Phone calls and plans with Eric / Blogging / Playing cards

These three people on LJ saw fit to fill up my inbox with 91 replies to a simple post I made! (filteredthrough [Deborah], ringsideriot [Dan], and fallenback [Sophie]) It's all right, since I was amused after reading everything! Now maybe my inbox will simmer down to its usual dull roar - thank goodness I have Gmail, and not Yahoo! (I can just imagine my reaction after seeing 125 new journal comments alone...) I did a lot of work on friending / information / birthday entries... thank goodness it's the long weekend break! Called Chinese Eric earlier to see what he was doing - having lunch with his parents at 2:20 PM. He was going to go shopping later as it's the long weekend, but of course still wants to get together. At first, he suggested Monday - I'd have gone for it if the 24 finale didn't happen then, dinner or no dinner! (I know what white Eric would call it, har har) Sunday night is the only free time I have, so that should work - it's fine if he leaves me an MSN message or tries to call me, although I would of course prefer the online medium! I'll have to get him to open the stuck bedroom window and the hot pepper rings jar (note to self: NEVER BUY JARS!) before I give him his cruise postcard and the Christmas card tomorrow. Later, I called Melia to see if we were still on for lunch tomorrow... she's not sure if Chrystal emailed us yet, and I don't think she has! She wasn't at home so she couldn't check, but I checked my old account later to find nothing. Guess we'll see what she says later tonight, haha. (Chrystal wasn't home when I called her, either)

This stupid Ontario scam phone number is pretty persistent, having called me six times while I was out yesterday... and probably at least 30 times in all over the past months! (maybe more) Ugh. For a change of pace, I checked blogs: Dawn's learning various things from work and reading an article - guess her dad was right after all about sinking or swimming! Me, I'm just taking my social cues from others since I don't know if I can function properly without 'em, har har. As long as her busy work life doesn't extend into her evenings and weekends, it'll be fine with her! (and Eni comes back soon too!)

Alyssa's gone off to the beach with her sister / mother / aunts, so that should be fun. Must be cheerful tomorrow, haha. Read Randal's blog as well - certainly interesting stuff there, for sure! (Compassion in businesses? NEVER! :P) Cool music and extra money make the world go round, haha. I have no comment on the Mother's Day post at all, except to say that my own mother seems to like that kind of thing as well. Oh well, I'm used to it since we three grew up with it. Makes for hilarious discussions with your closest friends later on in life, at any rate! The post about Jehovah's Witnesses reminds me about Sean's funny JW story: "How much faith does it take to believe in a fake religion?" Hahaha... oh, Sean! Good times, though - let me just state for the record that we love Sean no matter what!

Who is next on your list?
Why?	They tried to eat you
How?	crushed by a giant slab of marble
'Who is next on your list?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Freddy Krueger, eh? Hmm, that seems appropriate somehow!

Your Reputation Is: Shy Girl

You've done pretty well in keeping your reputation protected.. Problem is, no one really knows who you are!

Do You Have A Bad Girl Reputation?

You Are the Ace of Diamonds

You are a lucky person, and you always seem to find yourself surrounded by pretty, shiny things. You have a knack for success and money - though your skills can't really be learned or taught. You shine in a room, and you a have a truly sparkling personality. A true extrovert, you always are able to share a witty joke or the latest scandalous gossip. While you do have an eye for bling, you are also quite generous. A lot of wealth and luck comes your way. And you're not afraid to pass it on. A gamble you should take: Sports betting Your friends would describe you as: Captivating Your enemies would describe you as: Greedy If you lived in Vegas, you would be: A trophy wife or husband

What Playing Card Are You?

I'll be very impressed if she IS morbid! / Quickest Pho dinner EVER!

I spent way too much time at Chapters today while deciding what to get so I could use up my coupon which expires on May 31, and a bit too much time stalling at home before mailing stuff to Corey and Billie. Went to the humor section for the Bathroom Readers and the Onion, but decided not to get those books. (National Parks / Quotable Quotes / Embedded in America!) Decided to go to the history and community / culture sections for something different after I tried out the true crime section. Was going to get something on the sinking of the Lusitania from the bargain section, but rationalized that I'd never read it even if it WAS only $5.99! I finally decided on Final Exits: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die (Michael Largo), The Giant Book of Unsolved Crimes: The Best Collection of Murder and Mystery Cases Ever (Roger Wilkes), and The Mammoth Book of How It Happened: Eyewitness Accounts of Great Historical Moments from 2700 BC to AD 2005 by Jon E. Lewis. Promptly got on a newer-style Broadway bus with nice plush dark blue seats! A lady wanted to know a bunch of stuff about me, so I made things up as I went along, haha. Cordia and Joyce got on the bus a good while later at the Skytrain station, and Joyce waved to me. Since we were going to get off the bus soon, I joined them at the rear door, where Cordia waved to me. When I told them about what I'd bought, Cordia seemed interested / amused in the true crime and death books - I didn't really know she was morbid too! Guess I'll have to ask her about this later, since I'm impressed that she's so morbid! (I'll get her into the morbid facts newsletter, hehe... and maybe get her the death book for her birthday since she likes it so much!) Warned Joyce not to get herself caught in the doors, and Cordia said that they were hungry and needed food: sounded just like me! They'd been at Joyce's house and not school - I should remember that school is mostly out unless you're taking summer courses, eep. We got off at Nanaimo (where I assured them that we DID get off there), and went our separate ways to 7-11 / the good Pho restaurant.

