who's soonger??

Sunday, August 7

As I review previous month's entries, it seems 'work marathon' is a common expression I use. Seems this month is no exception -- I'm at the latter half of a 26-day work cycle. Friday will be the last day of this stretch -- I am very looking forward to a weekend off. What will I do with all this free time? I do have to admit, this weekend has been fairly easy-going. Work 9-1 both days. Walk-in clinic pharmacy so it's mainly antibiotics and creams for insect bites. Of course, your birth control pills is in fashion this time of the week, as well.

I have a very busy afternoon. Have to schedule a couple of purchases today. First, I have to get a big screen TV for my dad. Have a decent deal going on with Future Shop ... will see what BestBuy will do. Then I'm gonna go to Coulter's has for recliners. The La-Z-Boy in the family room has seen better days. So my pops will get a whole new entertainment centre in the family room. I don't know what will get my dad out of there at night except to go get something to eat. He can sleep on the recliner we're looking at. LOL.

Also on my mind ... I can't believe I'll be back in school in less than a month's time. Freaky to think that at one time, I thought I was done school forever. Oh well ... just another chapter in that never ending struggle for self-fulfillment. Have to be on top of things in this very competitive world. Besides school, I also have to worry about other big events. The big "M word" is also looming. Guess I have to grow up one of these days.

I just remembered -- I ran into Jeff J and his dad at the pizzeria yesterday. He recognized my car in the lot and wondered if I was inside. Small world. He's the proud father of Issac. I'm sure he's gonna be a big boy like his dad and granddad. Now when is Dr. Jones gonna be in the same boat?

Thursday, August 11

Well, my dad's big 6-5 b'day and it went with little fanfare. We've been going out for dinner quite a bit over the weekend. We hosted a dinner party for Vince's family visiting from Singapore, along with the Feng family -- the patriarch of the family is visiting from China. We had 2 tables reserved -- there was A LOT of food. Kevin was unavailable for the evening. I was glad that Dr & Mrs Lin could attend -- I haven't seen them in ages.

I had to work that weekend (what else is new?) Luckily, it was only 1/2 days (9-1) so I did have some time to do last minute shopping!!! I scrambled to Future Shop to see if there were any deals to be had on TV sets. I struck up a deal with one guy but said I would think about it (ie see what Best Buy could offer me. We were invited out to dinner that night, so I couldn't finish all my shopping. JJ wasn't feeling so well so we decided not to go out to eat. I got take-out pizza. Ironically, I ran into Mr Jones and his son, Jeff (the proud new father). Good seeing him after all this time.

On Sunday, I had to work 9-1. Afterwards, it was running around town to find the stuff. After work, I went to Best Buy and they weren't the best buy, as their name implies. I went to Future Shop and got the TV over there. (I was thinking about the Sony Store, but those guys can be pricks. Got a stand and the TV (RP LCD 50" monitor). That will be arriving on Thursday (today!)

Had to work Monday 10-6. Wasn't as busy a day as I had expected (not that I'm complaining or anything!) After work, we found the last component for my dad's b'day gift. We ordered a La-Z-Boy leather chair to complete the package. JJ and my ma both came with me to check it out over at Coulter's. We went through EVERY chair and decided on a pillow-top chair. They didn't have the blue that we wanted so we opted for the burgundy colour. Hope my dad likes it!

Tuesday was a late night at Shoppers (1-9). So in the morning I was doing some research into highspeed internet + digital cable. Got Cogeco for the HD- digital but I was not impressed with the C$30 charge for them to install internet. Screw that! I'm banking on the fact that when school starts, they'll have a promotion to have cable internet on sale. I get the box in Wed or Thurs. While I was at it, I put the cable bill on my CC since I'm ordering the digital cable.

