Brian and I had lunch together. I shared with him the things on my plate, plus the awesome story I heard at the conversation group. He was very understanding and encouraging. It was nice.

It turned out that the acceptance notice of my abstract for a conference was sent to my professor instead of me. So I will get to spend some summer time by Lake Tahoe after all. Yay!

The last couple of weeks has been difficult for me. But I feel that God has been with me to provide strength and peace. Also, he has been using my friends to lift me up. I don't know how to live without him.

I am grateful that

--- my lifegroup was supportive of my decision
--- I could take the afternoon off to get some rest
--- I worked in the lab a bit in the morning

I am grateful for

3/28, Saturday

--- having dinner with Sau, Renuka and Zeta
--- having time to work on my parents' visa application
--- the warm weather

3/29, Sunday

--- Mincheol and Xiaofeng, whom I brought to church, having enjoyed the service
--- no rain or snow in the morning
--- the 1-hr phone conversation with Bhramara

Today is one of those bad-but-not-that-terrible days. I am thankful that my husband was very understanding and encouraging. Besides, there is something to look forward to: having dinner with Dr. T!

I am grateful that

--- the secretary appreciated my thank-you gift.
--- God is keeping my spirit up.
--- Meijer has awesome country-style pork ribs.

a great day

I am grateful that

--- a secretary in our department is a notary and she generously put her work aside to notarize all of my documents for me;
--- I finally figured out what the bug in my simulation was. I had been struggling with it for over a week.
--- the guy working at the post office was kind enough to let me change my mailing option even after the previous transaction was finalized.
--- Karen found the slice from last Sunday for me. It was very humbling.
--- I heard one of the most amazing true stories at my conversation group.

I am grateful that

--- Bhramara emailed and called me to lift up my spirit. Thanks friend!
--- my professor took time to help me with the problem in my simulation
--- I came up with more than 12 stories with the help of my lifegroup

crazy

Three plane crashes? What's going on?!

I am grateful for

--- taking it easy today
--- taking a walk with Jinli and mo after dinner
--- all kinds of food at home

I am grateful for

3/21, Saturday
--- the delicious and nutritious brunch Bhramara and Diana made
--- having hotpot with Jinli, Xin, and Yong
--- the long walk with friends and mo after dinner

3/20, Friday
--- my husband's call during lunch time
--- finding some tasty snacks
--- having fun at Karen's b-day party

3/19, Thursday
--- getting home early
--- the weather
--- a quiet evening

I am grateful that

--- things might not be that bad.
--- Sau shares some of my culture so that she could easily understand my situation.
--- Bhramara called.
--- I got to talk to Jia a bit in the afternoon.

I am feeling pretty broken right now. Our father in heaven, thank you for choosing me to be yours so that I can take comfort in you at times like this.

I am also grateful for bumping into my friend Xin and having lunch with her, for having Sau as my roommate, and for having a friend like Bhramara.

I am grateful for
--- this beautiful day
--- lots of fun at our lifegroup's special game night
--- walking mo in this nice community. And she was being good today.

I am grateful that
--- Bhramara gave Joy and me ride to the church and we got to hang out a bit.
--- the weather was perfect.
--- I finished the application letters, and Bhramara generously offered her help to proof read them.
--- Sau, Jinli and I walked Mo in the evening and saw many big, beautiful houses on our way. And then we had dinner together. My strawberry trifle was a success.

It has been a very good weekend.

The weather was perfect. Rachel, Matt and I met up at a japanese restaurant at novi for lunch today. The food there never disappointed me.

Then we went to 12 oaks. Joy joined us a little bit later. We bought stuff here and there. After that we all went to costco. Too bad Joy didn't find the item she wanted.

Overall it has been a wonderful day.

Today has been a bit slower than I hoped. The weather was really nice though. I came home early to walk Mo with Sau. It is always pleasant and comforting to chat with her. I am really grateful for that.

Brian and I had lunch today. It was nice to catch up with him, even just to talk about the little things. I would say that our friendship now is worth all the conflicts and fights we have had over the years. We both worked hard for it. But honestly I don't want to go through those with another friend again. :)

Originally Sau and I planned to see Yoyo ma tonight, but I cancelled on her because I have some work to do. I had dinner with her and Brian P. instead at an Indian restaurant. My curry lamb dish was really really good. I was very happy with my food.

