Shortening pants, keyboard manipulation, dark knights, burning FIRE!

Turns out that I have a bunch of pants which need shortening; this is the curse of the short person! Maybe Mom can do it before she leaves for Russia...


Going to the Phantom Village gets you the last piano in FINAL FANTASY V ADVANCE, and you play the opening of Arabesque number one from Debussy's DEUX ARABESQUES: "You have mastered the piano!!! All others quake in fear at your superhuman keyboard manipulation skill!"




Cecil the Dark Knight burning himself with fire at Cid Pollendina's house in Baron:




Meanwhile, this Baron kid can't stop thinking about dark knights since they're totally cool and sweet:

Piano virtuoso / Female Chocobo / June 2012 BBT Tally

Went to the pharmacy to get something; damn, I hope this works!


After playing seven of the eight FINAL FANTASY V pianos, you are a virtuoso! (this is in the town of Moore - in the pub - playing Mozart's ALLA TURCA, which is quite famous)




No, we can't ride a female chocobo in the chocobo forest!




Exdeath to the Light Warriors in the Forest of Moore after they kill the Crystals: "Time for your viscera to see the light of day! Now, die!"




MONTHLY BUBBLE TEA TALLY, JUNE 2012 (1)

honeydew @ Big Orange (Wednesday, June 27)

Needing friends / Surgate Castle Library (donkeys and weight)

Chinese Eric got on MSN at about 8:30 to say that his parents had committed him to a family dinner with relatives tomorrow night, so we'd have to reschedule. Hey, it doesn't matter to me as long as I know! (I understand that pain!) We wished each other a Happy Canada Day, of course! Discussed travel being in season (I know), Calgary people heading down to BC and San Jose, the son of family friends getting married next week to someone else who also works at Microsoft, marriage and hope, workplace romances being fraught with peril if they don't work out, babysitting, disbelief, pure evilness in Korey / his "impending death," James, updating LJ / "THE BLOG," mixing people up, future phone calls to reschedule, yesterday's events, feelings, and more. Always good times... and I'd interrupt cutscenes to talk to him, anyway! Of course, I thanked him for being the awesome friend he is! If he hears from me before Wednesday, then that means I seriously need him... but things should be under control since I'm feeling better than when I sent him the trip update email! (he'll keep that in mind!) Also replied to Mandy's email while I was at it.


Two books at a time will be too heavy for our intrepid hero in the Surgate Castle Library!




Are you looking up ASSES on the A-C shelf at the library, Bartz? :P

Babysitting / Debit cards / Walking in heat / Ayler and red shirts

Got up at 9:10 and edited some stuff before I was out at 11:45 to see Grandma and baby Ayler. Mom thought I wasn't going to Fellowship since I said I'd go home later - eh, I just said that if they went home at 5:30 or so, then it was plenty of time to make plans with white Eric! (I got home at 6:45, but it was all good) Those plans consisted of letting him know that I wouldn't be there tonight what with babysitting and Chinese Eric (I left the phone line on for once), plus making Sunday arrangements since I won't be at church because of the Oakridge White Spot plans with Billie - what she doesn't know won't hurt her, haha. I also paid my phone bill when I got home, practically draining my chequing account: no more debit card transactions till payday for me, especially since I had to transfer money between accounts to cover a future payment!

Mom and Dad picked me up, and we were off to see Grandma briefly: we discussed $40, Russia visa stuff, lunch at Kwong Chow, chow mein, Grandma's condition, going downhill, socks, wedding cards, baby photos, the jazz festival, crystal, Bryant and Shirley's nuptials tomorrow (Auntie Helen wants Grandma to be there), general pictures so Grandma can remember things, the baby, and more. When I saw Grandma, she didn't say much: that surprised Steph when I told her later on, since Big G always has something to say! At Jon and Harmony's, Steph and Lisa were there holding / rocking the baby already. Lisa started talking to the baby about himself, and he was wide awake for that; when she switched to talking about appliances / decoration / his future wife, he fell asleep! Hahaha!

