I remember that waiting around IS boring! / Possibly no church

Henry picked me up, saying that traffic was terrible around Parker Place / Aberdeen - I'm not surprised! He says he's going back to school since he got into Education at UBC, and is learning how to count in different base systems, and different cultures have their own way of doing so. I bet adding numbers in things other than base 10 can get confusing! Talked about his trip to get food from the States on the long weekend, solar eclipses, the JACK BAUER finale party, and more. Got to church and interacted with Chrystal, Golden, Jordan, Conor, Sean S., Sean L., Auntie Vivian, Nicholas' baby sister, Victoria, Eunice, Isaac, and others: cake, training, playing, CONNECT 4, Eric T. NOT being away "forever," Sabrina being on a cruise, calculators, earrings, sushi, SERVANTS, the cold weather and sweaters, waiting around forever as "boring," Bible verses, IRON MAN 2 (which Henry says is anti-climatic), movies, toys, and cool blue dragon shirts.

On the way home, I talked to Sean and Ian about the CONNECT 4 game / field trips / bowling - John missed the turnoff to go to my place, but I wasn't paying attention since I was concentrating on the kids. Once I did get home, Eric called to say he wouldn't be going to church tomorrow either because he needs to rest up from the as yet unfinished project... understandable! If Ivan doesn't call me back, I guess I'm not going to church tomorrow either! It's like Eric and I are tied together, haha. Packed candy, Jon and Harmony's present, Andrea's present, the butter cookies, and more stuff anyway JUST IN CASE.

Greeks skimping on the wax, Jasmine and MARIO dream, ten years later

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

GREEK (176 points) - against Sandi S. [two 4W]
SKIMP (470 points) - against Patti F. [two 5W - one used twice, hook off BEWAIL for a plural]
WAXER (180 points) - against KD C. [2W, 5W]
FAX (144 points) - against Diane R. [two 5W]
HAZERS (530 points) - against Cora-Lee G. [two 5W, hook off ETA to make SETA]


This thing restarted overnight! All I remember of my dream is that my friends and I were watching Jasmine try to get through a real-life version of SUPER MARIO 3's World 4, where everything is giant-sized. We were amused, but rooting for her... she almost made it through the second level, but got terminated by a pipe. Then Auntie Teresa came in and started lecturing us about what to do with our pile of plastic bags. It was waste, she said, and started gathering them up to recycle them. We stopped her by saying that we'd use them later - DON'T TOUCH OUR THINGS! I know what brought this one about: walkthroughs and annoying people!

Got up and took a shower, then had some cashew nut spread with buns - I love that stuff! Found out that Alex Lee and Chrissy have reinstated their FB accounts for now, but Jon H. unfriended me on there.

Your Life Will Be Calm in Ten Years

You're the type of person who takes things as they come, and you do your best not to worry. You know that there's a lot in this world that you can't change - and you're not about to try to change it. You are confident and content. You don't feel like you need to push too hard. Try to break out of your comfort zone every now and then, though. Have an adventure! You are risking complacency.

What Will Your Life Be Like in Ten Years?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Being afraid of vexing nonskid bento boxes, NO EXPIRED JUICE, Darkwing, fruit

High-scoring words of the night:

VEX (104 points) - against Jermain M. [3W, 2L on X, hook off BAND to make BE / AX]
YEAH (255 points) - against Glenda B. [two 4W, hook off FROST to make FROSTY]
NONSKID (225 points) - against David K. [5W, 3W]
BENTO (225 points; two 5W, hook off LOG to make LOGO), EVACUEE (113 points; two 4W, hook off XIS to make AXIS) - against Jenny H.
AFRAID (180 points) - against Millie F. [2W, two 3W]
VINAS (337 points) - against Mark F. [4W, 5W used twice, hook off TIC to make AT / SI]


I am NEVER drinking expired juice again... some of the stuff I was drinking had its "best before" date in mid-April! However, I was cheered tonight to find that Dave TRIED to psych me out via FB status comment. "NOT AT SMALL GROUP TONIGHT, I SEE!" isn't going to do the trick... especially when you haven't been to church yourself in a couple of weeks! :P Now I'm just updating Chinese Eric on things via MSN since he's online for once.

Trivia fact for Saturday, May 29: What fruit - considered exotic in the 17th century - did King Charles II of England pose with in an official portrait? A pineapple. The portrait shows the king receiving a pineapple as a gift - a symbol of royal privilege because of its rarity at the time.

Purloining jam and plantains from Burton / Conveying translation, Eric habit, and Alex

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

BURTON (117 points) - against Lior B. [2W, 5W, hook off IF to make RIF] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
FROM (256 points) - against Jan H. [two 4W]
SENDUP (169 points) - against Bev O. [two 4W, hook off NOVA to make NOVAE] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
PURLOIN (250 points; two 5W), JOINTED (210 points; 2W, 5W) - against Demetra K.
JAMMIER (176 points) - against Alan C. [three 2W]
PLANTAIN (280 points) - against Jermain M. [4W, 5W]


Courtesy of Kaitlin: This translates a phrase back and forth between a number of different languages to see what crazy translations Google Translate comes up with.

I challenged Alan Canon to a Wordscraper rematch, and he'd added me on Facebook not five minutes later! Haha... he's eight years older than I am, NOT THAT IT MATTERS. NICE! I'm looking at the phone out of habit, too... I know Eric's not going to call me! Alex Lee deleted his Facebook account again - MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!

Reviewing mimes on the navy seaboard for their love style

High-scoring words of the morning:

NAVIES (480 points) - against Caroline L. [two 4W]
SEABOARD (148 points) - against Shirley C. [two 3W]
MIME (104 points) - against Tony C. [5W, hook off PAD to make PADI]
REVIEW (224 points) - against Debby J. [two 4W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}

Your Love Style is Balanced

You tend to approach falling in love practically. You don't let your heart get ahead of your head. You see love as an important part of your life, but it's not the whole picture. You keep romance in perspective. You see love with your head, and you believe in working on a relationship. You think communication is key - as well as core compatibility. You are swept off your feet by words of love. A love letter or love poem from your sweetie can make your heart melt.

The Either Or Love Test

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Abby, Yin, piano keyboards

High-scoring words of the night:

ABY (250 points; two 5W), YIN (140 points; 4W, 5W) - against Tracy M.


