What my friends have taught me..
jan: true friendship you offered. True friendship you taught. We've shared 5 solid years of high school memories and counting, a home when i needed it and laughter when i felt hopeless. For this i offer you my deepest thanks.
barbara: you taught me never to underestimate the value of a good hug. That to be able to hug a person when they're at their most impossible is the bravest and most loving thing you could possibly do. That hugs begin the healing process to every internal wound.
the chapmans: true love bridges all differences and time will tell
the morgans: you allowed me to be myself because you were yourselves. The inquisitive, bumbling me that rarely surfaces nowadays. How i miss you!
may: that
a good laugh really is the best medicine. that love is action speaking.
bernice: taking the time (no matter the length) to get to know someone is a very worthy investment
ellen: adventure is as close as your closest friends
manda: when you can be silly with someone, it's a measure of your closeness
Lyons: when you believe in another person, you're giving them life
luke: the deeper a friendship is the harder it is to express in words; the harder it is for words to exist where meanings dominate
wendy: that honouring your parents is a reflection of how honourable you are
church fellowship: I wouldn't be who i am, where i am if it wasn't for the grace of God. He guided my every step, held me when i was most unresponsive and answered my prayers long before i knew what to say. He is the reason i try to better myself and why i strive to see the best in others even when they refuse to see it in themselves..
work in progress so this will be updated - but im too tired now so leaving it here..
What kids have taught me..
.. about themselves. This is a work in progress so expect updates. Here goes:
1> If they like you, they will hang onto every word you say.
2> If they like you, they won't tell you straight - tho the ones that suck up to you might.
3> Praises are always more constructive than criticisms in any form. They'll remember you by how you made them feel, rather than what you say. So don't give them lectures or you'll just be seen as a boring old fart.
4> Don't ever expect them to act the way you think they will, at least not immediately. They take their own sweet time figuring out how your words fit in with what they know and how they see the world.
5> Saying 'thank you' and 'please' are not in-built mechanisms. If they don't say it, then no big deal- just remind them to:)
6> They love to teach you their stuff. The more you let them take charge, the more they'll listen to what you say when you have to say it.
7> Take words from the mouth of a child seriously. If you laugh at them, you shame them and lose their respect.
8> Once they start asking you about yourself, you're onto a good thing.
9> If a kid does something out of line, never reprimand them before asking them why they did it first. Unless it's really that bad in which case the kid should already be defending himself:)
10> Kids know when you're doing things that actually take their needs into account rather than just serving your own interests. Their intuition can be downright spooky. But they're not that stubborn either, and will see other perspectives so long as they're logical (i'm talking 9-12 year olds here).
Rocks Markets
The Rocks Markets today was cool. Not that i did any exploring. It's simply not that fun browsing in a highly conspicuous St John's uniform on top of strangely cold weather :S But the atmosphere and all felt really comfortable. And I seriously just spent the whole day talking to my supervisor in the trailer about everything; mostly St John's politics and medical stuff which was awesome. Medical blurb becomes memorable when a human being rather than a textbook does the explaining:)
Lately i've been feeling more and more introverted. I guess my job has finally caught up with me. It feels like I can never get my mouth to operate in sync with my brain:( Either i say the wrong thing at the right time or i say too much or i say what's unnecessary. It's hard to justify good intentions when the method that follows them thru are so out of whack. *just had a nice talk with Jan about this. She's a legend.. love her so much:)* alright, now since all that negative thinking is just about strained out i think i'll leave this and keep chatting with her:D what would i do without my beautiful, true friends?
origami
It's settled. I'm an origami freak:) I've been so inspired lately to simply hunt down all these diagrams and retreat into a world of folding.. My latest project -and so far hardest- is the VW beetle. It's an awesome model to fold and took me about 7 failed attempts before a flicker of illumination guided me back onto the right path *thank you God*.. now I've made about that same amount in all sorts of paper and trying to improve the design but it's sure to be one of my all-time favourites. I like making the car better but nothing beats my planes for functionality. If i ever wanted something to do on a day out with my bros, planes would win hands down. And in tune with the theme of halloween, I also made a witch on a broomstick that looks so funny. It's found a niche on my corkboard amongst the few hundred other odds and ends there.