Discussed feeding / changing / bathing / blowdrying Ayler, Holly and high tea, the BC Lions' first game tonight, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' divorce, Nicole Kidman, Mimi Rogers, Kate's wedding in Finland, Russia, a combined birthday dinner for Dad and Lisa on the 12th, cookies, almonds, chocolate, it being Nicole and Dallas' birthday today, Randal and fried chicken, sweeping the floor, McDonalds iced coffee, the baby snoring / doing other awesomely cute things, and more. Of course I was game to hold the baby for a while! I talked to him about stuff, too! He seemed to be interested in my red shirt, haha. Steph, Harmony, Lisa, and I took the baby out for a while to Shoppers Drug Mart just to walk around Main Street. We discussed Chinese naming as far as relatives went, housing, theoretical future school / playground plans, the baby being too hot in his blankets (he fussed because of that), mops, pharmacy prescriptions, the baby's "starfish" pose, health, fresh air, and more. When we got back, we tried getting the baby to sleep so Harmony could take a nap - almost no go there! 'Tis a tricky business, Dad tells me. (I read a library book on olive oil to pass the time) Jon got home with Jeremy in tow; after a bit of chatting, we left so I could make plans with white Eric. Now I plan to relax... and call Chinese Eric at 10 if he hasn't called me first! (it's likely he might not... it's all good)

Ridiculous! / Fresh details, crystal wedding presents, and overseas people

After I got some pads from Shoppers Drug Mart, I talked to Ryan about some stuff, which makes me feel better! Yes, someone IS ridiculous! Called Mom to see what she was doing tomorrow: the agenda involves visiting Grandma and baby Ayler on the same day, which works for me since I've had a bit of downtime. Then she said something about an RSVP for Myles and Brittney's wedding; it's not the deadline yet, haha. Rather than get embroiled in her Type A personality, I simply said I'd go on Sept. 22 - it's just easier that way. (less drama) She said they could give me a ride to Eunice and Eddie's wedding next week, and some crystal... nice, and I also have her last $40! Also, she reminded me that tomorrow is Friday; I have no idea if I'm going to BS or not, but I can't really afford to go out to eat AGAIN. Too many parties, man...

Later, I finally got to update Chinese Eric on everything (James / Ayler and snoring and the baby banquet / Grandma's deterioration and long-term care home) for half an hour! He was tired yesterday after helping his parents do some stuff, which is very understandable. We figure we'll call each other tomorrow either way if a hangout ends up happening on Saturday - he says he'll call me, but I always seem to beat him to the punch these days. Discussed dating / sex arrangements / short-term dating / the long-term dating model dying, relationships, parenthood, stages of life, writing while details are still fresh in your mind (I do this whenever possible), memory issues, and his not wanting to bore me with philosophical stuff... I wouldn't mind! Also talked about Nathan and Christon in London, arranging things for overseas family friends, Facebook communication, MSN not sending his messages or duplicating them, hesitation in using that medium to communicate something urgent, and more. Yes, we agreed it was nice to talk to each other! Dude needs to come over soon, anyway - he's got a lot of Facebook photos to catch up on! (which reminds me, I should make sure that Jeremy sees the wedding photos on Monday night during the Fried Chicken Bash...)

Istory Falls GLITCH / Billie at Oakridge / HE IS A SHE!

The game glitched out on me AGAIN after Istory Falls - the submarine wouldn't submerge into the water, the World Map didn't work, and there were no random encounters. At least I managed to find a save file with maximum money AND items... *sigh* Here's hoping the random encounter tiles on the Big Bridge are the same as last time!

Made plans for this Sunday at Oakridge with Billie - we're getting together at the early hour of 11 AM, but that should be okay as long as I set my alarm for the usual time so I can get some stuff in before I leave at 10:30! Good thing I only go to church about half the time these days, anyhow. Yes, this means I'll be eating at White Spot twice in two days; I've done it with Pho sometimes, but Pho is more appetizing and budget-friendly than White Spot!


The moment of truth at the Ship Graveyard, where the pirate captain Faris is revealed as a woman:

Phantom Village, Pavel Bure, parlance, shoes, Jalapeno Smokehouse, and more

It took me two hours last night to find the freaking Phantom Village in the middle of the forest! I thought I'd remove my codes (temporarily), and BINGO! Found the thing on my first try, like what SHOULD happen! Ugh, gameplay! Also heard that Pavel Bure has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame; very cool!