I had the quickest dinner EVER at the Pho place - I was going to get soup noodles, but decided that I'd get salad rolls instead since it was almost / past 7:30. Easier to eat, as well... just scarf 'em down and leave a $5 bill on the table as payment, haha. Total time from entering to exiting the place: ten minutes! Arrived at church "on time" (meaning our program hadn't started yet, har har - bad, I know :P), and discovered that the younger group was upstairs when I said hi to Phil / Joey / Sheena / Darren. Went downstairs and grabbed a chair to sit behind Jeremy while they were singing. Confirmed the date for Karen, and chatted a bit to people after singing was done. Told Randal (to remind myself) that I had something for him later on, so he had to catch me later. He told me not to run too fast... I don't do that anyhow! There was a new-ish guy named Manson from the Chinese fellowship who joined us: at first, I thought he looked like Lee.. then I was like "Since when is Dave back in town?" since his profile looked like Dave! When I heard his name, I thought Dylan said "Hanson"... so I was like: "What kind of a name is that? Reminds me of that boy band teeny group!" Then someone confirmed it was "Manson" - that set the stage for Marilyn Manson's Beautiful People to be in my head on and off all evening! ;) (my brother later said that I could have said "Charles Manson" and he might not have understood - hahaha, probably!)

Andrea, Jeremy, and I amused ourselves during Bible Study... I don't think Dylan was too impressed, haha. It started with Jeremy telling me that there wasn't usually such a thing as too-strong instant coffee, then he accidentally dropped part of his ginger cookie in his coffee! His drink kinda looked like a Jon combination by the time he was done fishing the submerged cookie with a chip, heh. Then we read Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (with verse 9 as additional evidence), and that's when the real fun started. Stoning evildoers who preach false prophecy, and our hand needing to be the first one to strike against them? We were all for that one, even if Jeremy wanted to leave it to George Bush! Dylan thought we were being too bloodthirsty: Jon later said that Dylan likes George Bush and is conservative that way, Jeremy doesn't like George Bush, and he's not sure what Andrea's feelings are. It was pretty funny, and you had to be there! Then Jeremy's eyes wandered to Deuteronomy 14:26 - using your money however you desired, like on sheep / oil / strong (fermented) drink? Of course he used the last part to refer to beer: more specifically, IPA. I told him that he should tell Jon about the verse, and he said that Jon had already recommended it to him as his favorite: "You know what THAT refers to!" Told Andrea what IPA was, then we couldn't stop laughing for a while! (looking at him trying not to laugh made ME break out into giggles... oh, the humor!) Not sure what Manson thought, but we were having a lot of joking fun as Dylan desperately tried to get our discussion back on topic!

Afterwards, Dylan left to go encourage a female friend going on missions. Jeremy and I repaired to the kitchen, where we discovered that our excuses for not going to the church picnic tomorrow were kinda similar: it starts too early, and we wouldn't be able to wake up on time! (he's going to Kelowna for two days until Monday - guess I'll have to think about Sunday seating!) Talked to Lesley / Manson / Andrea about biking, work, EA sports ("it's in the game!"), the furniture store, commutes, the Bible Study outing ("holding hands at the Night Market with Frances' group!" quoth Karen... no bowling / Zone food for us with her group!), Eric's whereabouts, and weekend plans. I showed Cordia, Joyce, and Quan my new death book when they came downstairs - Cordia learned her useless fact for the day (about how many people get killed by jellyfish), and loved the fact that it was illustrated! Showed the book to Andrea, Lesley, Jeremy, Tony, and Jon as well. Managed to get in a goodbye to Jeremy and Manson when they were busy talking about roommates and such: Jon and I had to go pick Steph up from volunteering at the Memorial Cup in ten minutes' time.

Talked to Christon about the 24 party, and educated Tony on the show. Held a lock and key for Stanley, and talked to him about certain circumvention measures: no porn folders at school, haha. Just when the three of us were going to leave, Randal called my name a couple of times: yes, I did have something for him, but he'd have to get it on Sunday since we were in a hurry! (that line will NOT be timely, heh) Jon had invited Tony for bubble tea, so Steph figured that we could go to Bubble World since it was near the Joyce Skytrain station - good idea, since I still have a stamp card for that place! Tony said he'd never seen Steph so tired: she worked and volunteered for 14 hours straight today! He told us great stories about working at Wal-Mart: some $1000 transaction that took 20 minutes to complete (with people in a lineup behind this customer) because he wasn't informed about gift certificates and non-taxable stuff for kids until the MIDDLE of checking things out! Then there was the time he stayed up till 4 AM at a friend's Boxing Day party, and had to work a 20-hour shift starting at 7 AM - or I may just be mixing my stories up. Either way, it sounded pretty horrible even if he DID get paid overtime! (they'd better pay him that, heh) Educated him on the word "unassuming" (Steph was saying that Ivan was like that even though he's good at guitar / sports / school), talking to Jeremy via cell phone ("we're at a bubble tea place that ISN'T Dragon Ball!"), 24, the WHL and Memorial Cup, NHL Canadian hockey teams, Jon's phone number, our church, Floodlight, my name, why I was riding in the car, dumplings, Dallas, Sunday dinners, song sharing, Jon's weird taste in music, and other things. He didn't listen to music as a teen, but did some roleplaying games and such to express himself - kinda like what he does now online, haha. Good times!

