Of Weddings and Blown Tires - Part 4

One of the disadvantages of writing about my misadventures is that I write them all a few weeks after they actually happened. This doesn't affect the integrity of the story since nothing is exaggerated (crazy huh?). What happens is that a lot of times I'll forget some other things that happened that I won't remember until after I post.

For example, this happened on Thursday while we were waiting for "Daddy" to come home. Daniel and I were just minding our own business until Yujung decided to take a break from her intense Facebooking and announce to the world that she was going to the bathroom. As she walked over to the other room, she quickly turned around on her feet and proclaimed, "Don't come in for 30 minutes!"
"You're going to be in there that long?"
"No! I'm gonna be fast, but it won't be safe for that long! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"..."

I wasn't sure whether or not to take her seriously but I decided it didn't really matter since I didn't have to use the restroom. After she was done everything returned to normal... until I started hearing the "call of nature" a few minutes later. And I had to pick up... badly. To bring everything into perspective, it was still only around 10 minutes after Yujung's expedition, there was only one bathroom, and I needed to go.

Fully convinced of my manliness (yeah right! -_-) and my ability to take whatever the restroom could throw at me, I bravely stepped forward to take care of my necessary business, despite all the warnings Yujung gave me.

Oh how foolish I was. I will go no further than saying that I was foolish for my confidence in myself and I paid dearly for that lack of wisdom.

Anyways, we're finally onto Saturday, the day of the wedding!

The day started off with me waking up to a stupid text too early in the stupid morning from Roger, announcing that the day was "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Yes, they actually have those days. Go figure.

Upon reflection later, we found it rather humorous that Mykol's big wedding day would be forever remembered as "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Interesting...

After we got ready with everything we headed out. We did not know what to have for breakfast so we ended up stopping by at a local In-N-Out. I felt kind of awkward with my shiny vest and all, but hey, food is food and I simply cannot function without it! After feasting on a delicious double-double (animal style baby!) we cleaned ourselves up and headed out to the Kingdom Hall.

Can you believe that he's going to get married in those clothes?

Heh just kidding!

The platform. The family stayed up real late getting this all together.


Whatchu lookin' at foo?


James taking a picture of me taking a picture of him taking a picture of me...
Wait, what?


The goons


This wedding has very low standards in terms of attire I see...


When I get married, I wanna exchange Green Lantern rings.
Mine will be Hal Jordan's, and hers will be...

On second thought, that's probably a bad idea :(

Believe it or not, James IS smiling

I didn't have any pictures of the actual wedding on account of being in the actual bridal party so it can get rather difficult to whip out a camera when you're on the platform. Whatever the case, the wedding talk was given by a former C.O. of Mykol's and it was excellent. I feel kind of bad for not bringing my Bible up there. And I'm not sure how many of you have been in a bridal party before but it was my first time and NOBODY warned me about how uncomfortable it can get to stand up there for a whole 30 minutes.

I started sweating a little bit and I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to move around so much but ohgodthesweatwasrunningdownmybrowanditwassoirritatingijusthadtowipeitofforiwasgonnagocrazy. The other guys in the bridal party were stiff as a rock. I applaud and detest their sturdiness because then I had to precedent to move about either.

One thing I wanted to note was that I was paired up with the only married sister in the bridal party while the other two guys were married and yet paired up with single sisters. What's up with that?!

In any case, they got married and we quickly rushed off the stage. Blessed blessed relief!

Yay! It's overrrrr!


So cute :)


"Okay, we just got married and we gotta sign more paperwork? ARGH!"


Dave is texting, "frnd jst mereid lol"


This is a view I'm not entirely unfamiliar with believe it or not.


Ashley giving me the finger :(
"I'm taken sucka!"


My first time in a limo. So cool!

Nathan (one of the groomsmen) was thoughtful enough to bring some brandy and yet another miracle... pretzels stuffed with peanut butter! It was just enough sustenance to get us through to the reception... which we would not be getting to for awhile since we had to make a BAZILLION stops for pictures... hardly any of which the bridal party was to be in. That basically means we were stuck in the limo the entire time.

