1/1/2022: Got up at 7:00 on the first day of 2022. Cleaned up backyard leaves, mostly with the blower. Received e-mail from Jason Chang stating his wife Sandy passed away after battling cancer for two years, relayed info to IShin and Robert. Updated Covid vaccine shots info on Kaiser Permanente.
 |
2022 Trip to Taiwan
3/17/2022-3/18/2022: After deciding to bring along the Case Logic shoulder bag, put all cell phones (x3) and passport wallet in it, I realized that I needed some money (cash or credit card) to buy me some lunch before boarding, started panicking after failing to find my wallet with credit cards and driver’s license, searched everywhere (jacket, backpack, attic) with no luck, woke up Anita for this, she stressed that it’s got to be somewhere, keep looking for it, it turned out it is in one of the pocket that I put NT and US bills in, wondered why I did not see it searching the backpack several times-stupid idiot!
3/18/2022: Got up at 7:08. Anita drove me to SFO, it took less than 40 minutes-got there at 10:55, checking in was smooth with only 3 minutes in line. Went through security and walked toward G10 for flight UA871, noticed a United Club on the way, checked on United app and found out I have two passes available, got in there and consumed one small sandwich, one cookie, one cup hot veggie soup, and one apple, got out of there right after as it was too hot with me covered with sweater and jacket. Called Anita after she got home, she liked that the United Club is open. Changed jacket to the vest I brought along in my backpack, felt much better/cooler. Boarded the plane at 12:57. New flight time was 13 hours and 26 minutes but there’s paper work to be done and we are delayed. UA871 left the gate at 2:29 and took off at 2:46, 66 minutes behind schedule. First meal with chicken and lots of melted cheese was good. Flight UA871 landed at 7:05 pm. First step was RT-PCR at one of the entry building (at 7:30), it was more painful than any of tests I took before, two small kids tested with much trouble, one of them bled badly which cause his parents to become outrageous. Got test result around 8:35, went through more COVID info check, collected 5 antigen test kits to be used during the 10+7 day quarantine. Got on a quarantine taxi after passport check and luggage retrieval. Arriving 博愛街35巷3號一樓around 9:50. Got a couple mosquito bites right after removing jockey, difficult to fall asleep even after a shower and half bottle wine.
3/20/2022: Got up at 6:00, did not sleep much during the night. Steamed one bun, spreader cream cheese on it, boiled one egg, also ate one pack (x3) Mozzarella cheese for breakfast. The Internet had been sluggish and at times not working at all, it gradually came back around 11:00. Both 里長 and 里幹事called to check quarantine issues. 光華和小妺stopped by and delivered my lunch-beef noodle and a cup of soy bean milk. The Internet appeared to be normal now! Instead of delivery (by 光華和小妹), I cooked 10 dumplings from the freezer for dinner, also finished the last cup of Cabernet Sauvignon I brought with me, went to bed around 8:00 as I could not keep my eyes open.
3/21/2022: Woke up at 10:30, on and off as such through the night until getting up at 7:00. Had similar stuff for breakfast. Called Peilee at 9:54 and spoke to Mom around 10:10 for 7 minutes, she’s appeared more clear headed today. Got a text message (most likely automatic) from Health Center checking on my condition, returned text 1 indicating all’s well. 里幹事dropped off a package containing some masks and several garbage bags. KuangHua stopped by to drop off screw driver set as well as some fruits.
3/22/2022: After tossing and turning all night, got up at 6:30. Performed first self antigen test which made me sneeze, test rest was C bar T no bar indicating negative result.
Simple breakfast:
Called Peilee for a few minutes as Mom’s been acting up last night. Reply to指揮中心查詢, 1-all’s well. 里幹事called to check my antigen test result. Examined the broken kitchen cabinet below the cooktop, discovered that they are beyond repair as the shelf sliding hardware parts were not only rusted, many of which were falling off, the only parts to salvage were the front door and the steel (also rusted though) basket, plan to remove all other parts and throw them away, it’ll likely be a while before they can be repaired and functional again, need some redesign. Removed all hardware from the cabinet and shelf sliding support, good thing their official garbage bag was pretty large, no problem holding the hardware.
Went to bed at 10:30, woke up at 12:30, finished remaining of the beer before hopping back to bed, woke up by phone message on my Pixel 6 Pro (not sure how this came to this phone instead of iPhone 6) indicating 6.6 earthquake in Hualian, felt the shake a few seconds later for about 10 seconds.
3/23/2022: Got up at 6:55. Called Anita from Skype on my old Pixel for a few minutes. Reply to control central message-1 for all’s well, it is the same pattern as the message always comes in around 10:02 which made it easy. Called Mom at 10:56 for 8 minutes. Cleaned up the pot, ceramic bowls and cups from the dismantled cabinet shelf, put them back with the steel rack (will throw it away as well someday as it is also rusty), still designing the new configuration for this cabinet with existing front door). Broke one of the beer glass while dozing off, took a while to clean up the broken glasses, need to check under day light for missed pieces tomorrow, also need to inform them.
3/24/2022: Got up at 6:20-woke up only twice during the night although I did watched some YouTube video on and off. Performed second of 5 antigen test, still irritating to my nose but result is negative. Reply “1” (all’ well) to control center inquiry message.
3/26/2022: Woke up twice at 1:30 and 5:15, got up at 6:30. Called Anita from Line at 9:12 for 19 minutes. Reply “1” (all’s well) to control center message at 10:02. Did not notice call from 里幹事at 11:59, they were on lunch break when I called at 12:50, she called around 1:45 just to notify me this is the 6th day and antigen needed tomorrow. Had 10 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ.
3/27/2022: Woke up at 3:45, got up at 6:00. Performed antigen test, the “C” bar wasn’t as clear as the last two times but still reads negative to me.
Reply control center message, “1” for all’s well. Called Anita at 9:01 for 40 minutes. 光華delivered more food for me to stock up as she and 小妺are going to Kaohsiung tomorrow for 3 days. Received call from 里幹事at 2:15.
3/27/2022: Woke up at 12:30 and 3:20, got up at 6:45. Called Anita at 9:00 for 29 minutes. Booked Sagrada Familia for 10:00 am, May 11, won’t be charged until May 9, cancellation available 24 hours before tour.
Reply to control center message with “1”-all’s well. Called Mom at 10:55 for 21 minutes. Painted inside of the vacated cabinet under the cooktop.
里幹事called at 1:45 informing me call (3233-2780) from 衛生局 tomorrow in the morning to arrange PCR test and taxi ride for 3/29, and I should call them instead if they fail to. Cleaned up the cooktop, the hard deposits on it likely never
3/28/2022: Got up at 6:00. Called Anita at 8:58 for 18 minutes. Reply “1 (all’s well” to control center message. Tried but failed calling 大嫂, she called later but was interrupted by another incoming call, I wasn’t able to get the other call in time. 區公共所called to arrange PCR test tomorrow, it’s scheduled at 11:10+-20 minutes for my taxi ride which I have to pay myself, also I need to pay (~NT6000) for the test myself since I do not have my health insurance card with me plus it may not be valid any more. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
3/29/2022: Got up at 5:50. Called Anita at 9:00 for 34 minutes, during which there were people spreading bug killing substance all over the outside of the house, the smell came in as I missed closing the bathroom window. 防疫計程車picked me up at 11:12-the driver called ahead for me to get ready. The test was performed at 耕莘醫院, just outside of the hospital between emergency and front entrances, I had to pay NT1076 there for the test since I did not bring my 健保卡, but I can get refund when I come back here with my health care insurance card later. People who had to be tested due to close contact with possible infection pay NT450. The 防疫taxi had 7 individual to pick up and drop off both ways, all in Yonghe area, payment to him was made once after returning to our residence, pretty efficient. According to the driver, PCR test begins at 11:00 at 耕莘醫院. My test was done (around 11:45) within 10 minutes after filling out the form and payment, there won’t be notification if test result is negative. I was number 5 out of the 7 patrons for the taxi ride, the waiting to get back was much longer than expected-nearly one hour, it’s my turn for the taxi at 12:39 but the driver asked me to let the other customer go first because she’s close by, oh well, finally got on the taxi at 12:5? and got back to 博愛街 at 1:05, taxi fare for round trip was NT175. Washed several clothes as this will likely be only dry day for a while, the washer here did a good job extracting water in its washing final cycle.
3/30/2022: Got up at 5:50. First of 7-day self management period. Called Anita at 8:58 for 34 minutes. Stopped (got lost for a while before consulting Google Map to find it) by PX Mart and purchased two buns, one bottle 750ml Kingman Liquor, one cream cheese, one pack small sausage, and two Neoguri fast noodle. KwangHua stopped by and took me on a local tour, she covered a bit too much as I struggled to keep up. I later visited 光南 and 九乘九, got a tape measure, 4 black plastic panel, and a couple of zip ties. It got hot without rain. Discovered how to remove TV from its wall mount, the key was a couple of plastic strings below (normally tucked away behind the TV) when pulled can release the bottom latches and the TV can be lifted from the mount.
3/31/2022: Got up at 6:00. Performed antigen test with negative result. Control center text to request test result.
Called Anita at 8:47 for 24 minutes. Control center still checks condition just like the first 10 days. Visited Carrefour and was disappointment by it’s offerings, the store in Neihu (at least two years ago) offered hot chicken wings, ribs, and beef to go, but the only hot item here was cooked Yam, dropped off purchased items (one bottle cheap red wine, one pack garlic, and 3 Fuji Apple) from Carrefour then headed to PX Mart, got one bottle, a bit more expensive, red wine, one box two in one instant coffee latte, one garlic bun, and one carrot. Successfully detached the TV from its wall mount and inserted the HDMI cable to port #3 (unlike ports 2 and 4, this one is easier to access), remounted the TV and locked the bottom latches and ensured the usual TV program was still functional. Successfully installed Roku 3 to HDMI port 3, was able to access YouTube, the most important one, with remote, need to rearrange wiring to make the whole setup cleaner-including other devices. Went out to look for dinner candidate, could not find anything suitable, I’ll just have what’s in the steamer (絲瓜, 豆干, and sausage) for tonight.
4/1/2022: Got up at 6:35. Called Anita at 8:58 for 23 minutes. Peilee called to watch Mom having breakfast. Called sis discussing Mom’s potential move to nursing home. Attached the second opaque plastic panel on the door, some privacy was achieved with the two panels blocking the opening on the door.
Visited 九乘九but could not find door hinges I needed but did purchased two pack aluminum wires, one small wire cutter, and one magnetic hook. Stopped by 光南, no door hinge either, got one small bottle glue and one wall power plug entender (4 plugs). Swing by 世界豆漿大王and purchased one 燒餅油條夾酸菜, one 牛肉餡餅, and one 小籠包-covering dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow.
4/2/2022: Got up at 6:01. Performed final antigen test, “all’s well”. Temporarily placed two larger plastic panels on next door neighbor side of the fence with aluminum wires, will see how they fair after hanging all remaining ones. Called Anita at 8:58 for 39 minutes. Reply “all’s well” to two messages from control center, one for regular check up, the other for antigen test result. Visited 光南and purchased 3 large black panel needed to complete the privacy task. Dropped off the panels in the yard and headed to PX Mart, got two buns, one bottle liquor, two bag Neoguri fast noodle, and one bottle Cabernet Sauvignon. Raining non-stop.
4/3/2022: Got up at 6:35. Tied up all privacy panels on the fence, I also adjusted the panels so that they overlap without any gap between.
Called 光華to arrange date/time to visit their Mom in 慈恩園, 4/11 with exact time pending. Stopped by 小北百貨and purchased one small folding saw, one pack (x2) door hinge, and one bag zip tie. Swing by PX Mart and purchased one bag toast, one bun, one pack (x6) Taiwan beer, one pack Mochi, and one pack ham. Dropped off these purchases before heading out to 光南, got one small transparent and one large black plastic panels. There was a 60cmx40cm steel rack in 小北百貨, it’s wider than 56.5cm X 40cm measurement for the cabinet, I may be able to angle both sides a bit to fit.
4/4/2022: Got up at 7:05. Called Anita at 9:01 for 40 minutes. Missed call from Yolly, call back, no answer. Added one large black panel to the side and one transparent panel to the front door. Stopped by 小北百貨and purchased one heavy duty plier, one 60cm X 40cm mesh shelf, two magnetic hook, and one light duty steel saw. Bended the 60cm side of the mesh shelf upward to make the whole width 56.5 cm, installed the shelf with 6 screws, four at the bottom and 2 on top to secure.
Started trimming left side of the cabinet doors to fit hinge housing. Trimming was done, easier than I anticipated, most likely because of the sharp folding saw.
4/5/2022: Got up at 6:45. Called Anita at 6:55 for 38 minutes. Stopped by 小北百貨and purchased one small bottle lubricants, two pack small screws, and one pack Velcro. Swing by PX Mart and got one bun (for breakfast tomorrow) and one pack cucumber. Adjusting the lower hinge of the bottom cabinet door by inserting layer of paper wedges between the the hinge and the wall, this made the door inline with drawers to its right. Applied lubricant to all four hinges, this help improve the closure but not perfect. Using all kinds of tricks, I managed to put the top cabinet door in proper alignment, marked the hinge screw holes, attached the hinges to the door, move the door back and attached it to the cabinet wall, attached a couple of Velcro to the door and the cabinet frame, this help close the doors.
Peilee called to let me know arriving time tomorrow. Called KwangHua to inform them my leaving tomorrow……
4/6/2022: Got up at 6:30. Got everything ready by 8:30. Waited in the yard at 9:30 until 9:50 before moving to the street and waited until 10:15 when Peilee arrived. Stopped by 耕莘醫院 and got NT626 refund out of NT1076 for my PCR test. Spent one hour at 慈恩園before getting back to 內湖. Tapo (Yahoo/xxxxAczzzz) to check on Mom. Had stomach stalling problem right after lunch, the only thing I had was 3 pieces of chicken and 3 pieces of sticky tofu, not sure why though. Skipped dinner, drank only water instead. Went to bed at 10:40.
