BRAXTON and ALASKA are NOT names! / Blue Skies

I read an article in which a pageant mom named Lori admitted to bleaching her kids' teeth, but the horror was only compounded for me when I read the kids' names: ALASKA (girl) and BRAXTON (boy) are NOT names! WTF?! Teunis says the sourdough isn't ready yet, but I expected that if he waited too long to do something about it. After discussing Skype's automated calls and shaving cuts, he decided to go out earlier than usual, which is fine - then I could have noodles for lunch! I also barely managed to take the trash out even though it weighed more than ten pounds, thanks to Teunis throwing his food out!

You Are Loving

You take commitments seriously. You are a loyal and devoted friend. You are a positive and easygoing person. You see the best in others and try not to criticize. You consult others before acting. Consensus is important to you. You are loving and touchy-feely. You are quite affectionate.

The Blue Skies Test

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Cat Torren, Peggy Lee, Jazz Festival, Granville Island, and male escorts!

Eric picked me up a little later for the Jazz Festival than he said he would, but I did start on my Neil Strauss book! I told him about Teunis' fever, and we listened to Team 1040 dissect the first day of NHL free agency: Torres is GONE to Phoenix for $1.75 million?! (Glass also signed a one-year deal with the Jets) Salo and Higgins are back, but I don't know about Marco Sturm... and apparently, Jaromir Jagr is back in the NHL to Philadelphia. We also discussed Cindy, Vicky, walking, Sophie's Cosmic Café, and more on our way to meet Christon and Jeremy at Performance Works... man, Granville Island was CROWDED! Good thing we walked in during a break so we could get seats! They'd been there for a few hours already, so of course your ass gets numb after a while of sitting! (Peggy Lee and Cat Torren were quite good, as was the Mark McLean's Playground - the saxophonist for the last group reminded me of Ryan M. - eyeheartnewlife)

We discussed dinner, weekend festival plans, skewers, rice, beef, CD prices, THE MONSTROSITY OF CHRIST / conversational books / contingencies, chicken, Cindy / Vicky, the hockey news, my "hypocrisy," downtime, not moving much from our seats because we wouldn't be able to get EL PRIMO location again, my Neil Strauss book (Eric thought it was a Bathroom Reader - Jeremy can borrow it when I finish), the guys' Seattle trip next week, and more. I laughed at a few amusing write-ups in the festival guide: "Sounds at times like a freight train screaming down the tracks in the dark. There is beauty in this darkness." and "Melodies slide in and out of abstraction; skewed marches butt up against folk songs; chamber music niceties crumble under the assault of funk and psychedelia." Of course Eric moved to sit next to Cindy once she and Vicky arrived from the restaurant, but that meant I could sit next to Jeremy for once, hahaha. He didn't seem to mind our shoulders touching, heh.

After everything was said and done, we HAD to walk the wrong way back to the Sunfire because Eric wanted to spend more time with Cindy. He may be made of boundless energy, but I am not! Talked about Broadway / Granville, Christian schools, issues, my complaining about walking too much, DANIEL chocolates, Mr. Creep, my sleep schedule, getting together for lunch after July 18, "God opportunities," Richmond, telling people a bit too much, Virginia, expense, STARCRAFT 2, Steam accounts, CHAMPIONS ONLINE, Jasmine, posting, assumptions, and more. When I got home, Teunis was alive! He'd been throwing out some bad food and catching up on things like LJ / quiet time / podcasts. We discussed the History of English on Youtube, changing the light bulb in my room, sourdough, storage tomorrow, his fever breaking at 9-ish, fetish clubs, science fiction, DOCTOR WHO, DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, RPG people, Game Masters / Dungeon Masters, tagging people on Facebook, Cat's fiancé having a weird name (DAXX?!), and more.


