Tatiana's Wanderings

Personality tests! / Assholes and fuckery! / Alychia Chan?! / Shaylen?! / Pako?!

Sat, 11 Apr 2020 23:13:37 GMT

From Julie: Lots of interesting personality tests from Individual Differences Research Labs to pass the time, all in one place!

PRODUCT WARNING: Jergen's Moisturizing Honey lotion is now banned from my apartment. The scent is way too faint for my preferences! UGH! Unscented is one thing, but this is 0.1% away from no-scent lotion!

I showered and did laundry today.

From Julie: Grant me the serenity to accept that the world is filled with assholes and fuckery that I cannot change, the courage not to be part of the assholery and fuckery, and the wisdom to know I'm the shit without shitting on others.

ALYCHIA Chan?! BAD SPELLING OF ALICIA! She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.

From Julie: Shaylen?!

From Julie: Pako W?

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Reddit Yearly Awards 1 to 14!

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 03:01:56 GMT

Me: Reddit New User!

( Year One to Year Fourteen, so far! )

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Fuzzy blue toilet seat cover and 2002 memories! / Coronavirus? NO SHITTING!

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 19:51:03 GMT

It's MARIO DAY today! :D

From Julie and 22 Words: Lord, no! Hey, we all love a comfortable toilet seat, so the idea of using a toilet cover shouldn't be so shocking. But this... this is an affront to all that is good in the world.

If that's a fuzzy blue toilet seat cover, I actually used to have one! When people were over at my place for a Fellowship prayer meeting in 2002, Joe asked whether he could use the washroom... of course! Afterwards, he came out and said: "Speaking as a guy, it's really hard to use your toilet!" Everyone else present wanted to know why, so he told us that it was the fuzzy blue toilet seat cover... holding it up while peeing created the potential for danger. Maxine's pantomime of a guy using my toilet was hilarious! :D

From Amanda: Coronavirus symptoms do NOT include shitting yourself, so there's no need to panic-buy toilet paper!

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Prayer, guns, meeting God, and trespassing! / Lipton Tomato Vegetable soup!

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 09:19:50 GMT

This sign is from Julie M. and Wish: Prayer is the best way to meet the Lord. Trespassing is faster! GUNS!

Lipton Tomato Vegetable soup! QUIRKY COINCIDENCE because it's Soup It Forward Day today on March 3!

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Best selfie, blue dragon on Google Maps, Bo Bun Hue, butter chicken wings

Sat, 01 Feb 2020 09:37:32 GMT

Before COFFEE TIME / BRUSSELS SPROUTS TIME / HOT CHOCOLATE TIME, I called Chrystal at work at 10:10 AM to remind her about tonight. I left at 6:50 on a 414 (which actually had the wheelchair ramp slope in use instead of the steps) to get to London Drugs on time at 7:30 or so. Unfortunately, someone caused a delay for me at Brighouse. Why would you try to start small talk with someone in an elevator who obviously isn't paying any attention to you for a 20-second ride?! No, I'm not going to respond to a guy cyclist's "hi, how are you, hope you're okay, ma'am" in an ENCLOSED SPACE, especially because YOU AND YOUR BIKE FUCKING MADE ME MISS THE FUCKING TRAIN AND WAIT AN ADDITIONAL 11 MINUTES! The elevator wasn't on the first floor either when I needed it to be! I saw the train pulling into the station when I had JUST gotten to the stairs outside!

Don't get me started on the three tall white dudes who evidently had something like "Well then! What the?" to say to me when I was running for the train at Broadway on the way home! THEY WERE OBSTACLES IN MY PATH so of course I had to BARREL into them, and I didn't even have time to turn and yell FUCK OFF! Or the guy IN the train who was blocking my path right when everyone got off and I wanted in. People, have some spatial awareness and consideration! Too bad they didn't think I had coronavirus! At least Mike found my text message rants entertaining!

