Merry christmas and happy Holidays??

Hey guys and to everyone who does read my blogs... 

Merry christmas .... (but not happy holidays)

Some of your may ask why not say happy holidays. It is the beginning of our 3 month holidays of just pure bludging and pretty much doing nothing. Why not celebrate it

Well as Pastor Thong said in today's sermon, christmas is not a celebration of holidays its a day which reminds us of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem... He was not born in a royal crib or by royal blooded- parents. He was born from a virgin, Mary and was given birth in a manger. The birth of a man who was later to become our Messiah, Lord and Saviour. Dont think that is true check out the first two chapters of Luke. 

It was because of Jesus, who later died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins that we may be spared from the wrath of God And because of this we are able to appear righteous before God's eyes. 

So to all, Merry Christmas and May God Bless you 

Summary of Trip and Continuum

Well alot of people ask me what was the purpose of my trip to Sydney. 

Simple answer = "To Think..."

Im not going to explain much about my whole life but i can say that this year has been a pretty tough year for me. 

This year many things happened. 

--> 1st time as a CiA leader

--> 3rd year Pharmacy ( the most intensive year with 6 subjects each sem and 7 exams)

--> Dealing with personal issues

--> Serious Stress from exams, assignments, etc workload in general

--> Losing the passion for serving cuz i thought it was all too much

... [more]

I think this year has been interesting in the sense that throughout the year i've been trying to find my anchor... I liken my life as a sail boat just going wherever the tides of the world takes it. Always been unsure of what is happening and all. Eventually this leads to looking at alot of things in a negative sense and always feeling down, lonely and all. 

Now this anchor which i mentioned before I hoped to find during my trip to Sydney where i was away from everyone and Brisbane where i was involved in a lot of responsibilities. Some people call it running away from issues but what i thought was that it was a time for me to think... well that is what i told myself anyway. 

= TWO LESSONS FROM THE TRIP=

 

The trip actually taught me a few things. It taught me the joys of being an individual and being single. The joy of going to places and exploring, something i enjoy finding out where alleyways, paths and long stretches of roads go. For the whole trip i had plans to visit certain people I wanted to see them alot actually but as it turned out this was not possible. Which i knew already... yet i still ignore the warnings. This taught me that things are not necessarily always turn out the way i want but what God wants. 

But to tell the truth i felt that my issues had not be solved. I had not found the answer that i was looking for. I was still feeling down and occassionally depressed. 

Then... 

The other day that i was driving around in Brisbane a thought occured to me. And for some reason i had this permanent smile on my face that i could not remove. I felt like the burden on my shoulders had been lifted off. I couldnt say that i am 100% cleared of all my problems and woes. But i can say its a great feeling. It feels like its been 5 years since ive ever felt this happy. 

Lying in bed last night i tried to understand what was the source of this happiness... Hours upon hours i was tossing and turning and thinking about it. I guess in life there are many things one does not understand but I have made a promise with myself ....

Today on the 17 December 08, I promise that i will remain pure in heart  for that special someone(A) for 1 year, ie 17 Dec 2009.  

Day 5 of Sydney Trip and Beyond

Its'  been almost 2 weeks since my trip to Sydney and so much has happened but before i even get anywhere into that here is Day 5 of my trip 

Day 5 Sydney

So on Day 5 being my last day in Sydney I decided to head down to Bondi Beach, the beach well known for its little wierd Huts, which i must add I failed to find. So early in the morning I headed down to Bondi Beach on the train and then onto a bus. Funny thing was that i actually had no idea where i was going. The only image of Bondi Beach was from the other night at Naz's House. So yeah When i got off the train at Bondi Junction I just assumed if i got on a bus where people were wearing surf clothing i couldnt go wrong. Luckily I was correct and eventually ended up at Bondi. 

For first Impressions, Bondi is pretty big. It got a really massive beach and the waves were awesome What i found really intriguing was the fact that there was a swimming pool right next to the shore and each time a big wave hit the barriers it just looked awesome.. Haha... Not to get too carried off with that. 

So i just walked around Bondi Beach for a bit and then it became time for food. Not knowing what to eat or having eaten breakfast before i headed out I gave my friend a call and funnily enough they recommended me to have the Oporto's Bondi Burger. I originally they were pulling a joke on me so i went to Oporto to check it out and yes... i had the Bondi Burger. Supposibly this store was one of the first to open... they were famous for being the first but not to say forgetting to give me a meal proved that reputation at all. 

I then headed back to the apartments to continue packing for my return trip to Brisbane. Pretty much I had nothing to do.. Actually i remembered... having being told that Russel Crowe lives down my street i went walking down CowperWharf Rd to find his house. Unfortunately I failed but i did find the Naval base of HMAS Kattubul and i must admit the people standing outside must have thought i was one crazy tourist taking photos of a Naval Barracks. Haha

Anyway fast track to the airport. I had nothing to do for a few hours so i just ate again even though i already had dinner. I ate another red rooster meal and also a boost juice. I was literally so bored. But it gave me time to think about the reason i came to Sydney. :p 

To top it off for the night when i got on to the plane for some wierd reason my seat was double booked with another lady so it became this trouble for the air hostess and seriously they were running around like headless chooks. But yeah i ended up with a window seat in the emergency Aisle which wasnt too bad. 

safely back in Brisbane

Day 3 and 4 Sydney

Well... well... well... it looks like my five day weekend in Sydney...
As i have been told by many people, there isnt much to explore in Sydney. You could do it in a few days.

