Saturday, October 02, 2010

Jason and Karen's wedding - lots of little kids, and Pastor Glen!

Lee picked me up at about 10:15, and I was certainly ready in the nice sunny weather! Said hi to the kids (Hannah and Gavin), who seemed to like looking for taxis. Yes, I've seen yellow / blue / black / orange / green / white ones! (but no pink or rainbow ones!) As an auntie who wasn't driving, I was enlisted to look for taxis or buses - haha, there ARE a lot in this city! When we got to the church, we had to find parking - and then Lee told Hannah to hold my hand when we crossed the street. Gotta watch out for cars and such! I didn't care about being at the back of the church - I saw Vernon and Sarah, Danny and Helen K. with Nicholas, Kelvin and Evelyn with their third baby, Warren and Lauren with the kids Brandon and Matthew, Pastor John and Karmie, Michael and Amanda with their daughters Seren and Megan (who are growing up fast!), Stella with her kids Benjamin and Noah, Jeff and Anita with Allison and Joanna, Frances and Mel with their sons Micah and Isaac, Kenny and Winnie with their kids Megan / Connor / Cameron, Wes and Esther with little Harleigh, and more people I hadn't seen in a while like Josh. I simply HAD to hug him hello! I also saw Jessica Lai, who says she isn't going to the banquet tonight because her sister Elaine is getting married tomorrow at Queen Elizabeth Park. So many weddings...

Jason and Karen got Pastor Glen to officiate, so that was a nice "retro" touch, haha. They handed out little favor bags at the beginning, and kids got a different one than adults (who had Hershey's Kisses)... I think even the little boys got something different than the little girls! Probably a good idea to keep kids entertained during the ceremony, haha! The kids got mini basketballs, candy, little notepads with either a princess or sports balls on them, stickers, crayons, a mini wand with bubble solution, Ernie / Elmo pictures to color, and more! As for the ceremony and pictures, it all went by pretty quickly! The wedding was small compared to extravaganzas like Jon and Harmony's, haha. I picked up a few pennies, too!

Afterwards, everyone went outside to take pictures and such. Of course, the children were more interested in blowing bubbles (or eating) than taking pictures with their parents and their friends! I took a picture with Hannah and Gavin, heh. Connor told me that he could see the moon in the sky - I just saw the sun and a lone white cloud! Later, he wanted me to hold his raisins, so I took them from him gently while he played... yes, of course I returned them later! I talked to Lauren briefly about Facebook - she only got an account so she could see Karen's engagement pictures, so I told her to ask me if she needed help using it, haha. On the way home, Lee and I discussed how quickly the time had flown by - as long as they call me when they get here at 4:50 or so for Kirin, it'll be fine!

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Dream of Mom being REALLY addicted to smoking / Jason and Karen / Changing Leaves

At least I got some sleep after I went to bed - had a dream where my mom was one of those people SO addicted to smoking that she had a special filter where the cigarette smoke would just trail behind her after she puffed on them. She wouldn't even wait to light up till we exited the mall - I tried telling her that it was unhealthy, but she just snapped at me to be quiet and do some dishes before she gave me some nacho chips. I called Eric to rescue me, and he chose a convoluted route to do so, claiming that he wanted to respect my wishes in terms of complications. He also got four library books for twenty cents at the grocery store checkout, whereas I only needed (and got) one; Mom wasn't impressed, har har. Not sure why I had that one!

I've taken some Vitamin C and more drugs; I'm ready to be excited for Jason and Karen's wedding! I've known them for a LONG time!




You Are Wise



You are a prudent and rational person. You try not to do anything you regret, and if you do, you learn from your mistake.

You are educated or at the very least knowledgable. You have a perception that most people lack.



You've learned to be vigilant in your life. You are pretty much always on guard.

No matter how old you actually are, you are quite seasoned. You are experienced and worldly.


Trivia fact for Saturday, Oct. 2: How many mosquitoes - taking one suck each - would it take to drain all the blood from the average human adult? Approximately 1,200,000.

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Hockey pool draft at 7 AM, not confusing weddings, Eileen, and MENTAL FLOSS

Eric was waiting for me outside, so I explained my slight delay by saying that I had to take drugs before I left - perfectly legal ones, but drugs all the same! I like saying some things for shock value; that's something my brother and I share, haha. He thought I was talking about alcohol and caffeine, but I was talking about Robitussin; NO, I DID NOT DRINK THE ENTIRE BOTTLE OF COUGH SYRUP! That would be a waste of $10, anyway... crazy person! After a while, he asked me in French whether I had any mice around - I don't know, although I have heard mouselike noises! Then he started in on the "drunk" joke, expressed disbelief at my "CAPRICA in October" news, sang the DARKWING DUCK theme song while wondering if he'd be here tonight (HOW SHOULD I KNOW?!), bemoaned his sleep issues, told me about the hockey pool draft at 7 AM tomorrow, reminded me that drugs and alcohol don't mix when I said I might drink tomorrow, wondered whether I was confusing Calla and Stanford's wedding date by moving it up a week (nope!), and asked whether two weddings in two weeks was legal. Sure, I guess! We also discussed Mr. Creep taking a butter cookie from a tin which I'd wanted to share with a group (remove my temptation!), Raymond and the birthday cake he plans to bring on Sunday, negative obsession, and overthinking stuff. Craziness!