[00:14:30] Flami: I was on the phone for a bit just now
[00:21:18] Flami: with my teaching partner, who thought that I was going to spend time with Eric :P
[00:41:03] Corey: what are you teaching?
[00:42:11] Flami: ironically enough, toddler Sunday School material
[00:42:53] Corey: toddlers can't even understand things, you don't have to teach stuff :P
[00:44:27] Flami: these "toddlers" are about 1.5 to 6 years old
[00:56:56] Corey: 6-year-olds aren't even remotely toddlers :P
[00:57:24] Flami: I know
[00:57:30] Corey: they're small enough to pick up over your head though, and then they scream
[00:57:32] Corey: try it out sometime
[00:57:33] Corey: it's fun
[00:57:36] Flami: NO!
[00:58:09] Corey: no? I did that just last night! with a 5-year-old, though :P the other day, I even held her upside down by her ankles!
[00:58:12] Flami: you think I want to make the kid scream?
[00:58:22] Flami: yeah well, she's probably used to it
[00:59:02] Corey: well, sorta :P not being held upside down by her ankles, though :P I was doing handstand pushups, so she did a handstand too, against the wall, so I grabbed her feet and picked her up :P
[01:00:10] Corey: and it's REALLY HUMID RIGHT NOW AUUGGHHHGHGHGdasflsajf;safas
[01:00:22] Flami: how humid can it get?
[01:01:31] Corey: I'm not sure how the scale works, but it's regularly 99% humidity... and this feels like a lot more than that, but I'm not sure if it goes over 100% or not :P
[01:15:38] Flami: man, sounds stinking hot anyway
[01:16:54] Corey: it's pretty hot today, but the sun isn't even out :P it's overcast (lots of rain yesterday)
[01:17:15] Corey: it's still just under 90 F... I think the most I've seen is like 93 F...
[01:18:00] Corey: it gets up to 100 in the summer in Colorado (not usually, but it can), but there's no humidity there, and it's so much nicer even though it's really really hot :P
[01:18:52] Corey: you probably have humidity too, since you're near the ocean... Colorado is in the middle of the country, so there's no ocean anywhere for a long way in any direction... a lot drier
[01:20:44] Flami: it can get humid if it's like 28 or 30 degrees.
[01:24:16] Corey: humid isn't really related to the temperature... that just makes the really hot or cold temperatures more miserable :P
[01:24:24] Flami: oh


Called Auntie Ying, and I really didn't feel like this conversation flowed well at all. She talked to me about outdoor hot pot, walking with people, toddler Sunday School (I had to go home with Eric, not spend time with him!), my mom, Harrison and Amos being "wild and hyper," family in town from Chicago, and her co-worker not liking her. Then I briefly shared about SERVANTS with her, and she seemed to like that. When she asked about my small group (meaning Women's Group), I told her that I wasn't doing it anymore because of transportation problems. At least I still have the Bible Study group! I decided not to horrify her about prayer, hahaha.


Trivia fact for Friday, May 28: A is the first note on a standard piano keyboard. What's the last note? C. The standard keyboard has 88 keys.

Replicating inflated vows with oxeye and slutty fops named Fay!

Bingo of the evening:

REPLICATE (450 points) - against Michelle M.

High-scoring words of the evening:

VOWS (140 points) - against Cathy T. [4W, 5L on V, hook off FOAM for a plural]
JOTTER (153 points) - against Tina W. [two 3W]
REPLICATE (450 points) - against Michelle M. [two 5W, bingo]
INFLATER (108 points) - against Carolyn L. [two 2W]
OXEYE (220 points; 5W, 2W; a good deficit-erasing word!), SUBWAY (370 points; 5W, 2W, 5L on Y) - against Carolyn L. {different game}
FAYS (192 points) - against Crystal H. [two 4W]
FOPS (116 points) - against Lynn K. [4W used twice, hook off YEAR for a plural] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
SLUTTY (110 points) - against Ardy C. [5W, 3L on Y] {a good deficit-erasing word!}


Corey gave me a bunch of advice, haha. NICE!

I could use some holy wine in real life to get rid of the anxiety!

Interesting rack of the afternoon: HOLYWINE, against Debbie B.-D.

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

PHONICS (134 points; two 2W, hook off BRAND for a plural), DEIFIES (124 points; 5W) - against Cathy T.
COWPEAS (208 points) - against Kelly H. [two 4W]
TWA (200 points) - against Henriette S. [two 5W]
PASTORS (210 points) - against Neil F. [two 5W, hook off GLOBE for a plural]
LOWERED (140 points) - against Kathy T. [4W, hook off HAVE to make HAVER]


Waited in line for a LONG time at the bank, so it's a good thing I brought reading material. At least it's done now! So anxious about people, too!

Dream of soccer and hockey around church / Pasture Test

Had a dream where my friends and I were hanging around our old church building, and were invited to the Hakka barbecue outside. Some of us got to go inside the renovated church, and look for sports equipment. Pretty soon, there was an impromptu soccer game going on, although we were assured that these went on every week. After a while, I wanted to go home, so asked Uncle Peter and Auntie Ying for a ride. Surprisingly, Uncle Peter drove me while Auntie Ying waited at the building. We went over a complicated bridge, and he dropped me off at the Foggy Dew. Lesley was a server there, and it was CROWDED at night! Lots of people were in Canucks uniforms, and there was a hockey game on TV. Some foreign skaters were at the hockey game, watching their fellow countryman (not sure which country - the flag was blue and white, though) take a penalty shot. When he connected and scored a goal, everyone went wild! That was the end of the dream, and I'm not sure why I had it! Got up to discover that Sarah Corkish-Balez had added me to Facebook... I had to think about who this person was, but eventually remembered a Sarah Corkish from Palmer. (or maybe Ferris too?)

You Are Peaceful and Content

You have reached a point in your life where you've accepted things and found bliss. You cultivate a sense of gratitude, and you believe that each day you're given is special. You have a low tolerance for drama, and you have been known to cut troublesome people out of your life completely. You are a daydreamer, but there is nothing lofty about your dreams. You can be perfectly happy just watching the clouds.

The Pasture Test

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

Only jointed boxcars with tame oysters! / Free training / Political nicknames

High-scoring words of the night:

BOXCAR (105 points) - against Dana G.-G. [5W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
ONLY (200 points) - against Timmy F. [two 5W]
JOINTED (204 points) - against Doug Y. [4W, 3W]
TAMERS (130 points) - against Alan C. [5W, 5L on M]
OYSTER (115 points) - against Linda H. [two 4W, hook off YET to make TO]


[22:30:22] Corey: I have to go to the kids' school here soon... dammit
[22:32:50] Corey: to watch classes (the same thing over and over again), and not get any new information and not work. this is "training," going to watch classes for weeks without actually being taught anything whatsoever about the job, and no information about when the hell they might start paying me
[22:39:33] Flami: so, basically they're not paying you to do this
[22:39:52] Flami: I assume you've asked about this
[22:40:48] Corey: I can't ask them, they don't speak English


Trivia fact for Thursday, May 27: Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was nicknamed The Iron Lady. What 20th-century female political figure was known as The Steel Butterfly? Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos.

Cooking at SERVANTS

When I got out to meet Jon, it was raining pretty hard. Got some money for my bank account, but realized that I'd forgotten my bank card - guess I'll have to do that tomorrow! The ride over to King Edward was uneventful, as usual... as I thought, Jon came up to me while I was reading. Turns out he had driven to Richmond to teach since the weather was so icky - stopped by his place for about five minutes, and learned he'd be at SERVANTS all weekend, but Harmony wouldn't. Went to SERVANTS afterwards - yup, I did need help down Jon's steps as I'd feared. I expressed fear about someone "jacking" my Russia novel (as Dave Wong would say), so Jon said I could put it in his bag.

