dear beautiful,

yes, you know who you are. thanks for the pickup last night. when it was announced that the next song would be a partners dance, we groaned. then i walked off the dance floor.

i made my way slowly back to my seat at an empty table. but as i walked past some guys, i did desperately wish someone would ask me to dance. maybe i walked back on the pretence of putting my camera away, i don't know.

i was feeling sorry for myself as i reached my chair, pull out my camera bag and put it away. but then you came up and did a little dance with me. it reminded me that my identity is in Christ and not men.

for that, i thank you. i hope you had a fun night.

i did too.

of flying trams and smoky scenes

ah, the commonwealth games. twelve days of horrendously packed trains, people wearing whiteturquoisefluroorange tops and huge identification tags.

i was one of the few thousand people who got the opportunity of being right there with all the fireworks, the flying tram and a duck. and the atmosphere is so amazingly different than watching it on tv. mexican waves went round the stadium at least twice nonstop, the second loudest cheers for the countries that had the smalles amount of people (the loudes went to the home team, of course!), standing ovations for the australian contingent, everyone singing the national anthem with such gusto, the oohs and ahhs...there's so much more. being there definitely was an opportunity of a lifetime. i can finally cross it off my list.

i don't think they broadcasted the preceremony entertainment, but there was a carpeted cricket pitch with wheelie bins for wickets. some old and notsoold cricketeers played a friendly backyard match. then we had the rehearsals we had to do like the countdown, when to stand for the national anthem and the turning on of the starlights we were given (they were free!!! oh, i'm so asian...) and we could actually hear the orchestrated cheering from the crowd on the yarra!

the night felt shorter than the time that passed and pretty soon, were were walking out the doors of the mcg and into the cool night. we had the option of either taking a tram to flinders st station, walking to richmond station or walking to jolimont station. we were going in the direction of the trams when we saw how packed it was trying to get in...so we ended up walking all the way to flinders street station (a good 20minutes). i'm glad we did because by the time we reached richmond station, the streets outside the station were packed with people trying to get onto the already crowded platforms. wow. i'm glad we walked the extra 10minutes.

what a night. by the time i got to bed it was 1am. and i looked like this picture on the right.

i'm going for the commonwealth opening ceremony tonight! can't wait. even the ticket looked cool with the authentication/security sticker on it. and i get to use public transport for free!! that's good except that i have a monthly ticket and i've kind of paid for my trip like last month. but it feels good not having to vaildate the ticket all the time.

next post will be all the pictures and words of experience. possibly drowsy halfslurred words.

on the train yesterday...

a phone conversation everyone can't help but eavesdrop in a crowded train at peak hour due to the loudness and the shrillness of this person's voice.

"you're lucky to get him!"
...
"what do you mean you don't want him??"
...
"he's a really good catch! i thought you liked him!"
...
"really?"
...
"okay, okay. look, do me a favour, okay?"
...
"can you introduce us?"
...
"tell him that you know someone perfect for him."
...
"well, if you don't want him, i'll take him!"
...
"i'm serious!!"

[after a long conversation of inconsequential stuff on work and meeting up and such]

"okay. i'll see talk to you later. i'm getting off."

life lessons

1. just because someone tells you to follow them doesn't mean they know where they're going.
2. even if you're naïve, you should try not to look naïve.
3. perfection cannot be achieved even after three rounds of editing.
4. monkey bars were not meant to be licked - especially during the winter.
5. when people are critiquing your work, they are not critiquing you.
6. sometimes you have to say no to the people you love.
7. you always produce a better result when you're well rested.
8. feelings cannot always be rationalised
9. if you're short, buy short jeans. you'll never get around to actually hemming the ones you keep saying you will.
10. be satisfied with the moment you're living in instead of longing for the satisfaction of the next.
11. taking out the garbage is essential to an odour free home.
12. God uses willing people, not capable ones.
13. never settle for second best.
14. long trips are good times to pray.
15. you will always look back at yourself three years ago and think you were a dork.
16. correcting people who aren't willing to be corrected is pointless.
17. don't eat if you're not hungry.
18. ...unless you're craving chocolate.
19. some guys do not return phonecalls if you leave too long a voicemail. it's better to say "hi, this is becca. give me a call," so they are actually curious about why you're calling and call you back.
20. when buying short jeans isn't an option, just accept your fate and settle for the fashion industry's idea of the average woman and buy the 32inch seam jeans anyway.
21. don't lie if you're holding the evidence.
22. or just don't lie.
23. well, it might be okay to lie if a fourtysomething bald man is hitting on you in a coffee shop.
24. life is not measured by how many people you dated in highschool.
25. if you're going over to someone's house and they live in a development area where all the houses look exactly the same, double check before walking in.
26. just because you forgive someone doesn't mean you have to immediately trust that person.
27. for some people, 'maturity' is always a destination yet to be reached.
28. if you want to talk about it, talk to mum.
29. if you want advice, talk to dad.
30. sometimes God spares you things - without your consent. you'll be grateful later.
31. even though a person showers gifts on you, it doesn't always meant that he/she truly loves you.
32. you won't lose your salvation if you get a tattoo.
33. don't go walking down dark alleys at night.
34. always take the scenic route.
35. everyone has a personality flaw.
36. hats are the fashion industry's solution to days when you don't feel like trying but still want people to say 'you look cute today'.
37. being in need is not a bad thing.
38. listening is way more important than talking.
39. if you're visiting another country, buy souvenirs that you'll actually use. no more of those eiffel tower keychains.
40. and finally, my friend jeff said, "life lessons are worthless without concrete application."

adapted from rebecca mayer

i'm finally back! so at 16.52 today, dan fixed the internet connection and i'm back!

so many things have happened since i last was here so:

FOCUS launch '06

leaders' initiation ranged from mild





[julie with girls' side/boys' side makeup]







to gross,




[ange and robby masquerading as asian robbers]








to the weird and sticky













[aaron covered in honey-dipped marshmellows] and [jeremy and max with dough faces]











[nick and his freshly waxed leg]











clayton rd street festival

how cute was little malachi? he had a second and third go on stage at the beatbox finals and he had to be carried off...twice.

and guess who i met? molly meldrum!! he was promoting bodyworks. when we (joe, teng and i) got there, the guys struck up a conversation with the gym owner while waiting for the mums to take pictures for their little kids. we were about to stand next to him when we got cut off by a little old lady. this happened not once, not twice, but FOUR TIMES!! then we finally got our photo. oh, and the owner dropped my camera. talk about a muscle man with butter fingers!

well, that summed up last weekend.