Giggling, fooling people, capitalization, and assoholics

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, may you get eviscerated by a pack of wild boars! Mr. Texas Person has done it again. After telling me that he misses me, I then take a look on his FB wall a few days later only to find out that - surprise! - he's in a brand new relationship. I wasn't going to talk to him about it... seems she's the type who can't spell her own name and [judging from her posts on his wall] giggles a LOT and Capitalizes Every Single Word.

Sample posts: "My Man! *Giggles*" or "My Boyfriend! *Giggles* " BLAH.



REALLY?! Man, you LIED when you said you'd miss me OR said that you weren't ready for a relationship. I'm just not going to talk to him, anyway. Seems his computer has been down for a couple weeks, or so he says. Yeah, I don't know... *shakes head* At least I'm not feeling as badly about it as I was in Vegas when everything else happened!

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

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

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

Distraction via BS and the Whip!

Eric was here at about 6:50 (giving me a LOOK because of my Vegas gold "rap bling necklace"), and he tried to inject realism as far as the whole personal thing went: at least he was right when he said something about my crying! Yes, I know that Texas and Vancouver would probably not really work out in some degree (especially with censored bullshit), but people DO do this sort of thing these days, whether or not they meet in person first or not! He also said that he'd been around my area once already today - that's bad since it means the hospital! Luckily, his dad is fine. After a while (talking about Randal's Fried Chicken Bash), we were listening to last year's live news reports of the Stanley Cup riots since it was the one-year anniversary... it was like a timewarp! Got to church, seeing Uncle Eugene and Chris Lam (who said hi) in the elevator. I told Eric that it made sense for him to bring his Bible since it was a church environment, and then he reminded me that it was Bible Study on Ecclesiastes 8. Whoops... luckily, I could share Kevin's Bible when I had to read part of the passage!

Talked to Eric, Kevin, Vivian, Randal, Raymond, Geoffrey, Jeremy, and Gino the rookie BS leader about working / personal things / Vegas - heat - Elvis - the wedding / managers / revenge / report cards / "eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we die!" / Bible translations / authority / Christon being in London now / postcards / maps / untangling the mess of bling necklaces (silver! red! black! blue!) and putting them in Ziploc bags / playing cards / buffets / bosses / God / Skeena Terrace and Frog Hollow / gossip / announcements / next week's BBQ with Daniel Fellowship / soccer / some Sunshine Coast Carnival which I am NOT up for! While I was bored, I wrote a bunch of tag prompts, and had an idea that I could help Jon and Harmony with baby Ayler next Friday before the BBQ if I go since I have plans with Auntie Catherine at Copa Café in the area anyhow. Emailed Jon about it when I got home, so we'll see about that. I never get religious, but "let go and let God" might be what I need to do. Waved hi to Julie S., Ivan, Sam, and Amy as well.

Jeremy wanted to know who was up for going somewhere later, speaking of eating / drinking / being merry. After discussing various restaurants (including one called Nine Dish), we settled on the Whip. Eric said that he was going, so I guess I was tagging along! Discussed the wedding and Alan's reaction to last week's financial stewardship talk (plus Alan's behavior at the wedding - "those are your CHURCH friends, Steph?! is he gonna be face-down in a fountain?!") some more while people had not gone anywhere yet, while Kevin / Geoffrey / Raymond opted out. Apparently, they'd gone to the Honolulu Café last week, which had consumed Kevin's "eating out" budget - understandable! I said that I was still thankful for the cool rainy weather after Vegas - that wedding day was 40 degrees, man! On the way to the Whip, I told Eric that I likely needed the distraction - if not the wallet impact - and it would probably be good for me. I bet that's what he was thinking, too! Oh well, I guess I can't blame him!

It was pretty loud at the Whip because of the house music, so I had to yell at Jeremy / Eric / Randal / Quan / Gino in order to be heard most of the time. We discussed Vegas, "liking" sad FB statuses such as "___ has died!" (I told Jeremy that you can't remove the LIKES; bad when it comes to ex-friends!), parental morbidity, what might happen if BOTH died at the same time, Pad Thai at Boston Pizza, my noodle bowl, Randal's salad, Quan and Gino's root beer, funerals, death, old grandmas, 92 years of age, Jeremy's grandma making great rabbit stew, my mom eating cat, goat, exotic meat, the Vegas shows, Jeremy meeting Ayler once, and Mark / long-distance phone calls / Victoria. Also talked about a Kelowna wedding last week where the groom is 28 and the bride 18 (smart to introduce her AFTER she turned 18) / their Volkswagen Beetles which are also ten years apart (FUNNY), sharing an expensive $7.50 Imperial IPA (Jer's lucky I'm not sick THIS week!), strip clubs, logging into FB during the Fried Chicken Bash so Jeremy can see Vegas wedding pictures / dresses (he can wait), and gambling. Yes, there are slot machines at the Vegas airport - and smoke EVERYWHERE, which Quan and her mom wouldn't like at ALL!

