Ronald's Blog

Newport visit again

2010-05-16T20:46:00.013-04:00

The last few weeks have been filled with sadness and worries about the situation of Sze's grandpa. Sandra and I decided to take a break and relax. Yesterday, we visited Newport with friends again. The weather was so nice. Thanks God! Tho' we've been there many times, we've never felt bored visiting there again.

The harbor view of Newport, RI.

A nice boat.

Oyster Bar next to the harbor.

Downtown Newport, RI

Cute bear.

Newport has lots of pretty houses.

I love this one!

Lunch time - we tried Benjamin this time.

Lobster.

Old town Newport.

Lovely Atlantic Ocean.

A couple waiting for the sunset.

Half-Marathon rowing

2010-04-27T09:10:00.002-04:00

I have finally completed the Concept2 Half-Marathon rowing. It's such a challenging task for me, but I've finally done it! Yeah.

The New York trip

2010-02-28T21:24:00.016-05:00

Last Friday and Saturday, Sandra and I went to New York city. The trip was primarily for work(Boss was giving a talk on Fri and asked his team to go with him). So, Sandra went there with me to visit NYC again and watch her beloved Broadway musicals.
At 730am, we were already on our way to NYC by Bolt Bus. The bus driver warned us that NYC has a heavy snow storm. I had a feeling that the talk might be canceled. Hehe..And yes..at about 930am, I got an email that "due to the weather condition, both the talk and banquet will be canceled!". Thanks God! He turned my "business trip" to be a 100% vacational trip!
We checked in the hotel at about 3pm and took a short nap. We then headed off to Time Sq. to see if we can get some good deal of the last minute tickets for Broadway shows. We thought people would be staying home, and so we could get some really cheap tickets. The fact was totally opposite to what we thought. We could still see a crowd of people in Time Square, tho' the snow storm warning was issued! Well..I guess this is New York. Finally, we could still get a 50% off ticket for Billy Elliot. It's my first time watching this musical. What a touching musical!
On Sat, we visited the Statue of Liberty. It's really worthy to pay for the ferry ticket and see the statue in such a close distance. In the afternoon, we watched Phantom of the Opera. It was Sandra's dream to watch it in Broadway and I have fulfilled her dream! Yeah. The musical was wonderful - Phantom sang so well!

Our first lunch in NY

Time Square under snow storm warning - still so many people!

We were trying to get some cheap last minute tickets for Broadway shows.

She is so happy! We got 50% off tickets for Billy Elliot.

The Statue of Liberty at different angles

Sandra and I and the Statue of Liberty

The face of the statue!

The original design of the statue.

The Majestic theater

The Phantom lamp

Sandra at the Majestic Theater - looking for Phantom!

Her dream was fulfilled!

The Posters

With the Phantom poster

The cast

Saturday's lunch

2010-01-23T13:46:00.008-05:00

It's Saturday! It means I can get some rest again from work. Sandra and I have been craving for uni and salmon sushi for a while. So, I drove to Sea to You at Brookline to get some fresh salmon and uni. The uni we got today wasn't as good as last time, but it was still decent. The salmon was really good. It was so fresh and really "melted in my mouth" (excerpt from yelp) . HAHA. Uni and Salmon for lunch. Sounds crazy but really enjoyable.

Our Saturday's grand lunch!

Boston city walk

2010-01-16T22:08:00.007-05:00

Today was the first day of the long weekend. Sandra and I decided to relax a bit and walk around Boston city. Boston is a nice city and has her own style. It is very different from HK or L.A. I love Boston!

Park Street church

Icy Public Garden pond. People are walking on the pond - yes! The pond becomes ice, you can guess how cold it is in Boston now!

Sandra is walking ON the Public Garden pond

Nice experience to walk ON the pond.

A beautiful church building in downtown Boston

500 Bolyston Street building.

Japanese Curry~

2010-01-16T09:15:00.002-05:00

Kam Man has the Japanese Curry on sale. We bought one and tried. It's soooooo delicious!

Japanese curry seafood with rice - by Chef Sandra

My Christmas gift

2009-12-28T20:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks Sandra for the Christmas gift - knit scarf. It is so pretty and I am loving it!

Sandra Knit Scarf - Christmas gift of 2009

Pre-Christmas trip at Mount Washington

2009-12-23T20:41:00.038-05:00

In the past 2 days, Sandra and I went to the White Mountain in New Hampshire. I always wanted to have a white winter vacation. Now I am living in Boston with so many pretty snow mountains nearby. It's just perfect for me to fulfill my dream! We stayed in an old hotel called Omni Mount Washington Resort. The hotel was built in 1902 and is a 5-star hotel. The hotel is beautiful.Though it's old, the hotel has done a great job updating it. The lobby was just fabulous. Very comfortable and inviting. There were many facilities that we could find plenty to do at the hotel itself. I really loved sitting in the lobby by the fireplace to enjoy a sip of tea. Our hotel room was spacious and comfortable (although the heat was quite noisy!) The view outside the windows was so nice. I think if I could afford the time, I would have sit beside the windows to relax for a whole day! We arrived at the hotel at about 12pm. After checking in, we rushed to the outdoor pool. Yes. We were swimming outdoor! The pool temperature was adjusted to 85F, so it's warm enough to swim in whatever weather. It was such an amazing experience to swim in a pool surrounded by snow mountains. And it was also my very first time to swim in the snowfall! Out next activity was, of course, to walk around and take pictures. The mountain view was gorgeous! You could simply shoot a photo from whatever angle and the photo MUST be pretty (I guarantee it!). We also made our first snowman. It was difficult! I really had no idea how people could manage to make a big one! Sandra and I tried a long time just to make a very very small one! In the evening, we just relaxed ourselves in the hotel lobby. There was a handbell Christmas music performance that night. It's my first time listening to handbell ringers performance. It was great. We also used the jacuzzi in the hotel. It's really comfortable. But I just couldn't use it for too long. I felt dizzy after using it for 20 mins (due to my high blood pressure, maybe?).

The next day, we just took a scenic drive around the White Mountain, since we were really not quite in the mood for skiing. It was a great drive! So many beautiful scene, but the driving experience was petrifying as well! Overall the trip was wonderful. We thank Miss Car for riding us to such a beautiful location. We love her! We also thank our Lord for giving us such a wonderful chance to relax. Thank Him for giving us a safe trip too!

Omni Mount Washington Resort

An outdoor pool surrounded by the snow mountain!

The view outside our hotel room - So Christmas!

Sandra enjoyed her hot cocoa so much, as you can tell..hehe!

Let's take a pic together!

So comfortable

A pastry house decoration

I was also enjoying myself in the hotel

She took so many photos!

Mr and Mrs Lui take 1

Mr and Mrs Lui take 2

Handbell Ringer Christmas music performance

The other side of the hotel - also gorgeous!

A partially frozen river

Playground in the snow

She's over excited!

And me too!

Our first snowman

Bear Bear and us

The view is awesome

A ski trial in Lincoln, NH

A crystal-like ice - we saw that during our scenic drive

We'd like to express our deepest gratitude to Miss Car. Without her, our trip was impossible!

First big snow!

2009-12-20T18:33:00.016-05:00

Blizzard crawled into Boston area today. It's the first record-level snow fall this winter, leaving at least 8 inches of accumulation. It's always happy to see the snow. It's really charming to see everything in white. Everything suddenly looked so clean. Well. I wasn't as excited as last year when I saw the first snow fall in my life. Maybe the reason is I am having a car this year. A heavy snow storm means I gotta do extra work for my dearest Miss Car - shoveling the snow accumulated on it. Yet, it's a cool experience. Today was also the first time I drove in the heavy snow. It's thrilling but really fun! Stupid enough, we drove a long way to Southie today just to find that church meeting has been canceled. We should have checked it with bro/sis before we left home.

Searching my dearest Miss Car.

There we go!

People are also shoveling the snow.

Sandra's shoveling. Add oil!!

Half way done!

Ready to go!

Pretty New England houses in white!

I like these withered trees in the snow. So winter!

Christmas decoration on Highland Ave: a snowman in the snow!

Somewhere in Somerville: a handsome Santa Claus on the motor bike!

Mickey is also enjoying the snow!

Foliage trip - scenic drive to Princeton, MA

2009-10-25T21:10:00.011-04:00

Last week's foliage trip to New Hampshire wasn't quite satisfying. The foliage wasn't as colorful as we originally expected. Sandra & I decided to spend another weekend to "hunt" for good scene and shoot beautiful photos. Unfortunately, it was raining on Saturday. But thanks God. The sun came back today. So, we decided to take a scenic drive to Princeton, MA (west Massachusetts) after church. The foliage we saw today was much much much more beautiful that that in NH!! The different colors on the trees forms the prettiest picture I have ever seen! This is the mother nature! How great thou art!

A pretty golden tree in Concord, MA

My fair lady & red foliages

So relaxing!

A beautiful house

Beautiful!

Another viewpoint

Fair Lady dwelling in the mother nature!!

