dinner today was just like old times.
the laughter, the camaraderie, the love and warmth of old friends.
it suddenly felt like i had never left.

discussions of the imaginary 'big black man', and torsion, of misadventures (like shoveling snow with badminton racquets) and of good times.

this feels like home. with the friends who have become like family.

blackhawk service was just as i remembered it to be.
i didn't get to try my cranberry muffin, but i did try 'in the dark' and 'wisconsin cranberry' babcock icecream.
i didn't get chipotle, but i did get hongkong wok and weary traveler.
i didn't go to wendt, but i wandered through the halls of science hall once more, up and down the stairs, into my "favourite" lab.

this visit has, indeed, been a balm for my soul.

catching the sunrise at bascom brought back so many memories. was it really one year ago? how has time flown by this way? the sun rise then... was it any different from now? the only thing that was lacking now was perhaps, the company. but i wanted this sunrise to be my very own - mine and His alone, even as I marvelled as His fingerprints.

back then, the days were held on tightly even as each fell like sand through my fingers. and now, it's exactly the same.

You have my heart.

there's so much more meaning suddenly to the hymn sung today - How Great Thou Art;
"when thru the woods and forest glades i wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
when i look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
and see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze"

and my soul sings unto You.