Just when I thought it went away, the snow CAME BACK!

Called Henry just after 3:30 to remind him to pick me up - he did a while later, with apologies for being a little late. Not a problem, even in the heavy rain! We're supposed to get 40 centimetres of this stuff, but then Henry and I watched the rain turn into half-solid precipitation, then into slushy snow while we discussed being stuck in it over the holidays. (plus Regina and New Year's) Rain CAN turn into snow really quickly, especially at these temperatures! We found ourselves facing the same dilemma as Eric did last night: how do we open the parkade?! I should ask my brother when he's not too busy talking to Harmony on the phone, haha - I suspect Uncle Eugene knows everything, heh. Then we tried going in the back door, only to figure that it wouldn't help since nobody was there to let us in! Of course, Henry had to help me to the church's front door once I half-slipped on something! It wasn't TOO bad, but it's still better to be safe than sorry!

Interacted with Joshua, little Eric (his brother Arthur is doing well), Hannah (sitting on the cold vent - she claimed to like it...), Ian and Sean (fruit roll-ups are cool even if they make your tongue / mouth all blue!), and some of the other kids. Auntie Vivian had some cola gummies as snacks: maybe I should get some of those at Yuen Shing / T&T if I can get out again, haha. Speaking of T&T, Chrystal asked Auntie Kam where those clubbers were - but instead got the location of the actual supermarket! HAHAHA! Then I talked to Auntie Rebecca about the multiple weddings this summer: PEOPLE, STOP GETTING MARRIED SO WE CAN ACTUALLY SAVE MONEY AND NOT GO BANKRUPT! (haha) Jon / Harmony, Andy / Megan, Ben / Erin, Edmond / Alysia, Alan / Tracy, and maybe one other couple are all getting married before September - yikes! Caught an error she made in a notice to the Awana parents: the Parent-Leader shadowing is NOT on the same day the notice was printed (today, in other words) - oh my!Auntie Rebecca thanked me, and Chrystal congratulated me on my sharp eye. I still have the touch for details: YAY! We also avoided wasting paper on extra photocopies by simply writing a 7 over the 0 in 10, so DOUBLE YAY!

Stanley is very annoyed (and may leave our church) because certain uncles think that he doesn't know what's best for the audience. HELLO?! HE IS A MUSICIAN! Wondered why Jon had Facebook, but who knows - Harmony probably pressured him, haha. Got home okay, and found messages from Teunis about tonight... called Erik to see what was up. He should be on his way, so I'll end this entry here and see what's in store for the rest of the night! (darn the inclement weather...)

Hermits in dreams / Vomiting poo

Today is apparently Global No Pants Day - too bad I can't celebrate it all day, haha! Emily T. and Jon H. also added me to Facebook - my brother already has 172 friends, and he's only been on there for two days. Yikes!

I had another weird dream which involved my whole family living in my apartment complex. We got a curt note from the management saying that we were being too hermit-like, and that Hester herself would have to live in our apartment for a while to remedy that. In the meantime, we were to go out into the broader world and find an alternative place to live. My parents weren't very impressed by that, and figured my grandma would NOT like it at all. We eventually battled Hester on this point, but she was adamant. Unfortunately, we had to perforce leave to go to a hospital. At the door, we were greeted by an efficient yet friendly nurse who shuttled the little kids off to a room where they watched a movie about space creatures. Later, we were allowed to meet Auntie Tracy and Vania, and I was going to write something on a paper about Halloween and a giant pumpkin on the table when the dream ended. Not sure why I had this one, as per the usual. Oh well.


Poo nugget for this weekend: Dr. Stool Says - Is this the opposite of talking out of your butt? In rare cases of intestinal obstruction, it is possible to vomit poo. Most cases of bowel blockage occur in the small intestine (before poo is formed), but when the problem occurs in the large intestine and fecal matter cannot make its way out via the rectum, it travels in reverse into the upper GI tract and exits via the mouth.

I do NOT smell like garbage or roast chicken!

High-scoring word of the night so far:

SHAVING (900 points) - against Alice P. [3W, 4W, 5W]


Tonight was the first time I'd been out on my own since the snow first hit - went to Shoppers to mail things and buy 50 pens. All the Valentine's Day stuff is out now, too! Decided to kill time by going to Big Orange to get a mango-orange bubble tea, and noticed a cute three-year-old kid who apparently likes money already since he was entranced by a nickel in change that his mom got from the bubble tea lady. When I got into Eric's car, he complained about a peculiar smell: all I can tell you is that it wasn't me, even if it did make itself known when I got into the car! Discussed hockey, pizza, evil people, Mats Sundin's home debut (Stanford said later that we lost 6-4 to ST. LOUIS, of all teams!), various gaming references, Dylan being sick / getting engaged, and more.

We decided to just stop by Safeway to get subs for dinner, and saw Tony outside - he was waiting for Eric T., and I overheard him on the phone saying that he would go to church. (I relayed this to Eric as we went inside, and he called me an eavesdropper!) After waiting for at least seven minutes we could ill afford to waste, Eric figured that we should have gone to Subway or Quizno's even if they didn't have parking lots. I agreed, and was proactive in getting someone to help us with our Chicago Southsider and Smoke Stack sandwiches. (and apparently smelled like roast chicken and garbage afterwards - thanks, Eric...) Got to church, and requested that Sheena / Vivian / Raymond help set up chairs - I wouldn't ask another person, haha. Talked to Vanessa about the 24 nights (SO EXCITED!!!!!!!) and the snowboard she lent out to Emily L., to Grace about dinner on Sunday (she's never been to the townhouse), to Cindy about Danielle being sick, and to Raymond about coming anyway. Noticed Jeremy wasn't there, but meh - I'll see him on Sunday, at least!

