Happy Momma's Day!

Following my previous post (where I had a little section about not knowing what the advantages are to having kids), I may have, today, caught a glimpse of what it means to be a parent:

At church today, two brothers gave their testimonies about their parents. They talked about their childhood experiences and reminisced about the special moments they shared with their parents. I couldn't help feeling that if I were their parent, I would've been filled with so much joy to hear them convey their heartfelt words of love and gratitude. 

Later on, a bunch of parents sang a song and dedicated a little message to their children. I can't really remember exactly what the message was, but I know it was something along the lines of 'As parents, we want you to love God, we want only the best for you, and we're sorry if sometimes we don't live up to your expectations.' They then proceeded to sing a song 'Make me a channel'. Totally unexpected, seeing as it's meant to be THEIR day, but it was good, all the same. 

It's just made me realize that it's true: Yeah, all parents want us to study hard, get good grades, be good and obedient children blabla the list goes on and on..but what they really, truly want, is the BEST for us. I think all parents get a sense of joy and fulfilment when that happens - when their children achieve what's best for them. Perhaps this joy cannot be compared to anything else, because you just have to be a parent to experience it. And maybe, just maybe, this joy - the joy of being a parent - makes it all worth it. I also think it's awesome to receive handmade cards from your children, no matter what age. xD

LOL. Even so, these are just a couple of reasons against a whole list of reasons NOT to have kids....hmm. :P

Anyway, we got Mom some flowers, a KindleTouch, a leather case for her Kindle, and a pair of bedroom slippers this year for Mother's Day. She went absolutely bonkernuts over her gifts, they were exactly what she wanted! :) Her new bedroom slippers have zebra heads on them and actually come with little front pouches for microwave-heatable wheatbags so they keep your feet warm.  Pree-tee awesome. And her Kindle..well. Let's just say she's got a learning curve to go through (and it's the first Kindle in the family so that applies to the rest of us as well! haha). So far, so good though. I'm happy that she's happy. :)

So here's to my mom, the greatest woman I've ever known: 

Happy Mother's Day, I love you Mummy dearest! :)

p.s.  Juuuuust in case you're reading this and you're wondering what has gotten me into all this talk of parents and children...just stop wondering right there because I'm not even contemplating the idea of having kids anytime soon. It's a hell scary thought, it's still a long time coming, PLUS! I think I definitely need a little more convincing. :P

Blog's still got a heartbeat

Gosh I haven't been here in a while.

This post will not be an update of my life in any way, but it will be of random thoughts that have come into my head every so often since the year started.

"If you love something, let it go free. If it doesn't come back, you never had it.
If it comes back, love it forever."
- Doug Horton 

True story, bro. I've seen it happen, and I can attest to it. :)

Sometimes it's okay to take a chance: if things turn out well, you will be happy; 

and if not, oh well, that's life - you will be wise.

I'm not much of a risk taker, but sometimes it's necessary when the situation calls for it.

And what better way to learn than from experience? 

"You'd want to be with your best friend when you're not in love."

This is something I hold very closely to my heart. Love is a feeling. It gives you emotional highs and butterflies in your stomach and makes you giddy with happiness, but if or when it fades, the person you want to be with is someone you'll love no matter what. 

Like your bff. :)

 "What are the advantages of having children?"

I always thought my sister was a bit over the top with her whole 'I-refuse-to-have-children-when-I-grow-up!' hoo-ha, but thinking about it more recently, I've only managed to come up with ONE advantage...which is, the amount of joy and pride you get in seeing your kid succeed in life.  But that alone sits on many many ifs. And succeeding in failing doesn't count. I guess there are just so many variables in the process that it's just scary. My mom says having children is always a gamble, you never know how your kid is going to turn out. My take on that is, (if I ever have a kid), to be the best mom I could possibly be in bringing them up, and hope to God that it. just. works. and my kid turns out fine. 

Lin-spired.

Jeremy Lin seems to be the big hit in the NBA at the moment, so I took a few moments tonight to check out some NBA news regarding the Knicks' win over the Lakers. One hour later and I'm still checking out videos of Jeremy Lin and his interviews. I find him truly inspiring, and I have to say my favourite part about him is that he is not afraid to be different. He made it known to the world that above everything he loves God, and that family is important to him. He also comes across as a very humble person. Sure, Kobe makes baskets, but the difference is Kobe portrays this sense of arrogance, like a 'I'M DA MAN' sort of arrogance, where as Jeremy Lin prefers not to be in the limelight AND still makes baskets. I suppose he must also be a genius, seeing as he graduated prestigously from Harvard.

