Chocolate decadence in an inventory

Chocolate inventory:

* two bags of bite-size Reese's Pieces (260g each; on sale)
* three regular-size Mars Bars (peanut-free; on sale)
* two 300g bars of Belgian Continental (on sale) [a bit TOO sweet, so shall be giving it away]
* Ghirardelli Intense Dark Espresso Escape (100g)
* a Lindt Excellence 99% bar
* Lindt Excellence Intense Mint dark chocolate (100g; on sale)
* Lindt Excellence Ecuador 75% dark chocolate (100g; on sale)
* four bars of Lindt Creation 70% cherry coulis-Chili chocolate (150g each) (not what I was expecting... the cherry coulis ruins it for me, so shall be giving it away)
* two 200g packages of Tim Tams (one Original, one Classic Dark) [a little sweet, but it's okay]
* Green and Black's Organic 85% intense and dark chocolate (100g; made with fine Trinitario cocoa beans)
* eight 45g Aero bars (on sale; six peppermint, one dark, one milk)
* a Guylian No Sugar Added 70% Extra Dark bar
* a Lindt Excellence 90% bar (bitter, but still okay as long as I consume it square by square, very sparingly)
* nine mini-packs of chocolate Pocky
* 37g of Maltesers
* 150g Jaffa cakes
* one 58g Wunderbar
* one 75g king-size Smarties box

Hmm... I have 25 bars of varying sizes, plus two fair-sized bags, two boxes of chocolate biscuits, a box of cake-like things, a box of Smarties, a small package of malted chocolate, and nine mini-packs of Pocky. I think that's enough to last me for quite some time, even if I share with my local friends!

Rafter the forts with aloe and pesto!

Bingo of the day so far:

RAFTERED (915 points) - against Michael M.

High-scoring words of the day so far:

RAFTERED (915 points) - against Michael M. [5W, two 3W]
PESTO (330 points) - against Travis P. [two 5W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
NOVAE (160 points) - against Patricia S. [two 4W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
TIDILY (144 points) - against Christina D. [3W, 4W]
BIASES (180 points) - against Marlene K. {a good deficit-erasing word!}

Interesting rack of the day so far: FORTALOE (against Josephine S. - read that as "Fort Aloe")


Unexpectedly home again, so I get to do what I do best - dungeons, space adventures, reading, and playing Wordscraper! There's also bugging Corey, and seeing what dramatic "gems" are there for my entertainment on Craigslist and other sites, hahaha. Also fielded emails from Cindy and Kevin, heh.

Dream: Stretching feet on running boards

Had a dream in which a group of us were gathering a whole bunch of food to donate to people in Victoria. In the dream, I was not best pleased because of the time this would take away from my various Facebook pursuits - this included reinstating Jordan, Josephine, Thomas, and others to my friends list because I had accidentally deleted them while tagging them in some application. However, my parents scolded me for that, so I had to suck it up. Jonathan, Sean (looking way smaller than in real life), Justin, and others wanted me to help with their food, so I did... eventually, I wanted to go with the guys, but I couldn't since it was all divided along gender lines. The girls had to go earlier than the guys due to a ferry ride, but it was also snowing outside! Jon and Steph saw this, and decided that I had to be kept safe.

Then I was mad because spending time with the girls would limit my time with a certain person (if Eric reads this: SHUT UP! :P), but it actually turned out to be all right. Andrea L. volunteered to keep me company in the front row of this huge van that we rented after the ferry ride, heh. I actually fell asleep on the ride there while my sister and her friends were being really loud. I woke up just when we'd reached our destination: I thought I saw a shop that was called METH PRESERVES: it did have messy white font on a blue background! Our driver (a blonde girl) laughed, but helped us unload everything. Andrea and I wanted to stretch our legs on the running board, so we carefully and tentatively tried to see if it would bear our weight. The dream ended when people were making noise upstairs at 12:40 PM! Ugh.


Facebook quizzes taken from Bec, Jane, and Morgana:

Leslie took the quiz "which fairytale do you belong in?" and the result is Snow White. You face trials and tribulations, but end up with the sexy guy you deserve! You're determined and caring, and enjoy small men carrying pickaxes.

Leslie took Which Disney Villain Are You? quiz and the result is Maleficent. You are Maleficent! You spend your days plotting the demise of an innocent young princess, and all because you weren't invited to her welcome party! Talk about spiteful! (MUHAHAHA... this sounds like my type of result!)

Leslie took the quiz "What Were You In A Past Life?" and the result is Peasant. You tend to not like to stay in one place, so you are either moving around a lot or going on vacations often, traveling the world. Your favorite way to exercise is to walk, and your favorite animal is a horse or one of its barnyard friends. You tend to get seasick on boats, and avoid going on one as much as possible.

I like to laugh while doing bad things... YES!

High-scoring word of the night so far:

HEARINGS (143 points) - against Jack H. [5W, hook off VICE for a plural]


Facebook quiz taken from Morgana:

Leslie took What movie villain are you? quiz and the result is The Joker. You are someone who likes to laugh while doing bad things! You have fun being bad! (Hee hee hee. *big grin*)


Poo nugget for this weekend: DrStool.com Q & A - How Can You Overcome Constipation? While it may come as a surprise to some, increasing your fiber intake can sometimes make constipation worse. Sure, it bulks up the stool, but unless you consume enough water, your stool may actually become harder and more difficult to pass. So when fighting for a more peaceful poo, be sure to drink six to eight glasses of water a day in addition to high-fiber foods. If the combination of more fiber and a lot of water does not help cure constipation, the next step would be to visit your local GI specialist to discuss other tests and the possible use of laxatives as medicines that speed up the movement of the intestines.

How can ONE Alaska roll turn into FOUR?!

Went out tonight to meet Billie for dinner, but made a stop at Shoppers Drug Mart to buy two cherry coulis-chili chocolate bars for her and her parents. Read a bit of the ANNE prequel on the bus, which seems pretty good - I should read the other books again! Billie got to Chapters before I did, and we decided to have Japanese food for dinner. I knew there was a Japanese restaurant nearby, but I didn't know it was Fish on Rice's Broadway branch! (I was in the Burnaby one in November 2007) At first, we were undecided whether to have all-you-can-eat or just a menu order, but we chose the latter. ($20.95 for dinner, and adding $1 because it's a Friday?!) Saw things like Oak St. roll, Granville St. roll, Vancouver roll, and Burnaby roll - quite funny!

We had a good time talking about (among other things) the neck and throat as a sexy zone, Korey, her boyfriend Jairus, sushi, people not liking sashimi, stupid comments on her stories (a pound sign is NOT a dollar sign!), sleep, her parents, my family, her friend Austin, how she and her friend Patrick were practically twins, one of her brothers being in Edmonton but wanting to move back due to the fact that it's too cold, and her other brother doing late-night gaming with her... coupled with awkward conversations! At least all the chocolate I've bought this week makes for a MUCH MORE PORTABLE dessert for the Sunday Dinners, haha! Her Persian name's been mangled into all kinds of things, including Vanessa. Korey once thought her name was BANGLADESH! (and one of his friends apparently thought she was EAST INDIAN!)

She says that if she ever wins a random laptop, she'll give it to me: sounds good! We had Dynamite roll, Alaska roll, salmon sashimi, chicken udon with HUGE chicken / mushroom / broccoli pieces, and tea. When we got the bill, we wondered WHY they put FOUR Alaska rolls on there when I had only ordered ONE! They didn't even give us any miso soup which appeared on there, which we HAD ordered. I'm not sure we're going back there again! Still, at least they gave us our leftovers to take home! (I ended up getting them)

We decided to hang out in Chapters for a while; I read a book about useless history (featuring things such as Nero being intimate with his own mother), and Billie read some graphic novel which seemed thick to ME. She assures me that the ones in Japan are much thicker! Eventually, we decided to see if we could bus home... someone gave me her seat on the crowded B-Line. Since I had a lot of leftover sushi, I went to London Drugs (the fourth time in four days!) to buy some Kikkoman soy sauce. The kind with less sodium was more expensive than the regular kind! Saw some iced tea and things there, but figured that since I didn't HAVE to carry heavy items home like I did last summer, I wouldn't. I still remember the feeling of the heavy baskets I carried!