4/7/2022: Got up at 6:40. Peilee and Ahfen had been helping Mom finishing her bowel movement in the bedroom, starting to realize how hard it is for them to care for Mom, nearly a 24/7 task. Called Anita at 8:56 for 15 minutes. Helped, in some respect, Mom got back to her room after taking her bath-using wheel chair instead her walker can easily save her a lot of energy. Peilee and I went to 區公所to restore my valid status as member of his household, but the worker there told us I am still valid which was quite puzzling, but official statement could not be ignored, I’ll check my senior citizen monthly pension tomorrow-continued payment will confirm my OK status.
4/9/2022: Got up at 6:30. Helped Mom move to the bathroom for her morning routine. Stopped by 百利金 (they require everyone to be checked in for tracing) and got one can glue remover spray and one egg slicing tool. Cleaned up all residual glues on the floor securing individual rugs.
PL wireless router (PL780108). Mom had a memory attack, her thought was stuck at her deceased sister and wouldn’t let go, this caused her to be non-sleepy until 10:30 when she reluctantly lay down in bed.
4/10/2022: Got up at 6:00. Mom sits at the family room chair next to the sliding door, she seemed comfortable, it’s probably better than in her room. Stopped by 7/11 and added NT200 to my senior public transportation card, tested QR code scanning at the door, did not send it however as I could not find the new message. Picked up a bunch of flowers at Huguang market for NT300. Stopped by Carrefour market and got one pack (x2) cooked chicken drums, one bottle 300ml 116 proof Kingman liquor, 6 buns, and 4 Taiwanese beer.
4/11/2022: Got up at 6:20. Left for Rapid Transit at 12:15, got to 麟光站at 12:51, turned out 光華and 小妹got there 5 minutes before me, walked to shuttle station and got on it at 1:15, arriving 慈恩園at 1:25, paid tribute to Anita’s Mom with flowers I brought along. Left the area on 2:00 shuttle, took Rapid Transit and got to 金色三麥at 美麗華 around 2:50, walked around before getting in for 3:00 to 5:00 happy hour (half price for beer), had a total of 850ml beer and some good food, NT1975 my treat.
4/12/2022: Got up at 6:15. Visited PX Mart with Peilee just for my walk. Called Anita at 10:35 for 35 minutes.
4/13/2022: Got up at 6:20. Left for 新建成理髮廳at 12:30 for my 1:0l appointment, got there at 12:45 so I went to the post office across the street and had my passbook updated, the last payment was 3/31, which kind of suggested the payment was still going. Started my haircut at 1:00 after the last customer left, finished the task at 1:33. Stopped by Carrefour and purchased 4 bottle 500ml Taiwan beer, one pack (x2) baked chicken drum, one pack beef.
4/14/2022: Got up at 6:30. It rained heavily from 5:00 to 11:00. Sis stopped by to see Mom. She chatted with Mom for half an hour before talking to us briefly then left to prepare cooking for her sons and grand daughters.
4/15/2022: Got up at 6:30. Adjusted cabinet door near the balcony so that the bottom stops grinding against the floor. Mom appeared to have learned walking with walker more efficient after practicing it, but obviously got tired in a few minutes. Called Anita at 10:31 for 32 minutes.
4/16/2022: Got up at 7:00. Mom appeared to stuck in a more serious state today, her afternoon was even worse, stating upstairs, downstairs movement, we had to go along with her thoughts and act accordingly, she seemed to settle down a bit after moving downstairs.
4/17/2022: Got up at 7:30. It sometimes took 3 people to care for Mom, changing her dipper May be one of them at times.
4/18/2022: Got up at 6:45. Mom decided to wash her hair in the bathroom sink which we all are against, she turned very angry when Peilee raised his voice telling her it’s not a good idea. She later asked me to change her dipper which I had to ask Ahfen to help but kept Peilee out of her view. Ahfen’s scheduled surgery was cancelled because the hospital did not have available bed. Walked 碧湖trail for one circle. Called Anita at 10:42 for 15 minutes,
4/19/2022: Got up at 6:23. Mom’s in a better mood, she dozed off most of the morning after breakfast in her favorite chair next to the sliding door track. Had takeout 煎餃for lunch. Mom turned foul mood while we were changing her dipper, Ahfen said something about her shampoo yesterday unaware Mom has super hearing. Walked 20 minutes in the neighborhood, mostly under the arcade as it was raining.
4/20/2022: Got up at 7:25. Peilee and myself visited city sponsored senior care center, got some idea how it works, this particular type is more suited for people with reasonable mobility and can enjoy their daily activities but definitely not for Mom, plus with Mom’s unpredictable morning schedule, it simply would not work at all. Peilee, Ahfen, Mom and myself went to Tri-service general hospital to have Mom’s lower back checked, it was confirmed that she’s having a bedsore, no medication was prescribed, the doctor advised to have her sleep on all sides, avoiding just lying face up. Called a couple COVID test sites, not good as the government had been acquiring anti test kits for official test making test sites running short of them, one site informing totally empty on test kits, the other said no appointment necessary just show up and register the day needed, but since I MUST have it done on the 26th or I won’t be able to fly the next day, what if I show up and they could not perform the test because they don’t have test kit?????? Need to call every test sites to have some kind of backup plan-still got to the no appointment needed site then go to backup and backup……if no test kit available.
4/21/2022: Got up at 6:20. Made appoint with 台北市中正區丞泰耳鼻喉科診所 for antigen test, they appeared to be ready for people going abroad, the availability should not be a problem, the appointment is 12:15 4/26/2022, NT80ñ fee. My plan to get the antigen test is to visit 台北市內湖區仁弘耳鼻喉科 around 9:30 on the 26th, if they can do it and I got the report then I’ll just cancel the 12:15 appointment, otherwise I’ll leave for my appointment around 11:30. Walked around 湖光市場a bit before picking up two can tea, one can seasoning, and one pack garlic flavored sausage at PX Mart. Sis stopped by to chat with Mom and giving her a bath. Reserved an airport taxi online for 7:00am 4/27, no confirmation yet, I called and requested confirmation (either way) be given by 12:00 noon 25/4 so that I could work on other options if no vehicle is available.
The NT1335 is for metered run, ordering through online is NT950 instead.
4/22/2022: Got up at 6:40. Got call from 174 taxi reservation confirming taxi order OK status with
late #56873, need just wait at the curbside at 7:00 am 4/27. Stopped by 旺旺and purchased one eraser, one pack red Velcro, and one black marker. Dropped them off at 8F then visited PX Mart, got one pack beef, one pack pork, one bag soy bean sprouts, two Fuji Apple, two pack (x10 each) fresh egg, and one pack German sausage. Visited the long term care center Mom will be moving in in 汐止with Peilee, most questions answered including the fact that there will no visiting until the pandemic is over. Mom started behaving again around 3:0p, kept saying someone cheated……
4/23/2022: Got up at 6:50. Mom had an accident in the morning, she somehow got off the bed but fell to the floor, Sharon heard a bang in her room and notified everyone, we managed to move her to her bed and let her rest, we were worried as her oxygen level was around 92, it stayed pretty much at that level even after half an hour, I discovered that by switching the measuring finger, the level changes, a few of the finger read 95/96, this eased our worry a bit. Woke her up for lunch, she did eat a good amount of food then went back to her room to rest. Mom seemed to be normal after we woke her up for dinner. Received Tapo C210 IP camera Peilee ordered for me (NT1199), the older model C200 listed for $66 before tax on Amazon, nearly twice the price here, which is odd as it used to be the other way around.
4/24/2022: Got up at 6:50. I stooped helping Peilee care for Mom’s body transportation, allowing he and Ahfen to become used to doing that by themselves. Stopped by 新東陽and picked up three bag Grains snack of different flavors (salted egg yolk, Cranberry, and Mango). Mom appeared better-more normal than previous days, then started criticizing me for not eating rice, not eating enough……
4/25/2022: Got up at 6:25. Stopped by the medical supply stOre where Peilee purchased Mom’s wheelchair and picked up a companion head rest, successfully installed on Mom’s wheelchair, this will serve her better. Swing by PX Mart and got 6 breakfast buns (reserved one for pre-flight meal) plus two bag pea crackers, one spicy and one Szechuan spices. The antigen test list on the Internet disappeared just as I was thinking of plan C for my test tomorrow, it came back after about 20 minutes possibly doing maintenance. Sis called in the morning and refused to help persuade Mom to a new residence by telling her it’s a rehabilitation center, she also criticized me for not staying longer……
4/26/2022: Got up at 6:20. Had a quick breakfast before heading out to 內湖區仁弘耳鼻喉科 on 內湖路一段737巷50弄37號1樓 around 7:45, with the assistance of Google map, I got there at 8:05, paid NT1250 and waited on the second floor for 20 minutes before getting tested (antigen), went out for a walk at nearby traditional market before picking up the report (negative of course) at 8:43. Uploaded the image and completed travel-ready requirements except checking in (15 minutes before time). Cancelled my 12:15 appointment for plan B antigen test. Went through check-in process including uploading US passport image but was informed check-in could not be completed, proceed to the airport……Swing by 新東陽and picked up 3 bag salted egg yolk cookie and one bag bubble milk 雪花酥, will try to stuff them all in my luggage.
4/27/2022: Got up at 5:15. Cleaned up, had a veggie dumpling for breakfast, and had everything ready by 6:30. Peilee helped me move luggage/backpack downstairs around 6:45, there was a taxi there but the license plate did not match what I was given, after some checking, it was the one for me, got to the airport at 7:30, there was a moderate wait line but the process of checking in was extremely slow plus most people carry 2 large luggages, it took 50 minutes for my turn. A gentleman at the passport check gate helped me creating a fast track check so I can use it both ways much faster the next time. Boarded the plane at 9:15. The seat next to me wasn’t occupied (it had been like that since I booked the flight) after the plane gate closing, I can relax a bit with more room. Flight UA872 took off at 9:59, 9minutes behind schedule. This flight took a less curved route than others, closer to the center of the Pacific Ocean.
Watched portion of Cabaret and King Richard. Flight UA872 landed at SFO at 6:39, 9 minutes behind schedule. They opened two plane doors , passengers (myself included) on the right side of the plane exited the plane within 5 minutes after the plane arrived at the gate. Passport check was a breeze, I picked up my luggage immediately after I got to Baggage Claim and exit to the arrival lobby at 7:17. Anita showed up at 7:48, I offered and drove us home at 8:37. Received Meow Mix from Amazon at 5:07. Cancelled Fast Track Sagrada Familia Guided Tour in Barcelona on Viator as Anita did not want to be restricted with guided tour. Booked two Sagrada Familia tickets ($36.2 x 2 + $11.8 fee = $84.2) from a different website (Tiquets), had problem downloading audio guide, chatting with their customer did not help, the best thing they recommended was to get help hen visiting site, damm......
4/28/2022: Got up at 6:00. Finished NCL check-in, got QR Code for Eurofins antigen test scheduled for 10:45am, May 13, Anita booked shuttle from Southampton to London airport (LHR) for $75 each. Trimmed off several Oleander branches and Had 10 minutes MB with hands, EJ-first one for nearly one month. Tried again to download Sagrada Familia audio guide, found the only number that was 8-digit long (the required length), it did not work either, after several more failed attempts using the first 8 or the last 8 digits of two other numbers (one is 9-digit, the other is 10-digit) I gave up, will just ask for help once we get in on site.
4/29/2022: Woke up at 3:30, stayed downstairs until 5:00 before went back to bed, got up at 8:40. Visited Costco with Anita before having my breakfast, purchased one bag Mediterranean salad, one baby Spinach, one pack (x8) Fuji Apple, one hand banana, one box organic Strawberry, one set (x2) Orange juice, one bag Starbucks coffee bean, and one pack spare ribs. Filled up RX300 at Costco for $5.199/gal. Reconnected LS400 battery and started the engine without hesitation-40 days still kept most juice. Moved the Arlo camera temporarily relocated to family room back to its original spot (outside the kitchen sliding door over the deck). Set the new Tapo C210 camera to monitor front porch, it's now sitting inside the front porch window. Called Peilee at 10:27 for 15 minutes chatting about Mom's care center signing status and her condition.
4/30/2022: Got up at 6:55. Visited Marukai by myself, purchased one bunch green onion, two bag Edamame, one Futomaki, one Yakisoba set, one Salmon Shioyaki bento, one fried Chicken, one Pork Tonkatsu, and one pack carrot. Spent over an hour booking taxi from Barcelona airport (BCN) to Hotel Arc La Rambla, stopped short of payment when Anita reject the idea, she wanted to get one after we arrive at Barcelona. Since Cruise bus Barcelona stop at Portal De La Pau was about 6 minutes away from our hotel, we'll just buy tickets (€3 each) on the bus on embarkation day. Partially fixed Anita's phone voicemail access issue by installing Google Fi app and sign Anita in on that app, voicemail can now be accessed through Google Fi app but access from phone voicemail icon is still unsuccessful, also I hope I did not accidentally signed up another account and be billed extra. Need to upload vaccination records on United Travel Ready Center for Frankfurt transit flight after 1:50pm, 5/6. Need to fill out SPtH form and get Q R Codes after 1:50pm 5/5 for entering Spain.
5/1/2022: Woke up at 3:00, had some red wine before going back to bed around 5:00. Got up at 7:00. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Login NCL website from Macbook Pro and downloaded eDoc, screen captured 7 pages and saved them on Google Drive. Registered Anita and myself on SPtH FCS accounts, will need to reenter through mail #1 today to finish the form and getting QR Codes.
5/2/2022: Got up at 7:00. Played 90 minutes table tennis with Robert, first time for 5 weeks, I feel OK right now but expecting sore muscles tomorrow. Visited Costco by myself after lunch, purchased 14 bottle 750ml Steep Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (this is the one that Anita purchased the other day, I found it pretty smooth when I tasted last night), two pouch contained 3.0L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, and one pack (x6 pairs) Adidas men's no show sock. Called Peilee at 6:25 for 11 minutes, chatting about Mom's care center status. Discovered that I forgot to upload some screen captures on MacBook Pro to Google Drive, processed it before going to bed.
5/3/2022: Got up at 7:00. Blood pressure had been hovering around 145/85, possibly because of sleeping disorder? Booked Cartagena Tourist Bus tickets (€6 each) for a 45 minutes to grab some view of the most popular sites.
