Monday, May 21, 2007

winding up and down

so much has happened in the past days since the wedding...
here are the headlines for upcoming topics
but i have to survive the second reception this sunday with 400 guests I don't know...

wedding was the happiest one I've ever been to
BUT I ALMOST MISSED THE CEREMONY
and i don't really remember my speech
nor the 24 hours after that
only to reawaken to sickness that lasts nearly a week
LAST WEEK I BECAME A SOFTBALL WHORE PLAYING IN 4 GAMES
wednesday i thought my grandmother in the Philippines was near death
because my family there wouldn't take care of her properly
but AUNTIE SHIRLEY & BRENDA flew out there
and grandma is stabilized in the hospital

finally did what i promised myself i would do
and nothing is resolved as usual...

hopefully i'll have wedding pics by the time i have the wedding blog ready...

3 months until the first day of school next year...
i'm a sick bastard! really, I am

this is what happens when you teach Catcher in the Rye twice a day every May for 8 years...

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

countdown: 2 days

50 hours until I officially have a sister-in-law... woo hoo!

The stress is building as time runs short in the attempt to have the perfect wedding. Welcome bags still need to be put together. Table placements being shuffled until last night due to a surprise guest. The DJ does not have the music the couple wants and so friends are being called in to bring her graduation CD favor with some of the songs. The crew labeled over a 100 bottles for the welcome bag until 2AM last night, yet tonight appears to be even longer with most of the production needing to be completed before all the guests arrive and tomorrow's rehearsals.

I just can't wait for the welcome get together tonight at Tiki Bar and start seeing some people.
The DJ called me tonday to ask how long my speech is. I don't know. I have yet to commit anything to mind or paper.

I found out Hong & I will be entering with the song "It's a Sunshine Day" from the Brady Bunch. I think we're going to be forced to cheese it up.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

"One Ticket to Paradise"

I have just made my second visit to Hawaii in the past year. M and G are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and three days from now my brother will be wed.
Most important, I needed the last three days to recover from work. Although my life still has a different kind of stress (the wedding), I'm finding myself more calm.

Last Friday, I was at work until 1AM finishing setting up all my lesson plans. J and A met up with me at work after driving 6 hours from Orange County and we chatted at Starbucks where we met up with S and R and ran into a couple of former students Kathleen and Jo-Vee-A-anne, which was odd seeing as how JVu showed up at school during the day. After getting home at nearly 4AM, I finally packed and left for the airport at 6:30AM. I had trouble sleeping on the plane, as usual. But as soon as I arrived in Honolulu, I felt lighter and relaxed. I was so happy to not be working. Of course, the chaos will be waiting for me when I go back a week from today, but for now, I am surrounded by paradise. M and G picked me up and we found Ian and had a pleasant dinner at Assagio's and watched Spider-Man 3. With only a quick nap in the past 36 hours, I finally got to rest.

Sunday was a perfect lazy sunday. I got up to watch the Giants game on Sunday night baseball at 2PM. The phenom rookie Tim Lincecum has plenty of potential and I look forward to seeing a no-hitter one day. We had dinner at Fook Yuen to see if it would be good enough for the rehearsal dinner... maybe. But the best part of the night, the most important part of the night... BUBBIES! I love bubbies. They are known for their homemade mochi. I had a half dozen. The new flavor was French Toast and it was a soft cinnamon... almost a frozen creamy churro. Perfect. Still love the passionfruit, sakura, and guava flavors. Can't get those at Trader Joe's.

Monday was wandering day. I actually woke at 5:30AM... which shocked everyone, but then my brother and the rest realized it was CA time and I really woke at 8:30AM (so I'd still be late for work). I spent hours wandering Ala Moana Park and looking at possible picnic sites for the post-wedding festivities on Saturday and checked out L&L catering. I hung out at the beach, Borders, the movies, Coldstone, and the mall. Walking around for 8 hours severely tested my leg. It was really sore when I finally sat in the car, but it was more because I stopped moving and I needed to elevate it to keep the circulation going. After a short while and an intense Warriors vs. Jazz game, leg pain eased; G made macaroni beef for dinner; we glowed over Heroes; and L and MA showed up at the house with my sister. They finally had their taste of Zippy's chili and we rested during this calm before the storm increases.

Today is my day for me to catch up on me. I'm listening to podcasts, watching shows I've missed, typing, outlining a Best Man speech, and distracting myself from continually thinking about someone who is now consuming my thoughts back in the Bay Area. I'm going to have to do something about that when I get back home. I keep wishing she was here with me...