Bellini-induced Brain Freeze

This morning Butch and I sort of had it all to ourselves. I still watched Mass "with" my family but we had/made breakfast together and it was a good sit-down-and-relax breakfast. Then he had to pick up something from the post office so it gave me an opportunity to try returning an Amazon purchase that I had tried to cancel before it shipped. (It was so annoying - I didn't try to cancel it until almost a week later and nothing had progressed until I tried to cancel and they said it was not doable because it was already being processed. They still did not ship it for a few days after I tried to cancel. Talk about jerks.) Then we got to wander Canadian Tire for a bit and I got another bike helmet and some cleaning supplies I have been wanting to try (it's ridiculously "domestic" what kind of purchases excite me now).   And then here we are back at home. His parents are with him in the garage while he looks over one of the cars. I have to leave in an hour to pic...

Just finished watching the documentary about the Fyre festival. What a gong show; I feel bad for all those poor Bahamians. Sometimes I think it's time to take a vacation/"staycation" but then I wonder what I would do with the time off and decide it's just not worth it.  Butch and I rarely have down time together lately, some of it is definitely me with my whole "habit tracker" checklist I have going on...with the 45 minute walk, the meditation, the Rosary, the blog...I'm easily by myself doing my own thing for 3 hours. Some of it is of course before work, while he's at work, and all that but then we have our families and friends who need our help and attention (ie. visits with grandma, mom needs a ride to the lab or clinic, car maintenance and repair...) and after all that I think maybe we may have half an hour together downtime before bed, and there's dinner time but it's sometimes rushed, or I want to talk about my day before we go to sle...

So my brother and I went to the care facility to meet with the resident care manager and look over the video. For what it's worth the video does look legit and not choreographed/staged. The man does tap grandma on the shoulder like the manager said and then they shook and held hands. I did catch my breath for a moment when the man's hand moved closer to my grandma's breast but after looking at it more I think grandma brought his hand closer to her because it was awkward for her to be shaking his hand over her shoulder. We did see the aide's reaction and him separating them apart. We also saw where her room is now and how the other resident's room (remember, he's in the hospital now as per their word) is at the far end of the hall, but we could not validate or walk through as they were sanitizing the wing while they were in the dining room for lunch. We did get to go into the dining room and wave to her from a distance, my poor brother has not seen her in months...

So the resident care manager called us back tonight to relay what she saw in the video footage. She says my grandma's full body is in view of the camera as her seat in the dining room faces the camera. A gentleman resident came sat beside her and touched her shoulder which surprised her but they say the footage does not she she got scared. The man then extended his hand and my grandma reached out to shake it. Then an aide saw the two of them shaking hands and thought he touched my grandma's breast so they broke off contact between the two. As for our concern that this man is known for this behaviour the manager claims there are no incident reports regarding this man. Also, he is partially blind and needs assistance walking so he is incapable of going to my grandma's room without someone with him, not to mention there are cameras outside of the rooms to see who goes in and out. They also added that the man was sent to the hospital last night so he is nowhere near my grandm...

So my brother and I spoke with the care manager of my grandma's facility. I am concerned that she was unaware of the incident and could not find an incident report in her files regarding what happened. Mom received a callback from the nurse who alerted her (she was off by the time mom called back) and gave her a bit more information. It sounds like the aggressor was a fellow resident who sits close to grandma's table during meals. According to the nurse this man is known for this behavior and my grandma was shocked and scared when it happened. They have since made sure that he is sitting far away from her and monitor his actions to make sure he does not touch her again. I need to repeat that this is all based on the nurse's account of the event as told to my mom, the higher ups do not seem to have any report of this happening. So now there is going to be an investigation and they are going to review the cameras to see what happened. I'm not sure what else to do until th...

My mom shared some news tonight that upset me greatly. A nurse from my grandma's care facility called her to report that there was an incident where my grandma was touched inappropriately. All she could tell us was the person who called her but she could not tell us anything else like whether it was a member of the staff or another resident who touched my grandma. I was frustrated that mom would just shrug off this news. I realize she is feeling anxious and overwhelmed since dad has passed but lately she has also been very passive with any decisions that need to be made and she does not reach out for assistance when she needs it. She avoided telling us the news because she said she "knew (I) would get mad." But seriously this sounds like a criminal situation and not something that she should just sweep away without facing it or at least asking us children to deal with it. The fact that she is not good with details (ie. what the facility says is being done about the touch...

So I altered Boyz II Men's "Vibin'" for my title today. I started the sample pack Weird Kid's girlfriend gave me of Thrive, after my doctor gave me the go-ahead. I had to leave myself notes not to drink coffee this morning! I took one capsule and I meant to just do half a shake but in the end I was not sure what exactly constituted half the powder so I ended up making a whole shake. And now I have the patch on my arm. I don't feel hungry but breakfast was ony 3 hours ago and it was a nice filling one (scrambled eggs with cheddar and two strips of bacon) An hour until my shift starts, I have to have my lunch and call the benefits line...I "think" I'll get it all done but we'll see. I gave myself an extra hour and a half of sleep this morning which felt great but hopefully it won't make tomorrow morning too painful. Oh well, it's kind of like my sleeping pattern during a long weekend.

