Last weekend I flew to SF for my friend G's wedding. I was one of the bridesmaids. It's been five days from the wedding and I'm still tired. 

1:00 AM - Early Morning on Wedding Day
I had just hopped into the big fluffy queen sized bed at the fancy Intercontinental Hotel and was woken up by the sound of the doorbell. It was the bride's mom, two older sisters, and niece (the other bridesmaid) coming to brush the bride's hair. They also brought over some sweet soup.

2:30 AM - Still Early Morning on Wedding Day
We were all finally able to crawl into the bed.

5:00 AM - Sunrise on Wedding Day
Having slept less than three hours, I was woken up by the sound of my alarm clock (so was the bride). We both stumbled into the bathroom to brush our teeth and wash our faces.

5:30 AM - Morning on Wedding Day
Five hairstylists and make up artists marched through the hotel room doors to make us all more pretty for the big day.





6:30 AM - Still Morning on Wedding Day
The bride's mom and two older sisters arrived to made beautiful too.

7:30 AM - An Hour Later on Wedding Day
The bride and groom's girlfriends arrived to get their hair done.

8:15 AM - Just a Little Later on Wedding Day
The groom arrives with his friends for a serious game of Jeopardy. No pass. No wedding!





9:00 AM - Tea Ceremony With the Bride's Family





9:30 AM - Pictures, Pictures, and more Pictures of the Wedding Party
Let me tell ya, cheesy poses and creative photographers (3 professional and about 7 unprofessionals with professional cameras) take great wedding photos. Unfortunately, I was unable to take that many pics because I had to stop to pose every 5 minutes.




11:00 AM - Tea Ceremony With the Groom's Family





12:00 PM - Lunch!!!
I wanted to eat, but I couldn't. My dress was filling a bit tight. The groom's men didn't have a problem chowing down.


1:00 PM - Rehearsing One Last Time Before Wedding



2:00 PM - Wedding
While I was standing in the front a big wasp decides to land on my arm for 5 seconds. Luckily it did not sting me. I really didn't want to be screaming "NOOOOO" when the priest asked the question "Do you take this man to be your husband?"

2:30 - 4:00 - Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures
Everyone got a little bit of sunburned.



4:30 PM - Arrived at Restaurant For the Banquet
Oh finally got to rest up a bit in an air conditioned room before the evening activities. It was kinda cool watching the wedding cake being put together and how fast the restaurant staff decorated the room. I was like WHOA!





6:00 PM - Signing the Guest In
The groom asked that the bride's maids go help sign the guest before the professional guest sign in women arrived. I was preoccupied by a cute baby for a little while, but he crawled away from me so I had to concentrate on the guests.

6:15 PM - Greeting the Guest
Since none of the bride's maid bothered to memorize the numbers for the table, we just stood at the doors to greet the guests. The groom's men on the other hand did memorize the numbers, so they seated all of the guests.

7:00 PM - Walking Down the Aisle Again

7:15 PM - Food Finally!!!
Appetizer! I was starving! I would've taken a pic of the food, but well...my food was served to me in little tiny plates. I also didn't want the video camera to catch me not paying my full attention to the bride and groom.

7:30 PM - Shark Fin Soup and the Toast
After only two sips we walked around to make the toast to all of the guests. When we finally made it back, my soup was cold.

8:00 - 1:00 AM - More Food, Speeches, Home Videos, Games, and Lot's of Drinking
Too tired to go into details, but it was very memorable.




After spending only one (very long) day with the bride and groom's family and friends, I realize that they are probably one of the coolest, caring, and kindest two people that I know. Their families are super duper friendly and their friends are awesome people. I don't think that there was a single moment all day when there wasn't someone asking me if I was feeling okay, if I wanted to sit in the car, did I need sunblock, water, or food. Even some of my own closest friends are not as 細心 as these people that I've only know for a couple of hours.

I was still very tired on Monday and I had to wake up early to catch my flight back to LA. Unfortunately for me, my flight was delayed. I was stuck in traffic forever driving back home from the airport. This whole entire week had been super busy and stressful at work. Argh!!!

Have a nice weekend everyone!!!

Due to some irregularities in the way my body functions my doctor has put me on a diet until I'm back to normal.