Conversed about British pubs, O'Hare's, Pastor Bob liking the Whip when he went, their artwork, Jeremy going there often, knowing the wait staff, the beer on tap, Russia / Alaska / Hawaii / San Francisco ("four guys going there isn't as gay as it sounds!" "you know me - I don't judge, so whatever!") / travel / bereavement leave, taking time off work, the UBC Apple Festival, apple cider / apple varieties / NO RED DELICIOUS, money, and more. Pretty good times - Eric and I were mostly quiet on the way home (except when he bugged me about being "drunk" or with religious songs OR coughing - I told him to TAKE MEDICINE), which I think suited us both fine! Tomorrow, I'll have to call my parents back since I note they called when I was out - I'll probably call my rock, too!

Coffee is a must, man! / One less year to live!

Had to take a nap earlier, which meant that I missed a message from one of my favorite people in the world... *sigh* However, I did get an email from Randal asking if I still wanted to meet for coffee after he got off work. Sounds good to me, especially if he also offered to pick me up! At least the MARIO music perked me up after the nap, haha. Phil called me later with the passport info I needed (number / dates of issue and expiry), so that's a good thing!

Vivian LIKED my wall post to Steph, where I told her to remember that I was real and she was fake! (a family joke) I also called Steph to wish her a happy 29th birthday, and had to make the message at least somewhat morbid! "You have one less year to have long walks on the beach! What do you think about that?! MUHAHAHAHA!"

I don't believe you're dying, not even for a second...

2012 wasn't even that old when it decided to provide me with some laughs! Eric sent me this email at 1:37 AM:

Hello Leslie,
Korey has received some bad news regarding his health. He has asked me to pass on an email of thanks and apology to you. Feel free to read it or do whatever you like with this email. I will keep it on hand.

Eric


Hi Leslie,

I am writing you this email to let you know I am very sorry. I am dying Leslie. Doc says I have less then 6 months left to live, maybe less than that he is saying. I got a second opinion so I know it going to happen. I want to apologize for ever hurting you or making you cry. I am sorry I wasn't the man you wanted me to be. I love you Leslie, you're a good person. You were a big part of my life and when I die piece of my heart will I am thankful you took good care of me and you loved me. I remember the first time we met and our first date. Leslie thank you for being in my life. No tears, you should be proud of yourself and your character.

Live, Laugh, Love
Kor.



My reply:

Hey, Eric. Are you sure he's not trying to manipulate us again into 27 different levels of hell?! "When I die piece of my heart will" - uh yeah, I'm pretty sure more than a piece of your heart will die if YOU actually do go into the grave, buddy! I kinda get what he's trying to say, but I really don't know. Can you personally verify this using another source other than him?

Tears? As a mark of respect for you, Eric, you don't want to know what the tears would be! Yes, I know I am a snarky disillusioned bitch or whatever, but for your sake, don't ask. As for thanking me for being in his life, I have not been in that dubious position for FOUR YEARS! He should be telling that to YOU if what he says is even true.

Sorry, but I require a death certificate... preferably a non-faked one! Or maybe that's just me being morbid. Who knows. I choose not to believe this email until you can verify it using a secondary source. You, I trust. Him, not so much.


I posted this to ONTD, and they provided me with support for staying cold and distant. My FB statuses: "I don't know what to do with this email that just arrived in my inbox. Part of me wants to laugh my head off (almost typed "heads" - I AM NOT MEDUSA!!!), and part of me just doesn't care. Oh well.... GOOD RIDDANCE, 2011. Will NOT miss you in any way, shape, or form! Bring on 2012 - THE YEAR OF THE FIRE DRAGON!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY YEAR!!!!!!!!!!" and "I have decided on a reaction: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! If your goal was to get me to think of you, congratulations. You did succeed, but not in the way you imagine. My Internet support network and I are all laughing at your miserable pathetic attempts to get me to sympathize with your 'health problems.' I will still NOT be contacting you."

Skull buttons, waterfalls, and morbid Christmas tunes! (DONE FINAL FANTASY V ADVANCE!)

Eric bugged me on MSN about Friday and other things, haha. Of course I had to look up morbid Christmas tunes! Also, I finally finished FINAL FANTASY V ADVANCE, even with the stupid skull buttons and waterfalls!

Chrystal, salmon burgers, morbid notepads, and skipping dinners

Paid my phone bill before going out to meet Chrystal - I had barely enough time to catch up on everything, honestly! We talked about London Drugs, gambling, Las Vegas, the cold weather, soup and salmon burgers at White Spot, my mailing stuff to Corey and others, Christmas cards, world records, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Jon and Harmony, babies, Steph and Lisa, Auntie Ying's surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, poutine, pumpkin pie, Hog Shack, moving, prescriptions, Costco, Nathan, Micah, and more. It was good looking at books and weird and cute gadgets at the bookstore: weird pens, morbid notepads, cooking, and more! Got home, and found out that Jon really did want me to bus to or from the dinner - I like warmth, gaming, and the hockey game more than family dinners lately, so I skipped out. HA! His guilt trips won't work on me, and this wouldn't have happened had he not invited Nathan! (which he calls "juvenile," but whatever)

"Honey comb" being BEEF TRIPE, rice rolls, and Zellers

Vanessa called at 1:40 to say that she was finally at her parents' house, so we went out for lunch at Specialty Chicken and Wonton House before she got some stuff like on-sale shampoo at Zellers. We talked about Wayne, health issues, Krista, crap, parents, inappropriate things, Teunis, disability / CP, "honey comb" being beef tripe (which I'd totally eat), serious sailors, it taking a LONG time for lunch (separate bills and rice rolls shouldn't take forever!), maybe hanging out on Friday, durian mooncake, the whole Korey / Randal / Ginger / morbid comment incident of 2007, and the "Randal replying to MY event" incident. I see friends' events on my feed all the time, but that doesn't mean I display NO SENSE in actually replying to them if I'm obviously NOT INVITED!

