BAB - Giant Mocha

Ooops...I did it again.

No, I really did.

After I got the giant Kuromi last fall (before my back surgery), I swore to myself that I would not get another giant plushie. There's only so much space at home that I can fit gigantic plushies. Secondly, giant plushies are heavy. I don't think I have the strength yet to carry it through a mall. I have a giant Pikachu as well (the ears stick out of the Cayman when I drive), and now Kuromi. There's just no way I would find another cute plush.

Until Mocha came along.

Build a Bear has been on a roll with Sanrio characters. You can find all characters in the regular size plush. The giant versions include Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, Chococat, and now Mocha. Mocha was released on January 22nd of this year. 

While I was still recovering and slowly going back to work in January, I randomly started scrolling the BAB website. Lo and behold, I see this giant Mocha. I don't know much about the character, except that it's best friends with Cinnamoroll. Is it a dog? A rabbit? I had no idea, but it was cute. The price? It was fluctuating between $190-195 Cdn. Basically the same price as what I got Kuromi. I couldn't justify paying north of $200 for another giant plush.

However, because I was bored many days, I saved that website on my phone and would randomly check on it. Hoping for a miracle maybe? Aside from boredom, I really had no intention to just buy it.

So every other day from January until end of July, I would randomly check the BAB site with Mocha. Near the end of July, I decided to check the website one more time. And to my surprise, there was a notification! What! What do you mean?!

I clicked it and it said "50% off all giant BABs on August 1st".

WHAT. SAY IT AGAIN?

50% off giant plushies (only exception is Disney characters, such as Stitch). There's just no way. Impossible. Why do they have to tempt me like this? 

And even better is, anything purchased over $100 is free shipping to Canada. WHY YOU GOTTA TEMPT ME MAN.

There are 2 options with these giant Sanrio characters. You can either just purchase the plushies on its own, or buy the bow that goes around its neck (which is an extra $11). With 50% off, the plushie only would be about $97.50. Then you'd have to add the shipping, tax and duties on top of it. You might as well just add the bow for a total of $108, then you get free shipping. Surprisingly the tax and duties were not too crazy. 

Thankfully August 1st is a Saturday and I was off work. So what did I do? I set my alarm for 2:30am. I didn't know if the sale would start at midnight, LA time. But I didn't want to take a chance. I was going to go for it. 

I woke up at 2:30am to hit the website. Thankfully I had saved it the previous evening and it was already in my shopping bag. I made sure to check my credit card information, the delivery address etc. Then I pressed buy. I received the confirmation email and I was super happy.

Then I realized....I forgot to click off "unstuffed". Yeah. Bad idea. Unstuffed is actually the best way because 1) you won't get a massive box delivered to your home, 2) less risk of your box being mashed up and 3) I read that when you order 'stuffed and ready to play', the stuffing inside is quite tougher compared to stuffing in store. The problem with BAB is that once you order it stuffed or unstuffed, there is no going back.

Nonetheless I still tried to ask their AI chat person if it was possible to change it to unstuffed but I was out of luck. See, this is why you don't order sh!t at 3am because you could miss one tiny detail. 

BAB's website is also not the greatest. I'm reading that with any large sale drops or debuts, people would order whatever plushies and you won't know that it's out of stock until you check out. You would get an error message when you attempt to check out and it will just bring you back to the BAB website. It takes them probably a day or two to finally update the website as 'out of stock' if something does sell out. People on Reddit have complained about this but BAB has not fixed this issue. 

From the date of order until delivery day, it took about 2 weeks (this includes one national holiday here). Overall, wasn't too bad. 

You can imagine my surprise when Mocha finally arrived in this massive box. Thankfully the box was very secure, not damaged like what others have reported. It looked immaculate. Hubby recorded the unboxing and I didn't realize but I squealed when I took her out the box. 

The first thing I noticed? The stuffing. Yeah, it's no joke the stuffing is a lot harder than the stuffing in store. I guess if you like your plushies very firm, having it stuffed before delivery is the right way to go. But if you want your plushie nice and soft, it's better to go to the BAB store and get it stuffed there. It also feels much heavier than Kuromi, all because of the stuffing I'm sure.

The thing you miss out on if you have it stuffed for delivery is you don't get the experience of stuffing it yourself. You don't get to do the heart ceremony or 'bathing' it in store (this helps to get rid of excess threads that hang off the fur). As I said, I was drunk on lack of sleep when ordering otherwise I would've ordered it unstuffed, as my original intention. 

I also read that it's still possible to get it stuffed in store if you don't like the original stuffing. The 2 options are 1) you cut the thread and remove the stuffing yourself or 2) bring it to BAB and have them unstuff it and then stuff it again. It's such a process and I haven't had the time to do this but I'm hoping to just unstuff it at home first, then take it to BAB to get it re-stuffed again. I can't stand the firmness of it. 

Alright, enough talk, let's get to the good stuff.

I'm about 5 foot 6 and Mocha is over half the size of me.

                                         Mocha and Kuromi getting acquainted with one another.

