Chocolate macadamia nuts and routine

Note: LJ Tomorrow's Happenings / LJ New Years Festival / Last Week's Weird LJ Wedding blogquizzes. (by Katie, clayshaper, and Bilbo)


I am not having one of those days, thank goodness... Jerry Maguire references are cool! Went with Ada and Sean to Awana - Sean was babbling away, although the car seemed quieter without Ian. He's swimming with Chris at the YMCA - no Village People references, please! Talked to Ada about the varying weather here, even between two separate parts of Richmond! (like the time it was raining like mad here, and yet sunny in Steveston) Even Burnaby and Richmond can have differing weather conditions, although she thinks that Richmond has better weather than Vancouver sometimes... so true! Talked about their friends staying in Richmond for Awana, but couples' cell group is during that time - may as well go to Burnaby / Vancouver seven days a week! Told her about the dinner next week - we'll see what happens! Their trip to Hawaii was pretty good; even though home is a special place for Ian and Sean, they appeared to enjoy the sun and the beach. ("Go home!" - does that mean HOME or the hotel?) At Awana, it was only the junior secretaries and me today since Auntie Vivian wasn't here: that reminds me, I should give her today's dues when I see her or Sarah / Mary / William tomorrow. Andrew managed to amuse me, as usual. :D

Golden and Amos decided to empty the grey box with shelves since there were a lot of jewels trapped between levels - good idea! I think it's a good thing they waited for me to finish with my red / blue / green jewels, even though I can be a bit abrasive at times. Emily said she was very tired - I bet she did what I did, and took a nap when home! Jason told us that we had a new photocopier - SWEET! Of course, I had to go check it out too. Rich told me that it was a good thing that he was the service tech for the machine, even if there will be no photocopying available this weekend. People might as well bug him every five minutes with photocopier concerns as long as he's still with the company and gets the discount! Helped Ian with washing his hands - yes, you DO need soap! (also tried containing Sean when he didn't want to wait for us!) On the way home, John said that Sean understands directions even if he doesn't follow them - much better than his having a tantrum and lying down on the floor / crying! The kid's routine was interrupted when we did things slightly differently today, and prepared for the Christmas presentation LAST because of the Missions Conference dinner... guess he was cranky or disoriented! (Jordan saw the setup for the dinner, and asked if we were having dinner - not us, but others!) John offered me a milk chocolate macadamia nut, so I did the polite thing and took one - I was surprised when he said I could take the rest home, so I thanked him. Talked about family, townhouses, moving, and school - very nice to get to know people!

	You're meant for a job that is... Artistic
Your perfect job would be one in which you could let your creativity shine. You are a naturally artistically gifted person who is full of passion. Your perfect job matches are: Interior design, Graphic Design, Musician, Journalist.
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Dream of killing Chrystal

I've tested out various scenarios courtesy of Talia, Candy, and Caroline. Thinking I'll do a friends cut when I get home and finish blogging. No, you have no choice. Too bad.

Michelle messaged me to say hi, then linked me to a rap Youtube video (Soulja Boy, Crank That) and Jesse McCartney's Just So You Know. She described the first one as pretty good (rap isn't my thing, but I can see why she'd like it), and the second as "painful when you break up." There was a rap video she was watching, and she didn't want to hear any more of it because of all the swearing - good decision! I know our age difference is most apparent when we talk about Jesse McCartney as "sexy" (her word) but being too young (me) or old (her) for us! I'd even go so far as to say that he's too baby-faced for me, sort of. We discussed Awana briefly, given that we'd just checked our email to find a message from Melia about the Leaders Orientation Dinner next week after club meeting. Called Jon to say that I wouldn't be able to attend his birthday thing if he scheduled it for that date, so he better schedule it on a different day if he wants me there. Guess we'll see about that! Korey asked me to come out today with Eric, but I can't since I have Awana - maybe next time even if his cousins won't be there because of a Christmas party! Says he can't help missing me so much - I know a part of his heart is devoted to me, and I don't fault him for it.

Had a weird dream which involved someone named Steve slowly killing Chrystal: he knew she was allergic to cheddar, and so ate green and blue bags of Doritos next to her. Chrystal's friends looked in file folders and file cabinets to find the exact dates of when Steve had first planned to kill her, and we found a Joule-like chart. Someone asked why the purple mooncake packages with knives and two-pronged forks were there - we quickly determined that they had something to do with the murder. We congregated in the gold-tiled bathrooms, and then met Steve on a dark lonely road to arrest him. He didn't have $80 to his name, which was good since we weren't going to set bail for that piddly amount, no matter what the local sheriff said. The dream ended with him safely in jail. No clue why I had the dream. Good timing to end this entry, since Ada just called. :D

Here, you can have six more goals against on the one-year anniversary!

Just after I took a shower, Eric called me at 7 to say that he'd just gotten home from work and had a stressful day. I understood when he said he thought it was best to take a night off - his mom told me to watch the hockey game on Sportsnet in HIGH DEFINITION. Eric wasn't sure if I got that channel (22), but I definitely do! Did the courteous thing and called Steph to say that she had to find another ride home, perhaps from Sam or Ivan. "What are you doing at home? Shouldn't you be on the way to church? *hears story* How am I gonna get home? *I suggest she ask around* Thanks for letting me know!" Of course! It's called COURTESY!

