He thinks I'm wonderful!

I thought this was really beautiful, it's taken from DaySpring's mailing list. I am reminded again of His extravagant love for me. :) (You'll have to click to view the actual size, can't seem to get it out right here...)

of snow and skiing

I fergot to tell you guys that I've been going skiing :D


That's me, in the red pants, getting a hang of my skis. It was really awkward, I felt like I had extra long feet which wouldn't go where I wanted them to. It was more difficult than learning rolling blading coz you had the slope to contend with.


Andreas, our ever patient ski instructor from Switzerland. Together with his other MBA friends, Alvaro, Shinko and Kazu, they taught us the basics and guided us even though some of us took a long time to learn.


After going through some practice runs near the kid's play area, we decided to test our skills by going up. The ride on the ski lift was pretty stable though it stopped once in awhile for the ocassional hesitant skier. I have this thing with heights, so it was quite unnerving at first.


Unsurprisingly, I fell down a few times and had a hard time picking myself up without having to unbuckle my skis. But it's fun when you're not the only one learning. Whenever one of us fell, the rest would laugh and help him/her up.


Since I hated falling down, I would try my best to stay steady while going downhill. I already had a fear of heights, not liking speed added to the thrill of skiing down the slope. So much so that I strained my muscles in my effort not to fall down!


Some of them say the best way to learn is to fall down. After awhile, my muscles got tired, and I allowed myself to fall down. The more I practiced, the more confident I got. It was like an adrenaline rush, the ability to complete the run. So it was a good thing we bought an all-day pass for the ski lift.


We must've got on more than 10 times that day. We were one of the earliest to arrive, and the last to leave. We even had snowball fights at the end of the day, after the ski lifts had stopped operating and the workers had come back from their shifts.


If I hadn't said this before, let me say it again : learning new stuff reinvogirates me! Just like doing my postgrads got my brains thinking again (brains weren't exactly needed in my previous job!), learning skiing challenged me to overcome my fears and gave me the confidence to push myself further.

unexpected blessings

It has been a rough week for me. Never felt so physically, mentally and emotionally taxed like this. True that this term is a killer for most of us, compared to autumn. True that I've been going through lots of other stuff recently as well.

I was tempted to take a flight back for CNY even though there's no hols here and I'd have to skip some classes. But in the midst of all these that overwhelms, I decided to spend more time with God.

Well, in a way, I was forced to. There really was no way out. Even if I had pushed on by myself, I'd have stumbled and crashed. I think I argued a bit, cried a bit, and had to give up on certain things as well. And I was wondering when it would come to an end.

I guess things started brightening up yesterday. We took a break and went for the Snow Festival in Muikamachi. It wasn't as great as expected, but it was just the feeling of being out of campus and doing something different. I took a short nap after coming back, but still didn't feel like getting back to work after that.

So I decided to call Au. She suggested that I play the piano for her! Normally, I would say no. When I play worship songs, it's usually private, for His ears only. I don't know why but I invited her and brought along the songbook that Mama sent over. I myself hadn't had the chance to use it yet.

So there we were, hidden in the music room above the gym, cocooned from the blistering cold outside. I played her some songs which I haven't played for almost a year. For the first time, I actually sang and played some worship songs with someone by my side, somewhat as an audience. She said it was beautiful. She had a contented smile on her face when she said it.

I'm glad she enjoyed listening. I hope this was the seed to something greater. Then it struck me, opportunites for the gospel come even in unexpected ways like this. There was hope after all, for me to be a living testimony in this land. I was beginning to feel disappointed that it's really so dead and revival doesn't seem to be on the horizon. I didn't feel like I was being fruitful.

This morning, I woke up and thanked God for the opportunity. I thanked Him that I was able to make a little difference in someone's life.

Today was supposed to be a public holiday, but we had a make-up class for International Business Management. Since I was still in my lazy mode, I didn't manage to finish reading up on the Fuji Xerox case.

