Memories of my friend and bedposts

It's March. A year ago, I travelled to the States. It was my last trip there. It was my last hotel stay.

It's crazy that I have been working from home for nearly a year. After this trip, I was asked to isolate at home. There were neither any COVID-19 cases in Minnesota, nor Ontario.

A year ago today, I had lunch with my dear friend in Minnesota. Little did we know that it would be our last get-together before she got diagnosed with Leukemia.

I miss her. I do have a happy memory to share.

Years ago, I returned to Minnesota to return my leased car. I had a three-year lease, but only worked in the States for two years before I got laid off. The car stayed in Canada with me for a year before I drove it down. I stayed with my friend in Iowa.

She let me know about a cool hotel that we needed to check out in her town. We went with her family. The hotel gave tours. We went upstairs to the bedroom. There was a couple looking around. The man looked at the bedposts. 

"These posts are so high. I could tie you up against them," he said to his partner.

He looked at my friend and me, a bit embarrassed. I seized the opportunity to say something.

"Too much information," I said with a smirk, which made my friend and I laugh.

I wish that I remembered what the name of that hotel was. I hope that it's still there.

Tired, less sugar, and happy

I've been tired the last couple of days. All is well. I'm happy that it's the weekend!

I decided to cut back on sugar as of Friday. I have been indulging in desserts that I've noticed how I don't sleep as well as I used to. My clothes also fit tighter.

A break from meetings

I enjoy when my boss is away for one reason or another. It's a nice break from way too many meetings.

On Wednesday, he took half the day off. Our team has a daily chat towards the end of my workday. I find it a drag sometimes, because I don't exactly want to talk to them when I was to wrap up my work and call it a day. My manager can't end a chat on time, let alone any meeting.

I start my day earlier than most on the team. I can technically call it a day at 4:30 pm. I did that yesterday and it felt great.

Last Thursday, he wasn't feeling well and took the day off to rest up. It was nice not attending our weekly team meeting. 

I am fortunate that I get along with him. However, having him not remember how many years I have been with the company still rubs me the wrong way. It resurfaced last Friday. I nearly wanted to say, "Yes, it's ten years. You didn't see the e-mail to sign my e-card and only acknowledged my milestone when I had to tell you that you missed it in our daily chat."

Today will be interesting. There's a departmental meeting at the same time as our weekly team meeting. We'll see whether he will acknowledge that the former meeting is far more important than his.

Long week, especially dealing with a colleague who jumped the gun

This week feels long already. I had to deal with a project manager who can't read.

I had sent a bunch of links for a couple of developers to review, clearly asking them to review my work. This project manager decided to forward them to a different department and said that my work was done. What? It was an incredibly premature move.

It's sad that I had to explicitly state that it's not done in my eyes. My work needs an internal review first. 

It's unfortunate that the developer who originally forwarded his work to me had copied this project manager on it. Next time, I will remove her completely from the message when I respond because she can't read.

Ugh!

Wrapping up the weekend with businesses reopening

My weekend is practically over.

I went out on Sunday to pick up an order. I do like curbside pickup. I have been out on Sundays more often. It's nice.

Today marks the first day that businesses reopen in my area. It doesn't exactly make me want to dine out or hit a mall. It's a small sign of hope during this long pandemic, which is nice.

Have a great week ahead!

Shopping thoughts

I have been more nostalgic and reflective as of late than I typically am. I had a talk with a friend who is in the same boat. She blames it on the pandemic.

My region will have many restrictions eased as of Monday. It has been in lockdown for over two months. Yesterday, I went into a different part of the province where stores were open again. I didn't have any inclination to visit them.

It is one change that I have noticed since this pandemic started. I don't have a desire to go shopping and browse. I like curbside pickup. I look at what I want online, pay either online or at the store, and pick up my order. Done!

I simply get groceries and items at the drugstore. I also get takeout.

I haven't been to major stores, such as Walmart and Costco, since this pandemic started. I don't feel comfortable in them.

Maybe the urge to visit major malls and large stores will come back once we are all vaccinated. Right now, visiting them isn't a priority. 

Talking at 7 am for work

My manager wants me to give a talk about our team's processes to two colleagues in India. I'm talking in a few hours at 7 am.

There are times when I feel like he complicates my work life because he can't do this task. He doesn't have the hands-on expertise and he isn't great at speaking.

Hopefully, I'm coherent and functioning by then.

On a good note, I do like an earlier start. It means that I can end my workday early. The downside is that we are getting more snow, so it's not like I'll be out and about afterwards. At least I can admire the clean, white snow in a warm home.

Shoulder pain and lounging

I woke up on Tuesday with a pain in my shoulder. I have a feeling it's due to posture. Doing shoulder rolls and relaxing my arm has helped reduce the pain throughout the day. It's down to a dull ache that occurs occasionally.

I took a sick day to rest up. It was nice to lounge around once the pain had subsided.

We've got snow. I didn't bother shovelling it due to my shoulder. I will ease into it later on today.

Snow

My long weekend is over. Sad, but it's true.

We were supposed to get two waves of snow. The one on Monday morning didn't materialize, so I went out to fetch some lunch.

The second wave is here. We are expecting between 15 to 20 cm of snow. Fun!

Valentine's Day thoughts

I'm still up. It's Valentine's Day.

When I had a boyfriend, this day was just like any other. We said that we loved each other throughout the year.

Now that I am single, I simply look forward to eating chocolate and taking advantage of the post-Valentine's Day sales on candy.

It's all good.

Video of my late friend

I wanted to sleep in on Friday. I did manage to get more sleep, but I received a couple of text messages at 09:00.

They were from my dear friend's husband. She had passed away in early January. He was using her phone to text me, like he did back in January, and said that it automatically put all photos featuring her into a video. He then texted me this video.

It's a nice keepsake to have. When we met up, we rarely took photos together or of each other. I have a handful of them from trips spent with her over the years and I cherish them. This video is special, to remember her by.

The last photo is recent one, probably closer to her passing. She looked thin and tired, which would be expected going through chemotherapy.

I have been thinking about her often. It's nice that I am now keeping in touch with her husband.

Happy lunar new year!

Happy lunar new year! 

It's the year of the ox. I am oxcited!

Long weekend is nearly here with my new toy

One more workday until my long weekend. Yay!

I'll have lots of time to play with my new toy. I found the online manual. I have read it. I am ready!

Give me Liberty!

It has finally arrived! My Womanizer Liberty is here!

It took a week longer to arrive. A COVID-19 outbreak happened at a Canada Post sorting facility, so extra precautions were taken.

The lilac looks prettier when I took it out of the packaging. I had to charge it. The instructions that came with the Liberty aren't complete, but how to pleasure yourself got to the point!

I'll let you know how happy I am soon!

Out and about on Sunday

I went out on Sunday. It's rare for me to venture out on Sundays. However, I have done it twice within the past month.