I am indebted to all the internet sites and books that have guided and inflamed this hobby of mine.. and am continually amazed by all the applications of this nifty little art. As an example, just type in Robert J. Lang, origami & engineering and see where that leads ya.
Some of the kids from the schools i work at have become quasi-origami converts. I think one girl now loves paper planes for life:P Another guy was positively tickled by my jumping frog. And as a snazzy afternoon activity, it did not fail me on a rainy day -last Friday to be exact- where it amused a couple of guys for hours. One is now proficient at folding cranes *am so proud* and the other was so appreciative of everything i folded that i just felt like donating my entire library of paper works to him lol. Clay is another universal favourite (no surprise) and they seem as happy as wonderbob to the idea of a whole afternoon moulding, sculpting and fiddling away.. *lovely*
Goals = good motivational tools
Wow the cool today has been tremendous:):):)
Went to visit a couple of special people with Barbara, and had some curry along the way *love* ~~ One was a very chatty, warm old lady who's been an integral part of our assembly for years. The other was Janine, the lady i mentioned who had a brain haemorrhage not too long ago. Praise the Lord, she is getting better. It's awful seeing her lie there so weak and not being able to talk or move much. But she's alive, and knows there are many people who love her. Which is what counts.
Lately I've been reading a few chinese health magazines about Qi Cong and Kung Fu. Very interesting stuff. If i get the opportunity I wouldn't mind learning them both -in China ideally. I would especially like to learn the Spontaneous Five Animals Play Qi Cong and Taoist Kung Fu. It's nice to have potential goals:) Thank you God for them.
Now, in the next few weeks the first goal I want to tackle is swimming lessons. Driving next. Playing the organ/piano is more auxiliary but we'll see. Sewing would be lovely. And pretty soon I expect my knowledge of the differences between AFL, NRL, rugby, touch and tackle to be finetuned. Given the nature of my job + 2 sportwashed brothers, i don't see how i have a choice:P
msn hallmark
This must be recorded. Tonight marks the first time I am talking to my youngest brother on msn!! Awesome stuff. Not the stuff we're talking about, just what it all means.
Ok thats all i feel like writing.
Wow the heat today has been tremendous -_-""". On the bright side, i did a thorough springclean of my room *yay*
Mooncake festival
*mmm .. yum*
Happy Chinese Mid Autumn / Moon Cake Festival my lovelies!
Here's a random article to get you into the mood -
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/mooncake/a/moonfestival.htmImportant news: earlier tonight, Barbara told me that an old church friend of ours suffered a brain haemorrhage yesterday. If she recovers, it's likely that she won't be the same again. But it looks like she might not even get through it. This came as a real shock to all of us. If you're reading this, please pray for this dear old lady (Janine). It's hard for us to swallow because we love her dearly and we don't know when she'll meet God face to face. She never mentioned whether she had placed her trust in Jesus or not. All my problems have been reduced to specks of insignificance compared to this. I really pray that she'll pull through.
holidays so close ~ yet so far!
The time is sooo ripe for a holiday *tick tock tick tock* Summer is well on its way coz the days are getting longer. All my lectures feel twice as long already..
I have a speech tomorow and here i am doing this amongst other trivial things. Distractions should be outlawed o_O .. Then there's the upcoming Christmas break i can't stop thinking about, which is completely illogical insofar as me dreaming about it won't make it come any quicker. But i really am looking forward to it. Not bcoz of any definitive plans but more the potential that many plans could be organised during then - after all, we are talking about a third of the year folks! I just hope i can discipline myself to wake up before 10 every morning. Losing half a day to sleep is hardly forgiveable on a daily basis. I need one of those alarm clocks that jump off the table and run away from you when it goes off .. morning lark, i am not -.-
