Upside Down

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

a BIG helloo to everyone from Irvine, California! This is just in case you wanted to see if i'm still alive after leaving singapore. and yes, i'm alive and just returned from Bro Soon Yong and family's in Newhall, which is 1 & 1/2 hours away from Irvine by car. My 6 friends and I stayed there till today (29th dec LA time) It was a truly wonderful and enjoyable stay. During that 4 days, we travelled to a humongous shopping district called Camarillo (pronounced as Car-ma-ree-oh) 1 hour's drive away from Newhall, went to Grace Community Church, went to Mount Frazier to see snow and to Six Flags Magic Mountain for some flying around in the roller coaster! I truly enjoyed the worship in Grace, which is one of the main pushers for me to choose California over any other state or country in the world to have my sep.

one thing I truly thank God for in USA is that the air is cold, so when people smoke around me, I don't smell it! The weather is just beautiful and totally different from Singapore. It just reminds me of Nepal. But basically, it's around 11 degrees Celsius in the day and drops to about 0 degrees in the night or slightly higher than that. In Newhall, where Bro Soon Yong, Sis Aileen and little Nathan stay, it goes to about below 0 in the night. Brrrrr.... yeah that is cold. When driving anywhere in CA or USA for that fact, everywhere is just scenic. Camera spammers would want to take a photo every other second cos USA is that beautiful. And you see higher than Bukit Timah hill geography at every turn and surrounding you sometimes. Just breathtaking.

Since 26th dec, I have been having internet in the apartment, thanks to Bro Soon Yong driving us everywhere. I'll be starting school orientation on 5 Jan, so like in Newhall where we got lost a couple of times driving, we will be lost again in Irvine till we adjust to finding our way around. I only realised how big USA was when I grabbed a yellow pages in the Camarillo shopping district and went back only to realise that that thick yellow pages only covers 3 cities in the entire CA. I had no use for it in Irvine!

topsy turvy-ed @ 4:15 PM

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Oh btw, if you were searching up and down of where to find Lois' USA travel updates, this blog will do just the job! I'll try to update every now and then when I have internet. Otherwise, facebook is another alternative : ) till another new update! bis dann!

topsy turvy-ed @ 11:38 PM

1 more day to Californication!

Today was witnessing day and Dr Chua was sharing about the who, what and why of coming to Christ. He told this story which i found to be stuck quite vividly in my memory cos i watched King Kong the movie a few days ago and there was this ship scene which i could picture. Anyway, the story goes like this:

Many years ago, there was this Brazilian boat. The boat was lost in the Atlantic Ocean. The captain of the boat lost his bearings entirely and could not seem to find a way to the nearest port. They were lost for many many days. They knew that sea water was not drinkable. Water, water everywhere, not a drop that can be drunk. They were all dying of thirst. Then many days later, from afar, they caught sight of another ship. They immediately sent out distress calls and called until their lips were parched and till their voices turned hoarse.

The ship replied in morse code: "Just dip below you and drink!" Little did that Brazilian boat crew and her captain knew that they had actually been lost in the freshwater river of the Amazon. They were dying of thirst when they were in fact surrounded by drinkable water!

My friends, those of you who have not yet come to Christ are like that Brazilian boat crew and her captain. You are lost, but lost whilst surrounded by freshwater. That freshwater, which you could have easily scooped up and drank from, is Christ Himself. He is the only source of living water who can save you from your sins and give you eternal life. It seems too simple you might think, but it is actually that simple. Repent from your sins, recognise Christ as the only one who is able to save and redeem you with His own blood. That is how you come to Christ. Not physically, nor intellectually nor emotionally.

John 6: 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

topsy turvy-ed @ 10:25 PM

Saturday, December 20, 2008

times like these fly across like jet planes in the air

through the clouds up high they tear

you can hardly point your finger in their angle

before they swiftly mystically disappear

times like these then almost always require

a pause, a long breath, a walk acquire

because, only when you are still and alone

can God weave His wonder into your bone

and slowly but surely help you realise

and say that 'God alone is wise!'

-me-

6 more days to Californification

topsy turvy-ed @ 9:01 PM

Thursday, December 11, 2008

An unplanned life is like an abandoned building, or at least, these are words of wisdom which my dad said when we looked out of our Melakan hotel room. What he saw was a half-completed building. Half-completed and with an intention of finishing the job is fine. What's the problem here is that it is half-completed and left half-completed, with moss growing everywhere and birds making their nests in the higher floors. With this illustration, my dad paralleled it to an unplanned life, one which lacks direction. In the end, the workers have to leave it uncompleted due to lack of funding, labour, etc.

topsy turvy-ed @ 7:40 PM

Monday, December 01, 2008

Jetzt spreche ich schlecht Deutch, aber ich habe keine Zeit für die Sprache praktizieren. Das ist nicht gut... Ich finde meinen sem zwei LAG1201 Vorträge sehr interessant. Ich habe viele Freunden von meine Gruppe fünf! Frau Geiser ist meine Lieblingslehrerin. Sie ist eine wunderbar und hingebundsvoll Lehrerin!

Lois ist fertig mit ihre sem zwei Prüfungen!!!

[Translation]
Right now, my german speaking is pretty bad, but I have no time to practice it. That is not good... I find my LAG1201 german lectures in sem 2 very interesting. I have made alot of friends from Group 5! Frau Geiser is my favourite teacher. She is one wonderful and dedicated teacher!

Lois is finish with her sem 2 exams!!!

topsy turvy-ed @ 10:53 PM