"We went through a pound of butter a week, and I didn't even use it that much!"

We woke up the teens (Sam / Mike / Joey / Chris / etc.) in the lounge, then I told Steph that Jon thought I was a gossip hound: since when is hearing about the baptism class / date from one of the participants (Mike) GOSSIP?! At breakfast, Steph told us that her old roommate Jessica Marr used a pound of butter a week for eating with rice. When Steph ate plain white rice, Jessica was very surprised. Jeremy noticed some soy sauce in with the food, and said that it was an "Asian touch," which is how we got onto this topic in the first place. We noticed blueberry sauce for our pancakes, and figured the the food people were recycling food, since the blueberries had been part of our snack last night. (Steph poured a bunch of blueberry sauce into a cup, and joked that this was the best part!) Jeremy advised us all NOT to try the apple juice since it tasted really rank.. I decided to take his word for it!

Someone made a comment involving Trinity Western University and Texas: Joe thought that they were making fun of Phil's girlfriend since those two things were all he heard, haha! (of course they weren't!) Jon decided to go to Starbucks for some coffee and brought it to us in the Northwest building with all the pretty colors! Steph asked William, Darren, and Sam's brother Jeremy how it had been sleeping three to a room: it wasn't too bad, particularly since they'd not slept till 5 AM, so William didn't really care about sleeping on the floor! I asked Jon how Dix had been the other night: he and Jeremy hadn't gone there, but to Nathan's instead! Eric asked whether I was afraid of trays, too: of course not, but I don't feel like I can carry them with the proper balance! Christal and Wilson's mom told me that Wilson had seen me eating with my friends in the cafeteria, so got her attention by saying "Mommy! See!" Heh, two-year-olds are cute. Wish I'd talked to him a bit, but didn't really get a chance to... next week it is!

I noticed Megan and Wayland at the first talk session, so talked to them a while: it's really hot in St. Louis, but Wayland can deal now. I said hi to Clarence, Ben, some people from the Richmond church, Rich, Hien, Margaret, and Christon. Steph mentioned that I should get some AfterBite: maybe later! Jason Mak saw me and thanked me again for the flaxseed bread: his parents really like it, which is a good thing! Before lunch, we had a group picture: getting 300 people into a photo is no easy task, but nobody did any "Auntie Brenda" stances this year, haha.

We noticed Jeremy's name tag again, and Steph asked who'd written the Chinese characters after Nathan did a joking translation. (the last one was the word for "rice," since the "me" sound doesn't exist in Chinese!) He said that Mom had written it, telling him that he had to have a Chinese name... this made Steph feel left out. I got Jon and Steph to sign Justin's and Fidela's birthday cards, and then asked Clement (who I saw in the hallway) where his siblings had gone. Soon afterwards, I saw Justin: he seemed really appreciative of the golf Bathroom Reader, which he didn't have. Jon joked that he was really disappointed about Rule #1 in the conference handbook, which involved no alcohol on campus. Then we broke Rule #6 ("you may not enter the room of someone of the opposite gender unless you are designated as sharing that room with your parent / child / spouse") SO many times, it wasn't funny! Luckily, Pastor Joe was there to oversee things! ;)

I talked to Dianne, Connie, Anthony, Eric, Karen Lew, Chrystal, Terry, Christon, Vivian, and others at lunch... we discovered more recycled food (strawberries and blueberries) in the dessert tarts! Steph said that the meal expenses at Trinity were kinda high: $2 for each ice cream bar, $25 for dinner, $15 for lunch, and $10 for breakfast! ("Quick, Joey! You have to eat $10 worth of food!") She had the exact amounts on her computer, but not an itemization by foodstuff! After a while, Rich left to go get something.. this was my opportunity to pass Fidela's card and book to Sheena so she could give it to her at the other table. Fidela really liked it, and joked that she'd flip through the book during chapel sessions at Wheaton, heh. Zoe (one of the kids) passed our table a few times: my sister said hi and tapped her on the head for fun, so the kid just let out an exclamation of fear and clung to her mom. She's about nine years old, but did say hi and wave back when *I* said hi to her! (although she used to just ignore me when I did that) My sister likes it that Zoe's afraid of her (but Zoe doesn't know why she's so afraid of Steph... my sister didn't do anything to the kid, so perhaps that's why!), since you need that balance of fear and respect first with children. (or something) Some people had watched KING KONG at 2 in the morning: even my brother's not that insane, haha.

On the way to the session after lunch, Rich was discussing Dylan's friend Carol with someone else, so I told him that she was Zoe's cousin. He thought that I knew a lot of gossip: not true, since we talked to them after lunch! (I also said hi to Sheena and Chalaine's mom... I know who she is!) Then Anthony randomly tapped me on the shoulder and acted like it wasn't him: yes, it was... I'd seen him doing that to Karen right before he did it to me! I asked Benny when his birthday was: it's the day after Rich's, and he's 21 now. He wondered why I was asking and when my birthday was (I said that I was just wondering, haha) and then remembered that I was older than Danielle. Then he asked what year I was in the Chinese zodiac: he's a Rat, and I'm a Dragon! After the session, we had a bunch of ice cream bars to start our four hours of free time: Eric said that I was thinking of taking another one because he couldn't eat any... yeah right! I talked to Teresa, who said that Gwyneth had ADD and was moody when she was off her meds. (as she was now for a week... her birthday had been last week) Her sister Evelyn's birthday is the day after mine, but she wouldn't talk to me either. Steph and I discussed things with a guy named Henry while discovering that the megaphone was broken: we saw Isabel, Emily, Jeremy, Darren, and some others climbing out a first-floor window to get outside. (why can't they just use the DOOR?!) We saw little Clara's mom pass by: we can see she's pregnant! That reminded Steph of Stella's suddenly getting a LOT of belly fat all at once: we were all relieved when Stella announced her pregnancy with Benjamin! ("is she just really fat now, or... ???")

Auntie Sarah went to the Army & Navy surplus store to buy stuff, Ben said that Joe was going to Starbucks with six other people, people played badminton / soccer / other stuff in the gym, and Ben himself worked on his testimony. The teens played volleyball, and asked Ivan what he was teaching his brother since little Nathan had apparently developed a crush on the Chinese speaker's six-year-old twin daughters! (there are two of them, which might be part of his fascination) I talked about that with Emily and Isabel outside while the kids were playing about. The twins, Rosanna, and maybe one other girl were watching Nathan... four girls, dude! Ryan and Ethan came by, and so did Steph: she wondered to me whether Ryan and Ethan were twins. (they're not, but they're not even two years apart in age: they look like their dead father, though!) William sat down with us and we talked for a bit about summer and such... Summer Conference seems really short because we just got there last night, and leave tomorrow afternoon! (maybe it should be extended one more day or something) Then I let the kids use my bubble solution: between gentle blowing and some spillage, we all managed to use up more than half of it! (but that's okay, heh) Rosanna and her sister Samantha somersaulted a lot, then picked up "chipmunk food" (grass and odd stalks) and looked at the white clouds' shape in the sky.

Sheena, Cindy, Chrystal, Connie, Lesley, and others invited me to go walking around the lake / running with them... however, I declined. (I'd slow them down, man!) After that, I went inside to read / nap a little. In the dinner lineup, Joey / Steph / Chris / Sam discussed Chung's younger brother Ming: he's a soccer hottie! At dinner, Jeremy opined that the butter was made of petroleum products: yummy! We discussed Richmond being overpopulated by rabbits: Steph thinks we should just shoot them, and never mind what the animal rights people say! She thanked William for letting them use his playing cards since nobody had packed any! Then the discussion somehow turned to cigars and nicotine highs: one of the Richmond girls had tried it, and said that it was pretty potent, but wore off after a while! Then we talked about the brown water just below us, and the lone Canada goose: jokes were made about having it for dinner instead of the turkey we had.

Halfway through dinner, we noticed some of the little kids (Rosanna / Samantha / Ryan / Ethan) beating Mike up: he couldn't take them inside since they'd disrupt too many people! So instead Mike dangled Ryan off the railing that overlooked the "sewer water": Citrus warned him not to turn into Michael Jackson, and Steph added that his new name could be Michael Jackson Kwan! Jeremy came back out while we were all laughing at this.. he wondered to me whether he'd missed something, so I filled him in. He found it amusing! Eric went to help with the kids, and Julie wandered by during a discussion that Sam / Chris / Jeremy were having about drumming speed and bongos! (slow down, speed up, etc.) I got Ryan, Evelyn, and Gwyneth to stop pinching Mike's nose... meanwhile, Ethan had bumped Eric's chin once, so Steph told him to be careful. As Mike said, this is why little kids shouldn't take naps!