Why is everyone texting?!?!


I like how Mykol is glowing... like an angel... ;)


Yeah yeah, she's glowing too, you friend stealer :(




Man, they just got married and they still can't stop kissing!


Awwww I'm old enough to watch now Mom!


Yeah I'm so cool he can't look at me...

Or not... :(

The bridal party


Why does Mykol always have that look when I take a picture of him? Smile already!!!


Just playing around with the b/w settings


I'm getting married next! YAY!


They actually had to climb up that thing. She ended up spraining her ankle :(


Don't know why I took this picture. Huh.


Mykol in all his majesty

Well, the bridal party actually did get to take pictures. It was the last stop and we were irritated and grumpy and just wanted to get straight to the festivities. When it was finally our turn, the photographers wanted a solo shot with the groom and each one of his groomsmen. When it was my turn, me and Mykol started goofing off (since the photographer didn't seem ready) so he dipped me and I just swooned like a 1950's movie diva. That's when we heard the "click" and we both realized the photographer took the shot... HOW EMBARRASSING!!!!! :(

Also, while Ashley was taking her pictures she had me hold on to her veil so I just started fidgeting around with it and goofing off asking people how to put it on. Apparently, her aunt didn't like that too much and politely asked for it back. I found out later when one of the groomsmen joked that he's been trying all day to get me to put it on she made a smile that looked like she was going to kill me quietly in my sleep. :x In-laws can be so scary!

Here's a joke now that I'm thinking about it. What is the defintion of mixed feelings? Here goes:

Your mother-in-law driving off a cliff...

...

In your brand new sports car.

*cue applause* Oh thank you thank you you're too kind! Tally one for the Lame Joke Prince (my dad is King).

These are Goliath's eating utensils. No joke!


The waiting room (this country club is SUPER nice)


Time for some feasting yeah!!

The reception itself was fairly uneventful. We had the introductions and the first dance and everyone started dancing. I myself did not dance at all since when I do, I look like a dying giraffe with four left feet (cuz giraffes have four legs y'know). During the dinner my partner's husband (remember, she's married) gave me the evil eyes and did the hand motion like "I GOT MY EYES ON YOU!" Of course, he was just joking, but nevertheless... scary!

For much of the reception, I hung out with my old MTS buddies, Sean and Roger, while we discussed many different things. I also got to have a new appreciation for gin and tonic with Tanqueray. James could not make it to the reception because he had a meeting. Psh, what a spiritual guy!

Through all our discussions, I will admit that my viewpoint on marriage had changed considerably but that is another story for another time. If anything, I'm really glad I came to the wedding. It was yet another good experience.

Wow, the wedding album came out already?
Mykol and Ashley look REALLY different though...

As the night started to wane, we decided we should call James to pick us up. The thing is, James was about a 40 minute drive to where we were so there was a little waiting involved. Sean, Roger, and I decided to go hang out in another dining area and WOW was it snazzy.

So fancy. I'm way too poor to even dream of going to a place like this.


The bar. Simply amazing in it's design.

It was around this time that my bridal party partner (say that five times fast) came up to me with her husband in tow (remember? she's married! :x) and thanked me saying, "Thanks for being my date! I had a great time! *WINK!*"

I looked at her. Then I looked at her husband. Her husband looked at me. Well, I wouldn't call it looking. It would be more accurately described as "glaring with a view to murder." After taking all of this into account, I simply replied...

"It was nothing. Have a good night you two..."

Phew that was a close one!

About 20 minutes later, I got a call from James. I was not ready for what he had to say.

"Hey Paul, I can't make it for awhile."
"Why?"
"Because my tires blew up."
"Wait... what?"
"My tires blew up and I can't get my spare out because it has the special lock, remember?"
"OH SNAP!"

