Posting from the church office... Frances and Mel's wedding

I'm currently posting this from the church office again.. just like last week. The Awana kids are rehearsing right now for their Awards Night ceremony, where they'll get to present songs to their parents and families. (which leaves me with nothing to do as a secretary) They sound nice (good and loud, anyways), at any rate.

Frances and Mel's wedding was nice.. had elements of the Roman Catholic service in it. (thankfully, it wasn't the full service, which could be over three hours!) Snuck a look at the missal during the homily / message.. looked different and somewhat interesting. (but no.. I am not going to convert to Catholicism just coz of that.. no worries) Talked to a bunch of people as usual.. even saw Minli, which was nice since I hadn't seen her in a while. It was so hot out today too.. the high's supposed to be 31° C, and I bet it was close to that this afternoon. Saw Lauren and Warren, who just got back a few days ago from Paris and Rome.. they're still jet-lagged, but all right.. they even have a lot of pictures. (Lauren got sick at the very end, though)

I'll get to go to the banquet later.. woohoo! The Terminal City Club has nice chairs, or so we heard from Frances a while ago. (Jon kinda confirmed this, since he had to play there once some time ago) My sister thinks I'll indulge some of my latent alcoholic tendencies, and drink a lot. I don't think I will, but we'll see. Good times ahead, for sure.

Fellowship auction

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMELIA.. I hope you have a great one today! :) Lots of school memories of you.. Band, Ferris, everything else.. those were the days.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUDREY.. I hope you have a really good one today! :) It's been fun serving with you in Awana and getting to know you over the years.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATRICK.. I hope you have a really great one today! :) Yes, I remember your Macy Gray parodies.. hope you're doing well in Toronto.

Had a good time last night at the auction.. Tim had some mystery bidder on the phone for Joe's coffee-table book. (went for an astronomical amount) But that wasn't even the most expensive item ultimately, as Vernon's guitar lessons sold for more than the book went for. Good times, for sure. Talked to my other friends for a while.. Vernon says "file-transfer day" will be Wednesday after work.. that'll be wicked cool. Considering my sister is currently complaining about how slow my computer is (she's trying to load MapQuest so she can find out the Roman Catholic church's location for Frances and Mel's wedding).. it should be faster with a P2's hard drive for sure. "How do you live with this?" she asked.. guess I've just slogged along!

Laksa soup and Boinky-Head

had a great time with Yazmine..
definitely celebrated her 15 cancer-free years..
went to a Singaporean restaurant for lunch..
they gave us lots of free stuff.. :)
(always a plus, isn't it?)

I finally tried laksa soup for the first time..
(after hearing Spoz go on and on about it)
noodles, curry, bean sprouts, shrimp.. nice and spicy!
the weather was HOT, but the soup was still good..

bought myself some bubble solution..
a further treat to myself.. blow bubbles all day :)
also brought along Boinky-Head for comfort..
(yes, I've taken to sleeping with stuffed animals in the last few days.. SO BLOODY WHAT?)

checked my email to find a meaningful one..
Kiah had emailed me to offer comfort..
it truly meant a lot to me..
so thanks, dude.. you rock! :)

had a medium Tim Ho's iced cappuccino..
and for extra caffeine (coz I needed it)..
just had a large cherry bubble tea..
Yazmine thinks I eat, drink, and walk too fast..
no, I definitely don't do any of those..
but she thinks my rate of consumption is amazing :)

soon, I'll be off to Fellowship..
more friends to distract me.. yay! :)
(I'll think about other things.. woohoo!)
I don't need dinner now.. 11-ish will be just fine :P

Writing blog entries at 4:15 AM and staying online for longer than I intended (Mango Madness)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANN.. I hope you have a great one today! :) Definitely have lots of Awana memories of you.. and I'm glad Eugene recovered from SARS.

one part of me is wondering:
"why are you doing a blog entry at 4:15 AM?"
the other part of me is saying:
"well.. you're up now and IM'ing, so why not?"

I just don't know anymore..
am I over this latest episode?
thought I was..
(no, this is NOT a result of the Mango Madness.. spiced rum and mango in a frozen cocktail.. definitely a treat to myself)

well, even if I'm not over it as yet..
(hearing about Yazmine's brain tumor and the stuff she had to go through at age eleven onwards, like surgeries.. that may have scotched it, or not.. we'll see)
I do know one thing..
my friends will be there for me..
cheer, amusement, distraction..
bring it ON, kiddies! :)

(although if I horribly misinterpret certain remarks.. I'm very sorry, I don't mean to)

now.. I must go.. and try for sleep..
(although I just had a five-hour nap)
sleep is serenading me with its clarion call..
so I must fly off.. later, dudes! ;)

and the worst habit in the world?
(for me, anyhow.. and I'm sure for some of you)
saying, "yeah, I'll only be online for ten (more) minutes.."
all I have to say to that one is: YEAH, RIGHT..

