Separating jewels, Ray and water, Jordan in an ADULT SMALL, licking boxes

When Henry picked me up today, I asked what he thought of the whole Pastor John situation. Since he's actually been attending a church in Richmond called The Crucible (in the name of a new start), I filled him in on what had happened that Sunday, and the past church history as far as Pastor Glen was concerned. He thought that I was more connected than he was because I actually do talk to Pastor John, which I guess is true. (he hasn't even talked to the man in three years, apparently) For obvious reasons, he wasn't in service the day of the announcement, but he HAD heard that a lot of people were crying - yes, and even the pastor was crying! I don't know if this will just make Phil the default pastor for now since Pastor Edward is also leaving, but we'll see. Since I had an agenda in my bag, I read some of it out for him: yup, voting is definitely on it! We also talked about Grace: he saw her last night, and she's huge!

When I got to the building, I decided to make a pit stop. I noticed little Ray clinging to his mom's jacket, and wondered aloud if he were going to follow her into the washroom - he said yes, haha. Boys have to, at four years old or so! I also helped him get some water from the cooler since he said he wanted some. I saw his friends Emily and Owen later, and retrieved some things that his mom had left in the washroom! Went into the fellowship hall, requested Sylver's chair after she and Midora finished a clapping game, and resolved to finish separating the colored jewels today. (I did, even staying "overtime" to do so) Said hi to Sophia, Margaret (who picked up a red jewel from the floor for me), Elaine (First Aid kit), Sabrina (who was sick with a cold), Daniel (inventory man!), Stanley, Harrison and Amos (who liked hitting each other), Sean, Victoria, Eddy (who said that it would be good if his head exploded because then he'd have a HOLE inside...), and a bunch of others: the kids seemed to be wearing their uniforms backwards, because it was apparently BACKWARDS DAY! It was also apparently Food Donation Day, as Christian's dad had a bunch of stuff in a liquor store box, and joked that it was beer! Auntie Vivian wanted to know if I'd seen Jordan, since she had to order an ADULT SMALL uniform for him; I had not, but he was apparently here somewhere. She told his mom that maybe she should put him on a diet, and she looked sad! Later, she told me / Daniel / Chrystal (who didn't get home too late yesterday) about some upcoming Awana events like a Hot Dog Day, the annual Christmas presentation, and a Leader Fellowship Dinner which conflicts with Billie's birthday. I learned little Jonathan and Ashley's last name, too. Saw Tina unexpectedly, who said she was visiting.

At 6, I got to congratulate Maxine in person - she said GRACE had told the whole room, and not Tim! Guess that's what I get for arriving slightly late, haha. Said hi to her sons Joshua and Keenan (who said hi back), before going over to see if there were any leftover snacks. After giving a cheese / breadsticks combo to Billy, Jinny gave the last one to me - NICE! (I promptly ate it when I got home) Once I was in the car after Ian sang something which he assured me wouldn't offend my musical sensibilities (but he refused to tell me who did the song!), I told him why I was giving him a box of Maynard's Swedish Berries (I accidentally ate what I was going to give him three weeks ago!); he accepted the idea that he'd have to share with his brother. Sean just wanted to know how many were in there - I have no idea since I didn't open the box to find out, and I didn't want to get another one just to see! Ian said that his brother wanted to lick the box (GROSS!), asked about the nutritional info printed on the box (all those numbers are for every 11 pieces, not each one!), and warned me that his brother wanted to eat it now - SAVE IT FOR AFTER DINNER, please! That way, I don't get your parents on my ass about stuff, haha!

Told them about Jeas Town ("my brother's friend who liked eating crayons and UNLIT candles") - Ian pointed at Sean, so of course I had to assume that HE ate those items! After I asked them about a trip where they walked a lot and saw a bunch of salmon (and Ian corrected Sean on there being no church next week - just no Awana!), the boys played a game created in the car, which involved Wind Shield / Wind Blast / Tornado / flying / attacks / killing yourself. Ian remembered to thank me for the candy when I was dropped off at home - that was perfectly fine! Got home and checked my email; since there's an ESCC meeting on Monday, Eric thinks that Thursday will work better for everyone. (Committee Meeting and Fellowship on consecutive days again, just like LAST month!) Jen says it does for her, since she actually has to work on Monday, and Pastor John says it's fine for him. So of course I had to fall into step, parroting everyone else. Good thing I hadn't yet sent the email to Jon / Steph / Harmony about the "Lisa dinner date," but I did right after that! Mikaela says there doesn't seem to be much interest in the BORING_PEOPLE chats these days, since she guesses people got busy. Fair enough, as I can focus more on Saturdays now! This is also good for if I ever get a LIFE, haha!

Beware (semi-)nudity! / Bare substance / Abandonment

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

BEWARE (325 points) - against Michelle D. [two 5W]
NUDITY (210 points; 3W, 5W), SEMINUDITY (210 points; 5W, 3W) - against Sharon T.


Called Steph to update her on things like Maxine's pregnancy, the bare substance of yesterday's discussions, the ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT marathon (Lisa likes those funny shows like ENTOURAGE), and my opinion on everything. What she said didn't serve to improve the opinion AT ALL since it was based on LIES! She was actually at Tsim Chai with Grandma, having lunch before the hospice. I bet Grandma could very well be feeling abandoned, and Steph reminded me of that AND to make sure I said hi to her tomorrow at church. Auntie Eva is taking her, which is fine. Steph's working tomorrow, so won't be at the Family Meeting, but isn't surprised that Christon has a pizza contingency in mind; she doesn't really know a whole lot about these things, I'm sure.

Finished this entry just in time... Henry called to tell me that he's on his way! Now I have approximately three minutes to get all my stuff ready!

