A Fireproof Life

My holidays

Ah that was a nice break. One month of holidays and im loving the no homework, no study feeling. I actually quite like working for a bit, it makes life more interesting, not that it isn't interesting already. And so, here i am in Bendigo again, and have covered 3 episodes of Fated to Love You, 2 movies (Blades of Glory; The Ruins) and countless YouTube Videos >> this was all in the past 9 hours >> sigh, maybe i should actually review what I did today in the Cells lecture...considering my lack of biology knowledge.

Well, before i get started posting other things, I just want to take time to commit the new semester to the Lord and ask Him for His guidance and wisdom as the semester progresses. However, I was thinking just recently, about my current situation in Bendigo. Yes, praise the Lord, I actually survived one semester out here in the sub-wilderness (yes, it is sub-wilderness because there is water around lol). I was afraid of the change even though i always loved challenges...it was slightly difficult to adjust but now that i look back, God has been guiding me throughout the entire time. Am currently chatting to Grace, what a funny coincidence cuz i was just about to write about her.

What i have realised is that God has planned this from far back. Grace and i weren't that close in yr 11, like for sure, i knew her but it was only in yr 12 that we actually became good friends, part of the fact because we both moved to Wantirna South. During bus trips we used to chat about how we would join lifetrax together, go on a missions trip, join the creative arts ministry, somewhat planning our lives after high school. We both wanted to do dentistry yeah we both got what we wanted despite being out here in Bendigo.

Now i realise how God has used Grace to guide me and help me here in Bendigo. He allowed both of us to become good friends in high school and chucked us in the exact same groups here in Bendigo...we have exactly the same timetables, both in this semester and last semester. I mean think about it, it's not everyday that two friends from the same high school, that take the same bus, the go to the same church, that live almost in the same place, that have the same career dream, that both go to the same university and both in the same groups throughout the entire year. Also, i think that despite having Grace here to help me, God has put us in different living environments >>> allowing us to have maximum impact in our surroundings.

So yeah, just to cap it all off. I want to thank God for a very very great and awesome friend like Grace. She has really been my pillar and security here in Bendigo, always a shoulder to lean on, always an open listener and a great pal to study with :P. She's been really awesome and i pray that God will continue to guide her and bless her abundantly. Finally, thank you God for keeping me safe and healthy.

So, now im totally high on caffiene (i think that's how u spell it). Hence im gonna reflect on the things in the past month or so that totally made life worth living, the friendships formed, the experiences encounted and the jokes that will brighten up anyone's day.

- mucking around with Damian and Doey on the Tomato: making funny pictures and reading Damo's very interesting "calculus answers" (all this was on the eve of oral health exam....supposed to be sleeping man)

- Seeing Damo's transformers collection....now i know what "passionate" really means :P

- Taking nature photos with other photo fanatics (i.e. Yan and Doey). ah the sunset, the night lights

- Life group, oxygen and church celebration meetings...my ultimate battery recharger

- Hearing the great news that 'someone' is going to church youth camp for the first time. Praise God

- Hanging out with Nhat, Doey, Damo, Grace, Yan and Mel in Melbourne city after the final exams...Ice Bar (one word, amazing)...movie (cant believe the guys actually watched that movie)...QV (with no one around)

- Watching the Hulk with Damian...no one else turned up and also the movie times were stuffed up...laughing at the Hulk's perfect dentition...p.s. there is an eye in the keyhole

- DFO shopping with Sinwa, Esther and Qian >> wanting that huge carbonated drink now :P

- Oxygen Camp!!! One word...Awesome. Partially conquered my fear of heights, gun fights, poker with Fee in Sam, Isaac, Michael, Jason and Andrew's room, meeting other awesome people. oh and tennis in the rain with Isaac...everyone left but we persisted lol.

- City chapel st shopping with Janice, Sinwa, Esther and Qian. And then oxygen, which Karleen came too!! Then fun fun movie sleepover...went through 6 movies, i think

- Jamming with my bro

- Talking with parent for hours about life and all

- Watching Narnia...then intersting dinner/supper afterwards (ah Dave...the cake was a killer). Then Michael's Chuck Norris jokes...funny as (for the people who understand them). Sam ordered this very interesting drink. Then Karaoke in Andrew's car...Me and Jenn singing backstreet boys songs. (btw thanks to Anthea for organising it and to Andrew for bringing me back home safely)

- Damo and me drawing dango pics on msn

- Hanging out with Grace and Ki at Orde House - then nice catch up and talk in Grace's room for ages...even trying to sleep and still talking

- Study session with Grace before the Dent Sci exam...well worth it

- ROAR kids...love em sooo much

- Reading the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (B.I.B.L.E) - simple as that...the truth

Just finished Code Geass season 1...aiya...so many cliffhangers (just as Damain warned me about)...not i just need to get hold of season 2

lol i think i better sleep...or else i'll miss badminton tmr.

