mei-drops

There is a scene in the anime Rurouni Kenshin where, right before the protagonist Kenshin goes off to fight the deadly opponent Saitou, the main female character Kaoru grabs hold of Kenshin and tells him not to go. She is afraid that Kenshin—who has vowed never to kill again with the sword—will revert into Battousai (the manslayer), and do something terrifying and regrettable. Or, worse, she is afraid that he will get killed. But Kenshin knows that he has to fight Saitou to the death in order to save everyone, so he silently walks away from Kaoru's grasp, leaving her no choice but to helplessly watch on. Letting go of something or someone is difficult, to say the least. Since we don't know what's going to happen to whatever we released, we humans have a tendency to take as much control of our lives as possible. This is something I really struggled with during this past 3B term. Whether it was deciding which jobs to apply to, or trying to keep up my average, the idea of...

SMS conversation with my mom (who was at home) on the day I moved in to 'loo: Me: "I think I forgot my duvet cover at home." Mama: "Oops! Where is it?" Me: "Can you please check the basement? If not there, my room." Mama: "Not in your room nor basement. Check again your stuff." (3 minutes later) Me: "Ohhhh it was inside the microwave!!" HAHAHA. Fail stories* aside, I'll be taking a break from blogging (writing posts and following others' blogs) this study term in order to spend more time on more important things. Will probably also give a number of other activities a break as well. See you in January! :) * Before we left home, my dad had put my duvet cover inside the microwave in order to protect the glass plate in it. Is this how engineers think? :P

Not used to seeing such wide, open spaces anymore; not used to paying with tickets on the bus; not used to paying tax on top of the stated price; not used to looking left-right-left at intersections.. .. not even used to speaking with a Canadian accent when ordering meals anymore. So many things I didn't know I was used to before, but it's still good to be home! :)

(Eve) Last night in Singapore. I'm about 85% done packing, but that's not the reason why I'm up. The real reason.. is that Nat, Gibby and I were waiting. Waiting for  this  to arrive. :P Haha.. just indulging in some craziness before I leave :P This past week has been so busy that I haven't had a chance to let myself realize that I'm leaving the country tomorrow/today. Two projects, one work report, and random last-minute get-togethers with friends from various places (school, work and church, each from different countries!) have taken up most of the past few days. It was really really fun, and really really tiring. My last day at work was especially crazy: After breakfast w/ Nat at Mac's at Clementi, rushed to work, and for the rest of the day rushed back and forth between two buildings to try to finish things for both of my supervisors. Ended up staying til 7:30 pm.. with many things still left undone. But it was already way too late, so I decided to go ho...

is the name of the sensation that is slowly spreading across every part of my brain these days. They say that the truth hurts, that the truth will set you free... this time, it is both. The truth is this: in fewer than five days I will have to leave behind a way of life that I have temporarily come to accept as the only one there is. In that period of time, all loose ends will have to be tied, all belongings packed, all projects wrapped up for the next intern, all purchases made, all good-byes said and all rooms cleared. Need God's grace now more than ever.

最後的一週，最後的報告，而沒有意志。 At JE Regional Library as usual.. trying to finish my fourth and final WTR. Currently at 2200/2000 words, and still not done, haha. Why is it that the last stages of a paper are always harder to write than the middle stages? :O

(a.k.a. "More funny experiences with Singaporean aunties") Today I went to Magic Beanstalk to buy a "Magic Chicken Bun" (that name in itself is worthy of a LOL). But the auntie at the shop told me that they didn't have it at the moment (if I understood her Mandarin correctly, they only make it after 2 pm). So she asked me if I wanted a "HOLOK" bun instead. Obviously I was very confused, because not only was she speaking in Mandarin, I also had no idea what a "HOLOK" was. So I asked her, " 什麼是 HOLOK?" ('what is HOLOK?'), thinking it was some Chinese food thing. She proceeded to explain that HOLOK was something long that you put on a bread bun. I still didn't get it, but I told her that OK, I would have that instead. It was at that moment—when the auntie had turned around—that I saw it on a poster on the wall: beside "Magic chicken bun"... "MAGIC HOTDOG BUN." LOL.