Control over recording, Rosanna, Adam, and denial of the truth / Social Style

I had a vague dream where my church had taken over a building. Everyone was running around from floor to floor, especially the kids. Nobody really stopped people from doing what they wanted to do, except my dad REALLY didn't like when we recorded various things by pressing a round button with a plus sign on it! He and his cronies were going all over the place trying to disable the things; he caught me, Rosanna, and Adam about to record something. They yelled at us, and set up shop with controls in a nearby room with a window. We naturally went all over the place trying to find ANOTHER button which would enable us to record whatever we liked. My mom stopped us and said that we had to yell for Jon and Nathan to get off the floor they were on, because she and some aunties wanted to take them outside in the green grass. When we did see them outside, we yelled at them and told them why. Of course, Mom denied everything! *rolleyes*

I'm sure I had the dream because of my mom LYING and trying to plant negative impressions in people's heads! I have NEVER told Grandma just to take the bus, leaving her to show up for a lunch at 2 PM. (as Jon intimated yesterday) Ugh! At least I don't have to deal with THAT for a while... and I've emailed Jeremy that picture, telling him what Jon and Vania said. :D

You Are Creative

You are a true original, and you inspire more people with your creativity than you realize. You're always doing or thinking something new. You live on the cutting edge. You are unpredictable and zany. People know that they can't expect consistency with you, and they love that! You are a great problem solver, and no one can throw a party like you can. You definitely know how to have fun.

What's Your Social Style?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

Me, creative?! That's UN-POSSIBLE! :P
The only part that's true is the third blurb about being zany!

Taking $4, babies, meetings, selling out the chicken steak ramen, mammals, and more!

As I start this update, it is 3:30 AM. Not sure if this says something about my computer speed, or what... I did have to restart it when I got home! When I finally got out of here, Eric was waiting for me outside - I made as if to walk right into him, haha. He wondered why I didn't come out - maybe because I didn't hear the phone? We quickly got to the car since it was chilly outside, and I gave him $4 because of parking costs and stuff. (I know he only paid $2.50 last week, but still... TAKE IT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!) I said that I was glad the program had been changed. He said that all the changes this week had made him go "What?!" - from half an hour to the entire program?! Yeah, I could relate! Then he said something about an email which Randal had sent the group, and a link contained therein about "being a real Christian." I don't think I opened that one (although I wouldn't anyway since HE sent it), although I had the perfect (WRONG) excuse for it: "My computer isn't compatible with MP3 files!" Usually, I wonder WHY the heck I'm opening emails from Randal - he emails us too much, man! Eric also said that he plans to attend the Family Meeting on Sunday; that's in line with my own desires!

Of course, we talked about other things such as a new nickname of "Dee-Jo" that he made up (no idea what that means), and my hangout with Chrystal and my shopping till 6:10. Now he knows what his family is getting for Christmas; I wouldn't know what to get him personally for the occasion, which does sound bad since I've known him for 24 years now! I told him that (among other things) I got papery things and fishy things; he added on "chocolaty things... do cards count as papery things?!" When I said yes to the chocolate, he said that I was even totally beating the stores since Halloween isn't even over yet, and said that it should be fine as long as it wasn't Bernard Callebaut chocolates with no preservatives whatsoever! Nope, it's DELECTO! I also said that the random white guy had made me think of DARKWING because of his use of "bounce" - UGH!

When we got to church, we saw some guy behind his car; I wondered what he was doing, so Eric said I should go ask him... no way! We got to the elevator, and I saw that it was Fred - well, I still won't talk to him since I don't know him closely! At least he had the presence of mind to take us to the second floor; when Eric and I got to our room, Randal got extra chairs for us in our circle. The discussion was about pregnancy, childbirth and airplane flights, and new babies: Tim's surprised that Joshua hasn't said anything yet to Yvonne (who's teaching him at school), while Keenan tells EVERYONE (like Grace within two minutes of seeing her at his house) that his mom is having a new baby in May! Now, THAT is exciting baby news! Grace doesn't want her mom to sit around and do nothing, so she's coming in next week instead. Karen said that HER baby is due on November 4 - interesting!

The roundtable discussion was informative: issues, autonomy, legal entities, boards, "us vs. them" mentality, a possibility of pizza on Sunday if the meeting DOES go that late, safety issues in Camden (New Jersey), liability, missions trips, how the kids are taking the news, membership classes, transferring membership, and lots more! Shally made the mistake of thinking we don't HAVE a Missions Committee: Randal said HE was on it! (I noted that Eric's shoe was too close to him!) Jeremy asked Phil how he would become a member of the church, since he's been thinking about it for at least a couple of years! (later, Jon said that he'd made a joke which only his side of the room had apparently heard: "Marry a Chinese girl!")

After everything, I asked Jeremy whether he had a copy of the picture with the dodgy McDonalds T-shirts: he hadn't, and didn't even know who had taken the picture! I said that I got it from Vania's Facebook, and added that I'd email it to him... I'll have to include Jon's joke, and also tell him that Vania said I should make him get Facebook, haha! He wondered how it looked: it looks fine for what it is, I guess! Of course, he generally looks good unless it's an awkward angle or something! (I know some people think they always look bad in photos, myself included) Speaking of awkward, I recounted Mom's "condom quote" for Harmony and Vivian: yeah, I don't want to be the one to tell my mother that you should be careful what you pay for condoms! Our parents are going to the airport at 7 AM (so in three hours, basically) - Vivian definitely doesn't want to be up any earlier than 6, while my parents live ten minutes away! I asked when Grandma was being dropped off at the hospice (sometime tomorrow by a friend), and when the parents were coming back (Nov. 4); Jon said I should really read Mom's emails! Haha, no... it's quicker to ask them. ;)

Later, I subtly closed a conversational circle with my body so that Randal couldn't hear what we were saying... muhahahaha! We were discussing bubble tea, Dad's last day as church admin today (maybe HE called while I was out earlier!), Kat's Tea House (where we ended up going after getting gas), "drinks" not necessarily meaning alcohol to Christon, my "SNACKS!" email getting lost in the shuffle of the week (which I totally understand with the messy situation we have!), where Jen was tonight (wouldn't RANDAL know?!), Jen's new barista job, Cindy totally forgetting a scrapbook box for Dianne (she apologized profusely to her sister!), and more. While we were waiting for Stanley to photocopy something for Jon, Hien waved to me - I'll ask her about Facebook on Sunday, I guess! I also told Ivan that I'd fallen asleep on Sunday afternoon when Pastor John said he couldn't drive me, and he said it was okay even if he was looking for me all night! When I mentioned getting up at 8 PM, Mike laughed - hey, it's true! Jon told Grace to STAY PREGNANT, but not for too much longer! (haha!) Tim noticed Victor and others from the CSC just hanging out in the parkade - as I said to him: if you can't hang out up there at the church, you can always hang out down in the garage for GARAGE FELLOWSHIP! He likes coming here from time to time, too! Apparently, Jon is taking photos with his band on Sunday afternoon, but will attend the Family Meeting for an hour... if things are still not done by the time that finishes up, he'll come back! At least he's not in a boy band - if THAT were true, I'd puke!

