1/2/2018: Got up at 7:10. Watched 9:00am "The Greatest Showman" at Great Mall AMC, Hue Jackman proved he can sing, dance, and perform. Played 60 minutes table tennis, 30 minutes with Kung, and 30 minutes with Stephanie.
1/3/2018: Got up at 7:16. Moved neighbor side Oak leaves over to our side with blower, also cleaned up Oak leaves in Bird of Paradise bush, took 50 minutes, all sweaty. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
1/4/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:18. Enrolled in Aetna Medicare plan D (subscription drug). Stopped by CVS, still no Barefoot Riesling on sale, instead got one bottle 750ml 月桂冠 Sake, 2 bottles 松竹梅 Sake, one bottle 750ml Forestville Gewürztraminer, one bottle 1.5L Pinot Noir, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato. Swing by Marina Grocery and got one pack fried fish cake, 2 packs thick bean curd, one bag julienned bamboo shoot, one pack spare rib, one pack beef neck bone, one head Napa cabbage, one pack garlic, one bottle Taiwan rice wine, one pack (x4) Neoguri Raman noodle, one bunch banana, one bag dark sugar, and one pack sweet steam bread. Had 40 minutes MB with mini, no EJ.
1/5/2018: Got up at 7:30. Paid a visit to Costco, purchased two dozen organic egg, one tub cream cheese, one Cranberry Walnut Round, one dozen bagel, and two box (8 each) Pierre Angus cheeseburger, also got one whole combo pizza. Played 60 minute table tennis, 30 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung.
1/6/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, my turn to drive, got 2 bar soap from Jason. There were 6 people in the group: Ching, ShuHua (Ching's wife), the other Ming, Wayne, Jason, and myself. Swing by Marukai, got one Karei Whole, one Bara Chirashi Sushi, one California Roll big, and one Salmon Shioyaki Bento. Stopped by Daiso and purchased 4 Silicone haet mat, one larger container (for pizza), two silicone cover, and one Silicone cup cover. Cleaned up (80%) leftover garden waste in the street just before the pickup truck collected it. Checked at CoveredCa.com but could not find any place to report changes due to Medicare enrollment, will have to call them Monday.
1/7/2018: Got up at 7:30. Checked Panasonic cordless phone at Costco, they only have 2 for sale, one from Panasonic, one from AT&T, neither was what Peilee wanted. Had one hour MB with minis (7), EJ. Have been getting flea bites all over my body the last several days, changing clothes did not help, so I am putting all clothes into the dryer to kill them in all life stages, also washing all other clothes, se if this helps.
1/8/2018: Got up at 7:30. Called CoveredCa at 8:40, after standard auto-phone questions and 5 minutes wait, I was able to talk to representative Monica, finished the process at 9:14, going forward, we'll be paying $1.55 for Anita starting February until her Medicare kicks in in June.
Played 70 minutes table tennis, 30 minutes with Kung, 40 minutes with Stephanie. Uploaded 727 2017 Brail, Argentina and Chile with Easter Island photos to Google Photo.
1/9/2018: Got up at 7:30. Played 65 minutes table tennis, 40 minutes with Kung and 25 minutes with Stephanie. Received Panasonic cordless phone ordered from Amazon for Peilee. Molly sneaked into the house, I failed to grab her and got her out, in the process, she scratched/bite my hands, mad as hell, Anit opened the glass door in the family room and she got out. She later showed up at the feeding place like nothing happened:-((( Pondering on which service to make our photo book.
1/10/2018: Got up at 7:20. Blood in my stool, again after drinking some red wine before going to bed. Discovered the photos uploaded to Google Photo were not sorted properly, some are in name order, some are in time order, not what I expected in name order, apparently Google does not provide name sorting feature at all, nothing I could do to move so many files around manually. Added two photos taken by Niki at the Tango dinner show on 11/20/2017. Played 65 minutes table tennis, 35 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung. Added a small wood piece to reduce the opening of the auto feeder to prevent small white cat from reaching into release food from the feeder, hope this does not block food dispensing path.
1/11/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Stopped by CVS and, surprisingly, got 2 bootle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, one bottle 750m 月桂冠 Sake, 1 bottles 松竹梅 Sake, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, and one bottle 1.5L Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon. Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, 6 Romaine tomatoes, one Daikon, one pack pork end cut, one bag Gailan, 2 bag 210g spicy peanuts, one bunch bananas, and one dozen Michelob Ultra beer. Had 40 minutes MB with RM, EJ.
1/12/2018: Got up at 7:25. Swing by Costco with Anita, got one Cranberry Walnut Round and 6 MoveFree (3 for Peilee, 2 for mom, and one for myself). Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Had 15 minutes MB with RM, no EJ. Affixed screen protector to the new iPad for KwangHua, charging it, plan to configure it tomorrow.
1/13/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, Jason to drive. There were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Ming, the other Ming, Alex, Ching, Wayne, Jason, and myself. Configured KwangHua's iPad with my AppleID and credit card info.
1/14/2018: Got up at 7:30. Went with Anita to Coleman, got some nuts (Brazil, Cashew, Almond), and dark chocolate at Trader Joe's, got 2 32 oz Hazelnut creamer and 6 Oui Yogurt from Target, finally stopped by Marshall and got a couple of clothes for Anita as well as some dark chocolate to bring with me back to Taiwan.
1/15/2018: Got up at 7:25. Trimmed off some upward shooting branches from the fake Cherry tree per Anita's request, probably will trim off several more this afternoon after table tennis, need to cut them up to shorter segments. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Played 45 minutes table tennis (1:20-2:05), 15 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung. Cut off two more branches per Anita's request after she came back from her movie trip to SantanaRow, cut them up into smaller segments, the whole process took nearly 2 hours.
1/16/2018: Got up at 7:25. Made a shorter auto feeder extender so that more cat food may be placed for a longer supply, but the original cover will not be able to inserted, will use aluminum foil to serve as cover. Played 55 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 35 minutes with King, my play was very lousy:-( Received HL-3140cw compatible cartridges (Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan), test run OK after installation.
1/17/2018: Got up at 7:20. Repackaged the new toner cartridges and reinstalled original ones, will use the new ones only after color toner has been depleted. Blowed Oak leaves in our neighbor's front yard to our side for Francisco to process tomorrow, not too bad as few leaves were piling up. Played 50 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung, even though I am still playing lousy but I've decided to stick with the hand shake racket instead of switching between two different types of rackets. The Wasabi sauce did not arrive by 8:00pm as expected. Checked front porch again at 9:30 and found the Wasabi on the steps, now I can have Wasabi flavored Angus burger tomorrow.
1/18/2018: Got up at 7:05. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Deputy chief allowed my entrance to the building. Handed one Oui Yogurt to JP. Stopped by CVS, again no Barefoot Riesling was found, purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake, 2 bottles 750ml Gekkeikan sake, and one bottle 750ml Forest Ville Gewürztraminer. Swing by Marina Grocery, got one head Daikon, 3 carrots, one pack fried tofu, one pack pork spareribs, two pack pin rice noodle, 4 green bell pepper, one pack beef neck bones, one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, 2 bunch bananas, one pack thick bean curd, one bottle Hazelnut powder creamer.
1/19/2018: Got up at 7:20. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one bag pine nut, one tub cream cheese, one MoveFree, and one Cranberry Walnut Round, also got a whole combo cheese. The RX300 key housing was broken, it'll be difficult to glue it back to it's original strength, discovered the spare key has exact function, so we decided to use the spare instead, glue the broken one with superglue and put it back as spare. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, as there's rain water on the ground, some leaves and debris could not be removed but overall OK. Played 45 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, she's playing better each time, also good for me since I can improve as well - finally. Went over network recovery procedures with Anita.
1/20/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, my turn to drive. There were 8 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Wayne, Ming, the other Ming, Ching, Jason, and myself. Stopped by Marukai, purchased one pack Rexsole, one Buri Kirimi, one SP Barachirshi, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one Californic Roll big, and one Sashimi Moriawase. Swing by Daiso and got one 2 pocket waist pouch. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Discovered that the camera in Tip's garage failed work for a long while, suggestion of power cycle brought back its normal function.
1/21/2018: Got up at 7:35. Dropped off Anita at Yin Wang's house, they are going together to their TFGH class reunion luncheon. Swing by Marshall and got 2 scarves for mom and sis. Also got a replacement exercise mat, part time MB tool. Had 15 minutes MB, EJ. The Shutterfly photo book tool was very challenging, I could not get going at all.
1/22/2018: Got up at 7:15. Played 65 minutes table tennis, 30 minutes with Stephanie, 35 minutes with Kung. Received the Alarm clock radio ordered from Amazon, it was delivered by the same postman who delivered our mails, tested OK. The uploaded photos to Shutterfly were in date order not in name order which I don't know how to use them yet:-( Managed to select all uploaded photos and started the photo book editing, the theme "World Travel" I selected do not have the option of tilting or rotating the photos, I could only use the fixed formats provided, not sure if other styles have this kind of options or not. Gradually got the hang of adding photos to pages, will take me a month at least.
1/23/2018: Got up at 7:15. Checked the 3 buckets that were leaking, the big one seemed to be leaking from two different spots while the two smaller ones were leaking all over. Applied 2 rectangular Flex Seal flats to the larger bucket, added some liquid Flex Seal around the edge of the seal, hope it would work. Played 65 minutes table tennis, 30 minutes with Kung, 35 minutes with Stephanie. Continue working on the photo book, for some reason, I was able to rotate as well as resize photos on the page, adding frames for photos on page was also possible, nice!
1/24/2018: Got up at 7:15. Played 55 minutes table tennis, 40 minutes with Kung, 15 minutes with Stephanie. Discovered the ability to manipulate photos was by turning on "Advanced Editing".
1/25/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. The new chief started this Tuesday, a young man in his 40s whom Whisky seemed to be very close. Stopped by CVS, still no Barefoot Riesling, got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, two bottle 750ml Gekkeikan Sake, one bottle Sho Chiku Bai Sake, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Red Moscato, and on bottle Forest Ville Gewürztraminer. Swing by Marina Grocery, got one pack fried fish cake, one pack dried shrimp, one pack beef tendon ball, 6 Romaine tomatoes, 2 pack thick bean curd, one bottle 750ml rice wine, one pack lotus root, one pack fresh bamboo shoot, one bunch banana, one pack mushroom, one pack salad bamboo shoot, one pack Taiwan sweet sausage, and one bottle powder Hazelnut creamer. Got one bag small potatoes and one head celery from Susan.
1/26/2018: Got up at 7:20. Anita checked her Explorer credit card and, voila!, Medicare payment of $402 was finally charged, need to call Aetna to enquire at the missing bill issue. Visited Costco with Anita at 9:55, purchased one Cranberry Walnut Round (just came off the oven-hot), one pack Sargento string cheese, one can Macadamia nut, one can Honey Roasted nuts, and one can unsalted mixed nuts. Played 65 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 40 minutes with Kung. Called Aetna for Medicare plan D billing issue, was told not to worry, the invoice should come in in about a week and due date is around 10th of each month. Paid VHP $1.55 online for Anita's CoveredCa coverage.
1/27/2018: Got up at 8:00. No hiking today as Dan maybe coming to work on RX300. Dan arrived at 11:50, nearly 2 hours late, oh well:-( Dan finished the work by 4:30, charge was $550 including the sensor part he had charged. Will observe the oil thing for a few weeks before letting Dan know the status. Aetna Medicare plan D bill arrived today, they provided payment coupons and envelopments for the next 11 months, no online payment option was offered but they do have option of paying the whole year with just one special coupon which we plan to make use of to save the trouble and postage.
1/28/2018: Got up at 7:40. Visited Trader Joe's on Coleman, got coconut chips/strips and dried strawberry chip. Stopped by Marshalls and got 7 t-shirts/sweat shirts for me, and Anita's brothers, also got a one jacket for Sharon and one vest for Tina, the sizes may not fit too well but......
1/29/2018: Got up at 7:32. Stopped by Costco, got gas for RX300, found one shredder which was on sale for $39.99 but was quite large at 10"x13.8"x18.2". Used a different approach to repair the leaking buckets - remove outer duct tapes of three openings and applied Flex Seal flats carefully, ready to apply liquid seal inside to strengthen them. Played 60 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 35 minutes with Kung. Stopped by Costco and procured one shredder for Tip. Amazon delivered the power bank at 7:15pm.
1/30/2018: Got up at 7:25. Added two smaller Flex Seal flats to the inside openings of the leaking bucket, hopefully this will help reduce the water pressure forced on the outer flats. Leonard came over to estimate tree trimming, he'll be here for the job coming Sunday for $775. Played 60 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 35 minutes with Kung, I am playing a bit better now thanks to their improvements. Stopped by Costco and added exactly 9 gallon 91 to LS400 at $3.199/gal.
1/31/2018: Got up at 7:10. Applied black Flex Seal liquid to the white flats outside the leaky bucket. Played 60 minutes table tennis, 25 minute with Stephanie, 35 minutes with Kung. Finished Shutterfly photobook and made more adjustments after Anita reviewed it. Submitted the final change and made purchase, a total of $80.58, arrival date will be between 2/10 and 2/13.
2/1/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15. Stopped by CVS, no Barefoot Riesling again, but purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 750ml Fetzer Riesling, one bottle 750ml Yellowtail Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Livingston Moscato, and one bottle 750ml Beringer Pink Moscato. Swing by Marina Grocery and got one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, one bunch bananas, one head Cauliflower, two bag 210g spicy peanuts, one pack (x6) preserved duck eggs, one dozen Michelob Ultra, and one pack dried mushroom. Had 15 minutes MB with mini, could not EJ. Tried but in vein to find the nuts we purchased from Costco, found out from Anita, after she returned from City Sports, that they were right next to the cabinet which I didn't even look:-(
2/2/2018: Got up at 7:15. Visited Costco with Anita, got one Cranberry Walnut Round, two dozen organic eggs, one bag organic pine nuts, two packs Sargento string cheese, and one pack (x4) Bistro organic chicken salad, also purchased one whole combo pizza. Played 45 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Had 15 minutes MB with the new RM (one end was too loose), EJ. Visited CVS on Berryessa and got 4 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling, one bottle 750ml Fetzer Riesling, and one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake.
2/3/2018: Got up at 6:30. Hiking day, Jason to drive, this will be the last hike in February for me until I come back from Taiwan. There were 10 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Ching, Ming, the other Ming, Jerry, Alex, Wayne, Jason, and myself. Purchased pack (16 oz) Guatemala coffee bean from Peet's at $17.95. Trimmed front porch rose branches for nearly one hour, all sweaty.
2/4/2018: Got up at 7:25. Leonard arrived at 9:15 with 2 helpers and a mechanical shredder. He finished the job by 2:10. Received CR123 batteries for Arlo camera, reattached the camera back to its original pan/tilt bracket, adjusted the view and closed the window but left the screen window unattached, need to observe the condition of the new batteries before putting the screen window back. Cooked all remaining dumplings and wontons for Anita, a total of 4 meals can be served (4 dumplings and 4 wontons each).
2/5/2018: Got up at 7:25. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market with Anita, got 3 packs dried threaded wooden ear and one pack whole dried wooden ear. Played 55 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung. Continue packing.
2/6/2018-2/7/2018: Left for SJC at 8:50, the commute traffic was pretty bad, took us 30 minutes to get there. Since the security check point was being renovated, my TSA Pre status did not help at all. Boarded the plane at 11:15, the 3 seat row was to be mine alone but one Korean guy moved over from his seat next to his wife and occupied the other isle seat, oh well, at least the seat between was left unoccupied. Flight 171 took off at 11:42, 17 minutes behind schedule. Had red wine before lunch, had miso mackerel and white wine for lunch. Watched “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”, “The Foreigner”, and “Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House”. Flight 171 landed at NRT at 3:05pm Tokyo time. Took a while to get to connecting gate 52, discovered that the United Club was 11 minutes away, called Anita while walking toward it. A lot of people there as it’s becoming too popular, I was able to use Pixcel to get online using their Wi-Fi but could not do it with iPad, even though it was connected but Google kept disconnecting it claiming insecure.
Walked back to gate 52 and used the Wi-Fi there (Narita Free......). Stood in economy class line waiting to board flight NH823, an ANA personnel came to check ticket and passport, he told me to wait in business class line when I discovered my boarding pass was for business class seat 1C, I had no idea how I got this, maybe the ANA service girl in San Jose made a mistake??? Enjoy it while it lasted!!! Flight 823 took off at 7:15, 30 minutes behind schedule. We landed at Taoyuan airport at 10:19, 9 minutes behind schedule. Peilee and Tina picked me up at the airport, got to Neihu at 11:45. Called Anita at 12:18.
2/8/2018: Got up at 6:30. The 國民年金 application for myself was a bit different from what Tina described yesterday because her responsibility was for low income senior which the district office took care of the application whereas mine was for general senior and would be processed by the the labor department instead, so I need to fill out the form and mail it to the labor department office to process, have to make a copy of my post office savings account book to go with the application - haven’t figure out how yet. After about an hour’s research, I could not find local banks that handled foreign exchange so I had to go down the banking zone near the Metro station, discovered China Trust Bank Neihu division (中國信託銀行內湖分行) can do it with NT300 fee (free for anyone holding an account there), decided to go with the fee, actual rate became 28.876 after the fee-the lowest rate I could remember. Set up the new Panasonic 4-handset system, it is now operational, two of them replaced the old Panasonic phones I installed several years ago (one in the kitchen entry way and the other in the living room), the third one replaced the old one mom has in her bedroom, and the 4th one would go into Peilee’s bedroom I assume. Painfully trying to setup iPad for Kuanghua, the approachnI took was mistaken, by starting with my Apple ID on the new iPad caused all the problem as a new Apple ID still attached to my old one, anything I changed on the new iPad effector impacted the other devices I installed with it, discovered the only correct way was to sign out from my Apple ID and create a new one for Kuanghua, then another problem was that her e-mail address was used in creating a new Apple ID for her even though I could not finish the process with it, Apple kept claiming the newly created Apple ID did not exist but would not allow me to use it to create a new Apple ID with it, I had to get another e-mail address from Kuanghua and start from there, not sure what to do if she does not have another one:-(
2/9/2018: Woke up at 3:00, Got up at 6:15. Went to 湖光市場with mom, picked up some ready food for tonight as well as some vegetables for the New Year. Used Kuang Hua’s Gmail address and created a new Apple ID, everything seemed fine until I tried to download Google Chrome, it simply wouldn’t complete the purchase, requesting me to contact their tech support which I finally did after unfruitful 10 minutes trying to resolve it myself, the tech support who took my call was curtious, he courted me through the same process I tried, but somehow it worked and the setup was complete. Stopped by PX Mart, got one pack kitchen mops, one pack mushroom, and one tube butter cream. I think I made a couple of small holes in the scarf intended for sis when I removed the label, the thread that was holding the label was part of the fabric instead of actual thread added, I had to give up and possible give her some chocolate instead, oh well:-(. Tried but failed to setup the Echo Dot as an independent device for Peilee simply because the App Store wouldn’t allow the download, I had to add the device under my account.
2/10/2018: awoke up at 4:25, got up at 6:30. Had a haircut at a different barbershop by the same lady at 2:00, cost NT300, I gave her 100 more - her old barbershop charged NT370 before possibly going to her old boss more at the time. Made new spill prof shied for the kitchen, this time a more complete coverage.
Visited Costco with Peilee’s family, got 4 bottles 750ml Kingmen kaoliang, 2 for Chang families, one to bring back to San Jose, and one for my consumption here, got 2 large packs of small 23.4 gram sized 北海之味米果. Turned in at 8:0p, could not keep awake.
2/11/2018: Woke up at 2:30, got up at 6:00. Visited PX Mart, purchased one whole wheat bread, one pack cucumbers, one head 大頭菜, one bag coffee creamer balls, one flat smoke bacon, one pack salad bamboo shoots, 4 pack of mustard flavored pea crackers, and one pack kitchen towel. Had 20 minutes MB before going to bed, EJ.
2/12/2018: Got up at 6:00. Left for 永和博愛街at 9:50, taking Metro, it was pretty smooth with minimum waiting time, Got to 頂溪station at 10:30, arriving destination at 10:45. Handed over the new iPad to Kuang Hua and showed her how to use it, left at 11:40, got back to Neihu residence at 12:30, a bit longer due to lunch hour crowd. Stopped by PX Mart, got two 500ml Taiwan beer, one pack ground pork, two packs of almond/small dried fish snack, one pack (x3) kitchen towel, and one thick white bread. Had a unpleasant argument with mom over eating habit. Turned in at 9:00.
2/13/2018: Woke up at 4:30, got up at 6:10. Spent over 2 hours cleaning mom’s bathroom, lots of water mineral deposits, possibly never cleaned, had to get water deposit remover from PX Mart to help speed up the task.
Visited PX Mart again in the afternoon, purchased one pack crab leg meat, one pack oyster, one carrot, two packs whole wheat bread, two 500ml Taiwan beer, two packs of clam, one pack sweet sausages, and one pack oyster mushroom.
2/14/2018: Woke up at 4:20, got up at 6:00. Stopped by 內湖市場 with Peilee, picked up about 3kg Daikon rice cake, some small shrimps with shell, one dozen large mushrooms, and varieties of bean products (bean curd, 素雞, tofu skin...). Went to the post office, register-mailed the senior citizen monthly pay application, withdrew NT3000 from the ATM, updated the passbook, swing by PX Mart, picked up two bags of almond/seaweed/small dried fish snack, 4 bags of pea crackers, one pack (x3) kitchen towel, one bottle sriracha hot sauce, one China Times, and one can pork song. Precooked flower mushroom, mushroom, oyster mushroom and wooden ear for plating cold dish tomorrow evening. Met Jerome at Metro Neihu station at 3:10, took a while to find him. We had tea at Tsu Zhi house near 大湖公園, handed him 2017 and 2018 donations and a bunch of chocolate. Came home to find sis working on flower arrangement, a simple one because of Maggie’s passing.
2/15/2018: Woke up at 2:30, got up at 7:00. New Year’s Eve, paid a visit to father’s resting place in the morning. Had lunch in the waiting lounge after the process was done. Stopped by PX Mart to get some last minutes food material-XO sauce... New Years Eve dinner
Complete dishes served
My contributions were steamed seafood, Tripple mushroom dish, and Baked bacon with wrapped oyster.
2/16/2018: Got up at 7:00. Peilee drove us to 三芝 and 淡水, a total of 5 hours drive.
2/17/2018: Got up at 6:00. Left for Yungho around 9:55. Got there at 1:45. Had lunch there with a big glass of Kaoliang, finishe 90% of the dishes.
Stopped by Kwangyao’s house before heading to dinner at 蘇杭小舘, it took 3 connecting Metro lines plus walking 10 minutes to get there.
Decided to ride the Metro home by myself instead of waiting for Peilee to pick me up, it was easy, I only had to change train once, got back to Neihu residence at 9:35.
2/18/2018: Got up at 6:45. Called Anita at 7:25 before everyone’s up. Paid VHP online $1.55 for March premium. Took the bus to 東湖公園to watch Sakura, the photos posted online by early visitors were pretty, but most of the trees were in late blooming stage, the amount of visitors made the event funny. Stopped by PX Mart and got one 6-pack 12 oz and one 16 oz single can Taiwan golden label beer.
2/19/2018: Woke up at 5:00, got up at 6:45. Change my T-Mobile account password to “xxxxTina!”. Peilee drove everyone to 大安森林公園, the weather was nice but kind of hot for me so I stood under the trees to keep cool most of the time, Wi-Fi was adequate over there. Had lunch at 東門餃子舘, a popular place for tourists from many countries. Had 20 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
2/20/2018: Got up at 6:45. Purchased breakfast buns from the only bakery open-麥香. Did not leave the residence rest of the day.
2/21/2018: Woke up at 4:50. Called Anita at 6:25. Got up at 6:50. Visited PX Mart at 10:40, picked up two cans of high mountain Woolong tea, 2 cans Ahleeshan tea, one pack (x3) 南僑水晶肥皂, one pack tomatoes, one bunch bananas, and one whole wheat bread-need to get one bag Jasmine tea, More XO sauce, beer, and more snacks the next time. Had 10 minutes Mb with legs in the shower, EJ.
2/22/2018: Got up at 7:20. Visited PX Mart in the afternoon, purchased one bottle 600ml 58° Kaoliang, two bags almond/dried fish snack, one bag Jasmine tea, one small bag 凍頂烏龍茶, two packs clams, one pack cucumbers, and 4 cans Taiwan beer, swing by 新東陽and got two bags seaweed wrap candies. Peilee came home at 7:20, he’s taking Friday off.
