Arghhh...

I've been procrastinating since forever about updating this, and so I'm finally going to do it!!

I wish I'd done it sooner, and been able to put more detail, but in short, since the last post, I'd been to a gay bar in Frankston, done copious amounts of festival melbourne, some good, some not so good, went to the boxing, finished a months-long project web site, drove to sydney & back within 24hrs... I think that's it...

Here's a few photos of my travels... and there are more on my flickr (the "nates photos" link on the right)...

Fit for Scrap...

It's weird the things you realise when you blog... the stuff @ Urban Seed is so normal to me now, duties and the intwining rich friendships, that I don't blog about it anymore :P

Last night me and amoi went down to the Alexandria Gardens to check out, well other things (she'd misread her timetable). We ended up in front of a stage with what started out as a small crowd of people for a group called Scrap Arts Music.

They started out @ about 10pm, so I wasn't surprised that there weren't that many there, but boy was it good :D A group that made music from bits and pieces of junk, they were not only melodic and fantasically rhythmic, but funnily dramatic in performance too. It was something I would have paid good money to have seen, it was that good, that different.

And the small crowd worked for me too... it was like our own special performance, our own secret that we found, in the corner of the Gardens, which also looked fantastic @ night.

Walking back through the Gardens was amazing too - beautifully lit and decorated, with the city skyline looming just behind it, I felt like a tourist on holiday.

Gonna get pics from amoi to add to these posts...

If you're going to see the games at all...

... come and see CLEAN - a friend of ours @ Urban Seed was involved in the project, Nick Low (no, he's from NZ, not azn or from COC :P)

"From 15 March- 2 April 2006, CLEAN takes the roar of the crowd, the breathless excitement of victorious athletes and the sparkling spokespersons' speeches out of their official context - and hides them amongst the bins and cobbles of one of Melbourne's best-known laneways, Hosier Lane. A cluster of hidden speakers will celebrate the stories of the homeless, embarrassing doping scandals, fierce protests and the drunken revelry of tourists alongside sound-bites, speeches and anthems."

Wow, what a show...

Being @ Urban Seed has me also acknowledging that the Commonwealth Games is not all glamour and fun - a lot of the street people are being hastled by police, and all indications are, contrary to the official line, that they aren't welcome in Melbourne during the games.

But I went down with amoi to the Yarra this evening to see some big dancing fish, and wow...

We followed the baton down the river until it got to Ron Barassi and his little walk on water, and all the way through, the amount of people the lights/sound/stuff was pretty amazing.

And when we thought we'd had enough, and decided to start walking back down a road that we thought would be quieter and away from the river, the closing fireworks happened EVERYWHERE... and it turns out we were in the best place to see them all - we were right in the middle of the Yarra, the MCG and the city, surrounded by explosions of light and sound coming from each place, with not many people around us.

Was awfully, spontaneously romantic - not a bad way to end a Wednesday night :)

cheap phones...

This arvo, audioamoi came down, and we went out to look @ prices for a mobile phone (namely, a Samsung e730) around the city. She'd gotten an initial price of *best price* of $550 (from a RRP of 649) in Springvale, but we'd found an even better price of $499 from Organiser World (one of the sites I like to frequent :P).

So we figured we'd bounce around to all these other stores, sure that an asian store must be able to do a *best price* of better... and store after store, we would keep getting that $550 was the best price :S

After all that field work, we figured we'd go down to Organiser World (near Latrobe and Elizabeth) and have a squiz - and to our amazement got a further 50 off the price, for a brand new, sealed, aus spec model, bringing it down to $449, more than 100 off the *best price* the asian stores could do, and with no surcharge for Visa...

It's just a bit bizar to me, when the place to buy the cheapest electronics isn't asian...and a bit mind boggling the difference in prices :S A two HUNDRED differential from RRP... sheesh... that ain't chicken feed...

Food for thought... and possibly for the heart

For Christian groups, the tour uses Mark's Gospel as a "map" for participants as they are taken on a tour of Collins Street Baptist Church and the surrounding city. The aim of this walk is to help participants think about the message of Mark's Gospel in a modern, urban context, and to provide an encounter with the city that provokes discussion about what it means to be a Christian in today's society.

For more information call Marcus Curnow on 9663 0699 or email marcus.curnow@urbanseed.org - or you could just call me :)

"What is church if it does not include people at the margins of our society?"

"There is a subtle, yet profound difference between these two questions. The first asks how church can be constructed for a different group of people. The second asks how a group of people, including me, can develop a sense of church."

Being Intentional

I guess the Games are here soon - I came home last night down the laneway as usual to find 10 policemen @ the backdoor :S Wonder what they thought... some little asian guy in bike gear walking down a darkened alley towards them :P

The weekend wasn't a bad one, went to birthday shing on Friday night and ended up staying the night @ the parents. Went to Life Expedition on Sunday morning (it still boggles me how people can get up for morning services...) and just did nothing in particular for arvo into today :)

The title of this post? I caught myself thinking this morning that I was doing well in keeping things under control, when it hit me that that was not the way I wanted to do things.

Had been thinking about the week ahead, with uni and Urban Seed and all, and thinking that yeah, it was all roughly there, no sweat.

But I don't want to get to the end of the year like that!! Like the parable of the servants and the talents, I don't want to be the servant that hid his talent, and just got by.

I'm lucky, to be in places where I have chances to shine and make life - in uni, I have the chance to do as well as I want to academically, with Urban Seed I have the chance to really do get into somethings that are socially impacting.

I don't want to be an ordinary colleague, student, boyfriend, brother or son. I don't want to get to 2007 and just say yeah, I got by.

:P

Guess that also means my lunch break (literally) is over... back to work...

