Fit-Over sleeves and unexpected Vivacity dinner!

When Henry picked me up this afternoon, I had to laugh because it seemed as if he were listening to The Beat. He was really listening to Christian urban music, hahaha! We talked briefly about winter plans - he has Winter Con, which a lot of people are attending since it's here in Vancouver! I have no real winter plans, but we'll see. When we got to church, I was distracted by Kayden and Justin and their toy cars. Later, I gave Chrystal her Fit-Over sleeve / New Jersey Milk bar / Christmas card. She thanked me for those items, and asked if I wanted some of the chocolate bar - nope, I had some at home! It was obvious that I went to London Drugs this week, since the things were in a small bag from that store! She liked my new Santa hat with the puff on the back - it IS fluffier! Since you can't really wash those, it's still okay to buy a new one every few years, too! We discovered that we both preferred chocolate over candy, although I wouldn't decline some candy canes at this time of year! Daniel said hi, so of course I greeted him back... also said hi to Golden / Gabriel / Rosenda / Harrison.

After Awana, I called Ian and a still-coughing Sean over, and explained the concept of Advent calendars (CHOCOLATE EVERY DAY TILL CHRISTMAS OR MORE!) as I gave them some. Ian thanked me, while Sean was definitely into finding the numbers on his, haha! When I said that they could have four chocolates today (people buy them for the chocolate - I'm not gonna LIE to the kids! :P), they were happy about THAT! Mike was asking everyone what they'd get with a lump sum of money at the mall while Boxing Day shopping - if the guys would get clothes, they were women. Nice, nice. While we were on our way home, John and Ada surprised me by inviting me to a dinner of Chinese food if I didn't have any pre-existing dinner plans. Of course, I said yes (free food with good people?) and thanked them. Ian joked that his brother liked Justin Bieber ("I only know the one song, BABY!"), and that his girl classmates looked at his books all the time at the school library. (and looked him up on Youtube at school - I am NOT SURPRISED to hear this about kids in Gr. 3!) I wondered if they liked the TWILIGHT books, too - this grew out of a discussion of the iCafé and Sean's question about whether midnight was the same as twilight. (then he wanted to know whether people got hit by cars if they went out at midnight!) Later, Ian called his brother "tall, fat, skinny, and short" - I asked how he could be all of those at the same time! He said that he made it up (I KNOW THAT!), and wanted to put "Sean" and "Ian" together in "alphabet mode"... okay, then!

We ended up going to Vivacity Restaurant, one plaza parking lot over from the place we went for shaved ice after Harmony's bridal shower. Since I knew how to pronounce the word "vivacity," Ian thought I'd been there before... nope, haha! We had strong tea, yin-yang rice (white and red sauces!), shrimp, tofu, chicken, veggies, seafood soup, red bean soup, Chinese pastries, mushrooms, carrots, and more. They talked about Hong Kong, table manners, family, and more - it was a good dinner, for sure! Of course I thanked them when they dropped me off - I didn't want to slip on the ice (we saw a HUGE iced-over section of concrete on our way to dinner), so requested that they move up just a bit. Certainly was cold outside - glad to be inside, haha!

STUPID POT PIES WHICH CAN'T BE MICROWAVED! / Cassette Tapes

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

ZIT (375 points) - against Michelle M. [two 5W]
ZITI (128 points) - against Mathilde B. [4W, 2W]
CITROUS (275 points) - against Alice P. [two 5W]


DAMMIT! You know those chicken / turkey / beef pot pies which I bought from Superstore last week? I *just* found out they're not supposed to be microwaved! Who has the TIME to put them in a conventional oven for half an hour?! Being me, I decided to microwave one anyway - not a good idea, as it came out really hard. WASTE OF MONEY! It also took two restarts for the computer to work at a reasonable speed... of course, it would be SLOW when I don't have unfettered time! FML!

You Are Down to Earth

You prefer music that is tried and true. You often gravitate towards the hits of years past. You are practical and reasonable. You know what you like, and you're not hard to please. You are unpretentious and authentic. You could never pretend to be anyone else, because you're so darn happy with yourself. You are a complete realist. You don't have an overly optimistic view of the world, but you're not a pessimist either.

The Cassette Tape Test

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

Vast Jenny lying dormant / LJ downtime / YAY FOR STAYING HOME! / Stainless steel

High-scoring words of the night:

JENNY (360 points) - against Millie F. [5W, 4W]
VAST (875 points) - against Chelsea M. [5W] {crazy homemade board}
DORMANT (446 points) - against Felicia J. [two 5W, hook off ACE to make ACED]
ZOOS (212 points) - against Alice P. [4W used twice, 3W, hook off OWN for a plural]


The Canucks won 3-0 against the Blackhawks tonight! LJ was definitely doing maintenance from 7 to 8:30, as the dungeons and space adventures wouldn't work properly! Thank goodness I did all those entries before this! Eric called at 6:35 to say that he was feeling tired, so he wouldn't head out tonight - SWEET! I GOT TO STAY HOME! :D


Trivia fact for Friday, Dec. 3: When it comes to stainless steel, what do the numerals 18/8 represent? 18 percent chromium, 8 percent nickel.

Hexes, die! / Crowning visas / Music Freak!

