Routine of Studying

Studying is not easy. There are so many ways that I find myself getting distracted (writing this post for example). But I think I have finally figured out a routine.

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1// Calm

It needs to come out. The antsy-ness of wanting to check mail, facebook and anything else online needs to be flushed. I start off by at least 10-15 mins of getting it all out of my system. Check, check, check.. Until there is nothing new to check and I finally get bored and move on.

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2// Music

A good song, or two, or three, helps me wind down and focus.

Current music of choice – Fernando Ortega with a tad of Coldplay and a touch of Jars of Clay.

(Usually Fernando Ortega on repeat x10 will do)

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3// Quiet

If the lawn is being mowed or the leaves being raked, it is really distracting. Unfortunately, those are the cons of living in an apt complex (a very well-manicured apt complex, might I add). But for the sounds I can help (running the dishwasher, tv, radio..etc) I usually turn them off. It helps to have a spare room that I can retreat to with a good desk and a nice view.

In college I was able to do homework in front of the tv. Now, it’s a different story. Perhaps my brain needs a little more will power and concentration than before, or I just get distracted more easily.

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4// Breaks

Last and most important I take breaks. I read somewhere that your brain cannot retain any more information after 2 hours of studying. Breaks are necessary. So an episode of Law and Order:SVU every 2 hours or so stimulates my learning..(or that’s what I tell myself).

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I’m off to attempt to study..

Sing to Jesus

I’ve been seeing a theme in the blogs I’ve been reading.  

It’s this theme of letting go.

Each person has their own take and perspective on it.

How they do it, how they don’t, and why to let go.

Letting go has been fairly easy for me. I find that the memories/experiences that I have that were negative or painful are often the ones that I least remember. 

They are hidden in the deepest depths of my soul… occasionally a conversation or new experience will bring them back up, and I’ll cringe and reflect on how painful they were.. then breath a sigh and move on.. thankful that it is in the past.

Sometimes I wonder if my selective amnesia is a blessing or a curse. I mean, who would want to remember a bad experience? Then again, isn’t it those experiences that shape us the most?

All I can say is I’m thankful I do not have to re-live them..

They are of the past..You live, You learn..

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            Sing to Jesus, Lord of our shame

            Lord of our sinful hearts.

            He is our great Redeemer.

            Sing to Jesus, Honor His name.

            Sing of His Faithfulness, pouring His life out unto death    

Come you wear and He will give you rest

Come you who mourn, lay on His breast

Christ who died, risen in Paradise

Giver of mercy, Giver of Life                                 

            **Sing to Jesus by Fernando Ortega

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I love these words. In our weakness, pain and suffering.. 

We can sing to Jesus. He is the Lord of our shame.

"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

I love hymns. There is something so beautiful about them.

They are gentle, kind, compassionate all wrapped up together.

Slow but steady, strong and meaningful at the same time.

The following hymn was written by Louisa M. R. Stead. She wrote these words after watching her husband drown and die trying to rescue a drowning boy. She later became a missionary to South Africa.

Beautiful words filled with so much faith. If it were I, would I have that much faith?

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"'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His Word;

Just to rest upon His promise,

And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to trust His cleansing blood;

And in simple faith to plunge me

’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just from sin and self to cease;

Just from Jesus simply taking

Life and rest, and joy and peace.

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,

Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;

And I know that Thou art with me,

Wilt be with me to the end.

Refrain

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

O for grace to trust Him more!

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“In You our fathers put their trust; they trusted and You delivered them.” (Psalm 22:4-5)

Alanis and Me

Today, I had the urge to listen to some good old school Alanis Morissette. I remember listening to her in middle school and being told by my youth pastor that she was of the devil and that I should burn/destroy all her albums.

Lets just say I'm so glad that I didn't.
She helps me unleash the inner independent women in me!

Not only that I have very fond memories of her music. Especially her "Jagged Little Pill" album.

It always strikes a chord ::Ding:: You Oughta Know.

I am not a huge music person but there are those few artist and songs that invoke emotion in me.