Creative hearing of the night:

Me, on overanalysis and family reunions: "I'm sure a bunch of people think like I do!"
Eric: "I don't think anyone should think like you do!"
Me: "... what did you say about male escorts?!"
Eric: "... wow. That's the most creative hearing you've come up with. ... is Teunis your male escort?"
Me: "That's what I thought you said! And no, he isn't!"

Possible fever = no Jazz Festival for YOU!

Eric called at 1:15 to say that he'd be here at 3:15, speaking to me in French as semi-usual. I decided to take a shower before being evil and turning on / up the music in order to finally wake Teunis up. At 1:45, I figured enough was enough. He described feeling cold (in this place?!) / not being able to wake up, and figured he'd have to bail since he might have a fever. Probably a good idea, since he can rest AND we won't have to deal with certain things now, haha. (and I can get the front seat in the car!)

He says he truly apologized since he DOES like jazz, but he'd been trying to decide whether to get up for the past couple of hours! Unfortunately, he thought that going out to Jasmine's last night WASN'T a factor, but did say that he might have been fighting it all week. Oh well... he does say Wreck Beach isn't for him due to the smoke / pot factors, and he'll enjoy the English Bay fireworks from a safe distance for the same reasons! Also, Ed Woo and Joan Wai apparently got married today - nice.

144 years for Canada! / Lifestyle cleanliness

I don't know how Teunis can sleep through two Skype calls AND his music!

I'm not a lumberjack or a fur trader.
I don't live in an igloo or own a dogsled.
I have a Prime Minister, not a President.
I speak English and French.
I pronounce it ABOUT, NOT "A BOOT."
AND it is pronounced 'ZED,' NOT 'ZEE'! Canada is the second largest landmass, the first nation of hockey, AND a great part of North America!
My name is Leslie,
AND I AM CANADIAN!
█ ♥ █ Happy Canada Day!!!! █ ♥ █

You Have a Somewhat Clean Lifestyle

You have a fairly clean life, but there are some areas that still need some tidying up. You may have good physical health or good mental health, but it's likely you don't have both. Just try to eliminate every toxic habit from your life. This could be anything from smoking cigarettes to getting rid of bad friends. You deserve to live the best life possible, and it's time to start taking better care of yourself.

How Clean Is Your Lifestyle?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

Eric and truculence, Cindy, ex-friends, and meeting my true love (HA!)

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

The Internet cut out last night at around 10:15, so I had nothing to do but start and finish THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN. Thank goodness it was back on this morning when I got up, since I managed to catch up! Eric M. buzzed me on MSN after he called me once and I called him back twice with no answer: discussed caps lock, truculence, Teunis hanging out with my ex-friends, Christon, Cindy, fermented soybeans, meeting up for dinner at the jazz festival, jealousy, and more. Teunis finally got home at midnight: at least I know he's safe, and not with any disreputable people! Discussed SCATTERGORIES (too bad it was tied), tomorrow's plans, Safeway holiday hours, drugs, medicine, the leftover rice, curry, cravings, pot pie, gas, fumes, diesel, and more.

You Will Meet Your True Love Online

You don't feel comfortable in large crowds of any sort. You get overwhelmed and exhausted. You value deep, authentic relationships. You're not big on small talk. You are a complex and deep person. There are many layers to who you are. Your true love is a person of substance. You are repelled by superficiality.

Where Will You Meet Your True Love?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

Word Facts for June 25-July 1, 2011

Word origin for the weekend of June 25-26, 2011: poach - In days of old when knights were bold, hunting was a privilege reserved for the nobility. A hungry peasant would thus have to steal an animal from some estate - and, naturally, that animal would have to be small enough to carry away. In this case, it would be carried away in a poche, or sack. The same word gives us our expression "pig in a poke," which means something not shown and whose value therefore is not known.

Word origin for June 27, 2011: honeymoon - In use since the Middle Ages in English, the "honey moon" was a folk name for the full moon that occurred in the month of June. In rural England, marriages often took place just before the late spring planting season began, the ritual idea being to encourage fertility of both field and family. The term later came to be applied to the aftermath of the wedding itself.

