I managed to get New Kids on the Block early bird tickets using my American Express. I guess cardholders were only privy to certain sections of the venue, and when you start buying, they don't even start you off with the best seats!

But I got floor seats! I hope that is not worse than sitting in the reds. I have a height impediment and I don't need to be blocked by a sea of heads. I contemplated getting closer seats after I purchased my tickets because my search yielded better results. However, they weren't *that* much closer, and even though I think extra tickets would be easy to sell...who knows?? After all, it is New Kids on the Block.

But then again, the only reason why they are playing here is that they added more shows to their tour after they knowing how well ticket sales were going.

I must go find my old ticket stub!!!

And maybe I will even go buy one of their old CDs. Hangin' Tough was their best album, but I dubbed it off a friend's tape.  

I was a little surprised and disturbed by a couple of photos that Facebook "friends" uploaded. I think some photos should come with warnings.

Anyway, one album was entitled "my accident". There were no details, but it looked like he cut his finger very deeply. There were only close up shops of the gash.

And then someone else decided to upload the photo of her baby's placenta in her baby pics album.

I know these kind of things are all part of life, but I am not particularly interested in seeing some parts that aren't mine. 

I just bought two Beach Boys concert tickets. I like The Beach Boys. Their tickets are kind of pricey.

I saw them for free once in Vegas back in the day I hung out with people who ran Web sites. They always went to the geeky trade shows as media. I went with them a couple of times, and we crashed a party...forget whose...but The Beach Boys performed! It was a fun time!

This will be a sit down concert though. I thought I would take my mom even though I don't really like her too much right now. I saw her yesterday, and she poked me in the belly to remind me she thought I had a big gut.

And now that she is retiring, everyone (okay, family and her friends) keeps telling me to spend more time with her. You know, I don't want to spend more time with her. I do out of a sense of duty. It was like when people kept telling me to call my dad more often.

No, thanks. My mom has never made me a priority, and I don't feel I need to reciprocate.

Edit: The Beach Boys are here for two nights. I got tickets for the Saturday night. Now I wish I had bought Friday night tickets. Maybe my mom would like to go with a friend to the concert.  

I don't know when this was officially announced, but New Kids on the Block are coming to Vancouver in November!!!

I am going to apply what I learned from buying Madonna tickets when I try to buy my NKOTB tickets. There are, again, early bird tickets, but I don't think I will be finding a password. However, as an American Express card holder, I am able to buy tickets first. If I need a password, I am out of luck, but if they just need the card, then I pay an extra $3.50/ticket for front of the line tix!!

New Kids on the Block was the English-speaking concert I went to. I was 12, I think. I sat in the nosebleeds, and couldn't see them very well. I remember it being really loud and not able to hear them sing since there was so much screaming going around me. At the time, BC Place Stadium had horrible acoustics. I think they have made some improvements now. Anyhow, New Kids aren't playing at that venue again.

I also remember thinking that they couldn't possibly be lip-syncing (that was the rumour back then) because they didn't sing *that* well. Maybe they'll have improved after almost 20 years and not having performed for about 15...

That's me!

We're in the process of setting up goals at work. One of them cascaded down from my boss' boss is to have everyone improve relationships with other departments that we wouldn't normally interact with. Aside from it not being a SMART goal (how do you measure a relationship?!), we have to find 3 people from departments outside of our own to review us. That's like asking the old man you see across the street all the time to rate your cooking. Sure we're aware of each other, but we're not close. Forcing someone to review you is not going to improve a relationship.

I told my boss that I didn't think having these people review us was indicative of how well we were doing our regular jobs. I told him that people in our own department would be better candidates for performing the 360' reviews, and he agreed with him. So...he is going to talk to his boss about having 2 people outside our department to review us (woo! One less!) but having 2 people in our department review us (boo...two more).

It went from 3 to 4 to review us...and the two new people reviewing us have nothing to do with the original goal which was to improve relationships with *other* groups. Did I shoot myself in the foot?

Also, my boss called me an extrovert. BWAHAHAHA AHHAHAA I guess I can come across that way electronically...but I am most definitely not an extrovert. He said he had no doubt I would fulfill that goal with flying colours.