(been on for way longer than I thought I'd be.. again!)

Needing a break from my own head.. weird food combos

right now, I'm at the library..
just needed a distraction from my own head..
I think I'll have some iron and protein later..
translate that as a steak from White Spot..
that'll definitely be good!
(borrowing some books would be great, too..)

and if you think mustard on hotdogs is weird..
just wait till you hear what my brother put on one..
along with the wiener and normal condiments..
he put Triscuits and bubble tea pearls in it..
someone asked if he was going to actually eat that..
he was, and did.. said it was good..
given his previous weird food combos..
we took that with a grain of salt..
(no, not literally.. this was a BBQ)

Stuffed animals CAN help me get over this blah funk!

well, I'm feeling slightly better now..
(Ducky, Bunny, Boinky-Head, the rest of my stuffed animals, books, and music help)

so.. do I have anything amusing to put here?
not currently.. but check back later..
you might find something.. or not ;)

Flat-lining and apathetic about stuff

oh, and if you want to buzz me on IM..
go right ahead, as I'd welcome the distraction ;)
I might be apathetic about stuff..
but flat-lining by myself is no good, y'see..
I dare you to show the depth of your caring...
and if not.. well, that's what I'd expect!
(not that people aren't caring.. but I don't expect much at all)

Humility and blahness

had another weird dream.. this one involved clear blue water, and some animal with bite underwater.. maybe I've been thinking too much, who knows?

in other trivial not-important news..
I am as nothing.. so very insignificant..
(no, this isn't a "humility before my God" thing..)
I just feel so very blah..
no specific trigger set this off..
no rhyme or reason to it, either..

eh.. guess I'll slog it through..
I'll talk to my friends.. perhaps distract myself..
all I know is that I'd better be cheerful by Friday..
(or at least give the appearance of such?)
too much pressure.. definitely not a good thing!

Eat something twice, and then you'll die! / Ripping someone's clothes off to jump their bones

What kinda weird dream involves people eating something twice for them to die, and NOT come back to life to harass me or my friends again? It also involved bathrooms, LOTS of snow, plus a little kid at a pizza party who wasn't supposed to be there. Inexplicably, my old friend Frances C. was one of those to die.. I've always liked her, so I'm not sure why she was in that role. Someone who represented Ice Wolf was one of my good friends (that's not so inexplicable, because she IS), and also helped me engineer the demise of our enemies. Mwahahahahaha..

I'd also like to report that I don't have any more green chunks..
you may not have wanted to know this..
but this one has been bugging me for 1.5 weeks..
so to not have them anymore is good.. ;)
(there's a weird quasi-Christmas vibe going on here today.. let's just say that my body is replacing one Christmas color with the other.. if you know what I mean ;) )

here's one other thing (for the G-man)..
ripping someone's clothes off..
then jumping their bones..
is SO definitely not my style!
(no matter how dirty and / or evil they may be..
even if I'm feeling that way myself, so there :P)

GHQ crashed, and now it's up again!

The Thiede quads {Arica, Emily, Kathryn, Nathan} were born on this day in 2001.. unfortunately, Arica passed away. But I hope the three survivors have a fun one today! :)

Ghq is apparently back in business..
running out of server space is never a good thing..
(unless you wanted to upgrade or something, of course)

I'll look it up later, though..
as well as the song reference in the "GHQ_CRASHED" note..
right now, it's time for bed..
(I'm too tired to feel much emotion..)
see ya later, kiddies! :)

Jon's sick... here's Anita's correct MSN email

just tried calling my brother back..
would have been a very quick call..
"here's Anita's correct MSN email.."
but no.. apparently, he went to bed before 10:15..
he's not feeling well.. eh, I'll email him instead..

hmm.. good idea.. I should do that, too..
especially given recent (non-) events..
but will I? eh, probably not till later..
conquer nervousness and fear! ;)

What do we waste our time on now?!