Whao...just amazing...mine are nothing compared to this ...

Well, oxygen was last night and i feel compelled to write a blog entry on the message that Dan Lian preached. It was an awesome message...one that really hits the nail on the head, very blunt and straight forward. Ok, even though i havent been to oxygen much, namely because of my current uni situation (Bendigo), i really enjoy oxygen. Despite missing the mosh pits in Epic, i find that the sermons in oxygen are waaay more applicable to my life...mostly in the way that it is delivered. In camp i already experienced the straightforward messages that really dig deep into issues of the heart and of Christianity in general and i found yesterday's message doing just that.

Dan Lian talked about Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide. This very word enables us to see that our God is one awesome God that will provide for our lives because we are his children. Using Abraham and Isaac's story Dan emphasised that God desires that we form a relationship with Him and rely totally on Him to provide for us. He is not some kind of "cosmic vending machine" that we can just use to get the 'particular' things that we desire but rather a loving God that wants us to grow and rely on Him to survive. Yes!! He will pull you through no matter what but the one thing that we have to realise is that he wants us to grow rather than just get everything we want. Here are a few points i learnt/realised from Dan's message:

- Subconsciously, a lot of people, including myself, use God as some kind of vending machine. I loved Dan's "cosmic vending machine". Yes, i did used to think that if we did something the right way we would get exactly what we wanted. But now i realised that God wants us to grow and mould into a more Christ-like figure

- God will provide when He thinks it is the right time. He might want you to wait and grow in your faith rather than just give you what u want. And His solutions might not come in the way that you expect it to be. He has your well-being in His mind and whatever that He does will definately allow you to be more Christ-like.

So. yea...there are a few things that have happened recently that i can really praise God for, not that i don't thank Him everyday for keeping be alive and joyous :P So...will do a post again soon...

Okay so...yes...Damian got everyone into Dango. I reckon if Damo ruled the would, the national anthem would be Dango and there would be life-sized dangos everywhere. Dango = sweet dumpling, from the ending of Jap anime Clannad. Here is the video off youTube:

And so, despite needing to study for psych exam, Damo and i started drawing Dango pictures using the handwriting facility in msn messenger, after a while, here's what we produced:

Lol...have fun guessing who drew what....hehe....

Currently in dire need:

- Blog update
- Dough/Cash/Money/Ka-ching
- a pager that keep reminding me not to stop eating lollies
- a faster internet
- Insight

Ok...the new Planetshakers album is playing on my computer now!!! Its awesome...especially since i was there when they recorded it ... much more significance XD.

Cuz it was all for LOVE. w00t - currently super happy :)

I look up vermilion border on the net and here's what came up:

vermilion border
The red margin of the upper and lower lip that commences at the exterior edge of the intraoral labial mucosa ("moist line") and extends outward, terminating at the extraoral labial cutaneous junction; a thinly keratinised type of stratified squamous epithelium deeply penetrated by well-vascularised dermal papillae which show through the translucent epidermis to impart the typical red appearance of the lips.

More than half the words need to be looked up in the dictionary o.O

Also on Thurs night, i went to Anthea's lifegroup. It was nice catching up with the regulars as well as meeting some new faces a.k.a. Jason and Jenn. It was nice to pray and talk about Erwin McMannus's message...of which i missed ><. We also split into prayer groups and had a nice game of mafia after XD.

Friday nite: Adeline, Kristy, Sam and Isaac came over for LG. After an ice breaker >> provided by Isaac's glowsticks haha, we went straight into discussion, even forgetting to open the food. Our discussion was fruitful, i reckon, as we talked about the works that God wanted us to achieve, a bit on the end days and did some searching into our own lives as we revealed and discussed our purposes. Well, Kristy and Adeline had to leave early, but Sam and Isaac stayed. We ended up taking pics of Isaac in glowsticks and just general chatting. Overall, a great night.

Sam and Isaac

Isaac lolz

Sat: Kid's Church :) I was a little nervous, as always, up there doing praise and worship but whenever i look into the kids, the leaders were smiling and that relieved my nervousness a bit. But still, i love it when the kids go crazy for God XD. I shud get the dvd to practice....


Sun: Went out for lunch with family and ate chicken rice.

Overall, the weekend was a good balance of work and fun. Can't wait till the exams...as they pass quickly and then HOLZ!!

We need each other - Sanctus Real

A beautiful song talking about our need for friends and how we need each other. For yourself, it shows how we are cared for by friends and how much we rely on friends. Also, it is a challenge: to be a FRIEND XD.