I miss my brethren. :'(

Ever tried haggling? The process begins the moment you express the slightest bit of interest in any article in the stall. As you examine the item—a bag, a shirt, a magnet—the vendor will casually sidle up beside you and encourage you to further peruse it, usually with a "Yes, ma'am, just take your pick." If you are interested in the article, this is where you will ask for the first time how much it costs. The vendor will hesitate momentarily, and depending where you are from, will state her (I'll stick with "her" for now) first price. If it's not obvious that you're a tourist, they may or may not ask you your country of origin first. But when they've decided, they'll either pick up a calculator and enter the amount on it, or put their hands behind their back and name their price in a challenging yet non-final way. In all cases, the vendor will put before you a price that is considered outrageously high. It is customary for you, the buyer,...

Went on a four-day trip to Cebu, Philippines last weekend, and coming back to Singapore from there was almost culturally shocking. You see, if there's one thing I learned from that trip, it's this: Filipino hospitality >>>>>>>>> [Chinese] Singaporean hospitality Haha! :P Just kidding.. well, OK, maybe not. It was indeed a nice break from the routine of work life. Actually, if you think about it, it was more like a break from a break from life (life being Canada, lol). No, I didn't go to the beach; I didn't do much shopping; I didn't go to any major sights.. I've already done all those; I grew up in this country. What I  did  do was hang out and catch up with family. Got to spend time with my cousins—something I've come to cherish a lot ever since immigrating—and my aunt and uncles, and of course, our dear Lola Soling: Lola loves a glass of beer twice a week ;) Aside from becoming more and more forgetful (apparently the fir...

Today, as I was paying for my dinner (kushiyaki set), the shopkeeper asked me, in Mandarin, if I had five "mao". Being a huge novice at Chinese slang, I had no idea what a "mao" was (my first thought was actually: "Mao Ze Dong?!" ). So I thought she meant "man" ("dollar"), and asked her if she wanted five "man". But then she pointed at the coins I was holding in my hand, and told me, in English, "No, fifty cents!" Ohhh, I get it know,  I said to myself, and paid her the S$6.50 to get a clean S$1 in change. .. And then, as I walked away to the nearby table, I realized.... "Man" is a Cantonese term, not a Mandarin one. DIALECT FAIL!

Currently in a house of sick people :P I came down with a sore throat and fever yesterday, and Nat and Gibby developed a fever too this morning. (LOL what is this, some epidemic?!) So today, because I felt that any further physical exertion would cause my fever to return, I took a leave off work. In a busy, fast-paced place like Singapore, it's tempting to think that days off are only for the weak (like me). But we need to constantly remind ourselves... rest is good for you !! :) PS: That's not me, that's Amanda.. wayyy back in '09 at Urbana. hehehe

The most common word that's going through my head these days is "rawr." As in, "So many things to take care of, but not enough time after work! RAAAAAWWWWRRRRR!!!" I feel like I'm under pressure to enjoy every single bit of Singapore and make the most out of my short 4-month stay :| I actually haven't visited many places or done a lot of the "recommended" activities yet (such as visiting the Bird Park, going cycling at East Coast, crossing the border to Malaysia, eating fresh durian, etc.). To the people and friends who are shocked whenever I tell them the above: please be patient with me, yeah? I'll get around to doing these things eventually :P For now, here's some of the things I've been up to: Singapore Science Centre . Gotta love Science Centres :D especially when they have a whole section dedicated to my faculty ;) Visiting with JCA friends . Sometimes life brings old friends together in the most unexpected places. Som...

It feels like the sun is always setting and the days are always ending. Oh work, why must your hours be so long? If I'm already feeling this dread right now, how will I ever be able to stand full-time work?