2/23/2018: Called Anita at 7:10, got up at 7:20. Peilee drove Tina and myself to 三峽where Tina submitted thanks for wishes came true at 祖師廟.
2/24/2018: Called Anita at 7:21, got up at 7:30. Stopped by 旺旺 and got one pack brushpicks, one pack 0.8mm gap interdental brush, and one water bottle which I plan to use to support my thigh while in flight. Swing by 新東陽, picked up two pack black sesame flat candies, and two pack seaweed wrap candies. Went to PXMart with Peilee, picked up a couple of tofu, 4 16 oz Taiwan golden beer, one bunch bananas, and two packs spare ribs. Sis stopped by around 3:30, as usual, she brought a cake for my birthday plus a bag of Korean Kimchi, we did not cut the cake as everyone was still full from lunch, LINED up with her.
2/25/2018: Woke up at 6:20, got up at 7:10. Anita went to Kung’s house for class. Called her outside on the stairs, signal was strong. Confirmed that Peilee is going to take me to the airport Tuesday. Had my birthday cake at 3:00 plus a cup of coffee, I probably over ate during lunch as my stomach did not agree with me after having the cake and coffee. Had a little food for dinner, had to pretend I was busy eating throughout though. Ordered a 4-pack Bug repellent from Amazon.
2/26/2018: Called Anita at 7:21 before getting up at 7:40. ANA auto check-in was completed for both flights (NH 824 and NH 172) at 10:24. Started final packing, decided to wear the same clothes going back. Changed my mind finishing up packing, I am going to wear a thin sweater, a light jacket and the light weight vest instead, this freed up some space for more snacks, so I visited PX Mart again, purchased 4 bags bean curd threads, 4 bags fish jerky with black sesame, one bag bean curd snack, and 2 bags dried fish almond. Finished all packing and went to bed at 11:00, watched a couple episodes of 王牌大律師before trying to fall asleep.
2/27/2018: Got up at 6:00 with the help of Alexa. Peilee drove me to the airport, got there at 7:55. Took a while to get to the correct counter as several attendants gave me bogus info. Got to gate D3 for flight NH824 at 8:30. Boarded the plane at 10:00. It’s a full flight, the two seat row (38H, 38K) next to me weren’t occupied but the flight attendant would not allow my moving over, oh well. However, a few minutes later, the same attendant came over and waved me to move over, thank God! The flight left the gate at 10:20, there were half a dozen planes waiting to take off, after 25 minutes we finally took off at 10:54, 34 minutes behind schedule. We landed at NRT at 2:27, 3 minutes ahead of schedule. Went through the security checkpoint with ease, found boarding gate 57B and walked another 10 minutes to get to United Club, which was just outside the international connecting flight security check point, talked to Anita and found out they have draft beer, I just need to look for the cold beer bottle refrigerator which I did and had one plus several Sushi. Left United Club at 4:15, arriving gate 57B in 10 minutes. Boarded the plane at 5:20. Praying that the seat next to me won’t be someone too big or rowdy. It turned out to be a fully booked flight, I believe it has something to do with the low price of the week, not sure if I will use this again or fly on a more expensive day. The flight did not take off until 6:00, 30 minutes behind schedule. NH172 landed at SJC at 9:47.
2/28/2018: Got up at 4:15. Played 55 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
3/1/2018: Got up at 7:15. Updated unpw.doc on the MacBook Pro and Seagate backup. Played 45 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Handed over tea and snacks. Had 20 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
3/2/2018: Got up at 4:40. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Anita went with Rose to an afternoon happy hour meal, she brought back some leftover plus new order of salad, a full meal, not bad. Removed all recycle paper (to be used in the printer), cut the portion carrying name and ssn off.
3/3/2018: Got up at 8:00, hiking day, but not going today pretending not in town yet, also will not join John Liu's Rite for Spring gathering at his house. Burned the name/ssn papers. Visited Target and purchased 4 64 oz Hazelnut creamer, one head Cauliflower, one pack cotton pad, and one tub yogurt, stopped by Marshall but did not get anything, I was allergic to the air in there and had to get out as soon as I could.
3/1/2018: Got up at 7:15. Updated unpw.doc on the MacBook Pro and Seagate backup. Played 45 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Handed over tea and snacks. Had 20 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
3/2/2018: Got up at 4:40. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Anita went with Rose to an afternoon happy hour meal, she brought back some leftover plus new order of salad, a full meal, not bad. Removed all recycle paper (to be used in the printer), cut the portion carrying name and ssn off.
3/3/2018: Got up at 8:00, hiking day, but not going today pretending not in town yet, also will not join John Liu's Rite for Spring gathering at his house. Burned the name/ssn papers. Visited Target and purchased 4 64 oz Hazelnut creamer, one head Cauliflower, one pack cotton pad, and one tub yogurt, stopped by Marshall but did not get anything, I was allergic to the air in there and had to get out as soon as I could.
3/4/2018: Got up at 7:15. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased 3 Cranberry Walnut Rounds (2 for her to take back to Taiwan), one Sweet Kale Salad kit (for Anita), one Asian Cashew Salad kit, one bag Pine nuts (for Anita), one tub cream cheese (for Anita), one pack string cheese (for Anita), two dozen organic eggs, and one pack Beef ribeye Steak, also got a whole combo pizza.
3/5/2018: Got up at 7:05. Drove Anita to SJC for trip back to Taiwan, the traffic was a bit lighter than the last time when I flew, even though I left her right after she entered the security check area but there was still a @2.00 parking charge. Stopped by Costco and purchased 2 packs of large shrimp - $4.00 off each. Anita called from SJC (missed the first one which she left a message), the plane just landed in SJC, a delay seemed inevitable. Flight 171 took off at 11:39, 14 minutes behind schedule but it will arrive NRT at 15:22, 18 minutes ahead of schedule. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung.
3/6/2018: Got up at 7:40. Anita called from博愛街using her cell at 8:11, her Skype did not work after calling 15 seconds at NRT, most likely ran out of balance, need to check that. Played 60 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 35 minutes with Kung. Checked online and confirmed her Skype balance is $0.04, no easy way to add credit from here, has to be performed from her iPad.
3/7/2018: Got up at 8:10. Jason came by to borrow car battery charger, his wife's Lexus would not start after sitting idle for a while. Watered front yard plants, including Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise), trimmed off old flowers and cut 2 stems for display in the dinning room. Transplanted the malnutrition Azalea in the front yard, should bloom better flowers later. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Kung, 25 minutes with Stephanie. Had 20 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ. Added power steering oil to LS400 as it was generating noice. Called Anita at 6:10 - alarm failed to notify me.
3/8/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20, there was David, cleaning the front door like I've never seen before, turned out there is a meeting of regional representatives for Oversea Community Affairs Council, it will be hosted by deputy chief at 12:00, all activities were focused on his arrival:-( Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one pack fried fish cake, one bottle 750ml rice wine, one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, one dozen Michelob Ultra beer, two white onions, one pound lean ground pork, two heads broccoli, 4 tomatoes, one bunch bananas, and one head 大頭菜. Had 40 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ. Called Anita at 5:40 before dinner, tried to call mom at 6:00 and after, the answering machine of the new phone system kicked in after 4 rings and I had no idea if mom's home or not (not fast enough to pick the phone before 4 rings??????). Tried several times later but still got no answer.
3/9/2018: Got up at 7:20. Had smog test performed at South Bay Test Center for $60, passed.
Paid DMV registration fee $160 online.
3/10/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, Jason to drive even though my record showed I should drive. There were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Ching, Alex, Wayne, Ming, the other Ming, Jason, and myself. Called Anita at 6:00.
3/11/2018: Got up at 8:45. Stopped by Hmart (at least attempted to) but wasn't able to find parking as there were tons of vehicles circling the area trying, returned home without much due. Had 40 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. Called Anita at 7:00 - day-light saving time. Took shortcuts and finished reading "Neighborly: A Novel", found out what's disturbing Kat's life on AV.
3/12/2018: Got up at 7:25. Stopped by Hmart to check out their products, parking wasn't as horrible as yesterday but only a few spots were empty at any given time though, Hmart isn't like any of the grocery stores, such as SF (順發), Marina Grocery, I visited before, it carries mostly Korean style food with a small percentage from other countries, and it is at least 15% more expensive comparing similar offerings, I got one jar Kimchi and one bag Japanese Ramen, I could not buy any other items as they were too expensive for my comfort, I am unlikely to come back. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung. Swing by Costco, got one Cranberry Walnut Round, one 1.5L Irish Whisky, and one sweet Kale salad, also filled up gas for RX300. Called Anita at 7:00.
3/13/2018: Got up at 7:30. Filled the auto feeder to the rim. Replenished buckets with rain water, looks like all of them will be filled in just a short while-not enough buckets. Had 30 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. The tree branch folding saw was delivered by Amazon van at 12:05. Played 50 minutes table tennis, 22 minutes with Stephanie, 28 minutes with Kung. Called Anita at 6:00, she mentioned calling mom to see her Friday but found out she's been to ER last Thursday, called mom and talked for 20 minutes, she's not feeling well since before Chinese New Year but pretended so, which probably caused the ER visit, she's still sick and feeling well until now.
3/14/2018: Got up at 8:15. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 15 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. There were a fire engine and an ambulance at the end of the court when I got back, discovered, after observing from the room upstairs, they were for the old white couple's house, there was no one on the stretcher when paramedics rolled it out of the house, could be the situation wasn't serious enough to warrant a ride to the hospital, thank God. NCIS rerun all day until 8:00pm.
3/15/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:10. Stopped by CVS but again did not find any of the wines I want on sale, left without any purchase. Swing by Marina Grocery, got one bottle 750ml 大觀 Sake, two pack large bean curd, 2 bags Ramen, one pack dry 油麵, one pack Taiwan Sausage, and half a roasted duck. Replaced batteries for the Arlo camera watching the doorway, once again, the batteries died after it showed more than 70% just the day before, damn! Called Anita at 6:34 for 12 minutes. Called mom at 7:00 for 30 minutes.
3/16/2018: Got up at 7:35. Since the 300W Halogen light was out and could not be restored, I decided to take it apart and hopefully replace it, at least temporarily, with an LED bulb on top, it turned out to be successful even though it may not look too pretty. Remembered I have two bulb sockets from IKEA, may be I can use them some how to make the light structure prettier. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Received Ryobi 4Ah High Capacity Lithium+ battery at 2:57. Called Anita at 7:00. Will decide if going hiking tomorrow morning.
3/17/2018: Got up at 8:00. Hiking day, not going today as the weather is quite unstable. Vistited Tip at 10:30, repaired some loose fence panels, replaced one light bulb. Stopped by Jim's new condo, examined what were needed for a security system. Called Anita at 6:51 before she heads out to meet friend for hot steam bath and lunch. Checked on mom's condition, Peilee replied "the same", sigh!
3/18/2018: Got up at 7:27. Visited Tip's, fixed the lattice fence, checked central air conditioner filter (was OK, but cleaned the cover frame), cleaned master bedroom air vent. Added external speaker plus woofer to Echo Dot, checked RX330 Transmission/power steering (?) oil, coolant level (added filtered water), checked cabin air filter (it was really dirty, replaced just about 2 years ago), checked enginr air filter (not as bad even though I failed to replace it the last time, struggled for nearly 20 minutes finally realized the new one was a bit thicker and thus could not allow the cover to slid into locking positions, applied WD-40 to the edge closer to the two latches and the cover locked into position, reapplied the two screws and finished the installation), ordered cabin air filter from Amazon, will arrive on 3/20, will do installation later.
3/19/2018: Got up at 7:30. Stopped by Costco at 9:50, turned out they changed their store opening hours to 9:00 instead of 10:00, purchased one bottle 1.75L Red Label Johnnie Walker, one bottle Soy Sauce, one pack Hot Links, and one pack mushroom. No table tennis today as they were asked to have lunch at Teresa's house, there maybe more such events this week...... Checked RX300 cabin as well as engine air filter, both appeared to be in OK condition, no need to change for now. Completed reworking of the broken floor lamp, not pretty but functional.
Had 50 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ. Received new LS400 registration sticker.
3/20/2018: Got up at 7:21. Paid VHP premium $1.55 online, there will be one more payment in April (for May coverage) before Anita switch to Medicare in June. No table tennis again, Tip was busy. Received RX330 cabin air filter from Amazon van at 12:59. Had 45 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. Hung the two IKEA string lights in the garage to increase the brightness. Called Anita at 7:00.
3/21/2018: Got up at 7:20. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Fixed several loose fence panels at the back of recycle bins. Drilled two holes in the outside wall near the faucet and installed the outlet box, applied seal to the center opening as well as the screw hole on top, will connect the three wires as well as the remaining parts of the outlet when the seal drys, most likely Friday when it
stopped raining. Called Anita at 7:00.
3/22/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:12. There was only one car in the parking lot (most likely belonging to the deputy chief), so I waited in the car until other works arrived and opened the door - there was a lady asked me to return books to the library for her at 9:20. Stopped by OSH and got two light bulb sockets, hopefully at least one of them works for me. Went in CVS and left without making purchase as Barefoot brand still sell for full price, need to come up with plan B, maybe I should check out the CVS on Berryessa to make sure it is a chain wide policy not just the the Milpitas store. Swing by Marina Grocery, purchased one bottle 750ml rice wine, two bottles 750ml Sake, one Daikon, 4 bags spicy peanuts, one bunch bananas, and one pack (x4) Neoguri Spicy Seafood Noodle. Took down the light fixture I created for the Halogen lamp and replaced it with one of the new base and it worked, only took one hour, could have saved me at least one day if I took this approach had I known the inside of the old lamp.
Asked JP to order some dumplings for me, will pick up at CCC Sunday at 3:00pm, $48 total if all were prepared for me. Called Anita at 6:36 for 10 minutes. Called mom at 7:00 for 32 minutes.
3/23/2018: Got up at 7:15. Brushed off many aphids (蚜蟲) from rose buds, took several phots of the bloom flowers in the front yard, Lined to Anita. Went to Bullnosetile to check up on special tile order Anita made over two months ago, the lady took the receipt came back with the box stating that they called the number (which the correct number) numeral times but did not get through, just an excuse from them, but still happy the order did not disappear.
Stopped by Lowes and got one box 1 1/2" and one box 1 1/4" wood screws. Sent the tile photo to Anita. Spend over an hour on finalizing the deck outlet box installation: turn off circuit break#20 (that was the first I tried last week to find out which break to shut off - very lucky), attached the 3 wires (ground, neutral, hot) to the inside power outlet, attached the 3 wires to the new deck outlet, attached outlet cover (that was a lousy design since the gasket, screw and the springed outlet cover were all loose and difficult to aligh them, not to mention using a screw driver to attach them together), seal the outlet openings (there were two extension open, rain water may sip through even with built-in covers, also made sure the gasket edge was probably sealed with clear sealer), turned on circuit breaker #20, tested the function of the outlet (utility light was used to show it did work), done.
3/24/2018: Got up at 6:45. Hiking day, Jason caught a cold from his daughter, I am going alone. It was sunny when I left the house, started to rain after I got to 85, but there was clear sky ahead so I presume it would be OK by the time I got there, boy, was I wrong, it not only rained and no body showed up until 8:25, there were 8 people total with 6 umbrellas, the rain wasn't too bad when we hiked, but accumulated rain on my right side wetted my jacket and pants. I left Peet's at 10:40, stopped by Marukai and got one bottle 1.5L Gekkeikan Sake, one pack Big California Roll, one box Salmon Shioyaki Benton, one Bara Chirashi Sushi, and one Gindara (black cod). It started to rain cats and dogs when I got on 280, and it never eased up before I got home, WOW, didn't remember the last time I drove in such challenging condition.
3/25/2018: Got up at 7:20. Cleaned up some fallen Oak branches, trimmed off Birds of Paradise dead flower bunches. Removed most water standing on rose plants. Had 35 minutes MB with RM, almost but no EJ. Went picking up dumplings/wontons at CCC ordered through JP, swing by OSH and purchased one pack weathering door frame strips. There were a total of 73 wontons and 54 dumplings as opposed to 70 (35x2) and 50 (25x2) as they should be. Rewrapped them into 6 bags of wontons and 6 bags of dumplings for easy access. Called Anita at 7:00, but she's busy taking care of her mom, so I let her call me when she's convenient, she called at 7:37.
3/26/2018: Got up at 7:20. Stopped by Costco at 9:24, got back at 9:53, purchased one tub cream cheese, one pack string cheese, one pack roasted chicken legs, one pack (2 bottles) 750 ml B.V. Cabernet Sauvignon, one box organic ginger, one bag organic pine nuts, and one case Samuel Adams variety beer. Had 40 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ, the new RM still has the best touch. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, I am better at using hank shake racket even though did not get any help. Cleaned up unused wires/cables/old devices of all kinds and dump them into the large card board box and moved it to the garage. Called Anita at 6:35, her mom's not doing to good, had great difficulty getting up from the bed or chair...... Called mom at 7:00 for 33 minutes.
3/27/2018: Got up at 7:20. Got the balance due for the two explorer cards, the Capital one only had $50 (instead of the usual $120) balance due, need to check with Anita this evening, added PG&E and the two Explorer cards to Fidelity payment list to be processed 4/2/2018. Cleaned up the mess/junk on the chest (the one converted from right part of the entertainment center) in the garage, it does not appear to be crowded now. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Had 55 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ. Called Anita at 7:00. The $50 CapitalOne balance was correct as the Central Asia Institute charge ($70 increased to $100) was moved to her Explorer card for now, also reduced the amount to be paid to my Explorer card as I entered current balance instead of new balance due on Fidelity pay entries. Checked NCL website, they are increasing service charge to $14.95 per hour, found the link in their website and paid for it now for $13.99 per hour, a total of $251.82. Also completed my check-in process for May cruise. Printed the eDoc.
3/28/2018: Got up at 7:20. Unable to get Tip's image. Stopped by Lowes and got two 5' boards to serve as the bottoms for the 5 planter boxes. Swing by Sprouts, purchased one box chicken tenders and one box chicken bites, also purchased some chocolate bars for Tip's trip. Not in pleasant mood, not sure why, maybe I should get busier, good idea, go wash the cars - done in just 30 minutes, what else can I do next?????? Had 60 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. Called Anita at 7:00. Finished reading (with some skipped pages) Kindle March First Reads "Trespassing: A Novel".
3/29/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15, got in after Sophia arrived at 9:25. Check CVS wine isle, no Barefoot on sale. Swing by Marina Grocery, purchased one bottle 750ml Ozeki Sake, one pack tempura, one pack beef tendon ball, one pack salad bamboo shoot, 3 tomatoes, 2 pack thick bean curd, one tube garlic, one bunch bananas, and one pack small Gai Choy. Francisco was working in Korean neighbor's backyard when I got home. Called Anita at 6:30, she happened to be in the restroom. Called mom at 7:00. Ishin called at 8:11, he plan to join us for the 5/16 NCL cruise by himself, his wife could not make time for it, also he's coming up here on 4/17 for primary school reunion, planning to have lunch if feasible.
3/30/2018: Got up at 7:25. Stopped by Costco and purchased one pack Croissant for me, also got 3 bag Macadamia nuts, two bottle joint movement liquid for Tip's trip. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Called Anita at 7:00, her teeth were acting up again, most likely due to stress taking care of her mom.
3/31/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, my turn to drive, there were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Alex, Wayne, Ching, Ming, Jerry, Jason, and myself. Left Peet's a little earlier to visit Tip's. Added brake fluid, changed cabin air filter, unable to release the plastic cover to access the power steering oil valve, gave up after breaking one of the three screws, cleaned up some pine branches blocking walkway between the pool and the back fence, cleaned up over grown rosemary near the far corner behind the pool, removed about 12 square foot rosemary next to the newly established planter boxes. Called Anita at 7:00, 10 more days to go.
4/1/2018: Got up at 7:23. Visited Walmart in Milpitas, purchased 18 12oz Michelob Ultra, 2 5oz Tabasco sauce, 2 box (x40) Snuggle and one box (x40) fabric softener, one pack (x3) Browny paper towel, and one jar Tartar sauce. Spent one hour brushing off aphids (蚜蟲) from backyard rose buds. Had 20 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
4/2/2018: Got up at 7:15. Used up the rain water collected from the front yard buckets, washed the buckets as they were so dirty. Trimmed off dried Bird of Paradise flowers, prepared two brand new blossoms and inserted them in the arrangement base on the dinning room table, also got several small yellow flowers with nice smell.
Inspected backyard roses again, discovered more aphids (蚜蟲) showed up on buds as well leaves, cleaned them up with tooth brush and broke several buds as there were just too many to clean up. Trimmed off as many dead leaves as I could from the roses, as 金池先 is coming to see our garden when Anita comes back. Handed over fabric softener and Tabasco sauce to Tip. Called Anita at 6:30. Called mom at 7:00.
4/3/2018: Got up at 7:20. Got gas for RX300, in the process the lady at the next station had problem with her Costco card, used mine to help but did not work either, it had a broken card reader, she'll use my station when I am done, I left the station then discovered I only got 4 gallons of gas, that station also had some problem-it stopped without filling up, I had to go back and fill it up after I purchased one cranberry walnut round from the warehouse. Pulled all the weeds at the base of the row of roses next to the dinning room window, some were really hard to reach, also realized the soil had been harden faster than I thought, water the roses from lidless water buckets, quite a workout, sweaty and hot. Played 45 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, spent 30 minutes helping with organizing their quarterly magazines. Called Anita at 7:00.
4/4/2018: Got up at 7:21. Removed weeds from the brick gaps in the backyard, took nearly one hour, hot. Cooked thick beancurd (x16) for snack. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Checked again and brushed off aphids (蚜蟲) on rose bud and leaves - it's easier using paint brush. Called Anita at 7:00.
4/5/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15, only Susan was in the parking lot, we waited until April came around 9:20 to allow our entering the building. Helped Cynthia checking keys for exterior door access to determine keys that maybe disposed of, also planning new entry keys, took photos of several doors that requires new keys- to be used by key master to estimate cost without his coming over for an on-site review which costs $100. Stopped by Marina Grocery, purchased one Taiwan rice wine, one Ozeki Sake, one Ozeki Sake Dry, one bunch bananas, two white onions, one pack pork spareribs, one pack beef flat, one pack frozen clam, and 4 bags spicy peanuts. Picked up Tip at 9:20, it's not fun driving at night especially in the rain, sent off at the gate, arriving home at 11:17.
4/6/2018: Got up at 7:20. Filled empty buckets with new rain water, it's a petty that we don't have more buckets, with current rain, we could fill up the entire buckets twice. Checked twice the buckets, emptied one of the white bucket and filled it with cleaner water. DSC-942l was delivered by Amazon van at 5:55pm. Left side of my neck was painful, possibly due to my moving water with my left hand using a 4 litter bucket this morning, it did not get much better at 6:41pm. Tip got to Taipei safely. Called Anita at 7:00.
4/7/2018: Got up at 6:50. Called Jason to cancel the hiking today as it was still raining. The sky cleared up around 7:50 but it's too late to ask Jason to come over. Visited Marukai and got one bottle 1.5L Gekkeikan Sake, one box King Roll, one box Bara Chirashi Sushi, one Salmon Shioyaki benton, and one pack Sauce Yakisoba. Stopped by Daiso next door but did not get anything. Swing by Nordstrom Rack, didn't know what to get. Drove to Marshall on Coleman, got a exercise mat. Tried out the mat, it's not as soft as I thought, in fact, it was quite firm, not good for MB. Had 20 minutes MB with RMs, EJ. Put away all the RMs. Tip lost the iPhone, was unable to communicate the normal way. Called Anita at 7:00.
4/8/2018: Got up at 7:20. Checked out patio electrical and security camera placement. Swing by CVS on Berryessa and surprisingly found out they do have some Barefoot wines on sale, got 2 bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot and 4 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling. Checked backyard rose bus and leaves, removed residual aphids (蚜蟲). Called Anita at 7:00, need to prepare her Echo Dot installation at her brother's home tomorrow.
4/9/2018: Got up at 7:20. Pulled more weeds from the backyard. Refilled my T-Mobile account $10.00 for another year.
Played 40 minutes table tennis with Kung. Could not use Apple Messages service as all our iPads and iPhones are using the same AppleID, communications will duplicate on a;l these devices, had to request a new AppleID to use it on Anita's iPads and iPhone later. Called Anita at 6:35. Called mom at 7:00. Researching Apple Messages issues. Took a while but I managed to create another gmail account and used it to create a new AppleID, Messages seemed to work on the old iPad.
