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Birthday blessings


#1: Being able to bless co-workers through Asian buns: I woke up late for work, leaving no time to eat breakfast at home like I usually do. I started dreaming of the Asian buns I could eat at the bakery downstairs and simultaneously thinking about how I wanted to respond to co-workers when they would inevitable wish me a happy birthday. The idea of blessing others came to mind and I ended up bringing 15 buns to the office instead of 1. I'm not sure if this was the HS but I could tell this counter-cultural act left an impression on my co-workers. Hoping people come to see over time that it is the grace of God that allows me to be this way..

#2: Discovering a surprising loophole in the airline refund system: Back in April I bought airline tickets in advance to visit my brother in Seattle during Labor Day. Of course back then I thought I would for sure be in PHL and booked tickets that way. When I found out I was leaving the country, I called American Airlines to find a way to at least get a voucher for the ticket value, for which I was utterly unsuccessful. Yesterday I received an email from AA saying that my flight was rescheduled to leave more than 2 hours earlier, which made me eligible to ask for a full refund (refund policy for involuntary schedule change here). Amazing.

#3: Finding out I'm taking a group of freshmen to Brunei: Working at a small college setting has been so interesting because everybody knows everybody and every interaction matters. On my first day at work a few weeks ago, I met an American professor in the food court who would be leading a week-long trip to Brunei in September. Well it turns out they need a woman to help chaperone the students and develop our curriculum for the week of learning across boundaries. I know nearly nothing about biodiversity and lab experiments, but am available and willing to help. Hoping this trip could open a lot of avenues for me to be immersed with the new students!

#4: Receiving a compliment about active listening: I was speaking with a professor today during a networking session, mostly just asking questions to get to know his past experiences and interests. After he shared for several minutes, I paraphrased what he said into one sentence to confirm I understood correctly. His response to my commentary? "Wow that was excellent active listening - gold star." So thankful for the counseling class I took in grad school last semester to help me be a better listener/counselor/human being..

#5: Introducing Taiwanese shaved ice to others: I like Korean shaved ice but Taiwanese shaved ice is different (and phenomenal). I've been on the search for Taiwanese shaved ice here in Singapore and got to try a place recommended to me with some friends after work. The shaved ice was amazing but what trumped my personal enjoyment was being able to introduce others to something I deeply believed in. Sound familiar?

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