Supportive! / Desert and Moon faces!

While I was distracting myself by reading comics, Chinese Eric left me messages on MSN. He's really good to me! "Hey - hope you're holding up. GOD BLESS! Keep up the support from me. *thumbs up and hugs* " Hahaha, I was going to call him tonight with news, anyway! (when I tried, I got no answer, but that's okay!) Replied to Mandy's email, and also emailed Steve L. about things.


These camel bones northeast of the Advent Desert oasis will give you tips on walking through the desert! "I'm the bones of a camel. Want to know how to walk when in the desert? Move your left foot before your right foot sinks. Move your right foot before your left foot sinks. It took me 100 years to figure that out."




Another set of camel bones (near the railroad tracks) tells you that Advent Desert is the most boring part of this game, but to watch out for land mines!




This is the only cactus in the MOTHER 1 Advent Desert with a face. If you use Telepathy on the cactus, it will sing into Ninten's mind, giving him the fifth melody of the game!




Speaking of faces, the Lunar Ruins in FINAL FANTASY IV also have a face on the Moon!

Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, curry beef, NARUTO characters

I've been watching stuff like YU-GI-OH and POKEMON, haha... Nathan liked that, to be sure! Took a nap, and found some Japanese curry beef / beef tripe / HA-GOW / shrimp rice rolls in the freezer; you bet I'm eating those! Not sure about the wonton, but perhaps next week. Also watched 48 HOURS: HARD EVIDENCE and MYTHBUSTERS.

You Scored as Kakashi You're Kakashi! Kakashi 100% Gaara 88% Neji 88% Tsunade 75% Chouji 75% Asuma 63% Temari 63% Ino 63% Jiraya 63% Akamaru 63% Shino 63% Sasuke 63% Tenten 50% Kiba 50% Orochimaru 50% Sakura 50% Kankuro 38% Gai 38% Hinata 38% Lee 38% Shikamaru 38% Kurenai 38% Naruto 25%

Dead socks, venting with Billie, and BABY DRAGON for Ayler!

HAPPY CANADA DAY! 145 YEARS OLD!


Of all the people, AUNTIE YING added me to Facebook... eep, hahaha! I'm also losing it since I thought a pair of socks on top of my DILBERT comic book was a dead animal... specifically, an animal that doesn't even exist in real life! (the Sword Rat enemy from FINAL FANTASY IV) Managed to check everything in fifteen minutes after getting up at 9:55 - YAY FOR NO CHURCH! :D

Met Billie at White Spot for our early lunch - of course, I brought some pictures of Ayler in a binder! She was late, but it was all good since I'd also brought a book to read. We discussed James, Chinese Eric, Scott, Sara, Aaron, Evan, NEEDING ALONE TIME AWAY FROM FAMILY AND OTHERS, Vegas, Jamaica, people who just DON'T GET IT when they're being assholes, communication breakdowns, her work stress, Dorna, growing apart from people, bills, the good feeling you get when you finally tell someone exactly what you think of them, forgiveness, burger cravings, burritos, North Vancouver, feelings for other people complicating things, Ken, artwork, ideas, Coke in the freezer exploding, Jeremy, Ryan, Matt, divorces, gossip, Jairus, Montreal, sex, Coquitlam, writing, ideas, and more. I told her what had happened right before Christmas with Teunis, what had happened at New Year's and a bit later with Korey and his stupid friend Amanda, plus what happened a couple weeks ago with Randal. YEAH RIGHT, I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYWAY! After that, I went into Zellers to see if they had cheap shoes - they were on sale, but I couldn't find any in my size, so left to go to Lansdowne instead. I finally found a spare pair in my size which fit, then went to the dollar store to get HUGE gift bags for the crystal plates / a stuffed red dragon for baby Ayler (I couldn't resist) / a farewell card for Auntie Rebecca. I'm normally opposed to giving out religious cards, but it works in this situation - besides, the blurb inside worked best out of the available selection for the occasion!

