rabbit tale for my heart

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

From one of my all-time favourites - "The Velveteen Rabbit"

3-liner

I am getting lazy at blogging.
Maybe cos recently I have nothing to say in that in-between stage.
Superficial issues are too bland, and the heartfelt issues make me way too vulnerable. :P

Rain Down

RAIN DOWN
DELIRIOUS

LOOKS LIKE TONIGHT, THE SKY IS HEAVY
FEELS LIKE THE WINDS ARE GONNA CHANGE
BENEATH MY FEET, THE EARTH IS READY
I KNOW ITS TIME, FOR HEAVEN’S RAIN
IT’S GONNA RAIN, YEAH YEAH

COS IT’S LIVING WATER WE DESIRE
TO FLOOD OUR HEARTS WITH HOLY FIRE

RAIN DOWN, ALL AROUND THE WORLD WE’RE SINGING
RAIN DOWN, CAN YOU HEAR THE EARTH IS SINGING
RAIN DOWN, MY HEART IS DRY BUT STILL I’M SINGING
RAIN DOWN, RAIN IT DOWN


BACK TO THE START, MY HEART IS HEAVY
FEELS LIKE IT’S TIME, TO DREAM AGAIN
I SEE THE CLOUDS, AND YES I’M READY
TO DANCE UPON THIS BARREN LAND
HOPE IN MY HANDS, YEAH YEAH

DO NOT SHUT
DO NOT SHUT
DO NOT SHUT THE HEAVENS

BUT OPEN UP
OPEN UP
OPEN UP OUR HEARTS
RAIN DOWN, ALL AROUND THE WORLD WE’RE SINGING
RAIN DOWN

GIVE ME STRENGTH TO CROSS THE WATER
KEEP MY HEART UPON YOUR ALTAR, RAIN DOWN
GIVE ME STRENGTH TO CROSS THE WATER
KEEP MY FEET DON’T LET ME FALTER, RAIN DOWN

DO NOT SHUT THE HEAVENS
BUT OPEN UP OUR HEARTS
OPEN UP OUR HEARTS
DO NOT SHUT THE HEAVENS
BUT OPEN UP OUR HEARTS
OPEN UP OUR HEARTS

happy girl

Yes I am working now!
And yes, it's in church editorial department.
Woo hoo!
Am a happy girl. :)

Plus I am totally enjoying my iBook.
And lurf it that I can access internet wirelessly now.
Woo hoo!
Am a happy girl. :)

Chinese New Year is coming.
Ang baos and once-in-a-year catch-up with some cousins.
Woo hoo!
Am a happy girl. :)

I got a postcard from Japan today!
Yes, it's from Nicole.
Woo hoo!
Am a happy girl. :)

geisha geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha is ooh-la-la!
Very tastefully done and powerful.
There is power in restraint, I tell you.
Now I wanna read the book and have freakish blue-grey eyes.
Haha.

chapalang pics

A grad pic for the record! :)
Make-up credits go to Sis Wei Wei.
















My farewell pic with RMIT.












Having a fish n' chips feast at Lorne.
Darren and his mum joined us too for the Great Ocean Road experience.














Mum's berfdae at Cafe Greco, Crown.












Cute Granny tribute 1 - check her out looking all red riding hood in my ski jacket!












Cute Granny Tribute 2 : check her out looking so minute next to mr-tall!















Cute Granny tribute 3 : check her out eating THAT portion!

zzzzzzzz......!!

My body is trying to tell me something.
I've been waking up at the weirdest hours for the past few days.
And when I do sleep, I get infiltrated by the most bizarre dreams.
I think there are too many thoughts crammed into my brain, and they are all fighting for prominence the moment I open my eyes.
Which is weird...'cos I am on holiday!
For once, I am in the right mode at the right time.
I'm starting work next Tues, so I've been enjoying myself ever since I finished my last semester.

Okei, so here's what I've been up to.

I went wakeboarding again. :)

It's really starting to grow on me.

If only it wasn't such an expensive sport. :P

Anyway, we wakeboarded in the rain this time...

It's been raining donkeys and elephants since January started.
But it's cool Val got to go too, this time.
Next time up - Mark, Rose, Jae, Bry okei? :)

I'm buying an iBook tomorrow. Woo hoo!!
No more 3kg Compaq monster for me.

Taxi marathon!
The original is really way way better than the Queen Latifah one.
Luc Besson is a genius.
One marathon down, the LOTR one to go.
And I need a feel-good show....
There've been none this season except for the glaring exception of Narnia.
But I've seen that twice and I think I may hit marginal utility if I watch it again.
I watched Elizabethtown, and I actually felt a little disturbed by it.
It made me feel bombarded by so many hidden meanings that I'm not catching.
For what I did catch, I donno what to feel.
How bizarre.

