Based on my afternoon's three-hour ordeal, I now understand why my mom doesn't like going places with Grandma. Let's just say she almost tried to kill herself crossing the road twice. Here's a list of reasons why I won't recover from taking her out anytime soon... thank goodness I go home tomorrow at some point! I saw ice in my water bottle (which I've packed away now along with the poo calendar and pads of paper), and concluded that the fridge here is really cold for some reason. My sister came home, so I told her these things above and below!
1. Right before we go out, she informs me that it's time to take the bus. Okay, so I put my shoes on, and then discover her back at the dining room table, counting change to see if she has enough bus fare. She could have used the preceding 45 minutes for that! (yes, she was very impatient!) Thank goodness I built in a ten-minute window to go fifty feet away to the nearest bus stop! As we're finally leaving, she wants me to check the schedule. I already did that half an hour before, so I know how we'll get to the doctor's office. She also wonders whether I need to turn the "TV" (computer) off - um, no. Luckily, she didn't say anything about that.
2. At the bus stop, she tells me to stop reading so I can look to see if the bus is here yet. I figure that I'll hear it before I see it, so I ignore that. Then she spies the bus at the stop light (still fifty or so feet away), and says that the bus is here. Okay, I can live with that. When the bus is twenty feet away, she wants me to go RIGHT TO THE STOP, presumably so the bus driver won't pass us right by in broad daylight. *rolleyes* Since I don't, she PUSHES past me... way to be impatient and rude, lady!
3. As soon as we get on the bus and sit down, she tells me that the seat I've selected for myself is in the sun. Yes, I am quite aware of that - it was a conscious decision, and I don't mind it for a few minutes or so. If I don't like it, I'll move if I can. Just because SHE doesn't like sitting in the sun doesn't mean I myself can't do it if I want! It's not like I'm making HER sit in the sun... sheesh!
4. When the bus turns onto #3 Rd., Grandma got agitated and looks like she wants to get off the vehicle. I thought that maybe she's learned the 407 does not, in fact, take you everywhere you want to go in Richmond. Turns out she's concerned because the bus is now heading in the OPPOSITE direction of where she wants to go. She gets off one stop earlier than I had planned (in front of Shoppers Drug Mart instead of across the street from Staples), and I go with her since I'm not about to leave her to go to Auntie Ruby's office by herself.
5. When I continue to attempt guiding her in the "wrong" direction (we do have to cross the street, after all), she stops and yells at me in Chinese. Basically, she opined that the Canada Line is not going to take us to our destination, that I'll get us lost, and she knows the bus stops better than I do. Yes, it will; no, I won't; and no, she doesn't! So I just yelled at her that I definitely know where we're going, and stalk off in high dudgeon in the opposite direction. Before this, I did try taking her arm and guiding her, but she refused it - fine, then!
6. I make an executive decision to take her on the Canada Line, since she'll complain more if I make her walk three blocks to the B-Line in the hot sun. I'm not so much a fan of that myself, but it's something I've gotten used to. Actually, she might as well get used to the Canada Line since the B-Line's only in existence for another couple of weeks! Then she complains because we need to wait at a crosswalk which is under the hot sun, directly across from Moore's suit shop. It's hot, and it's summer - so deal with it!
7. Upon reaching the Canada Line station, she wants me to take the escalator instead of the stairs - what's the difference?! I actually get up the stairs faster than she does, so HAHA. She then is under the impression that the train is going the wrong direction since it goes backwards into the station before going out again. Tells me to get on the train, then... sure, but you better come with me or else! I am not leaving you in an unfamiliar station!
8. We only have to go one station's length, which is fine. But when I attempted to exit, there were people shoving their way onto the train before I had gotten off! ARE YOU STUPID, PEOPLE?! The train doors WILL wait... it's not like they're going to just stay open for ten seconds before the whole contrivance rushes off again. We get out of the station, and she complains that we have to walk a block or so to get to the doctor's office, and that the bus stops are closer. Well, they won't be stopping there anymore! (not like she needs to know THAT, but still)
9. Then she attempted to cross the road... that would have been fine since traffic was stopped in both directions, but that was only because the turn signal for the cars turning onto the crosswalk from the road was activated! I'm not going to let you kill yourself, lady! After seeing the doctor, she seems to be in a better mood... she even takes my arm! She has to fill a prescription, so I made her give it to me for safekeeping. That's fine, but then she must have asked me at least ten times whether I was sure I had it in my pocket. Well, unless a band of pickpockets surrounds us, I'm pretty sure it's still there!