So sorry Kobe, you were fantastic (and still are), but J-Lin's winning the crowd (and me) over. :) For all the reasons aforementioned, and also because y'know, he's Asian. yehhhh.

68

First credit in my four years of uni. General Surgery and Anaesthesia...you.will.be.remembered.

But that being said, I would just like to say,"Thank You God! None of this would have been even possible without You!" :)

I have officially graduated!! Your resident podiatrist, at your service. :)

Holidays

I've just returned back to Perth from my 9-day trip in Melbourne. Needless to say, I am glad to be back home with family, but I am missing those holiday moments really badly! A few of the trip highlights:

• It was great going to AMYC2011 (Australian Methodist Youth Convention) with Esther and Sta! I think I found this convention much more enjoyable and memorable because I made tons of new friends from other states, and also because we didn't have a Skit Night (I don't like Skit Nights, I find them really stressful!). Out of everyone though, I have to say that the Camberwell JMYF-ers are a really funny bunch - they always make me laugh for one reason or another! Our group 'Hosea' bonded really well over the 4 days and there was a good dose of sharing in the group about everybody's experiences and personal stories. How good it is to be united under one roof, singing praises, praying and partaking the Holy Communion together as brothers and sisters in Christ! Learnt heaps from the workshops held, and it was good to be reminded again to Think like Jesus, Feel like Jesus and Act like Jesus. Yup, definitely a challenge for the New Year ahead!

Go Team Hosea!

Esther, Sta and me before AYC started!

• Post-AMYC shopping around Melbourne city with Richard, Sta & Esther. I am now the proud owner of quuuiitttee a number of things which I shall not list here, and it's all thanks to Sta and her shopping predilections! But having said that, I don't know what else we would have filled our time with since there's only so many meals a day we can eat, unfortunately. In retrospect, I do think we maximised our eating capacities with early morning brekky, mid morning snack, lunch, tea, dinner and supper. Foochow all the way!

Rick's first brekkie with us! Roule Galette, still my favourite French  creperie! 

• Playing Snap 'Snatch the Sugar Sachets!' with the people at AYC and 'Snap Yourselves Silly' with Esther and Sta. At both occasions I laughed till my belly hurt like crazy! :D
• Spending time with Pastor James (who is now the Bishop) over a yummy home-cooked meal, scones up at Mt. Dandenong, and durian gelato at Il Dolce Freddo's! 
• Meeting up with my Lodgian classmates, some whom I haven't seen in YONKS! :) MTYP is now married! *gasp* It felt really good catching up with them over dimsum and some birthday cupcakes for Cel (not forgetting a pointless-this-could-go-on-forever debate, which reminded me so much of our high school days!). Funnily enough, it only felt as if we'd been apart for a weekend and not years. Imagine that!
• Eating, eating, eating! Loved Taiwan Cafe, Hardware Society, Fandango, Dumplings Plus, Rose Garden and salt-caramel macaroons! *omnomnom* If ever there was a reason for me to move to Melbourne permanently, it would be food. Haha!
• Of course, there was bound to be some contention throughout the trip, which did happen, inevitably. Not really 'highlights' per se, but good learning experiences nevertheless. More importantly, I learnt the lesson of being patient, of saying sorry, of forgiveness, of getting over the snag/problem/misunderstanding/whathaveyou, moving on and never mentioning it again. :)

All in all, an excellent post-graduation holiday. Especially loved the fact that I got to spend it with the boyfriend - can't wait for our next trip together! :)

Us in the car :)

Sharing a Greening bubbletea!

Meet the Podiatrist

Happiness is me

I am happiness

I am finally freeeeee!!!

Uni has finished

Finished for me

I am finally freeeeee!!!

*insertweirdjig*

Point is: I'm done with uni. And savouring it. 

What comes next? :)

Only for Christ

Having topical devotions for Youth is fantastic - I really find them to be more challenging and thought-provoking compared to Bible studies and Sunday sermons.