Diet Instructions

Absolute "No" List:
Potato
Sweets - candy, chocolate, etc.
Cakes
French Fries
Donuts
Juice
Soda

"No" List: foods that contain high calorie counts and that you should limit to 1-2 tbsp per meal.
Sweet Fruits - watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, banana, mango, pineapple
Beans
Fried Foods
Lobster, Crab, Shrimp
Barbecued Foods
Preserved Foods
Pasta/Tortilla/Bread

Rice and oatmeal are okay.

Oatmeal: 2 tbsp dried oat boiled in water, add 1/2 apple or celery, add cottage cheese or peanut butter

AM snack: milk, 1/2 bagel, cream cheese, peanut butter, egg
PM snack: celery, carrots, cheese, fruits, cold cuts

My  favorite fruits for the summer has been cut out. I love bread. I like to eat oatmeal with brown sugar and dried cranberries. I love shellfish. I love juice. CRAP! #$@%!@$%

Anyways...I'm off to SF until Monday. Have a nice weekend!

HOW TO REALLY LIVE

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. Please send this to everyone you care about..

Sometimes I wonder why I get these emails forwarded to me at work...

The love story of Ralph and Edna
                           
                Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.
                Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.
                When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.
                The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead.'

               
                Edna replied…………….

 

'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry.    How soon can I go home?'
               
                Happy Mental Health day!
               
                You can do your bit by remembering to send this email to an unstable friend.  I just did. 

My 4th of July fun began on 10:00 am on Thursday when the stock market closed early. Yay! Since it was really up in the air whether my cousins from SF were going to drive down to LA or not, I didn't make any plans for this long weekend. Luckily, my friend saved me from a possible uneventful weekend by rolling down the 101 for an hour from Camarillo for some quality Rennie time. 

Since it was an early day at work, I decided to take my sister and grandma to a new HK style cafe that opened in Rosemead called "It Cafe." The food was horrible. Can someone really f*ck up a club sandwich (it's just lettuce, bacon, egg, tomatoes, and toast) and simple soup noodles? Apparently so. I will be writing a one star review on Yelp in an effort to save anyone else from being lured to this cafe by the big and pretty ad in the SingTao newspaper.

Later on in the afternoon, my friend ML and I watched the movie "Wanted." Oh it was good. There was an insane amount of blood and violence, bullets flying (not just straight), and car chasing (and train) action. I love it! I love it! I love it! I could marry the Wesley Gibson character in the movie just for that one part toward the end when he's practically flying through this factory killing people off left and right. I highly recommend this movie, but don't bring your kids.

After the movie, ML and I had dinner at Yakitori Shin Sen-gumi in MPK. I love the decor in this restaurant, hip and casual, and not the least bit intimidating. The food was a little bit over priced (but not expensive) for the proportions, but it was quite tasty.




The next day (4th of July), we had dim sum at Elite where we ordered too much food. When we got there, the line was out the door. Since the hostess told me that it was going to be at least a 15-20 minute wait, I decided to go check out the fireworks be sold in a booth next to the restaurant. Just as I started walking, the hostess called my number. I did an immediate about face and ran back into the restaurant. I was so glad that I didn't have to wait outside in the heat.


Next on the list, was another movie. We really should've movie hopped the night before to save money, but I didn't want to spend 4 hours sitting in a movie theater. Anyways, we decided to "Get Smart." The movie poster looked really dumb and I had no intention whatsoever to watch this movie, but it was surprisingly funny and I laughed throughout the whole entire movie. I give this movie 4 stars.

Afterwards, we did some shopping at the Japanese super market and the cute Asian gift shops. We also stopped at Pa Pa Walk for a quick snack, oyster pancake and mango shaved ice. Have I told you guys how much I love Taiwanese shaved ice? It's so good. I actually had shaved ice the night before too.




It was still too early for fireworks after we were done eating, so we decided to rent some dvds at Blockbuster to kill time. We decided, well I decided, to rent The Tudors and Californication. Later on in the evening, we drove over to Barnes park to watch fireworks.


I don't know how to adjust the settings in my camera so that I can take a good pic of the fireworks.


That pretty much concludes my celebration of this year's Independence Day. A little boring? Yes. I guess that's what I get for not planning ahead of time. At least I didn't have to spend too much money. Now I'm just going to relax the rest of the weekend.