Paradise Pond: The reflection of colorful trees and clouds

Foliage trip

2009-10-18T11:47:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Sandra and I went to New Hampshire to see the foliage with friends. It is a "must-do" activity in New England between October and November, when the foliage starts to change its color. The woods are full of color that give New England a beautiful scene.
We drove from Boston to Lake Winnipesaukee at around 9am. Before our trip, Sandra and I have been worrying about the weather. The weather forecast anticipated that yesterday would be cloudy with rain shower. We could do nothing about it but to pray earnestly for good weather before the trip. God once again shows us He listens to prayer. It turned out yesterday was a super sunny day!! Thanks God.

Beautiful scene: colorful woods with different colors

My Fair Lady with pretty scenery

My Fair Lady is so happy~

Jekyll & Hyde

2009-08-30T10:07:00.001-04:00

Tonight, Sandra and I went to watch the musical "Jekyll & Hyde". It's one of Sandra's favorite musical shows but I've never watched it. We're so glad the show was presented here in Cape Cod and we could go there so easily.
We started driving to Cape Cod at about 4pm and got there at around 6pm. It was raining and so we had to drive slowly and carefully. We've had our dinner at KK Codders before the show. I got the fried Calamari and Sandra got the grilled Salmon. Both were okay, tho' they were not super delicious.

My order

Sandra's order

We arrived at the Highfield Theatre at around 730pm and it was already so crowded. It was out of my expectation that so many people were interested in this musical. Highfield Theatre is an old building but I like it very much. The musical was unexpectedly great. Tho' they were performed by a group of students, they all sang so well. I think Jekyll sang really really well! Very impressive to me. It was really a good show.

The theatre is an old building

But it has a 'classical' feeling.

Logo of Jekyll & Hyde musical

Meet the cast..

The musical was presented by College Light Opera Company.

Our tickets and program.

Re-post of our trip to Portland, Maine

2009-08-23T22:07:00.006-04:00

On August 15, Sandra and I visited Portland in Maine. We've planned to go there for many times, but were called off for various reasons. We've finally got there this time! Portland is a beautiful place. We enjoyed the adorable scenery and relaxing atmosphere there, tho' it was really hot that day.

(Booklets about Portland)

Getting to Portland, the first thing we did was to get some booklets from the visitor center to learn about Portland. We searched for a while for the visitor center but we couldn't find it. It turned out the visitor center is just a small booth on the street. Portland is famous for the lobster. We could see lots of "lobster" items. One restaurant even used the "lobster" lamps (lovely!). We walked around the downtown Portland under the high temperature. It was really pretty especially for the harbor. But it was too hot and we got all wet. Finally, we've decided to drive around and checked out different lighthouses. Yes. Portland has lots of lighthouses.

(Beautiful harbor with lots of fishing boats. They provide fresh seafood to Portland.)

(My fair lady..hehe)

(Portland is famous of lobster. The "lobster lamp" at one restaurant.)

(Climbing the fort)

(Portland Head Light)

Our first stop was Portland Head Light. When we got there, we were like "WOW!". It's soooooo pretty!

(Beautiful boat)

We were lucky that it was the "boat festival" that day. So, many boats came over to Portland harbor. Some boats were really pretty. I wish I could have one. HAHA.

(Interesting plant..what is this fruit it bears? I've no clue!)

(Pretty beach in Portland)

We also went to a nice beach in Portland. Many people were relaxing themselves on the sand to enjoy the sunbath. Sandra and I both said: "I wish I had my swim suit with me!"

(Ppl are modeling different figures with sand. Isnt it marvelous?)

(Another lighthouse)

(Fair Lady was "running" to the light house. There were lots of wide gaps between the rocks. I was so afraid that she would fall off. Hehe. Suddenly I remembered Psalm 23..)

(A close-up of the lighthouse)

Our last stop was, of course, a seafood restaurant to check out Portland's lobster. We chose J's Oyster - A tiny restaurant but with wonderful food. The scene next to the restaurant was great too - it is located next to the harbor. We've ordered lobster and long crab leg. It was Sandra's treat, since she has earned her first salary in US. Thank you, my fair lady!

(Our dinner at J's Oyseter. A tiny restaurant but food was great!)

(Scene next to the restaurant.)

Cabot again!

2009-08-22T23:00:00.010-04:00

Sandra and I just went to Cabot again. We were sooooo craving for ice-cream tonight. Maybe it's because of the hot weather in Boston lately. When we were seated, we found an old lady sitting next to us. In front of her there's a note saying: "Reserved for Mrs. Cabot". WOW. Yea! The old lady is Mrs. Cabot, whose husband is the founder of Cabot's ice-cream! hehe..we were like seeing a 'superstar'..after all, Cabot is so famous in Boston and our favorite ice-cream place..

(Note in front of the old lady sitting next to us)

We've ordered the famous Belgium Waffle with ice-cream and selected two flavors of ice-cream: Banana and Mint chocolate chip. Sandra liked the Mint Chocolate chip and I loved the Banana flavor. The waffle was so crunchy. I don't think we can make the same waffle at home!

(Our order: Belgium Waffle with ice-cream: Banana and Mint chocolate chip)

Tanglewood concert

2009-08-22T18:39:00.021-04:00

Last night, Sze and I went to watch a Tanglewood concert by Boston Symphony Orchestra. The concert hall was located in Lenox (MA), a hundred miles away from Somerville. We drove for 3 hours to the concert hall (including taking rest of course). The drive was terrific since it rained so heavily on part of our way. It was especially scary when we were driving into a black cloud. We couldn't see anything coz the rain was so heavy and saw several lighting in between. Some cars even stopped, hoping for a better weather. We just kept going! Yea. How dare we are! We really have to thank God for the safe journey!

(Tickets and program)(Tanglewood bear..so cute!)

3 hours later, we were there at Tanglewood. We'd arrived an hour earlier. Tanglewood has a very charming scenery! Sze and I love this place a lot!

(Beautiful scenery in Tanglewood)

Since it was raining, we upgraded our tickets from lawn seats to indoor seats. Well. It could image it'll be a nice experience to sit on a big piece of lawn and listen to the great music, if the weather is nice. The concert hall was so nice. It was an open hall surrounded by lots of green trees. We were like dwelling ourselves in the nature while listening to the beautiful music. Or..enjoying the creation of God all in one!! "How great thou art!"

(Nice concert Hall)

(Lawn seating..Picnic + music = Nice)

(The concert almost started!)

The concert started at 830pm. The 3 pieces performed were all great. It started with Haydn Symphony No. 88, followed by Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 in C. And lastly it was Bethoven Symphony No. 1. I particularly love the Piano Concerto very much. (hehe..I've been listening to it over and over again today!)
The concert ended at 10pm. We drove for another 3 hours back home. It was already 130am when we got back. It's worthy though! I love Tanglewood. It's really an experience you cannot miss if you are in the Boston area.

Frustrated

2009-07-17T00:44:00.006-04:00

Frustrated..works didnt go as well as I expected..feel a bit upset..but I know I'll have to move on..I've to keep working..there's a lesson here!

Just registered for a Twitter account..Twitter is a brilliant idea!! Nice tool! I am on Twitter now!

Church camping tomorrow. I hope we all could enjoy a wonderful time together and have an edifying fellowship..May God be with all of us!

Healthy life..

2009-07-07T09:39:00.003-04:00

After the wonderful anniversary trip, it's about time to seriously get back to work. There are many works needed to be done before the summer ends. Tho'getting busy, I think it's meaningful and exciting. I also get back to a healthy life as before. I go to gym every morning before I begin my day. It's good to have some quiet time in the gym. And after gym, I can start work with a refreshing brain. I hope I could keep this healthy habit from now on. (Plus, I really NEED to loss some weight!)

Car is fixed

2009-07-04T15:16:00.005-04:00

Miss car is back from the hospital after a big surgery. Her old timing-belt almost broke. It's lucky that we found the problem just in time, so that we could replace it before it breaks. Now she is fine. We had a beautiful scenic drive this morning along Rt 127 and she was running in a very good condition. We drove almost a hundred miles!
On our way back home, we stopped by the New Deal Fish Market in Cambridge to shop for some fresh cut sashimi. I've tasted a small piece of tuna and a small piece of salmon. They are all so delicious. This will be our dinner tonight. I am so looking forwards to it.

1st Anniversary trip - Niagara/Toronto

2009-07-03T23:17:00.012-04:00

Day 1 (6/29): It's 5am in the morning and we're getting ready for our 1st anniversary trip - a bus tour to Niagara fall and Toronto. It's raining heavily outside. We prayed earnestly for good weather. We arrived at Boston's China Town at about 645am and we got on the bus there in the rain. It didn't seem like the rain would stop, but we just hoped for the best. The bus passed Massachusetts to New York state after about 2.5 hours. Surprisingly, the rain stopped and we could see blue sky and white clouds! Thanks God. Our Lord really listens to our prayers! After 8 hours, we were there. The magnificent Niagara Fall!! It's really impressive. One sentence in my mind: "How great Thou Art!"

Day 2 (6/30): Today's activity is the Toronto city tour. It's just not my cup of tea. To me, Toronto is just like Boston, nothing special to me. We walked around the city, took a cruise that sailed around the harbor of Toronto and visited the castle Casa Loma (the best attraction). A boring day but quite relaxing!

Day 3 (7/1): Today is the last day of the trip. We took a cruise to visit Thousand Island and had our breakfast on the boat. Not very impressive. It's just an exhibition of a thousand rich people buying islands to build their mansions for vacation. After the cruise, we got on the bus and headed back to Boston. That concluded our trip. Overall, the trip is enjoyable. Thanks God for giving us such a wonderful trip!

