Yesterday (June 15, 2010), I attended the funeral of my maternal grandmother. All of my other grandparents passed away well before I was born. She was the only grandparent I ever knew. She was 99 years old. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Family, Relationships
Maybe I’m just a bit emotional right now, but I really do miss my dear husband. He’s been away on an extended business trip, first to Frankfurt (the expected part) and now to Bangalore (the unexpected part). I know he is in good hands, with good friends and colleagues. I know he misses me too. But I do miss him so.
I watched a girly chick flick tonight too “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” and that made me cry and miss Alex even more. All very much my own doing, I know. During this ‘alone’ time, I do realize how much I take Alex for granted. I suppose that’s one aspect of the famous quote “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. When Alex is with me, I don’t really see so clearly how much he loves me. When we are apart, we make more effort (well, we need to make the effort) to talk to one another and to really treasure the little time we have to talk with one another. And we make the effort to say the little things that we don’t say as much normally on a day-to-day basis, like “I love you” instead of “how come this huge dining table is filled with books??” Yeah, I know that I nag too much (sorry dear!). I just pray that I will remember these times of absence so that my heart will always grow fonder, regardless of where the both of us are 
Tags: Relationships
For the first time since getting married, Betty and I have a place of our own to call “home.”
When we first got married, Betty moved into my basement suite underneath the home of a pastor and his family. They were good people but, on a regular basis, we could hear the piano playing next to our bedroom and the ping-pong table being used next to our kitchen.
The next time we moved was when we relocated here to the UK in September of last year. We stayed with good friends in a shared home as “temporary housing.” Honestly, we have been really blessed by good friends and strangers who have opened their places to us to live. But, as a young married couple with a desire to bless others, we thought it would be important to find a more personal “home”. So, this all changed last week.
Here’s a shot of the front (with our Civic parked there) and our back garden (with the new compost bin we got — which, incidentally, is sold at a reduced cost since most municipalities actually subsidise them). Our hope is that we will be able to use this place for God’s glory and, perhaps, entertain angels unaware. If you would like to visit, drop us a line!
Its been 365 days since Betty and I wed. Since the exchange of vows, it has been quite a whirlwind. She changed jobs; I began a PhD. We moved countries and have lived in two homes (Lord-willing, going to a third one at the end of this month). Had the addition of two members to our family — a MacBook and MacBook Pro (what else were you thinking?). We have been homesick, rejoiced at the news of an expectant nephew, mourned the passing of a loved one, surrounded by encouraging friends, faced with major decisions of housing and traveling and weddings to attend or miss, and had much anxiety over exams to come (my first year PhD panel review in June and Betty’s professional certificate exam THIS TUESDAY — prayers appreciated!). Needless to say, in one sense it seems like we have been married for much more than one year. Yet at the same time, I feel as though we are still newlyweds. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: God's creation, Relationships, Wedding
One of the things I absolutely love about England is her countryside, the gentle rolling green hills and the striking occasional tree that stands alone on a slope. Dotted along with white sheep and lambs at this time, and the puffs of white cloud in the blue sky (a rarity sometimes, but I have seen it). Sometimes I wish I can paint because the countryside would be what I’d want to paint. And my photo attempts at capturing the beauty of the countryside just do no justice to the real thing.
So my friend Christina and I went off to the Peak District for two days this week, visiting historic homes like Chatsworth and staying in a quaint village hotel called The Maynard. As we finally made it to our first stop, Chatsworth, we were both quite in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. When we drove upon the estate, we spot this rather large herd of deer! I had never seen so many deer together. It was too bad my camera couldn’t capture them very well, but that truly was a scene of British countryside that I shall not forget easily.
About two years ago, when I started my Masters degree, I decided I wanted long hair. I wanted this for quite some time but just never had the guts to grow it out.
Tags: Photos, Relationships
For those who may be interested, here is a brief newsletter reflecting on the last year. Enjoy!
Tags: Relationships, Wedding
I have just finished preparing another Turkey (yes, another one) for a Christmas Eve party tonight. While its sitting and absorbing all them herbs and stuff, I thought I would put up a quick post about this past weekend when Betty and I took a trip down to London visit family, see Les Miserables (awesome musical!) and do a little shopping. We stayed at the house of my Uncle David and Aunt Sue (he’s technically my second cousin — my dad’s cousin — but that just sounds weird). My Uncle David came out of retirement six years ago when his brother, Sam, passed away. Uncle David took over Uncle Sam’s ironmonger (translation: hardware store). As you can see from the pictures it is such a clutter, but he has just about everything and knows where everything is! Evidently, prior to the establishment of Samuel Ironmonger, his parents started the first Chinese restaurant in that area of London in 1953 – Kowloon Restaurant. It was really cool to see the pictures of the restaurant and original menu. Hmm.. I would like some Gar Lee Ngau Yuk £5 and Yee Foo Min Tong for £2 (yah, it was really expensive even back then!).
Tags: Relationships, United Kingdom
I have never missed a Thanksgiving celebration. I have always remembered the holiday as one celebrated with family — often my family with my mom’s side of the family getting together for a Burmese-American Thanksgiving fusion dinner. Even when I was in college in San Diego, I remember sometimes going with the youth group I worked with on Thanksgiving day to serve food at the local shelters — but by the afternoon, I was driving up two hours to be at Thanksgiving dinner.
But then, when I moved to Canada in 2006, things changed. Not only was the last Thursday of November a full day of classes, Thanksgiving in Canada was celebrated a month and a half earlier. A few friends and I decided to still celebrate American Thanksgiving — in Canada.
The next year, of course, we did the same. This year, I have moved again — this time with my bride and to England. Though the number of Americans here are far fewer, we still celebrated God’s goodness!
What I think is very special for me is the fact that Thanksgiving is a time of family. And, as I have lived away from home for many years, I appreciate the fact that God has given me surrogate families wherever I have gone. I am truly thankful for God’s blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tags: Canada, Relationships, United Kingdom, USA
Hi everyone!
We are finally here in the UK, finally here in Birmingham. It’s been a long journey, leaving Vancouver on September 1st and embarking on an 18-day journey here to Birmingham. God has been very good to Alex and myself. He has blessed us with so many wonderful memories that we will treasure forever with the friends and family with whom we met up with along the way. Of course, we remember and treasure the dear friends and family we left in Vancouver too!
So how does it feel to finally be here in Birmingham? I can only speak for myself, Alex will have to share his thoughts in his blog entry. I have already been asked many a times why I would return to such a country as England, always so wet and so dark in the winter and so gloomy here. I have been quite surprised actually by all the negative comments I hear about this island. Perhaps many people are fed up, for whatever reason. The only thing I want to say is that grass is not always greener on the other side.
Tags: Canada, Relationships, United Kingdom
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