Right or Left

I looked at the clock last night; it read 9:46pm. I was feeling a bit grumpy/groggy because I was feeling tired...and I thought, (not joking here), "It's getting late... I should go to bed soon..."

Never....(I think) have I ever thought, that I would think those thoughts (because I'm normally a night owl)... especially during the summer time....in the middle of August.
Its cause of new things in my life, praise God. I'll talk more about it in the future when I have more time.

Just noticed this week that Strida bikes are now available in Canada.
AAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How long have they been available for?!?!?!? I never got an email from them saying they were (I signed up on their mailing list last year)!!!!! I..... really..... want one.... would make commuting so much easier.... less walking anyways.... But the cost has to be justified.

How long would this bicycle last me for? How difficult is it in a hilly place like Vancouver? How often would I have to check the brakes? What if it's raining? What if I can't lug it around and have to leave it somewhere (eg. classrooms)? What about safety on the roads? What about it being a target for thieves (cause it's so cool... and convenient!)?

But the cost.... eeergh....

I could get a junky cheap car, which would be far more convenient than this super expensive (and nifty!) bike. But that would mean insurance costs.... gas... tuneups.... possible replacement parts.... parking... lots of responsiblity...

And I'll have a U-Pass (oh man, I miss it so much.....~$25/month VS. $18 alone in 1-Zone ticket books) so then what good would a car do? Decisions. Or I could just do without both, which is the most likely thing to happen. I really want a Strida though.

Thoughts still mingle in my head, because it's so true- the short version is (I'll try to write the long version in the future) am I living for now, the temporary-now that passes in a literal instant? Or am I living for eternity, what matters and will last forever?

Which am I? I still sometimes think that I'm living for a dot, meaninglessness (eg. see above wishing for a Strida). When I read Bible verses, I usually ask myself have I actually done, or am I the person that it's talking about in there- actually following what God's Word is saying to me?

Galatians 2:20

Do I really put forth all I have in my life for Him to use me? If one were to judge by my above paragraphs, then no. And I can't compare myself to other people. That's useless.

I watch the news, and I see tragedies in the local area, and natural disasters around the world. I think, I'm capable of doing something. What can I do? I'm so far away. I have my own issues to take care of too. But I can't get too comfortable in my life. That would be too easy. Have to think more. Pray more. Use my God-given common sense more. Oik...

Summer = Kill bugs

I don't really like summer. Let me clarify, I think the time of summer is great. The weather and temperature of summer is not so great. Reason being, bugs. And I don't like bugs. So then what happens? I get revenge.

Electrocute the bugs, (in this case an annoying-non-stop-buzzing housefly, usually they're moths or craneflies), then drown them in a pool of cool water!!! That's "a bug's life!" Hahaha, take that Disney, I mean.... stupid bugs!

I also don't like ants. Grrrrr ants. The are so fascinating to watch, I just don't like being around them too long. I'm going to end this now and go get something to drink. This was a really boring post. Sorry.

More Cartoon Fun

I had a good laught at myself doing the Dragonball Z thing, and when I stumbled across this site, I thought, "I could use another laugh!" And so I made this (see above), and laughed again. Tell me that's not cool! (You have to click on the thingy that says "Create your Simpsons avatar")

Even though I watch a lot of TV, I'm glad life is not TV, because God made life so much more complex, interesting, and abundant! To be fair, 24 is complex and interesting, but it's not really abundant... ok going off topic. I was wondering/daydreaming today, about why some things are so simple to others, yet so difficult for the next person. For example, after taking my mandatory core accounting courses, I still have no idea what amortization is, yet the rest of the class knows AND understands what it is. Or maybe you've played with someone who isn't good at sports and you wonder, "It isn't that hard to kick a ball straight is it?"

God made everyone equal, but at the same time He made each unique, with special gifts and abilities. I think it'd be safe to expand on Ephesians 4:11, that He also gave some to be cooks, some to be artists, some to be athletes, some to be musicians, some to be engineers, etc. But what about some to be leaders?

Now, for the record, I'm just thinking out loud, none of my ideas are concrete. Sometimes, I think that not everyone can be a leader. But at the same time, sometimes I think that everyone has some capacity to lead. And sometimes it seems really evident that some people are born leaders. And sometimes people are trained to be a leader. I think that's so tough (um, not manly tough like "grrrr, I'm awesome", but tough as in difficult.... maybe that's a bad word choice....), to be a leader. But wow, what a bigger challenge to be a godly leader! The expectations and standards are high, but I guess that's nothing compared to the results. Aaaah Heaven!

Currently, I've been reading (very slowly) the book D.L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership by Steve Miller. It's pretty good, but wow, what a challenge. Giving your life to Jesus, and actually following Him... thats huge.

