Zoe, do you remember....?

You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons

Spring 97
You, Lay Sar, Jennifer, Wee Kuan, Wee Kien, Cindy, Regyne, and many names forgotten. Selleck Basement. Most of them were Selleck residents but You and Lay Sar would come from Piper to hang out, so would I. I lived at 2221 S Str #22.

Then TGAN started. You, Lay Sar, Cindy came on board. We gossipped so much about Kerk Fong. Then you disappeared to Toronto.

Summer 97
I went back for 3 months of summer hols. Kerk Fong took over #22. Then I came back to Lincoln, but moved to 526 N26th #3. Kerk Fong moved to Cather. You took over #22 from Kerk Fong.

Fall and Winter 97
The most unforgettable winter storm. University closed down for 3 days. Your birthday that year, I got you a big teddy bear from JC Penny. Party at #22 that night. 1st TGAN's Christmas Carol. I remember getting so mad at Jen and Lay Sar but You sang with your whole heart. You kept me from losing it.

Spring 98
Malaysian Night. Forced into dance performance by Numsa. You coached the chinese fan dance. ..did my makeup.

Summer 98
You became my 'beauty consultant'. I would go stay over at #22 all the time. You polished my nails and put colors on them. My boyfriend got freaked out and asked me not to hang out with you so much because I was 'losing' myself.

Fall/Winter 98
Went to IVCF Fall conference together with Brian and Kah Kheng. You withdrew from TGAN, so did Kerk Fong, so did I... all for different reasons. Christopher became a christian. Winter break 98/99. Kah Kheng, you and I became close friends, ate meals together(in or out), played together, did everything together. One night, in KK's room, I quietly told you, I was strangely drawn to KK. Both of us freaked out together. 2nd TGAN Christmas Carolling. I was a part-timer.

Spring 99
Spring break 99, trip to Brownsville Church, Pensacola Florida. Tayo in his shock found out KK wasnt after you, but me. May 8, 1999. On a trip to Omaha, visited ConAgra Global Office campus, on that ground you shared with me your vision of The Blessing Channel.

Summer 99
We moved in together to 501 N25th #4. Requested to dance for Missions Conference at Christ's Place. The last time you coached me in dance. I sworn off dance 'forever' until FEET.

Fall/Winter 99
Going through lots of drama with KK,and with CC, you just watched silently. But I knew you were always there for me.

Spring 00
More drama continued. I started working and you were trying to graduate. We grew silent on each other almost but I knew you always cared. Malaysian Night 2000. I bought you a prom dress. Both of us unintentionally started the tradition of wearing big gowns to Malaysian night. Who didnt want to be hot like us? Nata came to visit us and we thought how much he looked like Kerk Fong.

Summer 00
You graduated and moved to California.

Spring 02
Visited you with Anna Bouc. Fell in love with Sausalito.

Fall 02
You returned to Lincoln for Thanksgiving. We plotted to give Judy a big surprise.

Spring 03
Visited you again and asked you to be my Maid of Honor. Then broke up with KK. Made plans to go to Hong Kong. You promised to be the Blessing Channel. Unofficially, the partnership was activated. You send, I go.

Summer 03
Visited you with the Boucs. Last time I saw you in the States.

Spring 04
I departed for Hong Kong. You departed for Lausanne Switzerland.

Winter 04
I settled in Hong Kong with YWAM. You got a green card and returned to the Bay Area.

Fall 05
You visited your 'cat' Hong Kong. I met your parents and relatives in Jakarta. You strategically 'patched' KK and I back and hence resumed your position as the Maid of Honor. I tasted roasted goose the first time and found out it is Yuen Long's Specialty.

Jing Jing, what is life without you?

wows..i believe this is the longest entry I have ever posted. i m happy its all about you.

Acknowledgement

Kah Kheng is a mega awesome man.

I am a blessed woman.

:-)

The Day Angeline Freaks Out.

So I scanned and put all the people who are coming for DTS in Jan 06 this morning.
In two weeks, they will be here.

For the first time, I feel like I am freaking out for real.

Pray for me....

Thank you.

My presents

Calvin and Hobbes full collection from amazon.com. weigh 2000 kgs.
A Starbuck tumbler, and a scarf.
Some Australian Honey roasted macadamia nuts
An Indian purse and bangles

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek, where is my present, the post???????
Carrie, WHERE ARE THOSE TAMPONS?? My period is waiting for them.

The Journey of the Magi (1926) - T.S. Elliot

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
hat this was folly.


Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation,
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky.
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.
All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all the way for
Birth or Death ? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

Responses

My dad's - *smilessssssssssssss* "I am satisfied with KK."

Caryl's - "Wow. Remember not to compromise what God has called you to do."

Nancy's - "Praise God. I am excited for you!"

Zoe's - "Finally..."

Faby's - "I knew it. I knew it"

Godwin's - "Are you inviting me to the wedding?"

Tryfina's - *shrieks* "Oh my gosh!"

Nicky's -"I am so excited. Even during our dts, I knew you still like him from the way you talked about him. I asked God, why dont you just put them back together?"

Liz's - "I've gotta call Kristy up."

Catherine's - "I was so happy that I cried"

William's - "Holy canoly...everyone's been drinking love potion."

Neek's - "Hahahahaha. I gotta hear the stories from both sides."

Craig's - "Is he leading youth and leading worship in a Mosque?"

Brandon's - "You've got to show me the pictures of him."

Anna Banana's - "I am shocked..."

Tina's - (still silent)

KK and NG

So the kitty cat dragged in....

I remember sometime in July I wrote prophetically that the later half of 2005 would be interesting for me. Whatever happened during that time would determine what I will be doing the next year.

Well, with prayers and anticipation, I waited for the 'whatever'. However, I never would expect one of those things could actually lead to an expiration of my very celebrated bachelorhood. Better than that, he is none other than the only person with whom I ever had the desire to spend my life with. Not always, but only.

I was barely 22 when I started to like him. He was barely 21 when he fell in love with me. With that age, we learnt a lot of things the hard way. It took us a while to finally get to this place. Only God can come through for us like this.

Kah Kheng... you are worth the wait.

Boon Kheng.... you and your '8' mood!!!!!!

December no kidding

God cleverly tilted the planet earth 23 degrees and 27 minutes to rotate around the sun such that it causes some part of the planet to move away from the it. In december, the part happens to be northern hemisphere. Hong Kong 23 degrees 26 arcminutes and 22 arcseconds lies on the tropic of cancer, northern hemisphere.

The weather is broken. My feet are cold and my brain is frozen.

I resolve to learn how to use tampons next year. My good friend, Carrie (bless her heart) is sending them over for Christmas. I hope she sends them with step by step instructions.

It is going to be a Christmas to remember no less.

Death of my iPod Random

I took it to Malaysia and Indonesia. Never used it the whole time.

Today I reinstalled its driver and iTunes. Everything was fine. Loaded songs onto it. Everything was fine. When I tried playing, no sound came out. Checked the earphones, nothing wrong with them.

Flabbergasted.

December already

Furlough is over. Thank God.

I am happily back doing accounts. I recently developed the love for money. Just Joking.

Suddenly the world shrunk. The first day, I couldnt see floor space in my bedroom. I had to remember to not flush the toilet paper. (When I first got back home in Malaysia, I was looking for the trash can and later realized I could flush them down).
Nevertheless I am glad to be able to cuddle with Pooh again...although the first night he ended up sleeping on the floor.

We even have new staff in the Lighthouse that would now make the house on full occupancy.

So everyone's back. Cant believe it is December already. It has been exactly a year since I got on staff. We are getting the SOFMers' Love Feast and Report Back over with so that we can prepare for Christmas Outreach. Work, Work, and Work. Angeline loves it.

My 100th Post !!!!

My beginning and my end are in your hands.
There's nothing in between that I can hide from your eyes.
I will never be forgotten.

My name is permanently written in your book, where it records the memories of a Sacred Romance. This romance has no end.

This is the reality that surpasses all the tangible materials on earth.
It is The Reality I live for.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, and whosoever believes in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Therefore, it is not okay for a single soul to perish thinking he's never been loved and has no value.

It is not okay that he died without knowing the King of universe had laid down his life just for him.

Furlough 3

Sigh.

It's day 3 today in the Land of Mansions. Seriously I have never seen so many designer big houses anywhere in the world like I saw in Sibu. People here seems to have a competition who builds the biggest. So, this is what they toiled their life for. Angeline zzzzzzzzzzz.

The world outside YWAM is pretty strange.

I wish I packed that green couch from the Lighthouse...oh and that gross coffee I got at Wellcome.

Long sigh.

I have started to sneeze funny. My eyes and nose itch constantly. I complained that I am allergic to Malaysia...and someone ( I dare not mention) thought I was being funny. :-)

Things have changed. I have changed. I wished that I have never left town so that coming home doesnt feel so complex.

Long long sigh.

For the one asking about food....
I almost forgot this wonderful snack called 'rojak'. The closest comparison you can get is a salad except the dressing is black. Food here is great and cheap...it is for people like my dad (food critic). I already feel stressed at the thought of bringing him out to eat in Hong Kong one day.

I have not been excited about eating this time. I was expecting durians to await me but they are not in sesaon. That pretty much kills half of my excitement. The other half was destroyed by my fear of growing into a mansion!!

Sigh.

Home at last

My dad struck a very interesting conversation to break the ice. He asked me if the fruits in Hong Kong are expensive. I mentioned proudly yeah! 4 Fuji apples only cost around 5R (10 HKD). Then he said, no! That's too expensive and asked me how big are those apples and so on. Darn it, I thought, should have bragged about the persimmons.

'My' dog didnt bark at me when I got in. We had him for 10 years already but to me he's always a puppy. And by the way, I dont normally build relationships with dogs.

