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Last Day of 2006

"Natural disasters prompts society and mankind development", TR mentioned on his blog. It's true. Without having to deal with problems, we could never ever become what we are today. Whenever there are needs, there will be people who are seeking solutions to satisfy the needs by generating new wisdom and thinking beyond the problems. We rise in discomfort; we fall in complacency. I forgot what the old chinese saying goes, but that's what it simply means.

Reflecting back the 2006, it's been a great year. I have to thank God for His abundant grace. With Him, life is so "rich"(despite that I am financially broke), so profound(despite that I am shallow minded), so full of purpose(although sometimes I seem so bored) and so colourful(my photos are all colourful, hehe). Truely, it's not like without Him then I can't live. But with Him, life got better and there is always something MORE. It's almost undescribable in words of mouth but the satisfaction is there. I could feel it.

Maybe some people are made of more christian materials while some others are not, and I don't know what the lives of other people from other religious backgrounds are like, I just hope that people and us could discover the eternal treasures that are hidden there. I've never been close to a rainbow before but I know the gold is there at rainbow's end.

Last sunday Robert at church told me nothing could last except God, our Father is everlasting, no matter how smart we are, the things that we built and we own could be destroyed by volcano explosions, earthquakes and tsunamis. Wisdom won't preserve if civilization is not there. Thousands of seagulls died in mainland China due to unknown reasons, there could be diseases or could be caused by the change of ecosystem. God knows. But it reminds me a movie called .

As we are entering a new year. I hope that things will go well and according to the plan(or His). I pray that we are will all have great achievements and success of different kinds. My baby shes flying back in just one day, I hope she had a lot of fun and beautiful memories in TW, and return renewed and refreshed.

Bless to all of you who read this blog and to everyone else that is entering the new year with me. I wish you a Happy New Year.

P.S.最近skykiwi上拿来两个精华两个高亮, 真是有点受宠若惊啊.在色驴上得到精华还是挺开心的.呵呵.

Brew for the next

if ...
"Self-conquest is the greatest of all victories."
then...
if we are not determined to work hard we will lose battble all the time.

if...
"The cause of all the blunders committed by man arises from excessive self-love. He who intends to be a great man ought to love neither himself nor his own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by himself or by another."
then...
Jesus loves us. He gave up His life any everything for us. He became a great man and received man's everlasting priases.

if...
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."
then...
think before you drive.

if...
"Perfect wisdom has four parts: wisdom, the principle of doing things aright; justice, the principle of doing things equally in public and private; fortitude, the principle of not flying danger, but meeting it; and temperance, the principle of subduing desires and living moderately."
then...
wisdom + justice + fortitude + temperance = perfect wisdom, something I don't have.

if...
"Experience is the child of Thought, and Thought is the child of Action. We cannot learn man from books."
then...
we need to practise the Bible.

if...
"Variety is the mother of Enjoyment"
then...
we should try to discover variety from monotoney.

if...
"Little things affect little minds."
then...
sometimes I am quite little minded.


Brew for the next, brew for the future. God, lead me.

昨晚某人在偶MSN上莫名气妙地留下了一些话语, 今天早上把我莫名其妙地小感动了一番.

A blog for yesterday and today

I was supposed to blog yesterday but somehow I was engaged by my primary hobby -- Photography. I was editing photos until I felt asleep on my bed with the lights on. Here we go, below is what I wanted to say yesterday.

==============

Two years ago, an earthquake happened in the Indian ocean, causing a tsunami that killed more than three hundred thousand people. I still remember that.

In 2006 Boxing Day this year, earthquake happened again, this time, in southern end of Taiwan. The magnitude was reported to be 7.6. One person died during the disaster. "Internet and phone services were disrupted across much of Asia, including Australia, after an earthquake damaged undersea cables, leaving one of the world's most tech-savvy regions in a virtual blackout." says in the NZ Herald.

Everytime when disasters happen I am remined the book called . It says disasters are only disasters when people are killed. If a hurricane hits a Caribbean beachhead that has never been developed-no homes destoryed, no cars overturned, no elecricity knocked out-there won't be any footage of a reporter in foul weather gear, standing out in the rain, describing the terrible scence.

This recent earthquake wasn't really part of a lot of people's concerns until they come to realize that their phonelines are cut; internets are blocked and they were not able to communicate using QQ or MSN. It has proven that the "human definition" of disaster to be true and valid.

