EAST graduation photos are up!

Just went to check the EAST website and found the graduations photos up.

There are some pretty nice shots there.

It doesn't allow me to post the exact link to the photos so you have to go to

http://www.east.edu.sg

then click on "photos" in order to see them.

Pauline Epistle June edition (Chinese)

Pauline Epistle June edition (English)

travels--HK to Shanghai

from june 5 to 10, i was in shanghai. after taiwan, i flew to HK (cos i was flying cathay pacific). because i want to save money and experience what the everyday mainland Chinese go thru, i decided to take the train from HK to Shanghai. it was a 20-hour train ride. but a pretty good experience.

i learned a few things...

• bring your own cup (they provide hot water only)
• bring your own food (they are slow in selling the train food and i thought it looked pretty oily)
• people were pretty friendly to one another
• men can snore very loudly at night
• it was a long journey (duh!)

before i went, everybody was warning me to be cautious so i was super cautious. i didn't talk to anybody but just listened and watched the interaction of people. i thought most of the passengers were mainlanders (in the hard sleep section ... 6 to a cabin) and some adventurous westerners. there was an old man who didn't seem to prepare any food so those in his cabin offered him bread. i thought it was a very communal experience.

after arriving to shanghai, i spent the next few days with jw's family. (jw is a friend from my previous church.) i was very touched by their hospitality and how well 6 people can be cramped into a 2-bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment without any conflicts. i think they were amused to have a taiwanese living amongst them so jw's father would explain some of the china communist traditions, notable heroes, poems, etc. i think it is beneficial for my research on chinese american music (since i've not narrowed it down to chinese from which area).

because it was 'dragon boat festival', there was an extended holiday for that weekend. i think we went for a very avg chinese kind of weekend stroll in the public parks. it was interesting to see all the families with their young children (maybe pre-elementary school age) with their parents and grand parents.

i think the timing for my trip is pretty providential. before the trip, i already heard that my 3rd aunt's husband was hospitalized. but i think we all didn't think he would stay in the hospital for over a month. i got to visit him in the hospital and prayed along with the family for quick recovery. (thank God that he's gone home from the hospital but need to continue to pray for his full recovery) and because it was 'dragon boat festival', i also had a reunion dinner with my extended family. i've not had a chance to meet some of these relatives who's been living in shanghai all these years. it was good to finally meet them. i also had brief moments to catch up with those cousins that i'm more familiar with (thank God for family!)

hmm... this is getting pretty long. for coming back to HK, i decided to take the plane to shenzhen. that was also quite an experience... i guess i wont elaborate on that now.

for shanghai pix, you can go here.

change of plans

i arrived HK around noon time yesterday. leaving for shanghai this afternoon.

got an email from YM saying that she wont be able to go back to LZ as planned so i am cutting that part of the trip and come back to HK earlier.

when i was leaving sg and going to tw, i asked some people to pray for the people that i will meet, the things that i will see, hear and feel... that all will be what God intended. i think basically it called for an open mind and not insisting on doing this or that... (like going to the awesome party world K tv in taiwan... which i didnt get a chance to... )

basically i met these people...

• my old classmates from wesley (some of them)
• uncles and aunties from our old church
• my cousin, his wife, and a wonderful lady who works at ORTV
  
• office staff and associate missionary of CMI
• one EAST alumna/good friend
• spent time with my godma and her family
• a lady who is in charge of this humanitarian org who also stayed at where i stayed during the first few days

all the meetings were very meaningful. i was blessed with money, gifts, great food, and most importantly--great company. (quality time is my number 1 love language)

i was glad that it's also an accumulation of the blessings, and grace i've received during the sg trip. somehow... i was able to talk thru many issues that i am facing and hope to seek some adjustments after i go back home. through conversations, i realized that i am totally passionate about going into ethnomusicology and the vision of seeing nations worship in their own language, music, cultural ways. through the gifts and grace and blessings i received, i feel refreshed and am able to return to the Word... maybe the most important thing is the reminder to have a thankful heart.

there are 2 more weeks in my trip. i look forward to more people, sights, sounds, or whatever God has in mind for me.