At the third session, I noticed Dorothy, who used to be at my church when she was a baby! (I remember her from then!) She updated me on her sisters Lavone (pregnant and moving into the family basement with her husband... it's being painted and such!), Josanna (getting married in September), and Bonnae. Maybe I'll email Lavone sometime if I still have her email address somewhere... I have a suspicion it's in my old rat-stained notebook, which of course I threw away in a church garbage can. At snacktime, Fidela was discussing the Darfur "three times in one day" Grouse Grind with Jon and Jeremy: they plan to start at 8 AM, heh. Steph told me that Jessica Lam's birthday was Thursday (I was prepared with a birthday card!), and that Terrence's was today (a year younger than she is)... he's in Singapore, but she sent him an email. Yes, I noticed that she has two good friends named Vivian... very nice coincidence! Chris wanted to jam, but nobody really felt like it. Someone joked to Cindy about dehydrated / evaporated water, and she fell for it.. oh no! Terry, Dianne, and others were counting up the David / Daniel Fellowship attendees at this year's Summer Conference: we didn't do too badly! (we said hi to Karen So when she passed by with Chung)

Right after Jeremy said that the honeydew wasn't ripe, Joey ate some... I guess teens will eat anything! Vivian was amused at Steph's retelling of the "Dylan and Jon's guitar story," Steph joked to Vivian that we'd give her big tins of Jelly Bellies and Blue Diamond almonds for a wedding present (memories!), and Eric joked about my Corona hat: he KNOWS where I got it (of course I told Jeremy when HE asked about it!), and it wasn't at a kegger! A bunch of people went to the lounge later to watch movies and such, and I joined them after I read some more true crime. People were playing Spoons (with plastic knives) and Steph had made it into a bladder endurance contest by declaring that they had to drink some exact measurement of water if they went up a level, and were out for good if they had to pee. Fidela led a card game of Mafia: we were all amused at someone's description of Olivia as "quiet and evil," haha. The Spoons group got into a debate whether sound effects (Vania throwing a spoon at Steph's chest and the subsequent deflating noise) constituted "talking." Steph apologized to Eric for the TMI factor of her "boob and bra" explanation, and then asked Ben whether Vania was right or not. (Vania said that the "sss" sound effect WAS talking, and Steph obviously didn't agree with her!) He didn't get it, so I had to explain it further to him: after that, he had no opinion either way. Then Vania led Steph into "general conversation," and made her go up a level, so Steph threw knives at everyone playing Spoons.

Sam said that the Kirkland Jelly Bellies were amazing, so I had to try some: he was right! Later, Steph decided to microwave some of the popcorn: Ben asked me what it was. He'd never heard of Orville Redenbacher, and had never heard the kiddy camp song "I love fried rice / You can't get to heaven on roller skates" that Mike started a round of slightly later on. (he asked me what song it was, heh... but I didn't mind telling him stuff!) Anthony was playing KH2 in his room on Benny's laptop, so a bunch of the guys and I watched for a while. One Richmond girl noticed what was going on, but stopped just short of the door to watch. Me, I just kept on breaking Rule #6! (hahaha, good times!) Sheena, Connie, and Lesley arrived in the lounge for a while and watched Fidela / Sam / Julie / Mike / Ivan / Hien / William / Olivia / Stanley / others play Mafia. (and Spoons) After about 40 minutes, I left to read and then sleep.

He's not even eight years old, and he has eight crushes... Ivan, your brother's a PLAYER!

I want to do a "day update" for Summer Conference, even though I wasn't online on the weekend... you apparently needed a password for accessing the Internet there, according to some people I talked to. So I'll just update as usual, then edit the timestamps to make it seem like I was "live on location in Langley." If I just did one update covering the entire weekend, it would be way too long and no one would want to read it even WITH a cut (assuming this thing has a readership :P)... trust me. These entries are also likely to have a zillion tags, but that's just me being OCDL... there's NO WAY that I can contain the sheer fullness of each day with just a few lines of tag space! :P


On Friday afternoon before I met Auntie Ruby at her office, I went for an eye exam. Good thing I scheduled it for 2 instead of 3 since it took longer than I expected! (yellow eyedrops and such) I also decided to get some shopping done: I bought Benny's and Mike's baptism cards (I didn't get Anthony's since I figured I didn't know him well enough... but will later since I kinda do now!), some felts, Benny's farewell card, a Bathroom Reader for Fidela (#15!), some Cadbury Thins and Fruit-To-Go (no time for lunch), and a bunch of stickers with facts on the back. Once we were on the way to Summer Conference, I talked to Audrey for a while (and consumed for mini egg tarts) before falling asleep. (remember, I'd had like 4 hours of sleep before inexplicably waking up at 5:45 AM) I woke up on the road to Trinity, and we found the building we were supposed to register at within half an hour.

On the way to that building, we met Dylan, who asked me whether I knew why we couldn't get into Fraser Hall like last year. (besides the music conference being held at the same time) I said that he could ask my sister since she was on the planning committee... or that he could ask my mother if he was feeling especially brave! He decided that he'd rather ask my brother or sister rather than face my mom again! (with good reason... ah, Jon's guitar!) I got settled in fairly quickly, with a few minutes to spare before dinner. In the dinner lineup, I playfully punched Mike as a way of saying hello.. he complained about that, and asked why everyone wanted to do that to him! Cindy and Terry were also commiserating about their August birthdays... reduced chances of recognition by school / work people! I'll have to get Terry's birthday card REALLY soon, since it's on the same day as the baptism! (the 13th) Steph had said she'd help me with my meal trays before Conference, and she delivered on that promise! (thank goodness!) That led to some teasing about how much she ate, since she was carrying two meals on one tray.

We decided to sit outside for dinner, and people started criticizing the food. It WAS kinda mediocre, but better than six years ago! I told Jeremy about Jon getting pizza for us, and Cindy said that Jackie had brought Kernels popcorn last year. This year, people had brought Orville Redenbacher popcorn and jelly beans as part of their snackage! The tea was kinda salty, the potatoes were powdered, and the water was cut with lemons so that we wouldn't notice the "tap water" taste. We also talked about how kids thought you were really young / old (six, eight, 99, or 100?) because they don't have the perspective yet. One of Cindy's students encountered her while out shopping: "Huh?! You.. shop?!" Cindy told the kid that she was out with her mother, which got this response: "You have a mom? Your mom, dad, brother, and sister are ALIVE?!" Hahaha, good times!

Someone suggested boiling the water, and someone else asked who would do THAT... Cindy would! (she says she's addicted to water) I asked Christon how the fireworks had been on Wednesday, and he said they were fine. After a while, we realized that we were into our "travel time" to get to the opening ceremonies, so we all left. (the worship team all abandoned Ben, poor guy!) The building for our conference sessions had been painted over last year (according to Joe): it looked REALLY psychedelic with bright orange, blue, green, yellow, and other colors! Steph had master keys, which helped the people who had stubborn keys, or who were locked out. We discovered that one of the guys had switched the signs on the girls and boys washrooms, so the signs were switched back. The opening ceremony went well, heh... then we all had muffins and such for a snack!

Jeremy and Jon said that their hypothetical beer company would be called "Raw Dog Brewing," which makes perfect sense. I talked to Chrystal about her new job, and Citrus said that his family didn't go to Conference this year. We noted some Chinese characters on Jeremy's name tag, and wondered what it meant... apparently, it was the Chinese phonetic equivalent of his name! Jon combined coffee and pink lemonade: when he showed Mom, she was horrified, haha. Chrystal, Eric, and I met a new person: Thomas' parents are friends with Vania's parents, and he kept calling Vania by the wrong name! (like "Wendy")

Eric wondered about my glasses, since of course he knew that those weren't my normal ones. Steph and I told him what had happened: she was relieved that I hadn't called her at 5:45 AM panicking about missing Summer Conference, haha. Then I noticed Eric telling little Nathan something, so we went to see what was up. Nathan didn't want his wrist bone, since he said it hurt. He hadn't fallen down, but it was still sore. Then his sister Natalie came up to us and (much to Nathan's consternation) told us that Nathan had EIGHT crushes! Eric asked me how old he was: when I said that he was six, Eric responded: "Man! You're not even eight, and you have eight crushes! You're a mack, hahaha!" (not that they know what that means - or who Kelly Kapowski is - but it's true!)

Then the two siblings made us guess all eight names: Ashley, Priscilla, April, and others. I asked whether Nathan just saw them and had crushes on them... yes, apparently! (I told Eric that they were Ivan's little siblings: quite an age gap!) After that, we went back to our building / outside for some basketball / card games (Big Two and Bum) / showers / quiet time. (Jon said that Justin wanted to go to Montana's, and he'd go just for the companionship, but I don't think they ended up going) Chrystal said that she had a bad sense of direction (I do too, especially when it's DARK outside!), and had liked living on her own in Korea. Steph mistook my bra for underwear, told me that she'd heard of the 24-hour Blog-A-Thon (every half an hour with no postdating allowed) on the Canucks blog, and said that people were also watching THE INCREDIBLES in the lounge: I just read a bit and slept early!

Friday Five on names

Yeah, I know I probably update too much when I should probably be trying to sleep. But if I try sleeping now, then I might very well REALLY oversleep... not good! Besides, I'm making up for the lack of posts which will be apparent over this weekend, so you should be happy! (... yeah, I dunno how that works either... shut up, I've only had like 4 hours of sleep!)