Poisoning someone's drink = math problem! (Janina is different!)

Janina's package arrived this afternoon: the envelope had interesting stickers of headphones, cows, dogs, butterflies, wells, buckets of water, the JACK AND JILL nursery rhyme, children, and "BE AN OPTIMIST PRIME - NOT A NEGATRON!" Hahaha! Inside was a card with various things: an "Experience the new better game" blue blank card with a pinball machine, BABYSITTER'S CLUB / Twisted Whiskers (cats / dogs / fire hydrant / bones / hairspray / "Dander B-Gone" spray) / scratch-n-sniff banana stickers, a "Mr. Lunch" cow / chicken / mouse with cheese envelope, a "World's Bliss" Maui postcard, a "What Dreams May Come" Hawaii postcard, a Raven Images wizard with a crystal ball postcard, a fairy postcard, a "Don't Freak Out" postcard, a "Let's Turn This Into A Math Problem" postcard featuring arsenic poison into a beverage (HAHAHAHA!), and a "human body" postcard featuring an "eater" / Diet Pepsi bottle / "lack of Diet Pepsi warning system."

The card itself had mini dog stickers, squirrel stickers, dog print stickers, bear stickers, bird stickers, "Excellent!" cherries stickers, and a sticker of Elmer Fudd playing basketball. She said, "Leslie - thought of you the other day, and threw together some fun stuff. I made the pinball machine blank card, and two of the postcards. Speaking of which, I hope you like the wizard and fairy postcards. The other two postcards are from a book of funky / odd postcards. I've been wanting to send you some different postcards - not just the usual city / town / state ones. I hope you like the stickers... I made the bear sticker at the bottom of this page - I figured it went along with the paw stickers. Haven't seen the new HARRY POTTER movie as of yet. Lately, we've been watching CSI and Law & Order DVDs. I love those shows - I find them to be the equivalent to comfort food. Off to do some grocery shopping! Have a cool day! Love, Janina."

Gum and Teunis / Black Forest Cake / Periodic Table of Heavy Metals

I didn't even think twice about having gum in my mouth when Teunis got home, and I plonked the guestbook on his table before I forgot (again), and asked him about cleaning the laptop screen or fan with special tools. Haha, it's definitely habit! We also discussed his laundry, the leftover filling soup, sounds, "GAME OVER" video game music, stress, rice crackers, sounds, pumpernickel bread, black forest cake, and more. Discovered redrum had (possibly) started, so told my sister that via another phone call, haha. Left messages with Kenny via Skype, and talked to Vanessa on MSN for a bit as well.


From Candy and Glen:

Major sleeping in can be a good thing! / Farmers Market Oracle

Called Steph last night to update her on things; at least she said that Virginia was okay, haha. Yup, Teunis is moving out indeed! Chrissy posted this quote: "I remember my first jumper. You could have soaked him up with a sponge. I still can't eat spaghetti sauce." YAY FOR MORBIDITY! (Teunis thinks this is like stress disorder; I say at least the quote is perfectly sane ands an understandable reason as to why you wouldn't want to eat spaghetti sauce, as long as you aren't avoiding it altogether and flipping out when you DO have to see it!) Also updated Eric on things later via MSN when he wanted to tell me about worship leading this morning, haha.

Teunis got home at 2:45 AM and wanted to tell me about his hours-long visit with Scott, who was in town for the weekend - if I didn't seem to have sleep issues, that might have been fine. Not sure how you can have an hours-long visit with a guy who (given my limited knowledge of him) never says anything at all, though! Then he also brought up GAMING, which I've NEVER seen the appeal of! I slept through multiple alarms and phone calls this morning - only 19 more days of subconscious wakeups at 6:30 AM to go! I can do this! Turns out Amelia unfriended me on Facebook - not a big deal! Just heard about the Caribbean Fest on the radio; Dave Wong would be totally into that, haha.

You Are a Free Spirit

You have the mind of an artist, even if you haven't developed the talent yet. You are more creative than you realize. You believe in originality and tolerance. You think the world needs more diversity, not less. You need to do something to understand it. You learn best with hands-on training. You are not confrontational or aggressive. You take a mild-mannered approach to dealing with people.

The Farmers Market Oracle

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Manny Ramirez, James, NON-RUSH, and my architectural style

After discussing smells and such with Teunis yesterday afternoon before he left, I called Henry to see whether he could make it to Awana, since it was then 3:45. He couldn't, which meant that I didn't have to rush myself earlier! UGH! I heard that Manny Ramirez retired from baseball rather than face a 100-game suspension for a positive drug test, too. (yes, I know this is old news...) Also talked to James on YM, which is always a treat!

