Copa Café, Uncle Michael, Aunt Leslie, and DRACULA

Mom and Dad were late picking me up, but we were on our way to Dogwood pretty soon. Apparently, the Terry Fox run is next week, so I should tell white Eric in case I ever decide to go to church. Mom thinks I should, but we'll see - I can make my own decisions. After feeding Grandma some chicken congee and special tea, Mom found out that Uncle Michael and Aunt Leslie had gotten lost! Grandma seemed to have a good appetite, anyway. Of COURSE Mom made me sit in the middle... sigh. Turns out we went to Copa Café for lunch, and Mom was surprised that I'd been there before! I let Aunt Leslie hold hands with me while walking to the restaurant... Mom let me order a mango bubble tea since it was only $2 with a meal (normally $4.50), haha.

They talked in Chinese about what to do around here, Kin's Farm, Yvonne, Lillian, Aaron, Auntie Kwai, Grandma's health, shoes, Wails, and more. I got a ribeye steak with Paris-style sauce; I'd have ordered a steak with black pepper sauce, but I thought Mom was getting that. She got some other noodle dish instead! Oh well. Aunt Leslie ended up being "sneaky" and paying for the meal, and also gave Mom a LAI-SEE envelope for baby Ayler: Mom was polite and said NO to everything (especially since she apparently told them that SHE'D pay for the meal), but it was already done! Got home to do some editing and posting, heh. I should call Chinese Eric soon in case I join everyone for dinner tomorrow, haha. Also decided I was done with ontd_pucking ... OFF-TOPIC STUFF RULES! thehockeypool FOREVER!


Mom, upon hearing a news story about a kiddy Transylvania movie: "What kind of name is DRACULA?! Why would you have that name?!" My explanations that Dracula is a CHARACTER in a KIDDY movie fell on deaf ears. AIYA!

Phil, Grace, and Micah will be missed...

When Eric picked me up this morning, he wondered if I'd spent time with Chinese Eric and Nathan yesterday. NO! IT WAS A FAMILY LUNCH! He complained about traffic while I found my lunch ticket, then he said that he should be at church by 9. That was currently not possible, as it was 8:55! I just hoped that Stanford isn't the type to yell at his minions, although I'm sure he can be quite intense at the restaurant! It was mainly a quiet ride over, but he did observe that I seemed to be in full DRAGON WARRIOR mode on Friday evening when he'd called - oh yes, and DRAGON QUEST V is next, which he's never played! He also wondered whether Steph and Lisa's wedding gift of pottery was all right, since my dad hadn't been driving too smoothly the night of the baby banquet. I guess I'll have to remember to ask them about it on Thursday!

Got to church, where I unloaded my extra Z-Grip pens on Priscilla and Joanna while waving to a VERY pregnant Alysia. I saw Jon, who said that Harmony and Ayler would come later... he was there to lead worship! Was going to sit in my usual spot, but I saw Darren C. and Jason - since I never see Jason more than once a year, I moved. He showed me lots of Calgary and Edmonton pictures on his phone, while asking me about Taiwan / my church / small groups and things like that. No, I don't have a phone - otherwise, I could keep in touch with him that way since he doesn't really use Facebook anymore! It's always good seeing him, though! (he said "God Bless" - that's totally fine!) Julie and Jeremy did indeed get baptized, so I gave them their cards later, for which they thanked me. Talked to Auntie Catherine, Sophia (her daughter Olivia is almost SEVEN already, and her mom told her about Grandma), Andrew L. (who's always tired - NOT NEWS!), and others before going upstairs.