Steph seemed to like the Sudoku book I got her, and says she forwarded the TV show email to Mom - that's good, since I knew she'd do that. Harmony called Jon and tried to trick him by saying that she missed her flight to Vancouver tonight: she's a bad liar! Discussed plans for the next three days, Vivian S., temporarily suspending cell phone calls (I suck :P), what Eric said to me on MSN yesterday, my "SPONGES!" craziness last week, Nathan not being back on Monday, the pearl comparison between Bubble World and Dragon Ball (about the same consistency - not quite the same taste!), weddings next week and in Toronto, and emails. When I got home, Corey tried challenging me on something: I don't THINK so, buddy! Never mind his idea about what a perfect gift for someone in my life would be, although I thought he'd say something else... what he DID suggest was bad enough already, cheh! :P

Your Power Bird is a Dove

Deep and emotional, you can connect well with almost any living creature. You bring hope and optimism to any dire situation. You are both gentle and affectionate with everyone you love. Truly nurturing, most people consider you to be a mother figure.

What's Your Power Bird?

Ha, I think I'll have to work on all that! :P

Nazi murder by starvation, Panda Express Orange-Flavored Chicken

Today's Gradual Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

The following is a description by a visitor to a Nazi medical institution meeting at Eglfing-Haar in the fall of 1939, where the director, Dr. Hermann Pfannmuller, discussed his policy of starving children "unfit for life" (ie. mentally ill and handicapped) to death rather than wasting medication on them:

"I remember the gist of the following general remarks by Pfannmuller: These creatures (he meant the children) naturally represent for me as a National Socialist only a burden for the healthy body of our Volk. We do not kill with poison, injections, etc.; then the foreign press and certain gentlemen in Switzerland would only have new inflammatory material. No, our method is much simpler and more natural, as you see. With these words, he pulled, with the help of a nurse, a child from its little bed. While he then exhibited the child like a dead rabbit, he asserted with a knowing expression and a cynical grin: "For this one, it will take two to three more days." The picture of this fat, grinning man, in his fleshy hand the whimpering skeleton, surrounded by other starving children, is still vivid in my mind. The murderer explained further then that sudden withdrawal of food was not employed, rather gradual decrease of the rations. A lady who was also part of the tour asked - her outrage suppressed with difficulty - whether a quicker death with injections, etc. would not at least be more merciful. Pfannmuller then praised his methods again as more practical in view of the foreign press. Pfannmuller also did not hide the fact that among the children to be murdered were also children who were not mentally ill, namely children of Jewish parents."

Culled from: The Nazi Doctors

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Morbid Link Du Jour!

Joseph stumbled upon a website entitled The Sociology Of Death:

"[It's] all about different kinds of death and things related to death. It even has a 'Death Clock' to determine the day you will probably die. It also has links to other interesting sites on it."

*******

Morbid Mirth Du Jour!

For those of you who need a little help with your decision-making skills, be sure to print out a copy of The Premeditated Murder Flowchart and have it handy at all times!

Thanks to Amy for the link.


Panda Express Orange-Flavored Chicken

As far as Chinese food goes, I think the stuff these guys throw together in sizzling woks is surprisingly tasty for a takeout chain. This dish is something of a twist on the traditional sweet and sour chicken commonly found at Chinese restaurants over the years. This popular menu item has a delicious, citrus-laced, tangy-sweet sauce with a spicy nip the regulars find truly addictive. The chain claims to cook all of its food in woks, including sauces. But this homegrown version will work fine, whether you go for a wok, or not.

Sauce
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced water chestnuts
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 rounded teaspoon chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
5 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons arrowroot
3 tablespoons water

Chicken
4 chicken breast fillets
1 cup ice water
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unsifted cake flour
2 to 4 cups vegetable oil

1. Combine all of the sauce ingredients - except the cornstarch, arrowroot, and 3 tablespoons of water - in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir often while bringing mixture to a boil. When sauce reaches a boil, remove it from heat and allow it to cool a bit, uncovered.

2. Slice chicken breasts into bite-size chunks. Remove exactly 1 cup of the marinade from the pan and pour it over the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or other container which allows the chicken to be completely covered with the marinade. The chicken should marinate for at least a couple hours. Cover the remaining sauce and leave it to cool until the chicken is ready.

3. When chicken has marinated, preheat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a wok or skillet to 350 degrees.

4. Combine cornstarch with arrowroot in a small bowl, then add 3 tablespoons of water. Stir until cornstarch and arrowroot have dissolved. Pour this mixture into the sauce and set the pan over high heat. When sauce begins to bubble and thicken, cover and remove it from heat.

5. Beat together the ice water and egg in a medium bowl. Add baking soda and salt.

6. Add 3/4 cup of the flour and stir with a fork just until the flour is blended into the mixture. The batter should still be lumpy.

7. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup of flour on top of the batter and mix with only one or two strokes. Most of the new flour will still be floating on top of the mixture. Put the remaining flour (1/2 cup) into a separate medium bowl.

8. Dip each piece of chicken first into the flour, then into the batter. Let some of the batter drip off and then slide the chicken into the oil. Fry up to 1/2 of the chicken pieces at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip the chicken over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the chicken to a rack or paper towels to drain.

9. As the chicken cooks, reheat the sauce left covered on the stove. Stir occasionally.

10. When all of the chicken is done, pour it into a large bowl, and cover with the thickened sauce. Stir gently until all of the pieces are well coated. Serves four.

Bad musician jokes, flaming poo, Pancakes from International House of Pancakes

Really bad musician jokes
More bad musician jokes
Hahaha, flaming bag of poo!

For a selection of the jokes, see here.


