New icon of lemmings and memes, triple Andrews, this week's birthday cluster, info overload

I have another new icon! ladyclotho had this one in blogthings, and I asked her where she got it: she stole it while randomly browsing journals, and I've been kinda looking for one like this! I like the lemmings, hahaha. :D




Awana today was pretty cool... Tina's done something wacky to her hair, and the effect was pretty cool and all over the place! I found out that Andrew Lai (twin to Adam) is a leader in training, which is great! Andrew Tung apparently thinks I know everything (I wish!), but at least I refer all inquiries to Auntie Vivian if I don't know about them since I wouldn't want to give him the wrong information! Hunter / Kazuya / Andrew is back from Hong Kong and Japan: he recognized me and said hi. I talked to Margaret for a bit: she feels sorry for Henry because he has David as a clubber! I don't know if I feel sorry for him, but I do feel sorry for whoever has to corral little Sean (Ian's brother) or Matthew (Eric's brother)!

There seem to be a lot of birthdays this week in the club: Samantha (Rosanna's sister) and David's was yesterday (they're four years apart), mine's tomorrow, little Evelyn's is on Monday, some new kid named Natalie has a birthday on Tuesday, and Andrew (plus twin Adam) has his on Wednesday! Gwyneth is Evelyn's sister, their mom is named Teresa, and I think Henry is her half-brother... Teresa asked if I needed a ride home afterwards, and I said that Henry was doing so. I asked if she also lived in Richmond, and it turns out that Henry is living with her now... cool stuff that I didn't know!

I talked to Emily L. and Emily C. for a bit, and asked Chrystal if she'd received my email: she doesn't know if she can make it, but she'll see! Andrew told me that he wanted to give me 23 birthday beats... oh, I wish! I told him to ask my sister tomorrow since she's told everyone else... he assured me that he would. (eep) There's a new kid named Kyle with peanut allergies, which can be a killer... his sister Tamara doesn't have those, thank goodness. Today's snack just happened to be a peanut / chocolate / marshmallow / cereal bar, so the leaders didn't eat any of it till he'd gone! (the kids had to be told that they couldn't open it till they got to the car or after dinner!) I also found out that the Sunday School kid named Benjamin (not Billy and Stella's baby) has the same last name as I do, because his sister Melanie is in Awana this year! (seems there are a lot of new kids, which is good!)

Right now, I have a bit of info overload going on. It concerns middle names (thanks, Billy / fdolarhyde13!) / coins / birthdays (yay for Awana!), so I should probably get to that at some point.

Tab Mix Plus working well, contacting Henry, checking Vivian / Dawn / Spoz, quizzes

This Tab Mix Plus extension is working well for me now... you can change a lot of the options by going to: Tools > Extensions > Tab Mix Plus > Options. I think I got used to the loading time in the tabs, and to the red text on tabs that have finished loading. Plus, it gives you a Session Manager option when you restart the computer. That gives you all your tabs open like they were before, but they may not be fully loaded as they were previously! For example, my tags page only gives me a few tags for each letter. It leaves Y and Z completely out! (Oh, I get it now... it's all the publicly viewable tags!) But it's still a timesaver, although all my cookies were gone for some reason: maybe all that happened because of the crash, though. On another restart to run CHKDSK, all my tabs were fully loaded... make of it what you will. o_O

I also called Henry and gave him directions to my place: I hope he doesn't get lost, but he has my number in case that happens! He says he'll be here around 3, so that still leaves me with some time to do stuff before then. Melia tested the Awana email list, and Phil emailed me back to say he couldn't make it on Tuesday. He spelled my name wrong, as half the people I know are apt to do... I HATE THAT! Makes me wish I had a name that wouldn't ever be misspelled, heh... although I do know that people misspell EVERYTHING these days! (and I'm not talking about all the creative ways to spell names that some stupid parents come up with these days... that's a whole other rant!)

Checking blogs this week has proven to be an easy task, heh. Vivian has some more musings about school, and some strict policy which states that missing more than one class is an automatic failure. Dawn wonders what it would be like working at McDonalds, but knows that her folks and other people would be angry and confused. Then she asks her audience whether having reasonable cleaning standards (or being able to live in clutter) is too much for certain people to live up to. Heck, I live in clutter at times, but even I know to clean pots if they have crud on the bottom / take out the trash if nothing else can be stuffed in the bag! Spoz just thinks the Adelaide music scene is somewhat damaged (Nine Inch Nails song reference), and has the usual weekender photos and commentary. (in which Copie One / Stuckey makes an appearance... haha, Stuckey's Logs...)

Edit: I activated my new debit card by phone. Guess I wasn't reading the letter closely enough when I got it, haha. Of course, I still have to change the PIN, but I'll do that when I eventually get to the bank. (maybe with a new bus pass if I get one?)

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Melia trying to reach me and Henry / Dream: Anne of Green Gables having quads, and powerful magnets

Melia called me back this morning to say that she'd left her cell phone at home last night, and for me to call her back. I got up some time after that, and checked my messages / email: she'd emailed me Henry's phone numbers, and I saw a contact list notification for MSN. (Jon had emailed the dinner crew to say that there would be no dinner, so I replied to tell him what Karen had said about Terry and Dallas, haha) Then I called my sister to ask about that, who said that Melia had called her too and that email address WAS Melia's! So then I called Melia, who said that she'd called Henry earlier to remind him, but he was still sleeping at 10:15! (actually, so was I) Apparently, last week was the usual chaos of the first day made worse by her not knowing what the kids' names were (since I usually take care of dues and such). Maybe it'll be more relaxed this week, heh.

Then she asked me about my birthday thing: she thinks she and Phil can make it pending her class finishing at 6:30. If she can't get it sorted by tomorrow, she can always email me! She can't believe I'm going to be 30... Steph was telling them about it in Mexico (I expected that), and no one apparently believed her at first since they all thought I was like 26 or something! Before we ended the call since she had to do some Awana stuff, I said I'd call Henry again at noonish to remind him. Besides, I have to shower and stuff before I leave! (although that's not till maybe 3, if he wants to be at the church at 3:30) Am I glad that's mostly worked out... phew!


I had a weird dream in which Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) was living with Gilbert Blythe. They found out she was pregnant with quadruplets, and so enlisted everyone there to help! (Marilla, old aunts, Fred and Diana, etc.) His being a doctor helped only so much, but they got through it. About a week before the babies were due, they got married in a simple ceremony: I remember living through the words in the books I was reading. ("Gilbert knew that his girlfriend wouldn't stand for not being married, and it was also what he wanted!")

The identical girl quadruplets (with red / auburn hair) were born, and named Pepper Jane / Elizabeth Shirley / Theresa / Josephine. Their names were written down in nice calligraphy on the births / deaths record book. Then the dream jumped to when they were 18, and trying to figure out the boys they wanted for themselves... they took advice from various factions, the old aunts and family friends, friends, parents, and each other.

Suddenly, the dream setting changed to an apartment building like mine. Phil, Megan, and Wayland were trying to hold a bake sale of Greek food, but someone ran away with the money... who would rip kids off?! I remember reading a stick figure comic portrayal of Wayland's life from when he was a baby to when he finally could say his older sister's name ("MEGAN! MEGAN! MEGAN!") to this bake sale incident. After that, I went out to take some trash to the garbage bin. I somehow jumped in mid-air and stayed there, and one of the other people commented on that... I was the only one affected that way! Yeah, I tried to get down from there... but every time I did, I jumped right back up again. Finally, someone discovered a powerful magnet by the recycling bin. Once that was removed, I was fine.