Honestly, that 50% off deal was so worth it. BAB has about 2 sales that happen every year for giant plushies. The first is Black Friday. Second is sometime in the summer (in this case it landed on August 1st, but sometimes it could be in July - you will just have to check back to the website). 

I didn't realize that I waited 7 months for a massive sale. This is the first win in a really long time. So HECK YES to celebrating a sale! I would've attempted to buy Kuromi at 50% off Black Friday sale but if I recall, Kuromi sold out before November 2025 and has remained sold out since then. 

The Details:

Build a Bear

Company: Sanrio

Character: Mocha 

Height: 36 inches, or 91cm

Weight: 105 ounces, or 6.56 lbs (2.97kg)

Regular Price: $195 Cdn (without the bow), $205 Cdn (with the bow). Free shipping to Canada but need to add tax and duties.

Sale Price: $108 Cdn + tax/duties = $123.98 Cdn

Pros: 

-SOOO KAWAIIII

-very soft fur

-love the pink bows

-it's massive

Cons:

-it's massive

-getting it stuffed before shipping is not the greatest as the stuffing makes Mocha quite firm. Order it unstuffed, then have it stuffed in store if you want a more softer feel (this goes with ANY Build a Bear characters)

Why I wouldn't buy a GT3RS

I'm not here to bash the car. They're probably the best track legal cars money can buy. Do I agree it should be listed for half a million dollars (and obviously a lot more after you've optioned it out)? No, but it's a Porsche. Expect the unexpected. 

10 years ago if I were to attend a car meet and saw a GT3RS, I would drool all over the floor. It wasn't something I would see very often. Even more rare are the PTS colours. I'd probably stand and continue to gawk at one until the sun sets. 

Nowadays, I see them way too often. It's come to the point that they're not as exclusive as I thought they should be. Perhaps there are way more clients now with a lot of disposable income that can afford to buy the car, and that's great too. That means more people are achieving their dream goals. 

I still think they're amazing cars with great engineering. You can throw it around and it wouldn't break. It was meant for the tracks, not for going to the grocery store to fulfill your weekly shopping. But why is it that I don't have much appeal to get one?

Well, unless you can relate to this, then you probably won't understand completely why. 

Number one, it is a lot of money. No one makes over half a million dollars in their jobs in one year. Sure, you can have plenty of investments on the side which would definitely help, but I'm talking about a normal 9-5 job. Realistically, it just doesn't make sense if you're doing a normal 9-5 job. Even if you put down a deposit or money down, it doesn't make sense to pay 5-6K a month in car payments. That's just...suicide. 

Second, unless you've had some sort of spinal surgery done on you, you probably would not understand the challenges it takes to get into a GT3RS, but also OUT of the vehicle. 

Years ago I had an opportunity to sit in one. Sit is an understatement. I FELL into the seat, ass first of course. Comfort wise, it was not comfortable. These are racing bucket seats we are talking about. Great for the tracks, horrible for everyday traffic like Toronto. If you have existing spinal issues, it would kill your back. If you have any pre-existing spinal compression issues happening, then the GT3RS will compress it even more for you. 

Getting out of the RS was also another challenge in itself. You literally have to climb out of it. There is a way to scoot over and sit by the edge, while placing your left hand on the bottom sill, then pushing yourself out. But unless you build a strong core, you might as well just roll out of the car. You've probably seen that video of the older gentleman climbing out of the Lambo, hands first type of thing. Yeah, that's exactly how I felt getting out of the RS. And I'm not even of retirement age yet. I may look young, but internally, I feel 90.

In this situation, I had to ask someone to help me get out of the RS because it was just that painful. Now why would I spend half a million dollars on a car that's 1) not comfortable to sit in and 2) makes it such a nightmare to climb in and out of, especially after spinal surgery? It just doesn't make sense to me. 

Now this was all before the surgery. Post surgery, I have not attempted to sit in anyone's RS due to the fear of re-herniating myself. Nor sat in any very low cars (Lambo, Ferrari, McLaren etc). I thought the Cayman in stock was low enough and I still struggle with it. I had to ask the shop to raise my coilovers on the Genesis because it was lower than the Cayman.

Lastly, there isn't a proper frunk or trunk in a RS. This girl has many things to put away and with a lack of space, RS isn't just feasible.

Yes, I'm totally justifying my reasons. I don't have to, but I choose to. 

As much as I would love to get into something higher (eg a Macan), the 981S generation has been so well built, it would be a downgrade for me to trade it in for a Macan. I would most likely regret selling it off. The other day I was checking Autotrader to see if I could find anything from this generation and nothing was popping up. 

I still have many more happy miles (or kms) to build with the Cayman. If there's anything that's close to a racecar on a normal day, the Cayman does its job quite well. A detuned 911 engine, in a mid-engine set up? You don't understand how well-balanced this car is and the capability of it. 

