Aging Flashback

So this past Saturday I attended my friend's grade nine graduation. It was quite an experience and filled with enthusiasm. The girls were all in lovely dresses, hair & make up done, boys prim and proper, ties & suited up, even some parents were looking pretty good head to toe. Well I admit, I took this event as an opportunity to dress up too, I miss all the excitement of grad from last year.

As an attendee of someone's grade nine grad, I started pondering about my own grade nine grad four years ago. That just sounded like ages ago but wow, I realize how much I have grown emotionally and socially as a person. As I was there, it was easy to pick out those whom were likely to be the class-clowns of the graduating class since they acted similar to the class-clowns of my class four years ago), others whom were the silent type, etc. etc. I thought back to my grade 9 grad back in 2006 and wondered if we were like those students sitting happily and anticipated for our names to be called so we can have that ten seconds of glamor on stage from getting our certificates, and posing for a photo to be taken, - was I like that? did I ever act like that? Did my grad year scream and shout and do stupid crazy things to grab attention? Oh yes. The years of being a teenager, the puberty era, it seems like it was so far away, but at the same time I'm glad I've outgrown it.

I finally realize that I'm a young woman, and like I'm not a kid no more, I even felt "old" at one point being there with all those grade nines. But what is the definition of being old? Its just the opposite of not being young, but if you consider yourself young at your age, then your not old, because your starting a whole new whelm of experience being YOU at that particular age, and everything is fresh as it can be for a freshman heading into post secondary. I just found it a "reality-check" moment in a way and I just got to thank God for pulling me through those raging-attitude-drama-filled-friendships-fluttering hormone times or else I wouldn't be who I am today. Aren't you glad your reading words from the mouth of a legit eighteen year old and not a fourteen year old girl anticipating the arrival of high school because word of mouth has it that there are a lot of cute guys?!

Like what was I thinking right? I've grown to maturity, and I'm happy where I'm at! Maybe four years from today I will have another reality-check and reflect on life as it was as an eighteen year old whose claiming she's a young lady.


Time will tell~

Disbelief.

Well where shall I start? Back in February an opportunity came up for me to participate in this international summer exchange program to Taiwan. At first I was hesitant and I didn't really want to be gone for at least half of my summer (even though I always rant about my hometown not-so-home-sweet-DEADmonton). The catch was that this exchange thing was really cheap: I would only have to pay for airfare and $200CAD ish fee for a duration of three weeks in Taiwan including accommodation, food, transportation and all that jazz. But an even more unbelievable thing is that they only took twenty, yes TWENTY Canadian youths from age 17-25 from across Canada... while taking 100+ from Malaysia/Thailand,I know what your thinking, does Taiwan dislike Canadians? LOL But anyhow I decided to give it a try because I applied thinking I wouldn't make it, even though it was such a hassle to get a full body check up, urine & blood tests, and an chest x-ray done to prove that I'm in good health in order to apply. I dislike going to doctors, so to me it was inconvenient to the max.

So guess what I received in my email today?! I'M ACCEPTED?!?! a few weeks ago, I had received a "your on a waiting list" note and all of a sudden I'm in, and I have to send in my flight information by May 30? Like.. I didn't even expect to get in, and now I'm bombarded with admission information.

At the same time, it seems like so much is coming up this summer and the other day my family had got a call from California (family friends) inviting us to go down during the summer to attend their daughters' wedding and catch up. Also around the same time, I was planning to use my saved up air miles to visit a friend that had moved to Toronto this summer and I was looking into tourist attractions, flights, dates, etc, etc. So now this. I'm not in a dilemma, but ironically last night I was praying to God asking Him to help me decide what I should do this summer, Toronto vs. California with my family, and now a THIRD opportunity came up... not to mention my want to pay a visit to Vancouver and visit my camp kids from last summer.

If only I could have four summers all in one go eh? So I'm indecisive and I have to use some brain power to think things through and make A choice.