in taiwan

after a very long day of flying from SG to HK ... grateful for SM, JJ, crab, qurikie and jeslyn for sending me off (around 6-7am). so touched...

well... just wrote an email to my family. kinda lazy to re-write stuff so just post it here and share with you all. (edited of course)

============

Dear Family

I arrived Taiwan around 3pm this afternoon. i transited thru HK and was delayed because the weather was not good. there was someone on the plane who also needed medical attention... it was a very long day...

i am at starbucks right now (one place that i heard that i can get wifi connection... i thought it's free but i need to pay money... )

just walked through the area around the our old home. first time around, i didn't even know that i was passing by the little lane. i went around the whole block and eventually came back to lane 85 (amazing i still remember..) but nothing is recognizable. maybe only the distance of walking from here to there. it's a very strange feeling

well, i am staying at this guest apartment near our old home... that's why i walked by the old home...
=========

saying goodbye again

after 2 weeks in sg, i am going to say goodbye again to this place that was my home for 7 years.

it is a weird feeling that i had just said my farewells 8 months ago. although there are always changes in sg, it's still familar to me. and the people... i thoroughly enjoyed my time with every single person here. i really feel that there's not enough time no matter how much time we've spent together during this trip.

before i left the US, someone from GMCI emailed and wish me a good trip... to be refreshed. i think i definitely need it. after meeting with different people, venting, processing through all the adjustments, struggles, frustrations of my 8 months back in the US, i do realize many blind spots in my life in the past 8 months. hopefully i will be able to make some changes and adjust better... for my sanity, spirituality... and just the plain fact of continue to enjoy a relationship with the Lord ... serving Him out of joy and willingness.

i will head north tomorrow and go to taiwan for a few days. i am not sure what to expect and who are all the people that i'll meet. but at the end dof last night's meeting with my "ah-teh", i asked her to pray that i will just hear, see, and feel whatever God has in mind for me no matter where i continue to travel during this trip.

everybody asks me when i will come visit sg again. i am not sure... but hopefully i will be better at keeping in touch with everyone here... more emails. more chats. more prayers...

my mistake but then... sigh...

ever since i stepped foot unto the sg soil, i've been going here and there to meet different groups of people. today is finally the day that i start to work on my assignment that is due on friday.

the day started off bright and breeze. since i've not really exercised, i went out for a short walk/jog. came back all sweaty but felt really good. was checking my emails and everything... then a friend called my mobile phone. since the value on the SIM card is getting low, every time the phone call ends, a msg comes on to tell me how much money i have left on the card. strangely... i had added S$25 unto the card last night but the value never changed. so i called the phone company and asked about it.

then... i realize... i had punched in the wrong phone number last night (off by one number only) when i was adding money to my card!!! so the support person on the line told me to fax the receipt to them today in order for them to do something about it. i had to crack my brains and tried to figure out where i am going to find a fax machine.

earlier in the morning i was also having a SMS conversation with an old EAST friend who works for OMF. she wanted to meet up but i didn't have any more dinner time slots left... plus she will be busy helping with a friend's wedding prep next week. so i thought i would try calling her to see if i can have lunch with her as well as fax the receipt to the phone company. thankfully... without much hesitation (besides the fact that she's super busy today), she agreed so i rushed out of the house and met her.

we ate, talked, and had a good time... faxed the receipt then i left. after about 1 hour, i got a call from the phone company... they said the person who benefited from my mistake has only S$9 left on his/her card. i can only get that S$9 back. i guess then i was happy that i could at least recover the lost from my mistake... but after my OMF friend SMS me back, i thought... "ya... that's really horrible that i couldn't get the whole amount back..."

sigh... can't believe i made this kind of mistake... i think my brain is not working too well these days...

in Singapore now

arrived Singapore yesterday around noon (by now it's the day before yesterday...) the whole flight and transit went smoothly.

it seems hotter and more humid than my body remembered. and maybe because i didnt sleep much on the plane, i've been feeling pretty sleepy by the afternoon.

food has been pretty awesome but meeting up with friends is even better.

looking at my schedule, it's filling up quickly. even 2 weeks seem pretty sure for me to have ample time to really catch up.

i am staying at friend's home and they only have internet access for hotmail and yahoo related sites. so i might not be able to check my gmail much or other sites that i am used to... but i just signed up for the free wireless access in certain places (i think it's some kind of experimental thing from sg gov).

well, need to go to sleep (even though my jetlag is keeping me right awake at 2:20am...)

hopefully i can update more frequently later.