I should stop drawing things that I know I'll never finish :( * In other news.. there is not much news to report! :P This morning I went with Ate Karissa to get some stuff straightened out at the bank. When we got there, this took place: AK: (explains her needs to the staff) Staff: "Just go upstairs and they'll take care of it for you." AK: "Okay. Oh, also, my friend here needs her card replaced." Staff: (to me) "Do you have your passport and employment permit?" .. HOW DID SHE KNOW I WAS A FOREIGNER JUST FROM THAT?! o__O haha! Anyway! After that we went back through the market and browsed through all sorts of bao (buns). I really enjoy the wide variety they have here—red bean, pineapple, kaya, lotus seed, coffee, custard, coffee with custard, chicken floss, sausage, sausage wrapped in a bun wrapped in nori, even this one shrimp pastry that had the whole shrimp IN THE SHELL on it O__O hahaha. We bought a few and went back home, and the...

I think there's something to be said when the first thing you and your friends point out while watching X-men: First Class is.. "Hey look! X-ray diffraction!!"

I've finally found it: a picture I can look at whenever I'm feeling down in the future: BAHAHAHAHA!!! From left to right, we have Russ, Papa, me, Ray. I think we were visiting Po-po's grave (Loyola Cemetery), so I have no idea why we looked so happy. But I absolutely love my older brother's expression and glasses here X) Actually, he was the one who sent this picture (among others) so that we could fashion a "present" for our dad. :D Happy Father's Day, Pa! Hope you enjoyed the pics as much as we did! :) Love, the three RCs :D

Your personal walk with God does not depend on UWCCF.

Almost blacked out again today on the MRT home, due to excruciating pain :( I'm feeling better now, of course. THANK YOU, LORD, for keeping me safe the whole time, and for blessing me with a caring family in a place where my real family is so far away!! *tears of joy*

(40 days without rice. I know it's not Easter season anymore, but I had to get this out sometime :P) Now that I'm in Asia I've been eating rice for about one or two meals each day. This, I realize, is in stark contrast to the few weeks right before I left - when I decided to give up rice for Lent. When friends found out I was giving up rice, their first reaction was "WHAT?! HOW??!" They told me I was taking on an "intense" challenge; they'd heard of people giving up Facebook, or candy, or TV, but never rice. After all, not only am I Chinese, I am also Filipino, and thus am used to eating rice three times a day. Rice is an Asian staple, said friends, and it is unthinkable not to eat it. Besides, rice is so good, so why would you resist it? And it was difficult at times—like when I would sit beside people having rice as part of their meal, or when I would run out of ideas of what to cook at UWP because most of the recipes I knew required rice a...

starts tomorrow! For the past three work terms I've had to enroll at work, but this time, I finally have a timeslot that begins in the evening.. .. in Eastern Standard Time. LOL. I guess it can't be helped (or, as they say in Japanese, shikata ga nai ). And speaking of which, I wonder if I should even be reunited with my favourite course next term. It's so tempting to just max out your schedule and be as "productive" as possible. But then again, if I don't take this opportunity, I will never again be able to grab it. どちらがいい？！

(a.k.a. what Rosanne's REALLY been up to) * Just saw off my aunt and two cousins at the airport this afternoon. They were visiting S'pore for a week, so I went to have lunch & catch up w/ them today :) * Getting more stuff to do at work! FINALLY,  A POTENTIALLY BUSY WORK TERM!!! * Also meeting more interns at work! So far there's been at least one new person per week. Last week there were five xD Lunchtimes are now big events. * Still haven't hooked up with a fellowship yet, but I may go with my coworker to hers this coming week! * Currently recuperating from a fever. I'm trying to think physiologically how these symptoms came about (difficulty breathing, elevated body temperature, shots of pain and weariness), but am baffled so far. Flu? An infection?? O__o Hope not!!! No pictures today. Time to rest up!

A child plays with bubbles near the sea It's getting quite tiring to even think about blogging. (Or maybe I'm just drained from long work hours.) Need to disconnect myself from the virtual world.. and connect myself to the real things (and Real One) of life.