Went to sleep and had that nightmare about Matt Good postcards, "Spike and Harmony," stacks of newspapers from a blond-haired woman in a white truck, and being on of three people shackled to my mom / two pastors in a grey conference room setting, "Insects mate in the walls, and of COURSE I'm the only person who knows it!" said Mom; then she saw a news story about a Swedish skier gone missing in the mountains, and prayed with everyone else except me and my fellow captives. YIKES!

Also, why in the hell isn't LJ working properly? Thank goodness for Semagic! Chinese Eric also sent me an offline "hello..." message at 2:35 AM. What in the heck are you doing up, man?! Haha, I'm sure I'll talk to him later, though!

You Are Baroque

You have a strong personality. You are who you are, and you're darn proud of it. You are quite guarded. You feel reluctant to reveal your true self to others. You think on a whole other plane. You see patterns and logic where others see chaos. You are comfortable with theories. Abstract ideas and concepts delight you.

Which Architectural Style Are You?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

Pooping nuclear reactors! / AXEL F / Jam silliness / Lucky charms

We talked about pancakes, waffles, programming, AXEL F, nuclear reactors, unsafe condos in Fort Mac (via Rachel), the morbid PORTAL song which Eric gave me lyrics for, and network reconnections / routers. Also discussed Kate Bush, silliness about jam, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apple pie, walking to the mall, tax stuff, phone bill stuff, Garbage, cinnamon, raisins, toast, Irish Catholicism, honestly not feeling like going to the pub, and more.

You Are an Origami Crane

You are creative and good with your hands. You are more of an artist than you know. You may not be politically conservative, but your behavior is conservative. You don't like to rock the boat. You are truly caring. You're helpful and giving - eager to be a true friend. You are intelligent and skilled, but you're also modest. You don't like to boast or brag.

What's Your Lucky Charm?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

Nando's Chicken, Marble Slab Creamery, pomegranate, and BS!

Steph and Lisa picked me up to go to Nando's Chicken at 6, and of course I chose the extra peri-peri sauce! We talked about personal stuff, Haiti, Harmony, Purdy's in Richmond Centre (I didn't go to Kingsway!) selling peanut butter eggs, English grammar / words, the giant Lenin head, SLB, cards, Harmony, being classy, being morbid, Teunis, sharing, competition, Auntie Kwai, Grandma thinking Eric's my boyfriend, sushi, Shanghai Wonderful, Nathan, and more, After that, we went to Chapters to look around: true crime, Bathroom Readers, Diana Gabaldon, magazines, library impatience, random bargain books, and more! We decided to go for Marble Slab Creamery: Anna, throat cancer, Auntie Kwai, Brigitte being "wild" (at 12?), something bad happening to the family, "orange is the new black," coupons, butter fudge for Veronica, two apples (which we are unlikely to eat LOTS of) / redlicorice Nibs / Chinese Dainty Rice / Acai Berry Pomegranate Fuze drink / lollipops / Werther's Original / more candy, Clement and Jocelyn being engaged, Bryant and (I assume) Shirley being engaged, Sean C. having a lot of girlfriends, and more.

Got home and called Mom, to talk to her way too long about stuff like Grandma's health / Anna / Brigitte (which I'd already heard about) / Aunt Janis and Chemainus / a lunch on Sunday / bus tours / Easter / Tapenade / naked men in LAW AND ORDER (she FINALLY explained "an autopsy") / teaching her how to use Facebook and Twitter (no), Banff trips, and more. I had to feed her a bunch of BS about not talking to Teunis yet about Easter dinner, hahaha. She also apparently thinks that "Veronica lives SO FAR AWAY!" from her when it's only two minutes! When I finally got off the phone with her, I discussed stuff with Teunis: new dressy brown shoes from Freedman, a poly household with five parents (and kids?!), yogurt drinks, milk, eggs, running more errands tomorrow, Kaili and the Granville / Broadway Chapters, pyromaniacs, Berlin, headbanging, St. Patrick's Day on Thursday at the Foggy Dew (perhaps?), Surrey, Rammstein, Windows 7, his sound system, flamethrower stage set, shrimp crackers, lollipops, and more.

Facebook and homicide icons / 4-3 / Tyrell / No Toffifee ever! / Red / Einstein

Two new icons, one selection inspired by Mandy and my own morbidity:

(Chicago Homicide mug - "Homicide: Our Day Starts When Yours Ends")

(Facebook "I like this!")


The Canucks won 4-3 against the Oilers tonight for their first road win, and Raffi Torres had his first career hat trick... yay! Here's something else: Tyrell is always a black name. Not to be racist, but we've observed that! Now I want a McRib, but I can't have one!

I tried the hazelnut / creamy nougat / chocolate / caramel Toffifee tonight: fifteen pieces to a box! It's almost impossible to get out of the silver inside packaging! Not sure I like the flavor combination, but I guess it's okay for a one-shot deal. The uneaten pieces are going to Harmony and Julie C. in Ziploc bags on Sunday! (Dylan also sent us an email about Wesley and Jose - at least they seem like good additions to the Committee!)


