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Costco Panic Buy 2020 Update
Posted by: | March 14, 2020
| 2 Comments
| Costco Blog, Pandemic 2020

I will update you Monday night, March 16, 2020.

As of Friday, March 13, 2020 – There were no toilet papers, no paper towels, no eggs, and no SPAMs at my Costco. I am not sure if we have reached the peak of panic buy trend. It looks bad for now.

I think Costco ran out of toilet paper early part of March. Paper towels are gone as well. All kinds of canned food, such as SPAMs do not even have their own empty shelf spaces as if they don’t carry SPAM at all. Costco is looking emptier every time I visit.

We have not “ran out” of toilet paper. We have healthy supply of everything. Supply is not the issue. The issue is that people buy more than they need. Since the supply is steady, you can find toilet paper if you look close. For example, go to target website and search for toilet paper available for store pickup. You are likely to find toilet paper available near you. You may need to shop early, though. At the worst case, you can try staples or home depot for non-luxury quality toilet papers.

But I believe I will see toilet papers at Costco soon, along with my SPAM. I will keep you updated.

God bless all of us. We will get through this. No problem.

March 13, 2020

Costco Shopping – March 13, 2020
Posted by: | March 13, 2020
| 2 Comments
| Costco Blog

15th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $15.91 today / $743.13 this year
Member Only Savings – $4.20 today / $144.5 this year

It’s Friday the 13th. We are at the beginning of Coronavirus pandemic 2020.

I went for Costco shopping Friday after work. Costco seemed even busier today than earlier this week. The warehouse looked even emptier today. Things got tense at times when some clueless shoppers left their carts in the middle of the aisle. They were shopping while talking on the phone and trying to get adjusted to this craziness. Their carts blocked traffic flow, and people got agitated. I’ve seen that happening number of times.

I had SPAM on my shopping list, but SPAMs were gone without trace. I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t even find empty shelf for SPAM.

Another item on my shopping list was Doritos chips, which was also on sale. Again, I couldn’t even find the shelf for Doritos. But, by random luck, I found this crumpled bag of Doritos discarded at some random aisle. I was shocked and excited when I saw this beat up bag. I picked it up quickly. As I put the bag of chips in my shopping cart, I realized that I was like a lone stray dog looking through trash. I didn’t like that moment. I was sad, and felt like crying. I hope things will be back to normal.

Even though the lines were long, people seemed positive. It was a depressing Costco shopping experience. I was little scared and my heart was pumping. Today was not normal. This will pass. We will get through this, no problem. God bless everyone. A lot of love to everyone. Please, please take care.

Costco Shopping – March 10, 2020
Posted by: | March 10, 2020
| No Comments
| Costco Blog

15th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $1.64 today / $727.22 this year

I went to Costco on my lunch time to see how Costco is going. It’s Tuesday, a day before the starting of monthly member-only saving period. Ordinarily, today should be a slow day. But I saw a lot of people shopping. This is because of Coronavirus. People are stocking up.

Hot dog was good. There was a long line at the food court. I used the kiosk, so I didn’t have to wait in the line.

Costco Shopping – March 9, 2020
Posted by: | March 10, 2020
| No Comments
| Costco Blog

14th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $9.78 today / $725.58 this year

I saw a lot of people at Costco. People are flocking to stock up because of Coronavirus. This is scary. I had a hard time finding parking spot at noon. People look tensed. It feels different.

No picture – I bought a pineapple and a can of Kirkland Signature jumbo peanuts. Peanuts stay at work.

Daylight Savings Time 2020
Posted by: | March 8, 2020
| No Comments
| Personal

Spring forward, fall back.

Happy Sunday. Don’t forget to change your clocks & watches 1 hour forward. I can count about 20 clocks/watches I need to change; 3 in the kitchen, 2 in the cars, 1 in the bathroom, 3 in the bedrooms, 1 in my camera, and then these (below)…

Except for one (Tissot), most of my watches are cheap, free, and from a garage sale.

Costco Shopping – March 05, 2020
Posted by: | March 5, 2020
| No Comments
| Costco Blog

13th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $15.77 today / $715.8 this year

I have switched from organic eggs to “regular white” eggs. I will be buying regular eggs until I read some definitive articles from trustworthy sources telling me why organic eggs are superior.

I enjoy Kirkland Signature’s Sharp Cheddar Cheese a lot. Sometimes I would finish a block and crave for some more. So, this time, I bought a backup cheese.

That’s it… boring boring. I want to do something. I would like to take a vacation.

Costco APP feature I use every day
Posted by: | February 22, 2020
| No Comments
| Costco Blog

I use Costco APP to check out member only savings, special sales, and do much more. The app is almost like a mobile website. But the APP has some extra features. My favorite APP feature is called “Lists”, that I use every day as a part of my everyday life.

