Dating, the potential marriage partner

Yes, the questions: Dating...Are you ready to date? Am I ready to date? How do you find that Spiritual Partner? Will God provide? Everyone goes through that phase, me included...Lately, my friends have been going through this and have been asking me questions. We can talk into the wee hours of the night about it and still be saying the same thing over and over..."What is God's purpose for me?","Am I wasting my time dating you?","Is it just the physical attraction?"

I've had more and more of these discussions in the past 18months. Sometimes, the answers are there but our judgement has been clouded by other distractions. Of course, it's easier said than done. You meet someone of the opposite sex, you get along, both are Spiritually connected with God, but is something missing? You've both prayed about the relationship together and with God, but sometimes it doesn't work out. It's not the end, there's still hope. People say, each person has a "soulmate" out there, well at least one, but does that mean you have to marry your "soulmate"? I've had that discussion w/ peopel before and be "soulmates" but not w/ in the same context. It's open to interpretation. It's complicated. I'll reserve my judgement on that.

All I'm saying is looking for that right Spiritual partner...Please correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the qualities he/she must have:
1. Be a born again Christian
2. Have the desire to grow and serve the Lord, being active in his/her Church
3. Possess Christ-like qualities in him/her, obeying the two greatest commandments

I think those are the key and of course, being able to connect, work together, talk, help each other through their struggles are important, nonetheless, everything should flow if he/she possess the three qualities. You may read this and say, yup, I have those qualities. I know a number of guys that have those qualities too, but that doesn't mean he/she is the one you are going to marry. If you're lucky enough, the people that possess these qualities are also your friends, perhaps even close ones too. I have been fortunate enough to have friends that have that desire to learn, grow and serve the Lord, to live in Christ. When the time is right, we'll both know. In the mean time, here are a couple articles:

http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001449.cfm

http://www.boundless.org/2005/answers/a0001454.cfm

I don't have the anwers, only opinions...let me know what you think on this subject.

Mid-Term Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Yikes, can't believe it's been seven weeks into the course. I am such a procastinator, this is not good...I finally got down studying tonight, no TV, no going out, nothing...so far, I've spent about three hours studying and writing out my formula sheet. Please pray that I don't stress out, for those that know me, I worry too much=( Whatever, my mark is, I put it into God's hands...whether it's a 70% or higher, nothing I can do...as long as I try my best. Somehow, easier said than done. The mid-term is 40% of my final mark, so if I don't do well, I would have wasted seven weeks of my life on Advanced Stats/Probability Analysis...After tomorrow, I'll have another 4 weeks of "relaxation" rather prep for my final, on April 10th. Honestly, I rather have tests and assignments throughout the term rather than 2 exams and one assignment. Mind you, homework is done weekly to apply what we've learned in class but worth no marks.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and support and encouragement. It means a lot to me=) Hopefully, I can hang out w/ you all again soon...thanks for being patient while I go into hibernation...I mean studying. Fill me in on what's been happening...I feel so out of the loop=(

Ok, break time over, back to the textbook.

Weddings and Engagments...LOL(humour)

This is a funny story/joke if you were in Church today...Elaine got married over the weekend by Hazel, and I'm engaged to Wu...It all started that Elaine's name got printed wrong in the bulletin, and yes there is someone named Elaine Wong but also an Elaine Sung. So just a typo there but funny all the same.

How I became engaged? In Sunday school, my friends WuTam, were picking on me today b/c there was ackward silence so they said, "Bonnie" when it came to getting a volunteer to read the scripture. So, I comply of course, I don't mind...just being put on the spot. Later on, the discussion got to wives submit to the husbands and the husbands loving their wives...At one point, the question was asked, is there anyone getting married in the room? Again, silence in the room, just eyes staring at each other bouncing off the walls...then I hear from WuTam, "Bonnie"...I'm like "Whaaaaaaaaaat?" And all eyes turn on me, and I do blush easily...so I said, "Pat!" I'm like ssssssssssshhhh....I'm really not engaged yet. Although, Tam you may be on your way down the aisle...caught you w/ a bridal magazine...hahaha.

So ya, that's the story/joke, humour/highlight of the day. Yes, all this is Fiction!

Games Night

Tonight, Yifan, Elaine and I were team leaders in the Jumping Frog's Games night. I must say, it was a fun experience. At first I was a skeptic, but I'm glad I did it. I had a mixture of kids from JK to grade 5 and parents as well. Jess was my Assistant, one of the Aunties daughters, then one of the mothers after introductions, asked if Jess and I were sisters...hahaha...Although, there are some resemblances, like height, body shape, etc...but I'm like nope not RELATED. Just by chance we look similar. Anyways, the kids were adorable and we won for best "Sportsmanship" award. I'm glad the whole group had lots of fun and cheered on other teams as well and helped each other out. That was the important thing. Congrats to Yifan's team for winning 3rd out of 8 teams. Games included, snowball fight, which kinda got a little out of control, shoematching contest, basketball, relay races, bean bag races, potatoe "pillow cases" sacks, cheering contest, etc...I'm just really proud of everyone, the kids especially, learning teamwork and it's not about winning but just having fun, they are the true winners.''