Tuesdays are killer...

Wake up for market shop (where we get all the credo incredients for the week from the Queen Vic) @ 8am, then unload it all by which it's 10 - back up to the room to unmess it, then back down for Gathering @ 11am, lunch @ 12-1, and then we got back from the cricket (credo vs PriceWaterhouseCoopers), which was 2-3, and now off to staff prayers @ the Den (little bourke)!!

After which I have uni from 5:30-7:30, and then a planning meeting with the other resi's when I get back... I think I'm going to be sleeping really early tonight...

Signed on to leave this post, a shout out to Jo who just got back, and to an audioamoi who I saw lurking in the woods...

*running off to prayers*...

Please pray...

... for my grandma, who isn't feeling too well, and for journey mercies for my lil sis Jo, who's due back this Tuesday :)

It's always good to catch up with old friends :)

Finally made it to Elaine & Donald's birthday bash, which turned out to be not so bad :P But the highlight of the night for me, and the reason why I stuck around, was to be able catch up with some of my really good, old friends.

Although I didn't get a chance to do so with all of them, it was good nonetheless to touch base again with Wes, and give Karen an ahoy! Was good to see all of you again, and to see you all cheery and doing well :)

Pit stopping...

@ my parents place, enroute to Elaine and Donald's birthday bash :) Burning a few DVDs, and have finally found myself with some time to blog!!

Last w/end I was hoping for @ least a calm Sunday arvo, but that didn't even eventuate either, and Saturday was huge for me, in terms of physical movement. I went from the city, to Neerim South to visit the Evermore Retreat, then from Neerim South to Mordiallic for Mikey's birthday!! I'd probably spent nearly 4-5 hours just sitting on my bike... needless to say, my body ached for the next few days :( Was only on Thurs that I could go swimming again...





After Mikey's Birthday, I made an early-ish exit due to being mega tired, but decided to swing by the Flinders Street Station steps to see if any of the people from credo were there, and I ended up hanging out with a whole street crew from 10:30pm-12:30am.

Was a bit daunting, as I came to realise that although we see a big number of street people @ credo, that there were so many more out there! But it was fun at the same time, as just like any other community of people, they were there hanging out, looking after one another, and more importantly, not minding me being there :P

in mourning...

over the passing of my ibook. in true IT fashion, when i started her up to actually do critical work on saturday afternoon, she collapsed :(

after harbouring a bit of hope of recovery the last couple of days, google research finally pronounced my worst fears true - it would require replacement of the logic board, which would cost me as much as the actual entire thing would be worth @ the moment :(

as much as I wish I had the guts to throw her in spectacular fashion Mikey :P, my plan is to hope that she revives with one last gasp, enough for me to get my stuff, erase her memory, and then ebay her to the highest bidder... I'll state that it's completely stuffed of course, but you'd be surprised @ how much I've been able to sell my stuffed gadgets for :P

it's a bit of a sad occasion for me, as most of you would know how close me and her have been throughout the years - she was a great companion :)

and here's a bit more goss...

... housewarming on saturday was ace fun - was setup as a chilled-out rooftop party, with louge chairs and candle lanterns :D Great mix of Urbanseeders and our own friends. Thanks heaps for all those of my bunch that came, it really made my night to have you all there! If ever any of you are in the city, you know where to find me :) Come join us for a lunch sometime! Well, maybe not addy...

sunday brought forth the unexpected bonus of being able to grow relationships, and make a new one!! From the Life Expedition service, I got to hang out with Ned, Sheree and Jason from Credo, and Joy Chang from ACCF :) We all went chinese and visited the CNY @ Crown - was simply great fun! The photo is of us (well, mainly Joy) introducing Yee Sang to the Credo crew...

just dropping by...

... haven't posted for a week now, cuz it's been just a mega week!!

2 x housewarmings, a whole day of church services & various meetings AND valentines day have had me scurrying around 24/7...

Not to mention my iBook (yup, it's pretty much for sure) passed away over the w/end :'(

Gonna get cracking on catching up with the rest of my week, will fill in the details here tonight!

and now for today's news...

after tidying/typing up the last couple of posts, it's finally onto todays!

I booked in some quality time with my good buddy Wes, and we decided to use spend it on a bike ride :D So a quick blat from the city to the suburbs for me, and we started @ Aidz Wong's place @ ~3:30 in the arvo...


here are some pics enroute to the Dandenong's... all three taken whilst waiting @ the same set of lights (high st rd & burwood hwy). I figure this is the closest to motorcycle-based panorama I could get...




was a great day for it too - after leaving the wong residence, we rode up dandy mountain till we got to scenic lookout. Was good to get some practice @ a few extreme turns - on the way up I pulled the coolest overtake of a car on a hairpin, from the outside lane :D Started talked to an '04 r6 rider that was up there, and not long after a hayabusa that was still being run-in by the nicest irish fella, who we got to take some pics for us...




And of course on the way back down, I pulled another overtaking pass, again getting nice and horizontal on a hairpin, this time tabbing the inside lane... well, actually, it was just a single wider lane :P

Because I didn't want to rush my time with the biker boyz, I ended up missing the Urbanseed service and decided to hitch to ACF once again, where they were sharing about the Philippines trip! It was really great to hear about what they did over there, and how much they took away :)

One of the highlights of the night for me would be when Elton, not knowing I was sitting in the back, started praying for "one of the members also in the city doing a bit of missions work..." :D It's always nice to know that you're remembered!!

The other highlight would be being able to hang out with the blog boys (although al, you haven't blogged in yonks!!) again!!




