Eva and Jared's wedding

this past weekend i got to witness and be a part of the unification of one of my most favorite people on this earth with her favorite person, Eva and Jared. she is one of the most caring, considerate and kind people i know and she met someone who can reciprocate of those things for her as well. i've seen their relationship develop and have seen them grow into a great couple meant to spend the rest of their lives together.

they had a beautiful wedding on a winery in Hopland, CA. the wedding details were super personalized and crazy awesome. you can think of this wedding as the epitome of a crafty "Etsy wedding." the bridesmaids spent some time doing crafts for the wedding but Eva likely put in twenty times the time and effort that we did and she did an amazing job of executing the little details that people might not even think to incorporate into their wedding. high fives for that! 

here's a recap in photos!

myself and Eva's brothers (my cousins, Eugene and Alvin)

rehearsal dinner at a local pizzeria

the bridesmaids, minus Joni (Eva's now sister-in-law)

note to self: that dress sucks! donate it immediately! i have a fear/disgust with too many little things all in one place and can't believe i allowed that to be on my body. it looks bug-like to me. how oh howww did that happen? 

do-it-yourself photo booth area. Rikki made an awesome photo booth with a screen so that people can take and print their own photos. inside is a DSLR and printer.

this is the backdrop to the photo booth. we made that! the paper squares pop up so it has a 3D effect. pretty cool, yeah?

it's hard to see very well from this photo of a photo but you get the gist. i can't wait to get the digital copies. 

pretty winery backround

nowadays people typically hand out bubbles to celebrate the finalization of "i do's" but Eva put together these flags that say "cheers," "J & E" and "hooray!" as well as these noisemakers.

oh...there are the bubbles! along with fans with the program printed on them. 

Eva crocheted this for the greeting table. cute, huh? note the popcorn she's holding. i'm telling you, it's the little details that really make all of this special!

personalized matchbooks

in place of a guestbook, a poster with animated characters that look like the couple. Jared's sister did a lot of the graphics for their wedding including the save-the-dates and invitations. everything she did was super cute and exactly what i would imagine Eva would want.

these were the pinned onto family members. i've never seen succulents used for such a thing but it was a really unique touch.

Lauren, Evelyn, the beautiful bride and myself.

we made that marquee BLISS sign out of foam core, cardboard, spray paint and stringed lights. pretttty cool, isn't it?

i would say that she was exceptionally beautiful on her wedding day but she's already intensely beautiful every day of her life. what makes her even more awesome is that she's humble about it. still, she could not have looked more gorgeous in that dress!

weather perfect, ceremony short = how a wedding is best enjoyed

next in line! my brother Jeremy and my future sister-in-law Laura are getting married in february! i'm so excited for them! also note my brother's Conan O'brien hair. 

my family

pepper haired dad, the "aunt who's first words were 'where's the booze'," my future sister-in-law, and Chinese Conan. 

the whole Choy side of Eva's family. of course the only white guy in the pic towers over everybody else.

those streams of fabric draped on the ceiling were measured, cut, dyed, sewed and hung by us! lots of work, but the outcome was worth it.

personalized napkins

wedding favors were test tubes filled with tea. great idea. super cute too!

our "place cards," mini baguettes from La Boulange

all smiles!

in lieu of cake there was a dessert table full of small bites all made by Eva's friend Meera. are these pears not the cutest thing ever?

hot chocolate with homemade caramel, mint or plain marshmallows

sunset!

speech time! Jared let a couple tears flow, which always adds a nice emotional touch!

Evelyn, who was next in line to give her speech said something along the lines of "i can't do this now" with a stream of tears falling down her cheeks. but she did and did an excellent job. 

Eva made the cake topper. adorable!

Libby!!!

Eva changed into a very pretty custom made chinese dress. 

Evelyn and i with our gifted flasks full of vodka. salut!

bridesmaids! these two were awesome to share all of the pre-wedding festivities with. bachelorette parties, craft days, wedding days, etc. they are so much fun and just cool people in general. sometimes you're stuck doing things with people you don't really care for but these two made everything a breeze mostly because they're easy going and funny. awesome good times, guys!

all pink all day!

Libby, Jared, Lindsey, Meera, Sherwin, myself, Lauren

shots of gin with the groom. i'm aware that shots and gin don't belong in the same sentence. but it happened anyway. 

Eva, m'love, i am so very happy for you! twas a beautiful wedding! i hope that all of the late nights and early mornings were worth it because the little details of your wedding made it extra special. Jared has always been such a good support for you and i'm glad that he's now a part of our family. i love you guys so much! congrats to your forever!

sunny day: a philosophical journal entry

i was going through a travel journal that i keep and found this random entry i'd written three and a half years ago that has absolutely nothing to do with travel. it was pretty interesting to read as it's my very own words from years prior. i don't think there was anything that sparked this entry except that it was a super sunny day out and sometimes on sunny days i can't help but feel especially light and happy. apparently on this day i felt semi-philosophical too. i definitely still feel the same as i did three and a half years ago. there are no highs without lows and the world would be non-functionting without the yin and the yang (which i wrote as "ying and yang." oops!). 

side note: i mention Blockbuster, which is such a thing of the past....

well ain't that the truth!! 

nothing

i would be nothing without these people....

tre, meiche, kim, jax, steph

eva

ize

absolutely nothing! 
my backbone. my source of laughter. my pick-me-up. my Dear Abby. my family.

you too, Kris, Pat, Maria, Marjie, and Libby!