Friday Five on Names

1. Are you named after anyone? If so, explain. Yes, sort of. My mom thought it would be a good idea to name me Leslie, even after her brother married someone with the same name! She kinda liked the name already before that, to be fair. But still... that shows a seeming lack of creativity / imagination on her part, I sometimes think.


2. Do you have your children's names picked out already? If so, is there any significance? Yeah, I do to a certain extent. Tatiana, since I like the story of the Romanov duchesses and all that Russian stuff... I knew two sisters named Henrieta and Kristina Paukov in high school, and met their younger sister Tatiana and younger brother Laci at the public pool once.

Sebastian, since I once met this kid with that name in elementary school, and liked the name. James, since it seems to be a classic, and I like those. Roanna, since I knew someone with that name a LONG time ago, and liked it. (same with her siblings' names: Gloria, Nina, Kent, and Vicson!) As for the other names that show up on my "names for future kids" lists, I dunno...


3. If you were born a member of the opposite sex, what would your name have been? See Question #1. Although I'm glad I wasn't a boy, as I *did* meet a guy with the same name as me (first and last name) in Gr. 8 when I went to junior high school...


4. If you could re-name yourself, what name would you pick and why? I dunno... too much choice. Maybe Tatiana, as above. It would be something different, and people wouldn't misspell it all the time to have me confused with someone else whom I am ambivalent about / might not like too much at times. (see below)


5. Are there any mispronunciations / typos that people do with your name constantly? I know my sister hates it when people pronounce my name "LEZ-lee" rather than "LES-lee," but there's nothing I can do about it except maybe glare at the people! (however, don't get me started on people who think it's perfectly fine to call me "Lez" as a nickname... I'm NOT A FRIGGING LESBIAN! :P) Oh, and I also hate it when people misspell my name as "Lesley," especially if they're from church. I am NOT the other person with a similar name and don't wish to be confused with her, thanks! I am ME, MY OWN PERSON, and NOT HER! SHEESH! (at least we got the spelling out of the way with Jesse when we were re-introduced to him last month or so!)

Oh, and don't get into what people do to my last name. It's true that it's only two letters long, but I think what throws people is the fact that it doesn't have any vowels. ;) But really... it should be fairly easy to pronounce, seeing as the city IS teeming with Asian folk! :P

Waking up REALLY early... stop it, body! :P / Weird survey from Amy

My first thought when I got up today was that it was 5:40 PM... and then I figure that I was screwed since I was supposed to be somewhere by 4 PM.

Then when I found it was 5:40 AM, I wondered what the heck I was doing up. I know I went to bed at 1 AM, but this is ridiculous.

Just to prove that it isn't really 5:40 PM (and all my clocks are out of whack), I have the radio on. The people on the morning shows don't lie... it IS 5:40 AM!

Now, if only I can get back to sleep... I know I need training for Summer Conference, but this is stupid! (besides, 5:40 PM around here these days is SUNNY and not simply clear skies... but you never know!)


Here's a "weird questions" survey from Amy, via Myspace bulletin:

"Off-The-Wall" Questions:

When was the last time you went to the bathroom outside?: When I was a kid.

Last time you saw your parents?: Yesterday.

Family member you most resemble?: My dad, probably. *sigh*

Do you own your own Bible?: Yeah, I think I have at least two around here...

Do you wear deodorant?: Yes, sometimes.

Do you clean up nicely?: Sometimes.

When was the last time you tripped and fell?: Not sure.

Where was the last place you slept besides your home?: The townhouse. But soon it'll be at Trinity!

What are you listening to right now?: Hardcore rock / punk.

Have you ever started an uncontrollable fire?: No.

Would you rather cut the grass or rake the leaves?: Rake leaves.

Your middle name spelled backwards: Haw Ihc.

What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?: Some music.

Last time you swam in a pool?: A couple years back.

Have you ever been in a school play?: Yeah.

How many kids do you want?: Maybe 2.

Type of music you dislike most?: Rap.

Are you registered to vote?: Yes.

Ever prank call anybody?: Probably.

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?: Neither.

Do you have a garden?: No.

What's your favorite comic?: Garfield.

Bath or Shower: Shower.

Best movie you've seen in the past two weeks?: A Fish Called Wanda.

Best pizza topping?: BBQ chicken.

Peanuts or popcorn?: Peanuts.

Orange Juice or apple juice?: Apple.

Chocolate Bar?: Sure!

When was the last time you voted at the polls?: Whenever the last election was.

When was the last time you ate a homegrown tomato?: I don't think I ever have.

Ever order anything from an infomercial?: No.

Sprite or 7-Up?: Sprite.

Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work / school?: Yeah.

Ever thrown up in public?: Yup... once even in a bowl of hot and sour soup.

Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love?: True love.

Who was the last person you visited in a hospital?: Jon, at Christmas 2004.

What do you think about most?: People.

Favorite form of travel?: Water, or scenic highway.

If you could have one magical power, what would it be?: Too much choice... probably teleportation.


SOME STRANGE QUESTIONS:

Something purple within 5 feet of you: A pencil case with felts / pencil crayons in it.

Is your hair long enough to chew on?: No, but it used to be.

Least favorite color?: Puke green.

Ever had Dippin' Dots?: Never heard of 'em.

Ever played an instrument?: Piano and clarinet.

Ever been to a palm reader?: No.

Last Pez dispenser you purchased?: I don't remember... too long ago.

Did you have a good weekend?: It was okay.

How is today going for you?: All right, I suppose.

Any plans for tonight?: Summer Conference, yay.

Ever photograph something that was dead?: No.

Are you ready for Halloween?: Eh, I suppose...

Current disappointment?: WHY CAN'T I SLEEP?!

It looks like I'll have to get new glasses...

Earlier tonight, the right arm of my glasses decided to come off. Luckily the mall was still open, so I decided to hop the bus for a quick trip to Iris (the eyeglasses place) to see what could be done about it. The short answer turned out to be nothing since the spring inside had broken (and they didn't have any temples that would fit anyhow)... unless I had crazy glue for a temporary fix, which I don't. However, the person working there did give me some useful information: since my prescription is fairly high, there's a good chance I'd still be covered for the eye exam cost under MSP. (more chance of the retina detaching from the eyeball?!) These glasses are over five years old (and that place didn't have my file anymore because of this), so the coating's started to come off in places ("a slick look").

Since I need them to see properly, they obviously have more wear and tear on them than a pair of (for example) a pair of glasses used only while driving. Apparently, five years or more is a long time for the average pair of glasses to last... and people should really get new eye exams every couple of years because the prescription could change, and the optometrist might need to build people up to their new needs. (the brain's too used to interpreting edges as fuzzy, so the new sharp / clear / crisp edges is too much for it to process) At least I've treated my glasses better (?) since they're more important to me!

After that, I thought of going out to eat at Milestones, but decided to save my money and go home sooner rather than later: very important in this new reality! Since I'm a considerate person and know that my mom's probably dealing with a LOT of last-minute Summer Conference stuff, I decided to Google the name / phone number of Dr. Thomas Lau (my mom saw him for her eyes a while back). I wasn't successful on my first try, but tried again with slightly different search terms: found it on YellowPages Canada! Of course, what Google CAN'T tell me is whether my mom still sees him... oh well, I'll call her later. I'll call the eye doctor tomorrow if I have time... if not, Monday will have to do.

I wish this had happened after Summer Conference. Not that I'm shallow / vain or anything, but I'd have preferred to wear the glasses that finally seemed to give up the ghost tonight! Meeting a bunch of new people from the Richmond church with the REALLY old ones that I had like ten years ago?! Aiyoh!

Only 5 more years to give birth?! / Teaching English to my mom can be amusing! / Durian gelato

Apparently, my mom thinks I only have 5 more years to give birth. o_O What the heck... just because SHE finished having kids at 35 doesn't mean anything about ME. (not like I'll get married or anything)

The lunch today with Justin's grandma was all right... I spent most of my time talking to my brother about stuff like Dave and Tiffany, what I packed for Summer Conference, his plans to go to Dix for wings and beer tonight (I declined his invite for now in part because I have no actual cash... apparently Brian might come out with Jeremy and Nathan), going to Earl's yesterday after the fireworks (transit was really bad!), Benny / Anthony / Mike getting baptized (I'm not a gossip hound, since I heard it from Mike himself!), Ryan C., what we were talking about before he arrived at church on Sunday, etc.

I told him that I'd seen this LJ post in the Vancouver community about the environmental impact of the fireworks: we both agreed that people leaving their dirty diapers on the beach is pretty disgusting! (we'd at least wrap it up in something and put it in the garbage bins, but maybe that's just us...) Afterwards, we went to the church to pick up some stuff my mom needs for tomorrow: the megaphone impressed Dylan last year! Then we went to some Chinese supermarket to see if we could find certain items, which they didn't have. However, they DID have durian gelato and little durian magnets! (I told Jon to get a magnet for Jeremy, so he did... I also told him that Jeremy had told me about his durian plan for the fireworks: good times!)

