and i'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack

Holler.

branchin' out. no pun intended

For those of you who are still following this 10PM bedtime and haven't discovered my new one yet.... well.... I have a new one (while I'm in Taiwan!).

http://taiwildchildwu.blogspot.com

Enjoy :)

commitment

I've grown an unhealthy affinity to watching wedding videos and looking at engagement/wedding pictures, especially given the almost unreal amount of weddings & engagements of friends & church members around me. There are two particular blogs, Wayne Yuan and StillMotion, that I love visiting because they have a knack of capturing the couples' love for one another in a way that just makes you believe that they were meant for one another. A few months ago, I may have looked at these pictures and fantasized about the fairy-tale love that the couple shared with one another since day 1 of dating, but now I believe I have a deeper appreciation for their relationship because I'm learning that loving someone selflessly is very far from the "happily ever after" ideal that is realistically impossible to have. Working through arguments, staying humble, and acting contrary to what our own sinful hearts desire are all painfully difficult, but the beauty of marriage is that people are actively choosing to commit themselves to one another in full knowledge of the pain they'll undergo. (Of course there are many joys along the way). Man, relationships aren't easy, but the hardships refine it to make it all the more beautiful.

PS - Carol looks g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s in her wedding dress and tea dress. Bryan's a lucky guy. hehe. Watch their wedding video // look at their pictures!

good soil, sunlight, water, and a little bit of love.

okay, maybe I should write something more substantial here so you readers don't all forget about me.

As most of you know or have heard, I'm heavily considering going to Taiwan to work for a few months in the restaurant industry before enrolling in pastry school back here in SoHo. The "end goal" is to open up my own place with Mikey, whether truck or restaurant or cafe. We want to share God's love and bring joy to people through our food. The different inputs needed to achieve this end goal are experience, training, and capital. This is partially why I'm going to Taiwan & enrolling in pastry school... cuz I'm pretty sure I'm not good enough right now to start a business.

"future", "career", "making a living" -- these are all such loaded words that carry heavy connotations of what we, what I am supposed to build for myself as a middle-class, asian-american recent business-student college graduate. I feel so much pressure to make money and plan out the next 5, next 10 years of my life. Honestly, I just want to make people happy through my food... yet this simple desire is poisoned by the "weeds", the worries of this world and the pressures that are placed on me. My dream already has been compromised, and I fear that it will continue to die out as I get more and more involved with pursuing this goal.

The journey feel so long, and my endurance is ever so weak. What if I don't ever finish this race...

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what am I doing with my life....?!

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the only thing that makes sense in this life is Jesus.

help!

Missions training is from June 3 - June 25th...but it's only 2 nights a week (more or less). This means that I have a lottttttttttt of free time.

I need something to do in the daytime. ANYTHING. The problem is, I don't know if I can find places that are 1) willing to hire for less than a month, and 2) even hiring. Since I'll be out of state until June 2, I can't apply in person for retail/bakeries until I get back... and by the time I interview and get trained, I'm off to missions!

What should I do?!??!? I really don't want to do nothing all summer long. I've already been doing that all semester long, and I think it's about time I move on. Plus, I should make some money so I stop bleeding my (aka my parents') bank account.

Ideas?!?! Connections?? Help !!!

pecador

I need to fully grasp the meaning of this statement: "I am a sinner saved by grace."

stress stress go away!

I need to get rid of stress, for many, many, many reasons. I'm surprised at how much of my life is affected by stress. I don't think I even realize how my stress level influences countless aspects of my mental, physical, and emotional health. 

Why am I stressed? Honestly, I don't really know. I manage it by getting 8 hours of sleep a night, go to the gym 3x a week, eat a pretty healthy, balanced diet, and make sure I do "fun" stuff like bake, shop, chill out outside. And yet, even with classes only 2 days/week and stuff, I'm still not at peace.

Someone shed some light on my situation? Thanks. 

The power of moisturizing!!!!