This is the first time I laid my eyes on the newly renovated house..new furnitures, old furnitures..they look odd together but I am happy that mom didnt get rid of them because it wouldnt feel like home if everything was new.

I took a look at my brother's bridal suite. My holy goodness! It is as big as Anna's apartment. Sad that my brother hasnt decide on the bride. Today it is still unoccupied. I wouldnt mind sleeping there but I took the room with the computer....

And somehow the computer is possessed.

Furlough 2

Being alone sucks.

Angeline has more than enough of solitariness.

She has to cook and force people to come and eat with her at the Lighthouse.

Lighthouse needs some noise.

Angeline wants all her roommates back!!!!!!!!!!

Nicky, Rachel, Scala and Jeremy....

She and a dozen of toilet paper rolls awaits their arrival.

3 more days.

Just 3 more days....

She has to wait.

To Roseanne Washington

She is a famous artist.

She did dts with me and I slept on her bunk with her once in Baise!!! She never knew why I did that. Not only I am selectively affectionate, I can be very random.

So Rose, I heard my blogspot is now your home page. Wonderful.

This is an instruction for you to leave comments. Click comment at the bottom of the entry, a window will pop up. Then leave comment and check 'other', leave your nickname or real name. Publish.

Unlike Xangas, you can leave comment on my blog without having to sign up for one. So, we the blogspotters are much cooler.

And.....you gotta read this one, you are on it.

Chee Chien

I've just talked to him an hour ago. I told him I will write an entry on my blog about him.

He is a friend I have known for almost 10 years which during that whole time, apart from the first 4 months, in long distance.

One amazing thing about him is that, he never forgets a single friend. We were housemates along with 8 other people at the House of 80,in Subang Jaya, the place I studied for 4 months before I went to Lincoln NE. Until today, he can still tell me what is happening with Badak, Kham Bey, Aunty Suzy, Chee Sin, etc.

I remember those 4 months in Subang Jaya was the worst time of my life ever. I hated my classes, I hated how tiny my room was, I hated the food there, I hated how expensive everything was, I hated the air I breathed, I hated the cruel weather but I loved my housemates. If not because of them, hell would be a better option.

I had so many good chats with Chee Chien. He and Badak were my closest buddies at that time. I remember we went to the US Embassy together to get our student visas that summer. We parted road, I went to NE, He went to Purdue University in IN. Badak and I wrote sporadically when we left House of 80. Chee Chien and I talked continuously... first on Telnet, then on ICQ, and now on MSN, as technology develops.

Then we graduated. He got a job, a girlfriend, and now a wife and a permanent residentship. And I got none of those. I have been aware of almost all of what's going on with him, and him the same of me.

It was lame that for all the times we were in the states, and how many times we've talked about it, we've never visited each other, not even once, although there was once I almost saw him in Chinatown Chicago. I was so bummed because I forgot to bring his phone number with me. He happened to come to the same restaurant an hour later after I left!!

He is the most outstanding heathen friend that I have, whom lasted longer than my own ex boyfriend, whom ironically was born on the same day as he was, and also with whom, shared the same initials!!!

Next year, if we meet up (better action than talk now), it will be 10 years since we last saw each other.

My words to Chee Chien...bless you my friend. Thank you for all the lovely memories.

Furlough

It is my first time ever, so it gotta be special.

Yesterday was the first day, I socialized with Jing Jing, Kah Kheng, William, and Catherine on MSN back to back almost the entire daytime. Went to Anna's to have dinner together. She made Green Curry wonderfully and I watched Alias for the first time ever in my life.

Today I decided to leave my cave and venture out. I went as far as Yuen Long!!! Reapplied my HK identity card which got stolen in May. Was happy that there wasnt a long queue and was able to get it over with in 20 mins. The last time I applied an ID card, I had to wait outside the door 2 hours before the office was opened. I brought my yarn and knitted the whole time.

Speaking of yarn, I saw some cool ones out but didn't get any.

I had Caryl and Anna over for dinner tonight. Interestingly, they were both boasting about their inability to throw up, which I pretty much can't relate to because I am a non bullimic frequent barfer. Well, I guess one day when they get pregnant and have morning sickness.....oh boy!!!!

John Snelgrove

Currently he is pastoring the Vine, the church I am attending.

I really like him a lot. This morning in his preaching/teaching, he quoted people like J.B. Phillips, C.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis...etc. WOW. Besides being very detailed and resourceful in his teachings, he has a great sense of humor too!

He is indeed my favorite preacher.

Oh....another thing, his co-pastor Tony Read quoted Henri Nouwen!!

I love people that source great Christian literature. They are so humble.

Things taken for granted

I have never appreciated my well functioning keyboard (on my laptop) this much before. Today, there were three times for unknown reasons, 6 letters and 2 numbers did not respond to my input. I havent figured out why...(bird flu perhaps????) Anyway that was enough to make me unable to login to my emails and so on. And thus, render this machine useless.

Uncertainty sometimes stresses me. Not to say just now, when I restarted my computer, scary messages like error on some system files that needed to be repaired came out. But then, the machine seems to function ok now.

This laptop certainly needs to be fixed!!!!

KK, I almost smoked you a HELP signal for that.

Truly Human Truly God

When I saw Zoe's post on the title. I know she has been reading the book we are both obsessed with. In fact we are obsessed with the same dude...err, i mean Jesus.

I mentioned quite a while ago in my blog that I discovered myself more attracted to his humanity than his deity. These thoughts still lingered on.

The all powerful one decided to become like me. This is such an understatement. I dont suppose being God who became a human being, he didnt need his mommy to take care of him, to teach him how to talk, to give him a hug when he hurt himself, change his poopy diaper etc. I dont suppose he wasnt tempted to tell lies, fight back when he was being picked on, or use his superpowers to impress his friends...you know, being God!!!

I dont suppose he lived his life without struggle. The staff studied on the Temptation of Jesus just yesterday on bible study. I believed it wasnt just an isolated event, pondering on the nature of the tempatation itself. Basically Satan was testing him, if he could really be a human without sin, without using his divine powers, without cheating. The temptation didnt just end at the desert. It was an ongoing struggle throughout his ministry, even until the very last moment in Gethsemane, it was evident. Jesus was vulnerable. He struggled but I know he never gave in. In fact he was very open with his struggle. He asked his disciples to pray for him.

God asked his disciples to pray for him. (Doesnt that blow your mind away?) He needed their support, even when the spirituality of his disciples were questionable then. He was humble. Real. Down to earth.

Today there are lots of people who love and worship men who CANNOT be gods.

But I naturally love my God who CAN be a human.

Indiscriminate Ramblings

While Neek's emotions are still stuck in Gaza (since August), today I was pleasantly surprised by some early Christmas gifts. Caryl got me a Lorie Line Christmas CD to thank me for taking care of her apartment while she was away, a book "Sacred Pathways", by Gary L Thomas and Hanes white shirts for Christmas along with a pair of socks which she wouldn't wear because they are too .....(cant remember the word she used). How funny I thought, only if I could stuff all the loots into those socks.

It's so nice to have Caryl back.

We went to church with the Bertrands this morning. Tammy told us a wild story. This morning, for no reason Craig grabbed her hand and bit on it while he was in the middle of his sleep. Tammy said his eyes were opened but he wasnt responding to her. Kinda scary. She still has the bite mark.

Craig treated us lunch, so that was great!

We went to Fortress to check out iPod Nanos and found out that all of the nanos had been recalled by Apple. Weird!

The staff is planning to go to the Disneyland sometime next week or so. Apparently there ARE tickets for sale contrary to the popular belief that it has been sold out till Feb. The only rumor remaining now is that I am bringing a giant mouse trap and cheese.....

Priority

Love is patient
Love is kind

It does not envy
It does not boast

It is not rude
It is not self-seeking
It is not easily angered
It keeps no record of wrongs

Love does not delight in evil
But rejoices with the truth

It ALWAYS PROTECTS
ALWAYS TRUSTS
ALWAYS HOPES
ALWAYS PERSEVERES

I Cor 13 v4-7 (NIV)

Hair and other things

Ok. I've got mixed responses regarding my hairy legs. No, it is not a life choice. It is simply FREEDOM. I am still loved the same degree (by people that I care). But I will choose to shave it for the sake of Caryl who might struggle seeing this condition, who is coming back tonight. Because of love and not wanting to be a stumbling block, I submit myself to the goodwill of my sister in the Lord. Does it sound like a good principle?

Life in YWAM can be quite interesing. I have been in YWAM for almost 2 years now. If each task that I am doing here represents a song. Then they are all like being loaded on iPod Shuffle. One day I could be preaching the gospel in slum areas in North India, or cooking three-flavored chicken for lunch, or getting a word of knowledge for a student, or burning old accounting records all day long, or going to the train station two times in a day to pick up guests, yadda yadda yadda.

Tonight is the first time I had someone over to the Lighthouse since the FEETers left. I made Anna her favorite rendang. We will have that for lunch again tomorrow! Anna is soooooooo great. She is the only westerner I know of that loves Durian.

Oct 12...today is such an interesting day for Nancy, Anna, and myself. We started our period!!! All three of us girls that are here now...talk about unity and insyncness. If you feel like we are a cult here, I dont blame you. Just go with the feeling.

Hair

Those who know me, know how well I am obsessed with mine.

Despite the perfect texture, thickness, and quality, it is shedding everywhere in an unbelievable rate! People have a love-hate relationship with my hair. They like how soft it looks and feels (even Joe, at one time couldnt resist playing with my hair!!!!!!), but dreaded the amount I left on the floor of the bathroom, kitchen, living room, stairs, bedroom, worship room, staff lounge, library, and in food (NO!!!!)

The rate of it's growth seems a lot higher during summer months. Now it is at the waist length again. My bangs have grown too that now I have to peg them sideways so that I dont walk into walls and such.

