As we move closer to our colloquium days, it's becoming harder to write... both the paper and this blog, for me at least. Plus, it feels so strange to still be doing work when most folks have ended semester and have headed/are heading back home or for holidays! I'm looking forward to having a good Christmas. Can't remember when was the last time I spent Christmas away from Singapore, so this will be interesting.
Weather here has been quite nice- it's actually turned milder and the cool nights are welcome. Spring rains have come along, and so have the summer flies... Would you like flies with that? Er, no...
We were visited by Mich and TS from Singapore yesterday, brought them on the Brisbane river for a joy-ride on the ferry. After that, to George's seafood market for a taste of fish and chips, and then to Three Monkeys for some good coffee and cake. More on that from Joerg, who has already written his next post and is waiting for me to do mine!
At this stage we're both leading pretty mundane lives of writing, reading, thinking, cooking, FACEBOOK-ing... yes, I am proud to say I have 60 friends! It's amazing whom you can find on Facebook, and what they look like after 5 years! Well I'm just really looking forward to the Colloquium to come round and have that burden off our shoulders. But in the meantime, I need to polish up the work, and make it good- for His glory :)
Happy to say that to date, I have improved in my culinary skills. Over the past four months, I have cooked up the following:
1) corned beef and cabbage - a family recipe, reverse engineered to bring back those good ol' days;
2) spaghetti bolognaise- don't laugh... the last time I did it it had zero taste;
3) chicken piccata - a poor imitation but still edible;
4) beef stroganoff - twice!
5) some kind of curry;
5) a couple other more forgettable dishes.
Joerg, on the other hand, is now declared head chef, winning all of us hands-down. Today's Friday, and the head chef is busy preparing siew mai and hokkien mee. It's confirmed- there will be no leftovers!!
Tomorrow's a special day- Helping Hands Day aka Festival of Hope at the church we attend. From 8am to 12pm, we'll be giving out free clothing to needy folks. It'll be a good breakaway from the books, and something meaningful as well!
Wherever you're reading this from, God loves you!
Friday 30 November 2007
Monday 19 November 2007
State of mind
I felt bored in office today, so I decide to get on with my delayed posting. Yes, that’s my office space. That’s where I spend most of my time on weekdays. The picture somehow depicts the condition of my mind. In a bigger picture- this ‘messiness’ can replicate the condition of our mind and the condition of our heart.
Reality check- have you ever felt that everything is ever smooth sailing, no glitches, life’s great? I think, I’m on the other end of the spectrum. After extracting the essence of the books (pictured) plus the trees that I’ve unknowingly chopped, I found 8000 plus useful words for my colloquium document. It’s so painful to read, especially for a non book worm club person like me.
Lisa and I experience ‘mood swings’, we take turns to switch on the motivation. The drive to read and write, read and write, read and write. It’s very hard to keep that discipline day in, day out. Thank God I can feel that it’s getting closer, can just see a hint of light at the end of the tunnel.
You too, don’t despair! Life’s full of ups and downs, thankfully there’s Hope, that’s why Jesus came to save us. Blessed journey and keep seeking His ways.
Reality check- have you ever felt that everything is ever smooth sailing, no glitches, life’s great? I think, I’m on the other end of the spectrum. After extracting the essence of the books (pictured) plus the trees that I’ve unknowingly chopped, I found 8000 plus useful words for my colloquium document. It’s so painful to read, especially for a non book worm club person like me.
Lisa and I experience ‘mood swings’, we take turns to switch on the motivation. The drive to read and write, read and write, read and write. It’s very hard to keep that discipline day in, day out. Thank God I can feel that it’s getting closer, can just see a hint of light at the end of the tunnel.
You too, don’t despair! Life’s full of ups and downs, thankfully there’s Hope, that’s why Jesus came to save us. Blessed journey and keep seeking His ways.
Friday 16 November 2007
Countdown to confirmation
Current word count:
Joerg - 8,274 words
Lisa - 12,399 words
Now lost for words.
Keep plodding on...
Joerg - 8,274 words
Lisa - 12,399 words
Now lost for words.
Keep plodding on...
Thursday 8 November 2007
A season of thanksgiving and the purple kitchen
Just continuing on from Joerg's thanksgiving, and since we have reached the season of thanksgiving...
Thank you dear, for being an inspiration to me too! I don't think I would even have considered "stepping out of the boat" to come here and do my Masters. Your faith inspires mine :) Thanks also for running into the kitchen at night to help me when you see me packing away the plates and stuff, and for waking up and heading out with me when I have to wake up earlier to go to Ipswich or Jindalee to do filming!
There is actually alot to be thankful for, as I reflect on the time that we've been here. First of all is this place that we call home until at least June next year. Some of you may know that we were getting quite frustrated with finding a rental home when we arrived in Brissie. It took two months for us since end-June, going to different rental agencies, photocopying pages of our personal records, running around St Lucia, Indooroopilly, and Toowong to view apartments, and submitting applications, three of which were rejected for some strange reasons, e.g., "The owner is afraid that with three persons, it'd be too noisy..." What?? Right now, we're the quietest people here in our neighbourhood! Well all that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we now have this place that is just fantastic in terms of location and security. Ok, it's got a purple kitchen, and it faces the courtyard where everybody who walks by can look in... but we couldn't have asked for a better place. Not exactly cheap, but it was below what we had originally budgeted.