Pancakes from International House of Pancakes

Nonstick Spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cooking oil
pinch of salt

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Use a pan with a nonstick surface or apply a little nonstick spray.
2. In a blender or with a mixer, combine all of the remaining ingredients until smooth.
3. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles.
4. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes. They should be golden brown.
5. Cook pancakes on the other side for same amount of time, until golden brown. Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.

TV shows, rats, bogs, art, various quizzes

I keep forgetting to look up certain TV show episodes online for my mom - oops. Maybe I'll see if Without A Trace (like the Soul Asylum song!) and Grey's Anatomy are on UK Television Links, since it worked for 24. If I do have to ask online communities for this, I won't do what she said! ("Just tell them that it's for yourself, and don't say it's for me!") Uh, I don't see what's the harm in telling them that it's for my mom! It's not like she has to "save face" in an online community she doesn't know about. ;) (and I found links to the shows on Daily Motion also!) Guess I'll email those links to my sister at some point, haha. I also called Chinese Eric, who's not within range of his cell phone. I'm almost sure we can make something work for a hangout time... too bad he's not online!


Today's Edgar Allan Poe-ish Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

For years, the neighbors have been complaining that Thomas H. Stone, 67, was feeding rats at his suburban Seattle home. They apparently won't have to worry about that anymore. But the sheriff's deputy who checked on the last complaint may have a hard time getting the image he found out of his head. Authorities said the deputy found a dead body, believed to be Stone, on the second floor in a house full of rodents, feces and garbage -- with rats feeding on the decomposing corpse. One neighbor said they'd been warning officials for about five years about the rats. And county health workers told Stone to stop feeding them. "I wanted to get him help," neighbor Tom Ellis told the Seattle Times. "And I wanted the rats to go away." Investigators even imposed fines, got a lien on the house, and won a judgment that's now more than $200,000. Ellis said he and his family watched as Stone threw peanuts to the rats and squirrels sitting on his balcony. "In the end, he wouldn't even take out the garbage," Ellis said. "It looks like he never took down the Christmas decorations from when his mother died in 1999. It was all very Edgar Allan Poe-ish." The man lived in the home with his mother and became the owner upon her 1999 death.

Culled from: The Associated Press
Generously donated by: Nina

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Wretched Recommendations!

Bill has a recommendation for the morbid kid in your life:

"I was looking over your newsletter about the bog body, and was looking for some more pics when I ran across this book."

Bodies from the Bog by James M. Deem

"Lots of pics from from bogs. I don't own it, but here is what caught my eye. It is written for 9-12 year olds. A good gift for the morbid kid... :)"

*******

Morbid Art Du Jour!

Bobby Neel Adams is a fascinating photographer who photographs mine victims and cemetery angels, and creates fascinating age maps where he morphs two photographs of the same person, one young and one old, into a single portrait. It really makes you think about "the passing of time and all of its crimes."

Thanks to Cathy for the link.

You are 53% likeable

You are a likeable person. You are fiercely loyal to your friends, and you have a lot of them. You may have a few enemies, but it is only because they don't really know the real you.

'How Likeable are You?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Sorry, But You're Not Exactly a Hot Chick...

Sure, you meet a few men - but what woman doesn't? You've got to break out of your shell, girl! Get a makeover, gym membership, new wardrobe... Because no matter what, dating is a numbers game.

Are You A Hot Chick?

Well, I knew that... I'll just cry into my non-existent beer. :P

Chance You'll Live to 100: 70%

100 is looking pretty likely for you right now. You've made your health a priority. So kick back, keep doing what you're doing, and enjoy the great life you've made for yourself. And you might get to see what the world is like 70, 80, or even 90 years from now.

Will You Live to 100?

Somehow, I don't think I'll make it into that exalted club of centenarians or higher. :P

Your Love Is Represented By a Pink Rose

You see love as something that should be light, fun, and whimsical. People fall in love with you easily. And you tend to fall out of love easily! You express your love through attention and shared experiences. You love people more than they realize.

What Rose Represents Your Love?

Two bubble teas in two hours, oh my! / Pal's Sauceburger

Tonight, I got together with Teunis - I had a book to keep me company, so I wasn't bothered too much when it was 7:03 and he wasn't there at the Richmond Public Market yet. But when it got to be almost 7:30, I was a bit concerned. Ordered a green apple bubble tea from Peanuts, and figured I'd move to the more populated side of the upstairs floor in case he hadn't seen me or something. Then he showed up a bit later, saying he'd gotten a bit lost and was held up at work. Heh, it was all good since he eventually DID find the place. We had dinner and talked about many different topics: the cruise, my birthday card, his having stuff for me which wasn't quite completed yet (no pressure!), noise, morbid facts (which I'll get to posting again eventually), his crazy ex and other poly people (most of whom DON'T behave like someone else I used to know), and "ordering out" philosophies. Why bother ordering it if you can make it at home and don't feel lazy about it? I'll just order what looks interesting and not too weird, although I've been known to be kinda nuts sometimes - not as bad as my brother, though! Since we were discussing lychee / coconut jelly / pearls, it reminded me of a weird food combination my brother made once: lychee, cranberry juice, and Cheerios! Nathan said it looked like eyeballs swimming in blood - how appetizing, not! :P

After a while, we decided to get going since they were cleaning up: the cheap food rocks, however. So did the lady at Peanuts, who let me transfer my one stamp on a new card to an old existing card I found on my wallet. (when it wasn't usually doable) Good thing he had the car, since that increased our options by a lot. A Dragon Ball suggestion was thrown around, but I dismissed it because we had to go across the bridge - he said it wasn't too far, but then to go back to my place to drop me off and then all the way out to Surrey again? Um, no! I don't think that would be very nice, heh. Pearl Castle wasn't THAT far away relatively, but my sense of direction sucks... that wouldn't have been very good combined with his limited knowledge of Richmond. We managed to get onto Alexandra Road (no Well Tea for us since it looked like a teahouse) and happened upon the Pure Tea Café / Estea Beverage Club complex: the former looked dark (although it could always be like that... it's been a long time since I've been there), and the other one looked like it was actually occupied. Teunis wondered if this was a bubble tea place - I was there with Jon / Vivian S. / Steph / Erin in 2005 on a "ladies" night, and so I knew it was such an establishment!

