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!

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: a beautiful view.

i think i've shared this before, briefly, in passing... but i know i mentioned it one way or another.
i've moved closer to school/church, and it's been about my third week here, but i feel like i've been here forever. our house is so amazing. THIS IS THE HOUSE OF FAVOR! or should i say, ... "favour"?

either pronunciation or spelling, God has been pouring out His amazing blessings over my life and i'm just utterly thankful.

this home is so absolutely beautiful, my four other housemates are awesome, and one of them is my roomie and sister in Christ. it's just so amazing to see how everything works out perfectly in God's timing and will. praises!!!

my home is literally 5 or less minutes walk away from school. i go home for lunch and break times and sometimes have naps in between (i just bought my first mattress ever.. i know, i'm saying "firsts" for everything pretty much!) and it's just sooo comfy! this is my first rental! so exciting.

last monday, we went to the city to get a few things and just take the day off with friends, and then on tuesday we topped off our two day break with an ikea run (mainly for the meatballs) to buy things for our room. we're still working on making it extra cozy.
here's a little photo of the morning view from our room :)

hung photos, paper lantern lamp, watercolor stain design and a beautiful view.

i hope you feel beautiful today.

so i know i've been MIA for the past couple days, weeks, .. ah, i don't even know what's going on. my regular routine just started again yesterday and i've seriously felt like i've been off in lala land a.k.a. colour conference.


anyway, i've got a series of stories for the next few days.

oh, and i found this little trinket while i was cleaning up stuff on my photo collection earlier today.
tomorrow's my REAL relaxation day, i am not going to think about what i'm gonna do, and i'm gonna take my time when i decide on doing whatever it is i choose to do. i think i'll be in bed until noon.... aaaah... very nice.

without further ado, my hidden little treasure. i hope you feel this way all day today!

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: away we go, again.

i'm going to the city tomorrow to film with some friends for another friend's project. i reckon it'll be fun (and extremely hilarious!) more photos when i get back i guess :)

journey series: a little sun in sydney.

a little proof of summer in sydney.

so last friday, a couple friends and i went down to the city by ferry from parra, and it was uber fun. the sun was shining, and i was actually dressed for a stormy day,... but as you can tell.. i was down to a tee since it was quite hot (yet breezy hence the wind blown.. not swept -- but blown hair) when we actually got to the city/CBD.

more stories and photos to come! stay tuned :)

journey series: ten days overdue.

i am writing close to midnight. i got home just a while ago. mondays are my longest days, and there's not much i can do about my schedule. but thank God he works in the secret place for me, and pulls some miracles here and there.

well to give a quick update with what's been going on (i shall elaborate on a much better time frame... i still have class tomorrow morning!)
-official regular classes started last week, i'd say it went pretty well.
-we have chapel (like a church service) almost every day.
-vision sunday and tuesday at hillsong church made me feel really at home and feel like i'm an official part of the team.
-did church life and fieldwork on the weekend and survived it, although there were a couple kids that just did not want to listen, and i couldn't do my "mean" face... i think i'm stuck on RIE parenting habits.
-oh and i officially went to the city to explore and walk around with some friends to celebrate the first week of school. it was so much fun! (AND so exhausting!!)

here's a photo to wrap things up. more stories to come tomorrow! xxoo's!

(photo creds to our friends "hillsong men" LOLOLOL!)

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.

journey series: updates!

hello world, friends from east to west :)

so it's my second week in Sydney, and i'm officially out of the states for a solid month now. feels like forever already. haa...

well i'm having loads of fun here in Sydney! it's barely my second week, and so far i've been able to experience a bunch of things i wouldn't have thought of doing back in los angeles.

beginning with just being stretched so much in faith and responsibility, with my studies here at hillsong international leadership college, i'm simply gonna continue trusting the Lord for the best for 2012. i am pumped!

in addition to that, i've already recorded for an album here in Sydney, and i've also co-hosted a local radio station in a Sydney suburb just hours earlier. what can you say about that!? wow. both were so much fun, i can't believe i got the opportunity to participate in such things! i'll make sure to upload a copy of the song i took part of when it gets released, and i'll do my best in posting videos or info of anything relating to the album!

and as far as DJ-ing goes... if there's a next time, you can tune in online through www.musicoverboard.com. if you're in Oz, well you can catch it at 8-9pm Thursdays, and another time is posted on the website for the Sunday broadcast. And if you're in Manila, that's 6-7pm for you, and if you're in LA, that's about 12-1am Thursday morning for you. i'll keep you guys updated if i go on the show again... !

i finished my first week of classes today. it was intensive week.. and it was, yes, as you've guessed, intense. regular schedule picks up next monday, and i'm excited for vision sunday at hillsong this coming weekend.

i hope all of you are doing well in your respective locations!

bondi.

i took this shot along the bondi walkway. it was so BEAUTIFUL that day.
colors are surreal.

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!