Speaking of hair growth, the ones on my legs have almost curled up. The last time I shaved was in August(I think). I now probably need to get an extra blade to take them out. How I wish they could just fall off by itself too!!!

Of course, life is never easy.

An Email from Judy

This is too funny. I just had to archive this in a special place....

LeLe, Sorry I missed your call the other night.

Thank you for telling Joe to send back info. Please have him call me to get together to collect the stuff. I will try to get in touch with Caryl. When do you go on furlough? Are you staying the whole time in Maylaysia? I hope that it is a good stay for you and not too stressfull.

Just know that you are more than welcome here in the states at any time. You could always have your old room back. We love you and miss you, too and yes we still call Moriah Ghee. She said that Anna and Jim can call her Ghee, I have to call her little sweet heart and Molly has to call her Moriah. She is such a character. Sunday was her fourth birthday. We celebrated in the park with friends. It was fun and she had a blast.

One funny thing I have to tell you is that Anna has to dress up tomorrow for homecoming week at school. The theme is Disney characters tomorrow, she chose to go as Mulan. we bought a long black wig and when she put it on at home we asked Moriah who that was and if is was LELE. She laughed and said, that's not LeLe, that is Anna, but it looks like LELE. I will try to send you a picture of Anna in the outfit. Im sure you will get a good laught out of it. and I am sure some of the others on base will too.

Love you lots, Judy for now.

Nobody's at home

Sheeesh.

This is what I would say of today.

Craig has to go on surgery this morning to get tusk implants. It is his long time dream to be a mammoth. And Tammy has to go to town for some unknown reasons, so Nancy is babysitting Caleb and Grace this morning.

I offered Anna healthy vegetable soup for dinner last night but she insisted on having curry instead. This morning she called in sick!! Having flu-like symptoms it seems.

So, apparently I am the only healthy person available this morning.

We have planned a staff BBQ tonight. Since Joseph, Catherine and their girls are here, they will be joining us. I thought since I dont need to go to work this morning, maybe Catherine and I can go do some shopping for tonight but she has to go to Shatin to meet up with someone. So, that crashed too.

Sitting on my couch, I thought why dont I make a phone call to Nebraska. It is good, timewise.

So, I called Judy. Nobody's at home. So I chatted a little with their answering machine.

And I called Caryl. Caryl the mom said Caryl the daughter has gone out too.

Sheeesh.

Me and Coffee

Because I was unreasonably tired, I made myself coffee for lunch to wake up.

Instead of getting what I hoped for, I fell asleep on the couch anyway.

Sleepy caffeine. Silly caffeine!

Shame on Rick!

We had an unusual drama with this visiting team from Kona today.

Personally I have never seen anything so spectacular on how bad things can get in an outreach team. Today is the day they travel deep into their outreach country and they were supposed to leave the base noon sharp as we have arranged transportation for them to get to the train station.

I supposed they couldnt get all the cleaning done in their apartments or have their stuff fully packed before they went out for lunch. And I supposed they didnt take it seriously when we told them they will have to pay extra to the bus company if they fail to come on time. And I supposed they couldnt call and let us know if they would be late. The bus driver was frustrated. Anna and I were frustrated. 30 minutes later, there still wasn't any sign of them coming back. We started to wonder if they would make it to catch the train on time. They would lose $1000 USD for this lesson if they happen to miss this train.

Finally at 1240, 4 out of 9 of them showed up. No apology or explanation was offered. Obviously they were embaarrassed and mad that we were rushing them off to the bus because they wanted to go back to their rooms. One lady to my shock and disdain said she was going to leave a book she already read here. Which part of 'make sure take all your belongings or leave no lapsap' didnt she understand? Her husband stormed to the black gates, and at the same moment, little Caleb saw him and introduced himself "Hi, my name is Super Caleb". Being sweet and all, he was shocked to see this grown up man gave him a mean look, tried to open the other door of the gate, which almost knocked him over. I quickly pulled Caleb to myself. I dont know what would be Craig's reaction but if we werent in a hurry to chase them out, I swore I would have gone up to him and punched his lights out for aiming his anger at our little Caleb. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I just had to lodge this off.

Thank you for leaving comments

To Caryl...
Click on comments under the entry. Comment. Select 'Other' and leave your lovely name. Publish. I know you can do it. Go Girl!!!

To Catherine...
You are the real angel and I am the real cat. Same old same old. Satan eats his own face.

To William.....
No. You are still very intelligent. Mine went down. Sorry about what went on. Talk to me soon.

To Carrie...
What was the best selling pie at the VI when you worked there?

To Neek....
You always have the nicest thing to say. But, good luck trying vid-camming my feeling. On the other hand, I would love to try vid-camming your imagination unfortunately I dont have the technology because I am no geek.

To Kah Kheng...
Good to hear you!!!! So what's new?

To Jing Jing...
You behave girl. Play hard in Switzerland but stay out of trouble!!

On Permed lashes....
Sorry people. No picture. You have to come see me for your own curiosity.

Oh I feel like dancing....

When Judy emailed me that she would like Caryl or Joe to set up a booth about YWAM Hong Kong during the Missions Convention at Christ's Place, I literally flipped with disbelief!

Well then I found out Caryl will be back in HK before the convention starts, all my hopes went to Joe. So I told Joe this morning. He said, he felt he is supposed to do something on that weekend and prayed about contacting a church, but God didnt say anything so he waited. That was it!!!Now, he knows why and he has agreed to go to do communications at Christ's Place. HAHA. I am sending my base director to my home church in Lincoln. How cool is that? I also forgot, 2 of his nieces are attending Christ's Place now and one of which had actually done A Year in Asia (a program here)and few Christmas outreaches. With Judy and Anna already visited YWAM HK, they could easily set up booth there together. But Joe is going!!!!!!!

Oh I feel like dancing...it's foolishness I know......

And by the way, Christ's Place Missions Committee finalized my support application and along with prayers, they are giving me enough for 4 DTS Outreaches. 4 OUTREACHES MY FRIENDS!!!! So, guess where I will be in the next 4 years!!! Smart alecks.

Oh I feel like dancing...it's foolishness I know....

See this is what happens when you follow God's guidance...delirium.

I am spoiled.

Lincoln NE

Zipcode 68503, Cornhusker Highway, Star Tran buses no 24 to UNL East Campus, no 4 Holdredge, Vine Street, 27th Street, The Moose Tooth, Imperial Palace, O Street, 16 & Q Lutheran Chapel, Highway 77, Christ's Place 1111 Old Cheney Road, Panera's Bread House,SouthPointe Mall, The Mill, N48th Street, Van Dorn, CBA, Love Library, Whopper Junior Meal, no ketchup on the burger, please, Car Wash, Samurai's Sam, Blockbuster, Village Inn, Trago's Park, George W. Beadle Center, Kimball Music Hall, Lied Center, Mongolian Beef, China Inn, Juice Stop, Gateway Mall, Applebees, Famous Dave's, French Onion Soup, Super Saver, Pine Lake Road, Bob Devaney's Center, Barnes and Noble, Garfield Street, Sumner Street. Sunken Garden, Williamsburg Drive, S56Th & Hwy 2 Train Tracks, Wyuka Cemetary, State Capitol, R Street, University of Nebraska Student Union, Starship 9, Culture Center, Selleck Quardrangle, Holmes Lake, Interstate 80, Haymarket, the drive from East Campus to 6100 Southdale Road.

Him and her

After a year of secret longing, he finally told her today.... that he loves her.

He gave her an envelope with some money, a gift voucher to an ice cream place, and a letter he typed the night before. Those were words he could not say to her in person.

He spilt everything....how and when and why... and asked her to consider 'it'. He said he knows she doesn't like him but it's okay. He still wants to tell her anyway. He assured her that being just friends is okay with him if she decides to no 'it'. He even asked her to take as much time as she needed to consider.He is willing to risk it again for her, who has never in any way return any of his kind and self-restraint love.

"What kind of a man is he?" she pondered. "What have I done to deserve such kind thoughts? "

One thing for sure, she certainly feels special. She had come across numerous admirers over the years and this isn't like she would magnify any forms of attention given to her by members of the opposite sex. She is just honestly flattered and impressed this time.

And what would she say to him then?

让我牵着你的手

让我牵这你冷冷的手
我们一起走这个寒冬
让我陪着你做一个梦
一起过这段寂寞
明天不会有昨天的伤痛
我们已经懂成长是什么
有你的微笑去溶化冷漠
没有任何忧伤赶不走

让我牵着你的手好好的走
穿越风和云走出一股暖流
让我牵着你的手拒绝分手
静静的拥有不让它失落

走进世界走出寂寞
让成长统统画成彩色的梦
让今天为明天最动人的传说
走进世界走出寂莫
让我的心跳同步你的脉搏
让你我的传说在星光里闪烁!

小虎队唱

Splash!!

The weather has been consistently wet.

I was walking back from Kam Tin, minding my own business when a car rudely sped pass a puddle of water by the sidewalk I was standing that very second. I was in disbelief at first but then I thought hey, that felt nice...do it again!!

You just don't get splashed by sidewalk water everyday. If I were Christopher Liew, I probably would buy 4Ds. But I am not. Ha!

On Permed Eyelashes

I knew it could be a hot subject and expected lots of questions and comment.

It is a ~40-minute procedure...painless and highly recommended if you were out shopping and needed a nap because you needed to have your eyes shut the whole time. I was restless so shutting my eyes for that long being awake almost drove me nuts.

The effect. It looks just like when I have applied mascara, which I dont. The perm will last longer if I apply mascara all the time.

On the subject of mascara. I am hunting for clear mascara with glitters. I dont know if it is already in production or in even in the minds of fashion designers. So, if I do find one, I might start wearing it.

Hong Kong SAR

It is still hard to believe this is now the place I call home.

