Of a thousand words

I think I've used this title before. But people have been bugging me for pictures. So, here are several thousand words.
I turned 22 not too long ago. After 21, there aren't that many milestones left, in terms of birthdays. There's the big 4-0. And then I suppose you can count 50, because living for half a century is no mean feat. But after that the next big thing is death. :) Oh well.
Gabes, Noel and I.
Babak!
Pin, Mace, Yeelong and I.
Altogether now. Aaaaawwwwwww....
Pimpin' it. :)
So people, I don't know what the fuss was all about. I don't have that many pictures. Lol. Euodia, do you have any more? Please send them to me.

A lot has been happening in my life lately. I'm just too unmotivated to blog right now. But I will. Eventually. For now, suffice to say, work is going GREAT! Ok. Time to hit the sack. Byeeee.

Of blue tights and red capes

I watched Superman Returns today.

It made my day.

I am going to look for the first four Superman movies and have a marathon. Any takers?

Of shifting loci and other things

It's nice being home. Not thinking about the next meal, not doing my own laundry, not worrying about how to get someplace. But I'm ready to do something. I am going to work on Monday. I am going to be working with a child psychologist in the General Hospital here in Penang. I still don't know what to expect, but I'm hoping that I'll learn a lot, or at least figure out if this is something I want to be doing with my life.

It's strange to think about life. And the idea of home. What really makes a place "home"? Is it a physical place (i.e. the house you grew up in, the streets you are familiar with, mom's good cooking)? Is it the memories made growing up? Is it where you spend the most time? Is it the place where you feel the safest? Is it the people?

Being a cross-cultural studies concentrator, one would be led to think that I have the answers to that question. And truth be told, I thought I did. After all, we studied the whole entry/re-entry process, the whole culture shock, the concept of home thing ad nauseum in the CCST 115 class. And it definitely helped. But no amount of knowledge prepares you for the way you feel while you go through the cycle over and over again.

So being home this time around hasn't been easy. Not that it's not great to be at home in my own home. Sure there's the usual adjusting to a frame of mind where you are not the only person affected by your actions. You have to think about other people, etc. That's fine. I think I've gotten used to that idea.

But what's been bugging me lately is the shifting locus in relationships. Where I used to fall back on my relationships here in Penang while I was in the US whenever I needed someone to talk to, I feel like there has been a fundamental shift in my relationships in Penang. Maybe it's because I've been away for so long? Or maybe it's because I've changed so much? Or like Cheryl said, it's my hair. Haha. Or is my hair just an outward manifestation of the internal changes that have taken place the past three years I've been away?

Funny how little things spark off big thoughts. It started off with X-Men (everything starts off with X-Men). A friend of mine at Carleton, after watching X-Men, told me he was going home to watch it again with a friend of his because "we always watch X-Men together"!

And now, at home, I realize that I really don't have a friend, or a ready group of friends, to watch Superman with! This may sound really silly (it probably is), but underlying this silly little notion is the nagging thought that I've allowed too much time and distance to pass between my friends and I here in Penang that what I thought existed, is really no more. I guess it's true what they say: the grass is always greener on the other side. I have this "notion" of my relationships with people in Penang and all the people I'm close to when I am in the US, but reality hits me hard when I come back. I usually attribute it to the brief time I spend here in Penang; but I can't help but wonder: is there more that I am not considering? Can someone change so much that even the very things he would have considered to be "unchangeable" have changed?

I guess the big question is: how long can one be stuck between two worlds (to borrow a phrase from a friend of mine) before he loses any or all sense of "home"? Or maybe, can one really live in between two worlds?

Of being Cyclops

You scored as Cyclops. Cyclops is the team leader of the X-Men, and a skilled one at that. He loves Jean Grey very much. He's a strict and sometimes uptight leader, but he believes in his cause and he knows what he's fighting for... Peace between Mutants and Humans. Powers: Optic blasts Jean Grey 70% Cyclops 70% Colossus 60% Iceman 50% Nightcrawler 45% Emma Frost 45% Storm 40% Beast 40% Rogue 40% Wolverine 25% Gambit 25% Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

Of being DUN

I am done. Like a roast chicken. Or a juicy steak. Except I prefer medium.

Oh boy. That was kind of anti-climactic. I need to get rid of this cough. I'm hacking like a mad man. Like an OLD mad man. And I need to pack.

