My Best Friend's Wedding

This weekend was the definition of time flying by. I went home to California again this past Wednesday to help prepare for and celebrate the Wedding of the Year, i.e. my sister Claudine and Yi Shen's wedding. It was such a fantastic week that I feel compelled to write an entire saga. However, I will try to be as concise and colorful as possible (there's never been a greater challenge). 

Day 1: Wednesday

Flight was at 6:50 AM. Woke up at 7:15 AM and let out a long expletive. Not to worry; took a cab that flew down to MSP and fortunately got on the 9:25 AM flight. Got in to LAX at 2:30 PM and was picked up by sis and J. 

At this point, Claudine wasn't freaking as much as just listing out all the things she still needed to get done. Thankfully, we had reinforcements from our two friends Sam and Gem. Diligently, we made pom poms out of tissue paper. Well, I folded and Gem poofed them. (Is that the right term?) 

Lunch at the fave Vietnam Restaurant on Las Tunas, dinner at Noodle World with my grandma and cousin who flew in from Texas. Man, I miss awesome Asian food.

Day 2: Thursday

More tasks for the wedding, including getting pampered at a mani/pedi salon. It was funny (and slightly insulting) how the salon owner kept pointing out how different and older (wait, did she say I looked older?) I looked compared to Claudine. After getting my eyebrows waxed and beautifully shaped, an apprehensive Claudine decided to get one, too. 

My aunt and cousin from West Virginia flies in for the wedding, and for lunch we had some tasty vegetarian dishes. Since I can't have a day without meat, I decided to buy two double-doubles and Animal Style fries from In-N-Out. Damn, I sure miss that place. And, best of all, my sister finally has her first In-N-Out burger EVER! A watershed in history.

Day 3: Friday

Krystle, another bridesmaid, and my sister-in-law Rea work together to create the floral centerpieces at home...for the entire day. I am so amazed at Krystle's work, and she definitely slaved over those thing forever. 

Other tasks included picking up photos for the set-up and the Rehearsal Dinner. Loved the food at Pizza Place California, where my sister used to work. It was fun finally meeting J's family, and the rest of the entourage. After a hearty meal of Italian food, we headed across the street (literally) for the rehearsal. Met the wedding coordinator and I swear I was like the 2nd bride in the picture. It's really hard not to sound bossy when you have the crazy control gene that runs in the family. :) 

Rehearsal went well, and my nephew could not have been crazier. 

Day 4: the BIG DAY!

OMG, even if I wasn't the one getting married, I was still so stoked for that day. It started off pretty early, as the entourage headed off to the Grapevine to start setting up the Cocktail, Reception, and Ceremony areas. The coordinator was just ok, but fortunately Claudine has an amazing entourage who knew how to execute Claudine's vision. It's also fun to note that we did not let Claudine set foot on the venue until the photo shoot. I could only imagine her tearing out her hair as she wondered what the eff was going on during the set-up. That's what you get when you're slightly OCD/ADD. :D (luv you sis!)

Man, why does it take women sooooo long to get prettied up? The bride and bridesmaids started dolling up around 11 AM. THIS IS WHY you never let the bride and groom prepare in the same house. Picture this: my sister's stuck in the makeup chair, and she made me check on the guys if they're getting ready probably three times. I'm sure she was getting annoyed at some point but, to Johnson's point "It's going to take us 5 minutes to prepare." And he was right. Damn, guys are so lucky. 

Finally, the entourage heads over to the Grapevine for the photoshoot. Gotta say, Iris & Light was the best decision the couple ever made for this wedding (even more than marrying each other. J.k). The preview pix here are so beautiful, I'm only prepared to be blown away by the rest of the shots. Of course, mad props to my brother and cousin for taking more photos on my bro's camera, too. 

At 5 PM, the ceremony began. It was hard not to tear up at the sight of my beautiful sister marching with my dad to the song "The Book of Love." Thank goodness I brought along a hanky. The message was beautiful (who knew you can spin "stalking" into "desire"?) and Johnson's rendition of "Two Words" made me teary again. I'll leave it to my sister to describe this moment in her awesome blog, but for my POV, I thought it was a wonderful ceremony.

The cocktail hour was awesome because we took more photos/videos of the entourage while passersby walked around the Mission District. Bobbing our heads to "I Like to Move it (Move it)," trying to look gangster or, as Sheena put it, "sassy," laughing carefree and holding hands, the bridal party had an absolute blast. 

