Source: gtchurch.ca
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The joy of the Lord is your supernatural strength. As you trust in the God of hope, He brings joy to your circumstances that extends way beyond your feelings. Hope is the confident expectation that your joy will be full.
1. I am overflowing with joy and peace as I trust in the God of hope.
A faith declaration is like preaching to yourself. Every time you stand on the promises of God by speaking them out, you build yourself up in the most holy faith (Jude 1:20).
My heart was super heavy and burdened by family problems last weekend (right before Christmas, perfect timing!), which made me feel dull and I was also experiencing headaches (which is abnormal for me; its only when I'm overcome with illness that I experience headaches) and meditating on these faith declarations helped me quite a bit because God's Word is life. It's not like I was feeling down and then after reading these verses and truths and I literally felt strength and more positive emotions flow through my being, but rather it was the act of meditating on promises from a God who actually cares about my life that helped me remember that there's someone out there (satan) who will continually try to kill, steal, and destroy what God has already given to me. BUT, God is greater. 8^D
These points and verses were printed on cards and given out at my church at the beginning of the month, but I didn't look at them until recently. The links to the verses are in NKJV and NIV because I've been using those translations recently.
Went to the Salvation Army Thrift Store yesterday looking for a cheap photo frame, and I ended up buying a rotary telephone for $5 on impluse! This thing is solid! I now understand how these things can be used as weapons. It works too!
The only problems are:
-no call display
-takes a long time to dial a phone number
-isn't cordless
Saw the BC Lions win a few weeks ago. Added it to the album.
And hohohooooo.......
I also made a new album of all the pictures I took of Spider-Man in Constanta and London!!!!
WHAT?! SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING?!
Yes, 132 new things to be exact. The original album only had 101 pictures so I more than doubled that.
I placed links to the albums in a new "Spider-Man Pics & Poses" page (see the menu tab at the top of the page) as well as brought back an old page that I made in 2004 explaining the origins of my doll and why I have no friends in real life.
Have you ever been planning to buy movie tickets in advance for an UltraAVX theatre in the Lower Mainland/Greater Vancouver/Metro Vancouver/whatever it's called now, but you didn't want to log into your Cineplex account and click through a bunch of steps, just to get an idea of what seats you wanted to choose from?
Well then, I present to you screenshots of the maps, for your convenience. If you have never bought UltraAVX tickets online before, here's how it works:
Step 1. Log in to your Cineplex account. Step 2. Pick which movie time you want to attend and make sure it has the UltraAVX logo beside it. <== Like this.
Otherwise you're just buying "general admission" advance tickets for a regular theatre.
Step 3. After a bunch of other self-explanatory steps, you will see the UltraAVX theatre map (see below).
The dark red/maroon colour means those seats have already been reserved.
The grey means those seats are available.
The yellow/amber colour are your chosen seats.
The system automatically chooses the "best" seat(s) available so if you want to re-choose your seats, click on the yellow/amber seat(s) you don't want. They will turn grey.
Now click on any available other grey seats that you DO want. That's it!
Step 4. Print your ticket or have it ready on your smart phone when you go to the box office.
Remember, even if you get to the theatre late, your seats are still reserved for you! Peace of mind!
But if you arrive late on purpose and even talk through the previews and trailers, you are a giant poophead.
Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver
900 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 3G5
(604) 630-1407
UltraAVX Theatre Map - Downtown Vancouver - Click to enlarge
SilverCity Metropolis Cinemas
Metrotown Shopping Centre (aka Metropolis at Metrotown)
4700 Kingsway Avenue
Burnaby, BC V5H 4M1
(604) 435-1999
Maybe you're an ok person in real life, but I probably wouldn't like you then either.
In light of the Vancouver Whitecaps being knocked out of the playoffs by the LA Galaxy last night (due in part to crappy officiating by the name mentioned above...as well as some sloppy midfield playing), here is Spider-Man at BC Place at a Whitecaps game, again.
Returned home last week. I've had a nasty cough since so I'm falling in love with the taste of menthol again. Mmmm, the burning.
My sideburns grow unevenly. #firstworldproblems
I don't care anymore. #growingup
I bought a two-pack of lip balm today (what's the difference between lip balm and chapstick?!). I finished my old roll and that's quite the accomplishment for me. I usually lose it or the dog will eat it first.
Saw these faceless mannequins in a high end department store in West London. They are far better dressed and have more SWAG than I ever will have.
Here's a video of a washing machine in the UK:
And as long as I'm being thorough, a box of Romanian puppies:
------------------ Saw 125.9¢/litre on sunday and 122.5 TODAY! Man oh man that dropped fast in the two weeks while I was away.
Everyday I walk my dog, we pass under these large oak trees and for the past few weeks or so, acorns have been falling all over the sidewalk. They're really green, fat, and hard to miss and sometimes I go out of my way to step on them and hear them crack and crunch under my shoes. It makes me feel big and powerful.
The big fat one at the top is the kind I like to step on. The bottom two have been sitting on my desk the past few days and I've been watching them slowly turn brown.
Strangely, I saw a grasshopper on the side of our house the other day, as well as a really fat, juicy looking caterpillar on the sidewalk two days ago and I refused to step on them. Actually, it was more like I was afraid to step on them. I don't think it's because acorns are not alive and the bugs are, therefore I'm a gentle soul and I don't want to step on them and kill them, but it's more of the fact that I've always been really scared of bugs and the thought of them squishing out all their bug guts and juices on the bottom of my shoes grosses me out in a scaredy-cat kind of way and causes me to get chills on the back of my neck and goosebumps all over my body. Ugh it's so gross.
