Compassion for Children of God

Christmas is coming.. or more precisely, Jesus is coming. What's one of the best ways to show Jesus' love to the world?

Deuteronomy 15:7: If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

God may call His people anytime, anywhere.. I was called two years ago, and I walk with Him ever since. I now sponsor a 4-year-old girl in Indonesia :). We have written letters to each other several times now.
If you feel like God is talking to you about this, then this one might be for you :).

Interested in sponsoring a child?
About Iris Daniela Arboleda Meneses:
Iris was born on December 26, 1996. She now lives in Colombia with her father and her mother. She is responsible for running errands and cleaning. Her father is employed and her mother maintains the home. There are 6 children in the family. Art, playing with dolls and playing ball games are Iris' favorite activities. In primary school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities.

About Compassion International:
It is a Christian organization that connects willing sponsors and needy children from around the world. When someone sponsors a child, he/she will be the only one sponsoring and probably also regularly praying for the child. The sponsor and the child also write letters to one another throughout the years. (These letters are written in the native language, then translated to English). On the other side, through the sponsorship, the child can get the opportunities to learn about Jesus, receive an education and health needs, develop confidence and skills, and grow to be a mature man/woman of God.
This relationship does not end there, the sponsor will also be invited for arranged visits to the child.

If you are interested in learning more about Iris, sponsoring her, or simply about Compassion International, please let me know! I have all the booklet and application form, and I'll be more than happy to share it with you :)
Learn more online at: Compassion International

Matthew 18:5
"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."

If you know of any friends/coworkers who might be interested in this, then please pass the info along, too. May God bless you abundantly!

Dave and Buster's

My group went for a group outing this afternoon. We had a short-day work, only until 11.30 am. The place is called Dave and Buster's, which is sort of Olive Garden on one side, and Timezone on the other side. It has food and drinks, American I'd say, though I ordered an Italian one. It also has -- lots of games!! :D
Yeaah, excitement! That's what we need, isn't it? Right before the design and coding phase begins.. :p

So it's sorta like Timezone (back home), or Game Works (around here). I finally played something! Usually I just watched people played. We found something like a roulette (the thing that turns around and stops at a spot), that gave me back 20 + 40 tickets, which seem to be a lot but not really compared to my friends who got 40 + 80 tickets :p
I was desperate not knowing what else to play, so I stopped at something that also turns around, but this time I had to push/pull a handle that will throw a coin to the turning table, .. and hopefully the coin will go into one of the holes on the table. Hey, it WAS hard! Or more like, it was mostly by luck that the coin can enter the hole. I was given seven coins, and after trying for 2-3 times, I felt I'd just enter all the coins and throw them.. whenever wherever. Right at the end of it, when I started picking up my tickets, my friend who was watcing me play said, "Hey you got 500!" Yeaaah, five hundred tickets! I was like, what the, are you sure, I didn't hit anything, I didn't even know what I was playing. But yah, I got about 500 tickets :). Don't blame me please, this is only once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.

At the end, I exchanged all my tickets, which totalled 629 tickets, with some stuffs from its store. I got.. a bag full of hair bands (or hair ties? don't know what the correct term is), then three more hair bands (or ties), and a candy lipstick, for who knows what. Ok, ok, they are :S.. well, I couldn't pick anything else, I didn't have many options since the others within budget weren't that good (or useful), you see. But I'm so happy with those hair bands cause my sister and I actually need them :D

After that, I tried pool, the first time - ever. So glad my team lead was really kind and encouraged me to try. So sad however, that I couldn't even hit the white ball right. I could miss hitting even the white ball!! But a friend told me how - not to miss it :p, and his suggestion helped. I was really enjoying it :)
What a day!

But oh, I still haven't played the.. car racing games!! Maybe next time, hehe.

My Tires

Finally, finally, finally!
After a long waiting time.. :D Yah, I've been trying to get my car tires changed since.. end of summer, which was four months ago. I finally decided to go with the Yokohama H/T-S series, but the store run out of them. Other stores got them, but they sell way too expensive.
And my days are not getting better with more and more things to think about. So when I sat down every night in my prayers, I said, "Lord, you know I have a lot of issues in my mind, I need to change my car tires, Lord. So I entrust this in Your hands and I believe you will provide me, because You are my provider."

And so I just wait, no worry. Today, it shows the tires will arrive this Friday, YAY!! And with the shipping, it should arrive at my mechanic, by next Thursday. I called my mechanic and they said they could install them on my car on Friday, or Saturday morning. That being said, my car will be ready for Lafayette right for the graduation!!

Praise the Lord!

Ringling Bros and Barney Bailum

Hmm.. what do you think when you heard that -- Ringling Bros.. and Barney Bailum?
Ring the bell?
It's the CIRCUS!! Yeaah, I watched a LIVE CIRCUS yesterday! Wow, it was goood.
Well, a couple of friends came up from Lafayette, and we were supposed to leave by 5 PM, but yah, it's the day before thanksgiving, and the traffic went really really bad. By now, you might think we were very late, but not really lah :p, we left at 5:20 PM hehehe. So then we drove to the CTA, caught the train towards downtown, got off the train and got on the bus towards United Center. We thought we'd be 15 mins late, but no, we're precise enough, they just started! (Ohh.. I was really excited then)
The show was FANTASTIC. At least for me to see it live the first time. It was colorful (as you may imagine), many clown-faced people, and just.. lively! They had camels, elephants, tigers, horses, zebras, and more. They had those acrobatic performances, by chinese people. I think they were originally trained in China, then when they came here, they joined the circus. They were great!!
Oh wow, if I were to type this while I watched yesterday, I'd be writing a complete chapter. The whole thing was breath-taking.
Hmm.. thanks for my sister and friends who accompanied me yesterday!! :) (Chit Hui, Frank, MG, Siao Yi, Kong)

Diem lagi diem lagi

Lagi lagi.
Lagi lagi didiemin :(
Lagi lagi kau pulang, agak telat, capek.
Lagi lagi kau masak, dan aku didiemin.
Kutanya, tak kau jawab.
Kutanya, kau geleng kepala.
Kutanya, hanya "hm."

