I år kommer det att bli 15 dagar sammanhängande ledighet. Det har känts okej ända tills jag såg att förra sommaren bjöd på endast 12 dagar. När kommer mitt år då jag får flera veckor ledigt? Det är bra att ha långsiktiga framtidsplaner.

Akhirnya perjalanan yang panjang, berliku, dan sangat-sangat melelahkan itu selesai juga. :)

Jadi sekarang saatnya kita memperkenalkan sang misi rahasia... Eng ing eng... Apakah itu?? Hehe, seperti udah banyak yang nebak... Yup yup, kita beli rumah! :) Condo sih tepatnya, gak sanggup beli single house di daerah sini.

Mau nyari yang pas kok susah banget ya. Kalo gua udah cocok, Esther gak cocok. Gitu juga sebaliknya. Kalo kita berdua cocok, kantongnya gak cocok. Hahaha. Kriterianya banyak sih soalnya:

1. Home school nya harus bagus, terutama untuk elementary school nya. Untuk sekolah setelahnya gak usah dipikirin sekarang dah, mestinya saat itu kita udah pindah ke Beverly Hills. Haha.

2. Luasnya harus minimal 1,000 sqf, jumlah kamar tidur dan kamar mandi masing-masing minimal 2, dan baru renovasi (kita soalnya kan gelian orangnya, kalo gak baru renovasi ntar jadi gak betah).

3. Ada laundry inside unit.

4. Ada kolam renang dan tempat fitness.

5. Deket kantor.

6. Harga affordable untuk cicilan per bulannya.

Nah ternyata sodara-sodara, susah bener untuk memenuhi semua kriteria di atas itu! Akhirnya salah satu poin harus kita korbankan asalkan itu bukan poin 1, 2, atau 6.

Sampe akhirnya kita nemu kandidat kuat, yang mana poin nomor 3 dan 5 gak terpenuhi (bahkan kolam renang pun gak ada sih, cuma ada gym dan jacuzzi). Kita udah sreg, cuma (sreg kok ada cuma nya ya... :P) gua nih yang kadang masih goyah karena jaraknya yang rada jauh. Tepatnya di Sherman Oaks, sekitar 14 miles dari kantor. Kalo lagi gak macet sih 15 menit juga nyampe. Tapi kata temen kantor gua yang tinggal di daerah sana, rata-rata kalo jam kerja sih ya sekitar 1-1,5 jam perjalanan. Duh! Udah gitu karena di situ tuh daerah valley jadi suhunya rata-rata akan lebih panas. Tapi harganya masuk budget banget!!

Eh trus tak disangka tak dinyana, pas Esther lagi ngeliat salah satu condo di building yang kita tempati sekarang ini, kok ya pas dia ketemu ama manager construction-nya dan dikasih tau kalo mereka lagi renov banyak unit disini untuk dijual-jualin. Mereka emang lagi proses convert dari apartemen (istilah untuk disewakan) ke condominium (istilah untuk dijual). Dan ada 1 yang saat itu sedang direnov yang kamarnya 2 (lainnya cuma 1 kamar atau 3 kamar). Trus apalagi setelah kita berdua ngeliat, kita sama-sama sreg! Sreg banget malah! Disini yang dicoret cuma poin 4, tapi gak apa lah karena di kantor gua ada gym yang alatnya lengkap dan murah!

Rumahnya full bamboo floor, kamar mandi pake travertine (mirip-mirip marmer), gitu juga area tempat makan dan dapur. Duh gua seneng banget dah. Dari dulu kan pengen punya rumah yang pake lantai kayu (apalagi ini udah pake bamboo floor yang lebih kuat dan lebih keren) dan kamar mandi marmer. Hehe. Trus lagi cuma 3 miles dari kantor (nyetir kalo lancar banget cuma 5 menit, rata-rata 15 menit, macet terparah 30 menit, bisa naik bus pula). Nyebrang ada 2 supermarket, ada Mc D, ada KFC (catet: ada KFC!), sebelah persis ada resto Jepang dan Korea dan toko donat yang enak banget (beneran dah, udah 50 tahun nih tokonya), jalan dikit ada Bobba Tea, ada Pizza Hut, dan ada Ross (tempat beli barang-barang murmer). Semuanya itu tinggal jalan kaki lho! Asik gak tuh... Trus home school nya nilainya 10 pula! Middle & high school nya jelek sih, tapi ya kayak gua bilang tadi, ntar kita udah pindah lah ke Beverly Hills. Hahaha.

