Random Things

Welp, here we go again. A post about everything and anything.

First off, I finally went and did my allergy test. It started off with the skin prick test, which tested me for my usual allergens (grass, ragweed) and they also tested for latex and green kiwi. The grass one went reactive very quickly and got really itchy. I was relieved the latex turned negative. Then again, it's been more than 10 years since I touched anything latex (gloves). 

The green kiwi turned negative. I was reading that about 25 to 60% of commercial kiwi extract comes out as a false negative, versus bringing in a fresh green kiwi to do the test (this would yield about 93-95% sensitivity result. I had no idea I was suppose to bring in a kiwi as they never informed me, but anyways they were only able to use the commercial extract, which during storage it would actually degrade. Hence why the high false negative results.

Next thing up: to do the blood test for both latex and kiwi. I went to the nearest Life Labs at 0745am, when it opened at 8am. And damn, there was already a line up. Thankfully it didn't take too long before it was my turn. I signed up for the Life Labs login to get results. I checked about 2 weeks later (as these results take much longer than peanut allergy tests as kiwi is not a very common allergy). Lo and behold, it shows.....negative.

Now, this blood work was only testing for IgE levels in the blood, not kiwi specific protein variants. This would be a separate blood work on its own. Also, OHIP does not cover such tests, so I ended up paying about $79 to get these 2 blood tests done. If you have any work insurance coverage, you can easily get it reimbursed. 

Hmm. Strange. BUT interesting enough, the lab work does have a warning to say to not always trust the result, as the patient's experience is the most accurate.

I had to look up how often a kiwi blood work would yield a false negative or positive. False negatives occur in 10-20% of all cases. There is still a chance it could be missed, but of course the only way to find out is to do those specific protein variant tests (or the Compound Resolved Diagnostics test). I'm not sure if I would need to go this CRD route but otherwise, the next follow up is in September. My allergist had reminded that if these come back negative, to still not eat the kiwis in the meantime. Aside from those 2 separate incidents, I have not had any similar experiences while eating other foods. So it is a possibility that it's just a really bad reaction. Nonetheless I still won't take a chance to eat it.

So now we wait, for the final conclusion in September.

Next up:

I was reading this news report about this 11 year old kid and how he took $2000 from his family's emergency fund, to go buy Roblox gift cards from Walmart. 

The parents had the audacity to blame it on Walmart for not stopping a transaction initiated by a child. And this is why our world is going to sh!t. 

First of all, this kid STOLE money from the family emergency fund. He didn't ask his parents to borrow 2 grand (what kid would ask their parents for that much money anyways), so he stole it. And then went to buy gift cards. Big retail companies don't care about the age, they only care that you can afford to pay for shiet. 

Second, the parents blaming Walmart for not stopping the transaction? Why you blaming Walmart? No. You should be teaching your child to not steal from family. Like heck, don't steal period. When I read that, the first thing I said was, these parents have NO accountability for their child's actions. Instead, they look for someone to blame (aside from themselves). 

I just thought that was a waste of space to even write an article on it. The parents probably thought they could stop big companies from doing transactions with kids or to have companies question kids when they use large amounts of cash. But no, instead it makes them look stupid. 

Here, I'll parent for you. Punish your kid. Take away his access to online gaming. Make him do chores around the house and teach him that with each chore, you would only pay $5 to get it done each time. But considering he stole 2 grand, he won't get paid until he reaches 2 grand worth of chores. And for God's sake, TELL HIM STEALING IS WRONG. 

Then I read another article about some chick who had bought a used Subaru (a 2024) but it was still under warranty. She decided to do her own oil changes because she's a car chick, and her dad had taught her how to do the basic car repairs. Ok sounds great, good for you.

But when the car started having issues, she took it to the dealership to find out what happened. It turns out there was a lot more engine damage than expected, and when the dealership asked for the oil change receipts, she admitted to the dealership that she did her own oil changes.

Of course, the warranty work got denied.

So then she went to the news agency to complain and hoped her car would get warranty work completed.

First of all, you take risks when you do your own work WHILE your car is under warranty with the dealership. It doesn't matter if it's just simple oil changes. If something happens with the engine, dealerships will look at all the various services that you had attempted and will do whatever it takes to deny the warranty work ESPECIALLY if you did it yourself, or you took it to a non-dealership shop to have work done on it.

Again, another waste of space in the news. While the car remains under warranty, get whatever done at the dealership. Once the warranty is up, then you can do whatever the F you want with your car. No strings attached. It seems like people would go to the news to complain about ANYTHING at this point. Oh, this coffee shop didn't toast my bread enough. McDonald's didn't put enough milk into my coffee. My job doesn't pay me enough.

People are stupid.

Which leads me to...why do people cross the road so slow.

I'm not talking about the elderly or those with assistive devices. I'm talking about the young ambulatory adults who has the capability of running, but when they cross the road, they're all having a good chat and pausing in the middle of the street laughing. Meanwhile, there are cars waiting to make a left turn while you laugh your ass off about monkey poop. Yes, that's happened to me lately, along with the stupid tards that drive on the road. The countdown continues and yet, these yutes continue to laugh and walk so slow that even my grandma (who is dead) could crawl out of her grave faster. 

By the time they were almost done crossing the road, the light was about to turn yellow. Being in the Cayman, it has such great power that after I turned, I pretty much redlined it in first gear. The flat 6 sound just came to life and I'm pretty sure I scared a few people nearby. You just can't get that raw power and noise anymore.

Who wants to hear an EV make alien noises? Honestly, every time I hear an EV back up, I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. Or I'm about to be sucked up into a spaceship. It's weird.

And that's the other thing. With so many hybrids and EV, there's no noise. What are we going to do with an entire generation of elderly Baby Boomers who are hard of hearing? They can't hear sh!t when a car is coming. That's dangerous. The risk of getting into accident will go up. 

In conclusion, get a catless exhaust system like Akrapovic. Now the elderly will be able to hear a car approaching. 

CNE is back!!! Not like I'll go to it, but wait did I just see that entrance fee is $25 plus tax??! What?! And on top of parking, which is probably $60 now. Taking public transit is probably the best bet. But damn. $25?? I remember when it used to be $5 after 5pm. Or entrance fee being less than $10. No more of those times.

The rides are still the same old beat up ones. The food is just as gross as before. The games are super overpriced (last year I heard it was $10 to play Whack a Mole. WHAT?). Yeah, I just have no interest to attend anymore.

BTS. They're back!!! Ok I don't know many of their songs, just some. But I respect how they performed in the rain at one of their concerts last week. Being at the Rogers Stadium, it's such a weird set up but it is what it is. I wouldn't want to walk so far for a concert and I'm not a diehard fan that I must go to their concert. I enjoy random clips of it on IG. 

Lastly, I have been exhausted lately (along with the rest of the family) as we had to deal with a family emergency lately. It's weird being on the other side of healthcare. It's one thing as a health care professional to tell a patient's family to make informed decisions, but it's another thing to be at the receiving end. Ultimately, we just want the best for our family. We become the advocate for them when they cannot speak, and we will do whatever it takes to get them back home, alive and healthy.

It is true, once you're admitted to hospital for a prolong period of time, the chances of one getting more weak and sick increases tenfold. If you can (and if safe to do so), aim to get them out of hospital as soon as you can. 

Advocate. Take care of one another. Don't let the medical system determine what is the right thing to do. Ultimately, it is your choice and you make the informed decision. Stay safe everyone.