Peeing sign, Tokyo Joe's, Whitney Houston, cannibalism, passport stuff

It's about 9°C outside, so I turned down my heater! Chinese Eric left me several messages on MSN this morning while I was busy reading about cannibalism: Tuesday is okay to hang out, and he wants to know what I'd like for a takeout dinner that night. Gee, I can't very well reply when you sign off immediately after sending the messages, you silly creature! Hahahaha! (yeah, I could leave him offline messages, but he's so busy that I don't know if he'd get them in time...) Not that I know what I want for dinner on Tuesday NOW, of course... just not pizza, sushi, or Chinese food since I've had those (or will have them) recently. Maybe Greek or Italian food? It also depends on the poor guy's dietary restrictions, too... =/

Steph and Lisa called at 1 to say they were coming here soon; nice! When they picked me up, they came in so Steph could take a photo of the peeing sign, and Lisa gave me the box of seaweed (on sale for $6.99!) and my wedding invitation! I didn't mind going to Tokyo Joe's for lunch; apparently, they had fantastic sushi according to the girls. They were right; very fresh ingredients in a very friendly authentic screaming restaurant! We had a mango California roll, spinach with peanut sauce, free miso soup, a DRAGON roll, spicy sashimi (including a very good TORO - tuna belly), a yam and cream cheese roll, and a VOLCANO roll. Actually, we might have ordered more, but the waitress stopped us in a friendly tone. Discussed our impending aunt status, a HUGE box of M&Ms from the States, cheap wine from the States, going to the lards' later, "doll," worrying about seafood going bad in the fridge, what was new with me (not too much), next week's dinner, family caring and love, Jon having Slurpees in cold weather while growing up, and the amount of food actually being perfect.

Also talked about my blue "subtle bling" sweater which Steph thought she'd never seen before (WRONG), the NG sort of bombing (NOT involving real explosives!), what Lisa would say to Grandma if they ever had to communicate alone (Chinese gossip magazine pictures!), Nando's, Save-On Foods being changed to a Price Smart, the "situation" with Eric Ho (THERE IS NONE!), banking, the thrift store, Chinese eyes, brown eyes and eyedrops (painful sun exposure later), cheques, 7-11, RC Palmer (my old junior high), and more. When we got to the townhouse, we said hi to Grandma. She thought we had to call the lards to say we were here, but she also forgot whether it was true or not. We figured she was having memory and confusion issues again, and just settled down with Sudoku / Reader's Digest / juice / TV moving for electronics recycling purposes / watching sports on the new high-definition TV. (discussed a racist soccer incident)

Eventually, Mom called Steph: "Where are you?! You WERE supposed to call me! We're stuck behind a train at Ironwood, and we've been here for five minutes! I don't know whether to laugh or cry, since I was stuck behind a train for ten minutes the other day while I was with Big G!" Yes, she is REALLY melodramatic, and Steph told her so! After Mom and Dad got home, Mom gave us a bunch of stuff as per usual: rolls of toilet paper, pizza, chocolates, NOW & LATER candy (watermelon / apple / cherry / strawberry / tropical punch / banana / grape / pineapple), microwaveable Farmhouse brown and wild rice, Almond Breeze chocolate almond milk, frozen oat bran muffins, and more.

We discussed ERIC HO (Dad: "There's nothing wrong with liking someone!" No, but... STOP THE TEASING!), downloading passport forms, Phil, Eric M., Cindy, (black) coffee / sugar / cream, Mom being really well-prepared in the event of death, and scales. Conversed about government rules and documents, Air Miles, British Airways, lunch next Tuesday at #9 with Rita, paying for stuff like a cruise and passport stuff, a Canucks wallet, birth certificates, my needing to look after Big G on March 9 to 12 (I must get a ride from Eric M. for both of us on the Sunday) and then March 18 to 19 evening (Mom says I'm welcome to stay the whole time - which I might!), and the fuses possibly blowing / freezer doors. Also talked about addresses, weight, birth cities (Canton), Jeremy Lin, Mom's official April 6 birthday, Auntie Eva and the respite centre, cooking, frozen fruit, bananas, microwaveable meals, Rita's "cute animals" email, purple yam ice cream, strawberries, tax stuff, blueberries, how it would be hard on anyone to look after Big G for sixteen days straight, and more.

