Saturday, January 23, 2010

Chocolate caramel Rice Krispie Squares, and visiting Grandpa in the hospital

Talked to Kenny very briefly before Henry picked me up. At Awana, I talked to Gerard / Carley / Cynthia / Stephanie / Jordan / Chris Lam / Chrystal (her mom IS retiring at the end of the month) / Emily M. / Nina / Sean L. / Ian / Eric. Eric's brother Matthew said he didn't like the chocolatey caramel Rice Krispie square which was their snack today, so John said he'd take the free treat even though he doesn't like chocolate! I asked him if he were sure, and he said he was. Gave Amanda her birthday present (crayons!), and gave her sister Hannah's felts to their mom Catherine later. I'd have given it to her in person, but somehow didn't see her at the end of Awana. When Ian and Sean L.'s dad said that they had to play table tennis for ten minutes after 20 minutes of reading, I had to laugh in my head: SO ASIAN! (he said Ada travels in India on the weekends, and will be back next Saturday morning at 11 - they Skype every morning at 8 AM here, and 9:30 PM there)

Sean S. and Conor came in late; Sean apologized, saying that they were at the hospital to visit their grandpa. Later, Conor explained to me that Grandpa was sick because he ate sweet chips and then not-so-sweet ones... okay, sure! Jennifer asked why we didn't give snacks out anymore at the toddler Sunday School: first, it was H1N1 fears, and now I'm not sure what. She and the other parents noticed that the kids can't wait to eat lunch at the restaurant, even though they supposedly were given snacks. Sure, go ahead and talk to Auntie Ying... speaking of her, I told her daughter Melia that she'd been six days off in estimating when her mother's birthday was! And here I thought I'd be all sneaky ninja-like, haha. Got home and threw away a few old bras and undershirts... I'll buy replacements / shampoo and conditioner SET / laundry detergent / a parental anniversary card this next week, maybe.

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Top 10 Gaming Engrish list, major US states

Chris W. linked me to this Top 10 list of Gaming Engrish... ah, poor translations which result in hilarity!



You Are Massachusetts



You are smart, serious, and quite traditional. You don't have a lot of time for junk in your life.

It's likely that you're well-educated and hard-working. You live a very goal-oriented life.



You are probably socially liberal, but personally quite conservative. You would never be described as wild.

But you're more diverse than people give you credit for. You're equally comfortable at a business meeting and at a rowdy sports game!

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No banana peppers / Quirky cards / Beer in aluminum cans

I was on time to meet Eric, and quickly learned that we had to pick up Geoffrey again. Eric asked if I would be okay with picking up a sub for him at Superstore - sure, if he looked after my stuff for me whether we were in the chapel or fellowship hall! He said that he wanted a Spicy Italian (I had a Roast Beef) without onions or banana peppers - I'd ordered him stuff with the latter before, but now I know it's not his preference. Of course since I don't like onions myself (and do like extra olives), those were no problem to leave off! I asked him if he were going to the Sunday Dinner, and he said "I guess so." What a "put-out" answer, haha. He asked if I had cash, and I did via my debit card - I was surprised when Geoffrey opted to get out of the car at Superstore, since I wanted some alone time. Oh well.

While I ordered, Geoffrey just waited for me. I opted to eat my sandwich at the store rather than try finding a table at church. That's one thing I don't like about the new building: at the old building, there were all these tables in the basement! Now, NOTHING like that! Oh well. Geoffrey asked whether he should wait for me or what - since he had to buy food, I told him that he could check back at the Subway, even if he knew the way back to church himself. (only two minutes away - and very easy!)

We went to the kitchen so stuff could be put in the fridge, and then to the chapel. I stopped in at the fellowship hall to greet Joey, Sonya, and some others. Of course, Mr. Creep had to be at the back of the room. Ugh. Oh well... I opted to sit a few rows up by Harmony, who was talking to Randal - sigh. A few minutes later, I felt a facial - of course it had to be my sister! Uncle Stephen's talk was all right, although it wasn't about the workplace specifically - there were stories about how girls would just sell themselves to you in China and such, oh my!

Afterwards, I talked to Christon / Jen / Carmen / Deb / Dylan / Cindy (heaters!) for a bit. Cindy was giving away local bubble tea stamp cards from her Chicago cousins' time here in the summer. I told Jon, and Christon gave his Dragon Ball card to him - I declined a Bubble World card myself. Grace, Vanessa, Steph, Eric, and I talked about 24 - Dana Walsh is SO DUMB! The blonde reporter Meredith Reed looks familiar, so we'll have to IMDB her later! (I just did - she's Jennifer Westfeldt, in GREY'S ANATOMY) I asked Steph if she knew when Chinese New Year was - she didn't, so I looked it up. The year of the Tiger starts on Valentine's Day; YIKES! (talking to Corey about that now - Jane wants him to go to Taiwan again from the 11th to the 28th!)

Told Jon / Harmony / Steph / Eric that I'd been EPIC at the Oakridge Zellers - they do have a washroom, but the restaurant isn't attached to it in any way! Steph joked that it was now shut down because of my actions, and Jon was just horrified. (then we discussed Mom's so-called "renovations" - we'll see when those happen!) Jon did get my email, which he thought was about diarrhea - nope, it was my unique RSVP to the Sunday Dinner. "I AM HIGH ON CARAMEL MACCHIATO MILK, AND I AM DOWN WITH THE IDEA OF THIS DINNER!" Then I showed Jon / Steph / Harmony the "male mammogram" birthday card that I got for Mom. I know I'm really early since her birthday is May 14, but I couldn't resist buying it when I saw the thing - Steph says she'll like it, haha! (I'm hoping she'll be SHOCKED, heh)

Jon wanted people to eat with him because he'd only had half a dinner at Servants earlier - he'd hung out with a man who wants to get off drugs. The Richmond car went home, Steph (who'd come with Danielle who was a first-time visitor to her place) was really tired from getting only four hours of sleep (DRUNK DRIVER!), and I don't know about the rest of them. Christon remarked that now we were loitering in the hallway - that didn't really work out too well. Eric forgot his guitar once we were in the parkade, so went back to get it - during that time, I learned that Geoffrey's (older) sister lives in Austin ["NOT THAT KIND OF AUSTIN!" I had to tell Eric later], and went to McGill in Montreal earlier. After getting gas, we dropped Geoffrey at home - discussed Mr. Creep, Women's Group, the Olympics, giant heads / Inukshuks, the O Zone, nightmare traffic around my place, and more. Did some laundry when I got home, too.


Leslie just got their Next Boyfriend Name. Their Next Boyfriend Name is Allen. (I don't even know anyone with that name!)

Leslie just got their Next Girlfriend Name. Their Next Girlfriend Name is Abigail. (Don't swing that way, but am taking this for fun! The only Abigail I know is a girl who's two or three... so, very wrong!)

Trivia fact for Saturday, Jan. 23: Which beer was the first to be sold in aluminum cans in the United States? Coors, in 1959.

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Friday, January 22, 2010

My ex was a stoner, Eric - even you should know this!

Eric and I exchanged FB messages - apparently, he was concerned that my replies to Candace in my status message made it appear that my ex was smoking pot twice a day. (whether it was because Steve was here - I don't think they did, but then he WOULD send me out of the house for hours at a time - or Nick and Christine's influence - or even that Chilliwack time!) Personally, I don't care how it made him appear, because it is true. Then he called to ask me to meet him at the usual place at 6:15 - it SHOULD be doable, I think! Yay for completely missing the planned LJ outage tonight! At least, it better be resolved by the time I get home at 10:30 or so!




You Are Gloves



You seek control in your life. You like to feel like you have a handle on things.

You are naturally competent and responsible. You don't trust anyone but yourself.



Winter is when you try to push on and live normally. You aren't about to let cold weather slow you down.

You may not love winter, but you don't complain about it. Why complain about what you can't change?

Cold weather slow me down? Not unless it's Regina with -45°C temps! Snow, on the other hand... yeah.... although it's not so much "slow me down" as "cause me to stop in my tracks entirely!"

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Anti-social / Ice cream / K-Mart / Surfaces

Got this new icon from arctic_blossom in ohnotheydidnt:



Got this one from a Google Image Search for "ice cream" - haven't had one of these in so long! Maybe I should go to McDonalds and order one, haha...




I'm used to people smoking cigarettes outside my window. Now, it smells like someone's smoking POT outside the window - yay! :P

I've just heard that ALICE COOPER will be a night DJ for Rock 101 - this is very cool. I remember when they had Dee Dee Snider of Twisted Sister do a show on weekends, and of course they still have Little Steven's Underground Garage, but this certainly rocks! :D

Called Auntie Ying earlier, who still thinks I'm doing a good job with the kids. She says she can learn from my example, and says she'll give me kid-related stuff from Bible Study Fellowship on Sunday. Apparently, she has to talk to Flora about posters and visual aids - and wants us to reverse our teaching mode, so the kids will learn first and have free time to play at the end. Having the kids on the mat instead of at the table works well, too. I know Conor likes me - it's too bad Harrison felt left out last time, heh.

