The Yam children's Christmas dinner party was a hit! Haha... it was great to have the four of us take over the kitchen, and everything turned out great!

It was great to get together as a(n extended) family again to spend time with one another... and I certainly got to feed my mah-jongg craving this Christmas too! Haha... I guess the weird genes of the Yam family most likely come from my mom's side, which makes it technically a "Choi" thing... we had a lot of fun until 2.30 am playing 4 rounds of mah-jongg while listening to our parents sing karaoke and dance (ballroom =p) in the small living room... haha... it's so funny. =p

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Merry Christmas!

It's been quite a hectic Christmas holiday especially given my limited number of free days this year, and having to take care of various things for work...

I finally got to take a breather at a weird time today: waiting for the rest of my party to arrive at the restaurant for our occasional "cousins' get-together". It was finally a time where I could just sit, reflect, and praise Him for his unceasing strength, blessings, grace, and love, and especially for his ultimate sacrifice that frees us from the consequence of sinfulness...

Christmas service at church tonight was quite unexpected -- I knew there was a big production going on but I didn't expect an orchestra in addition to the mass choir... it was all pretty cool, and quite amazing. It's an awesome feeling to praise together in a large setting... I'm definitely looking forward to it at Urbana. =)

This year has also been really nice just to hang out with my family. That's the beauty of having 3 siblings... we can play mahjongg or Scrabble together without having to find extra people... or in the spirit of the Yam family, we can just be weird together. [We come home from bubble tea tonight at 12.30 and our dad just finished making some fish soup.] Haha... it's great. =)

Merry Christmas everyone. =)

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-- Isaiah 9:6

Ah... the annual Christmas "booking" game. I've switched from Excel to Palm Desktop software this year, haha.

This is also the first year that I have to find time after work to meet up with people who are back in town, not to mention consider how busy work is in the next week and a half... and it has been doubly difficult because time is even more limited since I'm leaving for Urbana on the 26th and I'm gone until the 3rd...

Crazy!

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Oh Toronto...



I haven't gone skating at Nathan Phillips Square since high school... and there were surprisingly relatively few people there tonight! Coupled with the warmer than seasonal weather, it was a beautiful night! =)

On an aside, I was just randomly thinking today... technology has definitely brought the world closer together... communications are so much easier to keep in touch with people whom we've lost touch... but the most significant medium is neither email nor instant messaging, but rather, Google. =p

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

So, now that CFA level 1 is over... what next?

Talks of CA.CBV are in the air... are there any takers?? But it's all a result of my upbringing: you can never have enough education. =p

Haha... although, it *is* nice to take it easy again now, not having to study after work. SO... maybe I'll find some time to have some "parties"... sophisticated ones only, of course. =p

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

No time! No time! Can't believe there is only like... 2 weeks until Christmas! I have so much work to do before that... and I just kind of started another client today too...

Haha, as a result of last week's machine hours, I think I've readjusted my sleeping schedule to 2am... although, I'm not completely sure whether I had shifted it earlier than 2am for real anyway... =p

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

All finished! Haha, we'll see how it goes... results come out early February or something like that. I've been so disorganized with the CFA -- didn't meticulously look over the examination ticket and instructions, leisurely walked to the centre prior to the exam, didn't have my ziploc bag to hold my personal belongings... and if it weren't for Jonathan, I may not have had brought my calculator into the exam centre. =p

SO thankful this week is finally done with -- it was crazy at work, and I was trying to put in as many hours as possible studying -- "machine hours" are a lot harder at work when there is no real downtime to take power naps, but praise God for carrying me through it!

After the exam, we spent the rest of the day winding down watching the Leafs game (probably the first game that I've watched (almost) in its entirety), and playing an intense game of Scrabble over James Bond "Die Another Day". It was just nice to relax... at least for now before I have to catch up on a lot of work that I've backlogged from two weeks ago...

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.

Ah!!! NEED TO STUDY!!!

CFA exam is on Saturday... doesn't help that this week is a busy one at work!!!

This week has been going back to university "machine hours"... which I have been sustaining somehow all by His strength...

Until next time, this is Gladys Yam.