Miniso - Hello Kitty pop up

Wow, can't believe we are in May! We are almost halfway into 2026. Insane how fast time flies. Where'd the time go?!

About a week and a half ago on April 25, Miniso had their very first Hello Kitty and friends pop up store at the Scarborough Town Centre (STC) mall. This was the first event in Canada. What was so special about this event? The newest addition to Hello Kitty and friends was the new blind box racing edition. Along with 500+ other cool items that aren't found in regular Miniso stores. AND the finale? They were bringing in both Hello Kitty and Cinnamoroll characters for pictures!

Just look at how cuuuuute they are!

Sounds totally exciting right?!

On paper it definitely sounded exciting. I mean, the FIRST pop up in Canada! And this was being promoted all through social media and word of mouth. You would think Miniso would expect a huge turnout.

But no, it was chaos. 

The first Hello Kitty & Friends pop up store, meet & greet.

Let me break it down to you. In order to take picture of the characters, you must first buy something at the pop up shop. Once you show the receipt to the team, they will guide you to the line up to take pictures with the characters. On paper once again, it sounds simple. Well, let me tell you how it actually went down. You ready for the tea? 

The event began early on Saturday morning. For those crazy enough to do this, they lined up outside of the mall at 4am. When the doors were still closed. I kid you not. These were HARDCORE fans. I was not that crazy. I still wanted my beauty sleep, so my friend and I (and God bless her for coming with me), decided to meet at 9:45am to line up.

I got there first and saw this line in front of Sephora. However it looked quite short. I asked the lady in front if this line up was for the pop up store. She mentioned it was actually for the characters, and the line up for the pop up was on the other side. I thanked her and made my way over, and COWABUNGA. The line up was INSANE. Torontonians love lining up for the most random things.

I don't know who decides on how the line up goes, but it sort of snakes around the entire place. I had to ask for directions on where the damn line began. So I lined up first, while my friend joined me shortly after. Initially the line seemed to be moving at an alright pace. I wish there were signs, but there were plenty of security around and STC staff, but apparently NOT ENOUGH. 

My friend and I continue lining up, chatting up about life and what not. The lady behind us had brought her daughter, as her daughter was a huge fan of Kuromi (that makes 2 of us!!). Her daughter begged her to come to the mall and take pictures with the characters. This was tough for the lady as she had work at 12:30pm and rushed to line up at 10am with her daughter. A lot of kids were actually there lining up with their parents, and a lot of kids and adults dressed up for this event. I had my Kuromi sweater that my bestie bought for my birthday. 

So here we are, at this point lining up for 1.5 hours and we sort of hit a slow zone. The lady is getting a bit antsy with waiting as now she is close to her work time. Meanwhile my very brave yet no BS friend goes to find the coordinator of the event to see how long it would take to get to the characters. At this point, it was about 11:20am. 

After what seemed like forever, my friend returns back and delivers the saddest news: they have officially closed the line up for the characters because they were only there for a 3 hour window, from 10am to 1pm. In between, they were required to take 20 minute breaks, because the costumes do get quite humid, and it would be inhumane to not give people a break from the humidity. When you think about it, a 3 hour window is not a lot of time already, but add 20 minute intervals in between, and you're probably looking at a 1.5 hour event instead. There is no way they are getting through this massive line up, so of course, they decide to cut off the line.

Now, the thing is, they did not announce this to those lining up for the pop up store. Keep in mind a lot of people showed up to this event primarily for the characters. The pop up store would still remain for the next month to shop, but the characters were only there for that one day, for 3 hours. In simple terms, everyone was lining up, thinking they would get a chance at taking pictures with the characters but no one from Miniso had gone around yet to inform them all of the bad news.