On the way over, we discussed feelings and such. At the bubble tea place, Wesley / Martin / Randal (ugh) / Connie / Christon greeted us. Wesley, Martin, and I all ordered chicken steak ramen (it came with a drink!) - we apparently sold it right out, which sucked for another group who wanted some! Jon said that I was unoriginal - hey, it looked good, and I hadn't eaten yet! When Eric heard THAT, he said I should have told him on the way to church: "That way, I could have gotten you some gross food like McDonalds!" "That's disgusting!" (then Wesley said something about how McDonalds is GOOD - yeah, we know how you roll...) We know that this situation brings up a lot of emotions from 2004, and I know Connie's feeling it!

We quickly got into more intense discussion of what the resignation would mean to us, and named names. I remember vividly that Uncle Hansel does NOT like drums! Martin even looked up Camden on his iPhone, and read us part of the Wikipedia entry - yeah, lots of crime and such there! Wesley said that we'd lost 4-1 tonight, too! Randal had to take over the conversation by telling us about his future plans - luckily, the topic was changed soon afterwards to Dylan's stag. I had heard about his having to call Deb and tell her three reasons why he loved her: "Uh, Deb, this is really hard... hey, she hung up on me because of reception problems!" (sure...) I had also heard about the part where he exhibited bad judgement by selling a flower to a girl whose muscled boyfriend was nearby - good thing there were ten guys with Dylan, otherwise things would have been worse! However, I hadn't heard about their being thrown out of a clothing store because the guys were filming what went on, breaking a rule about cameras and such! "Dylan, you have to buy something from here!" "I'm looking at the price tag - I can't afford THIS!"

For some reason, they were discussing how Randal should be the Supreme Commander of the church - NO! Thank goodness we got off THAT topic! We also discussed a marathon of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT on Halloween - hey, SOME of us need sleep and downtime! Eric apparently took a huge detour to drop Jon and Harmony off later, but we got to discuss Nathan's summer observation that the congregation seemed asleep or like zombies! (plus my zero driving experience) I contributed the word "complacency" to the discussion, heh. Jon warned Eric to be careful while backing out of their parking lot, because Christon had had to call a tow truck once - he was NOT amused since he'd backed over something which wasn't readily visible! Later, Eric discussed my re-creating the human race with Mr. Creep... NOT GONNA HAPPEN! We talked about newcomers, trust, paranoia, La Niña, snow, Ginger, morbidity, humor, WORLD OF WARCRAFT, and the sole reason why I even agreed to go to bubble tea: yes, I did learn a bunch from Christon! It was an interesting time, although I got home at 12:20 or so! I hope never to have to stay up this late again on a Friday / Saturday night, though!


My mom on Thanksgiving, telling them about my brother as a baby: "When he was young, your dad swaddled him in lots of clothes! He looked like a MAMMAL!" (she meant "a mummy")

Now I am SO braindead! For example, I almost gave Grace a MALE birthday card; unfortunately, I'd already written on the card AND envelope, so I had to junk it. Good thing I noticed what I'd written on the envelope's corner: "religious MALE birthday spare," indeed... and now I notice that it is almost 5 AM as I close this entry up. Oh, blogging... the sacrifices I make for you... :P


Trivia fact for Saturday, Oct. 16: What singer's fan club did Hillary Clinton head at her high school in Park Ridge, Illinois? Fabian's. The club consisted of teenager Hillary Rodham and two other girls.

Chrystal, London Drugs x2, green tea cream puffs, pomegranate, and more!

After fielding a FB message from Auntie Rebecca about the Awana Leadership Conference next Saturday (I said I wouldn't go as I might visit Grandma in hospice that day), I was on time to meet Chrystal at the London Drugs, but she was a bit late - that was okay, as we still managed to have a good time. We walked around London Drugs for a bit, checking out various things like ice cream-flavored chocolates and kid-targeted body wash. Might as well start the kids early on that stuff, and make them WANT to take a bath! (although neither of us were rebellious that way)

Then we went to Richmond Centre - talked about banking, books, movies, Beard Papa's green tea cream puffs, iced tea, Orange Julius, Grace, Micah, the crappy Internet at her place, grandmothers, Pastor John / Fellowship, difficult relationships, distance, Emily, Italy, Vivian's parents and cruises, shopping, Superstore, being home alone, Maxim's bakery, ham / egg / cheese / wieners, and more. After that, I went to London Drugs: got aspirin, dark chocolate with pomegranate, pads, salmon, crab, clams, birthday cards (one for Mattias), a baby card, three packs of letter stickers to replenish THOSE supplies, apple / tangerine / watermelon Icebreaker mints, and on-sale toilet paper. On my way out, I saw Enoch and Alice Wong! Got home to discover someone had tried calling me from church, and from an oddly familiar cell number. Before blogging and putting my stuff away, I called Eric to make sure he didn't leave without me - since the program's changed, I'm totally in! Auntie Rebecca had replied to say she appreciated my love for Grandma - yes, and I also appreciate extra sleep! I remember the year when we DID do the conference followed by Awana - WE WERE ALL SO TIRED! Eric's called to say he's on his way - better go!

When I was in the lineup at the bank, I heard this white guy using "bounce" in the same way that Dave Wong might... hahaha, neat! Too much thinking!


