Christmas HappeningS! Part2

So after Christmas comes Boxing Day. I probably should have noted that I worked on Christmas day, from about 1-4? Went over to the church... did some sermon prep, music work, organizing... that sorta thing. Also worked on Boxing day, at home though, finishing off my sermon and Sunday School work. I actually didn't mind though... I really enjoy my job!

So on Boxing day, evening, I was invited to another party (invited at the party the night before :P haha) and so crashed at another person's house (which was smaller but just as nice) with a fair few others. For some reason I don't have many photos... so I stole a few off FB.

This is most of us... the Host this time is the guy standing in the middle of everything... ruining the photo... not that we were actually taking a real one ;)



This one is us playing this REALLY fun game called "Diba Diba Dip" which I will really have to teach you soon.



See how much fun I was having playing? Which is interesting... the photo was taken by the guy who I'm pointing at... right? Hmm



So yeah... then on the 27th I took the day off and went to Ocean Park with some of the returning college kids and youth! Here are the choice photos... rest will go up on Facebook.

So here we are, with our tickets, about to go in!



First up... apart from the UBER long (and super slow) escalators... was the SPACE WHEEL! See how calm I am before? That didn't last very long... I've never been on something like this before.





We went on other rides... the Mine train (Roller coaster), Galleon (Pendulum), Dragon (SCARY AS Rollercoaster... which hurt... alot!) and the Abyss (Drop... which was by far the scariest... cause you are seriously MASSIVELY high up... with your feet hanging off the edge... and ... yeah... I started hyperventilating :P hehe We did have an AWESOME view though... ) Other stuff too.

But here's one of us having lunch.. since it's somehow the only one of us remotely together...



Here's a pic while ON the Galleon ;)



From the Cable Car to the other half of Ocean park.



After that we went over to J and E's place (siblings) and had dinner with their mum... who is way past cool... and then had a look at their house... before I had to head back :P hehe .

And that was my 4 days of Christmas fun :) Woot! I didn't even spend all THAT much money either :P hehe

Christmas HappeningS! Part1

Well I've had a fairly massive Christmas weekend... which is interesting considering that I was a "Christmas Orphan" with really nothing to look forward too, barely 2 weeks ago. I wonder if God is trying to tell me something.

So Christmas Eve, I spent at Aunty M's and Uncle V's house. They are one of the oldest members of the church... and Uncle V is one of the elders... and so I was a tad nervous, because I thought it'd be just them + another young couple that I'd never met... you know... age issues, language... that sorta thing.

In the end though, I'm very happy that I decided to go. Two of the YA's from our church also came, both who I'm friends with, and the younger couple were barely in their 30's and from the States, so it was awesome fun! I did get grilled about my Charismatic beliefs, which was actually kinda interesting, and we even sang carols... oh and ate so much home cooked food... it really wasn't funny.

No pictures though, I forgot to pull out my camera (which I do alot) and so yeah... sorry.

Then Christmas Day... was invited to a house party, hosted by one of the 180 crew. The Host (Who's first name shares a lot in common with my friends back home and thus will not be given a pseudo-name cause it'll get confusing) had an amazing house and we had turkey, "cranberry sauce" (raspberry Jam works as a good substitute) and Asian veggies! Talk about fusion! There were cakes, chocolates and even jelly beans too! Here are some of the pics.

Firstly, pic of me lending a hand!



This is the crew, the Host is the guy on red on the right



A shot of the food we had...



All the guys helping to cook... and one girl I guess :P... how similar to Australia ;) haha



On the balcony playing massively fast Uno!



The Jelly Beans! The girl in the photo brought them :)



Then we went out to a park afterwards... the biggest in HK... which is about the size of... CLCs carpark?? Lol This is what I got up to.




There were many MANY other... more... unpostable... things that happened... but yes, none of which I was involved in =) Serious!. After we got bored of being 16 again, we headed over to a bar.



Then I suddenly realized that I had tuition to give in the morning the next day, and had to dash off home.

So that was my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

I'll post up more pics of the Christmas Dinner on Facebook.

I suppose..

Although I'm a few hours late... Merry Christmas Everyone! May God bless you all with an awesome time of rejoicing and fun/fellowship! Enjoy your New Years too! I've been having a blast over these last few days, and will soon report (when it's not so late) with pictures and good will to all men!

