gLoRi@WoNg

Hermit Mckermit

2007-08-30T18:56:00.001-04:00

One of my roommates left for home, and for the first time in weeks, I no longer have a TV to watch. It just hit me how much I'd turned into a hermit. With the TV gone, I'm finally finding that time really does tick by the second and not by 30 minutes. I'd set my life around Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. And now, the second evening I return home without a TV sitting right in front of me, I'm bored. Yes. After a long hard day at work, I just wanted to do nothing. So, I decided to have an evening life of chilling on the couch, munching on dinner, and just watching interesting characters entertaining me with their far-fetched stories. Now, I'm discovering WHY people should not be hermits. It's boring! And life becomes all gray and unexciting because you're not involved in reality! I'd been keeping people an arm's length away, saying no to their every invitation until they don't ask me out anymore. So now, I'm stuck with no plans, no fun crazy weekends, and just having a life of a sixty-year-old. Dang. I'm going to have to rebuild bridges. I need my life as a 22-year-old back, and I need to start now!

A dash of fun, adventure.... Arrh!

2007-08-13T20:23:00.000-04:00

So I went to the Pirates and Princess party at the Magic Kingdom last Saturday. It was really cute how the little girls were all dolled up in princess outfits; Snow White, Belle, you name it, they're dressed it! And man I love pirates! I'm totally hung up on Jack Sparrow. I'm like in love with him or something... and he's not even a real person. Haha, there were these 3 guys who were decked out as Jack Sparrow and looked quite like the original. I talked to them, but too bad I didn't get a picture :(. I guess I got distracted... I was floating on cloud 9 or something, I mean c'mon, it was Jack Sparrow! One called himself Captain T. And he was a very cute Captain Sparrow-slash-T! *grin* Well, I did get a snapshot with the Disney Jack Sparrow though. He's a little chubbier than the real thing, but he's still a pretty good version of Jack Sparrow. And his drunk-yet-still-have-that-sharp-intelligent-look-in-his-eyes imitation of Sparrow was excellent! And here he is~

Another cool thing I did; I witnessed the launch of the space shuttle Endeavor last Wednesday!! Well, not exactly the launch.. but i saw it in the air. My roommates and I were watching it from our balcony. Here are pictures:

See it? Isn't it cool? It's like a fireball soaring towards heaven, and shooting across the bright blue sky. Here's one when it goes beyond the clouds, and all you can see is the trail of smoke it leaves behind...

Fun times! Here are more pictures from the Pirates and Princess party. Jessica had complimentary tickets from her boss and invited Neil and I.
Dinner... Munch crunch, chit chat, happy families buzzing about
Half of Goofy, and half of Jess. Goofy was pointing at Neil's foot cast

Jess and I in front of Cinderella's carriage; though you can barely see it.

Oh! There it is~

Posing in front of "It's a Small World After All"

Neil enjoying the tinkles of "It's a Small World"

A glimpse of "It's a Small World"

I'm a princess! Hahaa... It's a female restroom... yes..I do weird things like taking snapshots of restrooms... sometimes..

Hula hoop with CHIP 'N' DALE!!! It's a Dream come true! ;)

After a happy tra-la-a mini roller coaster ride

Uuuuu.. it's Capt. Hook and his 5'7" buddy Smee

Become a Princess...... so the sign tells us

Hahaha, I love this duck! Lookat his round tummy, it's so cute, he looks so adorable! And a little like a furry drum.. ;D

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hMmmm.........Gorgeous... isn't it?

35% Phlegmatic, 33% Choleric

2007-08-06T21:24:00.000-04:00

I was browsing through some friends' blogs, and I found one interesting personality test a friend had taken. So, I decided to give it a try. Turns out, I'm 35% Phlegmatic, 33% Choleric, 18% Sanguine, and 15% Melancholy. Take a glance at my top two (Keep in mind that they're only 2% apart):

Strengths of a Phlegmatic
The Introvert | The Watcher | The Pessimist

The Phlegmatic's Emotions
Low-key personality
Easygoing and relaxed
Calm, cool and collected
Patient well balanced
Consistent life
Quiet but witty
Sympathetic and kind
Keeps emotions hidden
Happily reconciled to life
All-purpose person

Strengths of a Choleric
The Extrovert | The Doer | The Optimist

The Choleric's Emotions
Born leader
Dynamic and active
Compulsive need for change
Must correct wrongs
Strong-willed and decisive
Unemotional
Not easily discouraged
Independent and self sufficient
Exudes confidence
Can run anything

So.... Don't you think the two personalities totally cross out one another? On the one hand, "Consistent life", and on the other, "Compulsive need for change". And again, "Easygoing and relaxed", and the other "Dynamic and active". But the funny thing is that both pretty much hit the spot.

