You would think that at 19 going on 20, I'd learn how to control my emotions better.

Malaysia: Day 16, Autralia: 22 days to go..won't time please speed up for me?

Before Leaving To-Do List

So much to do, so little motivation!

1. Pack bag for trip.

Its bag, not bags...hand luggage at that..what to put in, what to leave behind??

2. Pack all belongings into other bag.

One should not have acquired so much stuff in a short period of time especially when there is a potential move at the end of every semester. Books, papers, little knick-knacks, more papers..and clothes that I've brought but have never worn and possibly never will.

3. Washing

1 word says all. If there's anything that I have least motivation to do is washing. There's a full load waiting for me now, plus bedding, duvets...yeah...

4. Find boxes

Having tried minimalising my stuff, I still need boxes to pack them in. Hopefully a medium sized one would do.

5. Hunt nougats

Should have done this during the weekend when Parklea Markets was open but due to time constraints and indecision (what else is new?) I need to find out where else sells them.

6. Comply with Exit Checklist

Clean room thoroughly, blinds, lighting fixtures, most importantly, get all my pictures off the wall :(. I don't wanna do that just yet..and return keys to college...

7. Lookover flight schedule

Yeah, this sounds like a pretty good idea seeing I have no idea what time my flight comes & goes. Especially when there's 2 flights in 1 trip. Probably a good idea to print out the tickets & itinerary too..

8. Quality time

This is somewhat sorted out, have already planned skype-chapel dates with Angelique & Giorgia! heheh...How do you get the most out of time yet be prepared for separation?? Everything in me is already stepping back since a week ago..

Okay, I think I covered everything. I guess the biggie is packing. This is day 2, still not much luck with it. I've got everything out of the drawers & closet, but now the contents are sprawled over all other surfaces such as my bed, floor, table, night stand, chair..you can imagine what that looks like..I'm pretty sure I can get most of it done in 2 hours, its just..I don't think I really wanna do it. Denial. Thats it! Not ready to leave, I'll be gone for a month and then some. Give or take 40 days. 40 days of being in the dessert! Please don't let it feel like 40 years of wandering!

Aih, too pessimistic, gonna to put a move on it now...

Graduation Eve

I know I've been lagging lately, can't say I'm sorry for that. It just means that I've got better things to do than rant in cyberspace :).

Graduation dinner is tomorrow, its astonishing how time just passes us by..I remember the nervous, jittery sensation when I boarded the plane to OZ and now in slightly more than a week, I'm going to be boarding the same plane back. (didn't use the word "home" now did I?) All that I can hope for is that the change that took place would stay solidly changed. God, a whole year. How faithful You are!

People are going to leave, some are going to stay, yet every single one of us has a decidedly unique journey. Different dreams, different visions, different passions, different desires; yet all are called to the same Cause, born for such a time as this, each marked for significance.

I can't wait for the testimonies that'll be circulating in a year, in 5 years, in 10, 25...all around me, I see greatness. The potential to be more than what we are. And all it takes to achieve that potential is to have Someone believe in you. Its not easy, yet far from complicated.

I look forward to the time where I can say with great honour that I was in college with so and so, look at that person now!

If I had a word to sum up college this year, it'll be a breathless "Wow...".

Even if words are tools of expression, sometimes not having any words expresses so much more.

**************

Hopefully my shoes will arrive on time tmr, if not, emergency shopping! >.<

After grad, I'm gonna get a tattoo that says "marked for significance" with "Significance" in a shape of a sword ;D

Panas Giler!!

Nevermind the band 98 degrees, try sweltering in a 41 degrees heat. God help! Seriously, if hell is 100000000x worse than this, all the more reason not to be there. Because I feel like I'm gonna crack/melt/explode/bake depending on where I'm at. Right now, it feels like melt. I'm sitting on my bathroom floor because it is the coolest place in the whole house and yet I'm still sweating. They say girls don't sweat they perspire. Load of crap that is because this my friend is sweating. Sweating in the damn sweltering heat. I feel like I'm gonna melt right into the floor and never get up again. oh my God, what are you doing to me??