The Canucks beat the Wild 6-2, on the one-year anniversary of the last game that Minnesota gave up six goals in a game. I liked the high-definition TV, which Corey said was "scars and missing teeth in perfect clarity" - well, at least the goal net was highlighted. Or maybe that's just me being weird, haha. The Wild changed goalies after the third Canuck goal in the first period, heh. At least it wasn't a scoreless game like the Edmonton one was - we lost in a shootout in that one! Very interesting game, for sure!

Pyatt from Isbister and Edler at 2:46
Naslund from Henrik Sedin and Morrison at 9:16
3 to 0! (Wild goalie change, hahaha) Ohlund from Burrows and Morrison at 11:59
Daniel Sedin from Henrik Sedin and Ohlund at 16:32 (2-2 power play)
Aaron Voros at 16:45
Trevor Linden at 2:54 of the second (first goal of the season)
Brent Burns at 10:46 of the third
Luc Bourdon from Byron Ritchie at 17:57 of the third (it was his first NHL goal, and Ritchie's first assist)
The game had a lot of fights, resulting in misconducts and stuff galore... Vancouver and Minnesota are going to play seven more times during the course of the season, oh my! (I don't expect anything less, haha) Three stars: Ohlund, Morrison, and Kesler.

And for something that's not related to hockey... Here's a girl that likes to take a lot of pictures of her posterior aspect. I'm amused by how many photos were removed by Photobucket, haha. (haven't decided what to do about a certain thing...)

Dream: Bells, cotton candy, webcomics, and mouth chips!

I had an odder dream than usual, which says something about my subconscious!

* I was with a group of people, being herded into a little sea bus. We weren't really allowed to communicate with each other, although a guy named Jason managed to write "SUMMER" on a green piece of paper. Somehow, we all understood that it meant that we'd escape. When we got to our destination (a processing centre), the Russian woman (who had a name starting with a V... Vesna?) who had been leading us suddenly had a special chip implanted in her mouth between two of her teeth. She instantly became one of us, and had to be herded to a special place. When we got there, we had to think of embellishments to a certain song to be played by a band: we thought of bells and such, but that somehow didn't go with the musical score. After much verbal abuse by a few conductors, we managed to escape when we thought of the place we'd most like to be just then.

* My wishful imagination landed me in a house partially inhabited by all the OP people. Reebee, Tonks, and Phoenix were trying to make sandwiches for a very ungrateful Carol J., who just kept running around the house smoking and complaining about her brittle blonde hair. Steve was out, but came back in to discover Nutty berating me for daring to touch her duvet blankets in a divided room with two white cupboards. Apparently, I shouldn't have noticed the divided bed between two rooms, because Nutty and Steve were still very much in love. Any divisive feelings weren't actually there - okay, then! I managed to patch things up with them, and then helped the sandwich people.

* In another part of the house, Anita was wearing a white T-shirt with a webcomic on it. (the same as in Gabriel's Facebook picture: Pon and Zi - cute little emo cartoon characters!) It also had Vivian S.'s name in black thin font. I mentioned that fact to Vivian while Anita was busy handing out blue cotton candy to a bunch of kids. She smugly nodded and said that she had specially made the shirt for Anita, who had paid her in homemade food - SWEET DEAL! Someone came in the room and said that my honey bunny was online; did I wish to speak to him? You bet I did! So I went to one of the myriad computers and talked to Korey for a bit using Gmail talk. He mentioned that he hadn't been going to go out, but had changed his mind when his friends bugged him about it. I checked my email, and had just deleted a bunch of conversations (light yellow bar!) when Korey mentioned that his friends would still get me a birthday gift even though they were out with him having fun. The dream ended with my being quite dubious about that fact!

No clue why I had the dream. I used to know a woman named Vesna, but that was at least ten years ago and I haven't thought of her since I lost contact with her. Not sure about the webcomic or the OP stuff, either. WEIRD, AS USUAL!

What is your Secret Wish?
Your Secret Wish is... To eat every meal for the rest of your life at McDonalds
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YUCK! That would be totally gross!

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Go to Taiwan for computer parts!

Last night, Corey told me that Jane wants him to move to Taiwan so he can teach kids English and be closer to her. Somehow, we both think he'll need SOME Chinese for the job! Never mind the ready availability of computer parts and octopus balls, with tax included in the price unlike how it is when you buy things over here! Called Steph, who did give Vivian her birthday card - yay!

