There's

activity going on in the empty lot across the street from my house.

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS...

PUMPKIN PATCH!!!!!!!!!

ergo...

PUMPKIN SWEETS TO GO AROUND!!!!!!!

::claps hands::

Symmetry

So I decided to buy a pair of new bookcases because I have a BUTTLOAD of books and other stuff to store. So of course, only having 1.5 years left here at UCSF, I decide to go with the cheapest possible option: Ikea Flarke Bookshelves ($20 ea). After four hours, the dust has settled, carpet vacuumed and all parts more or less put together.
 
The symmetry is breathtaking isn't it?

New pictures on Picasa. Check it out.

Classes

I have a problem. That's usually first step when dealing with problems, right? I have a problem. What's my problem? Not going to class. So far this quarter we've had 15 hours of class and I've missed 6 of them.

Today I had class at 8 and I ended up getting go class at 10. went to 2 hours of class. My reasoning for today's miss was that all of the classes have lectures of the audio. And I have a long day today with class, work and all of that.

But I've come to realize that I overestimate what I can do efficiently without getting stressed out. I've effectively become on "school" mode and automatically on school mode, i'm five hundred billion times more stressed than "work" mode or "summer" mode. I need to evaluate why that is. But anyway, my point being is that I have a limit to all the "stuff" I can do and multitasking may not be one of my strengths, either is trying to maintain a sane demeanor during school and having to "preform."

At any rate... we're going backpacking this weekend. Needless to say, it's going to be beautiful. :)

Beauty in the Brokenness

City Church has this special ministry called "Open Forum." And tonight it was a conversation with artist, Makoto Fujimura at the DeYoung Museum. It was the artist's reflections on September 11th. He lived three blocks from ground zero and his studio is 9 blocks. I'm once again reminded to stop and reflect before moving on from something. An event that he had with another japanese artist after the terror was this idea of a Japanese Tea Room. It was a place of "shalom" as he called it, a place for dialogue, for learning and an exchange of ideas over tea. A place for someone to express themselves, to engage and to process what they've gone through, what God has taught them. I think people need that. I especially think I need that.

Food Critic

Ever since moving to San Francisco, I've wanted to sample the UBER-good cuisine the city has to offer. I had my eye on the Zagat Restaurant book but never bought it until last week. So here's the first of many potential reviews of restaurants.

I guess I'm a foodie at heart.

A16 (Chestnut Street, Marina District)

All I gotta say is this is one of the most Yuppy restaurants I've ever been to. It's basically a restaurant of twenty-somethings and those young at heart craving some good Italian Food especially from the Campolino region of Italy. I wanted to come here because it's near my work and everytime I pass by it (even during the day) it's full of people and yesterday we had an occasion to. Well not really, but it was fun. All I gotta say is their homemade pasta is amazing. It was in this proscuitto base tomato sauce topped with grated mozzarella cheese. The noodles had enough gluten in it such that when you bite into it, it doesn't fall apart, but it's just the right level of chewy. We also tried the Marguerita Pizza. It was a little charred for my taste, but the thin crust and everything together was still pretty good.

The ambiance is nice and the waiters are trendy. All in all, I think it's a really good date place. (Winnie, I know you, Debbie and Yoona still doubt my standards of what constitutes as "date-y" but I'm sure this one is. :D)

Clean White Porcelain

 
Yes that's right. Our pink, squishy, germy cesspool of a toilet seat is gone.

And the replacement? A clean, cool, white toilet has replaced it.

Our bathroom is good, finally. :)

Photos

Hi.

Photos posted from my summer:

Vacation in China

Central Asia!!!

Quotations

"In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don't insist on your rights, don't blame each other, don't judge or condemn each other, don't find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Friends

One of my favorite pictures.

Dude, I'm freaking Jetlagged.

Yes that's right. So recounting the sleep cycles.... slept on Saturday morning at 2am, got up at 7am, went back to sleep at 1pm, got up at 5pm, went to bed on Sunday morning at 1am, got up at 6am, went back to bed at 12pm, woke up at 8pm, went back to bed on Monday at 1am, got up at FREAKING 5:41 AM.

that's NOT what i'm freaking talking about. shooooooot.