Its been 41 degrees today. Thankfully most of today was spent in the fully air-conditioned church. Now however we're back into a very uninsulated house that offers no protection from that awful heat! The fan doesn't do much, just re-blow the hot air round and round. Floors are carpeted. Not a single cool spot in the house but the bathroom. How pathetic. Good news is that tmr is suppose to drop by half, bring on the 20 degrees! Time to unpack those jumpers I guess. oooohhh........HOT!!!

Ugly Duckling

I'm super excited for grad!! Blame my housemates Frances & Angelique for it. They've been taking out dresses and Angelique has been trying them on, heels and all. And she looks great! Can't wait til we can all dress up and celebrate the year in a single night.

Yay for dressing up! Of course that means looking for a dress...one that can hopefully turn this ugly duckling to look somewhat like a grown-up duck for the event. lol..just thought I'll share my excitement with you. :)

[PS, birthday pictures are on its way, internet has been slow lately.]

Kidsfest 09

♥
 KIDSFEST!!!!!

Everytime I feel like I'm at the end of my rope, telling myself and God I'm not cut out for kidmin, He shows me how desperately wrong I am. Kidsfest yesterday was one of those rare moments. Tiring for sure, but oh so rewarding! I had 11 girls and we had a blast! Who says you can't have fun with 7 year olds??

Its show time, all age groups come together to watch (from kindy to Year 6)

The 1st show: The Slime Show

Contestants being picked out

 Kids pastors, Nathan McLean & Funny Man Dan had the honours of sliming the victims contestants

The Aftermath: Very slimed on trio

I sure hope they brough spare clothes!!

Whats a kids event without a jumping castle? In this case, Noah's Jumping Ark.

This little man decided to chill out for a bit. He looks angelic doesn't he?? Well, as the saying goes, looks can be deceiving. Very deceiving. He's a bright kid, brilliant and full of mischief.

One of my girls :)

Another one of my girlies showing off her bounty for the day: face-paint (check), autograph (check), feathers (check)!

 Yup, another one of mine :) She used to misbehave a lot, but after a couple of months, we're best pals. Now she doesn't kick and hide, she fully tackles me for hug..and tickling..

Double trouble Power: Spider-bat Boys!

(could also be a case of confused identity)

One of our make up artist: Bennette - decked out in all her finery

Max & Melody had a photoshoot & autograph session

Left:

Robyn Davies

Professional Photographer

Available for kids events only.

Right:

Emily Yeom

Professional PA & Pastoral Care

Available for kids events only.

Goofy friends and fellow kids leader: Veronica & Jillayna

Guess what time is it?

Its Tea Cup Rides Time!!!

My girlies chillin & posing while waiting in line

A little upset that all the chips are gone, everyone was hungry, even after scoffing down the free ice cones that the nice lady gave us. (It was $4.50 for a cup of ice-shavings and syrup, buying 6 was out of question. I asked if we could have 6 really small ones and I'll pay for that hoping it won't go more than $2 each. She looked at my girls surrounding her cart and started preparing them. "How much will that be?" with fingers crossed. She waved away the question (literally) and gave the girls their ice-cones. 6 little girls and 1 big girl said a very heart-felt thank you to that lady. :) The man that sold the chips took my money though..lol..

Finally aboard the tea-cups

Look at that cheeky smiles

The youngest of the group, she's such a doll

Isn't she beautiful?

Sitting tight for the ride

(if you're wondering, yes, I did get on as well =])

 A tad bit dizzy after the ride but so worth it

All in all, it was a fantastic day. I loved it so much because I actually got to lead a group this time. Usually I'm running around making sure things are going smoothly, but this time I actually spent time with the kiddies! and that makes everything else worthwhile. Yesterday we spent 6 hours together and by the end of it, I missed them because some I'll never see again until maybe next year. And I realised nearly all of my girl would be moving up to All Stars by the end of the year :(. I want to keep them in Funhouse forever. hahah. So yeah, investing in these kids' lives are the best thing we can do. A snippet of a moment like this makes all that hours of labouring, frustrations, never-ending hours worth it. But if anyone ever so hints that kidmin is nothing less than challenging, not only will I personally smack you silly (plus get other kids leaders to do it too), my challenge to you is, you're probably not doing it right. :) [i'm serious - don't let the smiley fool you]

Sydney Update 2: Snow? I think NOT!