While Corey was bugging me about rash decisions (NOT decisions about rashes), K said that I could call then if I liked. I'd previously said I was in the mood to talk a bit more about the past, so I did that. (Dairy Queen is not acceptable compensation for almost strangling your 17-year-old!) He seemed surprised that it was all I had to tell him (along with certain cutting remarks), but at least I did thank him for listening! We talked about physical fights with siblings; I just had mock free-for-alls with mine (my sister got into wrestling when she was FOUR!), while his seemed a bit more serious than that. Then he tried getting me to play "Name That Tune" - Marcy Playground's Sex and Candy, Metallica's Enter Sandman, and Blind Melon's No Rain were what he used. When I couldn't think of the artists, he bugged me by saying that I listened to the rock stations - I know, but my brain really wasn't working at that point! :P

He remarked that I sounded stuffed up; I tried denying it, but I think it's a reality now. I just hope I'm not terrible when Awana starts up again on Saturday! Thought I was sick just about a week ago... maybe 10 days ago or something! Ugh, and usually I'm not that bad. Must be from going out with friends, haha. Says we should watch Dawson's Creek since it reminded him of me - big words and overanalysis? Fair enough! We talked about a bunch of things before I ran out of stuff to say, so he let me go to get some rest! This afternoon, he tried talking to me, but I was just feeling blah. Think it's time for some Neo-Citran and water, after which I will go right back to bed!

Nathan's emoticon survey / Holiday list / Dream of crocodiles

Must complete Nathan's survey on emoticons! If you're over 19, complete it too! It'll help him graduate!

I have a semblance of a holiday_wishes list:

1. Christmas cards / postcards. I love getting mail!
2. Books and bookmarks to go with them! I like humor, anecdotes, and comics.
3. Random stuff - surprise me with a care package or something quirky!
4. Stickers! Gotta love those!
5. Help grant this wish.
6. Be kind to someone, and help people in need!
7. Go to Free Rice and start playing the game. They donate ten grains of rice for every word you get right.
8. Candy and chocolate from other countries! It's always good to get a taste of what others snack on around the world. :)
9. New friends.
10. For you to have a great holiday season, and stay safe!


I had a weird dream recently! Oh man. No idea why I had it...

* Margaret said that Jeremy was being a darling because he was helping the buses get clear of the snow on the paths, especially the #37 Metrotown bus which looked like a real-life B-Line bus.

* Jon was driving us somewhere, and I had a book full of outlandish baby names: Karen Lee seemed to like it! Calorie, long names which I can't remember, Byznell, and more! The A-C sections were very full of laughs!

* Dylan and I were in this market fair setting, and we were trying out various skewers with (white) chocolate drizzled on them. Later, we went to Vivian S.'s house, which had at least nine floors and an intercom / elevator system - Daisy had written something on her Facebook wall, and Noah refused to leave with his parents when they showed up to collect him. Jon said that we could still have him, so his parents shrugged in resignation.

* We found a kids' book which wasn't really appropriate! There was a story of someone getting frustrated with a fellow fisherman, and hitting him over the head with an oar, breaking it in two and sending the fisherman into the water. The only problem was that a crocodile had witnessed it, and wasn't very pleased. Turns out that a comedian was in a nearby canoe, and definitely didn't like this act of anger - he pushed the murderer into the crocodile's mouth! The dream ended when Vivian agreed to snuggle with the kid instead of reading such material - Steph was designated to take it out to the trash for good!

Fred's taught me to embrace my inner cougar!

Jon picked me up before 5:30, and we were off to the liquor store. On the way there, Jeremy gave him a few suggestions for stuff to go with non-spicy curry for another party tomorrow (no IPA), and laughed over agricultural freaks like a theoretical chicken with four breasts and six legs! Yeah, I don't think we want to know what THOSE would look like! (reminds me of the joke about three-legged chickens, haha) In another phone call, Nathan said that Isabel might come - they do live in the same house, but Jon knows he shouldn't assume things instead of asking! (he also had Nate find a beer bottle he hid there near the mini-fridge) Jon and I saw a lot of interesting stuff at the liquor store - 12.5% alcohol for a particular bottle (I joked that he wouldn't want me to drink it), Crown Royal, winter ale, etc. There were these little baskets with wheels on them - I thought that was definitely cool! Yes, I am easily amused even without liquor in me. :P

When we got to Jeremy's after discussing Corey / Spoz / Korey and plans on the way, Christon had just arrived. We were talking about stuff when we heard Ray groan from his room. I called out: "What's the matter, Ray?" We quickly ascertained that he had trouble with a format of a paper, and couldn't compress his existing paragraphs down any more. This led to jokes about abbreviating common words with one letter ("and / the / but / with"), and including a key at the top of the paper. Maybe he could even write it in Greek - the problem is that his markers KNOW Greek! After a while, he came out and discussed long-distance relationships with us as Christon said he'd come up with a non-encouraging situation for Nate, who arrived later and said that Isabel had too much work to do! Talked about beer, winter ale, politics (Clinton and the press!), tea, assembly-line style dinner, olives, Monday dinner instead of Sunday, Vanessa's dinner, sparkling apple cider (three of us finished almost all of it while Jeremy drank the rest from the bottle!), cops and the Downtown Eastside, openly consuming beer from bottles vs. a brown paper bag (blind eye and paperwork!), Maxim's Bakery dessert, gossip and prayer requests, books, etc. We didn't think there was a problem with gossip in our church, although of course we could be wrong. Nathan and I told Christon about his wacky power nap at Melia's: Calla and I were very intrigued and amused, for sure! (Ray knows her from Waterloo) When I mentioned his morning breath ice cream idea, Nathan insisted that there COULD be a market for it. Nobody else thought so!

