9/22/07:
wow. i started crying BEFORE the ceremony, during the ceremony, after the ceremony & at the reception. ok, granted i am a crier (who can forget the AADAC commercial that aired in alberta, with the "he's not heavy, he's my brother" song and the montage of childhood memories. i mist up even thinking of that commercial today. & my heart softens when i think of the cotton commercial ("the touch, the feel ... cotton : the fabric of our lives.") brilliant advertising if you ask me, but i digress.). okay, so i cry. but i was not the only one. everyone was crying. especially the groom. but oh, how breathtaking it all was. YJK cleans up real nice. he looked so handsome & so full of love for SB. i've seen that love before, but it's one thing to see it when you're sitting on the couch watching "the host" and another thing to see it shining in his eyes as she walks down the aisle. SB's mom was also absolutely stunning. and her father & her grandmother (the cutest grandmother in the world, actually the cutest person in the world) both looked like they were going to burst with pride. and for good reason.
when SB came down the aisle, i gasped. she always looks fantastic. always. without a doubt. even when i slept over at her apartment near "god-i'm-dead" gordon head, she'd wake up looking gorgeous. but at her wedding, she looked like magic. breathtaking magic. and nothing i say will do it justice.
the ceremony was sweet. YJK's voice quivered when he said his vows. SB kept pulling her strapless gown up to avoid immodest flashing.
in short, it was perfect.
boy were we starved. by we, i mean A.K. and M.T. we booted it over to fourth for some food. a place that served mimosas/brunch. very necessary.
sitting on a patio, on a beautiful vancouver afternoon, with friends, soaking in kits. it's all good.
the rest of the day (pre-reception) was spent shopping along fourth ave., leisurely strolling, checking out gravity pope (i bought a pair of fun, yet practical & comfy shoes for work), and other shoppes. time slipped away and before we knew it, it was time to gussy up for the reception.
so, i had brought only one wedding outfit. a black dress. maybe i should have brought something to wear to ceremony and something else to wear to the reception. but i didn't. i also forgot my contact lenses. oh well. so, i dressed down my dress for the ceremony by putting a v-neck sweater over it and wearing toned down jewelry. i dressed it up by taking off the sweater, adding a shawl & putting on some bling. i have learned a lot from tim gunn because that look took me from day to night and could possibly have taken me back to day again if i weren't such a geriatric.
the reception was awesome. there was a traditional tea ceremony (done to welcome the bride to the groom's family). very reminiscent of ceremonies around indian weddings. it was very cool to see SB and YJK in traditional korean clothes. all in all, much wine was partaked in, delicious foodstuffs consumed, dancing shoes worn down. oh yeah, the dance floor really got electric when YJK got down to boogie. he's the best dancer i've seen in a long time. seriously. his energy is infectious. i danced with S.D. and her man. i'll always remember when, on a prior visit to vancouver, a bunch of us (including SB and YJK) went to granville st. for dinner and then to a fancy lounge for drinks (and dancing) afterwards. YJK was on fire that night. the look of feigned horror on SB's face when he'd tempt her to dance with him will still make me smile even when i'm 100 years old.
oh, before i forget ... as part of the korean ceremony, YJK picked up SB and carried her around in a circle in front of all the guests. i'm guessing (since my korean is rusty) that he's taken her on. if my dad was SB's dad, he'd have made some really awful joke about how "her spending habits are YJK's problem now." hardy har har.
SB's dad's speech made me CRY so much. it was the sweetest dad speech i've heard. maybe ever. and if you've seen SB's dad, he's the world's cutest. so it was doubly awesome.
after the evening ended, we got home and i crawled into my couchbed. exhausted. but super duper happy!!
i miss my friends so much. sometimes i wonder why i'm such a dunderhead and i don't just move back to the motherland. but then i hear random violent screaming outside my window in brooklyn and i think, "and what ... give up all this?"
[insert smiley face here]
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
vancouver, interrupted
but to be continued now.
the rest of 09/21/07 went like this:
D.B. wisely pointed me in the direction of free interwebs access at the court. what a vastly different experience from going to the court in new york.
for instance,
1) Not once did anyone yell, shout or otherwise verbally abuse me
2) Not once was my intelligence and propriety doubted
3) Not once was i subject to any searches, body-cavity or otherwise
in fact, the sign just inside the lobby of the building said that if you had a camera with you, you had to check it in at the sheriff's station. so i faithfully went over to disclose my camera and check it in. the lovely sheriff at the station (wearing a wicked awesome hat, by the way) was so soft-spoken, helpful & courteous (three qualities NO ONE working for the US/NYS government has EVER possessed) but he told me that if i kept my camera in my bag and didn't pull it out, i could just take it up with me. at first he thought i was at the courthouse to see the swearing in ceremony taking place that afternoon. in which case, i was welcome to take my camera up to the atrium. i actually stumbled upon that swearing in ceremony accidentally, anyway. but he said i could take my camera up to the law library as long as i didn't take it out of my bag. there were no rules about phones either. just cameras.