Oh yeah, I'm in Romania right now! I left on Thursday, October 4th. I'm on a missions trip with my church to partner with the Good News Church in Constanta in their ongoing ministries to their community at large. We'll be there for a week and then I'll be in London, England for a few days on the return trip home. I'll be back October 18, 2012. God is so cool. Part of this doesn't feel real yet.
Picking up our luggage in Bucharest...
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Gas was in the low 130s on Tuesday, then I saw a high of 142.4¢/litre on Wednesday and then went down to 137¢/litre in the evening. Something to do with a hurricane/tropical storm affecting oil reserves in the southeast United States a few weeks ago.
Oh yeah, on the British Airways flight from Vancouver to London, I saw Kenny Miller, Vancouver Whitecaps forward #7. He seemed shocked that I recognized him after Wednesday's big win, haha!
Salads are inefficient, messy, and overrated. Often times, restaurants/stores can make great margins on salads (...how much for a plate? What?! I can buy three heads of lettuce for the same amount!).
I hate eating salad where the greens are not chopped up bite-size enough and so as I try to fork a bite, the leaves end up brushing dressing over half of my face before I'm able to stuff it into my mouth.
Coleslaw on the other hand is very efficient, but from my eating experience, is not as tasty.
I was at a barbecue a few weeks ago where someone had brought a salad and I remember there were bits of mango, walnuts, some sort of cheese, and the dressing was light and sweet and it was soooooooo good. I went back for seconds. For a salad. AT A BARBECUE. That's how good it was. And the mixed roughage was bite-size! 8^D
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Apple fritter. This is a win-win. Saying it is fun because it rolls off the tongue and the name itself sounds great, but it's also delicious and satisfying. Yum.
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Here's two new Spider-Man pictures, one which features the Lions Gate Bridge:
Exactly one year ago, September 11, 2011, I went on a long bike ride after church and stopped at the edge of a river to take a break before returning back home again. It had been super sunny the week before, so it was actually more of a stream than a river. A lot of the river bank was dry and exposed, kind of like this:
As I sat on an old stump to catch my breath, I looked down at the rocks all around me. I threw a few into the water to watch them splash. I also picked up some of the stones to look at them closely. I put two of them into my pocket and brought them home because they made me think.
I did a lot of reflection the days leading up to September 11, 2011, mostly because it was all over the news that it was the ten year anniversary. Today marks eleven years. We usually use the word "anniversary" when we want to look back and celebrate a memorable event. Perhaps its better to call it a day of remembrance. I remember watching a lot of documentaries because they were really riveting and eye-opening. One in particular, 9/11 State of Emergency, lets you pick the brains of "former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Acting Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card," (from CBC's The Passionate Eye). There are also conversations with "Deena Burnett and Alice Hoglan, family members of passengers onboard Flight 93 who were able to speak to their loved ones" before they died. This is a good one to watch if you want the perspectives of people who were making critical decisions behind the scenes, moments after the frightful crashes. Same with George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview.
Ten and eleven years later, what happened on 9/11 is much more meaningful and poignant to me. I was a pretty shallow kid when everything happened in 2001 and I was deeply saddened when I saw all the images on TV, but I didn’t really think about the victims. They were just faceless names to me. Only now I realize that there were real people on those four airplanes. There were real people inside the buildings and on the streets; real people with families. They each had their own concerns, problems, hopes, dreams, desires and loved ones they cared about. It seemed like the start of a typical morning day. Then poof, the world changed. Watching 9/11 and the American Dream, helped drive that realization home for me. The documentary and stories in that made me start to tear up a few times. I also teared up watching the memorial ceremony at whats now known as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum that was held at Ground Zero.
As Canadians, I can speculate that a few of us (and I hope that it is very few) might not see a real need to take the time to reflect on 9/11, because it wasn’t us, but the US. And because of that, I think that perhaps the average Canadian, or even younger generations of Canadians, are unable to completely relate to the average American’s feelings of fear and loss over what happened. We make some adjustments and life goes on right?
No. That is foolish thinking.
Across this North American landscape, other than a border, different histories, and a myriad of other things, we’re the same people. We speak the same language (more or less), we consume the same things, and we depend on one another. And despite the number of lives lost and people affected, this can’t be compared to a natural disaster. This was an attack. On 9/11, human beings made in the image of God, killed other human beings. Death certificates given to families of the victims from 9/11 stated the reason of death was caused by homicide. Take a moment to digest that.
Anything on a large scale makes us see things differently forever. Sporting events are never the same. Just about any event with a large crowd makes one think twice about “security.” If something as horrible as this can happen in America, then it can happen anywhere. And it has, as we’ve seen it in places like Bali, Madrid, London, Mumbai, and Oslo. The bad things we see on TV all the time usually happen in far away places, but 9/11 hit the North American home front, in a highly populated urban setting. And especially right smack downtown. It will absolutely rock your sense of security. Going through customs at an airport is practically an event in itself now. None of what I’m saying is new.
Can you imagine seeing the building where a loved one worked fall down on itself and then not knowing what happened to that person? I think one statistic I heard said that 40% of victims from September 11th have never been recovered. They simply vanished, into a wave of dark smoke, dust, and a shower of scattered papers. It’s hard not to tear up when watching old news clips with crowds of people holding up pictures of someone they’re looking for or walls with signs overlapping each other, “MISSING, please call...” or “Missing and dearly loved, 1-718-823-xxxx,” and “Missing at the WTC, Height: 5’7” Weight: 160lbs," etc. It was hard not to tear up seeing family members touch the name of their loved one and burst out crying at the reflecting pools (the towers’ “foot prints”) ten years later.