When we got to church, we met Ivan's parents in the elevator. After we got to our room, we discovered that nobody was there yet. Well, it WAS just 7:30! Jen arrived a while later (with Randal, of course) and FINALLY gave me back my copy of mental_floss presents: Condensed Knowledge: A Deliciously Irreverent Guide to Feeling Smart Again (Will Pearson, Mangesh Hattikudur, Elizabeth Hunt) after more than five and a half years! (she's had it since Mar. 18, 2005!) After a couple of minutes, I just put it on top of Eric's knapsack on the ground so I wouldn't forget it. She chose an inconvenient time to return it from the "no body bag" standpoint, haha... I'm glad she did, though! Eric was fiddling around with a laptop and such things, and figured that I was acting really nervous. I wasn't, but went out of the room anyway, sidestepping Randal on my way out. I said hi to Phil, Grace (who has Phil's ex Megan on her FB - as long as it's not awkward from years ago, although Megan would have baby advice since she just had Joshua?), and Yvonne; also met a girl named Eileen who knows my sister from a long-ago Winter Conference, and who also knows my brother. Cool, indeed! Ivan told me and Jon about his manic paper-writing when he'd had a basketball game at 10 PM... good thing his parents don't bug him about it!

When I saw Jeremy walking around in the hall, I tapped him on the shoulder; of course I wished him a happy birthday, and he thanked me! I realized I'd forgotten the guys' Guylian and cards, but there's always Sunday for that! Citrus said that he'd only had three hours of sleep: lots of overtime will do that to you! Jon's talk about SERVANTS was pretty good, and perceptions / relational components are certainly something to think about! Talked to Cindy, Wesley, and Vivian about my being sick, weddings, and our weeks in general; said hi to Harmony and met a Toronto friend of hers; told Jon that I was going to Jason and Karen's wedding tomorrow (at Ryerson, I think!), and he informed me that he's recording with his band tomorrow. Busy! Wesley said he wanted to resist temptation (and brought up the Alibi Room), while Christon said there were about fourteen or fifteen people going to Sunday's dinner. (and it's HIS friend who's named Enoch) People somehow just replied to HIM, even though he specified to Reply All.. ugh!

Eric and I finally got going a bit later, and I expressed relief that it was over. He thought I was being too anti-social, and said that he might have gone out with the wonton noodle crew tonight if he didn't have to wake up early tomorrow. HA HA HA... he's getting up earlier than I will, since my own alarm is set for 8 as usual. I see no reason to set it later if I'll just have to change it, which I might forget about in any event! We discussed avoiding people, the Canucks, medication, highlights, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, getting gas at a "good" price, obituaries, "the Cheat is not dead!", stupid drivers / pedestrians, doing sound and counting offering on Sunday, Jen apparently taking more than five years to floss her mind "if the time is right" (and it was!), Raymond / Randal / next week's small group outing which I might not go to (Eric says I should - HA!), the Cheat / Coach Z / Homestar Runner / whether there'd be a Halloween special, and more on the way home. When I got home, I put the wedding present in a bag by the door so I wouldn't forget - and put the guys' stuff in my Aldo bag for the same reason!

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Friday, October 01, 2010

Jumbo tailors, Spanish, and KINGDOM HEARTS characters

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

JUMBO (1000 points; 2W, two 5W), APEAK (650 points; 2W, two 5W) - against Michelle M.
TAILOR (175 points; two 5W), EXON (134 points; 4W, 3L on X) - against Lorelei M.


Eric just called, speaking to me in Spanish for a bit. Yes, I know he's leaving now... good thing I feel a BIT better! Hearing Jon speak about SERVANTS will be good, but it'll be great to see him! He is my brother, haha.

What Kingdom Hearts Character Are You? by DigitalGothGurl
Name / Username
Age
Desired character
Your real character isCloud
Your weapon isKeyblade
Your best friend isLeon
You killRiku (-sniff- _)

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Gambling on Jeremy's birthday to no avail

High-scoring word of the morning:

AVAIL (180 points) - against Susan C. [5W, two 2W]


Guess I didn't get too much sleep, but that's okay as I can make it up later! At least it's Jeremy's birthday - woohoo! :D



You Are Bingo



You are easygoing and popular. You have a lot of friends in your life.

You are a social person, and you enjoy camaraderie. You prefer to do most things with a group of fun people.



You love conversation, and you're happy to chat with almost anyone. You simply like people.

Old friends appreciate your loyalty and good advice. New friends appreciate how friendly you are.

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Orderlies in the zoo endorsing prisms! / Southern Cross constellation on flags

Bingo of the night:

FOVEATED (68 points) - against Kathy T.


High-scoring words of the night:

ORDERLY (200 points) - against Linda H. [two 5W]
ZOOEY (100 points) - against Karen S.-S. [5W]
INDORSE (144 points) - against Sue W. [4W, 3W, hook off FAR to make FE] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
PRISM (135 points) - against Lynn K. [5W, 5L on M]
HEFTS (380 points) - against Susan C. [4W, 5W, 2L on H]


Left a message on Henry's voicemail to advise him that I don't need a ride this Saturday, as I'm going to Jason and Karen's wedding. I know he'll get it, so that should be fine!

Trivia fact for Friday, Oct. 1: What five countries have a star pattern representing the Southern Cross constellation on their flags? Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea.