When the lady and her daughter found out, honestly it was the most depressing thing a mother could do, to deliver bad news to her young daughter that hey, we can't get photos with the characters because the line is closed. Other people nearby heard us talking and were stunned as well. The coordinator did not expect such a huge turn out. But hello, you guys promoted this event like crazy via social media. It was over hyped. And considering this is the first hello kitty pop up in Canada, did you not think this would draw people in?? They clearly underestimated the event.

The best request though? The coordinator asked MY FRIEND if she could go around and pass the message along. UMMM WHAT? No, that's YOUR job. My friend ain't getting paid for any of this, and there's no way in hell she is going to deal with the backlash that will happen from these customers. Like, are you kidding me?! Obviously my friend told her no, get your employee to do it. That's not my job. Eventually the coordinator did speak with an employee. This poor soul had to deliver the bad news to the massive line up, one by one. 

As for the solution for the remainder of the massive line, how would they get the photos? The coordinator suggested after the photo session, they could do a group photo with everyone in line, before the characters finish their shift at 1pm. Again, this was only a suggestion, but no guarantee that this would happen. And how would this group selfie work? You'd only be able to use one camera. It's not like everyone can ask for photos with their own phones.

At this point, my friend asked if we should still line up because at this rate, it would take another hour to get into the pop up store. I could go to this pop up store anytime - it didn't have to be opening day. Plus my back was also aching from standing so long, I had to leave the line a few times to either walk it off or sit down and rest. Since both her and I were not THAT desperate to shop in a crowded pop up shop, we decided to just leave the line. The lady and her daughter behind us had already left given that she had work. 

Instead, we went around to try and find these characters and eventually we did. We snuck in a few pictures, and my friend is a ninja - she managed to snap some up close, while evading security. Now that's a true friend! Like damn, we could've just done this instead of waiting in line for over an hour and a half! 

My friend being stealth.

After that, we just decided to sit down and grab some lunch and catch up on life. Honestly, it was a very interesting girls day out (a much needed one). 

The Miniso pop up event? It was a fail.

The characters were the ones that really made everyone hyped up, but to disappoint a whole bunch of fans is just on a different level. Especially the kids. The amount of disappointed kids (and parents who had to be dragged out early to this event), you just can't imagine. 

Honestly, this event would've been more successful if they hired 2 pairs of characters. When 2 are on the floor taking photos, the other 2 are on standby outside, getting their breaks. When it is ready to switch sides, you swap. And you keep going until the photo session ends. This would've made the line flow much quicker, and everyone would get a chance at photos. Miniso has the budget to hire 2 more people to play characters. It's not like they're operating on welfare. 

Another mistake? Don't promote the event as the very first pop up store in Canada, if you aren't going to anticipate a huge turn out. As a coordinator, you ALWAYS anticipate the unexpected and worst case scenarios. You don't just blame the "I didn't know it was going to be so big" game. Then why are you a coordinator? 

Miniso, get your SH!T together before you announce another pop up event. 

Kaleidoscope 2026

Happy end of April already! Crazy how time flies.

Now that spring is (finally!) here, there are some car events happening in the upcoming months, from PTN's season opener to the Kaleidoscope show!

For those who don't know, Kaleidoscope is a Porsche car show event showcasing all the colours of Porsche (also know as Luxury in Colour). It was founded by Ryan in 2023, with the first show held at the old Kellogg factor in London, Ontario. Anyone with a coloured Porsche can apply to be a part of the show. 

This year, the location is set in Oshawa, Ontario, at the Parkwood Estate. The event is being held on Sunday June 14, from 9am to 1pm. For spectator tickets, it's just over $61 taxes in. For those wishing to display your Porsches, unfortunately the application window has now closed so if you wish to attend, you will have to buy spectator tickets.

Here is the website for more ticket details: Kaleidoscope

In 2023, I had submitted the request to be part of the show. It was also a $25 submission fee (which went towards the Humane Society of London). Unfortunately it was quite tough to find members to attend the show as it was all the way in London, and the drive itself would take close to 3 hours. I remember asking around and not many were heading out from the east end. 

