully restore the phone using the last backup.
• Even after the first two changes, my photos and music still don't sync with my iPod or iPhone in iTunes
  There are a lot of i-products. Apple seems to be moving away from all that recently, with Apple Photos and Music, as examples. There are more steps to make sure that the Mac mini and the device sync up:

1. Completely exit both Photos and iTunes. Proceed to shut down the Mac mini.
2. My music is on an external hard drive. It needs to be powered down. I also unplugged its USB cable from the drive.
3. Leave all devices turned off for a minute. Power on the drive first, and then the Mac mini.
4. When the Mac mini is fully booted up, connect your iPod or iPhone to the computer.
5. Ensure that you have selected some music and photos to sync. They should sync up fine.

I was able to successfully sync my music and photos on my iPhone again. Currently, I am working on my iPod classic to sync all my music and photos. The latter will take a while. I have over 20,000 songs, which is my entire digital collection.

On Friday, my guy drove back from Montreal. He called me at around 17:00. I had missed his call, probably because I was walking to my car and didn't hear my phone ring. I called him back.

"Hey, did you call me?" I asked him.
"Yes, I did," he said cheerfully. "I thought that you may have been in a meeting."
"I was till 16:45, but I am in my car now," I explained. "I take it that you're driving back right now?"
"I am. I am a third of the way there," he said, with a tinge of being disappointed that he didn't leave earlier.
"It's okay," I replied. "Are you at least over the border into Ontario?" I asked him.
"I'm in Brockville. Where is that?" he asked me, which confirmed that he is still directionally challenged.
"Yes, you are in Ontario. Welcome back!" I exclaimed with glee.
"Thanks. I don't see any French signs anymore, so I am in Ontario."

He's cute. We agreed to meet in Scarborough, close to highway 401. My guy had bagels to deliver to me. We also wanted to see each other as soon as possible.

Lunch date on Wednesday with my guy

Late Tuesday afternoon, my guy called me on my cell phone. I was in a meeting and didn't have my phone at hand. When I got to my desk, I felt like pouting because I had missed his call.

He eventually found me online and we sent instant messages to each other. He had figured out that I was in a meeting. I told him that I had less than fifteen minutes before my next one.

He told me that he would be "north of Toronto" on Wednesday. I said that he could be at the North Pole! He was going to look at a car in my neck of the woods. We agreed on meeting for lunch. I asked him to ping me once he was done.

On Wednesday afternoon, he called me a number of times, letting me know what was going on at the dealership. He then asked me to select a restaurant to meet. We met halfway at a Chinese restaurant in Thornhill. Naturally, I had to text him the address to enter into his GPS. Otherwise, he would be completely lost.

My guy called me as I was doing a detour. A lot of construction was happening along the street that the restaurant was on. My guy was already there. I was impressed. I told him to be his attractive and adorable self waiting for me. He chuckled. He liked that.

I eventually found him wandering out of the local grocery store that I often stop at before heading home. He asked me where his car was. It is so typical of him. I pointed it out for him. He then hugged me.

It was a good start to a lunch date. It was also nice to see him in my area and see his smile.

Lunch date, nails, and kisses

On Tuesday, it was the first day back to work for me. Monday was a holiday. Unfortunately, for my guy, he had to work the holiday.

On the weekend, we planned to have lunch on Tuesday. He sent a brief instant message during a meeting that morning, asking whether 12:30 pm would be an okay time to go eat. I was game.

When 12:30 pm had arrived, we both left our desks. We timed it perfectly. I work on the fifth floor. The elevator stopped on the third floor, and there was my guy, looking good.

I asked him whether his brown coat was new. It was. He took my advice and went with a military-style brown coat. He has the height and build to pull it off.

In the car, I couldn't help but to touch his coat sleeve and hand. We talked as I directed him to the Chinese restaurant close by that is becoming our new lunch hangout.

We sat in the parking lot after he had parked his car.

"I love your purple nails," he said.
"Thanks," I replied.
"I want to hug and kiss you," he stated, being sweet.
"We can."

He leaned over to kiss me. It was a wonderful kiss.

I have winter mittens where my thumbs are covered. However, I can take off each mitten's cap to reveal my four fingers. I had my eight fingers poking out of my mittens. My guy said that it was cute and he loved my nail polish colour so much that it was making him horny. He obviously had missed me.

We walked into the restaurant, with my guy reaching out to hold my hand. I joked that he wanted warm hands because he didn't have any mittens on. He was truly being his loving self.

We got a booth at the restaurant. I got him late Valentine's Day presents. One of them was a case for his cell phone. The case simulates winter tire treads. My guy loves tires and this case screamed his name! I could tell that he loved it. He took off the robot case that I had bought him for Christmas and immediately put the tire one on.

My guy at one stage reached for both my hands from across the table. He held them in his for the longest time, admiring my nails and holding my hands sweetly.

"Your hands are so perfect," he told me.