Was good to see all you ACFers again, and to see that you're all doing well - if you have the time this Sat, make sure you come down to the house warming!! Gotta sleep now, I've got laneway-cleanup duty tomorrow morning with Ali... bleh... needles...

oh what...

blogspot ate two of my posts that I did about Fri!!

in summary they were:

* jo (my lil sis) is gay - in regards to her comment, it is also traditional for Leung women to BURP and FART gratuitously...

* got my full bike license on Fri!! No more gay yellow L desecrating my bike!!

* went to the coolest bar place in Caledonian Lane called St Jerome's with ami + her friends Fri night, again for her bday - very street, raw-ish and grunge, with a bar @ the front and a dj with decks playing the music hard and fast in the packed out loading-bay-looking courtyard out the backdoor! Highly recommended fun...

Kung Fu Bok Choi!!

Saturday was ami's birthday (4th of Feb), and so after she had her birthday dinner with her family in the city, I got to claim her for the rest of the night :D


We went down to Crown for the Chinese New Year Festivities, where all along the river they've set up stalls, stages, petting zoos, etc. - we were down there @ about 10pm, and there were still heaps of people there...


Was great fun to walk along the whole stretch and see all the different things that each stall had to offer, the different kinds of food, and to be in the same place as that many people :P I dunno, I just like festive atmospheres...

The stall that captured ami's attention though, was the tattoo parlour 8-) After much browsing, and crowds gawking @ her she finally ended up with, well I reckon it's a skeletal sea horse... and she reckon's it's a dragon thing...






Also ran into commerce-graduate-turned-chinese-business-man, Wes Lim running the "Nibbles" stall there... I bought a stick of dim sims and he chucked in a can of root beer! A&W! Woot, woot...




All in all, I'd have to rate my Saturday night pretty high, another really late night, but a really fun time...

If anyone asks what you're doing Feb 11, you're busy! :P

Cuz me and the other four resi's are going to have a fun as house warming! It's going to be a party on the roof, would you like to come??? Yes, yes, it's the same place as where you see me hanging my washing, but I assure you that those will be done by the time you get here...

Rooftop party in the city, with a dj, BBQ and a keg - will be good to see you good friends (the only people that would torture themselves by visiting my blog :P) again, and to show you the place!

Details: Baptist Pl (just off Little Collins St) @ 11 Feb 06 @ ~8pm

---

Note: There will be alc, so for those who are under 18 pls consult your Anthem leaders :) Also, I'm aware that Elaine and Donald are also having birthday thing's, so for those going to that, there's no pressure, come when you can if you've the time after :) I have a feeling we'll be up a little late...

bleeeeeehhhhhhhhh...

The last couple of days have been extremely starved of sleep - 4 hrs the previous night, and 2 this morning?!

But even in my energy-sapped state, it's been an awesome experience so far!

Credo has started (the lunches), since yesterday, and it's just really good to actually get into it! Meeting and really talking to people, is so easy here. I already feel @ home with a lot of them, and really enjoy their company, with no false pretences :D

Today was my first duty, I was on a clean, and whilst it was tiring, you kinda come out feeling like you've helped out in a little way :P Even though I was operating on no sleep, it was still easy to talk to people, cuz they're just really good people...

Ah well, that's day 2 down, for Credo '06... a whole lot more to go... Tomorrow I'm on a cook duty... wonder what we're making...

hanging the washing...

has never been such a cool thing to do before moving here :D

want to appreciate...

those who have been keeping me in their prayers, and smsing me!!

it's a foreign land (if only for the fact that I'm the only non-caucasian :P), and whilst I really feel @ home now, it's great to know I'm still in your thoughts!!

Thanks Wes, Sab, Ange, Vee for your msn/sms messages! They've come through @ the most awesome times, and I'm deeply appreciative of them!

Mikey, your visits have truly been God sent, and help me to remember who I am.

Ami-gurl, you know your place in my life, and without your pushing, I dunno if I'd be here :)

For those who should be in here somewhere, please yell @ me, cuz I'd hate to miss anyone - thank you especially, for all those who are also praying for me!!

*phew*

long time no post, well long time no breath :S

Orientation week is finally over, and in hindsight, it's been a bit of a back breaker :P

Since the last post, I learnt about everyday spirituality, did common work, learnt about using your body to 'balance' a room (pechang: non-violent solutions to violent situations), and made a pumpkin lasagne, amongst other things, with everything coming to a close on Friday.

Also helped out from 6:30am-4:30pm with Sam and Joyous's wedding, which pretty much KO'd me for the day (thurs).

Saturday was mega sleep in day (!!), woke up, met up with Ange and Mikey for lunch, then went off to the first of the Chinese New Year dinners @ Malaya, which kinda sucked... bad service, mediocre food and drunk people (from other tables) singing karaoke are not my idea of the ideal CNY celebration :(

Garage Sale!!

The Chew-Ong house are having a garage sale from 10am this Saturday (21/1) @ 4 Neera Court, Glen Waverley - if you have the spare time and are in the area, come by and say hello!

whoops, correction...

That should be UYB, not OYB... I was reading the legitimate document on how this, ah, process is prescribed, trying not to laugh and vomit simultaneously... I mean, it was a STEP-BY-STEP guide... eep...

Just got back from the 'burbs - ducked down there quickly to see my ami-natic girl, well, quickly is a subjective word, isn't it... travelled down @ 5:30pm, not realising it was actually peak hour :S

Harrowing, stressful and fun, would be the words describing the weaving techniques used to make my way down the congested motorway... I mean... wow... why do people even bother... so glad I was on a bike...

Will be away for the next two days, on a retreat with my fellow resi's to Queenscliff!! Should be a great time, will take photos where I can.

Take care all, will see yas when I get back :)

d3 continued...

