the highlight of my busy day was definitely watching home videos. man, just looking back and seeing how i was when i was younger. so many memories..and yet, all of a sudden, here i am, a college kid. ha. where did all the time go? i still remember not being able to touch the ground with my feet whenever i sat down on chairs. i still remember carrying lunch boxes to school. i still remember recess. but i guess this is all just part of the cycle of life..

as for now, i am truly excited about the future. not just about college, but just, everything in general. i want to see how things play out. i have a feeling im gonna be saying the same thing in bout 2 years...

funny how things work out...

oops. forgot to post yesterday night. but, yeah. yesterday was definitely up there on the "best days of summer" list. perhaps even number one. hehe seemed like i got so much done. hadda wake up early to take my sister to DPS, that plan fell through, but then it turns out ophelia was still immobile, so isabel needed a ride to her last day of school. wow, it's so hard to remember the age when i was as eager to go to school =P then came DPS, which took forever but was actually still bearable. boating turned out to be a really fun experience...hehe even though we all musta looked pretty weird out there =P . then had some yummy popsicles, the perfect cure for the oppressing heat. after that, went to go play baseball, which was also pretty fun. and to top it all off, i gotta share my testimony for cantonese fellowship at church.

ah, all in all, an awesome day. hehe awesomeness =D

hm..i think i'll start considering another career choice. maybe as a...school bus driver? you know, for elementary school kids. its weird, but i think while sitting on a bus with the pounding chaos of 20 7-year olds behind me, i'd feel rather at home. *shrug* just an idea that popped into my head today ;)

with a scarier thought, let's turn to today's business. in today's news, 15-year old jennifer mok is acquiring her driving permit. i believe today is a dark day for drivers everywhere. for those of you leaving for college with me, consider yourselves lucky.

but, yeah. it's true. i gotta take her to DPS today for her permit. and you guys know im j/p around; im sure my sister'll turn out to be a great driver..

..like every other asian woman.

Important UT Dates, Academic Services, and Housing Information

AUGUST 1 Priority Deadline for Football Season Tickets
AUGUST 13 Tuition payment deadline for students who registered by July 18 - All classes DROPPED if not paid.
AUGUST 22 University residence halls open at 9:00 am
AUGUST 24 Add/drop for the fall semester for students who registered and paid their fees by August 13
AUGUST 27 Fall 2003 classes begin

wow. and it's august already...

but then again, this summer has been so long that it seems august shoulda rolled around a long time ago..

hehe today in the car..

me: man, i needa haircut.
peter: yeah, me too.
me: i think im gonna get one tonight.
peter: where do you get your haircuts?
me: some lady's house.
peter: who?
me: i don't think you know her..
peter: does she live on highway 6?
me: m..she lives in highlands.
peter: oh. ok..
me: well, i pay $5 for my haircuts, so yeah.
peter: thats how much i pay too!
me: haha..i don't think its the same person, peter..
peter: does she have a son who goes to our church?
me: he sometimes does..
peter: yeah! it's the same!
me: eh..i dont think so. what's her name then.
peter: m..tong?
me: eh, nope. my person's name is lei.
peter: oh, i don't really remember.
me: ok, then what's her phone number?
peter: ok hold on i have it here somewhere..do you know it?
me: yep, *start telling him the number*
peter: HEY THAT'S MINE TOO!

hahaha iono why i find this so funny..lol i guess it's just cuz we both usually schedule our haircut appointments at about 9:00, so in the past, i guess whenever either of us called and she was already booked, it was the other person sitting their in her house..hehe *shrug* small world.

when the sun's shining down on me, when the world's "all as it should be"..

im sure we've all felt it. just this unexplainable feeling of joy bottled up inside, where the only way to really let it out is through a huge smile or uncontrollable laughter. after so many ups and downs this year, i cant do anything else but simply PTL after all he's shown me. our God truly is an AWESOME God. i keep saying and hearing the same phrase over and over this week: "funny how things work out." the more i think about it, the more i really come to realize that God knew exactly what he was doing with our lives even before we were born. He just chooses to use various experiences to reveal His unbelievable power to us.

on sunday during worship service, we sang my all-time favorite praise song =)

Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me,
When the world's "all as it should be",
Blessed be Your name,
And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering,
Thiugh there's pain in the offering,
Blessed be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out I'll, turn back to praise,
And when the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say.