Ciao!

RIPPED!

Well, let me tell you about what an absolutely SHOCKING end I had, to a most amazing day. Actually, it's not that bad, cause I only remembered it like when I decided that I wanted to blog... so yeah. Lol

Anyway... so the 180 crew, they like to go to nicER restaurants, like most of the white/richer people here... which is cool, although my budget can't handle it like they can... I think I can sorta cope. So we go to this Italian joint... with an atmosphere and set up like... say... a TINY bit better then Pescare and Paesanos... so ie, not all that posh.

So we're going through the menu, and it's quite expensive... like 90 HK average... which like like 14 dollars... which I'm like... ahh fine, what the heck, I can have something... I'm not poor right? Plus my parents have graciously started to contribute to my stay over... I think they were getting worried about me being sick lol.

So I order me this 100HK Ravioli with minced chicken, Parmesan and bacon etc, thinking that at least I'll have something that I like... you know, like Michaelangelos serves it... and it'll be good.

but no... for THAT much money... and not even at some super posh place... I get SEVEN pieces of SMALL Ravioli (which was damn good) covered in sauce. I mean SEVEN pieces... for !00 HK! That's OUTRAGEOUS! Luckily A: I wasn't the only one :P and B: They give free unlimited bread/olive Oil/Balsamic... which is REALLY nice... plus I was sitting next to three girls who didn't finish their food. So yeah, I didn't end up hungry... I just felt outrageously cheated, I mean the pizzas were big... and the lasanga too! Funnily enough, the other guy who ordered it actually got FULL off those 7 pieces.. while I was as hungry as when I started :P lol. However I decided not to complain about it (cause I don't like making a scene) and I actually enjoyed the chance I had to sample the different foods... which were all fairly tasty.

Bright side yes?

Oh and I preached today... you'd have to ask someone else for what they thought ;)

Ohh you also might have realized that I didn't mention what happened on the amazing day... but rather just the negative stuff ;) Hehe. I'm like that sometimes.

Christmas Orphan

Lol, what a term! Man, I never thought about it that way... but yes... I think that for the first time in my life, I'm without a place to go for Christmas... Lol, it's not THAT big a deal... no need to go "awww" :P It's one day people.

So yes, I'm still recovering from my cold and cough, still hacking up the green stuff, which hurts, but apart from that my heads a lot clearer, so I can at least think and prepare my sermon, would have been bad if I had been sick until Saturday.

Anyway, apart from my whining, (and man you guys are getting rain in Melbourne!) I've been thinking about stuff... about the possibilities of me staying here longer. I'm not saying I will, not saying I won't... but it is something to consider... so I drew up a quick list of pros and cons of staying here.

Pros:

- Challenging and exciting work
- More opportunities

Cons:

- Pollution and potentially getting sick a lot
- Living by myself

But then I got to thinking... you know really the reason I came out here was God's call on my life. So it all sorta depends where he leads... I mean there are plenty of opportunities in Australia, and that would lead to exciting work. Over here, I'm sure I could find a roommate, and eventually my immune system will beat this pollution (I hope) and there are many other things to consider too. I could be a teacher out here, or a school chaplain, or a full time minister. Or I could go to the States and work out there. The possibilities are really endless at this point.

So my point? I don't know... I'm just randomly blogging quickly in the morning. I at least know what I'll be doing for the next 10 months... but after that, my life is "a blank black fog, where anything could happen and possibly will. All I need is God to shine a light, and blast a tunnel through the darkness, creating a path on which I will tread." - Josh, yesterday "Light up the Darkness" - Will Smith, I Am Legend (A most depressing movie for me... see if you can see why)

The other thing I have been thinking about is how the heck I'm going to A: make any friends and B: get married if I travel around so much. Lol. But don't worry, I'm still much too young to be considering this sorta thing... I only turn 22 in a month... though that IS beginning to sound old. No offense to those of you who are older then me ;)

Crunch Time

Well there goes my honeymoon period at work... and let me say that honeymoons by yourself are probably no where near as good as those with other people... although haven't experienced that yet... maybe I should ask N...

Anyway!

