started...

reading ender's game. felt strange it didn't have pictures! haha readjusting to reading leisurely with just words...

on another matter, went downtown for a sandwich run and it was pretty interesting. chatted a little and learnt some stuff so it was really interesting! and it's almost 2012 but i don't really feel like it's very crazy that it's a new year or like how i felt before when it's exciting that the year is about to change haha maybe time just feels all the sameee like day to day.

some exciting news (probably only for me)! i won my first dota2 game and it was rather exciting and kinda scary!! but i was very positive at the end andddd it felt good to contribute to the team!

my blogs have less and less real content... what happens when you blog often!

that happy moment when...

you're reading manga/watching anime and they make a reference to another anime/manga and you understand it :D makes reading it that much more wonderful!

but i borrowed ender's game from irene i should probably be reading that!

Christmastime.. generic seasonal post title could not think of anythingggg

today someone remarked how i hadn't updated my blog and i admitted i did not blog too often so maybe i shall...

mm not that much has been on my mind recently... just kinda been hanging out or staying at home and stuff. i guess if there's one thing to think about it's that january is approaching really really fast! and i'm kind of nervous for my co-op term cause i'm scared i won't be competent enough in whatever they ask me to do... but we will see!

i've definitely been having a lot of fun i guess being at home and doing not a lot... which is nice after a whole term of school hahah and watching movies! today i watched the cube and it was really stressful cause so much suspense and things that pop up really scare me buuuut i guess in retrospect how they figured it out and the idea of it is interestingggg. i think i had really high expectations of it though which maybe made it worse.

mmm just such mindless rambling! haha i guess i'm glad i'm spending time at homeee :) more time with parents, more time piano playing!, spending less money, and i guess i should go learn more excel things since i'm probably using that a lot next term! kind of exciting and also intimidating.

ooo what was good a couple days ago was baptism on Christmas! always so joyous and happy for all the people that got baptized! very happy and lotsa card writing! i felt very convicted to keep praying for some of the people who got baptized so i hope i don't forget! this also reminds me of what a friend said today and the thing she talked about is really sticking to me because i never realized the truth in what she said cause i never even considered it.. i know i'm being vague.. but yah makes me kind of sad...

getting older

people recently joked about me being old since i'm born early in the year and there are just so many december birthdays! however i recently came across an interesting quote: Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.
It definitely made me kind of think that these simple things i overlook and take for granted yet words like "i wish i wasn't so old!!" easily slip out of my mouth but i don't really know what the implications or the meaning of those thoughts are...

You alone are the real joy giver!

I feel like God has opened my eyes to many things this week and has showered me with many blessings this term :)

One thing I think that I have improved in this term is filling my responsibilities to do well with being a student! I'm definitely working harder than previous terms and it feels good to not have to do assignments at 4am in the morning! But I think at some point I got lost in the school part of it and forgot the reason why I want to fulfil my studently responsibilities in the first place and to not focus on getting good grades and doing well relative to my friends (since they are all so smart! :P) but what helps me to remember too is just being blessed with the ability to be in school particularly when I hear stories of children that love to learn and wish they could be in school and would travel miles to be in class! So what a blessing and joy it is to be able to learn!

As well, I was talking to someone about the respect we have for doctors and nurses and how they are able to help so many people and even save lives!! and it constantly makes me wonder why I am not in such an amazing profession that must be wonderfully rewarding and then I remember that God must have a grand plan for those who aren't skilled to be a doctor! It's absolutely beautiful how we are all blessed with different gifts and passions to do different things with one thing in common: to bring glory to God and "save" people (perhaps not physically and also cause we don't actually save them!) by telling them about the One who has saved them :) We had a lady share at our church about the need to be humble in recognizing the skills we don't have as well (and perhaps what we aren't called to) and let other people who are gifted in that area to do that and to help in areas where we are so gifted, which is really nice to consider when we often talk about knowing our gifts - but what about knowing what our gifts are not?

