hey 007, frost yourself.

that was a cleverly themed party. james bond, 007. now i feel like throwing a posh little party myself. anyway, i thought this ginormous martini glass filled with "diamonds" was a fun little table decor. some of the ladies at the party remembered that phrase from "how to lose a guy in 10 days" movie, "frost yourselves," or at least something along those lines. good laughs that night. i remember my cheeks hurting rather than my feet. (i was quite excited to wear heels, since i hadn't had a reason to the past eight months! felt kinda weird.)

journey series: season deux.

Jeanette capturing gorgeous Sydney at the Sydney Eye Tower

I had the most "romantical"-week-sans-males the week after the most massive week of my Aussie college life. (( Hillsong Conference!! )) (( K-I-D-S-O-N-G!! )) My friend Jeanette came to visit me from Los Angeles, and it was just absolutely amazing. We explored Australialand, well the general Sydney area together and had breathtaking and hilarious moments as well. We did tons of walking around the city, went up to the mountains, down to Bondi, played with roos and koalas, and indulged ourselves with T2!

Watching the sunset from the Sydney Eye Tower.

journey series: july.

Whatever happened??

All I remember is this, ... (my mind seems to function in a bullet point format these days...)
It was May, and our assessments were due.
Then it was intensives.
Then we drove down to Melbourne.
Drove back up.
Staff Retreat.
End of classes.
Conference Intensives.
Conference. (( YEAH KIDSONG!! HAIRBRUSH!! ))
Two week break.
And now we're here again....

New beginning.
Semester two.

... uhm why is time speeding on by?

Anyway, keep watching this space.
I might have news to share sometime soon.
(Like I always do.)
(Not like this boring outline-y one.)
(It'll be interesting. The next one,.. I promise!)

journey series: hunter valley part deux.

hunter valley ... wineries and cows. haha.

journey series: hunter valley

event outline:
during semester break...
hunter valley for staff retreat.
kids program team.
stayed at kookaburra retreat house.
flippin' beautiful with roos jumping around our vast backyard.
open space, awesome rooms, and spa bath.
best place. best people.
gotta go back!

to melbourne and back - in may.

life in lists (because i'm too lazy to write life out in detail.)

may madness.
crazy intensive classes...
before my week break...
took off to melbourne for the weekend.
my first oz roadtrip.
photo above is a quick shot before leaving for sydney again.

view from my desk.

the photo above is a reflection of my life at the moment...
after a couple crazy weeks my desk finally cleared up. from assessment mode to intensive week-- i began my ten-day-holiday off to Melbourne! i absolutely love that city. it always makes me get the butterflies. it's like that frou-frou feeling like you're falling for someone and you can't sort out your feelings, you don't know what to do with them, and so you walk around with a special glow and you smile with a special spark in your eyes. aaaah... melbourne!

i'm so glad i got to spend some time in my aussie hometown. it is beautiful. and i don't mind the cold weather at all. hot chocolate, under-the-covers, snuggle weather! i will post some photos when i get around to uploading photos of my short-yet-sweet holiday.

this school break is a much needed breather and i'm already starting to feel refreshed. i love it.

tomorrow, i'm off to hunter valley. will post photos of those too! (i know i've been slow on updates... but like said, i've been having the craziest weeks EVAAA!)

ciao ciao. xxoo.

just a general note.

i figured i hadn't written a "meaty" post lately, so i'm sharing my thoughts on life thus far...
it is about 10:44 p.m. and i'm simmering down, my friend and i were on an emotional roller coaster all day-- (i think it might have been my fault, seriously being like a girl's girl at the moment, might've just rubbed off on her...) and basically, it's been craycray. i'm not really sure what i want to hash out of my heart--

i guess one thing is that, i'm so glad to wake up knowing i'm still in sydney. i will seriously cry an enormous amount of tears had i to leave australia.

this has been a huge dream of mine since twenty-oh-nine.
i can't believe i'm actually here, living life here. in sydney. (although i honestly thought i'd be in melbourne, but God has other plans!)
i mean, wow, time goes so unbelievably fast. twenty-twelve.

twelve years ago, i was twelve, (and here we go again,... ) i have no clue why my age this year is fascinating me so much. plus, it's the year of the dragon. #justsayin'
(and it's a leap year!)

anyway, it's so weird to look back and think about ALL that time that's passed. i definitely am not where i imagined myself to be, and i'm glad my plans didn't fall through, otherwise i'd be more screwed than i think myself to be. (GAAH, college loans! -- driving me insane lately! IN JESUS NAME, I will overcome!) i mean, who knows what i'll be doing in a year's time. i honestly haven't thought much about it, i had some things in mind, but i'm still weighing my options.

at the turn of the year, i felt like everything i struggled to build for myself, and all the walls i've put up for myself started to crumble down. it is the beginning of a new era for me. like the slate's been clean, and fear and failures are wiped off, and i get to start all over again. i'm excited and scared like crap. no maps, and hands off the wheel this time. yea, riding at the backseat with Jesus at the wheel.

classes are at it's final leg, and we're a stretch to the july conference, which means the end of the first semester in HILC. i'll move on to the next season, and expect much for the one to follow.

life never felt so right. so good.