I don't mind going out on Sundays. I find it more relaxed than Saturdays. I am a homebody, though. Going out on Saturday and Sunday feels like overkill!

It was nice getting some takeout for lunch. I found a decent Hakka restaurant on my way home from fetching an order for curbside pickup.

It's a shorter week for me. I have decided to take this Friday off for Lunar New Year. I rarely take this day off from work. Monday is a holiday, so I get an extra long weekend. Yay!

Sleepy

My weekend is going well, except that I was up till 4 am yesterday. I got up at around 9 am and lounged.

I am sleepy. I'm only up because I'm drying my hair, so I thought that I'd quickly say hi before I crash.

Snow, errands, and recipes

It's snowing. I was hoping to run an errand later on today, but I think that I'll just stay at home and try on Sunday instead.

This business has curbside pickup from Wednesday through Friday, and Sunday. I am typically running errands on Saturday. So, I have either Friday or Sunday to drop by the store and pick up a couple of orders.

It used to be open on Saturdays. However, with this second pandemic lockdown, it has revised its hours. 

At least I get to stay home all warm and cozy. I am currently going through a new cookbook, dreaming about which recipe to try first.

Taking myself out of a group at work due to workload

Last year, my manager made me participate in a group in our organization on how to improve various processes. I did like participating, but my workload became extremely heavy in August and kept on building.

I ended up being a leader in a subgroup with three other people. All were guys. They didn't take much initiative. I set up the meeting for us to talk, I took notes and meeting minutes, and I presented our findings to our team. The next step was to present them within our organization.

I didn't have time to put a slide deck together or give a talk. I had an annoying woman who took over from someone within our group, hounding me when I could present. I felt like I was giving excuses, but I wasn't. I put in so much overtime to get my deliverables out the door that I was exhausted.

As a last resort, I asked the three guys on my team if they could help me out. Crickets.

The group leader has changed again. I have worked with this person and we get along. She asked whether some folks in the group would like to take a break from it due to deliveries. I pondered it and decided that I needed the break.

I didn't discuss it with my manager. I wanted out because I felt like I wasn't getting the support from my little team and my workload continues to be heavy.

I felt good about my decision. It's right for me.

Sleeping much better

I took a break from blogging last night. I needed it.

On Sunday night, I was so exhausted from not getting enough sleep over the weekend. I found myself on my bed, with my head without a pillow underneath and where my feet should have been, fast asleep, without my comforter pulled over me. I haven't done any of that in years.

Last night, I slept well. Here's hoping that I can continue the trend. The winds are gusty tonight. Luckily, I sleep with earplugs these days.

Sleep and an upcoming longer weekend

I didn't sleep well last night. I walked too much on Saturday that my right foot was causing me some grief. Eventually, I did fall asleep, which was great.

I'm back to the grind on Monday. I just realized that it's almost February. It is rare for me to take Lunar New Year. However, it lands on a Friday this year and the following Monday is a Canadian holiday. I want to take advantage of a longer weekend.

Sleep and nonsense

I didn't sleep great last night. I woke up a couple of times and couldn't fall back to sleep immediately.

It's weird that I'm still awake, though. I should be off to bed.

I had mentioned that I was a panelist in a Zoom meeting a couple of weeks ago. I had a great experience.

Well, I noticed that one person who follows me has changed since I was on that panel. Before this meeting, she liked all my posts. After this meeting, she has scarcely liked my posts. Weird.

I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinions. I just offered what has worked for me. She gives me the impression that she was offended by something that I had said and I suppose not supporting me is her way of dealing with it.

She kept asking me a bunch of questions about various topics when she first joined and I was patient with her. Now, I have to deal with this nonsense? I decided to remove her as a connection. I don't need to deal with her immaturity.

Off to bed. I will sleep well.

New panties and vibrator order

My panties subscription came in the mail. I got this black mesh one:

The waistband is comfortable and satiny. The mesh feels smooth and soft. I'm happy with them.

I also got paid and bought my Womanizer Liberty vibrator in lilac. It has been shipped, which is impressive. The place where I normally get my spanking implements, PinkCherry.ca, is having a Valentine's Day sale. I'm pleased with an extra 20% off.

I am looking forward to receiving my new toy and wearing these panties.

Constipation is not fun!

Recently, I made the mistake of eating not-so-ripe bananas. I tend to eat ripe bananas. Last week, I ran out of them and got a hand of bananas that weren't ripe yet. I then ate one.

I realized that I can't eat bananas that aren't ripe enough. I ended up being constipated. It has been years since I experienced a serious bout of it. Luckily, a combination of fibre, fish, veggies, and exercise got me back to being my regular self in more ways than one.

Weird, huh? I have learned my lesson. Constipation is highly uncomfortable and I felt like I had a larger stomach. It was scary at times, but I'm definitely myself again.

Theory about a mysterious gift last Christmas

Just before Christmas, I received a book from an anonymous person. I saw the Amazon Prime sticker on the box and thought that it was something that I had ordered that had arrived. I ripped the box open and still don't know who sent me this book.

I have been thinking that it may have been the ex-guy. He has an Amazon Prime membership. He obviously knows where I live. I haven't communicated with him since I told him to stop contacting me last July. He has never mentioned anything about this book. He likely got confirmation that the shipment was delivered and was satisfied with that information.

The book? It's The Longevity Paradox by Steven R. Gundry. It's essentially a book about how to live a long, healthy, happy life.

Perhaps the ex felt guilty that he broke my heart and ruined a part of my life that this book would help me. Maybe he truly wants me to live a longer, happier life.

Anyway, I haven't read much from it. I suppose that I should and see if I do grow old, happy, and healthy.

Scheduling meetings and having my performance review

My first day back at work went well. I impressed myself getting up at 6:45 am for a 7 am conference call.

I had a performance review meeting with my manager just after lunch. Before I went on vacation, he made it for 3 pm for an hour. I had 3:30 pm onwards blocked off as being out of the office on my calendar due to my early start. I also had a meeting at 3 pm.

I got to love when folks don't look at other people's calendars to schedule meetings. My favourite is my diva colleague who asked me to specify what time would work for best for me for her meeting when she clearly knew that I was training our new intern for two weeks.

Dumb. Just dumb.

Anyway, my performance review went well. My boss called me a "rock star." Not to sound weird or pompous, but I have earned it.

A human resources person recently spoke to my manager and did a review of each team member's salary. This HR guy asked my boss why my salary was "significantly higher" than the rest of my team colleagues.

Here's my short list:

• Experience - I have been doing my job for years. I have the most experience on the team.
• Competence - I do my job well and take pride in it. I also complete many tasks with quality and at a faster pace than the rest of my peers.
• Education - I'm the only one with a master's degree in this field.
• Knowledge - I have a lot of it. It explains why I train new employees joining our team.

My manager said everything he had to say about my skills and performance. I am working at a different level than the rest of the team. It's true, which satisfied the HR guy.

