"You shouldn't like anyone if you're 40 or over!" Sure, Mike...

Went to church early after the baby shower, and resisted the temptation to call people since I was bored. After about an hour of reading, Michelle joined me in the basement and said that she didn't want to go to Sunday School. I asked her who the teacher was, and she said it was someone whom I don't speak to anymore. Despite my feelings, I told her not to give this person a hard time since it IS his first go at teaching, but she's not - according to her, he's a good teacher, but she just doesn't want to go to the class. Ah yes, I remember that from years ago! She was tired from Fellowship and tutoring before Awana, too. Jordan and Thomas fought with their hats, Dad gave me something from Auntie May, Melia said we'd be celebrating The Year of the Rat, and Jason told me that the hole in his pants was caused by a polar base burn - we also discussed Facebook. Chris said Ada was sick (Henry and Michelle were obviously not around - Rebecca luckily gave me a ride home on the way to Allison's one-month-old baby banquet), Danny (NOT Helen's husband - he doesn't go to church) complained that he was hungry (he ate EDO Luxury crackers in the kitchen), and Mike caused consternation.

Melia was telling us about this hot guy she's shadowing at work (KUMON!), and how certain accents (like Australian ones) automatically make guys at least ten times hotter. ("NOT CHINESE ONES, MIKE!" "Like I'm going to go around doing THAT...") Mike asked how old this guy was and such; when Melia said that he was 40 and married, he immediately said that it was WRONG since she's engaged! Melia and everyone else (all girls) tried to convince him otherwise - turns out Mike thought they both liked each other! NO! Melia then admitted that there WAS a double standard: if a girl likes an older guy, it's SO CUTE! But if the reverse happens (a guy liking a younger girl), then it's SO GROSS! Mike then "scared" Auntie Vivian by saying that you shouldn't LIKE people if you're over 40 - dude, that gives me only nine more years to do so! (and I'll tell him that tomorrow!) Jason, Amos, and Andrew amused themselves by testing the hypothesis of folding a piece of paper in half seven times and no further - then they tried cutting the incredibly compacted result. No wonder Melia was confused, haha. Good times, indeed. Discussed Korey and life on the way home with Auntie Rebecca - it's always good to talk to her!

Babies and kids galore - good luck, Mel and Frances!

Backing up entries... I've finally left GJ since I can't even edit entries. This link is here in case I ever get Windows back again! When I try to post comments, I get this error... [Error: Got error 127 from table handler at /home/gj/cgi-bin/talklib.pl line 2383. @ web2.fedoraforum.org] Surely I'm giving up now!


Helen picked me up at around 11 with her son Nicholas, and we spent the ride to the Marr residence listening to 94.5 The Beat - I guess that's Danny's station, but maybe Helen's too. We also talked about cloth diapers, cars, Awana, planes, buses, kicking, babies, cousins, the busy holidays, her husband Danny snowboarding, and more. Said hi to Tim, Maxine, and their sons Joshua and Keenan when we got to the house - when I got upstairs, David and Rosenda's son Ian came up to me holding a hard baby book. (his little brother Gabriel was crawling around on the floor) He obviously wanted me to spend some time with him, which I gladly did. Saw Warren, Lauren, their sons Matthew and Brandon, Winnie, her daughter Megan, Connie, Jessica Lai (who'd had a fun time in Hong Kong over the holidays) / her mom Colosander and aunt, Lesley, Auntie Catherine, her son Chung and his wife Karen, Karen Chan, Auntie May, Auntie Eva, Uncle Anthony (who I thought was Uncle Stephen at first for some odd reason o_O), Jeff, Anita, their new baby Allison, John, Sophia, their two daughters Olivia and Anne, Mel, Frances, Elaine and her boyfriend Matt, Billy, Stella, their older son Benjamin, and some other people. Lots of kids around - no wonder the place was hardwood instead of carpet, with a lot of toys / books / felts / construction paper / entertainment for the little ones! The oldest was about three (Matthew), and the youngest was one month (Allison, on her first outing) - "Uncle" Mel apologized to his four-month-old niece Anne since the spotlight was stolen from her, haha.

Spent a good deal of time interacting with the kids (magnetic letters / balloon fights / nosy kids who wanted to see why baby Allison was crying / going up slides the wrong way / etc.) - at David's request, I held Gabriel for a camera shot. I watched him when Rosenda was otherwise occupied, and said hi to the older kids. Gabriel liked pointing at things, and I kept my glasses away from baby range. Talked to Elaine and Matt for a while - they met through church and Bible Study in Hawaii / have been going out for a year or so, and I told Elaine that maybe she could meet my boyfriend one of these days if vacation time synchronized! She agreed that it would be neat, and we spent some time discussing the holidays and what they'd done during their week here. (snowboarding at Cypress, 6:30 AM runs with Uncle Hansel, meeting people, family dinners, etc.) The games were hilarious - guessing what specific names were for animal young (swan = cygnet, goat = kid, etc.) / getting a blindfolded Mel and Frances to guess what various baby-related items were (breast pad, diaper with water in it, etc.) / guessing famous mothers. (Mother Goose, Mother Nature, Mother Teresa, etc.) I think I can be patient with the kids - certainly some of them must know who I am (or at least recognize me) by now! (Hannah was sick, so Lily couldn't make it after all) Definitely good times, indeed! We told Mel and Frances to sleep NOW since they wouldn't be able to later, but then decided that didn't make much sense!

You don't want to test it a THIRD time, do you?!