And, yes, he was horny. He saw a glimpse of my black bra underneath my cardigan that he had bought for me a couple of years ago.

He requested treehouse time after work. I accepted.

We finally ordered lunch and had a wonderful conversation. We both ordered garlic dishes. We obviously don't care about bad breath!

We left the restaurant, holding hands as we walked towards his car. Even when he was driving us back to the office, we were still holding hands.

We do seem like high school sweethearts. We have been together for a while. Our relationship is comfortable, but it's still crisp and fresh. It's good.

Garbage bags and intersections

On Friday, I was driving home from work. My guy texted me on Skype. I had to pull over in a McDonald's parking lot.

It was pretty late on my guy's end. It was nearly 01:00 on Saturday. He had just finished packing. He had to catch his flight at 09:00.

"This question may seem strange," he said to me.
"Oh, no. You're going to ask me a work-related question," I teased, even though he did not start his sentence off with his typical by the way.
"No," he replied. "Can you bring a couple of garbage bags when we meet for dinner tomorrow night?"
"So you can dispose of the dead body?" I replied, which made him laugh. "I don't want to be an accomplice!"

My guy had a number of old winter coats that he no longer wanted. He wanted to donate them to a charity that support those who need coats in Syria. The donation centre only accepts coats in garbage bags. He had large shopping bags. I was fine with getting him some. He was relieved.

He told me that the donation centre is on Lawrence. I had to remind him that Lawrence Avenue goes through a handful of cities. He then said that the intersection is "Lawrence Avenue East and some other street." Well, that some other street happened to be the Don Valley Parkway, one of several major highways in the greater Toronto area!

I could tell that he was tired. We bought laughed at his statement. It works nicely with the fact that he is directionally challenged. He was alert enough to give me the exact address of where he was going to drop off his old coats. He didn't want me to meet him at the airport. He figured that I live closer to this donation centre, so he asked me to find a restaurant and we'd meet there. I was game.

My guy likes Chinese food. I found a restaurant that I have been meaning to try for a while. My only concern was that the forecast called for snow all weekend. I didn't want the weather to prevent us from seeing each other.

I wish the snow would go away. Apparently, there is more on the way. Figures!

Back from vacation - recap of my travel day back home

I have been back from Istanbul since Saturday night. I have missed blogging.

Work is nuts. Our entire department received an e-mail stating that we all need to come into the office for the next three Saturdays to work.

I have an arrangement to work four days in the office and one day at home. Working an extra day for the next three weeks throws my schedule out the window. So, I had to ask two project managers and my boss whether I could work from home for the next three Fridays.

One of the project managers likes me. I have been telling my guy about him. My guy has nicknamed him Sharky, because he constantly circles around my desk at work. As expected, he didn't object.

The other project manager and I used to get along when she was a quality assurance manager. She is nice, but she has no clue how to be a project manager and we have been in several disagreements, mainly because she is not a good listener. It was to the point where I got both my manager and her manager to support me.

Surprisingly, she was okay with my working from home for the next few Fridays. Other than the extra long workweeks to come, all is well.

On Saturday, my guy and I had breakfast, packed up, and left for the airport.We held hands in the taxi the whole time.

He is a gentleman. He did not want me to lift a finger. At the airport, you have to place all your luggage on the conveyor belt for scanning. My guy did all the heavy lifting, which was greatly appreciated. When I tried to help, he told me not to, giving me that look that he was going to smack my backside if I did. I asked if I should look cute and pretty standing there. He agreed.

After going through security without a hitch, my guy looked at me.

"Which way is it to the business lounge?"
"It's that way," I pointed. "It's past the Victoria's Secret and Starbucks."

My guy freely admits that he is horrible with directions. The last time I was at this airport was June 2013. My guy was here in December and he has visited the country more that I have.

"Why did you need to ask me?"
"Because I am lost and you always find me," he said sweetly, holding my hand.

I bought some Turkish delight. My guy had to wander off to the duty-free side to make a claim. He told me to stay in the store so that he could find me. It was cute, but I was fine shopping away.

We went to the Turkish Airlines business lounge. It is fancy! It was my third time there. The food is wonderful. We lounged on leather recliners in the movie theatre. I got to caress his head. He remarked that he loves my expression when I do, as if it is the first time that I have ever done it.

We had to catch our flight, which was delayed twice, but only for 1.5 hours. I have seen worse! My guy got me a minced meat-stuffed pastry. I had wanted the hot dog pastry, but he refused to get me that, as expected.

We were one of the last few people to board the plane. My guy and I were fortunate to get seats next to each other. My guy likes the aisle, so I was fine sitting in the middle. My rolling bag ended up in business class because there wasn't enough room above us.

I entered the row first. My guy groped my butt. It made me smile.

We ate, talked, held hands, watched movies, and played games during the 11-hour flight back home. At times, I rested my head against his chest and he rested his head on mine.

Travelling with him is nice. I hope to do it again soon.