4/10/2018: Got up at 7:32. Spent an hour vacuuming the floor and the rugs throughout the house. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Kung. Ordered 2-pack (16 ib each) Meow Mix Original Choice cat food from Amazon for $21.73+$2.01 (tax) = $23.74, it was $9.99 when purchased on 12/19/2017 which was sold by Amazon and now they do not have this, so a different vendor charges more than twice for the same thing, Checked Walmart price online, they are selling one 16 Lb bag for $11.88 before tax, so it's still cheaper at Amazon plus free shipping although the delivery date is nearly two weeks away (4/19-4/24). Cleaned up backyard Oleander leaves, wet cloth cleaned the dirty tiles as well as cover boards. Anita called from Taoyuan airport at 4:13pm when she's waiting at the boarding gate. Anita called at 9:08 when I was upstairs removing my contact lens, called her back at 9:12 and agreed on leaving home a little late to pick her up at SJC tomorrow.
4/11/2018: Got up at 7:10. Went to Lowes at 10:10, strolled around for 30 minutes until flight NH172 landed at 10:40. Waited in the parking lot for Anita to call then went pick her up at SJC at 11:44. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Kung.
4/12/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there by 9:15. Waited until 9:25 when Tina arrived to get in. Swing by Marina Grocery, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one can Pork Sung (on sale for $9.99), one pack smoke bacon, 6 Romaine tomatoes, one pack (x3) egg plants, one bunch bananas, one head cabbage, and one bottle Siracha chili sauce, also purchased one half roast duck and one pack Vietnamese spring roll. Wrote up Medicare 3-month payment of $402.00 with Anita's new Explorer card (4/23/173), to be mailed tomorrow.
4/13/2018: Got up at 7:47. Visited Costco with Anita, redeemed the 2% reward check of $77.91 from casher #17, purchased one Cranberry Walnut Round, one dozen cheese bagel, one Mediterranean Salad Kit, one Sweet Kale Salad Kit, two dozen organic eggs, and one pack Beef Loin Tenderloin Steak-Filet Mignon (the most expensive beef we've ever purchased-$49.47).
Need to search cooking instructions for them-warned by Anita, not to waste them through inadequate cooking. Clean up left over garden waste in the street. Planted the "3月種下" seeds in the PVC pipe planter. Had 20 minutes MB with minis, EJ.
4/14/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, Jason to drive. There were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Alex, Wayne, Ming, the other Ming, Jerry, Jason, and myself. Stepped on the ladders and trimmed some dry Oleander stems at relatively low heights.
4/15/2018: Got up at 7:20. Cleaned the Panasonic table top oven inside out. Started Anita's Medicare application, saved and exited after finishing most basic info with reentry number 45927282. Trimmed most of the remaining dry Passion Fruit vines from the Oleander trees, also removed most of the dry/dead Oleander branches-the ones I could reach on the ladder. Ishin texted with Line to have lunch Tuesday.
4/16/2018: Got up at 7:15. There was a big thunder around 9:20, followed by a short but strong earthquake. Finished and submitted Anita's Medicare application online, need to check her e-mail or login to her Social Security account for status. Changed passwords for our Social Security accounts, they are required to change every 6 months, also for each login, a 2-step process is required - login with the usual UN/PW, then enter the security code they sent to your registered e-mail before proceeding to access your account. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Kung, helping Whisky solve his left front tire loosing pressure issue during which. Called mom at 7:00 but did not talk to her until 7:07, she just got the medical test results back from the hospital, everything seemed to be fine, according to her doctor, it must be the mood that's affecting her abnormal health condition-in other words, she's physically OK but mentally a little down.
4/17/2018: Got up at 7:30. Made a lot of excuses not to join Ishin for buffet lunch partly because of my swollen upper lip, partly because I had no desire for buffet. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Kung. Received genuine RX300 oil filter delivered by Amazon van at 1:30.. Ishin dropped by at 2:30, he came with a coffee mug and a cake from 85°C as gifts-he always does this.
4/18/2018: Got up at 7:20. Made another board to replace the lower shield for the auto feeder. Stopped by JT to make changes to the original light fixture, replacing it with additional power plug would save the trouble of wiring to power the camera through power outlet near the steel gate, it would not be pretty and possibly more challenging than this approach, the only thing is that the original 2 screw holes were way to close together, I was only able to install one screw, but with the addition of a washer, the resulting fixture seemed strong enough, however, I should strengthen it with some other way which I need to devise. Installed the liquid rubber treated board to the lower part of auto feeder back housing. Continue working on London trip details.
4/19/2018: Got up at 7:11. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15. There was a crowd at the parking lot, the "元極舞" group had a 10:00 to 5:00 event in the ballroom, did not allow them in until 9:30. I called Susan to let me in ahead of time. The deputy chief wanted me to examine the proposal for roof project, I wasn't able to do much as it was totally construction related jargons. Stopped by OSH and got a toilet tank flush valve, hopefully this "universal" valve can fit. Swing by CVS, got a couple of Mother's Day cards, their Barefoot Riesling still had no sale sticker for it. Purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, two bottles 750ml Ozeki Sake, 4 Romaine tomatoes, one bunch bananas (x9), one celery, one bag Sugar Pea, two red onions, one pack Jade Golden Pear, and two packs thick bean curd at Marina Grocery. Called mom at 7:00 for 21 minutes.
4/20/2018: Got up at 7:15. Filled up RX300 at Costco, there were a bit more vehicles waiting in line, possibly due to 9ish commute, the whole process took 20 minutes. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, Anita's friend 金池先 will be visiting her at noon, better make the house more welcoming. Reinstalled auto feeder and its protective housing, had to use foil to cover the top as the original cover was a bit thick for the housing. cleaned up the swing and chairs covered with dried Wisteria flowers, also cleaned the small tiles and the tarps, this provided a more presentable look for the backyard. discovered several fence boards on the Philippine neighbor side were loose, need to fix them next week. 金池先 stayed between 12:45 and 4:45. Paid $1.55 VHP insurance premium for Anita, her last month (may, 2018) with VHP. Checked and found out Anita's Medicare application has been approved - this is much smoother than my case since I had to submit Naturalization paper and apply for new Social Security Card which Anita already went through when she correct her name on Driver's License and Social Security Card to be the same as the one on her Naturalization paper, will call CoveredCA to cancel coverage/subsidy.
4/21/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, my turn to drive. There were 4 people in the group: Wayne, Alex, Jason and myself, all others were out of town. Stopped by Marukai and got Maguro Kakugiri (Tuna Butsu Sashimi), one Shime Kohada (Herring Sashimi), one Futo Maki (Sushi roll whole), and one Bara Chirashi Shahi.
Disconnected Vonage phone for testing...... Had 20 minutes MB with minis, EJ. Spent 7:30 to 10:30 (3 hours) as airport pickup driver, it was too much a challenge-never again.
4/22/2018: Got up at 7:50. Cut off several large branches next to our backyard neighbor to clear up some room for nearby roses, this took nearly 2 hours, sweat a lot but still weighing 153.4 lbs:-( Reenforced half a dozen fence boards with screws and nails. Tip got a new iPhone 8s, everything seemed to be OK now.
4/23/2018: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one case Trumer Beer, one case (6US quarts) 5W-30 synthetic engine oil, one pack (x2) Listerine mouthwash, one tub Chobani plain yogurt, one box (30 on-the-go packets) Green Superfood Antioxidant, one jar mixed cooking oil, and one pack Arlo Pro security camera system (3 Arlo Pro cameras). Got 7 gallon 91 gas for LS400 at $3.599. Played 50 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung. Picked up photos to be sent to mom from Costco. Ordered one 33.8 oz Original Paul Mitchell Shampoo One from Amazon, to be delivered on Wednesday, 4/25. Booked Heathrow Airport transportation to The Princes Square Hotel for May 11, 2018, total cost before tip was £40, there was an issue with the confirmation in which the "When" on the e-mail title stated Nov. 5 instead of May 11, e-mail confirmed that my booking was correct but the reply did not mention anything about the "Nov 5", oh well.
4/24/2018: Got up at 7:15. Packaged photos and Mother's Day cards, will weigh them at USPS after table tennis. Ruptured my left achilles tendon while playing table tennis, Kung and Stephanie took me to Regional Hospital, had X-Ray there, the lady checked my Medicare coverage as well, at the end they referred me to Valley Medical Center to schedule operation (very likely Regional discovered that I do not have Medicare Supplement plus I did not have a Primary doctor), Anita drove us there, she called and discovered that Regional had not sent proper paper work for this referral, would not schedule me in, went home without an appointment.
4/25/2018: Got up at 8:20. Whisky called at 9:10 for my condition. Anita drove me to Valley Medical Center, this time go directly to their Express Care department, after waiting for 5 minutes, we got to supply info of me for the clerk to get me onto the system, waited another 10 minutes before meeting physician assistance, after filling him with more medical info, we were lead to a exam room, waited for over 30 minutes before a couple of medical workers (not sure what they do) unwrapped and examined my ankle, the guy left while the lady rewrapped my ankle with the original splint-a lousy job-went away saying she'll be back with orthopedic contact info and release form but never showed up again. Anita went to look for someone for help after more than 30 minutes wait, a male nurse (Rafal) came over and asked us to wait just a little longer, Rafal came back with all the info we were supposed to get after 5 minutes, he carefully explained what would happen next and gave instructions on crutch usage, very useful, thanks Rafal. The paper instructions he went through said the Orthopedic department will call us in 3 days but he recommend calling them tomorrow (but not today) directly to schedule operation. Got home at 1:45. Kind of getting used to moving around with a combination of using crutch, crawling, wheeling, and butting, although got tired easily.
4/26/2018: Got up at 7:40. Had a 3-minutes haircut by the mobile-lady, Anita had a 10 minutes one. Anita called Valley Specialty care, the earliest slot was 4/30, Monday, and it was for doctor's appointment not for surgery, that will have wait after the doctor examined my case, all the people we met the last two days were not specialty doctors at all, what a waste of time and money and my energy. Anita sent Whisky back to Dynamicfoundation after he drove the LS400, that had been sitting in Dynamicfoundation warehouse the last two days, back to our house. Moved around the house using different methods, office chair, crutch, pot roller, crowling, jumping.
4/27/2018: Got up at 7:35. Did not do much the whole day.
4/28/2018: Got up at 8:05. Nothing accomplished today. Sleeping downstairs.
4/29/2018: Got up at 7:30. Still did nothing the whole day. Received e-mail response from BestDealzToday, as it turned out the single 16 lb Meow Mix received on 4/12 was actually from them even though the shipping label listed Walmart as the seller, but I am still questioning their tracking system.
4/30/2018: Got up at 7:05. Valley Medical Orthopedics department appointment day at 10:45, should be there by 10:30 for 15 minutes with the doctor. Left the house at 9:50 incase there's traffic, but got there at 10:15, checked in at 10:25, got into the waiting room at 10:40, Dr. Pang showed up at 11:30, examined my leg for 10 minutes and decided that I do not need surgery- good news - but still need to wear boot for 8 weeks, plus 8 weeks physical therapy afterward, better than we expected, as far as travel goes, we can still try it, only it may be challenging. Got home at 12:50.
Called CoveredCA and cancelled Anita's coverage ending at 5/31/2018. Took the boot off and washed it a little, will try to gradually stand/walk with the boot.
5/1/2018: Got up at 7:20. Went with Anita and watched Kung and Stephanie play yable tennis for 20 minutes where Stephanie won 2:1. Stopped by 99 Ranch Market, Anita purchased one box stewed chicken breasts (x5) for dinner. I think I might have over used my left leg thinking it can withstand constant pressure stepping on it:-( Need to to be careful.
5/2/2018: Got up at 7:35. Labeling day, Anita drove me there at 9:20. Spent about 2 hours there until Whisky gave me a ride home.
5/3/2018: Got up at 7:30. Ordered a Night Splint from Amazon.
Called United Accessibility Desk and requested a wheelchair at SFO. Continued working on trip itinerary and all supporting documents.
5/4/2018: Got up at 7:40, the swelling have subsided overnight, this made Anita a little relieved. Received the Night Splint from Amazon, it isn't small in overall size but it sure is light in weight, maybe I can replace the bulky one with this for the trip. Received the collapsible Silicone Bowl from Amazon in the afternoon. Finished 99% of the itinerary files, decided to attend two of the level 1 excursions provided by NCL - Panoramic Bilbao ($49-3 hours) and Panoramic Oporto ($29-3 hours) as they do not require walking and inexpensive, will book them before getting on board.
5/5/2018: Got up at 7:30. Prepared mixed nuts for the trip, also saved some for Tip. Continued packing.
5/6/2018: Got up at 7:25. Drove (me) to Marukai with Anita where she went in along and purchased one Shime Kohada (Herring Sashimi), one Futo Maki (Sushi roll whole), one Bara Chirashi Shahi, one head cabbage, and one pack lotus root.
5/7/2018: Got up at 7:30. Added another short to the luggage, decided to wear the IZOD instead of Champions sweater to the airport. Since I will be staying in the hotel and stateroom most of the time, I am not bringing the Sony camera this time.
5/8/2018: Got up at 7:10. There was blood in the stool again, it had been like this for the last several days, wondered if it had anything to do with liquor or something serious. Put away the iMac underneath the guest room head cabinet instead of moving it up to the attic which was too challenging. With Anita's idea, I replaced the wedges in the soft boot with the ones from the large boot to provide better support-the ones in the hospital boot were nicely designed to fit the back of the boot and thus no need to add supplemental material. Stopped by Dynamicfoundation and handed over nuts to Tip. Attached my wallet in between the old speaker boxes. Plan to put the MacBook Pro inside the TV cabinet.
5/9/2018: Got up at 7:10. Filled the auto feeder with Anita, it's much easier this way. Added a couple of small wood pieces to the feeder to reduce side openings, protecting the feeder from sneaky animals (mainly raccoon), this is version 2 of my auto feeder shield, will likely devise version 3 after coming back from the trip. Called mom and made excuse not calling her tomorrow.
5/10/2018:
2018 May London & NCL 9-day France & Iberia Trip (with ruptured Achilles Tendon and crutches)
5/10/2018-5/11/2018: Got up at 6:10, my leg had twitched once around 3:00am, Anita came down to check on me because she heard my short scream due to pain. Picked up at 8:45 by Joe. Got to SFO at 10:10, double the time needed had there been no traffic jam. Anita got a free (it now costs $6 to retrieve one from the holding area) cart to carry the two luggages we have to United counter. After checking in the luggages at 10:30, the wheelchair did not come until 11:00, the lines were long at the security check, even though I have TSA Pre but due to wheelchair restriction, I still have to go through the regular line, after my bagpack, crutches, and jacket all went through the check point, I waited 10 more minutes on the wheelchair for the patdown, it took the guy another 10 minutes to search every corner of me plus drug test for my boot and my hands. Got to gate 102 to find out our flight will be late for over 45 minutes. The first wheelchair service person left with $5 tip, saying there will be another guy pushing me to the plane door once pre boarding starts. Got to the plane at 12:45, tried but failed to use the crutches to move through the narrow isle, used hands and seat rails instead and hopped to my seat at 51D (Anita at 51G), almost collapsed afterward. Thank God seats 51E and 51F were unoccupied, Anita and I can both relax a bit, I can raise my left ankle to ease my agony. The guy in front of our row was really lucky sitting alone and enjoy the entire row. Our flight UA901 (Boeing 777-300) finally took off at 1:53, one hour and 33 minutes behind schedule. We landed at Heathrow Airport at 8:16, one hour and 21 minutes behind schedule. We were the last exiting the plane, a wheelchair came right after we exited the plane, took me to a 5-passenger electric car, the one we’ve seen many times at various airports not never took one before, which took us to the customs, the route was complicated and long, it’ll take us at least 20 minutes if I am not injured, the cr riders were taken care of at the fast track, We didn’t even need to get off the car, our driver took our passports and landing form and handed over to the customs officer, the waiting was 15 minutes, possibly much faster if we had to wait in regular line. Got out off the International Arrival gate at 9:10, Called Airport Pickups London at 9:28, the operator verified our location then checked with the driver, told me he is coming over way, we still did not see the driver after 10 minutes so Anita went further down the other side of the area and luckily found him at 9:45, got on the car at 9:50, arriving Princes Square Hotel at 10:35, there was a small mistake at first when we got off the car, our driver showed us an entrance which turned out to be a different hostel, but it took nearly 15 minutes to figure out that our hotel was 2 door down, the guy with the other hostel was very helpful getting our luggages in and out of his hostel then to Princes Square Hotel, we gave him $5 for his kindness, he was reluctant at first but gladly accepted after we insisted. The room for us at ground floor won’t be ready until 1:00pm so Anita went to the Athenian grocery store 3 minutes away and got some food and beer. We finally got checked in to our room 801 at ground floor at 1:05. Unpacked some then went to bed, got up at 6:30pm, had Neoguri spicy noodle for dinner.
5/12/2018: Got up at 6:15. Had leftover sandwiches from UA901 and in-room coffee for breakfast. Plan to stay in the hotel all day-not that I have much choice. Had another Neguri spicy noodle for lunch as Anita slept through 12:0pm. She visited Tesco, a small but nice grocery store, on her way to M&S Simply Food Supermarket, got one bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon plus a couple of pastries there. She brought back the purchase then went out again to see what M&S had to offer but did not get anything from there, instead she got some fried chicken from nearby McDonalds.
5/13/2018: Got up at 6:00. Planned to have room serviced but did not happen as I waited all morning. Anita went strolling the neighborhood and brought back a couple of souvenirs. She picked up lunch from BurgerKing, had to have our lunch in the lobby since the maid happened to show up to cleaned the room. Realized I need to call mom at different time based on different time zones.
2018 May trip Skype call schedule:
3:00am 5/15/2018: London, UK
4:00am 5/18/2018: at sea (use Paris time)
3:00am 5/22/2018: Lisbon, Spain
3:00am 5/25/2018: London, UK
5/14/2018: Woke up at 1:25, got up at 3:20. Went back to sleep only to get up at 12:30. Anita went for a walk and shopping while stayed in the hotel room watching TV and playing Sugar Smash. Asked the house keeping maid to empty the trash can and refill coffee supplies when she came knocking on the door. Another guy came knocking in to water the plants outside our window-took me a while to figure what he wanted because he simply point to the window but never really told me what he wanted. Had Nongshim noodle for late lunch at 2:30. Anita went shopping at Tesco and came back with one bottle Pinot Grigio for dinner (tonight and tomorrow evening), two croissants for breakfast tomorrow, and two chicken burger plus 3 small janapeño balls for dinner.
5/15/2018: Woke up at 1:30, got up and called mom at 2:50. Stayed awake until getting up at 6:30. Went back to bed after breakfast until 11:00. Had Nongshinplus eggs for lunch again. Anita went strolling the neighborhood again, this time for a longer walk. Ishin called from his Hotel Grapes. Spent 20 minutes just to order 250 minutes Internet package from NCL, not very user friendly website. NCL Jade will dock at city Cruise Terminal Berth 101.
5/16/2018: Woke up at 12:30, could not fall asleep until 4:00, Got up at 6:00. Embarkation day, small shuttle picked us up at the hotel at 7:30, spent about one hour and 5 minutes picking up more passengers and waiting for the tour bus before heading out at 8:35. The traffic in London was equally bad as any large cities, we were able to leave the traffic behind at 9:35 and move smoothly toward Stonehenge. Had 15 minutes break at a rest stop with free Wi-Fi before arriving Stonehenge at 10:50. Our bus assistant got us a wheelchair from the visitor center so that Anita could move me around a little easier (relatively speaking, it’s still very challenging for her, I tried to help using the hand rails on the side of the wheels but it was also challenging for myself), there is a new shuttle service moving people between visitor center and The Circle, 3 minutes ride vs. 25 minutes walk. We did not stay too long due to wheelchair inconveniences. Returned to visitor center where Anita went souvenir shopping while I tasted the free Wi-Fi there. Went back to the bus at 12:15. Heading to Southampton at 1:00, got to City Cruise Terminal at 2:05. Due to new regular action, all bus must unload luggages before taking passengers to the check-in area, processing the luggages without stateroom tags took more than 30 minutes, went through the check point and had someone (a young man named 小郭 from Mainland China moved me with a wheelchair all the way to our stateroom 8068, tipped him $5. Rested a bit before Ishin came over to visit. Anita went got me some food while Ishin and I chatted. Anita’s luggage arrived around 6:00 but mine never showed up, Ishin and I went to watched “Sail Away Show”, Anita went checked with service desk and discovered that the stateroom tag attacheded to the luggage was gone during transfer but my luggage was in good shape. Woke up at 12:15 new time and processed Internet accounts, took a while but it seemed to work, we now have two accounts (chang/anitakm@yahoo.com/xxxxcruise and lin/patrick_lin100@yahoo.com/xxxxcruise) based on individual last names and birthdays.
5/17/2018: Got up at 7:20 (new time zone-one hour ahead), had breakfast at Garden Cafe, was crowded. Anita went to see Le Havre on her own while I strolled deck 7 on crutch between 10:p0 and 10:35, was pretty tiresome. Downloading Mercury News was slow, most likely due to the not-so-great ship Wi-Fi. Our house keeping Rose came over at 11:35, I asked her to just clean the bathroom and front half of the stateroom, she has been on the ship for 7 months, doing the same work but was able to enjoy traveling the world. Internet packages before embarkation:
Internet sale packages after embarkation:
It’s obvious that the $29.99x9 (day) is the best one but I’ve already purchased the 250 minutes for $105 package online, too bad, maybe I’ll remember this and wait until embarkation to find better deal the next time we cruise.
5/18/2018: Set a couple of alarms to wake me up at 4:00 (10:00 am Taipei time) to call mom, but woke up way too early around 2:00am and finally canceled all alarms and got up at 3:45. Called mom at 4:00. Stayed up afterwards. At sea day. Went up to Green Cafe at 8:00 for breakfast, it wasn’t as crowded as yesterday, guessing more people were still in bed since there’s a whole day ahead at sea. Anita checked (they used to send out invitation but request us to check with them instead) and found out the cocktail party for Latitude members with gold and above level will be held at 12:30, we went there on time and met with a huge crowd, obviously NCL’s push of “NextCruise” had been very successful, this also meant the cocktail party will be even more crowded and the quality will also suffer. Stopped by Garden Cafe and had a little food. Slept through the afternoon, had dinner at O’sheehan, not feeling hungry after seeing the food we ordered-the quality of this place has gone down quite a bit.
5/19/2018: Woke up at, got up at . The original port “Le Vernon” had been changed to “La Rochelle” which is one hour and 40 minutes further north from Bordeaux, this was probably why several excursions have been cancelled including the one Ishin signed up for. Anita went to La Rochelle by herself. I crutches myself to deck 13, found a chair near the lounge and read some, walked some more before going back to our stateroom at 11:30. Rose just happened to be nearby, she apologized not doing the house keeping earlier because the crews were having a drill this morning which I also experienced while on deck 13. She cleaned the front half of the stateroom while waited updating this journal.
5/20/2018: Woke up at 1:10, drank one glass of leftover champagne but still could not fall asleep, finally dozed off around 4:30, Got up at 8:40. Port of call was Bilbao, Spain. Anita went on shore on her own while I strolled to deck 13, thinking I could get to the same sitting location as yesterday but turned out all access to port side had been blocked off, walked around for nearly 20 minutes without finding any sitting, went down to deck 7 which was used as gangway today, still no place to sit, went back up to deck 12, finally sat down at the tail end of the ship at 10:35. Went back to the stateroom at 11:30 and stayed there for 4 hours until Anita came back.
5/21/2018: Woke up at 1:30, got up at 5:30. First time after injury, I was able to walk with single crutch-short distances only, tried that in Garden Cafe, and I was able to fetch a plate of food by myself. Anita came back from her morning visit of La Coruña at 12:15, we had lunch at O’Sheehan, I had a classic Caesar Salad with grilled Salmon while Anita had half a dozen Buffalo wings plus a Vanilla ice cream, the quantity was not big but we were both full though. Had dinner with Ishin at Great Packfic, the food there wasn’t bad, interior design was even better than expected, three of us finished the leftover Cabernet Sauvignon. Called mom at 3:00 (Portugal has the same time zone as London) for 21 minutes.
5/22/018: Got up at 7:30, had breakfast at Garden Cafe at 8:10 with Anita and crew member’s help. Anita went to see Oporto on her own. I went up to deck 13 after a short rest at 10:20. A nice day under the sun. Found the same spot on deck 13 where I read Bandwidth (An Analog Novel Book 1) until 11:20. Planned to have lunch at Jasmine but it,wasn’t open so I ended up at O’Sheehan, ordered half a dozen Buffalo wings and Caesar salad with grilled Salmon. Anitacame back around 2:30, went back down to the Cruise Terminal building to check her e-mail and download Mercury News using it’s free Wi-Fi. Had dinner at Alizar at 5:30, a nice place, it has some overlap dishes with Great Pacific but with more options.
