Psycho hosebeast / Chinese Eric planning! / RED ROBINS

I decided to call Chinese Eric at about 6:50, and he'd just got in; we had a great 45-minute conversation, though! As I thought, he HAD called me a few nights ago at 11 PM, but he just wanted to see if I'd bumped into Nathan again since that guy doesn't respond to messages. Nope, I hadn't seen him! White Eric's pizza crawl idea might have been good last week if I weren't feeling terribly! After telling him about the resident who THREW FOOD AT and SPIT AT different care aides today, I updated him on James... so HE says that his ex-girlfriend Little Miss Giggles was basically a psycho hosebeast who was possessive and jealous. She was telling him that she loved him within two weeks, was talking about moving in and having children, and was basically bad news. SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE SELFISH?! Needless to say, he didn't have a very warm welcome from me last night when he told me that he was back online. ("Do I know you? Oh... it's YOU.") Eric concurred with me: BAD NEWS!

We talked about hockey, CFL football (the Lions won today), early birthday wishes for the weekend, cold and windy Hong Kong winters, Havarti, guys exposing themselves, his guy perspective ("they're not running towards you - flasher with trenchcoat!"), lockout talks, TLC reality shows, JERSEY SHORE not being like the SOPRANOS (Mafia!), MSN possibly dying like ICQ did, poker, the blackout on local football games, and birthday dinner details. It'll be the first time he'll be at Kwong Chow without his family, hahaha. Aaron C. suggested Chuck E. Cheese or the River Rock casino, but one's too far and the other's too expensive! Eric's down for two dinners in two days, so Red Robin's is ON! Not that I have to run my own birthday celebrations by him, but if I want him at both (and if he doesn't mind), it's only considerate to take your best friend's opinion and preferences into account! So it's Red Robin's - no Chinese food twice in two days for ME if I can help it, haha. Made a FB event for it, too. Replied to Mandy's emails afterwards, too. :D

Weekly tradition! / Yvonne / SOMETHING AWFUL / Stone statues!

I've missed the weekly tradition, and now that I have peace and quiet, I'll go right back to it since it's been way too long from late May to August... and I also included Chinese Eric on the FAT DRAGON email thread! Replied to Mandy's emails this morning; yes, a certain person IS an idiot! (weekly tradition people seem to think much worse - but I'd agree; DOUCHE!) Vanessa got on MSN to tell me that she and Kim were looking at Cora's breakfast at around 9 or 10 on MONDAY; sounds good. I found a great LP thread on Something Awful for DRAGON QUEST V!


After the events of the Demon Tower, the Hero and his wife Bianca are turned into stone statues!

Vanessa, Cora's crepes, Darren Morrison, CHOSEN ONES

Replied to Mandy's email this morning, heh. Vanessa got on MSN to say that I should try the HUGE crepes at Cora's in Ironwood... haha, maybe when I actually have money! She says she's back next week (which works), but Wayne's away for a while; got it. I checked my Yahoo account since she sent me a picture, and discovered that Darren M. had emailed me a spam HCG Ultra Drops link, like Farrah unwittingly did a couple weeks ago!


Candy showed me this Tumblr picture; someone get that guy a dictionary!




Upon a DRAGON WARRIOR IV party defeat, a voice is heard out of nowhere: "Chosen Ones. It's not the time to give up. I will revive you. Open your eyes..."

Sober / drunk convos, omelettes, discharges, and Kaiser bread

Replied to Mandy's email before I went to bed last night and before I had a "sober / drunk" conversation. Lillian picked me up at 8:50, saving me from further awkward analysis of that interaction! We got to the hospital, and tried convincing Grandma to eat some oatmeal. She thought she was at home, since she wondered where Jon was and who would cook! The discharge to Dogwood went well, and yes, we hope never to see those people again! I went to a café across the street called Dylan's (hahaha), and had an omelette with toast and hash browns while dumping all my change on them; I also brought back a breakfast sandwich for Lillian. She later tried telling me to take it myself, but I'm not a fan of Kaiser bread. We had to see Mom and Dad later, but I elected to go home with Lillian. Good thing, too - I needed some time alone, and also had to call white Eric to make arrangements for tonight. Sure, I could walk to Dylan and Deb's, but it's really hot out!

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!

Spelling "malignant," physio, vocal baby Ayler, and Ted

Laundering my Canucks shirt worked for no more egg staining - YES! I told Ryan a short version of recent events, since I trust him as well. Lillian woke me up at 9:45 with a phone call, but that's okay because I got more rest! We got to the hospital at about 11 with Auntie Kwai, and stayed with Grandma; we supported her and held her hands as the physiotherapist was examining her later. She slowly sat up and stood for a couple of minutes after he tested her reflexes, then took a couple of steps. Later, she had some congee with rice. We had chicken, a turkey sandwich with cheddar and horseradish, coffee, and coffee cake from Starbucks. Ted (Mabel's husband) visited when she was sleeping. Mom got there after 4, but Grandma didn't seem to recognize her. When we asked Grandma who Mom was, we got the response "Leslie..." Ha, not quite! Jon had told her some details over the phone when they got in, so that's good. Then again, Grandma thought she was on a cruise! Nice!

