Tagging, location, Cypress, Whistler, tour guides, and active babies

Spent a lot of time earlier working on projects such as LJ tagging / location, and FB date changes and tagging. Good thing that Eric H. said hi on MSN after his long day at Cypress and Whistler! I'm sure he feels like a tour guide, but as long as he can rest afterwards, it'll be fine! (he needs a reprieve, which he'll get in a couple of days) He said that the Kings had won again (10-1), which I'd heard about earlier. Discussed fun research, the 2008 Pens (who lost to the Wings in the Final), NO BABY NEWS yet, innocent winking, trips, the active baby in utero (might be a boy?), and more. I also finished the FB date changes and tagging; no more constant notifications for my friends, I'm sure!

No potluck / Bryan IDIOTIC / David S. being golden

Ended up missing the potluck since I took a much-needed nap at 5:30 and woke up at 7:15! Noticed that Eric had called me at 6:30; on the off-chance that he was still home, I called him. Ron answered the phone to say he'd already left; after thanking him, I called Eric's cell to find that he was already at church! I told him that I'd taken a nap, which he was dubious about. He said he'd see me on Sunday: haha, we'll see about THAT! Got to the computer to find that Eric had tried getting me on MSN, complete with devil emoticons and "DING A LING!" Hahaha!

Also found out about the Leafs hockey news - coach firings, indeed! Caught up on the weekly tradition, too. I swear I need to cut down on chocolate for my own good. Talked to David S. on YM for a while, too - hey, falling asleep randomly does happen, as I demonstrated! Also blocked Bryan for good - ASIAN FEVER AND NOT KNOWING ABOUT YOUR LIFE IS A DEAL-BREAKER! To David's credit, he listened to me vent. Yay for friendship! Alana also invited me to her birthday party in June: can't go, as Vegas is rather the priority then!

Feeling better, Aaron, Christine, AGM, 3-2 loss, and snow

I feel better right now about things, which is good.... but now I have nobody to talk with about stuff! UGH! Aaron C. and Christine B. wanted to add me to Facebook - oh, the Puckheads and Canucks fan pages! Taught Troy about typing out emoticons in FB messages, too. Benedict, Vania, Martin, Edmond, and others reminded me about the church AGM, which I'd forgotten about... they did have quorum, although Edmond said that he wouldn't have bothered coming back after lunch if he'd known, since he was really sleepy after eating a lot! Thanks to a REALLY late goal by Dallas, the hockey game (my priority!) went to overtime. Then the Stars scored... FUCKING 3-2 loss! Gerard said it was snowing in Vancouver, which wasn't a surprise for me.

7 AM wakeups, dread, and staying offline

I was up at 7 AM, but that just means naptime this afternoon before Greek food and chilling! Wouldn't want to fall asleep in the middle of dinner, after all. Also, I was kinda dreading it when I opened Trillian / Gmail, but the Regards notification did come through, and I didn't have a message to respond to. Thank goodness! Note to self: stay offline on YM today as much as possible, and DEFINITELY during hockey games. That will certainly reduce the possibility of friction and such with a certain person! I did apologize even if he was probably in a bad mood already, so we'll see what happens. He doesn't seem like the type to hold grudges, heh.

8 AM, octopus balls, CHINESE ERIC, Grandma-sitting?

Got up at 8 AM for some reason, but it was okay. Discovered that BREATH OF FIRE I really is glitchy - since I refuse to play without codes when possible, I guess this is it for the game! Although I guess I could try it on Vizzed when that site's saving function is up again, but see above point about codes. Ugh! Vanessa got on MSN and wondered why I was up at 10 AM... good question! She also tried calling me after we talked about stuff like passports / octopus balls / Granville Island, but I missed it... at least she'll be back in Richmond by the end of the month! Auntie Candy (Billy and Danny's mom) tried adding me on Facebook; somehow, I don't think so!

