Kindness this morning

This morning, I was making my usual 15-minute walk to my friend's place (and then we go together to work in her car, she works 10 minutes away from me) when a car stopped. I thought they needed help with directions. I looked into the car and there was a kind looking senior Asian man at the wheel and a senior Asian woman sitting at the back. He said something, i didn't understand and he asked me where I was going. He's seen me walking in the morning and they thought I was Korean. And I then found out they were Korean too. He was going to drop her off in the city too, and I told him where I was going. He asked if I would like a lift and I contemplated it for like 1 second and said okay.

I know it sounds pretty "whaaatttt????" ...you did " what????" But not only was a lift nice coz I was running late, but they seemed really nice, and I was touched by his sincerity especially. And I didn't think they were in any way dangerous (but yeah i know u're thinking, HOW DO U KNOW??). He told me in the car that they have a 5.30 am service or something. They go to a Korean church in Greenacre (which is out west in Sydney), and asked if I go to church too. He had dropped off someone in Kingsford (the suburb next to mine) and was going to drop the lady off in the city, before heading home to Vaucluse (which is like 15 minutes away). They all live in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney, so that's why he drops them all the way here. When he mentioned Vaucluse, I thought of Chris Looi's dad, a church friend. He is someone else whose heart for God is so inspiring, his generosity in opening his house to whoever is incredible, that after I spoke to him, I felt touched to tears (not bucketloads, ok haha and not in front of him) because of his genuine interest and time he took to share with me stuff and encourage me in my walk with God. He even gave me a book to read. He is one amazing person. God has used him so much and God has worked in many many people's hearts through him, I know it.

Anyway, Mr Park, the Korean man, looked like such a kind grandfather, someone who is still alert at that age, someone who loves God and loves people. They get up so early to praise God, and his kindness really touched my heart. It's amazing how God taught me about kindness this very morning through the simple actions of these Korean people. When I was waiting for my friend in her lobby, I saw another old man who wakes up early to take his dogs for a walk or maybe they belong to his daughter. We said hello and said hello to Bubble, the cute dog...he's quite nice. When I came in once, he asked if I was Chinese and we chatted a little bit.

I kinda like talking to old people sometimes, they're great.

Sometimes I have thoughts of what I would like to be like when I get old, if I ever reach that age. I hope to still be alert, active and to have a life that serves God and loves people, just like Mr. Park and Mr. Looi.

Wake up early

Read a friend's blog today and he mentioned how he realises how important it is to get up early, to pray properly, plan and think for the day on how he can glorify God throughout the day, taking a good amount of time to do things in no rush.

Unlike the usual waking up late, and because of that time seems to be so short, there is not enough time for everything, like expressing prayer to God, and having to take shower in hurry, no breakfast, walk to station in hurry, arrive at office and do everything in a hurry.... and another day passes by...

And it's true what he says, that's the way for me, I think. I wake up and rush so that I can go to work and try to get to work on time. At this time with the cold weather and my sleeping late habits, I am getting lazier to wake up early...

Will try to get up early...but must sleep early....

will try.... so far, still failing..

Hostel 2

I went to watch this movie with some friends on Saturday night. Haven't watched the first show which I heard was pretty gory, and had a lot of blood to scare people. Not that I wanted to watch this show, but my friend wanted to watch it, so okay...If you don't know what it's about, in the movie, there's a group/organisation that allows the highest bidder to kill whomever they set as target victims. This movie saw 3 American college students being the victims while they are on holiday in Europe.

2 of my other friends casually mentioned they wouldn't even bother to go see it as it is a stupid horror film. And yeah, they were right. It was pretty stupid but not as gory as I expected it to be. The movie had nudity, lots of foul language flying here and there, sick people with twisted minds....it makes you wonder, what is this world coming to? Why do people have to inject F-words in every single sentence?

I give it a half a star

Making a difference

This week at work we've been having training on beverages from our "beverage specialist" from our Singapore office. I must say, that I was trying my best to pay attention but sometimes, I got kinda sleepy during his long long lectures. Luckily, his powerpoint slides (which he saved on soft copy for us and even printed out&bound) are quite detailed. He was a goofy kinda looking 40+ yr-old "professor", who explains stuff quite detailed, and when u ask him a question, his answer is so long, I can get lost.

It was great to have more people in the lab, made the lab livelier! But you know, at the end of Friday, I did feel a little sad that he would be leaving us. He was kinda funny sometimes, and quite passionate about sharing all his knowledge with us. He prepared so much, and wanted to help us in every way. He'd explain the calculations step by step, explaining why and how it would be like in real factory situations.

Even though I never want to be like him, but he definitely inspired me and he made me think about how important it was to appreciate people. I might never hear him explain all the stuff again, people don't stay around forever. And no matter how much we have any thoughts about anyone, we just don't realise how much they are worth in the sight of God. How much life they have, or what they've gone through in their life.

One of my uni friends just works 10 minutes away from me, and her boss's dad (who started her company) used to work at my company a long time ago. Guess what? He died on Thursday night from a stroke. He has been quite sickly and my friend just spoke to him on Thursday during the day when he came into the office. It was kinda sad, I felt shocked. She's talked about him before, and sometimes about his son or his wife who still wants to work in the accounts dept even though she can be quite hard to work with.

