Am going to have our 2nd last bible study today at the Illini Chinese Christian Fellowship (ICCF for short). we are sharing from matthew 13 on the parables of the weed/wheat and the mustard seed/yeast.

it is amazing how much you can get out of an investigative bible study with friends who are willing to engage. i was over at daniel's and michael's place and we talked about so many hardcore issues like predestination, will of God, and condemnation. thru the parable of the weed, we come to realize the tendency for man not only to judge but also to condemn when the servants of the Lord took the initiative to ask the Lord whether they shd pull out all the weeds. God's timing is not reflective of his weakness; rather it is his mercy of giving more opportunities for weeds to become wheat.

will be baking a banana bread later on to illustrate how a small amt of yeast can make such a big difference in our lives. going to parallel yeast to the time we spent in prayers. it may just start at 5 minutes out of the entire 24hours and you wonder what effect it can achieve. you dun really feel different before and after praying. but just like yeast, prayers needs time to work its way through the entire dough. when the dough starts to rise, that's when you can really see the power of yeast!

went to catch a piano performance by Ivo Pogorelich, a famous pianist from russia. by the end of the performace, i assure you there are literally people who will go up to him and kiss his fingers, one by one. Pei-I, a piano major i got to know, proclaimed him as god. and boy is he good. the way he plays the piano is crazy, he was so fast and accurate that he literally got to adjust the height of his chair somewhere in the middle of it all so that it will give him more leverage to bang down on the keys. i have to confess i'm a music retard. but looking at him play, it more than reminds me how God can give different people so different talents.

also went to celebrate Andy's bday after that at Jing Yi's place. the cake was awesome and i had almost 2 pots of gao shan cha by myself. jing yi was just shuttling in and out of the kitchen reflling the teapot. i was wondering why she was so busy until i realize that she had been so kind to ensure that everybodys' cups get filled when emptied. but alas, she knows not well enuff. the more she poured, the more i drank and the more i drank, the more she poured. so while the rest were engaged in talking abt Ivo Pogorelich and his marriage to his piano teacher at the age of 22, jing yi and i were engaged separately in a rather intense session of tea-drinking and pot-filling. at the end of it all, my bladder was so full that i had to go. and i think it may very well be the last time Jing Yi let me sample her gao shan cha from taiwan again. o well, it was good while it lasted... :=)

My only class got cancelled today and ashwin, my senior design group mate asked for a meeting. in the email, he said that he has noticed several weaknesses in our team that must be brought to light and he encourages the rest of us to to do so as well. i confess we really did a horrible horrible job at the last presentation and i think the team members got rather heated up later on as we got bashed by professor palekar, our faculty advisor. palekar tot we have been quarelling and kept asking during the session whether we are working together fine. ella is out of town for her thanksgiving break with her boyfriend while chances are ashwin will be ard the whole period. I'll be away from monday afternoon to friday at boston with Tony. so got to try to do as much as i can before that. discipline patrick, discipline. no more pretending to read in bed when my truest intention is to induce myself to fall asleep so that i wun feel as guilty as jumping into bed straight from the start. as i am typing this, i can't imagine a 25 year old still  whining about taking naps. that sucks, yah?