At Toddler Sunday School, only David / Evelyn / Ashley / Anastasia were there! Lanie, Danny, and I had an easier time; James was clingy and crying too much, so he went with his mom. Priceless doctor advice from little Evelyn: "I'm going to check your head.... yes, there's something wrong. Your brain is playing tennis right now!" Talked about Lego, the panda and other animals on my BORN TO BE WILD shirt, elephants, fire engines, building a fort, climbing the door, cleaning up, and more. Went downstairs for lunch, where I was able to grab a seat in the crowded room. Stanford went all-out for the ten courses, and poor Christon was continually checking on things! The videos were good, but startled baby Ayler! Discussed Victoria, weddings, chow mein, drunken chicken, leftovers, curry noodles, tea, lemonade, sweet and sour pork, and much more with Alan / Tracy / Jon / Harmony / Edwin / Jane. When everything ended, I said hi to David M. while playing with Micah for about an hour. He's smart, and knows Jon Chan plays drums and Margaret plays guitar. I'm sure he liked his Uncle Angus scooping him up and playing with him!

Gave Grace a card and some stickers for Micah; it was just a little thing, but she thanked me anyway. I told Margaret that I was having issues with being a GOO-MAH and not a GOO-JEH, hahaha. Made plans with Deb and Dylan to go over on Wednesday to play with Declan, heh. Yes, he wanted my hat and glasses, but THAT WASN'T HAPPENING! I talked to Randal for a bit - YES, I WAS AT SERVICE TODAY! He says he believes me even if I wasn't in my usual spot, hahaha. When Eric finally got going, we said goodbye / see you soon to everyone, and got plenty of leftovers. He thought I was drunk, but that wasn't true at all. Then he wanted to drop me off at #4 / Alderbridge, but I didn't think that was a good idea. We discussed fight music, his latest FB display picture (not a WOW character, but himself with a shirt featuring Jon's head multiple times!), town music, how I should change mine since it's three months old (BOOTY LOGO!), and more. I'm sure he'll bug me on Friday!

Ice Wine Chocolates! / You should have babies after getting married...

Visited Grandma briefly (she was watching old English movies), and went to the People's Drug Mart across the street from Dogwood to get a new pencil case (since my old one got really wet) and those ice wine chocolates that I'd seen last week: one for me, one for Chinese Eric, and one for Harmony. I'm sure Harmony will like them, haha! FAVORITE HOS, indeed! Unfortunately, the Canucks pencil case I got was too small for my stuff, so I went to London Drugs instead. (the Oakridge Zellers didn't have what I was looking for) Good thing that their purses and such were on sale, as I managed to get one which wasn't ridiculously huge for a "wallet"! When I got home, I put the chocolates in the fridge - thank goodness I didn't have to worry about them melting like I would have last week in the heat! Eve May added me to Facebook, too - WHEE! Then again, Daniel Lawlor unfriended me... oh well?


Grandma, on life stages after I reminded her that my brother has an infant son (she seems not to remember meeting him EVER): "Of course your brother has a baby! He got married, so he should have one by now!" HAHAHAHA!

Beran Monolith, 60, Prince Linda, Douglas Park plans

Jon let me know that he and Harmony would be at Douglas Park around 5:30 with baby Ayler, which still works if Eric and I are meeting at Langara Station about fifteen minutes later! He wanted to see if we were still picking up Dragon Ball bubble tea, and he'd pay us back for something fruity - half sugar - coconut jelly for Harmony, and something adventurous - half sugar - pearls for himself. INTERESTING!


This guy in the DRAGON WARRIOR II Beran Monolith is talking about the Golden Key, but why is there an extra "60" appended on to the end of his question?! "Where could it be?, 60..."




This wizard is talking about the Moon Fragment inside the treasure chest: "This is the Tower of the Moon. Now it is best to open that treasure box. That is decided, 60..."




If you sleep at the Inn at Beran (the first time), the Prince will lay down and not get up. Use a Leaf of the World Tree on him to restore his failing body, and he'll rejoin the party. The King's messenger at the inn has something to say to you: "Oh, is that you, KendROLANDick? I've been holding a message from the King."




"What has befallen Prince Linda? Perhaps I should inform the King..." The Prince's name is Rolando, and the Princess is named Linda! HAHAHA!




It then goes into a loop, so thank goodness I saved after the Moon Tower events!

Food Network with Grandma / Trail mix!

Grandma, on the Food Network: "They don't have to pay any money for the breakfast food. Are you hungry? You can eat this for free!"


