dumb

I was feeling super dumb yesterday. did many stupid things...

first... the media arrived late. MikeK is still very kind though.

then the stupid DFE cannot rip private profile. how dumb. I have to upgrade it but it will destroy people's work. so i cant.

then i tried different ways to embed the profile and this Photoshop and illustrator and acrobat gave me a nightmare.

then the alignment went haywired.

next, we printed stretching to lunch time.

sheet the samples, feeling happy. and pass to MSS. BJ kept reminding us that the media is WRONG!

who do i listen to? mYL? Mike? BJ? deng... wasted.

And i called burns to clarify on the profile printing. Apparently that was  a super dumb move. He commented badly behind me upon hanging up the phone.

next. i shared desktop screen. boom, i forgot to unshare and i typed my personal email. I hope he does not see it. DUMB!!!

then... home. saw my iphone5 packet. feel a bit relieved though. start playing with the message. the next thing i know is that i have sent sms instead of imessage? duh. stupid.

and i tried to take a picture to play with facebook. i forgot my pwd and the account is locked out for 24hrs. nice. dumb dumb dumb

Reyero Arrived and we chat. he told me about the conversations betwen Burns and Sean. wowow, the comments are hurtful. It is a wake up call. Arghhh...

I could not sleep well.

this morning, i spilled my carrot juice on the carpet floor. dumb. it stained. duh.

i hope it ends here. just feel stupid.

Singlish

This is the first time I got shocked by Singlish in US. haha. And it was spoken from the mouth of a PRC who spent 4 years in SG. He couldn't speak decent English when he went there. Imagine after immersing himself in both Catholic High and VJ, he speaks like a local  Singaporean! I mean with his Singlish accent. 

I find it super amusing with how he phrase the statements. It sounds so familiar yet so wrong. It is like... then.. but then... and then.. haha. So Singlish. kekeke. and he uses 'atas', 'alamak'?!! he uses Hokkien in his conversation too. heheh...

Faint. I wonder. Did i have that very same accent when people first speak to me in US? he is really 太超过了啦！真受不了。哈哈。He also asked if LKY is still alive. Duh. I said, he appeared during NDP! hehe... 

由此可见，环境和朋友群的影响好大哦。I actually notice the accent difference between British English and American English after I move. I prefer the American way of pronouncing the word although sometimes they like to use their word and attempt to be different from the rest of the world! It is car trunk, not car boot. Glasses instead of spectacles. Dress well and not dress smart. duh. and the 'flour' pronunciation. they like it to be 'flo-wer'. duh.

夕阳一解

最近那莫名的失落感忽隐忽现，可能这是迟来的适应期？

The pilot effort is a mess. Really. Meeting overlapped, workforce overlapped. What is going on?! Is this DD trying to hide stuff? Is bBro aware that sometimes he really creates chaos?!

And I need to adjust to GS's style for sure. He is actually not as bad and not as annoying yet. I always feel that he is less tactful and he does not filter his thought. The contradiction is that we like to hear full stories especially those not-so-pleasant comments. Isn't manager are supposed to suppress and beautify before further communications? Simply pouring out the thought frighten me quite a bit. I prefer Felt's style better.

The culprit could be -> We are too busy chopping the wood to sharpen our axe? hehe. I was challenged -> "have you pushed yourself harder?"... Hmm maybe be. and perhaps I don't want to.

Next, the upset feel originates from the loss I have. I have mentioned it but I do feel it more and more. Oh man. Queen reminded me that it happens to her too. Bottom line, be thankful what you have now and treasure it. I agree.

Since I can only do least impact activities. I went to Torrey Pines beach for a 45min walk before the Thursday cell. It was nice even though you can't see the sunset as the marine layer was simply too thick. I saw 2 boats in the ocean. the wave are pretty high though. Not much sun light yet it is still very beautiful. Unintentionally my jean was wet. hehe.. nice though.

As I arrive at church. they told me that the sunset was wonderful, sun was awesome. It tells a story. what you can perceive does not mean the actual fact. You have to look at things at various perspective. God creates beautiful things, always! The unseen does not equate to non-existence. 

要相信上帝无时无刻的供应和应许哦！

Coral Sunset Yoga Mat

 Happy. Getting myself a yoga mat. Hehe. why? because I think it is better to stretch and sweat on it, rather than the carpet itself. It has always been a dream to get one. Funny uh? Even this can be a dream. hehe...

Prana has sales on Amazon. I got it for half the price. Yeah yeah. Also, after much persuasion by the JamesK, I used his AmazonPrime service which save me the shipping fee that is around 6 buck. guess what. It was 24USD on 9/11 and today the price dropped to 20.40USD on 9/12. Further savings on the mat. muahaha.. 

