It’s nice to take a break from everything once in a while for a few days and live in a different environment. Although I’ve only been back in Boston for just over a month, I was tired and needed to get out for a few days. It’s been a busy semester, not the best one to say the least but I’ll have to deal. Actually, I take that back. I don’t have to deal because God is with me and He won’t give me anything I can’t handle.

Anyway, I went to Philly for the weekend to visit my brother and spent some quality time with him. It was great to see his new life and to meet all his friends. Although we partied and did not get much sleep, it was one of the most relaxing weekends I’ve had since being back in America. If there’s anything I learned this weekend, is that MBA students party really hard in the midst of their stressfulness. College students sure can party and work hard at the same time, but there’s still no comparison.

Because of the environment, I was actually able to get a lot of work done while I was there. During the few hours we got to sit down and work, I wasted no time and got my papers done for this week. I was quite shocked but I guess what they say is true, your environment and people you surround yourself with can affect your productivity level.

Although I’m back in the stressfulness and frustration filled Boston, I still came back feeling refreshed and ready to tackle everything that will come my way. I made some new friends, some new connections, and spent time with my brother. I will definitely be back when I need to take a break from Boston again.

Gots to go!

I can’t even begin to describe my day. Although my thigh is in pain and I haven’t gotten any school work done that I need to for Tuesday, it has been an incredible God-filled day. For the last few weeks my housemate and I have wondered about the worship music blasting from down the street as well as all the Asians that only seem to walk around Sunday mornings and early afternoons.

I looked up the venue and found out there is a church “Cornerstone Church” that meets Sunday mornings for service. This place is literally a 20 seconds walk from my house. As I was sitting in church today, God really opened up my heart and reminded me of how much I need him. For the last two years, I have had a hard time finding a solid church I feel comfortable in and a group of friends to fellowship with… to the point where when I came back this fall from home, I had given up on church hunting. I had planned to simply watch Island ECC’s video podcasts every week.

Just as I had given up and stopped hunting for God, He places a church right next to my house, subtly calling me back. Or He placed me and my apartment right next to the church. Either way, He had it all planned out. It’s a reminder that He seeks us out when we have strayed away, we just need to be there with open arms and come to Him when He calls.

I had Quidditch games all afternoon as usual and although we lost, I felt God’s presence with me all day. I could see myself acting calmer and more at peace because I had God in my mind. It is an incredible feeling knowing that at a moment when everything is preying for you to be angry, you remember God and simply humble yourself and continue to encourage others. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like that. It’s very comfortable.

Tonight was also Boston’s United Night of Worship at the Agganis Arena in Boston University. I went witha  good friend of mine and we coincidently sat in the same section as last year. It’s fascinating contemplating our lives a year ago and how different it is now. The arena was filled with people dying to worship God and willing to humble themselves for the work of God.

On my way home, I was on the train with many other university students who attended the nigh of worship. They began to sing and worship in the train station. Unsurprisingly, everyone took out their iphones to take a video… I was one of them. It was one of the most awesome things I’ve seen in Boston. My friend was looking around for people who looked uncomfortable at the openness of these students but everyone seemed to be enjoying the music! It was the perfect way to end the night. Check it out in the video below

Sorry about the wobbling of the camera. I was singing along and didn’t realize I was moving the camera so much. In short, God is good and don’t ever forget God is always seeking, always knocking on your door even when you’re not looking.

Gots to go!

 

I can finally cross out this movie on my “to watch list.” A friend suggested it about two years ago and I either keep forgetting about it or not getting around to watching it. Thanks to Netflix, I was about to watch it last night with subtitles (important if you don’t know tagalog!)

Short synopsis of the film from IMDB: While on a trip to Thailand, a successful American businessman tries to radically change his life. Back in New York, his wife and daughter find their relationship with their live-in Filipino maid changing around them. At the same time, in the Philippines, the maid’s family struggles to deal with her absence.