Weaknesses are pretty accurate too, though some are way off:

The Phlegmatic's Emotions
Unenthusiastic
Fearful and worried
Indecisive
Avoids responsibility
Quiet will of iron
Selfish
Too shy and reticent
Too compromising
Self-righteous

The Choleric's Emotions
Bossy
Impatient
Quick-tempered
Can't Relax
Too impetuous
Enjoys controversy and arguments
Won't give up when losing
Comes on too strong
Inflexible
Is not complimentary
Dislikes tears and emotions
Is unsympathetic

When you observe just one of the personalities on its own, you'll go like WOW. How nice to be so calm and collected all the time, never panicking over anything, and not even have the word 'tragedy' in your dictionary. Or, how nice to be a born leader, who takes everything on with no fear, and always thinking there's no such thing as failure, only opportunities and success. Or what about the weaknesses? One would say, Oh, I don't want change, I'll be happy to remain exactly where I am ten years from now or even forever. The other would only be happy if he's the king of the world and everyone bows at his every command. How freaky would either one be when completely by itself? (P/S:That's why we live in a community where people can get together, balance one another's weaknesses out and build one another's strengths up)

I think both of these personalities do describe me well. Especially with all the crossovers; they balance out and become even more accurate. And some when added together, really equal out to who I am.

It was fun taking this test. I learned not only a little more about me, and some of the things I need to work on (wake up call!); but it also made me think of the people around me. When you know what makes a person tick, you'll know how to approach and handle things when working with them. It's a pretty cool trick.

Golf!

2007-07-30T21:32:00.000-04:00

Wow. I was really sleepy today at work. I drank 3 cups of coffee, and i was still pretty much... zoned out. It was weird. My boss is back from her vacation! Yesss! It's great to have her back. Oh, and last week we were told that there was going to be a huge reorganization that'll hugely impact our dept, so I was a little lost about what was going to happen to me as an intern in that dept. But i checked with Amy, my boss, and i'm still going to be with her. Phew. So i'm good.

Hey, i now have a golfing buddy! He's another intern from work, from the Sourcing dept. He's Andrew, a student at Wisconsin. He's really nice. And oh my, his golf swings are so great! In the forty-minute time we spent at the driving range, i got pretty decent. Though, out of the MANY times i swung, i missed about 1/3 of the time. hah. *blush*

Anywayz, the girl that i carpool to work with would start coming out with us the next time we go. I'm pretty pumped about playing for real. I'm going out on the driving range again to practice another time or two. I'm really serious about learning.... So, i'll probably go out tmr after work and practice what he taught me. And actually swing without missing. Anymore! Then we can go play for real. And oh, coolness of coolness, he's learning to play tennis too! So, hah! How awesome. A golfing and tennis buddy! Just when i thought i had to forgo both!

No entry

2007-07-24T22:08:00.000-04:00

Sigh... I was just thinking... and I realized that I'm a total freak. I keep to myself, I don't keep in touch with old friends, or even current friends. It's not that I don't hang out or whatever; I do, and I have fun with friends... I just don't work on furthering friendships to get them over to the close friend threshold. Most of my friendships are hovering in the area of superficiality and acquaintances. Sad, huh? People reach out, I put up a shield. Or I am friendly but with a huge forcefield keeping me in my little bubble. You know ppl like that? Ppl who make it so difficult for you to connect with? I AM one of them! Basically, I live in this shell with a NO ENTRY sign on it. WHy on earth do I do that?????

I think it all became worse when I left for Texas after high school. I moved around a lot since then... I just became even more independent than ever, and felt more comfortable moving to a new place rather than staying in one place. In fact, familiarity makes me a little uncomfortable, and makes me want to move again. That was how I felt when I was in Columbus... when I was surrounded by friends; always had people to meet weekly, to be vulnerable with, to catch up with and all that jazz. It was great for a while. Then I felt hemmed in. Or maybe I just got scared. And i wanted to run away to someplace new. I remember talking to God about it. It was in the Spring when I felt sooooo hemmed in and I wanted to just RUN. Well, He opened a door.

