A pic is worth a thousand blog posts

Just yesterday I commented in a friend's blog that I haven't updated the blog for so long... we both thought that it was kinda pointless to post our thoughts now after the events have passed so long... So many thoughts and reflections as events were happening, but I guess they are now memories. :)

So here they are, pics are worth a thousand posts:


Enoch 30hr Famine for the 1st time...


Church Summer Camp, life changing as always...


Jubilant 1st meeting, breaking ice... (see if you can find me, haha...)


Suddenly know a lot of CCF people...


Traveling everywhere with parents & 姨媽姨丈

剛剛 upload 完今次返澳門、香港的相, 有興趣可以去看。回去再看見家人和朋友, 感覺真的很好... 搞到我有一點衝動畢業後返去搵工... 後悔沒有在香港多影一些相。

這一陣子常常很早起身, 去梅園做它第一個客吃早餐, 其實真的幾寫意... 播著 90 年代懷舊的歌, 一手喝著杯熱奶茶, 一手拿著 paper, 真的太正了... 但這不可以持續太久, 皆因如果每天都做就太昂貴了! >< 今天聽到一首很好聽的歌, 以前都沒有聽過, 用歌詞 search , 原來是許美靜的 「明知故犯」。須然歌詞內容真的有點灰, 但無可否認, 歌曲真的很動聽。認真的題材, 配上許美靜的口音, 有時真的不知道笑好唔笑好...

同大家 share 下啦:

香港終於推出網上中文域名, 即話從現在開始, "http://www.可口可樂.hk/" , 將會 work 啦! 遲 D 登記個 www.何子健.hk 玩下都好 :) 最搞笑就是很多名店明星域名都已被人登記, 但「www.曾蔭權.hk」和「www.胡錦濤.hk」竟然還沒有人認頭, 真可憐。

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受 pp959 影響, 最近很好奇去讀亦舒的小說。唔講都唔覺, 其實男仔看愛情小說真的很奇怪麼?? 我覺得都 OK wo, 咪有係小說一本... 剛剛看完她 (其實開頭我都不知道她是男是女...) 最著名的「朝花夕拾」和她最新出的「你的素心」, 其實真的很好看! 她文筆異奇地好之外, 令讀者讀得很舒服, 亦帶出一些很現實及令人反省的題材。幾好幾好... 這個作者都幾瘋癲, 原來她總共寫了 254 篇作品!! >< 唔講你唔知, 原來方中信都是因「朝花夕拾」而紅!

Almost forgot I had a blog! Nearly 3 weeks without writing anything... seems so much happened since the last post. Let me think...

I have tutored at Room C for the fourth week now. A bit to my surprise, it is actually really more enjoyable than I expected. I didn't expect that I would actually look forward to it. Just being able to help students understand something, that moment when their face glows and say "Oh ~~", that really makes it all worthwhile.

Yesterday I prayed to God on a non-believer's behalf for the first time. Before I was a Christian, it always used to be that people would pray on my behalf, that God would reveal Himself to me. I cannot describe the mixed feelings when I did that for Betty for my first time. I could just picture I was at her place just a few years ago, and suddenly realized just how much God had revealed to me over these years. I really pray, God, that You will do the same for her what You did to me.

Wrote the first ever song in my life... I really can't believe it. I am really really "music stupid" when I was young, I am serious. But things have started to change when I started to really have the desire to play guitar in order to be able to sing those wonderful worship songs. Ever since then, God has revealed SO much to me. Thank You God for giving me this wonderful gift of music to experience more of You. I will not waste it.

Mum and dad just moved back to Hong Kong today. 16 years in Portugal... I guess they are now coming to an end. This is quite BIG, leaving everything behind after so many years. But I don't feel any discomfort for some reason... maybe I've been away for so long. I just realized that it would probably be a long time before I will go back there again... What would I do there anyway? There's no more home to go back to. So many memories running through my mind right now...

My parents are the ones who are really feeling the big change... I should really be more concerned about them these days. I love them. In the two weeks I will be in Hong Kong, I really need to spend some quality time with them, more than anybody else.

Missing somebody... I wonder what she is doing right now... Does she actually know?

Gifts

Received so many gifts these days! :)

Thank you for the birthday card and the BEAUTIFUL guitar! I really love it so much. Here it is, hehe:

Thank you Chad for the books. I'll make sure to read them!