So when something incredibly tragic and life altering like this happens, then what? What will we do? What
can we do? We will cry for our dead. We will mourn for what we have
lost. We will mourn with our fellow brothers and sisters, even if they
are just a crying face on the news, not knowing that you exist and that
you’re crying with them. I can imagine Jesus cried on September 11,
2001. He cried when
Lazarus died, and He cried over Jerusalem when He foresaw the city’s
destruction in Luke 19:41. How much did the events on 9/11 grieve God, or
any other event for that matter, where senseless deaths of innocent
lives took place? And even now as Syria is in a state of civil war?
It’s ok to mourn, to remember, and celebrate life. It means we’re human and still have feelings inside, even if what happened was ten, twenty, or fifty years ago. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Sometimes that comfort comes in time passing. But sometimes it’s still too painful to think about and my heart is burdened for those people who haven’t found comfort yet. I received Isaiah 61:3 (NIV) from The Daily Bible Verse in my inbox on 9/11, which read:
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
That is a beautiful picture, and that is the God we worship. He won’t leave us alone in our misery. He’s promised us hope and better days ahead. How I wish those crying faces I see could see hear this verse and take comfort in those words, but more importantly, for them to take peace in the God who cried with them when they were hurting, but now gently places His hand under them to lift up their head, and looks into their eyes with promise and tells them that they don't need to weep and mourn forever. There is hope.
Genesis 50:20 (NKJV) reads, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."
In our context, we could read that verse as saying, "For what terrorists meant for fear, destruction, and calamity, God can heal and bring about good, which can ultimately help someone." In Genesis, Joseph was despised by his brothers when he was a youth and sold into slavery. Through a series of providential, mystical, and miraculous events, Joseph became the prime minister of ancient Egypt and was in charge of the region's food supply during a severe famine. His brothers travelled far to find food for their families, not knowing that who they were begging from was their long lost brother whom over time they thought was dead. In the end, Joseph was able to move his family down into Egypt and sustain them, when he spoke those words in Gen 50:20 to the very brothers that had gotten rid of him in the first place.
For Joseph, the evil that he experienced as a boy only became good after he grew up, years and years later. It was only after starting a job, getting married, having kids, and then some, was he able to see how God used his miserable, hurtful, and even depressing experience into something greater which was to save his family from starving to death.
But you might argue with me that 9/11 is completely different. How can I look on the "bright side" when I'm still filled with remorse at the missed opportunities I had to spend time with my mother and I didn't? Or maybe I'm still angry at the hijackers who cut my father's life short by slamming that plane into his office? Or what if I'm still sad that my sister was murdered that day and I knew she had so much potential? Or I'm filled with self-pity because my brother and best friend was taken away from me, and now I'm alone and have no one to share those meaningful experiences I once shared with? How do I carry on, knowing they're dead? Why must this pain and loss persist, this aching in the depths of my heart and dropping of my stomach that makes me feel empty inside?
There's no easy answer.
These are the rocks that I put in my pocket after I had finished my bike ride last year. They've been sitting on my desk ever since:
The one on the left is made up of jagged edges, while the one on the right is rounded and smooth to the touch. At one point, the rock on the right was once like the rock on the left. But over time, it had been tumbling down the river, pushed along by the forces of the water, hitting other rocks along the bottom of the river again and again until it's rough notches were worn down and became a little more polished. From something rugged and ugly into something more pleasing to the eye and slightly more beautiful. But how long did it take? How long will it take for God to take my bad experience and make it into something that I can look back on and say that everything worked out for the better? The jagged rock didn't tumble down the river and become smooth in a week. It took a long time. Like Joseph, it might be years and years later before we understand and accept why something happened. Over time, the pain and grief that's been engraved in us can be worn down and polished into something slightly more beautiful, and more meaningful.
I was reminded of Colossians 3:2 on Sunday: "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
There is a time for mourning and remembrance in honour of who we grieve for, but eventually we have to begin to let go of the pain and the loss. We set our minds on the promises that God has given us, that He will exchange us beauty, joy, and praise, for our ashes, mourning, and despair. We have a defined hope that our bad will be turned to good, so that we can be an oak of righteousness so that next time, we can help someone work through their tough situation or to work through their grief as we once did.
It won't be easy, it will take an indefinite amount of time, but there is a guaranteed conclusion.
The things of the earth are full of hurt and destined for the grave, but the things from above are abundant in healing, love, and life. When tragedy strikes and people die, we can cry and be sad because it's the right thing to do. But we also remember that our lives are short, like a vapor, and we live on so that we can make the most of what we've been given. The beautiful thing about life is that it doesn't stop, but even if mine does, thanks to Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, our lives can also keep going on in eternity. Our lives are precious to God and He desires us to keep living. This is the hope that He's given to us.
Text message received at 7:15pm: are you going to the gun fight?
[Two laters hour]
* pew pew pew pew pew*
*PEEYOOOW!!!*
Me: Aaaaaagh! You shot me again!
The pattering of feet, flashing lights, and mindless laughter continue into the darkness of the night in the residential Vancouver neighbourhood.
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Basically, seven grown men in their 20s and 30s were running around an elementary school playground playing laser tag for more than two hours. It’s called Light Strike and it’s proof that you don’t need alcohol or drugs to have a good time. Ironically, a couple walking by on the sidewalk came over to talk to us about our very manly and serious war games. I thought it was because they were nerdy and liked laser tag. It turns out they were just high on mushrooms and the colourful lights attracted them. They stayed and played two rounds with us. All in good fun! And they were high!
And we DEFINITELY had more fun than the group of teenagers who were also on the school grounds, drinking beer and smoking weed. I saw the look of boredom and envy on their faces as we ran by them, while I shot my laser gun in pursuit of the Red Team. I was on the Blue Team.
