Violence, fires, Game 7, a green life, Nabisco Oreo (Wafers)

Henry picked me up, and we talked about my cough: Gwyneth had the flu recently. I hope I'm not getting sick, although I'm more accommodating than she is - every time I try talking to her nowadays, she tells me: "I'M NOT TALKING!" Oh well, better than walking off somewhere without saying that? Who knows. He says the praise and worship yesterday went well, except maybe the Mandarin songs since nobody knew them! (so why include them in your set?) Also discussed some bubble tea place I've never heard of, Boston Pizza, the hockey game tonight, tonight's plans, etc. At Awana, we had a new kid named Jordan, who wanted to draw a firetruck / burning building / himself as a fireman. Jason told me that Amos wasn't here today because he was at the dentist (poor guy!), and Andrew said he'd been on MSN all day - no homework, but just projects! Heh, he'll see who I am on MSN once I add him! Some of the kids were being kinda violent because they were trying to kick each other in a rather private area - yikes!

Well, it's going to be a Game 7 in Vancouver on Monday since the Stars won 2-0. They've never come back from a 3-1 series deficit, and we don't want a repeat of Minnesota doing the same to us! Damn shutouts! Stupid giveaways and undisciplined penalties, especially at the end of the game! Misconducts and penalties, and a game-ending fight! Not much to be done about that, except hope the game doesn't go into OT and interfere with a certain TV show, haha. Zubov and Morrow are injured now, heh. Off to do more dungeons and maybe start on those space adventures! :D

Your Life is 60% Green

Your life is pretty green, and you know a lot about how to live an eco-friendly life. So congratulate yourself for being good to the earth. And maybe think about implementing some of the ideas from this quiz!

How Green Is Your Life?

Your Life is 52% Off Track

Right now, you're taking things one day at a time. Some things are going well, but you can't help but wonder if you're getting the most out of life. It's time for you to slow down and reflect a little. You can change your life - but it's up to you!

Are You Living The Wrong Life?

Nabisco Oreo (Wafers)

1 18.25-ounce package Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix
3 tablespoons shortening, melted
1/2 cup cake flour, measured then sifted
1 egg
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons brown paste food coloring (optional)*

1. Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl. Add the water a little bit at a time until the dough forms. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough to just under one 16th of an inch thick. To cut, use a lid from a spice container with a 1 1/2-inch diameter (Schilling brand is good). Arrange the cut dough rounds on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with a light coating of non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove wafers from the oven and cool completely.
4. As the cookies bake, make the filling (recipe in More Top Secret Recipes on page 68).
5. When the cookies have cooled, roll a small portion (heaping 1/4 teaspoon) of the filling into a ball (just over 1/4-inch in diameter), and press it between two of the cookies. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Makes 108-116 wafers; for 54-58 sandwich cookies.


* This is an optional step to help recreate the color of the original cookie. If you do not use the paste food coloring, be sure to change the amount of water added to the wafer cookies from 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup. The food coloring gives the cookies the dark brown, almost black color. The coloring can be found with cake decorating supplies at art supply and craft stores.

Tidbits
If the dough seems too tacky, you can work in as much as 1/4 cup of flour as you pat out and roll the dough. Use just enough flour to make the dough workable, but not tough.

It's Nathan in his kitchen, only not really!

Hockey tonight in Dallas - maybe they'll almost score on themselves again, haha. We better win, or else! Checking blogs again... Randal has a new picture up that (upon first glance) kinda resembled Nathan in a white shirt and dark pants. While I'm not the member of my family who spends the most time with Nate - that would be my brother - I was still surprised to know that I thought of him first! "Hey, that's Nathan in his kitchen! Wait a minute... it can't be since it's someone else's blog! WHERE IS MY BRAIN?!" (if you know me in real life, please do NOT answer this question with crazy stuff!) Then again, I've spent way more time even in Nathan's house (or kitchen?) over the years than I ever have with Randal, so maybe it's natural that my brain makes that association? Yeah, yeah, I know... my brain is truly bizarre, so no need to say that. :P

Anyhow, he's blogged about passions (interesting since we had a talk on this subject just last night!) / volunteering / AIDS / worry / couscous. Heh, I remember making it once. It was okay, but of course needed a little something! Found myself laughing a bit like Jeremy just now when I reached a part where he said stuff to the effect of "Scripture-reading ministry would be my passion, if it existed!" (I remember what my sister thought about his reading stuff when she got back home for Christmas the first year she was in Toronto! "Who IS this man? Interesting way of reading...") Simple joys are good, but double posts are perhaps not quite so good. ;) (Spoz called me the Double Post Nazi - not without reason!) Then there's the stuff about political beliefs and Christianity, plus stuff I've read before. Touches on the Virginia Tech shooting, even... there are many explanations for those flaws, as I've learned through my reading, but it's most often the formative experiences of which I won't speak here. As for these tragedies and such never happening again.... there will always be these monsters who walk the earth, no matter how many of them we put in prison or execute under the name of capital punishment. Although yes, I wish they'd never happen again!

Apparently, he also got the surprise of the week when heading back to work: "Your former co-worker killed himself!" That would cause me to think about the time I had with the person, for sure. I myself don't know if his praying / witnessing more would have kept him from suicide, as I'm just reading about this person with whom I had no contact. Odds are that it wouldn't have - not that I maintain a hopeless / cynical outlook on life (OMG, SO EMO... MUST CUT MYSELF AND DIE BY SLASHING MY WRISTS NOW!), but maybe I'm too realistic for my own good. It MIGHT have made a difference, but again I can't say since I have no knowledge of the situation beyond typed words on a screen. Meh, on to other blogs!

Alyssa's just randomly updated her blog with stuff about the Virginia Tech shooting - I don't know how someone could do that to 32 other people with their own hopes and dreams either, since it seems senseless! Maybe it's the "I'll take other people out with me when I die!" thing, who knows? Concerts, coding, WORLD OF WARCRAFT, birthdays, emo music, and blog changes to make it look like her site are good... but increased spam is NOT! Dawn has stuff about leisurely reading (Bridget Jones), rain, business books, library cards, and other reflections on life - well, her beloved sunny days seem to be here (for) now! It's funny how it takes me three paragraphs to dissect ONE blog, and just one paragraph for the other two which had updates during the past week... maybe it's the volume of posts in the one blog, or maybe it's coz it makes me think? Haha, I don't know (although it's probably that new picture which looks like Nathan!)... it's all good, though! :P

You are 0% Addicted to Facebook.

You are not addicted to Facebook.

For you, it's just another fad that you won't subscribe to.

'How Addicted to Facebook are you?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Reminds me that Chung and Lesley were talking about it yesterday since Lesley's nephew invited her to join, and she wondered what it was. Once I told her that I'd heard it was horribly addicting, and once Chung told her that you could mass-add everyone you know and have their friends add you and so forth... she was definitely NOT sold on the concept!

Quail eggs, lemongrass chicken, Nabisco Old-Fashioned Ginger Snaps

Note: My perfect LJ lover / which LJ friend hates me / which LJ friend is an undercover hooker / which LJ friend is in love with me / LJ friends suffering from a mental disorder / my LJ friends in the ghetto / LJ friends starring in the movies / what my LJ friends really think about me / what's in store for my LJ friends this fall blogquizzes. (by Tremaine, Sharie, and Melissa)


When I went into Eric's car this afternoon, I was laughing to myself, so he wondered if I was okay - OF COURSE! We discussed blogs, spoiler tags vs. spoiler sites, sending emails to my sibs, promises, hockey losses, Pho, Nathan getting him dinner but with no time to eat, Sunday practices, and seating plans for the day. At church, he showed me how car flags worked: ah, so you put it in the window! Got it, haha. Talked to Steph since I saw her outside the church, and told Uncle Patrick that there was a stupid penalty which led to Dallas' goal yesterday. She said that Karen was at Pho, so I joined her / Dawn / Vivian / Andrea / Jen. We talked about hilarious restaurant typos (Lamp for LAMB / COCK for COKE), cars, cruises, changing diapers / breastfeeding, girly TMI stuff, bras, smoking, noodles, my checking to see if Eric needed anything (turned out that Jeremy did too - lemongrass chicken for both to eliminate confusion!), hockey (Karen wondered if my sister MADE me watch the games - no! :P), quail eggs (#21 for childhood memories!), paying the bill, guys discussing refreshments and more. Pretty good dinner, heh. Vivian saw some toddler going to cross the street on Kingsway / Joyce (very busy six-lane intersection) today with no parent in sight - SO SCARY, since the kid's parents didn't know she'd gone! Heh, the kid was just waving at Vivian's mom when she asked where her mommy was, too. Rich did stuff with electronics, Andrea's brother Sherman coasted a car down neutral on a hill, and there was this case of a five-year-old driving a car somewhere since he was mad at his grandma! Yikes!

Got back to the church, where I gave Eric and Jeremy their dinners - they were pretty hungry! Jon and Nathan had their dinner taken care of courtesy of a Fellowship decision to eat at Boston Pizza, phew! By the time I made it upstairs, Randal had returned the TV tape - I gave it to Jon a bit later. Eric thought I wanted to have the pizza which was our refreshments, but I was too full after Pho... it turned out that my sister gave me some leftover pizza from BP, so it would have been pizza overkill even with the leftovers from our talk! (musical accompaniment provided by the Chinese praise and worship night which Henry told me about last week) Andrea and Dianne helped me with green tea, and Alan talked about Hon for a bit. Chung asked me how things were going, so that was also nice of him. After the talk, Jen wondered if Jeremy could book stuff for her birthday celebration: Gastown / Foundation / the Whip / drinks and food? Guess we'll see!

