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.