5/4/2022: Got up at 7:00. Helped dyed Anita's hair-full head this time. Purchased 2 Livraria Lello ticket-voucher for 5/18/2022 for €5,00 each, transportation to and from Porto center will have to be determined when we are on board the ship.
5/5/2022: Woke/got up at 4:30, added some important passwords to unpw-2 on Google Drive just in case, went back to sleep at 5:10. Got up at 7:00. Moved iMac to the attic. Paid Francisco $80 as he said he most likely will be here on the 19th since he's going to Mexico the last week of May.
5/6/2022: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street-even the mess in the middle of the street further down the toad. Reset auto feeder volume to single instead of double since Miley has shown up for over a day, we figured that she most likely had deceased based on her condition the last few days. Disconnected LS400 battery and locked the doors, keys are stored between dryer and wall. Finished my Covid vaccination record upload process and cleared second phase Travel Ready, pending SPtH QR Code which will be processed tomorrow morning, however when trying the same for Anita, there was no status change long after the upload, I tried a couple of times re-uploading the same record with no success, Anita's calls to United customer support did not change anything, instead I upload the same record to the second segment (Frankfurt to Barcelona) which after about 30 minutes resulted a "Completed" Covid-19 Requirements status, SPtH QR Code is the only thing left tomorrow plus checking in after 1:50pm, thank God! Discovered that Anita changed our seats, each holding a single row for now, hopefully it stays so. Spoke to Peilee, he and Ahfen tested positive for Covid and had to do the "10+7" quarantine, similar to mine but most likely less strict because there were simply too many cases. Informed him about our coming up trip to Europe. Miley reappeared in the afternoon, Anita found her laying near the compost bin, she's limping with her left front paw hanging, she seemed to improve a little after consuming some food, hope she'll get much better before we leave.
5/7/2022: Got up at 5:30, finished SPtH FCS form and received QR Code, uploaded it through United Travel Ready Center, pending review and approval. United approved my upload, will check in in the afternoon.
Finished Anita's SPtH QR Code application, saved in Google Drive, uploaded to United Travel Ready Center and completed Destination entry forms phase, will check in later in the afternoon.
2022 May NCL 9-Day Europe from Barcelona
{Planned itinerary}
20220513:
- Embarkation day with 10:30 arrival time scheduled, should get on the bus before 10:00am
- Need to purchase Cruise Bus tickets (€3 per person) from driver
20220514: Cartagena
- Tourist bus ticket confirmation ready to use (or exchange for actual bus tickets)
- Get on at “Bus Turistico”
20220515: Malaga( Granada)
- No plan for this place as we explored it extensively 8 years ago
20220516: Seville
- Check shuttle by NCL
- Ride to Seville city center and walk the tour, most popular sites are in close vicinity
20220517: Lisbon
- Should be able to ride Blue line HOHO bus, make sure NCL Star dock at Santa Apolónia terminal
20220518: Porto
- Need to find out how to get to Porto city center
- Ticket-Voucher ready for Livraria Lello
20220520: Bordeaux
- Decided to stay on board
20220521: At Sea
- Taking antigen test??????
- Check in flights??????
{{Journal starts here}}
5/8/2022-5/9/2022: Got up at 7:00. Had everything ready by 9:40. Jack picked us up at 10:17, got to SFO at 11:00, went through luggage drop off (need to get luggage ID tags from Kiosk first), passport/security check and got to United Club at 10:30. The seat map indicated all three seats were occupied with mine in the middle which made me very uncomfortable since my hemorrhoids are acting up pretty bad today, kept checking the map until boarding, 55C cleared up but 55A stayed occupied, we decided that if it is truly occupied I’ll sit with Anita if her row remained free of other people, but thank God 55A remained unoccupied after the plane door closed, so Anita and I got to keep both rows to ourselves. Flight UA58 took off at 2:27, 37 minutes behind schedule. Ordered and got one can of Tomato juice, skipping wine today to, hopefully, reduce some pressure to my hemorrhoids. Had veggie dish for first meal, ordered one white wine not as expected, there was a small sandwich during mid flight. UA58 landed at FRA airport at 9:45, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Getting off the plane was awfully slow, not only we had to take shuttle (waiting time was long) plus there was another delay after we finally boarded the bus, one of the family traveling with baby and stroller did not have their stroller ready at the bus, someone finally responded to their plead and got the stroller off the plane after 10 minutes. It took 10 more minutes to get to terminal 1, another 5 to get to EU entry check point, the line was long with extremely slow processing pace and it’s already 10:30, we’ll never be able to catch the flight scheduled for 11:00, one of 6 people (us included) who has the same flight decided to go to the front and pleads for special process which was successful so we all followed him and got through the check point within 5 minutes, arriving flight LH1130 by 10:50, the plane landed at Barcelona airport (BCN) at 12:55 5 minutes ahead of schedule even though it was late taking off by 25 minutes. We went through BCN expecting to see SPTH check but did not occur, just as we reached baggage claim, we both received text message claiming one of each of our luggages has been rebooked, meaning they did not catch flight LH1130, it turned out all of the people that came from SFO with connecting flight LH1130 had the same problem. We scramble to find out how to resolve this, the link in the text message did provide access to luggage delay/missing reporting but it was challenging filling out the forms after several failed attempt, Anita also called Lufthansa and asked for help, the news was both luggages were coming to BCN in a later flight (LH1128), we should receive some news after 4:00. Went to Carrefour and picked up some ready food for tonight and tomorrow morning, also purchased one 2 litter bottle water. Anita’s luggage status was “collected” where mine was still “collected”, but later I found e-mails from Lufthansa saying my luggage will be delivered tomorrow which help me relaxed a bit. Anita’s luggage was delivered to Hotel Arc La Rambla around 9:48 even without any further notification like mine.
5/10/2022: Woke up at 2:00. Got up at 8:15. Based on Anita’s call to Lufthansa customer support (she spoke to the same lady she did yesterday), my luggage is on its way here, hopefully arriving before noon. Went downstairs to check with Front Desk to let them know what I know so they can notify me in time-there were 3 or 4 luggages (obviously in the same situation) in their working area waiting for guests to pick. We stopped by the food market Mércate de la Boqueria on La Rambla to get some hot food but decided to visit Carrefour Market first, will come back here afterward. Got one hand banana (I made a mistake entering item on the scale and paid possible 10 times more than it should), several sandwiches, one bottle red wine, one pack cured ham, one box strawberry, two bottle 2L water, one cold sandwich, and two cup coffee lattes, everything we need for today and tomorrow morning. Went back to Hotel Arc La Romelia and discovered that my luggage had arrived. Slept until 5:00 for dinner-fast noodle, salad with cured ham plus Spanish sweet wine. Went to bed around 7:30.
5/11/2022: Got up at 5:00. Had everything (breakfast, bowel movement,……) ready by 7:30. Left for Metro at 8:27, got there at 8:32. To my surprise, there wasn’t a crowd in the station, ticket price was 2.4 Euros per person, got on L3 heading toward Trinitat Nova, got off after 4 stops, as we were trying to get to connection platform for L5, I accidentally crossed the exit control gate and we actually exited the station and could not back in as our tickets could only allowed one entry, luckily there was a gate monitor next to the gate who let us through a locked door after Anita explained what happened, got on L5 toward Vall d’Hebron and got off after only two stops at Sagrada Familia station, just as the name implied, it is right there after we exited the Metro- the time was 8:55. Since our scheduled time start at 9:45, we could not get in until 9:35. The church was so magnificently designed and built, words simply could not describe it in faith. After some photo taking and audio listening, we rode elevator to got to the mid top of Passion Tower, from there, we gradually climbed down on its stairs (some 400 steps as we were told), there was an elevator after for people who decided not to walk Legs were trembling after getting to the ground level. Spent some time in the gift shop where Anita made some small purchase, had a quick at the McDonalds across the street, rode L5 then L3 back to Hotel Arc La Rambla, room service was slow so we decided to hang the do not disturb sign again since we needed to rest. Visited Carrefour around 4:00, got one bottle Spanish sweet red wine, a couple of sandwiches (this time for breakfast), one bag mixed green salad, one pack grape tomato, half a dozen egg, 4 small Yogurt, and two cups of coffee latte. One of the eggs was broken because I put the container near the bottom despite my confidence in its container. Purchased 250 minutes of on board Wi-Fi for $105.
5/12/2022: Got up at 5:30. Went to see the hostel (Pension Marilú) we stayed in 2014 and it surroundings, including Picasso Museum, Barcelona Cathedral…, Anita bought some souvenirs for her gym gangs (also an additional gift for Patty for her watering of the roses). Stopped by Mércate de La Boqueria and got ourselves a couple of nice dishes for lunch.
Finished editing and uploading audio guide transcripts to Google Drive.
5/13/2022: Got up at 4:00, started breakfast at 5:15-egg, Yogurt, banana, sandwich, cured ham, and coffee latte. Bowel movement for the last few days had been challenging for me, Since I have to avoid pushing to avoid hemorrhoids falling out, natural occurrence was difficult. Had everything ready by 7:30, but still hope to have one more bowel movement before heading out to Cruise Bus stop. Got to the supposedly cruise bus stop but turned out it nearly points to where the actual bus stops is located, we walked about 10 minutes before getting there, realized that it’s nearly impossibly for anyone with luggages to walk to the cruise terminal as the bus took almost 10 minutes for the run. The waiting line did not move when we got there at 9:55, it finally progress after 10:35. To our surprise, we had to pay for our antigen test ($65 per person) which was not relayed to us before hand. Went through the test cycle and finally got negative result before heading to checkin and got our card key (for stateroom 5028) since we could not enter the statement, checked with the front desk and was informed that we had been upgraded to a stateroom with balcony at 9012, our first experience. Reserved dinner/brunch for 4 days:
- 5/15: Le Bistró at 5:30
- 5/18: La Cucina at 6:00
- 5/19: Aqua at 11:15am
- 5/20: Versailles at 5:30
Had dinner at O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill, we each had a cocktail and half dozen chicken wings, mine smoked BBQand Anita’s Buffalo flavor, the cocktail had several orange and lime cuts in it, actually made it look cheap even though it’s tasty, expensive though, nearly $30. Visited customer support, got two Platinum pins and Latitude cocktail party info-Monday (5/16 at 5:00). Departure was delayed for one hour and 45 minutes due to shortage of port navigator. There was a NCL app problem on my Pixel Pro 6, it was working fine when I reserved dinner schedules, now I could not login with proper unos, not sure if it’s because I have iPad logged in as well, since I have both local NCL info access as well as Internet access, I want to keep it staying operational, meaning I will just keep Pixel 6 Pro out of NCL access for now, will Google Fi when near shore lines.
5/14/2022: Got up at 6:45. Disembark and rushed to Turístico Bus office, it was easy to find but the office was just opening when we got there at 10:10, after processing the paper work, the next available bus was 11:00, it turned out no bus even started at 10:00, spent some time in the popular street just a couple of blocks away, took some photos and souvenirs before waiting in line for the bus at 10:35, the bus was later filled with new comers but we were lucky to grab the left front seats just behind the wind window shield on the top deck. The bus tour was smooth and enjoyable, a small but beautiful town Cartagena is. Went back to NCL Star for lunch before heading out again, Anita need to get more gift for her friends so we visited the same souvenir shop we did this morning.
5/15/2022: Got up at 6:00, the ship docked at Malaga at 6:15, much earlier than scheduled 7:00. Since we did not book any shuttle or bus at Malaga, we were happy to see a sightseeing Hop On Hop Off bus sale at the cruise terminal when we left the ship, the cost was 32 Euro per person, it includes tickets to Picasso museum, and many more museums, we made it out to the parking lot and boarded the busk upper deck, selected the front seats, again, decided to go to lower deck as it was getting cold from the sea wind, changed our minds after a while as more people were coming for the bus, turned to to be ship excursion tour groups, we went back to the same seats, it was not bad after the bus started to move, we got off at the third stop which was the area for Picasso’s birth place and museum…., made sure where we got off on Google map (labeling the location) before heading off, a mother/daughter at a nearby bus stop helped showing where Picasso’s birth place was which we found a little later, it opened earlier than the regular Picasso museum. Anita purchased a pair of cute and special ear rings from the shop before going upstairs to Picasso’s home museum, it was covered by the tour bus we rode with, the museum focused on his family, there was no paintings. Walked to the real museum afterward, we waited in in to get in but Anita found out it was a line for ticket purchase so we skipped it and went inside. There were many paintings on display but we did not have that much energy to cover them all so we left after about one hour, also decided we were going to skip the rest of the included museums plus show, got back on the sightseeing Hop On Hop Off bus and went through the remaining stops before getting back to NCL Star, went directly to Garden Cafe for lunch, mainly salad plus a couple of fish finger, and one meat ball. Anita went back to the terminal to get some sweet smell snack while I headed for our cabin. After resting a few hours, we headed to Le Bistró around 5:15 for our first Latitude reward dinner, Anita ordered Escargots for appetizer, cream of mushroom soup, and Braised shank and roasted lamb chop, I had scallop soup, Smoked salmon wrap crab salad roll, and beef tenderloin, also ordered one bottle 2018 IL Borro Blend Italian wine, all this for $160 which we paid $0, we did sign a $20 tip for the waiter (his name is Ben). Attended 8:00 Stardust show “Band on the Run”, OK but a couple of notches lower in intensity and versatility than “Burn the Floor”. Had 5 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ-disappointing.
