my bucket list

1. Bungee jump

2. Go white water rafting

3. Learn how to surf

4. Live on a beach in California

6. Write a book
7. Get a tattoo

I'm trying to win the $500 Budgets are Sexy giveaway, sponsored by Life Insurance Finder hope i win!!

sometimes i am forgetful

as i settled into routine life and work in this beautiful city, i forgot to be thankful for how i got here. i know you're all probably sick and tired of hearing about it for the millionth time.. but i've been reminded lately of how much favour God has lavished on me since coming here, and i still can't wrap my head around it- why me, God? and i didn't even do a single thing besides receive the blessings!

but God didn't just stop there..

i had to move out from my other place in Vancouver (miss living there sooo much cuz it was so central!) cuz of my landlord, and the endless killings of daddy long legs cuz it was a basement. i decided to try and find a place in 2 days, so i could give my landlord 30 days notice, haha.. and not only did i find a place in just 2 days, but it was cheaper (and the price i was hoping to pay), twice the size of my old place, has high ceilings, radiant heating, stainguard carpet, and CABLE TV!!!!!!!!i haven't had cable for 6 years, so it's quite awesome. it's in Richmond, where basements don't exist, so no more spiders either! so basically i got everything i was looking for, and then some.

oh and i got another job.

i got a call for an interview a week before i moved, and when i went to see her 2 days after i moved, she basically hired me on the spot, just like w/my other job! she had my resume from LAST November, so she called me, because her chinese MT was going on mat leave in January. it's only a 5 min drive from my new place, and i don't even have to quit my current job because she's going to work around my schedule, so i'll be going from working 13hrs/week -> 28hrs/week in January!

the job came pretty much out of nowhere, and happened SO quickly too. i think she hired me on the spot mainly cuz i'm chinese and they do a lotta work w/chinese residents there haha.. but i've actually never worked w/chinese seniors before (ones who only speak chinese), and singing mando/canto songs! so after orientation w/the MT, i thought i'd be totally screwed cuz i can barely get by reading and speaking chinese, let alone singing songs!

but God took care of that too.

that same week, there was a MT workshop on songs to use w/multicultural people, and one of them worked w/chinese seniors, so i got some resources there, and then i went to the local MT conference 2 weeks later, and there was a workshop specifically for chinese songs!! seriously, what are the chances?!

it's been blessing after blessing after blessing... and just when i thought His extravagance had come to an end, He gave me even more. there has never been such a time as this in my life (well, as far as i can remember anyway) and i don't understand why, because i'm no better than the next person.

actually what inspired me to write this post was because when i attended the MT conference, and talked/listened to other MTs, i realized how FREAKING lucky i was to have only 2 jobs = (nearly) full-time hours. because typically when people start their MT careers, they'll have multiple jobs at different places, working a few hours at one location, then traveling to another to work for another few hours. i'm talking like 3-5 different places, and that's just the norm because it's much cheaper to hire a contractor (no benefits/paid holidays) for a few hours/week instead of employing an MT full-time (w/benefits, etc).

and while i told people i found my first MT job in 3 months, in reality it was really only ONE month (including the time spent sending out resumes), which is amazing, especially for a specialized profession as this, because we're not like accountants where companies hire a number of them, but each place only hires one MT, so once that position's filled, that's it, end of story.

at the conference, i didn't even want to tell people about my second job, because i felt so bad that some were still struggling to find contracts, while i was basically set in terms of working hours in just less than a year of working. i'm just incredibly blessed and humbled by His extraordinary show of love on me. and all i can do is praise Him and testify of His goodness.

you know you're a vancouverite when...

in honour of my 2 year anniversary of moving to vancouver...i came up with a list, a lot of the items are driving related, since those are the biggest differences i've noticed, in comparison to TO :P
(note: not all things apply to me, points if you know which ones!)