After the games, us ladies and Dave went out to Cafe Hollywood for food and chitchat. After all that yelling and screaming and running, you get thirsty and a bit hungry. Saw a few other people there from MCAC, small world what can I say? Lots of intersting conversations, and stories about my trip that Yifan never heard. Yes, girl, I thought you were going to start crying from laughing so hard...we were probably the loudest table at the restaurant...but it's all cool. It was fun=) Talked about nicknames as well...I think Elaine mentioned how my msn says "Dan-Tat" which I mentioned why I was called that; how several friends gave me that name...but also the gang mentioned I'll be remembered as "Delicious" and "Cinnabon"...am I forgetting anything else? hahaha...

Til next time=)

Come on February, Just End!!

Like some of my friends, we all want February to end for various reasons...It has been the longest month, I've had more problems in general with life/work/personal relationships w/ friends...I need it to end. I need spring to come. Hopefully, I'll have a more interesting life in March. February seemed to turn me into a hermit. I've had almost next to no social life, didn't say none, just very different to the previous months.

I think taking today off from work gave me a chance to just relax at least somewhat. I stayed up til 1am last night and woke up at 9:30am...although once in awhile I don't mind staying up on a weeknight. Although I felt bad for my friend...it's great to chat into the night but if you're the one working the next morning, it's gotta suck. But I'll pray for you. Everything will be fine in the end, there'll be turbulance along the way but it'll work out and I'm not just being optimistic, it's the truth.

This morning I had to tie up some lose ends at work so I co-ordinated the stuff from home to my collegues. Now back to studying=(

Giving up something for "Lent"

Today, after a stressful day of taxes, tomorrow is the end, YAY! Anywayz, this afternoon my collegues were talking about giving up something for "lent"...I heard the VP of Marketing say, "oh, are you Catholic?"...C/S Mgr replies, "No, but I thought I give up something for six weeks"...some in the office are Catholic or Protestant or of some faith...Basically, everyone is going to give up something from today til Palm Sunday, 40 days whether it's alcohol, carbs, meat, chocolates...etc. Some of my department are giving up carbs(ladies), alcohol, McD's, in my case, I'm giving up meat (except for fish). Yup, for the next 40 days, no chicken, beef, pork, lamb, etc... only fish. I think I can do it, all my collegues are holding each other accountable. I mean this may be a good opportunity to get to know them better. I was actually going to email someone in my Fellowship while I was working b/c I was really having a bad day. With in 20minutes into my day, I already had a fight w/ my supervisor and told her she was wrong, in a nice way. At least that I didn't agree w/ her methods/approach and then 2hrs later, situation cooled down a bit and were better. Then later in the afternoon we're talking about lent and how everyone in the office is doing this.Anyways, we'll see what happens.

Love is Patient, Love is Kind...

Tonight I was talking to one of my girlfriend's in China whom I've known since I was a child. We grew up together, been through the good and bad times. Ah yes, relationships, the "R" word...a word that can make us feel mushy inside or full of hatred. Opposite spectrums depending on who you are. I don't know if I'm the one to give advice as I'm often the one seeking advice but here it goes.

Relationships will always be complicated...he said, she said. When it doesn't work out, give it time, prayer and time will heal the wounds of the heart. Sometimes, when you part, you can still be friends after the wounds start healing and sometimes you're better off not communicating anymore. Whether the memories are too painful or maybe you're not ready yet. When one pushes the other, that person may push you further away, not all guys and gals communicate the same way. One may feel suffocated, the other neglected, one may be jealous, the other insecure...Whatever the reason, give him/her the space he/she needs to figure things out...if the relationship already ended and you just want the friendship, maybe he/she doesn't want any part of it, not just yet. Sometimes, being friends is better off. If the relationship didn't work, and the friendship is there, take it. Perhaps, one day it can be something more again, and maybe not but at least you have the friendship...I'm not saying that it's easy, of course not! But girl, no matter how much you want him to respond to email, ecard, phone, etc... if he wants to be alone, just let him be. It takes two to make any relationship work...same with friendships. If he/she is important to you, than both will make the time for phone calls/emails/dinners, etc... If you're the only one doing it as it seems like in this case, let me ask you this, is this what you want? Being the one sending ecards, emails, phone calls, etc...you're putting in the effort, calling his friends...this may also sound like stalking as well. The blocking email, maybe there's something that you don't know that he feels hurt about.
You've done your part, that's all you can do. The rest is not up to you. Obviously, he's not ready to talk, so as hard as it is for me to say this, b/c you're my friend...move on. There are lots of guys in China or here back home...The right one is out there for you and me.