(This entry is meant to be posted on the 6th, sorry for the delay)

A couple of weeks ago, Sydney was thrown into an orange haze, today, it was a different scenery that greeted the good residents of Norwest Boulevarde. White. Thats right, white. In spring? I think we have come to learn that seasons don't really mean anything here. Thats my opinion anyways. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a couple thousand worth of words. :)

The usually very green grass has been covered with some white stuff.

Only bits of greenness can be seen..

The carpark has also been overlapped with white bits

Starting to pile up

But look! Its not snow..Its hail!!!

Yup, HAIL....check out the size of those babies!

It soon turned into rain, which then started melting the hail and mixing it with water.

Which equaled very wet and slippery road. Very hazardous to your health, especially if your a klutz like myself. No, I did not fall..almost did a number of times..

And there you have it, hail in the middle of spring!

Now that you've seen the pictures, you have to know the story. (unless you don't want to, in which case, what are you still doing here??)

So, I got out of class, then decided to make a detour to the library. I was there for like 15 minutes. My hand was on the door handle, going to exit the building when I paused for a moment thinking "its gonna pour, better make a run for it". Opens the door and the first few drops started to come down. Then I realised, the rain did not go splat on the floor, instead it bounced and rolled. I looked closed and I realised they were ice balls. In a matter of seconds it started coming down hard, and turned everything to white. People were all gathered by the doors to snap pictures. Some crazy Canadians even braved it outside *barefoot* to place with the ice. Nuts. So why am I telling you all this? Well, had I walk out the door right after class, I would have been halfway home. Right halfway between college and my house where there was no shelter and it'll be another 15 minutes to reach either side. 15 minutes without umbrella or any covering. Walking in that? I don't think so!

Thats my story of the day :)

You Got Slimed!

Guess who got slimed? Kids Leader Extraordinaire Christy Sanchez! Just another day it Hillsong Kids. :)

Charlie

Nathan and Jess have gone for their well deserved break to the beaches with bubba Mikayla so guess who gets to feed and play/walk Charlie while they're away? Woo-hoo! Its fun when the dog actually knows how to play fetch unlike a certain little doggie I can mention! ahem, Cookie. I'm glad i don't have a big dog tho, all that saliva is a bit much. PS, I totally love the fact that I can blog on the go! Yay for mobile blogging! Only downside, can't sort more than 1 pic. :( can't have it all..

Friday entertainment

Robbert modelling for Kieran. Kidsfest in 2 weeks, come on somebody! (PS, i'm just testing to see if i can blog through my phone. Hope this works!) Pardon the randomness..xoxo

Its Only Words..

Its only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away

~ Words : Bee Gees ~

I got this off Wordle..the idea is that the more you use the word, the bigger the word is..I used my blog to see what words I used the most and voila, what you see before you is the top 150 words I've used.

So what words do I use most? Well, "Now" is the biggest, "Just" comes in as a close second..lol, notice that "sleep", "list", "notes", "room" and "cleaning" are pretty major too. "Sticky" seems like a dodgy one because how often can a person use "sticky"?? Pretty often I guess..hehe, thats my entertainment for the night...

Oh, and I've learned how to do a screenshot, woo-hoo! Yeah, I'm pretty behind, what can I say..

PS, you can get your own word bubble at www.wordle.net See what you're saying most often!

Sydney Update: Varying Shades of Red & Orange

If you haven't yet heard the news, Sydney was hit by some pretty spectacular dust storm on Wednesday. Yeah, yeah, its old news right? Just thought I'll share it with you all the same. (FYI-I started this post of the day itself, just never got around to tweaking & actually posting, so sorry lorh.