HAPPY! These are the little things that bring a smile to my face.

Uncle Sam

Recently need to deal with matter which has to do with uncle Sam.

First. The shameless ex-landlady (pardon my word here, I am a bit pissed)
She has been wanting to confiscate my rental deposit for a year. I tried to retrieve a month after moving out and she gave a lame reason which clearly showed that she lied. After troubling for almost a year (can you believe it? I can it bothered me for months?!), I have decided to call. She pretend she does not know me and she then hung up the phone. I called the second time, she did not answer and put me to voice mail. So I left her a message telling her to return me my deposit. Apparently she ignored me. I am angry, really. How could people be so mean and cheat others? Is she thinking that I am such a nice target to bully?

I finally wrote her a written letter, including the CA law which inform her that if she still does not pay me up by 9/14, I plan to take her to small Claim court. even if i have to pay 20buck!! That registered mail shall have some effect, else she is really hopeless. We will see.

Second. REI
Chase Mileage Plus refused to waive my annual fee, so I cancelled it. kekeke. And I applied REI Visa card since it has 100buck voucher. Kekek. I got it today. I plan to buy a yoga mattress and a water bottle. hehe.

Third. UA.
I stupidly booked an air ticket which clashed with my friend's wedding. Ahhhh.. stupid me.  Because i have the voucher, i only paid 150usd. the NICE part is... when i re-reschedule the next flight since it has to reissue a new air ticket, I need to pay additional 300usd. Kaoz. too much lah. It means 450USD for a 298usd worth ticket. sigh. my Chicago trip is 遥遥无期。除了笨，我无话可说。

Forth. Chase AGAIN
I opened a checking account. with some conditions, I can get additional 200buck wor. I saw the deposit today. kekeke.

Everything is $$. hee... I did something good too. I donate to RBC ministry :))

I was sick for more than 2 weeks. sigh. cough then flu.. it lasts for awhile. I finish 80% of the sea coconut cough syrup, and 100% of the NyQuil syrup. The flu pills did not help. sigh... on sick leave for 2 days. 

Cooked yummy stuff over the 2 weeks. Soup to recover the lung functions (courtesy from ChinLee), then i like the soy sparerib with mushroom. Real tasty. kekek. And I 卤肥猪肉, super nice. The dried chilly helped!! Yummy. Also it has been a while since I last fried bee hoon. Very nice too. hahaha. cant stand myself. I tried to make chilly ikan billis also. 

Neuhaus

I do not consider myself as lucky ones but the blessed ones. kellenF got me a box of Belgian Chocolate and broMY hand-carried it to bring that back. 

It looked pricey and it is indeed expensive. broMY told me to eat it soon as the shopkeeper told them so. It has to be stored at 19C! whoo.. Given my blocked nose and cough condition, how do I finish it all? It is not in time to share with the YAF folks on Thursday. Since the company network failed after lunch time, I just went around to share the pralines with the rest.

Who do I share with? For IHPS side, they are my lunchbox kakis, my faithful sp22 techs and other lovely and kind techs, a few engineers. PTP side, my 2 managers and teammates. Hehe. I am happy. Those are very chocolaty. broMY said he almost wanted to finish half of the box. Duh. His wife said it is good too.

During lunch, I heard leslie talked about her disappointment on the EE internal promotion. Oh, this kind of competition always cause some unhappiness. I guess the KraighMgr has caused much more damage than that. Oops. On a hindsight, I am glad she shared it in front of Will, Jim and me. 

There is an unspoken trust within us. Thank God for the friendship too :) 

Labor Day Weekend

Labor day. I don’t quite understand why US like to have a different holiday celebration than the rest of the world! Our labor day falls on sept3. Oops, did I just say OUR? Oh well, it was indeed a long weekend for me. I was out sick since Thursday and Friday, then the weekend and Monday as the HP observed holiday.

Nyquil is effective in the sense I can wake up, feeling refreshed. It helps with an interrupted sweet slumber. We went for breakfast at Con Pane. Oh, that was disappointing. The usual favorite breads & scones are only available during weekend. Oh I settled with Rosemary and Olive oil, Hazelnut & raisin, Kalamata slice with coffee. *chill* The experience was not fantastic, maybe because of the long wait and felt not being treated well. Less expressive over the meal. Ponder about those 15 dimensions which I have just read over the past few days. Am I being squared out by those? I am unsure.

Anyway, I eventually decided to meet the rest at La Jolla shores for the Water day! I have never tried boogie board before. The fact is I can’t do that too since I am still sick. Am I willing to be sun under the hot sun or soak in the pacific ocean? Hmm I am just not so ready. Hehe. Good that theWife brought the umbrella and we had extra surf board to sit on. we just chat while the rest were having fun boogie boarding. This is my second time hanging out by the beach! First time was with the Leongs, during last summer.