Among the top invokers ::

 Alanis Morisette
 Regina Spektor
 Ramones
 Smashing Pumpkins
 Jars of Clay
 Fernando Ortega

**I know.. They are quite different musical genres represented above.. It's about the memories

"After all..memories are all we have" - K. Ngaihte

O America, Land of the Free and Home of the.. Wait What?

Currently, I am taking a class called “Intercultural Communication.” It is definitely an interesting class and has provided me with incredible insight to the many question of.. why? Through the lectures, discussions and readings I have been able to really evaluate myself .. 

What does it mean to be a part of many cultures and none at the same time? This was an issue I struggled with as I did my senior art show at Biola. 

The class got me thinking back to my freshman year at Biola. I was, for lack of a better term, FOB (or Fresh Off the Boat), although I wasn’t entirely oblivious to American culture, I didn’t have a funky foreign accent or looked like I was straight from a Hello Kitty magazine, walk barefoot or wear clothes decades old. I thought I would be able to blend in with American society, but it was in the subtleties that I was most confused.

For example:

1\\ Tips (A good 15% will do) \\ It was hard for me to grasp this concept at first. Why would I pay more than what was listed on the menu? And tipping varies from customer to customer.. there is no way to regulate it. Just tell me how much, so I won’t be surprised when my $15 meal turns into $25.

2\\ Surprise! You’re been Taxed \\ I guess this goes hand in hand with tipping. Why can’t they just tell you how much they want from the get go!?! It’s like an unfriendly surprise when the 99cent soda ends up being $1.07 and you just do not have those extra 8cents on hand!!!

3\\ HonkHONK \\ Honking is a pretty common sound to hear in Asia. There’s a honk honk here, and a honk honk there, here a honk, there a honk, everywhere a honk honk.. old macdonald….(you get the point). But here no one honks unless you are about to have an accident EXCEPT when they are an impatient driver who insist that you step on the gas the moment the light turns green. Apparently, taking longer than a mili-second justifies a good HONK!

4\\ Sue You! \\ The idea of suing someone for your incompetency appalls me. Yes, there are times when suing is justified. But on the other 99% of the time when suing someone for stepping on a crack that you were able to see with your two God given eyes hardly seems justifiable.

The list goes on...

Captain America anyone? Perhaps he has some answers...

School Supplies Anyone??

Found these absolutely amazing hand made "school" supplies on a blog I read. There are also notebooks, pencils and those awesome pink pearl erasers!

This just made my day! Practical for class.. I think so!

{See other images at site listed below}

http://www.sayyestohoboken.com/2011/09/embroidered-school-supplies.html

For the Love of the Game

Or in this case.. Class // For the Love of the Class
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Last week concluded my 4th week of classes and all I can say is AMAZING! I've had 2 of my 3 classes so far and both have been pretty much the bomb!

I did not think that I would be able to feel this way about a lecture class, but it’s happened /// 

This ex-art student loves sitting in lectures, taking notes and being involved in discussion. 

**(Oh and I love being early on assignments and readings!!)

What is this amazing life changing class/classes?

//// Intro. to International Development //// 

//// History of the World Christian movement //// 

The more I think about it I realize that not only IS the subject matter really interesting, but the professor are interesting.

They really bring it to life!

I love grad school! I don’t even mind that the next 3 weeks I have no weekends because I have classes!

For the love of the class.. right? Huzzah! 
(I have no clue where I got the expression from but I think it might be from my friend Josi)

Life as of Late

I realize it's been a decade (or a couple months) since I have posted. Honestly, I kind of forgot about blogging. 


Life has been a tiny bit hectic. Since classes started (and the month before, because I'm a nerd and like to get a head start) I feel like I have not had a moment to relax, sit down, and breath..


Today I was sitting in my office, looking out the window (wishing I was outside), and I really felt the urge to blog.


Nothing much to report.


\\ Things I'm currently obsessed about \\


\\ Excercising \\ Zumba + Turbo Kick = One Happy Nem. I really enjoy the two group exercise classes that I have joined. Although I have no rhythm in Zumba, I think I'm pretty decent in Turbo Kick. Both are definitely great stress relievers and you feel great after them. (Average calories burned in 1 hour class :: 600-1000, That's reason enough!)


