Swinging bingos and good tile hooks! (plus BECKONED 221)

Bingos of the night so far:

SWINGIER (78 points), BECKONED (221 points) - against Pat K. in the same game [the last was across two triple-word scores!]
SEROTYPE (92 points) - against Pat K. [different game than above]
LIZARDS (64 points) - against Pat K. [different game than the first two]
SCALLION (61 points) - against Leanne F.
UNYEANED (86 points) - against Jono M.


I managed to do this beautiful move against Danny M. too! Put the word OVA between FEWER and DUKED, to make WOK / EVE / RAD as well. You'll have to imagine it, as this refuses to make a good diagram.

Discussed black beans, salsa, tomatoes, white / brown rice, meth labs, billowing smoke, chicken, Isabel, prawns, raunchy smells, Nathan, Ivan, Grouse Grind being closed because of an avalanche threat, bumping into Kristin McIntyre (Scott's sister) at the Burrard Skytrain station, bad traffic, Grandma's concept of friendship, Sunday Dinner food, and more with my sibs. Jon's got Danny and all those guys from Enoch for Ultimate tonight, haha. We had frozen strawberries as part of dinner, and Grandma complained since she likes cherries better than those! (she also complained because they were frozen, but we like it that way!)

Grandma, on Steph going to Vivian's: "Is she going out with someone? Why is she always going to White Girl's house? She might not be going out with someone, but there are some men there at the house! Tell her to pick up the laundry from the couch if she's coming back here to sleep! Your parents are getting back in more than a week?! Aiya!"

Coffee grounds and eggshells in plants... hmm...

Jon came home from doing something, and offered me part of a huge Afghan cookie: he'd bought it from a Turkish shop on Main / 14th. Wasn't sure what it had in there, but it was pretty good. Then he put coffee grounds in the plants, some of which have eggshells in them. (apparently it's quite nutritious) Also thought that I destroy stuff all the time - not really! Commented that my music was anti-social (mistakenly thought it was GWAR), and wondered if Children of Bodom had been going for "Sodom," but misspelled it. I showed him a Wikipedia article on the Finnish Lake Bodom murders, where they got their name from. Watered the plants, watched playoff hockey, and loaned me a couple of bookmarks from his "MILLIONS" of them, haha. He thought Grandma's commentary on wrestling was pretty funny too!

Steph came home later, and we went for lunch at Nando's, then to Michael's and Yaohan. Peri-peri sauce and beer is GOOD stuff! Discussed Vivian's getting herb-garlic at Nando's usually, Sam, martial arts at Lansdowne, fiesta salad, Boston Pizza, fine print / unwritten rules at food places, fajita salad at White Spot, Henry, quirks, a job posting she saw, Grandma always thinking we don't have enough food when we do, jerseys, the mall, Phoenix, Evite responses, Melia / Angus / Joey being wowed, and more. Good times, indeed! We think that if Grandma didn't argue all the time and at least acted grateful that I stayed last night, things would be good. But it's just how she is...

Durian conspiracies, Ministry, and hash browns in subs

I've found a solution for my dearth of music here: YOUTUBE! Yay for that! Hopefully, I won't have certain things in my head all the time now.... :P (Ministry did a cover of Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay... sweet!)

Haha, these responses to the Sunday Dinner Evite are most amusing. Tony, Jon, and Christon are the only definite people saying yes. Dylan senses a durian conspiracy, and Dilys finds it a bit creepy that it's in her building! Sam is confused since it's at Lesley's place, but she herself can't make it. Raymond might come after hot pot for a bachelor dinner - now that's something unusual! Steph's leaving for Phoenix at 5 the next morning, and a bunch of people haven't replied either.

I wonder how Alex and Stephen are doing - haven't seen Alex in ages, and it was Stephen's birthday yesterday. Maybe I'll ask Helen if she's heard from Alex - it was good times with him, for sure! As for Stephen, I have no way of getting in touch with him - wonder if things would be different had I accepted his offer three years ago. I just hope they're both doing well, is all.


Had a dream where I was hanging out with a bunch of friends at someone's house. Jen was looking for hash browns in our freezer, but Steph could only find stuff in a big green bowl which contained shredded cheese. There were hash browns in the big subs, Steph informed her. She thought that would be okay, so took those to the living room. Dawn was wearing a black-and-white striped shirt with blue jeans, and was ranting at all of us about work and life's vicissitudes. Alan and Eric were playing a video game with the guys, but Tracy insisted that he do some dishes.