I FINALLY got to London Drugs at 7:45, where Chrystal was waiting for me and wandering near the back of the store. We quickly decided on our default option of Pho Extreme Xe Lua, since Cactus Club would DEFINITELY be busy on a Friday night even if we'd bothered to reserve beforehand! (they made us wait for 45 minutes at my birthday dinner even WITH one!) We ordered a small #1 (special noodle soup for Chrystal), six signature butter chicken wings for $9.50 to share (although she only ate one - we split the bill anyway), and a large #30 Bo Bun Hue noodle soup for me. We talked about my trip (I showed her some photos), her nephews Benjamin and Ethan, Ayler / Hiero / Beckett / Fraser / Henry, my relief that Mom wasn't coming on that trip, the flight delays, toys, that gas leak on Chinese New Year, her sushi Chinese New Year dinner with family, Hiero's UBC birthday party and presents, Beckett learning new words, Hiero being sick, and work not being fun today. I got home at 9:35 on a 407, which I guess wasn't terrible for leaving the restaurant at 8:50...

From James: Might be the best selfie of the year, and it's only January! Cats and dogs!

I got a blue dragon as my home icon on Google Maps on my phone! I set my "home," tapped on the menu icon, skipped the commute, and tapped on the three dots which appeared so I could change the home pin!

Dinner with Chrystal: Bo Bun Hue soup!

Dinner with Chrystal: Signature butter chicken wings!

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Happy Blue Year / Dilbert human intelligence / Quandae Shanoah Stewart / ONTARIO

Fri, 03 Jan 2020 08:33:17 GMT

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND 2020, EVERYONE! NEW YEAR, NEW DECADE!

FINALLY HOME AFTER A FLIGHT! I left the house with Steph after thumping my suitcase up the stairs from the guestroom, hugged the kids, and Steph noticed Havarti was sad because she knows what a suitcase means. We drove 45 minutes to the airport; why WOULD she take a $20 or $30 toll road to save one minute?! I hugged her goodbye, then got selected for a pat-down because I accidentally left my phone in my pocket. UGH! At least a kind employee got me a zoomer to go all the way to my YYZ gate after the elevator! The flight itself was uneventful - I was seated in front with the babies and children, but played with my new friend, the year-old baby boy next to me.

White Eric picked me up as advertised after I landed at 2 today. Wow, time change! Haha. I had to walk the length and breadth of YVR because the outside exit for domestic arrivals was all the way at the front. Sweating for sure! I was home by 3, and everything seemed okay, but THE MICE MANAGED TO CHEW THROUGH THE STEEL WOOL IN THE BATHROOM?! YUCK!

At 12 AM the night before New Year's Eve, it will be Ramones time. It will be 2020, 24 hours to go. I wanna be sedated!

From The Onett Times: Happy Blue Year!

From Not Always Right: Dilbert says, "I have now officially lost all faith in human intelligence."

Quandae Shanoah Stewart?!

( ONTARIO TRIP! )

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SUNDAY DINNER 2019 with Belgian food! / Coasters and gibberish! / Santa's Sac!

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 22:26:26 GMT

After COFFEE TIME, I went out at 2:40 on a 401 to a sick Jeremy's for Jon's birthday dinner since Eric could give me a ride home after UBC hockey and helping in the kitchen. I bought on-sale Knorr Sidekicks in Chicken and Broccoli rice and pasta / Homestyle Cheddar / Chicken Fried Rice, some high-visibility fluorescent yellow-green stickers and slap bracelet straps from Dollar Land (FINALLY!), some 100 mL Vaseline lotion in the yellow tube for Ontario from Shoppers Drug Mart, and a small bag of NEW on-sale Takis Outlaw snacks from Buy-Low for the Gwei-Lo at Kingsgate Mall since I got there at 3:20. I managed to get to Jeremy's at 4:35 after cutting through Dude Chilling Park, and Ayler wasn't even there yet to lock me out like he did last year! Eric sent me a text while I was there to ask if I was here yet... crazy! I did give him his Windel Advent calendar and Delecto dark chocolate assortment, and gave Jeremy his Windel Advent calendar too.