The girls and I got going at about 4:30, and we discussed Lisa's family / cousins / our cousin dynamics / wedding stuff / Jon perhaps not wanting to leave Harmony and Baby Dragon alone in June on the way back to my place. After putting stuff away and looking for other things, I read the government documents and news: I had to call Steph to tell her of Whitney Houston's death (Lisa: "Oh my God!") and the fact that the passport photos had to be signed by a guarantor. She advised me to rush to London Drugs before the hockey game, since they were friendly even to the point of telling you other passport photo places. Then I called Dad to advise him of this... after that, I just went to London Drugs since it's ten minutes away. Thank goodness the whole process was relatively quick, and I got home at 6:15!

Of course, I looked like crap in the photos... but meh. I guess that's how it goes! It was a good thing that SOMEONE went to bed midway through the second period, bidding me goodnight - not that I talked to him much since I was focused on the intense game, hahaha! It went to OT, and then yet another shootout... the Flames won 3-2, though. Right afterwards, Eric M. bugged me on MSN about leading worship (SERIOUSLY?!) / the lunch tomorrow for Pastor Bob / the family meeting after THAT (ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?! I'LL HAVE NO TIME TO TALK TO CHINESE ERIC AFTER BLOGGING AND NAPPING!) / resentment.


Peeing sign:

Lunch tomorrow, seaweed, gay marriage, and rules

Steph called at 7:15 to invite me to a Richmond lunch tomorrow, which sounds good. She and Lisa got me a 24-pack of seaweed from Costco, haha... I'll probably give them the Rockets then, too. I said I would bring the bathroom sign, but I can't peel it off the fridge! DAMMIT. Maybe one of them will need to come in and take a picture of it that way! Steph also thanked me for the engagement card, which Harmony finally found while unpacking, and gave to her at the Chinese New Year dinner - somehow, I'm not surprised since Jon said it was "somewhere"! We also discussed the respite centre, looking after Grandma next month, and what Dad had to say about it earlier.

Called Mom at 10, and she talked a LOT about the respite centre, cooking, Caesar's, Dairy Queen, Valerie, Auntie Eva, her dad Uncle Percy falling and hitting his head last night (that's BAD at 94!), the government's rules, change, Princess cruises, looking after Grandma, Uncle Michael, Grandma saving face, and more. I didn't even listen to half of that stuff, to be honest. She talks a lot sometimes! Then she asked me about Steph and Lisa's relationship: "Who's the man and who's the woman? One of them has to wear a white gown!" THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS YOU JUST DON'T ASK! I DON'T CARE! Mom also asked me about gay marriage, bridesmaids, the use of the terms "gay" and "lesbian" to refer to two women, and lesbian weddings. LOOK SOME VIDEOS UP ON YOUTUBE, WOMAN. I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN THE INTRICACIES OF GAY MARRIAGE TO YOU!

Takoyaki (octopus balls), Izumiya, Granville Island, and Kwong Chow

Vanessa got on MSN and complained about waking up early - trust me, I can definitely understand after this week! She picked me up at 10 AM, which was fine. We went to Lansdowne Mall briefly since she had to go to the bank, to Granville Island, to Kwong Chow restaurant for lunch (practically next door to Uncle Daniel's practice), and to Izumiya so I could maybe find some octopus balls or takoyaki... I did find them in the FROZEN section, so bought 50 of those along with some bananas. Discussed James / Texas, how Teunis needs to just COPE with things normally, Krista, Tess unfriending me on FB, bad drivers, annoying pedestrians at crosswalks (especially those who don't look before crossing OR who don't organize their kids!), family, Jon, Paul and BS, Steph, Mom, gay marriage, and Lisa. Mom does say things behind people's backs, and Jon needs to just shut up about people who CROSS LINES when they're virtual strangers! I got some peppery beef and shrimp noodles (with leftovers!), and the restaurant also forgot to charge Vanessa for her gai-lan.