Went to visit Grandma today for about an hour or so; for some reason, she thought I'd like to eat everything on the Food Network. Sure, but not now! She also asked why Jon wasn't there, said that she didn't want to eat fried chicken, objected to the open door (but it's HOT OUTSIDE!), and was all right just sitting in her wheelchair watching TV. When I left before everything on the Food Network made me want to eat everything on the screen (one show was even set in Vancouver!), she asked whether I wanted to sleep there! Nope, I had things to do! I figured I might as well visit her on Thursday instead of tomorrow since I'll be out anyway: I should be fine if I leave here by 4, and leave there by 5:30 to get to Langara Station on time. Hopefully, anyway...

Got some trail mix at the People's Drug Mart across the street as a slightly healthier edible birthday present for Chinese Eric, as I've been known to give him a metric buttload of chocolate before, most notably at Easter and maybe Christmas. I decided to combine that with the rest of the Werther's Originals since I can't / shouldn't eat the rest of those! (like HE should?! :P) Also got a Cadbury Dark Burnt Almond chocolate bar for my immediate consumption, since I was afraid it might melt in the heat. Went to London Drugs and got on-sale whiteout x3, on-sale Maltesers, on-sale chocolate coins for Eric, an on-sale mango / pineapple juice, and on-sale peanut butter truffle chocolate bars x2. (I'm keeping one of the truffle bars for myself, while the other can go to Chinese Eric) Put the stuff in the fridge when I got home, of course.

Pens are NOT cameras, London Drugs! / Ghosts and items / Invisibility / Shrines

Talked to Talia briefly on AIM tonight, heh.


FAIL, London Drugs! PENS ARE NOT CAMERAS!




You can give items to a dead character's ghost in DRAGON WARRIOR III...




... and you can take them right back from the ghost!




To get into Eginbear (the game's representation of England), you need to buy an Invisibility Herb from Lancel. If you try going in the usual way, that guard will say that this is a historic castle: "Yokels aren't welcome here. No sword, no shield, no service!" When you turn invisible and then talk to the guard, he wonders if he's hearing things! HAHAHAHA!




At the Shrine of Dhama, you can change your characters' professions / classes if you so wish. This old man wants to change into a young girl, hahahaha!

Tacky singing / Skits / Tule perverts!

Eric called at 5:45... yup, I was pretty much ready to go! We discussed church, the screwed-up service order, Christon, tomorrow's plans (I'm game if he's gotta cook early), Pastor Bob, what I did today, the Great Banquet parable, his NOT going to Eunice and Eddie's wedding, Euro 2012, Spain beating Italy 4-0, and more on the way to Floata. At the banquet, we sat with Billy / Stella / Tim / Maxine / Chung Yan / Karen I. / Mattias / Marcus / Lanie. Discussed the crazy wedding that Phil and Grace had been to yesterday (fighting as "entertainment"), the very odd Chinese cultural thing of singing and skits [most of which went WAY over our heads since we don't understand!] to say farewell ("we should do our own tacky songs / karaoke IN ENGLISH when Phil leaves, so EVERYONE can understand!"), Eric saying that he might have a Chinese wedding if he decides to marry a Chinese girl if she wants one, job info, summer plans, the Vegas wedding, Benjamin / Noah / Joshua / Emma, baby Ayler, shrimp chips / chicken / soup / celery / tea, shark's fin soup, the Chinatown Night Market, and more. Said hi to Auntie Vivian, Mary, Reigan, Mike K. and Eric T. (who both liked the SILVER BLING necklace), Harrison (who hates Luongo and Schneider - he likes the Bruins), Andrew L., Hannah W. (who's now taller than I am), Victor, and more people.