Weird thoughts Whisperwind Cove / Charlie Brown Grammar Nazi

I'll have to go through Whisperwind Cove AGAIN tomorrow.... the things I do for a 100% bestiary. :P


"I've been having these weird thoughts lately..." - random kid in Whisperwind Cove. Me too, kid, me too...




Kevin G. reminded me of this amusing "Charlie Brown and Snoopy" comforting Grammar Nazi cartoon:

Berenstain bears ransacking, ASTERIX brawls, water all over, and bad James (nightmare)

I got up from a much-needed nap at 8:05. Good thing, too... this is what I remember from the nightmare:


* James told me what he had to tell me AGAIN (Damn subconscious hammering it into me... I GOT THE MESSAGE WHEN I GOT HOME, THANKS! I DON'T NEED IT AGAIN!)

* there was water all over the bathroom floor because the showerhead wouldn't work properly, and this was a problem which couldn't be solved since the toilet tank was somehow related to this (don't ask - I don't know)

* everyone was Berenstain Bears; Mama and Sister Bear ransacked the local fisherman's house looking for fish bones and beef (as proof that they were living beyond their means - they found out, and there was an ASTERIX-like village brawl)

* the purple stickers with googly eyes on the bedroom door were haunted

* Mother called to see if I wanted to pretend to be her for government documents starting at 10 AM, and she laughed about it!

Racism, derailing, NON-CANON dinosaurs, 4-1 loss

UGH, RACISM! I encountered the racist C-word on the hockey group from a European mod (who doesn't get it according to his wife), and even though it wasn't personally directed at me, I was still hurt. Someone else and I called him on it, and he basically said, "I'll just stay out of your posts since I don't know you, and I don't know why you came into my post anyway. I'll keep a close eye on you two to make sure you aren't offensive." I don't expect everyone to have the same cultural references as I do, but that's just WRONG! Someone else linked me to Derailing for Dummies - interesting, and what I needed!

Watched a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Canadiens... SIGH. Talked to Talia on AIM about losing an hour tonight: SO SAD! Thanks to Matt, I cheered up a bit from the racist fuck when seeing this dinosaur comic about non-canon stuff. :D

LUFIA works again! / 3-2 loss / The Shape Quiz

Eric tried to get me out of the apartment last night, but I wasn't having it since I was busy. Decided to try LUFIA games again, and discovered something that actually worked without TOO many glitches or bugs! The Canucks lost 3-2 to St. Louis last night, too.

You Are Generous

You are nurturing by nature. People are comforted by simply knowing you're around. You have close relationships with your friends. They are like family to you. You are completely unpretentious and carefree. All you care about is whether someone is a good person. You don't brag about your accomplishments, but the truth is that you set an amazing example for others.

The Shape Quiz

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

Rum, Pringles, Baileys, vodka, cheesecake, wet wooden spoons, and Pastafarians

Erin (shedtheirony) added me to Facebook, haha. Then I found out that Eric had scheduled a meeting for this Sunday; let's see what I can do about that. I was so exhausted that I took a long nap, and didn't even get up when Eric called twice - at least I felt better when I did get up! Talked to Teunis about storage, snacks, wet wooden spoons, his cars, the gig, the guy who wore a colander on his head and said it was a Pastafarian thing, MYST, the Norse boiling (hot spicy Italian) sausage, money, bikes, his heavy red toolbox, the guy who drank hand sanitizer and was hospitalized for alcoholism, and phone calls. We also discussed violations, reactions to doughnuts / hamburgers / Splenda, migraines, the microwave, new ways of cooking, ASTERIX AND OBELIX, cameras, Chinese, Mandarin, memory cards, DR. HORRIBLE, and more.


From Shelley: Some doctor on TV this morning said the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started. So I looked around my house to see things I'd started & hadn't finished, then I finished off a bottle of Vodka, a bodle of Baileys, a botle of wum, a pock of Prungles, 1/2 chesecke an a boc a choclez. Yu haf no idr how bludy fablus I feeel now. Plaese sned dhis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov iennr pisss.

Feeling safe with Jeremy!