Mom told me that I could go with Auntie Ruby to the conference since she has seats free and it might be easier for me than my busing.. so maybe I'll call her office when I'm finished this update. Apparently, I'll get to go with Audrey, whom I haven't talked to in some time. (it's kinda stressful to pack and get out of my comfort zone, but maybe it'll be good!)

Teachng Mom English can be amusing sometimes!

Mom: *says something that's an oxymoron*
Me: o_O That's certainly an oxymoron, eh?
Jon: Yeah, it definitely is.
Mom: What? A moron?
Me: No, Mom... an OXYmoron. That's different.
Mom: What's that?
Jon: It's kinda like two opposite things mentioned together, like what you just said.
Mom: Oh, I thought she was talking about morons! Because she is one.
Me and my brother: .... um...
Mom: She's difficult to get along with... isn't that a moron?
Jon: No, Mom. A moron is someone who's really dumb and stupid.
Mom: Are you sure? I thought it was like someone who scolds everyone!
Me: We're not making it up!

I also caught up on blogs just now since I won't really have a chance to do so this weekend. Jen wrote about her paid-for dinner at a partner meeting (some girl really looked awesome even when pregnant!), and Vivian posted a picture of a Roots watch and is looking forward to Summer Conference even as her school registration is all screwed up (she HATES her new schedule!). Spoz has more weekender photos up (too much beer at Governor Hindmarsh and other assorted venues watching the Tony Font Show and other bands), and Steph doesn't like Manchester United's new jerseys. She likes Chelsea's much better, even if she hates the team... she even posted pictures, and hopes the Canucks also gets new ones to replace their current ugly crop! She figures the hardest time to be a Christian is when she's playing sports: boys need an outlet of some sort, and she's never letting her sons ever play in a "church league" at all. Like, ever!

You Are 36% Brutally Honest

Honesty is nice, but only when it's convenient. You'd rather be nice than honest. You figure it's important to be honest about the big stuff, but little lies never hurt anyone!

How Brutally Honest Are You?

Edit: According to Auntie Stella (Tracy's mom and one of the receptionists there), Dr. Ruby can take me to the camp! Yay, I can sleep in / reduce the stress level by a bit! :D

Firefox

Firefox took away all my cookies! I am not impressed! At least I have a list of all my important passwords somewhere, and it didn't take away my cache / history / clicked-on links!

Dead Kennedys, censorship, future weddings

Note: LJ Reality show Memegen, by Haruhi_Suzumiya.


Here's a Wikipedia list of Internet memes.

I finally listened to the Alan Cross show for the first time in some months. It was exactly what I've been missing: this guy does shows on various aspects of rock music. Tonight's show was the first part of two on censorship in music, so of course it covered the Clash / Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax / lists of songs the BBC has banned for one reason or another (like war) / System of a Down being banned / all of Rage Against the Machine being banned after Sept. 11, and so much more! I love it that the censors didn't see anything wrong with Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side... particularly one line, hahahaha. Here's a Wikipedia article on the songs that Clear Channel thought were inappropriate after Sept. 11, and one on censorship in music in general. For the heck of it, here's a list of banned books since I also like reading. :D

I told this to Corey, and he said I should go look at the original artwork on the Dead Kennedys album Frankenchrist. (WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR WORK!) Let's just say I've never seen anything like that, but I can see why it would have been censored!

Oh, and I should remember that Auntie Kwai's son's (my cousin Wilson's brother... he doesn't seem to have an English name!) wedding is on Sept. 3 at 5:30... hey, it'll be held rather close to home, and the dinner is at Kirin at 6:30! (the same place Helen and Danny held their banquet a few years back) It's on a Sunday, and it's kinda considerate. Hehe.. I remember when my sister had a crush on our cousin Wilson at six years old. (around the same time, my mom thought it would be a good idea if I got together with Wilson since he was a year older than me and such... uh, no!) We're not blood cousins, but kinda distant relatives. Kwai is my mom's brother's wife's sister... at least, I think that's how it is. Very convoluted.. o_O

Spammers, workout advice, and Scientology

Just heard a girl named George on the radio... o_O (reminds me of the WWF wrestler "named" Mabel, haha)

I've heard Gnarls Barkley for the first time, and I think I like it. :D

Some people in the latest LJ news post are spamming it and generally being immature. (pages 16 onwards...) Now, while I may be annoying with my spelling corrections to some people, at least that's to the good. *nod* I'd complain to them individually, but I don't want all that showing up in my journal comments folder. o_O I'll just make one comment as a placeholder, although that may have the same result!


Here's some workout advice from Corey, which I may heed:

[20:33:40] mrptptpt: well, Scientology doesn't like drugs... not even medicine that's good for you. so I guess it's not that
[20:37:59] AlenaBrolxFlami: Scientology is freaky
[20:38:18] mrptptpt: no no, it's not at all. it'll teach you to be truly free
[20:38:37] AlenaBrolxFlami: free from what?
[20:39:03] mrptptpt: don't you ever feel like something is holding you back from achieving your dreams? from that!
[20:43:02] AlenaBrolxFlami: you have gone insane... where is the Corey that I've come to know?
[20:44:30] mrptptpt: I think you should read Dianetics. it will explain these things better than I can
[20:56:32] AlenaBrolxFlami: o_O
[20:58:25] mrptptpt: I am so out of shape.... I decided I needed to get back into working out really bad, so I'm doing Workout #1 on Scrapper's site...

I'm almost done with the first thing... very tired :P granted, the first thing is over 150 pushups... but I used to be able to do that :P
[21:01:14] mrptptpt: okay, now that's done, and step 2 is to do a harder kind of pushup "until failure"... that'll be easy because I do not have many of those in me :P
[21:01:40] AlenaBrolxFlami: that's more like it
[21:01:51] AlenaBrolxFlami: thought you got brain-napped by the aliens.
[21:04:36] mrptptpt: somehow I have gotten very out of shape. if I look in the mirror standing sideways with my stomach totally relaxed, I look half pregnant... that has never happened before and I do not care for it :P I feel like a gigantic clumsy ogre while doing this stuff and I've barely even gained any weight since when I actually regularly worked out (other than just sitting around doing grippers, which doesn't really count as a workout :P)
[21:04:46] mrptptpt: and yes I'm kidding about the Scientology crap :P
[21:04:56] AlenaBrolxFlami: yeah, that's not the best look :P
[21:05:10] AlenaBrolxFlami: I'd hope so
[21:06:13] mrptptpt: well, my stomach doesn't stick out all that far, but it's certainly farther than it ever has before :P there isn't all that much fat there or anything... but it is apparently collecting there :P I haven't been working out for 3-4 months at least by now... probably longer, other than the occasional workout :P
[21:08:30] mrptptpt: I do have a Scientology recruitment DVD.... so if I ever start talking like that, you never know.......... :P
[21:08:33] AlenaBrolxFlami: I myself should get into shape, but it's kinda hard to pull out of inertia
[21:09:17] mrptptpt: a body in motion stays in motion :P
[21:09:49] mrptptpt: one at rest stays that way.... so... start rolling and it's a lot easier to stay moving :P that is exactly my problem right now
[21:12:51] mrptptpt: even if you only do a little every day or even every other day, it'll keep you doing SOMETHING

do a hard workout (at whatever hard is for you... don't be insane like me and try to do the entire workout at that link all at once... at least not yet :P) about once a week and medium to light ones the rest of the time
[21:20:57] AlenaBrolxFlami: I'll have to make a note of that
[21:25:01] mrptptpt: and even if you can't do a single rep of things, there are ways to work into it

just trying to improve your time when holding positions can be a pretty tough workout, and anyone can do most of those for at least a few seconds... and if you can do that, you can improve on it :P like just holding yourself in a pushup position, sitting against a wall, etc...
[21:31:45] mrptptpt: okay, I cut out like 80% of the lower body portion of that workout.. but I'm done :P and tired
[21:31:49] mrptptpt: shower time
[21:32:36] mrptptpt: doing just the ab portion of that workout wouldn't be a bad way to start :P that part of it isn't too intense and you need core strength for most anything, so it's a good place to start :P

Ah, this is a bliss which I will not have for a few days...

Shocore's Bonecracker is on the radio now... hahahaha, I remember when Eric hated this song! (along with Crazy Town's Butterfly... I don't know why I junked that CD years ago!)

Maybe I'll check out ljusersecret4u sometime... then again, it doesn't quite seem like my kind of community. But everyone needs some exposure to drama on occasion!

I had a weird dream with a bunch of people in it (including Karen Lew) that involved us moving a whole bunch of stuff (piles of paper and books) in red cars while dodging enemies like black monsters on silver chains. No idea where THAT came from... o_O

HAHAHAHAHAHA... Lance Bass from N'Sync is GAY! It's so funny just because I always knew it somehow. Reminds me of a song my brother had on an ecard or a website that made fun of both N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys being gay. We all thought it was hilarious at the time, too... :D

I got up late even for me (4:45?!), and immediately had the thought that the next few days (what with Summer Conference and stuff) will really screw up my sleep cycle. Heck, I might even set another new sleep record next Monday after catching up with everything! I remember that last year, I slept for 14 hours the day after I got back! Thank goodness that I don't keep up with certain communities (like RQ) anymore, otherwise catching up would be made even more arduous!