I spotted Auntie Ying, so had to ask what she was doing on Facebook. Phil told her that she had to learn because then she can see pictures of Micah growing up, haha. Sounds good enough to me - tempt her with grandchild photos! Of course, she's still learning her way around an iPad, and I can't help her with that. Maybe we'll get together after Phil leaves! I also had to update Chrystal on recent events; things seem genuine, so we'll see. The farewell banquet was kind of like a wedding, as people were clinking on their glasses to get Pastor James to give Pastor Rebecca a kiss in front of everyone! (and there were photos in a certain order) When we went up on stage for our photo, I had to ask Jessica L. to help me down! Of course, I thanked her. On the way home, Eric and I discussed FINAL FANTASY / Irish accents / promotion for a TV show called SUITS / monks / knights / thieves / Mario's Gelati people NOT being happy / odd locations for Drunk Driving Counterattack (going INTO Vancouver instead of OUT OF there?!) / tomorrow.



Hockey-related WTF moments tonight, while Eric and I were listening to Team 1040 [FREE AGENCY DAY!] on the way home:

* Wait... why is Detroit in the Western Conference if they're across the river from Windsor?! (Eric says that this is because there are a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference already) Even I know my geography a bit better than that...

* I misheard "Tanner Glass" as "Canner Plax," and wondered just what kind of name THAT was! (I have a definite opinion on names in my spare time :P)

* Upon hearing that the Rangers (?) replaced someone with Aaron Asham (spelling?), I said: "They replaced him with AN AIR MATTRESS?! Nice! That's one of the weirdest sports transactions I've heard of..." Hahaha, poor Eric had to tell me that I was engaging in creative listening yet again!


This guy in the Tule pub is a pervert (looking at the onstage dancers) who tells us to get our minds out of the gutter!

Chen's, SLB, yam ice cream, and skulls

Met my parents at Tim Horton's, and we went to Chen's for dinner... had Happy Family Soup, SLB, meat, and a bunch of other buns. Grandma was okay at dinner, although she asked me a lot about whether I wanted more soup after I told her that I was full. Then we went to the townhouse, where my parents fielded a call from Auntie Wing Yee about stuff. Mom got me a grey purse, a skull necklace, a skull wallet, toothbrushes, and other things; she thinks I carry my laptop around everywhere, which is definitely not the case! She tried getting me to look up some show called SAVING HOPE, and to teach her about updating her Facebook status; she shouldn't update about certain things going on right now! Had shrimp chips, yam ice cream, coffee, and watermelon before waiting to go home, or for news. I only noticed I was wearing my black dragon shirt backwards twenty minutes ago: FAIL! Tuomas K. added me to Facebook from the Puckheads, too. (discussed suitcases and packing tips)


Mom: "Who's Megan Fox?"
Me: "She's an actress."
Dad: "Oh, indecent!"
Me: "What?!"
Dad: "I just mean that she uses her body... that kind of thing."

"Paying respects to Dad" ... he's not DEAD yet!

Steph woke me up when she called at 11, so I quicky did what I had to do before leaving. (I'd been having a dream where Mark, Joey, Sheena, and others were in a big group in someone's basement: the party game was "Take Your Friend's Bra Off Your head Without Help"! WTF?) Good thing I'd packed my clothes for the trip last night while I remembered! On the way over to the townhouse, we discussed Phil and Grace's new plans - so sudden! When we got there, we talked to Mom about dementia and Minoru while saying hi to Grandma. Called Jon to invite him to lunch, but Harmony had an appointment - this baby is LATE! After a while, we ate a lunch consisting of spaghetti / pizza / spinach / Chinese desserts while talking about Uncle Reuben, Auntie Christine, Alzheimer's, Jane, Dad not happy about no church, Karen Grace saying that her mom talked ALL THE TIME to her brother Edwin's baby (so she feels sorry for it), family stuff, Auntie Dorothy, ovarian cancer, and diet. Mom said that I could go out in the rainy weather to take Grandma out somewhere instead of doing the dishes, so I did. (I'd get butter chicken and stuff like muffins later) While I was at the house, I paid the parents $60 more for the trip - no, I have NOT (and will not) give you $310! We went to Richmond Centre, but Grandma complained that she had to stand and wait for the bus since the bench was wet; I can't say I'm a big fan of it either, but some things just have to be done!