Yes, it's crunch time at work... with D heading off to the US of A for his two week vac, leaving me in charge of 3 Sunday School sessions(LG discussion time things), 2 whole Sermons and the En ti re Youth Ministry for the next 3 Sundays... where's my partridge in a pear tree hey? (It almost fits too). Not to mention, ALL the admin stuff, and organizing... etc. Did I also mention that I have 4 days, instead of 8, to do all that in? Yay! It's seriously going to be a blast of fun! (No, I'm not being sarcastic, I really do mean it!)

I honestly don't know what I'll be doing for Christmas either, with my family away (or me away from them really), and most of the people here hanging with THEIR folks. *note to self* Find other loners like me (or Al :P ) to spend Christmas with!

Apart from that, it's gonna be a crazy few weeks, so I'll either have LOTS Of time to post (because I'll be on holidays and have nothing to do) or very little (cause I'll be working THROUGH my holidays or out with friends). We shall see won't we?!

Pace

You know, when I came out here, people were always telling me... "Josh, you're gonna get blown away by the pace here." "Josh, everythings so BUSY here..." "Josh, Melbourne will seem likes its underwater when you get to HK."

Well now I'm here... and I'll let you into a little secret. The pace IS faster then Australia. People cross on red lights, walk fast, push past people, DIVE into packed trains... but you know what? My pace is actually faster. I walk faster then most people... cross more red lights, WEAVE between people (less contact = more speed) tho I don't push into trains.. I like my cool air. And you know... if my pace is faster... by implication that should mean a lot of my friends back home have a faster pace too.

Admittedly the workload and other stuff is greater here. Longer hours, but less fun. Even so, I think that a lot of my friends anyway, have pretty action packed lives. I mean M makes my walking speeds look slow lol. N's never not busy... and Al always seems to be with friends :P. I personally have something on every night, and lots of things to do at home if I happen to catch a night free :P.

Apart from that, I do like the speed here... and ignoring traffic rules is pretty nifty too. I haven't been hit yet, tho come close a few times... so I'll probably keep disobeying the lights until I get a massive fine and 10 demerit points. Oh well, thems the breaks. The public transport is SO awesome here... and if it was like this back home, there would be enough volume to actually justify having such a system :P hehe.

I just got back from the 180 Christmas Dinner, but I'll write about it later, and I only took like 3 pics. Haha

Back to our regularly scheduled broadcasting.

Ok... well I'm back in the office and thought I'd give a quick update about how everythings going.

Well I THINK I've gotten over my stomach virus. See the thing is that everything is further complicated by this one really strange question... why do I feel like I'm always feverish and really dizzy? So I thought about it and traced it back... my stomach is fine... I can eat most things... my bones don't ache.

So then I thought it might be because I was super tired, or maybe because I was watching Top Gear all day. In the end tho, I believe that my head ache spin was most likely caused by fluid filling my ears and causing me to feel dizzy and disorientated. This sometimes happens when I spin around really fast (ie rolling down a hill) or get hit on the head (ie during boxing)... but suffice to say, it happens.

So yeah... I think that's pretty much the gist of it... so now normally I have my trusty nasonex nasal spray which kills this condition instantly. However I don't... and I can't find any... so hopefully I can get some soon.

Anyway, the point of this post is to say that... I'm sorta fine. There's still this one last thing to clear up... and it may prove sorta annoying... but I don't think I'm in any danger of dying... unless I cross a road thinking it's green... but it's really red... of course I haven't crossed a green here in ages! Hehe jk jk.

Day three and recovering

Well I think I'm almost getting there. It has been a rough few days, but, almost 36 hours after deciding I was pretty ill, I've almost fully recovered. Well at least I think so anyway... it could be the drugs that are masking all the symptoms. The real question will be what food I'll be able to eat without feeling sick. I wonder if I'll be able to take dumplings... mmmmm.

Yesterday I ate a normalish lunch, and it was pretty oil free... but still felt a bit weird.. so for dinner, I had fruit... and I STILL felt like puking... so that obviously showed no correlation to the oil... atm I'm eating breakfast (can't sleep, too sunny) and deciding if I want to go to work or not. Or really if I SHOULD go to work or not. Of course maybe it's not that smart to cart my laptop that far... it's quite heavy.

Anyway I'll keep ya all posted on how I'm feeling as the days pass on.

You know I made a random comment yesterday... you know I've taken more pills in the 1 month that I've been here... then in the last 5 years in Australia? I wonder... are the MEDS making me sick?