Forgot to record this when it happened on Wednesday morning: Hester finally came to my door and handed me some ROACH / MICE / ANTS toxic square stuff. Took them five days to get them to do something about it... when I do NOT hear the mice or anything else around anymore! *sigh* (she turned the heater all the way down also, and it's STILL hot in here - ah well...)

My dentist appointment went as could be expected with the money to pay for it (Uncle Andrew joked about how interesting it would be if my sister pulled over our brother for speeding!), then I bumped into Sandra in the mall afterwards! Talked to her about her kids Joshua and Elizabeth, my siblings, Maxine, and general life stuff before we went our separate ways. I saw an excellent deal that the cheap Asian in me could not pass up: who WOULDN'T want 300g more of something good without unnecessary packaging for only twenty additional cents plus tax? (good thing it's not [all] for me, haha!) Reflected on various things, and read at Chapters for a while after having some white grape bubble tea at L&G: true crime, serial killers, a short story collection / two Lord John books by Diana Gabaldon (which I want but can't have), the Beatles, etc. Man, my ideal shopping spree would be at the bookstore - I'd go wild! But not like in GIRLS GONE WILD since that would just be WRONG and INAPPROPRIATE! :P

Turns out my sister was on the same bus as I, since she got in at the Skytrain station. I didn't notice her till she got off the bus because I was too absorbed in reading about how popular culture is good for our reasoning and learning processes. Went to Pho, where I saw Danielle and Stanley. Discussed morphine, his mom's surgery for her broken ankle, overdosing on Tylenol (SO FUZZY!), getting his guitar playing up to university level, improving jazz guitar, all-nighters, and other stuff till their takeout orders came. Then Karen and Jen joined me - we talked about Greg, info, casino budgeting, Korey, Facebook, weird applications, messages, a person whom I don't speak to anymore, Missions Fest, New Year's, HUGE burgers for value, Toronto diners, Valentine's Day, good deals, sharing, my organizational skills, and more. Mike, Emily, Andrea, Chuck, and Jeremy came in for takeout - we discussed working, exhaustion, glasses, my birthday memory, network administration / IT work, customer "care" and technical writing of manuals, dumb people, furniture warehouses, lopsided pies / cupcakes (I outdid Jeremy in that department!), Ray's cooking, storing things vertically, almost overflowing a bike basket with groceries, putting heavy things on top of bread (do you LEARN?!), and more.

Went back to church to take attendance (sitting down even when the directives are to STAND will work for me since I personally can't do it while standing :P), and to marvel at Cordia / Quan / Joyce studying right before Fellowship. Gave Rich the money I owed him, talked to Dylan and Eric about birthday cards, and then the "different woman" Teresa showed up - it's always a good time with her odd questions like what people's first / last names are! There was the time when she asked Harmony (whom she'd just met) if she were my girlfriend - Eric and I both knew it was coming, and he even gave me a resigned look over their heads! She asked Kevin whether his brother was upstairs (Frances noted we hadn't seen him in YEARS!), and said that somebody else looked like someone she used to know named Kim. No, she doesn't know Kevin's brother... but she's good to have around! Raymond said that his friends wanted to know what was with his "lug" status on Facebook: he's right, since they REALLY don't want to know what it can stand for in some circles! ;)

Our new Bible Study group can talk about stuff and get along, which is good. Discussed Proverbs, having babies as a maturing process, sushi and food poisoning (twice at the same restaurant / you're the only one who got sick?!), "graduation," personal stuff, cooking, leftovers, food inspection / health / hygiene, dishwasher temperatures for home and commercial use, stress, reading, hockey, Derek (Jeremy: "Eric with a D?" haha), Lily, Richmond, our weeks, emails, and more. Jon seems okay with my email idea of buying dessert on Sunday since I didn't want to cart it around all day today! (like the pie that eventually became concave at Jeremy's in October, haha) After that, I joined Raymond and Jeremy in looking at the pictures of our new church site. It was a way to avoid even glancing at the other side of the room while checking out things I'd not seen in detail before!

Talked to Chuck and Dianne a bit - cleansing the colon, oh my! Saw Danielle's cousin Kevin and asked about his holidays - I was going to hug him, but decided that it would seem very weird. Not sure where I got this "hug energy" from... yikes! People were passing out these MENTAL HEALTH AND SMOKING lecture flyers: Eric got one, and declared he didn't smoke. Steph was busy passing out January meeting notices and thought Jeremy's blue photocopy was given to him only because it matched his jacket! Stanley eventually got people to start clearing out - Nathan looked very tired, and declared it was past his bedtime. Said bye to Chrystal - I'll see her tomorrow! Speaking of sushi, Dylan said that he had to try something called "sushi burritos" tomorrow, and he'd tell us what the concept was on Sunday - good idea!

On the way home after getting Ivan to stop blocking us, we discussed pre-paying for gas: do you even KNOW how much you'll need precisely?! Talked about Cindy, emergencies, conferences, the kitchen, ideas, stress, the meeting in two weeks (RICHMOND REPRESENT with seven people!), steamy windows (I was NOT at the Bridgeport Subway this afternoon, and Diven knows it!), teaching, report cards, moving / packing, Danielle, Chilliwack, Powell River, financial considerations, budgeting. Then we discussed hockey, Vivian, texts, a 4-3 loss, the 3-2 shootout win, Spandex, meetings, baby showers, feelings, choice, reconciliation, Missions Fest transport (B-Line to Canada Place?), rat's ass plaque, swearing, LOTS of tahini for hummus, rutabagas, pumpkins, root vegetables, and more. Now that I've dumped my brain, it is bedtime. Hopefully, I can get up BEFORE Helen calls me!

