God Jul och Gott Nytt År!





Hej då, Sverige.

With a print run of over 131 million copies, the IKEA catalogue is the most widely distributed commercial and free publication in the world. It is produced in 38 different editions, and in 17 languages for 28 countries. 110 million catalogues were circulated last year-three times higher than that of the Bible.



Every H&M store is restocked with new merchandise daily. The bulk of the restocking is done between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., so there's almost a science to shopping H&M. Experienced bargain hunters learn that the store displays two of every size at a time. When the mediums are sold out, for example, there will be more the next morning. Employees advise friends to come Tuesday to Friday mornings, within hours of the restocking. Sources report that H&M turns over its entire inventory a whopping eight times a year.

I get happy when I open a pack of Mamba's and one of the three flavors ends up being strawberry. That's my favorite.

a duck egg white: how come u dont write a blog
a duck egg white: about me and MY freakin bday
a duck egg white: -.-
a duck egg white: and im the MOST important





Försent grattis på födelsedagen till min yngre syster, Susan!

I believe that everyone is entitled to one utterly senseless and happy purchase every once in a while.


Mine came in the form of a black houndstooth check print with red trim Fred Perry purse. =]

There's less than one week left here in Lund, and suddenly the endless barrage of anxiety attacks, butterflies, and sleepless nights. How can I already be leaving a place when I feel like I've yet to arrive?


I thought I was prepared, but apparently not. I hate saying goodbyes and I hate even more how I react to goodbyes.



I wish I had my pillows so I could burrow myself in them.

You Are the Peacemaker

9 You are emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others. Your friends and family often look to you to be the mediator when there is conflict. You are easy going and accepting. You take things as they come. Avoding conflict at all costs, you're content when things are calm.

What number are you?

Hmph.

Grattis på födelsedagen till min mama! Så söt hon är! Jag älskar henne mycket. =]

"There are no little events in life, those we think of no consequence may be full of fate, and it is at our own risk if we neglect the acquaintances and opportunities that seem to be casually offered, and of small importance." -Amelia Barr.

I suppose this is why they're called dreams.

Isn't it odd how only when something is taken away from you, you begin to realize what little importance it had to begin with? Sure, the initial withdrawal period is seemingly very painful and emotional, but once you get past all that, it suddenly "clicks" and makes perfect sense. Does God do this to enable us to become stronger people? Is He teaching us a little lesson to show us to ultimately be solely reliant on Him? Or is this just yet another question left unanswered in life that we'll forever grapple with? I wonder.




However, on a much happier note, though I've stopped publicly acknowledging friends' birthdays, these two people are too extraordinary to be left unmentioned.

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, CAROLINA PARK (11/24)! HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY, TARYN YU (11/25)!

You guys have both touched my life in ways that I can't ever explain, and I'm so thankful to be blessed with such dear and beautiful friends. Grattis på födelsedagen! =]

Det snöade eftersom vädret var 3 minusgrader i dag. Det var mycket halt och kallt. Jag frös när jag cyklade till hem.

The sun setting at 3:47 PM in the afternoon in Lund.

Barcelona, Spain is a beautiful city. More specifically, there is not a single drop of rain and only glorious sunlight in BCN. =] I can't believe that the sun can still shine and that trees can remain green in the rest of the world. To celebrate this joyous fact, I ate a McDonald's ice-cream cone every single day while I was in Barcelona. It cost a mere 0,50 Euros. In my world, one would never be compelled to ride a bicycle in 0° to -2°C weather with 25mph winds, one would always, always be able to eat a McDonald's ice-cream cone, and one would instantaneously become an architecture and art history major.



Antoni Gaudí, BCN's brilliant architect and designer, whose influence is seen throughout the city with its mosaic colors, unconventional patterns of texture, and blatant disregard for rigidity and stiffness.