Everytime I travelled on the KCR, then MTR, stared at all the routes and connections inside the train, each time I walked through IFC building to get to church, located at the center of the skycrapers showcase, I couldn't help but wonder why and how on earth did I ever end up here?

Less than 5 mins walk westward is Sheung Wan where Lawrence now works, and at the back of my church, somehow I discovered is the famous place called the Midlevels, and Lan Kwai Fong. Admiralty, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay districts are also all within walking distance. All too overwhelming to me! Maybe it never occurs to me that Hong Kong Island is actually quite small.

It is a beautiful city, diverse, prosperous, and definitely to be proud of.

After so long being here, I've made only 2 local Hong Kong chinese friends. One works with one of our programs here called the King and I, and the other is currently a DTS student. I built a business relationship with a meat delivery guy sinceafter I became the food manager. That's about all.

Even though I live in the land called Hong Kong. Within the Black Gates of the Courtyard (where the base operates) and staff dorms, it is still very much America. It is a strange colony surrounded by at least 5 ancestral temples in the oldest (800 yrs old) village in Hong Kong. That might as well be the reason God planted us here, worshipping Him daily at the very place where Hong Kong started.

As strange as it sounds, our Courtyard IS part of the Heritage Trail along with those temples, where hundreds of tourists would come to visit every weekend. I could only wish I knew exactly what went through their minds when they saw so many kwai lows freely accessing to an ancient property which they could only take pictures of.

Shuffle

Have I bragged about my new toy ipod shuffle? At first I felt silly getting this completely featureless, all-possible-ways-inferior-to-PC users flash mp3 player just because the appearance appealed to me the most than any others that are available in HK. But now, I begin to love it especially the randomness of the songs it plays.

Like the ad for ipod shuffle said, life is random.

I did the most random thing last weekend. Wenji and I went to Kwai Fong again. Among the few interesting things we did was getting our eye lashes permed.

Yep. We did. So, now put your jaws back in normal position!

Z Zzz'z Zzz Zzz Zzz Zzzzzz Z z z Zzzzz

Zz zz zzzzzzzz! Zzz zzzz zz zzzz. Z'zz zzzzz zzzz zzzz zzzzzz zzz z zzzz zzzz.
Z zzzz zzzz Z zzz zzzzz zzzz zzz zzzzzzz zzzz!
Z zzzz zzz zz zzzz zz zzz zzzzz Z zzzzzzz zzzzz Z z'zzzzz zzzz zzzzzzzzz zzz zzzzzzzz Z'zz zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz zzz Z zzz'z zzzz zzzzzz zz zzz.
Zz zzz zzzz z zzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzz zzzz zzz zz. Zz zzzzzzz zz zzzzzzz zz zzz zzz zzzz.
Zzzz zzzzzz zzz zzz zzz zzzz zz zzzzzzzzz zzzzzz zzzz zzzz, Z zzzzz zz zzzzz'zz zz zzz zzzz zz zzz z zzzz zz zzzz Z zz zzzzzz zz zzz.
Z zzz'z zzzzzzzzzzz zzzz zz zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzz Z zzzzz zzzz. Z zzzzz zzzz zzz Z zzzz zzzzz. Zz zzz zzzzz zzzz zzzzzzzzzzz!
Z zzz'z zzzz zz zzz zzzzz zz zzzzzzzz zzz zzzzzzzz, zzz zz zzz zzz zzzzzz zzz zz zz, zzzzz zzz zz zzzzzzz.

Snooze out!

Caryl Ann Larsen

She always smells good and godly.

She left town yesterday. For 7 weeks, she said.
With us working on the last DTS and then being the operational staff together, I am so used to see her everyday since the year started. I thought it would be strange without her. But I m just quite surprised I haven't missed her as much as I thought I would.

She is an unusual friend as I havent any friend quite like her ever. As much as I love hanging out with her and all, I am always cautious, afraid to hurt, misunderstand or offend her. Inspite of that, I still prefer her over everyone on the base.

As my leader, she challenges me to grow. However uncomfortable I feel, this change is so neccesary for me.

Rachel once said with a chuckle, it's great that you guys like each other. True. That makes a lot of difficult things easier to bear.

Me

I am known by several names. My original name is in chinese characters. Because I was born in Malaysia, my parents had to alphabetize my name into some words that are telligible to the Malay government. Yong Hua Jin. Sadly, of all the three words, only Hua is correct. Yong (my last name) in mandarin pin yin is supposed to be Yang 2nd tone, pronouced as Young to the west. Jin is wrong. The actual pin yin for it is Jing 1st tone. It makes me mad to think that my legal name is full of mistakes.

Nobody calls me Hua Jin anymore. That was my school name for 12 years. Relatives call me Jing Jing. Parents still call me Jing Yang, which is an endearment term for a child. I officially became Angeline when I attended college, but then those who became closer with me in college began to call me Hua Jing. And I actually wouldnt allow them to call me Angeline, for instance with Zoe, my best friend. I remember once she said Angeline and I cringed at how weird it felt and so I made her promise never to address me like that ever. I never called Zoe by Zoe either.

I had another interesting circle of close friends that called me Cat, as in the purrry animal, in varying terms namely, kucing, which means cat in Malaysian, Ah Mao, in mandarin, and meow meow. That happened throughout the time I was in college. There were instances where friends and acquaintances didnt get to know my real name for the longest time because we became so friendly with me just being a 'cat'.

Then when I got to Hong Kong, I was able to keep my cattitude low for quite a bit, and then somehow during the outreach phase, I inevitably let the cat out of the bag again. Terms like gato, xiao mao mao, kitty and such began to proliferate.

And of course for most people in my life right now, as far as they are concerned, I am Angeline.

But what do I consider me? Hua Jing, Angeline, and Mao Mao, they are all equally significant. It is said, God calls me by my name... I can't help to wonder, by which one?

About Love and Submission

They correlate.

Here is a reason why sometimes I dont take words of correction and discipline readily. I dont trust that the person who gives them really loves me. And it doesnt matter if the person really does. If I fail to see the love behind the action, I will still not submit. I will just obey with grudges. I have to admit, I am pretty good at that. People think I am submissive, but that could be false submission.

God convinced me of His love because He has demonstrated His love in the most radical way. I see why the cross was necessary. At this point, I am fully confident of His character of love, and I gladly submit to His discipline, His tough love whenever necessary.

So, it is really not easy to be an authoritive figure.

I dont want anyone to obey out of necessity and fail to see the intention of my heart. I dont want to accuse anyone of pride before I know I have done my best to let my love be irrefutably obvious. That's the greatest challenge being a leader,a teacher, an older sister, maybe next time, a mother.

Important realisation

I reminisced this walk from the pages of 3 prayer journals that I have penned since I got here.

I saw my up and downs, my inconsistencies, the same struggles, the same feelings, and the breakthroughs He brought forth.

I saw His constancy, His faithfulness, His eternal devotion.

This heart within me is grateful for all His rescuing works.

He did not wait for me to have it all together. He is willing to work at my level when not a lot of people are. He provided all my needs regardless of my faith.

This week, something else struck me.... I cant help but realise I am more attracted to His humanity than His deity.

Tylenol pm and other things

If you say I am addicted to drug, maybe you are right.

After Karen gave me some of her tylenol to store in the kitchen just in case...I have been using them 3 times in the past week all cause of headache, which yesterday's was the worst case. I went home during dinnertime and went straight to bed. So I slept and slept and slept.

This morning I was fine physicallty and emotionally until the worship time, we had a bad sound adjustment and I am still traumatized by how I sounded on the keyboard. uggggh... my fault actually, because I asked the sound manager to turn me up and my ears got all confused.

Also, I realize I havent been quite the same with my cyber habits. I dont blog everyday or check on anyone anymore. I dont even chat on msn that much too. It's like I am here but I am not.

Tadaaaa

See, brand new template again. Told ya, I will not keep the minimalist look past August 2.

Alright. Teams coming in and going out.
There was this Cambodian team, and then Perth who showed up suddenly, and one from Colorado Springs.
Cambodia is gone.
Perth is going. Their irresponsibility has driven us all nuts.
Colorado just came in this morning.
I miss the Kings Kids from El Paso. They are by far the best visiting team ever.

Nyyyah

I am so attached to my work. I need to break it. There is a real danger in finding security and even identity in what I am doing. Realised that I have put self value in my performance just like most people out here in HK would.
Nyyyyahhhhh

I need to rest...physically.

Emotional torture is over. I have a good friend back.

This weekend I m gonna chill out and read Calvin and Hobbes. I miss a tiger and my computer.

I wish I can revamp this blog but have to wait till Toosday, till Neek's birthday is over. This template is soooooo freaking ugly.

Neek Lee

Nick is one of the most unforgettable friends I have in life. I think he could be my best friend who is best in a different way than Tayo.

It was funny how I used to tell him that he could be the male version of myself. We love a few similar things..i.e. worship music, computering, cooking, shopping, and talking online. It was even funnier that one time, he actually allowed me to put nail polish on his fingernails. He was just soooooo cool!

It was him that got me interested in DTS. So, you know how important he is!!!

So, he will turn 27 sometime next week, and I think I promised to get back the minimalist look on my blog to celebrate his special day. Even though it sounds silly, still it is nice to remember a promise.

Happy birthday Neek. You know it has been always nice to chat with you all these times all these years.

The best thing

Well, one whole week had passed. Where have I been?

I have been emotionally tortured for a few things but the information is reserved for the privileged few here.

Was planning on doing a full makeover in the middle of last week during a stormy night and then because of the crazy thunder, I had to shut William down because I want him to stay alive. I dont know when I will be putting back the DTS blogring links because I dont get online at home now. All the html stuff was saved on William and I dont feel like doing it from the scratch here (office).