May Prayer letter

20 years

about the time when i came back to the US, somehow i got re-connected to my junior high school friends thru msn group. about two weeks ago, i got the news that one of them was having a baby and she lives in the area. yesterday afternoon, another junior high friend and i went to visit her.

we spent about 4 hours sitting in their dining room just chatting time away. both of them are young mothers and so they have many things to share and exchange. i just sit there and marvel at how our appearance doesn't seem to have change too much. but... 20 years have gone by. for me, since i've not kept in touch with most of them, i feel that i need to start all over with our relationships. it is like our knowledge of one another only confined to those 3 years living together at school. but so much has happened since then... for those who have kept in touch through out the years, they know how this person got to know her husband and where they have been and what they've done in their studies and work. those 20 years they experienced are like blank tapes to me. same goes for what had taken place in my life... my experiences, the people, the places i've been.

i think i am still processing through what had taken place yesterday afternoon... but looking forward to be re-acquainted with old friends... in our new lives...

my mom came home

thanks again for all your prayers. my mom came home on sunday afternoon from the hospital.

thankfully my little sister was around and was able to stay with us for 2 nights for the initial adjustments. my mom basically stays downstairs and sleep on a reclining chair (since she can't lay flat on a regular bed and was never able to really sleep comfortably even on the hospital bed that is able to rise her head level)

i am just exhausted from staying overnight at the hospital. although i was able to take breaks during the day while Joy from the office went to look after my mom, i just didn't get to sleep much. or even if i sleep, it's never deep because my mom needs my help with this and that or the nurses would come in and out to give her medz or check this or that...

well, i am glad that my mom seems to be getting better everyday and believe that she'll continue to get better. but keep praying for us...

i am also very behind on my reading for this assignment that i need to turn in. sigh.. pray that i can get an extension and also have the energy and focus to read and write... (i seriously don't know how i am going to finish the assignment in time... !!!)

(oh... my little sis also did an awesome job helping to clean up the house these few days... a lot of clutters were removed so my mom can move around the house more easily with the walker. somehow it just makes me feel much better without the clutter... thanks again sis!)

pray pray pray...

our co-worker, Joy just sent this thru email to some prayer supporters so I thought I would also post the link to the website.

Thanks again for your prayers!

USA CMI Prayer petitions

on the road to recovery...

(I just posted this on USA CMI website... thought I would ask for more prayers... Thanks!)

親愛的代禱同工：

再一次謝謝大家為我媽媽手術代幬。我現在在她的病房，今晚陪她

。雖然她看起來不太像剛開過大手術的人，但是離完全復原還有一點距離。剛才突然就感覺非常痛，我跟她禱告後，有一點點比較好，所以她要我發出這封緊急代幬信，請大家繼續為她完全復原禱告。

Dear Prayer partners,

Thank you again for praying for my mom's surgery. I am currently in her room in the hospital. I'll stay here with her tonight. Although she doesn't really look like someone who's gone thru a major surgery, there is still a good distance until her full recovery. Just now, she suddenly felt a lot of pain. After praying with her, she felt a little better and so she asked me to send out this emergency prayer letter. Please do continue to keep her in your prayers until her full recovery.