Since she said she wanted to buy toothpaste, we ended up at Shoppers Drug Mart. Luckily, Colgate toothpaste was on sale for a dollar each. She also got on-sale canned Clover Leaf salmon, and two boxes of multigrain Life crackers / wildberry hard candies / a Father's Day card for me. The Kleenex wasn't on sale, so she didn't get any... nor did she get dog food or cleaning supplies. She saw maxipads, and figured she wouldn't have to buy any. Probably a good thing, since she's 92! She gave me a quarter before we went to McDonalds to get ice cream / hot water / a senior's coffee, which she paid for. Then we browsed Yuen Shing very briefly before going back to the townhouse. She thought she knew how to get home, but I wasn't going to lave her alone to do that! Yes, it was probably a lot of walking for her, but I did my duty! Now I'm just catching up on stuff using my dad's IE while Steph is still scanning old childhood photos and uploading some to FB. Guess we're also staying for dinner, which includes rice / taro / ribs.


Mom, upon my sister and my arrival at her townhouse: "Haven't you gone upstairs and paid your respects to Dad yet?!" *sister and I look at each other and burst out laughing* "MOM! Do you want your husband to be DEAD?!" "... isn't that what you say?!"

Tsui Woo CLOSING?! / $100, Israel, Rita, NEXUS and visa stuff

Steph and Lisa picked me up, and we were off to the townhouse while talking about money / gas prices / expenses / almost forgetting stuff because of the RUSH / alcohol-soaked gummy bears / Tumblr / odors. We had curry chicken, tender beef, oysters, crab, tomatoes, rice, Chinese soup, vegetables, and more while discussing Wayne Gretzky / the hockey playoffs / bubble gum Easter Eggs / doing dishes / flight timing / Uncle Keith on real estate / signing various cards / the May family dinner on Thursday the 10th (Stephen's birthday!) possibly impacted by Harmony's delivery / Grandma's "opinion" on the baby when asked if she's happy about it ("Your mom will be happy!") / the CBC feed freezing / news / chocolate and diets (South Beach) / Bryant and Shirley's wedding on June 30. Also discussed Las Vegas, Lisa's family (nephews), parental visa / NEXUS applications, Russia, respite, Paris, Egypt, Kleenex and being "sanitary," "hear ye!", Pat / Dropbox, baby Maddie, uploading videos of Chinese or Japanese metal ball exercises to Facebook, Mom's gay friends Tom and Tom (who of course live in San Francisco - she met them on a cruise), extensive travel, coffee, longan, pomelo (Chinese grapefruit), and Danielle moving.

Conversed about Michelle, Eunice and Eddie, my $100 payment being half the amount needed (Mom seems to understand about my money issues), Uncle Eric / Darren having to be a doctor / Derek in real estate, Tsui Woo CLOSING this Sunday (what the?! / Alan and Auntie Eva told Mom - of course they're going to go there on Saturday for old times' sake!), Rita / the thrift shop, baby things, national parks / the Grand Canyon, Grandma being quiet because Jon wasn't there, READER'S DIGEST, Chrystal, Cindy going to Israel with Becky / dogs / iPod stuff. Later, we looked at pictures of Edwin's new baby (Rebecca Grace Lee), and discussed Auntie Susan's criticism and Karen Grace moving to get away at the U of T / Jane / Harmony's appearance at the baby shower / the baby pool / drinking or sucking from a bottle. It's surprising that Auntie Susan would talk to DAD about Caesarean sections and childbirth! I talked to Grandma about her Chinese magazine, high heels, and more. Everyone got things to take home: peanuts, socks, leftovers, tomatoes, cucumbers, VCR to DVD technology, mixed seafood, muffins, tapes, maps and travel guides, juice, and more.


Grandma (92 years old, knowing little English) on the St. Louis-San Jose hockey game: "Oh, this looks hard. Can you do this? [upon seeing a scramble with plenty of traffic at the net] Aiya! Are they going to put it in?!" How cute!

