October 30, 2005
Updated the photos section with pics from my trip to Chicago back in August/September.
Not really up to updating too much since I'm switching to November soon, but here's the weekend rundown:
- donated blood (on Thursday... which is pretty much the weekend, as soon as SOC 256 is over)... oh, and handed in my stinkin' long ethics review for 395 (outta sight, outta mind)!
- had interview with Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre - the volunteer coordinator Hazel was super busy, but I hope to get things finalized for co-op very, very soon!
- had my fill of HK food - at Hawaii (breakfast of satay beef on vermicelli in soup), and at Maxim's (dinner of sole almondine, with all the fixins
- watched my brand spankin' new Garden State (Chung you STILL owe me money!) with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman commentary turned on... that movie always inspires me to write an indie film, to be passed by Greenlight or something
- attended for Nathaniel Dett Chorale workshop on the "History of the Spiritual" for RS 384... cost me $23, and not worth that much money, but it was still enjoyed because the singing (the little of it) was just phenomenal!
- wrapped my shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child
- Saturday was inexplicably crappy for me... I think I have some mood disorder sometimes :oP
- things are better now, for no apparent reason, but that's good!
Back to work. I think.
October 22, 2005
The CD wish list expands again. Oh man, I am such a CD junkie! I just can't get enough! :oP But music is so nice... you can relate to it, and feel better about yourself. Or something like that.
My newest obsession: Falling Up. I liked their "Escalates" that I heard a tonne on Air1.com back in the summer. Some of their other songs are pretty solid too. Well, it's good to support indie bands, cuz if I were in an indie band, I'd wanna be supported too.
Oh yeah, the other day, I started to read Jack Layton's Homelessness, where I found this despicable quote from Mike Harris:
"Isn't it sad that these people just seem to want to be homeless?"
How can something like that come out of a politician's mouth? And we wonder why nothing is being done about the problem of homelessness. However, there are some encouraging things from that book, such as the fact that homelessness has been determined as a leading cause of death. In fact, in my poverty class last term, poverty, if considered a cause of death, kills more people than diseases such as cancer. If society took this seriously, can you imagine the awesome changes we'd see?
But, since society is at the moment rather complacent about the issue of homelessness, I was thinking the Church can picking up the slack on caring for the widows, orphans, and the needy, as we are supposed to. I was just imagining the power a motivated and active church could have in ministering the community. I was chatting with Marianne about this last night, and she was mentioning how we focus on conversion as the most important aspect of spreading the gospel. But if we met people's immediate needs first, we can show them a glimpse of what the kingdom of God is like, and we'd hope that they'd be attracted to God as a result.
Also, back to Homelessness, Layton mentioned a little bit about Peter Rosenthal, a UT math professor who got a law degree on the side to take up cases that will further social causes. Many cases he takes on pro bono. Imagine we as a Church took on "cases" pro bono, freely offered services we specialized in without charge for the benefit of the community. I'm glad that MCBC already offers various services like computer classes, drawing classes, and even line dancing classes! :o) I would love to see these outreach ministries grow, ultimately expand to daily services by anyone in the church who can provide... whatever they can provide! Oh, might I mention that I'm very happy the JOY is doing lots and lots of outreach this term. :o)
Well, I have been summoned to video tape Viv and Becca in some interview thing. If any of you wanna discuss more about this outreach thing, I'd be happy to do so. I wanna get something off the ground, but not sure what, so please e-mail me. :o)
October 19, 2005
Dude, I am *so* totally still an adolescent! Talk about mood fluctuations (refer to previous post). Most of you would probably think that adolescent ended when you blew out that candle for your 20th birthday, but my adolescent psych class has taught me that the period doesn't end until 25... and even 30, some speculate. Thank goodness. I still very much like a teenage emo kid a lot of times. :oP And to think I'm turning the big 2-2 soon!
Anyway, "self-esteem" is the topic of the day in my classes. The group I was in created a self-esteem scale that got butchered in class (oh well, we threw it together in 30 minutes), but at least we showed some creativity by making scenarios (that ultimately failed, but oh well, no poor person will be subject to the horrors). I'm enjoying the research class, which I must say is good. It's a nice, intimate group of 23 or so. But moving on...