This also occurred on a very busy weekend for me, as I had a wedding to attend on both Friday and Saturday (it was a 2 day celebration). The first Kaleidoscope would occur on the Sunday. I told myself I could do it, it would be a nice drive.

Well. Friday was a long day, and Saturday turned out to be a longer day too. This was the first time that hubby and I attended a friend's wedding together so we basically hung out as much as we could that entire weekend. When the Saturday evening reception was done, we had a post wedding hang out, and I got home around 3am. 

As a lady, it takes time before jumping into the shower. You've got to remove your face, your clothes, jewelry, any bobby pins in your hair or any hair decorations. By the time I was settled into bed, it was about 3:45am. I had also planned to meet one of the Porsche drivers heading to the Kaleidoscope show just after 5am, so I figured I would have to leave the house by 4:30am. Thankfully I didn't have to be there for 7AM, as this was the main cars event. I would attend the usual 9AM spectator event opening time.

I had just under 45 minutes of sleep before I made my 3 hour drive to London. This was probably my most sleep deprived drives of my life.

I met at the meet point in Mississauga to meet the member. 10 minutes passed. Then 20. And I thought well, maybe he forgot? I didn't have his cell, just an IG account. I messaged to see if he was alive. I gave it another 5 minutes and if I didn't hear back, I was leaving to London. I got a message shortly after saying he wasn't feeling the greatest and had to pass on the day.

Lo and behold, I made my drive to London by myself, which took just over 2 hours after the meet point. It was probably the most boring drive (no offence London). I think all that adrenaline didn't make me feel fatigued. I was just desperate to get to the event for 9AM. Once I saw the building, I felt so relieved and parked in the lot next to the event and made my way in.

Lots of beautiful Porsches in all aspects of colour. Members who made it from Toronto, Hamilton, Mississauga you name it. I made my way around the event and took pictures of everyone's rides. I met with a few members and hung out in the Kellogg's building. If you haven't been, there's a huge indoor park where you get to climb and just...basically be active. There is an arcade for kids, with a food court, and a larger restaurant further into the building, with indoor golfing. There is also an area where you can buy art, snacks, and of course beer. Pretty cool set up. 

By the time we got back outside, some of the members from the show had left, and I asked if it would be ok to move my car into the show, by the entrance, which Ryan gave his blessing. I just felt so cool after that, because my baby was finally in Kaleidoscope's first show!

Once 1pm rolled around, that was the end of the event and everyone had their routes to head back home. I managed to cruise together with a group, which made the drive back to Toronto so much more entertaining. Unfortunately I parted ways around the Hamilton region, so it ended up to be a boring drive back to Toronto.

Hubby was at work so I messaged him when I got back to Toronto to let him know I was safe. However, the text didn't go through and I had no idea, so all that time he thought I was lost in London! Stupid phone. 

I wasn't able to attend in 2024 due to prior plans, and 2025 was a write off for me. This year would be wonderful considering it is closer to home and it's at the estate, a historic building. Hopefully I could try to pop by! This time I would be getting more than 45 minutes of sleep before I drive out.

If you haven't had the chance to check out Kaleidoscope in the past, be sure to check it out this year!

CL - small Cabata

This is a belated post but this was probably my last handbag purchase (for the time being). 

Back in late July 2022, I was browsing the Christian Louboutin website for fun. I was still trying to master the Pigalle stilettos so I didn't think buying another heel was in the picture just yet. But I was being drawn to their small leather goods and handbags section on the website. Although they have very cute clutches, the one thing that really drew me towards a handbag was the design.

Along came the small Cabata.

This wasn't just any Cabata. But it had the CL's mini logo and design all over it, sort of similar to Louis Vuitton's neverfull logo bag. It was in the classic red and black colour, and it also came with a small pouch inside, very similar to the neverfull again. The difference? The CL was cheaper than the LV for one. Second? The CL came in calf leather; LV only comes in coated canvas. Imagine spending over 2 grand for a canvas when you can spend less for leather. That sold me. 