Sagrada Família. "The architect of the future will build imitating Nature, for it is the most rational, long-lasting and economical of all methods... We cannot help but notice the coincidence between a beautiful building and the structure of trees." -Antoni Gaudí.




Park Güell. "The great book, always open and which we should make an effort to read, is that of Nature; the other books are taken from it, and in them there are the mistakes and interpretations of men." -Antoni Gaudí.




Font Màgica de Montjuïc.




Montserrat.




Sunset over the Mediterranean Sea and from the Palau Nacional de Montjuïc.

Today was the first time I caught a glimpse of the sun in three weeks.

I must be the world's unluckiest person.

Sigh. This needs to stop.

I can't wait until I'm married. Aside from re-learning how to play the piano with my children, I decided that my husband will cut my fingernails for me and I will pop his pimples. I can't wait.


I have already achieved one of my dreams here in Sweden. Let's see if another will happen.

Det finns inga hyggliga Svensk killarna. Suck. Självklart inte.


Effin bastards. Usch.

Love manifested in a 7 kg package brimming with everything good Home has to offer.


There are a dwindling number of simple acts in life that are able to elicit the same elation and happiness as good old-fashioned airmail does. How much more are these moments to be cherished?

잔디 엄마와 아빠의 쎌목장 모임 사진. =]

Hej då, solskenet. Så synd. =[

Susan: me and kwan and john song laughed together at u riding bike around
Susan: kwan brought it up
Susan: and we all laughed in disbelief




This is my means of transportation around Lund. I have named it Shorty Starry, or SS, for short (no pun intended). Notice how the bicycle seat is nearly lowered to its absolute lowest to accomodate my runty legs.


I need some steak, pho, and Del Taco Chicken Soft Tacos. =[

"Sometimes He comes in the rain
And we question the pain
And wonder why God can seem so far away
But time will show us
He was right there with us, and...

Sometimes He comes in the clouds
Sometimes His face cannot be found
Sometimes the sky is dark and gray
But some things can only be known
And sometimes our faith can only grow
When we can't see
So, sometimes He comes in the clouds"

"Remember What Matters" by Chuck Klosterman.


As is so often the case, the best advice I ever received came from a drunken, bitter man with a patently ridiculous soul patch. It has been said that you are only as old as you feel, and --if that is indeed true-- this 27-year-old surfer doofus was approximately 146. And what he taught was this:

You think it should matter, but it doesn't.

I was semimadly in love with a woman who lived 800 miles away, in Minneapolis, and I'd heard a rumor that she had begun casually dating another man. This was predictably vexing, and I felt my only recourse was to go nuclear. Her birthday was October 16, and I suspected her new paramour might give her flowers. My plan was to send her two dozen long-stemmed roses; this way, even if the New Guy went for the jugular and gave her a dozen of his own, his gift would suddenly be dwarfed by the monolithic magnitude of my romantic gesture. So this is what I did. And the night before they arrived at her desk, I met this 146-year-old punk in a bar and asked him if he thought this move was brilliant or pathetic.

'Neither,' he replied. 'If she likes you, she'll think it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for her; if she doesn't like you, it will totally freak her out. And if you sent her nothing, that wouldn't matter, either. If she likes you, she'd find your indifference appealing and powerful; if she doesn't, your indifference would simply validate her belief that you're not the person she should be with. So give her everything or give her nothing. You think it should matter, but it doesn't.'

"So in this thought be comforted
It's in His Hands
This too shall pass"

"We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God's creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our own intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt."

I'm trying something new that I've never thought I'd be able to do before. It's a bit exciting, but a bit scary at the same time. Hopefully it'll become something I never regret.