Also talked about her brother, cold showers, hair and grass in her car smelling like mold, her dad, her annoying mother, Victoria, pastries, parking, how margarine is only a couple molecules away from plastic, butter, Wayne coming home soon, all-you-can-eat sushi, Pho, exploding spaghetti squash, the warmer temperature, a Domino's delivery driver in a Mercedes (WEIRD!), and more. While we were at Granville Island, I saw this funny "men aren't allowed to pee while standing up" bathroom sign from Edible Canada Bistro. Being me, I just HAD to buy it! Now it is proudly displayed on my fridge. *grin* We also went to the market, where I bought some green olive bread at the bakery; at the liquor store, I bought a small bottle of honey lager. Vanessa was looking for Mexican Coke with real sugar, but couldn't find any - we declined any fudge, heh.

When I got home in PLENTY OF TIME for my weekly tradition, I checked my email trash folder to see that the lards' South American cruise with Harmony's parents is confirmed in March... guess I'm Grandma-sitting! Barry called me by mistake; then I was looking for Mom, but Dad answered the phone to say she was working. He warned me about Grandma bugging me all the time, her not being able to use the microwave or communicate with Valerie (neighbor), her dangerous forgetting that the oven is on, Auntie Eva, respite, and more. He thinks I shouldn't be too lazy when it comes to helping out with Awana - hey, I couldn't get a ride out, and having free Saturdays has actually been a BOON since September! So basically, he has NO IDEA what he's talking about. :P

Craigslist forums, degenerate Tess, and 5-2 wins

Vanessa got on MSN to make final plans for tomorrow; I guess going out at 10-ish should be okay since I've been getting up earlier than usual these past few days! Also have rediscovered the CL forums, hahaha. Better than glitchy games! Noticed that Tess unfriended me, but that's perfectly fine - she IS one of those degenerate types, after all. I listened to the Canucks and Wild play hockey... I heard that Scott Gomez finally scored a goal, hahaha. Heatley scored 13 seconds into the game, so WTF?! Both the Sedins scored, and Ryan Kesler got an empty-netter near the end of the game, though. It was a 5-2 win!

Pretzel and Peanut Butter Chocolate?!

Went shopping to get away from the typo demon that seemed to plague me in the late afternoon. At least I tuned in to the Fox to hear Matthew Good live in studio! (Spoz would make fun of me circa 2002-2004 if he knew!) My first stop was Shoppers Drug Mart to get on-sale Life ju-jube hearts (mostly for the kids - but I snacked on the leftovers after dividing them into Ziploc and paper bags at home), on-sale French Onion Sun Chips (which I haven't had in years), an on-sale Pretzel and Peanut Butter Cadbury bar, and on-sale Life chocolate hearts. Then I went to London Drugs to get on-sale Advil Liqui-Gels (I needed them since my existing Advil expires this month), Regal Rockets x2 for Steph and Lisa, Mom and Dad's Carlton birthday cards (since I had a $2 off coupon), spicy chicken Mr. Noodles, Dan-D-Pak rice crackers, index cards, and on-sale Ritter Sport chocolate for Harmony's birthday... dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts / chocolate mousse. I only hope she's not Lenting chocolate OR planning to be a vegan this year!

8 AM, octopus balls, CHINESE ERIC, Grandma-sitting?

Got up at 8 AM for some reason, but it was okay. Discovered that BREATH OF FIRE I really is glitchy - since I refuse to play without codes when possible, I guess this is it for the game! Although I guess I could try it on Vizzed when that site's saving function is up again, but see above point about codes. Ugh! Vanessa got on MSN and wondered why I was up at 10 AM... good question! She also tried calling me after we talked about stuff like passports / octopus balls / Granville Island, but I missed it... at least she'll be back in Richmond by the end of the month! Auntie Candy (Billy and Danny's mom) tried adding me on Facebook; somehow, I don't think so!