Jon cracked that Nathan's room could smell like fish and we might not know it since the closet could be a good seal. We didn't smell anything untoward at Jeremy's because some garbage was in that closet, but Ray thought they should take the garbage out anyhow. Apparently, there's a path among the clutter in Nate's room that leads to the computer, then a pile to hop over to get to the bed. Nathan didn't get Jon's crack at first, which led Christon to joke about it: "Hmm. Fish equals bad smell? I gotta THINK about that for a second, haha!" Mixed drinks, not leaving paper trail, breakfast foods, future dinners, naked women in drawing classes which had to be dropped because the person kept getting locked out (lack of punch-in code for building)... oh my! Ray got custody of the big yellow megaphone / dunce hat when nobody else wanted it, and said that it was perfect to express his disgruntled views at professors, haha. After Nathan and Christon left, Fred called Jon - Ray was surprised that we'd go to the Whip a few blocks away, followed by maybe reading at a coffee shop. The four of us went downstairs and outside in solidarity. Jon didn't want to hold a garbage bag, so Ray said that I'd have to do it (while calling me by name for maybe the first time?) - what an ugfart! Jeremy had to put a bottle of beer in the cellar for Jon, so we bid goodbye to him at the recycling bins. (he, Fred, and Jon are going to the Minnesota game on Friday night - should be good!)

Jon and I went to the Whip, where we met Fred. He warned us that he could get quasi-offensive after a few drinks, but then he also hadn't had anything to eat. Today, he'd prepared stuff for 100 people. Talked about cougars, and I told him that I was one - he also talked to Harmony for a bit when she called, trying to placate her for dancing later. He chatted with our waitress, who said she was a puma. We were toasting each other with Black Plague, while tasting Fred's wine which had a slightly "off" taste. Fred to him that his brother-in-law had the same name as he, and he and his sister had bought a TV which took them five years to buy - they're not exactly hurting for money, but are frugal. He has a thing for red-haired women, but couldn't go out with someone who's not of the same faith, whether she was humorous / an artsy type / climbs or not. What a struggle! Talked about his art, and how he'd been in European art galleries because they were free - go to the washroom (not being crude) and see the history of painters there. Here, it's not so easy - admission charges and not so much history! Definitely an interesting conversation!

He said that before we showed up, there had been three waitresses paying attention to him ("hon / dear") - then they all disappeared! Jon was relaying messages to Harmony, heh... Fred as a "full capacity" MC / groomsman if they get married? Haha, oh my. Fred told me that there had been a time when Jon was staying with him in a small bachelor suite (350 square feet?) - barely enough room for the bed, futon, and sofa. Harmony called and Fred was trying not to listen to the low-voiced puppy love thing, but he could hardly help not hearing it even as he tried concentrating on the book he was reading barely a foot or so away! Jon thought it was funny when Fred said that he should have gone to the toilet or the outside balcony if he wanted to tell her that stuff, haha. (that would have afforded SOME measure of privacy...) I told him about the "switching underwear" joke that I'd heard of, and he told me about the cougar bar joke - no karaoke now? Oh man. (Fred thought the cougar shirt was hilarious - and warned that I might have to go to K - we'll figure it out later, just as Jon and Harmony will discuss things at Christmas!) We had ten-year-old port, wine and cheese, and beer - good times! Fred said that he had been on the subway with a friend of his once when a BIG BLACK MAN (250 pounds?) across the aisle decided to tell him that he was pretty and that he liked his bald head! He wasn't subtle about it, so the entire packed subway could hear! Of course, he had to politely tell him "Thank you, sir" - thank goodness the black man got off one stop before Fred and Bill did! Sounds comical, haha. Also discussed Toronto, drawing, wrestling, Singapore, work, and more - very nice end to the evening, for sure!

I somehow found it more troublesome on the walk back to the car than I had earlier: Jon thought I had maybe a bit too much to drink, and commented that I was warm / red. Maybe so, since even with the LONG walk to / from the fireworks in the summer, I didn't find it THAT hard to get around! (Dylan and I did commiserate on our aging!) At least I had no thoughts of seeing bouncing green traffic lights or K's shadow near my bookshelf like I did LAST week! Not sure where those came from, heh. Then I had an involved conversation with K about the past / future / reassurance / plans - very good stuff!

I want to spend time with the guys!

Found out that the "new" clock radio does work - well, the most important part other than the time! Yay for the radio working - that's the point of a clock RADIO! No beeping noises for me, yay!