General things we've been up to include semi-drinking games last night to get to know each other! Hehehe, when you see me next, remind me to go through "fuzzy duck" if you've not heard of it... hehehehe, that game cracks me up...

We also went through a whole bunch of questions, from which we've gleaned a list of (favourite) movies we're all going to make a point to watch throughout the year! See? They ARE my kind of people :P Titles like Magnolia, Goonies (!!), Death to Smoochie are going to make this year that much more fun, and of course the classics (not mine, funnily enough) include Back to the Future, parts I & II.

Today was by far the hardest to get through, having only gotten 5 hours of sleep (the person responsible for which will go unnamed - RLS is their punishment I say...) and a topic by which I'm squeamish as about - needles!!

We went over what to do in an OD, how to handle and dispose sharps/fits, the various lingo, refresher CPR (rremember DR ABC everyone??? I didn't...) and... OYB - it's a way of getting the drug into your bloodstream if all your veins have collapsed.

10pts if anyone can figure what OYB stands for... *still squeaming*... needless to say, I was quite queasy all the way through this mornings session... bleh...

day... hang on, it's day 3?!

Gee... am already losing track of my days :P

Am pretty much unpacked and settled into my room now (will take photos if the place when my memory kicks in, or you COULD just visit (174 Collins Street, Melbourne)), have already figured out what more I need (passport, bin, tissue box... hmm... what else...) and am just easing into the mindset... of if anything, just being the only asian around!!

But I already love the people I'm staying with @ Urban Seed, the other four resi's - Naomi ('nomes), Raelene (Rae), Chris (well, Chris) and Alasdire (Ali). They're great fun and very livable, but yes, it IS only day 3 :P

RMIT will make a great blog writing stop - with some round-about ways, I can access pretty much all I need to (i.e. msn via e-messenger), and so far God has provided the money I need! He has definitely been my mana provider so far...

nate & the city...

Hi all!! Have finally found an all too brief moment to drop a post - day one of orientation officially over, so far so good :) Will post more as I get more settled, but until then keep me in your prayers please :P

Looking out the window, and seeing the city RIGHT there, is something that's going to take a bit of getting used to... so far, it's still an adventure - the w/end retreat has actually be resched for this Thurs-Fri (will be tenting in Queenscliff with the other four resi's), so that's where I'll be at... this is nate & the city, signing off for long overdue sleep...

so much to blog about... not enough brain power...

:P

In the span of, well I guess half a month (since my last post), so much has happened that has been blog worthy, but everytime I've sat down in front of the keyboard, the words have failed me

Being able to write the sentences that will do justice to the experiences that I've been blessed with is a daunting task that looms at every blog composition session...

But whilst it does not contain any of the content of the past many weeks, I can type this post about the amazing day that is today, and I can re-affirm that it is not a bad day to be alive :)

I'm sitting in Jo's room, on her mega supa computer, looking out the window @ what is a beautifully blue sky - one that's not brilliant white with heat, nor one that's overcast grey, listening to the real version (i.e. not addy composed) of "I can only imagine", gradually losing myself in quiet worship, and for me, slowly finding again the things that really matter

It's the start of a new year, 2005 is no more, and with 7 days already crossed and gone, it's high time to get stuck into 2006. For me it's going to be a year that's going to be so different, so alien and new, well at least, if all goes well :P

My wish? Is that you and I will experience all that God will have for us this year, and that I'll get to do it, with all of you.

Let's make this year the best one yet!

Mega, mega, megaman...

Hehehe, and I couldn't not post about the new Megaman art released by Capcom regarding the new PSP version they're doing, Powered Up. It's a super deformed version, and should be mega cute... get it? mega?! :D

eek, it's raining...

Twelve months, 1 week and 2.5 days down, only 2 more days to go!! Yum Cha today with everyone, with cocktails (a moot point for me as there's zero alc for bikers on their L's or P's) from 3pm tomorrow...

After what has been, in general, a really awesome year @ Agilent, it's good to also get to the other side for this one :)

I look back on it, and I can only say I've been so blessed, but it's now onto the next scary phase of life :P

Yesterday was a such a productive day... so much ticked off my to do list, which left me completely buggered, but also a little satisfied as I fell very easily to sleep for the night :P

Shopping though, was like opening Pandora's box - it gave me more of the idea of just how much more shopping I need to do, and it's added another logistical kink to my well-laid plans... hmm...

Eek, it's now thundering in Forest Hill... not going to be a fun ride home... so much for it being great weather from here on in... *sigh*...

if you're in the country...

... I'll probably be in chaddy tonight trying to figure out last minute pressies - if anyone else is there by chance, just gimme a call :) It's open till 10pm...

what's new, natey...

well, the weather is great and there's still ALL my chrissy shopping to do :S

The w/end past was a quietish one for me, and a good one, I dunno, I just need a decent (till 4pm on the Saturday :D) sleep-in every now and again. That whole getting enough sleep thing is surely much underated... In fact, I didn't even leave the house on Saturday, which was probably a good thing as the weather wasn't fantastic :P

And, how's my LAST working week @ Agilent been??? All two days of it so far??? :P

Well, I managed to score a PC out of it (they were giving these away), a pretty decent one @ that too - dual processor PIII (533), with a dual head video card and, well only 18GB HDD and no RAM, but I'm pretty happy... I'll probably transplant my old pc into this one, as dual PIII's have gotta be a little more potent than my 'ol 700 Duron...

And for those not technically inclined, this is where you could tune back in...

Hope you've all got a great christmas's planned, will be blogging where I can, but obviously @ the same time I'll be running around headlessly attempting life-organisation before the merciless deadline of Dec 25... yes, Darren's birthday is that ominous... :P

Hahahaha...