Chinese Eric buzzed me on MSN because he just saw the riot news on TV, and hopes I'm okay - thank goodness I am, although I was nowhere near downtown on Wednesday! Nice that he's concerned, though! Then white Eric said he'd pick me up early for the ultimately boring / annoying missions panel discussion with Auntie Catherine / Wai-Mui / Randal. We did discuss venting, Mr. Creep, gas, my being "drunk," no playoff beard, and more on the way there. Once upstairs after talking to Amanda and Lanie, I was much chagrined to discover that Mr. Creep was indeed there - but I sat next to Jeremy, so that made things better! He discussed the riot aftermath and plywood walls with Raymond, while I said nothing as per protocol. After the program was over (with FAR too much input from Mr. Creep), I asked Jeremy whether he was going to the retreat; thank goodness he isn't!

Talked to Pastor Tom and the "different" woman Teresa about accents, Spanish, Texan being its own language where they smush everything together (like "y'all" and "all y'all"), the Dutch / English / Swedish in him, my PEANUTS vest, Snoopy being his imaginary friend when he was four, and some other stuff. Told Cindy that Game 5 last week had been way more important than Fellowship, haha. We discussed the riot aftermath and how some of Cindy's and Vivian's students had reacted. Eric made the elevator beep because he was waiting for Christon and Vivian to decide whether they wanted to use it - RUDE! On the way home, we discussed my supposedly being physically close to Mr. Creep (but I felt safe with Jeremy!), privacy, census work, leadership surveys on Father's Day, brunch, lunch, sports, and more.

At home, I didn't believe Teunis when he said it took him two hours to get home - and no, he had no right to tell me to go away and leave him alone. When I saw Sabrina's status about congestion everywhere just after 7, I definitely believed THAT, and thus believed Teunis. We also discussed thinking in French, stress, gum (I'm good as long as you aren't snapping / popping it or chewing it with your mouth open - like NORMAL), eggs, milk, yogurt, Chapman's cappuccino frozen yogurt, communication, and forgetting about onions. Also talked about gaming night (as opposed to GAME NIGHT), chocolate-covered doughnuts, odd cravings, coping, his not being in the mood for the frosty reception he got last night (still totally earned!), lime meringue pie, sausage, hot chocolate, and more. Then I got online and talked to James for a while, which is always good.

Shelley's in Richmond?! / MY BATH MAT AND SUCH HAS BEEN FOUND!

Teunis and I discussed the SCA, bards, Asterix, Cacofonix, puns, French immersion, Tintin, wrong numbers on Skype, and more. Marie wanted to add me to Facebook again, so why not? I heard that Shelley is in Richmond this weekend seeing her family - WE SHOULD TOTALLY MEET, IF POSSIBLE! Finally managed to get Eric on the phone at 3, who (after talking to me in Spanish) said he is going to Jeremy's tonight, but doesn't know how to contact him since he'd be at work. I have no idea, either!

Went out to see if I left my bag at the gelato place or London Drugs, but no luck. I re-bought the guestbook since I'll be seeing Jeremy tonight (and I do love him in a platonic way!) and the mini Lindt chocolate bunnies. Read some parody election article in the METRO that Teunis would appreciate, so I also brought that home. Checked my email upon returning home to find that MY STUFF HAD BEEN FOUND - YAY! (probably because it stinks of durian :P) I don't even want to know about the bath mat's condition, but at least (for right now) I don't have to buy it again! Maybe I'll need to buy bleach / vinegar on Tuesday, too. Time to use whiteout and stickers to decorate that guestbook, man!

Word Facts for Apr. 2-8, 2011

Word origin for the weekend of Apr. 2-3, 2011: just the facts, ma'am - A staple of television from 1951 to 1970, the series Dragnet was famed for its laconic detective, played by Jack Webb. Comics parodied the show with the line "Just the facts, ma'am," though Webb's character (Joe Friday) never uttered it. Instead, he said in an early episode, "All we want are the facts, ma'am," giving birth to a slight misquotation that has endured ever since.

Word origin for Apr. 4, 2011: metadata - "Metadata" is information attached to a digital file that is not strictly intrinsic to the file itself. Instead, it includes information about the author, the file's editing history, and the like. The word dates to 1983 in professional computer literature, from which it spread into the broader lexicon. The word "data," meaning a body of information, is about four centuries older.