Facebook quizzes taken from Jennifer J., Patrick, Danielle, Mark, Darren L., Jessica G., and Kaitlin:

Which Harry Potter Character are you? Leslie got Harry Potter. You act before you think. This puts others in situations they might not wish to be in, but you always find a way out. You are considered popular, but don't feel as if you are / should be. You have a few close friends and would do anything to keep them safe, but sometimes your recklessness puts them in danger. You can sometimes come off as whiny and irritating to others despite your best efforts.

What color is your soul? Leslie got Red - The Conqueror's Soul. Tears don't move you; they are a pathetic sign of weakness. You are a natural-born leader, and power is your ultimate goal. You are headstrong, and your natural aggression and straightforward demeanor helps you reach your goals. You need to be respected more than loved. You have to be right, look smart, and have others' approval. Whites will avoid you. Blue souls either annoy you, or become strong allies. Yellow souls will bring you attention. Other red souls may become your rivals.

How old are you inside? Leslie got 20. You're pretty young, and you are active and married.

Which Fairy Tale Do You Belong In? Leslie got Janghwa Hongryeon jeon. This Korean folk-tale was a frightening ghost story that inspired movies such as A Tale Of Two Sisters and The Uninvited (a not-as-good American remake). The story is about two beautiful sisters whose father remarried an evil woman who abused them mercilessly. She did many cruel things, eventually leading to the girls being drowned in a pond. Their ghosts would appear later and kill every new mayor of the village, until one brave man saw a vision of them as ghosts. He avenged them by killing the stepmother.


Trivia fact for Wednesday, Nov. 3: Who did Time magazine pick as the 20th century's Person of the Century? Albert Einstein. In its January 3, 2000 edition, the news weekly described Einstein as "the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed."

Carrots in blue plastic, and Israeli plaster bombs / Doormat... *sigh*

Woke up from a weird dream of my mom and sister buying carrots wrapped in blue plastic - they were cutting them while I was standing off to one side, reading a magazine article about Israeli tents / plaster bombs / blood. What the?! New York also called me from 516-453-5645.

You Are a Doormat

You can't help it - it makes you happy to give people what they want... at least temporarily happy. You tend to take a backseat to the needs and wants of others. And you don't mind most of the time. No matter what, you need to learn to speak up when it's important to you. Even though it seems easier to avoid a confrontation, it's better in the long run if you fight for what's right.

Are You Dominant or a Doormat?

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

Dave, Park Royal, Ambleside, Michigan Noodle Shop, and Twinkle / Lines

Dave picked me up at about 4, and we were off. I had to smile when I saw him waiting for me at the complex door, and I experienced a bit of trouble with opening it - since I almost never do anyway, I'd have to put that down to jitters, haha. He wanted to get out of Richmond, which I didn't mind. Saving my words worked pretty well, since I found it easy to talk to him - he even let me just think about things by myself without trying to fill up the silence, so he gets points in my books unlike Auntie Ying, haha! We had a bunch of "What do you want to do?" "I don't know - what do YOU want to do?" mini-exchanges, haha. Eventually, he suggested maybe grabbing Starbucks and then going around the shops at Park Royal Village - sounded fine to me, so we did that.

We talked about Felico's and Leslie Road ("there's a road with your name on it!"), chocolate chip banana loaf, free admission at Hastings racecourse for the horse races, Commercial Drive, Wesley's FB wall post, New York, breakdancing (or "B. Boy-ing" as he called it), "dope" stuff, Blenz, people-watching (I like that he can do that too), TRAINSPOTTING and the toilet, heroin and drug habits, Korean BBQ food (Seoul House), haggis, rickety tables, hobbies, reading, and writing. Also discussed goat royalty stories, Urban Fare (where he joked that I got my furniture from), brands, Cobbs Bread, Isabel and Terra Breads, Nathan and the Nice N'Spicy Reggae House, Chuck and Andrea's wedding, the bazaar, other church stuff, money, wine stores, the Illuminati, Japadogs and Sunday Dinners, Bathroom Readers, graphic artists, the culture of hip-hop, drawing, Kin's Farm Market, killing my cold, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, treating myself to hot chocolate goodness, the American deficit in the TRILLIONS / George Bush / Barack Obama, my morbid side, his brother making a crazy amount of money, his overshooting my place at first, and more.

After that, he asked whether I was up for a walk in Coal Harbor / Ambleside in West Van - sounded fine to me, so off we went. When we couldn't find parking at Coal Harbor (neither of us had any change to feed the meters there, anyhow), it was off to West Van - I hadn't been across the Lions Gate Bridge in ages. There was no traffic at almost 5, but there certainly would be in ten minutes with rush hour, so we picked the right time! Dave said that he used to go to Ambleside with his parents, and it IS a nice area with a view to match! (walking along a path where you can just see UBC and all the water!) He seemed solicitous enough, wondering whether I could walk pretty far (we were going to the Beach House restaurant - or the "Fish House" as he erroneously called it) - I said I should be fine. "We're just going to those white tents - but if you need to turn back at any time, please let me know!" Of course! I guess we took it at a slower pace than some people, but it was fine. He accidentally said "shit" in front of me ("excuse my French!"), but that was okay since I also said it a bit later in reference to something else, haha.