"Who the heck do you think I am?!? I shall punish you, in the name of the moon!!!" * Explanation: I really liked the art style used for the commercial break cut-scenes from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン).. but I didn't want to draw the usual characters. So, Sailormoon it was. :D

1.) I made a fool out of myself last week by innocently asking a fellow intern (who was Dutch), "Is Amsterdam a country?" LOL EUROPEAN GEOGRAPHY FAIL. 2.) On my first day at work, I was told to wait in a room named "Histidine." I was like, "Why'd they name a meeting room after a molecule that closes up your bronchial tubes?!" It's only today that I realize I was thinking of the wrong compound (histamine) -__- (All the conference rooms in our department are named after amino acids.) 3.) In Cantonese, the standard exclamation for surprise/anger/frustration is "Aiya." .. In Mandarin, it's "AIYOOOOOUUUUU!!!" 4.) Fact: When you hear fellow co-ops/interns typing fast on their keyboards, it usually means one thing: they're talking to someone on GTalk xD 4.5.) When you hear lots of clicking, it means they're playing Minesweeper. 5.) I still sometimes half-expect the Hokkien speakers here to know Tagalog too. ...

i.e. "Rosanne needs to draw other people."

Some of the interesting "daily life in Singapore" tidbits I've been learning: It's very safe here. You can leave your purse on a chair to save a seat, and people wouldn't take it. On that note, you can even leave envelopes and tissue packs to save seats! :P They use lots of small plastic bags in which the contents just fit perfectly; these bags are very cute. x) You need to flag buses down at the bus stop, or else they might not stop for you. Mailing addresses include the floor and room number, even for companies (e.g. 555 Orchard Road, #23-01 , Singapore). "Queue" means "line-up"; "alight" means "get off"; "top up" means "reload"; "handphone" means "cellphone" Not a lot of people wear sleeveless shirts (or maybe I was just feeling conscious since I was wearing one, haha). People don't usually complain (at least, not verbally) when others squish in beyond the capacity in t...

Saw this while walking around NUS (National University of Singapore) :P NUS students are finishing up their exams right now, just like Canadian university students. At first I laughed at the sign's ridiculousness; I knew that students here worried a lot about getting good marks in school.. but not this much. (also, apparently they don't usually put up posters like these on campus) Now that I'm looking at it again, though, I'm starting to realize how scary the schooling atmosphere here can be, and how worried the students must feel as they prepare for their final tests. I'm actually getting pretty worried myself—internship starts tomorrow, and I have no idea what the work environment here is like. But how can a simple statement like "Everything is all right" calm anyone down? What—or rather, who—we really need is the Lord.

Arrived here safely, PTL :) It's not my first time in Singapore, but I'm still really fascinated by everything in it—from how cheap everything is (compared to Canada), and how orderly the streets are, to the wide array of Asian snacks (kaya jam!! :O) and the efficient MRT system. Every time I see something awesome or different, I want to pause and marvel at it, but I probably shouldn't because I'll look like such a tourist xD Yesterday I got my first tour around the neighbourhood—T. Chet and Ate Karissa showed me how to use the LRT as we went to the local mall. The card they use for public transit uses RFID technology, like HK's Octopus card, so you just tap it on the reader (I love how you can leave it inside your wallet!) as you enter and exit the station :D One other interesting thing about their LRT/MRT cars is that the windows turn opaque whenever the cars pass by apartment buildings. SICK! We did other [semi-productive] things too, including unsuccessful...

263  : minutes til my flight 17 : weeks of actual co-op internship 9 : hours of layover at HK 2 : bags to check in 139 : episodes of anime to keep me entertained (while waiting in HK? haha) 2.00 : amount of SG$ I have with me First time flying by myself, hahaha. So excited!! :D Singapore and co-op, here I come!!! :D

Bits and pieces of awesomeness from the past few days :) Palm Sunday + baking + laughter (04/17) . Celebrated Palm Sunday at Elevation with the annual palm branches :) One of the songs we sang during the service was (interestingly) Reign in Us by Starfield, and it caught me by surprise because I had never sung it in church before, but knew it from listening to it by "accident" in 2A term. It captured my heart's current yearning for revival. Headed back to UWP afterwards to cook/have lunch with Sean, Jen and Mike :D Then started the baking session: first some puto from a mix at home, then bacon chocolate chip cookies and Nutella-almond-butter-coconut cookies at Westcourt with Calvin. Fun stuff yo! Poor lighting at Westcourt => blurry picture :P Headed over to Yee Hong afterwards to deliver the goods and return the toaster they lent us :P and to have dinner! Thank you! :) The rest of the night, we had conversations about really, really random (but hilarious and a...