Went to California for lunch with the family - quite nice, as my sister and I beat the rush. Discussed lower back pain, sickness, cancer, Vivian's birthday being today, sleeping over, trees knocked down by wind, Sheena, Chalaine, Tony, Christon, sisters, Mike T.'s overdose of estrogen at dinner last night, Michelle saying that Jon always has a phone to his ear, Eric still being sick (poor guy), and many other things. Ivan shouldn't be home late, especially since his mom is strict. Steph says I'm happier with guy friends: "Jeremy on one side, Eric on the other... and Korey on the other side of the table!" Haha, not quite my ideal configuration, but close enough! Health declines are very bad, especially when it's the end stages and it's PAINFUL. Jon says that there's a dinner at Jeremy's which I could go to tonight - it's not a guy thing, so I might as well go. Gotta call him, and then maybe meet him at someplace more central. It's all in the name of keeping myself busy with friends and such - I can always do laundry tomorrow! Phil's grandma is officially 97, but it's 100 in their eyes!

Heh, Jon will just pick me up here at 4:40 since the B-Line's apparently changed the stops where they pick up people, and it's not easy unless you've done it once. I did take the B-Line from Vancouver to Richmond in early October (what a night THAT was!), but I'm guessing they've changed the stops since then. I had some time to fit in a power nap, but I'm not sure how well that worked. Had tea and yin-yang at lunch, so I should be fine. I'll certainly call K when I get home - I want things to WORK, dammit!

Somehow, I misheard "I'll meet you outside in the courtyard" as "I want you to leisurely sit on a quarter." I have NO idea where that came from! Jon thinks I'm deaf - maybe so. Then again, I *did* join a Facebook group entitled "I still say WHAT? even if I heard you the first time." Gives me time to respond, haha. :D

"One of these days, I'm going to cut you up into little pieces." Hahaha, gotta love drummer Nick Mason of Pink Floyd!

What Halo race would you be? Elite Strong and religious soldiers, until you were betrayed by the prophets in Halo 1.

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Valentine's Day conceptions explain a busy November birthday season!

Oh man. Tonight's birthday bash for Vanessa was SO MUCH FUN! Here are some highlights before I attempt to fall asleep:

* Picked up Ivan, Cindy at Tim Horton's, and Sam in that order. Sam played us interesting music from his iPod while we debated the best way to get to Metrotown from Richmond. Steph has a pet peeve against Oak, so we took Knight instead. Also listened to country music, and discussed parental reaction to our music as "weird, loud, and annoying" - good times! (Jon's music can be very weird and eclectic!) On the way to the restaurant, we encountered an impatient driver who honked Steph at least five times - SHE WAS WAITING FOR TWO PEDESTRIANS TO CROSS THE ROAD! (they were about to cross, in fact!)

* Got to the sushi place all right, but didn't want to run afoul of "parking lot plaza" rules which ticket you if you go to another plaza other than the one you park in. Found our friends, and immediately started talking to them. Danielle admired my new shirt from afar, and laughed when I told her about Jeremy's guess at its cost / origin! I let Cindy borrow my calculator for digicam cost-splitting: Steph thought I was SO WELL-PREPARED! Haha, I need the darned thing for Awana points and such! Almost as handy as Eric's tip calculator on his phone! ;)

* Once everyone got there, Steph grossed EVERYONE out with the story of my dad's "lobster / candlelight / wine / sex" comment this afternoon. We both were thinking the same thing at the time as we exchanged a few horrified looks: "GET ME OUT OF THIS CAR NOW! I DON'T CARE IF I DIE!" I'm sure Joey and Angus (along with the others) wanted to bleach / scrub their ears out! Daniel later joked that he should call my dad at 10 or so: "Hey, Uncle Alan... what are you doing? Quick - I need you to check something downstairs for me!" Yeah, we DO NOT NEED TO KNOW! (you also don't need to see your friends' fathers in anything less than full clothing, even if it's the middle of the day at lunch!) After that story, Mike T. commented that the "peanuts" story wasn't so bad! I agree! SO GROSS, and potentially appetite-ruining!

* Cindy said that her parents can only pronounce Becky and Vanessa's names, and has to resort to cha yun (cop) for Steph. She once wrote them a note to say that she was out with Steph and Dawn, and she got home late. Seems she forgot that her dad would read it really quickly; when she got home, she thought she was in trouble. Her mom was smiling really hugely, and her dad asked her how her date was or something. They'd read it as "Stephen and Don," hahaha. "Out with two men?! SWEET!" Steph and I both yelled various things down to the other half of the table: it's a family trait, this loudness! Hahaha!

* While Jon, Nate, and Lucas were discussing intellectual topics such as China's history / psychological experiments, everyone else was discussing light fare. Apparently, Noah spoke his first words to Cindy today, about looking up at the lights in the sanctuary - SO SHY and CUTE! Cindy told Ivan that his brother Nathan was ADORABLE! Ivan says that Nathan knows how to act really cute, while his sister Natalie is more out there. Cindy said that Andrea had seen him playing by himself in the nursery, and expressed concern that he'd get bored. He was improving a game, and taught Andrea how to play; when she told him that he should write it down in case he forgot, he told her that he'd remember it in his head! That kid's going to be an inventor someday! Aided by Calla and Vanessa, I told the table about Nathan's age guesses at Pho that time - 12 or 13 for Vanessa?! (Jeremy was 21, haha!) Then we recalled his crushes on the speaker's twin daughters at the last Summer Conference - one twin on each arm, and they looked ADORABLE! I told them that Eric and I asked him how he was, and joked about his having crushes. We were surprised when he named eight of them! (Citrus told the "Dylan scratching his chin while standing in the hall asking to borrow personal items" story, also from that conference!)