I also found the secret to keeping rice krispie treats nice and fresh! I used to just keep them in the dish and cover it with saran wrap. But wrapping the whole treat in saran wrap and then putting it in a ziploc bag keeps their freshness a lot longer! 

This guy I once knew proposed to his girlfriend on the weekend. He made it very low-key and proposed with a ring pop.

I guess some people would find it romantic.

He is going to have her choose her own engagement ring.

That seems sort of wrong to me, but at least she won't be wearing a ring she hates.

It was lunch plans abound this week.

I ran into an old coworker last week, and she suggested we meet up for lunch this Friday. I sent her an email about it to confirm, and then she suggested I email her again Friday morning to see if we were still on. WTF? I am going to tell her I can't do lunch. I don't have time to wonder if lunch is still on with someone who made the plans in the first place. Besides, we weren't close coworkers.

I went out for lunch yesterday, and will have lunch with someone else on Friday. We were scheduled for Thursday, but a VP announced that Thursday was going to be Blackout Day. My first thought was "day off! YEAH!" But no...it's an extra long work day where we're not doing our work. Instead we will sit through presentations and meetings. Lame. At least lunch is provided. 

About that police chase in my last blog entry...the guy who started the chase...was a naked 49-year old who stole some overalls and that semi!

I had a very creepy dream this morning which shook me up a little. I dreamed that my dad had faked his death and did it to escape from everyone, especially his family. In my dream, I took some family to my dad's house which was this really big mansion. When I opened the door, there was a party going on, and my dad was playing mahjong in a wife beater. (He often just wore boxer shorts and a wife beater around the house. In the summertime, he was often shirtless.) Everyone was really happy to see my dad and that he was still alive.

I was really mad that all these other people (the partygoers) knew he was still alive before I found out. I really wanted to give him a piece of my mind, but I decided to bite my tongue (how it always was when he was alive). In my dream, he didn't even acknowledge me, which made me angry.

This dream reminds me of one of my birthdays. My family and I were going to celebrate with some birthday cake in the kitchen, and my dad was playing mahjong in the next room. Instead of taking a break from the game to celebrate his daughter's birthday, he kept playing -- blatantly said he wasn't coming in. I sure was hurt that night.

I thought Daniel Radcliffe was the one who got stabbed to death on the weekend. Leave it to hearing the news from someone who is not into Harry Potter! BWAHAHA

This morning, there was this amazing police chase (okay, "amazing" might be an overstatement) in the boonies (rednecks ahoy!). Some guy led the police on this chase while he was driving this semi. He seemed to have problems controlling it. Anyway, the chase went on for almost half an hour on the highway. I think he did a U-Turn at some point? It kind of ended when he had total trouble going up a steep incline. He came to sort of a stop, rolled backwards into the opposite lanes of traffic, and then on to the sidewalk.

Then the guy got out of the semi, started running, and promptly got hit by a police car. He is okay, though. He was able to walk to the ambulance.

I wonder what the story was behind this chase?? 

Here is what not to do if you're really anxious about getting concert tickets that are bound to be sold out:

1. Do not repeatedly refresh the webpage before the concert tickets go on sale. Ticketmaster will tell you that you have exceeded the number of times to access the webpage and will deny you access. Then you will have to wait several minutes or use a different web browser to order tickets.

2. Do not open multiple instances of your browser. Ticketmaster will tell you that you have multiple sessions open and tell you to use only one window. You will have to close the window that the message was displayed in. Then you will have to wait some more to get to the order page.

3. Do not use Internet Explorer. It will keep asking you if you trust the Webpage. While you keep clicking YES, it won't actually be doing anything. You are not actually in the queue to buy tickets.

Madonna tickets, I believe, are sold out for Vancouver.

I knew if I wasn't in within the first two minutes, I wouldn't have been able to buy tickets.

Die, Internet Explorer. I blame YOU! The whole time the page kept displaying in IE, Ticketmaster told me my wait time was approximately 3 minutes. 20 minutes later, it is still saying the same thing while my page in FF tells me to try finding tickets in other price ranges or a different number of tickets.

I hate IE. I hate Ticketmaster!

Edit: I got the tickets!