"you're interesting," except that i'm actually not

it has been brought to my attention quite a few times in my life that i'm "an interesting person." sometimes that's a good thing but sometimes that's a bad thing, no? i'm pretty certain these people don't mean "you're weird" but who knows, i could be wrong. when i've asked what they mean by "you're interesting" they typically say something along the lines of having done a lot of stuff in my life and/or having a lot of things going on all the time. essentially, i'm apparently always out and about doing something. i assume these people mean this in a positive manner and i can only attest based on how they say it. it pretty much sounds like "you do this and that as well as this and that!" while i'm flattered that people think i've got a lot going on in my life, i believe this to be false.

sure, i do a lot of random stuff and like to keep myself entertained with friends, food and activity, but i don't think i partake in more things than anybody else does. if the idea of my supposed interesting life is based on instagram photos or the things i say on a facebook feed, then you are surely mistaken, Good Sir or Madam! for every photo you see of me doing something awesome, there are many more hours i spend just sitting on the couch watching tv. you can ask my roommates. they often come home to find me knocked out on the couch after having depleted my dvr capacity down to 5%. i quite frequently decline late nights at the bar in exchange for pajamas and a whole lot of nothingness. while some people play instruments, are in sports leagues or have a passionate hobby, i can't say that i even slightly dabble in those things. i wouldn't say that i travel more than others, am more knowledgeable than others (quite the contrary, actually), or am particularly great at any one thing. so how in the world am i so misconstrued as "interesting?"

my personal guess on why anyone would ever think of me as a subject of interest is simply because i have an opinion and am not one to withhold my thoughts. also, i think my blunt honesty and unapologetic sarcasm is sometimes refreshing to people in a world where so many are afraid of what others will think of them. it's not because i eat deliciously, attend random events, or share awesome times with friends that makes me interesting. i'm pretty sure it's more so about what i have to say and how i go about saying it that brings about any intrigue. my life is not more fun or more amazing than yours. bottom line is that i just like to talk a lot and i guess people find themselves wanting to listen. =)

the connectivity of two people

as an adult it's really hard to meet somebody and have an instant chemistry or connection. i'm talking romantically of course. friendships are far easier to make than relationships involving the heart. i am all for the married couples who met when they were young, then learned and grew with each other. and i'm all for those that struggled through hard times together and fought for their relationship so long as in the end there is resolve and all histories remain history. many relationships start off sort of iffy. he's nice so i'll see where it goes. he's funny so his asshollishness is counteracted. he buys me things so the fact that he's a bore isn't a deal breaker. you let things slide because you just do. i see all of these situations and often these people have moved into a life with someone without fully feeling the chemistry.

as someone who is nearly 30, it's become increasingly evident to me that finding true chemistry with someone else is quite the battle, as i do not want to be someone who just let's things slide. this is because the older you become, the more you are in tune with all of the things you want. well, i would hope so anyway. when you were eighteen if a guy was cute, well that was enough wasn't it? when you were twenty-two you just wanted someone who you could have fun with. it didn't matter whether he was ambitious or had a good relationship with his mom. but when you're at my age so many things matter. you're looking for someone who you're attracted to, who shares the same values as you do, who is in line with the type of future you wish to have (be it in work, future family, how you spend your money, etc.), who you can have fun with, who you share a similar humor, who can be your support and who you feel you want to reciprocate for, and who you just have that magic with. i'm not saying that relationships don't take work or include compromise, but those things are sort of a big deal. and finding all of those things in one person seems nearly impossible.

trust me, i've been in the dating field a lot in my life and finding someone who you just click with doesn't come easy. in the past i've dated plenty of people with whom i sort of just thought "ehh..they're pretty cool" to see where it will lead and found that i've never been passionate about those guys. as i have grown into someone who knows pretty much what i deserve, i can't help but reject anything that doesn't captivate me. there's the guy who's super nice, attractive, has a good head on his shoulders, and is boring as f*ck. no thanks. there's the guy who is hilarious, easy to talk to, dresses well and is gentlemanly, but is a little too animated and who's energy level is just one step above acceptable. oh, and then he said "in yo fayce" (yes, the 'y' is there on purpose because he literally pronounced it like that) twice, which is two too many times. nope, i'm good. no thanks. boring and different energy levels are sort of deal breakers and definitely kill any desire to want to get to know someone better in a romantic sense.

what i'm getting at is that nowadays i'm not just in search of someone to fill my time with fun and games. i'm in need of someone who not only shares in all of the aforementioned things but who i also have legitimate chemistry with. two people who are on the same vibe on all of those levels have a true connectivity. and that's the only relationship i'll settle for. 