While everyone was busy with water activities, I continue to enjoy my book again. I felt I was rebuked and reminded by the content. *chill* They were curious about what I read, I did not bother to tell them. Ha. Minutes before leaving La Jolla, I went to dip my feet in the water. Whoo, it was cold. Summer! Cold water! I am glad that I did not risk my weak body for the fun. I am sure it will get worse if I do so. However, I would like to enjoy the water again sometime soon before it gets way too cold. SUP 3 weeks later!!

The oil meter seems to crack joke. It dropped from 3 bar to none within 3minute. I was furious. What if the oil tank is empty when I was half way through the freeway? Is it AAA time again? Nah, I do not want to contact AAA for that kind of reason. I quickly drove to the nearby Shell which is like 5miles away. Phew, thank God nothing has happened.

Then I slowly strolled to PJ’s house for dinner. They were kind to host us. A great bunch of us! Hehe. We had a nice time pigging out and chatting. I truly appreciate the type of associations we can have. Will I be losing those some days?

Thank God for the good friends in the body of Christ. I hope we can rough it out together in both good times and bad times.

Let me recount back to the Saturday. Morning Hike at Cowles Mt is always refreshing. Good work out and the sun greet us as early as 7.15am! The brunch at the Hotel la Valencia @ La Jolla was great too. Even though it was pricey, but with good ocean view and ambiance. I ordered the smoke salmon egg benedicts. Like the poached egg! The smoke salmon tasted better than I thought, good surprise. I am glad I paid more for that addition.

It was fun hanging out with Wei, CL and Cathy. Thanks to CL that I get to know the duo better. The excursion to Black & White was fun too. It has been ages since I last did that with girl friends.

I spent 30min or so trying to zip out the meeting note for the wedding discussion the night before. Hehe. I miss my coordinator buddy. It has been a while since I last did it. The fellowship was great at Y2’s place as well.

Next, the girls gathering at CC. Whoo. We spent 6hrs+ together. It is amazing what was the content of our conversations. How did we waste away our time together. It was a light hearted event and we get to peep into their private lives and struggles. We had wonton and dumplings. We conclude the night with prayers. I guess that was the most edifying highlight of the night.

That’s pretty much how I spent my labour day weekend :)

Loss

I feel the loss, through the months in 2012. 

I did not expect them at all, no, not at all. especially not in my this phase of life. Do i feel i am being abandoned? not really. how about forgotten? maybe not. It is just a coincidental phase whereby everyone start to have change.

The Leongs left for Seattle since Jun. It took me a while to adjust, maybe not too. I was busy with family visit and vacation. Then being pampered by the grandparent also made it worse. Sigh. Where is my Sunday dinner and Wednesday line dancing session. That day the boys are back in SD for a weekend and Isaiah can't even remember my name. That was sad.

GeorgeFoo. He first spotted me near MP03 bcoz I speak Singlish. Since then he has been looking out for me, always. And slowly he become my unofficial godfather. I basically ask him anything from oil change to insurance query. He has all the lobangs! Today, he retires after some 30 years of service in HP. He is the best coolie of all. 

HowardM. He is my first ever faithful and kind counterpart of all. Although he can be long winded in the technical explanation, you can tell that he is very patient. Old school and believe in good things. He was one of the rare American who invited me to his house soon after I arrived in this country. I met all his family members!

BillH. He was the manager of Howard's team. He can be pretty blunt and sarcastic. I do not know how sincere and truthful he is, at times. But i trust that he meant for my good. He warned me not to go to downtown or Tijuana by myself. He also said I should get together with him some day as he thinks that I have not discovered San Diego as what a San Diegan should!

188 from SD site. I am unsure how many from other HP sites. It is truly a loss to the company. It marks the end of an era. 

Who is responsible in creating a better tomorrow for HP? You? Me?

Exodus Aug 2012

In my career thus far, this is the first time I witness so many of people leaving the company on the very same day. Yes, they have fought a very good battles for the year they had been with HP. Much of the innovations and technology breakthrough had their footprint. No one will ever imagine a garage will become a multi-billion business, with USD538 as starting capital. Bill and Dave made it!  

Some leave for greener pasture. It is ironic to see that Aug 31 is their last day with HP and the following Monday they are heading to competitor-likewise company to work, which is across the street! In addition, they are given 2 months to prepare for the retirement. On a hindsight, once you quit for competitor, they walk you out the door immediately. But these people. They pay you to walk out the door without escort! and probably allow you ample of time to do data back up :)

The interesting joke is that...At corporate level no one is allowed to publish who are the EER takers. Isn't that odd to know that your fellow comrades are leaving for 'retirement' and you only get to know it on the very last day of their service? hehe... && you attend the EER celebration without knowing who are we celebrating for? For ICE, we are transparent enough. not for other organization though.