Told her that I got cards and gifts for the kids (didn't want Hannah to feel left out since her birthday is two days before her little sister Amanda!), and that I've known Amanda / Amos since they were babies! I've been doing Toddler Sunday School for about 6.5 years now, so have seen some of the children grow up! (Ian / Sean / John / Luke / Rachel) THE WORD BECAME FLESH is going to be a non-story lesson, and I'm not sure I can do it. We'll see. Auntie Ying says that Chrystal's mom is retiring pretty soon - just what Chrystal needs... MORE time with her mother! :P

She brought up some blood tests / fasting that she and Uncle Peter have to do tomorrow, and I said that I watched JACK BAUER premiere - I know Grace and Phil like it! She's been calling her mom more regularly now - not something I'd personally do, but whatever works. She told me about some good Mexican restaurant near her place... now, THAT is what I've not had in a while! It was a good phone call, and now I'm talking to Corey about Wal-Mart / Target / Zellers / K-Mart (it's a DUMP) / garbage cans. Interesting, as usual!


<[21:27:59] AlenaBrolxFlami: haha, no.... did I tell you that I *finally* got one of those "step-on-me" garbage cans?! [21:28:06] AlenaBrolxFlami: (and I bet they might) [21:28:39] mrptptpt: why do you want to step on your garbage can? [22:00:59] AlenaBrolxFlami: sorry - shower [22:01:20] AlenaBrolxFlami: oh, you know... the ones with the little lever thing at the bottom [22:27:08] mrptptpt: mine is just a can. you put stuff in it. no contraptions or mechanisms. seems to work pretty well! [22:27:20] mrptptpt: my sister has one of those things you have to step on, and it's annoying [22:31:20] AlenaBrolxFlami: I thought it would be a good way to hopefully decrease the mice on the counter [22:31:35] AlenaBrolxFlami: how is it annoying? (my sister has one, and I thought it's the coolest thing ever) [22:34:31] mrptptpt: well, that might help keep mice out of the trash [22:35:30] mrptptpt: it's annoying because you have to step on the stupid thing, and then usually the lid hits the wall or something, and those always seem extra narrow, so they fill up quickly... then the lid takes a few seconds to close again [22:35:49] mrptptpt: a much easier way to go is to walk over to the trash can, drop something in, and be done :P [22:37:02] mrptptpt: in our kitchen, we have a trash compactor, which is sort of annoying. it's nice because it's built in under the counter so it doesn't take up any floor space, but you have to open it and close it to use it. also, the compactor part broke years ago, so it's basically a trash can in a drawer :P [22:37:03] AlenaBrolxFlami: oh, yeah... true, but I saved $32 on mine [22:37:16] AlenaBrolxFlami: okay, now that does sound annoying [22:37:38] mrptptpt: you didn't save anything, you spent money to get it :P you only saved money if you were already planning on buying that before you saw it go on sale [22:38:47] AlenaBrolxFlami: and I was planning on buying one for a few weeks now [23:10:43] mrptptpt: how much are they that you saved $32? $32 alone sounds like way too much for a trash can... [23:13:22] AlenaBrolxFlami: I saw one at Zellers for $50 [23:17:58] mrptptpt: the name of that place bugs me a lot for some reason. I don't think we have those in the US, so I don't have to hear about it much at least [23:19:25] AlenaBrolxFlami: why does it bug you? [23:20:00] mrptptpt: I don't know :P it doesn't make sense I guess. like "Sellers" spelled wrong or something [23:25:33] AlenaBrolxFlami: well, I heard that Target is really supposed to be French [23:30:31] mrptptpt: Some people jokingly give Target the pseudo-French pronunciation /tɑrˈʒeɪ/ tar-zhay, as though it were an upscale boutique. This trend is incorrectly believed to have been started by Oprah Winfrey, when she used the French pronunciation to refer to the store on her television show; it has actually been traced back to 1962, the year the first Target store opened; this was reinforced by a 1980s television advertisement starring Didi Conn. This pronunciation has also led some people to incorrectly believe that the company is French-owned.[8] [23:31:03] mrptptpt: it's all American [23:32:41] AlenaBrolxFlami: I know it's American [23:33:36] mrptptpt: so it's not French [23:33:49] mrptptpt: French people don't even support freedom fries, so screw them [23:33:54] AlenaBrolxFlami: I thought so [23:34:00] AlenaBrolxFlami: HA [23:34:38] mrptptpt: I never actually saw anyone seriously use that term, or any restaurants :P I'm sure someone did... [23:37:39] mrptptpt: Target also kind of sucks. it earns points for not being Wal-Mart, but they never have anything I need [23:37:55] mrptptpt: even the new massive Super Target [23:41:12] mrptptpt: but everything is better than K-Mart, which seems to only be for Mexican people these days... I don't think they're actually cheaper than Wal-Mart, so I'm not sure why. last time I went there, while looking for Wiis to resell, the lady working there was a total bitch, too. I just asked if they still had any even though I was pretty sure they didn't, and she got all mad and half-yelled a bunch of crap about how I should have been there earlier (I was at another store's opening to get one, and did... I was checking for more :P), and I can't expect them to have everything I want and all this crap [23:41:48] AlenaBrolxFlami: for some reason, I thought Target had a lot of stuff [23:43:33] mrptptpt: now if I said, "hey you ugly whore, give me a fucking Wii right now or I'll kick your children in the teeth!" ... then that might have been an acceptable reply, but what I actually said was something like "hi, I'm looking for a Nintendo Wii, can you please tell me if you still have any?" [23:43:33] mrptptpt: K-Mart is a dump, though, even if they managed to staff it with people that aren't rude idiots [23:44:33] AlenaBrolxFlami: we don't have that here - so why is it a dump? [23:44:41] mrptptpt: and Target DOES have a lot of stuff, but they either don't have what I need or they're out of it just about every time I go there [23:44:52] mrptptpt: Wal-Mart is evil, but they're cheapest and always have what I need [23:45:35] mrptptpt: K-Mart is a shithole, I don't know how they stay in business. they were almost gone not too long ago, but I think Sears bought them out or something [23:46:21] mrptptpt: it's just all old and run down looking.. they have older products... I bought a Sega CD game there, new, for like $5 years and years after they were completely gone from anywhere [23:46:39] mrptptpt: they don't take care of it, it just sucks completely [23:47:13] mrptptpt: they remodeled all of them around 2000-ish, but they already look like hellholes again [23:48:16] mrptptpt: once, I saw a guitar there with a Fender-style body and a Gibson-style neck.... first. that combination is ugly as hell, but second... why and how does that even exist? where the hell did they FIND that? it was probably the worst guitar on earth, and they wanted like $150 for it or something :P [23:49:30] AlenaBrolxFlami: man, that doesn't seem very good... [23:49:53] mrptptpt: they try to be a Target or a Wal-Mart, but it's more like a flea market, which I don't really understand because they have normal products for the most part, but then you go to the electronics section and they have these super out-of-date stereos and stuff... the games and CDs are all old, and totally locked up so you can't even buy them unless the person working electronics (oh, that person doesn't exist) gets them out for you... [23:50:51] mrptptpt: I'm sure you've heard of "blue-light specials" [23:50:55] AlenaBrolxFlami: What the heck?! Even I know that's one WEIRD-ASS guitar! [23:51:00] mrptptpt: K-Mart is where that comes from [23:51:10] AlenaBrolxFlami: I've heard of those, yes... [23:51:14] mrptptpt: they were probably decent at one point [23:54:11] mrptptpt: when I was a kid, they were awesome because they have ICEE machines in the store, so I could usually get one of those out of my mom. now. I'd be afraid to get anything out of a machine there... they probably don't even clean it :P [23:55:28] mrptptpt: there was a big thread on SA a few years ago about some ghetto (like literally in a ghetto area) K-Mart. this guy worked there for a long time, and had all these insane stories about it. apparently, they don't actually have any security.. they have camera domes... but no cameras.... and they're not allowed to, and if they were, are not paid enough to stop people [23:55:43] mrptptpt: so they'd have all these gangsta guys that would just grab anything they wanted and leave [23:56:25] mrptptpt: swearing at the employees and laughing at them on the way out. they could call the cops of course, but they wouldn't show up even remotely close to fast enough to do anything, and they don't even have cameras to see who it was, anyway :P [23:56:34] AlenaBrolxFlami: WHAT THE [23:57:44] mrptptpt: plus at the end of the day, they'd empty all the registers (while the store is open) and take all the cash for the day through the whooole store to a room in the back, and apparently the "customers" figured that out after a while and would just steal the massive load of cash on a regular basis... I wonder if that thread is goldmined... there were a ton of crazy stories [23:58:36] mrptptpt: they're a pretty terrible company [00:10:36] mrptptpt: True Stories of Ghetto K-Mart!
[00:12:06] mrptptpt: it's a BYOB (people acting dumb and not worrying about punctuation or writing properly :P) thread apparently... bear with it, and I think it gets moved to GBS after a while, and there's actual decently-written stories.. watch for the one about the guy that gets mad at the employee because he'll miss "Martin" :P it has a nice feel-good twist at the end. pretty sure that's from this one
[00:17:09] AlenaBrolxFlami: will do
[00:17:46] mrptptpt: "here's something that would happen all the time: people were so bold that they wouldn't even try to shoplift... they would just grab what they want and walk out. invariably, some pasty manager with a tie would accost them as they were going out the front door and be like 'excuse me, sir. excuse me' and then BAM!! the 275 all-muscle-pound thug would just turn around and knock them out with one swing, and calmly resume walking out of the store"
[00:26:01] AlenaBrolxFlami: HAHAHAHA.
[00:26:25] AlenaBrolxFlami: the "gay sex" bathroom stall stuff is great :P
[00:26:29] mrptptpt: pretty much the whole thread is really funny if I remember right
[00:26:36] mrptptpt: yeah you love your gay sex in bathrooms
[00:28:29] AlenaBrolxFlami: WHAT?!
[00:28:41] AlenaBrolxFlami: I'm laughing over the "one-hour photo" one
[00:28:54] AlenaBrolxFlami: "i worked the 1-hour photo for a while, and people's pictures would get messed up a lot because the machine sucked. one day, this really big woman in her 40's dropped off a roll, and she was really nice. the pics started coming out of the machine, and they were all of a barbeque and people smiling and babies and old people UNTIL THE END OF THE ROLL. the end of the roll was like 7 or eight pictures of these two crazy looking thug guys with gold and gangsta poo poo holding TEC-9s and AK-47s and posing menacingly in front of pounds of weed and baggies of crack with clovers on them. while i'm looking at the pics going WTF, the two guys walk up. i didn't say poo poo, and the one guy pulled out a fat knot of cash and paid for the pics.

