For a lot of people, Thanksgiving is a time for family. After getting an invite to meet up with my cousins in LA and counting my free miles, I decided to skip Vancouver's rain in favor of the desert sun.

Ging picked me up from the Van Nuys fly away and we went straight to Jollibee to sample the chicken joy meal I missed, then to her mom's place for beef sinigang. The vacation was proving to be a gastronomic treat.

The next day, we braved two and a half hours on the freeway to Palm Springs. It almost felt like we were chasing the sun. Palm canyon is a nice getaway equipped with all the distractions to keep any vacation fun. I enjoyed hanging out at the pool and playing hoops at the gym.

Our turkey less thanksgiving dinner was a hit. I missed reconnecting with family, and being surrounded with a rowdy bunch chased my blues away. The morning after, we hiked the calories off and explored the quaint downtown scene. We got lost looking for Cabazon and found ourselves on the Morongo wind mills. It didn't really look like people were hardly hit by recession when we visited the outlet malls to witness the Black Friday madness, the store lineups were crazy long.

Aerial tramway - that was the highlight of the trip. Imagine being on a rotating gondola that was going up to 8000 feet of elevation, 5 towers, and 4 different kinds of climate in 15 minutes - sensory overload for sure. The scene change from desert to snow capped peaks was truly breath taking. At the top, you can do cross country skiing and snow shoeing, there's also a restaurant, and a theater. For 20 bucks, I could do this every week, if only Grouse was that cheap.

Too short - that's what I thought, but then again that's what makes vacations more valuable, something to look forward to. I guess if everyday was like this, we would appreciate it less, that's the tragedy of being human, sooner or later we get bored of utopia and want something new.

For now I am intoxicated by the blur of the past 5 days - I hope the buzz stays..

Your Love Never Fails
by Jesus Culture

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There maybe pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

You make all things work together for my good

Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;
   all day long they press their attack.
My slanderers pursue me all day long;
   many are attacking me in their pride.
When I am afraid,
   I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
   in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
   What can mortal man do to me?

Psalms 56:1-4

dear God,

and the plot thickens, people are spreading words against me to bring me down and mar my years of hard work, dedication, and commitment to the team. this is rather distressing but You know the truth and You know my heart. and soon it will come out that i did not do anything to purposely destroy something that i devoted my time to help build. their accusations will prove to be nothing but lies.

i am just human and powerless, i cannot fight this battle alone, but You are God and You know what is just and righteous. You know what's best for me, redeem me Oh Lord from this pit and enlighten my detractors. may they be touched by the Holy Spirit and may they have an encounter with You that will enrich their lives, soften their heart and remove their hatred and biases.

in Jesus' name, i pray.

Amen.

"‘Cause good things get better I know they do
Yeah they do, I know they do
Good things get better for me and you
And that's true, you know it's true"

- keaton simons, "good things get better"

"Every human being on this earth is born with a tragedy, and it isn't original sin. He's born with the tragedy that he has to grow up. That he has to leave the nest, the security, and go out to do battle. He has to lose everything that is lovely and fight for a new loveliness of his own making, and it's a tragedy. A lot of people don't have the courage to do it."
- Helen Hayes (1900 - 1993)

after this great tragedy of betrayal, of hearing bad words from the most unlikely people, and of being promised something then being let down with no explanation, i feel blindsided, like a train wreck. now i am left with pieces to pick up and debris to clean and throw to the trash.

i wish i can say: "i quit, this is too much for me to handle, i give up." but then it's not over until it's over, and for me, sadly, or fortunately, depending on which half of the glass you want to look at, it's not done yet.

i am now stranded halfway across the globe, all because i believed in something that vanished into thin air. i am now banished because i wanted to communicate and share how i felt. i am now labeled because i am misunderstood. will wonders ever cease? will tides ever turn? we'll never know if we don't stay until the curtains fall..

and so the show must go on,