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Thursday, September 30, 2010

The things I do for coinage... vending machines and Bob the Bike Guy / September 2010 BBT Tally

While doing laundry, I randomly encountered Bob the Bike Guy in the laundry room. Since he was using the dryer which took loonies and quarters, I had to use the vending machine in the foyer to get some more quarters for the other dryer which ONLY takes that coin! Thank goodness I had two loonies in my wallet! Got myself some Brisk iced tea, and that's the only time I'll use the vending machines! We politely greeted each other, and wished each other a good afternoon (he thanked me for that!) - he wishes his afternoon could be better, heh. He also forgot to leave his laundry basket IN the room, almost taking it out with him. I've been there and done that...

Meme from Lisa Barnard: Tough girls come from New York, sweet girls come from Alabama, but we CANADIAN girls have fire and ice in our blood. We can drive four-wheelers, play hockey, be a princess, or throw left hooks; drink and hunt with the boys, then cook like mom! We are raised with hearts of gold. Most of all, we have an opinion, and you know you're going to hear it. Repost if you're a Canadian girl!!!!!!


MONTHLY BUBBLE TEA TALLY, SEPTEMBER 2010 (2)

peach milk tea @ Tea Team (Friday, Sept. 17)
passion fruit @ Flaming Wok (Monday, Sept. 27)

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Robin and me being sneaky, and Peggy singing Christmas songs on a bus (dream)

I had a weird dream where Robin and I were platonically sharing a room because we were both working for a mysterious big boss. He left the room when he had to see the big boss, and reminded me that my appointment with the boss would be in half an hour. After lying around on the bed for a while, I got ready. Robin came back at 6:10 PM, and said that I had to go... I went, and the boss told me that Robin and I were free to leave for Jason and Karen's wedding with a lump sum of money, as long as we didn't tell anyone that we were really covert operatives! Okay, then! We met a bunch of people at an underground park-and-ride, but Eric soon discovered that our cars weren't able to get around the renovations there!

After walking around for a while, we met up with groups of other people (Mom, her friends, Peggy, Ray, Lily, Jonathan Chan, and others) - we had three busloads, and were able to get a few buses. The first order of business was going to a nearby McDonalds to get some burgers and fast food. After that, we went to the church via bus - our bus was practicing the wedding songs. Peggy passed me a few scores which I wasn't impressed with: O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL?! In the next row, Lily explained that she needed to be careful of Ray's head bumping into her shoulder! I woke up when we were practicing the songs, but Robin and I were plotting via text messages. Almost no idea why I had the dream - it's been a month since I've seen Robin, I saw Peggy and Ray at the "beat-down" party, I always see Eric, and I talked to Lily yesterday about Jason and Karen's wedding!


Mandy finally emailed me back, so I replied to that one - she advises me on certain things, and updated me on her fic. Now that the elevator works around here, I can finally do my laundry! Hopefully, I'm not getting sick! Time to go to the pharmacy next door before it closes, so I can get some throat drops and such! Too bad this didn't show up yesterday afternoon, at least from the standpoint where I could have also bought them from London Drugs. Oh well...



You Are The Introvert



You are a thoughtful person who could also be described as downright intellectual.

You enjoy spending time by yourself, and this leads to a lot of thinking.



You tend to have a few close friends instead of lots of acquaintances. Your bonds with your friends are strong.

While you may not be outgoing, you are a great conversationalist. You have many interests and as a result, many things to talk about.

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Robust towns with Eleanor Roosevelt financing!

High-scoring words of the night:

ROBUST (300 points) - against Damon R. [two 5W]
MARTINIS (139 points) - against Lori H. [two 3W, hook off TOMS to make ATOMS] {a good deficit-erasing word!}


Trivia fact for Thursday, Sept. 30: What is the name of the main street in Eleanor, West Virginia? Roosevelt Boulevard. The town was named for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped get New Deal government financing to build homes in the area during the Depression.

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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Holy deathly fanjets, Batman! / My first Pyrex bowl / Daniel and crash courses

High-scoring words of the night:

ALTHO (126 points) - against George M. [3W, 4W, hook off WISED to make WO]
DEATHLY (890 points) - against Sheila D. [2W, two 5W]
FANJETS (400 points) - against Jennifer F. [two 5W]
HOLIER (174 points) - against Charmaine C. [two 4W, hook off AXES to make RAXES]


Went to London Drugs and got two wedding cards (Jason / Karen and Calla / Stanford), an on-sale Pyrex bowl (it's tempered and better for microwaving than a glass bowl - according to customer service - also has a vent in the lid!), two mini Guylian shell boxes for Christon and Jeremy's birthdays (I can DO that now - they're so sweet!), Snyder's of Hanover jalapeno pretzel pieces for Sunday, on-sale cherry passion Tic-Tacs, and iced white tea with blueberry.

When I got home, I emailed the group at large to say what I'd be bringing to the Sunday Dinner, then emailed Auntie Vivian to say that I won't be at Awana on Saturday. Daniel can get another crash course in secretarial duties, haha! Later, she thanked me for letting her know (it's my responsibility!), and hopes that I have a great time. I intend to!

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Skipping the initial fees - what a lucky devotee, Xenia!

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

SKIP (120 points) - against George M. [5W, 3L on K]
LUCKIE (172 points) - against Joan K. [5W, 4L on K, hook off GAP to make LA / UP]
LANEWAY (126 points) - against Diana L. [two 3W]
DEVOTEE (490 points) - against Janet M. [two 5W, 2L on V]
INITIAL (120 points) - against Irene O. [3W, 5W]
FEES (192 points) - against Cathy T. [2W, 4W, 3W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
XENIA (125 points; 5W, 2L on X), ABDOMINA (108 points; two 2W) - against Lynn K.