Jeremy recounted a story about how the Pipe Club had said that he and a group of people could smoke a LITTLE in a certain room. As soon as the person gave them permission and left, everyone busted out their cigars and pipes! (not the Cigarette Club, for sure!) Raymond and Martin had to leave to do a 30-Hour Famine with Grade 7-9 students somewhere, so they couldn't help clean up. Karen wanted me to take some leftover pizza home, but I didn't feel like it: as I told Eric, I felt I shouldn't have any since I had a cough. He even asked why not: uh, it might make it WORSE? After saying bye to various people, Eric and I headed downstairs, but not before Andrea and Lesley tried wearing his guitar pack on their shoulders! (a tap on the shoulder is much more efficient than calling "Hey, hey, hey, hey! BYEEEEEE!") Discovered Vivian on her cell in the office - okay, we won't bug you then! Talked to Stanley and Nai Chiu while Eric played doorman for various people in the Chinese fellowships: getting pissed at someone is better than them being pissed at you, confusing wording, Awana, meeting people for the first time, Caucasians going to our church, weird kids like Bowen with his underwear song, feeling old since the kid's almost as tall as he is, being "on strike" and not cleaning, guitar straps as belts, and my brother's role were all conversation topics. It's good when I can talk to people in the Chinese congregation about things, which is something I don't do often enough! Found out that Vivian was talking to Vania, and wouldn't do it at home since it would tie up the phone line... then Eric used my head to balance his blue Starbucks water bottle! Lovely. :P

Eric and I also looked through various magazines while waiting for Jon and Steph to show up: BEATLES copyright violation of album covers? Sure, if he says so! Once they showed up, we went home! Mishearings seemed to be the theme of the night: "he spent a fair amount of time cleaning up" does NOT equal "he spent a fair amount of time CONSUMING ALCOHOL," haha! "Boy initiate" doesn't equal "avoid issues," either! Then again, Steph was telling people earlier that she HAD to lead Floodlight on Game 6 night tomorrow, and hoped that didn't sound too terrible! Melia didn't hear the "leading" part, and suggested going up to the balcony: that wouldn't be possible while leading it! Jon will stop by Green Village after Floodlight since Holly's having her "friends" birthday party there - of all the places to have it! Makes sense since Peter (her boyfriend) lives ten blocks from the church, heh.

Inspired by Holly's plans after dinner, we listed a bunch of reasons why Steph wouldn't want to go clubbing, adjusting the rank as we went along: getting shot / stabbed, perverted dirty old men hitting on her, not liking clubbing in the first place, GHB and other date-rape drugs, not wanting to buy drinks for 16-year-olds who don't have ID, not wanting to pay to get into a venue in the first place, overpriced drinks, not wanting to get all sweaty and nasty except in a sports context, etc. Also discussed high-pitched stuff and Danielle's James Blunt imitation ("POUR WATER ON ME!") last year. She forwarded a picture of that to everyone on Committee - Daniel and Steph checked their email from work, and immediately thought that it could be misconstrued as porn. ("NO! MUST CLOSE IT NOW!") Especially bad for Daniel since he's a teacher!

As soon as I got home, Jon called me on his cell: uh, go away now and stop making limo jokes before I say something I'll regret! I just hung up on him, and that's what he deserved! Eric H. was online, and claimed not to know anything about the "hi" message he sent me yesterday - he was hanging out with Nate all evening, apparently. Most weird... then he wanted to know if I wanted to hang out next weekend and update his blog! Depends on the playoff schedule IF we advance (still not a sure thing), and on that concert next Saturday! Plenty of time to schedule something, though. Jen wants to book something for her birthday fairly soon, since she wants to invite people: as of this coming Wednesday, it'll be a week till her birthday! Time sneaks up on us all, I tell ya! Eric's not sure he wants to go out to dinner on Monday, which I can understand! We touched on that in the car, too - what if a game coincides with the 24 finale or any of the other remaining episodes? We'll just stay at the townhouse till the bitter end, haha! Good thing Mom keeps the tapes for conversion / historical purposes!


Nabisco Old-Fashioned Ginger Snaps

Nabisco's version of this old favorite cookie may not be as big a seller as its much-cloned Oreo. Heck, it's not even close. But if you're a ginger snap fanatic, this recipe will give you a killer clone of the cookie giant's store-bought version that you can whip up in a... uh... snap. And if you're watching the fat, four of these cookies check in with a total of around 2.5 grams of fat.

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cream together the sugars, molasses, shortening, butter, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
3. In another large bowl... combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
4. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and beat while adding the water. Continue to mix until ingredients are incorporated.
5. Measure a heaping teaspoon of dough at time. Roll the dough into a sphere between the palms of your hands then press the dough onto the cookie. Flatten to about 1/8-inch thick.
6. Bake cookies for 10-14 minutes, or until edges begin to brown and cookies are crispy when cool. Makes 120 (10 dozen) cookies.

Black cherry shall help me vanquish you!

At least the pharmacy next door is now open for an hour later than I thought it would be. I went out earlier than 3:30, though - and came back to a phone call AND message from Eric saying that my non-answering of those two wasn't good, considering what I'd said in an email to him and Steph earlier. Yes, I know... but neither was I expecting you to call me when I was out for 10 minutes or so! (yay for actual pharmacist help!) Trouble is, now I feel like sleeping when I shouldn't - guess I should still go out! Black cherry and lemon Halls / echinacea shall be my help when I can't have the actual medicine - no overdoses here! I'll have a theme going on with my sweater and vest tonight... PEANUTS the comic!

You Are 52% Phobic

You have a few more phobias than the average person. And you're sometimes developing new ones. Try to chill out and conquer some of your phobias. Facing your fears is the only way to get rid of them.

How Phobic Are You?

Concerts with Christine, memories, Eric x2, Jeremy, Nabisco Nilla Wafers

I just realized that I probably made my brother feel dirty (I kinda did too) for making him buy my true crime book for me in Wal-Mart! Nothing I could do, since I'd been tasked with looking after Grandma to make sure she didn't wander off anywhere as she tends to do at times. At least she left her knitting in the car! I've only ever bought from them twice (the other involved North Van, Shannon, and underwear :P) in my life, so that's fine. I can't control where people get their gifts for me, though! (like pudding and such)

On the way home, Jon informed me that he'd be helping out Christine Magee with a concert next Saturday. No, she is NOT the Sleep Country Canada spokeswoman - this Christine has a very good voice and a less-than-flattering nickname courtesy of my mom! He can give me a ride if I want to come, but he has to be in Tsawwassen early - I remember the LAST time they did a concert in 2004. Dave told me to tell him that he loved Jon like a brother, but it was way too far! (Jon wasn't impressed, seeing as he told everyone that they HAD to go!) Then Jon and I ate Pho with Jeremy (I was NOT trying their durian shakes!), and verified the triple-overtime Canucks-Flames playoff game score with Ty... good times. (went home afterwards and talked to Sam and someone who shall remain nameless)

Enough living in the past - let's bring things into the present. I just finished Chinese Eric's space adventure, and was greatly amused by these two lines: "You are walking through a cramped computer core. You hear the sound of farting echoing through ventilation shafts." and "You are in a chrome hyperlift. The base's computer alerts you to farting." Don't look at ME... Eric himself told me to put "farting" down as one of his interests when we created his journal together! :P

Speaking of Chinese Eric: he left me a "hi" message on MSN, which I obviously was not around to answer. Maybe I'll catch him later! Then Corey was trying to joke about demonic laughter while Diven told me about having to go to church straight from work tomorrow. We'll see how things go with that: I'm not sure how things could be made of iron, though! It'll be good seeing people tomorrow - maybe I'll tell Jeremy a certain story since he claims not to have heard about it. (Jon thinks he must have, but I believe what the friend says) Let's just hope I don't sound too much like a coughing sick person, even though I really am not! Dunno what's up with that - I'll consume these Halls, and that might do it? It's not excessive thirstiness which is plaguing me, I hope!

Hey, Jon emailed a bunch of us just now. He ran into Dallas the person earlier tonight, and he's doing okay. Drake wants to resume the Sunday dinners starting maybe next Sunday the 29th, and wants to celebrate writing his last exam on Monday with a dinner at Shanghai Wind or another groovy new restaurant. Let's hope the Canucks-Stars game DOESN'T go to a Game 7 on Monday, and that we can vanquish them on Saturday! But if it does, we should get an early start anyhow - he thinks 5:30 to 6 should be sufficient. Heck, I'm probably in as long as it gets me enough time to watch a certain TV show afterwards at 9! ;)


Nabisco Nilla Wafers

No one knows the exact origin of the vanilla wafer, but it's guessed that the recipe was developed in the south. The wafers were being whipped up from scratch at home long before Nabisco introduced the lightweight, poker chip-like packaged cookies in 1945. Back then they were called Vanilla Wafers. But in the 60s Nabisco slapped the tradename Nilla Wafers on the box. Today, the real things come about 100 to a box and really fly when whipped into the air with a little flick of the wrist. Here now, you can relive the days of old with a homemade version fresh out of the oven. This clone recipe makes about half a box's worth and they fly just as far. For just a slight variation on this recipe - with similar aerodynamics - check out the clone for Sunshine Lemon Coolers.

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Cream together sugars, shortening, egg, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add the flour and baking powder. Add 1 tablespoon of water and continue mixing until dough forms a ball.
4. Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls and flatten slightly onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until cookies are light brown. Makes 50 to 56 cookies.

Petal bars, books, cocoa Peeps, Blogthings

Our family had to wait about an hour or more at the border crossing into the US. Good thing my brother and I had a worship book and The Onion to keep us company: charismatic worship, traditional worship, weed guy saving Christmas, handling 2008 genocides (Iran not existing for very long, anyone?), and more! We went to this outlet mall that we hadn't been to in years - beige jeans and the cute paper card store! Then we went to the same McDonald's with the Rite-Aid that we went to in October: since I was pretty thirsty for some reason, I drank about one large Coke. Makes me wonder how I'll cope on the plane if we aren't really supposed to bring bottled water in our carry-on luggage, but we'll see... definitely can't bring Purell, heh. (I'm sure Eric will be happy to hear that even though he won't be going on the cruise with us!) Mom got me some cocoa Peeps (never heard of that flavor - great for sharing?) and a disposable camera to take on the cruise - sweet! Not a digicam, but it'll do!