People can come and go. People we see everyday at work, whom we just walk past with a quick hello coz we're so busy and absorbed in what we have to do. People we deal with but don't really know much about.

Check this out: http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/

I've read it before in a forwarded mail, but my friend's mum sent it again, and it was a good reminder. Everyone has so much potential in them, and by believing in them, it's amazing how much a difference you've made to their life and amazingly, how much they've taught you and made a difference in yours.

Can you make a difference to every person you meet? that's the challenge

go away self-pity

When self-pity comes over me like a stranger excluded, I'm so tempted to give in to a restroom intermission, to break out into moodlessness. But God's Word always humbles me on how I should behave. Putting off my old self to which I used to belong, and putting on the new self, seeking to be renewed, transformed, and changed. All by the grace and power and help of God!

So much to do rather than focus on self! So many other people to love and care for. A simple note, pick up the phone, an offer of help, a warm meal, so many things and people to think about...seriously, there is no time for boredom and complaints of nothing to do!

Dear God,

Thank you God for today. Please "let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from me, along with all malice. Being kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven me." (Eph 4: 31-32). Please help me to walk in a manner worthy of your calling. Amen.

Quotes of the day

"When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?" -- Sydney J. Harris


If you train your mind to search for the positive things about other people, you will be surprised at how many good things you can observe in them and comment upon.
Alan Loy Mcginnis
Writer and counselor

discovering skype

My whole evening today was spent mainly playing with Skype - just downloaded it for the first time.. I think I'm new-technology-challenged in things like PDA, other gadgets, i just don't keep up to date.

So since I'm on Skype now, I felt pretty excited about it and started making a lot of phone calls after topping up my credit. Called a couple of my good friends in SIngapore, called Linda Che in the Philippines who used to work for us a long time ago, and called all my family members except for my mum coz she's working.

It's so cool!!...and so convenient since I don't have a home phone.
yeah, i know i sound really backward hahah...anyways...

I really should do more calling instead of my dad calling me most of the time - and he does it mobile phone to mobile phone. And the urge to keep calling was this feeling in me how little contact I keep - if the relationship was really important to me, i should want to know how they're going! So, you reading my blog, thanks for reading, I'm sorry for the little contact I keep with you.

It was so good to chat to my really good friend, Kailing again too, I talked to her for close to 40 minutes. Just feel like I can call her anytime now, so easy! Spoke to my youngest brother for so long too, I wish I could do more for him, he seems so demotivated with his job, what he wants in life. And Linda Che said her daughter is so naughty, had to go to dentist too coz she eats too much junk but at least unlike me, she doesn't argue with the dentist. I was like...nooo...I didn't argue with the dentist! I think I told him I didn't want to see him. Don't really remember. But she was so surprised to hear from me...first time calling her. It was great to speak to her too!

=) more calling another day...

June already!

Music: 一秒的安慰

List down anything that has been on your mind for the past 24 hours.

A lot.

Work was busy.

But I thought again a lot about my 3 weeks in Taiwan last July. As I flip through my photos, can't believe it was 11 months ago that I did all that. Boy, how fast does time fly.

I just talked again to 詠誼(yong3 yi2), aka Lily, on MSN - I find it a bit difficult chatting to her there coz my chinese typing skills isn't that fantastic - but thank goodness for online chinese-english-chinese dictionaries haha. She is getting married next month too! thinking about her, I am just reminded how I so enjoyed my time in Taiwan and my time with her. She is my friend's (in Oz) best friend in Taiwan btw.

I really enjoyed the time I got to study mandarin there, hang out and go to places with my group of Aussie friends I went to Taiwan with and the time when our calligraphy teacher took us for dinner and even to her place outside Taipei (in the country). I don't think I would ever find satisfaction in an overseas trip that just involves seeing places only, not even like exploring the wondrous sights of that country - it would need this but that wouldn't be enough.

I miss my time there. She told me a lot of Taiwanese stuff and I was forced to speak in Mandarin to her the whole time, which was really good for me. We did simple stuff and it was great. Just going to her place, her friends' place, going to her uni, her school, meeting her little brother, eating different things, seeing the area where she lived, it was great. I learned a lot from her, not only Mandarin, but just who she is. She works as a social worker, she volunteers every Saturday at an Internet helpline (i nearly went there!! disappointed i couldn't make it in the end), and the care she shows her autistic brother and she trusted me enough to let me meet him. I went to his autistic school to pick him up with her, and finally she said I could come to her house even though she does not like to show people the conditions of her home, and does not want to cause any awkwardness that would be displayed by her brother's mannerisms. Met her every week, and twice or trice a week the last 2 weeks.

Outside a small museum where she tried her best to explain to me and where I used a lot of brain energy trying to understand the history she was telling me...felt I learned so much just on that day!

Lily helping me when I couldn't read some of the lyrics

Karaoke was fun =)

At the university she went to up in the mountains (Chinese Culture University)

Overlooking Taipei city (i wouldn't have bothered going up Taipei 101 if i knew about this place earlier!)

At Lily's and my friend's junior high school

Lily at front gate of high school

Lily with an administrative stuff (who used to be her classmate) and a teacher

I miss Taiwan .. =)