USC visit

Today was AWESOME fun because i FINALLY got to visit USC campus and friends <333

a big thanks to stanley for driving!!

some top highlights of the day:

-seeing all the different kinds of pretty bikes [a lot of students bike at USC and it's cause parking sucks]

-experiencing breezy/sunny/beach weather

-receiving a free hot dog for lunch [and later annie&stacie cooked for us so we only ended up spending money on shaved ice at night] at kcm bbq

-touring usc and exploring the huge levee [sp?] library which was GORGEOUS and expansive!!

-playing in one of the fountains and high-fiving the statue :OD with stanley

-angie giving me a ride on her beach cruiser

-playing scattergories [never gets old to me]

-reunited with friends [priscilla visited too :O) ]

-finally getting to visit USC's AACF

-seeing phylicia and angie lead :OD

-finally getting to see USC's Epic people on their campus [saw courtney, warren, vince, gabe, matt, and jessica] briefly

-sneaking onto the roof of one of the buildings on campus and getting an INCREDIBLE view of LA

-eating YUM korean shaved ice [shaved ice never gets old]

-seeing usc's school pride everywhere. even the elevators in apartments are painted with usc's colors :Op

-meeting new people

i could go on and on but overall, i thoroughly enjoyed my very first visit to USC campus :OD thanks to all the tour guides and drivers and cooks!!

<3

sisters in Christ

ah, another awesome day of fellowship!!

i am so thankful for my sisters in Christ.

i got to spend most of the day with genevieve before she goes back to Canada. it was fun eating yummy taiwanese food with her, trying new mango shaved ice, and shopping and exploring Arcadia/Temple City/Rosemead/San Gabriel with her!

then i got to chat on the phone with my very dear friend far away in Missouri. oh how distance hurts. but God is gracious and allows communication such as phone calls!! it was a very encouraging phone call. always fun to share with God has done in my life. helps me reflect back on his goodness and how he had it taken care of all along&how i should be looking to that for the future!

lastly, reina and i briefly spoke on the phone but i am always encouraged talking to her and love listening to her stories :O)

fellowship is such a cherished gift!! just gotta make sure i don't cherish it TOO much over other things :Op

i praise you Lord for blessing me with sisters in Christ!

running the race

so you know how God is at the end of the race [of life]?

i also view him as one of those helpers who are on the side during the long marathons that give out water to the racers.

God is like that too and doesn't leave us alone when we're starting to get "dehydrated" and "weary." He always offers help and refreshment.

i appreciate that sooo much :O]

God is the ultimate provider!

soothing music

i know i've said this before but i just ADORE driving on the freeway AT NIGHT with CLASSICAL music BLASTING. it's so soothing to me and it's awesome to just sit before God like that. no talking, no thoughts; just music and silence.

silence is golden but to me, i also find silence with classical music golden as well.

oh and once you get off the freeway, it's also nice to roll down the windows and feel the breeze while listening to calming music and seeing the glow of the traffic lights.

that's one of the ways i like to end my nights. :O]

overkill on mango shaved ice and snow

so for the past 2 weeks, i've been having shaved snow and ice at different places but quite frequently. i've also been going with different people [hence why it's been frequent].

i feel i might die from the sugar overdose. ahah. it's sooo delicious though. mango is such a GREAT flavor. and it is my favorite fruit!!

i think i prefer shaved SNOW over ICE. just because the texture is so fascinating, smooth, creamy but not weak like ice cream, and icy still ;O)

a big thumbs up to these following dessert places:

Class 302, PaPa Walk, and Phoenix.

i wonder how asians come up with these random and odd names for the restaurants.

even though i've been going like every other day [or in some cases, every day], i don't think i will get sick of it.


i am worried that i will have withdrawals [or as patricia put it, shaved-withdrawals] once i go back to school and there are NO asian places there that serve shaved anything :O(

anywho, if you have never tried shaved ice or shaved snow, you GOT TO. it's soooo good and worth trying!!!