Thank you guys

Thank you guys so much for the dinner and birthday cake... it really was out of my expectations! Everyday I feel more blessed. And it's been a long time I've had any Portuguese food, it was great. :)

I am so knackered today from snowboard... hopefully I can get up tomorrow morning... ><

A blessed birthday

Thank you guys so much for the cake tonight, it was really delicious! You guys are incredible... I really enjoyed the fellowship time tonight. Here's the leftover tree from the cake, isn't it beautiful? :)


Though not much happened, this birthday has been one of the best so far. Not because of the cards, nor because of the presents, but probably because the state of my heart is just so different this year. Feeling blessed makes a person the richest person on earth.

THANK YOU Sumanth for the email!! Oh how long have we not seen each other... Miss you so much.

Day of surprises

Thanks guys for the cake and card... I really wasn't expecting it, that was honestly a real surprise! Now that I think about it, oh my God how could I be so dumb and still could not realize what was happening when Fiona said "Wait, first we need to take care of some business across the room"... Haha, how awkward it must have been when you saw I didn't have a clue.

In the past, I always waited in expectation the dinner, the wishes, the cards and the presents that people would give me for my birthday. But, somehow, this year is the first year that I am giving less importance to celebrate my birthday, almost to the point of being unaware that it's my birthday. I think it's a good sign, because that means I am learning to take the focus off myself.

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Thank you Chad for that phone call, I really enjoyed chatting with you. It's been years since I've heard your voice or seen you in person, and it's wonderful to hear that familiar voice again.

Thank you for your tactful reminder to beware of falling into the trap of starting to become critical of other Christians as we follow Christ, and think, "I am a better Christian than they are". I'll keep this advice to heart.

And thank you to remind me to trust God in my relationships. It just encourages me so much that even little Jacob can have so much faith to say "I believe God will give me the right girl at the right time". :)

Thank you God for such a wonderful friend and brother.

Young Life International... I'll keep that in mind, Chad.

Finally finished with my student committee meeting today... First time I've ever had a meeting that lasted for 2 hours... I feel so tired and sleepy. I really need a Christmas break and go snowboarding.

Thanks Felix for inviting me tonight to the Singing Christmas Tree at Broadway Church, it was a really great performance. The orchestra and choir were superb, the songs were wonderful... and it's all done by members of a single church. Incredibly talented.

Updated some San Diego photos, but more coming later.

My eyes feel so heavy...

Words cannot express enough...

Oh, words cannot describe just how grateful I am for today. It was such an amazing and wonderful day, full of blessings and happiness.

I was so nervous the night before, even my friends noticed. I even joked to my friend in HK that I was so nervous that I almost wanted to quit at the last minute. Fortunately, he didn't support me.

The worship was so special today for some reason, it just touched my heart so much that the whole congregation around me is praising and worshiping God with the top of their lungs. I felt God was there in our presence, and He was given glory today.

Thank you all, my friends, brothers and sisters, for all of your care, cards, gifts, and words of encouragement. Most of all, thank you for just being there to share my happiness.

Thank you that you cared enough to handcraft such a beautiful and meaningful card. I will keep it in my heart forever. You are just the best fellowship ever :)

And thank you Fran for displaying such incredible friendship, even though we've not known each other for long. It really touched my heart and meant a lot to me. I am so grateful to have such a great friend and sister.

So much to plan and do now.

San Diego day 4

Today has just been like a rollercoaster...

An hour ago we just double checked our return flight information, and there was bad news... it seems that American Airlines not only canceled our first flight, they actually canceled the whole trip. So that means the return flight is no more, and we are now technically stuck in San Diego...

While Chris was trying to negotiate with Orbitz/American Airlines about getting our return flight back, I was already in the process of planning for our backup plan: renting a car and drive all the way back to Seattle... imagine that. Fortunately, after a series of finger pointing between Orbitz and AA, they were finally able to give us a return flight for free. Thank God. And thanks Chris.

So now the roller coaster is back up again, and we are watching Harry Potter on TV :)

Today we spent the whole day at the San Diego zoo, which was such an amazing time... even saw the elephant "release" like a water hose, and using the nose to touch the other one's "important position", it was hilarious. The 2nd highlight was the Orangutans and Gorillas, they are so funny... One big black gorilla was playing with a small orangutan, it was so amazing how they are so different yet got along so well with each other (though it led to occasional kicking and wresting). It's just mind boggling how much they resemble humans. All the spectators were commenting and laughing and having a good time.