Hat Perspiration

There was this one day on the missions trip that we were out and about. It was really hot, so I was wearing my baseball hat to keep the sun out of my eye. The hottest it got, I remember vividly on another day was 38°C! I got that information second hand, so I wonder if humidity was factored in or not.... or smog for that matter. Whew!

So.... on hot days, one usually sweats. I always sweat a lot. Anyways, The forehead part of my baseball hat, naturally started to absorb the sweat that was starting to drip down my face. Phew, it was really really hot! At the end of the day, I looked underneath the hat brim, and there was this light greenish/yellowish tinge that had a pattern that followed my sweat stain. And I could not figure out where this came from, or what happened. But, after coming back, I think about two weeks ago, I remembered, I was drinking this sports drink.... and it was lime flavoured. I had sweated out the drink! Hehehe....fascinating!

Why am I writing about this now? Well, according to the newscast, parts of the Lower Mainland today reached 37°C (parts of the Fraser Valley definitely got that high today). Our house thermometre right now reads 31°C but I know that's wrong because the stuffiness is similar to those hot days I experienced during OEX. Oh yeah, I wore my hat today too, and I noticed a gigantic sweat stain, and then I saw the greenish/yellowish stain from before. I'm going to go wash my hat now.

Random thought for the day: Life would be easier, if we had subtitles whenever we spoke. But that would mean, we'd all need advertisers or sponsors to pay for our live closed captions.... Hey wait, are subtitles and closed captions the same?

This post is irrelevant in light of eternity

It's been just over three weeks that I've gotten back, but I'm still adjusting really slowly. For example, I have a tendency to not look at traffic when I'm crossing paved areas... it was sort of ingrained while in country, that cars will honk and avoid me if I'm in the way/ walking in the middle of the street. That's how it was done. Heheheheeee... I miss that.

Nothing too "exciting" has really been happening; nothing new that I can think of. However, I want something big to happen. On the other hand, I'm so lazy. But I will. One step at a time.

I saw a bumper sticker today that made me smile: "Crazy driver on board."

My nose is running, so I'm going to go and catch it.
[rimshot]
Haha, couldn't help it. I meant to say, I'm going to go blow the mucus out of my nostrils.

.....and irrelevant post out!

Back from OEX

I've been procrastinating updating because in my mind, it hasn't really reached a priority, until about now. I've been busy trying to catch up with other things, cleaning things, trying to set my internal clock back to normal, etcetera, etcetera. So, I came back June 15. The trip I went on wasn't a holiday- it was a missions trip. It was great. To sum it up, it was intense, amazing, challenging, tiring, and a divine blessing.

Here are some pictures:


This was on the flight back... my first cup of milk in 6 weeks!!!!

I was so excited! Woohoo! Milk! This was supposed to be my "excited" face.

 

  
This was my expression right after I tasted it. It tasted like milk, but not like milk from home (2%) . But it was still ok. That's why I don't have a disgusted look, it's more like a "Hmmm.... eeh... milk?" look.

So, those three pictures basically sum up the trip! Nah, just kidding.
If you would like to read my update letter about what happened, or have questions, just leave your name and number after the beep.
 
Wait, wrong technology. Electronic mail me. There that's it.
God is great! All glory, honour, praise- belongs to Him. Ask me why if you don't understand. It's good to be back. But I miss it dearly.

Tum te tum....
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Gas has been at about the 114¢/litre range. Apparently, it was near $1.30/litre while I was gone.
And the loonie was at 93.76 ¢USD the day I got back. Crazy!

A Dormant Terriblelands

As mentioned previously, I will be away from April 30 - June 15. Expect nothing until then. Feel free to browse the site (if you don't see an annoying menu frame to your left, click here). You can waste hours of your life away on the gigantigism links page as well as you can etc etc etc.

Hmmm.. while away, I'm missing the Canucks in the playoffs, the Amazing Race, Survivor (actually... meh), The Office, Heroes, Spider-Man 3... But it will be worth missing!

Pray for us. And if you want to know more, ask me about my trip when I get back.

Until then, for the record, I would just like to say that "My Glorious" by Delirious? is one of the most awesomest songs ever.

Dragon Ball Z + Narcissistic Tim = Sad Geeky Little Boy

My hair was really long before I got a haircut this past week. So before that, I thought I'd do something fun, like pretend I'm from Dragon Ball Z. These are the results:

I wasn't thinking of doing a bunch of poses, I just wanted to get one good one, cause my hair actually looked great for once. Anyways, hope you had a good laugh. I did. It was funny. Hahaha. Not.
So much to do, so little time.

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Saw gas for +125¢/litre yesterday. That price made it to be a topic on the news too.

