Shelley as smoking friend counteracting Mom's orders (dreams) / Helen S.

When I finally got to sleep, I had a dream that my mom was barking out orders and making me do a lot of work in a sunny environment. For some reason, Shelley showed up in this one as a smoking friend who had my back. However, Mom was having nothing of my taking it easy. We did eventually manage to meet a bunch of friends at a play: these included Shannon N. with wheelchair, little children like Benjamin and Noah in dressy clothes, and assorted others whether in wheelchairs or not. Mom wanted me to do ALL the dishes and arrange things in a certain order first BEFORE talking to people, but Shelley said that I was with HER and not to do anything. Boy, that pissed Mom off!

Ended up playing with the children ("a rock which is a thousand million dollars!"), and making Seabus plans with Shannon if my mom ever let me go anywhere. She checked her phone and said that we had no choice but to take the 7 AM sailing, and wait around Lonsdale Quay till 11 for a connecting bus to our eventual location. Mom seemed to have no problem with that because I would then learn that life was unfair. Man, I hope this is my subconscious processing some of what happened in Vegas... although I did see Billy (Benjamin and Noah's dad) last night, too! Helen S. added me to FB via the Puckheads, which is fine by me.

Sausages and banana = phallic breakfast / Harmony and Jane's baby shower / Italian food

I had sausages and a banana for breakfast. Yes, yes, I know.... phallic symbols out the wazoo on a "religious" Sunday morning. :P Since Nada Surf's POPULAR was on the radio when Eric called, I gave him the greeting "Wash your hair every two weeks, got it?" (which could have backfired if Veronica was on the other end!) He was bemused, and told me that there surely must be other options! Of course, of course... later, he said that he'd never heard the song. On the way over, we talked about jerks / feelings / online people / Paul / "avoidance" / yesterday's wedding / my grandma's questions about him. We also established that April Fools is next week exactly (I'M NOT GETTING PUNKED IN REAL LIFE OR THE INTERNET!), and that Easter is the week following. I don't think I'll be going to Good Friday service this year since the description doesn't sound appealing... I do KNOW it's not about that, but "sitting in relative darkness and silence for 45 minutes" is not something I can do these days unless I'm trying to sleep! I also told him that I wouldn't go to curling this Friday even if there IS one more open spot, and wondered why he'd tried calling me a couple days ago. "One more opportunity to go to Bible Study" doesn't wash with ME! At least he didn't put on the Christian station this week!

At service, we learned that Auntie Rebecca would be leaving the church to return to Hong Kong since she has "received signs from God" that it's time to look after her elderly in-laws and mother. (I think we'll all miss her jolly laughter and concern!) We also learned that Micah had had fevers and seizures recently, leaving Phil and Grace VERY worried, and praying desperately! (I'd totally understand that) At least they know what to do about it now! Later, I saw ELAINE! Talked to her for a bit about China, New Hampshire (where her husband Matt's family is), starting a family because it's time, and "waiting on God to determine their next ministry step." I'll think of her a lot, and same with Auntie Rebecca! Chatted to Andrew L. about things before saying hi to Billy and his sons Benjamin and Noah. Said hi to Deb and a smiling baby Declan before trying to secure transportation to the baby shower from Tracy or Yvonne; I called Steph from the church phone (with Uncle Eugene right there) to see if she could do it. ("Go have lunch with the lards instead of sushi by yourself - it'll be free, and I can pick you up!") Tracy gave her directions and said she'd drive me, but she still had to go home and organize stuff. I didn't even ask her since I knew about that! Yvonne had the same worship meeting that Eric was going to; right after that was squared away, Eric wondered if I had a ride out of there. YES! Said hi to Amanda, Dylan, Anita, Allison, Wes / Esther / their daughter, Frances, her son Micah, and Elaine again. Elaine had to decline lunch since she's spending a lot of family time with her nieces and nephews before she moves again! UNDERSTANDABLE! Also talked to Randal about seeing Karen Choo last night; he figured that the "normal" way of contacting her was good enough, haha!

Saw Danny, Ashley, Ramen, Shira, Ada, Mattias, James, Jessie, Anastasia, and Lanie at Toddler Sunday School. James wanted to build a submarine, and Mattias wanted to build a tablecloth (?!) and a tram like the ones in San Francisco. Ashley didn't want to do much else except color her picture of the seasons and weather, which was fine. Afterwards, I secured my place at lunch with Mom, and we left pretty much right away. Said hi to Auntie Paula, Uncle Percy, Auntie Eva, Auntie Evie, Alan (who said Polly was at a choir practice - they'd been to Tsui Woo just yesterday, which IS NOT SURPRISING IN ANY WAY), Auntie Helen, and others at lunch. Mom was worried that I wouldn't get enough to eat (so she really ordered too much ha-gow / noodles / eggplant / chicken feet / green onion pancake / dim sum in general), and Denise later said that everyone was running late anyway! When Steph got there after eating lunch, people told her to eat some more, which she reluctantly did.

After getting to the party room at Tracy's place, we found MORE food in the form of fruit and veggie platters / Costco chocolate croissants / mango juice / chocolate chip cookies / other items. (we had fudge cake later) Talked to Harmony, Amy (she and Brian are getting married in August), Jane, Connie, Yvonne, Grace, Deb, Tracy (who's due in September), Denise, and Steph about various topics: CHOCOLATE IN DIAPERS! SUCKING MILK OUT OF BOTTLES! WINNIE'S KIDS! CHANGING A CREEPY BABY DOLL! THE HUNGER GAMES! CLOTH DIAPERS OR DISPOSABLE DIAPERS! BABY ISSUES! DECLAN! BABY POOLS! Dylan, Brian, Jon, and Edwin showed up after having some beers ("man shower"?!) to help with the heavy lifting and eat some food. Later, the Ngs and Ho decamped to Jon and Harmony's newer place for a few minutes while deciding what to do before dinner; we walked to Kafka's Café for the Syphon / peppermint tea (Steph got it for me) / water / coffee. We talked about hipsters, clam chowder, soccer games, Paul being unreachable (whatever!), Alan drinking wine, pregnancy, Jon singing random songs (without profanity) to the baby (who can be "Baby Ug"), Jane being a sweet girl, pre-natal fitness, chemistry, and more before busing to the dinner location.

The area at Main and Terminal brought back some Greyhound memories for me, but I'm VERY over that (kind of) relationship! Campagnolo Restaurant was pretty good; we talked about soup, pasta, pizza, grappa, Purdy's hedgehogs, hazelnut, Caesarean sections, the cervix, pregnancy, Dawn's family, Alice, Glen Clark, Uncle Daniel's family (we're SURE he has secret lunches with Megan since his wife disapproves of their son-in-law, and Phil before him!), our cousins, Eni / real estate, hockey news, Auntie Catherine and Uncle Y.C., TMI, the MOM'S BATHTUB READER which Mom got for Harmony (she didn't regift the largely-unread one I got her YEARS ago), and more. Grandma was in a worse mood than the last time we took her out for dinner, that's for sure! She doesn't like Shanghai food, but she was SMILING and laughing a couple weeks ago when it was just the younger family members! At least I survived the busy weekend, and have the rest of this week to regroup before SATURDAY!

Quintuplets Info, as of 2/29/12

Thank goodness for the Internet Wayback Machine! All info taken from Facts About Multiples.


Total Sets
I have recorded 795 sets of quintuplets in the world as of February 2012.

Earliest Quint Births
999 C.E. - Unidentified - A reference was found in the Annales Ottenburani SA 999, in MGH Scriptores V: 4 or 5.

First US Set
1875 - Kanouse (Wisconsin, February 13 1875). The five boys all died shortly after birth. There have been other sets born earlier, but none with solid information on them.

