ED & I ARE ENGAGED!!! 

Now I know you're all wondering how it happened, here's a glimpse.. So Ed told me he wanted to take me out to eat as a gesture of appreciation for helping him with his new house.  He tricked me and said we were going to a fancy restuarant in Ridgewood and that I should dress up.  When I arrived, to my surprise, I found clues starting at his door that lead to this trail of roses.

Clue#10 Pick either door A, B, or C.  Hint: the door leads to a room that's not stinky or messy..

Great.. which door?

After 2 failed attempts to the bathroom and his room (messy), I found the right door. 

Ouu la-la!!  Nice job Ed!

"Would you like some champaign (Canada dry) Madam?"

Yes!!  My favorite-- LOBSTER!! + Penne a la vodka, edamame, and Red Lobster biscuits!!!

"Now for surprise #3.  Choose ONLY 2 out of the 3 boxes" - Ed.

Hmm.. which one???  ahh soo much pressure!!

I ended up choosing Gift#1--Yay!  A Softball bat!! woohooooo!

Man, I wonder what's gift #3?!?!  After some begging, he relented & gave me gift#3 too.

(Score!)

aww his very own portrait of us!

After that, the speech and proposal followed.. and here's a pix of me and the beautiful ring!!

And here's a picture of us at Bev & Tony's wedding!  Congrats Bev & Tony! 

Thanks to all of you for your support, encouragement (ehhs?), and prayers! 

Thanks Ed for making these last few years together so sweet & memorable!

After seven months of agonizing waiting and trying to have faith in God's sovereignty and will, UMDNJ (university of medicine & dentistry of NJ in Newark, NJ) decided to accept me!  So i'll be going to Nursing school for 16 months starting this September (it's an accelerated 2nd degree BSN program where I'll be getting my RN.)  God is sooo good!  Thanks to all you who prayed for  me!

I think the hardest part about getting into UMDNJ is the fact that I'll be leaving NY, which means leaving my friends and family ... ok, no more sappy-ness, just know that i'm going to miss you pp...

CTFL would be truly sweeet...

So, some of you are shocked b/c you didn't know i was switching careers, well here's my nursing school essay.  A major thanks to Christine, Ed, GraceY, & Noelle for editting!

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies at the University of Michigan, and working in the television media industry for two years post graduation, little did I know that I would consider a career change so soon.  However, recent experiences have led me to select nursing as an appropriate choice.  My reasons for pursuing nursing are very simple, yet focused: live my life to serve and benefit others; contribute to our society and the world at large; and be a part of the healing process in the lives of the broken.  After much reflection and self-analysis, in which I thought about my character, strengths, passions, past experiences and what I want to spend most of my life doing, I realized that a vocation in nursing would be both an attractive and rewarding fit.

I was inspired in high school when I came across a poster quoting Helen Keller, "I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."  These inspirational words impressed upon me a lifelong vision and goal of participating in the global mission to reach out to those less fortunate.  It was for this reason that the previous seven summers I dedicated myself to be involved in missions trips around the world in affiliation with various organizations and churches.  Although all these trips were amazing experiences worth mentioning, one in particular stands out as the catalyst for my decision to pursue nursing as a lifelong vocation. 

Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to volunteer at an orphanage in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.  One of our goals included combating the poor health conditions, typical of third world-countries, by providing the orphans and local villagers some basic medical attention… Among the many services performed, our team along with two doctors provided open clinical hours in the community at different schools, which without much surprise drew a high demand in the village.  The turnout was so immense that I personally assisted one of the doctors in translating between English and Mandarin, gathering essential patient information, assessing symptoms and problems, and providing directions for recovery and treatment.  It was a challenging experience to facilitate communication between the patients and the doctors using the combination of my limited Mandarin speaking ability and universal hand gestures.  Though the unbearable heat and jet-lag greatly tested our patience, helping both the doctors and patients easily outweighed the difficulties and costs.  It was here that I experienced firsthand what being a nurse would be like.  Although not having much prior training, an asset that I wish I had at the time, I enjoyed spending time with each of the hundreds of patients we received.  The illnesses of the patients varied. Some were sick with minor colds, whereas others had cancer that required advanced technological treatment and direction.  Due to our limited resources, we could not provide certain complex procedures. 

Looking back on my experience in Myanmar, I believe it was extremely influential in shaping my current goals.  While my memories at the orphanage and surrounding communities were special and worthwhile, at times I grew discouraged due to my lack of educational training in healthcare and my inability to offer more services to the patients I met there.  Furthermore, I wish I had professional medical training so that I could have further aided the doctors...

...One of my hopes after nursing school is to share my newly-acquired medical education on a local as well as global level.  My other short-term goals consist of attaining a master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner after one or two years of working experience and spending my breaks participating in mission trips that offer medical assistance and training to developing countries.  A long term goal of mine is to be closely involved with an orphanage like Grace Haven where nursing would strongly answer the need for healthcare availability, education and training.  According to an article by Matsumato, Mialkowska and Parcellano (2004)[1], there is an overwhelming shortage of nurses worldwide, especially due to the migration of nurses from developing to industrialized countries because they offer a better standard of living.  This phenomenon has significantly impacted developing countries, causing them to have insufficient staffing resulting to the decrease of nursing services. This in turn further leads to the increase of the already staggering morbidity and mortality rate.  Often times, hospitals in these countries end up closing due to this problematic insufficiency.  In response, my hope is to become an expert healthcare provider, to not only treat patients as a nurse practitioner, but also educate and train others in this field throughout the world.  My heart is for oversea missions in developing countries like Myanmar, which desperately need competent academic and physical hands-on training.  I believe obtaining a baccalaureate degree will provide me the first steps towards equipping myself in aiding the global demand for nursing.

finally...

 i learned how to dl pix to my computer!  just the beginning of many more "remember whens"...

sooooooooooooooooooo cute!  come back and give liz ai-ye a ching-ching (kiss-kiss) and big HUG!

sorry, i'd write more, but this was hardwork and plus it's 1015, time for bed!~  camping trip tomorrow!  yay!

You know it's almost been 10 years since I became a Christian at NYSC aka Hofstra!  Crazzzziness~!!  Speaking of NYSC...

NYSC'06 "Perservering Faith" is soo almost here!  I can't wait!  It's going to be an awesome time with brothers and sisters in Christ where we can grow closer to God together in worship, fellowship, teaching, small groups during July 4th weekend! 

If you've never been to NYSC, you should definitely come check it out!  It's not just for youth, it's for college & career pp just like us~!!!  Bring your friends too!

Watch this Video~!  it takes some time to load, so be patient. =)

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sorry, takes a lil to load, but it's sooo worth it! =D

please please consider serving, especially if you've been impacted by the conference somehow.  if you're interested in serving, please let me know. =)

Here's a video of our team's missions trip to Camp Katrina: Waveland, Mississippi.  Thanks to all of you who supported us with prayer and your finances.

In the midst of chaos, calamity, loneliness, emptiness, disenchantment, our God is still incontrol, soveriegn, powerful, fulfilling, real, satisfying, faithful and worthy to be praised. 

"

We're going back, but it's only four of us (Ed, Norman, Xian & I) Feb 19th-27th.  Kirby & Grace's team are going back in March.  Please pray for us!

(Songs in background: "God of Justice" by Tim Hughes & "When I think about the Lord" by Shane & Shane. )