2008 Recap, yo!

This is the 2008 Recap. Fitting for the last day of the year, no?

JANUARY

* Had a Sunday dinner with Isabel, Jeremy, Jon, both Erics, Ray, and Raymond. It was one last hangout at Jeremy's before Chinese Eric went to Hong Kong for a new food quality job!

* Went to Nathan's to hang out with him, Jon, Chinese Eric, and Isabel. Watched a Spanish PAN'S LABYRINTH (fairies and fauns, oh my!) and a shootout win by the Canucks over the New York Islanders, while having Memphis slow-roasted pork / Southwest Chipotle chicken pizza with wings and yams.

* Went to the Marr residence for a baby shower honoring Mel and Frances. It was great to see all these kids and people I hadn't seen for some time, like Gabriel / Nicholas / Lauren / Warren / Elaine!

* Jeremy and I thoroughly confused Ray at another Sunday Dinner (featuring apricot chicken), saying "Hey" in unison. That Sunday Dinner was memorable because Tony brought this HUGE apple pie that nobody wanted to eat! (apparently, he was eating it for a week solid after THAT night!)

* Went to the Whip with Jon, Fred, Jeremy, and others - espresso stout as a cask night sounds good! Later, we went to Pho Thai Son, then to Nathan's to watch WHITE. Interesting movie, haha.

* Went to Missions Fest and then to Steamworks afterwards. The Motilone story was pretty interesting, and it was cool to hang out with the guys as usual!

* Too much snow and ice for Awana, TWICE in one club year! *sigh*


FEBRUARY

* Korey came for Fellowship, which was interesting. Yay for Pho and the little private time we DID get... then we went to Sui Sha Ya the day after.

* Had a Sunday Dinner at Phil and Grace's, after a Sunday School lunch / Our Town hangout. It was cool being there for the first time, and I got to know Szu-Wen / Raymond / Martin better. Dylan's "mattress" joke and Jeremy's "knowing you more" joke didn't go over well. Yay for seeing Joe again, of course!

* Mel and Frances' son Micah was born. (I also gave up MSN for Lent, at the very least)

* Got to have a White Spot lunch with Karen, so yay for that! Corey's Taiwanese penguin pen / cute tiny stuffed animal, prank call CD, and music DVD finally got here that day after a few weeks of anticipation. No, we don't know what's wrong with the Canadian mail delivery system!

* Had an SLB night at Long's Noodle House on Valentine's Day - that was awesome since we left a $27 tip! No, we didn't set out to shatter a record... that would have been GROSS!

* Had Melia's bridal shower and another Sunday Dinner / Darfur documentary (The Devil Came on Horseback) night at Nathan's on the same day. Interesting times!

* Got Windows back, finally - thanks to Eric, of course. :D


MARCH

* Kenny and Winnie's son Connor was born on the 9th. He suffered a few health problems, but seemed to be recovering.

* Kept up certain friendships by email and Facebook; I like these alternate methods of communication!

* Gained a new friendship by the salmon and Project Upstream.

* Spent a few days in Chilliwack, which was just fine. Saw the NASTIEST bowl of rice EVER! Many thanks to Jesse for sending me that picture!

* Learned that Derek has a slow-growing tumor on his lung. :(

* Talked to Candy on the phone for the first time in months - that was awesome!

* Attended Sunrise Service - we were kinda out of it, but it was okay.


APRIL

* Broke 400 points in a Scrabble game, finally! A couple days later, I got my first bingo that crossed two triple-word scores! (STARKEST for 167 points)

* Had another amusing family dinner with Rachel - we're Auntie Esther's little friends!

* Learned Elaine is engaged - WOW!

* Dallas got back, so I stored his stuff at my place briefly.


MAY

* Went to Jen's for an amusing dinner - lots of strawberries and smegma here, haha.

* Met Krista for the first time - bubble tea rules!

* Had to look after Grandma for a couple of weeks while my parents went on a European cruise. It was very interesting, let's just say!

* I had a 221-point bingo with BECKONED... oh my! :D

* Went to Shanghai River with Dallas, Jon, Nate, Aaron, and Grandma: good times talking about crazy weddings, random explanations of Chinese things, and more!

* Found out that Spoz and Kempy are on Facebook - YAY! (I got the super-freaky birthday memory, haha!)


JUNE

* Started to realize certain destructive elements in a certain relationship - YIKES! Didn't start telling people about it till August, however.

* Really started to reconnect with David S. - that was GOLDEN!

* Had a random port night at Jeremy's with the guys... it was very nice to just sit and chat.

* Hung out at the Jazz Festival with Eric, Jeremy, Jon, and Harmony - we met Karen I. there!

* Melia and Angus got married!


JULY

* Had the Canada Day barbecue with David and Daniel Fellowships - it was a good turnout! Unfortunately, Raymond injured his finger! :( [went for bubble tea and such with Tony and a bunch of people later!]