5/16/2022: Got up at 6:02. Left for Cadiz at 9:00, could not find any info at the cruise terminal, after asking around, a lady at the terminal told us (with not so comprehensive English) we got to a tourist information office, got a map and some general walking tour info, based on some preliminary info and out guess, we found the cathedral by the sea across the peninsula, we were a bit too early since most stores weren’t open yet, as we walked around, more people (locals and tourists) started showing up. A special observation on our way-a mother bent over toward a tree, appeared to be praying, turned out she’s holding her child peeing against the tree}. We decided to go back to NCL Star, get some snack, rest a bit before revisiting Cadiz, O’Sheenhan was still serving breakfast, chicken wing dish was not available, so we each had something from their breakfast menu, Shearwin was cleaning out cabin when we tried to get back so we went up to deck 12 and waited there until 12:45, cabin was ready except for the ice bucket. Rested until 1:00 then heading out to Cadiz again, walked around almost without aim but still managed to find the Sam cathedral, surveyed it’s surroundings, Anita had a couple of purchased made during this trip, returned to NCL Star around 2:15. Had a light snack at O’Sheehan’s, Buffalo wings for Anita, smoked BBQ wing for me, we also each had a Cobb salad. Switched on board Wi-Fi to the 250 minutes account as the free 30 minutes had only one minutes left, it added this minute to create a 251 minute Pool, downloading Mercury News with offline option took 13 minutes, it was sickening slow. Attended Latitude cocktail party at Bliss, even though members above Silver were all invited, there were only about 50 people, much much fewer than the last time and there was no one lined up waiting to get in like the previous several times, not sure how to interpret this, I had 2 plus (nearly three) cup of red wine while Anita had one cup cocktail, we both brought back one cup cocktail to the cabin.
5/17/2022: Got up at 6:30 (new time zone which is one hour back). As the ship was swaying in a larger scale, we could not stay sit up much less standing, had to wait lying down for the ship to dock or stabilize before going for breakfast. Luckily the ship stabilized soon after we reached the mouth of river Tagus, we went up and had our breakfast around 9:15. Disembark the ship and purchased tickets for the Hop on Hop off tour bus, got on and stayed on the bus throughout the route, it’s about two hours ride, but a lot of the time spent on traffic lights as well as circling the blocks because it could not make turns at will. Finally got back to NCL Star at about 1:00, had lunch at Garden Cafe before heading out, this time we exit the terminal then return to the entrance as Anita wanted to buy some magnets, she did find a couple so we went back to NCL Star soon afterward otherwise we’ll need to walk out to more remote area to check out local souvenirs shop. Rested until 5:00, CruiseNext desk won)t open until 5:30, instead of waiting there, we decided to have dinner first, Anita ordered a drink of the day cocktail (Pink Killer) which was good but when I went over to order one for myself there’s a line there so I gave up. Watched and waited the first time for the ship to set sail, it had to turn around in Tagus before heading out the opposite way it came in.
5/18/2022: Got up at 6:30 after many awaken moments, the motion sickness last night was more serious than the previous night. Got off the ship around 8:55. Got on local bus #500 after getting off terminal shuttle at the gate and walked about 5 minutes. Anita had experience with this bus, unlike other buses, bus #500 got two decks specifically designed for cruise ship passengers, the final stop (Sâo Bento) is at Porto city center, we stopped at a couple of churches before heading toward Livraria Lello, there was a blockage due to construction, took us 15 minutes before getting there, we realized that it was for ticket purchases after waiting in line for 10 minutes, jumped to the front and got in, it was crowded and hot, the worthiness of the visit was exaggerated, online photos pretty much showed everything seeing, got out after 10 minutes. Found our way to returning bus #500 but got off one stop too early (should be Godinez) had to find out way back to the port entrance. Had late lunch at O’Sheehan’s, Anita had a Caesar salad and one fish&chip while I had a Cobb salad and Blue Cheese Burger, plus we each had a Bahama Mama cocktail. Turned in around 7:30 as the motion started almost right after the ship set sail.
5/19/2022: Got (woke up many times during the night) up at 6:30. Had breakfast at Garden Cafe, not too many people as this is the first of two sea days. Anita went to CruiseNext and booked another cruise for August 2023-11 day Iceland and Norway, 3 days shorter than the September 2023 one we booked yesterday, the plan was to check more on how each one fair before deciding final choice.
5/20/2022: Got up at 7:30. Weave decided not to go to Bordeaux so no hurry doing anything today, left the ship to explore Le Verdon by walking, turned out accessing the town needed about 25 minutes through mostly abandoned areas, the so-called parking lot had been a huge cargo container storage lot with two gigantic mobile container cranes, not sure why it’s no longer in service, Le Verdon was a small town with about 1300 people, a very suite place, there was no one else but us exploring from the ship when we started but about 10 more people showed interest when we walked back toward the ship, also met a friendly French couple visiting from another town. Next time we’ll go further to their town center.
Checked with guest service, antigen test will be from 10:00 to 12:00 at Bliss, first come first serve. Went to Garden Cafe for salad and fruit but found out this is sea food night (NCL’s usual tactics trying improve its impression), so we surrendered and had sea food instead. Handed our stateroom server Sherwin €100 for his service.
5/21/2022: Got up at 7:00. Started packing after breakfast.
Went to have antigen test at Bliss at 9:40, to my surprise there already was a line about 20 people, by the time we were done, over 100 people were still in line, looked like 20% to 30% of the entire passengers were from the States. Praying for negative results for us to safely return home. Walked the decks with Anita for 20 minutes, had a cup of tea and shared one piece cake before coming back to our cabin, antigen test rest papers were still not delivered, checked online and found result e-mails for both of us (was able to use Anita’s 30 minutes to check her e-mail from her iPhone), took a while to figure out passwords needed were birth dates (in the format mm-did-year), finished uploading antigen test result and checking in from United app, but somehow Anita’s name did not show up on the same app as it did When I checkin in San Jose, had to go to her iPhone and upload antigen test result from there, but checkin seemed to get stuck (I was held there for about 5 minutes when I checkin on my iPad), I still could not continue with the checkin even after logging out and waited 5 minutes before trying again, finally waiting another 15 minutes, I was able to finish Anita’s checkin and acquired boarding pass, since I wasn’t able to get a smart phone size boarding pass at the moment, I took a photo of the one I got from iPad, it’s bigger but serve as a backup for now, I should be able to access United app from my Pixel 6 Pro at London Heathrow airport. Went to Stardust for a show but it appeared something else replaced what was supposed to be a nicer show, we left after 10 minutes. Finished packing and made sure we still have what we need tomorrow before putting the luggages outside our cabin for the crews to take them to holding area. Turned in at 10:30 with a couple of alarms set at 4:45 and 5:00.
5/22/2022: Got up at 5:45. Cleaned up and had early breakfast (with limited choices) at Garden Cafe, went back to the cabin and moved bowel before heading toward Bliss for UK immigration check, got our luggages and boarded Heathrow bound bus. Got to Heathrow terminal at 7:59. Had a light meal (Big box something, hash brawn, and a large ) before heading to B39, their gates were far apart, took us nearly 20 minutes to get there, gate change notification received at 10:45, took another 10 minutes to get to B32. We were on priority boarding #2, however there were a lot more boarding group #1 people, it’s been 20 minutes by the time we were to board, oh well. The flight was about 80% full, Anita and I were lucky to share a three-seat row. Flight UA 949 took off at 12:40, 20 minutes behind schedule. We landed at SFO at 2:43, 32 Minutes ahead of schedule. Got our luggages after immigration check, Jake came by to pick us up around 3:25, got home at 4:13. Went to bed around 7:00, woke up several times during the night.
5/23/2022: Got up at 6:15. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one hand banana, one box Cherry, one box Fuji apple, one pack roasted chicken drum, one pack spicy Jack cheese, two dozen pasture egg (had get a new pack during checkout as at least of them were broken), one bag small raw shrimp, one bunch Daisy, one pack (x2) frozen veggie pizza, one bag Macadamia nut, one dozen Artisan roll, Mediterranean salad, and one bottle 64 oz Hazelnut creamer. Requested new set (x8) of antigen test kit from USPS. Trying to sync this note to MacBook Pro but nothing happened even the short checklist was gone from MacBook Pro, what’s going on?????? After searching online, it turned out any “#” sign shown in your text will be identified as “tag” in Notes, some older devices such as my MacBook Pro and last iPad do not support “tags” and thus will not sync any notes with “tags” in it, removing the “#” from it and worked.
Received two pairs of scissors from Amazon delivered by USPS at 5:41.
Received the second 4 set of Covid test kit from USPS at 4:43.
Had 10 minutes MB with mini, EJ. Watered front lawn for 70 minutes.
Had lunch at In-and Out, I had the regular while Anita had a protein one, we also had one order fries which we finished it. Swing by Marshall and got one bag Himalaya salt and one bag coconut stick.
6/26/2022: Got up at 7:00. Walked treadmill at City Sports for 40 minutes (3.0/0.0 for 30 minutes and 3.2/5.0 for 10 minutes), 162 times abdominal machine press (30 lbs for 144 times, 50 lbs for 18 times).
Had 15 minutes MB with mini (ling roll), EJ-good one (with the help of March). Decided to put the broken piece into the group by digging away part of the Birds of Paradise base, it looked OK-saved the trouble reshaping the bricks.
Watered front lawn and flowers for 85 minutes.
Made 6 more walkway gap lumbers from two pieces old deck stairs, applied sealer to them on the deck where there's shade.
7/7/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited 99 Ranch Market on Lundy and purchased one pack (x3 bunch) green Onion, two head Broccoli, two Kohlrabi (Cabbage Turnip), 2 red onion, one pack (x5) fast noodle, one medium firm tofu, one string garlic, and one Haagen Dazs butter Pecan ice cream. Trimmed the last walkway cross gap lumber to fit narrower gap after all other similar orientation gaps were filled. Leveling the bricks becomes the next challenge before adding brick dimension lumber to remaining gaps.
Had 15 minutes MB with hands and legs, EJ-so so.
Received new Echo Dot from Amazon at 5:36, setup was easy (maybe too easy to my surprise), it's named Anita's Echo Dot with "Echo" as wake up word.
Received black KN95 at 1:53-ordered on Monday. Rode 11 minutes bike in the garage. Finished reading "The Last Lie Told" by Debra Webb. Scheduled second booster shot (Pfizer) on 11:00am Monday, 8/1/2022 at CVS near flea market. Watered front lawn and all flowers for 78 minutes.
Was able to drill holes and extend the screw deeper to securely attach a knob to the wood block, glued the top and bottom and made the block.
The finished wood block with knob.
7/242022: Got up at 7:00. Visited City Sports with Anita, walked 40 minutes treadmill (30 minutes at 3.2/0.0 and 10 minutes at 3.2/7.00, abdominal machine for 72 times at 45 lbs-just noticed the fine tuning was set at 15 lbs plus the main setting at 30 lbs, not sure what the fine tunings were on my previous visits. Cleaned up the artificial flower/vase in the front yard porch, turned out they were simply thick dust accumulated over the years, it looks nice now.
7/25/2022: Got up at 7:00. Checked my Yahoo mail and finally found the $40 gift card sent by DDVWU (the company I purchased massage gun from) which was in the same mail pile, redeemed at Amazon.
Made 3 more walkway gap lumbers, the ones that are over 2" wide-wider than any other fillers, they are at the junction of the 90° turn, I had to use the wide side of the leftover lumbers from the old deck to make them, since they are shallower, more base gravel will be needed to level them.
Mixed saw dust from the cutting with general white glue to fill the gaps and nail hole on the surface of two of the fillers, learned this from Youtube, hopefully will look better.
Sanded the processed lumbers and applied seal to them.
7/26/2022: Got up at 7:00. Harvested a handful of string beans. Applied second coat of sealer to the three wide filler. Checking Amazon on Meow Mix again, after carefully examined the information on the page I discovered why I did not see "Prime" on the listing, I now need to pick either "subscribe" or "one time" order to see it, selected one time order, expecting next day delivery-tomorrow, since I have $40 credit, paid $0 this time. Purchased one pack (x3) 3.2 oz Colgate optic white toothpaste from Amazon.
Discovered the Jason Bourne author had a total of 17 books in the series.
Stopped by 99 Ranch Market, purchased one pack toast, one head Napa cabbage, and one fried fish cake, also purchased 3 small order dishes from their deli department. Cleaned up some withered string bean vines, its season is likely over. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, no EJ. Made two more brick length gap filler.
Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Watered front lawn, porch flowers, and side walkway flowers-75 minutes in total.
Harvested 6 more string beans. Cleaned up Oleander flowers and leaves, also removed some dead Cherry tree branch leaves, it appeared that the only major branch remaining was dying, only several smaller branches closer to the mid section. Anita called Jack for SFO transportation ($85 to SFO and $95 from SFO, will pay $95 and $105 respectively).
Reprogrammed the feeder to two servings at 8:00, one serving at 12:00, and two servings at 5:30pm. Filled up the feeder as well.
Visited Marina Grocery by myself, purchased two pack (x5 each) fast noodle (for the trip), one pack Gailan, one pack pork sparerib, two bag red bean , one bag barley rice, one can pork sung, 3 bag HFH spicy peanut, and 4 white Nectarine.
2022 Paris Trip (9/7/2022-9/17/2022)
9/7/2022-9/8/2022: Got up at 7:00. Checked the house for all necessary arrangements, rechecked passport, shuttle payment, Euros…
Shuttle driver Edward arrived at 11:57, paid him $85+$10 before driving off to SFO, he joined Jack’s group just 3 months ago. Got to SFO at 12:45, check in process was smooth (scan passport, print luggage tags, and print boarding pass), security check was also smooth, this time we did not need to remove iPad from the luggage. The United club was packed with people and they have a notice “one-time passel will not be allowed but the fact was you could still enter but would most likely sit at different locations so we decided to skip it. Boarding was delayed by 20 minutes, we got on at 3:04. Flight was 100% booked! A young lady sitting between Anita and myself appeared to be from France. Flight UA990 took off at 3:42, 32 minutes behind schedule. We landed at CDG at 10:37, 8 minutes ahead of schedule. Met our shuttle driver at the Starbucks just out side terminal A2 exit. Took nearly one hour to get to the vicinity of Hôtel Du Mont Blanc, we had to walk about 5 minutes (including searching for) to get to the hotel, since check in time was 2:00, we had our luggages stored in their back room then took a little walk nearby, we each then had one piece of pizza and a bottle of fresh made orange juice at the bakery across the street of our hotel. Rested a couple hour before finding out this hotel forbid eating in the room, this will be a big issue for us as eating out every day simply wouldn’t cut it. So far the solution was to buy (from Carrefour…), consume the purchase, drop off the wrappings and bottles, etc in the waste basket in the street, by keeping the room clean we should be OK. Visited the Carrefour City 2 minutes away, it’s pretty small without much selection, we got one bottle drink water, one small bottle juice, and one bottle Cabernet Sauvignon, consumed the juice and some of the wine along with the sandwiches from flight UA990 as dinner. The street level noise (by people drinking, talking….) lasted all through 2:30am before it gradually die down.