Overall, I'm just fortunate enough to even own anything Porsche in this lifetime. Unlike some people who want to build a rapport with the dealerships, just so they can get an allocation for a RS, I could care less about that because I'm not dying for a RS or anything GT. I'm not locking myself up with non stop car payments over decades because I was told 'no, you can't get this because you didn't buy enough cars' (unlike some people I know, who are still doing that and didn't get what they wanted, because they can't handle 'no' for an answer). Whatever happened to just being happy with what you have? 

Cheers to those who have gotten their allocation and dream built of their cars. It's truly a journey to go through and it would be cool to experience it once in this life time, but will I die if I don't get to experience it? No. I've got other things to worry about that this doesn't bother me. 

In the meantime, cheers to those who enjoy whatever Porsches they have right now because as I said previously, we are the lucky few who are fortunate to even get our hands on one. Drive it, enjoy it, make lots of memories with it. 

Adults not Adulting

What is with adults not acting like adults? I swear, some younger children act more responsible than adults. 

It happens everywhere: car meets, at the mall, at work, at home, at the park, on cruises, you name it. 

You have 2 grown adults, one of which is saying one thing but meanwhile the second adult is annoyed at the first one for whatever reasons and telling the first adult to stop talking or leave them alone. The first adult's response would be to keep egging the second person on, until the second person loses it. Then ya'll start acting like children and throw tantrums at each other. 

I see this all the time at work. If it's not between staff to staff, it's staff to patients. Again same thing. One wants this, the other says no. And argument ensues. 

When they can't resolve it with each other, they come to me and ask for help. Meanwhile I am minding my own business trying to get through my pile of sh!t and I have to deal with your child tantrums? All because someone insisted on coming in at 5pm, but you told them no? And they got angry? I mean...what is happening everywhere? 

They assume I can fix everything because I have the 'authority' or the 'power' to change things. Not really. My only power is listening to people and finding a resolution. It has nothing to do with big boss CEO power. And this is what confuses me.

When did we adults become children that we forgot how to problem solve? Did we forget manners too? Why is everyone suddenly yelling at each other because you both have disagreements on one thing? What happened to mutual respect for one another? Isn't that one of the company's values? I guess all those yearly courses of workplace violence and prevention is all a joke.

Car meets? Oh man those are the best. When you got guys duking it out to see who got the better or faster car. Who got the better mods. Who bought the most cars to finally get a GT car. Great story bro. Meanwhile their cars can't even give them CPR when they stop breathing. Is the car THAT important that you're fighting people for its existence? 

I think as a society we have lost touch on how to de-escalate situations appropriately, and of course respecting others' wishes when they say STOP or NO. Instead, people don't get what they want and then complain to others, hoping THEY would solve the situation for them. No. You're an adult. You solve the problem yourself. You got yourself into it, so solve it yourself. COMMUNICATE and be respectable to one another. CHOOSE your words wisely. And most important, stay calm.

Lastly, put your damn ego away. 

Dating Etiquette

Yoooooo this current dating scene is more wild than any lion safari.

Not that I personally know because I've actually been very blessed to be with the same man who loves me for who I am for the past few years. I hear it from friends, read experiences online and yeah, it's crazy out there. I honestly feel bad for those currently looking for partners or those in the next generation. I don't even know where to start. It's probably safer to date a robot? Or date your cat? Car even?

Ok joking aside. But seriously, what happened with all the dating etiquettes? 

Now that women have more independence, they have more say in everything. Men have (generally) been the breadwinner but now it's all about this equality thing. In the old days (uhhh circa 1950's maybe earlier?!), men would be the ones to take initiation, to woo the ladies. To pick up and pay for the ladies. To open doors, to make sure the ladies get home safely. But the ladies would be the stay at home moms, the ones to raise the kids and ensure the house remains clean, and that the husband remains fed.

Nowadays if you mention that, suddenly it all blows up. Why do women have to keep doing that and work a 9-5?? Or work constant nights and then come home to raising a family?! 

Now I've read various opinions and I don't really know if there is a correct answer, but just like everyone else, I will express what I FEEL should be a healthy balance in a relationship, if you want it to last forever. 

Women have come a long way in the fight for their independence, to be recognized equally alongside their male counterparts. To get fair wage, and great benefits, just like their male counterparts. Instead of staying at home all the time raising kids (and this job in itself is a tough one - it's a thankless job raising a herd of kids and one that does not pay unless you count your husband paying you a weekly allowance), women are now going to school, getting their degrees/masters/PHD - I mean heck, even multiple degrees, working corporate jobs etc. Yet they are the ones having to go on maternity leave from 6 months to 18 months, go through a huge physical change, and then be expected to go back to work and perform like you didn't just pop out a baby from your vajayjay. 

So you can imagine that in this current dating scene, women have X amount of demands about a guy. There are women out there who look for men that have much higher education than themselves, or who expect a man to make more than them. Or needs to be 6 feet tall. Or owns a castle. A whole bunch of weird and out of this world demands.