I emailed the Yorkdale location, hoping they would have one in stock. Unfortunately they informed me they didn't have the style in stores, but they did have one on the main website. What did I do? I went ahead and ordered it. 

When it finally arrived in the mail, I was sort of disappointed in the packaging. It came in a very plain white box with no stuffing inside. The bag was in a brown bag protector with the Louboutin logo on it. Otherwise that was it. It was probably the most boring package I've ever received when it comes to luxury handbags. 

However, that went all away when I finally saw the bag. I just love the design and colour combination. I believe this was from the fall or winter 2021. Interior is the classic red in calfskin leather, and the bottom of the bag has the red rubber sole (similar to the men's rubber sole of the shoes). There are metal studs that line the bottom of the handle, which makes it look super cool.

One of the downside of this bag is that it's an entire open bag - there are no zippers so anyone can literally stick their hand inside your bag to steal something, or you could be driving and turning, then your bag suddenly tilts over and all your contents come flying out. There is a clasp which is located internally that helps to "close" the mouth of the bag a bit, but really it doesn't make a huge difference in securing all your items inside. Considering it's just one big bottomless bag, you can throw everything in there but it will be a mess trying to retrieve items (unless you buy one of those compartment dividers to throw in the bag to make it more organized). 

All in all, the small size is decent. The regular might be a bit too big for me (and it's probably more competitive side by side with the neverfull), but if you're mostly using it as a daily bag to throw your essentials, then the small is a good size. This is definitely another option if you're looking at the LV neverfull and debating if you should get it - this is an alternative that's also slightly cheaper. Plus you don't have to worry about every other mother or auntie out there having the same bag as you. In all my years I haven't seen anyone with the same design as mine. 

Just be careful to not overstuff the bag with heavy items (such as a laptop). The handles are thin-ish and they are strong, but I'd be scared throwing in my laptop all the time and straining the handles on a daily. I would not recommend it. If it's a smaller iPad then it's fine. But any regular sized laptop would not be recommended. Stick with a proper laptop bag.

Here are just some pictures I took over the years:

Behold the small Cabata with the LoubintheSky print.

Getting up close and personal. I just added the small charm on it. But you can see the print and the black studs (which are the same ones used on my Loub flats)

The bottom of the bag is the same rubber sole as the male shoes. 

Even the cat is quite impressed with the amount of stuffed animals I managed to put inside.

How it looks over the shoulder.

Overall, I am quite happy with the purchase. It's been almost 4 years since the purchase. I started using it for my daily bag to work. However, I ended up rotating it out with a simple backpack since I end up throwing stuff around and I didn't want to risk damage to the bag.

As a final touch, I did ask Mike from All in Detailings to ceramic coat the handbag. Literally it was magic. You could pour a drink on it and it would just all side off. This wasn't the first time that I had ceramic coat the handbag (I had also done it on the Monster 2Jours handbag maybe 8 years ago). Ceramic coating is generally used for cars to maintain the shine and to not have beading on the paint/windows after a rainfall. Pretty cool stuff. No regrets!

To summarize:

Company: Christian Louboutin

Product: small Cabata 

Design: LoubintheSky print 

SKU: 3615482791017

Material: calfskin leather

Length: 34cm

Height: 24cm

Width: 12cm

Handle drop: 20cm

Price (2022): $1,950.00 (Canadian $)

Comes with: small pouch inside

Alternative bag: LV Neverfull

Bathroom? Anywhere?

Lately I've been reading a lot of things happening on the TTC. From bed bugs to cockroaches crawling on the seats, to passengers urinating and pooping on the subways. 

Yup. Pee and poop.