So today I had some "work" to catch up on so I walked 90 minutes instead of 45 and did 2 workout videos instead of 1. The only thing I did not have a deficit on was my meditation time and rosary time. Walking 90 minutes, although it takes up a lot of time, was not so tough since Saturday Night Live is 90 minutes long. And kind of a cheat but I chose 2 somewhat short workout videos. Even with all that I've been in the basement pretty much all day. I am so hungry! Veggies just don't fill you up like yummy carbs. Geez, Louise. Tomorrow is my first late shift of the season; I offered to work the closing shift on Mondays during the season. Let's see if I have an easier time getting all my "to-dos" done in the morning rather than after work.

Just watching Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" for work's "Movie Lounge" discussion group. I recently got accepted into our workplace engagement group and I'm amazed at myself for getting out there and working at keeping my colleagues socially involved, especially during this pandemic. I would like to think that I have inherited dad's social acumen...finally. My little brother has always been the more social one. I woke up late today and as a result baby sis and I were late for our visit with grandma, but 20 minutes with her is still something. I got worried, though, when her first question for us this morning was "how is your dad?" That is not out of the ordinary for her; we have our standard alibi that he is still in the hospital. What I did not expect was her outcry of "he's dead?!" She was genuinely distraught and we quickly "corrected" her and continued our story that hs's still alive but very sick and weak. ...

I forgot to mention yesterday that the initial goal with the walking on the treadmill was just a "walk 1000km within the year." But I had to make it more specific because I wasn't sure how long I would have to walk per day. At the pace I started with walking for 45 minutes a day I am going to hit my walking goal by October (according to this goal tracker I downloaded) but I do not want to stay at this pace either. So maybe I'll double the distance? That would be impressive for me! Fingers crossed that all my plans work out tomorrow and I get to visit dad. In the morning baby sis and I are scheduled to visit grandma. Thankfully she's still safe and healthy at her care facility. Her grasp of time is pretty questionable which I feel is a blessing. I feel bad that we still lie and tell her dad is in the hospital but I really do not want to risk her having a bout of awareness and grieve the loss of her son over and over again like a fresh wound that will not heal.

2020 seriously feels like "the year that never was." Even my little sister seems to forget that she got a year older; when our grandma asks her how old she is now my sister's reply is firmly stuck on her age in 2019. When my friends and I were discussing the last time we went to a local art installation festival I could have sworn it was in 2019 because ABSOLUTELY NOTHING happened in 2020...but then one of the girls scrolls through her photo history and disproves my statement. 2021 seems to be more of the same, sadly. I cannot believe almost 2 months have gone by already. I started a new habit, I guess it's a resolution really though I do not like making New Year's resolutions. Actually I started several habits. They're all ticked off in my journal each day. I may as well list them here to keep myself accountable in another place. In January I started walking for 45 minutes on the treadmill each day. I also started doing dance workout videos (at least 20 mi...

And so begins another Lenten season and we are still in a pandemic. With that comes another attempt atblogging regularly -- making a Doogie Howser-style habit. My beloved uncle in the Philippines, my mom's eldest brother, passed away unexpectedly today. I feel kind of guilty and also confused because I have not shed much tears today. A strange thing for me since I've been weeping a little bit almost every day for at least a week as friends and loved ones post about the passing of their father, father-in-law, death anniversaries of fathers and siblings...maybe I'm all cried out and numb right now. Though when I got together with my family by Zoom tonight to start our novena for my uncle seeing my mom in grief yet again was what hit me the hardest. I can't even see her and give her a hug because indoor gatherings are not allowed at the moment. Hopefully I can take her and my sister to the cemetery to visit dad this weekend...I miss him everyday still. My boyfriend'...

We're still in this pandemic, everyone. Let's not kid ourselves. Last week my travel agency closed it's doors permanently. Oof. It was poorly orchestrated and it was not headed by the best people for the task. If anything it was a clear indication of how much my dear agency was the black sheep of the corporate family. We really got a sense of who genuinely cared about us and who were "just doing (their) job." They tasked my colleague with a long laundry list of things that had to get squared away...all because she was the only one who had been recalled to the office to do work. The rest of us were only asked to gather our belongings and leave. But after 10 years together I could not leave my team stranded and fend for themselves. I left my new job a few hours early one day and hustled hard with my colleagues trying to empty the office of as many brochures and as much garbage as we could. My regional manager, who is still furloughed, actually texted us t...

My grandma had her 96th birthday this past Monday. 96th! And there was nothing we could do to celebrate it alongside her. Luckily I was able to arrange a FaceTime with her recreation staff -- I have not been able to FaceTime with her since the 2nd, more than 3 weeks ago. it's tough because the staff are only able to coordinate FaceTime with the residents during weekdays 9 to 5...and guess when my shifts are?! (Thankfully a new schedule season is starting up soon and I have arranged for compressed workweeks so I should be able to see her at least every other week.) I told her it's her birthday, but I don't think she really registered that that's a thing, or maybe she just figured we'll celebrate it together when we have a free moment. Embarrassingly she had to tell me not to cry; I don't want her to worry but I miss seeing her in person and I always fear she'll think she has been abandoned. She coughed a couple of times which of course caused a bit of c...