My mother, on the Fantasy Factory: "Oh, condoms are only 25 cents?!" (the Fantasy Factory is what it sounds like - an ADULT store - and my sister was dropping her off to see an acupuncturist nearby) HAHAHAHAHA! You probably should be careful what you pay for those, especially!

Using the toilet in front of the usual gang (dream) / Having kids / Dodgy T-shirts

Had a vague dream where Raymond, Christon, my siblings, Jeremy, and all the usual people were hanging out at my parents' place. Randal somehow had managed to live 400 years, but still looked fine. My dad tried to keep track of us all, but that never goes well. Jon was listening to the sports news on the radio in his room when some of us were trying to sleep OR go out to start the day. ("Is that the time?! Morning, morning, night, night...") I invited Jen to my place briefly, but only later realized that I forgot to have her sign my guestbook!

We were all somehow NOT shy about using the toilet (or flushing others' stuff) in front of each other with only a door for privacy! Then we read the comics, in which there seemed to be a theme of mayhem going on. Characters jumping off walls into other comic strips, others going missing, and plots not making sense because they were freely interchanged?! I don't even WANT to know why I had that one! And now Maisie wants me to add her to Facebook - HAHAHAHAHAHA!

You Should Have Two Kids

You can definitely manage a small family, and having kids is one of your major goals. That being said, having kids is not all you want to do. Two is a perfect number for you! You want to make sure your children have the best upbringing possible, but you still want to live a balanced life. Having two kids will leave you just enough time and money to do the things you want to do for yourself and your family.

How Many Kids Should You Have?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Taken from Vania's 2010 Facebook photo album, this is Christon and Jeremy with the dodgy "McDonalds" T-shirts made by Jen's Hong Kong cousin:

Repaying the physic with weed requirements / Chrystal / Harmony / Letters

High-scoring words of the night:

REPAYS (120 points) - against Susan C. [5W, 2W]
PHYSIC (311 points) - against Barbara M.-S. [two 4W, hook off AUNTIE for a plural]
WEEDY (102 points) - against Juliane B. [3W, 5L on Y] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
BOUFFE (135 points) - against Heather W. [5W, hook off OP to make FOP, 5L on B] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
QUIRE (144 points) - against Lori H. [two 3W]


Called Chrystal to confirm tomorrow's hangout at 3 - we can go to London Drugs (since we're meeting inside that store) and walk around Richmond Centre! Good thing, since I have to go to the bank anyway to cash that cheque. Harmony also suggested a couple of dates for the get-together with Steph and Lisa, so we'll see how that goes!

Trivia fact for Friday, Oct. 15: When it comes to American literary classics, who wrote The Scarlet Letter? How about The Purloined Letter? Scarlet, Nathaniel Hawthorne; Purloined, Edgar Allan Poe.

Vanessa H., Karen's short notice, no BS (yay!), and watercolor flowers

I would have had this entry submitted sooner, but the computer was having issues. For example, I had to restart it three times in the past hour!

Checked my email, and it appears that there is no BS; according to Pastor John, the chats he's had with people over the past two weeks have easily lasted two hours, and adding a "going forward" component to the question period would extend our program by a LOT. YAY! I DON'T HAVE TO ENDURE CERTAIN PEOPLE! Maybe I will be home in time for Eric to pick me up, haha - after I buy certain things like pads / aspirin / chocolate? (and I wanted to SAVE the money... grr!)

Karen also wanted to get together at Ebisu TODAY at noon, and apologized for the short notice. Hahahaha! Due to the extreme tiredness which I experienced, that was definitely not possible! I just told her that I was so tired that I slept in, and didn't even get that email in time to do anything about it! She's emailed me back; she apologized again for the short notice, hopes I got enough sleep because there's a lot of flu going around these days, will look for another date next week, and will get back to me soon. I think I'll just let her assume it's the flu or something similar, haha...

Vanessa H. showed up on MSN and said that she's back in town from Sunday to Thursday. Why does everything have to happen during TMI time?! Her plans include doing some grocery shopping, going back to that New Westminster Caribbean store which Dave would LOVE, and a job interview on Monday at UBC's Purdy Pavillion. Now THAT also makes me think of Dave, haha... hopefully, I'll get to see her while she's in town! Steph's also invited me, Jon, and Harmony for dinner sometime... might be a chance to meet Lisa, for sure! No idea what I'll do while they watch baseball, though. Maybe I'll talk to Harmony and Lisa, haha! (unless Lisa is also into baseball like my siblings are...)

You Are Beloved

You are adored and loved by many. People care deeply for you. You are a great person, and everyone knows it. You are well-liked. You go beyond being just popular. You are highly regarded and respected. You are highly admired and cherished. Many people want to be like you.

The Watercolor Flowers Test

Blogthings: If Quizzes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Take Quizzes

Ha ha ha... I don't know about this one! :P

Wayland and waiting for the bus in the forest amid mental breakdowns

Man, MDSE really knocked me on my butt this time! Not that I was expecting anything else, mind you... good thing it was today and not tomorrow, otherwise I'd be scrambling to catch up before I had to meet Chrystal at London Drugs!

I had a dream where a whole bunch of us were hanging out at someone's huge house; we were excited because our St. Louis friend Wayland was due to come with his wife and baby, neither of whom we'd met before. When Wayland came to the house, we asked him where they were - in the car, since they were sick. A while later, we finally got to meet his wife and baby Camille: SO CUTE! Everyone had a good time, until it was time to go on a big boat. I had to share a room with my sister, while my brother and friends had a bigger room next door. Steph had a LOT of cute slippers and bath stuff (shower caps, etc.) with her, but after I just luxuriated in the bed for a while, I had to go to the bathroom! Unfortunately, it was REALLY stinky - after almost gagging, I told her that I was going elsewhere! All the other spare bathrooms (on other floors accessible via elevator) were full, so I was able to go off the boat to find relief instead.