Randal and Kevin were there already, with Wesley / Dylan / Pastor John coming later. I helped open cans and stir a big pot of ingredients - discussed worship, strawberries, cinnamon, bok choy, rice, salt, ground beef, chili, onions, garlic, can openers, tomatoes, Stanford cooking at the retreat, Deb being away, childrearing, laundry, the finale party at Steph's, bread, and other things. Wished Wesley a happy birthday, and met a bunch of people who either lived at the house or were guests. Good thing we decided to triple the recipe since about 40 people showed up to eat! Talked to the little kids for a bit, one of whom had pink Lego - I don't think I've ever seen that. Another one also was drinking water out of a cup with a spoon, then offered me rice on her finger - no thanks! (she also wanted to put down some diapers somewhere)

While nobody was in a large room off the second kitchen, Wesley and I checked it out: toy swords, lots of books, nice couches, and more! I decided to start a conversation with Randal, asking him what time he'd left Steph's on Monday. Then he asked whether I liked spicy stuff, since the chili we were eating (one of three pots) was the spiciest - definitely! There was a guy there who probably had issues hearing or something, since he had a whiteboard to write down the questions he had of us. I found myself liking the experience more than I thought, anyway. Jon said that they were trying to tell the difference between Coke and Diet Coke yesterday - sounds like a party, all right! Got a ride home with Dylan, and I didn't mind if he got a little lost heading out of Chinatown. Talked about basketball, his workplace a bit off the Arthur Laing Bridge, Friday's talk, Chuck and Andrea's wedding, laundry being better at his in-laws (no coined laundry!), Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays, Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, movies, books, and more.

Quote of the night: "Well, Pastor John stirred it!" - Dylan, on why the spiciest chili looked significantly redder than the least spicy chili. Yes, he was being serious.


EDIT at 2048: Eric just called to inform me that he wouldn't be going to Fellowship on Friday. He's either going to be working late, or be really tired. I guess that project with an impending deadline isn't done yet! So now I have two free Fridays in a row... hmm... Billie and I have JUST made plans to get together then, so that should be fine! (VCC station at 3-ish!) Oh, and she canceled on me due to health reasons... okay, then!

A hip wand outhits a ZEE! / But the Skytrain station is better than your house...

Interesting rack of the afternoon: AHIPWAND, against Katie S. (read that as "a hip wand")

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

ZEE (196 points) - against Christina G. [5W, 3L on Z, hook on YON to make YE] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
OUTHIT (120 points) - against Angela V. [2W, 5W]
EVENLY (112 points) - against Kathy T. [4W, 2W]


Jon's just changed plans on me again - I'm to meet him at his house at 3:30. Great, now I have to contend with the steps and trying to figure out which one is his, haha. So confused. Then again, I called him to change his plans - if he can do that, I can do that. I don't care if I have to wait longer at the King Edward Skytrain station since I'll have a book. :D

"I don't have to do anything, and she still thinks I'm a great teacher!" / Dishes and projectiles

After semi-arguing about browsers last night, Corey said he'd be back since he had to see his private student. Then I got these messages overnight:

[01:24:05] Corey: bizzack
[01:24:15] Corey: my private student thinks I'm a great teacher :P I don't even DO anything with her... she doesn't let me talk :P
[01:24:24] Corey: but if she likes it, great :P
[01:24:55] Corey: I don't even try to talk about things now, she'll just interrupt me. if there's silence, I just sit there until she talks again
[01:26:57] Corey: I gave her an article a while ago, and she says I'm "so generous" for giving her that, since it has lots of activities and things.... well, there's a website that makes new lessons about current events every few days... it's just from that :P so, I'll print out a new one of those each week, and she'll be happy, I guess

Sounds pretty easy to me, haha! I'm assuming this is the English teacher who doesn't even want him to prepare anything! Also got a bunch of email from Dylan / Jon / Kevin - Jon said we could get a bunch of stuff for minestrone and chili from Sunrise Market - NO BEER! Dylan called Kevin's email about food safety a "post" ... Called Jon, and things are still a go.


I had a dream where my friends and family were on a houseboat - not that I've ever been on one, but think Job's from ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT on a larger scale. Everything was out in the open, and it seemed to be a good arrangement. Cindy and I were looking after a bunch of kids who were painting things on paper - we had to be careful to make sure our precious stash of books remained pristine. After a while, my mom called me to do something. I argued that I was with the kids, to no avail. Turns out she wanted me to look after Grandma, so I took her to where the kids were... everyone could keep an eye on her! Afterwards, I went to my sister's bed to sleep a bit - woke up at 7:08, and again at 12:11 when my parents were out of there for a bit. Unfortunately, they came back!

Later, my siblings and I were trying to convince my mom to give up talking on her phone so I could call the Morrills to get them to pick me up. Jon and Steph talked on THEIR cellphones, but whatever solution they were looking to effect did NOT turn out. Turns out Mom was deliberately talking to the Morrills so I couldn't talk to them - when we found that out through a slip of her tongue, my siblings tackled her to the ground, and dragged her to a garden space on the boat. She came back wearing a purple-silver football uniform, but she was no match for my siblings. They handed me the phone, and told me to tell Eric's parents what was happening. I did, quickly. Then Mom wanted me to do dishes out in the open, so I balked. She ordered my friends to watch me, but they wouldn't... not even GRANDMA would! Eventually, we made a show of doing some of them - then we became aware of projectiles being launched our way. We got the hell out of there, and it turned out that Mom definitely did not approve of Jon going back to Regent. So she was taking her feelings out on whoever happened to be around, even if the most logical choice would be Jon. Soon after we got that explanation from Jon, I woke up. No idea why I had that dream!

Your Brain is Average

You probably aren't doing a lot to damage your brain, but you're not doing much to nurture it, either. In order to stay young and vital, your brain needs exercise, and that means novelty! Read more often. Solve a puzzle or two. Talk about a new topic with a friend. You don't have to go back to school to keep your brain healthy... all you need to do is challenge it a bit.

Is Your Brain Old or Young?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

Mina tokes an honorable steak! / Inclusive places / Dante

High-scoring words of the night:

MINA (108 points) - against Dana G.-G. [5W, 3W, hook off TO to make AT]
TOKES (283 points) - against Tim M. [two 5W - one used twice, hook off POUR for a plural]
HONOUR (250 points) - against Sierra S. [two 5W]
STEAK (1100 points) - against Cathy T. [two 5W, two 2W]


Found out that Alex Lee decided to reactivate his Facebook account again - like I said earlier in the day, MAKE UP YOUR MIND! Jon also emailed me about the Downtown Eastside - as long as he calls me so we can meet around 3:30 at Waterfront, it should be okay. I seem to almost always get lost every time I go there, though! At least SERVANTS seems like an inclusive community!

Trivia fact for Wednesday, May 26: What is the last word in all three parts of Dante Alighieri's poem The Divine Comedy? Stars, or stelle in the original Italian.

Quizzing a doe, Alex, trying Safari, and firebombing

Interesting rack of the afternoon: QUIZADOE, against Diana G. (read this as "quiz a doe")

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

RAX (108 points) - against Maxwell C. [two 3W]
TOWY (283 points) - against Bebe B. [5W, 2W]
LAX (104 points) - against Tim M. [2W, 5L on X]
HUMS (100 points) - against Aisling B. [4W used twice, hook off POKER for a plural]
PHOTOS (162 points) - against Nikki D. [two 3W]


Found out that Alex Lee unfriended me again on Facebook - MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MAN! Called Jon, who said he could meet me at Waterfront Station, but he'll call me back later. Fine, whatever - as long as I don't die! I got annoyed at all the time-out errors on Opera, so have now switched to Safari - we'll see how well this works!

