Banff - Town Center

c how big our hotel room is!



me in the middle of banff avenue



met the honeymoon couple @ safeway @ banff!



our dinner: bbq chicken from safeway and cup noodles



my breakfast: haagen-dazz ice cream bar



to be exact: chocholate dip vanilla milkshake =D



this is the mountain view from the balcony of our hotel room.



this is not my bed



pirates of the COWibian



i was trying to ride the horse



desperate houseCOWS



Banff conference center



@ the fall...



our dinner @ banff



my banff collection



my birthday "message" from the night b4 my bday...



i just wanna make sure the happy birthday is for me je.... =P

Boating @ Lake Louise

wow.. my great lunch @ chaeteu lake louise



boating @ the lake!!! isn't it nice?



the water is pretty cold...



hi!!! we tried to take a pic of both of us...



wah ha ha.. finally after many takessss, we got a pic w/ the ice field and the lake!



and some tourists walk-by saw us and helped us take a "group" pic.



wow!! this "mouse" was so cute and ran very fast for food!



and other tourists saw us and helped us for this group pic again.



and it's time to play water!



wow!! can u feel how cold the water is?



haha.. c my toes?



bye bye lake louise!!

on the way to lake louise

this way in is where LL lives...



me @ calgary C-train railway



we are waiting for the C-train to pick up our car



yes, i'll choose "C"



c me driving seriously... very focus...



we saw mooses right beside the highway!



isn't it pretty here?



someone helped us to take this pic... but we kinda block the view of these factories...

sermon yesterday

John 4:46-54
the father c his problem as the biggest in the world and asked Jesus to go to his home to heal his son.
Jesus, instead, just said a few words:

"Go" - God's command
"Your son lives" - God's promise

Jesus didn't follow what the father said.
but still, Jesus healed the son... w/ his Words.
the father hasn't seen his son lives yet he just go.
he trusted Jesus' words and go.
though he has doubted, but he won't know the answer till he go home.

do i have the courage to go?
just keep walking in God's path and u'll c his answer at the end.
God's promise follows God's command.
follow God's command and see God's promise at the end.

The pastor said we should c problem through Jesus.
and... believe in the power of God's words.
christianity is based on God's words.
testimony, witness, experience, feelings are important but what if u don't hear anymore testimony? what if u can't feel abt God's love? You need to believe that God is still here and HE's still in control JUST based on HIS words.
we need to believe in the power of HIS words.

back to vancouver

i've taken almost 800 pics but i can't upload them bcoz those "drag and drop" program doesn't compatible with my MBP. so.. i m still thinking how i can upload them...

i m so surprised to have friends picked me up from the airport yesterday.
it was a surprise! n i m glad that i m much happier than i was b4.
i hang out w/ them and kinda stop them from having dinner at home.
had a chat w/ a friend afterwards n it was great.
so thank God for friends here around me...

back to work today n the lab is pretty quiet.
in such a hot weather and sunny outside, we r not that willing to work.
i had a 5-min chat w/ my boss n figured out i have many things lined up to do..
wow.. i need to make up a schedule n hopefully, i can follow it.

it was very cold on the bus bcoz of the air-condition.
n i started to feel a sore throat....
ai.... probably the stress has come back n the virus start attacking me tooo....

2nd last day @ calgary

went to the zoo today.
after looking at all the dead bones, i manage to c some alive animals.
most of them seem lonely to me... esp the big black bear.
he's alone in the big cage... wondering back and forth.
at the end, he was leaning on the wire and look at the new constructions for the elephants.
what is he looking for? his family? the life out there? freedom? food?
i dunno... but i felt pity on him.

i also c other new births for the goat, deer and the gorilla.
surprised to know that the male gorilla has 4 girl friends (wives or concubines?) and have baby w/ each.
and this guy always has a serious look. seems like he has to watch out for enemies.
and surprised to know that he has family problem when we find out he had a fight w/ his teenage son and so they have to be separated in two different places to live.

also c some african wild dogs. they act a troop... following each other.

some new births or baby animals keep following their mothers too.
it's so warm.. to c the love between animals.
u know... in human world, most of the time is the parents following the children....