Went to Fairhaven, where my brother and I were in our element at Village Books: SO MANY SHINY BOOKS! I ended up buying Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati (I've heard about her books on craighnaduhn, the Outlander community) after taking a lot of time to make a decision. Browsed through a book on 101 Ethical Dilemmas and other books, looked at yearly cards and such (memories!), bought a Mocha Supreme Langford Foods Petal Garden bar (edible, from Langley, also great for sharing as it's a 170g bar, and expires May 7), and chipped in with Jon to buy Jen a birthday present. She'll love it since it's anti-Bush: a "Smush Bush" stress reliever doll, and a button with his last day of office on it. (1-20-09, baby!) I decided on the doll instead of a deck of cards - it's more visible and she might like it more, haha. Jon wondered if he should buy Harmony some $10 chocolate - we decided that "I know you like chocolate, but I won't spend $10 on one bar since I don't love you that much!" sounded kinda bad. =/

After that, we browsed through a sweet shop (lots of mix and match flavors for $4 a half-pound) before going for some fish and chips - the fish was SO FRESH and GOOD! Then we went to Wal-Mart, and I bought Over The Edge by Bill G. Cox. On the way to Wal-Mart on Meridian, we passed a Cold Stone Creamery: I told my brother that it was a US-only thing with birthday cake ice cream flavor. Grandma wanted to know if they made strawberry pudding cups: uh, no. They had vanilla, butterscotch, and tapioca ONLY. Strawberry pudding wouldn't taste that good, probably! Then, we went back to Canada - I made sure to keep the title of my Onion book (HOMELAND INSECURITY) hidden from the US officials and the Canadian ones too! It's only satire, but I've heard stories about how people brought certain books on planes only to have them confiscated! Good to be paranoid in this case, haha. When the hockey coverage at the Chinese restaurant switched from the Vancouver-Dallas game (next goal wins since it's in OT now as I write this) to the Calgary-Detroit game, Mom was confused when a Flame scored to make it 3-2. Granted, she couldn't see the TV well from where she was sitting, but all the red uniforms DO look different from green and blue!

Heh, my mom also just gave me a stack of greeting cards for no reason - she may be belittling at times ("I'm 28 years older than you and my skin's still better than yours!"), but there's nothing I can do about that! Luckily, my brother defended me with "Not many people her age have her good skin, either - it's still smooth and such!" (that's probably why Auntie Tracy and Auntie Fonda couldn't believe the age I turned on my last birthday, come to think of it) She also gave me this sweet Snoopy JOE COOL sweater from a Steveston thrift shop - his sunglasses are so gold and shiny! Jon says Nathan is in Toronto for a high school friend's wedding, but is going to Montreal for fun while he's there.. might as well, heh. Now I'm just waiting for Jon to finish a phone call with Harmony before I can finally go home! At least I can check my friends pages on this computer and save entry drafts in Gmail... good planning on my part!

Oh, crap. We had too many men on the ice, so Dallas got a power play... Brendan Morrow scored to end OT and the game. DAMN!

Fining moms for the names they give their kids... HAHAHA, I wish this worked in real life!

Your Rapper Name Is...

Ghetto Supastar

What's Your Rapper Name?

You Are Straight

There's not much queer about you. So let's just say you're straight... but not narrow.

What's Your Sexual Orientation?

No wonder my mom's computer wouldn't allow me to access the results page... look at that REAL JOCK ad on the side!

Your Love Quote

True love stories never have endings.

What Love Quote Suits You?

Why the HELL did I dream about my brother liking my sister in THAT way?!

EWWWW! Why the HELL did I dream about my brother liking my sister in THAT way?! I've often wondered what is wrong with my subconscious, but I'm REALLY questioning it now! No, I haven't read anything about incest or related things lately. It's not the theory of "it's what you're thinking about when you finally drop off to sleep," either! For the record, I was thinking about two of my favorite people and their humor - they did not show up in this dream! While in dreamland, Steph found out that Jon liked her in that way, and was very understandably disgusted - she didn't want to be alone with him at any point after she found out! (which she did by reading a notebook that he left lying around)

Also in the dream, we found a paper that Cindy was writing about being a patient of a Dr. Stanley. She was really sick with allergies and such (almost like in real life!), and was comparing her experience with Justin's. In real life, the kid Justin is allergic to about six things. It seemed to be a good paper, and well-written from both their experiences.

When Jon woke me up with a phone call, he said Mom would sell me US money at face value. Damn, I knew I should have gone to the bank recently to get my US money for the cruise, hehe. ("Give me $100 US now, please!" Haha, like that would ever happen!)

Microwaving babies / Crab jokes / Sherry enemas / Nabisco Cheese Nips

Apparently, I'm going to the States tomorrow - yeehaw!


Today's Hyperthermic Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A mother was arrested on suspicion of murdering her newborn daughter by microwaving the baby in an oven. China Arnold, 26, was jailed Monday on a charge of aggravated murder, more than a year after she brought her dead month-old baby to a hospital. Bail was set Tuesday at $1 million. "We have reason to believe, and we have some forensic evidence that is consistent with our belief, that a microwave oven was used in this death," said Ken Betz, director of the Montgomery County coroner's office. He said the evidence included high-heat internal injuries and the absence of external burn marks on the baby. Arnold was arrested soon after the baby's death in August 2005, then was released while authorities investigated further. Betz said the case was difficult because "there is not a lot of scientific research and data on the effect of microwaves on human beings." The death was ruled homicide by hyperthermia, or high body temperature. The absence of external burns ruled out an open flame, scalding water, or a heating pad as the cause. Arnold's lawyer, Jon Paul Rion, said his client had nothing to do with her child's death. "She has no idea how such an act could occur," Rion said. The night before the baby was taken to the hospital, Arnold and the child's father went out for a short time and left Paris with a babysitter, Rion said. The mother didn't sense anything out of the ordinary until the next morning, when the child was found unconscious, Rion said. Arnold has three other children.

Culled from: The Associated Press
Generously donated by: Paradox

**********************************************************************

(China AND Paris?!)

I must sadly inform you that the Comtesse is leaving town for a DeSpair family reunion through the end of the month. Yes, the April showers will be a bit less uplifting as the MFDJ is on hiatus. I hope you don't suffer tooooo much, and perhaps I'll have some interesting tales when I return. One never knows...

*******

Morbid Mirth Du Jour!

Purple Jade sends a joke:

The day after a man lost his wife in a scuba diving accident, he was greeted by two grim-faced policemen at his door.

"We're sorry to call on you at this hour, Mr. Wilkens, but we have some information about your wife."

"Well, tell me!" the man said.

The policeman said, "We have some bad news, some good news, and some really great news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Fearing the worst, Mr. Wilkens said: "Give me the bad news first."

So the policeman said, "I'm sorry to tell you, sir, but this morning we found your wife's body in San Francisco Bay."

"Oh my God!" said Mr. Wilkens, overcome by emotion. Then, remembering what the policeman had said, he asked: "What's the good news?"

"Well," said the policeman, "When we pulled her up, she had two five-pound lobsters and a dozen good size Dungeness crabs on her."

"If that's the good news, than what's the great news?!" Mr. Wilkens demanded.

The policeman said, "We're going to pull her up again tomorrow morning."

*******

Update Du Jour!

A while back (December 14th to be precise), I featured the following fact:

A woman has been indicted on negligent homicide charges for allegedly giving her husband a sherry enema that killed him. Michael Warner, 58, died in May 2004 after the enema caused his blood-alcohol level to rise to .47 percent. "That's extremely high," Detective Lt. Robert Turner said. "You're either going to be in the hospital or the funeral home with that much alcohol." Tammy Warner, 42, was indicted last week. Turner said Michael Warner was an alcoholic who could not swallow liquor because of ulcers and heartburn. "He was told that he could not drink alcohol or that he would die, according to the people that we interviewed," Turner said. "We are going to prove that she gave him the sherry and that she knew that he wasn't supposed to have any and that it could be detrimental to his health, and that she gave it to him anyway."

NeoGeisha has an interesting snippet about this fact to share with us all:

"This incident was 'chronicled,' I guess you'd say, in a new-ish comic called Fell by Warren Ellis and art by Ben Templesmith. All of the comics so far have dealt with nasty little crimes like this one, and they're all really cheap, as in about $1.99 apiece. They're short, but the art and the story make up for it."

Best of all, I was able to find the comic in question online so we can all enjoy it. It's a great little read!


A mom named China with a daughter named Paris - oh sure, just continue the name trend with the next generation! *sigh*


Nabisco Cheese Nips

Here's a clone recipe that gets one very important ingredient from another packaged product. The powdered cheese included in the Kraft instant macaroni & cheese kits flavors this homegrown version of the popular bright orange crackers. You'll need a can of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Cheese Topping or two boxes of the most inexpensive instant variety of macaroni & cheese; you know, the kind with the cheese powder. Two boxes will give you enough cheese to make 300 crackers. As for the macaroni left over in the box, just use that for another recipe requiring elbow macaroni.

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour (plus 1/2 cup divided and reserved for kneading and rolling)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Cheese Topping powder (or 2 packages dry cheese powder from 2 boxes Kraft macaroni & cheese)
3 tablespoons shortening
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt (for tops, optional)

1. Sift together 1 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cheese powder in a large bowl.

2. Cut in the shortening with a fork and knife with a crosswise motion until dough is broken down into rice-size pieces. Mixture will still be very dry.

3. Stir in buttermilk with a fork until dough becomes very moist and sticky.

4. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the reserved flour over the dough and work it in until the dough can be handled without sticking, then turn it out onto a floured board, being sure to keep 1/4 cup of the reserve flour for later. Knead the dough well for 60 to 90 seconds, until the flour is well incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a light coating of cooking spray on a baking sheet.

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and use the remaining reserve flour to dust a rolling surface. Roll about one-third of the dough to just under 1/16th of inch thick. Trim the edges square (a pizza cutter or wheel works great for this), then transfer the dough to a lightly greased baking sheet. Use the rolling pin to transfer the dough. Simply pick up one end of the dough onto a rolling pin, and roll the dough around the rolling pin. Reverse the process onto the baking sheet to transfer the dough.

7. Use a pizza cutter to cut across and down the dough, creating 1-inch square pieces. Use the blunt end of a skewer or broken toothpick to poke a hole in the center of each piece.

8. Sprinkle a very light coating of salt over the top of the crackers (crackers will already be quite salty) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Mix the crackers around (so those on the edge don't burn) and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until some are just barely turning a light brown. Repeat the rolling and baking process with the remaining dough. Makes approximately 300 crackers.

What's your fashion style 80s When we look at you, we think of big hair and tight pants. You are a true and original Brat Packer. Find out your Fashion Style at Quizopolis.com

No, I am NOT doing the underwear survey that they have! :P

Dreams of aliens / More fun from The Surrealist

Another sleep cycle, another weird dream. Why am I not surprised?

* my siblings and some friends of ours were trying to do some laundry, but kept getting distracted by my mom and grandma telling us to do more work ("ONE THING AT A TIME!" didn't work with them, unfortunately)

* some guy who looked remarkably like Teunis trying to infiltrate our ranks: at first, we thought it WAS him, so we were inclined to trust him!

* it wasn't until later that Sheena (with her extra-sensory powers) told us that this was really an evil alien version of my friend... unfortunately, he was kissing another one of us at the time and looked like he was enjoying himself immensely!