i'm glad the machine didn't mess up those pics"
[00:36:57] AlenaBrolxFlami: Yay! It smells like someone's smoking pot right outside my window!
[00:37:43] mrptptpt: turn the hose on them
[00:41:07] AlenaBrolxFlami: nah, it's fine
[00:41:46] mrptptpt: or if you really want to be nice, call the cops :P
[00:47:10] AlenaBrolxFlami: hah, I think they've gone now
[00:47:26] AlenaBrolxFlami: (I should have called the cops on my ex and his "friends" in the Chilliwack house)
[00:48:59] mrptptpt: bad idea, you'll go to prison when they say "CHILLIWACK PD! OPEN UP IN THERE!"
[00:49:19] mrptptpt: when you start laughing hysterically because they said "Chilliwack," they'll get mad
[00:50:25] AlenaBrolxFlami: no, I won't laugh
[00:51:00] mrptptpt: but that name is ridiculous
[00:53:45] AlenaBrolxFlami: we're used to it around here
[00:54:09] mrptptpt: you should laugh about it anyway
[01:02:21] AlenaBrolxFlami: why?
[01:05:12] mrptptpt: BECAUSE IT IS A SILLY NAME
[01:09:26] AlenaBrolxFlami: on that Something Awful thread, I note that someone is PERMA-BANNED as opposed to just BANNED... what's the difference?
[01:09:42] mrptptpt: if you're banned, you can just pay again and get a new account
[01:10:28] mrptptpt: perma-banned means you're out forever. a new ip address and fake information would work, but if they find out who you really are, you're outta there
[01:15:45] AlenaBrolxFlami: so what do you have to do to get banned or perma-banned?
[01:16:06] mrptptpt: break the rules, or break them a lot?
[01:18:44] AlenaBrolxFlami: ah. got it.
[01:20:41] AlenaBrolxFlami: awww... that "Martin" story is so touching :D
[01:24:30] mrptptpt: told you so :P
[01:25:07] AlenaBrolxFlami: SURPRISE! YAY!

Trivia fact for Friday, Jan. 22: What is the distinguishing feature of a superoleophobic surface? It's oil-repellent.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Caramel macchiato soy milk in a limited edition, and Dave W. cooking Trinidad food?!

At Save-On today, I found a "step-on-me" garbage can which was cheaper than Zellers by $32 or so! It's Rubbermaid, and less elegant than my sister's, but I don't care as long as it gets the job done. I *knew* there was a reason why I bought all those garbage bags on sale at Shoppers a while ago! Since Eric seems to be dragging his feet about the monitors and such, I asked Barry if he could take them for me - maybe not the TV, but he says he can. We'll see! I also got a 64-pack of crayons for Amanda (the 24-pack will be for someone else, maybe?), orange juice, smoked ham, a limited edition caramel macchiato soy milk from SO NICE, two bottles of on-sale Orangina, bananas, microwaveable soups, noodles, and some microwaveable veggies on a tray.

Then I purchased Suave tangerine shampoo and conditioner, a JOY OF COOKING roasted herb chicken microwaveable meal (I wasn't paying $7.99 for the macaroni and cheese meal!), bottled water, iced green tea, a Goody comb, on-sale Häagen-Dazs ice cream (dark chocolate with raspberry swirl), on-sale Danone Silhouettes cherry yogurt, on-sale Oreo / Chips Ahoy Thinsations, on-sale pasta shells from Bassili's Best, a big Sudoku book for my sister's birthday, and more stuff. An hour after I got home, I got an email from Jon about a Sunday Dinner - apparently, Dave will be cooking (Trinidad) food for us at Jeremy's. I'll go, because he will restore the room's energy (no, I'm not being crazy like David S. was!) if Mr. Creep comes - and besides, Dave's told me about the soul food before!




You Are Wool



You are down to earth, practical, and no nonsense. You need a fabric that's durable and hearty.

You don't mind if wool is itchy... at least it keeps you warm! And you're responsible enough to take care of wool properly.



You aren't superficial or frivolous. You value substance over style and function over form.

You are humble and thoughtful. You are happy with who you are, and you don't let vanity get the best of you.

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Accidents on the Alex Fraser resulting in DEATH / Dogs eating Jezebel / North Pole Eskimos

Jen and Harmony were late meeting me - at first, I thought that they'd gone ahead without me when I saw one Canada Line train empty itself of passengers. At least it wasn't cold outside, so I waited for the next one since I had left at 6:40 and waited for the bus till 6:50! When Harmony saw me, she apologized and said she'd tried to call me... RIGHT when I had left! We talked about job interviews / JACK BAUER / swing dancing / Winnie P. / singles / work as we waited for the 403 or 404, then gave Karmie a call. She said that there was some traffic snarl that was related to a few accidents all happening at once on the Alex Fraser bridge; apparently, a semi-truck had crashed into a third car which had driven into two cars involved in an accident. (the driver of the third car died!) No wonder Stella couldn't come since her husband Billy had called her at 7:16 from said bridge! Nobody else was home to look after her boys, of course.

We spent the entire study on Jezebel - the dogs definitely licked up her blood and then ate her entire body excluding skull, hands, and feet! It was pretty interesting, especially how she fixed her hair and such before her enemy killed her - and how her eunuchs just threw her out the window like that! (DEFENESTRATION!) Enjoyed some chocolate biscuits, (oxidized) green apple slices, and green tea while talking about the Olympics (Andrea's city worker shift is from 4 PM to midnight?!) / events / Josiah / interviews / not meeting during the Olympics / Auntie Kam and Zoe / Julie and Elaine's grandma not doing well, and their mom Auntie Cynthia travelling overseas despite her own condition / other such things. Andrea drove me home, and we tentatively agreed to hang out next week before Olympics fever hits town. At home, I finally finished the kids' birthday cards, and put some others into my usual knapsack before editing some stuff.


Trivia fact for Thursday, Jan. 21: How did four men named Oatah, Egingwah, Ookeah, and Seegloo make history in 1909? They are the Eskimos credited with reaching the North Pole with Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. The expedition was Peary's eighth bid to reach the pole.

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Thinking why a number looks familiar = dementia! / Designer brand and GLEE tagging

Have made Minute Rice, and it doesn't taste terrible! Andrea called me from her cell (and presumably from work) - I had to think to know why her cell number looked familiar! Maybe I'm getting dementia! At least I have a way to get to Karmie's!