Most people woke up to a fiery red sky that morning..

I've heard so many accounts of ppl thinking it was The Rapture/Apocalypse/Second Coming/End of the World (choose your preferred phrase)

Opera House - Think you'd catch the Phantom in this weather?

I wonder who's out swimming that morning

Good scene for a horror movie

by 6.30am -ish, it has gradually turned orangey..


By late noon the orangeness has cleared off with just a little haze left

Ferries weren't allowed out

From my backyard..

from my front yard...

from space

I personally was really excited when I got up to hazey orange sky with the wind blowing something fierce. Woke up, bounced to the window (literally), think "hey, orange sky, thats awesome!! - maybe there's a fire somewhere..", bounced back into bed and went back to sleep. I think if it was the Rapture, I would have been left behind.

By evening, there was no more haze and everything was perfectly clear, blue skies and all..only evidence fo it all was red dust everywhere...especially on cars..and the no-longer-white shirt my lecturer wore to class that day..

Pictures courtesy of Sydneysiders, ranging from those who put up pics on Facebook, Twitter, Flikr, SMH, to my housemate Giorgia Barile.

Sleep Deprivation Increases Productivity :p

was it really this morning that I wrote about sticky notes?? It felt like a couple of days ago!! lol, I guess the days just roll into 1 or stretch out in a few when you haven't slept much. Now, I'm not doing this because I want to or just for the sake of it, but its part of disciplining myself, starting with training my body to work whether it wants to or not. If it can function with just 2 hours of sleep, it sure can function with 6-8!!! According to my twisted logic anyway. We'll have to see how tomorrow goes though, full on day again, as usual. Who said Sunday was a day of rest again??

Anyways, today has been a pretty good day, spent time with my neon pink message Bible and getting into the Word, having some quality time with the Big Guy, something haven't done in awhile. Yeah, shame on me, bible college student not reading the bible, tell me about it. Well, I'm back now. :) He's grace tops up my falling short.

But for now, I'm getting some shut eye. Love you all!

The Break Of Dawn Sticky Notes!!

Dawn is breaking, its a sight to see! Darkness is slowly lifing as the sun seeps into the sky. Corny, yes, but breath-taking. Reminds you of who the Creator is and the magnificence of His works.

You know how I said I won't sleep til my room looks more of a room than a squalor? Well, I haven't slept and now all I have o do is make my bed and hoover. :) Granted, it took hours but I got distracted (yeah, tell me something new eh?) and ended up talking with my sisters for 2 hours, then with Tante Luci & Wei Lun. In my defense, I haven't talked to them in ages so it was good to catch up. Also, can I just say that I'm really excited now that my desktop all-in-1 organizer (daily planner, calender, to-do lists, email, journal, blog, notes, you name it!) is now up and running with my schedule, assessment due dates, notes etc all imported in!! I am so happy right now!!

Oh, and I'm going to sound like a complete geek, but there's actually a StickyNote application! Oh glory be! Sticky notes for my desktop! I absolutely LOVE it! The sizes and colours are changeable, no need to worry about missing papers, saves time, money and trees; the very best part though? I can edit them AND strike things out! In case you didn't know, I'm a list writing freak,be it a grocery list, to-do list, people to call list, assessment list etc and I get a huge satisfaction when I get to cross things out or put a little tick next to it when I'm done. LOVE IT! Of course, where else do you write lists but on sticky notes??

Right, a whole entry about an organiser software, a whole paragraph on sticky notes. Lets step away from the computer Na before you make a bigger fool out of yourself. Hope you enjoyed that random little information about me. Gonna grab some shut eye now.