But I still hate IE. I was actually logged onto the site really close to 10 am, when the tickets when on sale, but too bad the browser wasn't doing anything. It took multiple tries with Firefox to work. It's no good when time is of the essence!!

And even then, I got to the order page TWICE and Ticketmaster said it couldn't process my order. TWICE! And that was the original order I wanted!! (I had thought about getting 3 tickets for my me and my friends and 2 to sell.)

I ended up buying 2 pairs of tickets in the nosebleeds and on the side. At first I only got one pair and fretted about which friend I would be taking. So I tried to get another pair and succeeded. So the second friend can choose not to go, or I can sell the two extra tickets!

I have one on my knuckle. I'd really like to give a knuckle sandwich to the spider who did this to me!!!!! The bite isn't itchy or anything, but its presence is just annoying.

While I was getting some water from the kitchen, I was thinking about lawsuits that people try to get involved in when they scald themselves. You know...sue McDonald's if you burn yourself with hot coffee because there was no warning on the cups.

Well, what if you're with a guy for the first time and he jizzes in your eye? There is no warning...and that stuff can sting! Why don't people sue for that kind of stuff?

Over the last few weeks, I think I have missed 3 and a half season finales of my shows. I missed Nip/Tuck, Dexter, half of The Office, and Grey's Anatomy.

I want to through my VCR and digital cable box out the window! I cannot wait to get my new computer when I will be able to do everything PVR style.

We have a family friend that does feng shui and Chinese astrology readings. He reviewed a prior reading I had with someone else and quickly lambasted it...saying it was just full of fear tactics and included things that had nothing to do with Chinese astrology. He then gave me an interpretation of his own. I think he was more thorough when I was studying with him. I should find my old notes.

If your significant other booked a trip and didn't volunteer any details until you asked, would you be mad? Would you feel that you shouldn't have to ask about such things??

I don't know what's going on today, but I'm highly sensitive to scents! (And I am not even PMSing yet!!)

I saw near a smoker on the bus, and his breath smelled like it was mixed with mung mouth. And then afterwards, I was bombarded by the smell of some woman's hair or perfume. At first it smelled like shampoo and Aqua di Gio perfume, but then it just smelled like perming solution from the old days. I always going into hair salons back then because it stunk so badly of chemicals!

I used my ice-cream maker last night! It was exciting! Today I will get to test my results :-D 

I finally got around to seasoning a wok bought back in November. I decided to use some bacon fat from the fridge! Then I remembered that I usually cook my bacon in the oven so I don't get my stove all my messy and my place all smelly...

I lit a my lovely lemon verbena candle to combat the aroma and hours later I went to bed. While I was trying to sleep, I thought I could smell my lovely candle and then I remembered I forgot to blow it out!

Everything was okay.

I've had that jar of bacon fat in my fridge for a long time now and never knew what I could do with it. I collected it from slow roasting a pack of bacon, but I never used it for cooking since it wouldn't be very flavourful. It's just good ol' creamy white fat. Oh! I totally stocked up on bacon this weekend! Crotchco here used to have this lovely maple smoked bacon but it's not available anymore. How thrilled was I when I saw it in the American store!! And then there was dry cured bacon that I had to try!

What I really should have done was pick up bacon from Trader Joe's though...we had some super tasty stuff on the weekend!

The only time I really go crazy for bacon is when I'm in the USA. It's like the thing to do when you're there...consume bacon. 

I think there is a protest at the American Embassy or something. All I hear is someone yelling over and over again, but I have no idea what they're saying. I am on the 11th floor; the American embassy is really close by. I also have no windows open.

I really wish the person would just shut up already.

I wish I was at home watching my recorded episode of the Gossip Girl finale. There are lots of shows I'd like to re-watch from this season. My VCR recording ability isn't always top-notch. I cannot wait to get my new computer so I can just copy shows to my hard drive! That will be a couple of months away!

Why can't we a regular full-time work week be 4 days?? Mr. Nick and I went camping, and it's never not rained on our camping trips. We escape rain for the most part...our first time ever! It sprinkled a little as we were getting ready to leave, and that was it! It was practically like summer this weekend!