Yvonne and William showed up a minute after Jon did at 4:45 or so, but Mom didn't really talk to them much. At least Jon and I talked to them for updates and such, since we have no issues with these people. I hugged Yvonne goodbye when Mom, Jon, and I went for dinner at Kwong Chow - yes, they have to see baby Ayler at some point when they're here! (and not just in photo form, haha) Auntie Eva kindly drove us to the restaurant, and I finally got to see the baby! Baby Ayler was making a lot of sounds as usual (we think he wants to talk already at two months old!), and seemed interested in all the lights that were on! It was good to see them, and I told Harmony that I'd been at the townhouse on Friday and not HOME. She'd forgotten, but that's okay. Later, Mom was apparently surprised that cancer patients will go through a lot of pain as they near the end. When I was NOT surprised at this, she wondered how I know, and concluded that I must know everything! I taught her to spell "brain," "philanthropist," "incontinent," "chemotherapy," "neurosurgeons," "palliative," "consultation,"and "malignant." Later, I finally reset my Trillian password, and replied to emails from Mandy / Deb.

Healing power and authority? / Improvement

This morning, I got emails from white Eric and Raymond (of all the people) about yesterday's events. Also got an email from Mom - who doesn't know about things - opining yet again that she thinks Grandma just gave up since she doesn't want to live in a home. If only it were that simple... we know things that she doesn't. Replied to Raymond's email (who said "God has authority over all things, even tumors - witness my amazing healing from an old hand injury!"), and finally replied to Mandy's and Deb's to tell them about this.

Lillian came by at 10 from the mall where she was buying vouchers for her phone. Auntie Kwai had elected not to come today since she wasn't feeling well. We parked in the wrong spot; when we finally got to Grandma's room, she was sleeping quite soundly. After covering her up and talking to the doctor about yellow IV drips (folic acid and vitamins!), we tried waking her up. Eventually, she woke up. We tried feeding her a lot of orange Jello, water, and medicine. She seemed receptive to that; later, she recognized us after we told her to think about it, and talked louder than she has in a bit. Pastor Fulton, Auntie Teresa, Uncle Reuben, Auntie Christine, Mrs. Tung, Alan, Polly, Auntie May, and three church people whom I don't really know came and visited her, Jon came by after teaching violin, after William / my cousin Yvonne / their daughter Andrea came by. He joked that Andrea could have a birthday in the hospital after we found out that her birthday is next week. When she was out of the room, Yvonne cried a lot, and said that she didn't know how her dad would take it. Yeah, she also has no idea why our parents aren't speaking to each other.

After feeding her dinner, we decided to go for sushi at Kiyo. It wasn't too bad; Yvonne insisted on paying since we seldom see each other. Over rolls, cones, scallops, cold buckwheat noodles (soba), sashimi, rice, and more, we discussed Dairy Queen / a radio for Grandma / weird foods / tomorrow's plans / family updates / more stuff. Lillian figures we can transfer my stuff in the morning so we won't be tired later, which makes sense. I got home to do laundry, and talked some more to people. Too bad that Chinese Eric wasn't home when I called, since he's my rock - at least I emailed him yesterday! (also got an email from Christon about things)

Starbucks / CALM not COME / Paladin in Mysidia! / Fat Chocobo / Cagnazzo

Replied to another one of Mandy's emails before settling in to work on my messy FB bestiary albums, and that went a little quicker than I may have originally thought - nice! Vanessa got on MSN to advise me of Starbucks and their free drinks promotion today; I knew about that, and it was cool. Deb finally emailed me back about baby Declan, since she and Dylan had had relatives from California visiting for the last bit. "We can aim for August when things COME down," she wrote... I believe she meant "CALM" down, haha. Too bad the baby's been sick and clingy since Wednesday, though!

Someone named January H. added me from the Puckheads - interesting! I thought that Kaitlin had a VANYA RAINA alterego, but upon further investigation, I don't think it's her. This person has Reeha as a mutual friend, and I only thought it was Kaitlin because she went by "Vanya Rasputin" before on FB. Oh well, the person's now been blocked because I feel like it. :P [Eric also tried to get me out of here, but I'm not sure how well that's going to work!]


Cecil's become a Paladin atop Mount Ordeals!




Everyone in Mysidia hated Cecil as a Dark Knight, since he forcibly took their Water Crystal at the beginning of the game. After you become a Paladin, this guy in the armor shop has the funniest reaction: "I told you, you can't use the armor here until you become... a paladin... ? When did you... ? How... ?"




Gotta love the Fat Chocobo (this one in Baron's Field of Chocobos) who stores your items when you run out of room in the 48 item slots!




Cagnazzo on Baron's throne: "Your who? Oh, you must mean the old duffer who refused to surrender this kingdom."




The twins Palom and Porom became stone of their own will... :(




Tellah's ESUNA spell has no effect because of this...

Kwong Chow GOOSE dinner / AWESOME talking!

I had just enough time to upload pictures to Photobucket and do a bestiary entry before the parents picked me up; I'll concentrate on the messes which are my FB albums later. The Kwong Chow dinner was good; we had goose, pork belly, veggies, congee, eggplant (bleh), rice, prawns, and other things. Discussed Ayler's cute yawning, bathing the baby, Grandma, the lards going to Russia, vomiting, stress, Ayler being so hungry that he could eat his hand, the direct translation of "I'll beat you to death" (Lisa was HORRIFIED!), threatening the baby (we'll give him lots of sugar before we return him to his parents!), Aaron L. (he came by for a bit), poo / medicine (NOT abusing it), fans, chopstick skills, playing scales to calm the baby down, O CANADA, Vegas bags, leftovers, food, and more. It took some time to get Grandma to her room afterward; perhaps it's a good thing she doesn't know that her next-door neighbor died!

