shuffle and draw (and cough up the dough)

So, I now own an iPod Shuffle. I sort of won it at a big long stupid pep rally at work. I only answered one question to win a rice cooker and put myself in a draw to participate in the final "weakest link" contest for the Shuffle. I proceeded to be the second strongest link, so I lost the Shuffle. Then, the winning girl said "Ha, I already have an iPod Mini," so I said, "I'll trade you my rice cooker!" and at first we just sort of laughed it off, but later she came over and said, "If it would really make your day, I'll still trade you," so I did and I was happy. People CAN be so nice!

I've also been having very many smiley days at work lately. I like lots of my customers, they feel like friends. Today there was this cute old Chinese man who was buying coffee to bring back to his friend at work, and he asked about two dozen questions to make sure he was getting his friend the most normal thing that everybody else always ordered. Which coffee is the most normal? Should he take cream? Which cream/milk should he bring? Which sugar should he bring? Could he also take a "drawing tube"? (He meant a straw.) Somehow helping this guy wiht every little detail just put a big grin on my face. What a silly yet considerate friend this man was! He was trying really hard.

Also, Aaron has just been SUPER nice to me these days, and it makes me extra happy.

I just noticed yesterday that our bank account has about $400 more in it than it did a few months ago, and this means that we are making more money than we're spending! Unfortunately, someone tried to break into our car (unsuccessfully) but we still have to pay the $300 deductible to get the lock and door fixed. *sigh* I guess the moral of the story is that the Lord provides, but it kind of feels like our success with money was all for naught. But it certainly would have been much more nervewracking if we hadn't saved that $400, so I am very glad for that.

I like this result...

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind. You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

I patted a fish!

My brothers (+1 girlfriend) have gone home, and now my house feels empty. =( But we had lots of fun. We went to the aquarium and saw really cute sea otters, and there was a little fish that wasn't afraid and I patted him. I patted a fish! It made me so happy that I did a little dance and sang a song until Aaron noticed and laughed at me and then it was over. But patting the fish gave me such joy!

Also, we started hiking up a mountain, but we were in a cloud and there was too much snow and our feet were getting wet, so Tobin and Karl played baseball with snowballs and a stick for a bit and then we turned around and went down to the bottom of the mountain and ran around a different park at sea level (where there were no clouds) and we found tidal pools with many many littel crabs. There were so many that when I closed my eyes that night I saw tidal pools crawling with crabs.

We also watched a few movies and played games like Risk, Settlers and the Bean Game. Tobin and Meghan bought some really good pop and gave us wicked-awesome chocolate as a thank you gift. I like Meghan, and it is good that she's going to be my sister-in-law someday. (This is unofficial but obvious information.)

I missed blogging, though. I like telling people about all the neat things I see and do! But guests/brothers are more important. I had a good weekend.

body language

On the weekend, my friend Robi mentioned that he tends to notice people's body language in restaurants. I sometimes try and figure out people's body language in my coffee shop. Today I met with an interesting and slightly disturbing puzzle.

First there was a man in his late 40's or early 50's. His body language was fairly normal: smiling, confident, relaxed, not particularly noteworthy in any way. He was accompanied by a girl whose age was hard to nail down, but she was teenaged-ish. Her body language hit me from across the room. She walked with swinging hips, chest out, chin up, and smiled too much. It had overly feminine results. She was dressed in a white blouse and black skirt, wore lip gloss and a necklace, but had a slightly unfashionable short haircut.

So here's what I can't figure out: Was she aware of her sexual body language? Did she just think she was being grown-up and sophisticated without realising its implications? Was she possibly even "with" the older man? Was she trying to hit on him? What was the nature of their relationship? Was it a job interview that she was trying too hard for? Everything about her behaviour said "I'm sexy and sophisticated and VERY available, hahaha!" but she was also obviously young and trying too hard. Anyway, it totally weirded me out.

a collection of thoughts on Mennonites (part 3)

Who is more ecumenical: the Mennonites who change their name to "Community Bible Church" because they see no need to hold themselves separate from the greater mainstream evangelical Christians, or the Mennonites who keep their name but seek out dalliances with the larger liturgical traditions (such as Roman Catholics and Anglicans)?

