I'm a POW (Prince of Wales)

Third day of uni, and in about 20 minutes, I'll be heading into the Prince of Wales Hospital for my first clinical session. How exciting! I'm sure it'll just be an introduction and getting to know people sort of class, but its still quite the adventure.

Approximately 80% of preferences had POW as their top preference, so I really thank God for allowing me to get my first choice, seeing as all the other hospitals are miles away, whereas POW is right next door to UNSW - yay!

It's been a whirlwind couple of days so far, and everyday I'm getting less tired (probably my body clock is finally adjusting back to waking up early everyday =.=) and feeling more comfortable with the university surroundings.

And God has been soo good to me, giving me so many opportunities to let people know that I am a Christian, and even being able to tell the gospel to a new friend! Praise God, and may I continue to be bold for the gospel, and to be salt and light to the world.

first day of uni

Just like starting year 7 all over again. From being the oldest and most respected in the school, to being newbies and feeling lost and very little. The queues at Eddy Ave outside Central were nothing compared to the masses of people on campus today; people people EVERYWHERE. It was enough to make one's head spin with how busy it was.

Not only that, but being overloaded and overwhelmed with information regarding the program, the course, the upcoming assessments, the responsibility of "self-directed learning" = eek! And that feeling of stress which disappeared sometime last October is making a nasty comeback.

But let's look on the bright side - meeting lots of new people, catching up with friends, the freedom as a uni student...

It's going to be an interesting year. 6 years.

Lunch @ Burwood

It has been a while since our last study camp reunion. This time it was only a small affair, with the 8 of us having lunch together at Cafe Aroma in Burwood. It was sort of funny how all the girls sat on one side, while all the guys sat on the other side: strangely enough reminding me of what speed dating looks like. (supposedly)

And, being the great bunch of study campers that we are, someone had to do something funny and memorable, like Andrew not realising you could actually OPEN the menu. (He was confused as to why there were only entrees and drinks)

About half the group had the oven baked dishes, which were very very filling (Jess and Mel can testify to that) while I had pork chops with rice noodle in soup. Very good value for $8, I didn't end up being able to finish it but Ben was certainly very satisfied with the arrangement. =P

Afterwards we wandered down to Burwood Park, and reminisced about our childhood while playing on the swings and play equipment before deciding to take advantage of air conditioning in the nearby Westfields.

A relaxing end to what has been the best and longest holiday of my life =)

Med O-day

Its the strangest feeling, knowing that I'll be starting uni in less than a week. Its exciting because it's going to be soo different to high school, yet daunting because no matter how much people tell me, I still don't and won't understand what it'll be like until I actually experience it.

And having spent almost 4 months on holidays it's also a little bit of a relief to get back into routine and yet, I've thoroughly enjoyed not having to study and do exams!

Yesterday I went to the Med Faculty welcome at UNSW. Though most of the information wasn't new, I still felt quite overwhelmed with just the amount of things I have to remember and make sure I don't miss out on.

But it was such a great atmosphere, with many people all over the campus, and checking out all the stalls along the main walkway, with FREE stuff being given out everywhere! And it was great seeing all the keen CBS-ers as well =D

Such Love

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

www.poetryandpraise.com

I cherished the thought of endless love
And envisioned it to be
A love that encompasses heart and soul
And gently rests on me.

I dreamt of a love that never dies
And lived in my heart this dream.
In dream, for in life I could never find
Such love, or so it seemed.

Then at a time when it pleased my God
My eyes were allowed to see
That love, in it's highest, purest form
Was standing in front of me.

Love that inhabits a perfect heart
Human, but yet divine
Then graciously, much to my hearts delight,
Allowed me to make it mine.

Never, in dreams had I lived such love
And never had my heart been
The object of such an amazing love
As that which I found in Him.

Nothing I'd done could have made
My heart worthy of love so grand.
T'was a gift of grace that came to me
Straight from the Master's hand.

I dreamt of a love that never dies
And he, who could love me so,
Without hesitation gave his life,
The strength of his love to show.

I cherished the thought of endless love
And the Lord in his sovereignty
Moved Heaven and earth to ensure his love
Would come gently to rest on me.

new laptop! and recap on CBS

After two weeks of waiting from when we put in the order- my new laptop finally arrived yesterday evening! =D Just in time before uni starts too. I spent much of last night installing programs and adjusting and configuring all my settings. Still got lots to do, like figure out how to use all the new features.


Its a Dell Inspiron 640m. I don't know much about computer hardware, but I know its good- tonnes of memory and processing power AND about 8hrs of battery life: impressive! Wide-screen (14inch?) its hard and shiny, and I can see my reflection in it.


Also, I'm on Windows Vista (for non-computer geeks, its like the latest thing from Microsoft) and I have to admit the new design is quite nice - very slick and smooth. I especially like the sidebar- with gadgets I can add, like calendar, weather, calculator and other useful things. Only disadvantage so far is that it seems my internet is running slower than usual, but there could be many reasons for that. Oh and I finally got my Photoshop working this morning, which explains my recent hiatus from blogging...


Yesterday was CBS O-day at UNSW: it was soo good! Such a great opportunity to meet Christians and be encouraged and challenged. The talks especially challenged me to make sure I keep reminding my friends to go along to CBS for their spiritual growth and fellowship.