If you are wondering what was the best thing.. hehe... two nights ago, I dreamt of a tiger. A sweet tiger, my pet. He was huge and cuddly. He could take the whole couch and would run away when some mean people shoo him off. I woke up and wish I had a pet tiger.

Funny. It has been a long time since I read Calvin and Hobbes.

Oh well.

all by myself...JUST wanna be, all by myself...la la la

I must say, it has been a very good day.

All my favorite songs were on W this morning at The Vine. Not that it was particularly important, but it made me happy. The service was great. Wished Caryl was there. We spent all our energies and lots of money yesterday down in the Central. That's why she was hiding out today.

I, on the other hand, didn't get as tired as I wished. After passing the Yuen Long station on KCR, I decided to cruise all the way to the terminus at Tuen Mun, where Lawrence currently lives. Could have called him up, but I was so carried away being alone. So, for the first time, I explored Tuen Mun all by myself. Tuen Mun is not that exciting. It's just like Kwai Fong.

On the way back, I stopped by Yuen Long, got myself a mango dip cone at McDonald's, and some lok lok for So Young.

Sweet day.

Something about the D School of Jan 04....

I will normally check my smartcat at malaysia.com once in a while because there hasnt been active mailing activities there. And yesterday when I got in, I received a surprise present from Nancy Liaw. What a blessing. This girl I miss has been quiet for almost a year and I even thought she remembers me no more. That just gave me an idea....I will drop a bomb on Adeline, who was a Kings Kid, whom Carrie misses.

So apparently Carrie will not be coming back to Asia. I know what to tell Caryl.

Heard from Faby recently that Kevin is getting engaged with some Spanish girl he met at university.

Nicky and Brandon, who has recently became an uncle, are both working hard as FEET has now started. Nicky is the co-leader of FEET!!

William and Rose are both staff at YWAM Ensenada. It is amazing how closely involved we are in each others lives even today.

Catherine is planning her way back to Hong Kong...hopefully. Imagine the Lighthouse with her, me and Nicky.

And so many of them (Cat, Liz, Carrie, Rose, and Will(??)) will be going to see darling Kristy in Canada.

Have I forgotten to mention anyone?

I think we are too good to be true. Feels like we are still together!

Father 2

This morning I was frying chicken with some help from the SBS from Kona base. Father put me in the leader's heart to pray for me. So, Elijah and Jan (not married) came to me tonight and spoke bunch of blessings and words of knowledge over me.

This is the first time I am personally blessed by a visiting team.


I am so loved by the Father. So loved.

Happy Birthday Joe

He is 53 today. If I have known earlier, I could have made him a big bowl of noodle with chicken soup and chinese wine. I heard the Feeters will be visiting his house for their progressive dessert tonight.

One thing I forgot to mention... last weekend, we welcomed our new roomates Jeremy and Scala to our Lighthouse. They were coming to participate FEET but changed their minds to staff FEET. The Lighthouse would have been called the FEET staff house if I weren't living there.

FEET 05 finally started on Monday. With all the schools and program going, we only have 3 operation staff left on the base...Anna Jane, Caryl and me. Anna Jane is heading home (Wollongong, AUS) for furlough this saturday. Then soon, Caryl is going to go. And then, I will go too.

This half of the year will be pretty interesting for me. Whatever happens in this 5-6 months will determine what I will be doing next year.

We'll see what the kitty drags in.

Unusual Weekend

After lamenting about not seeing much of me anymore since I worked in the kitchen, Brandon suggested that we should go out for coffee sometime. So, yesterday afternoon was it.

It was the first time I went out with B, and the first time I took a free bus from Tsuen Wan West to Kwai Fong. B said, that way we could save the transportation money for our Pacific Coffee's chillinos, but he ended up paying for me.

We spent the whole afternoon talking and walking the plaza with our chillinos. We got ourselves matching anklets to commemorate our little 'date'. He made us fettuccine alfredo for dinner and then we watched 'Hero" together. He left the Lighthouse almost midnight.

It was unusual because I totally didn't expect we could do so many things in a day and I havent been so relaxed since I got back from outreach! It was unexpectedly pleasant.

It was all night prayer last night. Prayer and Feasting...Ams prepared so much snacks.

The worship/intercession time was demon terrorizing.

I had a new kitchen record. I cooked 30 lbs of chicken one night and there wasnt any leftover!!!

Catherine sent me the newest Passion CD "How Great is Our God". That song has been ringing in my head for the last 12 hours. Catherine, I know how much you like that song. I am just as obsessed as you are.

The base is so full of people now, just like during the Christmas Outreach. I really like the King's Kids. How I wish they will stay here forever.

I am completely exhausted but completely satisfied and happy.

I love being busy like crazy.

Father

I have a picture of my Heavenly Father's hands holding mine, both of us holding on to each other, refusing to let go.

I will never let go on Father's hands. My eyes are fixed on His face. As I look into the eyes, I see the reflection of a person.

So, this is what Father sees of me...

I get it!

To be able to know how Father sees me, First, I have to look into His eyes.

King's Kids International of YWAM El Paso

These kids are solid and on fire for God. They are the revival catalysts of their generation!

It is an honor to serve them and even having them swallow my entire kitchen! They thought the fish porridge that I made tasted like chicken porridge.

Tina called this morning. I gave her the mobile numbers of all the people on the base that has one.

Happy July 4th.

Famine!

Well, this El Paso KKI (King Kids International) team is hungry! I must have forgotten that they are teens.

My fruits are almost gone. Cereal and Milk completely wiped. I have two empty fridges with some eggs and few loaves of bread.

It will be a sad breakfast tomorrow. Very sad.

And they will have to endure fish porridge for lunch. Nick oversalted the baked fish last night and I thought up a perfect redemption plan.

See, I am getting good at this now.

Hehe.

Menu

Due to the good food Frank had the past week, he came by my planet and gave me a reward. First it was a rotten orange, which I immediately threw into the lapsap bin. And then this used BEE & FLOWER anti-dandruff hair conditioner, which someone from a visiting team left behind. It was really appropriate. I needed to get conditioner today but I forgot.

Just thought it would be nice to let the world know what I am planning on making next week.
Here...

Ham & Cheese sandwich, Caesar's salad, Beef with Broccoli, Green Bean Casserole, Eggs & Tomatoes, Fried salted peanuts, Chillied Pork, Stir Fry Bok Choy, Kung Pow Chicken, Baked Sweet Potatoes and Marshmallow, Beef Stew, Eggplant with Spicy Sauce, Fried Rice, OILY Tuna Sandwich, Shepherd's Pie, and Malaysia Culture Night Specials.

I am pretty sure things won't turn out the way I planned. That was how it has been the past week.

Carrie, are you returning to your university in the fall? Caryl and me are curious!!

GUESS?

I guess it is Jung Hee, my anonymous comment person. Hope you come back and visit my blog. If it is not you, then it's Faby! If I am correct, give me a present. That Ipod flashdrive/mp3 player is nice.

I guess being the Kitchen Angel is really hard. The longer I work, the more I found out little things that I didn't know, the more I found my responsibilities increasing in exponential rate. Despite people raving about the good food being produced, I still think I am a poor manager in overall. Sigh.

I guess there will be all work and no play time. I just realized I am feeding at least 70 people till the 3rd week of July.

I guess it is true what Amsterdam told me, food manager doesn't stop working.

I guess I would need to improve my improvisational skills because this has to be my standard operating mechanism now. That goes along with the last Park N Shop order where I ordered 25 big cans of Tuna Fish in OIL for my intended Tuna Fish sandwich which I have never liked.

You don't have to guess this... I am addicted to work.

Newest thought

It sounds silly but I am pondering the possibility. What if people DO become fat just by inhaling hot grease? How about for a prolonged period of time?

Performing Arts DTS starts today. A student called Angeline is here. It is the first time Angelines outnumber Annas . Who would have thought?

Somebody announced that Jung Hee is here today. Very surprised!!

The first half day went well.

and Liz, Stephen and Karen took over Godwin and Jared's kitchen duties after our DTS, then we had Tina for COR 2004 till the last DTS.

Newest in Life

I called myself the new Director of the Dining Services now in accordance to the prophecy I made last year during FEET.

But I quickly turned into a Kitchen Monster after 2 days. Why? Better leave it unsaid.

I like my work and I like the fact that I am staying in my little office which I dearly termed my planet, just as Jung Hee used to called his AV room his kingdom, until certain ungodly hour.

Being a manager is quite fun. I always have money to spend. I always have to order online and send people to the stores to get stuff. I have delivery people coming everyday. I even schedule Park N Shop to deliver twice a day (even though not deliberately) because I always need things, or rather always forget to order something. I won't be surprised if that arouses the suspicion that I am having a mega crush on the Park N Shop delivery guy.

Other than that, I am better off wearing rags these days.

I miss you Tina. TINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Why are you so freaking quiet and grey?

To Chuck

I was the coleader and she was the chief commander. 12 students went with us. I wish I have their pictures as well.

How on earth did you leave a comment as a blogger with a link to Xanga? How???? It's inconcievable!!!

US Presidents

Not only were these men leaders of our country--they were multitalented, unique, and even downright quirky. We've heard a lot about their contribution to United States history.
But would you have guessed the following…?

1. First U.S. president George Washington rejected a movement among army officers to make him king of the United States.

2. Andrew Jackson, 7th U.S. president, dueled with Charles Dickinson after he insulted Jackson's marriage.
Jackson let his opponent fire first, giving himself time to take aim. Jackson took a bullet in the chest and, without flinching, calmly killed his man.

3. James Buchanan, 15th U.S. president and the first unmarried man to be elected president, reportedly took great pride in his tiny feet, although he was a large robust man.

4. Often depicted wearing a tall black stovepipe hat, 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln carried letters, bills, and notes in his hat.

