Confirmation!

Dear Shelly:

On behalf of the University of Guelph I am pleased to inform you that your application for
the Summer 2007 convocation has been approved....

I am graduating for sure with HONOURS!!!
How did that ever happen?
Must totally be a God thing.
I'M EXCITED!!!
HAHAHA

I Heart T.O.

I've been going into Toronto every weekend thus far, and the frequency of the trips will only increase. I'm getting to love it more and more especially now that I'm a "working girl", I'll be able to explore more of the city.

Things That I Love About T.O. As a City
1. Being able to go 70+ on major roads and still be ok.
2. BBT and T&T
3. The arts scene
4. Ashbridges Bay
5. All the cool restaurants

Things That I'm Looking Forward to in T.O.
1. Celebrating my 22nd birthday at the Panorama restaurant
2. Trying to get rush seating for the Ballet
3. Going to the TSO for $10 a pop, and great seats at that
4. Getting involved in a church
5. Shakespeare under the stars
6. Beach volleyball at Ashbridges
7. Karaoke
8. The occasional DDR...although I AM out of university now...
9. Being close to my fave Japanese restaurant so I can get Sushi Pizza more frequently now
10. Taking piano lessons

Getting Back to My Roots

Saturday night I had a chance to hang out with my high school friends again. Things I like about hanging with my high school crowd:

1. No one cringes when it comes to squid.
2. People know what Initial D is.
3. The history and the inside jokes.
4. The azn jokes about stereotypes.
5. The way we celebrate birthdays.

Limitations

I. am. so. very. exhausted.

I think I've pushed myself to as far as I could go in terms of Ministry Partner Development this week. I was three appointments away from the all-time record number of appointments in a week. So close yet so far. I'll try for the record again another week, but now that I know my limits, it's time to work out a schedule that would actually be sustainable for the next 2.5 months.

God has been so good in big and little ways this week. I am thoroughly enjoying MPD, but I definitely need to catch up on some R&R.

I loved how God showed up in little ways yesterday. It was so sweet. In the morning I dashed out of Guelph, running a bit late for an appointment in Toronto. In my bag was a stash of thank you cards that I had to mail out that day. The area I was heading to was not part of my "hood" when I lived in TO so I had no idea where mailboxes or post offices were. Plus I had three appointments scheduled back to back so there was no time to stop in between anyways.

Upon finishing my first appointment, lo and behold, what should be parked outside the building, but a Canada Post truck!

Then later in the day I was running low on gas, but I had no time to stop and fill up since I was dashing between appointments. I was looking for an Esso gas station since that's the only place that I fill up because of their aeroplan awards, but I didn't know of any Essos around the place I was driving to. As I pulled into the plaza, what should be there, but an Esso gas station?

Truly, truly God is good.

Three Words

My cup overflows.

I am so happy right now. My heart is just brimming over with joy. The more I practice my VACA, the more I love where God has placed me.

Placement

I am going to Toronto!

I was so nervous before I opened up my placement because never has such a major decision been made for me, but I am so ecstatic to be a part of such a cool and fun team.

I literally jumped, screamed, and cartwheeled when I found out. I was outside by the freeway so it was all good.

God is good!

Ministry Essentials Training

Well we are half way through MET.

I can't believe I'm here. After gunning for staff for all these years I'm here. These past four days have blown my mind away. This really is Ministry ESSENTIALS Training.

There was this one point when Dave was addressing us at lunch as staff, and I remembered looking up expecting to see the staff that I knew. I blanked for a minute before I realized he was talking to us. I definitely don't feel like a staff. What's a staff suppose to feel like? Hahaha.

Loooooooove it!

Building Into the Next Generation

Carolyn McCulley often encourages women on her blog Solo Femininity to build into the next generation even as singles. Being in Arizona, I have the rare opportunity to hang out with my CUTE cousins, and build into them. They are THE sweetest, cutest, loveliest, most tender hearted kids. So I love them to bits and pieces.

Today I got to go to their school and have lunch with Drew, my little boy cousin who's in second grade. We had subs and then we watched him play soccer with the rest of the boys. Man, are they rough! I was shocked. That's definitely something I'd have to get use to if I ever have sons.

Then tonight I got to take Jordan, my little girl cousin who's in fourth grade out on a date after dinner. She reminds me of me when I was her age. She loves books and arts, my two favourite hobbies. We went to Barnes and Nobles, the States' equivalent of Chapters, and hung out there for 1.5 hour browsing books. It was fun being in the kids' section and reading all the books.

Afterwards we went to Starbucks for some awesome coffee and settled down to read a few stories out of Jesus Freaks, this book I bought Jor for her birthday. It was so cool. She sat in my lap. We read the stories and then we talked about being persecuted for our faith just a wee bit, and we prayed for people who were being persecuted around the world. I wish they lived closer so I could hang out with them more!

Discipline VS Pruning

Yesterday my Aunt Mel and I hiked up to the Romero Pools in Catalina State Park. It was an AMAZING hike. We were in the desert, but there were all these cool vegetation around. As we hiked I got to pick my aunt's brain about marriage, children, and family. It was really cool to hear her stories and her perspective on stuff. Sort of like an informal discipleship time.