Now I'm in Orlando. All by myself, starting life anew; with a new lifestyle, new roommates, new friends, new colleagues, new workload. I love it! See... I'm a freak! Sigh... well, now I got to thinking... and maybe I'm not as happy as I think I am. How can a person keep to herself like the way I do and be happy doing it? It's just... weird. Not normal! My roommate Allie just left for the bar, but when she came out of our room, she said, "how can you stand to be so quiet?" I was sitting here in the living room, reading emails, reading my friend's blog... laughing occasionally, and just, well, enjoying keeping up with what's been going on in their lives. When she said that, i perked up my ears and heard what she heard. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Absolute silence. Hah, and I didn't even notice it until she pointed it out. I don't see anything wrong with being quiet... it's just the way I am. But what I saw was all her efforts to build friendships, and then at my feeble ones...it's just... sad that I don't even put in the effort. Friends and roommates invite me all the time to go out and have a good time... i did like 5 times. I made one invitation myself, and it turned out to be a great time. But then I never took them up on or made any other offers. No... i just wanted to stay here at the apartment, chill out to a good novel, or watch Friends for hours, go off somewhere on my own, or work. It makes me feel comfortable, competent, and/or intelligent. And another thing... I basically had just one best friend before in my entire life back when I was like, eight... and a couple who were really close but I never called them my best friends... and everyone else that I bonded really well with were just close friends.

You know what?...I think I just found the problem...I think I'm afraid of intimacy...

My mid-year resolutions

2007-07-16T23:25:00.000-04:00

You know what I'm determined to do? I'm determined to whip not only my mind into shape, but also my physique. Hah! I'm going to work out regularly, and... spend my saturday and/or sunday afternoon out in the sun tanning. After all, if I don't do this now, when am I? When I turn 40? So... soon, my skin will be a crisp golden brown and you'll see me in great shape. Muscles and everything (The fit type, not the bulky type like some weightlifter/wrestler)! Sounds like a plan!

This is me today:

Give me a couple of months! :D

Ouu.. also, I'm going to learn Chinese! I bought a book online, and I'm going to teach myself to read and write Mandarin. The book arrived today; the learning begins tomorrow!

2nd week of work

2007-07-05T19:54:00.000-04:00

You ever get that nervous feeling in your stomach? The one that makes you a li'l queasy, and you know you're five seconds away from breaking into cold sweat? Yeah.. that's what I got a few times this past 2 weeks. At this internship, I get to forecast sales numbers that would help us figure out purchase orders, and I get to make decisions on give-aways, and I get to do reports that managers, directors, executives, would look at and base their decisions on! Wouldn't that just freak you out if you were this young girl who hadn't even graduated yet? YeS! Ok, so I'm not thAt young.. and I am just a couple of qtrs away from graduating. It's not too bad. I just gotta get over myself. I just got a li'l nervous. And excited. Cuz, I mean, it's pretty cool. I like these kinds of stuff... and this is a big step for me. College gives you a pretty good foundation, but that's about it. The rest you gotta think/do on your feet. But the cool thing about starting off your real world experience as an intern is that your boss makes sure your wings work before sending you off to fly. Pheww!

Well! But it's not all work and no play. I got to go to Magic Kingdom bright and early at 7.30AM with other fellow colleagues! To do work, yes... haha. But it was fun for me~

And some fun times last saturday at the Disney-MGM Studios! One's of me with Oprah, and the other is of two of three roommates- Allie, and Mehma:

Starting life in Orlando, FL

2007-06-24T15:53:00.000-04:00

Hey! I'm in Orlando, Florida right now. Been here since Thursday evening. The 10-hr drive here was pretty uneventful, except for this lady who almost ran me over with her very-large SUV. Thank the Lord for His protection. I drove non-stop except for gas and restroom stops, and of course, at Chick-Fil-A for some sweet tea. :) Registered and had a couple of meetings on friday, then a training yesterday. My roommates are pretty cool. All three have graduated, and they are like, people with achievements type thing. Wow. I like being here! :)

Anywayz, I checked out MetroLife Church today. It's similar to Skyline, my church back home in KK. I'm not sure if I'll like to make it my home yet... I'm going to check out Avalon Church next Sunday. The website seemed more... alive, like young adults type of alive. Seems more my pace. We'll see. Both churches are very Word-based, according to their websites. I've been trying to decide between the two, maybe Avalon is it. It's further away though... like, about 35mins away. Not that much different from the 27mins drive to MetroLife. Man, i'm going to have fun paying for gas. It adds up, like it takes about 25mins for me to get to work. Orlando's pretty spread out, I'm beginning to be a champ at driving on freeways.. actually, at driving period.

