my apple battery woes

a couple weeks ago, i downloaded a widget for all kinds of cool stats on my mac (i think it's called istat). at first, the battery stats showed something like 90% functioning. over after a few days, i looked again and strangely it has changed to 50-ish%. i thought i have been working too hard on my 50-page paper and have turned delusional. but that same horrible number showed up a few days in a row and then stayed.

it was then that i realized that my battery capability has gone down the drain dramatically. this thing is only barley 1 year old. if i don't plug it in, i can only use the laptop for about 1 hour. it gets used up pretty fast and scary.

thankfully, i had purchased this laptop with a three-year extended warranty. but that was from sg. i wasn't sure if the NTU offer applies internationally (because when i read the paper works from the time of purchase, it's not very clear). i was running through my brain of what other possibilities i might explore if apple doesn't recognize the warranty here. i thought maybe i will have to mail it back to singapore and get somebody to exchange it for me... or wait until i go back to singapore to visit... or just live with a faulty battery.

so i made an appointment with the "genius" at the apple store genius bar. it seems that they are pretty busy. to make things worse, i got out of the house later than i wanted to. not sure about parking, i grabbed a pretty good parking space that was free (since this is in the pasadena area... i knew parking is hard or expensive or both). i was walking on the street in the wrong directions. called my mom to get some help but she was getting pretty confused too. anyway... i found it at the end (but walked for a good 10-15 min). thankfully, since i had an appointment, the "genius" helped me. he gave me the initial talk that batteries do not last forever. they diminish their capabilities after many usages... blah blah blah. dude. i researched the web before i came. (i think he was just buying time). to cut the long story short, without any more questions, he got a new battery. did the paperwork. and put in the new battery.

moral of the story: make sure you buy the extended 3 year apple care. or else you might be like me... just a few days or months after the 1 year warranty wears out, you might find your computer destroyed (my poor ibook).

my first croc

been looking for comfortable sandals to walk with. actually shopped in san diego and san jose area and didn't find anything that is both good quality and priced.

last week i got an ad in the email that there's free shipping from endless. since i've been looking on amazon to find suitable crocs, i thought the price was pretty good and bought it.

got it yesterday and surprisingly it is so lightweight. according to the website, it's some kind of special material that also prevents bacterial growth. will try it out and see how good it really is...

heaven and rewards

was exercising this morning and doing my bible reading on the stationary bike this morning. this thought came... "what happened to the answers from the bible regarding rewards in heaven?" (referring to this blog entry but i guess it's for clichephrase's contacts only...)

basically my friend posted a blog entry about rewards in heaven (what kind? how will we be rewarded? by having big mansions? crowns? and how would that motivate/effect us here on earth?)

so i decided to do a search and list the bible verses in New Testament... (according to my own discretion regarding the relationships between heaven and rewards) (quoted from NIV)

Matt 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt 5:19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 6:1 [ Giving to the Needy ] "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Matt 6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Matt 9:21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Luke 6:23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
Luke 10:20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

1 Peter 1:4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,

i did a search on the word "heaven" in NIV and NASB and 278 entries showed up. according to my judgment, there are only about 12 that are sort of relevant to rewards. that's a very small percentage compare to what the New Testament talks about heaven. so it seems to me that rewards and heavens is not a hot topic that Jesus or the disciples focused on. heaven... it's more about other matters. and even when it talks about being rewarded in heaven, it has more to do with how much a person sacrifices (in various ways) for God/Jesus, not so much related to our material giving...

but i think the most obvious bible verses that taught us the concept of heaven and rewards are those highlighted in red.

wild parrots

went out for a jog this morning. along the way, i heard this strange bird noise, unlike those "normal" birds. so i stopped and tried to figure out what kind of bird was making that noise. and woo hoo... those are wild parrots roaming around this area. so cool.... here's a website with their pix. they look exactly like this. :D

wild parrots website

my voice within

went to Hollywood Bowl for my 3rd concert of this season last night. it was Julie Andrews presenting "the gift of music". the first portion of the concert consisted of songs from Rogers and Hammerstein's musicals. 2nd portion was a newly composed (i think) musical based on Julie Andrews and daughter, Emmy's children's story book--Simeon's gift.

it was really weird to "see" Julie Andrews in person (since she is such a familiar face from The Sound of Music and Princess Diary... and voice...). I had thought that she went thru a vocal cords surgery and couldn't sing anymore but she did. although her voice was hoarse and she couldn't reach very high notes anymore, her presence and expressions are still excellent. She is also an excellent story teller.

and for the 2nd half of the concert, it's kinda a typical children's story with this educational focus on music and also knowing who you are. the songs are nice but not memorable (seriously, i can't sing any of the songs back to you from the show... unlike littler mermaid or something). but the story did resonate something within me.

i guess because the main character, Simeon, is simple minstrel. for the purpose of finding something that would allow him to justify marrying the princess, he went on this journey hoping to perfecting his craft and write music that is beyond the simple tunes he used to sing. along the way, he learned many things but ultimately the noises of the city beat him down and made him very discouraged about his dream. he then decided to sell his lute and return to the village in order to say goodbye to the love of his life. but on the journey back, he encountered three animals that reminded him of his passion for music and eventually for him to find his voice again. and as in all fairy tales, his music was so wonderful, it did earn him the right to marry the princess. he then continued to compose wonderful music for the rest of his life. and thus--Simeon's gift (to the world, i suppose)

i guess since i have composed some songs before (i think those were mainly therapeutic for my own sake). the songs and lyrics just flowed out of me. it never took a long time for me to compose anything in the past. but in the past year or so, i've stopped. partly because i am searching again of why i compose and to whom do i compose my songs for. (or maybe i am coping with my stresses in different ways?) i think also because i am doing this ethnomusicology program. with all the learning and reading, i hesitate in composing because i don't feel that my songs are really reaching many people (of course my friends and family have been encouraging about this and i do appreciate all your support). but i do know that music IS a gift and i should utilize it.

i am not sure which part of the journey i am on right now... maybe just keep walking

ouch

i bought 2 lavender plants today and planted them in my uncle's house (because that's also our office). the ground was rather hard with lots of pebbles and rocks (i think maybe when they built these town houses, they just dumped all the junk into the back yards and that's where all these nasty little things come from)

i used a little shuffle. i was digging the first hole for the first plant. dug and dug and dug without wearing gloves (since it was easier. the gloves were too big). suddenly i noticed that some skin on my palm had come off. i just kept digging and planting the two plants.

now it really hurts.

Ice cream!

the july 4th weekend was filled with fun and food. (also lots of sun)

after dinner on saturday, we went to Fosselman's ice cream co in Alhambra. and this is the kind of stuff that i was hoping to find many months ago when a craving for really good home made chocolate ice cream like the kind you find at daily scoop that was walking distance from where i used to live in sg.

above picture is my chocolate raspberry cream on a sugar cone (with my little sis in the background and picture taken by my thai-american bro, nat.) (awesome pic, nat!)

the price is not bad and there were lots of people going thru the store even at 9:30pm (when we arrived). i will be going back again (probably need to jog for like an hour before i go again). and if you are ever in the neighborhood, i highly recommend trying out their yummy ice cream.

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