I went back into the apartment building to find some newspapers, junk mail, and a bag of bok choy by my door. The receipt for the vegetables said "COPIE ONE," which I thought was strange since Stuckey wasn't even in this dream / alternate reality! Then I went out again, and saw Wayland. He hugged me tightly and wouldn't let go while we caught up on each other's lives. After that, I heard Melia's message on the machine and had to go back to reality. Weird stuff... o_O

Karen calling me back to talk about food / Boston Chicken Cranberry Sauce

Note: LJ How will you die blogquiz, by Masume.

I got an unexpected phone call earlier from Karen, who got my message after she got home from Fellowship: she wished I'd been there since there were 29 people in the balcony, with some newcomers. Jon and Dallas ("he's a Chinese guy who told me that he'd met me before, but I don't remember!") had brought Matt Louie, Jeremy had brought his cousin, and Jesse had brought Hubert (whom I met at the Pho dinner). She told me that Dylan had brought / made all the food tonight, and even laid out a tablecloth... wow, imagine that! Then we talked about the weekly dinners (Korean food at Phil's did involve barbecuing the beef!), Jeremy's Pho, the inspiration for them (Delta Fellowship in Toronto... not connected to Nathan's transition group), and why the guys were heading this crew. (building community / relationships, not necessarily to make the Daniel people more comfortable with the David people)

She told me that Terry was feeling very left out of things since it seemed that everyone had their own friends... Randal seemed to adjust when he got here, and so did Derek Leung when he was here. Terry hangs out with Chung (who's into Karen So and their relationship), and with Dylan... but Dil-Dil's busy with other things, too! Karen suggested that since Terry liked to cook, he would make a good addition to the group: she gave me his email address so I could ask him (and / or Jon) about it and putting him on the list. Yeah, I'll probably do that later at some point since the guys are looking for new cooks!

She told me to hang on for a second, and was back a bit later to explain that she had to place her Dragon Ball bubble tea order with her husband Ivan. He plays hockey in Richmond and goes there afterwards, and of course bumps into Jon all the time! Karen asked if I'd been there before... of COURSE! It's a pretty rocking place, what with combined flavors and jelly / pearls! Then she asked me for feedback on the food, since I was an open-minded person and wouldn't just turn my nose up at certain food items: that dark chocolate fondue fountain was KILLER! (maybe we'll see it at the end of the month...) After that, she assured me that she'd work on Ivan's coming to my birthday dinner: seems the man's all about HOCKEY these days, which is understandable, but still! :P

Then we talked about the church appreciation dinner and last year's edition: Auntie Fonda doing the man's part and Carson's dad doing the woman's part in Chinese opera really won the guys over! He was their new hero for a good while there, haha. Jon's going, but Steph isn't since she wants a quiet night at home. Just before she got off the phone since she didn't want to keep me up, she told me that my birthday gift was something she'd been wanting to give me for at least three years, but shouldn't tell me anything more about it. Heh, I guess I'll see what it is on Tuesday since she's definitely up for dinner! Shortly after that, I buzzed Eric H. to see whether he'd received my email. He had, and said I could count him in for dinner and the movie. That makes 12 people so far for dinner (I am assuming that Jeremy's up for it... I'd have talked to him and numerous others about it tonight had I been there!), and two for the movie! Ah, it's good to have friends... even if one DOES sound a bit TOO perky in her emails, it is a good reflection of what she's like in real life! ;)


Boston Chicken Cranberry Sauce

Categories: Copycat, Sauces, Fruits
Yield: 3 cups

1 lb Can jellied cranberry sauce
10 oz Jar Smucker's Simply Fruit Orange Marmalade
1/4 teaspoon Ground ginger
2 cups Fresh cranberries; each sliced 2 or 3 pieces horizontally
1/3 cups Walnuts; chop fine

In 2-quart saucepan, over medium-to-low heat, use rubber bowl scraper to stir together jellied sauce, marmalade, and ginger until melted, about 6-8 minutes. Add the sliced cranberries, keeping sauce on low. Stir often. Continue cooking and stirring often until cranberries are no longer white and taste tender to the bite (not soft, but not too crisp). Stir in walnuts. When cooled to lukewarm, refrigerate, covered and use with a week to 10 days. Should freeze well to be used within 4 months.

No rides tonight, alternate birthday plans (sigh...)

Despite my best efforts, I didn't get a ride out tonight. I called Ivan C., Karen Choo, Billy and Stella (probably not a good idea because of Benjamin), Sam (who was at church early because of a committee meeting), Eric M. (not his fault!), and Jen / Andrea. Andrea said she could any other day, but she was leading worship and had to be there earlier... Jen mentioned that Nathan was at the church already. She did try helping by calling a bunch of people in her cell phone directory, but no go... but says she'll be going to my dinner!

Too bad I didn't really know about Eric's dinner earlier, then maybe Andrea could have given me a ride. Jon and Steph were surprised to hear about it, and reminded me that Ivan W. was still a year too young to be in Daniel Fellowship. Steph mentioned that she'd even brought part of my birthday gift tonight... eh, she'll have to wait for Sunday! Oh well... the church needs more people who live in Richmond / south Vancouver, dammit! I missed my one chance to promote the birthday dinner to Dallas and other assorted people! (there IS Sunday, but I dunno about that...)

I called Melia to get Henry's number, otherwise I won't be able to make it to Awana tomorrow... she hasn't called me back yet. Then I called Nina to see if she'd received my email: she had, and will be going to the dinner only. Guess I'll be going to that appreciation dinner (yay for food!) since I really have nothing else to do on Sunday... I'm still not sure about my mom's analogy of everyone getting together to celebrate my birthday (sort of), though! *sigh* (BLACK DAHLIA has had sucky reviews, too... oh well, I still want to see it! :P)

Tab Mix Plus, staying home because of a lack of rides, and chicken chow mein

On the advice of someone in TQC, I downloaded the Tab Mix Plus extension for Firefox. It's okay right now, since it DOES move tabs around. So when I accidentally close a tab, I can use the "Undo Close Tab" option OR just open up a new one and move everything else around to suit. Gotta love that! (the only thing I don't like about it right now is that it shows you the loading time in each tab while you wait for a page to load... wish there was a way to get rid of that!)

Eric said he called me earlier: well, even if he's at dinner, I have no way of getting to Vancouver! Jon's downtown, Steph's doing something, and Sam's at a committee meeting. It's easier to stay home when faced with this sort of situation, for sure! Too bad I missed the chance to promote my birthday party, though... DAMN YOU!


These are a couple of topics I found interesting and horrifying:

Sex with siblings... EWWW!
Great customer service... NOT!


This is really funny!

What's REALLY in your chicken chow mein?

Dream with private messages, defenestration, and more! / Quizzes

If you want to see the contents of this dream, mouse over the spoiler box. You have been warned.

Spoiler: I had a dream that involved the Family Circus characters coming out of the comic book and living with my friends for a while. Then we had a whole bunch of toys to play with, which made us rather happy. Eric H. was looking for a football memento from someone whom he regarded as a hero, but sustained a scar on his arm while playing in the grass. We didn't think it was that bad, but we went to the E.R. since it was giving him trouble. There were patients from a helicopter crash and a house fire when we were inside, so it was pretty devastating!

We managed to get the scar disinfected and he was as good as new! A while later, Eric finally got to meet this burly football hero AND get the ring and such that he wanted! He had his picture in one of the local newspapers, with his scar still visible. After that, we picked up two more people and then had to watch then go into certain positions... that wasn't good at all! (too much naked skin :P)

I went onto Our Place, and found that I had four private messages from Candy. That annoyed me greatly, but I checked the content anyhow. She said that she had a preview of my birthday gift available in the mail, plus she was letting me see three other people's gifts. So I checked my mail, and there they were. She wanted me to return the other white boxes with green stickers on them, but first I had to take a car ride somewhere with my friends and a few little kids. The gifts were all based off video games like Crash Bandicoot and their graphics: very cool. While in the car, I warned one of the kids against throwing the box out the open window, but he did anyhow. We had to go back and pick it up, admonishing the kid all the while.

