For You

Once, after Pushkin
by Carol Rumens

I loved you once
D'you hear a small "I love you"
Each time we're forced to meet?
Don't groan, don't hide!
A damaged tree can live without a bud:
No one need break the branches and uncover
The green that should have danced, dying inside
I loved you, knowing I'd never be your lover
And now? I wish you summers of leaf-shine
And leaf-shade, and a face in dreams above you
As tender and as innocent as mine.

Jesus Is

"the visible image of the invisible God."
Colossians 1:15

groovy.

i can't wait for christmas. :)

winter

stark and barren
wintry trees
remind me of ashes
that were my dreams

i sit
and wish

that you were never there.

Happy Birthday Me!!

At the start of my 24th year..
World Changing Accomplishments: 0
Current boyfriends: 0
Cars: 0
Credit Card: 0
Condo: 0
Career: 0
Cash: not much
Happiness Rating: 10!!!

woohooo..

Roma, Firenze, Pisa, Venezia

So here are some pictures from l'italia, taken from my trusty 1.3 megapixel Nokia 6230i, which can take up to 200 pictures and 25sec video clips. :)


Me in front of the Coliseum, Roma.


Firenze. Pretty no? Quite lovely for honeymooning. And the shopping? They'll make you offers you can't refuse.


Pisa Tower. :)


Venezia. Pretty. And expensive.

I think my favourite was Florence. :) Hopefully next time around, i'll get to explore the countryside instead of the main touristy cities. Gotta brush up on italian though. Yet another thing to do before i reach 30.

Ciao!

141 Drury Lane

it's good to be back. really. i think i've fulfilled my travelling quota for the year.. no wait, there's spain in 10 days time.
ok, but, at the very least. i'm done walking for the rest of the week. my feet are just about worn off.
:P

ps: pictures soon!! :)
ps2: london's still pretty rockin. at least people here speak english. :)

florence

is so pretty and i just spent a LOT of money on shopping.
it's so romantic here.. and peaceful.. just beautiful. stuff of dreams. lol.

Prego!

Hi from Rome. it's quite awe-inspiring. must be hard for italians to live under the shadow of such grandeur:)

can't believe i'm here. hahaha.

god is so awesome.

next stops: florence, pisa, venice.

mwah.

new song

So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
I’ll Stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

***

team houston rocks.

V's bday

It was, a great party. :)

..

It feels like i've been here forever when actually, i've only been here less than 3 months and out of that, only two months in school. But in everything, I still believe God is working.. somehow.. even if I've been rather naughty and neglectful of the "fellowship of the body of believers". But then I just trust that he works not based on who i am or what i do, but simply because He is what He is, and I just gotta trust the heart of the Father even if i don't understand the workings of His hand at times.

I finally dropped the half-unit course that I've felt have been really unhelpful during this term after weeks of agonizing over the decision. Carried the "drop-form" in my bag for days before finally chucking it into the box at Students' Services. Yesterday I checked my online status and the good news is that they allowed me to drop it even in the 8th week of term. The bad news is that I have to take two half-unit courses next term, which means extra work. The other good news is that the courses are about stuff that I care about currently (and hopefully will care about next term as well), taught by decent professors and hence those two factors will be motivation enough.

Newly discovered resources: The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) library and the University of London Library which, together with the LSE library carry just about all the books in the world. I found so many books (outside my required reading list) that I've been looking for ages, like, for example, the personal letters and diaries of David Livingstone, the Father Brown collection by Chesterton, Chinese Classics translated into English by James Legge, and a whole lot of other works from world history to literature and beyond beyond beyonddddddd that i can't wait to sink my teeth into. And that's motivating me to get my required reading list out of the way so I can start on my extra-curricular list. Wooohooo... :) i love london.

Ok so. I was just thinking about how things turn out. Most of the time, we start out on a new road purposefully with a "to-do" list which sometimes can turn out to be a very anal "must-do list". And even if all the signs and hints (from above and below) are pointing us in a different direction, sometimes we can be so adamant and set in our ways. While being focused on the goal is a great thing, having a bit of "flexibility" (without of course, being wishy-washy and fickle) to make changes when necessary is something which i have to continually keep in mind. lol. The tricky part is, of course, knowing when to stick with the plan, and when to change. That's where prayer and God comes in I guess.

At any rate, I'd like to think that there's nothing too bad that cannot be undone. And no experience is ever a waste, even if it may seem like "big mistakes" at that moment. The end of a thing is always the beginning of something new. :)

moving right along.

ps: if all goes according to plan, i'll be taking up *ehhem* women rugby soon. lol.