I have earned my salary through hard work. It's nice that I have a manager who agrees. I am looking forward to a bonus!

Last day of vacation

I spent a casual, relaxed last day of my vacation. I went out briefly to fetch a kebob dinner deal. You buy one dinner and get another for free. There was a lot of food. I needed a nap afterwards.

I start my day at 7 am for a four-hour conference call. Tuning into the first hour should allow me to get through my inbox of e-mails. Oh, joy!

Walking down grade 2 memory lane with a class photo

Back in early July, a friend reached out to me on a Facebook group. We were in grades 2 and 5 together. I haven't talked to her in decades. We messaged each other and caught up on our lives.

A few hours ago, she tagged me in our grade 2 class photo. There were some missing names. I managed to fill in the gaps, except for one person.

I shocked myself in that I could vividly spell people's names and it felt like I was in grade 2 again. My friend's memory is pretty good, too. Between the two of us, we produced a list of everyone in the photo, minus the one guy.

She said that she's grateful that she found me. Likewise!

Rediscovering neighbourhoods and new good eats

During my vacation, it has been fun rediscovering neighbourhoods that I have frequented in the past. Coupled with getting good eats, I have enjoyed my ventures here and there.

Within walking distance in my neighbourhood is a Hong Kong-style eatery that opened a few months ago. I finally got around to ordering its signature beef brisket with thin noodles and this dish was fantastic. There were four different noodle options. I may need to try them all!

I also got the beef brisket macaroni in tomato sauce dish. Both were 50% off. Insane, but a great deal.

Being on vacation is the weekend every day

The weekend is here! Being on vacation feels like every day is the weekend. I will miss my vacation. It has been relaxing and nice so far.

I had the best apple and pineapple fritters on Thursday. I finished them off on Friday. Should I get more? I want to, but will wait it out. I don't want to overdose of them. They are that yummy.

Credit update - great news!

I haven't talked about my finances for a while. All is great!

Last hour, I checked my credit score. My credit score went up by 60 points on the Canadian scale!

It is a big deal. I have been in the poor category for a few years. I am now in the fair category. Yay!

My goal is to get my credit score in the good range. I need a credit rating of at least 713, which is doable as I continue my journey to repair my credit rating.

I'm pleased. It does take a lot of work. It's nice to see results.

Vibrators and paddles

Being on vacation, I have been thinking about sleep and food. Thanks to a vibrator gift post at Disciplined Behaviour, I have mine picked out already.

I want the Womanizer Liberty in lilac. I will buy it sometime next week when payday rolls around.

While I was on that site, I checked out the spanking paddles. I have a decent collection, but it has been ages since I used them. I suppose that it's time to use them. I am on vacation after all.

Sleep

Last night, I didn't sleep all that well. I woke up way too early, likely because my body is used to getting up for work. Ugh!

The other issue was that I had black tea fairly late in the evening. Oops.

I hope that I'll sleep better tonight. I'm on vacation. Please co-operate, body!

Being a panelist and on vacation

I had a fun evening being a panelist in a Zoom meeting. I am normally an attendee. It was different being on the opposite side. I had a good time and enjoyed being with cool people.

My vacation is going well. I slept in till 9:30 am. That's late for me.

I went out briefly to pick up an order that I had placed over the weekend. I also got some bubble tea.

It has been relaxing. I love it.

Going out on a Sunday - rare!

I went out on Sunday. I can't tell you when I was last out on any Sunday. It has been that long and is a rare occurrence.

The main reason for my venturing out was to pick up an order that I had paid for on New Year's Eve. The business took the first week of January off. It returned the following week for curbside pickup on Wednesday only. It then went back to its regular pickup hours on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.

I couldn't do the weekdays because I was training my intern. Hours are from 11 am till 4 pm. I normally am out and about running errands on Saturday. So, Sunday, it was!

Although it was a cloudy day, it was nice getting out and walking around. I also like the fact that I am on vacation and feel relaxed.

Foot pain

My foot pain has returned. It was bad on Friday night, but eventually went away and I was able to post here. It's back again.

My way of dealing with it (consuming magnesium, potassium, a banana, and Ibuprofen) helps. What is weird is the length of time that this pain has been with me. I'm not sure why.

Anyway, it's slowly dissipating. Here's hoping that I can kick the pain to the curb soon.

Vacation has begun

My vacation has started. I'm happy about the downtime. I don't have anything terribly exciting to do, though.

I am continuing to reorganize things at home. I found an old work notebook from ten years ago. My handwriting wasn't great then. I am sure that it still isn't.

Perhaps I can spend some time practising my cursive.

Trying to use up my vacation from last year - a problem I never thought that I'd have

Today is my last workday before I go on vacation for just over a week. It's not that I want to. I have six vacation days that I didn't use up in 2020. I need to use them up by the end of this month.

I would normally be thrilled to take time off. I'd be travelling somewhere. Ontario, the province in which I live, is under lockdown. I can get groceries, fetch takeout, do curbside pickup, exercise outdoors, and that's about it.

It's funny. I originally thought I had five days of vacation. I realized through doing a calculation that I had an extra day. It's amusing to me that I am not thrilled about taking time off during a pandemic.

Then again, I have been working hard for two weeks. I trained a new intern and got my regular work done. I also dealt with my dear friend's passing, so I'm okay with taking time off for me.

I will likely continue reorganizing things around the house. I did some of that tonight. It felt therapeutic.

My mom and her memory loss

For years, I have witnessed my mom's memory deteriorate. Yesterday, it took quite a dip that has left a lasting impression on me.

My mom talked to me and said that there was some man living in the same house. I had no idea who or what she was talking about.

This man was my dad. She didn't know that he was my mom's husband.

I said that this man was her hubby. She then replied that she didn't know that she was married. I asked her how I was born without a dad. She simply didn't know.

It was quite telling. However, when I asked her if she knew who I was, she immediately said both my first and last names.

It's such a shame seeing a great memory slowly deteriorate. It makes me a bit nervous, as I have a similar memory, I hope that I don't follow this same path.

I'm not sure how to deal with memory loss. Here's to more research. Perhaps having her look at old photos may be helpful. Then again, I don't want to frustrate her if she can't remember who the folks are in them.

Receiving my friend's voice message

Yesterday afternoon, I received a text message from my dear friend's hubby through my friend's cell phone. He had texted me a voice message from my friend that was played at her funeral service. He thought that I'd like to have it to remember her.

It was such a nice gesture. I texted him back and thanked him. I was grateful to have been able to attend her funeral from afar. Hearing her voice again was and still is comforting.

I sent him my love and thoughts to him and his daughter. He appreciated it.

It's hard to believe that it has been a week since I got the news about my friend's passing. Although I am healing, it will definitely take a while to get back to my regular self.

More thoughts from my friend's funeral

My friend organized her entire funeral. We are similar in that we are natural planners. She wasn't a control freak. She simply wanted to take care of it without burdening others. It was just who she was.

