Berman, vibrators, Calla NOT Kayla, binoculars, Auntie Grace, and Green Village

Surprised Eric this morning by answering the phone with "Wedding Forum - how may I help you?" Hahaha! We discussed many things on the way to church: weddings in general, good friends, Christian music / static / the Shell Busey home improvement show / 99.3 the Fox, his meetings after church today and next week, religion, funerals, morbid stuff, wedding shows, TLC, things working out after all ride-wise, how I was "drunk" / "getting married," flipping through a Henri Nouwen devotional (of ALL the reading material I could have chosen?!), and more. Since he opted to jaywalk when we parked, I went to the crosswalk and avoided an awkward encounter with Randal. I know it shouldn't be, but it still kind of is for some odd reason. As it is, he said "Morning" to me when I exited the Sunfire since he was passing by; I just said "hello" in response.

Got into the sanctuary, said hi to Joanna and Priscilla on the other side (it IS Spring Break!), saw Enoch, then noted Paul's presence. I was determined not to let him have the power to ruin my day, so reminded myself of that. Thank goodness he didn't sit close by, although he did say hi to MY friend Jeremy, whom I am protective of! (Jon also said hi to him) Talked to Nathan W. about his folding the bulletin in creative ways, and noted Jon talking to Jeremy about French Press coffee (incentive to attend Sunday School) and the Whip later. Gave Jon his envelope from Berman and Grace, and noticed that Pastor Bob mispronounced Calla's name as "Kayla" - I'm not even sure HOW that computes in his mind! There was also a very brief question and answer session after the offering; Eric later told me that the plan was to make it a regular part of service. Oh dear... more excuse to leave early!

Made sure to say hi to Grandma and tell her that we'd be going to dinner with Jon tomorrow, even though she won't remember. Auntie Eva wanted to make sure I knew the plans - yes, of course! Went into the fellowship hall and said hi to Deb, Auntie Soo, baby Ava, Adam, Andrew, Lawrence, Amanda, and others. Yes, my parents get back tomorrow from their South American cruise! Checked with Jon about stuff tomorrow, which was fine. Went upstairs and said hi to Mel, Frances, Micah (who wouldn't hold hands with his little friend), little Joanna, Benedict (who said the sleepover went as expected), Martin, Sarah C., Mei Lin, Auntie Vivian, and others.

Saw Jessie, Lanie, Rachel's grandma, new kids named Jared L. (3) and Natalie (1), Ashley (gave her a Kleenex when she cried), David, Evelyn, Ramen, Shira, and James at Toddler Sunday School. Played with toys, cars, Legos, binoculars, and puzzles; also indulged James wanting to touch the subtle bling on my blue sweater, and his seeming need to hold my hands. Learned that Ashley is allergic to hand sanitizer, which does happen. It was fun, and I had missed that whole thing.

Afterwards, I checked with Jon about his teaching at the HOHOHOs, and he figures that he'll start at 3 and be here at 4:30. All I gotta do is tell Grandma not to cook anything at least 20 times tomorrow afternoon, hahaha. Doesn't matter if Jon's invited Eric to the Hog Shack / hockey game plans, although we shouldn't count on Big G to pay for the whole thing! I said hi to Pastor Edward; when Auntie Grace (with Uncle George) spotted me, she gave me a big hug hello! (I'm sure Dave and Tiffany are doing well) Went to Green Village for lunch with Grandma, Uncle Eric, Auntie Brenda, Auntie Eva, Uncle Percy, and Auntie Paula - yes, I can understand Chinese!

After Auntie Eva filled up at the gas station (then bought oranges and milk at the nearby Safeway), she took us back to the townhouse. Grandma took her purse into the washroom - like I told Steph on the phone later, WHO'S GOING TO STEAL IT?! She also forgot where her room even WAS in the house. *sigh* Now she's cleaning while I'm watching UNTOLD STORIES OF THE E.R., KING TUT TOMB STORIES, and more. Some poor guy on this show has a vibrator stuck up his ass, and insists on anonymity. Good luck with that one! (especially since you need a gastroenterologist and anesthesia!)

Three separate 5-on-3 goals makes NHL playoff history!

Eric picked me up slightly early, but I was ready for it. We discussed hiking, Carmen, my parents being away, pronunciation, accents, the upcoming game, hand sanitizer (which is what he gets for always insinuating that I'm drunk!), and some other stuff. When we got to church, I saw Jon - he and Harmony had picked up Big G for church, so I said hi to her. (he says that she didn't remember much about his visit on Wednesday, but at least she remembered it the next day when *I* went to visit her!) I was determined to get to Randal before anyone else (read: Mr. CREEP) did, and I was successful. He told me that he was holding up okay, and that his dad was still lonely - well, at least Randal's moved back in with him temporarily! Then I went and talked to Emily, Nina, and Gerard about the false Rapture (I decided they didn't need to know about the woman killing her kids because of the EVENT), tomorrow's picnic / barbecue, Facebook statuses, Canucks games, the Vancouver Millionaires, Canucks logos, earthquakes, tsunamis, and more. I had to be careful not to look up too much because Mr. Creep WAS sitting at the very back of that pew section! I did see Enoch shake hands with Mr. Creep - NO! When I got back to my section, I said hi to Christon and Nathan W. - I gave the latter some Kleenex because of his cold.

During the sermon, I expected to fall asleep (and did) since I was so tired; stupid body waking up at 6:30 AM because of light streaming in through the window! Baby Marcus didn't seem too happy since he was crying! Asked Jon about the game: St. Augustine's sounded fine as an alternate location! (but I wasn't expecting it to be so bloody expensive) I would have stayed downstairs to talk to people, but I had to escape Mr. Creep! However, I did discuss "secret" meetings and hockey with the boys (Nathan / Jordan / Thomas) while having some ketchup chips - Nathan is right; overtime IS nerve-wracking! Also hugged Auntie Catherine hello, and said hi to Chung Ming and his wife Ellen. Plenty of people were wearing Canucks jerseys like I was; when I went upstairs (saying hi to Auntie Susan and her sister-in-law Pat on the way), little Micah and Gavin made a beeline straight to me! Micah (wearing his own jersey like his dad Mel and little brother Isaac) poked the logo on mine, and said "Jersey!" I asked if he liked it, and he did... then Gavin practically hugged me when he saw the logo, hahaha. (I also peeked at baby Emma, and engaged in a MEAN FACE WAR with her brother Joshua on the stairs)

Then I went into the toddler room, and said hi to Julie S. / Sarah C. / Connie Y. (Christian and Kaitlin) / Rachel's grandma / little Ashley / Ada / Jessie / Ramen / Shira / Isaac / Stella's sister Janet. I was reading to Ashley when Eric came upstairs to say that we were going; apparently, he'd thought I was in the foyer! (I waved to Adam) After talking to Jon and Harmony, Raymond drove me / Eric / Randal to the nearby pub... Dianne, Christon, Paul, and Kevin joined us later. We discussed the hockey game (4-2 WIN) / the next one being on Tuesday at 6, the HISTORIC THREE SEPARATE 5-on-3 Vancouver playoff advantages (two goals for Salo, and three in 1:55!), being mad at an easily-preventable penalty like too many men on the ice if we were the San Jose coach (and the second intermission locker room talk!), Randal having three cups of coffee so far today (French Press or not), risotto, the expensive prices, beer, the refs, pulled pork comparison, sandwiches, pizza, stout soup, yam fries, Dianne leaving us soon for Calgary, Pajo's at Steveston, and the Salmon Festival on Canada Day.

Also discussed brownie prices, Juliana and Michael K.'s wedding being on the same day as Emily and Mike T.'s, RSVP for weddings, jokes about smoking cigarettes, gelato, bus passes, "GO CANUCKS GO" / "Killer Whales Eat Sharks," possible royalty license fees when showing a game on TV in the pub, and more. After Raymond drove us back to the church, Eric and I discussed riding in Raymond's car / on-site BS and snacks meaning more social time with Mr. Creep / DNA in white hair root form / Holy Name Catholic Church (what?! no saint?!) / French words / cherry blossoms / Canucks hockey players I'd seemingly never heard of. When I got home, I thought Teunis had gone out since his car was still in the parking lot and the lights at home were off, so I played the post-game coverage before noticing that he was still sleeping - at least that DID wake him up and take care of that, though! Discussed musicals, medicine, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Burnaby Heritage Village having a free Victoria Day celebration tomorrow (we're going - might see Kaili?), Steam / SCUMM VM / MONKEY ISLAND (Kaili has it), sensitivity / deadly allergy to cigarette smoke being much different than simply disliking it, pot, smoking bans, eggs, WOW, violin / flute music, showers, and more.