Got this "designer brand" tagging picture from one of Janina's (mrshannibal) friends:




Got this GLEE tagging picture from Nina:

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Twitter for Quiz Heaven?! / Minute Rice / Free Wing Night / Taste, strawberries, and more!

I've discovered that you need a Twitter account to even take quizzes at Quiz Heaven now. Don't know if it's worth it... probably not. I do know that I'll make Minute Rice, and ensure that Hien knows about it, muhahahaha! I have also heard about Free Wing Night at Kelsey's tomorrow - walk in, and get a free pound of wings. Ha, too bad I can't take advantage of it because I have no life. :P



Your Winter Sense is Taste



You love wonderful tastes, so how could you resist the delicious food of winter?

And between Christmas and Valentine's Day, you're covered for tasty sweet treats.



You've also got a fondness for seasonal beverages of all sorts. Peppermint hot chocolate or gingerbread latte, anyone?

And who could forget Christmas dinner? No matter what can be said about winter, it's a good season for eating.

Strawberries!




You are incredibly seductive and can tempt any hottie. Try using strawberries and other sweet fruits as part of your seduction. Throw in a blindfold for extra pleasure.


Take this quiz at QuizUniverse.com



Beer!




Your sex life mostly resembles Beer. You are easygoing about sex, and to you, it's about having fun more than showing your love for another. You aren't very choosy about partners as long as you're going to get some.


Take this quiz at QuizUniverse.com


SO WRONG!



You should have grown up during the Eighties.
QuizGalaxy.com
A very different decade for very different people. You like to challenge the norms, and try to be original at all costs. Plus, the music was definitely cool. Go, Retro Night.







Death through Freak Supernatural Incident!
QuizGalaxy.com
You are going to die in a freak vampire / werewolf incident. I would start carrying garlic and silver bullets if I were you. There is something weird about your demeanor, and evil is attracted to you. Plus, you may be a little attracted to evil, too.

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My Parents Joined Facebook! / Lamebook / Apostrophe Abuse / McDonalds

My Parents Joined Facebook - HAHAHA! Thank goodness my mom shows no signs of wanting to get one. Just last night or the previous night, she deleted a friend request from one of her friends, Rosanna and Samantha's dad! I also am reminded of Lamebook and Failbooking.

I was in the shower earlier, and noticed "Down Under Natural's" on my shampoo and conditioner. Ugh, what a grammar fail! Thank goodness they were almost finished... also placed a phone call to Harmony, but Jon answered to say she was in the shower herself. She called me back later, and I am going to Women's Group tomorrow... fun times, especially with EVIL WOMEN being the focus! (Jezebel, Herodias, Salome, Delilah)


Trivia fact for Wednesday, Jan. 20: Which is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds fast-food restaurant? Montpelier, Vermont.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

White Spot has SLIDERS now?! / "Murderers steal your purse after they break into your car!"

This computer restarted JUST as I got home - CRUD! Was ten minutes late to meet Auntie Catherine at White Spot today, but that was fine. She offered to go to the Gloucester Café, but I preferred to stay in the mall. Her only caveat was that she had to eat soft things because her braces were sensitive: clam chowder for her (no Sliders, which I might try myself), and chicken pot pie with salad for me! We didn't talk about much (food / budgeting / grocery shopping / cooking / physio), but I did learn that baby Mattias' other grandparents live in Coquitlam - what a distance! I noticed a kid who looked about seven years old eating with his grandma - PIRATE PAK! Later, we walked around the mall for a few minutes, with a detour at the parkade where she figured that her small gift of a scarf would fit around my shoulders with her size estimation. She didn't really have to do that, but since I guess it was for my birthday, it was fine too.

After that, I went to Zellers to see if I could find felts / pencil crayons / crayons for Amanda / Hannah S. / Conor. I found 150 crayons in a wheel, 64 PipSqueak felts in a wheel, and 64 pencil crayons... however, I had to consider my budget and the fact that everyone's gift had to be comparable in size. 24 crayons, 20 PipSqueak felts (good for little hands), and 20 felts it was! Also was EPIC after I found some Vancouver 2010 red mittens and a leopard-print Snuggie, neither of which I could resist anymore. It's a good thing that it's January money and not February money! Saw some "step-on-me" garbage cans, but they were HUGE and cost $50. Maybe I can convince Barry to go to Superstore on Thursday...

As I made my way to the Canada Line platform at Oakridge, I heard an announcement: "An intrusion has been detected here. You are being recorded on CCTV." Hahaha! While I was waiting for the bus outside the Canada Line, I saw these adorable kids with their nannies. I tried minding my own business, but had to react when one of the boys said "I blew bubbles, and they're coming out my butt!" His brother told me that murderers steal purses after they break into your car... haha, so cute! They were about four and six years old, heh. Now I'm finally home (briefly talked to Kenny) - and have realized that if I go to Women's Group tomorrow, I'll have been out every day this week. Hopefully, I won't get sick again - although I don't think it'll happen. You never know!




You Are a Zebra



You are unique and flexible. There's no denying your individuality.

And while you are very original, you're also good at blending in. You strike a fine balance.



You are a fast thinker and you move with agility. You don't hesitate when action is required.

You put the needs of your clan or group first. You are attentive to your family and friends.

I do NOT move with agility!

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My Suicide

Note: What Kind of (One Piece) Pirate Are You Memegen, by nobiscuits.


Your Suicide by jannamaxwell
Username?
Age?
Date of suicide:December 10, 2014
How you will kill yourself:A good, old-fashioned hanging.
What your suicide note will say:Goodbye, cruel world!
Who will find the body:A starving dog.

Trivia fact for Tuesday, Jan. 19: What university did The Muppet Show mad scientist Dr. Bunsen Honeydew attend? Carnegie-Melonhead.

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Monday, January 18, 2010

Omar Hassan knows his brother is in on the death plot this hour...

I was surprised when my mom seemed cheerful on the phone this afternoon, so I was watchful when I came over. Watched the news with Grandma occasionally making comments about the commercials - she thought some were cute, and some didn't make sense. She also asked me whether I wore my glasses to write stuff, and thinks I should be a writer because I write stuff down a lot - HAHAHAHA! Eric called a while after my sister got in to say he'd be over in five minutes, so that was cool. Steph got something from Auntie Brenda, who had written "in care of [dad]" on the envelope - how weird! And it was JUST from her, not Uncle Eric; they're not even going to sign as a unit?! Signed a card for Eric's mom too, since she just had an operation - it was a religious card, or at least, it mentioned God. Well... I guess it's okay, but I wouldn't necessarily want that sort of card if I weren't Christian.

We had dinner, during which Eric tried a bit of ginseng soup. Mom said something about Grandma living with me for two weeks or so because of these nebulous "renovations" she keeps bringing up. HA, we shall see. After a bit, we settled in to watch Eric's tape - OH MAN. "Mikey" killed a cop and his wife (and was killed later by Jack when he was about to kill Ortiz for saying "the assassin is with me"), the police busted the door down while Jack was in there, there was a good cop named Philip who wouldn't stand for the bad cop torturing Jack Bauer because Jack wasn't a "cop-killer," and Brian Hastings proved to be a DUMB IDIOT and "apologized" to both Meredith (who doesn't have a relationship now with Hassan, who seems to be an honorable man) and Chloe. Dana Walsh's creepy ex-boyfriend is back and threatened to tell everyone about her past if she didn't hand over her keys (reminds me of Korey!), Omar Hassan knows now that his brother meant to kill him with a bomb, Renee Walker is back and proved herself CRAZY when she sawed off someone's hand, Farhad (Hassan's brother) killed a CTU agent (in front of his niece and sister-in-law), went to a Russian mobster and saw the younger son "transported" due to radiation from U-235, and more.

Chief of Staff Weiss yells at Bubba and wants something to tell the President. Well, maybe you can tell her that CTU is screwing up, once again. When will these guys learn to just listen to Jack? Dana uses some technobabble while talking to Ortiz, but I wasn't listening. I was distracted by her ridiculously inappropriate workplace attire as well as her unblinking eyes. I wonder what happens when she goes out into the sun. Jack arrives in Queens. That was quick. I guess he took the special Manhattan-to-Queens wormhole. Mikey is still with his hostages, and he promises not to hurt them if they cooperate. Even though terrorists are notorious for breaking their promises, I'm sure he'll be one of the exceptions and keep his word. Something about him seems so trustworthy.

Jack has a run-in with some African-American kids on a basketball court. In Queens? I would doubt that. They'd probably be Hispanic or Asian. The writers could have made the racial tension a little less obvious by using a mixed group of ballers, but apparently not. Anyway, one of the kids gives Jack intel on Mikey, and Jack gives him $100. See? Jack really is a uniter. Well, Mikey is not a man of his word. The cop and his wife are both dead. What a shame. I had such high hopes for him. Two cops show up and Jack finds himself cornered. He tries to talk reason to the Asian cop, but his meathead partner, played by Dom from Entourage, isn't having it. (you know, the big bald dude who was such a bad actor, he made the guy who plays Turtle look like Daniel Day-Lewis) He uses a taser on Jack, and even kicks him for good measure. Officer Dom tells his partner not to call it in just yet, as he wants to have a little fun.