Mom and Eric Ho tried calling me, but I missed those calls because I was reading! I saw the messages Eric left on MSN later, though. He got my email about Tuesday, apologizes since he's been busy (no worries on my end!), and says that my plans could be okay. It doesn't matter if he confirms on Sunday or Monday, since of course he hopes to chill with me... and I hope for the same. TRADITION! It's all good with him, anyway. :D

Then I called Mom to see what she wanted, which was to see if I could Grandma-sit because the respite centre can't take her for three weeks next month. Apparently, the lards aren't going to Russia anymore, but they were invited on a South American cruise thing by Auntie Wing Yee. She told me stuff about what she REALLY thinks of Steph and Lisa's upcoming wedding, breakfasts, Dairy Queen, Alan and Polly giving me lucky money, microwaveable dinners and waffles bought ahead of time (way to assume?), and adult daycare. Told me about Translink, money, keys, #9 Restaurant, dinner / physio, exercise, Auntie Paula's leg, Auntie Teresa's cancer surgery on her neck (good thing Mom isn't asking HER to help out - that woman can be ANNOYING AS FUCK!), and more. Of course I can do this; it won't be too bad, although trying to deal with Grandma's memory issues can be frustrating! However, it won't be as frustrating as dealing with Auntie Teresa!

Melanie, Pizza Hut, Burning Buffalo Wings, and creamy chicken Alfredo

While James and I were talking on YM tonight, he brought up hot wings - since I then wanted some, I put that out on Facebook. Melanie said that now SHE wanted some (despite having some REALLY hot wings at Boston Pizza last night), so I told her to blame Randal, who had said something about a subconscious desire for hot wings on that status. Then Scott waded into it, saying that he always knew I was a closet Wings fan - NOT THAT KIND OF WINGS FAN, DUDE! HAHAHAHA! Ordered some Burning Hot Buffalo wings, breadsticks with cheese, and huge creamy chicken Alfredo from Pizza Hut; thank goodness they take debit!

Good birthdays, PNE, Night Market, energy, and politics

Turns out Chinese Eric tried calling me back, but I didn't respond since I was in the middle of a battle with a Rambling Evil Mushroom and a Mobile Sprout. He went on MSN to say that he'd been out with his dad and then had a family dinner - sounds about right! At least it's been a good day so far for him, which is what it should be for your birthday! Exchanged various emoticons like hugs, hearts, and thumbs-up symbols! We talked about Nate's movie night this Thursday, a BC Lions game (not my thing), the PNE / Night Market, his energy at night, letting me know, the pretty weather, the HST vote, politics, how the mayor should step down, and more. Then Vanessa H. got on MSN, wanting to know about lunch tomorrow - sure thing, I guess.

What Smiley Are You?

You Are a Nose Smiley

You are a very detailed oriented person. You feel happiest when all your ducks are in a row. You are conventional and orthodox. You are the most normal person you know. You like to work hard, but you also value your downtime. You seek balance in your life. You are smart to the point of being a genius. You are very learned.

What Smiley Are You?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

EVIL PERSONIFIED / Quirky stats / Chinese Eric and Amelia

Teunis and I discussed Swedish fish CANDY, preserved fish, candy with potatoes, Korn's FALLING AWAY FROM ME (and others), Weird Al and his songs, silliness, GRAMMAR LESSON, LIVING IN THE FRIDGE, Björk, his having a combination of a thermometer and a barometer, nautical backgrounds, open secrets / Wikileaks / Guantanamo Bay / prisoner files / the Freemasons, his discussions with Pastor Tom yesterday (conversions and such), Yorkshire pudding, milk, Sabaton war heavy metal, Polish / Nazi stuff, and more. Evil personified!!! Then we talked about my worrying, radio, Kaili's sacred music, seeing Ivan / Mike / Eric with guitars yesterday, going downtown / to the storage locker or appointments, looking for a rolling pin, cooking apples, and more.

Called Chinese Eric to see how he was doing; we discussed quirky hockey stats, the President's Trophy curse, the penalty shot, NOT jinxing the game tomorrow, his surgery, blood pressure, what his sister Erica would be doing tomorrow, asking Nate about stuff, the Montreal game, hanging out early if possible, and more. Hopefully, it all works out and such! Amelia Myckatyn also added me to Facebook, so that's good! Later, I called White Eric to see if he was going tomorrow: he is not. EVIL!

Sunday meetings are VERY annoying!