(I've been meaning to blog about this for a long time now :P This may explain a lot about my behaviour around other people...) I was grocery-shopping with some CCFers one day a couple weeks ago, and since I wasn't planning on buying much I offered to share my cart with a brother. He placed his backpack on the cart, and, as he started to push the cart, suggested that I put my backpack down on the cart as well. For some reason, though, I felt a deep sense of hesitance and embarrassment as I didn't want him to be pushing such a heavy cart with my backpack on it, and I also didn't want my bag to take up so much space. So I told him not to worry about it. When he asked why, the only explanation that came to mind... was not in English. It was a Tagalog word for "shame," called hiya . There are a lot of words in Tagalog that are hard to translate to English, and hiya  (pronounced 'hee-YA') is one of them. The best English translations I can think of are ...

Do not believe in the you who believes in me. Believe in the One who is able to keep you from falling. - Jude 1:24 [x] BIOL 265 (Diversity of Life, 04/08) [x] CS 240 (Data Structures and Data Management, 04/12) [x] BIOL 373 (Human Physiology II, 04/14) [x] BIOL 365 (Resources in Bioinformatics, 04/15) [x] CS 246 (Object-Oriented Software Development, 04/16) [x] JAPAN 301R (Third-Year Japanese, 04/18) Taking six full courses was pretty interesting! God is faithful indeed. 3A, this is where we part ways. Back in 'sauga now. Hello, brothers! Hello Mom and Dad. Hello home :)

Had my CS exam this morning, so I kept forgetting it was already the weekend. I've officially lost track of the days of the week. m.w. was right—everyday's either just a study day, or an exam day. [x] BIOL 265 (Diversity of Life, 04/08) [x] CS 240 (Data Structures and Data Management, 04/12) [x] BIOL 373 (Human Physiology II, 04/14) [x] BIOL 365 (Resources in Bioinformatics, 04/15) [x] CS 246 (Object-Oriented Software Development, 04/16) [ ] JAPAN 301R (Third-Year Japanese, 04/18) One more to go, and I'll be done and moving out o__o Winter term, where have you gone? I still want to do so many things: finish drawings, see friends, bake desserts, visit places, tie up loose ends. But of course there are only precious few days and hours left, and before I know it I will be out of this bubble and into the world.

   and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,    for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;    great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion;    therefore I will wait for him.'      - Lamentations 3:21-24 I was reading this passage right before my Physio exam this morning, and aside from being encouraged immensely (His mercies are new every morning!), I noticed two things. The first was that this passage, which is probably what the hymn 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' is based on, always reminds me of death and dying. I first heard that hymn being sung during my grandfather's wake, and then after that we would sing it for other memorial services as well—Tita Evelyn's, Tita Greva's. As I grow older, I understand with more and more clarity the reason why we sing it and claim these verses at funerals. It's because God is so indescribably faithful, even t...

It's happening again—I'm feeling extra-relaxed in between exams. I have no idea where this calm is coming from.. but let's hope it is Philippians 4:7 once again :) So because I'm feeling like there's a lot of time on my hands (such a lie!! wherever did I get this idea from?!), I've been going on a major cooking spree. Spent yesterday afternoon baking cookies for exam-frazzled friends, and now just spent the whole morning/early afternoon cooking: - hotdogs - 番茄炒蛋 (tomato fried eggs) - hash brown and bacon frittata - bacon/hotdog/mushroom/broccoli in alfredo sauce (for pasta) I realize that the things I cook are very similar >__> Like, I'll start by sauteing garlic and onions, then throw in a lot of ingredients, saute them together, and add some kind of seasoning or sauce. Very predictable. Haha.. need to expand my cooking repertoire :P ... but now that I've used up my groceries and cooked enough food to last me the whole week, it's ti...