Calla and Stanford's wedding - STANFORD, STANTON, and STANFIELD?!

When Eric picked me up, he commented on my sneakers; hey, it's not MY fault that my other shoes decided to go kablooey on me, is it?! We discussed his mother calling, "Randal's slow-acting poison in the water," the Joker, iconic theme songs, how to get to the church, not wanting to go home in between, Powerpoint, waking up decidedly after 9, Google Maps and Translink giving you EAST avenues when you type WEST, and more. When we got to the church, he asked if we should leave the umbrella in the car; sure, since we parked right outside! Saw Martin, Kevin, Yvonne, Dave, Vivian, Chrystal, Tim, Maxine, Joshua, Keenan, Randal and Jen (who of course came together), Shally and Jose, David and his sons Ian and Gabriel (Nintendo DS and toys kept them busy), Emily C., Mike T., Raymond (I had to sit directly behind him), Andrea (!!!), Christon, Wesley, and Jeremy; yes, we all sat on Stanford's side because he needs more friends!

Discussed the name theme going on with Stanford and his brothers (STANFORD / STANTON / STANFIELD?!), NAME FAIL (Pamela should never be spelled as PEMILA!), WARIO games, NBA JAM and being ON FIRE, last night's scrapbooking (Christon didn't leave Alan's till after midnight; the rest stayed till 12:30), short weddings (Jeremy's cousin got married on a golf course - the ceremony was only 15 minutes!), seeing my parents / Cindy / Dianne on the other side (I saw Uncle Reuben and Auntie Christine too), Andrea's life in Hamilton (Chuck's at work - hard to get to know people - must be within 25 minutes of the hospital), Christon wanting to get home before midnight to cut a birthday cake for his mom PRIOR TO doing Powerpoint / prayers, and more. Jeremy noticed an organ upstairs, and it was playing what I thought was whimsical music, but then I recognized the MARIA song from SOUND OF MUSIC. (someone expected clouds and mushrooms!) We laughed when the shy flower girl went down the aisle with her mother (better than CRYING all the way down the aisle!), and again when Stanford had to ask for a prompt from the pastor in the middle of the vows! One of the ushers was also named RUDOLPH... OH MAN!

When the pastor recommended that Stanford kiss Calla, we weren't expecting a blown kiss... then he gave us some entertainment by dipping her instead! That must have taken some rehearsal, haha! We discussed whether Johnny would show up in almost ALL the photos, Jon needing to teach in the afternoon (so he'll transit to the downtown banquet), whether our group would fit on stage, coffee at Jeremy's later (Eric and I just went home since he couldn't think of anything else to do), Christon not wanting to go home because he'd be too distracted, whether we knew more than a handful of hymns in the Baptist hymnal (Jeremy was having fun with that!), HE TOUCHED ME being a bad song title, and more. I said hi to Billy, Mel, his baby Isaac, Karen I., little Mattias (his newest word is "flowers" or "fa" in Chinese), Harmony, and more people when we came up for the photo. Jon also commented on my sneakers and the occasion - WHATEVER!

Later, I saw Auntie Anna and Uncle Stanley (who are NOT married to each other!), so of course said hi. Eric and I discussed it being the "perfect" (rainy!) weather to walk home, Powerpoint taking priority over STARCRAFT, possibly calling Ivan this afternoon for tomorrow night since Eric's not going (I do NOT have phone phobia - can't do it if I don't have the number!), my thanking him, being hungry, eating at 11 AM, dropping me off at the mall so I could BUY new shoes (NO HEELS!), and more. Pretty interesting times, though of course it doesn't compare to last week!

Kirin, Melissa, Emily, Tracey, Pastor Glen, Lillian, Kelvin, and the wedding banquet

I was expecting a phone call around 4:30, and got one - soon we were on our way to Kirin via the Starlight Casino, which we were surprised to learn was open 24 hours! Talked desultorily on the way there about Walmart and trying to take naps, but failing. Lily apologized to me about having to be at the restaurant two hours early, but I said it was fine. I got to sit around and observe people decorating the place - said hi to Tracey and talked to her about her daughters (Melissa and Emily are 14 and 12 now?!), got a picture with Karen (but not with Jason?), waved to Joe W. (he spotted me first while running after a kid whom I assume was his son Michael!), and said hi to Helen / Warren / Frances / Mel / Kenny / Winnie / Chung Yan / Karen I. / Tim / Maxine / others. Melissa says she remembers me, so that's good. Didn't talk to Joe's exacting wife Nancy, which is probably fine! I got lots of thinking time in, haha. (Eric would say that was a bad thing!) Saw Brad and Natalie, but didn't get a chance to say hi - too bad!

When I migrated to the table I was supposed to sit at, I got the entire thing to myself till 6:30 or so! (Ed even commented on that when he passed by with Joan!) There was a photo booth, which was a cool idea. I definitely took advantage of the decaf Starbucks coffee! Helped Anita watch her stuff while she talked with Daniel, Michelle, and her husband Jeff - I bet it was tiring watching her two kids this morning if Allison wanted to see stuff, and Joanna was in her carrier! Greeted Kelvin (in Seattle with a third kid named Joseph), and talked about the mixed-up news our parents delivered to us about their friends' offspring. I still remember the time when a bunch of us were at the townhouse, and my mom thought his brother Kenneth's wife Daisy was pregnant with a second kid! Nathan had to check Facebook to confirm that, haha. (this was after they had Matthew, but way before they had Rachel) Kelvin and Evelyn don't use Facebook much, so that wouldn't be a good way to keep up with them. He thanked me for coming over and saying hi - of course I want to do that for my old friends whom I never see anymore due to life circumstances!

Talked to Brenda, Josh, his wife Joanna, Connie, Jenny, Ivan, and Karen Choo about Vegas (gambling and shopping!) / purse hooks / the 25-minute slideshow / Paris Hilton and drinking / Blackberries / the pharmacy pill-counting game, MacBooks / Felicia / belated birthday wishes (I'm sure Karen's just being polite when she says Ebisu should be our hangout place) / cameras, baby Nina (so cute!), cakes as a creative avenue, Jason regretting not inviting Mark, and more. There was a lot of food, especially because Rich couldn't make it due to an emergency involving cancer and depression with a university kid he helps! The speeches touched on the 11-year dating period that Jason and Karen had, plus the breakup in between. Wow, I really HAVE known them for a long time; since 1996 or so!

Went over to say hi to Pastor Glen and Lillian, who complimented me on my red bling sweater - yes, it IS sparkly! (Jenny asked if I were hot, but except for a very brief period, no... still recovering from this cold!) Discussed paladins, security, justice, New Westminster, Hope Community Church, Burnaby, updates on life, Awana, Anne / Joel / Michaela, and more. It was good to talk to them! Also talked to Sarah and Vernon about relational challenges / UGM and servants / the cupcakes / Champlain Heights / pianos nearby / computers / Committee work / volunteering / Awana / neighbors / parents / Mongolia / Hannah, Lucas, and Dorcas / my caring qualities / Harmony. Got to congratulate Jason and Karen later - France seems like a good honeymoon destination! On the way home, we discussed bedtime / Nancy and Joe surprisingly not freaking out about stuff / drinking / my not having to cook for a few days. THAT is a blessing, haha!

Jason and Karen's wedding - lots of little kids, and Pastor Glen!