Now I'm home earlier than I would be on a typical Friday, which is good... ten years ago, I would almost NEVER have said that! I also REALLY needed to pee when I got home, and barely managed to hold it in... no, I didn't need to go at the restaurant or bookstore. TMI, I know. :P [Janina asked me about money, and I found the exact same currency exchange site that Korey used to access ALL THE TIME while he was here!]

Ribena, Milo, and pork cubes!

Went food shopping soon after that last entry, and I was glad I ate beforehand! I decided to try Alexis Brie (I was looking for that for half an hour when I got home - when I found it, it went STRAIGHT to the fridge!), Schneider's shepherd's pie, Oasis juice, ready-to-drink Milo in juice packs (reminded me of last summer when I tried it in a tub format), strawberry-kiwi-cereal Activia yogurt, Uncle Ben's roasted chicken wild rice (enough for twelve portions!), and various noodle bowls from Nong Shim / Triple Noodle / Golden Wheat / Paldo (reminds me of Janina) in Korean style. The noodles are in varying flavors, too: spicy chicken, mushroom-chicken, kimchi, hot and spicy, stewed pork cubes, chicken-abalone, XO Sauce, shrimp, braised chicken, and more.

Decided to get another plastic storage container, toilet paper, Silk chocolate soy milk (the regular chocolate milk jugs were way too sticky, ew...), cherry Source yogurt / blackberry-blueberry Yoptimal yogurt (both with easy snap lids in a small tub), white grape juice, toilet paper, pomegranate-cranberry juice, bananas, vegetables, and Ribena! I haven't had blackcurrant concentrated juice in AGES, maybe since my teen years or childhood! Of course, you're supposed to dilute it with water - it would be way too sweet otherwise! There was some Activia yogurt which had muesli in it, but the expiry date is TODAY - uh, no thanks!

Got home and fielded phone calls to / from Dylan, Eric, and Billie: Bible Study, chocolate (the idea of buying more makes me SICK now!), Skytrain, offhand knowledge, and more. I had to explain Billie to Eric as "my pretend wife," hahaha. Things are definitely a go, and I need to get ready myself!

The Ayatollah Khomeini in my dreams?! OH NO!

This thing restarted AGAIN - UGH! I had a dream which was set in the middle of the holiday season. My friends and I were living in the mall because everything else was snowed in, and we couldn't really get anywhere. We were all trying to get along okay when my dad decided to disrespect my wishes. Everyone else agreed that I was right, but he didn't see it that way. He tried influencing everybody to see it HIS way, but that definitely didn't work, haha!

Later, he just went off somewhere by himself - my mother was not in this dream. To take our minds off what had happened, someone switched on the TV. Lo and behold, a woman named Nancy Grace (not the US TV personality) was on the news. She was at the funeral for her father, where the Ayatollah Khomeini had taken it upon himself to disrupt the proceedings. He had an EPIC news-worthy fight with the person's security guards, who were all in official uniforms with shiny gold buttons. After that, we had to tell everyone else to watch the news highlights later on! Farrah Fong was carrying a baby around, and didn't think the kids should hear that, but we all overruled her. The dream ended when my alarm went off... I didn't want to oversleep and miss food shopping!

My Little Cook noodle cup has a package for the non-soup, non-oil stuff like mushrooms and bamboo. It is called the Retort Pouch - HAHAHAHA!

Leslie's Soap Opera Name is Sally Fitzgerald.

Your Name's Power is Creativity

Your name's power is that it helps you be creative. Your name conveys both purity and skill. People who meet you can't help but think you are charming. You try to live your life with people you trust, surrounded by nature.

What's Your Name's Power?

Soulmate? Do I even BELIEVE in that?!

High-scoring words of the night so far:

RESIZE (112 points) - against Steve L. [two 4W]
DESPAIR (176 points) - against Jess H. [two 4W]
LIQUOR (102 points) - against Peter S. [3W, 2W]


Facebook quiz taken from Katherine:

Leslie took Who Is Your Soulmate? quiz and the result is Belongs With Someone With Class. Your future lover should be someone with class. You belong with someone polite and never afraid to admit their mistakes. They will help you see the good in life and appreciate everything. (DAMN RIGHT!)

Man, I have enough chocolate now to last me a long time, even if I share with my local friends! Billie and I are definitely on for tomorrow, so YAY! :D

Poo nugget for Friday, Mar. 27: The Ideal Poo for Power Generation - As we attempt to confront our addiction to oil, some have advocated burning human and animal dung as alternative energy sources. While the ideal poo is often described as soft and moist, it is the constipated rock-hard stool that is most useful for energy production. Desiccated poo is more efficient due to its lower water content, thereby decreasing the energy needed to extract water prior to its combustion.

Kirby reminders in dreams / Ghirardelli, Lindt, and more decadence

This thing just restarted - UGH! Had a dream where my mom got really angry at Nathan because he was playing MARIO games in a Chinese restaurant at an important dinner. The game was cool and colorful; he could extend his character's neck to go way up in the sky and eat things, much like Kirby. Almost makes me miss the childhood days; too bad I am not a guy, haha!

Walked outside later to finally get something done that I've been putting off for about a month - I can tell people about it on Sunday, haha. Let's just say that hearing "disregard" used in a certain context makes me giggly, hee hee. Then I went to London Drugs to get two blank cards (one with cupcakes for Corey, and one with cats in buckets for Janina), two bubble-wrap envelopes to mail Tim Tams / Mars Bars / Aero bars / Maltesers / Mirage bars / Wunderbars / cards / king-size Smarties / shredded pork / shredded wild Pacific salmon / Coffee Crisp in, some more Maltesers, peppermint Aero bars (they had them today as opposed to yesterday), original Tim Tams (as opposed to Classic Dark - I already have that), a Lindt 99% bar, and a Green and Black 85% dark chocolate bar. I was looking for the one with polyphenols to no avail - I should have bought those on Tuesday afternoon, darn it!

Went to Shoppers Drug Mart to get a few Lindt 70% cherry coulis-chili chocolate bars even though they weren't on sale (I can share them with my friends!), a Ghirardelli 60% Intense Dark Espresso Escape bar, an on-sale Lindt Ecuador 75% bar, and an on-sale Lindt Intense Mint 70% bar. Then I went to Coles to see if I could use up various Chapters gift cards from Korey, Citrus / Danielle / Vanessa, and my parents. I could, and did that on Before Green Gables: An Anne of Green Gables Prequel (Budge Wilson), something for my sister, and a hardcover notebook with dogs on the cover for Billie's mom Tara.

Later, I went to the food court to use a table so I could tape everything up after I wrote in the blank cards. Then I went to the post office - after that, I decided to go home, and was here by 7. Not too bad, haha. Could have gone out for dinner, but I know I have to keep tomorrow in mind: food shopping and then meeting with Billie! That will be a GOOD TIME!

Leslie just took the Are You A Flirt Quiz and is 86 percent flirty. I am 86 percent flirty. You are a major flirt. If flirting was an Olympic sport, you could go for the gold in it.

Facebook quiz taken from Jasmine:

Leslie took the quiz "what type of girlfriend are you?" and the result is ROMANTIC. You are very polite. You are everything that a guy looks for. You are beautiful, smart, and you tell him everything. He loves you.

You Are The Brain

You're the type of person who's always on, always churning. You are alert and quick to react. You like to stay busy. You are responsible, but also demanding. You take up a lot of energy. You are someone of deep mystery. There's a lot below the surface that's hard to figure out.

What Internal Organ Are You?