I don't take the TTC anymore - used to take it probably 20 years ago for school. It was the most miserable 4 years of my life doing downtown commuting with TTC. I vowed to myself that I would never live or work downtown because I hate taking public transit. Even if there are special events happening downtown, I would rather drive and be stuck in traffic. 

When I watch random IG clips of people urinating on the subway, I just feel so sad for them, yet disgusted that our city has come to this. So many clips of this happening and homeless people sleeping on the seats. The worst one were the ones caught pooping on the subway floor. Those must've come out of sheer desperation that they couldn't wait until the next main station with bathrooms.

I don't know about now, but last I recall, there were washrooms only at specific stations (eg. Kennedy, Warden, and then Yonge/Bloor) which is quite a bit of a stretch. Sometimes if there are delays, you'd be stuck underground somewhere between stations, and if you really had to go, you either piss your pants or piss on the floor I guess. Even if you got off at the next station, there's no guarantee that there will be washrooms in that station.

It brings me to my own personal experience late last year. I was going for my initial consult with the surgeon, and considering hubby and I were coming from the east end, all the way to the west end in morning rush hour traffic, we knew it would take a while to get there. We arrived to the city ahead of schedule but I really couldn't hold my bladder much longer. We decided to check out this small plaza across from the medical mall. Considering the medical mall would require payment, we decided to wait a bit before going in to get the ticket. Hence the separate plaza.

In that plaza, there was a grocery store, a sushi restaurant, and a medical walk in clinic. We stopped by the grocery store, checking out if there was a washroom. Unfortunately there was not. Out we walked and checked out the sushi restaurant. Now keep in mind, this was about 1000am so businesses were open. We went into the sushi restaurant and they were open. I asked the staff if it was possible to use the bathroom very quickly. What reaction did I get? They shook their heads no. I wasn't dressed like a bum or wearing anything ripped. I had my usual casual clothes with my designer handbag. Yet I got turned away from simply trying to take a piss.

Lastly I went into the walk in clinic asking if I could use their washroom - because there was one RIGHT there. "Oh, I'm sorry, this is only for our patients." Ok cool I totally get it. But considering this part of the city was still under construction for their LRT, everything was a complete mess to drive around and look for the nearest Tim Horton's (there wasn't really one nearby and the one we thought we went to, it was IN the grocery store). 

Me, a neatly dressed normal working person, got turned away from 3 places trying to use the washroom to take a piss. Thankfully I didn't have massive diarrhea because that would be a different story and no place would offer that to anyone. If a normal person gets turn away from using something as basic as a bathroom facility, how do you think the homeless population feel? This is the most basic human right, yet normal working people get turned away.

Eventually we ended up going to the medical building a bit earlier to park and I went looking for a public washroom on the ground floor. Surprisingly there was no public washroom, unless you got a key from whatever clinic you're visiting. I was lucky to find a handicap washroom on its own, without any key. I just went ahead and used it. At that point it was better than nothing. 

Do I blame anyone from taking a piss on the subway or on the sidewalks? Honestly, given my similar situation, I don't blame them one bit. It took about 20 mins to do a circus run trying to find a washroom, ANYONE that would allow me to use it, and those 20 mins felt completely brutal. 

Honestly? Humanity has gone to garbage. If people do not allow others to use something as basic as the washroom, then I'm sorry but your facility deserves to get shat on. 

My work clinic is another example. Staff are aware that anyone who is not a patient here or a staff member, if they ring our doorbell and start asking for the bathroom, they get turned away. Thankfully this doesn't happen often, but when I get Wheeltrans drivers asking to use the bathroom, I let them use our facility. It doesn't make sense for them to drive to the mall or plaza as there isn't anything nearby. 

I do understand too that not everyone has good intentions. You never know who is asking to use it for actual elimination, or using it to snort up cocaine, or shoot up heroine. We have experienced that too. At the end of the day, facilities need to be cleaned. It is our duty to ensure facilities remain clean and functional. 