The kids got there a while later; Harmony said she was glad I was there already because then I could help her watch Beckett and take him from Jesse later on when he needed a break. Yeah, I let him look at the big screen for a minute - that's not going to get him addicted! Jeremy said there were some unsafe things for babies behind the chairs - yes, I could see wires! Beckett toddled around and wanted to turn off the computer, which Ayler thought was a touchscreen again. I let Beckett touch my fuzzy purple Alia winter coat, go up on the couch (but NOT touch the Japanese painting), hold my hands as he walked around, spout gibberish about the glass table (he can see the carpet!) and point at the lights and new things, and give me all the beer coasters a few times over.

Yes, he could throw those around if he wanted to, but NOT the candles or anything else! NOT SUITABLE PROJECTILES! He was also eventually curious about Jeremy's beard, like Ayler and Hiero had been. Ayler was smart and knew that I would have Advent calendars for them. He has a bonus dragon book since HE is a DRAGON too! The Santa stuffed dog was in my bag later when I got home, but I can give it to Beckett before my trip. Hiero wanted to be Batman or Superman in front of everyone.

I was civil and polite to Raymond when he was in the way and admiring Jeremy's bookshelf while I wanted to get my UTHER book from my bag to show Trish later, and also when I handed him some dishes that needed to be washed. Caught up with Caleb (I saw his uncle William recently!), Becky, Alice, Jeremy, Randal, Jesse, Trish, Lanie, and Christon for sure. (Ayler's math prowess / the Japanese soldier who refused to surrender until his commanding officer said so / my upcoming trip / writing / Jacob's Well / SERVANTS / the Spain honeymoon / buying a new place and moving / a rice cooker / the microwave / Jeremy seeing Steph in the newspaper as a random RCMP officer and confirming with Jon)

I met Jon's friend Mallory, noticed that his friend Jay had a "scent" about him, and "met" his friends Chris and Mallory. Since we all had to leave an hour or so earlier because Jeremy was feeling under the weather (bad timing as he got sick from his co-workers yesterday!), Eric and I actually left at 9 or so! We talked about gluten-free ice cream sandwiches being good for his mom and brother, his staying home at Christmas, FIRE EMBLEM, and a raccoon being outside near the dumpster when we got to my place at 9:30. (it was a milk jug...)

Trappiste Rochefort beer!

Santa's Sac beer, haha!

( Food and safety and more! )

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Muff, Donegal, Ireland?! / Hummingbirds and woodpeckers / Messiah Booker?!

Sat, 16 Nov 2019 03:58:58 GMT

Steph sent me a Facebook message wondering if December 19 to January 1 was okay for the Ontario trip, or if I had New Year's Eve parties back home to attend, saying that she and Lisa have low-key New Year's celebrations themselves. That's actually great, since she thinks the airports won't be too crazy on those particular dates! WOO! TIME TO POST A BUNCH OF PLACEHOLDERS!

Muff, Donegal, Ireland?!

From Janina and The Crypto Naturalist: Hummingbirds shall sip nectar from this flower in a silent ballet. Woodpeckers: I'M GOING TO STAB THE BUGS OUTTA THIS TREE WITH MY FACE-KNIFE!!!

From Crime Watch Daily: Messiah Booker?!

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Tyheisah?! / ENCHANTED FOREST penis cake! / Go find your own place!

Sat, 16 Nov 2019 03:24:55 GMT

From Julie M. and DR. PHIL: Tyheisah?!

From a 2012 conversation with Jamie and Matt on birthday cakes, tree birthday cake, and penis cake: ENCHANTED FOREST cake on Flickr!

For context: The FINAL FANTASY IV Troia swimming girls GO FIND YOUR OWN PLACE picture!

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$40 hot dog leggings?! / Jada as Jay Duh, Ci'Ona, Ontario, and Nana as Naw Naw?!

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 20:43:12 GMT

After COFFEE TIME, the EcoClean cleaner came at 11:30 AM today, saying that it was a busy day and people didn't show up. Oh no! At least I remembered to tell her about the area under the sink! Total vacuuming, sink cleaning, and some minor tidying and dusting and wall cleaning by 1:20 - woo! Good thing I didn't let Chinese Eric take the parking pass on the 2nd!