English homework and rewriting / Celiac disease

High-scoring words of the night so far:

DIOXANES (145 points) - against Pam T. [5W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
FAZED (120 points) - against Marlene K. [5W]

Facebook quiz taken from Mike B.:

Leslie took Which National Party MP are you? quiz and the result is Murray McCully. You make Machiavelli look like an amateur. You are crafty, scheming, and a world champion greaser. There are no lengths you won't go to... not to be in power, but to be the power behind the throne. You are a survivor. But, look out! You also have a list of enemies growing by the day...

Helped Andrew with English homework and rewrites that he'd been working on for more than two hours. (8:15 to 10:30?!) Characters named Orleanna and Nathan, plus a story paralleling the Israelites' story in the Biblical book of Judges with tyrants and everything else? Hmm, sounds interesting enough, haha. Also showered, did labels / filters / tags management, thrown away plastic waste, and did some laundry since I can do it at just about any time now! Finally found Erik's book (The Beast Within - Vampire: The Masquerade Novels by Stewart Wieck), which is a good thing.

Poo nugget for Thursday, Mar. 26: Dr. Stool Says - Celiac Disease - This disease of the small intestine, often simply called sprue, is characterized by intolerance to gluten-containing foods. (such as wheat, rye, and barley) The disease was first described in the second century by Aretaeus, who felt this malabsorptive condition was caused by a lack of heat in the stomach. He strongly cautioned sufferers to refrain from drinking cold water.

Mirage, Wunderbar, Aero, Mars, Asian snacks, and IHOP: a GOOD afternoon!

I went out to get some more chocolate at London Drugs today. First, I was intending to hit up Yaohan or Aberdeen for shredded pork. The very thought made me tired; luckily, I remembered that I could go to Great One Supermarket... MUCH closer! While I was there, I got Little Cook Tom Yum noodles in a bowl (seafood, mushroom / vegetarian / benito flavors) / some shredded pork / chocolate Pocky / one little jar of shredded wild Pacific salmon since I've never had it, and some Nutella. Hey, I like hazelnut stuff! My purchase was over the $5 debit minimum, so that was good. Wondered if they cared about food recalls at Asian markets when I saw peanut butter for sale, haha. (I know they do at London Drugs and similar Western shops!)

Then I went to IHOP since I haven't been there in a while - SLAY MEMORY DRAGONS! Had a garden omelette with lots of cheese and three buttermilk pancakes. Saw a Colorado omelette, which of course made me think of Corey. After that, I went to London Drugs (the land of on-sale chocolate!) while wondering if I should just not mail his stuff till later. I ended up running out of energy, and figured I should NOT push myself like I did last summer because I kinda HAD to. While I was at London Drugs, I bought a blank card (to explain some of this stuff?) / a Guylian 70% No Sugar Added Extra Dark bar / Maltesers / some on-sale chocolate / Tim Tams.

I wanted Corey to have more than one of each kind except the Tim Tams and a Lindt 90% bar plus Jaffa cakes I bought for myself, so I don't think the envelope method will work to send his stuff. Maybe I'll have to suck it up and buy a box or simply get two envelopes... I'll save the envelope for later, I guess. (I also noticed a mini box of Bridge Mixture - dunno why I never saw it before! Also found the Wunderbar box, then forgot where it was... so spent ten minutes staring at the chocolate section till I found it again. I'm LOSING IT!)

Edit: Now Janina also wants some Tim Tams since her friend keeps talking about it all the time. "Buy me some, send 'em to me, and I'll pay you back. I've never had them before and endlessblush talks about those damn things all the time... Message me the cost, and I'll send you the money. I'm desperate." To do for tomorrow: Return to London Drugs (three times in three days, honestly?!) and get Tim Tams and another blank card, and maybe mail Corey's stuff too. Yikes. Corey's also talking about Milk Duds... don't get me hooked on it! Then again, I might just buy some of those too... as if I needed more chocolate!

Foist hooks on the Quakers! / Dream of Tim Tams

High-scoring words of the day so far:

FOIST (130 points) - against Tammy L. [4W, hook off QUAKER for a plural] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
CAKED (112 points) - against Josephine S. [4W, 2W]


I had a dream where I simply HAD to buy Tim Tams from the store, or else everybody else would get them! Jon and others kept delaying me, but I prevailed in the end. What the heck is wrong with my subconscious?! Maybe I'll buy some goodies today after I catch up on what I missed because I had to sleep. As if I haven't spent enough money on them lately...

Facebook quizzes taken from Jessica and Morgana:

Leslie took the quiz "What does your body language say about you?" and the result is Attentive body language.

Leslie took the quiz "what stereotype are you?" and the result is cool / normal. (All the double H's in this quiz made ME want to shoot myself. Any idea why those are in there? Besides the quiz author being a stupid moron, of course... THAT is established already!)

Leslie took the quiz "What kind of person do you fall for?" and the result is The "bully." You fall for the person who is kind of a bully. They are mean, and maybe misunderstood... They could have problems at home that make them that way, so don't get in over your head. There might be a chance, but don't expect a saint. (Oh dear... this probably explains a few things...)

Leslie took the quiz "Who were you in a past life?" and the result is Frank Sinatra or Marilyn Monroe. You're a beloved and dearly-missed entertainer who brought joy to millions upon millions of people. In the hardest of times, your voice / face / life reminded people to let go of regrets and hatred, and to truly live this brief life.

Leslie took What Motorcycle Are You quiz and the result is Born To Wander (Harley Davidson Fatboy) You are born to wander, and you top the list! (NICE!)

You Are Facebook

You are social, outgoing, and excited to connect to your friends. You are interested in your friends' lives, and you enjoy adding your opinion to the mix. While you enjoy sharing online, you don't want everyone to know your business. You value your privacy. Your life is an open book to those you know, but not to strangers.

Are You Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter?

Something Awful snack exchange, Tim Tams, and Boulder chips

Talking to Corey and Billie now, so that's a good thing!