Had an entertaining Bible Study - not as amusing as the night we laughed over repetition (which someone tried to turn to his own ends later), but still. We used the crying room which looks out onto the sanctuary (Vivian and Melia couldn't find us!), and discussed how people became royal - the family trees are interesting to study! Madness, inbreeding, and relatives - maybe the throne will go to Prince William when the Queen does, we don't know! Might look it up and email Kevin / Vanessa / Cindy / Johnny about it later. Mused about the cross on the floor, admired the new drum set (which Ivan tried out later), and discussed how the lack of good parenting or good values was really affecting kids these days. Cindy told us about a news story she'd heard about where some surgeon wants his donated kidney back from his estranged wife - WHAT THE?! Also talked about health, why Christianity gets a bad rap, Cindy not having ANY Chinese kids in her class (HOW BIZARRE!), and other things.

Later while I was talking to Raymond about Fellowship / Wordscraper (TACKIFY was a good word!), the "different woman" Teresa asked him the same set of questions we've all gotten used to. Thank goodness she didn't ask whether he was married! ("What's your name? What's your last name? There's someone who looks like you, but his last name is different. Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old are you? How old are they?") Talked to Chuck, who also has finally got Facebook; Richie says he has it, so I joked that I'd delete any friend request from him, haha. Dianne, Calla, Eric, Andrea, Stanford, and others joked that we'd put Chuck up on a rating site - Calla says engineers don't want to be rated, heh. Reminds me of Don't Date Him, Girl... interesting site!

Jon was talking to Harmony about Kermit, being green, Facebook, friend requests, lunch tomorrow, farting, being married to the sound of farting mixed with whatever song they're doing, etc. Too amusing, haha! Then he talked to us about Dine Out Vancouver, money, Brian, Amy, Jeremy, cooking, and more - good times on the way home, as usual. I told him that at least my parking lot wasn't an ice rink like it was on Wednesday night! Now I'm going to move on... oh yes!

JON IS ON FACEBOOK NOW?! / Redrum, Jack Bauer, and poo

Bingo of the day so far:

OVERREACH (67 points) - against Rhonda R.


High-scoring words of the day so far:

GOODS (115 points) - against Margaret E. [5W, hook off QUIN for a plural]
AMINITY (314 points) - against Janet S. [two 4W]
VETOES (220 points) - against Alice P. [4W, 5W]
ENTOZOA (118 points) - against Janelle I. [4W]
NITRIL (138 points) - against Sara H. [two 4W, hook off FOXED to make IF and LO]
DODGEM (150 points) - against Fiona R. [3W, 5W]
TANSY (144 points) - against Michael M. [3W, 4W]
UNITARY (176 points) - against Stephanie P. [two 4W]


My brother has apparently caved and joined Facebook - oh, the humanity! I'm going to suggest various friends of ours (Jason / Justin / Janette / Eric / Margaret / etc.), twenty at a time. Hahaha. He knows more people than I do, I'd bet! Went out on Eric's advice, and discovered a pleasant surprise: the snow seems mostly melted / gone away! At least I don't have to tell Henry not to park in the middle of the lot tomorrow like he usually does since it was ICY the other night when Eric picked me up to go to Committee meeting! Speaking of Henry, I should call him and remind him to pick me up tomorrow... I CAN GO OUT AND DO STUFF WHICH I'VE BEEN PUTTING OFF FOR AGES! YAY!

Had a weird dream (yay for white pills!) which started out in someone's tiled bathroom! Dean Hill and Graham Hatch from Rock 101 were covering the reappearance of Jack Bauer, but the cameraman was somehow a space case. They didn't get footage of Jack emerging through a silver shower drain, and they couldn't get Jack before he disappeared around a corner, never to be seen again. (and believe me, they LOOKED in the bushes and everywhere else!) So then they had to make do with covering me and my friends getting together with various kids for a hangout day.

We went shopping for various items like pasta, and then decided to look through various university / college brochures. Saw a listing for CULTUS LAKE UNIVERSITY, and one for ODELL LAKE COLLEGE. Suddenly, we were transported to another college, circa 1989. A girl in our group was in the bathroom (in a stall marked "DO NOT USE"), and had made the acquaintance of two girls dressed really weirdly with bling and silver jeans. She wanted them to move since she had a certain emergency going on, but they wouldn't. Sighing, she resigned herself to the inevitable - she pulled down her pants to discover a pad SOAKED with blood, and a spare pad was in the same state! She made a note to herself to REMEMBER these things next time... and that was where the dream ended because someone was mowing the lawn outside my window! Not sure why I had that one... oh well.


Poo nugget for Friday, Jan. 9: Paleontologist Poo - The study of poo is not only useful for giving us information about our current digestive health. It can yield valuable information about the behaviors of the animals that roamed the earth millions of years ago. The study of coprolites, or fossilized poo, is widely used by paleontologists to better understand the dietary habits of dinosaurs. The largest dino poo ever excavated was found in Alberta, and measured 25.2 inches in length. Not impressed? Keep in mind that the T-Rex turd has undergone considerable shrinkage... try 65 million years worth. (I wish you could see the picture for this one...)

Pizza, joking beatdowns, and time zones

High-scoring words of the night so far:

MISHIT (140 points) - against Rhonda R. [2W, 5W]
TYPHOON (1000 points) - against Flora G. [2W, two 5W]
KRAFT (350 points) - against Robert L. [two 5W; this was a good word since it made up for the deficit I was suffering!]
YODS (105 points) - against Diane P. [5W, hook off HARM for a plural]


Got a ride from Teunis to Erik's movie night on Saturday - should be fine if we stop by a bank machine on the way over. Cash for pizza would be a very good idea since I doubt Erik takes Interac, haha. Eric's seen a cut of BLADE RUNNER, so he tells me - whee! I jokingly scolded Nathan via phone for leaving me off the 24 email list for Sunday (which he forwarded me within fifteen minutes), even though it's kinda easy to forget names, haha. On Monday, we'll all congregate at Nathan's - sounds good to me!