Amazingly no one called the police on our silly antics! Until next time!
============= Gas has been in the 132-137.9¢/litre range for the past week weeks but today I saw a low of 129.9 and a high of 135.6¢/litre.
This fast food* joint changed my life and by "changed my life" I really mean I felt fat and satisfied last night. Five Guys Burgers and Fries totally made my week. I visited one yesterday and finished eating some of the fries I had leftover from my meal this morning.
On Thursday, I came across this catchy YouTube video of an auto-tuned, songified version of a Five Guys Burgers and Fries meal review. I couldn't stop laughing at the genuine enthusiasm of the reviewer, Daym Drops, and drooling at the close up shots of the food. I wanted to be him so I could eat that food and rave about it in a poetic, glorious, scrumptious manner. If I could talk like him, I'd probably have more friends too. I vowed to myself that the next time I was in the US and I saw a Five Guys Burgers and Fries, I would force them to take my money in exchange for their food.
Here's the original review. You should watch it now. If you're feeling hungry, this video will only amplify your hunger pangs. Be warned, Daym's excitement and burger zeal is contagious. Deliciously contagious.
Ugh, so good. Ok now watch the songified version:
.....dayum, Dayum, DAYUM!!!!!
I always have trouble telling people what my favourite food is because it seems unfair to single out just one dish, but I'm beginning to think that it's a good quality burger and fries because I tend to salivate a lot whenever I see pictures/videos/ads of something saturated with grease that also looks beautiful and of high calibre. Dayum! The first time I saw that video, I watched it twice. And sang along...
I forwarded it to my friend G (not his real name, but definitely a G, yo!) and happened to see him the next day (or in our case, yesterday). We were sharing with each other about how great that song was and how good the food looks, and G casually mentioned at how he knew how Daym felt in his video because he'd eaten Five Guys Burgers and Fries food before. I asked him, "Oh cool, where? When you were in California?"
"No, there's one at Park Royal."
"WHAAAT?!?!?!?!!?"
I know I got really loud because I started to get excited. They have locations in Canada, cool! Long story short, we made a spur of the moment trip to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Apparently there are many locations in BC and there will soon be locations in Vancouver on Robson and Port Coquitlam. I regret not bringing my camera or Spider-Man.
The restaurant was much bigger than I thought it was going to be. Very spacious and bright. It had a diner-eque fast food layout feel. I had a stupid grin on my face as I walked through the door and took in the atmostphere. My stupid grin persisted as I gawked at the menu, placed my order, and waited for our food to be cooked. My stupid grin turned into astonishment when G showed me that they have complimentary salted peanuts (with shell) that you just help yourself to. Free peanuts while you wait! DAYUM!
NOTE: picture added Sep 10, 2012
I think we waited for about ten to fifteen minutes before the servers finally called us to pick up our food, hence the asterisk at the top of this post because I'm not sure if that still qualifies as fast*. The staff really took their time in making the burger right so I don't really care about how long I had to wait.
I ordered a large fries and a bacon burger with "everything" on it (condiments are no charge: mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions and mushroom, ketchup, mustard). Unfortunately, while waiting for our burgers, we were informed that they were out of bacon (...whaaa? How am I supposed to get my crispety crunch on?) and they gave us free drinks instead. Refills are free. I got refills. I should have asked for cheese in place of bacon, but oh well. More peanuts.
I ordered a large fries thinking it would be a McDonald's size portion or something like that, but instead I got a plain drink cup (larger than my actual drink cup; see picture at top of post) filled to the over flowing with fries. The guy behind the counter who was serving me placed the fries cup into the ghetto grocery bag but before handing me my food, he scooped up another shovel full of fries and dumped them into the bag, on top of the already full fry cup, spilling all over my wrapped burger and onto the bottom of the bag. 8^O
NOTE: picture added Sep 10, 2012 - ALSO, this picture doesn't do it justice...and this was only a "Regular"
The burger was wrapped in a foil and it was fat from all the fresh quality condiments they used. It was so tall and uneven from all the toppings that I started to pick out the pickles and tom out the tomatoes (haha) and eat them separately because the height of the burger had to be at least three inches and it was hard to keep everything together. The burger itself was actually made of two patties of juicy, succulent, flat-top grilled, make-your-mouth-water to perfection ground beef. G chided me for picking out the condiments and told me I had to eat it as a whole. He was right, I was not being faithful and true to my burger.
I took a huge first bite and I wanted to say "wow!" because it was soooo good (I was also really hungry at this point from all the waiting), but the meat of this strength burger absorbed the air in my mouth and prevented me from talking. All I could do was make muffled delighted "Mmmmm, foo goooth" sounds. Also, the patties were still really hot.
NOTE: picture added Sep 10, 2012
The fries were delicious. They use peanut oil to fry their fries (with potato skin still on) so the starchy goodness of the fry retains more oil which I think makes the outer layer darken more and get extra crispy. The fries didn't bite me back as much as I bit them, but there was the perfect amount of salt on them. They were definitely different from Daym's fries in the video. For the record, I got them regular style. Maybe I will try cajun style next time.
At this point, my stupid grin was back on my face. G was amused and enjoyed his burger in a quieter, reserved, gentlemanly manner. I took a second, smaller bite while raising my fist to the air and shouted, "...dayum, Dayum, DAYUM!!!!!" The other patrons and staff in the restaurant stopped to look at me as if I had turned into a giant, salted peanut. Actually, I don't have the guts to do this in real life, but I did whisper "...dayum, Dayum, DAYUM!!!!!" to myself. Did I mention that it tasted really good?