After we reached our destination, I marveled at the selection of body wash and skin products in the washroom. Rainbow Breeze, Lemon Fresh, blue Listerine, lots of flowery soap, shampoo, conditioner, and the stuff you'd expect! I thought I was rather relieved that my redrum hadn't started yet... but then discovered that my precautionary reinforcement was soaked through with red, and that my jeans had a slight stain on them. Then I woke up. Very weird stuff, none of which has happened in real life!

Spiritual Formation tonight... Jeremy and I were telling Jon about how we get to eat while Pastor Edward is talking, and how he even encourages us to do so! (then we talked about xenophobia for some strange reason...) He missed the time that Karen brought a dark chocolate fondue machine, which was a hit! I need to activate my debit card sometime, too... maybe next week or something!

You Should Stay in Shape With a Personal Trainer

You definitely want a better body, but you don't know where to start. And it's all so overwhelming, you tend to lose motivation easily. A personal trainer can help you get the body you desire - even if you have a long way to go!

How Should You Get In Shape?

You Are 68% Slacker

You are pretty much a slacker. Sure, you may have a job or car, but only through luck and charm. So stop slacking! (And stop turning your underwear inside out instead of washing it!)

Are You a Slacker?

EWWWWWWWW!!! I never do that to my underwear!

	Quiz Galaxy Predicts that Leslie's Last Words Will Be...
"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father... prepare to die!"
'What will your last words be?' at QuizGalaxy.com

What do you subconsciously think of your friends?
Friend's Name	Word Association	Meaning
Anna	Bat	Mysterious, Intelligent, Enigma. This person is hugely alluring to you.
Vanessa	Bell	Someone whom you feel may be dangerous to let into your heart.
Jeremy	Pearl	Beautiful and real - you have a lot of respect for this person.
Mike	Lantern	The person who sees you for you.
Jocelyn	Wig	You believe this person to be totally insane. (And they SO are!)
Ann	Zoo	The least socially-conventional person that you know. (And, consequently, the most fun.)
'What do you subconsciously think of your friends?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Boston Chicken Baked Beans

Boston Chicken Baked Beans

Categories: Copycat, Beans
Yield: 6 servings

14 cups Dry chopped onions; reconstitute in 1/4 cups hot water 5 minutes
24 oz Jar great northern beans; drain, rinse, and drain
28 oz Can Campbell's Pork & Beans
1 cup Hunt's Ketchup
1/2 cup Open Pit hickory flavored BBQ sauce
3 slices Boiled ham; chopped fine

While onions are softening, empty jar of northern beans into a 4-quart baking dish or pan. Add pork and beans to northern beans. Stir in onion, ketchup, BBQ sauce, and ham. Bake, uncovered at 350° about 30-35 minutes or until piping hot. Stir 2-3 times during baking. Refrigerate covered, to use in 1 week. Freeze to use in 4 months.

Birthday emails and hitting "Reply All," losing time, quizzes and gayness

Note: LJ Anime Adventure Memegen, by Kevin.

Randal replied to my birthday celebration email, hitting "Reply All": "Happy Birthday, Leslie! I'd love to go to your birthday dinner. I'm not sure about the movie, though; I haven't heard of it. Thanks for the invitation. Just promise that you won't get too rowdy at the party." I guess he has a habit of hitting "Reply All," as seen in the "Hilarious Engrishy translations of restaurant menus" thing a while back, but that means approximately 40 people got an email they didn't really need to see... oh well, he's still cool. As for my getting too rowdy at the party, I'm sure certain people (Jon / Eric / Steph?) will say things about beer kegs and such when they see that one in their inboxes!

I just came across a blogquiz which would have been fine, except that one of the results included whom you'd marry: a female, male, or "whatever." (which I took to mean a person who's undecided about whether they're male or female) While I know it's only a quiz, I spent 10 minutes cycling through a bunch of the options to see if I could get a female marrying a male... no dice! The creator of THAT one must be gay! (or gay-friendly) I'm not posting it in my journal, heh.

Earlier tonight, I accidentally somehow selected ALL my tags on my tag page. I know that I have a lot of tags, and so have never done this deliberately. Once I did, I spent some time closing the tab and trying to go about business as usual with the other tabs, but that didn't work since I needed the tag page for something. So then I had to close the browser window and then re-open it with the tabs in the proper order... I lost at least 20 minutes with that! How annoying! And before you ask: yes, my tabs need to be in a certain order. (OCDL?) I wish there were an extension or something for Firefox that allows you to just insert a tab in the middle of your browser window and tabs.

Poncho, getting nippy out, snow in BC, Billie, unwanted birthday reminders

I finished my laundry, so maybe I can wear that Engrishy shirt tomorrow or Tuesday when I bring those corn chocolate bars for Jon and Jeremy to try. It IS getting nippy (and rainy!) out now, as Jeremy observed... maybe I can wear that Mexican poncho my sister got me, too! Too bad it's not warm anymore for now, but it was great to have the sun while it lasted. :D

Apparently, it snowed in Dawson Creek and on some lake 60 miles from Prince George tonight. Thank goodness it's not here yet, or I would just DIE! Sooooo cold and icy... that can wait till December, thanks!

I invited Billie to my birthday party even though she lives in Coquitlam. She seems to be up for making the long trek down to Richmond on Tuesday night, so that's a good thing! I haven't seen her since the second time I met her off GJ, heh. (July 2005)

My mom sent me an email (which really doesn't need an answer) about Connie Lucas sending me a card as she does every year, and Auntie Eva leaving her an envelope at her work for me. Seems Mom mentioned my birthday to her last week... I hope it contains cash with the card, coz I could definitely use some! But if not, of course it'll be fine! Of course, Mom HAD to add that I really should thank them both since they remembered my birthday... uh, does she REALLY need to explain that?! Man, it's not like I'm THREE YEARS OLD! (yeah, okay... I admit sometimes I act like I'm that age, but really, doesn't everyone at times?)

Speaking of such, Candy buzzed me to say that my birthday card will be late because of hours at the post office or something. I didn't really ask what she meant, since I was busy with some other stuff at the time... but it was nice of her to let me know!

Cream puffs, tendon, flank, killers, and gross stuff

I emailed my sister about cream puffs, split ends, and tendons. (that reminds me that Jeremy wondered what the difference was between tendon and flank.. I dunno!) So then she emailed me back about cream puffs with split ends and tampons... EWWWWWWW! I think I'll have to pull out the "gross" card and say something about dead bodies in the tub! I also need to do laundry, but Corey's threatening me with singing inappropriate songs at my birthday party if we do karaoke... yeah, it's an Asian stereotype, but it works for us! (even though there will be no karaoke that night!) Now he's bugging me about being a big-time Mafia killer... I don't THINK so!