After conferring with Eric as to the location of Sarah and the eagle (important things in the game), he bugged Eric to play for him. "The eagle's THERE?! You mean where the red light is?! Whoa!" Jeremy and Jon were pouring beer for us: instead of an amber liquid, it looked curiously brown! I told them to be careful not to get it on the grey fuzzy couch or the blue Nintendo DS systems lying around. Jon decided to use a soup ladle with a slotted hole to give me more beer, and that's when it felt right for our secret crushes to show up and give us loving attention all around. I woke up because of the muted sound of the phone ringing downstairs, but it's all good. Now Grandma's out for the day (phew?), and we'll see what happens later!

Radiomen and weird chips!

Bingos of the night so far:

RADIOMAN (84 points) - against Danny M.
BEWITCH (84 points) - against Matt H.
TALARIA (66 points) - against Josephine S.
BOARDING (64 points) - against David H.

I also played GYBES for 78 points, hooking off OUTWAIT on a triple-letter score. Yay! Sorry, Katie V. - or not! :P


I added Pat K. to Facebook, and he reciprocated - sweet! Discussed pickle / peanut butter / ranch chips with Corey, while marveling at the Lay's Spicy Chicken Masala chips that I got from Super Grocer earlier. Jalapeno and Jalapeno Cheddar are different, he says - one will totally kick your ass... and the other one is TOTALLY WEAK, DUDE! Small local brands are good if you can get them, too - Tim's or Kettle Chips!

Grandma watched wrestling for a few minutes. She was NOT impressed, haha. "Aiya! Very disgusting!" Upon seeing a big black guy with a LOT of muscles and such: "Is that a man or a woman? So bad!"

Today is Friday, NOT Saturday!

Bingos of the day:

HEADEND (66 points) - against Danny M.
AROUSING (74 points) - against Danny M. [different game than above]
BOVINITY (98 points) - against Jordan M. [across a triple-word score!]
SWEATING (64 points) - against Guy M.
DEMUREST (74 points) - against Alice P.
SAHIWALS (66 points) - against Kirsten P.


Grandma thought today was Saturday, so she let me know that she'd be going da-pi. ("They're not my friends - I just know them through this activity!" Sure... just don't lock the door on us tonight, otherwise we'll have a tough time getting in!) I told her that today was FRIDAY, and she asked whether I was sure - yup, even though I went to bed at 2:30 AM! Then she tried figuring out the date from the English newspapers on the table, which didn't help since she can't read much English beyond random letters of the alphabet. (she's had basic English classes before... like 15 years ago when she might have remembered the material!) If only AM 1320 told their listeners what day of the week it was.. alas! She's talking about cellphones, Hong Kong, Lillian, dropping her radio, and other things too. Jon and I are chatting via Gmail: Sunday dinner, staying home, meetings, Grandma, paranoia, locks, sunshine, Christon, the work culture being different here than in Hong Kong (understanding), etc.

She spotted an ad for Fruiticana on the back of the Richmond Review, and thought that today was the 17th. No, it's the 16th today. Finally, she figured out that the numbers were the dates where the specials began and ended. Then she asked whether my siblings had come home last night - nope, and they had told me about it; Steph when she left to go to Viv's, and Jon in a phone call at 11:15 after he saw some movie. Good thing she didn't ask where Jon would be sleeping over, since I refuse to refer to Nathan as "Fat Kid." He's not thin, but he's not FAT either... I know plenty of people who are truly FAT, and Nate isn't one of them! Then she thinks I shouldn't bother Eric at work, and wait till he's off - our Friday plans wouldn't come to fruition if I listened to her, so I'll ignore her mumbling! :P

Harmony just called, looking for Jon. He's not here right now - he has the key to Nathan's, so it's natural he'd sleep over there! Definitely good talking to her, as always! I know Jon wouldn't care if I told her that he was watching a movie and such, since they probably tell each other a lot anyway. (Jon called to check in later: Harmony, Vivian S., Grandma's crankiness, Regent, wedding thank-you cards from Winnipeg Justin and Julie, confusion, plans, dinner, Nathan, etc. Steph called to see what was up, too: let's take the bus to Super Grocer even though it isn't really worth the cost of a bus ticket! We are NOT going home tonight for dinner, although I might skip since siu yeh costs money, and I'm in the hole enough already as it is!)