I've switched radio stations for now, since I don't particularly want to listen to the fireworks soundtrack at 10 tonight or any of the other nights on Rock 101. (Italy, China, Czech Republic, Mexico / Celebration Finale) Right now, I'm listening to the Fox, but may switch to JACK FM later. I'm obviously not going to the fireworks tonight: it'll be too crowded and such for me... besides, I need my downtime before I have to be social 24/7 (or so it seems!) over the weekend. Eh well, I'll deal.. but that doesn't mean I won't be cranky! ;)

I think I need to buy new felts. There was a time when I'd buy felts, pencil crayons, highlighters, whiteout, pens, and other things like mad... but no more. This time, I really do need to buy felts / markers since mine are running out / dry. Maybe next week or something... then I can have at least one Milestone's meal for dinner. (Kobe beef meatloaf / steak and shrimp?) Right now, I'm having the Sirloin Burger Chunky Soup... and those chunks of sirloin are good-sized for soup! o_O

Now I think I need to pack before I totally forget about it... I'll need to set my alarm too. Maybe I'll pack a baggie for the weekend, as well.... of ALL-BRAN and other snacks, NOT drugs! :P

Full Metal Jacket and Rob Zombie movies

Note: LJ Life at Hogwarts / LJ Friends' Youtube Videos / LJ Fairytale Life blogquizzes. (by Jillian, Elizabeth, and Tilly)

Note to self: Check out dungeons later since I've had a friending (danithesquirrel) and an unfriending (haleyxcore) in the same day.

Earlier, my mom asked me if I knew where Jon was. He'd been out to see Sam Roberts (plus the Stills, Jets Overhead, and Broken Social Scene) at Deer Lake Park at 4, and wasn't back yet. For my own amusement, I told her that he was probably out having some beer: she was horrified by that, haha!

I told Corey about Nina's son Dylan taking over the phone, and this is what he had to say about that:

[20:42:25] Flami: ROIMU time!: I think my friend's kid needs to get his own toy phone, haha... I spent the last few minutes responding to whatever he said into the phone
[20:46:36] Corey: anything good?
[20:53:12] Flami: this is a kid who just turned 2, so mainly stuff like "mine!" / "me too!" / "hi!" / "Mama!"
[20:53:29] Flami: oh, and "my phone!"
[20:54:39] Corey: you should go for a variation on this next time:

Captain J.T. Spaulding: What's the matter, kid? Don't ya like clowns?
Jamie: [shakes head crying]
[20:54:48] Corey: Captain J.T. Spaulding: Why? Don't we make ya laugh? Aren't we f*ckin' funny? You best come up with an answer, cos I'm gonna come back here and check on you and your momma, and if you ain't got a reason why you hate clowns, I'm gonna kill your whole f*cking family.
Jamie: [continues crying]
Captain J.T. Spaulding: All right, now get your f*ckin' ass out the car, go on yayayayayaya
[starts laughing]
[20:56:17] Corey: for context, the start of that scene:

Captain J.T. Spaulding: I'm gonna have to be taking your car today. See, I have some top secret clown business that supersedes any plans that you might have for this here vehicle.
[mutual laughter]
Susan: What's that about clown business?
[laughs nervously]
Captain J.T. Spaulding: [pause] Do I stutter, b*tch?
[20:56:30] Corey: he then punches the mom out, gets in the car, and threatens the kid, and steals the car :P
[20:58:58] Flami: where's that from?
[21:00:16] Corey: The Devil's Rejects. Rob Zombie's sequel to House of 1000 Corpses
[21:01:33] Flami: oh my goodness
[21:07:06] Corey: so when are you coming over to watch them?
[21:20:09] Flami: that sounds like it would be horribly awful
[21:24:26] Corey: no no, it's a happy family movie
[21:31:21] Flami: then why don't I believe you with a title like that? :P
[21:32:26] Corey: well it's SORT OF a family movie (as in, it's about one)

not terribly happy though, other than funny scenes like the one I quoted for you.. and even that has the funny character being pretty horrible to people :P
[21:35:26] Flami: aiya
[21:39:11] Corey: you might like it :P it's more of a serial killers on the run thing than it is a horror movie
[21:45:31] Flami: well then... in that case, you come over here with that thing :P
[21:47:08] Corey: the first one (House of 1000 Corpses) is much more of a horror movie... The Devil's Rejects is about the killers on the run as a result of what they did in the first one, and it's mainly about a sheriff hellbent on catching them for killing his brother in the first movie
[21:52:36] Flami: Oh my.

Then again, he was quoting Full Metal Jacket to me yesterday when I was trying to carry on a conversation with him... aiya.

[21:09:20] Corey: well, poo
[21:09:44] Flami: so now what?
[21:11:15] Corey: sing a song
[21:15:37] Corey: about a schl*ng
[21:15:42] Corey: and how it got so long
[21:19:11] Flami: uh, no thanks... I think that's more your department than mine :P
[21:20:36] Corey: well, what do we have here, a f*cking comedian?
[21:22:40] Flami: this is not helping! :P
[21:23:57] Corey: You little scumbag! I got your name, I got your ass! You will not laugh, you will not cry, you will learn by the numbers, I will teach you! Now get up off your face! Private Leslie, you better unf*ck yourself before I unscrew your head and sh*t down your neck!
[21:25:24] Flami: have you been listening to weird things again?
[21:25:34] Corey: I'm gonna give you three seconds; exactly three-f*cking-seconds to wipe that stupid looking grin off your face or I will gouge out your eyeballs and skull-f*ck you!
[21:31:34] Flami: yup... I heard something just like this on the radio recently...
[21:33:32] Corey: that's all stuff from Full Metal Jacket.. the entire first half of the movie is quotable :P
[21:34:39] Corey: it gets quite a bit more serious after that though, and R. Lee Ermey's drill instructor character isn't with them to scream at everyone when they go off to Vietnam
[21:35:01] Corey: and you might be thinking about several of the prank calls you have with soundboards of him :P
[21:36:13] Flami: THAT'S IT!
[21:36:26] Flami: I'm going to fry you up into a big pork sausage! [Sam and Max reference]
[21:40:29] Corey: Were you born a fat, slimy, scumbag puke piece a' sh*t, Private Leslie, or did you have to work on it?
[21:45:19] Flami: lsdjfl
[21:45:23] Corey: Well, any f*cking time, sweetheart!
[21:45:42] Corey: Bullsh*t! Get on your knees, scumbag.
[21:45:47] Corey: Now choke yourself.
[21:46:04] Corey: Goddamn it, with my hand, numbn*ts.
[21:46:10] Corey: Don't pull my f*cking hand over there. I said choke yourself; now lean forward and choke yourself.
[21:48:52] Corey: You'd better get your head and your ass wired together, or I will take a giant sh*t on you.

(okay, I was wrong... that one's from the second half of the movie)
[22:01:03] Flami: oh, go take giant poops on your own lawn for fertilizer
[22:02:04] Corey: is that what you do? :P
[22:03:46] Flami: no

Talking to a two-year-old, Summer Conference packing list

Nina just messaged me on YM to say that she had a new webcam and wanted to try it to see if it worked. Then she went offline because she figured I was "away" since I didn't immediately respond. I don't like it when people do that, since I was multi-tasking (writing this / recording things / etc.): I know she and people in general are busy, but it usually won't kill you to wait a few minutes! :P At least I know she's home, since I've been meaning to call her anyway. I called her, and spent some of the time talking to her son (or responding to what he said), who apparently wanted to use the phone too... haha, how cute! Nina wanted to get together this weekend, but unfortunately I won't be here.. so she says she'll let me know. Sure thing!

I just called my sister to see what was up, and to ask if she'd email the Summer Conference packing list to me, since Mom didn't give me one even after she said she would. (sigh...) She said that she'd seen an article in the paper about getting $100 back for the month we didn't have any heat... I think I'll see about that and the tenant advocate later! Mom got on the phone and told me that she would have emailed me about the plans for later this week (and supposedly had Jon email me.. yeah right!), but that I just delete her email and don't read it. That's not necessarily true all the time. ;)

She mentioned having lunch on Thursday with Justin's grandma (Uncle Sam's mom) who "especially asked for me" (uh-huh)... I haven't seen her in some time since she's had cancer and has to go though some rot related to it. Apparently I'll see Auntie Eva, Uncle Anthony, Auntie Candy, Billy, Danny, and Justin's whole family at the luncheon too. The main problem is that she and Jon will pick me up at 10:40 in the courtyard (she termed that "being nice" :P)... I'm usually never up by that time! She also says they can take my luggage for the weekend... "don't give me a large bag, but a small one!" We'll see on THAT one! :P (packing... so much stress...) She's assuming I'll go to the fireworks with people tomorrow night, and then wants me to sleep over to "make sure I get up." Er, I like my sleep and privacy! Sheeeeeesh. *rolleyes*

When I finally got to talk to my sister again (Mom hijacked the phone to tell me these "important things" :P), she said that the packing list wasn't on her computer, so she had Mom email me the list. (apparently, Mom expected me to pick up a camp notice even when she said she'd give me one... how the heck does that work, again?! *is confused* ) Steph also wants me to be at the church at around 2:30 on Friday... sure, I could go with Michelle and her kids, but Mom thinks it's better if I go with "my favorite sister and my favorite father" because "my favorite mother" is going in even earlier with Clement! (those descriptions are in quotes for a reason... Mom's descriptions of the family! :P)

For future reference, I'm putting it here... they need to hire a proofreader next year, though I've corrected the errors for inclusion in this journal! (I complained to my mom and she said that I was an inspector since they'd went through it several times... uh, no... I just notice errors that almost any person worth their salt in English would! :P) I told my sister that I was doing this... new memories section for Summer Conference things, here we come!