So just continuing from last night. What did i end up doing. I went and admired my 99% Lindt dark chocolate that i bought and also was meant to meet up with smak for dinner. Ended up going to the famous Harry's Pie and eating the Original Tiger. If you imagine, a pepper steak pie with potato + gravy + pea. that is what they were famous for... (see pictures later)

Anyway...off to day 4

Day 4 - Sydney

Woke up really early this morning. Originally planned to go out to RHODEs to meet up with a friend of mine. But plans changed. So i ended up going to Paddy's Market. It was a good hour or so that i was there. I considered a few times to buy it cuz it was a KOBE Bryant Lakers jersey for $35 .. but in the end i decided not to. i later went up to Paddy's Market and got really intrigued by these $1 toys at a Morning Glory sale. (see photos) And then as expected in all Asian DVD stores... i managed to grab hold of a really old anime ....Patlabour (tv series) for 15 dollars. which was pretty good. But yeah...

Apart from that.... One more day before i leave...

Day 2 and 3 Sydney Trip

Just a continuation from yesterday entry about DAY 2. So yesterday was Naz's birthday party in the Bondi region of Sydney. At about 3 pm I went to Bondi Junction on the Eastern train line. Funny thing is that even though the Kings Cross Station was closer to where I live. I walked into the city and caught the train from the Martin Place which went to Kings Cross Station--> edgecliff--> then Bondi Junction.

So yeah I got to Bondi Junction and was going to meet up with Naz... But yeah... her mum took the car out so I ended up hanging around Bondi Junction. I must say that the shopping centre at Bondi Junction is so big. Literally the centre is like 6 stories and there were two buildings. BUt yeah spent 3 hours in there. Which is pretty impressive considering im a guy. Funny thing is that when i went to the newsagents to buy some pens for Naz's Party.. The newsagent guy thought i was stealing.... which was the first time someone has asked me wheter im stealing or not. I had to empty out all my pockets to prove to him i was not stealing.

So at 5:30pm... Naz and Simeon came to pick me up and we arrived at his house. Being the only one from Brisbane I knew no one there at the party. At first I met her brother Josh and had a little chat. But i felt more comfortable on the verandah staring out into the mountains or maybe they were hills. Lol... After a bit of a breather... I went back in and met another guy called Josh... And i think there was a Jonathan/Jason and then i met a Kevin. Funnily this was all over a game of Ping Pong... Haha...

During the night... there were alot of great speeches and alot of thing that were said about Naz. Later on... I bumped into some RICE Syd people that i had met last time and from there I met someone with the female version of my name, Patricia. A arts/lawyer by profession. But yeah throughout the party i met quite a few people and they were all surprised i was from Brisbane. Cuz most of the people at the party were from her church. But overall it was a great night. I loved. it.

Day 3 - In Sydney...

Once again i woke up pretty late.... My plan was to go out to the fish markets which is in Pymont which is like all the way at the other side of town. But crazy as i am to save money on transport I walked all the way over there It took about 30-40 mins for me to get there. But after getting lost a little i eventually found my way to Pymont Fish markets. I could smell it before i saw it. Haha. But from talking to people at the party they recommended me to eat the Seafood there cuz it was fresh. For some wierd reason when i got there the first thing i ordered was fish and chips. Then i saw alot of people eating sashimi like tuna, salmon, lobster etc. So i first started with Fish and chips .... I walked it off for a bit then i went and went for 2nd course meal.... Salmon Sashimi. It was funny cuz i saw people buy 1/2 kg of salmon sashimi which they barely finished between two people so that means there was probably no way i could finish it. So i being the dumb asian i am went up and asked can i have 50g of salmon. And they were like sorry sir we dont sell anything that little... get out from here. Lol... they didnt say that but i managed to finish 100g by myself. And i must admit...fresh seafood is awesome.

Later on... to save money again i walked all the way back to CBD. I went to the National Maritime Museum. It was pretty good standing up close to HMAS Onslow. But compared to the Australian Navy Fleet outside my window. It was nothing... But i was amused by the penny making machine... Haha... how i kill time.

Then i went to the Aquarium and Wildlife place but they were so expensive. Haha... once again my asian cheapness coming out again. So what did i think of doing... going to the Lindt store. I knew there was one in darling harbour but i couldnt find it. So i went to the one in martin Place. But i couldnt find it i had to ask like at least 3 people to find out where the lindt shop with. If you had a camera following my life. you would see this asian guy walking around in circle in the middle of martin place.

But yeah i found the asian store and guess what i found. I found 99% Dark Chocolate. it was awesome... You cant buy it elsewhere. But im up for the challenge of 99% dark chocolate. So after that i went home onthe train and went to King Cross. cuz my ankle had had it. already. But yeah... apart from that... Until the next episode... over and out

Day 1 and 2 Sydney:

It all begins with an early wake up call at 4:30am. Especially from a late night the night before... There was a lot of yawning and crawing out of bed...
Even though we got to the airport at 6am for my 6:30am plane. Luckily i was able to jump the queue as in order to get my luggage on the plane. So my trip to Sydney went by pretty quickly. I was so tired so i slept through it all.

Arriving in Sydney it was 23 degrees... No clouds in the sky. That was it. I trained to Martin Place where i was to grab a set of keys for the place i was staying. At first coming out of the station I got lost. Walking round and round in a circle. In the end i got the kesy and went to Wooloomaloo where i was staying. funnily enough opposite where i live in the Australian Naval Fleet Safe Base. I saw HMAS Tobruk and some other naval ships. It's intense. There are naval accomodation next to me and also i found out that Russel Crowe lives down the road from me. Lol... so excited.

Due to the day-light saving i lost an hour but i was really hungry after dropping off my stuff. So i walked all the way down to China Town for lunch which was pretty normal (see photos later) . On the way down i managed to roll my ankle luckily i didnt face plant into the ground but i was limping around. It wasnt until i took my shoe off that it began to swell. So Day 1 and i already had hurt my ankle. Haha.

After lunch i decided to take on the challenge where i would head to the other end of town to see the well known Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Luna Park. I then met up with Vee and went on the manly ferry. Arriving at Manly it was like surfers paradise in Brisbane. But obviously Surfers Paradise beats it any day. Haha. So what did we do? We decided to be a bit crazy and had Movenpick ice-cream plus a drink at Max Brenna. Intense sugar and coffee high... Lol... It seems crazy to be eating so much cream in one day.

