SURPRISE!!

exactly a year ago, i celebrated my birthday in irvine, ca. it was an amazing surprise bday potty that almost made me pee in my pants. if history has a way of repeating itself, it sure did for me again this year. in the most unsuspecting way, i was invited to a party, that turned out to be mine. upon reflection, i realized that two years ago, i had the biggest surprise party in ilula, kenya - at a orphantage where the children paraded into the hut to sing me a song. while each surprise was very special in its own way, all of them had one thing in common; LOVE. i felt the love of Christ through the kids, my family and friends. if God made us "fearfully and wonderfully," He sure wanted you to know it.

so here i am, exactly one year after having left all of my family and friends into the great unknown, i felt just as loved and celebrated. God is infinitely faithful and full of wonderful surprises. those "God surprise moments" are His way of saying... "p.s., i love you"

going native...

it finally happened, i started attaching "la" to my words and phrases. i vowed to never let this happen but after one year of drinking the local water, it finally happened, ok-la? that's not all, i find myself wearing sweaters in singapore! i used to stare at people in utter "shock and awe" whenever i saw one wearing anything that resembled a sweater. in a country that is constantly hot and humid, it seemed like insanity to wear anything more than a bikini top, but here i was... in a hoodie. local foods and drinks are a given but durian?!? i use to run for the hills if i even smelled a durian from a mile away but recently, i enjoyed a durian pastry. i also found myself a local hair dresser and a dentist. so now with a crumpler bag slung around my shoulders, wearing flip flops, skinny jeans and bangs that sometimes drape over my eyes, pushing my way into a packed MRT, you'd never know that i was a valley girl from north hollywood...

oh the difference a year makes...

my old camp counselor from high school once said, "time flies like the wind and fruit flies like bananas." to this day i have no idea what that means but the reality is that time does fly, more than fly. with each passing year, it travels in warp speed. i feel like blog has become my father confession. "forgive me father for it's been 3 months since i blogged." on the one hand, it means i'm actually living instead of writing about living so that's good. on the other hand, it is nice to keep a consistent journal of some sorts, blasting my thoughts into the cosmos and letting it fall where it may.

i am closely approaching the end of my first year in spore. WHAT??? yes, you heard me, one... whole... year...! so much has happened yet so little dates! seriously, so much so that spore has become my home. when i travel for work now, i can honestly say, "yea, going HOME soon" rather than "going back to singapore." so what made all the difference? community of believers that's become my friends and my family away from home. people to share my joys and disappointments, dreams and fears. people to call up last minute for a movie and a pint and people i can rally just to hang and play guitar hero. people i can pray with and celebrate the life of Christ with. people i call friends...

there are still moments when i miss my other home... going to my aunt's for yummy korean food, spoiling my niece and teaching her to bike, degreasing my own bike for another good run up the santa monica mountains, fondu gatherings and marathon karaoking, smelling mom's freshly baked muffins from the oven even when she knows i'm fasting! going to trader joe's, hollywood bowl and senior fish. and friends from christian assemly... mission buds and skidrow ministry. i am learning to let go to gain, one experience for another, one life for another. "the old has gone, the new has come." guess that's why they call it a journey and not a spin cycle.

stay tuned... working on my top 10 most memorable moments in s'pore!

first hike and bike...

in spore... where the heat and the humidity occasionally provide SOME relief! yes, went hiking AND biking all in one day... and what's better is with friends, new found friends in spore. life is just better that way, with friends that is. moments of happiness and misery, all seem better with friends. even if i were to sit around doing nothing, it is still better with friends, as it would no longer be nothing. this was a good "friend" weekend, unlike my sometimes loner ones. i ate, played the guitar, had coffee, laughed, ate some more, drank, worshipped, and yes, hike'n biked with friends. while leaving friends behind in LA was hard and painful, it gave me opportunities to make new ones, my new homies that will make spore feel like home. merriam-webster defines friend as "one attached to another by affection or esteem ." simply put, it's a sense of belonging... that you belong somewhere, to someone. i belong in spore after all...