[16:12:12] Corey: B! G! C!
Big D*ck Bologna
B! G! C!
Big Giant C*ck!!
[16:20:44] Corey: if you do Karaoke at your birthday party, I'll sing that song for you :P it's my new (for the moment) favorite song, by Tesco Vee's Hate Police! Big Giant C*ck! they also have a song about big boobs, and one about gang rape!
[16:21:06] Corey: Tesco Vee is the lead singer of the Meatmen :P you may have a song or two of theirs
[16:34:02] Flami: I like my expressive nose!: COREY! YOU ARE SOOOOO Bad!
[16:35:51] Corey: so will there be Karaoke? roughly every Asian person I know seems to be into that, so I figure this stereotype may possibly hold true for your birthday :P
[16:35:58] Flami: I like my expressive nose!: haha
[16:36:57] Flami: I like my expressive nose!: years ago, this one friend of ours used to invite us all for karaoke after Fellowship, so we went most of the time... it was okay
[16:42:55] Corey: you said something about doing karaoke not too long ago, I think
[16:44:25] Corey: so do they let you bring your own Karaoke CDs in? my Sega Saturn has an option to remove vocals on any CD (just makes that frequency range really quiet, I think) so surely fancy Karaoke equipment can do something like that
[16:45:28] Corey: you can probably get CD+G programs... which is what is used for the lyrics / graphics on karaoke sh*t a lot of the time.... so I could come armed with my own Karaoke-ready version of Big Giant Cock!
[16:48:58] Flami: I like my expressive nose!: yeah, that was when my brother's friend Holly wanted him and Dallas to do karaoke with them, so I went along for the experience
[16:49:10] Flami: I like my expressive nose!: I don't know... and if you do that, I will kill you :P
[16:50:53] Corey: well, I tend to do things like that if forced to do something in front of people. if I have to do it, I'm going to make it fun (for myself) somehow :P such as my GWAR tribute in Speech class when everyone else did tributes to their favorite grandparent that inspired them, and other sentimental and quite serious things :P
[16:53:19] Corey: that was a good one. the girl that had to give her speech after me was a bit nervous though.. "well, I don't have anything like THAT, but I'll try to do a good job here" or something like that. I doubt my GWAR speech was spectacular, but in context, it was pretty out of left field and shocked everyone :P
[16:54:20] Corey: I think my most serious speech in that class was about aliens living on Venus (possibly... little microbe things in the atmosphere), or about the government knowing about 9/11 before it happened
[16:55:25] Corey: so I don't like doing stuff in front of people, so be warned, if you make me sing, I'll come up with something like Big Giant C*ck :P GWAR's Fuckin' an Animal might work too, but I don't really want to sing about beastiality since I don't actually f*ck animals and don't really want to give that impression :P

Dreams of pee water / Memegens and orange Blogthings

Note: My LiveJournal's Ultimate Personality Memegen, by Casina.


I had a weird dream: my sister and I were picking up our parents from church when we decided to go get gas instead since prices were cheap. Somehow, our parents knew where we were and showed up at the gas station. We asked how they knew our whereabouts, and they said that they just knew. Then we had to ascertain that they were still living. o_O After that, we joined Corey and his girlfriend Colleen Strudholme at the kiddy pool. They were watching their one-year-old baby Ryan and one other kid, since the other kids didn't seem to like the water. We somehow knew that they were being brainwashed by other forces, so urged the kids in the pool to swim: swimming meant that they wouldn't be brainwashed. The kids' legs were chubby and had a good deal of power! We wondered what we were doing watching one other kid besides the one we knew, and then wandered over to the public showers. The red tile floor was icky: pee water and dirty water swirled its way to the drain... then I woke up. Most weird!

Speaking of my sister, she just emailed me back. She wondered if she really needed to reply to the birthday celebration email: whether or not she needed to, she just did! Also, she says that she has parts 2 and 3 of my gift ready... I don't think I wanna know. Actually, I don't even know what Part 1 was... unless it was that card with the toothpaste tube sticking out the guy's butt. :P (if she DOESN'T at least make it to the dinner, I'll be VERY DISAPPOINTED especially since she couldn't make it to Red Robin's last year because of Floodlight!!)

You are Mahogany

Stable and decisive, you lack the hyper energy of most orange colors. You're still energetic, but you tend to project a peaceful, relaxed vibe. You love to feel cozy. You'd often rather wrap up in a blanket than go out for the night.

What Color Orange Are You?

what Abercrombie outfit is right for you? *pics* by Lilmissmary0023
Name
Age
Fave color
Top
Bottom

Interesting... not sure I'm totally a scruffy person, but I might go for that!

Internet Breathalyzer: How Drunk Are You?
Created by EvilAuthor on Memegen.net

LEGALLY DRUNK
In the United States, you are intoxicated. If you are out causing trouble on foot, prepare to spend the night in jail. If you were behind the wheel, you are in SERIOUS trouble. Of course, if you can just convince the officer that you are NOT in the USA, then he won't have the power to prosecute you...

Estimated Blood Alcohol Level: 0.082

... Or you're a slut.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

Which of the following contains the least alcohol:

A college student. A can / bottle of beer. A Flaming Moe (TM). A glass of wine. A Jello (TM) shooter. A single shot of hard liquor (vodka, tequila, rum, etc). They all contain about the same amount of alcohol, on average. Except during Spring Break...

Boston Chicken & KFC Rotisserie Style Chicken

Boston Chicken & KFC Rotisserie Style Chicken

Serving Size: 4

1/4 cups Oil
1 tablespoon Honey
1 tablespoon Lime juice
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
Season salt
4 Chicken breast halves with skin

Mix all ingredients well in saucepan and warm just to melt honey. Arrange 4 chicken breast halves, skin-side-up in a square baking dish or pan, sprayed with Pam. Bake uncovered at 400° about 35 to 40 minutes, basting chicken without turning them, 3 or 4 times during baking or until nicely browned. Immediately upon removing from oven, seal baking dish tightly in foil and let stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Pho Thai Son and THE UNBREAKABLE POPSICLE STICK GANG

Note: LJ Future Son / LJ as a reality show / LJ party / LJ fanciful LOTR career blogquizzes. (by Josh, Liz, and Elara)


I rushed out of the house and had to wait ten minutes for a bus: good thing I had my Urban Legends book with me! Then I had to wait 15 minutes for a B-Line, and a while for the other bus.. this made me at least half an hour late for dinner at Pho Thai Son with Jon and Jeremy. Note to self in case I ever go there again: the entrance isn't the side door or the door that appears to be the front door, but the clear door leading into an eatery! (yes, I am stupid sometimes)

When I got to the restaurant, Jon and Jeremy were being geeks and talking about beer most of the time, and then comparing the restaurant's Pho to the homemade Pho on Sunday. (onions, little things floating around in the broth, meat, fish sauce, sweetness ratio, raw sugar, etc.) By the time they finished preparing their bowls with sprouts / lime / pepper sauce / chili sauce, my order arrived... that was pretty good, Jeremy observed. I told him about the "Muffin dog" discussion from yesterday, the Engrishy shirt from the Night Market which doesn't even make sense, the corn chocolate bars / wallet from Auntie Catherine. He wondered if there was such a thing as a bad combination: well, I'll give him and Jon one of the bars each sometime! (maybe Friday)

When we left, Jon wanted to take a picture of this huge rack of garlic which was being prepared at the table closest to the washrooms. Before he did, he asked the waitresses what they used it for. (at the table, they were saying that garlic wasn't used in any Pho recipe THEY knew of, and yet it got replenished every day!) She gave us vague answers, such as "rice." But she was pretty amused when Jon took a couple of pictures of the garlic and bowl of bulbs... this isn't something you see every day, particularly not at Pho places!

By the time we left, it was raining! I didn't have enough change for bus fare (my transfer having expired just 15 minutes before) when we walked to a B-Line stop, so Jeremy had to figure things out... yes, I'll pay him back, and have made a note of it. (and Jon wondered why I don't want to go with them tomorrow to Dix and the Railway Club for beer and shows!) When we got off the bus, I told Jon that I'd kill him if he told Jeremy the story of exactly how I lost my bus pass! The reason it took me long enough to say something about it (he made a remark when we left Pho Thai Son) was that we weren't in the same row of bus seats! Then he asked whether I'd had any responses to my mass email: Dylan and Karen Choo are going, and Jasmine / Vanessa / Cindy are not. (Denise just sent me a reply saying she's sorry she can't make it to the party: she'll be in L.A. on the weekend and won't be back till the evening of the 19th, but wants me to have a little extra fun for her: of course I shall, in true party animal fashion!)