The reception went off without a hitch. Nearly everything went according to plan, and even the ones that didn't go to plan were actually perfect because our ridiculously funny friend and yours truly ended up stalling with songs (I sung, quite horribly, "California Gurls" and "Single Ladies". I'm mortified it was caught on video). The best part of the reception, undoubtedly, was the "Love Story" Skit. Who knew you could have that much fun with sing-alongs? I liked my speech, too, if I say so myself. :) 

Then, after all is said and done, we had an hour of carefree, wild dancing courtesy of DJ Mind. It was sooooo fun hanging out with my great friends, and it was so amazing seeing them all in one place, to celebrate my sister and brother-in-law's marriage. And I was seriously impressed by Johnson's ability to break dance. 

If I was to sum up this whole event in one word, it would be: Ultrafantasticallyamazinglyawesome. Yes, that sums it up pretty nicely. I love that my sister and brother-in-law enjoyed every bit of their wedding. I love that my sister was not stressed at the day of her wedding. I love that their vision was realized and that they were able to connect with each of their guests. I love that I was able to help out. I love that amidst all the hoopla, all the flash, all the funny speeches, songs, and dances, what you get at the core was a celebration of love between two amazing people. 

I love you Sis! Congratulations on a beautiful marriage. 

There are days when I just want to bury myself under a mountain of food.

And eat my way out of it. Haha, that's not exactly in line with my supposedly steadfast resolve of losing weight. But, welcome to the emotional painkiller of every woman -- food! :) Haha, I make things sound so much worse than they actually are. To be truthful, life is bearable, and food is good. 

To be even truthier than the truth, there have been crap days and great days. Crap days include those days when I can't figure out what the hell I am doing or what I want, when I can't seem to get my head out of work, and when I eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's Berry Voluntary ice cream in one day. Silver lining, though, crap days only make great days sound much more better. Now if I only had more of those. 

I guess what'll help me get out of this funk is having a game plan that is achievable. Let's see....

Billionaire by 24 (cue song by Travie McCoy). 

Eats everything in sight and not gain a single pound/loses a pound permanently for every minute of BodyStep @ the Y. 

Clothes collection that stretch from NYC to LA. 

Ditto for shoes. 

All-expenses paid trip to the Philippines every year. And Spain, and London, and Hawaii, and Indonesia, and Germany, and...

A tall, handsome boy toy by Christmas (or for Christmas, I'm not choosy).

A souped-up 2011 Honda CR-V 

A season ticket holder of the Hennepin Theater District shows

Food critic by day (with Yelp! I'm halfway there), music producer by night. 

An MBA degree before I turn 30 from a great school, and the six-figure salary to show for it. 

A job that I would happily do the occasional overtime for 

Skills that could take me anywhere in life, including the ability to fight and defeat a ninja. 

A life in California. 

A life with friends and family.

A life that has exponentially more great days than "other" days. 

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee. Across the plains of Texas, From sea to shining sea.

That's one of the lines from the Lee Greenwood song "Proud to be an American," which they played at today's Naturalization ceremony in Arden Hills. It felt cheesy and heartwarming all at once watching that video and hearing that song, as I sat there, a newly minted US citizen. But before I get further into today's amazing event, I recently had my first fishing trip on a similarly patriotic day, that being Memorial Day. :)

So my new friend Liz has a friend with a boat, and kindly invited me to try the very Minnesotan pastime of fishing for sunfish, or "sunnies" as they were affectionately called by her friend (and now my friend, too...with a boat). Anyway, you apparently have to get a $10 day fishing license, or you can get an annual one for $18. I wasn't exactly keen on getting any savings, coz at that point I was sure it was gonna be a one-time deal. We drove to Lake Minnetonka, and got on the 3-seater boat and rode to a shallow point of the lake. First off, I know now that I want to come back here to rent jet skis, because the waves can swell pretty well (as experienced by me and some unfortunate leech/baits that fell out of their container, gasping for air). Anywho, Roger did pretty much all the hard, icky work (i.e. putting on the bait, touching the fish, etc.) and I just did the casting and pulling of the fishing rod. I've never felt more girly and outdoorsy at the same time. :) I realize now that I'm really bad at sensing when something is tugging the rod (that's what he said). I'm pretty darn good at casting though. Thankfully, the fish were actually congregated near our boat, so it was really simple to pick up some sunnies. 

Yes, I really went fishing

This wasn't my biggest catch, but I was pretty darn proud of it!