Natural forces become natural disasters only when they get in the way of human endeavor; danger is only danger when it is filtered through the human imagination; disturbance are only disturbance when it caused interruptions in other people's lives; sins are only sins only when man fails to meet God's standards. However, if the later does not invovle in any situations these concepts might have not existed.

==============

Back to today


With all my passion I posted my photo set "Metropolitan" to Skykiwi and awarded my 2nd "prime thread". Wonderful~

This afternoon I went to Camera & Camera at Queen St. There was an old chinese man who was buying a 1G CF card at the counter. From his large size camera bag you could tell he's a photographer. He couldn't speak english at all nor he could understand it. So I went up and help him and the salesman do translations. I found out he's a member of New Zealand Photographer Association(NZPA). His name is on the list and looks like he is a senior member with a lot of documents. In the end, having known that I am a fan of photography, he asked me to pass him my phone number. He said he would call me if there is any upcoming events organized by NZPA. To me that's a new field. And to me, they are something I have never heard of. But I believe there must be a lot of professionals. Hehe.


Here are some photos from my Metropolitan set:

Boxing Day

So many people! Today a lot of people went out to shop because you can see discount up to 50% everywhere. KFC, William, Jimmy and I went to New Market and Dressmart at Onehunga. Once again I got up quite late this morning so I had to meet KFC and William at 277. I accidentally met Jimmy at the Mid City bus stop so he joined our shopping team. Shops are full of people and only those discounted items are visited by customers. From 10am to 1pm, shops like Nike, Puma even offered 40-50% off for everything in store! Man...its sacturated. "It's as bad as in China," the old man who was having lunch at Starbucks said. He looks like at his 70s, slim face, but expressed a sense of friendliness. Then we started chatting with each other. He just came back from China not long ago. He has been to Beijin and Tianjin for about 6 months and some undersanding about China. In our conversation, he shared with me his impression about BJ's weather, people, olympics and society etc. Interestingly enough, I found out that he stays in a mobile home (living inside a bus and move around from place to place). He prefers the country lifestle in Christ Church and the more friendly people down south. In my opinion, this old man enjoys chatting with people, and he also enjoys having a beer under the shade. hehehe. After I left I saw him talking with another chinese guy about China, then with an indian girl. Haha, I must have arose his interest in chatting.

Reward for today: 3 shirts from Barkers for only a hundred bucks. They are cheaps even they are in exceptional quality. Hehe. We all got what we like today. I wanted to buy something for Kathy but the size thing is annoying. I think I'd better let her choose what you like best, although that may mean she would miss some big bargains.

I met so many friends at streets and shops today. Seems like everyone is active about the shopping. Our Boxing Day shopping ended with the fire alarm, so everyone had to leave Dressmart. And because of that, we were able to catch the last bus to the city on time. Another thing I am proud of myself today is my perfect estimation of the bus stopping point. Although we weren't lining up in the queue, we were the first group of people who got on the bus, provided that we didn't jump the queue but simply standing at where the bus would stop. : )

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we all went to Angela's place(also Pastor's place la) for lunch party. People brought a lot of food but half of them were gone by the time we arrived there. Not sad, not sad. I didn't eat much anyway. Then we all gathered together to sing Christmas songs...I really truely frankly don't know any complete mandarin/cantonese songs for christmas. Why did people want me to sing while they also don't know how to sing? So I had to look on the internet. The PC there certainly doesn't have chinese input, there fore it made it even harder...in the end I missed the fun of exchanging gifts. So in the end I took the last present on the table and put mine there and the present I prepared ended up to be the extra one -- it became Ps's. Thanks Lee for your present. It's a box of chocolates, a very nice present. I think I need them too. ^_^

Christmas has just gone past. What's after is Boxing Day. I remember a year ago I researched the meaning of Boxing Day and wrote down in my Windows Live Space (http://felixili.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!1pcrLZXK5utiY85rPC95-LFQ!799.entry). It's been one year already. SO FAST!!! It's good to have some records over the years so I show what I have done in case I don't remember. This is why I still enjoy blogging.

Since I moved here I been getting visitors quite often, which is good, hehe. William came tonight to watch videos. Although nothing particular we really watched, it is really good to live around people. It's getting a little bit late. Going shopping/working tomorrow. Better say Good Night. =)

Felis Navida! Merry Christmas!

It's very nice to have Charles preached on Christmas Eve. Man, some jokes he shared were so funny. One goes like..."suddenly Adam woke up and said to Eve, "It's Christmas,Eve..." Haha. Maybe it's because Charles only preaches once in a few weeks, so I always find his sermon on Sunday very interesting.