And the birds are chirping oh so merrily outside. Lovely. *Note: that was sarcasm*

Midnight Spring Cleaning

Not going to sleep until my room looks remotely tidy. Never has my room been this disgusting before. And this is NOT an exaggeration. This new semester has been pretty crazy, but its no excuse. Its time the choleric part of me crack the whip to get my butt into action. Ok, enough sitting, lets get cleaning people!! (Yes, I am more than 1 person, especially when cleaning, all alter egos have to come out and do their part, hafta keep the balance you know, between the bossy one, the whinny one and the just do it one..we work as a team.)

Just thought I'll share that bit of my life with everyone. Have a great one! Oh, did I happen to mention its Spring? Spring Cleaning, yay! I'll let you know how that goes.

PS, did I tell you it is now 1.32am? Can you believe I haven't stayed up this late in a long time?? And I'm gonna start cleaning. Nuts. Ok, I will go now. For real. At this very moment. NOW.

Promised Update #1

Hey guys, how's it going out there? I did promise a weekly update last week didn't I? Well, here's one for this week :)

I won't bore you with the 1,2,3s of my days but I will give you highlights. I think most of my stories will come from the weekends. Can I just say I love and hate my weekends? :P

Saturdays starts off with Street Teams. I hate getting out of bed and often roll up wishing I could sleep in, it is Saturday after all. Every week I battle with myself. In most cases, I do get up, fumble and mumble to church..but by the time I get to my much loved street, one of the many in Mt Druitt, it makes it all worthwhile. Seeing the residents of one of the most undesirable suburbs in Sydney open their doors to us is a miracle of itself. Seeing them being friendly is a great reward. I won't elaborate too much about Street Teams now because it deserves an entry of its own. But bottom line, yesterday was another great day in da hood! I;m still chucking over the fact that I got told to be resilient by an 8 year old. And yes, resilent was precisely the word she used. Flabbergasted. I felt like I was being corrected by my sister. Instead of Sharon, it was Shontelle. Rightly puts me in my place eh? And this happened over sidewalk chalk drawing...

Today was another great day at Hillsong church. Its Father's Day in Australia (who has Father's Day in September???) so as a special item, they had several kids up there to talk about their fathers. It was downright hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing. Of course it was funnier since I knew those kids and who their fathers were. Then tonight there was the kids choir, it was amusing to see a row of kids with mustache in the middle of the stage along with the big people. Oh FYI, Hillsong is the place to be for fathers on fathers day, the gifts were awesome/spectacular/crazy...well, let me just tell you what they were and you can decide what word you prefer. Fishing rods, tool box, BBQ set, platter of steak...full on great dad gifts, sure beats the boring old ties and pens!

Highlight of tonight was probably letting Funhouse* do face paint on me. Note to self, never ever trust 5-7 year olds with black paint and free reign on your face. The result? From a supposed mustache and beard, they fully painted my face black from my cheeks to chin. !!!! Which so did not come off easily. After washing with water and wiping off with baby wipes, my face still had traces of black paint. So people, please learn the lesson from my experience, no black paint! And maybe always have a pack of wipes with you? lol

Then it was home to watch Australia with the housemates..if you haven't watched it, you totally should, its a great movie. :) Hot shower and now blogging under the covers. Night world, this is the life. :D

Oh, and thank you God for Mondays off!! My SABBATH!

As Sure As Dawn

I have made a decision. I have resolved to have a weekly update come rain, hail or shine (which can occur all in a single day, let me assure you of that).

omg, last entry was in June??? Has it really been that long?? Goodness gracious me!! The Lims were here a flippin month ago? oh snap! Where on earth did time go???

Anyways, just a little note, I've decided to start tweeting. Yes, I have finally joined Twitter. I know, such a betrayal towards blogging. But I think blogging takes too much effort and time..so twittering it will be. Super short notices and frequent updates. :)

Oh yeah, moved into a single room, no more sharing!! Much as I love Frances, its nice to finally have my own room, its awesome! Oh and I've got new housemates too, a Canadian & Italian. This semester is gonna be interesting. Can't wait to meet the rest!