I noticed all these memorial benches along the way, so of course I had to take note of the names! One of the benches in particular caught my eye - apparently, a "Mignon" was being remembered there. He saw what I did, and laughed about a kid being named Filet Mignon... then he took a Middle Eastern slant to it: "I'll name MY kid Shawarma Falafel Flatbread!" We talked about whether he looked like a thug (I wouldn't say that even with his toque!), tomboyish girls, fine waitresses (I don't think he'd bring those topics up if he weren't comfortable with me), pink stuff, "illing" concepts, bookstores, St. Paul's hospital / the Art Gallery, the UFC, Vancouver events, fireworks, Indonesian food at Hawkers, Stephen King / Dean Koontz / Danielle Steele novels, Stephen King's son and HIS book, reading, bike parts (and his own bike issues), Google and Pac-Man, PRINCE OF PERSIA, bikes in general, the British Properties and the view there, Common, middle-class positive hip-hop, Cellar Jazz cover charge, budgets, the Richmond Night Market, being random, wearing white, and other things. When we did get to the restaurant, he wanted to know if I wished to eat there! Of course, I did figure it would be pretty bling even WITHOUT looking at the prices on the menu! New Zealand rack of lamb was $42, for example. Eventually, we figured that it would be nice if we had a bunch of people as our posse, not just the two of us - too true!

He wondered if I'd like to chill by the water since he said he was a little tired, and that was fine by me because I could also have used the rest... we did that for about an hour or so. Talked about the insane amount of money people must have in this community, the possibility of a crazy neighbor, what people were wearing, People of Walmart.com, sophistication, Alan's Egypt ICQ story, Vanessa, Jeremy, Jon, Christon, hummus, olives, not knowing when I was going to call him back, Babylonian stuff, rock climbing (he thinks I should do it - HA), Jim Pattison seemingly owning EVERYTHING, the old T&T owner's daughter dumping Clement on his birthday (he said that was pretty COLD - for sure!), being a sheik of Dubai, and more. It was nice just sitting with him on the bench - I enjoyed it, for sure. Then he asked if I were cold because of the wind... not really, so we stayed for a while longer. When we walked back, we discussed alligators with hockey pucks for eyes, my walking a bit faster than him (the walk back always seems shorter than the walk to a place!), employment, art, little Sean and rainbows, his brother, hanging out more often, Steveston, cycling, Sex Pistols, Poison, punk, Dragon Ball, Jack Bauer / 24 / not watching too much TV in general (another thing we have in common!), metal music like GWAR / Children of Bodom / Cannibal Corpse, and more.

I said that he was going to think I was crazy, but I liked morbid stuff - he thinks it's just fine. Then I said that I'd had to call him to see what was up... he gave me "mad respect" for that one, noted nobody else had done so, and observed that he sometimes liked to do things out of the blue. Hey, that works for me, keeping in mind our respective budgets! We got into the car, and he said that he was working his way back to Richmond... "Please let me know if you have any spontaneous ideas! You're in MY hood now, near the church!" Hahaha, that's fine!

While I was thinking of ideas since it didn't seem like "home time" yet (and since he'd stated that he wasn't in a hurry to do anything), I wondered if he had cash on him. He assured me that he did, so I suggested a Chinese place. That was fine with him, even though he wasn't that hungry - he thought I might be, and said he couldn't turn down a good meal. I wouldn't have said that I needed a HEAVY MEAL at that point either (even after a walk of more than one kilometre!), so we stopped by the Coast Capital ATM. He wanted to withdraw some cash without breaking certain bills - ah yes, that superstition also dies hard with me sometimes!

I didn't really care where we went, so the Michigan Noodle Shop it was. Dave mentioned a craving for "water dumplings," so of course he got those! Then he mentioned that he wanted to try green apple bubble tea (which I haven't had in some time), so it's a good thing that Twinkle was nearby! Talked about the past SLB antics at Shanghai Wind / Shanghai Wonderful, his seeing some of those pictures (he won't admit to "stalking" my profile - haha), Steph's job, the BAD Harmonized Sales Tax, marble tables, good Asian beer (I'm not an expert!), skateboard companies, Jerome Irrigation, dangerous electricity substations, beer snobbery, the cloud decorations at Twinkle, the funny drink names there ("White King Kong" / "Love Story"), red vinegar suggestions, spicy stuff, the time where I ate an entire bowl of mini-jalapeno peppers at Congee Noodle House (thus freaking my cousins out), fire turds, Wesley and Dianne going with him to McDonalds for dollar drinks or cheap burgers (Wes came back with a whole TRAY of them!), and more.

He thought he'd said the wrong thing at one point, so of course I had to put my hand over his and assure him that he had NOT done that! (this is as close as I come to being "appropriate" with touching, haha) As we were walking back to the car after having bubble tea, the guy from Twinkle came out to say that Dave had apparently forgotten to pay the tax... whoops! Dave gave him a toonie ("for the government!"), and later said that he hoped it covered both of us - I think his green apple was more expensive than my mango (which did kinda look like beer), but it worked. Of course, I refused to even make it appear that he paid for my noodles, so I insisted that he keep my $5 bill THERE - as long as we didn't rip anyone off! He joked about robbing the bank / dining and dashing - HAHA, I dunno about that, man! At one point, he said that he thought I was pretty cool - just wait, man.