For those wanting an interesting Halloween costume for next year, take a look @ this one...

This one's for you Mikey...

what the...

although mikey tells me that the Age is quite anti-christian, this is a bit much:

Review of the new Narnia movie

I can accept the possibility of the movie being a bad one, even if it did carry great Christian undertones, and I can even accept the reviewers own, somewhat negative views on Christianity, but what I find a little disconcerting is the forum in which she feels like she needs to voice these :S

I mean, it's supposed to be a film review?! If she wants to write an article about her gripes of religion, she should try out for the editorial pages, not the entertainment section...

holy crap...

... hmm... wonder if that subject header will provoke all sorts of theological debate? Is it sacrilege, or blasphemous??? Can crap be holy??? I think it can! We are metaphorical crap, but made holy because of Christ on the cross :D So there! WE are "holy crap" ;)

But as to the real reason of the exclamation, is that it's been one week since my last post! One week! And whilst my tardiness has somewhat come to be expected on the blogging front, I've also noticed the same of my fellow bloggers! What's going on?!

Here's my theory - we're FINALLY getting some great weather :D People are going outside to enjoy the sun, sit against a wall under a sombrero and soak in that lazy, lazy heat :D It's like that Simpsons episode, when Itchy & Scratchy change to a cartoon full of niceness - kids are finally getting out, about and sunny :P

Well, it's either that, or they've all gotten signficant others within the last couple of weeks... @ which I would be most upset and yell... "how come nobody tells me anything!" :P

I think that rounds up a good Monday rave...

oh well...

it's a great day outside, but I have so much work to catch up on, so I'm not going to get a chance to get out and enjoy it :(

Oh, and to those who have been following, my "monk" status has been somewhat postponed...

... and y'all make sure you catch up with Jo whilst you can, cuz she's leaving for the 'states this Thurs night for 3 months...

Let it grow...

Finding it incredibly hard to concentrate @ work, so I figure I'll blog for a bit - maybe it'll clear out the cob webs...


Relationships are very scary things, and there are so many schools of thought, so many opinions about how to do it right, what's considered wrong, what's not ideal... along with capital punishment, this seems to be the one topic where everyone will have an opinion about.

I'd have to admit, that I'm one of those people that have a tendancy to think I know what's right, but when I stop and think about it now, I wish I didn't think like that...

Maybe it's just my social sphere where this happens, but with so much public scrutiny and analysis, it has to be miraculous that any relationship can emerge natural, healthy and unscathed...

Not that relationships don't need a push or a prod from a helping hand every now and again, but it seems to me that sometimes the best thing to do would be to just step back, and let it grow...


Note: This post is by no means implying anything about anyone else, moreso it's just reflections of my own attitude towards other relationships.

bleh... still not there yet... but on a BRIGHTER note...

I've got my girl back! She's so fine... I could stare @ her all day... what a bod... who am I talking about? Well either comment could apply to either girl in my life, but it's my Aprilia (bike) that's back :D

I'm back to the every-trip-anywhere-is-a-physical-ordeal, unable-to-carry-any-luggage-whatsoever life, and you know what... I love it :P

where's nate though? he hasn't blogged for ages?

I'm still trudging through the remaining hurdles that are there for me, still finishing off tardy uni work, Agilent-work and extra-curricular work - hopefully, given another two weeks, I'll be FREE and appropriately unstressed to once again fully enjoy the open air... but yah, "hopefully" is the best I can do at the moment :P

What HAS cleared up somewhat for me though, is my immediate future - I've been given notice that I've been accepted into the Urban Seed program for next year, and I'm completely psyched (read: scared).

It's a big relief to me though, to know that my immediate future is sorta panning out, and that I'm actually really ticking off my life goals... own a bike, check, commit life to a year of torture and suffering (or social work, some might say), check...

till my next post, y'all take care - hopefully it won't be too long between :)

For those with hair...

... we're planning to experiment with bleach - no, not the anime series, but with the hair-colour altering mixture of chemical :D

Slated for this Sat (26/11) @ about 7pm @ Leanne's (1108 Stud Rd, Rowville) - comment on this post to voice your ideas on this one people...

Ok, ok, so I HAVEN'T blogged for awhile...

... so SUE me :P

Life has been unbelievably busy for me lately, and still remains so. Not really due to overwhelming social commitments unfortunately, but more so because of work, work, work...

And I'm not complaining, I really am quite blessed to have so much (to be in a uni course, to have a two income generating avenues) work, it just doesn't leave me much time to blog, that's all :)

Hopefully it'll be mostly done by the end of the month, so fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday, 'lil bro

21st birthday wishes for this day, to my friend, Eugene Ong
- www.englishnewbie.com

And on the w/end natey?

What a HUGE w/end...

This one was all booked out before we even got there :p

In brief...

Sat went to DFO with Ami, came out with a much more practical backpack for carting things around on the bike, then got lost, then found Ange's house (in Keysborough!!) for her 21st - her speeches were really funny, Ange, was a great party, thanks for the invite.

After Ange's I got to catch up with Jack, Aidz Wong and Phil Wong for a bit, as they wanted to gawk and me new gurl (still yet to be named), and then off to coc deb's for HER 23rd bday!! And that was mega fun too... the highlights? The girl wrestling! So hot! :D Ange, Adder's and Juls have never looked so hot :P Highlight #2: Ange hit on Mikey! :D deb, we didn't quite make it to the beach, but was great fun nonetheless :) We WILL make to the beach one day!

Sunday, got to sleep in a TINY bit... raced down to Life Expedition (ACCF) to hand in my shoebox present for a child that would go without, and then back to the 'burbs to wish YP a happy bday too :) Hung out @ Elton's for a bit, back to church for muso practice.