1. Please bring your own:

* Bedding, comforter, pillow, etc.;
* Washing gears, change of clothing;
* Bible and notebook;
* Flashlight;
* "Off" spray, personal fan;

2. Please dress appropriately for Sunday service.

3. The cafeteria opens only during mealtime: fountain water will be provided, so bring your own bottled water if you prefer;

4. Tennis court is "first come, first serve," bring your own equipment;

5. Registration: July 28th, 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM at Douglas Hall (see map). Parking pass will be issued; dinner is at 7:00 PM

6. Day camp registration: July 29th at 9:30 AM at Northwest Building (see map); parking pass and meal tickets will be issued;

7. Pray for camp deficit (approx. $5,500); bring your money or chequebook for the offering;

8. Emergency contacts: Katherine, Stephanie, Rich

Camp Regulations

1. Attend all meetings and activities on time;
2. Keep campsite clean;
3. Inform committee members on all property damages;
4. No smoking, alcohol, gambling, or use of drugs allowed;
5. No exchange of rooms without prior approval from camp committee;
6. The camp is not responsible for any loss of personal property;
7. Turn off pager and cell phones during meetings;
8. notify camp committee if you have to leave early;
9. wear name tags at all times;
10. light out at 11:00 PM;
11. return all room keys at 9:45 AM on July 30th; there will be a charge of $15 for any lost keys;
12. Emergency contacts only:

VCEFC - Katherine Finnegan; Stephanie Ng; Rich Ng

RCEFC – Lawrence Lam; Henry Leung

13. The Camp reserves the right to expel violators of the above regulations.

Sun, Christon, fireworks, Malcolm, student numbers, quizzes on tarot / Harry Potter / hell

THE ROLLING STONES ARE COMING TO TOWN! OH MY!

Once again, I got less than six hours of sleep and was up before noon. The sun is strong today! Maybe it's good practice for Summer Conference as far as getting that amount of sleep is concerned, but it'll play havoc with my body! So I decided to email Christon about the fireworks tomorrow (citing both Eric and Jon as sources)... if this is a Daniel "bonding thing," I'm not going to intrude where I'm not invited! (which I wasn't... I guess I could have asked him or Benny on Sunday, but they both looked so busy!) Hey, he replied.. how convenient! Says it's a fireworks invitation, and it's pretty much open to anyone. Commercial Drive Skytrain Station at 5:30, or English Bay after 6:30... he also gave me his phone number. Sounds fine to me! (his house decided to turn into an oven last night, so he couldn't really move)

Karen Choo also emailed us about the fireworks and other Fellowship things: apparently, prayer meetings are back on at 7:30 on Thursdays. (I remember going to a few of those in the distant past when Pastor Glen was there!) "We should thank brother Christon for his kind offer. Those who can make it, go have a great time on the beach watching the fireworks together." and "Contact Christon Siu or Daniel To for further information. Eric will make an announcement to the David Fellowship after he returns from the Church Summer Conference. Thank you, brother Eric, for reminding us of the need for corporate prayer!" both sound kinda lame (I've never really referred to people as "brother / sister NAME," and don't feel a need to do so :P)... but maybe that's just me always picking on her, haha. (which I love to do in a twisted way) Oh, and she managed to spell both Christon's first AND last names wrong... way to go, genius! :P (his name is NOT "Christen So"!)

I just thought of my old school friend Malcolm Virgil. Haven't thought of him in years! On a slightly related note, I wish I still had my list of old student numbers so that I could post it here. Unfortunately, I threw it away long ago. Ah well, I don't want to live in the past, haha. (yeah right?)

About the tarot-related quizzes: No, I don't believe in it. Just thought they'd be interesting to take, that's all. ;) Now it's time to scrounge up some lunch around here!

'Why are you going to hell?' at QuizGalaxy.com

What the Harry Potter MALE Characters think of you... by maxkaschluvr
Name / Username
Age
House	RavenclawHufflepuffGryffindorSlytherin
Harry thinks...	You will be a good assistant in killing *HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED*
Ron thinks...	You are loving
Fred and George think...	You are soo SEXY
Draco thinks...	That you are freakishly smart
Oliver thinks...	He loves you
Tom Riddle thinks...	You are gullible
Quiz created with MemeGen!

Which of the Major Arcana are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as The Hanging Dragon. Divinatory Meaning: Suspended activity; a period of delay. Reverse Meaning: Seeing the world as if it were upside down. Something very significant has happened to you recently. A defining moment that you cannot deny. As you ponder this occurrence, whether good or bad, there is something profound that you were meant to learn from it.

You scored as The Hierophant. The Hireophant is a organized man who can't seem to realize thinking out the box won't kill him. But he knows it's okay to follow tradition and not always be led astray. He longs for social acceptance and doesn't dare to be different from the crowd. The Hierophant 75% The Hanged Man 65% The Lovers 65% Justice 60% The World 55% The Hermit 55% The Empress and The Emperor 55% The Magician 50% The Moon 50% The Fool 45% Death 40% The High Priestess 40% Judgement 35% The Devil 35% Which Tarot Card Are You Most Like? (Major Arcana only... not all shown) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as III - The Empress. The Empress is a maternal symbol. She is the mother figure who loves, nurtures, and protects. She will protect you, and she will always be there when you are in trouble. When you fall over and graze your knee, the Empress will kiss it better. Yet she is not a weak figure. Her compassion is strength. If her children are threatened, she will stop at nothing to protect them. If well aspected in a Tarot spread, the Empress can symbolise security / protection / unconditional love. If badly aspected, it can represent over-protectiveness / fear of taking risks / refusal to face the real world. I - Magician 75% III - The Empress 75% XIII: Death 69% XI: Justice 63% 0 - The Fool 56% II - The High Priestess 56% XIX: The Sun 56% XV: The Devil 56% X - Wheel of Fortune 50% XVI: The Tower 50% IV - The Emperor 44% VI: The Lovers 44% VIII - Strength 31% Which Major Arcana Tarot Card Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Editing long documents is a nightmare! / Sleep training and the night person

Note: LJ Life in Another Dimension / How I'll Murder My LJ Friends / LJ Murder Meme blogquizzes. (by Tilly, D, and Ben)


Let me tell you something, kiddies: Editing two long documents (written by the same person) with numerous English errors (no "a" or "the" in 2349823 places where those words were needed, random capitalization, etc.) is NOT a fun task. I know I can get a bit too OCDL about this at times (haha), but it's part of what I do. That was a nightmare which lasted two or three hours, even if the person's first language obviously seemed not to be English! At least, I hope that was the case...

I know I should sleep earlier, at least in part to "train" for Summer Conference this weekend: I won't be able to sleep in till the afternoon there, although I theoretically would be able to stay up late if I hang out in the lounge. (I remember Ivan slept on the couch last year, and a number of people played Bum and other such card games on the same night last year!) But I'm a night person, and simply can't fall asleep early barring sickness or other unusual circumstances! (yes, I've tried!) This is what I would have explained to my mom on the weekend when she said that Jon only brought the five hours of sleep he had before church on himself. But I didn't, since she gets easily agitated, and I sure don't want the drama that would ensue! (like nasty emails and such!)

Your Ninja Life Name? Age? Favorite color? Ninja name: Mint Portiya (Shadow Wolf) Team #: 11 Best Friend: Sasuke (*glares*) Boyfriend / Girlfriend: Sakura (Tomboy, hot-headed, cute, stalker) Village: Hidden Village of the Sand Rank: Chuunin (Middle Rank) % that Kakashi will be your first kiss: 37% This Fun Quiz created by Tilly at BlogQuiz.Net

Check out Technology News updated every minute at NewsDump

Are the BBQ people really mighty hunters?!

I just got another "interesting" Fellowship email from Karen (complete with large font and too much bright color :P), where she described the BBQ people as "mighty hunters"... she also altered their names to sound more caveman-like! She also spelled Alan's last name wrong, which I had to correct: how hard is it to spell?! (it's with an A, not an O... the opposite of what Jon and Eric call Spoz all the time!) At least Jeremy's last name was spelled correctly, heh... I can say she's got more sense than whoever typed up the Summer Conference list. I know she's like that, but HONESTLY! Besides, who the heck is MARTIN?! (maybe he's Alan's brother-in-law.. I dunno...)