When I returned home, my parents asked me typical parent questions such as "Where were you?" and "What did you eat?" so I sat them down and forced them to watch the two videos that I embedded above. They actually enjoyed them! I also raved to them about the food and service as they tried some of my leftover fries, while my Mom reminded me about the dangers of frequently eating out (which I don't do) and eating stuff high in fat. Meanwhile, my Dad nodded in approval at the fries and how good the food looked.
Since I forgot my camera, here's a picture of a Big Mac I ate a few years ago, but instead of the middle slice of bread, I replaced it with a Jr. Chicken. Mmm, let's do this!
And a tutorial/cover on how to play "Oh My Dayum" by The Gregory Brothers & Daym Drops, yeah!
I was blessed enough to attend a screening of The Dark Knight Rises last night with some friends. During the previews before the film started, everyone was still talking to their neighbours and such (including me), but the entire theatre started to quiet down during the new Superman trailer because of how cool it looked (Nolan and Snyder touches, how can it not?). Then just as the trailer was about to end and the title Man of Steel appeared and you hear and see glimpses of Superman streaking through the sky, as he prepares to break the sound barrier, my friend beside me says very loudly:
"Oooh, IRON Man!"
And a bunch of us just start cracking up, but not only our little group, but our section of the theatre. Particularly one guy one or two rows in front of us because I could hear him stifling his giggles the same way I was. It was more about the delivery of the joke. You had to be there.
Pastor J (or maybe its MC, because he was holding a mic at the time) cheered me on by singing "Jump, jump!" at me on Sunday afternoon. We had a church barbecue and everyone was lining up for food, ignoring the bouncy castles. I took it upon myself to say hi to the bouncy castle attendants (they
looked bored) and to test the durability and funness of the
apparatuses. I bounced up and down in the first one. Then I moved onto
the other one. I let out some involuntarily shrieks of joy and laughed
very, very loudly. It was edifying.
PS - The sun is hot.
PPS - I'm not complaining. It's nice to see it again.
PPPS - I know that's not a picture of my farmer's tan, but of my sweet, sweet hair elastic on my wrist tan. If I posted a picture of myself shirtless, I'd lose half of my blog readership, which means I'd be down to one reader.
--------------- Got gas for 134.9¢/litre last week and lately its been around the 135-137.9 level.
There's nothing quite like the feeling of that first swipe when breaking in a fresh stick of deodorant. Except for maybe the feeling of using a new glue stick when pasting arts and crafts. ----------------- Gas was 138.9¢/litre. It's going down!
We're going through the Bible in 90 days as a church. It sounds like a daunting challenge because its a heavy chunk of reading everyday, but I am actually enjoying it. God is literally revealing stuff to me that I've never thought of before, in new perspectives and is making me ask questions of why and how. Also, a lot of times I'm just saying "wow" to myself as the magnitude of what I'm reading is finally permeating my mind and soul. The Bible is pretty amazing that way. [insert delayed "pop-pop" here]
There have been many times in the past where I've neglected my Bible and put off reading it, because honestly, sometimes I just found it boring, irrelevant, or hard to understand. Most of the time, my mind would wander and I'd lose concentration of what I'm reading about, similar to how I read my textbooks during university. I think because I've really dedicated the time (so far I'm on day 20/90 days) to read with understanding and have given myself over to this B90 Challenge, so to speak, that God is honouring my true intentions and is allowing me to "see" and learn things from the Bible that I may have read countless times before and never truly thought about it any more than it being words on a page. I should write out what I learn or meditate on, but sometimes I'm just speculating and I don't want to be accused of heresy. The Bible has a lot of stuff in it and it makes me think about a lot of stuff. This is a good thing.
Anyways, I read through Judges a few days ago. That book is badass. My apologies for using that word (and for not giving you a warning), but I can't think of a better way to describe it right now. For the record, I still consider "ass" to be derogatory language and a swear word as it always has been when I was growing up. I don't use it in my everyday speech because it's rather crude. But I don't think you'd appreciate how I'm trying to connote my feelings for the book if I were to say "Judges is a really kick-buttocks part of the Bible!" See what I mean? However, it is literally kick-buttocks. A lot of people get their buttocks' kicked (and die). O__O
I won't go into too much detail, but Samson is a very interesting guy. There are four whole chapters devoted to him which is a very significant portion of the book (21 chapters in all). Samson would make a great historical epic kind of film because it has everything that makes a profitable/entertaining action movie. A major, flawed character, violence, sex, revenge, limited humour, epic battle scenes (this is where CGI is an advantage), tremendous human feats of strength, and a tragic, you'll-only-believe-it-when-you-see-it ending.
In my mind, I sort of have a mashed up picture of Chris Hemsworth from Thorand Kevin Sorbo from Hercules, mostly because they're big guys with long hair, except I bet Samson's hair was even longer, wilder, and even more magnificent (ps - I'm going to do a post about my hair in the future...yes, because I'm that vain) and epic battle scenes from Zack Snyder's 300. But those guys don't do Samson justice. A lion jumps at Samson and he catches it and rips it in half with his bare hands. HIS BARE HANDS. When some baddies in an enemy city are plotting to kill him, he goes into hiding, and then in the middle of the night, rips the humongous gates off of it's posts and carries it away just for kicks. Can you imagine returning to your village to see a giant hole in the wall where the city gates once stood? And of course, there is the time where he goes all hulk-smash and kills a thousand men with a donkey's jawbone. This isn't a comic book superhero. Samson was an actual person who did these things, whether you believe it or not. It's especially fascinating the number of the times "the Spirit of the LORD came mightly upon him," and then something crazy went down. I counted at least four times.
But then, Judges 16:20 happens, "...but he did not know that the Lord had departed from him."