At about 5pm we went back to Wooloomaloo cuz my ankle had had enough. It was fun finding our way back cuz Vee and I didnt have any idea either. On the way we drove there we went pass King Cross, well known for clubs, red light district, and stabbings etc. i thought i would never have to go there but for the sake of dinner i went to coles in King Cross. It seemed crazy there were kids running around the streeets and people going aout their normal lives. So wierd. Luckily i wasnt stabbed or anything. But it was my first experience to go to a suburb like king cross.

Day 2
Just woke up at 9am... Room mates had already gone to work but im just resting and heading out to Naz's party later on tonight.

An outing... all gone wrong...

Extra extra read all about it...

Group of asian uni students found all soaking wet and wondering aimlessly on a beach in the middle of the storm...

[more...] 

Well this is really a story about how a group of asian uni students can do really stupid things such as ignoring 3 warnings and thus taking the consequence. 

Aim: going to Gold Coast and mucking around in the "sun" and the beach

On saturday, the event was cancelled due to supposibly a severe storm warning on the bureau of meterology (1st warning) 

On Sunday, ie. today, it was sunny so we decided to all go. We had lunch at Charis Seafood and then went to the spit. However on the way to Charis Seafood we noticed that the road to southport was jammed up (2nd warning) and despite that we went to the spit. As we drove along that road it was bumper-to-bumper all the way on the opposite side of the road. Considering there was only one road in and one road out of the spit, we stubbornly continued to drive along it. Hence it took us 45 mins to get out of the spit later and then another 60mins-1.5 hours to get back to brisbane as the traffic was jammed on the highway. lol

Exam Week Sem 2

Ok... so you may be wondering where all my blogs have gone about how the swotvac week and the exams are going. Well to be honest... I havent really had the brain power to think of something to write. 

Over the last week I had FIVE (5) exams and I have no idea how I managed to get through them. On Thursday and Friday this week I will be having my last two exams. One is an oral counselling exam and the other is written exam... 

At first when I saw the exam schedule and how I had one week to study for this exam I thought it was a good thing but the fact that its so far away.... Not really is pretty bad in the sense of me being able to sustain my study. 

Today a group of my uni friends and I went to uni to do some counselling practice. Even though it feels that it would be pretty easy if I follow a certain structure. I feel inadequate. It's almost as if I might be missing something . 

I think I have mixed feelings as well. 

In the Swotvac week it was sleepless nights and panic attacks 

In the First exam week it was cram cram cram 

And now... Its "oh no ... why am I not study... Ahhhhhh...." Right now I am sitting here though really wanting to hug someone... :) Oh well guess that will have to wait.... 

Back to my study.... 

Over and out...

The lucky number today .... 21

Today I went to one of the first few 21st birthday party of many more to come. It was a great party I must admit. (NB: Happy 21st Richard) But yeah listening through the speeches tonight and hearing all the great qualities and characteristics being brought out during the night made me really think. 

I wonder what people will say when it comes to my 21st. Is there even anything I have done in my past that is even worth being taken note of? *sigh* or has life gotten to a stage where I will have to finallly face the consequences for my actions. Just thinking about it I dunno what to say...

Speechless... 

Nevertheless I must say that I am very appreciative of a handful of individuals who have made my life better. A big thank you

Hello world, meet my new dog

I was at work today looking for some gifts to give to the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Appeal and I came across this stray dog in amongst our shelves. She looked so lonely. And the strange thing was she was not tagged like the other animals on our shelves. I asked around and no one knew how much she was. No one even knew she existed. It was like a mystery in itself. But just looking at her I couldn't resist to take her home. She is just so adorable. Didn't know what to name her at first but I decided to name her , Karen. (For the full story you may ask me some time)

Here are a few more pictures of my dog...










Here is Karen with my Compassion kid, Ovel Glendi Koyongian, who is currently living in East Indonesia












Here is Karen with Slyvia the cat who will be going to a child via the Operation Christmas Child











And lastly, here is Karen with the Fluffy pink bear who I have yet to name. In fact, I will leave it to the lucky child who gets her to name it.

To Cherry Blossoms

Through winter I wait for the day
when I can see you again.
The many springs you've experienced,
sharing your love across our homeland.

Much has happened since I left
for this foreign place.
I open my window
staring at the jacaranda leaves falling on the lake.

How I wish I could be close to you.
So far away but I still feel the warmth of your love.
Until next spring....

Be Strong and Stand Strong

Just today during Sunday service one of our fellow sister-in-Christ shared about her great aunt who had passed away recently. During her funeral, people were not mourning about her death but instead celebrating. People were wearing bright colours and singing songs of praise. For her great aunt was a faithful follower of God for 90 years and she had accomplished many things for God during her life here on earth. So even up to her last days she was always happy and when she moved on, it brought joy to all knowing that she was now in heaven with our Father in Heaven.

I think this was a really great testimony of what we as Christians should be aiming for. Just tonight we were talking about people who we knew to be strong Christians a few years back and now have fallen away. Sometimes it could even be someone who you would least expect. But the reality is that if i took a count of the number of people who are Christians approximately 50% of all Christian would fall away in the next few years. And of those who are Christian leaders 20% would still be leaders and 80% would fall away. This is pretty alarming but its real. So just like my friend's great aunt we should stand strong and perservere. Keep running the race for God and dont give up.

Pre-release notes for SWOTVAC Chronicles 2

Once again its that time of year where I will be going through SWOTVAC and the illegal 7 exams for 3rd pharmacy. From memory, last semester the stress gradually built up til the end until it was all too much. This time with about 3 weeks till exam revision week, I can feel that same feeling lurking about.

In order to get through this I need to remind myself...