Day 3 in Milan

i've grown quite fond of parco sempione. it's become my daily route, not only to start the day, but end it. i've also become familiar with the regular homeless there. one of them looks like a shorter version of hagrid, but not as magical. what i love about parks, like this one (which sort of reminds me of central park - my favorite place in manhattan) is that it doesn't discriminate, it is open to all, rain or snow to kings and beggars alike and in my case, locals and foreigners alike. the bench doesn't have more cushion for some nor does the path smooth out for others. the tree doesn't shade only the "lovely," or the grass grow only for the youth. it doesn't ignore you because you don't speak their language. it just exists for you regardless. so i love it. it's become my favorite part of milan, not the arts, the fashion, or even the food (that includes coffee!).

so today, like all the other days in milan, i started the day through the park and ended it through the park, but in between left the city of milan to venture a different scene. lake como was my escape from all the second hand smoking and expensive goods. just north of the city, it was the perfect get away. the panoramic view from the boat ride up the lake was simply gorgeous. the villas were strewn throughout, parts of it almost story book like and very picturesque. we even got good glimpse of the snow capped alpse. we reached a small, quaint little town called bellagio, yes, the real thing, no casinos or musical fountains. here i had two slices of margherita pizzas, pastry, and a cute, silver purse to go ; )

the day eventually had to end and we came back to milan where once again i had dinner... and yes, ALL BY MYSELF! getting quite use to it, but doesn't mean i like it! had risotto and a glass of chianti, then back through the parco sempione to end my day...

tomorrow i head out to geneva, and trust me, it didn't come one gelati too soon!

Day 2 in Milan

Milan Duomo is this amaizing architecture of a cathedral. Don't know much about it but it stands majestic, demanding homage from locals and visitors alike. Inside is just as amazing and beautiful. The phenominal arches and buttresses, deeply, colorful stainglass windows, endless marble halls... yet even with all of its majesty and splendor, it seemed cold, dark and empty. There was no spirit nor life in this house of worship where saints once gave passionate exhoration of God's divine truths. The pews were empty except for the tourists resting their feet and others, snapping pictures of the marble statues and stainglass windows. How sad... to think that all that is left of this amazing place is the rotating door of tourists checking off a site from their Milan list. But I pray... that this place be filled once again with truth worshippers and seekers of God and find love and grace through the cross.

The rest of the day flew while shopping and slow mo'd when my feet hurt. There were just too many smokers everywhere. I've had more second hand smoking in the two days I've been here than my entire life. How is it possible for the entire city of Milan to be smoking? But in fairness, that's not all they do... they bike and walk their dogs. And all the shops allow you to bring your doggy. And while I mentioned shopping, I say that modestly. It's too darn expensive to shop here! How do Italian women afford it??? Nuts... crazy... kookoo.

That said, it was a good 2nd day. Navigating my way around the city quite well, all on foot as the taxis are way too expensive. There are other modes of transport but too lazy to figure it out. Luckily tomorrow, I get a little get away from the city and get a tour of the nearby suburbs and Lake Como. GET ME OUTTA HERE BEFORE I GO BROKE!

Milan in May

my first solo mini break overseas... nervous and excited, i ventured to milan. technically i wouldn't consider this a full fledge vacation as it was just a long weekend that i leveraged on a biz trip. regardless, here i am, alone and... well alone. all in all, i survived my first day pretty well. here are my initial observations...

• everything is expensive
• everyone smokes
• men are goooood looking!
• lots of pda's
• people love to just hang out and chill out
• fake pradas and guccis are also sold in the land of originals!
• architecture is beautiful
• people are very fashionable
• the weather is PERFECT in May!

let me just say again how excellent the weather was... cool and dry! coming from s'pore, it was pure heaven. it was a perfect day for... well, just chillin outdoors and so i did, along with the rest of the milaneans on this labor day.

maybe it's because of all people hanging out (or the pda's) but it felt very lonely from time to time. families, couples, friends, eating, laughing and hanging out... and here is me. in my mind, i am singing... "all by myself! don't wanna be, all by myself... ANYMORE!" hehe... it wasn't that bad, even eating alone didn't feel as awkward. but it sure would have been nice to have a buddy with me, or even a dog! got two more days in milan before i head over to geneva for work. we'll see how this mini break unfolds...