When Eric picked me up this morning, I started ranting about how unfair Sunday meetings were / Mom being on Facebook, and he said that at least we didn't have to make an extra trip to church during the week. I personally don't care about that! As we neared the building (talking about DONKEY KONGA / CHIP & DALE RESCUE RANGERS / DUCK TALES), we saw Harmony driving slowly - I had to tell him that she usually does drive slowly, but I had no idea where Jon was. When I caught up to him at the crosswalk, I told him that some girl in green had waved at me; he had to tell me that it was HARMONY, and asked whether I needed my vision checked. Got into service and sat by Jeremy, who waved. Said hi to Christon (gave him the Cheeseburger Doritos chips), Emily T., Quan, Wesley, and others later - I unfortunately laughed at Randal's example question for Phil in baptism class: "Do you have to wear clothes underneath the robe?" UGH! Enoch said that it would be awkward if the robes were white - thank goodness they're black (from what I remember last time), and I told Wesley that the choir robes were now purple!

Got to the fellowship hall, and told Vivian that Sunday meetings pissed me off - I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR REASON! Said hi to Hung, who really doesn't like that daylight savings time is next week since we LOSE an hour of sleep! We also talked about my Facebook pictures and #91 Bulls. Talked to Andrew about essays and such, then talked to Hien about the "Mom on Facebook" thing. She also asked me how long it had been since I'd had Minute Rice: not for a couple of months, but it isn't because she got through to me! Let's just say that my houseguest has something to do with it because of his food concepts, haha. Gave Abby a banana third, helped J-Mak and Sonya look for Quan (who was right in front of them!), asked Joshua and Keenan whether they liked lemon (NO!), got some Nabisco Honey Maid biscuits for myself, and said hi to baby Micah before going upstairs to check out the new door... it was as Golden said, heh. Hien wanted me to help stop Nathan bullying her; I should have used his middle name Enoch, hahaha. Auntie Ying, Jessie, Sandi, Alexis, her older sister Carissa, Mattias, Andy, Anastasia, Ashley, Ramen, Shira, and Jesse were there - the kids had fun playing with toys and such. Mattias liked the slide!

I was reading some DORA THE EXPLORER to Ramen when Jessie let me know that a friend was looking for me - I wanted to FORGET about the meeting, but Eric wouldn't let me! So I told the kid that I'd read to him next week, heh. Eric asked whether I had any suggestions for lunch - not really, so we went to Subway to take out some food. The Committee Meeting was pretty boring - talked about "lost" people (I hate that), the upcoming retreat and how Stanford should be banned from the kitchen, programs, ping-pong / hiking / the prayer night (not going to any), Pastor Tom, the "awkwardness" when one small group doesn't gel in two months, Randal and Raymond's BROMANCE (dinner together?), Citrus going to another small group's activity (nothing wrong with that!), and more. Of course Jen characterized that speaker of a couple weeks ago as "awesome" -

Later, Eric had to drive Dylan home, who said he could get Deb to take Jen. We discussed those epic SLB nights, Tony, my laptop, computers, Craigslist, Veronica always wanting guests to have food, and more. Then Eric dropped me off at the Canada Line station - got home at 4:40, by which time Teunis was up. I got him to help me with replacing my phone battery while discussing UNBREAKABLE and IGOR, among other things like remote tech support with the Hundred Mile House server.

Snowy weather is BAD for driving - are you INSANE?!

I checked Facebook, and found this as Jenny's status: "In the span of one block on No. 5 & Westminster Hwy: 2 cars in the ditch, 2+ car collisions, and 4+ cars on the side with 4-way lights on. Oh, and an ambulance." Yeah, I don't think I'm going out alone today if I can help it, which is what she highly recommended! Called Steph to see if she could give me a ride to tomorrow's dinner (which I assume is still on), and she said she could. She accidentally called me "honey," which was embarrassing because Lisa was around, haha! Teunis called Jordan to see what was up - he's actually SKIPPING tonight's gaming / eating session unless people call to say he should come out (which will take him an hour), which is good in view of the weather and bad drivers! Then I called Henry, who is actually still in Winnipeg till tonight; accidental long-distance calls are AWKWARD!

Called Ada, who said she's planning to make it out to Awana today - well, as long as she picks me up and such, it should be fine. Nobody's called to say Awana has been cancelled, after all... then Teunis called someone who really tried convincing him to make it out to gaming / eating - apparently, this person doesn't think that the weather should be a problem because HE drives really quickly and won't need 90 minutes to make it out.

Throwing stuff away, toques, religious greeting cards, and kazoos

Interesting racks of the evening: DAVEQUAN, against Sharon B. [read this as "Dave Quan"]


Bingo of the evening:

SEADROME (83 points) - against Cathy T.