He should know I'm a fan, and not have brainfarts! Told him that he was very bad, heh... we'll see each other tomorrow at Fellowship, I'm sure! It'll be a crowded kitchen over at the townhouse if both Mom AND Jon cook something, since it's small anyhow. Apparently, the threads on the subject include: 24 / House / Danielle thinking Nate has her confused with Vanessa / Raymond not knowing too much about Jack Bauer / Arrested Development / Harmony making Jon watch a six-hour long marathon of Pride and Prejudice / Red Dwarf / Jeremy giving suggestions / Christon being very amused at this repeatedly showing up in his inbox / Battlestar Galactica on Jan. 18 / Little Women / Anne of Green Gables. "Arrive ON TIME - last time, white Eric arrived LATE and got the President assassinated!" HAHAHAHAHA!


From my Trivia Today newsletter:

China is the largest country with only one time zone (it should span five). That would be like New York, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles all being in the same time zone. India is the second-largest country with only one.

Russia adheres to its standard time zones, except the entire country is on permanent Daylight Saving Time and so is an hour ahead of their actual zones.

Australia uses three time zones; the eastern and western zones adhere to their assigned time, but the central zone is a half-hour ahead. In the Middle East and South Asia, several countries also use half-hour time zones.

In South Asia, if you follow a straight line west along the 27º latitude, you will move back and forth across time zones: from Pakistan UTC +5 hours, India +5:30, Nepal +5:45, India (Sikkim) +5:30, China +8, Bhutan +6, India (Arunachal Pradesh) +5:30, Myanmar +6:30.

Russia has the most time zones (11), followed by the U.S. with nine (six for states and three for territories), and Canada with six.

You can actually be in three time zones at the same time, at the spot where the borders of Norway / Finland, Norway / Russia, and Russia / Finland meet.

THE CRAPPER

Bingo of the day so far:

EXFOLIATES (103 points) - against Erin S.


High-scoring words of the day so far:

FRONTES (104 points) - against Laura F. [4W, 2W]
EXFOLIATES (103 points) - against Erin S. [bingo; 2W]
EXTORT (1700 points) - against Patrick M. [two 2W, two 5W]
FREEMAN (119 points) - against Sara M. [2W, hook off CLOVE to make CLOVER]
OXES (132 points; 3L on X, 4W), STAMPING (120 points; 5W) - against Madeleine H.
MOSHED (136 points) - against Autumn W. [4W, 2W]
UREMIA (156 points) - against Debbie V. [3W, 5W, hook off Y to make AY]


I played PA off Angela's PA - yay for quirkiness! Matt K. added me to Facebook, yay! There's a crash at my intersection, and I'd go out to see it if the sidewalk was all de-iced. (walking there does present its challenges - so why did I make a food shopping appointment for Monday at 12:30?!) DAMN YOU, MELTING SNOW - YOU ARE KEEPING ME FROM MORBIDITY! The news reminds me about floods / mudslides / states of emergency in Abbotsford and Chilliwack - too bad!


The Crapper

Poo nugget for Thursday, Jan. 8: Thomas Crapper, a British plumber in the mid-eighteenth century, is widely credited with inventing the toilet. (though this is not, in fact, true) In reality, Sir John Harrington designed the first flush toilet in 1569, 250 years before Crapper. However, since buildings had no plumbing to bring in the water to make the toilets flush in the sixteenth century, the introduction of the flush toilet had to wait until the nineteenth century, when Crapper is credited with introducing the modern flushing toilet.

You Are Banana Nut Pancakes

You prefer complex and interesting foods. You shy away from anything that's ordinary or tired. It's not likely that someone would find white sandwich bread or boxed mac n' cheese in your kitchen. Instead, someone might find an original recipe of yours cooking up - or some interesting ethnic food.

What Kind of Pancakes Are You?

This quiz obviously doesn't know anything about MY kitchen, haha!

Cards Received, 2008

Special

Janina (mrshannibal): "No bones about it: you're great!" (cute puppy card)

Melia: "Leslie, Thank you so much for the LOVE book. :) I'll let you know if Angus and I need more books on love. :P My mom started reading it after you guys left [the bridal shower]... eek! Haha! It's such a blessing to serve with you in AWANA. :) Love, Melia."


Valentine's Day

Hannah L.: a little Hello Kitty Valentine's card - how cute!

Charlotte (charshark): "Leslie... Sorry that I didn't send you a Christmas card, but I hope that this cheeky Valentine's Day card makes up for it! :P Anyways, I hope you have a fabulous day! Haha! Always, Charlotte AKA Charshark." (complete with fortune cookie: "You will have much success and happiness.... IN BED!") [she drew a heart with an arrow pierced through it, heh]


Special 2008

David Fellowship guys appreciation card


Birthday 2008

Steph: "Hey, how's it going? Ha ha ha - I thought I should start your card the way you start everyone else's! Anyway, I hope all is well in SARNE-WORLD. Remember to be productive with your time - and I'm not talking about bowel movements. Have a happy, fart=filled 32nd BIRTHDAY, YOU LARD! YOU'RE OLD!"

Billie: "Hey, Leslie. Happy Birthday! :P I FINALLY get to come to your birthday - how rad is that?! :D I wish I could get you that thing so we could commence our evil plans... but sadly find one, I cannot. :( So hopefully these pressies from me and Mum will do! :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" (she drew a star!)

Mas: "Happy Birthday. Dear Leslie, I wish all the best for you!"

Tara: "Dear Leslie - Wishing you the best on your Birthday. Love, Tara."

Vivian S.: "Happy Birthday! I hope this year is full of fun, laughter, love, and happiness! All the best!"

