My Birthday

Didn't update for awhile. I am so busy recently. Many things to do and to plan. The good thing is that I got accepted to University of Washington master's program. So at least now I have a place to go to, or plan to go to. I am still waiting on the other schools' replies, which will take awhile.
On my birthday, Tim took me to Standford Univeristy, and here are some pictures.

Sunny's wedding

Tim and I attended Sunny and YongHwan's wedding at Biola. This is my 3rd Biola wedding. It is indeed a really simple but elegant chapel to get married in. Tim wants to have it here after he saw their wedding. Hehe
This picture with my honey is actually the first we've taken as a couple since I've seem him last. It's been such a long time. Now he's finally back.






On my birthday, Tim and I went to Stanford University and also the university shopping center. We went for a drink and also walked around the beautiful campus.

On my birthday

I came back from Seattle. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera, so I didn't take any picture of the beautiful UW and my beautiful friend Jingwen. What a pitty. Seriously.
Today is my birthday, I am 24 now. Yes, what a shock, but it's true. My best gift for birthday is Tim. He is finally here, we won't separate anymore. The two years of waiting is over. We will start a new chapter together in two more months. I am really grateful for God's sovereign plan. These two years of long distant, I learned a lot. These two months of traveling, I learned a lot as well. I flew 10 times from January and February. Even though I am really sick of flying, but my last flight was a treat, I got to sit next to Tim. It was so nice to be able to lean on his shoulder when I sleep. I also learned so much from these trips. I learned to take the train in Boston, the light rail in Baltimore, and the bus in Seattle. I've never done that in my life in California. Haha, I will never forget those interesting experiences and I am sure there a lot more to come in the future.
I will settled down for a little bit now before all the crazy traveling comes again. I finally have time to plan the wedding. Sigh...after all these time.

Peabody

I just came back from Peabody. And this is the school. It's really beautiful, more so on the inside. Too bad I didn't take any from the inside because there were few hundred audition ppl, and I didn't want to look like I was only there to tour around and take pictures with myself.


This is when I finished everything that day and ready to take the shuttle home, I took just a few outside Peabody Conservatory. There was a very big church across from Peabody and a nice pole like this. It was too dark that I didn't bother to go read what it is.


And here is the church that I was talking about. It looked very European. 200% more beautiful than what the picture can show.


Do you see the spiral staircase through one of those windows? Yup. Its inside is like a palace.


Me getting ready to sleep after a long long day of audition. I was happy of the fact that the harsh day is over. ^_^

L.A. Road Trip

This is my road trip with my cousin Kai to L.A. I had to play piano for University Day at Biola for the parents. I was really lucky that Kai took vacation to escort me here. If it wasn't for him, my trip wouldn't be as fun. I mean 12 hours of driving by myself? Who would think that THAT could be fun? I let him stay with some guys in Sigma, kind of get him to experience college life a little bit. He really enjoyed the environment of Biola. My mom is trying to get him to apply there next year. Yay, makes me happy! I hope it can work out.

I took him to downtown L.A. to see the famous Walt Disney Concert Hall. We didn't go in to the concert hall because there wasn't performance that day, so we walked in to the rose garden and around the building. The day was really pretty around that time, (close to sunset), and the view was wonderful.




We also went to MOCA to see the fashion and architecture exhibit there: Skin to Bones. We saw the stadium model of the 2008 Olympics that is going to be taking place in Bejing, China.


At night, we went to California Pizza Kitchen across from MOCA for dinner, and for dessert, I took him to the 35th floor of Bonaventure where there's a rotating lounge with 360 degree panoramic view of L.A.





These are just some silly pictures that we took on the new Mac powerbook in computer store at Biola.

Boston Trip

I just came back from Boston last night after 6 hours of plane ride. I am certainly glad to be home agian. Boston audition went really well. Even though I don't know if my playing suits the standard that they were looking for, but I am just glad that one is down and two more to go. I actually had so much fun in Boston, espeically when friends were there to support me.

This is Linda and I at Heather and Kenji's church. We were at the first YMCA building that was ever established in the whole country.


This view was from Heather's apartment looking out to the street. Her apartment is so big and comfy, I really enjoyed staying there.