i got up to the library, which was 1) quiet & serene; 2) populated by employees who were both able & inclined to assist; and 3) clean & non-scented. thank you my sweet homeland. in short, it was an oasis. not only that but the computers are for PUBLIC use: don't have passwords, don't have to prove that you are a lawyer or a law student, don't have to sign over your first-born, provide your social insurance number (the canadian version of that crumbly piece of green paper in the u.s. which is the holy grail to getting anything done -- except S.I.N. cards look actually like cards and are not so fragile as to blow out of your wallet if you sneeze while carrying it. piece of crap!!)
now the fact of this free computer use might not seem significant to those of you who live in places where "public" isn't necessarily a dirty word. i was amazed by how accessible the courthouse library is given that when i was studying for the bar exam (the NY State bar exam), i called all the law schools in NYC to see if i could come and study there for the bar. apparently, these hallowed institutions permit only students & alumni to use their facilities. forget borrowing books - just sitting there and reading the books you brought from home is verboten. wtf!? anyway. i just had a flashback of how irate that made me. yes, the fancy NYC public library wasn't too far from my place but the hours were pretty limited. anyway. i'm getting over it.
so, internet-ing done. my next stop was the pan pacific hotel, spa utopia where S.B.'s wedding party (i wasn't in the wedding party but got special-out-of-town-visitor status) was having a spa day. i signed up for a hot stone massage. it was really amazing. like muscle melting magic. honestly, i can't say that it's something i'd always get (because the masochist in me doesn't believe it's a massage unless it hurts so bad i cry) but it was definitely worth it. i didn't see S.B. before going in for my treatment, but i met the entire wedding party (S.B.'s side), her mom, her aunt, her cousin, etc. once i got out of my appointment. S.B. came out into the lounging area, looking resplendent. seriously. she could wear a paper bag, cinch it here & there, throw some binder clips on her ears and look like a billion bucks. anyone who knows her agrees with me. she would blow everyone on project runway out of the water.
the ladies were all going out for dinner post-spa, but i had made plans for dinner with S.D. & P.B., two more friends from law school. i think my popularity really peaked in law school.
dinner was great. i met P.B. in yaletown. S.D. was held up for a bit by work, and came and joined us when we shifted locations for dessert. it was super catching up with them and knowing that some things never change & that distance doesn't make the heart grow more absent or less fond or more forgetful or something. yippy.
the rest of 09/21/07 went like this:
D.B. wisely pointed me in the direction of free interwebs access at the court. what a vastly different experience from going to the court in new york.
for instance,
1) Not once did anyone yell, shout or otherwise verbally abuse me
2) Not once was my intelligence and propriety doubted
3) Not once was i subject to any searches, body-cavity or otherwise
in fact, the sign just inside the lobby of the building said that if you had a camera with you, you had to check it in at the sheriff's station. so i faithfully went over to disclose my camera and check it in. the lovely sheriff at the station (wearing a wicked awesome hat, by the way) was so soft-spoken, helpful & courteous (three qualities NO ONE working for the US/NYS government has EVER possessed) but he told me that if i kept my camera in my bag and didn't pull it out, i could just take it up with me. at first he thought i was at the courthouse to see the swearing in ceremony taking place that afternoon. in which case, i was welcome to take my camera up to the atrium. i actually stumbled upon that swearing in ceremony accidentally, anyway. but he said i could take my camera up to the law library as long as i didn't take it out of my bag. there were no rules about phones either. just cameras.
i got up to the library, which was 1) quiet & serene; 2) populated by employees who were both able & inclined to assist; and 3) clean & non-scented. thank you my sweet homeland. in short, it was an oasis. not only that but the computers are for PUBLIC use: don't have passwords, don't have to prove that you are a lawyer or a law student, don't have to sign over your first-born, provide your social insurance number (the canadian version of that crumbly piece of green paper in the u.s. which is the holy grail to getting anything done -- except S.I.N. cards look actually like cards and are not so fragile as to blow out of your wallet if you sneeze while carrying it. piece of crap!!)
now the fact of this free computer use might not seem significant to those of you who live in places where "public" isn't necessarily a dirty word. i was amazed by how accessible the courthouse library is given that when i was studying for the bar exam (the NY State bar exam), i called all the law schools in NYC to see if i could come and study there for the bar. apparently, these hallowed institutions permit only students & alumni to use their facilities. forget borrowing books - just sitting there and reading the books you brought from home is verboten. wtf!? anyway. i just had a flashback of how irate that made me. yes, the fancy NYC public library wasn't too far from my place but the hours were pretty limited. anyway. i'm getting over it.
