I really miss baking cakes!
Why all of a sudden? Hmmm, I just finished my last day at work and will be coming back to my beloved blimbank next Monday, which will be on valentine's day and I was thinking of bringing some sweet treats in. And I actually thought of baking something when I remembered I will be at a wedding just the night before (and most likely will not go home sober considering lots of my dental friends will be there). Maybe I will just buy some chocolates.
But I wanna bake! :(
*sulk*
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Work? Life?
*yawn stretch stretch*
Woohoo, I'm on a roll today. My third post in one evening! (albeit being done in the comfort of my bed via my super hi tech chrissie present haha).
I was proofreading my last post for the third time after some minor editing, grammar correction and layout adjustment, you know, as I always do with every post, when I noticed on the sidebar that I blogged significantly less in 2010, that is when work started to get busy. Since I am still on the subject of quarter life crisis, my current affliction and thorn in the flesh, I wanted to share my view on work-life balance. How much work do you need to do? And how much life do we need to get, really?
We work to live, not live to work. Cliche. Yet, how many people do live to work? I have a good friend who enjoys his work so much, it might as well be his hobby. Not me though, I love my job but I love to live too. I am probably on the lazier side, wanting to work four days in a week if I can afford it, then I will have more time to spend living. I am still working five days a week, if you're wondering. But yeah, o how I long for less working days. I wouldn't call this sheer laziness. There are so many things I want to do. Productive things. Things that actually matters in life, at least for me, like having time to cook more, so I can eat healthier, to read more, to exercise more, to learn new things (as a matter of fact, basic life skills I haven't mastered yet at the age of 26: swimming and driving). Do devotional routinely and properly, not a rushed one with only few watts energy left. And I definitely want to blog more!
Boo said the other day, maybe you just need to manage your time better. He did not know he was talking to wrong kind of person. Asking a bloody perfectionist to manage her time better is incredibly offensive. And I was a bit too proud and very emotional at that time, so obviously I got angry. Full time work drains one's energy to the extent that when you get home, all you want to do is just to zonk on the bed. But often you have to make dinner first, then do dishes, laundry, throw rubbish out, and run all this household chores before that sweet rendezvous with dear bed. And that's provided you go home straight away. What if you have other things to do after work? Prayer meetings, catching up with friends, appointments. No wonder people get stressed and no wonder I get sick every forthnight.
Sunday's always a busy day for me too. Ministering and serving the Lord brings joy, and it has always been enjoyable. I don't mind pushing myself for it. Yet, sometimes, Sunday night I will go to bed feeling unrested and wondering quietly how on earth am I going to survive the coming week with such battered body.
Anyways, back to what boo was saying, he's got a point, but I think I have a point too. How would you define life? How would you define a fulfilled life? Success? Happiness? I've learned that living is about purpose, about chasing and doing God's purpose in our life, however with all the worldly job we still have and all the worldly responsibilities that we have in that worldly job, surely we still have to do the best? How about our health? Are we not supposed to be looking after our body? Are not we responsible for it? And call me selfish, I still need time to do things I want to do, just to keep me sane. What to do? I really don't know, otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a crisis, would I?
Woohoo, I'm on a roll today. My third post in one evening! (albeit being done in the comfort of my bed via my super hi tech chrissie present haha).
I was proofreading my last post for the third time after some minor editing, grammar correction and layout adjustment, you know, as I always do with every post, when I noticed on the sidebar that I blogged significantly less in 2010, that is when work started to get busy. Since I am still on the subject of quarter life crisis, my current affliction and thorn in the flesh, I wanted to share my view on work-life balance. How much work do you need to do? And how much life do we need to get, really?
We work to live, not live to work. Cliche. Yet, how many people do live to work? I have a good friend who enjoys his work so much, it might as well be his hobby. Not me though, I love my job but I love to live too. I am probably on the lazier side, wanting to work four days in a week if I can afford it, then I will have more time to spend living. I am still working five days a week, if you're wondering. But yeah, o how I long for less working days. I wouldn't call this sheer laziness. There are so many things I want to do. Productive things. Things that actually matters in life, at least for me, like having time to cook more, so I can eat healthier, to read more, to exercise more, to learn new things (as a matter of fact, basic life skills I haven't mastered yet at the age of 26: swimming and driving). Do devotional routinely and properly, not a rushed one with only few watts energy left. And I definitely want to blog more!