A few weeks ago, some members of my missions team got into a conversation about whether we moisturize our skin every day after we shower. Susan does, and we compared her skin to someone who didn't. I wouldn't have expected this, but her skin actually was notably softer! (There was also a comment made about the butt being the most important part to be moisturized, but that conversation can be saved for later)

I never really lotioned my body after showering every day because I didn't really think that it would make that much of a difference for my skin. Plus, I'm kinda lazy. But, after coming back from Puerto Rico (lots of harmful sun) and now being back in this dry, wintry weather, I've decided to give my skin some pampering. And boy, let me tell you ... it makes a HUGE difference!! My skin is so much softer, and the complexion looks much healthier as well.

I bought a new moisturizer today from Whole Foods, the Kiss My Face Chinese Botanical ultra moisturizer ;) It's really light and non-greasy, and already I feel my skin absorbing all the nutrients! Yay for super soft, healthy-looking skin! Next time, I'm gonna buy lotion with SPF in time for summer to keep my skin protected from harmful rays.  Yaaaaaay! 

today's conviction

Today, I almost fainted while working out. My head was spinning like crazy, I could barely breathe, and I definitely thought I was going to black out. Thankfully I didn't... (I wasn't exerting too much energy, nor am I out of shape, but a more probable explaination may be something due to dehydration of lack of calorie-consumption the day before.) After telling a friend about this, he said that he got these same feelings after exerting all his energy in every race in high school. I wondered, "why in the world would you want to put yourself through that pain? Doesn't it just make you scared for how hard you can push yourself next time around?" His response was that he wouldn't feel satisfied unless he felt that way, especially if his team didn't win and he knew he had some energy left unused.

This is a bit tangental, but since I'm currently going through a period of seeking what it means to live a more purposeful life, it's only natural that all thoughts & experiences relate back to this ongoing struggle. (so sorry if this doesn't really connect in your minds..hehe) I'm wondering if maybe today's near-fainting disaster is God trying to rebuke me for not exerting more energy towards doing His work. When was the last time that I really felt as if I had given everything I had to the Lord... and in the end, wasn't it worth it? Will I get to Heaven one day and look back at all that I held back and get frustrated with myself or regret that I had reserved some energy for the purely selfish goal of comfort?

I have a few verses posted up on my desk, and even though I see them every day, they've sadly grown to be just "wallpaper" that I see and ignore. But now they speak truth into my life once again:

1 Corinthians 15:58 says "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Another verse, from Acts 20:24, says "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."

Yeap...time to get a' crackin...

friends are not forever...

Today, I found out that two pretty key people in my church might leave New York soon due to job situation stuffs... I think I had always just assumed that everyone would stick around, but today it finally really hit me. People are going to leave.

Danny was the first one, and it definitely hasn't been the same without him. My dear Lilo is leaving soon, and the more I talk about it the more both of us get sad. Flo might go to Scotland, JPai is definitely off to law school elsewhere, people that I've grown accustomed to seeing on a weekly basis will soon be hundreds and thousands of miles away... and this is probably just the start of a bigger wave of an exodus out of New York City. Whether it's because we're growing up, because there are fewer jobs available in the city, or whatever else, sticking around just isn't as implicit as it used to be...

Lilo & I had a really sad conversation leaving DP today about the circles of friends that we make.. Leaving high school friends is really difficult, but there are always the summer vacations and family that keep us grounded in that city. College friends create relationships that should last for life, but unless you end up living&working in the same place post-grad, chances are the closeness will decrease exponentially. You try to find a new circle of friends in each next stage of life, but as you make new friends each time around, you start to become more closed off because of the disillusionment attached with the lack of constancy and the tiredness of making and maintaning new friendships... Then once you get married / have kids, your family takes up a huge chunk of your life, and soon you have very very few close peer friends.

This course of life just seems so .... sad.