{adventures on instagr.am} // {04.14}

here's a set of photos i took during an afternoon break in sydney.
{adventures on instagr.am}

baby bimpy.

made of Lego.

Westin Sydney

Macarons from Lindt Cafe

#nofilter skies and clock tower.

journey series: four months in--

So I'm supposed to be doing my assessments for class-- kinda feels like finals season, but I'm sure we've only just begun college. Can't believe it's May!

Last week felt like holiday week-- It was the last week for my public transport pass and I wanted to use it as much as I could. It worked out perfectly because my friend's parents came from Indonesia and we acted as the amateur tour guides and found ourselves here:

Gorgeous photos from The Blue Mountains - Three Sisters.
(FYI, it was freaking windy and the cold was literally piercing through my clothes, it was fun nonetheless. )

can't believe how clear the skies were that day, sun was AWESOME.

just gorgeous.

Oh, and I just found out that a friend of mine's coming to visit in July! I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED! It's gonna be so much fun!!

journey series: snail mail.

over the time i've been away from home, i've received the most thoughtful letters and packages. if you must know, i am a sucker for snail mail. i love the idea of sending mail and packages the old school way. i love the post office, and i love the idea of a letter traveling a great distance to get into my hands. i do love "brown paper packages tied up in string"... and if i must sing the song upon receiving my packages, i would. i love time stamped across the postage on an envelope. the simple joys of opening letters just makes my day.

and today, friday the thirteenth, i received a sweet and thoughtful letterpressed card from another lovely friend from across the pond! L-O-V-E!

---- a selection of colored & b/w 35mm film for valentines day ----

---- heartfelt card and gift from one of my bffs ----

chart a course of action.

vision - preparation - execution/action.

it's good to be in a new environment... fresh ideas, inspired outlook.

although i've gotta be honest, sometimes the future looks cloudy, not necessarily a bad thing... sometimes the sun can be quite piercing and a little shade can be nice.

so i'm taking it slow, i'll list my dreams, but at the same time, i'll trust God for what He's got for me.
a friend told me to relax and enjoy the ride, because my big God has got everything covered.

and i believe that.

i've gotta get my mind to start looking more like this:

get things organized in there... not that it's a real mess right now. but when things are in order, (just had a pep talk about keeping my spirit, soul and body in top shape today!) we tend to get things done much more efficiently. i need a lot of time in prayer, research and study-- coz "my" plans just pretty much went up to australia and hillsong college. now, i wait again for the Holy Spirit to lead.

praying for the future.

it's already April. time goes by so quickly, and next thing you know, i'll soon be standing at another fork in the road. i'm happy with where i am and where i'm planted at the moment.

can't wait to look back and be a living testimony of what God's doing and has done in my life.

for now, we wait and hope for the best.
i'm making a map of my life, and i can only chart where i've been, but i say, onwards to uncharted territory. i've got my God to guide me. #holyspirit

journey series: autumn in march.

AUTUMN IN MARCH! on the opposite end of the world, so hey.

if i had a timeline, this would be my cover photo. i love it. (yes those are my legs and shoes)

i've been on the go....! the past weeks have been so good though. i'll put it a good story sometime next week, for now, here are some quick updates...

i moved to a new place that's across the street from church and school. thank you Jesus!
colour conference one in the sydney entertainment center was amazing.
hillsong kids team is the team to serve with. so much fun.
i am suffering from a cold, which will see its end tomoz!

journey series: life updates, and seizing the day.

now i understand it's been a while.... february just zipped past my eyes. i can't believe its already march!
well here are some quick updates from my adventures in the land down under....

i'm moving from my current housing situation to shared housing that's closer to school. it was a really good deal, and decided to grab it right away. i actually just moved most of my stuff this morning, and i'm gonna be moving in officially on tuesday. new space, new environment. what a gypsy!

i think i'm learning a lot about decision making.
sometimes, we can't linger. sometimes, we have to decide right away.