* God is always in control
* God will not give me anything difficult that I cannot achieve
* God has a plan

Over the next few weeks this blog will once again become a place where I will splurge about my feelings and life's woes... So keep an eye out for SWOTVAC Chronicles 2: De Ja Vu!

Dedication to Crysanthemem Tea

Staring out my window,
My dreams are shattered by the call of a crow.
These days I feel like I am ready to burst.
Oh how I wish to thirst
to be relieved of this burden.

Only something so sweet,
which can make my heart skip a beat.
Each sip I take is so refreshing
I wonder if this is a blessing.
How I wonder?

Day 4 and 5: FIVE FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RURAL

For all those following this blog, I can safely say that I am now back at home. Yeah...
Due to the fact that its late andI have work tomorrow... I will keep this short.

Over the last few days I've realised a few things about working in a rural town

5 Facts about Going Rural

1. Rural pharmacies can afford to use MAC as their dispensing computers

2. In a rural town you can try all the dining restaurants in 3 days

3. Rural Town have random houses

4. Some rural towns can have a highway running through it

5. You may even meet someone who is related to a star
(one of my workmates, her brother's daughter, Miranda Kerr is a well known super model who is currently dating Orlando Bloom.)

Day 2 and 3: The Life of Pat

I am currently working at Macksville Pharmacy. Funny thing is that at the pharmacy I am working at there are three "Pat". There is Patrick who owns the pharmacy. There is Patrick who works at a Locum pharmacist and there is Patrick, the boy from Brisbane (Me).

It's always like the assistant would say... "Patrick" and both of us would turn around at the same time confused. But yeah its a pretty good experience out at rural. The rules are so different. Everything is so laid-back even though compared to working at city pharmacy. Even though I must say doing 200 scripts per day is more than usual but cuz of the laid-back it doesnt seem that bad.

What is even better we can have as long a lunch break as we want. We've tried the coffee shop, MARILYN's which does really good Tomato and Ham quiche and I think their thickshake is awesome. For a price of 3.40 you pretty much get two serving. For lunch today Marissa and I went to BRIDGE CAFE (which is like a ELVIS-era cafe) and had chips in a bread roll with spinach.

In regards to dinner we went to have chinese food last night. Surprisingly it was quite authentic. The seafood combination in Bird Nest was great. I finished it all myself. Also the way the restaurant was set out it felt Chinese but it also had a balance of australian Brick Wall feel. It was simplistic, a few drawings and a fan. that was it.

Tonight we went home and I cooked Beef Mince in Oyster Sauce on Rice. And cuz we had a lot of leftovers we made fried rice as well. It was nice and now we pretty much cleared out hte whole fridge.

Day 1: One step into the unknown is one step into the bigger world

Today was the first time I went beyond my comfort zone. I was forced to leave my nice comfort bed and the wonders of the urban city that I was so accustomed to and humbled myself to live in rural town.

So what is the name of this place... Its called Macksville. This town is located about a 6 hour train ride from Brisbane on the CountryLink Train. In order to get here on time, we had to get to Roma Street Station at 7am. Considering I had to leave CiA Camp last night early and get back to Brisbane at 12 midnight, having to wake up really early wasnt my kind of thing.

This was the first time that I took a train interstate. It felt wierd. Instead of expecting the sudden thrust of the engines that lifted a plane into the air, The train was smooth. A little jerky but it was okay. On the train we met another pharmacy student that was going to Coffs Harbour. We had a good time walking up and down the train taking lots of photos. The trip was so long... But we eventually made it. The food they provided on the train was pretty alright for a price of 9 dollars you got a piece of crumbed fish and a few chips. This was kinda okay. But it seemed more like something that came out of a Birds Eye Crumbed Fish packet. On this note I was very disappointed that for the whole trip my mobile had no reception which meant none of my messages went through.

Anyway as I said we eventually got to Macksville. Not knowing which direction to go we walked up the only street we could find and found out that the place where we were staying was much closer to the town centre than we expected. When we walked into the motel, the owners were like you kids are crazy to walk to the motel which was a good 4-5 mints away. They told us we should have given them a call to be picked up. How nice of them. They were really hospital. After going up to our rooms as you will see in the phoots we went to the town to have a look around. There were many interesting things. including Aboriginal Care centres, clinical psychologist, dentist, doctors, a "supposibly " asian store and a of course a pharmacy. The price of the food was exactly the same as things were in Brisbane so that was pretty alright.

Looking around at the people in the town they were all pretty casual. Mostly young generation around 30-40 years old with familly and kids. MInd you it seems like its a fashion for girls to be wearing mini skirts in the area. Dont actually understand why they do it. But they do. **anyway we went and bought some food and them went back to the rooms.

After a little nap we went to the RSL club where we sayw a different aspect of the town. It was just a small group of elderly people who semed to know each other really well. There were about 5-8 people and according to some of the staff that was one of the busiest days they had. Something else we noticed was when it was dark there was no one on the street. It was quiet and deserted.

Enjoy the photos.

The day before I become a young man

Some common words of wisdom shared on birthday eve....

"Oh its your birthday tomorrow... Oh then happy birthday I guess...

Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?

Tomorrow, you will no longer be a teen, you will be officially a young man"

  

I have heard from many people who been through this period when you go from 19 --> 20. It's a day when you finally have to admit you are old. No matter how much I want to run away from you Mr Two-Zero, you keep coming back at me. 

I sit here watching my life tick by on the clock at the bottom of my screen where I will have a few minutes of fame and then back to reality it is. 

Sony Ericsson W910i

Motorolas... Nokia... Samsung...

What do they all have in common? Well simply they have a high chance of stuffing up in regards to hardware and software.

I've even heard that the new iPhone that sold almost 200, 000 on the first day alone has been having many hardware issues.
So why the whole... random jibberish... Due to my stupidity on stepping on my Nokia 4 months ago. I have been united with a new Baby... the Sony Ericsson W910i Walkman Phone. Supposibly the Sony Ericsson even though it has not much in regards to design compared to other phones. Its reported to be more durable.