First Set To Survive
1934 - Annette Lillianna Marie, Yvonne Edouilda Marie (d June 23 2001), Cécile Marie Emilda, Marie Rein Alma (d 1970), and Émilie Marie Jeanne (d August 6 1954) Dionne (Ontario, Canada, May 28 1934). They were wards of the province and became a tourist attraction, housed in a hospital with a viewing area.

Identical Quintuplets
7 sets (possibly 8)

1786 - Waddington (likely in England, April 25 1786). Three were stillborn and 2 died shortly after birth. The bodies were preserved, and were tested & found to be identical.
1849 - unidentified (last name begins with W) (England, 1849) 5 boys, none survived. Reportedly one placenta from one egg; reported in London Lancet
1934 - Dionne (Canada, May 28 1934) Annette, Yvonne (d June 23 2001), Cécile, Marie (d 1970), and Émilie (d August 6 1954). The first set of identical quintuplets to survive.
1936 - unidentified (North Carolina, November 1936) 3 stillborn, 2 lived 30 mins. One was acephalic (had no head). There was 1 chorion, 1 placenta. The mother was 20.
1959 - Hannan (Texas, October 20 1959) Deborah (d), Janet (d), Karen (d), Melissa (d at one day), Suzanne Kay (d). They were the first set to be identified in utero by x-rays.
2004 - Quiroga/Aguilar (Mexico, August 24 2004) Lariza, Nessy, Diana, Tania, and Sonia. An article here states they are identical.
2007 - Molino (Philippines, November 7 2007) none survived, Clarisse, Claire, Kimberly, Joy, Mary Joy.

Possibly identical:

2008 - Szymkiewicz (Poland, April 2008) 5 girls, Olivia, Maja, Julia, Natalia, Karolina

The unidentified cases before 1934 were established by geneticist Dr. Norma Ford Walker (1893 - 1968).

Identical Quintuplets (All currently surviving)
1 set (possibly 2)

2004 - Quiroga/Aguilar (Mexico, August 24 2004) Lariza, Nessy, Diana, Tania, and Sonia. An article here states they are identical.

Possible:
2008 - Szymkiewisz (Poland, April 2008) 5 girls, Olivia

First US Quints To Survive
1963 - James Andrew (Jimmy), Mary Magdalene (Maggie), Mary Margaret (Margie), Mary Anne, and Mary Catherine Fischer (South Dakota, September 14 1963). 2 are identical.

Most Premature (All surviving)
24 weeks - Kameron, Izak, Chase, Halee, and Alexa Stone (Georgia, August 5 1999).
24 weeks, 3 days - Katina, Stephanie, Brooklyn, Shawn, and Darin Derks (Wisconsin, May 5 2003).
24 weeks, 3 days - Ilah, Paige, Ellie, Gia, and Enzo Spicocchi (Ohio, August 3, 2010)

Lightest Quint Birth Weight (Total, all surviving)
5 lbs 15.6 ozs - Stone (Georgia, August 5 1999) Kameron 1 lb 3 ozs, Izak 1 lb 3 ozs, Chase 1 lb 6 ozs, Halee 1 lb 4 ozs, Alexa 15.6 ozs.
6 lbs 6.5 ozs - Derks (Wisconsin, May 5 2003) Katina 1 lb 3 ozs, Stephanie 1 lb 3.5 ozs, Brooklyn 1 lb 5 ozs, Shawn 1 lb 3 ozs, Darin 1 lb 8 ozs.
7 lbs 15 ozs - Cassidy (Ireland, August 16 2001) Rory, Conor, Cian, Amy 1 lb 5 ozs, Dearbhail (g) (highest was 1 lb 11 ozs)

Lightest Quint Birth Weight (Single Quint Baby, surviving)
15 ozs - Nicholas Finer (Iowa, January 21 2000).
15 ozs - Giana Renteria (California, January 9 2005)
15.6 ozs - Alexis Stone (Georgia, August 5 1999).

One of the Torres girls weighed 13 ozs; I do not know if she survived.

Longest Gestation
34 weeks, 3 days - Joshua, Zachary, Dillon, Dalton, and Madison Wilson (from Pennsylvania, born in Arizona, July 23 2003).
34 weeks - The Hernandez/Torres (Mexico, December 30 1993) 5 boys.
33.5 weeks - Aguilar/Montiel (Mexico, August 24 2004)

Heaviest Quint Birth Weight (Total, All surviving)
21 lbs 7.2 ozs - Kassidy (5 lbs 1.2 ozs), Kaydence (3 lbs 6 ozs), Kyndall (4 lbs 2 ozs), Rustin (4 lbs 15 ozs), Ryder (3 lbs 15 ozs) Wilkinson (from Texas, born in Arizona, July 31 2007).
21 lbs 1.2 ozs - Joshua (5 lbs 1.6 ozs), Zachary (3 lbs 9.4 ozs), Dillon (4 lbs 7 ozs), Dalton (4 lbs 3.2 ozs), Madison (3 lbs 12 ozs) Wilson (Arizona, Jul 23 2003).
20 lbs 14 ozs - Abigail, Kathryn, Emiline, Samuel, and Nathaniel Bova (California, March 1 2001).

Heaviest Quint Birth Weight (Single Baby)
5 lbs 1.6 ozs - Joshua Wilson (born in Arizona, July 23 2003).
4 lbs 12 ozs - David Phillips (born in Texas, October 2008).
4 lbs 9 ozs - One of the Bova quints, (California, March 1 2001).

Oldest Living Set (All 5 survive)
61 years old - Diligenti (Argentina, July 15 1943) Maria Esther, Maria Fernanda, Maria Christina, Carlos Alberto, Franco (spontaneous)

First Quints From Fertility Drugs
1965 - Samuel Christian Clayton, Deborah Ann, Lisa Gay, Shirlene Jan, and Selina Joy Lawson (New Zealand, July 27 1965).

World's First IVF Quints
World - Alan, Brett, Connor, Douglas, and Edward Jacobssen (England, April 26 1985).
USA - Alexandria, Danielle, Erica, Veronica, and Raymond L'Esperance (Michigan, January 11 1988).
Canada - Maxine, Remington, Willie, Lance, and Wade Collier (Ontario, Canada, February 6 1988).
Mexico - Andrea, Alondra, Adela, Arturo, and Pascual Cuevas/Burciaga Mexico, March 15 1998).
Venezuela - Samuel, Fabricio (d), Jose-Alejandro, Jesus, and Jose-Francisco Cestari (Venezuela, November 21 1998).
China - Unidentified (April 2000).

All Male Quints (History)
45 sets - I have only found 45 recorded sets, only 16 (possibly 20) living.