Teunis: "Light be with you / Shape and foam / Friendship greet you bright and warm / Laughter fill home and hall / Discoveries will bring joy after all." (he drew a dog!)

Jasmine: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Remember, with age comes experience and wisdom! (usually) I hope you have a great birthday! Jasmine." (purple / blue / pink / green)

Danielle: "Happy Birthday, Leslie! Wow! Another year wiser. :) What we really need to do is celebrate the old-fashioned way... Siu Long Bao! Anyways, I can't wait to hang out with you more in DAVID Fellowship! (I guess I'm getting older, too) :) Hope this birthday is just grand... and may God bless you as you climb up the hill. :P" (she drew / stencilled a flower!)

Citrus: "Happy Birthday, Leslie! Sorry I couldn't make it to your party. I hope you have a great party, and get the presents that you are hoping to get!"

Vanessa: "Hi Leslie! Happy birthday!!! I'm so glad we are in the same small group. :) I'm excited for this new year in David Fellowship. I hope you have an awesome and fun birthday! P.S. Thanks for always remembering my birthday. :) Love, Vanessa."

card from Candy

card from parents

Cindy: "Dear Leslie, Happy belated birthday!! You're always so great at remembering everyone's birthdays! You're amazing! So can you believe we'll be moving churches soon? We'll have to make new memories at the new location. It's been great having you in Bible Study! Love, Cindy. :)"

Dianne: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LESLIE!!! Hope you had a blast on your birthday! I'm sorry I missed it, but I did see some of your pictures on Facebook. That poo book looks pretty interesting... Eeks! I can't spell... We should talk about poop sometime, since I guess we both find it a pretty interesting subject. :) Anyways - I hope you have a FANTASTIC year! Love, Dianne."


Christmas 2008

Matt K. (jarethshair): "Hi Leslie. I hope you are having a fabulous Winter Season. All the best for the New Year and beyond! Enjoy the sweets! x Matt."

Brandy (foreverintheend): "Leslie, Wishing you a wonderful holiday season! :)"

Samara (mystic_notions): "Leslie, I wish you a Merry Christmas, and I hope that 2009 is a fabulous year for you. I've had a busy year myself. Finally left retail, and got myself an office job. Take care. Samara."

Marie (reebee): "May your New Year be wonderful! Merry Christmas!" (included a DVD of A Christmas Carol)

Amanda (zuridea): "Leslie, have a Merry Christmas! I hope 2009 is even better than 2008! Best wishes!" (featured Tweety Bird... HOW CUTE!)

Sheryll (sheryll): "Leslie, you asked for random things. Is there anything more random than an onyx armadillo from Texas? Bet you don't already have one of these! :) Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year! Love, Sheryll."

Christon: "Merry Christmas, Leslie! Thank you very much for all your care and consideration every year! It's a great blessing to see you bring joy to others for their birthday and other special occasions of the year. Seeing you at Sunday Dinners is always refreshing, and I hope we will continue to get to know each other better with the coming year. Wishing you happy holidays!"

anonymous person from holiday_wishes: "Have an awesome holiday, Leslie!"

Kelli (neonrose5): "Best wishes!"

Jennifer (tehgreenfairy): "Hey Leslie! :) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

Janina (mrshannibal): "Dear Leslie - Wishing you peace, love, and happiness for Christmas and throughout the new year! Enjoying our LJ talks! Love, Janina."

Jane (gi_janearng): "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!"

card from Marilynn (headless_maids)

John (snooooopy): "Happy holidays! Go, Canucks!"

Cindy and Dianne: "Dear Leslie, Merry Christmas! We feel blessed to have a caring friend like you. God bless you in the New Year!"

Sarah G. (Tonks): "Leslie! Merry Christmas and lots of happiness in 2009! xx Tonks."

Harmony: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! All the best for 2009! I'm so glad you're going to be my sister-in-law! :) Love, Harmony."

card from Kenny, Winnie, Megan, and Connor

Vania: ""

Kadri (bad_habit): "Make these wafers! Happy holidays, Leslie! May your holidays be full of joy and laughter, and may the new year be kinder to you than this one has. Love, Kadri." (in brown pen - nice!)

Katya (katzk): "Dear Leslie! Wishing you a Merry Christmas! I hope the New Year 2009 will be really good for you. Snowflake-y greetings from Russia - Katya."


Total: 34


Benne (sesame) wafers

1.5 tablespoons butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar together, blend until smooth. Add the egg, flour, salt, and vanilla extract. Blend until consistent in texture. Pour in sesame seeds and mix until evenly distributed.

Using two teaspoons, drop dough onto parchment in small mounds, leaving at least two inches between them. Flatten the mounds with a spatula dipped in ice water. Bake at 350°F for about six minutes, until wafers are honey brown and are no longer puffy. Let cool on sheet for a minute or two, then remove to rack to cool completely. Store wafers in an airtight metal or plastic container.

What's the winery position? / He's TOO NEW!

Bingo of the night so far:

POSITION (124 points) - against Anna J.


High-scoring words of the night so far:

MITTS (250 points) - against Sara K. [two 5W]
WINERY (120 points; 2W, 4W), POSITION (124 points; bingo, 4W, hook on ROSY to make OR and NO) - against Anna J.
BAYWOOD (180 points) - against Janet S. [5W, 2W]
DWARF (112 points) - against Evelyn D. [4W, 2W]
DAMP (116 points) - against Lea P. [4W, 3L on P, hook off VANE to make VANED] {this was a good word since it made up for the deficit I was running against her!}


Eric picked me up a little later than scheduled, but that was okay. I do appreciate not having to take the bus because of the snow, even if it is double the distance for him! As it is, the parking lot is still very slippery - I had to hold on to the car while he helped me IN the Parisienne. Told him not to park in the middle of the damn lot next time - I'll have to tell Henry and Ada that too on Saturday! Unfortunately, I brought up butt emissions (he said mine caused the outside fog! :P), and he had to activate the fart lever! Oh well, 'tis an old joke, haha! There was no time for him to eat dinner, so he had chicken-vegetable pizza at home. Talked about money, a supposed plot I have to murder Jeremy by peanut butter since he has an allergy to the stuff (NEVER!), who REALLY deserved to be murdered, my supposedly being a murderer and the worst kind of evil, PINKY AND THE BRAIN, not believing people, mini-rants, being too tired / too awake, sleeping in till 2 PM pre-Regina, and other things as well. Listened to a bit of Mats Sundin's debut with the Canucks... Veronica recorded it for Eric, and we won 4-2 against Edmonton!