Word origin for Apr. 5, 2011: restaurant - Does a chef restore a famished soul the way a conservator restores an old painting? Perhaps, for "restore" is the root meaning of the word "restaurant." The first known use of the word was in Paris in 1765, when a chef who had been working for the nobility opened up his own eatery in the French capital. The word entered English at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Word origin for Apr. 6, 2011: J.C. Penney - In the early 1900s, an enterprising young man named James Cash Penney bought a dry-goods store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, where he had been working. He changed its name from the Golden Rule Store to J.C. Penney Company. Then he relocated to Salt Lake City (Utah), and then Buffalo (New York), where he built a chain of shops that sold inexpensive goods of many kinds. As of 2010, the company had about 1200 stores throughout the United States, as well as others in South America.

Word origin for Apr. 7, 2011: riddle - An old word for speaking in English is rede, which turns up in the verb "to read." It often meant "to counsel," but in the sense of "riddle," which shows up in the language more than a thousand years ago... it means to counsel using oracular, hard-to-decipher speech. Thus, the word "riddle" (now meaning an innocent enigma) once had a more portentous, darker meaning.

Word origin for Apr. 8, 2011: moist - An import from French into English in medieval times, "moist" probably derives from the Latin mucidus, which means "moldy." Some scholars link it to the word must, meaning "new wine," but the first explanation is likelier correct. In either case, "moist" consistently comes in as one of the most disliked words in English, perhaps because of its clammy associations.

Detroit Red Wings as tampons, Rasputina, Homestar Runner, Metallica, and Subwoofer!

Discussed ABBA, disco, the Beach Boys, tomorrow's plans, the Pet Shop Boys, a joke about the Detroit Red Wings being the Tampons, Daniel Sedin having a baby girl, the Spice Girls, Jordan insulting people at a construction site (they apparently enjoyed it), Rasputina, TO WONG FOO WITH LOVE (JULIE NEWMAR), Marilyn Manson (apparently Rhiannon knows him!), Homestar Runner (he's vaguely heard of it), Trogdor (references in webcomics), and triggers. We also talked about his being on stage with Amon Amarth, gas masks from industrial supply stores like LORDCO, Pemberton music festival, his mail, vegetarian noodles, Metallica's ONE, Dimmu Borgir, his phone stuff being resolved, chili sauce / fire oil, WORLD OF WARCRAFT openings / the Lich King, Megadeth, Nordic / metal / random directories, and weird music files which didn't play.

Conversed about a silver tablecloth with ducks, T. E. Lawrence, cranberry juice, manliness, blueberry juice, Viking metal, research, Bathory, serial killers, Metallica vs. KISS, Alice Cooper, the Buggles / VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR lyrics, one-hit wonders, Queen, and more. I was very amused when Spoz said that he didn't have any SUBWOOFER stuff - "any actual footage was all pre youtube (or pre "easy to upload / encode video" for that matter). and I don't have any songs up there either. probably a good thing too ;)" In my reply, I said that it was too bad - I could have added that stuff to my own playlists, just like I was doing with MATTHEW GOOD! MUHAHAHAHAHA!

Radiation, ghosts, Leahy, madras curry, slide guitar, yogurt, and conditioning

Teunis came home at 5:10, and we discussed ads on the radio / coding / ice cream / meat and vegetables for hearty crepes / wishing enemies a lot of help so they'd be far away / having a lot of beef at the public park near Mission / Easter / Christian traditions taken from pagan ones (that much I did know) / complicated family stuff / radiation on XKCD comics / drinking pee, Questionable Content (webcomic) / no lobster for me (not giving in!) / gays / his helping Andrew and Teresa move just down the block tomorrow. Hey, Andrew helped him move a few times (and was quite handy with the dolly this last time), so why not? We also talked about his yogurt still being good (ie. not past its expiry date), yogurt drinks, childhood conditioning ("if you ask someone to help you, you're making trouble for them!"), brandy, slide guitar, not being hungry, madras curry, apple pie, Leahy, old-time radio shows, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, not knowing you're dead / a ghost, and more.