\\ Coke \\ The coke itch is back. When we went to Thailand, I had a vast array for drinks to pick from, mainly FRESH fruit juices, and I lost my craving for soda. Unfortunately, it came back. Oh coke, You are my vice!


\\ Oliver \\ I'm always obsessed with Oli, but he just switched from night to day shift and it's been great to have him home at night. More time together = One SUPER Happy Nem. (Hopefully he doesn't get sick of me)

My desk. Yes it's a mess.. I was too busy looking out the window!
Can you spot the Laker's mug?

The UPS Man and Me

I have this awkward strange relationship with the UPS man at work. After sharing my experience my friend told me to blog about it so here goes.

Problem // The UPS Man

Well he’s just awkward. Tries to make small talk and looks at me so awkwardly as if longing for me to say something back. Perhaps it’s cause he meets lots of people everyday as he delivers and picks up packages, and it has made him social. I just see it as awkwardness x100000 and he can’t take a hint. (I guess my short abrupt replies don’t mean anything to him.) He just lingers, and lingers.. then finally leaves. Awkward you say? Most definitely!

Solution // Hide From Him

The benefit of a large window in the office is that I can see his gigantic truck pull up and park hap-hazardly in front.

Most of the time I’ll catch it out of the corner of my eye but on occasion it is too late and I’ll already hear the slam of the door signaling his entrance into the office.

This is where I must divert to plan B.

Depending on time, I’ll dart to the break room, bathroom or any other room. Wait.. wait.. then return to my office.

Today, time was tight. So I did what anyone else would do and I jumped under my desk. I have never been so thankful for my big solid mahogany desk before.

(Lucky for me, I found 2 paper clips.)

P.S. The FedEx guy is not too bad. But anymore chummy-ness and I'll be avoiding him too.

World Cup Champions : Japan

For as long as I can remember I have had this slight obsession with Japan. I remember being asked at my senior dinner in high school what I wanted to do with my life and I replied, "Be a missionary to Japan." I realize now it was a little ambitious but my sentiments are still the same towards the nation.

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Congratulations Nadeshiko Japan

2011 Women's World Cup Champions

"Live Your Goals"

Lately, I have been obsessed with, FIFA Women's World Cup.

Soccer/Football has always been dear to my heart. I enjoyed playing on teams and travelling to tournaments... just the overall culture of soccer. However, I was realistic and knew that I've never be no female Pele, but every time I watch this sport I can't help but dream the dream!

My family, much like the rest of the world, has watched the men's world cup religiously. We hardly even knew when the women's tournament was on. This summer with the end of the NBA season and a possibly lock out looming for next season, I decided to give the women's world cup a try... And it's been AMAZING! Not only is it surprisingly fun to watch, it's been exciting with twists and turns .. Wowza!

So this is what I've learned so far from my short month of fan-dom of women's soccer:

The Brazilian Bombshell - Marta (Brazil) is the best female player winning the FIFA World Player of the year award 5 times. aka "The Female Messi" (If you know anything about men's soccer this is a huge compliment.) She's amazingly talented!!

The German Tank - Birgit Prinz (Germany) is the FIFA Women's World Cup all-time leading scorer with 14 goals.

The Asian Sensation - Homare Sawa (Japan) is amazing to watch and also one of the older players at 32. She's already scored a hatrick, 3 goals in one game!

The American Rockstar - Abby Wombach (USA) is also really entertaining to watch. She has an amazing header! Wowza!

Other notes: 4 teams left - Japan vs Sweden, France vs USA.

I'm cheering on the Asians!

True Love is a Big Deal

Yes it is, and I am so glad that I found it.

Back to the Basics

I'm back.

It has been about 2 months since I blogged and I have the bug again. Don't get me wrong I haven't not been blogging because I don't want to but because I have just been so busy.

What have I been busy with you ask? Well.. VACATION! Yes, vacation made me super busy and super tired. When I got back I felt like I needed a vacation from my vacation.