Joyous's last worship for awhile, and I had a blast... I managed (I think) to do ok with the harmonies, and it felt pretty great.

After which was the final bday for the w/end - Mel's! Thankfully it was @ her place, which is 2mins away from church. Another great party, closing the w/end in fried-food style...

natey's got a new girl

I think one post is all I can go for before saying... I got a bike!!

And not just ANY one at that... I got an AWESOME one... one that puts even my 'ol wrexy to shame.

I'd been setting my sights on a decent Japanese bike, having thought that anything else would be far out of my price range until this beauty popped up on my radar...

... and it's still stupies me somewhat, that I actually own her?! It literally feels like having a ferrari in my garage.


Question: What should natey name his bike... and for those unfamiliar with the naming process, bikes, like cars & boats, are named after girls!!

Almost there :P

It's been a long time since I've last blogged, and I'm getting oh so close to that other side :P

Whilst tiring, it's been a great journey, sorting out life issues and working towards my aspirations and goals.

Hmm... that sentence was rather vague...

Translation: Am getting to tick off all the things I need to work out :)

* Sell car, check.
* Buy bike, check.
* Follow-up Urban Seed
- (interview this coming Tues - omg, that's tomorrow?!), check.

Once all my uni work is submitted for this year, and I know if I've been accepted or not into Urban Seed, then I'll feel more like I can say, I'm on the other side :P

So yeah... almost there :D

am I on the otherside...

... well, no not quite. But with a bit more sleep, since last post, I think I'm a little closer!!

Was a huge weekend, filled with bits of my favourite things - good friends, new friends, old friends and throw in a little bit of a special friend, and it was a pretty packed one :)

But before I go on, Happy Birthday (yesterday) Ange!! And congratulations to deb on her baptism!!

Found that I won't be finishing work as early as I thought, and have a few things on for the next couple of days that are pretty significant to me - might be letting my blue baby go very soon, have a business meeting (remind me to dress up! otherwise I'm going to look awful stupid...) tomorrow, and Saturday is going to be pretty huge with birthday celebration galore, not to mention another one on Sunday...

*phew*... I better make sure I've slept all I need to this week then...

what a month :S

was going to go through the whole subtext of what had gone on these last couple of weeks, but just thinking about it has me a little giddy...

Somehow (still not quite on the other side (do you ever really get there?!)), I seem to have (so far) ended up fairly right side up...

A lot I could go into detail about, but for now, will just point skyward and give some credit to where it's always due... thanks Big Guy, for being a good One :)

Time to hop back onto the rollercoaster ride and see where it all ends up.

not happy jan

was going to chronicle the rest of last week in this post, but when I started typing, I realised I just don't feel like it :(

Am sour, angry and a little bitter... I think that's 95% me needing sleep, and lots of it, but also partly cuz, for those who have been following, as of last night I ain't a 'quasi' anymore.

So that sux (maybe in more ways that one), but to boot, my change from that transaction was 4hrs sleep...

... bleh.

sometimes the only thing to look forward to, is home

...where home could be wherever your family is, or maybe for you it could be heaven.

I love my family, but right now I'm just looking out for heaven...

Rough w/end? Not really, moreover a rough Sunday night...

oh, and mikey...

there's something wrong with that "alien" comment on your last post... screws up the pc @ rmit, so I couldn't comment!!

What I would have said was...

"Dude, that's so hard gay... you're blogging about frolicking in the sun and amongst the grass??? :P I'd like to introduce to a friend of mine... his name's "MAX"..."

Of course I'd be so bagging myself too, as I am a big fan of "perfect days" too :D

experiences so far

day one started obscenely early... was outside Urban Seed @ 9am where Karen (one of the resi's) took me through the building and gave me a tour, met some of the people. @ 11am we started preparation for the lunches, which involves cooking a complete meal for heaps of people :S Then there's prayer/reflection @ 11:45am.

Then everyone comes in for lunch @ 12-1:30, cleanup (which is even more h/core than cooking :S) @ 1:30pm till about 2:30pm, then there's a few meetings for the staff and volunteers, just to check in, make sure everyone's alive etc. I think the day eventually ends @ about 5:30pm... and that's day one...

---

for day two, the day started @ 8am, where me and Virginia (one of the part-timers) went to queen vic to pick up fresh produce for these cafe lunches. Even though it was early as, it was fun... market is much more fun than your average suburbian supermarket! Got an insane amount of food, trundled all the way back in time for lunch prep, prayer/reflection, lunch and cleanup... after which I sat in on the bible study (1:30~2:30), then that was my day :)

day 2, part 2...

and so where does nate fit in...?

"resi's"

well the resi's actually live on site and help run the cafe (cook, clean, create quality relationships), run a program each (i.e. camping trip, cricket team, bible study, alternatively take a reflection).

so nate is...

... ever since the surrender conference (jackie pullinger), where I first heard about Urban Seed, it's been on my heart to be involved in some social/community work.

I followed it up, and I thought I'd a apply for a resi position for 2006. The program co-ordinator encouraged me to come down and check it out, so they could also check me out, and so here I am from Mon-Wed - I wish I could stay longer, but given that I'd taken a few days off already in the last two weeks, it's truly God-blessed that I was allowed these additional three days off! Got approval for them just last friday, immediately called the urban seed guy and well, here I am :)

This couple of days are part of my application... if they're ok with me, then I have to go through an interview, and if I get in, I start Jan 1 - Dec 24.

day 2...

didn't have much time to go into detail yesterday, as I was mega-tired... I ended up sleeping from 6:30pm-7:45am...

what's urban seed? what's a 'residential' or 'resi'?

well what Urban Seed do, is run programs for the marginelised.

