Flower.

On Monday, I received a rosebud. It hadn't bloomed yet or anything and the sepals were still covering the flower. I thought it was really cool looking and I was quite curious to see what was underneath, so I began to peel away the sepals. Underneath was a burgundy flower that was still small. I kept it and I wanted to see what would happen to it after a few days.

Now, the flower is darker than before and the sepals are wrinkly and dry. The flower obviously isn't going to bloom anymore. The leaves also have curled up and the stem seems to be feeble as well (not enough lignin hahaha).

So why this story? Well, I thought that I could relate it to life.

Many times, things happen prematurely, like this flower being cut before its prime. We know that we should not do this certain thing or this certain event should not happen, but we get curious, and like what I did to do this flower, peel away the sepals to see what happens. However, since it happens before it's supposed to or not at the right time, the thing does not end well, like the fate of this flower.

There are many times when I wonder, "What if.." or "What could have happened..." even though I know that it has happened for the best. But in order to have a better ending than my illustration, I just have to have faith that God has a plan for me, and that whatever is supposed to happen will happen when it is the right time and in accordance to His will for me.

The End.

=P

Sing to the Lord!

Oh man, I am so EXCITED.

Lisa let me borrow her CD: GAA Chorale 2006, 2000, 1993: Sing to the Lord and it is so AWESOME.

I just listened to a few seconds of the first track, "All That Hath Life and Breath Praise Ye the Lord," and I started to tear up! I totally miss this chorale and everything!

Another track, "It Takes a Village," the beginning was the best I've ever heard it EVER. Like the slapping part...was just flawless.

The song that I accompanied, "He Never Failed Me Yet," surprised me. I actually didn't do as bad as I thought I did =P

"Elijah Rock" was pretty good as well! I felt so happy that my many times of hitting on those keys for the tenors and the basses was worth it. Every time I heard them, I was just like, "YAY-UH!"

The CD overall is just AMAZING.

I miss chorale so much!

It's such a blessing to have been given the opportunity to work with so many talented musicians to share our God-given talents. I love it.

In Need of a Savior

This may sound silly, but last night while I was watching La Sierra University's production of Oedipus Rex, I thought of how differently it would have turned out if Sophocles knew Jesus. At the end of this play, Oedipus gouges his eyes out because he sees his mother/wife Jocasta hanging in their bed chamber. How different would it have been if he knew Jesus and found that peace that many find in Him! The play would have been a lot shorter as well, for Oedipus would have never killed his father for Laius and Jocasta would have never believed a pagan prophet. Maybe I just came up with this because the play got too long for me to handle. But still, it's interesting to think about how many things would have been different or would be different if more people knew Jesus and accepted Him as their Savior.

Also, I read something interesting in U.S. News and World Report today. I was in the waiting room at Kaiser because of my allergy/asthma check up and I picked it up to read. It was an article from a few weeks ago and the article was about how lightly America thinks of religion. There was an interesting quote:
"Yet when it comes to religion, it [America] ranks among the most ill-informed. While close to two thirds of all Americans regard the Bible as a source of answers to life's questions, only half can name even one of the New Testament Gospels."

I thought that was really interesting to hear. The person who was interviewed during this article started talking about how America once highly valued the Bible. He mentioned about how the early Americans used to teach their children how to read out of the Bible. He started saying about how in public schools, some sort of religion classes should be integrated. Not necessarily any one domination, but maybe classes such as "World Religions" and the history of the Bible. And then these classes could somehow relate to other subjects, such as American History. However, students could have the opportunity to opt-out of these classes, but the person being interviewed believes that many students will not.

Interesting things to think about...

First Post

I was having trouble deciding what I should put as my first post. I wanted it to be an interesting one and I felt that I didn't know this site well enough to start self-disclosing. (Like my vocabulary? "Self-Disclosing"... Thank Interpersonal Communications)

Anyways, being the procrastinator that I am, I just filled out a MySpace survey a couple of minutes ago. I find myself to be quite witty at this time of day, so my answers pretty much amused me. Since it did indeed make me chuckle inside, I'd like to share it as part of my first post:

A
• Are you available?: No, but please leave your name and number after the beep and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible. BEEP.
• What is your age?: 18.
• What annoys you?: Hmm. Long plays at the moment. Haha.

B
• Do you know anyone named Billy?: Yes.
• When is your birthday?: August 29.
• Who is your best friend?: JESUS! Well, I want Him to be.

C
• What's your favorite candy?: I don't know anymore since I've stopped eating chocolate.
• Crush?: No, SMASH.
• When was the last time you cried?: Oh boy. I think sometime last week?

D
• Do you day dream?: Unfortunately.
• What's your favorite kind of dog?: Nice ones.
• What day of the week is it?: Friday.