tonight saw an EM by "cheung kai yum". if you dunno who she is... she is one of the famous chinese preacher on spiritual stuff, i mean those related to ghost.
the first time i've heard of her name was back to my secondary school when i borrowed her tapes and listened to her testimony and sermons.
later in ubc ccf, she came once to hold an EM, which is the first time i met her.
tonight, although i was not that surprised w/ what she talked, i had a happy evening as afterall, she's very funny.
dunno y, when i saw people believe in God, singing the pretty "old soil" song "sup g ga", praying for these new believers, some tears came out from my eyes.
i m glad that my heart is not hardened.
i m still touched by the spirit of God.

went to the cheesecake cafe for dinner.
at a banana spilt cheesecake.
the portion is too huge... and to my surprise, i don't like it very much.
it's not bad.. just.... maybe too much ice cream these days... =P

yeah.. can't believe it's the last night here... time flies. n my boss is looking for me already. gotta back to work soon n... really don't wanna face it. arrr!!! well... i gotta work hard... to finish up n go. pray that... i'll have a good transition.. from the holiday mood to working mode.

27-37-37 (don't read this blog or i'll contaminate u)

saw a series of this numbers somewhere and i was wondering what that means.
that reminds me of the fuji film commercial on their film number 36-24-36....
then a friend of mine asked me which part r those 3 numbers represents.
i was like.... up, middle n bottom lor...
this person said, well yeah.. up.. how to measure it?
i was like... around your body lor...
this person continued, yeah.... i've once thought it's around each circle... the circumference of it.... n that's y i don't understand y people can get such a big number....
i can't stop kidding abt it: oh right.. coz u need to multiply by two to get this big number....
u can tell i can do math sometimes too... yay!!!

dinosaurs @ drumheller

it's pretty windy today but thank God so much for the nice weather that there's no rain like yesterday.
we get to c hoodoos. which are much smaller than i've expected.
but still.. it's God's creations. we enjoyed it.

i spend my birthday w/ the dinosaurs..
well.. better say, fossils. historic stuff. bones. calcium...
i remember what mitch albom said in <5 people you meet in heaven>: everybody is affecting everybody... everyone is somehow connected. maybe... w/o those "stones", there's no mandy... on earth. no one can give a concrete reason for why dinosaurs disappear suddenly. but one thing for certain is, w/o God, there won't be any of us.

yesterday breakfast

the night when we were in banff, we bought 3 hagendaz ice cream bar in case we r still hungry after the cup noodle n the bbq chicken.
turns out we were very full already n no space for the ice cream bars.
plus we don't have a freezer.. so we just use some ice to try to "freeze" them when we go to bed.
next morning.. yeah... coz we can't take them w/ us, so i tried to finish them as my breakfast.
u know there's a chocolate skin wrapping the ice cream, so it looks perfectly fine till i try to hold the entire bar w/ that stick....
haha.. the stick was taken off.. just like the bone-removed chicken wings. and the ice cream just flows out like a stream of milk...
in conclusion, my breakfast is: vanilla milk dip chocolate.
i can't believe that i'll still eat weird stuff when my mom is not around....

happy birthday to me

hahahha.
thanks a lot for the e-card i've received.
i got it from sailor V..
mc gill gill.
and mo hau.
n i was singing bday song w/ my friend tonight.
yeah.. so weird.
but i m super sugar hyper tonight after eating lots of caramel popcorn.
have been doing crazy things and driven my friend nuts...
and thx fish fish for the essay long email.
i'll watch it w/ u after i come back!
what else?

faye g vs. um chong

i got a very big white head pimple below my lips and a
bit above my "ha par" yesterday.
a very cute friend can't help it but said, "aiya.. u
got a faye g ah?"
-_-'''
me... faye g? how can she look inside my mouth? plus..
i don't have one..
arrrr... i know what she means... n it really
triggeres me for the definition of faye g.
n why inside your mouth, it's called "faye g". outside
your mouth, it's called "um chong"?
yeah.. it's the same..

julie and matthew's wedding

right.. i was supposed to update on this topic.
i took like 60 pics but i need to figure out how i can easily upload them to a probably photo site w/ my new computer.
don't wanna click one pic at a time...
so.. end up only posting one pic from my cell phone camera for now.
yeah.. guess.. that's enough... as i look the same in all the pics.. so are the others... =P
their wedding is touching.
simple..... but u can c they are a God-paired couple!
may their marriage continue to glorify God...