Paid my phone bill today, so at least that's done. Lily called to confirm for Saturday: I forgot that Jason and Karen's wedding is coming up so fast! Ten o'clock with Lee sounds fine, and I can certainly hang around after the ceremony / banquet or go early for the banquet if that's what I gotta do! Thank goodness I still have some wedding presents from last year!

I have to go out anyway to get some wedding cards, plus whatever I'll bring to the Sunday Dinner. This fire alarm is driving me nuts! (I did go out, to find it was a false alarm - it did slightly smell like smoke outside, and now it smells like hot and sour soup in the hallway!) Hopefully, it will be over by the time I get back!

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Pain reduction, pee and porn, Thailand, and apples

I think the pain has gone away, which is good! I'm only sorry it was still there on Sunday, haha. Oh well, it's not like I'll ever find myself in a particular situation again! Hahahaha. Also, someone named Suwapee Sieber (one of Alice's friends) wanted to add me to Facebook - I DON'T THINK SO! I don't add random people without a good reason, and I'm glad Harmony knows that at least! That Thai name makes me think of pee! It's like those Thai (?) names that end in "porn," hahaha! Yes, I'm immature in this way! :P




You Are a Gala Apple



You are cute and sweet. It's hard for people to resist your simple charms.

You are a hybrid of a couple different influences. And you change as your life goes on.



You are sassy and fresh. You have a distinct personality, but you are never too over the top.

You are the kind of friend that stands the test of time. You are true to those you love, even as times and relationships change.

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Skeletal Jesuit yarners with wings / Red bean mooncake / Enoch / Hay and straw

High-scoring words of the night:

YARNER (109 points) - against Jeanette E. [5W, 2W, hook off STAG to make YA / AG] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
SKELETAL (140 points; 5W; a good deficit-erasing word!), TWAE (180 points; 4W, 5W) - against Katie S.
WINGS (120 points) - against Millie F. [3W, 4W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
JESUIT (108 points) - against Sue W. [two 2W, hook off ERG for a plural] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
MONDO (170 points) - against Janice K. [5W, 2W, 3L on M]
DOYENNES (179 points) - against Linda R. [4W, 2W, hook off XIPHOID for a plural]
QI (125 points) - against Stacey G. [5L on Q used twice, hook off FIT to make QI / IT]
FAULTS (108 points) - against Tami M. [3W, two 2W, hook off NOBLE for a plural]
AEOLIAN (105 points) - against Jenny H. [5W, 3W]


To hell with saving time - I want my alignment back again! My brother apparently knows someone named Enoch, who will be bringing sticky rice to Sunday's dinner. Reminds me, I have to think of something to bring too. Hopefully these new people will be better than the LAST one! Turns out my mom gave me RED BEAN mooncake, which is the most awesome thing EVER! It ALMOST makes me want to call her to see where she got the stuff, but not quite! I'm not THAT crazy! ;)


Trivia fact for Wednesday, Sept. 29: What's the difference between hay and straw? Hay is cut and dried grass, clover, alfalfa, oats, and other grasses and legumes used as feed for farm animals. Straw is the hollow stalks of wheat and other grains left over after harvesting and used for livestock bedding and mulch, as well as for weaving hats and baskets.

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Twenty classes a week AND moving out?! Wow, what changes!

Reconnected with Corey for a brief while just now:

[17:55:35] Flami: are you alive?
[17:58:53] Corey: yes, are you? :P
[17:59:29] Corey: I have like 20 classes a week now, so I haven't been at home as much
[18:00:32] Flami: of course I'm alive! and you sound busy
[18:03:21] Corey: well, it's kind of annoying... today, I have class at 10:30-12.. then 90 minutes to wait around, then class at 1:30-3, then 30 minutes waiting around, then 3:30-5. then... two hours to wait around.... then I have to go to Zhong Li by train for a two-hour class. so I work 6.5 hours, but I'm out from like 9:40 AM (which is soon, I'm getting ready.. I just woke up) until almost 10 PM
[18:03:31] Corey: too much wasted time
[18:04:14] Flami: wow, that IS a lot of time to just wait around... can you do something like marking during that time?
[18:06:35] Corey: ha
[18:06:39] Corey: you think this is school?
[18:06:55] Flami: I dunno
[18:06:57] Corey: there's no homework or test :P it's like daycare for old people
[18:07:04] Corey: at least the daytime classes
[18:07:18] Flami: you got a job with the geriatrics?
[18:07:23] Corey: we just read an article, and if they don't want it to be boring, they'll ask me lots of questions
[18:07:34] Corey: well, the daytime classes are all old people or housewives
[18:07:41] Corey: everyone else is at school / work
[18:08:09] Corey: tonight, I have a two-hour class with a couple 6th-graders and lots of young people... they're quiet and shy and boring, and make it really hard
[18:08:49] Corey: last night, I had a "superior" level class, and that was great, those people talk to me the entire class.. the one tonight is the lowest level, so they're all afraid to talk
[18:09:00] Corey: but anyway, it's English practice, not English class, basically :P
[18:09:29] Corey: none of those schools are really like school...
[18:10:08] Corey: they just hire native speakers of the language, point to a room, and say "okay, go teach." this school has a magazine with an article for each class, so I don't have to figure out how to kill 90 minutes by myself
[18:11:51] Corey: next week, I'm moving to an apartment downtown, though... and during those stupid waiting times, I can just walk home, except on Monday where I have 4 hours to kill in another town.... (2 and 2, not 4 at once)
[18:12:25] Corey: those big breaks are for lunch and dinner, but I'd rather just squish it all together and be done with it
[18:13:01] Flami: moving?!
[18:14:07] Corey: getting my own place, yeah
[18:14:44] Flami: that should ease some of the tension around Jane and her parents, maybe
[18:46:00] Corey: it's right by the train station downtown, like a couple minutes to walk to the school, and to go to the school in the other town, it's right by the train station, so that's not bad either. 10-minute train ride away
[18:46:06] Corey: but I'm not there yet, so now I have to leave early and go catch a bus :P
[18:46:08] Corey: so I'll talk to you later
[18:46:12] Flami: okay, later