The Amazing Ethnic Race (8pm/9 Central)

(Don't feel bad if you don't understand my title - it's supposed to be a joke. A lame joke)

Haven't checked my email all day, been doing errands/avoiding the computer. Found out there was a bomb threat at SFU today via my inbox. Huh, interesting. And sad.

Speaking of school, I finished all my final exams this week, and I was musing on the bus, I can't remember which day, but in my 8 semesters so far at SFU I've had profs/lecturers/TAs who were:

- Canadian (caucasian)
- Japanese-Canadian ( not Nisei)
- Indo-Canadian
- British Indian
- Chinese (from China)
- Bosnian (don't know if Canadian citizen)
- British (don't know if Canadian citizen now)
- South African (don't know if Canadian citizen now)
- Canadian-Chinese
- Russian (don't know if Canadian citizen now)
- American (caucasian.... not 100% if he was American...)
- and a Honger
(Nov 22, 2008 - also add to the list:
-Mexican
-Iranian-Canadian)


which I find pretty interesting. Just goes to show how multicultural Canada really is. I really enjoy talking about race/ethnicity... it's fascinating to find out what cultural backgrounds people have, what common ties there are, and what are the differences people have with one another. Speaking of differences, I'll be the first to say, that yeah, I'm racist. I am one of the most racist people I know sometimes. However, before you try to start thinking up some nasty names to call me (I'm not Hitler-racist, I just make stupid comments/observations from time to time), I want to point out that I believe everyone is racist. Just some more than others. Think about it. Think about yourself while you're at it. It can be hard to admit and I think it's difficult to get away from. But hey, you should understand by now, that's life.

Speaking of life, my life to be exact (yeah, lousy transition I know), I'm going to be away April 30 - June 15 in east Asia. Going to be fun, so don't email me, I won't get it. Talk to me privately if you want to know more. I am more than happy to talk to you about it, even if you're a random internet stalker (althought you must be some real nutjob to be stalking someone like me).

And now to end off with something funny. I heard Jon Stewart say something like this on The Daily Show: "Four words you thought you'd never ever hear: Al Gore movie star"
I cracked up.
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Saw gas for 115 - 120¢/litre past week or so....caramba!

Thanks to the Internet, this can happen

Yes, in the previous post, I tried to pull a BWG. People are wiser than that. And I'm sort of predictable.

This post is about something that I find humourous. I was at school in a computer lab trying to do work by myself. But, then I wanted to ask someone about an assignment. So using MSN Web Messenger I tried to contact them. But, because the Internet was invented, it messed me up. And thus, the end result is a funny conversation. Note: I’ve changed people’s real names to their respective Elf/Hobbit/Orc (thank you Barrow-Downs!) names because it makes it funnier. That and I want to respect their privacy. So here it is:

----------------------------------------
this is what Tim says:
Melilot?

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
hey hey
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
nope

this is what Tim says:
this isn't Melilot?

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
Melilot is Nîm_Manslinger@msn.com

this is what Tim says:
hmmmm i see

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
lol

this is what Tim says:
Grishdúsh the Horrible passed me your email, Nîm_Manslinger@hotmail.com
this is what Tim says:
i'm assuming you know Grishdúsh?

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
ummmm no
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
8^p
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
where u from?
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
canada?

this is what Tim says:
um… is that Melilot you're referring to, Melilot Took ?
this is what Tim says:
and yes I am from Canada

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
lol yep
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
people always add me on their msn instead of her

this is what Tim says:
o ok..... Melilot and i are in the same class... and i was going to ask her something

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
lol add her then
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
Nîm_Manslinger@msn.com

this is what Tim says:
anyways.... sorry for bothering you!

~Pellaaeariel~ says:
i don't know her I'm all the way in australia!
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
lol no worries!
~Pellaaeariel~ says:
enjoy ur day!

this is what Tim says:
small world. ok bye!
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Well I think it's funny...

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Saw gas for 117.7¢/litre....

Grrrrrr.... Stupid.....

Sugar is great. Sugar is great because it is sweet. Sugar is also stupid. When I have too much bodily intake of sugar, it gives me a reaction. I think my mind starts to process things too quickly, and I do things without thinking carefully. Similar to becoming hyper. Maybe it's the same thing. Stupid sugar...

Anyways, last night while at the grocery store, I saw a car parked right in front, but the toolshed person who parked the car didn't do it properly. They went into the stall head first, but had cut across the other stall beside it, so about 1/4 of the back end was over the other stall. Is it that difficult to understand what the white lines are for?! I think it was from all the jolly ranchers I was eating about an hour earlier, but something inside me made me so angry. I don't know why I decided to do it, and I've never done anything like it before. I wanted that person to learn how to park a car properly. So I keyed their car. Yeah I know, idiot.