Five Metal Babbles! / 3 AM toothpaste and emergency laundry

HOLY SHIT. I DEFEATED FIVE OF SEVEN METAL BABBLES AT 2 AM. 100,050 EXPERIENCE POINTS FOR EACH CHARACTER! :D

Then again, I accidentally put a lot of toothpaste on my shirt while brushing my teeth at 2:35 AM. Of course, this necessitated a load of emergency laundry so the stain wouldn't set in overnight (I had towels and other stuff in there anyway), which meant I didn't go to bed till 5 AM! BLEH! At least I replied to Mandy's email during this time, haha.

I woke up to find that the toilet wouldn't flush properly - guess this entailed a call to management! Hester came by shortly afterwards, and called Rob (the apartment handyman) after she looked at the tank and filled it back up. He'd just left, but I guess tomorrow morning works! Only Hester would tell me to "flush the toilet TENDERLY - not with a BOOM BOOM BOOM." HAHAHAHA!

Good Friday: FFAF / Subway "vaginal salad"

Couldn't sleep even at 4 AM, so I took the new melatonin, which actually has peppermint flavor - NICE! Jon B. and Marko K. (both from the Puckheads group) added me on Facebook because they wanted to see my Video Game Screenshots album; nice, nice! My definition of a Good Friday is staying home with the weekly tradition! No silent services for me, even if Eric did get on MSN to bug me about it! *grin* Then again, Eric informed me (after saying he's going to Sunrise Service - I won't!) that Paul is getting baptized on Easter Sunday - WHAT THE HELL. HE IS OFFENSIVE. Yes, I know everyone has "a past," but really. Eric thinks I can't let go of things - I can, but I'll remind everyone else around me about it. More like "I take joy in the misery of others whom I hate!"

People need to stop talking at the speed of light in commercials. I honestly thought Subway was offering something called "vaginal salad." o_O

LONDON is not a baby name!

I was awake before Grandma; that's a first! Grandma's first question to me: "Where are your parents? Did your mom go to work?" No, you just have memory issues and don't know that they went on a cruise. Helped her with breakfast and the plants, then watched MAKE ROOM FOR MULTIPLES - one of these girl twins is named LONDON?! (the other is Layla) Grandma thinks 4:30 is too early for dinner. Too bad, as we have a Canucks-Wild game to watch! Also, Jon's teaching piano is apparently directly related to Harmony's pregnancy. HAHAHAHA!

LETTERS TO SCREWTAPE isn't a uterus or envelopes!

Barry called me to say that tomorrow at noon works for food shopping; fair enough! Also replied to Mandy's way late email while I remembered. I checked my mail, and was responsible in paying my phone bill... I also got a mail delivery notice, which I think is referring to my passport. Yeah, I noticed a missed call at 10:30, but I wasn't ready to get up yet. Oh well, I can go tomorrow to Blundell Centre after 1. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get Barry to drive me there after food shopping!

Called Steph, who says she's taking the lards to the airport in the morning - that doesn't work for me, but I kinda thought so. Eric got on MSN to ask about tomorrow's potluck / sharing / board games small group night, and also about the LETTERS TO SCREWTAPE book which he needs for Sunday School. (he's staying even later because of some worship ministry meeting) This resulted in hilarity! (and so did my later call to Mom: she did say I could stay for the duration of their holiday, and offered me curry beef / pasta / muffins / snacks / microwaveable meals)


Eric: "Hey, do you have the LETTERS FROM SCREWTAPE? I'd like to borrow it."
Me: "Yes, I have a uterus, but I fail to see what an envelope has to do with it."
Eric: "WTF?"
Me: "Damn, I guess I need to read things CAREFULLY before I respond on MSN."