Finale Dessert

2009-06-27T17:56:00.000-04:00

It's raining outside and the car is sick. We cannot go far to travel around New England. So, we went to walk around Harvard Square and Charles River. Shamefully, it is our first time shopping around Harvard Square and walking along the Charles River. We tried the Finale Desert too. The Tiramisu and Cheesecake are both amazing.

Poor Miss Car...

2009-06-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

We've just picked up Miss Car from the hospital. She is fine right now. But the engineer said she would need another surgery. Its timing-belt needs to be replaced urgently or else the engine would die. She will need another hospitalization next week. Poor Miss Car. Although it would cost another big sum of money, we wont give her up!

Finally, we've decided to go to the Niagara Fall tour next week, as we're gonna be busy two weeks later. So, we're leaving from Monday morning till Wednesday night. Niagara Fall, Canada..we are coming!

Miss Car is sick...

2009-06-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

My lovely car is sick. The engine shuts down occasionally when the A/C is on. It is being hospitalized right now and I hope we could bring her back home tomorrow. We originally plan to go cherry picking tomorrow. If the car is not ready, we will have to call it off.
Still thinking if we should go for the Niagara fall trip next week. The weather forecast seems to be discouraging - Thunderstorm next week! Hope that the weather would change..
I've just finished the bottle of desert wine: Newport Jazz. It's sooooooo good! I love it!

Our testimony (marriage) - written by Sandra

2009-06-17T18:58:00.000-04:00

感謝主﹗我跟樂銘快要慶祝我們的結婚一週年紀念了﹗在這一年的婚姻生活裡，我們除了享受新婚夫婦間的甜蜜，更重要的是我們每一天都一起經歷主的恩典。過去這一年，我們要面對很多的改變，亦曾面對很多困難的決定。通常，當太多的改變和決擇在同一時間發生，便很容易在夫妻關係上引起衝突，我和樂銘也不例外。我們婚後，除了要面對身份上的轉變，還要面對生活環境、工作、教會等各方面的問題。為著適應這些改變，我和樂銘吵架次數不下十次，而程度更可以用「竭嘶底理」或「咆哮」來形容。

我和樂銘可以說是有著完全不同的背景，唯一共同的是我們相信同一位救主。樂銘為著學業，在美國已經歷差不多七個多寒暑，雖然是香港出生，但生活習慣早已深受美國文化薰陶；而我，除了大學畢業後去了英國遊學那半年外，未曾離開香港超過三個月。我們的生活習慣、文化差異甚至學術水平，可算是有著天與地的差別。另一方面，樂銘因為獨自在美國生活，一事一物都要自力更生，可是我跟他卻完全相反。在結婚前，我是個十指不沾陽春水的「千金小姐」，因為家庭背景的造就，我從小到大都是吃要吃最好，住要住最好，穿也是穿最好的，從來就不用擔心將來。

還記得當我們決定結婚時，樂銘還是一個博士班學生，沒有工作。初時我們常憧憬著婚後的生活是怎樣美好和稱意，但後來發現，在他沒有經濟收入下，我們的計劃就算再美好，也是一個空想，所以我們開始為樂銘畢業後的出路禱告。縱然我們一起禱告，也是按著我們的心意求主應允，從來沒有認真地細想這些計畫是否主的旨意。可是，問題就這樣發生了。當我們遇到意見不合時，我們便會吵起來，為著居住地方吵、為著家用吵，甚至結婚時，我們也為著很多小事吵個不停，原因是我們兩個都錯把自己的需要放在首位，而忘卻了我們結婚的真正目的︰見證基督的愛，讓神得榮耀。真的很感謝主﹗祂帶領我們的每一步，連工作也早已為我們安排好，只等我們去求祂。最後，神為樂銘安排了一份很多人也夢寐以求的工作，在哈佛大學作兩年的博士後學者，而收入能夠支持我們在美國生活。神為我們安排的往往都是最好，既是足夠，也是有餘。我們深深體會神真是一位聽禱告的神，祂為我們解決一切的問題。

又記得有一次，在我們尋找在波士頓的住所時，神又再一次為我們安排一切。由於我們尋找居所時，也不在波士頓，當我在香港籌備婚禮，而樂銘則在洛杉磯完成他的畢業論文，故此我們是透過互聯網跟經紀聯絡，入住現時居所前，我們是未曾實地視察過互近的居住環境，一切都是憑信心而行。本來，我們找到一間合心意的住所，表面上它的地理位置、居住環境也很好，而且租金也較便宜，因此我們便立刻聯絡經紀公司，打算租下這個地方。在打電話前，我跟樂銘也為這事禱告，求神指引。可是，樂銘一直聯絡不到經紀公司，我們便開始急起來，怕這地方會被別人捷足先登。樂銘每天都打電話到經紀公司，我們亦不斷為這地方禱告，直到有一天，樂銘告訴我，他已聯絡上經紀公司，亦準備第二天跟他們簽約租下這個心宜的地方，為此，我們再一次禱告。豈料，樂銘禱告後，突然想到互聯網搜尋這個地方，於是他便隨便在Google打下我們準備租住的地方的地址，看看有甚麽特別沒有。就這樣誤打誤撞，讓他找到原來這個地方附近在一星期前發生了兇殺案，而死者伏屍的地方正正是我們的停車場。得料此事，我們便立即致電給經紀公司取消簽約。而神亦在同一天帶領我們找到另一個條件更好的地方，這次簽約過程亦非常順利，甚致當我們上網找尋二手家俬時，神亦帶領我們找到我們的前住客，讓我們直接向她購買一些大型家俬，省卻了第一天到步後的「困境」。

經歷主恩不一定是在大事上，我和樂銘也覺得神在每一時每一刻也在帶領我們，保護我們，只要我們願意把自己的需要告訴祂，然後憑信心等候祂，祂便會為我們作最好的安排。我們在神的帶領之下，從來沒有一點的缺乏。聖經有很多經文都提及神的帶領，而當中有兩節是我們最喜歡的提醒。
「應當一無掛慮，只要凡事藉著禱告，祈求和感謝，將你們所要的告訴神，神所賜出人意外的平安，必在基督耶穌裡保守你們的心懷意念」(腓立比書四章6-7節)。
我們知道人的能力是有限的，而神卻是創世的神，祂的能力是大於世界上任何一切。今日，我們承認我們在每一件事情上都是軟弱的，但正因我們軟弱，神就是在這裡幫助我們。正如聖經所說︰
「我的恩典夠你用的，因為我的能力是在人的軟弱上顯得完全…我更喜歡誇自己的軟弱，好叫基督的能力覆庇我。」 (哥林多後書十二章 9節)
我們是祂的子女，祂愛我們甚於一切，甚至連祂的獨生子也賜下，為的是要拯救我們這班悖逆的子女。祂每天為野地的花草樹木澆水，也餵飽天空和非洲大草原的飛禽走獸，而我們是祂最疼錫的子女，祂又甚會捨得讓我們餓肚子或者受委屈呢？只要我們願意放下自己的偏見、固執、任性，返回這個慈父身邊，跟祂認錯，祂一定會原諒我們，繼續把我們抱在懷中呵護，為我們分擔所有的勞苦。

要順服神，也要彼此順服

2009-06-17T10:55:00.000-04:00

... 雅各書告訴我們說，你們要順服神。以弗所書告訴我們說，又要彼此順服。弟兄們，你們看見麼？這裏又是講到兩方面，一方面說要順服神，一方面說要彼此順服。順服神是個人的事，彼此順服是弟兄們中間該作的。今天在教會裏，有一等人是沒有翻過的餅。一件事，只要弟兄姊妹同意，就是宗教的道理也跟從，就是異端的教訓也接受。只要是大多數贊成的就跟從。弄到把神的命令、聖經的教訓都摔掉。這是一塊沒有翻過的餅。人那邊雖然弄得好，但是，不管神這邊，仍是沒有翻過的餅。又有一等人，不管弟兄姊妹的意思如何，見地如何，只管神如何說，就如何行...有頂多的事是神的旨意，但是，頂多的時候要在人手裏受限制，就需要等候。光知道神的旨意是彀了，但是，弟兄姊妹兩三個人合起來的見證，也是好的。如果一個指頭動一動，能不能說只是一個指頭動一動，不是我這個人動呢？豈不是一個肢體動，別的肢體也一起動麼？一個肢體不能單獨動作，因為肢體雖多，身子仍是一個呢...
比方：你先得著一點亮光，神說是的，你就甚麼都不顧，一下就傳出去。但是，與你同在的弟兄，並不像你那樣看得清楚，你就應當等候得著他們的同意再講。不然，就要有分門別類的事發生。你說，是神啟示你的。他說，我沒有看清楚，恐怕是異端。這樣的時候，你就該等候。聖經說，你們要順服神；但是，聖經也說，你們要彼此順服。當弟兄們彼此看法有不同時，不要彼此爭辯、分裂；可以等候、禱告，慢慢的學習看。讓我說句頂直的話，沒有一件東西能助人有屬靈的進步，會過於等候的。如果一直是真的，就等一等還是真的。如果錯了，就更該等候了，幸虧有等候，纔沒有作錯。但是，我們若非真捨己，真肯背十字架，就不能這樣。溫柔的等候，是需要神的恩典纔能的...