And buy my birthday present! *SCREAM*

Of desires (Part II)

From the Star Online:

Chocolate fountain lure at hotel

THE Traders Hotel Penang (formerly Shangri-La Hotel) has introduced a three-tier chocolate fountain for its Themed Temptations Buffet Dinner at its The Islander Restaurant.

The chocolate fountain, the first of its kind in the city, is a cascading waterfall of warm, rich and fine melted chocolate. It is made from 500gm of chocolate and 100gm of cocoa butter.

The chocolate fountain comes complete with skewered fresh fruits, dried fruits, marshmallows and wafers for diners to dip, coat and plunge their favourite food items into the flowing chocolate.

According to the hotel's press release, the stainless steel machine for the chocolate fountain was imported from Hong Kong at a cost of RM14,000.

The machine has an internal screw mechanism that flows the chocolate to the top of the fountain. It also has an internal heater that automatically keeps the chocolate at 38 to 40 degrees Celsius to prevent it from hardening.

The chocolate fountain is now a daily attraction at The Islander.

Traders Hotel assistant communications manager Saw Wei Wei said the chocolate fountain was popular among adults, too.

She added that diners enjoyed coating and dipping food items into the flowing chocolate.

Patrons can try the chocolate fountain at the Themed Temp-tations Buffet Dinner from 6pm to 9.30pm daily.

Of desires

Today as I was working on my 15-pager, my laptop blue-screened me. For those of you who don't know, whenever you see a blue screen on your PC, that means bad news. REALLY bad news. I nearly had a heart attack, because I was at the last few paragraphs of my paper. Thankfully, I only lost half a paragraph. From that point on I saved after every paragraph! But the point is, I'm through with PCs. Bring on the macBook.

Of a thought for the day

I was on Willie's blog and this statement struck a chord:

Without Goliath, David would have just been another kid throwing rocks.

Of the code

So I'm sick. Again. This would be the second time this term. Sigh. But I slept a whole lot today, hopefully I'll feel much better tomorrow.

Anyway, Jeanne sent this to me. It's about the Da Vinci Code. It's hilarious.

I watched it with Pam and Emily. The best part of the movie was when Silas attacked Sophie from the shadows, and Emily let out a scream, which triggered Pam to scream really loudly. And then the whole theatre broke out into laughter. Money!

Anyway, we've been talking about the DVC for the past three weeks in church. I'm ready to move on! I mean, why would people be so dumb as to believe what Hollywood tells them anyway. Well, ok that's not a good argument. I can think already of several instances of that. Anyway. Speaking of church, Rejoice! has a new website. You should check it out here. See if you can spot me! :D

I had a good update. About the last Mustard Seed of the year. But that will have to wait. I'm really going to miss a lot of my friends who are graduating this year. I never realized how many of them there are! :(

Of the weather (and being under it)

After two extremely hot days (the temperature went over 100F at one point!), it's cooled off somewhat back to the 70s. However, I am now feeling like I'm getting sick. Again. This is bad. Finals are in a few days. Please God, don't let me get sick!

Of heat waves

The heat index today:
Heat Index: 97°F 36.1°C

I am melting. And there's no air-conditioning in my house.

EDIT: We hit a high of 101°F today. It is officially hotter here than it is in Malaysia.

Of missing hawkers' food

It has finally hit. I've been doing so well, but today all of a sudden, I started craving koay teow th'ng. And stingray. Must be the stupid singaporeans. Haha.

Of pain and pride

Hey everyone who reads this. So there's this nifty gadget that lets me see where people are coming from and who reads my blog. I mean, I don't know WHO reads my blog (unless you tag - which you should because I like knowing who reads my blog), but it tells me where people are connecting from. And it's pretty cool, I have people accessing my blog from around the US, from Malaysia, from Australia, from THAILAND?? (who do I know in Thaliand?), etc.

Anyway, the reason for this update, is not primarily to update you on the million and one things that have been going on in Josh's life (so I guess "update" is a bit of a misnomer, although I will try to do just that in a bit). But it's to ask for your prayers.

I've not been having a fantastic past week or so. It's been just an inordinate amount of work - I am currently in a 5-week Junior Colloquium class that is a sort of preparatory class for comps (our senior comprehensive exercise a.k.a. senior thesis a.k.a. dissertation, depending on which continent you are from), and it's been really kicking my butt. Not in the sense that it's difficult, because it's not. But because of the amount of things due every week. I feel like I am constantly battling deadlines and barely surviving one before I have to face another. On the upside, it's almost over, but I really hope that this is not a foreshadowing of next year. It's not. I won't let it be.