All Male Quints (All 5 Living)
16 sets (possibly 20)

1914 - Salemi (Italy, May 13 1914) All survived after 1 week
1982 - Glasel (Israel, December 1982) Ziv, Ron, Shay, Dor, and Oz.
1983 - Ribero/Gil (Spain, August 14 1983) Agustin, Luis, Juan, Francisco, and Fermin.
1983 - Dormieu (France, December 19 1983) Benjamin, Pierre, Antoine, Clement, and Sylvain.
1985 - Jacobssen (England, April 26 1985) Alan, Brett, Connor, Douglas, and Edward.
1987 - Ascher (Germany, September 24 1987) Benjamin, Dominick, Daniel, Fabian, Felix
1992 - Guerra/Faciline (Argentina, June 28 1992)
1996 - Guttensohn (Alabama, August 8 1996) Mason Fielder, Eric Tanner, Hunter Christian, Parker Allen, and Taylor James.
1996 - Dourthe/Orrego (Chile, October 1996) Joaquín, Vicente, Francisco, Ignacio, and Sebastián. Two are identical.
1999 - Wells (Texas, December 14 1999) Jantzen, Briley, Zachary, Landen, and Jaden.
2004 - Kupe (Albania, March 19 2004) all survived their birth
2004 - Peltz (Minnesota, April 24 2004) Austin, Blake, Clayton, Daniel, and Ethan. Two of the boys are identical.
2005 - Moreno/Gonzalez (Arizona, April 26 2005) Enrique, Gabriel, Victor, Javier, and Jorge. Some may be identical.
2007 - Smith/Harris (South Carolina, July 27 2007) Matthew, Johnathan, Laten, Nicolas, Cody. Spontaneous.
2009 - Kumari (India, April 12 2009)
2009 - Conklin (Pennsylvania, 2009) Ian, Sawyer, Wesley, Micah, Travis

The other possible living sets are:

1957 - Unidentified (Turkey, July 1 1957)
1980 - Neuhoff (South Africa, February 29 1980)
1993 - Hernandez/Torres (Mexico, December 30 1993)
1999 - Unidentified (Saudi Arabia, 1999) doubt that all survived, as they said a set born in 2001 was the first to survive in Saudi Arabia.

In addition, there is also a set of 5 surviving male sextuplets, the Alexandros set, who live in California.

All Female Quints (History)
33 sets - There have only been 33 proven sets of all female quintuplets.

All Female Quints (All 5 Living)
5 sets (possibly 7)

1969 - Hanson (England, November 13 1969) Julie, Jacqueline, Joanne, Sarah, and Nicola.
2004 - Reyes/Quistian (Mexico, March 25 2004) Alba, Ananke, Regina, Dominique, Monserrat
2004 - Quiroga/Aguilar (Mexico, August 24 2004) Lariza, Nessy, Diana, Tania, Sonia (spontaneous, all identical)
2007 - Artamkin (from Russia, born in UK) Elizaveta, Alexandra, Nadezhda, Tatiana, Varvara
2008 - Szymkiewicz (Poland, April 5) Olivia, Maja, Julia, Natalia, Karolina (spontaneous, may be all identical)

The other sets that may have all 5 living are:

1979 - Torres (Colombia, October 1979)
1999 - Unidentified (Italy, July 1999) Sara, Beatrice, Benedetta, Arianna, and Martine.

First Set of African-American Quints To Survive
1983 - Joshua, Rhealyn, Brandon, Ashlee, and Renee Gaither born in Indiana August 3 1983.

Quints Without Fertility Methods (Spontaneous/natural conception)
111 sets - Almost all occurred before the 1960s. Since 1965, when the first set was born from fertility methods, only 23 sets have been conceived spontaneously in the world.

Youngest Mother of Quints
19 years old - Mother of Andre-Luiz, Manuel-Antonio, Daniel, Isaac, Levi De Oliviera Pereira (Brazil, October 30 2003) 4 surviving.
20 years old - Mother of Charla, Chanda, Christa, Chelsa, Casey Davis (Texas, July 18 1975).
20 years old - Unidentified (North Carolina, 1936) 5 boys.

Youngest Father of Quints
18 years old - Father of Tiques/Torres (Colombia, October 3 1979) 5 girls, 4 survive

Most Sets
2 - Unidentified (Malawi, Africa) She had 1 set of twins, 1 set of triplets, 2 sets of quints, and 1 set of sextuplets by 1961. 7 out of 10 children from seven pregnancies were alive in 1961.
2 - Kelly (Pennsylvania) triplets, quintuplets (1826), quintuplets (1826), twins (1827).

Sets With Identicals
27 sets total - Ranging from just 2 babies identical (17 sets), all identical (6 or 7 sets), 3 identical and 2 identical (1 set), 3 identical and 2 fraternal (1 set), 2 sets of identical twins (2 sets).

Delayed Quint Birth (All surviving)
17 days - Bailey, Shelby, Avery, William, Lucas Wainscott (Kentucky, November 16 and December 2 2001). All survive.

Surrogate Quints
2 sets - The Dysarz/Meehan set was conceived as quints, with 4 surviving. The Moreno/Gonzalez set were born April 26 2005.

Hospital Delivering the Most Quints
11 sets - Banner Good Samaritan Hospital in Arizona (as of 2009).

Sets Born Per Year (USA)
Since 1989, there have been an average of 12 sets of quintuplets and higher born in the US each year.
4.68% of all quints will have some identical children.

Copa Café, Mattias, Marcus, ribeye steak, too-mushy cards

Woke up pretty early, but it was okay - got a couple of surprising messages from James and Ryan, which were a plus! Auntie Catherine said that she'd bring her grandkids Mattias and Marcus along to the Copa Café, which was easy to find from the King Edward Station - it's been forever since I've eaten a meal with kids who are 3 and 1, hahaha. Turns out they got there in the rainy weather before I did, but it was perfectly fine. I noted that all the water and tea glasses were being kept well away from Marcus, who wants to grab everything in sight - like Benjamin at that age, haha. Auntie Catherine asked what I'd prefer to eat: ribeye steak (for the iron) and eggs (for the protein) it was!

She said that she missed me on Sundays, wondered whether there was a reason why I wasn't going to church lately, and said I could call her after 9 PM if I ever wanted to talk about it. Trust me, she doesn't want to know the reasons (other than a crazy sleep schedule) - that involves some things I'm really not comfortable with discussing, actually! (my sister / my own feelings on religion) She wondered whether my family had had CNY dinner yet; when I said tomorrow would be it, she asked whether it had anything to do with Steph's work schedule, and wondered what my sister did besides work. She's so gentle and means well, but I don't have the heart to tell her anything beyond the superficial "she's pretty busy with work and a lot of stuff in her off time!" Well, I wouldn't anyway, but you know what I mean. I definitely don't need people to PRAY FOR MY SOUL!

Speaking of prayer, Mattias said that we had to pray before we ate, after becoming impatient to eat Chinese buns with butter. Why not... he's a cute kid, and I have enough respect for his grandmother! He wanted everyone else's food, of course - I wasn't surprised! I talked to him about cars, trucks, buses, rice, noodles, bread, school, friends, and other simple topics while asking a fussy baby Marcus if he wanted water. I had to hold Marcus for a few minutes while Auntie Catherine went off with Mattias to the washroom; while he was fussing, I tried my best to send out "I AM NOT ABUSING THIS KID - HE'S JUST FUSSY!" vibes to the other people in the restaurant, haha. I politely thanked her after brunch (she also offered me some of her noodles with preserved vegetables, too) - good thing it included COFFEE! Mattias also wondered if I had presents for him - HAHAHAHA, no! I'm chill about that kind of "rudeness" from kids, since it could be so much worse!

Also went shopping for some minor stuff (toilet paper / on-sale pads / Steph's birthday card / pasta sauce which Eric can help me open) at London Drugs and Shoppers Drug Mart afterwards. The one problem with family-oriented greeting cards is that most of them are TOO MUSHY for my usual taste! (note: I don't DO mushy / sentimental / emotional unless there is a VERY GOOD reason for such) While I was walking to the door, Bob spotted me and said hey - I smiled and said the same thing. Good to see him, actually! Might take a nap before the hockey game starts at 7, haha.

White people and their pronunciation of "Joseph" drive me INSANE! / Yay for brunch!