So basically what happened is that because Phoenix is in the desert it can get rather hot so tires blowing up are not rare occurrences. It was a big emergency and it was already past 11PM so we all put our heads together to try to figure this out. Roger suggested we use his AAA insurance but we weren't sure if we could tow that far since James was a good 20 miles from his home. We didn't know if James would even be able to find a spare. We started calling around to see if anyone had a spare tire that would fit James' SUV but still to no avail. In the end, we decided to have Dave (another groomsman) to take us home while James would go back home (at this point James had found a brother who had a tire that would fit). What a rollercoaster!

The problem was, we had to wait for Dave because he had to go back to the Kingdom Hall to pick up his car which was about 20 miles away. WHY IS EVERYTHING IN PHOENIX SO STUPID SPREAD OUT?! It was just more and more waiting. After waiting an eternity, Dave finally came back and it was time to head out.

When we got outside, Sean had found a toad and decided to pick it up. The hilarity ensues...

We've decided to name him Jabba, after well, you know, Star Wars... yeah we're geeks.


Sean seems rather attached to his new pet.
Look at those eyes of longing!

Now get this. The whole time I was taking pictures I was having a bit of trouble because the flash was not adequate and all the pictures were really grainy. It was at this point I decided to just take a video instead. The timing could not be better...

HAHAHHAHHAAH it still cracks me up everytime I see it. That Jabba is SO dirrrrrrty.

Jabba accessing his victory over his would-be captor

On our way home we had to stop by Dave's house to pick up Sean's stuff since Sean would be staying the night at James' place for the next couple of days. Since English weddings tend to not focus so much on food I was extremely ravenous and so I decided to heat up the donkatsu that Yujung and Daniel made and MY GOODNESS it was like a flavor explosion in my mouth. Fried-anything = good in Paul's book. I only wish I could have had it fresh. :(

We ended up staying awake for awhile and talking about random things and we eventually went to sleep.

The next day, my mischief continues!


This is how James dries his clothes since the Phoenix air is so dry a dryer is actually somewhat unecessary.
Koreans have such awesome gadgets!


James looks like he'll be such a good housewife when he gets married :)

Later on we went to a Korean restaurant for some food and it was all very excellent. I got to try out my "hello" and "thank you" in Korean there and at the boba/smoothie place we went to afterwards. I think I ate so much that James had to quite literally roll me out of there. Cuz y'know, I'm fat.

Later on we stopped by home to pick up Yujung's and my bags since we both were leaving Phoenix around the same time. James drove us to the airport, dropped us off, said our tearful goodbyes and gave our manly, yet intimate hugs (me and James anyway) and I was on my way.

In a way, it's good to be back in STL. Even though it was a short 4 days of misadventure after misadventure, I'm really glad I went and if anything, it really opened up my mind even further. May the misadventures continue!!!

Of Weddings and Blown Tires - Part 3

*update* It has been asked when I will stop goofing around and put up some serious posts like about the condition of man or some metaphysical junk like that. The point is, I probably never will. I'm a grouchy, old man (not really) who has too many things to say about a bunch of different things that would make me seem even MORE of a grouchy, old man. I'll save that for when I'm an actual grouchy, old man ;) This blog is meant to be a vehicle to keep up my writing and to entertain for the occasional "laugh out loud," chuckle, giggle, or even silent, hearty laugh (for those of you in class). In the meantime, more misadventures!

Friday was a wild day. Saturday was even more wild, on account of it being a wedding day, but Friday was wild in it's on way. I nearly got killed (literally) and lost my man card in the process. Very depressing.

In any case, the day started as usual with me taking my liberties while everyone else was asleep.

Ohhhh I am SUCH a fiend ;)

Anyways, after our usual morning stuff we decided to go eat at a Mexican place called "Carolina's" for late breakfast/lunch. The original idea was to get chicken and waffles in the morning and THEN eat Carolina's, but that idea sort of fell through on account of intensive sleeping in. We all decided to get ready but when you share 1 bathroom among 4 people, there's bound to be some waiting involved.

Yujung wishes she was as good a housewife as me...

