Quick meetings, ranting about Mr. Creep, Donald's Market, and way more stuff...
Went to church this morning with my parents, which was okay. My mom said I could leave Jon's Zellers bag in the car since he had the key, but I took it with me in my blue Crabtree & Evelyn bag just in case, haha. When we got to church, I saw the Mak children - so cute! Sat next to Jen, and we both were confused by the "Crewman #6: Galaxy Quest" sermon title (sounds like something Nathan would make up), heh. We also shared amusement over computer menu prompts showing up on the Powerpoint, and heard Helen C. share about her upcoming medical missions trip. Saw Winnie with her two kids Megan and Connor, and smiled hi at Danielle. I didn't see Jon and Harmony till after service had ended, and after I'd said hi to Denise and told her about my sleepover since she'd seen my Facebook status updates. Girl sleepovers are cool, and you get to CHILL!
As soon as I got in the fellowship hall, I put my stuff down by Cindy's since it WAS heavy. A bit later, I saw Jon and mentioned that I had stuff for him in my bag. I attempted to give some candy away to various people without success - eventually, I just hung that medium gift bag of candy off Quan's arm. "Here... you have this since I am trying to reduce my own temptation!" (I saw Cordia and Joyce with some of it later, so I guess it worked...) Later, I gave Jon the bag of "newspapers and pants" - Jon thought the combo was HILARIOUS! Christon, Hansel, and Cathy introduced us to another newcomer, but I think this one should be okay. He comes from Houston, oh my! Said hi to Tim and Grace, then watched Joshua and Keenan run around. Before this, I crouched down to kid level to say hi to Keenan, who showed me a drawing of a face. I asked who it was, and apparently it was Daddy! Hahaha, nice!
Talked to Jeremy about tonight's dinner, and wondered what Eric's plans were after the meeting. Since he had hockey clinic, I had no problem going with Jon afterwards! Asked Harmony if she were going to the lunch afterwards, but she was still debating because she has to prep for an interview and such. Said hi to Daniel as we passed each other at the fellowship hall entrance, of course. I got distracted by little Allison again, and then by the news that her mother Anita is expecting another kid around the end of April. Of course, I had to hug her and say I'd tell Steph for her tomorrow! I asked Winnie when her own baby is due - at the end of November, and I bet she can't wait for the baby to be born!
I went upstairs to find the kids playing, and two children who occasionally come as well. Auntie Ying gave me three tickets for me, Jon, and Harmony - so nice! Toddler Sunday School went all right - the kids seemed to like the poster of the Israelites and the tabernacle, haha. Once it was over and I'd given various stuff to Carley, I went downstairs to find the fellowship hall absolutely CROWDED! Jon told me that Harmony had gone home; after putting my stuff down in a relatively out-of-the-way area, I gave her lunch ticket to Eric. I didn't think anything else about it until we were sitting down on the side, and one of them asked me whether my lunch ticket said "Harmony" on it. Well, I didn't know Auntie Ying had personalized the tickets, hahaha. I was happy to let Eric be Harmony's stand-in, haha.
For some reason, Mr. Creep was helping to move chairs and stuff - I can't believe I followed one of his directives to move chairs to the other side of the room! Then again, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to talk to some people otherwise, but STILL. We all lined up in front of the kitchen to receive our plates of food (frozen veggies / steamed chicken / noodles) and someone decided to go upstairs to the gospel / seniors' lounge to eat, so I followed. I knew Mr. Creep would be there too (as he was on Friday), but I was perfectly fine as long as I sat with my back to him. No, I couldn't pretend he didn't exist because Andrea and Lesley were talking to him, but I focused on my conversation with Jon / Isabel / Christon / Eric (with occasional Randal contributions) instead. Among other things, we discussed ESCC meetings / name changes / Isabel's North Van dilemma (should she go to a birthday party with people she's only recently met?!) / Harmony's whereabouts / hockey / the new appearance of the room / Dad mellowing with age, since some people know him for loud yelling and scaring kids (not good for taking over Uncle Patrick's Awana Commander duties!) / live crab and fish and prawn being feisty / our need for CAFFEINE.
