Monday, June 30, 2003
woohoo! i finally get the new blogger format. :) i fixed it! :P
and my mom found my very own chopsticks again!! after a yr!!
and nate and dorcas are off to nashville early early tmr morn for missions with ywam!!
lots of exciting things. :) now i just gotta finish reading my book tonight cuz it's due... today.... :P aren't libraries great? but not when they don't have the books you're looking for. does anyone have a copy of "changing the mind of missions" by james engel/william dyrness that i can borrow? :)
ok, back to reading........
Sunday, June 29, 2003
keeping up with the jones?
As we seek to follow in the steps of Jesus, we will be drawn to identify with the poor. As we do, perhaps a valuable question to keep before us is whether we are as willing to evaluate our living standards by the needs of the poor as we are by the lifestyle of our neighbours.
~ Richard Foster, Freedom of Simplicity
Saturday, June 28, 2003
Exile On Downsview (Part I)
Wooooo hooooooo!!!!! I'm gonna see the AC/DC and the Stones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.
~ mark twain
there are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. the other is to desire less.
~ gk chesterton
how easy it is to become inert with more time to do everything! even with my long list of "to do" items, the freedom of a seemingly limitless amount of time to do it all makes me be extremely lazy and unproductive. but at the same time, i'm plagued by an urgency that i have "so much to do." what a strange paradox. how difficult it is to be at peace....
i've been reading much more.... about simplicity, about urban poverty. and thinking about my future and wondering where i will find myself one day, 10 years down the road. sometimes it's like that, eh? you go along living life and one day you look back and wonder - how did i get here? there's lotsa floating thoughts in my head but i've never been one who's good at tying them all down and combining them into a coherent train of thought. i think it's time to journal.
Friday, June 27, 2003
i got my hair cut today! same layering and straightening, but the new thing simon did this time was a side part! i got lotsa compliments afterwards. repeatedly from ppl!! :D heehee. simon said it made me look a little prettier. not a lot, just a little. lol. so maybe i'll stick with this side part for awhile and see what it looks like after i wash my hair tmr. hehe. i dunno if i'll be able to get my hair to part the same!!
today was such a great day for seeing ppl i haven't seen in ages. and none of this was really planned. on my way to ccf tonight, i ran into tree just outside of sid smith. i emailed her awhile ago but hadn't heard back from her cuz she's been working full-time at lawrence heights chc and also doing nightschool. crazy girl. so good to talk to her again. she's one of the few friends i have who is into development and community work, so we always talk about our futures in that.
ccf was great - seeing all those kids again! :P i've missed them so much! i love how even though i've been away from ccf for awhile, i can always go back and it will be like i never left. such great fellowship and community. tonight's bible study was on jonah. some interesting thoughts came up. :)
went to kowloon afterwards and ordered by number again! dai, too bad you missed it!! found out a funny fact about dan - you thought he was the perfect gentleman cuz he opens doors for girls, always walks on the street-side of the sidewalk, and insists on walking girls all the way home? well, think again!!! guess what he carries in his bag all the time? eye drops and tylenol!! why?? cuz girls' eyes are always dry but they never have drops, and when they have headaches they don't have tylenol. LOL. is that so sweet or what?? and ya know what? the great thing is that he is so genuine about it. it's so not about picking up at all.... awww... what a sweetie. :)
oh yes, and then b4 heading home, i dropped by at jaka's to drop off the reference stuff for jack who agreed to be one of my references for my internship application. i hadn't seen him in quite awhile, at least a couple months since i quit, and it was great to hear about how things are at the store, how him and kat are doing, and talking about my future and how he was genuinely concerned about me going overseas cuz there are diseases and political unrest! :)
finally, i gave fiona t a ride home and had a chance to catch up with her on the way. she's in guelph for the summer working for a prof and really enjoying it. so now the only person i need to see from our cell grp last summer is steph!
ok, enough reading old emails, chatting on icq and blogging. time for bed!
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
so my first day of freedom has been rather uneventful. :) i woke up at 2 pm and then filled out some forms and found out some info i needed to apply to one thing or another. hopefully i'll get my SARS money soon! woohoo! extra $$ for my europe trip. :)
dan signed my gbk and gave me the idea of telling you about my strange dreams last night. since i was asleep for 12 hours, i had lotsa time to dream. :) here's what i remember.
we were in a war. but we didn't have soliders to scare them off. no sirree. we had ppl who dressed up like buddhist monks parading around in triple-file in an attempt to intimidate the enemy. whoever the enemy was. no one really knew. and everyone had to dress up and walk around in those robes... peachy orange robes with a big gold necklace.
in the next scene we were all sitting around on the grass (i dunno who "we" was cuz i didn't recognize ppl in my dream but we all seemed to know each other) and cannon balls were flying at us. except when they hit the ground, they didn't explode. we'd just pick 'em up with our bare hands and throw them at an area where there were no ppl and then they'd explode. so no one ever got hurt. but it was scary cuz this one cannon ball landed in a ditch right beside me and i was yelling at the guy next to me to pick it up, pick it up!! hm.. i think i got cannon balls and grenades messed up in my dream. lol.
anyone wanna interpret? :)
at the beginning of the 20th century, 80% of deaths due to war were military deaths. now, at the beginning of the 21st century, 75% of deaths due to war are civilian deaths.
~ rupen das, wvc director of emergency response and disaster mitigation
As I travelled from country to country, village to village, it became glaringly clear that human development is not about creating wealth, though income and material assets are important. It is not about outside interventions, whether they are massive government projects or simply the imposition of free-market ideologies. I came to see development as a process, even a struggle, that was internal to a place and deeply democratic in nature.
~ john stackhouse, globe and mail overseas development writer in "out of poverty.. and into something more comfortable"
Our real hope lies in making acts of kindness an obligation of our daily lives; kindness not merely towards those closest to us by blood, religion, tradition, colour or friendship – but especially those who differ from ourselves in those characteristics – that will be the real test of our humanity.
~ Dr. Richard Goldbloom, Chancellor of Dalhousie University
You Can't Always Get What You Want
...but sometimes you can!
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
FREEDOM. it feels great!! :D
5 more hours........ and then i can plaaay!!!! i mean, clean my room and read. hehe. yippee!
Monday, June 23, 2003
happy birthday, mel!! (june 18)
happy birthday, steph!!! (TODAY!)
Sunday, June 22, 2003
10 book challenge
oooh... i forgot to mention - angee has joined the 10 bk challenge!! check out her list! :)
so since i'm here talking on icq i might as well blog a bit while i wait. :) it's been a fun past couple days.... let me share!
THURS
angee and i went to ben wicks as planned.... and to our dismay, they didn't have venison! nooo! >.< so sad. so i had grilled lamb chops instead... but they were overdone and chewy. :( angee really liked her fish and chips though!! ben wicks is on parliament btwn carlton and gerrard in cabbagetown. the first time i've eaten at any place there! oh, except for margarita's which is just around the block. anyhow, ben wicks was very pub-like (i guess it would be since it is one!) and the restaurant part was all in brown and had these big tweed chairs... it felt like an old boys club or something! hehe. i wouldn't have been surprised if there were stuffed moose heads or something like that on the walls. lol. the french onion soup was very tasty! and so were the veggies. great service too!!
FRI
angee's long awaited bday dinner at 7 numbers! lotsa ppl showed up for her dinner - i think 20 in total? or very close. just goes to show how popular angee is! ;) matt and andrew have been saying how they wanna meet angee's friends cuz they're cute (or she says they are) and looking around that night i had to admit that angee's friends are definitely prettier than average! :) hahaha. it was so great to see anna and anita again! i don't think we've all been together since.... my birthday dinner! or maybe at jaka's once last term, but i was working so couldn't really talk to them. anna came all the way from 'loo to come! along with her boy wilson. and anita brought randy... who i think is super cute with shorter hair!! ;)
7 numbers was good as usual - i love the atmosphere. :) but for some reason, the food wasn't as tasty as i had remembered it. :( the tomato and bococcini salad wasn't quite as well seasoned as the first time i had it and the asparagus and green beans were blander too. i had the "spicy rabbit in the oven" and i think they gave me a piece of lamb by mistake! :P cuz when i tried the first piece i was like - yumm... rabbit is good, it tastes like lamb! lol. but the other rabbit pieces were much drier and more white meat-like. oh well, the sauce made up for it. blanche made angee this really pretty white chocolate cheesecake with an oreo crumb crust and a strawberry layer on top - really great cheesecake! so all in all, a fun night. :) i caught up a bit with stacey and angee even got a bar shot! heehee. isn't it great to be a girl? ;)
SAT
andrea's shower! this one felt like deja vu cuz it was at sam's house in plattsville (just west of kitchener) like sarah's had been in march. we even played all the same games! i guess there are a limited number of games you can play at a wedding shower.... i think i want a jack & jill when my time comes. those seem to be more fun. ann & ken's was a lotta fun! nancy and simeon's shower is this coming wkd! :) it's definitely wedding season. mrs scapinello (sam's mom) has found this really great caterer that does all her showers. there's always an awesome fruit platter, lots of really tasty, cute, tea sandwiches, decadent desserts and a really great cake! one thing i've really liked about these last 2 showers that i've been to are how the girls include their moms and relatives in their activities. sarah had her mom and 2 grandmas and aunts and a cousin at her shower, and also scott's mom and aunts and grandma too! andrea had her mom and grandma, a cousin, and ryan's mom and grandma. it's cool seeing how their parents are so much a part of their lives. i guess part of it is the small town mentality cuz they all still live in the same city.. and probably will for the rest of their lives.
you know your nickname has really stuck when your friends' moms start calling you by it! haha. mrs scapinello calls me "lyds" all the time. lol. she's so funny. her house is really nice - it's like a showroom every time we go over! sarah and i stayed over for awhile longer after the shower was over, catching up with sam and looking at all our pics from previous weddings and showers. then sarah said "i should get going, my husband is cooking dinner for me tonight." and i was like - whoa, that sounds SO weird!!!! lol. i wonder how long it'll take me to get used to my friends having HUSBANDS now.... oh strange!! hahahaha.
anyhow, i should get back to studying about FOOD. :) the love of my life. lol. i'm reading about yeast products right now! lotsa yummy breads and pastries! i should really try some after i'm done my exam... on tues! i can't wait!!! after having graduated from undergrad and done grad school too, undergrad courses seem so easy now.... (ok, i take that back about microbio and all those other science memorization courses...) esp this one from penn state. all i have to do are study the study tips from the lesson in each assign and i'm pretty much guaranteed an A! riah and i were laughing about the midterm last time - we couldn't believe how much of a joke it was! it's like highschool all over again. :P woohoo... only a couple more days til freedom and an AMAZING summer. cuz i'll be COMPLETELY FREE. no work, no school - what a novelty!!!
congrats, jo!!!!! :)
hmm..... lots to blog about, but time to sleep first!
Friday, June 20, 2003
edible arrangements
hey, check THIS out! don't they look yummy? well... sorta. :) definitely interesting!! my mom found it in a flier.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
SARS compensation
hey all you ppl who were in quarantine!! did you know you can get compensated for the money you lost while you were away from work? go HERE to get the forms you need to fill out and submit!!
happy birthday to my little bro, alan! :)
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
yes, my life revolves around food!
last night i made mussels for dinner...... mmmmmm!! they were so yumm!! (well, the rest of my family didn't think they were anything special but i thought they were GRRRReat!! :P) the subtle flavours of garlic, tomato, salt and pepper all blended together with the natural essence of mussels... yumm.... cooked just to the right degree of doneness. nate thought i was weird. HAHAHA.
so angee's taking me out for dinner to ben wicks pub & restaurant! it was my choice. i've wanted to go to this place for awhile now cuz they serve VENISON. yes, VENISON. which i haven't had in like 15 yrs! oh yumm! i was supposed to go with my friend ella, but she's in europe on a contiki tour right now - so i'm going with angee instead! (the irony of ironies... :P angee and i were supposed to go on a contiki tour but now we're not going anymore... instead i'm having dinner with her!)
i can't wait to go 7 numbers again too! :)
ok, b4 you think that the only thing i ever think about is food.......... ;) here's a link to jonathan shui's new blog! he's going to turkey in july on missions!
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
procrastination is like riding a bike. even though you haven't done it in awhile, if you have the opportunity to do it again, you'll slip right back into it. if it wasn't for my procrastination i would be dt right now!!! and my procrastination isn't even productive like angee's. it's lazy, walking around, doing nothing procrastination.
so matt and wongs are gone again! *sniff, sniff* this is the 2nd time they've both run off somewhere and left me here all by myself! :P ok, so they didn't go run off just anywhere. hehe. wongs went back to germany and matt's in peru! woohoo!
i have renewed motivation to work out again.... so i can be big and strong enough to carry a heavy backpack when i go travelling in sept!! :) can't wait!
ok, i'm so bored i can't even think of anything to write!!!! and usually i can blab forever. :P hm... procrastination is bad for the soul. :P
bis nächstes mal!!
Friday, June 13, 2003
hey, has anyone been having weirdness with blogger? i no longer get the split window thing when i log in. i get this one window thingy to write in. with this greyish backgroundand then i preview... and THEN i publish. but publishing takes FOREVER. so i've posted 2 previous blogs but they both have not been published yet. anyone know what's going on??
so anyhow, i've been scarce around here cuz i've been busy going out!! :) my last day at wvc was on wed... *sniff, sniff*. it was so sad to say goodbye! :( i didn't wanna leave.... i wanted the time off and time to myself, but i didn't wanna leave the nut team... they've been so great to work with and have become my friends and ppl i look up to. this has definitely been one of the best all around work experiences i've had. now if only it wasn't at a desk all day it'd be one of my dream jobs!! :)
so... next steps. i'm gonna take these next few months off to re-organize, re-evaluate and grow. during my quarantine a couple wks ago, i heard God telling me that i needed to slow down. there are a lotta things i wanna work out in my life, so this will give me the time to do that. after these 2.5 months, i'm gonna go travelling with wongs in eastern europe!! and then hopefully start a cida internship! i've started applying to internships that train recent grads to go overseas for several months to give them experience in development work on the field. this will give me the practical experience and connections i need to find a job in development. everything's sorta falling into place....
wongs is back from germany!!!! :) for mark & minh's wedding this sunday. so i've been seeing lotsa him and matt these last couple days. it's so good to see him in person again. i've missed him lots. :) we went to swiss chalet on sunday night for dinner and it was pretty quiet. we had a nice scenic window seat and were quietly enjoying our dinner when all of a sudden we heard this loud noise behind us. i looked up and a guy had slipped in the vestibule by the door. he quickly got up and ran out of the restaurant with his buddy behind him and 2 swiss chalet managers hot in pursuit. what a sight! wongs and i were like - whoa! what's going on??? apparently when the 2 guys came in they had asked to sit at the table right by the door. and after they had gotten the bill, they were whispering to each other that they were gonna run out on the bill. the waitress heard them and got the managers to stand right around them. in the end, one guy got away but they caught the other guy and the cops came to get the full story from everyone. i've never seen that b4! other scary things have happened in my area recently too. the cab driver who got shot at daisymart trying to stop a hold up was just a few minutes away from my house at morningside and sheppard. and just a couple wks ago, a guy molested a kid at cederbrae mall (markham & lawrence) which is even closer to my house!! all i have to say is... welcome to my neighbourhood. LOL.
congrats to angee!!! who convocated yesterday. 4 yrs of hard work!! :)
now i should get down to some work!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...........
happy birthday, angeeeeeeee!!!!! :D :D :D
Monday, June 09, 2003
Game 7
Ever since Ottawa--the last Canadian team in the playoffs--lost, I have been cheering for Giguere and the Ducks. But as much as I like the Ducks more, I will be cheering for the Devils tonight. Why? B/c I do not want the name "Mighty Ducks" forever engraved on the cup. Go Devils Go!
Sunday, June 08, 2003
haha.
you know what? after all this disappointment in the last couple months... i think i've become immune to it. :) expect nothing. and maybe, just maybe, you'll get a good surprise!
Thursday, June 05, 2003
something that made me go "hmm...."
many ppl are reluctant to show mercy because they don't understand the difference btwn trust and forgiveness. forgiveness is letting go of the past. trust has to do with future behaviour.
forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. trust must be rebuilt over time. trust requires a track record. if someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue to allow them to hurt you. they must prove they have changed over time. the best place to restore trust is within the supportive context of a small grp that offers both encouragement and accountability.
~ from "day 18, experiencing life together" in "the purpose driven life", by rick warren
Spumoni, Smarties, and Bears; Oh My!
Sunday, June 01, 2003
the quarantine is over and the busyness of life begins again... [sigh] there's gotta be a better way.