Buena Park --> Bangkok, Thailand --> Chiang Mai, Thailand --> Buena Park --> Santa Barbara --> Buena Park

I was able to return to the country of my youth, Thailand. A place that I have not been to in 10 years. Some things stayed the same and others changed, but it was great to be back and to show Oli where I grew up.

Yup. That about sums it up. 3 beautiful weeks of traveling and spending time with my parents. Oh what I'd give to be back on vacation again..

Be Nice

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I found this on another blog I was reading this morning.
Food for thought.

Just Be Nice Dammit :: It's Better for Everyone

Update :: Out with the Old and In with the New

In January, I wrote a post about purging :: Out with the Old and In with the New :: It's been about 3 months and here is my update on that.

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First // Closet Clean Up

(Yes, my clothes are arranged by color :: It makes my wardrobe more fun to look at)

The closest clean up turn out to be very successful and ended up being quite addicting. Now when I look in my closest I see all my "favorite" shirts or pants. Each article of clothing is something that I would currently wear, not something I might wear in the future. It is a good feeling.

Purging resulted in 3 boxes and 1 bag of stuff to donate :: The small brown box is Oli's stuff. (He got the purging bug too)

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Second // Facebook Purging

Purging Facebook friends was awesome. What was not awesome was when those friends kept sending friend requests. Get a hint!

You can see from this blurry attempt at taking a photo of the computer screen, my friend count is down to the 500s from 800s :: Woot.

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Third // Reading My Heart Out

Last but not least, I read my heart out. Unfortunately they are all books for class but at least I've been reading. Although these particular books sometimes tend to put me to sleep I have learned a lot from them.

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

Death has not hit me directly. I have a some friends who have had a parent pass away, a sibling and even a child. A couple of my Aunts and Uncles have passed away but I was not close to them (and in all honesty I do not even remember their names) so I could say that I have not yet to feel the impact of the death of a loved one.

On Friday (or was it Saturday) Oli and I received news that his 13 year old cousin who was in remission from leukemia, was in the hospital and eventually passed away. That same weekend I found out that one of my missionary Aunts (Not a blood related Aunt but one that my family has known for over 20 years, so she is in some aspects closer to me than any real Aunt) was in the ICU due to cancer as well. She too was in remission and had previously shown no signs of relapsing.

On Wednesday, March 30th, I found out Auntie Paula had passed away.

Like I mentioned before, even though she was not related to me her death has impacted me, because her life impacted me. Auntie Paula and the Dinkins were my family's first friends on the mission field over 22 years ago. She was the one who threw me my 3rd birthday party. When I was 8 she taught me how to sew. When I lived in the dorms and then to college, she was my mom. When I got married she threw my wedding shower.. and so on and so forth. The memories continue. And although this time should be a hurtful painful time, it really is not. I see the peace and comfort her husband and children have with her passing that I can not help but feel the same. Death is really just the beginning. In Christ we can celebrate.

That same day, my dear friend Hannah called me and told me that she was pregnant.

How ironic.

It's hard to understand God's timing. People often ask, "Why Lord?". But God's timing is not for us to understand (otherwise we would be God). We need to trust in God's wisdom, just like a child trusts their parents. As children we did not understand or comprehend the decisions of our parents, all we knew is that they did what they felt was best for us, their children. How much more then can we trust in God, whose wisdom is perfect and far more infinite than those of our earthly parents?

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Job 1:21 "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Molly & Me

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For my dear friend Molly's 25th birthday, which also happened to be her Golden Birthday (if you don't know what this means, it's when the age you are turning is the same as the date of your birthday :: Molly had to explain that to me too), I made her some personalized stationary.

We had both been talking about writing notes and I took this opportunity to design her something of her very own.

Happy birthday dearest! May your 25th be filled with much note writing!

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Molly's note set :: Front and back view of the notes
I also designed some stickers that are to be used to seal the note
(See below for a bigger version of the sticker)
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Close up of stickers :: "Written from the desk of Molly E Lewis"
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Birthday Card :: "from the bottom of our hearts HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOLLY LEWIS"

Blog It Out

Two blogs in two days - Can this be true? Oh yes sir!

