Here We Go Again.

Wow, looking back to my last post it's been AWHILE. In fact over a year ..My last post being a 2012 new years resolution post and it looks like the only resolution I kept was numero 2, finished the Harry Potter series. Sigh... It was a long and unsuccessful year! Damn..

Well, in light of the coming of Easter Sunday, I have decided to "resurrect" my blog. My goal is to be more focused this time around.

It's spring! The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and I am on my last semester of grad school. Where will I go from here? Only God knows.

I leave you with this..

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time. ~ Martin Luther

Happy new year!! (well 17, 18 days late)

Alas, it is already almost a month in to 2012! Where did that time go? It’s been awhile since I have blog, and it’s been a while since I’ve exercised. I blame it on the holidays, the return of the NBA season, and my intensive interterm class. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love them all dearly! But something had to suffer, and this time it was the blog.

How to ring in the new year? With resolutions of course! Usually, I avoid resolutions. I know I won’t keep them and I can’t stand not completing what I set out to do.

But this year, I’m doing it. Afterall, you only get 2012 once, and according to the Mayans, this is the last year of earth’s existence!! Must make the most of it.

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Resolution 1 // Start an Etsy Store

This one has been on the back burner for months. I have a few items to sell, but still have some work to do before a store launch.

Resolution 2 // Finish Harry Potter Series

I’m on book five. Almost there!

Resolution 3 // Fit into those Jeans

Yes, those jeans. I have a pair of black jeans from oodles ago that I would love to fit back into. Almost there, but not quite. Hoping to reintroduce them into my wardrobe sometime in the spring.

Resolution 4 // Give up Coke for a month

Easier said than done. I actually did this last year for about 3 weeks when we were in Thailand. It was much easier to give coke up in country that offers alternative fresh fruit juice options. Perhaps I’ll give it up on our Philippines/Thailand trip this year.

Resolution 5 // Finish Highschool Scrapbook

Yes, you read that right, highschool. Last completed scrapbook was from 11^th grade. Still working on my senior year. 2012, eight years later, might be the year that I finally put highschool on the shelf.

Resolution 6 // More Compassion, More Patience

Last but not least, I’d like to be more compassionate and patient. Not necessarily a 2012 resolution, but a life’s goal. Luckily, I have a man in my life who is a daily example of both and a Savior who epitomizes compassion and patience. (Slow to anger, and abounding in love. Ps 86:14-16)

Routine of Studying

Studying is not easy. There are so many ways that I find myself getting distracted (writing this post for example). But I think I have finally figured out a routine.

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1// Calm

It needs to come out. The antsy-ness of wanting to check mail, facebook and anything else online needs to be flushed. I start off by at least 10-15 mins of getting it all out of my system. Check, check, check.. Until there is nothing new to check and I finally get bored and move on.

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2// Music

A good song, or two, or three, helps me wind down and focus.

Current music of choice – Fernando Ortega with a tad of Coldplay and a touch of Jars of Clay.

(Usually Fernando Ortega on repeat x10 will do)

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3// Quiet

If the lawn is being mowed or the leaves being raked, it is really distracting. Unfortunately, those are the cons of living in an apt complex (a very well-manicured apt complex, might I add). But for the sounds I can help (running the dishwasher, tv, radio..etc) I usually turn them off. It helps to have a spare room that I can retreat to with a good desk and a nice view.

In college I was able to do homework in front of the tv. Now, it’s a different story. Perhaps my brain needs a little more will power and concentration than before, or I just get distracted more easily.

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4// Breaks

Last and most important I take breaks. I read somewhere that your brain cannot retain any more information after 2 hours of studying. Breaks are necessary. So an episode of Law and Order:SVU every 2 hours or so stimulates my learning..(or that’s what I tell myself).

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I’m off to attempt to study..

Sing to Jesus

I’ve been seeing a theme in the blogs I’ve been reading.  

It’s this theme of letting go.

Each person has their own take and perspective on it.

How they do it, how they don’t, and why to let go.

Letting go has been fairly easy for me. I find that the memories/experiences that I have that were negative or painful are often the ones that I least remember. 

They are hidden in the deepest depths of my soul… occasionally a conversation or new experience will bring them back up, and I’ll cringe and reflect on how painful they were.. then breath a sigh and move on.. thankful that it is in the past.