For some reason, this boat was parked on the edge of a huge forest. My dream self did not pollute the forest with bodily wastes, although my real self might have been tempted to if the situation was dire enough; hey, it's all biodegradable, right? I instead went to the one bus stop I could see, where there were a bunch of people. For a bus stop which was practically in the middle of nowhere, it was relatively busy! I could see a bunch of shuttle buses go by in the opposite direction, while our bus stop didn't seem to get a lot of service. There was an old lady at the stop who seemed to know a lot about things, plus an old man who looked like a Shaolin monk - HE was smoking, but trying to keep it away from people, especially the young people who had a baby. (yes, that's right... somewhat considerate smokers only show up in my DREAMS!)

After a while, I lost my balance and tripped in the mulch around the bus stop - the old lady and young people helped me out using a chair. We saw a #41 Joyce Station, a C94, and other buses which would be in the Vancouver area, but we were hours away from there! Someone also had a radio, so we listened to the news as a way of passing the time - when Richmond was mentioned, I moaned. SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME! When our bus (Nanaimo) finally showed up, it was a VERY short shuttle bus - not enough room for the 25 people waiting at that time! An Indian girl had a total mental breakdown, demanding that I give up my spot - I told her that I'd been waiting for an HOUR (as had others - even more than an hour), so I imperiously went on the bus after making sure the old people and young parents with baby had seats. The Indian's friend tried comforting her, but to no avail. We could hear her screaming as the bus took off, since the driver had no patience (true to life!) - that was where the dream ended!

Sophie attending a curative hotel with mocha spies and razors / Income tax

Interesting rack of the night: PAWNYEAR, against Juliane B. [read this as "pawn year"]


Bingo of the night:

SAUNTERED (131 points) - against Lynn L.


High-scoring words of the night:

SOPHY (2560 points) - against Stephanie M. [5W, 2W, two 4W]
AXLES (356 points) - against Carol G. [5W, 4W used twice, hook off QUIP for a plural]
RAZORS (259 points; 5W, 3W, hook off OD to make ROD), SAUNTERED (131 points; two 3W) - against Lynn L.
CURATIVE (280 points; 3W, two 2W), TIPSY (148 points; two 3W, hook off FINES to make FINEST) - against Janice L.
ATTEND (135 points; two 3W), RAXED (120 points; 3W, hook off LOUT to make EL / DO) - against Simone W.
HOTEL (198 points; two 4W, hook off AN to make ANT), KIRSCH (288 points; 4W, two 2W; a good deficit-erasing word!) - against Betty W.
MOCHA (108 points) - against Kate C. [two 2W, 3L on H]
SPY (128 points) - against Ashley H. [3W used twice, 4L on Y, hook off BOAT for a plural] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
NEBULAS (165 points) - against Joyce M. [3W, 5W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
SWOOPS (130 points) - against Lisa B. [5W, 2W]


Redrum came tonight - I had good timing, haha. Also ate Minute Rice with mushroom soup as a creamy base! However, the Canucks lost 4-3 to Anaheim! Finally finished my tags alignment project, though.

Trivia fact for Thursday, Oct. 14: What percent of their net income did U.S. couples in the top tax bracket pay during the Eisenhower administration? 91 percent - on incomes over $400,000.

Flickering white, BS, Chilean miners, Graham James, HIV tests, money bags, cooking shows

Noticed that the computer screen is flickering WHITE! Kenny assures me that this is NOT normal... yikes! Christon has emailed us again with a request that we delay BS for a while this Friday because of a request for Tim and Chung to come talk to us about our future. Depends who the request came from, and if they can be trusted! (there's a REASON that Bullshit and Bible Study have the same abbreviation, haha...)

The Chilean miner rescue is heartwarming, although I wonder what'll happen with the guy who has a wife and a mistress... also, Graham James (the hockey sex abuser) is a wanted man again! The California porn industry is closing down because an actor has tested positive for HIV - NOT SURPRISED, IF YOU DO THAT! Also, from Jasmine via someone's LJ: "This October has five Fridays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays, all in one month. That happens once in 823 years. These are considered money bags months."

You Are 30-Minute Meals

You love to cook, but you're also realistic. You need meals that are fast and easy. You don't mind taking a few shortcuts, as long as your dinner is still healthy and flavorful. Like Rachael Ray, you are down to earth and fun. You love to cook for your friends and family. You can whip out an amazing meal in around thirty minutes. You definitely have a few tricks up your sleeve.

What Cooking Show Are You?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

HA HA HA. Not so much!

Plea for inkless luxury heated swimming pools, Alex!

High-scoring words of the night:

PLEA (115 points) - against Martin S. [two 4W, hook off GOO to make AG] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
PYA (111 points) - against Paula C. [5W, 3L on P, hook off QUA to make AQUA]
INKLESS (4880 points) - against Deanna W. [two 4W, two 5W - one used twice, hook off TIP for a plural]


Noticed that Alex Lee deleted his Facebook account again. Oh well... maybe I'll do stuff tomorrow.

Trivia fact for Wednesday, Oct. 13: What luxury ocean liner was the first to have a heated swimming pool? The ill-fated Titanic.

Gretchen, Robin, Lauren, sex, Eric and me at a dollar store, stress, and Bette Midler

Had a weird dream where Robin and his girlfriend declared their intention to have sex on a table - Gretchen, Eric, and I quickly dissuaded them of that! Then Eric and I went to a dollar store to buy a bunch of things; I wanted to get him something for his birthday, so got him a colorful card and an inexpensive book. We saw these little girls wanting to join in a crafts activity in the middle of the store, so after buying our things, we helped them. Since we were right in front of the glass counter where the stickers and games were, the employees got us to help them with getting things out. Interesting dream, but I have no idea why I had it! Christon also sent us an email with certain comments in it - okay, then! At least HE can be trusted halfway!

You Are Not Stressed

You may have some stress in your life, but you're coping quite well. You are able to find balance, and compared to most people, you aren't stressed out. Consider helping out a friend or family member who is experiencing some stress. You are in a great position, and better off than almost everyone else in the world.

What Kind of Stressed Are You?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

Trivia fact for Tuesday, Oct. 12: What singer's backup group is a trio known as the Harlettes? Bette Midler's. Former members of the ever-changing group include Melissa Manchester, Katey Segal, and Linda Hart.

