Gosh, I had wanted to do this before I left for the States. Well, though it's now the 45th day here (I've been away so long??), it's always better late than never!!
Do what? Like having a 'last' entry for this blog before I went to CA so that I can start 'anew' somewhere else @ a new addy? But as usual, I was still packing before the day I flew
--------------------------------------- One sentence which struck me in service today - The teacher is silent when there is a test.
Yes, the Teacher is silent when there is a test. It aptly explains my past 2 years - one of THE phases of my life. Now, given a choice, I probably would not want to go through the motions (for the benefit of others, let's just say personal struggles) again. Everyone likes answers, you know sort of a proper closure even though the explanations might not take away the pain or be understood.
Yet, I would not have been the person I am today. James 1:2-3 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produce steadfastness.I like to think that I have been growing since - like being in God's community and understand why, seeing others/things increasingly in Jesus' perspective (always trying) and knowing who the focus should be, among other things. I also realized how much time I have 'wasted' in being fixated on certain issues but it's been a lesson learning to let go and live by faith :) & still learning -----------------------------------------
So yah, the new addy has already been in existence for some time. It's not necessarily to end before you can start. Life's always a process.. Yeah, I will come back to SG. But here? Perhaps on a random day. I mean, I'm random, right? e.g. this entry
Covering 3-4 places in 8 days from the north to the south.. so exciting!! Travelling free and easy is a joy as you plan your own destinations at your leisure pace.. or you don't even need to plan until you are there. That's what we are doing :) haha we have only settled accomodation at Hanoi and the flight to Nha Trang, thus far. No routines, no rushing to and fro places etc.
As I am typing this, I realised that though I dread routines and detailed plans, I grapple a lot with not being in the know, like how loved ones can leave you without a word, without a reason. Uncertainty is certain and we have to learn to live with it because it is ever present in our life. Why!?!, one may ask especially with the recent shocking happenings. However, know that we gotta trust in the Lord and not lean on our own understanding.
Although we do not have control over everything, there are some things that are still within us..
The finals are over yet December is a more stressed month for me since I will be spending only 2 weeks in town and have lots to pack&do!!
(i) The examinations. I don't know which is worst: falling sick before, during or after your exams. Anyway, the results is in His hands. It's a good thing I recovered the moment the papers are over. I found out the worst thing about having an MC is not being able to use it - twice.
(ii) The Vietnam trip. Haha this is why I only have 2 weeks left for preparation. Pray for us: the journey, the weather and the food (heh this is for me la since I have a weak stomach). God bless us :) as none of us took the vaccinations beforehand.
(iii) The tuberculosis test. I did a mantoux test (skin test).. ouch!! and then went back again to take a measurement of the reaction. The test was positive, with me scoring 18mm, above the safety 10mm.
me: what does this mean? doc: it means you are having tuberculosis now, but you have already been vaccinated.
thank God for bcg.. So, why did I need to do this test? This brings me to the part of my exchange which I am very excited about!! :D
(iv) Being a Preschool Teacher Assistant for course credit (heheheh) As part of a course, I will be working with disadvantaged preschool children and be a mentor to one individual. This also means more administration stuffs to do (e.g. social security number etc)besides the mandatory ones. Pray for me a smooth procedure :)
S ervice to students? What do you make of it when asking for assistance only from those whom you think are best suited to help results in being coldly directed to someone convenient, not anyone appropriate?
It used to be studying in progress.. so why the change? Trying to connect to the youths by talking their slang?
Nowadays, mugging is interchangeably used with studying. The former is a a stinging sound to my ears. You can say I'm being anal but these two words have REALLY different meanings. Mugging has a negative contonation to it while studying indicates something positive.
E.g. He's a mugger (read: hardworkingly swallowing everything you read without filtering). He's a studious student (read: diligently chewing the materials into meaningful pieces).
Not every youth-created words should be embraced enthusiatically, certainly not this word at the tertiary level where critical thinking is promoted. This author stands firm against the use of the word 'mugging' (albeit stubbornly) unless you really want to call yourself a mugger.
Anyhow, I still have 3 more papers to do before I can study for my exams, so off I go..
Ps: Why is this sign only put up during the last week of semester.. Isn't the library always used to study and to read anyway?