Great... now I hear that Leona Lewis song (BLEEDING LOVE) on the radio. Must be because Grandma tuned her radio between two stations, since I know for a fact there is no version of that song as sung by a Chinese artist! (not Canto-pop, I don't think...) At least it seems to have ended while I was typing this paragraph, so that's fine. It's not that I don't like the song or the lyrics (why would I have posted them a couple days ago if I didn't?), but man. About twenty minutes later, that AM station is now playing the SORRY song by Buckcherry. What is the universe trying to tell me?! *rips hair out* Have figured out the problem by looking at the little radio: it was at 1346, so I tuned it more accurately to 1320 or 1319. Yay! :D

Good times talking to Dave, as well... Kari, Andy, blue bowling bags, Ms. Tijman, kids going SPLAT against a windshield, random stuff, memory, strength, etc. Man, it takes me back!

The Myanmar cyclone donation is NOT the same as the China earthquake fund!

Let's just say that going with my grandma on a relatively simple excursion takes more time than it perhaps should. Don't get me wrong... I'm happy to have her around, but when she thinks you know the bus stops better than you do, and tries pointing you in the direction of a non-existent bus stop? Yeah, that's when I have to take her by the arm and tell her firmly that we are NOT going to cross the street. (at least, not in that direction)

Speaking of crossing the street, she wanted me to cross the street near a bus stop by Staples / Royal Bank. All well and good, except that she wasn't going to use the crosswalk for it! Yes, I've been known to do the same thing while watching out for oncoming traffic in either direction... but I would use the crosswalk most of the time. With Grandma, it's like "we're going to cross the road here no matter what!" Sure... only if you want to die! When I told her to take the 401 since that stops in pretty much the same place as her preferred bus, she told me that it wasn't the 407 - I KNOW THAT, but it still gets us to where we want to go! I saw Jennifer Lunot-Tucker on the bus: talked about Save-On, Joy Moon, Elizabeth, the program, work, and more.

During the afternoon, Grandma decided to scold me for going to the washroom at Chapters yesterday while we were waiting for the 98 B-Line. Hey, the B-Line wasn't about to show up! Contrary to her belief, the B-Line DID stop at Granville / Broadway - good thing I stopped her from going anywhere else! At least I don't announce my intention of going to the washroom in the nearest supermarket like she did today when we were finished banking! (she wanted to go to Great One, where I said "I want to go to the washroom as well, but you don't see me going to the nearest shop in order to look for a place to take a piss!")

Today, we went to the bank so she could donate $40 to the China earthquake victims. That would have been fine if she hadn't mixed up the Royal Bank with the HSBC, since the Royal Bank is only collecting funds for the victims of the Myanmar cyclone. But then Grandma wondered what was taking the client service representative so long to get a donation together! At least I overheard a man confuse $14,000 and $1561 when he wanted to close his account, haha. (then we went to Happy Date, where she bought stuff from the bakery: butterfly pastry, curry buns, coconut-pineapple bun, etc.)

All my siblings and I can do is vent in English and not take things too personally - it's just her way! Grandma, on my boyfriend and Eric: "Does he live in Calgary? Does he live with his mom and dad? Where does he stay when he comes here? OH, White Kid [Eric] introduced you! You should learn to cook - what if you want to take care of your children? Has he given you anything yet? [food and a book] Well, I guess he kinda cares then! Oh, I remember that he has a big brother. [I correct her to "little brother"] So where is he? Oh, that's good that he's working in the States. I remember their parents when Jon and he were friends at elementary school - they must be happy!"

Melanie, David, water, food, jaded gallops, and more!

Bingos of the day:

GALOPING (66 points) - against Korey
JADEITES (67 points) - against Fay L.
FOREDONE (72 points) - against Shelagh B.
CALPAIN (72 points) - against Karla M.
CAUSERS (66 points) - against Kirsten P.
UNWISER (70 points) - against Kirsten P. [different game than above]
INHERIT (70 points) - against Kirsten P. [different game than the first two]
UNCHEWED (74 points) - against Katie V.
STUPIDER (63 points), REGROWTH (63 points) - against Rachelle A. in the same game
INTERSEX (67 points) - against Richard Y.
TEASELED (60 points) - against Jono M.