Man, I have some insanely long sentences in my entries... o_O

Also, I just went to take a shower. Only now did I realize that I wore my undershirt backwards all day / night. Aiya. :P

Dream of butterscotch lollipops / Random Friday Five

Unknowing twins marry each other: A set of British twins who were separated at birth went on to marry each other without realizing they were related. I love these weird stories. :D

Last night, I advised Eric of my dentist appointment / Chapters / Pho plans before Fellowship. Then I called Helen to confirm that we were still on for Frances' baby shower tomorrow - of course she'll come with her son Nicholas. All I have to do is go to bed early, and come out when she calls from the car... I don't expect her to leave a two-year-old alone in there when she shouldn't!

Jon's latest Sunday dinner email: "The latest installment of our Sunday dinner will take place at Jeremy's house (yet again), and we'll be enjoying a variety of foods: hummus, baba ganoush, bean salad, squash (maybe), maybe some stew of some sort.... we'll see... if you have any suggestions, let us know. Also, let us know if you can make it. School has yet to get very busy, so I won't accept any schoolwork excuses. :) P.S. If someone could bring a fairly sweet dessert, that'd be great! We'll be pairing it with a barley wine. Yum....." I guess I'm in for the dessert even if that means buying it on Sunday afternoon, which really means I need to cash that cheque TODAY before I go to Fellowship!


I had a weird dream last night:

* My friends and I were around the Broadmoor Mall area - Benedict noticed that the blue building near the 7-11 was now a bright yellow, and that there was a Steveston fish & chips place with British blue curly font and the Union Jack right by the 7-11.

* Then we went to Broadmoor Mall to go to the bank; Benedict wanted to be in one of the mall wheelchairs, so we decided to push him. We balked when he said that he wanted us to push him down the (not-very-steep) escalator that served as a ramp, but he insisted that he wouldn't get hurt. So with much misgiving, we did - he was right, and flashed us a grin as we pushed him into the bank. Then we went to look for rings... that went all kinds of awry!

* Afterwards, we all had to attend the last day of school in a big green field. There were lots of people around on this sunny day, and younger kids played on the nearby playground. A Chinese guy who was in a light blue T-shirt with glasses asked to lie down by me. I didn't see the harm in it, so everyone sat through a bunch of speeches. When Sheena walked by, the guy said something about how her glasses had big lenses. I tried asking her for her glasses, but she pulled them away from me in demur.

* The principal made an Alice Cooper School's Out joke, and further joked that he'd only be letting us out for the next 26 minutes, which was the length of time normally left till the lunch break ended. I suddenly realized that all the songs I'd listened to were really old, and kept getting older with every year. (Take That, If I Could Be That, Bootsauce, classic rock songs, etc.)

* Then we all went to celebrate in the convention centre food court - yup, the place where we eat dinner every year just before Missions Fest! Jackie came over and hugged me, and asked how Korey was - I told her that he was just fine, and would enjoy meeting her because of her vibrancy and music knowledge! Then I noticed my sister with a group of her friends - she offered me a butterscotch lollipop, which I gladly took.

* I talked to Kevin for a bit, and then noticed that Randal was in the midst of the group. Rather than create a scene, I decided to withdraw quietly from them. I saw a whole tin of those butterscotch lollies near the entrance, so I took quite a few! Margaret L. saw me and decided to take some too. We then watched various people destroying their schoolwork in the centre of the atrium - good times!


Not sure why I had this dream, but it was all right. Maybe I've been thinking about how I might get to Missions Fest this year, but I don't think I'll be able to. Guess we'll see, since there ARE still two weeks before the actual event! Last year (2007) was the first time I'd made it out since 2004, since I couldn't go in 2005 or 2006 because of Eric's work and such. I was grateful for a certain person's offer then, of course. Now I know who my true friends are, and will lean on them even more!


FRIDAY FIVE

Randomosity Redux!

1. What is your favorite fruit? Grapes or watermelon!
2. What is the last book you read? Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests (James A. Miller, Tom Shales)
3. Do you like any of your school photos? No.
4. Do you ever blow-dry your armpits to get the deodorant to dry quicker? No.
5. What was the last film you watched? Pan's Labyrinth on Tuesday night at Nathan's!

Ice cream, predictions, hours, and more!

Note: LJ Science Fiction Military Loadout / Roles in LJ Porn Movie / LJ Welcoming New Alien Overlords / LJ Fictional Dimensions / Kissing LJ Friends on New Year's Eve / What My LJ Friends Will Get Me For Christmas / What My LJ Friends Feel About Me / LJ Band / LJ Superhero Team / LJ Friends' Mix Tape Confessions / LiveJournal PRIDE AND PREJUDICE / LiveJournal NARAKU Minions / LiveJournal SUPERNATURAL / LJ .hack Characters / LJ As A Song / LJ As A Rock Band blogquizzes. (by Kevin, Rebecca, Knight, Alex, Mike, Mazie, Ravyn, Katie, Shannon, Sharie, and Rini)


Well, I was going to get together with Teunis tonight for dinner, but he's sick. Too bad, since we were both excited about it! From what he describes, he certainly doesn't seem all that well. Maybe next week because I'm not actually going to Powell River either, which K is fine with since he's ALSO sick. Guess this will help with staying home and such to save money! Now, I go to read...

Why should I live? How do you feel today? because you just have to This Fun Quiz created by sham-v at BlogQuiz.Net

Pisces Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

Sounds about right...