Over the last few days I've been mucking around with it and the photo below is what i came up with. I didnt know you could do panoramic photos with the phone. It looks pretty cool. I like it.

Then again I shouldnt get too carried away with my phone as there is much more important things to worry about.

Turning over a fresh leaf

Over the past few months, I've been trying to understand why it seems that the world around me has been changing so much. It almost seems like everyone has started to run the race whilst I am still standing at the starting blocks, waiting for someone to tell me what to do.

This feeling of being lost and confused. This feeling of wanting someone to hold my hand and spoon feed me. Many a times I lie there in bed wondering "What can I do?" Is there anything I can do to help out various issues around me? The focus has been very much as to what can I do in order for something to happen. Even though I must admit that I have started a weekly prayer time for various people I know. I know its not this that will get me into heaven. Having written a Bible Study on Luke 18:9-14, I think I can liken myself to the Pharisee.

⁹To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed about^[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)

Here the Pharisee, even though he is seen as holy and righteous with God, thought that his actions was going to make him better than someone like the tax collector who was seen as an outcast in society, ie. being a Jew who collected money to the Romans. I think for the last few months, I've been trying to do things alot like the Pharisee and I guess I keep overseeing the fact that I am a sinner and that in order for anything to happen it is by God's strength and not mine. I guess because of this on a few occasions I have done things that seemingly glorify God but end up with the wrong motive.

When I read my Bible this morning I flipped to Romans 1 and the first thing I came across was the following

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. (Roman 1:18-19)

Seriously this sounds scary as one would know its because Jesus died on the cross for us that we do not have to take the punishment as judged by God and that we have a chance of salvation. If I was to face God's wrath today, I think the punishment for my actions will not come lightly.

So I guess in light of all that has been said, its not really the world around me that has been changing without me, but maybe I am the source of that change. Its going to be a rough journey down this narrow path. But I've taken a detour previously and now is the time to get back on the narrow path to start afresh.

Offering?

Last night, at youth fellowship we looked at the book of Hebrews and discussed how we should pay attention to Jesus so that we shall not drift away. In the application we talked about some things which could result in us drifting away eg. money.

Just today I felt convicted by how willing I would have been to give a phone company $200 to cancel my plan in order to get a new phone free compared to my weekly offering to church. It felt so easy just to whack out the debit card and SWIPE it. But when you come to think of it, how come you cant do that when you are at church. Why the reluctance?

This conviction lead to me not paying a cent for lunch outside instead I went home and ate left-overs.

Grass is always greener on the other side

Having just come back from Sydney, I feel like going back. It felt so good to wake up in the morning with no real plan at all apart from having to feed the cat and hang out in the city. Even though each day did involve eating at China Town and walking up and down George St and Pitt St. It felt good to have no stress. The taste of Freedom.

Just the idea of being able to hang out with Sydney people. Do crazy things like go to the Apple Store and check-in on our Virgin Blue Flight. Taking photos in Apple Store and all. Spending time with the Sydney people - Naz, Cindy, Susie (Mum), Vee, Smak and all.

Back to Brisbane... Back to uni... Back to reality.
I've only been back in Brisbane for two days and already it seems like truckloads of work has been thrown onto my shoulders. So many events to plan like CiA Camp, Rural Placement. The stress of making sure i respect Parents advice on study and also trying to make sure everything is in order and not left to the last minutes. Sometimes i ask myself "where does all my time go?"

Seriously, I even forgot my dad's Bday is tomorrow. That is how busy my brain is. Argh.... When will i have some of my own down time again. When...???

Sydney Trip '08

Well if some of you have been wondering where I have been over the last few days. I was down in Sydney for an event called RICE Rally '08. It was really encouraging to see over 3000 teens turn up to this event, some teens came just because they heard someone mention it on the streets. Praise God that he can work in many ways, bringing anyone to come to know him.

I must say compared to RICE Brisbane, the only word i can use to describe this event was "Oh my gosh". This event was held in the Sydney Entertainment Centre which can hold a capacity of over 10000 seats. The equipment that was being used for audio/visual was literally a dream. The amount of foldback speakers, lighting, video cameras would probably take us another 5 years before we get anywhere near that amount.

So what happened....

Before the RICE event we had a new branch known as RICE Regenerate. A event for people between 19-25 YO. We were fortunate to have Mark Driscoll from America come talk to us about the 10 things he wish he had known at the age of 25. He was a great speaker and he really hit everyone hard about the reality of being a Christian, the reality of being involved in ministry, the reality of living in a earthly world.

Then we had RICE Rally at 5:30pm. And i must say Sydney people are crazy. Steve Chong decided to play King Caratacus with 3000 teens in the Arena. To see massive groups of kids get up and yell "NO SIR NOT I SIR" was absolutely crazy. The theme of the Rally was "I can change the world" (I think) Once again Mark Driscoll gave an evangelistic talk to the kids. I really liked the way he preached. He didnt hold back at all. He gave the teens the cold hard facts. The truth about how Jesus died for our sins. That it was not easy for Jesus to go through death on the cross. The pain of having your bones crushed by the balls of the cat-o-nine-tails and flesh ripped off by the hooks. The suffering of having to carry your own cross on his raw back. Then only to be nailed through the most sensitive parts of the body. At the hands and feet. And having long thorns driven through his head. And all this for what...

So that all who believe may receive salvation. Being a Christian is not a religion where you have to do so much in order to get a reward. Its about just believing that is all.

Some other highlgihts of my Sydney Trip is how amazing it was to be able to have a random conversation with a random guy in Market city. I had no idea who this guy was but he approached me and asked me about RICE and all and it almost seemed like i had known him for decade. I found out that he was a youth leader who was bringing his teens to attend RICE. Amen.

