Monday, January 24, 2022

Lost and found


I am always misplacing or losing small things. 
This time it is the back piece to my stub earring. 
And for as long as I have been a Christian, I have somehow always found back the little things that mattered to me.
It takes a while. A pause that I have to take. Sit still and be attentive to that gentle nudge inside.
Last night it told me to fluff my blanket, which I did. And I heard the sound of something small bouncing off my bed and a few more times on the floor. I just knew it was the piece.
But I couldn't tell or see where it went even though I looked all around my bed.
So I waited. And trusted.
I was vaccuuming the edges and corners in my room. 
I somehow knew I had to be extra careful, just in case it turned up.
And it did. This tiny piece in a corner semi hidden in the shadows. 

God is faithful in the small things.

It's just an earring piece. So tiny that it could have gone down the toilet or the sink. And yet here it is. It turns up. 

Every. Single. Time. 


Sunday, January 23, 2022

Reminiscence from bottles

A collection of bottles that have been laying around because I was a bit attached to them. 
I'm ready to say my last farewell now. Making the effort to keep them on a photo because a picture is worth a thousand words. 
I had really loved that they were each unique and they reminded me of where I have been and what I have done to have owned them. Some of these have even been full or half left when they got back here in Penang after flying or been across many miles from their origin. 

Starting from the left (front row), Fuze tea was from my business trip to Chihuahua, Mexico in 2016. It had all the ingredients, descriptions and details on it in Spanish. I  learned some Spanish from Duolingo that same year after the trip so it was fun to understand more words than just Tea after I had those lessons. Revisiting my fond memories are making me hesitate to throw this one away. Maybe I will keep just this one. Haha!

Next, Sama was a natural mineral water bottle from Amman, Jordan (from the Israel trip in 2018). Most likely given out on one of the buses on that trip. The website written on it is www.sama-jo.com; jo short for Jordan which I find interesting. It was also the first bottle I ever really noticed had a website and email (info@sama-jo.com) written on it.

Peach Bomb was from my Oct 2021 staycation at Katana; there was a mart below that had all sorts of imported food and drinks. It's sugar free, which is a rarity from the peach drinks I commonly see in the market. 

The C.C lemon is a Japan imported RM9.90 (super expensive!!) lemon drink from FamilyMart, bought on a random night after eating the buffet at Rasa Sayang's Spice Market Cafe in Batu Ferringhi in the same year. It was really too sour for me until I had to diluted it 5 times over. But it also ironically got me hooked on (diluted!!) lemon drinks until now. 

On the second row, we have Minere; another natural mineral water bottle from one of the short trips to Thailand years back. Then Pocari Sweat as well as Chilsung Cider were probably random purchases in Penang. Loved that they are considered the common stuff in Japan and Korea. 

There's been many others like them. 
Especially if they were not from Penang.
I somehow just have memories attached to the bottles I keep a little longer. 

There was a Sprite bottle from Egypt; it was bought from a petrol or diesel station stop, which was paid for in a foreign currency that I cannot remember now. The place was crowded and loud with teenagers in uniforms that looked like they just finished school. 

There's a Pepsi bottle with ginseng written on it that was also from Chihuahua; something we would never find here. At the time, I was amused to find the word 'ginseng' on a Pepsi bottle where everything else is written in Spanish! I'm not letting that one go just yet. 

There was a few mineral or spring water bottles from my Aussie trips that I had got rid of last year or so; memorable as they were tough and lasted at least since 2014. One of them, a blue one with pink cap might even have been from 2009!







Saturday, January 22, 2022

The collection of everything orange


It's the first time my dad and I are both spending time together, taking photos of this arrangement.
A rare moment I am grateful for. 

Monday, December 20, 2021

Words

"Help me to rest in who I know You to be no matter how I feel."

It has been a long weekend.
Between failure and guilt.
Between tears and laughter.
Between joy and disappointment. 
Between love and resentment. 

You are still God. 
The gift of grace I need right now. 
Between who we are and what You call us to be. 
This distance is an illusion.
It is closer than I can feel.
"I am Yours." 
Engraved where it belonged.

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Old Klang Taste + Moving on

 
I ironically left out the traditional type of fishcake commonly used in Korea which is thin and rectangular shaped although that was the inspiration to looking up the recipe for it.

Discovering that what I had made has the same salty, sweet and consistency of the fishball sauce I remember from primary school days was a pleasant surprise.
Those days of recess time where the fishballs deep fried in wantan skins and that big pot of sweet brown sauce to dip them in was just so divine. 
I would eat that every day if the fishballs wasn't sold out. Back then it was only about 20 cents each! 
 
~
God have heard me. 
 
November 15th I will officially go back to my old team. 
 
The mind games that went on for a few weeks after I applied for the position was emotionally exhausting. I'm thankful I have managed to stay firm with my answers and reasons. 
It is now over and I have signed the offer letter. 
 
I find comfort in the redemption story that has unfold this last year.
Ex boss had promised that if it was possible, he would have me back. 
And that have come to pass, 1 year and 3 months later. 

I have not wanted anything as much as this for a while now.
Which made it harder to surrender to God.

It was tough trying to keep the faith, believing His will for me and my desire to go will be the same.
Especially when the thoughts that my boss would also be praying to the same God persisted to make me feel smaller and unloved.
 
But God loves not one above the other. That is a truth no matter what happens. 
It is still the truth to hold on to even if anyone deny me of things because of this choice that I have made. 
 
There will be consequences, I am sure.
But knowing that God has won this battle for me makes me bolder and ready to stand firm for what I want and what I believe in.