Saturday, July 30, 2005

Religious Philosophy / More Quizzes

You are a Believer

You believe in God and your chosen religion.
Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu..
Your convictions are strong and unwavering.
You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.



Take the quiz:
how much of a hippie are you?

YES! The world needs more young hippies like us!
Hippies have defined America for the better. Without drugs, they could have shown more. The counterculture shaped the way of protest and speaking your mind, amazing rock and roll, and love for one another.

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


All of the possible quiz results for this quiz:

* YES! The world needs more young hippies like us! (You scored 6)
* You got some hippie in you! (You scored 1)
* Ehh... you're no hippie. :( (You scored 2)


Take the quiz:
How Smart Are You?

Genius
You are incredibly clever

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


All of the possible quiz results for this quiz:

* Genius (You scored 4)
* Smart-ass (You scored 1)
* Average (You scored 0)
* Thick (You scored 0)
* Beyond Stupidity (You scored 0)


Take the quiz:
Are you a ho? (For Girls only)

Not a Ho
You're a good girl. I'm so proud............ you're trustworthy..... I could cry right now........

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


All of the possible quiz results for this quiz:

* You're a Ho (You scored 0)
* Not a Ho (You scored 5)


Take the quiz:
What kind of Dragon are you?

Shadow Dragon
You hate everything, including yourself. The world has rejected you, and you are finally getting your revenge. Gothic, maybe? You love to hurt and be hurt. Your scales are made of the shadows themselves, and you breathe Acid.

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


All of the possible quiz results for this quiz:

* Fire Dragon (You scored 0)
* Ice Dragon (You scored 0)
* Light Dragon (You scored 1)
* Shadow Dragon (You scored 4)
* Water Dragon (You scored 1)
* Earth Dragon (You scored 0)
* Storm Dragon (You scored 1)


Take the quiz:
which rock band do you belong in???

Slipknot
You're cool!!!! Perfect attitude towards anger.... the masks are creepy.....but I love the music....... you should be in Slipknot after they lose another member ;)

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


All of the possible quiz results for this quiz:

* Good Charlotte (You scored 0)
* Slipknot (You scored 3)
* Franz Ferdinand (You scored 0)
* Green Day (You scored 1)
* Marilyn Manson (You scored 0)
* Linkin Park (You scored 0)
* Drowning Pool (You scored 1)
* Bad Religion (You scored 0)


Take the quiz:
Which type of planetouched creature are you?

Astral Phantom
You seem lonely and cut off from life. Bent on making it from day to day, you have lost track of who you really are to begin with. Perhaps you never knew. http://www.planewalker.com/codex/astralphantom.shtml

Quizzes by myYearbook.com -- the World's Biggest Yearbook!


All of the possible quiz results for this quiz:

* Fire Angel (You scored 0)
* Aefanryll (You scored 0)
* Astral Phantom (You scored 2)
* Bantei (You scored 0)
* Ethereal Elf (You scored 1)
* Orange Dragon (You scored 1)
* Werebunny (You scored 1)
* Smoke Wraith (You scored 0)

"Planetouched" is a race in Dungeons and Dragons, defining a somewhat normal person who has a small amount of celestial or demonic blood. This test matches your personality to a type of planetouched creature. NOTE: The following people's artwork was used: Giorgio Baldessin, Tracy Butler, Michael C Ahlers, Alex Rykov, Charlotte Geier, Jodi Buermann, Kaaz, and Lance Card.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Languages and amusement

I am way too easily amused. Chinese and French, here we come! ;)

I sent someone this message: "Ting-yut geen... je suis fatigué." ("I'll see you tomorrow... I'm tired!")

(yes, it's a family trait.. just like rambling on about nothing :P)


Your Ideal Relationship is Serious Dating

You're not ready to go walking down the aisle.
But you may be ready in a couple of years.
You prefer to date one on one, with a commitment.
And while chemistry is important, so is compatibility.

