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| Ever since that day where I finally accepted Jesus into my life, I have been trying to read a Bible chapter a night. From my Mum's reccomendation, I started with the book of John, and since then have finished it, moving on to Psalms.
Last night's was Psalm 33;
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
God really does work in mysterious ways.
Today, I worked at my Mum's store for 9+ hours. My cello lesson had been cancelled for the day so I had come straight from my lessons with my instrument. I put my cello in a corner of the store and it was really hot today, which was surprising because the day before had been extremely chilly. I was wearing a sweater and sweating it out, so I changed into one of the store's T-shirts on sale -- a black T-shirt with the silhouette of 3 cellos (coincidence? Maybe, maybe not).
A man came in to browse and started talking to my Mum. He called me over a while later and asked if I played the cello, because he'd seen my instrument in the corner (and I'm wearing that shirt, remember?). He asked if I could play for him, and said he was a music producer working on recording with kids my age.
So I played in the middle of the store, which was pretty weird, but at least there were no other customers at the time. That would have been embarassing.
He gave my Mum a card, and said he'd like me to play for an arrangement that he made in his studio, and would pay me for it. o.o (I'm not going to tell you how much he offered)
I checked out the card he gave us with the website and everything to see if this was legitimate. It seems pretty much so. The man said he had a Japanese wife too and invited my Mum and I to go check out the studio sometime this month -- and he even told us the days his wife would probably be there (that's security, right?).
So far, I'm still feeling a little skeptical and suspicious about this, but I have to bear in mind that it doesn't seem like a scam at all.
I think God is really doing amazing things. His message last night is saying something about what he has in store for me. And I feel thankful, because these days I'd been feeling a little unproductive and helpless about what I was doing with my music.
I pray to God often, to use me for His work. God gave me these gifts for a purpose, and I want to uplift his name with them. This might just be a gift from God; an opportunity.
Thank you, God.
Auntie Sulynn in the store was sort of excited, saying I got "scouted". Lol. I don't think I'd go that far... And honestly, why me? My playing isn't all that amazing. I've only been playing cello for 3 years but the guy did ask if I played piano, and I said yes.
I shouldn't be asking "Why me?". Continue to praise God for the things He is doing.
Love Izzy
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| Who says that I don't have school spirit?
Well-- I said that, actually :P But the only reason why I was so excited for this week's one was because at those rare times, my school actually chooses good themes.
They decided that today, we should dress up as any celebrity we want (that might have caused a ruckus in the school dress code policy -- which is still a 100% more relaxed than my old uniformed days).
So I went all excited and decided to pay tribute to my fandom, even though nobody will know who my boys are... But who cares? it's for myself, not for the masses.
I went online to search up a T-shirt I could buy for my impersonation of G-Dragon, or something close enough. A wonderful rip-off of $50 for a simple plain white t-shirt with a tiny red symbol in the corner. And a similar design for a hoodie costs $80. Ridiculous.
Why should I spend my hard-earned cash for something that's not a decent price? So I took matters into my own hands. Got creative... and grabbed a Sharpie...
First, I had to print out a reference of the Big Bang lettering they use. I remembered some of the old techniques I learnt in my old Design Tech. class back in GIS and applied myself. It turned out looking great.
Then I cut out the letters on the cardboard paper using a pen-knife.
Next, I snagged my brother's black Sharpier and started filling in the letters using the stencil that I made. I got ink all over my hands in the process, and it's supposed to be permanent so I hope it doesn't wash off the shirt (it washed off my hands with a good scrub).
I actually started coloring the letters backwards, starting from the last "G", and subconsciously left the "B's" white. I'm glad I left them white, because it looks good like that anyway.
I thought about what I wanted to put on the top to fill up the blank space... Big Bang doesn't exactly have any symbols they use besides their lettered title. So I thought about G-Dragon's solo album and the CD cover. It turned out looking pretty close to the real thing, so I'm really happy about it.
This is what I would have worn today, had the weather not been surprisingly freezing today. I had to opt for a jacket. It was REALLY chilly.
The headphones are supposed to be one of the main highlights. But I forgot to bring them in my haste to grab a jacket to face the cold.
And this is how it looks like. Ugh... fore-shortening effects fail.
I'm really proud of this. I will wear it over and over again :D Right now I'm crossing my fingers hoping it doesn't wash out in the laundry. Because I was stupid and let the ink bleed through to the backside of the shirt while filling in the letters. But it's alright. it's just a BIT.
There were a lot of people in my school that dressed up, or decided to be lame and say "I AM a celebrity, so I'm going as myself." That's overdoing the self-respect. I would have had no problem going without putting in the effort to dress up, but saying that is kind of dumb.
Besides, it was fun.
There were a lot of people dolled up as Taylor Swift. And a few Lady GaGa's here and there. Plus two or three Marilyn Monroe's. I saw a bunch of guys dressed in '80's rock and roll band gear. KISS was there too.