* we told the person to STOP KISSING HIM since he wasn't really who we thought he was - she wasn't convinced until we all blasted the fake Teunis with green and purple laser beams

* after a few seconds of this ultra-powerful treatment, he disintegrated into a blue alien... we tried questioning him, but he wouldn't give us much information, so we did a brain scan and then found out what we needed to know before we relished zapping him to death (apparently, he wasn't working for anyone - so we were relieved!)

* we got back to doing laundry, but the laundry machines were somehow located in a cupboard full of toys... there were real laundry machines, but we weren't allowed to use them!

* someone found a For Better or For Worse yellow comic book on the floor: it took us back to John and Ellie's early days with Michael and Elizabeth (who was apparently named after some schoolteacher ancestor of John's: Elizabeth Lee)

* the dog Farley made an appearance in this book, too: lots of surreal plotlines which weren't at all like the real-life strip!

* some of us had to go somewhere, but the toys and laundry wouldn't wait for anyone... the dream ended when we were busy trying to figure out how we could "go into" the comic book and spice up our lives by living those plotlines!


Possible triggers: cleaning up the toys in the toddler room on Sunday morning and afternoon, seeing ZEBRAMAN, thinking that I'm never going to hang out with Teunis (in a FRIENDLY WAY!), and seeing Alanis Morissette's YOU LEARN video recently (features her kissing a fireman mid-video!)

Hey, I found a whole lot of neat things from The Surrealist! Gotta watch surrealbot, for sure! I think I'll be spending a LOT of time on Space Adventures, which reminds me that I still haven't finished some dungeons... ack! Must finish those first!


Bilateral Thinking Puzzles are tedious old lateral-thinking chestnuts cut up and stuck back together at random. It veers from the absurd to the profound:

Q: A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the punch subsequently died of poisoning. Why did the man not die?
A: He climbed on a block of ice which had since melted.


Bad Joke Generator - here are a few of mine!

Where does Leslie go on holiday? The Book Islands
What's Leslie's favourite song? Sultans of Reading
What's Leslie's favourite book? Weirdness Of The D'Urbervilles
What's Leslie's favourite film? The Twin Man


Breaking news from two thousand years in the future - the Sci-Fi News Generator scrapes today's Yahoo news stories to extrapolate the intergalactic events of the 40th century.

Terran Sector

SIWYX - A top Venusian court said Wednesday it would review the indictment of 26 Phogons, mostly CIA agents — a move which could delay any start of trial for the 3903 kidnapping of a Thoughtcloud cleric.

MIUNODE, Terran Tygisav (Ded) - A Tritian lifeform who admitted shoplifting C$106 in razor blades has been awarded C$12,000 (5,300 megapounds) for injuries he suffered when he was tackled by automat security guards.

LAXETAAKUF, Frozo - Ejil is delivering small amounts of neodymium plasma to centrifuges that can enrich it to weapons-grade level and is running more than 1,300 centrifuge machines, according to an Interplanetary sub-atomic Waelor Rytueje document obtained Wednesday by Dap Kowulyj Podeips.

METUKIZAAW, Terra (FZP) - Steven Zude scored both goals in front of Terra overseer Steve Jes as Metukizaaw returned to the Mohyucebs top three with a 2-0 win over Dasiruipyn at Lulun on Wednesday.


Utilising the same parallel-universe news gathering methods as Sci-Fi News, Fantasy World News brings you the latest happenings from an unspecified fantasy realm, where the orcish army still occupies the Kurmak Caves as part of its ongoing War on Evil.

Orcish Realms

VALLEYLAVA REDSKY, Minos - Warlord Dreamtunnel Duststems said Wednesday that diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff with the Kurmak Swamp over its disputed magical program are "working" and should be given a chance to succeed.

GEMGROVE - King Fieldair Grasshort told a courtary committee Wednesday the list of prisoners the centaurs want freed in exchange for a captured minotaur soldier "creates expectations we cannot meet," a meeting participant said.

GEMGROVE - A 86-year-old former teacher who risked her life to save more than 300 Redjade children from the Holdgems in Oozepool was granted honorary minotaur peasantship Wednesday at an emotional ceremony in which she was reunited with dozens of the people she rescued.

My new name under Kurt Vonnegut's Lonesome No More! scheme is:-

Leslie Hollyhock-16 Ng

Enter your full name to find out if you're part of my family:-

Thinking of people / Nabisco Snack Well's Banana Snack Bars

It's funny what will make me think of people I haven't talked to in years. Crazy stuff like reading about ghosts and hauntings - not that I really believe in those, but I might as well finish the book I bought some time ago! I'm sure those thoughts will pass, and that they'll be replaced by far more pleasant thoughts. It would also be nice if I could download Lenny Loosejocks Solitaire... except for the sound playing all the time! At least I can save my Bookworm games... maybe I need something more! Haha, we shall see if THAT happens!


Nabisco Snack Well's Banana Snack Bars

In 1996, Nabisco built up its growing line of SnackWell's baked products with the introduction of low-fat snack bars in several varieties. These included fudge brownie, golden cake, apple raisin, and the chewy banana variety cloned here. The secret ingredients that help us keep the fat grams under 2 grams per serving are banana puree to help keep the cake moist while adding real banana flavor, egg whites rather than whole eggs, some molasses, and just a little bit of shortening. Whip it all up, pour it into a pan and bake. Soon, you'll have 21 tasty little low-fat snack bars to get you through the week.

Servings: 21 Snack Bars
Nutrition Facts Serving size – 1 bar Servings – 21 Total fat (per serving) – 1.8g Calories (per serving) – 118

INGREDIENTS:

2 egg whites
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 1/2 cups banana puree*
3 tablespoons shortening
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla butter nut extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
*********

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until they become thick. Do not use a plastic bowl for this.

3. Add the sugar to the egg whites and continue to beat until the mixture forms soft peaks.

4. Add the brown sugar, molasses, banana puree, shortening, milk, and vanilla butter nut flavoring to the mixture, beating after each addition.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

6. While beating the wet mixture, slowly add the bowl of dry ingredients.

7. Lightly grease a 9x14-inch pan with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray. Be sure to coat the sides as well as the bottom of the pan. Dump about 3 tablespoons of sugar into the pan, then tilt and shake the pan so that a light layer of sugar coats the entire bottom of the pan, and about halfway up the sides. Pour out the excess sugar.

8. Pour the batter into the pan, and spread it evenly around the inside of the pan. Sprinkle a light coating of sugar -- about two tablespoons -- over the entire top surface of the batter. Gently shake the pan from side-to-side to evenly distribute the sugar over the batter. Bake for 25-28 minutes. or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

9. Remove the cake from the oven and turn it out onto a cooling rack. When cake has cooled, place it onto a sheet of wax paper on a cutting board and slice across the cake 6 times, creating 7 even slices. Next cut the cake lengthwise twice, into thirds, creating a total of 21 snack bars. When the bars have completely cooled, store them in a resealable plastic bag or an airtight container.

* Puree whole bananas (approximately 3) in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy.

Dismembered bodies, Blog of Death, bodies in your house, Ruthless Rhymes

We won 2-1 against the Dallas Stars tonight, and have a 3-1 series lead! How cool is that?! Heh, I just got an email from Eric - I'm not PROUD so much as amused! Then again, he knows I'm way too easily amused, haha.


Today's Charred Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A suicide note in the pocket of a man who jumped off the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel late Tuesday led police to the grisly scene of his girlfriend's murder, where they found her charred head in a pot on the stove, her legs and arms baked in the oven and the rest of her dismembered body in a trash bag in the refrigerator, according to police and the couple's landlord. The man, Zackery Bowen, a tall 28-year-old man with long blond hair, confessed in the note to have killed his girlfriend, Adriane "Addie" Hall, 30, on Oct. 5, according to police sources and friends of the couple. Officially, police declined to release the name of the victim, saying she was still a "Jane Doe" until the remains of her body could be forensically identified. "This is not accidental. I had to take my own life to pay for the one I took," Bowen wrote in a short suicide note found in a plastic bag in his pants' front pocket, which directed police to the scene of the crime and gave a synopsis of what he had done, according to sources familiar with the case. A source familiar with the investigation said that detectives found two pots on the stove, one containing a the victim's head and the other her hands and feet. Next to the pot containing the head were carrots and potatoes that had been cut up, but none had been placed in the pots. In the oven were turkey-basting trays containing human legs and arms, the source said. At least one of the pans had seasoning sprinkled on the human remains. At an afternoon news conference, Chief of Detectives Anthony Cannatella said there was no evidence of cannibalism on the scene, and an autopsy on Bowen, done some 13 days after he claimed to have committed the murder, showed no evidence of body parts in his system.

Culled from: NOLA.com
Generously submitted by: Margrock

**********************************************************************

Here's some additional information on this case from PopBitch, sent to me by Alastair:

"Bartender Zach Bowen became one of the most famous faces of Hurricane Katrina. He refused to leave the French Quarter of New Orleans, and was offered shelter by a fellow bartender who quickly became his new girlfriend, Addie Hall. Hall and Bowen helped clean up the streets and invited reporters round for cocktails and cigarettes, claiming 'We're having a civilized hurricane.'

"Sadly, in October, Addie ended up in a cooking pot and Bowen jumped off the roof of the Omni Hotel. Police found his girlfriend's head in a pot on the stove, and her legs and feet inside the oven. The couple had recently moved into this flat. It was above the Voodoo Spiritual Temple and Cultural Centre."

Okay, now that the change of mailing lists is calming down, I will definitely have the results of the Ruthless Rhymes contest tomorrow. *Definitely.*

*******

Morbid Site Du Jour!

The Blog of Death is another excellent way to keep track of the latest noteworthy people who have given up the ghost:


Thanks to J. Bo for the link.

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

Nitemare969 recommends a classic of Japanese gore:

Ichi The Killer

"I think that you would enjoy Ichi The Killer. It is a Japanese gorefest about a young gentleman molded into a serial killer. The visuals and interaction of the characters are rather interesting. I am not a true gore fan, but I truly enjoyed this one. I especially liked the scene in which a gentleman catches a punch in his mouth, and removed the flesh from his hand thanks to some rather interesting body modifications."