Haruskah..
Lagi lagi aku kecewa.
Lagi lagi aku mau nangis aja.
Lagi lagi ku duduk disini, sendiri, sepi.
Lagi lagi ku habiskan waktu, tulis blog aneh begini :p

But the one and only man's best friend is Jesus, our Lord and our Saviour. In Him shall I be saved, strong, and encompassed with love.

Botanic Garden

"On my way to the midst of the prairie.."

Weekend kemaren aku bener-bener menyempatkan pigi liat pemandangan. Soalnya pas musim fall kan bagus2, daun2 pada ganti2 warna dan rontok. Yah rontok, kasian, tapi baguus, cantik!
Jadi aku ajak ceceku pigi ke Chicago Botanic Garden, ga terlalu jauh dari Schaumburg, sekitar 40 menit, dan lebih deket lagi dari tempat kerja ceceku di Riverwood, paling 10-15 menit.
Anyway apik wis pokok'e, klo mau liat ae fotonya di http://community.webshots.com/user/piong.

Sapa yang mau pigi sama aku laiin kaliii?? ^ ^

A whole new month

Just realized how long it is since I last blogged -- a month! This month has been quite a month, with my sister moving into my apt (so now it becomes our apt), transitioning to a new job - both for me and my sister, moving into the temporary apt my sister gets from her company, and unfortunately moving out two weeks after.., going into retreat with my church, interviewing with Google, interviewing with QRM, ... hmm... a lot enough right.
But for the same month, I feel more blessings than ever before. This grace that God pours out to me and the peace and love from Him, all day long every minute every day, sustains me really well. I can tell I change quite a lot these couple weeks :).
Well, maybe not physically, but internally.. spiritually. After all, that's what matters. I shall look forward with rejoice in the Lord, for He lives in me and I live in Him.
Got a lot to catch up here, so watch on!!

Another Google

Here I am, in the city of Sunnyvale, going to have a day of blast in the city of Mountain View. Hmm, sunny and mountain view, isn't life wonderful? :D not exactly. The place is more barren and quiet than Schaumburg. Doesn't look appealing to me actually hahaha. But that's not the point. I'm still excited anyway, just with the fact that here I am.. in Sillicon Valley!
Ok, I'm not gonna blabber as usual, but hopefully this will be short ;).

The Google campus is in Mountain View. From outside, the buildings look like regular office buildings, nothing fancy, glass windows and so on. The inside of the buildings and in-between the buildings however, are pretty cute. Well, they aren't old buildings, so they kinda have modern architecture. Ok, I'm gonna bombard you with all the unique fancy cool things I found at Google.
Many places have a very long white board (four boards all together) full of sketches of Google business/technology plans, a result from many engineers ideas. Some seem impossible, but some look cool actually! Like the idea of replacing traditional way of business and marketing, with Google AdSense. Hmm!

Oh, Google provides free food. You've heard, "There's no such thing as free food." But there is, in Google! Not only free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but also snacks. They're not just regular snacks that I saw there. Different kinds of juices, nuts, chips, different kinds of water...
They have massages. Every few number of steps, I find electronic massage chairs; walk a bit more and I reach the massage room - this one by professionals. As an interviewee :) I get a free massage and it is really really good.

What else do you want? Well, people work hard there, day and night. But people have errands, too. Need to do laundry, need to cook, need to exercise, need to sleep late and wake up late.. :D. The 'need to cook' is solved by free meals. Now, the 'need to do laundry' is solved by on-site laundry rooms. 'Need to sleep late and wake up late' is solved by 'sure, you can do it'. Google provides free shuttle service from the city (SF) to office. People may start and leave work at whatever time they want, and if they wish, use internet and work (in the shuttle) during the one-hour trip to the office.

There are more, but I'll stop here :D. If you want to experience it, go ahead and apply there. It's not so hard to get the onsite interview ;)

By the way, I had the privilege to be accompanied by ce Yoke, one of my sister's best friends, and her aunt Emmy. We spent a few hours on Saturday morning on a Chinese shopping complex. A shot taken with her :)


Also, this shopping complex happens to be on the opposite of Cisco Systems, and Maxtor, and more! geez.. all the computer-related, hi tech companies.. and this is another shot in front of Cisco building :)

The Weekend -- The Reminder

Aaah.. it's Monday. I had a blast in the weekend. Though I had to leave work (secretly..) at 2 pm, but it was all worth it. I didn't need to drive, thanks to Ko Adi and Kristin for that. I got hungry though, that I decided to force myself to sleep in the car. I guess it was the AC that drove my stomach crazy.
I arrived, it was 6.30 pm. Well, had a quick rice-and-bbq-chicken dinner, plus another slice of the bread I brought from home. Wasn't too bad huh. Within two hours, Patty and Linda got home. Took shower in turn, then guess what. When three young ladies gathered, what do you think they do? Ah hah, no, we played 'Pancasila' :D. It's my idea, and yeah we played that too when we were in elementary school, but what else would take our mind off work and study, and just chilled out for the night? Twelve pm was just my time to go to bed. I was tired, but really eager for the next day.

The house was filled with - five people: Patty, Lisa, Linda, Fanny, and me. Just one bathroom though. Luckily we didn't all leave at the same time, and while waiting for my turn, I flipped this Kungfu Boy comic book just next to my bed (oh, Linda's bed, to be exact :p). Man! I have loved this comic for.. probably ten years, since the first time I read it. If I could have a collection of comic book, this would be my first choice.
We went to church, around 9 am. The service didn't begin until 10, but I expected to meet some people early, and get hugs, and welcomes, and smiles, and just to catch up with others. The day went on and on, and I was still high up in energy, till it reached lunch time and still.. waiting for my sister to pick me up :(. Wake up earlier sis!

Oh, city grill buffet, why does the sound of KFC interest me more than you :S. It wasn't too bad for a $5.5 buffet though. After that packed lunch, my wisdom told me to walk around, not just sitting or even sleeping. We stopped best buy, checking on all kinds of stuffs: vacuum cleaner, digital piano, firewire, digicam. I still felt it's no time to go home, so our next drop was Barnes and Noble. Geez.. if only.. IF only I followed my gut, didn't turn my way to those aisles, I wouldn't have met him. The moment I entered the bookstore, I felt him there. At least we went there couple times before, and I know how much he loved looking at comics or those sorts. I was just trying to find a seat! Half of me wanted to see him, half of me not. I knew if I did.. all those creepy feelings would haunt me that day, the next day, the next week,.. And that's exactly what happened. Oh geez, just leave me alone.