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Weird dreams about birds, Jeremy, smoking, and cars

I called my brother at 8:35 AM.. he's not doing the fireworks. Went back to sleep and dreamed about trying to save a bunch of birds (some with beaks hanging on by a thread) from the stewpot. Got awoken by a "wrong number" phone call... no idea why my phone was on in the first place. Then I dreamed that Palmer was smoking it up in a social services type place (and getting yelled at / thrown out in the process) while I waited for Jeremy to finish an appointment... and that Jeremy and his friends were jumping from car to car to get in their vehicles through opened windows.

.... I don't even want to know. o_O

Labels: , , , , , ,

Yurting, young authors, and yayness!

After we watched some Friends episodes on TV, I left Billie's in plenty of time to catch the bus going to Coquitlam Centre. While wandering aimlessly at the bus loop there (trying to find a 97 B-Line), I found a #169 bus going to Braid Skytrain station. Since I needed to hop a bus that went to a Skytrain station, I took that route and found myself with LOTS of time to spare once I got to Broadway / Commercial. (90 minutes?!)

Silvester saw me at the bus stop some time later, and asked why I wasn't with my brother or sister. I told him that I'd had other plans today, so it was best that we were all separated. We bused to church together and found out that Jon had more free tickets to a Lions football game. As someone said later, he shouldn't have skipped Fellowship for a football game!

Steph thought that maybe I could call Jon tomorrow to see what was up: I haven't had any communication with him this week save for the email about the Durian Palace. (which he found intimidating last year because of the sheer amount of stuff on the site... now that he's tried durian, he might go back to it :P) We'll see if he's going to the fireworks, since he has to be somewhere by 9 and has GCBC practice later at night. For some reason, I really want things to do tomorrow... don't ask me why I have "itchy butt" syndrome. (can't sit still, haha) :P

I also talked to Vivian, Erin, Steph, Eric, Nathan, Randal, Andy, Jason, Janette, Dawn, Cindy, Chalaine, and others later on after Fellowship. Steph and Erin are going on a yurting / sand dunes road trip to Oregon with Vivian S. and Rachel: it's cheap and fun! Jason, Janette, and Chalaine wondered about my Bathroom Reader... hey, you don't JUST have to be in the can to read it! ;) We teased Chalaine about her huge 7-11 Slurpee: she said that they didn't have any smaller sizes. Riiiight. :P (she also kinda misses her sister Sheena who's in Mexico now, but it'll be a nine-day break all the same)

I told Vivian that I'd read her Xanga blog last night, and she told me to blame the teens (like Isabel and Vivian Lam) for getting her started. From what I read, that seemed to be the case all right! I showed some people the books that Billie wrote, and we marveled at people who were WAY younger than us (15) already having published books and such. Nathan's been keeping busy, which is good. We were going to eat at Oscar's later, but decided to go home from church instead.

Now, I'm just talking to Erik and Corey about stuff: it's been forever since I've seen Erik online, so it's good catching up with him! Yay! :D (never mind the confusing conversation I'm having elsewhere with Palmer :P)

I asked Corey about bubble tea shops in Denver for Charlotte. He doesn't know whether there are any in Denver: then again, he says that she could live in a lot of places. :P (she went on bobafind.com and found places in / around Denver)

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, July 29, 2005

Good times in Coquitlam.. whee!

Good times with Billie... her mom offered to let me stay the night at 10 yesterday. At first, I was Chinese about it and asked whether she was sure.. y'know, since I do come from the INTERNET. ;) But she definitely seemed sure about it, so I did the polite thing and thanked her since I was indeed very grateful for what I did not plan. (man, that ride home would have been very ma-fan!)

I introduced her to the Crimson Room, the Viridian Room, the Rejected movie, the Mysteries of Time and Space, 99 Rooms, Bookworm, to the Chapters Dump poop chat, and to this picture that my Swedish friend Henrik sent me once. She introduced me to some Ebaumsworld.com animated stuff, excerpts from a new story she's working on, and to Forward Garden. We also talked about our weird friends... good times, indeed. :D

Dunno what I'll do later... possibly I'll go straight to church or wherever from here since I'm already out. But then I should let the Richmond Crew know... I'll do that eventually, haha.