5/23/2018: Got up at 7:15. Had breakfast at Garden Cafe at 7:40, crowded as always. Anita went to see Vigo on her own while stayed in the stateroom all morning. Had lunch at Garden Cafe (Alizar was closed for lunch as the gangway today was right in front of it) after Anita came back at 11:30. Three of us had dinner at Jasmine.
5/24/2018: Got up at 6:05 (Local/London time), had breakfast at Garden Cafe, this is the first time we beat the crowd on this cruise. Had lunch (3 people) at Grand Pacific- not bad. Spent the afternoon in the stateroom, as Ishin insisted going to the Atrium for live music at 8:15, we had dinner at Garden Cafe at 6:30, surprisingly there wasn’t a crowd, maybe more people dinning at sit down restaurants instead as we saw many people riding elevator down when we were waiting for up going ones.
5/25/2018: Called mom at 3:00, got up at 5:50. Disembarkation day, had breakfast at Garden Cafe at 6:0t, there were many people dinning already when we got there, Ishin did not show up for breakfast while we were there. As it turned out, the wheelchair service would only be available for self-walk off customers after 8:45 which we could not possible depend on to catch our bus. Went down to Bliss to wit for disembarkation at 7:10 but only got off to the gangway at 8:05, walked 15 minutes to get to the bus waiting area at 8:20, International Friends used small vans to carry people to Heathrow Airport, waited nearly 50 minutes before boarded our van, got to Heathrow Airport at 10:20. This airport was more effecicient than most airports we visited because their self-checking in machines were more user friendly, boarding passes and luggage tags were printed for us right there, all we needed to do was to drop off the luggages, finished all these within 15 minutes. Sat down and waited until 12:0p before going to the wheelchair service desk. Instead of riding the wheelchair through to the security which was a short,distance away, I walked there and passed through the security check point on my own, then wheeled to Special Assistance area waiting for buggy (electric cart), Anita had to walk to gate B49 while the electric cart driver dropped me off at another Special Assistance area near B46 at 1:00 because the gate may change later, the electric cart will come pick me up when the gate number has been confirmed, Anita came over and joined me as she did not see me at the original assigned gate B49. The electric cart came back and took us to B49, no change. About a dozen Pre-boarded flight 959 (a very old Boeing 767-300)
at 2:00, according to the announcement, the flight will be fully occupied, looked like the seat in between us (38C and 38H) will also be occupied. At first a small girl about 5 Year’s old sat in between, we were relieved but it turned out the seat belonged to a big guy, or well:-(
Anita decided to switch seat with him so that we could at least lean against each other for comfort. The flight took off at 3:11, 21 minutes behind schedule. Had one white wine before Curry Chicken meal, has a red wine during:-) We landed at O’Hare International Airport at 5:17, 23 minutes ahead of schedule. Got on a wheelchair reserved at Heathrow Airport at 5:30, the road to our gate was really really long, including customs, security check, half a dozen elevator rides, and long corridors, spent over an hour just to get to out gate C24. Boarded flight UA1883 with Pre-boarding at 7:25-first to board:-). Anita and I each occupied one aisle seat across the aisle. Flight took off at 8:22, 40 minutes behind schedule. We landed at SJC at 10:30, 20 minutes behind schedule, the guy pushing my wheelchair was very lucky as he only had to spent less than 5 minutes to make a quick $5. Jack picked us up at arrival gate A5 at 11:20, got home at 11:40.
5/26/2018: Got up at 6:35. Drove Anita to Costco while I dropped off Anita’s Medicare $402 premium (June-August) letter Postoffice. Picked up Anita after she finished shopping there. My injured feet was swollen more than usual, maybe I used it too much by walking with it, need to rest.
Linda's baby shower at China Stix tonight. Changed to the original boot from the hospital for a better protection, arriving China Stix at 5:55, had a banquet dinner, Kwan family, Lily family, CCC family, Yung family, Willis family, Steve family, and Kuo family plus Linda family with the new baby.
5/27/2018: Woke up at 2:30, got up at 5:00. Applied Anita's Medicare planD (prescription) online. Cleaned the replacement boot. Charged LS400 battery as it was nearly drained.
5/28/2018: Got up at 6:00. Adjusted using the original boot from the hospital, although bigger and heavier buy it did provide better support and protection, I cold walk without worrying bumping my left foot, walking up/down stairs with either foot first, I did need to remember to remove it and take a breather from time to time though. Cleaned more weeds from the brick floor gaps in the backyard.
5/29/2018: Got up at 6:45. Applied one more AppleID for Anita, changed her iPad login with the new AppleID, realized this iPad is now alone, need to change Anita's iPhone login so that these two devices can still find each other. Login iPhone with Anita's new AppleID. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, pretty much standing still throughout. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
5/30/2018: Got up at 6:05. Register an account on MyMedicare.gov for Anita (anitachang100/xxxxAc!yyyy), added my gmail address on her behalf. Added my gmail address to receive notification upon mailing of our new Medicare cards. Visited Costco with Anita, she went in and got one pack Charmin bathroom tissue, two beauty sleep pillows, one Areds2, one MoveFree, one pack Pacific Salmon, and one jar washer detergent. Kept my Explorer card as the payment source for Geico. Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. The garage door was broken when I tried to open it upon my return, the steel bar that connects the door to the opener broke and could not hold the door. I was able to manually open the door from outside and move LS400 inside. Need to fix this. Called two garage door repair/replacement company, Aron Overhead Door San Jose quoted over the phone for $1500 without the new motor, and Pro Line Garage Door quoted with e-mail for $1300 without the motor. Called and turned down the first vendor, called the second vendor (Pro Line Garage Door) to check more info, left message. Pro Line David dropped and taped necessary measures plus convincing me to replace opener/motor as well, so the total qill be $1700 before tax, installation was schedule for 1:00 pm Friday.
5/31/2018: Got up at 6:25. Trimmed off all dried Bird of Paradise flowers plus some unhealthy looking leaf branches, also took care of dried flower stems in the front yard garden. Left heel was a bit painful, possibly walking too much. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Received Arlo (?) batteries and one pair of Dr. Scholl's gel insoles. Delivered CR123 batteries to Tips. Moved garden waste to the street with our wheel barrel, took nearly 40 minutes, almost broke my back.
6/1/2018: Got up at 6:40. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, again it was a mix of garden waste from at least 3 different houses. Parked the two cars in the street, one on each side. Swept the garage floor, ready fr new garage door installation. Garage door installation guys rescheduled to 3:30. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ - loosing interest. Garage door installation has been rescheduled again to Monday 8:00am.
6/2/2018: Got up at 6:40. Went with Anita and picked up ballots and supporting materials for Tuesday's Primary election. Shopped at Marina Grocery and got one pack fried fish cake, 2 bag pin noodle, 4 bag spicy peanuts, 6 Romaine Tomatoes, 2 pack thick bean curd, one head Carabi (大頭菜), one pack Ganlan, one bottle 750ml rice wine, one pound ground pork, one head Cauliflower, one bag Chinese cucumber, and one box (x6) aged eggs. Stopped by Costco and filled up RX300. Swing by CVS and purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, one bottle 1.5L Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Red Moscato, and 3 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling.
5/27/2018: Woke up at 2:30, got up at 5:00. Applied Anita's Medicare planD (prescription) online. Cleaned the replacement boot. Charged LS400 battery as it was nearly drained.
5/28/2018: Got up at 6:00. Adjusted using the original boot from the hospital, although bigger and heavier buy it did provide better support and protection, I cold walk without worrying bumping my left foot, walking up/down stairs with either foot first, I did need to remember to remove it and take a breather from time to time though. Cleaned more weeds from the brick floor gaps in the backyard.
5/29/2018: Got up at 6:45. Applied one more AppleID for Anita, changed her iPad login with the new AppleID, realized this iPad is now alone, need to change Anita's iPhone login so that these two devices can still find each other. Login iPhone with Anita's new AppleID. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, pretty much standing still throughout. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
5/30/2018: Got up at 6:05. Register an account on MyMedicare.gov for Anita (anitachang100/xxxxAc!yyyy), added my gmail address on her behalf. Added my gmail address to receive notification upon mailing of our new Medicare cards. Visited Costco with Anita, she went in and got one pack Charmin bathroom tissue, two beauty sleep pillows, one Areds2, one MoveFree, one pack Pacific Salmon, and one jar washer detergent. Kept my Explorer card as the payment source for Geico. Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. The garage door was broken when I tried to open it upon my return, the steel bar that connects the door to the opener broke and could not hold the door. I was able to manually open the door from outside and move LS400 inside. Need to fix this. Called two garage door repair/replacement company, Aron Overhead Door San Jose quoted over the phone for $1500 without the new motor, and Pro Line Garage Door quoted with e-mail for $1300 without the motor. Called and turned down the first vendor, called the second vendor (Pro Line Garage Door) to check more info, left message. Pro Line David dropped and taped necessary measures plus convincing me to replace opener/motor as well, so the total qill be $1700 before tax, installation was schedule for 1:00 pm Friday.
5/31/2018: Got up at 6:25. Trimmed off all dried Bird of Paradise flowers plus some unhealthy looking leaf branches, also took care of dried flower stems in the front yard garden. Left heel was a bit painful, possibly walking too much. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Received Arlo (?) batteries and one pair of Dr. Scholl's gel insoles. Delivered CR123 batteries to Tips. Moved garden waste to the street with our wheel barrel, took nearly 40 minutes, almost broke my back.
6/1/2018: Got up at 6:40. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, again it was a mix of garden waste from at least 3 different houses. Parked the two cars in the street, one on each side. Swept the garage floor, ready fr new garage door installation. Garage door installation guys rescheduled to 3:30. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ - loosing interest. Garage door installation has been rescheduled again to Monday 8:00am.
6/2/2018: Got up at 6:40. Went with Anita and picked up ballots and supporting materials for Tuesday's Primary election. Shopped at Marina Grocery and got one pack fried fish cake, 2 bag pin noodle, 4 bag spicy peanuts, 6 Romaine Tomatoes, 2 pack thick bean curd, one head Carabi (大頭菜), one pack Ganlan, one bottle 750ml rice wine, one pound ground pork, one head Cauliflower, one bag Chinese cucumber, and one box (x6) aged eggs. Stopped by Costco and filled up RX300. Swing by CVS and purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, one bottle 1.5L Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Red Moscato, and 3 bottle 750ml Barefoot Riesling.
6/3/2018: Got up at 6:40. Transplanted sprouting seedlings of various kinds (pepper, heirloom cucumber , Oriental cucumber,...) with new soil from under the Oleander, planted the entire Oriental cucumber seeds (19), purchased from Marina Grocery, in 6 containers, since I do not have much mobility I decided to focus on this specie only this year.
6/4/2018: Got up at 6:30. Achilles tendon re-examine as well as rescheduled garage door installation day, the former at 10:45am while the other at 8:00am. Parked both cars in the street. David of Pro Line Garage Door arrived at 7:58 and started working, by himself, right away. Another guy showed up with the new door at around 8:20. Left for ValleyMedical Center at 9:55 for my appointment at 10:45, got there at 10:15, waited until 11:05 before called in and waited in the examine room, Dr. Andrea... entered at 11:35 to see my left foot, satisfied with my progress so he ask his boss to come and assess the situation which did not show up until 12:05 and instructed me to continue Controlled Motion (but emphasized drop to flat motion but not moving up forcefully), she also said I could go to bed without the boot. Waited another 10 minutes outside the reception desk for next appointment and physical therapy info. Stopped by Denny's at 680 and Berryessa to have lunch but half way through waiting for our orders we decided to have it to go as it was approaching 1:30, the garage door installation guy would have to wait if we ate there, luckily we did what we did and found the installation was about to finish, the guy was cleaning the surface by then. Learned a few things about the garage door operation from him before handing him a check of $1700. Tried but failed several times to program RX300 remote control buttons, finally gave up and put the second remote control in the car. But did successfully programmed the Wi-Fi access from smartphones - both iPhone and Pixel.
6/5/2018: Got up at 5:00, Anita is volunteering on this primary election day from 6:00am to 9:00pm. Had 20 minutes MB with minis, EJ-getting boring. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Vacuumed the garage floor while relocating some stuff back to their original locations.
6/6/2018: Got up at 6:50. Measured my blood pressure, still high - 136/80, 144/86, 130/80. Measured my blood pressure again, this time it was 120/77, not bad. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Blood pressure at 121/76 before bath and 120/77 afterwards.
6/7/2018: Got up at 7:05. CCC volunteer day-first time since achilles tendon injury since 4/24, got there at 9:15, did not get in until Sophia showed up at 9:20. The afternoon substitute showed up early at 12:50, so I left around 1:05, stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml rice wine, one pack julienned bamboo shoot, one pack dried and julienned seaweed, one bag dried seaweed shoots, one bunch bananas, one bag sugar peas, one pack black rice, one pack (x4) Neoguri fast noodle, one pack pork baby back rib, two packs beef shank, and two bags spicy peanuts.
6/8/2018: Got up at 7:00. Anita's Birthday, she headed out to SantanaRow for some shoppting and movie. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Stopped by JT and installed DCS-942L in 2 hours.
6/9/2018: Got up at 7:15, 38th anniversary. After dropping off Anita at City Sports, I stopped by Lowes, picked up a couple of small light bulbs for the ceramic light house, checked their vegetable plants and picked out two small tomato ones. Picked up Anita and had lunch at KoJa Kitchen before coming home. The seedlings that I tried to produce for passionfruit hadn't been successful except one that survived our trip away, now the chili plant container with some used soil actually produced two more.
The leaf of the three seedlings do not resemble the usual 3-finger pattern leaves that we had before or most online photos, the only photo I found that looked alike these three was
Searched Youtube and linked several achilles tendon rehab procedures, one involves pinching the tendon 15 minutes per day to help straighten the regrowing tissues to align with the original tendon.
6/10/2018: Got up at 7:05. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Visited Trader Joes, got one bottle 750ml Ruby Port for $6.99, one bottle 750ml Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon (made from organic grape) for $3.99, one bag unsalted cashew nuts, and one bag sugar pecan. Stopped by Target and purchased 4 32oz Hazelnut creamer and one vanilla Chobani yogurt. Swing by Marshall but left shortly after without any purchasing. Received the water/hiking/running shoe from Amazon. Anita retired her Dr. Scholl's gel insole which works just fine in my new water/hiking/running shoe.
6/11/2018: Got up at 7:10. Repaired the two tomato plant pot support hardware. Cleaned up the automatic feeder umbrella. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung. Transplanted the two tomato seedlings purchased from Lowes to the pots prepared this morning, placed both pots near the sundial for full sun light.
6/12/2018: Got up at 7:10. Relocated the seedlings on the deck to just inside the house near the curtain to avoid them being wiped out by the heat. Made a piece of sun shield from Amazon cardboard and placed it on the deck rail. No table tennis today as Stephanie has the afternoon off to be with her sisters and Kung had a doctor's appointment.
6/13/2018: Got up at 7:05. Changed RX300 engine oil without replacing the oil filter, will take it to the dealer (or AAA) to have the whole thing done.
Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung. News of Jerome suffering a heart attack, he's in intensive care at the moment, hope he gets well soon.
6/14/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Got in right away as there was a youth training program going on starting at 8:00. The afternoon substitute volunteer came at 1:00, so I left around 1:10 and visited Marina Grocery, purchased one small bottle of sesame oil, one small jar of Wasabi sauce, one bottle soy paste, two carabis, one Napa cabbage, one bag Chinese cucumber seeds, one bag eggplant seeds, 2 pack thick bean curd, one bottle 750ml rice wine, one box strawberry, one bunch cilantro, one bunch green onion, one bag rock sugar, and one dozen Michelob Ultra. Trimmed off several dead tree branches in the backyard. Received the shoe laces (3 pairs) from Amazon. Put used engine oil jar on the curb, see if recycle truck will take it away and leave an empty jar.
6/15/2018: Got up at 7:10, the used engine oil jar was taken away and an empty jar was left in its place:-) Restring the old shoe laces on the 10 year old puma. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. The MacBook Pro hard drive was destroyed after I placed one of the Arlo Pro camera on the right side of the palm rest, the magnet must have damaged the magnetic read head. No work tomorrow as Tip’s having guests for Birthday celebrations. Need to research how to bring the MacBook Pro back, although all of the data on it was gone.
6/16;2018: Got up at 6:40, did not have a well rested night. Visited Hankook grocery store and got a small box seaweed salad, 2 large bags mackerel.
6/17/2018: Got up at 7:20. Visited Marukai with Anita, got some sushi, sashimi, a pack raw fish, a dry noodle kit, and a bento box. Finished reading “The Thinnest Air”, possibly a record for me, in just two weeks.
6/18/2018: Got up at 7:20. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie and 15 minutes with Kung. Tried but failed to find any app or in-system OS X installer with Kung’s MacBook Pro. Successfully made a hole large enough to allow the USB cable to go through the battery housing cover of one of the Arlo camera, two things left to do: seal the housing so that it won’t be damaged when used outdoor, and find a way to extend power connection through the wall of the guest room where the driveway camera should be.
6/19/218: Got up at 7:20. The ankle was more swollen than usual, maybe I should still wear boot in the house to reduce stress. Trimmed and cleaned the front yard Oleanders, it had to be at least 10 year’s since the last time. Took me 2 hours to finish about 70% of the task I planned. Played 45 minutes table tennis with Kung as Stephanie had to deliver lunch to Teresa. Finished the rest of the Oleander trimming task after getting home, this on took about one hour. Fired up the old iMac and transferred ns30 and mds directories/files tfrom the 64G flash drive, removed all files on the flash to get it ready for bootable USB creation.
6/20/2018: Got up at 7:15. Not getting response the last few days, oh well, keep in mind that this is exactly what you’ll get issuing unprovoked messages. Cleaned all kitchen and living room windows and glass doors, had been thinking of doing it for a long time, finally did it thanks to Elena’s pending visit at noon today. Successfully created bootable Installer for macOS using existing utility on the iMAC, following Apple support pages at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372. This was done on the 64G flash drive as new info found dictated 12G minimum needed but actual storage used was less then 8G so I tried the same process to create another bootable installer on the 8G drive but the process simply would not end, it hang at "copying installer files to disk...”, same result after the second try-not sure the reason, but at least I have one bootable installer ready to move on. Need to order a 500G SSD to continue MacBook Pro restoration. Ordered a 500G SSD from OWC-after finding my OWC account info in the Seagate USB drive though Anita’s iMac (neither the old iMac nor the Windows2000 system recognized the drive, plus the Windows2000 PC appeared to be dead right after finishing its disk check).
6/21/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:18. Summer camp on going. Stopped by Marina Grocery and got one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, two packs pin noodle, one pound ground pork, two white onions, 4 Romaine tomatoes, one celery, 4 green bell pepper, one pack fried fish cake, and two boxes strawberry ($0.99 each). Swing by CVS and purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, two bottles 750ml Moscato, one bottle 750ml Ping Moscato, one bottle 750ml ShoChiku Bai sake, and one bottle 750ml Gekkeikan sake.
6/22/2018: Got up at 7:15. Dropped off Anita at Costco shopping while I filled up gas for RX300 and mailed a letter. Anita got one can Honey Roasred Nuts, one can Unsalted Mixed Nuts, one bag Macadamia Nuts, one bag Pine Nuts, one Walnut Cranberry Rounds, one pack Wild Sockeye Salmon, and one bunch bananas. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung had doctor’s appointment.
6/23/2018: Got up at 7:10. No weekend job as Tip’s busy today and tomorrow. Brother HL-3040CW black cartridge was delivered at 5:26, test run seemed to work.
6/24/2018: Got up at 7:10. The Black & Decker cordless electric jig saw no longer worked, checked and found out the 9v AC adapter was not providing any output, pondered for ordering a replacement adapter but finally decided to rid off it instead. Left a bunch of electrical wires and network cables plus the CLD-620 LaserKaraoke player and one VHS player on the curb for pickup tomorrow.
6/25/2018: Got up at 7:15. OWC SSD drive arrived at 11:57. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung.Removed the broken HD from the MacBook Pro, installed the new SSD drive referencing to OWC video. Booted the MacBook Pro with the 64G USB drive, came up ok, except the effort to install MAC OS X High Sierra run into a number of obstacles, after searching online and various try and error, I was finally able to erase (format) the new drive, however the system refuse to install Os on it saying that it is locked, struggled to find solution but did not go anywhere, had dinner first before coming back to the problem, after further research and pondering I discovered by pressing the “option” key right after powering up to bring up boot option, by selecting USB to boot, I was able to keep SSD drive from being labeled “locked” and continued with the OS installation process - erasing/formatting the SSD one more time before hand. High Sierra, the latest Mac OS X, was installed successfully on my mid 2012 version MaxBook Pro. Downloaded and installed Google Chrome and Google Backup & Sync (the replacement of Drive).
6/26/2018: Got up at 7:10. Installed Open Office from their website instead of Apple App Store. Transplanted 3 grape seedlings to the planter box next to the fake Cherry tree - it was challenging to remove them from their seedling area as they had been there for over a year and their roots have grown deep into the soil, had to break a few before getting them out. Handed over nuts. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Installed VLC movie player and memory cleaner 2.
6/27/2018: Got up at 7:05. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
6/28/2018: Got up at 7:00. CCC volunteer day, left early and got there at 9:05, second week of the same summer camp started last week. Stopped by CVS, no Riesling instead got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Red Moscato, two bottles 750ml Barefoot Ping Moscato, and two bottles 750ml Yellow Tail Moscato. Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle Ozeki sake, two packs Myojo Udon, one pack Taiwanese sausage, one pack beef flat, one pack eggplant, one dozen Michelob Ultra, one string garlic, and one pack bacon. Called mom at 7:00 for 28 minutes. Shared iPad Note version UNPW with MacBook Pro Note for backup.
6/29/2018: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up leftover garden waste (from 3 different piles) in the street. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one Cranberry Walnut Round, two salad kits, one bag string cheese, one tub cream cheese, one tub plain Chobani Yogurt, one case Modelo beer, one large box Pringle chips, two dozen organic eggs, one bunch bananas, and one pack beef loin tri tip roast, met Stephanie there, she's making rounds for Teresa, she had problem finding stuffed Brussel Sprout dish, I tried but could not find it either. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Paid $10.18 for the X-Ray residual payment to Regional Medical Center with my Explorer card.
6/30/2018: Got up at 7:10. Arlo Pro camera installation day, got to 3558 at 8:50. It turned that there's a new ATT system installed which changed everything - IP address, Wi-Fi AP as well as password, need to reconfigure in order to access. Left the premise around 12:20.
7/1/2018: Got up at 7:25. First day of the second half of 2018. Applied masking tape to the red slippers that had been dying Anita's feet so that they may be used again at least for a while before throwing them away. Visited San Jose Animal Care Center on Monterey road at 1:50 to borrow cat trap, but it turned out they only loan trap to those taking the cat back to where it was caught once spay/neuter was done, we'd like to just give them the cat, we had to go to another place to rent a trap, rats!
7/2/2018: Got up at 7:15. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Sanded off portion of two Micro USB cable end that were too thick for the Arlo camera USB opening.
7/3/2018: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, spent 45 minutes there, purchased one pack Duracell AA battery, one outdoor LED motion light, one bunch bananas, one box cherries, and one jug soy sauce. Notified scale on sale but tip wasn't interested. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/4/2018: Got up at 7:27. Voided the idea of visiting Harbor Freight Tools since the stuff I wanted to purchased would be on sale every now and then plus I most likely wouldn't be using them very soon. Trimmed off one branch that was on top of the deck from the fake Cherry tree. Transplanted the second Passionfruit seedlings to the planter box next to the Cherry tree, hope it grow better there.
7/5/2018: Got up at 7:05. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Stopped by CVS and bought one bag Epsom Salt to assist transplanting. Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle 750ml Ozeki Sake, one pack frozen cuttlefish, one pack Korean melon, two packs beef tendon, one pack pork spareribs, one jug Kimbo pork sung, one pack (x3) bitter melon, and one pack Yuchoy. Added Epsom Salt to the recently transplanted seedlings, hope this would help strengthen the roots and kept them alive.
7/6/2018: Got up at 6:55. Jerome passed away early morning, the message was relayed by Robert which he got from his brother-in-law. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/7/2018: Got up at 7:10. Spent some time at tip's Peet's coffee. Took care of Pandora, Amazon Prime video, D-Link DCS 942L, and Arlo camera adjustment. ChiMing couple came over for Majong at 4:40. Break for dinner at KoJa Kitchen and continued the game until 8:45 - a total of 4 rounds (East, South, West , and North四圈-東西南北), this is possibly the first time we ended the game before 9:00pm.