Interesting racks of the afternoon: HEXESDIE, against Nancy M. [read this as "hexes die"]

Bingo of the afternoon:

AGUACATES (65 points) - against Josephine S.


High-scoring words of the afternoon:

RECROWN (168 points) - against Mary H. [3W, 4W]
VISAS (152 points) - against Teresa J. [two 4W, hook off YEA for a plural]
WHIMSY (105 points) - against Chantelle S. [5W]


LJ apparently has another outage at 6 (why not 90 minutes later?!), so I should post this entry NOW. Then I should shower and eat before Eric gets here, haha.

Are you a music freak? by andthentheleg
Name
Musical Freakage	74%

Adding 100 backdated entries to my journal... / Birth Season / Highest mountain

I stayed up till 5 AM backdating 100 "dungeon / space adventure" entries into my journal for people who are no longer my friends. At least, I thought they were backdated until Candace said something on FB, and Angel also said something on the last LJ entry for Jake! Kenny thought I had too much time on my hands; maybe, but I wanted to get it done before the crazy weekend started! Of course, this also meant I heard way more of the mice than I cared to... ugh!

You Are Thoughtful

You are a selective and sometimes critical person. You examine everything carefully. You are exacting. You like to be able to have as much control over your environment as possible. You like to have meaningful social interactions. You prefer relationships that are fulfilling and not casual. You are sensitive and observant. You have a heightened awareness of everything going on around you.

What Does Your Birth Season Say About You?

Blogthings: We're Not Shrinks, But We Play Them On the Internet

Trivia fact for Friday, Dec. 3: What is the highest known mountain in our solar system? Mount Olympus, the Martian volcano that's also known by the Latin name Olympus Mons. It is more than 16 miles high, and has a diameter of 374 miles.

Gingeri, vomiting, storage boxes, aloe drinks and soap, ENGLAND STICKERS

I DID HAVE TO RIDE WITH MY PARENTS TO GINGERI RESTAURANT! Bleh... at least the ride over wasn't TOO annoying, except for Mom suggesting I leave my bags in the car while we ate lunch. Nope, I was bringing them in WITH me, thanks very much! She did ask me whether they were presents, so I just half-lied and said NO. (one of them was, the others were not) Jon was there before we were, and had just secured a table. When Steph came in, I gave her the blackest look EVER before giving her the brandy beans and Christmas card! She said she wasn't setting me up, but wanted to save me from waiting at the bank for Grandma, who has no real memory now. Well, at least I got to put my stuff on the floor by Jon's reusable bag!

We talked about Grandma's memory / appetite issues, her vomiting, her telling Great-Aunt that she was just waiting to die (er...), Mom telling her to "leave them a legacy while you're still alive," our not expecting much money-wise, our having to be very patient with her, Costco, Bathroom Readers / Ripley's, salad, spring rolls, Pastor John, the Leslie Nielsen movie marathon, NAKED GUN / AIRPLANE! (Mom called it "Airport" - close enough?), the parents' trip to Nanaimo (it's not even over a weekend!), yesterday's Groupon being for Gudrun ($25 for $55 is good value unless you're Dad!), Steph and Lisa's horrible time with the onions at their place, the food at Gingeri being good, Jon's concerts (I'd rather go to Bible Study!), laughing at each other's ID cards, and more. Jon gave me and Steph the Advent devotional readers that other people had to buy, and Mom gave me $15. I guess it was an okay lunch... at the end, they even gave us a plastic bag full of Chinese mushrooms! It was so random that Steph HAD to take a picture of them! (I also got her to help with putting my mailbox key on my keychain) Mom says I could come over when they're gone, but not to invite my friends there - I'm not stupid, but I am an adult! Sheesh, lady! She said she had clothing for me, but she forgot to bring it: I SAY, CONSIDER THE SOURCE! She also wondered who'd given me my purple toque: Sheena and Chalaine!

Luckily, I had something to do after lunch (Jon had to teach), so I wasn't up for helping the parents move furniture back into its proper place after renovations. Steph dropped me off at London Drugs; yes, I should make sure the storage boxes have handles next time! (and I did when I went back after returning the box) Since I figured that underwear shopping at Sears would take FOREVER (and it did!), I returned the storage box first so I wouldn't have to lug that around. Then I went to Sears - after a long time, I finally found black underwear in good enough styles and price ranges! After that, I had a blueberry bubble tea at Death by Chocolate. Went back to London Drugs (after noting that the construction at Richmond Centre now had an actual floor instead of concrete), and got an aloe drink / three 3-packs of store brand tape (dwindling home supply) / an 8-pack of Dial aloe bar soap (ditto) / a new on-sale storage box which was the same style as the one I returned! Checked my mailbox when I got home to find a postcard of a Finnish bridge [Jätkänkynttilä] from Didu (didu), and a rather plain-looking long envelope containing a card / Christmas-themed stickers / England soccer stickers (my sister would LOVE these!) / Arms Trade treaty stickers from Paul. (sherbetsaucers) Very COOL!