Mom: "I sent out an email with our ITINERARY."
Me: "You spelled it wrong. Actually, you used the wrong word!"
Mom: "But I used the spellcheck!"
Me: "That's because you used the word LITERARY! Of course that wouldn't come up on the spellchecker! WTF."
Mom: "Is there even such a word? What's WTF?"
Me: *gives up on teaching Mom English / slang over the phone*

9 AM pocket dials / CRABS / Skype and Kenny

When I got up, I was surprised this morning when my Caller ID said that Steph had called me at 9 AM, so I called her back to see what she'd wanted at that early hour. She insisted that she hadn't called me, but I said that my Caller ID said so. Then she concluded that she must have pocket-dialed me! We talked about court / our plans for the day / #9 with Rita on Tuesday / the whole "steady boyfriend" question, haha! I figure she assumed Steph was being smart! I then wondered what time Steph was going to Mom's tomorrow, but she asked what time it started.

When I found Mom's email, I told her that Mom was going to buy "CRABS, fish, and steak" for dinner. As Steph said, "I was like UHHH... CRAB is something you eat, and CRABS are something else entirely!" We should tell Mom, but she won't change! Steph will call tomorrow before she gets here at about 6:15 or so, which is fine by me. Hey, I can eat the yellow drippings again! (that'll make an interesting FB status...) Talked to Kenny via Skype messages about personal stuff, too. (I guess MAPLESTORY seems addicting...) After that, I decided to do some laundry before I ran out of things.

Kefka poisoning water / Sabin / Samurai Cyan

Kefka, preparing to poison Doma Castle's water in FINAL FANTASY VI ADVANCE:




Sabin talking like Prince Cyan in the Imperial Camp, a little later:

Moral support at Xmas dinner, honesty in smuggling, and presents

Damien said hi via FB chat, so I talked to him briefly. Noticed that Darren L. unfriended me on FB - what the heck?! Chinese Eric dropped by for five minutes (talking about Youtube) before we went to the family Christmas dinner, so I made him sign the guestbook for last time, too. 50-piece McNuggets in the States, and a burger called the McGangbanger?! YIKES! On the way over, I updated him on stuff - of course he has my back when it comes to certain things, and I definitely thanked him for coming out and supporting me! He asked me if everyone was there yet; probably! We had fish, turkey, moussaka, fruit, truffles, mint chocolate chip ice cream, coconut ice cream, cranberry sauce, gravy, chocolates, coffee, tea, Belgian beer, smoked beer (which has a smoked ham aftertaste), champagne, veggie chips, cake, and more!

Both of us talked to Grandma, Mom, Dad, Steph, Lisa, Jon, Harmony, Erin, and Ben about hockey (Vancouver won 5-3 over the Oilers) / pregnancy / family dinners / gluten / bread / cheating on diets / leftovers / pork roast / containers / keys / Chinatown / nursing homes / Tsui Woo / Facebook / the NBA being back / Eddie / Grandma's comments on ecards / rotating video clips around (that's why Ben was here, haha) / ultrasound photos (who WANTS to see THOSE on Facebook?!) / Patrick C. / Alan and Polly / keychains / New Year's lunch (Mom invited both Erics) / Nathan / Ciel / SERVANTS / GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS. Also discussed Karen Grace, Margaret, Auntie Brenda and boiling water, rental cars, Uncle Percy being 95 soon, Darren, Auntie Eva, Jason H., translation of Chinese, eggplant, looking things up on the computer, gas prices, doing dishes, helping Grandma, the States, Aldergrove, Langley, and more. When Harmony and I were in the kitchen alone, she wondered how I was doing now that "the world's most awesome person" was here. YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION, MY DEAR SISTER-IN-LAW! (yes, even if she's happy for me - which she said about DARKWING a few years ago, too!) Of course, she isn't DUMB, but still. :P

On the way home (Eric helped me with stuff), I asked if we could stop by the bank so I could deposit some money. Of course, he said yes WITHOUT making a big deal out of it like SOME PEOPLE would! It wasn't like I was asking him to go HOURS out of the way, and it was enroute to home in any case. When I got home after he helped me carry my stuff in, I discovered that I forgot to give him that MissionsFest booklet from last time... IT WAS RIGHT BY THE DOOR, TOO! Oh well! Edited entries and divided stuff into (Ziploc) bags for the fridge / drawers / regifting before catching up and such, too.


