Melb updates

Hello. I went to the city on Friday with Ida, to meet Joel (and visit the mac shop). Am still not in the habit of taking pictures, so I only remembered to whip out my camera halfway. To get to the city, it's walk > bus > train and public transport is more expensive, as compared to Singapore, so don't think I'll be visiting the city often. We went to the market...



Okay I know you can see such stuff in Singapore too. But um yea :D And a lot of us don't go to the wet market yes? And they have biiiig fruits here. Aunty Lucia grows vegetables! Like tomatoes and zucchini. That fish in the picture has got BIG eyes. Some of the stores have logos! So that was quite interesting. It's nice to see Avenir and some good typography around as well.

We visited Joel's place. Joel cooked dinner, and I helped do some chopping - learn how to cook :P So far here, I've only cooked an egg, and egg with mashed tofu, mixed with soya sauce (an experiment with Ida). Watched Seinfeld and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show for the first time.



Went to Hope Christian Church today. They have a car pool thingie, so many people get picked up and sent back home after. Service was pretty normal I guess. A congregation smaller than YM, many asians, and it was in a school hall. The people were all very friendly and easy to talk to. I'm going to be church hopping for a bit before I decide where I shall settle for the next three years. Went home and found very few people on MSN - realised many people would be out at church at this time! Ah YM and CMJ and Ushers!

It's gotten hotter the past few days - about 30 degrees. The good thing is that it's not humid here so there's no perspiration. But when the sun is hot, it is HOT man. And apparently the UV rays here are extra harmful so sun block lotion is a must. Aunty Lucia offered to lend me a hat, but I didn't really want to wear a sun hat so I told her I'd go buy my own hat.

I had my first after-CNY dinner yesterday - joined Aunty Lucia and Uncle Oliver's family who also live in Melbourne (they're from Malaysia). Very nice people - hospitable, welcoming, and with many stories to tell. After, we watched a Hong Kong CNY countdown from a disc, by TVB. Unfortunately, it was all in cantonese so I sat there for more than an hour listening to I-don't-know what :/ haha.

I'm incredibly blessed here - great place to stay, lovely hosts, good friends.

There are many Asians here so I don't feel too out-of-place. A few times, I've thought this surreal, but mostly I feel fine. Some people say it most probably hasn't sunk in that I am going to be here for the next three years.

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I was thinking.. when people ask how God speaks to me, I usually tell them, "When I write." But well, it's more than just when I write. God speaks to me when I allow Him to. Okay that sounds rude. haha. Rather, I hear God when I allow it so, when I want to hear Him, when I choose to hear Him. When I am quiet and receptive. When I am undistracted, not thinking about other things. So yea. I hear God when I'm writing, when I'm worshipping in song, when I am doing nothing, when I am staring out the train window.. whenever :)

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The Octopussers are alive agaaaaainnn!!!!!!