Going back to TTC stations and washrooms. I wish all stations were equipped with washrooms, for those really emergent cases. At the same time, I can see that maintenance would increase - it would need to be cleaned and maintained more frequently as anyone can use it. Hence why they only have it at certain stations, and mostly at the main connection points. 

Public washrooms in general? If you're not anywhere near a mall or a hospital, it's generally difficult to find a public washroom to use when duty calls. That's the biggest problem with this city. And if you do find one, you have to pray and make sure they even allow you to use it. If not, good luck. 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter weekend for those who celebrate!

I call it the Resurrection weekend, as Jesus was crucified on the Friday, and rose on the third day (Sunday). It is because of His love for all of us, that He died for our sins on the cross so we may have everlasting life, and be with Him in His Kingdom once we pass from this Earth. 

May you all continue to seek His love, pray for those around you and those around the world, and pray for strengthening in your faith with God.

AC Jazz

I'm sure most of you have heard of the tragic event that unraveled at LaGuardia airport in New York this past week. 

On Sunday March 23, an Air Canada jet was making its final decent from Montreal to New York, and was coming in for a landing. At the same time, a fire truck was attempting to attend to another emergency case across the airport and requested permission to cross the runway. ATC gave the all clear for the fire truck to cross. The fire truck began its crossing when the AC flight began to land and was going at over 100mph. The pilots slammed on the brakes and did their utmost best, but unfortunately the jet slammed into the fire truck, and ultimately taking the life of the 2 young pilots.

One of the flight attendants was flung onto the runway, still strapped in her seat, alive but injured. The rest of the passengers suffered anywhere from minor to a handful of critical injuries. When passengers did not hear any clearance from the flight deck, they ultimately attempted to escape the plane and helped each other along the way.

This is the first fatal incident at LaGuardia in over 30 years, and the first involving an aircraft with a fire truck. 

Many questions are being asked, whose fault was it and what can be done to make air travel safe again. This is very early into the investigation and really, we shouldn't be pointing fingers at anyone. Except the government, because ultimately everything is really their fault. 

Air traffic controllers (ATC) have one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. It is probably one of the most strict that I have heard. Yes, you don't need a degree to be an ATC, but you still need to study the handbook and take a course/write the test as the basis. They are also very selective on who they hire. They just don't hire anyone. They have to hire the best at coordination, at memory and critical thinking. And they don't hire anyone after a certain age. They are super strict with breaks and how many hours one works. It's no wonder they get paid very well - but the stakes are high.

I remember in the beginning of my nursing career (or just before I began it), I was really doubting myself if I would be a good nurse. I decided to look at different avenues, one of which was being an ATC. I've always loved planes growing up (thanks to my dad) and one of my first dream jobs as a kid was to be a pilot (my first was a bus driver....all thanks to the movie Speed). I even made a fake ID tag when I was in grade 5, with my status as captain. I wanted to fly the 747 if I became a pilot. But then I got glasses, so my pilot career was pretty much over at that point. 

But ATC? It sounded interesting. As I read more into it and thought about taking the course, I held myself back. This was probably worse than dealing in health care because one wrong move, and I could send hundreds of people to their deaths. That's not something you can just recover from. One wrong move, and your career would end.  

The thought of how many lives could be lost in one wrong move really convinced me that I couldn't handle that guilt over my head if it were to happen. Eventually my nursing career took off and I never really looked back at returning to the ATC journey. 

After hearing the ATC recording, I felt heartbroken, not just for the young lives lost, but also for the ATC team who were dealing with another emergency and trying to resolve that, the guilt that they felt when the crash happened. Obviously no one wants a crash to happen. But now the question is, how overworked are these ATCs? 

When Trump took over, one of things he mentioned was to reduce the amount of ATCs around the nation. Fire the ones who didn't speak English well. Don't hire any more because they were expensive. So now you have the current ATCs who are overworked, burnt out, or retiring and no one is replacing. Between October 2025 to January 2026, there have been 498 runway incursions reported at US airports. 498! What?! 