9/9/2022: Hôtel Du Mont Blanc Wi-Fi sucks, it had never worked after we checked in. I had to rely upon turning on my Pixel 6 Pro as a hotspot for us to get on the Internet. Got up at 7:30 after finally fell asleep around 4:30. Had breakfast in the hotel restaurant next door, was OK. Visited Shakespeare and Company, an old bookstore frequented by Shakespeare, unlike the Livraria Lello in Porto frequented by J.K. Rolling, this place reflects more of its origin and true color. Went back to the hotel to have lunch (one order of Subway’s sandwich we purchased on our way back) and some rest. Visited Èglise Saint Sulpice after the break. It started raining around 3:0p. Visited the third Carrefour Express which was 6 minutes away, it was even smaller than the one two minutes away but it did have more wine selection and some hot and ready to eat items, got one bottle mixed wine, one bottle drinking water, and one over heated sandwich. Finished the whole bottle of wine, the sandwich, and some chips for dinner, planned to go out after some rest to rid of the alcohol effect but had give up the idea since it had started raining heavily.
9/10/2022: Did not fall asleep until 4:30, got up at 8:30, had the same breakfast downstairs restaurant. Visited Luxemburg Garden just 12 minutes from the hotel, taking Bd Saint Michel is the best way getting there. Both McDonald’s and Burger King were just outside the garden on the same street but we decide to go back to the hotel and possibly getting sandwich from the same Subway we stopped by yesterday, but just a few steps away was a Carrefour Express which just a few steps away on “55 Bd Saint-Michel, 75005 Paris, France” best fit our needs-wine, salad, sandwich, etc., got one bottle red wine, one bottle beer, one box salad, and one pack sandwich before heading back to the hotel. Checked out the first Carrefour Express which is only 2 minutes away from the hotel again (after dinner) and discovered that they also have salad, sandwich, and a lot more wine selections downstairs, it will be the choice Carrefour from now on. I had the whole bottle of 650 ml Heineken by myself before going to bed with the television on to cover up the noise from the street below. The noise was even louder tonight, most likely due to the addition of locals on weekends, we tried turning on the TV to counter the noise but did not appear to work since I still could not fall asleep until 4 am, woke up by my own cell phone alarm which was set a while back but did not bother anyone as the volume was off but not today, I stayed awake until getting up at 7:10.
9/11/2022: Got up at 7:10. Did not feel well but could not pin point the cause, went along the plan-walked to Louvre, continued to Musee de l’Orangerie, got in the museum and viewed some paintings which Anita were familiar with, got my backpack back before leaving, before heading back to the hotel, we discovered and strolled through Place de la Concorde-a surprising delight since we don’t need to come again just of the square. Anita went to the Subway we visited the other day while I headed to our hotel room directly, had the Mustard dressed Subway for lunch. Visited Pantheon after a short break, Paris Museum Passes were used as well, stopped by Carrefour Express on Rue Saint Michel afterward and purchased one bottle red wine, one bottle drinking water, one pack cocktail shrimp, one pack mixed greens, and 2 Yogurt in glass cups. Dinned was prepared one bag fast noodle with quick boiled mixed greens plus red wine and cocktail shrimp. Booked CitizenM hotel for the night of 16th as we really needed a good night’s rest plus an easy access to our flight-don’t want to get up at 5:00 and go through checkout, getting taxi, getting to the airport……
9/12/2022: Got up at 7:15. Heading out at 9:50 toward Louvre Museum for our scheduled 10:30 entrance. Entry was at the glass Pyramid where security check was performed right after entering, they only checked our Paris Museum Pass but the time slot schedule was never bothered, not sure why though. Went through the exhibition in one hour and 30 minutes mainly focusing on Anita’s favorites. Had a salad (€10.00) plus one small bottle of drinking water (€3.20) for lunch before heading back. Stopped by La Samartaine, the famous shopping mall, before getting back to the hotel. Visited Musee d’Orsay after lunch and a break for 30 minutes, it’s about 23 minutes walk from the hotel, it would not be any problem except my right thumb knuckle, had to slow down and make shorter steps to avoid hurting too much. Musee d’Orsay is very popular with tourists and locals as it’s collections span centuries, spent nearly two hours there-Anita visited Monet’s quarter by herself while I rested in the sculpture area editing photos. Stopped by Carrefour City on our way back to the hotel, got one bottle red wine, one small bottle chilled IPA, one pack mixed salad, and one pack Bacon.
9/13/2022: Visited Saint Chapelle in the morning and d'Orsay in the afternoon.
9/14/2022: Got up at 8:15. Visited Pompidou Center after breakfast, it’s a contemporary building with vast art displays on its 4th and 5th floors, escalators running outside of the building is its most unique feature, since it would not open until 11:00, we swing by Èglise Saint Merri a couple of blocks away, stayed there until 10:55. Anita picked up one Subway sandwich on our way back to the hotel. Stopped by La Samaritaine around 3:40, it’s a high end shopping center most people visiting, at least at time of ours, we’re window shopping only, not sure who and when make purchases there. Swing by Carrefour City and purchased one bottle red wine, one bottle IPA, one pack sliced pork sausage, and one box salad with cheese and ham mix. One side story- we got stuck in the elevator when it stopped in between floors while going downstairs, we yelled and got someone’s attention and asked the owner to reset it, luckily we were only stuck for 2 minutes. Received 2 mail from United saying our flight on 15th/16th was cancelled due to strike, but our flight was actually on the 17th, and I could not find any strike info online, not sure what this means.
9/15/2022: Got up at 7:45. Walked 31 minutes to Musee Rodin, a place dedicated to his work of arts, mostly sculptures plus some paintings, I only know one of his work-“The Thinker”, Found out Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte was only 7 minutes away, but decided to leave along with Eiffel Tower, and Arc de Triomphe on our next visit. Stopped by Carrefour City and got one 3-piece sandwich, one bag BBQ chip, and one cocktail shrimp (this one is for dinner since it rarely show up on the shelf). Rested until 3:0ñ when Anita decided to go and pick up some of the souvenir magnets in the neighborhood. Visited Carrefour City at 5:00 and picked up one bottle red wine, one pack ready to eat salad, and one bottle drinking water.
9/16/2022: Got up at 7:35. Walked 25 minutes to Musee National Picasso, it more of on the life of Picasso, some were very interesting. Stopped by Subway Sandwich on our way back and picked up our usual lunch. Stopped by Carrefour City after lunch and purchased one bottle red wine, one bag BBQ chips, and one pack salad for dinner at Citizen M tonight. Beware of the black clerk at Carrefour City, he would not give the detailed purchase receipts on two occasions, based on our addition, he over charged about 10% of the total. Checked out at 1:40, the taxi arrived at 1:55, the rate for airport was fixed at €60, meter was needed for our hotel (or any other locations for that traffic was normally bad, took about 45 minutes to get to CitizenM (which
H the driver charged €70 for €62.50 meter), checkin was a breeze, we ended up in room 203. According to hotel personnel, there’s shuttle across the street which will take us to terminal 2 directly, not sure the frequency of the shuttle though. CitizenM has their own app which ALL room features can be controlled, be it blind, curtain, light, temperature, pretty cool. Strolled to terminal 3 which is only 5 minutes away, going through terminal 3 entry, the train to terminal 2 is about 2 minutes further inside one floor under. There’s a Marks & Spencer grocery store just inside terminal 3, no need to bring our own food the next we visit. Haven’t slept in a comfortable bed for a long while, still woke up every half an hour though.
9/17/2022: Got up at 5:15. Had everything ready by 6:40, checked out at 6:50. Took the airport train and got to terminal 2 at 7:10, all hell broke lose after that, since there’s ATC strike yesterday plus terminal 1 closing, the number of passengers simply overwhelmed terminal 2, by the time we got to United area, the entire open space was packed, no one can move around, and since there’s no one directing traffic, nobody knows what’s going on, Anita asked people nearby and gradually we more to luggage drop-off and eventually on our way to security check, we’ve never seen so many people going back and forth in packed lanes just to get to passport control, it’ probably 15 minutes walk before our turn to be scanned by automatic passport screening. getting to gate A40 took another 15 minutes, boarding had already started by the time we got there. This flight UA984 was entirely booked-most likely due to the ATC strike yesterday. UA took off at 9:57, 42 minutes behind schedule. It has been difficult for me without much space to rest my legs, not sure if I will be able to travel like this any more, it’s more pin than pleasure. UA984 landed at SFO at 11:49, one minute ahead of schedule. The flight had to be towed to a towing only gate, so the plane shut off its engines and waited 5 minutes for the tow truck to move it to G3. Took 20 minutes to get through passport check as there were so many people from other flight(s), ours excluded since we were the last few. Jack picked us up at arrival 3, got home by 1:30. Had leftover ground pork tofu dish omelet for dinner. Turned in around 8:00. Woke up at 12:30.
9/18/2022: Got up at 6:40. Trimmed off the sweet melon and cucumber vines in the round bucket, harvested one large and three small cucumbers, one large and one small sweet melons, also got 6 string beans. Had 10 minutes MB with RM, EJ. Tried to airdrop trip photos to Macbook Pro, failed all three times, not sure why.
9/19/2022: Got up at 6:10. The old Keurig coffee maker's condition has dropped one more level, now it could not dispense the last 2 oz of liquid. Opened the new one trying to set it up, found out it's not as straight forward as anticipated, will need more research to finish the setup.
Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one pack Strawberry, one pack grape tomato, one pack (x5) Artisan Lettuce, one pot orchid, two dozen pasture egg, one pack chili Jack cheese, one pack (x2) Orange juice, one box (x8) Jimmy Dean meat lover's bowl, two pack (x2 each) Olay Retinol cream, one pack (x12) Artisan roll, one bottle 1.5L Kirkland Strawberry Margarita, one pack baby Spinach, and one pouch 3.0L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon. Tried to use Skype to keep it active but it asked me to login which I did but it wanted to send verification code to my hotmail account which I have not been able to get back to, damn! giving up the remaining dollars (~$10) and never use Skype again. Checked Youtube video on setting up the K-Supreme Plus C, confirmed my suspicion on the reusable coffee filter adapter, it is only needed on a older version maker, not used on the one we have, the new coffee maker is now ready to brew-the K-cup adapter stayed the same as the oold one.
9/20/2022: Got up at 6:45. Received payment not made notice from Sail Internet, returned ail asking for reason why "auto payment " not working. A reply mail was received in just a few minutes, turned out when I updated my credit card info last month, I did not (which I assumed a given) turn on auto payment and thus causing the current situation. Their service helped turned on the auto payment and processed September payment in just a short while. Cleaned up backyard Oleander leaves and flowers-10 days accumulation plus several rainy days created a huge load.
9/21/2022: Got up at 6:20, trying MB with legs, no effect-gave up. The disassembling task for the old coffee maker was more challenging than expected, there's no parts that were easy to separate, had to take time to figure it out.
9/22/2022: Got up at 6:50. Visited Marina Grocery by myself, purchased one bag egg noodle, one bag Pancit (or Pansit-Filipino noodle) noodle, two bag HFH spicy peanut, three bag HFH fried chili/peanut, two white onion, one pack pork spare rib, two small steam powder, two box pork chop season mix, one Celery, one Taiwan cabbage, one bag dried Shitake mushroom, one bag cane sugar, and one yellow rock candy, also got two fried chicken drums for lunch. Had 10 minutes MB with mini and legs, EJ-it's getting close to the end of my pursuit of this kind of laborious and short pleasure.
9/23/2022: Got up at 7:00. Moved table saw to backyard, will use it to dismantle the old coffee maker, seems to be the only way. Unrooted and removed one of the string bean plants. Helped Anita trimmed off a couple of the purple flower tree near the front porch. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street in 15 minutes.
9/24/2022: Got up at 6:50. Visited Marukai by myself, purchased one tube Wasabi, one pack Nigiri Sushi (for dinner), one bag small carrot, one bag Edamame, one pack tick slice bread, one medium firm tofu, one Futomaki, one Yakisoba, and one Salmon Shioyaki&chicken. Received the replacement case for Anita's iPad Air 4th generation, it appeared about the same weight, disappointed! Rode 20 minutes bike in the garage. Called Peilee at 6:08 for 21 minutes.
9/25/2022: Got up at 6:45.
9/26/2022: Got up at 6:50. Cleaned up backyard Oleander flowers and leaves, trimmed off low hanging Passion fruit vines. Received Fitbit Inspire 2 from UPS as scheduled.
9/27/2022: Got up at 7:10. Visited Walmart in Milpitas with Anita, purchased one hand banana, 4 dark Chocolate, and 4 bottle 1.5L Barefoot Riesling. Swing by Marina Grocery and got a bento for lunch. Watered front lawn and flowers for 110 minutes-to make up 2 straight weeks.
9/28/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, got 6 Areds 2 (one for me), one pack grape tomato, one pack organic blue Berry, one pack (x2) orange juice, two dozen pasture egg, one pouch 3.0L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 pack Cauliflower crust pizza, one Cranberry Walnut Round, and one French butter cookies. Filled up RX300 at Costco gas station at $5.399/gal. Rode 20 minutes bike in the garage. Line called Peilee while they visited Mom's residence for 20 minutes, Mom looked nice but we weren't able to communicate because of her dementia condition as well as the sound issue, Peilee talked to the personnel there after the call, Mom's physical condition had further deteriorated, drinking and eating ability reduced to a point tube feeding may be necessary.
9/29/2022: Got up at 7:00. My hemorrhoid was acting up pretty bad this morning, the swelling caused the fluid to leak through the anus opening, had to clean it every 10 minutes after the bowel movement. Created a new album for March trip to Taiwan, specifically for the works I did at 博愛街. Trimmed off several Passion fruit vines under the Cherry tree, need to do a big job trimming them after Anita went back to Taiwan. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
9/30/2022: Got up at 7:00. Filled the feeder, time to reorder Meow Mix. Ordered 22 lbs original Meow Mix from Amazon, scheduled delivery on 10/2/2022, Sunday. Visited Walmart with Anita to return the 3 85% dark chocolate, the clerk handling this informed me the receipt did not match the returned items, turned out we purchased 4 bars and one of them was 100% dark chocolate which has a different bar code, but the casher used the 100% bar code for all 4 of the bars, after I explained it the clerk OKed and refund but the amount was $29.47 which was 10 times the $2.94 cost of the 85% bar cost, based on prior experience I did not say anything to correct her to not get her into trouble with her supervisor and spent more time there for her to correct. Watered front lawn and porch flowers for 88 minutes.