The guy came back just as I started (it was only about an inch) , saw me, and I just froze. I was in the wrong. I knew it. He just started to yell at me and went off about pressing charges for vandalism or whatever. Everything started to blur right about then. About half an hour later, after talking to police and stuff, it was settled (for now) and the guy will be contacting me about whether or not he wants to settle this outside of court. Stupid sugar. Stupid everything.

NOTE: Please look at the date of this post. Hardy Har Har.
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On a more lighter side, I've signed up for Google TiSP. Hurray...

Rainy Friday/ New links/ Sunny Tuesday

Here's a fun way to start a Friday morning. Especially when you have to walk a couple blocks to the bus stop, in the rain (heavy rain). There was a lot of rain Friday!

1. Step out front door.
2. Open umbrella, as you close the door behind you.
3. Watch your umbrella handle snap off in your hand, and the rest of the umbrella fall to the ground.
4. Look up at sky and see that rain is still falling.
5. Bummer.

I really took pride in my umbrella... sniffle. Barely a year old...
(Don't worry, it's still alive. When I came home, I was able to snap the handle back into the rest of the umbrella, and it still works. It just has some trouble folding back up though)
However, after this incident, I am considering investing in a really good umbrella.
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New links added onto the gigantism links page:

http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/ the local vancouver legend man - one and only Toddish McWong
http://chineseinvancouver.blogspot.com/ this site is about swedes in argentina (sarcasm)
http://schemamag.ca some fascinating posts, + dragon boys ultimate fan site!
http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedcountries generates world map of where you've been
http://anythingbutipod.com/ a site about anything but the ipoop. i mean ipod.
http://www.pdfonline.com/ convert stuff into PDF, online for free! narf
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm#2trillion 31 ways to tie your shoes
http://www.funny-games.biz/fingerfenzy.html finger frenzy, type the alphabet as possible - my best is 2.734 ... for now
http://www.noisebot.com/ some more funny. wow i just gave free advertising... again... someone buy me something from here too!
http://r33b.net/ everybody loves....the hypnotoad!
http://www.desktopblues.lichtlabor.ch/index.htm play the blues interactively
http://kevan.org/proce55ing/zombies/ a zombie applet thingy. fascinating to watch.

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This morning, it was so cold that there was frost on car windows, and I could see my breath. By the time I left school (late afternoon), it was so sunny, it hurt eyes. Oh yeah, there was blue sky and clouds etc etc. It looked like spring. Crap.

Just a few days before, it was nicely grey miserably raining (scroll up). When it's spring, it means bugs are giving birth. And grass starts to grow. Which means I have to cut it. Which means I have to wander into PooLand and clean up his crap. When it's cold (ie. the wintry months), I get lazy and let Lance do his business wherever he wants to in the yard. Let nature take care of the cleanup. Unforunately, nature doesn't always do a good job of decomposing his stuff, and hence, we end up with a yard that I refer to PooLand, because you should only walk on it at your own risk. Because the land is filled with his poo.

My great appreciative thanks goes to God though. I've been noticing the grass get longer over the past few weeks as the weather gets warmer, and I make a good effort to try to ignore it.
"Pretend it isn't growing, because then I don't have to cut it!"
"Wait, its raining outside, I can't cut it!"
"It rained a few days ago, the ground is still wet, I can't cut it!"
...that sort of thing.

Today, as mentioned, it was sunny and it was still sunny by the time I got home. The ground was relatively quite dry. No more excuses. I decided to go and cut the grass. And here's why I'm so thankful - because of all the heavy rain from the past week, most of Lance's doodies were gone! Made my chore a little bit easier.
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For those in Edmonton, my heart goes out to you. It must have felt good to kick that twelve straight loss streak.... sort of....
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Been seeing gas for 108 - 114¢/litre. Wow.

I found a yo-yo today + Other random bits

1. It was in WMC 2230. I just saw it at the back of the room, as I was waiting for class to start. No clue what the Economical Insurance Group is. Too lazy to google. Too lazy to care. Not very good quality (unlike those Yomegas a few years back), but very relaxing to play with! If you know someone who lost this yo-yo, I'll be happy to return it.

2. I went to use the facilities in the library today to, you know, powder my nose (pee), because I had to go. Anyways, I noticed the stall was being used because the door was closed, and all of a sudden, I heard this guy talking in there! He was in the library! In the bathroom! On the can! With his cellphone! I just shook my head in disbelief.

3. A while ago, I overheard this conversation with two gruffy/scruffy middle aged guys near the downtown area:

Guy 1: Hey how's it been? I haven't seen you in a while! Hey, you should really tie your shoelaces!
Guy 2: No way man, I've been walking around like this for the past 2 weeks!

Guy 1: So what have.....

[blah blah blah the continue to chat]

Me: -_-....

4. Watching curling highlights on TV is funny, especially when the skip yells.

5. I am procrastinating right now.