Men? Maybe not as focused as such but it's equally as demanding. Needs to have a job (ok this one is obvious), needs to dress and act like a woman, be a home maker, attentive and willing to raise kids. Prefer a size 4-6, can't be a stick but needs to have some muscle or willingness to work out a bit, long hair preferred and needs to be attractive. Again, it's just weird. Men also have to remember that wanting kids is not the same as wanting a car or some hobby. This is a kid that you're going to raise with your partner for pretty much 2 decades of your life - your next generation and bloodline. You can't just KAPOW and be done with it and let the woman raise the kid alone. It's also YOUR responsibility because it's YOUR kid. It takes two to tango. You want a family? Well, you better split the duties and raise that kid too. 

People have their preferences and that's fine. But some of these demands are just...weird. 

My friend once told me she wanted a tall guy, had to be smarter than her, cute and attractive, a homebody, adventurous you name it. They went on a date and he was all that, except he wore flip flops on the date. They didn't go anywhere fancy, but it icked her because of the flip flops. Because of that, she wouldn't accept a second date. Now that's what I call picky, because you can always ask them to wear proper footwear next time if you plan to go somewhere nice. But to blow off someone because of that? It was just a bit too much. 

Nowadays, I feel like half the couples out there go dutch - woman and man split the cost of the bill. The other half says men should always pay for the first date. Which one is right?

Our society has shifted to the point that I don't know if there is a right answer. They say whoever invited one out, they should be the one to pay the bill. Ok, I can understand that too. If I asked someone out for a date, I would be the one to treat, and vice versa. But respectably, if I got invited out and was asked to split the bill, I would prefer if there was some discussion beforehand before the bill came. And it's one of those icebreaker moments before paying too. At least you can get the sense of what that person is thinking. 

Oh but if you can't afford to pay for both of your meals or drinks, then you shouldn't date. Huh? Do you know how expensive restaurants are these days? I can't imagine as a guy, going on 5 dates per week and PAYING for all those meals, and worst case scenario none of the girls wanted to have a second date with you. That's a lot of money. So I can understand why a lot of dating couples would split a bill at the first meet. I also can see why guys see girls as gold diggers because that's a lot of money to spend on a stranger.

However, my experience is that if you start introducing this splitting bill from the beginning, there's a possibility the partner will continue that behaviour. Yeah, I have met friends who literally still split the bill while married, and it was EXACT change (total bill is $52.16 so I owe my wife $26.08) and I still think this is crazy. But if it works for them, then that's cool. The key is communicating this from the beginning. And at any point if you feel you want to deviate to one paying more over the course of the relationship, you talk it out with your partner. 

I had an ex who was cheap about things. When we went out, he would pay for his meal, and I would pay for mine. This is after being together for a couple of years too. When his parents brought us out for a family meal, they would pay and I would thank them. But soon after, he would ask to pay him back whatever amount and he'd give our portion of the money to his parents. His parents did fine and weren't in poverty, yet I got this sense that he probably didn't want me to take advantage of his family. Strange considering I was making more than him. It's one way to look at it, but another way is well, being el cheapo.

I still think that (genetically), men and women still resort to their gender roles: men still have that sense of a bigger role in a relationship, to be the main breadwinner, to be the protector and guide for their partners while the women still want to be taken care of and spoiled while also having independent work, and getting a hand in taking care of the family home. Women's role has obviously expanded much more than the men, and when they ask for the 'basics' in a man when dating, I don't see how that's demanding.

When women seek men these days, they ask for the bare minimum: to open doors, to pay for meals, to buy flowers (I think this is ok once a relationship has been established but I wouldn't expect flowers from some random dude on a first date), to walk adjacent to the traffic on a sidewalk, these are just some of the things. But you also notice half of those things are expensive (meals, flowers, gifts on a first date). This shouldn't be expected anymore. If a guy does pay for a first date meal and things are going well, then offer to pay for the next meal or go grab desserts and cover that instead.

For men? Don't expect a woman to sleep with you on the first date. Just because you paid for a meal, it doesn't mean it gives you permission or the right to get into their pants. Yes, guys are more visual and physical and they crave it. But a respectable guy would not seek that on a first date. What he seeks is good company, and a woman who has her head on right. 

For both: I believe both need to have strong emotional intelligence. Women are more emotional overall so we excel at this (and maybe a bit psychotic at times), but men? This is something that will have to be learned. Men aren't as emotional - they're more direct with words and actions, more egotistical. But learning to perceive, manage, understand and handle emotions takes time and experience. THIS I believe is what women are looking primarily for in men. I have met dudes who have strong egos, who can't manage emotions very well especially when it comes to my emotions and feelings. When you bring up a subject, it becomes controversial no matter what. 

The dating pool and population is so vast, with so many different opinions, it is no wonder why it's such a mess out there. If there is no 'correct' way in society to date or start a relationship, of course everyone will throw their opinions at each other and initiate fights. Now you have men blaming women for being too dramatic and too much of a gold digger, while women are blaming men for not being respectful, or considerate or (laughs) not being man enough. There's no agreement, but plenty of disagreements. 

My first date with my man? There really wasn't a planned date, but it just sort of happened. I call it the unofficial date because we were still friends. We secretly liked each other yet tried not to make it too obvious.

