Mother and Father left from Timmins early in the morning. I tried to time my journey to Ottawa from Toronto to arrive approximately together with them. We arrived within 15 minutes of each other, with their car arriving first, but not being able to reach Nelson’s cell phone. We checked into to the downtown hotel within blocks of everywhere we would be going. I’m very proud to have found the hotel online with relative ease. The location was absolutely convienient and actually the cheapest of the deals I found.

We picked up Nelson and took enough time to see his new living surroundings. Chinese people from Timmins always shop for Chinese groceries when they come down south, so today was no exception. After the grocery shopping, I suggested we have some Malaysian/Indonesian food for the day. I had scoped out an out of the way Ottawa restaurant with very good reviews, and it has been a while since the family sat down together for a good South-East Asian feast. We enjoyed the food and the experience very much.

I felt more like a tour guide/organizer for this day. Upon my suggestion again, the family spent time checking out the market (as my parents have not been to this famous Ottawa district), and enjoyed bubble tea (the conservative choice for my parents). I felt happy to have plan a good day enjoyable by the family. Sometimes I do sense that I have assumed the role of being the patriarch of the family. I’m more than happy to have been able to enjoy such a day with my family.

Nelson did tell us that he is getting close to being able to get a job in Toronto more related to his engineering education. I stayed silent while he revealed this news to my parents. On one hand, I wish he would get that job because that would enable him to be independent. On the other hand, all I could think of was that I hope he doesn’t depend on me if he moves to Toronto. I cannot imagine living with him or supporting him in anyway. He absolutely is capable of being independent. As brothers, we know how to push each other’s buttons, and the thought of possibily living together was not entertaining to me.

UPDATE: Nelson did not get the Toronto job, but I know he will have more opportunities, maybe even better ones. It’s their loss.

I avoided some alone time opportunity with Nelson, because I knew that us being alone could lead to some unpleasantness that would ruin the day. I was also trying to make sure I spent as much time with my parents as possible since I rarely see them. My other “excuse” would be that like my parents, after a long drive, I was pretty tuckered out. Nelson went back to to his house for the night, while we decided to retire for the rest of the evening. Here comes the nightmare!

I remember many nights when I was young, from my bedroom I could hear my father’s snoring. Hearing it from a different room is bearable; in the same room, it is horrible! I have also been told that I am a snorer. I have since discovered a very simple cure that seems to work, and I’m pretty sure this unscientific treatment can also work for many people. The cure is to simply “shut your mouth”!

I got this idea when I first visited the Sleep Better website. The site had galleries of people taping their mouth shut to combat snoring, sleep apnea and it works. Just trying making a loud snoring noise while keeping your mouth close, it’s not as effective! I wasn’t able to go to such extremes, but I borrowed what I felt comfortable with. I have always been a “mouth-breather” during my sleep. I trained myself to keep my mouth close and breathe through my nose to achieve a deeper sleep, and it has been giving good results for me. There’s simply no need for those other sleep cures/gimmicks.