Trying Sean out at the dentist office / Taiwan, Thanksgiving and Double Tens

Got up at 3:40 PM, which really isn't a surprise. Finally got some expected mail, and received a phone call from the dentist office. Apparently, Uncle Andrew is going on another missions trip to China, and the receptionist Pauline wants me to try his son Sean. Hahaha, I've heard stories from Phil and Jon about how that is! He doesn't work on Fridays, so Tuesday the 26th at 2:30 it is!


Somewhat relevant Taiwan conversation:

[01:24:41] Corey: woobly doobly
[01:25:49] Flami: POO!!!
[01:25:33] Corey: on you
[01:26:30] Flami: no, man... and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
[01:29:19] Corey: ha, I should remember that! in two hours, I have a two-hour-long class about Thanksgiving in Canada
[01:30:41] Flami: so what have you got in the way of material?
[01:30:53] Corey: an article
[01:31:54] Flami: about turkey?
[01:33:27] Corey: it's about a foreign person in Taiwan from somewhere other than Canada wondering why his Canadian friend thinks it's Thanksgiving, and maybe he's confused with Double Tens (10/10, their Fourth of July)
[01:33:48] Corey: then they go to some restaurant here that will cook a Thanksgiving dinner for them
[01:34:44] Corey: I don't know anything about Thanksgiving to talk about (at least in Canada) for 15 minutes, much less 2 hours, but this is my Superior level class, and they'll talk for two hours without any article at all, so I think it should be fine
[01:35:53] Flami: that reminds me, I knew of at least one XXX party being thrown on Oct. 10 :P
[01:36:45] Corey: XXX party?
[01:39:05] Flami: 10-10-10
[01:40:37] Corey: well, you're a bit late for that
[01:42:11] Flami: as if I'd want to go to that sort of thing?!
[01:43:19] Corey: why not?? is it XXX-rated too?
[01:45:35] Flami: the description I heard of the party was "porn-themed" :P
[01:51:15] Corey: well, go next time
[01:52:36] Flami: next time, we'll both be dead! :P
[01:53:02] Corey: not if medical technology advances enough
[01:56:12] Flami: if we can access it
[01:59:55] Corey: I can access everything, for I am the Accessor, accessiest accessor of all
[02:02:01] Flami: you may be in my family of the heart - and I may be thankful for you in that way - but I still say you're nuts :P
[02:05:33] Corey: I was saying things like that in class earlier today to confuse the poor people that are trying to learn English.. multiple forms of the same word used in one sentence confuses the hell out of them
[02:06:24] Corey: the word was "projected," so I told them that in the movies, a projector projects a projected image, and then they can watch that projected image that was projected by the projector
[02:08:38] Flami: ha. I bet they were sufficiently bemused :P
[02:13:15] Corey: they said it was like a tongue twister, so then I told them some tongue twisters
[02:16:50] Flami: what did they think of those?
[02:21:39] Corey: they speak too slowly to get twisted :P
[02:23:14] Flami: kinda thought so
[02:34:11] Corey: that was my lowest level class, though
[02:34:27] Corey: the ones in an hour might be able to do it
[02:36:58] Flami: maybe...
[02:53:21] Corey: well, I'm eating my Canadian Thanksgiving chicken right now, even though I'm a little late on that, and it's not turkey :P
[02:56:06] Flami: haha, nice...
[02:57:23] Corey: if you go to the bathroom in Europe, you're Euro-peein'
[02:58:45] Flami: har har
[02:58:50] Corey: wow! I made you laugh so hysterically, you could only type out two laugh sounds!
[02:59:59] Flami: more like it's 3 AM here, and I can't think of anything else to type :P
[03:01:36] Corey: quick, tell me something about Thanksgiving in Canada
[03:02:45] Flami: I thought you had that covered :P
[03:03:31] Corey: the article really doesn't tell us anything about it other than some Thanksgiving food, which really doesn't look any different than Thanksgiving in the US
[03:04:07] Corey: we have enough material, but if there are any traditions or whatever other than eating and saying what you're thankful for, it could be useful
[03:05:06] Flami: well, it's six weeks earlier than US Thanksgiving...
[03:11:19] Corey: .............
[03:11:22] Corey: of course
[03:13:10] Corey: well, I need to go
[03:14:27] Flami: I should go to bed anyway...
[03:16:02] Corey: okay... goodnight then
[03:16:05] Corey: talk to you later
[03:17:02] Flami: hope you have fun - later

Natalie and argyle

Another day, another random friend request on Facebook... no, Natalie Centeno, I will NOT add you! I'm planning to do a rather extensive dungeon and space adventure today, so I won't be surprised if I'm up till late! (976 friends for THIS Russian serial adder?!)

You Are Intellectual

You are beyond smart - you're incredibly brainy. You love to think. Ideas fascinate you, and you've been known to be quite bookish. You are thoughtful and studious. You are always looking to take things to a deeper level. You are also quite creative, though most of your creativity takes place inside your own head.

The Argyle Test

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

Mozo, Danielle and spam, Christopher Columbus / Queen Isabella / King Ferdinand

High-scoring word of the night:

MOZO (158 points) - against Janice O. [5W, hook off THAT to make AM / TO]


Danielle sent spam email to a bunch of people, but knows it. The writing style was definitely NOT hers; no coherence or punctuation could be found!

Trivia fact for Monday, Oct. 11: How did Christopher Columbus describe the shape of the earth in a letter he wrote following his third voyage to the New World? He said it was in "the form of a pear." The letter was written to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

10:10 on 10/10/10, sister update, impending babies, Kiki and Lala tagging

Hey, it's 10:10 on 10/10/10 - how quirky! I love these coincidences! :D

Steph called me at 9 to see if I were going for lunch tomorrow, using the same incentive which Harmony had: I'm sure you have something for me, but that'll have to wait! Spent about 15 minutes discussing delusions, Karen I., Mattias being attracted to lights (he's about two - Thanksgiving!), Regina, Grace looking huge too (she's due next week?), Uncle Daniel, Megan, Calla and Stanford's wedding, Eric / Wesley / Jeremy, Grandma, Italy, the 430, Lisa, plans, support, and more. I guess she hasn't seen Jon and Harmony in a month, heh! I do look forward to seeing more of Lisa in the future, for sure. Discovered that Hien's deleted her FB account again, too.