Tried opening my door once we got to our parking spot, but that didn't go too well since a big pile of snow was in the way! I just had to scramble out the driver's side, which was fine by me - then we walked across the street and up the stairs to safety. At least we didn't have to sign in with any security guard like last time: someone asked if we had them anymore, and I didn't think we did. Vivian wanted to take a picture of us, so Dylan and I mock-complained about not having time to do our hair and not wearing the right kind of clothing! (hey, we want to IMPRESS the newcomers, don't we?) Spent time talking about Fellowship stuff and people after having a reflection period: Alina is surprising... yay for appreciation! I had to restrain myself from correcting Dylan's grammar, haha. When Dylan suggested Richie for something, I immediately thought that he was TOO NEW because he's only been going to the Fellowship for about six weeks! (I didn't say anything about this, of course) I also thought someone else was too new at first, but then he grew on me. :D

After the meeting, I talked to Vivian about the snow - we've been basically stuck at home for the past two weeks or so! I wasn't going to refuse Andrea's kind offer to go grocery shopping with me, haha. Scrambled in through the driver's side again, and got branded a destroyer by Eric for my trouble - HA, I'LL DESTROY YOU! Discussed bling, the side door near the entrance, ice, dressing to impress, the 24 Sunday premiere email list which I'm somehow not on (darn Nathan), Burnaby, FARGO, "YA MARGIE! WAS HE FUNNY-LOOKING?!", noodles, being what you eat, the Used ripping off Radiohead, and other things. I guess I'll see him on Friday, which will be cool - I need to talk to Connie, too. Johnny and I have exchanged emails... the cups are still packed away according to my dad, and it's nice to have insider contacts whom you can call at 11 PM about things like this!

What the hell is with Gmail? The notification text is BACKWARDS!

Hibernation plugs - yup for feisty, snazzy, lax camping!

High-scoring words of the day so far:

FEISTY (410 points; 3L on F, two 4W), SNAZZY (120 points; 4W, 3L on Y) - against Kelly H.
CAMPED (525 points) - against Angela V. [two 5W]
OVERLAX (768 points) - against Christie M. [4W, 3W, 5L on X]
YUPS (220 points) - against Laura F. [two 4W]
COYPUS (136 points) - against Evelyn D. [4W, 2W]


I got another weird phone call from Michigan: 1-616-980-2740, anyone? Manitoba's also hit me again, of course. LJ is down AGAIN! "LiveJournal.com is currently unavailable due to emergency maintenance. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with our recent company layoffs! It's a technical problem, not a lack-of-personnel problem. Thank you for your patience." Right.. we'll see... I also accidentally microwaved a metal spoon with my pasta / rice dinner, and NOTHING HAPPENED! PHEW! (called Eric for tonight's plans, too)

POO NUGGET for Wednesday, January 7: Doo You Know? Bear Poo - Bears don't poo at all while they're hibernating. Their bodies create an internal plug made from feces and hair that prevents them from pooping during their five-month slumber.

Your Word is "Peace"

You see life as precious, and you wish everyone was safe, happy, and taken care of. Social justice, human rights, and peace for all nations are all important to you. While you can't stop war, you try to be as calm and compassionate as possible in your everyday life. You promote harmony and cooperation. You're always willing to meet someone a little more than halfway.

What's Your Word?

Good thing I'm not my brother, because "promoting harmony" would mean something QUITE different in that case! ;) But seriously though, the result above is correct! Thank goodness I can do it now, and not be impeded!

Ditziness, cleaning, and a BIG MELT!

High-scoring words of the night so far:

METHOD (375 points) - against Cherry P. [two 5W]
SPEWED (115 points) - against Alice P. [5W, hook off HOW to make HE and BOD]
GETAWAY (192 points) - against Pearl R. [two 4W]
THAWER (188 points) - against Janet S. [3W, two 2W, hook off FOE to make FE and OR]


RIP, Ron Asheton. (age 60, found today in his home by police officers; he was a founding member of the Stooges - Iggy Pop - with his brother Scott)

Vince's funny infomercial for the SlapChop - thanks, Corey! The GRATY in plain font is amusingly WTF, haha. Now I have weird phone calls at NIGHT?! 1-804-403-6205 (Virginia) and 1-213-537-1095 (California), anyone? I've heard from Billie that GJ is finally dead. Since I decided to verify this myself, I got a 403 Denied error for my trouble!

Found a pad of paper which was creased and had some bad writing on it: you can bet that's going to the garbage! Corey and I are talking about how "Koreylian" sounds like Correlia / Han Solo, hoodies, Jane, size, blue sweaters, shopping for pants in the kids' section, and his part two of Christmas. His sweater reminds me of the warm brown-and-white sweater which I used to have (stupid people and their compliments!) - somehow that led to a discussion on bleaching / dyeing black hair, and my supposed craziness.

Been doing some cleaning, too - finally threw out various things, and found my dad's copy of FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYRS. Turns out that I never even took it out of the Reitman's bag my mom put it in... whoops! (what a DITZ moment) Now I can give it back to him after I read it, heh. Rainfall warning tonight, which I guess is better than a snowfall warning: GET READY FOR THE BIG SNOW MELT! I've heard of roofs collapsing because of the weight of wet snow! At least once this weather clears, I can go out and get some stuff DONE, finally!