5. The 18th U.S. president, Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but he changed his name because he did not like his monogram, HUG.

6. Both ambidextrous and multilingual, 20th president of the United States James Garfield could write Greek with one hand while writing Latin with the other.

7. William Taft, 27th president of the United States, weighed more than 300 pounds and had a special oversized bathtub installed in the White House.

8. The 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson allowed sheep to graze on the White House lawn during World War I; their wool helped raise money for the Red Cross.

9. The 38th president of the United States, Gerald Ford turned down offers to play professional football for the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.

10. As a young lifeguard at a riverside beach near Dixon, Illinois, future 40th U.S. president Ronald Reagan rescued 77 people from drowning.

wzitalokiehi

So recently I have been trying to analyze myself quite ferociously.

I tried isolating Angeline (which is supposed to be me by name) and myself (my soul I suppose) just like I once tried isolating Ara h 1 allergen from the peanut proteins.

In a lot of ways rejecting myself seems very natural. I supposed I have so much fear of rejection that I rejected myself before anyone else could reject me first.

For example, it was easy for me to reject nice comments from other people. I always have difficulty believing the good things people said about me. Not to say I totally disagreed but I just knew I wasn't good enough to receive them yet.

For example, I knew I could be good in art. I felt rather strongly about artistic things and I knew intrinsically I was more inclined towards arts BUT I stubbornly chose to pursue Science until I got a Masters.

For example, I knew I could be a good leader if I wanted to BUT I was so afraid to fail, that I just rejected the whole possibility of being one. That went for being a teacher too.

For example, I knew I was supposed to be quite intelligent BUT I rather act silly because it was so easy to come up with silly ideas than intelligent ones. I rejected my intellects.

And if I ever fail as a human being, I could easily be a cat, because I was kinda known as one already. I denied my humanity.

I am also amazed at how I can decide my emotions. If someone asked me how I feel, I realized I couldn't tell the person on the spot. I had to justify my emotions and really analyze if I was truly feeling what I felt, or I was even supposed to feel that way. That constantly put me in denial because most of the time I couldn't decide if I should and so, I rejected my feelings as well. And I promise you, I have driven people (including myself) nuts with that.

My golly, have I been really hard on myself. But then, this is probably the first time I have described myself that well.

really?

Anna Kristine Aanderaa

She is one of the most talented, productive, disciplined, encouraging, trustworthy, thoughtful and BEAUTIFUL persons that I love on this base.

Now she is on her way back to Norway.

I miss her.

Goodbye sucks.

Lawrence

He is just an ex uni mate.

After he left Nebraska for Florida in 2002, I never thought I would see him again, not to say in Hong Kong.

We both agreed we looked healthier now but still wishing we were as thin as we were in 2002.

It was the first time I saw Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong. I told him, I have no desires for the materials the mall offers. I have no complicated needs. He said, "You are very Buddhist". Hilarious.

It was the first time he saw Chungking Mansion in TST. I cant believe I would be the one that took this local born and bred there.

Chern Chuan

Yesterday at the KCR, I thought I saw Chern Chuan. I knew there was no way it could be him but the guy's resemblance of him jittled me. I think I stared at him for a long time. About a week ago, while I was on the train back from OR, I thought of Chern Chuan and how much he let me be who I was when we were together. Chern Chuan was my first love and I was his. I have so much memories that still put smiles on my face......

I remember sabotaging his shoe laces and then he almost fell.
I remember him crying the first time I told him I would love him unconditionally
I remember him climbing a tree and pretended to be a monkey.
I remember him asking me if I would ever become a missionary.
I remember on our first Valentine's Day, I gave him a jar of Skippy peanut butter as a present.
I remember the only time we had a little disagreement, he got me a Hercules soundtrack and made up to me.
I remember him teaching me how to make fried green beans.
I remember all the times he cooked for me and cleaned up because I was too busy.
I remember all the times he tried to appease me when I got mad at something.
I remember him bringing me Burger King sack dinner before I took off to attend IVCF's Fall Conference.
I remember him walking me home, which was a mile away from his dorm even though there was a foot of snow out there, and then he walked back alone.
I remember him trying for a week to get his driver's licence just so that he could fulfill his promise to bring me to the Henry Doorly Zoo.
I remember him doing all he could just so I would stay in the relationship.

And I remember his tears when I told him I loved another.
But then I remember he forgave me and let me go.

Chern Chuan, I wonder what I will say to you if I ever see you again. Are you still in Omaha? Settled down with some cute girl? Most importantly, have you made a decision about God?

I realized how much I have changed (or rather became more like the girl i used to be) since I returned to Asia. You entered my mind only because I remembered the time and the girl I was when we were together. I tried to change that girl and got all confused. Now, I realized this is so ME and I am accepting it happily.

But then, will I ever see you again?

It really doesnt matter.

Post-OR Ramblings 4

my first batch dts students graduated this warm morning in a lovely little feast.

at the end of the party, craig had an announcement that we should take a look at his wife's tummy area. the little one is about 5 weeks old inside. loud shrieks, cheers and applauses in the air!

i went out to yuen long the first time since i got back from OR. bought myself a new sim card and thus restored my mobility.

got a call from catherine the joyful noise maker. i wish she is here NOW.

Post-OR Ramblings 3

if zoe didnt call this morning, i would not have waken up early enough to wash my very expired hair. i was in the middle of a dream where i am busy shopping for perfume. it was great to hear her lovely voice. i bragged to her about my recently acquainted chinese phrases but alas, not only she wasnt impressed, she didnt even know what i was talking about. i just laughed. it was hard to get upset with her because i was the one trying to be funny. i wasnt ready to get out of bed.

apparently, she is now a permanent resident of usa. go girl!!!

spent the whole afternoon making over my blog. i dont necessarily like this template better than the last one but i m getting bored of the greens. what i didnt know was retemplating removes all my links. it took me a while to learn how to insert them back into different templates. but i did it!!!

ive got lots of refund from OR fees... almost double the amount of last year's. i have to set aside 395 for new hong kong id card (my wallet got stolen during OR with all my money, ids, sim and atm card). a bit bummed over the inconveniences...but the bright side is i get to retake picture for the id because the last one i took was soooooo ugly.

i m bored. not that i have nothing to do but the things that are for me to do are ones that i m not interested to do NOW.

the humidity cant get any higher.

i realize i am complaining more on the dashboard than in real life.

Post-OR Ramblings 2

It was Fifi's (err Tryfina's) 21st birthday yesterday. We couldnt go out because some of the students including Fifi had to prepare for worship for the report back. Tonight we finally went out all of us except for Niko and Caryl, to Kam Tin to have lassis and naans. Yums.

Report back was long but great. As usual, we were not able to tell all we wanted to say because it would take longer time than all of us could bear. I am glad it was over.

Had a good reunion with Catherine and Budi on MSN. I am satisfied.

Yawn.

Post-OR Ramblings

i havent stopped smiling since i got back. some people even said i looked different from the way it was during OR. cuter they said. i can live till my old age with that.

life here is not as good as it was during the OR. the last two months even though living out of a backpack, i got to stay in rooms of bigger sizes, not having to climb to go to bed, 24 hr a/c with tv and tons of favorite dramas vs only having a/c from 10p - 6a and no tv to watch, not needing to clean bathroom vs having to clean it once every week, having other people to clean up after each meal and NO STAFF MEETINGS.

caryl and i were so good at finding luxury hotels.

evangelism was fun. there was this strong annointing that finally it became really natural for me. i would like to get even better. i know the Big Dude was pleased!

leadership was ok. not easy, not really difficult, and not really natural for me as well. it was a rare, occasional, and an only-happened-whenever-necessary phenomenon...like the eclipse. but i will do it again. evangelism was too fun to be hindered by that.

other than that, sometimes i couldnt help feeling lonely. there were times i strongly felt being part of the people out there more than part of the team especially when i started to feel and think in the language of the people. but then i was one with team in terms of our goals and spirituality. they were of two different worlds that were trying to collide. and collision was happening inside me concurrent to my realization of how big the difference was. actually it never stopped. it started when i came back to asia and i felt it stronger and more when i wasnt on the base. it is just one of the many analyses that i havent had a complete closure or no closure at all.

i must say i am one of the most interesting characters around. it is STILL a debate whether i m more asian or western; i am so kiddish as if i am trapped in my childhood even though i m about to hit my 30s; i am supposed to be quite intelligent but i like acting silly just as i m supposed to be a human but acting a lot like a cat.

no wonder most people think i m complex. rachel just said i m a walking paradox.

but then again, it was nothing compared to what jesus had felt. when he was on the planet, he was both man and god. that must have been really hard.

i will have to stop here. i have some testimonies to prepare for tomorrow's report back. i usually dont like to procrastinate.

Adios Tina

itz the last day i will see my Tina. here is the list that nobody else can get away with if you do this to Tina. sit on her laps, step on her feet, touch her with my feet, take a nap under her blankie. she said she doesnt know why she let me did all those. if she believes in reincarnation, i must be a cat in my past life.

like ive said, there's no functional substitute for Tina.

responding to all the people that asked about the taste of recycled tea. after much thought, i would say, it doesnt taste as good as the normal tea. EWWWW

so this IS the last entry before i leave. my important prayer request: pray that we all dont gain weight!!!

all blessings and love.