And then another amazing thing this week was the Merge! Though for the most part it was just having really great laughs with people and meeting new people, taking a step back it was really a night of great fellowship! It was amazing to know the different people that willingly came out for the purpose of getting together because of a common love for God! What made this night extra encouraging was at the end when I re-met N.W. who I had not seen in a long time but we had shared prayer requests awhile back and that this person actively seeked me out to again ask how I was, which definitely encouraged me to see how this person loved people and it is clearly a love overflowing from God!

anyways taht's a really long blog i guess for having not blogged in awhile and definitely tons more stuff have happened than recorded but this week has been very encouraging for me and i thank you God for it!

3rd year day 1

YAY starting school again and it's kind of exciting. looking forward to many different things this term. it's been one day so far and i have moved in and cleaned my room and things have been fun. not much work i guess to keep me super busy yet. probably most memorable thing that has happened thus far.... PLAYING WITH NERF GUNS. especially awesome after watching firefly where there's tons of gunfights and pretending to be an agent or ninja hehe definitely makes me feel less sad for breaking my umbrella sword :(

yummy food

I remember when i was younger and we were asked what our favourite food was I would always say icecream. Actually not even when i was younger. even now haha because i panic and can't think fast enough. but today i am eating two of my favourite foods! One of them is chicken wings! I love chicken wings.. in almost all the ways you can prepare them.. bake, pan-fry, deep fry, etc i guess it depends on the sauce but in general any kind of chicken wings i will love! The other thing i'm eating right now is EGGPLANT, i'm pretty sure growing up i did not want to eat eggplant but one day in first year i somehow tried eggplant. i'm not sure if i tasted a friend's dish which had eggplant or if i saw it and i thought it looked good so i got it but i remember i really loved the eggplant from the dc building and always wanted it and would also just buy the eggplant on its own. so yummy!

overcome

yay blog again :) so im sitting on some grass now as i write and the weather is wonderful and so goood and i'm listening to this song by Hillsong United which i first heard at the hillsong concert I went to the past saturday. side note: i sat on something and it really hurt so i got up and not im squatting now but the pain is still there haha :( okay anyways i learnt this song called oh you bring and i really like it :D but that's not the song i want to talk about... haha another song i heard was called "take heart" and they played it in conjunction with one of my favourite verses:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

This was just such a beautiful reminder that Christ has overcome this world, He has overcome death, He has OVERCOMEEEE. and if i put my hope in Him and He is one that has overcome this world, what things in this world do I worry about if i lift my burdens up to Him and He has me in His hands that holds all things together. I pray I continue to put my faith into Jesus for He is amaaazing. All honour, glory, and praise to Him.

Anyways.. what's been up recently.. not too much really but ive been able to enjoy some wonderful time with some guuurls, been working, finally played some vball again though i have gotten sooo much worse, and i'm kinda looking forward to school. i miss that atmosphere haha. gosh summer has been so goooood in retrospect despite some rougher patches. i'm really enjoying my moment here outdoors right now haha kinda wish i could just always have moments like these where i don't have to worry about anything haha but i know there is work to be done!!

update !

So long time no blog >< BUT things have been EHHH =\ struggling with a lot of things but i think the beauty is that despite my lack of reliance on God, He's still there and He still hears me and He still loves me and He knows my heart and my struggles and He provides!! A lot of things I was upset at but I feel lk so many things got "resolved" or answered and it was like all at once haha and greatly greatly encouraged yesterday by a SISTER in Christ, which was soooo timely and WONDERFUL. Pray that I can learn to really rely on Him only and to really experience what it means for God to be ENOUGH!

other than that work has been interesting!! dealing with 105 MB excel files, taking pictures of people in the office (FOR WORK PURPOSES)! still gotta clean my room and i'm looking forward to going back to school!

we will sing, sing, sing, grateful that You hear us!