And who are the marginelised?

Well, that includes everyone from the homeless, the umemployed, druggies (for lack of a better term)... examples are those who shoot up in the laneway (which is just behind the place), those in the yellow vests in the city that sell those "Big Issue" mags, those that are on a disability pension (i.e. schizophrenia (I think that's how you spell it), met two really nice guys that are affected by it).

"programs"???

The main one would be the "credo cafe". Lunchtimes (currently Mon-Thurs), from 12pm-1:30pm, the doors to the cafe open for a free lunch, and some company :)

Before which there's 15mins prayer and a reflection.

After lunch there's a bible study for the same crowd on Tuesdays, today we did the passage about the various parts in the body of Christ, and importance. Also, a bunch of lawyers came in for lunch today to give free legal advice to those who wanted it.

Wednesday there's a forum on advocacy. They also organise sports events so that they can be involved (there's a credo cricket team (7 ducks last weekend :S)), camping trips, womens groups, etc...

hellooooo from the city...

so, here's day one of urban seed :)

am blogging from the RMIT building which is ridiculously close to Urban Seed... it's like the next street across, and there's even an alley way that allows me not to have to walk around that single block :P

what am I doing in the city? well, it's my trial run/interview for the residential program I'm thinking about doing next year... the place really, really stretches you, and it's only been... not even my first day!!

One image to illustrate a bit of perspective though...

there's a cafe @ the top-end of collins st which donates bread to the organisation. Cuz the other resi's (residentials) were in a meeting, I volunteered to go on the "bread-run" by myself. So there I was, dressed down and in my beanie, pushing this trolley, through arguably THE most upmarket part of town - walking past people in full designer suits that probably cost more than my car, past shop after shop in which you have to make appointments to enter, brands @ which many aspire to. Walking past all these power dressers, supremely confident executives, pushing my white trolley, which on the way back, was full of bread :)

bleh...

to deb, ange, aloysius and mikey... sorry for being such a sour puss tonight :(

No, I really sucked... I can't believe I fell into the trap and talked 'shop', theory and intellectual. I talked about people I didn't really care about, topics I should pray for patience and grace for instead of moaning and bitching, and wasted the time that I had with people I'd been waiting all week to see.

I'm glad I got to learn a bit more about mikey's carpentery life, and al's aversion to horror movies, but I ended up talking way too much, too often, too much about myself, and about things that mean a lot less to me than learning more about my friends.

bleh...

still not sure...

Today was the first public viewing for Gene.

I didn't quite know what to expect, only having gone to my grandfather's.

It broke me. Overwhelming grief at a little brother gone, guilt that I hadn't been a better friend after we had gone through so much together...

I cried when I saw him, but I sobbed when I talked to the family. When they started to speak fondly of the past, where I had taken Gene under my wing, for what I wonder was too short a time... wracked with guilt that I hadn't done enough for him... to reach him when I saw him drifting away.

Embarressed that they were now fine, and having to console me.

I have all these emotions that I'm still trying to keep in check, not sure, of what to make of them, not sure of what to do with them.


Gene, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry. You were such a great guy, and such a great brother, and I'm sorry that I didn't make more time for you, that I didn't... *tearing*... I'm sorry...


jack, gene & nate

a quick shout to my friends :)

Firstly, darius, happy birthday :) You young 20yr old you :P

To the bloggies (I don't care what you think we're all called, it's one word versus typing out two :P): I love you guys heaps, for somehow knowing better than anyone else what I'm going through, and what I need.

Thank you... so much.

not sure what to say

most of you would know by now that this week for me has been one of the worst I've ever had... even now I'm still coming to grips with the loss. And I will post about it, when I've had time to reflect a little more...

But for now, as we enter this w/end, here's something a little more positive :)

My baby sis Jo graduated last night, although it was a rather muted occasion for us, given recent events.

But inspite of it all, it was a fun night. Actually, maybe it was because of it all, bringing a deeper appreciation of family.

I'm not sure, but tip your hat to the new graduand, and I hope you all have a great, great w/end (make sure you're outside!! the weather will be awesome!).

wait, there's another leung online...

say hello to my little sis Jo, and her blog

day in the sun :)

here's another spin on a post title that I've used before...

I spent Sunday day having an awesome time with a really special person to me, when @ one point (eating a huge greasy burger @ St Kilda) I paused and I started to worry about the future, about whether this was sustainable, if it was real, if it will even be possible next year and if this was, as Mikey might have been referring to previously, as "false hope"...

I've found a knit of friends, that on appearances have nothing in common, but when we start to dig deeper, we share so much in common, and I'm beginning to really, really treasure them. And then the question comes up... next year... my plans... had I found them, only to lose them in a few months time?

If I've learnt anything in the last few months, it's to cherish the moments I have now, for now. To not hold onto them for any longer than I was supposed to, and to not live to preserve them in my future...

Only God knows how the future will unfold for each of us, and I wouldn't have it any other way.



I wish I could say I always felt so stoic, and knew that truth always, but there are times when I freak out a little...

... and He waits while I anxiety attack for abit... yell and scream (figuratively) for abit... run around headlessly... for a lot.



He waits.

... waits, until I finally stop being so stubborn...

... waits, until my words finally trail off...

... waits, until broken, I'm reaching out, and all I want, is my Father...



And then He takes my hand.

He picks me up.

And helps me to realise that there's this journey I'm on, that I've still got so far to go.

hehehe...

... after that "little boys" post, I'd been waiting all day for uniki to finally realise what had happened... it's REVENGE... for all the head poking!!