Dana's psycho ex is at the gate and he wants some face time with our favorite blonde bombshell who is a little too hot to be a computer nerd. She takes off her engagement ring before going out to see him. That's weird. Maybe she still has feelings for this creep. I may not like Freddie much, but even I have to admit that he's a better catch than this guy. He reminds me of a fugly Ricky Schroeder. Hey, maybe it's Doyle! Nah, this guy has two functioning eyes. Anyway, this guy (whose name is Kevin Wade) is a real creep. He alludes to Dana's past and makes her say his name, and all the while, he seems like he's about to get himself off. Kevin then forces her to give him the keys to her apartment, and she gives in. Dana then asks him if he needs the address, and like a good stalker, Kevin says he already has it. I feel dirty after watching this scene.

Bubba is still beating a dead horse and is questioning blonde reporter, only this time, he's flashing a key card. She tells him that Hassan gave her the card so that they could violate journalistic ethics together, and Bubba is incredulous. He then gets overly dramatic and tries to call Weiss from the room. It would have been a great move, if only he had made sure Weiss was in on it. Sadly, he is unavailable, and Bubba is quite possibly the worst head of CTU, ever. And that's saying something. Chloe tries to get Bubba to send reinforcements for Jack, but he's not going to. Chloe asks him if he'd consider reinforcements if blonde reporter's story is true, and Bubba agrees. Speaking of Jack, Officer Dom has tied him to a chair in the basement and is beating him. His level-headed Asian partner tries to call Dom off, but Dom refuses. Dom tells his partner to get lost and half-heartedly promises to try not to kill Jack. Oh Dom. How naive you are.

Freddy Prinze Jr. uses both of his facial expressions when giving a security briefing to the NYPD. Hassan has a strange accent for a Middle Easterner. He almost sounds like Ricardo Montalban. Anyway, Hassan agrees to talk to CTU, and baby bro begs him to deny the affair. Hassan cops to the affair, and his brother freaks out. Well, at least he's honest. Chloe then asks Bubba if he'll send backups to Jack, but Bubba still refuses. "I said I'd consider it," he says. Actually, Chloe had asked him if he'd consider it, so it's really her fault. She should have just asked him to do it. Bubba blames Jack's failure to call in on the fact that there are pockets of areas in New York that don't get good cell phone reception. Chloe is upset and wants to go and help Jack, but Bubba tells her that if she leaves, then she is fired. Bubba could always send a drone. Surprisingly, there's been no mention of them so far.

Baby bro calls Mikey as he's getting out of the meeting. Mikey talks to him in his Russian accent, which is weird. After all, there are tons of cops around, and all it takes is for one of them to overhear it and his cover is blown. Then again, if we've learned anything from this show, it is that all law enforcement personnel, besides Jack and his allies, are incompetent. As such, Mikey's cover remains intact. As surely as there's tea in China, Jack escapes and takes Dom out. Level-headed Asian cop points his gun at Jack, and Dom wants him to shoot. Level-headed Asian cop won't do it, and he decides to call it in. Asian cop agrees to ask about the duty roster on Jack's behalf. Arlo, the creepy analyst, comes over and flirts with Dana. Man, she has to beat guys off with a stick. They complete the decryption, and it's a blueprint of the UN. And yes, there's a bomb inside the walls. No canisters of nerve gas, though.

Bubba freaks out and immediately calls for an evacuation. Chloe warns Bubba that it could be a fake, but he doesn't listen. Man, they would have been better off hiring Forrest Gump to run this place. Sure enough, the bomb is outside, underneath a manhole cover. Hassan will be driving into a trap. Why doesn't Bubba just kill him and save us all the trouble? President Taylor is walking to her limo, relieved that, for once, she isn't the target. Cole ushers Hassan into a car and baby bro promises to stay behind with Hassan's wife and daughter. But not before calling Mikey with Hassan's position in the motorcade. Level-headed Asian cop confirms Jack's story and uncuffs him. Jack convinces him to help and Asian cop agrees to drive him to the UN. Dom is upset, but he can't do anything since he's busy getting his boo-boo stitched up. What a wuss. How many times did he hit a tied-up Jack, and he's the one getting medical treatment? He's weaker than Walid. Jack tells Cole that there is no bomb, and that he needs to stop the motorcade. Cole says it's too late, and he pulls his car out in front of Hassan. Mikey detonates the bomb, and we have no word from Cole as to whether Hassan is alive. My only hope is that both of them are not.

Chief of Staff Weiss yells at Bubba. Is that how they're going to open all the episodes this year? Then again, our current chief of staff is Rahm Emmanuel, so I guess Weiss isn't too much of a departure from reality. Meanwhile, Cole is alive. Lucky for all of us, President Hassan is alive as well. Mikey draws his gun and heads toward Hassan, but Cole is able to whisk Hassan away before anything bad can happen to him. Mikey, who has been extremely professional so far, then gives himself away so egregiously and obviously that I'm surprised the writers actually expect us to buy it. What does he do? He stares suspiciously at Cole, and then starts running away. Not even Fabrizio was as obvious when he planted a bomb in Michael Corelone's car. Hassan's wife is worried and upset. What? Now she's concerned? I thought she didn't give a crap about her husband. Anyway, Mikey calls baby bro and tips him off that he better get out of town. Baby bro then stabs a CTU guard in the neck and runs away. Well, I guess his cover is blown. Then again, Bubba is so dense that he'll probably think that it was really blonde reporter that did it.

Mikey gets the drop on Cole, and Mikey wants Cole to help him get out of the building. Otherwise, he's going to turn him into Cole Slaw (get it?). Cole hesitates and decides not to cooperate. Atta boy, Cole! Take a bullet for the cause! Not sure why he didn't use the CTU duress code, though. He could tell everyone to move into a flank-two position. Luckily for him, Jack is there and shoots Mikey dead. Hate to say it, but Cole's starting to grow on me. Jack sees some tattoos on Mikey's body, and it means something to him. Bubba tells Hassan about his brother, and I'm surprised Bubba processed the information so quickly. Hassan wants to talk to blonde reporter. Man, this guy is insatiable. Then again, he did just survive an assassination attempt. A booty call would be the first thing I would do, too. Hassan thanks Bubba for saving his life, and Chloe's face is priceless. Bubba even mentions that, and tells Chloe he was wrong about her. He's coming around.

Yay! Renee is coming back! Six years ago, she was undercover with the Russian mob and that's their plot device for bringing her back. I mean, the Russian mob probably hasn't changed much in six years, right? Oh, and she's also had a bad breakup with the FBI. I'm guessing her interrogation of Coach Yoast didn't go well. Or maybe it went too well. Baby bro calls some Russian guy who's calmly sipping coffee in some bar. Well, at least he isn't drinking vodka. They talk about weapons. Isn't it always about weapons on this show? That or assassinations? Presidents Taylor and Hassan have a pow-wow, and they commiserate about rotten family members. Hassan thinks his brother is trying to overthrow him. Hassan is determined to continue with the talks and stick it to his brother. President Taylor is delighted and makes plans to bring him back to the UN. Taylor tells Hassan: "I know you want to be with your wife and daughter." Uh, not really. At least not with wifey.

Jack and Cole share a nice moment, and if previous seasons are an indication, Jack should be turning on him soon. Just ask Doyle, Chase, Tony, and Curtis about that. Renee didn't return Jack's calls when he tried to get in touch with her during the last few years. Man, what a bitch. The least you could do for the guy who taught you how to torture suspects is return his calls, right? I mean, Jack is like her Yoda. CTU's hazardous alarm goes off and it's coming from Mikey's body. Did they store a canister of nerve gas inside his body? Nope. It looks like he has traces of weapons-grade uranium on him. Yay! It's Renee! And she's looking quite nice. In a "don't mess with me" kind of way. Renee and Chloe engage in some awkward small talk and Renee reveals that she was working private security, but that didn't work out.

Hassan thinks there's a link between Mikey and some Russians that offered him nuclear weapons a while ago. Hassan deduces that since Mikey was recently infected, then there must be nuclear material in the U.S. So, once again, our customs agents have let nuclear weapons into the United States. Way to go, guys! Renee is analyzing the tattoos and determines that they're looking for a group called Red Square. Bubba wants to send Renee back undercover and offers to get her badge back, but she's not interested. "What do you want?" Bubba asks her. She wants Jack! That's what she wants! Actually, she doesn't say this, but I'm sure we were all thinking it. Jack is leaving, but once again, he decides to stick around. Especially once he finds out that Renee is going back undercover. Jack then goes to Renee, and Renee actually seems happy to see him. She apologizes for not calling him back, but Jack's a big boy and can handle rejection. Unlike say, me for instance. Anyway, Jack is worried about her. He brings up Coach Yoast and reminds her that she almost killed him during her interrogation. He then sees a scar on her wrist and tries to talk her out of it, but Renee isn't receptive to Jack's entreaties.