First off, I had brought my car to the mechanic on a day that he was working. I texted him that I forgot to tell him I would be at the mechanic's, which wasn't too far from him. This was also not the first time I forgot to text him of my visit to the mechanic. He had informed me he was still at work (and he had short shifted from the previous evening) so he hadn't slept very much. Yet he still made the 30-ish minute drive to see me at the shop, when he could've easily gone home to sleep. When he came into the shop, he saw me freezing because the A/C was blasting, and offered me his jacket in the car. At that point I wasn't feeling all giddy and butterflies, but I felt safe with him. I felt so spoiled because he cared so much - he didn't have to, but he did.

Once my car was looked after, he asked if I wanted to grab a bite nearby so of course I said yes. We drove together and parked side by side. While walking to the restaurant, he made sure I walked on the side away from oncoming traffic. He didn't have to put his arm around me to make me feel safe. He opened doors for me and made sure I went in first. He was also very observant to others around us, making sure no one would suddenly jump out in front of me. 

During the meal, we basically tried to catch up on all those years of not talking much, and really tried to get insight into each other more. There was lots of eye contact, laughter, good conversations and overall he made me feel safe. At the end of the date, he covered the bill and refused to split. We walked for a bit then went to our cars, and once again he was very observant around us, made sure I walked on the side with no cars. And when there was a car backing up (yeah I'm looking at you silent EV killers), he noticed it right away and had his arm protected around me to make sure I was at a safe distance from that EV killer. 

Before parting ways, we gave each other a long hug and made sure to see each other again. 

The rest was history. 

For those calling me lucky that I found such a gentleman, it goes both ways. If you have someone who is very compatible with you, you both make it work, and you both bring out the good in each other. He didn't have to spoil me with gifts or meals to win my heart, but I respect the little things that I saw that day that he did for me. Things that you can't buy with money or meals. He brings out the best in me, and I do my best to also make sure I bring out the best in him.

This is what is truly missing in today's dating scene. Yes, we all want to find true love, we want to find the one, but if you focus too much on that, it becomes homework. A chore. Then it gets tedious and demanding. Many times you end up finding the wrong person. 

Sometimes you just got to lay back and let it run its course. Enjoy the journey. Be thankful for the small things. Pray about it, and let God take the lead. 

OAS - the things you don't learn in nursing school

Ok, maybe we did learn it in school, but I wasn't paying attention.

The point is, there were A LOT of things that weren't taught in nursing school. Instead, they use the 4 years to teach us "nursing theory." I cannot for the life of me define what nursing theory is to you. I felt it was a waste of each semester learning useless theories that I never applied to everyday life, but most importantly, the everyday nursing life.

Yes, to all the nursing students out there learning about nursing theory - it is useless. Don't waste too much of your time studying the useless theories. Focus on the pharmacology and pathophysiology aspects of nursing. I wish they emphasized more on the pharmacology though. 

Anyways, going back to my original intention of this post. What is OAS? I mean, the first thing that popped into my head was Old Age Security. That's also very important too as we age. But medically, what is OAS?

OAS is Oral Allergy Syndrome. PFAS is Pollen Fruit Allergy Syndrome (which works alongside OAS).

I swear this is the first time I'm hearing about this terminology and I've been in nursing for how long? Then again, I don't work in ER to find out new things that pop up everyday.

Why OAS? Why PFAS? For those with pollen allergy (such as birch trees, grass, ragweed), you will probably have heard this term thrown around, especially if you react to certain foods or fruits. Now I have pollen allergies and have had it since my teen years. Prior to that, I was fine. I don't ever recall sneezing my head off everyday either indoors or outdoors. Things sort of took a downward turn towards the end of high school when 1) I dyed my hair red 2) the colour ended up on my skin too many times that I kept having to wash it off 3) there is an active ingredient in all hair dyes that people are actually allergic to 4) I believe that's how everything started 5) that's how I got my dermatographism.

Dermatographism is the term used when someone experiences a high release of histamines in the body, resulting in large hives on the skin, but it's mainly from contact - I can draw something on my skin, and after a minute, you can see the drawing appear on my skin as a large hive. Pretty cool, but also annoying when you are changing clothes for a party/wedding, and all those hives just pop up everywhere on your back, shoulders, arms, legs. It eventually goes away. Last time it took about 45 minutes for my hives to settle down. Visually it's not appealing. 

I remember getting allergy test on the arm and that was torture. That's also how I found out my allergies to pollen, grass, ragweed and dust. Thankfully not dogs or cats. But environmentally, it sucked. They prick you with all these proteins, and you have to lay still for at least 15 minutes. It felt like my arm was on fire. To think I have to go through that again...

Which leads me to OAS. 

For many years, my family would sometimes buy baskets of green kiwi or get them as gifts. I hate green kiwis, but I would still eat them. Kiwis are loaded with vitamins - good for your heart, immunity, digestive tract and full of antioxidants. It is a very good fruit. But one thing I hate about it was the fact my mouth would get all tingly and burns from just that one bite of fruit. 