High-scoring words of the evening:

TABOOS (350 points) - against Tanya H. [two 5W]
KAZOOS (110 points) - against Lindsey K. [5W]
NAIVE (144 points) - against Sharon B. [two 4W] {a good deficit-erasing word!}
VAT (144 points) - against Itamar R. [5W, 3W used twice, hook off WO to make TWO]
VINO (120 points) - against Shelley R.-B. [5W, 3W]
RYE (142 points) - against Cathy T. [5W, 4W, hook off SEADROME to make RE]


I threw some garbage away earlier tonight (not toques!) while thinking of a use for these religious greeting cards / postcards which my mom "gifted" me with some time ago. As long as she doesn't make a big deal of things, it's fine... I personally like funny cards even for my religious friends! Called my sister to bug her about the usual stuff, haha! (updated her on baby news, too)


Facebook quizzes taken from Patrick and Steven:

Which pinup are you? My Result: Bettie Page. You love dancing. You are a true beauty. You don't care what people think!

What is your nickname? Leslie got Smiley. "You are friendly, and laugh when it is silent. You smile all the time!"

How dirty-minded are you? Leslie got you disgusting pervert. "You make me sick!"

What do your eyes mean? Leslie got Brown eyes. "Brown-eyed people are drop-dead gorgeous. They like to have fun and be carefree. They are very funny. You're lucky to have this beautiful eye color."

How gay are you? Leslie got you are straight! "You like the opposite sex."

New York performance art, annoying Luna, Dave Wong, and lots of wishes

Got home, where Teunis showed me some New York performance art - hey, if you use what's around you for instruments and a sense of rhythm, that's admirable! I believe he said it was called STOMP... interesting clips, that's for sure! Also discussed inside jokes in comics, DRAGONBALL Z / anime / Evanescence's BRING ME TO LIFE / the Backstreet Boys, Monty Python, context, Krista, tonight, Talk Like A Pirate Day, Kaili, videos, fun, amusing Facebook birthday comments, and more. Noticed that Leigh (Luna Lily) unfriended me on FB, but that's okay since we really didn't interact much. Besides, she very recently developed a very annoying habit of signing her status updates. Um, hello? We can tell it's you by the name at the start of the update! If she hadn't done so first, I might have been so annoyed by such habits that I'd have unfriended her in a week's time.

Birthday wishes: Auntie Tracy (in person), Christon (in person), Jen (in person), David Ho, Dawn, Sabrina L., Darren L., George M., Noel, Sean O., Sonya, Dave Wong, Andrew L., Hilary, Ellen C., Alicia, Julie M., Karen Chan, and Dianne. It's so nice to have a lot of wishes (22.7% of my FB friends) for a good day!

Kids' schools seeming interested / Christine Bennett / Auntie Teresa in dream

Corey's getting busier than ever, it seems:

[03:11:30] Corey: sorry, I was at a kids' school
[03:12:06] Corey: they seem interested, and had me watch classes... while I was there, another adult school I demoed at a couple weeks ago called me wanting to give me a class.... on Saturday, which TWO schools already have me teaching classes on
[03:12:20] Corey: so I couldn't do that... hopefully, they'll offer me something else during the week
[11:00:12] Flami: AIYA... busy, busy!

Christine Bennett sent me a message (along with poking / skewering me) on Facebook - I can only assume she saw my comment on Melanie's status, and decided to see how life was with me. Interesting times, indeed!


I had a weird dream in which my family was at Auntie Teresa's huge home - it was pretty hot upstairs, so it was no wonder that Pastor Fulton chose to stay in the ultra-cool basement! There were brown sheets (which seemed pretty crisp) on his bed. Eventually, Mom and Steph decided to hold an impromptu garage sale; there was certainly a lot of clothing alone FOR such an enterprise! (red sweaters, gold shoes, yellow lingerie, blue pants, etc.) Jon spied Dad in the downstairs bathroom, so told him what was going on - he approved, all right. Mom told Big G to eat some coconut tarts in a plastic container, even though Grandma didn't really know what they were.