I was responsible today, and paid my phone / hydro / Internet bills before I went out to run errands. Told someone that I had to "go do some stuff," which is exactly what Chinese Eric tells me from time to time - I guess his parlance is slipping into my speech, so maybe I really miss him! Gotta call him tonight, even though it's not been a full week! I'm sure he won't mind! Went to the bank and stole a bunch of banking envelopes for future use, got a honeydew bubble tea at Big Orange, purchased a badly-needed pair of new on-sale shoes at Sears for $20 without tax, got a Canada T-shirt / five wedding cards at the dollar store (one for Eunice and Eddie), got 99¢ Uncle Ben's rice x 13 (everything on the shelf - Creamy Mushroom, Broccoli and Cheddar x3, Garden Vegetable Style, Homestyle Chicken and Wild, Chinese Fried Rice x4, Country Chicken x2) / on-sale Kleenex x4 at Shoppers Drug Mart, and then bought pink Excel gum / noodles / Blue Diamond Jalapeno Smokehouse almonds x3 (me / Randal / Lisa as affordable token birthday presents) at London Drugs. I saw a funky dude with cool blue hair at the bus stop, too! Got home and finally found Steph and Lisa's wedding card in my stash of spares (whoops...), and also wrote birthday cards for Lisa and Randal.

Sleeping baby to crying baby!

Mom emailed us a few pictures from Sunday's one-month banquet!

Pastor Fulton expostulating about something or other:




Baby, how do you SLEEP with all the restaurant noise around you?!




Auntie Anna and Grandma with the sleeping baby, her great-grandson! She's probably thinking, "Who is this random baby?" due to her dementia. :(




Oops, now baby's crying since he's hungry! Don't worry - he was fed shortly after this picture and one other was taken.

SHINY KEYS! / Oogachaka fugga-lugga!

I interacted with a little Chinese kid outside my apartment building just now, who had SHINY KEYS and wanted to try opening the door. SO CUTE! :D


Oogachaka fugga-lugga! The werewolves of Quelb have weird religious ceremonies to pray for the party's safe return from Drakenvale to get dragon grass for Krile's Wind Drake! (and they still do this when you get back - I've checked!)

Reeha, mystery mushroom, sex toys, Merrow, and Neo Garula

Replied to Mandy's email, and found that Reeha K. wanted to add me to Facebook via the Puckheads - sure! Vanessa got on MSN to tell me about how a Chinese TV show's 'mystery mushroom' turned out to be a sex toy... HAHAHAHAHAHA!

FINALLY got all monsters on the Big Bridge in Galuf's world... they can be easily missed due to the stupid random encounter tiles, so the ROM change was what I needed. (Merrow, Flying Killer, Little Chariot, and Neo Garula) Now, as long as time doesn't run out in the sunken Tower of Walse while Famed Mimic Gogo blathers on! "You uncultured boors! Know you nothing of an artist's soul? Cut! Cut! Stop TRYING to mimic! Start over, recenter, and begin!"

Baby Ayler's one-month banquet = almost no crying!

Everyone picked me up at about 5:30 after I was able to get some gaming in, and got to listen to Mom complain about work for most of the ride over to the restaurant. Steph, Lisa, Eric, and I just grabbed the nearest table - in the back - after saying hi to Auntie Gloria / Uncle Richard / Auntie Wing Yee / Uncle Joe / Alan / Polly / others. Talked to Phil, Grace, Alan, Tracy, Dylan, Deb, Myles, Brittney, Peter, Holly, Jeremy, Randal, and others about duck / pork / hot and sour soup / the jazz festival / Eunice / Eddie / Grandma's long-term care home and confusion / Myles and Brittney's September wedding / syringe feeding (it's CLEAN, Auntie!) / technology / phones / Whistler Tough Mudder / Lisa's one-month ban on practically anything sweet / holding the sleeping baby / my seeing Declan since Dylan and Deb are so close / Vegas / Ayler crying / gifts / translation. Also conversed about today's meeting, time, crispy rice, shrimp, presentation, veggies, pregnancy, seeing Grandma while the lards are in Russia, cards, the baby gaining two ounces a day, confused old people, horses, getting the baby used to noise, and more. On the way home, I got to see the security procedures at the old age place, and figured I'd wait till I got the DF email to see what we were doing on Friday. Good times!