Jon, Andrea, Randal, Christon, Isabel, and I went to J.J. Bean coffee shop in the rain to fulfill said requirement. Eric came just to hang out since he can't have caffeine - when Isabel joked that we needed another body to hold our coffees, I said that it was all good as long as it wasn't a certain other person in the room, haha. (I was ABOUT to call him "Mr. Creep," heh) Andrea was amazed that I drank a straight iced Americano, so I said that Dylan would be proud, haha. We wondered when he'd get back from his honeymoon, and I said that I'd have gone for hot coffee, but was afraid I might burn myself on it in the car.
On the way back to church, I told Christon / Isabel / Jon about Chinese Eric dating again, and exactly what he had to say about it. "When does HE have time to date?!! I thought he was busy with work!" (Jon) "Oh, he said that it was very convenient since this girl lives only a 20-minute bus ride away from him!" "Hahaha, I guess she fulfills that preference!" (Christon) "And then he said that she was a real hottie, and asked whether I thought he'd get a hottie with his looks alone! He is very grateful to his mom (she's the daughter of her friend), who's thrilled!" "HAHAHAHA! I can imagine him saying that! That's exactly what he'd say, too!" (Jon) "I feel bad laughing since I don't really know this person..." (Isabel)
I signed in like a good member, and spotted Zoe and Stella by the stairs, and wondered why they were playfully hitting each other. They seemed to be okay with it, so I let them be. Grabbed my knapsack from the fellowship hall, and went into the sanctuary. Spotted Christon and Eric at the far end, so headed over there - to my dismay, I found that Mr. Creep had decided to attend the meeting. HE'S A NEWCOMER, AND AN ICKY ONE AT THAT! (people who aren't church members CAN attend meetings - Jeremy's done so a few times, to name but one person - but I really don't like Mr. Creep!) Mr. Creep wanted either Lesley or myself to go into the pew ahead of him... when Lesley asked which one of us he meant, I fixed him with my best glare and added "Yeah... which one?!" (I was about to call him a creep again, out loud) I thought it would be "safer" since then Mr. Creep wouldn't be able to look back at me (and I wouldn't have to look directly at him), but it wasn't to be.
When Eric prompted me to switch rows by asking whether I wouldn't like to sit by Christon a row behind instead, I remembered that Eric would be leaving to go to hockey school before 4. I quickly switched pews, since I didn't want to sit next to Mr. Creep in that event! (the setup was Lesley, me, Eric, and Mr. Creep) I ate the preserved mandarin peels, and busied myself with writing stuff down before I forgot. The meeting was pretty quick (we wondered what we were RENTING, as that was a budget item), and we let out before 3! (we started at 2) Told Jon to watch my knapsack while I went looking for Mom - earlier, he'd wondered if she were actually here since he hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks. Besides, my hat button on the blue jacket came loose again! I finally found Mom, and she said it could be sewed on more tightly - I'd hope so! People were giving away 2010 church calendars, but I already had a 2010 calendar from my dentist appointment a while ago. Prompted Mom to follow me into the sanctuary - she wanted to schedule a family dinner too, it turned out. After Steph gets back from doing stuff, maybe! ("Hey, Jon! She DOES exist, see?!") She left after telling me to just give the jacket to Steph tomorrow after I wash it - apparently, it can go through the machine. Hmm... maybe...
I grabbed my Crabtree & Evelyn bag from the fellowship hall and plonked it down next to our other stuff while we talked about stuff. When the lights were turned out in the sanctuary, we commented that they must really want us to go! Probably, if the utilities are already running at a deficit! I put my stuff down on a table that was at the front entrance, and said hi to Danielle, who was waiting for Grace so they could have coffee and fill a void. Since Danielle wondered where I'd gone on Friday, I told her (and Christon) exactly why I'd left, making sure to emphasize that I felt UNCOMFORTABLE. We were in the middle of a discussion about Mr. Creep when Jon and Grace came up and said they felt that they'd walked halfway into an interesting conversation, so we kinda did a recap.
According to Christon, Mr. Creep was church-hopping (which I'd heard about from him a couple weeks ago), and had attended a university fellowship at one of these churches. Apparently, these people had ALSO felt uncomfortable, primarily because of the age gap. Christon had hung out with Mr. Creep a couple of times, and I warned him about that, saying that Mr. Creep was TWICE HIS AGE. His response: "So?" Well, you know what they say about people who want to actively hang out with people half their age...*ew* Apparently, it's because of this other experience that Christon wants to make an effort to especially welcome Mr. Creep, and because he's been to China and experienced a few things. I don't really care! Jon said that we should be careful, but be welcoming - yeah, but you never know!