Got home and brushed my teeth (plus replied to Mandy's email) before calling Chinese Eric, which was awesome as usual. He said he had an interesting question to ask em, which consisted of his wondering if Saturday was a good time to FINALLY hang out! It was a good coincidence that I called him since he was going to message me, haha. Of course, I told him that it would be a pretty good time to do a LOT of catching up, especially if he has relatives and people coming into town for the summer. He definitely wants to get a hangout tentatively scheduled before that happens! It seems both of us were looking up how long it's been since we last hung out, and a LOT has happened since then! We also talked about the baby, parenting, some TV show called "WHO THE FUCK DID I MARRY?", serial killers, the Green River Killer, Joey Buttafuoco, Finland / Teemu Selanne, aging NHL players, sleeping in hot weather, fans, the heat in here / Las Vegas / Russia / Saudi Arabia, NOT being sick before trips, his condition, big pharmacies, bottled water, and conspiracy theories about the cure for cancer. Discussed his hanging out with me and Nathan and others to "bridge the gap" between his five Hong Kong years and now, crazy Chinese translations, crackers, hockey, Roberto Luongo, Iron Men, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Gordie Howe, Marty Turco, Martin Brodeur, Jonathan Toews, dumb reporter questions (the players aren't going to give you an off-the-cuff answer!), summer conditioning, and more. It was definitely a great conversation!

Dwarves, Void stars, Lone Wolf, Chinese Eric! / "We've already stopped the engine, Cid!"

Got up at 7:15 AM due to the sunny weather; I managed to stay awake until I decided that I really was out of it at 8:40. No church for me, I guess! Went back to sleep, and had a bit of a nightmare about my FINAL FANTASY games (dwarves and the stars of the Void) being erased! At 11:25, I was more refreshed; I replied to Mandy's email, and found a surprising MSN offliner from Chinese Eric: I *knew* he had called last night! "Hey... I called... talk later." At least that made me smile; since I plan to call him later anyway, it's all good. :D


"Hey, hey... help a brother out... how 'bout you open this door?" Okay, sure! Then the excited blue-haired guy runs around the Walse jail cell in circles; he runs into the wall and passes out. You shouldn't let the pickpocket Lone Wolf (the guy next to him - also in FINAL FANTASY VI) out of jail, because he'll steal two Cottages in Tycoon Castle, a Blitz Whip in Jachol Cave, a Cottage in Surgate Castle you can only obtain when on Planet R, and a Cottage you can find in Carwen, but only when on Planet R.




But we've already stopped the engine on Karnak's fire-powered ship, Cid Previa!




"It ain't over till the fat lady sings, and the orchestra hasn't even started tuning up yet!" - Cid's grandson Mid, on getting into the Desert of the Shifting Sands west of the Library of the Ancients (solution: SANDWORM DEFEAT for a BRIDGE!)

Needing friends / Surgate Castle Library (donkeys and weight)

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


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




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

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

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

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

Ministry, Eddie, Mandy, Chrystal, Erin, John, and Eric

Went with Barry to the Ministry, but NO DICE there. Got home to check my email - Eunice and Eddie got my wedding RSVP, and sent me a link (useless to me) for driving directions. I replied to Mandy's email about the personal things which have been going on around here lately, and composed a draft for later use. Also called Chrystal and gave her a very brief recap on the past couple of weeks (Vegas / personal issues); we're getting together for dinner on Tuesday night so we can talk more about stuff without my feeling bad about interrupting her workday, even if Andrew is a good supervisor and normally doesn't really care about such things! Decided to try No$GBA again since the VBA slowness is REALLY bad! Erin C. and John S. from Puckheads added me to FB at the same time - meh, I'm up for it! Eric M. called to see whether I was going tonight - since I miss venting / ranting (and OH BOY DO I HAVE STUFF TO VENT ABOUT!), I decided to go.

Vegas 2012: escalaphobia, weddings, and new friends!

This is in email form because I intend on emailing this to Eric, and I have no energy to rewrite it as a blog post!



Hey, Eric! I said I'd tell you about the trip, so here goes! This will be a long one, so feel free to split up reading it! If this sounds really disjointed, I'm really out of it right now as I think I caught something right when I got back - go figure!