you know you're a vancouverite when...
-you can cross any street without being afraid of getting run over
-you hate starbucks but still drink it cuz it's on every corner
-you don't honk even when people cut you off, and you brake for them (same goes for pedestrians)
-you think a $7 meal is cheap
-you think anywhere further than a 30min drive is too far
-you complain that it's too cold when the temperature drops below 15 degrees
-you can parallel park on both sides of the road, and without feeling bad for the cars waiting behind you
-you know at least one person who doesn't need to work a day in their life, but works anyway because they need to kill time somehow (i'm not bitter, just tell me how to make this happen!)
-you always carry extra change in the car for meter parking
-you use the mountains as your compass (north)
-the smell of weed outside the mall, restaurant, street, etc. doesn't faze you
-you keep an umbrella in your car permanently, because it rains 9 months in a year
-you drive in the alleyways behind houses like they're real streets
-you automatically link one's socio-economic status to their home address (west van=filthy rich; east van=middle class)
-you drive around and around just to find free parking
-you realize that you are one of many other Torontonians who've moved here
-you enjoy going to tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurants to eat, because only locals know them
-you take sushi for granted, cuz it's everywhere
-you are scared to drive when there's a couple of centimeters of snow on the ground
-you call every other race by their derogatory name except for blacks
-you refer to Toronto as the big ugly city
-at least half of your income goes towards your rent/mortgage
-you go to the club at 10pm to avoid lining up (they close @2am)
-you aren't scared to be vocal with other drivers when on the road (i once saw a chinese man get out of his car to yell at the guy behind him who was honking)
-you can honestly say that Vancouver is the best city to live in

crazy goodness day

i would say it's arguably one of the best days i've had in a while...my life isn't very exciting ok?

it all began in the early morn with a $2 tank top sale @old navy, because i dyed my white tanks pink in the laundry, so i bought 5 new ones for $10, which was the reg. price for ONE tank. SCORE!

then on my way home, i JUST missed getting another ticket at the same stop sign from last summer: i was the first car and i braked, but i don't think i stopped for the full 3 seconds, since i wasn't really awake yet, and then i noticed the police car right there, so i braked again like there was another stop sign ahaha and when the car behind me pulled up beside me, the policeman came out and stopped the other car and let me go!!!!PHEWWWW.. God definitely saved me there!!cuz usually it's the first car that gets screwed lol..

then i headed for granville island to meet up w/steve and adrian, where i got a little pink from sake tasting (cuz i didn't eat anything yet!)..then i had a scallop burger, during which i got a call from a friend currently training in the navy (and has limited means of communication) - yayyy :D

then i got ANOTHER call from a rental place i fell in love with yesterday, but had lost hope for because he wanted someone for sept 1st, but i could only move on the 15th, because i had to give my landlord 30days notice. so he agreed to it!!!!! it's at least 2x the size of my place now, it's NOT a basement, and it's cheaper, all inclusive-basic cable too!oh, and 9ft ceilings or something...and i've only looked for 2 days. this was probably the best and most exciting part of the day-month, even! because i'd given up already, since he was pretty adamant about starting on the 1st, and then everything just turned around, just like that! only by His hands, that's for sure.

then we happened upon a hippie festival in kits, which turned out to be a 40yr anniversary celebration of woodstock, where i discovered the new opening of david's tea on 4th!!!!which i'd only found in TO last summer and thoroughly enjoyed.

then i went to a chinese wedding banquet accompanying lina, where we were 2/6 people at a 10 person table, meaning....everyone took home at least 2 boxes of food each and a full stomach..then walked it off at the night market to finally end a long, eventful but definitely aweeesome day..

i was so excited(or wired from the 2 caffeine doses..) the whole day, i was seriously worried i'd get into some big mess, like a car accident or something cuz i was floating on cloud 9, and i enjoy driving especially even more in that state of bliss, so carefree and easy.....it just might not be fit for the road.

wow i'm tired.

i wish i had a better memory

so that i can remember all the things God has said to me, and not have to go through repentance for the same things over and over again.. so i can walk in His truth everyday, as His daughter, and not listen to the devil's deceptions in my head.

hmmm i guess reading the Bible more would help too.

Brooke Fraser - Shadow Feet

Walking, stumbling
On these shadow feet
Toward home, a land that I’ve never seen
I am changing
Less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began

And I have sensed it all along
Now fast approaching is the day

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in You

There’s distraction
Buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
But I’ve heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

You make all things new

When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I’ll be found in You

"Missing someone isn’t about how long
it has been since you have seen them
or the amount of time since you’ve talked.
It’s about that very moment when
you’re doing something and you wish
that they were right there with you."