Poo Transplants / Invoking staged trachea

Bingo of the day so far:

OTIOSITY (69 points) - against Anita F.


High-scoring words of the day so far:

INVOKER (135 points) - against Audrey G. [two 3W]
STAGED (176 points) - against Joshua T. [two 4W]
TRACHEA (435 points) - against Flora G. [5W, 2W]
AVOWS (106 points) - against Donna L. [4W, 2W]
PAPERY (128 points) - against Mary P. [4W, 2W]


I've found that Lexulous doesn't really work on my computer, so I can't do both that and Wordscraper at the same time. (must remove a tag from LJ if it works, so it can be even!) Also, what's with all the "bX-2hcpgd" errors when I try to edit / publish Blogger posts?! Hope it gets fixed SOON!


Today's poo nugget for Jan. 6 (Tuesday): One of the most recent advancements in transplantation involves the transferring of stool from one person's colon to another. This seemingly barbaric practice has been shown to help patients recover from a form of colitis caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile. After the collection and processing of the donated stool, the feces are placed into the patient's small intestine via an endoscopic tube. Typically used as a last resort, this treatment seeks to correct the colon's bacterial imbalance by repopulating the gut with billions of beneficial bacteria from a healthy volunteer. The future of stool transplantation without long waiting lists appears promising, owing to the limited number of willing recipients and the potentially endless supply of donors.

It's not a matter of scheduling appointments! / Yay for actual FUN people!

Have discovered that I dislike Scrabble Beta: Wordscraper is better, heh. No multi-tasking for ME as far as word games are concerned! :P

Ah, good times with Corey while doing various dungeons and space adventures... I tried to see if my brother had the phone number listed below, but he was busy playing hockey with Myles and Peter. Oh well. It was fun to hang out with Harmony and her family - the key word is that my future friends or more should be FUN! YAY! :D

I know I come off as maybe a bit anti-social near the end of this snippet, but I'm really not like that unless I crave downtime. Ask the people who know me best!

[20:24:03] Flami: the hamsterette: bad Corey... directing me to porn about Tyler Durden and Zhang Ziyi
[20:24:35] Flami: COREY!!!!!!!!! You DO know that's going to stay in my history FOREVER courtesy of Firefox 3, don't you?!
[20:25:09] Corey: that's not porn, that's her on a beach, choosing to have some guy lick her ass in public
[20:26:58] Corey: that's a celebrity "news" site. they basically make fun of celebrities and make sure to post when chicks get naked. or in this case, Dr. Frankenfurter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show
[20:28:29] Corey: also, who cares about history? do you have people inspecting yours? I never even use mine
[20:29:07] Corey: Firefox 3.1 also has porn mode, like Chrome does, so you can open things in that if you need to be a weirdo :P
[20:29:12] Corey: or Chrome...
[20:39:24] Flami: I read "beach" as "bench" :P
[20:40:01] Flami: no, but you know how Firefox 3 has a drop-down menu whenever you put in the first few letters of whatever you want to go to? it'll show up now!
[20:47:00] Corey: so? don't choose that one?
[20:48:10] Corey: the part that annoys me is that bookmarks show up in that. I already have a bookmark for those, I don't need to type the address in... give me something I'd be LOOKING for, not something I can just click on
[20:49:38] Corey: you can also open history and delete things one at a time if it's that big of a deal, you weirdo
[20:56:45] Flami: some stupid person just called me... 778-785-6985
[20:56:56] Corey: what makes them stupid?
[20:57:20] Flami: I don't like when people call me :P ESPECIALLY if I don't know who they are
[20:59:28] Corey: why is it bad if someone calls you?
[21:05:03] Flami: depends on my mood... right now, I don't like it
[21:16:01] Corey: what if I called you? you wouldn't pick up since you don't know my number :P
[21:27:27] Flami: you never gave me your cell number in the first place!
[21:32:41] Corey: well, if I called you on it, and you answered... and then looked at your caller ID, you would know it, wouldn't you? :P
[21:34:50] Corey: and if it's a salesman or something you can tell them to [censored] or something pleasant like that. or you could do something funny
[21:46:14] Flami: haha, maybe... I dunno. You know how I thought Eric was at my place on Friday? he says he wasn't... very strange!
[21:50:38] Corey: well, it was probably a burglar, but they assumed it wasn't worth the risk when there was someone inside screaming: "NO ERIC, I WON'T GO SKATING WITH YOU! AAAHH!!!"
[21:50:46] Corey: and they replied in Eric's voice?
[21:50:57] Corey: so your friends come over and you don't even open the door for them? :P
[21:52:47] Flami: oh no... the phone was off, and I only noticed that someone had tried to be buzzed in an hour after the fact. and as for when my friends come over, they'd better let me know beforehand :P
[22:00:31] Corey: well, you're no fun
[22:00:41] Corey: what if they want to come over and do something fun?
[22:01:09] Flami: Evites! :D
[22:04:44] Corey: scheduling an appointment isn't very fun
[22:09:08] Flami: I like knowing things in advance.
[22:10:31] Corey: but then you're making it work for anyone to do anything fun with you, which means that you're probably not having fun a lot of the times you could be
[22:11:20] Flami: meh, everyone has work and stuff now that it's not the holiday season (YES!) - so...
[22:20:37] Corey: well, why don't you send out a mass Evite for a farting contest where the winner gets to fart on everyone's face?
[22:22:40] Flami: .... and why would I do that?!!!!
[22:25:36] Corey: because it would be humorous to see what kind of replies you get
[22:30:58] Flami: haha... my friends would probably be like "WTF?" and then delete it
[22:33:47] Corey: well, they're not very exciting now are they?
[22:36:22] Flami: YOU can set up such an Evite and see how many people respond then! :P
[22:42:01] Corey: I would get humorous responses and probably several messages about me being an idiot
[22:44:57] Flami: haha

Scatology / Two sets of black-and-white twins!