Here's a cute tagging photo from Julie C.'s friend Christine Leung:

No dinner after all / Dream of original plays and Anne atop a bookshelf

Pastor John called me at 3 to say that he regretfully couldn't give me a ride to the dinner since he had to run an errand in Burnaby, and then would go directly to the church from there. He spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out ride options, like Uncle Joel / Ivan / my parents. I told him that Uncle Joel and Ivan's families were probably staying out in Vancouver all day, and that my parents weren't going. (I had no idea if they were, but it's all about sanity!) Then he said he was sorry (since he figured busing would be too hard - with Sunday bus schedules, most likely YES!), but at least he did let me know! After about an hour of trying to figure out whether I was COMPOS MENTIS enough to make it to this dinner (and looking for various people's numbers like Christon), I finally just let my need for sleep win out - naptime for me!

Went to sleep and had a dream which involved vast quantities of food, Richie / Eric / Jeremy / Kevin / others being in my group when it came to produce an original play with a bunch of shows within a week, yellow paint chipping off a building, outwitting Randal when it came to his spying on our play schedules, seeing little Anne on top of a bookshelf with a large blue book authored by someone named Graham, her sister Olivia and mother Sophia trying to convince her to come down with spoonfuls of rice pudding, stores involving puke, and Tracey just sitting down in the middle of the floor with toys. Triggers: seeing Tracey last week at Jason and Karen's wedding, Wesley thinking Calla and Stanford's lemony wedding cake reminded him of puke, hanging around with Eric / Jeremy / Kevin, seeing Richie this morning, having to see Randal, the colored bags in Toddler Sunday School, the paint chipping off the yellow poles on the Canada Line, and lots of food. I woke up at 8, which didn't really surprise me!

Baptisms, dinner rides, failing at opening a Lego box, FOKKERS, and more!

As it turned out, I got to the parking lot just in time for Eric to pull up. We discussed mints covering a certain smell, weddings, alcohol, my being "drunk," gum, Ivan, tonight's volunteer appreciation dinner, his own family Thanksgiving dinner, and more. When we got to the church, he told me out of nowhere to calm down because there was no harm in arriving early, especially since certain people would not be around! I AM CALM! Went into the sanctuary to find the Chinese people (Edmond, Chris, Danny, Benedict, Martin, tons of others whom I didn't know) still taking pictures; this meant that I could give Sabrina her baptism card, for which she thanked me! Said hi to Martin before he left, as well. I ignored Randal except for making the observation in my head that he was rather overdressed, even for a baptism service! (Later, I found out that he was the Scripture reader - WHY?!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get someone with a better voice to do it!) Margaret complained that Nina had been poking her a lot, especially yesterday... kids!

When Nathan came to sit down in our usual row, I figured his brother was here as well. I turned around to find him two rows back, so asked if he were going to tonight's dinner; his parents are going, but they'd probably stay out in Vancouver! However, he can give me a ride home... that was one half of the problem sorted! I figured that I might have to stay out as well, but then remembered that Pastor John would probably go. Talked to Nathan about a computer game called CELL DEFENSE where you shoot bacteria, and your grades for the levels decrease as the challenge increases... sounds about right! Jeremy sat down beside me; after discussing truth / auto-pilot / couches, we found out that Christon had had food poisoning last night! Christon asked Jeremy whether he'd had any sickness at 2 AM from lunch or dinner; after he said no, I also added my negative answer to provide a different opinion. Then Jeremy and I were figuring that it could be the fruit... I dunno! We later laughed about the Winter Conference speakers' names: Philemon, Pine, and Mega?! HAHAHAHA! True, the first one is Biblical, but you don't hear that much these days!

Julie, Yvonne, and the new Awana leader named Grace got baptized - so THAT'S her name! As I was telling Chrystal later, I was going to ask her what her name was - guess I don't have to have an awkward conversation NOW, haha! It was interesting to hear their stories, but I was cynical anyway. Jon was stretching out the announcements with jokes about how he should be the mascot for "Jumping Jungles" at Kids Night; Auntie Catherine bailed him out with a prayer meeting heads-up, haha! After service, I gave Julie and Yvonne their cards (they thanked me) while fighting the many people who were in my way. On my way to the fellowship hall, I asked Sam's brother Jeremy whether his family was going to the dinner; he'd have to be there early since his dad has to help cook, and they might stay out in Vancouver too! Eric asked whether I still remembered about the meeting - yup! Said hi to Harmony (who didn't get to sleep till 2 AM), and asked Jon whether he were going to tonight's dinner - he has to watch a movie first, so will be busing there.

While trying to figure out what to do, I talked to Andrea / Hannah (ants on a log sounded and looked gross) / Chrystal (Friday afternoon at London Drugs it is - she prefers the afternoon, which is fine) / Wesley / Jeremy. Might as well change shoes if they're hurting your feet, that's for sure! Tim asked if I wanted to buy a ticket for the AGM lunch in a couple of weeks, but I said I didn't know yet; I asked Eric whether he were buying one, and received a positive answer, so tracked down Tim to actually get one before they ran out. Thank goodness he had change, haha! I also tracked down Pastor John to see if his family was going to the dinner: since three of them are, I can get a ride with them. If they have to be there an hour early, I'll just hang out with whoever is also there, haha. Better than staying out all day without blogging!