In an attempt to get the ball rolling again I am on a blog mission :: Blog it out.

Today in class our professor asked us to discuss what characteristics a person needs to be a missionary. We got into groups to discuss and two of us quickly pointed out the obvious, adaptability, culturally aware, flexible so on and so forth. It wasn't until one guy shared that a person needs to be Kingdom minded or filled with the spirit that I stopped to think about what he actually meant. It sounds so simple. Duh, of course you need to have spirit within you. But it was more than that. A person needs to exude the spirit in all aspects of their life so that not only are your words speaking for you but your actions are dually doing the same. Both equally important.

This reminded me of when I had first started at my current job. A co-worker once commented that I was always smiling and so happy. Like I was filled with joy all the time. Almost two years later and ironically this co-worker is now the person that I have the most hard time to get along with. I'm pretty sure he would not say the same about me now.

I've lost it. Lost the "sparkle". The joy that fills, well at least outwardly. And although from the moment I step into the doors at work my first thought is "when can I get out of here?" it really shouldn't be.

So again to the turning of the metaphorical leaf. (This leaf has turned so many times it's spinning) Oh well. Lets give it another shot. Let the goal be to be joy-filled and joyful.

After all :: Work's not THAT bad. I get to chat and make these awesome little paper toys... It's the little things.

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The Quarter Mark

It's been exactly a month today since I wrote on this blog. Time sure does fly.
It's almost the end of March which means the 1/4th mark for the year is almost reached.

Where did 2011 go? Wasn't it just yesterday that I struggled to will myself to stay up til midnight to usher in the New Year? Or is that now pack away in archives of yester-year.

Another day, Another dollar...

1Month // - Til San Francisco
2Months // - Completion of the first semester of Grad School
2Months + 2 Days // - Til Thailand
9Months // - Til Christmas

*Update :: In our household, DVDs (specifically pirated ones, I know tsk tsk) are a thing of the past and off they go to the trash. The select favorites are now on a list awaiting their Blu-Ray existence into our movie library.
Out with the Old and In with the New

Read Me a Textbook

It's been awhile since I've blog. So long in fact that I had to look on my blog to even remember what I wrote about. Don't get me wrong it's not cause nothing has happened, it's cause so much has happened.

Now that I have semi-settled into the part-time work, part-time student role, I am able to juggle the line between the two and give myself a breather. Before I started classes I was so excited. I must have blocked out the homework, reading, reading and more reading that comes with it. Oh well :: No pain no gain :: Fortunately, I have really enjoyed the reading so far. It has been awhile and sometimes I feel like my grammar is not up to par, but I just keep telling myself that it will all come eventually.

Out with the Old and In with the New

Lately I have really wanted to flush un-nesscary things out of my life. A little re-purposing, a little "Out with the Old and In with the New". Life needs to be more than what I wear, or the number of friends I have on Facebook or the amount of time I sit watching tv. It should be more about quality than quantity.

Quality in things or clothes, quality in friendships and quality in time.

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First // Closet Clean Up

I started with going through my wardrobe and discarding clothing that I have not worn in over a year. A majority of those clothes were given to me, freebies that I gladly accepted.

• New Rule :: Do not accept everything that is free. Those things just pile up. Free does now mean you need it. Free is usually because a person or company is trying to sell you something more or it is junk they are discarding.

Unfortunately they are still sitting in a large garbage bag in our spare room waiting to be donated.

• To Do List :: Donate Items!

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Second // Facebook Purging

I have or should I say had over 800 facebook friends. A good chunk of those people I either, talked to once, do not talk to anymore or have never met. (They added me because I was a friend of a friend's.) This all really got to me when I received a friend request from a customer at work that I had never met but had worked with on a project. My first reaction "Umm.. We are not friends."

* Friend (Defined by Dictionary.com) " a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard."

• New Rule :: Only accept friend requests from REAL friends. Ignore everything else!!

• To Do List :: Still need to filter through the people I have left. There's got to be more "friends" to delete.

Let the friend-deleting being. I am not at 552. (I added a couple after purging.