From Julie M. and Dietz and Watson: Hot dog leggings for $40?!

From Julie: Jada?! It's pronounced as Jay-Duh!

From Julie: Ci'Ona?! Reminds me of Hon's sister Cien and Cimona's in Steveston!

From Julie: Ontario is a human guy name?!

From Julie: Nana pronounced as Naw Naw?!

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OMW is stupid and lazy! / Hot and sour soup noodles! / FACEPALM SHUNK! CRAP!

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 04:54:36 GMT

From Discord on August 15, 2019: OMW is a pretty stupid and lazy abbreviation - just spell out ON MY WAY! You could do that for EXCITED and ANNIVERSARY! Also, nobody cares about your anniversary gift to your husband: cotton socks with pets on them.

In the big Corelle bowl, we have hot and sour soup noodles!

All-Chinese package of Knorr hot and sour soup mix!

From Not Always Right: FACEPALM! Crap... wrong hand... SHUNK!

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Books you can wear! DRESS! / Dalton Thrower North Van?! / Jujhar Khaira Surrey?!

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 05:32:55 GMT

Today is National Watermelon Day! :D

From Krista and Michael King: Books you can wear! A book dress!

Dalton Thrower is from North Vancouver?!

Jujhar Khaira is from Surrey?!

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Electricity puns in comic form! / Hell and laptop sleeves! / Tiit Helimets?!

Wed, 29 May 2019 00:56:27 GMT

I showered today, and noticed that I can actually read the names and numbers on my Caller ID for the first time since my eye surgery on the 8th - NICE!

From Nita: Sparky! Your mother and I are SHOCKED at your CURRENT behavior! Until you learn to CONDUCT yourself properly, you're GROUNDED!

From Julie: Since they don't make handbaskets anymore, we'll probably go to Hell in a laptop sleeve or something.

From Bored Panda: Tiit Helimets?!

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Allyson Romedy?! / Tyren, Bray, Deshay, Deshane, and Ajai?!

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 21:09:36 GMT

I discovered redrum this morning - UGH! Then again, I planned for it because of my other eye surgery on May 8 and then staying at Deb and Dylan's... so hopefully, it won't show up during this time!

From Reddit and r/UnresolvedMysteries: Allyson Romedy?! BAD SPELLING OF ALLISON! Reminds me of a REMEDY!

From Julie: Tyren?! Pronounced like Tyrannosaurus?!

From Julie: Bray, Deshay, and Deshane?! Reminds me of Uncle Eric's naming his kids Erin, Derek, and Darren. Also, Bray reminds me of a misspelled BREY from DRAGON WARRIOR 4!

From Julie: Ajai?!

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Golden Knights game hangout at Jeremy's with Chinese Eric! NEW FLOORING!

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 19:32:54 GMT

Yesterday, I called Chinese Eric to see if he could give me a ride to Jeremy's or back home. He called me back on his lunch break (at 1:20 BEFORE I left to see Rachel), and he was planning to take transit to work at the Art Gallery and then go straight to Jeremy's. I hoped Kevin could drive me to Broadway Station again since white Eric can't make it because of his hockey commitments! I had to leave really early for Jeremy's place because I had to walk to Brighouse station - thanks, endless sewer upgrades and construction! Luckily, I found an in-service bus stop at Alderbridge, so I killed time at Shoppers, buying Korean BBQ Kettle Chips x3 and some Nair. FUCKING JIMMY! Got to Dude Chilling Park at 6:10, which was slightly early. Kingsgate Mall was closing, too.

I met up with Jeremy (so we could all see his new flooring / baseboards and test some marbles on it), Christon, Kevin, Chinese Eric, and Randal. Christon made some pulled pork, chicken and coleslaw. We had my Indomie Mi Goreng chips / various beers (like the cocoa / vanilla Winter Ale) / salsa / Que Pasa chips, called Eric Ho to see where he was, figured out the long wifi password (which Jeremy didn't think much of at first - but then realized he'd never seen me with a smartphone before), discussed my eye surgeries and Jeremy's nose surgery / Huawei / the Rugby Sevens / Uniqlo / Muji / Daiso / real estate / wedding planning / people with 4400 to 5000 Facebook friends, the Lucky Charms Saturday Morning beer for St. Patrick's Day, and waited for Jon to get there even later. I wanted to go home at 10, but nope - I had to wait for 45 more minutes, despite Chinese Eric wanting to head home right after the game ended at 9:30!