The other thing was meeting NAZ. Being from Brisbane the leaders had no real role in preparation for RICE. Originally we were going to help out with the RICE Lounge. But God had something better planned for us. Here we were 7 RICE Brisbane leaders standing there with nothing to do. And there was NAZ with her Maccas stressing out as 500 welcome packs had to be repacked with Gospel Tracts and she was the only leader w/o blue leaders. Just from that we had fun with the production line and working together as a team. And from that I feel i have made a life-long friend.

So what more can i say.... I am missing Sydney, the people i met and the many brothers and sisters in Christ who have joined the big family.

My first crash

When I first got my license I remembered my parents telling me of horror stories how if you dont drive responsibility you would be a danger on the road. And if you do get into an accident, get their insurance information. Im thinking you kidding right. That will never happen...

I might be a bit biased in this story but this is what happened. I was going down beenleigh rd towards Coopers Plains. Everytime I go near the Dominos intersection I start breaking to maintain 60km/hr. Up ahead I see a green light ahead. And there are three cars from the other direction wanting to turn right which would cross my path. Considering i have a green light it meant they had a "turn right with care". So as i am going down the road, with no cars in front of me two of the cars turn right. This part was okay. Then sitting on the opposite side of the road is a white camry the last to make a turn. As i entered the traffic zone of the intersection I had a strong suspicion that this car would make a turn at the last minute. I breaked a little. And guess what. Just as that happened. The white camry went for it with only 4-5m in between me and them. With in mind that they have to accelerate from 0km/hr to at least 40km/hr and me having to go 40-50km/hr downhill. There was a very slim chance that it would be a near miss. Unfortunately even though i was breaking the distance wasnt great enough for me to clear them entirely and i clipped their back. Another thing i should praise God was the line of cars behind me didnt crash into me cuz that would have been bad.

So i got out of the car and there was a husband and wife both from Korea. They come to me and say "are you all right?" I am like "yeh i am" I think they seemed like they were in more shock than i was. They had 3 adults and a young kid in the car. The man was like "i speak little english" I was like that's fine. Checking my car there was only a scuff on the front bumper, which is very lucky. We exchanged details. And then he told me his wife had a headache from it. So me being the typical pharmacy student started counselling him on what to do. I dont know why i did that i just did. I told him to take it easy and to look after his wife and if anything ill give him a call.

Sigh...

Praise God that no one was hurt in the crash
Praise God that both cars managed to escape with minor damage
Praise God that I was not quick to anger but humble in how i reacted
Pray that they will not have to claim any insurance
Pray that the driver's wife will be healed from her headache

Chocolate... Not as innocent as it seems

It's kinda funny how easily we can indulge in chocolate... how we can melt it, turn it into a drink and no matter what we do to it still is so good.

So how can we possibly say anything bad about chocolate. From PERSONAL EXPERIENCE tonight, watch out.... chocolate can bite.

I was innocently enjoying a strawberry with Cappucino Indulgence ice cream covered in melted chocolate topping. (Note: this is third night i pigged out on ice cream and chocolate) And low and behold i am biting on some chocolate and what happens. I feel this pain shooting form my tongue. It goes numb and next thing i know i am missing parts of my tongue and im bleeding. For the sake of my love for chocolate i took the consequences of nearly bleeding to death.

Now i understand why that song is called Bleeding Love

The clash of the Titans: Bus Vs Pat

Over the years, its been always annoying to be waiting at a bus stop for a bus that never turns up. But according to the Brisbane City Council

"Brisbane Transport makes every effort to have services run to schedule. However, weather, road works, traffic, minor mechanical difficulty and sometimes human error, all impact on running times.

Brisbane Transport tracks its buses by obtaining data from a satellite
tracking system (BLISS), this data is recorded from a transponder on the
bus travelling over receivers imbedded under the roadway at selected
intersections. "

So whilst waiting at a traffic light and watching my bus 150 go past. I decided to test their claim to see whether walking on foot back home was quicker and more efficient than taking a bus.

Starting Point: Intersection of Logan Rd and Eight Miles Platting Rd
Destination: Runcorn North Station


When I reached the first stop it said the bus would come at 12:11. Which i have to say it did (evidence: that was the bus i saw drive past whilst i was stuck waiting for the traffic light). So i began to time from that point onwards. According to the Timetable the next bus was not expected to arrive at that station 12:23.

Time From Starting Point
0 min (12:11) Watched one bus go past which meant (Est time of arrival 12:11)
5 min (12:16) I was at the station next to BP. (Est. time of arrival 12:27)
8 min (12:18) Bordeaux Station (Est. Time of arrival 12:27)
At this point i thought that was a big claim to get from one station
in under a minute including time to drop off passengers and pick
up more
16 min (12:27) Station outside Ivan's House (Est. Time of arrival 12:27) Looking
around there should have been a bus turn up just as i arrived. But
no bus. And once again the stupid claim that a bus could get from
one end of Warrigal Rd to half way in 1 minute.
25 min (12:36) Runcorn Plaza Station. Just when i turn to look at the timetable
the 150 arrives (Est time of arrival 12:27) IT WAS LATE
32.08 min (12:43) Runcorn North Station

So pretty much apart from my crazy walk down Warrigal Rd with the sun blazing down on me at 12 noon. The truth is that the BCC buses something run on time but most often or not they are late.

The Dark Night (Part 2)

The park went quiet. All you could hear was the wind rustling through the trees. Suddenly Simon's vision began to blur and his head started to throb. What was going on? He grabbed his head as the pain started to run down from his head to his feet. The pain was excruciating. His breathing became shallow and then everything went black.

Ten minutes passed. Simon's body lay rigid on the footpath. Sirens were heard as paramedics arrived and tried to revive him. There was no hope... the fall had taken a major blow to Simon's head and he was now in a coma.

As Simon was taken to the local hospital, police were called to the scene. A paramedic had noticed something unusual on the park bench nearby... there was a beanie, scarf, trenchcoat neatly folded neatly on the park bench. This was odd as there were no sign of anyone else in the park, just Simon. Back at the hospital, doctors performed MRI scans on Simon which showed that brain activity was abnormally high. Yet, Simon's body lay absolutely still.

