Happy Birth-day, Ava!

I was her first visitor!!! :) :) :)

Took some photos but I shall not put it up because it's the privilege of the parents to showcase such a beautiful baby to the world, their baby. 2 days old, and an angel.

Was so excited on Saturday that I went to buy some flowers, which is really un-me by the way. Still didn't know at that time whether it was going to be a girl or a boy because Ava was too big to come out and she loved keeping everyone in suspense (and pain), so I bought sunflowers! I really love how cheery they looked I think I might go back and buy some more for myself, when my bank account allows me to :)

One Dinner Too Many

Another blessed and inspiring day.

Did not start out too well because the jubilee line was down again and the D7 refused to come, which caused my hopes of arriving early to evaporate into thin air. Wanted to get to church early to practice as I have no touched the organ in 2 weeks, and figured that someone must have messed up the buttons again and i'd have to spend time figuring out how to re-configure.

So there I was practicing, and playing the prelude. 2 mins before the service started, James goes up to the hymnnumber board and takes it down entirely - turns out that the hymns I was given were all from last week! I didn't even get to see the new hymns before the service started and the worst thing was that I had no idea how 2 of them went. Now being on the piano is easy, you can hide behind the organ and kinda sightread. But on the monster of the organ, I had to play the introduction and then figure out the tune and how to play it organ-style: was a semi-disaster but quite a funny incident anyway!

The afternoon was great. Had dinner at P&N's. Still can't get over how they call lunch, dinner, but only on Sundays. I haven't been over in quite a few months, and it's always nice to be there. Was slightly less tiring today because Lucy was in a sleepy mood and wasn't trying to play all her toys at once (and get me to play along)... but she can walk now, and boy is she good at it! She's done really well and a longlong way, I hope she catches up with everyone her age soon. Quick background: Lucy was born pre-mature, with 2 others in a triplet. She was the sole survivor and has mild Cerebral Palsy, so her muscles are stiff and loose at some wrong places. She never did manage to crawl, only shuffle, but she has found strength in her legs to walk perfectly normally now, at 2 years and 3 months! She's really intelligent too, and I'm sure in no time all the babbling will turn into words and sentences...

Because we were not busy playing with Lucy today, and because P was on holiday, we managed to have some good conversations. It's so inspirational talking to them because they always have all their priorities right despite the simple life they lead. They're not much older than me, but about a million times more mature and capable in life itself, and their secret is an open one - they really love God and walk in His will. Guess I can relate to N in a lot of ways - her Christian upbringing, values, sense of humour and her intellect (ok she far surpasses me in that faculty with her superior PhD). I really respect how she's given up a promising career after working so hard at university, to stay home and bring up Lucy and Zachary in the most remarkable way. She understands their every expression and reaction, and interacts with them in such a loving yet professional way. She balances control without being over-possessive; care without over-fussing. Her creativity and energy level ensures that the children are always entertained even with the simplest toys, and her humility really makes everything she does very very understated. I am never failed to be amazed just sitting there and observing.

Anyway, back to the title. So I came home after the evening service, and had my 2nd dinner. There was some leftover food from yesterday, and a Waitrose "reduced" chocolate trifle that expired yesterday, making it my 2nd full meal cum dessert for the day. Seriously bloated now, which is a bad thing to be when you're meant to be sleeping. Another week of challenges lies ahead, and I can't wait for the next weekend already!!!

And, we're going to Legoland in 2 weeks, wheeeee!!!! :) :)

The Garden of Life

There are no flowers in the "garden", just some shrubs that form the natural wall that surrounds my flat and separates it from the public pathway.

Amazingly, we have not stepped out all too often, much less rendered any care to anything on it. Yet somehow, I noticed that weeds started to grow through the gaps in the concrete slabs, and I conveniently ignored it.

Winter came, they were quite resilient, event with the snow and frostbite temperatures.

Spring followed, and they continued growing, but I still wasn't too bothered - I figured that one day I'd go pull them all out at one go. I then promptly got caught up with the rest of life, and neglected to even look out of the window.

And then one day last week, i noticed that the weeds have now grown to a height that reached my waist, then i got worried that they would be too tough to pull out now.

Today, i decided to do a big clean-up. The weeds looked intimidating, and i protected my hands while yanking them out, yet i felt the slash across my palms as i pulled them out, roots et all (mostly, I suspect I didn't get some of them and they will regrow...). After that I spent a good 45mins trying to clear all the long-dead, dried orange leaves that have accumulated underneath the shrubs. Amongst the whole trash-bag full of dried leaves I also found at least 100 cigarrette butts, along with all sorts of trash like kitchen towels, plastic bags, containers, a Sony Bravia TV box (which I always knew was there because the wind kept playing with it and scared me with great noises in my sleep). No doubt the previous tenants had used the patio a lot more, and left a lot more behind. Who knows what went on in that "garden"?