* Played CRANIUM with a bunch of people at Chuck's place - definitely fun times!

* Korey and I celebrated our first (and only) anniversary at the L.A. Grill amid much tension, which was put aside. I don't think seeing me tipsy on white wine at the Safeway later on was good times, thanks. :P

* Went hiking with the Fellowship as part of a program - got to know Deb better, even if Maisie DID wander off! Later that night, I went to Erik's for a barbecue - it was GOOD TIMES! (yay for Teunis and Krista... and Sky High!)

* Jon preached his first sermon - it went well, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his sister. :P

* Found out that my last name can possibly be pronounced as "nidge" or "ninja" - WTF?!

* Discovered mouse droppings and torn-open packages in the most unlikely places (on the counter and under the sink?!) - that crystallized my resolve to move!


AUGUST

* Scrabulous was deleted from Facebook (stupid lawsuits!), so I replaced that addiction with Wordscraper. The random format allows me to have an overall winning record, at least! (to say nothing of making words for thousands of points!)

* Saw THE DARK KNIGHT with Eric and Korey - it was funny to meet Jon and Harmony there too!

* Had a great BC Day dinner at Christon's - it was interesting to try mead, and also to chat with Raymond for over an hour straight. YAY FOR FRIENDS!

* Watched some of the Beijing Olympics - lay off on the beach volleyball coverage next time, thanks!

* Had an amusing Facebook status war with Billie!

* Went to the thoroughly amusing church grad banquet - Budget Chicken / the Real Camel, anyone? I still like what Andrew said about his brother: "Through the years, Adam has changed both positively AND negatively! If you want advice on how to hook up with the ladies, I'll be there!" HAHAHA!

* Had a good Sunday Dinner at Alan's with Karen, Raymond, Tony, Sonny, Christon, Jon, and Nathan. Watched ZOOLANDER - too hilarious!

* Billie slept over here for the first time - Lemongrass Pho, funny MARIO Youtube videos, strange people, being "married" on Facebook, macaroni, and more! EPIC HILARITY! :D

* David S. helped me with looking at apartments - I definitely appreciate that! :D


SEPTEMBER

* Finally broke up with Korey over insults and abuse and stuff like that. Later, I found out he stole from me - that's it. I am never talking to him again. Makes my head hurt to have written communication with him, anyhow! (WAY too much Netspeak!)

* Celebrated my birthday with Billie, Jasmine, Vivian S. (her POO calendar was the BEST PRESENT EVER!), Teunis, Vanessa x2, Danielle, Jen, Jon, Nathan, Christon, Krista, and Eric. YAY FOR FRIENDS!

* Created an all-5W board with proper tile distribution, and two extra S tiles to compensate for the lack of blanks. I bet I shocked Pat, Alice, Raymond, Angela, Billie, and others!

* Got my first MILLION-POINT bingo! Sorry, Alice. :P

* Went to Erik's for another barbecue - it was good times with Mystery Men!


OCTOBER

* Started the blood games (BLOOD LUST / ELVEN BLOOD / CITY OF BLOOD / SKIES OF BLOOD) for distraction! Finished all available episodes in November.

* Moved out of the old church building, and into the new. Yay for Thanksgiving banquets and dinners! (plus movie afternoons with BARTON FINK at Nate's!) Way too much transitional time, heh.

* Teunis and Krista came over - we spent a cool couple of hours together! We found bottles of alcohol, which later turned out to be hazardous waste which I really shouldn't have thrown away! (FERMENTED PEE!)

* Andrea and I hung out at Paesano's and then went shopping at Superstore. I'm truly lucky and blessed to have a friend like her. :D

* Jon and Harmony officially got engaged - YAY!


NOVEMBER

* Had a FUN TIME at Vanessa / Melia / Emily's birthday party with a bunch of people. Jeremy K. finally knows who I am, since I had to get beer, heh. Apples to Apples is SWEET!

* Celebrated Jon's 27th birthday at Jeremy's. Got a chance to catch up with Peter and Holly, and talk to a bunch of friends. Always good times there!

* Met up with Erik at Church's Fried Chicken, which was good. A few days later, I went to his place again - it was good times with Iron Man!

* Went to Erik's to watch IRON MAN: met his friend Kaili in the bargain, and wrote a mini-essay in Krista's card too! Note: PRAYER!


DECEMBER

* Went to Regina... the -47°C temps get to you after a while, but we all survived! Steph's back home now, too!

* Started to get Christmas cards and things from the awesome people at holiday_wishes and on my friends list! So good! :D

* Went to Chuck's for a "razzle-dazzle" food night: watched HAIRSPRAY as well. It's good to get to know certain friends of mine better!

* Went for a Ho family dinner - it was nice of Auntie to invite me!

* Went to Nathan's to watch movies and eat free pizza: always good times. :D