Eating lots of food left my stomach with little space for lots of drink, so I got really thirsty. It's almost 6 pm too, so my sister drove us to Silver Dipper, and had a big (I think) three-scoop ice cream of various flavors. I was thirsty and she bought ice cream, yeah, not a very good choice.
After that we just kinda rushed to clean up and prepare ourselves for our corec night :D. Haven't been there for some time. I was really glad to have some friends along: Patty, Imelda, Linda, Helen, Kong. The only one I can play is badminton, so that's what we did :D. I drank at least half gallon of water in two hours. Kept sweating, kept drinking. I was totally energized, more because I miss playing it so much, and miss playing it with my friends so much. A good friend of mine went to play regularly, but wouldn't ask me to come along, though I explicitly said I wanted to play so badly but have no one available to play with :'(.

I guess the night just passed by like that. Very soon, it was Sunday morning. Countless blessing was poured down to me, but God still has more, the most important one. I can certainly say that everyone, EVERY one, was blessed with the preaching we heard in the prayer meeting. It's been said, and heard, over and over again, that we should spend time for our prayer, not rushing, not talking all the time, but letting God speaks to us. Hey it's not easy to sit for half or an hour and just stay calm. I've tried many times, and either I get sleepy, or my mind wanders somewhere else. I need a new technique, Lord. I miss having quiet times with you. I hardly ever hear your voice, if more than something that just pops up in my mind. I feel burdened every day, and at the end of day I feel like I have done nothing. Nothing that fulfills your will for me. I am running on my own, with my own target and pace and ways. It's bad to feel like doing useless things. And I feel it almost everyday.
Why do I study GRE? Why do I learn Java? Why did I apply to Google? Why do I volunteer? Why do I work at Motorola? Why do I eat and drink, and keep myself healthy, if it wasn't to do what God wants me to? I rarely ask these questions to Him. Even if I do, I won't get the answer. Not with how I've lived my life so far.

This morning, when it's time to get to work, I feel like staying and chit-chatting with God, for a little while. The last time I had this was probably 2-3 months ago. So I told God, how disappointed I am that I never heard His voice, at least assuredly. People can tell for exact that they heard God's voice, but I can't. If not just myself telling me something, probably the Holy Spirit whispers from deep within me. I told God I wanted to hear from Him - closely. I wanted to feel His presence and glory, until I can forget about my whereabout, the time, and other pains. Just feel the magic of being with my Father. I asked that He would help me with time and heart. Of course I hear no answer yet, as expected.
I opened my bible. I've been reading contiguous chapters for several months, and the day before I read Titus. So this morning I read Philemon. It was very short, one chapter, 25 verses. I read halfway, and there you go, I was in deep terrible feeling. This book of Philemon was a letter from Paul to Philemon. Paul humbly requested Philemon to accept Onesimus, as both a brother and a child of God. Paul reminded Philemon that whatever Onesimus did wrong, or hurt him before, Onesimis was back, and Philemon should be glad for him.
It was AS IF, God spoke to me. Throughout the whole chapter, Paul talked to Philemon, just as if God was admonishing me. I've been resentful to a friend for several months now. Not that I didn't realize it, but it was tremendously hard to let go. I feel survived when my mom came, but wasn't healed. I've been making excuses to justify my act, and do only halfway good by not calling, not thinking about him. But this is not good enough in God's eyes. I've been praying to let go -- if possible to forget -- but didn't really work, I guess. Ok, so I run out of ideas. I give up.
God reminded me that to get close to Him, I need a clean heart. I don't have it yet. I know. I wish I had a heart like Jesus'. I really do, so I pray again, to be encouraged and strenghtened. Please pray for me, just for this one. Cause I can't go on with other things, if I can't connect with God. And I can't connect with God, if I can't let this resentment go, or more like heal the resentment.

Google

I had this interview with Google yesterday. Nothing too difficult. Just this one - strange - question.. from a Chinese interviewer.
"Say you have a program, to do something. You write it, compile it, build it, and passes all those. When you run it however, something is wrong. Either the output is wrong, or the program crashes, doesn't matter. You go back to your code, check the formulas, the logic, whatever you can think of, you check it. Nothing seems to be wrong. You debug your code, line by line, it seems good. What do you think is going on? How do you handle this?"

"Oh man, the hell I know," I said in my heart. But I had to think and came up with something.

"Umm, maybe there is memory allocation problem. Like if you deallocate a memory that doesn't exist, that stuff."

"In that case, your program should crash and tell you that it segfaults. You CAN tell the problem from there. So what if it wasn't memory problem? What if the program IS good, clean, and correct, but run badly anyway?"

My eyes rolled left and right. I looked as if I thought hard, but actually I was rather clueless.
"Maybe.. try to rewrite a similar program, that does similar but more simplistic calculations, and then keep enhancing the program from there; see if the error happens at some point, which scope the problematic area smaller."

"Well.. not really. As I told you, the calculations are fine, the logic is correct. Besides, would you want to write another program? Though it is simpler, it will take time, right."

"Yeah.." I agree hopelessly.

After some time, I felt no good for not finding anything to answer it. So.. "Do you have any hint?"

"Wouldn't you think it's a compiler problem? What would you do in that case?"

Oh, so yeah, that can be a compiler problem :O. Thanks for the hint :S. But what would I do huh.
"Maybe.. I can try to build and run the program on another compiler. For example, building Unix C++ program on Visual C++, or .NET, or the like."
"It might be very time consuming though," I added the disadvantage immediately, "Because the syntax or the whole language might be different, in which cases it's like writing the program from scratch."

"Can you do it in hours, a day?"

"Probably longer than that."

"That's true. You don't have time for that. How about, rewriting some parts of your code?"

Nah, that's what I thought! "I thought that was what I said in my first point, but yeah, in much smaller scope. So probably rewrite some structures, like the for loop, or the bit operations, parentheses, .. Maybe the compiler didn't know certain structural syntax that the program was written with, and it compiles it wrongly."

"Yes, but it was different from what you said earlier. But sure.. that actually works. And compiler problem does exist. We had that," the guy smiled lightly.
"And that takes us to the answer of the question."

Pheewww.. okay, what a question. Thanks to God I passed. I really want to interview with Google, if possible get into it. Let's see how the onsite interview will go.