When I said that I didn't know WHAT creeped me out about him (but something DEFINITELY DID), Christon volunteered that Lesley also felt similarly. For some reason, a bunch of them had gone out after Fellowship recently (I wouldn't know because Eric and I generally go straight home - maybe it was this past Friday night), and Lesley had mentioned something of the sort afterwards. YES, I AM NOT ALONE! Since I was talking to Christon anyhow, I mentioned the sign-up sheets and the ICKY handshake, and asked what had led Mr. Creep to our church. Apparently, he'd been driving around one day and spotted our building. I responded that our building was far too visible, then... only half a joke! Also told them what Eric had said about how I was stereotyping Mr. Creep based on looks, and my response about NOT screening Mr. Creep for dating potential - they thought that was funny! (or they laughed, at least...)
After a while, we decided to leave the church building and go our separate ways. I asked Jon if we could stop by Superstore (or "Stupid Store") since I had to buy a bunch of blank paper - it was okay with him, although he did wonder whether I couldn't do it during the week. After a quick detour to retrieve Jon's water bottle from Christon's car, I ended up getting Earth Choice paper at the store, which was cheaper than Staples - Jon has his own reasons for not buying Superstore produce, which is fine. I just won't tell him about buying last week's grapes from there, haha. Made sure to thank him for stopping by that store, and he said it was okay since we had to stop by some other places anyway. We went to Donald's Market, some Filipino grocery (where I paid for the saffron - most expensive spice in the world, man!), and Brewery Creek - so much choice! (lime, a whole chicken, orange juice, ale, and other items)
Just before we got to Jon's, he warned me that Harmony was prepping for her interview, so not to bother her, although she'd probably make me feel welcome nonetheless. Hey, I had my Bathroom Reader, so it was all good. After a while, Harmony declared that she was done prepping. She wondered who Mr. Creep was (I guess she's seen my Facebook status updates), so I told her briefly. Apparently, she's never actually talked to him - oh good. Now I'm just TRYING to check Facebook, but it won't work - LJ and email it is, before Connie and Eric come over. Discussed the meeting, (late) thank-you cards, the smoke alarm going off, library books, and more.
As soon as I got in the fellowship hall, I put my stuff down by Cindy's since it WAS heavy. A bit later, I saw Jon and mentioned that I had stuff for him in my bag. I attempted to give some candy away to various people without success - eventually, I just hung that medium gift bag of candy off Quan's arm. "Here... you have this since I am trying to reduce my own temptation!" (I saw Cordia and Joyce with some of it later, so I guess it worked...) Later, I gave Jon the bag of "newspapers and pants" - Jon thought the combo was HILARIOUS! Christon, Hansel, and Cathy introduced us to another newcomer, but I think this one should be okay. He comes from Houston, oh my! Said hi to Tim and Grace, then watched Joshua and Keenan run around. Before this, I crouched down to kid level to say hi to Keenan, who showed me a drawing of a face. I asked who it was, and apparently it was Daddy! Hahaha, nice!
Talked to Jeremy about tonight's dinner, and wondered what Eric's plans were after the meeting. Since he had hockey clinic, I had no problem going with Jon afterwards! Asked Harmony if she were going to the lunch afterwards, but she was still debating because she has to prep for an interview and such. Said hi to Daniel as we passed each other at the fellowship hall entrance, of course. I got distracted by little Allison again, and then by the news that her mother Anita is expecting another kid around the end of April. Of course, I had to hug her and say I'd tell Steph for her tomorrow! I asked Winnie when her own baby is due - at the end of November, and I bet she can't wait for the baby to be born!