Word origin for June 28, 2011: hobnob - "Hobnob" comes from an English dialect term "habnab," which means "have and not have." The word first turns up in print in William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night in the sense of "one way or another," and by extension, a drink that would be drunk no matter who raised a toast to it. Thus, "to drink hobnob" came to mean something like "to party" today, and "hobnob" now means to spend pleasant time hanging out with someone.

Word origin for June 29, 2011: plumber - Pipes that bring in and take out water from a home were once made of lead - in Latin, plumbum, a material that a plumbarius worked with. New pipes are rarely made of lead these days, but the material remains enshrined in the name of the craft.

Word origin for June 30, 2011: nonchalant - Someone "nonchalant" is cool as a cucumber, or perhaps cold as a fish. The word comes from the French nonchaloir, which means "not heated" - that is, metaphorically, someone who cannot be bothered to get worked up about a given subject. The original sense of "nonchalant," which came into English about 1730, characterized someone who disregarded something that other people were hot and bothered about.

Word origin for July 1, 2011: slouch hat - Usually made of felt or canvas, a "slouch hat" is a form of headwear whose brim falls over the wearer's eyes. The term comes from the English dialect term slouch, which carries the suggestion of leaning lazily or moving without much sense of purpose. Given that "slouch hats" are favored by warriors fighting in the tropics, that suggestion seems unwarranted.

Coconut milk, Dad losing his brother, Kaili, Jasmine, and June 2011 BBT Tally

Discovered that my coconut milk expired yesterday, so sought to make the Garlic Alfredo Spaghetti. After a very quick MSN conversation with Teunis, he seemed to think that he was going home after work barring unusual circumstances, and so could make things with this coconut milk as a substitute for regular milk in recipes. Well, that'll be good if it happens! He did come home and start looking in a Thai cookbook, so that's promising. (and later made tapioca pudding with coconut milk, and coconut rice) Mary also unfriended me on Facebook, but perhaps she's busy too.

Also called Dad to do the polite thing upon the loss of his brother from intestinal cancer, who was only five or six years older than he was. Apparently, one of Dad's nieces emailed him to tell him the news, although Dad had only seen him a few times in the forty years since he's been here in Canada. Then Mom wanted to know whether "Teunis" was a made-up name (it's apparently been in his family for 800-1000 years), how he liked his job, how he GOT to said job (not in a taxi - and transit is unfortunately NOT an option!), and whether we were going to the Steveston Salmon Festival on Friday. Teunis and I also discussed my supposed jealousy of Kaili (HAH!) and his hanging out with "a friend" - I knew he was hanging out with that bitch Jasmine as soon as he said "Scrabble." I don't approve, especially as he JUST hung out with her two weeks ago while she was feeling suicidal. MEN!


MONTHLY BUBBLE TEA TALLY, JUNE 2011 (2)

honeydew @ Big Orange (Tuesday, June 7)
blueberry @ Big Orange (Wednesday, June 22)

Snark, listening, Jeremy helping me in a concert dream, emergency laundry, books

Talked to James briefly before he went to bed; this is a good thing. Teunis FINALLY was home at midnight, after trying (and failing) to fix Kaili's laptop - we discussed dread, the Jazz Festival (I think I convinced him not to go himself and put one more car on the road), worry about parking, communication, my snarkiness, the fan, and mold. We also talked about towels, insects, damage, his thinking he told me that he wouldn't be in, Greek religious music, my NOT being his previous landlady Rhiannon, video game music hurting him, "normalcy," my venting about various things to Eric / Mandy over email, my listening to friends' problems, and more. Apparently, my "cute" response to his saying that the laundry dryer sheet chemicals were unexpected was "It's not like I strew them all over the floor while you're out and am like MMM, CHEMICALS! Seriously - they stay IN the Ziploc bag!"