Jeremy loved the blurb for the Lucky Charms beer and laughed at it, at least! Kevin did indeed drive me to Broadway Station, while Jon and Chinese Eric got rides back home from Randal. Yeah, that wasn't too bad. I ended up getting home at around midnight on a 401 (passing up a 407 at Brighouse), and was surprised that I was still somewhat awake, since I'd gone to bed at 9:45 yesterday. I did make myself some hot chocolate to warm up from the cold weather. The Canucks played the Knights at 7 tonight, and lost 6-2. Not good if it was 5-1 at the end of the first... 3-0 after the first twelve minutes!

DUDE CHILLING PARK! No longer Guelph Park!

From CFOX: AC/DC beer! Australian hard rock, brewed in Germany!

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Rayne as a girl, Kheisha, Keke as a girl, Lamon'tre, Amon'tre, and Treasure?!

Fri, 21 Dec 2018 05:39:10 GMT

I called Chrystal at work at 10:50 AM to confirm for tomorrow night at 7:30 at the Broadway London Drugs, especially since there hasn't been any snow yet! WE ARE SO ON! The Canucks played the Blues at 7 tonight, and won 5-1!

From Julie M. and DR. PHIL: This Rayne is a baby girl?! BAD SPELLING!

From Julie: Kheisha?! Even Kesha would be better because it's a more intuitive spelling... BAD SPELLING!

From Julie: This black Keke is a girl?!

From Julie: Lamon'Tre and Amon'Tae?! A boy and a girl?!

From Julie: Treasure?! She clearly looks black, yet claims to be Caucasian and does not like African-Americans...

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Pepper Lunch with Auntie Catherine! / Nando's Chicken as a birthday dinner!

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 01:33:00 GMT

IT IS MY BIRTHDAY. BOW DOWN TO THE FIRE DRAGON!

Since Auntie Catherine wanted to change our lunch at Pepper Lunch (which I have always wanted to try - Japanese Teppanyaki cuisine!) from Saturday the 15th to today at 11 because she has a doctor appointment in Richmond anyhow, I was semi-amenable to that prospect. I left at 10:45, but had to wait a while because she was at least 15 minutes late. I thought she'd be coming from Brighouse Station, but nope - she had driven instead! The manager seemed very friendly and personable, and helped me cook my raw rare Angus beef steak, green beans, bean sprouts, and carrots in the sizzling iron pan (which came with rice): I even got free miso soup and a free mango mochi for dessert since it was my birthday! Auntie Catherine and I talked about Frances and her baptism (ha ha ha), Auntie Emily / Ellen / Andrew / Brian, prayer for the meal (I guess...), hugs hello AND goodbye, Steph, and the Translink website being largely good for trip planning. (North Van to No. 2 and Francis? Sure, why not...)

I left at 4:20 for Oakridge Station (just managing to catch the 407) to meet Mom and Dad, who were really late. We went to Nando's on West 41st, and talked about garlic bread / spiciness level for the chicken / roasted peppers / Ayler wanting to puncture the napkins with his fork / Ayler almost stabbing me with his fork / cleaning / tips / Patsy Hui (Aaron and Denise Hui's mom) being related to Uncle Stanley and Auntie Vonnie / all the buses going by / real estate. I finally got home at 7:35 on a 407. PHEW!

Mom, to Jon: "How much money did you raise last night?" Jon and I heard, "How much money did you WASTE last night?" Mom also called a wristwatch a WRISTBAND, but it's kinda similar-ish...

Random stuff from Mom and Dad: A Colgate toothbrush, 95 mL of Colgate Cavity Protection toothpaste which expires in April 2020, a Joe Fresh wristwatch already set to the correct time, a broken Cadbury Fruit and Nut dark chocolate bar (not that it matters), nine Halloween puffy skull stickers, a religious Gratitude Journal with a tree on the cover, and a Michaels ruled journal with an L on it.