Mom and Eric Ho tried calling me, but I missed those calls because I was reading! I saw the messages Eric left on MSN later, though. He got my email about Tuesday, apologizes since he's been busy (no worries on my end!), and says that my plans could be okay. It doesn't matter if he confirms on Sunday or Monday, since of course he hopes to chill with me... and I hope for the same. TRADITION! It's all good with him, anyway. :D

Then I called Mom to see what she wanted, which was to see if I could Grandma-sit because the respite centre can't take her for three weeks next month. Apparently, the lards aren't going to Russia anymore, but they were invited on a South American cruise thing by Auntie Wing Yee. She told me stuff about what she REALLY thinks of Steph and Lisa's upcoming wedding, breakfasts, Dairy Queen, Alan and Polly giving me lucky money, microwaveable dinners and waffles bought ahead of time (way to assume?), and adult daycare. Told me about Translink, money, keys, #9 Restaurant, dinner / physio, exercise, Auntie Paula's leg, Auntie Teresa's cancer surgery on her neck (good thing Mom isn't asking HER to help out - that woman can be ANNOYING AS FUCK!), and more. Of course I can do this; it won't be too bad, although trying to deal with Grandma's memory issues can be frustrating! However, it won't be as frustrating as dealing with Auntie Teresa!

Pho Lemongrass / 4-3 shootout win

Vanessa got on MSN at 4:40 to say that her mom made spaghetti meat for supper, but since she can't eat it, she was planning to go out for some noodles. I told her that the hockey game was on in about half an hour, so that wouldn't work out! She said something about perhaps doing Granville Island on Friday, and just paying for parking - we'll see how that goes! Later, she said that she couldn't help but patronize Green Lemongrass for Pho. Discussed my black pepper-flavored lobster chips, City Fresh Market, lemon tea, not feeling like doing things, getting up at 5 AM, trips to Tofino and Newfoundland, hockey, and more. I wasn't surprised when the hockey game went to overtime and then a shootout, AT ALL. Alex Edler scored in the shootout (one of the longest ever this season) to save the game... 4-3 against Nashville! Bitz and the Sedins were pretty good, too!

Dallas in parking lot, Kaili, Teunis, craziness, and yelling (dream)

I had a dream in which Jon, Steph, and a bunch of others were picking Dallas up in a dark parking lot. Then we all went to a house where it was generally understood that Pirate Kaili and Crazy Teunis were our surrogate parent figures. A while later, I found out that Pirate Kaili and Crazy Teunis were actually married and trying to fool us into thinking they weren't. In the dream world, their not being married was perfectly fine, but there would be severe consequences if they WERE. I was very incensed, and told EVERYONE the truth. Once everyone knew, we went around the house and neighborhood having screaming matches while they tried to justify this, and suppress the truth!

I have no idea how the dream ended, but I jokingly blame James for talking about some other guy HE knows named Dallas! (Jon and I thought the only ones that counted were Dallas the person, Dallas Drake, and Dallas Willard - Google FINALLY helped!) I also blame having to see Teunis' FB comments everywhere (KAILI - ex / CAT - ex / KRISTA - ex / ALICIA - frenemy / TESS - degenerate poly person, but so are the others), and of course I blame Kaili's pirate display picture on FB. YOU ARE NOT A FUCKING PIRATE, AND YOUR PRACTICES ARE NOT WHAT SANE PEOPLE WOULD DO! Sometimes, I wonder about geeks.... *shakes head* At least this isn't like a year ago, where I had to pretend that this was okay and normal behavior!

I'm the fount of BIRTHDAY knowledge, not BIRTH CITY knowledge!

Steph called to see whether I knew when Dad's exact birthday was OR the Chinese city that Mom was born in, since Lisa needed to know these things. I knew the first, but not the second; "China" doesn't help, I'm sure! I told her about Grandma's confusion at church yesterday, and she wondered if I knew why Auntie Paula supposedly isn't doing well... no idea! I'm sure people would make an exception for an old lady going into the wrong sanctuary door, but I'd still like to familiarize her with the system, hahaha. Mom seems to be warming up to the wedding idea, since she got a bunch of stuff - this is good!

Doorknobs / Finished Hard Mode MOTHER 3, finally!

Completed MOTHER 3 on Hard Mode, finally! Next up is probably STAR OCEAN, thanks to Chris C. and his talking about it being fun! I also think that I'm content and things are truly back to normal. Replied to Mandy's email, too.





