Extra downtime ROCKS! / "Showers of Blessing" isn't relevant to Eric! / Yay for Victor!
Eric gave me an extra hour of downtime (he'd played WOW while I edited entries and started word games), which I definitely appreciated! That still meant that I had to go to the eminently-skippable program, but you can't have everything! Of course, I still asked him whether he were insane when he called, haha - it's my THING! When I got out of the building, I was cackling - he wanted to know how much medication I'd taken, and described me as "loopy." He was surprised when I gave him the box of Delecto chocolates more than two months early, haha! We talked about Riverview (what a detour for psychological help!), his being a literal backwards male, possible relationship deal-breakers, donating various game items, whether Teunis had bought STARCRAFT II yet (he seemed surprised that I didn't know - well, he doesn't live with me anymore!), dentist appointments, saving money, government benefits, feelings, DARKWING, Dave and distraction, Eric's being the Joker, marriage, increases, staying single, my being quiet during Fellowship, and more. and more. When we got to church, we met Cordia / Julie / Auntie Tonia / Margaret at the elevators.
We went into the fellowship hall, where we saw Stanley eating a LOT of noodles which he didn't have to pay for: he still complained that it wasn't to his liking, though! Maxine was feeding her kids Joshua and Keenan some sushi, and said that Stanley probably shouldn't say anything. Meh, at least he liked that it was free! I said hi to the kids, then talked to Vania and Jen about 10th / worship / Jason / Eggs Benedict / not waking up in time for breakfast. We noticed that the Powerpoint overhead was upside down: Joshua thought that it was funny, and told me so. Yup, I agree! Tim came in a while later, and wondered why his wife had bought so much sushi and udon - when he offered me five wings, I took them gladly! (Christon was also having some sushi of his own) Later, he said that he was thinking of going to South Africa for a cousin's wedding, but that they might be a distraction! If the new baby's a girl, Maxine can give the kids' clothes to baby Micah. However, they won't find that out till ten weeks from now! I also heard that Karen I. might get induced on the weekend or Tuesday - wow!
By the time I'd finished the wings, the program had already started. I grabbed my stuff and sat by Eric, Alan, and Tracy. Couldn't help but notice the affection that Tracy had for her husband, but tried NOT to focus on that. If things had turned out differently, maybe I'd have some too! Haha! The program as stated ("Sharing Christ With Your Parents") wasn't terribly relevant to me, but as Christon said later, it was interesting to learn more about the panelists' background! Uncle Hansel, Uncle Peter, and Wai-Mui did get $50 Bon Appetit gift cards from Safeway; when Eric's pen ran out of ink, I could see that he had trouble getting another blue pen, so I let him borrow mine. At one point, Alan was playing Solitaire or another card game on his phone! Apparently, buying fish is a good way to show care for your in-laws! (and respect with the ancestor worship can be achieved by just standing there) Not letting ministry interfere with your parental time is probably good advice for those who need it... luckily, I don't! Funny (if irrelevant) piece of advice from tonight: "If your non-Christian parents are sick in hospital, tell us! We'll come visit them! But if they don't like pastors, tell us anyway! We'll still visit them, but we won't tell them that we are pastors!"
I learned that Randal cannot miss Saturday dinner with his parents because his brother Roland (that reminds me of the time I actually DID call Randal "Roland," but thankfully not to his face!) isn't really talking to the family, and his sister-in-law is a nominal Catholic who badmouths her in-laws. He wants to step up his commitment to the parents, and show them that he and his brother are different. True, but you can't be SUPERMAN and drop EVERYTHING for them! Apparently, there's a Cantonese show called SHOWERS OF BLESSING which is on every Saturday night - his parents have looked forward to the show, especially the one on gambling! (apparently, his uncle has a severe gambling problem) Unfortunately, the stuff about the Cantonese Christian shows and the Chinese literature wasn't terribly relevant to Eric! Dianne and I suggested that he and his parents should learn to read Chinese, haha!
I was happy enough when the program ended: while we talked to Uncle Peter about life with a new baby in the house (Winnie and birth! Crying in a big house! Emergency C-sections! Two grandmothers! One great-grandmother! Endless recipes! Vinegar / egg / ginger!), Connie checked the hockey score on her phone. Yes, we beat Minnesota 5-1, and got revenge for the recent shellacking! I told Jon about Steph's email; yes, he and Harmony are pretty busy with chores and such since their friend is coming to town on Monday! When Christon seemed like he was going to tell Jon (who almost hijacked the discussion with the "generational gap conflict" comment) something personal ("I need a drink because of this!"), I respectfully stepped away to ostensibly look at the structural drawings on the chalkboard, AND to get Eric away from the wrong person in Raymond! After a bit, I went back to see what they were talking about: I missed who exactly didn't feel like doing an important duty, but that's fine. All I know is that worship leading cannot be fake, man!
