Sunday, January 25, 2009

Traveling...

So I've been in Malaysia since teh 7th of Jan... and for those few of you who still check this blog, or are interested in my life in general, it's been an amazing blast, having passed through Kuala Lumper to Penang, before a more extended stay in KL and 2 days in Cameron Highlands.

I'm now in Ipoh, at my grandma's house, awaiting the 5 minutes before Chinese New Year. Not that anything special will happen at the stroke of 12... lol, fireworks have been made even MORE illegal, if that were indeed possible. Along with not wearing your seatbelts too. Fine has gone up from 300 RM to 2000!

So my trip has been quite eventful so far. I've had my first full bottle of beer, peeled my first prawn, seen some of my cousins for the first time in almost 10 years, and ingested more grease in 2 weeks than in the last two years... even though I lived in HONG KONG....

Just so you know, I still hate beer and I'm still somewhat allergic to shellfish. However seeing my cousins, who are all 15 or over was and continues to be very awesome! Wish you could meet them all, I'm sure that eventually I'll get around to posting up pictures.

Oh and Malaysian food IS good, but you can literally feel the oil sliding down your throat... it's quite a balancing act.

Penang was good, met up with a couple of school friends, and subsequently met some cool people (hey that rhymes!) Sunset was nice too... oh and the Indian food! Mmmm.

KL the 2nd time around was pretty cool, especially around my birthday. Went out with a most awesome friend, who claims that I issue too many compliments. She took me to possibly the coolest bar that I've ever seen, with one of the most AMAZING views ever, the Skybar above Traders hotel. The view is truly spectacular.

Camerons was good, not much to do except hike, eat and gamble. The hiking proved to be.... hazardous to my continued existance... partly because I was helping my auntie get through the rather arduous trek, however despite my near brush with a falling palm tree, I had a blast! Of course the fact that I won almost 300 RM over the rest of the day might have had an impact on my mood over all.

Ipoh so far has been... well costly.... money wise, lost all of my profit from Camerons (but it's CNY tomorrow, so I get more RM, which I can't convert or use anywhere else ANYWAY...) but it's been good to hang out with my aunties, uncles and cousins, oh and cousin in-laws too! Though I must confess though that such constant proximity to my brother is ... humbling.

So, now, with my return to HK only a week away, visions of the future, specifically MY future, swim into focus and I begin to wonder anew what course my life will take. People are asking, and in all honesty, often I have no answer to give. Would appreciate your prayers, and your encouragements, or a hug would be sweet too! =D

Happy Chinese New Year!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

A person's sphere

Sometimes when I'm chatting with friends (like right now) I wonder about the sphere of influence that I have. Not to say that I think I'm all amazing and stuff... but rather, the crazy places that God has taken me in life... the groups of friends, scattered across the world, whom I've had the privilege to meet.

At some level, a apart of me, the dreamer I suppose, feels that there is definitely a greater purpose to this... that perhaps God has chosen me for some part in the grand design, some key role that allows me to connect people from the corners of the earth... and not in a match making sense, although I hear there's a lot of money in Christian online dating.

I suppose at one level, I might seem like a really confident and forceful person, but anyone who really knows me, would know that I also battle with a LOT of inferiority complexes, possibly because, believe it or not, I have screwed up a lot in my life, especially in the last 5 years. Thus, I often don't realize the effect that I have on people, seriously, until they tell me, or it becomes really obvious. It often DOES surprise me when I hear stories of people who I've encouraged/helped, or groups of friends who were... almost bonded... by my presence... and it's a pattern that repeats in various places... I think that's what surprises me the most =D.

Obviously it feels good to hear those reports... but more than that... I wonder... well A: if I can build a business around it lol, but B: what it means for my destiny... perhaps I will have the opportunity to unite Christianity during the tribulation?? =D Or maybe build a network of churches that actually teach the hard to accept portions of scripture... or maybe even something as crazy as raising my own family in the ways of the Lord... heaven knows you need a lot of bonding there.

Who knows... perhaps God could very well send me to some other place in the world... I really have no idea... and perhaps I'll meet another group of super awesome Christians with whom I'll be able to journey for a short while.

One friend once told me that to him, I was an agent of change... an "impact" guy... I still have no idea what that means, or how it's going to give me a job... but I trust in God, and He's got my back, so what have I to fear?