more pics from toronto

yeah! i am so thankful that my aunt @ toronto prepared such a great dinner for me.
and I am so thankful that my uncle took the day off to take me to the airport.
and i am also very thankful that my cousin took me out to wet.
i am also thankful that tiffany is a caring and funny girl!

pics i took for my fellowshippers...

yeah.. i know u guys are going to miss me for another week.
so.... don't spend all your time finishing my blog in one day...
as i m not going to update it for a week!
oh right... mrs. lee.. remember to help me record the sermon on saturday!
and my dearest sh.. sorry that i didn't manage to return your call.. guess u must be zzz already...
these pics are in the remberance of.... the happy days i had in the past couple of months.
some look very brokeback; some look very pretty.. i hope.. u guys have fun in them.... and don't get TOO mad if i make u look too pretty in the pics. =P

arnold.. don't scratch too hard.. the hair is "bo bo go sing" already..



ha.. this... sum sum seung yan..



isn't this heart sweet?



haha.. this is how nat nat responds to fu chu's heart..



aiya.. i wasn't supposed to be in the pic



didn't macro and henry look like holding hands behind c fu's back? yeah.. broke-c-fu-back.



yeah.. this time, the "suspect" is hidden for security reason.

the cards i've received b4 leaving

i've received two cards today.

as always.. my tong ga je wrote me a card for my birthday.
as always, she wrote the same thing.
dear mandy, from dora.
short but precise.
simple but full of love.

i was surprised to receive another card today after chatting w/ a friend.
and i've received an essay in the card!
haha... haven't received a card or a letter for a while w/ someone's words in it.
usually... i wrote a lot in the card (most of the time i just fill the empty space up and blah blah blah and repeat and repeat in it).
i seldom receive a card full of words except it's from overseas.
it's touching coz u find it so real. and u can feel the care and the love behind the card.
yeah.. i understand it may not be easy for people to express themselves through writings.
so i very much appreciate it.

thanks a lot... and thank God for giving me great friends and a great family.

the night b4 calgary

i had a very happy evening today.
i had dinner w/ my family who'd like to celebrate my birthday.
i was full half way through the meal already!
had my favourite pigeon, lobster and squid.
i was so surprised to receive a birthday cake from my "tong ga je".
she said that it's for the award i received (the $$ that i got for the conference) and my birthday.
she is very happy for me... which.. i've never expected.
yeah.. so.. it's the first time for me to have waitress singing birthday song for me in a chinese restaurant but in english.
pretty "leung" but fun.
and i got "sau bao" too! haha.. my favourite buns for birthday!

the cake i got... actually.. the mango is pretty sour.



me and my "tong ga je" dora



the sau bao... which will become my breakfast.



my bak fu bak leung and tong ga je



my two aunts and me.. yet my dad focus the camera on the sau bao... -_-'''



last but not least, me and my parents!

mandy with kin kin's hamsters

these are the two hamsters that my friend has.
they are very cute.
finding the small one keep chasing the big one, i can't help but asking if they are of different gender.
the answer is... nope. otherwise, they'll mate...
true... and u probably won't do any abortion to these tiny pets.
with two same sex hamster chasing each other.... sound very brokeback to me....

ha.. though you can't c my friend nor me, you can hear our voices!

goodbye toronto

leaving in a few hrs.
last night went to karaoke w/ my cousin n his friends.
they r not really singing but drink beers, playing dices n "chai mui"
dunno how many bottles they have consumed.
sometimes, i wonder if that's the life he wants it to be.
is he really having fun and enjoy it?
we all know that this happiness won't last.
n those r really "jau yok pun yau".

i m glad he asked his friends out to play w/ me.
n i m glad his gf is pretty caring of me too n order sth else for me to drink.
but really, i was just talking to a friend of mine the entire night.
my primary schoolmate.. n it was his birthday yesterday.
the one who just became a christian.
too bad that i don't get to take a pic w/ him together that i can compare how fat or thin i'll c him next time.
for sure that he's much thinner now.
n i haven't met him for..... 4 yrs at least?
anyway.. good to c him surviving well in his single life.
we both have love problem n i m glad we had a great chat on it.
i wish i could hv one w/ my cousin too...