When everything was set up, they told me to make sure that Ivan (in a suit) stayed in his proper place so he could draw people in. My insane laughter attracted a LOT of foot traffic, so then Mom and Steph got annoyed with me. Ivan, Jon, and I didn't understand: "You WANTED busy conditions at this sale, did you not?! *disgusted* We're going back inside!" Once there, we could hear everything through an open window. Steph wanted either Pho subs or an expensive meal for only $5, as advertised through coupons in the newspaper. Later, Grandma took all her unsold stuff back since she needed it. Not sure why I had the dream, although Auntie Teresa DID have the nerve to greet me and my brother yesterday by touching us on the shoulders! Ugh, I still dislike that woman! Oh, and Ivan was in a suit because he was leading worship!

You Have a Mischievous Smile

You smile even when you shouldn't be smiling. You have a very playful smile. You always have some sort of private joke going on, even if you're the only one in on it. You can't help but see the irony in life. You have a lot to smile (and smirk) about. People might think that you smile at unusual times. You can't help it... you find the humor in everything!

What Kind Of Smile Do You Have?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

This is SO me! :D

Forgetting bank cards / Iceland / Sept. 11

I went out to run errands today after I paid my Shaw / hydro bills, and had gone to one bank before I discovered that I forgot my bank card which I needed for the OTHER bank. So of course I had to go back home and grab it before going to the bank and the library, but I did get a free copy of the newspaper from the bus! Turns out that Steph saw me crossing the nearest intersection to my place - she was out for lunch with the parents.

While I was trying to get OFF the bus, a woman who couldn't have been more than 20 years old tried getting ON. I had to GLARE at her; to her credit, she said "Sorry" (although she didn't LOOK it!), and backed off. What is WITH people?! Now I'm at the library on FROST, heh. Borrowed The Sagas of Icelanders (Robert Kellogg, Jane Smiley) and One Tuesday Morning / Beyond Tuesday Morning (September 11 Series 1-2) (Karen Kingsbury) while I was here, too. The first book reminds me of Valdimar (genkobar) and Tryggvi (handofme), of course! The old Asian guy next to me is annoying because he asks questions of the staff - I'm not doing anything wrong, but what happens if I have to do my "double login" and he's STILL asking questions?! Edit an hour later: Oh good, he's GONE!

"I don't have to do anything, and she still thinks I'm a great teacher!" / Dishes and projectiles

After semi-arguing about browsers last night, Corey said he'd be back since he had to see his private student. Then I got these messages overnight:

[01:24:05] Corey: bizzack
[01:24:15] Corey: my private student thinks I'm a great teacher :P I don't even DO anything with her... she doesn't let me talk :P
[01:24:24] Corey: but if she likes it, great :P
[01:24:55] Corey: I don't even try to talk about things now, she'll just interrupt me. if there's silence, I just sit there until she talks again
[01:26:57] Corey: I gave her an article a while ago, and she says I'm "so generous" for giving her that, since it has lots of activities and things.... well, there's a website that makes new lessons about current events every few days... it's just from that :P so, I'll print out a new one of those each week, and she'll be happy, I guess

Sounds pretty easy to me, haha! I'm assuming this is the English teacher who doesn't even want him to prepare anything! Also got a bunch of email from Dylan / Jon / Kevin - Jon said we could get a bunch of stuff for minestrone and chili from Sunrise Market - NO BEER! Dylan called Kevin's email about food safety a "post" ... Called Jon, and things are still a go.


I had a dream where my friends and family were on a houseboat - not that I've ever been on one, but think Job's from ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT on a larger scale. Everything was out in the open, and it seemed to be a good arrangement. Cindy and I were looking after a bunch of kids who were painting things on paper - we had to be careful to make sure our precious stash of books remained pristine. After a while, my mom called me to do something. I argued that I was with the kids, to no avail. Turns out she wanted me to look after Grandma, so I took her to where the kids were... everyone could keep an eye on her! Afterwards, I went to my sister's bed to sleep a bit - woke up at 7:08, and again at 12:11 when my parents were out of there for a bit. Unfortunately, they came back!

Later, my siblings and I were trying to convince my mom to give up talking on her phone so I could call the Morrills to get them to pick me up. Jon and Steph talked on THEIR cellphones, but whatever solution they were looking to effect did NOT turn out. Turns out Mom was deliberately talking to the Morrills so I couldn't talk to them - when we found that out through a slip of her tongue, my siblings tackled her to the ground, and dragged her to a garden space on the boat. She came back wearing a purple-silver football uniform, but she was no match for my siblings. They handed me the phone, and told me to tell Eric's parents what was happening. I did, quickly. Then Mom wanted me to do dishes out in the open, so I balked. She ordered my friends to watch me, but they wouldn't... not even GRANDMA would! Eventually, we made a show of doing some of them - then we became aware of projectiles being launched our way. We got the hell out of there, and it turned out that Mom definitely did not approve of Jon going back to Regent. So she was taking her feelings out on whoever happened to be around, even if the most logical choice would be Jon. Soon after we got that explanation from Jon, I woke up. No idea why I had that dream!