Lee picked me up at about 10:15, and I was certainly ready in the nice sunny weather! Said hi to the kids (Hannah and Gavin), who seemed to like looking for taxis. Yes, I've seen yellow / blue / black / orange / green / white ones! (but no pink or rainbow ones!) As an auntie who wasn't driving, I was enlisted to look for taxis or buses - haha, there ARE a lot in this city! When we got to the church, we had to find parking - and then Lee told Hannah to hold my hand when we crossed the street. Gotta watch out for cars and such! I didn't care about being at the back of the church - I saw Vernon and Sarah, Danny and Helen K. with Nicholas, Kelvin and Evelyn with their third baby, Warren and Lauren with the kids Brandon and Matthew, Pastor John and Karmie, Michael and Amanda with their daughters Seren and Megan (who are growing up fast!), Stella with her kids Benjamin and Noah, Jeff and Anita with Allison and Joanna, Frances and Mel with their sons Micah and Isaac, Kenny and Winnie with their kids Megan / Connor / Cameron, Wes and Esther with little Harleigh, and more people I hadn't seen in a while like Josh. I simply HAD to hug him hello! I also saw Jessica Lai, who says she isn't going to the banquet tonight because her sister Elaine is getting married tomorrow at Queen Elizabeth Park. So many weddings...

Jason and Karen got Pastor Glen to officiate, so that was a nice "retro" touch, haha. They handed out little favor bags at the beginning, and kids got a different one than adults (who had Hershey's Kisses)... I think even the little boys got something different than the little girls! Probably a good idea to keep kids entertained during the ceremony, haha! The kids got mini basketballs, candy, little notepads with either a princess or sports balls on them, stickers, crayons, a mini wand with bubble solution, Ernie / Elmo pictures to color, and more! As for the ceremony and pictures, it all went by pretty quickly! The wedding was small compared to extravaganzas like Jon and Harmony's, haha. I picked up a few pennies, too!

Afterwards, everyone went outside to take pictures and such. Of course, the children were more interested in blowing bubbles (or eating) than taking pictures with their parents and their friends! I took a picture with Hannah and Gavin, heh. Connor told me that he could see the moon in the sky - I just saw the sun and a lone white cloud! Later, he wanted me to hold his raisins, so I took them from him gently while he played... yes, of course I returned them later! I talked to Lauren briefly about Facebook - she only got an account so she could see Karen's engagement pictures, so I told her to ask me if she needed help using it, haha. On the way home, Lee and I discussed how quickly the time had flown by - as long as they call me when they get here at 4:50 or so for Kirin, it'll be fine!

Possible crushes, hated zones, FREE STUFF and detergent, walks

High-scoring words of the night:

HATED (291 points) - against Brooke T. [two 5W, hook off KOP to make KOPH] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
PELORIA (165 points) - against Cherie P. [4W, 3W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
ZONES (256 points) - against Karen S. [two 4W]
HARTAL (176 points; two 4W), EYES (105 points; 3W, hook off X to make EX, 5L on Y) - against Lisa K.
PURITANS (136 points, 2W, 3W, a good deficit-erasing word!), TROYS (120 points; 3W, 4W) - against Shelley D.

Earlier, Jeremy suggested that we Google "free stuff Vancouver" to be surprised at what comes up. He's right! But here's something that won't be on any website: I got another free (one-fourth?) bottle of laundry detergent, and this Mountain Rain one is from Arm & Hammer. Based on the compliments about my hats and my humor, and washing my stuff for me when he didn't have to, Billie has concluded that it sounds as if Dave might have a crush on me. Hahaha, maybe!


Trivia fact for Monday, Apr. 19: What Hall of Fame hurler issued a record 11 walks while pitching a complete shutout? Lefty Gomez, for the New York Yankees in 1941. Mel Stottlemyre came close to duplicating the feat for the Yankees in 1970 when he gave up 11 walks in 8 and a half innings, but reliever Steve Hamilton got the last two outs.

Boston Pizza, leftover spicy stuff, muffins, apples, religion, and more!

Auntie Ying was half an hour late, but that's okay. Apparently, she tried to call me, but I was not available to answer the phone. Eric would term that "a likely story," haha. We decided to go to Boston Pizza for lunch, which was fine by me since I was actually getting hungry. Had a new kind of spicy pizza with banana peppers / sour cream / guacamole, and spinach salad. Discussed parenting, prayer for pregnancy (Grace is having a baby in October!), religious stuff, blood sugar, power struggles, the past, calculators, Frances / Mel / Micah / Isaac / Auntie May / Wes / Esther / Elaine / Matt / new babies / Anita / Jeff / Allison / Winnie / Megan / Connor / Cameron, Eric, Jeremy, Nathan, cooking, and more. Since I couldn't finish the pizza, I got to take the leftovers home! (plus a muffin and an apple) Killed time at London Drugs because we'd just missed BOTH buses heading to my place!

I boiled some water for her so she could have some hot water - she thinks my place (or Richmond in general) is so convenient, haha. It's only because it's central Richmond! I let her read about the past, and I was able to get changed in the meantime. She invited me to her place on Sunday so I could see it (not worth it to take the bus on another day), and then have lunch / go to the anniversary dinner! I'll still have to ask Ivan tonight for a ride home on Sunday, or whatever. Guess I'll see what happens at the dinner! Now she's trying to take my troubles and filter them through a religious perspective, yikes!


Edit at 3:15 - she's FINALLY gone! Dude, I hate entertaining company one-on-one... good thing I could type the above entry while she was talking to me, haha. I'll just take the lack of downtime on Sunday since this means I won't have to take the bus!

Phase One passing, Isaac as a good name, makeup

Got up to this message from Corey, which makes it sound like things went okay in the interview:

[06:08:02] Corey: well, phase one passed? I think? :P we didn't do the demo part though, they want to do that on Thursday and want me to start working on Friday (not going to) if that goes well... I basically just sat there and said "yeah.. okay... yeah.. okay.. right.." the whole time.. Jane was there, and I think she handled most of the questions in Chinese... so I don't realllly know what happened


Learned that Frances and Mel have finally decided on a name for Micah's brother: Isaac Nicholas sounds like a good name! Good thing "Isaac" is already in my tags, so I don't have to rename a tag like I did when Micah was born two years ago! Yup, I'm an OCDL. :D

You Are Blush

You are demure and understated. You like to look good, but you don't like to make a fuss about it. You prefer a natural look, and you don't like to seem like you put too much effort into your style. You prefer classic pieces and a minimal beauty routine. You feel like you are able to be confident without a lot of makeup. You believe that beauty is skin deep. Nothing is as beautiful as the glow you get from being happy.

What Kind of Makeup Are You?

Blogthings: Free Quizzes for Everyone

McIntyre people as in-laws?! (dream) / Developers and patches / Sexy time!

Woke up from a fractured dream of the McIntyres being my father's in-laws, but Mom was still Mom... I don't want to know how that worked! We ate soy sauce chicken drumsticks while having a somewhat rational discussion over why he felt Sheila and John (Scott's parents' names in the dream) were being very bad for him. Jon said that he wanted to renew books at the library, and I wished to go with him. Mom said I had to do dishes - NO DICE! I left anyway, haha... and that's where it ended. Hmm, what a dream...

Support: I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. It's quite likely that the same problem that affected your journal on the production servers is now present on Omega - that is, that the information on the tags is now kind of overloading the server calls when loading. Our development team has a patch that they feel optimistic will restore access to your journal, and we hope to have that deployed today or tomorrow. I'll update you again when it's tested and released. HA, WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!

Mel and Frances now have a new son, born just today. The baby looks cute - I did say hi to Micah yesterday as well. No name yet, though.

You Are Skinny Dipping

You are a fairly conservative, down to earth person. You aren't known for making trouble. That being said, you can be a little mischievous at times. You have a bit of a wild streak! You have probably been accused of being a flirt or a tease - and you're guilty as charged. You are naturally quite playful and coy. You're mostly sugar, but you're also a little spice.

Are You Skinny Dipping or Streaking?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

Overflowing water will make your housewarming memorable!

Henry picked me up a little later than I thought, but he was complaining about the Olympic traffic, so it was okay. Complained about the giant Lenin head, as well - I thought Richmond was known for its Asian population, not its Russian folks! ("TAXPAYERS' MONEY WAS SPENT ON THIS?!") Awana was all right - talked to Chrystal about recent events (my mom sounds like her dad with the "I never want to see you again!" stuff), Melia (she was going to Steph's later because of a family dinner with Mike's parents), Golden (whose birthday was today!), Joshua, and more people. (gave Esther her Valentine's Day candy, but didn't see Harrison) The kids seemed to like the "Olympics" games - very modified versions of speedskating, luge, and skeleton? The "luge" made Benedict joke that the leaders demonstrating the game shouldn't crash into any metal beams or anything like that, heh.