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.

You give and take away, You give and take away,
My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name.

blessed be the name of the Lord at ALL TIMES, right? whether in good times or bad, God's always in control. so, until i hear otherwise, i guess i'll just keep on smiling. PTL! =D

so i finally getta chance to talk to xiao yesterday...and this is the first thing that comes up:

fallin f0r Y0U: so how ya been
HeyLookItsXiao: fat
HeyLookItsXiao: lol
HeyLookItsXiao: i got more handles
fallin f0r Y0U: AIYA
fallin f0r Y0U: stop stuffing yourself up there
HeyLookItsXiao: haha
HeyLookItsXiao: i can't help it
HeyLookItsXiao: it's so cheap!

great. just great, xiao. we send you away for a month and this is what you do with yourself?

hehe on a lighter note, xiao's coming home!

It's funny how God works sometimes. He can use any situation to really test your faith -- or lack thereof. I guess it's in our human nature to take advantage of His forgiveness. I suppose it's natural for us to test His patience. But then again, these are just excuses. I, for one, know myself to be someone who doesn't know my own limits. Sometimes I'm not even sure if I know myself. Maybe it's just me, but I know I've formed this image of myself that doesn't always agree with the "real" me.

I find that I often blindly follow my emotions. I find that I have several very bad habits. I find that without even realizing it, I occasionally doubt God's power. I find that I take many things and people for granted. I find that I hate admitting my weaknesses.

It's a good thing God always knows what He's doing with my life, because more often than not, I don't. I guess this is just a small "thank you" to the Big Guy for all He does.

Once again, Father, I surrender all. True worship comes from the heart, and Jesus, You're all this heart is living for.

This is my desire
To honor You
Lord with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give you praise
All that I adore is in You

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

OpHeEeNieEe: the other day i had my real player playing...and it has all the random videos i dl
OpHeEeNieEe: and my dad was walking by
OpHeEeNieEe: and the video of u lex and eric singing that "fong pay" song came up
fallin f0r Y0U: lol
fallin f0r Y0U: I KNEW IT
fallin f0r Y0U: I KNEW IT
fallin f0r Y0U: hahahha
OpHeEeNieEe: and yea.. we watched that.. and we burst out laughing SO hard
OpHeEeNieEe: my sister literally was rolling on the floor

hehe memories..

happiepenguin: hahahahah
happiepenguin: i changed my mind!
happiepenguin: i liked alaska!
fallin f0r Y0U: .........
fallin f0r Y0U: ...why didnt you like it before?
happiepenguin: i said it was boring before
happiepenguin: but i changed my min
happiepenguin: d
happiepenguin: it was fun
fallin f0r Y0U: haha
fallin f0r Y0U: any hot guys?
happiepenguin: in the crowds of senior citizens?
happiepenguin: hahah
fallin f0r Y0U: hehe yeah

ah..gotta love them cruises ;)

stir in me

stir in me, a fire that the world cannot explain
I've come to worship You
stir in me, a passion that my heart cannot contain
I've come to worship You

hold me, break me
mold me and make me more and more like You
I've come to worship You
love You, fear You
draw ever near You as I worship You
I've come to worship You

i dont remember the last time i was this exhausted. wow. i somehow managed to get steven, stanley, jason, jennifer, & myself into sweetwater country club today. hehe im gonna leave for college soon anyways, might as well take advantage of my membership.

first we played a full court game. i was basically running non-stop. too bad no one on the other team could keep up though ;) but yeah, after that, we basically played ball for 3 hours continuously.

i am definitely too pooped to poop.

oh wait, theres still a party tonight. oh btw, happy bday stanley! oh and a late happy bday to isabel! ...haha i know she'll probably never see this, but whatever =P

ouch. got banged up during ball today. got elbowed below my right eye and in the gut. then i got shouldered on my chin and smacked in the back of the head. crap. whats going on.

so, yes. i gotta potential black eye tomorrow thanks to stanley tso's shoulder. which reminds me, last time i got a black eye, it was from steven tso's head. man. whats up with that tso family.