10. She wants to go to London Drugs to fill said prescription, and I sense she is not in the mood to wait for Steph to get home. She doesn't want to walk, which I figured - but wonders if the bus will take us there. Not really, so it's back to the Canada Line again! She tries getting me to go on the escalator once more, saying she'll guide me - no thanks! I get up there faster than she does, again. Once we're on the train, I point out London Drugs to her - she says she recognizes it because of the "L." But when we get off the train, she complains because London Drugs is not right smack dab in front of Richmond Centre! Um, that's the way it is, and I don't complain about having to walk a block back to get there!
11. We get to London Drugs, and I ask whether she wants the stairs or the elevator. She chooses the elevator, although she does say that it can only fit one person... I'm pretty sure most elevators can fit more than one person, lady! (that particular elevator may be a bit small, but really now...) When we get to London Drugs, I notice that Kimchi Nara is apparently out of business since the windows are all papered up, which is unusual. So of course I pause to look at it. Grandma urges me to go on, since the place to fill her prescription is RIGHT THERE. What... I can't pause for thirty seconds or so to look at something which catches my eye?! Man, are you THAT impatient?! It's not like the store will close in the next ten or fifteen minutes!
12. At least, we fill the prescription without incident, although she did wonder why I was talking so much to the pharmacist. I was venting about old people in a language you can't understand, haha. Then she wanted to buy me ice cream (at least that was nice), but didn't want anything with chocolate in it. So I looked at the selection of frozen treats at the entrance - almost everything had chocolate, except Del Monte strawberry-kiwi fruit bars, which she said were too big. Well, you have no choice. She decided to buy two of them, and then wondered why I didn't give the prescription to the cashier - I already gave it to the pharmacist a few minutes ago, so that won't work!
13. We go out to eat our popsicles, and she wonders where we can sit. There are a couple of benches, but they're in the sun. Grandma doesn't like that, so we sit on the Milestone steps, which she pronounces "dirty" - LIVE WITH IT! She wonders whether we can go back into the store and eat the popsicles instead - um, definitely not! Just before we go back inside to pick up the prescription, she wonders whether it's a red bean popsicle, and says she likes mango or vanilla better! Del Monte does NOT make red bean popsicles, and you don't have a choice, lady!
14. In the store, I find a display of colorful mini packs of Kleenex, which I resolve to get when I have my life back - tomorrow or most likely Wednesday! Then after she picks up the prescription, she goes out right behind me. Or so I think... when I look back to see that she isn't there, of course I have to retrace my steps and look for her in the main part of the store! Then I figure that maybe she's outside already - nope, she is at the entrance, and seems annoyed that I didn't know she was there. If you would stay with me, then we wouldn't have this problem!
At least we got home without incident, although she did try to almost kill herself again while crossing the intersection nearest the townhouse complex. Just because you see the walk signal doesn't mean you SHOULD walk, particularly if it's about to change to a hand, meaning STOP! (especially if you're old) There's a good reason for this, because a truck was turning onto the highway... big trucks are NOT just going to stop for you! She saw the truck, and hurried back to the sidewalk, complaining that it shouldn't have been turning because the man signal was still there when she started to cross the road. Well, you're SLOW, and it's best just to wait! It's not like the townhouse is on fire or anything!
When we did get home, she complained that the pill bottle's lid was too tight, and complained about the pharmacist. Well, they probably did that to guard against little kids opening the drugs easily! I wanted her to wait for Steph since I couldn't open it either, but she would have none of it - she instead went at it with a small knife! This had the expected result of pills flying everywhere - AIYA!
Then she complained that while Steph had people over, they hadn't bothered to wash the cups and stuff they'd used. I don't see any harm in letting dishes wait in the sink for a while, particularly if they're pre-soaked! Later, she threw away the black thing which Steph had used for the pizza earlier. I thought that maybe it was important, so wanted to see what it was. She then complained that I didn't throw it away properly, which apparently means "squishing it inside the garbage bag so it takes up as little room as possible." Whatever... nothing is going to happen if the black thing (already folded into quarters) is sticking out of the can! "What can you do with a crazy lady?!"
Labels: annoyances, drugs, grandma, life, lists, mom, money, pizza, rants, shopping, steph