After Awana, I said hi to Sean and Conor (YAY, HAPPY KID!), who wanted to know why the other Sean (Sean L.) was crying. He did look upset, but I didn't know why, either. Asked Ada, who said that he was upset because his color team didn't get any Awana dollars - poor kid! I asked Melia to call Steph so she could give Ada some directions, since my sense of direction is SCREWED UP! On the way to Steph's, Ian said that Sean wasn't buckled in - Sean needs to tell his mom these things, and preferably not ten minutes after we leave the parkade! Said bye as they dropped me off - the gate isn't the door, Steph said. (I know, but the gate is bigger)

Luckily, it didn't seem awkward between my sister and me as we were the only two in there till a bunch of people showed up at once. She mentioned seeing Jeremy bike by as she picked up the sushi - now she feels bad that she left out White Guy #2! Guacamole chips were fine, and Steph gave me my lunch ticket for tomorrow. Talked to Eric, Jon, Steph's friend Mel, Citrus, Jen, Melia, Angus, Harmony, Karen, Lincoln, Randal, Isabel, Vivian, and Christon about a bunch of stuff. Harmony wondered why I had stuffed a bunch of cards inside one of Jon's books (of prayers) - they're for my parents and grandma for later in the year, and I don't feel like dealing with it right now. No, of course I haven't talked to Mom since Monday night - for good reasons!

Watched speedskating, Germany-Belarus hockey, and curling along with other Olympic events while eating chocolate cheesecake ice cream (BREYER'S - Randal's apparently never had it before), sushi, chicken drumsticks, Deep and Delicious chocolate cake, vegetables, and other things. Discussed the BUSY downtown core (Henry's heard it'll be like that NORMALLY in a few years!), Olympics events and merchandise, the various houses, the AGM tomorrow and the fundraiser (hockey game conflict!), signing in and leaving, voting, DO IT YOURSELF home repair, Lent, Jon Lenting alcohol (and whether his feast day should start / end at midnight or when he gets up and goes to bed), Mom's "interesting" pronunciation of "Slovakia" ("Souvlaki? I cannot..."), Our Lady Peace ("it sounds peaceful, so get your mom to go!"), Saskatchewan GOLD beer, and more. Got everyone to sign the guestbook, too.

Vivian had brought Dutch Blitz, so some people played that. After a while, Steph went into the kitchen to deal with her garbage disposal in the sink. (AFTER she reads "don't dump a bunch of garbage in there" in a repair book!) She figured that she COULD use the plunger to deal with it, since that hadn't been used yet for the intended purpose. So we thought it would be fine - then we heard a noise like someone was taking a shower, but dismissed that. After ten minutes or so, Steph went into the kitchen to check something... we heard "OH MY GOD! W T F!" from there.

We all crowded around the kitchen entrance to find that the sink had OVERFLOWED! Christon did something with the pipes to ensure that the water was turned OFF, while we wondered if Steph had a mop - nope! Someone did some quick thinking, and placed a towel at the entrance to soak up the greasy water. Filled up the pots with water, and then dumped it on the outside plants. We even used Steph's barracks box for such a purpose, after the recycling was all soaked! Steph said that I should go home with Eric since she had to deal with the kitchen - no problem, since I wasn't fully decided on sleeping over anyway. It was a mostly silent ride home, which was fine - thinking time for us, haha. Eric said that my mom didn't seem that dangerous - well, you're not me! I can deal with 9:15 or so in the parking lot, for sure! On that note, I should go to bed since it's almost 2:15! Yay for good friends!

Deposits, metal music enabled, Bosco dead, ginger, and SHAME 2009

Earlier today after having some Asian Bistro Pad Thai (the box serves as a bowl!), I wanted to go out so I could get to the bank before it snows and I can't go out - seemed the front door lock didn't like that idea, heh. Tried it again an hour later, and it was fine - just had to apply some pressure. I knew I'd be cutting it close even if I didn't go home beforehand to grab the metal music DVD from my computer's CD drive (I ended up packing the empty case yesterday...), but decided to do that first. Then I went to my bank's machine in order to get money out, and managed to get to the other bank before it closed. Yes, I made a deposit, which is what I'd been wanting to do. Now that I'm home again, it seems I'm thirstier than I thought, since I polished off an ordinary bottled water in less than ten minutes! (after trying to find something which wasn't IMPOSSIBLE to open!)

Got home and checked Facebook: Bosco (the Marr family dog) has died, at 16.5 years of age. Of course, I learned this through Mel. Also tested Corey's DVD - it worked, so no more Youtube video playlist for me right now! I've finished visiting certain links on my tags page on here, as it'll possibly make future editing much easier, so that's a good thing. Steph came home - discussed ginger, Terrence, work, movies, news, that little autistic boy dying, a "home swarming," and more. Winnie P. just added me to Facebook! These sour cream and onion "Cracker Bites" my mom left us are surprisingly good! If I don't watch out, I'll have all six packages by the end of the night!


Shame, Embarrassment, and Lies 2009!

1. Was 2009 a good year for you? Why? I guess it was an okay year, just because I got to still be friends with certain people.

2. What was your favorite moment of the year? Having Teunis over for a few days, haha.

3. What was your least favorite moment of the year? When a certain perfidious blackguard known as Raymond Cheung decided to end our friendship by blocking me on Facebook and sending me an email which made no sense. I am NOT obsessed with you!

4. Where were you when 2009 began? At Nathan's.

5. Who were you with? Eric M., Nathan, Christon, and Jeremy.

6. Where will you be when 2009 ends? I have no idea... Nathan isn't here anymore!

7. Who will you be with when 2009 ends? Friends or family, probably.

8. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions of 2009? I didn't make any... easier not to break 'em that way. ;)

9. Do you have (a) New Year's Resolution(s) for 2010? See above.

10. Did you fall in love in 2009? Not really.

11. If yes, with who? NOBODY, I TELL YOU!

12. If yes, do they know? SHUT UP, STUPID SURVEY.

13. Are you still in love with them? I said SHUT UP!!!!!

14. You regret it? That's it... I give up. :(

15. Did you break up with anyone in 2009? No.

16. Did you make any new friends in 2009? Yes, and I love them for who they are.

17. Who are your favorite new friends? Definitely not certain people who are too new to be considered "friends." Jose, maybe... but he's dating Shally now, so I feel weird putting him as the answer to this question. I really can't say.

18. What was your favorite month of 2009? September.

19. Did you travel outside of your country of residence in 2009? No, I don't think so.

20. How many different states / provinces did you travel to in 2009? None!

21. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2009? Kinda...

22. Did you miss anybody in the past year? I missed Vanessa H. and maybe one or two other people.

23. What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009? Not sure.

24. What was your favorite song from 2009? No idea.. I don't get much into "new" music.

25. What was your favorite record from 2009? I don't know that I got any music from this year...

26. How many concerts did you see in 2009? None!

27. Did you have a favorite concert in 2009? I didn't go to any.

28. Did you drink a lot of alcohol in 2009? No. The occasional beer, but that's about it... I do not have a drinking problem.

29. Did you do a lot of drugs in 2009? I don't do drugs.

30. How many people did you sleep with in 2009? None.

31. Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year? Possibly, but it's evidently not important if I can't remember it!

33. What was the worst lie someone told you in 2009? "I'm your friend!" No, you're not.

34. Did you treat somebody badly in 2009? Probably, but I can't remember the details now.

35. Did somebody treat you badly in 2009? See #3. Aside from that, I can't really remember any other incidents.

36. How much money did you spend in 2009? Some.

37. What was your proudest moment of 2009? Turning things around...

38. What was your most embarrassing moment of 2009? Unsure.

39. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be? Can't think of anything I'd want to change... but that doesn't mean I'd like the year to be unchanged. Just that I can't think of stuff right now!

40. What are your plans for 2010? Ready for this? Be a better teacher! Hahaha.

A planned power outage tomorrow means I'm temporarily psychic!