i am so grateful that God hears us...

well i have been really bad with the blogging >_< but summer has been interesting so far. i'm not really quite sure what God has been teaching me recently but it's been good but it's also been really tough. firstly God blessed me with a job that i'm so grateful for and i'm so happy that i can be productive and also the opportunity to gain experience and it's interesting exemplifying Christ-likeness in the workplace where everyone is kinda vulgar and just kind of saying mean things... but it really does get tough cause work is getting stressful and busy and hope i don't stray from a loving and gentle heart!! try to listen to Christian music during work to remind me that I draw my strength from God :) but while things are good many other things are tough and it's hard to maybe carry all that burden right now? it just feels like a lot of things are bugging me and making me upset and i still don't know how to deal with it after already facing so many of these trials... and so amidst all this "stuff" i'm glad that God still loves me, cares for me, and is willing to listen and is still by my side. i know He'll always be there.

also i saw fireflies at summer conference and it was all dark except for the fireflies so it was like... light in the darkness :) i hope that i can be a light...

whispers of the heart

I recently watched a Ghibli film called "whispers of the heart" and plot wise and all it was kinda weird but i really like this song but mostly because of the feeling from the movie that came with the song:

and I read one of the people's comments on Ghibli films and they said: "Their movies has "that feeling" that you will never find in other productions. The feeling of being human, strong and mature people with a heart of a child." and I think this is why I liked the song haha

okay anyways that's such meaningless stuff... LONG TIME NO BLOG but undoubtedly many things have happened since feb 2011... Recently I haven't been doing too much. trying to make this a really productive summer though =D i went to the library and borrowed books! children's chinese books... to improve my reading skills haha and driving a lot. i looove driving :D kind of anti-urban planning vision haha i am currently enjoying a nice breeeze coming into my room! anddd being able to wear dresses and no coat :D i'm so happyyyy hahaha lots of friends are back this summer, lots of new friends!, lots of friendship building and lotsa gooood times. Thank you God! I hope my summer will be glorifying to Him :)

also i'm very happy because sooomeone is borrowing something from my blog hahah ^^ okay my life is not that interesting haha but things are going WELL and when the troubles comeee cause i can feel em coming... I hope that I can still praise Him and still have that joy!

blessed with different circumstances

just now i said aloud "i'm so hungry" and then i instantly regretted saying it because i realized i'm NOT THAT hungry. i'm just a bit hungry. and even when i'm REALLY hungry it probably doesn't compare to what people who don't have constant access to food really feel... whenever we say grace before our meals and give thanks to God for the food that we so readily have and for the lifestyle that we live... are we really actually grateful? sometimes i feel like i'm just grateful at that moment but later on i'm going to complain about this and that... i want to know what it means to be truly thankful for the lifestyle that God has blessed with. but i don't mean that because we live better off lives we are any better than those who have, materially, less. i once watched some program about some people who would go experience what it means to live under hardships and after a time that the people spent homeless for a couple days, one of them said that it's not that one is any better than the other, just that we are blessed with different circumstances.

i guess what really got me thinking about this whole thing is my geog203 class haha which i've blogged about many times. i recently watched a video clip about electronic wastes and how we always want new technology or old technology is quickly replaced by new stuff. the old stuff gets shipped away to the poor parts of the world where people sort through our toxic waste in order to get scraps of metal and other minerals they can sell to earn a living. however the practices they use to extract this is extremely toxic and harmful to their health. it's very expensive to do this in a healthier manner so companies don't want to pay these costs and send them away. the clip shows a man in india using toxic methods to extract things out of old computers and he says "i know i'm wasting my life, but i don't want my children to waste theirs" :( and then in a small village in China, all you see is piles of old technology and people using dangerous methods like heating lead and then breathing it in >< it made me want to cry T_T it really bothered me after class as i walked to slc... i guess it made me want to know and be TRULY grateful... idunnoooo it's sad =( but just feels lk theres nothing i can do


on a less serious note.. i'm done midterms until after reading week anddd i think it overall went okay? it was kind of a tough second week but i think God really brought me through it and at the end of my last midterm for the week, i stepped out of B1 and the weather was absolutely WONDERFUL and ... it was just beautiful haha thank you God so much SO MUCH :)