I thought oh, maybe it's not ripe enough. We get that with mangoes and pineapples. You leave them a little bit longer, little more ripe, and boom the sweetness just takes over. Which is why I thought the tingly and burning sensations were normal. I didn't question it, I just kept eating it. 

Kiwi is not something I would eat all the time. I could count on one hand the amount of times I eat kiwi in one year. So yeah, it's not very often. Which is why when we got another basket of green kiwis, I thought no big deal. 

I went to work one day with an avocado, and a green kiwi as a breakfast snack, and packed my usual lunch meal. That morning I hadn't eaten anything, except for some water. By the time I had finished my morning duties, my stomach was growling. Ok, time for a snack.

I have no problems with avocados. They're also loaded with minerals and vitamins, which lowers heart disease, good for skin and eye health and are filled with monounsaturated fats. Sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper, and boom, you got yourself some flavour. They also fill you up FAST so it helps if you're trying to do some intermittent fasting or if you don't want to stay hungry, eat an avocado. 

Once I had the avocado, I felt full but not super full. Just comfortably full. I didn't give it much thought and went for the green kiwi. I felt the usual tingly and burning on the tongue and at the top of my mouth, ok no big deal. It's just the properties with the kiwi. 

What didn't feel so right was about 5 minutes in, I felt this sharp stomach pain. Something I've never experienced in my life when eating kiwi or any foods. Ummm was this kiwi bad??! I took a look and didn't see any mold or any discolouring. This was a brand new batch of kiwi. The texture felt fine. Perhaps it was because I had it on a near empty stomach? That could be possible since kiwis are highly acidic. 

I felt like throwing up. But nothing would come out. The pain was just intense. I also felt like I was floating on clouds - I was aware of my surroundings but something just felt off in my head. My coworker thought I was going to pass out and asked if I should get help, but I insisted I would be ok, it was probably just a phase. I drank some more water. But no matter what, nothing would take away this pain. It was a mix of bloating and sharp intense pain. Sitting, standing, walking, it was all the same. The tingly sensation on my tongue also remained. In total, this pain and tingly sensation lasted about 1-2 hours, until finally it started to slowly dissipate. 

Damn. That was weird. Aside from the coworker, I didn't report it to anyone else. I just thought ok, maybe it's just a fluke.

Fast forward another 1-2 weeks.

I brought another green kiwi to work, along with my usual lunch meal. You must all think I'm crazy for doing this a second time. But I figured maybe it's because my stomach was nearly empty when I ate it the first time. I didn't think anything would happen a second time.

After I had my lunch meal, it's a habit of mine to go straight into fruits, whether that's grapes, cherries, mangoes you name it. I have never had any reactions. Maybe except feeling too full and you get that uncomfortable feeling of eating too much. Eventually that goes away. Aside from that, nothing like that experience above. This time, I brought my one green kiwi. 

Now that my stomach was full with a meal, it shouldn't be a problem eating one kiwi. So I dig in. And again, within 5 minutes, I start feeling that same stomach pain weeks prior. The same nausea and bloating. The same mouth tingly and burning. Wanting to vomit but couldn't. Couldn't concentrate for the next 2 hours until the pain finally subsided. 

Ok, now this is a pattern. STOP EATING GREEN KIWIS.

Soon after, I went on a Google rampage to find out if I think this is what it is. And man, I learned a lot. 

For those with existing pollen allergies, your body has recognized and pinpointed those certain pollen proteins to release specific IgE antibodies which attach to immune cells, and upon contact with the proteins, they would release massive amounts of histamines. Fruits also have their own proteins. HOWEVER, certain fruits contain proteins that are very similar to the structure of pollen proteins, and the body gets confused and thinks it's pollen. So it releases a bunch of histamines to attack. 

For many people, eating kiwis or pineapples, or oranges, you get this sensation in the mouth that is tingly and annoying, and sometimes painful. That's because each of these fruits contain certain active proteins that aggravate and break down the surface of our mouths. Our tongues are sensitive, so such proteins can irritate the skin of our tongues. This is why some people experience tingly or numbness in the mouth, but for some, it could progress to continued irritation, swelling of the lips/tongue/mouth, and potentially rashes and hives. This is OAS. 

Once you experience the above, you really shouldn't continue eating those certain foods. We are taught that if you start experiencing anything minor such as tingly in the mouth after eating certain foods or break out into hives/rashes, you should stop. The more exposure you have to those foods, the more it primes your body to react systemically, which could lead to anaphylaxis.

I've also learned that if you're allergic or have sensitivity to latex, they have something called Latex Fruit Syndrome. WHAT? It's pretty much like a cross reactivity, except this time it's regarding the latex rubber proteins. 

In the past when working various units, they used latex gloves, some of them were powdered. I don't see them as much anymore but when we did use latex gloves, my hands would break out into rashes, especially with the powdered ones. I was lucky to find boxes of Nitrile gloves, which are more expensive but they also felt better and I didn't break out in them. Since then, I avoided latex like the plague.