7/8/2018: Got up at 7:41. Trimmed off a good amount of Wisteria branches that were hanging over the fence to our back door neighbor, relieved some pressure to the fence. Transplanted all cucumber seedlings to the planter boxes (5 and 6 in each), added soil from our compost stations, applied Epsom Salt to all of them, hope they (at least a few) can survive the transplantation.
6/28/2018: Got up at 7:00. CCC volunteer day, left early and got there at 9:05, second week of the same summer camp started last week. Stopped by CVS, no Riesling instead got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Red Moscato, two bottles 750ml Barefoot Ping Moscato, and two bottles 750ml Yellow Tail Moscato. Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle Ozeki sake, two packs Myojo Udon, one pack Taiwanese sausage, one pack beef flat, one pack eggplant, one dozen Michelob Ultra, one string garlic, and one pack bacon. Called mom at 7:00 for 28 minutes. Shared iPad Note version UNPW with MacBook Pro Note for backup.
6/29/2018: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up leftover garden waste (from 3 different piles) in the street. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one Cranberry Walnut Round, two salad kits, one bag string cheese, one tub cream cheese, one tub plain Chobani Yogurt, one case Modelo beer, one large box Pringle chips, two dozen organic eggs, one bunch bananas, and one pack beef loin tri tip roast, met Stephanie there, she's making rounds for Teresa, she had problem finding stuffed Brussel Sprout dish, I tried but could not find it either. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Paid $10.18 for the X-Ray residual payment to Regional Medical Center with my Explorer card.
6/30/2018: Got up at 7:10. Arlo Pro camera installation day, got to 3558 at 8:50. It turned that there's a new ATT system installed which changed everything - IP address, Wi-Fi AP as well as password, need to reconfigure in order to access. Left the premise around 12:20.
7/1/2018: Got up at 7:25. First day of the second half of 2018. Applied masking tape to the red slippers that had been dying Anita's feet so that they may be used again at least for a while before throwing them away. Visited San Jose Animal Care Center on Monterey road at 1:50 to borrow cat trap, but it turned out they only loan trap to those taking the cat back to where it was caught once spay/neuter was done, we'd like to just give them the cat, we had to go to another place to rent a trap, rats!
7/2/2018: Got up at 7:15. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Sanded off portion of two Micro USB cable end that were too thick for the Arlo camera USB opening.
7/3/2018: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco by myself, spent 45 minutes there, purchased one pack Duracell AA battery, one outdoor LED motion light, one bunch bananas, one box cherries, and one jug soy sauce. Notified scale on sale but tip wasn't interested. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/4/2018: Got up at 7:27. Voided the idea of visiting Harbor Freight Tools since the stuff I wanted to purchased would be on sale every now and then plus I most likely wouldn't be using them very soon. Trimmed off one branch that was on top of the deck from the fake Cherry tree. Transplanted the second Passionfruit seedlings to the planter box next to the Cherry tree, hope it grow better there.
7/5/2018: Got up at 7:05. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Stopped by CVS and bought one bag Epsom Salt to assist transplanting. Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle 750ml Ozeki Sake, one pack frozen cuttlefish, one pack Korean melon, two packs beef tendon, one pack pork spareribs, one jug Kimbo pork sung, one pack (x3) bitter melon, and one pack Yuchoy. Added Epsom Salt to the recently transplanted seedlings, hope this would help strengthen the roots and kept them alive.
7/6/2018: Got up at 6:55. Jerome passed away early morning, the message was relayed by Robert which he got from his brother-in-law. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/7/2018: Got up at 7:10. Spent some time at tip's Peet's coffee. Took care of Pandora, Amazon Prime video, D-Link DCS 942L, and Arlo camera adjustment. ChiMing couple came over for Majong at 4:40. Break for dinner at KoJa Kitchen and continued the game until 8:45 - a total of 4 rounds (East, South, West , and North四圈-東西南北), this is possibly the first time we ended the game before 9:00pm.
7/8/2018: Got up at 7:41. Trimmed off a good amount of Wisteria branches that were hanging over the fence to our back door neighbor, relieved some pressure to the fence. Transplanted all cucumber seedlings to the planter boxes (5 and 6 in each), added soil from our compost stations, applied Epsom Salt to all of them, hope they (at least a few) can survive the transplantation.
7/9/2018: Got up at 7:04. It appeared that all of the cucumber seedlings I transplanted yesterday were either dead or withered, damn! Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Called mom at 7:00 for 15 minutes. Had an unhappy incidence with Anita, went out for a walk around the neighborhood, discovered many small details unseen driving through: a number of houses looked like dump with people living in them, a number business closed in the Chevron plaza-a surprise scene for me.
7/10/2018: Got up at 7:04. Since there's no table tennis today due to heir luncheon, I went with Anita to SantanaRow and watched Ant-Man and the Wasp, not a bad movie, at least better than I anticipated, the tickets were purchased online with seat selection, there were more people than usual because of summer break. Set half a dozen more cucumber seeds as the last batch didn't go too well (almost all seedling transplanted died right afterward).
7/11/2018: Got up at 7:07. Visited Costco and purchased one case Hawaii beer, one Cranberry Walnut Round, one dozen bagels, two tubs plain yogurt, one bunch bananas, two bags Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu, one pack organic wings, and two dozen organic eggs. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/12/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15, there's another summer camp going this week. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle 750ml Hakutsuru sake, one pack (x2) Korean yellow melon, one head Cauliflower, two white onions, two packs thick bean curd, and one pack stew herb mix bags.
7/13/2018: Got up at 7:32. Once again, the garden waste pickup truck left a bunch of leftover in the street, idiot! Spent 30 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street. Mailed my Medicare payment of $402.00 for the months 8-10 with my Explorer card. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, she's getting better.
7/14/2018: Got up at 7:32. Tip still had problem with the 942L camera, but not interested working on it today. Paid Regional Hospital charge of $30.81 online with my Explorer card.
Prepared Valley Medical Hospital payment of $228.99 with my Explorer card, they do not have online payment option, filled out credit card info and sealed the envelope to be mailed Monday.
7/15/2018: Got up at 7:37. Had 10 minutes MB with RM, EJ-appeared to be losing interest. The last two transplanted cucumber seedlings were also dead. Looked like I'd have to start in May to get strong seedlings that could survive hot weather at young stage.
7/16/2018: Got up at 7:20. Deposited my life insurance of 24 years, about 60% of the check was interest, to our existing CD account at GBC with the same APY of 2.1%.
Ordered Fire TV plus antenna, chef knife, and flash light from Amazon on Prime Day deals, all with half price. Ordered a Bose wired headphone and a pair of light weight reading glass.
7/17/2018: Got up at 7:05. Visited Costco with Anita, I filled up gas for RX300 while she went in to get groceries: one large bag of Spinach, one bunch bananas, one bag coconut chocolate, one bag mixed salad, and one box Royal Cherry. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/18/2018: Got up at 7:08. Tried to drill a hole through the wall to install power for Arlo camera, hit a metal part half way through, suspecting it is part of the double pen window, need to get titanium drills to help drill through the metal. No table tennis today as Teresa had a meeting at the office. Jason stopped by, gave us a box of his famous white peach.
7/19/2018: Got up at 7:09. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. There's teacher training class in the main hall, the Karaoke in the muti-purpose room. Stopped by CVS and got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 1.5L Sutter Home white Moscato, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Red Moscato, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake, and one bottle 750ml Gekkeikan sake. Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one pack fried fish cake, one pound ground pork, 4 spring rolls, one head celery, 6 Romaine tomatoes, one pack mun bean sprouts, and one bag sugar peas, one dozen Michelob Ultra, one can Kimbo Pork Sung, and 3 bunch green onions. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ-getting boring each time. Setup the new Fire TV 4K to serve our family room TV, the show appeared to be more crisp. Moved the old ROKU box to replace the ROKU stick as it was too slow plus the ROKU box (version 3) still functions well for short periods usage.
7/20/2018: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Managed to drill through the metal plate in the wall but to continue with extension would require larger hole in the front, need to come up with a way to do that. No table tennis today as they were having some problem with the caregiver at Shih mama's house. Used larger drill and enlarged the hole below the window sill but still wasn't able to enlarge the metal plate behind it.
7/21/2018: Got up at 7:08. Handed over the check for Jerry's birthday to Yung at Peet's Coffee. Swing by Marukai and purchased 7 packages: Sashimi, bento, raw fish.....
Stopped by Daiso and got a pair of beach sandal. Picked up Anita from home and stopped by GBC so she could cash her check from the Election Day volunteer work.
7/22/2018: Got up at 7:00. Planted the 4 cucumber seedlings to the planter box next to the fake Cherry tree, kept the original soil to make sure their roots did not get broken. They did not look good after one hour in the new location even after I soaked them with cold water, removed the bottoms of their containers and use them as holder to help them stand seemed to work, will check tomorrow.
7/23/2018: Got up at 7:10. Use a couple of different drills and managed to drill through, a nearly 1" hole had been created and the USB cable was successfully placed outside the window, a few things needed to be taken care of before finalizing the powered Arlo camera - a conduit to safely enclose the USB cable through the hole, closing (nicely) the open outside to prevent rain/moist coming into the house, and sealing the hole where the USB connector attaches to the camera. Fixed the gutter guard that was shifting out of its proper location on top of the master bedroom - this was done with the 17' stick by attaching two shorter pieces of wood stick. No table tennis today. Cleaned the garbage and recycle bins covers. Cleaned out the opening in below the windowsill, struggled a bit inserting the conduit but finally succeeded after 15 minutes, cut off the excess, guided the USB cable through the conduit, reinstalled the camera, attached the USB cable and repositioned the aluminum cover, the resulting image/video seemed nice, will leave it as that for mow, will apply seal to the conduit openings as well as the micro USB connector opening I made on the Arlo camera later.
7/24/2018: Got up at 6:55. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased two tubs plain yogurt, 2 dozen organic eggs, one Cranberry Walnut Round, one case Starbuck K-cup, one bag organic pine nuts, one bunch bananas, and one flat (x24) Italiano mini dessert.
Used Flex Seal and bathroom seal to finalize Arlo camera weather protection, tested the image/video after all's done, restore all tools to their storage.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, handed over minis. Had 10 minutes MB with mini, EJ.
7/25/2018: Got up at 7:10. Got up at 7:20. Touched up the Flex Seal tape at the base of modified Arlo camera with leftover paint. Transplanted the egg plant seedlings to a red clay pot.
7/26/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15. Visited CVS at 10:30, disappointed finding no Barefoot Riesling, got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, onr bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 750ml Forestville Gewürztraminer, one bottle Sho Chiku Bai sake, and one bottle Gekkeikan sake. Swing by Marina Grocery, purchased one bag dried shrimp, two pack pin noodle, two Fuji apple, one large cucumber, one head Cauliflower, 4 bags spicy peanuts, one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, two packs thick bean curd, and one pack Oscar Mayer bacon. Stopped by Dynamicfoundation but did not see 5MUP925, kept spring rolls.
7/27/2018: Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up spider webs, discovered while picking up dead leaves in the front porch. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
7/28/2018: Got up at 7:15. Arriving CCC at 8:45 for passport renewal, there were already more than 30 people ahead of me. Got #34 and waited until 10:35 for my turn, everything was OK except the photos, there were too small, had to take another and mailed them over, oh well - also required photo copy of my US passport which I did not see mentioned anywhere, luckily CCC offered 10 cent copy service right outside the MP.
7/29/2018: Got up at 7:42. Left for ValleyFair at 10:46, I found a T-shirt (their anniversary sale price) and Anita found a pair of shoes (not on sale) in Nordstrom, walked around and had lunch at Raam. Got home at 12:59.
7/30/2019: Got up at 7:07. Had photo taken at Costco for my ROC passport application - the lady knows exact size of the photo after informing her they were for Taiwan passport, they were a set of 4, guess I'll keep two of them as souvenir. Picked up one Mediterranean salad kit, one bag lobster tail, and one pack boxer before heading out. Dropped off the envelope, containing those photos plus id notes provided, at the post office on my way to play table tennis. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
7/31/2018: Got up at 7:10. Installed new driveway motion detection LED flood light, took about one hour and 30 minutes, will check this evening to see result. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Called Medicare concerning Anita's card, long wait, will try a little later. Called Medicare and spoke to a representative in 5 minutes, a replacement card will be mailed in 4 weeks.
8/1/2018: Got up at 7:30. Labeling day at Dynamicfoundation, got there at 9:25. Finished everything by 11:05. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Tried but still could not find a better location to place the garage door remote control for RX300, so programmed all 3 buttons to make it easy to control.
8/2/1028: Got up at 7:08. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. There were two events going in the morning: the regular Thursday Karaoke and singing practice. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one bottle Er Guo Tou KaoLian, two red onions, one pack baby spare ribs, 4 Tomatoes, and 4 green bell peppers, also got 4 spring rolls and one white rice roll. Dropped off 2 spring rolls for Tip. Removed one cucumber plant from the planter box as it is withering-only 3 left. Cancelled Valley Medical Center follow-up appointment on 8:30am 8/16. Ordered LiftMaster HomeLink kit from Amazon, to be delivered on Sunday 8/8.
8/3/2018: Got up at 7:08. Spent 15 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Confirmed that Dan will be here working on LS400 tomorrow, decided not to visit Tip for the projects.
8/4/2018: Got up at 7:08. Walked about 40 minutes - Vinci parkway, Berryessa road, and Lundy avenue, stopped by Hung Vuong Tofu and purchased a pack (x3) Vietnamese shrimp rolls. Dan arrived at 10:00 and started working on LS400 in the driveway, served him lunch (one Vietnamese shrimp roll which I bought from the Berryessa plaza Tofu store, one can Pringle chips, one mini dessert, and one bootle water), he finished the job at 4:40, charged us $775 with $390 being labor.
8/5/2018: Got up at 7:20. Biked 20 minutes around the blocks: Vinci Parkway, Ribici Way, Junesong Way, Berryessa Road, Lundy Ave, Sierra Road, Flickinger Ave, Berryessa Road, Lundy Ave. Watched Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom on xuka.tv. Received Homelink kit from Amazon shipped via USPS. Dropping off Anita at City Sports while I visited Sprouts and purchased half pound of organic Brazil nuts for $12, swing by Lowes and got a bag (0.8 cubic feet) rubber mulch.
8/6/2018: Got up at 7:22. Visited Costco with Anita at 9:30, got back at 10:05, purchased one Cranberry Walnut Round, one bunch bananas, one Mediterranean salad kit, one pack (x6) sweet bell pepper, one can unsalted mixed nuts, one case Corona Extra, two dozen organic egg, and one tub cream cheese. Also filled up RX300 on our way home. Successfully programmed RX300 garage door opener button (all 3 buttons were programmed) to the HomeLink Bridge, will keep the LiftMaster opener in RX300 for a while until Anita feels comfortable with the on vehicle buttons.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
8/7/2018: Got up at 7:05. Spent one hour cleaning up backyard: broom off leaves and spider nets off the two patio chairs, power washed them (need to tighten nuts this afternoon), swept Oleander flowers and leaves, water cleaned bird drops on the brick floor. No table tennis due to ants invasion at Tip's, stopped by Tip to find baby powder had already been used to drive away the ants, seemed to work. Checked OK after work also. Had 10 minutes MB with legs on Aoi Shirosaki.
8/8/2018: Got up at 7:12. Washed the two patio chairs again with general purpose cleaner, swept up Oleander flowers and leaves. Cleaned up oil drip pan underneath LS400 to observe more leakage. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung. Add some $40 (~11 gallon) Octane 91 gas to LS400.
8/9/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:14. Did not get in until 9:25. Dropped off nuts for Tip at Bank of America nearby. Stopped by Marina and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one case (x12) DOS X cerveza, two packs thick bean curd, two pack beef shank, one pack bacon, one bunch garlic, one fried fish cake, one pack beef tendon ball, and one pack fried tofu.
8/10/2018: Got up at 6:40, stewed beef shank and bean curd. Arriving Dynamic Foundation at 1:00pm as they were having group lunch today, but they did not return until 1:40. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 15 minute with Stephanie, 25 minute with Kung. Visited Costco with Anita after dinner, man, was it crowded, we got a cheese Danish (x8), one pack Fuji Apple (to bring to ChiMing's house tomorrow), one pack Colgate toothpaste (x4), and one bottle Kirkland B-Complex, checking out took over 10 minutes. Decided to return the flat antenna ordered along with the Fire TV box, turned out Amazon refunded $9.32 directly without requiring me to send back the antenna-nice!
Relay Tip Princess Cruise San Francisco port info.
8/11/2018: Got up at 7:10. Visited Walmart Milpitas with Anita, purchased 5 32oz Hazelnut creamer, 5 Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera, one pack (x2) Bounty paper towel (they don't have the Browny brand I used to buy), and 2 tubs Chobani yogurt. Joined ChiMing couple at their house for Majong at 4:30, break for dinner at 嶺南飯店 before continuing playing until 9:00-a complete 4 rounds, I won 2000 points at the cost of ChiMing. Depressed because I was being ignored, I'll have to restart as myself.
8/12/2018: Got up at 7:30. Discovered there's a bee hive about the size of a mango under the eavesdrop just outside the kitchen window, need to remove it before it gets too big and dangerous. Tried using iTune to upload music to Anita's iPad, only 60 some songs were transferred, all others (over %90) simply won't budge, maybe the new iTune has more restriction of some kind. Visited Costco with Anita after dinner, got one bunch of bananas, one jar Kirkland Super B-complex, one jar MoveFree, and one tub Chobani plain yogurt. Prepared Anita's Medicare payment for 9/1/2018-11/30/2018, will mail it tomorrow morning.
8/13/2018: Got up at 7:10. Removing the bee hive underneath the eavesdrop-hat, shield for the head/face, long sleeve shirt, pants, socks, with a make shift hook, I was able to, surprisingly it took only one single jolt, knock the bee hive off in just a few seconds, easier than I anticipated. Mailed Anita's Medicare payment and dropped off Gate 1 Mexico trip payment to Carol at Dynamic Foundation. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung. The removed bee hive was empty by now and the lingering bees finally went away. The last cucumber plant withered finally-a complete failure of cucumber plantation for the year. Called mom at 7:00 for 15 minutes. Researching Alaska cruise excursion info for Tip.
8/14/2018: Got up at 7:20. Decided to make copy of the Mexico tour book Carol lended to us, the effect of using Photoscan app, tried and successfully turned on the old Windows2000 PC plus the scanner, scanned the first 67 pages (cover pages included) and moved them to the U-drive, will do the second half this afternoon. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung, Kung fall down and bruised his knees, Stephanie beat Kung 16:14. Finished scanning the rest of the Hola!Mexico, still need to crop off the overlapping pages. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ-no fun any more.
8/15/2018: Got up at 7:20. Trimmed off new branches at the bottom of the Oleanders. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung, Stephanie beat Kung 20:18.
Had a haircut in the garage for $5.
8/16/2018: Got up at 6:15-couldn't sleep thinking I'll be alone for a while. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15, got in at 9:20. Left CCC at 12:15 and played table tennis for 45 minutes, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung. Stopped by Costco and purchased one large bag Spinach, one bag Mediterranean salad kit, one box and one bottle 1.75L Red label Johnnie Walker.
8/17/2018: Got up at 7:20. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street. Sealed envelope of payment to Valley Medical Hospital for $11.76, will mail it Monday. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
8/18/2018: Got up at 7:15. Went to CCC to pick up my ROC passport, left the house at 9:25, returned at 9:49. Preparing list of projects at home while Anita's in Taiwan.
8/19/2018: Got up at 7:30. Took care of backyard roses-water, trimming, and applying Epsom salt. For some reason, feeling very depressed-possibly something to do with Anita's pending trip to Taiwan and Tip's issue. Stephanie has a boy friend now.
8/20/2018: Got up at 7:45. Cleaned up Oleander flowers and leaves. Pondering how the deck should replaced/redesigned. Played 35 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 15 minutes with Kung. Stephanie's boy friend is white, 2 years younger, 3 grown up kids, and one adopted teenage daughter, quite complicated, not sure it's a very good situation.
8/21/2018: Got up at 6:50. Worried about what Stephanie's getting into, but then again, I am sure she had thought through the whole thing carefully before pursuing her relationship with a white man 2 years younger. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one Cranberry Walnut Round, one pack cook spare rib, one Mediterranean salad kit, one can Honey Roasted nuts, one bag organic pine buts, one bunch bananas, one (x8) Danish (apple and cherry), two dozen organic eggs, and one box Nectars. Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, showed her some Princess Cruise info, tried but failed to book any excursions online as they turned the option off a few days before the cruise day. Just fond out that Stephanie had been advised by her sisters, friends and Kung on the idea of going into relationship with a Caucasian but she'd simply would not listen, a typical blinded by love case, no one can turn her around now until something bad happens - sad!
8/22/2018: Got up at 7:30. The gap of my achilles tendon appeared wider, not sure why bu the pain seemed to die down a bit. Cleaned up Oleander flowers and leaves in the backyard. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, did not mention anything about her boy friend, will just keep silent.
8/23/2018: Got up at 7:08. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Stopped by CVS but still no Riesling, got 2 bottles 750ml Sutter Home Moscato, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake, and one bottle 750ml Barefoot Pink Moscato. Swing by Marina Grocery, purchased one pack fried fish cake, one pack fried tofu, one dozen Michelob Ultra, one dozen DOS Equis, one pound ground pork, one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one strip baby back rib, 4 Romaine tomatoes, two red onions, 6 bags spicy peanuts, and one head Cauliflower. Also got half a roast duck from their deli department. Received oil plug sockets from Amazon as delivered by USPS. Finished reading "The Storyteller's Secret: A Novel", one of the few books from Amazon First Read I truly enjoyed in the past three years. Chatted with mom for 30 minutes.
8/24/2018: Got up at 7:10. Gave Stephanie a few tips on Alaska cruise. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ - not bad. The one-sided offering ends today, you should practice hard to really rip it out of your mind from now on!!!!!! Watched Ocean's 8 on XUKA.TV.
8/25/2018: Got up at 7:20. Went to Peet's Coffee and met old hiking pals for coffee/tea, there were 10 people in the hiking group: Ahmei, Yung, Ching, Ming, Alex, Wayne, the other Ming, Jerry, and two others unknown ones.
8/26/2018: Got up at 7:35. Adjusted the self height for the audio equipment cabinet side chamber to house all the photobooks we have, a few inside cover pages were consumed by insects, need to protect them better. Checked the audio wirings but could not find anything wrong with them, in the process cleaned up the spider webs and dust behind the audio cabinet, on a last ditch effort, went through speaker setting on the audio system receiver but still no luck, before giving up, I had a feeling that it had to be something simple, since both front speakers failed to work, I checked the speaker control buttons on the receiver, voila, the front speaker button was in off position, problem solved. Visited Orchard Supply Hardware, they are closing soon. Purchased one small bag grass seeds to fill the voids in the front lawn, also got a 40 gallon bucket with lid to collect rain water. Stopped by CVS to find no Barefoot Riesling, but got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Pinot Noir, 2 bottles 750ml Yellow Tail Moscato, one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake, and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato.
8/27/2018: Got up at 7:20. Went to Santana Row CineArts and watched "Mission Impossible: Fallout" with Anita, possible the best one in its series, 147 minutes playtime. Got message from Tip, possibly after finding out Kung could not find me for table tennis.
8/28/2018: Got up at 7:30. Tighten under the sink liquid soap dispenser, discovered that I only had to turn the bottle counter clockwise a few notch to make it sit tight. Trimmed off several low hanging Oleander branches in the backyard, I'll need to find stuff like that to do every single day to keep myself busy and my mind off things I can not change. Visited Costco with Anita after dinner, picked up two Cranberry Walnut Rounds, one tub cream cheese, one pack string cheese, one Mediterranean salad kit for Anita's trip to Taiwan, added one tub Green Mountain plain organic yogurt and one box Bibigo steamed dumplings for myself.
8/29/2018: Got up at 7:05. Drove Anita to San Jose airport for flight NH171 to NRT and NH823 to TPE, did not stay after saying goodbye at the security check point, the time spent at SJC was 15 minutes for $2.00.
8/30/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15, Susan opened the door for me, this is her last day working in the library on Thursday, she's still volunteering in the library full day every Friday though. Stopped by Marina Grocery, got one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, two heads Carabi (大頭菜), one pack baby ribs, one bunch bananas, one pack fried tofu, one bottle sesame oil, and two pack thick bean curd. Received screw set from Amazon. Called Anita at 5:58, hung up after 5 minutes so that she could relieve herself:-) . Anita called back at 6:36. Used the newly acquired screw set (the triangular one) to disassemble the malfunctioning digital timer, discovered that one of the components inside the timer was toasted, nothing I could repair.