Deb sent an email to say that she and Dylan wanted to thank me for my thoughtful words (always a pleasure!) and the Coffee Crisp bars (they enjoy them), and that she'd see me tomorrow. I'm afraid I was SUCH a girl while telling her about the stickers... oh well. I KNEW THERE WAS SOMETHING I FORGOT AT THE STORE! (treats for tomorrow's Bible Study) *sigh* Guess I'm going back there soon-ish... Dylan also sent us (me / Eric M. / Christon / Wesley / Vivian / Jen / Kevin) an email about Monday's Committee meeting. He wonders if there's a central meeting place since Wes lives out in PoCo... yeah, good luck with that. :P Actually, I'm not going out anywhere, given the sad state of my bank account!


Mom, on preparing the perfect holiday turkey: "Oh, mine is very good. I put gloaves and STAR ANUS with the turkey!" Cue a round of laughter from my siblings and me! (she meant "cloves and star anise")

Xaviera, Tamara, Shauna, Sonia, miscarriages, and soap bubbles

I had a weird dream which involved two white middle-aged sisters named Xaviera and Tamara, my friend Shauna and her daughter Sonia (whom I've never met), a miscarriage, and Billie's parents yelling at us. The dream also featured multiple Polaroid pictures of Shauna's mom attempting to complete NaNoWriMo in six days (she was a night person, but it was getting to her!), surreptitiously playing a Facebook / email game on my brother's laptop, and multiple missed calls refusing to be erased from the Caller ID display of my phone. I don't even want to know... o_O

Steph called, waking me up. She said she'd go to multiple banks and then pick me up to go to the restaurant. Okay, sounds good... even if I did initially think I'd have to ride with the parents since she was at their place! Ugh.

You Are a Perfectionist

You are a well-rounded person who can see both small details and the whole picture. You are very balanced. You act quickly, but not impulsively. You think through your actions, even if only briefly. You are extremely down to earth. You aren't much of a dreamer - you're a doer. You are content and harmonious. You've made your peace with the world.

The Soap Bubble Test

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Random Socially Awkward Penguin Meme

Random Socially Awkward Penguin Meme... bold what you can relate to.

Save seat for friend. Friend doesn't sit there.
Say to teacher, "Oh, I get it now." Still don't get it.
Ask someone at store for help. They don't work there.
Drink in class. Spill.
Call yourself fat. No one argues.
Silent moment in class. Stomach growls louder than ever.
Tell a joke. No one laughs but you.
Check self out in car mirror. Someone is in it.
Find a seat in a dark theater. Sit on someone.
Want to go to a concert. Realize you have no friends to go with.
In a super awkward situation. Run out of Twix.
Friend is getting yelled at by parents. Pretend not to notice.
Wear new jeans to school. Size sticker still attached.
Take off sweatshirt. Shirt comes off, too.
Walk into wrong class. Pretend you were looking for someone.
Chair you're sitting on squeaks. Everyone thinks you farted.
Try to speak up in a conversation. Nobody listens.
Drop food between breasts. Try to get it; looks like fondling self.
Wish on a shooting star. It's an airplane.
Take a drink out of water bottle. Cap is still on.
Trip. Look around to see if anyone saw.
Come up with witty Facebook status. 0 Comments.
Single. Too awkward to mingle.
Sign says 'Push.' Pull.
Say "Merry Christmas" to someone. They're Jewish.
Start to like a guy. He has a crush on your friend.
*Smile*. There's food in your teeth.
Friends drag you along to a party. Spend night eating chips alone on stranger's couch.
Waiting for class to start. Talk to no one.
"Isn't he cute?". No.
Scratch inner thigh. Looks like you were touching yourself.
Free time in class. Sit alone and read.
Go anywhere by yourself. Always have phone out pretending to text.

After doing this survey, I think I'm more socially awkward than I care to admit. No wonder I'm still single!

100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years

Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years... bold the ones you like.

100. Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights
99. The Bride from Kill Bill
98. Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels
97. Violet Weston from August: Osage County
96. Bernie Mac from The Bernie Mac Show
95. Wilhelmina from Ugly Betty
94. Truman from The Truman Show
93. Game Boys: Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series; Kratos from the God of War series; and Niko Bellic from Grand Theft Auto IV
92. Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
91. Hancock from Hancock
90. Marge Gunderson from Fargo
89. Wikus van de Merwe from District 9
88. Napoleon Dynamite from Napoleon Dynamite
87. Tony Stark from the Iron Man series
86. Karen Walker and Jack McFarland from Will & Grace
85. Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood
84. Dr. Gregory House from House, M.D.
83. Jen Yu from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
82. Tracy Flick from Election
81. Amanda Woodward from Melrose Place
80. Gorillaz, the animated rock band
79. Elphaba from Wicked
78. Patty Hewes from Damages
77. Mimi Marquez from Rent
76. Tyler Durden from Fight Club
75. David Brent from The Office (original version)
74. Don Draper from Mad Men
73. Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct
72. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace from Battlestar Galactica
71. Det. Alonzo Harris from Training Day
70. Mary Katherine Gallagher from Saturday Night Live
69. Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada
68. Effie White from Dreamgirls
67. Borat from Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
66. Allie and Noah from The Notebook
65. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls
64. Maximus from Gladiator
63. John Locke from Lost
62. Jimmy Corrigan from Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
61. Vic Mackey from The Shield
60. Mary Jones from Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
59. Master Chief from the Halo series
58. Thelma and Louise from Thelma & Louise
57. Clayton Bigsby from Chappelle's Show
56. Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother
55. Tracy Jordan from 30 Rock
54. Juno from Juno
53. Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga
52. Annie Wilkes from Misery
51. Omar Little from The Wire
50. Pearl the Landlord from FunnyorDie.com
49. Vivian Ward from Pretty Woman
48. Red from The Shawshank Redemption
47. Corky St. Clair from Waiting for Guffman
46. Jerry Maguire from Jerry Maguire
45. Stewie Griffin from Family Guy
44. Jack Bauer from 24
43. Cal Stephanides from Middlesex
42. Sydney Bristow from Alias
41. Harold and Kumar from the Harold & Kumar series
40. Ron Burgundy from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
39. Gob Bluth from Arrested Development
38. Elmo from Sesame Street
37. Keyser Söze from The Usual Suspects
36. Gollum from The Lord of the Rings
35. Dexter Morgan from Dexter
34. Cher from Clueless
33. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2: Judgment Day
32. Beavis and Butt-Head from Beavis and Butt-Head
31. Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump
30. "Stephen Colbert" from The Colbert Report
29. Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction
28. Madea from several Tyler Perry films and plays
27. Frasier from Frasier
26. Kavalier and Clay from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
25. Woody from the Toy Story series
24. Felicity Porter from Felicity
23. Austin Powers from the Austin Powers series
22. Eric Cartman from South Park
21. Roseanne Conner from Roseanne
20. Ally McBeal from Ally McBeal
19. Morpheus from The Matrix series
18. Sue Sylvester from Glee
17. Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider franchise
16. Bridget Jones from the Bridget Jones series
15. Shrek from the Shrek series
14. Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski from The Big Lebowski
13. Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean series
12. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files
11. Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld
10. SpongeBob SquarePants from SpongeBob SquarePants
9. Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City
8. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs and its sequels
7. Edward Scissorhands from Edward Scissorhands
6. Rachel Green from Friends
5. The Joker from The Dark Knight
4. Tony Soprano from The Sopranos
3. Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series
1. Homer Simpson from The Simpsons

Footing the sinners' flyover to shore / 7-6 wins over Calgary! / No Chinese Eric?

Bingo of the evening:

SHORINGS (102 points) - against Sean R.


High-scoring words of the evening:

FOOTING (175 points) - against Cathy T. [two 3W, hook off QUASI to make QI / UN / AN]
SINNERS (125 points) - against Tina K. [two 3W, hook off ALE to make SALE]
SHORINGS (102 points) - against Sean R. [two 2W]
FLYOVER (285 points) - against Alice P. [5W, 3W]


The Canucks won 7-2 over the Flames tonight, and Mason Raymond had his second career hat trick! Called the number that Eric had given me earlier, only to have his mom answer! I knew he was at dinner (with Fay), but that was all I said - I certainly wasn't going to say that we had tentative hangout plans for later, if they ended up materializing! She said that he'd wait for the Christmas promotions to get a cell phone; hahaha, makes sense! He's usually good about calling when he can't make it to stuff, but this is a special set of circumstances if he doesn't want his mom to know, haha!

Trivia fact for Thursday, Dec. 2: Why is the tallest of the nine candles on a Hanukkah menorah known as the shamash, which means "servant" in Hebrew? Because its flame is lit first and used to light the other eight candles - one a day during the eight-day Festival of Lights.

Julie709 and sticker goodness! / RODENTS!

Checked my mail to find a Christmas card (with two robins in winter), White House bookmark, and Popsicle / Easter bunny / Easter eggs / teacher encouragement / "Starve a Mosquito - Donate Blood" stickers from Julie! YAY for julie709!

You Are a Mouse

You are a quiet and observant creature. You may not have much to say, but you always know what's going on. You are good at getting things done without attracting attention. You are sneaky, but only in a good way. You are well organized. You develop a system for everything you do. You notice and analyze everything. You can be a bit fearful, but it's only because you are aware of every detail of your surroundings.

What Rodent Are You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Fiery godparents / Almost getting killed THREE times in five minutes! / Shuffle / Struggles

Bingo of the night:

GODPARENT (65 points) - against Alice P.

High-scoring word of the night:

FIERY (208 points) - against Alice P. [two 4W]


I was almost killed three times just now while walking to the corner hotel and back! Stupid impatient drivers!


Straightforward Shuffle Meme

First rule - be honest! Don't keep shuffling forward for "cooler" songs. This is a "getting to know you" exercise. Once you've been tagged... (1) Turn on your MP3 player or music player on your computer. (2) Go to SHUFFLE mode. (3) Write down the first 15 songs that come up - title and artist. NO editing / cheating, please.

I'm using Corey's DVD for this, as usual. Thank goodness I found the thing!

1. Cradle of Filth, Lord Abortion
2. Switchblade Symphony, Rampid
3. GWAR, GWAR Theme
4. Ministry, Nursing Home
5. GWAR, The Wheel
6. GWAR, Tune From Da Moon
7. Ministry, Thieves
8. Tool, H.
9. GWAR, Cool Place To Park
10. Metallica, Metal Militia
11. GWAR, Fistful of Teeth
12. Tapeworm, Metal
13. Operation Ivy, Room Without A Window
14. Type O Negative, My Girlfriend's Girlfriend
15. GWAR, Slaughterama


Trivia fact for Wednesday, Dec. 1: What TV sitcom was inspired by the lives of young actress-to-be Meredith Baxter and her struggling divorced mother, actress Whitney Blake? One Day at a Time, which featured Bonnie Franklin as the single mother of two teenage daughters. The program, aired from 1975 to 1984, was cocreated by Baxter's mom and stepfather, Allan Manings.