She made sure that everyone had a bagged lunch after the service. It made me smile. It was so her.

She left a voice message to all of us. She said that we were her miracle. Her daughter let out a sob. I lost it there as tears trickled down my face. It felt good hearing her voice.

She chose the music that was played. I have the list, which is now a part of my playlist and will always remind me of her.

At the end, Amazing Grace was played. The Mayo Clinic managed to record her heartbeat. Her heartbeat was then used as the beat for the song, which had guitar as the melody. It was unique and I felt connected to her -- as if she were saying to everyone that they would be okay.

I managed to grieve at her streamed funeral. I felt a lot better today. It was a lovely service celebrating her life. She somehow managed to reassure us that things were going to be okay. I am healing one day at a time.

Grieving and celebrating my friend's life

On Saturday, I attended my friend's funeral online. It was my first experience attending a virtual funeral. I am grateful that the funeral home offered this service.

It allowed me to attend when the Canada-US border continues to be closed due to COVID-19. It's also nice for those who can't travel or want to stay safe to attend remotely.

It was a beautiful celebration of my friend and her life. There were many parts of the service that made me smile. Essentially, my friend organized her own funeral and made sure that we were all taken care of. She was always that way, including right up to her death.

I may write more about what was said and share in another post. Right now, I am simply reflecting and appreciate her even more.

I didn't write the previous day. On Friday night, I decided to grieve in my own way. I played music that she loved. It brought back fond memories of both of us attending these performances live and enjoying these songs together.

Bluetooth speaker bottle - weird and broken

Yesterday, I received a gift from my company. It was a bluetooth speaker bottle. The idea is that the cap acts as the bluetooth speaker. You unscrew the cap and you have a beverage bottle.

It's such an odd combination. I hope that folks don't put water in the bottle and cap it.

My problem was unscrewing the cap. It was so tight that I actually broke the speaker. So, I only have a bottle without a cap.

It was a nice gesture, though. I do have many bluetooth speakers, so I'm not heartbroken about losing this one. I just wish that caps weren't secured so tight on bottles. It shouldn't take me half an hour to try and loosen it. Instead, I broke it!

Oh, well. At least I have a nice beverage bottle. It's stainless steel and pretty.

Dealing with incompetent colleagues

There are a couple of colleagues at work who occasionally rub me the wrong way.

In December, before I went on vacation, I indicated to both of these folks that the first two weeks of January would be devoted to training a new intern. I said that my work pace on my usual tasks would be slower than expected. I also mentioned all these details in other e-mails.

My first colleague asked whether I could document a "small" feature by the end of next week. What part of training someone for two weeks straight and not working at my usual pace do you not comprehend? I already have two tasks that you are fully aware of that are taking longer than my usual pace.

She asked me to take a look at the feature. I clicked the link and there were no details. I basically said that I can't commit to a date because I don't have enough information to make a proper assessment. I also said that the software guy copied on this e-mail should supply details on what this feature entails and what he plans on providing to me so I can assess how long it will take me.

Ridiculous.

Then, there's the diva on my team. She can't make a decision on her own. Our manager asked a question and she immediately created a meeting to discuss it. She then specifically said that I'm training and to suggest a time if it doesn't work. Um, no. You are booking a meeting. Look at my calendar. It says that I am completely booked. I am not about to drop working with my intern to attend a boring meeting because you can't make a decision on your own and you don't want to respond to an e-mail.

I asked that she hold the meeting without me. Frankly, it can be decided in an e-mail, but she can't take the lead when she is leading this whole project. Ugh!

We'll see if she whines to our manager that I am rejecting attending her stupid meeting.

Two more days of work to go. It has been a rougher week than expected.

Thoughts about my friend and memories of her

Losing a friend is heartbreaking. I wrote my thoughts in a virtual condolence book. I felt that what I had written was a nice tribute to my friend.

I keep thinking about all the wonderful memories that we made over the years. I will treasure them.

I'd like to take a day off to properly mourn her. Unfortunately, I am training a new intern. Instead, I'll defer it by leaving work early on Friday. 

Her funeral is on Saturday. Luckily, it will be streamed online. The border between the States and Canada is still closed. At least I can still say goodbye.

My friend's passing

My dear friend passed away from Leukemia on Sunday. I got the news last hour.

It's heartbreaking. She enriched my life with her friendship. I am thrilled that I knew her for over twenty years.

Her last e-mail to me was that she loved our friendship. She loved me. She wished that we had travelled more together.

She was the ideal travel companion. We never had a disagreement when we travelled together, be it snorkelling or drinking beer. We knew that we would be travelling companions when we retired.

I have been looking at photos of her. I particularly like the one that I took of her with her daughter at a playground. They are both smiling, with her young daughter hugging her.

I was fortunate to have met up with her for lunch back in December 2019, and January and March 2020. I will remember hugging her for the last time after lunch and waving to her as she drove off.

I am happy that I got to say that I loved her and cherished our friendship. I am at peace telling her what I needed to before she passed on.

May she rest in peace.

Foot pain relief and back to work

On Sunday morning, at roughly 4:10 am, I woke up to foot pain. It was unpleasant, but I minimized how long it persisted.

I may have figured out how to tame the pain after years of enduring it and trying things out:

• Potassium (1 tablet)
• Magnesium (1 tablet)
• Banana (it has both potassium and magnesium, but it works best with the supplements)
• Ibuprofen (extra strength)

The pain disappeared an hour later. I drifted off to sleep and then realized that I was okay.

I head back to work in a few hours. I am training virtually, so it will be interesting setting up a laptop remotely. I spent a bit of time on Sunday going through my work inbox, as I know that I won't have time to sift through it all before I conduct training. Fun! 

I haven't missed much at work. I didn't miss work while on vacation. I have always been good at detaching work from my personal life.

Vacation is nearly over

My two-week vacation is nearly over. Originally, I had three weeks of vacation planned. I wish that I had kept it on the one hand. I do feel that it is best to keep it at two weeks. I may not want to work again if I do three weeks!

I train a new intern on Monday. My manager originally thought that he'd get involved in training. Frankly, I see that being a disaster, as he doesn't have the skills to answer specific questions related to our authoring tool. So, I decided to cut my vacation short and take this remaining week of vacation after my two weeks of training delivery are over.

I earned an extra week of vacation last year thanks to hitting my ten-year work anniversary. It's unfortunate that I can't travel due to the pandemic. However, it has been nice taking time off from work and doing whatever I feel like doing, even if it's just lounging at home.

I spent my first few days doing nothing but relaxing. I then moved to cooking, baking, organizing, and driving around. It has been great. I have enjoyed unwinding.

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.

New year's eve

It's new year's eve. It feels odd. I also feel some sense of relief.

I can't wait to get rid of 2020. I am hopeful that 2021 will be better. It's the optimist in me.