I predict What colour is your shirt or whatever you're wearing? black tomorrow, you'll receive something... just paste a smile on your face when you get it red watch out... I sense a scary adventure green there is going to be an argument with someone... you'll win pink new relationship... be loyal blue tomorrow's gonna be relaxing yellow / orange you are going to have the wildest time in two more days at this time mixed colors you'll be sitting here at the same time tomorrow others lucky person... so many good things are about to happen... don't give up!!! This Fun Quiz created by sham-v at BlogQuiz.Net

Virgo Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

Actually, the "mixed colors" one is inaccurate since I have a dentist appointment tomorrow afternoon and then I'll probably go to Fellowship. :P

what ice cream are you? what days do you like? rainyscaryweirdhairysunnyugly what is your natural hair color?? blackbrownblondred what is your favorite day?? MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday do you go outside often? yesnoumm do you love pie? yesnoof courseerr.. wrong question chocolate 92% vanilla 15% strawberry 83% rainbow 59% you hate pie, so you suck.. 9% This Fun Quiz created by jordan at BlogQuiz.Net

Sagittarius Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

What hour are you born under?? Your birth time You are born under the hour of the Cat This Fun Quiz created by Jason at BlogQuiz.Net

Weight Loss Tips at WeightLossTips.TV

Which virtue are you? Your age Male or Female MaleFemale Your birth name Your favorite color Your favorite animal real or not. Your favorite thing to play Your favorite outdoor element What you wish for, be honest don'nt try to fake it Your virtue is Forever This is not your vice instead of your virtue False How much virtue you have vice if false 8 This Fun Quiz created by Jason at BlogQuiz.Net

Taurus Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

Your Future What's Your Name? What's Your Age? What country do you live in? you'll grow up to be a... movie star This Fun Quiz created by Zoey at BlogQuiz.Net

Get the answer to your weight loss questions at WeightLossTips.TV

What's your sense? Your age Your preferred number What do you feel like eating right now? Your favorite drink How do you like the temperature when you need to sleep? What color makes you think of penis veins? Your sense is Fun This Fun Quiz created by Jason at BlogQuiz.Net

Car Videos at Car-Videos.Biz

Date with one An Café member Username Nickname Who shows up Yuuki What he did before the date He bought a bouquet of flowers for you What he did when he saw you Jumped up and down like a girl The place he took you to amusement park Something romantic he did with you Cuddled together What he bought for you roses After the date He whisked you away to paradise This Fun Quiz created by Reibaby at BlogQuiz.Net

Weight Loss Tips and Diet Advice from WeightLossTips.TV

Chicken Stew with Biscuits

Chicken Stew with Biscuits
Copyright 2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All rights reserved
This recipe is available for a limited time only.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
User Rating: 5 Stars


3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the biscuits:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half-and-half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8-inch thick. Cut out twelve circles with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

Note: To make in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30 minutes, until done.

Kelli's Christmas card / New Jersey scammers

I got a Christmas card from Kelli (neonrose5) - that's good! Also was reminded of a dentist appointment I have on Friday at 3:45 - must tell Eric about this, for sure. Then I got a weird phone call (scammers!) from New Jersey, using the number 201-257-4162. Slowly, I'm doing a committee report - I hope I don't screw it up! =/

Good luck in Hong Kong, Chinese Eric... we'll certainly miss you!

Why is a capital t not working in text fields now? DARNED MACHINE! (when I try to type one in, it's replaced by a space, although I can see them fine in posts and such!) Oh good, a restart (on Corey's advice) seems to have cured the problem. See: T. :D


Eric H. came by at 6, and I made him check for certain things. He said there wasn't any evidence of it, and then he signed my low-tech blue guestbook after checking to see if my pens worked: yup, it'll be his last entry for a while! We left soon afterwards, and chatted about Korey and how our relationship was still in its infancy: Eric is the one with experience instead of being the "young one" as with most of his other friends! But we both have Nathan - Eric says he and Fay are together because of Nate's advice! His sister Erica thinks he should get a video blog, but he seems to think the posts will be all the same after he gets through the setup phase: "I'm really tired, and I miss you all. Bye!"

Says it might take at least two or three months for him to adjust to the life there, and he may still miss us after a year. At least he knows that any friends he makes there won't replace the ones he's made here! His girlfriend Fay feels all right about this - at least they had a year or so together here before this job offer happened! (his "uncle" in Seattle had made some phone calls, and his mom - as is typical of Asian moms - pushed him to take the job!) Eric has had a busy few days or so - he'll have to hang out with his girl one last time, of course! He's packed a bunch of stuff already since his mom wants him to bring some extra things - sure, sure.

At Nathan's, we discussed Panago pizza: Memphis slow-roasted pork / Southwest chipotle chicken / honey mustard wings / Mediterranean wings it was! We had plenty of pineapple juice and cranberry juice on hand, too. This was later augmented by Jon's contribution of yams, Old Fat Cat 12% barley wine, carrots, pears, and bananas. We checked email, logged onto Facebook (Eric HAS to become a regular now that they've reset his password!), and determined what sort of music should be on Eric's going-away music CD. Harp / Weird Al / DC Talk / Toby Mac's Christian rap / DEAR SLIM / other stuff are all good, but a folder called "Because He Pre-Loved Me" might not be the best idea! Talked about Jeremy's 12-hour days / bubble tea / Regent / both computers freezing at the same time / the Japanese director Akiro Kurosawa / PAN'S LABYRINTH (which Jon and I ended up watching later), and the memories of our close friendship. Discussed the New York Islanders hockey game (eventually a Vancouver shootout win), and wondered whether white Eric was coming. After talking to him, Nathan determined that he was "too lazy" to come - haha! Later, Nathan did a "Mormon" version of the James Blunt song YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL - it contained "you're bountiful" and some references to multiple wives and ten children / teenage sisters as co-wives. Hahaha!