Today's Strange-Smelling Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A woman's body was found wedged upside-down behind a bookcase in the home she shared with relatives who had spent nearly two weeks looking for her. A spokesman for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said Mariesa Weber's death was not suspicious. Family members said they believe she fell over as she tried to adjust the plug of a television behind the bookshelf. Weber, 38, returned home Oct. 28 and greeted her mother, then wasn't seen again. Her family thought she had been kidnapped and contacted authorities. Family members scoured her room for clues but found nothing, though they did notice a strange smell. On Nov. 9, Weber's sister went into her bedroom and looked behind a bookcase, where she saw the woman's foot. Using a flashlight, the family saw Weber was wedged upside-down behind the unit. "I'm sleeping in the same house as her for 11 days, looking for her," her mother, Connie Weber, told the St. Petersburg Times. "And she's right in the bedroom." Both Weber and her sister had previously adjusted the television plug by standing on a bureau next to the shelf and leaning over the top. Her family believes Weber, who was 5-foot-3 and barely 100 pounds, may have fallen headfirst into the space. "She's a little thing," her mother said. "And the bookcase is 6 feet tall and solid. And she couldn't get out." The sheriff's office said Weber appeared to have died because she was unable to breathe in the position she was in.

Culled from: Unspecified Source
Generously submitted by: Skye

**********************************************************************

Here's an update on this story - apparently, the woman had as many drugs in her as Anna Nicole!

Thanks to Lucky Starla for the link.

*******

Ruthless Rhymes Contest Results!

Yes, I finally have a winner for the Ruthless Rhymes Contest. To refresh your memory, the object of the rhyme was to write a short (10-14 lines) and morbid poem in the style of Harry Graham whose Ruthless Rhymes For Heartless Homes provided the inspiration. I received many excellent submissions and it was difficult to narrow it down, but I chose a winning rhyme that I felt best captured the spirit of Harry Graham. I thought I'd also share some of my favorite runner-ups, since they were so good.

Let's start with the runner-ups and work our way to the victor...

RUTHLESS RUNNER-UPS!

I thought I'd start out with a couple of simple little rhymes that can make even a vegetarian smile...

What's... er... Who's For Dinner?

Jerky

Crispy and juicy
and red like the sun.
My friend came for dinner
and he's almost done.

by: Victor "The Undertaker" Ives w/ HauntedHotSauce.com

*******

DEAR ALBERT

Dear Albert, he loved children -
He thought they were quite sweet,
Especially once he learned
To tenderize the meat.

- Denise Young

*******

POOR JEFFREY

Poor Jeffrey was a lonely man,
He didn't know how to flirt!
He'd pick up hitchhikers instead,
Named Steve, or Dave, or Burt.
He'd take them home and show his love,
But when they tried to leave -
Poor Jeffrey couldn't handle it,
Poor Jeffrey, he would grieve.
The loneliness inside would swell,
Poor Jeffrey would turn vicious,
His lovers would all still be gone,
But at least they were delicious.

- Denise Young

*******

Moldies But Goodies!

Everybody can sing along with this one!

The Ballad of Eddie Gein
(Sung to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies, briskly, with feeling)

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Ed
Old necrophile, had a preference for the dead
Then one day when he was checkin' the obits
A picture of a gal gave him tremblin' fits!

Well, the first thing you know, ol' Ed's away from there
With a shovel and a pick and a real determined air.
Couple hours later while he's diggin' in the ground,
His shovel hits a box and his lover he's found!

So he loads her on the truck, and he takes her to the farm
Lays her on the table, and he contemplates her charm
Inspiration hits like a message from above
Ed knows the way to eternalize love!

Well, the rest is his-tor-y coz we never saw before
A fella quite like Eddie and his taste in home decor!
But the legacy he left and his final saving grace
Was a whole new meaning to the term "to save face!"

- Eleanor Cooney

*******

And here's a much more uplifting take on the Dorothy Parker classic Resumé. You know Resumé, right?

Resumé
Razors pain you; Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you; And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful; Nooses give;
Gas smells awful; You might as well live.


Well, as much as I love Dorothy Parker, I think I prefer Megan's version - don't you?

Epitaph (Apologies to Dorothy Parker)

Razors cut keenly;
Rivers run deep;
Acids eat through you;
Drugs put you to sleep.
Guns make holes cleanly;
Nooses hang high;
Gas smells serenely;
You might as well die.

*******

Just Because...

This one gets special mention just for including the MFDJ within its lovely stanzas!

Consumed
by: Victor "The Undertaker" Ives w/ HauntedHotSauce.com

I read the Morbid Fact Du Jour,
and savor every line.
I cannot do much more now since
the maggots reached my spine.

My nurse found this site too bizarre.
She didn't get the humor.
She died in that chair weeks ago.
I've not the strength to move her.

It's been three days since I last wrote,
but I don't feel much pain.
I read my final Fact Du Jour
as maggots eat my brain.

*******

The Second Runner-Up

I love the twist in this one... I guess they don't call her "Twisted Princess" for nothing.

UNNAMED POEM #4

For a nickel, you can come inside
And see my brother who committed suicide.
Watch him swinging on a rope,
And see my mommy trying to cope.
While my stepdad tries to hide
Evidence it wasn't a suicide.

-twistedprincess

*******

The First Runner-Up

I think this one captured a bit of that Harry Graham... erm... "flavor."

UNNAMED POEM #2

In her garden Sue was weeding,
When she came across maggots feeding.

On her husband which she had slain,
For tracking in mud from the rain.

She wished that he had been much thinner,
Too much fat to enjoy for dinner.

He failed to please her as an appetizer,
So she used him instead as fertilizer.

-twistedprincess

*******

And The Winner Is...

I selected this one because I feel like Lady Muck most closely replicated the style of a Harry Graham Ruthless Rhyme. Well done, M'Lady!

Dear little Molly said to Mother
"O is something wrong with brother?
Baby is lying still on the floor,
and won't play with me anymore."

Mama said "I'll come and check."
She found the nursery quite a wreck.
O, the ground is wet and sticky!
In Molly's hands is something icky.

"It's not MY fault there's a mess," said she,
"he wanted to play autopsy."
Then Molly held up Baby's heart
and Mother did get such a start!

By Lady Muck

Congratulations, Lady Muck - you are the proud owner of a Desensitize Yourself T-shirt!

Stay tuned for our next fun-filled contest!

This cruise is invading my subconscious...

Had a weird dream which involved a cruise - AGAIN! I haven't been thinking THAT much about this future cruise, except on what to pack and what to leave at home!

* Steph and I shared a room, and she decided to live like a nudist (or a half-nudist) - Eric, Jeremy, and others were definitely horrified by that one!

* Karen Lew breaking into our room to share some contraband with us (yay for illegal food! :P)

* someone at our dinner table predicting that Grandma would die in April (I don't put any stock into that as I'm not psychic in any way, shape, or form!)

* Justin hailing us from the outside deck of the ship, where he was chain-smoking (again, a note to my subconscious: JUSTIN DOES NOT SMOKE!)

* having a pile of birthday cards, and realizing that one with a green envelope was somehow signed incorrectly: Teunis does not know Gwyneth and Evelyn from the Quiksilver Club! (messy signatures in black pen!)

* realizing that another birthday card with a yellow envelope was signed in duplicate for some reason: Hannah will love two cards instead of one!

* telling my sister that Gwyneth and Evelyn were our default friends for life (interestingly enough, their REAL default friends Rosanna and Samantha didn't make an appearance in this dream... and neither did most of our many default friends!)

* I decided to look for something in a mall on the cruise ship, and the only problem was that the mall was virtually EMPTY! (sorta like Broadmoor Mall years ago!)

* Eric and I getting picked up by some old guy outside of Brisbane, Australia when we had to hitchhike back to the cruise ship in Bournemouth since we somehow got lost in town (Bournemouth was somehow located in Australia in this dream, even though it's really located in England... and it only took us five hours to go there! My dreams SO do not reflect reality, especially since the cruise ship was waiting for us to get back on there... and we didn't suffer ANY consequences at all!)

* this guy told us that he'd normally take the bus, but driving was more convenient over long distances... the dream ended with everyone reunited and celebrating over a venison dinner!

Fake birthday and phone number! / Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

My dad forgot to pick me up AGAIN and detoured to do so, for the SECOND day in a row! He thinks I should just take the bus, but I did call him at 2:45! That won't help him with his memory! At least my sister would have remembered! As it was, I should probably have stayed home anyhow... but since SOMEONE didn't tell me about his Committee meeting, I just went over in blissful ignorance! Don't get me wrong: I love this person (in a platonic way, you perverts :P), but UGH! Eric: DO NOT MOUSE OVER THE BLACK BOX IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED! Oh well... at least I got to watch Jack Bauer go rogue on Doyle and leave him next to a fence, Cheng bargain with Jack (suitcase nuke circuit board for Audrey), President Wayne Palmer collapse with a cerebral hemorrhage / messing up people's names and not being clear with questions, Vice-President Daniels confirm that he and the blonde chick are getting it on (he's MARRIED, but she just wants [to be close to] power!!), Bill tell Chloe that he can't trust her, Morris and Chloe sparring over her illegal use of his workstation, and various other things like confused military guys!

Then we watched CSI afterwards: a movie actor gets killed, and investigation focuses on a rehab centre. Confessions, killing someone's sister, and a noose made out of dental floss stolen from someone else's room.. it's the guy's BEST FRIEND and assistant that kills him! After that, I was ready to go home... dinner was good, and so was this decorative dragon-phoenix tea set I got from my mom! Jon's friend Ray is moving across town tomorrow - that's going to be a big job! Before dinner, Jon and I helped set the table while watching hockey and basketball on TV - debris littering the ice at the Islanders-Sabres game? Man, those are some frustrated fans! (our rookie Jannik Hansen is from Copenhagen, Denmark - YAY!)