Note: Colorful LJ Dragons blogquiz, by Shannon.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Finally at Billie's! (Camp Sasamat memories)

Well, it took me three hours (mostly because I was delayed at Coquitlam Centre for an hour waiting for the next C28 Port Moody shuttle bus), but I'm finally at Billie's! I've met her brother and mom, had some chow mein, and sucked down some water (it's wicked hot out there!)... now we're just chilling / eating watermelon before the actual dinner, and reading the 2000 edition of the Guinness Book of Records. She's even given two of her books that she wrote herself (she's famous in some Iranian town now!), and I'm making her sign them. Yay for Ryou's Story and Ahead of the Game, plus my first friend met off GJ! :D


Notes to remember for next time, plus randomosity:

* Ioco Road, Bella Pizza, and the Irly Bird make me think of Camp Sasamat when I was a kid. Good times, especially singing on the bus and bugging the kids and camp counsellors. (Pisquali, Lisa, Paul / Scott / Matthew Yeoman, Andrew / Arthur Armstrong, Jessica / Julia Adam, Jennifer / Christina Coomer, etc.) :D
* Camp Sasamat years... where I thought I made up the word ecstasy because of little Christopher Wong sleeping on my shoulder on the bus ride back to the Neurological Centre. :D
* I once thought I made up the word cookie when I was a little kid at church once. (and thought I made up the word bonafide when I was a kid, especially at the Arts Umbrella centre on Granville Island!)
* Get on the LEFT stairway at the 22nd St. Station Skytrain, or else I'll get on the wrong train going in the wrong direction.
* If I see businesses whose names start with "Port Moody," I shouldn't panic. Coquitlam Centre is WAY out in the boonies! ;)
* I should get off at the VERY LAST stop at Coquitlam Centre. Thank goodness I kinda knew where the bus bays were, because of the one and only time I'd been there a couple months ago!
* Allow WAY more time for the commute, because waiting an hour in the heat is not fun.
* Get Billie's phone number before her MSN dies!
* I saw a baby with a cell phone at a Skytrain Station.. I talked to the cute kid. :D
* Just chill now that I am here. I couldn't have done it without my friends' help. :D


You Are 75% Addicted to Blogthings

You lead the pack when it comes to posting Blogthings.
And your friends (mostly) thank you for it.
It's cute that you insist on being called your Japanese name.
Just stop bragging about your IQ score!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trying to figure out how to get where I'm going...

Right now, I'm currently trying to figure out how to get to Billie's in Coquitlam later. I've got both Billie and Palmer on the case... too bad Citrus isn't online, heh. The confusing Translink site hates my computer, Billie's never been on it before, and Palmer denied the existence of a pre-existing bus route.

Wait... he just directed me to a Mapquest link. Reminds me of when my sister and I were trying to figure out how to get to Frances and Mel's wedding in June 2003. I still had my old 486 then, and it took FOREVER to wait for the computer to load. We had to wait even longer since we accidentally input the wrong data, heh.

By the time we figure this out, I'll have to go! Aiya....

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leaving Random Thought

I am very sad that I had to leave that community yesterday. Darn a certain person for joining, and darn myself for not putting my thoughts elsewhere! No, I don't have any feelings for him at all. Bleck! :P

Darn all the weird stuff that comes with that certain lifestyle, really!

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Candy soup

Corey wants me to make candy soup so I can be clever and polite when I go to Billie's tomorrow for dinner. I'll probably bring something over to be nice, but I don't think his new invention is going to be it. Sure, I'll be going to the store tomorrow... but not to buy jelly beans, candy corn, gumdrops, and Coke (as the broth) for that! (cooked or not!) Billie can correct me if I'm wrong, but I highly doubt her family will be impressed by that. 'Twas an amusing suggestion, though! :D

(and all I wanted to know was what Persian people generally DON'T eat, since his friend Matt is Persian...)


Reminds me of the time that a whole bunch of us were invited over to Stella's sister Elenor's house for Stella's birthday party a few years ago. My brother decided he didn't like salad dressing, so he used Coke instead. Mmm, salad swimming in Coke as a weird food combination... o_O

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Five Lifetime Goals / Durian Palace / Family Pictures / How I Live My Life

Name 5 things you would like to do in your lifetime.