When Eric called to pick me up this morning, I realized that I put my pants on backwards - of course, fixing this (since I didn't want to go around all morning like that) and getting things ready only created a further delay! I apologized for this when I got into his car, and he wondered whether my pockets or the pants material would provide a clue! The pockets did, and that was what prompted me to check just before leaving! We talked about our respective Saturdays (he said he'd ask Denise whether I were drunk), the wings night at Jeremy's, Dylan / Deb / Jon / Harmony / Christon, Randal as my "good buddy" (I DON'T THINK SO!), his catching Vicky's cold (WHY DO PEOPLE GO OUT TO A NON-ESSENTIAL FUNCTION WHEN THEY'RE SICK?!), the Masters, golf, football, Team 1040, the hockey playoffs, the Dallas Stars, SLB scheduling (Randal is NOT getting invited since I don't approve of him!), and more on the way to church. We saw Randal's red Hyundai Accent while walking to the building from the daycare, so Eric had to bug me about that!

By the time it got to the sermon, I was cringing and saying "ouch" each time Pastor Tom said the name "Joseph" because he mispronounced it in the same way John Auxier did - it's NOT "Yozif," people! I communicated this to Eric via a note on my bulletin; in turn, he bugged me by writing "I believe in the power of Yozif and I" on his own bulletin. NO!!!!! BAD ERIC! But Pastor Tom did remind me of an olden method of torture / execution: tearing people limb from limb by using horses! When I laughed at that, it was Eric's turn to call ME bad! Hey, he KNOWS that I'm morbid! At the end of service, he wrote to tell me that he was counting offering, then leaving early for De Dutch - NICE! (he also drew a smiley face - trying to get ME to smile ain't gonna work!) I said hi to Harmony while Cindy was trying to get my attention: she had a Ziploc bag for me with mini stickers featuring music notes / dogs / hearts / happy faces / stars - so sweet!

On my way out of service, I said hi to Grandma (who was on her way INTO service), then Dad said that I had to look for Mom since she had stuff for me. Found Mom soon enough, and picked up my bag of toilet paper and books, plus one for Jon. (I promptly gave that to Harmony while I took a cookie from the snacks table - unlikely to have been touched by Randal, haha) On my way back from there, Eric caught me to ask whether I were going to Sunrise Service, so I asked HIM the same thing - seems like he is, and he told me that Randal had asked whether I were going. (for breakfast purposes, I guess) Since I didn't want to tell him in church not to be a shit-stirrer (I saved that for OUTSIDE of the building :P), my resulting answer of "He did NOT!!!!" could apparently be heard all over the church according to Eric later on. (I don't think so, but there IS the NG lungpower!) Unfortunately for me, Randal came up behind us right at that moment and gave me a strange look - hey man, speak of the devil, and he will come! (Eric on this later on: "Randal isn't the devil!" HEY, IT'S A COLLOQUIALISM!)

Said hi to Julie M., Wesley, Nathan, Billy, his son Benjamin, Auntie Catherine, and more people; I also let Auntie Ying know that I wouldn't be there to help with the toddlers. Jonathan asked Yvonne when her wedding was: in two and a half months?! We DID meet her around the summer of 2009, NOT 2005 like Jonathan was trying to say! While I was having a roaring good time talking to Enoch about life (he has three siblings, and is happy school is almost over - he and his classmates will probably SLEEP for days afterward!), Mr. Creep was approaching us. I excused myself to Enoch, and inserted myself into a conversation among Mary / Stanley / Hien. Apparently, Stanley was making "short" jokes at the girls' expense, so I told Hien to yell at him! That didn't work, but at least I tried! I was going to ask Jon about Easter dinner / SLB dinner scheduling, but had to leave when Mr. Creep was headed in my direction... maybe later. Noticed Mr. Creep talking to Jeremy, so I resolved to balance the universe by talking to Jeremy myself later - he said wing night had gone well, but there would probably have to be multiple batches if more than six people were there at a future wing night! Hahaha, sounds fair enough! He wondered where I'd been, so I explained about the pub invite.

When Eric finally showed up, I thought we could leave - they were setting up for Sunday School anyway. But no... he had to spend ten minutes talking to Raymond and Cindy about stuff. I know he likes Cindy or whatever, but if you need to GO FOR BRUNCH... *sigh* The "different" woman Teresa asked a bunch of us about any interest in her pouches or beads - nope! I said hi to Chrystal and wished her a happy early birthday, too. We FINALLY got going at 11:45 or so, and discussed issues / acceptance / Easter Sunrise Service and his not wanting to speak for me (he might as well in this instance since I'm NOT spending Easter morning with my parents!) / Australians / strangeness on our way into Richmond. Then he wondered whether I were going for lunch with them - since I'm not one to pass up a free meal (except under certain circumstances), I said sure.

Ron, Veronica, Eric, and I discussed maintenance for the Sunfire, birthday discounts, coupons, cruising, family stuff, the hockey game last night, Dutch pancakes (which ARE just like what Teunis cooks here), cheers for Eric's temporary work during the election, golf, tennis, Quizno's, and more. Of course I thanked them for the meal! Eric dropped me off at 1:20 after saying that I should tell Teunis to get me drunk for his birthday (NOT what you're thinking!) - NO! I was able to discuss Jordan showing off GUILDS OF WAR on Andrew's computer at MIDNIGHT (which wasn't unpacked yet) / the POO game / age differences in relationships (a 49-year-old with a 22-year-old, AND they have a four-year-old daughter?! CREEPY!), Kaili, spinach noodles and kimchi in a pot (to take with him in the car?!), radio shows, and more prior to Teunis leaving. At least I'll see him later! Noticed that Peter unfriended me AGAIN, and that Carley added me on another account - also, I got a few amusing messages from Jasmine. Hey, if we aren't friends anymore, I see no reason to protect your stuff - it's laughter city that she took four months to notice her CORRECT name! HAHAHAHA! (but I will protect Yolande's stuff since she asked)

Insight, 4-1 wins against the Leafs, Domino's pizza, and BILLY BUDD as an opera

Chinese Eric came by at about 3:30 as he said, and came in to look at the computer. For some reason, he made it work where I could not - thank goodness I don't have to lug that tomorrow to the parents' place, otherwise my mom would have something to say about it! (probably much the same as HIS mother: "why are you buying a computer for this girl?!") He and I both know that we cherish our friendship, and he's naturally a giving guy anyway. He had a bit of water before we left - talked about a LOT of stuff tonight, especially when Nathan showed up! Most of the conversation is off the record (as it should be), but we did talk about messed-up exes / insight into death threat messages and red flags / Des / drawings / my being a guinea pig for Nathan's prompt cards / Ryan Kessel's "long stick wrapping around a player" (thanks, Nate...) / Nathan's research into being Chinese / Domino's pizza / clips of the Rape of Nanking and my reactions / girlfriends / psychoanalysis / the past / chocolates / salsa / chips / Lays / "guy thoughts" (I walked in on the wrong part of the conversation about bikinis and February!) / family opposition and such / major life changes / Steph and Lisa (and THOSE reactions!) / Jon / Christon / New Year's Eve / tomorrow's movie night. Erica said bye to Nathan later on before she went out, too. The Canucks won 4-1 against the Leafs, and Minnesota beat Chicago 3-1. Nathan drove me home when Eric couldn't find his car keys - when we exited the house, there was a good reason why. His dad had taken the car!


Trivia fact for Sunday, Dec. 19: What famous composer turned Herman Melville's novella Billy Budd into an opera? Benjamin Britten. The libretto was written by E.M. Forster and Eric Crozier.

Corey confirming the bad battery, Conor in frog costume (dream), Volkswagen Bugs

I went to sleep at around 1:30 or 2, and then was awakened at 5:40 AM by some loud noise that sounded like a bad imitation of a ringing phone, but wasn't the real deal. Since I was up anyway, I decided to check my email and such - I discovered that the mice have somehow been keeping alive by chewing on plastic bags and bits of paper! EWWWWWW!