Just like any incident, there's always a scapegoat. The question is, who will it be this time? Is it the fire truck driver error? ATC? The pilots? And sadly, they always blame ATC or the pilots for errors. It's always 'human error'. It's never a systemic problem or a government problem. But that's the thing, everything always starts from the government. 

While we still digest this tragedy, and the investigation continues, I just hope people realize that the 2 pilots who lost their lives did so with heroism. They lost their lives, so that their passengers and crew would live. That's the ultimate sacrifice. 

Rest in peace captain Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. 

Sparkly Cane!

Can't believe we are almost 4 months into 2026. One more week and boom it'll be April!

First of all, it's Kidney Month (well, aside from fraud awareness month). So this month we have been celebrating stuff related to kidney care and kidney health. It's been wild with all the events happening around the hospitals this month but thankfully it is almost done. 

Second, uhhh sparkly cane what?!

Last year when I was walking like an old lady (before surgery), I was looking into getting a cane for myself. However I couldn't really wrap my head around the fact that I'd be walking around in a cane. To be honest, I should've bought it when I actually had a hard time walking instead of pushing myself. I guess you can say the pride hit me.

I told myself that I would only get a cane if it was super sparkly and blingy. I went on Amazon to try and find a cool one but they were all pretty generic sparkles, nothing too crazy. Plus, they were super expensive. Most of them were just sparkles that were glued onto a paper, which then was wrapped onto a metal cane. Anyone could do that at home.

During the time I was off sick, I couldn't get myself to do much bending or sitting down for long. I had to keep active. But in my mind, blinging out my cane would be a DIY home project. Hubby ended up buying a cane for me just before I went into surgery and man, I wish I had got the cane earlier because it was quite helpful with my balance. But given the amount of pain I was in, doing a sparkly project was out of the question.

After surgery, I was still too stiff to sit down for a long period. I had started using the cane when I went outdoors or went for longer walks (like in a mall) or if the snow/ice would get bad. I didn't trust myself enough to keep my balance freely, nor did I trust the public to not bump into me inside the mall, especially during the Christmas shopping time.

One thing that I've learned for sure is...people are way more nicer when I use my cane. They give me the right of way, or stay away from me. It's a different experience. You don't really have people who randomly bump into you and then walk away without apologizing. If anything, when someone does bump into me, they automatically jump back and apologize. There are the rare odd balls who do bump and just walk off without saying anything but again, it's rare. 

The first 3 months are crucial, and the rest of the internal recovery could take 6-12 months. My mind is still stuck with the ideology of "I don't care how long it's been, but I'm not taking any chances in the first year", which means I am bringing out the cane for my longer walks, and bad snow storms, and might as well put crowded places. I do not want to take any chances of getting knocked over to the floor this year. Absolutely not. 

Which brings me to the current state. Obviously things are getting much better than last year. My sitting and walking tolerance have gotten better. My back muscles still burn up about 1 hour of non stop walking, and by the 1.5hrs mark I have to start stretching. Nonetheless, strengthening the back muscles are still a work in progress. And one day, I finally decided to...bling out the cane.

Yup. You read that right. Bling it out.

I ordered a bunch of rhinestones from Amazon. I didn't go too crazy with the colours, but I started off with a vision that the colour theme would be pink and black (the cane itself has a pink and black combo). I also ordered strong glue (not crazy glue but glue that was friendly enough for nails, skin, plastic, you name it). Next was the design. I had to figure out what would go well with a cane's shape. 

Ultimately, I settled with a snake. Why? Partially it's because of Taylor Swift's Reputation outfit (for those who have watched the Eras Tour, you know what I'm talking about). It was also one of the easier shapes to do on something so narrow like a cane. I ended up Googling a simple snake design and used that as inspiration.