How cool are the new CBS t-shirts?? I wasn't planning on getting one so soon, but I saw the design and couldn't resist. The t-shirt itself is really good quality! =D

Pilot 2007

What is PILOT?

PILOT is the new face of SCCCA English Training Days. It is a day conference for the next generation of leaders to launch and light up ministries for Chinese churches in Sydney.

The day's program looks like this:

9.30am - Registration
10.00am - Bible Talk 1
11.00am - Morning Tea
11.30am - Bible Talk 2
12.15pm - Ministry Launch
1.00pm - Lunch (optional $5 Thai)
2.00pm - Network & Training
4.00pm - Finish

Italian Forum - Leichhardt

www.theitalianforum.com (all photos from this site)

I've been wanting to visit this place for AGES, but the fact that I had to catch a bus in order to reach this little hidden piece of Italy deterred me but having caught a lot more public transport in the past few months - I finally did go!


The website describes it as "A galleried walkway takes you from Norton Street and magically transports you into Italy with touches of Tuscan architecture, colours of tan and burnt red, and a striking space that opens before you. To complete this sophisticated European setting, there is the Galleria with designer boutiques offering the cream of European and Australian fashion."

There is plenty of fine dining, from restaurants to cafes and though yes, it's all Italian cuisine, you can bet that the food will be good!

For lunch we went to Al Martinos Seafood Restaurant: ordered 2 pizzas and one pasta to share between the four of us. I was quite full by the end, the pasta I especially liked. The pizzas were quite good, with almost crispy base but taste-wise I was expecting more flavour. However, the manager was soo friendly and the service was wonderful. I'd rate it 8/10 especially seeing as we only had to pay $12.50 each!

Would've loved to try out some gelato, but instead settled for a nice vanilla ice latte - absolutely delicious, I had to pace myself to stop drinking it too fast! It was worth $4.90 =D

So if you ever have time and want something a little different, try visiting the Italian Forum @ 23 Norton St, Leichhardt.

alison's belated 18th (and going-away party)

Wow... I got a glimpse of what it felt like to be rich. Alison's house was HUGE and her patio/verandah is just as big as my living room, not to mention the fact that she had 3 levels, and the bottom level had glass walls that led directly to the backyard. Wow.

It was a nice relaxed affair though, all friends from school, eating and chatting and finding out how each other's holidays have been and which course and which uni everyone got into.


Food! mm the prawns disappeared very very quickly.


Libby, Mel, Becky and Karin

Near the end, everyone had a glass of champagne to toast Alison and a few speeches were made ie by her dad and the birthday girl herself. It was really sweet seeing as she'll be moving into college in 2 weeks and yeah, live independently of her family for the first time in her life. (how scary! but also very exciting)


Angie, Soph, Ali Heydon


Yay UNSW buddies! =D

if only I had music...!

There is a blessed home
beyond this land of woe,
where trials never come,
nor tears of sorrow flow;
where faith is lost in sight,
and patient hope is crowned,
and everlasting light
its glory throws around.

There is a land of peace:
good angels know it well;
glad songs that never cease
within its portals swell;
around its glorious throne
ten thousand saints adore
Christ, with the Father One,
and Spirit, evermore.

O joy all joys beyond,
to see the Lamb who died,
for ever there enthroned,
for ever glorified;
to give to him the praise
of every triumph won,
and sing through endless days
the great things he hath done.

Look up, ye saints of God!
nor fear to tread below
the path your Savior trod
of daily toil and woe!
Wait but a little while
in uncomplaining love!
his own most gracious smile
shall welcome you above.

*

More and more I find I like old hymns because of the strength and soundness of their lyrics! Ahh and this one is no exception:

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal."

=)

its still holidays...

Today was the first day of my holidays that I spent alone, at home. Bea's started school again, and my parents are back to full-time work and so it was a quiet day- too quiet in fact.

Woke up around 11:30, checked my emails etc until about 12:30 when I had lunch (leftovers from dinner last night) while reading Gospel and Wisdom by Goldsworthy. I'm still trying to get my head around it- it's a bit like reading a textbook and was probably the most intellectual piece of writing I've read all holidays. Took me about.. 3 hours?

After that I washed up the dishes from lunch, ate a muesli bar for afternoon tea then watched the last two episodes from Season 1 of NCIS. The last episode in particular "Reveille" was really good! They're trying to track down this terrorist guy but then in the end he's actually a good guy, working undercover in Al-Quaeda.

Anyway, everyone's home now so we're probably going to go out for dinner tonight and late night shopping.

*

Some reflection from 1 Timothy which I've been doing my quiet times:

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Tim 4:8

Its such a great reminder of the eternal perspective with which we should view our lives. Especially when in this strange period of not doing much and waiting for uni to start, I was challenged to consider how I may be training myself to be more godly, instead of using my time for things which in the end are meaningless.

So along with my 10 pushups and 20 situps I've been doing everyday (plus either 15 min or 100 calories on the exercise bike if I'm at home) I hope to use the remainder of my holidays reading Christian books (eg Goldsworthy) and listening to sermons and meeting up with other Christians.

On that note - everyone going to UNSW go to CBS O-day! www.campusbiblestudy.org
It's your chance to find out about CBS, meet other Christians in your year and your faculty! Be there - 14th Feb 2007