Unfortunately, I couldn't go home yet because my mom wanted me to do some stuff pertaining to the cruise for her. She probably thinks I don't ever want to help her out - that is certainly not true, but it would greatly expedite things if she would be clear and specific! Her first instructions: "Open the document and put all the numbers in!" Uh... WHAT document?! There are at least a trillion on the Web / her computer! Once we got that fixed, there was the matter of the booking numbers not seeming to be correct at first. It wasn't ME since I input them correctly - stupid computer having a mind of its own! After my sister and I got the hang of things, I was able to fill out online forms and such QUICKLY... that was a relief! We also found out that my mom has a fake birthday of April 6 (such confusing documentation!), and a fake phone number of 604-273-8844. The travel agent has an unusual name: Oshelia. Seems that SOMEONE was trying for "Ophelia" and missed it by a letter. :P

My parents seemed to think that I could sleep over: um, no. I like my own downtime and space from you, thanks! Besides, I can almost never sleep when I'm in the upstairs room! Not that I don't appreciate dinner and such, but it's human nature to just want a break from people once in a while! Then Mom tried to actively guilt-trip me because the videotape that Randal is currently borrowing has an hour left of recording time on it. She even admitted to it: "Don't you feel guilty about it?" Hell, no. I may have told him that yesterday, but I meant it as light humor and NOT a guilt trip! (I hope he knew that!) Personally, I don't see any reason why we SHOULD feel guilty over it unless we're ultra-Chinese and such! Luckily, Steph drove me home since I'd asked her politely about it at dinner, even though it was almost midnight and she should have been in bed! Good thing, too - I'd go nuts if I couldn't update journal sites since they're blocked with the parental control. I should have saved the episode guide site I'd found last week, too. I think I'll go CRAZY on the Friday that we get back from the cruise - no update except in Gmail draft (which somehow isn't the same), lots of stress, enforced stuff, etc. Maybe I'll have to get someone to help me carry my stuff in at night after Fellowship (I KNOW MY MOM WILL TRY GETTING ME TO STAY TILL THEN, because of past behavior like that), and try not to sleep in the next day (Henry!)... I don't think I want to take any more personal days off from Awana! (and of course, I should have thought it through beforehand - sigh!)


Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are Mrs. Fields cookies that are crispy around the edge and chewy in the middle. Be careful not to cook these too long. I know it becomes tempting to keep cooking these because they don't seem to be done after 10 minutes, but they will continue to cook for awhile after you take them out of the oven, and when cool, will be nice and chewy. Mmm... got milk?

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 twelve-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. With your fingers, place golf ball-sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes or just until edges are light brown. Makes 30 cookies.

Dreaming of rainbows and soup in blister packs / Virginia Tech Shooting

Two things I remember from my dream this morning:

1. I went into a restaurant where our selection of three kinds of soup came in blister packs, like the BBQ sauce and ketchup packs you get at a fast food place. There were blue neon glittery signs saying that this was a "MORBID FACT DU JOUR" restaurant, and my sister was manning the soup counter. Nathan and I picked the Hot Pepper soup, which looked orange-yellow in the blister pack. Michelle said that Daniel was very stressed out, and wanted him to go first with his mushroom soup. We let him do so, and he was very grateful.

2. Jeremy and I were in a van with some other people, and I pointed out that there were rainbows outside while it was sunny and raining. He asked me where they were, and I told him to look out either side window: the sun was there, the rain was coming down, and there were RAINBOWS! He was amused by this for some reason, and I told him that the rainbows made me think of little Sean. Then I told him about the kid, and he seemed very interested...

I don't know what could have triggered that - I did spend a lot of time with Jeremy yesterday, but if that were the basis for dreams with people in them, I'd have dreams with a bunch of church people ALL THE TIME! (especially after Summer Conference and stuff like that) Somehow, I don't think Daniel's computer picture with his family was the basis for that one either. No, I haven't been spending a lot of time reading the morbid fact archives, either! Although spicy soup DOES sound good now, I need to take a shower before Dad picks me up in half an hour to 45 minutes. (yay for being vague about the time, NOT!) But I must say that yesterday was the first time since January that little Sean didn't need the distraction of my rainbow stickers / the insect coloring book, so good for him!


I just heard about the Virginia Tech shootings. My prayers and thoughts are with everyone involved in this, especially the families of the 32 people shot and killed today.

33 Dead In Tragic Virginia Tech Massacre

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.

Students bitterly complained that there were no public-address announcements on campus after the first burst of gunfire. Many said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage -- around the time the gunman struck again.

Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said authorities believed that the shooting at the dorm was a domestic dispute and mistakenly thought the gunman had fled the campus.

"We had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur," he said.

He defended the university's handling of the tragedy, saying: "We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time. You don't have hours to reflect on it."

Investigators offered no motive for the attack. The gunman's name was not immediately released, and it was not known if he was a student.

The shootings spread panic and confusion on campus. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire. SWAT team members with helmets, flak jackets, and assault rifles swarmed over the campus. Students and faculty members carried out some of the wounded themselves, without waiting for ambulances to arrive. A student used his cellphone camera to record the sound of shots echoing through the stone classroom building.

The massacre took place at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre campus, beginning at about 7:15 AM at West Ambler Johnston, a coed dormitory that houses 895 people, and continuing at least two hours later at Norris Hall, an engineering building about a half-mile away, authorities said.

Two people were killed in a dormitory room, and 31 others were killed in the classroom building, including the gunman, police said.

"Today, the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions," Steger said. "The university is shocked and indeed horrified."

Steger emphasized that the university closed off the dorm after the first attack and decided to rely on email and other electronic means to notify members of the university, but with 11,000 people driving onto campus first thing in the morning, it was difficult to get the word out. He said that before the email went out, the university began telephoning resident advisers in the dorms to notify them and sent people to knock on doors to spread the word.

Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum would not say how many weapons the gunman carried. But a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was incomplete, said that the gunman had two pistols and multiple clips of ammunition.

Flinchum said that some doors in the classroom building had been chained shut from the inside.

Police said they were still investigating the shooting at the dorm when they got word of gunfire at the classroom building.

Some students bitterly questioned why the gunman was able to strike a second time.

"What happened today, this was ridiculous," student Jason Piatt told CNN. "While they send out that email, 20 more people got killed."

Students and Laura Wedin, a student programs manager at Virginia Tech, said the first notification they got of the shootings came in an email at 9:26 AM, more than two hours after the first shooting.

The email had few details. It read: "A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating." The message warned students to be cautious and contact police about anything suspicious.

Student Maurice Hiller said he went to a 9 AM class two buildings away from the engineering building, and no warnings were coming over the outdoor public address system on campus at the time.

Everett Good, junior, said of the lack of warning: "I'm trying to figure that out. Someone's head is definitely going to roll over that."

"We were kept in the dark a lot about exactly what was going on," said Andrew Capers Thompson, a 22-year-old graduate student from Walhalla, S.C.

At an evening news conference, the university president and police chief said they were still investigating whether the shootings at the dorm and the classroom building were related. But earlier in the day, the chief said he believed there was only one gunman, and he was dead.

Edmund Henneke, associate dean of engineering, said he was in the classroom building. He and colleagues had just read the email advisory regarding the first shooting, and were discussing it when he heard gunfire. He said moments later, SWAT team members rushed them downstairs, "but the doors were chained and padlocked from the inside." They left the building through a construction area that had not been locked.

Henneke said it is unfair to criticize the school over the delay in warning.

"People are absolutely making too much of that. You do what you can," Henneke said. "We have a huge campus. You have to close down a small town and you can't close down every way in or out."

At least 26 people were being treated at three area hospitals for gunshot wounds and other injuries, authorities said. Their exact conditions were not disclosed, but at least one was sent to a trauma center and six were in surgery, authorities said.

Up until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard plowed his pickup truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

The massacre Monday took place almost eight years to the day after the Columbine High bloodbath near Littleton, Colo. On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

Previously, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history was a rampage that took place in 1966 at the University of Texas at Austin, where Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower and opened fire with a rifle from the 28th-floor observation deck. He killed 16 people before he was shot to death by police.

Founded in 1872, Virginia Tech is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, about 160 miles west of Richmond. With more than 25,000 full-time students, it has the state's largest full-time student population. The school is best known for its engineering school and its powerhouse Hokies football team.

The rampage took place on a brisk spring day, with snow flurries swirling around the campus. The campus is centered around the Drill Field, a grassy field where military cadets -- who now represent a fraction of the student body -- practice. The dorm and the classroom building are on opposites sides of the Drill Field.

A gasp could be heard at a campus news conference early in the day when the police chief announced that at least 20 people had been killed. Previously, only one person was thought to have been killed.

A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia. "The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

After the shootings, all entrances to the campus were closed, and classes were canceled through Tuesday. The university set up a meeting place for families to reunite with their children. It also made counselors available and planned an assembly for Tuesday at the basketball arena.

After the shooting began, students were told to stay inside away from the windows.

Aimee Kanode, a freshman from Martinsville, said the shooting happened on the fourth floor of West Ambler Johnston dormitory, one floor above her room. Kanode's resident assistant knocked on her door about 8 AM to notify students to stay put.

Police said there had been bomb threats on campus over the past two weeks by authorities, but said they have not determined a link to the shootings.

It was the second time in less than a year that the campus was closed because of a shooting.

Last August, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and fled to the Tech area. A sheriff's deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on a trail just off campus. The accused gunman, William Morva, faces capital murder charges.

I'm sure there will be additional coverage today and in the future! Maybe this will make Crime Library one day, heh. It's interesting from a true crime perspective, but that's not all my motivation in being concerned about this news! Of course I've heard of / read about the other mass murders referenced in this article, but that doesn't make me deranged! (contrary to what Eric was saying to me in French on Friday, haha - he also said that he wasn't deranged, implying that I was... CHEH!)

This is where we're going, says Google...

From Kaitlin, via Myspace bulletin. Here's the deal: If you want to find out where you go, put Google to the test. Go to Google and type your FIRST name, and then type "goes." And don't cheat by looking for the one you like best; just take the first link Google gives you. Then, add your name to the list and repost.