Bubba apologizes to blonde reporter, and she takes it surprisingly well. She and Hassan have a tearful reunion, and it looks like he's about to grant her an exclusive one-on-one exposé. He puts a stop to it, though, and tells her he can't jeopardize everything he's worked for. Man, she gets interrogated and held against her will, and then he breaks up with her. Talk about a bad day. Then again, her ass would have been fired if her editor found out she was sleeping with one of her sources. Renee and Cole are going undercover, and Renee wants to try and outbid baby bro for the nukes. Jack barges in during Renee's briefing and asks to talk to Bubba. Renee refuses to leave and Jack mentions that he is concerned about her. If Bubba won't take her off the mission, then he insists on going along. Renee looks none too happy about Jack cock-blocking Cole, but we know she's secretly happy about it.

We find out that Sark from Alias is part of the Russian mob, as he's Russian coffee drinker's son. Man, is he always a villain or what? He's turning into a younger Christopher Walken. Baby bro comes in and talks to the Russians inside the restaurant. His opening line is "I want to see the rods." Coming on a little strong, aren't we? Baby bro wants proof, and the Russian guy takes him to the back. He shows baby bro his other son, who is suffering from radiation poisoning. He looks like total crap as he's sweating and shaking underneath a blanket. Well, that's not really proof, is it? I mean, he could have swine flu. Baby bro doesn't press the issue, though, and tells Russian guy that he'll have his money. Dana gets a call from creepy ex. Man, she has a really nice apartment. I wonder how much rent she pays. He tells her to come home immediately and flips out when she says she has to stay. He then goes all Ike Turner and smashes a picture frame. Nice guy. Well, whatever Ike did, it worked since Dana takes out her earpiece and starts to leave.

Renee goes into some hardware store and meets with her old Russian buddy. She doesn't even try to use a Russian accent, which makes me wonder just how she managed to get undercover with them. Was she a rogue agent? Was she a Russian national that happened to grow up in the United States? Did she operate out of Alaska (it is right next door, after all). Anyway, Renee gets up close and personal and offers to cut him in on the deal. I'd give her whatever she wanted if she came onto me like that. He shows off his parole bracelet and says he can't help her. "I can get this off," she says with a smile. Uh, is she talking about the bracelet? Apparently so, as she puts the bracelet inside a vise and then starts to cut off his hand. Man, when did Renee turn into a psycho bitch? Jack runs in and tells her this is over. Renee is cold and nonchalantly says "you better find something to cauterize the wound." Jack then stares at Renee's victim in disbelief and has a look on his face that says "Holy shit, I've created a monster." Yes you have, Jack. A cute monster, but a monster nonetheless.

Later, Eric kindly installed Uncle Eugene's monitor for me after I vented about Raymond to him - it is three or four inches bigger than my old one! He saw my trivia calendar, too. I called Auntie Catherine back - she wanted to meet at Gloucester Café, but I'm not really familiar with that location. I'll meet her at the Oakridge White Spot instead at 11:30, and we'll see where we go from there. I just hope I won't stay up till 6 AM again, even if I did set the alarm right after that phone call!

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Dream of little Conor on a cruise ship

This thing restarted AGAIN! Had a weird dream that I was on a cruise ship with a bunch of people - little Conor seemed to like me a lot (as in real life), and wanted to stick with me. There were some sections of the ship which were divided by age, like kids' things and seniors' things. We explored a good portion of it, and he liked the yellow posters everywhere! After a while, he wondered where his parents and brother were - I managed to distract him by taking him to a kids' section, where David and Rosenda were playing with a bunch of kids including Olivia. There was an announcement saying that the cruise would be going to the Vancouver port really soon, so I asked Conor if he wanted to see that from a better view - of course he did!

We gained access to the captain's room, so watched it from the windows... he was very impressed at the machinery and such leading up to the port harbor! Then he really wanted his parents, so we went ALL OVER the ship looking for them, stopping to grab some hot food from a vendor. Finally found them and Sean, and he RAN to them while smiling back at me. I went to find Ada, but she was in no shape to drive me home since she looked REALLY wrecked and was crying a lot - Melia and I learned that a family member had died somewhere far away. Auntie Lillian (Calla's mom) gave me a $5 bill to cover bus or cab fare to a place on Broadway (or on Jordan Avenue), so then I could just go where I wanted afterwards.

Not sure why I had that, although I did interact with Conor yesterday and the day before - he's so cute! Auntie Lillian told me yesterday that Auntie Ying feels more confident with me around during toddler Sunday School, so maybe that's why she appeared. I saw Ada's family (including mother-in-law) yesterday, too... who knows. Interesting dream, though...




You Are Unique Because You're Clever



Unlike most people, you are able to draw interesting connections and come up with amazing theories.

You are able to take in a lot of information at once. You can see patterns where others can't.



You are rare in your ability to think without boundaries or preconceptions. The whole world is open to you.

Like a snowflake, you are happy to contribute to something great. You like feeling that you matter a little.

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Freedom, Jupiter, dreamers, agoraphobia, and Martin Luther King Jr.

This thing restarted JUST as I was about to copy and paste something... UGH! I have somehow recovered my hearing... I think it happened this afternoon sometime. Guess that's a good thing for TV and the radio, but NOT for mice!


Facebook quiz taken from Michael:

I took the quiz "What does 2010 hold for you?" and got the result ► Freedom! The major astrological event for you in 2010 is the movement of lucky and optimistic Jupiter, your traditional planetary ruler in your Sun sign. Jupiter takes 12 years to go around the Zodiac, and so this represents the beginning of a major new 12-year cycle of personal growth and development for you. With Jupiter as your Sun sign, you may gain a sense of freedom and release now. Therefore, if certain aspects of your life are not quite working out as you think they should, this may be the time to move on, let go of the past, and explore pastures new. You're also likely to feel and appear increasingly more confident and self-assured. Therefore, you will be able to present a more positive self-image of yourself to the world.
Quiz Category: Love / Relationships and Horoscope / Personality
Taken By Users: 227,917 times

Ha... we'll see about that...




You are a Dreamer



You tend to have your head in the clouds. You love to be drawn in to a whole other world.



You are a sensitive person. You find it easy to be emotionally affected by books.



You are a person with a few deep interests. If you're drawn to something, you learn everything about it.



You are a person who values your possessions. You tend to have fewer things, but of higher quality.

At least half of this is true...




You Are Agoraphobia



You are the fear of leaving your house.

The outside world is overwhelming and even a bit terrifying for you.



Your home is your sanctuary, and you don't feel truly comfortable in the outside world.

You try to venture out as much as you can, but you definitely have hermit tendencies.

Can't argue with that...


Trivia fact for Monday, Jan. 18: What famous words serve as the epitaph on Martin Luther King Jr.'s tombstone? The words he used to end his famous "I have a dream" speech - "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm Free at Last." King is buried on land adjoining the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as pastor.

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sniper assassins, moles, rogue agents, and more - 24 IS BACK!

Steph and Christon picked me up a little late, but that was fine.

In the show... Snipers are trying to kill the guy who played Detective Aceveda in The Shield. I guess they're working for Vic Mackey. They shoot out his tires and window... making the car skid all over the road. Meanwhile, Aceveda walks into a crack house for some reason. He's looking for his friend who, conveniently, has a bullet in his brain. He calls someone and asks for a guy who is also dead from a gunshot. Man, this guy leaves more dead bodies in his wake than Jack. One of the assassins trying to kill Aceveda looks like a fatter, older Screech. I guess we know who his boss is. Mr. Belding, anyone? (and Mark-Paul Goselaar plays Kim's husband - ZACK MORRIS!) Meanwhile, Aceveda hotwires a car and shows he's a lot like Jack after all. So, the first car-jacking has taken place two minutes into the season. Who had 4:02 in the pool?