Anyway, I'm putting up long-overdue pics in my next entry. :)

Stops of Jesus

Two days ago, I was in Suntec making my way down to meet Val at her workplace.
Being kinda a one-track mind, I walked right past a girl I knew from church, without even noticing her.
She called my name and waved "hi".
Figuring I had a little time, I stopped to ask how she was doing.
She was her usual chirpy self, and I was expecting some giggly updates.
To my surprise, she started to share about some really personal problems.
Stuff that really shocked me to the core.
(No, of course I'm not gonna say what here. Anyway, she'd already spoken to her leader so I know everything is being taken care of.)
But this was right in front of Watson's where the crowds were teeming....mind you....which gave me an idea of how much she really needed to talk it out.
She started to get more affected as she shared, and eventually we sat down somewhere so she could continue.
Halfway thru, I wondered if I would be able to leave in time to meet Val....but in the midst of it all, Val called and agreed it'd be better for her to come meet me in Suntec instead.
So that gave me more time to listen the gal out.
It took quite a while, but it was obvious she was a lot more at ease when she left.
She hadn't been able to sleep the night before, so I urged her to go home early and rest....while I continued to wait for Val.

You really never know what u're gonna get when you stop for people sometimes.

Why did I bring this up?
Cos today in church service, Dr. Joyce Meyer said this,

"As Christians, we always want to follow the footsteps of Jesus.
But maybe we should study the stops of Jesus."

A statement that cast its hook on my mind.
Jesus was the Son of God with a huge mission at hand.
But He always stopped to help the "little" people along the way.
How often do we rush past someone 'cos we are so busy "doing the work of the kingdom"?
I think, as far as God's concerned, people are the work of the kingdom.

I don't think I made a profound impact on the gal's life just by listening that night.
But I am glad that just cos I stopped, I was able to remind her how precious she was to God.

And, I never realised this until Dr. Joyce Meyer pointed it out....but go check it out in John 21.
After Jesus was crucified, went down to hell for 3 days, resurrected and all, the first thing He did was to make breakfast for His disciples.
That sure puts servanthood in a whole new light, doesn't it?

how you end your year will determine how you enter the next

Nothing beats being back in CHC.
No more interrupted streaming as I am watching service online.
And again, I can jump and dance and praise and worship oh-most-happily.
You may say, "But u can do that anywhere."
Yes, but it's not the same.
There is liberty in THIS house.
After 3 years of missing it from 8,000 kms, I am finally back for good.

2005 has been quite a year.
Full of boo-boos and laughter and tears and triumphs.
Full of self-discoveries and other-discoveries.

For one....
I can no longer deny the level of klutziness i have attained in this year.
Coke, tea, soup...you name it, I've spilled them all.
Sometimes twice in the same day.
And I nearly burnt down my Melb apartment kitchen several times.
If we hadn't removed the batteries from the smoke alarm, I would have been on first-name basis with the firemen by now.

On the other hand...

I went skiing and wakeboarding and camping and fishing this year and had such fun!
It's true, nothing beats getting close to nature.
After all, it's where the majesty of God is revealed.

And I've made some really good frens this year.
Some frenships turn out just the way you expect them to, some don't.

Somewhere along the line, you are bound to have your fair share of touching and disappointing moments.

I thank God for frens, old and new, who have stayed through the thick and the thin.

For those who moved on, I am grateful that He allowed these shooting stars to shine in my life.

And where people have difficulty finding jobs back home after graduation and all, 3 job offers hit me way before I graduated.
I hadn't even re-worked my resume yet!
It made me feel totally spoilt by my really cool Daddy.
For a while, I almost didn't wanna make any decision, cos they all seemed so final.
Haha...I guess there's always that child in us that doesn't wanna grow up.
But choose I did, and although it's scary sometimes to think I made a crossroads decision, it helps to know God's in control and He's watching over me.

I've learnt in this year that God is even more gracious than some people make Him out to be.
Being the cheeky gal that I am, even if I wander off, He still keeps me within the fences of His protection.
And He feels.
He gets tickled when I am tickled.
He is heartbroken when I am heartbroken.
Issit any wonder that I lurf Him so?

All in all, I thank God for 2005, and I'm positive about 2006.
Although, I didn't catch any fireworks last night, so I reckon I'll have to watch the Chinese New Year ones TWICE. :P

For now, I am going to play hard before I start work on 16 Jan.
Can't wait! :)
A big fat happy new year to one and all!