Dearest Daniel and David Fellowships:

On a hot sultry summer day, in the hours approaching twilight, on Friday, July 21st, two great fellowships gathered in the cool of a church basement. Those who came piled a feast table high with savoury dishes and eye-catching desserts. Many were the treats brought that numerous frozen ones humbly awaited in a nearby chamber of ice. Warm kudos to those who cheerfully gave side dishes, desserts, and ice cream for the feast table of love.

As the throngs grew, three mighty hunters who recycle and eat vegetables, and who have never killed anything beyond insects, selflessly withstood a burning inferno of summer heat and barbecue flame. The hunters Moe Mu, Mich Mg, and Mylan Mum courageously suffered fierce heat in a cement desert to cook meat and fish for those whom He loves. Thankfully, the constitution of these hunters was marvelously sturdy so they did not wilt like delicate flowers in relentless heat. Thank you Pastor Moe, ESC Chair Mich, and David Fellowship President Mylan for your loving, self-sacrificing service to Daniel and David Fellowships. Their brother hunter Mhung Man Mip gave a hand too. May your sincere service be rewarded by Him.

In a scullery nearby, there were also fair, gentle maidens who quietly served with wonderful industry and passion for those whom He loves. Thank you: fair gentle Andrea Tang, Shally U, Vivian Lew, and Dianne Fang for your laughter, growing inner beauty, and generous service for David and Daniel Fellowships. May God bless you for the many hidden ways you serve Him and his people. Thank you also to Cindy Fang, Sheena Soon, and Karen Lew who certainly helped with their plans and ways of making things extra fun.

As the night climaxed with wholesome food, drink, and merriment, the two great fellowships gathered in a sanctuary of worship where three men of music ushered the throngs to songs of praise and faith. Rapture, joy, and delight abounded. Thank you: Nathan To, Jeremy Janzen, and Jonathan Ng for bringing us joy and sharing your wonderful gifts in your service to David and Daniel Fellowships.

Thank you to all who gave generously of food, desserts, and especially of love, labour, and time for Jesus. Much gratitude is owed to Randal Chin, Terry Wong, Martin, and the rest of the very pretty cleanup crew and their helpers for glamorously gathering garbage and debris for the kingdom of God.

Thank you to young parents Billy and Stella Lee, Winnie Su, Alan Quan's sister and her husband for coming, bringing their babies, and sharing their priceless joy with us. Thank you to Helen Kwan too for always caring.

Special thanks to sweet Pastor Edward who always prepares loving spiritual food for our hungry souls.

For a look at the pretty people, please click here.

In Christ,
David Fellowship Planning Committee

Aiyoh... I preferred it when *I* sent out the emails... :P

Dreaming of Dylan, Eric, and Jeremy (not in that way, you perverts... Jen was there too!)

The Computer Show Walkthroughs... good site, heh. The UHS Hint Files Reader is another good site, and doesn't spoil your game like a traditional walkthrough would.. I think Corey told me about this one recently.

Stanley noticed my blue Corona Extra cap yesterday, and asked whether I was advertising beer at church: sure, but you better not be drinking any since you're underage! Reminded me of the time Andy called me a Corona Girl a couple years ago: that night, everybody loved my hat! It was made more effective because I was wearing it inside the church, haha. Eric commented on Friday that the combination of his yellow Corona shirt, my Corona Extra cap, and his blue Kokanee cooler (for his side dish) was great! Jeremy noticed the hat yesterday after Sunday School, and asked where I got it. As I say to Dave every time he jokes about my getting it for free at a bar since I drink too much, I got it from my mom's collection of free samples at a food trade show!

I was going to go out with my brother after he had a jam session with the people from the Richmond church last night, but they decided to go home afterwards. (what took 20 minutes to wrap up really took 55 minutes, haha)


I had an interesting dream when I finally fell asleep: a big group of our friends were congregating in a building where there was a huge party going on. We were having a good time since the food and drinks were free... there were these huge stacks of pop cans which looked like Safeway Select drinks (chamomile tea / lemonade / more!), plus these Gatorade-like bottles which had mango juice / berry juice / more available. I remember sitting at a table with Jen (who'd just ordered a rum and Coke), Jeremy, and Eric when Dylan took the mic and announced that we were all going to the SportsMart across the street in the complex to bug Janna and Natalie.

So we did... we saw two Ikea stores on the way, one of which we didn't know about. When we got to the SportsMart, we all had to take off our shoes (which resulted in one big pile of them by the door!) and crawl in green grass with many clumps of brown dirt in it. (that used to be the punishment for being late, for whatever reason) All the lights were off at the store, so we surrounded the place and sang really loudly in hopes they'd come out. (we KNEW Janna and Natalie were there!) We didn't succeed in dragging them out to have fun with us, so it was back to our building. Jen, Jeremy, and I were going around the building, and we saw chocolate textured bears for sale... but they were free for us! I woke up when we were busy choosing some for us and our other friends.

Potential game loss... oh no!

I thought I'd lost these 22 torrent games for good while looking up walkthroughs (which I've put in backdated entries) because I deleted a whole bunch of files in my Recycle Bin and directories! Thank goodness that wasn't the case, and this resident PC A.I. subroutine alien can play on. :D

Beneath A Steel Sky
Broken Sword 1: Circle of Blood / Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror
Dig
Flight of the Amazon Queen
Full Throttle
Goblins 1
Indiana Jones 3: The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones 4: The Fate of Atlantis
Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb
Legend of Kyrandia 1
Loom
Maniac Mansion 1
Maniac Mansion 2 (Day of the Tentacle)
Monkey Island 1: The Secret of Monkey Island
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island
Passport to Adventure
Sam and Max
Simon the Sorcerer 1
Simon the Sorcerer 2
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

The mystery of the "missing" toilet paper is solved!

At church today, I waved hi to Danielle since she just got back from San Francisco. I also talked to Joey, Emily, Citrus, and some others outside before we went in. Talked to Christon for a bit before the service, and then talked to Helen on the way out of service. She was carrying baby Nicholas, who really gets cranky with the heat. He cries and cries when she puts him in the car, but there's nothing she can do since she has to get around somehow! Maybe we can get together again when it's a little cooler: that'll be good for baby and us! We heard that Joe was accepting a pastoral position at the Lord's Love church somewhere on Fraser in September.. that'll be good for him!

When Eric (in his TROGDOR THE BURNINATOR black T-shirt) saw me after service in the parking lot, he pretended that I was a T-ball and took a pretend swing at me. I don't look like a baseball to him, but he apparently couldn't resist... weirdo! Jeremy wondered what we were all doing around the parking lot / garbage bin when you could smell the trash from the open door in church service! Like I said to Chrystal while we were discussing the mall / air conditioning / fans, we used to congregate in the front, but now we've migrated to the back! I told Jeremy and Eric about last night's dinner: the #9 restaurant has fairly large portions, for sure! Later, Jeremy wondered how Eric and I knew about his and Jon's dinner plans with their friend Gideon: he was talking about forwarding an email to Jon in the car on Friday after Dragon Ball! (apparently, they went to Dragon Ball again yesterday after the Darfur walk)

Jeremy told us of Jon's plan for going to the fireworks: it basically involves bringing durian and seeing how large of a radius he'll have after people smell it! But it might backfire because there are also large garbage cans on the beach and people sit right by those... it's always crowded! Ben was going around inviting people for Wednesday night... I wasn't invited, but maybe I'll see what Eric's doing that night (since I know he's going) and make plans with Steph and Vivian. But then there are a lot of crowds too... we can always walk like we're homophobes and avoid Davie St. afterwards, haha! I remember last year, they picked me and Jon up at the Wonton Noodle House after Skytraining to Joyce Station for the car, leaving Jeremy with a bunch of food including duck webs and Chinese pickles.

I talked to Jen and Karen about the heat, and asked Mike when the current baptismal candidates (him / Benny / Anthony / some guy named Dennis whom I don't know) were getting baptized. It had to be fairly soon since Ben plans to leave in mid-August, and Mike confirmed that: August 13 is the date. All right, so I need to get baptism cards for three of them / a farewell card and Bathroom Reader for Ben / a "blessings" card for Joe before then! Maybe at Oakridge since I'll be near there anyhow on the 8th, and perhaps I can plan a pre-birthday get-together with Nina then too!

After Sunday School (which was moved because of ants, yuck!), I finally was able to give little Ian his stickers and birthday card. I'm not sure how much he understood of what I was saying to him about them, but at least that's less stuff to carry around! Then I talked to Adam / Andrew (Steph can't tell the twins apart either, and we don't want to ask which one we're talking to all the time!) about VBS and summer school... he's not going to Summer Conference because of the latter. He has ambition for math, science (which he's not good at), English (so much stress with provincials and assignments!), Socials (quizzes and such), and being smarter than his friends. (heh, I remember those days...) His parents always want him to study even when he's finished his homework... ah, what can you do with Asian parents? As a result, he's not on MSN much (he's always "busy")... but he does want to play games and stuff before school starts again since that's what summer is for!