I may venture out later today. For now, I'm off to bed.

Free frapp

Yesterday, I ran my errands a day earlier than I typically do. It was such a sunny day that I needed to get some vitamin D. Later on today, we are expecting a mix of snow and rain. I want to simply stay at home and avoid driving in it.

I dropped by my local Starbucks. I am a regular customer. I approached the drive-thru and the barista knew who I was just looking at my car.

When I got to the window to pick up my beverage, she said that she had made an extra drink by accident and wanted to give it to me. She knew that I'd likely want it. She was right. It was a double chocolatey chip creme frappuccino. I thanked her for the free drink.

I have never had one before. I must admit that it was pretty good. It was nice that she thought of me.

Getting hardened fluid from a stress ball off my dresser

Monday was a productive day. I decided to reorganize what's on my dresser. I thought that it would take me an hour. Nope.

I found out that my blue M&M's stress ball had exploded. The clear fluid in the squishy stress ball must have oozed out days ago. It was solid on my dresser, between items.

I learned that the fluid is corn syrup. It's a question of submerging items in warm to hot water to melt the residue away, such as on my hand lotion. Naturally, I can't submerge my entire dresser in water. Instead, I poured some hot-warmish water on the surface and started to chip away at the mess.

Later on today, I'll finish the work. I ran out of elbow grease!

Cooking and week 2 of vacation

I spent Sunday cooking. I like taking leftovers from Christmas and making other yummy meals out of them.

I made turkey stew for lunch and salted caramel French toast for breakfast. I am pleased with how they turned out.

My first week of vacation is over. I have one more week to go. It goes by quickly, but I am enjoying the downtime.

Christmas

My Christmas was quiet, but nice. I spent three hours cooking. I spent the rest of the day relaxing.

I roasted a turkey. I love my convection oven. It does a great job crisping the skin and keeping the turkey juicy.

I made mashed potatoes with ghee. It was a first and it turned out nicely.

Stuffing is a must. I no longer stuff the turkey with it. Instead, I make it on the stovetop and it's so much easier. I live for stuffing.

I did something different and made salted caramel quick bread at the same time that the turkey was roasting. It turned out well for my first try. It was nice to have dessert.

I also roasted sweet potatoes. The key is to poke a ton of holes with a fork before they go into the oven, so the sweet potatoes don't explode.

I fed my parents. They seemed to enjoy the food. They took a nap afterwards.

Oddly, I couldn't nap. I slept well last night, though. I'm happy that they had a great meal.

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.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! For those celebrating, I hope that you have a safe and joyous one with family and friends in your bubble.

Happy holidays! It's snowing, so it feels like Christmas.

Groceries and a white Christmas

On Wednesday, I went out to fetch groceries. I needed to get my Christmas dinner ingredients in order.

I actually visited two grocery stores. The first one tends to sell main staples, such as celery, onions, and bananas, at cheap prices. The quality is excellent. The other place had the whole turkey that I needed.

I feel accomplished. I really didn't want to hit the grocery store on Christmas Eve. It'll be crazy and we are also expecting snow. It will be a white Christmas here.

My friend checking into a hospice

My dear friend wrote to me in the wee hours yesterday morning. She was to be air-ambulanced from Houston to a hospice later on that day. She should be there by now.

It is painful that she started her year being able to walk, went for cancer treatment during the summer, and ended up paralyzed a few months later thanks to an aggressive form of Leukemia.

I'm on vacation, but have been reading up on this horrible disease. The thought of losing her is scary and normal. I am trying to be as supportive as I can be.

Profile and business write-ups

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to fill out a questionnaire for an upcoming profile feature that I'll be a part of on Instagram. It's related to the review recognition that I wrote about in my previous post.

The other part of this exercise is to feature five businesses that I love, and write a brief blurb about them, along with including a photo for each of them. I finally got it all done yesterday. It's nice that I can focus on such activities on my vacation.

I don't have anything adventurous to do on my vacation. I'm just taking it a day at a time. It's nice so far.

Recognition for being a reviewer

On Friday, on a review platform, I got recognized for making the top 50 prolific reviewers in North America. There were only two Canadians on the list. I was the highest ranked Canadian on the list.

It was a nice honour. It was weird how I heard about it, though. It was from a fellow reviewer that I didn't know.

I sometimes wonder how some folks find out about such details well before I do. I have a local manager who didn't say a word all weekend. Odd.

Anyway, I'm delighted with the recognition. It was a nice way to kick off my weekend and vacation.

Bittersweet week

My vacation has started. It has been a bittersweet week.

I will write more about a positive recognition that I got on Friday. I'm simply exhausted right now.

My friend's cancer turn for the worst

I got some discouraging news from my friend who has been battling leukemia for several months. I've been bummed about this news since learning about it just after 4 pm on Thursday.

She let me know that her treatment in Houston has failed. The cancer has now spread to her spine and she is paralyzed from the waist down. Radiation hasn't helped shrink her tumour, either.

She will be air-ambulanced back to the Mayo Clinic in my former home of Rochester, MN either today or shortly thereafter. 

It's encouraging news that she will be with family before Christmas. However, this news wasn't what we all wanted or expected.

Her message to me had an ominous tone to it. It's understandable, but I may be reading into it more. She ended it with the following:

"I really enjoyed our friendship. I love you and wished we could have travelled more together!"

I let her know that I treasure our friendship and said that I love her back. She is a dear friend and the thought of losing her is devastating. I continue to pray for her.

I hope that my seeing her in March wasn't my final time. Not being able to see her during a pandemic and with a closed Canada-US border is frustrating.

With a nice honour come drama

On Thursday, I got acknowledged on a platform that I am one of the top reviewers in my area. I am honoured and shared that news, which a friend had tagged me on, on Instagram.

I have another friend that I have known since we were in grade 8. She basically made a stupid, insensitive, unfounded remark in this chat exchange:

"You eat out a lot," she stated.

"Not really. I do takeout twice a week. Reviews aren't all food."

I proceeded to show the last five reviews that I had completed. Only one was a food review. I didn't have to. I did it to prove a point to her.

I was annoyed at her comment. Why can't she simply say congrats? Why make such a ridiculous, random, unfounded statement? I actually told her that it was a momentous occasion for me and to let me enjoy it.

Her statement can also be construed as targeting my weight. I feel that it's some sort of internal issue that she has. She sees a happy moment that I am soaking up and she can't stand it. She needs to ruin my day by lashing out with a false statement about me.

I do have a number of supportive friends who got me through this drama that I was not expecting. I'm so fortunate.

Others putting themselves in my old shoes

I am not as stressed out at work, mainly because I don't lead our software release work these days. It's a nice change.

However, I am the one who troubleshoots and makes decisions on my team that either no one has thought about or can't come to a conclusion. It's one many reason why I did everything seamlessly.