Almost Outreach

at least 5 people had asked me this today. are you ready for outreach? i had a standard answer. ask me again next week then i will be able to tell you. strange. i realize i have this tendency of living in the past. afterall i posted a mile long blog about dts 2004 in the middle of dts 2005.

maybe it is the effect of using godzilla firefox. i realize sometimes i need to 'reload' the pages that i frequent because it seems to have really long 'history' memory. i bet nobody understood what i just mentioned. nevermind. this is my 'note to self' thing.

so i have been cleaning up some of the stuff in my room. i found lots and lots of chocolate that was given to me during christmas. i didnt remember i had them. no wonder i feel like i have lost some weight.

got a care package from william keomany. a bag of pretzels to remind me of MASH, jollies, a chapstick, and 2 cds. check this out. one of it is of hillsong and delirious recorded during the hillsong conference 2003. i m so in delirium. it has my favorite song 'here i am (majesty)'. am i spoilt or am i spoilt? thanks will. you are my hero of the year.

i have to tell you what happened yesterday. i almost took out my last post. in fact i was even close to shut down my blog site completely because of the last comment i received on it. when i first read it, i felt this sudden darkness loomed my soul. and i am not remotely close to exaggerating.

then i found out who that was, i was immediately paralyzed with horror and fear and shame and regrets. so, i sent out an email asking for forgiveness. this morning i got a reply saying that it was a joke that flopped.

phew! what a relief.

i can SMILE and BLOG again. i am surprised how quickly i get out of trauma these days.

tomorrow, i m fulfilling the promise i made to chris and tryfina while we were in india. i m bringing them into czzzz.

DTS 2004 Canonized

My favorite memories of DTS 04.

I wrote this sometime during OR last year, not in any particular order of timeline or favoritism.

Pre-OR

• The night I gave my testimonies on how God led me to YWAM HK where almost all my newly met dtschoolmates gathered around me in Judah House. Rose (then Starla) got so excited that she stopped me halfway and had me retell because she wanted to tape it on her recorder.
  
• The whole knitting fever.
• Being called 'angelito' by Faby. It changed to 'Gatito' right before OR.
  
• First meeting with Brandon (he's really polite), William (he talks too much and too loud), and Carrie (she is so beautiful but doesnt really want to talk).
• I almost couldnt believe Carrie (calls herself Chuck) shaved her head.
  
• When Caryl told Tim that I was her favorite student, not Nick. But of course she didnt mean it. Was fun seeing her trying to cover up the obvious.
  
• The first King & I experience. washing dishes for hours in the cold rain.
• The night So Young, Faby, Godwin, Kevin and I ate hot pot together in Yuen Long. I busted my lungs laughing at Godwin's funny stories, told by Faby.
• Preparing breakfast with William and how he always woke up late. The day he made scrambled eggs with me and I ended up burning them in the oven while trying to keep them warm. I laughed so hard that I almost passed out.
  
• Hanging out in Judah's kitchen listening to political discussion between Rahel, Carrie, and Nicky (about Bush).
• Our first holy communion together following the announcemnt that Sara and Tiffany had to leave the school.
  
• Playing pick scrabble with Kevin, Liz and Kristy. This is what Liz had FAG, FAT, and ZIT. and Kevin said 'wow Liz, you have a positive thing going on there'.
• Playing UNO with the same troop with me consistently being the loser.
• All the silly conversations Nicky and I had in our room.
  
• Presenting a skit about different occupations (addict's anonymous was the theme) in the mandarin class.
• When Caryl prayed over me and got the word to let go of the past because the future is greater and better than what could ever imagined during a worship session. Faby was leading worship with her favorite song 'where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom'.
• The time when Faby and I made fake passports for Kevin and how we almost died laughing.
  
• The time when Faby,Kevin, and I jammed in Jericho and our conversation on sweet and sour moskitos.
  
• When William came over to play monopoly with Catherine, she had to pray for the protection over their relationship before they started the game.
• Everytime Faby and I laughed. Each time I did that, I lost a pound of weight.
• Liz's gaze of doom.
• Watching Nancy dance.
• Whenever Will prayed in public.
  

Favorite OR memories

• The little sidetrip with Rose(then still Starla) and Brandon to get extra pages on their passports and that Rose found her Skippy peanut butter, I found my obsessed Uniball Vision Elite blueblack pen and Brandon had coffee at Starbucks. I found out that Brandon's dad and Jim worked together at Goodyear Lincoln over icecream at Haagendaz.
  
• Shopping with Rose in the alleys. Shopping with Rose anywhere.
  
• Will with his passion on $1 icecream bars and wahaha water at the corner shop by the university's entrance.
• Being called Miss Malaysia 2004.
  
• I was taking a nap one afternoon where the team were up in the mountains, then woke up hearing Carrie singing Psalm 121 to God on behalf of the villagers. This memory touched my heart forever. It became a permanent inspiration. Thanks Chuck.
  
• The 2 weeks when the team had team pets, Howard and Xiao Ya. How Carrie parented the ducklings...i.e. sang Christmas carols to put them to sleep, let them swam in the bathtub, cleaned their crap etc. The whole conversation featuring Will's (then XiaoKai) and Rose's attempts to convince Carrie to get rid of the ducklings and how to do it. I, who was the only other person in the hotel room listened attentively at the same time minding my own business.
• The time Anna Jane, Brandon, Will and I broke curfew. We chatted in the living room of our apartment until past 2am, about everything including politics.
• The monopoly marathon at the same apartment and Catherine's losing streak (because I never played).
• Political talks between Will and Rose at the same apartment.
• Will's 'note to self' habit.
  
• The time when Catherine (then Cat), Brandon, Carrie, and James started to read out from a mormon book which Cat had borrowed from James's mom..something about women.
• The time we had to pack and leave a city on one hour's notice, had to celebrate Will's blessing day on the train.
  
• The time when all the girls got to stay in one big room with 6 bunked beds. When Cat had to take a poll on everyone to choose either Vanilla or Chocolate but those are not options for icecream flavors. The fact we couldn't decide what temperature to set for our AC because half of us love coldness and the other half cannot stand it.
  
• Our last team time together where we played with the chairs and buzzers.
  
• Will ran out of money at the end of OR and asked me if I could buy him water. So cute!!

Post-OR

• The big reunion at Sheung Shui's McDonald's.
  
• The Graduation and Love Feast. The staff forgot to print Kristy's certificate.
  
• Conversation with Will on 601 about the possibility of me joining staff.
• The MTR ride when Adeline read Rahel's quotes she recorded during OR.
  
• Plotted with Rose to give Caryl a mysterious National Caryl's Day. Support Your Local Caryl, Give Her a Hug!
  
• Spent 7 hours in Yuen Long with Nancy.
• Right before Nancy left, she gave me one of her pants that she just wore. She said 'there's some period stains on them, and they are still fresh'!!!
  

Addition to the family

just got back from kam tin. dts went out to have lassi (very yummy indian yoghurt drink) to celebrate lisa's 9th week pregnancy. lisa and mathias went to the doctor this morning and had their suspicion confirmed.

so, there's a change of plan. they will be doing their outreach phase in hk instead. the doctors advised them to go back to germany because the pregnancy is considered 'high risk'. lisa had chemotherapy 9 months ago and isnt supposed to get pregnant after 2 years. but they decided to finish off the dts and graduate with the rest of the school.

it was an emotional day.

this is the first school where we will end with an extra person. :-)

that was my second trip to kam tin today. this afternoon, i had to go to the post office to mail something to godwin. i stopped by a restaurant to get lunch because the base is having 'rice salad' which i was totally not excited about.

i had the most embarrassing realization. you see, whenever i went to a typical hong kong restaurant and ordered something. they would bring this tea in a small cup. of course i thought it was a complementary drink and i always drank it. the lady that served me asked me if i wanted anything else to drink because they serve tea and soda and so on. i was like, why should i order another tea when they already brought me one so i declined. then i saw her bringing another customer the tea with chopsticks and spoon sticked in the cup. i was so horrified. the first thing that entered my mind was i have been drinking recycled tea. EWWWWWWW. the second thing were all the conclusions the people could come up with seeing me drinking rinse tea. EWWWWWWW.

it is a custom to rinse diningware with tea before eating in hk chinese restaurants. i learn something about eating culture today.

On Suffering

only through those time, i came to know who God is. i experienced His closeness, His peace, and His joy that cannot be taken away. it was a time of cleansing, purifying....where all the complexity of life reduced itself to one simple hope. He got my earnest attention but i was on the greater receiving end.

i miss my days of sufferings. those are precious moments where i truly lived. now i am craving for them.

i simply cant stand mediocrity and complacency.

celebrate suffering. dont avoid it. you dont know what you are missing out.

what can my enemy possibly do to me when i am completely fearless of suffering?

Prank Calls

it was 7:23am. i just stepped out of shower and rachel knocked on the bathroom. apparently i had a phone call. so i heard a very strange accent asking me if i know who he was. he said something like "oh come on...do you really want us to talk like normal?" and so that gave him away. william keomany called me. he wanted some phone numbers of some other people on the base so that he can make prank calls in the morning. wretched!

but... faby overpranked him. tina said, she called so-young at 530am just to laugh at her, then hung up!

one week to OR

william keomany,

i have wanted to tell you for a while. i think jason upton is exceptional. i was packing for outreach the whole afternoon and i had the jason upton cd you burnt playing while i was doing that.

thank you so much for that cd. i m addicted.

recently the base has been overtaken by EWC fans (to my dismay). lots of EWC stuff being introduced during W time. i m working on liking them...but not very promising. you came in the wrong year!

anyway, if you decide not to go to ensenada but meet up with liz and chuck, tell chuck i enjoyed her stories. but if you decide to go to ensenada, tell rose about my blog and give her my love.

when you see cat this weekend, give her a smile from me. up to you however you want to make it.

you are awesome.

L O V E

interesting quotes on LOVE i collected some years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart."--Unknown

"Tell me whom you love and I will tell you who you are."--Houssaye

"A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?"

"A man falls in love through his eyes, a woman through her ears." --Woodrow Wyatt

"It is better to be hated for what you are then to be loved for what your not"--Andre Gide

"They that love beyond the world cannot be seperated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies."

Love that remains longest in your heart is the one that is not returned

"You know your in love when you can see your unborn children in her eyes."--Bryan Adams, from Have You Ever Loved A Woman?