Corey had replied to my laptop battery email to confirm what others have been saying. "Sounds like you have a bad battery to me! You sure you're checking the right icon? [YES!] Hong Kong is overrun with cheap stuff and knock-offs, including batteries - haven't you heard of the laptop batteries exploding in flight? Spend more money, and get a real one!" Hahaha... well, since Chinese Eric is back in town for good, whatever I buy will be the real deal unless it's from the Night Market or something! Corey also says he doesn't know his new Taiwanese address (but does know Jane's), although the apartment is right across from the train station and very easy to find! Says he's coming home for Christmas, so if I'm sending stuff, just send it to the usual address. Haha, sounds good then!

Went back to bed and had fragmented dream imagery of Henry, Sean S., Conor, and other church people in masks or frog costumes. One little girl (with David M.) didn't like my costume, so she kicked me! I blame this on little Ellie not liking my Santa hat, AND on the "SWAT team" masks in Ocean's Eleven. When I got up for good, I took a shower since I didn't have time to do so yesterday - SO HECTIC! I've come across a wishlist where this woman describes herself as having two sons, but one is stillborn (yet still has the name Benjamin), and the other's is NICKALAUS. WTF @ the spelling, man!

You Are an Aqua Bug

You are a bastion of harmony and tranquility. You have come as close as possible to achieving inner peace. You have a lot of perspective on the world. You are able to see things clearly... much more than most people. You can see all sides to an issue or person. You try to find the middle ground or middle road. You are confident and sure of yourself. You are clear-headed, and that allows you to do what needs to be done.

What Color Bug Are You?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Restarts and Good Charlotte sex fests

This thing restarted, but it was lucky that I'd finished editing stuff FIRST!

Edit - And again at 10:50!

Note: Your LiveJournal Servants Memegen, by ass_.

Which GC / Mest sex fest are you gonna witness? by goth_tears
Name
Age
Gender
The Boys	Benji / Chris
Did They Catch You?	No - You blended with shadows.
Turn On?	Yes - But not long enough.

Another round of Erin's embarrassing stories! / Casey Jones

This thing just restarted, but I'm not surprised! Good thing that I wasn't really writing anything - just doing some bookmarks upkeep, and I'd already pasted links and SAVED the entry! Learning new habits, indeed!

The bus trip out to Erin's was uneventful, save for wondering whether I was going the right way down Brakenridge to McMullen. (which somehow was "McCallum" in my mind) Luckily, I was - I got there shortly after 6 (Steph let me in), to find Erin / Jessica Lam (whom I haven't seen in AGES) / Tracy in the kitchen. Daniel, Winnie, Denise, Brian, Chung and baby Mattias, Eunice, and Vanessa got there later - Jon and Harmony were late, along with Jessica's boyfriend (How?) and Alan. Phil and Grace had been there earlier before the guys' soccer game, and Erin's younger brother Derek was apparently napping. Her husband Ben and youngest brother Darren came downstairs later, so that was the full complement. Since Erin was around for once, we definitely had to get into her embarrassing stories: Vomiting all over a pharmacy customer? Walking into a soccer post in Gr. 8, having a temporary bridge done YEARS later, and then having said bridge fall out of her mouth in front of a customer? (she had to excuse herself and pick it up off the floor!) Maxipad stories?

Having a UTI on her Hawaiian / twisty road to Hana honeymoon? (Denise said it wasn't really related to the "whatever" - sex - and she should know, since she's a doctor) Having a black bra fall out of her shirt during woodworking class, and the teacher draw the attention of THE ENTIRE CLASS to it?! ("Erin, I think you dropped something..." She thinks it's because the bra was inside her shirt already when she grabbed it from a pile of clothes in the morning to wear to school.) Everyone was laughing hysterically - although we had to send Darren out of the room for the honeymoon one since we figured he didn't need to know THAT about his sister! - and we wondered HOW ON EARTH Derek could be sleeping through that noise!

There was SO MUCH FOOD that I eventually took my cheese bread and some cookies home - veggies, a Corningware FULL of cookies, at least two pizzas, Michelle's AMAZING broccoli salad from the home garden (it was the BACON!), hummus, meaty chicken wings, Steph's pasta with cream of mushroom soup / salmon / a pound of cheese, fried rice, BBQ pork, juice, punch, cream puffs, and lots more! We talked about how Michelle hurt her back doing some vacuuming, ICQ (hearing the "uh-oh!" sound from above) / backspacing, Auntie Ying / Uncle Daniel impersonations, how much Alan and others DRANK at Andrea's wedding, Julie, Daniel and Michelle's anniversary trip to Portland on July 1, getting Auntie Anita to dance, nuggets, Eunice's hairdressing / paralegal work, her niece and nephew (Avery and Wesley), and her boyfriend Eddie.

Also talked about old notes in church bulletins, code names for people (Irene was CATWOMAN), Nathan being back soon (my mom wants to have a dinner with him!), Karen I. being pregnant again, Daniel and Nathan's dad selling the house, how Erin should just move everyone over to Ottawa, alternating Christmases, downtime, moving, Daniel's joking contention about baby Cameron being a robot, his brother Connor answering the door naked once, their sister Megan T. being cute, Vanessa bumping into Michael / Amanda / their kids Ethan, Seren, and Megan H. once (the kids are so cute and SO BIG!), Andy and Megan C. not being able to make it (Megan's SO HUGE - she's not due till the end of July!), Sam and Connie's kid Jaden (he must be in Gr. 12 by now - we probably wouldn't recognize him!), where to watch tomorrow's soccer game, and more. Ben just sat there, haha - he probably had fun, though!

We figured that couples should get at least one big trip out of the way before trying for a kid... Dylan and Deb are going to the Philippines. Helen, Joe, Billy, Stella, Kenny, and Winnie all went on a cruise once where someone asked whether they were old enough to go into a certain area of the ship. Billy didn't like that, and tried to impress on the guy that they were all working professionals - "she's a doctor, he's a psychiatrist, I'm a pharmacist, etc." Finally, they had to show their ID anyway! This reminded Daniel of when he and Michelle had been in the UK to see Nathan - they'd been at a bar, and one of the employees had asked him whether Nathan and Michelle were old enough to drink! When Daniel said that they were both 30, the employee said "Even the girl?!" His response: "I'm MARRIED to her!"

Steph said that a certain local news personality probably shouldn't have online videos of her working out ON A BLOG, because she's getting stalked! This creep sent this person a bunch of letters SOAKED IN URINE! That's all she would say, since she probably shouldn't even say that much - and yes, this is Burnaby! Speaking of creepy people, she has this "friend" named Peevers who sends her innocent-sounding text messages with BAD GRAMMAR which is definitely a turn-off! ("your awesum and an unbelievable woman! :)" - our reaction was "PUKE!!!!") She's "using" him for laptop shopping help and such, but we spent some time laughing over his BAD text messages! They'd met in Regina, and she had spent a weekend hanging out with him because she thought they were just friends. Of course, he couldn't be on base with her, and she didn't want to stay in his hotel room! Then there was the groomsman from Melia and Angus' wedding who was taken with her... ew! (We discussed how to be a Wedding MC - Steph seems popular, even if she was pressed into service a week before Jon and Harmony's wedding because their original pick for the job couldn't make it! INCEST JOKES!)

When I stepped away from the table to admire baby Mattias in his cool sweater ("Why are all these people watching me eat? Where am I? I'm going to CRY!"), Steph told everyone else there that Jonathan Gillis had actually LIKED her! (I thought that might have been the case) On a suggestion from the guys, he had got her a Valentine's Day gift of a little bear (with a heart reading "BE MINE") / flowers / chocolates. She'd been trying to dodge him on her way out of work after her night shift because he wanted her to see him later, but he caught up with her to give her this present. She felt bad because she knew that there were lots of girls who would REALLY WANT something such as this, but she had to say something like "I didn't know you gave your FRIENDS such extravagant Valentine's gifts, Gillis..." ICE COLD, baby! When the guys (including a corporal) texted her later, she was like "F*** YOU!" How dare they have a laugh at her expense!

