The Evolution of Dance

Have a great Victoria Day!--I'm off to Michigan tonight to do some shopping... I'm not sure if I relly need to buy anything though... :)

Three Films

Lillian has been away in Montreal the last couple of years working for the National Film Board... Last night, I got to see all her hard work at screening of her animated short, “Jaime Lo, Small and Shy” and two others, “The Girl Who Hated Books” and “Asthma Tech”.

All the three films turned out to be really great--good lessons about reading, family & overcoming obstacles told in a sweet and funny way. They all made me laugh and some even almost brought a tear to my eye. ;)

Lil's film brought back memories of what many Chinese kids, including myself, have experienced: having a 'satellite' dad. Not having your dad around for extensive periods while you're growing up isn't that easy...

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening--and some other interesting happenings. It was great seeing Lil's efforts turn into something amazing. I hope she produces a DVD 'cause I think I'd like to have a copy. :)

CCSA

After 4 years, I’m gonna give CCSA another try this summer. To be sure, I have my reservations--from past personal experiences and, perhaps a bit unfair, some generally bad impressions. While there are those who are strong supporters of the league, I had been questioning whether it was still serving its original purpose as a Christian outreach league. Anyhow, I’m not gonna debate the merits of the leagues ‘cause everyone has their own opinion.

One of the main reasons I haven’t felt the desire to play either was because I wasn’t even bringing my own friends out to play softball anymore… some of us found another league to play, and we’ve enjoyed it just the same… However, Charita is inviting a bunch of her friends out to play and wanted some help introducing them to church ‘n stuff, so I’m gonna try to help her out with that… Allan also did a pretty good job ‘selling’ his team to me and promoting the fun and fellowship—I think is the most important reason for me to play this year. Serving in Kyrios has been a huge blessing in my life, and many of the teens have become good friends and even contributed to my Christian walk. Still, even with my good relationships with the fellow counselors, I feel that I’ve missing out on fellowshipping with my own peers—people who are closer in age and at similar stages in life. I’m definitely looking forward to that this summer… And a bonus would be IF I met someone too… haha… kiddin’!… or am I? :P

Happy Mother's Day

Please. Thank You. I love you, mom. ;)

Taking the Plunge... Easter Baptism... FINALLY!... :D

"As I share with you today, I know that it comes as a surprise to some of you that I'm even standing here. Many people, including some of my closest friends, probably assumed that I was baptized because I've been attending TCCC for so long. I want to briefly share with you a bit about my long journey to make this decision.

My mom and grandmother brought me to church when I was about 6 years-old--so I've been a part of TCCC for over 20 years now. Over the years, I've learned a lot about God and have been pretty active in the church. I grew up going to Sunday School, singing in the Children's choir, playing CCSA softball, joining Kyrios and eventually even serving in the fellowship. In retrospect, even though God has always been present in my life and I had been brought up with many Christian teachings and values, I'm not sure if I truly had a personal relationship with Him.

In university, being away from home, I no longer had my family and friends pushing/reminding me regularly to go to church or to keep up my prayer and devotions. I had to make these decisions on my own, and admittedly they weren't always a priority in my life. In March 2000, at a winter retreat, I was frustrated with my struggles and wanted to reconnect with God. That weekend I gained another perspective about how God fit into my life and decided I wanted to make changes. So I made a commitment to Him.

Although I finally wanted that personal relationship, baptism was still something that didn't really cross my mind. I still struggled with a few things--I felt that I still had to learn much more about my faith, and truly understand who God is. I also worried about whether or not I could overcome my sins and my flaws. I always pushed baptism aside because I thought that I needed more time to be ready.

But ever since TCCC began asking people to come up and receive communion, instead of just passing the plate, it became much more personal act. God was challenging me to ask myself what was stopping me from taking part. I started going to the Basic Christianity classes because I wanted to make sure I understood why I believed in Jesus and what exactly he'd done for me. Although I've cleared up many of my questions now, I realize too that there will always be so much more for me to learn and seek. I've had some personal struggles with various things over the last year, but in recent months, I've come to realize and accept that I need to let go and let God take control of my life. Whatever sins I've committed, whatever flaws I have, I know that I will never be perfect. I've asked God to forgive me and that's why Jesus Christ died for me. Whatever fears I have, whatever struggles I'm going through, I know that God will provide. I need to let go of all these things that are holding me back from taking this next step. God has been pushing me especially, through the messages and my friends, over the last few weeks to not make any more excuses. It seems a bit strange that it's taken me this long, but now I want to make myself wholly available to him.

Finally, I want to say that I'm eternally grateful for everyone who has impacted me so far in my life--my family who've always loved & supported me, my closest friends who have encouraged & prayed for me, other friends who've challenged me with questions about my faith, those who've I served with over the years and taught me so much, the teens who have set an example with their passion for God, and of course God for His grace in my life. By sharing with you today, I hope you can keep me accountable and continue to build me in my walk."

Give Us Courage

Give us courage, Lord, to stand up and be counted,
to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves,
to stand up for ourselves when it is needful for us to do so.
Let us fear nothing more than we fear you,
let us love nothing more than we love you,
for thus we shall fear nothing also.

Let us have no other God before you,
whether nation or party or state or church.