8/31/2018: Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Got up at 7:10. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street (including that of our Korean neighbor). Took photos and videos of recycle/garbage pickup to show them to mom. Replaced the front yard Arlo camera with new (Pro) one. Discovered that the toilet repair kit I was planing to use for Anita's bathroom did not fit the type of toilet as it is a single piece construction (the tank and toilet are in a single structure), since I could not find anything resemblance Lowes website, I cleaned up the water valve a bit see if it helps with the problem (which I do not remember, need to ask Anita) until I can find a replacement kit. Answered one math challenge posted by Ming, thought I nailed it only to be crushed by Jerry. Ordered bike trainer stand from Amazon ($89.00, no tax).
9/1/2018: Got up at 7:33. Went to Peet's Coffee and met with hiking group, there were 6 people in it: Ahmei, Yung, Wayne, Jerry, Ming, and the other Ming, Ruby joined us with sesame covered buns made by Jerry-very tasty. Stopped by Marukai and purchased one bag dried seaweed, two udon noodle with soup base, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one Bara Chirashi Sushi, and one Futomake Half, swing by Daiso and purchased one large bowl to replace the container in Anita's bathroom sink. Had 15 minutes MB with mini, EJ-getting tired of this.
9/2/2018: Got up at 7:33. Visited Costco at 8:40, got in at 8:57, purchased one Mediterranean salad kit, one pack string cheese, one bag organic pine nuts, one pack (x8) cheese danish, one bottle 1.75L red label Johnnie Walker, and one box Bibigo steamed dumplings. Received bike exercise stand from Amazon. The assembling for the trainer stand wasn't difficult, but I had to remove a gear protection hardware near the right rear axle to allow proper fit.
9/3/2018: Got up at 7:15. Removed the out edge vertical lumber as well as the one on top of it. Pulled all nails off them, so far most of the removed lumbers were still in usable condition, maybe we can use them as water bucket base in the backyard. Removed both stair railings, also removed the main railing of the deck.
Removed the entire main railing and its support lumbers after dinner.
Called mom at 7:01 for 34 minutes.
9/4/2018: Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Got up at 6:45. Disassembled the auto feeder from the bench, cleaned up the housing and the feeder, washed the bench to restore its original color and beauty, put all of them away in the garage for now.
Removed one more deck board before lunch. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Need to look for refrigerator for Tip, $2000 budget. Received fish scale remover plus and 2 bottles of Won To Yick (黃道益) Medication balm from Amazon. Researched refrigerator Labor Day Sale for Tip, came up with 10 models with 6 worth further study.
9/5/2018: Got up at 7:25. Purchased one dozen 5W-30 Chevron engine oil (regular) and one pack (x3) leather gloves from Costco: 8:51 - 9:15. Sawed through the middle of the deck boards, paving the way to remove brick flat side of the deck, removed all lattice panels covering the perimeters, removed the lumbers supporting the lattice panel as well.
9/6/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:10, waited until Yolanda arrived. Karaoke ended last wek will likely be back next summer, Susan quit her Thursday library volunteer position, it was very quiet except for a few phones calls. Left CCC at 12:10 and played 35 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Got on Medicare.gov and requested a replacement Medicare card for Anita, a proof letter will be mailed within 7-14 days after verification, strange thing is that the account info said her new card (the one to replace the one with ssn) has not been mailed yet but the overall status says California state has finished mailing, I am not sure all this meant. Added water and grass seeds to the front yard to try to fill the gaps.
9/7/2018: Got up at 7:15. Removed more deck boards on the left side, relocated the solar light to the eavesdrop just outside the kitchen sliding door.
Removed all remaining deck boards plus the last rail which held the solar light. Put some removed boards back so that I can have temp walkway.
9/8/2018: Got up at 7:07. Tip stopped by at 11:45, positioned the car on top of brick+lumber combination which gave about 3 inches clearance, had lunch - fast noodle and dumpling. Started RX330 oil changing at 1:05, following online info - open oil cap, unscrewed oil plug cover, unscrew oil plug, drain oil, remove oil filter cover (this one took more time but was easy compared to RX300), located and unscrew oil filter (easy with the wrench I bought from Amazon), install new filter, removed old gasket, replace oil plug with new gasket, fill oil (5 qt plus), check leak with engine on for 5 minutes, reinstall cover panels/covers, road test, done. Cleanup took 20 minutes. All done by 2:30. Original Piercey Toyota sticker on next change was for 139612, the odometer was 140947 today, over by 1300.
Placed my sticker "9/8/2018: 140947, Next: 145946" on the compartment between the front seats.
Left for dinner at 5:25, got there at 5:45. Chi and Willis were there waiting. The food was good and the variety was even better, I ended up taking all leftover from the non-vegi table, it should feed me for at least a week. Got home at 9:15.
9/9/2018: Got up at 7:46. The original crawl space entrance cover was just a plywood supported by several bricks below and stayed on to the wall by 2 pieces of lumber leaning to it (possibly since 1974), I trimmed off the excess so that it fits comfortably inside the frame of the entrance, added two hooks to secure it and for easy removal.
Need to paint it. Removed the entire stair under the fake Cherry tree, a few pieces of the supper structure broke off during dismantling, will glue them back later.
Removed half of the lumbers from the deck stair near the Cherry tree, 4 remaining lumbers will have to wait until tomorrow.
9/11/2018: Got up at 7:32. The deck support post bases are much difficult to relocate or even move, one of the two I tried appeared to be cemented directly into the ground, meaning it is basically a large concrete block, I wasn't able to move a notch, the other one was a little easier but still took nearly 10 minutes to dig out of the soil-this one may have been put in by myself years ago when I added a new stair on the left side of the deck. Moved the support base to near sliding door to temporarily support the horizontal lumber, also took down the horizontal support lumber under the fake Cherry tree.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Complete deck dismantling process.
9/12/2018: Got up at 7:20. After some try and error, I was able to find the concrete perimeters of the deck support bases, they are quite extensive, a few even span 3 feet wide, will need to find a way to chip off the excess so they can be reused without too much hassle. Had lunch at Pho Thien Huong with John Miller, haven't seen him for over a year now, time really fly, the Pho place had a new owner and new interior design, focus on Pho only dishes, a regular one is $10.50, we ended up paying $28 including tip. Managed to loosen up all remaining concrete bases, will go purchase a sledge hammer to help rid off the excess concrete surrounding the bases. Tried to break apart the excess concrete from the bases, the ones with smaller excess seemed to be easy enough to break, but most of them still need sledge hammer.
Will check if OSH still have some that is cheaper than Harbor Freight Tools (~$10).
9/13/2018: Got up at 7:10. Both Moly and Milly were at the feeding location when I open the sliding door this morning, fed them a few time which Molly ate most of it. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Sout Hillview drive to Los Coches was closed due to on-going road re-pavement, I had to go back to Calaveras Blvd and take left and left on to Milpitas Blvd and left onto Los Coches and left into CCC parking lot, took more than 5 minutes. There were crews working on the roof at CCC, lifting carts and materials to the roof ready for construction the next few days. Gettin in and out of the office for everyone on Los Coches was difficult the whole day. Used (the first time) CCC side gate (closed most of the time) and got on to Milpitas Blvd directly, stopped by Marina Grocery and got one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one bottle 750ml Ozeki sake, 2 bags 210g spicy peanuts, 2 heads broccoli, 2 red onions, one bunch bananas, and one dozen DOS Equis Cerveza. I planned to visit OSH and check out their sledge hammer but forgot about it until I was almost at 680 onramp, decided to visit HomeDepot instead, took a while to decide which one to purchase. Found Molly showed up at the feeding location again, she was so skinny, fed her a couple of rounds and she stayed at the foot of the sliding door after meal. Used the new sledge hammer and successfully cleaned up one of the bases, although I did feel a little heart racing afterward, need to be careful.
9/14/2018: Got up at 7:15. Molly showed up after Milly started her breakfast, Benny strolled close but was driven afar by me. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, the grass cuts are the ones most difficult to sweep up, took nearly 20 minutes just for them. Worked on breaking the bases with excess concrete, was very frustrated not being able to break them as the excess was so huge, I probably should have gotten a larger sledge hammer.
Had 20 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ. Played 20 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung. Called Anita at 6:00, officially, she returned to Taiwan on Monday (9/10).
9/15/2018: Got up at 7:00, had 10 minutes MB with RM, no EJ. Drove to Peet's Coffee to meet the hiking group: Ahmei, Yung, Ming, Jerry, Wayne, Ching, and Alex, stayed until 11:25 before visiting Homedepot on De Anaza, found out that the GE refrigerator (GYE22HSKSS) comes with both bypass plug and one normal filter so I didn't have to buy it for now. Forgot to buy garden ground fabric cover after I was on my way back. Received and activated CapitalOne credit cards (-2640, -2641) with my login (1163venture/!monicayyyy2012), new card expiration date is 062023. Added password (xxxxacyyyy) to Notes for iPad and iMac. Called Anita at 6:00. Called CapitalOne to find out why Anita's new card has a totally different number, after about 15 minutes on the phone, possibly cause was they issued a new number because of expiration date for her old card was 07/2021(??????).
9/16/2018: Got up at 8:00. Swing by Lowes, got one roll landscape fabric, one pack landscape pins, and one bag brown rubber mulch. Discovered one of the kitchen mops I purchased from PX Mart seemed to be easy to use with good water absorbent feature - remember to buy more the next time I am there.
Used super glue and attached several rubber pieces (from the rubber mulch) to the Puma sports shoes I have been wearing since 2008 (Jordan and Israel trip).
Applied the same super glue to fix Anita's sandal, also cut away the old Gorilla glue used last time as the excess showed its face outside the seam.
During the process I accidentally touch my finger and the tube which was soaked, took me 10 minutes to cut the glue off and escape.
Finished breaking off the excess concrete from the last and the most stubborn deck base, next step will be cleaning up the area and placing bases in their new location plus designing deck layout. Had 15 minutes MB with RM, EJ.
9/17/2018: Got up at 7:10. Visited Costco, got one Cranberry Walnut Round, one Mediterranean salad kit, 2 dozen organic eggs, one box Breakfast Croissant, and one organic yogurt, filled up RX300 with 87 gas. Put reserve keys under the Rose bench for now, will need to relocate them under the new deck when finished. Replaced the front yard Arlo Pro camera battery, charging drained one. Played 40 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes (in two sessions) with Kung.
Removed the plastic ground cover under the deck, filled the excess concrete slabs with misc pebbles, broken concretes..., placed the based where they might sit.
9/18/2018: Got up at 6:30, had 10 minutes MB with RM, EJ. Spent 2 hours rotating RX330 tires, a total of 8 on/offs, should last at least a couple of years. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, her boyfriend's name is Alan Righter.
9/19/2018: Got up at 7:30. Picked up 8 8-ft natural brown composite deck boards from Lowes, loading and unloading took nearly 20 minutes.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung left just before my arrival. Measured Harbor Freight Tools solar panel output to be ~10V DC. Someone, most likely Milly, threw up again near the cat food pan, cleaning up caused the ant community to evacuate, had to water them down the screen door then applied all purpose cleaner to drive them away, most of them died though.
9/20/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15. Did not get in until chief Yen came out to turn on the sprinkler. There was no activities in the center, but additional work lined up, same as last year, threading old documents of CCC, the box I did was for 2011, took about one and half an hour. Stopped by Marina Grocery and got one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one pack fried fish cake, two bags pin noodle, one pack (x4) Neoguri spicy fast noodle, one pack duck liver sausage, 2 packs thick bean curd, and 3 green bell pepper. Swing by Kelly Moore and got one gallon 1240-027 flat paint for exterior wall touch up, it was shockingly expensive for $57.49 (tax included). Called Anita at 6:00, she just got up and was not energized, she'll call me back later. Called Mom at 7:00, took several tries to get her, she sounded a little better than the last time, apparently her condition had improved.
9/21/2018: Got up at 7:14. Used leftover cement (from Anita's stash) and covered up the nail holes from removed deck hardware. Tested newly purchased exterior paint (Kelly Moore 1240-027) on the stain caused by Flex Seal clear spray on the wall outside of the laundry room, it matched perfectly. Had 15 minutes MB with RM, no EJ. Played 70 minutes table tennis, 35 minutes with Kung, 35 minutes with Stephanie. Painted the crawl space entrance cover board. Need to get some paint brush for faster/better application.
9/22/2018: Got up at 7:00. 3558 volunteer day, got there at 8:15. Started green house demolition at 8:30, it was a more challenged task than originally anticipated, lots lots of screws and latches, it was sunny and the green house effect really showed, I was sweating like hell, probably the cause of my cramps in my fingers and thighs later on. Installed Brother printer driver on the laptop, installed one Wemo mini power adapter to work with Alexa, replaced the light module of the backyard Harbor Freight Tools solar light (need to check its status a week later), attempted to installed my own converted Arlo camera (which was working fine at home yesterday) but was getting the same result as the broken one (the one I converted for Tip), not sure what happened. The attempt to make DSC942-L also failed miserably, could not figure out why it did not record video based on configuration settings, maybe it was broken as well......
9/23/2018: Got up at 6:50. 3558 volunteer day continues, got there at 8:15. Tried the Arlo camera that I checked and verified it was in working condition at home, for some unknown reason, it still won't work/sync with 3558 system, gave up. Worked on the ground cover and mulch stuff, Tip could not decide how much to cover, but changed mind twice and we had to increase the coverage to the whole wall length.
Cleaned up the green house frames, tidy up in the garage, relocated the DSC-942L camera to view the garage door, set up another (the 3rd) Arlo Pro camera to cover the Tip Zone - this will be a Christmas gift. Called Anita at 6:01, and a couple of more times afterward to get bill payment info.
9/24/2018: Got up at 7:10. Repainted the remaining deck wall area, probably need to recheck it later today after the sun moves out of site. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie from 1:05 to 1:30 as they have a Calligraphy class Dragon Festival celebration banquet and it ran late. Kung did not play as he had already achieved 10,000 walking steps. The larger passionfruit plant leaves are starting to turn yellow, an obvious sign of fall is here. Used selected pieces from the rubber mulch and repaired the Merrell Vibram hiking shoes, should last a while.
Called Anita at 6:00. Called Mom at 7:00, failed to connect twice, the line is possibly busy, will try again a little later. Asked Peilee to check if the landline was OK.
9/25/2018: Got up at 7:05, had 5 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ-tool's quite soft. Picked 8 more 8-ft brown composite deck board from Lowes. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minutes with Kung - both of them seemed to be in foul mood, it's no fun playing in that situation. Contemplated deck design several times but still could not come to a conclusion. Called Anita at 6:01, we exchanged calls several times regarding India power adapters, the one she bought was for UK only, better bring the one Kuang Hua loaned her.
Got on Fidelity and submitted September bill payments for Explorer cards (~8110: $1352.44 & ~9981: $$545.87), CapitalOne (~2641: $50.00), and PG&E ($79.96).
9/26/2018: Got up at 7:30. Measured and cut up one piece vertical support post for the deck - my mobile table saw has a height limitation as I had to turn the post around a couple of time to get a cut and the result wasn't pretty, but later discovered the guard (for protection) on top of the saw can be removed so that cutting could continue. Will make the other post later. Played 50 minutes table tennis, 25 minute with Stephanie and 25 minutes with Kung, the mood was better today. Received the 22 lb Meow Mix from Amazon. Made another vertical post with adjusted mobile table saw, it's a little easier but the cuts were still not nice because I still need to turn the wood around for complete cut which created uneven level due to imperfect sliding move, it's better to use a Miter saw.
Had 15 minutes MB with RM, no EJ.
9/27/2018: Got up at 7:00. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Stopped by CVS around 10:35 and got a Hallmark card for Mom's Birthday, also got one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, two bottles 750ml Yellowtail Moscato, one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake, and one bottle 750ml Gekkeikan sake. Visited Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one dozen Michelob Ultra, one dozen DOS Equis, 4 bags 210g spicy peanuts, one bunch bananas, one bottle Sriracha chili sauce, and one pack thick slice bacon. Swing by OSH and got a bunch of deck hardware for $44.70 (saved about 40%). Anita called from Aurangabad at 6:35 pm (7:05pm Aurangabad time), calling from hotel lobby as hotel staff preparing for her room, it turned out she got to the hotel on her on as the hotel forgot to pick her up at the airport, luckily the airport wasn't too far away from the hotel.
9/28/2018: Got up at 7:15. Purchased one Tyson Chicken Strip and one bag mid size shrimp from Costco. Worked on the deck support posts, after trimming off some pieces from the post (a result of previous uneven cut), the two post now sit better, seemed fairly stable after putting the two main real horizontal support and the composite boards, also occurred to me that in order to cover up the gap between layers I need to cut off 1 cm more from the upper level vertical posts, this is so that the board covering the gap can sit flash with the deck boards. Received Ryobi Impact Driver from Amazon at 11:55. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Carefully measured the lengths and width of the two posts to trim off, marked them up for later. Anita called at 6:07 (6:33 am Aurangabad time), the Wi-Fi signal in her room was weak, she had to call from the lobby.
9/29/2018: Got up at 6:20, had 20 minutes MB with RM, no EJ. Had another MB with RMs for 25 minutes, a bit exhausted but no EJ. The 280 offramp to Lawrence was jammed by road construction, spent over half an hour there before getting to HarborFreight Tools, got one Hex drill socket set, one 3" paint brush, onr 2" paint brush, one brush set detail (2 each-steel, copper, nylon), and one 4-in-1 aluminum rafter square. Had to go back to Saratoga road and got on 280 again before exiting at Wolfe, visited Marukai and got one pack Karei Whole (Petrale Sole), one Futomaki, one Salmon Shioyaki Bento, one Rainbow Poki Bowl, and one Bara Chirashi Sushi. Got to Peet's Coffee at 10:20, the hiking group consisted of Yung, Jerry, Ching, Ming, the other Ming, Alex, Wayne, and 2 of Jerry's friend couple. Discovered I made a booboo measuring the cutoff needed for the support post and beams even after I thought it through several times, made some adjustments to also recess the cutoff to allow risers-will double check them again alter. Anita called from her room at 6:00, turned out she only needed to login again every now and then to get access.
9/30/2018: Got up at 7:15, had 20 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ-totally lost interest near the end. Had 25 minutes more MB with RM, no EJ-seemed fairly strong. Made 12 deck in-between-board spacers, the manufacturer recommend minimum 1/4 inch gap between boards but I thought that was a bit much so mine were a bit narrower, should be OK. Adjusted the cutoff markings based on actual deck flat width as measured from the wall. Drawings helped actual implementation.
Had 10 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ-need fresh/new images to continue. Anita called at 6:09 for 16 minutes.
10/1/2018: Got up at 7:20. Had 15 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ-loosing interest (driving force disappearing) this time around. Position the concrete pier block to support the third vertical post, made a square piece to sit on top of the concrete pier block for the third vertical post support, somehow the Gorilla glue could not bond well, had to add more glue and level the wood, still not sure if it worked since I went ahead and move all 6 deck boards on top of the three (one temporary) vertical posts to measure cutoff markings for the third post.
Played 55 minutes table tennis, 30 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Completed the third vertical post, made sure all layers were leveled.
The last photo showed posts with water seal applied.
10/2/2018: Got up at 7:23. Nailed down the three vertical supporting posts to their respective base boards.
In the process of setting up second deck layer, need to flatten and/or remove/break down the original pier block supporting concrete slabs, broken apart the largest of all, exhausted afterward.
Just found out Piglet and his mom (my sister) are still coming, the FB Messenger message he posted yesterday did not reach me until now, and he rented a house 5KM away, sorry about that. Moved two large pieces of concrete blocks I broke off early morning to the front yard fence next to our Korean neighbor, filled the hole, dug by unknown animal(s), will fill it with smaller concrete blocks later. Played 50 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Stephanie and 25 minutes with Kung. Sis and Piglet stopped by at 4:10. Sis seemed excited to be here, she looked around the house, the back yard and rested in the back yard for a while before we went in the kitchen and prepared dinner - Bibigo steamed dumplings, Tyson chicken strips and a couple of preserved/pickled vegetables. They went back to the airbnb at 8:12.
10/3/2018: Had 20 minutes MB with RM and mini, tried very hard and finally with legs, EJ. Got up at 7:12. Completed 3 more concrete pier block for the second level deck, had to sit them closer to the wall as the soil at originally intended locations was not stable because of the old concrete slabs, about 6" of the horizontal support lumbers will be hanging off the posts.
Marked down all second layer post and beam measurements, it was too hot for me to continue the cutting, will try it tomorrow morning.
Cleaned up HomeDepot account info.
10/4/2018: Got up at 7:10. Called Anita at 7:15, she got home smoothly. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:14, chief let me in as he was turning on the sprinkler system. Busy morning as far as people inquiring Double Tenth celebration info and requesting "Oversea Chinese card" application. Stopped by Marina Grocery, purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle 750ml Ozeki sake, one bunch bananas, one jar Kimbo Pork Song, one pack pork spareribs, 4 Romaine tomatoes, one head Cauliflower, one steam meat spice/powder, and two pack thick bean curd, question regarding award coupon wasn't answered clearly, left unhappy. Made 3 posts (13", 12 1/2", 12 1/2") and 3 34 1/2" beams for the second layer deck.
Called Anita at 6:00. Called Mom at 7:00.
10/5/2018: Got up at 7:09. Stopped by Costco and got one dozen bagel (instead of regular toast as they come with 2 whole rolls) and one bottle 1.75L Red Label Johnnie Walker. Removed the temp deck lumbers, applied water seal to all surfaces of the posts and beams, took just over one hour.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung did not play as he had to go somewhere. Discovered the second layer beams are one inch too long, I could not recall why I marked 34 and half as the measurement for it, took down the beams and trimmed off that excess and applied water seal to the new bare wood.
Put the second layer deck boards in place, the 7 3/4" drop seemed too large, may need to change that to 7" or less instead.
Called Anita at 5:27, she's going out to meet her friend Jamie Tang.
10/6/2018: Woke up at 4:05, had several sips of rjw before going back to sleep. Got up at 7:10. Swing by Tip's to work on powered Arlo Pro camera, discovered, after installing the 4" outdoor mount, the mounting screw to the camera simply could not be inserted if the USB cable is in place, the solution was to add a small piece of wood and use it as the base so that the USB cable would not be in its way. Got home at 11:40.
Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ-the urge is back. Made 3 layer one and layer two vertical additions to make second layer one inch taller, applied water seal to those wood pieces. Called Anita at 6:00 for 27 minutes.
10/7/2018: Got up at 7:12. Changed my mind again on getting a 10" compound sliding Miter saw from Harbor Freight Tools because I got used to using the circular saw and the mobile table saw combination to do the job, even though the result was perfect but the thought of having to find space in the garage to store the Miter saw troubled me, so...... Visited Lowes and got 8 more 8' composite brown deck boards and 2 boxes 10x2 1/2" deck screws. Secured the three top beams with six 1 1/4" screws to the wall and six 1 3/4" screws to layer one posts. After contemplating how to cover the side where the cutoff would be shown and suddenly realized the design idea I had just last week, this may be used on ALL sections of the deck and no composite deck board edges would be shown.
10/8/2018: Got up at 7:40. Made 2 cross-support beams from 2 of the 6 original leftovers, the last 4 were in bad condition to be used. Applied water seal to them-all 6 sides.
Played 40 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 20 minute with Kung. Swing by Costco and purchased one case Asahi beer, one pack Pineapple sausage (the same one got from Tip the other day), two tubs plain Yogurt, one Cranberry Walnut Round, and one Sweet Kale salad kit. Attached two cross-beam support hardware to the layer one beams, learned that the hardware had to go on to the cross-beam first before measuring where to drill necessary holes, I chipped off some wood from the cross-beams on the first try so had to apply water seal again before final installation.
10/9/2018: Got up at 8:00. Jason stopped by with a box of his Persimmons, we chatted about Medicare as he's one year away from qualification. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Attached the second cross-beam to the deck support structure, it was easier this time-lesson learned.
Trimmed off wither roses and branches, water them as well. Purchased ANA tickets ($634.22) for trip back to Taiwan next year.
10/10/2018: Got up at 7:10. Working on the cross-beams in the main section of the first layer, applied water seal afterward,
decided to add one cross-beam (a lighter version) to the minor section but ran out of hardware, used two old ones instead - need to add widgets to the bottom of the hardware to make this particular cross-beam level with the other, also need to apply water seal.
Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung did not slept well (at his mom's house) and went home early. Applied water seal to the minor cross-beam and supporting boards. Called Anita at 2:00, she's experiencing throw-up and diarrhea, praying for her safe return. Added a few widgets to the cross-beams to level the platform.