I've come across this article, which is a recording of a sermon. I've found it quite edifying and it's a good reminder for me. Very often, we understand how important it is to be submissive to God. And yet we seem to have forgotten the other command by God that we should submit ourselves to one another. God wants us to take a good balance. If we only focus on the submission to God and ignore the submission to one another between bro/sis, it is never beneficial. Sometimes, it might even destroy the oneness of church.

Of course, it is not an easy lesson to learn to be submissive. I've lately realized that being submissive to God is much easier than being submissive between bro/sis. We really have to put down ALL of ourselves: "我們若非真捨己，真肯背十字架，就不能這樣。" May God give me wisdom to learn this big lesson.

Back from Hong Kong

2009-06-07T10:31:00.001-04:00

Sandra and I are back from Hong Kong. We've traveled to Hong Kong to change our US visa and visit families. We've had a really wonderful time in Hong Kong. We were nervous about whether we could get the visa due to several risky situations of our case. The only thing we could possibly do was to pray ernestly. Thanks God. The visa application process turned out to be very successful. While we're in HK, we spent lots of time with our families. We decided not to travel too much but stayed more with our parents. We've had a good time and shared a lot with them. I also got the official contract for my new job next year. I have been waiting for it for a while and it's finally come. I am really thankful to our Lord because He has prepared everything for us. There is nothing for us to worry about when we are walking with Him.
On June 3, we took a long flight back to Boston. It was a very tiring journey. We've spent about 26 hours on the flight and waiting at the terminal for boarding. Glad that Sandra was traveling with me that made time passing faster. We found a dusty apartment when getting back home. Thanks Sandra for spending two days cleaning up the house. It's become comfy again!
I confessed that I've done nothing much for my research while I was in HK. I should definitely get back to work seriously. No more laziness! And frankly, I feel a bit stressed with my research work lately. May God give me peace and wisdom.

Thanks, Somerville Police

2009-04-11T17:15:00.000-04:00

Here is the story:
Two weeks ago, I drove my friend to my home to have bible study, and we forgot to lock the door of the car. The GPS, which I put it in the drawer, was stolen. I think it would be gone and didn't even bother to report to the police...
Just a few days later, we saw a notice from the Somerville police that a thief was caught. A GPS with our home address in it was found in his possession. We called the police and they are so polite and helpful. They promised they will release it to me next week, after they use it for the evidence.
Isnt it amazing? Thanks Somerville police~

Back from the Cherry Blossom trip

2009-04-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Sandra and I went to see the Cherry Blossom in DC during the weekend. It was a wonderful trip. It's my first time seeing the cherry trees. They're so pretty! We drove 10 hours each way to DC. It's tired to drive such a long way, especially for the overnight drive on Sunday's evening. I had to keep myself awake while I was really sleepy. Thanks God that we finally returned safely.

Congrats to Tony

2009-04-02T08:32:00.000-04:00

It's a good news. Tony is appointed as the next President of HKUST. I believe it is beneficial to HK as a whole, in both aspects of HK education and academia.

More things happened in the last 2 days. umm..Overall, I am thankful to God because He has made His will clear to me.

Cherry Blossom trip 2 days later!! I am so excited about it. Tony has confirmed me that the cherry trees are in full bloom! Great!!

Insomnia

2009-03-29T17:44:00.000-04:00

I had an insomnia last night. Maybe because I took a long nap in the afternoon and drank some strong tea & coffee right before I went to bed. It's strange tho', coz coffee and tea have never had any effect for my sleep. Thanks God I could still keep awake during the Sunday worship today.
The message today was a good reminder. It talked about how one might suffer to follow God and that Christians should carry the cross. Yes. Indeed, one might have to 'suffer' when following Christ. We might have to 'give up' a lot. But to me, the words 'suffer' or 'give up' don't sound quite right to me. When we follow Christ, we see the love of God. He loves us so much that He gave up His life on the cross, and gives us the eternal life. When we see His love, we are EAGER to 'suffer' and 'give up'. It sounds strange to say we are EAGER to suffer and give up. But it truly is. We 'suffer' because we know we will get sth much much better in the near future. And we know God can be glorified. We 'give up' because we see sth better and dislike what we've considered to be good before. The message reminded me that today as a Christian, I grasp something which is much much better than what I've considered to be precious before. So, we deny our old self for good.

"只是我先前以為與我有益的，我現在因基督都當作有損的。不但如此，我也將萬事當作有損的，因我以認識我主基督耶穌為至寶。我為他已經丟棄萬事，看作糞土，為要得著基督；並且得以在他裡面，不是有自己因律法而得的義，乃是有信基督的義，就是因信神而來的義，使我認識基督，曉得他復活的大能，並且曉得和他一同受苦，效法他的死，或者我也得以從死裡復活。" (Phil 3:7-11)

Thankful, joyful, relaxing...

2009-03-28T18:56:00.000-04:00

Friday we joined the church fellowship. It was a testimonial night during which bro/sis shared about their experience with God. Both Sandra and I haven't shared our stories. But it was nice to listen to others' testimonies, like how God has saved them, how God has changed their life etc... It is encouraging to know many others are experiencing the love of the same God whom I believe in. I feel really thankful because God shows His mercy and love to everyone who rely on Him. I feel joyful because He is living in me.

Today is a relaxing day. I drove Sandra to the church for she had a hymn practice in the morning. We went to Sichuan Gourmet for our lunch. It's delicious. I like spicy Sichuan food. Yummy Yummy. (Bad that I forgot my camera.) The price is reasonable too. I am sure I'll visit again. We also went to gym. It's refreshing after a nice workout! I hope I can keep this habit of exercising everyday.

DC Cherry Blossom trip in 7 days. I am so looking forwards to it!

Update about my recent life

2009-03-27T10:13:00.000-04:00

It has been a long while since I last updated my blogger. It's time to write something to update my recent life.
Everything is going well. Thanks God. There has been up and down in my spiritual life. But God has His mercy on me and brought me back whenever I walked away from Him. There were so many things happened recently. All these things happened let me experience Him more. I feel so joyful because I know He is leading my way all the time.
I went back to Hong Kong for my wedding banquet in December. It was really a memorable moment, and it was so touching that so many bro/sis and friends were so eagerly helping us out. Both Sandra and I experienced God's grace and love. We are hoping that through our marriage, we might testify God's love to others and let Him be the glory.
I have also been struggling about my future career by myself. This made me feel quite stressful. I seemed to forget one thing: everything is governed by Him and He has already planned the best for me. It was so weak and lost my faith in Him for a while. I am thankful to Him because finally I realized once again that He is the one who control all things. And He loves us so much that He must give us what is the best for us. I am peaceful in Him now. Although I don't know what will happen and where I will go, I trust that He MUST lead me all the way. And I further remember that "For thy pleasure we were and we are created". We should live for His glory but not for our own. May God give me strength that I can walk in His will so that His name might be glorifed.

Got my new camera!

2008-10-26T18:57:00.000-04:00

I finally got my new camera. It's a DSLR Canon 450D. That allows me to capture lots of important moment and scene that I will be encountering. From now on, I'm going to take lots of pictures!

Life in Boston...

2008-09-06T18:40:00.000-04:00

Wow! It has already been two months since I've last updated my blog. So many things have happened recently and there were three important changes in my life. Tho' it may be hard, I am going to write about each of them.

The first important change was the change of my marital status. On July 23, Sandra and I did our marriage registration in L.A. and got married. On Sunday July 27th, we had our testimony in front of brothers and sisters to testify God's blessing to our marriage. Thanks Kite Ma and Kite Yea for organizing all these for us. So now, I have officially switched from 'single' to 'married'. That said, I have stepped into a new stage of life. For this, I am so thankful to God. It's really the happiest thing in my life that I could be united with Sandra and to live with her for the rest of my life. Of course, we are also facing lots of challenges to build up a new family. But I am sure that with God's grace and mercy, we can deal with all the challenges. We are not walking alone!

On July 27th evening, Sandra and I took the red eye flight to Boston. That's my second new change -- change of residence. I am not a Californian anymore! I miss L.A. a lot. I miss my church, my brothers and sisters, my friends... But I know going to Boston is what God has prepared for me. I am eager to go and walk with Him. Of course, settling down in a new environment takes time. We rented a car from Budget at the airport. We drove to our new home, got the keys and unloaded our lugguages early in the morning. We then had to drove around to buy the furnitures and neccessities. It was a tiring day for both of us!

On July 29th, I met Prof. Yau to discuss our research topic. We had lunch together. Switching from a student to a postdoc is the third important change. The very first thing to do was to look for suitable research projects. Thanks God. We have finally decided on several research projects to work on in collaboration with Tony. Everything went through quite smoothly. I can see how the Lord has helped me.

Finding a new church is another big challenge for me. We went to few churches and finally we found a church to settle down. Thanks the Lord for preparing us with brothers and sisters. I can see that I am really not walking alone in Boston. He is with me always.

Everything is going fine. I got more and more used to the new environment. I met many new friends here. I hope I will like Boston more and more...

My update...

