things i know for certain - 20 lessons learnt

1) piano is the coolest instrument ever
2) coffee makes me happy in the morning...no matter HOW CRAPPY TRANSIT TO SCHOOL WAS.
3) my sister never fails to be the most hilarious creature alive
4) nothing can beat buying (and unwrapping) a new record and listening it for the first time in the car
5) BBQ eel, good poutine, toro, hot dogs, roasted squash-like veggies, cow's stomach, or a big bowl of noodles/congee always bring comfort
6) ruth ozeki is my favourite author in the world
7) i love switchfoot
8) i use too much chris tomlin in my sets
9) i am silly
10) my dad is the coolest fat worm there is
11) i'm lucky to learn at SFU
13) good music makes me cry
14) a good (cold..unless it's guinness) beer will ALWAYS make me sigh with happiness.
15) good company makes for good conversation
16) holding on to the past to justify the future is not a good thing
17) learning to love who you are will be one of life's hardest lessons
18) to fail at something and stand up to it takes perseverance and tears - but it is altogether rewarding
19) maman...je te manques.
20) i am made alive in Christ - and that is all that ever matters

birthday reflections

when asked how i felt about my impending 20th birthday a couple of days ago by a close friend, i replied...with an almost strange ease: "melancholic".
maybe they're the birthday blues or something along those lines...but this time always makes me reflective.
some questions i've been asking myself:
"where am i in my walk with God?"
"where am i in my walk with the people i love?"
"how have things changed from a year ago?"
and of course...
"who am i?"

i still haven't come to firm conclusions (i doubt i ever will...but give me at least a week to form some concise thoughts), only that john mayer's "continuum" has been speaking to me through this time=)

here are some excerpts:

Stop this train
I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't,
But honestly won't someone stop this train?

Don't know how else to say it
Don't wanna see my parents go
One generation's length away from finding life out on my own

So scared of getting older, I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
I find a way to say that life has just begun

Had a talk with my old man, said "help me understand,"
He said "turn 68, you'll renegotiate"
Don't stop this train, don't for a minute change the place you're in
Once in awhile, when it's good, it will feel like it should...

twice as much ain't twice as good...
when you're dreaming with a broken heart...waking up is the hardest part...
just keep me where the light is.

my september mish-mash post

hello fellow creatures of the earth:
sorry i have not been updating...these few weeks have been utterly CHAOTIC...i *love* third year already...=) assignments are already due and i've got lots of homework...and a bunch of loan stuff/tax review (what's up with THAT...i actually said "how rude!" out loud) to finish.

let us begin with some pictures:




Picture #1: This is a diagram created by Iris Chau (as you can see) about our family. Feel free to guess who is who!
Picture #2: Dad thought it would be "cool" to wear a bandanna...as exemplified by how "cool" he looks in reality with it. (california roll and salmon nigiri anyone?)
Picture #3: I call this my sister's crazed "Dwight" look....she is about to trap the fat worm!

* fyi, we do not stage these things! these are just part of a normal weekday night...we're probably gathered around the TV watching "yummy yummy".

alright, not onto some mundane observations during school life:
1) i have now consumed subway subs, downtown hot dogs, donairs, and viet subs on the bus (in my years of postsecondary)
2) um...walking into three different WRONG classes to get to the RIGHT one is retarded and embarrassing.
3) sitting in one of them for 5 minutes without noticing? even more stupid.
4) coffee makes my world turn round.
5) it's sad when you're getting tired of your i-pod's music. haha...that's why i have purchased the fray's "how to save a life", john mayer's "continuum", and collection of old-school marvin gaye=) all for $10 each!
6) nothing beats coming home to a worm and a wormball.

thank you everyone who have already sent me bday wishes and celebrated with me! and for those of you i'm seeing this week...thank you for being lovely friends and planning stuff for me to enjoy ;) you guys know i'm way too boring/uncool to celebrate=)

photos ahead: my uber amazing trip to chambar(happening tomorrow)

p.s Hello PJ! I have updated! I know you're reading!

part II - salt spring 2006

On the top, I'm feeding Homer the Moosedog some of my Oystercatcher Pale Ale...he liked it a TAD too much=) Oh Homer...he's such a drunkard.

On the bottom, Michelle is posing with the goats from the retreat where we stayed at(this is after minutes of "ELAINE! TAKE A PICTURE OF ME WITH THE GOATS!)...luna and kanga REALLY like paper.
















Our kayaks! The whole "tour" took about 3 hours to and fro...boy were our arms sore! On our way there we saw lots of purple starfishes! It was pretty astounding...

















This is Beddis Beach on a Tuesday night...very relaxing...very quiet...dare I say almost romantic? Hahaha...Michi and I joke that this is our "test honeymoon"(not with each other!)...so that we can come back and know where to go next time!




















On the top: I'm posing on Beddis Beach...it was my "zen" moment. Or perhaps it was my brilliant interpretation of a bird in flight.

On the bottom, I'm posing on the staircase to the Treehouse! It's so amazing...who thought living in a tree would be so cool?

part I - salt spring 2006

the past couple of days, i had the fortune of going away to salt spring island, where the hills are alive with the sound of music...and hitchhiking is a normal thing people do.
the island is breathtaking with its mountains and waters...they enfolded us in wherever we went: we could not have asked for a better relaxing spot!
when michelle and i decided on going on this trip, the intention was to breathe in lots of fresh air and enjoy the view. we wanted to take in God's creation, read a bit, worship lots, and eat, eat, eat. Teeheehee...I think our goal was achieved!

taking in God's creation: first day, after a LONG LONG STRENUOUS DRIVE (potholes galore uphill...thank God for our subaru george), we finally got up mount maxwell. once we got out of the car, we were greeted with this:

We literally let out "Oh my God"in unison, not in the slightly vulgar way, but in actual awe of God's presence at that very moment. Every pothole, every scream due to potholes, and the dust all over George didn't matter as soon as we got a peek of the view. We then spent some time just hiking around the area, checking out various viewpoints, and humming "How Great is our God" along the way.

read a bit: we both brought our books: nick hornby's "how to be good" for michi and bourdain's "a cook's tour" for me...and of course we had our handy dandy Word of God. lots of peace and quiet just doing devo's, reading novels, and occasional discussions about packer's "knowing God" and our favourite verses in the past year. oh yeah.....we also watched a couple of episodes of "house" on michi's laptop. ha!

worship lots: with a guitar handy, and our voices already ready...we also spent evenings and mornings at the forest retreat (where we stayed...more about that later) worshipping God in song. at first, we were a bit afraid that we would be too loud...especially when we were playing on monday night. after singing "god of wonders", we heard a knock on our door...and both of us thought that was IT for our music. to our surprise, paula (the owner of the retreat) greeted us with a big smile and said: "I love what you're playing! You guys sound beautiful!". Boy, you should have seen our faces! We then learned that Paula was a Christian herself...and a big fan of the songs we were playing! Heehee...that was such a great moment. When the spirit of the Lord is there...we need not be afraid!

oh yes, we worshipped with their ducks and goats (luna and kanga) too...they really loved the music as well!

alright, i'll end things here for now...part II coming up with more pics! (i promise embarrassing ones of me)

mmm...another thing, the two biggest misconceptions about our trip:
1) michelle and i got asked a LOT by you ppl (our friends, apparently), whether we were lesbians. let me clarify, that YES, WE ARE. (why can't we just go on a trip? you weirdos)
2) people at salt spring often thought we were starving musicians hoping to play some shows...it was pretty hilarious.