Tuesday, May 29: Before we left for Vegas, my parents and I went to the hospital to help with baby Ayler because Jon and Harmony REALLY needed sleep! I got to hold the baby for about an hour or more - he's so cute! You need to see Ayler at some point! When we got to YVR, we discovered that the flight was delayed for about half an hour; good thing I had my books to keep me company! Lisa and Steph met us at the Imperial Palace hotel (MacCarran airport has slot machines - everyone seems to smoke in Vegas), where we discovered that the pre-paid room was booked in MY name! HAHAHAHA! Of course, my mom made a fuss about it, saying that it should be in HER name; the poor front desk clerk said that WestJet picked a random name from the passports. At the hotel room, we all talked about the bus route and schedules, since walking anywhere along the Strip would take FOREVER. Then I had to share a hotel room with my parents - oh well. Close quarters make for bad bedfellows, that's for sure! (especially since I don't LOVE being with my parents for an extended amount of time)


Wednesday, May 30: All the signs are in English and Spanish, and it's strange to me since I'm used to seeing directions / instructions in English and French. I noticed the "HOT BABES" advertising right away - my friend Jess had told me that they hand out cards for that right on the Strip, but I didn't want to take one in case airport security saw it in the X-rays, haha. My mom saw a coupon for a "free" T-shirt, so said that I should go stand in line for it. There were a lot of people in line for THE PRICE IS RIGHT, so I waited for at least an hour. When I got to the front, the guy said that I actually had to buy tickets to the show first BEFORE I got the T-shirt. However, he was nice and gave me one anyway. I noticed that redrum started AGAIN, and thought I should have taken hormones! (too much info, I know - but I trust you a lot... you know how it is with your sickness!)

Later, some woman asked where we were from, and then my parents were enticed by the free breakfast / free buffet tickets / free show tickets which went along with the WyndMark condo "scam" offer on Friday morning. We went to Wal-Mart later to pick up some basic supplies like oatmeal and cereal (as well as a McDonalds dinner), and then had to wait an HOUR for the bus! I got a bunch of postcards for myself, you, Jeremy, my friends Corey / Siobhan / Chrystal, and others... plus three $5 handbags. A bus did pass us by because there was only one lane of traffic, according to a road worker. The guy who was waiting with us called it "bullshit." I agreed, even though Dad called that "foul language" later - I guess it's a good thing he didn't know how much I wanted to swear at some things!


Thursday, May 31: My parents went to the Grand Canyon all day, which necessitated a wakeup call at 5:15 AM. I discovered the Apple Store at the Forum Mall, so I was able to check my email and Facebook on an iPad, swiping and using the on-screen keyboard as I went. (a MacBook Air proved to be too much for me :P) The "outside" ceiling was pretty nice, since it was like you were walking around in Rome! Lots of escalators, which I wouldn't want to take! There were plenty of fountains and statues, so that was cool. When I checked Facebook, I found that my intuition was sadly right: someone whom I liked (in Texas) was in a brand new relationship. He's an agent of betrayal and a perfidious blackguard, to boot! (Now James and I are talking about it on YM - he's trying to convince me that it's just one of life's changes since he was tired of being depressed, and all Rachael had to do was say "yes" if she wanted him, despite her not wanting him in April or May. I should have told him more clearly how I felt before I left. He is trying to make me believe that he didn't intend on being in a relationship when I left, but is committed when he's in one; good for her, but I can't help but think what's wrong with ME! At least YOU have never hurt me in that way!)

Steph and Lisa treated me to a dinner at the Main St. Station buffet; after taking the bus there (WE SAW ELVIS!), we went down the Fremont Street Experience beforehand, and went to Walgreens since Lisa's eczema was acting up. It was nice to meet a bunch of Lisa's family: her nephews Lucas (10 - with autism) and Liam (3), Grandma Joan, stepmom Sandy (whom Dad thinks he doesn't have to care for since she wore spaghetti straps - IT WAS 37 FREAKING DEGREES OUTSIDE! WHATEVER!), dad Mike, aunt Liz, mom Ruth (who's a bit of a control freak and stresses poor Lisa out), cousins Heather and Lindsay, brother Brad and his girlfriend Tanya, brother Shaun and his wife Nicole, plus others. I was too full for dessert, but Liam showed me his green Jello! Gotta love kids! Then we went down Fremont St. again, and saw all these characters: SONIC, Al Capone, Spongebob, and many others! We saw a Bon Jovi concert on the ceiling, ziplining (like the ones that were here for the Olympics), and lots of funny shirts. (baby onesie: "I'm What Happened in Vegas")

We saw a place called the Heart Attack Grill, where you can eat free if you weigh over 350 pounds. Since Brad weighs 359 pounds (he told us!), he said he'd be back the next day. (I asked him about it later, and Tanya said that they gave you a bib and utensils!) Since some people wanted to see a show which was at my hotel, I decided to go with them; I needed more of a break from my parents, y'see. We saw a show called DIVAS, which featured a lot of female impersonators / drag queens: Cher, Bette Midler, Joan Rivers, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Katy Perry, and more. It was quite enjoyable! Sandy thought that those couldn't possibly be men (but they were - as evidenced by the last segment where they all came out as men), while poor Nicole had to walk all the way from Circus Circus to Imperial Palace (a LONG walk!) since she missed the bus we were on by eight seconds, and those only came once every 15 minutes! Afterwards, Sandy wanted to gamble since she wouldn't sleep anyway because of insomnia. I think it was too hot to sleep! I went back to the hotel room at 1 AM, haha.


Friday, June 1: After the WyndMark presentation (credits for vacation?), we went to the Emperor Buffet in our hotel for lunch, but my parents made me take an escalator. Steph said that Lisa was REALLY stressed out because of her mom, but didn't want to upset her. Later, my mom had all these weird things to say, which are at the bottom of this email. We bumped into Shaun and the family at a bus stop after buying some shirts (I got one for me, one for you - which is an inverse of mine - and one each for Jon and Harmony) and souvenirs, and I played peek-a-boo with Liam. I went back to the hotel room since my mom wanted to go to the outlet malls, and I needed a break from my parents and the heat. (ice from the ice machine really helped!)