ha! I just deleted another inadvertent blog doublepost before Spoz could really satisfy himself by doing the favor back! ;P sorry, dude.. maybe next time. you have to admit I'm pretty good at catching (apparent) doubleposts, after all.. ;)

GHQ is still crashed.. has been for the past few days..
Sean's site still appears to be having problems..
(I checked it on the weekend, and no go)
what's the deal with those two sites?
hopefully, my advice to Sean didn't muck things up there..
G's apparently had site problems before, but not like this..
(at least, not that I can remember in the past six months)


so, echoing Spoz's lament of a few days ago..
what do we waste our time on NOW?
I really don't feel like hanging out at various forums..
(that's a surprise, I know..)
eh.. maybe I'll make a few phone calls..

oh, and.. what's with all this sudden email from the Yahoo Mailer-Daemon?
it's not like I sent out a bunch of email yesterday..
I was rather preoccupied with other things instead..
only sent out three emails, which were replies..
guess I'll have to go see..

here we go.. a bunch of mail I sent out on Saturday..
and deliberately to a non-existent address too ;)
(please don't ask.. you don't want to know.. :P)
thought it would be spat back at me right after sending..
but NO, it took about 48 hours.. why? who knows..
hope it doesn't do that next time.. ;)

Staying up for far too long

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALAN.. I hope you have a great one today! :) It's been very interesting knowing you (to say the least), and it's been a good friendship.

STAYING UP WAY TOO LONG
Yes, I know that one of you who reads this always stays up till 6 AM. However, even you know that this is not my usual go-to-bed time. Although.. maybe you have as much trouble as I do converting the time difference, so perhaps you don't know this.. now you do. ;) I also know that you still have me beat overall by 16½ hours as far as staying up for a ridiculous period of time goes. (what was it.. 54 hours spent floating around aimlessly at pubs / parties, and attempting to make music till you started to hear little voices inside your head? that's WAY too hardcore for me! at least you slept for 20 hours afterwards..)

I've just stayed up for 22 hours in a row.. from about 8 AM Sunday morning to 6:10 AM Monday morning. (woke up at 2:30 PM) It's been quite some time since I stayed up for that long, but if I had to.. I'm just glad it's the beginning of the week rather than the end. (if I did this on a Wednesday or Thursday, it would have dire consequences for my weekend) Did the usual church stuff, then went home and apparently spent way too long doing stuff on the Net again. (sigh..)

I did have one cup of coffee at breakfast, and another at lunch.. but that wouldn't explain why. (usually, I go to sleep hours before 6 AM on Mondays) No, I didn't have any BBT either.. so that's not an explanation. (BBT = bubble tea.. I saw the abbreviation on my sister's Mississauga church bulletins yesterday) Oh well, I hope it doesn't happen again for another 2.75 years. ;) (and also that my recovery time will be short, and that my body not be really wired for days on end following this)

I remember the time on August 26-27, 2001 (also a Sunday-Monday sort of thing) where I stayed up for 37.5 hours in a row.. and didn't really feel like crashing, even. (yup.. the date DOES stick in my head :P) Got up at 8:15 AM on Sunday to go to church, and didn't get to bed till about 9:45 PM Monday evening. I did all the usual Sunday stuff, then went home for a few hours before Eric picked me up for Elaine's surprise birthday party that evening (which was extremely fun). After getting home at 12:30 AM, I decided to do "the eternal update".. otherwise known as writing the events down in my journal.. yup, in mindless detail. :P

I finished THAT at around 8:50 AM (see? lotsa pointless detail goes into my journal.. :P), but STILL didn't feel like crashing. So instead.. I listened to a lot of music, did up a bunch of emails, thought about the eleventh anniversary of Stevie Ray Vaughan's death in a plane crash (right after he'd gotten sober, too!), read part of Voyager, and went to my brother's for dinner. When I got home from there, I made a few phone calls.. then finally went to bed, and slept for 12 hours afterwards. (thanks muchly to Jocelyn and Irene for giving me tips on how to get to sleep) At least I got to spend LOTS of time with my friends.. especially Eric. ;) (Winnie, Jenny, and Connie's German-Chinese cousins Felina and Kirsten were also a hit with us.. an unusual mix)

Certainly a very interesting time.. when my friends heard about it later, they were all surprised that I didn't ever feel tired. (no.. I didn't have any Slurpees, Jolt, coffee, bubble tea, etc. either that time :P) Actually, I was too.. but at least THIS time around, I felt like crashing. I find that there's a "second-wind" to these types of things in general. (not that I do this all the time, but you know what I mean..) You know what happens when you're at Chinese banquets (or any meal with a lot of courses, really).. and you get a second wind between the fifth and sixth courses. Thank goodness the wait staff know to give you that break after you get really full from the first part of the meal. (or you'd be even more bloated than normal) So I was kinda tired from 2-3 AM, then got my second wind that allowed me to stay up till 6:10.. even though I should have been sleeping long before that time, really. (mmm.. sleep..)