1. Chris goes to France.
2. Jill goes underground.
3. Tim goes on. (shocker!)
4. Rachel goes back to work. (Ha Ha!)
5. Wade goes ALL IN. (that's about right)
6. Jordan Goes Body Piercing.
7. Robin goes evil.
8. Angela goes home.
9. David Goes To School.
10. Raven goes underwater with NASA. {heck yeah, I do}
11. Jessica goes shopping.
12. Hannah Goes To Hell. (that's not cool, haha)
13. Barbara Goes Clubbing For Success.
14. Erica goes it alone. (sad but true, and not the nasty... ewwww)
15. Rhya goes to her genetic lab.
16. Chris Goes Home!
17. Meg goes to Vanity Fair.
18. Mitch goes to the corner.
19. Ashley goes dark.
20. Sarah goes to Lake Placid. =]
21. Irene goes to France.
22. Rebecca goes to Norway. [[???]]
23. Brianna goes after her future.
24. Kacey goes for some sort of leg scissors move.
25. Jenny goes to Candy Mountain. WHO0 HO0!
26. Brandt goes for the grape...??? WTF
27. Zac goes back and looks for a receiver in the end zone........ (hell yah, I'm a quarterback!)
28. Jessica goes shopping! (HELL YEA!!!))
29. Pioneer DJ goes software.
30. Nick goes nuts at CeBIT 2007.
31. Kayte goes crazy.
32. Kate goes clubbin without him. [I tried zelly and katezell first, but they had no results for this bulletin :( ]
33. ((YTMND - Wizzle on the)) Bizzle Goes Rizzle and Rizzle;; hahahaha, WTF??
34. Kathleen Goes Belly Up. NormPattis.
35. Deborah goes to Dover.
36. Kristin goes to China.
37. David goes to school... Blah Blah Blah
38. Amber goes topless - Netscape.com (W..... T..... F..... ???) just not fair, damn it!!! haha
39. GINA goes home - American Idol (GOOD)
40. Linda goes to Mars.
41. Katie goes to Tokyo... okay, this is weird
42. Cheri goes to the groomer... all right for that! Haha!
43. Alton goes pop!
44. Stephanie goes home on American Idol! (WTF)
45. Abby goes fishing. (gee, just what I wanted to do..)
46. Amy goes Over the HILL! (so... I'm old... um... okay...)
47. Randi goes in for a thorough debunking of the famous 16th century "prophet" Nostradamus. - haha
48. Megan goes dumb. (Youtube) - ain't that the truth
49. Rachel Goes To Work - Figures, I have no life!
50. Mark goes unnoticed. Yep. How'd Google know?
51. Charli goes to bed. Sounds about right.
52. John goes to Hollywood. Sounds good to me... it actually said Farmer John goes to Hollywood, but whatever!
53. Tigue goes to jail... hahahaha
54. Jamie goes to the Children's Hospital!
55. Chad goes off the deep end....... that's just funny!
56. Erin goes blue... WTF?
57. Noel goes solo... yea, this is messed up..
58. Sara goes to Amsterdam... what fun
59. PAM GOES ALL NATURAL! WOOHOO!
60. Sharon goes back on settlements pledge.
61. Cathy goes BAD!
62. Janet goes nuts!
63. Mary goes Round.
64. Katherine goes away sad.
65. Gale goes down in a storm/
66. Maria goes to school.
67. Sherry goes orange. WTF???
68. Marsha goes off on her bridesmaid.
69. Nita goes to hospital..... I sure hope not!
70. Gina goes home.
71. Keli goes into an exciting 40-minute kickboxing workout. Okay, this one is a HUGE joke!!!
72. Sharron goes missing! OMG.... somebody come find me.... HAHA.
73. Janice goes into the kitchen and pours a Shoprite sparkling water. Ha, little do they know that I no longer know where my kitchen is.
74. Gaily goes circling the maple tree.
75. Caroline goes to the museum. Funny thing the listing was for a museum near me. Guess I will have to go!
76. Nikki goes totally wild!!
77. Beverly goes to bed - and again hears voices.
78. Jean goes foraging, goes to Washington, goes to Hollywood. Maybe I can be a movie star and then president after I go dumpster diving! What do you think?
79. Crystal goes trans fat free.
80. Paula goes to Hollywood. Okay, I have been there, and they didn't think I needed to be there. Haha, I was not discovered.
81. Jaime goes Home!
82. Brenda goes sailing. Haha, not in a million years!)
83. Marie goes to Japan -- don't think so. I'm not sitting on any airplane for that long. Three hours to Dallas is my outside limit.
84. Chris goes to France - and the really funny part is I really am! We just booked our flights... we really are going to France!!!!
85. Cheryl goes from judged to judge.
86. Gladys goes roller skating.
87. Aimee goes belly-up... ummm, okay, kinda weird, WTF!!!!!!!!!
88. Libbie goes to the Zoo. Haha, I LOVE the zoo
89. Rachel goes back to work. Funny thing is, I never really had a job!
90. Natalie goes to Japan! Cool, I always wanted to go there!
91. Nancy Goes To Wallyworld. Sweet! Just call me Clark Griswold, baby!
92. Cassandra goes Speed-Schmoozing... what the heck is that? Haha.
93. Lizzie goes wild!!! Sounds kinda kinky!
94. Max goes to the moon... I'm cool.
95. Jasmine goes Platinum... haha.
96. Anna goes prime time. WTF?
97. Molly goes to sleep. Yes!
98. Shelby goes bowling! :)
99. Tyler goes for the bang. HAHA.
100. Krista goes back to writing in her notebook.
101. Josh goes nuts. Google knows the future, Google knows all, praise the Google!
102. Jen goes hairless. (Funny on a number of levels. And not just because I was contemplating shaving my head again last night.)
103. Maria goes to school. What a coincidence... I'm going to school for web design in the near future.
104. Kelly goes metal.
105. Jenna Goes to Film Convention. Apparently, Her Vagina Is OK.
106. Missie goes to visit Willie in town! HAHA.
107. World Champion Beth goes back to her roots.
108. Cindy goes to a party. (if I cheated to put my favorite, it would be "Cindy goes to the dark side! And she's wearing sick Harley stilettos!")
109. Nora Ellen went to Yale! (As if that could ever happen!! HAHA.)
110. SEAN GOES TO GUIYANG, CHINA.
111. Crissy goes to DMV to request reports for us.
112. Andrew Goes to College.
113. Pattie (Dunn) goes free. Yay! HAHA.
114. Angie goes home! Good, see ya later! haha
115. Karen goes green! HAHA. No, I don't!
116. Era Sue goes double vision!! Haha!
117. Brandy goes YOGA!
118. Nicole goes Celebrity.
119. Dar goes with the tiger.
120. Keisha goes to the headmaster.
121. Chiara goes to Washington.
122. Jenn goes wild. (The next one was "Jenn goes grr." Ha! Both are equally funny if you know me at all.)
123. Jeff goes to rehab!!! Its about damn time.. haha!
124. Alisa goes through them too, living in a trailer like the birth mother, HAHAHA... how funny is that?!?!
125. In-Laws: Matt Goes into Labor - TV.com
126. Sue Goes Off, Then Goes Off on Survivor.
127. Dan goes home.
128. Robin goes evil!! (Uh Oh!!)
129. Sally goes limp.
130. "Charlene goes on a rampage" Hmmm, pretty close!
131. Alison goes for the gold... that's right *****es... haha.
132. Katie goes to Tokyo.
133. Kelle goes home.
134. Lea goes soft... haha.
135. Samantha goes south for a spell.
136. [Ralph] Lauren goes fur free!
137. Aimee goes to the doctor.
138. Lindsay goes blonde... hehe.
139. Hana goes for a walk with her sister, wearing her new outfit made by Isa.
140. Adrianna Goes to sleep... haha.
141. Ruth goes to war... haha... Amen, and with God, i got a victory!
142. Joy goes to the hospital... oh no.. haha.
143. Carissa goes into a berserker rage.
144. Steffon goes to her, bends down, and gently kisses her.
145. Christa goes skiing.... boring.
146. Ryann goes Undercover.
147. James goes Buzz Buzz.
148. Kristin goes to China.
149. Travis goes to Heli-School.
150. Kelly goes to Hollywood.
151. Princess Jolene Goes to Hollywood - The Column of the Dead. (from the script The Princess and the Creeper' apparently.. yes!)
152. Kristy goes off to the other guy and spends the night. (Ummm...)
153. Deirdre goes Disney.
154. Ronni goes straight.
155. Scott goes to Africa.
156. Michelle goes on a picnic.
157. Kara goes to Stars Hollow. (WHAT THE HECK???)
158. Erica Goes to the Zoo. WTF? Ummm, okay....
159. Alison goes for the Gold... Love It... but I see every other Alison on the list got the same.
160. Courtney goes slap happy (you can't make this stuff up!)
161. Allison goes home.
162. Rebekah Goes through yet another separation.
163. Janna goes after this "Mr. Big," or as he likes to be called, "the man." What a sentence!!!
164. Martin Goes to college. Eh, could have been better....
165. Amanda Goes West: A Journal of Fashion History Through Paper Dolls.
166. Jackie goes Jogging. (HAHA!!! Thats SOOOO Funny)
167. Maranda goes on at 4 (geez... what could that mean?? hahaha)
168. Dave goes digital by accident. (that's lame!)
169. Amy goes Army ~ A hilarious one-act play
170. Dwayne goes outside to do push-ups.
171. Cheyenne goes into labor shortly before her graduation ceremony ... haha, that's from my favorite show Reba! :)
172. Debbie Goes Blind.... WELL, THAT SUCKS!
173. Teresa Goes Surfing in Maui, Hawaii. YAY!
174. Bailey goes camping.
175. Montana goes into orbit.
176. Sasha goes home with the fans.
177. Sandy goes with Danny. (WTF)
178. Vinny goes down.
179. Oreo goes to Maiua.
180. Baby goes to beach.
181. Rusty goes to London.
182. Lucky goes Latin. (didn't know I could)
183. Kayna goes back to school.
184. Raven goes berry-picking. (WTF)
185. Snowshoe goes back on you... however, the whole structure goes. Snowshoes are just extra-big feet. (funny)
186. Jane Goes to work. (I would have today, but got screwed out of overtime!)
187. Megan goes "about town." (Hmm, okay...)
188. Melissa goes camping!
189. Angie goes Home!
190. Kathy goes to Haiti.
191. Ken goes Apple. WTF???
192. Gary goes Undercover.
193. Sabrina goes to Rome. (all right!)
194. Cameron goes back to Sci-Fi / drama. (All right! I'm on TV!)
195. Samantha goes south for a spell.
196. Jeannie goes to Honolulu. (I Dream of Jeannie...I should've known... I WAS named after her. HAHA.)
197. Paul goes down!
198. Ashley goes global.
199. Brianna goes after her future. (YES!)
200. Chris goes back to Junior High School (Why do I always get the ****ed up ones??)
201. Natasha goes to bed ~~ score! Google knows me so well! :D
202. Robert goes to the Carnival... Sweet! Carnies are funny!!
203. Angel Goes Home: A Heavenly Tale of Adoption (Hardcover) ... I wish... I miss my family!
204. Mandy Goes to Med School (it's a song by the Dresden Dolls... freakin' sweet! I love the Dresden Dolls!)
205. Penelope goes from Haha to Boohoo - Latin Gossip ... Oh my.
206. Jocelyn goes gospel! That's the funniest thing ever! Me and Jesus are like this!
207. Chad goes off the deep end. How did they know!?!?
208. Brittney goes bald... I should have known!!
209. Valerie goes to Shipshewana??? HUH? STRANGE?
210. Jane goes to the movies.
211. Kristi goes to wayward random Japan trip!
212. Christy goes traveling!
213. Bonnie goes crazy! Amen!
214. Erin goes blue OR Mini ME goes PC.
215. Red Ted goes to London. (Again? Works for me! But I'm not red)
216. Joyce goes to London, too!!
217. Amber goes topless! WOOHOO
218. Rachel goes to work! Friends episode)
219. Deanna goes to the Oakland Coliseum.
220. Lori Goes To The Planet Of Demon Beasts. HA, I'm already at work!
221. Terrie goes to Italy!
222. Debbie goes to College.
223. JoAnn goes on at 10 PM sharp.
224. Robin goes Evil.
225. Velvet goes underwater.
226. Peter goes to boot camp. (I'm too old for that shit.)
227. Julie goes to Hollywood!!!!
228. Randy goes head-to-head with the fishy forces of evil. (women?)
229. Jamie goes to the Yucatan and swims in the Caribbean.
230. Leigh goes to the Oscars!
231. Meghan goes to Costa Rica.
232. Brian goes virtual.
233. Kimberly goes into a deep depression until she meets Andrew.
234. Sunny goes Hispanic. WTF.
235. Ashley goes global.
236. Kaitlin goes to find some driftwood. [WTF]
237. Eric goes Kiwi.
238. Leslie goes to Vegas. (not with all the escalators there! :P)