Jadi mantab dong kita ama rumah yang ini. Tinggal harganya nih yang gak mantab. Bedanya $100,000 lebih dari yang di Sherman Oaks. Mampus gak... Jadi dilema dah. Tapi ya kita coba nawar aja kan. Gak ada salahnya. Dagdigdug juga nih pas tawar-tawaran. Soalnya kan kita pengen. Hehe. Eh akhirnya dikasih juga, walaupun tetep lebih mahal dari yang Sherman Oaks, tapi dengan pertimbangan kalo di Sherman Oaks kita harus keluar duit buat beli kulkas, mobil (yang berarti juga nambah asuransi), ganti lantai (disono soalnya karpet dan kita gak suka karpet), belum lagi bensin yang mahal dan stres di jalan, jadi kita putusin untuk ngambil yang ini (di west LA tepatnya).

Dan akhirnya kita putusin untuk jadi beli dan bayar escrow (kayak notaris gitu lah) buat nge-lock. Sampe saat itu semuanya berjalan lancar dan harusnya dengan kondisi saat itu, dalam 17 hari kita udah bisa tutup escrow yang artinya transaksi jual-beli selesai. Kita emang pas-in akhir bulan biar kita gak perlu perpanjang sewa di apartemen lama (kita sewa nya kontrak 6 bulan). Jadi saat itu juga kita udah langsung ngasih notice untuk akan keluar dari apartemen yang ternyata harus 30 hari notice yang berarti kita harus masih nyewa sampe tanggal 15 Juli. Yah gak apa lah daripada mesti sampe akhir Juli, ya gak? Trus kita mulai ngurusin surat-surat dan ngajuin bank loan. Yang lebih bikin seneng lagi, bank loan kita disetujui.

Tapi emang manusia cuma bisa berencana, Tuhan yang berkehendak ya. Di saat semuanya udah mulus, dan kita ekspektasinya udah di tingkat paling atas, ternyata... transaksinya kacau balau! Bahkan sampe udah hampir batal! Rasanya kita yang tadinya udah naik pelan-pelan sampe ke atas, tau-tau jatuh ke lantai paling bawah! Braaakkk!!! Kenapa bisa gitu? Panjang dan rumit banget ceritanya, dan rasanya terlalu menyakitkan untuk diceritain lagi (duile bahasanya... Haha. Tapi emang begitu kok, gua gak mendramatisir).

Akhirnya yang tadinya udah prosesnya hampir 90% selesai, balik jadi 5% lagi. Sia-sia semuanya. Cape ati? Iya. Cape pikiran? Iya. Kita cuma bisa berdoa. Yah kalo emang ini yang terbaik buat kita, pasti Tuhan akan ngasih jalan. Cuma emang waktu itu kita udah gak di posisi yang enak. Karena kita udah brentiin kontrak sewa yang mana kalo kita mau nyewa lagi harus kontrak lagi 6 bulan, dan itu berarti kita gak bisa beli rumah dalam 6 bulan kedepan kan... :( Padahal apartemen kita itu udah kekecilan, udah gak layak lagi buat ditinggalin, terutama buat Andrew.

Yah untungnya emang orang ganteng disayang Tuhan (udah lama kan gua gak ngomong gini, jadi dilarang protes ya :P), Tuhan emang baik banget ama kita, pelan-pelan jalannya mulai ada lagi. Gak mulus emang. Tetep berkelok-kelok, kadang berlubang-lubang. Tapi yang penting masih ada jalan! Walaupun susah lewatnya, tapi kita masih bisa lewat!

Sampe akhirnya hari Jumat tanggal 11 Juli lalu, jadi hari terakhir gua untuk berjalan kaki ke kantor, soalnya terhitung tanggal 13 Juli, kita pindahan ke rumah baru! Duh senangnya... walaupun statusnya masih belum punya kita, tapi kita udah bisa pindah dulu.