[21:43:23] Flami: learning about martyrs: I did get you some more Mars Bars, so those SHOULD be in the mail on Friday. I think.
[22:03:27] Corey: more candy to make me lazy, huh? :P so have we figured out what's good around here that you don't have in Canada? there's a Something Awful international snack exchange thing going on now, maybe there's people requesting things there that would work
[22:04:08] Flami: haha, oh yes. :P for some reason, I think I should send you some, so you're getting 'em! :P
[22:04:47] Flami: I haven't figured that out quite yet, no... what kind of ideas are floating around in the snack exchange?
[22:05:16] Corey: I don't know, I didn't really read it yet
[22:18:01] Flami: gee, that's helpful... :P let's see.
[22:20:19] Corey: how about maple syrup? I don't think Canada has that
[22:23:23] Flami: har har har. actually, we have maple syrup with the 2010 Olympic characters on them!
[22:25:36] Corey: there's no such thing as 2010 yet
[22:27:20] Flami: Olympic hype... hey, have you had Aero Bars or Coffee Crisp? (reading thread)
[22:30:42] Corey: no and no... you're supposed to find USA American things, not Canadian things
[22:31:41] Flami: I know... you might get Wunderbars and Mirage bars, too :P
[22:41:32] Corey: wonderbras? I don't need that!
[22:46:55] Corey: there are entire massive aisles devoted to junk food and stuff here, so there has to be stuff you don't have there but I don't know about anything notable.. I think you guys get all the main things we have
[22:56:30] Flami: I think so, yes...
(snip of irrelevant discussion about Mexico and Wal-Mart)
[23:17:33] Flami: have you ever had Cadbury or Pringles?
[23:18:29] Corey: we have Cadbury eggs and Pringles here
[23:21:13] Flami: cool... I swear I'm trying to find USA-only things in this thread :P
[23:25:33] Corey: anything? the US people must be sending things to others :P
[23:31:39] Flami: hmm... someone was looking for salty licorice, but I don't know where that would be from. someone else said they could supply Spinblend, but that's mayo :P
[23:33:57] Flami: someone mentioned odd flavors of potato chips... don't know what all you have in that department. or maybe LOCAL stuff, I dunno
[23:33:59] Corey: never heard of that mayo... and I think mayo is mayo. it's a jar of fatty slime and it's good even though that sounds horrible
[23:35:01] Flami: this thread reminds me that I saw Tim Tams at London Drugs earlier. should have bought some, I guess.
[23:36:06] Corey: aren't those the Australian things you bite the ends off of, and drink hot chocolate or coffee or something out of?
[23:36:45] Corey: some chick from Australia was supposed to send those, and Vegemite, but she never did
[23:43:16] Flami: I'm not sure... I saw "Tim Tams" and thought "Australia."
[23:48:51] Corey: well, if that's what those are, they're supposed to be amazing
[23:54:33] Flami: yeah, I think those are the things I saw... and you're talking about something called the Tim Tam Slam, according to Google
[23:59:34] Flami: do you have funky local flavors? (and if I get to the store again, I will definitely be buying some Tim Tams!)
[00:06:43] Corey: read that thing... it's a normal Tim Tam, and that's just a term for drinking shit through one
[00:07:08] Corey: funky local flavors of what?
[00:09:17] Flami: I dunno... you've said stuff about some amazing Colorado-only chip you get
[00:10:19] Corey: I get Jalapeno chips which I thought were a local brand, but they're not.. they're a small brand that you may not get, though :P there's a brand called Boulder Chip something or other... they have some good stuff
[00:10:52] Corey: those are made in Boulder, as far as I know... they stopped making the habanero ones, though...
[00:11:54] Corey: Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper or something like that.. those are good... Sea Salt & Vinegar... I those are good, with a strong taste... uh... I think there was some weird lime type thing that was good... I mostly just got the Habanero
[00:24:33] Flami: weird lime type thing? NICE.
(snip of irrelevant conversation about stuff)
[01:41:56] Flami: you are making me want chocolate. good thing I bought a ton this afternoon
[01:44:02] Corey: how am I doing that? you're the one talking about it! :P
[01:45:13] Flami: you're responding to what I'm saying!
[01:46:53] Corey: yeah, I should probably just ignore you :P
[01:51:08] Flami: yummy dark chocolate :P
[01:52:17] Corey: don't get 99% dark chocolate, it's gross
[01:53:28] Flami: one of my friends sent another mutual friend 99% dark chocolate from France once... he said it was all right, but really chalky
[01:56:20] Corey: it's not all right :P that means there's no sugar in it at all... well, apparently they put something in to call it 99%, but it's all bitter and gross. you bake with that maybe, but you don't eat it straight. about 75% is just right
[01:56:59] Corey: most "dark chocolate" stores have is like 55% or maybe 60% if you're lucky. unless it specifically says something higher, it's probably pretty weak
[02:00:46] Flami: I saw some 75% in store today...
[02:05:08] Corey: well, that's the kind to get :P I've had 85% too... that works, but is getting on the bitter side. 75% is way darker than most stuff labeled as dark chocolate, and isn't really sweet at all, but just enough that it's not just bitter and gross
[02:07:42] Flami: I got some Belgian dark chocolate, but it didn't specify a percentage... some other dark chocolate (which I didn't get) had "___mg of polyphenols [or whatever] per serving!"
[02:16:01] Corey: well, if it's Hershey or Dove or whatever normal candy company... they're weak. Ghirardelli (or however that is spelled :P) puts percentages on theirs and goes up to at least 70%
[02:19:57] Flami: I think that spelling is correct :P ... I'll have to look the percentages up tomorrow or the next day when I'm in the store again
[02:21:01] Corey: my mom really likes dark chocolate, so we've played around with the percentages a lot :P 75% is ideal, at least in our opinion
[02:22:10] Flami: hey, that sounds pretty good... I don't think my dark chocolate now has a percentage.
[02:38:16] Corey: if it doesn't give you one, it's probably pretty low, which is still good, but it's definitely different than 75%
[02:40:05] Flami: oh, of course it is!
[02:45:08] Corey: I don't think it's local, but we did get my mom some "cherry and chili" dark chocolate for Christmas.. I think that counts as a funky flavor :P
[02:45:37] Corey: she gave me a square of it to try... I think it sounds completely awful, but it's actually pretty good
[02:45:48] Flami: ooh, I think I had some of that stuff last year sometime
[02:49:28] Flami: my parents gave me a bar of Lindt 70% dark chili chocolate from the States last November
[02:50:32] Corey: I think that's the brand we got for her. they have 75% stuff here
[02:51:14] Corey: fuck, it's 4 AM already... okay, I'm sleeping now, goodnight :P I have been trying to wake up earlier, and I keep staying up until like 4-5 AM........ that doesn't quite work
[02:52:26] Flami: that's definitely not going to work, no... goodnight.

Must buy Tim Tams at London Drugs, perhaps tomorrow even. Or maybe on Friday... I dunno. If I do that and send one to Corey, I might need a box instead of the envelope I currently have! Oh well.

Facebook quizzes taken from Tony, Dianne, and Jessica:

Leslie took Which Mr. Men Character are you? quiz and the result is You are Mr. Funny! You are humorous and fun to be with, but your pranks can get on peoples' nerves!

Leslie took If I was a doctor, what specialty would I be? quiz and the result is ER Doc. You love blood, gore, excitement, refilling prescriptions, treating gonorrhea, and saying the word "nitro." You are exciting, but sometimes superficial.

Leslie took What RPG class suits you? quiz and the result is Mercenary. You don't serve anyone, and take nobody's orders. You're a mercenary. You fight for money, fame, and power. You gained your great fighting skills from countless battles, and your scars as a bonus. You don't see the difference between justice and evil. The only thing that matters is what's best for you.

Poo nugget for Wednesday, Mar. 25: Everyone Poops - Originally written in Japanese by Taro Gomi with the title Minna Unchi, the English translation known as Everyone Poops is widely considered the most popular poo book of all time. Since 1981, the English translation has sold more than 480,000 copies. Geared towards children of toilet-training age, the book tells the story of animals and how they defecate.

Kinky trivia farters!

UGH... this thing just restarted AGAIN!

I got this "tagging people" picture from one of Jasmine and Natalie's friends:

If I can't find it easily, the place is not for me! / Chocolate heaven in Belgium

I just got out in enough time to take the bus this afternoon, but got lost trying to find where a suite was for viewing. Somehow, I don't think this place is for me if I've been stymied the two times I've attempted to go there to take a look at it! Walking down Aragon (reminds me of Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII), then trying to navigate the endless stream of Aintree this and that? No thanks! Doesn't help that I have a middling sense of direction, but at least I made a note of where the major intersections were so I could find my way back to a bus stop at Shell / Williams. That wasn't actually where I got off the bus originally, either... hmm! At least I got home by 7:45. Despite what Corey thinks, I did indeed look things up on a map before leaving!

The whole trek reminded me of newspaper route days, or the days where I walked to Dee's house for Avon-related purposes! I swear, even the party house on South Sumas in Chilliwack was easier to find that day when I had to bus there after a Greyhound ride to see if I could get something from Korey's room! (nobody was home...) Granted, I'd been to the house a few times via car and cab, but STILL. Seriously, it's not for me if I can't even FIND the darned place! (NOT a fan of living way off the beaten track...) I had a square of Green and Black organic chocolate - yum!

Since I was determined NOT to waste the trip out, I went to London Drugs to see if I could get some more Mars Bars (with caramel?) for Corey. He's right: I really don't want to risk shredded pork being confiscated if I try "smuggling" it like he did with the fire oil! To my pleasant surprise, the Mars Bars (along with a bunch of other chocolate) were on sale! I was intending to get some more for myself and save it, so I did that along with buying a birthday card for two-year-old Gabriel. Got Belgian Continental dark chocolate (two huge 300g bars for $3.29 each), bite-size Reese's Pieces (it seems they have that for EVERYTHING now), and some Mars Bars. So at least THAT wasn't a waste of time... maybe I'll mail the stuff off on Friday or something. Went home and fielded an inquiry from Andrew about THE POISONWOOD BIBLE: he says it's initially boring, but gets interesting halfway through. (maybe it's like Harry Potter...) I'll have to borrow that from the library sometime!