And that is a sad and somewhat scary thought. Samson took God for granted, more or less spat in God's face with his actions and by his lack of respect and disobedience and so God basically say's, "Fine, if you think I'm bothering you, I'll give you your space," and just goes. You almost have to wonder why God didn't "leave" Samson sooner, but that just shows how patient and merciful God is, despite what we're really deserving of. This is also a sobering reminder of how loving God is to me today, despite all the things I do against Him. If I continually reject God and disrespect Him in my life, He can easily leave me alone just as He did to Samson.
This is a good place to pause and think about how merciful and mighty God is, and how insignificant and horrid I am. And yet God loves me! A fascinating verse sticks out, two verses later in verse 22. It says that Samson's hair is starting to grow back, even though it was just shaved all off. So what? Hair does that. This is why we have barbers and hair salons to this day. No, there is something deeper to this verse. The supernatural strength of Samson was dependant on the length of his hair. And here we see that it's growing again. God isn't completely out of the picture. He still loves and cares for Samson, despite his sinful nature and wrongdoings against God. God is at work in Samson's life in the shadows. Or in his hair follicles.
And then BANG, an exclamatory and fitting ending to a very unique story. A rock ballad plays as the end credits roll.
So in summary, what I'm trying to say is that the story about Samson would make a fantastic summer blockbuster movie, IF it stays true to the biblical truths revealed in the Bible. I could write a lot more, but I actually never intended my post to get this long. When I was thinking about writing this post, I thought I would write three sentences at the most, and then this happened. Oh well.
In other Tim-news, I biked 22.3km in the rain on Saturday and saved myself $4.20 (two 1-zone Faresaver tickets). But then I also bought myself a hotdog ($1.50) and fries ($2.29) and spent $4.24 (stupid HST) in total at Costco. Meh, it was worth it.
And my bike light fell off. Time to buy a new one.
------------------- Gas has been about 142¢/litre the past few days and was 140¢/litre tonight.
Today, I went into a costume shop to find out how much a hotdog and/or a banana costume would cost. You know, just for fun. I was told that they could cost anywhere from $75-$100, tax included.
Batman Returns is kind of a sad movie. Also the more I think about it, the more I think that my friend might be right in that he thinks that Tim Burton is some sort of genius. He's really creative, in an imaginative, distorted, eccentric kind of way.
---------------- Gas was about 147¢/litre yesterday.
Hypothetically speaking, if I were to start a social networking site called "TimBook" or "FaceTim" (....maybe its a network exclusively for Tims around the world.....and no Tams), what are the odds that Facebook would try and sue me?
------------ Gas hit 150¢/litre today in Vancouver, while it was 128 in Abbotsford. O_O
My bike light broke. Or rather, the clip that holds the light to the bike frame attachment broke.
So after rubbing the back of the clip on concrete to flatten out the broken edge, I used some plumber's glue to affix it to a piece of corrugated plastic. Then I added a bit of glue gun glue (whatever it's called) along the edges to help make it stick to the plastic as the plumber's glue cured overnight. And then that was that! It doesn't look as pretty as before, but it still works. At least until you see a future post of me whining about how my bike light fell off.
--------------------- Gas was 148.6¢/litre yesterday. It's been in the low 140s for a few weeks now. EVIL.
Just completed my first ever wedding doubleheader*! I attended a wedding at 10am and then another at 1pm. Both were beautiful.
I feel like I accomplished something great, mostly because I'm super tired right now, but all I really did was not get lost on the way to the churches, show up on time, pretend to be happy**, and eat all their food.
Oh and to top off an eventful day, I saw a skunk in front of the YWCA on Beatty Street in downtown Vancouver. It made me reminisce of the time I saw a raccoon by the Vancouver Convention Centre near the downtown waterfront during the Olympics.
Freshpie out!
There's chocolate candy in there!
*Note to self: I wikipedia'd the word "doubleheader" and I already know I've used it incorrectly.
**Note to readers: that was sarcasm; I really was happy. Did I mention that both the weddings AND couples were beautiful?
I love potato chips. I love the aroma, their crunchy look, the feel of the grease and salt on my fingers, and most importantly, the wonderfully crispy, delectable, savoury taste that delights my palate and causes it to crave for more and more.
You might assume that if you and I were together at the same dinner or party and there was a communal bowl of chips on the table, that you would soon spot me heaping mounds and mounds of the starchy goodness onto my own personal plate. Or that maybe I would just park myself and stand there the entire night, feasting away from the bowl. This is not so. In this context, potato chips mean almost nothing to me because I have too much social decorum. I also fear that not all my fellow guests have not washed their hands prior to plunging their grubby paws into that same communal bowl. I've used public washrooms before. I notice when people walk out of stalls and don't wash their hands. It scares me.
I like eating chips alone. All by myself. If I could lock myself up in a closet, I would do that. Except I probably wouldn't because it would be too dark and cramped inside. Also, I prefer eating chips in front of a television. For you visual people (which is actually everyone with eyes), here's a graph that explains it further:
As illustrated by my very scientific graph, the number of people that I have to share my snack with is inversely proportionate to the tastiness of the chips that I'm eating. Don't act so shocked. This isn't the "Experiencing God's Love" graph. God's love is eternal. Potato chips are not. I need to eat and savour each chip because each one is precious in my eyes. Even the broken bits and crumbs at the bottom of the bag. I will not cast you aside. People don't know how to appreciate chips like I do. And by people, I mean the dirty ones who don't wash their hands after relieving themselves on the toilet.
Unlike God's love, I pour out my favour more on certain chips because some are inherently more special and just plain better than others. Examine these two kettle chips:
You can click on it for a high-res version.