Remake of Click

Have you ever watched Click starring Adam Sandler? You know how the remote just goes out of control, messing his life? Sometimes fast forwarding, sometimes in slow motion, sometimes looking at the past and suddenly ends up in the future? Well, it seems like life's like that.

Tis almost the end of semester 1. CRAZY! Conference is in 2 and half weeks, woo-hoo!! This week is the last week of classes and there's loads of fun stuff going on, garage sale, 6 hot spots (music students performing at church, cafes and stuff), bake offs, last class picnics..yay! then its 2 weeks fieldwork for conference. I'm psyched!

The Lims were here last Sunday, it was so great seeing them again! It hit me smack on the forehead that I've been here for 5 months! 5 months exactly today. Whoa! Anyhoo, I'm hoping that Joshua would come back to Sydney for Hillsong conference, really excited with that possibility too!! It would be so awesome to have him volunteering!

I only have 2 pics of the visit so far that my mom put on facebook because I was so excited to see them that I rushed out the door without remembering my camera. >.<"

Outside the convention centre before the service.

Girlies outside the Undercroft

Hopefully I'll get more soon, either from Josh or mom..nag either one for me please :P

Brain Freeze aka Shock

Let me start of by saying "gah..........!!!!!!!!! whatwhyhowwhywhywhynooooobutwhy(continues on)!!?!?!?!?!".

Now that That is out of my system, let me try my best to be coherent and explain. Because thats like what I do best really. pfft. yeah, i know. In case you were wondering, I still my sarcasm with me, as pathetic and lame sounding as it may be. Ok, enough crapping, lets get down and dirty with the issues at hand.

I'm gonna admit that I'm feeling stressed out right now. Imagine that, Sabrina getting stressed out. Because everyone knows she doesn't stresses bout anything. Got over it yet?

All of sudden (to me at least), there's so many things going on.

• 3 Assessments due Monday & 1 mini-sermon on Thursday
• Start work tmr
• Volunteering at library on Wednesday evenings, started yesterday
• Serving at Mega Prayer Night & Discovery Night
• Team leading on Sisterhood United night
• Training as key team
• Arts & Craft leader for Kidsong Conference

Okay, having just any one or two of those reason are enough to be slightly less than relaxed, but all of those lumped together, one after another, and being told almost all of that in just a matter of 24 hours is madness. Madness, I tell you!! My shock system is going into overdrive.

To top it off, a good friend of mine just told me he's going home in July.

I'm high then low and up and down..of course, having PMS doesnt help it one bit. (if you're gasping in horror at the PMS reference, grow up and get over it - it happens).

Another confession, I really don't know where God is leading me with all this. I think I may have an inkling, but I don't know if its just me or is it God. After processing the news yesterday, I was thinking today of how marvelous He is, giving me the desired of my heart that I oh-so-quickly captured and caged within 5 seconds of dreaming it. Secured and bolted it down before it even thought of stretching out its wings for take off. What those desires are is another story altogether.

So anyways, just when I thought, "yeah okay, I think I can handle that..I think I'm can spend my time (life or not, I don't know) doing that" when He just drops another bombshell, my friend is going back!!! After just 6 months!! And here I was just answering my kids' pastor that I'd be staying for second year if God provides. I feel like I've been hypnotised and someone just snapped their finger to wake me up. Then before I even began to deal with that, I'm told I'll be in charge of stuff at Kidsong. And will be trained as key team. C-R-A-Z-Y!!!

OH MY GOD!! (and I ain't swearing!)
I know you're giving me what I have barely thought up God, but I'm not ready!!!

Vocabs (since you're prob scratching your head at some terms used):
- mini sermon: 7 minute message/preaching
- Mega Prayer, Discovery & Sisterhood United Night: Too much to explain, its just huge nights
- team leading: Lead the kids team. That means putting a team together, plan the service etc.
- key team: Team of leaders that team lead on weekends
- Kidsong Conference: Kids' conference during the main Hillsong conference. Yup, the ones you see on video clips with thousands of hyped-up kids.

All of a sudden, there's so much responsibility all at one go.