No, I don't have any great sleep-deprived thoughts to share with you after the fact. Maybe next time, kiddies. ;) But speaking of meals.. it is now time to get something to eat. Seeya! :)

My brain is currently fluffy and filled with ants, so if I don't make much sense.. that's probably why. :P Don't know if I'll be doing this again anytime soon, as I think I've acquired enough faint moontan to last a while. ;)

[end sleepy entry]

Checking threads in forums can wait!

oh, and if you want me to check a thread in a forum..
I will probably do so as soon as I get my other stuff done..
suppose it's too bad if this woman miscarried..
(even if we do have a mutual semi-dislike of each other)
but is it THAT urgent that I check it out tout de suite?
I don't quite think so.. almost nothing is THAT important! :P

thanks for the alert, seriously..
but I'll get to it (or not) when I can..
it's exceedingly rare that I check out things instantly..
(unless I'm at my brother's or something)
especially with my personal computer "rules"..
so just live with it, all right? thank you!

Asking questions, "too handsome" pictures, plastic bags, "Hit your butt!"

now that I'm at home.. I can do the quote tally:

HILARIOUS QUOTES OF THE WEEK (4)

"(you should keep a tally of how many times you ask me, "read blog?" or "check my blog.. I think it's busted..") .. you'd almost think you had a webcounter on it or something.." -- Spoz, suggesting blog advice. (Tuesday, May 27) [I don't think I ask him such things THAT often, so a tally wouldn't really be justifiable.. and no, I do NOT have a webcounter or anything similar on this site.. it's just that he's the one person I really trust as far as checking blog for weird stuff goes :P]

"people from Asian countries seem to think that my picture is too handsome to be real or whatever :P" -- Corey, telling me how some people react to his picture when he sends it to them. (Friday, May 30) [he emailed it to me, and while it DOES look handsome.. I don't know about it not being real, or about it being a cutout from a magazine coz the photo quality is too poor]

"Quick! Do we have any plastic bags? There's all this dog shit in the grass, and we don't want the kids to step in it!" -- Zoe's mom, during the Awana picnic. (Saturday, May 31) [she said this (no censoring herself) in a medium-loud voice, with 50+ children within hearing distance.. she's from Hong Kong, and we seriously suspect that she learned her English from the movies :P] (Note: We also kept the kids from seeing the gay people in the park.. rainbow flags and such from a distance might not be TOO bad, but the man-woman taking off his / her shirt and going topless to cheers from that group? No way, man! This was a church function.. wouldn't want the kids going home corrupted, after all. Thank God they left before we did. :P)

"Somehow, I don't think "Hit your butt!" would be an appropriate thing to say to Mrs. Wu." -- Jon to Steph, commenting on the second Mandarin phrase she learned from Becky.. and on our dad's opinion that she should speak Mandarin to this lady in the church because she was fluent in it herself. (Sunday, June 1) [talking with people in order to practice and improve your fluency in another language is all very well and good.. but at least be careful of what you say! :P]

no, I'm NOT including any embarrassing stories from Friday night.. so you're outta luck on that front :P

First blog entry from church

hey everyone! how y'all doing?
this is my first blog entry from church..
I have but one thing to say..
I memorized all the verses to Emily and Melia!
wooyeah.. my work is done! ;)

Subwoofer and the Newsboys

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FIONA.. I hope you have a great one today! :) You never talk to me coz you're so shy.. maybe now that you're four, you will. (or I can hope so, right?)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CRUNCHY FROG (Ron).. I hope you have a great one today! :) We talk on the odd occasion, and it's been good getting to know you. Anyhow, what kinda nickname is 'Rettes? ;)

Not much to put here, except I've been listening to two very disparate music tracks tonight. Screaming Dementia and Million Pieces (Kissin' Your Cares Goodbye) are the tracks in question. The first is from Subwoofer (Spoz's band) and definitely NOT like the second. (a song from a Christian band [the Newsboys, also from Australia] about burdens) Very good thing, too. :)