2008-06-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

I haven't updated my blogger for quite a while. I have been quite busy last month and didn't have time to do so. It's time to write something again to update a little bit about how I am going on.

After months of hard work, I have already finished my dissertation and passed my PhD's final defense exam. I officially received my Ph.D on June 12. Calvin, Eva, Tsang Uncle and Tsang Auntie came to my hooding ceremony. I am so happy they came to share my happiness, especially for Calvin and Eva who flew a long way to L.A. from Hong Kong.

Photos of my hooding ceremony are uploaded here at: http://picasaweb.google.com/malmlui/UCLADoctoralHooding/

So, while Calvin and Eva were around in L.A., I was traveling with them. We went to many different places, including SF, Yosemitie, Grand Canyon and Vegas. Since the traveling schedule was so tight, Calvin got sick at the end. Luckily, he is okay now.

After the U.S. trip, I went to church retreat. The topic of this year's church retreat is "Walk with the Lord". I really got some new understanding of God's word. Praise the Lord.
(to be continue...)

Scary Scary...

2008-05-12T20:42:00.000-04:00

I was almost signing the contract for the 1B1B apartment. So, I randomly googled to search for more information about the neighborhood. I type the address of the apartment for google search. A scary news popped up: Dead body found at the same address of that apartment I was going to rent. It's just so scary and I didn't feel comfortable to rent it at all. I am concerned about the safety of the neighborhood, although several people told me the neighborhood of winter hill is safe.

Thanks God. Very quickly, we have found another apartment which is on Highland Ave. It is only 0.6 miles away from where I am going to work. It'd be about <10 minutes walking distance. The apartment looks good. To check for the safety around the neighborhood, I've called different places on that street to inquire, such as a Thai restaurant, community organization, YMCA and even a high school on that street. They all gave positive comments. So, we decided to take this one. Today, I've sent every documents, had my credit checked by the broker, signed the lease and also mailed the rent. The housing issue in Boston is settled..Yeah!! We have a place to stay in Boston now!

Got a good deal for a 1B1B apartment in Boston..

2008-05-08T22:17:00.000-04:00

The broker has contacted me this morning and showed me some pictures of the apartment. It looks awesome and clean. The price is good with heat and hot water included. Though it's not very big, I believe it's more than enough for 2 people to build up a cozy family there. If everything is okay, I think we are going to take it. Praise the Lord for preparing everything for us.

http://www.lokminglui.com/bostonapt.html

Working hard for my dissertation

2008-05-07T22:13:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged for a while simply because I have no time. These days, I have been busy working on my PhD dissertation. The defense exam is coming up on May 28th. I am still editing my dissertation. There are always something to modify every time I review it. It seems like an endless process. I guess I'll just do my best to make it as good as possible.

I am looking forwards to the vacation with Calvin and Eva in June. I haven't visited SF for several years. It should be fun visiting there again.

77 days left before Sandra comes to U.S.. I am so excited about it. We have already booked the tickets from L.A. to Boston. We will leave on July 27th by the red eye flight. It's so much fun to plan everything together, little by little. Now we are looking for housing in Boston. We have contacted several brokers. Hopefully, we can get an apartment as soon as possible.

Keep our eyes upon our Lord.

2008-04-28T13:15:00.000-04:00

Things happening in life are always unpredictable. I have mentioned earlier that my visa problem was fixed because of the new OPT policy. It has seemed to me that everything would be alright and I have been quite happy about it. But last week I found that both of my employers are not participating in the E-Verify. It is the necessary requirement for the extension application. It means I am not able to benefit from the new policy. I did feel disappointed at the beginning. But later on I realized that it is the lesson of faith God wants me to learn. I've recalled how God has saved me and led me through in the past. Things might not have happened as what I have expected. But every way that God's led me through has always been the best. Although I am still uncertain about what to do for my visa, I know everything would be alright because I have Him as my savior.
"All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my Guide?"

Praise the Lord.

2008-04-09T12:31:00.000-04:00

What a good news I heard this morning! My good friend (plus secondary school schoolmates) has accepted Christ as his savior. I remembered he hasn't yet received the salvation last year when we talked about Christianity. And now he has become a Christian. Thanks God. His work is wonderful.

God's Grace...

2008-04-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

For some reason, the H1B working visa application is very complicated for my case. This issue has been bothering me for a while. I've been talking with people, researching on it from the internet, consulting lawyers to seek for a good solution. It turned out I couldn't come up with a good answer.

Thanks God. Today the headline of the newspaper brought me a really good news. The duration of the OPT will be extended from 12 months to 29 months. It is about 2 and a half years. And mathematics is one of the few categories that qualify for the extension. Everything will be fixed. This is such an amazing grace. To me, the visa application seems to be a difficult problem. But for Him, nothing is difficult. By simply changing the OPT policy, He fixes everything. I've learned a lesson AGAIN that as a Christian, we really do not need to worry too much. As long as we put our eyes upon Him, He will take care of everything in a timely manner. Sometimes His work may not be immediate, but we should still keep our trust on Him. He CAN and He is WILLING to take care of us on EVERYTHING.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will (K)guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Work..Work..

2008-04-04T01:50:00.000-04:00

There are many works to do these days. Writing up the thesis, working on Yau's project, finishing up the research paper..Feel a little bit stressful..
Tho' there're many works to do, I couldn't quite concentrate and haven't done much today. I really work hard tomorrow.

鄧淑儀不平凡的生命見證

2008-04-03T23:18:00.000-04:00

10 days vacation with Sandra

2008-04-03T14:02:00.000-04:00

Let me start by writing about my 10 days US trip with Sandra during the spring break.

Sandra's come to to US on 3/19 and stay here in L.A. for 10 days. We've had a really wonderful time together.

3/19: (Day 1) A boring day
It was a boring day for her. My students had their final examination today. She arrived at about 11am at LAX. We spent most of the day on proctoring and grading. But amazingly, I finished grading ~100 exams in one day. After that, we went to a Japanese buffet near Santa Monica Beach. It's quite good if we considered the price.
3/20: (Day 2) Big Day -- her Birthday!
It's her birthday today. We went to Universal Studio. And we went to a steak house for dinner. She couldn't finish her plate and I helped her to finish it. Hehe..So I actually had 1.5 pieces of steak..Yummy Yummy. Oh. I bought an M&M ice-cream birthday cake for her too.

3/21: (Day 3) Shopping day

We went to Ontario Mill outlet shopping mall today. We bought quite a lot of clothes. We went to friday night fellowship together in the evening. It's so good to go to fellowship together. We've also had prayer with bro/sis together at the end of the meeting. Nice~~

(Our first rental car. Looks good. But the air-conditioning didn't work!)(My second rental car. Now the air-conditioning works.)

3/22: (Day 4) Santa Barbara Trip & Whale watching
We went to Santa Barbara today and went to watch whale. We saw lots of whale, dolphin and sea lion. It was a wonderful trip. We went to Tsang auntie house to have dinner at night.

3/23: (Day 5) Church
We went to church together today and have some gathering with bro/sis in the afternoon at Dorcas's house. We went to Korean BBQ for dinner. Yummy Yummy!

3/24: (Day 6) Grand Canyon
We woke up at 6am this morning. We drove 10 hours to Grand Canyon. It's tiring. But Grand Canyon is soooooooooo beautiful. We watched the sunset together in Grand Canyon.
3/25: (Day 7) Grand Canyon+Las Vegas
We visited Grand Canyon again in the morning. We had to drive an hour from the hotel to the national park. Hehe. When we arrived at the park, Sandra found out she left the engagement ring in the hotel. So, we had to go back to the hotel. Thanks God that we got it back from the cleaning lady. We drove back to the park at about 1pm and we stayed there for another 2 hours.
After that, we started driving to Las Vegas at around 3pm. We arrived there at 7pm. We had our dinner at Planet Hollywood Hotel. The buffet was sooooo delicious.
3/26: (Day 8) Hoover Dam
We visited Hoover Dam and Lake Mead today. It's pretty.

Coming back to Blogger again!

2008-04-03T13:58:00.000-04:00

It's interesting to read my previous posts on blogger. I've decided to keep blogging again (hopefully everyday).

2008-01-07T01:33:00.000-05:00

1/2: We took the wedding photo at Sun Tin Dai today. It's so professional! We took lots of good pictures.

1/3: I went to choose my wedding clothes at Sun Tin Dai. I chose a very good one.

1/4: My brother helped us to take another set of wedding photo. We spent the whole day taking photos. It's tiring but fun. Today is my dad's birthday. We have had a nice birthday dinner.

1/5: Dinner with dad and mum. So many good food. So full!

1/6: Dad and Mum went to cheung chau to visit sandra's parents.

1/7: Leaving for LA tomorrow. Packing..and I bought the HTC pda phone. I like it so much!!

2008-01-01T09:31:00.000-05:00

12/25: Sze was sick today. We didn't go anywhere but stayed at home to take some rest.

12/26: Sze got sick and she was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. It's a scary day and it's my first time sitting on the ambulance.

12/27: Family day. Dinner at home with dad and mum.

12/28: Dinner with friends at Mongkok.

12/29: Shenzhen trip.

12/30: Spent a day at Cheung Chau.

12/31: Count down at HK Disneyland. So much fun!

1/1: Another Shenzhen trip

2007-12-23T19:58:00.000-05:00

My Christmas gift! So nice!!