When we got to the pools she read to me from the book The Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson. It just so happened that the chapter was on pruning. The main wisdom that I gleaned from the chapter was that there's a significant difference between discipline and pruning even though both are uncomfortable. The Lord uses discipline to bring us out of sin while He prunes to make us bring forth more fruit. There was a whole chart on it.

It struck a chord with me because this whole time I've been viewing Ministry Partner Development (MPD) as sort of a disciplining process. Coming at it from that perspective, I was trying to think of all the sin that I could possibly commit so as to avoid them so that I could finish MPD faster. But now I realize that it is more of a pruning process that God uses so that I would be more fruitful in the future. This makes me so much more willing to endure the discomfort and so much more willing to go through a longer process. I thank Him for this lesson learned the easier way.

Mars Hill Church

I usually try to avoid the latest fads because I hate being a "bandwagoner", but I always end up jumping on the bandwagon anyway. Case in point: Mark Driscoll, and Mars Hill Church. Many people around me were raving about, listening to, and reading Driscoll. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me. I listened to one of his sermons, and I loved it! So solid AND culturally relevant.

One of THE highlights was the chance to visit Mars Hill Church during my visit to Olympia/Seattle. We went to the 7pm service. I was so giddy, excited, and really trying hard not to act like a teeny bopper tourist.

The sermon was on Nehemiah Chapter 5:14-19. It was SO good! Kinda weird seeing Mark preach live though after listening to all those sermons. I really wanted to meet him afterwards, but I guess there's enough yahoos in Seattle for him not to be available to the general public. There were security guards at the service!

So instead of talking to Pastor Mark Driscoll, I headed for the book shop where I almost cleaned them out. I also got two cds of their live worship. Amazing.

This guy and this church is just so inspirational. Being there stoked my passion for Christ and the desire to reach out to our culture instead of just being frustrated with it.

I am so excited to see him at Staff Conference, and I am most definitely planning a return trip to Mars Hill when I hit up Seattle/Olympia in July.

It Just So Happened...

Before I left Guelph for Olympia, I had asked my mom to ask her friend if I could speak at their church, meet their pastor, etc... to develop ministry partners. The answer that I got was that usually they don't allow random people to speak, and that they didn't have a pastor yet as they're a church plant. So I just let it go thinking God had other plans.

When we arrived in Olympia it just so happened that on one of the nights that we were there someone had to deliver the program for Sunday to my "auntie". It just so happened that, that someone turned out to be the "leader" of the church who was introduced to me, who asked me for my testimony and calling, who then invited me to speak at the college/careers group, and at the end of that meeting, invited me to speak at the service on Sunday. Praise God!

By the end of the visit, various contacts were made, plans were cemented for a return trip in July for official MPD appointments, and I was fully supported for MET. I had left Ontario with about $500 in cheques and pledges for MET. I was assuming that the rest would come in after I left, and Becky would bring them to MET with her. I also brought my MasterCard just in case...But in Olympia, my auntie and her husband gave me a cheque and the church gave me a cheque that just pushed me right over. I definitely didn't see that one coming. God is SO good.

Around this time I was going through Mark Driscoll's series on Ruth, and one of the themes he was teaching on was the theme of God's invisible hand of providence. I definitely saw God's hand of providence in Olympia. Praise the LORD!

Check!

Things I've Always Wanted To Do That I've Done:

~See Port Angeles
~See Mt. St. Helens'/Volcano
~Go digging for oysters

Today we went to the cove for FREE fresh oysters. There were piles and piles of oysters just laying there for the taking. The sad thing was I couldn't take the saltiness and the fishiness of it without any cocktail sauce. The thing stayed in my mouth for a few minutes while I debated whether to swallow or spit. In the end I had to spit it out. It was making me sick. Sad, as I love oysters, and they're usually $20 a dozen. Snifff........
















I got greedy just seeing all of these oysters. I wanted to take them all home, but now I'm feeling somewhat sick from eating a dozen of them at the Buffet. God-willing, I'm not getting food poisoning. That would...SUCK.














Here's the picture of me trying to decide whether to swallow or spit. Notice the look of utter disgust.














My dad and I took off our shoes to get close to the oysters. Later he scraped off the mud with a clam shell to put his shoes back on. He found me a shell too, but I made him carry me over the rocky beach back to shore to wash my feet off at the faucet because I didn't want to get the new shoes that my mom got me dirty. I heart my dad. Yes, spoiled indeed.

Impromptu Speaker

I've been asked to speak at the college group of my Auntie's church. They asked to me say something to encourage them to live for Christ. So I've decided to speak about the Spirit-filled life.

Please pray for me!!!!

Sleepless in Seattle

Well I'm in Seattle and sleepless too. It's a gorgeous place. Very Vancouver-esque as expected. Absolutely lush and romantic. Sigh. The greenness is so refreshing.