"stuff"

i haven't been blogging too often this term. i think it's also because i have to log off of gmail and sign on with my hotmail account cause that's what it's connected to so it's kind of a bother =( but now that i am not chatting with anyone currently i figure it's a good time to catch up a bit. i think too much time has passed since my last post really fill it all in but i guess no one wants to read everything anyway hahah

but idunno things are... interesting. 4 midterms coming up before reading week.. kinda takes away the point of reading week to use it for studying haha but it's okay it means i'll have a more relaxed break :D and i went home this weekend and i didn't get to spend a lot of time with my family so i'm feeling really homesick right now :( also i have been getting so little sleep.. today i slept SO MUCH T_T in class after vball, at slc after class, in class later on in the afternoon, in slc again after class.... so bad!! and here i am posting at 145 am >_< i also got a new phone and it's a slide with a full keyboard. it makes me feel like the girl from code geass with is a knight of the rounds and she always carries around a device that appears similar to my phone and she pilots this heavy power robot :D i sometimes like to identify myself with cool characters from places or games heh




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"stuff" ..feeling very heavy hearted..want to explode T_T

reconcile

I've been learning a lot lately and just seen how God has worked in my life to reconcile me to a friend really brings it home again just how sovereign and almighty He is. Things that seemed impossible or unlikely, God can do! I feel like there are still so many people i have to "get right with"... even broken relationships that just don't even have anymore anger or tension still have that lingering awkwardness that needs to be overcome. But i won't be discouraged because i know that it can be done if it is in His will. i guess recently i've been able to see the pain and hurt that comes with tension between people, when there is anger and when two people just need to be reconciled to one another; forgiven...

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:31 - 32

i'm also learning about the huge difference between Godly love and human love... they are so different and the gap is huge. on our own we could never love everyone selflessly but when we consider the Cross and love from an overflow of the heart, God's love is apparent and goooood!

blessings

i love how God is so good... so things have been pretty interesting this past week. there was retreat first of all and i think God just spoke so simply to me and it was just BEAUTIFUL. i reeecently been going through some suffering and just pain and it felt like such a huge burden and i felt like i was going into retreat kind of ...heavy hearted? but God just spoke through Paul and spoke so directly and clearly and it was just such an 'oh snap' moment. Paul Zung, our speaker, said how Jesus and Paul lived a life full of suffering. They had to endure so much physical pain but also a lot of emotional pain as well: betrayal, unfaithful friends, hatersss, etc. However, they never forgot about their purpose and about the light of the Gospel. While they suffered greatly, they never let their sufferings hinder their serving or held them back from continually being a light unto the world. As the speaker put it, suffering is like a line, but the light is another. They run parallel to each other - pain never deters the going out of the light. Basically I learnt that I was letting my troubled times, my times in the "wilderness", interrupt how well i shone that light. It was a perfectly timed lesson :) God is goooood like that ^^

as well God blessed me with an interview in first round and it's kind of high level and competing with 4th years and I have no idea HOW i even got this because I was so sure I'd get NOTHING for first round because I don't have any good experience >_< so i can definitely only give all the glory to Him and attribute this opportunity to Him. and i had my interview today and it was really scary but also a really really good experience and i am really unsure as to how it went but I just want to trust in Him and to continue to be joyful despite the outcome. though this is indefinitely harder when the rankings and stuff ACTUALLY comes out...