Anyway, we went to down to Washington and camped at the Bay View State Park. It was busy...lots of kids and dogs around...And we had a huge tent! I think it was 10 x 10 ft, and then there was an extra 9 ft vestibule. It would have been cramped if Bridezilla and her Mr. Bridezilla came, too. They bailed at the last minute, thinking the border lineups were going to be horrendous! They totally missed out. The border lineups were pretty much non-existent.

Mr. Nick and I took a short drive to Deception Point and sat on the beach for a bit. We took some lunch with us since we went shopping at Trader Joe's on the way down! We also went shopping at Trader Joe's on the way back up, too!!

OMG, freeze dried rambutan are amazing. The ingredients don't list sugar, but they were soooo sweet. And I am saddened that I brought home the wrong peanut butter. I love Trader Joe's organic natural peanut butter, but i like mine SMOOTH! Not crunchy!! I also picked up an ice cream maker at Crotchco, too!! I cannot wait to make some delicious gelato.

But now I need to delve into the world of crusts. The graham crackers we brought with us were stale, so we bought a Crotcho-sized box. I don't want to experience stale graham crackers again, so I want to use them up! What else can I do with graham crackers?? I would really like to make smores at home :-/

Yesterday, I joined Bridezilla on her boot camp session. I was going to sign up for May, but I changed my mind at the last minute due to a chilly start to spring and my knees being sore. I am planning on signing up for the June boot camp though.

I figure boot camp will be a quick and dirty way for me to have regular intense workouts. I just want that kick start. The last time I took a boot camp, I didn't find it challenging. I kind of felt the same way yesterday. Maybe I wasn't pushing myself hard enough.

The boot camp session was challenging in the way that you're just doing a lot of repetitions of high-intensity exercises. I don't have that in me to do that myself during my regular workouts. My biggest worry about doing these boot camps is injuring myself. Nobody is there to watch your form or to take the time to teach you an exercise properly.

For me, I just didn't do an exercise if I wasn't sure about it. I'm used to doing my own workouts where form is key and at almost a slow pace. Like I'll do 3 set of 12 lunges. But yesterday, we probably did like 40 squats in a row, and all very quickly. There was no time to watch for form because you're too busy trying to keep up with the instructor! So...I'm going to have to be really careful when I do the boot camp.

My quads are really sore today...I like that. It's been a while. I also haven't been doing weights for a couple of weeks now.  

My golf clubs arrived today! I only ordered them on Monday, and they were supposed to take 7 - 10 days to arrive. I want to open up the box right now!!

The Godmother's boyfriend is a relatively new real estate agent. I mentioned to The Godmother that I was planning on selling my place, etc., and she mentioned this to her boyfriend. Of course I'd like to find out the market value of my place and to find a new place... but...I don't know if I'd want him as my agent. And he has been an eager beaver with the emails and phone calls.

If he lived in my city, it might work out better, but I don't feel he knows it very well. (He's only lived in the region for a few years, and he's hardly visited or lived in my city.)  Also, there is a large Chinese population in my city, and he is not Chinese. I don't want to talk shop with him because I don't want to feel obligated to hire him! I'd feel better having an agent who could deal better with the majority of the demographic in my 'hood and one who didn't require 45 minutes to an hour of travel time to meet face-to-face.

I have some birthday plans coming up in a few weeks -- the spa, dinner, and then Sex in the City movie. I'd been rather looking forward to them especially going to the spa. My last hair dresser has moved locations!! And her location is not convenient for me; however, she is going to be at the spa that day. By the time I see her, it will have been four months since my last hair cut. Ladies, you know how hard it is to find a decent hairdresser that meshes with you, right!?

So...Mr. Nick asks me if I have any plans June 7. One of his old friends is getting married that day!! He hasn't received the invitation yet, but he confirmed that it was happening.

*sigh*

And I have family visiting in August. This year, their visit is not as long as previous years. I know I said I wouldn't take another vacation with them, but this time it's just a weekend on Vancouver Island. I need to see more of beautiful BC. The plan is to go the second last weekend of August, and I said I would. 

But one of my old friends is getting married that weekend. My cousin asked me if I could swing before or after, but I was trying to not take time off. I figured I could swing one day off. As a new employee, their policy is no vacation time during your first 6 months of employment.