What Paul said about marriage

I was reading this passage one morning. Gee, sounds different from what I know. But Paul indeed said "I, not the Lord." Does it mean that God does not agree to it? But why then he said so?

1 Corinthians 7: 12-16

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Sumpek ah.
Pingin pigi.
Tapi tak bisa.
Hmmm :'(
Sumpek ah.
Kenapa seh. Tak bole? mboh wis. Gau tau ini mikir apa. Pokoknya mbulet kabeh. Mbulet, mbulet. Ini salah, itu salah. Bingung, puyeng.
Kamu senang? jangan paksa aku senang dong. Aku ga. Meski dikasih selamat ya tetep ae ga. Terpaksa ni.

Aku pingin pigi. Liat kembang-kembang. Taman besar. Hijau, merah, kuning, ungu, kaya'e ada semua. Ada danaunya juga lho. Ada taman taman banyak. Hmm.. kapan.
Aku pingin pigi.
Yang jauuuuh.. sekali.
Kalo boleh tak perlu kembali.

Miss me?

Huheuhuheee... masa ada yang kangen saya ya. Anyway, I'm back. Maybe you wonder, and I myself actually wonder -- back from where? I dunno. I'm just.. not in a very good 'state', in the last one month. I think I got sick twice - both sorethroat :(. My mom got sick too, and her health has been up and down ever since. I wanted to take her out.. for leisure.. but yah, that has to wait.
Ok, enough about future plans. There is a lot to catch up :). First and foremost.. my sister's graduation.

August sixth, two thousand five

That's it - August 6th, 2005 -- certainly one of the most thrilling, joyful, satisfying, tear-dropping (is this the right word?) days in my sister's life, actually in my life too :)
I can't say much more than, "Congratulations, ce," and show her a big big smile, and give her a big big hug. (Unfortunately I didn't have time to buy the flower :p)
Even without me looking back, I know clearly how much she has accomplished, much more than the masters degree itself.

All those days spent staying up in the office..
snacking chicken wings, dumpling, and nuggets in turn every night..
sleeping at 2 am, 4 am, 6 am, or not at all..
getting 8-for-6-dollars KFC for brunch and dinner for days in a row..
watching a bunch of tv operas (and x-files!) - just to keep awake..
staring on the computer monitors - just dunno what to do..
standing in an unreasonably long line
simply to handout your resume to a stranger..
and doing that tens of times, many many times a year, for six years..
and getting many many rejections, more often than not -- ignorance..
feeling down sometimes, just because you feel so tired and hopeless..

All these are not in vain. For through your endurance, confidence, and boldness, (and of course my support! :D kidding), you survived -- succesfully.

You graduated.. with that orange ribbon :)
kept that high gpa for life (4.0, I believe)
offfered a good, good position, in a good, good institution..
and yeah you earned it, you deserved it..
feeling so relieved, so.. relieved..
and the best of those all is.. you get to live with me now! :D

I am so thrilled, satisfied, full of joy.. and proud of you, cece ^_^. Mama papa too - are very proud and happy for you. Keep going, cause we believe in you. And don't forget, you can believe in us, too -- to support you with our very best.

Way to go, sis!! ^_____^

Only in Him, I find peace

I've been so caught up in "busy"-ness, in the last two weeks, even this week. Moving, interviewing, thinking, and thinking.. emotionally broken :Though many times I had only little quiet time in the morning, the peace from God is everlasting.. forever.. enduring. I can't tell it by words, this love that sustains me all the time, even every minute and hour when I'm down. Hmm... I think this psalm from David depicts it so well -- of what I feel when I'm with Him.

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

God bless you friends.. wherever you are.

祝 爸 爸 快 乐 !

(ahong nyanyi buat papa)
祝 爸 爸 生 日 快 乐 . . .
祝 爸 爸 生 日 快 乐 . . .
祝 爸 爸.. 生日.. 快乐 . . .
身 体 健 康.. 快 乐 . .

Papaa sayaaang.. papaku yang masih muda sekali seperti umur slawe sajaa :D
Iya papaku top sekali soalnya meski anak-anaknya sudah besar (bukan dewasa, tapi besar saja :D) tapi papa lebih berjiwa muda ketimbang anak-anaknya, apalagi ahong hehehe.
Selalu ahong diingatkan, didorong, didukung untuk terus maju, ga bole putus asa, ga bole loyo.
Kasian papa kesini dulu dingin-dingiiiin sekalii sampe badan terhuyung-huyung angin salju, sampe akhirnya loyo juga :\ tapi pa, tidak boleh patah semangat, lain kali boleh kesini lagi!! Nanti pigi ke tempat hangat sajaaa. Yaaaaaa? ^________^ ayooo laaaaaaaa....
Begitu besarnya semangat papa buat aling ahong, bahkan tiap hari kalo ahong ngomel capek bekerja (jarang seh), atau belajar, trus ahong inget, lho papa itu kerja seberapa payah, dan berapa taun sudahan, mana tidak botak kalo mengomel terus. Mbayangin itu saja ahong seperti makan vitamin C 2 biji masing2 1000 gram, hehehe.
Sekarang ahong super bangga sama papa. Soalnya papa banyak olahraga (ngalah-ngalahi ahong :\), bisa taichi, jikung, ping-pong, dan masih banyak lagi. Trus papa juga makan sehat sekali, ahong mau ikutan sekarang. Semoga papa selalu senang, tenang, dan sehat! ^___^
Hadiahnya.. jreng jreng jreeeeeng!!!
Biasa saja pa, sikat gigi ya. Yang lama tolong ganti ya pa nanti kalo mama suda pulang tak titipi. Sekarang papa liat modelnya dulu ini di foto :p hihihi. Apiiik lho, ahong dan cece suda pake. Ini 2 buat papa, 2 buat mama yaa!!

Wis ahong sayang papa selalu selalu selalu :)

I shouldn't

Shouldn't think about this.. shouldn't revisit this anymore :S
I've spent 1500 hours.. to calm down.. telling myself not to complain, but to unconditionally accept (well what can I do..), convincing myself that he doesn't care, indeed!
Ok, whatever.
So I.. thought I have let go. I didn't hear. I didn't see. I didn't imagine. Ok I still imagined - unfortunately - but only a little bit :p.. I need it.
Until today.