Had 10 minutes MB with legs, tried very hard to EJ. Need to glue the widgets to the hardware. Anita called at 4:13pm from TPE Taoyuan airport, her flight NH824 was delayed due to air traffic control, it took off at 9:25pm instead of 8:40pm. Anita called from NRT airport at 9:51pm, she's feeling better not eating or drinking during the flight, will try have something at United Club. Her flight NH172 to SJC will be delayed by 45 minutes (both take off and landing), arrival time will be 11:50am instead, looks like no table tennis tomorrow.
10/11/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, take the day off as I will be picking pick up Anita from SJC airport. Glued the widgets to corresponding deck hardwares, prepared 4 pieces lumbers to be installed at the 4 edges of the first layer deck. Applied water seal as well.
Left the house at 11:30 for SJC cell phone waiting area. All spots were filled so I drove through the airport drives and decided no parking in the garage, went back to Airport Pkwy and this side of cell phone waiting area was also filled, before getting to Bering Dr, where I planned to park and wait, Anita called which I had to ignore and returned her call after I found a space in the parking lot (of unknown company), she's in luggage claim and will call me once she's out. Got home at 12:30, decided not to go play table tennis as the play time will be limited. Installed all four edge extension for the first layer deck platform.
Called Mom at 7:00.
10/12/2018: Got up at 7:15. Decided to make the first layer deck platform the same as the photo shown:
And all other layers one frame less.
10/12/2018: Got up at 7:07. Booked Barcelo Mexico Reforma (the same hotel Gate One will stay on 11/27 and 11/28) for 11/29 and 11/30 to replace Chaya B and B Boutique (need to cancel this one before 11/25), the total price of $227.48 is a bit small than $241 for Chaya. Made 2 more cross-beams for layer one deck platform so that the frame boards can be safely secured.
Gave ride to Stephanie to SJC for her trip to Santa Fe and Albuquerque with her boyfriend Alan Righter. Will pick her up Sunday evening (Southwest flight ). Secured part of the beams/cross-beams, will need to trim off several cross-beams at the top so they will all be leveled.
10/13/2018: Got up at 7:15. Visited Harbor Freight Tools, got a 10" Sliding Compound Miter Saw and one 10" saw blade, swing by Marukai and purchased one bunch bananas, one Salmon Shiyoyaki Bent, one Futomaki, and one Bara Chirashi. There were 5 people in the hiking group: Alex, Jerry.\, Wayne, the other Ming, and Steve, Ching only walked 10 minutes and he replaced Steve at Peet's. Drove Anita to Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters for November election volunteer training, from 2:00 to 3:30, they were late in finishing the training session so she did not come out until 3:45.
Studied the Miter Saw carefully, there was no information on how to get started (removing it from shipping position, and blade installation, with the help of online info (mostly Youtube), it still took me a long time to make it operational with blade installed, will test it tomorrow.
10/14/2018: Got up at 7:09. Trimmed off some uneven cross-beams and applied severl Flex seal rubbers to them as I cut too much, secured all deck support beams and cross-beams with 1" and 1 1/4" screws, applied water seal to the trimmed off ones. Glued the 1" height extension blocks to second layer deck posts to make the drop to just 7", secured the second layer beams to their respective posts. Moved the new Miter saw to the backyard, hurt my left back during the process, simply could not do anything at will now:-(((. Stopped by Lowes and purchased some deck hardware before picking up Stephanie at SJC, met Alan (Righter) the first time, he seemed to be a nice guy on first impression.
10/15/2018: Got up at 7:10. My wait/back has been painful throughout the night, not sure what happened. Lay in deb to ease the pain but when I tried to get up after 10 minutes I got painful cramps in my leg, finally got up with Anita's help. Found the deck gapping info finally.
Completed my Medicare November through January Plan B payment of $402.00 with Anita's Explorer card, will mail it tomorrow. Turned in at 9:00.
10/16/2018: Got up at 6:10. Lower right back was more painful than yesterday. Slept most of the morning and afternoon as the pain was unbearable standing, sitting, or walking.
10/17/2018: Got up at 7:18, still very painful, not much improvement. Donated $21 to Wikipedia. Paid RX300 registration renewal fee $190 online with Anita's -9981 credit card. Had 5 minutes MB with mini, EJ.
10/18/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, felt better to show up, went to Costco to fill up before deciding to take Automation drive as Hostetter was jammed, boy was I wrong, the route I took was even worth as many cars simply wanted to cross Lundy from Automation/Mckay and it took me 5 minutes to get to Lundy which I mistakenly thought took me to the Post Office :-(, forget that and took Milpitas Blvd to CCC. Te Library was closed due to hallway remodeling, the foot traffic as well phone volume were high because people inquiring and applying in person for 僑胞卡", which was printed on World Journal and announced over the radio 96.5?). Stopped by CVS and purchased one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Merlot, one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Moscato, one bottle 750ml Forest Ville Gewürztraminer, one bottle 750ml Gekkeikan sake, and one bottle 750ml Sho Chiku Bai sake. Swing by Marina Grocery, got one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one pack fried fish cake, 2 bags 210g spicy peanuts, one Taiwanese cabbage, one head Celery, one bunch bananas, one pack spare ribs, one lb ground pork, and 2 red onions. Ordered dinner (Umami Fries, Beef Bowl with brown rice, and Korean Buffalo Wings)) from Koja Kitchen on Brokaw, Anita picked them up after her workout at City Sports.
10/19/2018: Got up at 7:35. Jason stopped by and brought a big box of Persimmons, decided to save some for Anita's gym friends and make Persimmon cake out of all of the remaining except several ripe ones. Received waist guard from Amazon.
10/20/2018: Got up at 7:28. Walked to 99 Ranch Market, spent 3 minutes inside, no purchase, and walked back-10:08 to 10:48. Left leg felt OK but will check this afternoon to see if any change. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Visited CVS on Berryessa, purchased 8 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling, and 2 bottles 750ml Yellowtail Moscato - I probably don't need to to check out the CVS store next to Marina Grocery every Thursday from now on. Peeled 45 Persimmons and placed them in the drying net/basket, expecting Persimmon cakes in about 10 days.
10/21/2018: Got up at 7:45. Completed my usual routine for the morning, the first time since hurting my back. My waist felt stiff, not sure if it's normal after the recovery or something else.
10/22/2018: Got up at 7:35. Still having stiff waist in the back. played 45 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 25 minutes with Kung. Moved the Miter saw to the patio table on the brick platform, this should make the cutting easier.
Made two more 32 1/2" 2x4 to further extend the edge of layer one deck so that the concrete base block can be covered easily, also made two 45" 5 1/2x3 1/2 beam for the second layer.
Received trekking poles from Amazon, appeared to be easy to setup and adjust with 3 different footings: normal, mud, and snow.
Called Mom at 7:00 for 10 minutes with sniffing nose.
10/23/2018: Got up at 7:15. Applied water seal to the two 45" beams, one of them had its bottom eroded pretty bad though, not sure if it's a good idea to use it. Spend about 40 minutes walking to and back from99 Ranch Market, to observe leg conditions. Attached the two edge extension to the first layer, need to detach and apply glue to them for a stronger hold. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung has a Chinese Calligraphy class to take. Removed the four edge extensions for layer one, applied Gorilla glue before reattaching them.
Cut up needed pieces for layer one, it's a lot easier with the Miter saw. Need to, somehow, straighten some of the boards which are warped, maybe turning them upside down and apply weight to them to force them bend the other way.
10/24/2018: Got up at 7:15. Labeling day, got there at 9:30. Finished my part plus at 11:05, had lunch at home before heading there again, played 37 minutes table tennis, 25 minutes with Kung, 12 minutes with Stephanie. Stacked upside down some of the composite boards that were bending upward at the end, see if reversed positioning under the sun can straightening effect.
Made two short beams from the remaining original beams-I am running out of salvageable ones, one 16 13/4" and one 15 7/8", applied water seal afterward.
10/25/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15. Cynthia opened the door at 9:20, she's been in since 8:00 to accommodate the entrance of hallway workers. Stopped by Marina Grocery, got one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one dozen DOS Equis, 2 bags spicy peanuts, 3 packs boneless beef shank, one pack beef stew, one bottle ketchup, one Wasabi sauce, one tube Wasabi, 2 red onions, 3 carrots, 2 packs thick bean curd, 3 tomatoes, one pack (x4) Neoguri fast noodle, 4 red potatoes, and one pack thin noodle bunches. Got half a roast duck from the Deli department. Clamped down the longest frame for layer one as a starting point for further board placements.
Made a couple of thin wedges to raise the beam at the right corner of layer one as it is too low, also made a larger wedge to support the inside frame on the right side as there's nothing to support it.
Had 10 minutes MB with RM, EJ with legs-getting dull.
10/26/2018: Got up at 7:35. Visited Costco with Anita, first ever parked in the #1 spot. Got one Organic Mediterranean salad kit, one box baby spinach, one can Honey Roasted Nuts, one jar unsalted mixed nuts, two dozen organic eggs, one tub Greek organic yogurt, one Cranberry Walnut Round, one box (x8) Angus Cheese Burger, one box cheese poppers, and one Charmin bathroom tissue. Took 15 minutes to clean up leftover garden waste in the street.
Cheese Popper nutrition info:
Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. Used a piece of 2x4 instead to add support for the inside frame, the block of wood prepared yesterday simply could not provide adequate support.
Changed AAA membership fee charge using Anita's Explorer card instead.
10/27/2018: Got up at 7:28. Stopped by Harbor Freight Tools on Stevenscreek and purchased four 12" clamps and one pack titanium drills. Next stopped at Marukai and got one pack Bara Chirashi, one Futomaki, one Salmon Shioyaki Bent, one Karei Whole, and one bunch bananas. Made several 1/8"-1/4" wedges from one of the scrap composite board, retrieving them from the dust container below the mobile table saw, cut myself by something other than the saw while cleaning the top. Made more wedges and glued them at specified locations as seen below.
10/28/2018: Got up at 7:35. Leo (Leonard) showed up with his coworker at 8:56, they tried to park the threader vehicle next to the curd but had to park it in the middle of the street as there was a white sedan parked between us and the Philippine neighbor, it wasn't too bad as the street is still accessible from every households. The trimming this time was for an overall topping and thinning instead of cutting certain branches here and there, they also trimmed off a couple of branches of the no name tree in our backyard that crossed over to our Philippine neighbor side, plus one dead Cherry branch was taken care of. All this for a total of $665, as opposed to another quote for $1200 plus $500 for taking away the debris. They left at 3:20.Trying to catch up with Amazon First read of October.
10/29/2018: Got up at 7:50. Decided to make layer one deck even prettier, instead of framing three sides, I remade several boards to make it four-side framed.
Remake/reshape new and existing boards to finalize layer one deck.
10/30/2018: Got up at 7:25. Readjusted board gaps for layer one before final installation.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung would come in later. Exchanged rides with Stephanie, I will send and pick up her/Alan on 11/9 and 11/14, she'll give us rides to from SFO on 11/18 (Sunday) and 12/1 Saturday). Installed several composite boards for layer one deck, the delicate nature of the board showed when I tried to attach a screw near the pointing end of the board that was a bit bending up, the tip of the board simply broke, I had to replace one of them with an old one that did not fit well but seemed OK now, need to slow down and think through a bit more before picking up the task.
Had 20 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
One of the boards turned out unusable after I screwed both side of it onto the beams, the middle bended upward and could not be adjusted, will have to engineer another board to replace it, also need to trim half an center meter off the 2 boards in the center of layer one.
10/31/2018: Got up at 7:25. Made a new replacement board and trimmed the two center boards, may have over trimmed them, oh well.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung went home early possibly due to lack of sleep at his mother's house. Attached screws to all drilled screw holes then discovered that two boards were too tall because I inserted wedges below at the time I though they might be too low, reattached the center board (which kind of destroyed it) then removed most wedges associated with it, found an old center board (there were 4 of them before design change) and made it the same length to replace the one I just destroyed, the result was perfect. Before I detach the other out of pace board, I need to think if destroying it is the only solution.
The board closest to the kitchen sliding door needs some work.
11/1/2018: Got up at 7:15. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. JP's husband came by, along with CCC staff, and gave her a surprise birthday celebration with cake (her 60th). Swing by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Taiwan rice wine, one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, 4 cucumbers, 3 tomatoes, two red onions, two strips pork sparerib, one pack beef neck bones, and 4 green Bell Pepper. Removed all wedges from the first board (the one closest to the kitchen sliding door) and put all the screws close to there original form-because of how the screws were designed (top portion has a different thread angle), it's impossible to reposition them back to exactly where they were, the height of the screws could not be precisely controlled by me. Need to add another cross beam to make the screw line pretty, also need to secure the cross-beams ends opposite the kitchen sliding door to reduce the creaky noise when stepping on to them.
11/2/2018: Got up at 7:15. Benny seemed more relaxed in my presence.
Walked to 99 Ranch Market through Lundy, took residential street coming back, a total of 16+20=36 minutes. Prepared two 2x6 boards to server as additional beam to accommodate one more strip of screws near the right frame, water sealed them before attaching them with glue and screws. Played 45 minutes table tennis, 15 minutes with Stephanie, 30 minutes with Kung. Attached the newly beam
to its proper position, secured it to an existing beam, also secured it with 4 extra screws to the main beams, aded 24 screws (2 strips) to the composite boards.
Hopefully close to final - layer one deck.
New cross-beam addition- the two without the supporting hardware.
11/3/2018: Got up at 7:25. Picked up voting supplies at Registrar's office with Anita. Attached 4 beam holder hardware for the second layer, the two long beams sat nicely.
Installed 4 more beam holder hardware to the smaller section of layer 2, secured the two shorter beams, the one closer to layer one was a bit challenge as it's partially below layer one, I had to crawl below layer one to drill holes and attach screws which was killing me literally, think I'll rest tomorrow.
Phone ordered Umami Fries and Kamikaze Fries from KoJa Kitchen for dinner.
11/4/2018: Got up at 7:00 (first day of daylight saving time fallback). Went to Lowes after dropping off Anita at City Sports, got one 10" Carbide saw, one box 1-1/4", one box 2-1/2", and one box 3" wood screws. All Gate 1 Travel Documents pages I captured from iPad screen were gone from Google Drive after I deleted them from iPad, had to start over.
11/5/2018: Got up at 7:05. Made 4 layer 2 side extension boards (36-1/4"), also made 4 reenforcement boards to strengthen 6 vertical posts.
Played 30 minutes table tennis, 20 minutes with Stephanie, 10 minutes with Kung, Kung had a fast heart rate condition last Friday. Glued and attached all 4 edge extension boards.
Installed all 4 vertical post reenforcement boards, 2 short ones and 2 long ones.
Can start second layer cross-beam build task tomorrow.
11/6/2018: Got up at 5:00, election day, Anita had to be at the polling place at 6:00. Anita called from polling place asking for info of the person to open the door but I simply could not find it so she came back home to get it at 6:12. Went back to bed before getting up at 7:00, had 5 minutes Mb with legs, EJ. Secured the two long and two short beams parallel to the wall with 2-1/2" screws, good result. Made 4 cross-beams - 25-11/16, 25-3/4, 25-3/4, and 25-5/8 - for second layer, the pile of scrap woods from the old deck I marked as OK to reuse turned out to be not that OK, took me a while to find barely usable ones. Applied water seal to the new cross-beams.
Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung has a Chinese drawing class at 1:00.
Finished the 4 cross-beams for the second layer, it's much quicker this time around based on the experience leaned so far:-)
Can start putting up riser board tomorrow-need to se if water seal can be applied first.
11/7/2018: Got up at 7:20. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one box K-cup, one tub cream cheese, one chocolate gift box (for Francisco), one case Asahi beer, one baby spinach, one organic cherry salad kit, one bag pine nut, one bag cookie thin with chocolate coconut, 2 MoveFree, one Cranberry Walnut Round, 2 dozen organic eggs, and one pack beef lion flap meat steak-took 41 minutes in total. Water sealed two riser boards to see the effect. Played 35 minutes table tennis with Kung, Teresa's having a meeting upstairs so Stephanie did not play. Recut the riser board to fit left side of the deck, applied water seal to all 6 boards.
11/8/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20, Cynthia had been there already as the hallway work is still going on. Got a bag of pastry from JP for her Birthday last week. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased 2 bags pin noodle, one pack fried fish cake, one jar pork sung, 5 bananas, one cauliflower, one Napa cabbage, one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one dozen Michelob Ultra, and two bags thick bean curd. Completed riser boards for all three sides with the front boards covering up the edges of two other sides, applied water seal to newly exposed bare wood. Heard from Stephanie that Tip died, no detail was given, Tip had not been herself the last few days, not eating much and disappeared a couple days ago.
11/9/2018: Got up at 7:10. Trimmed, once again, the riser boards to fit irregular composite boards above, also made them as much possibly compatible on their touching edges.
Replaced the worn out Miter saw blade, the new one has info painted on a different side, had to make sure the blade teeth is facing correct direction - turned out I had it wrong the first time, no wonder the cutting was challenging and the blade wore out so soon - found out this by examining the photos on the Miter saw container carton, quickly reinstalled it then realized how easy it is now to cut composite board. The blade in the photo is in incorrect facing, the teeth should go downward.
Made all boars necessary for the second layer phase 1, it is so much quicker this time with all the errors avoided. Lined them up after making the center 4 boards the same length.
Gave ride to Stephanie to San Jose airport, Alan was there to greet her. It took me 50 minutes to get home as the traffic was simply terrible.
11/10/2018: Got up at 7:10. Contemplating how to create a 3' triangular lumber to make the left side support frame of the second layer inline with the first layer - this is caused by the bad post position I selected for the second layer, started with the circular saw but could not continue after 1/3 into cutting, had to use hand saw to finish the task, took 3 attempts to finish in the afternoon.
Reposition layer two boards after applying 2 more coats of water seal to the risers to increase the color level.
11/11/2018: Got up at 6:35, filled up gas for RX300 at Costco for $3.199/gal, dropped off Medicare payment at USPS before coming back. Fastened right side of the frame to start layer 2 phase 1 final construction, discovered I am missing several support blocks a the bottom of the long outside frame, these blocks must be trimmed to be inline with surrounding beams.
Had lunch at In-N-Out before heading to Lowes in the same plaza and purchased 2 water bucket for rain collection, one bag concrete mix for deck stair base, 3 boxes deck screws, and one can Thompson water seal. Stopped by Target but could not find ANY 32oz Hazelnut creamer, bought one tub Yogurt instead. Made new support blocks, water sealed them, attached them with glue as well as screws to their respective locations.
Secured half of the composite boards, had to stop as it was getting too dark, will finish it tomorrow morning.
No need to bring remote control with us on this trip as our cell phone are all equipped with Champlain app which can open/close the garage door as long as Wi-Fi is available, backup plan would be the keys (for the front door) hanging below the new deck.
11/12/2018: Got up at 7:15. Finished second layer phase 1 task.
Played 30 minutes table tennis with Kung, built the exercise bike Kung bought for Stephanie. Started contemplating deck stairs design.
11/13/2018: Got up at 7:08. The hair lady came at 9:10 instead of the 10:30 as scheduled, Anita had a hair dye in 15 minutes. Anita trimmed my hair. Setup the auto feeder plus weather protection panels, took less than 20 minutes-nice design:-). Finalized the stringer size after adding more wedges so that the stairs can look and feel inline with the ground and deck layers.
Started Social Security Application with re-entry number 19356595. Finished the application within 30 minutes-requires marriage license, naturalization paper, direct deposit bank info to go through the process-should be receiving the benefit starting March 2019 if it goes well. Made three more stringers based on the first model with some adjustments, will apply water seal to the new back panel and the new stringers tomorrow.
11/14/2018: Got up at 7:20. Trimmed once again the stringers so that step heights are even, also got rid of the idea using the remaining 2" thin part of the stringers to secure to the stairs as it could not hold any weight-one of them actually broke when I put it down a bit harder, placed them so that they are leveled, still not sure if I should pour concrete first of after the stringers have been secured......
Stephanie had other pickup arrangement so I don't need to do it tonight. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Kung. Secured all four stringers in place with some improvised hardware, added concrete mix to their base and water thoroughly, not pretty but should work.
One of the concrete base wasn't touching the stringer, added more with water, hopefully it will turn out ok tomorrow.
11/15/2018: Got up at 7:00. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15, got in at 9:20 when Sophia arrived. Stopped by Marina Grocery, got 4 buns from the pastry department, one white rice roll from deli department, also got one bottle 750ml Taiwanese rice wine, one bottle 750ml Er Gou Tou, 4 bags 210g spicy peanuts, and one can powder Hazelnut creamer. Added several screws to strengthen the stringers, applied water seal to all of them before calling it a day, will try to work on the steps, but most likely won't be able to finish it as the design will be a bit challenge-step design as well as additional support added to the stringers will be needed.
11/16/2018: Got up at 7:25. Made 4 boards (37" each) for the deck stairs, it will be a two step stairs, the final step to the ground maybe a bit high right now but by raising the ground level with pebbles or the like, it should be OK by then.
No table tennis today, Stephanie was busy running errands and Kung wasn't there. Attempted to make patterned steps just like what Youtube showed, failed miserably since I did not have the long/thin (4") drill, nor did I have the long and needle-like screws to secure the triangle pieces to the main step, decided to use my own way, instead simply treating all these pieces as regular picture frame components, after a couple of tries, added 4 pieces of cross beams in between stringers, the step pieces now stand perfectly (almost) on the stringers+. Will leave them as is for now, will pick up and start securing the steps after returning from Mexico trip.
11/17/2018: Got up at 7:30. Cleaned up backyard debris from table saw, Miter saw and circular saw, covered up the ready-to-secure stairs so that no one (cats or people) would accidentally walk on it. moved most equipments back to the garage, cleaned up the card table, placed remaining tools on it, covered it up with tarp, added obstacles on top so that Benny (or other cats) wouldn't rest on it.
Checked in our flights to Cancun, took a while to get mobile boarding passes on our phones, this will not be an issue if we have data plan as the passes rely on access to United account live, I had to make screen shots to do the trick.
2018 Mexico Trip (11/18/2018-12/01/2018)
11/18/2018-11/19/2018: Got up at 7:10. Turned off sprinkler system, set water heater to vacation setting, added more
wood panels to the deck stairs as Milly still use the stair to get up to the deck. Finished packing and move the luggage downstairs at 1:00. Stephanie and her boyfriend Alan came to pick us up at 3:05, he’s driving us to SFO in a newly purchased 2014 GS350, lots of gadgets and ride was very smooth. Got to SFO at 3:50. United at Terminal 3 is for domestic flights, somehow Canada and Mexico are considered domestic, they have machine assisted checkin, luggage drop off, and boarding pass print out, there was no one at the counter checking people in, the only people at the counter was to take your checkin luggages. The security check point is equipped with automatic traffic control which moves carry-on stuff to a waiting checker if it is requires more scrutiny. Had a chicken/salad lunch before waiting at gate 83 for flight UA816, scheduled for 6:00pm, I used mobile boarding pass the first time, worked the second scan, not bad. The flight did not take off until 6:24, but the fly time was 56 minutes, 33 minutes shorter than scheduled, so we got to LAX at 7:20, the flight was fully booked, Anita’s plan (reserving 37A and 37C hoping no one sit in between us) didn’t work, in fact a very fat lady showed up we offered her the window seat so that we all could be more comfortable. Took 15 minutes to walk to our connecting gate 84. Checked over and over our flight gate info but the departure info screen simply wouldn’t show, the info on my Pixel XL suddenly changed to gate 71A, we checked with United service desk and confirmed the change, had to walk back to 71A which is next to gate 70A where we arrived two and half an hour ago. Again, flight UA1654 is also fully booked, sitting was bad for me as the guy sitting in the middle seat used most if not all of the hand rail between us, he slept with his leg extending over my side as well. Flight 1654 took off 10 minutes behind schedule (11:53), but arriving Cancun at 6:57, 28 minutes ahead of schedule (7:25). Went through passport control smoothly, possibly because of the early hour, the airport was not crowded. At the exit, found our shuttle driver, took 22 minutes to get to Occidental Costa Cancun at 7:00. Our room won’t be available until 3:00, long wait...... Around 9:20, our Gate 1 guide found and told us we can have breakfast at Cabana with our wrist band, so Anita went changed into shorts and I put away my heavy jacket, went to have breakfast. Changed into shorts and T-shirt as it was getting way to hot and humid. Thanks to our tour manager Manweal(?) got us a room (232) at 12:10, we finally have a room to rest and escape the heat. Had dinner in the hotel room Neoguri noodle, thick bean curd, stewed beef, and link, plus half bottle of Barefoot Riesling. Met other Gate 1 tour members, 24 in total including our tour manager and his trainee, of the 6 Asians, 2 are from Hong Kong, 2 from San Jose, 2 from Long Island-the last four were from Taiwan originally. Enjoyed 20 minutes Mexican traditional dance in the hotel before turning in at 11:00.