I know it's the time in my life that weddings are bound to come up, but I don't even have that many to attend this year! This June one came out of nowhere. There's one in July and one in August. THAT'S IT!!!

Last night while I was on the phone sitting around in my undies, I noticed a couple of short stretch marks on my right knee! What the heck???!

Time to get crackin' on those creams! 

I always knew the feng shui of my home was not good, but now I have this sense of urgency to move now so things in my life can get better.

Since I've lived in my condo (4 years coming up), these things have happened:

-got horrible skin (until I moved my bed)
-left a job that I had for over 5 years and have changed jobs 3 times
-wasn't very successful dating
-gained weight
-have gotten colds more often
-have not acquired much in savings (I had to remortgage my home to pay for leaky condos I don't even live in!)

One could argue that these aren't affected by your feng shui, but I'm a believer. I just want to live in my building but in a different suite, one that face south. It'd be perfect if there was a two bed two bath with a den!

My Canadian documents have arrived in Hong Kong. Now the agent has to send them to Beijing in China. Then hopefully the Chinese government will quickly send my dad's death certificate back so the agent can get it to me. I estimate all this will take 6 - 8 weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed things get done sooner than that. 

... is coming to town Oct. 30!! Tickets go on sale May 24!!

I told myself that if Madonna went on tour again, I was going to buy tickets for a show, even if it required travel. I hope I can get some tickets when they go on sale!!!!!!!

Should I attempt to get tickets for Vegas, too?!?

A while back, I was looking for a fan club to join in for news about her upcoming tour, but I just kind of let it go...and then today I found the official fan club site because I was looking for an online presale password. Unfortunately, anyone joining the club after April 30 will not be notified of the password. Balls!!!

Edit: The Vegas tickets will be $375 each...I don't think I am that much of a fan! BWAHAHAA 

I can't get enough of them right now! Add some cream sauce and lingonberry sauce -- deeeeelish!

I am going to try to make the cream sauce recipe online I found online the next time. The stuff that comes in a packet just sounds nasty!

I had my first golf lesson yesterday, and I didn't touch a club! We just went over etiquette, clubs, and stuff about golf courses.

I am already experiencing that urge to throw myself into the sport, which really only means shopping for it. But I won't. I hope I like it. I hope I get some practice, too.

Mr. Nick gave me an Aerogarden for my birthday, and we finally set it up a couple of weeks ago. My herbs are sprouting. It's quite amazing. In a few months, I'll be able to harvest them and have fresh herbs whenever I want! Yahoo! 

In preparation of picking up my authenticated documents from the visa office, I had to stop by my mom's. I'll be couriering my documents to Hong Kong, and she needed to write the address in Chinese. Due to some miscommunication I found out that she was still at work. I had gone to her place first, but she wasn't there. When I talked to her on the phone, she made it seem like a really big deal that I hadn't called her first and went to her place for no reason. Everything is so *obvious*. "Of *course* you should have called first!" I don't even understand why she was yelling.

Turns out I didn't need her to write the address. If she told me what was on the piece of paper in the package I received, I would have known it was the address and not a note. What a waste of time to even see her for it.

And to top it off, we got into an argument when I did see her. Every time I've seen my mom in the last month has just been very upsetting for me. I've ended up in tears every time. I let her know that Cindy was coming back at the end of this month. Then she went right into ..."how long is she going to live there? I thought her tenant was a student? [Cindy has been renting out her own place when she lived with my dad] School was out in April!" And then the car was brought up again.

Actually, Cindy talked to me about the car and her son's situation. I was a little uncomfortable. I only want to know if she wants keep and buy the car. I wasn't offering to lend it to her. She seemed disappointed when I told her I canceled my dad's cell phone. She had planned on keeping the number and using it. I am fine with selling her the car, but I am not fine with her borrowing the car so her son can use it. Apparently, her son got into a car accident, and his car was under her insurance? I wasn't sure what situation was. But before my mom heard any other details, she just went right into "her son *absolutely CANNOT* take the car! For free??"