I wondered why he wanted to know about my hair - it could be a different color than what he thought? Eh, maybe - his hair is blond, but his beard's more red. Yay for strawberry blond Pavel Bure hair, haha. Mine is technically dark brown, but it looks black enough! Found out why he doesn't really like watching sports (except baseball) ... I guess I won't invite him to any future hockey get-togethers! Not that I was going to since it didn't seem like what he's into anyhow, but it's good to have a reason! (although I suppose he and Danielle - if she's there - COULD commiserate about how everyone discusses hockey / hockey pools all the time for ten months of the year!) Mused about online names and real-life names / nicknames... I was amused when he referred to me by my online name in a phone call he had to take. He had strawberry milk tea with pearls - and asserted that the pearls ended up tasting like blueberries, heh. I had another bubble tea: his evil plot to fill me up with bubble tea was at least somewhat silly and made me laugh. This one was banana with coconut jelly since I'd already had pearls earlier, and they'd run out of pudding milk tea. (plus, it wasn't powdered like papaya and other flavors would be - thank you, waitress!)

Talked about corn, chocolate, his brothers / stepfamily, sushi and adding lots of wasabi, the guy with the sword collection, Nathan and HIS cool collection of stuff (I'm not playing with it, Eric!), building robots, props, crazy Calgary house life, cooking, programming, durian (bubble tea), and books. He could have bought durian bubble tea at Peanuts since Terrence did so last summer, but maybe some other time! Interesting stories, at any rate - makes up for how boring I can be, haha. History and knowledge probably do add to your RPG experience / Dungeon Master role, and it's also nice to learn in general. At least I gave him his postcard and birthday card, and I got to see what he carries around with his laptop - nice to be prepared with a portable steak knife, programming stuff, and books! (then again, I noticed a spoon in his car - heh, reminds me of Nathan's soup can in HIS car!) I was traveling on the light side today, so maybe he'll have to see my knapsack stuff next time! (but hopefully, I'll have unloaded all the candy and other things on the kids by then...) Talked about haggis (parties) in the car in my apartment complex parking lot - I left since it was almost 10:30, and he was still hungry for a friend's good haggis even though he was full! (told him to drive safely, as I usually do with Nathan and others) Good times, and will have to do this again when time allows. :D


Pal's Sauceburger

Here's a simple, great-tasting burger from a small chain called Pal's in Tennessee. This little drive-thru developed this simple sauce -- a combination of ketchup, mustard, and relish -- that makes quick production of scores of these tasty sandwiches a breeze when the line of cars grows long. Yes, it's easy... it's also very good on any burger at your next cookout.

1/8 pound ground beef
1 small sesame seed bun
salt
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

1. Pat out the ground beef until it's about the same diameter as the bun. If you like, you can freeze this patty ahead of time to help keep the burger from falling apart when you cook it.
2. Brown or toast the faces of the top and bottom buns. You can do this in a frying pan over medium heat or by toasting them in the oven (or toaster oven).
3. As the buns are browning, grill the hamburger patty... either in a hot frying pan over medium heat, or you can use a barbecue grill. Salt the meat generously.
4. Combine the ketchup, relish, and mustard in a small bowl.
5. When the meat is cooked to your liking, place it on the face of the bottom bun.
6. Slather the sauce on the face of the top bun and place it onto the meat. Ta-da... Sauceburger! Makes 1 burger.

Tidbits

To multiply this recipe, use this handy multiplier for the sauce:
Sauce for 2 burgers: 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons relish, 1 teaspoon mustard
Sauce for 4 burgers: 1/2 cup ketchup, 4 teaspoons relish, 2 teaspoons mustard
Sauce for 6 burgers: 3/4 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons relish, 3 teaspoons mustard

Quirky gifts / Pace Picante Sauce (Medium)

Went food shopping today, and saw some Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. Unlike a few weeks ago, I had to try it this time! Bought all the usual things, and saw some "fried ice cream" (cinnamon sticks and such - Loaded With Stuff!) - I don't think I'll try that anytime soon! Had to get something for my sister, and also some onion soup for Dianne: she likes onions a lot, so I figure this will be perfect. Yes, of course she could buy it herself, but I'm nothing if not quirky! There WAS the year I gave her sister Cindy a bunch of Post-It notes as a birthday present, and Dianne predicted that their computer would be FULL of those things in a couple days because Cindy used them a lot. Hey, I'm always one to help! Reminder: I should use my Coles coupon on at least $35 worth of stuff before it expires at the end of the month: probably after next week, heh. At least I have actual cash for stuff tonight and on the weekend. Since I spent more than $50 today, I got a free Donkey toy which retailed for $9.99! (so cool, haha)


Pace Picante Sauce (Medium)

Texan David Pace had been selling 58 different varieties of jam, jellies, and sauces from the back of his liquor store in the 1940s when he came up with a recipe for a thick and spicy tomato-based sauce he dubbed "Picante." When sales of David's new sauce took off, he concentrated all his efforts on marketing his all-natural, preservative-free product, and designed the sauce's famous hourglass-shaped jar (to keep it from tipping over). Now America's number one Mexican hot sauce brand, Pace Foods, makes it known that it still uses only fresh jalapeño peppers in the sauces, rather than the brined, less flavorful jalapeños like those canned nacho slices. Each year all the fresh jalapeños used by the company weigh in at around 30 million pounds, and the nation gobbles up around 120 million pounds of the zingy sauces. Here's a simple recipe to make a kitchen copy of the medium heat-level Pace Picante Sauce, which was the first variety David created. The mild and hot versions were added in 1981, and you'll find clones for those at the bottom of the recipe in Tidbits.