We got Fringe memberships and such when we actually got to the theatre: I wish I'd grabbed a program of future shows, since apparently Holly is in there, heh. Instead, I ended up with a redundant show program since the usher gave us one.... oh well. When I got in there and wanted to move one row up to sit with Jon and Jeremy (I wasn't sitting with people I barely knew: Peter, Holly, and their two friends!), I misstepped and almost lost my balance. Dammit, I hate that!

THE UNBREAKABLE POPSICLE STICK GANG wasn't the quirky funny show that I (and Holly, apparently) was expecting. It's a one-man show, and the actor basically had a cake on stage with various sugars and such. He told us about his mother and this birthday party which would be held for her: HAPPY BIRTHDAY bags and decorations were everywhere. Then he told us stories about her and how his family faced her death some years back. It was all very different / funny / somber, and kinda made you think, for sure. Yes, it was a true story... he had a short video tribute to her when we went out for some of the homemade chocolate cake. (that was pretty good, and the program had the recipe for it) The title doesn't refer to a comical gang, but rather an illustration: you can break one Popsicle stick, while you can't break five at once. Honorary members and pinkies, indeed...

Afterwards, Holly drove us all home... phew! We discussed the CHICAGO jazzy soundtrack (since that's what we were listening to), the Cellblock Tango, Holly's high school-era CDs (N'Sync, Shania Twain, O-Town, 98 Degrees, and more), and how Jon should really see CHICAGO (I saw it with Larry Mudd in 2003!). Then we talked about the durian / Pho smell in Jeremy's fridge: when he opened some Tupperware to find out where it was coming from, it vanished! (our dad made Jon eat the durian he took home the day after) We also discussed musicals, urban legends (like the one with brandy from a cask with an 18th-century corpse in it!), Peter's last name (the same as Becky's), Teunis / his truck problems and getting home at 4 AM from Pho (interesting character who seems to know a lot about different things), "new car" smell (she got the car last week!), Eric's Parisienne (her car's spacious, but not compared to THAT!), Holly's auditions and substitute teaching, P.E. with kindergarteners who don't know how to play tag, etc. Pretty good time out, on the whole!

What is your typical childhood fantasy? Name: What would you be when you grow up? You are a: Movie Star Chance of the dream becoming a reality: 20% This Fun Quiz created by Josh at BlogQuiz.Net

Libra Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

Quasi-foreign accents, showers, walnuts, Fringe plans

My brother recently asked me what was with my habit of adopting quasi-foreign accents from time to time. I have no idea, but it's quirky to do! Right now, I'm eating walnuts... and my brother says I should take a shower, since he / Jeremy / Nathan / Holly are probably going to the Fringe Festival thing after meeting somewhere for dinner. Let's see if I can scrounge up the bus fare somewhere around here... I hope I get a new bus pass!

Your Guy Could Bring You Home

When it comes to meeting the parents, you're cool and calm. In fact, you're so self-assured, you may forget to try to impress them. Work that famous charm a little more, and your boyfriend's family will be loving you.

Would He Bring You Home to Mom?

Your Personality Cluster is Introverted Feeling

You are: Tolerant, flexible, and open to new ideas. A stickler for integrity and authenticity. Passionate about causes, beliefs, or politics. Likely to have many "best friends" from many walks of life

What's Your Personality Cluster?

Adjectives, corn and chocolate, luxury wallets, wishlist books

I've done a lot of tagging work so far today, like deleting a misspelled tag / editing an entry on a classical music essay / adding squillions of tags to various entries. Hey, it has to be done SOMETIME... ;)

I also checked my email: Alyssa sent me an email about Paul Newman, haha. Jon also wants to know how I'm getting to Granville Island tonight, and says that he and Jeremy are probably going out for dinner beforehand. I gave him a call on his cell to discuss things, but he couldn't really talk since he was at a concert. Maybe later...

For some reason, I decided to open some of my presents early... birthday cards go without saying! I know that my parents got me Chiclets / Halls Fruit Breezers / that dinner last night / a mug with "30" and a bunch of repeated adjectives on it. (witty, vibrant, beautiful, wise, charming, bold, fun, fascinating, chic, mover, shaker, confident, happy, energetic, talented, exciting, graceful, passionate, real, sophisticated, daring, eager, impulsive)

Auntie Catherine got me a Salvatore Ferragamo wallet, plus some Hokkaido Hori Confectionery corn chocolate bars. I'm not so sure about the combination of corn and chocolate, but I'll try 'em sometime! Dawn got me this cute card with a red rice bowl and green chopsticks: "May your rice bowl always be full." She knows that I have a penchant for lists and records, so hopes that I enjoy The Wish List by Barbara Ann Kipfer. It's one of only 63,000 copies in print... and it has a lot of quirky wishes like finding an arrowhead or retracing Odysseus' route around the Mediterranean. Lots of goals and wishes there... sounds cool to me!

Dog stew and dreams of Awana / frizzy toilet paper

I remember recent discussions about those hilarious Mario games we found at Nathan's place... titles like MARIO DIAPER are kinda weird, haha. Last night, we were discussing Jessica's dog Muffin and how much of a pain it is to clean up after her, particularly after she pooped on the couch. So my siblings and I took the "raw dog" joke to new extremes: we told Mom that she could get a dog like Muffin, but then we'd use it as raw dog / cooked dog / dog stew / dog soup (the bones would lend it plenty of flavor!) / whatever else we thought of. No, of course we don't advocate that in real life... it was just to mess with Mom, mwahahahaha. (I saw a Westfalia van yesterday: it was kinda like Phil's, only not really since Phil's is blue and this one was reddish!)

As usual, I had a weird dream which somehow involved Awana / purple duotangs / crowds of kids needing to be controlled / Sarah, Mary, and other leaders / showing Auntie Ping where the Royal Bank was across the street from the church. Then the scene switched to my room in the Rosehill Drive house, where I was sharing a bunk bed with my sister. My dad came in to wake us up at 6:30 AM, and of course we wouldn't stir. Then he went in again a few minutes later... we groaned at getting up that early, but we did. Somehow, we got the impression that we had to run and hide from him, so we chose the nearest bathroom. It had two toilets, a sink, and a shower: our brother was in it at the time and kinda freaked out. The Purex toilet paper came in yellow / purple / maroon, and had instructions on how to de-frizz it by using cotton balls on its surface before doing what you'd normally do with it. Very insane dream...

Engrish on the Night Market blue shirt / Colonial Dressing

Just before I left the townhouse, I got an email that purported to be from my old friend Ollie Rocha. I clicked on it, and was greeted with spam about foreclosures... the email address it was sent to didn't resemble mine in ANY WAY, and the sender's email address certainly didn't match his, either! Then again, I haven't talked to Ollie in a year or more since he told me via email not to send him any email about church functions (My birthday is a church function? What?!) anymore. Fair enough, since he now attends another church with his wife Angel... but that doesn't explain what happened there. o_O

But I've received a bunch of replies about my birthday celebration already, which is cool. If I didn't email it to certain people, it's probably because I don't have their email address, so I'll just have to ask them in person on the weekend! Karen Choo says she'll be there, and Jasmine says she can't because she has class at the Coquitlam campus (plus other things, I'm quite sure). Vanessa has to work that night, but sends wishes for an awesome birthday and dinner. Dylan says he'd love to come out and celebrate, so I guess that means he's in. Cindy's in practicum right now, so things are really busy for her with teaching... but of course she still hopes that I have an awesome birthday celebration! (she always does since she's such a sweetie!)

Earlier tonight, my mom saw me checking my email. There was some ad on the page for a V-Phone from Vonage, which was dangling right between some cleavage. Mom saw this and told me not to get into that... er, it's just an ad and not porn / prostitution? (haha)

Here's the Engrish from that Night Market shirt! It also says GIFT [?] RACER and BOYS on it, with a picture of a dude in a numbered shirt as well... and some Mossimo-like graffiti logo which I can't read! *sigh*

Blue nuerments go made powreufl
Changing go things. Go chincle.
What your that about applitcaton.