At this point I was just frustrated. This woman does not listen. I cannot understand where all this anger is coming from. I just yelled at her that I was no longer going to tell her any more about what I was doing with my dad's stuff. I still need to get his old photos back. For some reason, she thought I was giving them to her. I was lending them to her to pick out the old photos she wanted. She had the nerve to say, "I'm going to throw out the rest" even though I had told her I was going to give the rest back to my aunts...aunts who are still alive and IN THE PHOTOS. When she knew I was angry, she got angrier. "Fine! Do what you want! I don't care if you give away all your dad's money!"

I have had it with this woman. I don't want to see her. I don't want to talk to her. And I only made dim sum Mother's Day plans with her out of obligation. I don't want to do anything for Mother's Day. At this point, I don't think she has a right in telling me what to do in regards to my dad. It's already hard for me doing the right thing and honouring any wishes my dad may have had, but for my own mother to want to fight about every single one of my decisions just makes me really angry. Why can't she just support me?

She could have easily accompanied me doing anything related to getting my dad's death certificate or dealing with his estate, but instead she stood back as if it wasn't her job. And all of a sudden, I'm supposed to deny my father's girlfriend of everything because of how she feels. I'm sure she feels she is entitled to something, but I am not sure what. At this point, she is also the sole beneficiary of my dad's life insurance money. If it means so much to get something out of my dad's death, I might as well just tell her to keep all the money even though she told me she would give it to me.

I look forward to post Mother's Day so I can avoid her for a while. I'd tell her how I feel, but she would never understand. She doesn't have the ability to see things from someone else's point of view. 

Lately, I've been reading blurbs about how positive thinking can change your life.

Is it really possible (including getting over illnesses)?

Sagittarians are known for being optimistic, but my optimism has gone down the tubes lately, and I really don't like it. Maybe it's my mind set that I need to change.

I am mighty sore today too. I went for a very long walk yesterday. It was probably about 15-20 km (10-12 miles). Anyhow, it took me about 3 hours and it cost 2 blisters.

This morning, I sprung out of bed and made my way to the Chinese visa office. I was hoping to be first in line, and I figured arriving at 7 would be good enough.

Alas, I was 31st in line. Maybe the lineup would have been shorter if it hadn't been a Chinese holiday yesterday. Get this -- it was International Labour Day. What could that possibly be? Whatever it is, it sounds way too ironic to be a Chinese holiday. It was just recently reported that like a hundred child labourers were "saved" by the (Chinese) government. The Chinese are admitting that they let a lot of labour laws slide because there isn't enough supply of labour for their demands...and if kids have to work, then so be it!

Anyway, the Chinese visa office is extremely disorganised. If you ever need a visa, make sure to send an agent to get it for you. Too bad, I wasn't there to get a visa. I needed a few documents authenticated. According to the notary public in China, I needed to get my parents' divorce certificate, my passport, and my birth certificate authenticated in Canada. More on my needs in a moment.

The Chinese embassy's Web site is a little out of date and they don't give clear instructions on what you need to do exactly to get your visa. The form is not easy to find on the Web site. It would help if their Web site was updated and if they had some extra people to help people with their forms in the office. Last month, they changed the rules that if you need a visa, you also need to bring your round-trip plane ticket and proof of where you will be staying. I think some people had paid multiple visits to get their visa.

I waited 3 hours for my turn AFTER the 2 hours I spent waiting for the office to open. It sort of helps that they have a numbering system but one person can bring as many applications as they want. They had two people processing visa applications, and one other guy who was dealing with people who had to come back. And the lineup for pickup was huge. They had one person dealing with that -- first come first served. It was a slow lineup. I will have to go into that lineup next week. I think I will arrive at the office at 7 again so I can wait those two hours AGAIN. If I go even earlier and be one of the first 15 people in line, I would be able to wait indoors, too!

I hope everything I need gets authenticated. The woman did not take my birth certificate. I brought in all my originals and when I got to the window, she told me she needed photocopies. The information I got about how to get a document authenticated was incomplete. Luckily, I was able to quickly get photocopies and did not have to wait in line. I felt like I budged back in though.

Anyway, to use Canadian documents in China, this what you have do:

1. Get your documents notarized by a notary public or lawyer.
2. Get your documents legalized (to say that the person who signed your documents is real) by the Governor General of your province.
3. Get your documents authenticated by the Chinese embassy.

Step 2 took over 2 weeks because the documents had to be sent away and come back.