I also find that my colleagues whine and complain about minor things that I never did. Perhaps I need to join in and see how that feels.

I still feel that they took what I did for granted. Now that they are enduring what I used to do, I feel like there's a quieter respect that they have for me.

Le Creuset fry pans are awesome!

I am going into my last week of work before my two-week vacation. I do need a break.

I recently bought a couple of Le Creuset fry pans. They were on sale. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought them.

The fry pans are great. I made breakfast in the smaller pan and it's amazing how evenly things cook in it compared to my T-Fal.

They are an investment. I'm so happy with them.

Hot water and a lockdown are back!

The good news is that I have a new hot water heater. It was installed on Friday and I am so pleased to have hot water again!

I enjoyed taking a warm shower on Friday night that I didn't bother writing a post yesterday.

On Monday, York region goes into lockdown. I frankly won't notice much of a difference, other than getting my hair cut on Saturday before said lockdown. I had already scheduled it before the lockdown announcement was made on Friday. Great timing!

I mainly go out to fetch groceries, hit the drug store, and order takeout. These stores will all be available during lockdown.

Broken hot water tank

On Wednesday night, I went downstairs to the basement to do some laundry. There was warm water on the floor. Luckily, I had caught it early. My hot water tank had a leak.

A nice water tank expert came over on Thursday to inspect the tank. I need a new one. He's returning later today to swap my old tank with a new one.

For the last couple of days, I have been using cold water to shower. I was oddly fine washing my hair and showering the first night. A few hours ago, it felt too cold. I did take breaks.

I will say that I like cold showers. I feel so relaxed afterwards, which I wasn't expecting!

Last early meeting of 2020

Yesterday, I had my final 7 am work meeting for the year. It's the four-hour marathon that I attend every five weeks.

It was an interesting, good meeting. I don't enjoy such an early start, though.

The good thing about such an early start is that I got to end my day at 3:30 pm. I ended up taking a nap and organizing a few items with some storage container that I had recently purchased.

It's good to feel accomplished.

Vacation changes and old phone

Monday went well. A meeting got cancelled. I got two documentation libraries out the door for a release. I felt accomplished.

It's crazy to think that in less than two weeks, I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks. I had thought about doing three weeks of vacation. However, staying at home for such a long run is too long for my liking. Instead, I'll take a week off in January.

My old Google Pixel 2 XL no longer gets Android updates. It's sad, but I still love and use that phone at home daily. It's a nice phablet.

Reviews and talk

I like writing reviews about local businesses. I find it relaxing. I also feel that it helps folks with researching whether a business is worth their wild.

Last week, I received a message from a community manager, inviting me to a forum to discuss how I write reviews. It's pretty cool and it's a nice honour.

This casual talk happens in January. I am looking forward to it.

A compliment over purple corduroy leggings

A compliment goes a long way, especially when it is unexpected.

On Saturday, I had to stop by a store. Due to the pandemic, only three customers are allowed inside the store. I was waiting outside with roughly five other people.

I managed to get inside the store at long last. I was waiting for my order to be fetched. The man behind me started a conversation with a compliment.

"I love your purple pants," he said.

I had purple corduroy leggings on. I thanked him and said that they screamed my name when I saw them. He said that he wouldn't mind wearing a pair because they are purple and he loves corduroy. He saw them on me and thought that they were cool. I loved his fashion sense. He even said that he would wear them with white sneakers. Yes, a pop of colour goes a long way.

What is cool about these leggings is that they have full front pockets. You don't normally get that with leggings. You often don't get pockets. Sometimes, if they are jeggings, you get a small front pocket and two back pockets. 

He brightened my day. I'm glad that I was able to brighten his with my purple corduroy leggings.

Waving

On Wednesday night, I visited my local post office to pick up some parcels. I was waiting in line. There was a mother-daughter duo ahead of me.

The daughter turned around and looked at me. I looked at her. It's tough to gauge others with masks on.

My hands were a bit full. I still managed to shift whatever I was holding in my left hand over to my right. I waved at her. She waved right back.

Humans are cool, especially young ones.

Being taken for granted and dealing with insensitivity

This post is a rant. Frankly, I am tired of dealing with dealing with people who take me for granted and come across as being insensitive.

At work, I have an incompetent colleague. She decided to join a holiday committee to determine what our entire organization should do this year for our holiday company bash. This committee of four people didn't really come up with ideas, other than to have each department in this organization arrange something.

When it came down to my manager asking her was she would recommend, she caved. Instead, she threw the question at me. I told her that it was a horrible action on her part. In the past, I arranged a number of lunches and outings. Heaven forbid, what happens if I get hit by a bus? Who will be your go-to person for organizing such events? I flat out said in front of my team that I should not be the go-to person. I did offer a suggestion, though. I am not lifting a finger because this team can't arrange a thing.

Idiot. The folks in my department can't think for themselves. We also have an incompetent older guy who, every year, says that he's fine with whatever our team comes up with. He can never make a decision on his own. Ugh.

Then, there's my blog. I write what's on my mind. I'm entitled to. It's my blog.

Don't ask me when I am going to self-spank. My mood dictates when. Not you. I don't customize my blog to suit your needs.

Oh, and if you're reading along and you spot a typo, don't point it out to me. It's rude. I don't point out your grammatical or mechanical issues. Why? Because it's rude. I write blog posts before I go to bed. I find it relaxing and therapeutic. I am not perfect. Let the typos slide and cut me some slack.

I am not at work. My blog is my down time. I didn't ask for you to proofread my blog.

So, you found a typo. Does that make you feel good when you tell me to go find it and time how long it takes me to fix it? Who the hell do you think you are? That post was a perfectly joyous one for me and you decided to rain on my parade. Does that make you feel good, too?

This incident feels just like my manager telling me to report an issue to human resources about a field that only he relied on and no one else. He simply had forgotten to wish me a happy ten-year work anniversary and his actions put a damper on that special milestone. 

How about putting away your negativity so that I can enjoy being happy about something? We are in a pandemic. We need something cheerful. One step further: How about thinking about how insensitive you come across when you have to bring up a minor imperfection? It's not the first time that you have pointed it out, either. Let it slide.

And, don't tell me to go find my typo. I'm not playing your hunt-the-typo game. Good for you for finding it. I hope that your achievement makes you feel accomplished and you can sleep well tonight.

I'm done. Frankly, I shouldn't have to write such a post. However, not everyone gets it, or what the effect of their actions or comments is on others.

Thanks for reading along. I have more cheerful content to write about.

Packaging and waste

Last week, I placed an order for five items. I received four packages with lots of packaging. It's such a waste of materials, among other things.

It makes me shake my head when it comes to how over-packaged things are. I then ordered a cell phone case from Pela. I got one for free and the packaging was minimal. It was quite the contrast.

Panties have arrived!

My bi-monthly shipment of panties has arrived in the mail! My panties subscription brings me so much joy.