So what? You're trying to tell me that you can have all the fun in the world but never a thought of sharing it with me? I can't live with these virtual friendships, somemore from you.. someone I consider a close friend. I can't live with the notion of "tagger" following me all along. Please don't keep saying, "Please understand." -_-
I let go one. Another one. Another one. Another one. ...
"I just can't handle another disappointment." - quoted from Nick Nite show I'm currently watching :p.

I don't see how..
Make me remember that time back in high school. I was very excited about going for a trip for a farewell with my best friends. Truly I wouldn't have gone if you guys didn't keep urging me. I felt good. But still!! My bestest friend wouldn't go! (yah itu kamu Nan :p) I could tell.. even back then.. that things would have been much joyful with him around.

*sigh*
I think it's rude.. to tell me that I'm trying to tag along with you. You're not no one to me, you're my dear friend. How could you do this to me :'(
I only treasure very few special people in my life. I put my best effort to be inclusive -- holding each as tightly as I can. I thought people are grateful for the good friends they have. At least I am. Yet you dump and leave me out... Maybe I'm such a bad friend.
If, even you turn your back from me.. who else won't?

I see you there

It's early. It's 5 am.
The world is new, the air is fresh, but the touch.. is not.
I started driving from my home in Lafayette, this morning (or this dawn), when the sun was about to say hello. Maybe.. I woke up the sun :D
I drove along the Wabash river, as usual, but I know something is not usual.
It's tranquility and peace -- almost grabbed me to stop there for a while.
Sleeping water, just like before.
Quiet, just like before.
Peaceful, just like before.
Stop, just like before.
I am there, just like before.
Only he is not there now.

I shall not ask - anymore - where he is, for that I know. But I do not know, I do not comprehend, why he'd say "next time". There has been no such thing. Maybe I was just being comforted. Hmm..

Why do some people say sweetly, but then hurt badly?
Why do some people still.. ensure to stay, but then say goodbye?
The river was almost out of sight. It's time to let go. I shall let things be.. as is. Let it be..

Psalm 55:12-14
12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship . . .

Held

This song by Natalie Grant -- Held -- is very beautiful. Here is the lyrics of the chorus anyway:
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We’d be held
You should listen to it! Then read this reflection. It shall bless your heart :)

Sayur segar

Makan sayur segar itu ngga gampang yah. Kemaren aku nyiapin makan siang hari ini. Ada cah sayur dan ayam, biasalah oseng-oseng. Karena ga banyak-banyak amat, trus kupikir, ya udalah tambah sayur segar saja. Jadi aku ambil satu helai daun kubis. Satu aja. lalu aku potong-potong lebih kecil dan kutaruh gitu aja dalem kotak makan. Sekarang aku lagi makan. Hmmm.. :\ rupanya kubis ga cocok dimakan segar. Agak pahit sedikit. Jelas lebih enak selada atau tomato --> favorite sayur buat tambahan lunch :D. Ah pokoknya sehaaat...

God’s coincidence

John 11:40
"Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?' "

I wondered.. feel puzzled.. suspicious..
I said to myself, "Huh?" and there went those curves on my face :p

I always think of my office building to have some sorts of isolator or something.. that I can never get any signal on my cellphone. Once I enter the first door -- that says 'Door 19' -- the signal is gone, and my phone will humbly respond with "Searching..." all day long. But I was sitting there, looking at the monitor -- or actually the code -- working very hard to find bugs and fix them :), where my cellphone suddenly called on me, "To le li la li". Not as if you could imagine.. but yah it's an sms! How can that happen? All of a sudden, a blitz of signal flew into my office, particularly to my cellphone, and specially delivered the message. It came from my best friend back home. Hmm, I was just too happy :)

That's not about it though. For all these times, I haven't been able to send sms to him.. except only the very first time. Not sure why though, but my cellphone will say "Message sent.", but my friend will say "You didn't reply all my sms!!" :D Okay, okay, so the point is he couldn't receive my sms somehow. After receiving his message that day, I was thinking about retrying to sms him once again. This time, I wrote in it, "If God allows, this sms shall reach you."

Guess what. Once again I said to myself, "Huh?" and there went those curves on my face :p
My friend replied me saying that he did receive that message.
. . . . . hmmm . . . . .
Okay, so just this afternoon, I wanted to send an important message to him. After I finished typing it, I said to God, "Please Lord, deliver it to him, because this is important." Ah.. you know the outcome :)

Ok, so maybe you don't believe it yet. Sometimes it looks like things happen simply incidentally, whatever it means. I worked super hard this past week. Not too super but super enough to be called super :p. Most days I went home around 9 pm, and after showering and having dinner, I found myself going back to work, at home though. I worked overtime yesterday (Saturday) and today, too. I got mad working on the program, because it crashed a couple times, and most of the times I had to reboot my machine -- killing the apps the hard way. That happened again this afternoon. I was trying to debug it, but before I reach the point I wanted, it crashed again and again. Oh if you ever wrote a program before, you'll know how it feels. At one time, the program crashed.. again. Uurrgh.. I was really desperate, I didn't want to have to reboot it. How can I fix it if it always crashed when I run it? Aaaaaggghhh!!

I closed my hand on my face, and tried to calm down. My heart said, "If it worked for the sms, try this one." So I said to God, "Please pleaseee bring the app back up, please don't let it crash, please let me see it running again. And please help me finish this. In Jesus name, I ask for this." I looked at the monitor, and with a bit surprise, it seems to be running again, though slowly. At least it made a progress, I thought. I step into some codes, and once agaaaaainnn... the app is killing me!! Alright so I had more faith by then. I asked God, "Please Lord, don't let it crash. Please, I really need it not to crash."

I have no idea how to describe it. I continued working for at least another 2 hours, non-stop, no crashing, no rebooting, and even more solutions. I accomplished some major parts of the work. What is best after that, I went home at 6.30 pm, the earliest of all my days so far :D, and rest peacefully at night, knowing that I'm not working by myself.

Maybe I should really apply this principle of 'believing and asking', but not with mere blink, but with true faith that things will happen for those who believe. Thank you, Jesus, may my work be glory to Your name, always.