Funny chair:

My princess:

Last two days..

2007-12-23T19:50:00.000-05:00

Last two days have been really painful for me. I got an upset stomach after the buffet. I think it was the lobster and sashimi that caused the problem. It was really painful this time. Soooo painful that I gotta go to the hospital. Luckily I got much much better now after 2 days medication. Have to be more careful when dining out from now on.

2007-12-20T14:38:00.000-05:00

My mum is babysitting a new baby. She is sooooo cute:
A pretty christmas tree at IFC (It's made up by hanging balls from the top. A wonderful design!):

Buffet tonight!

2007-12-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

Eva, Calvin, Sandra and I went to have buffet at Century HK Hotel tonight. Since Calvin is helping us to take the wedding photo for free, we decided to treat him a dinner. The food was okay but not as delicious as we expected. The foie gras was pretty good. But the desert was quite awful!

Today my home comes a new baby girl whom my mother babysits. She is so cute!

Music Concert

2007-12-20T02:10:00.000-05:00

I went to the music concert of my sister tonight. She played Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4. Her performance was pretty good. One of her schoolmates played Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. Although it is one of the most difficult piece of piano concerto, I think his performance was also pretty good.

2007-12-20T02:07:00.000-05:00

2007-12-19T02:55:00.000-05:00

So full after pizza hut!

Our wedding ring

A tiring day.

2007-12-19T02:18:00.000-05:00

Jet lag wasn't too serious this time. I woke up at around 5am this morning. Today, Sze and I went to see the report of our pre-marital personalty test. We did it few months ago just for fun. HoHoHo. The counselor said we got the highest score amongst all the couples he has ever seen. The counselor has picked up some possible 'issues' that we should try to take care of. We spent 2 1/2 hours on the counseling. We both got tired at the end. The counselor mentioned that getting adapted to our new life in Boston might be one of the most crucial issue. He suggested that we should start thinking about different methods to deal with it. I think he was quite right about that.

We have had pizza hut for dinner tonight and tried out the new pizza. I was planning to buy a pair of jeans today. But it turned out to be too late already after counseling. Have to buy it later then~

Finally I m back..

2007-12-18T02:27:00.000-05:00

After 15 hours of flight, I am finally back to Hong Kong. It wasn't too tired because I got lots of sleep on the flight. And what a coincidence that Teresa was on the same flight sitting next to me!

I took E21 bus back home. It's a long journey and took me an hour to get back home. Something terrifying happened: When the bus was almost arriving at my home, black smoke came out from the back tire. Everyone was so scared and got off the bus at once. Luckily, it was just one stop before my final destination. So, I've just walked back home with my luggage.

It's so good to see my family again. In the morning, I went to 'drink tea' with my mum, my brother and my sister-in-law. After that, we went to visit the graves of my grandmothers and grandfather. And I got a chance to sit on my brother's new car (Honda). It's a really nice car!

In the afternoon, I did lots of things. I went to Cheung Chau to meet Sandra. We then went to Ferti in MongKok to shop for our wedding rings. We bought a really nice pair of rings! We like it a lot. In the evening, we went to have the wedding clothes fitting. It's so tired to do the fitting. It took us about two hours to finish the fitting. We have had a late dinner at 9PM. We got Sushi tonight. Yummy Yummy!

Soooooooooo tired today. I am about to get a good sleep!

Two more days...

2007-12-13T22:01:00.000-05:00

I will be going back to HK. I have been waiting for that day for so long! I am so excited about it. Hong Kong..I am coming!!

The long weekend...

2007-11-12T16:53:00.000-05:00

It was a fruitful long weekend. I've hanged out with friends for all three days. Thank you all for celebrating my birthday. It's so sweet. I really appreciate it.

2007-11-08T13:10:00.000-05:00

I didn't quite get a good sleep last night. It was soooo terrifying. At around 1am I received a phone call from her informing that she was in the hospital. She was found unconscious and was admitted to ER with a helicopter from Cheung Chau. It's shocking. It can be serious. I am still so worrying about her.

Pray the Lord that she will be getting okay.

Nice song

2007-10-29T22:45:00.000-04:00





作曲/藍奕邦
填詞/林若寧
編曲/王雙駿
監製/王雙駿


一擠熄華燈
一天的人生 化做宇宙塵
忘掉每日曾遇上敵人
懷內感受你睡臉也吸引

光陰的餘溫
逼真安全感 發自你每一吻
一天過後有你抱緊 零時零分
放下戒心 掃走一天氣忿

*祈求每晚與你分享這人生
平平淡淡之中抱你雙手都興奮
瑰麗晚燈亦開始變暗
無用追趕工作 動魄驚心

凌晨有雨那怕沾濕好黃昏
回頭日落西山與你睡姿都相襯
看著你眼晴看到願望
明日假使失去你 能夠吻 便要吻
(last x 平靜只得一剎那 能夠吻 便要吻)

急速的時針
新一天人生 繼續要運行　
明日世上無盡過路人
明白只是你脈搏最相近

忐忑的眉心
些少的情感 已密佈了黑暗
多得每夜有你倒數 零時零分
每日最初始於這一個吻

REPEAT *

如沒有你沒別人
拿出這安慰獎安慰我
平伏心中抑鬱 消災解困
有你身邊年年月月對對雙雙便更好運

REPEAT * with quote

2007-10-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

I've been *trying to work hard on my research work these days, though it was progressing really slow. I know there are deadlines for them, but that couldn't quite push me to work hard. I really have to get with it. I have to finish them before I head back to Hong Kong in December.

It's always not easy to make a decision, especially if the wrong decision might affect you quite a bit. As Sze said, I guess I should better hang tough on the decision what I have made. I know there's a reason why He put us to a totally new place to start our new stage of life. And I should have trust in Him that His way is always the best.

I've been researching on the green card application recently. After consulting with the lawyers, they think I could have a better chance to apply it through NIW. The whole process is so complicated. Life will be much easier if we have a GC. But is that something we should really do? I guess we should pray hard for the answer.

Congratulations, Magnus. He finally announced it! So many people are getting married in 2008. Now, there're already 3 couples. Anymore? haha!

How am I doing?

2007-10-12T20:33:00.002-04:00

I've been working quite hard these days. Everything has been organized more systematically. So now, I have, at least, a better sense of what I should do. That's good. It's always harsh without a direction.

Finally, Sze jas talked to her pastors. It's good to get it over. I guess there's a lesson the Lord wants both of us to learn together.

Sze and I have recently tried to do some research to estimate the living expense in Boston. It was sooooo fun! I love that feeling I get when we plan things together!

More faith..

2007-10-06T03:27:00.000-04:00

Feeling a bit weak spirtuall. I guess I'm not having enough faith in Him. There're just too many things I m worrying about. I'm worrying about the possible new changes, my capability,... But yeah..I think I'm just worrying too much. As long as it's His will, I trust that He can and will provide. But I do need more faith at this moment!

Get over Jet lag

2007-10-03T03:12:00.000-04:00

I finally got over the jet lag problem. I feel much much better with more sleep. Research work is doing okay. What I need to do now is to work hard on my work, and look forwards to my trip back to HK. Oh. By the way, I've almost forgot! I need to go wooden center to get myself to good shape. I am taking wedding photo in 2 months. Oh. Just two months!

Went through a good verse today. It's a good reminder to have faith in Him:
既是這樣、還有甚麼說的呢．　神若幫助我們、誰能敵擋我們呢。神既不愛惜自己的兒子為我們眾人捨了、豈不也把萬物和他一同白白的賜給我們麼。誰能控告　神所揀選的人呢．有　神稱他們為義了。誰能定他們的罪呢．有基督耶穌已經死了、而且從死裡復活、現今在　神的右邊、也替我們祈求。誰能使我們與基督的愛隔絕呢．難道是患難麼、是困苦麼、是逼迫麼、是飢餓麼、是赤身露體麼、是危險麼、是刀劍麼。如經上所記、『我們為你的緣故、終日被殺．人看我們如將宰的羊。』然而靠著愛我們的主、在這一切的事上、已經得勝有餘了。

2:30AM...

2007-09-27T06:13:00.000-04:00

It's 2:30am and I've waken up! Less than 4 hours sleep again. I don't how long it will take me to get over the jetlag. Maybe I am a bit stressed recently and that I cant relax myself to take rest. Just too many things are happening around me and her. On one hand, I am a bit stressed because of works and the upcoming transition of my life. On the other hand, I know she is also stressed because of her busy work, the church issue and the relationship with her bro/sis in church. If possible, I really want to be together with her to face all these. I'm worrying about her.

Still in a really bad mood. I couldn't quite concentrate on my work. What should I do!?

Got more things done!

2007-09-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

Finally, I could get few hours sleep last night. I feel much better with more rest.

I've already booked the flight ticket. It's so fully booked. I am so glad that I can still get my ticket. The job next year after my graduation is getting more confirmed. Thank you Lord. Still have to discuss it with Tony this weekend to get his advice. I hope everything can be confirmed soon, so that I can concentrate more on my research work.

The next important thing is about the visa application for CCMM. I am not quite sure about those F2, H4 visa stuff. I guess I have to go to the OISS to inquire about it. Someone said I should do the marriage registration earlier. Someone said the other way. I am a bit confused.