As with recent classes, Prof Yoshimori decided to spice up the class by asking questions, to which there were rewards. The first was a one-word reason for the decline of the Fuji Xerox joint venture. I shot up my hands, eager to answer, even though I wasn't quite sure of the answer. I said "complacency" and he looked impressed that I got it right the first time. To this he said "You must've read the case very well!"

You can imagine I was beaming with pride. It dawned on me that I was on to something right. I was listening to God again, I was trying to make things right again, and the little voice was from God after all. It's not something new, it's a well-known fact which is often taken for granted.

If we put Him first, if we submit our ways to Him, He will make our paths straight. Life will not be a bed of roses, nor will everything we want come to us. But unexpected little blessings like these will be there for us to discover.

I had a great day with my friend last night, playing worship songs reminded me that I had not lost my talent after all. I managed to get the first question right even without reading the whole article, and I got exempted from doing the midterm papers because of that.


Life really is full of unexpected little blessings. I just had to be reminded through the hard way. And I am assured again of His extravagant love.

taking a break from midterm

We're in the midst of our midterms and I'm blogging. That's a good example of what I just mentioned in my previous entry. Plus, it has been a rough week and today's Friday so I thought I deserve some break.

I'm even skipping tomorrow's class trip as I feel it's not worth it. Some of us who's already been to the Northern Culture Museum and don't feel like spending 2 hours of our time on the bus were threatened persuaded to change our minds. After doing some quick calculation, I figure I'm going to lose 1% of my assessment. But imagine, the 8 hours spent for the trip could be more productively used for other subjects, whose % is even higher!

Plus, I already signed up for another class trip to Tokyo, we'll be visiting the Dentsu office. Looking forward to that. The one we had for the Mobile Biz Strategies class last week was to the Softbank and Sony office, which was quite interesting. But mobile does not hold my attention as much as marketing or advertising!

I also had a job interview 2 days ago, with advertising giant McCann Erickson. The EVP himself came to campus to talk to some of us. Since the number of applicants were more than expected, they had to shortlist us. I'm happy to be one of the 3 who were on the job list, 9 went in for internship interviews. I felt I could've done better, but I'm hoping for the best too.

It's active period for job hunting now. Some undergrads apply for jobs 1 year before graduation, and it's not surprising to secure an offer way ahead. Even at IUJ, some recruiters come on campus if the numbers are large. Some have to travel down to Tokyo for their interviews.

I still have one more paper and 4 case studies due next week. Life is overwhelmingly exciting!

laziness gets to me

The busier I become, I lazier I get! With an even crazier schedule compared to last autumn, and having a resolution to get more sleep no matter what, is there any way to balance these two?

A friend I was chatting to told me perhaps it was my self-defence mechanism kicking in. Instead of sleeping at 4 and getting barely 4 hours of sleep, I try to go to bed earlier or having little naps in between. Even though there's tonnes of work on the table, i push myself to think faster and work more efficiently.

I remind myself that back in my undergrad days, whenever I was the busiest, that was the time I relied on God the most. I put Him first and everything just fell in place. No matter how busy I got, I still could finish my stuff and still have some time for fun.

Even Soe, our Myanmar neighbour in the dorm, said that he was amazed at me. I have 8 subjects and still have time to go to the kitchen! So instead of wanting freshly cooked meals everytime, I have resorted to cooking multiple meals. That way, I have something to look forward to in between classes and not having to spend too much time with pre and post-cooking activities.

Yes I do admit it's so much easier to go to the cafeteria, grab something to eat and not having to worry about washing dishes. And you get to mingle with other people from other classes who are either too lazy to cook or has cooking at the bottom of their to-do list.

I guess, it's all due to God's strength and grace that I'm able to do all these. When work gets to me, I take a drive out. Even if it's for something menial like doing groceries or paying the bills, getting out is something I look forward to. Just like yesterday, I was out the whole day and didn't do anything school-related.