 

I would say. They took pride in the old HP, which was very successful in the old HP Way and thus it results a great company 2 decades ago. Things has changed profoundly. The short term financial outlook determines our so-called strategic move. No growth = cut. 

As of Aug 31, we will lose many brains. Yet their contributions would never be forgotten. Thank God that our paths actually crossed. HowardM, BillH, GeorgeF. They trio took EER. I will definitely miss them in my upcoming HP day

Yosemite National Park II

Day4

Morning we drove back to Yosemite Valley to see the El Capitan and found the picturesque place where the trademark picture was always taken. Nice rest near the green and the seats near the vacation home was comfortable. The unexpected gesture took place and we were shocked. Oh well, nothing very special happened though. 

We then head toward Sacramento to visit our friend who moved there and has since given birth to a lovely baby boy, Iron.

Prior to that, we had a scheme. Trying to get a cake or something like that for the bday boy. Oh boy, that was tough. Have to hide and buy something secretly. Well, in the name of buying stuff for Lan, we managed to get buy. Lan and family prepared a sumptuous dinner for us. The parents are chatty. Iron is a strong healthy baby. He smiles a lot. Hehe. We had a nice fellowship that evening. We were all tired.

 

Oh well, the plan was that we bathe, then rest. And when it is 12midnight, we will knock on their door. Apparently both Charles and YY fell asleep very soon. I think  that is a big difference between man and woman. Woman always take forever to wash up while guys are not. They just chop chop then koon. Haha. Anyway, it was about 11pm and we have decided to knock on their door. YY was shocked. Haha. that was a good surprise ya.

Day5
The breakfast was a tensed one. We were on the topic whereby should they go and register for their marriage due to some personal reasons. Oh well, both YY and myself can’t really help with that. It is a bit odd for us to sit around. but since we travel together, we got to know what is the plan for the day ahead. Right? in the end, no marriage registration. But the plan remained. We drove to Sacramento downtown, cityhall to sightsee a bit.

. Lan and family had graciously prepared braised duck and bun for our snack. Thus we took the opportunity to picnic by the river. Haha. that was truly a surprise. Braised duck! Oh man. 

 

The drive back was great too. Finally they let me drive for like 1.5 hr – 2hr then they took over. I feel sometimes it is more tiring for them to supervise me. Haha.  almost 9hrs on the road that day, 500+miles. Amazing uh. We had ramen at Irvine before heading back to SD.

It was a good trip, with kind friends. They were very nice to me, put up with my nonsense. Haha. it seems like it is a double date but don’t know fortunately or unfortunately, there was only 1 couple there. Of course this trip has caused some speculations. Oh well, nothing has happened since then. It was a blessing from God that we can go out as friends who are able to know how to take care of one another. Everyone has their own moment, it is how you present yourself and how you give and take while trying to fit into the team. Overall, thank God for the friendship. It was fun hanging out together, for sure.

 

And Yosemite especially the Tioga pass excursion and Vernal Fall hike had allowed me to witness His goodness and love to us again! Thank you Lord.

Yosemite National Park I

Day 1

 

The trip was a good one. I have always wanted to go there as everyone said Yosemite is one of the most beautiful NP in the world! Ta-dah, thank God for a good bunch of friends who are willing to travel with me. Most of all, they tried to satisfy my request. Hehe… they were very accommodating too.

We set off at noontime from SD to Irvine then had dinner at Fresno . wowo, we crave for Chinese food so we went to this place. Hoho, full of Caucasian. We were one of the few. The nicest thing is they do not have ‘Chinese’ menu, nothing in Chinese but the restaurant is run by some hongkees. We asked for a more authentic dish preparation and ya, it is still very Americanized. Oh well, they tried. The food there is cheaper than South California. 

We spent a night at Merced past 2am. My goodness, the courtyard Marriott was right beside a train track. We can actually hear honing in the early morning! So.. we did not really get to enjoy the bed that well.

Almost 7 hrs drive in a day. I have to give it to Charles and YY.

Day2

Yosemite Valley

 

Rise and shine. We decided to sleep less and headed to Yosemite early in the morning to avoid the crowd! We woke up and 6 and arrived at the park at 7.30pm. hehe. That was nice. 

 

Not many people, visitor center is not open until 8.30pm. so… we walked to Lower Yosemite Fall and back to Visitor Center deli for hot breakfast. Then we took the path to mirror lake after packing our sandwiches. Hehe.. it was pretty cloudy and drizzle most of the time. Well, good though, no sun.