Saturday night was uniki's dad's 50th, a surprise, family doo-da, in which I went as part of the "Leung" family :P You know, one of those dinners where you are constantly referred to as so-and-so's son, rather than your own name...

Was pretty fun, a packed house and there were fun people there :D

Afterwards we adjourned to GJeans for some hot choc goodness, and to explain the middle pic, well, Wes was learning how to "buff" his nails - that's right, make his nails shiny. In a word? Wes was being HARDGAY... buahahhahahha...

in the mean time...

see if you can guess who these two little boys are...

stripes are hardgay...

and yes, we know it :S

No, not by any plan but coincidence, the four of us turned up to super-combined on Fri in super gay stripes... and here's the photographic evidence...

I know, it's been AGES...

Since my last post!! Almost a week now!!

That just goes to show how much time I don't have, @ home or @ work!!

so in short, one of the highlights, was a mini-blogger meet... mini, being that ANGE forgot to let Deb Low know!! hehehe, that rhymes...

But to keep you ravenous public @ bay, here are some photos from that night to keep you going...

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By Your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When Your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine


Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine


Artist: MercyMe

I can only imagine :)

What I love about Mikey's post today, is that he brought it back to Him, the only thing that really matters in this world, and he did it in his way.

I was with a very dear person tonight, and I selfishly began to burden them with emotional baggage I'd been lugging around... that person got up and left. I began to wonder, if I was really as good a person as I thought I was...

---

I've realised that there may be misunderstandings regarding certain facts about me moving out of my parents place, and other parts of the story, i.e. the part where I said that it was neither a terrible or great thing, ignored.

Facts of the matter:

I am living @ Leanne's place

I still very much love my family, and my family still love me

I still regard my parents as my parents, and honour them as such

If things go wrong, there is always a place at home, as recently assured by my parents themselves

Though I'm still working out my own character, I still maintain that my father is a great man, and respect him as such. If anything, moving out has taught me to appreciate my family and each person's specialness more. Sure, we disagree about sleeping patterns, but my father is still my father, and @ the end of the day, I wouldn't have it any other way.

For the time though, we all, and I say all, think that this living outside of home is something I need, and we're going to work this through as a family - and taking a page from mikey's post, and bringing it back to the source, working it through the grace of God, as really, a truly blessed family.





P.S. "To very dear person":
if you happen to somehow be reading this post... I'm sorry about tonight.

gotta run but...

... there's a heap more stuff that needs to be blogged, and I WILL get around to it!

In the meantime, check out my photo album for more pics from the w/end :)

the w/end edition

The weekend!

Friday night @ cell was actually fun! *cough, cough*, of course est, it always is, *cough, cough*... but after going through the last love language, and with a special guest appearance from Elton, we ended up talking about all sorts of diabolical relationship case studies!! Spear fishing versus fly fishing! What do you do if your lure attracts more than one fish?! :D

Heaps of fun, keeping us imposing on May and Erwin's hospitality (which is ALWAYS awesome) until 1am or so, after which I met up with mikey, al & bibi @ our 'booth' (that's our booth I'm telling ya) outside the TAB, eventually leaving @... hmm... 2, I guess?

---

These pics were from Saturday though! After getting a MUCH needed sleep in, I went on a cruise with est, vee, karen, dik-siew,ypan and victor as a farewell for wai yin! For freeeeeeeeee :D

Hahaha... in the arvo it's a free cruise, where you only have to pay for anything you eat or drink... and whilst it was a bit slow for me and Victor's liking, and not all that picturesque, it was fun company nonetheless, and an excuse to take some happy snaps, aka Titanic! Why yes, I think I make a good kate winslet, and wai yin doesn't make a bad leo :D

Meanwhile Victor looks confused, as usual... after the cruise, me and Karen jumped ship to go to JumpStart (what a clever sentence! :o), which was fun again... which I won't say much about except to urge you to read to the very bottom for a special mention... no that doesn't mean SKIP down, it means READ your way there, you lazy bastards...

---

What to say about Sunday... well, not much except that it was a BEAUTIFUL day for a BBQ to celebrate the K-man's special day!

yes, Mikey and e-chinners seem to agree with that one too...

---

Without going over the top about it, I AM truly blessed in the abundance of friends I have :D

After starting this blog in a season of loneliness, and mentally resigning myself to a lifetime of staying @ home @ nights playing games, ever since that post, I found friends, a community, and my God. All of which conspire to keep me busy 7 days a week! And I love it, I'm having the time of my life :D

And FINALLY - I couldn't leave the w/end post without including THIS pic! Click on it, and look CAREFULLY...

the teaser from this w/end

Weirdly enough, for a blog that started out as mostly text, it's now turning out to be mostly pics :S

Took a heap of shots this w/end, some of which will make it up eventually, but till then, here's a sneak preview...



Note: You're right deb, this WAS a good shot :D

AND!!

Whoever wipered me last night @ the glenny carpark, this goes to you - I know where live!! You're all going to... hmm, oh hang on...

in the blink of an eye

For something that started out as a curious amusement, I find myself with no time nowadays to post! The w/end usually leaves no respite, and the week days are just getting busier?!


But I guess the ONE thing I had to make time to post about, is a blog squad meet :D I mean, that just makes sense right? Gotta blog, about the blog squad :P


Was a busier day than usual, which is saying a lot, and overall it was a great day, but the two highlights that stick out for me would be
1) Getting a HEAP of new clothes from ami-nation (belated bday pressie - I now look supa trendy!!)
2) Seeing my blog buddies again!!

And it was for far too short a time too :( Maybe that's the way it's meant to be, I mean, you know what they say about "too much of a good thing", but still...


Guess end of the day, it WAS great to be able to sit down with them again, if only for a wink and a smile.