Isabel came home from work later and offered us some pastry - we were all too full to have some! Fay called Eric to say that she wasn't feeling well, but he managed to delay leaving to pick her up until the CD was finished AND the hockey game ended! "Do it for me!" "Yeah... they just want to delay you picking up Fay from the West Side!" Yay for Edler! We suggested picking up some Pepto-Bismol from Save-On to at least tide her over, which should be fine. When he left, he wished us luck with our significant others ("Hey Nathan! Good luck with unknown!") before hugging us all goodbye. After he left, Nathan said "Another one bites the dust!" Too true, in terms of people going away for large chunks of time! At least all the get-togethers were Eric's own initiative, even if Jon HAD seen him more times this week than he usually does in a few months! When Nathan's dad got home later, we said hi and wished him a Happy New Year.

While Nathan did work and checked Facebook, Jon and I watched the Spanish movie in which a "princess" girl sees fairies and fauns - very interesting backdrop, good vs. evil, no redeeming features in the bad guy, coping mechanism, etc. The ugfart wants to see CHILDREN OF MEN, which I watched on the plane going to San Diego - very good movie! Got my HAWAII book back, which Nathan had never touched in a few years - that's okay, and it's just another book to pack for Powell River! At least SOME people give me my books back when I ask - that reminds me, I need to ask Jen for a book sometime. But it's okay since she is also a neat friend! Talked to Isabel for a bit - BRIDGET JONES does not equal BRIDGE OF TERABITHIA, and we don't want to know what an adult version of the former would consist of! Discussed people renouncing faith, Harmony, Dix, Facebook, babies, Jeremy, cynicism, Ellen, Byron / his time in India, the church community being against you, professor emails, "fudging" stuff, the VINE, hot contemporary churches in Hong Kong, etc. Listened to some Tim Berne jazz on the way home, and now I am going to bed - I discovered that KQ added me to Facebook, too! Then again, I told K that I'd call him when I got in, since he was also going out. Maybe I'll do that first since I don't want him to worry. But I might also be running the risk of waking him up... at least he says he won't be mad if I do so? Heh, I think I'll just call him and stop analyzing these things in fine detail. ;)

Bif Naked and breast cancer! / Purity and my name's hidden meaning

I've heard that Bif Naked is fighting breast cancer. She is a true rocker, and I wish her well.

Chinese Eric just called - he's in Burnaby, and will be here soon! K wanted to spend time with me tonight; however, I can't do that. He can go out with his friends also, I guess. I think it's fair to say that we both miss the other badly, but next week will be cool enough!

You answered 'Yes' to 33 of 98 questions.

This means that your Purity score is...

66%

2366 people have taken this quiz before you, with an average score of 45.14

'What is your Purity Score?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Your inner sex gender: Female

For you, sex is the best possible emotional connection. It's all about making your head spin. You think twice about having sex with a stranger, unless you think romance is in the air. And you choose comfort over novelty. You'd rather have sex that you know you'll enjoy. This doesn't mean you aren't kinky... just that you choose your kinks rather carefully.

'What is your Inner Sex Gender?' at QuizUniverse.com

What Leslie Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light-hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Since you are well-adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easygoing attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I'd say that is largely true!

Chinese Eric is more important than redrum sleep!

Yay... I just noticed the advent of redrum. I hope the MDSE doesn't affect Tuesday night's plans with Nathan and everyone else - I won't let it, since this is the last time we'll see Chinese Eric for at least a year or two! (he's going to Hong Kong to do food quality control for a new job)

On a positive note, at least I had a good conversation with my babe. I feel better about certain things, and remain hopeful for the future!

Is it really The Year of the Asthmatic Cat?!

Eric called to say that I had ten minutes to get outside, so I woke up from my mini-nap and reflected that it was a good thing I'd had THAT because I'd be really dragging otherwise! We discussed what we'd done during the afternoon (WARCRAFT?!), and he joked that he wanted every detail of the conversation I'd had with the girls - even if you do want them, you aren't getting them! He said he'd talked to K earlier, and asked if I'd talked to him - not since I'd woke up, no! That led him to think that I'd been talking to him in my sleep - as far as I know, he is WRONG on that one! I hadn't talked to him since about 3:35 AM, so saying that I hadn't talked to him all day would technically also be wrong! (K says I snore and fart in my sleep - but that's not what Eric asked about! :P) I said I'd get the Committee stuff done as reports later on in the week when I'd recovered from all this going out - he wanted to make sure I had notes and the old format to work with / from, which I did. Discussed the usual weird jokes, too.

At Jeremy's, I actually remembered the buzzer number - of course the number is unoccupied, which is wrong! Ray answered and let us in, saying hey to me when we did enter the apartment. He was busy trying to fold laundry from this monster load while Jon was looking stuff up on his computer. We looked at the mortar and pestle, printed out a recipe which Jeremy was approximately doubling, monitored the soup and curry, and stayed away when the mustard seeds began to pop. Raymond had just worked out at the gym; that reminds me that my sister and her friends personify the gym as "Jim" by saying things like "Jim hasn't seen me in so long! He must think I'm cheating on him!" That also reminds me of the guy we saw this afternoon carrying a flower bouquet: "Aww! You're so sweet - unless you're cheating on someone and giving them to someone who isn't your wife or girlfriend! ... I must be watching way too many soap operas and reality TV shows..."