Dikit cerita tentang pindahan nih ya. Ribet makkk ternyata pindahan sendiri (dibantu ama 1 sepupunya Esther sih). Setelah packing berhari-hari, pagi itu kita nyewa truk (14 feet ukurannya). Gede juga lho. Tadinya gua udah keder aja mau nyetir truk, ternyata gak susah-susah amat. Cuma karena gua kependekan, dan kursinya gak bisa dimajuin, yang ada kalo ngegas mesti jinjit. Hahaha. Trus yang paling ribet ya ngangkat-ngangkat barang nih. Dari apartemen ke truk dan dari truk ke rumah baru. Yang terberat adalah kasur! Trus dresser juga berat!! Ampun dah.... Capenya setengah mati! Lain kali kalo pindahan ke Beverly Hills (yakin bener ya.. haha), gua akan nyewa mover dah! Kalo gak, bisa encok! :P

Trus apa selesai sampe situ? Enggak ternyata sodara-sodara. Setelah urusan dokumen-dokumen yang sempet menghambat ternyata udah beres dan kita bisa tanda-tangan, ternyata oh ternyata... duitnya gak keluar-keluar dari bank! Katanya Senin, tapi gak keluar. Trus Selasa, gak keluar juga! Ampun dah, mulai stress lagi gua! Eh ternyata... kemaren keluar juga!!! :)

Dan hari ini, 24 Juli 2008, transaksi resmi ditutup. Gua dan Esther resmi jadi pemilik rumah ini! Yippppieeeeee!!! Duh rasanya lega banget. Setelah stres 2 bulan, bener-bener legaaaaaaaaa banget!!!!

Thank God banget-banget-banget, dalam waktu 7 bulan dari setelah gua posting yang ini, kita udah bener-bener bisa punya rumah sendiri! Yah walaupun nyicil sih 30 tahun (iyaaaa 30 tahun!!! Hahaha. Abis kalo gak gitu gak mampu bayarnya) dan DP nya pun juga masih minjem. :D

Yah moga-moga secepetnya gua bisa ngelunasin DP dan cepet naik gaji biar cepet ngelunasi rumah, gak perlu nunggu 30 tahun ya! Hehe. :)

Thanks banget juga to my beloved wife. Hampir semua-semuanya dia yang ngurusin. Dari mulai nego-nego, beli ini itu, beres-beres, ngurusin cable, ngurusin washer dryer, semua-semuanya dah... Hebat dah Esther ini, bener-bener wonder woman. Semuanya dia yang ngurus! Sori ya sampe mesti mengalami stres banget waktu itu... Sori ya kalo aku gak terlalu bisa ngebantu ngeringanin beban waktu itu... Moga-moga di rumah ini, kehidupan kita bisa lebih baik dan bisa lebih bahagia ya... Amin...

Thank you juga buat Andrew yang udah jadi anak yang super duper baik dan sangat pengertian. Kasian lho pas lagi kita giat-giatnya nyari rumah, tiap weekend kerjaannya ngeliat rumah mulu, sampe si Andrew bosen banget. Kasian kamu nak... Padahal harusnya kan dia harus banyak-banyak main, bukan diajak keliling mulu nyari rumah (dulu udah keliling nyari apartemen hehe). Lucunya, sehari sebelum pindahan, kita bersih-bersih di rumah baru, si Andrew langsung jatuh cinta ama rumah baru. Pas sorenya kita pulang ke apartemen lama, dia nangis-nangis minta ke rumah baru! Hahaha. Padahal sebelumnya kita dibilang-bilangin orang katanya anak kecil suka susah diajak pindah ke rumah baru. :)

Thank you juga buat ortu kita yang udah banyak banget bantu! Juga sodara-sodara dan temen-temen yang udah bantu ngedoain sampe semuanya bisa lancar!!!

Duh gua udah berasa terima award aja dah pake thank you-thank you-an begini! Hahaha. Abis bener-bener dah perjalanan beli rumah ini kok ribetttttt banget! Dulu pas beli tanah dan bangun rumah di Jakarta juga ribet sih, tapi yang kali ini rasanya lebih berat.

Yah begitulah ceritanya... Sekali lagi, kita cuma berharap semoga rumah ini membawa kebahagiaan dan rejeki yang lebih lagi buat kita bertiga! Amin...