In adolescent psych, the prof was talking about the clinical and empirical characteristics of adolescents with low self-esteem. Take a look at the list (along with its application to me in brackets):
- distrusts others (sometimes, esp. when organizing stuff with others, except maybe when it's Ceci)
- responds inappropriately to flattery (sometimes, but maybe cultural)
- overreacts to criticism (oh yeah, but I just hide in my room to vent)
- feels like a loser, rejected, mistreated (a loser, yes)
- negative about competition (DEFINITELY... I hate competition because of that crappy side it brings out in me)
- blames others for problems (usually not)
- hypercritical of others (I judge, yes)
- poor self-disclosure (just ask Marianne)
- bluffs and cons people (esp. my sister! possibly because it works every time... besides her, I think I do it as some sort of front or something)
- refuses to try new things (besides food, courses, and TV shows, I'd say yes)
So... does Victoria have low self-esteem? Maybe more often than is good for me. I wonder if it's a Chinese thing though, since some of it does happen due to cultural reasons. Hmm... can't blame culture all the way though.
Anyway, this is enough procrastinating for the night. I still have 2 chapters of boring old ethnic and racial relations to get through tonight. :oP
October 15, 2005
Hmm... feeling a bit like Jean from Crash lately: "I am angry all the time... and I don't know why."
Well, maybe it's not anger, but more frustration. At what, I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's the multitude of assignments/tests. Maybe it's the distance from campus and the feeling of isolation. Maybe it's the long days spent on campus. Maybe it's the air in this house. Maybe it's me. Not sure.
Consequently, it's affecting my spiritual life. It's stagnant... again. Bahh... sometimes, the chaos is all in my head, all in my grasp, all for me to let go. I was just thinking in my bed last night that it would be nice to start life over, and I'd know not to treat people mean, not to put up walls, not to have weird defense reflexes, not to front. But this is my life as I have made it up to this point, and I just have to deal. Not that it's that bad, really, but when you're living it...
Well, praise God for the Alpha reunion where I got to hear people I love share about their lives, and I got to share about mine (along with sharing gooooood food, of course). It's good to pray - used to be such a passion and drive back in high school. What happened, I don't know. Laziness, I guess. Gotta stop blaming circumstances.
The thought ends here. Gotta get back to my 2 assignments and 1 midterm prep.
SONG OF THE MOMENT
Daisy, give yourself away
Look up at the rain, the beautiful display of power and surrender
Giving us today when she gives herself away
Rain, another rainy day
Comes up from the ocean to give herself away
She comes down easy on rich and debt the same when she gives herself away
Let it go
Daisy, let it go
Open up your fist
This fallen world doesn't hold your interest
It doesn't hold your soul
Daisy, let it go
Pain, give yourself a name
Call yourself contrition, avarice or blame
Giving isn't easy but neither is the rain
And she gives herself away
Daisy, why another day?
Why another sunrise?
Who will take the blame
For all redemptive motion for every rainy day
He gives himself away
Let it go
Daisy, let it go
Let it go...
"Daisy," Switchfoot (from Nothing Is Sound)
Beautiful ballad. Nothing short of expectation from Switchfoot.
October 10, 2005
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!
*sigh* Up to my neck in homework. For the rest of the month. There's also Alpha stuff and co-op stuff to contend with along the way. Can't wait until October 27 when my last assignment of the month is due! Until then... soldier on!
In other news, this thanksgiving, I had no turkey. Okay, that's a lie. I did have turkey in the turkey club and soup that I had at Montana's yesterday. But, hey, I'll take roast beef, smoked salmon, potatoes and beans (from the market!)! Tonight I'll be enjoying a thanksgiving meal of Filipino Meat Loaf (courtesy of my sister) and leftovers from lunch. Mmm...
Back to work...
October 8, 2005
This date has been burned into memory - sometimes a little faded, sometimes a little more salient. Since 15 years is a nice, round figure, it's a little more of the latter today.
So, today's the very day that my family and I stepped foot in Canada 15 years ago. I remember being sat down as a 6-year-old by my dad who tried his best to explain why we had to leave our rather cushy life in Hong Kong for a land of that offered up leaves that changed colours, snowed in the winter, and rhymed with armpit in Cantonese. I didn't really resist, probably because I didn't know any better. Besides, it was a common thing to get out of Hong Kong before Chinese rule came in during 1997, so it was all good.
Fifteen years later, I don't think any of us have regreted that decision. There are those who do regret it, and would have probably left behind the harsh weather and strange language a long time ago, but I think my family has fit well in Canadian society. Heck, having gone back to Hong Kong last year made me feel that I was much more Canadian than a Hong Kong-ian. It's funny, though, how 8 years after the takeover, HK society hasn't really drastically changed, and really, we didn't really need to escape. So, the conclusion is that this has got to be a God-arranged thing, and really, that's what my parents and I believe.
The next 15 years (I'll be 37!) will bring more changes to life, I'm sure. I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us.