Trivia fact for Tuesday, May 25: For what 1987 action film was the suburban home of TV's The Partridge Family firebombed? Lethal Weapon. The house, located on the Warner Bros. back lot in Burbank, California, also served as the home of Abner and Gladys Kravitz on TV's Bewitched.

SERVANTS inspires pessimism for some reason! / Creative Power

This thing restarted overnight! Finally got a chance to read Jon's SERVANTS email - sounds challenging? Randal says he'll try to be there around 4 - I have no idea how I'll get there, though Jon says there are many transit options. Oh dear. I don't think this result is terribly accurate, either...

Your Creative Power is Your Logic

You're the type of person who is great at execution. You don't just dream about ideas - you make them happen! You are idealistic and determined, but you are also a realist. You only undertake projects you're pretty sure you can finish. You are a natural problem solver, and you actually think better when you're being challenged. You do best when you work by yourself or when you're in charge. Your ideas are big, dramatic, and the best.

What's Your Creative Power?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

I said more words to Randal than I did to my own parents tonight...

I got to Cambie / Jacombs early, but that was okay since I had my Russia novel with me. Eric came by a little later, and he wondered whether DARKWING had been on Facebook today or yesterday. So random! Then Eric wondered whether I ever talked to him on Facebook chat - nope, I seldom use it for ANYONE! After we talked about the LOST series finale (which he hasn't watched yet), IRON MAN 2 (which he saw yesterday after the UGM service project) and Tony Stark being narcissistic, he wondered what sort of desserts people were bringing; upon hearing that Randal and I seemed to cover dessert with Timbits and butter cookies, we went to Killarney Supermarket to get strawberries as a healthy option before going to Steph's.

Christon and Steph were cooking in the kitchen, and Christon told us about being a tourist in his own town today... North Vancouver, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and the Grouse Grind would certainly qualify! Albert, Wesley, and Randal were there too. Isabel, my parents and Grandma, Jon and Harmony, and Vanessa all showed up later. I ignored my mom when she invaded my personal space to set down an ice pop wrapper by me - there was NO NEED to do that, even if there wasn't too much room on the table. Seriously - take it into the kitchen to put in the garbage can! I deliberately referred to Steph's smoldering oven mitt as a glove so I could correct myself while explaining to Randal what Steph's neighbor wanted at the door. (the tip of her oven mitt burned while she was trying to get something from the hot oven, so she left it outside the door to cool - we didn't know that it would smolder into ash while we ate and watched TV!) Some people played foosball, too. Steph said that Mom's bag of random stuff was in either of the bedrooms, so I grabbed it.

We watched some sports news - the Montreal Canadiens are now out of the playoffs, so it's Philadelphia and Chicago for the Stanley Cup. Then Mom wanted to try catching up on the last two weeks of the show in half an hour, which of course didn't work. We all laughed at her attempts to fast-forward through the commercial breaks, which resulted in her fast-forwarding through the entire episode instead! Then some of us tried explaining the general plot to others who hadn't watched it. I stayed at the dinner table with the casual / rookie viewers. Randal brought 20 chocolate Timbits, Isabel brought dessert from Terra Breads, Albert brought some Reese's Pieces ice cream, while Steph and Vanessa had a surprise birthday cake ready for Wesley - his 25th birthday is on Wednesday! Way too much dessert, even with the lettuce / tomatoes / steak / green salsa for the tacos, the pizza, Jon's snobby beer and spinach artichoke cheesy dip, plus the organic crackers and butter cookies! Nobody touched the butter cookies, but I can't return them since they spilled in my reusable bag... eh, I'll donate them to Sunday School snacks next week.

The JACK BAUER series finale was pretty good - I'm not sure what Grandma thought of it. However, she had no choice but to stay with us. Albert told us that after two to five minutes in a sleeper hold, you risk brain damage - interesting stuff. After the show was over (with a "4, 3, 2, 1, 0" countdown clock at the end), my parents and Grandma left - I could feel the air get lighter, haha. Jen was going to come, but Christon figured she wouldn't - and of course, Randal said he'd offered to give her a ride. Oh well. We watched one episode of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT that someone had brought along - even though I'd seen it before, it was still funny! Steph said that she didn't even have to be here for us to have a marathon night! Some people were so tense after the show that they needed to play intense foosball later for a debrief, haha. On the way home, Eric and I were mostly quiet except when he tried impersonating the lich king... I don't THINK so, buddy! He also thought that I could live in the Alderbridge Estates - I don't think I can afford it! Got home to catch up, blog, and wind down. Found out that Alex and Chrissy re-friended me on Facebook, so that's a good thing.

24 Series Finale: Ambushes, stopping peace, and more!

Cole breaks the law by talking on his cell phone while driving. Then again, that's hardly the most serious crime anyone affiliated with CTU has committed this year. Arlo gives him the grisly details of Jack's latest masterpiece. Arlo thinks that they need to take Jack down, and I'm thinking he's going to turn. Especially if Eden uses her charm on him. Cole pulls up to Michael Madsen's apartment. Madsen runs facial recognition on him, and starts to wipe his hard-drive before Cole can get to him. Of course, he's running a Dell, so he could just let it crash on its own.

Chloe is at the UN, and finds out that Reed has been arrested. Cole calls her, and tells her that Suvarov is the target. There's a backup recording (isn't there always), and Chloe wants to make sure that they get it before Jason does. Chloe decides to change Suvarov's route in order to buy them some time. You would think he would be wise to that trick now, especially after Logan did it to him in Season 5. Speaking of the devil, Logan is still shaken up when Jason approaches him. Logan decides to tell Taylor everything. He calls and assures her that he tried his best to "insulate" her. Again with the euphemisms. Logan tells Taylor about Novakovich, and assures her that Suvarov won't be asking any questions about Novakovich's "forced resignation." Taylor hangs up the phone so that she can go back to being "President."

Jason calls Eden, and finds out that Jack has been wounded. Jason is confident that they'll find Jack and, right on cue, Jack pops up in the back seat of his car. He makes Jason drive to the UN and tells him that, based on what he did to Pavel in a short amount of time, there's no telling what kind of fun he can have with Jason now that he has some time to play with. Jason looks truly frightened here, and I can't blame him. President-Select Hassan is informed that her daughter wants to talk to her, presumably to spill the beans about what Reed had told her. Before that, she gives Taylor a gift of a pen, which just furthers Taylor's guilt even more. Taylor looks like she's about to break down in tears, and I have to say that Cherry Jones did a good job in this scene.

Kayla tells President-Select Hassan about what Reed had said to her. Hassan agrees to call her, but I'm thinking she's going to be tough to reach. Apparently, the agent in charge is named Burke. It's not the same Burke that was in charge of distributing the sodium penthathol at CTU, is it? There's some friction between Burke and Cole because Cole is back in charge. Or maybe Burke is just upset because he watched Freddie Prinze Jr.'s last three movies.

Jason drives into the UN, and Jack takes some supplies out of the first aid kit. Jason goes through security and wants to tell them about Jack, but ultimately, he doesn't do it because, you know, he wants to live. Jack is bleeding like a stuck pig, and Jason tells him he won't make it. Jack knows he's right, and forces him to suture Jack up because apparently, one of Jason's skills is stitching people up.