Um. But I know You will lead me all the way.

Jet lag..

2007-09-26T04:42:00.000-04:00

I couldn't quite fall asleep because of the jet lag. I feel tired but I couldn't sleep. It's so pity!

I've already coped with most things that I've to take care of after leaving for 3 months. And I've called the travel agent about the flight ticket in December. It's so freaking expensive and it's so full already!! But I've no choice. December is perhaps the only time I can leave for so long for the wedding photo and other wedding preparation.

Still negotiating with the job. Feel a bit insecure. But yeah, I shouldn't worry too much because I know He is looking after all these. And I know:
我的神必照他榮耀的豐富、在基督耶穌裡、使你們一切所需用的都充足。

Have had dinner with my friend tonight. I know he is having a harsh time making his decision. I totally understand his situation.

Back to L.A.!

2007-09-25T03:50:00.000-04:00

I am back to L.A.. Yes. Very unwillingly, I am again back in United States. 3 months has passed so quickly. I've had so much fun in HK with my family and friends. I don't really want to come back. But yeah, as you said, I am already back and I shouldn't mention that anymore.
So many things to handle after leaving for so long. I really need strength to deal with all these. Lord, pray that You would help me to go through all these.

Wedding clothes..

2007-09-17T10:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight, we went to choose our wedding clothes for taking wedding photos in December. It took quite a long time, coz there're so many choices. Finally, we picked three of them. It's really a fun experience!
Photos? Yeah. They are up but I am not going to publicize them. HEHE.

Wedding plan...

2007-09-17T04:11:00.000-04:00

Thx for God's grace. Everything went through smoothly for our wedding preparation. We have already booked the wedding hall and banquet restaurant.

Wedding Hall:

Banquet Hall:

2007-08-13T07:48:00.000-04:00

I've finally changed the return date of my trip. Thanks God. Now I could stay 10 days more in HK. Cool~

Beijing is...

2007-08-11T03:08:00.000-04:00

so hot today! It's possibly because of the "air adjustment measure". Last Wednesday was the "100 days before the Olympic". And so a lot of guest from all over the world came to Beijing to celebrate. In order to have a good air condition, the governemt has bumped some chemicals to the sky to "improve" the air. WoWoW. You have to believe that Chinese government can really make the sky clear during the Olympic.

Life is as usual. Trying to get things done. Look forwards to going back to HK. Still have some troubles to change the return date of my flight ticket. God. Please help.

Stay for 2 weeks longer...

2007-08-09T05:11:00.000-04:00

I've decided to stay in HK 2 weeks longer. Tho'I have to pay for the penalty, I think it worths. I'll wait for the email from the department before I decide the exact return date. Cool~ I'm gonna have more time with my family and HER. :)

Bad experience at the hotel...

2007-08-09T01:11:00.000-04:00

Beijing, the capital, is supposed to be the representation of China. The behavior of people here- how they act, how they speak,etc, can directly affect foreigner's impression on China. 'Beijing'ers are responsible to take this role to build the good image of our country. But even tho' I m a Chinese, I cannot accept those bad behavior and attitude of 'Beijing'er. It's difficult to imagine why a city like that could be chosen as the host city of 2008 Olympic!

More ridiculously, it's really outta my expectation that the staff in the hotel can also be that impolite. The funniest was that he can still behave so naively after I have complained him. I could (or perhaps I should) certainly complain him once again. I didnt do so (instead I just shook my head with a soft chuckle). It's not because I am afraid of him, but I just didn't want him to loss his job or bring him about any more troubles...The thing is..I dunno when I will lose my patience to put up with his bad attitude. I dunno when I cant tolerate anymore that I will go and complain him the second time...

AI...CHINA...GROW UP PLS..

Sandra's Beijing visit...

2007-08-03T05:29:00.000-04:00

Sandra came to Beijing to visit me this week. Tho' both of us don't like Beijing at all, we've had a really good time together for about a week...

Still have 3 more weeks I'll go back to HK. So excited about that!!

I like these verses!

2007-07-28T06:24:00.000-04:00

ISIAH
55:1 你們一切乾渴的都當就近水來．沒有銀錢的也可以來．你們都來、買了喫．不用銀錢、不用價值、也來買酒和奶。
55:2 你們為何花錢〔原文作平銀〕買那不足為食物的、用勞碌得來的買那不使人飽足的呢．你們要留意聽我的話、就能喫那美物、得享肥甘、心中喜樂。
55:3 你們當就近我來．側耳而聽、就必得活．我必與你們立永約、就是應許大衛那可靠的恩典。
55:4 我已立他作萬民的見證、為萬民的君王和司令。
55:5 你素不認識的國民、你也必召來．素不認識你的國民、也必向你奔跑、都因耶和華你的　神以色列的聖者．因為他已經榮耀你。
55:6 當趁耶和華可尋找的時候尋找他、相近的時候求告他．
55:7 惡人當離棄自己的道路．不義的人當除掉自己的意念、歸向耶和華、耶和華就必憐恤他．當歸向我們的　神、因為　神必廣行赦免。
55:8 耶和華說、我的意念、非同你們的意念、我的道路、非同你們的道路。
55:9 天怎樣高過地、照樣我的道路、高過你們的道路、我的意念、高過你們的意念。
55:10 雨雪從天而降、並不返回、卻滋潤地土、使地上發芽結實、使撒種的有種、使要喫的有糧．
55:11 我口所出的話、也必如此、決不徒然返回、卻要成就我所喜悅的、在我發他去成就的事上〔發他去成就或作所命定〕必然亨通。
55:12 你們必歡歡喜喜而出來、平平安安蒙引導．大山小山必在你們面前發聲歌唱．田野的樹木也都拍掌。
55:13 松樹長出代替荊棘．番石榴長出代替蒺藜．這要為耶和華留名、作為永遠的證據、不能剪除。

My long weekend in Hong Kong...

2007-07-24T12:47:00.000-04:00

Friday: I got back to Hong Kong at about 11am. Lunch with mum. We watched Harry Potter tonight. The movie was great. Special effect was awesome, especially we were watching in the 4D theater at the airport. Tho' it's a long journey to the airport, it worths!

Saturday: Shopping...Seafood dinner at Cheung Chau. Yummy Yummy!

Sunday: Church-- the message was good. Thanks God! Sandra came to have dinner with dad and mum. Sooooooooo relaxing today!!

Monday: Karaoke!! HK is such a small city. We met Tim at MongKok today! Hot Pot tonight..sooooo full!!

Tuesday: Stay with sandra at her school. She needs to work today. Flight back to Beijing in the evening. Vacation ended! So fast. Too fast!!

Life...

2007-07-18T06:49:00.000-04:00

here in Beijing is quite boring. I hate it more as I live here longer. Beijing is unruly! It's chaotic! And there's NO rule at all! I got horned by cars when the traffic light is green! And today, cars were driving on the pedestrian road...

Teammates got frustrated with the project. Perhaps the problem is too difficult to tackle. I feel difficult to lead the team. Lord, please give me strength and wisdom to deal with it.

Got the office at the Morningside Maths Institute. It's more quiet there, because I have my own office. I'll try to work there more often.

Excited about the trip back to HK! Yeah. Very soon~

Jerusalem..

2007-07-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

Photo album of Jerusalem..I wanna go to Jerusalem!!!
http://www.mike.idv.tw/2006/06/14/200

http://www.mike.idv.tw/2006/06/17/229

God's grace..

2007-07-11T22:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Thanks God! We saw God's grace on us...

Because of the visa application, we've decided earlier that we should do the marriage registration next month. We wanna get started with the visa application earlier. This seems to be weird to us. But since we didn't know what exactly the problem was, we just sticked with the original plan...

These days I have been really struggling. I didn't know if it's the right thing. Praise the Lord! God is looking after us and He listened to my prayer. Yesterday we were about to go to the registration office to submit documents. But it was at the last moment when God let us know what we're planning to do was wrong. It's weird not because of the procedure. It's 'weird' because we didn't have enough faith in Him. Yeah. It might seem to be more 'difficult' to apply for visa if we do it later. But if it's His will, nothing can be difficult.

Yes. When problem arises, we might try to find our own ways to solve it. Many times we just plan by ourselves and walk apart from the Lord. Shall we follow our own? Or we should better give trust to our Lord and believe that He could handle everything for us? We finally decided to let Him be our Lord, our leader!

Yeah. Praise the Lord. We thank God, because He is taking care of our problems..He is looking after us.

"All the way the savior leads me what am I to ask beside?..."

Hong Kong...

2007-07-09T04:42:00.000-04:00

I've just bought the ticket back to HK on 7/20 for 5 days (during the long weekend). So excited! Sandra is coming to Beijing on 7/29 too. We will be travelling around the city. YEAH~~

Sick!

2007-07-09T01:09:00.000-04:00

I was sick! I got a cold and cough. I was originally planning to travel around with teammates during the weekend. But it turned out that I had to stay at the hotel to take rest. :( Thanks God I'm feeling much much better today.

I went to church on Sunday. This church is so interesting that they only allow people with foreigner passport (BNO included) to enter. I met Irene there too! It's so great to see her again in Beijing!

Sunday evening we went to the food street in Beijing. So many different kind of good foods!!

Tired...