Nathan, Isabel, and Chinese Eric came by with Fanta and such after Jon went down to the cellar with Jeremy's beer cellar key, with Ray to lead the way since he was taking out garbage. He discovered that he had to buy toilet paper and paper towels - Shoppers WAS open till midnight! I asked how much toilet paper he had left: three rolls should be sufficient till tomorrow, but Ray still jokingly warned us not to use the bathroom too much tonight! We discussed EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND - Ray hated that show since Ray Romano wasn't a good actor in his opinion. "If I wanted something to get angry about, I'd watch that show!" Haha. While remarking that he hadn't used the qualifiers "white Eric" or "Chinese Eric" for some time, Jon wondered how we would distinguish Ray and Raymond. I just call one "Ray" and the other "Raymond," but I guess "calm Raymond" and "angry / loud / obnoxious Raymond" (joke!) works for the guys, hahaha. I asked Isabel where Julie was - turns out she couldn't find her way to Jeremy's. Fair enough!

The squash / yam soup was a hit for the third time, and Ray remarked that the turducken (turkey stuffed in duck stuffed in chicken) smell was still evident in their oven - it had suddenly appeared one day in the fridge, haha. Someone (not me!) made a morbid joke about the chicken coming from Robert Pickton's farm - unlike certain people I used to know, everyone there REALIZED it was a joke, and responded accordingly. ("Eww! Yeah, Jeremy will have to answer questions from the police now even if Willy Pickton's farm was a PIG farm!") Then that joke led to a discussion of the case, maximum sentences, legalities, one trial for six women / another for twenty women, etc. Jeremy doesn't use ice unless he's making beer, but has managed to eliminate even that with some cool copper tubing that wraps around the keg. (I asked...) He liked my dragon hat, and wondered where I got it - my mom bought it at a thrift shop since I am a dragon in the Chinese zodiac! I seemed to have less trouble with the word than I had on Saturday with Auntie Wing, at least. Raymond remarked that he was a Tiger, and I countered that I'm a FIRE DRAGON even! I know Nathan's a Metal Phoenix because of an MSN name he'd had once - speaking of Nathan, he brought his work with him and told us all to complete his emoticon survey! 120 people with an extra ten or thirty? Sure, professor! (Cindy had trouble with it, she told us at lunch) Isabel and I had already done it, so we were very special good people! Someone wondered what would happen if we just tried to answer it randomly, but Nate said that wouldn't work.

The guys were also trying to book Dine Out Vancouver online, with extra points given to Nathan if he did so! Gastropods on the 17th it is, at 9 since it's doable! Then Nathan wanted to know about free voice lessons, audits, and worth in terms of free stuff. Jon put on some experimental Sufjan Stevens music, his second album (ENJOY YOUR RABBIT) before he went all folk. Isabel and I were amused at the song titles, which were mostly years of the Chinese Zodiac - but you won't find "Year of the Asthmatic Cat" on any Chinese zodiac ANYWHERE! Talked about Terra Breads, bus fares going up, U-Pass, Britney Spears' breakdown, my semantics in insisting that my bus pass wasn't FREE (it costs $45 a year!), money changing hands (I didn't mind if Jeremy didn't give me back exact change from my $20 for my $5 Sunday Dinner costs!), beer, hops, sweetness, church stuff, food quality testing in Hong Kong, Tuesday night (Chinese Eric will drive me after 6 since Jon has to talk with Mark Ho), Fay, MSN / email updates (of COURSE!), no time to tell me (I understand!), and other such stuff.

A while later, someone brought up the word LUG, so Nathan looked it up on Facebook (groups and people) / Wikipedia (I knew it was slang for "ear," even if white Eric didn't believe me!) / Google Linux User Group!) / the Jargon Files) / Urban Dictionary (Lesbians Until Graduation!) / other weird sites. We told Nathan that he wasn't supposed to be on Facebook while he was supposed to be doing work on his applications to several places. (including Ontario) He claimed he was spreading the word about his emoticon survey since he only needed eight more people to be one step closer towards graduation. Then he has to write about the findings - he showed us the demographics (white and Chinese were the first two categories), which included some write-ins of "Taiwanese." (Christon busted him on New Year's Eve at Anthony's when Nate was on Facebook instead of doing work!) That reminded Ray of a story: he'd been at some party where this girl asked two people where they were from. At the answers "Hong Kong" and "Taiwan," she said that those places were "China!" Then a prof suggested that everyone sing some Christmas carols as distraction, hahaha.

The dinner was self-serve, so Isabel and I only took one piece of chicken each when we could have taken two. Eric identified us as the people who'd only had one each, but we were too full at that point to eat any more, so didn't care if Jeremy put them away! Jeremy brought the whole discussion DOWN when he said that stepdaughters were good for SOMETHING! (earlier, he'd been referencing some girl who liked Woody Allen... not Soon-Yi!) Everyone was all "EWWWWW, JEREMY!" It got even worse when Nathan said something about putting "Take me NOW!" in his application - "your minds are all in the gutter, guys!" No comment! Reminded me of the news story my sister and I heard on the way home today about some woman who was in jail for larceny, and had to sign some documents. She did, but not before putting "Kiss My Ass!" after her name just for the judge to see. The judge was most decidedly NOT amused, and sentenced her to a further three months / ninety days in jail for this contempt of court!