Wed was just a typical day at RMP (9-4). It was busy because Dr Lai's back from his 2 week vacation from China. So I had to work (for real). I had to go back to Coulter's to get the chair replaced. My dad said it was 'too high' for him -- his feet dangled when he sat down on the chair. We thought the chair was good because it was higher up, so he wouldn't have to 'fall' so far to get into the seat, plus it's higher up so it would be easier to get out of the chair and stand. Guess we were wrong. Got a smaller chair that was closer in height than the chair we were replacing. I went online to look for battery replacements for a UPS we have in the basement. Plus I wanna get a really good powerbar for the TV we're getting (the Monster one is WAY too expensive! Looking at TrippLite or APC)

Today, I'm out in Essex (9-5). It's been fairly good out here. Not that many Rx and Dr Koutras is pretty easy-going. I ate my lunch so I'm counting the time until I get home and play with the new TV set. =) I also want to check out if the chair matches the room better than the previous recliner we ordered.

Wednesday, August 17

I can't believe it's almost been a week! The weekend past was pretty good. It's nice to have 2 days off. =) Guess when you work a long stretch, you are much more appreciative of your 'rest days'. Isn't it ironic when your days off are more busy than you actual 'work days'? I find it funny ... especially those people I know who live in Toronto. They are like lemmings ... work their Mon-Fri jobs. When they have time off, they all scramble to Pacific Mall or any shopping mall -- look for parking, compete with others for the sale items, etc.

On Saturday, I went out with an old friend, Fong. Haven't seen her in ages. That's probably because she doesn't come down to Windsor too often (or that I don't call her up when I travel up to Toronto). Anyway, it was a good time to catch up on things. She's now working for a new generic pharamceutical company. They're a start-up company so their presence isn't really felt yet.

Also had a belated b'day dinner for my dad. We had May Wah Inn. It's the 3rd time we had the same set menu. I think it's not bad ... guess it's a change from the norm but I don't think it's that great. Looks like we'll be ordering our 'usual' next time. Speaking of going out ... now that Saigon restaurant has officially closed its doors, my folks have been scrambling for another place to dine. We've settled on a place that JJ originally took me a while back. Place is called Xic Lo. I'm not going to guess how to pronounce the name. It's very clean and I would have no problems taking caucasian people there (Vietnamese restaurants that are inexpensive have a reputation for uncleanliness).

What else ... I got invited to attend a driving event up in London, sponsored by Cadillac. See? You fill out a survey online and then you get invited to thrash their product in a closed track. Mike is coming along. This should be fun!!! That's next weekend -- I work this weekend at SDM. Why do I punish myself with all this work?!

Wednesday, August 24

One more week ... wow. Time is FLYING. It's just around the corner before the long weekend. Might as well review what happened this past week. I had to work this past weekend at Shoppers. Wasn't that busy at all. I got to read some magazines. It was a 'good' weekend to work. However, I was a bit envious to those who didn't have to work ... the weather was fantastic. There was finally a break to the really HOT weather we're having. Highs in the low 20s (Celsius which is about mid 70F).

Tayyab was back in town on Thursday -- Mike and I met up with him at Moxy's for some snacks and drinks. He's going with a bunch of others from the gang to go for a 10-day cruise in the Caribbean. Mike and I opted out for our own reasons (time, financial, etc) It would have been nice to go but not really an option right now.

On Monday, it was a crazy day at work. Donna is off for vacation which meant that the boss was in. She's been not in great spirits due to her knees really bothering her. It was crazy busy that day, which didn't help, either. I was running around all day ... it did make the day go by faster (to see the bright side to it).

Yesterday and today ... it's been fairly good. It was slow this AM (I'm at Riverside Medical) and I was able to talk to people on MSN. Haven't chatted with Marianne in ages. Glad she's doing well in HK. We caught up on stocks and the like. Also chatted with YY. She might come over to visit Man Tou. LOL. Not much else exciting going on.

The weekend ahead -- Mike and I are headed up to London for a test drive, courtesy of Cadillac. That's what happens when you fill out a survey for Saab! They got some info, I get a test drive. I think that's fair. The only sucky part is that I have to drive up to London. Maybe I can get my car serviced while I'm there... hmmm ... interesting.