Other classes haven't been all too bad. I mean, put together, yes, it's been quite stressful. But taken separately, they aren't too bad. There's medieval Europe, which is a crapload of reading. Then there is also my Counseling Psychology class, which has been immensely engaging. I am actually really excited for my child psychology internship this summer. We had a guest lecturer sometime back who was a child psychologist. And it was SOOO educational to hear about play therapy and all that. I have a story about that. But I will save that for another update.

Anyway the straw that broke this camel's back, in addition to the work stress, the stress of being at Carleton in the 8th week in general, and all the other little things that add up, was that yesterday I was at the Carleton Christian Community retreat, and somehow managed to, while playing volleyball, land precariously on my left foot and twist my left knee. So I am now in a lot of pain, and hobbling around campus is not a pleasant experience. I am realizing very quickly the incredulous number of stairs that we have on campus. Boo.

Also, this week at Mustard Seed, we are having a (re)dedication theme. And we are going to give people the opportunity to make decisions for Christ. Please pray that God will move in a sovereign way. I am also going to be "debut"-ing my song Bring Me Home as a ministry, and yesterday I practiced the song with a freshman, Esther, who plays the cello. I wrote cello parts... and all I can say is, I thank God for the gift of music. Music is powerful to move, to inspire, to say what words in themselves cannot say. I pray that God would use the music we play on Monday night to move many to a realization of their need for Him.

My own devotional life has been far from exemplary this term in general. It's been an incredible chore, especially with the copious amounts of work I have every day, to dig into the Word. It's troubling, because the more time you spend away from it, the less you desire to be in it. So if you could be praying for a breakthrough in this area that would be great to. It's interesting when I'm not in the Word, how quickly I become critical and skeptical of things, how it's hard to see good in other people, and how my sense of what should receive priority in my life gets skewed. It's increasingly difficult to love others unconditionally, too. Basically, it sucks.

Anyway, I am guessing this is not the super-peppy and picture-heavy update that you guys have come to expect of me. I guess this goes to show you that everyone struggles in life. That although I normally choose to encourage you guys with the ups in my life, sometimes it's good (for me at least) to be able to share my downs. There are a bunch of other things burdening me right now, some of which I don't feel would be appropriate to publish online, some of which I am choosing to only let God know, but... thank you so much for reading. And for praying for me.

And I'll be home soon. :)

Of exciting things ahead

It's midterm week. I had a history test on Monday. I had a final exam today (for a 5-week stats class). I have a counseling midterm tomorrow. It is well with my soul!

But there are so many things to be thankful for:

• No more stats! Forever and ever amen.
• Not getting VERY sick. I'm at that point where I'm trying not to get sick. My throat was feeling kind of sore the past couple of days. Sniffling a little. But still relatively healthy. Lots of people on campus are down with some form of cold. Or allergies. Allergies suck. I'm glad pollen doesn't hate me.
• An internship this summer! This has been in the works for some time, but I finally heard from the state health department today. The PENANG state health department. I was wondering why it was taking them forever to get back to me. Turns out, they were SNAIL MAIL-ing me. Who does that anymore?? But yes, Josh will be interning with a child psychologist at Hospital Pulau Pinang in July and August! Exciting!!
• Heard back from the Write Place too, and I got the job as a writing consultant next year! What better job than one that allows you to pick at others' writing AND get paid for it at the same time?? Lol.
• My history midterm got pushed back a week! I think I'll need a week to get up to speed with the past. Merovingian and Carolingian and Northumbians and Arians. Oh dear.
• I had a great dinner with Sam today. We ate outside and the day was GORGEOUS. Very Smallville! Haha. We're Smallville buddies. And then Alex Lim came along and we tossed the disc for some time before going to Applebee's for dessert. The server, a... mature lady, greeted us with "How are you boys doing today? Not causing any trouble I hope?", to which Alex replied "It's him" (pointing at me). See, if Alex wasn't dressed in his soccer kit and looked like a 17 year old, I'm sure we wouldn't have been addressed the way we were. :)
• I am $114.59 poorer. But it's all good. I bought a plane ticket. I'm going to be flying out to CT to visit a bud of mine, Aaron, before flying home to Malaysia! His hometown is... much smaller than Northfield. Northfield is actually big to him. This should be an experience! Heh heh.
• Midterm break is around the corner!! Erica is coming down to visit!! And a bunch of us are going up to the cities to see Shawn McDonald in concert! I am so psyched. And Dave Barnes is opening for him. He's such a great musician! WHEE.