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Editing FAIL! / I'm not staying away from BLACK!

I was trying to edit a whole bunch of birthday links at 2 AM. When 4:35 AM rolled around, I accidentally hit a key which caused me to go BACK in my browser, and LOSE the work when I was ALMOST DONE! WHAT THE HELL! Guess I have to do it again... maybe I'll work in Semagic this time. *rage*

On another note, I wished Derek L. a happy belated birthday, and he wished me one in turn. :D


Edit three hours later: Okay, I decided not to go through with the birthday links. It was a saving issue as well as one of the character limits. UGH, I HATE WASTING TIME!




You Should Stay Away From Black



You are a compassionate and caring person. You are big on forgiveness.

You try not to get weighed down by the world's problems. You do your best to help, and that's all you can do.



The color black sometimes represents oppression and even hatred. You don't want anything to do with that.

There is also a cool meanness to black, and that goes against every fiber of your being.

WTF. That's one of my favorite colors!

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Violating wheat envoys by Borax! / Brian May

Bingo of the night:

VIOLATED (78 points) - against Darlene J.


High-scoring words of the night:

ANNAS (125 points) - against Janice O. [two 5W]
THEREOF (136 points) - against Heather R. [4W, 4L on F]
BORAX (215 points) - against Connie B. [5W used twice, hook off ZA to make ZAX]
THORITE (130 points) - against Mary Jane D. [2W, 5W]
HEADWAYS (144 points) - against Sandra K. [two 2W]
ENVOYS (224 points) - against Josie S. [4W, two 2W]
WHEAT (210 points) - against Sandra M. [3W, 5W]
ATOMY (104 points) - against Jennifer F. [2W, 4W]
REPAVE (117 points) - against Joyce J. [two 3W]


Trivia fact for Tuesday, Sept. 28: What legendary rock guitarist coauthored a book entitled Bang! The Complete History of the Universe? Brian May, of Queen. May, who had been pursuing a doctorate in astronomy before he switched to rock music, finally earned his degree in 2006 and went on to write the book with astronomer Patrick Moore and astrophysicist Chris Lintott.

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Monday, September 27, 2010

Post #7000 / Heavy-duty kitchen shears, beaded sweaters, and a tea oracle

POST #7000!!!!

Decided to go out shopping to Sears today after I put money in the bank, even though I did notice a pain in my waist area. I swear, my body is betraying me now! Got on-sale black JESSICA underwear (making sure it was all black this time), new heavy-duty kitchen scissors, black pants, and an on-sale blue beaded sweater... then I had a passion fruit bubble tea at Flaming Wok. Might as well get everything at once! I discovered that the 401 and 407 DO stop at the same place outside the Canada Line station, which is AWESOME! However, the 410 doesn't stop there anymore - I'd be annoyed if I were still meeting Eric at Cambie / Jacombs, haha. (but I would get used to it) At home, I took aspirin in hopes it would work and do its thing!




You Appreciate All of Life's Moments



You speak your mind and tell it how it is. You don't hold back when the truth needs to be told.



You have a very balanced personality. You know how to moderate yourself when you are feeling extreme.



You love everything about life, including the sadder and darker parts. You appreciate every emotion.



You are energetic and downright hyper. All sorts of ideas and opportunities excite you.

I don't know if a lot of this fits, but whatever...

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Feisty escape, emailing Mandy, and animals in deep space

High-scoring word of the night:

FEISTY (3190 points) - against Laurie S. [two 3W, two 5W - one used twice, hook off LOPE for a plural] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
JIMPER (148 points) - against John H. [two 2W, 5L on M]
ALTHEA (194 points) - against Linda R. [5W, 2W used twice]


I finished reading ESCAPE tonight - wow, what courage! Also finally emailed Mandy back, haha... I hope that certain things DO become a reality!

Trivia fact for Monday, Sept. 27: What were the first animals to fly into deep space and circle the moon? Two tortoises, in September 1968. The steppe tortoises were aboard the Zond 5, the Soviet Union's unmanned spacecraft, when it made its circumlunar flight and then returned to earth.

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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Alderaan being obliterated by the Death Star / Murdering Scum / Angela Berkley

From Steve L., aka WRATHCHILD:

Please put this as your status if you know or are related to someone killed on Alderaan when it was obliterated by the Death Star. My wish is that people will understand that the Empire is a band of murdering scum. The Rebel Alliance wants only to bring peace to the galaxy, but the evil Empire continues to kill innocent civilians. 93% won't copy / paste this. Will YOU make this your status for at least one hour?


AnjyB just wished me a belated happy birthday on Our Place - sweet!

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Dave Wong CAN be surprising! / Burgoo!