This weekend has been a lot of late nights just like old times, but only because we keep on watching stuff on TV until we're too tired to watch anymore. Woke up fairly late and so we made brunch late...which made me show up late for the twins' birthday on zoom. But it was great to see everyone's faces. Mom and baby sis did not make it into the chat. Later, S posted some video and photos of their birthday...there was even a community parade of strangers who decorated their cars and drove around to wish all the neighboring kids a happy birthday. Great timing! Since it was Easter I could finally have Starbucks so I ordered for drive thru and dropped off some decaf mochas for mom and baby sis in exchange for some pulled pork. :P Later on Weird Kid and his girlfriend (let's call her T, now) popped by my house with a Pizza Hut pizza and brownies for Easter. I'm glad I was able to see most of my family in person today, even if for just a minute. The only one missi...

Today I went to Superstore and picked up some groceries for Butch and I as well as for mom and baby sis. The store was not as regimented as it was when I went there last, which was actually kind of disappointing. A lot more people were not respecting the social distancing concept. So strange that they would be more lax when last week Wal-Mart was ramping up their social distancing measures. I wish they would all enforce the same protocols at the same time. I tried calling the credit card company again to dispute that odd charge on my account. While I sat on hold getting drowsy Butch pulled up a way to dispute the charge online, but through the normal website and not on the app. Phew, so much better than sitting on hold. Here's hoping they can shed some light on the mystery. Tomorrow is Easter and it's going to be so weird to attend Easter Mass online and be apart from the family. Mom was making some pulled pork for tomorrow and she offered some if I wanted to come pic...

Another fun night zooming with my friends. Not without technical difficulties, though. :( We thought we'd try Google Hangouts and then Google Meet because of the security concerns with Zoom. But sadly I kept freezing or lagging with the Google apps. I still kind of froze at times with Zoom tonight for some reason. But the big annoyance with me about keeping on meeting through Zoom was the 40 minute limit. So they got me; I subscribed tonight because I figured 20 dollars a month is a small price to pay to be able to stay connected all night without having to add a new meeting code every 40 minutes. We also played more Cards Against Humanity together. I was on a roll! Also was super happy when Golf Girl and R messaged me asking if we were still chatting tonight. They were looking forward to it! Turns out they didn't get the Google Hangout invite somehow. I learned that R enjoys The Circle so we had a great chat about that. We also talked a little bit about Love Is B...

So today was my last day at work for the week but they just put out an offer for more overtime next week. I offered another 3 hours a day for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I don't want to miss my Friday Zoom with my friends. I noticed a strange charge on my Visa the other night, but when I tried to call the card company to dispute it they were closed for the evening. Hopefully they're open tomorrow even though it's Good Friday. Or I can try on Saturday. I've never had a weird charge on a credit card before! Butch's office is closed for another two weeks so I have my office mate for a little while longer :P Although we don't get to have a long lunch together or anything. It's just nice to have someone else in the house with me. Other than that nothing much to report today. Oh boy, this self-isolation stuff makes for pretty blah days.

Daisy sent me a gif today wishing me a happy Rex Manning Day. I totally did not realize it was an actual date on the calendar. That movie is still a good one to rewatch over and over. I always seem to start my lunch later than scheduled. Today Butch surprised me with some Burger King he ordered -- the crispy chicken sandwich meal was on special. Never had BK chicken before but it was definitely crispy as advertised. Good flavor, too. New show to binge on Netflix: The Circle. The premise looked kind of cheesy and it just seemed like a Big Brother knockoff from what I saw in the trailer. But after getting hooked on Love is Blind I figured I'd give The Circle a shot. Well as it turns out it is my kind of show. :P All about chatting and social media messaging (although kind of emoji heavy) and games you can play with others in an online setting! It has Leah written all over it. The people do seem kind of overly stereotypical at times. I mean, like Joey, he is a straight ...

Tuesday morning I woke up realizing I had not finished off some accounting on a clients' destination wedding; but with me working overtime with the other job when in the world was I going to make it to the travel office to get it done! Especially with us (temporarily) closing the doors after Wednesday. As I ate my breakfast to prepare to start my shift I decided I would boot it to the travel office and get it done during my lunch break. Mission accomplished. I did not have much time to eat -- thank goodness for leftover pizza -- but I was relieved I was able to finish the ONE thing I could not do from home. Phew. The other job was still more of the same. Lots of helping, lots of thankful callers, everyone doing their part to take care of one another. Baby sis messaged me and told me that her and our mom wandered to the Italian Centre to grab some food and go for a walk. I understand they are going a little stir-crazy but I was kind of annoyed that mom would wander out and ...