March 2016 Monthly Entry
Happy belated Easter to y'all! Sorry this came up too late but been busy as usual.
The 25th Anniversary of Rubbout was April 1-3. I could only attend the latter half of the events but I'll talk about it all in the April monthly entry. I just recently purchased my first rubber uniform and accessories from one of the weekend sponsors, Invincible Rubber from the UK. I also bought my first muir cap from Northbound Leather in Toronto and a pair of police motorcycle patrol boots from a supplier in Texas on Ebay. It was all over $1200 for everything and it is a gift to myself for passing my job probation in late February. I got everything on time but the boots I had to ship back as they were too small as I couldn't even get my foot fully into it. Two Wednesdays ago, I went to Eastside Rerides in Vancouver and found a used but good pair of boots for $57! While they don't look as good as the other ones, they do fit me better. Monday night, I tried it all on and it looks pretty good on me. The rubber uniform was great and as I expected, made me very sweaty to the point that my arms were dripping sweat! LOL! The shirt fits okay but the pants are loose around the crotch area. The muir cap was not bad but I didn't care for the kind of leather hide they used. It fits me well and adds to the uniform look. The boots were hard to get off without Agustin helping me pull them off. Here is a pic of what it all looks like:
Late winter has been very rainy and windy but recently there has been some nice warm sunny days. The cherry blossoms are coming out - though a little early - and driving along East Hastings in the morning is actually pretty nice, especially when you're about to get off Barnet Highway.
Earlier in the month and a couple other times, I have worked weekend shifts again. These are the first weekend shifts since November from what I remember. Kind of a piss-off that they're doing this again to me. Two weeks of spring break ended recently and I'm back to a casual schedule. During the break they had me back at Stride and Second Street for the last couple of weeks, cleaning the day cares again from 6-10pm. It wasn't bad though the Stride one seemed messier than when I cleaned during the winter break.
During this spring break I ran into a strange rash of bad luck lately. I mentioned above finding out the boots I ordered didn't fit which really bummed me out. The next day, I was sick - likely caused by a bug I caught from a training/info session I went to at Burnaby Central (this would be the second time I got sick from there) the previous morning as around half the custodians were there. I snuck out a little early from my dayjob to get a good head start on going to Eastside Rerides and looking for the substitute boots. I managed to get them and have a quick lunch at McDonalds on Kingsway & Edmonds before heading over to Stride for my shift. Those were a small string of good luck that afternoon. But that came crashing down again when I went to Second Street and as I turned into the side parking lot, I hit the curb I could barely see due to the rain and slashed open my front passenger-side tire! I called my father and he told me to call BCAA and to use the spare tire I had. I called them and they arrived nearly an hour later but I managed to clean the daycare portable while waiting. The guy who came was kind of cute and he did a good job on switching out the tires. My father on the weekend switched the flat tire with one of my winter ones as a substitute but later bought a replacement for me.
The next day though, I woke up at 9:04am and was 2 hours late to work instead of the usual 1 hour. I thankfully didn't get caught as usual. I drove all the way to Brentwood in the morning and when I got to the parkade gate... I realized I forgot my fucking backpack which contained my keys/fob plus my school keycard! I packed everything else for my folks place and the box to mail the leather boots back but not my important backpack? Groan... Thankfully my co-worker happened to be around when I parked the car outside and got him to let me into the parkade so I could park there. I borrowed his set of keys to get into my closet to pick up a spare set for myself for the day. Once again, I snuck out early to go to the mall next door to mail the box back but I had to return as a resident was late moving into one of my buildings. After unlocking the elevator, I drove all the way home to PoCo, picked up my backpack, ate a few small things, and went immediately to Stride with no time for a lunch meal on the way.
Easter weekend we had Ben & Daddy Scott from Calgary come visit us. It was great having them here and having them see David (possibly) one last time. We went to Eastside Rerides, drove a bit along scenic Cambie street (though the cherry blossom trees haven't come out yet there), and a small trip to Queen Elizabeth Park which I haven't been to for around 15 years. Afterwards, we did our usual ritual of taking them to a Japanese all-u-can-eat restaurant. It was Sui Shi Ya in Coquitlam as very few of these kind of restaurants are still around in the Lower Mainland plus it was close to us. Pic above is Daddy Scott helping David put his shoes on. Throughout the visit I showed them episodes of the Nostalgia Critic: Top 11 Drug PSAs, The Wiz (Daddy Scott loves this movie and thankfully didn't kill me after it was ripped in the hilarious review! Please note the video in the Youtube link has been flipped by the uploader), Masters of the Universe, Congo, and The Care Bears Movie.
I took David to the hospital last Tuesday night, this time with pain in his upper stomach. He hasn't been sleeping well for the past two weeks, making him moody and silent. As for his cancer, he is waiting for his date to do the week-long radiation therapy. Disturbingly, he doesn't want to return home even if they kill this current infection that's landed him back at Eagle Ridge! He wants to end up in a hospice so he can die there. After the two-hour ordeal in Emergency, I was pissed-off as I was driving home with Agustin. David was again contradicting himself and being selfish. At first he wanted to die at home, now he spontaneously has changed his mind and wants to die in a hospital/hospice? When I got a small window to visit him (sneaking out an hour early from work before school shift) he was talking to the social worker and they were trying to talk him about having palliative care at home which would be better. I am praying he wants this option and returns home... please keep David in your guys' thoughts and prayers! I got to see him yesterday after Rubbout ended.
It may happen that we will have to move from our home here as the lease ends at the end of June. With David dying, it may be the reality. If he comes back home, we have to make major decisions...
Two Tuesday nights ago I saw Deadpool at Cineplex Coquitlam. I was pretty excited to see it and it certainly wasn't a disappointing movie. Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool was great casting! He's funny and raunchy but also gives the character respect. I could easily tell that the film was shot in Vancouver, so it was fun pointing out to myself where some of the scenes were.
To see Doug Walker's review of the movie, go here or below:
Click to viewAnd the Bum Review is here or below:
Two weeks ago I saw Ant-Man on Netflix and David saw it with me. This one I never saw in the theatres and regret it since the 3D effects are likely amazing. It surprised me and was an entertaining flick too.
For Doug Walker's Disneycember review of the movie, go here or below:
And... Sibling Rivalry here or below:
Star Trek DS9's Season 6 is almost done. I'm waiting for David so we can finish it.
Very little progress in The Witcher 2 that I may have to work on another game instead. I've made some progress in Dragon Ball Origins 2 and continue to make progress in Dragon Quest VIII.
I will finish Mere Christianity very soon as I've gotten myself back into it.
Last Movie: Deadpool (Theatrical), Ant-Man (Netflix)
Last Book: KJV Holy Bible - Revelation
Last Game: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
Current Book: The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics - Mere Christianity
Current Games: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition (Xbox 360) & Dragon Ball Origins 2 (DS) & Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)