This is going to worry you, but please don't: I briefly thought of jumping from the 17th-floor balcony because of James - I guess I was / am more in love with him than I thought, but I'm just trying to NOT feel that way right now since it's inappropriate. (I did tell him that, and am not sure what he thought) The next morning, I just as briefly thought about cutting myself with my mom's little scissors that she brought along. The blades felt so cool against my skin... but again, I didn't. I was thinking that I wanted to see you and the baby, at least! You are a good reason to smile! :)

Dad and I had McDonalds for dinner: I loved the Hot and Spicy McChicken, for obvious reasons! These little black kids (Crystal / Bella / Lexie?) said hi to me and treated me like their new friend, haha. Maybe I *am* good with children to a certain extent! You know me and kids, anyway.


Saturday, June 2: My mom was really stressing me out in the morning, thinking that I didn't know how to soak things in the tub (maybe I temporarily FORGOT because of you?!), or thinking that I had to do certain things. Let's just say that while we were going through the casino at Harrah's (where I had to take the escalator) as a break from the 107-degree heat, I felt betrayed both by my parents and James, and friendless. I'm sure I made a GREAT first impression on my sister's friend Rachel's boyfriend Wade later on as I was telling her, Vivian, and Vivian's husband Gabe about exactly why I was stressed out and crying! I was worried that it was TMI for Gabe (the redrum part), but he's had a conversation with Steph, so he's used to our family.

The wedding itself at Joe's was small and to the point: we had steak, tuna, cheesecake, pie, and a bunch of other good stuff. I got to talk to Ross, Winnie, Jessica Lam, Jessica Marr, Alan, Tracy, Rachel, Wade, Gabe, Vivian S., Erin, Margaret, Mike, Denise, Karen Grace, and others about Alberta / fires / Ottawa / the baby / other stuff. I liked Steph and Lisa's vows: "if anyone hurts you, I'll beat them up and buy you ice cream - if *I* hurt you, I'll beat myself up before buying you ice cream!" Sandy has humor, too: "By the power invested in me by the Mad Hatter, the Wizard of Oz, and all the Elvises of the Las Vegas Strip, I pronounce you married!" When I went over to say hi to the kids, Sammy said he had a rock which cost a "thousand million dollars," while Liam gave me a high-five! Lucas got his beloved cheeseburger for lunch, at least! Ruth said the grandkids needed entertainment, haha.

Later, I elected to go to the Apple Store again after the wedding photos since I had to tell my online friends how I really thought about things. I missed my alone time, trust me! (I think you have an idea of how I feel) After that, I went to Toby Keith's bar in the evening at Harrah's by myself to meet up with whoever decided to go. Steph predicted that Alan would be face-down in a fountain then because it was also his birthday (which I told him later when they showed up), and her RCMP friends were surprised that his table had all her church friends since they were kinda rowdy at lunch! I got a couple of Budweisers plus plenty of water! Hugged Rachel a lot, talked a bunch to Lindsay / Heather / Andrea / MacGregor / other assorted cousins / Mike / Sandy, learned that Vivian and Gabe had checked out the slot machines, and rested a lot after dancing to cool rock tunes. You know my taste in music, haha! Rachel and I told Wade about how my dad used to make Rachel drink full glasses of milk even though she'd just found out that she was lactose-intolerant! ("Stop being fussy! Steph, pour your friend some milk!") Their friend Kate is also lactose-intolerant, yet never got the same treatment since Dad thought she was weak and her health would suffer! Wouldn't it have been the same thing for Rachel?! I mean, it WAS the family bathroom where she had to deal with the inevitable consequences... I guess Dad didn't care!


Sunday, June 3: My parents brought back some Panda Express food for me while I was watching FAMILY GUY / KING OF THE HILL / ARTHUR / LEVEL UP / THE REGULAR SHOW. Yup, the Cartoon Network was what did it for me on TV - I was tired of hearing about Obama and Romney, or even local Vegas news! (although I did watch DR. OZ and ELLEN once before ESPN) Later, I met my LJ friends Sheryll and her daughter Nyssa: they smoked in the casino before we went to see the flamingos, turtles, 400-pound fish, and doves in the habitat at the Flamingo Hotel. We talked about grates, Facebook, travelling, fears, and other things; it was pretty good! After that, I was ready to go home since I'd done everything I wanted to do in Vegas, and I wanted alone time by myself! However, I was there for a couple more days, and was determined to stick it out. We had FLAVORS buffet for dinner to use the free buffet tickets, and then used the free show tickets to see a LEGENDS show: Lady Gaga, Elvis, the Blues Brothers, Tina Turner, and more! Of course, my parents made me take escalators again, saying there was no choice: but I saw people in wheelchairs there, so how did THEY get up to Harrah's second floor?! My goodness.