November 2010 Bubble Tea Tally / Icons and Memegen

MONTHLY BUBBLE TEA TALLY, NOVEMBER 2010 (2)

almond @ Beefy Beef (Sunday, Nov. 7)
jackfruit @ Pho Hoa (Wednesday, Nov. 17) [courtesy of Eric H.]

Icons! Random, Evil, Mad, Music, Happy && LOVE!! (many icons to get!) by bloodstaintknives
Your Name
Fave Color
Birthday
Your Random Icon
Your Evil Icon
Your Mad Icon
Your Music Icon
Your Happy Icon
Your Love Icon

Icons!Icons!Icons!Happy!Sad!Food!Sex! by GYoungblood
Name
Age
Sex	FemaleMaleNeed Sum
Happy Icon
Sex Icon
Food Icon
Lonely Icon
Angry Icon
Fustrated Icon
Tired Icon
Flirtatious Icon

Pomegranate, Canucks keychains, Alexis, Alessandra, Sunlight dish soap squirting, and more!

Earlier, I found some pomegranate-cranberry juice I'd forgotten about - nice! On another note, I have HAD it with this Sunlight dish soap just squirting out at random, and ruining my clothes and other surfaces! Time to get some other brand... so I went out to London Drugs and got most of the stamps I needed, plus another huge storage box (burgundy) / two New Jersey Milk bars (I had to give one each to Chrystal and Randal before...) / a Fit-Over sleeve for Chrystal if she still has the sunglasses / holiday Tic-Tacs (fresh mint and cinnamon for a red-and-white theme!) / 100 mini candy canes (mostly for the kids) / three store brand dish soap bottles (two lemon and one orange anti-bacterial) / three boxes of brandy beans. (one for Steph and Lisa, and the others are for me) I asked if they had any more Advent calendars, but they only had Hello Kitty ones left - I don't think Ian and Sean L. would like THAT! Went to Shoppers Drug Mart and got one US stamp, three hockey team-themed Advent calendars instead (one for Eric H. since I probably see him tomorrow!), plus lots of Christmas-themed stickers and seals for my postcards! Not sure if the Advent calendars are the best thing to pack for a trip to Hong Kong, but that's why I'll let the boys' parents worry about that instead of me! Got home and mailed Christmas cards / birthday cards / Vancouver postcards / Canucks keychains to Alexis (istalksnape), Janina (mrshannibal), Kaitlin (deformed_foetus), John (snooooopy), Corey (dwcorey), Shelley (always_bryn), Janet and Mark (ghost_light / lonelydumptruck), Marie (Reebee), Amanda (regularamanda), Chrissy (argh4itchytasty), Mandy (a_phoenixdragon), Julie S. (julie709), Farrah (lilaznffairy421), Billie (sianparis), Karine (karineinthepool), April (abw92), George and Candy (Heavyfoot / Phoenix), Kelli (neonrose5), Alessandra (dru_it), Savina (bodha), Kitty (dutch_kitty), and Paul (sherbetsaucers) since the mailbox is nearby.

Rainy gel and cozy icons / WHY IS ALEX BACK?!!!!

Interesting racks of the afternoon: RAINYGEL, against Linda M. [read this as "rainy gel"]


High-scoring words of the afternoon:

COZY (110 points) - against Anjali R. [5W]
TOTALED (160 points) - against Teresa J. [4W, two 2W]
JAPES (170 points) - against Josee F. [5W, 2W]


SHIT - ALEX H. IS BACK! I thought he'd be gone for good, but NO! He just showed up in my Host request...

Icons Supreme by Sanitys_Insane
Name
Favorite Color
Your Angry Icon Is...
Your Crazy Icon Is...
Your Happy Icon Is...
Your Sad Icon Is...
Your Love Icon Is...
Your Random Icon Is...

Costco, Bathroom Readers, melodrama, losing appetite, and death

Steph called from Costco a few minutes ago, where she and Lisa have just bought a membership. Yes, I do indeed have the HEAVY-DUTY BATHROOM READER, which is only $12.99 there! Then she wanted to know whether I wanted Guinness or Ripley's... I went with what she was thinking, and chose Ripley's. (COLORFUL PICTURES, OH MY!) Maybe I should go Costco shopping with them next time (as there's nothing I need from there right now - so much choice!), and tell them when another Bathroom Reader comes out! I asked her about dropping me off at the mall after lunch on Thursday, and she said it's fine... YAY, I CAN MAIL / BUY STUFF! Grandma will be calling the shots for this meal, haha! Not going out and walking today since it's apparently a monsoon out there...

