偉大的祖國, 生日快樂 !

Looking at all the pictures and videos of Beijing's celebrations for the 60th birthday of Communist China makes me miss my China days a lot especially the folks in Beilun and the 3 weeks wandering around China. I just realized that I never posted any of my China trip photos here, so here they are, three months belated...

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.

Although God is the only one who knows exactly what is going on, I will learn to trust Him. Although He is the only one who can right the wrongs that are within me, I will learn to submit myself to His will. I will not worry about any of it because it is all in His hands.

Sad News

Gourmet has a lot of die-hard fans and among them is this couple (the woman with the bushy hair and her husband who always smiles and says "thank you, thank you so much") that comes (no joke) once a week, usually on the weekends. They would walk down from their house on the Plateau and have dinner, then walk back up. Everyone at Gourmet, even the kitchen staff, knows them.

Every time they'd come in and patiently wait for us to seat them (all the while the husband keeps saying "thank you, thank you so much"). We'd give them the menu and they'd always religiously study it, as if they're really thinking about what to order, even though we know their orders by heart now: a chicken chow mien, chicken chop suey, some green tea and a glass of water (it's always this order week after week; I've only seen them deviate from it once).

They aren't the most generous tippers but they do give 10% but mostly, they tip us with their friendliness, their appreciation of everything we do and of course, their coming back the next week. They're also very talkative and if you ever start a conversation with them (which is highly likely), don't expect to get free without dedicating 10 minutes of your time. The couple, particularly the man, is one of those rare human beings that, even though they don't really know you, gives off this impression that he genuinely cares about you and is really interested in what you have to say. They also remember what you said from previous conversations.

So last night, as I was working, they came in and the usual, they ordered their food, etc. And as I was talking to them, I found out that they will be moving to somewhere 1 hour away which means that they will no longer be able to come for dinner weekly. They did promise to come back as often as they can though.

Even though I don't actually know them (I don't even know their names), I do feel saddened. Good customers aren't hard to find but GREAT customers like these two, very rare. It's like saying goodbye to friends. In fact, I dare say I see them more often than some of my real friends.

That's Just Life!

路...一直都在 - 陳奕迅

穿過人潮洶湧燈火欄柵
沒有想過回頭
一段又一段走不完的旅程
甚麼時候能走完

oh 我的夢代表甚麼
又是甚麼讓我們不安

That's just life 尋找夢裏的未來
That's just life 消滅現實的無奈
不能後退的時候 不再徬徨的時候
永遠向前 路一直都在

穿過一塊 裏面一片黑暗
沒有想過回頭
一段又一段走不完的旅程
甚麼時候能習慣

oh 我的夢代表甚麼
又是甚麼讓我們期盼

That's just life 尋找夢裏的未來
That's just life 消滅現實的無奈
不能後退的時候 不再徬徨的時候
永遠向前 路一直都在

看不清的路又算甚麼
看不清的夢又算甚麼
就算走到盡頭又能算甚麼
能算甚麼

That's just life 尋找夢裏的未來
That's just life 消滅現實的無奈
不能後退的時候 不再徬徨的時候
永遠向前 路一直都在

That's just life 徘徊到不再徘徊
That's just life 重來到不怕重來
沒有選擇的時候 不能選擇的時候
永遠向前 路一直都在

Hopefully I will always remember this song and really stop being afraid of aging. For some reason, the last few days were really the first time I started having China-sickness since I've been back. At any given time, I'd suddenly think about Shanghai or Ningbo and all the fun stuff to do there and all the wonderful people that are there.

Maybe I should go back some time soon.

Grace

To be honest, I can't really think of a lot of things that really break my heart. Seeing hungry children with swollen bellies in Africa on TV used to break my heart but I guess now, thanks to mass media and such, it seems that I have developed a small "immunity" against these somewhat terrifying images (haven't we all?) Nonetheless, I would still feel discomfort from looking and seeing such pictures (thank God at least I still have those).

Other things that break my heart are pictures of shanty towns. Or war. Or children during war.

But one thing that is really close to home that never fails to cause me a lot of grief is when things that aren't suppose to happen happen in church. Things like anger, unkind words, envy, pride, rudeness. What happened to emulating Christ and being loving people? But at the same time, who am I to judge when I myself am guilty of these very same crimes that I accuse others of? As mom always says, our faith is in God, not in church leaders or the church itself.

Indeed, we are but a church of sinners, saved by God's grace.

The Beatitudes

3"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are--no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
6"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
7"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being "carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.
8"You're blessed when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
10"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

Matthew 5:3-10 The Message Bible

Thanks Cheryl for this awesome 20th birthday gift.

the Hubble Telescope

Like most people, I've always been fascinated about outer space and the universe. When my dad got us a pair of binoculars when I was in elementary school, I would go to my backyard and point them to the sky to stare at stars and the moon (not as good as telescopes but hey, they do the job).
Even to this day when I look at the stars and the night sky, I get really frightened and, a the same time, sad. Frightened because of the endless possibilities that are out there in that vastness. As a tiny dot in this enormous sea of stars, galaxies and unknown things, the Earth seems too small to provide much comfort and security. How do we know what's out there? How do we know if someone/something is watching? How do we know if there is imminent danger? How long will it take before we even begin to comprehend what really goes on out there? (I took Astr311 last year but I basically didn't get much out of it). I suppose this fear of the universe also leads to a sadness because of the fact that, despite all the photos of amazing and spectacular happenings out there in the universe, hundreds and thousands of light years away, there is no way we can ever actually get to these places, at least certainly not in my life time and probably not my great grandkids' either. So it seems like the universe is always just kinda there, displaying its wonders and teasing us with its mysteries but we have no choice but to admit defeat.
I don't know. I hate having to put these sort of ideas into words. They seem so great and touching in my head but when I write it out it all seems kinda stupid. Ignore me please.
Anyways, the point of all this is here. Check it out and see if you know what I mean.

Currently listening: 沙龍　－陳奕迅

Mere Christianity

Never was a fan of reading religious works but am currently reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity thanks to the copy that Rollie gave Karen for her graduation. And here, hopefully, commences my journey to experience God logically and rationally.

分生

Sometimes I go to something that is meant to spiritually revive me and end up with nothing. Is there something wrong with that?

Currently listening: 分生 - 張惠妹

嫉妒

I really should do a better job of blogging more frequently. It's not that I don't enjoy writing here it's just that upon returning to Vancouver i find that I have a lot more things to do but none of them significant enough to warrant a few sentences here.

Chicago, or the little that I did manage to see of Chicago because we were always in the church we were serving at in Chinatown, seems like a place that I would like to go back again to explore and get to know. Museums, art galleries, aquariums, Lake Michigan, American-Italian food...hmmm! Hopefully somewhere in the future I can go back to Chicago and really see what this Windy City is like.

As the beginning of my last year at UBC slowly comes upon me, I continue to frantically stuff commitments and events into my already filled schedule - jobs, volunteering, church committees, GM events, goals.... I do enjoy doing this things, but already more than once I have been warned to "watch my time" (and it's not only my parents saying this). I have a sneaky feeling that this is my fear of losing time, opportunities and never finding my "true calling" creeping up on me again. Especially this coming year being the last of my university years and life as I've known it for the past 3 years and, really loosely speaking, ever since I was five, everything beyond April 2010 is as hazy as a bowl of miso soup (what a dumb analogy but its the best I can think up of right now).

On another note, as I twist and bend my schedule in an attempt to try new things out and find my true calling, some of the most important people in my live are heading out to other places in the world for long periods of time in search of their own new experiences and callings. Good luck and, when you've found your goal(s) in life, enlighten me too, please.

A bit of Chicago...