Brandy x2, Prozzäk, exes as used toys, love temperament

Turns out that Teunis was up before me - the poor guy's been trying to sleep, but it just isn't working! We discussed brandy for his hot chocolate (it's a treat), vibrators, grandmas, sex in general / Dan Savage, the PERSON Brandy (mspixiegirl), Alicia's friend Shauna, Scott, Alicia, interesting friends like Norman, Prozzäk (I remember listening to that at Billie's in January!), that Persian carbonated drink (he's had it also), the Alice Cooper tribute band, a sorcerer webcomic, "macaroni and cheese" with spinach noodles, cheese graters, and more. We got a laugh out of Lisa B.'s status: "I never get jealous when I see my ex with someone else, because my parents always taught me to give my used toys to the less fortunate."

Your Dating Temperament is Phlegmatic

You are a stable and calm force in relationships. You deflect drama. You are a natural peacemaker and compromiser. You are willing to do your part to make sure you are both happy. You have a good sense of humor. Even when you fight, you try not to take any of it too seriously. At times, you can get a little too content and stuck in a rut with your sweetie. You need someone who will help spice things up!

What's Your Temperament in Love?

Blogthings: If Quizzes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Take Quizzes

Soup, no rushing, the kids dropping like flies, and Valentine's packages

I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather EARLIER and go out, as opposed to going out in the dark after I got home from Awana. Went to London Drugs, and discovered that the scissors I was going to get were on sale anyway - always nice to get them for $5 off, haha. Also bought on-sale Lipton Cup-A-Soup (four for $5 - spring vegetable and chicken noodle), on-sale Lindt mini-hearts, Lindt milk chocolate / dark chocolate mini eggs, on-sale mango aloe vera drink ($1 off), and a pack of ten hangers for $4. Got home after waiting for the bus to have German pancakes and a sausage with maple syrup, which was interesting! Good thing I woke up / left when I did, otherwise I'd be rushing to get home and check stuff before Henry picked me up - phew! Now I can concentrate on the usual things and eat Smartfood popcorn, haha.

Teunis and I talked about XKCD, re-writing games in a continuing story (I don't envy Jordan!), gaming "homework," INXS, silly "awards," and more stuff. Just before Henry called me, Kempy reminded me that it's Kurt Cobain's birthday tomorrow - NICE! Henry and I talked about the chilly yet sunny weather, the birthday potluck at his house, and more on the way to church. In the parkade, little Ian M. saw me in the car from the elevator entrance, and waved... of course, I waved back and said hi to his dad David. When we got into the church, Ian saw me as we were passing the front desk and said hi. I said hi back, and he gave me a hug, saying that he'd said hi earlier - I told him that I knew about it, heh. Things were different because the older kids had gone bowling today, too.

Said hi to Chrystal, Golden, Mike, Margaret (who said it was a good thing that I missed something that JUST happened), Ashley, and others. Chrystal hadn't gotten any Valentine's candy, so I made up a Ziploc bag package for her from our excess when I got home - York peppermint patties, Lindt / regular chocolate hearts, Life jellybeans, ju-jube hearts, and more. (sampled some, as well) I also tried the Maynard's squirting candy, which was interesting and SWEET! Wished Golden a happy birthday for tomorrow; he's staying home for now, which definitely works! He asked whether I knew where Daniel was - nope! Stanley came in later, saying that his kid Aaron was sick - his aunt was upstairs, though we took care of him! (another kid got sick later on, too) Chris Lam asked us whether we all just sat around and were bored: basically! He said there was nothing stopping us from going up to help - hahaha, nice.