O Master, grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love with all my soul.      St. Francis of Assisi May this be the cry of our hearts each day! * [x] BIOL 265 (Diversity of Life, 04/08) [ ] CS 240 (Data Structures and Data Management, 04/12) [ ] BIOL 373 (Human Physiology II, 04/14) [ ] BIOL 365 (Resources in Bioinformatics, 04/15) [ ] CS 246 (Object-Oriented Software Development, 04/16) [ ] JAPAN 301R (Third-Year Japanese, 04/18)

"Time passes by more quickly the older we get." - Lorraine F. And indeed it does, because before I knew it, lectures had ended and it was my favourite time of the term again: EXAM TIME! :O Continuing the tradition: [ ] BIOL 265 (Diversity of Life, 04/08) [ ] CS 240 (Data Structures and Data Management, 04/12) [ ] BIOL 373 (Human Physiology II, 04/14) [ ] BIOL 365 (Resources in Bioinformatics, 04/15) [ ] CS 246 (Object-Oriented Software Development, 04/16) [ ] JAPAN 301R (Third-Year Japanese, 04/18) May my exams bring glory to no one but the Lord! * In other news, something rather funny happened today. I went to MC to pick up some of my CS assignments, and when I approached the CS tutor with questions about one of them, he took one look at my username (on my assignment), and said.. "Oh, so YOU'RE rc2borja!" LOL. ... Apparently it was because of a good thing I'd done on Assignment 4. Wow. Praise God :)

Reason #1: Our don brought us lots of food for our floor meeting, and I am waiting for it to digest. Reason #2: 3A assignments are DONE LIKE DINNER!!! Thank You, Lord, for always reminding me that You are bigger and greater than schoolwork. Reason #3: This. Feels good to be reunited with my dear friend Art :)

Diana's B-boy pose xDDD It started off in first year —three guys and three girls, just like the TV show. We missed Amanda during second year, and now missed Matt in third year. But even when we're not all in the same place, we are still bound by friendships founded on the one true Rock. Three years (and counting!) of God-given grace :)

Wow. I just wrote this on my CS assignment: "P x = list op points" My accent is definitely coming back xDDD

As part of my medical check-up, I got some bloodwork done today. So the nurse started by taking blood out of my right arm. ... and then it turns out she'd missed the vein, so she took blood out of my left arm. By this time I was ready to cry, because I suddenly remembered the last time this happened to me (in 2002)—that time, I also had to get a third needle in my arm for my TB test. So of course, today, I realized after my second blood test that I needed a different test for my work permit. So the nurse took blood from me a third time. :'( Each time, I had to completely look away from my arm (and the nurse) because I still can't stand the sight of a needle going into my arm, or of blood rushing from my arm into a vial. And each time, I had to convince myself that I was not going to feel weak from loss of blood. I feel really lame whenever this happens, but this is one of the reasons why I can never go into medicine or patient healthcare (the other major reason be...

My cough has now officially progressed into a full-blown cold/runny nose, and in my sneezy delirium (lol) I thought, "Oh, wouldn't it be nice if someone in Caring Ministry made some congee for me?" But then I realized that that's not going to happen anytime soon, because: a.) I'm co-leading Caring Ministry, and I haven't encouraged the members to do anything yet b.) Nobody in Caring Ministry knows I'm sick c.) I gave up rice for Lent. Oh, the irony! So now I am making myself some soup with dumplings, seaweed and veggies. Call this practice for when someone else gets sick :) * In other news, my volleyball team this term ("X is for Dash") just lost its first playoff game this afternoon, and so we're officially out of the running. We had a pretty good season though, including a double-header last Sunday where we lost to a CCF team (the Dream Crushers) but owned another (the Awkward Jellyfish). So proud of my team! :D