Before I left, I was checking my Gmail trash bin for something. Lo and behold, I found an email from Korey asking how life was, and I could tell from the snippet that he'd sent me something on January 13. I wasn't even tempted to read the email... it's a testament to how far I've come! I'm not even curious to see what the rest of it said, since there's a REASON why I'm no longer talking to him. Heck, there's a reason why I even shut him out of the Blogger journal!

No escalators at Aberdeen, please...

This computer JUST restarted AGAIN! I just made a Random Thought post about my fear of escalators. Natalie (stitch_me_back) commented to show me a picture of three escalators side by side. The stupid idiot is now banned from my journal because you do NOT make fun of me!

Went out with my mom for lunch, then to China (Rice) World / Daiso / Aberdeen. I got a couple of pork buns, preserved vegetable noodles, green tea-flavored Julie's Love Letters (picture below), some Japanese rolls with black sugar, and the entertainment value of looking at various random stuff at Daiso. Saw Pocari Sweat, melamine-enhanced stuff (yummy...), and some Japanese snacks whose brand name was apparently "Like A Beer!" This is when I wish that I had a digicam, but Google Image Search works just as well!

When I got home to have some Nut Brown Ale, I saw Corey had left me some messages. Good, because I was going to ask him about sending shredded pork!

[14:37:13] Corey: I found some better funny Youtube videos for you ... that's the last page... just watch every cooking video. his other ones don't seem to be anything interesting, but the cooking ones are almost all amazing
[14:37:49] Corey: start with Omelet for Obama part 2 ... that's a pretty good overview of this guy...
[15:31:19] Flami: learning about martyrs: I hate escalators!
[15:31:35] Flami: learning about martyrs: by the way, do you know whether I could send shredded pork there?
[15:35:41] Corey: probably not, since Jane sent meat and it was confiscated :P

Twilight character quiz taken from Sarah G.:

Leslie just took the Which Twilight Character Are You Quiz and is Edward. You are Edward. You are wise beyond your years, in more ways than one. You are dark and mysterious, and you like it that way. The fewer people that get to know you, the better. It doesn't matter what other people think, because you usually know what other people are thinking anyway.

Parrot sandals and Chinese soocer with fruit

High-scoring words of the day so far:

SANDAL (369 points) - against Leah D. [two 3W, two 2W, hook off KIN for a plural]
PARROT (205 points) - against Leah D. [5W, two 2W] {different game... a good deficit-erasing word!}


Facebook quizzes taken from Gretchen, Jessica, and Ellen:

Leslie took Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United? quiz and the result is Manchester United.

Leslie took Do People Love You? quiz and the result is Naturally Loveable. You are sweet, sensitive, kind and caring. You're nice to everyone. Well, you try to be, haha! But if someone messes with you or your friends, you kick the sh*t outta them! MUAHAHA! That's probably why people love you! You're just so damn independent!

Leslie completed the quiz "How Emo Are You..??" with the result Not Really Emo. You just don't really care about anything. You're kinda out there. Your colors are anything dull. Actually, you don't really have one. You might be a little separated from everything around you. Maybe try again, if you care at all.

Leslie took How Chinese are You? quiz and the result is Fresh off the Boat. You speak perfect English and Chinese, with a beautiful, lilting accent. You have Asian friends as well as non-Asian friends. You are equally aware of both popular American culture and Asian pop culture. You are a good dancer. You date Asian by choice even though you could rock the opposite sex of any other race. You are a good designer, and have superior HTML skills. You have an Apt107 page AND an AA page, and the guest books in both are packed. For you, FOB stands for Fabulous Oriental Being. You have lots of Asian pride. You can play Mah Jong the correct way.

You Are a Papaya

You are a calm, balanced, and mild-mannered person. While you're peaceful and together, you're also quite complex. You are authentic and honest. There are some very distinct elements to your personality. You are exotic and original, but you don't flaunt it. You allow others to discover your subtle complexities.

What Tropical Fruit Are You?

Dragon spirits, five Chinese elements, and more / Badfart in Denmark

High-scoring words of the night so far:

DEMEAN (250 points; two 5W), REALIZE (460 points; two 5W, hook off SHAD to make SHADE) - against Jeanne S.


I tried the starfruit-citrus (cerambole-agrume in French) SunRype juice earlier. Not too bad! (I'll answer Teresa later) OCDL Note: I now have 562 Blogger tags. :D

A Quiz Universe thing, plus Facebook quizzes taken from Morgana, Kaitlin, Gretchen, and Alice:

What Scandal will End your Career?
	Concocting a 'love' potion which makes people blind
What Scandal will End your Career? @ QuizUniverse.com

Leslie took the quiz "What dragon spirit is inside you?" and the result is You are the Blue Dragon! You ask how this one makes you unique? Well, you may be shy, but when someone is friendly enough to get to know you, you can be really energetic / random / very outgoing. You tend to be a homebody, but you also don't mind getting out of the house to hang out with friends every once in a while. You may have a boyfriend. If so, you want to be happy with him, but you can't seem to understand each other in every aspect. If you don't have a boyfriend, then be patient! He will come to you when you least expect it and it will be romantic, spontaneous, and very worth it.

Leslie took the quiz "Are you angelic, demonic, or torn between realms?" and the result is Neutral. You are remarkable in your ability to stay unbiased in every aspect of life. You are by no means a good Samaritan, yet none would call you evil.

Leslie completed the quiz "What Color Is Your Heart?" with the result Crimson. The Crimson Heart is assertive, brave, energetic, action-oriented, intelligent, individualistic, independent, impulsive, full of strength, competitive, eager, straightforward, forceful, headstrong, pioneering, a leader, focused on the present, and freedom-loving. They can also sometimes be intemperate, violent, impatient, fiery, rash, extreme, and arrogant.

Leslie completed the quiz "Dr. Phil's Personality Test" with the result The Loyal Friend. Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful, and practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make, and who expects the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

Leslie took What Little Miss character are you? quiz and the result is Little Miss Trouble. You are a lot of trouble, but good fun. You enjoy playing tricks on everyone. You love anyone else like her, and especially like to play tricks on Mr. Rude.

Leslie took What color are you? quiz and the result is You are ORANGE! You are very bright, but can be shy at times. You enjoy being around other people.

Leslie completed the quiz "Who Were You In A Past Life?" with the result Queen Elizabeth I. In your past life, you were Queen Elizabeth I. In this life, you continue to have strong relationships with friends, have a conservative disposition, use your sexuality to gain power, and are careful to not take sides.

Leslie just took the What does your birthday mean? quiz and got the result: You're Wise.

You're Wise: Tolerant and inspirational, you are wise beyond your years. You are universally sympathetic and a great humanitarian.
Your soul reflects: Devotion, light, and love.
Your gemstone: Sapphire.
Your flower: Morning Glory.
Your colors: Brown and deep blue.

Leslie just took the Which of the 5 Chinese Elements Are You? quiz and got the result: Fire. Fire: A natural leader, you inspire with your decisive action and dramatic expression; people can't help but be magnetically drawn to you. Where will you lead your followers? Likely into an exciting adventure of some sort. You're instinctual, but your mind sparks with new ideas and clever solutions.

{Well, I am a Fire Dragon, so this result really fits! The Yin or Yang is broken down into Wu Xing (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) on top of the cycle of animals. These are modifiers, and affect the characteristics of each of the 12 animal signs. Thus, each of the 12 animals are governed by an element, plus a Yin Yang Direction.)


Poo nugget for Tuesday, Mar. 24: Doo You Know? - Something Is Rotten in Denmark? A town in Denmark bears the unfortunate name of "Badfart."