I just went outside (SO COLD!) to throw something in the garbage, and noticed this BIG YELLOW SIGN from BC Hydro on the front door advising us that the power would be out tomorrow because they were maintaining stuff. Couple that with the news that it might snow tomorrow (according to Mel), and I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do! It better be back on by the time I get back from Fellowship! I'll probably end up going to the library for my Internet fix, haha. I think I better make plans with Eric TONIGHT since the power will be out tomorrow (and I'll probably be elsewhere), and prep SOMETHING for Sunday School before I call Auntie Ying later. Told Dawn about my "new" blog - she says she likes the updates, haha. She'll have more than a month's reading to get caught up on, then! (that is, once she finds a name that isn't taken!)

Edit: I just called Eric - when I said that the power was going to be out tomorrow, he asked "How do you know this, Leslie?" "Because I'm psychic - no, just kidding!" I wondered about snow or ice, and he said he hadn't noticed any at 5 PM... of COURSE he hasn't since he DRIVES everywhere! (well, maybe not) He said that the phone would still be on in the event of a power outage. True, but I won't be here if the power is out! Tentative plans: Cambie and Jacombs at 5:30... at least I don't have to buy dinner (only lunch), as it's a potluck! Good thing I'll have my Bathroom Readers for company if I don't talk to whoever else is around - and I probably won't!

Candies, ice, potlucks, snow, worship practices, toilet paper

I'm still awake, possibly because I'm a night person... and possibly because of the green tea that I had at Karmie's. Guess it's fitting, since we were discussing coffee / Starbucks / French Presses / related things as well.

HAHAHA, my email idea worked! Eric is going to give back the candies on Friday - he'd better not ask me to bus out, because it's starting to get ICY! Then again, if he really does have two worship practices in a row to attend, I dunno about the potluck - we'll see. I also hear from people that it might snow tomorrow - oh man. He also linked me to a few places that might take my computer monitors / TV for recycling, and says they'll perhaps help me. They should, otherwise I have no idea how I'll haul them down myself. 'Tis the curse of heavy items...

Poo nugget for Thursday, December 3: Doo You Know? - Everyone Needs TP - Toilet paper manufacturing is an enormous global industry. In 2007, U.S. consumers spent more than $3.7 billion on toilet paper, according to Information Resources. That does not include Wal-Mart stores, which do not report sales data.

Dream of kids chasing Mel with needles / Putting myself first is NOT being selfish!

Had a weird dream which involved kids outside a store chasing Mel with needles, David trying to share things with other kids, soy sauce going for $3 when it was normally $6 (and these were normal bottles, not HUGE ones!), 100-piece packs of seaweed going for $10, the grass being made of all the people who had walked the earth before us, various houses and castles just disappearing when we wanted to see them, the NAME CASTLE staying in place (but only because Karla and I agreed to be in someone's bed for the night - only we were represented by clay blobs), and shimmering fences. What the heck?!

Then I got up and fielded an email from my mom: someone should really tell her that "wet kisses" is NOT an appropriate thing to sign off with! She also managed to misspell Jon's nickname again... it's FLIME, and not FLAME! (or "film," as she once rendered it...)

You Put Yourself First

By putting yourself first, you're actually not being selfish. You're just being realistic. You like to help others as much as the next person... maybe even more. But you know you need to be at the top of your game in order to really give back. You take good care of yourself, and you have learned the art of tactfully saying "no." It's all about balance. You try to stay away from people and activities that drain you. You prefer to save your energy for those who really matter to you.

Do You Put Yourself First or Last?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

Ha, I *knew* I wasn't being selfish a few weeks ago! (to name but one example...)

Weird dream of Frances, Mel, stuffing, and hot pot ingredients

WHAT THE HELL. I dreamed that my friends and I were getting together for a rather lavish meal, which included stuffing made by Mel's mom. It looked like rice, but it was really very good. We were having a good time just talking and such when Frances suddenly got up from the table and announced that she was going upstairs. Somehow, we knew that she was doing this to allow herself a peaceful death, as much as strangling yourself could be considered so. Mel went after her a minute later (we were all shocked!), but was too late. Afterwards, we went outside to the market - there were two shops selling hot pot-related ingredients. There was plenty of raw beef, veggies, cilantro, fish, mushrooms, and more. One shop even had dessert items with almost-essential ingredients left out of those: think cookies without butter! Helen C. then said that Mel at least had a vacation to France planned in ten weeks. We all thought he'd be busy with other things, but the vacation would maybe distract him a bit. Then I woke up...

No idea why I had this dream. I know I was looking stuff up on Wikipedia last night, such as sukiyaki and hot pot (wanted to know what I'll be getting at Posh next week), and looking at Josh's France Vacation photo album on Facebook. The articles had pictures of typical hot pot / sukiyaki ingredients, so maybe that sparked THOSE things. But death, or suicide?! AIYA!


Facebook quizzes taken from Tryggvi, Michael M., and Veronica:

Leslie just took the "which teenage stereotype are you?" quiz and the result is Chav. You're a chav, the worst of the worst, hated by all other stereotypes, likewise you hate anyone different than you. You are probably seen hanging around McDonalds or any shop front, or causing damage to your community because you are "hard." You like to wear tracksuits or G-star jeans that are half way down your arse. You also like to do everything and anything that is against the law, such as criminal damage and smoking illegal drugs. (What the hell?! NO!)

Leslie completed the quiz "Where were you from in a past life?" with the result ITALY. You were from ITALY!!! Do you still dream of conquering the countries around you? Do you still dream of fighting the lions? Or of killing your brother to take his wife? WOW, I hope not!!! Well, either way, you are still very strong-hearted, strong-willed, and up to date on the latest fashions in both lives!

Leslie took the quiz "Who were you in a past life?" and got the result: A husband and father in 1912! You were a male, a father and husband in 1912 from Southampton, England. You came from a wealthy family, and had all the luxuries of the 1900's. Your wife's name was Molly, and you had one child, a girl named Marjorie. You were a designer who had worked on the Titanic since the idea of the ship was first conceived, but you were also among the many souls who perished when the ship sank. Your wife and daughter were able to be saved, although your wife never got over your passing, and went into a depression. She did her best to raise the daughter you had together. You looked down on them for many, many years before re-entering the world you now know.

Your Autumn Sense is Touch

You are a very tactile, physical person. Your favorite fall activities revolve around doing something. Whether you're going for a hike, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, or decorating for Halloween, you like to keep moving. You like the feel of crisp fall air as well as the feel of a roaring fire at night. You like invigorating mornings, perfect afternoons, and cozy nights. Whatever feeling fall brings to you, you embrace.

What's Your Autumn Sense?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

Viewing to support the Marr family and extended clan!

At dinner, my sister asked Dad about the child protection policies, which I knew about. Turns out she can't or won't abuse her authority by looking up Mr. Creep in the database over there, which I guess is justifiable since she could get fired for doing so if people find out! Still, I can't shake the feeling! Of course I know the policies and such, but I'm just concerned for the younger people in the church that I love! Honestly, I could have gone on a rant at the dinner table, but didn't. Dad said that I could go to Pastor John or Auntie Rebecca with it, while commending my concern... of course, if the guy passes a police check and THEN does something, that would be a whole other kettle of fish. I used Phil's title for the first time when referring to him as "Pastor Phil," since he works with the youth as well. I don't like Creep, and will make absolutely SURE he knows it! Or at least, I'll make sure he knows I'll be watching him VERY carefully...

There was something on the news about snow on the Coquihalla, so we told Grandma and Great-Aunt to turn around and look at the TV. Steph made conversation by asking Great-Aunt if there was snow in Hong Kong, even though she knows there isn't. I helped Great-Aunt with bringing in her dishes, because I know she can't really use her right hand too well. Besides, she's old and all that kind of thing too! Discussed mastectomies, change, Hong Kong, onions fighting coughs and colds, and whether Mom should sign for Jon and Harmony on the sympathy card - she did.

I was turned around putting the dishes away in the kitchen, and my family was outside in the living room...

Dad, suddenly: I'm so excited to take my clothes off! [he probably meant that he can dress more comfortably after WORK, but he could have been more clear...]
Me: ... I don't want to know!
Mom: But now you can give your dad a big juicy wet kiss! It's not BAD if it's on the cheek!
Steph: YES, YOU SHOULD!
Me: You and Mom are being shit-stirrers!
Steph: DAD! She swore!
Me: HE says that sometimes himself!