Latest devotion lesson: Shining my light. I have come away from Friday night with this challenge: "To be the best person I possibly can in every situation, for God."

It's now Sunday afternoon and already I have failed.. =/ But no matter, I'm going to keep trying. :)

All the best for exams everyone! It's my last one ever..BRING IT! *hai-yahh!*

Bones, dry bones

"The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry."


In need of some rehydration and wishing it was as simple as drinking litre after litre of water. 

To the glory of the One who made you

Today's Daily Bread reminded me of this song that I've been hearing over 98.5 FM for the past weeks. I can't help but feel happy when I hear this catchy song! 

"Do we recognize that all our service is for God and so do our best at all times - even when no human authority is watching?"

No matter who your boss is, you are really working for God.

Two Birds of a Feather

Attended Jono and Ching's wedding yesterday. To sum it all up: perfect weather, beautiful bride, proud parents, awesome food, friends and family, great party - it was absolutely lovely! :) Weddings always make me all mushy inside..and make me really happy for the next couple of days.

This is only the fourth wedding I've been to in my life and I must say, one of the moments that I really look forward to at weddings is the the moment when the groom sets eyes on the bride for the first time in her wedding gown, as she makes her way to the altar. People always look at the bride and then never take their eyes of her after that because she's so beautiful, but I always try to catch the expression on the groom's face when he sees her. I think that expression of 'Wow.' and anything after that totally defines the moment and is worth catching!

I also look forward to the vows, because I'm always hoping to hear something original, written from the heart to each other. But so far, all the vows I've heard have been to repeat the same "...for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health..." passage, after the Pastor. Perhaps it's a Methodist thing. If given the choice, I think I would definitely like to come up with my own.

And then comes the exchanging of rings and The kiss. If anything, I think THIS is when things should NEVER be rushed. It's just my opinion, but I think there shouldn't be 2 millisecond pecks which would be over before they even started. Of course, I'm also not suggesting the new husband and wife get into a 5 minute awkwardturtle lip-lock session, I'm just saying they should both take this time to enjoy the moment and savour it as much as they can. After all, (Christian) weddings only happen once. And 2 out of the 4 weddings I've been to, the groom was too shy/paiseh to kiss his wife on the lips and kissed her on the cheek instead! Whattttt, no way Jose! I think alot of this has to do with our Asian/Chinese culture, where PDA is pretty much non-existent, especially among the older folk. Sure, it's weird to kiss your partner in front of a crowd, even weirder in front of your (and his/her) parents, but it's another defining moment and should definitely be enjoyed!

Oh, oh! Not forgetting, I love speeches! I think they add to the memorability and meaningfulness of the wedding. Whether or not it's a speech that the husband gives to profess his love for his wife, or a speech from the maid of honour/best man, or a speech from the parents to the pair or vice versa, it reflects the joy and happiness of the moment, gratitude, thanksgiving and unforgettable times. More often than not, these speeches are the things that bring up the emotions and tears and fishing around for tissues, not only for the couple and parents, but also the guests! I love speeches because they always tell me more about the couple, and makes me see how both the husband and wife were made for each other.

Last but not least, photos, music and food are a given, they make weddings that much more enjoyable. Especially if your guests are fans of all three. Like me.

So to conclude, yes, I am in awe as well of how much I have written despite meaning to only have a few sentences when I first started out with this post. Yes, I love weddings, and yes, they make me happy. :)
Now I just have to figure out how to answer this question that seems to be coming round more and more often everytime I go to a wedding: "So, when's your turn?"

Lost in translation

Just in case, here it is again...

THANK YOU. :)

My Weekend Dose of Daily Bread

Combining the lessons that I've learnt from Our Daily Bread for the past two days....

If you think it's possible to love your partner too much, you probably haven't loved enough.