10/1/2022: Got up at 7:00. Walked to 99 Ranch Market and purchased one bento with 5 different items, total walk time was 40 minutes. Anita tried several times and was able to enter Taiwan entry form with proof of completion, just like my March trip to Taiwan, check-in could not be completed, Received McCormick Applewood meat rub from Amazon at 4:16, even though I checked frequently but still missed it by nearly 35 minutes.
10/2/2022: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with the fantasy of March which did some good stimulation, no EJ. Anita wasn't able to check in as her Taiwan Entry form completion could not be verified, have to do it at the airport tomorrow. Received 22 lbs Meow Mix from Amazon at 5:08.
10/3/2022: Got up at 7:00. Anita had everything ready by 9:30, we waited until 10:20 before heading out to SFO, the traffic wasn't bad but it still took 40 minutes to get to SFO, there wasn't a crowd at United counter so the check in was done within 5 minutes, Anita went and waited at the security check line, I left shortly after as it would have to be more than 20 minutes before she finished the screening. Paid parking fee of $4.00 at the kiosk to make exit smoother. Got home at 12:11, called Anita when I saw a missed call from her, she's in the United Club at domestic flight area as the one next to the International gates were full AGAIN, still crowded but entry was allowed. Anita called at 1:12 to remind me of TV shows 911 and NCIS this evening. Had nearly one hour MB with RMs, no EJ-it's pretty exciting since I have not done this for a long time, it appeared that I could continue even longer without EJ. Had another 30 minutes MB with RMs and legs, no EJ. Tried one more MB with RMs, had to stop due to belly cramp.
10/4/2022: Anita called at 6:19 (9:19 pm Taiwan time), turned out the flight arrived nearly one hour ahead of schedule and everything else also moved smoothly, she actually arrived at博愛街 at 7:30pm. Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco, purchased one bottle 1.5L Kirkland Strawberry flavor Margarita, two bottle 750ml Uncork Cabernet Sauvignon, one pouch 3.L Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, one pack grape Tomato, one can Nature Made Iron, one bottle 1.75L Capitan Morgan Rum, and one box (x12) Jimmy Dean Croissant. The head of my little brother seemed a bit bruised due to extensive action yesterday, need to care for it before further action. Anita called at 12:50 (3:50am Taiwan time). Trimmed off a bunch of Passion fruit vines under the eaves near the kitchen sliding door. Received USB-C charger and USB-C to USB-3 adapter from Amazon at 12:43-retrieved at 2:06. Called Anita at 6:38 through Line.
10/5/2022: Got up at 7:00. Walked to 99 Ranch Market and purchased one bento with 4 different items plus rice noodle with wide strips. Divided them into 4 bowls for 4 dinners, will consume the rice noodle with wide strips for lunch today. Dropped off the iPad Air 4th generation case at UPS store on Berryessa and Capital. Had 40 minutes MB with RMs (after removing some of the sharp edges from them), no EJ. Had 45 minutes MB with RMs and legs, no EJ-not sure why but little brother could not remain hard for long?????? Received McCormick Grill Mates Sweet & Smoky Rub from Amazon at 4:00, retrieved it at 4:30 after MB. Anita called at 6:01 for 30 minutes. Had 20 minutes MB with RMs, no EJ.
10/6/2022: Got up at 7:00. Vacuumed and mopped the family room floor. Cleaned up backyard Oleander flowers and leaves, found three fallen Passion fruits. Amazon notified the completion of iPad case return and issued $20.77 to my Amazon gift balance. Sail Internet notified October payment of $55 was complete, confirmed the auto payment is actually working. Had 20 minutes MB with RMs and legs, no EJ-could not not matter how hard I tried. Rode 15 minutes bike in the garage. Called Anita at 6:00 for 30 minutes.
10/7/2022: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with RMs and legs, EJ. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, lots of sand and dust, not sure where they came from. Trimmed off a ton of Passion fruit vines, mostly under the patio umbrella frame. Called Anita at 6:00 for 39 minutes, she can go out shopping starting today. Watered front lawn and porch flowers for 55 minutes.
10/8/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marukai and purchased three carrots, one bag Edamame, one can pickled Natural Ginger, two pack Nama Sake Kirimi, one Bara Chirashi, one Futomaki (Sushi roll), one pack lean ground Pork, one 28 oz Sriracha sauce, one hand banana, and one pack Jalapeño chili. Decided not to see March, maybe next time. Cleaned up front porch withered plant leaves and flower stems, look much nicer now. Watered backyard roses for 30 minutes. Trimmed off more Passion fruit vines under the old patio umbrella frame.
Called Anita at 6:00 for 26 minutes, she and her two sisters finished the whole bottle of 1.5L Barefoot Riesling last night, Wow!
10/9/2022: Got up at 7:00. Moved Anita's wallet to the attic (under the flap). Trimmed off more Passion fruit vines under the old patio umbrella frame as well ones as over the deck. Trimmed Passion fruit for another hour and half-still a lot more to work on. Had 10 minutes MB with RM, EJ-not bad. Called Anita at 6:00 for 38 minutes.
10/10/2022: Got up at 7:18. Walked to 99 Ranch Market and purchased one bento, the price has once again increased, it's over $16 after tax for one bento, Wow!?!?!? The walk was 40 minutes. Trimmed Passion fruit vines for one hour, will take a break before cutting them to shorter pieces. Cut morning trimmings into shorter pieces, trimmed more Passion fruit vines near the kitchen window, cut all of them into shorter pieces as well. Called Anita at 6:00 for 30 minutes.
1011/2022: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by Jason's house and picked (Jason helped) over 70 Persimmons, most of them were small but perfect for making Persimmon cake.
Spent one hour trimming Passion fruit vines over the deck.
Cleaned up the deck.
10/12/2022: Got up at 7:00. Peeled 30 Persimmons, break. Finished all remaining 20 Persimmons, loaded them and placed the dehydrator under the fake Cherry tree, had to move the saw table away to do that, since the Passion fruit vines were extending too wide and too low, no sun beams could come through, trimmed off a lot of vines (took short cut-trim freely, not tracing all vines to there origins), cleaned up all trimmings. Discovered 80 Persimmons were too heavy for the dehydrator, realized I made a flat dehydrator before, took it out from the shed and moved some Persimmons to it to reduce the hanging dehydrator's burden.
I am exhausted working through the Persimmons and Passion fruit vine trimming. Called Anita at 6:00 for 32 minutes.
10/13/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco and purchased one bag Fuji apple, one pack Calamari steak, one bottle 750ml Milestone Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Woodwork Cabernet Sauvignon, one bottle 750ml Hook or Crook red blend, one pack roasted pork back rib, one Cauliflower crust vege pizza, and one Seaweed salad. processed all frozen pizzas, remove all wrappings and cut them in half for easier and space saving storage in the freezer. Sail Internet has been down since 3:00 this morning, it's still down at 11:20. Removed the screen in Anita's study and clean it in the backyard with water, climbed out the window and cleaned both panels of the window-first dry mop followed by slight wet sheep skin, also cleaned the tracks below, don't remember when was the last time I cleaned them.
Juiced all mature Passion fruits (several of the green ones simply weren't ready) in a jar along with the leftover.
It's 2:10 now and the Internet's still down. Still no Internet as of 8:00 pm. Internet connection came alive around 8:15, hope this is not temporary because Sail Internet replied my second e-mail at 8:03 claiming their vendors were still trying to fix the problem.
10/14/2022: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, remember not to cut the Passion fruit vines too short the next time as they were easily left behind by the garden waste pick up tractor. Decided to move the dehydrator net to a different location as I need to cleanup/trim the Passion fruit vines below the fake Cherry tree, using a couple of old coated wires, I made a loop hang below the old satellite dish base, the dehydrator can sit there and get much better sunshine.
Trimmed more Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree, had to stop after one hour and 15 minutes as my feet are hurting and tired. Called Anita at 6:00 for 41 minutes. Peilee called at 7:29 for 27 minutes, basically informing Mom's status, he will likely visit Mom with sis from now on instead of me video joining them since the quality was bad, he'll send me visiting videos later. Watered front lawn and all flowers for 70 minutes.
10/15/2022: Got up at 7:00. Planned to visit Marukai was disrupted by the dead battery on RX300, there was no sound when I turned on the switch, this never happed before, as I was wondering if the battery or alternator or something serious caused this, when I connected the charger I notice the door ope light was on but the light still stayed on even after I re-closed them, after carefully check the doors again I found out the back flip door wasn't closed, it's been a week since I used RX300 to visit Marukai, if the back door was left open, seemed a little warning light in the instrument panel could drain the battery-amazing. Robert called to ask info on airport transportation, gave him Jack's number. Decided to visit Marukai, the traffic was bad, took possibly 10 more minutes to get there, got one bag Mungbean sprout, two heads Broccoli, one Fish Ara (shoulder cut), and one Salmon Shioyaki & chicken. Stopped by Harbor Freight Tools to see March, turned out March was going out with friend so I left after a short chat, March at 150 lbs, wow. Processed the Passion fruit vine trimmings, call it a day, need rest. Called Anita at 6:00 for 37 minutes.
10/16/2022: Got up at 7:00. Decided not to visit Costco as my hemorrhoid was bad. Trimmed several Passion fruit vines near the center stairs of the deck, processed cutting them into shorter stems a few vines at a time so I could walk over to the pile more frequently-serves as my walking exercise. Hemorrhoid still gave me discomfort, will stay put not doing much the afternoon. Did ride the bike in the garage for 10 minutes. Called Anita at 7:00 for 36 minutes.
10/17/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco, purchased two bottle 750ml Hook or Crook Cabernet Sauvignon, two dozen pasture egg, one Kirkland can Unsalted mixed nut, one bag Peet's Coffee bean, one pack (x40) Duracell AA battery, and one pack Duracell AAA battery, could not find Peanut butter (creamy or chunky), had coffee bean ground, the grinder was badly designed as it spilled a lot of grounded coffee, I had to raise the bag closer to the outlet to catch most of it. Mailed ballots at the post office-the box were all filled but I still squeezed them inside the drop off box although visible from outside. Spent 20 minutes trimming Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree, processed the trimming before lunch. Spent one hour trimming Passion fruit tree under the fake Cherry tree, noticed some of the withered vines could be pulled off. Had 15 minutes MB with RM, EJ-excellent one! Called Anita at 6:00 for 37 minutes.
10/18/2022: Got up at 7:00. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for 70 minutes. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines for one hour, watered backyard roses for 20 minutes. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines over the deck for 20 minutes. Call Anita at 7:00 for 32 minutes. Decided not to water the lawn as the grass appeared high enough instead watered front porch flowers/plants with the water in the bucket under the front yard faucet.
10/19/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited CitySports and walked the treadmill for 40 minutes (30 minutes 3.2/0.0, 7 minutes 3.5/7.0, and 3 minutes cool down). Trimmed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for 25 minutes. Tackled Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for 20 minutes, I'll process the vines on the ground later as the weather got too hot. Took 25 minutes to process the Passion fruit vines on the ground, also cleaned backyard with Passion fruit leaves. Anita called landline informing me that the Internet there was down, no call today.
10/20/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marina Grocery and purchased one bunch green onion, one Celery, one pack thick bean curd, two bag red bean, one bag wheat barley, one pack (x8) Taiwan sausage, one pack (x4) garlic, one pack (x3) Nama Yaki Soba (noodle), one fried fish cake, and one pack carrot. Trimmed backyard roses, most of them appeared unhealthy, not sure if I watered too little. Paid Francisco $80 for October service. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. 38 of the 80 Persimmons are in final stage of becoming cakes, will let them dry naturally a couple of more days before storing them in the refrigerator. My right thigh, the big toe were not doing well the whole day, but it turned really bad in the afternoon as they were painful when I walked, had to spend most afternoon in the chair. Called Anita at 6:00 for 39 minutes. Called Peilee at 6:40, no answer. Peilee called at 7:38 for 18 minutes, at their visit to Mom's residence, Mom talked about her relatives in Taichung a lot, but unsure if Peilee and sis were her children.
10/21/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco again, intending to find Peanut butter, got two bottle 1.75L Captain Morgan spiced Rum (-$10 for two bottles), one tub cream cheese, one pouch Kirkland 3.0L Cabernet Sauvignon, and one pack BBGO mini wonton, did find Kirkland creamy peanut butter, looks like Costco is stopping Skippy peanut butter, too bad! Spent 30 minutes cleaning up leftover garden waste in the street, vast varieties of leftovers from every household nearby, lots of dirt and unrecognized stuff were the majority. Furtherly trimmed the Passion fruit vines over the deck under the fake Cherry tree. Trimmed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree near the feeder for one hour. Called Anita at 6:00 for 35 minutes.
10/22/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marukai and purchased two Broccoli crown, one bag dry Kelp, two red onions, one pack Karaage (similar chicken in the Yakisoba), two Yakisoba, one Unagi Futomaki, one Pork cutlet, and one Shitabirame Mukimi (red sole). Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines for 45 minutes. Rode 15 minutes bike in the garage. Received 1-1/2" screws from Amazon, planned to secure the patio table boards with them. Called ANita at 6:00 for 35 minutes.
10/23/2022: Got up at 7:20. Stopped by Target on Coleman and purchased one tub JIF 40 oz chunky peanut butter which is the only brand with chunky and large size available, swing by Marshalls but did not see any adequate exercise mat. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree. Had 10 minutes MB with RM, no EJ. Called Anita at 6:00 for 32 minutes.