Drove on the wrong side of the road today.... this may be an excuse, but I really think the road is badly designed. I was on a one-way street, on the left hand lane ready to turn left. Naturally, when you turn left from left hand lane, you will keep left when you turn! But apparently that road was a two-way street, and I was in the wrong side! Luckily there was only a car coming really slowly. But the funniest thing was that I thought he was on the wrong side, so I pressed the horn at him, before I finally realized and turned back to our lane! Even the driver laughed and made a funny gesture ~

Had Mexican Moles tonight. Very expensive ar...

San Diego day 3

Today's talks were much better than yesterday. My best impression was Yale's Mark Gerstein's talk, it had been the best talk of the event so far. But I guess that will be it, because tomorrow we are skipping the uninteresting talks, and going to the zoo instead! Woohoo ~ :)

Late afternoon we drove to Pacific Beach, and caught just in time the sun setting over the Pacific ocean! It was such a beautiful scene, is just indescribable... It's a shame I can't post it at the moment, since I didn't bring the camera cable with me.

After that we went to the Seaport Village by the seaside, with lots of very special shops, selling very special things. There was a kite shop with hundreds of varieties of kites, which was so tempting... My friend eventually couldn't resist and bought one, haha...

We then drove to Little Italy, and ate some Italian food. It was ok la... I think after the steak from yesterday, nothing can ever top that... :)

San Diego day 2

Quite a boring day today, all day listening to Systems Biology talks... But realized just how smart people from Harvard and Stanford really are. Even the bioinformatics grad students at UCSD, they are shockingly good... making us feel we should really do something about it, sigh...

For dinner we went to the La Jolla village, where I had the most delicious steak I've ever eaten in my life, oh my God... La Jolla is just like posh people's heaven.

Good luck with the exam tomorrow, I am sure you will nail it.

San Diego day 1

First time in my life that I have missed a plane...

What a day... 6 hrs drive to Seattle... stuck 2hrs in Richmond... Almost had to drive back to Vancouver and miss the whole conference.

Thanks God for hearing my prayers, and for the wonderful and amazing Alaska Airlines woman who helped us get the plane for the next morning... Everything worked out so well in the end that all four of us had such a great laugh at what had just happened. So many stories to tell when we get back, haha.... So grateful to have such wonderful friends. No blaming, just everyone trying to solve the problem together.

Also first time to present a research poster, was a good experience! But next time need to remember making the words bigger...

So far so good in San Diego!! The sun is just too comfortable. Oh yeah, and Ghirardeli's ice-cream is just sooooooooo yummy.....

教會原來臥虎藏龍...

Alpha 之後, 我決定了去大堂用那部 Grand Piano 來試一試彈奏剛剛在家練習的一首歌... wow, 間直太爽了!! 原來真的可以這麼大分別... 我已經決定 jor, 我未來的屋一定要有一部 Grand piano。

彈下彈下, 不知不覺原來有兩個年輕人悄悄進了來, 搞到我嚇了一跳... 原來他們聽到有人彈琴所以想 join 埋一起彈。Grace 和 Yan 我以前都從來沒有見過, 原來兩個都在國語堂裡做詩琴, 最搞笑的就是當一個彈的時候, 另外一個就負責翻歌譜, 真的最好拍檔 ~ 我們粵語堂是怎麼做的? 真的令人費解...

Anyway, 之後就好玩了... 我只示範了一次, Yan 已經可以輕易地沒有譜就能夠原原本本的彈一次, 真的令我佩服... 更令我佩服的就是他從來沒有跟人學過, 全都是他自己學的, 可見得神給他的恩賜是何等的大。加上他的嫌虛真的令我看到為什麼神這麼祝福他... 跟著 Grace 吹笛, Yan 彈琴, 我彈結他, 一起唱詩歌, 那種感覺實在太正了...

真的感謝神給我這麼偶然地認識到兩個這麼愛祢, 這麼有恩賜的朋友。不知道為什麼神最近對我那麼好, 讓我在不同地方都認識到那麼愛主祢的朋友... 真的是一種福份。

我真的相信今天晚上不是偶然... 你也感覺到嗎?