I think I caught a glimpse of
Life without friends
Bitter, empty, hollow, dark and lonely
We never meant to hurt each other
So can’t we trust again
And take it as a chance
To keep on growing

I don’t know why it doesn’t come easy
But I know that we could be happy
If we’d only learn to love

Oh oh we need each other
So what’s the fighting for
Oh oh we need each other
Please don’t close the door
Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
Cuz no one’s meant to live alone

Life revolves around the need
Of having someone
Causing every complicated feeling
Oh and I don’t want to loose you
And there is nothing wrong with
Telling me what you need
To keep our love strong

It’s just a part of being a family
Taking the good with the bad and the ugly
If we could only learn to love

Oh oh we need each other
So what’s the fighting for
Oh oh we need each other
Please don’t close the door
Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
Cuz I don’t want to be alone

Oh Oh we need each other
Fathers and Mothers
Oh oh we need each other
All your sisters and brothers
Oh oh we need each other
We need friends and lovers
Oh Oh we need each other

Well I need you
You need me
Cuz that’s the way
It’s meant to be
I need you
We need each other
(I don’t want to be alone)
(x2)

On top of that, its an awesome song...by Santus Real ~ a sincere band with positive lyrics and awesome riffs =]

Ah so...the procrastination spot. Hehe. Perks of Bendigo life during the short week:

- playing Stay with Me on guitar while Yan sings

- rocking out to Chiisana koi no uta

- loving the growth of GREEN grass

- laughing during Peter Wilson's lecture ("the copper....um... thing" lawl)

- everyone playing the electric keyboards all at once

- playing tangles and asking people to jump through extremely tiny holes

- watching people's reaction when they walk past our tangled mess

- getting addicted to Starlight by Muse

- watching the dango video soo many times ~ even tho Damo had seen it heaps of times

- watching Clannad on the train and all its exaggerated bit ~ i.e. 973 hit + COMBO!!

- Damo thinking that Ken screamed when he jumped down

Well...i am currently procrastinating. Just came back from oral health lecture. So, i spent the weekend in Bendigo. So most of saturday was spent watching taiyou no uta, a jap drama Yan recomended ~ very nice drama. It incorporates music and guitar into its romantic storyline - a perfect fit for a romcom and music fan like myself. And yes...in the end i did cry and secretly hoping Mel wouldnt turn around to see me bawling lol. The drama was inspirational but kinda bought up some issues that I discussed with Mel. For example the question: would you give up your life to pursue your dreams? There are pros and cons for both arguments ~ i hope i am never stuck with that dilemma. But it was a nice story despite the sad ending. Well, Yan and I are currently loving the songs in that drama and trying to play and sing it XD.

Dinner on saturday night was yummy. It was interesting trying new dishes and i love the simpleness (if that is evena word) when we sat on the floor and ate and talked =] Another enjoyable part was following the heater around as we attempted to warm up or feets. That night was spent youtubing...a lot of youtubing.

Woke up late on sunday morning. Watched 2 episodes of one of the best tv series ~ Jericho!! All my tv shows always gets axed, im always in the minority lol. Nevertheless, Jericho is an awesome show XD. Later, i went to orde house to visit Ki and Grace. The orde house people are very nice and tight-knitted. I loved it how they spent that afternoon sitting around in the backyard playing with the frisbee and just talking with one another. I thought it was a very nice group activity that strenghtened the bonds of all the housemates there. So i hanged out with them, trying to chuck the frisbee properly, piggybacking Grace and getting "gerlick" (hokkien for ticklish/itchy) by Grace's scarf. Later Ki painted my nails bright pink...i hardly, more like never paint my nails so it was an interesting new change for me lol. I'm still slightly scared by the pink nails, but i guess there is no harm to try new things.

Dinner last night was soup and bread and crackers with dip ~ yum :) After dinner we watched P.S I love you >>> it wasnt that good, a bit boring >> us three kinda slept a little...the massive amount of snacks that we had prob kept us awake for the rest of the time hehe. After that we took photos with Ki's and my laptop as we danced to hip hop songs blasting from our computers hehe. I must say, inside all of us there is an inner dancing person lol. Other activities included playing pool and crowding around William (an ex-orde house resident's baby) ~ Aww sooo cutie. For the rest of the night, me and Grace were singing along to Hillsong and Hillsong Kids songs and loving every moment of our heart to heart talk. Its been ages since i talked with Grace about everything ~ thanks soo much for being an awesome friend s2 u heaps. At midnight we got hungry so Grace and I cooked noodles. And I didnt know u can "tahan" noodles lol. More talking followed and when we got sleepy we decided to have a prayer ~ and whao....awesome man >> the power of 2 people praying!! Kept trying to sleep but kept talking until very late.

Well, its monday now...i think i should go back to study ~

I finally got the uploading thingy to work...here's the pictures from the last post

Outside the Gym

The money shot!!