One of the highlight of the day was we went to Vernal Fall. Nice hike. Up the hill. A bit strenuous but you met a lot of keen hikers along the trail. Good choice. Essentially we split into 2 small groups due to the interest and fitness level.

 

The drizzle is perfect. I like the splash from the fall. The vernal fall is humungous. I felt like I am at Niagara fall again!! Many wear raincoat, I use umbrella at times. It is as if I am in heaven. I just know I keep smiling and feeling very happy for such wonders. I was like a kid and I did not care how others see me. There were steps lead up to the top of the fall, it is again the journey and hardship and the fear that made the hike enjoyable. Of course YY was kind enough to keep a look out for me. 

Oh yes, along the way they (Charles and YY) fed the squirrels. We happened to bring walnut and it is hilarious to watch the animal munching his favorite food. Btw, you’re not supposed to feed them.

 

Day3

                       

Tioga Pass. I kept voicing out my want and the urge to see mono lake! Hehe. They were so kind again. We went past the park and took Tioga Pass for Meadow and Tenaya Lake! Based on the weather forecast, it was supposed to be warm. I wore short. No one would expect it snows at that height in the Yosemite NP. This NP is kind of big. Tourists usually go to Yosemite Valley but not other area. BroMY told me about it and I was persuaded and convinced to visit that! Hehe… btw, broMY had not been to the valley. Ha.

 

The drive was tough. The road was very whiny. Since my driving skill is not as good as them, they think it is a better idea for me to sit back and relax, than having them to be worrisome as I drive. Haha. We first stopped at this place to have some fun with the snow. Ha. Then we passed by the meadow and wow. The landscape is magnificent, really. Breathtaking. You see a different type of cascade and you’re simply in awe by God’s creation. Even when they are shiny bald dome, they look very pretty!!! Saw half dome from far.

Tenaya Lake is the next spot we stopped by for a picnic. Nice view. 

 

We strolled further to see the clear reflective lake. It is very beautiful. Sorry. I do not have many words to describe that. It was so serene and peaceful. 

 

Heaven again! We all found a spot for self for appreciation on the great nature. That was the first time we all wanted to do a star jump. PappaWill always told me about the picnic by the lake. I am glad we did that. Soaking the feet in the water is a blessing too.

 

We persevere and decide to drive further to see my mono lake. Once we went downhill, you can feel the drastic change of the temperature. Suddenly it becomes very hot and here we are, the desert! We followed the sign and went up to a vista point for Lake viewing.

 

I was like: NO, this is not what I expect. That could not be mono lake. They looked at me and smiled. Hehe… oh well, we then decided to drive to the visitor center for another shot.

As we passed by the board, I pointed to them that ‘TUFA’ is the thing that I hope to see and what I used to see in the pictures featuring mono lake. Haha. For all you know, Tufa only appears in less than 5% area of the lake and it can be found at certain corner. Haha. the lake itself is super big. No wonder. Haha.

 

We were very happy to locate where the tufa is. Took pictures. Star jump. Thank you for pardoning my childishness.

                                

The drive back to Mariposa was long. We listened to the mandarin praise song and they shared a bit of their lives. Interesting chat. I mean you feel the connection and fellowship in Christ.

First day was tiring but we all enjoyed the hike a lot.

Bundles of Joy

Special 号外 in my mailbox this morning. It is definitely exciting and thrilling and we can see how God has blessed the family!!!

Dec 12 and Apr 13. Hoho. Those are the wonderful and joyous events to celebrate!

I somehow think I inherit the anxiety genes from mom a lot. She is always worrisome and anxious about tomorrow. Me too. Perhaps I have a slightly positive outlook than her as I try to see beyond and pacify self that everything is gonna be alright.  

We might not know how to manage and arrange for the upcoming events. Yet we believe things will fall into places when it happens. 

cold

I don't quite understand how did i get a cold in this hot summer. a few culprit here.

• consecutive night out with insufficient rest
• 3 buttery pineapple cakes 

I don't think I have talked a lot more for the past few days. The truth is, I was down with cough. that is hard to believe. Hmm... twice in 2 months. Arghh... health going down hill.

Anyway, I was forced to stay home, for good. I guess. I went out for my usual brekkie session and marketing at Zion. Bought a lot of snack but I cannot eat those yet. Boo...

What have I achieved for the past 2.5 days.

• Watched Korean drama. 绅士的品格. Every now and then those romance comedy drama helps to spice up your life and great eye candy. hehe
• Cooked soup and make it into a porridge. Ate the same stuff for the whole Sunday. A bit boring though
• Finished reading the book written by Timothy Keller. Finally. It has been more than 1 month wanting to scan through and I kept procrastinating. oops. I am glad I did it.