Some of our catch, before letting them go

During this outing, we also stopped by Maynard's in Excelsior. It was pretty awesome riding up to the dock and straight to the restaurant, very...not urban. It was interesting/funny too, because though Minneapolis is pretty heterogenous, I've never stood out more and/or felt more brown in my entire time in MN. Fun times!

After 5 hours in the boat and out in the sun, we were exhausted, & I absolutely enjoyed every last second of it. I get why it's a very Minnesota thing to do (that and going to the cabins for winter); might as well enjoy the natural resources you have, and sunbathe while you're at it, right?

Fast forward to today, and it's been one of those surreal/satisfying/happy half days going to Bethel U for my "swearing in" as a United States citizen. First off, I love the new CR-V; got to drive it to Arden Hills thru Zipcar (ooh, and I love Zipcar). Minnesota freeways, not as scary as I thought it to be; Minnesota drivers, crazy-ass passive aggressive like I thought they would be. But, I wasn't gonna let anything dampen my mood, not even the incredibly loooooooong line to get into the auditorium. At least I got to talk to other attendees, particularly a girl from Germany with a really interesting fact: it's hard to get dual citizenship for U.S. and Germany. There you go, you're welcome nonsense fact lovers. 

It felt kind of wrong having this USCIS officer take my green card and throw it away in a recycling bin, after I spent years protecting it and referring to it to prove my legal residence. But, such is the process. Afterwards, we get shuffled into an auditorium with 524 other immigrants about to be sworn in, representing 80+ countries.

Whole thing kicked off with a really curt welcome from the (district?) judge, then on to singing the National Anthem. I seriously got goosebumps; for the first time, when I'm singing it, I guess I'm really feeling it. :)

It was great having people stand as their countries were mentioned. It started with countries with only 1 rep, like Azerbaijan, or Armenia. Then you have China, then you have Philippines, then Mexico, each group getting more and more people. Finally, the Somalian group was called, with 105 would-be citizens and their strong cheering squad in the balcony. It seriously felt like high school graduation all over again. 

Then after the whole group is standing, you all raise your right hand and do that oath-taking bit. Interestingly, the majority of the oath is promising to fight for the US if you need to. Then again, I figure we already get most of the privileges as US citizens everyday, this was just making sure we understand there's an expectation that comes with the privilege, too. 

After that, we're declared citizens of the United States of America! Hooray, hooray! Flashbulbs popping, people clapping, tiny tears welling, genuine big-toothed smiling. 

They give you a flag in your "Welcome" packet. Y'know, in case you wanna wave it or stick it in your lawn. 

The judge gave a pretty nice speech about civic duty and never forgetting the countries we left, because this land is a land of immigrants anyway. It was actually very thoughtful. Then, after Pres. O gives a video speech, Lee Grenwood's "Proud to be an American" starts playing on the big screen. I really thought I wasn't gonna get swept up in all of this, but at that moment, my heart was happy, and I was truly proud. 

vamos!

OK, so a conversation with a friend earlier left me raring -- nay, yearning -- to go somewhere, anywhere this year that's not California. It's just so easy to talk about the places I wish I would've gone to when I had a 3-month vacation between graduation and work, but now I really wanna do something about it. I must have some cajones and just go, even if it means packing light and traveling solo (but I'm open to travel buddies who are itching for some adventure!) And now that I have the means, I think I might actually just go to Travelzoo, pick the cheapest deal out there, and vaaaaaa. And hey, now that the Euro's at an all time low, maybe it's even easier now. Now if only I have time...
So many places I wanna go to, though. I'll probably start small and do, like, Canada or something. I'm goaling (new word!) to be more active and more outgoing (hold on, people who know me) at the get-go. I feel like traveling would definitely satisfy that "active/adventurous" quotient. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to go all Samantha Brown meets Ozzy Osbourne (yes, my analogies are horribly lame), but I'm excited at the possibilities.
What's up? Sunbathing in Vancouver? Buying chotchkies in Mexico, D.F? Jetskiing in Martha's Vineyard? Who knows?