Sweating blood / Denied your baby / Weapons and bioterror

Great. The TV channel had sound issues AGAIN. Oh well. In House, they thought that the patients (a single dad and his daughter) would be exposed to mold. Daughter says that they never go anywhere except work and school. The dad was trying to go somewhere, but the doctors stopped him. "I have an appointment!" "You'll have to wait... his pupils are responsive. Maybe he's ASLEEP!" So maybe sleepwalking / insomnia isn't a symptom, but maybe it's narcolepsy triggered by the environment. Let's see where the guy's dreams take him while he's unconscious of what he's doing!

Dr. Cuddy met with some girl in a bar, and was concerned about the rash on her arm. Ah yes, adoptive mothering. Then Cuddy and someone else went after the patient in a car: ah, he's a john for cocaine in his "other" life. Cocaine explains the sleepwalking, but not the other stuff. So then they see the hooker again, and ask for the watered-down cocaine. It's cut with MILK... what a toxin! Kidney failure - and no, we're not going to get the daughter involved in a transplant! House goes into an operating room where the girl is giving birth to a baby with underdeveloped lungs, who is Cuddy's new baby daughter. Then Cuddy explains the risks to the 12-year-old girl. House wouldn't risk a transplant; later, the daughter was sweating BLOOD. Something was blocking their dopamine receptors, and that was all I got because of the bloody sound issues. (or maybe they were LIARS!) Adoption was the answer, I surmised. Then House and Cuddy had an emotional moment because she was denied her baby, heh.


In 24, Larry was at the late Senator's townhouse and did his best Horatio Caine impersonation by investigating the crime scene. Luckily, he didn't pause after every word, crack a one-liner, and then put on sunglasses right before the opening credits. He called Ethan, who tried to pass the buck to Moss, but Moss actually stood up for himself. Ethan seemed resigned to the fact that this was his fault, and he looked distraught and depressed. Tony and Jack were driving with one hand and holding cellphones with the other. They haven't heard of Bluetooth devices? President Taylor was on the phone with her husband, who is now out of surgery. So terrorists can break into the White House from under the sea in less than a few minutes, but the First Gentleman needed four hours of surgery? Ethan tendered his resignation and fell on his own sword. President Taylor tried to talk him out of it, but ultimately accepted his resignation. What's with all the disloyal / incompetent Chiefs of Staff? Mike, Wayne, Cummings, Mike again, Tom Lennox. Yikes!

Some dock security officer named Carl that we've never seen before was on the phone with his wife, who's pregnant with twins. ("The doctor said I was lucky it wasn't triplets!") We know what that means. This guy will be dead soon. Jack and Tony got to him, and demand the shipyard's manifest. Jon Voight is coordinating with his team at the shipyard and, sure enough, he was wearing a Bluetooth. Maybe that's why Jack and Tony didn't have them. Bluetooth devices are for evil people! Like Gream. Or is the Grame? Why couldn't they have just gone with the conventional spelling of "Graham?"

Jon Voight presided over some kind of board meeting at Starkwood. He went into overacting mode once again, and went off on the government for not knowing how to utilize their services and daring to investigate them. Of course, the board is not totally behind him. Doug, some suit on the board, wanted to make a deal with the administration, but Jon Voight wasn't hearing it. They step outside, and Doug is worried about Senator Mayer's investigation. Jon Voight flashed his evil smile and calmly mentioned that the Senator is dead. Doug wanted to know whether Jon Voight was behind it, and Jon replied with a creepy "We are not in the business of political assassinations. But maybe we should think about it."

Jack tried to reason with Carl the Redshirt and tells him what's going on. Sure enough, he tells Jack everything. Jack can't call to the FBI since the lines are jammed, so they'll need to go it alone. Jack convinced Carl to let the bad guys in and string them along. Carl forced Jack to promise to protect him, while Tony flashed Jack a knowing look that's absolutely priceless. Jon Voight's men took Carl with them and Jack is upset. Tony tries to cheer him up by saying: "He was dead the moment he stepped out of that door." Ethan gave Olivia some words of warning about trying to win at all costs, and Olivia clearly resented his patronizing attitude. Of course, Olivia called that reporter and reveals that she was behind the leak all along. NOT SURPRISED!

Renee's still in holding; back at the townhouse, Moss had some questions about this whole thing, and he calls Renee. He was skeptical about Jack's guilt and he wanted answers from Renee. Renee had a crisis of conscience and isn't sure whether or not to trust Moss. Finally, she relented and told him everything. Wow, she's known Jack for less than 24 hours and she already trusts him more than Moss. Can't blame her. The bad guys decide to "settle up" with Carl, and Tony wanted to let him go. However, Jack won't do that and he follows them. Tony tries to talk him out of it, but Jack puts on his silencer and shot the guy anyway. The bad guys sent someone to check on the downed guard. He saw the guy down, and he called it in. Why didn't Jack just shoot the guy with his silencer and buy some time?

Jack went after the truck, and he commandeered it. There are nine hours left. Surely Starkwood must reacquire the weapon before too long, right? Tony got captured. Will Jack go back and save him? Nope. He saved Redshirt Carl and he let Tony go? What's wrong with this picture? Jack called Moss and tells him that he got the weapon. He noticed a flashing light and a leak, then got momentarily exposed to whatever toxic agent is in the canister. (ANOTHER canister?!) However, he once again demonstrated his superhuman ability to hold his breath, and fixed the leak. Sure enough, he got ambushed once he exited the boxcar, and Starkwood recovered the weapon. Tony is alive, and is being held captive. Meanwhile Jack told Moss that he was exposed to the bio-agent, and Moss seemed sad. Wow, Jack really seems to have that kind of an effect on people, doesn't he? You just can't help but love the guy. Just ask Senator Mayer. Oh wait a minute...

My free wooden spoon has BROKEN! / Meatless Hamburger Helper

High-scoring words of the day so far:

TALAR (136 points) - against Claire H. [two 4W, hook off VIA to make VIAL]
AMOEBAE (140 points) - against Pino E. [5W, hook off STY to make STYE]
OSSIA (100 points) - against Richard B. [two 4W, hook off NANA for a plural]
RANSOM (300 points) - against Lesley S. [two 5W]


Apparently, I'm meeting my mom tomorrow for lunch, and to check out the "dragon material" at some store. Been ages since I've been to Fabricana, heh. Maybe wonton mein might be good, haha. Then I'll do something else, assuming bus service doesn't suck again. And... I just found the receipt for the cherry pie, a night after I may have needed it! Oh well, Jeremy and Ray can certainly have $7 worth of it for themselves! ($6.50 plus tax)

Now my free wooden spoon has BROKEN! Oh well... at least I didn't have to pay for it! Hamburger Helper without the meat is just pasta and the flavoring / sour cream powders. I expected it to be a little salty, and it was - yes, I added water to mix the powder together. Not sure I'd try it again, though!

Dream of fruit representing doors / LOOK AROUND YOU!

Had a dream, and all I can remember is that Michelle L. (Ryan and Ethan's mom) was demonstrating how to open recalcitrant cruise ship bathroom doors. She used various kinds of fruit to represent the pieces of wood that needed to be bent to the left, other fruit to represent the door, and vegetables to represent ice blocks. Weird stuff!

I got two phone calls today AND knocking on my door from someone attempting to gain access to my place. You bet I did NOT answer them (and pretended I wasn't home) since I wasn't expecting anybody or even a package in the mail! Seriously, I like my safety first! Have heard / read too many stories about people opening the door only to get killed and stuff - or maybe that's just last week's episode of JACK BAUER making an impression on me. Not that I'd necessarily get KILLED like Blaine Mayer did, but still. And no, I am not paranoid!

Now that I'm not totally sleepy, I will post links to the various CONNECTIONS / LOOKING AROUND YOU (comedic parodies of educational films!) videos we heard about last night:

BBC Connections on history of synthetic aspirin
Whole bunch of BBC Connections videos with James Burke
Look around you: The Brain!
Look around you: Math!
Look around you: Sulphur! (the one we watched last night in Jeremy's room - TOO HILARIOUS!)
Look around you: Water!
Look around you: Computer Games!
Look around you: Germs!
Look around you: Iron!
Look around you: Music!
Look around you: Calcium!
Look around you: Health!
Look around you: Ghosts!