so, internet-ing done. my next stop was the pan pacific hotel, spa utopia where S.B.'s wedding party (i wasn't in the wedding party but got special-out-of-town-visitor status) was having a spa day. i signed up for a hot stone massage. it was really amazing. like muscle melting magic. honestly, i can't say that it's something i'd always get (because the masochist in me doesn't believe it's a massage unless it hurts so bad i cry) but it was definitely worth it. i didn't see S.B. before going in for my treatment, but i met the entire wedding party (S.B.'s side), her mom, her aunt, her cousin, etc. once i got out of my appointment. S.B. came out into the lounging area, looking resplendent. seriously. she could wear a paper bag, cinch it here & there, throw some binder clips on her ears and look like a billion bucks. anyone who knows her agrees with me. she would blow everyone on project runway out of the water.
the ladies were all going out for dinner post-spa, but i had made plans for dinner with S.D. & P.B., two more friends from law school. i think my popularity really peaked in law school.
dinner was great. i met P.B. in yaletown. S.D. was held up for a bit by work, and came and joined us when we shifted locations for dessert. it was super catching up with them and knowing that some things never change & that distance doesn't make the heart grow more absent or less fond or more forgetful or something. yippy.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
vancouver, my lovely...
09.21.07:
i love vancouver. i'm entirely biased. but my views are propped up by the yearly survey that tells you the best places to live. they agree. they love it too. but my love for vancouver started when i was a lowly undergrad at UBC. well my love started before that, actually. but i'll start with UBC. i wanted to go to school in vancouver so much that i don't think i applied to any other schools. maybe that was cocky, or maybe it was one of my few decisive decisions.
trips back to vancouver feel like home-comings. i have a few friends kicking around from those days. and a lot of friends in vancouver from law school. so the combination of knowing a city + knowing cool people there = warm, fuzzy feelings. i even love the drizzle. i love knowing where to go. where to eat. where to shop. where to sip lattes. where to browse books. where booster juice is. that i can have wicked awesome sushi that blows NYC sushi out of the water. that i will slot myself back into the lives of my friends as though i was gone in just a blink of the eye.
my first plan was to meet D.B. for lunch. i got the meeting place super early (a hotel where her conference was going on -- p.s. D.B. is in vancouver whenever i seem to be - a feat in itself. and i appreciate it so much, since this visit was going to be a victoria-free one (unfortunately - just not enough time - i already felt like the weekend would breeze by).)
we met & had lunch at the hotel. hugs all around. good hugs. hearty hugs. the kind of hug where you feel every ounce of love. not sophisticated hugs where arms & shoulders barely graze and i always seem to go in too fast and too close. we had the exact same order. the burgers were yummy. before we knew it, an hour was up and D.B. had to go back to her conference. so not enough time. D.B. and i are talker-machines when we're together. so 1 hour is scratch the surface, i've been living sort of chatter. not the heart to hearts we could have if i would just move my butt back to victoria (i'm sure D.B. would take me moving to vancouver also).
my tedious, tangent-filled, verbose ramblings about the rest of my friday will have to wait until later.
i love vancouver. i'm entirely biased. but my views are propped up by the yearly survey that tells you the best places to live. they agree. they love it too. but my love for vancouver started when i was a lowly undergrad at UBC. well my love started before that, actually. but i'll start with UBC. i wanted to go to school in vancouver so much that i don't think i applied to any other schools. maybe that was cocky, or maybe it was one of my few decisive decisions.
trips back to vancouver feel like home-comings. i have a few friends kicking around from those days. and a lot of friends in vancouver from law school. so the combination of knowing a city + knowing cool people there = warm, fuzzy feelings. i even love the drizzle. i love knowing where to go. where to eat. where to shop. where to sip lattes. where to browse books. where booster juice is. that i can have wicked awesome sushi that blows NYC sushi out of the water. that i will slot myself back into the lives of my friends as though i was gone in just a blink of the eye.
my first plan was to meet D.B. for lunch. i got the meeting place super early (a hotel where her conference was going on -- p.s. D.B. is in vancouver whenever i seem to be - a feat in itself. and i appreciate it so much, since this visit was going to be a victoria-free one (unfortunately - just not enough time - i already felt like the weekend would breeze by).)
we met & had lunch at the hotel. hugs all around. good hugs. hearty hugs. the kind of hug where you feel every ounce of love. not sophisticated hugs where arms & shoulders barely graze and i always seem to go in too fast and too close. we had the exact same order. the burgers were yummy. before we knew it, an hour was up and D.B. had to go back to her conference. so not enough time. D.B. and i are talker-machines when we're together. so 1 hour is scratch the surface, i've been living sort of chatter. not the heart to hearts we could have if i would just move my butt back to victoria (i'm sure D.B. would take me moving to vancouver also).
my tedious, tangent-filled, verbose ramblings about the rest of my friday will have to wait until later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