When I went to sleep, I had a dream that a bunch of us were playing at a school concert. We were all dressed up, yet I had to go back to a locker and get something. Unfortunately, the floor was sloped, so I was obviously having trouble with it in front of everyone. Jeremy saw my predicament, and I accepted his offer to guide me to where I needed to go. I liked the idea of having someone to help, of course - and I did trust him. After the concert, an old custodian wanted to ask me out, but I refused since I was with Jeremy as a friend at the time.

Then I woke up to discover the need for an emergency load of laundry and soaking things in the tub - FML! I called my sister to find out that she's going to Virginia soon for a family reunion for Lisa's mom's side of the family. We also talked about health issues, heh. She also suggested I call Dad later because apparently his older brother died - of course, she learned this from Mom. Well, maybe I will. We'll see... Vanessa also talked to me briefly on MSN.

You Are a Memoir

You're funny, but many people don't see your funny side. Your subtle dry humor leaves your close friends in stitches. You have your own quirky ideas about the world. You see so much light and promise. You have no patience for small talk or niceties. You want to have conversations of substance. You are an amazing storyteller. You always have a new story to relate, and your friends love to listen to you.

What Type of Book Are You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

$7.97 hydro bill, disrespect from Eric, and fish dying in vaginas - WTF?

This is the first full day I've spent at home since the 19th, which is good for my downtime needs! I also FINALLY got mail, no thanks to the postal strike - why is my hydro bill only $7.97?! HAHAHAHA! Matt A. loved that! Of course, I paid the bill! Eric also disrespected those same downtime needs when he thinks that weekends are good for meetings, and I know it since I'll be there for church anyway and could pack a lunch - well, just wait till I don't show up on the 17th, then! (that, or I'll have other plans) Then he thought it had to do with my sleep schedule - NO! FUCK OFF! (and I never say that about him) Teunis is also earning himself another frosty reception as I type - did he tell me that he'd be late getting home? NOPE! Do I feel guilty? NO!

A yucky thing from Kaili: "If anyone should give her husband to eat or drink a fish that died in her vagina, or bread kneaded on her buttocks, or her menstrual blood, she is to do heavy penance for five years." – Penitential of Arundel 81

Bottled water, bathroom fans, cream cheese, jazz, dream traps, and Georgia

Teunis and I discussed a bunch of stuff when he got home last night: my bottled water being "evil" (that doesn't mean I'm against fresh food!), his pepper steak / meat cravings (at least he gave me some for my noodles), Monsanto corn / ground-up pesticide conspiracy theories, tomatoes apparently not being anywhere much prior to the 80s, corn and tomato being poisonous, expensive parts for Kaili's laptop, and Christon's Jazz Fest Canada Day / Jeremy email. Eric likes the idea - if only Christon didn't invite Mr. Creep! We also talked about hot and sour soup, his Foremost blueberry yogurt having (double) modified corn starch in it (but my Greek yogurt doesn't!), Superstore, The Laughing Cow cheese slices, bagels, cream cheese, lunch supplies, "scoffing," Yaohan Osaka Supermarket's new hours starting July 4 (till 11 PM!), 3D phones, Mike and Chris from Hundred Mile House, health, snacks, and more.

Today, I'm going to do laundry and replace the bathroom towel on the floor with the dark blue one from the Bay! Dreamed again that I was trapped in my blankets and that the electricity here was out... WTF? I also talked to James briefly on YM, heh. Of course I will be there for him, and he can always talk to me later! Got a weird phone call from Georgia: 404-891-6935, anyone? Got up briefly in the morning to find that SOMEONE hadn't bothered to turn the bathroom fan on after he took a shower... COME ON. HOW HARD IS THAT?!

You Are Intuitive

You are a comforting and calming influence. Others turn to you in times of trouble. You are extremely consistent. You know that good habits create amazing results. People often say you would make a great therapist. You are an excellent listener, and you never judge. You believe that people need to rely on someone in this crazy world. And you're happy for that person to be you.