1. Go to Europe / Asia / Australia.
2. Find a new best friend who won't end it over silly trivialities.
3. Read more classic books.
4. Find someone who will love me the way I am, and treat me the way I deserve.
5. Go to more concerts / expose myself to more new music.


The Durian Palace: perfect for Jon and Jeremy... poetry, quotes, botany, stories, recipes, usage, and more! Of course I emailed the link to my brother, telling him to forward it to his Asiaphile friend "Durian Dude" if they haven't seen it already!

My second cousin Wilson (no blood relation!) just invited me to view an Imagestation album. Cute pictures of Ethan, Brigitte, and everyone else! (Ethan and Brigitte are my nephew and niece twice removed, according to my sister's family tree research)


Ethan hamming it up in the laundry room:




Brigitte's haircut:




Brigitte with Tigger and Winnie the Pooh:




Brigitte and Ethan playing games at Woodie Woodchucks:




Brigitte and Ethan outside Woodie Woodchucks:




Ethan playing around with chopsticks:




Family picture at restaurant... Mike, Ethan, Wilson, Wilson's mom, Brigitte, Anna, and Anna and Wilson's brother:

(no, we don't know the brother's English name!)




How You Live Your Life

You tend to deprive yourself of things you crave, for your own good.

You say whatever is on your mind. Other people's reactions don't faze you.

You prefer a variety of friends, and tend to change friends quickly.

You tend to always dream of things within reach - and you usually get them.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Singapore, people, and watermelon

I wished yesterday that I had watermelon. Today, my mom bought some from Safeway after I took the parents out to lunch. (that should stop their complaining that I never do anything for them, at least for a while :P) So now I'm at my brother's and about to have some! :D

During lunch, my sister mentioned that her friends Jemima and Terrence both want her to come to Singapore and visit them while they're working. Terrence is at some boonie camp, and Jemima just moved there by herself not too long ago to work somewhere. Uh, the flight's so expensive! (I hear Terrence may be coming at Christmas... it'll be good times with him and Melissa, who wants to come here for the World Junior Hockey Championships tournament around the same time!) At least Chrystal's back for a few days from Korea: spending three days in transit both ways just to come here since she has a week or so off work. She must be homesick! I hear she, Emily, Mike, Fidela, Melia, Cindy, Phil, and Steph have a dinner tomorrow. (hey, Fidela's back from Argentina!) Should be good times. :D

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ice Cream Flavors / Power Color / Ex-best friend's birthday / Spoons

July 26 was my ex-best friend Yazmine's birthday, and I didn't do anything for it. I don't feel bad, since SHE was the one who ended the friendship over fifty cents.

Also, my spoon just accidentally landed in the garbage can. I definitely gave it a good wash, erk!


Amy made me hungry... *eats choco chunk raspberry ice cream*

Bold the ones you have tried.


Chocolate
Vanilla
Strawberry
Mint Chip
Chocolate Chip
Cookies and Creme
Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Rocky Road

Butter Pecan
Rainbow Sherbert
Raspberry Sherbert
Mango

Cherries Jubilee
Nutty Coconut
Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Bubble Gum
Lime
French Vanilla
Chocolate Almond
Coffee
White Chocolate Chip
Cappuccino
Chocolate & Raspberry

Pumpkin
Mocha Almond Fudge
Strawberry Cheesecake
Blueberry

Passion Fruit
Irish Cream
Chocolate Supreme
Mocha Fudge Marble
Orange Sherbert
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Chunky Monkey
Neapolitan

Vanilla Fudge Ripple
Chocolate Marshmallow
Maple Walnut
Rum Raisin

Macadamia Nut Brittle
Praline Pecan
Banana Nut
Oreo Cookie
Mocha Bean Crunch
Peach
Apple Butter
Root Beer Float
Cheesecake
Pistachio Nut

English Toffee
Coffee Chip
Coffee Caramel
Chocolate Fudge Truffle
Cotton Candy
Apple Pie
Chocolate Malt Crunch
Peanut Brittle
Peanut Butter Fudge
Peppermint
Mint