After a bit of beer and juice, we decided that Jeremy needed to sleep early since he had to get up at 4... "This is how we tell time around here - when I'm up, he's just going to work!" After discussing Chris and how Carleton people wanted him to hook them up with pot (NO!), we left. Raymond asked whether Chris was a mutual friend of ours, and I said that he'd been the drummer this morning in service - he just doesn't see him often since he's in Ottawa much of the time for school! Eric, Jon, and I then briefly invaded Nathan's house to give him back the remainder of the pop - we can use it on Tuesday! Yelled bye to Isabel, and then we went home ourselves. Definitely good times, even if Eric does bug me about not actually taking me home! *shakes head* Crazy person!


Edit: Found out that both my parents emailed Korey back. That sounds good, and their replies are cool too... busy holiday season, calling her "mom" instead of her first name or "auntie," and #9! Thank goodness that he'll keep me posted! Apparently, I have a wedding to go to on July 28. At least this one is in Chilliwack and not in the boonies of Powell River? Hahaha.

A WaaZuBee lunch can be pretty good!

When I got to church, I talked to Dianne / Calla / Raymond about the holidays. Said hi to Auntie Cathy, Josiah, and Noah - I may have impressed Josiah by asking about his hockey tournament last week, and Noah (trying to lick his elbow last week at lunch?!) was quiet - it's okay! I have hit my limit for social interaction, but will do it for good friends who are going away soon! Many dinners, get-togethers, and more are the staple of the holidays! Started looking at Proverbs, which I think will be interesting. Asked Eric if he were going to the Sunday Dinner, and he joked that he wouldn't be driving me since he didn't like me anymore - FINE THEN! I went downstairs and talked to Karen Chan for a bit, and waved hi to Tim / Maxine / Joshua / Keenan. The babies are SO CUTE!

Discovered that Auntie Tracy and Auntie Fonda are the toddler teachers again; that's so cool, and I gave Auntie Fonda a big hug at her request. She thought I couldn't ever be contacted on MSN since I'm usually "away" or "busy," but I told her to try anyhow - she will, yay! Terence and Brandon liked playing with a car whose wheels make screeching noises against the table - "farting," indeed! After Sunday School and saying hi to Fonda's husband Kevin, I gave Priscilla and Samantha some candy since Joanna (nine now?!) didn't want any. I tried looking for Rich, but he wasn't around - next time! Talked to Ada about Saturday's ride arrangements - Frances' baby shower, ahoy! Her younger son wanted to exit out the back door since he knew it was a way out - not yet, and not without your grandma or family! His older brother Ian said that a tree on his folder was a folder - okay, then! Went upstairs and talked to Martin briefly about how Easter should be party / reflection time more so than Christmas, and encouraged Mom to reply to K's email. I knew she was around church people, so would likely be "nicer" - then again, that HAS backfired at least once last May (just prior to our San Diego to Vancouver cruise) when she yelled at me in front of ten people. Eric could definitely tell that I was upset on THAT ride home!

Told Eric to give me a call, which he said he would. Outside, I most likely annoyed Citrus by playfully pinching his cheek and calling him "SUCH a cute little boy!" He gave me one of his patented eyerolls, and said he was going now - to be fair, I was imitating Steph and Danielle being silly in a similar way. :D Before he left, we all hugged him goodbye - when Danielle hugged him, Steph teased "GET A ROOM! Or not..." Sam presented us with a half-eaten agar bar (from Daiso) in a Ziploc bag, which Stanley / Steph / I had to try. Yes, it tasted kinda gross, but it was quasi-interesting. We saw Eunice, who was on her way to meet Eddie - she looks different, and we all hugged her too! Said hi to Tony, who REALLY hates the holidays (Walmart in 2006 / security in 2007) - now, school is here. Yay... I talked to Julie and Isabel about how to get to Jeremy's tonight, and everyone hugged Vivian goodbye! (must check her Xanga more often... although China DOES have strict Internet restrictions, like Dawn found out for herself!)

Went to WaaZuBee for lunch with Cindy, Steph, Vanessa, and Danielle - too much good stuff on Commercial, for sure! Talked about Rich's new look, tubing, skiing, Danielle's parents doing data entry, Chrystal's job, Emily's "grown-up" job, INITIATE website, research, and their busy schedules. The girls also discussed tests, teaching, Melia getting married, Winnie, email addresses, half-marathons, running for DISTANCE, Megan / Fidela, breastfeeding, readiness for marriage / motherhood, Citrus and Danielle / Mike and Emily possibly getting married in the future, interviews, how everyone didn't like Citrus much when he was a kid (the cadets played a big part in maturing him!), Wayland and closure, catching up and hanging out for four hours over coffee, Dylan, Vivian, Trocadero's, bluntness, and skating. Someone mentioned seeing Ryan Loo at the church carnival a while back, so we told Danielle who his parents were, and described them. We discussed phone calls to verify info, book clubs, exactly how long we'd known each other (hard to say!), remembering events at which you weren't present, Korey, being ready for marriage / babies, Citrus interacting with little imaginative Megan (castles / princesses / monsters!), applications, guidance, Joshua (who likes "big Hannah" - the pastor's daughter) being cute and hugging Keenan, etc.