多謝神今晚所有發生的事, 特別是... :)

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在整個音樂會裡,我最喜歡就是「若沒有愛」這首歌。一聽下去就好像古典音樂,原來原曲真的是19世紀 Gustav Holst 所作的 Jupiter, 其中的小提琴實在太美妙了... 但最喜歡的都是裡面的歌詞,它講到,我們可以唱盡所有悅耳的詩歌,給人說所有關於耶穌的故事,所有聖經的道理,但若果沒有了耶穌當初為我們捨身的愛,更沒有了我們對神和身邊的人的愛的回應,那所有唱的、講的都是空的...

若沒有愛

若我可向萬人說講他方他鄉的說話
獨欠主偉大憐愛心 彷彿祇有字韻

若我懂以道來見證經裡所寫說話
若沒有他偉大憐愛心 空空祇有聲音

我默然聽你指引 渴求從上愛心,
唯願你賜下憐憫 開啟重燃內心
若這生靠著人各恩賜 所作的總有限
若有主赦罪憐愛心 終生可作妙韻!

願我主賜下愛心 終生可證主恩

今天打了去撞我車那個女人的 Daughter-in-law 屋企 (因為她才是車主...), 告訴她驗車出來的報告: $1,500。其實我也替她可憐, 因為她 22 年來沒有一個意外, 卻因為我的緣故可能要從此加保險費。所以都期待她會對我冷淡...

但她的回應真的令我意想不到。她不但像沒有埋怨我當初沒有跟她私人和解, 還能放低自己, 替她的奶奶跟我說: 「衷心的對不起, 我承擔 100% 責任」。她還很體諒我的心情, 說明白到那是新車, 還要我 "go through so much trouble" 來修理架車。

說了那番話令我一時之間不知怎麼招架... 唯有說我真的很 appreciate 她的道歉, 和告訴她我真的、真的沒有再擺在心中。若我那時還埋怨, 我真的不是人... 其實真的很欣賞這個女人的人格和勇氣, 因為她是最無辜的一個。幸好, 因為她的良好開車紀錄, ICBC 不會加她的保費絲毫。所以, 今次意外可以說是大團圓結局。:)

聽我身邊的人說意外經歷, 哪個不是令人互相猜疑, 說謊, 被人欺騙? 這麼好的結局, 真的值得感恩。

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今天溫哥華呼籲市民不要飲水喉水, 因為幾日的連場大雨竟令泥土混入了各個水塘, 感染食水。連擦牙都要用滾水, 真無奈... 都不知個天發生什麼事... 也許是 Global warming 掛...

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Oh, 還有, 今天幫我 supervisor 慶祝生日, 幾難先 "候" 到她得閒... 蛋糕是 Dan 買的義大利蛋糕, 都幾好食, 但實在太甜了...

看她幾 surprised!

老婆毀容了...

還未結婚, 又何來有老婆呢? 現在的老婆, 當然是指我最心愛, 每天出生入死的 Honda Civic 啦...

唉... 昨日漂亮的身段, 現在沒了一忽... 唉...

話說上個星期日 7:45am, 正當我泊好車, 準備轉身走入教會的時候, 突然聽見背後一聲 krrrssshhh 的聲音... 那個時候真的很想當作沒有聽見, 因為我離開我的車時正看到一駕車想泊我車的旁邊.... 是誰也估到發生甚麼事...

料就料到發生甚麼事, 但真的估不到傷得那麼厲害... 真的整個角落頭幾乎沒了... 好像一塊面沒了整個面豬 done 一般...

其實當時真的有如心如刀割, 還有點埋怨那個女人到底識唔識泊車。我想當時可能真的黑了塊面跟她拿資料... Worship 的時候, Grace (恩典) 這個字不知怎的常常浮現在腦海中... 不如放人一馬啦, 畢竟人與人的相處遠比一件死物重要... 想通了, 整個人當堂都輕鬆曬...

其實, 我真的好感恩, 因為神似乎給了我性格上一個很好的恩賜, 就是很快就可以想通一件不快樂的事, 這全都是神的恩典。也可能因為這樣, 很多朋友都說我沒有脾氣, 都不似正常人... 人地撞了你的車, 發一下脾氣都好正常掛? 其實我不是沒有不開心, 只是不知怎地我很快就可以想通, 心裡很快就會恢復平靜。換轉如果是我認識的某一些人, 可能個心 "eng" 住幾個星期, 或者已經 grill 了那個女人... 難道這就是好?