This shipment is a bit different. Let's start with the usual. I got this pair of blue panties with white lace trim as part of my subscription:

I love how buttery soft the blue fabric is. The lacy is pretty and the cute bow puts a feminine touch on them. 

Both the front and the back have a cross-cross pattern, which is all elastic: 

I also got the special Christmas edition set. A while back, my post described the naughty and nice set. I ordered it along with my regular subscription.

Here's the cheerful red thong that is the naughty part of the set:

The material is soft and stretchy. I haven't worn a thong in a while. I will give this one a try, as the back fabric feels more comfortable than floss:

I am currently wearing the nice panties. They are so comfortable and I can't remember when I wore a cheerful green pair of panties:

The back has lettering, which I love:

These panties are so much fun. I am aroused thinking about spanking myself in that thong.

Dealing with an ill-informed lab technician

Yesterday, I got my bloodwork done. As expected, it didn't go as smoothly as it should have.

I pulled into the parking lot and called the place from my phone. It's confusing, as you don't enter through the main doors. You go through the side door to the lab. However, the sign says to wait until someone opens the door. I got none of that until seven minutes later.

I finally sat in the lab chair. The technician drawing my blood looked at my Ontario health card and insisted that I get it renewed. Um, no. According to ServiceOntario, expired cards (mine expired in July, which is my birth month) are still valid. ServiceOntario wants to limit the number of folks visiting each location during the pandemic. She continued to tell me to call the Ministry of Health. What?

She went on to explain that her daughter went to a ServiceOntario location to get her card renewed. That action doesn't mean that I need to do the same, to "avoid being charged if labs don't go through on [my] expired card." It's not my problem. It's between the province and the lab. I'm a patient who is informed. What is frustrating is that bloodwork woman should be informed, but isn't.

She wanted to draw blood from my right arm. Again, no. I always have it done on my left, non-dominant arm, which apparently required moving the chair over for her. Getting up caused my hoodie to fall on the floor, which I was not impressed about. I have since laundered it.

It wasn't the nicest start to my morning. To ease my mind, I did call ServiceOntario while driving home from grabbing breakfast out, and spoke to both the health and transportation sectors. My health card, driver's licence, and licence plate stickers are all expired. Both representatives said that I was good using my expired cards and stickers, as they are valid during this pandemic until further notice.

Take that, ill-informed bloodwork woman.

Bloodwork later today

I'm getting some bloodwork done in a few hours. I am fasting for it.

During this pandemic, bloodwork is fine. Urine samples are not. It's one less thing to worry about.

We'll see how things go. Last time, I sat in my car and didn't get a call from the lab to come in, which was apparently the procedure. Instead, I called the lab and then got in. I will repeat for this visit.

Sleep on weekends

I slept well last night. Here's hoping that I can repeat.

I slept better on weekends. It's likely because I am not thinking about work. I don't have to start at a specific time. It's casual. It's good.

Productive Friday heading into the weekend

The weekend is finally here. Yay!

My manager took Friday off. It was nice. I noticed that I didn't get a ton of messages in my inbox. I loved it. I could focus on completing a few tasks with few interruptions.

I got a gift card thanks to a rewards program at work. It went towards a Black Friday sale. I don't normally shop during Black Friday, but there were a few items that I have been meaning to get for months and finally got around to it.

Enjoy your weekend!

Verdict: I am not working with my ex

This saga with the ex-guy throwing me into a potential work nightmare is over. Both my manager and his manager told off the persistent project manager that I do not have time to work on this user guide.

The guide is in horrible shape. It is over a hundred pages and was written by a software developer who has no concept of writing a customer-facing document. As an example, his first paragraph has five instances of etc. This guide is both long and ugly.

Yesterday, my manager pinged me on our new messaging app at work. I don't like instant messaging when it comes to work. He had a discussion with his manager. He then asked me whether I have worked with this project manager and my ex before on deliverables that are separate from what I typically do. I have not.

I said that pretty much everyone reaches out to me because they know who I am and like the work that I do. My manager said something nice. He said that I have a good reputation and that I should be proud of it.

It's good to be helpful and nice. I am thankful that I do not have to work with my ex. 

I feel that he recommended my name to this project manager because he wanted to burden me with this work. Rather, he needs someone who can fix up an ugly document and put some sense into it. It was my ex-guy's way of saying that I'm a decent writer.

I do appreciate that he has respected my wish for him to not contact me. I hope that he continues to honour it.

Cell phone cases and software updates

On Tuesday, I went out briefly to pick up a parcel at the post office. I also got some takeout for dinner.

I got two cell phone cases in the mail. One is purple that glows in the dark. The other is a clear case. I love them both. It's nice to have a protective case on my new phone.

I am currently upgrading a few software applications on my Mac mini. I'm ready for bed. I'm exhausted!

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.

Update on my friend and Christmas panties

My friend, who has lymphoma, is going through her third round of chemo this week. She has lost a ton of weight, but is in good spirits.

On a great note, she has found a bone marrow donor who matches with her 100%. I am so happy for her. Here's hoping that she is in remission soon so she can undergo the transplant.

She has a GoFundMe page. I donated again. I am sure that her medical expenses are piling up.

I am finally able to upload the Christmas panties that will arrive in the mail soon as an add-on to my regular panties subscription:

I am looking forward to trying them out.

New phone

I got my new phone on Friday. I love it! I have been busy configuring and using it.

On Saturday, I got a screen protector for it. I love it, too. I'm waiting for my case to arrive.

I'll write more later. All is well!

Update on my phone and panties

Things are busy at work. We are less than a month away from a major software release, so it's expected.

My new phone is expected to arrive on Monday now. Although the wait seems like an eternity, I am okay with it. I bought a purple cell phone case online, so I hope that it arrives roughly at the same time as my phone. I still need to get a screen protector. I'm making progress.

I'm exhausted, which was one reason why I decided to skip posting yesterday. However, I wanted to say that my cute panties are so comfortable that I am considering getting a pair each month.

My new phone has shipped!

Great news! My Google Pixel 4a 5G phone shipped yesterday. I hope to get it either today or tomorrow.

I get paid later on today. I haven't got around to getting a screen protector. I don't have a case, either! Luckily, I live near a number of cell phone accessory places, so I am bound to find these items.

I'm so excited!

Battery percentage and a surprise parcel

On Sunday, I upgraded my MacBook Air to Big Sur, which is the latest and greatest MacOS. The upgrade went well and I like it so far.

The only thing that bothered me was that the battery percentage was gone. You have to select the option in System Preferences. I understand keeping things simple, but having this percentag hidden by default is odd to me.

Switching gears a bit, I got a small parcel from a local vendor in Toronto. I have been a fan of this vendor's products that I had asked the owner about a small little plushie that I've seen on his social media feed. I asked whether it was for sale. It wasn't, but he was happy to send me one for free for being so supportive. It was such a kind gesture.