Later, Julie S. came to hang out with us - she's been BORED since she was at home on the couch for three weeks straight. Poor girl had the flu, and then pneumonia on top of it! I asked if her dad took care of her - not really, although he did try making congee once! (her mom's dead) After Awana, I noted that Ian M. and Gabriel were on the drums - Amanda told me that she was SEVEN now! Yup, I remember that. I told Sean that he could borrow my 1999 Guinness World Records book, as well as have one package of chocolate hearts. We waited for Ada to finish training, then drove one of the Nancys home, too. Sean asked me questions about the calories in the chocolate (no idea!), the pages in the book, scary stuff, how far it was from my place to Nancy's place (no clue), random math, "picking up" people (he meant "dropping off" people), big walls, horrible places, and more. Crazy kid, man!

De Dutch Pannekoek House!

Teunis and I discussed the bread in the freezer, grilled cheese sandwiches, pagan music, Alan Moore (some guy who looks like he's out of HARRY POTTER) / V FOR VENDETTA / THE WATCHMEN, the laptop and minor service involving the fan and power jack, noises, and more prior to my going to bed and trying to sleep last night. Eric picked me up as early as he predicted on Friday, so I spent the ride to church being a light ranter - he spent last night at his grandma's 90th birthday party, which sounds great! I did say that I found nobody objectionable in our current BS group, which is something to object to - no rant therapy for me! That's good for Eric, but not for me! Got to church and sat in my usual spot, wondering if Steph would show up - I said hi to Cindy (who wanted me to wish Steph a happy birthday - she's been emailing and texting her!), Quan (giving out BOXED-IN CREATIONS truffles), Deb (I gave her Dylan's birthday card), Jeremy (poor guy had a cold, as did Vania), and Nathan in the meantime. When she did show up, I deposited the bag with the stickers from sherbetsaucers and Manchester United hat near her. She thanked me later - Jeremy and I laughed at some point in Pastor Tom's sermon, haha.

After service, I asked Jon and Harmony where dinner would be tomorrow - OF COURSE it has to be at the LARDS' place! According to Steph, we're having duck - and I won't have to do the dishes, although Harmony put in that I was "very good" last week. IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT! UGH! Oh well... hopefully, I'll survive! At least this year, I have something good to come home to, hahaha. (he'd better not take this the wrong way!) Steph was impressed by Daniel's Chinese writing on Grandma's birthday card, haha - good thing we go to a Chinese church! Eric warned me not to go right away since the family might have brunch because Kieran was in town. He and I spent some time talking to Cindy about her crazy week with the students - punching others in the nose and such?! Well, you gotta learn to deal with it since you're a teacher!

I went into the fellowship hall briefly since I saw Darren C. - we hugged each other, and he said he's working at the hospital while he's back from Ireland for two months. He doesn't quite know what he's doing yet, but I'm sure that'll come in time. After that, I said hi to Grace and baby Micah before going out to interact with little Mattias, who was eating an orange and looking for the pits which he dropped on the ground. I noticed that his baby brother Marcus was awake, so let him hold onto my finger while I observed in English that he was chilling! When I played with his baby toy, I think I got a smile! Their mom Karen was pretty tired, which is understandable!

Noticed Eric standing behind me, so I asked what the verdict was; he said they WERE having lunch, and wondered if I needed to tell anybody. After telling him to watch my stuff, I went upstairs with a bunch of chocolate hearts for the kids - gave them to Ada, Ashley, Abigail (who was crying), Margaret J., and Auntie Ying for the rest of the kids. Harrison was playing with Nathaniel, and he called me UGLY - good thing I don't have to teach HIM anymore! Auntie Ying invited me to some dinner on Friday evening with a bunch of "young people" - I don't get along with overly Christian people sometimes, so took the easy excuse of Fellowship since I was in a hurry to leave anyway! When I went downstairs, baby Marcus was crying, so Karen told me that he was tired. Eric noticed my leaving the baby alone, and asked what I'd done to make the baby cry! We said bye to Jeremy on our way out since he was also leaving - the rain started, too! As Eric and I were walking across the street, he invited me to brunch - it seems his mom asked where I was the last time they all went to O'Hara's pub! We talked about the Newcomer's Lunch, the AGM, plans, WORLD OF WARCRAFT references, football from American radio stations on the Team 1040 (he says they treat football like we treat hockey), and what Alberta politics was doing on a BC radio talk show on the way to his house.