Sometimes when I think I'm "old" enough to "know" how to act independently (and to tell younger ones how to act), I am gently reminded that I am still young myself, and that I have much, much more to learn. Sometimes I might resent this, but when I think about it, what would I do without this guidance and wisdom from my older brother and sisters? So thank you, my achi s and ahiya s/ kuya s and ate s/ ko-ko s and che-che s/ niisan-tachi and neesan-tachi :) It is a complete joy to learn from you! * Current FFX position: that part right after you beat the Sinspawn with Seymour Guado and Sin comes and destroys everything. (whoa, so depressing :|)

After all the excitement on Friday, I suddenly felt very weary and very downcast the day after (Saturday). For some reason I'm reminded of how Elijah felt after he called down fire from Heaven and then ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel (1 Kings 19:4). For the rest of the day I couldn't concentrate—let alone study—and by the time night fell, I just couldn't take it anymore. There was something weighing my heart down, but I couldn't quite tell what it was. So I did the only things I could do to escape: sing, pray and draw. One of the songs Jen and I encountered while leafing through her binder was "Amazed," and its lyrics finally were enough to calm me down. You dance over me While I am unaware You sing all around While I never hear a sound Lord, I'm amazed by You How You love me

Yesterday was very long, and very eventful. I woke up to much snow piling on the ground, and to the news that a magnitude 8.9 earthquake had just hit Japan, with tsunamis traveling as far as the west coast of North America. I can't remember if my aunt's family is still in Japan. I hope they're safe >__< For the rest of the day, I did crazy things I had never done before: I booked a return trip (two-way flight) by myself for the first time. I led worship for the first time. And I ran for committee for the first time. The Rosanne in second year would not have had the guts to do any of these. God is working; I can feel it. * In other news, here are photos of more crazy people: (i.e. belated pictures from Reading Week) What can I say; it runs in the family.

Currently here: Drinking this: Writing a one-page composition about this: It's actually quite enjoyable. I think I'll miss this when I'm not a student anymore.

I can't do homework at all. Too many things going on. Incapable of writing in complete, coherent paragraphs or multi-clause sentences. Attended memorial service this afternoon. The weather was gloomy and dark, but the people inside were smiling... This is the testimony of our Living God and Saviour! The thing about Filipino funerals/memorial services is that there is always food at the end. ... Yes, there was even lechon . Obviously you can't do schoolwork when you've just come back from the memorial service of a dear family friend. This is a short story our pastor told us in his message at the service today: There was once a man who was dying from cancer, and was at the hospital to be treated for his disease. A friend came to visit him. The friend asked, "Aren't you afraid of crossing the river to the other side?" But the man said: "Why should I be afraid, when I know the One who owns both sides of the river?" Amen.

but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6) Pull yourself together, Rosanne!! Midterms and schoolwork ain't got nothin' on our Heavenly Father.

I was all alone in the hotel's swimming pool this morning, and it suddenly dawned upon me that I had always had an intense, irrational fear of deep water. I'm not exactly sure how it started. Maybe it came from the time I almost drowned in the middle of a crowded pool as a kid, hanging onto my older brother who kept pushing me off into the water since he couldn't even keep himself afloat. Or maybe it came from the time I was watching him look for Emerald Weapon in FF7. Hahaha

and gone tomorrow. It really is hard to grasp the fact that someone you just talked to several weeks ago will no longer be there. What I will never forget is her gentle manner, and how calm she looked even when we knew she was under a lot of pain. Mostly, she just had so much faith in God that it was contagious. No more early-morning drives to the hospital, no more intense rounds of chemo, no more false hopes of treatment. Only overflowing, everlasting peace in the presence of our Father. Thank God. Rest well, Tita Greva. You're home now. ♥

Life is so short. But I don't think we fully understand that.