Here's a close up of the one on the left, as I hold it up against the light. It's a normal chip and predominantly opaque. It tastes very good.
Here's a close up of the chip on the right. It's a super greasy and glorious. This picture doesn't do justice, but it's saturated with so much oil that compared to the other chip, it's translucent. And it tastes DELICIOUS.
There are periods in my life when I won't be able to come across any of these super, oily chips for bags and bags at a time. But sometimes, on those predestined and God-ordained days, I might come across one of these chips and I'm just like this guy who found his cheese doodles while trekking around the South Pole (PS- you should watch the video in full with the CC annotations turned on).
Oh who am I kidding. That's what I do each time after I tear open the bag and inhale a big breath of potato chip bag air. Mmmmm....
Watched the Canucks get knocked out of the playoffs tonight.
Drank a glass of red wine from my Spider-Man cup.
Watched the last two episodes of this season's The Walking Dead that I've been neglecting.
Binge-ate a whole box of vegetable crackers.
Tomorrow is a new day.
And until then, go Whitecaps!
...and Chelsea in EUFA 8^D
EDIT, April 24, 2012: Chelsea beat Barcelona to advance to the EUFA Champions League Final in Munich thanks to the first away goal by Ramires, but since I might not have many other chances in the future..... FERNANDO TORRES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------- Gas was 138.8¢/litre today. I still hate you, gas companies.
What kind of person has cheetah print car seat covers? The same kind of person that has a cheetah print license plate frame.
It exists. I saw it with my own eyes on a really ugly gold/beige Hyundai Accent. -------------- Gas was 144.8¢/litre a few days ago. Today it was at 142. Oil companies, you are dirty evil people.
Did you know online TOEFL courses are remarkably easy? In other Tim-news (insert drum roll here) I'm going to Korea to teach English to school children at the end of August! It's a 12-month contract, based on a referral from my cousin who used to work at that same school in Jinhae. It's a "sleepy" little town compared to Seoul, so I should be able to bike everywhere I go, because that's what she did when she was there. Just the thought of commuting by bike excites me, let alone living and working in another country. Hopefully I'll be able to do some travelling and perhaps visit some friends during my stay (and maybe relatives in nearby countries?).
The Canucks better win the Cup this year otherwise I'll be forced to order NHL Game Centre Live, but on the bright side, Korea has the best and fastest internet speeds in the world, right? RIGHT?!?!
I just came home from Passion 2012 in Vancouver not too long ago and I'm still too excited (I'm assuming its joy of the Lord overflow) so I thought I'd write this quick post.
Passion Vancouver took place in Rogers Arena and the last time I was in that building was when the Foo Fighters came to town October 25, 2011. I was super, super, super excited for the Foo Fighters concert. Back in May, I had seen Thor and while watching the end credits, I was introduced to their single "Walk" from their latest album Wasting Light. I didn't realize they had a new album out and after listening to it, I became all fanboy-ish and rocked out to a lot of their songs, old and new. I headbanged to "Bridge Burning" a lot. Or rather, I attempted to headbang because I got dizzy if I threw my head back and forth too hard.
Anyways, I don't regret seeing the Foo Fighters play live. They are gifted musicians and Dave Grohl is also a talented lyricist. There's a reason why their songs are popular and that they've been able to make a good living out of their music. Listening to "Bridge Burning" live (as well as "All My Life") and having it as their opening song was grrrrrreat! Huh, I have a hankering for sugary cereal now. But I don't believe I would go see them (or perhaps any other band in a venue like that) again because other than the music, I had a miserable time.
I paid $60 to sit in the upper bowl. I brought binoculars and I had to use them. Everyone around me sat in their seat the entire time. Many of them also smoked and that's what made my night miserable for the most part. I've never inhaled that much second-hand cigarette and marijuana smoke in my life. I suppose this was partly my fault for staying where I was; I could have moved around to another section where there were less smokers but I paid $60 for this particular seat and line of sight, damn it (yeah, I said "damn," my bad)! The opening acts were also really overbearing and thunderous (which can be blamed on the technical crew - my ears rang for 2 days afterwards). Actually, to be fair, Mariachi El Bronx was somewhat entertaining and creative, but Cage the Elephant was tormentuous. The lead singer's voice was so whiny and the songs they played should not be considered music. But apparently they have fans. Long story short, the night seemed really long. Time crawled.
Ok, so this isn't really a quick post anymore. Oh well.
Fast forward to just a few hours ago, where I got to sit in the lower bowl (paying only $10 general admission for the early bird ticket price) and join perhaps more than 10,000 youth and young adults all give their focus to one person alone, Jesus Christ (the event was geared to university students and anyone aged 18-25, but I wouldn't be surprised if half of the attendees were still in high school, which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The arena was way more packed than the Foo Fighters concert (which can easily be attributed to the ticket price) but the fact that so many young people were willing to forego their regular Friday night foray and instead attend a super-sized church service on steroids says something. And that something is that Vancouver loves and needs Jesus, despite what naysayers or "popular" opinion says. The evening started just after 7:30pm and ended close to 11pm. And that time went by waaaaay too fast! It really was a glimpse of what heaven will be like. Thousands of voices, singing in unison about how great and beautiful God is. Hands clapping in awe and thanks for what God has done, and hands extended above heads, raised in adoration and surrender up to the heavens (or rafters in this case) in honour to the God that blessed them. The extra cool part of it was also being able to sing as loud as I wanted to without having to worry if my crackly voice bothered my neighbours since it was wonderfully loud and the music drowned me out.