While there, we watched some TV while saying hi to Veronica, Ron, and Kieran - I decided to watch the CTV Olympics anniversary show tonight (gold medals! double Brian Williams! Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili! Joannie Rochette!), and Eric said that they didn't have any champagne for my orange juice from the kitchen... AIYOH! After some time, we went to De Dutch Pannekoek House in Kieran's new car - we had to wait for quite a while! Finally, we were able to get two tables pushed together to make a table for five - we discussed whether we REALLY needed the big table, booths, cars, Kieran's seatbelts in the car, motorcycles, Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras, Easter being late this year, my family, taking / deleting pictures with Ron's new phone ("you have to SHOW her what to do with the buttons - you can't just TELL her!"), and more. I didn't mind going to Richmond Centre with them later on, since Kieran had a Roots gift certificate to Roots, Veronica had to go to Lenscrafters, and Eric had a Richmond Centre gift card to use at EB Games. (DONKEY KONGA COUNTRY RETURNS for the Wii, which he joked would "drive Mom nuts")

At home, I noted that Teunis was still sleeping - I decided to take a bit of a nap myself. When I got up an hour later, his alarm was STILL going on, but he got up a bit later. We talked about surreal dreams ("is real life - like opening doors and the alarm music - part of this?"), gaming, personal life crossing into gaming, the Western pronounciation of words like "Gouda" (more like "chowda") and "yogurt" (I know I always have to be like "what?!" when he says "yogHurt") hurting his ears, my rarely turning on the TV, shin splints, hurt, the heavy toolbox, allergies, his mom, lactose intolerance, learning laptop things myself (which makes sense), plugs, metal, the Olympics, and more. He says he HAS been making Dutch pancakes like De Dutch Pannekoek House does - nice, nice! I've never ordered them from there just because the price points seem a bit expensive, and I have too much childhood Asian conditioning yet when others treat me for lunch! (which reminds me, I should email Karen Choo one of these days...) Later, I found a Gmail Notifier for Windows 7, which is good!

You Are Warmhearted

You are a truly kind and loving person. You care for others deeply, and it's not an act. You are one tough cookie, even though it isn't always apparent from the outside. You have a lot of inner strength, and you can dig deep when you need to. You are both patient and persistent. You are willing to wait for someone to come around.

The Bra and Panties Quiz

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

Midwinter music and egg replacer!

When Teunis got up, we discussed egg replacer / LEEN GOH / brown sugar / being in the mood for WOW / sleep / hit points / walking to the store and back / no dance class / Something Happens (a surreal webcomic). We also talked about eggs / a radio show on EXODUS (interesting symbolism!) / Scientology (DANGER!) / Middle Eastern Agar Agar (rose-flavored gelatin candy thing?) / Orangina / a radio series on Darkness of Pagan mid-winter Christmas music. (some of it was actually interesting, or reminded me of medieval structure - WE THREE KINGS was on it, though...) I had to unfriend Candace (xxcandypantsxx) and Alan C. from Facebook because the former seems to think that people who don't like GLEE should shut up (at least I'm not a 30-year-old with the taste of a tween!), and the latter is just annoying in general.

Brown arm staining disease with Sean and Sam / Jappie Meme

I dreamed that I was in a Wal-Mart elevator with red socks, some McDonalds food in a paper bag, and some homemade holiday cards that Sheena gave me. (she'd cut out Chinese characters in paper - VERY impressive!) This white couple came into the elevator from the clothing department, and warned me not to steal anything. I assured them that I wouldn't, then left the elevator to join my friends in the hospital, meeting Teunis on the way - he told me that he was sick of Kaili and her laptop after only ten minutes! Frances and Sophia wished me an easy birth, as I was due to give birth to Sean C. any day (WTF?) - the day of Feb. 2 passed uneventfully, and then the baby was born that night, with Uncle Andrew (his real-life dad) in attendance as a doctor when he's a real-life dentist. Fast-forward sixteen years or so, where Sean was on a Whistler retreat with Sam and others, looking really buff. The friends developed a disease which started with brown stains up their arms... even the girls got it! There was a cure for it, so everyone took advantage of the healing pools post-haste before making the trip back down to rejoin everyone else in town! No idea why I had that one, although Sheena's birthday is coming up soon!