Two funny things about getting this place: firstly, we didn't get it from a rental agency- Joerg gave up on them after they gave up on us- and just happened to stumble on the estate on the web. The managers' names are- get this- Joe and Lisa (think they're from China). Secondly, Joerg never got to see the inside of the unit until we had moved in. Both times that he was here before, Norman called him and he had to run off before viewing. Why this is funny is that, he shared with me, if he did, he would not have taken it. Because of the purple kitchen (we're quite used to it now) and being 'exposed' to people outside ("Well what are YOU lookin' at??"). I didn't know just how ideal the place was until I had to start travelling to Ipswich and other places. We're sitting at the crossroads of ferry, train, and bus transport. Plus, Coles and Woolies just 5 minutes away. Church 10 minutes away by inner-city bypass. Friends find this place central as they stay north-side and west-side. What a blessing... thanks, God! You knew what we needed even before we did.
Just another small thing to be thankful for... really small thing but worth a mention... while browsing the shelves at Coles a last week, we found a 200g pack of smoked salmon, originally priced at $12.59, going for $3, a real steal! The next day we found a few packs of bagels each going for 50cents. So that Saturday, we had a luxury breakfast of smoked salmon and bagel, with cream cheese... what a treat! Probably never an episode to be repeated, but I'll remember that one. The salmon lasted a few more days after that. Slurp! Yup, we're definitely not starving here, what with the bargains that can be found...
There are many other things to be thankful for- our families who have been so supportive, our friends here and back home for their fellowship and prayers, our bosses who let us have the time off, the chance to experience a different side of life (again)... wow. It's hard to remember and count the blessings when we're so bogged down with things to do, but I realise that when I do so, I remember Who's really in control. And I'm thankful!
What's up the rest of this month: we gear up for our Confirmation sessions happening next month, a couple of friends stopping by Brisbane, and hopefully setting aside more time to exercise!!
Thank you dear, for being an inspiration to me too! I don't think I would even have considered "stepping out of the boat" to come here and do my Masters. Your faith inspires mine :) Thanks also for running into the kitchen at night to help me when you see me packing away the plates and stuff, and for waking up and heading out with me when I have to wake up earlier to go to Ipswich or Jindalee to do filming!
There is actually alot to be thankful for, as I reflect on the time that we've been here. First of all is this place that we call home until at least June next year. Some of you may know that we were getting quite frustrated with finding a rental home when we arrived in Brissie. It took two months for us since end-June, going to different rental agencies, photocopying pages of our personal records, running around St Lucia, Indooroopilly, and Toowong to view apartments, and submitting applications, three of which were rejected for some strange reasons, e.g., "The owner is afraid that with three persons, it'd be too noisy..." What?? Right now, we're the quietest people here in our neighbourhood! Well all that turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we now have this place that is just fantastic in terms of location and security. Ok, it's got a purple kitchen, and it faces the courtyard where everybody who walks by can look in... but we couldn't have asked for a better place. Not exactly cheap, but it was below what we had originally budgeted.
Two funny things about getting this place: firstly, we didn't get it from a rental agency- Joerg gave up on them after they gave up on us- and just happened to stumble on the estate on the web. The managers' names are- get this- Joe and Lisa (think they're from China). Secondly, Joerg never got to see the inside of the unit until we had moved in. Both times that he was here before, Norman called him and he had to run off before viewing. Why this is funny is that, he shared with me, if he did, he would not have taken it. Because of the purple kitchen (we're quite used to it now) and being 'exposed' to people outside ("Well what are YOU lookin' at??"). I didn't know just how ideal the place was until I had to start travelling to Ipswich and other places. We're sitting at the crossroads of ferry, train, and bus transport. Plus, Coles and Woolies just 5 minutes away. Church 10 minutes away by inner-city bypass. Friends find this place central as they stay north-side and west-side. What a blessing... thanks, God! You knew what we needed even before we did.
Just another small thing to be thankful for... really small thing but worth a mention... while browsing the shelves at Coles a last week, we found a 200g pack of smoked salmon, originally priced at $12.59, going for $3, a real steal! The next day we found a few packs of bagels each going for 50cents. So that Saturday, we had a luxury breakfast of smoked salmon and bagel, with cream cheese... what a treat! Probably never an episode to be repeated, but I'll remember that one. The salmon lasted a few more days after that. Slurp! Yup, we're definitely not starving here, what with the bargains that can be found...
There are many other things to be thankful for- our families who have been so supportive, our friends here and back home for their fellowship and prayers, our bosses who let us have the time off, the chance to experience a different side of life (again)... wow. It's hard to remember and count the blessings when we're so bogged down with things to do, but I realise that when I do so, I remember Who's really in control. And I'm thankful!
What's up the rest of this month: we gear up for our Confirmation sessions happening next month, a couple of friends stopping by Brisbane, and hopefully setting aside more time to exercise!!
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