On the way home, I made sure to say that I'd had a great evening (he agreed), and thanked him for everything - he said that he and Christon owe me / Jen / Jeremy / everyone else a salad. Oh yes, the "salt for sugar" mistake, haha! He wondered if I'd heard any celeb gossip lately: I don't really pay attention to it! (then he wondered about the church history, and reminded me about Choppers!) Then he told me about this disgusting sandwich: Fillet of Fish in some other burgers?! Man, that sounds even worse than turducken! (I illuminated him on that after he found a parking spot in the complex) I don't think he seemed to mind my random stories, and he's said that he didn't mind my calling him - both good things!

Then he said that I seemed more eclectic than other people at church... well, I do know SOME things, but also am aware I don't know EVERYTHING! It helps that I can talk about a fair range of topics, and not be all shallow like the Jersey Shore / Miami people! Of course (as I told Eric recently), I won't ABUSE his number or anything like that! If this gets out to my family or Eric, they will have a FIELD DAY with it - so I guess I won't be telling them anything about this super time! Then again, sometimes I have a hard time keeping a secret to save my life, so I don't think that will go very well. I'm also keeping in mind that Dave and I made the hangout plans via Facebook (Jon / Harmony / Steph / Eric can read it), so I wouldn't be surprised if I were asked a question along these lines!


Trivia fact for Saturday, June 5: What British funnyman dubbed some of Humphrey Bogart's lines in the offbeat 1953 comedy Beat The Devil? Peter Sellers. The lines had to be re-recorded because Bogie had been in an auto accident during filming and lost some teeth, which affected his speaking ability.

His bike is NOT distinctive! / "Why is your name Eric?" HAHAHAHAHA!

I got to the usual meeting place early, so thought I'd just continue my reading. Apparently, I was so into the murder story that I missed Eric driving right past me into the school parking lot! I only noticed when I heard someone who sounded like Eric call my name - boy, I was surprised to see his car! When I got into the car, I called him insane - one week, he parks where I'd have to go through the grass to get to the car, and then he stops in the parking lot the next time! He reminded me that Christon's group had bought snacks for tonight (so I'll return some of mine tomorrow), to which I said "OH CRAP!" I had sent Christon an email about it, but had interpreted "next Friday" in my head as the 28th and not today. We talked about his knowing whom I was enamored with, mock hate, whether DARKWING or Mr. Creep would be there tonight, French, Spanish, Alistair, Subway, and more on the way to church. At Subway, we discovered that they were out of the new Orchard Chicken Salad Sandwich... when I got the Veggie Delight instead, Eric thought I was saving up for a special evening. NO! Then Eric tried getting me to admit that I noticed the color of Dave Wong's bike... um, his tiger shirt is more distinctive than THAT! (and so is Christon's blue car!)

When we got to church, our usual room was locked, so we ate dinner in the lounge instead. He was facilitating Bible Study tonight, so I figured he'd wanted the extra time to go over the questions - no problem, since I could always read more about murder during that review period! Of course, he bugged me about it as per the usual! When we met up with everyone else in our usual room after a bathroom break (saying hi to Mike K. on the way), I noticed that Mr. Creep was helping to arrange the chairs. I stayed near the back of the room, and selected the chair that he'd seemed to have the least contact with. I know... I'm paranoid, but I also ignored his greeting to me and Eric save for muttering "go away" under my breath! I talked to Grace, Shally, Kevin, Vicky, Cindy, Dylan, Vania, and others about my week and being tired.

It turned out that Christon's group had the correct interpretation of "next Friday" since they all had snacks - PHEW! Eric mentioned something of the sort to me, so I explained. Turns out that next Friday is a "free" program, but we can listen to Elaine talk about her and Matt's tent-making mission in China. (I didn't know that she was doing this till the last Committee Meeting, and Jon had had NO idea till then!) During the announcements, Jon and I had a muted conversation about Eunice cutting his hair for him (before Edwin's wedding on Sunday at 5:30) / the lards presumably being back today / his mail and whether he'd be there on Sunday to receive it / Harmony being at a magazine launch / who else would be involved in various service projects. Kevin had a budget presentation with a HOLY BRIGHT PINK BACKGROUND! Shally had funny questions, haha.

We split into our usual groups, and I had to raise a fist at Calla since she "stole" our usual room (the lounge) once I had eye contact with her! (I explained this to her later, and she said that THEIR usual room had been locked!) Our group had the next room over, though. Talked to Dylan, Eric, Vicky, Albert, Cindy, Kevin, and Johnny about the Bible Study materials / gardens / struggles / more. For a morbid person like me, I had the perfect verses to read: "Therefore the grave enlarges its appetite and opens its mouth without limit; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers. So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled." (Isaiah 5:14-15) Eric noticed that I'd read those verses with extra zeal, and commented on it in the car on the way home. There were also a couple of references to wine and drinking which Jeremy would have liked! I didn't really talk to the new people in the group, as per my own protocol... and didn't give them too much information!