Jason calls Jack a murderer, and Jack takes offense to that. Manson was a murderer. Gacy was a murderer. He's a patriot, dammit! He justifies his actions by saying that, by refusing to act, the President made him the judge, jury, and executioner. Well, that's one way to look at it. While this is going on, Jason makes, like, two stitches, and that's apparently enough to heal Jack. Jack then shows his gratitude by making Jason get on his knees. Jason starts begging for his life, and Jack hesitates before knocking him out with his gun.

President-Select Hassan can't reach Reed, and her Spidey sense is tingling. Hassan decides to meet with Taylor to inform her about Suvarov's involvement. We'll see how good Taylor's poker face is. Taylor is holding the pen when she finds out that Hassan wants to talk to her. Hassan comes in and tells her about Reed and the Russians. Taylor tries to play it off and reason with her, but Hassan refuses to sign the treaty until she speaks with Reed. Taylor then comes clean, and Hassan is not happy. You know, for someone who hated her husband's guts earlier in the day, Hassan's become quite attached to him. Hassan threatens to expose Taylor to the UN, and she doesn't want to play that game because Taylor says she'll use the nuclear rods as a pretense for attacking Kamistan. Speak softly and carry a big stick. Teddy Roosevelt would be proud.

Jack gets a room with a view of the UN, and gets a sniper rifle out of his bag. So, after all this time, he's going Lee Harvey Oswald on us? Can we assume Michael Madsen is hiding out in the grassy knoll? Hassan is upset, and wants to take this case to the Hague. She also thinks the UN can protect them. Man, is she naive – on both counts. She also thinks that they can reactivate their nuclear program, which would be exactly what her husband's enemies wanted all along.

Chloe realizes that Jack is inside the perimeter, and acts surprised that something like that could happen. I'm not even going to say anything. Chloe decides to go to Jack to talk him down, and she tells Cole to sound the alarm if she's not back in 20 minutes. Jack records a farewell message, presumably to his daughter. He keeps saying that he was close to Renee. Man, Jack sleeps with her once, and suddenly she's his soulmate. How much time did they actually spend together during these last few years?

Hassan comes down to greet Suvarov, and wouldn't it be something if she was the one that killed Suvarov instead of Jack? Hassan, Taylor, and Suvarov are about to sign the treaty and they stand on stage with Eriq La Salle, who is the UN Secretary General. Wow, he's come a long way since he ran Soul Glo. Cole orders Burke to send some men to the building where Jack is. Chloe finds Jack, and he puts her in the sleeper hold. Earl Hebner then comes in, and raises her arm to see if she's still conscious.

Logan gets a call from Jason's phone, and it's Jack. He has Logan in his crosshairs, and tells Logan to call Suvarov and get him to meet. Logan wants to know what to say to him, and Jack says: "Try the truth for a change" with a smirk. Not sure Logan knows how to do that. Suvarov sings Omar Hassan's praises, and his widow looks like she's going to puke. Suvarov picks up on Hassan's anger, and has a tense conversation with Taylor. He's interrupted by a phone call from Logan, and he doesn't look eager to take it. Logan can be quite needy, after all.

Cole gives the go-ahead for the team to go in and apprehend Jack. Meanwhile, Chloe tells Jack that Renee wouldn't want him to do this, and that seems to have an effect on him. He takes out his earpiece, and tells Chloe that she has to do exactly what he says. Jack gives the Chloe the audio file, and tells Chloe to shoot him. She refuses, and Jack yells at her to do it. Chloe won't, so Jack points the gun at his head. That forces Chloe to act, and she shoots Jack in the chest. Wow. That was a tense scene.

Chloe tells Cole about the recording, and tells him to send it to Arlo. Jack is still alive as EMTs are working on him. Chloe tries to leave, but Jason orders her to stay put. Jason gets a call from Logan, and finds out about the recording. Logan tasks him with recovering it, and warns him that they're all going down if that recording gets out there. Logan could just dispatch Miles to CTU, and have him erase the recording like he did during the nerve gas conspiracy.

Jason orders Chloe to empty her pockets, and even pats her down. I think he just wants to cop a feel. She moves her mouth while he pats her down, and it's clear that she must have stashed it under her tongue. Let's hope Jason doesn't give her a full cavity search. The EMT tells Jason that the shot went through without hitting any organs. That alerts Jason, and he starts to order Chloe arrested before Jack beckons Jason over to him. Jason leans over, and then Jack goes Mike Tyson on him by biting his ear. That was awesome. Chloe only manages to upload 22% of the recording before Burke stops her. They must not have upgraded to Google Chrome. He takes the recording and, because he's a mindless drone, calls Jason to tell him the good news.

Logan struts into Taylor's office, and produces the card. He's acting like he just made out with Heidi Klum or something. Logan says he's listened to it, and I was certain that it was really the recording he made for his daughter. Logan tries to convince Taylor to have Jack killed. Taylor seems conflicted, but doesn't say anything, even after Logan says that he already has a plan in motion. Logan doesn't even wait two seconds before saying that he would take Taylor's silence as tacit approval. He's like the guy who prays and says stuff like "Dear God, I want to eat this last piece of pie, even though I know I shouldn't. Please indicate your approval by remaining silent."

Taylor plays the recording and it is, indeed, the video he made for his daughter. Jack says peace has to be trustworthy, and says that this treaty is as phony as the Hitler / Stalin pact of 1939. Okay, he didn't say that, but he did say words to that effect. Logan and Jason are in a celebratory mood. Jason seems to be in fairly high spirits for someone who just lost part of his ear.

Secretary General Soul Glo (my brother came up with that and I had to steal – I mean – "appropriate" it) makes his introductory remarks as Hassan, Taylor, and Suvarov look like they're ready to reenact an episode of Jerry Springer and beat the crap out of each other until Steve steps in to break it up. Hassan hesitates before putting her Jane Hancock on the treaty. Suvarov signs, too, which means that it's down to Taylor. She takes out the pen that Hassan had given her earlier, and thinks twice before deciding not to sign. Instead, she decides to come clean, and walks out without signing. I guess all it took was Jack's video for her to come to her senses.

Taylor tells Tim to call CTU and tell them that Jack is about to be ambushed. We find that they're too late, and Jack's ambulance has already been taken out. Some men with gas masks then put a bag over Jack's head and take him away. Why didn't they just kill him? I'm sure they'll live to regret that. Secretary General Soul Glo makes a statement, and there's really no reason for me to type that, but I just wanted to refer to him as Secretary General Soul Glo one more time. Logan watches the press conference, and his phone starts ringing. He refuses to take the call before Jason convinces him otherwise. Logan tells him to pick up the phone, and he clocks Jason over the head with a bottle before calmly shooting him in the head. Wow, Logan has snapped, and he puts the gun under his chin. We hear a gunshot, and it seems like Logan has killed himself. Logan is still alive, but probably won't regain consciousness. Man, he can't even kill himself properly. What a screw-up! Taylor orders Chloe and Cole released. They try to find Jack with satellite surveillance, and they track him to some abandoned lot. Chloe doesn't think they'll get there in time, so she needs to think of another way to save Jack.

