:o)

i love how incredibly contagious my mom's laugh can be.

batteries recharged

O God let us be a generation that seeks...


passion toronto: the "indescribable" worship trio of chris tomlin, charlie hall, and david crowder

freshly humbled and blessed, this night was just what i needed to get things back into perspective.

timing is everything.

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

... He has made everything beautiful in its time.

-- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,11 (NKJV)

happy teacher's day, miss estelle!

after work tonight, i found an envelope and postcard with my name and address on both. each sender's address belonged to students i taught in vietnam a little over a year ago.

upon opening the envelope, i discovered a hand-made card awaitng me inside. the content was short and sweet; succeeding in making me smile. the message on the postcard re-affirmed my desire to teach. and after opening my inbox to find a dozen more e-greetings from other former students of mine, i was overwhelmed with joy.

who knew that even after a year's passing, these students would still be showing me the heart of a teacher.

*happy tear*

my cup overflows. :o)

"we LOVE geeks!"

"... the geekier, the better!" -- mandy lam

i concur :o)

frankly, there's nothing quite more sexy than a guy who carries a subtle nerdiness about him; who is computer-savvy and adores his mother just as much as he loves star wars.

Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It

and oh, they certainly *are* worth it :oP

why, hey there, november!

another month to be reckoned with.

feeling a little (a lot) overwhelmed by responsibility in the past few weeks, i decided to redo my entire bedroom. and since i haven't touched it since high school, i figured that it was high time that a splash of colour be added to the walls, and for my 'nsync and garfield posters to be finally taken down and hidden away where no one can find them :oP and now, after a full week of painting, building shelves, moving furniture, and a gleeful spree at ikea; my room has now become my own sweet, domesticated haven :oD and surprisingly, painting and building can be quite effective therapy for stress...

i've also come to notice that christmas is starting to take over the mall; from the glistening christmas decor dangling from the ceilings, to being able to catch the occasional christmas tune lingering throughout the hallways. however in my store, we seem to have *all* the popular christmas classics mixed in with our usual top 40 mix - and on repeat. though i know the reasoning behind this is to gradually spread a little christmas cheer among customers until the actual day, i fear that by the time christmas actually does come around, i will have endured an overkill of bing crosby's rendition of "the 12 days of christmas," and will probably not want to hear a single peep from anything remotely close to a french hen for a very long time.

on a much brighter note, i was quite amused and delighted when my assistant manager mistook me for being 26 today... "wow, you seem so much more mature than 24," she said. and i was on perma-smile mode for the remainder of the day. :oP

of course, now that the day is over, it's time to put my nose back on the grindstone and continue application-ing for teacher's college. and once again, i must dive head first into supplementary goodness. december 1 is vastly approaching, and knowing me, procrastination is going to be one of my biggest obstacles.

but thankfully i have the soothing combination of michael bublé and hot maple tea to keep me company through the grueling hours of the night. :o)