It was IUJ's ski day and we were up the mountains from morning till late afternoon. Then it was hot springs and a good dinner of tempura and sashimi. For the first time since I came to IUJ, I had 12 hours of sleep! How I wish I get to do this every weekend... :p

akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

Happy New Year, and yes, I'm back! Landed safely in Narita International on the 4th evening after a week's worth of holiday in Korea. Went through the routine of returning my international phone and getting tickets for the connecting bullet train back to Urasa. Found myself back in my dorm room and missing the heated floors of Korean buildings.

Winter term has already begun about a week ago, I'm taking 8 subjects with a total of 11 credits. Really heavy considering 1-credit subjects have almost the same workload as those with 2 credits. Still continuing on with Intermediate Japanese and the whole waking up early to daily quizzes, and struggling to stay awake for the rest of the day.

Snow's here, but not as bad as last year's 3-4m record. Some students have already gone skiing and snowboarding. I have yet to do either, but there are plans to start learning this weekend. Looking forward to that, and will be expecting bruised bums and aching limbs the next day.


Some pictures are in order, just in case studies gets overwhelming in the coming weeks and I start losing my readers.

My holiday in Korea started in Jeju island, touted as the romantic getaway for honeymooners. Even though it was considered subtropical, the weather was pretty breezy. I had the opportunity to drive a Hyundai. I must congratulate myself for this is the biggest car I've driven and it's on the left side. On the background is the famed Seongsan Ilchulbung (Sunrise Peak), where tourists climb to catch a view of the sunrise.

Cheonjeyeong Falls - One of our first stops that day. The wind was blowing, and it was biting cold. I noticed that the snow was powdery. Like bits of styrofoam, which when blown, fly away as compared to the wetter variety over here in Urasa.

Teddy Bear Museum - they had floors of exhibition showcasing history of teddy bears and the bears in various scenarios. Like the one above, the Mona Lisa, The Thinking Man, Charlie Chaplin, the Beatles, Prince Charles & Princess Di's wedding, and even the world's most expensive teddy bear which was all decked out in an LV monogrammed suit.


The visit to the Jeju Folk Village Museum gave an insight to how ancient Jeju islanders lived. There were thatched houses arranged in a typical village setting. Flora such as herbal plants and live animals made the experience more interactive.

That's it, just a signpost and nothing else. I thought the ticket of KRW4,000 was a tad too expensive compared to the other places which were more educationally interesting. Inside this Chocolate Museum, they had a little factory to show how chocolate is made, and chocolate packaging from all over the world. In addition, they had an assortment of many other non-chocolate related items which were donated by those who also donated their chocolate-related stuff to the Museum.


The Traditional 5 Day Market, as it name states, only opens 5 days in a month. Reminded me of our Malaysian pasar malam. You can find foodstuff, fruits, vegetables, meat, and even clothes in this market. We bought some Jeju tangerine to try, really sweet stuff.

how can i not thank Him

Blogging from Gene's computer. Had already planned my train schedules for these few days and to catch the fastest connecting train, woke up early Sunday morning and dragged Goh to the station with me. Since I only had 3 hours of sleep the night before, I thought I could take a nap at Gene's before going for the evening service.

But Saiful caught up with me from the gym and came over, and we went out traipsing around Ikarashi. Ended up shopping a bit and had lunch at Paku Sushi. Church service was short but eventful. They combined some sketch with Christmas songs and message. We had yummilicious pizza and great fellowship, and an attempt at singing "Better Is One Day" and "Noel" simultaneously, that was fun.

After service, I was supposed to join the international students at their Christmas party but prolonged my delayed nap instead and went late. Around midnight, the Filipinos invited me to join them for Noche Buena, a simple meal to usher in Christmas. We thanked God for the birth of His son and the gift of salvation. Done over white wine and cheese, it felt good to be in a prayerful attitude with fellow brothers in Christ.