We were all surprised when Cindy mentioned that her brother Tony's going to get married soon! "They're practically common-law, sort of... and her parents think every month except July and August are ghost months since they're Buddhist! But Dianne's going away in June... they'll have to get married then, and have a big dinner later! Sarah has NO idea about wedding planning..." She advised me to pack lots of books for the Powell River trip - that I shall, since I can be a fast reader sometimes! (or I'll go with the tried and true OUTLANDER series!) The salmon was good, and the girls made fun of Mike T. because he's continually asked about yam fries the last time they were there for Emily's birthday. It was a good lunch; we discussed snowstorms, Rick (who'd been studying at Regent - but was in a coma for a month from the accident with a fair amount of brain damage) / Wai-Mui (SO busy at church and also with taking care of her family - SO STRONG A WOMAN!) / Hannah / Priscilla / accidents (P came out FINE from the 1999 accident, even if she had to be delivered early [Christmas Eve] since W-M was heavily pregnant and only came out with a bruise), new pews, leaks, TMI, blood, Korey, Nathan's usual route, and more on the way home. Man, I need a bit of a nap before Eric calls to pick me up...

Dressing myself / Privilege meme

I've discovered that I apparently don't know how to dress myself when going out, at least recently. Good thing I caught the mismatched shoes before I went to have dinner with Rachel and Lisa at the townhouse, only because they felt weird. I also noticed having my pants on backwards just before I left for Eric's to hang out with Korey the day before New Year's Eve. (I didn't have much time to think about what I wore!) So, what's a lesson to be learned here? Make sure I have time to process my clothing choices adequately before I go out, I suppose. :P (That stereotype of women always needing time to decide what they wear before they go out? So true sometimes, with me!)


From What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.

I've bolded what applies to me.


1. Father went to college.
2. Father finished college.
3. Mother went to college.
4. Mother finished college.
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
16. Went to a private high school.
17. Went to summer camp. Only if you count Camp Sasamat, though...
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18. School tutoring doesn't count!
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels.
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. Probably because I was the oldest child.
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house.
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
25. You had your own room as a child. Until I had to share with my sister...
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in a SAT / ACT prep course
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16.
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up. Well, I do remember going to SOME museums on family vacations...
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family. Pretty much, but there's always the Chinese thing of saving money by keeping the house cold...

THE ULTIMATE FAMILY DINNER!

Hung out at Chapters for a few hours, and read about the Bart Corbin murder case / a teen fiction book about vampires in California. I bought four books for other people, thereby using up my giftcards. Then I decided to go to dinner, and had a fun time talking with Auntie / Uncle / Holly / Jon / Steph / Harmony / Myles / Brittney. (Peter couldn't make it as he was in Seattle) We thought up various family competitions: Jello-wrestling, singing, cackling, drink-offs, free-for-alls, dancing, etc. I missed the affection I had for a brief while - it WAS tender, and I wish I could find the words to tell him so! Myles brought his camera (he even took shots of Brittney eating - they shared food and drink, too!), and we posed for it - I even brought out my COUGAR shirt to show Harmony. Steph joked that she could borrow it, while my dad thought the grammar was wrong. I don't see anything wrong with using "ROAR" as a command or imperative, haha! Certain "2" jokes were brought up, while Auntie thought Steph and I looked alike - Steph thought that wasn't too nice, as a joke. She was supposed to go to the Flying Beaver to celebrate Jessica's 19th birthday, but Vivian hadn't messaged her yet.

Jon said Eric H. was going to Hong Kong or Mainland China - wow! Eric did tell me that he had a new job offer, but I didn't know it was so far away! Apparently, there's a Sunday Dinner tomorrow at Jeremy's; this is a low-key "word of mouth" dinner, and of COURSE his good friend the hamsterette will be there! (this is after I told my sister that I needed a relatively quiet week, even with Committee stuff - I can do it for ONE MORE DAY!) Steph asked why K couldn't make it to the skills competition - he had to work, so it's a good thing that Christon could take his place! Discussed auditing books, the committee meeting, Pho, fixing glasses, BOTH hands, my correction of my own grammar (no sentences ending with prepositions!), the double meaning of "Epiphany" (12 days of Christmas / sudden realization), church, worship practice, FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS (violent deaths, oh my!), theological books, and more.

At the townhouse, we consumed coffee / Kahlua / ice wine (9.5% alcohol) / SEE YA LATER white wine, mango pudding / candy / shortbread / Grand Marnier fruitcake / more goodies! Brought the two-pound weights and the ten-pound dumbbell out, and we started semi-working out, haha. Jon played Chopin and other pieces on the piano and violin while we watched sports (54 / 22 / 30) and a real estate show on Channel 34. Stupid scheduling means we don't play again till Tuesday! Auntie thought Steph's framed baby picture was ME, while the one up above had to be my mom - one out of two ain't bad! When my sibs said that I was pretty red, Myles HAD to bring out the camera - thanks, dude. Talked about camera focus, aperture, karaoke, singing to your bride during your wedding (Holly loves Peter, but she doesn't want him to do that!), Chopin dying of tuberculosis, his girlfriend George Sand (the writer), and more. We couldn't get two Hos (Harmony and Holly) out of the kitchen since they were washing our dishes, despite an attempted repeat of my BOUNCER act the other night! (I grabbed Harmony around the waist and escorted her out - I already knew it was her ticklish point from last year, haha)

After everyone left, I asked my parents (while they were still in good moods :P) whether they'd received K's emails - they had, but hadn't had the time to respond yet. I understand, truly. Got extreme buffalo wings Pringles (the States has ALL the interesting flavors, like Flaming Hot Cheetos! :P), fruitcake, cappuccino mix, and other stuff to take home. It wasn't too bad, but I have to work on being loving in general too. Steph is concerned, I guess! Now I'm kinda sad since it seems like confidence is lacking - I need it, but I have to learn to be supportive, too. Time for bed, methinks.