Confusion, Mr. Creep, Jocelyn, Conor, random kiddy hugs, Randal, and tense meetings

After having to restart the computer THREE times when I got home (and I had left it off from 9:45 to 6!), I think I finally have it working the way I'm used to. It's probably not OPTIMAL by any stretch of the imagination, but it's passable. And now someone by the name of Chun Wai Chan wants to add me to Facebook; for some reason, the name sounds familiar! Maybe I've had them on my list before, via Katherine H. or someone else. HMM! At least I was able to catch up and read amusing status updates / wall posts from Martin, Vania (posing as the former), and Benedict! The comments were GOLD, too!

This morning, I seemed to have issues getting out of the house on time. Luckily, Eric didn't have to do sound or worship duties, but I still should have kept better track of time. Guess I turned off my computer too early, heh. Eric did ask what took me so long, but I was just reading about musical influences. After a period of quiet, I warned him that I'd consumed an energy drink, so we discussed that for a while. NO, THEY DON'T COME WITH ALCOHOL IN THEM! (no vodka, no Kahlua, or anything else!) We also discussed whether he was ready for the AGM (which turned out to be tense as usual) - no, and he hadn't had a timely sleep either. That never helps, and I know it well. Talked about WORLD OF WARCRAFT, the Lich King, his guild, the Awana Conference which I didn't go to, my Saturday being lo-fi, and more.

We got to church just in time for the sermon and a few pastoral comments about the meeting this afternoon. I saw Steph sitting with Jeremy, so made a mental note to talk to her later. Melia, Angus, Denise, and I were all distracted by Mattias looking for pencils and other things to play with! Christon was subbing in as worship leader, and looked well doing it. After service, I did indeed talk to Steph: she said that Grandma was really confused this morning. When Steph went to pick her up, Grandma asked if she were coming to visit! After receiving the answer "No - I'm here to pick you up for church!" ... she went to her room to get her stuff, then asked Steph the same question again when she got ready... AIYA! Then she asked where Jon and Harmony were, as she had a pineapple for them - I had no idea, while Dianne warned her against it since her mom hadn't found those ones to be very good. Steph said it smelled okay! When I said that I'd tried the Red Rain mocha cappuccino energy drinks for real, she asked how I liked the flavor, which she'd found too strong. I said it was PERFECT FOR ME, which she'd thought originally!

For a few minutes, we looked around for Grandma - she couldn't have gone OUT, and she was probably with the other old people! There were a few old people sitting in the chairs near the stairway, a few more just walking around, and some going into the sanctuary. Finally, we found her near the washrooms, so talked to her for a bit. Then I talked to Danielle (about Lisa) and Denise (about Mattias), who seem to be doing pretty well. At least Danielle's cousins are doing better after going through certain things, but of course she's still committed to spending time with them on Friday nights! The small group all understood when her priorities shifted a few months back, for sure! Cindy, Steph, and I all saw Jocelyn - what a surprise! She's back from Japan for only a few more days, and then is going there for a couple of months... after that, who knows? We all hugged her, of course. Steph and I also attempted to say hi to Mattias - no dice, haha. I said hi to Victor, who said that yesterday's conference was LONG - the year we did both the conference AND Awana, everyone wanted to be home before 8!

Then I saw MY WORST NIGHTMARE: Mr. Creep was back! Maybe it's a good thing that Eric and I were late, so I could spend the half-service in contentment. I didn't have any direct or indirect contact with him - good thing I got one of the snacks from the fellowship hall BEFORE going to look for Grandma! Since he was back, I limited my next excursion into the fellowship hall to touching Eric on the arm when Creep was nowhere near (he's too tall to tap on the shoulder - I'M SHORT, DON'T HATE!) and saying that I was going upstairs, and I'd see him at lunch or the meeting. He acknowledged that, and I went upstairs after saying hi to Jeff / Anita / Allison / Joanna. (whom we'd seen on the way in... I'd also waved to Julie C. when we came in, too)

I saw Maxine, her sons Joshua and Keenan, Frances, her sons Micah and Isaac (who's just learned to crawl - he found the zipper strings on my jacket quite interesting!), and other kids in the Toddler Sunday School room. I had to tell Isaac that my zipper strings weren't for eating; not that he was going to try that, but you never know... it could be dangerous for him, too! Of course, he probably didn't understand what I was saying to him either, but English is my default language when it comes to babies and small kids! (actually, everyone except my grandma and her friends)

Ramen, Shira, Mattias, Ada, Arthur, David, Evelyn, and Ashley were in the class today. When I'd gotten myself settled on the floor to play with toys, Ramen came up and gave me a hug! That was pretty unexpected, and it shows that the kids do love us! I got a few more English words out of Mattias, who's going to be a big brother by Wednesday: mainly "truck" and "car." Then Ramen's sister Shira wanted to hold my hand: due to our own height difference, it was more like she led me by the finger around the room to what she wanted to see! Hahaha! David and Evelyn are definitely learning English and using it: we talked about the toy slide, drawings, toys, colors, cutting things out, and more. I helped Ramen and Shira's mom Jessie make a "London Bridge" while she sang something to the kids: later, Shira wanted me to make our own bridge... so cute! I poured some water in a cup for Mattias, also.