Well, guess what? I didn't get one. I got two small plushies. So generous. These small gifts made my day.

My new phone's delivery date is nearly here!

Back in late October, I pre-ordered my Google Pixel 4a 5G phone online. I woke up on Sunday and received an e-mail that my payment is currently being processed. I am thrilled that it will ship soon.

It's shipping around November 23, which would be a week from now. The wait feels like an eternity, as my two-year term phone term had ended in late September.

I just ordered a new phone case for it. I still need a screen protector. I always like the excitement of getting a new phone.

My current phone is great. It will serve as my phablet at home. My iPad is probably ten years old by now. It doesn't get any iOS updates anymore and I don't feel like investing in another tablet.

Verdict on using a tissue to eliminate eyeglasses from fogging up

I decided to skip a day posting here. Friday was pretty busy that I ended up taking a nap at around 22:30, woke up, brushed my teeth, and went to bed for another 7 hours!

My appointment with my ophthalmologist went well. He says that my eyes are healthy such that I don't need to see him for another six months. It's good that I don't need an eye injection. Here's hoping that this trend continues.

As for my eyeglasses fogging up, I tried the tissue technique where I had it folded as a strip at the top of my mask. At first, it did fog up, but not as badly as if I didn't have the tissue. Within a minute, there was no fogging at all. It was nice to do the eye test and not apologize for not being able to read the chart due to fog.

Another tip that I got was to wash your lenses with baby shampoo. You then let your eyeglasses air-dry. I haven't tried it, but I'm curious.

Foggy glasses when wearing a mask

I have an appointment with my ophthalmologist today. Last time I was there, I had to read the eye chart with my glasses and mask on. My glasses fogged up, so this task was difficult to achieve.

I just learned to use a tissue inside your mask, at the top, to prevent fogging. I'm going to try it and see how things go.

Years ago, I had anti-fogging spray that I used on my lenses. Perhaps I should get something similar again.

Relaxed thanks to a day off from work

I had a good day off. It was much needed.

My car has snow tires. This morning, it was 17C. The temperature dropped throughout the day. It's now 6C. My timing is spot as far as getting them installed.

Two more workdays are left before the weekend. I can't wait.

Safe dental appointment and a day off today

My dental appointment went well. I felt extremely safe. There were tons of safety precautions in place. I ended up sanitizing my hands four times!

The insurance procedure was better explained to me. The dental office asks that you pay for services upfront. It files a claim on your behalf instead of filing a claim yourself. Nice!

I am fortunate that my dental appointments are uneventful. I thought that not having been to the dentist for a year would require a ton of plaque being scraped off my teeth. Nope, my hygienist said that I've been doing a pretty good job in that department.

Today, I have a day off. I'm taking my car in to get my winter tires installed. I then have to run an errand. Other than those plans, I have the rest of the day to casually figure out what else I'd like to do.

Dental appointment

It has been a year since I visited my dentist. I finally go in for my appointment in a few hours.

Things will be different. In the past, the dental office filed my claims on my behalf. With the pandemic, I have to pay upfront and file it myself.

The downside is that paying upfront isn't cheap. However, my insurance does have a quick payment turnaround. Funds from any claim that I file directly goes into my chequing account.

I have to call the office from the parking lot. I also have to wear shoe covers that the dental office will provide.

It's definitely a change going to the dentist's office.

Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy! and other Canadian game shows before it, has passed away. 

Cancer sucks. He was 80 years of age.

I grew up watching him on TV. I loved watching him host High Rollers and Pitfall. I then watched Jeopardy! religiously, to the point where I got my parents to watch the show with me. To this day, they both enjoy watching the show.

He always made sure that there was a Canadian question on each Jeopardy! show. I loved that he always had Canada on his mind. 

Such a huge loss. May he rest in peace.

Making progress

On Friday, I was in a knowledge session meeting for work. Towards the end of it, I looked at the list of participants and noticed that my ex was there.

I didn't feel anything. I wasn't annoyed or hurt. I wasn't happy to see him online. I was indifferent. I have made progress.

In the past, he has told me that he always goes through the participant list in his meetings. I wouldn't be surprised that he did so in this one.

I told him to stop contacting me. He has respected my wish so far since we texted in early July. Perhaps he has made a bit of progress, too.

I do pity him. He ruined a good thing and only has himself to blame.

The United States has a President-elect and a Vice-President-elect now. I feel hopeful that this change will be a positive one.

Holiday panties and thong set for being nice and naughty

I have panty subscription service. I get a cute pair of panties every couple of months.

I just looked at the festive holiday versions that you can get on top of your regular subscription. I love them!

Unfortunately, Blogger is not letting me upload any photos right now. I'm getting a server error. I'll simply have to describe what they look like.

The panties version has NICE written on the backside in yellow letters. The panties are a festive green.

There is also a cheery red thong with NAUGHTY written on the back waistband. The thong looks comfortable, which has always been my main concern when it comes to wearing one.

Yep, I will get them and hope that I can upload photos of them when they do arrive. I am both naughty and nice, after all!

Long week telling people to clear their browser cache

Long week. One more workday. Yay!

I find that working with software testers to be tedious. I'm often defending my work -- that my changes are correct and proving them wrong because they can't do something simple.

The other day, I had one tester tell me to remove a sentence. I told him that I had no idea what he was talking about. He presented his screenshot, which was a snapshot of our documentation from the night before. I showed him what I was looking at, which did not have that sentence. I even went once step further by saying that a particular setting was shown in his screenshot, but it's invalid and removed from mine.

Case closed. Sadly, it's a part of my job to tell people to clear their browser cache.

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.

US election and the need for process improvement

The US election. I like watching election results because I'm a numbers person.

After all these years, I don't fully comprehend the electoral system. I find that the entire voting process drags on and could be scaled down to be more efficient.

That's just me, though. I look at inefficiencies with whatever I see and do. I do that at work, and make suggestions and proposals to make things better.

Luckily, I'm not tasked with making the US voting process simpler and easier. I applaud the record turnout. However, it seems ridiculous to spend eight hours lining up at a polling station to cast your important vote.

Anyway, I am still watching the election programming. I like that I can watch Global TV on Amazon Prime. It's cool and convenient.

Early morning meeting and a generous plushie gift

I should be off to bed now. I have a meeting that starts at 7 am for four hours. Oh, joy!

On a nice note, a local business has a small monkey as a mascot. It has a small plushie version of this mascot. I asked whether it was available for purchase. I got a response from the business immediately. It doesn't sell plushies, but the owner wanted to send me one for free for being a supporter for a few years now.

This generous gesture has made my week!

A different Halloween

Halloween was different this year. Our government (local and provincial) recommended not having kids trick or treat this year. It was eerie not seeing any kids out and about.

I bought Halloween candy, as I do every year. Since I didn't give any out, I have the arduous task of eating it.

It's now November 1st. It's also Daylight Saving Time. Oh, joy!