Therefore the cough do me some good. Stay home bound. I wanted to jot down the recent thought on some of the growth and learning in life but I was again, very lazy. Oh yes, something proud to share. I did not turn on from laptop since 6pm last night. hehe... although I still have access to my touchpad, but that refrain me from spending longer time on the electronic device but to read my book.

Reminder from the Tues Worship session@ Rock. by Will Reagan (Nothing I hold onto, Climb)

I lean not on my own understanding
My life is in the hands of the maker of heaven

I Give it all to you God

Trusting that you'll make something beautiful out of me

I will climb this mountain

With my hands wide open

There is nothing I hold on to

Why it matters to me this time? there are some sequential action items needed when it comes to surrender our lives onto His hand. First, GIVE Him your life, Second, TRUST Him for His beautiful and wonderful intentions.

I examined myself and realized that... I have given mine to Him but I seem to forget that I need to continue to trust in His providence and faithfulness. hehe... 

thank God for reminding me again!

Change

Recently I have been in conversations whereby we are going through changes, how should we embrace it  and what are the implications due to the change. I am kind of puzzled and shocked by some of the thought shared by others.

Shuffle at work. I went through the denial stage. As much as I appreciate and love working for Felt, I know we all need to move on. I face something which is uncommon to me and I got very unsettled and nervous. I could not comprehend the true meaning of this change and how it will then affect my career and life!

Felt encouraged me to talk to MarkC and GeoffS. It was a big step for me. Never in my life that I need to approach the bosses and ask them what they can offer and tell them how I can contribute in their team. I do not have the gut to ask. You mean dropping them a mail and tell them we need to chat? Seriously, It was a challenge to me. In the end, I did. I wrote and spoke to them. Thank God for the peace and wisdom. At times I cant quite decode well based on what they said but God sends angels to pacify and comfort me, and they help me to see the whole situation better.

BroMY told me. You are responsible for your fate. Therefore you have to tell them what you want. It was a shock to me. I mean, who is in control of my life? Isn't that God and not you, not me? 

Jessie was in town for BT. We went out for tea. Her comment was that: I thought you have become more open once you move to US. Interestingly she thinks that I am fine with pre-marital sex. she was like: why not? The most shocking thing I heard was that... If end days is coming, I will quickly get a man and do that. I was surprised. Could that be a sign of being too lonely? I mean the last thing you want to do when you know you have a few hours left is not to spend time with loved ones?

Anyway, I ask myself. being in oversea and in US, a place whereby human right is being uphold, am i entitled   and more susceptible to more liberty and self-realization? I know for sure, I do not live for myself, but the God who loves me, the family and friends who care and love me. I hope I do not do things just for my small self (小我) ,my own pleasure and self satisfaction, but for the big-self (大我). God created as an individual and He placed others in our lives. The spot light should be on all of us, not just me. 

Dust has more or less settled. God is always merciful and gracious to me. I chose GS. The stubbornness and curiousity drove me to that decision. Yes, he is a rookie manager. It would be fairer for me to give him a chance and vice verse. How can I dismiss him based on the review? Also, I am intrigued by the project itself. I don't know what it entails but I know it is going to be super fun and demanding in the near future.

Just do it. God is with me. I hope to cling on to Him only in every circumstances.

Change is constant and inevitable. Be still in this changing world for our Lord God is immutable.

好吃！

Sometimes I would think I am quite an innovative cook :D and I took pride in it. 

Compromise

so.. during YAF retreat, we went to Temecula. Interestingly this pastor talked about Esther and Mordecai.  He gave another perspective on how one reads Book of Esther.

Mordecai and Esther had been living in a compromised environment. They allowed themselves to be immersed in the world of Pagan and Materialistic as the plan to get Esther into the palace and become a concubine, if not queen some day.

Compromise - godless living. what is more scary is, it takes away your virtue slowly.

what an insight!

----------

Tonight at Maranatha Chapel, the visiting Calvary Chapel Pastor spoke about fear. Fear is an absence of faith. My hiking buddy shared this story with me. When fear knocks on the door, Faith replies by saying 'no one home'. :)

2Tim 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 

Our God is more powerful than we can ever imagine. He is higher and greater than any other thing or people. In Christ, there is no fear as when He is for us, who can against us. Whom then shall I fear? Only the Lord that we should revere and worship. He is a powerful God, more than words. He is immutable. He loves us that He gave His own son for us. Nothing can separate us from His love. He also gives us a sound mind to live a life worthy for His name. therefore, seek Him and may the Lord teach us to number our days and to win the battle against the enemy. Amen.

He knows

It has been a while since i last blog uh. Been busy traveling and having fun.