Monday, June 4: I saw a display of cheap bling necklaces, so I got some for myself and other people in an attempt to cheer myself up. (you, Jeremy, Chrystal...) Then I found a quiet place to read for a few hours, which didn't go over well with my parents - guess I really wanted to be home to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted! Went to the Fremont St. Experience and the Main St. Station buffet for dinner again, where I apparently walked too fast for Mom's taste. Hey, I knew where I was going! Then we saw the NEW YORK hotel (Jelly Belly!), went on a tram, saw the EXCALIBUR hotel, saw the LUXOR, saw Mario / Luigi / Hello Kitty characters, and went back to our hotel all within four and a half hours! Of course, they made me take an escalator: then my mom thought that I'd magically LIKE them. NO! THAT IS NOT HOW THAT WORKS EVEN IF OTHERS HELP ME! We were on the bus, and I was sitting next to someone who wanted to get off the bus. So I moved to let him off. Mom saw this, and thought I was getting off the bus. NO! Anyone with two eyes could see that I was only moving TEMPORARILY.

Yes, she was concerned that I'd get lost or get off at the wrong stop for real, so I explained that to her. Unfortunately, she thought "I was LETTING HIM OFF!" was rude, and proceeded to say that she didn't care about me after giving me the silent treatment for ten minutes. I bet she thought I'd immediately beg for forgiveness. Honestly, if you're so stressed that your immediate reaction to someone raising their voice for emphasis - NOT NECESSARILY YELLING - is to think they're being rude and yelling.... yeah, no. I was like "Okay!" out loud. Ugh... the urge to kill her was rising! Parents!


Tuesday, June 5: After packing (I'd done it the day before to minimize stress) and leaving the luggage at the holding centre, we went to the Paradise Garden Buffet off Margaritaville for lunch. Next stop was the Forum, where I had to babysit Mom at the Apple Store: "You know how Hotmail works... You are the expert and know everything!" (never mind that I haven't used it in AGES!) Then we went to see the flamingos and other animals which I'd seen the other day with Sheryll and Nyssa. Later, we went to the Fashion Show Mall via the scenic route to avoid walking across the street; we had frozen yogurt (I had cheesecake flavor!) and look around at the expensive stuff! At the airport, we had Great Steak Philly cheesesteak sandwiches while Mom got even more stressed out, if that's even possible. She told me that she'd bought baby Ayler about 20 outfits at a baby store at the outlet mall (which impressed Harmony when I told her about it via FB), bought me four hats, some socks, and other things. I got two $10 teddy bears, one for me and one for baby - babies like soft cuddly things, so I didn't care if it was $3 more!

After the security screening / pat-down procedures at MacCarran airport, I swear I heard Dad call the female TSA agent a "f*cking whore" under his breath! At YVR, Dad agreed to drive me home afterwards. I was a bit confused when it came to the passport and customs machines, but got through it with help from an officer. When I finally got home, I checked my Trillian messages: white Eric wondered if I'd seen the baby Jesus, James wished me a safe trip (I didn't reply to that one since he didn't want to know what I'd say), and your messages about Vegas along with my friend Steve's email made me smile! Stayed up till about 4 AM, and went to sleep after unpacking.

Now, I'm a bit sick despite getting up at 6 PM, and out of it... I'm surprised I barely had the energy to go to Sears at the mall just now and buy some stuff which I needed! (I did laundry when I got home, and ran out of energy at 10:25 PM) Time to catch up on my screenshots album, then replay FINAL FANTASY V and IV in that order. That will keep me occupied while I try NOT thinking about what might have been with James, or what might have happened had I said what I was thinking before I left. *sigh* Shaun, Nicole, Heather, and Sandy have added me to Facebook so far. I also paid my phone bill since I got it in the mail this past week - yay for being responsible!


HILARIOUS MOM QUOTES:

Mom, on hats: "this Titan hat is better quality since it has a few holes to get your skin off!"
Mom, on Beyonce: "FIANCÉE?! What sort of name is that?!"
Mom, on the word DORK: "What does it mean? I bought the shirt since it was pink... I know the word is bad!"
Mom, on borrowing a complete stranger's cellphone to hop on McDonald's wi-fi (which I had NO INTENTION of doing): "you can use your charm and say 'my darling, I will give you a wet kiss!"

Mom, on fast food: "You know, this Fashion Show Mall has a JFK!"
Me and Dad: "What?!"
Mom: "YOU KNOW. A Kentucky Fried Chicken!"
Dad: "Old woman, that's..."
Me, simultaneously: "Mom, you mean..."
Together: "KFC!!!!!"

AUNTIE! / HYMN for a boy child?! (a girl would have been bad, too...)

When Eric called me this morning after I'd gotten an offliner MSN message from him ("are you pretending to be offline?"), I told him that I'd been out seeing the baby! Yes, it is finally out and into the world. I guessed I might as well go to church, and then found out that Tammy had posted congratulations on my wall - I had to delete that within 24 seconds, man! On the way there, we discussed birth details / my mother / the baby / construction / traffic lights / dirt trucks / Ikea being demolished / his Fellowship Committee Meeting this afternoon / New York accents. At church, Auntie Ying / Auntie Catherine / Auntie Lillian / Auntie Vivian / Brian / Denise / Anita / Jeff / Emily / Joey / Lincoln / Randal / Auntie Brenda / Uncle Eric / Vivian congratulated me at varying times throughout the day. When I got into service, I whispered the news to Denise while waving hi to baby Micah, who played the drums later in the fellowship hall. I sat with Eric (as is usual when we come in after 10), but we had to move over to make room for Karen. Afterwards, I gave her the stuffed Easter bunny for her son Marcus, who just calls them all "dogs," hahaha. I talked to Vivian about the baby name spelling (like "Tyler," but with an A instead of a T), to Randal about the name's meaning / becoming an aunt, to Brian about how he was waiting for the FB announcement all week, to Lincoln about Vegas and the baby, to Gino about last Friday, to Sarah C. about Ultimate at Sunrise Park, to Hien about the baby (Corey and Kenny had congratulated me yesterday via Skype messages), to Auntie Catherine about getting together when I get back, to little Joanna about where her mom Anita was (I hadn't seen her!), and just said hi to Amanda / Jeremy / others.