Once I pick up my documents on Tuesday, I can courier them back to Hong Kong. Then the agent will take them to Beijing, and THEN they will issue my dad's death certificate. I seriously hope they don't tell me that I am missing something...especially because of the Chinese embassy here. We have to pay for the agent's travel expenses and if he has to go to Beijing more than once, I will be very MAD! MAAAAD! 

I heard that my old boss will not be managing the next tech writer the company hires! BWAHAHAA AHHAAA

Gooood for every-body (now say that with a Russian accent...that's what I like to do!)!

Sometimes I think retail therapy would lift my spirits, but I think I am too practical for it. I've been meaning to pick up the new Madonna CD and some fancy undies from Agent Provocateur! For some reason they seem to be adding new merchandise at a rapid rate now. They have even MORE pretty things for me to drool over! I need something new to store my lingerie...I am running out of space.  

SUCK IT! YEEEEAH! 

Maybe I haven't been getting enough protein but this round of PMS has left my body very tired! It's also been a very hectic week. Monday night was Mr. Nick's sister's birthday dinner. Tuesday I had dinner with P, and last night I had dinner with my mom.

I didn't really want to have dinner with my mom, but I only made plans with her out of a feeling of duty and guilt. Right now, I'm just really angry with her, and I would rather not see her at all. In fact, seeing her really upsets me. Every time I see her, I am reminded of how unsupportive she has been and is. By the time I got to her place last night (I actually wouldn't have gone home at all yesterday if I didn't need to see her.), I was dead tired and in a horrible mood. I didn't want to be there and it showed. I told her it was out of my way for me to go her place for dinner.

Her response was, "well, why didn't you just say so, if it was inconvenient for you to come over!?" Then I reminded her that if I said that, she would have gotten pissed off and said, "I prepared all this food here! What am I going to do with it all?" I don't know what she was thinking, but she seemed to be assuming that I was staying out at Mr. Nick's because I was being some lovestruck woman. "Since you stay out there so much, why don't you just live together?!?!?"

I really didn't have the energy to explain myself nor was I in the mood to be defending myself. Anyway, I hardly said a word to her or looked at her during dinner. I was too angry. I know she was pissed off that I didn't take any leftovers, but she didn't say anything. I also barely ate because I was so tired. I would really like to stay home for a night and live a regular life. I went grocery shopping on Saturday, and half the food is probably rotting away in my fridge because I haven't been able to come home for dinner.

Anyway, my Canadian-notarized documents have returned, and I can finally take them to the Chinese embassy. Their hours are 9 am - noon Monday through Friday, and people tend to line up around 7 am...Really convenient for a work woman such as myself! Because my mom is scared to leave her city, she will not go help me out with getting my documents authenticated at the embassy (won't even take the bus). She told me to tell my aunt to do it. I would have, but the embassy only accepts certain forms of payment and my aunt would not be able to pay for me. So all I can think is... thanks a lot mom. Thanks for helping me out. All she keeps asking me about is who is going to take care of the rest of the details when the death certificate arrives in Hong Kong, and have I asked Auntie #3 for help yet? It will take about a week for the embassy to authenticate these documents. Then they need to be couriered to Hong Kong and then delivered to Beijing, China. After they process them, THEN the death certificate will be sent back to Hong Kong. For me to be thinking about who's going to mail the certificate back is just too far down the road.

Maybe she thinks her life will be easier when my dad's death certificate comes. I don't know. I don't know if it's her fear or her anger and bitterness over my dad. My friend thinks my mom probably feels she deserves more than nothing from my dad's death is upset that my dad's girlfriend might be getting his car and gets to temporarily live in his condo when she comes back. [My mom wanted me to sell my dad's car to his girlfriend at market value. I just want to sell it to her for the remainder of the loan. Why would I want to make a profit off her??] 

Anyway, I really got off track there. Basically, I rushed back out to Mr. Nick's after dinner with my mom for nothing. It's a lot faster and more convenient for me to get to the embassy from Mr. Nick's place. I got there at 7 am this morning and there was a sign on the door saying the embassy was closed today.

@#$!

And now I will have to go back again tomorrow morning. I will also have to trek home and trek back out to Mr. Nick's tonight.