Your Brain is Average

You probably aren't doing a lot to damage your brain, but you're not doing much to nurture it, either. In order to stay young and vital, your brain needs exercise, and that means novelty! Read more often. Solve a puzzle or two. Talk about a new topic with a friend. You don't have to go back to school to keep your brain healthy... all you need to do is challenge it a bit.

Is Your Brain Old or Young?

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

Saving hybrid animals, mice and repairs, Chinese Eric saying hi, smileys

It's the anniversary of the Kent State massacre in Ohio... :(

Had a dream where I was trying to save this hybrid animal from extinction - it had really shaggy fur, and was a combination of a sheepdog, fox, and zebra. Frances was also trying to save it, but these evil people were chasing us into the huge elevator where we were hiding. We closed the door on them, and then stole a bunch of coins on the floor where we got out. The animal communicated with us, and we could tell that it was grateful to us. Later, it was captured and tied to the side of the building. It broke its chain, and sent the house and itself tumbling down the mountain! Of course, it died in the freedom bid, but we didn't expect its fur to just shine in the sun for a while, then create a new animal or two!

Then I was awakened at 11:20 by Hester and the "pest control guy." He actually did some work (surprise!), and found a few dead mice under the sink and near the bookshelf. See, I told him a few months ago that I wasn't going crazy! Then the handyman showed up half an hour later (another interruption as I was trying to sleep), and said he'd be back later to check the wall. I listened to Hester conduct a couple of phone conversations in Mandarin, then she said not to go out because the handyman would be around today - the next time would be undetermined, so it would be no good. She also said to open the patio door since the smell wasn't good for my health - I figure it's coming from the salmon tin in my garbage can, heh.

The handyman showed up again later, talked about jobs and such, and then said he'd be back to put some temporary thing on the wall after he figured that it was mainly dry and not wet in there. Guess he's having lunch and finishing some job in another apartment! Well, we shall see about that. I figured that since I was getting interrupted all the time, I might as well stay up. Zzz... I also got an email reply from Steph about some family dinner and Mother's Day dinner - I really don't feel like celebrating Mother's Day OR the birthday, so I'm not even going to open it. Trust me, I need my sanity! Some people... *grumble*

But I got these messages from Chinese Eric, which at least is a good thing:

[07:39:30] Life is refreshed!: Hey Leslie
[07:39:31] Life is refreshed!: I wish i could have stayed in Van-city for a bit longer and visit you guys
[07:39:31] Life is refreshed!: :P
[07:40:17] Life is refreshed!: i left 2 days after the Canucks Game 2 vs Kings cuz I needed to head back for some emergency back here in HK
[07:40:39] Life is refreshed!: I saw White Eric and chatted for a bit
[07:41:13] Life is refreshed!: I am carrying new projects so i am SUPER busy!!
[07:41:28] Life is refreshed!: haha....i will try to manage and come online for often
[07:42:06] Life is refreshed!: GOOD to see the "BOYZ" get to Round 2
[07:42:41] Life is refreshed!: till next time......latez
[07:42:46] Life is refreshed!:

You Are Stable

On the outside, you are a happy-go-lucky person. On the inside, you are a lot more complicated than that. You are a bit hard to read, and purposely so. You don't want to broadcast your feelings to the world. You are quite mature, and you are able to give back to others. You don't have to make it all about you. Community is important to you. You like to stay involved and engaged in order to lend a hand.

The Happy Smiley Test

Blogthings: Learn Something Surprising About Yourself

Sunny weather, rainbows, butts, house color

Seems to be sunny enough to have the Awana park outing later this afternoon, and I should dress accordingly!