P.S. Nomor rumah kita 105 yang mana 10 adalah bulan kelahiran Andrew, 5 adalah bulan kelahiran gua dan Esther! Kebetulan atau maksa? Moga-moga karena emang jodoh... :)

Esther Aranda

Vitaldent: la primera consulta es gratuita...

The only real concern I have is the murder that the Jews carry out at the end of Esther, as described in Esther 9:5-10 --

5 The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

I don't quite understand the sudden murder of all of these people.  It seems to me that the Jews were doing precisely what they didn't want their enemies to do.

Men allt har ju en baksida. Ingen som blir glad när man kommer hem, ingen som kommer och gosar på morgonen, ingen som kryper in under filten när jag ligger i soffan och slappar (istället för att ta rätt på disk och matrester från middagen).

Jag saknar dem nog lite grann ändå. Men ska ändå passa på att njuta tills på onsdag då de kommer hem igen. Njuter extra mycket när kattvakterna ringer och frågar hur vi ORKAR. Ja, det är ju det vi inte gör. ;-)

Esther 1:9-12 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king with {her} royal crown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. Then the king became very angry and his wrath burned within him.

Esther’s Character:

Esther 2:7-15 He (Mordecai) was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. So it came about when the command and decree of the king were heard and many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king's palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice maids from the king's palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem. Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make {them} known. Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared. Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women--for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women--the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she desired was given her to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. In the evening she would go in and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

So the big question is... What would Esther have done if she had been summoned by the king to display her beauty before a bunch of drunk men?

The question is not whether Queen Vashti was morally right or wrong for responding the way she did; but rather a question of how a women with a godly character would and should respond to such a command.

I think most of us women, because of the feminist culture we live in, want to cheer Queen Vashti on for standing up for all women and our right to be respected individuals, but is this really the character God wants us to have.

In contrast, let’s look at Esther’s character. She is first submissive to Mordecai who has raised her as his own daughter, even to keeping her nationality a secret. She is submissive to the eunuch Hegai who cares for her in the harem, to the point that she only takes into the king what he suggests, instead of selfishly taking what would benefit her if she happened to not be chosen, and instead of taking in what she thinks the king will like best. Most of us women have the tendency to think we know what’s best. Esther never steps out of this submissive role, even to the point of obeying Mordecai and putting her own life on the line to save the Jews. As a result, Esther is favored by everyone she comes into contact with, God uses her, and because of her submission, her people are saved.

So back to the question...would Esther have displayed her beauty to a bunch of drunk men? I believe she would have, but I believe she would have done so with such dignity and honor that every man would have been immediately guilt ridden and would have had to hide their eyes with shame for disrespecting such a discreet and chaste women. Where as Queen Vashti brought demotion upon herself and bondage to all women who were now commanded to obey their husbands as if they were a slave, Esther would have brought honor to herself, God and all women.

Eph 5:22-23 Wives, {be subject} to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself {being} the Savior of the body.

Eph 5:32, 33b This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. ..and the wife must {see to it} that she respects her husband.

As you study Esther further you will discover that she had character that brought honor to God, herself, the Jews, and even the king, her husband. She was an example of the relationship that the church (that is each one of us) must have with Christ. This character was not her audacity to be who she wanted to be and do as she thought best for herself. It was the character of submission and obedience which brought her strength and courage to bring about honor and favor from God and to all people.

This is the example God wants us to follow, not the example the world would have us follow. It is submission and obedience to God and my husband that I desire to obtain and the example I want my own daughter to follow in order to bring honor and glory to God who sent His Son to die for the forgiveness of our sins and to be resurrected so that we may have eternal life if we believe.

Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.

Anyway, onto Esther and then Job... hopefully this week will have many updates.

we reached there rather early,
slightly before 7pm.
we "loiter" around.
taking pictures of ourselves with my Digital Camera.

around 7:25pm,
we were ushered into the assembly,
chose our seats and settled down,
waiting for the event to commence.

the drama - The Great Escape
i can understand what messages that they are trying to reach out to us,
but i simply just couldn't relate them in words.
maybe in simple term:
"When you are given a chance to repent for your sins, cherish this chance."
(Esther, correct me if I am wrong).

I would like to thank Esther for the invitation to this drama,
I learnt a lot from it.
*I am enlightened*

after the drama,
me, Esther, Joan and Junie went for supper with Esther's Uni friends.
at Amk Blk 107.
we ate until about 11:30pm
and we bid farewell to Esther's uni friend.