(a collection of thoughts on Mennonites part 1 & part 2)

pink and beyond

In church on Sunday, all the women got a pink carnation for mothers' day. The one I got was the exact same shade of pink as my socks! This was the highlight of my day.

I also saw a pink sunset.

Also, I picked/stole a stalk of tiny pink flowers to put on my fridge. Flower stealing is one of my favourite summer passtimes. I have guidelines about stealing flowers. First, the flower must be reachable from the sidewalk. Second, there must be enough of that type of flower that the ones you pick won't be missed. Third, they have to be quickly pickable so you don't attract attention (eg., roses are too hard to steal subtly, you'd need to use shears). The reason I can put flowers on my fridge is that I have this wicked awesome fridgemagnet that is a little glass test tube that you can put one or two tiny flowers in. It is possibly my favourite bridal shower gift of all.

I also saw pink rhododendrons at Aaron's Oma & Opa's house. At Oma & Opa's I also petted a nice cat and a nice dog. I laughed at the family people playing croquet. I ate grapes. I looked at bugs playing in a ray of sun. I got slightly offended at Aaron's Opa telling me that Mennonites pronounce the word "kielkje" a certain way when I had just said that the Mennonites I was related to said it a different way. I got included in the handing out of Mutti-Oma's costume jewelery even though I'm totally new to the family.

I also saw Mt. Baker again. For those of you who have never been to BC's lower mainland, it's by far the biggest mountain on the horizon. It's an old volcano, and it looks quite impressive. It's a little hard to see from Vancouver (due to whatever the atmosphere might be doing at the moment) but its hard to miss from Oma & Opa's.

It is nice and warm out.

I have 3 jobs I need to apply to before my brothers come to visit me on Thursday! My brothers are easily in my top ten coolest people alive list. One brother is also bringing his awesome girlfriend. We're going to have a full house.

avoiding

Hello all. I've been avoiding my computer lately because I think I have been spending too much time in front of it. To haul my brain out of the internet/blogging obsession that it was heading for, I have read a book (Stephen Lawhead, Elliot!), and I have done much sewing on my never-quite-finished jeans project. The jeans are complete enough to be able to tell that they'll be my favourite pair of pants once they're done. Super-comfy-o-rama!

The fun thing I saw today was evidence of a head-on collision between a toddler, a granola bar and the window. I was tidying up the store and I saw a huge pile of granola crumbs right underneath an extremely smudgy section of the window (none of which was higher than 3 feet). It was highly amusing. I should be on coffee-shop CSI.

yummer summer

Today somebody mowed the grass in front of our apartment, and we all know what that smells like...yummy summer!

I'm getting tired of all the traffic noise outside our bedroom. Here's the proof: Last night I had a dream about low-flying military helicopter exercises. Seriously. The only weird thing is that the helicopters looked a little more like tanks with rotor blades on top instead of like normal military helicopters, but I hardly think that diminishes my point. Tanks and military helicopters are two of the most noisy things I have ever experienced.

When, might you ask, have I experienced tanks? Let me tell you. At age 7 (1989) I lived in Berlin, and my family thought it might be an interesting cultural experience to attend a gigantic military parade on a communist national holiday. On this day I learned that tanks are loud. I remember trying to yell something at my parents, but they couldn't hear me no matter how loud I yelled.

In other news, I'm feeling much better. I can eat things! I even went to work today, but I had to go home after 3 hours because I guess I hadn't practiced standing up for more than 15 minutes at a time yet...I felt like falling over. But I'll be back again tomorow.

alphabet soup (plus graphic details)

Hello all. I'm sick. And bored. So, to avoid thinking too hard and yet still entertaining myself (and you readers?), I will do the Alphabet Soup quiz thinger, because we all love quizzes.