When we had snacktime later, Mr. Creep passed way too close to me for comfort a couple of times. STOP GETTING IN MY WAY! I wanted Eric to LEAVE right then, but of course he had to talk to Pastor John about UGM on Sunday evening. (good thing it's not right after church - I still get a ride home!) Vania introduced me to a couple MORE new people, but I was friendly enough to these newcomers. Had a cherry vanilla ice cream cone and a chocolate roll which Eric gave me. The "different woman" Teresa talked to me about how some people didn't believe in Jesus and told her that everyone's different, and how she'd gone to a Christian school. Since I'd heard it before and wasn't particularly interested, I was relieved when she switched topics to going for a few different worship services. She asked Eric a few questions, and I couldn't help but openly laugh when she asked him "Why is your name Eric?" He was better at keeping a straight face, and said that his parents had chosen the name from CHARIOTS OF FIRE - Eric Liddell, all right.

I chatted to Andrea, Chuck, Martin, Vicky, Albert, Kevin, Christon, Vivian, and others about the annoyances of still living at home (as Vicky does - phone calls from moms can be frustrating!) / accidentally going over medians in the road and subsequently worrying about your car / personal trainers and the cost / my week / self-control when it comes to snacks / "giving it the old college try" when my brother had signed me up for things without my knowledge (not an email) / losing it. Talked to Eric T. about his summer job in Ottawa - should be nice! After Wesley got a phone call, he invited me to Dragon Ball with my "lovely brother," but I had to decline on grounds that Eric was in a meeting. It DID look suspicious over there near the elevator, haha. He asked Randal to guess how much he'd gotten his jacket and shirt for - the jacket was $7 at Value Village, and the hockey shirt was $1 at BC Place since they'd had a massive sale of their inventory!

When Eric and I *finally* left, we discussed Jen / Randal / Dave / Mattias / Christon. Since Eric says he's planning to go to Steph's on Monday night for the JACK BAUER finale, I said we'd plan when to meet on Sunday... and speaking of Sunday, he shouldn't be doing sound since he already did it twice this month. We also found the Teemway BBQ Meat / Fish place and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables place on Victoria where we'd gone on Sunday at Grandma's whim. Discussed our noticing different things and applying different levels of importance to them, as well... our brains seem to be on totally different wavelengths! I also had a very random cackle fit at #4 / Alderbridge, hahaha!

I found my keys in my wallet this afternoon! / Justin fell and hurt his head...

Henry and I met at the Dairy Queen, and we were off while listening to the Team 1040. We discussed whether a meal in someone's apartment could really be called "brunch," and his work shift today. When we got to church, we were lucky because we got an elevator that other people were too impatient to wait for! I talked to Chrystal and Golden about losing it, finding my keys in my wallet (which I only opened to exchange money), laundry money, almost putting away milk on the shelf instead, the kids, the Linkin Park logo, snacks, and more. Eric T. wanted to know if we had any jobs for a kid to do - Jordan forgot his book. I told Jordan that I had a job for him, and got him to refill my water bottle for me. When Chrystal said that she was leaving the room to photocopy the Truth Scripts, he wondered if she was going to make a million photocopies because that would be a WASTE, then asked me whether he could make photocopies of his butt / pants / hats / shirts. NO, NOT ON THE CHURCH PHOTOCOPIER! As for paper, it depends what is on the paper in the first place!

We noticed a commotion outside - Justin A. had fallen and hit his head on the ground! Jordan went over to the window and looked - he wanted to know whether Justin was still alive, and whether he was bloody! He sounds like he could be morbid, haha. Mike asked him whether his stories would involve killing people - yes. I'm not surprised! Selwyn came into the room and verified who I was - Grandma was on the phone. She wanted to know whether I was coming home for dinner, and what time I'd be coming home... I TOLD YOU ALREADY! Of course, I understand that she has memory problems... she told me to thank the person who got me to answer the phone, but it wasn't what she had in mind, haha. Interacted with Sophia (about Anne), Joshua and Keenan (money), David, Evelyn, Samantha, Dominic, Donald, Annie, Conor, and Aaron - Aaron was running a racket, wanting Conor to give him one Awana dollar in exchange for some gummy candy. I told him not to do that, so we'll see. Annie said that Conor wasted all his review stickers... no, he just put them in his handbook at the required places! Ada, Sean, and Ian took me home, where I had dinner with Grandma. Now I'm just relaxing! I know there's no Awana on Saturday because of the Victoria Day long weekend, so I can be re-acquainted with my place again, haha.

Aberdeen noodle houses seem to be fine as a plan! / Grand Rapids

High-scoring word of the night:

CAPSIZE (732 points) - against Tiffany M. [4W, 2W, hook off HARD to make CHARD] {a good deficit-erasing word!}


Called Auntie Ying, who seemed happy to hear from me. She just had some relatives in town, so told me about the cute granddaughter who wore her clothing - nice! Discussed the toddler Sunday School, Bible verses (too many passages!), Easter Sunday, Jason's dad getting baptized, getting together at a noodle house near Aberdeen on the 20th (so she doesn't have to rush), prayer, and more. Considering how I wanted to cut our time short on the previous occasion we got together, I don't know if my giving her the whole afternoon is a good thing. Maybe it's because I had to allow myself enough time to catch up before going out to meet Eric, haha. And I can always watch NBC DATELINE on the 16th!


Trivia fact for Friday, Apr. 9: On what body of water is the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, situated? On the Grand River. The city was named for its proximity to the river's rapids.