As I mentioned before (perhaps in previous entry), silence is beautiful. It can speak volumes of the unexplainable understanding and the knowing presence of one another.
BUT, I discovered another side of silence recently. It's not the silence of a tantrum like not picking up the phone because you don't want to. Being on both the receiving and giving end before, I find this acceptable since we all need our reflective moments. Neither is it the loud sound of the clock ticking away because there's nothing to be said. The new silence is very much terrifying. It's like the silence on that answering machine where you don't even know whether the line's been changed.
Silence is beautiful. I shudder to think further. It can be THE present to give. However, as always with gifts, it's the thought that matter not the present itself.
A tuition kid of mine always can't wait to tell me her 'jokes', so let me share one of them with you: What's one word the moment you say it, you break it?
Guest speakers for the Alfred Smith Dinner entertain with humor on the political scene: McCain is absolutely funny
& If you didn't understand the background to what has been said earlier (fortunately, I had an avid like-minded person to do some explaining for me), this will just do just fine.
I have been so politically apathetic that even when there was a big ruckus about the 2.15m paycheck, I could not care less. But America 08 has been riveting for me. (I don't quite know why)
It is easy to know who I support if you know me well. I prefer actions, not words.
To make it more obvious, read on (Justin Taylor's summary of Robert George article on "Voting for the Most Extreme Pro-Abortion Political Candidate in American History Is Not the Way to Save Unborn Babies"):
.. let me explain why I have described Obama as “pro-abortion” rather than “pro-choice.”
2. Obama has promised that “the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act” ( FOCA). This would make abortion a federally guaranteed right through all nine months of pregancy for any reason. Virtually every state and federal limitation on abortion that is currently on the books would be abolished (e.g., parental consent and notification laws for minors).
5. Obama refused to support the pro-life Democrats' “95-10” legislation (designed to reduce the number of abortions by 95% in 10 years by strengthening the social safety net for poor women). This would not have made abortion illegal; it would seek to reduce abortion.
6. Obama "opposed legislation to protect children who are born alive, either as a result of an abortionist’s unsuccessful effort to kill them in the womb, or by the deliberate delivery of the baby prior to viability." The bill contained a specific provision that ensured that the bill would not affect abortion laws (Obama and his campaign lied about this fact until it was proven in the records).
George ends his article in this way:
.. In Obama’s America, public policy would make a mockery of the great constitutional principle of the equal protection of the laws. In perhaps the most telling comment made by any candidate in either party in this election year, Senator Obama, when asked by Rick Warren when a baby gets human rights, replied: “that question is above my pay grade.” It was a profoundly disingenuous answer: For even at a state senator’s pay grade, Obama presumed to answer that question with blind certainty. His unspoken answer then, as now, is chilling: human beings have no rights until infancy—and if they are unwanted survivors of attempted abortions, not even then.
.. Voting for the most extreme pro-abortion political candidate in American history is not the way to save unborn babies.
The ‘i’ in my pride has blinded me to the Christ in me I cared about how man look at me, the consciousness has taken me unaware But now I know, down on my knees
Because of the cross, love has not a reason Because of the cross, mysteries have a purpose Because of the cross, the fear, hurt and bitterness do not matter Because of the cross
Time has since passed I pitied myself in misery Couldn’t see beyond the rejection But now I know, down on my knees
Because of the cross, never will I be forsaken Because of the cross, I won’t be left alone Because of the cross, I have a future of hope and protection Because of the cross
* A speck of dust so small can blind the whole vision. How delightful it is to see clearly!! inspired by God 14/10/08
it's okay if you can't see the road ahead, just make sure God is still in sight!!
In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautful in His time.
Lord, please show me every day,
As You're teaching me Your way,
That You do just what You say, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time,
You make all things beautiful in Your time.
Lord, my life to You I bring.
May each song I have to sing
Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
Words and Music by Diane Ball
Th3 b@bY iN mI
vette
15 Sept 88
child of God
likes: zzz
dislikes: waa waa
Covering 3-4 places in 8 days from the north to the south.. so exciting!! Travelling free and easy is a joy as you plan your own destinations at your leisure pace.. or you don't even need to plan until you are there. That's what we are doing :) haha we have only settled accomodation at Hanoi and the flight to Nha Trang, thus far. No routines, no rushing to and fro places etc.