But before that, I have one more midterm tomorrow. So I should get to bed. Good night all!!

Of French cooking?

Who wants to come over for dinner then? :)

You Are an Excellent Cook

You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire...

Are You A Good Cook?

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Of the reason He died

Good Friday. Thank You, Jesus. For the power of the cross. For the perfect sacrifice. For the pain you bore, for the suffering you endured. For dying.

Easter. Thank You, Jesus. For conquering sin. For defeating death. For the power of Your resurrection. Thank You, Jesus, for your gift of life.

BRING ME HOME
Joshua Yeoh

How I’ve wandered, how I’ve strayed
From the path that You laid down
Time and time again
I’ve lost sight of, focused my eyes on
My circumstances, searching for my answers
When all I really needed to do
Was open up my eyes to see
That You were always there
Ready to

Bring me back
Bring me near to the grace that forgives
And the love that finds me here
Bring me home
Bring me close to Your heart
Because I never want to be apart again

Promises broken, words that were spoken
That wounded Your heart
Time and time again
I’d forgotten what it meant to
Be a child, wrapped within Your arms
But all I really needed to do
Was open up my eyes to see
That You were always there
Ready to

I was so lost, lost in my sin
Then Your love entered in
And called me by my name
Now here I am, a broken man
I’m down on my knees
Crying, crying out

© 2006 Joshua Yeoh

Of being tagged

Ok, Anna, here goes.

My earliest memory:
Being found behind a dumpster by my parents. Oh, you mean a REAL memory? Coming in 1st at a baby beauty pageant. Ok, ok, for real... how do you remember so far back anyway? I mean, memories aren't even real.
At school:
What about school? Earliest memory at school? Well when I went to first grade, my teacher exhausted my Malay vocabulary in the first line of the "satu, dua, tiga, empat; anak ikan sudah lompat" poem. And then I cried.
My first relationship:
I had a girlfriend named Peggy Sue Bojangles.
I wish I never had worn:
The soles of my shoes out. Now I have to get a new pair.
I wish I had:
A dollar for everytime someone tells me: "But you speak English so well! You don't even have an accent!"
I wish I hadn't:
Had seconds at dinner. Now I feel bloated.
At home I cook:
Yes, I do.
When I was a child, I wanted to:
Grow up.
The book that changed my life is:
Has been translated in part or in whole into over 1200 languages and dialects.
If only I would:
Spend less time thinking "If only I would", then I'd live life with fewer regrets.
Friends say that I am:
able, bold, dependable, energetic, giving, happy, idealistic, independent, knowledgeable, logical, loving, mature, organised, patient, powerful, religious, responsive, sentimental, silly, spontaneous, trustworthy, warm, wise. --taken from my Johari window. Friends also say I'm a liar! :)
What I don't find amusing is:
People not flushing after going.

Tagging: Erica, King Pui, Mace, Lynn

Of leaving the wilderness

After a prolonged drought, I wrote (and completed) a new song today.

Of being animated

Animated Director

Of deserts and desserts (Spring Break!!)

Good bye snow, hello sun... maybe?

Spring Break!! You'd think "Goodbye cold weather" right? But no... the day that we leave for Arizona, the skies open up and dump inches and inches of snow upon us. Hello spring. But no matter. Because after a few hours of flying, we are in sunny Arizona. And happy Macy comes to meet Erica and I at the airport... in her CONVERTIBLE! It was so good to see Mace again! Hello, Mace!

Like true Penangnites, we hit up all the yummy spots in and around Chandler... our first dinner was at Sakana. Omigosh. Sushi heaven!

And like true Penangnites, we ordered the grossest thing we could find. This is us eating... I think it was sea urchin roe? Or something like that. The texture was kind of... mushy. It was like eating brain.

Then that night we rented Rent. Ha ha. Get it? We RENTED RENT! And oh my gosh! It is the BEST MUSICAL EVER. I went out and bought the soundtrack and we listened to it and sang to it incessantly.

Desert..ed Downtown Phoenix

We spent the next afternoon in downtown Phoenix because Mace was at work. After getting lost, riding the bus with the angriest woman I have ever seen in my life, getting yelled at by a "sheriff" (very sketchy) for running across the road to catch our bus, we finally made it to downtown Phoenix. After a light lunch, we set off on our adventure... the Basilica was our first stop.

This is me and my bestestbud, Francis. Ok... his namesake at least. St Francis of Assisi. He's really ... bronze. And he had poop on his head.