Let us seek no other peace
but the peace which is yours
and make us its instruments,
opening our eyes and our ears and our hearts,
so that we should know always
what work of peace we may do for you.

- Alan Paton, from 'Instrument of Thy Peace' (Fount, 1983)

CB4 Bobblehead Night

Does it really look like him? (Made in China, of course...)

Too bad they couldn't pull out a win 'cause Mike James ia ball hog! Ah well, it was an exciting game--high-scoring and OT. Plus Chris Bosh is likely headed to the all-star game...

You've been tagged!

Interesting that despite my lack of updates, it appears that I still have some regular readers... :P... Anyway, here’s something to keep it interesting until I have something more thoughtful to write...

Four jobs I’ve had

1. As Mr. Bowers used to say, “Je travail pour le GOU-VER-NE-MENT.” :)
2. Scotiabank Teller – Have an outstanding day.
3. Fortinos Cashier - Can you believe that some people are willing to hold up the line over a scanning error for 10 cents?
4. TCCC Day Camp Counsellor - I once got 'tricked' into wiping a kid’s butt. Stupid me. And please don't ask, "How?" :P

Four movies I can watch over and over

1. Office Space – “Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler”
2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – One Man's Struggle To Take It Easy
3. Toy Story 2 – Hamm cracks me up.
4. The Shawshank Redemption – “Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

Four places I have lived

1. New York City, NY – Where I was born...
2. Waterloo, ON – My time at university...You gotta love the smell of Waterloo air in the morning...
3. Toronto, ON – The capital of Canada, right?
4. At this point, I can’t see myself living anywhere else. BUT that could change...

Four TV shows I love

1. "24" – Jack Bauer's saliva is bullet-proof.
2. "Family Guy" – Yes, a guilty pleasure. Giggity giggity.
3. "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
4. "Seinfeld" - I never get sick of watching those reruns on TBS.

Four places I’ve vacationed

1. Australia (2005) – Spending ~20 hours trapped in a plane is not fun, but I got to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
2. Thunder Bay, ON (2004) - Ok, it's not a 'hotspot' per se, but it actually turned out to be pretty fun hangin' out with Tim and Nicole and enjoying God’s spectacular creations way up north.
3. Hong Kong, China (1997) - Lucky enough to celebrate and witness the changeover at the harbour on July 1.
4. Vancouver, BC – If I could live anywhere else in Canada, it’d be here. The air actually smells fresh.

Four of my favorite dishes

1. Chunky Beef noodle soup at Asian Legend – Yummm... Spicy...
2. Prime Rib, but it HAS to be, at least, medium-rare – The best I’ve had so far is at the Keg. Can anyone suggest a better place?
3. Sushi Bong special – Admittedly it’s not the best sushi out there, but there’s something to be said about mom & pop restaurants, good service and loyalty.
4. Mel’s Favourite at Mel’s Diner (Waterloo) – Nothing beats breakfast for $2.99 at whatever time of the day. I’ve even been there at 3AM in the morning.

Four sites I visit daily

1. Raptorblog – The best Raptors fan site since 2002.
2. Google, Gmail, Google Reader, Google Talk – Pretty much anything Google-related. Everything keeps the KISS principle. I hate Microsoft.
3. TorrentSpy – Good place to download TV Shows that I miss during the week.
4. Yahoo! Fantasy Sports – I need to stop signing up for all these pools.

Four places I would rather be right now

1. In my bed. – For some reason, I never feel like I get enough sleep. It doesn't help either when I have ultimate frisbee games starting at 11:15 PM like tonight.
2. Relaxing on a beach somewhere hot. – Just when I thought spring had arrived early, Mother Nature dumps a few more cms of snow and so I’m back outside shoveling again.
3. Chillin’ at home and catchin’ up on movies before the Oscars.
4. In my lifetime, I’d like to be there to see the Raptors hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. (I know, it’s wishful thinking.)

Five people I am tagging

1. eBrian
2. fayjan
3. jennruto
4. janICE
5. Anyone else who’s reading this...

Chinese New Year Bowling...

Man, Andy totally smoked us! And I totally sucked... although I bowled a much more respectable 132 in the next game...

More pics here...

Janice & Jono's 18th birthday

Celebrating Janice & Jono's 18th birthday at Korean BBQ... People can be such pyros!!! :D 

More pics here...

Mom's Birthday...

Celebrating mom's birthday at the Keg... 

More pics here...

Don't waste your opportunities 'cause you may never get them back...

"Time in a Bottle"

--Jim Croce

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day
Till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then,
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go
Through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go
Through time with

LET GO AND LET GOD

"All For You"

--Starfield

Nothing compares to
Life I have in You
Nothing of this world satisfies
So, I want to let go
I want to let You know
All that I have to give is Yours

Here I am
As gold to the fire
I will surrender to Your hand
To this place
Lord, I have come ready for Your touch

It's all for You
It's all for You
I'm letting go
I'm letting go

What is it in me
That hangs on for so long
Why do I fight the tears that come?
I work so hard to
Keep in control when
All that I want is to let go

I'll take this life
And lay it down
I'm letting go
I'm letting go
My hopes and dreams
Here at Your feet
I'm letting go
I'm letting go

And I am ready for Your life
And I am ready for You now