THANK YOU LORD for my taste-buds and provision of funds&transportation&ice&good company.

fear of crickets

I DID IT!! i conquered my fear of killing a cricket momentarily and SMASHED that sucker!!

my older brother came walking past my room and commented that there was a cricket near my parent's room.
he always likes to do that in a teasing voice cause he knows i HATE bugs and cannot rest if they are near my room [or ESPECIALLY in my room. they never survive there. never.] or in the house.
and of course he NEVER kills them either; purposely to irritate me&find joy in my anguish.

well, i usually yell for my mom first because she's more willing to kill bugs for me. while my dad will always say "just leave it alone" or if i bug him too much, he'll finally attempt to kill it but uses a rubber-band and 90% of the time misses which allows an escape for the bug because it runs away and we cannot find it. so i dislike asking my dad. well, my mom was busy at the moment so i had to take matters into my own hands. i was NOT going to let that cricket get away. it was BIG too.

so i grabbed two books. one was a big one to block myself incase the cricket jumped at me. another was to use to smash it dead. i was absolutely terrified as i stared at the cricket with it's long antlers moving and the hugeness of it's size. i did not want to be near it but my desire for its domination was stronger. i continued to stare at it for 5 minutes and my brother walked past me several times. i heard him tell my mom to help me kill it to which she exclaimed "whaaat??" because she didn't know i was waiting for her to kill it. which i wasn't. my brother misinterpreted my body language. i was getting ready to kill it myself. i had to first block out all the thoughts that were causing my fear to grow. for instance, it was starting to move and i did not want it to get away so i knew i had to act soon, and REAL soon. well i couldn't take the pressure anymore of knowing it could get away, my parents were starting to get annoyed and making exasperated sighs while my brother was describing the situation to them, and i wanted to prove i could be bold.
so i...took the book and SLAMMED it against the wall real hard and then bounced back and hit my hand on something nearby. hitting my hand was my fault because i was so scared i used as much force as i had and didn't care to control what happened to my hand after i hit the cricket.

the results: a dead cricket [with it's body on the floor and guts on the wall], a red scratch on my hand, and surprisingly no guts on the book. of course no one was going to clean it either so i had to do THAT too. but i just slipped two kitchen gloves on and picked up the body while squealing out of disgust. i HATE when i can feel the body. bleck!!!

nevertheless, the cricket was dead. Thanks be to God for giving me this challenge and courage to meet the challenge :O)

i told myself, through Him i can do all things!!


another thought, i realized pressure gets me to move.


i don't work well under pressure, but i do work.


yay for a cricket-less house!!!

the blessing of networking

today was a very fun small AACF UCR and USC hang out!!

there were 5 R'side people and 8 USC people [although one of the USC people originated from R'side so it's more 5.5 and 7.5]

some of us went to get shaved ice at PaPa Walk and then hung out at Tap Ex and played Scattergories!! :OD
This all took place in San Gabriel but we all come from different cities! CRazyness!

It's crazy to think how we all met each other through the joint AACF event, church, or mutual friends. And how did all of this happen? through unity in Christ!! We all share the same goal in common and have many other things in common. It's fun to think of how God brings different campuses together through his unwavering love and goodness.

thank you Lord for the blessing of networking! :O]

popular

gahh it's getting annoying. 2 more people called me that again today.

being popular is like having movie star status where a LOT of people around the world know you.

i am not popular. i just thrive on people. i would be the first one to admit to you i do not have movie star status where everyone knows me.
it just so happens in the asian circle, networking is very easy and i have taken advantage of that.

but i am NOT popular.

there are many misconceptions that come with such a title as well. on my birthday, everyone thought that everyone else was going to ask me to hang out or have lunch with them. well, when everyone thinks that, there is no one left to hang out with! so i ended up being very sad. but not lonely cause i made a date with God and it turned out to be an awesome time.
but really,

assumptions are annoying. but i make them too. so i just wanted to share with you how sometimes they can be hurtful.

that is all.