For once, I'm not gonna rant about Edmonton since the weather is lovely, sunny and HOT and I'm going to savor a fugdesicle!

Sundae on a Sunday

Its late at night, the sun has not set, and its my 50th blog, and we shall all agree that its a great day out for a sundae especially since tomorrow is a SUNDAY.

<3

I'm Happy.

Never Ending

Well if you haven't heard me rant about my family's 2 vans, your definitely in for a joy ride. So for the past like three? months if its not my mom's van having problems, its my dad's van. It all started when... oh I can't even recall the first incident but my mom's van just kept dieing so easily and would be in need of a car boost (her vehicle is only five years old), so that happened quite a few times and it would be a pain. Then after my mom's van finally died for the last time because the battery actually ceased its living, and we got a new one, my dad's van started having car problems. Its a seven year old Kia and I guess like any other thing that gets old, it starts breaking down. I remember the first time it died, we couldn't fix it because the car fixing place we go to was actually going through renovations! Well eventually my dad's van was thought to be 'fixed', and parts were repaired and things were back to normal for the family, home sweet home right?

NOPE.

Not until last night was I driving home from church that I noticed the brake light didn't turn off and the battery light came on, and then the radio I was listening TURNED OFF ( this is sounding like a movie scenario, I know, it gets worst!!) then the lights in the car slowly started dimming, and right then I totally knew what was happening and I was praying to God that I could make it home before the battery would die... yet again. Luckily as this was happening I happen to be driving around the same speed as a close friend and her mom. We both stopped at the intersection parallel to each other (the one right before my house..oh SO CLOSE right.. but not close enough) and right then when I stopped and braked before the red light, all the lights died and I knew I was screwed. The lights turned green, my car wouldn't go, I got honked of course, I turned on the emergency signal, it came on, then went off, then came on with some squeaky noises, I call my dad and tell him what happened (and since this happened before, he thought it was the same problem as last time so I did what he told me to), I turned the car off, turned it back on, emergency lights were gone, this creepy noise from the engine started coming on.. eek ek ek ek ek.. my dad tells me he's on his way, and even though from my position to my house was a 10min walk ish... I was wondering how in the world my dad was going to reach me because he didn't have a car (my mom had gone to work with her van already)... so I just kept praying to God and hoping a miracle would happen and hoping I wouldn't die ( I know I'm exaggerating but in that moment it really felt like the end of the world).

As I was waiting (and since all the lights and the emergency lights were out) I decided I should get out of the car and signal to cars to switch lanes instead of them constantly honking themselves and realizing my car is dead plus I wanted to get out because the car was making all these weird noises and everything was dead in the car and I really felt like it may have exploded. Initially when I tried to unlock the doors it wouldn't work and I thought... crap maybe because the battery died nothing is working, I'm gonna die, would I have to kick the windows if, If, IF something worst happened? but I tried again (and maybe I was just overwhelmed by everything the first time) and this time it worked, and I stood there in the freezing cold waiting how in the world my dad was to reach me as I signaled cars off. WHY did this have to happen on a day where the weather was so unpleasant and beeping cold?!!?

Finally my dad came, and I saw a car off to the side that had driven him here, and I assumed it was my neighbors' but it was my friend and her mom whom had driven and stopped at the intersection beside me. They noticed I wasn't following behind them and driven home to get my dad! It was God's grace, and I felt it despite all the things going through my head. I also felt the love of Canadians, two different African American drivers and had stopped to offer to boost our car and the one whom tried boosting, our car didn't budge at all. We had to call in a family friend (whom probably been called by the Phos' constantly in these past three months) and he brought another battery... but it seemed like it wasn't really working, but at least it got the car home where we found out some other internal organ in the car was dead and yadda yadda car talk.

So what is my point over this big rant from the last night? I don't know really, but first I'm sick of car problems, secondly I really felt God answer my prayers in a moment I thought the car may explode, and lastly, I pray to God and hope that in all his power, that this may be the last car incident. Sigh* if only.

On a happier note, I got a job! Thank God for that =))