Boo said the other day, maybe you just need to manage your time better. He did not know he was talking to wrong kind of person. Asking a bloody perfectionist to manage her time better is incredibly offensive. And I was a bit too proud and very emotional at that time, so obviously I got angry. Full time work drains one's energy to the extent that when you get home, all you want to do is just to zonk on the bed. But often you have to make dinner first, then do dishes, laundry, throw rubbish out, and run all this household chores before that sweet rendezvous with dear bed. And that's provided you go home straight away. What if you have other things to do after work? Prayer meetings, catching up with friends, appointments. No wonder people get stressed and no wonder I get sick every forthnight.
Sunday's always a busy day for me too. Ministering and serving the Lord brings joy, and it has always been enjoyable. I don't mind pushing myself for it. Yet, sometimes, Sunday night I will go to bed feeling unrested and wondering quietly how on earth am I going to survive the coming week with such battered body.
Anyways, back to what boo was saying, he's got a point, but I think I have a point too. How would you define life? How would you define a fulfilled life? Success? Happiness? I've learned that living is about purpose, about chasing and doing God's purpose in our life, however with all the worldly job we still have and all the worldly responsibilities that we have in that worldly job, surely we still have to do the best? How about our health? Are we not supposed to be looking after our body? Are not we responsible for it? And call me selfish, I still need time to do things I want to do, just to keep me sane. What to do? I really don't know, otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a crisis, would I?
oh ella!
I don't believe in frettin' and grievin';
Why mess around with strife?
I never was cut out to step and strut out.
Give me the simple life.
Some find it pleasant dining on pheasant.
Those things roll off my knife;
Just serve me tomatoes; and mashed potatoes;
Give me the simple life.
A cottage small is all I'm after,
Not one that's spacious and wide.
A home that's full with joy and laughter
And the ones you love inside.
Some like the high road, I like the low road,
Free from the care and strife.
Sounds corny and seedy, but yes, indeed-y;
Give me the simple life.
for whoever who's feeling like this, you are not alone
apparently it is not just me going crazy. everyone's mind gone haywire lately. welcome to quarter life crisis.
i don't usually trust wikipedia, but their description of what characterises quarter life crisis kinda fits what i have been feeling lately, so just this time, i'll cite them here. they say, early-twenties like me (and maybe you) would have gone through or is going through one or few of the followings:
"confronting one's own mortality
insecurity concerning ability to love oneself, let alone another person
insecurity regarding present accomplishments
re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
lack of friendships or romantic relationships, sexual frustration, and involuntary celibacy
disappointment with one's job
nostalgia for university, college, high school, middle school or elementary school life
tendency to hold stronger opinions
boredom with social interactions
loss of closeness to high school and college friends
financially-rooted stress
loneliness, depression and suicidal tendencies
desire to have children
a sense that others are doing better than oneself
frustration with social skills"
and damn right, they're pretty spot on.
what to do? what to do?
...
i dunno about you, but as for me, i'll stick to my God, my Lord and my Jesus. He does get me through the day, day by day and everyday. i'll have faith. will you?
i don't usually trust wikipedia, but their description of what characterises quarter life crisis kinda fits what i have been feeling lately, so just this time, i'll cite them here. they say, early-twenties like me (and maybe you) would have gone through or is going through one or few of the followings:
"confronting one's own mortality
insecurity concerning ability to love oneself, let alone another person
insecurity regarding present accomplishments
re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
lack of friendships or romantic relationships, sexual frustration, and involuntary celibacy
disappointment with one's job
nostalgia for university, college, high school, middle school or elementary school life
tendency to hold stronger opinions
boredom with social interactions
loss of closeness to high school and college friends
financially-rooted stress
loneliness, depression and suicidal tendencies
desire to have children
a sense that others are doing better than oneself
frustration with social skills"
and damn right, they're pretty spot on.
what to do? what to do?
...
i dunno about you, but as for me, i'll stick to my God, my Lord and my Jesus. He does get me through the day, day by day and everyday. i'll have faith. will you?
Monday, January 31, 2011
never again
i cannot believe how fast time flies. it is already the end of january. i am still not used to writing 2011 when dating my patients records. is the world spinning faster?
another thing that reminded me of every second, minute, hour, day, month and year that passes are the pile of monochromatic wedding invites in my drawer. golden seems to be the popular hue for invites this year round. my, my, we are getting old. two down, four more to go till june and already, i am having a massive wardrobe crisis. what should i wear for the next four? looks like my resolution not to shop too much this year will be broken early...