Screech calls in the stolen vehicle. He also plugs his sex tape and apologizes for his behavior on Celebrity Fit Club. Jack is relaxing on the couch and watching TV with his granddaughter. "Jack..." "Sweetheart, we went over this - you're supposed to call me Grandpa." "You don't LOOK like a grandpa..." She finds the cartoons boring, so of course, Jack turns to FOX News. She gets upset, so I guess she's a CNN person. Kim tells Jack that her daughter reminds her of him. I guess that means she tortures her mom for information. "Where is my teddy bear? TELL ME WHERE MR. TEDDY IS, OR ELSE I'LL SHOOT YOUR KNEECAP!" President Taylor is talking with the guy who played the gameshow host from Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe she's trying to win enough money to pay off the national debt. Sorry Madame President, you'll have to go on Slumdog Trillionaire for that kind of dough. Oh wait, he's the president of some Islamic country that has weapons. He's willing to make a deal, so I guess that means he's going to be killed. Jack decides to move out to L.A., and the family is happy. You know what that means.

Some blonde reporter tries to get into the UN with an invalid press pass. His brother is giving President Hassan shit about the deal. He's kind of annoying and seems skeptical about the President's motives. Man, do all the politicians on this show have annoying family members that hinder more than help them? President Hassan gets a call from the blonde reporter, and he promises to take care of her. I guess we know what his weakness is. Aceveda corners Jack in his apartment. His name is Victor? Awesome. Oh wait, he's been shot. Never mind. He tells Jack that President Hassan is going to be killed at the UN. He wants a deal and he wants Jack to vouch for him to CTU. Shouldn't be too hard to get a deal. I'm sure they have a bunch of immunity agreements on some flash drive somewhere. After all, they give those out like coupons.

We get our first glimpse of Freddie Prinze Jr. (Steph laughed) Meanwhile, some statuesque blonde woman in a dress that's way too inappropriate for work flirts with him as he comes in. Here's Chloe and you'll never guess it, but she's not in a good mood. She's having trouble with the computers, and she's not happy about it. The guy who played Bubba in Forrest Gump is the new chief of CTU, Brian Hastings. He says he loves catching terrorists. Foreign terrorists, Islamic terrorists, domestic terrorists, freelance terrorists, Russian terrorists... Anyway, Jack gets his attention with the intel on Hassan.

Jack is nice enough to tie together previous seasons by telling us that Aceveda helped him to establish cover with the Salazars. Bubba orders that CTU use some drones? What the hell is a drone? Apparently, they're going to be using them a lot this year. Warden Norton is now Secretary of State, and he delivers the good news to President Taylor. She seems upset, though, and brings up Henry, her wayward husband. (Mom thought he was dead, and we told her to WAIT and listen!) Warden Norton and President Taylor fill us in on the last couple of years. Her daughter is in jail, and her husband filed for divorce. Wow! I'm guessing President Taylor won't be running for reelection. Warden Norton is using some kind of medication. He says "I ain't dead yet," which means he'll be dead by mid-season.

Bubba tells Chloe to ship up or shape out. ("You and your husband DOWNSIZED, so you should speed up and know the systems!") Meanwhile, Jack and Aceveda are in an alley and Aceveda faints. Jack has to perform emergency first-aid and thankfully, there's a mattress in the alley for him to use. I wonder if there's a bag of slightly used surgical supplies nearby. Hassan's wife is cold to their daughter ("You learned to be a wonderful liar from your father!"), and tells Hassan not to touch her. She's really nasty to him, and says that they don't need to pretend anymore. I guess political marriages are just as bad in Islamic countries as they are in America. See? We do have something in common after all! Maybe we can build on this!

President Taylor is not going to tell President Hassan about the plot for fear of jeopardizing their deal. Her Chief of Staff is not happy about this, but President Taylor is adamant. Have I mentioned what a terrible president she is? And another cliché of 24. The ignorant local law enforcement officials that don't listen to Jack. In this case, local cops show up and detail Jack and Aceveda as they're trying to get to the chopper. The cops won't listen to Jack, so they get what they deserve when the assassins show up and kill them. They're moving a drone into position. Whatever that means. Meanwhile, Aceveda won't tell Jack what he knows because he wants his deal. Jack reaffirms his awesomeness by taking out both assassins. He hits Screech with a fire axe and kicks the other over the railing. It's like riding a bike, isn't it, Jack? Jack then pushes Ortiz out of the way before he can be hit with a rocket launcher. The assassin who was talking to Screech is the guy who played Percy on The Green Mile. He was the one who fired the rocket launcher.

Aceveda finally sings, and he says it's someone on the inside, close to Hassan. I guess Hassan's screening procedures aren't any better than ours. Again, we can build on this! Looks like it's blonde reporter that will be doing the deed. Which, of course, means she's not really the mole, because she's actually a double agent. Unless she is pretending to be a double agent so she can draw out the real conspirators. In which case, she could be a triple agent because she wants to kill the real conspirators for what they did to her several years ago. Ugh, my head hurts. From now one, we'll just call that "Pulling a Tony" for shorthand purposes.

The EMTs haven't arrived yet. Of course not. They're not terrorists. Those guys move at the speed of light. Meanwhile, Ortiz is upset at Bubba over the drones not working. Man, these drones are really letting us down, aren't they? Jack says he believes Aceveda because he was dying and had no reason to lie. Hey, lawyers would agree. After all, there's pretty much the basis behind the dying declaration exception to the hearsay rule. Anyway, Jack tries to walk away, but we all know he ain't gonna do it. Chief of Staff Weiss reads Bubba the riot act. Bubba has to get results... after all, that's why he got the job. He also got the job because he believed in beating terror suspects, torturing terror suspects, using sodium pentathol on terror suspects, waterboarding terror suspects... That's the last one, I promise.

Hassan is about to get his groove on with blonde reporter. She reminds me of President Daniels' Chief of Staff (Lisa Miller) from a few seasons ago. Apparently, the drone is part of some anti-missile system. And it didn't work. I guess the new CTU is whole lot like the old CTU after all. Chloe's gotten a lock on the computer that hacked into the UN. They have blonde reporter's name (Meredith Reid), which of course, means she isn't the assassin. Of course, what it does mean is that there will be no booty call for the President. (security separates them from ten yards away) Chloe thinks this is too easy and is convinced that blonde reporter is being set up. She has a point. After all, we're only in hour 2...

Jack arrives at CTU in 15 minutes. Way to beat that Manhattan traffic, Jack. Anyway, Bubba asks Ortiz not to go on the record with his complaint about not using a second team on the operation. He's afraid for his job and doesn't want to deal with Division. After all, we know how anal those guys are. Kim is going to CTU to pick up her dad. Who else thinks she's going to get kidnapped on the way? Jack also seems surprised that they already have the assassin. Man, the old CTU really lowered everyone's expectations, didn't they? President Hassan and his wife are fighting in front of their daughter. She's upset about him diddling the reporter, but really, why should she care? She treated him like total crap earlier.

President Hassan and his brother talk in the hall. President Hassan admits to having gone off the record with the reporter several months ago. His brother then calls Percy the assassin. I guess baby bro's the mole. Unless he isn't. Ah, who cares anymore? Arlo, the perverted analyst at CTU who was using satellites to look at sunbathers on rooftops earlier, starts staring at Dana's boobs. She calls him on it, and then gets a call from some creepy guy who calls her "Jenny Scott." He threatens to expose her and tell everyone about her past, and she nearly has a breakdown. And that's another 24 cliché. The wayward sibling / child / significant other that keeps someone from doing his or her job. Usually this ends up inadvertently causing a massive security breach, so time will tell if this guy does the same.

Bubba tells his guards to take blonde reporter to interrogation and orders the full "biometric package." That doesn't sound good. Jack shows Bubba the photo of the real culprit and Bubba, obviously, doesn't listen to him. "I hate this place," Jack says with a knowing tone in his voice. Chloe plays the guilt card on Jack. She's always done what he's asked, and has never asked any questions. Now she's asking him for help. He walks away, though, and Chloe looks devastated. Come on, Chloe! Hasn't Jack earned the right to walk away? After everything that he's gone through? Of course not. Since Kim also tugs at Jack's heartstrings and tells him it's okay for him to see this through. Are they trying to get him killed?

Ordinarily, I wouldn't be concerned about Jack's health, but this is the last season, after all. Anything's possible. I wouldn't be surprised if the writers finally killed him off. Oh wait, there's a 24 movie in the works? Nevermind. Go crazy, Jack! Don't worry about a thing! Blonde reporter is connected to some machine and is being interrogated. It certainly looks humane. Then again, waterboarding didn't sound so bad until I read about what it actually entailed. Send in the drones. I guess that's our word of the season. Apparently, Dana's creepy guy is named "Kevin Wade." Dana's worried she's going to lose everything. Her career. Freddie Prinze Jr. Anyway, Arlo tells her that someone's hacked into her computer. Man, Chloe really is struggling with that new software. Ordinarily, she wouldn't have been caught.