Anywayz, I'm starting on Monday! I'm pretty psyched about that. I'm going to be a working woman starting tomorrow!! Cowgirl today, working woman tomorrow.

Bees and roaches

2007-06-05T00:56:00.000-04:00

My roommate, Pam, and I make a pretty good team. I'm totally freaked out by bees/wasps, and she, like a total champ, smashed two of 'em that happened to be buzzing about in my room a few weeks ago. She, on the other hand, gets all queasy at the thought of roaches. She found one roaming in our upstairs hallway, and I, totally smushed it with a piece of folded cardboard and victoriously flushed it to its grave. How awesome. And what a morbid topic.

Midwest learnings + importance of having a clean record

2007-06-02T09:33:00.001-04:00

I had a fab time at the Midwest Games this year! And i even made some new friends. whoot whoot! Even though i lost my first chess match (lol), it was good that i got to watch some other teammates bowl, and the rest play some amazing soccer. I learned something just by watching them play. You know, there's this thing about me which is really weird... when i do something, i don't put my whole heart and soul into it, cuz... i'm just so freakin afraid of failure. Like, if i put so much effort into doing something, and if it fails, then what does that make me, a failure, right? No. Well, i was dumb enough to believe that at first.... and even though i learned over the years that i gotta do things with everything that i've got, cuz after all, it's not about me, it's about the Father and if it's about Him, how can I not give it all i've got? Well, i thought i was over that whole afraid-of-failure phase, but i guess not. I didn't even played chess in over a year before i played that match! How dumb is that. And u know what's cool? It was a super close game, i nearly won. But made a silly mistake, so i lost. Maybe i just got cocky and didn't focus on the game. heh. So, it kinda shows that I do have the wits to play a great game of chess. And if I have it, why not work on enhancing my skills? Right? Yeah! Even if i don't win, it's ok... at least i can see where i stand at that point compared to the other chess champs out there, and at least i can be proud of myself for working on it. U know? Anywayz, then i was watching the guys play soccer. They played with all their heart, and they gave it EVERYTHING they had. They won the first match 7-0. Whoot whoot! The second was a tie 1-1. And the third, they won 1-0. Then they had to win one more match to make it to the quarter finals. They didn't. It was a 0-0 game all the way till extra time (or whatever you call it), and they lost 0-1. When they lost, i was probably more disappointed than they were. Ain't that crazy? I watched how they played, and it impressed me how good they played together (they had teammates from other universities so they hadn't had the opportunity to practice till the day of the first match), and how ALL of them played like there's no tomorrow! I was so proud of my boys. Ok, they're not mine, and they're not boys anymore. But u know what i meant. I went to watch them play all their matches, even when it was freakin' cold out there! I didn't see their last match tho, Suzi and i went to grab some chinese food and we ate at the other field stretching out in the sun. So, yeah, well. This showed me, that if they hadn't played like they had, they probably wouldn't have made it that close to the quarter-finals (duh, doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out). And now that they had played with all they had, and they didn't make it, it's ok. Not winning does not make one a failure.... not at all. I am so proud of them. I feel like a mamma. haha. Sure, disappointments come when you tried so hard and it didn't work out... but the truth is we all gotta move on and try again. Life beats us down but we always gotta get up again. And heck, if chess is my thing (which for some reason is really funny to me), then heck, i should take a whack at it.