In the Costco APP, I have a list named “Costco”. As I checkout member only savings items on the APP, I swipe and send items to my Costco list. I also type in additional items in my Costco list. When I’m at Costco, I open my list and delete items from the list as I put items in my basket. The list gets shorter.. and I’m done with shopping.

But, that’s not all. It does much more than Costco shopping. Below is why Costco APP is a part of my life.

You can create additional lists. For example, in addition to Costco, I have lists such as; Walmart, Target, Vacation Check List, Rib Eye Roast Recipe, and whatever the list I want.

Let’s say I am visiting my friend, and he happens to live close to Walmart. Then I would open Walmart shopping list and quickly take care of my Walmart shopping while I’m in that side of town. I cannot rely on my memory alone. My shopping list can be several months old – sometimes over a year old. If I don’t have a shopping list, I am sure to forget a few items. At the worst case, I would completely blank out and not remember a thing. Costco APP helps me to organize and streamline.

Sometimes I use the Lists to jot down recipe. The possibility is endless. Lists even works without internet connection. Lists is a simple but versatile feature in Costco APP that improves quality of my everyday life. I enjoy using Costco APP very much. Thank you.

* You can locate Lists by tapping “More” at the bottom of Costco APP.
* I use OneNote for heavy duty multi device note taking.

Costco APP Lists
Costco Shopping – February 19, 2020
Posted by: | February 19, 2020
| 2 Comments
| Costco Blog, Personal

12th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $2.18 today / $665.57 this year

After working 11+ hours at work, I had to hurry home and work remotely for a few more hours. It’s all good. Busy is good. But, I was SOOO hungry. So, I went to Costco on my way home around 8pm for a slice of pizza with water. No soda for me.

Pizza was enjoyable and comforting.

It turned out, employers favor people like me – single grown man without family. Guys like me tend to be flexible and reliable at work, just like what I’m doing right now. Currently, my team is one man short for next 7 days. And we suddenly got super busy. But, it’s no problem for my team. While rest of the team members go home to enjoy their families, I stay and work for a few more hours… and I would go home and work some more. And they thank me and pay me big bucks. No problem here. Except, I cry myself to sleep every night.. 🙁 Hahaha. Sad, dude.. sad.

Costco Shopping – February 14, 2020
Posted by: | February 14, 2020
| No Comments
| Costco Blog, Food, Household, Pet

10th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $40.69 today / $654.91 this year
Member Only Savings – $5 today / $130 this year

Happy Valentine’s Day. I went for a quick Costco shopping after work. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is when we start seeing St. Patrick’s Day items at Costco. The most popular St. Patrick’s product at Costco is Bill Bailey’s Irish Brand Corned Beef Brisket. I found the briskets today… but there was a twist.

Costco now sells fully cooked corned beef briskets as well as ready-to-cook version that we are familiar with. Fully cooked briskets are $5.59 per pound, whereas ready-to-cook briskets are $3.99 per pound. There was a large shelf area dedicated for fully cooked briskets, with hundreds of boxes of briskets neatly displayed. In contrast, shelf space for ready-to-cook briskets was considerably smaller, about 90% smaller than that of fully cooked ones – maybe even smaller. I guess most people buy fully cooked meat and microwave them.

But… pre-cooked brisket? Do you really want to microwave your special meal? St. Patrick’s Day dinner has to be more than just nuking a packaged meat for 7 minutes and turning it over once. We only have a handful of special days where cooking is part of tradition. It’s sad to think that St. Patrick’s Day is becoming the day we microwave our dinner. I am already taking a short cut, because I don’t season the brisket myself. Perhaps, in the future, I will succumb to the concept of pre-cooked holiday meals. Perhaps I will celebrate change of the season by opening up my microwave oven. Maybe, in the future, we will all have multiple number of microwave ovens in our kitchens so we can prepare meals for special family gatherings. That, to me, sounds grim and dystopian.

This Saint Patrick’s day (2020) I will proudly slow cook my corned beef brisket for ten hours. I will pay respect to Irish history and tradition as I put my body into ritual.

Update (Feb 18, 20) – I went back to Costco just 4 days after and saw a complete opposite. There was a much larger shelf area for ready-to-cook briskets. And shelf area for fully cooked briskets was considerably smaller than that of ready-to-cook versions. I find this intriguing. I am sure Costco is studying this case.

Update (February 20) – I ate the pineapple after leaving it out on kitchen table for 6 days. It was possibly the best pineapple ever.

Bill Baily Corned Beef Brisket, Ready to cook. Costco
Bill Bailey's Fully Cooked Corned Beef Brisket, Costco
2020 Citi Card Reward Certificate
Posted by: | February 11, 2020
| 2 Comments
| Costco Blog

I received my Costco (Anywhere Visa® Card) Citi rewards certificate. This certificate is not to be confused with Costco executive membership 2% reward certificate. The certificate was arrived via email and was redeemed at Costco customer service by showing the email barcode on my iPhone. I didn’t use my certificate to make a purchase.