.... what the heck?! Of course, I resisted all comments of that nature. My mother IS the woman who once told me and my sister "Let's kiss and make out!" because she thought "make out" meant "hug" or something, but STILL!


After that, we left the old ladies at home while we went to the viewing for Grandpa Marr. My sister wondered why I had brought a RED (and black!) bag from home [I did choose my CLOTHING with care!], my mom reminded me that my sister had given me a messenger purse which was all black and perfect for funeral homes (well, I didn't remember it this morning!!!!), and my dad changed my $100 bill into five $20 bills. "If you drop this one bill, it's $100. If you drop these, it's only a $20 bill." True enough, and I don't really make a habit of carrying around that much money, other than the paranoia of a few weeks ago! (I'm putting it in the bank later, as well as that cheque I got earlier this week or so!)

Saw Sophia, John, David, Frances, and Mel on the way in. They thanked us for coming, and of course we would! Noticed Olivia with a DS or something in a pew, and saw her cousins Ian and Gabriel too. Olivia's sister Anne was looking for her father John, so it was cute how she looked in each pew - she was pretty quiet about it, too! The other little kids didn't really know enough to be quiet, but that was okay. I didn't see Micah, but maybe Mel's parents were taking care of him. (or I was blind) Hugged Auntie May, and said hi to Rosenda at the back. One of the little boys wanted to see the body, so David hoisted him on his shoulders while he looked. Yes, we paid respects to the coffin, heh. All I could think of was embalming fluid, which is pretty good for a temporary preservative!

Steph, Dad, and I conducted any discussions in hushed tones - white people would think Grandpa Marr has THE coolest name ever! (Man Chow!!!) Got married at 20, oh my! He had a lot of friends, and even a photo with Kim Campbell, our former prime minister! There was even a photo with him and a few other ladies, and Mom made a weird comment. Well, she did tell me how he had several lady friends at the community centre or something! (plenty independent too, unlike Grandma - Mom thinks she may not have a slideshow, since it'll be VERY SHORT!) Later, Steph drove me home while we talked about the past and his history.

Apparently, I'll have return teaching engagements - oh my!

Said hi to Grandma and Great-Aunt today in the car, for which they called me "good." This morning at service, I found myself wishing I'd stashed some Ricola cough drops away in my knapsack. (my dad commented on my mucus - um, thanks...) It's not like the 7-11 is steps away anymore, after all! I met a few of Richie's Calgary friends, and Randal passed me an envelope from Grace - I didn't mind that, but did wonder briefly why he shook my hand. At least it was better than Mr. Creep - more details on that later. (for some reason, I don't trust CREEP!) Said hi to Lucas, Sarah, Emily x2, Chrystal, Mike T., and a few more people. Empathized with Lucas' sister Hannah on being stick in Kelowna till 4 PM yesterday because of that Air Canada computer glitch - she just wanted be HOME! I wished Grace a happy birthday, and gave her the butterscotch Chipits. Jon and Harmony were later to service than Steph was (she was five minutes late), but it was a good thing that they sat in my pew. I had a big red plastic bag full of things (newspapers and clothes?!) to give to him, so under cover of Daniel telling us about a prayer or song, I said "Ug - stuff from Mom" and passed it over Acer. Also accidentally spritzed Acer's pants with hand sanitizer, but it was the foaming stuff, so went away within seconds. (otherwise, I'd have apologized!)

After service, my cough seemed to get better - and pretty much went away in Sunday School time; SO WEIRD! Of course, I didn't want to infect the kids with it, haha... maybe that was God helping me, heh. Told Steph about the COUGAR TOWN show, and bugged Jon about it too. Jon said that he should be a participant in it, and Harmony was NOT impressed, haha. Gave Christon's Bible Study group card to him later on while he was talking to Mr. Creep - I didn't give HIM the time of day, but focused on Christon as I explained to him what it was for! I noticed that Perfidious Blackguard deliberately used the other door of the fellowship hall to enter said room... okay, then! Not that I'd TOUCH you, so you don't have to worry about that! Noticed Jonathan and a few other teens with some pumpkin pie, so bugged them about eating everything - I can't eat like that anymore, man!

Said hi to Lily and her daughter Hannah outside the fellowship hall a little later. Saw baby Mattias, who just turned ONE a couple days ago, so I gave him a birthday card. After he dropped it on the floor a couple of times, I said I'd let Mommy hold it instead! Karen said that he almost fell asleep during the last song - I agree that the rhythm of Hillsongs' You Hold Me Now is very conducive to a good sleep, haha. Johnny and Kevin were talking about a wedding rehearsal - weddings on Thanksgiving weekend?! Oh my. Noticed Jon talking to someone and saying "my wife and I don't drive too often," so I reflected to myself that it was still strange hearing him say things like that!

Briefly talked to him about tomorrow's Thanksgiving lunch at the townhouse - it's all good if they pick me up between 12:15 or 12:30... knowing them, it might be 12:45, but I am not as impatient as certain people! Told him that Eric had joked about my doing something to "my brother and sister-in-law" on Friday night; when he said that he'd been in the downtown Eastside all day, I said that I'd told Eric that they were at a dinner as far as I knew. That didn't mean I'd done something to him and Harmony, man! Spotted Vivian talking to Lanie, so I told her that I forgot the Fuzzy Peach candy since I was rushed out of the house this morning! Next time!

Finally made my way upstairs at 11:30 or so, then got distracted by baby Allison for a few minutes. Karen Chan, Anita, Mike K., Julie, and Elaine said hi to me - baby Allison even waved to me! I said hi to everyone, then Allison gave me a green package of lemon wafers, of which she had two. Of course I thanked her, and didn't say anything when she took it back to give to Mike. Apparently, she talks a lot at home, and knows how to choose her cereal in the mornings! ("Shreddies, cornflakes, and something else!") Mommy (Anita) won't give her too much sugar, so dried Fruit to Go is perfect for snack purposes! We concluded that the lemon wafer packages were for her to practice sharing, heh. Anita wanted her to go and scare Daddy (Jeff), but she was instead trying to hide between the lounge chairs - Karen thought she might get stuck!

Talked about the difference between lemons and limes - Mike didn't know they were actually different until last year. He just thought a lime was like an unripe lemon, heh. After a couple more minutes, I realized I had to get going, so I said bye to everyone. Poked my head in the lounge to say bye to Jeff - turns out he was talking to Jason Yeasting! Haven't seen HIM in ages, for understandable reasons! Said hi and bye to him before I went off to toddler Sunday School. I taught the kids literally from the guidebook and my rudimentary notes, and let them see my Bible. Auntie Ying thanked me and hugged me, too. (she used what I recognized as the Chinese word for "daughter-in-law" while talking to one of the parents because it is Grace's birthday today... I'm learning! Kinda...)

She thinks that the kids listened to me more (for all Conor was being very active), so she figures I can do this all year. Uh, thanks... guess I'll see if I can do it! Gave Amanda her thank-you card, and she said she had a special book which she'd have to bring me next week since she forgot! Well, I'll see about that, haha. Made sure that Amanda's mom Catherine knew about the card, too. (Esther was very cute, Evelyn was a bit clingy, David tried to steal a THOMAS THE TRAIN book, and Amos was good!) Went downstairs (after fielding a question from Nina about Auntie Bessy) to see what was going on with my family - Steph hadn't slept in the car, but had had coffee instead. (Dad was under the impression that she'd go home after service since she cane home at 3)

Mr. Creep tried shaking my hand again, and I was THIS CLOSE to saying "No, I don't shake hands with pedophiles!" I just said that I would NOT shake his hand, although I could have used the "getting sick" excuse, haha. He even invited me to lunch with him and others... um, NO. Thank goodness I had a family lunch at Tsui Woo! (I did talk to Pastor John about my concerns - he reassured me that there was a church policy about new people helping out with kids - I knew about this, of course. I used PEDOPHILE and noted his odd behavior with the sign-up sheets; Pastor John thanked me for my concerns. Well, they'd better be duly noted, is all I can say! Went over to the water cooler, and said hi to Matthew Ma #2 - he can't remember my name, heh.