Avocados share very similar properties to latex. It's a possibility that although I didn't react to avocados, the proteins in avocados primed my system that time I ate it on an empty stomach. Green kiwis also share very similar properties to latex. So when I ate the green kiwi, my body basically fired off to attack this protein. 

With latex fruit syndrome, the body can also confuse kiwi with rubber latex. I know, it's strange right? This syndrome is highly associated with systemic or abdominal reactions versus just only oral reactions (OAS). 

Lastly, green kiwi contain 13 different protein variant allergens, one of which is a very specific heat stable protein and an enzyme called actinidin. There is a specific blood work that breaks down all the proteins in kiwi, and if your antibodies react to them, it means a true food allergy. 

I've also read that gold kiwi is actually much better. They're more expensive, but they also don't contain as much actinidin as green kiwis. There's a study which showed half of those allergic to green kiwis don't have reactions to gold kiwi. I have also eaten gold kiwi, which I don't get the same mouth tingly or stomach pain as green kiwis. Given the uncertainty though, I stopped eating both for now.

So where do I stand regarding the above? I have no idea yet. I'll be seeing an allergist soon to determine the severity of this potential allergy. 

If an allergy has progressed from one place (the mouth) to another (gastrointestinal), that's not a good thing, even in the absence of hives/rashes. When allergies go from one place to another, the body is now 'primed' and with the next potential exposure, it could lead to more systemic responses. I gave it some thought whether or not I should try it a third time since I'm in the hospital but I decided against it since it would be stupid of me to use the ER and waste resources if something bad did happen. Given the degradation of our ER departments, I'll probably have a higher chance of dying there. I have basically primed my body to the proteins of green kiwi, so the next ingestion I do, the body will release histamines everywhere and I can't guarantee if that's going to affect my airway or not. And I rather not find out without an Epi-Pen beside me. 

It is also possible that it could take years for the body to build up antibodies against certain foods or fruits, which can go from very minor symptoms to mild and serious ones. The longer you wait in between eating certain foods, it gives the body time to 'reset' itself and 're-prime' for the next exposure.

It sucks because my favourite cake is that Chinese fruit cake from T&T. And of course they have kiwis on it. Unless I tell them to remove it, but for now, I just have to stay away from any kiwi until this allergy test is done and I get the final conclusion to this lovely mystery. 

For those who have pollen or latex allergies, this is just something to keep in mind. It doesn't guarantee that you WILL react to any/every fruit out there. But if you wonder why you get tingly while eating certain fruits, it's a possibility that your body is mistaking fruit proteins for pollen proteins. This is considered OAS. There's a risk that the more exposure you have to those certain food/fruit proteins, it could escalate to something more systemic. And once the symptoms reach 2 or more systems, that would be considered anaphylaxis.

I'm no expert at this, as I'm still learning this journey, but please consult your physician or allergist for professional feedback if you are experiencing any potential food allergies. 

Nursing in Ontario...

Oh boy. 

So you've probably been reading the news lately that many hospitals in the GTA and surrounding regions (I will say it's a majority of Ontario hospitals) are letting go of certain Registered Nurses positions for different units. 

Royal Victoria Hospital. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Toronto General Hospital. Queensway Carleton Hospital. London Health Sciences Centre. St. Joseph's Health Care (Hamilton). Mount Sinai Hospital. Lakeridge Hospital. You know, just to name a few. 

Since January 2025, there have been over 1300 RN positions cut. 

Ontario already has the nation's worst nurse to patient ratio. BC has fought and implemented a standard nurse to patient ratio and are currently undergoing a strike across Surrey, Vancouver and now Vancouver Island all because negotiation contract has failed. If anything, we in Ontario should also be following what BC is doing. 

However, different provinces have different legislation. The Harris government had banned nurses from striking here in Ontario back in the 1990's, making nursing an essential service. It's up to the next provincial government to take a stand and remove that limit, so nurses can have the power to strike. This doesn't mean that all nurses head to the picket lines all at the same time otherwise no one would be running the hospitals. They'd have to do it on a rotational basis. 

When Ontario negotiations between the ONA and hospitals fail to reach an agreement with wages, it goes into arbitration and many times, ONA settles with whatever the hospital has put forth. Whether it's a 1% increase in wage over 3 years or max, 2.5% and it's been like that since the beginning of time. The last 'win' we had was about 3.5% over 2-3 years, which compared to the rate of inflation, we are VERY far behind. Take into consideration that the Ford government has 'given' money to all the hospitals to expand on building more services, which is great BUT who is running these new units and hospital sections?! Not to mention with all these constructions and upgrades, the hospitals are also now increasing parking fees for staff and visitors. I'll give you an example: for 10 years, our parking fees never increased which I am so thankful for. I was paying about $52 a month for parking. It's a HUGE bargain compared to other hospitals who charge $135+ a month. When we got the email that our parking fees would increase to $63 a month, and then a final of $120 a month by the year 2029, it pissed me off. The reason for this increase: because they're building a brand new building, an extension to the existing hospitals. I don't get it - government gave you money to build this, WHY are you now taking MORE money from us staff?! That 3.5% wage increase means nothing when our parking fees just went up 100%+.