Today marks one month since I have been here in Lund, Sweden. It's remarkable how quickly time has just slipped by. I suppose a lot has happened to me within these four weeks (i.e. getting stung by a bee on my lip, having the airline lose my luggage, battling with a bout of the stomach flu) but a lot also hasn't happened. I haven't hooked up with a hot Swedish guy, I haven't gone partying every night, I haven't eaten meatballs everyday, and I haven't done something else unmentionable. Living by myself and particularly this past week cooped up in bed, I've had a lot of time to reflect and think, something that I've come to embrace and welcome, rather than avoid. And what of these introspective thoughts, conclusions, and self-revelations? "Simplicity is the secret to seeing things clearly." No more extraneous expectations, no more waiting for something that may never come. It's time to move on and to stop dwelling in the past. Someone beautiful recently told me something I deeply took to heart: to not brood over things that inevitably pale in comparison to the greater things, gifts, and blessings in my life. Yes, indeed.


It's almost time for the fall season to begin, and I absolutely love that I can literally see the change from summer to fall. It's incredible. Why I was never able to before, I don't know, but I'm thankful for being able to enjoy its beauty now. =]

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:33-34.

"멀리 떨어져 있어 도와 줄 수도 없고 다만 네가 어디에 있던 너를 보호해 주시고 함께 하시는 하나님의 좋으신 손길을 바라고 기도하고 있다.

곧 회복하도록 하나님이 도와주실 것을 믿으며 하나님께 의지하고 힘을 잃지 않도록 해라.

잔디를 사랑하는 엄마,아빠로 부터"

=]


a duck egg white: omg
a duck egg white: ur blog
a duck egg white: makes u sound like an imbecilic little child
a duck egg white: HAHAH

=[

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." -John 14:27.

Stockholm is one of the most beautiful places I have visited in the world. I literally have hundreds of pictures just from this weekend, but as of the moment, I am still not feeling too well so I can't. I will never forget: that initial view of the Riddarfjärden from the Stadshuset (City Hall) through the open terrace; stumbling onto the weekend Farmer's Market on Hötorget (Hay Market) in all its colorful and vibrant glory; the boat tour around Djurgården; and of course, Skansen.

I have never been so sick before in my life. It sucks that there's no one here that I can cry to or have take care of me. Instead, people here hypothesize the reason why I became sick in the first place, and joke about my sickness. Sigh. Please keep me in your prayers.

Kpxgrlx012: whatre you doin this weekend
bCxaNgeL143: i'm goin gto versailles tomorrow and then to champagne on sunday
bCxaNgeL143: i'm having a picnic at the garden of versailles
Kpxgrlx012: im going to stockholm
bCxaNgeL143: stockholm sounds cool...what is it?

Freaking Sewon Oum.


Poor Sweden, always the struggling undergod. =[

This is a picture of my favorite milk. I like this milk because the animals are smiley and I get happy every time I see them. Milk here in Sweden is incredibly fresh, meaning that it expires three to four days from the date it was purchased. Hence there is this enormous pressure to drink my milk every day so that I don't end up wasting it like the first two cartons that I bought. But this has become a feasible task because I realize now I can grow to be as tall as the Swedes here, and I can eat bowls of cereal to my heart's content. And it also helps that the animals encourage me with their waves and smiles as I guzzle away.

Perfection in an average day.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." -Romans 12:12.

I want to say thanks to everyone who's taken time to email me to say hi, to catch up, or to let me know that I'm still in your prayers. I know that what I have is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am so thankful for having this chance to live life to its utmost fullest, but it still helps to have encouraging words from friends and family. It makes the days just a little brighter, makes adjusting just a little easier, and reminds me again of just how much He must love me. Tack sa mycket. =]


For a period during senior year, I hated the written word. One reason why was because I was tired of people manipulating its power to only further their own selfish interests, and I was sad to lose considerable respect for it. But it makes me happy to have my faith slowly be restored as I continue to delve deeper and deeper in my little pile of literature that I've brought from home.

"Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict."

Sigh.