When I was flying over Houston, the trees looked a bit odd to me. Then I realized it was because they were green and fully of leaves looking like spring instead of the deathly gray that is spring in Guelph right now.

We're going to Mark Driscoll's church on Sunday hopefully. A taste of what's to come at Staff Conference. I'm so excited. We're also going to find the very first Starbucks. I'm totally teefing Vanessa's plans for Seattle, but I'll find more of my own.

Rambling Reflection

I am sitting at my laptop at 2:21am in the morning waiting for 3:00 to arrive so that Becky, Ashley C/K, and I can drive me to the airport for my crazy flight to Seattle via Houston.

Today I woke up and thought to myself I am no longer a university student. I am in the real world now, and it scared me.

The thought of arriving home from MET to an empty house, to moving again to a new place, to starting new friendships freaked me out. Loneliness is a scary thought.

Life is clearer but at the same time more mysterious. I know Who and What I live for, but wherever that takes me is veiled.

But I'm glad I'm not in this alone. The Lord has blessed me with such awesome friends to make this transition with. I felt much better talking about the big changes in our lives with Ashley.

I had a crazy busy day today having one last dates with some awesome friends, reliving our friendships.

Had a last DG dinner. My girls Emily specifically made me a scrapbook. Oh what a treasure. Everytime I have doubts about my calling, I'm going to look back to that book. Discipleship is so hard to measure...but it's good to know that God is using me for some good.

It has been an amazing four years. I enjoyed and treasured every moment of it as I walked across campus for class, studying, meetings, appointments, campaign blitzes, prayer walks, evangelism. God knew what He was doing when He directed me here. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Not even Harvard.

Officially Done

Macro in an Open Economy
11:30-1:30
MacKinnon 117

That was my final final of my B.A.

I am officially done my undergraduate.

Weird...

Eureka

Yesterday I had an eureka moment. I brushed off the cobwebs and pulled out my tablet. For once I was itching to sketch. Followed a tutorial online to CG, but it just wouldn't blend properly. Then I figured out that I was on the wrong pressure setting. Eureka. I am now on my way to CG awesomeness.

[szechuan dialect]
xin sua hua diao la

[literal translation]
heart play wild lost la (no translation for the "la" it's just a sound)

[translation]
your heart's gone wild because of all the fun you've been having and now you've lost control...

...something along those lines

Always used as a rebuke when I was growing up whenever I spent anytime away from scholastic endeavours. Always thought it was overrated and didn't apply until now. Mum just used it on me and for once I didn't counter it. Tis true. Tis sad but true. I was more disciplined when I was younger...quite possibly because I didn't have a license or a car to drive to the bookstore to read manga the day before an exam.

Reinvention

Not of this blog, but the topic of reinvention of oneself. Wednesday Becky, Vanessa, and I hung out talking about cabbages and kings. We touched the topic of reinvention and whether people we use to know have changed and how we've changed ourselves.

Looking back to high school I was definitely a geek. I was into anime, manga, gamed-RPGs, went to cons, and cosplayed. If you didn't understand any of those terms, that's ok. You just don't know the full extent of my geekdom. And if you understood without me explaining well all that...then we're in the same boat. So apparently I reinvented myself. At first I thought that wasn't true.

It was just a lack of disposable income that stifled the expensive hobby:
1)FF carried over to PS2. No money for PS2 much less the games.
2)Convicted about pirated software so got rid of Photoshop. Did not have 700 bones to get a real copy.
3)Once you use Copic you can't go back, but I was too poor to buy them anymore. $7 a pop for an uber nice marker is too much. Unless I was a professional. [In my dreams.]
4)No time to earn money either.

But then as I thought about it maybe I did reinvent myself. Or rather Someone reinvented me. Something bigger grabbed ahold of my heart. Even if I had the disposable income would I have spent it on those things? Probably not. I've also chosen to spend most of my spare time in ministry. Priorities have changed.

Still a geek though. Not going to lie. Definitely still got the otaku within. <3 Still got the love for drawing and daydreaming stories. In fact I filled a third of my sketchbook with solid sketches this semester. Quite a feat considering I've had artist's block for about two years.

Now what?
I want to create a manga to stimulate thinking on spirituality and point people to the Truth instead of all the pseudo po-mo stuff out there, and I want to create a manga for girls addressing relationships/beauty/contentment/singleness, etc...Not that I am an expert, but...

Stay tuned.

Discretion

May I direct your attention to the little disclaimer to the right of this post?

The timing's apt coinciding with a decrease in my blogging. I use to be the avid blogger, blogging whatever came to mind with no discretion. Now the folly of my youth is up for the entire world to read until I find a way to archive without deleting everything.

Reflecting on this blogging phenomenon, it just shocked me how easily I spilled everything to the world. I've been reading a book on the Cultural Revolution lately. One wrong word in those days could very easily mean death. Yet here I am throwing words around flippantly.

In the beginning I definitely did it for the attention. Read: Ordinary People Afterwards it was just used to keep my friends updated. Then...there was nothing blogworthy. My thoughts just seemed silly.