* Danielle said that her private looked very handsome this morning in the Reserves march, which was of course accompanied by an eyeroll and dubious look from him! Steph LOVED the picture! Everyone was sharing sushi and such by the time it got to our table: the udon was great value! Had some of Cindy's yam tempura, plus her shellfish sashimi - she's allergic to shrimp, and can't / doesn't eat raw fish. Nathan thought we were doing all-you-can-eat, so saved his stomach accordingly - no wonder he was hungry! Sam said that Mike K. had asked him for advice this afternoon, so of course he thought it was juicy stuff. He was disappointed when it turned out to be about Mike's grandma's birthday celebration tonight - that conflicted with Vanessa's dinner. Of course, Sam told Mike to do the right thing and show up at Melia's later for dessert! (I asked Mike about the dinner later, and he said it was really quick since they were shoving food at them in an attempt to make them leave faster, haha) Cindy called me "Sarne," but she can do that even if it was an accident!

* Took a bunch of zany pictures, and sang the Chinese birthday song when it came time - even a table behind us helped us chant, hahaha. We were all impatient when Vanessa opened her gift too slowly for our taste... yes, everyone knew what it was! Nathan spent some time drawing a holy kite on her card (made by Michelle) - shades of the Evite! Jon said it looked like the Crusaders' shields, and I could see the resemblance! They also talked about Cheap Trick's Surrender, KISS, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, and other music. Cindy said that green tea actually had the MOST caffeine... Steph's reaction: "Oh no! That explains A LOT! You'll be up ALL NIGHT and be WIRED!" Sounds like me, especially since I had too much caffeine earlier in the day. (watch me not fall asleep till 4 AM again...) I learned the origin of the "IS THAT REALLY NECESSARY?!" line: last week, a bunch of them were crossing the 7-11's parking lot on their way to Sunday School in the next building. Some impatient jabronie backed out of his parking space really quickly, and almost ran Kevin over! (Danielle's cousin, not the food inspector dude) Vanessa's just making fun of Steph's incensed reaction - we definitely don't want our friends to be run over!

* Went to Melia's later (Central Park = Walkathon!) and split into groups naturally: mahjong, sports games on Gamecube, girl talk, talking about miscellaneous stuff, etc. Michelle, Danielle, and Steph were taking crazy chin pictures, and told Joe and Jon not to ask when they came up to them with puzzled looks on their faces! ("NOSTRILS! GLOW-WORMS!" "That's your new Facebook picture!") Calla asked Jon's advice on alcoholic drinks - maybe a future Sunday Dinner could involve cocktails since she isn't a big beer fan. Girls and fruity drinks might be good, but she doesn't want to make a bad impression at company get-togethers! She had a martini yesterday at Earls as part of dinner since booze was entirely IN the question even if she was TIRED! People gave Melia a hair straightener for her birthday, heh.

* Later, Calla and I were amused / intrigued by Nathan's wacky random talking while trying to take a power nap. Morning breath ice cream, missing your lover's morning breath (...), pink Smarties having a girly flavor (I had to feed him one to see if he could be rational - nope!), fruits, mangoes, strawberries, marshmallows, durian, gelato, etc. Daniel finished a 37-page paper in 12 hours (not consecutively) in order to make it to the dinner! (Steph and Melia expressed fear for their grandkids: they'll be chased around by Grandma with a butter knife, as happened years ago! Or they might accidentally turn the light off on Grandma in the bathroom... oops!) Leaned my head on Nathan's shoulder briefly for a candid picture - then someone got Justin Morneau mixed up with Geoff Courtnall. Uh, Calla (or was it Michelle?) isn't THAT old to have gone to school with the hockey player!

* When Melia's parents got home with Grandma (yay for being officially 97!), she hung out with us for a while - we all said hi to her, of course. Talked to Auntie Ying about new generations, health, plans, taking two months off work, having Phil out of the house, LOTS of birthdays for Danielle's friends, Valentine's Day conceptions explaining a LOT of November birthdays, the dinner, laundry, how we were doing, swimming, shopping, Grace, shoes, and more - so good to talk to her! Took guy and girl pictures - the timer option didn't work too well, heh. Joked that Grandpa was in the guys' picture, although Sam and Joey's heads were blocking the portrait! Vanessa almost slipped on the floor after the guys held her up - whoops! Danielle and I talked about idiots we've encountered - SO TERRIBLE! (understanding is good!) Calla's homemade cake was pretty good, and the cookies were soft!