No, my siblings and I have no idea what it's trying to say! *laugh*


BOB "OVEN'S" COLONIAL DRESSING

Recipe By:
Serving Size: 1 Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories: Copycat, Dressings

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

1 cup Water
1/8 cups Cornstarch
1/2 cup Vinegar -- light or dark
1 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Onion powder
1 tablespoon Salt
1/4 cups Butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 tablespoon Celery salt
1 tablespoon Celery seed

Put water and cornstarch into blender on High speed for 1 minute or until smooth. Transfer to a 2 1/2 qt. saucepan. Cook mixture over Medium High heat, stirring constantly as you begin to add each of the remaining ingredients, stirring well after each addition. Cook and continue stirring until it begins to thicken and become quite smooth. Let it cool completely before pouring into a refrigerator container. Cap tightly. Keeps for about weeks. Do Not Freeze. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Variations: Creamy Italian Colonial: to one recipe (above) add 1 Tablespoon. prepared mustard, 1 Tablespoon. light corn syrup, 1 Tablespoon. dry oregano leaves, 1/2 teaspoon. garlic powder, and 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Stir to combine well. Keep refrigerated. Makes about 3 cups. Do Not Freeze.

Catalina Colonial: To one recipe (above) add: 1 cup catsup and 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish. Makes 3 1/2 cups.

Creamy Onion Dressing: To one recipe (above) stir in: 8 ounce carton onion chip dip. Makes 3 cups. Do Not Freeze.

Slaw Dressing: To one recipe (above) stir in: 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup mayonnaise. Use within one week of preparing. Makes 3 cups. Do Not Freeze.

Family birthday celebration at Top Shanghai

Dinner with the family at the Top Shanghai restaurant went fairly well. I told my siblings about Mom using sunscreen that expired in October 2001, and aside from the chemicals, they didn't seem to think there was a problem with it. My sister got me a birthday card with some guy on an operating table who had a toothpaste tube up his butt... interesting, for sure. Mom personalized her card with foam letters and numbers, which was a nice touch. I also got a blue shirt from the Night Market with an amazing amount of Engrish on it: I need to post the text on the shirt once I get home and finish some stuff, since I'm at the townhouse. Steph mentioned something about hockey tickets, and Jon said that he would consider the Fringe Festival to be his gift to me: he was also talking to Eric about that and his job interview at Jeremy's workplace, and also mentioned it to Dallas and Jeremy when they called him later. I also got Jon to ask Jeremy about my post-birthday celebration, and I've just finished sending email out now to everyone I deem important enough to receive this information. ;)

Mom said that Clement and Jocelyn had broken up: too bad, since she seemed nice. We talked about Steph's co-worker Clara and her boyfriend, little Clara and her mother's pregnancy, Northern Delicacy and the food there, and Jon's friend Alan Liu. Then we talked about a murder where someone just walked up to a guy at the bus stop and stabbed him in the neck casually, Randal, the appreciation dinner, my idea for my post-birthday celebration, how Erin's doing (Steph will send me her blog site), and various other things. The bean dish was kinda small, but the restaurant made up for it by their truly large bowl of hot and sour soup! Steph wants to dominate the church hockey pool and the guys again, so she bought a magazine from Chapters which should help her achieve that goal! After dinner, we went to the gelato place across the street, where we saw a 5.7L tub of gelato selling for $41.. o_O (we settled on a one-litre green tea container instead... no durian!)

We went to the townhouse to eat the gelato. My brother switched the TV from Rachael Ray to a Seattle Mariners-Blue Jays game. Mom was horrified by the catcher sending signals to the pitcher, hahaha! That was a funny conversation, in part because the three of us horrified her even more by saying that the players were even more obvious with what they were doing in the dugout! Poor Mom thought that they could just send signals by scratching their noses, but then the opposing batter could see them! Then Steph said that return ticket holders could see spring training in Dunedin, FL... and then see the catchers in action 81 times a year! Mom then said that she didn't even want to see it once, haha. ("Can't they just do that without scratching between their legs?! Ooh!") Hahahaha, so funny...

Right now, Jon's doing Greek homework and calling me a promiscuous girl by singing Nelly Furtado's new song. Interesting, hahaha.

Congee Noodle House, ice cream cakes, new debit card, and LJ Scrapbook / OH REALLY?

I'm in from running errands and lunch at the Congee Noodle House... good thing that the procedure could be done earlier than usual. There have been rumors of miso soup / weird birthday cards with naked people on them (I'll kill my sister!) / an ice cream cake at Dairy Queen later (Velvet Dream would be a cool name for such a thing!), as well as rumors that my sister was shortlisted for some job or other. We'll see how those hold out, heh. At least I have a tentative plan for my own postdated birthday celebration, in which the BLACK DAHLIA will play a part!

I also got my new debit card in the mail, so I'll go to the bank and get that activated when I can... next week, maybe! (I could have checked that out with the 15 minutes I spent waiting for my mom this morning...) I need to meet them ACROSS THE STREET with DRY ICE at 6:45, since this restaurant (Top Shanghai) gives away your table if you're late for your reservation!

I've been trying to get that OH REALLY? montage loaded to other photo hosting sites, since the FileXoom photo apparently decided to disappear. Photobucket gives me a resize error, Tinypic claims it's not a GIF, it's way too huge for ImageShack and Flickr, and it didn't work on Blogger's photo hosting service as a GIF for some reason since that saved the montage as a PNG. (of course it wouldn't move then... I'll have to ask Spoz about that sometime, since I know he uses that service all the time) Then I decided to use LJ's Scrapbook for the first time ever... that definitely worked! (although maybe I'll need to save it on GJ Pix too, which I haven't used for a LONG time!)

Apparently, my subconscious is interested in killing off my sister and Eric...

I had a weird dream yesterday set in a conference hall. Apparently, my sister was in the hospital there, and we'd all come to say goodbye to her since she was dying of an unspecified disease. We were very sad, as she'd gotten sick suddenly and there was nothing that could be done for her. Then Eric felt like he needed to lie down, so we left him alone for a bit. After that, we found out that he was close to dying as well... much sadness. :(

We visited him and tried to make him feel better. The doctors there were eventually able to cure him of his malady, and he was one of the lucky 20% who could recover. Even better, he was one of the lucky 30% of that percentage who recovered with little to no side effects afterwards! I went out to the dessert stand in the conference hall and got him some cheesecake with pineapples and fruit on top... someone had to help me cut it first. The dream ended with Eric being pretty much recovered, and our making plans to meet each other later at a specific place so we could get out of the conference hall. Very weird... and no, I don't want them to get sick / be killed! o_O

Now I gotta go meet my mom in two minutes... blah for being rushed, as usual around here! =/

Big Mouth Sandwich

Okay, so I lied when I said that it was time to sleep. Now I will, however...

Big Mouth Sandwich

Recipe By: Jo Anne Merrill
Serving Size: 6 Preparation Time: 0:30
Categories: Copycat

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt -- or seasoned salt
2 California avocados -- sliced
1 French bread loaf -- or long loaf
Garlic salt -- to taste
8 ounces refried beans -- 1 can
Shredded lettuce
1 tomato -- sliced
2 green onions -- sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
Taco sauce -- optional

1. Brown ground beef very thoroughly; drain well. Stir in salt and chili powder; keep hot.
2. Halve, peel, and slice avocados into flat slices.
3. Split French bread in half lengthwise. Lightly toast cut sides under broiler.
4. Place half the avocado slices on bottom half of bread. Sprinkle with garlic salt if using.
5. Heat refried beans. Spread an even layer of beans over avocado, then spoon on browned meat.
6. Cover meat with shredded cheese, then with shredded lettuce. Sprinkle lettuce with taco sauce if using.
7. Cover with a layer of sliced tomato, then sprinkle on the chopped onions. Place remaining avocado slices on tomatoes, and sprinkle with garlic salt.
8. Cover with top half of bread; cut into serving sized sandwiches.