I also found a host of creatures at the corner just outside my room, but that was just disgusting and I refuse to document what I saw.

I've never been a keen gardener. I only lasted an hour out there and didn't even manage to clear out all the leaves. I told myself that I'd come back out another day to finish the job. The big question is: when?

What an analogy of life -

who are the flowers in your garden of life?

who's the sun who even gives life to all creatures?

and what are the weeds you need to pull out today?

Happy 1 year anniversary to me!

today marks exactly 1 year in this country not as a tourist but a tax-paying resident.

my 1st week here was probably the best. i distinctly landing at heathrow at 5am on a Monday morning, and was surprised at how smoothly the baggage clearance went. hopped into the pre-booked cab, and i distinctly remember the strange of feeling of familiarity as the cab across the whole of central london, from west to east.

i remember the 1 day. arriving at sarah's and james' at about 7.30 in the morning. it was just another monday morning for them, and it wasnt time to wake up yet, but they dragged themselves out of bed and helped me to lug my heavy bags in, all 46kg. they then left me to sleep, which i did for a few hours. why not more, i don't know. i remember waking up thinking it was so surreal, and i didnt know what was ahead of me, or what i would do on the 1st day of a new life. but time went on, as it always does, and i found myself trying to take in the whole scene. i lazed around at home, still kinda jetlagged. i took a walk to the nearby roman road market, found an atm, and keyed in the 4 numbers making the pin i used to know quite well. thankfully it went through.

i remember the 1st night, when sarah and james got home, we had dinner and they said, "let's take a walk in the park after dinner". i couldnt believe my eyes - it was still bright as day at 9pm. the experience of the previous year seems quite a distant memory. within a year, sarah got mugged in the same park, and the length of day was shortened drastically.

people here are obsessed with the weather. the default weather is gloomy and bad. some days, it is good. and people REALLY cherish each day of sunshine in a way i've not quite appreciated. no ray of sunshine is spared and no inch of green grass uncovered when the sun was out. my days here have been like the weather - by default, quite dreary, lonely and mediocre. some days, i really think my dream of having an abundant life is going to come true. these are days when work goes well, and only takes place between the hours of 9am and 6pm. there is some time for shopping, cooking, exercising, and then relaxing - maybe reading a book or something. and i'd never be tired in the mornings because i'll go to bed early and have a full 8 hours. every night. but it was not to be, the independent life has also brought a whole wave of issues i always classed too "grown up" for me.

in the space of a year, i learnt about putting a roof over my head, and making sure it's functional all the time.

i also learnt that if you don't think about what you're going to put on the table, there's just going to be nothing there. period.

i learnt that dealing with people is the trickiest of skills to master, and that i should never expect people to treat me the same way i treat them, or i'll be disappointed. it is a lot easier to have a generous and "forgetful" heart, and never expect anything in return, then i might be pleasantly surprised once or twice. but i've also learnt that not every one you speak to on a daily basis automatically become friends. in fact, there is a time and place to be selective and to keep a distance.

i learnt that there is no room for falling ill in this country, and no one to fuss over me when i am, and it would be horrible. so i learnt to listen to my body and know when i'm coming down with something - and tackle it then. thank God there has been nothing full-blown yet.

i learnt that money has an unimaginable grip on people and can turn them into beasts. i re-learned that there is no profit for man to give anything in exchange for his soul. i learnt that the wager on the soul is so great, and the financial industry is a terrible industry to be in this respect. too much interaction with billions of dollars is not a good gauge of the real world. i need to stop adding letter abbreviations after a string of numbers.

i have learnt that self-pity doesn't get me anywhere. some things does not require any emotions, just get up and get on with it. it is an unfeeling world out there, and the other 6.999m other people in this city probably doesnt even know i exist.

i learnt that no one is going to tell me what I did wrong or right. only i am accountable to God and God alone. there's no point leading the superficial life and meaningless "eat, drink and be merry" life, like so many people do.

in so many ways i'm still the same old me, still can't stand inefficiency, still wanting to do way too many things, and still getting myself into situations i can't get out of.

but in a myriad of other ways i'm a new me, learning something new everyday, not just about me, but about life.

what a difference a year makes, and i survived!

Thank You God!

searching for The One

Today marks the start of the search for the perfect One. Hopefully it's not too long and tiring a search, but given my sheer indecisiveness i suspect i'm a long way off.

Sarah very kindly brought me to the 1st shop and it was quite fun! stepping in and out of countless (ok, more like 10) different ones only made them all fuse into one and at the end of it, i was still quite confused, though i did manage to pick 2 out.

the budget? no idea. but i hope i can get a VAT refund, lol!

the silliest thing was, we forgot to get the model numbers at the end so now i cant even look it up online. and no photography allowed!