Currently at DP, mugging for a midterm at 2:30 (BIOL 365). And tomorrow: - BIOL 373 midterm - JAPAN 301R Kanji quiz - JAPAN 301R composition #1 due - CS 240 midterm It's a good thing JobMine is not on that list. Why am I stressing about doing well in school when marks will be so trivial in the coming years? Should I be more accepting of a lower mark, or should I keep aiming for the best I can get with what God's given me (i.e. a high mark), even though it causes me so much worry and grief? Sometimes I wish I didn't expect so much of myself.

Guess who.

Clear skies fading from deep blue, fading royal, fading to cornflower light bathe a stretch of concrete earth and buoy a million hidden stars and a sliver of a slice of smiling moon in the cold air of evening.

After studying for the Kanji Quiz #2 for my Japanese class, I've never been more thankful for elementary and high school Chinese lessons :D

この週末は　家に帰りました。 お母さんの誕生日だからです。 家族と一緒にタイレストランに出かけて、たくさんおいしいものを食べました :D 皆が再会したら、とてもうれしくなって、気持ちいいです。:) Went home on Friday for Mom's birthday, and went out for some yummy and filling Thai food to celebrate! There's always much joy whenever our whole family is together, so this weekend was a real blessing :)

Yesterday was Thursday, meaning it was my long day (7.5 straight hours of lectures). I usually dislike these days, but yesterday was especially good: AM (Jan. 27) 8:30 - Wake up... and fall back asleep. 9:45 - Meet up with m.w. and y.s. to walk to class - our daily activity! :) 9:58 - Realize, as I step into RCH, that I forgot my glasses at home. DANG. 11:25 - Head over to MC, where second lecture begins. Stare blindly at blackboard. PM 12:50 - Retrieve glasses from y.s. (yayyyy thank you so much for picking them up! :D) and realize just how helpless I am without corrective lenses of any sort. Go off to third lecture of the day. 1:45 - Start getting irritated when prof starts teaching material all over the place, using totally different slides and not our course notes -__- the heck... 2:18 - Head over to fourth lecture (Japanese~!) 2:27 - Begin Japanese quiz. 2:28 - Get intimidated by Japanese quiz. 3:05 - Finish quiz on time with answers I am satisfied with, praise God :...

Vegetables + Chinese Cooking Wine + Alfredo Sauce = No. Hahaha... cooking is always interesting :) * あああああ　まだ　明日の日本語試験の為に勉強していません O____O; I haven't finished studying for my Japanese quiz tomorrow yet... agggghhh... I'm still not used to this thing they call schoolwork. Motivation = 5%.

Today I received a reply from the P.I. of a research group I applied to.. but the thing was, his email was all in small-caps and short-cut language o__O And just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, the very bottom part read "從我的愛風傳送". I saw the "愛" part and immediately freaked out, thinking it meant "sent with love" or something scandalous like that. A little later, I pulled up the email again to show j.c., and read the Chinese phrase aloud to myself to make sure. And that's when I realized... "從我的愛風傳送" means "Sent from my iPhone." -________-

It's been two weeks since school started. I realize that I blog very rarely about what life's like when I'm on a study term in Waterloo, so here's one such post (more for my future reference than for anyone else's, really.. haha) :) Weather Waterloo is naturally frigid. Yes. :( It went all the way to -15 C yesterday morning (according to The Weather Network) so my ears started hurting by the time I got home. But maybe that was because I was wearing a metal headband.. In any case, it's positive 1° C now o__O School and courses So, because I'm a sucker for pain challenges, I enrolled in six (6) courses this term—4 mandatory and 2 elective classes. The mandatory ones (two CS's, Diversity, and our first Bioinfo course) are actually not too bad, except most of the material is review from previous years and hence quite tedious to go through. The first elective, Physio II, seems "meh" at the moment (cuz the prof isn't as lively as Dr. Dayeh...

Here's a new work-in-progress.. from something I doodled quickly in class this morning. Interpret it however you want :P There are so many people, themes, places, Bible verses and song lyrics that I want to draw badly! I wonder if I'll get around to finishing them all? In any case, time to go to Biol 365.