1 10.75-ounce can tomato puree
1 can full of water (1 1/3 cups)
1/3 cup chopped Spanish onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh jalapeño peppers, with seeds (3 to 4 peppers)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/4 teaspoon dried minced garlic

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thick.
3. When cool, bottle in 16-ounce jar and refrigerate overnight. Makes 2 cups (16 oz.).

Tidbits
For the mild version of the salsa, reduce the amount of fresh jalapeños to 2 rounded tablespoons (2 to 3 peppers). For the hot variety, increase the amount of jalapeños to 1/3 cup (4 to 5 peppers).

Goodbye generator, Jerry Falwell, dreaming of weird Teunis emails

"Goodbye, I hate you all" post generator... I love the hilarious amusement, hahaha!

Goodbye, everyone. It's become clear that I can't post anything in this stupid forum without being the subject of ridicule and persecution... and without anyone even bothering to stop and wonder if they're being worse than the fluffies they pretend to despise. I no longer feel welcome here, or that kinship I was searching for. You're all mean bitches. Your soil reaps of evilness. After the last few weeks or so of posts (and the often aggressively and needlessly snarky comment storm that accompanies several of them), I feel that I must leave this community. I'm leaving because of all the people here who don't like me. NONE OF YOU CAN READ HIGHER THAN A FOURTH-GRADE LEVEL! This community would be much better if you didn't jump down every persons throat on almost every damn post. Almost everyone's spelling and grammar sucks the big one here. Also, you're all vapid and disgusting. I'm out of here. I am not sad about it either. I stomp on all you horrid creatures!

Also, Jerry Falwell is dead!


Man, it's so hot outside... 26 degrees?! Time for Slurpees, heh. It would be nice if I could get Barry on the phone, too! And what do you know: I write that, call him, and he's IN! It's the POWER of writing, haha! (11 tomorrow is just fine by me, but it's a good thing I bought certain things yesterday too!)

I had a dream where I was talking to Stephen in real life (which I never got to do), only he looked like a Chris Noble-stereotypical teenage boy hybrid. Judging from his pictures, there is no way he looked like that when I knew him! We talked about relationships and preference, before noticing that it was Monday afternoon and we both had to hurry to watch 24. I hurried to check my email, which included one from Teunis with this subject: "T has a shop vac car!" I responded by saying it was bound to be a clean car, if nothing else - for some reason, he was looking for cars. A while later, Jeremy showed up to take me to meet some other friends of ours. We were all getting quite close, and I noticed that he had both his arms around some girl - for some reason, this was acceptable in this group of friends. Later, I was writing this up in a paper journal for posterity; I wasn't too bothered by the fact that I used "LOL" and "BTW" in the account! The dream ended when the repair person knocked on my door to fix the smoke alarm.

No clue what could have triggered that one... I haven't thought of Stephen in quite some time despite doing his space adventure the other day. I think I saw Chris in recent months, but I wouldn't say he's much on my mind either. As for Teunis looking for a car, I believe he has his car situation well in hand... no idea about the shop vacs, though. I would definitely be bothered if I wrote anywhere using Netspeak, especially in a paper journal! (abbreviations are fine, but not Netspeak!) Haven't been thinking of Jeremy in a certain way, either - never really have, heh. We're just friends, and that's cool by me. :D

Hey, Teunis just emailed me for real even if I had to remind him via LJ comment. Not sure what's a good place in Richmond - if he wants to go here around 7, I'm not going to stop him. Pearl Castle's a bit far away, as is Dragon Ball. I am not a walking encyclopedia of BBT places, haha. No wonder it's taken me forever to respond to this email! (I remember it took me three hours to respond to a certain email years ago, and it took me 20 minutes to write an email yesterday - if I don't hear from him soon, I'll call - same goes for Eric Ho!)

Mint to berry, butt tattoos, Bauer, Outback Steakhouse The Wallaby Darned

I bought $33.55 worth of stuff from London Drugs before going to my mom's birthday dinner at Ginger & Garlic. Oh, the things I do when killing time... at least I bought the new Excel Fuse gum that starts out as mint, then ends up as a berry flavor! (Melon Mint and Berry Mint) Mom had a horrified reaction to her "butt tattoo" birthday card, and Steph told her to read it carefully instead of just skimming it like she usually does when she reads things. Good idea, since she thought I signed it with my last name! (I just put "No, I don't have a butt tattoo" under my name) Our parents told us that we were invited to some "meet the newest member of our family" party by Uncle Stanley and Auntie Vonnie - we heard that their son Joshua was getting married some time ago. Thankfully, it's on the Sunday AFTER the Awana small group lunch!