When I saw Acer and his parents, I was VERY surprised - I figured they wouldn't be there today what with the wedding yesterday and all! Eventually, I went upstairs to toddler Sunday School (saying hi to Vania on the way up), where Rachel's grandma was holding a crying Ashley. Shira showed me a bunch of colored toy rings, I said hi to Ada (who told me about her friends Kyle and Brandon) / David / Evelyn while explaining my absence last week to Jessie (NOT IN THE MOOD AFTER THAT ANNOUNCEMENT!), Ramen said that a little black toy was his hat (tiny thing!), and Mattias wanted the slide. Luckily, he got distracted by other toys! Shira wanted me to open the Lego box - I failed miserably at it, while she just took the lid off! :(

While I was playing Lego with the kids who weren't drawing, Eric came upstairs to say that he was leaving now. I quickly made excuses to Auntie Ying before following him downstairs and out. We discussed Randal, baptisms, Christon's food poisoning, his own bout with it in Victoria (not getting out of bed for two days?!), not being clear, Bible Study, my "becoming a hermit / anti-social," needing sunglasses, keeping my sanity, helping to prepare dinner, Ivan, DARKWING DUCK, steamy windows, snacks, Jen and Sunday School, Kevin's and his discussion on support, emails / snacks / AGM lunch volunteer lists, Tim not being someone from MEET THE FOKKERS, and more. Good thing I have some downtime to check stuff before 4:30 or so!

Villas, APPARITIONS, NO HANGOVERS, Care Bears, bats

High-scoring word of the morning:

VILLAS (160 points) - against Honey L. [two 4W]


YEAH, BABY! THEY'RE PLAYING APPARITIONS RIGHT NOW ON THE RADIO SHUFFLE!

You Are Bedtime Bear

You are a laid-back and calm person. You find it easy to relax and let go. You love to sleep, and you've been known to curl up for a nap at almost any given time. You are a homebody, and you love to be comfortable. You don't cause a fuss about much. You are always encouraging your friends to take it easy and rest a bit more. You think people work themselves too much.

What Care Bear Are You?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

Trivia fact for Sunday, Oct. 10: What is the maximum diameter allowed for a regulation pro baseball bat? How about a regulation cricket bat? Baseball bat, 2.75 inches; cricket bat, 4.25 inches.

Port Hardy, unintentional Mom humor, editing, and free drinks!

I called Eric at 5:50 to see whether he'd left yet, then he said that his picking me up was contingent on whether I'd bought new shoes! Hahaha, I didn't have unfettered time to do so, now did I? That's what I prefer, so I'm not rushing to get to places later! His Powerpoint is IMPORTANT as it's needed tomorrow; my "need" for new shoes, not so much. He said we'd be transiting there, so I put my bus pass in my pocket before changing from my red bling sweater to my green bling sweater! We saw a lot of Canucks fans on the way to the banquet, and discussed stops / parking / slowing down being a risk whenever he goes out with me / umbrellas for the rain / HMV / THE APPRENTICE / finishing Powerpoint / Wendy's and bad memories / any spelling and grammar FAILS being the fault of copy-and-paste.

Once we got there, we saw that we were at the "Gingerbread Men" table - hmm! We were with Jon, Harmony, Christon, Jeremy, Kevin, and Dianne... and had come just in time for the seafood bisque! Discussed Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Dennis, literally just missing a flood, Nanaimo, Campbell River, rich vs. poor people, drinking and tolerance, dancing later, red and white wine (plus rose), bread, the waiters cutting Alan off, ushering, Randal figuring he didn't know Calla and Stanford well enough to be at the banquet (and it IS expensive!), and Italy souvenirs. Also talked about double-fisting, Julie S. at the banquet, the bouquet and garter tosses, Thanksgiving, free drink tickets, being LOUD when the toasts came to our table (we got the photographer's endorsement even as our parents were wondering who the loud people were!), the efficient nature of this wedding banquet (tea / coffee / dessert by 9:20 or so, no kissing games, and only a very few short speeches with a very short slideshow?!), Auntie Lillian's English speech which mentioned their possible children (NO PRESSURE, RIGHT?!), and more. Jon wondered whether Dad's speech at his and Harmony's speech had been edited... I have no idea, even if it sounded like a first-generation person wrote it! At least it was better than what Mom would have come up with... unintentionally funny lines, anyone? Auntie Lillian's speech definitely did NOT sound edited by Acer or anyone else!

When Stanford came up for his speech, our table was trying to figure out just how much he'd had to drink: our conclusion (reached very shortly due to rambling and forgetfulness) was A LOT! After a cheesy grade school-ish rhyming poem, they segued into the first dance / father-daughter dance, tosses, and more. Went to the bathroom with Dianne, where I encountered my dad on the way there, and my mom inside - luckily, she was busy talking to Fidela about moving and her new boyfriend. At one point, Daniel asked whether they were playing Chinese music, so I asked Johnny (who was manning the computer sound) - he said no. I had a rum and Coke, Jon had Scotch, and we all had fish / beef / raspberry cake / cheesecake / wedding cake with impossible-to-eat fondant, fruit, chocolate, and more. Later, I skirted the edges of the dance floor in order to spend some time with little Mattias, who seemed attracted to all the shiny lights. I lifted him up to see the light from the podium, since he was pointing to it! Cute kid!

Gave Rich the favors from last week's wedding; with everything that happened, I didn't actually carry out my stated plan of giving them to him on Sunday! He accepted this explanation (as well he should - it's the TRUTH!), and thanked me. Eventually, I joined in the dancing - talked to Chrystal, who totally agrees that we should hang out now that her parents are gone. We'll figure things out tomorrow! Mike T. nearly dodged little Megan a few times, but her dad Kenny was watchful! I asked Megan if she was having fun, and she said yes. Talked to Cindy, Danielle, and Andrea about purple ties, clothing, and more. Hugged Calla goodbye; they're honeymooning in Hawaii! It was a fun time... and I did tell Citrus that Eric and I had seen the Citruso truck on the way home this afternoon. I'm aware it's usually around somewhere, but it's still cool when I do see the truck! On the way home (we left at about 10:20?), Eric and I discussed flies (as in the insect :P) / how drunk I was / whether Raymond impacted my enjoyment of the evening (not really) / my being really drunk tomorrow morning before church / washroom encounters / being tired from dancing and standing around / the Canucks fans not looking happy (I read that we'd lost 2-1 to L.A. in a shootout!) / his car radio not really working well / his deliberately annoying me / my bus pass / HandyDart / escorts for the bus passes. That reminded me about the bus pass application: I just checked online, and I did indeed mail it some weeks back - PHEW!. Since things ended so early, I can probably play some games before bedtime!