Fluffer Nutter Peanut Butter
Caramel Churro
Caramel Apple
Grape
Brownie
Worms & Dirt
Chocolate Cherry Pop
Green Tea
Caramel Crunchy
Snickers
Raspberry Chunky Cheesecake

Strawberry & Chocolate
Butterscotch
Peanut Butter Cup
Almond Buttercrunch

Banana Pudding
Black Raspberry Blast
Brownie Cookie Dough
M&M's
Malt Ball Crunch
Caramel Twix
Coconut Almond Fudge
Toffee Crunch
Slam Dunk Crunch
Peanut Power
Peanut Butter Rainbow with M&M's
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough
Chocolate Custard








Your Power Color Is Blue


Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you.
You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict.
If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well.
You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.




What's Your Power Color? Take This Quiz :-)




Find the Love of Your Life
(and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.



Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Watermelon, red rice, ghormeh sabzi, the Cure

I finally checked my sister's site to see the crazy things she was up to on Sunday. Let's just say she really likes eating watermelon, and now I wish I had some. Maybe someday... and if you think that was a Cure reference, you could be right. ;) Now I want to listen to them, so I'll pop in one of my four Cure CDs.

Oh yeah, and I also want to try red rice. It sounds interesting!


Note: LJ and the Chocolate Factory blogquiz, by Chelsea.


I'll also be trying ghormeh sabzi at Billie's on Thursday.. whee! (Persian food that looks like poop, according to Corey :P)

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

More making out in public... ewwww! / Quizzes

Thank goodness I'll be nowhere near Celebrities nightclub tonight. Bleck! (to quote GWAR's Have You Seen Me?: "Have you no morals? Have you no sense of decency?") I think this is a continuation of the last time they tried this. I like what someone said in the first link (the one from earlier today): "Have you ever considered that making out in front of unwitting people is a form of sexual harassment? You people are idiots." Then the thread goes on... o_O


Note: LJ destiny / deep dark secrets of LJ friends / LJ pirate crew / the big LJ fight / LJ band / LJ ninja clan / stranded on an LJ tropical island / killing my LJ friends / taking over the LJ world / LJ friends' past lives / LJ strunkedness blogquizzes. (by Lynn, Skylar, Mish, Joy, and Claire)

Note: Rejected LJ Survey Memegen, by Megami-chan.


How old are you
What's your name
Choose a colour
Choose the first word that appeals to you
You are worth$4,475,144
You are respectedTrue
You used to be aSinger
You will live to be5,991,496
You will meetYour long-lost cousin
There is a percentage of ___ that you will marry.
54%
This Fun Quiz created by skylar at BlogQuiz.Net
Free ringtones and wallpapers! Click here!




Choose a CD
Favorite song from that CD
Choose your favorite member
Do you play a instrument?
You will _____ Billie.slap
Billie will sayI can play the guitar
Tre willPlay the drums.
Mike willGet a mohawk.
You say Tre, you are hot.
Number of times you wish you could see them again99,965,464
This Fun Quiz created by skylar at BlogQuiz.Net
Free ringtones and wallpapers! Click here!




Your Hawaiian Name is:

Kalea Kalia




You Are 30% Weird

Not enough to scare other people...
But sometimes you scare yourself.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, July 25, 2005

Three-Variable Funny Test

I've been lost in journal land all day, and it's not over yet. Wow.


Took me long enough to get these results... *grumble*

the Ham
(47% dark, 56% spontaneous, 22% vulgar)
your humor style:
CLEAN | SPONTANEOUS | LIGHT




Your style's mostly goofy, innocent, and feel-good. Perfect for parties and for the dads who chaperone them. You can actually get away with corny jokes, and I bet your sense of humor is a guilty pleasure for your friends. People of your type are often the most approachable and popular people in their circle. Your simple and silly good-naturedness is immediately recognizable, and it sets you apart in this sarcastic world.


PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Will Ferrell - Will Smith



My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 37% on dark
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 87% on spontaneous
free online datingfree online dating
You scored higher than 18% on vulgar
Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid Free Online Dating

Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, July 24, 2005

First Nations Street Church @ Main / Hastings

Right after I finished my last post, I just managed to get Jon on the phone as he was about to leave Eric's. We picked up Jeremy on the way to Main and Hastings, and shared some Blue Diamond almonds. Eric called me "monkey girl" when I moved his banana over in the backseat since I didn't want to squish it while making room for Jon. (in the two hours that they did other stuff, I wrote my last entry!) He and Jon were trying to say my nickname with a German accent... they attempted a French accent earlier, heh. Jeremy was wearing a red "... and yo" (in white) T-shirt.. I'm not sure what the significance of that is, but at least it's not raw dog / durian! ;)

We met up with Alan on the edge of Chinatown, and banged on the Plexiglas door to enter the First Nations street church. The senior pastor there is someone who used to go there for hot dogs and just run out, like the majority of people in line tonight, some of whom went back for more multiple times. I figured my brother's friend Gideon was there because Jon sang a certain song with changed lyrics implying something quite different from the reality! Ty noticed me there, and greeted me warmly... he said he was glad to see me come out. Might as well try it once, y'know? (and I might do it again, who knows?)

After a quick run-through of the way things were going to be led, Alan and Eric helped serve food. Ty, Jon, and Jeremy helped with the worship and service. A few others and I helped welcome the people as they came in to consume hot dogs and drinks. One man in the lineup claimed to be from Mars, and also said that he'd seen War of the Worlds with his mother at the new Paramount theatre! I shook people's hands and said hi... I wasn't as proficient or warm as some other girl named Esther, but that could come with time.

Then Esther, Gideon, and I talked with a man who was from Nova Scotia... he had some interesting ideas! He'd been a chef / cook for 25 years, doesn't like BS or people stealing from him, apologized for his language, and said a Halifax boat ride is where it's at. Gideon says he can even mess up instant noodles: he was making four packages at once for his family, put all four seasoning packets in, and had his brother declare it way too salty after one bite! I told him where Storyeum was... in / near Gastown somewhere, but he's not too familiar with the area. The pastor thanked us later, and said that most groups wanted to just get in there and finish as fast as they could: we were different from what he expected, heh.

On the way home, I told Eric about last week's story involving a blue liquid in the commercial that was really supposed to be red. Of course, I didn't go into too much detail... and the only reason I told him that much was that I thought he was referencing the blue line in pregnancy tests, or that he was asking about men in my life! (of which there are none currently, heh) He's kinda desensitized to it since he's had girl roommates before, and thinks he was there that night at Boston Pizza when we were discussing all of Erin's embarrassing pad stories anyhow. (Nathan was kinda horrified since he has no sisters, heh... which reminds me that at lunch, he asked if he could be my sister. Sure, why not? Jon misheard, and told him that he had too many [unrelated] sisters already in his sisterhood / harem [including his twin sister Vanessa L.].. wasn't I already one of them? So then we set him straight... he HAS many sisters, but has never BEEN a sister! That could lead to incest if he and Nathan were to get together, never mind what the Anglican church thinks of the matter! From incest to bigamy to polygamy to polyamory to raw dog bigamy... hahaha!)

He asked if I was getting together with Palmer, and I said: "No, his lifestyle's a bit too complicated." Then I told him about the time my family and Vivian's family went to the Blue Diamond almond factory in San Francisco. (no, I didn't do a #2 there!) They had this gift shop which included a table with samples of different almonds.. we ate them ALL, which we found kinda hilarious. (but also kinda mean)

Seeing all those people at the street church certainly made me think! I believe I'm kinda glad I left my comfort zone and spontaneously decided to go with the guys tonight. We'll see what happens in the future with this, heh.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

"Starbucks by day, and something else by night"

I can be a bit self-centred sometimes, but that doesn't necessitate complaining familial lectures or in-fighting. I'm perfectly willing to compromise for the greater good... all I need to do is practice applying that to my life, heh. Changing your thoughts and your actions can be very challenging!