I didn't even go down to Chicago to check out the city. I felt bad cuz i did promise Suzi, and it's not me at all to break a promise. I don't even really know why i changed my mind... i think a part of it was because i wanted to see the guys play some mean soccer. I was so impressed and proud of them when i watched them play that first and second match, and i wanted to be there for them in a sense. Which is really weird, cuz they didn't even need me to be there. So, that might've been the main reason. Another part may have been that i was a little tired... but heck, when has a little tiredness (is there such a word) stopped me from doing anything? So, i think it was because of the whole soccer thing. I don't think Suzi really understood... but heck, i was at the wrong for breaking a promise. I don't know how to make it up to her. Plan a trip to go to Chicago? Ok, like, when? I'm leaving in a couple of weeks, and i'll be in orlando for 6 mths, and when i return, it'll be freezing wintertime, and it's not exactly fun to drive around on ice and through snowstorms. I guess we can do it during the little break between spring and summer. Yep, sounds good. I'll chat it up a little with her and see if we can set apart that time for a little trip. :) I'm excited! :D

And u know, i was disappointed in myself too for being, well, not as good a light as i should've been. I was tired, and so was she. I could tell that she was irritable, and her words did hurt me some. In a sense, it was a weird trip. Suzi and i were the only gals there, and usually we're inseparable and can chat it up anytime anywhere. But this trip, we got on one another's nerves, and she told me off this one time. Yep, she did. After that, i kinda turned into this weird person... i was in my thinking-analyzing mode, internalizing stuff, and i knew it was better for me not to talk so much except about neutral topics like what music to play and directions, cuz i didn't have enough patience to handle her emotions. I was tired, but it's no excuse for unloving behavior. I drove the whole 7 hrs back, stopping only twice for gas and at the second stop, grabbing some sandwiches to go. She made some comments about my driving which really annoyed me to bits. But i kept silent. I really dislike unappreciative behavior but it's not me to scream and yell. I don't expect a thank you or anything of the sort, but to make jabs like that really was uncalled for, u know? Well, I was driving like a mad woman occasionally. Haha. I like to speed, driving at 70miles/hr seem terribly slow to me on the highway. I'm so glad i never got a speeding ticket, i just found out yesterday at work that even ONE speeding ticket can drive up the premiums of your insurance by a LOT! U can now expect me to never go beyond 10miles over the speed limit from now on. Better to be safe than sorry! And no accidents either! Man, the costs for insurance would be insane. Haha, would u believe this? I'm only going to drive safer because of insurance costs... how superficial. But really, u have no idea, if i have a clean driving record, i may need to only pay less than $300 for 6-mths of insurance. And this one guy that we were quoting, had 3 speeding tickets and one accident, and his quote was $1,500 for 6-mths. Wow. HUGE difference, know what i mean? Same goes for credit cards... i have a perfect record, i pay it off on time for every single cent spent, i'm debt-free, and i bet i have a great credit report. I keep receiving credit card applications, mastercard, visa, u name it..even for platinum plus ones. I don't accept them of course, i'm gonna get a shredder sometime soon to shred all these stuff i got. I even had to call this toll-free number to make sure i never get anymore for the next 5 years. But when i did find a card that i liked, this travelrewards one that gives me lotsa points, no annual fee,.. i applied for it, and got accepted immediately. It's nice to have a clean record cuz everything goes smoothly and quickly. Whenever i ask send questions about my credit cards, the people get back to me so quickly. Coolest!

I guess in a sense, you gotta protect your reputation. It's easy for it to be defiled. This whole clean record thing that i was talking about.. it takes work and effort to maintain that. I was out with a really pretty friend just the other day for lunch at Wendy's. She was being really friendly with one of the managers, jesting and laughing. I personally thought it was a little too friendly cuz i saw the guy's face turn kinda red and like he was trying to impress her or something. And this other manager went like, "hey bob, how's your wife?" I was like, man. I know this girl, and she's really nice and she really loves the Lord. She's a lot of fun, and she's really friendly. I know her, but that other manager didn't. So he made assumptions about her. That's when i realize that it's so easy for one's reputation to be defiled. So, just a little heads up. For me too... cuz i see something going on right now in my life that could very much defile my reputation. Kindof is a good thing that i'm leaving in a couple of weeks. But changing geographic locations does not protect me from problems... people are the same everywhere, i personally have experienced that...same needs, wants, probs, all set in their own ways... so, yep. I just gotta guard my heart a little bit more... breastplate of righteousness yeah? And i kinda think i left some pretty bad impressions when i was back in kk. Not like i am what they think i am, but they just made assumptions. Sometimes we can't change what people want to believe, so, heck, as long as you did what you were supposed to do, don't let it beat you down. But of course, watch yourself so you don't behave inappropriately. Sometimes it's harder for the beautiful people, like that girl i mentioned... if you see a rather plain-looking girl jesting like that, the other manager would've probably joined in and laughed about it. So, people like her have to tone things down a little more... ain't that kinda unfair? Heck, well, life's like that. So, before things go spiraling downwards, be a little more aware of who you're with and what you're doing, and behave accordingly. That's why i kinda just hangout with girls since it's safer in a way, esp eversince that whole David incident. Emotions are a tricky thing... and it's easy for girls to fall in love, like Kate was saying. It's true. We can fall in love with anyone. So, yep, watch yourself, and put on that breastplate of righteousness ladies! And men, don't mislead the ladies! :) I meant that lovingly. I hope you all take it as so. :)