I went upstairs to find the kids playing, and two children who occasionally come as well. Auntie Ying gave me three tickets for me, Jon, and Harmony - so nice! Toddler Sunday School went all right - the kids seemed to like the poster of the Israelites and the tabernacle, haha. Once it was over and I'd given various stuff to Carley, I went downstairs to find the fellowship hall absolutely CROWDED! Jon told me that Harmony had gone home; after putting my stuff down in a relatively out-of-the-way area, I gave her lunch ticket to Eric. I didn't think anything else about it until we were sitting down on the side, and one of them asked me whether my lunch ticket said "Harmony" on it. Well, I didn't know Auntie Ying had personalized the tickets, hahaha. I was happy to let Eric be Harmony's stand-in, haha.
For some reason, Mr. Creep was helping to move chairs and stuff - I can't believe I followed one of his directives to move chairs to the other side of the room! Then again, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to talk to some people otherwise, but STILL. We all lined up in front of the kitchen to receive our plates of food (frozen veggies / steamed chicken / noodles) and someone decided to go upstairs to the gospel / seniors' lounge to eat, so I followed. I knew Mr. Creep would be there too (as he was on Friday), but I was perfectly fine as long as I sat with my back to him. No, I couldn't pretend he didn't exist because Andrea and Lesley were talking to him, but I focused on my conversation with Jon / Isabel / Christon / Eric (with occasional Randal contributions) instead. Among other things, we discussed ESCC meetings / name changes / Isabel's North Van dilemma (should she go to a birthday party with people she's only recently met?!) / Harmony's whereabouts / hockey / the new appearance of the room / Dad mellowing with age, since some people know him for loud yelling and scaring kids (not good for taking over Uncle Patrick's Awana Commander duties!) / live crab and fish and prawn being feisty / our need for CAFFEINE.
Jon, Andrea, Randal, Christon, Isabel, and I went to J.J. Bean coffee shop in the rain to fulfill said requirement. Eric came just to hang out since he can't have caffeine - when Isabel joked that we needed another body to hold our coffees, I said that it was all good as long as it wasn't a certain other person in the room, haha. (I was ABOUT to call him "Mr. Creep," heh) Andrea was amazed that I drank a straight iced Americano, so I said that Dylan would be proud, haha. We wondered when he'd get back from his honeymoon, and I said that I'd have gone for hot coffee, but was afraid I might burn myself on it in the car.
On the way back to church, I told Christon / Isabel / Jon about Chinese Eric dating again, and exactly what he had to say about it. "When does HE have time to date?!! I thought he was busy with work!" (Jon) "Oh, he said that it was very convenient since this girl lives only a 20-minute bus ride away from him!" "Hahaha, I guess she fulfills that preference!" (Christon) "And then he said that she was a real hottie, and asked whether I thought he'd get a hottie with his looks alone! He is very grateful to his mom (she's the daughter of her friend), who's thrilled!" "HAHAHAHA! I can imagine him saying that! That's exactly what he'd say, too!" (Jon) "I feel bad laughing since I don't really know this person..." (Isabel)
I signed in like a good member, and spotted Zoe and Stella by the stairs, and wondered why they were playfully hitting each other. They seemed to be okay with it, so I let them be. Grabbed my knapsack from the fellowship hall, and went into the sanctuary. Spotted Christon and Eric at the far end, so headed over there - to my dismay, I found that Mr. Creep had decided to attend the meeting. HE'S A NEWCOMER, AND AN ICKY ONE AT THAT! (people who aren't church members CAN attend meetings - Jeremy's done so a few times, to name but one person - but I really don't like Mr. Creep!) Mr. Creep wanted either Lesley or myself to go into the pew ahead of him... when Lesley asked which one of us he meant, I fixed him with my best glare and added "Yeah... which one?!" (I was about to call him a creep again, out loud) I thought it would be "safer" since then Mr. Creep wouldn't be able to look back at me (and I wouldn't have to look directly at him), but it wasn't to be.
When Eric prompted me to switch rows by asking whether I wouldn't like to sit by Christon a row behind instead, I remembered that Eric would be leaving to go to hockey school before 4. I quickly switched pews, since I didn't want to sit next to Mr. Creep in that event! (the setup was Lesley, me, Eric, and Mr. Creep) I ate the preserved mandarin peels, and busied myself with writing stuff down before I forgot. The meeting was pretty quick (we wondered what we were RENTING, as that was a budget item), and we let out before 3! (we started at 2) Told Jon to watch my knapsack while I went looking for Mom - earlier, he'd wondered if she were actually here since he hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks. Besides, my hat button on the blue jacket came loose again! I finally found Mom, and she said it could be sewed on more tightly - I'd hope so! People were giving away 2010 church calendars, but I already had a 2010 calendar from my dentist appointment a while ago. Prompted Mom to follow me into the sanctuary - she wanted to schedule a family dinner too, it turned out. After Steph gets back from doing stuff, maybe! ("Hey, Jon! She DOES exist, see?!") She left after telling me to just give the jacket to Steph tomorrow after I wash it - apparently, it can go through the machine. Hmm... maybe...