Jon said that he, Randal, and Jeremy all had diarrhea after going to some Kingsway / Clark Pho place for lunch on Sunday. Harmony didn't go because she had a wedding shower to attend; Wesley and Jen didn't seem affected at all, and it was lucky that Eric and I didn't go then! (Eunice asked whether Eric still lived in Richmond, and Erin wondered whether he drove me to church - after that ABUSE from my mother, you bet he does!) No wonder Jon had sounded sleepy and bleh when I called him earlier in the week! Briefly said hi to Derek, who's going to the Philippines soon... I loved the rosemary mint soap in the downstairs bathroom, too! Discussed SERVANTS, rats, wedding keepsakes / thank-you cards, my mom suggesting all these times to meet Erin and Ben for bubble tea tomorrow (maybe after Jon's concert), and more. Jon and Harmony drove me to the Canada Line station; they're moving next month, going to Toronto for Dave's wedding in August, and going to Italy from about Sept. 3-17. I experienced bus efficiency as the 407 was RIGHT THERE after I got out of the Brighouse Canada Line station!


Trivia fact for Friday, June 18: What was the name of the train that ill-fated railroad engineer Casey Jones was operating when it crashed? The Cannonball Express.


Edit: And it restarted again at 1:36! I'm rather tired anyway, so I shall be going to bed!

Slow pique and relaxing padlocks / GOLDEN computer! / Good hold timing!

High-scoring words of the afternoon:

JOIST (383 points) - against Lynn B. [two 5W, hook off YA to make YO / AI]
CONCEPT (240 points) - against Lisa T. [5W, 3W]
COMITY (136 points) - against Janice C. [2W, 4W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
SPEISE (265 points) - against Anjali R. [4W, 5W]
TWIXT (189 points) - against Anne C. [two 3W - one used twice, hook off EDIT to make ET] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
SLOWISH (156 points) - against Mike A. [4W, 5L on H]
PIQUANT (315 points; 4W, 3W, hook off WOOD to make AW / NO / TO), PLAYGOER (104 points; 4W), CROSS (235 points; two 5W, hook off DOVE for a plural), FARMS (385 points; two 5W, hook off PINY to make SPINY) - against Angie M.
SIC (111 points) - against Elise A. [4W, 3W, hook off WAX / GOOF to make FAS / XI] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
THORAX (100 points) - against Kimberly N. [5W]
DAPS (204 points) - against Eve G. [5W, 4W, hook off YIN to make PYIN]
PADLOCKS (120 points) - against Janet M. [4W]
RELAXANT (440 points) - against Michelle M. [5W, two 2W]
SCURF (120 points) - against Sue C. [5W, 2W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
TOSTADA (845 points) - against Joan P. [5W, two 4W, hook off REAR for a plural]
ENDOW (200 points; 5W, 4W), AXES (195 points; 5W, 3W) - against Mary Lou B.


I'm almost certain I can hear someone crying in this computer room! But I am on the GOLDEN computer - yes, that's the name pasted on the machine! Yet another instance of good timing: my hold of But I Trusted You: Ann Rule's Crime Files #14 (Ann Rule) is ready to be picked up when I'm at the library already. YES! And I think LJ is unblocked from 3-6, or something. I better hurry before I'm off to Erin's to see her and Ben, with cheese bread! At least I won't come home to barf, excuses, a disrespectful person, false love declarations, and other such things unlike the LAST time I went over there in summer 2008!

MurderDolls and why he loves me / The first time I have sex

This thing just restarted!

What would the MurderDolls do to you!?!?!? by Necr0phelia
Your name...
Your fave color...
Wednesday will...	Force you to make out with him
Joey will...	Beat the shit outta you
Eric will...	Rape you
Ben will...	Yell at you that you're a slut, and beat you up
Acey will...	Pin you to a wall and rape you
You scream... (or not)	AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Afterwards, they will...	Rape you all one by one in front of the others
Afterwards, you will...	Call your best friend and tell her you met the Dolls
Do they have regrets?	No
Do they go in jail?	Yes, but get probation

What makes him love you? (GIRLS ONLY!!!!!) by ShoppinTilPink12
Name
Age
Hair Color
He loves you because you are...	pretty
and you also are...	happy
but most importantly, because you are...	smart

how, where, who, and what will happen the first time you have sex!!?? by happydays
Name:
Age:
Fave color:
when will you have sex:	October 26, 2009
Who will you have sex with:	Logan
Where will you have sex:	In a car outside your house!!

Haha... well, that didn't happen! :P

Erin and Ben fitting us in / Half-brother and half-sister / Coffee Craving / Explosion dream

This thing restarted both overnight AND just now! I hate when it gets hotter out, man! Also hate incompetent morons on the phone - how hard is it to simply forward me to the person I wish to speak with?! UGH!

Steph sent us an Evite AND a Facebook message to inform us that Erin and Ben can fit us into the "endless eating rotation of family dinners" next Thursday at her parents' house for a potluck which starts at 5. Perfect excuse... YAY! I'll have to figure out how to get there, but this should be relatively easy. At least nobody objectionable is on the guest list this time! I also ate the whole package of sweet chili Rice Bites before I went to bed - yikes, haha. I just heard about a news story where a couple didn't know they were actually half-brother and half-sister until very recently. Gotta love Ireland!

Had a dream where this lady was opening her fridge, and noticed a tape measure marked at certain numbers. When she looked for the third thing she needed for her cooking... BOOM! Everything exploded! I don't know what that's supposed to mean!


Edit an hour later - This thing restarted at 1:28, 1:32, 1:40, 1:50, 1:55, and 2:02!

You Are Easygoing

You are just along for the ride, and you're happy to be a part of the world. You think that life is pretty great, and you're looking to find the sweetest parts of it. You like to surround yourself with friends and family. You feel happiest when you have a large support group. You get a lot of joy from helping the people in your life. You always have some encouragement to share.

The Coffee Craving Test

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

I like my family of the heart, since my actual family is NUTS!

Burgoo, HO, and trying for sanity

This computer restarted TWICE in the last bit - once while I was out, and a second time just now. I'm also using Opera instead of Safari for now because it seems to work faster and better - it's just more responsive!

Steph picked me up after shopping at Richmond Centre for Vivian's bachelorette present (for tomorrow - manicure / pedicure / dinner), which she showed us later: QUIZ THE BRIDE ABOUT THE GROOM, haha. We discussed bombing, Awana ending early, air, a very little bit about my past Friday, Terrence, and the bad traffic before stopping at her place so a necessary function could be performed before watching old-time Canucks hockey on TV. After a while, we left again - we got to Burgoo in good time for the anniversary dinner for Jon and Harmony, and my parents had gone in separate cars for some reason. I later found out that Dad had a deacons meeting to attend, and I erroneously thought that this meant the dinner would be SHORTER - nope, he just left early. Oh well. We ordered coffee, wine, beer, biscuits, Kentucky meat, chicken pot pie-tasting stuff, salad, and other good things. Grandma came in and made a beeline for the bar, haha! Her memory is really getting bad if Jon just dropped her off, then she asked us where he was barely a minute later! :(

Mom gave me an Ikea bag of stuff, including a digicam (with related equipment) / Life Saver gummi candy / Rice Bites / candies. We discussed annoying stuff relating to me (ugh), Vivian's wedding on Thursday, Hannah Lee's wedding on July 10, Auntie Susan Lee / Karen Grace / Edwin, moving, the Stampede, seeing Dave He on Sunday, Steph seeing Dave Wong on Sunday near the church, Brent and Danielle, Nathan coming back soon, Eric and Jeremy being honorary NG family members, Chuck's mom dying from ovarian cancer, Raymond and Randal doing a boogie on the dance floor at Chuck and Andrea's wedding, Steph getting home at 1:30 after all was said and done that night, my taking transit with Eric, and more. Erin's coming back next week, and Tracy wants to have a get-together that's NOT coffee in between various family meals! Maybe Steph can host it at her place once a date is determined! Apparently, Erin's dad Uncle Eric is a bit sensitive about his son-in-law because Ben apparently won't call him "Dad" or say "Good morning" to him, I learned. Mom said that Auntie Brenda and Uncle Eric better not give them expired biscuits from the time Erin's other grandpa died, or a sweater they'd originally given them, which ultimately went to ME. Erin's grandpa Uncle Percy isn't doing well, and may have a heart operation which he refused seven years ago. Steph says she'll hang out with Mom if she takes Auntie Eva (Erin's aunt) out for a night, but of course Auntie Eva may be paranoid since she doesn't know what might happen to her 93-year-old father when she's gone!