A Michaels spiral notebook with speech bubbles on it plus a bonus pen, a set of Paper Mate Ink Joy Candy Pop! ballpoint pens (orange / red / black / purple / green / light blue / pink / dark blue), and a birthday card ("YOU ARE... the [green] apple of my eye") with $20 in a red lucky envelope... all in a Vitamin World plastic bag protected by a Sunmore Ginseng paper bag with handles!

Angus beef steak with carrots, bean sprouts, and green beans at Pepper Lunch!

A set of eight Paper Mate Ink Joy Candy Pop! ballpoint pens (orange / red / black / purple / green / light blue / pink / dark blue) which now seem to write curves better than when I banned them from my apartment in March 2013!

Cadbury Fruit and Nut dark chocolate bar!

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Playing bagpipes! / Shaka Licorish?! / Brystol?! / Breana?! / KK and Tyheem?!

Sun, 15 Jul 2018 02:45:34 GMT

Today is Bastille Day!

From Andrew M.: Would you believe it? My neighbor was knocking on my door at 2:30 AM this morning... Luckily, I was still up playing the bagpipes!

Shaka Licorish?!

From Julie: Brystol?! BRISTOL already shouldn't be a name... BAD SPELLING!

From Julie: Breana?! What was wrong with Brianna?!

From Julie: KK?!

From Julie: Tyheem?!

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Reverend Hobbit Forrest?! / Adonis, Tanika, Tierra, Ay'Vah, and Brittanie?!

Wed, 04 Jul 2018 02:45:09 GMT

I showered today.

Reverend Hobbit Forrest?!

From Julie: Adonis?! That should really be left to books and mythology...

From Julie: Tanika?! (T A N I K A) I almost misread that as Tanka...

From Julie: Tierra?!

From Julie: Ay'Vah?!

From Julie: Brittanie?!

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Covadonga del Busto Naval?! / Lakadrian is a girl?! / Zaevion?! / Asia?!

Mon, 28 May 2018 19:03:42 GMT

Barry came by at 10:50 and removed one more dead mouse (on a glue trap) under the couch, and set up one more snap trap.

Covadonga del Busto Naval?!

From Julie: Lakadrian is a girl?!

From Julie: Zaevion?!

From Julie: Salvatore is fine, but ASIA?!

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Ass-eating season, Volcano Chicken noodles, pouch technology, and perogies!

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 01:42:46 GMT

After I had COFFEE TIME, Barry picked me up at 12:30 and we went banking and to Price Smart. I got on-sale Earth's Own almond milk, NEW candy cane Hershey's Kisses, NEW Paldo Volcano Chicken noodles, JFC Curry Udon noodles, NEW Chata Chilorio shredded and seasoned pork meat with pouch technology, NEW Bul Jjamppong beef / seafood noodles, NEW limited-edition pumpkin spice Krema yogurt, Excel Polar Ice gum x3, store brand canned mushrooms x2, on-sale Prego mushroom pasta sauce, on-sale SunRype wildberry juice, and Vedan mushroom cuttlefish noodles.

Also got on-sale Arm and Hammer toothpaste, on-sale Sidekicks x6 (Garlic Butter and Lemon / Tomato Alfredo / Three Cheese / Creamy Bacon Carbonara / Homestyle Cheddar / Mexican Rice), GOOD TASTE dumplings (pork and celery / beef and vegetables / cabbage and chicken), bananas, frozen vegetables, Cheemo three-cheese perogies, Campbell's Italian Wedding soup, Campbell's Tomato Garden Vegetable soup, on-sale Lipton Tomato Garden Vegetable soup, on-sale Lipton chicken noodle soup, store brand bottled water x12, sriracha sauce, Marie Callendar's Three-Meat Marinara, and Stouffer's Saute Sensations Homestyle Pot Roast as a backup plan for Christmas. When I got home at 1:55, I paid my Shaw and hydro bills online. At least most of the snow has melted here!