NEW RECORD - TWELVE BINGOS IN A DAY! :D


Melanie A. added me as a friend on Facebook - sweet! Also talking a bunch to David S. via Facebook... it's good to have a connection. :)

Grandma thinks we don't have enough food - yes, we do. Steph says I shouldn't even try to convince her of that since even Mom can't, and she speaks the language! (Super Grocer and exercising ahoy...) We've tried getting her to close the bathroom door when she has to go, but to no avail. Let's just say I didn't need to see what I did this morning... o_O

Her latest proclamation, upon seeing a half-empty water bottle: "Whose is that? Why don't you drink it? Actually... why waste money on buying the bottled water when you can just boil water at home? That way, you don't have to buy it!" ... because some people like water bottles at home, even if it's cold? I know some people who don't really like the taste of tap water, so buying bottled water (in bulk) is a justified expense for them. It's not like she's going to convince my mom to stop buying bottled water for either home or away consumption! (she also complains about my mom's cute stuffed ducks and bears that she has all over the place...)

This is what she says about computers in general: "If someone on there says they have money for you, don't trust them! There are a lot of bad things on there!" Believe me, I KNOW!

Neurons in sandbags!

Bingos of the night:

SANDBAG (68 points) - against Barb A.
NEURONIC (61 points) - against Kirsten P.
NOTARIAL (66 points) - against Jono M.
ROUGHENS (74 points) - against Cassandra T.

My brother's latest combo from Dragon Ball: kumquat, tofu, and lychee. Oh my. o_O

Grandma finally figured out the phone number and the bank - as Jon thought, it was HSBC for the China earthquake fund. I had to help her with the address, and my Chinese wasn't sufficient to tell her (as the banking person directed) that she could deposit the money in any HSBC bank. Yikes - language barriers on both sides of the equation! When my siblings got home, she said that a piece of paper which had dropped on the floor contained directions from our mom: "Don't sleep over at anyone's house!" My brother told her that she was being silly - it really had strata meeting minutes on it, with the two raccoons' attendance being duly noted. Told my sister that the lards' room was way too hot, and that Grandma had told me not to go upstairs to sleep until my siblings were home - she's just way too paranoid!

Andrew L. wanted me to help him download a song - um, sure? He meant on Limewire, which my mom's computer definitely doesn't have. Maybe if I were actually at home now...

Nightgowns are not evening gowns!

Steph has a wedding planning thing tonight with Melia and Angus, and we've figured out that we should ignore some things that Grandma says. "Your sister bought these bus passes - what do you mean, you know already? If I didn't tell you, you wouldn't know!" (yeah right!) Last night, my brother thought it was unbelievable that I had 18 IE windows open - hey, if this computer could handle Firefox for its tabbed browsing, I'd install that in a minute! :P

Mom, just before she left yesterday: "I bought you a nice nightgown for Melia and Angus' wedding!" ... sure, Mom...

Jon and I saw a huge durian at Osaka Supermarket in Yaohan, but decided that it would be too expensive a gag gift at $9 a pound, haha.

Grandma, when I was on the phone last night: "Why isn't the phone where it's supposed to be?"
Sister: "Because she's on it talking to someone!" (this is two minutes after she asked me who I was talking to!) [her nickname for Nathan is "Fat Boy" - AIYA!]

Grandma gave my brother and me a phone number to call so she could send money to help the quake victims in China. All very well and good, but a phone number has seven digits (excluding area code) instead of six! And she wonders why there's no noise when she dials the "number." o_O


Trying to go anywhere with Grandma on the bus is... frustrating these days. We were supposed to leave at 8:30 to catch a more direct bus to Vancouver, but guess what we were doing then? Eating congee and Maria tea biscuits for breakfast because she wasn't dressed yet, and because "no one told me that we had to leave by 8:30." Steph told you at 7:45, Grandma! (we finally left at 9) She complained about the long bus ride with multiple transfers to church, and then told all her friends at the Seniors Fellowship that I had to go with her because how else would she know how to get there? At least I had The Fortune Cookie Chronicles to keep me company - it's a very interesting book about Chinese cuisine throughout the world. (had ham, pineapple, watermelon, vegetarian stuff, rice, and broccoli for lunch - discussed the Chinese earthquake too!)

Example of conversation...