Jack is about to be executed when Taylor calls it off at the last minute. Jack says that he'll never stop, but Taylor tells him that she's withdrawn from the treaty, and will resign as President so that she can face the consequences of her actions. She tells Jack that he'll have to face the music, too. However, she then tells him to get out of the country before the Russians and American law enforcement can get to him. So much for facing the music. Finally, she says the words that we all knew were coming. "If I had listened to him, then none of this would have happened." Well, better late than never, I guess. Jack tells Chloe to protect Kim and her family. Jack then expresses his gratitude to Chloe, and thanks her for everything. Chloe breaks down and cries, while Jack turns and looks into the camera and smiles. Aww...

And like that, he's gone.

So, what did I think of the finale? Like the entire season, it was fairly underwhelming. I think we all knew that there would be no happy ending for Jack. He was not going to retire quietly to California with his daughter and granddaughter. Nor was he going to live happily ever with Renee. Instead, he'll have to go on the run because, once again, he couldn't stay away from the action. It's fair that he never gets to be happy, especially after all he's done. If you think about it, Jack Bauer could very well be one of the most depraved television characters ever created. He is completely amoral, and has no respect for the rule of law. He's patriotic, and will do anything to protect his country. However, as he's shown this year, that allegiance only goes so far. If you cross him, it doesn't matter who you are or what your reasons are. That makes him no different from Vic Mackey or Tony Soprano.

"Jack Bauer's Greatest Hits" (AKA "The Moments that Made Amnesty International Cringe")

Day 1: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM: Jack Bauer Goes Old School on Ted Cofell
Jack's family had been abducted by Ira Gaines, and he had traced all of his leads to Ted Cofell, a wealthy CEO with ties to the Drazens. Jack had switched places with Cofell's chauffeur, a change that had gone unnoticed by Cofell. See what happens when you ignore the help? Sure enough, Jack soon made his presence felt, and demonstrated extraordinary resourcefulness in light of the scarcity of effective "interrogative tools."

Jack Bauer: You ever heard of the Russian gulag?
Ted Cofell: What?
Jack Bauer: A string of prisons in Northern Siberia. Russians didn't have a lot of hi-tech equipment up there, so they had to make do with what was around, sort of like what I'm doing right now. You probably don't think I can force this towel down your throat, but trust me, I can, all the way. Except I hold onto this one little bit at the end. When your stomach starts to digest it, I pull it out, taking your stomach lining with it. Most people, they take about a week to die. It's very painful.
Ted Cofell: What kind of man are you?

Not a man you want to mess with, Ted.

Day 2: 8:00 AM-9:00 AM: Jack Farts in the General Direction of the Bill of Rights
Of course, that could describe Jack's entire attitude during the course of the show.

The entirety of Season Two is a testament to Jack's superhuman powers. Jack survives a plane crash, a nuclear bomb, nearly dying during an interrogation, and dealing with a daughter so incompetent that she gets stalked by a cougar and captured by Johnny Drama. The best moment, however, happens early on in the season. Jack is recalled to CTU to stop Second Wave from setting off an atomic bomb in L.A. He interrogates an inmate in federal custody for information, and decides that, rather than ask a bunch of stupid questions and getting some half-baked responses, he'll shoot the inmate in the chest and then cut off his head. And, in what soon becomes a 24 cliché, Jack gets away with it and suffers no repercussions whatsoever.

Well, the Constitution doesn't say anything about having the right to keep your head. Other than that life, liberty, and property part...

Day 3: 5:00 PM-6:00 PM: Jack Plays Russian Roulette in a Room Full of Armed Prisoners, and Somehow Manages to Escape
In a scene straight out of The Deer Hunter, Jack and Ramon Salazar are forced to play Russian Roulette in a room full of prisoners. Unlike the movie, there is no little Asian guy yelling "Mao!" at the participants in the game. Nor are there three bullets in the gun. Instead, Jack has to make do with just the one bullet, and that's more than enough for him. He shoots one of the prisoners, and then escapes with Ramon just as Chase Edmunds and his team hit the scene.

Jack also showed that he was an excellent Russian Roulette player. He passed the first round easily, and then knew he had a bullet in the chamber so that he could shoot the guard when it was his turn to go again. Clearly, he has a future on the pro circuit – especially if he has to leave the country after this season's killing spree. Then again, knowing this show, he'll probably just get a Presidential pardon.

Day 3: 2:00 AM-3:00 AM: Jack Follows Liam Neeson's Advice from Batman Begins and Minds his Surroundings
Also known as "Nina Gets What She Deserves." I never bought Nina as a villain. The plot twist in Season 1 where she was revealed as the mole in CTU after they spent much of the season building her up as a dutiful and loyal sidekick to Jack who was probably in love with him seemed forced. Plus, she was more of a desk agent, and didn't seem like someone who could hold her own in the field, unlike Henderson or Tony. As a result, the entire sequence where she deliberately jammed her head into a needle in order to escape from CTU just didn't seem realistic.

Still, there's no denying her ability to get under Jack's skin. You know, killing a guy's wife will do that. Jack managed to get Nina cornered, and knowing that someone was surely watching him, he stepped in the front of the surveillance camera and shot her to death. In his official report, he claimed Nina was going for her gun, even though she would have needed to have Inspector Gadget's go-go-gadget arms in order to reach it. All that was missing was Jack yelling out: "She's coming right for us!"

Day 3 11:00 AM-12:00 PM: Jack "Reasons" With Stephen Saunders
Just like his ability to heal from pesky stab and gunshot wounds, Jack seems to possess superhuman powers of persuasion. When his former partner, Stephen Saunders, turned up after years of being presumed dead, he was really pissed off at the world. Apparently, being presumed dead turns you into a bad guy. (just like it did for Tony) I would think that people would find it liberating, like Jack did when he was presumed dead. He seemed to have a nice life living with Diane Huxley and pretending to be an oil rigger.

Saunders, however, decided that he was going to deal with it by unleashing a dangerous virus in L.A. One of his underlings set off the virus in a hotel, causing the deaths of hundreds of unnamed extras, as well as Gael and several CTU agents. (though curiously, Michelle Dessler was fine) Jack eventually captured Saunders, and knew he wasn't going to break him in time to stop the second wave of attacks. So, he took Saunders' daughter and ordered Chase to take her into the hotel, thereby exposing her to the virus. Of course, what makes the scene is the sadistic smile on Jack's face as he tells Saunders: "When your daughter is infected, I'm gonna make you watch her die."

Saunders also marked the last time that 24> producers would have a villain that was much taller than Jack appear in the same frame as him. From then on, all villains would either be shorter (Abu Fayed, Tony) or would be shown crouched over, lying down, or sitting. (Henderson)

Day 4: 2:00 AM-3:00 AM: Jack Shows Us How to Deal with a Love Triangle
For some reason, Audrey Raines was still hung up on her wimpy, sniveling husband, Paul. When Jack had evidence linking Paul's company to Marwan, he cornered Paul in his hotel room and started to interrogate him. Because Paul didn't have the foresight to check into a CTU holding cell instead of a four-star hotel, Jack had to, once again, make do with his surroundings. This time, he took apart a lamp and used the wires to shock Paul until he got his answers.

Eventually, the two buried the hatchet, and Paul even saved Jack's life. However, Paul took a bullet, and Audrey started to feel sorry for him. So much so that she began to rethink her relationship with Jack. Now, Jack has been in enough love triangles to know that the best way to solve the problem is to cut the Gordian knot, so to speak. As such, he forced doctors to stop operating on Paul so that they could revive some Chinese terrorist who was involved with Marwan. Oh sure, Jack used national security to justify it, but let's not kid ourselves. He just wanted Audrey all to himself.