With that said, let's get on to the tale of my day so far. I talked to Alan before service about family, plans, and his girlfriend Tracy who's in Ohio now and experiencing some frustration with furniture / Internet access (not till August!?) / settling in. I said bye to Michelle and Sheena, who are going to Mexico this week for some short-term missions work. My sister wanted to have lunch with the worship team, but I told her to have some sense and think of me with our parents. Jon was hauling a box of Bruce Waltke books on Proverbs around, but he didn't buy one himself: he can go over to Erin's anytime and borrow their copies, since they buy things and never open them. (sounds like me with my books, eep... he was also wondering who / where some dude named Tommy Yee was, who's paid for his book anyway!) She hasn't touched her guitar since whenever the last time was that my brother came over: Brian helped her pick it out, too! Imagine her being possessive over it last summer: "Wash your hands before you touch it!" At least my brother was right about her losing that sense of ownership soon... yet another Erin story to add to the rapidly-growing collection, haha. (one wrong note threw her off in service today, too.. she got lost and screwed up, self-admittedly)

Sunday School with the toddlers today was draining. We had half the number of kids, but little Gwyneth will do anything for attention / rebellion. She wanted us to help her with her lollipop, she wouldn't listen, she got in Frances' way during storytime, she crawled under the table, she wanted various things RIGHT NOW... eeep. I took her and her sister Evelyn's lollipops, toy camera, toys, and milk in a sippy cup away: the toys belonged to the toddler room, and I gave them their stuff back except for the milk since I forgot about it. (once I got home, I threw the curdled milk away... I'll give the cup back next week if I remember) Frances and I don't know why she's like this!

Afterwards, my sister informed me that a bunch of us (her / Jon / Eric M. / Karen / Nathan / Jen / Ricky / me) would be going to Milestone's for lunch... that suited me just fine! Eric T. thanked me for the book that his brother Stanley had given him: Bathroom Readers are good fun, haha! I wasted five minutes looking for my parents so I could tell them: it turns out Jon had told them already. But I did get to see my friend Jennifer's new baby Amos: his big brother Rick (who used to slap me on the butt :P) thinks he's great as a new toy, haha. Speaking of babies, my sister spotted newly-married Anita outside with Karen Chan / Randal / Maxine (hugely pregnant) / Sophia (fairly pregnant). She pantomimed as if she were pregnant, and jokingly asked when Anita would be having a baby since her biological clock was ticking! (she did the same thing to me last week, the brat :P) Anita just pretended to slap her and say: "Not that soon!" Steph thinks their kids will be good friends later on... or maybe it'll be because Uncle Jeff (Anita's husband now.. whoa, feels strange writing that :P) is a cop, haha! Since she and Maxine were both wearing pink tops and white bottoms, Steph told her that she had a nice outfit. Man, all my friends are getting married or having babies... chop chop, indeed. *sigh*

In due time, we all went to Milestone's: sitting in a black car on a hot day isn't good! Karen brought up the latest trend in cheating on school exams: using your camera phone to take pictures of the completed test, and sending it over to your friends. My sister sat in on the Gr. 11 / 12 Sunday School class today, and noted that everyone had their cell phones out to text friends when they weren't talking all the time! We were all brats then, sure... but not to that extent! We joked around a lot about Josh Groban, since Erin thinks some song of his would be perfect for worship lead-in. That reminded me of the time my mom thought Joan Osborne's One of Us ("What if God was one of us / Just a slob like one of us") would be perfect for God's Faithful Singers. (the church kids choir we had at the time) She'd said to me, "Ask Byron if you guys can sing it! It would be perfect!" I just gave her a very dubious look: it would make a good sermon topic, but not an offering in song! (I can just imagine people's reactions, oh no...) We noted that Pastor Edward was really "on crack" (not literally :P) today, and couldn't stop himself once he got on a roll. He liked using my brother as an illustration, and said that his water was on the other side of the sanctuary: when someone went to get it, he said he'd drink it later! (so why bring it up in the first place? who knows...)