Someone brought up the service project at First Baptist, and Jon said that he'd signed me up for the SERVANTS one, then asked how I'd liked it. I confined myself to an answer of "It was okay... the little girl was CUTE!" (Steph wondered if I could use some opportunities at SERVANTS - giving or receiving counselling?!) For some reason, Jon brought up toilet training since that little girl had recently been toilet-trained! We also discussed RateMyPoo.com ("don't upload those pictures now that you have a digicam!"), and what Jeremy had told us about the toilets in Germany and the low ledge to see your poo!

Mom said that they could give me a ride to Chung Ming's dinner, but a decision is a decision! After various discussions, we had ice cream at Bellagio Gelato across the street, and decided that it wasn't a good idea to jaywalk with Grandma in tow. At least Mom convinced Grandma to give me $50 more for the two weeks I spent with her (which I'll save), and Steph gave me back my fifty cents. Grandma thought Jon and Harmony didn't eat much considering the amount on the dinner bill, but fondue (which we had to describe as "cheese hot pot") DOES get filling after a while! Besides, the spinach salad was relatively huge! I think she figures they got full on the alcohol and French onion soup as well, haha.

On the way there, Jon horrified Mom by showing her Brewery Creek ("my favorite liquor store!"), haha. At the gelato place, various embarrassing stories were discussed - "it's FAMILY!" doesn't cut it with me. Jon mentioned that Dave liked hip-hop, and dressed about as well as the average person on Main Street - casual, yet not overdone. Then we quizzed her on Eminem / Marshall Mathers, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg... she had NO idea who any of these people were, haha. From there, we went to check out Jon and Harmony's new place next to a liquor store (the stairs there have railings - YAY!), then dropped them off at home since Mom also gave them a bunch of boxes for moving. Mom attempted to give me a ride home, but I just got her to drop me off at King Edward Station two minutes away. Got a train JUST in time, and didn't mind the wait when I got into Richmond even if I *did* have to pee! :P

Remaining Kate's bookie with a neural oration / Repairs to kitchen walls

Bingo of the afternoon:

UNDERARMS (105 points) - against Rose-Marie P.

High-scoring words of the afternoon so far:

ORATION (1800 points; two 5W, two 3W), UNIFACE (224 points; two 4W) - against Carole K.
NEURAL (150 points) - against Margaret D. [two 5W]
FAIRED (200 points) - against Shelley R.-B. [5W, 4W]
ZAX (115 points) - against Lisa K. [5W]
SUETY (132 points) - against Toni S. [3W, 4W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
REMAIN (235 points) - against Janice L. [two 5W, hook off VOTE to make VOTER]
CATE (120 points) - against Maureen W. [3W, 4W]
BOOKIE (425 points; two 5W), CABIN (176 points; two 4W) - against Ina H.
UNDERARMS (105 points) - against Rose-Marie P. [bingo, 4W]
SEAMEN (537 points) - against Ben L. [two 5W, hook off COVE for a plural]


The handyman came back around 2, and had a cool mini-camera to see into the hole that he knocked or punched out of the wall. Said that he and the plumber would get back to me on Friday or Monday, since it was an emergency because of the leak / insulation / cabinets / pipe. Okay, then. Finally was able to get to the library and return my book - the C94 came when scheduled, at least. I also renamed one tag on the faster connection, so that's good. Time to log in under another card number here at the library... ah, the old tricks of summer 2008... ;)

No Sunrise Service for me this year! / Almanacs

Eric picked me up at about 5:45, which was fine by me. Boy, it was intense wind and rain outside! Contrary to his delusion, I did NOT have a small head in my CANADA bag - it was a can of soup! He wondered if I were going to Sunrise Service, and I said I was because I thought he'd go. Turns out that his parents are driving, and so he'd make a decision tonight. Talked about Mr. Creep, and I said that my perfect line with the perfect delivery had seemed to do the trick - he wasn't talking to me anymore, which is what I wanted! Eric tried dissuading me about that, but I was pretty firm. Then he wondered whether the Good Friday service would be busy, since he didn't want to deprive an old lady of a parking spot, but he didn't want to park outside in the puddles either! I said that the old ladies had had their Good Friday service in the morning, and there should be plenty of space in the parkade. Turns out the parkade was closed, but the spaces next to it were probably okay!

Rang the doorbell, and Uncle Eugene let us in. I didn't mind being there early as long as I could read, and Christon figured that was the case. Dylan asked what book I was reading, so I told him. I said hi to Quan, who said that Hien was doing homework, and that Jon was at Pho - not surprised! Christon said that it would be a loud lively set for the most part, and this turned out to be true... gotta wake up the people who choose to attend Sunrise Service! Once I got to the sanctuary ahead of everyone else (sitting next to Jason M. - Mr. Creep was sitting near where I'd normally sit, but he moved), I found that we were doing something adapted from the Middle Ages named STATIONS OF THE CROSS. Images and readings, oh my! It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, heh. Said hi to little Allison, who walked around a little. You can't expect a two-year-old to stay seated for the duration, after all. She looked cute!

After the service, I went out with everyone else to the foyer. Talked to Emily Lam, Harmony, Jeremy, Eric, Jen, Karmie, Isabel, Christon, Cindy, and some others: sleeping in, doing the Chinese Good Friday service as a family, taxes, wedding planning, Chuck, Sunrise Service, headaches, bundling up and being warm, being awake when you do your testimony, and more. Thank goodness the baptism for our congregation is during the regular service this time! When Eric asked if I were ready to go, I wanted to... he said that he'd had a headache, after all. On the way home, he made me scream a couple of times - darned teasing! Said stuff about butter, basil, tomatoes, noodles, ass, making lunch after service, Que Pasa chips, incest, "V Diana" on Youtube, traffic lights falling down because of the wind, and more. I told him to please call me on Sunday - no worrying about two hours of sleep for me! He acted surprised, and thought I was going to Sunrise Service. I said that I'd made a decision of my own, and would do what he did. It works for me... even though I saw Ivan tonight, I didn't ask him whether he'd replaced his cell phone yet!


Trivia fact for Saturday, Apr. 3: Benjamin Franklin published Poor Richard's Almanac. Who published Alfred's Poor Almanac? MAD magazine. Alfred, of course, was Alfred E. Neumann, the magazine's gap-toothed figurehead.

Oxidating, fibs, and Uncle Ben's rice

High-scoring words of the night so far:

OXIDATE (342 points) - against Margaret C. [two 3W, 3L on X]
FIB (146 points) - against Pearl R. [two 3W]

Plans for tomorrow: hot and sour soup, $60 in "other" account, $75 in savings, pay Shaw bill, non-microfiber undershirts from Sears, and actually go to the "family dinner" which is combining dinner with Auntie Eva and someone from Singapore with Harmony's birthday.