Sick Log... day 2

Well, it's definitly been interesting being sick here. Spending a day doing nothing, it was almost like when I was waiting to go to HK... heheh, jking.

The day passed by with me watching episodes of Top Gear off the net. Might I make an interesting observation now... and say that watching an adrenaline packed car show when sick... might not be the best idea. If you combine it with my imagination, the results... and I kid you not... were me thinking that I was racing a Ferarri when I was sleeping. Of course that wasn't the end of it. Round 9, for no reason at all, I start shivering, completely uncontrollably. I think it went on for like 10 minutes, even though I piled out an extra blanket and turned off the AC. It was only when I actually started to pray... that I stopped, instantly. How strange huh? Of course, then I passed out and went to sleep, with my heat generating computer and two blankets all in my bed.

This obviously led to me waking up with a masssssivvvveeee temperature. Like I was seriously burning up... To be honest, I've never felt more like I could possibly die then during those two episodes, the chills and the heat. Stomach pains can be inconvenient, but fevers can kill yea? Although it's good to have funny logic that dictates that because I came out here under God's orders, he's obviously not gonna let me die.

Well the heat stayed with me throughout the night... and I had a really hard time sleeping. I woke up several times thinking I was A: racing... again B: A revolutionary in a battle against my aircon... C: Running from being conscripted by a pirate.

Finally... around 3... I did manage to talk myself into remembering that I'm just me.. and that I need to sleep well to get better. And Sleep well I did.

So yeah. I feel better this morning, and my symptoms aren't as severe. Hopefully I'll be able to head out to work tomorrow... cause I'm really uber bored. *sigh I wanted to visit ICS today too.

Sick log... day 1

Well, I'm feeling better today, no aches and pains, or feeling feverish, so that's good. Also went to buy a rice cooker and some rice, felt sick leaving the house, but once I got back, was ok. The main issue now is simply boredom... and waiting for my body to get back to normal. Hopefully I'll be alright by thursday. I think I might be able to go into work tomorrow.

But it's weird... I've been thinking about how it feels to live by myself, and I'd have to say, it's kinda scary and lonely to live completely on your own. For me, I suppose I'm out pretty much all the time, seeing people, doing work and all that... but being sick made me realize how alone I felt when A: I got up on monday morning and B: this morning, when I didn't want to leave the house... but had to anyway, cause no one else would. Maybe if I stay here longer, I'd try to get a roommate.

Really sick

Seriously don't know what happened. Yesterday I was the picture of good health, life was good. Then, from three to five started wrestling with a stomach ache. Then when I woke up, even bone in my body, every muscle, ached... so I thought I had a fever. Had massive... umm number 3, in the morning, then decided to head to the Doctor... on the way there, threw up... (and boy does it hurt) and made it there about 1hour later. He believes I've got a stomach virus, and so yeah, gotta rest up, no milk and no fatty foods. But with me in soo much pain... (sitting up hurts) then how the heck am I gonna be able to cook??

Would appreciate massive amounts of prayer please!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when I got home, from the hospital, I realized that
i had forgotten my keys, for the first time ever. So was stuck outside for ages, eventually had to go the agents and get a spare... then a spider.. or some bug dropped on my head as I was walking...

Bad day..

Ignite

Well I've just got home from yet another youth group (why are there so many in HK I wonder) called, of all things, Ignite. (In case you wonder why that's so strange, it's the name of one of my old group's corporate events).

Anyway, it's a youth run and lead group... which is quite cool and very in tune with the me who rebels against authority and believes that youth should rule that world etc etc. However I've noticed that they need some form of training, for their structure has changed a lot in the past 6 months, and they are moving a cell based meeting... but they don't have any idea how to do cells. I really feel God wants me to give what small aid I can (considering that I am an Intern for a different church) and lend this group some of my experience when it comes to Cells and stuff. (Will keep you posted).

It's funny though, I was thinking about CLC, and you realize, with Encounter/LG, Kids Church, Church, the occasional leaders meeting and for those with BSF on Mondays... a whole lot of us Young Adults and Youth Leaders can spend a LOT of our weekends and evenings at church. Yet here, I'm about to become involved two OTHER ministries, apart from HKMBC, and I'm still spending less time in "church" (out of the office of course) then in Australia. Lol, it just makes me think. CLC is seriously a rarity in the church world... but I think it's growth, size and impact is directly related to the amount of volunteering that goes on. Of course they say that every leader's meeting, but it takes a while before you really understand it, and not take the spirit of our church for granted.