Said hi to my great-aunt (who called me by my Chinese name - so unsettling!), and wondered where my grandma was... ah, just behind her. Eventually, we all went to Tsui Woo - a table of 13?! (our family, Auntie Eva, Uncle Percy, Auntie Paula, Auntie Eileen, a familiar-looking man, Alan, and Polly) It was pretty good! Asked Steph to call Eric for me so I could remind him about this afternoon. Since I couldn't hear him because of the LOUD restaurant, I said "I can't hear you, so I assume you said yes, and I'll call you later!" On the way home, I amused myself by talking about someone with 34F boobs - my mom thought that was impossible, haha. We also talked about farting, sweet potato cheesecake, shepherd's pie with ground turkey (Jon will appreciate the creativity!) instead of a whole turkey, and more. At home, I fielded an email from Eric sent just twelve minutes before I got in - woohoo! Eric just called, so I am out of here!

Alex on Facebook / Grandpa Marr dead / First to tell / Lido

Alex added me on Facebook! Via Mel's status update, I've learned that Grandpa Marr has now passed away. :( [Told Mom, who hadn't heard it from Auntie May yet, so I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO TELL HER! YES!]

No lunch today since they got out of the house late, but maybe afternoon tea at Aberdeen. Apparently, I can just take the 410 22nd St. Station from there to meet Eric - oh good then. Of course, I'll have to find the actual stop - I've been guilty of not paying attention to where it is because it's NOT MY STOP, haha. We'll see... of course, my mom's under the impression that I know where Lido is because "I took you there once and it was closed!" Um, that doesn't mean I know its proximity to Yaohan! *sigh*

Facebook quiz taken from Chris R:

Leslie just took the "what level of insane are you?" quiz and the result is 4. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're CRAZY, WILD, and fun to be around! You sometimes talk to yourself, and laugh at toast! You're FAR from normal, which is OH SO GOOD! You're insane and proud!!!!

You Think Best in Your Bedroom

In order to be able to think, you need to feel like you have some privacy and space. It's likely that you spent a lot of time in your bedroom while you were growing up. It's your sanctuary. You need a high level of control in your life, especially when you have something important to do. The best thing about your room is that it's exactly the way you like it. Having things the way you want allows you to relax and think.

Where Do You Think Best?

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Poo nugget for Monday, October 5: Gastric Bypass - This surgical procedure, also known as "stomach stapling," is used to treat patients with severe obesity. The profound weight loss associated with this operation has led to a huge increase in demand for these procedures. Ideal candidates for the procedure have a body mass index (BMI) over 40 with one or more major medical complications of obesity, such as diabetes. Want to calculate your BMI? BMI = 703 x weight (in pounds) divided by your height² in inches.

Major, Maverick, Narcissus, and Nestor

The computer just restarted, and Sylver added me on Facebook.

This is from What Not to Name Your Baby by Joe Borgenicht.

M

Mack: Generic name that bartenders use for a Pall Mall-smoking, beer-guzzling customer. Note the K is silent. Also, a large five-ton semi.

Major: A really big recording company. An officer in the armed forces, but not high enough on the totem pole to qualify as a namesake.

Marcus: Request made by female fans of tattoo artists during MTV Spring Break in Florida. Exception to the rule: last name Oreallyus.

MarVel: Having run out of ideas for superheroes, a comic book company decides to create a superhero in its own image.

Mason: A glass receptacle used for canning. Also, a bricklayer extraordinaire.

Matthew / Matt: A dull child. Also, a piece of fabric used in front of a door for wiping one's shoes.

Maverick: A renegade. Also, an appallingly bad Western starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.

Mavryck: Hideous, hideous variant of Maverick, which is bad enough in and of itself.

Max: The top. The most. This child will be teased with a feminine napkin nickname, or mimicked with a surfer / valley girl (like Moon Zappa) accent. This child will also likely wear glasses with thick black frames and a plaid sport coat to play the ponies.

Maxwell: A pseudointellectual coffeehouse regular who stirs his latte with a hammer.

Maynard: A failed condiment consisting of mayonnaise, ox testicle, and mustard.

Merlin: A mythical wizard of great prowess, but unfortunate naming.

Migdol: An analgesic that relieves menstrual cramps.

Milo: Southern expression of surprise.

Monroe: An unpopular and experimental hors d'oeuvre made from caviar. Also, a man of questionable sexuality living on TV in San Francisco in the '80s. His questionable sexuality is only questionable because the network at the time would not allow for clarity.

Montee: An icy cold dessert treat.


N

Nad: A testicle. "I fell off my bike and cracked my Nad!"

Narcissus: In Greek mythology, a young man who was so beautiful that he was pursued by men and women. He did not return their affections, and was cursed to spend his days staring at himself in a pond, where he fell in love with himself. Because the face in the pond could not love him back, Narcissus turned into a flower, wasted away, and died. But enough about me, what do YOU think of me?

Neon: Bright artificial light hated by all those subjected to its unflattering glow.

Nero: Though small in stature, will grow up to own an successful chain of pizza parlors. Will also have an unexplainable attachment to stringed instruments and fire.

Nestor: A Greek leader in the Trojan War. His military prowess gave him great respect, but his rambling storytelling and often irrelevant advice pained his friends.

Nicholas / Nick: Often called jolly and old, this kid will be prone to shaving cuts and tobacco addiction.

Nicodemus: Skin rash often seen as a side effect of smoking.

Nixon: The thirty-seventh president of the United States. Your child will most likely be prone to surreptitious behavior, including recording your conversations and having your room searched periodically by his friends.

Noah: A sea captain and animal breeder.

Noah-Lot: Maybe this is better than naming a child Know-It-All. Maybe.

Getting pizza delivered is your way of getting even?

I've finished my Visual Bookshelf stuff for now, so that's good. Only took a couple of hours!

These are from my copy of America's Dumbest Dates: Over 500 Tales of Fumbled Flirtations.

Travelin' Music

"Dating is just like shopping for hats. You try on hundreds, but reject most. It takes a while till you find just the right one." - Jenny, age 24.

"She told me she didn't like mustaches. I shaved. She told me she didn't like jewelry. I stopped wearing chains. She told me my hair was too shaggy. I got it cut. She told me I dressed too flashy. I bought new clothes. She told me she didn't like my cat. That was it." - Mel, age 47.

"When I tried to break up with him, Leonard begged me to keep going out with him. "Give it time," he whimpered. "It'll get better." As if our relationship was a virus." - Cindy, age 23.

"I finally told one man, in no uncertain terms, not to call anymore. That night, he came over with a dish of homemade English trifle. He said that I'd told him not to call, but I didn't say not to come over!" - Gena, age 34.

"After I told him I didn't want to see him anymore, he kept leaving messages on my answering machine, pleading with me to call him. Telling me how he felt about me, how I made his life complete, balanced him, how he dreamed about me, wanted to take me here or there, do this or that to my body. He read poetry to my voice mail. Sang love songs. Pleaded, begged, cried. Completely humiliated himself. He kept on that way for two years. Finally, he met somebody else, and now I kind of miss him. I got used to having his messages. I counted on them." - Fran, age 24.

"Peter broke up by innuendo. He was late for dates, called me by the wrong name. Talked about newly released movies he'd seen that I hadn't. I hadn't seen the movies, but I got the picture." - Meg, age 30.

"We were in bed, talking. And the conversation turned controversial. I guess I took the wrong side of the sexual harassment issue, because - before I could say Anita Hill - I was out in the hallway, holding my shoes." - Tim, age 32.

"Carl mentioned that he'd met a girl who looked just like Pamela Anderson. "That's nice," I said. Or something like that. He said no more. I realized that he thought he'd told me something important. Apparently, he thought that meeting someone who looked like Pamela Anderson spoke for itself. What would he want with a regular person anymore?" - Camille, age 23.

"Bottom line, I couldn't get serious about a man with no elastic in his socks." - Lisa, age 36.

"She told me that when she was with me, she was out of control, too attracted. She said it wasn't my fault, but I was bad for her. She couldn't be herself around me, couldn't resist the urge to cling. She said that dating me was like taking a plunge headfirst in a swan dive, knowing there's no water in the pool. Now what am I supposed to think about that?" - Cliff, age 28.

"We had a fight and broke up. He'd left his laundry at my house. The next day, I dumped it on his desk. He called to thank me for doing his wash. Obviously, he didn't care that his underwear had been sitting on his desk for all the world to see. I did get some satisfaction, though, from knowing that he assumed I'd washed it - knowing that, for the next five or six days, he'd be wearing dirty underwear." - Mayebelle, age 33.