I feel like this post doesn't really convey all that I want to say or the sadness that I feel, but maybe it's something that you have to discover and learn for yourself, because as much as I hear people tell me that change is inevitable, I don't really feel the magnitude of it until I am immersed in the transience of relationships, environment, etc...

:(

laughter

As people have pointed out this past weekend, I apparently have like... 10 different laughs. Well, I suppose I do have a whole anthology of laughter, cuz I'll do things like go from a girly giggle "HEEHEE" straight into a full out "HAHAHA". If you can get me to actually clench my stomach in pain for laughing so hard, props to you...

Here are some instances this year when I distinctly remember laughing really really hard: Catherin spitting out her gum before giving her testimony at RCF, Pleakley's one eye and Nani's big thighs, Alison as the dirty candy cane, Joe's comment on Catherin's muscles... I think I find really random things especially funny... but that's okay :) As long as they're funny to me, I'll laugh all I want. Hahahaha....

asymmetry & faces

Have you ever noticed that when you look at someone's reflection in the mirror, they sometimes look *really* different?? Reverse images in mirrors pick up all the small differences of our asymmetrical faces, such as any crooked smile, bigger/smaller eye, cheek bone structure...etc. Since I see my mirror reflection and pictures of myself every day, I'm pretty used to how I look both ways. But when I see someone else's mirror reflection, I kinda need to catch my breath because they look so foreign. It's actually pretty shocking, hahaha..

Next time you can, I encourage you to really look at someone normally, then as a reflection in the mirror, and you may be very surprised with what you see. Your perception of how they look may change drastically.

submitted.

God's grace is truly sufficient....

NYU Stern Competition -- BPlan deadline was extended two extra days. Praise #1!

This past week was just nonstop writing and editing... little sleep and little progress.

Sherry and Webster helped out with content and financials, Praise #2!

At 11:07PM Andy discovered a huuugee discrepancy in the balance statement; it didn't balance! BPlan is due at midnight, and still not done editing.

11:08 -Frantic problem-solving over video chat. Ended up deleting/adding/changing a lot

11:47 About to give up and just turn in a bad balance statement

11:49 Andy discovered the problem. Balance sheet balances out. Praise #3

Still had to PDF and merge everything, but thankfully Sam had already spent a good while looking for a PDF merger program and eventually found one. Praise #4

11:53 PDF'ed all 7 spreadsheets, the text, appendix, cover sheet, menu. 24 pages total

11:54 USB key it over to Sam

11:55 Sam merged the PDFs on his computer

11:57 Gave me the PDF to upload to the website

11:58 Uploading to website.... it's taking a really long time.

11:59 submitted. Praise #5

12:00 Freak out and hyperventilate.

A huge huge "thanks" to all who helped along the way... sherry, andy, sam, mike, webster, and all those of you who have been praying...

my parallel counterpart

Apparently there's another "Nancy Wu" at NYU, and she's at Stern getting her MBA. I've gotten multiple, (at least 7), emails sent to me that were intended for her. Today, I received one regarding a group project for this class called "Managing Change." Ironically, I'm enrolled in the same exact class and I am working on the same group project, just the undergraduate version of it.

I should steal their ideas.

...

Just kidding.

...

Talk about identity theft.

Happy 1 month!

eprop whore

I got so many more eprops and comments on my xanga back in the day (19 comments v. 3 on blogspot). Where's the love, bloggers and g-reader stalkers?

love languages, not romance languages

At small group this past Friday, in the kitchen while Gabe & Esther & Larry were cooking.