You Are Chic

You've always been naturally glamourous. You don't have to work to be chic. You have an eye for fashion, style, and even sometimes gadgets... if they're sleek enough. You aren't superficial. You just enjoy rockin' your own amazing personal look. You're so into everything chic that you do end up being a bit of a geek about it!

Are You Geek or Chic?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

Got this "JAPPIES MEME" tagging picture from one of Jessica G.'s friends:

Congee Noodle House, Memory Express, XENA, and NG lungpower!

Andrew and Teunis showed up shortly after I took a shower, and we talked about Rhiannon yelling at people for "stinking" / walking a lot with Krista resulting in muscle pain / Asperger's / Robin / commitment / gaming and Teresa / Jordan / Congee Noodle House (of COURSE I've been there!) / dog pee / Calgary, Nanaimo, and driving a bus / mechanics. Also conversed about printers / trailers / Memory Express / Hundred Mile House / NEVER living in Fort St. John / the Android / terabyte hard drives / drums / computer parts / shelves. Once Teunis got things set up online more or less, we discussed eating dinner / statues / traveling shrines / mocking people / lamps / noodles / hazelnut coffee beans / coffee grinders / a book on "Ancient China" / military beds / bedtime / cleaning stuff / Alicia and Fort St. John / unhealthy environments and defense mechanisms / the Canucks winning 7-1 against Dallas tonight. Also talked about cooking vs. eating out, Sony Playstation, tossing stuff out, people throwing your stuff away without permission, his server, decorations, XENA, Chicks in Chainmail [edited by Esther Friesner], Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was [Barry Hughart], weight loss, hiking, DVDs, CLASH OF THE TITANS, sushi, Korean food, Ikea pots, racism, WOW, the NG lungpower and shrieks, Marvel Comics, a character called Johnny Storm / The Human Torch dying, and more.

Word Facts for Jan. 15-21, 2011

Word origin for the weekend of Jan. 15-16, 2011: manga - The Japanese word "manga," mostly used to refer to a modern comic-book style of illustration, has roots in a phrase that means "a rambling or aimless picture" - in other words, a scribble. The noted nineteenth-century artist Hokusai used it to refer to his doodles, and the word took an approving term. A "manga" turned into moving form is called an anime, a Japanese version of the word "animated."

Word origin for Jan. 17, 2011: Ubuntu - "Ubuntu" is a word common to several Bantu languages of southern and eastern Africa, conveying a concept that embraces the interconnectedness of all people, and that encourages peace and good treatment of others. The computer operating system of the same name is made by a company owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, who borrowed the well-known term for his software.

Word origin for Jan. 18, 2011: jukebox musical - Singalong movies and shows were popular in days gone by, then drifted away, then were revived with the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, then drifted away again. In the last few years, revivals of shows such as South Pacific and newer hits such as Mamma Mia (a tribute to the Swedish band ABBA), and Love (which does the same for the Beatles), have led show-business journalists to write about "jukebox musicals," which feature popular hit tunes from the past.

Word origin for Jan. 19, 2011: e-mail - "E-mail" is a transparent abbreviation for electronic mail, coined by computer journalists in about 1982, in the early days of the personal computing revolution. The "e"-for-"electronic" prefix turns up in "e-commerce" as well... that is, commerce conducted electronically. That term dates to 1993.

Word origin for Jan. 20, 2011: rune - The Anglo-Saxon people who gave us the Old English components of our language delighted in riddles, mysteries, and puzzles... to which they gave the overarching word rune, meaning "secret things." The word disappeared in Middle English, but then was reintroduced from Norse, now referring to the ancient Germanic inscriptions that abounded in northwestern Europe.

Word origin for Jan. 21, 2011: damsel - Must a "damsel" always be in distress? The word rarely turns up outside that context. Derived from the diminutive form of the Latin domina, meaning "the mistress of the house," the term was once used to refer exclusively to young noblewomen. By the 1700s, however, it referred to any young woman.