Sometimes I wonder if my selective amnesia is a blessing or a curse. I mean, who would want to remember a bad experience? Then again, isn’t it those experiences that shape us the most?

All I can say is I’m thankful I do not have to re-live them..

They are of the past..You live, You learn..

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            Sing to Jesus, Lord of our shame

            Lord of our sinful hearts.

            He is our great Redeemer.

            Sing to Jesus, Honor His name.

            Sing of His Faithfulness, pouring His life out unto death    

Come you wear and He will give you rest

Come you who mourn, lay on His breast

Christ who died, risen in Paradise

Giver of mercy, Giver of Life                                 

            **Sing to Jesus by Fernando Ortega

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I love these words. In our weakness, pain and suffering.. 

We can sing to Jesus. He is the Lord of our shame.

"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

I love hymns. There is something so beautiful about them.

They are gentle, kind, compassionate all wrapped up together.

Slow but steady, strong and meaningful at the same time.

The following hymn was written by Louisa M. R. Stead. She wrote these words after watching her husband drown and die trying to rescue a drowning boy. She later became a missionary to South Africa.

Beautiful words filled with so much faith. If it were I, would I have that much faith?

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"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His Word;

Just to rest upon His promise,

And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to trust His cleansing blood;

And in simple faith to plunge me

’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just from sin and self to cease;

Just from Jesus simply taking

Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,

Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;

And I know that Thou art with me,

Wilt be with me to the end.

Refrain

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

O for grace to trust Him more!

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“In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them.” (Psalm 22:4-5)

Alanis and Me

Today, I had the urge to listen to some good old school Alanis Morissette. I remember listening to her in middle school and being told by my youth pastor that she was of the devil and that I should burn/destroy all her albums.

Lets just say I'm so glad that I didn't.
She helps me unleash the inner independent women in me!

Not only that I have very fond memories of her music. Especially her "Jagged Little Pill" album.

It always strikes a chord ::Ding:: You Oughta Know.

I am not a huge music person but there are those few artist and songs that invoke emotion in me.

Among the top invokers ::

 Alanis Morisette
 Regina Spektor
 Ramones
 Smashing Pumpkins
 Jars of Clay
 Fernando Ortega

**I know.. They are quite different musical genres represented above.. It's about the memories

"After all..memories are all we have" - K. Ngaihte

O America, Land of the Free and Home of the.. Wait What?

Currently, I am taking a class called “Intercultural Communication.” It is definitely an interesting class and has provided me with incredible insight to the many question of.. why? Through the lectures, discussions and readings I have been able to really evaluate myself .. 

What does it mean to be a part of many cultures and none at the same time? This was an issue I struggled with as I did my senior art show at Biola. 

The class got me thinking back to my freshman year at Biola. I was, for lack of a better term, FOB (or Fresh Off the Boat), although I wasn’t entirely oblivious to American culture, I didn’t have a funky foreign accent or looked like I was straight from a Hello Kitty magazine, walk barefoot or wear clothes decades old. I thought I would be able to blend in with American society, but it was in the subtleties that I was most confused.

For example:

1\\ Tips (A good 15% will do) \\ It was hard for me to grasp this concept at first. Why would I pay more than what was listed on the menu? And tipping varies from customer to customer.. there is no way to regulate it. Just tell me how much, so I won’t be surprised when my $15 meal turns into $25.

2\\ Surprise! You’re been Taxed \\ I guess this goes hand in hand with tipping. Why can’t they just tell you how much they want from the get go!?! It’s like an unfriendly surprise when the 99cent soda ends up being $1.07 and you just do not have those extra 8cents on hand!!!

3\\ HonkHONK \\ Honking is a pretty common sound to hear in Asia. There’s a honk honk here, and a honk honk there, here a honk, there a honk, everywhere a honk honk.. old macdonald….(you get the point). But here no one honks unless you are about to have an accident EXCEPT when they are an impatient driver who insist that you step on the gas the moment the light turns green. Apparently, taking longer than a mili-second justifies a good HONK!

4\\ Sue You! \\ The idea of suing someone for your incompetency appalls me. Yes, there are times when suing is justified. But on the other 99% of the time when suing someone for stepping on a crack that you were able to see with your two God given eyes hardly seems justifiable.

The list goes on...

Captain America anyone? Perhaps he has some answers...