When Eric picked me up this morning (I greeted him with "House of Arthritis - how may I help you?" on the phone!), I told him not to screw with me. I said that he could have his choice of moods: either somber or ranting. He figured that I was ranting on Friday, which was certainly true! Then he referenced PINKY AND THE BRAIN, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, DARKWING DUCK, and other such things while I tried telling him that he was the craziest person I'd never met. He tried convincing me that he had a memory, told me that he was going to the volunteer dinner, and said that I needed to figure some stuff out - maybe! We got to the church about halfway through Phil's sermon; almost immediately after we sat down, Eric took a WELCOME card and wrote "Darkwing Duck... Address: Here!" I took one look at it, and figured he was being silly as usual. At one point, I looked behind me, and saw the elusive Dave Wong sitting by Wesley. I had to figure out what to do - I didn't want to avoid him (which is what Eric thought I'd do), but I didn't want to appear obsessed or anything. (trying to learn lessons)

After service, I was busy saying hi to Harmony anyway since I wanted to ask her who this Eugene Cheng was. Apparently, he's an introverted co-worker of hers; he knows that Harmony suggested Facebook people for him as a way to make friends. Oh good... I was like "Did Harmony click on the wrong person to suggest friends for this guy?!" Hahahaha... at least he knows, and won't be like "Who are these people?!" tomorrow! I can just imagine! "This is my husband, this is my sister-in-law, this is my other sister-in-law, these are other people I know from these things..."

When an old lady wanted to get into Harmony's pew, I took that as a cue to leave the room. Then I saw Lily, whom I wanted to talk to anyway because she'd told me that she could give me a ride to Karen and Jason's wedding. We were making arrangements (phone number / email / prospective plans to leave an hour ahead of schedule with the kids) when I saw my mother in the sound room out of the corner of my eye, trying to get my attention. HELLO?! I AM OBVIOUSLY BUSY WITH ANOTHER CONVERSATION! I largely ignored her since I was focused on Lily and what she was saying, haha. After THAT, I went to the fellowship hall to find some weak coffee and talk to Sonya, Emily / Nina / Carley, both Martins, Geoffrey, Mattias, and some others. I told Jonathan that I couldn't delete my triple-posted wall post comments for some reason, but he laughingly assured me that it was fine.

I saw Dave talking to Raymond (perhaps for too long), but figured that it would be okay. After a few more minutes, I decided to boldly walk up to them and say hi! Denise and Tracy side-tracked me by exclaiming that I was a traitor for wearing the hat which Candy sent me a while ago. (Geoffrey had commented on the NHL All-Star logo) Hey, SHE sent it to me as a surprise FROM the Toronto area... it's not like I had a say, haha! I said hey to Jeremy and Christon, who didn't really care what I brought to the dinner next week. Danielle came by and gave me a great homemade birthday card with a photo of us at Montana's on the front - I know she was probably going to give it to me at that dinner, but couldn't!

Finally, I got a chance to talk to Dave, with Raymond hanging out in the background at first. Too bad, you had your turn! Dave smiled when he saw me, said "Leslie!", and wanted me to give him a "pound" or fist-bump in other language! I did, and then wondered if he could consolidate his life in the past few months - nope, haha! Says he has a seasonal job at the Purdy's factory ("doing hard manual labor on those pallets!"), says that Kin's is still "balling," confirmed that I did indeed see him at the bus stop that day Eric and I left church early in August (I told him what Eric had said about going back and saying hi), and says that he and I should have a coffee and chit-chat now he knows his schedule - FOR SURE!

Christon and Jeremy joined the conversation at various points; we discussed Dave's checking out other churches, the life of Paul, different perspectives on things with new leaders (Randal's taking over!), his still getting the small group emails, Facebook, Vicky, Uncle Sam, Pastor John, just visiting ours to see what was going on (he'd love to come out on Fridays and such!), Broadway Church's hip-hop ministry (now THERE'S something he would love!), and the surprise Facebook birthday wish on my wall. We also conversed about his NOT joining us for Sunday School or lunch (dim sum for him instead!), and the volunteer dinner on Thanksgiving weekend. "That weekend will be busy with the wedding and all..." "Who gets married on Thanksgiving weekend?!" "THOSE PEOPLE!" as I indicated Stanford and Calla behind us talking to Mike T. and Emily C.

After Dylan and Jon started talking to him ("show me some Facebook LOVE!"), I was going to go upstairs, but got side-tracked by Connie. She said that she hadn't seen me in a while, so (in rehearsal for what I'd tell Jessie in a few minutes) I told her what had happened in the past four weeks: Eric sick, us going to lunch for his birthday / brunch with his family, and Eric's car trouble. Apparently, she was going to ask Harmony, but SHE'S been away herself in Italy! (Harmony says they DID spend a lot of money on gelato, and she misses it!) Connie said that her dad had had a stroke, and is going to rehab care where it'll be better for him - I bet she and Jenny have been busy taking care of their mom, paying bills and suchlike! After 35 years, I'm not surprised that there are some things her mom has never really done before!

I finally went upstairs to find that the older kids (Harrison, Amos, Amanda, etc.) had apparently graduated in my month away from Toddler Sunday School. Doesn't mean that the remaining kids aren't rowdy, though... David and Evelyn greeted me by slapping me with long pool noodles, haha! Jessie says she's been teaching the kids, and that we can share teaching duties - sounds fine to me! Mattias liked the cars, Ashley liked the pink toy dishes, there was a new kid named Jasper who was VERY quiet, Arthur could name letters of the alphabet from his puzzle, and Shira seemed to accept me for the first time. It was nice just to play with the children, heh. I said hi to Rachel when she came in to find her grandma afterward, too.