The Storybook Tree Test

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

Vanessa and Yaohan

When Vanessa picked me up, we were off to Yaohan. We talked about shopping, the wedding on Sunday, holiday weekends, venting, too many sensitivities, choking, beef brisket, fish, Wayne, broccoli, buns, BBT, family, bitchy parents, Krista, Erik / Andrew / Teunis being scared of her, Kaili, Tess, THOR and repetition, pregnancy tests, moisturizing lotion, Shoppers Drug Mart, sushi, weird poly, and more. It was a pretty good lunch, made better by free hot and sour soup! Good thing I saw her so we could talk!

"Yogurt" has ONE pronunciation! / Wild Child

Teunis and I discussed oatcakes, his mispronunciation of things such as "YOGURT" and "HERMIONE," dressing for work, his laundry, that crazy digicam that Mom gave me, dumplings, communication, confusion, using Japanese words for things (?!), kimchi, and more last night. Jon H. unfriended me, but he does delete his account from time to time, so I'm not worried about it. Vanessa called me - I'm up for Yaohan at 12:30 if she is, even if she didn't get much sleep because of construction!

You Are a Styled Child

You aren't exactly wild, but you aren't mild, either. You strike a balance between your naughty and nice sides. You have a positive attitude. You try to keep a sunny disposition, even when life is getting you down. You like to let loose, but you always maintain your composure. You are always classy. You love to have fun and take a risk as much as the next person. You never let yourself get out of control, though.

Are You a Wild Child?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Metrotown Sui Sha Ya with Billie - at least she's not a Viking!

I turned out to be REALLY EARLY at the Metrotown Superstore, but I luckily had a book to read while I waited for Billie. When she did get there, we went for lunch at Sui Sha Ya after I returned her philosophy textbook: discussed venting, a date she had last night with a guy named Evan whom she met at Subway, needing downtime in a relationship (her ex Jairus never understood that), Aaron's surprise going-away party today (he's going to Montreal for school), Scott and Sara being too lovey-dovey, Sean not being seen lately because of Patricia, Patrick and jobs, someone being pissed off because of a move, Fuji, Steph / Lisa, and Teunis. We also talked about Pet Habitat, guinea pigs, GREEN LANTERN, closure, writing, not abusing "anytime" privileges, Aaron's being too blunt / direct, Dave Wong, sushi / ramen / teriyaki / rolls, the postal strike and her expected heavy packages with winter wear, her going to Austria for winter (maybe moving to Europe), grandmas, BBQ salmon heads, a Ducati motorcycle, her parents, Austin / Rodrigo, Coke, and more. Then we read various books at Chapters before I took the last 430 into Richmond, and she checked out Lenscrafters. I got home to discover Teunis still wants to dress up as a Viking, and even used "Vik'd" to mean "stolen / jacked." *sigh* That man will never be normal... *double sigh*

Phoebe, Billie, honey yogurt, Vanessa, lunch options, and tipping practices

Phoebe added me to Facebook, and Billie confirmed our later Metrotown lunch / shopping plans with me last night as well. While I was trying the honey Greek yogurt, Vanessa buzzed me on MSN with news of multiple consecutive graveyard shifts - yikes, man! She wanted to know if I was up for lunch tomorrow, but says she got heartburn from Specialty Chicken and Wonton House last time... aiya! Discussed stomachaches, Pho, sushi, fish & chips at Garry Point, Triple O's / White Spot, treats, acrylic nails for a wedding next Sunday, brunch, and more. Tomorrow at noon-ish works, since I'll want time to blog / chill tonight after Metrotown! (she suggested tonight - SHE NEEDS HER SLEEP, MAN!)

You Are an Average Tipper

You know what you want, and you're not quick to change your mind. You have strong opinions that are set in stone. You are independent to a fault sometimes. It's hard for you to open up and let other people in. You are energetic to the point of being impatient. You can't wait for life to happen. You try not to go overboard on anything. You are down to earth, and you aren't easily swayed by emotions.

What Does Your Tipping Say About You?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!