 It's a two-way street in a relationship: sometimes you give, sometimes you take. Sure, it's nice to be fussed over and paid attention to by your boyfriend/girlfriend, and it's nice to spend time together, but end of the day it's important to make sure that both sides have their own space to do the things they like/want to do/have to do. Like soppy dramas or shopping. Or like soccer matches or Starcraft or...soccer matches. Everyone's entitled to their own 'Me-Time' and learn to resist their 'Me-First' urges. So you miss your boyfriend/girlfriend because he or she is away doing whatever (doesn't matter what, what matters is that he/she is NOT there with you) and you put that down to, "It's only because I love him/her so much. If I didn't love him/her, I wouldn't miss him/her so much, right?!" WRONG. It's not love if you're stopping them from doing what makes them happy the most. It's not love if you're only thinking about yourself and what makes you happy. It's not love if you don't look beyond what you want and what's good for you, to what he/she wants and what's good for him/her. It's not love. How can it be love? (Of course, it's different if he/she makes no effort to spend time with you or makes you no. 11 on his Top 10 Priority List. By all means, get mad!)

Anyway, hiting the nail on the head: Christ-like humility equals placing our partner's needs before our own. 

What I've learnt: It. Isn't. Always. About. ME.

God's love confronts and corrects.

Oh yeah, you can say that again. Probably the 1736th time it's happened, with me anyways. But thanks Lord AGAIN, for the timely reminder. 

What I've learnt: God's love never fails. 

(Hang on, but I already knew that! Hmm...xP)

senso

Whether it was a joke, a semi-joke, or not a joke at all...

....it hurt.

now if you'll please excuse me i would like to go and sleep it off.

Wicked Weekend

I've just had one of the most relaxing weekends of the year! My friends and I call it the Pod Weekend Getaway. With absolutely no commitments (or well, no commitments that we wanted to think about, anyway =P), it was great to be able to sleep in, laze around and chill with some friends over brekkielunchdinnersupper, cardgames, drinks and movies...*sighs* if only time went by a bit slower! Alas, all good things must come to an end. And even if we don't end up having a real post-graduation trip at the end of the year, at least we had this weekend together. :)

The not-so-fun bit, unfortunately, was the drive down by myself. Before reading on, you must know that I have the tendency to fall asleep in the most random places at the most random times, and I'm quite prone to micro-naps while driving too. Sometimes blasting music through the stereo doesn't work. =/ So how on earth was I supposed to keep myself occupied during the entire hour's drive?!?! As ironic as it sounds, Wicked saved the day! One of my mates gave me a CD of Wicked The Musical soundtracks, which pretty much kept me awake, together with some lollies and a frozen coke. So there I was, laughing and humming myself silly to those songs on Kwinana Freeway all the way to Crab Manor and  back. I now know the tunes of all the songs and I have a few favourite ones.

And because it was such a long drive down, I also had the opportunity to do some thinking. About the lyrics and the music. About the characters and the story. These are the few lines that particularly stood out, maybe because they relate to me, or someone that I know, or maybe because they actually make sense, or I just like it:

"Don't wish, don't start

Wishing only wounds the heart."

"Unlimited, together we're unlimited

Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been

Dreams, the way we planned 'em if we work in tandem

There's no fight we cannot win

Just you and I, defying gravity

With you and I, defying gravity."

"There's a girl I know, he loves her so."

"So much of me is made of what I learned from you

You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine by being my friend.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better

But because I knew you, because I knew you

I have been changed for good."

"kiss me too fiercely/hold me too tight/I need help believing/you're with me tonight/my wildest dreamings/could not foresee/lying beside you/with you wanting me/and just for this moment/as long as you're mine/i've lost all resistance/and crossed some borderline."

"Ev'ry so often we long to steal to the land of what-might-have-been

But that doesn't soften the ache we feel when reality sets back in."

Wicked. Possibly one of the best musicals I will ever have lived to watch. :)

Robot.

"....to love and to serve You with singleness of heart..."

It used to be easy. Well, easier.

Now it's steadily becoming more and more difficult.

It seems to get only harder from here on. 

Or maybe that's just me, seeing a half-empty glass instead of one half-full.

Kinda like saying 'Asian-failed' instead of 'White-passed' (LOL). 

Yeah, right? Maybe? Maybe not?

ANYWAY.

To sum up, currently in Struggleville. 

Needing some prayers and God-time. 

Yup, EXACTLY where I am right now. 

Oh dear. 

i love you

"Those three words

 Are said too much,

They're not enough."

- Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol -

drama overload

Sooooo i just had my first exam today. i came out of it feeling the same way i did about my midsem. very MEH, to be exact. i'll probably pass, but i'll probably also NOT do so well. totally warrants half-price waffles and some green tea ice cream, but it's just been raining ALL day and i'm close to being frozen - so in the end i settled for a soy hot chocolate and bran muffin, in front of Vampire Diaries & One Tree Hill. oh yeah, did i mention? today's exam totally warrants an entire arvo+night study-free too. will prolly take a guilt-trip tmrw, but whatevs.