"He took me to dinner and asked, by candlelight, if I wanted children. I said, "Yes." He asked me if I wanted to get married. Tears in my eyes, I said, "Yes." He said, "Well, you and I want different things. I don't want to hold you back." I thought he was proposing; he thought he was breaking up with me." - Cathy, age 26.

"At the ballet, Brendan told me that he wanted a ballerina. I wasn't a ballerina. That was pretty much the end of it." - Kimberly, age 22.

"Everett gave a whole speech about how it wasn't me, it was him. I was great. He just wasn't ready to settle down. I was perfect; he was immature. This was our second date. Count 'em: one, two. There was nothing to break up FROM. But apparently, this was his idea of a long-term relationship." - Emma, age 27.

"Gene assured me that I shouldn't worry about him - there was always a fresh supply of younger women, so he'd never run out of partners. But he said he was concerned that I'd have a problem because, as we aged, eligible men would be in shorter and shorter supply. It was his duty, therefore, to give me a chance to catch one before it was too late." - Margaret, age 45.

"Ashleigh listened to Michael Bolton all day, all night. Enough said?" - Wesley, age 29.

"She told me that she was breaking up with me because she thought I was going to break up with her. Basically, she said she was ending it before I did, so I wouldn't. I hadn't thought of ending anything, but she wasn't interested; why would she believe a man who wouldn't even admit he was going to break up with her?" - Bob, age 23.

"Kelly told me she wanted a down-to-earth guy who'd take care of things for her. This image did not suit me. I told her she'd be better off with a contractor." - Gary, age 33.

"I had to dump him before he dumped me. If you see it's going nowhere, it's much better for your head to dump rather than get dumped, assuming you like the guy. And, if you do it right, dumping him might get his attention, turn things around. Of course, if you DON'T like a guy, well, you can afford to let him dump you. You can give him all kinds of trouble and, generously, let him be the one to call it off." - Jade, age 28.

"I put up with the toupee as long as I could. He was always checking mirrors, afraid it would slip, blow, tilt, show. Car windows had to be closed. He wouldn't go near a fan, wouldn't swim, ride in a boat or a convertible, ski, or ride a horse, a carousel, or a Ferris wheel. He wouldn't do anything that might jeopardize his rug. The rug determined his whole life and, eventually, even who he dated. As in: not me." - Gwen, age 47.

"We'd been going out for two years. Gary took me to dinner and told me that he had news: He'd met a great girl. Like, what was I, chopped liver? A few months later, he called from a car phone, asked what was I up to, and said that, well, he had to go, couldn't chat, was in the limo on the way to his wedding. Then, a few days later, he called from his honeymoon. "Char," he said, and he sounded desperate, "I think I've made a terrible mistake." He still calls, asks to see me. I tell him not on a silver platter, that if he comes over, I'll leave. Imagine. He met "a great girl." Indeed." - Charlotte, age 31.

"I'm sixty-seven years old, and George had me sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring. How undignified. Marriage is one thing; dating's quite another - you have no authority. I had to call it off." - Luella, age 67.

"We'd had an argument at dinner. He told me I was jealous and possessive; I told him he was superficial and immature. Believe me, he couldn't drive fast enough on the way home. The whole way, we didn't say a word. That is, until we hit the deer. The thing shattered the windshield and battered his car before hobbling off into the woods. I told him he was lucky he didn't kill us, and our argument started all over again, even though he had to drive with his head out the window. When we got to my place, I got out as fast as I could. The car was still rolling when I slammed the door." - Sophie, age 30.

"I like to spend time with Bess, but our conversations are often lacking. I have trouble with my hearing, and she has trouble with her memory. So she tells me to remind her of things, but I don't hear what it is I'm supposed to remind her. I ask her to repeat herself, and she can't remember what it was she just said. We get along, though. We have a good time." - Abe, age 85.

"After dating Harry, all I can say is never, and I mean NEVER let anyone take your picture with your clothes off." - Molly, age 26.

"Jeremy is seventy; I'm sixty-six. We're both widowed. We went out and had a spectacular time, but then he didn't call again. I ran into him in the lobby of our building, and he looked exhausted. I was worried about him, and told him so. "Listen," he says, "I got women in the building bringing me food all the time, ringing my bell, asking me to brunch, dinner, lunch, coffee. I use the stairs - I avoid the elevator so I won't bump into them. You're a great lady, but please understand. I don't think I'll be calling you. I don't have the energy." It's a shame what they're putting him through. I feel sorry for him." - Edith, age 66.

"After my husband died, people wanted to fix me up. But I thought, At our age, who's there to go out with - someone who keeps his teeth in a glass? I finally went out with Edwin because I hoped for a nice dinner companion. All evening, he complained about his arthritis, his digestion, his gout. I thought, Who needs another person to take care of? I did all that for my husband, but we had forty years of history. Edwin asked if I'd travel with him. I thought travel would be nice. But do I really want to share a bathroom with this guy? I don't think so; that would give me much more information about him than I'd want." - Ida, age 73.

"Max declared that, if we got married, the percentage of money we each entered with should be our percentage of ownership all the way through. I couldn't see going through life with a calculator in my hands." - Ellie, age 32.

"What I learned from dating Janie is don't - I mean do NOT - get your teeth cleaned by a dental hygienist after you've stopped seeing her." - Jeff, age 34.

"Sue was a blind date. It was a disaster. At the end of the evening, she said, "Look, I don't feel bad that we didn't hit it off. I think it's good to go out with people I don't get along with from time to time. That way, when I'm home alone some Saturday night, I won't feel bad. I'll think, 'At least I'm not out with HIM.'" Truth is, the very next Saturday, I *did* think that. About HER." - Walter, age 33.

"What finally got to me about Norm was bee pollen. He used to carry vitamins with him whenever we went out. He had a ritual of lining up all his bottles and taking his pills, even in restaurants. Even on trips. We went to a country bed-and-breakfast for a weekend, and he forgot his bee pollen. Nothing would do if he couldn't get more, so we spent the whole morning searching for a health-food store that carried it. The nearest was about forty minutes away. By the time he found some and bought it, the day was over, along with the relationship." - Flora, age 44.

"His family wanted us to break up because we have different cultural backgrounds and different religions. They tried to bribe him with a trip to Europe or Hawaii. A new motorcycle. Money. Whatever he wanted. After we finally broke up, I saw him driving a Jag. At least I know what I was worth." - Theresa, age 27.

"Hector thought that somebody had to be the boss, and that the "somebody" had to be him. He forgot that I had veto power." - Lupe, age 25.

"Anytime I opened a kitchen cabinet, Barbara yelled, "What are you taking?!" God help me if I opened the refrigerator. This made me think that maybe she wouldn't be such a great life partner." - Marc, age 31.

"I broke up with Harriet and, suddenly, she's everywhere. The health club, the bar, the deli - every place I hang out. She's invaded my whole life. Taken it over. My friends talk to her, not me." - Moe, age 41.

"He stopped smoking for "us." One night, he lit up and took a big drag on a cigarette. That was his way of telling me it was over." - Amanda, age 26.

"I thought I was nuts about Angela until we got snowed in at her parents' country house for a weekend. We were stranded, in the dark. Sounds romantic. But it's amazing how quickly you can find out how little you have in common with someone. It's amazing how long forty-two hours and twenty-seven minutes can seem. It probably would have taken me six more months to realize how bored I was with her, but it would have seemed shorter." - Rick, age 31.

"Andrew was mad when I told him I didn't want to go out with him again. He said I'd regret it. For the next two weeks, I kept getting pizzas delivered to my door - at all hours. My sisters and I ate half of them, gave some away, froze the rest. I love pizza. I say, if that's your way of getting even, Andrew, knock yourself out." - Francine, age 43.

"I found out James was married. When I confronted him, he asked whether this meant that we couldn't see each other anymore!" - Whitney, age 29.

"When I asked what he did, Nick told me he stole cars. Ha ha, very funny, I thought. Okay, so he doesn't want to talk about work. But we had fun, went out a few more times. Then he suddenly stopped calling. I was hurt, to be dropped without a hint. Then I got a letter from jail." - Arlene, age 33.