The Book of Books

This reading I took from Back to the Bible (http://www.backtothebible.org/go.htm?848). It's a little something :)

John Wanamaker, an outstanding American businessman of the 19th century, put together one of the most successful careers of his time. When asked what he considered the best investment he ever made, he replied, "I have made large purchases of property in my lifetime involving millions of dollars. But when I was only 11 years old, I made my biggest purchase of all. From my teacher in a little mission Sunday school, I bought a small, red leather Bible. It cost me $2.75. I paid in small installments from my own money that I had earned." John Wanamaker knew the value of the Bible and he lived by it.

Masak masaaak

Hmmm... bingung masak apa kemaren, akhirnya aku ngecah sayur aja. Ini baru pertama kali beli sayur ini, namanya chinese cabbage. Modelnya seperti bok choy (sayur gading) sih, tapi benernya aslinya beda. Lebih mirip ke sayur putih. Tapi ya anyway, tu liat di foto hasilnya :D. Kebetulan masaknya pas matengnya, jadinya bisa kriyes kriyes uenak wis. Cuma kurang asin dikit :p heuhuhueee.. belakangan masak selalu kurang asin, entah napa.
Cuma aku ga masak ini aja lho. Juga ada telor goreng sama daging maling (tau ga, itu yang di kaleng). Nyam nyam, lumayan buat makan siang dan malem ^_^

Jalan-jalan

Tadi siang akhirnya aku jalan-jalan selama lunch hour. Wuih seneng pokok'e. Udah dari dulu kepingin jalan-jalan, akhirnya keturutan hehehe. Ceritanya di tempat kerjaku ada event khusus selama summer. Tiap hari pas lunch hour, kita jalan-jalan, terserah mau bareng-bareng atau sendirian, muter-muter aja kompleks sekitar 1 mile gitu. Lalu dikasih juga pedometer, digantungin di celana. Jadi sambil jalan-jalan, nanti angkanya pedometer itu naik tiap langkah. Di akhir jalannya bisa liat berapa langkah aku uda jalan. Hari ini aku jalan 2000 lebih langkah. Ga gitu banyak seh, soale agak telat mulainya :p. Tapi yah namanya mulai hidup sehat hehehe.

Thank you my friends

It's amazing how much I have taken my friends for granted this far. Each of you has brought me surprises, love, and tears of joy (I did.. on the way home on Sunday nite :p). I am grateful for having each of you in my life. Thank you for sharing your time, your heart, your love and passion, and for passing those words that make my days.

Thank you for the flowers :) oh they are very.. very sweet.

Also for the chocolate cake with my name on it, hmm.. I still have some at home :D.
I can't find exact words to say how much I appreciate you making me feel belong.. to you, and cared for by you, though I am far from you everyday. Thank you for the emails, testimonials, SMS, long distance calls.. which I had to let go some because I was terribly tired that monday morning. Sorry guys, you just didn't call at the right time :D.
God bless you wherever you are. Keep in touch, and I'll see some of you in the summer :)

Dear Jonathan

I remember those days, when we had to stay in the lab for hours and hours, morning to evening, then back to morning..
You looked at my code, I looked at your code, and after a while we said to each other, "What to do?" cause we just didn't have any idea what to fix.. :p

I remember that day, when you baked some cookies, big big ones..
then you gave me a plate full of them.. perfectly hot and sweet..
actually the sweetness of them comes from you, not the cookies.

I remember receiving your emails.. which I still receive even until now..
asking about me, how my life has been..
telling me about your work, how tiring it has been :p
sharing thoughts.. uplifting me.. that at least I have one good friend who always cares.

You are a wonderful friend, and I am grateful for you. I wish you all the best in the coming years -- loving friends, happy family, great jobs, and most importantly.. a fulfilled heart. May God's love come into your life and cherish you day by day.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan ^_^

Capeknyaa...

Wah luar biasa minggu ini, eh minggu lalu juga. Bener-bener kerja ampir non stop, hari sabtu juga. Yah.. paling tidak masih tidur tiap hari :D, selalu ada makanan tak pernah kekurangan hehehe, dan partner ku orangnya enak deh. Paling tidak akhirnya kerjaan selesai, meski minggu besok mesti dibetul-betulin lagi ini dan itu. Repot lagi.
Tapi tiap hari aku masih dikasih waktu untuk devotional, dan kadang.. aku bilang males ah, nanti aja pas sebelom tidur, malah ketiduran dan besoknya kerjaan ga selese. Makanya kadang aku devotional dulu, baru sisa waktunya buat baca-baca atau kerja lainnya. Justru kalo begini itu kerjaanku besok lancar dan hasilnya bagus lho :S bingung saya.
Oh juga ini dingin dingin abis de di luar. Sudah 2 minggu diharepin bisa hangat supaya bisa cuci mobil. Mobilku item tapi banyak debunya bintik-bintik diluar :( kotoooor. Pingin jogging juga kalo hangat. Yaaah.. sepertinya rencanaku ikut lari dari Illinois ke Wisconsin juga batal deh kalo cuaca dingin terus begini :p.

Mamaaa

Maaa..
住 您 生 日 快 乐 !
Mamaku nan jauh di mata ulang taun hari ini (Apr 30). Sayang piong tak bisa di rumah sana buat jing-jing mama :p, meski kalo disana juga mungkin perlu agak dipaksa-paksa dikit baru mau jing-jing hehehehee...
Wo mama ini amat sangat spesial buat piong soale mama begitu baik, sabar, murah senyum, suka masakin makanan, mau ngerti, wis pokok'e semua yang lebih-lebih dari yang piong minta. Juga mama enak diajak omong-omong soale mau sabar ndengerin, meski kadang agak ngotot juga :D. Mama juga pinter bikin kue enak-enak, jahit baju, suka ngalem'i piong dan seneng ae kalo dialem'i ^_^.
Maa.. taon baru ini piong doakan mama punya badan lebih sehat lagi, lebih seger, juga hati lebih senang dan tenang. Semoga tiap hari itu datang seperti berkat buat mama, segala yang mama alami itu indah dan menyejukkan hati. Mama dan papa juga saling dukung dan sayang. Tai chi nya pasti lebih pinter mama, dan lebih seneng bisa kumpul teman-teman lain.
Ahong yakin mama punya harapan-harapan lain dalam hati, yang ahong tak tau, mungkin orang lain tak tau juga. Apapun itu, semoga mama temukan jawabannya, dan apa yang terbaik dari Tuhan datang buat mama. Doa ahong selalu bareng mama, meski ahong jauh tapi ahong sayang mama dan selalu ingin buat mama senang (meski itu berarti jing-jing lagi.. jing jing lagi.. hehehe) .
Selamat ulang taon ma, dan panjang umur.