Me, to Esther: So I think I want to talk about love languages with the girls today.
Gabe: You mean like, French?
Me & Esther: [pause] HAHAHA
Larry: That's a romance language!!

an hour later... after we had split up into guys/girls

Me: I thought it'd be cool if we discussed love languages today. Has anyone ever heard of them?
Yun Sun: You mean like, French?

if tomatoes were square

There's something oddly (and sadistically) entertaining watching this tortoise struggle to eat the cherry tomato. The lil' round tomato can't seem to stay put long enough for the tortoise to take a bite. Puahahaha....Just watch the first 30 seconds though, the video's kinda long...

choco-pies

I remember the first time I ever ate one of these. I was so excited at the concept of chocolate-covered marshmallow-sandwiched cake treats, but when I bit into it, all I got was some waxy "chocolate" and crumbly cake reminiscent of stale, flavorless flour meal (like corn meal, but flour instead of corn, ya get me?) What's strange though, is that even though I don't like them, every time I see them on sale at the supermarket or sitting around, I'm tempted to buy them and eat them!! Why is it that they look so alluring despite the fact that I know they don't taste good?

Yesterday, Alison Esther and I sat around the dining table snacking and chatting away for a solid 7 hours. Esther busted out a pack of these choco-pies, and I was captivated by the colorful red box and seemingly appetizing snack, as if in my mind I was imagining them to be super tasty like an Argentinian alfajores cookie. I resisted the temptation to eat a whole choco-pie, and instead just opted to take a bite of the one Esther was eating. As soon as I took the bite into that familiar waxy, crumbly cake, I thought "wow, why did I just eat that? It's the same as it always was ... bad."

Throughout the entire night, we would switch from snacking on goldfish to Korean squid to gummi bears, but once in a while my gaze would go back to those choco-pies. Even when Alison and Esther split one later in the evening, I was so close to taking a bite out theirs, even though just a few hours prior I had regretted doing so. I just can't seem to get away from thinking that they're going to taste good! The concept is brilliant, yet the outcome is not....WHYY do I keep wanting to eat one if I know it's bad?!?!! Am I the only one who has this problem?!

Yargh!!

One month ago, I signed up for the Amazon Prime month-long membership because I really wanted their free 2-day shipping. I read the fine print, made a google event in my calendar, and was ready to cancel it today. Lo and behold, I logged into my Amazon account one month later intending to cancel my trial membership, but I was shocked and felt pretty stupid when I realized that I set it as the wrong date!! It didn't occur to me that starting a membership on 1/4/09 would renew on 2/3/09. Pretty major FAIL. Bye bye $79 :(

Let this be a lesson to you all.

*edit* Hans' genius idea -- buy toilet paper, bottled water, all that good stuff with my free shipping. Genius I tell ya, genius!

FAIL #2 -- Apparently, up until the moment you make a purchase with Prime, you can cancel it and get your money back. I was SOO excited, but then I asked my brother (who shares Prime with me) whether or not he used it recently (aka today or yesterday). HE USED IT YESTERDAY. I don't get my money back. *insert failface*

2.1.09

It's been exactly one month since I last posted. A lot has been happening, but I don't know why I haven't written about anything lately. I feel like I'm in a funk of some sorts :( Maybe February will bring along some new inspiration to blog...

I'll leave you with a pic though. Say 'hi' to Sherry's newest stuffed animal, Bunny!! She's super duper adorable with those long ears and long arms, and here you can see her hangin' out from Catherin's shirt. Teeheehee ^_^

my tai lung tribute

I just finished watching Kung Fu Panda (for the first time), and I thoroughly enjoyed it not because of the typical reasons that other people may, be it because of the silly humor or feel-good message of "just believe in yourself", but because secretly.... I have a crush on Tai Lung, the cat gone bad. Was anyone else not completely awestruck by how he escaped from Prison?! How he unlocked himself from that immobilizing turtle shell, used the spears to cut himself free and them climb up the rock wall, avoided 1000000 arrows, sprinted up those falling rocks, and beat up an army of rhinos?!

Looks like I'm not the only fan of Tai Lung :)



Also, I must say.... Baby Tai Lung and Baby Tigress must be some of the cutest animated babies I have everrrrr laid eyes on. Kekekeke.... Imagine if Tai Lung and Tigress got together, how kick-butt their babies would be!!