haven't been updating in awhile. heh. not even sure anyone reads. =p

i'm in new york city now. was a bit of a hassle getting here with plane delays and mess-ups with public transport but i arrived at weiming's house safe and sound. he (and his roommate, kenneth) have been treating me super well. i thank god for frenz like this. he's been bringing me everywhere (MoMA, serendipity[!] cafe, times square, good food...) and overall, just being a great host.

i missed my snow patrol concert. ha. wasted bout 120 bucks but it was a good lesson. thought it would take me awhile to get over it cos i had so much time to think bout it on the train. but i prayed, gave it up to god, and i just felt peace. awesome.

i've been trying to watch my spending and all this trip. its a good thing... but it can easily lead to too much focus on money. which i was in danger (and as humans, we prob always are) of falling into... the greed of money. thank god for teaching me this valuable lesson and keeping me safe. cos the concert was in camden, nj, which is supposedly the most dangerous city in usa and most of my frenz here say it isn't really safe too.

my two halves of my trip have been really different. like almost two polar extremes. but they've both been great. southern california was good... checking out attractions (disneyland, universal hollywood, etc), walking around (... alot... to look and appreciate the surroundings.. and to save money... lol), and in general, being much like a tourist. but besides that, it was a great time of solitude (which isn't always a bad thing), reflection, and aligning myself with god. even though it was a bit sian to take rides by yourself. but because i was alone, i got to see most of the things and ride my fav rides countless times. the family i stayed with were really nice, godly people, who were such a blessing to me. i like san diego. its a city with unique areas like gaslamp quarters (row of pubs/restaurants), seaport village (shops and restaurants by the sea), and balboa park (san diego zoo, great museums, and just overall, a very beautiful place).
[sidetrack: i realise i have been using the word 'nice' alot of times. can't be helped. vocabulary still in quite a state of shambles after army.]
didn't really get to spend much time in los angeles, but the central library in LA was well-designed and had a good selection of books. read a bit of cs lewis and neruda while i was there.

new york city is a really big cosmopolitan city. i understand why people call it the centre of the world. like i've said, so far, its been great. gonna catch a broadway musical soon and visit places like the met, soho, east and west village, wall st, etc. prob won't get to catch a sporting event here though cos tickets are quite expensive and hard to get.

visited two churches today. times square church is an inter-denominational, charismatic church. it has a choir (like the kind you see in shows) which is really big. and the church looks really beautiful... and expensive to build. the interior is done like a renaissance building. i just liked being in the presence of other people worshipping god. the message was interesting but i didn't really agree with some parts (or rather, the way he expounded and expressed them). redeemer presbyterian, on the other hand, is totally different (as you can prob tell cos its presbyterian). their worship was very different from times square's; it was a jazz band that had a simple set-up, great musicians, and did what it was supposed to (leading people to worship god). i did like the times square worship too... just in a different way. the sermon at redeemer was good. the preacher knew the word of god really well and he was interesting without straying too far from the topic. it was just great to go to church again... wherever.

ok. shall update another time after i've done more stuff. take care and god bless.