So we head out and drive the usual 10 million miles (I wish I was exaggerating [okay okay I am, but man everything is far in Phoenix!]) to our destination. It was fairly uneventful other than the fact that this place looked REALLY trashy once you got in. The good news was that it was packed. Usually when a place is packed to maximum capacity, you KNOW the food is good. I just wish we didn't have to sit in a restaurant that looked like an elementary school's cafeteria. I was half hoping to see some overweight women with hair nets and big, toothless smiles. Half hoping.

I neglected to take too many pictures of the place and I was too busy gabbing to remember. The topics of the day were cafeterias, foods that will give you a heart attack, James' awesomeness, and how fat Paul was. Sigh.

Look at those beefy forearms! James = Popeye

And it's not due to the "angle" either ;)

Because James' was going to have a gathering at his house that night, some shopping was necessary. Yujung and Daniel were making "donkatsu" that night so we had to stop at a Korean market for the"asian" stuff and a Walmart for the "other" stuff.

While we were at the Korean market I decided to go ahead and get a haircut. My hair was super long and I wasn't particularly interested in getting mistaken for a bridesmaid at the wedding. James and gang dropped me off and as I walked into the barber shop, I noticed a Vietnamese sign. I wasn't too sure if the workers there were Vietnamese or not since every other store was Korean so I just kept my mouth shut and waited my turn. Then James decides to bust in outta nowhere and ask very loudly, "HEY PAUL ARE THEY VIETNAMESE?!" Of course the ladies look over and say "Why yes, we are Vietnameee!"

Well that answers my question.

So, being Vietnamese as well, I start up a conversation with the lady cutting my hair. Let me tell you, she was going CRAZY on the fact that I could speak a smattering of Vietnamese. She must of thought I was Korean (I found out later that she actually did). She went even more crazy when I talked about growing up in a accent-divided home (Father spoke Northen accent, Mom spoke Southern), the "nguoi nam tu" (people of '54, long story), and why it's so hard for kids to keep up their Vietnamese.

Before we go on, you must know that my Vietnamese is actually really terrible. Despite that fact, I get varying responses on my Vietnamese. If a parent has a child whose Vietnamese is very good, they'll say that my Vietnamese is terrible. If a parent has a child whose Vietnamese is very bad, they'll say that my Vietnamese is awesome and their kid is a good-for-nothing fool. So, is my Vietnamese good or bad? Depends on your kids apparently. ;)

In any case, the haircut was finally over and as I left the lady was waving goodbye frantically at me. Weird. We then head out for Walmart to pick up some other items. While at Walmart, I found that James is a total hypocrite because while he wouldn't get cheapo food, he'll go ahead and get cheapo silverware. Psh.

Apparently, finding Cactus Cooler in AZ was a big deal. Koreans *shrug*

Yujung was in charge of carrying the ice on the way home. Since she's so "hot" the ice really did melt on the way home. Before I start sounding like a testosterone pumped single guy, an explanation is needed. For some reason, Yujung has hot flashes a lot (my theory is early menopause) and so her body temperature is abnormally high. As such, she always needs ice around to cool her down. What better than an ice bag that's almost as big as her torso?

Oh Yujung, don't flatter yourself, you're not THAT hot :p

We found out at Walmart that Sean (a brother attending the wedding) needed to be picked up so we rushed home and put everything in it's proper place and we headed out to the airport. The thing was, Sean is a major cheapskate and decided to not fly to the regular Arizona International Airport but went to some rinky dink airport that was 20 minutes away from James' house. Sheesh. In any case, when we picked him up, he was wearing a sweater and a beanie... IN ARIZONA?! Turns out it was rather cold where he flew out from but that's STILL no excuse to keep wearing a sweater and beanie.

This fool be tireeeeeeeeed!
...and camera shy

In any case, James decided it would be a good idea to take us sight seeing so he took us to this place called "Papago Park." The funny thing was, Sean was tired from a trip and wasn't expecting to go sight seeing but we did anyway. In yo FACE Sean! :p

This is the main feature of Papago Park...
It's called "Hole in the Rock"


No seriously, that's what it's called


What will these brave travelers find in the hole in the rock?