From Shiv on Discord: "Be careful when you leave in the morning. It's ass-eating season!!" "Mom, what do you think ASS-EATING SEASON means?" "There's frost on the deck! Slippery!!! You'll fall and eat ass." "Who told you that? Who are you hanging out with?"

Bul Jjamppong Beef Seafood noodles!

JFC Curry Udon noodles!

( Volcano chicken noodles, Campbell's Italian Wedding soup, Cheemo Three-Cheese perogies, SunRype wildberry juice, Chata Chilorio pork meat with pouch technology, candy cane Hershey's Kisses, pumpkin spice Krema yogurt, and Excel Polar Ice gum! )

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Saturday birthday dinner, Dilys, Trish, Ivan, Communion glass on a Xmas ornament

Sun, 03 Dec 2017 21:56:18 GMT

THIS ENTRY IS ALLOWED TO HAVE NON-ALIGNED TAGS.

Tonight's menu:

Heirloom Bean Chili with Garnishes (cheese, rice, avocado, and onions)
Cornbread
Winter Green Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Quince and Apple Crisp
Agua de Jamaica
Dark Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake
Beer / Coffee Porter / Pot Filler / Gluten-Free Cider

After COFFEE TIME, Eric picked me up at 6:25 (he had to work from home today) so we could go to Jeremy's. I had his Ganong Delecto dark peppermint creams and Christmas card, plus Jeremy's FROSTY THE SNOWMAN Advent calendar and Christmas card. I'd also decided to give Ayler my old NIV Reference Bible (from 2010) for later in life. HA! Eric and I talked about life on the way there ("Christmas spirit?" "Well, I can't bitch about it being too early to mention Christmas..."), Wo's Restaurant, his not seeing Jon's new place apart from moving help, that Kwong Chow dinner, and his asking if I liked hot or cold yoga. Hahaha, no! I do know there are places near Jeremy's that offer it, though. We passed by the Boiling Point Hot Soup Restaurant which I'd seen on Yelp a couple years ago, too. The Canucks played Toronto at 4 today, and won 2-1, which I heard about later. When we got to Jeremy's apartment, I could hear what seemed like Randal pontificating on something, so I commented on this to Eric in a low voice. After hearing a little more of this "pontificating," I understood that it was the pre-dinner prayer. Oh well!

I saw Ayler and Hiero for two minutes as they were getting ready to leave with Harmony, and Ayler greeted me with "You should be here earlier!" Hahaha! I told him that Eric had had to work from home today, so that hadn't been possible. Then Jon said that I could have been there earlier had I not been too lazy to take the bus. Whatever - Eric had enabled it by being home when I called his cell at 2:30 to see what was going on after he hadn't answered my email reply last night! I asked Ayler if that meant he wanted to see me more, and he said yes. I think that's a good sign, so I said I'd see him on Monday. "And then Wednesday!" he said. No, that isn't going to happen! I managed to offload the Bible to Harmony since she had the cleanest hands out of her and the kids before they left. Later, Jon said that if I didn't hear from him, I should come on Monday - his student had been sick last week, so he'll call to see if the lesson is still going on. I also said that I'd sent Steph his address, so she'll send him that baby card with Henry (but I said "some mail") when she gets around to it. I gave Jeremy his FROSTY THE SNOWMAN Advent calendar, which he apparently really loved because he used to watch that exact FROSTY THE SNOWMAN cartoon religiously as a child! Hahaha, I'm glad that he really loved it! Of course he thanked me! He was also surprised at the pile of mostly change that I dumped on the donations table, deciding to raise my payment by two loonies and a toonie. (Jon's smoker friend Edwin left at this point, too)

I talked to Dilys and Trish about using Ayler and Hiero's leftover mugs (kid cooties can't get us!), wedding card / wedding thanks etiquette, early Christmas decorating / Christmas songs, Jesse's brother Hubert holding hands with a girl named Amanda at their first group meetup at a movie (that worked for them), Steph / Lisa / Fraser / Henry (Dilys had seen Steph and Lisa with my parents at a White Spot on Kingsway [?] while she was pregnant with Fraser), cookbooks, reading books, non-fiction, swearing around kids, hillbilly society, and documentaries after saying hi to a guy named Jonathan / Caleb / Jesse / Christon / Gino / Quan / Rebecca. Then I finally got a chance to ask Kevin whether he'd received the MEGA SUSHI email two months ago (couldn't do it at the Wo's Restaurant dinner), but he said that it must not have come through his inbox, then apologized. Nothing to be done about that!