After seeing most of the kids go out of the room with their parents, I went downstairs. I saw a brief glimpse of Conor in another classroom, and said hi to his mom Pauline. Even though the elevator took forever (I'm assuming that the seniors were using it), it was worth the wait. Steph and I made sure to say bye to Grandma, since we thought that Auntie Eva was taking her to lunch and then back to the hospice. I saw Quan, Margaret, and others eating spaghetti and meat sauce near the door of the fellowship hall before the quick structure-oriented ESC family meeting. Since I absolutely cannot eat that kind of thing standing up, I went inside with John / Ada / Ian / Sean L. / Ivan's brother Nathan. We talked about borrowing pens, a "Ten Commandments Puzzle Book," Ian's Nintendo DS, chicken sauce, mandarin oranges, and other things. Sean asked me about his puzzles, so I gave him some tips. I asked Ada about yesterday's leadership conference: it was useful for her since she hasn't been to one since Ian was born in 2001!

The lunch was pretty good for what it was - I didn't want to waste the $3 I paid for a lunch ticket, either. After finishing lunch, I didn't want to show up late to the first meeting, so instead waited around in the foyer for the second meeting to start. Saw Hien, so talked to her for a while even if she was ostensibly studying her linguistics textbook. When one of my mom's friends came up to me and asked about my parents, I told her in my bad Chinese that they'd be back in November or something. Hien didn't know that I knew some Chinese - as I said earlier, it's useful for communicating to my grandma and her friends! I was pretty surprised when Grandma entered the church, but didn't really say anything. When the first meeting was finally over, I told Steph that Grandma was in the sanctuary - she was astonished! Turns out they went for lunch (dim sum?) and then back to church, so Steph said that she'd take Grandma back.

As I thought, Pastor John stands by his resignation, although people hope that Pastor Edward postpones his retirement for a while! We sat next to Alan and Tracy, and exchanged comments and such about bylaws / the voting / ballots / extreme paper consumption (just RAISE YOUR HANDS instead of wasting 300 more sheets of paper which you'll have to recycle / destroy!) / declining of nominations from the floor / Robert's Rules / Uncle Stephen / nominations for financial reviewers (various people DECLINED!) / Sudoku / emoticons / apps / Uncle Sam / tabling motions already under discussion / translation mixups (ENGLISH!) / offering DRAMA / family love and treatment. It was funny when Auntie Ruby would say "I'm ___" in her translation, especially if it was a man speaking! I told Steph that I would get Lisa to "attack" her if only I knew her number, hahaha. When I saw Randal's name on the ballot, I knew that I'd vote for Isabel's dad over HIM any day! (but he got elected to the congregational committee... UGH!) I reminded Steph that she still has Jon and Harmony's Italy souvenir for me, and have just called her to see what she's doing on Tuesday evening since I forgot about that earlier... Tuesday could be a go for dinner with her and Lisa, but I'll check to see what time Jon is taking Grandma back from lunch. Although with time taken up by the dentist appointment and transit there, I may be okay! Steph wanted me to talk to the lards (parents) about why Dad isn't the church admin anymore, but I bet that I won't get full answers!

During a break in the tense meeting, I asked Jon where Harmony was - at home. He also said he didn't need to email me about the ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT marathon because I'd hear about it anyway - BAD! Then he reminded me that Grandma would appreciate my visiting her - I KNOW THAT, but I keep just missing the bus! Perhaps on Tuesday, since I'm out already and don't have to make TOO much of a special trip! (my siblings live closer, though that may not be an excuse which holds water!) He also commented that Sean might take more risks than his dad or Tracy, dentistry-wise... I can totally see that! Steph reminded me to CALL AHEAD, since she'd called on Saturday only to find out that Grandma was out at Seniors' Fellowship with Auntie Eva - I shall do that then, and confirm the transit from Oakridge to the hospice later! When Grandma left early with Auntie Eva / Auntie Paula / Uncle Percy, we both went to say bye - yes, I'll probably be there on Tuesday!

When we sang hymns to fill time, Eric wondered why we didn't sing any of the other 300 or 400 songs which were in the hymnal that weren't done to death at previous meetings! I have NO idea, man! He also said that he was taking Pastor John and Hannah home - I ascribed ulterior motives to his saying that he had two extra seats in his car, haha. (Karmie, Josiah, and Noah apparently had to go home early) Christon, Connie, Jon, Eric, Phil, and I discussed conservative people / the pastoral search committee term / Regent friends who may not want to work at our church / Chinese pastors / other things before going home. Pastor John, Hannah, Eric, and I discussed the INTENSE RAIN / coffee / lunch / a free meal at Jon's / computer fixing / Friday's program largely not being applicable to Eric (Chinese TV shows and literature?!) / Cory Schneider being better than Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks goalie controversy again?) / slamming doors / grass getting in the way / shortcuts through parking lots / the "usual" route home / when Deb and Dylan are getting back from the Philippines. Once we'd dropped them off, I vented about Mr. Creep and Randal - contrary to what Eric seems to think, I'm not necessarily going to leave the church because Randal is now on the congregational committee! (I thought about it briefly, but I most probably won't do that) And no, I'm not afraid of shaking Eric's hand either! I'm also wondering if it would be a good idea to write someone a certain email with feelings - probably not, but I'm still thinking about it! Oh sure, I'm feeling without companionship NOW... ugh, why couldn't things have been different?!