Our God is a living God. First the sermon at Cornerstone Seattle, then 'reminder' from wiseMan, tonight the sermon from Pastor Ray and those song lyrics which proclaim that

My hope is in God, and Jesus Messiah, He is the Lord of all
Do not give in to flesh, but let the Spirit stay above it. The Spirit, soul and body.
What is not for God is against God. There is no neutral.
Humiliation can become a humble experience
Both 'Knowing the Word' and 'Spiritual Experience' are equally important.

He is a miraculous God. Someone shared a testimony on how the baby daughter (25 y/o) met an accident and expected to be a vegetation and it requires 12-18mths for recovery. Skull and pelvis bones severely fractured. Yet they believe in Jesus the Lord God. Trust that God will carry them through for He is the great physician. Praise the Lord. The daughter recovered in 10 weeks! and she was there tonight, standing at the stage, look like a normal person! and x-ray showed that no pelvis bone fractured.

Do you believe God make the impossible become possible? Trust in the Lord. Surrender. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. Not mine, not ours.

Teach me, O Lord. Amen.


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Also, a nice surprise from SIL on the recent US trip. I am thankful for His protection. It is not what I can boast about. Let me reproduce here...

RE: US trip, A marvelous trip

Hi Yean,

 

This is a long due email.  We have came back from a great trip for almost 2 weeks already.  Our life is back on track in Singapore but in a different way =)

 

I would like to appreciate you for helping us to arrange a wonderful trip in the States.  Thanks for your thoughtfulness and dedication to make sure that we are comfortable.  Being very detailed, you prepare the car seats and extra stroller, very sumptuous breakfast and snacks, good hotels, and road trip.  As we look back, we realised that we had a very good one week doing the National parks and in between, some shoppings.  We would never be able to do that if it is not you who do the arrangement and take time off to be with us.  We don't know US at all, even if we want to prepare it off-site and paid tours don't do those stuff at our desired leisure pace.  This is a relax and fruitful trip.  Why?  Cos you did all the hard work and ground work alreeady!  And that is not enough, we have photo books done up for us to capture the good moments. 

 

Now we still talk about the stuff that we should have bought, the restaurant that we should have go to for another time, the places that we need to swing by again and yes, more shopping time should be allocated in the future trips.  Haha... we would love to go to the States again, for sure.  Shopping in Singapore is not a draw anymore, not that it ever was.

 

A 3-week break is like a re-set button for us.  Some bad habits are dropped and some good habits are acquired.

 

We came back refreshed and charged up for the world.  We had a good rest and family time.  Thank you very very much for all the great things you have done for us. 

 

 

Regards,

cheong, zhijun, yu and yue     

The day we almost broke our legs

On Thurs Jose was so random, he asked if I have plan for Saturday since I am not going to retreat. I said no. here we go. We are heading to Three Sisters Falls near Julian, CA. The trip was confirmed on Friday night only. Met at 8am, their house. Yeah.
                                    

Paula packed the sandwich when I arrived. Alright we were set to go. I asked where the GPS is, he pointed to his brain. Ha. Then the next moment we got onto the wrong road. Haha. Hanging out with them is fun, a bit carefree and need not worry about the nonsense chat. We reached there around 10am. There were quite a number of cars along the roadside. All seem peaceful, cannot spot the falls.

Immediately I need to answer the nature call. First time ever k. so paiseh as I have to do it in front of your friends. Kekek. The trail gets a little windy and downhill. Yes, we need to hike down to the valley. No kidding. You can see the slope, one can easily slide down. If you’re not mindful, you may just fall and bye bye. I almost sprained my ankle soon after we got to rocky part. Phew. Cold sweat. The legs are so precious. I cannot imagine how do I thread back if I am injured. Thank God, nothing has happened.

We started to see the need of walking on our butt. Knowing how dirty the pant can be, we still do that. Aware of the existence of the poison oak, ah well, can’t care so much. Our goal is to reach the falls that seem so near, yet it is still a distance away. We joked along the way, trying to watch out for one another. Most hikers are young peeps, as in our age or younger. Very few older folks. Actually you need a stronger heart and courage to hike the trail. Both physical and mental wellness. The sun was not too bad. We scrambled through the boulders or rock if you want to call it, I actually prefer that to hiking the sandy slope. Paula said this is indeed a ‘rock climbing’ trip instead of a hike. Haha.