Serving Ideas: Serve with warm tortilla chips and iced tea or beer.
NOTE: This sandwich speaks for itself as to how it got its name.

The Black Dahlia, Fringe Festival, Shanghaiese restaurants, and birthdays as weddings

I wanna see The Black Dahlia, but that doesn't come out till September 15... here are movie / Wikipedia / Crime Library case links, as well as the website about the murder of Elizabeth Short. Maybe on Sunday, if I can get people to pay for me, haha. ;)

Jon messaged me on MSN to tell me about a Fringe Festival (on Granville Island) show: he's going there with the people from the karaoke night. (Myles, Peter, and Holly? Cool...) He wanted to know if I wanted to go, and when I demurred because I wanted to save money ("You're poor?"), he said he'd pay for me since it was my birthday. Apparently, the show's called The Unbreakable Popsicle Stick Gang, and there's a chance I'll have to take the bus there... the show sounds quirky, haha! He also said that I have a choice between two restaurants: a Shanghaiese one at the Save-On Foods, or a Chinese one (?) across from Richmond Centre. Later, I chose the Shanghaiese one. Apparently, Andrea's mom likes the place... *shrug* (Mom wanted Felico's, but I like new things on occasion too, har har)

Mom warned me against saying anything about cancer to Uncle Sam's mom tomorrow, as she might be relapsing... fair enough! She also made a hilarious slip when she referred to my birthday as my wedding: "I don't mind it being more expensive since it's your wedding... I mean, your birthday! I hope you get married soon!" Uh, yeah. Not happening! Jon and I also had to tell her what a grove was, since she referred to the Bamboo Grove (the Chinese place across the street from Richmond Centre referenced above) as "the Bamboo Groove"... close, but no cigar! ;)

Then she said that she wanted Jon to set me up with Jeremy... apparently, he was shaking his head at that one! (then she termed him "very bad since he's not looking after his sister") Guess we'll see what happens tomorrow... reading, lunch, maybe shopping / the library / stuff before dinner and such! Maybe I'll get her to buy me some pop, although I should stay away from that stuff too. I also told Jon about Mom's looking longingly at the wedding planner books at the Aberdeen cheap books place... slippery slope, since we are NOT getting married soon! Thank goodness I convinced her to get a coloring book for Brigitte instead!

Missed a 9/11 number coincidence! / Tomorrow's plans / Dreams of Maudite, candy, and fish sauce

I wish I could have posted at 9:11 AM on 9/11. Unfortunately, I would have had to be awake to pull off that bit of clever amusement. And no, 9:11 PM is NOT the same... neither is backdating an entry full of pointless stuff. :P Not that I find the whole 9/11 thing amusing - in fact, far from it. But the number coincidence would have been cool. :D (wish I'd saved a conversation that a certain person and I had about it years ago, heh)

Got an email from my brother: apparently, Mom's going to pick up Uncle Sam's mom at 11 tomorrow, so I need to be ready at 10:15 AM. "Bring reading material," he says... this is ME you're talking about, so of course I'll have it! (although there WAS this time I was coming home from Cap College and was stuck without it on the bus for TWO HOURS on Granville St. because of lots of snow!) Then it's lunch and probably running various errands before the family celebrates my birthday early.. which reminds me, I need to figure out what I'm doing FOR it! I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that it'll need to be after the date: Birthday Week / Month rules, haha! (as Andy said once, it extends until the last wish is given!)

So then I replied to say I'd received the email and will probably call Mom later, gave him Teunis' review of the night (with the truck problems included, poor guy!), plus the email address. Pretty good for one email, heh. I think he had a good time discussing the Arrogant Worms with Jon, although he didn't catch the Poison reference my brother made later... every rose has its thorn, indeed! I know Eric had fun telling me that my face was red... yeah, YOU'll pay the ultimate price later! :P

I had a weird dream which involved a bunch of us going around a half-built house. When Citrus' mom heard it was my birthday, she gave me six bags of candy along with some balloons. Fidela's dad heard about that later and gave me some more candy, so I told Fidela that her dad was trying to drum up business since he's an orthodontist! (which he is in real life) Jon and I also went around a Granville Island-like place where people were selling fish, fish sauce (Jeremy has some strong fish sauce!), at least two different kinds of colorful chocolates / candy (white, orange, green, and more) which we were trying to find in boxes, Maudite (that has a colorful bottle!), a zillion kinds of pizza / tabasco sauces. Then there was the subplot which involved shooting people who couldn't get out from their tangled bedcovers fast enough... o_O

Homemade Pho at Jeremy's! / Big Bucket In The Sky Chicken

Jon and Eric picked me up at about 6:40, and then it was off to T&T to pick up Dallas, who'd managed to get durian for his shakes. (durian, coconut, papaya, mango, etc.) Once we got to Jeremy's, I announced that we had some durian: Dylan definitely didn't want any! I saw Teunis there being geeky and talking programming stuff with Jesse's friend Hubert, so I waved to him and talked to Jen / Karen / Vivian / Christon instead. A little later, some people went out to buy mangoes and ice for the night. Let's just say that Teunis kept people entertained by telling them all these various stories about Fort St. John, spontaneous raids on ice cream shops, his life experiences, and the guy he knows with the sword collection.. I knew Nathan would like hearing about maces, spears, jade / fire, and all the rest! That would really be something to see, if it was legal to carry 'em out on the streets here!

While that was going on, Jon was discussing Christian death metal with people: Dylan loved trying to growl, apparently. Lesley made salad rolls, and Jeremy's Pho was great! Nathan said that it felt really light without the MSG, and that was certainly a good change! Eric was being a dork and insisting that I had four beers instead of three: I had Anarchist Amber Ale, some homebrew, and some Maudite. (maybe he wanted to say that I was drunk... nope, but I did threaten him with the ultimate price!) Jeremy wondered if anyone had actually eaten Pho in the really tall chair beside me: yes, Christon had while he was discussing the Mexico trip with Lesley! That would be something to see, considering that the chair seat was higher than the table! Then he noted that I was using his favorite "CHIMAY" beer / wine glass: hey, it was one of the only clean ones left by the time I got around to drinking beer! But I'm sure he didn't mind, heh.

Jon and Eric asked me separately where Jasmine was: I told them that she didn't want to eat oxtail and that she was a picky eater (sorry, dude...), to which they said that oxtail wasn't really ox. Guess she got confused, but things worked out since Jeremy had five packages of Pho noodles left over that he wasn't charging us for. Maybe next time! Jeremy and Karen were discussing those really old strange laws that never got repealed for some reason: I have a whole bunch of those, and I should send them some links to that! Later on, Jesse smelled weed through the open window (better than durian!) and jokingly wondered which one of us was smoking weed. I was a bit concerned over Teunis' sensitivity to such things, but he seemed to be okay... it wasn't like the table was right by the window!

We also talked about tobacco, Dallas and Christon cutting up fruit in the washroom ("Where are they?" "In the washroom..." "Together?!" "Cutting up the FRUIT!"), my birthday, that dinner on the same night, Daiso, baseball, violins, combining beer with durian, a Kingsway / Fraser Vietnamese grocery where Jeremy got the meat from, 10 hours of broth simmering, slow cookers, and a bunch of other things. Of course, Jon was filming a lot of this stuff, to be uploaded somewhere once he finishes writing his essay. (or maybe during that process!) Good times... and I suppose I should email my brother some contact info. If someone wants to be on the list, he shall!