Anyway, hope everyone's having a blast in Australia. HK is still just as interesting as last week :P. Will be heading up to "the peak" tomorrow, so will post up some great pics soon. Of course my grinning face isn't the most photogenic, but yeah, we'll see how it goes, if you're lucky, you just MIGHT get a decent photo of me ;).

What do you DO?

Well at a lot of people have been asking what I generally do during the day. Well it's varied... let me give some examples.

During work I can spend a few hours in the office, play guitar or be doing a website... or at a school chatting with kids, preparing for a sermon... doing admin... it's all there. I'm even (on special occasions) allowed to MSN with youth! How awesome is THAT!

AFter work I can hang out with new friends, wandering around my own, come home and go online, watch movies on my laptop, consider cooking but eat out instead... (the cooking for one person is a question of portion control and lack of raw materials. Ie it's annoying)

Yeah...lotta variety... and that's even without dancing, tutoring, teaching, marking, church, 180, youth groups and other stuff like that.

As for what's involved in being a Youth Pastor. Well I'll give you a better idea once Dan gets back from his holidays and starts giving me more work. Apparently I'm still in easy mode :P

On my own

Following on from my post about wanting to hear what's happening at home... I thought I'd give a bit of an insight into how I feel about living on my own.

Well to be honest... in someways it's really cool... in other ways... not so much.

For example, I forgot who warned me about this... but cooking for one REALLY sucks. See I thought I'd be alright, because in Australia I cooked lunch for myself every day right? However I forgot to factor in one very important fact (which was rather stupid of me) ... there are no left overs. So if I wanna fry rice... gotta boil it, THEN refrigerate it... and have it the next day (and the lack of rice cooker/some implements and like ALL my spices sucks too). I mean I can do it... it's just not as easy... and it's not as fun without people to appreciate my awesome skills (hehe jk jk)

Also it's fairly lonely. Like that's gonna change now that I have internet (go skype me!)... but for those of you who don't know... I'm a bit of an extrovert, meaning I gain my energy and exuberance in life from other people (Mauahaha I'm a vampire... I vant to ... anyway). However yes... those are the two major down sides. I don't mind the cleaning/laundry/looking after the place... thats actually sorta easy.

The good points are of course the freedom. No need to worry about waking my parents up, about the car (although I don't have one here). No need to stress about what other people think about my living style (which is actually a lot neater with a smaller place lol) and yeah. Way less stress.

Well the good thing is that I'm starting to make friends. As I've mentioned, often my youth are a bit busy, so can't hang out with them as much... but I've managed to find a group called one eighty (henceforth written 180) and they are SO cool. Ok, it's sorta like young adults.. well infact it's SO much like Oxygen, it really reminds me of home. The stage is even almost the same size... although the group is slightly smaller. The people are really friendly and I've already made some new friends who have taken me around HK and thank goodness... they speak canto. Lol. The vibe is similar... tho I obviously know less people... haha.

Pretty much 180 is a whole lot of the native English speaking Christians who are my age in HK... so it's pretty big (about 100) and they all have such cool accents... mostly Canadians... but yeah pretty much from everywhere. They are so out of the box too (I mean one guy bought a boat and is renovating it to live there, they all have international backgrounds and yeah) and the YA pastor is a cross between Dan and David Cheah... crazy, funny, asian, wise yet also really kid like... but not that buff :P He's also a really awesome speaker.

So yeah... even with my rather limited faith in the miraculous... it's all too much to be a coincidence... it's really awesome.

Offline and Online

Man, you know that for people in my generation, being offline is very challenging.

Just wanted to write a quick post (it is 12:40AM after all) saying I have net at home! Woot! If you're wondering what the heck I'm doing up so late... had a good day :) ... but can't sleep. I wanna try and get my guitar fixed... I think I need new strings.

ANYWAY, you all need to comment more :P Or e-mail me! I'm like seriously in need of news from home! I mean I'm telling everyone MY stuff... but most of you aren't letting me know what's going on in your lives! :)