E
• How do you like your eggs?: Nonexistent. Haha. Trying. But scrambled is good.
• Have you ever been in the emergency room?: Oh yes.
• Ever pet an elephant?: Nope. Haha I was going to ask if Eeyore counted as one, but I keep forgetting that he's a donkey. Yes, I need sleep.

F
• Do you use fly swatters?: When I was little.
• Have you ever used a foghorn?: Nope.
• Is there a fan in your room?: Yes. It's on right now actually.


G
• Do you chew gum?: Not really.
• Do you like gummy candies? Depends.
• Do you like gorey movies?: No.

H
• How are you?: At this moment? I'm...lacking sleep. But it's my fault so don't feel too bad.
• What's your height?: 5'4"
• What color is your hair?: Dark brown-black ish.

I
• Whats your favorite ice cream?: I don't know anymore. I'm trying to stay off dairy when I can...but I just ate vanilla cookies a few minutes ago so BLAH.
• Have you ever ice skated?: YUP!
• Ever been in an igloo?: No, I'm quite big to fit in those coolers now.


J
• What's your favorite Jelly Bean?: I don't have one.
• Have you ever heard a really hilarious joke?: A Joke?! What's that?! That was a joke. Here, let me explain...
• Do you wear jewelry?: Nope.

K
• Who do you want to kill?: No one.
• Have you ever flown a kite?: Yes.
• Do you think kangaroos are cute?: I think that they are interesting marsupial animals, but maybe not so cute. Blah, one of the only things I've learned in G. Bio...

L
• Are you laidback?: No, usually I'm hunched over. That was a joke, let me explain...
• Lions or tigers?: Tigers because TIGGER is a Tiger!
• Do you like black licorce?: What's licorce? Well, I do know that I don't care much for black LICORICE.

M
• Favorite movie as a kid?: Mm...I don't know.
• Ever shopped at Moosejaw? No, but I've shopped at Moosechops. Oh yeah, I'm on a roll. LOL.
• Last movie you watched?: Movie? I don't know. But the last documentary I watched was "Supersize Me" for English.
• Do you have a nickname?: Yes, I usually name my scratches after planets. LOL. I don't think any of you will get that. (Another word for "nick" is "scratch")
• Whats your favorite number?: I don't really have one, but I'll say four.
• Do you prefer night or day? Night. Yes, I am nocturnal just like Paris Hilton. Only Marlie and Richie will get that. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS!

O
• What's your one wish? That Jesus comes soon.
• Are you an only child?: Yes.
• Do you like the color orange?: It's alright. But I like oranges better.

P
• What are you most paranoid about?: HA. There isn't enough space to describe this.
• Piercings?: None.
• Do you know anyone named Penelope? Not personally.

Q
• Are you quick to judge people?: Unfortunately, yes. Don't judge me.
• Do you like Quaker Oats?: No, I prefer the Adventist kind.
• Know anyone that makes quilts?: Nope.

R
• Do you think you're always right?: No, I'm pretty much left.
• Do you watch reality TV?: No, I don't watch TV anymore.
• Do you prefer sun or rain?: SUNSHINE! The S of NEW START.
• Do you like snow?: OH, yes.
• Whats your favorite season?: It'd probably be volleyball season. ;]

T
• What time is it?: 1:56 A.M.
• What time did you wake up? I haven't gone to sleep yet.

U
• Can you ride a unicycle?: No, but I can ride a monocycle.
• Do you know anyone with a unibrow?: Hmm. Not really.
• How many uncles do you have?: Let's not go through this. I'm Filipino. What do you think?

V
• What's the worst vegetable?: Hmm. I don't know.
• Did you ever watch Veggie Tales?: Yes! I have Silly Songs with Larry in my iTunes.
• Ever considered being vegan?: Actually, yes. Right now. I'm attempting to be one when I can. But most of the time, I'm just an lacto-ovo vegetarian.

W
• What's your worst habit?: It'd have to be PROCRASTINATION.
• Do u like water rides?: No, I like water coasters.
• Ever been inside a windmill?: No. I haven't even been outside one.

X
• Have you ever had an x-ray?: MMHMM. Gotta love sprained ankles.
• Ever used a Xerox machine?: Yes. Ever since I realized that I can use my copy card, it's been my homeboy.

Y
• Do you like the color yellow?: Yes, it's the color that shows up when Lead is present in a solution of Mercury, Silver, and Lead. HA, G. Chem.
• What year were you born in?: 1988.
Do you yell when you're angry?: No, I usually scream.

Z
• Do you believe in the zodiac?: No.
• What's your zodiac sign?: What kind of question is that! If I answered No?! I'm a Virgo apparently.
• When was the last time you went to the zoo?: Yesterday. This school is crazy. LOL. It'd have to be last year during the Chicago Music Tour.