Can't live a day

2007-05-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

This song is so beautiful. And it's so true. How can I possibly live one day without Him? And His loving arms holding me... hhmmm... yes, I'm in love. I'm so full of dreams... but without Him, what would all these dreams be? All of them put together can never amount to a fraction of Who He is and His astounding glory. Every time I listen to this song I'm reminded again that He is truly all that matters to me.... how can I not live all out for Him? He's created me for some things He wants to do, I want to jump in and be a part of that! However small (like, uhmm.. studying? hehe..) or big (wow..), nothing can ever be too hard, cuz after all, it is Him doing it through me. All the glory to be unto His Name! Forever and ever!

baby pandas!!

2007-04-29T16:41:00.000-04:00

16 baby pandas in China! Awwwwww~~~~~~~~~~~

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance

2007-04-28T14:44:00.000-04:00

Have u ever felt so hemmed in that u just want to screeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaammmm? Ranting and raving doesn't even help... u just want to scream it all out. Why? Screaming doesn't solve anything right? True. That's why i'm not screaming. I usually am quite patient (minus the road rage), and i've been brought up to be polite. That's why u don't see me shouting or screaming simply because i feel like it. I even had to LEARN to make fun sarcastic remarks. Can sarcasm be fun? Yeah... it can be, which is pretty funny. That's the way it is here. Well, anywhere actually. People like to talk... they like to fill up silences, which are considered awkward, with a buncha words....... superficial words, just to keep things light and fun. Basically, I think human beings are weird creatures. Why do we do that? Is silence really a bad thing? It's true even for me, a person who enjoys being alone, to fill up silences with words when hanging out with another person. Only for certain people, that silent moments can be comfortable, usually with someone close like my mom.. a couple of friends.

Sigh....anywayz, it's not like anything's bad. It's just that... everything's the same. Same schedule, same people breathing down your neck, same people with more and more expectations by the day, bigger responsibilities that takes up more of my time, which is ok.. it's basically just the other things that revolve around me that's annoying me...taking up time that i could've used to focus on the responsibilities that i enjoy. It's not that i dislike the others... sometimes I just have a lot going on and I don't have as much time for the others.. u know? It's nothing personal... i'm just more of a lone ranger, and being out all the time with people can be pretty draining after a while. Sometimes I feel like burying my phone and pretending it doesn't exist, and just pack some stuff, hop into my car and drive away. Doesn't have to be a far-away place... it could be simply 30mins away, a b&b or motel somewhere where i can just be by myself.... i just need a simple getaway. And no one needs to know where i am or where i'd gone to. Come to think of it, this is bad... cuz it's like, ridiculously irresponsible to just run off somewhere without letting anyone know. My roommates might worry. Maybe i'm just selfish. What a joke, yeah.. I definitely am. I try not to be... but sometimes I fall into that pit.. where I think about myself a lot more than I think of anyone else. Sigh. I'm just tired. Maybe it's the routine-ness of life, but it could be something else. I'm glad I'm going away in 2 mths. Florida, for 6 mths, just working there, meeting a buncha professionals... doing something new, staring at the computer screen trying to make sense of the data and formulating them. Sounds boring? Well, I'm pumped! Forget Cbus for a bit. I'm packin up and leaving. Dang.. my attitude needs some sort of adjustment. PRONTO!

U know, I was just listening to a sermon earlier by Francis Chan. He's a great speaker btw, there's a link on my blog to his church's website if u wanna check it out. Cornerstone Church. I sincerely encourage u to do so, unless of course, u're not ready to hear the truth. Man, I'm feisty today. I'm sorry. Well, it's true tho... he speaks the truth. Straight from the Word, the WHOLE truth, NOT watered down. We should be ready to jump at it!

Ok, so, he talked about Galatians6. These 2 verses stood out to me: 7"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows", 9"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Both, esp the latter, really smacked me in the head. I'm tired. weary. I'm tired of doing good. I just want to run off somewhere and be a hermit. But I shouldn't give up... sooner or later, i'll reap a harvest. I get to harvest what I planted. If I planted cocoa plants, i'll reap cocoa (to make coffee! and amazing dark choc!). If I planted a prune tree, I can't expect to reap cocoa. Even if I hope with all my heart that the prunes will turn into cocoa (Eww.. I'll be stuck with prunes). Who am I kidding right? "God cannot be mocked..a man reaps what he sows". If I sow running away from circumstances, what will i reap? A chicken heart probably. haha. i meant chicken as in being cowardice. Worse. When I stand in judgement before Him one day, the Almighty One, what can I say to Him? "I ran away cuz I was tired... people drove me crazy." Could I really say that? Blame it on other people? It's just going to be between Him and me..... I don't think I'd even have any excuses, I'll fall on my knees and sob because I did not serve Him, but served my own selfish desires.

8"The one who sows to please his sinful nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." I want to keep on sowing to please Him.... i don't want to give up doing His Will, i don't want to give up pleasing Him... so I'm going to keep on. Isaiah 40:31 "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles." In Him and through Him, I can break free to keep on and never give up in doing good. Praise Him! He never said anything about pronto results, but I choose to keep on... He promised that He is NEVER mocked, we can never lie about what we've spent our entire lives sowing, He already KNOWS... He SEES. If someone pissed me off and I wanted to scream out profanity but withheld AND to not even THINK it in my head because it'll please Him to speak only words of grace that would bless others instead of tearing them apart... He sees that. Even the littlest things, He sees. "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows". He sees, and we WILL reap what we sow. I'm not perfect. Far from it. But by the grace of God I'll keep on serving Him and live out my life to see His Face shine upon me and to see that smile one day on His Face and to hear those words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant". Faithful... I want to be faithful. Praise be to our Lord!

Midterm

2007-04-25T01:31:00.000-04:00

doodleedo. Ok, so, i'm up. I was pretty stressed out trying to work on accounting. Man... it's really taking up a lot of brain-time. I have a huge midterm coming up. Thursday. My professor is really tough ... he gives us stuff CPA-exam style. Ok. At least that'll kinda get us ready for the cpa exam... But it is hard for regular undergraduate students trying to cope with life and school and what-nots. So, it's either i study up real good, or i'm sunk. Like titanic. What good is a great ship hidden in the depths of the ocean?

Anywayz, the sun's been coming out this past week!!!!!!!! Oh mi gosh!! It was soooooo great! I wanted to hit the beach this coming weekend, but the temperature might drop a little, so it won't be as perfect. I'll put it off till a perfect weekend comes along. Besides, there's a really pretty park only about 5 minutes drive from my place... it's clean, family-friendly, nice benches and tables, nice people having picnics, college students playing football or tossing frisbees... yep, i think that'll basically be where my random spring getaways would be most of the time...

Night with Pension plans

2007-04-17T00:28:00.000-04:00

Looks like I'm going to be up most of the night finishing my accounting homework. I should have taken my professor seriously when he warned us that it was going to be hard. Just to finish one of the charts, it took me more than 2 hours. And I did it on excel too! Which quickens all the calculations for me, so imagine if I did it by hand... I'll probably be pulling my hair out by now.

I'm listening to this song now as I'm doing the hw... repeating it over and over. I love this song... it's so beautiful!

Anywayz, for all you guys out there... do think twice before picking up accounting as your major. It's really tedious work. It's consuming my entire life. Ok, i'm exaggerating... but seriously, it really is tedious work. I like it though. That's why I'm doing it! It's useful knowledge, and of course, it doesn't hurt that it's much easier for me to land a job here as an accountant than as a financial analyst or advisor.

Picture-taking time~

2007-04-16T00:59:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I get into these moods, one of them is to take a buncha pictures. Of myself.

Haha, pretty vain of me... but c'mon... u gotta try it and u'll see for yourself that it's really a lot of fun. I started doing this as a stress-reliever a couple of years ago. Then it stuck with me as I began enjoying it. Weirdo.