In the mean time, I will return to my irregularly scheduled midterm readings. :oP
October 5, 2005
I like Steph's idea of sharing thanks we have for this season of Thanksgiving. Here's 5 to start off the month, one for each day:
- I'm thankful for my Alpha groups, past and present. The past group was probably one of the most exciting cells I've been in... and drove me to commit to the present group. The present group for just being there. And shout-out to Noella for making the ride that much more fun! Good times of "Even When"!
- I'm thankful for Becca and Marianne, for being my housemates. For enduring my little talking-to-myself times, among other strange things that I do.
- I'm thankful for my parents for their support - for the food, the listening ears, the cash.
- I'm thankful for tea. One of the best drinks God ever brought into human existence. I especially love the HK-variety. I'm enjoying a cup of chai as I speak. Mmm...
- I'm thankful for Windows Media Player and my CD player, for blaring (to take ma petite cousine's words) the soundtrack to my life.
I will try to xanga something I'm thankful for each day of October, since it's less code-excessive.
October 1, 2005, part b
Spread the word. Print out your own "missing" posters. And donate to your local food bank. Thank you.
October 1, 2005, part a
Someone wake those Green Day boys up! September has ended! :oP
How can September have ended? That's just nuts. I haven't done that much work yet! Come back! I need 3 months to get my homework done, not 2! AHHH!!! Besides the homework thing, I like fall. The wind was a little bit ridiculous on Thursday, but boy do I prefer that over the humid heat of this nasty hot summer. Bring on the toques and the scarfs and the light windbreakers!
In another news, I recently was overdosed on drugs. Not to the verge of death, of course. But when my doctor upped the dosage on my acne medication, I started getting headaches, dizziness, nausea, that kind of pleasant stuff. It kinda coincided with a sore throat (which turned out to be absolutely nothing), so I thought my sinuses were acting up. Then I thought it might have been something to do with the sinus medication interacting with the antibiotic, so I read up on Minocin (minocycline HCl) to see if there are drugs I shouldn't be taking with it. So get this, under side effects, it said:
"For minocycline only: More common - Dizziness, light-headedness, or unsteadiness."
So that solved my problem. I'm back on the 50mg, and the symptoms have disappeared, for the most part. I can function again! Which is good, because I have 4 assignments due next week. :oP
Oh yes! Alpha has also started up. I've been stressing out about it, especially this week, since things were still uncertain and unorganized. We had the first meeting, and frankly, it was pretty disorganized. We hadn't hammered everything out beforehand (some meeting confusion), but still, if it's what God has willed, it will happen. And it happened. I think it went pretty well, and I'm looking forward to watching 'em videos again with this new group, and getting to know a whole bunch of new people. Plug:
Hey, if you're a University of Waterloo/Wilfred Laurier student, and you wanna check out Christianity for yourself, come join the Alpha Course with the Chinese Christian Fellowship. Our group meets Thursdays from 6-9pm, and you get fed dinner. That's right, free dinner. :o) E-mail me for more details.
Let's see... then there's possibly the biggest part of life this term - SCHOOL. My favourite has got to be my hymn course. Right now, I'm working on the 3rd assignment, in which we look at "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" set to its traditional tune ("Friendship"), and also to Blaenwern and Beach Spring. I think I like Beach Spring the best. But anyway, when you set a familiar text to a completely different tune, you really see the lyrics in a whole new way. In class, we were practicing with "Amazing Grace" set to the tune of "Joy To The World." It was absolutely hilarious, but you really feel the celebratory feeling that God's grace should bring. Try it sometime.
Well, it's nearly 3am, and I should finish off my assignment and hit the sack. Thanks for reading!
SONG OF THE MOMENT
Before I take the body of my Lord
Before I share his life in bread and wine
I recognise the sorry things within
These I lay down
The words of hope I often failed to give
The prayers of kindness buried by my pride
And signs of care I argued out of sight
These I lay down
The narrowness of vision and of mind
The need for other folk to serve my will
And every word and silence meant to hurt
These I lay down
Of those around in whom I meet my Lord
I ask their pardon and I grant them mine
That every contradiction to Christ's peace might be laid down
Lord Jesus Christ, companion at this feast
I empty now my heart and stretch my hands
And ask to meet you here in bread and wine
Which you lay down
"Before I Take the Body of My Lord," John L. Bell (in Common Praise, 610)
Theological concerns aside, I think that this song is my answer to what communion is about. I find it such a routine thing to have communion, and question what my reasons for doing it are (well, mainly because it's the beginning of the month, so I have to). But it's to empty all that's in our hearts and remember what Jesus has done for each and every one of us. This song's a new way of expressing this long-known idea. The bonus is that it has a gorgeous tune to accompany the song. I'm glad the hymn class is much more than learning the theory behind hymns, but actually extending towards edifying my spiritual life.