Got up today to one message from Corey, and two from Jane's niece:

[01:41:49] Corey: the dinner?
[01:41:49] *** Auto-response sent to Corey: I am currently idle.
[01:45:23] *** "Corey" signed off at Sat May 01 01:45:23 2010.
[02:10:09] *** "Corey" signed on at Sat May 01 02:10:09 2010.
[02:55:45] Corey: jhhhhjgnmhgbvn:'(kjnnhbgbhg
[02:57:08] Corey: kjj4567890-hghh hhuuujujuhuju


High-scoring word of the afternoon so far:

TENANTS (150 points) - against Trisha-Sky B. [5W, 2W]

You Should Live in a Red House

You are adventurous and have a passion for life. You want to explore new places. You crave love and everlasting romance. You want to deepen your intense feelings for another person. You don't worry about what others think of you. You are who you are, and you've given up trying to be someone else. You are quite persuasive. You know how to get your way whenever you want to... and you often want to!

What Color House Should You Live In?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

Teaching demos, feedback, stupid laws, and left legs

Steph was texting the score updates to Joey, since the poor guy (who got an internship at Ipsos-Reid) was stuck at Joe's wedding rehearsal - she'll do the same on Saturday night, since he's stuck at the wedding banquet! "People shouldn't schedule weddings when the playoffs are here, man!" Hahaha, so true!

I asked Corey how his teaching demo went:

[02:05:58] Flami: so how was the demo?
[02:12:22] Corey: ,kk,kmnkbkdifdoknkkkvnllkninnknnkkniihibibbnbib
[02:12:33] Corey: well, okay...
[02:13:23] Corey: I think I got a decent reaction from it, but I'm clearly not an amazing / comfortable / experienced teacher. I also only got through 25% of my material before running out of time (and the big thing was making them talk a lot, most of which was supposed to happen in the other parts)
[02:14:35] Corey: but the teacher (the real teacher :P) that watched me (not a manager or something, oddly) said I did a good job of keeping them interested, and kept their attention well, and used sentences like "when you have your own class, you'll get plenty of practice to figure out pacing, and new ways to teach" etc.. which sounds good
[02:16:15] Corey: but, I don't think she's in charge of hiring me, so I don't know :P depends on what she told the real boss, I guess. from what she told me, I'd guess she told them I'm inexperienced (they know that), but promising with some practice
[02:17:09] Corey: they also don't require teaching experience, so if my methods are good, then I'd think that's pretty good. I've gotten along just fine with everyone I've met there so far, and the boss (I only talked to her briefly on the phone) seemed friendly enough and spoke English really well
[02:23:03] Flami: that sounds better than the other place
[02:26:25] Corey: the other place didn't give me any real feedback... they just said "okay, we welcome you to work here"
[02:26:39] Corey: but this place is a bit worrying because they really don't tell me a damn thing
[02:26:53] Flami: oh
[02:27:01] Corey: the TEACHERS have been nice, but the people that actually work there (bosses or non-teachers) barely speak to me
[02:27:19] Corey: so it's been great with the students and other teachers, but I don't think any of them are in charge of hiring me
[02:27:27] Corey: it was also odd that nobody watched my demo
[02:27:53] Corey: I'm sure they'll ask the teacher her opinion of me at least, but I figured someone in charge of something would be in on that
[02:28:59] Corey: but, the online reaction to this place is that they're totally legit (most places are not.. for example, the job that screwed me over was actually illegal in the first place since the government has declared it illegal for foreign people to teach kindergarten for whatever reason)
[02:29:34] Corey: aside from that, the online reaction to that place was almost completely negative
[02:29:53] Corey: the only complaints about this place is that some teachers felt unprepared to teach there, just kind of thrown into a room with no plan
[02:30:02] Corey: and sometimes you don't get enough hours
[02:32:46] Corey: those aren't great, but I'll take issues like that instead of stuff that will get me deported
[02:32:46] Corey: those are actual normal work complaints, not illegal or shady stuff
[02:37:52] Flami: that does sound a bit odd, but the actual complaints about this place seem to be normal
[02:38:34] Corey: they rarely enforce the "no kindergarten" rule, but you get deported if you're caught
[02:39:14] Corey: they openly advertise that they have foreign teachers to attract students, and they openly hire foreign people (and don't tell them it's even illegal most of the time).
[02:40:10] Corey: some places actually have airlock type doors, so they can block inspections for a couple minutes before letting the police in, so they can ring a bell that signals the foreign teachers to get the hell out, or get to an older kids' classroom immediately
[02:41:16] Corey: supposedly, the police don't care about it at all, and generally put their kids in kindergartens with foreign teachers. the people want their kids learning English from an early age, so they grow up actually knowing it well. someone in the government basically doesn't like foreign people, and says that puts too much stress on the kids
[02:42:37] Corey: the law is pretty retarded as it is right now, though. basically, there's no fewer foreign teachers, and 99% of the time, the foreign teachers don't even know they're doing anything wrong. with this law, though, someone that doesn't like the school can report their foreign teachers just to screw over that school... or some government official can ruin the day of some foreign people whenever they feel like it
[02:43:12] Corey: they should enforce the rules, or just not have them
[02:43:52] Corey: and now, dinner part one :P then probably an interview for this school, but maybe just observing a class again, and dinner part two later with Jane :P