Percy the assassin goes to someone's house and puts on his best American accent. We find out he's using the alias of "Mikey" and he's a traffic cop with the NYPD. The guy whose house he goes to is one of his coworkers. I smell a hostage situation brewing. Of course, CTU puts Jack under arrest because they still haven't learned the one cardinal rule of this show: Always listen to Jack. I thought that would have been engraved into the wall or something. Anyway, he calls Bubba out about the stuff with Cole and his lack of support on the rooftop and the malfunctioning drone or something like that. He threatens to tell the President, so Bubba relents and lets Jack go from the armory. (we could tell that Ortiz believed Jack Bauer)

"Mikey" wants to trade shifts and the cop has to turn him down. "Mikey" takes this really badly and pulls out his gun. Man, what would have happened if "Mikey" had asked him to work a double? "Mikey" then drops the accent and tells his coworker (at gunpoint) to call their supervisor and them they switched shifts. He refuses, and "Mikey" shoots the guy's wife (Maggie) above the kneecap. He says he won't miss the bone next time. Man, does it suck to be a wife on this show. First Christopher Henderson's wife and now her. He's smart, getting the husband to put tape over his wife's mouth - none of HIS fingerprints!

Next on 24 – explosions, gunfire, beatdowns, and oh yeah, Renee is coming back! Woohoo!


Trivia fact for Sunday, Jan. 17: What U.S. sports trophy features sterling silver bas-relief likenesses of its winners? The Borg-Warner Trophy, which is awarded annually to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 auto race.

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Disorders, cheering, felts vs. Transformers, attempted guilt trips, CAMERA, and more...

Hmm... I have about an hour to recap the past day or so before Steph and Christon pick me up to go to dinner before the 24 premiere thanks to Eric's taping! When I get home, I expect to have a new monitor. Haha, we shall see indeed!

Henry picked me up yesterday and asked what I thought about Helen's sharing the previous night. It was mostly fact-based, and he would have liked some more stories about the patients if she were able to share them. I agreed, to which he bumped my arm in appreciation (he was driving) and said that I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about! Of course! Got to the church and returned Catherine's "hi!" greeting. I like her daughters Hannah and Amanda, and they have birthdays two calendar days apart! Waved hi to Golden as I sat down at the secretary table, and helped Chrystal with the usual stuff.

Got to talk to her for five minutes while everyone was out of the room - going through her particular disorder is stressful. Right now, she is not getting along with her family because it seems every little thing they do or say annoys her to no end. Maybe she spends too much time with them - she thinks she may need to go out more, heh. She eats a lot of snacks (like nuts - so EASY to eat a lot, and personally addictive for her) and then doesn't like herself in the morning. While you could argue that of course she needs to eat more, I recognize that she's feeling emotional about this and hasn't had the best time of it lately. She said that she could vent to me about food and such because I'm a good listener (Anita said that I'm a good listener too) - of course, I try!

Chris said that he'd lose his voice because he cheered a lot for the T&T kids doing multiple relays during Game Time, and I told Elaine that she had some crazy friends! I'd seen her Facebook status "Stress Relief is spelled S E X!" - her friends had taken it in the expected direction, of course. She said it really meant "Sleep - Eat - Exercise" as per a professor, heh. Hannah and her friend Andrea came up to me and talked about their favorite colors, and it seems Hannah's changes a bit: pink, blue, and now green. I told them that my sister-in-law's favorite color is green, yay! Hannah said her pink bracelet was broken, but Andrea repaired it - good. After Awana, Sean L. told me that his mom was in India - I know, because she told me before! Of course, I said hi to Conor and HIS brother Sean S. - their parents were going to Superstore to shop. Convenient, since it's two minutes away!

John and I got lost while trying to locate Steph's - it was too dark outside, man. I couldn't even see people outside when they called to me! Um, I think I'm getting REALLY old! Dinner was all right - it seems Grandma likes holding hands around the table now, too. AIYA! We had to explain to Mom (again) that Spoons is NOT spooning! With as much TV as she watches, you'd think she would know the difference between the two! Then Mom tried denying that her favorite TV shows (like GREY'S ANATOMY) had sex scenes... HAHAHA, oh dear. We watched the hockey game on Steph's mini TV... the Canucks won 6-2 over the Penguins. Poor goalie, being third-string... then the fourth-string goalie was inserted later on. Steph was trying to give Mom an analogy that she'd understand, using Luongo / Raycroft / Schneider as examples. The only problem with that was that Mom thought the analogy was REAL! Dad then thought that Jon was trying to turn Steph into a vegan since his vegetarian dish contained kale and all sort of stuff... what the?!

We also tried giving Grandma a basic explanation of hockey - that kinda worked, heh. Discussed prostate exams, red wine and beer, exercise, farting, coffee, future family dinner dates and birthdays (Steph skipped over Harmony's birthday entirely at first - oops!), Haiti, the Super Skills competition, rum cake, Steph's Internet and cable perhaps getting hooked up next week, good deals on winter jackets, travel mugs, Mom's assessment of supermarket deals, and more. There's a deal on at Boston Pizza (which I would have been all over a few years ago) - $9 for starter, entree, and dessert. I said it might be too much food-wise (not money-wise), but Mom suggested I box it up to take home. Good idea, for once.

Then Mom tried making me feel guilty that I didn't spend time with Grandma, again. Well, excuse me if I believe in taking care of myself when I'm even the slightest bit under the weather! Overall, the dinner was good - we even signed Steph's guestbook, and later laughed at Mom's English and being SO ASIAN! ("it seems to have more stuff from we saw it last - we should thank Uncle Keith for finding you such a nice place - I hope you take the last big step soon!") Of course, she means a wedding - hahahaha, oh dear. Grandma was getting tired, so the parents left before Jon and Harmony. I previewed a birthday card for them, too.

Later, I did some Sunday School prep and Bathroom Reader perusal before I headed to bed as well. This morning, we had toast and fruit and coffee for breakfast. Yay for toothbrush cases and such! Talked to Denise, Quan, Karmie, Hien, Dave, Conor (felts vs. Transformers!), Esther, Harrison, Amos, Amanda, David, Arthur, Natalie, Hannah W., Gladys, Eric M., Harmony, Mattias, Megan, Karen I., Connor, Vivian, Allison, Danielle, Andrea, Auntie Catherine, Chung, Alan, Polly, and others. Saw Quan and asked where her sister was... when I located her, I showed Hien the Minute Rice box, which she wasn't impressed with - I gave her some leftover Christmas stickers, too. The girls wouldn't take Ziploc bags full of candy canes, so I gave them to David instead. Made sure to say hi to Dave, and talked to Danielle about Brent and Wisconsin - lots of snow, yikes! Said hi to Denise, and talked to her about the quiet week. Allison gave me a kiss via her stuffed animal mouse - haha, that works! Connor had a Honeycomb, heh. Harmony asked if I'd seen Raymond; why would I even NOTICE him!? Apparently, he'd been invited to the Super Skills competition in the afternoon, and maybe THAT was why I wasn't invited. Raymond should just cease to exist - trying to say that I am obsessed with him?! As if!

Asked Karmie about Women's Group - it apparently resumes this week. Mattias looked VERY tired - Karen said he woke up at 4 AM! At toddler Sunday School, Harrison was crying since Amos and Amanda left him out of their Lego play - I simplified Auntie Ying's "rejected" to "left out," heh. The kids drew apple trees, branches, baskets, birds, and other things - but no scarecrows since they were scary! Conor told me about getting lost, too - uh oh! I gave Conor some sticker sheets featuring teddy bears and penguins, and he was SO HAPPY with them, calling them "my stickies!" and carrying them everywhere. That was definitely thanks enough for me, even if he did come back later to yell THANK YOU at me! I think he likes me since he was holding my hand and such... so cute! When I went downstairs, I talked to Ian and Sean about hand sanitizer... it DOES dry right away, but not if used on paper!

Saw Wesley and Dianne - Jon explained CAMERA to them as the Campaign for Real Ale; he and Jeremy both have cards, and the AGM was this afternoon! Also discussed hats and stuff - then talked to Andrea briefly about hanging out. I asked Auntie Catherine how she was doing - her laser eye treatment and such went well, and she'll call me tomorrow (hopefully not during JACK BAUER TIME) to get together this week. Sounds good to me! Went to the old Green Village with Alan and Polly - Alan likes Awana, and Jordan is interesting. Then Mom had to go to Zellers - microwaves are too expensive there, man. Good thing I went to the bathroom at the restaurant, since the Zellers trip added half an hour to the total time out! Mom also thought that I should have told her about Auntie Kam's fractured shoulder, and about Eric taping JACK BAUER on the Eastern Time channels with satellite TV. Um, why would I? She never ASKED! Yes, of course she knows Auntie Kam, but honestly. It never came up, and I don't want to give her additional info! Sheesh...

Now I'm done, and they still haven't called me yet... nice! All good, for sure. :D
(Steph just called to say they're coming now - and she'll call when they're closer - GOOD!)

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