and other times, we have to come to an abrupt stop.



because, otherwise, skipping breathers will make you feel all wound up, and next thing you know you'll feel like your life is caving in on you.

right now, i'm just about ready to tackle on anything that comes my way because opportunities like "australia" doesn't come in neatly wrapped packages for most of us. i made a choice and i'm determined to make the most of my time here.

colour conference is around the corner, just days away, and i'm pumped to be in the midst of all of this. it's a privilege to be in an event dedicated to encouraging and empowering women from all over the world. some of those who are coming from the other end of the world may be at the verge of jumping into an adventure and journey just like mine, and i want to be able to tell her to go for it, and that she's got an army behind her, and the path before her has already been carefully planned and all she's gotta do is seize it.

i'm so glad to be where i'm at. i'm moving to my first rental (even if it's shared, it's still a milestone!), i'm attending colour, classes are going great, and the best part about it is that i'm really able to assess where i stand in my faith and relationship with God, and i get to work on it every single day.

it's already march, next thing you know it'll be july, and then it'll be the end of the year. until the next day rolls on around, i'm gonna be living each day ... enjoying the journey.

journey series: ONE album.

SO... I got an amazing opportunity to take part in an album recording for a charitable cause. Local artists and musicians in Sydney are taking their talents and using it to raise funds to help Sendong (Typhoon Washi) victims in Mindanao, Philippines. I actually just met the masterminds of the album/event and they were kind enough to invite me to join and sing for the album. I had never ever done anything of the sort, recording at least... and it was such a blast to have been part of this amazing cause. I didn't get to take photos while recording, I completely forgot-- but I'll try to take photos of future events like the album launch! (I have to say, having a bit of the design flair in me, I wish I could've done this poster... it's bugging me quite a bit. HEHEHE!)

For now, check out the album page on Facebook: ONE Charity Album to see if you can grab a copy of the CD somehow through the internet or whatnot, if not, I'll try my best to get it out for anyone interested.

MOB radio

 So last night, I was a guest DJ for a local radio station here in Sydney. It was uber fun, and I'd love to get another shot at co-hosting again. --Have to be honest, it took a little getting used to. Occasionally, I'd nod my head to agree with whatever topic we're discussing and find that we really don't have an audience in the studio. Well, I might join in again another time and hopefully I'd have honed my hosting skills by then... for now, from anywhere in the world, you can tune in to MOB Radio online!
Check them out at www.musicoverboard.com! Or if you'd like, check their Facebook page!

I'll keep you guys posted if I get to go on the program again... but do take the time to check them out when you're online and Pandora isn't just working for you. They've got a good selection of unheard artists, or "mojonized" a.k.a. cool covers of songs from all genres!

fishies

Random bit: Soy sauce for Sushi/Rolls in Australia most of the time come in these cute fish containers. I love them.

journey series: ladies and gentlemen, welcome to sydney

Well, I have no photos yet, but I'm officially in Sydney.

I'm starting to hate airports because now that I'm getting older, separation anxiety is becoming a term in my vocabulary, and it's not the best having that weird feeling leaving a town that you've grown to love over the course of your stay. Same thing happened when I left Manila, and had it when I left Melbourne this morning.

I think I'm an unofficial Melburnian!

(Yes, apparently, that's how you spell it!)

I love my little euro-chic city, and the country-side charm the East has. I'm sure to visit now and then... can't wait for my first long weekend! HAHAHA.

Nevertheless, I embrace my new city, and hope for the best in this next stretch of life.

Oh, and gung hei fat choi! (It's Chinese new year, and it's my year: DRAGON, blaze on!)

journey series: what i wake up to, melbourne mornings.

so far, i wake up to this on my melbourne mornings.

still got a week before i head on over to sydney. getting some things settled like opening a bank account and getting a mobile phone set-up. so far i still haven't shaken off the los angeles pace coz i still find myself hurrying and rushing, and constantly shuffling trying to do as much as i can in a short amount of time. but time feels a lot slower here, and so i get more things done in about an hour or so.

for some time i thought that it was a severe case of anxiety, but i forgot that i often encounter this feeling when going intercontinental. each region with a pace of its own, america just so happens to run on the fastest clock.

so i hope to breathe slower, relax a little longer, and settle in soon ... i can't believe i'm actually here, doing this, pursuing what i ought i said would. this is my, "living the dream"

journey series: stop over numero dos

caught a flight to melbourne from manila on jan 9th, PR209.
arrived safely at Tulla, and took this photo aboard skybus to Southern Cross station.
i am now on official australian grounds!