Erica took some time out to pray with Mother Teresa...

Sad to say, downtown Phoenix was pretty deserted. We went on a self-guided walking tour and Erica got really excited about the "last department store in downtown Phoenix". So we made our way there. And it really WAS the last department store... it was boarded up and everything.

So we did what anyone would do... we went to Starbucks. Had coffee and banana nut muffins. And took pictures.

Luckily Mace came to our rescue... and we headed to...

Scotsdale

Looks like a cowboy town.

It was St Patty's day... everyone was getting into it. Even the horses. I forgot to wear green. So I pulled a leaf and stuck it on my shirt.

We tasted cactus. It was prickly.

And I almost got trampled on by a crazy horse!!

After all that excitement, we went to this really yummy Spanish place for dinner. I think it was Spanish. They had sangrias anyway. Oh notice anything different about me?

Hawaii in the desert

The next day, we went back to Phoenix for a ALOHAfest! A Hawaiian luau in the middle of the desert. It was great. Great food, music, things to see and buy... it actually felt a lot like home. Minus the humidity.

If you haven't noticed by now, this trip was filled with lots of good food. Mmmm...

And the hula... er... girls.

And the best part? I FOUND JIU HOO!!! (Cuttle fish) It was the spicy kind too. It made me so happy! hahaha.

After that we headed out.. in search of the Botanical Gardens. We ended up at a park instead. Mace has the amazing ability of not using a map... and getting lost... but eventually finding the place. Or somewhere cooler. Haha.

So we took pictures. And I hid behind the bushes so nobody can see me. Look. Can you spot me? Nope. That's why Mace and Erica drove off without me.

Then we drove to somewhere where Mace couldn't possibly get lost. I think. :) Her alma mater - Arizona State U. It's a pretty campus! Very very different from Carleton. Not that Carleton isn't pretty. But different.

And we stopped for Boba. That's bubble tea.

And we capped off the day with yummy Korean food. Bulgogi! Yeah!!

Ancient Ruins

The next day we visited Montezuma Castle.

We got bored of looking at ruins and decided that this would be a great spot for a photo shoot! haha.

My glamor shot.

Mace tried to camouflage herself. This is a sycamore tree. And Zacchaeus lived in it.

Sedona

Then it was off to Sedona. Where all the rocks were red. Iron. Oxidization. That kind of thing.

But it was so beautiful.

And...

... this was where it even started to snow! Yeah. Who would have thought? In Arizona! Yeah, we brought the snow from Minnesota.

And as we drove towards the Grand Canyon and climbed up the mountains... it snowed even more.

And more...

The very Grand Canyon

This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Arizona. I had been to the Canyon many years ago... but really all I remembered about it was chasing a squirrel. Or maybe it was a chipmunk. I forget. But this time around, we stayed just outside the park, and woke up before dawn to catch the sun rise. It was well worth it. Even with our extremities starting to hurt because of the cold!

God's handiwork was simply breathtaking!

We went back to the hotel to take a nap before coming back to see the Canyon again. We took a tram that took us along the west side of the Canyon. We stopped at almost every stop. It was just too beautiful. A picture speaks a thousand words. And you all know I can speak more than a few thousand words. So I shall restrain myself... and show you pictures instead.

Can anyone tell me what animal this is? 10000 points.

Back to the Canyon...

It looks sooooo fantastic.

Almost... surreal.

Look at the years and years of erosion.

Of course, Mace decided to claim Grand Canyon for herself.

Oh I even got a chance to speak French. I asked a French speaker to take this photo for us. She then spoke to me in English. Oh well.

I was in awe.

But that didn't last too long. KUNG FU HUSTLE!

As the girls took more glamor shots at the Canyon, I sat like a good boyfriend, holding on to Erica's bag. Laugh all you want. At least I don't have a MANBAG! :)

It was really cold, although you can't tell from the photos. So Erica let me use her... uhm... I don't even know what you call it.

Bear!!!

Spot the squirrel!

Yes... the Grand Canyon... in all its splendor.

What a blessing to be able to go there. And see God's handiwork. Thanks Mace for an AMAZING time! You are the best! :) See you back in Penang.

I forgot... one more picture. :) This is our BBQ. Mace had two of her friends over... and we grilled. Salmon. Chicken. Asparagus. Salad. Mmmm... ok. I'm done now. Good night! A few more days and then I'm back at Carleton. And then SCHOOL STARTS AGAIN. Crazy!