Day 4: 5:00 PM-6:00 PM: Jack Teaches Basic Human Anatomy
Never let it be said that Jack lacks compassion. When he learned that his old mentor, Christopher Henderson, was involved with the Sentox nerve gas conspiracy, he committed a home invasion burglary to get intel. When Henderson arrived home, Jack was ready, holding both him and his wife, Miriam, at gunpoint. He tried to get Henderson to talk, but he refused. As a result, Jack needed a different strategy.

Jack shoots Miriam Henderson in the leg
Jack: I shot her above the kneecap. She can still walk! You make me shoot her again, she'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life!

And, in keeping with the theme of this piece, Jack not only escaped blame, but even caused Miriam to be angrier at her husband after he refused to talk. That's talent.

Day 5: 5:00 AM-6:00 AM: Never Take Jack on a Submarine Tour
Jack's trip to the submarine was nothing short of a tour de force as he snuck onto the sub, talked an inexperienced crewman through cutting a guy's throat, fooled Henderson by giving him an empty gun, killed Vladimir Bierko with his legs, and then shot Henderson to death. Jack then went to President Logan's retreat so that he could hijack the Presidential helicopter and take Logan hostage. In other words, just another day at the office for Jack.

Day 6: 6:00 AM-7:00 AM: Jack Goes Hannibal Lecter on Some Extra
You would think that after being a captive of the Chinese government for two years (during which time he was subjected to endless torture) would make Jack as harmless as a little puppy. You would think that Jack would be so disillusioned after his government negotiated for his release for the sole purpose of turning him over to Abu Fayed that he would have as much fight left in him as a tranquilized panda bear.

You would be wrong.

Jack got away from Fayed by ripping out some redshirt terrorist's throat with his teeth. A few hours later, Jack finished the job by taking out Fayed's entire army before wrapping a chain around Fayed's neck and hanging him from the rafters of his warehouse. After Jack finished his one-man rampage, CTU agent Mike Doyle summed up how everyone felt by saying: "Damn, Jack!"

Day 8: Jack Goes to Extreme Measures to Retrieve a Sim Card
It is a pain in the ass to re-enter those contacts once you get a new phone. But that's what happens when you lose your sim card. Jack was damned if that was going to happen to him. When he captured Pavel, the Russian sniper who killed Renee, Jack burned him with a blowtorch, threw gasoline on the wound, and then performs emergency surgery on his stomach in order to retrieve the card.

You know, I'm sure most stores would have transferred your contacts for free, Jack.

Quashing avowed staff stopovers / Timbits / Plan changes

Bingo of the afternoon:

STOPOVERS (194 points) - against Paul M.

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

QUASH (914 points) - against Anjali R. [5W, two 3W, hook off BAKER for a plural] {a lucky deficit-erasing word!}
YOKEL (180 points) - against Mike M. [4W, 3W]
AVOWING (128 points) - against Hannah M. [4W, 2W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
STAFF (224 points) - against George M. [two 4W]
STOPOVERS (194 points) - against Paul M. [3W, two 2W]


Randal's said that he'll bring Timbits for dessert tonight... hello? What about "butter cookies" don't you understand?! At least I don't have the same kind of issues with him that I do with my parents, and we can be polite to each other, so THAT shouldn't be TOO bad... Eric's just called with a plan change. I should still be able to be there at 6, and I definitely KNOW my phone is off, since I deliberately made it so after a phone call from an UNKNOWN NUMBER.

Chen's, density, and air conditioning in prisons

Steph picked me up two minutes after that last post, and said that Mom had given her a bag of random stuff for me, but Eric and I had left early. Yup, there had been no Sunday School... the next class sounds interesting to Steph, as well. Guess I'll have to borrow that book from the church library. At any rate, I'll get the bag of random stuff tonight when Eric and I come over. I just gave the tin of butter cookies to her then, so I won't have to bring it tonight! When we got to Chen's, Jon and Harmony weren't there yet - but Steph thought Mom would be used to their being late! Auntie Christine said that she didn't know I had a red jacket that matched my red hat - well, now you do. When they did get there, the food was just coming - SLB, Shanghai noodles, buns, wonton, soups, hot and sour soup, surfboard noodles, eel, and more. Yes, Mom over-ordered... Nathan would like it, hehe. (he comes back in a month till September)

Talked about Shanghai, pollution, "density" (NOT ME!), defenestration, Steph's deplorable behavior of holding hands around the table, Grandma being happy, Grandma hijacking Eric (last Sunday was LONG for him!), Edwin's wedding yesterday, 13 shots, Shanghai people being rude, Steph's trip to Phoenix, Alan buying Jon drinks, Jon and Harmony's upcoming Europe trip in August, Grandma seeing Uncle Joe (Harmony's dad) at the public market (but not remembering his last name), Grace being really quick to put up pictures on FB, my parents' trip, being healthy, and more. I tried to NOT look at my parents, but Mom tried engaging me in conversation about mousetraps - Dad mentioned I was quiet. Well, DUH!

Later, Steph asked if I minded going along with her to buy stuff for tonight's tacos - nope. Great One Supermarket was right there, after all. Jon and Harmony went with us to do their own grocery shopping. Saw "Let's Be Mild" coffee, durian, pomegranate juice, cheap oranges, cheap spinach, kiwis, a bag of peppers for $1, and much more. One of the workers there took exception to Steph utilizing her re-usable grocery bag for its intended purpose, and insisted she take a basket. Well, okay then! She's making Mexican-style tacos, with steak instead of ground beef. Should be good... I was just thinking back to the days when my ex and I used to make tacos, is all. Got home and caught up, then checked the Translink schedules - important, as today is a holiday. It still seems to be okay!


Mom, on the air-conditioned Phoenix prison: "What?! The prisoners get air conditioning?!" Well, we guess they do, but Steph said it was more for the guards to make her feel better. Seriously, folks.

Dream of David and Dora / Lunch / Dutch Name

Had a weird dream about reading of people's lives on a boat - David, Donald, Dora, and others were married to these characters who would die. Their children lived to tell the story. I don't know what was up with that! Sister called to see whether I would like to have lunch; she tells me that Auntie Christine and Uncle Reuben will be there, so I guess that will make it a LITTLE better. It's going to be at Chen's in five minutes, so I should get changed!

Your Dutch Name is Lina Francisca Meenk

Think before you begin

What's Your Dutch Name?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

Aisling, firm jinxes, fixing, Tiffany

Interesting racks of the night: FIRMJINX, against Aisling B. / CURIOHAT, against Sue R.

High-scoring words of the night:

SAWNEY (104 points) - against Allan H. [4W, hook off DRAB for a plural]
MIAOUED (275 points) - against Audrey V. [two 5W]
VIEWED (113 points) - against Sabine C. [5W used twice, hook off MET to make METE, hook off VIEW to make VIEWED, hook off RATIO to make ID]
FIXIT (195 points) - against Aisling B. [5W, 3L on X] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
FIGURED (371 points) - against Lori H. [two 4W, hook off VIDEO to make OF]


Called Dave tonight to see what was up, read for a bit, and then got back to the computer to discover an interesting notification of a wall post. HAHAHAHA, NICE! *thumbs-up*

Trivia fact for Monday, May 24: What sexy male Hollywood heartthrob's middle name is Tiffany? Richard Gere's.