The other side! *nyuk nyuk*


What they're going to keep going?!


This is about the time I lose my Man-Card to Yujung
on account of being a total wuss and deathly afraid of heights

Dude, that cliff was steep okay?! :(

James is thinking of how much of a wuss I am


Yujung has no fear, cuz she's just
that hardcore


"Work that cliff baby! You're the cliff hanger!
Cliffs are YOUR slave!"
...James can get pretty intense when it comes to photography...


"Oh I want to break free~"


Yujung in a rare pause of contemplation
(it really doesn't happen all that often!)


Daniel isn't used to having pictures taken of him


Where is James' hand reaching off to?

While I was editing the picture, I just noticed Yujung in the background
I can see her saying, "Hey guys! Take a picture of me too!"

Awww so cute...

James that is...

Sean... looking off into the distance... wondering...
"Why can't I just go get some stupid rest?!"


Notice how Yujung and James jump. Yujung has no fear so she tucks in her legs while James is a major wuss so he keeps his feet as close to the ground as possible.


I am such a hypocrite :(


Can't think of anything funny to say, other than that James getting all serious about photography always makes me giggle inside...


I just love the empty, cloudless blue. Definitely a good canvas.
Oh and the Asian guy in there is good too... :p


Daniel is explaining to Yujung exactly what kind of shot he wants.
What a diva!




James was kind enough to run down and get some water for all of us.
James = my savior/hero/hunny bunny


He looks so... majestic...


What a creeper haha


*National Geographic Voice*
"James... hiding in wait for his prey to make its first move..."


Yujung wanted some "quiet" time


Her long lost love?


"I missed you so much!"


Oh goodness get a room you two!


And why is James getting a picture of all this? Voyeur!


I'm such a hypocrite :(

Because it was Friday, I had to rush back to get ready for rehearsals but being Asian me and James were about 30 minutes late. I was able to blame traffic :) It was really good to see Mykol again and I wish James could have stayed longer but he had to run and pick up Roger (poor guy, James was running around nonstop the entire weekend). In any case, the parents of the bride were none too happy but we got started right away. I mean, what's so hard about walking down an aisle?

The ready room


Dave trying out his wife's hat. What a smooth criminal ;)

After the rehearsal Mykol's father wanted to treat everyone out to Claim Jumper so that's where we headed out to. Me and Mykol were able to grab a car for ourselves and caught up big time. Mykol was also allowed to vent. As it turns out, weddings can be a very stressful time for everyone and all I can really say is that it's a good time to practice patience and long suffering :)

An interesting note is that Ashley worked at that same Claim Jumper so a lot of the waiters/waitresses were coming up to her and offering her congratulations on her soon to be married status. I wish I was as popular as her :(

The couple got a special cupcake. When's it gonna be my turn? :(


"So uh... why do you get first dibs on the cupcake?"

As if it wasn't enough partying, some of Mykol's to-be in-laws wanted to take him out for a drink and to dispense some married life wisdom upon him. I also went but I felt kind of out of place. I mean, everyone at the table were married except for me and Mykol and he was getting married the next day. Talk about feeling out of place. I wanted to toss in a couple of jokes here and there but the mood was just so serious I didn't want to look like the stupid single guy (even though I actually am...) I just kept my mouth shut, drank my scotch in silence, and listened. Let me tell you... married men go through a LOT. Married sisters too, but they weren't drinking with us that night were they? Okay THEN.

James and Sean came by a little bit later and we all hung out for a bit longer and then headed home. As soon as we got home, showers were in order and after a little Facebooking (yes yes I'm addicted I know already!), we went to bed.

The next day was the wedding day! Absolutely exciting! ...Right?

Anyways, I shall leave you with this video of a new exercise Yujung has started. I call it, Biking in Place.