Thank goodness I stayed in the room after Auntie Bessy came and left, because that meant I avoided my mother yet again! When I got downstairs, Jeremy asked me whether I was coming to lunch with them. "Les? Lunch?" Eric said that since he was going, that meant I was going - fair enough! He then handed me a bag, saying that I could moon people now - haha, no thanks! Apparently, my mother had handed him this to give to me... he said it was mooncake, which I guess was fine. Later, I learned that there would be mooncake at next week's dinner - yay! Grandma passed us on her way to the washroom, and greeted me in a normal tone of voice. Randal also wanted to come out for lunch, which Eric wondered about on the car ride over to Burgoo. According to Jeremy, they'd tried going there last week, but the group was too large and the estimated wait of an hour was too long! (we discussed the menu and other things, his vision, stupid drivers / traffic, a VERY SPECIAL RENDITION of DARKWING DUCK, and more)

We had to wait about half an hour, and Jeremy wondered why Eric didn't drop me off closer if he was re-parking the car! Hahaha, not sure! At the restaurant, we discussed computer stuff (which I didn't get, but I loved listening to Eric and Jeremy being geeks!), Steph's attempt at cooking bacon ("she should learn to cook it - it's the bachelor thing!"), Grandma making a beeline for the bar when the family was at Burgoo, Mr. Creep helping to make the coffee stronger (I'd rather have weak stuff in that case!), and Linux. We also talked about Windows 7, those stupid things where you have to put your phone right up to some coded picture to get an application (seen on cards / newspapers / magazines), Teunis, defragmentation, the computer Vernon built for me, the ages of our computers, some things being TOO OLD to give away to FreeGeek or whatever, chips, Athlon processors, LOUD computer fans (especially if you're trying to sleep in the same room!), laptops, 1 GB of RAM on a stick, Grandma drinking beer out of the bottle last week at the party where my mother cooked for people at my sister's, and more. It was an okay time, although Eric thought I'd be on edge for some reason!

On the way home, we discussed THE MASSIVE FAIL at slamming his car doors, my thinking / creative hearing, "pre-season games" not being "priest-abusing games," FRINGE having a full season, CAPRICA having a half-season (starts in January), lunch being better than Bible Study, cell phones, fearing the phone ("if I try to call you at a non-regular time, it's problematic!"), blogging, and more. I've just gotten an email from Raymond, who says he'll bring birthday cake to the dinner from a bakery which his friends recommend. If he thinks anything of me if I take a slice, I'm not sure what I'll do! Updated my sister briefly on things since she was at work, too. I got an email from Cindy asking what the group wanted to do for our Small Group Outing on Thanksgiving weekend... yeah, I'd say we ran out of time on Friday night to discuss this! *sarcasm* Mom sent us an email about "old support group" - I hope it's at Uncle Sam's place in October, though rides home will be interesting! Then there's the family dinner for Jon's birthday - yikes! We'll see...

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Birthday Gifts, 2010 Edition

This is a list of birthday gifts and cards that I received in 2010:


* Uncle John's Gigantic Bathroom Reader (Bathroom Readers' Institute) from Deb and Dylan on the last day of July

* lunch at the Spicy Court Restaurant from Auntie Ying and her mom on Aug. 21

* Sunday brunch at De Dutch Pannekoek House from the Morrills on Sept. 12

* having Teunis around again! :D

* $25 Chapters gift card from Eric M., plus birthday card

* $20 from Grandma

* This Book Warps Space and Time: Selections from The Journal of Irreproducible Results / The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment from Nathan

* Cherry Berry Splash Icebreaker Sours, cheese twists, cheese chips, Cheese Nips, Frosted Cherry Toast 'Em Popups, whole smoked oysters in teriyaki sauce, pink salmon, light tuna, browned beans in tomato sauce, fruit cocktail, two packages of miso (given to Teunis when he left), jalapeno cheese slices (shared with Teunis), a journal, coffee mug, pink pants, a leaf candle (promptly given indirectly to Kaili), Honey Nut Scooters (cereal), seaweed, fruit-flavored Mike & Ikes, four packages of Doublemint gum (to the kids!), card (got Nate / Jeremy / Steph / Teunis to sign), Pho dinner, dessert with blueberry Splenda cheesecake / dragonfruit / biscotti / watermelon / coffee from Mom and Dad on Sept. 15 (31)

* card from Cindy and Dianne

* card from Danielle

* card and "regift" fountain pen from Auntie Catherine and Uncle Y.C.


* I also got a virtual gift from LiveJournal. The attached message reads: "I hear it's time to celebrate your big day with some double-stuffed Oreo cookies and milk. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and may all your wishes come true! Love always, Frank." That won't make me forget about the Facebook and Twitter privacy BS, but it is cute!

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Birthday Wishes, 2010 Edition

MSN: Eric H., Corey T., Vanessa H. (3)

LJ: virtual gift of cookies and milk, LJ News, ONTD stuff, belated ONTD stuff (10)

The attached message reads: "I hear it's time to celebrate your big day with some double-stuffed Oreo cookies and milk. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and may all your wishes come true! Love always, Frank." That won't make me forget about the Facebook and Twitter privacy BS, but it is cute!