Before I couldn't understand why would people (generally refer to old people, families) go to church every Sunday. Why aren't they suppose to be tired and look forward to get some rest or shopping done during the precious weekends? But slowly I understand. People are here not because of loneliness, but because we love the fellowship. People are here not because we have nothing to do on weekends, but because we desire a refreshed spirit. Yes, John3:16. You are our most precious Christmas gift. Because of Your grace and mercy, not matter how wrong we were, on that day, we received John3:16, and saved by your redemption plan ever since. John3:16, it tasted so real today.

After church Ricky, Pang and I headed to Lynn Mall to shop for tomorrow's Christmas lunch. I just did my part-time work I found yeterday along the way. I managed to get FOUR people signed up in the mall and ONE signed up while we were waiting for the Domino Pizza. HeHe. Actually just before I stepped out to the street, a lot of people signed up at church already! Thanks to everyone who helped, and hope you all will be benefit from these learning materials too!

After shopping then it was time for cooking. I was nearly in charge of the whole sushi making process. Ricky took out his recipe and cooking manual started to bake Anzac Cookies. We both are new to cooking these kind of things as you guys know, so after a few trial runs both the taste and the presentation had been dramatically improved. Hehe. We had fat/slim sushi and we had african cookies specially made for Kwakwo! HaHa!

Mum wished us Merry Christmas, then Merry Christmas lo. This is for everyone. HOHO. So many things to write, but time is limited! Anyways, only the important ones go first!.

Always remember this. Christmas is about Jesus!

Found a RAMDOM job today

Ohoh...I need to first welcome my guests: steph, amy, sarah and the ones who left without a trace. WELCOME ALL for being so generous and made this new blog lively. Tks.

Surprises are often shown in trivial things, if you paid enough attention you would discover more than what you can see with your eyes. If you keep pressing the fast forward button on the remote control you would miss the whole story; If you drive or walk too fast you would miss the magnificent NZ sceneries; If you eat too fast you would miss the flavor delicacies, btw, plus you would choke! lol... So just take a moment, slow down and pause...Do not let your full calandar saturate your mind. Hold, grip and dig, or let go. You will be encouraged through peanut-sized things.

Recently I just had my "light bulb" and "jet point" stories plus some job hunting related sotries...hehehe...Remember last time Sarah mentioned how two random New Zealanders can indirectly relate to each other by knowing someone his or her friend also knows. It's demonstrated to be true again. And this one is very interesting, but I have made a promose not to mention this relationship. Anyway, it's good enough to know it. Haha.

One scary remark, remember last week Kwadwo/the YA organized a Piha trip? A 18-yr-old male Lion Rock climber was believed to have fallen to his death. He ignored the warning sign and attampted to clim over to the top. His body is still missing. It was published on NZ Herald, 11 Dec--not long before our trip. >___<

I am so used to sleeping "early" since kw left. Ahh...but she will be back soon. *HAPPY*...

So tomorrow is church and I will start my new job in the afternoon. Better get some rest. Hope everything goes well. Night.

New to Blogger!

Finally I have betrayed MS's Windows Life Space. So from now on I will try to use Blogger for a while to see if I should abandon the MS one completely. Reason for doing that is because Blogger offers a more clean, simple layout whereas the MS's space is too slow, complex and feels a bit "cheap". People who know me for a while would know presentation and professionalism matter a lot to me.

I also see there are also some programs available for use in conjunction with Blogger, such as Hello for sharing photos. I will test them and see if they are worth keeping. If not, then I will just rely on Flickr. Very often to get to evaluate things and need to make a choice between two or more things. Decision making is difficult for me, but eventually I would still make up my mind and believe that my choice is the best. Many times it would lead you to a place where there is no turning back. So would you regret, or would you have faith and believe that you can break the dead end?

Something about myself:
I am a recent BProp graduate now looking for a full-time job. I think my job hunting is facing an embarrassing time--Xmas, a time when the market is slowing down and employers are preparing for their christmas and new yr's day. On the other hand, more fixed expenditures mean that I need to tighten my budget. Spend less on holidays!(breath is becoming more acute) ...Haha, very unfortunately miracles and surprises often struck me, so things could happen anytime...I mean great things.

I bet there are much more english bloggers than chinese here, so I'd better be more culturally adaptable. Am I so politically correct? I will also try to find out more and more functions which Blogger offers. Hopefully, this blog will become more dynamic later.