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Sunday, 08 November 2009

  • I think I'm sick with the flu again. I woke up with aching muscles this morning. A case of H1N1? If it is, then it isn't so bad. There is no shortness of breath that necessitates a trip to the emergency room.

    I've been in bed pretty much the entire day. I was feeling guilty when I was contemplating whether or not I should go to Mass. I slept for a little bit, and when I woke up I was convinced that I should stay home. Our archdiocese also has been reminding us to stay home when one is sick.

    Not going to Mass feels like not showing up for a date. I don't know what showing up for a date feels like since I've never gone on one (how many times should I really mention that in my blog), but that's what it feels like to me.

    Anyways, I just had homemade soup with rice and chicken courtesy of my mom. I'm having a can of mango juice (my mom bought a case at costco) and one double chocolate cookie. I also took one daytime advil cold and sinus flu caplet plus one nighttime one since I was really supposed to take the night one. I don't want to be up all night long, but since I napped today, I will most likely be up for a long time tonight.

    My arm hurts.

    I had a really awesome dinner last night at a friend's place. She was celebrating her 31st birthday and decided to make lasagna for friends. She has never made lasagna before last night so she was a little bit nervous, but it was awesome! She really has no need to feel nervous since she's a great chef.

    The garlic shrimp was my favourite last night. I wanted to make some today, but I didn't have the energy for it.

    I'm still reading The Hobbit, but I haven't been reading as much as I feel I should be. I always read on the skytrain, but I'm feeling so distracted these days.

    As I type this blog, I'm thinking of how crappy I really feel right now (physically). But even with all this crappiness, I actually still have the desire to finish this blog post. Right now I'm just typing whatever comes to mind.

    Next week we'll have our committee meeting for the olympics. The archdiocese will turn one wing of our building into a welcoming centre. All the ones working at the centre will be volunteers, and I'll be helping out after work hours. I'm so excited! I don't know what sort of job I'm supposed to be doing, but I was personally invited to attend the meeting. Perhaps I'll be asked to do graphic design-related work. I would like that, anything really.

    These past few days I've been thinking about how I don't think I will ever feel what it's like to have someone in my life. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I always say I can live with that. But these days, it is starting to feel more real. And it's not just about facebook friends having neverending posts of their engagements, weddings, kids' birthdays and other milestones and not knowing what that feels.

    One day I was thinking about someone I've cared for, and as if in answer to my prayer, I heard God say: "Sorry, My child." It was a voice that came from the depths of my heart, and I felt God was telling me that person will not be knocing on my heart's door. He's not the one. It's not that this is the first time I've thought that person isn't the one. This is just the first time that thought came with a voice. I wasn't sad or disappointed, but I was more in awe of how the voice sounded so real and so sincere.



Thursday, 05 November 2009

  • I had a most interesting conversation at the mall with 2 Korean girls, who are members of a Christian sect. There were so many things I wanted to say. There were a lot of things that we didn't agree on, and instead of just taking their brochure on "God the Mother," I engaged them in a discussion of the faith. As expected they whipped out their Bible, and showed me all the relevant verses that they believe support their teaching. Afterwards I had to ask them a question that I think is really important: where they got their Bible from. If they don't trust the Catholic Church, who gave us the Bible, how can they trust the book that came from the Church? Then she flipped to a few more pages in Scripture to show me that it says there that we can trust the Bible, that is in inerrant and that it supports what her church teaches. Very circuitous. More about this later.

Saturday, 31 October 2009

Friday, 30 October 2009

  • Hmm, still not sure what i'll be for Halloween. I am going for something simple, just a crazy hat or maybe angel's wings. Then other times I start to think that maybe I'll do something grander like dress up as Penelope (have you seen that movie?)... I like the whole fairy tale vintage look. Then I am reminded of H1N1. Not a very good idea for a costume then.





Sunday, 25 October 2009

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

  • There was a power outage at work today that lasted for 4 hours.

    There were some emergency lights that lit the hallways, and one of the other offices had a candle. There was enough natural light in my office, but I couldn't do any work. All of my work is computer-based so there was nothing I can do while the power was gone.

    I read for a bit: Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. The book's introduction was written by Msgr. Ronald Knox. Awesome, awesome. It's a collection of short detective stories. I'm just on the second story.

    I daydreamed for a little bit. I was looking out the window at one of the neighbouring buildings, and I began to wonder: It would be a real miracle if I find mushrooms downtown. Yes, I was daydreaming of mushrooms.

    The power came back on at about 2 pm. BC Hydro initially said 12:30 then 1:30.

    During the first hour of the outage, I thought about walking around downtown just to pass the time, and perhaps take pictures. I ended up staying in the office and reading Chesterton.

    I left work a little after 5 pm. I saw the Korean Catholics getting ready for Mass in the building. I saw the fallen oak leaves on the ground and decided to take one my "famous" World Under My Feet photos. I walked some more just to look at the leaves, and I was hoping to find an acorn with its top on. All the ones I've seen so far are topless :P

    Then a few metres from one of the oak trees, hidden under the hedge in front of our building were mushrooms!

    I immediately remembered what I told myself this morning. I believe God had given me a miracle and it's now in our garden. Haha. That's the first thing I did when I got home from work. One of the mushrooms actually got uprooted (I didn't do it) and so I took it home with me. I replanted it hoping that it will still be recognizable by Sunday. I'm taking it to the mushroom show where the experts will be able to tell me what species it is.