Facebook Wall Posts: Chantelle S., Steve L., Danielle L., Julie S., Candy B., Chrissy S., Alan P., Kevin G., Billie E., Veronica H., Phillip L., Quan H., Karen Lew, Lucas N., Vania S., Citrus W., Vicky S., Jess W., Sara H., Shelley R.-B., Jasmine C., Kathy T., Kaitlin O., Karla M., Alice P., Jennifer B., Janina P., Becky L., Mikaela P., Maxine F., Michelle W., Itamar R., Flora G., Diane S., Dilys C., Myles H., Charlotte G.-C., Denise M., Steph N., Rosenda M., Leslie K., Sabrina C., Mary C., Adam L., Ryan M., Nina M., Candace B., Michael M., Natalie H., David Ho, Dawn W., Sabrina L., Darren L., George M., Noel E., Sean O., Sonya Y., David W., Andrew L., Hilary F., Ellen C., Alicia S., Julie M., Karen Chan, Dianne F., Jessica G., Andrea T., Vivian S., Harmony H., Mandy W., Derek L. (70)

Facebook Messages: Vanessa C. (1)

Facebook Status Comments: Marie S., Mike B., Teunis P., Chris W. (4)

Our Place: Carol B., Debbie, Subena, Julie H., Candy B., Steve B., Kelly L., Elissa G., Carol J., Marie S., DeanCasLover, AnjyB (12)

Other Message Boards and Such: Ubuntu Forums, Baby's Named A Bad Bad Thing, Crime Library, Quizopolis, Rock 101, OK Cupid (6)

In Person: Grace Y., Ron M., Veronica M., Pastor Fulton C., Nathan T., Auntie Tracy S., Jen C., Christon S., Eric M., Jeremy J., Steph N., Teunis P., Jessica Leung, Ray's friend Josh, Karen Choo, Auntie Catherine I. (16)

Cards / Presents: Uncle John's Gigantic Bathroom Reader (Bathroom Readers' Institute) [from Deb and Dylan L.], lunch at the Spicy Court Restaurant from Auntie Ying and her mom, Sunday brunch from Eric's family at De Dutch Pannekoek House, Eric M., Jeremy J., Teunis P., Nathan T., Steph N., $25 Chapters gift card from Eric M., This Book Warps Space and Time: Selections from The Journal of Irreproducible Results (Norman Sperling) / The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment (A.J. Jacobs) from Nathan T., the news of HOMECOMING from Eric H., Cindy F. / Dianne F., Danielle L., card and "regift" fountain pen from Uncle Y.C. / Auntie Catherine I. (15)

* Mom and Dad's presents: Cherry Berry Splash Icebreaker Sours, cheese twists, cheese chips, Cheese Nips, Frosted Cherry Toast 'Em Popups, whole smoked oysters in teriyaki sauce, pink salmon, light tuna, browned beans in tomato sauce, fruit cocktail, two packages of miso (given to Teunis P. when he left my place), jalapeno cheese slices (shared with Teunis P.), a journal (to the kids!), coffee mug, pink pants, a leaf candle (promptly given indirectly to Kaili B.), Honey Nut Scooters (cereal), seaweed, fruit-flavored Mike & Ikes, four packages of Doublemint gum (to the kids!), Pho dinner, dessert with blueberry Splenda cheesecake / dragonfruit / biscotti / watermelon / coffee (30)

Phone Calls: Steph N. (1)

24.9% of my Facebook friends ... 90 of 361!


GRAND TOTAL: 171

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Dying because of little sleep, defragmentation, and gourds / squashes

I've pretty much resigned myself to dying today, since I didn't really get all that much sleep AND got up a full HOUR before my alarm! UGH! At least the computer finished defragmentation from 2:40 AM to 7 AM!



You Are Quiet



You are a natural introvert, and you enjoy as much peace as you can bring to your life.

You are easily overwhelmed, and you often retreat from the world to recharge.



You go unnoticed in a crowd, and you feel like your close friends and family are the only ones who truly "see" you.

You like to observe and take notes on what's going on around you. You don't let on to how much you know.

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Outbaking with hazel, Swedish Berries, broken scissors, and the knees

High-scoring words of the night:

OUTBAKE (256 points; two 4W), HAZEL (320 points; two 4W) - against Stacey G.
HOARD (150 points) - against Kim A.-S. [3W, 5W]
JABS (144 points) - against Shelley R.-B. [2W, 5L on J, 5L on B]


Went out in the INTENSE RAIN (note the weather change!), and just missed the bus. Got to London Drugs, where I saw boxes of Maynards candy for sale, so got a Swedish Berry box since it was what Ian originally wanted. I'll get him to share it with his brother, though! Additionally purchased one container of on-sale pralines and cream Häagen-Dazs (there seems to be a lot of caramel - maybe not what I expected after hearing Candy go on about Folger's praline creamer for her coffee), five packages of spicy chicken instant noodles, and an on-sale calculator for my blue Aldo bag.

As soon as I got home and tried to use my kitchen scissors, they broke! I guess ten years and two months is a good shelf life for them... Andrea bought them from Safeway for me in the first place, so that's a memory. Guess I'll get new ones next week! I don't think there was a BORING_PEOPLE chat going on, either. (tried inviting myself to the usual AIM room, and NOTHING!) Mikaela linked me to a Meebo room in a BORING_PEOPLE post, but I couldn't stay there long since I had to restart Safari again!


Trivia fact for Sunday, Sept. 26: What is the largest joint in the human body? The knee.

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