You Are Going to Heaven

You're so saintly, you're practically an angel, and there's no other place for you than heaven. You are always concerned with doing the right thing. You consider being a good person a joy... not a burden. You're not perfect, and you don't expect anyone else to be. You are ethical without being sanctimonious about it. You are happy with yourself and the decisions you've made. And that's what's important.

Are You Going to Heaven or Hell?

"So saintly, you're practically an angel"?! HAHAHA.

Taken from Kathy and Ellen:

Leslie completed the quiz "Are You Clinically Insane?" with the result Sociopath (Antisocial Personality Disorder). You don't care about rules. You don't care about inflicting pain. In fact, you don't care about anything besides fulfilling your own twisted desires, regardless of the cost to others. This is what makes persons with Antisocial Personality Disorder capable of anything, and thus, the most dangerous of all crazies. Maybe you're not a serial killer... maybe you just take advantage of people at any available opportunity. Maybe you steal for the fun of it, maybe you enjoy hurting people's feelings, or manipulating those around you, pitting them against each other for your own amusement. In any case, you're a sick f***. Get help...

Leslie took what evil creature are you? quiz and the result is vampire. You can control yourself, but the constant need for blood can drive you mad. The night is your best hour, as it is with all evil creatures. You have great influence on your friends.

"Berry juices are GOOD for the chicken!"

High-scoring words of the night so far:

AERIE (140 points) - against Shelley R.-B. [4W, 5W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
EBONIES (256 points) - against Barbara J. [4W, 5W, hook off IMAGE for a plural]


Eric picked me up later than I thought, but it was okay since the car was warm - it was a contrast to outside! Talked about my new green spring-like top, changing clothes, whether I'd read any good drama this afternoon (NO!), and other stuff. When we got to Jeremy's, we said hi to Ray, and found Christon hard at work cooking three different chickens. There were a lot of strawberries around, and I talked to Raymond a bit about the child protection seminar. My brother hadn't really wanted to go, but he had to... Raymond just found that there was a lot of material on abuse and first-aid. I just saw the Awana first-aid kit yesterday, and haven't seen a general station yet!

Eric, Raymond, and I spent some anti-social time together after Christon called Jon to get him to buy cream: "Your definition of the word "soon" is interesting since you called us at 5 to say you'd be here soon! We figured you'd be having a beer!" Jeremy: "Maybe he is at the Whip since it's on the way, but why would he BUY it when he could drink it here with my beer cellar?!" Eric read the DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, I read one of Ray's books, and Raymond looked at specifics of some fund Jeremy is involved with. Jon and Nathan arrived in the midst of this, and we figured out that Jon was BUYING beer and not HAVING it! Various jokes were made about chicken and HOLES ("Christon started it!" "No, I merely knew what Nathan was thinking!"), and we discussed whether to pass on my pie - I ended up donating it to Ray and Jeremy.

Had Brie D'Alexis cheese, Asiago cheese, Maudite beer, Trappist Rochefort ale, barley wine, and Rasputin beer with sourdough bread, mashed potatoes, beets, apple-stuffed chicken, berry-stuffed chicken, and regular chicken. Laughed over various stag ideas, including Chinese Eric's idea of a Booze Night at the Broadway Church! Nathan hasn't talked to him for about a month, since that guy is pretty busy - I didn't know he could have a month's vacation when he's here for Jon's wedding! Discussed canning / freezing / City Hall gardens, Vivian's poo calendar gift (red poo, white poo, how I need to show it to Jeremy, NON-REAL pictures not selling...), Germans possibly being into RateMyPoo.com, backwards CKNW listeners, parking on the grassy strip at church, the parkade rarely (if ever) being FULL. Also talked about good rental properties, charismatic churches, speaking in tongues, spotting the charismatics at Missions Fest because they're way too happy, joke abbreviations for AIG, finances, the economy, brewer's yeast, yeast in beer, comparing store prices, how Britney Spears shouldn't be allowed to say anything, the David Crowder Band, leading from the old hymnbooks, Rogers honey granola which people would actually want to eat, long brown grain rice, the Google Labs people being allowed to work on self-directed projects for a set number of hours a week, and other things.

Jon dared to discuss the potential effects of whole-wheat pasta / fiber / Metamucil on me in Raymond's presence... what a weird ugfart! [I bugged him about that later on the way home] Then we laughed over the Magic Bra: too bad Johnny wasn't there! The thing's been well worth it in entertainment value ALONE! (Jen's IDEA... OH YEAH!) It might not be worth it if it was at Eric's house, because of various factors! (Jeremy's dad has seen the box, oops) Jeremy was actually trying to be a voice of reason on the night they got the thing, to no avail!

Later, Nathan started shooting some VERY random video for Harmony's birthday. Christon observed that the video would need some SERIOUS editing, especially the first half when almost all he shot was FLOOR! He shot the November-December 2007 tea calendar, as well as the numbers 1-30 being counted in English / French / Spanish / German / Cantonese / Mandarin. I elected to stay out of the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" round-singing since I wouldn't sound too good, heh. The video included random shots of the Magic Bra box (Nathan was one step ahead of me in that department), the CO2 tank for Jeremy's homebrew, the back inside covers of the DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, everyone there, and Nathan's random "narration." The Daniel Johnston music went well with it, even if it was made by a very disturbed individual brought up in a Christian home! (Nathan: "This is the Great Wall of China!" Background music: "SATAN!!!")

I looked at the "grammar" section of the DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS, and almost fell asleep - Eric thought I'd be sleeping soon. FOOD / BEER COMA, dude! At least Christon can tell his dad that the chicken wasn't a disaster even if nobody else had really done that before with (out-of-season) berries! The glum prediction he got: "It'll be a DISASTER!" He had to leave earlier because his parents didn't want him to be out late, and didn't think the "I've been HIDING behind all the trinkets here at the house all night, really!" excuse would work since he's been out a lot lately. Ah, I don't miss that part of living at home!

Raymond left earlier than the rest of us after receiving a phone call from (I assume) home. We looked at various BBC show parody videos - CONNECTIONS / LOOKING AROUND YOU. I can definitely learn things from Jeremy, which is good... so much the parallel of my experience with a certain other person, haha. Discussed Sunrise Service, Easter's exact date this year (April 12), Phil giving up BATTLESTAR GALACTICA for Lent, THE WATCHMEN, not spoiling things for Eric, karaoke, Jeremy getting THE GAMBLER / AMAZING GRACE / another song all melded together in his head, AMAZING GRACE being sung to the tune of SCARED by the Tragically Hip (I learned about it in August 2001) / and other things too. It was definitely a good time out, haha!


Poo nugget for Monday, Mar. 23: Gummy Poo - The explosion of sorbitol-containing products on the market has led to the recognition of a new diarrheal syndrome. Used as an artificial sweetener in products such as candy / gum / ice cream, sorbitol draws large quantities of water into the intestine, and can result in torrential diarrhea. Recognition of this side effect has led physicians to utilize sorbitol as a laxative for their patients with constipation.

Legendary creatures, characters, and more!

High-scoring words of the day so far:

FANCY (111 points) - against Jack H. [3W, 2L on F and Y]
MAVIS (106 points) - against Scott M. [2W, 4W]


Here are a bunch of Facebook quizzes from Ellen, Jessica, Chrissy, Morgana, Flora, and David L.:

Leslie took the quiz "What Legendary Creature are you?" and the result is Mermaid.

Leslie took the quiz "What is your personality? (the only good quiz)" and the result is Good personality.

Leslie took Which Star Wars Character Are You? quiz and the result is Darth Vader. Here's a tip for you: Never ever fight someone named "Obi-Wan."