Yes, it's easier said than done...but girl, I'll pray 4 you.

Straight OR Wavy Hair?

Ok guys, after 72hours...thank you for your honest opinion...I'll stay w/ the straight hair. This will be hard to manage, I'm the odd Asian w/ naturally wavy hair.

MCAC~Emmanuel's First Coffeehouse

It was a great success!! Thanks to everyone who helped out. Lots of guests, different cultures for sure=) Here are a few pics that turned out ok for those who couldn't make it last night...Great food, great testimonies, and cozy atmosphere. There were approximately40-50 people who came out, yay! We should do another one sometime.

My Mont-Tremblant Trip

Finally...I'll blog about this.

It's almost been a month since I left for this trip, yet most of the memories are still in tact.

Friday(Jan26): Worked half the day and left w/ Donna, Andrea and Kelly for Pearon Airport. Got to the airport, checked luggage, and hung around til 4pm for our flight. Going through security, was a bit long, had to take off hiking boots, belts, jackets, etc...Remember this is the same evening where an enormous snow storm hit TO. As all 43 of us boarded the plane, we circled around the airport for an hour until, the plane was de-iced and air traffic was cleared. By the time we landed in Montreal, really it's not suppose to be a long flight, our shuttle from Skyport Int. arrived, yay! private Coach. The ride up there was about 90minutes to Tremblant. On the ride up there, we stopped at the IGA supermarket and shopped for "breakfast" items of course all paid for, thxs Uncle Joe. One person from each condo was to go in and buy the food. I asked Donna and Andrea what they wanted and they said, "bagels, crm chs, english muffins, juice, BT water", I'm like ok...How was I suppose to know you could buy alcohol at these places, I've never been to Montreal before. Anyways, by the time we checked in, it was almost 10pm. At this point, no one had dinner yet, and we were in the Chateau's outside the "village"...about a 5min shuttle ride down the mountain. Since, I"m the shy one, my roomies took me next door to the guys room and they did a bit of pre-drinking there. They asked me to smoke and I said, no, I don't do that nor am I a heavy drinker. Anywayz, someone made an executive decision and the five of us headed into town around 11pm and went to Casey's. After Casey's we(the five of us) met up w/ some of the Construction teams at "La Petit Caribou" one of the two night clubs in the village. It was nice of the guys to let us in first as there was a line...and at 1am in -30, it was a bit cold. Donna, my roomie was looking after me there as well, bc I didn't want to go clubbing in the first place, but forgot the address of where I was staying and my French is not that great. I tried to make the most of it, for my second clubbing experience, I mean thanks fellas for buying me drinks, but not necessary. I'm not a dancer, at least not comfortable in that kind of surrounding, so no matter if you drag me to the dance floor(literally), sandwich me, whatever, it makes me more uncomfortable. Yes, it's supopse to be a party weekend, but to me you're a bunch of strangers. But thanks to Joe/Mike/Donna for protecting me...yes as M says, I attract sleazy guys. At least this time, I just say "NO!" and go back to my Mattamy group. Thanks to the team for looking after all us ladies, trying to keep us warm outside at 3:30am in -30 while waiting for taxis, where only one was operational at that time.
Saturday(JAn27): Woke up at 7:30am, didn't feel well. I had maybe a little less than two drinks, and 10ml of a few other things but yea, not feeling well. Took a quick shower, ate breakfast and went Snowmobiling at 8:30am with "Borat" the tourguide. At least he was nicknamed that. He was mostly friendly but I didn't like it how he wouldn't let me drive the snowmobile even though I signed the waiver. I was teamed up w/ Joe for the snowmobile ride where I was the passenger, not the driver. We were all told to take off our winter gear and where they're winter gear b/c it's really cold in the mountains...but to my surprise, there was a hole in one of my gloves. Anywayz, the 11 of us were in the mountains for about 4hours, it was really cold. Actually, I had no idea that I was not allowed to drive the snowmobile until 3/4 of the way when we were suppose to switch, and Stephen the guide said, "Nono, Monsieur JOe, Madame Bonnie is a first time driver"...I think what Joe meant was first time driving a snowmobile not a vehicle in general. About 3.5 hours into the excursion, it became so cold that even though I was hugging the driver to prevent myself falling off, that I blacked out. I just remember while wearing the ski mask, I closed my eyes for a minute, so I thought...next thing I knew, we were back at the base. I'm surprised I didn't fall off and no I was getting...ahhhh..never mind. The four of us went back to the chateau changed and went for lunch at La Shack in the Village...kinda pricey. Yay, for free time. AFter lunch, I went off and toured the village, took some pictures and went home to the chateau to do some reading and devotions. I had a few hours before my presence was expected at Dinner at Bullseye, also in the Village. Dinner was superb, and sorry I didn't keep my promise Joe/Mike/Donna but I needed to recover from friday night...can't party 2nights in a row and still function in the morning.
Sunday(jan28): Went skiing at 9am, but I missed my lesson b/c it took an hour to get the ski equipment, etc...i had to wait for the next lesson at 11am. Although, I made a few new friends...two chinese and two from England also first time skiiers. I only fell once but it was fun. Learned one thing. Don't answer my cell phone when I'm on the slopes. Very clumsy already. I skipped lunch b/c I was having fun skiing on the bunny hill=) Came back to TO around 9pm, plane was delayed...while we're all waiting for our luggage, we parted and said our goodbyes, the weekend almost seemed like a week long trip. Definitely, the stuff also not mentioned goes "What happened in Tremblant stays in Tremblant."