Then she said that Mom thinks Grandma is going to die soon: she's been saying that for at least SIX YEARS now, if not more! Steph says that IS true, but now Grandma has lost her appetite: if you know my grandma, you'd know that's not normal! Makes me think of Phil and Melia's grandma, who also lost her appetite just before she died... it certainly is a sign of some sort! Then again, Mom apparently thinks that Grandma is going to die in two days since some lady at the hospital where she works also lost her appetite and died shortly afterwards! I told Steph that Mom was being melodramatic!

Quan / Bouncy, Bold, Behaved, or Balanced / Feng Shui Color

Found out that Quan has deleted her Facebook; understandable! I was going to tell her that DOUBLE CHOCOLATE = AWESOME! ♥ [I combined Kinder Bueno with chocolate milk - yay, hazelnut!]

This month, I get more than two days to pay my phone bill by the time it arrives in the mail - SWEET! Savina (bodha) and Alessandra (dru_it) want to send me cards... I'm on it! Got emails from Nathan, Randal, and Martin about yesterday's gig... I'm sure Nate would have wanted to appear! As for Martin thanking Randal for the colorful analysis and for thinking outside the box... BLEH, I SAY! :P

You Are Behaved

You are restrained and reserved. You try to never give in to your baser instincts. You are diplomatic and tactful. You'd rather smooth things over than be brutally honest. You are cultured and well-versed in etiquette and customs. You always behave appropriately. You are loyal and trustworthy. You take responsibility seriously, and you can be a bit of a workaholic.

Are You Bouncy, Bold, Behaved, or Balanced?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

Your Color is Blue

You are a calm and content person. You find that the key to life is easy... just be yourself! You believe in the importance of letting go. You release your anxieties, and welcome renewal. You are a generous person, and you look for the best of people. You promote peace and trust. You value intellect and experience. Unlike most people, you truly respect your elders.

What's Your Feng Shui Color?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Firm sugar tarts in cabs and thermonuclear devices! / Pig for president!

High-scoring words of the night:

FIRM (132 points) - against Miriam C. [4W, 2W used twice, 2L on M, hook off AS to make FAS]
DESUGAR (148 points) - against Laurie F. [two 2W - one used twice, hook off CAT for a plural]
CABERS (108 points) - against Tania F. [two 3W]
TARTILY (117 points) - against Cathy T. [two 3W]
THERMAE (320 points) - against Deanna W. [two 4W]


Trivia fact for Tuesday, Nov. 30: What did Yippie leaders Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin "nominate" for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968? A hog named Pigasus. The Yippie nickname was an acronym of their radical antiwar political organization, the Youth International Party.

GWAR at the Commodore! / Flushing SPIDERS down the toilet! / ANOTHER FAMILY MEAL? / Ten Commandments

GWAR IS IN VANCOUVER AT THE COMMODORE TONIGHT! :D [Corey would love it!]

I saw a SPIDER in the shower stall at 1 AM, so I hoped it would be gone the next time I went in there! When I got up at 3 PM (sleep deprivation AND the MDSE conspiring together), it was still there! I attempted to drown it with a lot of water; when it couldn't stay away from the water anymore, it just dropped in. After watching it for a bit, I got a mug from the kitchen to scoop the insect up with water. I was almost afraid to look in the mug afterwards because I thought the spider might jump out of the cup! Since it didn't, I immediately poured the contents of the mug into the toilet and flushed it down. Yes, of course I immediately washed the mug thoroughly even though the spider was only in there for ten seconds!

Got a Facebook chat message from Lisa B. when I was sleeping, so I decided to ignore that since she was offline anyway. Thanks to Trillian Astra, I know when she signs on anyway... then again, she says her account's been hacked once more! Also got a phone call from Steph at work, who informed me that Grandma has already forgotten that we took Jon out for dinner on his birthday! Unfortunately, this means another family lunch on Thursday... YUCK! At least this one is in Richmond at a Chinese restaurant, so Steph can pick me up! (less awkward rides there and back?) Good thing Mom and Dad are going to Nanaimo, really! Speaking of family, apparently Mom saw my humorous reply to Jon's band gig email, and thought it was a ride request! NO WAY! I wouldn't want a ride from her, anyhow! I'm sitting this one out!

You Are "Remember the Sabbath Day"

You may or may not be a religious person, but you believe that everyone deserves a day of rest. You think balance is the key to life. It's just as bad to overwork as it is to underwork. You think a day of contemplation (and prayer, if applicable) makes everyone better off. If we slowed down more, we'd be happier people. You try to slow down at least one day a week.

Which of the Ten Commandments Are You?

Blogthings: We're Not Shrinks, But We Play Them On the Internet

Leslie Nielsen's death / Encountering JERKER on Facebook / Dust storms

Jon emailed the family because he was shocked to hear of Leslie Nielsen's death today, and thinks we should watch some of his movies to reminisce. We'll see...

I've also finally encountered the name Jerker on Facebook, thanks to a Swedish status of Henrik's! (his friend Jerker Forssten commented on it) Of course, I had to tell Dawn about it, since I remember the time she asked me to look it up!


Trivia fact for Monday, Nov. 29: What 1935 tragedy is referred to as Black Sunday? The massive dust storm that blew soil all the way from the southern Great Plains states (the Dust Bowl) to the East Coast.

Pastor John's last Sunday with us... I do my best to welcome strangers, but NOT CREEPS!