Leslie took The Ultimate Bitch Test quiz and the result is Little Miss Normality. Like any girl, you love a good bitch. But you have to have a good reason to bitch, and you always feel a little bad afterwards. You can always justify your bitchiness. You've got the balance just right. =)

Leslie took How good is your Singlish? quiz and the result is C: Your command of Singlish is Fair! You're able to communicate with basic Singlish. (Meh, I only took this one for laughs, and guessed at EVERY SINGLE ANSWER. :P)

Leslie took What Street Fighter character are you? quiz and the result is you are... Balrog! You are a non-stop fighter! You love the thrill of the fight, and can't wait for the next round! (I had to take this twice to get a character I actually knew - who the heck is CHARLIE?!)

Leslie took when will you die?? quiz and the result is 19th October, 2008. You just have a moment! (I'm ALREADY DEAD?! WHAT THE HECK.)

Leslie took how well can you kick a ball? quiz and the result is pro. You're really good! (HA. I just guessed, since I don't play soccer!)

Leslie completed the quiz "What type of mental illness do you have" with the result Contant PMSer. You are so moody, it's amazing you have any friends. Take a chill pill, or psychotrophic drug. Take the quiz!

Leslie took What Classic Rock (or Metal) Band Suits You quiz and the result is You are like Aerosmith. You're probably a popular person; if not, then you should be. You're a kind of person that everybody likes as soon as they know you. You also like to do your own thing.

Leslie took what animal is most like you? quiz and the result is penguin. You are shy and cute; you also have a hidden talent.

At least I do USE my Chinese, Grandma...

This thing restarted when I was out - at least it wasn't inconvenient this time! And it restarted right when I was going to submit this entry... UGH!

Jon picked me up to go to church, so I proceeded to go crazy. It wasn't about the "My Beautiful Coin Laundry" sign we saw. I just had to get it out of my system, so he concluded that poor Eric had to listen to insane laughter every Friday: perhaps so! At least it was okay, and he was expecting it. We also discussed Steph's being in Calgary AGAIN, Elaine and Matt's travels, my being the "token girl" at most Sunday Dinners, "seeing if there was room" to invite me for his wedding, and more. When we got to church service a little late, we sat near the front... I smiled and waved at Danielle in the row behind. I thought that the vase for the flowers looked like a smoothie, and told this to him after the first set of songs. He gave me a weird look and replied that he thought I was OVER my craziness. Hey, IT LOOKS LIKE A SMOOTHIE! (sort of, from the angle I was viewing it from) Jonathan made a sign and showed it to Nathan: "CHECK YOUR GUITAR CONNECTION!" We were featured in the PULSE again, woohoo! I like the PAX construction sign right in the picture, haha. Phil brought up fruit-picking in his sermon about the cursed fig tree, heh. After service, I told Jeremy that "sanctuary" and "sanction" did indeed come from the same root: "I thought that cinq was a French word!" he laughed. Ah, there's the humor I've been missing!

Chrystal asked if I'd seen Eric, and whether he normally stuck around for Sunday School: he did, and she gave him the items for their food hamper later on. Got delayed coming out of service because I said hi to my grandma, whose friend thought I was my sister for some reason! ("Ah, you haven't been at church in a number of weeks - have you been working?") Grandma tried to apologize to her friend, saying that my Chinese wasn't that good - at least I do know how to use it for communication purposes in just this sort of situation, sheesh! After that, I went to the fellowship hall to chat to a bunch of people, and discuss ketchup with Jeremy. Joshua and Keenan went for the food first, then they wanted to play the drums with Calla watching over them. Their mom wanted to leave for Gabriel's birthday party (I should get a card for the kid!), so Keenan asked if there were going to be chips! Hahaha, very cute!

Briefly discussed the gym, physio, fingers, haggling on iMac case prices, Crystal Mall, and Steveston with Raymond: we should make him come out to the Steveston area for the JACK BAUER finale party in May sometime, haha. He usually frequents the Aberdeen area, heh. Kevin asked if I'd bought my items for our food hamper: I said I had, and Cindy had the items since I wouldn't be here this Friday. Danielle and Jeremy both were going to bring their items today, but realized they had another week to do so. Went outside to talk to Julie, Mike, Lesley, Chung, and Karen about / to baby Mattias, and the generation gap. Mike's parents tried to make him call my generation (Rich, David, Chung, etc.) "big brother / big sister," but it never stuck. Anita's daughter Allison calls Auntie Bessy "grandma," and we wondered what Mattias would call us when he got older. I feel too old to be called AUNTIE by most of the kids, and even 10-year-old Priscilla just calls Lesley by her first name only - me too, actually. I really don't mind!

Lesley told the baby to call her by her first name only, while Mike ruminated on names for his future siblings: Flavio, so the kid can be called Flav. (as in Flavor Flav) Chung said that he wasn't Italian, so Mike retorted that he wasn't Greek either, yet he called the kid Mattias! Lesley rattled off a few of the variations on Matthew, while Julie wondered why all the parents left so quickly. Turns out that Gabriel's birthday party is in Coquitlam: NO WONDER! I went upstairs after Lesley wondered at my brother's lack of time management skills, and played with Amanda and Watson. Auntie Fonda said that the store didn't have that rice cooker in their stock right now; at least my need for such a thing isn't urgent! Talked to Rachel's grandma, too. Watson was being silly and putting toys on his head, then wanted to look out the window to see where his mom was; apparently, she didn't wave bye to him at the staircase when she left him!

After Sunday School, I went downstairs, saying hi to Sean and Ian on the way. Their mom Ada gave me a chocolate egg, which I ate pretty much immediately - I put the wrapper in the fellowship hall's garbage can, and heard my brother leading a song. Asked Bob whether he'd gotten any more sleep: he was kidding when he said he hadn't, haha. Then I used my Chinese AGAIN to ask Calla's mom why she was congratulating my grandma: ah yes, Jon's wedding. (Grandma called him my big brother when he's really my little brother!) I wanted to see what my mom was doing, but she didn't know: she was going to visit Pastor Eunice after lunch, though. I wanted to get home fairly soon to get in some downtime before dinner tonight, so opted to go with Eric since I'd already asked him earlier about that.

Talked to Christon, Jon, Nathan, Eric, Jen, Sheena, Chuck, Dianne, and others about trading an expired student card (DISCOUNTS!) for Chuck's iMac / lunch plans / simple ideas for Jon's stag / the status of Jon's wedding invitations / tonight's menu (at least the cherry pie will go with berry-stuffed chicken and maybe some beer) / returning my pen from service. Had the usual random ride home with Eric, so that was cool too. :D

Not having to buy dessert? But I want to help...

This thing chose the MOST inconvenient time to restart - now I can't catch up at ALL before I have to leave! UGH!

Bingo of the morning so far:

STOKESIA (81 points) - against George M.

High-scoring words of the morning so far:

COHABIT (450 points) - against Jessica K. [two 5W]
RISKED (100 points) - against T.P.N. [5W, 5L on D]
REMAILS (120 points) - against Roseann O. [3W, 4W]
QI (107 points) - against Angela V. [4W used twice over]
KNOT (115 points) - against Pat K. [5W, 3L on K]
INFLOW (270 points) - against Melissa D. [2W, two 3W]

Seems my sister is going to Hon's tonight - I have the Sunday Dinner, which is definitely cool as well. Maybe I'll have some red dragon material for the wedding, too - MUST LOOK FLASHY! HAHAHAHA! (but then, I shouldn't upstage the bride) Must also remember to give my dad this tax form which has been sitting on my desk for the past few weeks - aiya. The "different" woman Teresa called me last night to see what churches had weekday / weeknight services; after consulting with my brother (who says I don't have to buy dessert next time - it's my contribution!!!), I was able to tell her that we had NO IDEA except maybe Catholic churches. Since I never have anything much to say to her (and I hate the phone most times), I got off the phone with an excuse about letting her sleep even if it was only 10:40. WHEE!

Corey and I are talking about ketchup - I wonder if Jeremy has a use for ketchup. I should ask him tomorrow! According to this chart of English Language Roots, "sanct" means "holy." Some words that come from this root do indeed include "sanctify," "sanctuary," and "sanction." Two others include "sanctimonious" and "sacrosanct."