Two people dressed up as Madea. THAT was hilarious. Some people are freaking awesome.
As for me, I was more than happy to just chill in my brand spanking new, homemade G-Dragon shirt, which cost me nothing :D
Love Izzy
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| I just lost one of the longest posts I'd ever written in my blogging history, on personal thoughts and feelings and soul-searching and blah blah blah.
I was just about to hit the post button when my internet freezes up, and my safari completely goes crazy and shuts down. So I lost it.
Mega crap.
It was such a good post too. But maybe God is telling me that I don't need to put this out online for the world to see. The important thing is I got it out of my system and I am feeling a little liberated about it.
That's why I'm not screaming in rage right now.
It was a really good post. And now lost forever. Shame.
Oh well.
(Even though it took me hours to write. Yawn) | | |
| And I don't mean my height (I KNOW I'm a shortie -- just about 5 feet tall to the point) -- it's not too late for my body to grow vertically.
My hair was in desperate need of some taming, so I took my crop down to the HK hairstylists in town and got a cut.
I pointed to a neat little shot of some random Asian model with oh-so flawless skin and huuuuge eyes, and asked my bangs to be cut like hers. This you see, comes from a little shrugging of the shoulders and lazily looking around to give the stylist just some base to work on.
She didn't quite hit the mark.
When she finished, I think she snipped a little more than I expected. I was disappointed leaving the shop.
But after some comments in school today, I'm feeling better.
You see, the first time I got a somewhat straight fringe cut, I was laughed at. (This was in GIS)
But then again, it was Cayle who pointed his finger at me and howled, so I guess I shouldn't be taking his opinion into consideration anyway.
However, I'm starting to like this. Maybe I'm even beginning to rock this hairstyle :D
The biggest problem though, is that I think she cut too much at the BACK. And I was growing that out to get chopped off as a whole and donated to cancer patients.
But maybe it's just the effect of the gel thingie she used. It will probably get all limp and straggly and seem somewhat longer after I wash it.
In any case, I'm getting used to seeing the tips of my fringe when I look up.
I WILL rock this hairstyle. I will.
Love Izzy
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| This week has been a huge slice of humble pie.
I asked God to humble me a few nights ago, and I want to pray for that every time something good happens to me. Maybe I need to stop doing that, because what's wrong with enjoying the positive things that come along in our lives?
It's just so that I don't forget to thank God.
At the same time, it's a little funny, because the day that I supposingly won 2nd place at the Poetry Jam, I thanked God and asked him to humble me. And then the next day when I was called to receive my prize, they told me that they made a mistake in totalling the judges scores, and I was actually in third place.
It's like "Oh, sorry, but yeah you've been bumped down. Kthxbai."
And that comes with a $10 gift card for Barnes and Nobles, which I could probably use to buy a notebook. :/ Stingy.
Actually, I think it's just enough for a manga. Lol. Inner geeks ftw.
Well, I'm not going to lie, that it's a little upsetting to find out something like that. I'm mainly irked by how irresponsible they were in making a mistake like that and treating it so nonchalantly, like they couldn't care about how awkward that made me feel.
But at the same time, I'm not going to be a sore loser, because I did get into the top 3 out of the poets that were there (although I was still upset because there were some amazing poets who didn't win ANY thing). And even more importantly, it's not about the placements or the prizes or the accolades.
Poetry is about making a point. It's about getting a message across and expressing yourself and using words as art. The main idea is, I got my message out. I got my rhymes out, and I was heard. That's what's most important. And I'm glad it happened.
This will not be the last time. The one thing I regret is that I couldn't represent the school for the Poetry State Competition, where I can bring my message to more people.
My poem was about gender empowerment. It's something I feel strongly about in society, and I want people to hear it.
Recently there was a gang rape in California, involving a 15 year old girl and 10 men. There were dozens of bystanders who just watched and were taking pictures and videos of the scene before them. And some of them were female. I just. Can't. Believe it.
But this sort of thing happens. It does. And we as a society need to hold to our responsibilities and do the right thing. Can you just stand there when that happens? Can you take the opportunity?
I cannot stand to let rape, child pornography, sex slavery, and domestic violence slide. And that's why I write.
And it's why I pray.
I pray for the victim of the gang rape, for comfort, security, and forgiveness for those who violated her. I pray for her family, that they can hold strong during this struggle. I pray for their community, that they can reach out their hands in support. I pray for the offenders, that they are receiving the punishment they deserve, and they will see the error of their ways. I pray for the bystanders who did nothing, that they will never step to the side again and let this happen to anyone ever in the future.
I pray for the society we live in in this century.
Love Izzy
PS: Another humbling event was solo/ensemble this Friday, where I screwed up majorly on my piano solo. It seems like the judge didn't know though. Seriously. Well, I thank God anyway.
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Sweet Melodic Memories