When it looked like Dianne and Wesley were going to join them for drinks, Jon wanted to know if Eric could fix his laptop one of these days. They'd figure it out later, so Eric and I went to the elevator. He made a call while we were waiting, and I guess the "different" woman Teresa assumed we were free to talk to her! We held up our hands in the universal signal for LATER! While I wasn't talking on the phone or overly curious as to what Eric was discussing - I didn't care - I *did* know that he wouldn't be free to talk to her anyway! When he was done, Teresa asked whether we could give her a ride home - he guessed he could... more time having to appear normal for me, haha. There were a whole bunch of people in / getting on the elevator, including Victor and Ernest. Victor said hi to me by name, so I returned the greeting in kind, asking if he'd be going to tomorrow's conference. He said he would be, and asked if I were going. When I said no, he asked why - I might visit my grandma! (depending on bus schedules and such, but he doesn't need to know THAT!) As we passed everyone near the door when we all got in the car, Victor waved at me, so of course I waved back with a smile. Teresa thought he was waving at HER (um, no - he doesn't know you!), so waved and said BYE=BYE! Hahaha... oh well, we DO try to make allowances for her differences! Thankfully, it didn't take long to drop Teresa off, and we fielded inquiries about our weeks, driving schools (Trinity or Young Drivers in Richmond, NOT New Westminster!), and commuting from Richmond in the meantime.
After dropping Teresa off, we got gas even though he had almost half a tank left - I figured I was reading the wrong gauge again when I'd asked about it before! Eric decided to sing to me about my supposed alcohol consumption, and said that he'd accidentally drank wine earlier even if he said he didn't want any because he'd be driving. "You can ask my mother or my father!" Hahaha, that's fine! Then he thought that I could send someone an email: no, I think the time for that is well past! I would have LOVED it, but I was too caught up in appearances! We discussed STELLA'S turning into a beer bistro (Jon lives in the area!), Fat Burger, a gas smell, a Kirin near City Square, silliness, a brand-new Tim Horton's across the street from the Cuppa Joe coffee shop (Jeremy's not going to be too happy about THAT!), wool / hair / black sheep, the program not being relevant to ME personally (my uncle's family is NOT Christian, but we don't talk to them due to drama and cultural differences!), and other things. Interesting discussion, at any rate! Now I'm going to catch up on stuff, and I hopefully won't have to stay up till 5:30 AM to do so, unlike LAST week! (while I did have to restart the computer when I got home, at least I got home around 11 instead of 12:30 AM!)
We went into the fellowship hall, where we saw Stanley eating a LOT of noodles which he didn't have to pay for: he still complained that it wasn't to his liking, though! Maxine was feeding her kids Joshua and Keenan some sushi, and said that Stanley probably shouldn't say anything. Meh, at least he liked that it was free! I said hi to the kids, then talked to Vania and Jen about 10th / worship / Jason / Eggs Benedict / not waking up in time for breakfast. We noticed that the Powerpoint overhead was upside down: Joshua thought that it was funny, and told me so. Yup, I agree! Tim came in a while later, and wondered why his wife had bought so much sushi and udon - when he offered me five wings, I took them gladly! (Christon was also having some sushi of his own) Later, he said that he was thinking of going to South Africa for a cousin's wedding, but that they might be a distraction! If the new baby's a girl, Maxine can give the kids' clothes to baby Micah. However, they won't find that out till ten weeks from now! I also heard that Karen I. might get induced on the weekend or Tuesday - wow!
By the time I'd finished the wings, the program had already started. I grabbed my stuff and sat by Eric, Alan, and Tracy. Couldn't help but notice the affection that Tracy had for her husband, but tried NOT to focus on that. If things had turned out differently, maybe I'd have some too! Haha! The program as stated ("Sharing Christ With Your Parents") wasn't terribly relevant to me, but as Christon said later, it was interesting to learn more about the panelists' background! Uncle Hansel, Uncle Peter, and Wai-Mui did get $50 Bon Appetit gift cards from Safeway; when Eric's pen ran out of ink, I could see that he had trouble getting another blue pen, so I let him borrow mine. At one point, Alan was playing Solitaire or another card game on his phone! Apparently, buying fish is a good way to show care for your in-laws! (and respect with the ancestor worship can be achieved by just standing there) Not letting ministry interfere with your parental time is probably good advice for those who need it... luckily, I don't! Funny (if irrelevant) piece of advice from tonight: "If your non-Christian parents are sick in hospital, tell us! We'll come visit them! But if they don't like pastors, tell us anyway! We'll still visit them, but we won't tell them that we are pastors!"