When Eric picked me up this morning, he chose an interesting spot to park, which wasn't really on the concrete! Of course I know he wants to be ready to go, but he RARELY chooses that spot! I delayed my leaving by a bit since I wanted to check my bank account: I have more money than I thought, so I'll mail my cards this week for sure! (and get Advent Calendars - if they're around still - for Ian and Sean... not sure why I didn't ask last night at London Drugs!) We talked about various things, such as how I planned to discharge my debt to Randal. Since I didn't think of grabbing an extra chocolate bar (or Advent calendars for Ian and Sean), I just grabbed a New Jersey Milk chocolate bar, and thought of saying something like "The cost of this bar is less than it was worth to have you save me from an embarrassing faceplant the other night!" However, after I'd used Eric to rehearse this bit of stuff which was in my head, I realized it didn't sound good. Of course, Eric had NO idea what I was talking about (as per the usual?), and figured that my saying thanks immediately AFTER the step incident would be good enough. But I wanted to include a token of appreciation without being TOO melodramatic about things, so a chocolate bar would be simple enough!

By the time we got to church, we got practically the closest parking spot EVER across the street, and I'd simplified things to "Thanks for saving me from an embarrassing faceplant," which is what it ended up being. No idea what Randal thought about THAT, but I don't care. As I said later to Eric, now my debt is discharged, we can go back to politely ignoring each other three weeks out of four! (we had maybe five minutes' worth of actual conversation this weekend, which is rare) Saw a bunch of CSC people in the sanctuary (Alysia, Edmond, Victor, Sabrina, Michael, Juliana, Daniel, Jason, and others) before they cleared out, talking about McGriddles. When I saw Grace and her baby stroller, I went over to say hi - baby Micah was sleeping after being active all night! Said hi to little Mattias, who was just staring at my red bling sweater (or interested in the pew crosses, as I told Joyce - Dylan asked her to play the Doxology!); I met his baby brother Marcus for the first time, too! Their mom Karen says that Mattias loves his baby brother, and tries to help when she burps him by patting him on the back; cute! Saw Citrus, so gave him a Christmas card while Grace gave him a photo from their small group, then gave Deb some Coffee Crisp (her favorite!) and birthday / Christmas cards. Then I completed my discharging of debt to Randal before saying hi to Nathan W. and talking to him about playing in the snow. Ian's dad had built a snowbank from shovelled snow for the boys (including Sean and a friend) to play in! Nathan likes the Christmas ornaments and decorations, heh.

Pastor John wrapped up his LAST SUNDAY EVER with us by dedicating a few babies / little kids to the Lord (I know all their middle names now!) - baby Micah and baby Joanna weren't impressed, as they started crying and making noises! As a matter of principle, I totally REFUSED to sing any Advent or Christmas songs! (through the side of my mouth, I told Nathan: "I told you that the Christmas carols were coming...") He had a sermon about welcoming strangers. Some of it might be applicable to me, but I refuse to believe that Mr. Creep (for one) actually has a positive gift for us! Sure, there are stereotypes about strangers / the Downtown Eastside, but sometimes you need to be safe while still being relatively open. I told Jeremy about the random bolded / italicized letters in this week's bulletin: I'd also noticed it last week, but he wasn't around to talk to about this! When Pastor Edward wanted Pastor Phil to come up to formally say farewell to Pastor John, Jeremy and I both thought that Phil would bring baby Micah to the front as well, hahaha! We both saw Phil hand the baby to Grace very carefully beforehand, though.

After service, I went into the fellowship hall to find huge muffins (quartered) on offer as snacks... William asked what carrot muffins were like, as he'd never had one. I haven't, either, but I imagine they're much like carrot cake... he hasn't had carrot cake before! (I've had it a few times) I said hi to Lawrence - then said hi to Dianne, who asked if I was really using a coffee filter to hold my quarter-muffin... yes, because they were with the muffins! Said hi to Connie and Emily C., and noticed that Joey was on crutches again - he's had knee surgery recently, as he told Mike T. I went out to say hi to a bunch of people; I told Harmony that she and Jon could donate the "Hamburger Helper" to SERVANTS since I knew they wouldn't eat it themselves... neither would I, since you have to add hamburger to the pasta and sauce! Yes, I had to get it from the store since it said "Harmony Helper" on the box, although I bet she's tired of this by now! I figure they know of a hamburger hookup somewhere, haha.

I was merrily minding my own business (joking to Vanessa about how Danielle has a big ego which makes her think that nothing is uncomplimentary) when I saw MR. CREEP IN MY FIELD OF VISION! All I said out loud was "Oh, God..." WHY?! I saw Denise, and talked to her briefly about Black Friday shopping in Portland - she just flew back in last night, and was looking at her receipts later and wondering why she spent so much money! Of course, most of it was for other people (Brian, Julie, her mom), but still! I know how that is, trust me! After talking to little Keenan and Nathaniel about the snow (they liked it), I went upstairs to Toddler Sunday School. I saw Ian and Sean when I was upstairs, and Ian said hi to me. I asked if he'd ever heard of Advent calendars - nope, so I will have to get two of those later! Maybe tomorrow at Shoppers if I feel like walking all the way to the mall and back again (dependent on my mood), since I can combine that with mailing my Christmas cards for Holiday_Wishes and such, which I just finished writing. Also said hi to Nina and Quan (Kinder Bueno bars with DOUBLE CHOCOLATE if I combine them with chocolate milk instead of soy!) in the washroom, haha.