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Third // Reading My Heart Out

This third one goes along with my new year's resolution. Read, read and read. So far I am almost done with book one and have a billion more to go. Not to mention since I am starting grad school next week I am also adding 7 books to my reading list. These ones not only have to be read but I will need to write a book report on them as well.
No worries. Slowly and surely I will get there.

• New Rule :: When bored, read. Don't turn on the tv and let it's mindlessness consume you. Some of the shows that I end up watching tidbits of are ridiculous. (Example: Toddlers and Tiaras)

• To Do List :: Just read.

I think the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning describe reading very well.
"No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books. ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning"

New Year's Resolution

My New Year's Resolution :: Read all the books I own.
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This resolution sounds pretty simple and in the span of a year it shouldn't be hard. Unfortunately I have been stuck on the same book for about four months. Break that up in a year and it is about three books a year. Not good, especially since I received nine more books for Christmas to add to the number of books I own that have still not been read. So here goes. Can't hurt to try.

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This is the year :: I can feel it.

2010

It's 2011! Oh how time flies. It seems like it wasn't too long ago that we were entering the new millennium and here we are a decade into it.

A number of the blogs I read have a "Year in Review" post, just looking back on 2010. I figure I'd take a look back as well.

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Highlights // 2010 had a lot of blessings in store for us. Here are a few of the highlights.

:: New Apartment :: We found a better deal on an apartment closer to both our work places. I really hope we don't move again for awhile. It seems the older I get the more stuff I accumulate and moving is not fun.

:: Parents in CA :: My parents took a mini-furlough from the mission field so that my dad could write a couple books. I have been so used to not having my parents in the same country as me that I forgot how nice it is to have them close.

:: Grad School :: I got accepted into grad school at Biola. Higher Learning here I come!

:: Two Year Anniversay :: I can hardly believe that Oli and I have been married for 2 years, which means we've been together for 8 years! We celebrated by going to Pantages Theater and seeing the musical "Phantom of the Opera". It was beautiful. What a blessing it is to be utterly in love with your husband after so many years! I love you Oli.

:: Church Membership :: We officially became members of our church, Grace Presbyterian in Yorba Linda. It has taken us a few years to find a church that we really feel comfortable with and that also shares the same doctrinal values. We are very blessed to say the least.

:: Birthdays :: Oli turned 26 in December, I turned 24. We feel like we are getting old but we are just getting to the prime of our lives! There is so much ahead of us!

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Travels // We love to travel. Unfortunately this year we didn't get to travel outside of the country, except for shore excursions on our cruise to Mexico. But that doesn't really count.

:: Indiana :: My dear friend, Hannah and Ki young, from high school recently moved from California to Indianapolis area. Oli and I went to visit them for a week where we went camping and fishing. It was definately nice to enjoy the slower pace of life.

:: Catalina :: We took advantage of having my parents here so along with my parents, my brother, Oli and I trekked over to the beautiful island of Catalina. Definitely want to go back sometime.

:: Mexico :: We went on a Malabuyo family reunion cruise to Mexico. Oli and I had never been on a cruise before. We definitely have converted to cruise vacationers! It's the best way to relax.

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Events // Oli and I decided to dive into each opportunity we get. Needless to say we were able to do numerous fun things this year.

:: Galaxy Games :: While my parents were here we went to a Real Madrid - Galaxy game. Oli was not able to come but we did end up going to another MLS game this year. Viva la Football!

:: Lakers Game :: We went to a Lakers home game with some friends. It was really fun and even though our dear Lakers lost we still love them very much! Go Lakers!

:: 49ers Game :: Through his work, Lem was able to get us tickets to San Francisco 49ers game. This was our first NFL game and it was a good one. 49ers have a losing record this year but we were able to go to one of the few games they actually won.

:: Barnum and Bailey Circus :: My family went to see the Barnum and Bailey circus show. It was spectacular! Definitely worh seeing, even if you don't like animals like me.

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As we enter 2011, Oli and I have so much to be thankful for. We both have amazing loving families, steady jobs and a great community of friends.

Thank you 2010!