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.