Simon... come here...
He opened his eyes. Where am I? Looking around, he noticed the fountain. The same one he had seen in the park. However this place was different. It was peaceful. An open plain on a dark night.

Simon... come here...
It was that voice again. A voice so innocent and sweet. Who are you? Where am I? A million questions went through his mind. A bright light began to descend upon him. He could feel the heat radiating.

Welcome home my son...

Simon's heart stopped. Doctors ran to his ward in an attempt to restart his heart. Ten minutes later Simon was declared dead. As the doctor went to cover Simon's face he noticed a big smile.

The Dark Night (Part 1)

It was a dark cold night in the park. The wind was rattling against the windows and trees looked like they were watching you closely. Along the footpath, you could hear Simon's shallow breathing as he approaches the fountain in the middle of the park where he would ponder over things. Simon enjoyed his quiet time since there was nothing that could bother him. He was alone.

Suddenly a big gust blew across his face sending chills running down his spine. Something was different about tonight. Out of the corner of Simon's eye he noticed another silhouette sitting on the park bench next to him. It looked like the outline of a slender girl with long hair wrapped up in a beanie, scarf and trench coat. She turned and looked up at him with a smile. Simon tried to smile back. However, something was holding him back... he felt like there was someone else watching him from the bushes.

A million thoughts was going through his mind...
Who is this person? Why are they here? What should i do?I should leave...

Gradually Simon got up from where he was and began walking away from the fountain. A few steps down the path, he turned around. She was gone. Simon stood there dumbfounded. Where did she go? Before he could take another breath, he realised what had happened. He froze, his blood went cold.

There was nothing he could do, it was too late.... (To be continued)

A trip down memory lane...

Ever sat there daydreaming about nothing in particular... just playing back on snapshots of your life.

As each minute passes it become another minute to add to your snapshot. Just looking back how much things has changed.

'88 Baby Pat enters the world in HK

'92 Amazed by the Apple computers with the big floppy discs (my favourite game was King Kong)...

'00 The well known millenium bug, Y2K, which was supposibly able to infect people despite the fact that it was a "computer" bug, so it was claimed by con's on the streets of Hong Kong.

'04 The great depression.... Marks... what marks...

'05 First time i got introduced to CiA doing the Purpose Driven Life (by Rick Warren).
CiA Camp and YF Camp

'06 Baptism... The testimony that surprised everyone even my parents... A testimony based on my search for the word "love"

'08 Finally coming to understand more about my own identity and who i am through many obstacles.

Can small people move big things?

Whilst I was waiting for the bus today I noticed a 4WD with hazard lights on like the one seen below. Knowing that the bus was going to arrive at 12:58 and now being 12:56 I only had to wait a few minutes before my bus would arrive. Then to top it all off the driver of that car, he asked me to help move his car into the driveway which just happened to be on a hill. I dont know what was going through that driver's mind but a small kid like me how was i going to be able to push a 4WD up the driveway.

Luckily another man came to help out. Only to result in me watching my bus go by. So after we managed to move the car i had to wait another 20 minutes.

The ball is in your court...

Finally Avatar has come to an end with a 2 hour finale on the Battle between Aang and the fire Lord. There was something in the final battle that seem to stand out to me. Nearing the end of the battle between Aang and the Fire Lord, Aang had a choice of totally wiping the Fire Lord with all the powers of the previous Avatar. However he decided against it, saying "it doesn't have to end this way".

I think this is something important to remember, there is no such thing as "I did so because I have no choice". For example it would make sense to hate someone who has wronged you or has done something like killing one of your family members. However, it doesnt have to end this way. As written in Mark 12:28-31, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. We should love our neighbours, enemies as God loved us. Another reference is seen in Jonah.

In life, things may happen, whether things that make you smile or things that make you cry. Most importantly its not about what has happened already but what is to come. How you handle the situation will determine how things will pan out. (W.W.J.D.)

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. (MASTER OOGWAY- Kung Fu Panda)

Let it snow... Let it snow... Let it snow...

A few weeks ago i was listening to "Best in me" by Blue.

Here is how the first verse goes:
From the moment I met you I just knew you'd be mine
You touched my hand
And I knew that this was gonna be our time
I don't ever wanna lose this feeling
I don't wanna spend a moment apart

Ever woken up wondering where your dream partner who was there in your arms disappear to? Only minutes before both your hearts were racing and your blood rushing through your system. You seem almost in heaven and you dont ever want to lose that feeling.

But once you wake up its a whole new story... back to the real world... no girl... no nothing.

STATE OF ORIGIN 3: The Decider or is it the Decided

After a kinda disappointing start to the Origin match, Queensland seem to pull themselves together in the second game with a 30-0 win.

For the State of Origin Decider held at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, everyone was on the edge of their seats. At 3 minutes into the game, NSW had already taken the lead with a penalty. Leaving the score at 2-0. [Note: First Fist Fight] Then QLD took the first try made by Israel Falou. Just look at him in the picture those muscles... Being only 19 years of age and playing for Origin... he's a awesome player.

Later on, NSW scores a try and QLD scores two tries. But due to the number of penalties given and fist fights over accidental gestures such as dropping a NSW player on his head. In the end QLD did pretty well in mocking that guy. But yeah half time score 10-8 to NSW. For QLD's star player, Prince it was all over for him in minutes.


HIGHLIGHTS:

- Falou tremendous airtime as he jumps up grips onto the ball and as he is being flung onto the ground by a NSW player he slams it into the ground and score. Seriously if he played NBA he would be like a good slam dunker with the amount of air time he gets

- Slater's Amazing catch in the air even though he clip a NSW player and plummeted to the ground


BUT YEAH OVERALL>>> QUEENSLAND ROXS... GO QUEENSLANDER....