11/20/2018: Got up at 5:55 before the alarms. Had breakfast at 7:00, Anita’s having difficulty getting relieved:-(. Heads out for our tour at 8:05 (our driver Calos will take us all the way to Mexico City). Cancun is the only city (or area) in Mexico that is one hour ahead of the whole nation, one hour after we took off, the time is changed to the normal Mexico time, which happens to be the same as Houston. “Corn, bean (create Nitrogen for corn to grow better), squash (Nitrogen), and chili (natural pesticide) are growing together to help each other for a strong”. Women wear Huipil dress during the day in this area. Picked up our local guide Juan before getting to our first stop, EK Balam, a more recent discovery of Mayan city. I managed to climb both Mayan ruins, the second one was pretty challenging as I had to remove my backpack before attempting my climb. was really really humid through the walk and climb, I must have lost one liter water through sweating. It was nice finally getting back to the bus to cool off, 30 more minutes drive for lunch and seeing cenote (sink hole). Stopped by Valladolid to see revolution starting point, it was to hot we got back to the bus in just 10 minutes-nice and cool. Got to Mayaland Hotel & Bungalows at 4:00, it is in the middle of Chichen Itza Ruins, recently renovated, nice place in the middle of ancient site. Only a few minutes after we got our luggages delivered, it began to rain heavily, this kind of afternoon thunderstorms usually come quickly and end shortly, but it had been one hour, no sign it’s going to stop anytime soon, since the roof is made of straws, the porch portion did not have sealed cover, as it rains, water sip through onto the porch, it’s all wet just outside of our room door. This hotel is the only one we ever staked with bug nest, so mosquitos are regular visitors. Decided to get online in the lobby while waiting for our welcome dinner at 6:30, hold the umbrella provided in the closet, we trained rain water while remembering our way back, a hotel worker with service vehicle stopped and gave us ride to the lobby, thanks God, it’s still quite far away even with the ride, but we didn’t have to walk through many water pods. The rain must have done some damage as we could not get online at all. Turned in at 10:15.
11/21/2018: Got up at 4:30 to meet everyone for the tour, was told this is the only way to stars, watch sunrise, and beat the crowd, we don’t want to be rounded by several thousands tourists. Finished the tour at 7:35, had breakfast before coming back to our room to prepare for 11:00 checkout, 12:00 lunch, and 1:00 departure. Surprise to get online at 11:00, the performance was OK too. Left Chichen Itza at 1:02, got to Izamal for a visit. Got to our hotel Casa Del Balam in Merida at 5:25, this is the first hotel with room Wi-Fi, TV channel can also be changed to English instead of Spanish. Had dinner at a Mexican restaurant Los Trompos where our choices were burritos-beef, port, or vegetarian, I ordered a pork one plus Corona beer, the burrito was surprisingly tasty, I finished all of it except the wrapping.
11/22/2018: Got up at 6:45, had breakfast at 7:15, it was a light one. Had a bus city tour for two hours before returning to our hotel room. Had lunch at Casa Maya, Anita ordered Chicken with Mole and I had a spicy pizza (size Chica), plus a Jamaica (drink made from Hibiscus flowers) for Anita and I had a Monlejo beer for drink, the quantities were huge, we ended up taking more than half back to the hotel. Anita and I had a quarrel so she went for the afternoon self-guided site seeing herself while I went back to the hotel room watching TV. Dinner was served at a native resident’s home with homemade dishes, it was with much Mayan style dishes and tasted OK, toured their home after the dinner.
11/23/2018: Got up at 6:00, had breakfast at 7:00. Left for Uxmal (prounced ushi mal) at 8:01. Got to Uxmal at 9:00, finished the tour around 11:30, had lunch on site. Left Uxmal at 1:30 for Becal, a famous hat making town, got there at 2:30. After a demo of hat making (from straws to moulding), we headed out to our hotel in Campeche at 3:35. Anita purchased a hand basket there.
Got to Plaza Campeche at 4:45, this hotel provide one Wi-Fi voucher per room, allow one and ONLY one SINGLE device to go online. Manuel took the group for a nearby restaurant tour to give everyone a sense of food varieties provided in the neighborhood, we went back to the hotel to consume our leftover lunch from yesterday, soaking everythingt (Chicken, sausage) to make sure they are in better edible condition, the chicken was pretty much left alone as it was tasteless but the sausage we brought from home (5 days old) still tasted good-not sure how much preservative was in it to keep it’s flavor.
11/24/2018: Got up at 5:50. Had breakfast at 7:00. Trolley tour of Campeche from 8:00 to 8:55, heading out to Palenque at 9:03. People of Campeche are known for layback life style, so the word Campechano means layback, break, or mix of drinks. Stopped at A small town Champoton for a quick photo shoot.
Had a restroom and coffee break at “The Italian Coffee Company”. Stop at “Cocos El Compita”, a Coco stand, operated by a Mexican who used to live in Minnesota for 10 years. Had lunch at La Higuera at 1:30, we ordered one ribeye steak and one salad plus one XX Lager and one Tequila Jose Juervo, the portion was large and the steak was tasty and tender without any additional sauce. A bit woozy from the beer and Tequila. Headed out to Palenque at 2:46. Got to Hotel Villa Mercedes at 6:25. Headed out for dinner at 7:00 at Maya Canaña about 10 minutes bus ride, the fish I ordered was delicious except the thicker part wasn’t cook through but I had enough portion without it anyway. The Wi-Fi here works even in the room, the only thing is that it could not handle high volume users at the same time.
11/25/2018: Got up at 5:30, sleep quality was not good. Had breakfast at 6:50, luckily as the crowd began to show up at 7:00. Headed out to visit the mystic sites of Palenque at 8:00-tons of temple ruins within a relative small area, sometimes a bit much to absorb, it was cool and pleasant walk until 9:00 when the sun and humidity combined to form an unbearable weather, I sweat like hell all through the end of the trip till 12:15-even during the museum visit. Had lunch at hotel restaurant: soup dishes, Chicken club sandwich plus a tequila for Anita and XX Equis for me. Walked 5 minutes to a local’s house where he and his family served 6 Mayan dishes for dinner, during which he talked about Mayan traditions and the aim of his involvement in promoting the preservation of traditional culture and environment for the community-long talk though, the food was unique but not to our liking.
11/26/2018: Got up at 5:00 for early morning departure at 6:00. Decided to wear slippers for today’s long drive but keep the soft water shoes just in case of longer walk. The bus left the hotel at 6:04. Had breakfast at 8:55 at a hotel cafeteria in Villahermosa, Tabasco. Visited Parque Museo La Venta, a combination zoo and historical museum, there were tons of mosquitos throughout, there was no escape even with the help of repellent, everyone was trying to wave off them but to no avail, hurried and got on the bus after about 40 minutes, the air condition help drive away the mosquitos. We were supposed to have lunch on our own but because of the long drive, Manuel decided to have sandwich on the bus to save some time, as we were having lunch, the traffic on the freeway gradually slow down to a halt (this is around 1:02)q, turned out there was a blockade by union members protesting, they block the freeway and only allow a few cars to go through at a time, we were stuck on the freeway for over one hour before moving up to the blockage, there Bacho paid the striking teachers and our bus were allowed to pass, it’s now 2:10, it’ll take another 4 and half an hour’s to get to Veracruz. Got to Gran Hotel Diligencia at 7:33. Had a quick dinner (the waiters served like they were late getting off work). Followed Manuel for a short city walk before unpacking.
11/27/2018: Got up at 5:30. Had breakfast at 6:55. Headed out at 8:03. Arriving Pueblo city at 12:50, had lunch at “Restaurante Bar Ville Rosa” at 1:00, had 30 minutes city walk after lunch and headed out for Mexico City at 2:30. Passing the highest point at 10,492 ft at 4:28 pm-a bit headache but not too bad. Got to Barceló México Reforma Hotel by 6:17, this is 4 stars or above, save the best for last to make a better impression. Joined Bacho to walk to nearby restaurants, we ended up choosing the first one (Taqueria El Caifäń) introduced as it is close to the hotel and we could not continue exploring any further. Took the orders back to our hotel room and enjoyed dinner with beer (XX Ambar).
11/28/2018: Got up at 5:30. Visited Teohihuakan before having lunch at on-site Gran Teocalli. Visited National Museum of Anthropology, a lot of historical findings displayed, maybe a bit too much to consume in such short time. Something unexpected happened on our way to meet our bus, it turned out Manuel’s phone broke and he could not contact Calos as he did not show up at the location expected, the whole group waited and waited, Manuel lead everyone around trying to find alternatives, finally decided taxi would be the only solution, 6 separate taxes took us back to the hotel, it was quite an ordeal. Manuel did not even attempt to apologize for what happened, seemed that this is not his fault.
11/29/2018: Had diarrhea all night, and finally threw up early morning. Slept all day.
11/30/2018: Got up at 7:30, headache is mostly gone, still weak with a bad sore back. Had a small bite of pastry and a couple sips of coffee. Room service came at 2:00 to do their job while we went to the lobby, Anita chatted with Sharon/Norman couples and I checked in our flight tomorrow, also readied the mobile boarding passes on our cell phones. Walked a little to near the town center but had to came back as my left foot wasn’t feeling too good. Bought two sandwiches from Taqueria El Caifäń, they would mainly be Anita’s meal.
12/1/2018: Got up at 6:05, going home today. Checked out at 10:0p, got on MEX airport bound shuttle (small sedan) at 10:15, got to the airport 10:33, got our tickets at 10:38, passed through security and walked to gate 36 at 11:00. Flight 718 was delayed, we did not board until 1:50, I was also required for a security screen before entering the cabin, the flight took off at 2:28, 38 minutes behind schedule. Landed at SFO at 5:03. Took 40 minutes to get to the bridge, it was smooth going through the passport control but luggage claiming took another 20 minutes, Jack picked us up at 6:10, got home at 7:05.
12/2/2018: Got up at 5:20. Discovered the tarp I used to cover some tools over the card table had holes, the whole table top was filled with rain water, most tools were rusty. Removed the top of the card table, cleaned up it and lay it upside down on the floor to try to reverse the sagging effect, adjusted the attaching hardware and reattached it to the legs, looked nice for now. Found a unused tarp and hang it over the stair plus part of the ground under the fake Cherry tree, if it works well, I should be able to work on the stairs even when it rains - just not pouring or windy. Added some lumbers to make walkway a bit easy to stay off mud in case rain persists.
12/3/2018: Got up at 7:20. Visited Walmart with Anita, purchased 4 bottles Aloe Vera (our regular), 2 bottles Aloe Vera (green and 99% Aloe claimed-Anita wanted to try it out), 4 bottles 64 oz Hazelnut creamer, one small tub yogurt, and one pair reading glass. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung hadn't been to the office for over a week, not sure what happened, possibly had something to do with Stephanie's attachment to Alan. Decide to move the card table back to the garage and use the mobile work table instead as it is smaller. Had 5 minutes with legs, EJ. Turned two old deck boards into garbage bin compatible pieces, hope this is not too heavy for the pick up truck. Placed 3 old deck boards next to completed second layer deck to provide soil free walking path. Called mom for 42 minutes - possibly the longest so far.
12/4/2018: Got up at 7:10. Added a couple of wood pieces to help stabilize step installation. Played 25 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, she's playing really well. Installed the upper stair step, may have to sand off some uneven pieces. Fully charged battery was installed to the front porch Arlo camera.
12/5/2018: Got up at 7:10. Installed the lower step of the deck stairs, the screws I used alway has problem getting all the way into proper depth, regret selecting it the first place.
Visited Lowes after sending Anita to City Sports at 2:30, got two 4' by 2' plywood panels for deck stair riser.
12/6/2018: Got up at 7:11. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:20. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml CNS Er Guo Tou, one bottle 750ml Beijing Er Gou Tou, one dozen XX Cerveza, one pack dried shrimp, 4 bags spicy peanuts, one bag small Gai Choy, 4 pickle cucumbers, 2 red onions, one pack garlic, 2 packs thick bean curd, one Napa cabbage, and 2 packs boneless beef shank.
12/7/2018: Got up at 7:16. Set up the mobile table saw in the backyard and made 3 riser boards from one of the ply boards purchased Wednesday, because of the lousy job I did on the stringers, all of the risers were not rectangular, they all had to be trimmed to odd shapes to fit.
No table tennis today-Kung's still sick with very bad cold and Stephanie just had a car accident. Applied water seal to the riser boards, it had to be done carefully as plywood is easy to break by moisture.
12/08/2018: Got up at 7:32. Stopped by Marukai and purchased one Fish Ara, one Futomaki, one Shime Samma 3P, one Salmon Sashimi, and one Bara Chirashi before going to Peet's Coffee, there were 8 people in the hiking group: Ahmei, Yung, Ming, Ching, Jerry, Wayne, and one couple whom I don't know their names. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
12/09/2018: Got up at 7:32. Visited IKEA Palo Alto, purchased two iron panels for trip magnets, 2 pillow cases, one pushpin message board, two plastic shelves (one for the garage and one for Anita to take back to Taipei), one wok (could not find the same model we have been using and the new one is bigger and taller), and one squeegee. plastic sheet covered the ground underneath the deck, need more to cover the open half.
12/10/2018: Got up at 7:29. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie.
12/11/2018: Got up at 7:42. Swung by Lowes and purchased two packs of plastic sheets to cover the rest of the ground below the new deck. Moved the old (and large) patio umbrella frame to near the fake Cherry tree to allow persimmons to soak the sun.
Cover the remaining deck ground with newly acquired plastic sheet.
12/12/2018: Got up at 7:20. Stopped by Costco with Anita, purchased one case Modelo beer, 2 boxes Pineapple cake (gifts for Francisco and Faley), two dozen organic eggs, one Cranberry Walnut Round, one Madi cake, one bag mixed green (Kale, Spinach, and Chad), one bag organic Mediterranean salad kit, one bunch bananas, and one can European cookies. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, paid 2019 Medicare plan D (Aetna) - to be mailed end of this month. Anita handed me the phone just as I entered the house, it's a call from Social Security Service (Adam) regarding my application, answered sever questions before getting approved for the SS payment, to be deposited to GBC account every last Thursday (??????) of the month starting March, 2019, Medicare B premium will be deducted beforehand.
12/13/2018: Got up at 7:13. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:15 but didn't get in until 9:25. Swung by CVS but did not see any yellow tags on wines, gave up on that. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Er Gou Tou, one pack bacon, one pack fried fish cake, 4 bags 210g spicy peanuts, one pack pork spareribs, one pack (x4) Neoguri spicy seafood noodle, one Taiwan cabbage, and one pack beef tendon ball, also got half a roasted duck. Trimmed two of the old rotten deck boards and loaded them in the garbage bin. Had 20 minutes MB with RM, EJ.
12/14/2018: Got up at 7:24. Moved the mobile table saw back to the garage, put away most tools and hid the rest under tarp on the bench. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie. The rain did not materialize, so I decided to work on the deck, hull out the mobile table saw close to just under the tarp. Pondering again on design ideas and examined the last leftover heavy beam, I decided not to use it as it was not in OK shape, made 2 make shift beams from other leftover lumbers, seemed to work nicely (at least visually), since the narrow third layer design close to the planter boxes may not be a best idea, instead I might build a three step stairs over there, will see how the design come out.
12/15/2018: Got up at 7:15. Swung by Harbor Freight Tools on Stevenscreek but could not find long drills which are needed for drilling the composite steps to make them stronger, left without purchasing anything. Got to hiking place but had tp park in the side street as all spots on Prospect road were occupied. I walked Park Ranch road (the usual finishing path) and met the hiking group in 10 minutes, walked back down from there, enough exercise for me, there were 9 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Jerry, Ming, the other Ming, Ching, Wayne, and one couple I do not have their names.
Finished making the two make shift beams, also applied water seal to them.
Had 30 minutes MB with RM, EJ, better today. Swung by CVS on Berryessa with Anita, purchased 7 bottles 750ml Barefoot Riesling and one bottle 1.5L Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon.
12/16/2018: Got up at 7:42. Left for ValleyFair at 9:15, got a bunch of Christmas ornaments.
12/17/2018: Got up at 7:40. Received long drills, long screws from Amazon delivered by USPS early morning before 8:00am, the tracking info stated that delivery were made yesterday which prompt me to rush to the front porch to check if they were still there, the surveillance videos confirmed they were delivered this morning instead of yesterday. Removed most of the rain water on the deck plastic sheet, cleaned the patio table top, the large bucket cover, and Monica's garden.
12/18/2018: Got up at 7:21. Decided not to use wall support for one of the second layer beams as the location of engagement is too awkward, instead adding one concrete block to support it plus attaching it to existing frame should provide enough strength, will use wall hardware for the second beam.
No table tennis today as they are having company lunch. After really long pondering on how to make the best beam for the right half second layer deck, I decided to move the beam next tp the existing frame with specially designed posts-two more adjacent post sitting next to each other will be used instead.
12/19/2018: Got up at 7:50. Attached the spacer to one of the post before adding new post to start the second phase of the second layer work, newly acquired long drills and screws were used here. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung's still out sick. Made third set of posts for the mid section support similar to the outer one, Secured the posts already made-both at the base and the top.
Attached the third post spacer as well as the post to existing frame and secured it with several different kinds of screws-4", 2-1/2", 1-1/2".
12/20/2018: Got up at 7:05, the security alarm for some reason kept beeping even though I disarmed it (a short flicker of the electricity could have caused that), looked into the manual (which Anita helped find it) and used "Command 4" to silence the command center sounder. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:16, went in right away as Yolanda also arrived. Stopped by Marina Grocery and purchased one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, 2 bags spicy peanuts, one head Cauliflower, one head Napa cabbage, 2 packs thick bean curd, one bag bamboo shoots, two bags potato starch, one pack Vermicelli, and one pack dried Shitake mushroom. Received a letter from Medicare saying a claim of $606 for service from Valley Medical on 4/25/2018 was denied, but it also says the maximum I may be billed is $0.00, and I am going to leave it as that. Cut up all rotten deck lumbers, but could only put a small portion in the garbage bin, stalled the remaining under the patio table so that they wouldn't absorb too much rain water and become too heavy. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
12/21/2018: Got up at 7:15. Visited Costco with Anita with holiday shopping crowds, purchased one pack filet mignon ($48), one pack Caesar salad kit, one Cranberry Walnut Round, one pack (x2) French bread, one pack (x2) mashed potatoes, one box Bibigo steamed buns, one pack Bibigo dumplings, one box K-cup, one box (x12) caned corn, one fresh flower ornament ($30), one pack string cheese, one box Jalapeño cheese poppers, one box (x36 small) crab balls, one tub plain Yogurt, and one pack white mushroom. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, there' won't be any table tennis until at least next Friday. Stopped by Lowes after dropping Anita off at City Sports, purchased 3 deck concrete blocks for the second beam of phase II layer 2 deck. Power went out at 7:35 and did not come back until 7:55, we took the opportunity and examined all flash lights and camping lights.
12/22/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, first time since late April. Jason to drive. There were 13 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Jerry, Ching, Ming, Wayne, Alex, Alex's wife, Steve, a name-unknown couple, Jason, and myself. Leveled the second beams so that new post heights can be measured.
12/23/2018: Got up at 7:05. Headed toward ValleyFair at 8:25, got back at 10:05, Anita exchanged and purchased several Christmas ornaments. Mad two beam support posts, one near the wall and one near the planter box, original measurement for the one near the wall was a bit off, had to trim off it by bit several times before getting the perfect height. Made another beam support post for the middle concrete block, did a couple of trimmings before it fitted nicely with the other two, applied water seal to the new posts as well as the wood piece on top of the three concrete blocks.
Had 15 minutes MB with RM, EJ-found the big breast beauty on xvideos.com.
12/24/2018: Got up at 7:25. Covered the deck ground with plastic sheet, just to reduce rain water seeping into soil below. Went to see 12:10pm "Bohemian Rhapsody" at GreatMall AMC. Got home at 2:55 when it started to rain. Made Christmas eve dinner: Filet Mignon, mashed potatoes, Mushroom delight (Shitake and white), and Caesar salad.
12/25/2018: Got up at 7:14. Cleaned out the rain water on the plastic protection sheet and put both sheets up for drying under the sun-too bad I forgot to take a photo of the water shield in action. Had a better idea designing the second deck stairs, would need to add more lumbers to current deck frame to support the stringers (possibly 4), need to get two more stringers provided that the two old ones can be transformed into usable ones.
12/26/2018: Got up at 7:24. Cracked and removed most of the concrete blocks/flats for the old deck stairs on the brick platform. Moved the mobile table saw, the Miter saw, as well as the saw table to the backyard, ready to make parts for the second stair. Made a new stringer from the old one, used it as a template and made another (almost identical) from the last old stringer, will need to buy two more to complete a set of four.
12/27/2018: Got up at 7:10. CCC volunteer day, got there at 9:18. Swung by Marina Grocery, purchased one bottle 750ml Er Guo Tou, one pack fried fish cake, 2 bags spicy peanuts, one pack pork neck bones, two red onions, 4 pickle cucumbers, one Napa cabbage, two Daikon, one pack bamboo shoots, one pack julienne bamboo shoots, two pack dried fungus, one fried tofu puffs, one pack beef tendon balls, and one pack spice mix, also got 4 fried spring rolls. Installed the two metal plates (to attach travel magnets) on the dinning room wall.
Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Called mom at 6:00 for 30 minutes.
12/28/2018: Got up at 7:15. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one pack wild caught Sockeye Salmon, one bunch bananas, one bottle 1.5L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, one Madi Bread, one bag organic pine nuts, two dozen organic eggs, one jug soy sauce, one box chicken broth (x6), one bag frozen cooked small shrimps, and one organic Cherry Almond salad kit. Played 40 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, Kung's still weak and did not show up. Visited Lowes after dropping off Anita at City Sports, purchased 2 bags 50 lb concrete mix (for second stair foundation), 2 bags 50 lb general purpose sand (for additional brick layout), 3 deck concrete blocks, and 2 3-step stringers. Unfortunately the 3-step stringers does not match the ones I made the other day, I probably need to buy the 5-step ones in order to turn them into the ones I need, the 5-step stringer cost nearly $30 which would be a waste since I needed to trim off a lot, I may be able to use glue and long screws to create the ones I need from the 3-step stringers.
Booked a room at CitizenM Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam airport since we could not find a return flight on the 25th when we disembark, instead we'll fly on the 26th May, 2019.
12/29/2018: Got up at 6:50. Hiking day, my turn to drive. There were 10 people in the group: Ahmei, Yung, Jerry, Wayne, Ching, Alan, unknown name couple, Jason, and myself. Left Peet's Coffee at 10:30 and visited Marukai, purchased one pack Buri Kama Yellowtail, one pack Karei Whole (Petrale Sole-a flat fish), one Futomaki Sushi Roll, one Bara Chirashi Bowl, and one Salmon Shioyaki Bento. Made two new stringers from the 3-step strings purchased from Lowes yesterday, the bottoms were challenging in that there's no easy way to use the Miter saw as the pieces were too small.
12/30/2018: Got up at 7:20. Completed new new stringers, although the attachment of both bottom extension boards did not come out pretty as the holes I drilled with the long drill did not go straight, a bit messy but the result should be OK (for its intended purpose). Applied water seal to all 4 stringers.
Pondered on the stairs foundation, original idea of pushing back the brick paths toward the planter boxes presented a problem, since the planter boxes were not in line (their distances to the deck are different), so the resulting brick lineup looked bad, may have to use other means for this area-one possible solution is using pebble stones at the foot of the stairs and the brick path can be broken into two (one on each side of the stairs), this would blend the two brick path adjacent to the planter boxes nicely. Had 10 minutes MB with RM and legs, EJ-less joy each time, will likely lose interest in the near future. Got rid off the switch, instead connected all Ethernet oriented devices to 2WIRE510, seemed to work so far, will observe if the switch was the cause of all network problems.
12/31/2018: Got up at 7:18. Filled up RX300 at Costco. Applied water seal to the two lumbers to be attached at the bottom of one of the beams so that stringers can be secured. Played 30 minutes table tennis with Stephanie, got a $150 Amazon gift card from her. Struggled but finally managed to attach two lumbers at the bottom of one of the beams, took over one hour. Made 4 6" 2x4 pieces to be placed at the front of the two lumbers to secure the 4 stringers. Did not attend New Year crossover party at Jerry's house. Gave Ying Wang a ride home, she had an car accident during the evening, helped reconnect her sister's car battery so that she can have some mobility before getting her car back.