Mrs. Tang (Uncle Vincent's mom): "Oh, your granddaughter is so good, taking the bus with you!"
Grandma: "I don't know how to get here by bus!"
Other random grandma: "She's so clever!"
Grandma: "Her mom told her to do it - she doesn't live at home anymore so she's here for two weeks!" (with undertone of "she wouldn't have done it otherwise")

She was also very appreciative of a "lady bus driver on the 410" who dropped her off right in front of the townhouse complex even though it wasn't on the route, because the driver knew she was confused and didn't know where to go. What about me? Oh well, our duty will pay off in the end with intangible rewards!


Also... Blogger finally got rid of the unneccessary quotation marks on its post deletion page - YAY! :D

Durian would make an expensive gag gift, even in India!

Bingos of the day:

BHISTIES (68 points) - against Korey
CYTOSINE (76 points) - against Korey [different game]
CATAPULT (76 points) - against Flora G.


Went to Yaohan for lunch with the parents and Jon - my brother and I killed time by going around Osaka Supermarket, and noticed this 3.3-pound durian! Of course, he had to weigh it, haha. We decided it would be an expensive gag gift for Grandma, at $9 a pound. (I have to accompany her to Seniors Fellowship tomorrow morning - maybe the AIDS book will come in handy or something!) Had curry fish balls, homemade noodles and braised beef, kimchi, rice, and other food court stuff while telling my mom about the ginseng shop I noticed at Richmond Public Market yesterday. Now my parents are at the airport waiting for their plane - Alan and Polly are going too. Should be interesting, even if it is a long flight!


This is an interesting song...

Closed off from love
I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you're frozen

But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone's looking round
Thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling

But nothing's greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

And it's draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see

I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love

Poor lobster... it was feisty, but now it's defeated!

Went to church this morning with my siblings, which led to the usual discussions about Chinese stuff / last night / planning. Tim and Maxine were behind us for some time, and then we thought some other car contained Sam and Jeremy: three older Chinese men definitely do NOT fit their description, haha! Talked to David, Rosenda, Ian, and baby Gabriel - Gabriel likes me, his mom says. He let me hold his hand for a few minutes, heh. Ian just seemed a bit jumpy, but that's okay... Rosenda thinks I should visit. She's been saying that for years, so maybe I will, haha. Asked various kids (Hannah / Louisa / Natalie / etc.) if they wanted EXTREME dill pickle chips, and the answer was a resounding NO... I managed to give them to Bob and his brothers later on, so that was good. Thought about the sermon - applying precious time with your loved ones and family is something I should personally make more of an effort in doing.

Went to the back parking lot, and interacted with the little kids mostly - there were a lot of them today! Joshua and Benjamin were collecting rocks, Hannah and Keenan were running around, and Karen Chan joked that Keenan was checking out baby Allison already! Learned that Lily is pregnant again (due in October like Karen I. is), and that there'd be another Sunday Dinner next week. Isabel likes the idea, but it can't be at Jeremy's because he's in Kelowna! Dianne and I talked to Eric about his interview just before Sunday School - learning is definitely key! Helped the little kids make Mother's Day cards at Sunday School: little Arthur is so cute!

Went outside and talked to a few people before having Pho for lunch - Steph had fun butchering people's names in French, haha. Bought a feisty live lobster (which we had compassion for) and jumping live prawns at City Fresh, then made mushroom-tomato curry (oyster and portobello) and such for dinner. Had strawberries, pineapple, coffee, and other stuff while watching JON & KATE PLUS 8, and discussing the Duggar family - 18 kids with J names, oh my! Grandma tried giving us a purple coat - yikes. Had interesting conversations about accidentally combining cream with beer / being left-handed / sharing thigh sweat with Joey in Mexico / signing cards / "Angus" being one letter away from a bad typo (at least it's not "ANALisa" or something similar since he'd make a BAD girl!) / singing SEXUAL HEALING at Angus and Melia's wedding / Memphis Blues Elvis platter for five, too... finally got sibs to sign a lot of cards, haha.

Trying for discretion doesn't work around here! (and I spellcheck stuff for sure!) Never mind trying to explain technical engagements, text messaging, and the "Blanish man," haha. Grandma thinks no one should sleep over at anyone's house while the parents are away for two weeks in Europe - hmm. We'll see... at least we have perogies and plenty of other food! ("Hey Alan! Your biceps inspire me to floss my teeth!" = being random! Colds, Harmony, weight competitions, trash talking, practice, joking about H on weed / shrooms (Mom does NOT approve! :P), farting, wiping your nose on your shirt sleeve to save on Kleenex, curs, water, and more are actually being discussed right now too!)