Mom's definition of smuggling beer over the US border: "Oh, but I was honest! I told the customs guard that I had some in the car!" Everyone else: "THAT'S NOT SMUGGLING!"

Presents: Guinness World Records 2012 from Steph and Lisa; Christmas card from Gabriel and Vivian; Christmas card from Vania; homemade chocolates, jalapeno cheese slices, two dark towels, hard candies, Mr. Big x2, Christmas card, three mugs, 2012 kitten calendar, Starlight mints, Whoppers, Kit Kats, teddy bear notebook, bubblegum candy, Coke, 2012 page-a-day Bathroom Reader calendar from parents

Chinese Eric figuring stuff out, Erin and Ben, plus MOM HAVING CARDS

Noticed I'd missed a call from Chinese Eric, so of course I returned it. His mom answered; Auntie and I just wished each other a Merry Christmas, even if I myself wasn't feeling it. Eric just wanted to figure stuff out for tomorrow. We talked about Nathan, Ciel, New Year's Eve at Jeremy's, his dad's birthday being around New Year's Eve (of course I have a good memory!), his grandma, nursing homes, and Chinatown. It's fine if he picks me up at 6 or so, since I don't necessarily want to piss off the parents, either... we wished each other a Merry Christmas, since it wasn't the time to tell him about my day. Tomorrow! At least that made me feel a bit better, heh.

Later, I updated James and Vanessa on things via YM and MSN. Briefly called Mom, who says dinner starts at 6 since Erin and Ben will be there for about an hour or so. Guess I'll see - I still need to buy some stuff tomorrow, so I hope things won't be TOO crazy! Then she wondered how I knew Vania had a card for me, and whether I replied to her with "my mom has the card." Um, no... that's nuts!

Caucasian men / "Foie gras" as "forge" / Complicated directions / Legendary dung! / Toast

Geoffrey emailed us some directions to his place, and they sound really complicated. I don't do those very well, even if Eric would be with me - yet another reason not to go tonight, haha!


My sister had lunch with Grandma today, and this is a hilarious conversation they had:

Grandma: Do you have a boyfriend yet?
Steph: Nope!
Grandma: Aiya... what about the men at work? Are they all married? You're running out of time. Do you prefer Chinese or Caucasian?
Steph: Whities!!
Grandma: Ooh... be careful. Caucasian men are hard to keep satisfied.

HAHAHAHA! Like Steph said, HOW WOULD SHE KNOW?! Mom also emailed my sister to say that Grandma had something called "forge." My sister clarified this English FAIL by saying that "forge" was really FOIE GRAS. Oh dear.


After a few tries, I finally got the LEGENDARY DUNG in the Death Desert, for 50 experience points and a special sound effect! "Oh my! This is the Legendary Dung, which is said to be dung, but also NOT dung!"

You Are Intuitive

You're incredibly kind, caring, and generous. You naturally put others first. You believe that you know what's right deep down in your heart. You listen to your feelings. You are a very emotional person. It's less about what you think and more about what you feel. Your inner voice always speaks the truth, and you take the time to listen to it.

What Does Your Toast Say About You?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Reddit: No pooping in the month of August! / Yogurt Flavor

I am a guy who hasn't pooped in the month of August! HAHAHAHAHAHA! o_O [courtesy of 365reasonswhy in ohnotheydidnt] The comments are COMEDY GOLD!

Nathan HAD to make his next movie discussion night on the 15th, so any birthday thing I have will need to be on the 14th or after the 17th. WTF?! I sent an email, and Cindy says she intends on being there, while Eric jokingly says that he'll be sure to schedule something else for the 14th. UGH! YOU!

You Are Plain Yogurt

Your sincerity and honesty shine through in almost every situation. You are always truthful. You are comfortable with who you are, and you never put on a front. You don't believe in superficialities. You value solitude. Some of your best ideas and creations come out of alone time. You are simply a good person and a person of substance. You don't need to show off.

What Flavor Yogurt Are You?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself