post-reading week

this year's reading week was maybe one of the best ones i've had in all the years i've been in university. :) all my midterms and tests were the week before reading week, with the exception of one assignment, so basically i had a whole week of doing absolutely nothing. i didn't even bring any textbooks home. sweetness.

started off really well with the LCCF retreat. the fellowship that we shared there was really great although at times it was quite...uhmm....interesting. ;) hehehe. nevertheless, it was an awesome time, and the timing couldn't have been any better.

God really knows what we need, and when we need it.

during reading week itself, i spent a lot of time with my mommy and that's always a plus. rented the movie, Ray, and watched it twice (once with justin, and then again with my mom). GREAT movie. i really liked it a lot. jamie foxx did an awesome job in playing ray in the movie. wanna get me some ray charles cds now. the special features that came with the dvd were also really good. hmm. maybe i'll invest in that movie. maybe. ;)

wednesday night was also fun. we went to mel lastman square to take advantage of the free ice rink. good times! highlight of the night: when chen broke nevin's skate. i have his confession on video courtesy of justin and his awesome camera skills. hahaha. there are also some really nice pictures that justin took. i have yet to get off my butt and upload all the pics from reading week. i'll let you know when i get on that. ooh ohh! and hannah taught me how to do crossovers. hahaha. i really suck, but that's okay, at least it was fun. must make a note to sharpen my skates. they're duller than spoons.

thursday i went for dinner with leo, and as usual it was great getting a chance to catch up with him again. when's the next time i'll see you leo? what was that? april? haha. (oh! leo, after i left your house i ended up going back to the gas station and filled up on gas. good thing too, because the next day it went from 73.7 to 79.9. ahahaha. sweeeeet.) afterwards, i stopped by dan's house b.c there was a small gathering of people there, and there we had dessert! mmmmmm. yummy mccain cake and mint chocolate icecream. (thanks for having us over dan!) it was a great way to end off a great day. :)

on the friday i went to pickle barrel with justin, jo, jer, ken and lil. it was really awesome seeing them all again. especially lillian. :) i haven't seen that girl in like forever! (seriously. i think that the last time was in the summer when lil, pheebs and i went to taste of japan...mmmmmmmmm... :d ) it was nice talking with her again and doing a bit of catching up. it's nice knowing that even though we went our separate ways and went to two different universities, the friendship still exists. :)

anyway, that's all for now. there's more to say, but currently i have no words for the thoughts that are currently occupying my brain. hope that everyone had a great reading week too, and that the week back has been good to them. all the best to those who are still writing their midterms. study hard! :)

nothing fancy

justin, you're the best.

happy valentines day, you. :)

happy [chinese] new year!

why, hello rooster. :)

sun leen fai look! sun tai geen hong!

there's so much superstition that accompanies this festival. i don't believe in them (if i did i would have like...violated almost all of them today), but it's still kinda interesting to read. here is some information if you're interested.

i didn't even know that chinese new year really lasts for 15 days! all these things i never knew! and i call myself chinese...aiyah. woe is me. :)

the new way to count sheep

here's a little something i found on the bbc website.

wanna test your reaction time? try this. it's actually kinda fun. ;)

knock yourself (or dare i say, the sheep) out! hahahhaa. :P

sigh.

some days i wanna just lie on my bed, look at the ceiling and do nothing but listen to music. tonight is one of those nights. it's quite relaxing, until...

i remember that i have a paper due tomorrow, readings to do/catch up on, concerto competition final on friday, a test to do by friday, things to worry about, and a whole crapload of thoughts running through my brain.

believe you me, i'm not complaining. honest. :) it just feels as though many things are happening at once, and some days it's hard to really figure out what my real thoughts about everything are, u know?
___________________________________

something that caught my eye:

"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil." - Psalm 37:5-8

oh to be able to do this, and to do it well...

brahms and me.

(it's like mcgee and me, only...not. at all. :P)

phew, today has been a long day. the concerto competitions were held from 2:30 until maybe around 6ish or so. maybe even later. the pianos were up first at the maureen forrester recital hall, and i was scheduled to play last for the piano section of the competition. generally i think it went pretty well - it could have been better but then again it could have been a lot worse too. :P i made my mistakes but i didn't have any memory lapses, and that was what i was most scared for. :S but yah. all the time i invested into learning and practicing this song really boiled down to the 6mins of today's preliminary round. i think that's what put the most pressure on me today. nevertheless, it was a great experience, and i'm glad that i went through with it. ah, the journey of brahms and i.

one crazy ride:

from refusing to enter the concerto competition in first year and second year, to finally (reluctantly) agreeing to do it this year, to deciding on a piece and picking up the score for my concerto (Brahms, Concerto No. 1, Op. 15, finale) for the first time in early-mid november, to putting all other repertoire on hold to focus on this piece, to the initial stages of actually learning the music and sometimes wanting to throw the score out the window due to frustration and doubt, to learning the notes better and loving the music more, to practicing this piece on my own over Christmas break, to coming back to find that my teacher had the chicken pox, to having my first lesson after the break on monday (jan. 17), to deciding that day to enter the concerto competition, to practicing A LOT (by my standards anyway :P) this week, to more doubts and frustrations, to loving the music even more and more, to actually playing in the competition (which was today, jan. 21), to finding out that i made it to the finals...it's been quite the crazy ride for me and my concerto. :)

all praise, glory, honour and recognition must go to the One who deserves every last bit of these things, God. He is soooo good.

thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement, prayed for me, and came out to see me play today - i really appreciate it. in fact, i really appreciate you guys. :)

so now, i'm excited to share the rest of my concerto with everyone now that the 6min time restraint doesn't apply to the finals and i can play the whole thing. this piece is so beautiful, (brahms is definitely one of my favourite composers...his rhapsodies are really nice too...) i just hope that i don't mess it up. :S

good grief, i think that it's back to the practice rooms for me. take it easy everyone. :)

from protest to praise.

downhere is so good. lately it seems that i've been listening to their older stuff nonstop. everything just seems to apply so well, and their lyrics...well they're just really great, hence the quoting of two different songs, in two consecutive blogs. (teehee.) :P check out their site, they've got some good new stuff too. and they're canadian. wooooot. :)

"...i'm wrestling my thoughts, i'm overcome
would you give me up i'm asking Lord,
there's no where i sense Your presence here
so i will cry out, until i go

from protest to praise,
You're always amazing me
You're changing me slow, but surely
And You're gonna see me to the end." - protest to praise

ahh, comfort food for my ears, for my heart. i love these lyrics. i love this song. i love Him.

Great are You, Lord.

thanks to those whom God has used to really speak to me and comfort me. my family, justin, my good friends...your love, support and prayers have really meant so much. i feel so blessed that God has put such awesome people in my life. i'm soooo thankful for you guys. really, I am. :)

yesterday night, in the quietness of my room, in the stillness of the early morning, He spoke to me directly. in fact, it was so clear that He seemed to be screaming these words at me. it was just was i needed to hear. i started reading james again (thanks jer!) and this is what i read last night:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

the past week has been hard but perhaps this is the answer that i have been searching for. perhaps this is what He is teaching me through all this...a lesson in faith.

things won't ever be the same, but i'll be stronger because of everything that has happened. thanks Father. my God, our God, is so big, so awesome, so good.

"...How I love Your Word
My God, My King
How I love Your Word
My God, My King

Your love cuts through these pages to my heart
As you grieve our sins, right from the start
And sacrifice and paradise are in
The plans that you made, The plans that you made

Because I'll never hold the picture
Of the whole horizon in my view
Because I'll never rip the night in two
It makes me wonder
Who am I, Who am I, Who am I
And great are You
Great are You Lord." - Downhere

1..2..3..cheeeeeese!

oh gosh that title was cheesy. get it? cheeeeese-y. hahahahah. oh goodness. somebody stop me. (didja like that kary?) haha. anyway...moving on. :P

so there's nothing like looking at pictures and remembering good times when you're upset and pissed off beyond belief. though the relief may be only temporary, it still makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. :) here are some pictures from over my Christmas break! i spent the majority of it doing family stuff, (so many dinners it was insane), but it was great getting to know my cousins better...and it was fun!!! turns out, i have hilarious cousins!! hahahahha ;)

alright, here they are. :)

1. sharon, danielle, edward, betty and liz
2. "team 1": maxine and liz
3. "team 2": sharon and andre
4. "team 3": lisa and lydia
(we were playing CSI the boardgame. hahaha. we are so cool. although, that game is totally not meant for 13 yr olds. it was so complicated. :P)
5. liz and sharon
6. all the cousins on my mom's side, minus one.
7. andre, maxine, liz and lisa (andre is so fobby. hahaha)
8. sharon, danielle, lisa (we took danielle skating at nathan phillip's square downtown, and we all had a lot of fun. can u tell she lives in california? hahha. she's so dark compared to us! hahaha)

third year, second term.

it's hard to believe that we're already starting second term. time flies.

this year i've definitely changed some things in my life. i've put more things into perspective and have gotten my priorities straighter than before, and so far it seems to have helped a lot. last term was a successful one in terms of school (my best one in all my terms here at laurier) despite it being the busiest with my seven courses, music therapy placement, and work (so glad i'm not working this term.) although i'm still waiting on two of my grades, i'm completely satisfied with the marks that have come in so far, which is definitely a first.

in terms of the other parts of life, it has definitely been an interesting ride. at times it's been really rough and incredibly hard, but i've been blessed with some awesome people in my life. i've been fortunate in terms of being able to cultivate, develop and strengthen friendships with great people - i think that i have a better picture of those i can count on, those i can trust, and those i simply cannot and would rather keep my distance from. i definitely cherish the aforementioned group of people and their friendship. :)

as i look back and reflect, i cannot help but see how good God has to me so far this year. while He continues to stretch me through my experiences, and test me through circumstances, i know that He has everything under control. i know He knows exactly what is going on. i just need to keep that in mind no matter what.

so, as i write this blog entry in the early morning before the first day of school in 2005, here's a toast to the start of another term. oh, and one last thing: happy new year. :) kampai! *clink*