- dari piong sayang -

Help for Leukemia

My friend Aldy is training for thriatlon, as a fundraising for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He has been doing training really really HARD :), and I wish him all the best. Please help him and the society by donating any amount of money for their fundraising. Check this out, as you can read more cool stuffs about the training: http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=aldi.

All the best Aldy, and hope to see you sometime!

Happy Birthday, Patty

(in singing mode ~ ~)

Happy birthday to you..
Happy birthday too youuu....
Happy biiirthhdaay.. happy biiirrthdaay...
Happy biiirthhdaaaaay.. Paaattt-tyy...
hip hip huraaaa!!

(plok plok plok plok plok ~ ~)

Selamet ulang taun Patty. Sekarang kamu uda 20 taon, makin dewasa, makin smart, and more lovely in God. Selama kamu jalani hari demi hari di taun kemarin, bertambah juga satu demi satu orang-orang yang terberkati oleh karenamu. Setiap langkahmu, diusahain supaya bener-bener indah buat Tuhan, dan orang lain di sekelilingmu. Kalo kamu senyum, manggil-manggil (misalnya "eeel eeel.."), ato diem aja (karena lagi patiently listening), ato ngapaiiin aja.. kamu selalu bawa kesegaran ke kiri kanan. Dan aku yakin itu karena Tuhan hidup dalem kamu, pake kamu buat sharing His love ke semua orang.
Tapi perjalanan kamu bertumbuh itu masih panjang. Kita bisa hidup sampe umur 60 - 80 taon, ato lebih, dan itu masih 40 - 60 taon dari sekarang (yang terakhir ini agak jayus :D). El doa'in Patty lebih berkembang lagi dalam Tuhan, keluarga, dan dalam peranmu di dunia. Your wishes, prayers, and hopes, el banyak yang tak tau.. tapi el yakin Tuhan akan bekerja terus dalam kamu, bikin surprises buatmu, dan tak akan habis-habisnya semangat dan karyamu.
All the best, Patty, and as always.. God bless you.

Salam sayang dari el

(ps: maap kalo bahasa indonesia-nya rada-rada aneh dibaca :D. Kalo nulis pake inggris, rasanya gitu-gitu aja, pake indo ya beginilah hehe..)

Wishes.. or Hopes

Everyone has wishes. I do, too :p. Just recently feel that I want to share it.. to whoever wants to know, so.. here are some of the wishes I discover for the last couple months, which should grow with more wishes as time passes by ^^
(they are not in order of preference or anything)

1. I wish to perform a dance for my beloved mom and dad
   
2. I wish to give free exercise classes for house-maids (you know, they are one of those people who have time and need exercises, but do not generally have opportunity for any)
   
3. I wish to sponsor, foster, or adopt a number of unfortunate children. They include abused children, orphans, children from poor families, and children with special needs.
   
4. I wish to perform something special for my sister. Hmm, maybe when she gets married, I will sing, dance, or act?
   
5. I wish to meet with my old friends, especially my closest pals Nan, Han Siang, Karin, Ogi, and Ruru. Other good friends I really miss now are Tina Maria, Sandi, Semuel, Yenny W, Evelyn, Tina Rusli, Amelia Sherton, Herry (this is the guys who always beat me in class! :D). And there are still a long list for others with whom I've lost contact for the last 3 years. College life was too demanding for me, man.
   
6. I wish to spend some good time (maybe in a trip..) with those friends in number 5, and some new friends.
   
7. I wish to be a minister of humanity/sociality (pardon the english..)
   
8. I wish to be involved deeply in non-profit organization(s). If possible, establish one, and work full-time in it. I imagine it would provide shelter, training, and child-care for the poor.
   
9. I wish someone (besides my mom and dad, my sister, and God) would love me truly for who I am, with all my passions and expectancies for the present, with all my wishes and hopes for the future, and with all I have in my heart; not for how I look or whatever.
   
10. . . .
    

Yah.. these wishes will be continued.. just follow along. Add comments for your wishes, too! :)

How can you not LOVE children?

Don't you find children are very very adorable? I mean.. even though some are naughty, jumping around here and there, yelling at you some times, crying, making noises, moving things around as they like, and so on and so forth.. finally giving you headache and mental tiresome :D.. but still, when you touch her, look at her in her eyes, hmm.. don't you feel you just wanna hug her so closely and make her feel safe and loved?
Children have been ones of those I think the most in the last two years. Once I told myself, "I wanna adopt a child." Well, maybe that's too much. How about foster a child? There are just too many children in this world, in need of love and support. Some children have parents who are unemployed, some cannot afford school or even daily meals, some experience wars and injustice, some have special needs mentally or physically, some are abandoned by their parents. Whatever the case, it is too shameful for us to let it pass by. Can't we do something?

Check this out: CasaHogar.
Isn't he so cutteeee?? :) He is David Ruiz, a Mexican child now living in Casa Hogar, a shelter for poor children in the area. He and many others are among those who are blessed to have a place to live and food to eat everyday. Plus the opportunity to learn about God, and experience His love in such a beautiful way in their lives. Thanks to the generosity of those who sponsor him and the other children.
In Matthew 18:5, Jesus said, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." reminding us to love little children and bring them to know Jesus. Think of how you can take part in shaping a child's life. If you can provide financial support them, do it. If you can share God's love and care to them, do it. If you can pray for them, do it. God hears, God sees, God loves you and all children. ^_^

Future food supplements?