the last wedding i attended was in sydney. ben and i left a day early so we can enjoy a little weekend getaway. or so we thought. it turned out to be a pretty exhaustive weekend, to our body, mind, and... pocket. we had few groups of friend who picked the exact same weekend to escape to sydney, thus ended up meeting up with them, catching up with the canberrans, visited the aquarium and wildlife world, sydney tower, buffet dinner, plus the wedding, all in mere two days. those did not drain my pocket much though, compared to the little debacle that occured due to my lack of analytical ability of fluid dynamic, ungratefulness and sheer carelessness. to put it simply, i left the tap on til it overflowed the tub, the bath and onto the carpet... and... into the room below. first, i blamed myself. second, i blamed the plumbing. nevertheless, i learned some great lessons from that incident.
why did i say i was ungrateful? because i was, really. we got a free upgrade that morning from a standard to a larger executive room, hence the presence of the bath. the standard room sports only a shower in a cupboard-sized bathroom/toilet. i was so elated, i wanted to use the bath. and forgotten about it. damaged that room, the room below and inconvenience a significant number of people. ben, the hotel staff, the guest in the room below, the plumber and the cleaning service who would have to come in on a sunday.
i learned about the nature of man, the nature of me, who often never appreciates what we have, even abused it. every blessing, grace and mercy we have received from the Father, often regarded to be for granted, as if we deserve it. just like that room, we didn't deserve it, we didn't pay for it. salvation, i didn't deserve it, i cannot pay for it. but we were given that room. i was given grace, was given salvation. and what did i do with that? abused it. i flooded the room. i played with sin every single day. small lies? yea no problem. hate someone? then don't give a damn about them. where is the love? but, still, the hotel was so nice to us. we only had to pay half of the damages repair cost. the Father still gives us grace, for free. is not man ungrateful?
and of course, i learned never to leave any tap on. never again.
now...
back to the wardrobe crises. help!
another thing that reminded me of every second, minute, hour, day, month and year that passes are the pile of monochromatic wedding invites in my drawer. golden seems to be the popular hue for invites this year round. my, my, we are getting old. two down, four more to go till june and already, i am having a massive wardrobe crisis. what should i wear for the next four? looks like my resolution not to shop too much this year will be broken early...
the last wedding i attended was in sydney. ben and i left a day early so we can enjoy a little weekend getaway. or so we thought. it turned out to be a pretty exhaustive weekend, to our body, mind, and... pocket. we had few groups of friend who picked the exact same weekend to escape to sydney, thus ended up meeting up with them, catching up with the canberrans, visited the aquarium and wildlife world, sydney tower, buffet dinner, plus the wedding, all in mere two days. those did not drain my pocket much though, compared to the little debacle that occured due to my lack of analytical ability of fluid dynamic, ungratefulness and sheer carelessness. to put it simply, i left the tap on til it overflowed the tub, the bath and onto the carpet... and... into the room below. first, i blamed myself. second, i blamed the plumbing. nevertheless, i learned some great lessons from that incident.
why did i say i was ungrateful? because i was, really. we got a free upgrade that morning from a standard to a larger executive room, hence the presence of the bath. the standard room sports only a shower in a cupboard-sized bathroom/toilet. i was so elated, i wanted to use the bath. and forgotten about it. damaged that room, the room below and inconvenience a significant number of people. ben, the hotel staff, the guest in the room below, the plumber and the cleaning service who would have to come in on a sunday.
i learned about the nature of man, the nature of me, who often never appreciates what we have, even abused it. every blessing, grace and mercy we have received from the Father, often regarded to be for granted, as if we deserve it. just like that room, we didn't deserve it, we didn't pay for it. salvation, i didn't deserve it, i cannot pay for it. but we were given that room. i was given grace, was given salvation. and what did i do with that? abused it. i flooded the room. i played with sin every single day. small lies? yea no problem. hate someone? then don't give a damn about them. where is the love? but, still, the hotel was so nice to us. we only had to pay half of the damages repair cost. the Father still gives us grace, for free. is not man ungrateful?
and of course, i learned never to leave any tap on. never again.
now...
back to the wardrobe crises. help!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
i'm still here
early morning, ive missed this blog so much, yet i have to run again now, already running late and has not even showered.
will be back. eventually. promise. there is so much to tell.
will be back. eventually. promise. there is so much to tell.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
my second melbourne christmas
as long as i can recall, i've only spent one Christmas here in melbourne, and i don't have much recollection of how it was. but, man, this Christmas was special. as boo's put it nicely in his own little piece of writing, from which i will quote later on, it is not about the feast, the gifts, the shopping, the decoration, or all other christmassy tidbits, it is about Jesus.
boo and i had the same revelation about Christmas, which were confirmed three times over the span of two days. it started from a small discussion during a Thursday night Chrissy dinner, "about music and movies choices... ...1 Cor 10:23 "Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial", ...if we fill our head with the useless music and movies of the world, we won't have much room left for God and Jesus." the following night, in the Christmas eve service, our beloved KD delivered exactly the same message. it didn't stop there...