Afterwards, I went upstairs where Steph was talking to Citrus / Eric / Chris / Jeremy. ("THERE you are!") We were talking about the heat (my dad doesn't handle it well at all), sweat (it's gross if you have to sweat into your backpack up the Grouse Grind!), training, lunch, hockey games (8-1 is a bad score if you're the losing team!), and general stuff. Jeremy tried to lighten his backpack load by offering me a half-bag of lime and black pepper Miss Vickie's chips: nice try, but no thanks! We also talked about showering twice a day (every 12 hours is fine in this heat!), Ryan C. (a married hottie who's two years younger than I am and an honorary Chinese since he married Hana), double standards working in my sister's favor (guys get penalized in the no-contact league and she doesn't) as far as hip checks go (Chris told Jeremy that Steph hip-checked him halfway across the sanctuary once!), a guy named Paul Henderson who's a pastor's son-in-law (he needs to tone things DOWN... and HE can jump while making a line change, not my sister!), and Grouse Grind / lunch / jamming plans.

While we were discussing whether Ryan might be gay (don't ask), Jon arrived and went downstairs to do something. He caught the tail end of my remark saying that he was MARRIED (only repeating what others had said), and said that we couldn't be too sure about all that! Haha, sure thing! Steph told Chris that we'd known Eric for about 20 years, which is longer than he's been alive! We discovered that Chris was "abandoned" and needed a ride to Commercial Station, so Eric gave him a lift. Then we imagined what my dad would be like as an old man in a wheelchair with a cane: very feisty still, and whacking people left and right. Funny visual, but it better not become reality!

The family had lunch at McDonalds, and we were all interrogated by Mom about the missing four rolls of toilet paper. She knew they were missing since she'd just opened a new 24-roll pack, so had Steph leave Jon a message on his cell. After we'd discussed Summer Conference, the fireworks, and ride arrangements (plus not agitating Mom... otherwise I'd have said something to her about people needing to fit LUGGAGE in their vehicles for Summer Conference too, and not just people in all the available seats! :P), Jon called back since he saw a missed call. Steph said he'd get a laugh from the voicemail when he finally checks it, and had Mom ask him the question. Turns out he'd taken those rolls upstairs since he didn't think there was any there, heh. We thought Mom was losing it, or she was a control freak who counts everything in the house for a household inventory! (both of which she denied) I told Jon that I'd call him at 10:15-ish (if I don't fall asleep first) after his jam session to see if he was doing anything. Mom thought I was going out late... not really!

Quizzes on the seasons, July, having a million dollars, life, and more!

It's too hot to even sleep properly... oh yay.

My mom thought I took four rolls of toilet paper from them... why the heck would I do that when I could buy my own? I haven't even been over at the townhouse since that time Terrence was there! My sister did give me three photos last night from the day of Aaron's wedding, so that was fine. I just don't take toilet paper from them! It's not like I'm so desperate for it that I'll take the bus over there to grab some when I could buy some at the store! I'll never understand Asian mothers... o_O

Here are some quizzes to tide you over till I get home and provide a real update!

What do other people think about you? What's your name? Pick one.... LeftRight What word describes you best? CrazyWhat?CoolHot What's your favourite colour? A person throws a pie at you. What do you do? Throw a pie back at themEat itScream at themCall the cops Everyone thinks you're cool! True You're a criminal and should be chained to a pie! True Some people think you're slightly weird.... True It's official - you're just plain crazy!! False This Fun Quiz created by GossipGirl at BlogQuiz.Net

Sagittarius Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

I bet Eric would have something to say about these results, haha.

Your Love rating: Poor

Your Friends and Family rating: Poor

Your Finance rating: Average

Your School / Career rating: Good

Your Health rating: Good

'What is your life score?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I dunno about this... sigh.

Seasons Survey Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com Spring - What is spring like where you are? Rainy! Spring - What do you like most about spring? The new life after winter's gloom. Spring - What smell reminds you of spring? Manure! No, just kidding. Probably freshly cut lawns. Spring - What is your fondest memory of spring? Hmm. Probably the time when I went to Edmonton and Calgary on the Band trip. Spring - What do you dislike most about spring? The endless rain, or so it seems. Summer - What is summer like where you are? Hot and beachy. Summer - What do you like most about summer? Additional opportunities to do stuff later in the night should I want to. Summer - What smell reminds you of summer? Meat on the BBQ grill. Summer - What is your fondest memory of summer? Going to the fireworks and various parties / get-togethers with my friends. Summer - What do you dislike most about summer? Heat waves, like the one we're currently experiencing. (over 30°C for the past few days?!) Fall - What is fall like where you are? Cool and crisp. Fall - What do you like most about fall? The slightly cooler weather. Fall - What smell reminds you of fall? Car exhaust as everyone gets back into their cars because they're less loath to walk anywhere! Haha, no. I'm not sure... pumpkin pie, then. Fall - What is your fondest memory of fall? Halloween / Kids Night. Fall - What do you dislike most about fall? The rain starts up yet again... Winter - What is winter like where you are? Cold and rainy... also snowy sometimes. Winter - What do you like most about winter? The decreased pressure to go out and do stuff. :P Winter - What smell reminds you of winter? Gingerbread and hot soup. Winter - What is your fondest memory of winter? Seeing people back from school for Christmas break. Winter - What do you dislike most about winter? The cold, the wet, and the ick. I have decreased mobility in snow and ice! Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com

July Trivia You scored 8 out of 10 Take the July Trivia at Quizopolis.com

Are You A Geek? Congratulations! According to our experts, you scored: 50% which makes you A Little Bit Geek You have a little bit of geek in you. You are either going to become a bigger geek, or you are a reformed geek and doing well in rehab. Are You A Geek? Find out at Quizopolis.com

The Last Survey Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com Last person you hugged Sean. Last car ride Yesterday, going home from the #9 restaurant after dinner. Last time you cried Eh... a couple weeks ago, maybe? Last movie you watched A FISH CALLED WANDA. Last food you ate Turkey pot pie... it's a break from my usual Sunday morning sustenance of some bread with butter on it! Last item you bought Birthday cards and stickers for Nina, Jamie, and Chris. Last shirt you wore The green Vancouver one. Last phone call Steph saying that we wouldn't do anything after dinner. Last text message N/A. Last kiss Fifteen months ago... my moral fibre is stronger than it was then, as I told Eric the other day! Last thing you touched The computer keyboard, obviously. Last funeral Auntie Lillian's, just over a year ago. Last trip to the mall Yesterday, to buy birthday cards and stickers... air con in a heat wave is good, too! Last time you were excited for something Oh man... probably Jon getting home. Last person you saw My brother and sister. Last thing you drank Some coffee and water. Last person that broke your heart Not telling, but his name starts with J. Last time you were happy Like, really happy? Probably when I found a whoopee cushion at the dollar store for Eric, haha. (plus some bubble solution for me... YAY, BUBBLES! :D) Last plane ride Last year, enroute to the Alaska cruise. Last dream Adam and Andrew going on about bad sandwiches, running from enemies, and football. Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com

Cute Name Your Cute Name is Moopiehead Get Your Cute Name at Quizopolis.com

Are You A Good Date? Congratulations! According to our experts, you scored: 73% which makes you A Good Date You are a good date, and most people will really enjoy your company. To make it to a hot date, though, you need to step up your game. Are You A Good Date? Find out at Quizopolis.com

Winning 100 Million Dollars Survey Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com If you won 100 million dollars, what would you do? What kind of car would you buy? I don't drive, so I probably wouldn't buy a car... Where in the country would you move to? Vancouver is fine for now. What kind of house would you buy? A huge house, with enough room for me and my stuff. (and my friends!) Would you give your family any money? Oh, probably. What charity would you donate to? Does my church (building fund) count as a charity? Would you give your friends any money? Depends if they REALLY needed it or not, I guess. Where would you go on vacation? Europe or Australia. What luxury item would you buy first? Plasma TV. Would it change your life? Probably! Would you save any of it? I'd like to think I would. Would it change your current relationship? Since I don't have a current relationship, the answer is no. But people might want to get with me because of my money... that's not good mojo. :P Would you quit your job? Eh... who knows.... Would you ever work again? Possibly. What one task would you never do again? Clean house. What dream of yours would you be able to do? Go back to school and take weird courses for the heck of it without worrying about money. Would you change the way you dress? I'd just raise the "casual" factor by a bit. No need to go overboard. Would you change anything about your body? Yeah... I'd get rid of certain things that have been bugging me for YEARS! Would you miss anything about not bring rich? Hard to say... maybe anonymity, haha! Who would be the first person you tell? Not Yazmine, since she is no longer a friend. (although I could pay her back the measly 50 cents she had an issue with, I don't think she'd care!) So probably my dad, since he's an accountant and can advise me on financial stuff. (or the next person that popped up on MSN / AIM) Would it bring you happiness? Sure, but money isn't everything... or the key to happiness.. Take This Survey at Quizopolis.com