    I call it Miraculus sp. or Miracle mushroom.





Tuesday, 20 October 2009

  • I'm still working on a poster for a fundraising garage sale and bazaar at my parish. Looking for a photo is taking me forever. I hope that the photographer I contacted would grant us permission to use his photo for free. In case you're wondering what all this is for... I've been looking for a photo taken during the typhoon in the Philippines. I've looked at hundreds of photos, but very few suit the intent, as well as the tone of our poster. It's a bit cheerful (very inviting and welcoming) but at the same time it has to convey the tragedy of typhoon Ondoy. That was the challenging part.

    Anyways I should go to bed now. I don't think the photographer will respond right away. I'll keep you guys posted :)



Saturday, 17 October 2009

  • Hey, the sun is out! How lovely, but the rain was lovely in its own way. It was kissing the purple and yellow flowers that my dad planted in our backyard. I like that because we often forget to water his garden. He comes home from the States and wonders why his garden hasn't been watered. Overnight his tomato plants were killed by the frost. I never even noticed until two days later.

    I've been wanting to blog on tumblr, but I'm not sure about the logistics. Gosh, my blogging has logistics. Haha. Check out my tumblr. It's looking a lot like my xanga these days. Thanks to the background image.

    Raspberries are my new favourite. Don't know about fresh raspberries, but I'm crazy for the frozen kind you get at grocery stores. I've never had fresh raspberries, or perhaps I've tried them and they're not so very memorable. I'm weird.

    What I'm reading: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. I got it on my second trip to the book sale on Thursday. I bought 4 other books. I don't like the selection of books in the Theology section, but I managed to find a Jacques Maritain paperback. I know he's a Catholic philosopher. I know a bit of his story. He was a student at Sorbonne when he met fellow student Raissa Oumansov. They found everything so meaningless; they were in pursuit of the truth but was filled with despair. There was no way to find it, they thought. So they felt the best way was to die young through suicide. And then they became Catholics. Okay, so that's a very condensed story, but that's what I remember. I know Leon Bloy is an important figure in their journey, but I have to read up on these fellows again. So when I saw Jacques Maritain's book, I said: "Oh, Raissa's husband." And if I ever see Raissa's name, I know I'd say: "Oh, Jacques' wife."

    Okay, I should go back to reading Brave New World. I think I'll finish it today or tomorrow if I don't get distracted.



Friday, 16 October 2009

  • Stayed in bed for much of today.

    This evening I watched Diane Keaton in Baby Boom. I really like that movie. It empowers women by not portraying them like men. Watch it. The baby is too cuuute!

    I also finished reading The Bells of Nagasaki. It reads like a journal and has accounts of what happened immediately before and after the atomic bomb exploded in Nagasaki. As a doctor he talks about the effects of the bomb, the radiation, the atomic sickness that killed thousands of people and made survivors suffer. He also speaks as a Japanese citizen, a colleague, a father and as a Christian.
    It is very honest and quite scientific (nuclear physics) in some places.

    I will resume reading We of Nagasaki. I read it right after A Song for Nagasaki, but I thought I'd read The Bells of Nagasaki right away, too. Too bad I couldn't find the movie version. The library doesn't have it.

    Next: the books I bought at the book sale. I guess after I finish designing a poster for our church's fundraising garage sale and bazaar for the victims of typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines.

    I'm tired typing all that.


  • A few nights ago, I had a dream. I was on a journey to a place I've never been to before. And on the way there, I saw the monsters from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. I hid behind very sparse foliage, certain that I'd be discovered. The place was foggy, and my dream had the movie's (not the book's) hues: soft and earthy. Soft yellow was the dominant colour, and lots of browns (the trees and the monsters).

    I seldom ever get scared in my dreams/nightmares. But this one scared me, the way Orcs seem to scare me. So I hid and then I ran.

    I've never read the book, but I'm familiar with it. One day several months ago, just outside the library, a Where the Wild Things Are van passed by. Characters from the book were painted all over the van, but it wasn't a very nice van. It was a commercial van, and I believe the business was rather naughty. It had nothing to do with the book. But I like how it all looked so hand-drawn. The imperfections were there, and the hippie guy driving the van didn't look out of place at all for some reason. It was missed photo op. I was waiting to cross the street, and I didn't have my camera phone ready.

    Anyways, after reading a review of Jonze's film adaptation of Sendak's book, I am reminded that I should borrow the book from the library. Or I just might go spend a few minutes at Chapters and read.

    Not a very exciting blog post. I'm sick. I'm not making any excuses, just thought I'd mention that.

    Oh and I've moved my xanga pulse to my tumblr. Well, sort of. I'm not sure you even know what that means.


everymystic

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About Me

  • Turtleface (I look like a turtle). Feline smiles (I look like a cat when I smile). Onionhead (I remind myself of an onion when I wear my hair a certain way). The Good Girl (nickname given to me by a former co-worker who looks like Jackie Chan). Road to Emmaus girl (because I am). Blackberry picker (my dream job). Songbird (always singing). Storyteller (writing stories in my head). Heartist (Yes!). Catholic Christian (Right from the start!). Compassionate. Creative. Braver.