Sabtu kemaren aku balik Lafayette. Balik, maksudnya.. mengunjungi :p. Pas di weekend itu di Purdue lagi ada banyak acara, kayaknya karena cuacanya lagi luar biasa ramah :D, sejuk-sejuk, dan ga terik blas. Salah satunya yang aku pigi itu namanya Bug Bowl. Bug is the English for "serangga", dan Bowl is the English for "mangkok". Kalo diterjemahin langsung jadi "mangkok serangga", dan kurang lebih emang itu acaranya hahaha. Di sono ada macem2 booth, kebanyakan dijaga murid-murid yang studi animal science, ato semacemnya. Pada dasarnya, mereka mau promosi kalo serangga itu ngga menjijikkan, bahkan bisa dimakan. Ada yang jual cacing goreng, jengkerik lapis cokelat (iuuuww..), ada lomba spit jengkerik, duh aneh-aneh deh pokoknya, geli kalo disebutin satu-satu :S. Tapi cukup menarik lho, apalagi buat anak-anak SD ato SMP gitu. Ada model ruang lika-liku dan di dalemnya kita bisa nemuin cerita tentang pembentukan awan, air, tanaman-tanaman yang agak aneh, dsb. Trus aku ngeliat juga ada kolam air kecil yang diisiin starfish, dll lupa de namanya. Ada yang kaya kepiting gedeee deh, trus juga ada ikan-ikan yang bisa keluarin gelombang listrik dari badannya. Hii ngeri, tapi cantik :).
Pokoknya seneng aku pigi. Tiap taun ada ini di Purdue, meski abis lulus baru pigi pertama kalinya hehehe. Yang jelas bisa motivasi anak-anak mengenal lingkungannya dan tambah pengetahuan. Kuliat banyak orang tua juga yang dateng sekeluarga gitu, sekalian jalan-jalan di hari yang cerah. Bonus yang kudapet, popcorn dan kembang gula :p. Habis kepingiiiin...
Special thanks buat Netty dan Gong yang uda mbarengin aku jalan-jalan. Spending time with you guys was the number one most important thing, the bug bowl itself was second. I hope there will be many other times we can go together again ;)

Which one is important, or more important?

Di indo sini, papaku sering share ke aku tentang orang-orang yang sukses dalem karir mereka. Khususnya kenalan-kenalan papa mamaku. Tentang orang-orang yang dulunya.. bermodal kecil, berusaha keras, dan sekarang udah maju dan berkecukupan. Tentang orang-orang yang dulunya.. kaya-raya, tapi trus jatuh entah karena teledor, atau apes.. ditipu orang. Tentang orang-orang yang dari dulu.. segitu aja.
Entah kenapa, susah buat aku memahami pentingnya being rich. Menurutku, tidak penting jadi kaya. Aku - dan kamu bisa juga - menoleh kesana-sini..
Lebih penting menolong orang miskin
Lebih penting mendoakan orang-orang yang berkesusahan
Lebih penting hidup penuh kasih dengan sodara-sodara kita
Lebih penting bahagia.. dalam hati, bukan hanya hati-ku, tapi juga hati-mu, dan hati mereka.. yang senantiasa tidak diperhatikan :)
Tuhan bilang, apa yang kita perbuat untuk sodara kita yang kekurangan, itu kita perbuat untuk Tuhan. Aku mau kejar ini dalam hidupku. Aku doakan kamu dan orang lain juga berpikir yang sama :). Aku sudah sebulan lebih di Surabaya sekarang. Berkali-kali keliling kota, rasanya tak jauh berubah dibanding 3-4 tahun yang lalu. Hanya beban dari Tuhan ini semakin nyata. Kita perlu doakan negri kita, rakyatnya dan pemerintahnya. Tuhan, aku minta Engkau adakan perubahan positif di Indonesia, supaya tempat ini indah buat semua orang dan juga buatMu :).

Saya memang pelupa!!!

Benci aku.. tiap kali selalu lupa dan teledor menaruh barang. Biasa kali, :p sisirku selalu entah dimana. Tapi yang itu bentar juga ketemu, atau paling tidak, cuma 1000 rupiah untuk dapet yang baru. Tapi memang aku bener2 teledor, ga kapok-kapoknya, sekarang malah keilangan jam tangan. Yang ini papaku baru aja ngasih, keren abis dan maunya kubawa ke amrik. Kupake 3 hari, lalu aku lepas karena.. seingatku untuk ngerjain sesuatu gitu, tapi trus lupa nyimpen lagi, dan besoknya udah... pusing dimana. Aku cari hari itu... sana sini.. ga ada. Besoknya aku cari lagi.. ga ada. Sudah semua sudut rumah, dalem lemari, tempat2 aneh juga, tapi ga ada :'(. Aku sedih soro. Desperado. Aku pingin Tuhan ampuni aku yang suka teledor dan balikin jam tanganku :/. Please ya, Lord..

It's a pretty big day today. We went to visit my aunt (my mom's two eldest sisters) in the morning, but their house has been a major visit place for all the others 10-ish sisters :D.
After that, we went to Pasar Atom, one of the oldest and yet still existing mall in Surabaya. I say it's old, because the building is old, the tiles, the doors, everything, plus most of its stores are not using AC. Nevertheless, the prices are quite good, and you should be able to find ranges of qualities there. Well, it's just a short description for those of you not from Surabaya :). I tell you what, we went to the food court, for lunch of course, and once again I saw various Indonesian menus in the many booths around. They have nasi gudeg empal, soto madura, mie pangsit ayam, es tape ketan hitam, es kopyor (aaaaa so goooood :D), es dawet/cendol, hmm and so many more. I was just delighted with what I had hehe.
Anyway, we went home after three hours of shopping with no result (sorry, it's me!). My dad got so tired, he directly laid down on the sofa and got asleep immediately. My mom and I took shower then sat down for a 'talk'. Yeah, a talk that really drew my interest, or more exactly, thrilled my heart. I feel .. guilty maybe, guilty of not realizing of these issues before, and doing something about them. But not that I could do much about them anyway. I won't go into details, but it's about life and the peculiarities, that everyone has different life experiences; you may usually just know those people living happily and comfortably, but so many others have to go through bitterness and desperations -- so.. mentally and physically demanded. It's really true when people say, "You don't know how it really hurts, until it happens to you or your loved ones." Even if you have empathy, if you never experienced it, you just .. don't know. And life is full of surprises. Today I smile, tomorrow I may just wanna die. I do have grumbled for many things so far -- study, friends, love life, .. -- but now I know they are much incomparable with other life .. storms.
Graduating from college is not only a hurray after 3.5 years of diligence, but also brings more responsibilities and .. tests. So complicated, I can't even describe it well. But there is no way out of getting older. I have to face it, and so do you. So, get ready with life challenges to come, and no matter what.. look upon The Lord, your life is in His hand :)