There was also much fun with the "menu"... Dragon Ball-speak ("Purnopur? Meelk? Jel? Slus?"), prices being subject to communism, "Pho Thai Jeremese," correcting the spelling of "roles" (as in "salad roles"), having lots of footage in the camera, etc. Too bad Teunis doesn't get it since it's so hilarious to some of us... he should go to Dragon Ball one of these nights and understand. That lady is amusing! (but there might be smokers outside, so word to the wise, heh)


Big Bucket In The Sky Chicken

Yield: 1 Servings

3 cups Self-rising flour
1 tablespoon Paprika
2 packages Lipton Tomato Cup-A-Soup - powder
2 packages Good Seasons Italian - Dressing mix powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 lb Butter or margarine

Moisten chicken in water. Place coating mixture in an oven roasting bag, and shake until chicken is covered. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until juices are clear.

Odd new icon (literally), "Oh Really?" montage, Nathaniel, and Joshua

Thanks to Morgaine (angelforlife) and Kitty (bornwitch), I have one new icon and one new montage:



(this will be perfect for all the times that I discuss weird stuff in here :P)




(I wanted to get the large image from this page, but Photobucket wouldn't let me upload it!)

FileXoom does, however...



I also interacted with little Nathaniel and little Joshua today... they're getting so big now! Now it's time to get some sleep!

"Mom... it's NIBBLES, not NIPPLES!" (too much Pho fat, too-literal cooking direction interpretation)

Today, all anyone could talk about was Jeremy's homemade Pho. I gave Jackie her late birthday card (she thanked me for it), and paid Nathan back his $2... both very important things, to be sure! I talked to Jeremy about my mom's Thai basil and how much he'd need: he is expecting a bunch of people tonight, so maybe Jon should bring all of it even if all you need for one bowl is a few sprigs. (Pho restaurants give you an excess of those!) He told me that he still had a LOT of fat in the broth: you do need a little bit, but not like an inch! Good thing he has a lot of garbage bags for the bones and everything else afterwards. (his dishwasher will also come in handy)

So I told him that my mom puts her excess cooking fat in a yogurt container and puts it in the freezer; once it's full, she throws it away. Apparently, this is better than pouring the fat down the drain... Jon joked that Jeremy could serve a side dish of fat tonight. I don't think there will be many takers for it, heh. We also asked people about folding chairs: Andrea offered hers even though she'll be at a UBC reunion dinner... she'll be there in spirit as the five chairs, haha. Lesley will be there too, she says. Also told Jeremy about the bonus person there tonight: that future reference point about another guy who cooks MIGHT come in handy, you never know! ;)

In service today, James Houston was talking about a paraclete (the Holy Spirit; an intercessor). Steph and Citrus decided to get creative with the word, so Steph drew a parakeet on her bulletin (and added baby birds when he mentioned mentoring) and Citrus added a pair of cleats! Too hilarious, haha. They were paying attention to what he was saying (once it started making sense :P), but just wanted to laugh about that.

Afterwards, both Dawn and Auntie Catherine (Chung's mom) came up to me while I was talking to Kevin about school / practicums and gave me a birthday gift... how nice of them! Auntie Catherine said that she couldn't take me to lunch next week, but maybe the week afterward: I'm good with whatever she decides! Melia also came up to me and said that she found me a ride: apparently, Henry lives seven minutes from me, so I should call him / see if he's at church on Friday nights and make plans then. Sounds good to me, but I don't have his phone number... all in due time, I suppose! Kevin asked when my exact birthday was after thanking me properly for the card I gave him... he says he might write me a card too, but he has a terrible memory, so he'd just say Happy Birthday now. Fine with me, heh. (then I told Auntie Fonda and Auntie Tracy about how old I'd be... they seemed disbelieving and said I looked young, heh)

Later, Joey asked me about the poncho that Steph got me from Mexico; apparently, Mike had bought one too and worn it to yesterday's walkathon! Jon told Daniel that there was this huge box of fried chicken at the walkathon when he was telling Phil's cousin (also named Jeremy) that his wife Michelle didn't like fried chicken, so the only time he can have it is when they go out to eat! (he was trying to convince Angus, Phil, Mike, and others to have some for lunch) I talked to Danielle / Jen / Phil / Darren for a while, asked Denise about her sister Julie in Alberta, and then bugged Christon about the Wal-Mart "88¢ candy and chips" intervention. He hadn't gotten sick till he was back home from Mexico, but not from all the junk food... phew!

Auntie Grace introduced me to new kids named Jesse and Meg: I'd seen Jesse in the toddler Sunday School, and apparently their mom is in the Mandarin congregation. It's cool that they're going to be in Awana and Benjamin Fellowship on the weekends. Then I saw Citrus getting beaten up by Sam's brother Jeremy... that might be an unfair match since Jeremy is a big kid!

Later, Steph told us her favorite "cooking disaster" story since we were talking about people who can't really cook... unlike Erin's mom, I've got boiling water down pat! (although I did have to ask once or twice if it had boiled... *blush*) Her friend Mandy's brother had once called his mom (who was in Hong Kong) to ask how to make a certain type of Chinese soup with a lot of vegetables in it. She told him to put carrots, cabbage, bones, and some other stuff in a pot of boiling water. He followed her directions a little TOO well... when Mandy got home later with Karen Grace and some other people, she lifted up the pot lid and asked him what the heck that was! He told her "Mom told me to put these things in to make the soup!" Yes, but there was a WHOLE CABBAGE and UNPEELED CARROTS in there... when the girls fell on the floor laughing, he defended himself by saying "Mom didn't tell me to chop up the cabbage or peel the carrot!" Oh man, even *I* would know better than that! HAHAHAHA!


Funny parental hilarity of the day:

Mom: "Do you want to go to Nipples and Bites? We're going to eat at Nipples and Bites!"
Steph: "Mom... it's Nibbles and Bites!" (food sampling from various local restaurants)

For the record, I declined since I have to take a nap later before making plans with Jon for tonight. (besides, I had to update and such... aiya, I missed the Awana orientation, but I know what's going on from past years, so it's fine!)

Memories, birthday celebration, China World or Rice World, Big Boy's Chicken Gravy

Well, I finished January 2003 of my project. I could go hardcore at this and not work on anything else, but that would require me to stay up for like five days straight. NOT HAPPENING! (but the memories were mostly cool... if January's the average, I can do a month every time I have three or four free hours!) Eric H. buzzed me about my birthday celebration: damn, I'd been thinking about that earlier, but don't know what I'll do since most people will probably go to that blasted dinner! Maybe if we have another weekender dinner this week, that can be my birthday dinner, haha. Or maybe we'll have to celebrate later... I need to do some serious thinking on this!

Reminds me that my mom has some basil for Jeremy - which I'm NOT emailing him about, thanks! - and also wants to take Dallas to China World / Rice World, which is this HUGE megastore of products! Maybe sometime, eh? It has a LOT of food and stuff at cheap prices: corn, ice cream, microwaveable meals, Pocky, snacks, shampoo, HUGE cans of veggies, and all these other items!

So you want to be a Superhero? What is your superhero name? Your origin is: Involved in some outer space phenomenon Your superpower is: You can poison criminals with a bite or scratch You mostly battle: Aliens Mode of transportation: Jet Where you live: Germany Your motivation to be a hero: You thought it would be fun This Fun Quiz created by Josh at BlogQuiz.Net

Virgo Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

Big Boy's Chicken Gravy

Categories: Copycat, Sauces, Chicken
Yield: 1 quart

28 oz Chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
1 tablespoon Chicken bouillon powder
2/3 cups Bisquick

In blender... combine broth, onion powder, bouillon powder, and Bisquick. Blend at high speed, about 1/2 minute or until smooth. Pour into saucepan and stir constantly over medium-high heat, about 4 or 5 minutes until it comes to a boil and is smooth and thickened a bit. Serve at once. Can freeze up to 4 months.