"A man sees him-self through the eyes of the women he loves."-- James R. Copeland

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.
---St. Augustine

Everthing has beauty, but not everyone sees it. ---Confucius

Love isn't what makes the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. ---Franklin P. Jones

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. ---William Shakespeare

Love enables you to put your deepest feelings and fears in the palm of you partner's hand, knowing they will be handled with care. ---Carl S. Avery

Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them by what is deepest in themselves. ---Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The only love worthy of a name is unconditional. ---John Powell

You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.---Sam Keen

The heart has its own memory, like the mind, and in it are enshrined the precious keepsakes of life.

"Gravitation can not be held responsible for people falling in love."
Albert Einstein Quotes

"How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"---Albert Einstein Quotes

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour.
Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity."---Albert Einstein Quotes

"The heart has reasons that reason does not understand."---Jacques Benigne Bossuel

"Some pray to marry the man they love, my prayer will somewhat vary: I humbly pray to heaven above that I love the man I marry."---Anouk Aimée

"The richest love is that which submits to the arbitration of time."---Lawrence Durrell

"There is no disguise which can hide love for long where it exists, or simulate it where it does not." ---La Rochefoucauld

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."---Thoreau

"To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage." -- Lao Tzu

I dropped a tear in the ocean, when they find it, that's when I'll stop loving you.

Sometimes I wish I were a kid again, skinned knees are easier to fix than broken hearts.

Love speaks even when lips are closed.

The heart speaks a language of which the mind knows nothing.

Why is it that no matter how much pain it endures by holding on...the heart refuses to let go?

Heavy is the sorrow that bows the head when love is alive and hope is dead.

不尽的麦浪

当你举目遥望时尽入眼帘的是什么？
你可曾瞧见残余夕阳下不尽的麦浪待人去收割？
若你仍是铁铸般的呆立着，辽阔的大地将是一片贫瘠，
庄稼就会一颗颗的凋残，一株株的枯萎。
福音的种子要撒下，真理的火炬要举起，
我要如鹰展翅上腾，任你东南西北风，翻飞却不困倦。
愿荆棘蒺藜与我交战，我就勇往直前，把它一同焚烧。

要收的庄稼扁满地
谁能完成父心愿?

我说我在这里请差遣我.

this is a song i learnt at least 15 years ago once, in my own heart language and obviously way before i was proficient in english. there are a few characters i dont even know if i remember them correctly anymore.

the song is probably no longer remembered or sung.

it is about the Father's anxious heart for His harvest. it spoke to me like never before, and never again.

it still speaks volumes today.

my heart was spoken for -a long time ago.

The Return of Amsterdam

she is hot! i dont get to see her much until today. she came over to the Lighthouse to play with the girls, and i made her lunch then found out she recently became a vegan.

she always blesses me. she got me aquafresh extreme clean toothpaste, a pink visor, cat stickers, a green bermuda bag from old navy, and three pairs of spiky rubbery funky color earrings that i would never buy for myself because i never think i could be cool enough for those.

itz nice when someone else think more highly of me than i would think of myself.

she makes me happy. always.

we went over to anna jane's new apartment for housewarming. i love staff parties like this when we are not having it on the base.

by the way, her real name is annemarie mee. she doesnt have a middle name. they call her ams here for short. eventually and naturally i started to call her amsterdam.

she is my hearo (my great listener). i came close to worship her (just kidding)!

Ode to Neek

not sure if he really deserves this.

today i m not sure about a lot of things. if i were a bunny, both my ears would be drooping covering both my buck teeth. and then i m not sure if a bunny could actually droop its ears.

so neek, i have to tell you i love my new template too much. st patrick's day's my favorite holiday. *pause* just joking lamely, ok.

sorry, cant give it up for you. maybe i will do it on your birthday, which i forgot. *acck** hacck* when *acck** cough* is* haack** aaack* your *cough** cough** kaacck* kaack* birth *haack** accck* day? i m sure you are the only viewer that can decipher that. well, i m not that sure actually.

just saw this on my gmail sign in page. i cracked up.

On the eve of gmail's one-year birthday, our engineers were toiling away furiously. notes scribbled all over the walls. complex calculation on napkins and empty pizza boxes. millions of m&ms.

the result...starting today, we are beginning the roll-out of our new and top secret infinity+1 storage plan. the key features are
1. write, dont worry. we want to stop caring about storage. we want to keep giving you more. today and beyond.
2. the gift that keeps on giving. and a *counter that doesnt stop counting* megabytes of storage for every user.

3. no complicated equations. no tough algorithms. and this graph which unfortunately cannot be uploaded (because i havent figured out why the upload image/file button doesnt work on me..grrrr)

just thought it was a great april's fool joke.

we get 2G from gmail now. cheers.

Visa Blues

if i were a bunny, both my ears will be drooping down covering my eyes.

we were in town submitting our visa applications for outreach. our request was denied. we needed a longer staying permit. now, halfway through our outreach, we will have to get an extension for our visas, which will cost us.

caryl and i went shopping afterwards to take our minds off the unfortunate situation. i bought myself one of the ugliest looking pants for 29hkd. it cant decide if it is red or orange. very strange. i can bring it on outreach and let it be destroyed, OR try tie bleach and paint some art on it to remember this day.

then i realized i will be seeing my "Amsterdam" within the next 24 hrs. i guess i should conclude that my day is redeemed. she is bringing me presents...one of which is her lovely self.

seen my links?? they are ALL functioning now. didnt take me too long to work that out.

www.50days.net

a very important ywam event commences. the whole base was fasting the whole day today. during meal times, we gathered to do devotionals and pray together....on top of our scheduled intercessions.

so for the first time all the staff and students came for 'breakfast'.

now, you can see i had a major revamp on my blog. do you like it better? i do. also, i finally switched to godzilla firefox. had it all nicely customized and color coordinated with my blog. feel really good.

i am trying to put all my ex dtschool mates blogs on my links but alas, it seems like i can link any xangas on my blog. are xangas and google rivalling kingdoms? well, guess what, i m too tired (as of now to find out how to fix it). my goal is to get all the xanga links on my site. maybe after outreach.

speaking of which the exciting adventure is exactly 2 weeks from today. we still havent finalized the cities we are going. tonight we had a major intercession to get our visas and to hear from Him where He wants us to go. other than that, we had our first team meeting. outreach work duties were handed out last week and the persons that are handling intercession were already leading it tonight. packing list was distributed.

we are just busy...getting ready.

caryl cut her hair over the weekend. she couldnt decide if she likes it. i couldnt decide if i even consider her caryl anymore. she looks more like a susan or something. hmm... i was never that undecisive about a person like this ever. so weird.

tina (my beloved kitchen goddess) has been missing in action. she is still down with illness. i was really depressed when she moved out of the Lighthouse. her commitment is almost over. she will be leaving a day after dts leaves on outreach and i never know when or if i will see her again. tamsin, who just known her since december said, she is going to bawl her eyes out!!! will i? probably not... but i will miss her. there's no one like tina. there's no functional substitute for tina.

ok folks. i m spacing out. i think sleep sounds good. weally weally weally good.

peace out!

happy easter

this is unusual. i never stayed past midnight to blog.

i just talked to the boucs on the phone... finally.

i wish geographical barrier is an illusion.

happy easter everyone.

happy almost easter

so i had a great day.

for the first time i made penne with pesto sauce and served nicky and young hae, a dts student from ywam kona, who is passing through the base to go to cxxxx for their outreach.

had the most unusual quiet time. i didnt actually prayed or read and without really trying to listen, He spoke really clear about many things (for one afternoon). i dashed off to kwai fong (i was trying to decide whether to go to sha tin or kwai fong but i believed i should go to kwai fong). i found sandals and slippers i needed for outreach. He took me out for shopping. everything i bought with the price i wanted to pay. it was so fun to spent time with Him like this.

here's a little side story while i was in metroplaza, kwai fong. i saw him. i bet he is some kinda of a celebrity or something because i saw quite a few body guards and some school girls asking him for his autograph. he looked at me and while i showed him a face saying 'sorry, you might be famous but i really dont know you'. he walked away, and i walked away thinking bummer only if i were 10 years younger... i was proficient with all hong kong entertainment hotties. now i m such a nerd. then i took a glance at the banner on the stage (the same stage judy and anna did their dances and drama during christmas outreach recently). i saw his name. and hey, i knew who he is. eric yu. he is the guy that acted in infernal affairs 2. he was tony's character when tony's character was younger. i actually like him a lot!!!! i really like him!!!! now this is special.

i gotta tell rachel. flashback...after christmas outreach ended, the base was closed for about a week. rachel, tina, godwin, me, and tamara watched infernal affair 1, 2, and 3. those nights were really unforgettable. we would watch for 2 minutes, paused, and discussed what happened....none of us were great cantonese listeners. by the time we watched IA 3, we were all confused beyond repair.

back to my day. i accomplished what He told me to do today. i think this is one of the happiest and memorable day in 2005 (even without seeing eric).

it has been an incredible week. dts had joe (our base director) spoke on missions. while a lot of us disagreed with some of the opinions he presented, i have never been so insightful about the drive behind whatever he said. i am actually with him, understanding where he came from. we had something in common this week. joe too, has the pain (that never went away) in his heart for the people, who never had a chance to hear about jesus, had never known that they do not have to be fearful of the evil spirits, had never known there is hope and healing, when their loved ones were sick and dying, but most importantly, his heart for his master, his God. He missed out having a relationship with them, despite loving them and longing for them so much.

so much of debate on whether He is going to send the people who never heard to hell or not. even at this time, they were scrutinizing His justice but failed to see that He came for a relationship. i m sad to say most students heard and thought they had it... but they didnt. they received information, but they failed to receive revelation.