Exits / I'll get the premium ice cream that's on sale! / Who blocks the hall with a BIKE?!

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

EXIT (327 points; 3W, 2W, 5L on X, hook off MARRIED to make DE), OVARIES (3W, 4W) - against Kelly W.
HAIRPIN (162 points) - against Linda H.
WOODIES (120 points) - against Katie B. [5W used twice, hook off HATE to make HATED]
HADST (275 points; two 5W), OVARIAN (176 points; two 4W), JAY (101 points; 5W, hook off ETH to make YE) - against Evangeline D.
ESTATE (198 points) - against Millie F. [2W, two 3W]
UNROBES (118 points) - against Scott S. [5W, hook off FIST to make EF / SI]
QIS (130 points) - against Angela V. [5W, 2L on Q]


Went out to get something for tomorrow's potluck... I limited myself to nearby stores which certainly took debit, and as I refused to go back to Save-On for the third time in three days, that pretty much left London Drugs. I wasn't sure if they had anything suitable for a potluck, but I settled on a tin of Copenhagen butter cookies. Those were better-looking than a bag of chips or wafer packages, and we need snacks after dinner anyway! Also got some on-sale Häagen-Dazs "Cookie Dough Dynamo" ice cream ($2.50 off?) and some on-sale Fanta.

At the checkout, a family of three Chinese people was taking FOREVER with what seemed to be a simple transaction, since they had at least eight Snapple bottles and other things. I had to go to Customer Service! Then I was afraid that my ice cream would melt while I waited for the bus, but it came in five minutes. Actually, I was out and back within half an hour, which is pretty good with Sunday bus schedules! As I went to my apartment, I noticed that the hallway door seemed to be blocked by something - turned out to be my stupid neighbors blocking it with a bike. Who the heck DOES that?! They apologized, but I wasn't impressed.

No Sunday School for me! I'll go early to save myself a headache!

Eric picked me up a little earlier than I thought he might, but at least we'd have an outside chance of not missing half the sermon! Discussed DARKWING, his deplorable behavior in singing the theme song, PINKY AND THE BRAIN, the LOST series finale tonight which he'd be missing due to the service project at UGM (he'll get his parents to tape it), French, stupid traffic, and whether I'd figured out a ride home from church since there was no Sunday School again. Well, if you'd told me before, I might have! As it was, I decided just to go home after service with him - Auntie Ying was probably not too impressed, and said she needed more notice... but at least I had the worksheets for her! Got to service a little late (I swear I saw someone waving at me from across the street as I waited at the light to cross), but it was fine. There is a new Sunday School class next week on Dietrich Bonhoeffer - sounds interesting, and it's too bad I can't do that. Said hi to Vicky and Denise (whose sister Julie is back for the summer), and waved to little Mattias who provided a distraction to me during most of the sermon. After service, I gave Steph her mail plus a wedding card for Vivian and Gabriel - she complained to Christon that U of T wanted more money from her! Then I gave Jon his mail right afterwards, but said that I had money for him instead - I had money on the brain, given that Steph says she'll give me the money tomorrow!

Went to the fellowship hall, looking around for Auntie Ying to no avail. Talked and waved to Hien, Andrew, Harrison, his mom, Chrystal, Danielle, Auntie Catherine, Dominic, Samantha, Emily Lam, Jeff, Allison, Grace, Keenan, and others: Metrotown, free time, wanting people home, drums, what we'd done yesterday, Anita and the new baby, cookies, instant rice, being careful, high-fives, not seeing Amos yet, RSVP for a dinner on the same day as Megan's baby shower, New York brotherly graduations, and more. Finally, I went upstairs to see if Auntie Ying was there - she was, and I got her to come downstairs. After giving her the worksheets (if I can prepare in a few minutes, so can YOU!), Eric asked if I were ready - yup! We talked to Allison for a while, and she waved to Mike after seeming interested in Vanessa's umbrella. I got Steph to sign Jon and Hamony's anniversary card while she attempted to guilt-trip me into attending tomorrow's lunch... nope, you KNOW how I feel about that! Harmony was just a couple feet away from us, but she was distracted talking to Jen and others.

On the way out, I waved to Adam at the bus stop - then asked Eric whether he'd HAD to say something to Mr. Creep. He thought I was referring to his playing the DARKWING DUCK song on the piano, which I dismissed as deplorable behavior, haha. We walked back to the car more slowly than usual because of Daryl, his son Darren, Mike, Kathy, their son Christopher, and some other kid right ahead of us. Talked about moving forward, not talking to certain people, FINAL FANTASY, WORLD OF WARCRAFT, characters, STAR WARS misquotes ("Luke - I am your father" / "No, I am your father"), trivia / trick questions, non-commitment, French, looking stupid, massages vs. messages, (wanting) pickles, these estates at #4 / Alderbridge, whether tomorrow's dinner is a potluck, 6:15 tomorrow at the usual place, and more. I'm not going to get Eric to send a certain person a message on Facebook... knowing him, he'll say that I want him there! That could get awkward, so NO! The Frog Hollow talk is the last I recall seeing him at church - the evening he tried telling me that he was a church regular, haha. I'll give him a break for sure, though!

Got home to find out that Chrissy had deleted her FB account again, which is fine. Then I checked Steph's event: it IS a potluck dinner! I called Eric to tell him that, and got his mom on the phone. At least it was a quick call, since it sounded like he was busy with something, judging from her asking him if he wanted to call me back later! Now I have to go out and get something for this potluck dinner, haha.

Dream of JACK BAUER finale and cold air through windows / No elevator! / Coffee

Dreamed that my friends and I were watching the JACK BAUER finale - lots of shooting, people taking others hostage, and little kids being involved somehow when their mother (with jet-black hair and a really contrasting white top) was shot at through a glass window. In the car on the way there, my brother annoyed me by always leaving the window open just a bit, even though I said that it was COLD. Even my dad closed HIS window for a minute or so! Then I woke up and had a quick shower when my alarm went off. I think I know what caused this one: Auntie Teresa (AKA the second most annoying woman in the world) always leaving the screen door window open so AIR could get in (but it's SO COLD!), and the real series finale tomorrow.

Note to self: Do not use the church elevator today. Two weeks went by way too quickly (as usual), and now you're back to watching yours.

You Are a Basic Black Coffee Drinker

You are low maintenance, humble, and true to yourself. It's hard for you to get excited about the great next new thing, because it's usually not that new or that great. You are logical and responsible. You do what needs to be done, and you don't get swept away by your emotions. You think it's important to be reliable. You wish people were as steady as you are.

The Coffee Oracle

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Lisps and pot / Human stomach

Interesting rack of the night: LIPRISES, against Linda H. (read this as "lip rises")

High-scoring words of the night:

LISPERS (211 points) - against Linda H. [two 4W, hook off VIM for a plural]
AERONAUT (184 points) - against Scott S. [two 4W]


I smell pot outside my window again - YAY! :P

Trivia fact for Sunday, May 23: How frequently does the human stomach produce a new lining? Every three days.