24 was interesting, but why did Doyle have to give Josh Bauer to his grandpa at the end of the episode? I liked Lisa Miller going all rage-y on Bishop after he saw the camera, and Noah unburdening himself to Karen was something else. At least her reaction to the love triangle was better than Tom's jaw-dropping performance! (my sister says Peter MacNIcol's acting is pretty good!) The Russians knew about the operation, and Tom certainly doesn't want to watch two people having sex! As for the overbearing man from Division coming in just as CTU is recovering from being taken over (kill Asians, Nadia!), that was just not a good time! Morris tried to commiserate with Nadia too... "experience with self-recrimination," indeed. At least the workers covered Milo with a black sheet while the Chinese ordered them around, heh.

Dallas is going back to Toronto on Wednesday since his dad is ill with cancer - such an insidious disease! Jon was having fun bugging Harmony about the way she talks to him, and she's here in three days. In other news, I guess I'm impatient when it comes to email and time crunches. Must exercise more patience around this, heh. Apparently, every day is "jersey day" for Steph at work until she leaves... good for her, since she hasn't had to wear a dress shirt for a long time! (the vice-president is on her side, haha)


Outback Steakhouse The Wallaby Darned

The menu describes the steakhouse chain's popular fruity drink as a: "Down under frozen wonder with peaches, DeKuyper Peachtree Schnapps, champagne, Smirnoff Vodka, and secret mixers." While you don't need to use the same brand-name booze as the chain does, you will need to find a can of Kern's peach nectar to re-create the same secret mixer magic.

1 cup frozen sliced peaches
2 ounces champagne
1 ounce peach schnapps
1 ounce vodka
4 ounces (1/2 cup) Kern's peach nectar
2 or 3 ice cubes

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed for approximately 30 seconds or until ice is completely crushed and the drink is smooth.

2. Pour into a 12-ounce glass and serve with a straw. Makes 1 drink.

Mout Ironic, tremendous internal wealth, knows how to rapidly connect with others, looks for paternal authority. Colors: male: brown, female: red carmine Compatible Signs: Amon-Ra, Thoth Dates: Jan. 22 - Jan. 31, Sept. 8 - Sept. 22 Role: A creator goddess, she was the mother from which the cosmos emerged. Appearance: A woman with the wings of a vulture, holding an ankh, wearing the united crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and also a dress of bright red / blue, with the feather of Ma'at at her feet Sacred Animal: vulture What is Your Egyptian Zodiac Sign? Designed by CyberWarlock of Warlock's Quizzles and Quandaries

Dreams of Cordia and handkerchiefs

Another day, another weird phone call: 231-224-2010 from Michigan. I WILL PREVAIL, SCAMMERS! (passive-aggressive by not answering the phone, but whatever :P) Semi-related tangent: since nobody answers their phones these days, I'll just go to dinner myself! Allows me control over a nice walk in decent weather, haha. Hey, here's a note from the management which says they'll repair the smoke alarm tomorrow. It takes them that long to find people who will repair the thing?! Oh my. Wonder how long it would take for them to repair the heater, haha.

Had another series of weird dreams which was interrupted by some people mowing the lawn and making a lot of noise outside. Sounded like they were banging a whole bunch of stuff around, but I just stayed in bed. I was so not ready to get up, haha.

* confusing my dad with an academic answer to a simple question - we all loved that, haha!

* being in charge of a few kids during a test, two of whom started fighting: Eric (in his yellow jacket) and I had to take them to the office

* Cordia playing a sports game (basketball and hockey mixed together?), and all of us cheering her on

* having my nose plugged ALL DAY, and needing a handkerchief almost all the time... let's just say I was glad to wake up after that one!


Not sure what triggered that one: I saw Cordia for a minute yesterday, didn't think much of Jeremy's handkerchief (Mom accidentally called him "Germany" at lunch), ditto with Eric's yellow jacket, and haven't confused anybody recently that I know of! Now it's time to take a shower and do stuff before I go to dinner. At least my email's all taken care of - I can truly say I'm caught up!

Outback Steakhouse Sydney's Sinful Sundae

I wonder about people sometimes, and maybe I'll have more contact with them. Haha, that's all the information you're going to get - and I don't care that it's vague! :P


Outback Steakhouse Sydney's Sinful Sundae

Here's an easy-to-make, yet delectable dessert served at the popular Outback Steakhouse chain. This scrumptious sundae is the first dessert in the list on their menu, which describes it as: "Vanilla ice cream rolled in toasted coconut, covered in chocolate sauce and topped with whipped cream." Resting on the very top is a fresh, ripe strawberry. The secret to this recipe is to well-coat your large scoop of ice cream with that incredible crunchy toasted coconut. And there's nothing like the sweet smell of freshly toasted coconut that will soon be wafting through your entire house, room by room. This is a good one to make when you want a quick dessert that totally satisfies.

1 cup shredded coconut
4 large scoops vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup Hershey chocolate syrup
whipped cream (in a can)
4 large, ripe strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Spread the coconut over the bottom of the inside of a large oven pan. Shake the pan a little to spread the coconut evenly.
3. Bake the coconut for 25-30 minutes or until the coconut is a light, golden brown. You may have to stir or shake the coconut in the last 10 minutes to help it brown evenly.
4. When the coconut has cooled, pour it onto a plate, or into a large bowl. Roll each scoop of ice cream in the coconut until it is well coated. Press down on the ice cream to help the coconut stick. Put the ice cream into four separate bowls.
5. Heat up the chocolate syrup for 10-15 seconds in the microwave. Pour about two tablespoons over each scoop of ice cream. Try to completely cover the ice cream with chocolate.
6. Spray some whipped cream on the top of each scoop of ice cream.
7. Cut the stems from the strawberries and place one on each serving upside-down on the whipped cream. Serve with a spoon. Serves four.