Then I remembered I had promised Alexis the Chilean-Japanese that I'd meet him for supper. As usual, his place was packed to the brim with all the things that he had managed to salvage but I noticed that he had cleared it up a bit since the last time I met him. His Korean friend, Shiggi, was there for the holidays and we caught up over spaghetti and home-made kimchi.

The next day, I had lunch at the NiigataDaigaku shokudo with Au, my Vietnamese friend who also came down from IUJ. I showed her where I used to study and all the conveniences of living in Niigata. It was good being back, this was where my "home" used to be, and in this weather I am reminded of my initial days in Japan. Cold and miserable but filled with much good memories.

As I look forward to my trip down Korea, I thank God for His provisions thus far, and much sustenance throughout my stay here in Japan. The long train ride from Urasa gave me some time to ponder about this phase in my life journey. I still wonder from time to time if I prayed the right prayer, and if my purpose here is being fulfilled. There really is so much more to discover. I can't wait.

sayonara 2006

This will probably be my last post before I bid goodbye to 2006. Some recent events in no particular order :

Norovirus
I got hit by this stomach flu virus which was going around Japan recently. I wanted to blame it on the cafeteria food because some people have been complaining about feeling quesy after eating it. Then I thought it could have been the stress and lack of proper sleep over the last project. Because of this I threw up everything I ate and had to cancel my trip down the south to Hiroshima & Nagasaki. And I was the one who organised and even booked the hotels!


Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Since I had already done the northern island during summer, I thought I should escape the bitter cold by venturing south instead. But alas, I had to stay in my room for at least 2 whole days and hv porridge cooked by darling friends. The great plan was to use the Ju Hachi Kippu to travel all the way south on a really small budget and be able to spend on food and souvenirs.

This ticket is recommended by those on a shoestring budget but want to cover as many places as possible, but only if you're game for unluxurious train travel and intermittent changes at various stations along the way. There goes my quest to cover the southern part, so will have to make some changes for next year's break.


Christmas in Japan
At first I thought I'd end up having a dreary Christmas over here. Even though on the outside the Japs seem to be celebrating whatwith all the decors and commercialism, but it's just that. Parties and presents. No religious significance attached, and therefore, it wouldn't be meaningful for the average Japanese. It's not even a holiday here.

Even while I was down with the virus, I made myself get better so that I could join the Christmas party some Filipino friends were throwing at one of the dorm lounges. We had great food, games, some singing and gift exchange. It was interesting to see how they celebrate Christmas, and I got myself a bottle of red wine from the exchange. Just what I need for winter!

The last weekend, I was at the Urasa church for their Christmas celebrations. Some of the students were still around, I even managed to get Bryan to join me. We were all pleasantly delighted by the lavishness of the celebrations given the size of the church. The only thing that I could've done better was my playing of the Christmas songs. I really need to get my fingers in shape again!


Little breakaway
This weekend starts the beginning of my own break, even with more than half the student population all gone for theirs. I return to Niigata to meet up with my darling friends from Grace Chapel, as there will be a Christmas service this Sunday evening. I managed to talk to Akiko yesterday and she said she might throw a party for us at her home. Yum!

After 2 days, I'll be down in Tokyo, staying at Harold's friend's apartment near Roppongi. If not for his kindness, I'd be bunking in one of the youth hostels dotting the old town of Asakusa. Hope to meet up with Nobu whom I haven't seen since I came to Japan!

My flight to Korea's on the 27th. Really looking forward to spending the New Year's there, away from all this madness. Will be meeting Cindy in Jeju island, hopefully all goes well. Japan is the furthest I've been to so far, Korea will top that for sure. Must arm myself with some basic Korean while on the plane, get my Yen changed at the airport and along the way act like a Japanese tourist.


In any case, I apologise for the lack updates of late, and for those I haven't been able to catch up much over msn/ym/skype. I thank God for each and everyone one of you, for your concern and love, you have no idea how much those calls and emails mean to me. Despite the highs and lows, this has been a pretty good year. Filled with unexpected blessings and abundance.

My cup runneth over. :)