I had goosebumps when the opening video of powerful and prophetic Bible verses were being splashed and read across the big screens. Chris Tomlin is a gifted song writer and worship leader (even if all his songs sound repetitive, yes I've heard the criticism) and I felt rather blessed to hear "Jesus Paid it All" when Kristian Stanfill took a turn at leading because I especially love listening to that song when I'm biking. It's an understatement to say David Crowder is a gifted musician because if you've listened to the David Crowder Band's albums over the years, you just know that they are meticulous when it comes to making music for Jesus. And I wasn't alone in my delight when I saw that giant beard walk out on stage and pick up that 12-string(?) guitar.
Corporate worship is uplifting. Corporate worship with old hymns is encouraging. Corporate worship with big beats is super fun. And corporate worship a capella is just heavenly. "Come Thou Fount" is a beautiful song and singing some Gaither ("Because He Lives") made me wish that there were older folks there to worship alongside with us. I think senior citizens who have worked so hard in their lives overseas or in their home country all their life for God's kingdom would have gotten a kick out of seeing so many young people worshipping Jesus (kind of makes me look forward to growing old so that I too can see that some day). The crowd cheered when "How He Loves" started. The first time I heard that song (maybe 5-6 years ago) I thought it was kind of dumb, but now I love it. It's also on my bike playlist. And I wasn't expecting to hear it but I think singing "OPraise Him" made my night. Can you believe that song is nine years old?
Whew, I wrote a lot.
I have a tendency to close my eyes in a group setting when I sing praise songs to help me focus on God, but tonight I forced myself to open them and take in the sight of everyone else doing the exact same thing I was doing. Maybe this is why rallies, marches, gatherings, demonstrations, and armies are all so compelling. One focus, one goal. And in our case, one Saviour. The time really flew by. And there was no second-hand smoke! And as I'm writing this, my ears don't ring anymore!
I wasn't looking forward to Passion Vancouver as much as the Foo Fighters concert I attended, but in economic terms I experienced far greater utility worshipping God with thousands of brothers and sisters over listening to some really catchy guitar riffs with some potheads. For much of the night, I was reminded of Psalm 22:3 which was mentioned in Pastor Kayy Gordon's sermon last Sunday:
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of [your people].
I got pulled over for speeding a few weeks ago. I was on my way home from work. I wanted to eat dinner and watch the Canucks game that had already started and so for no good reason, I was driving really fast. It was dark and rainy. As I took my exit off of the highway, I saw the blue and red lights flashing in my rear view mirror and heard a brief siren so I pulled over immediately (in retrospect, I should have pulled over on a street with a prominent shoulder but oh well). I was speeding and I knew I was speeding. I presumed I was being pulled over because of that.
This was my very first encounter with the police for doing something wrong and illegal. That picture above is from September 2009 when I went on an RCMP ride-a-long and we briefly toured the police station at the end of it all. I used that experience for a CRIM 251 tutorial presentation at SFU. I really liked that class and I highly recommend it.
As I sat there with the engine off, everything was so still and quiet around me. The sound of traffic whizzing by and large, heavy rain drops bouncing off the car roof were not as quiet. I wasn't nervous, or in shock. I was slightly upset at myself for being impatient and careless, but at the same time, I was very calm and expectant of my impending, and well deserving punishment.
I fumbled around to find my license. Is my wallet in my pocket? Oh wait I'll check my bag first. No wait, I put my wallet in my jacket. There it is. Now the car registration should be in the glove compartment. More fumbling around. I can't see anything. Turning on the light. Aha here's the registration. No wait that's last year's insurance renewal. Ok, now I have everything ready in my hand. How long does it take for the police to run and check the license plates?
Minutes passed by as I stared at the raindrops rolling down the windshield.
The officer finally came over to my open window. Rain splashed onto the inside of the car door. He asked me if I knew why he pulled me over. I told him yes, I was speeding. He said I was doing 110 in an 80km/h zone (I wanted to say I was definitely going over 100 but not more than 110, but decided not to argue). He asked me if I saw his car when I blew right past him on the highway. I told him that I did not see him.
He asked for my license and registration, promptly turned away, and returned to his car while I sat and waited. I knew I was going to receive a speeding ticket. I deserved it. The only question was how much? And crap, I'm going to receive penalty points on my license now aren't I.
Sigh.
In those minutes that passed by however, I started to think that maybe I could just go and dispute this ticket later so that I won't have to pay the fine. If the officer doesn't show up to court, I would be free of the monetary penalty, but if he does show up, what am I supposed to argue? I was completely in the wrong, because I was speeding! There was nothing accidental about it. At most I'd plead for a lesser fine I guess.
The officer came back to the car to return me my license. He was rather young looking, perhaps in his mid to late twenties. He was very firm and professional, but stern. He told me that the ticket was going to cost me $196. My mouth dropped open, and he acknowledged my horror by nodding and saying that he was going to let me off with a warning.
He didn't explain why he was letting me off and he didn't wait for me to thank him or apologize or try to rationalize my speeding.
I rolled up my window. I think I said "Thank You Jesus!" in a weak and high pitched voice because now I was in shock. I drove the rest of the way home, very carefully. If I was the officer, I would have given me a ticket. He caught me speeding and I admitted I was speeding. Does it get simpler than that?!
In other Tim-news, one week after that incident, I was carelessly walking backwards on an open field of grass when I slipped down a very steep and muddy hill (about 10 ft or so) and the only thing that happened was that I got mud all over my clothes. No twisted ankle, sprained wrist, bruised torso or even mud on the face.
Why is God so merciful to me?
I need to learn to have patience. And I have no clue what real suffering is. -------------- Gas was 134¢/litre on Feb 18th, and has been about 129 before then, but recently jumped up to 140-141. Now its at 134 again.