I sent Esther and Junie home..
whereas I dropped Joan at Yio Chu Kang MRT Station.
Sorry Joan,
next time, direct me to your house?
den I will be able to fetch you home.
apologies wor..

it's a great and fulfilling day.
hope there's more to come.  =)

*Will upload the pictures soon.

.. To be Continued`

What is one woman from the Bible that you can relate to, and explain why you relate to her?What is one woman from the Bible that you can relate to, and explain why you relate to her?

I thought long and hard about this; there are so many women in the Bible I admire and respect. But these are women I want to be like and not those that I feel I can really relate to. . . at least that's what I thought when I first read the question for this week's cafe chat. Then I started to look into my repertoire of Bible women and I came up with one - ESTHER.

I realised that in my walk with Jesus, many times I feel like Esther; like a little and very ordinary girl who is just dressed in queenly garments but does not feel at all queenly. I don't know if I'm making any sense here. I read about Esther that seemed so familiar:

"Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background" (Esther 2:10, NLT)

I feel that way so many times, like I'm hiding behind who I really am. Especially when I was at the University...I was always hiding my family background. My dad is a well known preacher and missionary in my country and I did not want anyone else to know that because I felt they would judge my actions based on my background. I wonder what it must have been like for her; always scared, couldn't trust anyone with her secret...

I don't mind people knowing I'm a Christian anymore and in fact, I am now quite proud of the godly heritage I have. But I still feel sometimes that there are so many parts of me that no one must find out.

Another aspect of Esther I feel I can relate to was her instinct for self preservation. When she heard that Mordecai had put on sack cloth and she got to know the reason for that, her first reaction was her own neck. She told Mordecai that if she went before the King without His specifically requesting to see her, she would die. He sent back that either way, she was going to die anyway with the rest of the jews. (Esther 4:4-14). That was when she called folks together and decided to ask the Most High for courage.

I feel that way so many times...I lack courage. I find my instinct for self preservation to be well honed...it comes out even when it should not. That I can relate to. When I was growing up, I kept telling my parents that God could use me anyway He wanted as long as He did not send me into any strange lands as a missionary; I didn't want to die!

I still feel that way. I don't want to sacrifice myself for anyone. But that's OK. Esther isn't the only one who knows where to go to for courage.

You can join this discussion at the Cafe.

Esther Cañadas

Marta Sánchez

Carla Goyanes

Princesa Carla de Bulgaria

Ana Millán

Jade Jagger

Ariadne Artiles

Cristina Ortiz

Susana Gallardo

Clara Lago

María Botto

Amaya Arzuaga

Vicky Martín Berrocal

Ana García Siñeriz

Eva González

María León

Bibi Andersen

Laetitia Casta

Natalia Zabala

Claudia Schiffer

Cari Lapique

Paz Vega

Mónica Cruz

Paulina Rubio

Nuria March

Laura Ponte

BiND:  Day 36 (Esther only)

The story of Esther is really interesting.  Written in the mid-400’s BC, it’s an example of written, not oral, literature.  There’s no evidence that this story was an oral tradition before being written down, and the end of the book even says that Jews are to read the entire story from the scroll at Purim every year (which modern Jews still do).  In some ways, it’s an ancient novella.  It reads like historical fiction—there’s no evidence for Esther, for instance, and the hyperbole is pretty amazing (the king can’t change his own laws?  They slaughtered 75,000 people in one day somewhere outside the main city?  etc)—and it clearly is used to set up the festival of Purim and it’s fairly obviously designed for liturgical use.  It’s a pretty good story, too!  It’s fast moving and uses a lot of suspense as well as intriguing pairs to move the story along.  (FYI:  The version we have in “protestant” Bibles is the Hebrew Masoretic text.  There are also two Greek versions which expand on and moralize about the story.  You can find these additions in the apocrypha in most study Bibles.)

What’s interesting about Esther and the fact that it’s in the Bible is that there are no references to God, no prayer, no allusions to other parts of the Bible, no religious activities, and not even any evidence of keeping the law!  We have a straight up “secular” story.  So what can we learn from the story?