10/24/2022: Got up at 7:34-the alarm clock did not fire up, turned out it was not at the correct time and the alarm and radio settings were all off, there was a power outage a few days back but I seemed to remember the clock radio was working the last two days, hmm....... Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree near the family room sliding door. Called John Miller and chatted (two separate times 5 and 35) for 40 minutes. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for one hour and 15 minutes. Anita called at 6:25 for 28 minutes, she has plumbing & electrician coming at our usual call time so she call first.
10/25/2022: Got up at 7:00. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for 62 minutes. Paid RX300 license renewal fee of $211.08 ($207 +$4.08) fee online-forgot to save a copy of the payment detail though. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree again for one hour. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for 45 minutes. Called Anita at 6:00 for 38 minutes.
10/26/2022: Got up at 7:00. Feeder still has about 15% Meow Mix but they were all sticking to the side of the bucket and wouldn't fall, filled the feeder. Trimmed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree closer to the center walkway for one hour. Had 20 minutes MB with RM, EJ. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines again for one hour. Called Anita at 6:00 for 18 minutes, she with her two sisters, and her sister in-law are going to 九份 for an overnight stay, due to time issue we'll skip our regular call tomorrow.
10/27/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco and purchased one pack (x10) Fuji apple, one pack (x2) orange juice, one bottle 64oz Hazelnut creamer, one pack Turkey sausage, one pack (x8) chicken pot pie, one bottle 750ml El Salze red wine, and one pouch Kirkland 3.0L Cabernet Sauvignon. Swing by 99 Ranch Market and got one pack Gailan and two green Bell Pepper. I must remember not to purchase any items that requires freezer space until Anita comes back. Moved the Passion fruit trimming pile to curbside, took 5 cart loads to do it.
10/28/2022: Called (drop-in) Anita at 3:30 for 5 minutes. Got up at 8:35. Trimmed and processed some Passion fruit vines over the planter box near the Cherry tree. Had 10 minutes MB with RM, no EJ. Trimmed the same location again for 15 minutes, not processed yet. Called Anita at 6:00 for 38 minutes. Watered front lawn and all flowers for one hour and 20 minutes.
10/29/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marukai and purchased one hand banana, one pork cutlet, one Yakisoba, one Karaage (similar chicken in Yakisoba), and one Futomaki. Stopped by March, no car present. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the Cherry tree as well as some over the planter box near it. Called Anita at 6:00 for 27 minutes, informed her CapitalOne credit card overdue issue.
10/30/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco and picked up two dozen El Salze, decided not to get gas today as the lines were too long. Delivered 20 Persimmon cakes to Jason, left them on top of his mailbox as it is full, looks like he'll need more time to recover from his vehicle accident. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the Cherry tree near the old patio umbrella frame for one hour. Removed most of the remaining tendrils (鬚) on the metal string that used to hold the Passion fruit vines. Had 20 minutes MB with RM, EJ-not good, about time I give up! Called Anita at 6:00 for 34 minutes.
10/31/2022: Got up at 7:00. Sealed the large round bucket with hot glue gun instead of Flex Seal, hoping it does a better job preventing leaks. The fix failed, it still leaked, applied more hot glue to the suspected area, will test later when it's cured. Trimmed Passion fruit vines under the Cherry tree near old patio umbrella frame for 30 minutes. Received RX300 License plate sticker. Filled up RX300 at Costco gas station for $4.899/gal, a lot of people but still was able to start within 10 minutes. The second attempted fix of the bucket still failed, decided to use it as is. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the old patio umbrella frame, also trimmed some Wisteria branches, some were too tall and some reaching neighbors territory. Called Anita at 6:00 for 33 minutes.
11/1/2022: Got up at 7:00. Prepare feeder shield extensions for Molly and Miley, they might use for winter and rainy days.
Trimmed withered rose bud and leaves, some of the roses appeared pretty bad, most likely due to lack of rain and watering, not sure what to do since they are close to their off season. Cleaned up the tiled shelf outside the kitchen window before the rain so that it would not be messy after the rain. It started to rain at 11:55. The rain became heavy at 12:05, I checked the buckets in the backyard, the big circular one was almost full in just a few minutes, changed into raincoat (was using an umbrella) and filled several litter buckets, also placed three buckets near the feeder as the water was pouring down from the wrecked gutter, I was a bit too late as the feeder bowl food was wet already, had to get in the house as I was feeling wet and cold. Checked the buckets again when after the rain had reduced to sprinkle, filled a total of 6 litter buckets. two 27 gal buckets, and one white bucket, the downspout near the small planter box did not produce much water as most of it came down from the damaged gutter near the feeder. Called Anita at 6:00 for 39 minutes.
11/2/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco and purchased one bag Fuji apple, one bottle Milestone 750ml Cabernet Sauvignon, two bottle El Salze 750ml red wine, one bottle 1.75L Kirkland Spiced Rum, and one pack (x8) Danish, found out they still cary Skippy peanut butter (creamy only though). It rained around 5:15 in the morning which produced enough water to fill 4 litter buckets. Trimmed off and processed one Oleander branch. It started to rain again at 11:20 for 15 minutes. Rain resumed at 12:30, heavy with thunder and hail/sleet until 1:00. Started removing the fake leather from my favorite jacket, it's time consuming but doable. Called Anita at 6:00 for 44 minutes. Yolly called at 7:17 for 36 minutes.
11/3/2022: Got up at 7:00. Spent one hour cleaning up backyard leaves, including the ones from our Filipino neighbor. Replaced furnace filter and tested run the furnace, seemed to work fine. Removed many dried Passion fruit vines after Francisco had finished his work, these vines were the leftover part where their sources were cut off. Called Anita at 6:00 for 35 minutes. Called Peilee at 6:35 for 9 minutes. Removed most of the fake leather except two seams on each sleeves.
11/4/2022: Got up at 7:00. My neck and upper left back felt painful after breakfast, could not even do my routine exercise in the morning, tried doing nothing to rest but the pain did not go away or even reduce a bit at mid-day. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street with hanging pain. Called Anita at 6:00 for 39 minutes. Finished removing all fake leather from the jacket, I can wear it in public now.
11/5/2022: Got up at 7:00. Some relief of my neck and back pain but only 50% though. Had 10 minutes MB with RM, EJ-not bad. Soaked hot water over the painful area and applied some balm. Called Anita at 6:00 for 37 minutes.
11/6/2022: Got up at 7:00-daylight saving ends, fall back. The neck and back seemed to going backward, almost as severe as the first day. Called Anita at 3:00 (reversed daylight saving time) for 52 minutes. Anita called at 6:27 from Taoyuan airport, she's almost the last to check in as the Metro they took stopped at every single station (took ~40 minutes) but luckily in time for the flight. Anita called at 6:26 after she arrived at boarding gate. Anita called again at 6:42 to inform me she could not send the mentioned photo.
11/7/2022: Got up at 7:00. Heading to SFO at 5:45 to pick up Anita (UA872), the original arrival schedule of 6:55am had been adjusted to 6:02am after several changes,
it was really dark outside, luckily the traffic wasn't too bad, got to SFO at 7:25, met Anita at arrival exit at 7:35, very smooth according to her. Parking was $4.00-the minimal possible. The emerging of sun light should make the driving easier until the sun came up and beam directly at my eyes, this made it more difficult to easily see the road, the windshield was dirty from the rain and dust, plus washer fluid could not be deployed on driver side of the windshield, I struggled to follow the dividers on 101 not to veer off to adjoining lanes, this was one of the most difficult drive I experienced in recent years. Tried to fix the RX300 windshield washer spray nozzle with a piece of wire, didn't work, after watching several videos on Youtube I tried again with a thin thread needle and it fix the clogged nozzle.
11/8/2022: Got up at 7:00. Moved RX300 to the driveway to have a natural wash, brought it back to the garage after one hour and dried it with sheep skin-this took longer than I planned as the rain water volume was more than I expected. Declined Stephanie's invitation to help Dynamicfoundation's quarterly magazine labeling task, excuse being my neck/back injury.
11/9/2022: Got up at 6:50. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one pack golden Kiwi, one Cranberry Walnut bread, one salad kit, two dozen pasture egg, one bag Lindt chocolate, one pack back rib, and one hand banana. Dropped off California 540 tax form (resubmit due to missing pages) and Anita's TFGH reunion fee at the post office.
11/10/2022; Got up at 6:50. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree for one hour and 40 minutes, put all trimmings into the garbage bin as I don't plant to sweep the street tomorrow! Trimmed and processed more Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree near the deck.
11/11/2022: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up front yard Myrtle tree leaves, they filled the waste bucket, I had to move the remaining to front porch planting area, there are nearly half still on the tree. Received Cerave cosmetic products from Amazon at 11:58.
11/12/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marukai and got one bag carrot, one bunch Gailan, two Broccoli, one soft tofu, two bunch Spinach, one Futomaki, one Pork cutlet, one Karaage, one Yakisoba, two Karei whole (Petrale sole-鰈), and one Kamachi Kama. Pulled/removed quite a few Passion fruit vines that had their bases cut off but were still hanging. The use of USB-3 to USB C adapter greatly increase the time to charge devices, this is confirmed by removing it instead using a USB C to lightning cable. Ordered one Hexclad 8" pan from Amazon.
11/13/2022: Got up at 7:00. Pulled off a couple of withered Passion fruit vines.
11/14/2022: Got up at 7:00. Rode bike for 15 minutes, had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Received Anita's Cerave products and my Hexclad pan from Amazon at 10:59-only discovered when I checked online at 11:16, totally not expecting they arrive so early. Trimmed/removed and processed withered Passion fruit vines under the fake Cherry tree, took one hour and 10 minutes. Washed the new pan with soap and warm water, seasoned it with one teaspoon of oil, it stressed that the first few use will still be seasoning effect, it also mentioned egg cooking should not be done without oil.
11/15/2022: Got up at 6:40. Started working on Cherry tree side of Passion fruit vines, needed a break after 45 minutes. Received Lysine from Amazon at 12:40. Trimmed and processed more Passion fruit vines under the Cherry tree. Rode 20 minutes bike in the garage.
11/16/2022: Got up at 6:55. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased two Godiva chocolate box (one for Francisco and one for our Korean neighbor), one Italian cookie, one pack (x2) orange juice, one pouch Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon, one box (x7) Fuji apple, one pack New York steak, one bag Scallop, two dozen pasture egg, one bottle 750ml Imperial Moscato, one bag crisp onions, and one bag large raw shrimp. Visited Costco again with Anita after lunch, got one more Italian cookie, one more crisp onion, two baked Brie - lots of people.
11/17/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Marina Grocery and purchased one Daikon cake, one pack liver sausage, one bag fungus, one pack pork sparerib, one bag carrot, one bag star aniseed, one head broccoli, one can baby corn, one can sliced bamboo shoot, one hand banana, one bag baby Bokchoy, two white onion, one bunch green onion, one bag brown sugar, one fried fish cake, and two bag HFH spicy peanut, did not find Tamarind Anita wanted. Trimmed/removed and processed several Passion fruit vines under the Cherry tree. Ordered CeraVe renewing night cream from Amazon, estimated/scheduled delivery date is 11/21-11/25.
11/18/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco again with Anita, purchased one bag crisp onion, one pack (x12) chicken broth, one pack (x2) Skippy creamy peanut butter, one Panettone (Italian cake), one box Belgium butter biscuit, and one pack (x8) Noosa Yogurt. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines between the Cherry tree and the planter box.
11/19/2022: Got up at 7:00. Walked to 99 Ranch Market and purchased one bento ($15.70 after tax) for dinner, the walk took about35 minutes plus 5 minutes in the deli department. Had 10 minutes MB with hand and legs, EJ. Trimmed and processed Passion fruit vines under the old patio umbrella frame. Spent one hour and 30 minutes finished trimming and processing majority of the task planned for the Passion fruit vines. Received two LED Christmas lights from Amazon at 4:05 (got it at 4:23 after reading e-mail notification).
11/20/2022: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up Passion fruit vines that were visibly withered from recent trimming, done with the trimming task for the year.
11/21/2022: Got up at 7:00. Rode 20 minutes bike in the garage while watching Youtube videos. Trimmed some Wisteria pods, it's about time for its falling leaves. Setup Christmas lights on the buffet cabinet, also fixed the dry flower plus display Anita had set up but could not stand by itself.
11/22/2022: Got up at 7:00. Finished tiding up some noticeable trimming remains still hanging on the Passion fruit tree. Filled the feeder but it did not dispense at 11:00, need to check if the time setting is off again! Removed the feeder housing, the time display appeared ok, when I stick my fingers across the dispenser area, food started to slide down to the bowl, it seemed I added too much and the mechanism got stuck for some reason, put everything back, will observe tonight, it may be low battery if nothing came out. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
11/23/2022: Got up at 7:00. Although the feeder seemed to be working but I did not witness how much was dispensed at the scheduled times so could not be exactly sure if the right amount was dispensed, need to watch closely. Cleaned up backyard leaves, trimmed off some Jasmine vines that were circling the front porch post. Set up more Christmas lights and candles. Received CeraVe skin renewing Night Cream from Amazon at 4:18-originally scheduled for this Friday.
11/24/2022: Got up at 7:00. After coking the two small potatoes in water, I decided to make mashed potato which turned out easier than I thought and not too bad either. Watching Andre Rieu "Macarena" song, very pleasant. Walked to 99 Ranch Market with Anita, examined clams in the seafood department, they were either too small or dead, gave up the idea purchasing any-45 minutes in total. Purchased United tickets for Taiwan trip in March, 2023.
11/25/2022: Got up at 7:14. Cleaned up backyard Oak and Passion fruit leaves, also cleaned up most of the fallen leaves from our Filipino neighbor's fruit tree. Had 15 minutes MB with mini, EJ. Watered front lawn and flowers for one hour and 24 minutes.
11/26/2022: Got up at 7:15. Visited Marina Grocery by myself, purchased one pack salted butter, one bag pickled mustard green, one pack pork chop, one cn shredded bamboo shoot, two can baby corn, 4 green Bell Pepper, one Napa cabbage, one hand banana, one bag carrot, one medium firm tofu, one Celery, one dried bean curd roll, and one lunch bento. Received AG13 357 battery from Amazon at 5:38-picked up at 5:54-forgot to check status.