Trivia fact for Wednesday, Mar. 24: What image remake did Uncle Ben - long the face of Uncle Ben's rice - undergo in 2007? After 61 years, he became chairman of the board in company ads.

Key lime pie, green cupcakes, bagpipes at the Foggy Dew Irish Pub, and houses on the hill

I had to call Jon and Steph to tell them about something EPIC, haha. No, I am not pregnant - holy unexploded bombshell, Batman! Went to Karmie's soon after that - only Stella and I showed up, so we put off the study in favor of talking about baking / cooking / parenting / nephews / kids / clothing / key lime pie and food coloring / green frosting on cupcakes / hockey tournaments in Summerland and the snow up there / Scottish bagpipes / SUPERSIZE ME / Chicken McNuggets / the beach / swimming / green, and more. After I got home, I went to the Foggy Dew for maybe half an hour to check out what was going on there: bagpipes, impromptu Irish jigs, HONKY-TONK WOMEN, MOONDANCE, live band, and more. Lots of Guinness hats, green outfits, and such stuff was around in the loud pub!

Trivia fact for Thursday, Mar. 18: Which U.S. president was living in a house on San Juan Hill when he received news of his election as commander in chief? Herbert Hoover, in 1928. The 57-room house (on San Juan Hill in Palo Alto, California) was the first and only permanent residence that Hoover and his wife, Lou, shared. Now a national historic site, it serves as the home of the president of Stanford University.

Accidents on the Alex Fraser resulting in DEATH / Dogs eating Jezebel / North Pole Eskimos

Jen and Harmony were late meeting me - at first, I thought that they'd gone ahead without me when I saw one Canada Line train empty itself of passengers. At least it wasn't cold outside, so I waited for the next one since I had left at 6:40 and waited for the bus till 6:50! When Harmony saw me, she apologized and said she'd tried to call me... RIGHT when I had left! We talked about job interviews / JACK BAUER / swing dancing / Winnie P. / singles / work as we waited for the 403 or 404, then gave Karmie a call. She said that there was some traffic snarl that was related to a few accidents all happening at once on the Alex Fraser bridge; apparently, a semi-truck had crashed into a third car which had driven into two cars involved in an accident. (the driver of the third car died!) No wonder Stella couldn't come since her husband Billy had called her at 7:16 from said bridge! Nobody else was home to look after her boys, of course.

We spent the entire study on Jezebel - the dogs definitely licked up her blood and then ate her entire body excluding skull, hands, and feet! It was pretty interesting, especially how she fixed her hair and such before her enemy killed her - and how her eunuchs just threw her out the window like that! (DEFENESTRATION!) Enjoyed some chocolate biscuits, (oxidized) green apple slices, and green tea while talking about the Olympics (Andrea's city worker shift is from 4 PM to midnight?!) / events / Josiah / interviews / not meeting during the Olympics / Auntie Kam and Zoe / Julie and Elaine's grandma not doing well, and their mom Auntie Cynthia travelling overseas despite her own condition / other such things. Andrea drove me home, and we tentatively agreed to hang out next week before Olympics fever hits town. At home, I finally finished the kids' birthday cards, and put some others into my usual knapsack before editing some stuff.


Trivia fact for Thursday, Jan. 21: How did four men named Oatah, Egingwah, Ookeah, and Seegloo make history in 1909? They are the Eskimos credited with reaching the North Pole with Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. The expedition was Peary's eighth bid to reach the pole.

Dark peppermint, Advent calendars, journals, Elizabeth, Mary x3, and Noah x2

Took a shower, and then left early after resolving to do laundry when I got home. Went to London Drugs, and bought a "replacement" bag of on-sale Almond Roca for Eric's family - the idea I came up with in the shower was telling him that the hard candies were really for the kids, and I got mixed up while trying to organize candy at 3 AM one time, haha. Then after looking around for ten minutes, I found a Mead journal for myself and three different Advent calendars for Jon / Harmony / Steph. I should have bought hand sanitizer, but will later - also got hand cream, some BBQ Munchies "crunchy coated peanuts" which were supposed to serve as some kind of quick "dinner" (but didn't), two pairs of blue thermal socks with snowflakes on them (I need them - they might as well get bunged in with the rest of the laundry later!), and two on-sale boxes of Lindt dark peppermint pieces which I couldn't resist.

Went to the Canada Line, and was apparently in the wrong place because Harmony and Jen came up to me after a few minutes and said they were at some other stop which I couldn't see... whoops! On the way to Karmie's, we discussed Jon being at school / Steph's whereabouts / Christmas shopping (I'm finished mine already!) / writing Christmas cards / Jen's idea of homemade cards. Harmony thanked me for the Advent calendars, at least - I don't know if she and Jon will actually make use of them, but probably so! Told her that Mom used to give them to us when we were kids, but didn't this year at least. (she has too much other stuff on her mind...)

Walking to Karmie's from the bus stop didn't take too long, even if it was cold! We were the first ones there - Stella and Auntie Bessy came later. Had Stella's cranberry-orange scone cookies, green tea cookies, Karmie's walnut-raisin butter tarts with Splenda, and green tea / hot water as refreshments while we talked about Mary x3 / Martha / Elizabeth / being contemplative vs. being active or passive / the differences between us and our sisters. Interesting conversation... then it turned to childbirth, especially Noah's funny question he posed to Karmie today! "Mommy, does the baby come out through your bellybutton? Does it feel funny?" HAHAHA, no! It actually hurts a lot!

Discussed epidurals, water breaking, physiology, Billy, New York, Awana, the Homebuilders potluck, our church kitchen which is still not up to par, the Christmas breakfast, Kevin, my personalized Bible (nice memento of Karen Choo, whom we don't see much of anymore), home birth, how doctors will delay epidurals as long as possible (conservative approach), Winnie's new son born just on Monday, and Anita's daughter Allison. Auntie Bessy said she'd drive me, Jen, and Harmony home - Harmony said that she could just drop us off at the Canada Line, and Stella offered to take me home since at least she knew where I lived! Talked about HER son Noah, Benjamin, the Christmas trip to New York, seat-warmers, the mice problem, and life on the way home... good times!

Do I really want to test out my NEWBIE cookie skills?!

This thing restarted AGAIN! Before leaving, I tested to see if I could get back into the building - I could, thank goodness! Harmony picked me up despite the wind and rain, and she reminded me that Steph takes possession of her new place tomorrow. Talked about bills, freelance work, job applications, mailing cards, brandy beans, and more on the way to Karmie's. I didn't step in any huge puddles this time, which was a relief. We were kinda late, and Karmie / Connie / Auntie Bessy / Stella had started already. Interesting story of David and Bathsheba, indeed. Discussed cookie exchanges, recipes, cranberries, oranges, Maxine, cookies in general, scones, butter, Resurrection Cookies, carrot cake, macaroons, ingredients, coconut, chocolate, zucchini cake, oil, baking, Pillsbury stuff, convection ovens, Benjamin / Noah, Hannah, and more.

On the way home, Harmony said that I was welcome to make it to the cookie exchange on the 16th, and wondered why I'd have to housesit because Big G won't be there - no idea, man. Guess I'll see if I can actually make cookies... but I have no flour or sugar or anything - so WHO KNOWS. During the course of the evening, I think I remembered my PIN - I'll have to test that out soon, before I forget the numbers again. :P Leslie's just got their Pilot Callsign Nickname from Name Generators. It's Ghost.

Facebook quiz taken from Gabriel:

Leslie took I bet I can guess your password! with the result Unknown. Lucky you! Your password is unknown to me. This is really rare because most people do not get this. Your password is very safe.