Buon Natale!!!

That's MERRY CHRISTMAS in Italian!

So, Christmas has come and gone. It`s one of the quietest Christmas I've had. 'Twas neither too exciting nor too boring.

On Christmas Eve, we went to the encore presentation of our church's Children's Ministry Christmas play entitled The Best Christmas Present Ever. It was a hit, just like last Sunday's presentation. My niece sang in the choir and spoke a bit towards the end of the play.

Then we went to our churchmate's - and family dentist's - house for a Christmas dinner party. The C's came with us and I mostly hung out with them. Other churchmates attended the shindig and we wished each other a merry Christmas. I missed MuchMoreMusic's broadcast of VH1 Divas 2009, featuring Kelly Clarkson, Adele, Jordin Sparks, and Jennifer Hudson for this party.

We left with Christmas gifts - mine was suspiciously shaped like Purdy's chocolates - at around 11 PM. We stopped by Shoppers Drug Mart for about half an hour so my sister could get the antibiotics that our dentist prescribed. Then we went home.

We opened the presents just after midnight, after a couple of Kodak moments (i.e. picture-taking sessions). I gave my nephew the Casio watch (a.k.a. Usher's watch) that he wanted, a $50 iTunes gift card, and $100. I gave my niece a copy of Rhythm Heaven Nintendo DS Game and $100. I gave Miss KC a $50 iTunes gift card and $100, because she only asked for money. I gave Little Mr. JC a Rex the Dinosaur collectible figure from Toy Story and $40.

And what did I get?

Aside from my mom's early Christmas gifts during Black Friday, she also gave me Ferrero Rocher. Yum! As I guessed, my dentist gave me Purdy's Hedgehog chocolates. Double yum! The C's gave me the Inglourious Basterds DVD and He's Just Not That Into You Blu-Ray disc. Then the A's gave me Stephen King's Under The Dome and Jennifer Weiner's Best Friends Forever. Yippee!!!

At least I got four items from my updated wish list. Hehehehehe... Didn't get the BlackBerry Curve 8520 or the first issue of Y: The Last Man, though. Oh, well. Maybe I can get these on my 27th B'Day? Hehehehehe...

After all the excitement from the gift-opening, we sat down for a bit of eggnog and coffee for the grown-ups and hot chocolate for the kids. Then I brought my Blu-Ray player to the living room so my bro-in-law could hook it up to his Bose system. Then we watched the He's Just Not That Into You disc. We finished the movie at about 3:40 AM and they went to bed. I stayed up until 4:30 or 5 AM, then I fell asleep.

I woke up at noon on Christmas Day and stayed in bed until about 1 PM. Then I went upstairs to eat. I went back to my room to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and the rest of the trilogy. However, partway through Disc 2, I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until 10:30 PM. I was hungry, so I went upstairs to get some food to bring to my room. I  continued the trilogy; it's now 5 AM and I'm watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Disc 1.

I must finish the movie, and maybe get some sleep before tonight's party.

Buon Natale! And Happy Boxing Day!!!

Gone Camping...

I've been very busy.

In addition to work, church, business planning, and LOST Rewatch, I received my course materials from SFU Writing and Publishing Program, and I've gotta get started on Assignment 1 that is due on July 31st. Also, I've been preparing for my trip to Washington, Oregon, and California. You know, writing a packing list (thanks, Google Docs!), actually packing my clothes and other essentials, and making sure my electronics are fully charged.

Yep. I'm going on vacation. Woot woot!

So there might not be another blog post until I come back on July 20th. I know, I know: I haven't blogged since Canada Day. Like I said, I've been very busy. Unfortunately, Blogger Mobile doesn't work with Canadian cell phones, so can't do that either. Maybe I'll try to find a Wi-Fi hotspot and blog from my iPod Touch?

Anyhoo, have a great summer and please pray for our protection.

Ciao for now!

The Official Countdown Begins...

Mark this date on your calendars: 21 January 2009.

I know I will. I, in fact, have.

On this day, I will not work overtime. I will eat my dinner shortly after I get home. I will do my BrainAge training early. I will be in front of the TV by 19:00, at the latest.

Because at 20:00, the three-hour season premiere event of LOST Season Five will begin!

It's official! DarkUFO reports that LOST will come back on 21 January 2009, at 8/7 central. Apparently, his source was the update on the ABC Inner Circle Twitter account. Who knew ABC had a Twitter account?

So, this is what's gonna happen in those three hours...

1. A one-hour recap special - Too many things have happened. I wonder how they can fit all that in one hour...

2. Episode 5.01 - The much-awaited "Because You Left". Who would be the centre - or centres - of the premiere?

3. Episode 5.02 - "The Lie." Wow. Who could be the central character(s) in this episode? Rumour has it that Hurley takes this one.

Another awesome news: for Season 5, LOST's regular timeslot is 21:00 on Wednesdays! Hmm... Will ABC move Private Practice to a new time/night? But, still. Yay, LOST is back on its old timeslot!

*Sigh* It totally made my day. I was so busy at work that I didn't know about this until I saw Doc Jeff Jensen's status on Facebook.

See y'all on 21 January 2009!!!

I Need Retail Therapy

This week sucks. I don't want to get into details, but I totally hate this week. That's why I need to go into a store and go buy something.

Like Best Buy or Future Shop.

Yeah, that's my idea of retail therapy: either electronics store, online music store (i.e. iTunes), or - the best of all - a bookstore.

Anyway, I've been wanting to get a Nintendo DS Lite, so I'll probably get one. I'll get the cobalt-and-black DS Lite because my niece already has a red-and-black one. Why do I want one? Firstly, Carrie Underwood, Liv Tyler, and America Ferrera have it, so I want one. (Hehe.) Secondly, I tried playing the Dogz game on my niece's DS Lite and I got the hang of it quite easily. It's so much easier to learn than my nephew's PSP. Thirdly, the games function of my iPod Nano isn't so good; the Click Wheel is so freakin' sensitive that it makes playing a game difficult. It eventually gets annoying.

It's not gonna rain tomorrow, so I'll probably go to Best Buy and get a DS Lite. What games should I get? Hmmm... I wonder if there's a LOST game. Hehehe...