2-1 overtime playoff wins, JESUS CAMP fundamentalists, and ZEBRAMAN green alien ooze

When my time at Chapters was over (no history redux!), Jon picked me up. I updated him on stuff like Mom's work scheduling her for two Sundays in a row, the cruise thing, and why I was late this morning. Not that he'd noticed, since he was busily playing piano in his own way. I figured that when he looked over at us, he thought that I'd at least come on time - not this morning! Stopped briefly at some place for coffee while listening to the game on Team 1040, then went to Nathan's. When Nate had told me that "Eric" was there, I automatically thought he meant white Eric... but he'd meant Chinese Eric instead! Just as good, since I sat by him for the night... then again, I probably should have sat by Jeremy again since Eric kept moving on the couch so that his head was directly in my line of vision! Oh well... I can't decide whether that's better or worse than being crammed on the same couch with Cordia, Quan, and Joyce for the 24 madness night! We wondered whether Brent Sopel was playing after being injured while picking up a cracker (of all things!), and he was - yay!

Jeremy had beat us there, and went outside in the middle of the game because (I assume) he wanted to keep Jen company while they talked about things. Who knows... I've never known him to engage in certain behaviors, but I could be wrong! They're still my friends, though! (yes, I'm being deliberately vague!) The game was pretty well-played... Jeremy observed that the most amusing thing about the game was watching / hearing Nathan regress to "primal mode" when he just yelled "Ah! AH!" at the TV. I commented that I was just thinking the same thing - yay for things in common, sort of! He had brought the last of his homebrew porter and stout to share with us - those were good, and he poured me and Jen some too! (I resorted to pouring the last of the porter in my mug when they were outside on "smoke break" - Jeremy liked looking at my St. Margaret's mug, hehe)

We had Lay's chili and garlic chips, curry chips, and wavy original chips with some Coke Zero / Fresca / diet Coke. Then Nate ordered Papa John's pizza after trying to look it up on Google - he had a flier, so Jon could continue writing stuff on the computer downstairs. Two deep pan pizzas with seven toppings each for $27 sounded like a good deal - one was all meat except for the mushrooms (we loved that concept!), and the other had all the "leftovers" on it like shrimp / peppers / olives. When Dallas scored to make it 1-0 with five seconds left in a Vancouver power play, we all were dismayed! Jeremy brought up the idea of Traveling Dim Sum: they transport the food to you in a truck, bring the carts in, and you choose what you want! I got the concept - House Calls for Dim Sum! Haha, that would definitely be an interesting business! (we also discussed house churches and how they weren't really the norm anymore since everyone was scattered nowadays)

During an intermission, Nathan checked what pictures Steph had added to Facebook - there was one from Sunrise Service in which Jeremy's reflective strips were REALLY shiny ("that's what you see when I ride my bike at night!"), so he entitled it "Jeremy Encountering God"! Then there were the bra pictures from Steph and Vivian's night at the Colorado game - Nate seemed amused at how Viv's pink bra was just lying on the floor, haha. He looked at the signed white bra pictures, and Jeremy wondered if Steph had taken the bra with her to the game as opposed to just taking it off there. He can't imagine her doing that, and I don't think she would! I told him it was an old bra, and wondered whether he'd even heard the story before - nope! Some things are probably better left unsaid, heh.

When Vancouver tied the score at 1, we were suitably happy and stared intensely at the gameplay for the last few minutes of the third! Then it went into overtime, so we used that intermission to watch the ending scenes of ZEBRAMAN (weird Japanese movie) for Jeremy - starting with a group of children brandishing baseball bats and creating mayhem. Eric wondered what had made them so crazy, so I asked Jeremy: some green alien ooze had permeated the town and had gotten into the kids. Then we got to watch a woman give birth to a green baby - oh my! We all hoped that the hockey game would NOT go into a whole bunch of overtime, especially as we still had a movie to watch! (Jon was upstairs on the phone with Harmony through most of this) When Taylor Pyatt scored in overtime, Nathan missed the goal and only got up to cheer when he saw the goal celebration... I high-fived Jeremy twice, and we all made a bunch of excited noise. This caused Jon to come downstairs and see what all the commotion was about - he quickly ended his phone call, haha. Nathan went upstairs and didn't come down for some time, giving his explanation as "too much oil." Okay, I think we know what you're talking about there!

We were going to watch more ZEBRAMAN at 9:40 or so, but decided against it since JESUS CAMP was about an hour and a half long, and 5:30 AM comes early for Jeremy when he has to work! Man, those people are VERY EXTREME and cause children to grow up way too fast by possibly brainwashing them! The lady who runs the camp sounded like she was trying to heavily guilt-trip the children into believing / speaking in tongues! There was this one dude in a red shirt who seemed okay at first... until he started talking about abortion and how one-third of the kids' friends couldn't make it to the camp because of that! (they even had little tiny baby props, and referred to the kids as "more than ectoplasm"!) Speaking of such, there was a scene at a meal where some guy randomly inserted prayer against abortion into the grace! Abortion is way too heavy a topic for kids 9-12 years old: Jeremy said that all he knew at that age was that babies came out of Mommy, and not HOW they were made! (so true!) Too many kids crying emotionally in the movie, man... just impress upon them the weight of the world, and it'll do that! The cup-smashing scene showed poor parenting skills: yeah, I'm just going to let my kids and their friends smash glass / ceramic cups with a hammer to say how the government needs godly people! *rolleyes*

Jon had a private "pastoral" phone call to field from Christon, so he missed the first half. Nathan just wanted to see the kids being kids: ghost stories and playing "shadow" on the wall are good! Trying to convert random people you see at the bowling alley is perhaps not quite so good. Homeschooling your kids (because you're evangelical Christians) might not be so bad, but trying to convince them that global warming is a non-issue? I don't know, man... especially with that poster of George W. Bush on the wall! (then there was a cardboard cutout of him later!) There was a scene where the workers were praying over every seat in the camp room, the electricity, microphones, Powerpoint, the sound, and storms. Nathan figured we should pray for our Powerpoint and sound issues more often, haha! Then there was a scene with the pastor who got caught with a male prostitute later - repentance, indeed...

The crazy lady director was fixing her hair in one scene and commented that this was exhausting! Haha. Then she was showing what she used for object lessons, like green sticky material that stuck onto a brain mold. She blew up a balloon to demonstrate what would happen to your spiritual life if you prayed every day and read the Bible. She then shrunk it to demonstrate what would happen if you DIDN'T do those things, and Jeremy remarked that it was a good thing she didn't use a condom! If I'd been sitting next to him (Jen was), I'd have playfully hit him... I contented myself with mock anger, haha. But I managed to make everyone laugh seconds later: the kids were doing a cheer outside which included the word "Trojan." So I was like "Speaking of condoms..." I'm not sure if Jen or Jeremy understood it at first, but I repeated myself when Nathan asked what I'd said. Jeremy, on my one-liner: "Leslie's way ahead of us!" Haha, sometimes I can be!

The crazy director lady was on the radio with some talk show host, and trying to tell everyone that her way was the right way. "It's a democracy, and I'm not indoctrinating the kids - or maybe I am, but more churches should do this! We have freedom!" (Jeremy: "Yes, we do have freedom - we have the freedom to disagree!") You could tell that the radio host was trying to be a voice of reason, but the crazy lady wasn't having any of it! The kids were also at the White House and singing songs / praying. I guess the red "LIFE" signs taped over their mouths signified abortion too! I don't mind if kids talk about sins and such, but going all Pentecostal and extreme about it because of massive guilt complexes is NOT cool.

After the movie, we talked for a bit while Jeremy decided to go home first since it was past 11. We watched the very end of ZEBRAMAN - kid with glasses in wheelchair is trapped by the aliens, a trusted figure IS an alien, the principal of the school gets killed by green alien ooze, scripts for ZEBRAMAN are discovered, limited episodes with fans, the aliens are really acting out the script, Zebraman saves the world by kicking alien butt (HUGE aliens!), does a ZORRO thing with the Z in the forehead of a gigantic alien made up of many tiny ones' ooze, and receives the town's adulation. That ending was funny! We talked to Jen about her blog, guys, Daniel Fellowship camp, celebrating her birthday in a couple of weeks, and not seeing her in some time before we finally left at 11:35 or so.

Eric said he sometimes went to Willingdon, and told us that his parents still didn't know the whole story behind the crazy adventures of a few weeks ago... phew! ("Mom, my friends have to use the bathroom!") Everyone involved that night was there tonight, except white Eric! When Nate referenced "Pastor Jon" earlier and asked what Eric thought of him, Jeremy and I thought he meant my brother! Turns out that he meant someone at Willingdon! Very understandable! After he borrowed JESUS CAMP to watch the crazy stuff he'd missed while on the phone with Christon, Jon encouraged Eric to come out to Fellowship or hang out when he wasn't busy - I definitely agree! He and I drove Jen home - her mom's okay with her moving out in June or so! Tried to convince her not to drive or use a car, what with gas prices being 121.3 and the environmental impact and such. Very ironic, since he was driving as he said this... but if he had a choice, he wouldn't. Very good day, if a little long - especially in blog form. Let's just say you don't want to know what the real timestamp of this entry is... I HATE BRAINSPACE ISSUES!