UHN has let go of 20+ full time RNs and some part times as well in the nephrology unit, all because the unit was not getting enough dialysis patients to sustain the unit. This is all in ONE unit. Considering 1 in 10 Canadians have some form of kidney disease, it doesn't help that the pre-requisites to kidney disease is high blood pressure and diabetes. Together, that risk increases and without proper maintenance, it would lead to kidney failure, and boom, dialysis. But UHN decides to reduce their unit because they don't have enough patients. HUH? What do you mean?! I call your unit to ask about transfers and you tell me there's no space. But now you're telling me there aren't enough patients, that you have to reduce your capacity. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!

The goal of all this RN lay offs and "restructuring"? They want to balance the books - hire more RPNs (and PSWs) with less RNs. Why not? RPNs can pretty much do everything a RN can do, except cheaper. The only thing RPNs can't do at this time is looking after critically ill patients, or patients who suddenly go acute. PSWs can do all the basics a RPN can do, except give medications or blood transfusions, but they do all the heavy work - the lifting, changing diapers, showering, feeding. If a unit can run half RNs, and half RPNs, the unit wouldn't have to spend that much money if they had 3/4 RNs with 1/4 RPNs on the floor. Especially when it comes to overtime - unit would rather pay OT for RPNs than RNs.

Ultimately, who pays the price? The patients. The patients pay the price through their health. Why is it that I always get everyone to advocate for their loved ones when they're in hospital? Because I guarantee you, you probably won't see the nurse very often. And if you don't want your loved ones to fall off the bed, or code without anyone witnessing, then I suggest accompanying your loved ones to hospital and be their personal nurse for the duration of their hospital stay, until they get discharged home. 

Meanwhile our drugged up Health Minister of Ontario, Sylvia Jones, says there have been over 100,000 nurses who have been registered in Ontario since 2018. That doesn't mean ANYTHING AT ALL if they're not practicing! Anyone can register to say I passed my exam and now I'm a nurse, but how many of them are going out of province or across to the USA for better pay? Those don't get accounted. I don't get why people aren't more angry at this. Because they probably don't care, or are just clueless. EVERYONE should be pissed off first of all that they elected someone with a radio broadcast diploma to be the HEALTH MINISTER. What does she know about being the health minister?? Obviously not very much considering the disaster of the hospitals currently. She should've become a weather reporter and lied about the weather instead. She would do so much better in that role - it's better suited for her lying personality. 

The other problem is with the Baby Boomers now aging and retiring (if not already retired), they need to fill at least 30,000 nursing vacancies in order to not be short staffed. But given the fact that they're cutting more RNs and replacing with RPNs (who have 2 years education compared to the 4 years to become a RN), what happens if you have patients who go acutely sour? Who they passing on the critical care patient to? 

Just a food for thought the next time you need to seek help in a hospital.

The next time you get lazy and don't vote, you are paying the price for your health care. 

T&T are married!!!

WHAAATT ZOMMMGGGGGG

TAYLOR SWIFT IS FINALLY MARRIED!!!!

Ok, this is to all of us Millennials who grew up with Taylor's music. To be honest, I liked a few of her songs from her 1989 album back in 2014 along with a few from her Fearless album but aside from that, I wasn't really following her music or the drama that had occurred during that time. I appreciated her music and I only knew that she had written her songs based on heartbreak and what not. I was still in my Backstreet Boys era (I mean I guess I still am), but when you start hearing sad love songs or breakup songs repeatedly, it got old and I think that's why I didn't follow religiously.

I was really into her Love Story song and that was probably the first song that introduced me to her. I attempted to learn it on piano, I learned the lyrics so that one day I can actually sing it at my own wedding. Love Story became such an icon because of the modern twist between Romeo and Juliet's love story. Instead of it ending tragically, she wanted it to be more positive - why can't they both get their happy ending with each other? And that's what she did. 

As the years went by, her life got flung into the spotlight, and of course the media and all the paps focused on her relationships. They made fun of how she couldn't last more than a few months before going to the next person. I can't imagine the feeling of having the world watch your every move, while you try to navigate your own heart and mind into relationships, only to get heart broken or compatibility issues. Us regular people go through these dramas and people who aren't even our friends want the tea. Imagine a superstar? Yeah, everyone wants the tea. 

Which is why I am SUPER happy for her that she found her true love. She has been glowing since she met Travis, and the fact that they're both generous to their fans, while donating to various charities along the way, and trying to have a peaceful wedding celebration without the world watching. She deserves all the happiness. Someone once said, 'we made the right person famous' - the fact that she donates to various Go Fund Me campaigns for fans all around the world, along with various charities, and she is so gracious to her fans..yeah, I definitely feel we did make the right person famous. 

I can relate to Taylor's life to some degree, in the sense that it took forever to find true love amidst all the heartbreaks and broken promises along the way. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. 

Congratulations to Taylor and Travis on a life journey filled with love, happiness, laughter, faith and joy!