The most common thing I’ve seen, at least for youth groups, is to capitalize on “for just such a time as this”—we’ve been given so many privileges and advantages due to our station in the world, perhaps we’re also being called to use those privileges for such a time as this.  I’ve also seen the story used as a justification for resisting oppression, for using womanly wiles, and for slaughtering enemies.  I like to think of it as an example of someone changing the system from the inside—appearing to be playing by the rules but actually subverting them. 

What do you think about the story?  What does it tell us about God and how we are to be as God’s people?

Según la propia Tania, acostumbra a bañarse en top-less en la playa y ha preferido hacer un posado artístico en un estudio antes de que le robaran sus fotografías.

La concursante, que entró al programa animada por su novia, asegura en la entrevista que acompaña a las fotos que sus mejores amigos dentro de la academia son Manu y Virginia, y no lo duda: "Estoy segura de que Manu o Virginia ganarán el concurso".

Tania G reconoce que "querría dedicarme completamente a la música. Tengo que aprovechar el éxito de 'OT' para hacerme un hueco en el panorama musical, aunque soy consciente de la dificultad que eso conlleva".

It was a short day at work on Saturday. I had to meet Robert and Maud at Macau Jockey Club for lunch. The food there was ok, just thought that it would be kid-friendly with less people, which is hard to find in HK! Robert's girl was quite talkative now, very nice and friendly. Too bad that his boy did not feel very well, so he was kind of sleepy and quiet.

Pre-celebrating my birthday with my best friends at a dinner was one of the best thing ever happened for the past few weeks. The food was really good! Thanks to Esther and Francis for bringing us to such a fine restaurant! Sorry, we didn't take any pictures until we finished all the great food. For sure it is one restautant that we will return to, so we can take some pictures next time. Elsa and Marco had been really busy for the past week, and they did not hesitate to join us for it even though they were so tired. But hey, six of us promised to visit a new restaurant every month, right? So you can't hide! Oh... I forgot to mention that Hancock celebrated with us at IFC before the dinner too!

So... I will be twenty-six in a couple days, right? :D

可惜Esther没能和我们一起。

really, thanks Joan for the treat.
Next month is Junie's turn is it?
den let me treat during Sept bah  =)
ok?
den when is Esther's turn?
hahhaha..

really enjoyed the movie and dinner alot..
let's try to arrange an outing at least once a month?
ahahaha..
the last saturday of the month?
good idea ma?
ahahha..

hmm,
well..
let's go out often..  =)

Volumes:

• Genesis, David W. Cotter, 2003
• Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Stephen K. Sherwood, 2002
• Joshua, L. Daniel Hawk, 2000
• Judges, Tammi J. Schneider, 2000
• Ruth and Esther, Tod Linafelt and Timothy K. Beal, 1999
• 1 Samuel, David Jobling, 1998
• 1 Kings, Jerome T. Walsh, 1996
• 2 Kings, Robert L. Cohn, 2000
• Ezra and Nehemiah, Gordon F. Davies, 1999
• Psalms, Konrad Schaefer, 2001
• The Song of Songs, Dianne Bergant, 2001
• The Twelve Prophets, vol. 1: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Marvin A. Sweeney, 2000
• The Twelve Prophets, vol. 2: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Marvin A. Sweeney, 2000

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"For them, often, Writers are born and not made; as such, their whole being is taken to be infused with sacred purpose."

So here's the explanation for who I am. I am a romantic at heart. I'm a loner. An outsider. I'm someone who empathizes and listens and thinks. I observe. I drink. I'm a writer. I was born as such, and I accept the cards in this hand that life dealt me. Sometimes, that's just what you have to do.

I've talked with people about this; knowing what my purpose is in life. (Yes Esther, I mean you.) I've been told I'm lucky because I know what I'm meant to do. I think it's not that I know what I'm meant to do, but actually, it's that I'm defined by what I'm meant to do. Sure I can choose my path, but ultimately, going with this is what's best for me. But being this; accepting this path...it comes with consequences. Heartbreak, loneliness, pain, confusion...this path isn't an easy one. It's not easy now, and it won't ever be. Still, this is a path I'm willing to take.

I don't know if I quite believe in fate, but I feel that this truly is my calling, not something I choose. This is who I am. It's my destiny, as strange as that may sound.