High-scoring words of the day so far:

FIZZED (1625 points) - against Itamar R. [two 5W, 4L on Z, 2L on F]
SIX (135 points) - against Kareen J. [5W, hook off ZOO for a plural]


I detest ICQ porn bots!

Today's poo nugget - Monday, January 5: Scatology, also known as coprology, is the study of excrement. This word derives from the Greek skatos, meaning feces. Scatology can also refer to sex acts involving excrement, the most famous of which involves two girls and one cup.


From my ArcaMax Weird News:

British couple has 'black-and-white twins' twice

A mixed-race British couple has defied the odds — twice — by producing two sets of twins in which one sibling appears to be black and the other white. Dean Durrant's newborn daughter Miya has dark skin like him. Twin sister Leah has fair skin like her blue-eyed, red-haired mother, Alison Spooner.

Their older siblings Lauren and Hayleigh, born in 2001, also have strikingly different skin tones and eye colors.

"There's no easy way to explain it all. I'm still in shock myself," Durrant, 33, told Sky News on Wednesday.

Both sets of twins are fraternal rather than identical, meaning they are the product of two separately fertilized eggs, so it is not unusual that they don't look alike. Miya's skin color was more influenced by her father's genes, while Leah takes after her mother.

But scientists say it's rare for a couple to have two sets of twins, end even rarer for them to have such different appearances.

"Even non-identical twins aren't that common," Dr. Sarah Jarvis of Britain's Royal College of General Practitioners told Sky. "Non-identical twins from mixed parents, of different races, less common still. To have two eggs fertilized and come out different colors, less common still. So, to have it happen twice must be one in millions."

The phenomenon is so uncommon that there are no statistics to illustrate its probability, although it is thought likely to become more common because of the growing number of mixed-race couples.

The twins were born prematurely in November in Frimley, southern England, and spent several weeks in the hospital. They are now at home with their parents in Fleet, 40 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of London.

You Are Copper

You are provocative and challenging. You help people realize who they really are. You live a very balanced life. You always take time for love and art. You are both a powerful and generous person. You always have time to give back. People find you to be incredibly ethical and loyal.

What Metal Are You?

You Are Charming

You are witty, funny, and very talkative, at least when you're at the top of your game. You can be quite moody as well. It's likely that you will have two or three children. You can conceive pretty easily. You are not easily moved. You are very stoic, and not thought of as an emotional person. You are a bit lazy. You sometimes don't shower or brush your teeth all day. You are quite conservative. You are neither a flirter or a flaunter.

What Does Your Belly Button Say About You?

This Tonks survey has too many love questions!

Another one from Sarah G. via Facebook:

1. Who is the first person you think of when someone asks you who you like? No idea!

2. Do you drool, snore, etc. in your sleep? I know I do!

3. Are you happy? More like content.

4. Have you ever liked someone who all your friends hate? Maybe. ;)

5. If you were born the opposite sex, what would your parents name you? The same thing, which would REALLY have created confusion in junior high!

6. Are you tan? No.

7. Hair color? Dark brown.

8. Confused about anything? Not right now.

9. Do you have any pets? Nope, they're not allowed in this apartment complex.

10. Do your initials spell anything? Not unless you speak some sort of alien language.

11. Last person you fought with? I'm proud of not really fighting with anyone, since I value tranquility in life. I guess the answer to this one would have to be Korey!

12. What's one thing you actually remember about kindergarten? Stephen H. comforting me on the playground... no, wait, that was Grade 1. Let's see... getting to play with my new friends at school!

13. Do you prefer to call or text someone? Call, I guess... although I can see the advantage of texting! (if you want to keep things all secret-like...)

14. What are you listening to? Bob Dylan, Ramblin' Gamblin' Willy.

15. Last movie you watched? Fargo.

16. What are you doing tomorrow? Not sure yet.

17. Are you excited for anything? Weddings, I guess...

18. What are you doing currently? Filling out this survey.

19. Is anything on your mind? Not really! I've cleared it!

20. Have you ever been given roses? Yup... yay for Chinese Eric!

21. What is your all-time favorite romance movie? Don't have one.

22. How many times have you honestly fallen in love? Maybe once.

23. What's your current problem? The stupid snow - it is impeding me from what I gotta do!

24. Have you ever had your heart broken? Not really.

25. Had a long-distance relationship? Yes, with Stephen and then Korey. It just doesn't work for me, I suppose.

26. How many kids do you want? MAYBE one.

27. At what age did you start noticing the opposite gender? Nice question. How am I supposed to know?!

28. Are you happy with your love situation? WHAT love situation?!

29. Do you know someone who likes you? Nope, and that's good.

30. Do you like anyone? Not really.

31. When is the last time you cried? Ages ago!

32. Why? Stupid things going on in my life then.

33. Does anyone know you're crying when you are? ... what the heck. I'd say no.

34. Who is the last person you hugged? Chris, yesterday.

35. Have you ever been told you were pretty or cute? Sure.

36. Ever been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant? Not to my knowledge! o_O

37. When was the last time you wished you could change something? A few months ago... and I *did* change it! YAY! :D

38. What was your last nightmare? Don't remember.

39. Who do you tell every secret to? Nobody!

40. What are you currently waiting for? Nothing, really.

41. Last time in the hospital? December 2004, visiting brother.

42. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? Nope!

43. Do you believe in a thing called love? Sure.

44. How old do you want to be when you have kids? NEVER!

45. Why did you smile last? Remembering a little kid's cuteness. :D

Spontaneity is a good idea!

Bingo of the night so far:

HEPTANES (86 points) - against Alice P.