This film really hits home for me because I’ve personally grew up with a filipino maid my whole life. Edna began working for our family since a few years before I was born until I was around 15 years old. Nila, who is Edna’s sister in law then took over and has been with us since. Although my parents were more involved in my life as compared to the film, I still spent more of my time with Edna when I was younger.

Having spoken to others here in the US about the concept of a live-in Filipino maid, I can see the pros and cons of both sides. I wouldn’t change anything if I had the choice but I can never thank Edna and Nila enough for everything they’ve done, and all the things I do they have to put up with.

Eventually we all have to find a job, friends and family have always said “what’s important about a job is that you enjoy it.” Do the thousands of Filipinos in HK enjoy what they do? How often do they get up in the morning and wish they were with their family?

I can’t answer those questions, but I can only imagine their despair being away from their families. I apologize for ever treating Edna and Nila for anything less than they deserve. If there’s anyone besides God and my family that knows me from the inside out, they would be first on the list.

There goes my thoughts and rant for the day.

Gots to go!

It’s hard to believe it’s October although it feels like I’ve been back in Boston for way longer than a month. Within the last month I’ve moved into an off campus apartment, cooked some meals for myself, played a few Quidditch games, and attended classes. Life has definitely picked up here in Boston and my days past sometimes as if I have  no time to breathe. I can’t complain though, at least I’ve gotten 6+ hours of sleep so far a night.

Many times reality exceeds our expectation, and sometimes it is the opposite of what we expect. This is the case with my course load this semester. As soon as I picked my classes a few months ago, there was only one class I was looking forward to and ironically, that is one of my worse classes out of the four. Don’t get me wrong, the material is interesting. I’ve always enjoyed Psychology but the professor really makes or breaks a class. Three out of four of my professors are one of the worse teachers I’ve ever had. Not only do they blabber on about nothing in class, they don’t go through what is taught in the textbook either. Such is life. Hopefully midterms and finals will not be similar to what their teaching style is.

On the other hand, the one class I was least looking forward to turns out to be my favorite class. My professor is energetic, interesting and my classmates are all strung on energy constantly. Although the class requires me to stand in front of the class and do oral presentation of literatures, the encouragement from my peers and professor comforts me and pushes me to my limit.

With that being said, I’m still enjoying junior year of college. Quidditch is hectic but it’s worth it in the end. I’m meeting new friends, learning to lead a team of 38 players and continuing to prepare physically for the Quidditch World Cup in New York in November.

I miss my family in Hong Kong, I miss the heat, I miss my friends in Hong Kong and all the summer activities I could’ve continued doing (aka. junk trips and wake boarding!) but the grass is always greener on the other side. No matter how much I’d like to be back home or elsewhere besides Boston, I treasure and love all that I have here in Boston.

For the first two hours of my 21st birthday, I’ve cleaned my room that was a total war zone before tonight, watched some tv, and currently hanging out with my housemate, doing homework and simply relaxing. It’s not the typical 21st birthday you would expect being in the United States because the legal drinking age is 21. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of chances to hit up the bars and clubs but I’m not especially keen on getting wasted or doing anything big.

If I had one wish right now, I’d wish to celebrate with a meal with my family. Yes, I’m going to be all sentimental. Birthdays are special, today was the day my mother gave birth to me and I cannot thank her enough. I can’t imagine what it was like to deal with me the last 21 years. I hear I was pretty quiet as a child, then I became rebellious during middle school, started becoming a little better in high school but still didn’t care about school or much else, and now that I’m in the middle of college… I’m finally understanding how difficult it was to raise both my brother and I. The time and money they spent on us is irreplaceable and all I can do is to be the best daughter out there for the rest of my life. My parents are in Hong Kong, my brother is about six hours away from me in Philadelphia and I’m here in Boston: all living different lifestyles and in different stages of our lives.

For the rest of my 21st birthday, my plan is to sleep, possibly skip class, chill out, relax, and dinner with some friends in the evening. Although my house is still pretty furniture-less, it’ll be a good time and we will make do with what we have right now. More importantly, I’ll have friends… or so I think : )

 

 

I know the writing is pretty rough but it is 2 in the morning…. give me a break.