Friday, December 22, 2006

O Come O Come Emmanuel.

it's 4 days to christmas.

that means it's 6 days to seattle.

i'm in the what-have-i-gotten-myself-into phase. and the super-excited-but-so-upset-about-leaving-home phase.

***

so with reference to the article below, wee shu min has gotten herself not only famous within the blogosphere, but even the wire agencies are writing about her. along with a not-so-desirable report. but i think it's time we focused on our society. long have we channeled much resources to our economic development, defense, life sciences, aviation, tourism, PR and alllll that. not that they are bad, but maybe we gotten start turning our heads onto our own people.

like japan, which has an excellent welfare system in place and great domestic development, ever since their defense was taken away from them since WWII.

reading lonely planet is getting me quite excited as i pour over the maps and get myself oriented even before i get there. which is good, 'cos then i can get my bearings right early. anyway i think my sense of direction is quite good. good genes, since my dad, sis all have good direction sense too. so the university resides just on the banks of lake union facing the south, which is where a beautiful stretch of volcanoes are located. i just realised mt. st helens is near there too. i've always thought it was in california state, but guess for 21 years i was wrong.

i'm going to miss bethany so much. dinner with teacher aileen, louisa and mel at manhattan fish market (it was good! better than f*sh&c*). i'm so looking forward to bringing ian to christmas concert, and seeing everyone for the last time during christmas lunch.

spending money preparing for the trip. a new camera. webcam. new ext hard drive. still contemplating on extra RAM for my dearest ibook. another coat from mango but with vouchers. i'm so thankful MOE is so kind to top up my allowance and sponsor all kinds of admin fees. at least my parents won't have to fork out so much money.

ok i'm just rambling random stuff that pops into my head. planning the traveling plans in US is baadddd because there's so many places to go. even within washington state there's SO many things to see and do.

this is bad.

arrgghhh why isn't sam back??!!?? =(

i wonder if i'd freeze to death if i went alaska. i wonder if anyone would wanna go with me.

***

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of Might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of peace.

i love this carol so much. i love corrinne may's arrangement a LOT. she's just so amazingly gifted with music. but more than that it was a carol that spoke of the coming of Jesus. prophets have long spoke about it. the angels rejoiced. the wise men came from lands far away, looking toward the shining star. gifts were presented. it was something to be glad about. to shout for joy. this baby is the Son of God. =)

speaking of corrinne may her concert at esplanade was gooooddd! i would have preferred a more intimate setting like damien rice's concert. the lights could have been MUCH better (sorry i'm just really critical about lights and it was not very nice for the lights to be shining into your audience's eyes). she played all the tracks from her latest album, all the beautiful christmas carols. she sang several new songs not on any of her albums. quite a few actually. and they were, like all of her songs, beautifully arranged and delivered with her strong, round, yet poignant vocals. in between songs she told stories from her memories of christmas, in singapore and the states. her vocal range is quite wide, although the quality goes down when she climbs to higher notes. her lower register is strong, full and very clear. i really admire people who can play the piano and sing at the same time, 'cos i can't do that unless i know the score really really well.

anyway i really enjoyed the concert, because she also did remind us of the christmas story. telling of how the wise men saw the bright star shining in the east, how gifts were presented, how baby Jesus laid on the hay in the manger, how people sang of His coming. she reminded me of that special night which we all celebrate now, 2006 years later. and that was really special. =)

***

ok i promise i will post tokyo pictures before i leave. really. for now, good night.

Labels: christmas, corrinne may, random, seattle

This girl posted at 1:01 AM

Thursday, November 16, 2006

the answer.

one down. just 5 more to go. and off to japan i go. come back pack pack. say goodbye to singapore friends family sam. =( oh no i'm so sad. tentative flying date is 27th dec. gotta get there by 28th dec, but because of the time difference, i'll only take 2 hours to get there. hurhur.

oh no i'm sad.

neurobiology paper today drained me of all my brain energy. i was sssooo nervous before the paper and was trying to cram more and more facts into my head before i walk into nanyang audi. champ was so sweet he called me for lab report photos and we said a prayer over the phone. =) i'm so thankful for friends like him. before i started the paper, as usual, said my own calming prayer which got me doing my paper. still i forgot stuff. its frustrating when you sit there and stare at the question, knowing exactly which tutorial it came from, but not knowing the most important thing - the answer.

just bought corrinne may's cd at jp today. did a little shopping as i got my xrays done for medical checkup for gip. the flu vaccination was sssooo painful i was taken aback and almost screamed. normally i don't remember jabs being painful so there i was happily looking around and the nurse says "take a deep breath" and bam the needle went in and only a split second later the pain came.

darn those nociceptors. and its those C-fibers one leh. the pain lasted for a loonnngg time. now its still aching.

anywayyy corrinne's cd is really good. except for 2 tracks which i don't like the arrangement at all because i think traditional christmas carols should never be arranged in a pop way complete with drums! for joy to the world!! it sounds weird. the other 9 tracks are beautiful really. and they are the tradition carols that we sing in church! so i'm just so happy listening to them on the drive home.

waiting patiently for damien rice's new album to be out in singapore. i'm so sad i'll miss clay's christmas concerts by 4 days. arghhh. ok lah not that he's playing in seattle also. hope for a summer tour.

i'm so tired. was just pondering over corrinne may's lyrics for her song "the answer", written to the music of gustav holst's "jupiter" from the planets suite. you can listen to it at myspace. it's just beautiful.

The Answer
lyrics by Corrinne May Ying Foo

I belive You are the answer to every tear I've cried
I believe that You are with me / My rising and my light

Give me strength when I am weary / Give me hope when I can't see
Through the crosses I must carry / Lord, bind my heart to thee

That when all my days are over / and all my chores are done
I may see Your risen Glory / forever where You are

it speaks about how the Lord is our strength and hope. and how He gives grace and mercy everyday. today at my most desperate time of need i remembered how the psalmists will always look to the Lord for help and guidance during desperate times. in times of tears, and even in times of joy. i was so relieved after the paper and immediately thanked the Lord in prayer once again.

everyday there's just so many things to thank God for. and even when i'm weary and lost and tired i'm going to resolve to always look to Him for comfort and strength.

and when the days are over and when our work is done, that we may see His Glory and His Kingdom. but as what we were talking about with pastor mitch 2 saturdays ago, that we can seek His Kingdom NOW, not just when the days are over. because where we are, on earth and everywhere else, we are part of His Kingdom. and He is the King that governs all things, who created all things. who knows all things. and He knows me and cares for me. =)

Labels: corrinne may, neurobiology

This girl posted at 7:04 PM