It is a little bit chilly, but it is good to have the sun out. Yesterday was totally wasted, and today I haven't done much yet. I am glad though that I have figured out what I want to add to my current experimental system within our budget.

It will be a busy weekend ahead. I have a deadline on Sunday, while I plan to hang out with some friends on Friday night and do some shopping with some other friends on Saturday. I guess I will have to work harder tonight and tomorrow.

I am reading 4~5 books in parallel, which is not a good idea. For the past week I have been indulged in the twilight saga. It was fun for a while. Now I want to get back to the good old Philip Yancey.

Some of my friends have been good at keeping me in touch by emails and calls. Also, Trudi and I picked up our online scrabble game. At home my roommate is awesome as usual. All these helped me fight my insecurity about relationships.

God is good.

I am grateful that

--- my husband got back to NY safely
--- I was able to have a slow day
--- the fruit smoothie from costco is tasty

I probably need to go back to daily posting. It is hard to keep track of things weekly.

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I am grately for

3/2, Monday
--- getting some writing done
--- my blue parking permit, which allows me to do a lot of things during my lunch break
--- Philip Yancey's writing

3/3, Tuesday
--- Joy's encouragement
--- Brian's email
--- hanging out with Jinli

3/4, Wednesday
--- getting into bed early
--- warm weather
--- Bhramara's call

3/5, Thursday
--- having lunch with Brian
--- watching the office
--- getting quite a bit work done

3/6, Friday
--- my husband flying here safely
--- enjoying reading "twilight"
--- a relaxing day in general

3/7, Saturday
--- hanging out with my husband
--- Sau having had a good trip
--- Xin's hotpot party

3/8, Sunday
--- going to church with my husband
--- more reading
--- taking a walk after dinner

3/9, Monday
--- warm and sunny weather. By saying warm, I meant above 32F.
--- my husband appreciating my cooking
--- Brooke Fraser's voice, talent and faith

3/10, Tuesday
--- the decaf latte from sweetwaters
--- a sort of date night with my husband
--- my professor being happy with my work

still anxious

I am still anxious for no good reasons. Last week was actually a pretty good week. But I have been having some mild headache and bad dreams. Sometimes it is difficult to breathe. And my mind is so stuffed that I feel dizzy.

A vacation away from Ann Arbor would be helpful.

anxious

I might be having some anxiety issues. I woke up in the middle of the night fighting against all kinds of thoughts, which made me feel extremely tired today.

My only comfort was from Psalm 4:8.

"I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety."

random thoughts about relationships

To me, what is the most rewarding and beautiful thing in a relationship is to see the character maturity and spiritual growth in the other party, and realize how I am turning into a better person myself.

In the mean time, it would be very frustrating if there is no sign of any sort of character evolving in that person. Possibly I would find myself not so likable either around that person. At certain point I probably have to call it quit and stop regarding it as a relationship worth nurturing any more. It does not mean I would stop caring for that person, but she or he would not be someone I would count on or want to spend much of my time with.

out of touch

I have been feeling out of touch from the rest of the world. How weird. All I am giving up for this month is only a few little things.

I have found that it is easier to write about things I enjoy other than the things I am grateful. The difference is that sometimes what I enjoy is not necessarily good for me, such as online shopping. So from now on I will stick with things that are good, even though I have been having a hard time to find them in the past week.

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I am grateful for

2/23, Monday
--- the sunshine, sunshine!
--- Trudi calling me to catch up
--- all the girls in my lifegroup

2/24, Tuesday
--- the tasty coffee
--- nice weather
--- having dinner with Jen, Jinli, Rachel and Sau

2/25, Wednesday
--- having someone to talk to when I needed to
--- getting some work done
--- having peace over things

2/26, Thursday
--- the warm weather
--- the noodle soup
--- a quiet evening

2/27, Friday
--- having dinner with Sau, Brian and their friends at Casey's
--- finding some bowls I like at Ikea
--- the wisdom God gave me to handle the conflicts with my husband in a mature way

2/28, Saturday
--- Rui calling me to chat casually in the morning
--- having lunch and hanging out with Bhramara. Three hours felt like nothing.
--- staying warm at home in a cold night

3/1, Sunday
--- sleeping in
--- the tasty tofu Sau made. Seriously, it is really really good!
--- Sau making us the crab meat pasta for dinner, and soup, and dessert! I know, I am a lucky roommate.