Later, the phone was off the hook, so some people showed up randomly. I told Dilys that at the last dinner, I had accidentally locked Jon out of the apartment when he came back from taking the kids home with Harmony; I'd locked Jeremy's apartment door out of habit! I shouted over the music to ask Randal about NaNoWriMo, but he hadn't done it. He did say that there was a local challenge to write a novel in three days - yeah, I could never do that! Also, he mentioned that it was too loud with the music and other conversations. Not as bad as the Shark Club, man! I said hi to Ivan, who said I looked the same with my festive "jeweled" shirt and Santa hat - OF COURSE! Dilys asked if the clock chimed - yes, it did! Someone asked whether Jeremy had a VHS collection, but nope! He did have vinyl records, for sure! Christon told us about the Willingdon café $5 meal ministry before he left early.

Later, Jeremy was showing Trish some Christmas ornaments and decorations (including candy canes, which my nephews had recognized) on the Christmas tree. Lots of yearly ornaments and inheritances from his grandma! There was a bird feeder decoration from his grandma, and Eric wanted to ask Jeremy whether there was a leftover Communion glass there. Nobody heard him, so I used my existing NG lungpower to relay the question. Jeremy gave us a look, looked at the decoration again, and laughed - there was indeed a Communion cup! I had to laugh and said that Eric had NAILED IT! Ivan, Randal, Eric, and I talked about "accident" kids like Hiero and Ivan's brother Nathan, kids ten months apart, Richmond life, renting, his paying cheap rent to his parents, night shifts / managerial positions not being worth it for sleep / money considerations, the high gasoline prices (147.9?), Ivan's having to make FOUR trips to and from Richmond / Steveston to the Italian Cultural Centre because Stanley's wedding cake fell through (but they then got 500 different doughnuts from Steveston - PLAN BETTER FOR LESS DRIVING!), a pharmacist job, the new Shoppers Drug Mart near my place, the Richmond Centre Shoppers Drug Mart, patients wanting to set him up with their kids, my mom wanting to set me up with John Law once, how Mom acts when she's drunk (like the mooncake at Thanksgiving lunch 2007 at the townhouse - Kevin said that I had a good memory if Randal couldn't remember what happened WHEN HE HAD BEEN THERE!), Dad and others getting old, and the declining attendance at VCEFC.

I remembered to ask about the small group situation (Crossroads), but everyone in existing positions is overstressed and overstretched because there are fewer people around since they've left for various reasons. Awana is still a thing, but the leader-to-kid ratio is something like one leader to eight kids, as opposed to one leader for three or four kids like when I was doing it with Anita and Melia. The Fellowship situation may be starting up again with another version of David Fellowship, but lots of people have pre-existing small group commitments once or twice a month already, so the connection aspect may not be there if people only go to the big group once a month or so. Eric and I left at around 10:10, after I'd asked Ivan whether the church website had a livestreaming service, but he and Eric just chuckled - nope, probably not, although I do remember that they record the services and put them up at some point during the week.

When we left after I had drunken trouble with my winter jacket (Jeremy laughed - but I did thank him for hosting and all of that), Eric wondered if I'd had an enjoyable evening - I had, and so had he. He reminded himself not to go into robot mode, and I reminded him again when we got near that important turn-off. In the parking lot at 10:30, I asked what it meant if the computer restarted randomly or Windows didn't start up properly some of the time. I'm sure it could be a number of things, but I didn't want to set up something right then. He isn't even going to church tomorrow because he has a lot of work to do! I'll just email him later sometime, but it is time for bed now! Yep, Jimmy seems odd in the "wait a minute - why are you not saying anything?" way, but it's best to leave that alone.

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