I went to Tivoli yesterday which is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Tivoli is the world�s first ever amusement park, built in 1843 and which is rumored to be the inspiration for Disneyland. My favorite moments was riding The Flying Trunk, which depicted scenes from the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen (The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor�s New Suit, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Little Match-Seller, The Nightingale), and staying until the park closed to watch the fireworks show behind the Tivoli Concert Hall. True it was no Disneyland, but I could see how Walt Disney was definitely influenced by Tivoli and its attractions. But I loved Tivoli for its simple and quaint beauty and for retaining its original history for all these years instead of losing itself to capitalism and consumerism.

There is one and only one thing in Lund that does not cost anything: free washing machines with free laundry detergent and fabric softener, and free dryers with free dryer sheets. This is very, very important.

I was initially reluctant to meet my corridor mates because the air in the hall smelled dank and stale. But I have met most of them now, and they are all nice and friendly. I think the smell is due to the fact that 10 boys live on my floor while there are only 2.5 girls. These are the nice things they have done for me so far: let me borrow bedsheets, give me toilet paper, give me a TV, teach me to sing in Swedish about a busdriver, give me a TV cable for the TV, set up internet illegally for me, and teach me to use the microwave.

It has been raining sporadically since I've arrived here. I think I have experienced every single type of rain thus far: light sprinkling rain, drizzly rain, scattered and sudden showers, rain while the sun is still shining, rain while everything is gray and overcast, chilly rain, warm rain, thunder storms with heavy showers, and etc. It has been fun. But my favorite days are the days after a heavy rainfall when the sun is shining and the blue sky is crisp and clear and filled with the puffiest and fattest white clouds.

People here are TALL. I always thought myself a considerable height until I was humbled by the blond, long-legged Scandinavians. I wasn't even tall enough to buy a regular bike but was instead degraded to a mountain bike with a wheel circumference of only 24 inches. I get sad everytime I see my dinky little bike parked next to all the loftier and impressive big people bikes.

Lund is beautiful. Every day I continue to wake up unable to believe that places like this can still exist in the world.





But Lund has bees instead of flies. I never minded the bumblebee until I was recently stung by one on my lower lip. Now I utterly despise them and I can't wait until it gets colder so that every single one of them dies and I don't have to cower in fear whenever one of them flies near me.

The Swedish people have many traditions. One is to eat ice cream or frozen yogurt in waffle cones whenever it's a sunny day. The rationale behind this is that such days are precious and thus are very deserving of a celebration. I have most readily acclimatized myself to this cultural convention, and having tried Swedish ice cream, frozen yogurt, and popsicles, I find them all very worthy of acclamation and praise. One of my most favorite popsicles is the Itsakadoozie from 7-11. The discovery of its Swedish counterpart, the Pirulo, in a dodgy Arab shop one day for only 12 kronors, was definitely one of the happier moments I've had so far in Sweden.

And look at this:
Corny cereal bars taste like banana Laffy Taffy. Digestive crackers, however, are not only delicious, but they also help to regulate one's bowel movements.


P.S. I have internet now so email me home addresses so I can write. And don't forget to say hi. =]

I'm starting to feel my first pangs of homesickness. If you've had the slightest inkling of what I've been through, you'd understand why.


People in Sweden encourage me to walk home alone at night. I find this ironic since for the past 4.5 years, I was told to do the exact opposite. The nights here are simply beautiful though. I wish I knew more constellations.

I was at BR when the worker-man saw my shirt and exclaimed, "Cal?! You go, girl, you go and represent the Cal State System."


Bob, my tomato plant, is thriving and doing well. The tomatoes are not as plump as Bob from Veggies Tales is, but in my opinion, are still just as red and shiny. Naming a plant is not such a bad thing after all.

Lasting memories. =]

Genova.

Fuddruckers.

Brazilian Tri-Tip.

Kettleman's In-n-Out.

The Campanile.




Gower and Mejeld's wedding.




These two and another not pictured, are three of my most favoritest people in the entire world. Don't let anyone say otherwise. Look at how monstrously overjoyed and happy I am.