* Watched the guys play NHL HITS - the disco strobe lights rink was definitely distracting! When they were playing soccer, Daniel commented that it was just as boring as real soccer, haha. Mike T. and Emily were being silly, and I smiled at them - SO CRAZY! Angus really got into the game, oh my! Said hi to Chrystal, who was cheerful as usual. Talked about Andrew, bluntness, manners, serving together, math, money, CSI, the California fires, the writers' strike, dinner, and more - very fun! Daniel and Nathan competed against each other in basketball, and Steph told the guys to quit tossing the four-pound purple ball around - it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt! Looked for the November birthday cards, and found them in MY knapsack - I gave them to Steph, heh. Told Danielle about Randal's funny announcement, and said that there wasn't a moment of silence at 11 this morning: at least the day was acknowledged as a quasi-theme!

* On the way home, Sam spent the ride on the phone with Joey's sister Emily - we all wished her a happy birthday since it was past midnight. Jon accidentally told her that he was the senior member of the Richmond Crew: that would be ME, you ugfart! Emily apparently put a bunch of people on hold, haha. Jon assures her that she'll enjoy the Pitt Pub at UBC in a year's time when she turns 19... dingy and dark atmosphere, indeed. Discussed TRANSFORMERS, costumes, DVDs, Youtube videos, Bon Jovi being country for one album, country artists being Christian in the Bible Belt culture, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER, J-Mak, Isabel, Chris being the new Alan in regards to falling asleep anytime and anywhere (Awana singing / Summer Conference worship / 3 AM McDonalds shifts), hockey pool trades and such, white rubber boots, shopping, the pizza party / lettuce wraps / tacos / burgers / stuffing things where a little is really a lot / Peking Duck, Christine Magee winning awards / her new CD, papers / lab reports, sources of error, cleaning floors, laundry, family deafness trait, etc. Good times, especially since it only took us 26 minutes to reach Sam's house from Coquitlam! (not as bad as PoCo, and not as bad as Abbotsford - poor Angus, even if he gets to come home on weekends for the next month!)

EWWW! WE DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS, DAD!

On the way to church, my mom remarked that I'd do anything for free food, so I could pretend to be eligible for Jon and Phil's pizza party: uh, no. Got to service a little late, and managed to find room next to Jeremy. We laughed over Randal's announcement and commentary on Japanese culture: "Pokemon, Pikachu, sushi and eating raw fish isn't disgusting anymore, Japanese cars aren't cheap rustbuckets these days..." At least he didn't break out his "the Mission Conference dinner will be a cheap date!" line, haha. There was a point during Pastor John's sermon where he brought up our parents coming from Asia to make life good for us here, so I leaned over to Jer and joked that I didn't know his parents came from there! Haha, too amusing. The overhead projection wasn't working, much to people's chagrin, Luckily, we knew most of the words to our songs! At the conclusion of service, Jeremy asked me if it were raining outside. Since I could see a wet ramp, I assumed it was - when I went outside, I discovered that it wasn't - maybe it rained during service, but there were grey skies! Said hi to Erin's cousin Jason before heading out myself.

Saw Uncle Stephen, and asked whether he'd received my email - he had, and apologized again. Not a problem! Uncle Peter said hi, and I told him that I was all right - it's always good seeing uncles! Talked to Tony briefly before he had to jet and clean up his place before someone came over - he has to work tonight, eek! Saw Eunice and talked about her nephew (whom I didn't know about when Mom mentioned him) - apparently, he looks like a male version of his sister Avery. Waved to Brian and told Isabel that Christon was looking for her, then got caught up in a discussion about Abbotsford. Angus is going there for one month: when Jon asked if he were moving there, he said "No... we would never move to the other side of the bridge! Ask her! *taps Melia on shoulder* Hey, would we ever move to Abbotsford?" The "EW!" expression on Melia's face was priceless, haha. Nathan said that his Remembrance Day prayer took two hours to do, and I agreed with Jon that it was well-done. Sam and Ivan asked where my sister was, and Jon assumed she'd gone to the 7-11 already. (in reality, she and Tim were counting offering) I told them that they could call her later on for a ride to Fish on Rice. Lily's baby Hannah seemed interested in shiny things such as the sequins on my new shirt and the pins on various poppies. ("touch the flower! yeah!")

Eventually, we all went off to Sunday School (I briefly said hi to Maisie and Grace) - Frances and I waited to see if there would be any toddlers today. We talked about Mel's grandparents celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, Anita's baby shower (Maxine's sister made a baby cake), brunch, our grandparents, her grandpa at Bon's, pregnancy and maternity leave / being clumsy / hard to get up and down, our small group projects, churches, etc. Did some thinking about last night - my pessimism is giving way, I guess. Lo and behold, Amanda arrived - we couldn't understand some of what she said, but she seemed to like the soldiers and mice. Haha, kids are amusing! (the guards with Peter were SLEEPING, and not sick!)

Talked to Andrew about the "awesome" soup kitchen yesterday, and overheard Henry asking his niece Gwyneth why she didn't do what he said. I had to ask him what he told her to do: "Attack people!" Haha, nice! She eventually went to terrorize Hilary and other girls while my sister came up to me and said she'd thought I wasn't going with them. Yes, I am - Eric's sick (I assumed he was here), and Jon was doing other things. Talked to Benedict briefly about midterms, then went to Mui's - of course we saw Gabriel and his family there! Vanessa doesn't want to do all-you-can-eat (good money-wise), Joshua blabs on about stuff that Steph can't understand (little kids!), how gravity effects on boobs aren't the greatest (WEAR A BRA!), had a discussion about caffeine consumption (yin-yang / coffee / tea!), and our parents are going to have lobster for dinner. (we had oysters for lunch!)