Alphabet Soup

Accent: urban Canadian (ie., the sort that occasionally gets accused of sounding American by rural Canadians)
Booze: fuzzy navels, pear cider, brown cow, and/or fun shots. and port. I wish I had more money to spend on booze.
Chore I Hate: taking out/sorting the recycling.
Dog or Cat: cat, in honour of Aaron's late feline Sasha.
Essential Electronics: computer.
Favorite Cologne: meh.
Gold or Silver: gold
Hometown: Toronto
Insomnia: not so much
Job Title: barista
Kids: none yet. hopefully not soon. but hopefully later.
Living arrangements: with husband in one-bedroom apartment on second floor with lots of windows, hardwood floors, and way too much traffic noise. did I mention the cheap rent? it's such a relief.
Most admirable trait: random enthusiasm?
Number of sexual partners: Aaron.
Overnight hospital stays: as a baby for birth and later for a random super-high fever thing.
Phobias: injuries to the achilles tendon
Quote: "That’s life. It hurts, it’s dirty, and it feels very, very good." - the most insightful thing a very SASy author ever wrote
Religion: Christian (mainly of the Mennonite variety)
Siblings: brother Tobin, brother Karl, sister-in-law Liana, brother-in-law Jesse. (I have a sister now that I'm married!)
Time I wake up: who knows? 9:30? my work schedule is so messed up.
Unusual talent or skill: super-stretchy cheeks? ...I once had the ability to make my retainer vanish from my mouth without anyone noticing, even if they were looking right at me. perhaps this indicates a latent ability for prestidigitation (sleight-of-hand magic)
Vegetable I refuse to eat: olives
Worst habit: procrastination.
X-rays: ribcage at age 7. turns out it was fine, nothing broken.
Yummy foods I make: brownies, scalloped potatoes, greek potatoes. latest discovery: apricot curry rice with pine nuts
Zodiac sign: Aquarius.

P.S. Do you all want to know how sick I am? (If you're not into graphic accounts of illness, please do not read on.) I puked. I puked up my entire dinner over the course of 3 hours. Then I puked up all the water I drank over the next three hours. Then I puked a phlegmy substance the colour of bread. Then I puked a phlegmy substance that was electric yellow. Finally, I puked a phlegmy substance that was a violent shade of green. I have never puked green before, although I'm assured that it's perfectly natural. Then I stopped puking. Now, 30 hours later, I've managed to eat one large cracker, half a serving of applesauce, and a piece of toast. I'm so shaky that I have to lie down every half hour or so. And I'm afraid to eat because my tummy is too burbly and I don't want to puke green EVER again.

doobeedoobeedoo

Today it was very windy, and the wind blew all the flowers off our tree. Now it's just green.

I found out on Friday that my dream job was given to somebody else. Perhaps this had something to do with the grumpy. It's alright though, I can see how the people they hired were better qualified. We were encouraged to apply when the job comes up again in 2 years, so I know we still made a good impression.

I am having a FANTASTIC hair day. I'm talking shampoo-commercial-quality hair. As far as I can tell, I did nothing different than usual, so I don't know how to have a repeat good hair day.

There is a crabby lady at work. She seems to enjoy manufacturing personality conflicts between herself and others. I suspect it's all because she likes to gossip and needs something to bitch about at work. Anyway, crabby lady paid me a nice compliment today, so I'm confident that she likes me and won't be griping about me behind my back. This feels good.

I only have 5 days left of work in the mall food court. The people are great (with the possible exception of crabby lady), but it's so freaking noisy and chaotic in the food court! I can't wait to be back at my own store, mainly because then I might be able to figure out what the crap is going on with my supposed promotion and training to be shift supervisor. I have reason to believe that absolutely nothing is happening on that front and that they just moved me to the mall to maintain the facade that "something is in the works" with my coffee career.

We had dinner with the in-laws today, and it was fun. We got to hear some juicy family gossip. I enjoy learning about my new extended family.

My mother-in-law let me cut some fresh lilacs to take home. Lilacs are our engagment flower (me and Aaron, that is). Now our home will smell pretty.

grumpy (but not sleepy)

Hi everyone. I've been somewhat grumpy of late, and when I'm grumpy I don't like getting all chatty on the compy. But I don't want my blog to be all "good" feelings, so here I am saying I'm grumpy, just for the record. I'll be talkative again soon.

a collection of thoughts on Mennonites (part 2)

ARGH. I just wrote a big post with this title, just to find that it has mysteriously disappeared. Grr.

Basically, to continue the thoughts of myself, Elliot and Paul, I'd like to comment on an event I attended yesterday that was put on by a group from Bethany College. They sang worship songs at us, gave a testimony, and dramatically read this terribly written poem with powerpoint file photos flashing in the background and the percussionists shaking their rain sticks. Near the end we were invited to sing along with three songs. The basic message of this event was "God is awesome, and Jesus will make you happy."