Someone brought up Wedding Crashers, so we discussed that and Team America: no, we're not replacing all the swear words in the theme song with "Jesus," as that would be almost blasphemous! Jen brought up 50 Cent's P.I.M.P. as another example of a song we should never attempt to do in church service. My sister remembered the time we watched movies as a family, and someone chose Bad Boys 2 (not as good as Bad Boys 1): that was awkward, especially because my mom was cringing at all the swearing! Then there was the time we watched Pulp Fiction or the Bruce Willis Die Hard 1-3 movies, and attempted to keep a running tally of all the swear words: that proved pretty much impossible, as we quickly lost track of them! We discussed Jennifer Lopez movies, because the girls were feeling left out of the discussion. Then we made fun of my drunken stories, ordering alcohol, "going wild," and not knowing how to drink beer / wine. Steph wanted us to have another Richmond hangout involving siu long bao soon... sounds good to me! Then we got into her love of country music / Tina Turner / her Oregon road trip (sand dunes!) with Vivian S. and Rachel next week / PNE work.. interesting times! (B-4 4 and other boy bands, Cantopop, easy jobs, supervisors, retarded customers, reading / playing cards / napping on the job... hahaha)

The whole table had a laugh when my sister wondered just what Jen did: "Starbucks by day and something else by night..." Just what was she trying to imply? For the record, it's Starbucks and Staples. It came time to pray for the meal, and everyone wanted someone else to pray. Nathan finally decided that it was Jon by default, so he got us during the (funny?) prayer: "Dear Lord, we thank you for the food. Help these weak brothers and sisters pray to you, and thank you that we're able to joke around too!" (that elicited an "aiya" reaction) We really got going when someone brought up the 1000 free Transforming Friendship books that James Houston was donating to our church, the Swarovski Crystal bling that someone else was donating through freewill offering next week, the chicken egg pastries ($5 a bag) that people made, and other such church building fundraising efforts. Someone jokingly brought up going to Wreck Beach (clothing-optional) and using this rationale: "Why spend money on bathing suits when you can go to Wreck Beach and give that bathing suit money to the church building fund?" (based on Pastor Edward's rationale of "Save the money you would spend on coffee in a piggy bank or small jar... why buy that when you can donate to the building fund?") That attracted attention from another table: "Did you hear that?!" Eeek, they were probably thinking, "What kind of church do THEY go to?!"

Jon brought up durian beer, polyamory, polygamy, bigamy, beer with pearls, shark's fin Pho, prime rib Pho, Jeremy's expensive organic meat Pho, and the three Pho restaurants within walking distance of the church. Pho Song Huong (the one across the street near the 7-11) is okay, but their service is slow. Jon's favorite story there involves the time he ordered a large bowl, but they gave him a small bowl. He brought it up, so the waitress went to the kitchen and came back to slide the large bowl across the table: of course we noticed that the bowl just contained the contents of the small bowl, but didn't want to say anything after that. Then there's the dodgy one (Pho 888) with the smelly incense and repetitive music that drove Nathan nuts: that's also the one where Adela and Andy saw the guy with the gun recently. Our favorite is the one that used to be the You and Me Café, except when that one waitress seems to be really ditzy as you order food. (I remember a story I heard once where Erin entered the place for a meeting lunch with people, then loudly proclaimed: "My dad HATES this place!" Hahaha! Oh, Erin!)

I asked Nathan whether he'd read the Bathroom Readers I'd given him yet: he'd read one page on failures, and one involved some teacher who thought a swastika flag would be a good idea for a historical assembly, so he got cans thrown at him by the audience. He read it in the bathroom, and is still cashing in on his birthday! Jon brought up the street church on the Downtown Eastside that he'd be helping at later before the Sufjan Stevens concert: it's a CRU thing, so Jeremy and Ty will be there. (so will Alan and Eric, and others that I obviously don't know) It's something I've never done before, but I might just do it, heh. I also JUST noticed Eric's Homestar Runner keychain, which he's had for years: I am so clueless, eep. That sparked a discussion of the Peasant's Quest game, Trogdor, Scalding Lake, and other such things. Good times today, except for dithering over using pennies as very partial payment for your restaurant bill. Is that inherently rude? I have no idea. Ah well, I'll change soon enough! We also talked to Chuck and Andrea, and discussed Jon's book about Rwanda genocide stories. Looks interesting!

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,