and today rosanne and sophie came over and it was FUN TIMES :) oh and josh too ahaha

more geog203

this is a really interesting class! we watched a movie today about kenya and a movement that happened there and it's really sad but also kind of inspiring to see the fruits of people standing up for what they believe and helping people overcome things and stuff. and it was about how it started with a movement to protect the environment by just planting trees. and at the end of the video, a soldier talks about how they coexist with the environment and that "GOD WILLING, we will plant x number of trees this year"... that really took me by surprise. through out the video they had clips of people singing praises to God, or people just giving thanks to Him and stuff but that this soldier pointed out that things would happen only if it was part of His will... how often do we even think about that in our own lives >_< hope i don't get comfortable with all the things i'm blessed with here and that i would align myself with His will


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it's been awhile since things come flooding in like that again.. it really works lk a chain effect =\ i feel like sometimes i lose a lot and i feel really lonely >< but i guess the things i lose are never really "mine" to begin with. and i must sound very dark =S

day by day

so my life hasn't exactly been very exciting haha maybe except the sc2, but everything's been going pretty well :) and i have to remember to continue to give thanks to God for these things and not just be happy and forget that every day is a blessing from Him.

hmm need to spend more time with HIM :) hope i don't get carried away with just having fun at retreat but remember to seek Him first.

depressing -_-

so i'm taking this course geog203 and it's kind of depressing haha it's called environment and development in a global context and we've been talking a lot about the state of our world and how corporations and governments are selfish and etc etc and it's just depresssingggg it's kind of sad but then i remembered this verse:

"i have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. in the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage - i have conquered the world" John 16:33

coffeeshop!

today i had my first shift at the ES coffeeshop :D it was so fuuuun. ahaha i've already heard two people say to me "that's your idea of fun?!" hahaha but it's really cool and chill and people are really social and talk to you and stuff and it's just NICE. the hour just flies by =( it's also fun entering the food codes into the cash register and saying hi to whoever walks in and saying thank you! and everyone is really nice =D i'm obviously very ecstatic about this haha

but today has been a long day but a very wonderful one too. i must remember to constantly give thanks for every day, good or bad. something not so good happened today too >_< but i need to react with love!

joy

i want to have real joy all the time, not the joy where it's forced, not the joy where i'm faking it, but real joy that comes from knowing I'm saved and that I'm loved and thus go forward with that same joy to love others. had an interesting time with evelyn, portia, and jasmine where we shared a bit and just prayed, truly prayed to God and i just wish i could constantly be reminded of the greatness of His Gospel and have JOY in Christ. i know i'm falling so short of this and even just today i've had so many time when i find it tough to be joyous and to be selfless but i just pray so hard then and there that i remember to be all loving and focus my eyes on Him and not me. when i take my eyes off Him, i begin to fall into sin and concentrate on me. nooo!! may Christ be the center of my life.

anyways overall i had a really nice day. i went over to nathan's and watched 'the place promised in our early days' and it was nice hanging out with him even though we were kind of bored sometimes and he got frustrated after having to tell me what to do and me not responding fast enough ahah but yeah after not seeing him for 2 terms it's nice! and thank you "yeehong" for having us over again and cooking for us and letting us use their place for a movie night!

God take the spotlight and not me, please humble me!! please help me give up my desires for You :)

Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

2B

2B is off to an awesome start :D while some classes are kind of dry... I'm excited to learn, to do work..., and for the things that I know God will reveal to me this coming term. I guess I really am doing a lot of things this term and I am a bit afraid of being overwhelmed by the things I've said that I'm going to commit to but at the same time I'm also really excited to be doing the things I am doing :D so I hope that I'll be diligent in prayer and reading His word so that I don't become worn out or tired of doing some many extracurriculars. I want to serve with joy! I know that I definitely cannot make it through a term without Him, and this term is no different :) while not all the things are exactly ministries I still want to serve Him through them and just in everything I do, to bring glory to Him and not to me. be humble, salina!!