"The third message came as I drove home from joint FA, the radio was playing a sermon, and it told a story of a kid acting out in the Christmas Drama as the innkeeper, whose only line was saying 'there's no room at the inn.' It should've been that easy, except that for some reason 'Joseph' and 'Mary' started improvising on the stage and started pestering and pressuring the innkeeper to give them a room, even insulting him. With tears running down his face, but with a brave face, the innkeeper had to insist that 'there is no room at the inn.' But as the drama continued on, and curtains rolled down for the next scene, that kid jumped back in to the centre stage and said: 'wait! You can have my room! You can have my room!' For those of you who were at the joint FA, you can probably feel how strong an impression that would've made to me that night."
- B.S. 2010 -
the little harley in that play was improvising deep down from his heart, innocently and sincerely offering his room for the 'baby Jesus'. would we do the same as little harley, if we were the innkeeper two thousand odd years ago in bethlehem? KD's sermon was taken from the same passage reenacted in that little drama, Luke 2:
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
it was about how Jesus was born in a lowly and humbly manger, because there was no room for Him. it pained me, because i know i have been exactly like that, been too busy, running around and looking occupied all the time, for what? for God? was there even room for Him? or was it just for a show? i repented that night, yet God's lesson did not stop there either.
Christmas day, Christmas service. Luke chapter two continued.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
this time, the sermon was on why God chose such a humble way to come down to earth and how through simple, subtle moments in our life, God is there, and works in our life, how we must not brush aside all the humble stuff around us that God may use to do His works in us. it brought me back to the night before, how he used a radio broadcast during a ten minute drive home to touch our hearts. i don't know how boo felt that time, but i guess it is pretty much the same as i did. inexplicable, yet we just knew that it was God speaking. a ten minutes broadcast! and we got to hear the most important message for us in that broadcast!
i thank God for the eventful past few days, for the amazing companions, for the roasts and the puddings, but most of all, for the true beauty of Christmas lying in all the little things.
Merry christmas everyone~
boo and i had the same revelation about Christmas, which were confirmed three times over the span of two days. it started from a small discussion during a Thursday night Chrissy dinner, "about music and movies choices... ...1 Cor 10:23 "Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial", ...if we fill our head with the useless music and movies of the world, we won't have much room left for God and Jesus." the following night, in the Christmas eve service, our beloved KD delivered exactly the same message. it didn't stop there...
"The third message came as I drove home from joint FA, the radio was playing a sermon, and it told a story of a kid acting out in the Christmas Drama as the innkeeper, whose only line was saying 'there's no room at the inn.' It should've been that easy, except that for some reason 'Joseph' and 'Mary' started improvising on the stage and started pestering and pressuring the innkeeper to give them a room, even insulting him. With tears running down his face, but with a brave face, the innkeeper had to insist that 'there is no room at the inn.' But as the drama continued on, and curtains rolled down for the next scene, that kid jumped back in to the centre stage and said: 'wait! You can have my room! You can have my room!' For those of you who were at the joint FA, you can probably feel how strong an impression that would've made to me that night."
- B.S. 2010 -
the little harley in that play was improvising deep down from his heart, innocently and sincerely offering his room for the 'baby Jesus'. would we do the same as little harley, if we were the innkeeper two thousand odd years ago in bethlehem? KD's sermon was taken from the same passage reenacted in that little drama, Luke 2:
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
it was about how Jesus was born in a lowly and humbly manger, because there was no room for Him. it pained me, because i know i have been exactly like that, been too busy, running around and looking occupied all the time, for what? for God? was there even room for Him? or was it just for a show? i repented that night, yet God's lesson did not stop there either.
Christmas day, Christmas service. Luke chapter two continued.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
this time, the sermon was on why God chose such a humble way to come down to earth and how through simple, subtle moments in our life, God is there, and works in our life, how we must not brush aside all the humble stuff around us that God may use to do His works in us. it brought me back to the night before, how he used a radio broadcast during a ten minute drive home to touch our hearts. i don't know how boo felt that time, but i guess it is pretty much the same as i did. inexplicable, yet we just knew that it was God speaking. a ten minutes broadcast! and we got to hear the most important message for us in that broadcast!
i thank God for the eventful past few days, for the amazing companions, for the roasts and the puddings, but most of all, for the true beauty of Christmas lying in all the little things.
Merry christmas everyone~
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