I went to the MFA of Boston. They had really nice exhibits there right now. I saw some Chinese sculptures from Qing Dynasty, and I saw some weird musical instruments from all over the world. There was several fashion designers that went to see the fashion show there, and they took out their sketchbooks and just started drawing what they like. They were so good.


I took the train on my own for the first time in my life. Haha, it was quite an advanture. I liked it a lot. It only cost me $2 to travel to the airport vs when I took taxi the same distant but reverse the first time, it cost me $35. ^0^


This is a fun wall in Boston Int Airport. I looked extra tall, hum...I like... ^_^


Lastly, I played a dulcimer! It's a folk instrument that Heather's roommate owns. I just played around with it the morning as I was leaving Boston. ^0^

I saw snow!

I went to visit Tim in Canada in the beginning of this year. He made me fly to Seattle first for a surprise. I would have never guessed it. It was the annual wedding show there.

They had really cool ideas for displays and a bridal fashion show.


Whistler was really pretty, I love the snow and the freshness of the air.

We took the beginner's ski lesson.


We survived without breaking a bone. The following days we came back to Vancouver, and it was covered in snow. It was so pretty. We did our premarital counseling with Pastor Ted from Tim's church. It was intense information overload because of the shortage of time that I was there. It was very beneficial though. I got to know Tim and his family better through our "homework" from the pastor, so same way did Tim.

Spring Waltz

I bought this in Vancouver when I was visiting Tim. It's a nice soap opera. It's by the same producer that made Autumn Story, Winter Sonata, and Summer Scent. This is Spring Waltz, and thus he completed the four seasons. This one has a happy ending, which makes me happy!

Life is...

Today I saw my parents in L.A. They came down for a memorial service that took place in Whittier this afternoon. James Chen, a brother in Christ, who passed away from lung cancer in Taiwan was buried today at Rose Hill Cemetery. My parents knew him from way back when they used to go to seminary together. Later on, he went to Hungary to be a missionary, and last year he even invited my parents to go for a short term mission there. But while my parents were in Hungary, he went back to Taiwan because his condition was very serious. In December of 2006, he passed away to went to be with the Lord.
I just thought that today is a very ironic day because while I was attending a funeral, my roommate was attending a wedding (Paul and Crystal Barber). Life is short. Today as I saw Uncle James' widow Aunty Yahui and their two daughters Judy and Pady sobbing in front of the people who came, I was touched. I understand that Uncle James was a very good husband and a very good father and also a very good pastor. He used his life to impact other people's lives, and that is what really matters. Sometimes I think we get really short-sighted in life and we get caught up in the moment, and we forget to treasure the people we have, the relationships we have, and the blessings we have just to breath the air and live on another day.
I once read a story from a Christian magazine, and it said that there was a wife who likes to yell and complain at her husband. Every morning she would pick something wrong about him and just keep attacking him until he leaves for work. One morning as she was doing that again, the husband also exploded and they got into a huge argument. The wife kicked him out of the house and so he got into a car and stormed away. After a few hours, the wife got a phone call, it was from the police, and the police told her that her husband had gotten into a car accident and passed away on the spot. She broke down and cried. She regretted so much for yelling at him today and everyday. She regretted that she didn't tell him goodbye before he left the house today, and she regretted and regretted, but she couldn't turn back time, and there was no way to fix the damage that has been done.
I have a strong memory of this story because it really struck me when I read it. Life is stressful, and sometimes even painful, but my hope for myself is that I would live a life that makes others feel loved and encouraged. So that when hard times come, they will also have hope that everything is going to be okay in the end. May God help me!

New Year

Another year has come, many new things are going to happen this year. First of all, I am going to have premarital counseling with Tim in Vancouver. I am flying out to Seattle this Saturday because Tim wants to take me around Seattle for a day since I've never been there. Then we'll drive up to Vancouver and go up to ski in Whistler. After Vancouver, I am flying to L.A. to take piano lessons with my teacher. Then I am flying to Boston for auditions in Feb. I have yet to schedule other auditions. But until their notifications come, I won't know the dates yet.
Today's reading from Ephesians chapter 2 reminded me once again how much God loves us:

"1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Praise Him!