always remember 9/11

everybody reflects in their own way. splattered all over facebook walls and instagram feeds are images and words of that haunting day. i don't blame people for recalling and retelling where they were on this day twelve years ago when they heard the news. i'm sure every person remembers exactly what they were doing at the very moment they understood the reality of what was really happening. everybody who was a part of our nation was touched in some way by that day and it's significance will never be forgotten. but let's not focus on where we as individuals were on that day. that's really not of importance, is it?

let's focus on the love and support that arose from the people who were once nobody to us. in a nation divided by fifty, we all became one. when the traumatic images replayed over and over on television screens, we simultaneously watched in pain. when the tragic numbers came back about the innocent losses, we all cried in our own way. when good samaritan stories about people running back into fallen buildings were told, our hearts lit up though still fearing their potential fate. when 343 firefighters lost their lives in order to save so many more, we felt heartbreak and admiration. for all of the volunteering that was done, for all the donations made, for all the fearlessness of the citizens who helped drag the helpless out of the rubble, for all the men and women who risked themselves to defend us overseas, for all the tears shed and hugs given, thanks! thanks for giving hope to a nation under distress. thanks for making us a unit and proving that even though we are not without disparity, we can have each other's backs.

i remember 9/11 for bringing to light the courage, unity, and hope of this nation and it's people.

hawaii: part II (with familiar faces)

the second portion of this trip surrounded Augs' and Zye's wedding. alas there were familiar faces to hang out with and not just strangers asking "where are you from" and "what have you seen/done." i spent the rest of my trip hanging out with people from back home. 

day 5

#augsandzyeswedding & #mrsandmrsaugs were the instagram/facebook tags that kept appearing on all of the photos and videos people were taking from their trip in Hawaii that was only made possible by the invitation from Augs and Zye for their lovely wedding festivities. what better place than Hawaii to exchange vows? these two got nearly 120 people out to Hawaii for their wedding! can you believe that? that's a crazy number of people for a destination wedding! it just goes to show how much love and support they've got behind them. also, it started to sprinkle at the beginning of the wedding which is supposed to be a sign of good luck. but with eleven years between them, i don't think they need luck. 

check out my riiiide! 

Nick, Pat and i stayed at the same hotel so we got what we thought was going to be a cab to the wedding destination. a limo pulled up instead but we weren't going to complain. same price as a taxi? we'll take it! 

Augs' unofficial, but almost official mom and dad, Linda and Lawrence. 

Alex and Teeny

Fern and Mika 

(boo for blurriness)

Karl and Kris

Marc and Meesh

Jon and Lexer

Laudnel and Muri

Ceaze and Nel

Mark and Trae

ring bearer, Kaleo, and their junior bridesmaids.

yays for gays!! pretty dresses, huh? not often you see two dresses at the alter! the future is here! 

Pat, Nick, myself, Katcha, Darrell

isn't this cute? the bridesmaids and groomsmen got together for a sway session during the couple's first dance

my boos

this family is an unbreakable unit. this is how you feel when you're around them, even from the outside. 

Trae and Tina

aawwww

hmm i remember this one. the last one. the worst one. the one that sent me home early without saying goodbye to anybody. 

what happens at lesbian weddings: other chicks hook up. haha jk.

day 6

sort of hungover and without a plan, i tagged along with Kris and John back to the east side of the island. with Fern and Bryan in tow, we went back to Cinnamon's for a hearty alcohol soaking breakfast and some beach time. 

loco moco

perfect hangover food. 

back to Lanikai beach

some of the boys

you can't fully tell but i'm pretty burnt already. this day i feared a darker shade of red upon me. 

amazing, or what?

after the beach, Kris, John, Fern and i went back to Waikiki for a sunset cruise on a catamaran. all you can drink bevvies and a relaxing ride out in the ocean to end the day was perfect. except i didn't drink. could. not! two days of heavy alcohol intake is already one too many for me, so i opted to skip the liquor for the rest of the trip.

day 7

my last full day in Hawaii consisted of a second trip to Diamond Head and a Thank You BBQ thrown by the brides. 

we ran into Kim, Dave and Meesh at the top

Bryan, Fern and i went off the trail and onto a platform with an even better view and no obstructions by humans. perfect for panoramic shots! it was Fern's first time using the panorama function on an iphone and somehow Bryan lost a hand in the process. "bro, remember that time we were rebels and went off the trail and then you lost your hand?"

after showering up we headed to Ko Olina for the BBQ. situated right along a lagoon, it was the perfect place to spend a day with friends and family. along with tri tip, poke, and other foods, they had Zippy's cater fried chicken and chili. yum! everybody spent the day playing at the beach. i mainly lounged around afraid of the burning sun. i didn't manage to take many photos that evening though. fail. 

while the guys dunked the other guys into the water, the last dunk of the night was bride on bride. good work! 

day 8

before hopping into another limo ride to the airport, i stopped off at Isayume Musubi for a snack for the plane and Hula Dog for a quick lunch. 

spam musubi and bacon, egg and spam musubi

perfect little snacks

polish dog with mango relish and lilikoi mustard

thanks for the crazy good time, Oahu!

and thanks so much for sharing your amazing day/awesome trip with me, Augs and Zye!