2007-07-06T05:09:00.000-04:00

I couldn't quite concentrate on my work today. I got a cough and so I took some medication. The medication made me feel sleepy and tired. I might better go back to the hotel and get some rest.

I talked to Prof. today. He doesn't want me to work on our research project at Microsoft. He will give me an office at his Maths. Institute to work during my spare time. I don't know how far it is from my Microsoft office. I hope it wouldn't be too far away, so that I could walk back and fro to work. Well..let's see..

I don't like Beijing!

2007-07-05T06:21:00.000-04:00

My fifth day in Beijing. My impression is...it sucks! I hate Beijing! I don't wanna stay here. Everything are dirty! Everywhere are dirty (except the Microsoft office, to be fair). I couldn't understand why people can live here. Street smells. Foods are dirty and oily. Cooks deomonstrate their dirty cooking precedure in front of customers! People and cars cross the road without following the traffic light! And...ai...you name it!! Ridiculous!

How's life here?

2007-07-04T06:32:00.000-04:00

It's my fourth day in Beijing. I've already settled down. I've started my job too. I was so busy on the first two days of my job. So many meetings, 'lunch' and 'dinner'. Hopefully, life will be more relaxed later on. The living condition of the hotel was not good, but is acceptable. Poor me that I didn't have internet access in the hotel on the first day. Thanks God. I switched to another room with internet after I've fighted for it.
I'm planning to go back to Hong Kong during the long weekend. Hope that the flight ticket wouldnt be too expensive.

First day at Mircrosoft. Busy! Fun!

2007-07-03T09:56:00.000-04:00

So Sick!!

2007-07-01T06:24:00.000-04:00

I felt sooooo sick yesterday. I think it's because of the dirty food I ate. I was wondering if I could fly to Beijing today. Thanks God. I got much much better this morning when I woke up. And now, I am ready for my Beijing trip.
Microsoft..Beijing..I'm coming!!

I've done it! Yeah!

2007-06-29T06:20:00.000-04:00

Good job, Ron. You've done it!
(hehe..but..you know what? I was soooooo scared!!! well...ANYWAYS!)

Okay. Yeah. I'm engaged.

Japanese food..yummy!

2007-06-28T06:14:00.000-04:00

Sandra and I, together with her uncle and aunt, had dinner tonight. We discussed the purpose of marriage a little bit. There're some points they made that I could hardly agree on. It's okay tho'. It's cool to have fellowship, after all. The dinner was great. I like the japanese food. YUMMY YUMMY!!

A Big Dinner

2007-06-27T06:13:00.001-04:00

My parents and Sze's parents met and had dinner tonight. What a big dinner! Thanks God. Everything just went through so smoothly. Praise the Lord.

I'm back!

2007-06-26T06:03:00.000-04:00

I've arrived at Hong Kong this morning. My mum came to pick me up. I feel sooooo happy to see my mum again. There's nothing much changes in Hong Kong. Well. I was in Hong Kong like two months back. I shouldn't expect there're too much changes.
So good to see Sandra again. I know she's tired of working. But she's so nice that she came out from Cheung Chau and hanged out with me. We've had dinner with my family and then we went out for a movie -- the pirate. HEHE.. ButI feel soooo sorry coz I fell asleep in the theatre. I was just too tired. SORRY SZE! HEHE.

Hungtington Beach 6/9/2007

2007-06-11T18:45:00.001-04:00

Look at it from a different perspective...

2007-06-06T18:48:00.000-04:00

I've been recently swamped with research works. As Prof. is leaving for Boston this Friday, he's expecting that we could finish up something before he leaves. And that means I'm getting busier.

Close friends of mine should have listened to me whine over the past few weeks about my busy work. But last night when I was driving back home on freeway, I meditated about things happened to me lately. I again realized these all might be His plans for me. When challenges came, I tried to escape from it. I see it as a harsh task for me rather than grace. Today, Sandra reminded me that it's a chance that I've always been longing for. This triggered me some thoughts. Perhaps I should not keep blaming and instead I should express my thanks.

So happy with this news. I know it's given by the Lord. Thanks God and let Him be the glory.

2007-05-25T12:11:00.000-04:00

Don't Write Me Off (Hugh Grant)

It's never been easy for me
To find words that go along with a melody
But this time there's actually something on my mind
So please forgive these few brief awkward lines
Since I met you my whole life has changed
It's not just the furniture you re-arranged
I was living in the past
But somehow you brought me back
and I havn't felt like this since before Frankie said relax
and now I know based on my track record
I may not seem like the safest bet
All I'm asking you is
Don't write me off just yet

For years I've been telling myself the same old story
That I'm happy to live off my so called formor glorys
but you've given me a reason
to take another chance
now I need you inspite the fact
that you've killed all my plants
and now I know
that i've already blown more chances
then anyone should ever get
all I'm asking you is
don't write me off just yet
don't write me off just yet

I'm confused.

2007-05-20T20:36:00.000-04:00

Things have just happened not as what I wanted or planned lately. Sometimes I feel frustrated and disappointed. I've been reminded many times that I do not need to worry, coz He has a perfect plan on me. But emotionally I just couldnt stop my anxiety.

When chances, which were considered by many people as 'good', came to me, people around thought I was treating them as if I didn't care at all. The thing is, I treasure them and I really care. But to me there're just sth more important in my life that I have to put them as my priority. Just because I don't grasp all the chances at once doesn't mean I don't treasure them at all. How come people couldn't understand? Is there anyone who truly know what I'm thinking? Well. But I guess He does.

An early "bad" news :(

2007-05-17T18:09:00.000-04:00

Our original summer plan has to be changed again. I feel a bit disappointed this morning, coz I don't like amendment. After all, that's something I have been longing for. But there's just nothing I can do for it. Helpless!

I realistically know that it may be His plan and that it may be better off for me. But emotionally, I feel a bit upset. Well. May be it is another lesson for me to learn how to consolidate my faith. Maybe it's another lesson for me to learn how to balance between my emotion and reason.

Quick update of myself

2007-05-16T12:34:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I last posted. I think it's about the right time to give a quick update about myself. So, what have I been?

First of all, l have to mention that I am flying to Beijing this summer to work at Microsoft Asia. I feel so excited about it and could not wait any longer to check out Beijing. As the mentor of two projects, I could see the task is gonna be challeging but interesting. And I am pretty sure it's gonna be a very good experience. But now, I think polishing my Mandarin and Chinese would be a top priority. I am working hard on it and I don't know how well it would go before I head off to Beijing.

So, I've been working really hard on my research work these days. I intend to accomplish one or two research projects before I leave. The progress is just so-so, mainly because I am too lazy. There're lots of works. I think I really need to get with it.

Besides research work, I am helping out to organize the church retreat. It's kind of a beneficial experience. I've never organized such a 'big' event before. I am learning a lot from it.

Well. As you could see, life has been very much as usual. Church, research and sharing with her have become the routine. Yah. Sorta boring. But I know, my HK and BJ trip is coming. 29 days left. Yeah!!

2007-04-28T10:20:00.000-04:00

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

2007-04-27T16:18:00.000-04:00

秋雨甘霖「人生熱線影院」主題曲
曲/監：歐陽業俊
編曲：Ted Lo
作詞：西伯
主唱︰陳敏之

無情歲月看在眼內每一天，
為何每是眼淚，光輝總缺少？
如何痛著、愛著、錯著過一天、一天。
如何生死只一線；錯了有誰在掛牽？

歲月過，我度過，令我痛過的多，
祢如何祝福一生載歌？
未見晴朗！我又跌盪過幾多！

誰料就是在我無言尋問「上帝可有遲？」
神未有一刻轉移，人心可得靠依
誰料就是在我咒詛、無助、暴雨灑遍時，
如春雨降，秋天甘霖，
如一首詩，改寫心裡日誌。

原來世事變幻，也在祢手中。
原來每滴眼淚一一都細數。
如何痛著、愛著、錯著過一天、一天，
原來恩典永不變，前途早有祢預見！

為我默默付上祝福，無問代價，不會遲！
寧代我擔起苦愁，人心不必掛牽！
猶如大地熬過旱天，重遇驟雨天降時，
重新振翅，穿梭星馳，
晴天、陰天，光彩總會遇見！

沿途有祢，為我改寫心底困惱鬱結，再踏我路。
沿途晦暗，定會找到新的意義！
相信明天，有著新里程，重設生命方向，探索心內細情。

為我默默付上祝福，無問代價，不會遲！
寧代我擔起苦愁，人心不必掛牽！
猶如大地熬過旱天，重遇驟雨天降時，
重新振翅，穿梭星馳，晴天、陰天，光彩總會遇見！

如春雨降，秋天甘霖，神的祝福，改寫心裡日誌。

2007-04-27T11:45:00.000-04:00

Thx God that our quarrel didn't last too long. I guess both of us have been really tired these days. We argued more than before, mainly because of some minor things. I think the best way to improve is to be more considerate and care more about each others.

A good first step

2007-04-26T19:40:00.000-04:00

I've been tired of getting involved in such a meaningless conflict between them. It just wouldn't help but harm our research progress. And definitely I shouldn't be in between such a 'cold war'. So, I bravely told the whole situation to one of them and let them find their own solution. I don't know if I did it right. But I don't want to get involved anymore.