I grabbed my Crabtree & Evelyn bag from the fellowship hall and plonked it down next to our other stuff while we talked about stuff. When the lights were turned out in the sanctuary, we commented that they must really want us to go! Probably, if the utilities are already running at a deficit! I put my stuff down on a table that was at the front entrance, and said hi to Danielle, who was waiting for Grace so they could have coffee and fill a void. Since Danielle wondered where I'd gone on Friday, I told her (and Christon) exactly why I'd left, making sure to emphasize that I felt UNCOMFORTABLE. We were in the middle of a discussion about Mr. Creep when Jon and Grace came up and said they felt that they'd walked halfway into an interesting conversation, so we kinda did a recap.
According to Christon, Mr. Creep was church-hopping (which I'd heard about from him a couple weeks ago), and had attended a university fellowship at one of these churches. Apparently, these people had ALSO felt uncomfortable, primarily because of the age gap. Christon had hung out with Mr. Creep a couple of times, and I warned him about that, saying that Mr. Creep was TWICE HIS AGE. His response: "So?" Well, you know what they say about people who want to actively hang out with people half their age...*ew* Apparently, it's because of this other experience that Christon wants to make an effort to especially welcome Mr. Creep, and because he's been to China and experienced a few things. I don't really care! Jon said that we should be careful, but be welcoming - yeah, but you never know!
When I said that I didn't know WHAT creeped me out about him (but something DEFINITELY DID), Christon volunteered that Lesley also felt similarly. For some reason, a bunch of them had gone out after Fellowship recently (I wouldn't know because Eric and I generally go straight home - maybe it was this past Friday night), and Lesley had mentioned something of the sort afterwards. YES, I AM NOT ALONE! Since I was talking to Christon anyhow, I mentioned the sign-up sheets and the ICKY handshake, and asked what had led Mr. Creep to our church. Apparently, he'd been driving around one day and spotted our building. I responded that our building was far too visible, then... only half a joke! Also told them what Eric had said about how I was stereotyping Mr. Creep based on looks, and my response about NOT screening Mr. Creep for dating potential - they thought that was funny! (or they laughed, at least...)
After a while, we decided to leave the church building and go our separate ways. I asked Jon if we could stop by Superstore (or "Stupid Store") since I had to buy a bunch of blank paper - it was okay with him, although he did wonder whether I couldn't do it during the week. After a quick detour to retrieve Jon's water bottle from Christon's car, I ended up getting Earth Choice paper at the store, which was cheaper than Staples - Jon has his own reasons for not buying Superstore produce, which is fine. I just won't tell him about buying last week's grapes from there, haha. Made sure to thank him for stopping by that store, and he said it was okay since we had to stop by some other places anyway. We went to Donald's Market, some Filipino grocery (where I paid for the saffron - most expensive spice in the world, man!), and Brewery Creek - so much choice! (lime, a whole chicken, orange juice, ale, and other items)
Just before we got to Jon's, he warned me that Harmony was prepping for her interview, so not to bother her, although she'd probably make me feel welcome nonetheless. Hey, I had my Bathroom Reader, so it was all good. After a while, Harmony declared that she was done prepping. She wondered who Mr. Creep was (I guess she's seen my Facebook status updates), so I told her briefly. Apparently, she's never actually talked to him - oh good. Now I'm just TRYING to check Facebook, but it won't work - LJ and email it is, before Connie and Eric come over. Discussed the meeting, (late) thank-you cards, the smoke alarm going off, library books, and more.
Labels: billie, candy, church, cindy, connie, danielle, denise, emily, eric m., harmony, helen, jen, jeremy, jon, maxed-out tags limit, megan, nina, quan, shopping, winnie
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