Vampire Diaries: I believe i'm finally up to date! Gosh, never a dull moment in Vampire/Werewolf/Witch/Warlock world. Still crushing over Damon Salvatore as much as ever. ho ho. I think it's his character that's making me continue watching the series - it's true, he's evil by nature, but i guess the right way to put it would be that he just always seems to be "wrong in all the right ways". He acts on impulse - something in life I would probably close to NEVER do - so i guess it's nice to put myself in Damon's shoes and just...live the impulsive side of me through the movie. While vampire conditions aren't ideal, I haven't watched or read of any character that is THIS impulsive, but then again, I don't watch too many films/dramas. Anyways, his actions may seem stupid, impulsive or dumb, but it's always ALWAYS to protect the one he loves. And it's heartbreaking because while he's fighting so hard to protect her, his feelings are unrequited - she is madly in love with his brother. Totally sad and tragic to not be able to be with the one you love, but i wouldn't wish Elena upon Damon - coz i think she's silly. Lol. Now i'm just rambling. Moving on..moving on..

One Tree Hill - only one statement I can say at this point of time: GOSH how much drama can one go through in life?! Speaking of drama...

...About 3 days ago I found out that one of my schoolmates, only a year above me, has just become a father. 23 years old. I can't imagine what that's like: the shock. the happiness. the joy. the pain. the responsibilities that come with having a kid at such a young age. the commitment. the realization of not being able to live out the moments between young adulthood and parenthood. the excitement. the anxiety. The IMMENSITY of it all. nope, can't even BEGIN to imagine it. But I do wish them God's blessings and all the happiness in the world. :)

Alright, it's bedtime for me. Back to study for me tmrw. and the day after, and the day after, and the day after. Until next Tuesday. Maybe i'll go out for waffles then.

p.s. I hope woopwoopWOOPland is treating you well, dear. Till I hear from you again! <3

Heart.Ache.Ow.

To all who are looking down, holding on to hearts still wounding

For those who've yet to find it, the place is near where love is moving
Cast off the robes you're wearing, set aside the names that you've been given

May this place of rest in the fold of your journey bind you to hope
You will never walk alone

In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live (Never walk alone)
In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live (Your arms are all around us)

If our hearts are turned to stone, there is hope we know the rocks will cry out

And the tears aren't ours alone, let them fall into the hands that hold us

Come away from where you're hiding, set aside the lies that you've been living

May this place of rest in the fold of your journey bind you to hope

We will never walk alone

In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live (In the shelter)
In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live (You will never walk alone)

If there is any peace, if there is any war
We must all believe, our lives are not our own
We all belong..

God has given us each other
And we will never walk alone

In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live (In the shelter)
In the shelter of each other, we will live, we will live (You will never walk alone)

- The Shelter, Jars of Clay -

p.s. "It's okay." - I guess I really needed to hear you say it. =')

Scars

Just like how some fade over the years, some stay put in place no matter what we do to try and erase them. 

And while some are not seen on a daily basis, some are so painstakingly visible you wish for blindness.

Some scars don't hurt after a while, but some remain just as painful as on the very day you got them.

Little ones skim the surface of our lives, many scars go far enough to make us remember, a rare few leave a gaping crater. 

These scars - big or small, deep or superficial - they are all there for a reason. 

Whether or not they are there to remind us of past mistakes or choices wrongly made, 

of events we never saw coming or of circumstances over which we had no control..

..Scars are there to remind us that the past is real,

and also...they ARE supposed to heal. 

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." 

- Galatians 5:1 -

for what it's worth

This is for you, best friend.

"You can hope, you can rise, you can stand

He's still got the whole world 

The whole world in His hands.

And the arms that hold the universe

Are holding you tonight

You can rest inside
It's gonna be alright.

And the voice that calmed the raging sea

Is calling you His child

So be still and know He's in control

He will never let you go."

- Arms that hold the universe, 33 Miles -

Sidenote:
Don't you love how Shrek and Donkey just sit and talk under the moonlight

Without a care in the world? :)