BYRON BAY - The most Eastern Point in Australia
=====================================

This weekend was YF Camp at Camp Drewe at Lennox Heads about 15 mins from the well known Byron Bay.

It was really interesting to have Paul Hodge (Link to Youtube) who is famous for his youtube clip on the scary watermelon helmet preach on the book of Jonah, otherwise commonly known to little children as Jonah and the Whale.

In essence the story goes, God told Jonah to travel to the town of Ninevah, a city well known for its wickedness. Jonah runs in the opposite direction as Ninevah away from God's command. God, being almighty and astronomical in size, pretty much creates a big storm in which Jonah ends up being thrown overboard in the water.

Suddenly a fish appears and swallows Jonah into its stomach where for 3 days and 3 nights he stayed singing songs and writing his poem. Then God told the fish to spit him out. Jonah went to Ninevah after his near death experience and tell them that the city will fall in 40 days. Everyone decided to repent and in one night a whole city was changed... Then came EMO JONAH... (:p) and ill leave it at that.

But yeah we went to Byron Bay after and we saw not one whale but many jumping around happily. Yeah...!!! So tired

If only that girl from my dreams would appear at the act of a door knock

Dont you ever wish that when someone knocks on your door standing right there is a pretty girl wanting to talk to you...

Unfortunately more than often, if its not the Breast Cancer Fundraiser or the Chocolate Drive kids then its a couple dressed up in suits and holding black folders.

Yes that is correct the Jehovah Witnesses...

Today two JW approached our door... I was assuming that they would do the usual practice of saying that they are JWs and that the world will end and that you should become a JW. But now they have become more sneaky. They approach you ask you what language you speak... in our case these two blonde hair European JW were trying to claim they could speak Englsih, Chinese, Cantonese and other Asian Languages. Then what they try to do is they ask (assuming you are an immigrant cuz you are asian) that you may be living in fear of peace and suffering in the neighbourhood... THEN they will pull out their "here is one i prepared earlier" leaflet made by their Clockwork Organisation and say here is information for you to read and change your thoughts leaning towards becoming a JW.

Even when we told them we were Christians that they were like "Oh, that great we are alike". Having a little understanding of what they believe, I explained that they did not believe in the Trinity, Resurrection and the death of Jesus on the cross instead they think it was a Stake. I said that it very interesting that they think this and if they read the Bible for all its worth they would find that they have only briefly skimmed the top and not gone into enough depth. That is where they were speechless for a time and said yeah its good that you should read the Bible and go to the Greek and Hebrew Translations. At this point, i told them exactly that they should actually go read the original manuscripts instead of basing their understanding on the translations of the Clockwork Organisation, which is obviously biased. They predicted that Christ would come 5 years ago. It never happened.

NBA FinalsLakers Vs Celtics

Honestly i might not be the best person to talk about basketball but from what i hear this year's finals have been very interesting...

It seems like each time the Boston Celtics were winning, the Lakers would miraculously appear out of nowhere and win the game

===============
CURRENT STATS
===============
Boston wins 3 games

Lakers wins 2 games

At this point, it could be a win by either the Lakers or Boston... Players like Odom seems to be doing well with his improving skills.
I myself am a very amateur player. Despite my weak bones and all... my aim is to play for our local team Wasabi if i ever get a chance to and since i am so small the only way i am going to do that is to be a shooting guard ( i think that is what you call it) . My 3-point stats atm is probably 1/10... and eventually i will be able to get better...

I believe if we aim high like Kobe Bryant ... we can do it.

Dont feel small, the truth is you are small

====================================
INDESCRIBABLE
====================================
Tonight, we watched a really amazing video called "Indescribable". It really reminded us how small we are. And I dont mean small as in the size of a person to the Empire State building... i mean even smaller than a speck of dust... so small anyone could miss it.

The photo here was a snapshot of the eye of a whirlpool galaxy. I found this really interesting as it reminds me of the cross on which Jesus has died for our sins.

Amen !!!

Day 4 Exams

Woohoo...
I think i screwed up my exam today... i couldnt even remember something simple like the area of a trapezium... Oh man... i feel so bad.

But one good thing is that i got my BIOM marks back and they seem okay... Not that bad... could have been worse...

Currently taking a break... Relax the mind before another week to come

The baby is soon to be born

I cant believe the week is nearly over....
but i need to concentrate ... still one more exam

but i just wanna say i might be having my own baby soon...
unfortunately its been through a few people hands already ...
but my baby is about to be born...
yeah.. so happy

cant wait till that day comes

Day 2 Exam

Oh there once was boy
who really hated the ploy
of pharmacy to makes stats
part of the thinking hats...

Arghhhh.... tomorrow the big menacing 3010 approaches.
stresss..... hope i dont sleep in the exam again like today....

Day 1 Exams

Wow... I cant believe that one exam is over...
I think I went pretty bad with it as I was unable to answer some of the questions. Its only one exam down and I am back at home and it feels as if i havent done any exams at all. I was going to be keen and study the exam tomorrow but it seems like its probably a better option to study tomorrow topic on stats. Ahhh... the joys of stats.

Still i have a small appetite...
Still have a small amount of motivation...
Still have only done 1/7 exams...

GOTTA STUDY!!!!

Day 7 SWOTVAC

Oh my... cant believe tomorrow is finally Day 1 Exams... how depressing does that sound. Today i dunno i woke up again with the same symptoms as yesterday.... felt so sick and was about to puke. I guess attending church today calmed down my nerves.

I now wonder if tomorrow will be the same...

The same lack of appetite...
The same heart racing....
The same feeling of wanting to die...

until the next episode... over and out

Day 6 SWOTVAC

This morning, everything was too overwhelming... the pain in the abdomen... the study... everything... Funnily enough the temporary solution of all this was something known as paracetamol. Yes.. that is correct Panadol took away my pains... well enough for me to enjoy a nice lunch and dinner...