Happy 2009! :)
Happy new year everyone! :)
We are well into Christmas break, so now I no longer have any excuse not to blog. My fondest salutations to those who continue to check on this pitiful excuse for a web journal. It's been acting more like a peer-reviewed quarterly academic journal lately, with information that was hot last year being posted today.
Anyway, some updates are in order.
The above picture demonstrates how much of a nerd I have become. =p For "leisure reading" this break, I have Allen Newell's (1990)
Unified Theories of Cognition and various articles on visual imagery and reasoning for my senior thesis. I've also played a few games of Sudoku, and have gotten to the 8-disc level of the Tower of Hanoi puzzle.
I've also gotten hooked on organization. I've finally come up with an accounting system that I can work with. Today I'll be able to analyze my December expenses and estimate a workable budget for the next month. :)
It's been a good year. I'm happy and content, and feel very blessed to be where I am today, with the opportunities I've got. I'm thankful for all the factors (parents' hard work, Ozarks' generosity, and ultimately, God's blessings) that have made it possible for me to study in the US. I'm thankful to God for blessing me with Anna. I'm thankful to God for "building my vita" with my summer internship in DC, Hagaman's arrival at Ozarks, and the continued generous support of my parents. Above all, I'm grateful that God loves me unconditionally and continues to work in my life. :)
Psalm 90 may be my Scripture for the year. My heart's prayer for 2009 is well said in these 3 verses:
v12 -
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.v14 -
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.v17 -
May the beauty of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.Happy 2009, everyone! :)
Labels: Appreciation, For the spirit, Musings, News, Snapshots
Since June...
Since my last post
ages ago in June, I have:
- Entered into one of the most rewarding, joy-producing, and growth-inducing relationships of my life: a courtship with Anna Yong, the love of my life. :)
- Experienced the power of God working through a healthy, Christ and gospel-centered church: Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC.
- Worked 6 weeks in the Lab for Applied Research in Cognition and Human Factors (ARCH Lab) at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, as an APA Summer Science Fellow.
- Was introduced to the power of Macros and Visual Basic programming in Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word.
- Co-authored an empirical paper on procedural errors with Dr. Raj Ratwani and Dr. Greg Trafton through my APA Summer Science Fellowship.Attended the 30th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society in Washington, DC.
- Determined that I want to be a cognitive scientist, committing to acquiring and using a combination of scientific methods to study various aspects of the mind, including language, memory, reasoning, mental representations, and perception (of music, speech, etc.).
- Identified a number of graduate schools I will want to apply to: University of Arkansas (Fayetteville), UT Austin, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champagne), SUNY Buffalo, and SUNY Binghamton.
- Determined to learn basics of programming. I am now proceeding through CS106A: Programming Methodology with Dr. Mehran Sahami via Stanford's free iTunes U channel.
- Witnessed the work of God on the U of O campus and in First Baptist and caught a fiery passion to work for the exaltation of Christ on this campus and in this community.
- Realized that my sister is going to get married very soon (in October!!)
- Acquired a position in the Bass section of Ozarks Chorale and Chamber Singers. I was previously a Tenor I.
- Begun work on a Senior Seminar project that is designed to systematically investigate the complex role of working memory in making deductive inferences from prose.
- Finished learning Claude Debussy's Claire de Lune (more than a year after first picking it up!!!).
- Had numerous opportunities to share the gospel of Christ, both through word and action.
- Wrestled with hard questions about suffering, the sovereignty of God, and election, among others, and emerged with a deeper appreciation and love for the mystifying magnificence that is the LORD God as revealed in the Scriptures.
- Switched table tennis/ping pong grips from the pen-holder to the handshake.
- Grown.
- Loved
- Lived, with immense gratitude for the blessings that I continue to drown in daily. :)
Labels: Appreciation, For the spirit, Musings, News, Snapshots
An Ode to Friendship
What a Friend we have in Jesus
All our
sins and
griefs to
bear!
What a
privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what
peace we often
forfeitO what
needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
Have we
trials and
temptations?
Is there
trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer
Can we find a Friend so
faithfulWho will all our
sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness -
Take it to the Lord in prayer
Are we
weak and
heavy-ladenBurdened with a load of
care?
Precious Saviour, still our
refugeTake it to the Lord in prayer
Do your friends
despise,
forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer
In his arms he'll take and
shield you
You will find a solace thereLabels: Appreciation, For the spirit, Random
RE: Thoughts provoked by "Get Service" - to offset the "gloom and doom"
I'd like to tell of my birthday. My wonderful, meaningful, memorable 22nd birthday. And give some credit to the lovely people that make my life beautiful. =)
Here are some verbal snapshots (I've been suffering from "Photographer's Block". Not really. Been lazy.. =p):
May 6: Organized by Anna, a whole host of my friends take time out of their Finals Week to sing "Happy Birthday" (in English, Malay, and Mandarin!) outside the library and present a plate of Palenque "Super Nachos" and a red rose to me. Thanks guys!! =)
May 9: Anna presents me with a surprise gift: a license for
Acoustica Beatcraft, a drum programming software I've been wanting since 2005. Thanks Anna! =)
May 14: Patrick buys me Super Nachos for lunch and wishes me happy birthday. I'm grateful for the wishes and the nachos, at least partly because I didn't feel like cooking. =p Thanks Patrick! =)
May 15:
- My sister wishes me happy birthday. We talk for a bit.. I always appreciate you, che! Thanks! =)
- My dad emails me happy birthday. Thanks Daddy! =)
- My mum emails a HILARIOUS e-card to me. Thanks Mummy! =)
- Birthday wishes start showing up on my Facebook wall. Thanks guys! =)
- Wilson calls to wish me happy birthday and we chat and catch up.. Thanks Kor Kor Chye!! =)
May 16:
- Anna calls to wish me happy birthday. Thanks Anna! =)
- Birthday wishes continue to show up on my Facebook wall. Thanks guys! =)
- I get to chat with Anna on Gtalk in the morning. Thanks Anna! =)
- Various people on campus wish me happy birthday. Thanks guys! =)
- I get birthday emails. Thanks guys! =)
- I buy myself a lovely Chicken Club Sandwich combo from Wendy's and take a leisurely drive to Horsehead Lake with Nat King Cole playing on the CD player. Good food, good view (love the summer green countryside!!), and good music. Thanks for letting me use your car, Anna! =)
- I spend some nice quality time with God by Horsehead Lake. Thank you Jesus for making that possible!! =)
- Caroline calls from Nebraska to wish me happy birthday. We talk and catch up for a bit.. Thanks Cruzer!! =)
- Patrick, Amy and I cook a DELIGHTFUL FEAST and have Kathy over to help us eat. Thanks guys!! =)
- Matt and Jessica Kasper leave a birthday card and some candy in my c-box. Thanks guys! =)
- Patrick, Amy and I watch Ironman at the Clarksville cinema. Thanks guys! =)
- I talk to my parents and sister on Skype. Love you all! =)
May 17: Birthday wishes continue to show up on my Facebook wall.
May 20: I receive a birthday card from Eric. Thanks Eric! =)
May 22: I receive a 4GB iPod Nano (3rd Gen) in my c-box from my sister and Jordan Davis. Thank you!! =)
Ahh...
I had a fantastic birthday this year, and just want to say again a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you that made it happen. I'm so blessed with you all! =)
Labels: Appreciation, Snapshots