Blessings,

Pauline 凱萍

update on my mom

dear all

just a little update and please continue to keep my mom in your prayers.

tues--took another MRI and X-rays of her lower back
wed--went back to the neuro-surgeon and he affirmed that her problem is mainly due to her pinched nerve in her neck.
thurs--she fell in the afternoon after her nap because her legs were weak. thankfully the neighbor came over and helped me pull her up. she was emotionally very tired and thankfully uncle Morley and aunt Sophie came to visit. they talked and she was slightly better.
friday (today)...
she got up around 4am and went back to sleep around 7am then woke up again around 10:30. i fed her breakfast, gave her insulin shot (as usual)... THEN... she said she was blacking out (the middle area from her view looked light blue and the rest is grey). i took her blood sugar level and it was 85 (kinda low but ok). tried to take her blood pressure but couldn't get it. she started to feel numb in both arms and dizzy. not having any more solutions, we called 911 and the ambulance came.

we got to the hospital and they did a series of tests on her. we got there about 12pm and by 7pm, we were transferred to a normal hospital room for her to stay overnight until her doctors decide to release her from the hospital.

the good news is... by the end of today, the neuro-surgeon's office called and said they got approval from both the insurance company and the hospital that accepts the insurance for an operation on next tuesday (Mar 25).

the bad news is... from the examinations at the hospital today, they found some problems with her lung (i couldn't understand what the nurse was saying over the phone)

so... i've cancelled my trip overseas (there will be more chances in the future). my dad went yesterday and will be away for three weeks. thankfully my younger sis can help some since she's cut down her work. well, thankful also for having uncle Morley, aunt Sophie around. thankful for support from our office staff, Joy... and of course talking to people about it also relieves me.

honestly, it was really scary this morning when the paramedics came (although they were really nice and helpful.. also very quick). being in the hospital all day was tiring... i also need strength and prayers.

thanks y'all

Pray for my mom

I think I've sent some emails to some of you, but maybe missed out on some.

Well, for the past few weeks, my mom's legs started to lose sensation, getting numbed, and losing strength. After an MRI on her neck area spine, it showed that her nerve in the spine has been pinched pretty badly. It's probably due to her diabetic condition and falls in the past. This past Wednesday we (my younger sis and I) took her to a neuro-surgeon. The surgeon was shocked at the seriousness of her condition and of the fact that we've only brought her to the doc just now. He said that surgery should be done ASAP but there are a few complications.

1. her previous MRI was only of her neck. the doc suspected that there are other areas along her spine that needs to be operated on. so she's getting more MRI and X-rays done next Tuesday.
2. our health insurance has cancelled their contract with the hospital that the doc normally operates from. so.. either he will operate from another hospital (which they might not have available operating rooms that soon) or get the insurance company to grant an exception for my mom to be operated at the first hospital.

another thing is... until my mom gets her MRI & X-rays done next Tuesday, the doc cannot have a surgical plan. thus delaying all processes of trying to schedule an operation room and negotiation with the insurance company.

sigh...

so... please pray that everything will go smoothly and my mom can get surgery done soon. of course also for the surgery itself that there will be no complications (esp since she's diabetic) and for quick recovery.

thanks

My Feb 2008 Prayer letter

funny wine guy

how to distinguish those subtle flavors in wine?

well... got this video from one of my DMiss cohort... we were watching it just now and literately laughing our lungs out... enjoy!


http://view.break.com/343258 - Watch more free videos

Happy Lunar New Year！！

Just want to wish everyone a very happy and blessed lunar New Year

新春快樂！

hard questions and answers

i subscribe to some blogs that come my way. i think this one came to me thru SM. i posted the link last time.

well, the new entry on the road to emmaus caught my eye and i was wondering how people responded to the question asked. interestingly, only two people responded. if you read the first person's comments and interaction with the bible illustrator, it's clear that he doesn't believe in God or things in the bible. i guess after finishing another book in preparation for my course, i was also left with the impression that the churches today need to do better jobs in answering and facing some hard questions that people are having (kinda like this guy). and as much as we would like the world to be perfect, it's just not. somehow God has left us with these hard questions to struggle thru as well...

i don't have any answers for this person about God and why the Holy Spirit are not revealing the Truth to him. i also don't have many answers for many questions that i ask on a daily basis. i also don't believe in mere blind faith. i guess what i am trying to post here is that although i have no answers and i live each day by faith (to the extend of grace God has been able to grant me), i AM saddened by the reality of the response of this person...