[p.s. if you've called me popular in the past, don't think i hate you. i'm just warning you to please not say it in the future.]

it's in God's hands

funny how it's so easy to stress over things but then after submitting it to prayer and when the event passes, one looks back and realizes God had it taken care of way before it entered one's mind. God's got it covered and with him behind your back, you've got absolutely NOTHING to worry about. :O)

and yet, we still worry. or at least i do. maybe it's just human nature [cause it comes so swift and naturally]. but i'm working on giving up my stress. or maybe i'm just mistaking my nervousness for worry. cause sometimes i really do let go but during the situation, i still get a little shaky and sweaty. strange.

switching subjects again, i'm excited for Epic to start this coming year. God always teaches me sooooo many things through Epic. He teaches me through leadership, through students, through planning, through evangelizing, and through inter-fellowship times :O]

I am even more excited that i am going to have my car FINALLY this year!! i am still super UBER thankful for my car. it truly is a BLESSING and i feel like i am living a dream [i never imagined i'd have a car, let alone be able to drive]. even in the summer it is extremely handy for meeting up with people and having hang outs. before, i'd always be stuck at home with no ride and nothing to do and i would ALWAYS miss out on events. sometimes i still have nothing to do but at least now i have a car! :O) thank you Lord!!

lastly, i miss taking pictures. i think it would be interesting to have a DSLR camera now. before, i didn't want one because it's so big, heavy, and hassle to carry around [can't fit in my purse!!]. but after seeing the quality of pictures it captures, it's AMAZING!! but i'm still happy with my small-convenient sized camera. i won't get it back until the end of August. for now, my phone will have to do :O]

dearly missed

I MISS IRVINE!!!!!!!!

:O(

Christ-centered

something that's been on my mind...



how can hang outs with friends [specifically fellow brothers and sisters] be more Christ-centered?

late night adventures

spontaneity.

what does that mean to you? to me, it is letting go of all doubts&worries that would hold one back from being adventurous and trying new things. it's having the freedom to be free and have FUN!

that's what i did tonight :O) i love having spontaneous trips. though it's probably better to have them in the summer when there is no school. i went to welcome back Amy and David from their mission trip with Party Animal and Katydid :O]

we went to LAX and went to the wrong terminal and had to run alll the way on the other side and then we found out amy and david had left but we called them and they stopped for us at the Sheraton hotel. so we still got to see them :OD ohh we've missed you guys<3

we didn't get to talk to them long though because they were tired and their moms were waiting for them.

so we parted ways and then the spontaneity began.

we went to Santa Monica.

but first, we picked up ice cream at McDonalds :O) mmmm their oreo mcflurry is sooo good!

we tried going to Diddy Reese but it was closed :O( and then we walked around Santa Monica beach and i haven't been there in awhile and it was so beautiful!!

the sand felt so nice when we walked near the shore. squishy squishy!! :O)

came back late at 3am. i broke my record for my curfew! wooo! but my parents knew i'd get back late. and they didn't specify what time to come back. thank goodness pepper did not bark when i came back [usually he does and i wouldn't want him to wake them].

before all the fun in LA, i didn't do much at home. i did play Rockband with Joshua for like 4 hours. ahah that was fun! i love playing the guitar part. and i got to dress my character and gave her this gorgeous colored purple hair :O)

i'm trying to regain my guitar calluses [real guitar, not rockband]. it hurts playing because my fingers aren't used to it. i'm working on my strumming too. strumming is hard :Op

finished another Urbana book!! The next one i'm reading is about asians in leadership. It's called Invitation to Lead.

i feel like my posts are progressing into longer posts because i'm sharing more random stuff. hm, might have to limit that. but glad i'm gaining more followers :O)

jazz music in the moonlight

there's something extra soothing when i'm just sitting in my car driving on the freeway and listening to either jazz or classical music [loudly i might add] and it's just me in the car. it's such a lovely peace and a great time to talk to God, sit in silence, and ponder. it's one of my favorite things to do now.

and what adds to it is if there's a beautiful setting: like the moon very bright and houses lit up on the side, and today i saw a gorgeous and colorful sunset with clouds. God's nature is truly amazing. Scenery enhances the music experience. :O]

i feel like i have so much to blog about!

being done with school is SO LIBERATING! i loove it!

tabling is over as well, phew!

going to riverside always teaches me so much through my interactions with people.

I think God purposely opens my eyes to things i need to work on through this method because it's easier for me to understand and put into perspective.

funny how i used to visit irvine a lot but not i'm visiting riverside a lot! next, i'll be visiting...who can guess? :O)

anywho time to sleep.

SO excited to start summer plans now!!

for those who are reading this: go listen to jazz music or classical on high volume when you're driving. try it. :O]