These City Visa reward certificates are distributed after your February statements are closed. So, you should receive yours by March.

Please note: If you are a Costco Executive Member, you will also receive an Executive Membership 2% Reward certificate. These rewards are distributed via the mail two months prior to your annual renewal month.

Come to think of it, I haven’t received my 2% reward check.

Kirkland Signature Atlantic Salmon
Posted by: | February 10, 2020
| No Comments
| Food, Household, Pet

9th Costco Shopping in 2020 – $153.38 today / $614.22 this year
Member Only Savings – $35 today / $125 this year

I went for a quick Costco shopping to pick up two items.

Kirkland Signature’s Atlantic Salmon (#46340) is a handy food item that I wish to keep in my freezer all the time. 3 pound bag is currently on sale for $5 off (Feb 2020). They are individually wrapped and frozen to accommodate people like me who don’t live next door to a fish market. For next several month I will have salmon whenever I feel like. Constantly having a wide range of food option at home is an indication of living a good life. It is satisfying to keep good food in the freezer. I mean, this is why some people hate Americans. Regular price of a bag of salmon is $26.99. This is still a good price, but I tend to buy them when they are on sale. One bag has 7 portions of salmon. After $5 saving, sale price on each piece of salmon is $3.12. Now, steam up some vegetables, and you have a good meal. It’s Kirkland Signature quality, money saving, healthy, and you can avoid going to restaurant.

FYI: I HATE restaurants, mainly because they give me bad tables. I will eat out more often if they stop sitting me by toilets. Don’t get me started.

You are recommended to thaw frozen salmon by unwrapping it first, and place in refrigerator for 8-10 hours. But, I often put it in cold water while it’s still in wrapper for quick thaw. Personally, I cannot tell the difference how I thaw it.

Below is cooking instruction from the package.

Bake: Heat oven to 400 F. Place in a well-oiled baking dish. Bake portions for 10 to 12 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 F.

Grill: Heat grill to medium high. Place on a well-oiled grill and cook for approximately 5 to 7 minuets, turning once, or until internal temperature reaches 145 F.

Microwave: Remove thawed salmon from packaging. Place in a microwave-safe dish that has been lightly coated with oil or cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and peel back one corner to allow steam to escape. Microwave at high power 4 to 5 minutes turning once. Make sure the internal temperature reaches 145 F. Remove from microwave and let sit for 3 to 4 minutes before serving.

Kirkland Signature Atlantic Salmon, Costco
Talk about coffee mug warmer
Posted by: | February 8, 2020
| 4 Comments
| Personal

“I heard you bring a coffee mug warmer to meetings,” a female colleague of mine said with a goofy smile.

But how? how does she know about my coffee mug warmer? and why is that even a topic? How did that topic come about? Is there a group of people at work making fun on me all the time?

My team likes to make fun on people. As a king of nick-names, I came up with classic nick-names such as Mr. Failure, Shirley Temple, dirty hands, penguin, Allergic to Money, etc… Karma was finally catching up on me, I thought.

I go to daily stand-up (meeting) every morning to report my work progress and to hear from other departments on their progresses and forecasts. There are more than ten people in the meeting. Some of us bring coffee, tea, and water. I bring coffee, but I also bring a coffee mug warmer. It’s a beautiful vintage cast iron coffee mug warmer, that I paid one Dollar at a garage sale. The meeting is 30 minutes long. To me, It only makes sense to keep my coffee hot. It would be stupid not to bring a coffee mug warmer to a meeting. You are with me on this, yes?… yes??…

Well, I will not drink lukewarm coffee like a savage.

Conference room – meeting in session.

Anyway, nobody said anything about my coffee mug warmer at the meeting. They didn’t seem to care. Then a female colleague, who doesn’t belong to daily stand-up, pointed out that I bring a coffee mug warmer to meetings. How crazy is that?

“Who told you?,” I freaked out.
“R told me right after he came back from the meeting,” she explained.
“Was he making fun on me?,” I asked.
“No, he thought it was cool,” she replied.
“Mm… OK,” I rolled eyes.

I don’t care what people say about me. I am my own person. I know I am little different and it entertain people around me. I enjoy being that person. It’s just… I thought it was fascinating to be reminded that people watch and people talk. Also, there is no topic too small. After seeing my coffee mug warmer, R couldn’t wait to tell it to his office mate. My coffee mug warmer made an impression on him. Who knew?

I don’t know why, but, a few days later, I still think about that boring episode. So much so that I had to write about it. Hence, here’s another boring story. Hahaha.

Have a nice day. Keep in touch.