my cousin looks fatter n older this time.
i kept teasing him abt aging on the first day.
yes... i know. he needs some eye mask.
don't drink too often and sleep earlier.
a new gf this time. dunno how long it'll last. =P
my aunt made us dinner last night n it was delicious!
so happy to eat at home. miss that for a week already though we eat w/ TV .. heehee...
e cheung is so funny too.
he is very caring and friendly.
he talks to my cousin like friends.
i remember my cousin was very naughty when he was a kid that my e cheung beat him up and scold at him a lot.
i was pretty scare as my dad won't do that to me ma...
but now they r like friends. pretty amazing to me!

concluding life in halifax

these days in halifax.. well.... i don't enjoy it very much as no one close to me go w/ me.
unlike the past few times away for a conference, there's always someone that i can hang onto at least for supper n other things.
this time, the people i go w/ just do whatever independently.
n me... being not that open n social w/ strangers, is kinda hard to survive in this city.

i was longing for this vacation b4 as i can get out of the busy life.
but i ended up finding very lonely in halifax.
this loneliness was killing me every day n i can't wait to get out of there.
i had once thought i can handle loneliness and be able to live alone since i m the only child... should be independent.
but end up i was like a lost sheep in the forest.
i can't stand this quietness n i dunno y i can't hold onto God tightly.
it's so hard to believe that once u r a christian, u'll still feel that emptiness and loneliness evading u.
guess i've focussed too much on myself and forget to raise my head and forget to raise my hand to God.
it's so scary n horrible.
keep me in prayer if u can... for i m still very upset n scary at this moment... that i just need God to fill this hole.

birthday registry

i was bugged by a few close friends that i don't spend my birthday in vancouver and let them celebrate w/ me.
yeah.. this year, i just wanna hide away, think abt my life, and enjoy my life w/ another very close friend in calgary.
a quiet birthday... which has never been happen to me.
seem like giving too much trouble to friends around me for organizing a bday party or dinner for me.
last yr, there were almost 20 people eating hotpot! crazy. n i don't get to talk to each of them.
just, hi, happy birthday. thank you. busy? yes very. when will u graduate? i hope next yr la... birthday wish? peace come to the world. hahaha... then it's cake cutting, gift presentation and photo session.
i don't mean i don't like it. i've once very enjoyed it as i can celebrate w/ those i treasure a whole lot in my life.
but somehow, i treasure more the meaningful time w/ them.
some real chat abt what's going on in our lives.
some questions that i had in mind that i wanna be answered.
some secrets sharing.
some opinions sharing.
small group. not large group.

in conclusion, instead of buying me sth that just sit in my room or hang on my body, i guess u can do sth more meaningful.
• share w/ me stories of u that i've never known, sth happened recently or in the past. but it has to be real.
• share w/ me your dreams and stuff that u need a listener for. but make sure i have time n it doesn't have to be 6 hrs long.
• tell me a joke. make sure u can make me laugh.
• a big big hug... a very long long hug... n if u r a male, make sure your other half was hugging me at the same time too. n if i cry, make sure i stop crying b4 u let me go.
• take a picture w/ me so that i'll remember u as my friend.
• pray w/ me or pray for me can already warm my heart.
• an e-card, a phone call or just by remembering n pray for me in your heart, is a very decent present already.
are these very hard to do? well.. i guess.. it just takes some of your time. that... $$ can't pay for.

me @ toronto

to those who miss me so much, i m coming back tomorrow.
i may not call u out as i'll be jet lagging, but if i do, u r precious.

guess who this cute boy is?



haha... he's my biu dei @ toronto. n this is him and his gf.



then this is me and his parents.

@ toronto

was stuck at the airport for 2.5 hrs bcoz of the thunderstorm... read like 50 pages of tuesday w/ morrie.
wanna quote from this book of what morrie said:

there are a few rules i know to be true abt love and marriage:
if you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.
If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.
If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.
And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.
Your values must be alike.

the biggest one of those values: your belief in the importance of your marriage.

guess.. i m a trouble maker.... or.. better say, i've been troubled too.