By noontime we arrived at the middle falls. There were a lot of people, resting, snacking and sun tanning. Then we saw a group of people and one of them was on bandage. Apparently there was blood on the floor. Looks like that person was injured though he did not look painful at all. I figured out that we shall only leave the place after the helicopter evacuation!! It was a long wait while we savor our sandwich and ‘hello panda’. Hehe…

The sound of the helicopter propellers were loud. It got close to the valley and it flew away. We do not get it. Why?! Then it came back again. The wind was strong. We saw a paramedic coming down. Helicopter then left us. Paramedic got the casualty securely tighten and did a ‘thumb up’ sign. And the helicopter came back again! We stood and posed to take pictures of it. Who knows the wind is way too strong since this time round the helicopter has to get nearer to ground level to drop the rope. Our stuffs got blown away and we were so panicky. Haha. That was very hilarious. We could not stand firm as it is strong enough to blow you off into the water. Haha. It was a sight, seriously. I have never been so up close to a helicopter evacuation. Never take safety for granted. Try not to do silly thing. It is not cheap to get an emergency evacuation, neither do you want that to happen. Worse part is you may not get mobile service at the rural mountain, therefore it is better to be safe than sorry.

We soaked our feet into the water. That was…so nice… :) cold water but very relaxing. Jose tempted us to jump into the water. Well, I did not bring any clothes to change. How? Anyway, Paula gave me some courage and both of us decided to jump! That was fun. Haha. In the end three of us got a taste of the clear cold water fall water. Hehe... I never thought I can be that ‘siao’. It was a wise choice. The sun dried the clothes pretty soon.

Oh, it is about time to leave the falls. Oh man, the uphill hike can be tiring. I always like to hike up as it tests your endurance and build up your stamina. Despite the hot weather, about 85F, we still dragged our feet to hike up. Paula wasn’t feeling too well and probably due to the dehydration. We stopped quite a few times to rest. I mean we go as a group, it is perfectly alright to be slow, as long as everyone feel comfortable. Also, there were only 3 of us, easier to manage. Hence we encouraged one another as we slowly made our way up. Truly, it was a long way. We thought we were almost there every time but it was just not there yet.

Most of the time we were breathless yet I enjoyed it. Jose was stressed as he saw his wife was having a hard time. He was very caring too. He offered to shoulder all the backpack and made the wife to stop and rest. I can see that he himself almost wanted to break down. But how to… we just had to keep moving till we see the trail head. He said he wanted to get to car as soon as possible for the air conditioning!! The only drink we want was COKE!! We need sugar, we need cold drink!

Finally It took us another 2 hrs to be back. Thank God for the protection, we are safe. Although we swear we would not go there again, who knows. Honestly I find the trail is a bit too dangerous. If you want some thrill, you can definitely go for it! Maybe do it slightly earlier in the day, cooler.

We had Korean food at zion. Yummy. Ate so much. Happy and satisfied. Good company for the whole day. We made it home by 7pm. I took a nap while doing facial mask to nurse my burnt face. The fengs are so ‘kua zhang’. They rested from 8.30pm to 10am the next day. Of course, our body are aching due to all those scrambling. Hehe… it was fun though.

We made it. Yeah.!

Mama Day

Surprisingly it turned out to be a very nice event for me. Never expect it to be that fruitful and meaningful especially when you are abroad, away from your immediate family.


Eric invited me to join them for the MD's breakfast. His intention was to prepare pancake for the whole family, so I have to help out lo. I brought nutella and bacon. Yeah. I was late. Too many things to do before leaving the house. Well, in the end when I arrive, I wonder how come the garage door was opened. Then I saw sharon. Haha. She was shocked to see me. Then i went in and greeted the whole family. ta-dah, it was a surprise still.


We patiently got everything ready. Pancake, bacon, egg, fruits, spread, beverages etc. Wow, nice MD breakfast. We chit chat like a family. That was nice. Then auntie invited me over for dinner since she planned to cook soy sauce pork that night!!


btw, i learn a new trick in cooking the bacon strip. Instead of frying or baking it over the stove, you can actually wrap it with a paper towel, microwave it for 1 minute. the oil will come out and it becomes crispy after a while! hehe... 


When Eric prayed at the dining table, he prayed for Mom, Grandma and mother-to-be. Very kind of him. I was a bit paiseh.


Church after the breakfast. They painted a banner to welcome and celebrate MD. Then during service we have the youth to present a skit and a video clip. As you would have expected, they thank their mom mostly for feeding them. FOOD@~! hehe... and each lady was given a small card, written and signed by the youth and a stalk of carnation. Better still, during lunch only ladies were being served salad, meal and dessert at the fellowship hall. that is a wonder privilege!


guess what. I was quite embarrassed as we (the singles) also received a card for MD. Then the auntie who sat behind me had very kind word too. She said Mother-to-be. Wow. Twice a day. eehe...


I then went shop for a cake since I want to bring it over to the Leong's. Thanks to ochie, I came to know this bakery shop and they serve nice sponge cake. I bought the yam with coconut strip as filling. Very nice. They love it. ehehehe.. 


the Dinner was great. And the fellowship with the family is even better. I truly thank God for this family. that is my first home in San Diego. They treat me as part of the family.


Overall, it was a nice MD!! Thank you Lord