After I talked to the Wongs for a while, Joanna yelled "BYE!" to me several times - how cute! She's never talked to me before, and her big sister Allison loves her sundresses! I saw Ashley, Anastasia, her dad Danny, Ramen / Shira and their mom Jessie, Ada, Wesley, Martin, Mattias, James, David, Evelyn, and a new boy child named HYMN at Toddler Sunday School today. I'd like to know what the kid's parents Sam and Irene were smoking when they decided that HYMN was a good name for the child; not that it would have been better if it were a girl. At least the kid appeared to understand a bit of English! Discussed Mott's Fruitsations, slides, gummies, Goldfish crackers, slides, coloring, crashes, Lego, and more. Talked to David and Evelyn's mom Linda for a bit later on: she says the kids are naughty and give her a headache! Hahaha, I bet that does happen!

Went downstairs to find a bazaar in full swing; Grandma complained that the noodles were all sold out: OF COURSE THEY WERE! I gave a bunch of candy to Julie C., Natalie W., and Hannah W. to share; then I asked Eric (who had asked whether *I* had cash for the bazaar food - I paid for curry fish balls, but not for rice wraps or BBQ pork) whether he were going to the Floata farewell dinner for Auntie Rebecca. He probably was and could give me a ride there and back, but he didn't have the cash for a ticket. I gave him my payment for my own ticket, and he joked that he'd go buy something nice with it instead. HE'D BETTER NOT, SINCE $22 IS IMPORTANT! Since Dad was going home afterwards, I opted to go home with him and Grandma; good thing Mom was at work! At home, I got an offliner from Chinese Eric with CONGRATS and HUGS and "TELL ME ALL THE DETAILS NEXT TIME! SO HAPPY FOR JON / HARMONY!" Hahahaha, he KNOWS that I will DEFINITELY do that! I also replied to Mandy's email while I was at it.

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!

Russell Stover, Ferrero Rocher, Nestlé, Aero, Cadbury, Lindt, and Reese's

Replied to Mandy's email after awakening, haha. Also got a notification that Bryan (slackananda / ironicman / witlessowhitman) had FINALLY removed me from his friends list; YES! He was sorta creepy at the end with the "Asian fever" declarations over YM. Dumped out a bunch of religious Easter cards, too - I could use them for baptisms since people expect THOSE cards to mention God or have some Christian content, but those really aren't my taste anyway. Thank goodness that I didn't buy them in the first place! Later, I went out to Richmond Centre to see what Easter chocolate I could get. First, I went to Sears to discover a sale on the dark towel for my chair ($10 off!) and Jessica panties (three for $7) that I was going to buy anyway - SCORE!

Went to Shoppers Drug Mart after that, and I saw some BATH RETREAT products on sale. Decided to try the cocoa foaming bubble bath and the cocoa body mist spray to see what they'd be like. Found some LIFE brand chocolate branches with hazelnut filling, so I bought two for myself and one for Chinese Eric. Then I got some LIFE brand Belgian chocolate eggs and lambs with hazelnut filling, so decided to get those as well as some Cadbury TEENY eggs. I went to the dollar store, where I saw Cadbury Fingers for half the price it is in normal shops, so I bought two boxes along with Canucks and Habs washcloths so Steph and Lisa can continue a household rivalry! Almost everything in the store was half-price, too.

On my way to London Drugs, I bumped into Uncle Cho Kai (the church botanist) and Auntie Anna, who of course asked me what I was doing there. WHAT DO YOU THINK?! I had to be polite and say that I was doing some shopping in order to get some exercise before Easter Monday dinner at my mom's place. At London Drugs, I helped a couple who had dropped a greeting card in their rush to get to the checkout ; line; they thanked me for noticing! I got mounds of on-sale items: two Ferrero Rocher hollow hazelnut bunnies (one for Chinese Eric) / Cadbury mini-eggs / two Aero eggs (one for Chinese Eric) / four packages of Reese's mini chocolates (James put the idea into my head the other day) / two net packs of chocolate eggs for Rachel and Jonathan / a Russell Stover caramel egg / two Russell Stover 60-packs of mini chocolate bunnies for the kids and Chinese Eric / a strawberry melon Brisk drink / a Brisk iced tea drink. At home, I noticed that a blocked number had called while I was out. Since I thought it was Chinese Eric, I called his number only to have Auntie tell me to call another number! So I did, and he said he hadn't called, but might be running late. NO PROBLEM!