Trivia fact for Friday, Apr. 16: What notorious Revolutionary War figure is memorialized in a national park with a marble bas-relief of his left leg? Benedict Arnold. The sculpture, in New York's Saratoga National Park, is on the site of a fierce battle that was won by the heroic future traitor, who was shot in his gout-ridden left leg during the fighting. There is no direct mention of Arnold in the bizarre tribute, which is inscribed "in memory of the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army..."

Laundry and static electricity / Spicy sauce / PF Flyers sneakers

Did some laundry tonight, and watched COLD BLOOD again - I'm liking that show! Discovered that microfiber stuff does generate static electricity, so fabric softener could help if it is rubbed on the surface. Hmm.

[22:07:12] Flami: There's "lat jeung," but I don't know what it is in English..... "tobian jiang" used for ma po tofu. could be spelled in different ways.
[22:08:55] Corey: well, pick one
[22:11:56] Flami: you're supposed to pick one
[22:12:16] Corey: I ｄｏｎ'ｔ　ｗａｎｔ　ｔｏ
[22:46:49] Flami: nice font change :P
[23:05:44] Corey: it's not a font change, I just told you what it was
[23:05:54] Corey: that's what English looks like when it switches to Chinese language typing on me randomly in the middle of typing
[23:06:37] Flami: well, I didn't get that message because Trillian decided to freeze again!
[23:07:03] Corey: she has the English version of Windows, but has Chinese typing enabled, and you can switch between English and Chinese on the language bar. well, that just randomly changes from EN to CH in the middle of typing half the time
[00:33:07] Corey: Jane says that just means "spicy sauce"
[00:33:22] Corey: but she gave me something last night that was just called "spicy sauce," so maybe that's what I had
[00:42:16] Flami: yeah... I really wouldn't know
[00:43:34] Flami:
[00:43:56] Corey: I don't know, I don't think it had all that stuff in it
[00:54:54] Flami: that's the stuff I am used to in restaurants and such
[00:57:44] Corey: well I need it in bottles :P
[01:01:35] Flami: sriracha definitely comes in bottles :P
[01:07:17] Corey: you didn't say sriracha! but that's not a good one since we have that at home
[01:07:18] Corey: p;;.;ppl, juuuju bhyuu hj uy yu yyyy nmbhgty====**I'
[01:08:52] Flami: well, I'm sure other chili sauce comes in bottles, too...
[01:09:06] Flami: I see the rainbow-lover is back again :P
[01:12:27] Corey: and she just ate all my crackers, and got crumbs all over my arm :P I told her that she could have them... Jane's parents caught me raiding the fridge for medicine that Jane was helping me find, so they thought I was hungry and brought me food, even after they figured out what I was really looking for (Jane was on the phone :P)
[01:25:23] Flami: haha, oh no!
[01:30:45] Corey: my stomach is messed up today, so they're worrying about everything I do :P
[01:30:52] Corey: I think I'm fine now, though
[01:33:03] Flami: what happened? aftereffects from the bubble tea?
[01:34:04] Corey: well, maybe, but I've had tons of bubble tea with no problems... I got pretty messed up yesterday evening after finishing some bubble tea. could have been something from lunch yesterday
[01:35:25] Flami: what did you have?
[01:36:45] Corey: some burrito thing, I think maybe I told you about that
[01:37:03] Corey: and kung pao chicken and your favorite steamer thingamafuck
[01:38:01] Flami: oh, Corey, so crazy


Trivia fact for Tuesday, Mar. 9: What does the PF in PF Flyers sneakers stand for? Posture Foundation, which was the name patented for the sneaker's insole by manufacturer BF Goodrich in 1933.