My beefs:
- I was uncomfortable because I felt like everything was being done "at" us instead of them leading us in corporate worship. The songs they sang on their own were simple and could easily have been sung along with. It's not like this was a fancy choir performance, although their vocals were strong and their harmonies deliciously tight.
- The whole thing was a little too happy-happy-happy for me. I was reminded (by contrast) of how moved I was by the crucifix at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal. Our almighty God and Saviour became human and walked alongside us in our sorrows and sufferings, and we are called to take up our crossed and follow him. This indicates a broader Christian emotional spectrum than just "happy" through "ecstatic".
- Direct quote from an in-between songs inspirational blurb: "You won't know joy, you won't know love if you don't know Jesus." What an absolutely snotty thing to say. I believe that God is the source of all joy and love, so in an indirect kind of way her comment is true. However, being created in God's image, we all have the ability to love and be loved, whether we consciously "know" Jesus or not, and no matter how incompletely. This statement really rubbed me the wrong way.

My ponderings:
- Evidently this kind of evangelising touches some people out there, otherwise people wouldn't still be doing it. So it must be good for some people.
- I know that when I was in my late teens, I felt nurtured by this brand of Christianity while working at camp (an MB camp), and so it is still a part of me somewhere deep down even if I don't understand it anymore.

on a lighter note...

Today in the grocery store I saw a woman pushing a side-by-side stroller with two toddlers in it. I enjoyed the two grins and the four actively swinging feet.

I also noticed some nifty blue flowers in an abandoned lot. They were that kind of vague and shifty colour of blue/purple that one more commonly sees in a field of flax...you know, that kind of blue that might look like a lake or pond in your peripheral vision.

This past week has also contained much comfiness and joy in our marriage. Aaron is my best friend. Huzzah.

Also, for those of you who remember my post "today I celebrated life and death," you should know that yesterday we laid Mutti-Oma to rest. She was one month shy of her 98th birthday. The visit I told you all about was the last time we saw her, and it's neat that she got to see our wedding pictures that day.

*shudder*

I just discovered a terrifying blog.

a collection of thoughts on Mennonites

Elliot wants me to post on the topic of Mennonites and evangelicalism and presumably fundamentalism and other such things. So here goes.

Some Mennonite churches are moving away from their Anabaptist distinctiveness (particularly in terms of pacifism, and perhaps also from the emphasis on social justice). Take the example of Portage Avenue Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg, which is now calling itself Portage Avenue Church. There are positives and negatives to be considered here.

Positives:
It's a very open acknowledgement that Mennonites do not have a monopoly on salvation, and that it is faith in Christ that is ultimately important and not one's particular denomination. Also, it is perhaps an acknowledgement that very little remains of the church's Mennonite distinctiveness, and the new name more accurately reflects what a church really is.

Negatives (mostly in terms of my own opinion):
If the church does indeed value its Mennonite identity and has only changed its name as a way to nab more unsuspecting newcomers, that's stupid and seems kind of underhanded.
I am sad to see the waning of emphasis on peace and social justice (which includes/ought to include ecological justice). I think there is a desperate need for such a witness by the church in North America and the West today. I'm not a huge fan of the mainstream American evangelical/fundamentalist brand of Christianity, one of the reasons being that it too often supports the status quo of the American government. One might even accuse Mennonite churches that subscribe to this version of Christianity as being too worldly, because their ways are more widely acccepted and even fashionable (see Elliot's post for a few Christian media and fashion atrocities), and are not particularly radical (as the Anabaptists have been called).

I don't feel like I'm nearly done saying all there is to be said here, and even what I did say wasn't particularly well-edited. Anyone who wants should comment, and perhaps the conversation will bring out more things to think about. It always takes me a certain amount of conversation or just plain blathering to feel like I've properly addressed a topic. I'm not much of an essayist, that would require me to be concise.

Happy Sunday

This morning in church I was made aware of two points that have no earthshattering significance but have nonetheless tweaked my interest. First of all, in the Genesis creations story, each day begins with evening. "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." Somehow I had never connected this Genesis reference to the fact that the Sabbath begins at sundown. I like this new perspective.