Ada, Arthur, Mattias, Ashley, Shira (who led me around by the hand), Ramen (who practiced being a doctor - me being the patient - with toys), David, and Evelyn were at Toddler Sunday School. Talked about toy cars, alphabet letters, puzzles, going to the washroom, cake and doughnut toys, and more. Auntie Bessy came in just in time to see Shira wanting to sit next to me with her toys, so that makes me look better than just writing down tag prompts while the kids play... of course I do keep an eye on them, but I also do need to remember certain things, man! Afterwards, I said hi to Chung and Rich before going downstairs to have lunch. (saw Ian and Sean on the way down - Sean was still coughing, poor kid!) I saw Mr. Creep sitting at a long table with Randal, Jen, Yvonne, Dave, and many others - of course I wasn't going to sit there, even if I might otherwise have!

Found an empty chair by Eric (with Enoch - whom I talk to NOW! / Martin / Jeremy / Geoffrey), so I asked if anyone was sitting there - nope, so I got to escape the crowd! In a low voice, I told him that I wasn't going to sit at the other table, so then he told me that Mr. Creep had sat in that seat before I had! OH MAN, at least I do my laundry! We talked about orange tickets, blue tickets, hot vs. cold food (Chinese vs. Asian food), sandwiches (mine had olives while Yvonne's had cheese and veggies!), spicy mustard, zombies and the apocalypse, our table being very cold because of the air conditioning vent right in the corner (that's why we were bundled up!), the variable temperatures ("turn it up since I'm not - why is it equalizing to 65? now I'm cold!"), co-workers, Houston, the past, emotions, Committee Meeting minutes, and more. I also poured some Superstore lemon-lime "Sprite / 7-Up" pop for Thomas (who thanked me) after pouring some for myself, then passed the bottle to Uncle Joel. David distracted the little kids by getting them to play outdoor hockey in the courtyard, heh.

Jon and Lesley were passing some sheets of paper around after we ate; when Christon looked at his, he initially thought it was a joke: "LITURGY FOR PASTOR JOHN'S LEAVING OUR CONGREGATION?!" Enoch said it didn't really LOOK like a joke to him, heh. Jeremy was more concerned with the reading itself: "What happens if we say we DON'T release Pastor John from being our pastor, or if he says he WON'T be our lifelong friend?! Hahaha!" Good times laughing at that, for sure! Then Geoffrey wondered if we'd had such a thing for our previous pastor: Eric and I just told him that a bunch of people had wanted him to LEAVE, so NO! Lesley told the joke about the monks / abbot / "celibate" vs. "celebrate" (HA!), and then Phil led us in that reading before dismissing us.

Eric and I couldn't stay to help Kevin clean up since he had to go watch the Grey Cup at Alistair's by 2:30. (Montreal vs. Saskatchewan in Edmonton?! He tells me that the CFL chooses the Grey Cup city before each season, and it'll be here next year...) While Eric was grabbing his guitar and stuff from the stage, I found Ian to give him his family's Christmas card and Kit-Kat bars. After thanking me, he asked where his mom was; I didn't know, but she HAD just been there with his brother! Eric saw this, and thought I was spoiling the kids again: NO, IT'S HIS CHRISTMAS PRESENT! When we saw Auntie Anita (Andrea's mom) right afterwards, I asked her how I'd know my account number - she says she'll send me something. We'll see! On the way home, we discussed "Daniel" / Mr. Creep / passage sharing (I don't believe in it if a certain person suggested it!) / football / boring radio shows / paranoia / Connie Dennis' "Go, Roughriders!" FB status / more. Got home to catch up, then very briefly update Steph at work with the day's events. (I could hear the police radio in the background - yes, we should arrange dinner sometime!)

ALARM PRESCIENCE! / Herbal Tea

I got up at 7:30 AM, which is actually a good thing because it turns out that I never changed my alarm from noon on Friday, and I needed to get up by 8 for church and such!

You Are Apple Cinnamon Tea

You are a warm and friendly person. You have a compassionate heart, and it shows. You are naturally sweet and kind. Your spirit of generosity is far-reaching. You love to be cozy and comfortable. You are a natural homebody. And while you like to be at home, you're not a hermit. You love it when your friends make themselves at home at your place.

What Herbal Tea Are You?

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

Only if my friends let me know beforehand that they'll be coming over, and for how long!

Leon grinning / Is The Engine and the End TOO LEGIT TO QUIT?! / Fruit hybrids

Interesting rack of the night: LEONGRIN, against Erin Q. [read this as "Leon grin"]


Jon emailed us a notice of his band's gig on Monday night at the Railway Club. Since he attached the picture from a recent photo session to make sure we knew that they were "legit and all that," I had to reply with "You guys may be legit, but are you TOO LEGIT TO QUIT?!" Hahahaha! (MC Hammer reference)

Trivia fact for Sunday, Nov. 28: When it comes to human anatomy, what's a floating rib? A lower rib that is attached only to the spine, and not to the sternum (aka breastbone) or any other ribs. Two of the twelve pairs of ribs in humans are floating ribs.