Happy Valentine's Day

Today, should be a happy day...but instead what have I been doing? I live at "ground zero" where the snow has fallen at an exponential rate. In a period of 24hours, I've been dumped with 50+cm of snow. Fresh, fluffy snow...perfect for that snowball fight if you know what I mean or to build a snow palace. Anywayz, I told my bro to stay in Hamilton as he was attending a "friend's" party since there is no way that you can get your car in unless you drive an SUV. So, being the daughter I am, I shovelled the whole driveway and the front. For those that have been to my place, my garage isn't attached to the house, it's about 10ft from the house, but still on the property. I spent an hour shovelling away and today, I spent another hour or so doing the same. The difference is, another 30cm was on the ground this morning. So I called in and said, I'll work from home today. Can't even get out of the house. There was so much snow, that the gate wouldn't open, so I hopped the fence and into the fluffy snow. Must say it was fun but not the smartest move.

So working from home isn't that bad...I can wear my PJ's and still do work. Instead of reading during lunch break, I was shovelling the front of my house=( Although, after I finished work at 6, I continued my bath-a-thon. I baked the SKOR cookies and the CHocolate chip cookies and a bach of RKsquares. Tomorrow, it continues...

Anywayz, enough blabbing...

Wishing all you(my friends) a Happy Valentine's Day=)

Garnet's Reflection~Final Fantasy IV

Anime, yay! A mixture of anime along w/ Mulan's theme song "Reflections"

Aladdin (In Mandarin)

Freaky Monday

Today, my new help, a co-op student in the Accounting field comes to report to me...and I'm like ok, this is where you'll be working, got her setup, trained her in the basics. As I go to introduce her to the others in the Division, one of the ladies, says, "hey" you sure, she's new? Did you know her? My answer NO! What are the odds that she wore the same colours as me, also Chinese, young, somewhat long black hair, same glasses? So for tomorrow, I hope that we do not wear the same colours...but I did learn that she used to go to Church in TO but not since she moved to Brampton...we'll see what happens. I think she's gonna hate me soon, but I'm trying to be nice. I mean, how many people actually like their bosses? I mean I'm not her "supervisor" exactly, but she will be reporting to me in my department. I mean I have two people that work alongside me and they come to me for directions...so what am I? a team leader? Ahhhhhhhh...who knows? As long as I have a job, it's good!

Facebook

I received an email yesterday to join "Facebook", at first, I was like another what?? So when I first got the invite, I ignored it b/c I had enough social networking as you'd call it, MSN, googlechat, ICQ, Ringo, etc...the list continues. So no offence, I ignored the invite at first. Yes, I know you're probably reading this too...LOL. Although, my purpose of writing this so far, is that to say, I'm glad I joined it. After having coffee and 5 cups of tea between 11-1am, I came home not able to sleep. Soooooo what do I do? I hop onto my computer and except the invite and start adding others to my list. Of course, I add my fellow brothers/sisters in Christ first...my MCAC gang, then I started to add other Churches w/ in the Missionary Alliance, then other Churches w/ in Ontario. Who knows? Perhaps, Emmanuel Fellowship can do a joint w/ other Churches in the GTA or if any of us decide to go to Ottawa for another visit...OCAC. So far, after 18hours, I've got about 18 friends on my list so far...it is not to brag, but I think joining this will also give me an opportunity to know other brothers/sisters in Christ and bring my non-believing friends to Church too as I have a lot of friends in the GTA but do not want to come out here in the west.

Anyways, I'm borrowing the song from KF's "Facebook", Hacken Lee (Chinese Movie/singer). And if you can also read Cantonese, bonus! If you can't maybe I'll translate it for you one day. Enjoy!