I hate period-related emergencies! YUCK! BLOODY HELL! Luckily, Jon's desensitized!

Now the conversation's turning a bit morbid, since Mom wants to revise her will before she goes on her cruise. "If I die, you'll have to search the house for it!" Then Steph said stuff about witnessing a will - it's stuff you gotta know, I guess!

Here's a first: the wireless here at the townhouse hasn't gone out all night! It usually does that at least once every half hour! SWEET! :D

Michelle had better be careful of just how much she sees of my sister in Phoenix...

Bingo of the day so far:

GRABBING (78 points) - against Barb A.


Henry picked me up at the usual time, and we spent the ride to church talking about the rain and people who ate a LOT. Sure, my family may be eating machines, but we don't compare to the people he served in the morning at breakfast! (lots of coffee, eggs, ham, pancakes, etc.) Benedict called Henry at 4 to let us know that we were going to the basement, where it was a light day with snacks / games / a story about Jesus feeding the 5000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. We kinda figured the rain would put a damper on things, haha. (pun intended? you decide :P)

Talked to Chrystal, Melia, Emily, and others about the dinner later - if Mike T. picked up Angus, it would be cool if he gave me a ride to the Fish Café too! (discussed orchids, Mother's Day plans, reservations, food, etc.) I interacted with Ian and Sean: cream puffs, Lays ketchup chips, Cheetos, juice, and Doritos nacho chips. It's better if Sean participates in the games, for sure. Said hi to Andrew and Michelle, who messaged me when I was sleeping: they'd been wondering about the weather and the prospective park outing. Next week is a holiday for Victoria Day long weekend, so it's fine. Met a bunch of people at the dinner place, parked underground, and had fun times. Steph got hyper with Vanessa and took "clubbing" pictures: Mike K. referred to their table as "the R-rated table," haha. (note: no R-rated pictures were actually taken!) Nathan laughed too much when telling Danielle about a demented mango and someone's (made-up) bowel problems, haha. Discussed work, a nice T-shirt, gift cards, digicams, and lots more stuff!

Steph yelled across the room for me to explain my "unofficial / official" Facebook status to inquiring minds, meaning Joe. I was going to just leave it for a Facebook message, but squished in by Angus so I could explain in a way that didn't involve yelling across the table and another conversation involving clubs and tanning. Joe had heard about the Leap Day proposal tradition too, and thought it was pretty interesting - he'd figured out who it was, for sure. I asked about his girlfriend - they'd met over Christmas as just friends since she lives in Taiwan, but she'll be here for Melia's wedding - sweet! Went to a gelato place later, where we discussed even more crazy things - yay! Angus picked Michelle up and deposited her on his other side since she was taking up space in the lineup, haha. (I also verbally RSVP'ed for the wedding!) We kinda looked like a Chinese tour bus contingent, which Daniel ably made fun of - we can laugh at ourselves, and it'll be fine! :D

On the way home, Sam said that Tony had met them at Oscar's Café after Fellowship, where he and Mike proceeded to make things a bit awkward - whoops! Jon was talking to Harmony on the phone, and (as usual) incorporated our conversation into his: Ng-Ho weight competitions, Jello eating, arm-wrestling, how our calves were bigger than Harmony's arms, etc. Steph had a major brainfart ("I don't know what I was thinking!") and weighed our family in at 2000 pounds! We decided to give the Hos some added weight in the form of Peter (Harmony's sister Holly's fiancé) and Korey - that MIGHT make things a bit more even, if it didn't tip the balance!

Then again, it might be unfair since those two would probably slaughter everyone else! (the Hos probably weigh half of what we do, combined!) No, this is not a weight-related crack... merely a humorous observation. (that is, the NG humor, haha!) We talked about Sam's brother Jeremy and Facebook for a while - Jeremy has more friends on there than his brother does, haha. Then we discussed law school, polisci, and finishing third year - congrats! All good, haha - it was great times! We decided that not just anyone could be an NG, Jon mentioned that Auntie Wing Yee hadn't changed her name when she married Uncle Joe, and we tried convincing Sam that it was okay to check out our grandma's big booty at church, haha. ("She won't MIND - in fact, she probably won't even NOTICE!") However, he has maybe too much honor / respect for his elders to do THAT! Oh well, we tried! :P