Emotions, reminders, and clothing

Apologized to Melia, who said it was okay and that I should call Henry: I did, at 4. Now that's over with, at least. Sat in a relatively uncrowded pew, and shared some laughs with Jeremy / Jon / Steph. I had to brush something off Jeremy's bike jacket, but that was fine - better off than on, heh. He said that his price tags were still on there, despite his buying it a couple years back - at least those are less visible than the price tags on my mom's jacket which she cut off this morning! All he has to do for Mother's Day is call his mom in Kelowna, and doesn't have to spend the time / money on a meal out - it's okay in some respects, but the time is something to be treasured, kinda. Waved hi to Fidela and Chris, and asked Tony what he was doing for Mother's Day: he called his mom yesterday since she's in Hong Kong. Jon's spending time with him and the motherless later, so that should be good. Gave Sam and Angus their birthday cards - Angus thanked me and joked about wanting candy, which he can't have because he has to lose weight. (why do you think I'm giving mine away, dude?) Told Eric about tomorrow's situation: I guess it IS only two more weeks, heh. However, I like having the assurance of a ride home - I'll surely get one on the 21st, but tomorrow? Who knows. I'm not giving them ANY material to use, and little does someone know that we already thought of her idea some time ago! I have to get in touch with someone this week, then: REMINDERS AHOY! Maybe on Tuesday... still not sure about Friday, haha.

Said hi to Stella and baby Benjamin, who kissed people on the cheek: so cute! Eric told me that it was Sunday School for the kids already, to which I replied: "Why do you think I'm going in now?" After that, Andrew said hi to me as usual: ooh, he should get one of the four extra postcards! Steph said she'd upload the rest of the photos and such when she's finished being land-sick from the cruise. (she got dizzy and unwell at work on Friday) Overheard William, Mary, and Margaret talking about Rich taking them to see Spider-Man 3: Rich was laughing at a sad scene, while Margaret and Mary showed more appropriate emotion! Stanley's another one with no emotions, the girls thought: he just gets pissed off, heh. Eric found some Hon's placards and an iPearl card on the ground, so we were all asking him about that when he picked them up: "YOU don't go there..."

Dylan, Tony (whom Joey describes as "the guy who looks like Buddha"), Eric, Jon, Steph, Christon, and I talked about plaid shirts and solid blazers: a good combo, unlike the same solid blazer with a neon green shirt! Christon wore that neon green shirt out once, and some guy from across the street yelled to him: "HEY! NICE SHIRT!" ("okay, I'm not wearing THAT one out of the house ever again...") Jon and Dylan had to high-five each other since their moms still buy clothing for them: it's not that they're fussy, but it's that someone still buys stuff for them! Mike, Sam, J-Mak (who's by himself till August), Citrus, and others were admiring someone's gadget. Then Mike started singing the Proclaimers' 500 Miles - when I commented on it being really old now, he informed me that it was the best song ever! Oh, I agree with him there! Mom tried to get the guys to purchase some Chinese food for a sale, using the "you can get it for your mothers!" pitch - too bad Tony's mom is 2000 miles away! (Steph and I told Jon about how Mom was totally flirting with the liquor store guy, and THEN we learned that she wasn't wearing her wedding band since it doesn't fit anymore... oh my! Mom thought that the guy would know she was married because she mentioned her children - that doesn't mean anything these days!)

Discovered that the family is invited to Phil and Grace's wedding AND banquet - hey, it starts later in the day, which is a good thing! Double happiness = everything being in Richmond! (for us, anyhow) I can totally do a 1 PM wedding and 6:30 banquet, even though I'm just as happy to attend 10:30 weddings with a banquet around 6 or so as well. But to anyone reading this who might want to invite me to their weddings: a later time is better, thanks! :P Nathan's leaving tomorrow morning, so has to finish packing today for sure! Discussed long weekend plans: Eric's going to that conference, so I think we'll both figure out the small group outing stuff later if I'm not going on Friday - I probably should, though. Meh, we have two weeks to figure it out, so I'm not worried!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! / Being shy

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!


Shyness survey, from Kaitlin via Myspace bulletin:

[x] You don't like public speaking.
[x] You find it hard to talk to strangers.
[x] You don't like to look people in the eye.
[x] You hate using public restrooms.
[] You don't like to go shopping alone.
Total: 4

[] Being introduced to new people makes you nervous.
[x] When you're in a group of people, it's difficult to think of what to say.
[] You have a lot of trouble talking to the opposite sex.
[x] You hate to be teased. (especially about certain subjects!)
[] You hate answering the door.
Total: 2

[x] You can't stand people watching you.
[] One-on-one conversations make you nervous.
[x] You don't like to ask people for help.
[] You hate to read out loud.
[] You don't like asking questions.
Total: 2

[] You dread ordering food at restaurants.
[x] You are uncomfortable at parties unless you know everyone well.
[x] You don't like to talk to people you don't know well, because you're afraid of being embarrassed by what you say.
[] You wish you were more outgoing.
[x] You hate being in the center of any room.
Total: 3

[x] You don't know how to react to compliments.
[x] You prefer reading, writing, or listening to music than being around too many people.
[] You blush easily.
[x] You spend a lot of time in your room.
Total: 3

Add all the x's, multiply by 4, and post this as "I'm __% shy." (56%)


Wow. This probably explains a lot, but I don't have time to get into the details. Oh well.