High-scoring words of the night so far:

CATHEADS (225 points) - against Michael M. [5W]
FORAY (117 points) - against Alice P. [two 3W]
GROOMER (104 points) - against Angela V. [4W, 2W]
AX (71 points) - against Raymond C. [3W, hook off MA]


Steph picked me up this morning, and we started talking about very unhappy people and respect. Then the discussion turned to how the weather affects what she does - she's made the requisite adjustments, heh. Got to church and talked for a bit to Jen and Raymond: snow, yesterday's events, Toronto, opposite weather from Vancouver, new places, misleading "sweet" stout names, Steph's work, and more. It's always nice talking to my favorite people! (forgot to bring up the fairer game of Wordscraper, but he'll see it... YAY!) However, it has been some time since I didn't know what to say - sharing was cool enough, though! Got a Christmas card from Winnie via Cindy - WHEE! (Helen has a picture of Cory for me, and I still have cards for John / Ian / David / Emily / Melia!) Jeremy said that the Winter Conference bus ride took 16 hours - that is definitely LONG! Jon and I modified the passing of the peace during Communion - "Ugfart" is fine if it's sanctioned by a pastor, haha! (I called him that later in the afternoon while we were working on wedding invitations, and Holly thought I'd called him ALFRED!) It's no "Peace be with you - and also with you," but it works! ;)

Discussed things (like Ian being cute and greeting them in the morning) with Matt and Elaine after service - hey, they got to meet Harmony, too! At least they LOVE their new families - YAY! Talked to Fidela, Richie, Tony, Cordia, Eric, and others in the fellowship hall later. Discussed BAD Atlanta transit, grocery shopping right after Winter Con, the snow, our holidays, Harmony / Holly / Peter (who were given a grand tour of the church by my mom), Canadian Tire, the pews being almost too comfortable, chocolate cookies and snacks, NOT being at my door on Friday, blogging, and more. I resisted the temptation of extra cookies, but Fidela and Quan weren't quite so resolute. Understandable, of course...

There were no kids in Sunday School, so Auntie Fonda and I discussed her busy work schedule - of course she can come here if she needs a break from stuff, haha! Her co-worker wanted to take New Year's off since he wanted to gamble in the casino... not possible with a food manufacturing job! Some people can also be pretty rude - she asked this one guy to repeat ONE ITEM, and got this for her trouble: "YOU ARE WASTING MY TIME! CAN I TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE?!" Stupid people, heh.

On the way downstairs, I stopped in to say hi to Cindy. Her student Alina said that seh remembers me - that's good, since I used to teach her in the toddler Sunday School a few years ago now! Then I stopped by the teens bemoaning the advent of school tomorrow: when I told them that post-secondary breaks are longer than two weeks or two months in the summer, they were like "REALLY?!" with these round eyes full of awe, heh. (Hilary LOVED that news) Discussed Winter Conference with William for a while - sounds like he learned a lot!

Went to the fellowship hall to interact with baby Matthias some more - he's so cute, and loves shiny things such as my keys! He was actually good for a flight to Calgary since he slept the whole hour or so - yay! Calla says she loves non-squirmy babies, so Noah wouldn't fit into that category anymore: he loves the snow, and tried touching my glasses when Lesley was holding him. Talked to Ivan, Sam, Chris, Fidela, Emily, Melia, Angus, and more people: hugs goodbye are nice! (Megan's getting married in July - this I didn't know!) I warned Fidela about the baby boom that's soon to come after everyone gets married, haha.

Later, we went for a Pho lunch with Harmony's family - Myles, Harmony, Brittney, Peter, Holly, Jon, and I talked about FREE BACON / hand-dryers, the church, Sunday School, Brittney's long last name (she's definitely changing it when she and Myles get married!), wedding invitations, wedding planning (bought the dress in AUGUST?!), raspberry cake, being mean, liking to sniff people, affection, greasy fingers (NO HOLDING HANDS FOR YOU!), and more. Haven't heard that much "honey" and "baby" since a few months ago, but it's cool. Being the only unattached person at the table, I was able to just take it all in! It was cool, though... we bumped into Harmony's aunts, uncle, and grandparents as well. We were going to go over to their place to do guest list / invitation stuff, but Mom got enthralled by the dollar store - it's all good, since I got pineapple cake / Jack n' Jill Piattos cheese crisps / mango bubble gum! Maybe we can go there again once the snow melts...

Spent some time helping with wedding invites, and got to know Brit a little better - she went to Hamber, so she knows of Andrea L., Julie, and Elaine. She met Myles at a school Christian group, and of course was friends first. That's the only way these things will work, heh. The guys were having much trouble with the random hole puncher with pretty designs, so they wanted to return it since they had it less than a week! Holly said she could be mean, so she got to talk to the people at Michael's - eventually, we figured out a crazy Asian way to return the original punch and also get a new one. Unfortunately for our excitement level, Harmony found the original packaging. Discussed credit cards, forgery as a joke, NHL games, video games, weird bubble tea combinations, Frances, Ellen, the Breath of Heaven gaffe, the snow impeding thieves from breaking into Hannah Lee's hotwired car, Dorcas, Mr. Dragon Ball, and Mandarin Immersion while my parents and Harmony's parents tried hammering out a guest list.

We were kinda wondering where the girls had got to when Uncle Joe got a phone call - seems they were stuck in the snow and couldn't get out, so the guys had to go rescue them with a shovel. Good thing they were in Peter's car, though! When Auntie Wing opened the front door, we discovered that it had started snowing in the two hours we'd been over! Myles and Jon tickled Brittney for fun purposes before the guys left - Jon just decided to stay because of his prior plans. I elected to go home since it was where I wanted to be, especially after not getting too much sleep last night! Found an email from Eric - heh, we'll see what happens if the weather actually clears!