Hey, I finally got the doorknob at the very end of the game!

Stealing newspapers, James, glowing rabbits and snakes, sea salt (dream)

Decided to take a nap earlier, and had a weird dream in which I was stealing newspapers from one hotel and putting them under their competitor's pillows, then saw James somewhere. After that, I was also out late at night in the woods; I encountered glowing white rabbits and snakes which I had to kill, and then was looking for sea salt. Jon told me that the family had a lot of sea salt, which could be found in their chocolates (in red / blue / yellow packaging - kinda like Cadbury), or by exercising a lot on the treadmill. What the heck is with my subconscious?! Now I'm occupying myself in a free-for-all; I figure that I'm back to normal, UNLIKE yesterday!

Abandonment, the crosswalk, pursuit of happiness, and Grandma being confused

When Eric picked me up this morning, he said I'd been hiding between two SUVs. Maybe! We talked about personal stuff, silence, a weird movie called BLACK SUNDAY about terrorists which his friends want to watch before the Super Bowl (okay...), Paul, articulating stuff to my brother, his leaving right after service (fine by me!), my weird thoughts, my being "drunk" (as if I'd ever show up to church in that condition!), abandonment, the crosswalk, and more. On the way out of the car to church, he warned me that the sidewalk was slightly icy - yes, I'd noticed that, but was okay. Got into the sanctuary (after telling Jessie that I couldn't help out today) to have some time to myself before Nathan W. came in - Phil and I both said hi to him, as usual. Of course I made sure to say hey to Jeremy when HE came in, since we're friends and all. Then I bugged little Harrison for a minute or so!

I noticed Jon and Harmony coming in pretty late even for them, and had to bug my brother about it. Jeremy and I shared amusement at some points during the sermon, especially when Phil said that we could leave the Ecclesiastes pursuit of sexual happiness to our imaginations! NOT A GOOD IDEA! Afterwards, I made sure to ask Harmony how she was feeling; she said it was good to see me, haha. I also welcomed Christon back from up north: he told me and Geoffrey that he couldn't wait to escape the prison, and REALLY hopes he's back here for good! From what he told us, I don't think it was a good environment for him.

Stanford gave me a card, which I assumed was a wedding thank-you... I was right! Said hi to Denise, Grace, Micah, and Randal (who said my Adidas bag was big and a nice color - he KNOWS that I carry around a bunch of stuff!) before assuming that Eric would be going to next week's welcome lunch for Pastor Bob. (his son-in-law is speaking on art and culture, too) Grandma saw me and waved from the bench, so of course I went over to say hi. She asked why I didn't go eat with them, and then told me that ever since the church moved, she had no idea where to go. She's always seemed okay until a while ago! After that, she pointed out Jon in the crowd, so I hailed him to come over for a bit. She asked where his wife was - oh, she was somewhere nearby! Then she figured Steph was at work - yes, probably! Since Grandma really DID seem confused, I had to lead her to the sanctuary - I knew Auntie Paula was inside, but Grandma couldn't go in through the exit door! After that, I finally went into the sanctuary and bought a lunch ticket from Uncle Stephen.

When I asked Eric if he were ready to go, he bugged me that my bag was big enough to hold a bunch of drugs. I broke my customary silence with Raymond (who was nearby), and was mock chagrined enough to ask HIM whether I looked like a drug dealer! "No, no... it was a joke... haha." I know, but still. On our way out, I saw baby Emma chewing on her thumb, so I asked her if it tasted good! Mary and I said hi to each other while going in opposite directions at the crosswalk, too. In the car, we discussed Jasmine / Teunis / people ending friendships / the French word for "pumpkin" / whether I felt like killing anyone (not at that moment!) / Bible Study / Valentine's Day / my NOT stalking Chinese Eric / silence / how I should try CHRONO TRIGGER again (it's not my type of game, surprisingly!) / Christmas songs ("it's still winter!" doesn't fly with ME!) / frost on the windshield / meeting people for dinner / MOTHER 3 on hard mode / the Kefka theme from FINAL FANTASY / small doses ONLY of Christian music / making him deaf / hair / roots. Was home by about noon, which is very good - I think I'll need it, before next week!