new!! :D

while i'm half packing and half cleaning up the stuff i brought home i decided to re-colourscheme my blog... i immediately defaulted to pink and purples but i tried to venture away from that a bit more haha and this is what i got! anyways i thought i'd be keep up with my blog a bit more but i haven't really taken the time. i guess i got kind of lazy with this. so quick up date i guess. this is more for myself to remember than interesting for others so feel free to just not read if you don't want to know what i've been doing haha

27th: sc2 day! the epic battle goes down between portia and jasmine! for some reason i feel like i already wrote about this somewhere haha apart from the sc2 and all it was just fun because it was nice seeing portia and jasmine and also hanging out with ryan who i never talked to THAT much before :) and there was some ddr, some sucking up to portia's mom, some piano and lots of sc2 haha it also marked the end of 5 consecutive joses days

28th: blue mountain with some ccfers :) thank you mike wong for organizing this huge trip to the TOWN of blue mountainS. yeah. lot harder than mt st louis haha so i was kind of a noob in this group of people but it was still fun! and i ended up seeing chris chan like 8 times.... hahah but totally pooped after such a long day. but thank God it was a safe and wonderfully tasting day (had beaver tails and hot chocolate mmmmm)

29th: this was my nice chill at home day where i basically just stayed at home... lol i think i was too excited to see people and i started to miss just spending some time at home =( so i did! and after dinner i went to curtis' mission sharing which was really cool even though i missed a bit.

30th: g1 success day :D thank you God that i did not fail! but it took a long time and elena had to wait a long time =( very sorrrrrry before i could pick her up to go to irene's for our awesome movie day :D we watched the prestige and flipped.. and i thought both were pretty good. good thing i have friends that can pick out good movies and that have similar movie tastes and pizza tastes!! then i went home and had steak with the family :D

31st: this was a busy day!! went to eat wings with jan and judith and it was nice to catch up, then downtown to hang out with yukie before she leaves to go back to japan!! then home then to karen and minh's for countdown. i'm glad we decided to get them a gift, they've been so so generous to josiah :) and we had some worship and then a time of reflecting on our blessings and i shared a story about reconciliation (praise God reallyyy, the kind of point of the time was that we really don't count or blessings.. or we do but at the end of the year we just kind of forget) and we also took some time to think of people we want to pray for and really commit to this year in terms of reaching out or helping to build their faith. pray that He constantly reminds me! and then we watched avatar with really jokes commentary haha and countdown! and then we played things in a cup and then went home :)

OH MAN THIS JUST KEEPS GOING i'll shorten these blurbs... 1st: YUMCHA yay with parents though i wasn't that hungry :( but i had dou fuu fah. my fav! then went to pmall with my mom and walked around then went to fam friend's house and just watched tv and thennn headed to esther's and went to eat at destiny's. it was really nice just catching up with esther since i hardly see her in the school year and we just talked about a lot of stuff and that was nice :D and then watched tron cause jo got back and it was not as epic as it seems...

2nd: church today :) and reverend ted shared this story about the guy who lost his arm and learned taekwondo(?) and i don't want to make this post even longer so maybe i will write it later but i really liked that story..but today Rev. Ted talked about the importance of the Word and strength in God. then had sunday school with mr. almond au haha who started his own blog! anyways today we talked about miracles and i think it's kind of awesome that our conversion, our step in faith to believe in Jesus is a miracle in itself as Minh said. thennn we had GINZA and then went to vball! i felt kind of bad because i am kind of terrible =( but it was really fun overall and at the end of the day i guess no one is really going to care haha and we played king! that pingpong game lol and i tried to spike.. once. it was very fail.. but portia came! and it was really fun :D and had some chako's later with some other vball people +curtis and kwan and i don't think i've ever stuffed myself SO MUCH. anyways finally get to TODAY. i think i'm very "cheung hei" =( so now i'm packing and cleaning away and just finished blogging! TADA anyways i can't wait to start doign soem WORK haha i like school! and i'm pumped for 2b :) bring it on !!