Jane, Mandarin, Nell, short people, BLECH, and tones

Jane W. sent an email thanking me for my gift of a picture frame, which was nice and polite. I replied to Mandy's email as I did this morning, too. Nell J. wanted to add me on FB via the Puckheads, so why not? Corey then got on MSN to tell me that short people suck; I knew he was doing it on purpose to get me to yell at him, which I did anyway since I've missed that. Yes, I do miss the strangest things, haha! Apparently, old ladies won't get things from the low shelves for him, but that's understandable! He says he had a class on prank calls today, too. I also asked him if he'd heard about those nasty urine-cooked eggs, then we talked about Mandarin / Cantonese and McDonalds. "Well, even if the tones are right, there's still like a billion words that all have the same sound AND tone. It's not a very good system in my opinion... have more possible sounds :P Longer words, maybe... something to differentiate between all the things that sound exactly alike."
"Jane says it's because Chinese people are smarter and can tell the difference. I say it's because the person that invented it didn't think things through well enough. :P English is kind of a big mess, too, but at least our words are mostly distinguishable, and we have writing that's possible to read without years of study. Even I can say 'Happy Birthday.' :P Well, sometimes people tell me I'm perfect, and sometimes people tell me they totally can't understand me since I usually forget the tones. At McDonalds a couple times, they tried to give me #10 instead of #4 (4 is si, 10 is shi) I held my fingers up when I said it, and other people say I pronounce it PERFECTLY, so I think they were just dumb. Some people are afraid of using Chinese with me anyway, so they just switch to broken English and make mistakes. They really don't even listen to my Chinese, unless I want them to speak English... then they can't speak a word. :P"

This is what he had to say about teaching: "I had a class about prank calls today. The classes yesterday were okay, the ones today weren't that enthusiastic, but my afternoon class (which is normally dead) was extra small because it's Tomb Sweeping Day tomorrow, so not many people came. Small classes generally will talk more.  the more people that come, the quieter they get. They're mostly afraid of each other, more than me. My night class is usually terrible, but a lady that knows all my complaints recently encouraged a new girl to talk to me. That worked, and this girl is like my new best student, and now SHE is encouraging other people to talk, too... if that chain continues, we just might fix everything for a while. Last night's class was great, and I have heard about pee eggs. Blech. They say Chinese people will eat anything... that might not be literally true, but I think it's close. :P"

Then I said that I should try sleeping at 2:33 AM. He replied with, "I should try eating now. It's 5:35 PM, and I have to leave in 45 minutes to go teach my Superior class about the Razzies for two hours. It's the Superior class, and they talk a lot. I need like three hours with them regardless of the topic, most of the time. They actually use English, which is why they're in the Superior class. :P The problem with them is that they like to hear themselves talk, and don't want to listen to much of what I say. That's a better problem than my other classes, though."

BIRTHDAY CAKE OREOS / NO CURLING!

Eric had to buzz me on MSN last night; he tried convincing me to be a curling spectator, but I don't think that's going to happen. I do have my beloved weekly tradition - as a quirkyalone (which I also told him about), I need that part of my routine. I guess I knew I was different from childhood. When you go off on your own to read during a friend's seventh birthday party (wonder if Kevin George still remembers that), and make up elaborate families (the Frothings!) in your head till your twenties or so.... yeah. My mom would ALWAYS say that "you can't live a dream world because life isn't like that," but I would just think "What if I WANT it to be like that?!" Yes, I know that life isn't about those things practically, but seriously... WHY NOT?! Is it HARMING you, lady?! Sheesh!

Besides, there's a hockey game on at 7! Yes, I will especially need peace and quiet during that time tomorrow! I finished the quadruplets and quintuplets lists yesterday, too. Should be able to finish both sextuplets entries today, which will be nice for my self-imposed deadline of tomorrow before 2. That way, I can truly enjoy the aforementioned weekly tradition AND Saturday! Replied to Mandy's email as well - yes, it IS awesome that I know a part of myself. :D

Price Smart customer service called me about those Birthday Cake Oreos - I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON WHY I DIDN'T GO OUT TILL NOW! I'm sure the workers there laughed on the inside when I asked them why they weren't on the shelves, but the Customer Service desk had two boxes for me. I also bought five on-sale Hungry Man microwaveable meals, and one more bag of kimchi dumplings. (they had potstickers, but I'll get those next time) I failed at using my debit card at the self-checkout, so I used the cash option instead! Steph and Lisa had bought a box at Target in the States last week, it turns out - "you should have told us earlier!" indeed. Paid my phone bill when I got home, also. Spent less than $25 at the store, which is GOOD - CONTROL!

Duggars, conjoined twins, virgins, GEEK LOVE

HAPPY PI DAY! HAPPY WHITE DAY!

Watched JAPAN TSUNAMI: TALES OF TERROR, 19 KIDS AND COUNTING (Duggars!), THE BATES FAMILY, and CSI: MIAMI last night. Today, I watched THE VIRGIN DIARIES / GEEK LOVE / CONJOINED TWINS. (the Herrin twins Kendra and Meliyah - the parents had another set of twins, Austin and Justin) Heard it was snowing again - wet snow, too. Replied to Mandy's email, as well. GEEK LOVE made me laugh at these costumed nerds and geeks at a speed dating event at a conference. HAHAHAHA! They just remind me of certain people (Kaili, Teunis, etc.) she used to know, who would want to "geek out" downtown when there was a PLAYOFF HOCKEY GAME going on. PRIORITIES, people! (Rachel sent my parents a postcard, saying she moved to Ottawa for school)