Anywayz, here are some of 'em. I didn't really wear this hat out... i changed my mind and switched to a baseball cap before I left the house. I was aiming for a casual look for the day, since I'd been dressing up a lot lately... not in a dress or anything of the sort, in business casual wear. Plus I wanted a hat to cover my face, cuz i pretty much resemble a panda now. lol.

Enjoy~

2007-04-14T19:45:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty tired. Been out all day.. and I'd been trying to study but quite a bit of stuff came up for me to do. It was supposed to be a pretty quiet day for me (I was looking forward to that too!!!). I had that financial training with World Financial Group, which is basically a regular saturday morning thing for me now. That was supposed to be it for me today, so I thought I could study the rest of the day. But then I had a meeting that lasted for more than 4 hours, and then picked up Sarai (she's interested in moving in for the summer) and showed her one of our rooms, dropped her home, then I talked on the phone (ok, i'm really not a lets-chit-chat-on-the-phone type of person, esp when I want to be alone...I leave my phone on silent mode more than half the time. I only call back when people leave a msg... yeah, in that sense, i'm pretty weird...). I'm now back in the comforts of my room (sigh... such bliss..) and working on studying again. But by now I'm already pretty tired. Still, i have to study for that finance quiz. Which I'm going to do now! Oh btw! I have a new noble goal. I'm cutting down my coffee intake to no more than 1 cup a day (read about the negative effects caffeine has on caffeine-addicts). So, maybe a good hot mug of milk tea (instant teh tarik! heh). Yeah, i know... tea has caffeine too..

I luv this song!

First Post!

2007-04-13T21:35:00.000-04:00

Woot woot! Gloria started a new blog! I used to keep up with the one on Friendster.. then I stopped. Don't really know why I did. Hmm...

Anywayz, time for something new. What shall I say in my very first post in this brand new blog? Oh! Well, a quick update! I just started a new internship. Today was my first day. It's with an independent agent of Nationwide (A pretty big deal of an Insurance and Financial Services company in the US). I really enjoyed it. Today was pretty much just a day of intense training for me. It's the first time I'd ever 'worked' for a full day (8.30am-5pm). I did take a 'break' for about an hour though... I had an appointment to do the CPT (Curriculum Practical Training) form which allows me to work/intern legally in the US off-campus... it was the only time I could schedule an appointment for this week. My boss is really awesome. And I read some literature about her, turns out, she's a pretty amazing woman. Very successful, and it's a privilege to be mentored by her.

Well, I really should be studying. I have a quiz due on monday, and I haven't gotten much done yet. It's one of my major classes... finance. So, it's a lot more than just studying, gotta work all those problems. Eek.

U know. God's so amazing. No words could ever amount to His glory and magnificence. He's so good, and He blesses us even when we so do not deserve it. I can't ever comprehend what grace really means.... none of us ever will. But to be astounded by grace... wow.... it can change our lives FOREVER. When you're walking with Him... He truly takes care of you, and He guides you. The most beautiful thing is when He comes through in a way where it can NEVER be something we could do on our own and it had to have only come from Him! Let us have nothing to boast of ourselves but to only boast of Him! Like with all these internships... man... it has to only have been God. My GPA is really pretty lame.... i mean, it's ok, about a 3.0 (out of 4.0), but it's definitely not what a lot of awesome companies would even consider. But then I get all these internships.. first with Merrill Lynch (global investment bank and financial advisory firm), now Nationwide, and coming up with the Walt Disney Company (just received the offer on tuesday!!). They all practically showed up on my doorstep too. Hello? How on earth did these happen? It's only God. I'm telling you.... it has to ONLY have been Him. I can't thank Him enough, ever... I don't even understand why He would choose to love us... even more, He doesn't even CHOOSE to love us, but He IS love, and He just DOES love us. How BIG is that? It's there, whether you want to receive it or not. And EVEN more, when you totally screw up, it's STILL there... unchanged... pure... unconditional. WOW!!!! I'm so pumped about that I can't even say anything more! Words would only dim the truth of it all! But phew... man, am I excited to journey on this vapor-of-a-life with Him, and to just be so satisfied in Him and to just be all about Him. Wow. I'm pumped about having this beautiful, beautiful privilege to be with Him today and forever!!

He is the EVERLASTING: