IT'S NOT ABOUT PERFECTION

ALL ABOUT LISTS

2012-01-13T12:02:00.002+11:00

Things to do in 2012:

1) Save more of my paycheck
2) Drink less coffee
3) Write an email to people overseas once a month
4) Play the piano more
5) Go running (quick walking =p) more
6) Try new food recipes
7) Buy quality clothing instead of cheap clothing
8) Be joyful, pray continually and give thanks ( 1 Thess 5)
9) Work at work, never work at home.
10) Lose weight.

What are your things to do in 2012?

Angel

2011-11-04T14:17:00.001+11:00

I need to learn how to be a better person.
=(

WEDDING ATTENDEES

2011-09-19T21:15:00.002+10:00

Thee people made my day this past week:

Emm Peterson saying that she would arrange to start prac one day early so that she could have the Friday off to come to the wedding.

Amy Anderson saying that she would make mini quiches

Diana Seah saying she was going to make time to usher even though it meant skipping theatre.

Makes me feel like, if I really wanted to do something, I could make the time to. <3 Thanks beautiful ladies.

MUSINGS

2011-09-08T23:26:00.003+10:00

Today a random guys on the bus told meI was absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever been called that before (albeit he was a little bit deranged looking).

I wish for so many things.

Mostly things that I can never change.

Sometimes people are just too difficult for me.
No matter what I do it's never good enough for people who are closest to me.
And I guess that's mostly true.

Who wants close when you can have acquantainces right?
Who wants people?

I wish I could speak the things I so "eloquently" put into writing.
This sucks.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN

2011-08-29T11:46:00.001+10:00

if no one cared?

anymore.

2011-08-22T19:22:00.002+10:00

When you've got to tell yourself, don't try so hard.
It means you're trying too hard.

Never thought that I'd have to try so hard.
I'm used to it being different. I'm scared. What if it's not right for me?

awakened by the smell of awesome food..maybe I'm hungry.

UNMOTIVATED

2011-08-18T18:30:00.001+10:00

This PhD is sucking the life out of me.

Please make it go away

DAY 20 IMPUTATION PROPITIATION

2011-07-29T18:14:00.002+10:00

God's wrath completely satisfied.
God's glory placed upon undeserving sinners.

And nothing I can do to wreck it.

How can we not be thankful?

OH BLURRY LINES

2011-07-26T18:12:00.002+10:00

Sometimes I don't even know if what I like, is what I like.

Or it's what you want me to like.

GIRLS

2011-07-25T22:16:00.001+10:00

I can't believe we have a whatsapp chatroom called 'popcorn'. We have such stimulating conversations.

Till tomorrow.

DAY 19 DINNER WITH GIRLS

2011-07-22T23:52:00.005+10:00

Dinner with the girls.

We talked about weddings. Food. Complained about PhDs. Work. Golf. Olympics. Traveling. Visas. Food. Chocolate. Salt. Sugar. Going to the gym. Lifestyle choices.

Doing a PhD bonds you in more ways than you can imagine.
Put people together in the same room, with excessive levels of stress, crazy working hours, same goals (publish or perish) and you get ..friends.

I find it unbelievable. Especially for someone like me, who doesn't make friends easily.

Day 19, I thank God for friends (circumstantial or not, only time will tell).

THIS WEEK

2011-07-21T22:26:00.001+10:00

I tried on my wedding dress. =D

I love my wedding dress.

Boo.

Bed time.

Btw, a recent publication found that those who slept less than 6 hours and more than 8 hours had weight gain over 4 years.

Don't be sleep deprived.

<3 Serene

THE DAVID CHOI EXPERIENCE

2011-07-19T23:34:00.005+10:00

was simply awesome.

I must admit that before the day, I was more looking forward to seeing Jayesslee.

But ended up being completely won over by the straight-faced musician.

If he ever comes back to Sydney again, I would brave the squealing teenage girls (+ boys!) to see him play live again. (Poor Brendan...=p)

*click*

2011-07-08T22:57:00.002+10:00

Some people are so FULL of themselves. Seriously. Jump of your high horse.

God you know that I am often times exacly the same way if not worse.
Teach me not to feel this way.

BEING SERENADED

2011-07-08T20:54:00.007+10:00

by jack johnson.

Ahhhhhh..

"umm it's always better when we're together".

Bits and piece of wedding planning inspirations.

We have a colour scheme. honeysuckle and peach!

Liking the idea of hanging stuff of branches/edges of chairs. Not sure how that's going to happen yet.

sources: 1, 2, 3

Don't want to give away too much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2011-06-09T23:59:00.000+10:00

I'm not much of a baker.
But

you inspire me to do things I never thought I would do.

To serve Christ with all my heart.
To love people beyond my own capability.

You have truly taught me to move beyond my comfort zone.

WEDDING COLOUR/FLOWERS!

2011-06-04T00:37:00.007+10:00

Been reading way too many wedding blogs recently.

Since I'm having a spring wedding;

I can't decide if I like VERY PALE pastels

or

PALE Pastels

or

Bright colours more.

Being indecisive, I'm kinda leaning towards VERY PALE or PALE, with some colour.

Like the yellows in this.

Anyone?

Picture credits: Ruffled , Style Me Pretty

JESUS IS LIGHT

2011-05-31T23:01:00.003+10:00

From what I have observed, read and personally experienced, there are four types of Christians:

a) all talk + no action " I know the Bible bla bla bla, here, bla bla", when it comes time to serve, disappears like wind
b) the indifferent one " I don't care if I don't act like a Christian and don't do Christian things, as long as I know I'm a Christian, who cares?"
c) the all action + no substance " I go to church, like everyday, like every night, every evening, by the way I'm sleeping with my boyfriend"
d) the follower of Christ "I struggle with sin, I struggle with giving up all my time and own desire to serve, I want my own way but I will serve, I will change, because Christ is Lord of my life, I am no longer boss of my own life"

Let me first say, that salvation is obtained through faith in Christs' redemption of our sins on the cross, regardless of which category we fall in.
I have been in categories a to c; and lots of times am still in one of those categories.

But I hope and pray that as the Holy Spirit in His power changes people, that I will want more and more to be in category d.

And I pray that for all of you, who follow Christ.

I TURNED 25

2011-05-08T22:38:00.002+10:00

On Friday.
Today. Happy Happy. Cake. Yummy. Icing. =)

Proof that you don't need to be eloquent to get your message across. =p

2011-04-21T23:12:00.002+10:00

David knew what he was talking about when he wrote this.

A man in trouble.
Hunted down by his enemies.
Trusting in God to deliver.
And deliver, God did.

You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely.

How blessed are we that we can rely on that great God.

WEDDING PLANNING

2011-04-16T09:33:00.002+10:00

I have only really started planning my wedding maybe two days ago.
It's really kinda exciting but I can see how people would get stressed planning a wedding in a short time.

First, you kinda have to decide how much money you have and where you'd spend it on.
Then you have to lock in your big ticket items; the date, the church and the reception.

Because you're going to be spending so much money on the reception, you don't want to rush into it. But when you hold back, it gets booked up by vicious brides getting married in November.
Arrrggggh..I think planning a wedding is going to be difficult for someone like me because I tend to like to shop around and then come back.

Once the big ticket items are done, there's where everything else comes in.
Photographers
Dress
Bridal Party
Colour palate
Flowers
Invitations
Who should we invite!

Plus trying to work so that I can have a lot of time off!
It'll be an amazing six months.

Stay tuned <3

THE RANDOM I MISS BLOGGING POST

2011-04-10T15:23:00.005+10:00

Month four of 2011.
Oh wow.

I miss blogging. In case you haven't figured out from the title.
Just sitting in my room, taking a break from 'life' and typing away.

Had a go at merging the pictures from 'that' Saturday.
Couldn't get it to line up because I took the pictures from different angles instead of sweeping across like a panorama. (Was going to post it here but blogger wouldn't let me).

For those who get a text message, Brendan wrote the words on the sand.=) The letter was my favourite part <3.

Life has been mostly good, filled with lots of I'm so stressed and tired because of my PhD.
It's been good being able to think through stuff a little , with no rushing around this weekend (missing FOCUS camp though).
All I can say is, I can't wait for this part of my Uni life to be over.

Been thinking about organising the wedding. And really trusting God to provide me with the stamina to do enough with Uni, plan the wedding and take time off.

Am really glad for people who have so happily volunteered to help in any way they can.

Hmm..maybe I should take a little afternoon nap. Ahh..love the luxury of Sunday afternoons.

DAY 4 ENGAGEMENT

2011-03-30T21:56:00.003+11:00

I will blog properly about the proposal.
It's too good not to blog about. <3
Loved everything about it from the breakkie, the cold wind, the running around in the rain, words in the sand, the stone that will remind me that I'm about to be 'someone's wife' =), the amazing letter.
More than the actions, were the thoughts that went behind everything. The prayer, planning, physical exertion and sacrifice. And I will blog properly about this.

But today I want to talk about something else.

I've told the proposal story probably about 50 times (probably going to tell it a few more times too). I've explained about when I'm going to get the ring about 80 times (somehow guys are very curious about the ring).

As good as the proposal story is. As much as I'm going to love the ring that I get.

Those shouldn't be the main things in my head right. I love romance and pretty trinkets as much as every girl out there (in fact I'm the typical girl).

But the question I need to be asked is not how many carats the ring is but is he going to gently but firmly nudge me towards Christ.

Is he going to love and sacrifice himself for me, just like Christ did for his church?
Am I going to be a good wife, that submits to his leadership?
How can we plan our wedding in a way that shows that we trust God?

I am very blessed indeed. If you know me, I'm not into public displays of affections.
But to quote Bec, " I have truly got a good guy'.

The proposal was great.
I love the stone.

But, it wasn't the proposal or the stone that made me said yes (though the letter was amazing indeed).
It was the 3 + years of watching him love God more, make big sacrifices and learn to be patient.

I'm going to keep telling the proposal story as though it's the first time I've told it.
I'm going to really love my ring.

But what is going to make this marriage count is not romance and pretty gifts.
It's being united under Christ that is really going to make the difference.

2011-03-28

2011-03-29T07:42:00.004+11:00

Won my first touch game! =)

Scored my first touch goal!

This is a moment to document.

Quote from Hardcastle et al;

Since the intervention (targeting weight loss) appeared to have little impact on dietary behaviour, it could be argued that a dietitian is unnecessary.

Sigh, there must be no dietitians on the paper.

WHAT DO I BLOG ABOUT NOW

2011-03-16T00:11:00.003+11:00

My mind's pretty scattered right now. Lots of jumbled thoughts with no way to connect them.

Been feeling just tired. Too much work definitely.
Need to remind myself how awesome God has been to me this year.
I wish I had a bigger capacity to love others and not be so selfish.
I try but it's hard.

Some things are too private to write here, but I have no way of getting it of my chest.
And no mental capacity to do cryptic posts.

Is anyone still reading?

I forgot that I love stringing sentences together.
Make tangible; ideas that are abstract.

Running around like we just don't care. That just popped into my mind. Must be from a song.

You know what, project 101 needs to continue.

Run around like we just don't care.

Jay Mie asked if I had any special requirements: I said lots of love, hugs and smiles.

Run around like we just don't care.

STATE, DEVELOP, SUMMARISE , CONCLUDE

2011-01-20T15:43:00.002+11:00

The four steps to writing a position paper.

I'm attempting to read paper by Bray, which does exactly this.
With words like corpulency and inundate, I'm tempted to give it a miss.

THINGS I WANT TO REMEMBER FROM WAVE 2011

2011-01-14T23:18:00.002+11:00

Always surviving, never striving.

Self-doubt is a difficult thing to overcome. =( Human assurance is fleeting.

God can work in awesome ways.

Door knocking can be effective.

2-year olds can learn the gospel, "God made the cowwwwwss".

Kids ministry is invaluable. And very difficult.

Chris Webbs' intro to the guests each night. Just pure GOLD!!
Day 1: I'm samie B, don't look at me Day 2.dj l's in the house, greg lee is in the house Day 3.But they're leaving town, and we all have frown, (the Ackmans) Day 4. We love yewwww Caleb, cos you look so good in the kitchen.

Khaos!

Tug-a-war, SNAP, 3-second stunned silence then, kids: we WON!

The impromptu singing of the hundred or so helpers, no lyrics upfront, just one guitar - a little glimpse of heaven.

Little Jeffrey's echoing Roger's " This is so exciting ' with ' SOOOO EXCITING'.

Super super saviour by Colin, the man Buchanan.'

Michael Jackson from the Storm tent.

The M&M girls.

2011-01-09T23:29:00.002+11:00

Right, I could use a good dose of 'self help'.

ESCAPE

2010-12-23T17:33:00.003+11:00

You know, I'm not someone who particularly enjoys work.
In fact, more often than not, I'd much prefer to be doing nothing.
When I'm in a good mood, I'd pretty much rather do anything else.

But when I'm in a crappy mood, work is my escape.
I've tried praying. I've tried blogging. I've tried running. All this pretty much makes me feels sorrier for myself.

But when I work, emotionally, I'm pretty good. You see, I'm lucky enough to be doing something that require an emotional capacity of zero to do.
I search through literature. I print out papers. I read them. I process them. And I formulate sentences.
Work keeps my mind occupied, keeps my emotions in check.

Hence why I can never stop working.

I've just recently discovered, work is my escape.

What's yours?

THE COST OF THE GOSPEL

2010-12-09T00:08:00.002+11:00

While I am typing this, evangelists in Iran are being executed for refusing to stop preaching the gospel.

If I am truly convicted, why do I chat about frivolous things.
If I am truly convicted, why am I worrying about things like the car and getting my PhD done.
If I am truly convicted, I would go out and preach the gospel.

Does this mean I am not truly convicted?

2010-12-01T23:34:00.001+11:00

i feel a bit weird

DAY 17 LAUGHS AT WORK

2010-11-30T22:42:00.005+11:00

Today Rob told us that we needed to treat our bosses as friends.

It's all about 'reciprocity'.

I guess I have a lot to be thankful about for my work and the people I work with.

They pay me and have never tried to exploit me.

They are generous with words of encouragement.

They make me laugh about small things

They're fun to hang out with

They celebrate each others achievements

Today , day 17 I think God for work and all the people I work with.

2010-11-14T23:33:00.007+11:00

Quote of the day:

" You'll never be able to be 100% sure that you want to marry that person. The only day you can be completely certain is the day after the wedding." Greg Lee

Event of the day:

Sleeping till 11am and Greg's sermon 'love in a sex obsessed world'

LOL moment of the day:

Dillon's water bottle stuck in the woolies trolley. Made me LOLed.

Meal of the day:

Banana bread and coffee, of course.

Fav picture from yesterday (cost nothing exciting happened today):

The gorgeous J Hydes

10 THINGS TODAY

2010-11-11T13:58:00.004+11:00

1. Baby feet are soooo cute.
2. Banana bread and coffee. My favourite combo even if I have to eat alone.
3. " Hi, I'm Serene, a student from the University" : Beams at unexpecting survey victim.
4. Worst sense of direction in the world (next to Emmerie).
5. I <3 GPs. Can I be one?
6. Don't park so close to me or I'll kill you. At least with my eyes.
7. Pizza + wedding rehersal.
8. Don't leave me. =(
9. Maybe I was too quick to judge.
10. And I should be writing. Real important scientific stuff.

YOU KNOW WHAT

2010-10-24T23:11:00.003+11:00

I thought I had very little tolerance.

But apparently I have more tolerance than I thought.

I.....

just need to be sure

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THING

2010-10-17T23:07:00.002+11:00

Conversation with Simeon (He's the one striking the pose in the middle).

Me : (looks over and sees Simeon digging his nose) What's in your nose Simeon?

Simeon: SNOT. I ate one piece just now. (continues digging nose).

Ahh...how great it is to be a kid and not worry about social niceties.
And to be able to say SNOT out loud instead of excuse me.

DAY 16 BABY HANNAH

2010-10-05T22:40:00.005+11:00

Day 16, I thank God that Nicky had a smooth delivery.
Day 16, I am thankful that we could visit 12 day old Baby Hannah.
Day 16, I am thankful to be reminded to be thankful.

Mommy!

Daddy's here too!

Awesome gift wrapping by Ginny.

Me and gorgeous 12 day old Hannah.

SO MANY DRAFTS

2010-10-05T22:35:00.003+11:00

Only once chance at life, I should do things differently.

Only one way to live, would I live differently?

The things I frame as questions are more often than not, statements.
When situations are framed as questions, the possibility of choosing exists.

Very often in life, the situation is a statement not a question.

So, is this time a statement or a question.

DAY 15 THREE YEARS

2010-10-02T00:43:00.003+10:00

Wow, we've come a long way since 2007 hey.

It's been a mixed journey. Lots of highs, lots of lows. Only God could have brought two such different individuals together and helped us stay together.

To many years ahead.

AND

2010-09-26T01:21:00.001+10:00

TODAY...

=(

DAY 14 MY BROTHER IS SO WISE

2010-09-16T20:04:00.003+10:00

Today I thank God for the talk with my brother.

Thank God for his wisdom, kind words and insightful comments <3

DAY 13 IT'S FINALLY RUNNING FULL FLOW

2010-09-15T22:35:00.004+10:00

I started saying since March this year, that my project is starting to recruit participants in Melbourne/Sydney,

Well, it hasn't.

Or it hadn't.

It is FINALLY starting.

After being away from my desk at work today, I came back to 35 emails regarding details of the project/progress reports/follow up recruitment procedures/paper draft etc.

Which puts me to at least 7 tasks that needs to be completed by Friday.

IT IS FINALLY STARTING.

Here's to a stressful few months ahead.

If you know me, please pray that I don't die/explode/quit my PhD.

CREATIVE WRITING

2010-09-14T23:11:00.006+10:00

Inspired by Greg's talk about the consequences of 'electronic' relationships and how there is a lack of filter on the things we post online.

I feel like being cryptic today.
Type sentences like I just don't care.
Why should they have things to say?
When these are my thoughts to share.

Today I feel like writing.
Just words straight from the heart.
Will it matter who will be reading?
Why must I craft as though this is art?

When typing with your keyboard.
All may mean less.
But you may push friends overboard.
With posts not meant to bless.

And when night time creeps in
This blogger has some tips
Never create a din
With words that comes from your lips.

Think twice when sending that text
And posting facebook updates
For the net gives you the pretext
Of speaking without gates

There must be an ending for this post.
And yet I can think of none.
I guess ideas must be lost,
All inspiration has gone.

Night!

SNAPS FROM MY MOBILE

2010-09-10T17:50:00.008+10:00

23/09/2009 When there was red fog in NSW. My mobile doesn't capture colours really well but it was really red.

The only picture I have of ruth at her wedding. With my finger in the way.

Full house with the best friend.

Testing out my new frames

My role at work! Resident dietitian

Mommy and I after my bro's wedding shoot!

Salmon terrain from Silo

Dene and Rachel's WALL-E(lliot)

I love this beach.

Family buskers in Sydney

Birthday cupcakes

Sunway Hotel Christmas decorations 2009.

PERSONALITY TESTS

2010-09-10T11:52:00.001+10:00

I haven't done this in a while but ...

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:

You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You have many goals and want to achieve as much as you can. The jobs you enjoy are those that let you burn off your considerable excess energy.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

DAY 12 FAMILY

2010-09-09T22:49:00.003+10:00

Lacking the energy. TIRED TIRED TIRED. Rawr.

DAY 11 DEATH DO US NO PART

2010-09-08T22:38:00.003+10:00

My grandfather passed away about one month ago.

Although I was not extremely close to him, I loved him very much.

Death just makes you think hard about the futility of life. The idea of never being able to see someone you love ever again, is extremely painful.

Separation is any form is difficult. Whether by death or distance, the idea of someone close being far is always unbearable.

Today day 11, I thank God that there is no eternal separation for those who believe in Christ.

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."^g]">[g] ⁵⁵"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"^h]">[h] ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15:50-57

and we look forward to seeing those separated from us in a perfect heaven.

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

⁵He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:1-5

DAY 9

2010-09-02T12:18:00.000+10:00

No, I didn't forget day 9.

Nerissa wrote it for me.

Thanks Nerissa. <3

DAY 10 MERDEKA FOR 53 YEARS

2010-08-31T23:16:00.003+10:00

While ordering at Starbucks in Malaysia

Me: "One earl grey, grande size please."

Cashier: " That will be $9.90"

Hands over 10 ringgit.

Cashier attempts to make small talk. "Where are you from?"

Me: Malaysia.

Cashier: Oh, I thought you..foreigner.

Me: Haha. Nolar. Malaysian. This accent cannot fake one.

After a long hiatus home, project 101 continues.
Today, I am thankful for 53 years of independence. Thank you for freedom and abundance while growing up.

Today, I am thankful for a country where I grew up with people who were completely different from me, yet we identified ourselves as one, Malaysians.
I grew up not realising that people in other countries would find it difficult to understand how three completely contrasting and different races could live in one land.

What is our main cuisine? It would take me at least 20 minutes to elaborate that we have no 'main' cuisine. We live in abundance of diversity and richness, all equally good.

As an adult, the fact that we are different has been made all too obvious to me.

I wish I could go back to the days where my best friend was a Malay.

Second class citizens, ungrateful foreigners are some of the unpleasant labels that have been thrown about.

One Malaysia, I love the idea, but somehow doubt the execution.

One Malaysia song -Satu Suara

Where am I from?
Malaysia.

Malaysia is home.

Love this video.

Here in my home, I tell you what it's all about.
There's just one hope in my heart.
One love undivided, that's what it's all about.
Please won't you fall in one by one with me?

Happy National Day Home.

DAY 8 JUST A LITTLE BABY CRAZY

2010-08-10T18:23:00.006+10:00

Today, I carried the cutest 7- month old baby

Image source here

And here

Today, I am thankful for cute babies that make me smile.
And also that I get to carry a cute, sweet smelling baby and then hand the baby back to his mommy.

DAY 7 FRIENDSHIP

2010-08-09T21:34:00.003+10:00

²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25

Day 7, I am thankful for real conversation over yummy dinner.
For helpful (and sometimes funnily unhelpful =p) comments.
For real concerns about being Christian.
And for every other thing.

DAY 5/6 WINTERCON 2

2010-08-08T20:35:00.005+10:00

Okay, so technically it going to be project 100, because days 5 and 6 go together.

Because Wintercon 2 (WC2) definitely deserves two days.

Picture source here

The messages were amazing. The Bible explained in absolute clarity.

Over the past year, I have been struggling with certain things I hear in church. I did things out of obligation. I served in church and went for Bible study because it was simply the 'good thing' to do.

Relationships were too tiring, other people were selfish, the sermon focused too much on things that were unhelpful were some of the complaints floating around my head.

What I didn't think was that my attitude and motives absolutely stank. The Holy Spirit definitely convicted me of it this weekend.

We learnt about relationships. How we were created to be relational like God is in the Trinity. How relationship and sacrificial love is integral to reality and how the purpose of relationship is to ultimately be for God's glory.
We learnt about what the perfect relationship looks like in the Trinity.

And we saw how sin tainted relationships so that what we have in the world is a warped, twisted and damaged version of what could have been perfect. Sin distorts our capacity to take delight in what is good and right, instead we are deceived into wanting all wrong things.

And oh the glorious news is yet to come. The wonderful, wonderful event on the cross. The deflection of God's anger (propitiation), the changed verdict from guilty to innocent (justification) and the fixing of our relationship with God (reconciliation), all done when Jesus died on the cross and raised from the dead.
And only through that perfect submission and obedience, sins were justly punished and we could become right with God (Roman 5).

Relationships are once agian restored.

Not perfect yet. But we see and are consciously aware for the need to be other people centred and to glorify God just like Jesus did.

And,Day 5/6 I am thankful for WC2, but more so that I am able to be reconciled to Him, through a selfless Saviour.

DAY 4 FRIDAY

2010-08-07T00:13:00.002+10:00

Friday! Do I need any other reason to be thankful? =p

But seriously, today I am thankful for great dinner with fun people. =)
Yummy mushrooms, fried chicken and tiramisu. Recipe for a great night.

Wintercon 2 tomorrow !

DAY 3 THE VIEW EVERY WEEKDAY

2010-08-06T08:15:00.000+10:00

Day 3, I'm thankful for the view I get while walking from the car to my work place.
And I'm also thankful for free parking in the city!

LESSON 101 DAY 2

2010-08-04T22:43:00.004+10:00

Today, I could be thankful for the awesome carpark I got in the morning.
The great, sunny weather compared to yesterday's horrid rain and win.
The uni's hr system managing to get my scholarship through in time.
The boyfriend giving me his Kinder Bueno.

But today, day 2, I'm thankful for the great company at lunch.
=)

Thanks Amy + Jason.

That on the left is Heather, not Jason. =p And this picture is not from today's lunch.

LESSON 101 DAY 1

2010-08-03T23:28:00.006+10:00

The one thing I constantly forget to do ( amongst many others), is to be thankful for the many good things I have in life.
And I often let the little things I don't have get the better of me, instead of dwelling on all the awesome things in life.

Today marks the start of a new project, 101 days of thankfulness.

At FOCUS today, we were outnumbered by guys. That has probably never happened before.

As great is it to have increased number of guys, day number 1, today, I am thankful for the girls that serve faithfully by continuing to show up, cook dinner/dessert and clean up.

Today I am thankful for the blessings that are Yueen Mun, Ellen, Emma, Jae Mie, Julia, Jun Shi, Desiree, Sandra, Joyce and Allycia.

OF COURSE

2010-08-01T10:25:00.003+10:00

Was doing some extra stuff on Indigenous health for my supervisor.
Ran a Medline search, trolled through gazzillion articles, found an article that sounded perfect, clicked to read the abstract.

While waiting for the abstract to load,

I glanced at the authors name. SansonFisher et al.

Of course.I should have known.

WHO SAYS I CAN'T DRIVE

2010-07-29T08:50:00.000+10:00

First reverse parking in a long long time.
Woot!

I JUST KNOW

2010-07-19T22:25:00.004+10:00

The one difference about being a Christian in Australia is that the response ' I just know' isn't quite enough here.

When I was home in Malaysia, quite often my explanation for believing that Christ died for my sins is simply, "I just know".
I did not quote Scripture. I knew vaguely that the Bible was historical but I couldn't quite tell you how it withstood the scrutiny of historians. I'd never read the book of Revelations in it's entirety. In fact, I had very minimal bible knowledge apart from the firm conviction that I, belonged to Christ.

Then, I came to Australia.
Predestination, propitiation, evidential apologetics, ontological Trinity.
Excited by the amount of careful study people placed into the Bible, I threw myself into it. People actually studied whole BOOKS of the Bible instead of singular verses taken out of context.
In fact the first book we heard preached about was every preacher's nightmare : the book of Revelations.

Almost 4 years down the road, I think I know the Bible a bit more than when I first came.
I've read Revelations and Romans in its entirety.
I believe in predestination.

But somehow, sadly, I find it hard to say " I just know" anymore.
It scares me that I agree so easily that we need to fear God but somehow cannot nod my head in agreement when someone says God loves us.

This week at church , we learnt that we need to fear God because God is wrathful and powerful.

But the Bible, also speaks about His great love for us.

¹How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ²Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1John 3:1-3

³All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Eph 2:3-5

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

³⁴Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:34-36

I guess, 'I just know' isn't really a complete response.
We know because the Holy Spirit convicts us.
The Holy Spirit convicts us because of the Father's great love for us.

And how blessed are we when we can say, I just know.

LAST PIECE OF ORANGE

2010-07-13T12:24:00.000+10:00

I love you too. =)

OPS TRAIN PEREMPUAN?

2010-07-09T19:10:00.011+10:00

Inspired to blog about relationships after having a couple of conversations with friends.

The dynamics of modern relationships is really confusing because gender roles are no longer clear. The burden of providing financially no longer falls on the male's shoulder and vice versa, females no longer do all the housework on their own.
With this switch, comes more power for women ( the rise of feminism!). We literally get to wear half of the pants in the relationship (because we pay for it right?).
And we, girls become more demanding, we want more of everything and we want the things we want. We expect that men do more than they are actually capable off.
With the increasing dominance of females in our current culture, men are made even less capable of doing what they ought to do.

This has thus resulted in the existence of immature, selfish, useless males ( more accurately termed as man-boys).

So, ala Tinki Talks Ops Train Jantan, this one is for the girls rather than the guys.

Girls, it is not wrong for you to expect love from your guys. Rather guys should always ( I repeat always) strive to protect your girls both emotionally and physically.

Rule number 1. DON'T COMPARE. This is the root of all misunderstandings. Comparing your guy with another guy is the worst thing you can do for a male's self esteem. Expecting your boyfriend to become someone else is the worst mistake you can make. They can change, become better but they cannot be that person you are comparing them to.

TREAT GUYS LIKE GUYS. Not just your boyfriend. Any guy. Don't take over leadership roles. Don't insist on moving heavy furniture. Don't insist on driving all the time. Let guys be guys. Yeah, feminists, kill me.

And on that note,

BE A WOMEN. Men and women are equal but different. Point made. We are not men. We are softer, more sensitive, ~~better~~ versions of men. We want security and someone to protect us. But we try and become the protector of ourselves simply because we don't trust the men in our life.

EXCITEMENT IS NOT EVERYTHING. It isn't. Right now, flirting with a random guy might seem so much more desirable compared to being with a nice, boring guy. But in the long run IT ISN'T. Guys that bring excitement are usually trouble (I might be stereotyping). Unless you're up to it ( i.e. not looking for marriage), steer clear from these guys. (again generalising). And with time, even boring guys can change.

NO MAN IS PERFECT. Prince Charming suddenly looks like a frog? Girls, we want this ideal man, but there is not such thing as a perfect man. Because we are all flawed, selfish human beings, used to looking out for ourselves. If you set the bar too high, you're might just realise that the bar is out of reach, even for you.

See, this rant is not about letting guys of the hooks. They do need to love us, be romantic, shower us with gift and affections, change their bad habits etc etc.

But so do we. We need to stop being so self absorbed and self centred.
Our generation of women, with so much freedom and opportunities, needs to stop thinking that the world revolves around us. We need to stop putting men down and taking over their roles. Instead, we need to start thinking about how we can complement one another and play our own respective roles.

And so I end this random rambling post with a picture of me and my attractive colleagues. CHECK OUT MY TOP HAT.

2010-07-08T08:29:00.002+10:00

After that trashing of England, the sexy win against the Argentinians.

It was Spain that brought you down.

End of the run for Germany in World cup 2010.

This picture cracks me up. I was so desperate for someone to talk to after the match.

WORLD CUP IS GOING TO BE OVER SOON

2010-07-04T23:04:00.003+10:00

Head full of Klose, Podolski, Mueller, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Mertesacker, Neuer.

Almost posted this as a status update but decided to spare people from endless soccer updates.

WORLD CUP 2010

2010-06-30T23:19:00.008+10:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged about the world cup since all I do on FB is talk about the world cup.

June 13 : Germany vs Australia at 4.30am + No work tomorrow = Perfect combo
June 21: Tujuh kosong (Malay for seven zero). What a shocker (Referring to the beating North Korea took from Portugal)
June 28: Bye bye England. (Referring to the trashing of England by Germany 1-4)
June 28: Bring it on Argentina.
June 29: World cup updates, that's all I do. Geez, when did I become a soccer fan?
June 30: Can't resist. PORTUGAL HAHAHAHAHHA. (referring to them losing out to Spain 0-1)

And I never talk about soccer. Never.
Every 4 years I wait for the World Cup, and then I rant about soccer as though it is the most important thing to me. =p

I love picking a team to support and then anticipating their victory (although none of the teams I've supported so far have gone on to win yet! *Brazilalwayswins*)

The Germans looked so close to being able to put on some sort of fight against Brazil with the Oliver Kahn/Michael Ballack combination in 2002 Japan/Korea. Ballack, of course, had to get suspended just before the final match.

France and the infamous Zidane headbutt in 2006 Germany lost out to Italy. *edit*

As for South Africa 2010, I'm on team Germany, again. Although Ballack is out due to injury, Lahm has done a commendable job so far. And Manuel Neuer is filling in some big Golden boots too.
The 'old' team couldn't beat Brazil, maybe the young team can.

With some experienced ''veterans' like Klose, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, Friedrich;

Miroslav Klose

Lukas Podolski

Bastian Schweinsteiger

As well as young players, Ozil, Muller.

This team might just be the right combination to take on Brazil (assuming they beat Netherland and Ghana/Uruguay).

Now the Germans just need to steamroll through the strong Argentinians like they did in the 2006 world cup.

IT MAY BE A LITTLE CRUDE BUT

2010-06-28T22:15:00.003+10:00

" Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with." Juno (2007)

Isn't that what all girls want?

Recent conversations with other girls have proved that school of thought wrong.

Apparently, girls want excitement, not the acknowledgment of the simple fact that the other party simply adores you.

I don't get it. Women are just weird.

GOD SUSTAINS

2010-06-24T09:13:00.001+10:00

Last night, I felt completely alone and yet at no moment at all did I feel that I was all alone.

God truly sustains.

WRONG SENTENCES

2010-06-23T22:00:00.004+10:00

Today I woke up and I was sad. For no reason. Is that wrong?

Today I woke up and I was sad but I pretended to be happy. Is that wrong?

Today I woke up and I was sad but I felt like I couldn't tell anyone because I was sad for no reason, therefore I had to pretend I was happy.

I think I'll be happy tomorrow.

2010-06-16T21:52:00.002+10:00

When a church (whether knowingly or unknowingly) leads you to worship the preacher, worship team, lights, music, songs, being in the limelight;

I beseech ( yes in the words of the Apostle Paul) you.

Ask yourself.

Do I worship Christ, or do I worship the church?

This is not exclusive to any one church.
It is not the fault of any one church.

If anything; it is the fault of humans' desire in wanting to replace God with man made ideas.
And humans' desire in wanting to be glorified like God.

Stupidly, we put God's creation in God's place.
Very arrogantly, we try to claim God's glory as our own.

And when we've truthfully answered the question.

I hope some of us are brave enough to make the decision to leave.

2010-06-16T13:21:00.002+10:00

Taking at break from recruitment at the McDonalds opposite the clinic.
Free WIFI =)

Checking the results from the World Cup matches for the last 2 nights.
And the train times to Sydney tomorrow PM.
Hopefully the coming weeks will be slow and relaxing.

I keep feeling like I've forgotten something.

WORLD CUP SEASON!

2010-06-15T10:02:00.003+10:00

1st match I've watched so far - Aus V Germany 0-4
1st red card - Tim Cahill no 4

As far as teams I'm rooting for, go GERMANY!

2010-05-27T19:00:00.002+10:00

Sigh, I've turned into such an angry, bitter person.
Maybe I was always like that, but now I'm just realising it more.

Dear Heavenly Father, I know you are able to change me. Please let me trust You and Your sovereign plans

THE GOSPEL - A STRANGE CONCEPT

2010-05-25T23:26:00.002+10:00

The many questions we asked during Bible study about Jonah and the way in which the Ninevites responded to God's message simply led me to think - the gospel is wonderful, truly, uniquely strange.

You see,the Bible says this about it's message

"but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling back to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,..." 1 Cor 1:23

Because if you think logically, by accepted social and moral grounds, the message of Christ does indeed appear foolish.

To answer any question beyond our realm, we often use statements like God's reason are beyond us, our minds are finite and we could not possible begin to understand the great mystery that is the Almighty creator. Supported by that is scripture such as Isaiah 55:8-9.

⁸ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

⁹ "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

And you see that God plans and craft, with a certain logic and reason that is beyond us as human beings. However; it is clear that despite how strange God's decisions sometimes appear, it is certainly not in defiance of logic and rationale.

So why did God create human beings? Because from what I can tell, that was when all problem began.

The Bible says it was His will, His pleasure that we were created. Our creation was not an accident but rather a deliberate and logical enactment of His will.

Were we created to exist?
Logically, this seems somewhat senseless and irrational.

Were we created for God's utility?
Perhaps God needed to create us because He was lonely and needed to love.
The concept of the Triune God for Christians shows that this is not the case at all.
God existed in a perfect relationship prior to creation.

Perhaps God needed to use human beings in another way.
From what I know about myself, I struggle to see how I could possibly be of utility to God, the creator of all things.
You see because I in all my unholiness could not possibly be of any use to God.

In fact, creation now tainted with sin needed God more than ever, to save us from the judgment of eternal death.

And God in a brilliant but incredibly costly move for Himself solved this problem by sending His perfect son to face God's holy wrath and judgment in our place ( John 3:16, Isaiah 53:3)

In that one move , God was able to demonstrate both His justness and love for His creation.

The redemption of humanity cost God his life, an enormous price to pay for utility.
It would have been easier not to create us, because He did not need to create us.

Were we created for our sake?
Maybe God created us so we could experience relationship with Him. To be adopted as sons and daughters into his family.

These reasons all somewhat make sense.

But even then, creation seemed like an unnecessary act.

Christ goes one step further, turning the gospel from unreasonable in the eyes of unbelievers into foolishness.

You see, Christ, as God, made himself man, became obedient to death, not just any death but death on a cross (Phil2:7-8)
And God did not die for friends but He gave Himself up to excruciating death for sinners, enemies.

Such is the amazing, wonderful truly alien concept of creation and redemption of humanity, surpassing all boundaries of moral standards, going beyond all human comprehension and logic.

2010-05-21T09:42:00.003+10:00

Call me soppy if you like.
But isn't this the most romantic wedding song you've ever heard.

Lyrics
Peter can you gather the angels all around
I'll need everyone to get this down
This will not be easy
cos what i'm asking for is something we have never tried before
Lets make a girl, but not just any girl
She needs to be perfect, perfect
and so beautiful; flawlessly divine
she needs to define perfection
and don't forget the sugar
make it so she's sweet from her head to her feet
Perfection

go and get Picasso he can paint her eyes
Michelangelo can paint her smile
and when they're finally finished
i want nothing less
than for all of us to stand here breathless
Lets make a girl, but not just any girl
She needs to be perfect, perfect
and so beautiful; flawlessly divine
she needs to define perfection
and don't forget the sugar
make it so she's sweet from her head to her feet
Perfection

All the angels said can we keep her
she's so beautiful
but God said someone down there needs her
and he can't live without her, without her
She's so beautiful
flawlessly divine ; and yes she defines perfection
please don't change a thing
it's obvious to me that what i see is perfection
when she's 21 she'll change somebody's life
when she's 28 she'll be his wife

P-P-P-PO-POKER FACE

2010-05-19T12:54:00.001+10:00

2010-05-15T22:56:00.003+10:00

Human beings are .... difficult.

I see that mostly in myself.

I'm stubborn.

Selfish.

Hate to be told I'm wrong.

Cocky at times.

Self depreciating which I often mistake as humility.

Argggghh..humans are so difficult!

Pictures just because!

They've opened up a bit more now.

<3 Breezy Bar

Cupcakes for my birthday

Me with lollipops and freddos

I LIKE IT LIKE THAT

2010-05-10T22:28:00.005+10:00

Guy Sebastian; Like it Like That.

One word, no, make that two: Crazy (in a good way) fantastic.

I am going to see him live one day.

I would say more but RCT's beckon.

LONG LUNCH AT LONG BENCH

2010-05-01T07:59:00.017+10:00

On Friday, my colleagues and I had long lunch with Steve and Kim (and Damo and Nicole) from NXFM, a Newcastle radio station.

They do a competition every month where they bring you and 9 of your workmates out for a long FREE lunch at a fancy restaurant.

And guess who won the competition this month. Yours truly! =)

The lunch was at Longbench on Darby St and lasted from 12.30 till 4.30. Thank goodness for cool bosses.
We also got to celebrate Lisa's confirmation into her PhD and Ally's birthday with lots of drinks and cake. As I said , drinks on me =p. (and LongBench of course).

Happy birthday Ally!!! =)

Apart from almost getting rained on, we had a great time.

The menu was brilliant.

Entree was pumpkin soup with bread. I thought the soup was a little too sweet.

I had the main of prawns on a stack of corncakes, with avocado and salsa. It was really delicious and looked really healthy too (except for the huge portion size).

Dessert. My favourite was the lemon/orange tart (next to the chocolate cake) and the raspberry cheesecake ( pink and white cake).

Steve and Kim were really funny. I couldn't get used to hearing the voices on radio in real life.

Did you know that Steve is also Wayne from Wyndale? Gasp!

Love Kim's voice.

And the producer, Nicole + her sister.

Damo and Ryan engaging in an intellectual discussion about rectal bleeding and stool motions.

And Damo's distinctive laugh on air is exactly the same in real life.

The drinking side of the table!

And the supposed non-drinking side

Heather, Amy and I.

Alice with her cute bangs.

Thumbs up to the staff of Longbench for excellent service. They kepts refilling our cups with 'bubbles'.

And made me a cocktail. (Which I posed with and promptly passed it on to Lisa)

And of couse for whipping up a vegan menu for Tash on very short notice!

All in all, it was an awesome experience.

Thanks NXFM and LongBench on Darby of course for the awesome food!

WATCH OUT FELLOW MIGRANTS.

2010-04-22T08:59:00.002+10:00

According to the ABS, the longer you stay in Australia, the fatter you become.

HELP OR HELPED?

2010-04-20T23:36:00.002+10:00

I think this is an extremely well written post.

It's very close to the way I felt when in Japan.

Too tired to think right now.

I might elaborate.
Or I might not.

WHERE DOES MY TIME GO?

2010-04-18T19:55:00.003+10:00

Recently I have been feeling like I'm always in a rush.

I don't have a super busy job.
I don't have a hobby that takes a lot of time.
I don't serve in church enough.
I don't volunteer/ do anything meaningful outside of work.
I don't have a family/children I need to take care of.

Where does my time go??

According to my bus ticket this week, I catch the 7.30am bus to work and the 5.02 bus back from work. I usually reach home at about 5.40.

That means 10 hours a day at work including commuting to work each day.
I set my alarm clock at 7. So I take 30 mins to get ready.
I spend about 1.5 hours a day preparing, cooking and cleaning up for dinner.
I like to have at least 8 hours (or more) of sleep a day.

I have bible study twice a week. That's approximately 3-4 hours each.
I play touch once a week. That takes one hour.
I try to go to the gym twice a week. That usually take about 2-3 hours.
I go to church.

There are 168 hours in a week.

Work + commuting = 10 x 5
Sleep= 8 x 7
Getting ready = .5 x 7
Cooking dinner = 1.5 x 7
Bible study = 3.5 x 2
Touch = 1
Gym = 2
Church = 2.5

Total = 132.5 hours

That leaves = 36 hours.

1.5 days. =(

Looks like I need to sleep less.
How do people work more hours than me and get more done than me.

Crazy.

AWESOME I THINK I NEED TIME AWAY FROM WORK TO LOVE, SLEEP, FACEBOOK AND EAT CHOCOLATE

2010-04-15T08:50:00.002+10:00

Haha. I find this really funny.

Obviously I have limited vocabulary.

SONG OF THE MOMENT

2010-04-14T22:37:00.005+10:00

Jason Derulo's 'In my head' has been stuck in my head (pun intended) this week.
I realised that the song lyrics aren't exactly what I want to be singing about.

Well, I found an alternative, Brian Joo. =) Been humming the song in 'semi korean' instead.

Also, I think he's way cuter.

TO DIET OR NOT TO DIET, THAT IS THE QUESTION.

2010-04-11T08:45:00.009+10:00

I've been doing quite a bit of reading up on the different types of diets for work.

Google produced 17,400,000 results when I typed in the word 'diets'.
Wikipedia lists at least 50 types of diets.

It is pretty overwhelming the type of information you can get online.
Would you like to try the hay diet or the banana diet that caused a scarcity of bananas in Japanese supermarkets?

Do they work? And if they do, how do they work?

The matter of fact is that for most people, fad diets don't work.
Restriction has never worked for humanity simply because we rebel.

It goes as far back as Genesis, where God said to Adam

"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

And as we all know, Adam ate from that ONE tree which he was not allowed to eat from.

What more with diets like the Atkins, where you are not allowed to eat of an entire food group.

FAD DIETS JUST DON'T WORK.

So, we say eat well, everything in moderation, don't diet, bla bla bla.
That doesn't really help much with weight loss does it.

How do we eat well? What is moderation?

Well, here goes my take on how to 'eat well'. (Disclaimer: Please don't ask me if I do this).

1. Watch your dairy products.

Switch now.
If you have full fat milk, switch to skim/low fat.
It's not only good for weight loss but your heart will be thankful because of the reduced amount of saturated fat (really bad fats),

Same goes with cheese, sour cream, cream, yoghurt, butter.
I know most people hate low fat cheese. Switch anyway, it'll just make you eat less cheese which will ultimately be good for weight loss.
A tip with the yoghurt is to go for 'diet yoghurt' rather than 'low-fat yoghurt' because of the sugar/calorie content.

I like Yoplait forme.

2. Buy expensive snacks

Be it, the better brand or the smaller, portion controlled packets, which cost more.

That way you buy it less often and you savour it more.

For example with chips, I've been trying to buy the Red Rock Deli Chips (which cost 3.50 on sale) compared to Smith chips (2 for 4 dollars).

They come in smaller packets, taste better, have less saturated fat, and calories. And you save fifty cents in the process of buying.

3. Fast food

I think I've written about this before.
Avoid it if you can.

But if you must, chicken options are usually better than beef options. Diet soda is usually preferable for the reduced calories. And hot chips, the bane of my existence, share it with someone or stick to the small size chips.

4. Fruit/Vegetables

Make smoothies.
Salad.
Dips.
Juices.
Grate them.
Disguise them.
Blend them.

As long as you eat them. It doesn't matter how, where and when. Just eat them.

I don't care what the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating says. Eating 5 potatoes a day doesn't count as 5 servings of vegetables.

5. Buy good proteins sources (meat/fish/tofu/nuts)

Yes, they'll be more expensive. I know.

But they're worth it. Same theory as the expensive snacks (see no 3). It will help with portion control and the difference in amount of fat is worth the extra 3 dollars.

And to end on a positive note, everything in moderation is the key to good health. =p

I FEEL

2010-04-10T22:08:00.011+10:00

Strange.

My feelings don't match my thoughts, my thoughts don't match my expressions.
I feel scarily out of place in my own comfort zone.

It's as though I haven't allowed myself to...feel.
I've laughed without feeling happy and cried without actually being sad.
Maybe this is growing up. No time for feelings.

Being of melancholic temperament, I have the propensity to think of the cup as half empty rather than half full.

I''m too blessed to be sad.
Too lucky to be emo.

I tell myself to snap out of it.

And I will
Tomorrow I'll feel normal again. Tomorrow I'll feel like me again.

But right now, I just feel....weird.

I KNOW SOMEDAY THAT IT'LL ALL TURN UP

2010-04-09T10:36:00.000+10:00

I love Michael Buble. <3

NERD MOMENT

2010-04-08T10:58:00.004+10:00

I found the perfect paper.
Someone's done my literature review for me. =)
Yippee! 88 pages of awesomeness.

Thank you Cochrane Collaboration (Glenny et al).

And I heard happy news last night. =)
Congratulations on the plastic ring. =)))))

EASTER, WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT

2010-03-31T22:31:00.006+11:00

Recently, it has just become so clear, that humanity is tainted by sin and selfishness.

We live in an amoral society, one that claps you on the back when you trip others in the attempt to get to the front of the pack.
We no longer value values, such as kindness and self-giving, instead people who try to have any values are so often labeled stupid and idealistic.

And more and more, I'm seeing how the book of Romans is so accurate in its description of humanity and why we deserve God's wrath poured upon us. Reading about God giving humans over to our sin , to our foolishness, to our ungodly impulses, has always saddened me. He made our thinkings dark and futile, so that we couldn't see Him, couldn't know Him (Romans 2).

I am the kind of person who believes in fairy tales. The prince always saves the princess. The bad guys always lose. The world will then be filled with roses and we will all live happily ever after.

Why did God give us over? Why did He not fight for us like the prince fights for the princess?

Unlike the princes in fairy tales, Jesus was not majestic or attractive. He was neither popular nor desirable (Isaiah 53).
The unlikely saviour, the unlikely king.
Jesus fought for us, not with swords and shields. He died for us, he was buried and on the third day, He rose from the dead and appeared to men (1 Cor 15:3-5).

And Christ brought hope and reconciliation to us, by sacrificing his life for us when we were sinners (Romans 5).

So , now we are no longer slaves but free in the spirit and we look forward to future glory and to the perfect fulfillment of the promises made by a good and awesome God.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28

As we enjoy the chocolates and the holiday, let's not forget the real meaning behind easter.

SO HERE I AM BLOGGING

2010-03-18T15:37:00.002+11:00

It's one of those days where the body is willing but the MIND isn't working at all.

WHAT AM I DOING BLOGGING?

Survey needs to be done today.
But I can't think. =(

So here I am blogging.

RAWR.

REMINISCING JAPAN

2010-03-14T10:00:00.021+11:00

Recently I've been thinking about Japan.
It's been a while, I know.

I really want to go back there.
Japan was my first ever long distance trip without a tourist guide and my mom. (Australia doesn't count!)

Here's my version of how to enjoy Japan in pictures.

1. Pack Light

2. Take pictures on the plane.

3. Try the apparently fabulous crepes in Harajuku

4. Skip Disney Sea

5. Ignore advice number 4 and buy some Disney souvenirs even though you think they are a waste of money.

The perpetually colourful Disney.

Ruth with a million smiles. The picture of Mickey is made up pictures of people smiling. You might see them if if you look closely.

6. Visit the Kinomoto church that I've been sporadically praying for (usually when I get a newsletter).

Joyce snapped this while we were leafleting.

No cars at all on the road in Kin0moto.

My host family in Kinomoto. I had persimmon a day. That was when I learnt to eat persimmon.

7. Buy a million souvenirs from Daiso

8. Eat sushi everyday! And from the Tsukiji fish market.

9. See Tokyo by night

Take more lame pictures of Tokyo by night.

This reminds me of Orchard Road one Christmas actually.

10. Sleep on tatami mats

11. Spend hours waiting at the Shinjuku train station while Joyce is taking a million pictures.

From this

To this. Where is Dene?

12. Take the train

My favourite Australian family.

And take pictures of people taking picture of people on the train.

In fact, why stop at taking pictures on the train. Take pictures everywhere.

Toilets

Tokyo Tower

Random hole in wall

13. Wait in line to take picture in said toilets ( see above).

14. Use peace signs in all photos

More peace signs

And more

15. Have some awesome Mandarins!

Remember to share!

16. Eat onigiris from 7-11 for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, snacks.

17. Experience Japanese potluck.

18. Take pictures of things that remind you of Australia.

Street performers

19. Take pictures of things that don't remind you of Australia.

Yodabashi Umeda

Very busy Tokyo.

If you can't tell, that is, from right to left, Joyce, me, Ruth and Jono.

20. Go to church
The men in church singing.

21. Go to parks and the zoo

22. Meet up with ex-Newcastle-ites.
Us between giant legs.

23. Travel with awesome people who will read the Bible with you and laugh about everything.
I can't remember half of the things that cracked Ruth and I up, late at night while walking back to our accommodation. I know everything just seemed a million times funnier.

The team was so varied and everyone brought their strengths in; Jono- good natured, Joyce-really quick, Ruth- stable, Dene- the leader, Rachel- creative. Simeon and Elliot just added another angle to the team!

Now to end the post with a group picture.

Wait a minute, did we take a group picture??

MY SUPERVISOR IS ONE OF A KIND

2010-03-09T23:02:00.005+11:00

Today, I nodded my head in agreement even though I didn't hear what was being said.

Today I was forced to nod my head in agreement even though I didn't hear what was being said.

And I mean forced. As in Literally.

At work, I share a room with another RHD student, Amy.
When people come in to discuss things with Amy, I generally have my music on a bit louder just to block out the talking.

Usually, my supervisor comes in and joins in the discussion.
And usually, he will say something lame and get me to agree with him.
I typically respond with a ambivalent laugh.

But today, my music must have been on unusually loud.

Because I was completely unaware of the fact the he had just said something.

With no response from me, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally.

He came over, put his hands on my head and moved my head up and down.

Like a bobbing head doll.

Darn, I really did sign up to doing permanent damage to my head!

Testing out the 'art' function on my camera. Check out our new 'sign' on the door!

SO MANY THINGS TO SAY, SO LITTLE TIME

2010-03-09T00:02:00.005+11:00

I'm recovering from shingles, thank God. =) Still feeling like I'm semi fatigued a lot of the time but the temperature and pain's all gone.

Just finished the last lot of tablets (Zovirax) but still going to try and take it easy this week.
Hopefully I can get back to playing touch next week before mom comes (I've only played once) =(

Yay, am going to watch the Merchants of Bollywood!!
So excited that they're coming to Newcastle and we don't have to go to Sydney to see them.
Newcastle is getting more and more happening. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, John Mayer, Damien Leith ( okay, maybe he doesn't really count to the rest of the world) all performed or are going to perform here.

First FOCUS of the semester tomorrow. Looking forward to reading the Bible with this group for the rest of the year.

I really like this picture I just discovered on my fb profile. Picture credits to Ben who's forever snapping shots.
I look so short next to Rachel.

Have also just joined a growth group with unichurch.

Mom will be coming down in two weeks time with her best friend and my aunty from Germany. We'll be at Sydney and hopefully the weather is good for blue mountains too.

And my brother is getting married! Finally!!

I haven't been taking pictures recently.New Year Resolution fail.

I really like the OPI Alice in Wonderland range.
Colours aren't my typical peach and pink but I really like it.

Am also really liking Chris Tomlin's Hello Love.

God is good.

And I'm really tired.

Good night everyone.

HACHIKO : A DOG'S STORY

2010-03-05T16:10:00.008+11:00

Being sick with shingles means that I get to watch lots of movies in between eating and sleeping.

Of my favourite this week is Hachiko, A Dog's Story.

*Highlight to see spoilers in white font*

An adaptation of a true story, Hachiko ( or Hachi) is the name of a dog who faithfully accompanies his master, Parker (played by Richard Gere) to the train station and awaits his return from work daily. After the sudden death of his beloved master, Hachiko continues to wait for his masters return at the train station.

With no Hollywood-ala-Avatar style effects, graphic sex scenes and violence, this movie relies on its simple but heartmoving story line, beautiful scores and the adorable Hachiko to capture your attention.

And capture my attention it did.

From the beginning of the movie, you can't help but fall in love with adorable Hachiko.
And you can't help but envy the relationship Hachiko has with Parker.

This movie gives you the time to meet each of the characters in the movie.

Beautifully filmed, I felt like I was going on a walk with Parker and Hachiko to the train station each day.
Walking by the butcher on the corner of the street.
Stopping by to buy coffee from Jess, the coffee man ( 2 creamers and 1 sugar).
Saying hi to Carl at the train station.

Although Hachiko absolutely steals the limelight here, Richard Gere and Joan Allen were brilliant in their portrayal of the very ordinary, very much in love Parker and Cate Wilson.

The pace of the movie is slow, but stay with the story line and I guarantee you will enjoy the movie.

And also prepare to find yourself tearing ( I bawled my eyes out).

A beautiful story of faith, devotion and love between a dog and his master, I give this movie an A.

PS: I saw the statue of Hachiko in the Shibuya train station when I was in Japan. If I'd only known then, I would have taken a picture with it!

I AM SO COOL

2010-02-28T17:00:00.004+11:00

I didn't even know I had a twitter account. My last update was 3 years ago.
Check out my sidebar.

I was cool before cool came in. =p

Please don't quote me on that.

PICTURES GALORE

2010-02-28T11:06:00.025+11:00

Happy Chap Goh Meh!!

It's 3 months into 2010 already. The months are just going to whiz by after this.

I just realised after talking to all the new people at the Lighthouse walk that it's my 5th year in Newcastle. I've spent more time in Newcastle than in Subang!

Anyway, in line with my 2010 New Year's Resolutions, I've been snapping more pics!

Some highlights in picture

1. I started my PhD

Check out Bubba Gump, my new pet rock from Brooke.

2. Brendan bought his first TV

3. The uni gave me a new laptop. =))

I use it to watch movies!

4. Summer FOCUS!

5. Newcastle city

This is the view in the city. Beautiful.

Hunter street markets

The busker on hunter street

6. Emmerie got herself Summer all year round.

7. Desserts!

and boost juice

8. Celebrated Valentine's Day

At the crown plaza's Breezy bar and cafe

The food was really really awesome (highly recommended)

Entree: Ravioli with beef

My mushroom risotto.

Brendan's lamb with mash

Dessert.Some three chocolate thing.

Full-ish bottle of wine

became this

resulting in this

Stealing wine glasses!

And this!

And ending rather abruptly,
THE END.

AGING

2010-02-12T12:15:00.004+11:00

I DO NOT LOOK 26!

RAWR.

It's only because she thought I was too young to be doing a PhD *consoles self*

Oh man, I need a beauty regime that can stop time.

More sleep. Less caffeine. More hugs. More laughter. Less crying ( THIS IS WHAT AGED ME!!!!!!!) More exercise.

RAWR.

No , no, I should act cute. Waves peace sign.

WHY I LOVE NUFFNANG

2010-02-10T09:59:00.013+11:00

With Valentines Day coming up, I have been attempting to find the perfect gift for the boyfriend.
When one is like me and not very creative, I get help from the ultimate source:- Google.

I typed in gift ideas for men and it brought me to Red Balloon with fantastic ideas for what couples can do like parasailing, hot air balloon rides, kayaking.

Picture source here

Excitedly I clicked on the links only to find out that these experiences cost a lot of money. Too much for a poor student like me.
Dreams of a hot air balloon ride over Hunter Valley shattered.

And this is where Nuffnang comes in!
All I need to do now is write a love letter to Nuffnang.

For the uninformed, Nuffnang is a blog advertising company that allows advertisers to showcase their products on blogs registered with Nuffnang. The brainchild of Timothy Tiah and Ming, it also establishes an online community for bloggers in the Asia Pacific region. With offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Philippines; it consists of over a 100,000 blogging members.

Dear Nuffnang,

Thank you for making me feel important. No one else tells me I’m a

Getting an email from you makes my day oh so right. I even have a folder reserved especially for you in my ‘Hotmail’ account.

I love you so much I don’t mind sharing you with a 100,000 other people. I even occasionally check out your other ‘women’.

Although you often ignore me (my earnings is still $0, Mr Nuffnang), I can’t help but come back for more.

In the spirit of Valentines Day, I am going to be real corny. Quoting Ewan McGregor from Moulin Rouge “ Love is a many splendid thing; Love lifts us up where we belong; All you need is love.’

Lots of love,

Serene

PS I would love you even more if I got to go on a hot air balloon ride for free!

After you read this, go ahead and click on my three favourite blogs; Pinkpau, Karen Cheng and Mrs Timothy Tiah.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

2010-02-08T18:48:00.003+11:00

I think 2010 started on the wrong note.

But it's not going to be this way.

This year is going to be different.

I am not going to repeat the stress of my honours year.

I am finally going to serve in church.

I am going to send the emails I put of sending.

I am going to do things I've never done.

I am going to be different.

I love this picture.

OXYMORON

2010-01-31T13:55:00.003+11:00

The title of this blog is in fact the exact opposite of how I live my life.

In fact I want perfection, I strive to acquire perfection the exact way the world does.

I want status- the new car, new skills, the PhD, the perfect family, the white-gated house, the dog.
I want to be beautiful- the best skin care, facials, a hair stylist, to be skinny.
I want possessions- the new laptop, camera , phone, bags, clothes.
I want popularity - the friends, the 'bffs', the social crowd.

But in fact, the title of my blog isn't exactly accurate.

The Bible does talk about aiming for perfection.

Paul describes it in his letter to the Corinthians.

"Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Cor 13:11"

The equation seems right. God want me to aim for perfection = I want perfection.

Unfortunately, being a sinful human being, the perfection I want isn't what God wants us to strive for.

I strive to be perfect by obeying social, cultural and government laws.

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Heb 7:18

If we cannot have perfection through obeying the law, what better hope is there?

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. ²⁶Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. Heb 7:23-29

And thus, because we have a perfect high priest who offered Himself for us, we will one day truly attain perfection.

And to end this serious post, is a picture of me with chocolate frappe in an Alice cup! Ahhh happy days.

2010 I LOOK AHEAD

2010-01-12T12:00:00.002+11:00

It's the year of the tiger in the Chinese zodiac calender. That means I ( and everybody else born in 1986) have lived through 2 cycles
It simply means I turn 24 this year. I am no longer in my early twenties =((((((((.

2010 resolutions:

1. Read at least 2 Christian books this year ( this includes finally getting to Knowing God).
2. Spend more time reading the old testament books.
3. Exercise more.
4. Take more pictures!
5. Eat better (chants to self "fruit and vegetables, fruit and vegetables")
6. Brush up on my rusty piano skills.
7. Go to the beach at least once ( i can't believe I didn't go to the beach even once last year, I live in Newcastle, the place of gorgeous beaches).
8. Make praying and reading the Bible with Brendan a weekly/fortnight routine.
9. Serve in church.
10. Get my Australian drivers license.

2010, here I come.

GOODBYE MALAYSIA

2010-01-11T21:52:00.010+11:00

Heading back to Newcastle tomorrow.
It's been a good and relaxing trip back home of just spending time with family, meeting up with friends, long catch up conversations, shopping and of course stuffing myself with food.
Too bad I didn't take very many pictures this time. All the pictures I have are those that people have uploaded on Facebook. Picture credits to all of you!

Alicia Yap

With my awesome stuffed portabello burger and coleslaw filled tomato.
Yummy parfait and milk pudding
Yes, I really like dessert. Why doesn't Australia have the traditional healthy creams?

My brother and I love each other. =p

Mommy and I on the bus
Christinanana!
Bruce and Elene becoming Brucelene
The Tawau Gang. With the bff and the little brothers.
With the best friend!
My first ever band. =)

Being a tourist with Kanae. =)
FOCUS in Malaysia Lake Gardens
FOCUS in Malacca! =)

Was good meeting up briefly with the AUSMAT bunch; Colin , David, Carissa, Kit.
And great catching up with Kit Kit, the kuella, Sue Lin and Elwyn ,Victor, Tim and of course the bff (haha).
I had lots of fun with FOCUS people at home ( I shall see you guys in Newie) as well as Kanae and Jun Shoong.
It was good seeing people at CHC and I wonder if our friendship could possible extend beyond the church.

All in all, I can't wait for the next trip home!
But for now, back to Newie!!