Appreciation.

Today AIESEC gently let me go. I received the news this morning that I was not selected for AIESEC International. There are definitely a lot of raw emotions-- of feeling that you wanted something so bad, that you still have tons to give and not being able to say goodbye on your own terms. As disappointment washed over me, there's also this surprising feeling of excitement-- of things already in progress and for what lies ahead.

This entry is about appreciation of many things in life that I am thankful for and keeps me grounded. Here are some things that complete me...
... the comfort of friends who believe in me
... the love of my family that will never fade
..the smiles on my little cousins' faces back after a month long trip to the Philippines
...3 hours of competitve karaoke with my older cousins to get the perfect score
...receiving random emails at the most needed time
... being on the phone with people you most love just when you need it
...being told that you're someone's #1 :)
... reading blogs and realizing how much you can relate too so many others out there!
...spending time with my sisters
... working for my parents and finally realizing that it's harder than I think
... getting to know my parents' staff and their life stories
... curling up with a great book and not wanting for it to come to an end (it's like losing a friend)
... listening to commercial free radio
... changing my traineeship ID from "new" to "available" :)

My heart does ache (I would be lying if I said it was fine) but it WILL mend. I am ready for the next big adventure!

Time of our lives.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test, and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.

I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial

For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life.

~ Green Day

Have a wonderful Sunday! :D

IKEA MEETINGS go international!

AIESEC Mainland of China just unveiled their website! There are pics online of the infamous IKEA meetings. Due to space issues and distance between LCs (and the MC), some of the meetings over the summer were held at IKEA. I attended the final Common Induction Taskforce meeting as seen in one of the two pics online. Ah, these pics keep on reminding me of the great times I had in China!

IKEA in Beijing looks like all the other IKEAS worldwide. It was actually a great place to hang out and feel at home (especially when you feel homesick). However, it is also a crazy place! LOTS of people over the weekend (I swear it's a family affair); people actually sleeping on the sofas and LIVE music in the cafeteria! When that picture on the website was taken, there was a live jazz band playing in the IKEA cafeteria. Quite an experience! :)

Speaking of IKEA, congratulations to Rosy, LCP of Simon Fraser University. She is also the IKEA queen. She recently accepted an offer to move to ITALY to be the head IKEA designer- that's awesome Rosy! Beware of unwanted visitors (ie. me).

Rest in peace.

Arthur Miller is dead at age 89. For those who are not familiar with Arthur Miller, he is great playwright who wrote plays like "Death of a Salesman"-- which is coincidentally one of the first plays I've ever seen or read. It is these types of plays that have made an impact in my life. I'm a bit of a theatre buff :) Arthur Miller not only wrote great plays but he wrote great plays that talked about the social taboos in his times.

Here's to the theatre world and budding playwrights!

XIN NIAN KUAI LE!

Happy Chinese New Year's everyone! Happy Year of the Rooster (which also happens to be my sign)! Lats night, I was reminiscing about my time in China with Sheila my huo guo (hot pot) buddy. As some of you may know, it is a place I miss so much! I miss the people I met, the food we ate, the interesting and intense discussions we had! :D

This week as parts of the world celebrate Chinese New Year, millions of Christians get ready for the season of Lent. This coming Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) marks the beginning of the 40 days of the Lenten season. The Lenten season of course celebrates the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ and is more important than Christmas as it is the basis of the Christian faith.

It is also the time of year when "good Christian" children (and even adults) discuss that they are going to "give up" or "sacrifice" for Lent. Whatever it is that they absolutely love, they will give up-- most children will go without television or candy for 40 days. Some adults will stop eating meat.

Now, I don't want this post to be about Christianity because I am not in the business of conversion ;). However, I was curious what you would sacrifice or give up if you needed to? And when you do give up this important thing-- was it REALLY that important in the first place?

Guess what? It's been confirmed!

So, Nacho (nacho.nomadlife.org) told me to take a personality test when I mentioned on my blog that I was in a "transitional phase". Guess, what Nacho-- your personality test just proved that I am actually going through a transition !!!I'm a Rectangle-Box! :D

Aside from being told that I am anal retentive, my choice of shapes also "indicates that you are in transition. You are experiencing great internal changes." Woohoo, I'm reading this and thinking to myself-- wow, being a rectangle-box is quite boring. Maybe I should take the test again. I think being a circle sounds more fun! :D

Melissa