11/27/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, got two dozen pasture egg, two baked Brie, one pouch Kirkland 3.0L Cabernet Sauvignon, one pack BiBiGo pot sticker, and one pack (x8) Danish. Received Retro microwave oven and medium size Coat jacket from Amazon at 11:51, tested both of them to be in acceptable condition (microwave working, jacket large enough to wear more clothes inside). Received USB-C to lightning cable and small size Coat jacket from Amazon at 5:29.
11/28/2022: Got up at 7:00. Had 15 minutes MB with legs, EJ. Cleaned up backyard leaves (Passion fruit, Wisteria and Oleander), removed all weeds in between bricks. Received California Middle Class refund card of $700 in Visa debit card, called and activated it. Received, finally, Meow Mix from Amazon, it was late for 3 days-the carton was all torn, luckily the Meow Mix container was OK.
11/29/2022: Got up at 7:00. Stopped by DynamicFoundation to label their quarterly magazine, there were more people than any other time (did not count but there were possibly 10 or more), there were no more label after I finished 3 batches (about 2 and a half box of magazines), there was even a lunch box offer but I decline the offer and left after-Stephanie had a cold and had to stay away, she went home).
11/30/2022: Got up at 7:00. Leo (Anita tried again calling him through her cell phone and finally got his response) came by at 10:00 to give us Oak tree trimming estimate (it's $900 now as opposed to $750 a couple of years ago). Visited ValleyFair with Anita, Nordstrom->lunch at KoJa kitchen->Macy's Christmas ornaments->Macy's pins->pay $1 for parking which we exceeded complimentary 2 hour by just a few minutes. Processed Medium size jacket return, will use the QR code presented to drop it off at the UPS store at 2530 Berryessa road tomorrow.
12/1/2022: Got up at 7:10. The highly anticipated rain did not show up until 9:00 (previously forecasted at 3:00am) and it is a small one at the moment. Dropped off the medium sized jacket at UPS store on Berryessa.
The rain had beed heavy from 11:00 to 2:30 and steadily slowed down to sprinkles afterward.
12/2/2022: Got up at 7:00. Filled up RX300 at Costco gas station for $4.199/gal-no wait at all. Sent Anita to City Sports for Yoga and shampoo while I visited Marukai and purchased half a Napa cabbage, 6 red potatoes, one hand banana, two red onions, one pack Sole, one Yakisoba, and one Salmon Shioyaki &chicken bento. Waited at City Sports parking for 25 minutes before picking up Anita at 3:00. Printed new Geico insurance ID card for both vehicles and replaced old ones in the glove compartments with them.
12/3/2022: Got up at 7:00. Leo had truck problem and will reschedule tree trimming. Had 10 minutes MB with leg, EJ. Ordered a replacement string light (10 ft, 30 LED) from Amazon as the old one drained battery too fast.
12/4/2022: Got up at 7:00. One of the 10 ft 30 LED string lights was draining battery fast so I decided to see if an old security camera power adapter can be used to serve as power source, the adapter output is 5V which is slightly higher than the 3 1.5V AA battery, found the two connection points in the battery compartment and attached the wires properly, it appears to be working.
10/6/2022: Got up at 7:00. Placed the newly non-battery enhanced string light to its original location and they looked nice.
Cut my hair with trimmer. Received multi-color 10 ft 30 LED lights from Amazon at 1:56, paired it with the Dickens' Village Series on the coffee table.
12/7/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited ValleyFair with Anita, arriving at 10:30, since we were here last week, we only selected ones we needed to visit, Macys to return some ornaments purchased last week, Nordstrom to mark territory, Koja Kitchen for lunch and takeout dinner, and Macys at the other end of the mall, got one Dickens' Village Series collection. Left there at 11:50 way short of the free 2 hour parking.
Swept (with the blower) most Oak leaves in the street and driveway onto the lawn. Found several old power adapters that output 5V DC, will see if some of them work with other sring lights.
12/8/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one pack (x10) Fuji apple, one pack roasted back ribs, two dozen pasture egg, one pack (x4) orange juice (they replaced the old two bottle pack with this 4 59oz carton pack), two Nature's Bounty fish oil, one box Belgium chocolate, one Italian baked Panettone cake, one pouch Kirkland 3.0L Cabernet Sauvignon, one pack Kirkland chicken thigh, one Cranberry Walnut bread, and one Cranberry Goat cheese. Transformed another power adapter with low (500mlA) output and it still worked on the star string lights, the only remaining string light pending conversion is on the coffee table in the living room, there isn't a power source nearby, not sure if making a power adapter for it is adequate?????? Rode 25 minutes bike in the garage. With blower, swept most of Oak leaves in the street and driveway onto the lawn, there were still plenty of them still hanging in the trees. Added some transmission oil to power steering oil container in LS400-it was making noise while turning.
12/9/2022: Got up at 7:00. The feeder operation seemed off, nothing came out of it at 7:20. Stopped by Marina Grocery and got one pack thick cut Bacon (expensive at $9.99), one pack fried fish cake, one pack dried pork belly, one can Chestnut, two bag HFH spicy peanut, one string garlic, one pack small Gai Choy, one bag carrot, one pound ground pork, one bottle Oyster sauce, one bottle soy sauce, one bunch green onion, one pack (x6) century duck egg, and one bag beef tendon ball. Our refrigerator is almost full of my recent purchases. Re-examined the feeder setting and discovered I made a mistake in the setting yesterday, instead of setting clock to the current time and dispensing at 7:20, 11:00, and 16:30, I did not change the clock only the feeding time, this resulted in the dispensing at 6:20, 10:00, and 15:30 current time, stupid me. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
12/10/2022: Got up at 7:00. Made another converted power adapter for the last 10 ft 30 LED string lights, relocated the power strip on the dinning room chair to the floor, rearranged the position of current plugs so that this one could also share.
12/11/2022: Got up at 7:00. Had 10 minutes MB with legs, EJ.
12/12/2022: Got up at 7:00. Leo and his assistant arrived at 8:40 to start Oak trimming, this is the first time of the last two years. Ordered one more 10 ft 30 white LED string light and one set (x2) Home Alone 2 Turtle Dove from Amazon-to be delivered tomorrow. Not feeling well the whole day as my irregular heart beat acted up. Cancelled the Turtle Dove order as Anita thought it was too expensive. Leo and his assistant finished trimming at 2:40 exactly 6 hours. Rode 20 minutes bike in the garage. Finished reading Amazon Kindle book "A Merciful Death (Mercy Kilpatrick Book 1" by Kendra Elliot.
12/13/2022: Got up at 7:00. Cleaned up Oak and backdoor neighbor tree's leaves but only on portion of the backyard, will handle Wisteria and other leaves close to the fences tomorrow when the leaves become drier. Received one 10 ft 30 LED string light and two boat shoes from Amazon at 5:01.
12/14/2022: Got up at 7:00. the small water dish I placed on the deck did not show ice forming. Cleaned up fallen leaves (mostly Wisteria) in the backyard, there's still a big pile after filling the garbage can and compost bin. Walked to 99 Ranch Market with Anita, purchased one bento with 5 items (no noodle or rice) for $15.7, took 48 minutes to complete the exercise. Spoke to Peilee on Mom's condition for 13 minutes.
12/15/2022: Got up at 7:08. Dropped off size 6.5 shoes at UPS store one Berryessa and Capital.
Had 15 minutes MB with mini and legs, EJ. Got another batch of Persimmones from our Korean neighbor, it's the end of the season but it lasted quite long though.
12/16/2022: Got up at 7:00. Visited Costco with Anita, purchased one pack (x6) mixed Bell Pepper, one pack mushroom, two dozen pasture egg (their last one in the dairy department, appeared to be replaced with 5 dozen organic egg), one pack Jack Cheese, one baked Brie, one Italian Panettone, one bunch Tulip, two box Belgium Chocolate, one pack Chinese preserved meat (chicken sausage, chicken leg, and pork meat), one pack BiBiGo Chicken potsticker, one bottle 64oz Hazelnut creamer, and one dozen 2020 MileStone Cabernet Sauvignon. Cleaned up leftover garden waste in the street, also cleaned up most of the big flattened pile of Oak leaves (only found out after I went over the other side of the cul-de-sac) that had been in the street since last week, there were still a lot of them by the road side but I will not not cross the line that much.
12/17/2022: Got up at 7:00. Decided not to visit Marukai since no items I wanted to buy were essential plus the refrigerator is currently full of food, I'll get some carrot and banana from 99 Ranch Market later. Trimmed off some Oleander flowering stems. Had 5 minutes MB with legs, no EJ.
12/18/2022: Got up at 7:20. Peilee called a couple of times, I called, no answer, and he called again a couple of times before I finally got him, Mom passed away around 10:00pm Taiwan time, 12/18/2022. Tried to change flight but got stuck at seat selection, no response from picking seat(s), Anita called United and through a representative, she was able to finish the change/booking and got isle seats, thank God.
Called Peilee relaying my trip itinerary.
12/19/2022: Got up at 7:00. Steamed ground pork stuffed Bell Pepper for Anita. Tenderized pork chops with the small hammer.
Gave the idea getting AA batteries and filling up RX300 at Costco when we saw the long lines at the gas pumps, instead visited Walmart, purchased 6 bottle 1.5L Barefoot Riesling, one box raisin, 5 bottle Aloe Vera, and one hand banana, swing by Marina Grocery and spent the $4 coupon on one pack Vietnamese snack, decided to get gas and battery tomorrow morning. Visited Costco at 8:00pm but could not find any AA battery and desired Danish, filled up RX300 for $3.799/gal.
12/20/2022: Got up at 6:30. Since Mom's final resting ceremony is on 1/12/2023, I went online through United app and was able to change return date to 1/13/2023 (hopefully this is good enough), for some reason there was a credit of $415, as there was no regular isle seats available, I was charged $43 for a preferred seat, this amount was charged to Explorer card.
Peilee called and I called twice before getting his response, basically the return date 1/13/2023 is OK except he is worry it may be too rush or tiresome for me as the ceremony on 1/12/2023 will last into 8:00 or 9:00pm and I need to go the next morning. Put MacBook Pro in the master bedroom closet-top of the upper cabinets.
20221221 Taipei Trip
12/21/2022-12/22/2022: Got up at 7:00. Shaved clean as this will be the only I could make until 01132023-the day of my return flight. We left the house at 9:46, got to SFO at 10:35, dropped off luggage at 10:50, went through security at 11:00, checked out where gate G13S was before heading to the United Club in the domestic flight area, had get direction at the information booth to find it, walked about 12 minutes before arrival, scan one-time-pass then boarding pass to get in, this one has better seating and appeared larger but food was pretty much the same, had a few chips and a couple of meatball. Got one sandwich and an apple but only finished half of the apple. Called Anita while heading back to new gate G6, she got home at 11:42 with 42 minutes driving. Just found out that flight 871 is late by 40 minutes, rescheduled to 2:10 pm. Anita received the battery order from Amazon while I was waiting in boarding order #2 line around 1:20 pm.
12/23/2022: Woke up at 3:00, lay in bed until getting up at 5:30. Called Anita at 9:45 for 17 minutes. Visited Mom’s temporary memorial place with Peilee, Ahfen, and Tina in the afternoon.
12/24/2022: Woke up at 3:00, finished remaining of the Abel Salze wine, tried but did not sleep well, got up at 6:00, called Anita at 6:45 for 10 minutes. Today is Mom’ 7th day of her passing, the whole family will be at her temporary memorial site for a ritual service several hours. The traffic was better than yesterday (weekday), it took only 35 minutes to get there (聖龍會所). The ceremony started at 9:45 through 12:00, the traditional chanting by three 師姊along with us following most of the time. Stopped by 東湖王家餃子館. Everyone returned to Neihu residence, Sis, Peilee, and myself sifted through all photos and picked the better ones, Peilee will digitize them. Called Anita briefly twice, once before entering the dumpling place and once after returning to NeiHu residence. Rode bus (with my senior card) to Sushiro in Miramar (美麗華), it’s a better Sushi chain-fresh, fast, and reasonably priced-5 person for ~NT1200.
12/25/2022: woke up at 3:00, got up at 7:00. Called Anita at 9:30 as well as 10:11, for 3 minutes and 22 minutes respectively. Stopped by PX Mart and purchased one hand banana, one pack cucumber, one bottle 750ml Yellowtail Moscato and one pack (x3) 南僑水晶肥皂. Had hot pot for dinner, I probably consumed more than I should, got very sleepy and had to turn in at 10:00 pm.
12/26/2022: Woke up at 3:30, got up at 6:20. Had hang-dripping coffee and one of the steam buns (threaded Daikon flavor-one of my favorites) for breakfast. Dish idea from 孤獨的美食家-Mung bean with pork slice stir fry. Turned in at 9:45.
12/27/2022: Woke up at 3:00, called Anita at 5:43 for 26 minutes, got up at 6:09. Visited 法鼓山的事業-中華佛教文化館where Peilee and Ahfen created a 7x7 (49 days from 12/18/2022 to 2/4/2023) memorial tablet. Swing by PX Mart after dinner and purchased two hand banana, two pack (x10 each) egg, one pack cracker, one bag rice cookie, and 4 Neoguri spicy seafood noodle.
12/28/2022: Woke up at 5:00, got up at 6:00. Called Anita at 10:01 for 41 minutes. Walked in the streets and circled to 碧湖公園, 60 minutes walk which accounted for about 2.4 miles and passed Google Fit’s base line. Purchased six buns from 楓采bakery on my way back.
12/29/2022: Woke up at 5:30, called Anita at 6:20 for 10 minutes, got up at 6:33. 喜歡把家人餵的好好飽飽的, 一定堅持把最好的最拿手的菜餚煮給大家吃, 即使在自己身體活動不方便的情況下亦然. Visited Mom’s temporary memorial at 聖龍會所in the morning. Walked to 碧湖郵局and withdrawal 10000 with just over 190000 remaining in the account.
12/30/2022: Woke up at 3:45, got up at 6:05. Called Anita at 9:56 for 20 minutes. Stopped by Carrefour and picked up 5 or 6 buns and a bottle of 58º 金門高梁. Turned in at 9:20.
12/31/2022: Woke up at 5:00, got up at 6:00. Called Anita at 6:48 for 20 minutes.