Food for thought

...in that I think about food a lot, although recently I've been trying to do that in a different manner. Less "I want that really unhealthy clubhouse sandwich from Key's" to "I want that really unhealthy clubhouse sandwich from Key's, but I've already used up too many calories this week." It's a bitch to unsubscribe from the former philosophy, but I know I'll be thanking me a few months from now. That said, I've had a pretty rollercoaster-y week of caloric consumption. Off from the high of having lost 4 pounds finally (FINALLY!) from two weeks ago, I may have undone a couple of those after a fatty Cinco de Mayo lunch and a serving of my co-worker's amazing kiwi pie. 
No matter; a friend pointed out, too, that as long as I track what I eat and see it from a high level -- like a weekly basis -- that I'd feel less crappy if I pig out one day, as long as I ensure that I don't do it every day. 
Anyway, the reason I really wanted to have a food-themed entry is because of two things that went down this week (well, last week) that I'm proud of. First, I was invited to be part of the Yelp! Elite Team for 2010. For those of you who live under a rock, Yelp! is a cool website where you can find reviews of any type of business anywhere. The reviews are written by average Janes & Joes (including me!), and it's usually fun to read through, particularly the hypercritical ones. I've started writing more reviews now that I'm in the TC, and the Community Manager deemed me to be worthy enough to be on the Elite Team, and last Thursday was a chance to meet other Yelp! ET members. I was so flipping excited to try Cafe Kem, because there's finally a Yogurtland place in Minnesota! Who knew people would go for the self-serve fro-yo concept here? This moi for sure; I just hope the business stays afloat during those horrible Minnesota winter months. Besides the food though, I love this opportunity to meet people who, for once, do not work @ Target. Don't get me wrong, I love the friends I've met @ Tgt, but it's more than great to find people who don't live and breathe retail, who don't get excited when an item is in-stock, who doesn't say the third week of October as "October Week 3." And to meet people who also love trying out different food and restos? Double whammy!
The other proud feat of the week is my attempt to make a less-than-400 calorie meal, which I got out from a Real Simple issue. It's poached eggs with mushroom and tomatoes, and you can get the recipe here. I didn't document my successful attempts to poach an egg, but here's the finished product:

I may have gone overboard with the garnish, but it was pretty darn good, if I say so myself. And I got the garnish from legit fresh herbs that I got from the Farmer's Market outside our office:

How do you grow basil, rosemary, and thyme inside a high-rise apartment? I have no effin' clue. 


Anyway, I think I may have found a good "balanced" diet (or eating regimen): cook healthy meals at home as much as possible, then eat the dishes I want once or twice a week in restaurants I want to try (or Yelp! about). Granted, this may be a bit of a stretch when just last week I bought lunch two out of the 5 days, but it's worth a shot! 

Home

That was the title of Glee's latest episode on Tuesday. First, I want to say j'adore, Glee, because you are a wonderfully hilarious musicomedy. But this particular episode had a lot of subtler, emotional moments that really drove home (no pun intended) the importance of discovering where one belongs. Which is probably why, by the time Kurt finished singing "A House is Not a Home," I was bawling like a baby. Actually, I don't think there was a good portion of the show that I wasn't in tears. Even if the Luther Vandross song is about love lost (not really something I worry about), the sentiment of the song just made me a gloopy mess (is "gloopy" a word? I use that to describe the ugly black streak left by your mascara after you've cried your eyes out). 


I guess it's just one of those days (or weeks) that I'm feeling particularly homesick. It's interesting coz I remember writing about being homesick when I was in Berkeley, and that was just a five-hour drive from San Gabriel. But, and this is key, now that I look back at that experience, I can't imagine it any other way. Because I met great friends, found exciting things to do and things to keep me busy, my overall Berkeley experience is irreplaceable. If anything, there were a lot of things I wish I should've done during my college years (maybe bought a fake ID?). Hmm...I might just go all Van Wilder and go back to college for that. :) 


Joking aside, I think it would be a great personal accomplishment when, years down the road, I would look back at this particular stage of my life and not be able to imagine it being better another way. I think it's hard to imagine that at this point, because I'm still so fixated on California, on all the things that were. And you really can't blame a girl for reminiscing--hard--about "those days," when the biggest concern was making a 10-page paper not sound too full of B.S. or choosing a blow-off class of the semester (thank you for the term, Jeff Winger). Gosh, I say that like I've been out of college forever, when it's been less than a year. hehe. Come to think about it, isn't it funny how we tend to belittle our dilemmas of yesteryears and scoff at how naive we were? Which begs the question, is any endeavor really worth the stress, the drama, the tears, when all it seems we're doing is just trying to get to that next level? At what point does a pursuit become truly worth our time, when 20 years down the road you can claim that you're still really proud of that accomplishment? I mean, can I really still brag about having scored 5 on 2 AP courses in high school, or having graduated magna cum laude from UC Berkeley? Then again, the flipside of this is all the seemingly "little" toils that we do every year of our life builds us up into the successful people that we turn into. I'm probably mulling about this a little too deeply because I haven't defined what that "success" means for me yet. And also, because digressing from my original thought wouldn't make me think too much of home again. 


But back to the topic of being comfortable where I am. I honestly am happy with certain aspects of my life. I'm proud of actually taking that step and moving to Minnesota & working for Target. I'm proud that I can afford my own apartment at 21. I'm truly excited about the accomplishments I have at work. I like my co-workers and I adore my new friends sincerely. But, pieces of my life are just that -- pieces. I need to be wholly contented; although "contented" sounds like such a staid word. Maybe the word I'm looking for is...oh wait, it's in the title. I want to feel at home.


Even as I was typing that last sentence there's still a part of me resistant to the idea. And maybe I'm not meant to stay in Minnesota forever; then again maybe I'm going to buy my first house here! Let's put it this way: I want to want to be here for as long as I'm here. And it may take me a while to figure out how to do that, but I'm glad I'm doing things to get to that point, albeit at a slow pace, like meeting new people and exploring the city and going to Duluth in May. And even if the things that will make me feel at home in Minnesota are valid only for now, what better time to try and be fully & truly happy than right now? 

I Yelp because I care.

I'm a Yelp! fanatic. Ok, probably a budding fanatic, because I don't have hundreds of reviews yet, although I'm trying to achieve that. I can't even remember how I stumbled across this freaking awesome website, but I do remember seeing the distinguishable Yelp logo plastered all across Berkeley restaurants. By the by, make sure to vote for Yelp! [and Target] at this year's Webby Awards here.
Anyway, I do go to this site religiously when I'm just jonesing for new eats. While it has led me to some duds, I still trust my indiscriminate palate to it, especially since it's so fun reading normal people -- not restaurant critics with discerning tongues -- review anything. It's less trashy than a Youtube comments section and less refined than the New York Times's Dining & Wine page.
Anyway, the main point of this entry was to talk about food in Minnesota. I just name-dropped Yelp! because I have run to it many times in the few months I've been living here, either to write a review or desperately search for a restaurant that delivers at 10 PM on a Friday night without a big delivery fee (Answer: Keys at the Foshay! Yey!!!!).
Aah, where do I start with how I eat in Minnesota? First off, I have yet to find authentically good Mexican food. Seriously, Taco John's and Taco Bell's are your only options during lunch and around the downtown area. Um, no.
Asian food is hit-or-miss. They have this chain of Chinese fast food called LeeAnn Chin's, a lot like Panda Express, and a whole lot of Americanized Asian food. There's actually more Thai places here, and I've found one or two decent spots. The interesting thing here is most restaurants serve their spicy food with five heat level options. Coz, seriously, Minnesota "spicy" is really not. :) And they serve mock duck. Minnesotans have a creepy love affair with the mock duck. I don't even wanna know what that is. Indian food is eh. Coming from a place that has Vik's Chaat & House of Curries, it's really hard to not judge Indian food by a high standard. But, I'm still going to the Dancing Ganesha's lunch buffet tomorrow with friends, and this is (embarrassingly) my third time! haha. I'm such a sell-out to cheap food.
Speaking of cheap food, it's hard to find cheap food in the downtown area where I live, unless you consider eating dinner at 5 PM and going to any random bar for their happy hour. Some bars, like the Newsroom or The Local, have pretty sizable portions for $4 or $5. If it wasn't so blatantly pathetic to go to a bar during happy hour and just order some appetizers to go, I probably would. Thank goodness Target loves its hh's. That way, I can go get my margherita pizza, eat half and casually set aside the other half for dinner.
If there's one thing that MN restaurants do get right, it's American/European food. I've had some great German food on Northeast at Gasthof's (and during Oktoberfest, no less!), and the divine Black and Blue burger (hey, the burger has European-ish roots) @ Eli's will forever be one of the things I'm most thankful for. We have a restaurant next to the workplace that's called Brit's serving (duh) English food, and a few blocks away is The Local, which serves Irish food and -- interesting fact -- the most Jameson Irish Whiskey in the entire world. No joke.
It's kind of sad that 3/4 of my credit card charges are all on food, but I don't think I'll ever stop trying new restaurants in Minnesota or anywhere else. The great thing about being a foodie is anyone can be a foodie, and the experiences are fleeting enough that it doesn't have to take too much effort and regrets (if any) pass quickly. At the same time, if you fall in love with a place and its food, you can always go back to it again & again. Which is why I just went back to Eli's for the 5th or 6th time last week. And which is why I'm seriously considering moving to the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis which has the awesome-sounding Eat Street. How perfect is that?!