Dad managed to gross me and my sister out by this declaration: "Your mom and I are going to have some wine, and then have sex!" We should have SMACKED him for that! EWWWWW! There are some things we don't wish to think about, thanks! Good thing my sister and I went home separately so we could discuss that, Danielle seeing her handsome man in uniform at a Remembrance Day ceremony this morning (they'll be there tonight - we can look forward to Citrus rolling his eyes, haha!), Maxine being sick, nudists at the Newton Wave Pool (that's for KIDS!), Korey, saving money, concern, not disliking people, health, Eric, apologies, country music, working out, Cindy being at Becky's, childish family drama, sisterly affection, etc. Tried a Vanilla Bean Latte bar from Second Cup, which was quite good. I'll be wired tonight at the dinner and Melia's later, haha! (which is what I need, actually) Steph forgot that it was a stat holiday, or thought the community centres would do it on Monday, so didn't go exercise at Steveston or South Arm.

My parents have come home, and Dad thinks that Korey and I have nothing important to discuss on the phone ("Half an hour? Cheh... you don't need to be on the phone for THAT long!") - yes, we do... but you're not privy to it! Mom also referred to Korey as a "her," but that may have been accidental. She thinks that I can sleep over if I don't have to talk to him on the phone tonight - I have no idea, so we'll see. Maybe Seventh Heaven Café or California for lunch tomorrow. This just in: someone apparently invited Mom to use Facebook. HAHAHAHA! Sure, she could use it... but then she might get too easily confused! Steph just told her to delete the email, especially as she doesn't know who the person is. GOOD IDEA! (no kissy-kissy here! :P)

What have I done?!

I have just done one of the worst things possible. I don't know how I'll rectify it, since I may not have occasion to. Actually, I might... but I shouldn't be rude. Someone is right about that, at least. Talk of loss, upset, attention, priorities, negativity, stubbornness, cutting remarks, and everything else... it's all combined to make me angrier than I should be, and perhaps really glad for the distraction tomorrow's activities will bring. I'm not excusing myself, but I should have been calmer. Guess I gave someone some satisfaction - dammit, I shouldn't have done that! Stupid temper getting the better of me - pit bulls, news, and racism, indeed!

*hangs head* I'd ask "why me?" but I know the answer to that. If I lose him over this and other things, I'm not sure what will happen. Perhaps we'll remain friends, I can't say. (no, this is not a breakup via blog post - that would be REALLY LOW!) Just when snaking tendrils of love were finding their way into my heart... *sigh* It was an excellent thing I didn't tell Chuck that earlier, or he'd have teased me BUT GOOD! Not sure what to do... I still love the person in question, for sure.


He wanted to know whether I wanted to go over there for New Year's, or stay here and do something with my friends. I was thinking that if I was going to lose him, then there was really no point in asking the question! Yes, I got very pessimistic. I was really tired too, which didn't help matters. But I told him that I'd think about that rather than say something straight away. K tried reassuring me that the pit bulls were relatively harmless, and then his cousin got on the phone - this is where things REALLY got shot to hell. The cousin intimated that I watched the news every day (which I don't - but I don't expect HIM to know that!) and listened to what the news said about pit bulls and black people. I had said nothing about black people, preferring to keep the discussion on topic: PIT BULLS!

When the cousin said something like "you DO watch the news every day, and hear what it says about black people!" ... that's when I lost it. I should have kept my calm and not been rude (as K later said), but things got to be too much. I told the cousin evenly that I in fact did not watch the news every day, and had a reasonable (or so I thought!) question for him: "If I believe the things that the news says about black people, what am I doing dating your cousin?" The response I got was "I wonder..." I admit that I may give in to the media perception of pit bulls, not knowing any better. But don't imply I'm racist when I'm not! I screamed "WHAT?!" as I'd been doing to Korey on and off all night - he said I needed to CALM DOWN since this was an apartment and both our sets of neighbors could hear the "deliberate" high pitch in my voice! I then told him that I was dating his cousin for a REASON, and further informed him that the conversation was OVER, then hanging up on him. Yeah, I was pretty damn upset! If I were actually racist, that would be ONE thing... but I AM NOT!

Korey called back to say I'd been rude - he's not rude to my family even if they dislike him! I know - I should have been calmer and said that it didn't matter to me what the color of his skin was. (killing them with kindness, indeed... I fail at that) I'll probably have to see them at some point - Korey also said that he wasn't mad (because that's what he has to deal with), and that he still loves me. He asked if I were still upset: the lack of an answer certainly told him something! Finally, he said that he'd talk to me later - fine by me! I'd write him an email, but I've spent far too long on this entry for a Saturday / Sunday. Maybe before I leave tomorrow, but I don't think that'll happen... now it's time to see if I get any sleep what with these things running through my head! Then again, I can't sleep - email time it is!