The second why? Because it was a generic cane, there's a possibility that other people would have the same cane. I was at the mall one day. Lo and behold, I saw an older gentleman with the exact same cane as me. From that point on, I wanted mine to be more personalized, more bling, more me. 

The next step was to figure out how many snakes I can fit on a cane. If I wanted it to be a bit more outstanding, two snakes may be too much. I went ahead to draw a sample snake on the cane. However, it turned out more curvy and took up more space than I thought. It was still not a problem though. In the end, I stuck with a one snake design.

My original plan was to fill the cane with pink rhinestones, and then use the black rhinestones for the snake. However, when I started off with the pink, and then started the snake, I could see that maaaaybeee the pink would be a bit too much. It would overwhelm the snake. So I stopped the pink at the top, and will think of something to blend it in better with the snake. 

I started off with the shape of the snake's head at the top of the cane, and used the smallest rhinestones available. I didn't want to include medium to large rhinestones on the head just yet. Instead, I would do that mixture for the rest of the body. It just made sense, given the snake's anatomy and the scales that get larger once it's further away from the head. I had to make sure the head wasn't too big, otherwise it would be out of proportion with the rest of the body.

Once the head was finally drawn, I started out a slithering type of shape. Snakes are curvy, and with each curve it comes with slightly different shapes. I really did try my best and I think it turned out alright. As the shape made its way on the cane, I was just dying to find out how it would turn out. Overall it took about 4-5 days to complete.

Drawing the shape of the snake wasn't the most challenging aspect of this project, but putting on the rhinestones and gluing them one by one was the toughest part. You can't use fingers to put these into place, but the kit came with these large tweezers, which helped for the most part. But there were many instances where my grip was too tight, that the rhinestone would go flying somewhere in the room and I'd have to start again. Because they are tiny, I literally had to stick my face against the cane to make sure every one of them was glued properly and glued on the right way. They were very easy to flip over and get glued the wrong way. So that was the frustrating part. 

Once the entire shape of the snake was drawn on the cane, I started off with gluing the rhinestones on the outline, and then one by one started filling in the inside of the snake. This is where you can freestyle the snake's "skin" by filling in all the empty spaces as best as possible with all the different rhinestone sizes available in the kit (there are about 6 different sizes). This was probably the most challenging of the project. Gluing was one thing, but making sure you work fast enough so the glue doesn't dry before you put all the rhinestones in. 

When the final touches of the snake was done (the narrow tail end), I was just happy to be done with the project. I was proud of how it came out. I still had some space left at the bottom of the cane (this is the final edge of the part that makes the cane adjustable -  you really don't want to bling out the entire bottom of the cane in case you need to adjust the height of it). I decided to use this small space to put mine and hubby's initials, along with a heart.

Given the entire snake was all black rhinestones, the heart and initials I made it pink. In a way, it's a reminder of how much I had to go through health wise, BUT it was also a reminder of who was there with me all along while I went through these challenges and then successfully recovered. At first you may not notice the bling, but as soon as the light hits the cane, it's definitely VERY blingy.

I'm proud of what I've done. And I'm pretty sure when I'm 80 years old, I would still appreciate the bling. Bling never leaves a girl's heart.

The snake's head (and tongue sticking out). Hard to capture on picture, but videos make it very obvious.

The snake runs the entire length of the cane, just before the adjustment part. The initials are just below the snake.

This project was completed at the beginning of the week, so I haven't had the opportunity to take it to the mall just yet, but if I do, I hope I don't end up blinding people too much. I really have no idea how sparkly it would be indoors. If it's outdoor in the sun, it'll be very shiny.

We shall see how the glue holds up in various weather and temperature. I'm excited to see, and of course if any of the bling fall off, no biggie. I still have an entire set at home!

Let's just say I have prepared myself for old age. Given how tiny these rhinestones are, there's no way I'd be gluing this when I turn 80. But now, I can say that I'm ready for it. Are you?