I learned that Randal cannot miss Saturday dinner with his parents because his brother Roland (that reminds me of the time I actually DID call Randal "Roland," but thankfully not to his face!) isn't really talking to the family, and his sister-in-law is a nominal Catholic who badmouths her in-laws. He wants to step up his commitment to the parents, and show them that he and his brother are different. True, but you can't be SUPERMAN and drop EVERYTHING for them! Apparently, there's a Cantonese show called SHOWERS OF BLESSING which is on every Saturday night - his parents have looked forward to the show, especially the one on gambling! (apparently, his uncle has a severe gambling problem) Unfortunately, the stuff about the Cantonese Christian shows and the Chinese literature wasn't terribly relevant to Eric! Dianne and I suggested that he and his parents should learn to read Chinese, haha!
I was happy enough when the program ended: while we talked to Uncle Peter about life with a new baby in the house (Winnie and birth! Crying in a big house! Emergency C-sections! Two grandmothers! One great-grandmother! Endless recipes! Vinegar / egg / ginger!), Connie checked the hockey score on her phone. Yes, we beat Minnesota 5-1, and got revenge for the recent shellacking! I told Jon about Steph's email; yes, he and Harmony are pretty busy with chores and such since their friend is coming to town on Monday! When Christon seemed like he was going to tell Jon (who almost hijacked the discussion with the "generational gap conflict" comment) something personal ("I need a drink because of this!"), I respectfully stepped away to ostensibly look at the structural drawings on the chalkboard, AND to get Eric away from the wrong person in Raymond! After a bit, I went back to see what they were talking about: I missed who exactly didn't feel like doing an important duty, but that's fine. All I know is that worship leading cannot be fake, man!
When it looked like Dianne and Wesley were going to join them for drinks, Jon wanted to know if Eric could fix his laptop one of these days. They'd figure it out later, so Eric and I went to the elevator. He made a call while we were waiting, and I guess the "different" woman Teresa assumed we were free to talk to her! We held up our hands in the universal signal for LATER! While I wasn't talking on the phone or overly curious as to what Eric was discussing - I didn't care - I *did* know that he wouldn't be free to talk to her anyway! When he was done, Teresa asked whether we could give her a ride home - he guessed he could... more time having to appear normal for me, haha. There were a whole bunch of people in / getting on the elevator, including Victor and Ernest. Victor said hi to me by name, so I returned the greeting in kind, asking if he'd be going to tomorrow's conference. He said he would be, and asked if I were going. When I said no, he asked why - I might visit my grandma! (depending on bus schedules and such, but he doesn't need to know THAT!) As we passed everyone near the door when we all got in the car, Victor waved at me, so of course I waved back with a smile. Teresa thought he was waving at HER (um, no - he doesn't know you!), so waved and said BYE=BYE! Hahaha... oh well, we DO try to make allowances for her differences! Thankfully, it didn't take long to drop Teresa off, and we fielded inquiries about our weeks, driving schools (Trinity or Young Drivers in Richmond, NOT New Westminster!), and commuting from Richmond in the meantime.
After dropping Teresa off, we got gas even though he had almost half a tank left - I figured I was reading the wrong gauge again when I'd asked about it before! Eric decided to sing to me about my supposed alcohol consumption, and said that he'd accidentally drank wine earlier even if he said he didn't want any because he'd be driving. "You can ask my mother or my father!" Hahaha, that's fine! Then he thought that I could send someone an email: no, I think the time for that is well past! I would have LOVED it, but I was too caught up in appearances! We discussed STELLA'S turning into a beer bistro (Jon lives in the area!), Fat Burger, a gas smell, a Kirin near City Square, silliness, a brand-new Tim Horton's across the street from the Cuppa Joe coffee shop (Jeremy's not going to be too happy about THAT!), wool / hair / black sheep, the program not being relevant to ME personally (my uncle's family is NOT Christian, but we don't talk to them due to drama and cultural differences!), and other things. Interesting discussion, at any rate! Now I'm going to catch up on stuff, and I hopefully won't have to stay up till 5:30 AM to do so, unlike LAST week! (while I did have to restart the computer when I got home, at least I got home around 11 instead of 12:30 AM!)
Labels: 2008, benedict, david, drugs, eric m., fellowship, hockey, jen, jeremy, margaret, maxed-out tags limit, maxine, phone calls, randal, raymond, sushi, teresa, tim, vania, wesley
posted by Flami at 1:07:00 AM
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