Secondly, God's creation of humankind began with a garden. God's re-creation of humankind at the resurrection also began in a garden. I think this is cool.

Today I also discovered a neat little blue flower that grows in some people's lawns. It looks like candy sprinkles on the lawn. I like it! If I had a lawn with sprinkle flowers, I'd keep them. I'd also keep moss, it makes lawns more springy and less scratchy.

The big news of today is that Aaron and I had our interview for the position of Residence Coordinators at this little Menno residence for UBC students. It went very well, and I even knew one of the girls interviewing us from my youth days in Ontario! They have also interviewed three other couples for the job already. I really want this job! It will be hard if another couple gets it instead of us. I know we had a very good interview and that they liked us, so the only way we won't get this job is if some other couple is EVEN better than us. Secretly, I hope they all sucked, but that's not very gracious of me.

silly plants

As each new wave of flowers come out this spring, it is wonderful to remember each of them and to marvel at the ones I have never seen before.

This week a certain bush has begun to flower. I'm not sure what it's called, but it is absolutely covered in pink and red blossoms, and you can't even see any green leaves! I remember commenting on this plant to Aaron last spring, laughing because the plant was like a young woman going out of her way to say "Look at me! Look at me! I'm pretty! You know you want to cross-fertilize with me!" I also muttered, "I don't know how that plant even breathes, it has no room for leaves."

Aaron summed it up nicely: "So basically, it's the plant equivalent of a corset: all about being sexually attractive but restricts respiration."

remember my Bjork boys?

Remember how I inadvertantly used reverse psychology to get 13-year-old boys to listen to Bjork? Well, today at our youth evening I glanced over to the chalkboard that attracts so many doodlers. Lo and behold, those same boys were doodling "Bjork rocks" on the board! I can't believe they're still hooked on her a month later!

Anglican liturgy rocks my world

So, all my bloggish Anglican friends (see links to their blogs to the <---left) have written the same thing in their blogs for Easter, and every time I read the "call," I feel the need to respond. I can't keep silent. So, here goes:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

HE IS RISEN INDEED!

ALLELUIA!

In my church on Sunday morning, they changed it up for some reason and used a different response, and it was funny when the pastor's own wife, up front in the choir, loudly responded with "Christ is risen indeed" anyway! It's okay though, I did too. I always feel like a little school kid with their hand in the air when someone starts a liturgical call and response-type thing like that. "Oooh! Oooh! I know the answer! HE IS RISEN INDEED! Yesssss!" (Think Napoleon Dynamite for that last bit there.) I find myself muttering "Thanks be to God" all the time in church too. The Mennos must think I'm crazy.

the miscellany of yesterday and today

Yesterday was a good day. I felt like I got much accomplished! I did the laundry. I phoned my brother. I went to work. I ironed and cut out the pieces for my new sewing project (I'm making slouchy jeans, using my dead old orange cords as a pattern). I made dinner. Plus, I successfully organised a group of people to accomplish a bunch of stuff in that oh-so-addictive computer game World of Warcraft. (For anyone who cares/understands, I dinged 44 and got two 14-slot bags and a nice blue mace.)

Worst part of yesterday: finding out that without asking me, it was decided that I am now working THREE weeks in the mall instead of two. I raised a bit of heck about that, so we'll see if they can change it back to two or not. Oh well. I met the mall people, and they're all quite friendly and welcoming, so that is pleasant.

Today is also a good day. There is a tree outside my window that apparently flowers in the spring! I only moved here last fall, and I thought it was a tree with just leaves. I think maybe God designed this tree for people to lie under and look up. I think so because all the flowers face down and maybe a bit sideways, but none of them face up.

As for working in the mall today, I'm still not insane, so that's nice. I worked with a bossy and mildly abrasive Filipino woman, and it actually made me feel right at home! I'm so used to everyone here in Vancouver being white, Asian or Indian, but at one of my old jobs at home in Toronto I worked with a bunch of Filipino people. I think it's really funny when people actually fit stereotypes, like when a Filipino woman is bossy. I also think family resemblances are hilarious, but that's another story.

Worst part of today: stapling my finger. I'm pretty sure I haven't done that since I was five years old.