THIS is what happens when you slide down a mountain on your butt. Oh well, now I have a more expensive pair of jeans (according to abercrombie and fitch) and a memory out of it.

In case you didn't know...

Kyrgyzstan is here.

My new "special" friend.

Issy-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Coming Home

Living abroad is a very interesting concept. My roots are not in the place where I am inhabiting, and yet I've gotten into a routine and have made friends and found my niche (more or less). It is unfamiliar, yet a place where I am forced to adapt to. I am here being stretched to fit into a mold that I've never tried on.

I feel like that's a lot like how we Christians should approach our lives. I heard somewhere that our home is not of this world. That we are merely pilgrims here. We are born, we live and we die for one purpose: God. I guess those are all the thoughts in my head right now (besides the prospect of sleeping in my own bed with my baby blanket, talking to friends without having to worry about the cost and seeing familiar sights).

At any rate, in about...17 hours familiarity shall return. :)

In 8 hours

I will be leaving on a big boeing 777 probably... maybe 747 to fly across the pacific ocean to the big closed country in Asia for 2 weeks and then a smaller country in central asia for 4 mo.

Pray for me.

In the last week or so.. it's been a whirlwind from finals to preparing to actually leaving.

So for the next 6 weeks, I'll be taking a brief hiatus. But on that note, I'll leave you with a beef wellington. Hopefully that will be interesting enough to look at for the next month or so.

Coming to terms...

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I really do like the color pink.
I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm a girl and I get emotional.

Coming to terms...
About 10 months ago, I posted this.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
(Psalm 1:2-3)

This passage has been on the forefront of my mind this past year. It was my goal, it was something I wanted God to change about me and I prayed for it every night.

I feel like God has answered so many prayers this past year and taught me what it is to live abundantly abiding in Christ.

I remember in August, I was feeling really down. It was hard just to get out of bed in the morning. That feeling sucks. That hopelessness. But I think it was necessary for me to feel that way in order for God to teach me about his unconditional Love and what grace is.

I think fall quarter was all about working through and throwing out all of the skeletons in my closet. Any old shame that I was carrying, anxieties that have plagued me since childhood. But through all of that, there were good moments. In those moments, I felt like I was breathing oxygen for the first time. I could see and feel the warmth of the sun and I didn't have a care in the world. But they were just moments at a time.

Winter quarter was the transition. Moments of joy turned into days and weeks with sadness peppered within. I found community that was joyful and settlers. Haahaa, settlers is fun. I think everyone should play. It wasn't just that the game was fun, but it was the environment we had, the community. THAT was when I laughed until my side hurt. :)

Spring quarter was SO GOOOOOOOD. Now I feel like my default is joy and contentment. God is good. He's blessed me with so much and sometimes I can't help but smile and remember how good God is. I hope I never loose that. I never want to take God's power, love and grace for granted. I never ever want to take advantage of the people close to me. I want always to be thankful.

Psalm 1 was the theme of this year and it's been a good year.

Done and done.

I'M DONE I'M DONE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! :D

1) San Tung with the roomates tonight!
2) Biking to Sausalito tomorrow!
3) Big Red next week!

yayayayayayayay!!!!

Reflections to come shortly.

but... ::dance dance:: I'M DONE~!!

Chinese food? Really?

I have nothing interesting to say, except...

I CAN MAKE METH NOW!

So sad. So easy. That makes it even sadder.

Sunny Days

it's june already? what the heck?

time travels fast. sometimes i feel like as i age, time passes a lot faster, scary but exciting at the same time.

I have nothing really substantial to say just because I've been cramming my brain with information...

The upperclassmen were right, Farm school gets harder with each quarter. It's not the fact that the concepts are hard, but the sheeeeeeeeeeeeeer volume of information that we need to learn and retain is a little unsettling.

mreh... i need to keep the perspective that I'm doing it all for God. and all of this is a gift from God, NOT to be taken for granted.

Oh Crap! Finals are in a week!

!!!! >_<