Family meetings are 500 hours long, man!

Found myself awake at 8:40 this morning, so I perforce decided to go to church, even though the family meeting afterwards would probably last 500 hours on a day where we had DINNER afterwards! Ugh. Eric called me and put on a weird voice, but I told him that it was NOT endearing! When he picked me up, he asked if I hated British accents in the morning - shit's not funny when you've only had five or six hours of sleep, man! Discussed curling, ice expense, religious / rock music, commercials, the misspelling of "INDESCRIBABLE" on a bus ad, tonight's ride plans, the new pastor (not "Ann Williams"!), joking death threats, and more on the way to church. Got to church, where it was Auntie Rebecca's last sermon ever at VCEFC; Zoe kinda shared something about Awana, too. Later, I told Jon that whoever put the little Kleenex box on a pew was a genius (since I needed one right then) - he said that he'd moved it, and I couldn't retract what I said! Then I asked how the baby was - Ayler had been fussy and crying when he left this morning! (sounds about right from what happened on Friday) Auntie Rebecca said she'd seen lots of photos of me on Facebook; not surprised! I waste no time with those when I can!

Said hi to Amanda (CHIPS AHOY), Martin, Danny, Geoffrey (birth news / BBQ / rainy weather on Friday / Facebook / baby pictures), Vivian (her mom's invited tonight!), Alan and Polly (they're coming tonight - I had a ride home from church), Jeremy, Anita, Jeff, Allison, Joanna, Nathan, Uncle Peter, Auntie Ying, Esther, Harley, and others after service. After little Joanna played with Mike K. for a while, he asked me how it was like to be an aunt. Dude, I feel old... and of course we had to make sure that Jon wasn't joking about Harmony's pregnancy when he announced it to us since he DOES joke around a lot! Yeah, I'll get used to it for sure! Went upstairs after a bit; I told Chris Lam that I had received the Awana BBQ email, and he said he'd look into it! I'm sure he wants to know for general security reasons, heh.

I saw Auntie Catherine, Rachel's grandma, Danny, Lanie, Hymn, Mattias, Marcus, Jessie, Ramen, Shira, David, Evelyn (who called things "stupid"), and Ashley during Toddler Sunday School. Talked about aunthood, rules, crackers, coloring pictures, crayons, apple gum, aunthood, toys, cars, holding them, hamsters, and more. Ramen seemed to like Marcus, at least. Got downstairs afterwards, where Auntie Ada offered me a dry ham and cheese sandwich - I saw a bunch of other people standing around and eating them, so that's what I also did. Made sure that my parents knew Eric's number so they can call him later, and talked to a confused Grandma for a couple of minutes. She thought that I was going with them for lunch, and also that the one-month banquet didn't exist! I said hi to little Sean, and admired his blue dragon metal shirt - it is COOL, man! Shook hands with Uncle Johnny, and said hi to Auntie Paula / Joe / Helen. Stanley and I entertained baby Marcus for a while, too. Saw Gavin, Nathan, Nathaniel, Abigail, and more kids clustered around an iPad playing games (or HELLO KITTY coloring books) to keep them entertained during the long family meeting with Pastor Dan and his wife Sharon - good strategy! Auntie Ada offered me ANOTHER sandwich since they had lots left over; Margaret declined one, although I said not to feel bad, hahaha. Wrote tag prompts myself to try keeping awake, although I fell asleep once. (I'd fallen asleep twice during service, heh)

Talked to Jeremy briefly about tonight: he's going, and has no idea where the restaurant is. I told him that it's on Kingsway, but I didn't know anything more (even the name) since my parents were picking me and Eric up! He figured that I didn't need to know then, but he should reread his email before he leaves - so agreed! Met Dylan on our way out at around 2:55, and we briefly discussed tonight's dinner. I had no idea that it was apparently traditional to wear red to these things (having only been to one other, for David's son Ian back in 2005) - Dylan goes to them all the time for Deb's family! He had to go back to Richmond and pick Deb up for this thing, which doesn't surprise me. Eric and I discussed recent James developments, my being "drunk," what we'd do till 5:15 or so (my plans involve a coherent blog post, while his involve braziers and torches - GAMING!), the sunny weather, traffic, and more on the way home.