Life has been weird lately. I still feel out of focus.

I woke up Saturday morning scrunched into a ball in one corner of my bed, covered by only a tiny flap of my blanket because Mars' and his 6'2" self was taking up the bottom half of my bed and most of my covers. After watching the first disc of season two of 24 (which Paul got me for my birthday) we headed to Tommy's for some chili and cheese covered food (their first time there). Then we went to the Santa Monica pier and were going to lay out in the sand for a bit until we realized none of us brought towels (we're geniuses I tell you). Mars and I hunted down a frozen banana (for him) and stumbled over a bar with a Saturday happy hour so the five of us decided to take a break before walking back to the car. After getting my sunglasses (which have been broken for a year and a half) fixed for free and in under ten minutes, we shopped on the Promenade for about an hour before heading home to get ready for my birthday dinner.

Of course, because we are Asian, we left my apartment at 9:30, an hour behind schedule *cough*Thelma and P*cough* and had to wait almost an hour to eat...but it turned out okay because World Cafe has premium martinis for 8 bucks and the lounge area was pretty empty still. All I ate all day was a Krispy Kreme glazed donut and half an order of Tommy's chili's cheese fries...and since it was my birthday and all I finished two martinis before we were even seated for dinner. Needless to say I got quite drunk Saturday night. I still remember everything that happened but I remember it like it was a dream if you know what I mean haha =) Don't worry I didn't do anything stupid/embarrassing, I just get a little louder when I'm drunk and I walk around with a big moronic smile plastered onto my face. Too bad I forgot my camera.

Let's see that brings me to Sunday. I woke up without a hangover (I'm convinced it was the premium vodka as opposed to the usual Popov or Smirnoff or something equally disgusting) but P didn't fare quite so well (he mostly drank the dirty Smirnoff because he had to drive and couldn't drink until we got home). He went home and I went out to Roscoe's with everyone else...came back to the apartment...food coma for four hours (also because I was exhausted from the night before)...yup that was my weekend. Completely unproductive, lots of alcohol. But it was so much fun and I didn't have to pay for it with a hangover!

That brings me to today. Which sucked. Work sucked because I found out that there's a chance I'm going to get left behind in the office during the VP Cheney event tomorrow. I better not though...one of the few perks of this job is getting to go to these events and hear people like Vice-President Cheney speak...I just feel completely under-appreciated there right now because I do all the bitch work. Oh yeah and to Serenity and Dorsano, thanks for the advice about teaching...it was something I kind of thought about doing before I got my internship with the current company. I think I could really enjoy teaching and I wouldn't mind grading papers...heck anything is better than alphabetizing for 12 hours straight >< But yeah, it's definitely something I still need to think about for awhile...And to Dave, there actually is one more President Bush event in August (well, it's technically the RNC Gala, but President Bush will be there). If anyone is interested let me know and I'll email you the invite. It starts at $1k. Also, Senator Arlen Specter will be fundraising here in August if anyone's interested in that.

Um, yeah there was a bunch of other stuff about today that sucked but now I think I've written more than enough for today especially considering I edited a few more Ohio pictures...Oh yeah, without Mr. Howard Ching I would not be able to make it through the work day...thanks for being the only other person online at 8:30 in the morning! You're the best =)

They bought 88 dozen roses and the bride and her bridesmaids hand-made all the flower arrangments.

My grandma and grandpa (well actually step-grandpa...they were both widowed and got married to each other in their 70's).

Little Ian in his Ohio State wagon got to be the ringbearer.

This was a practice run.

Luckily he didn't put the helmet in his mouth during the actual wedding.

My cousin Darwin being walked down the aisle by his pastors.

This was during Darwin's parent-appreciation speech...there was not a single dry eye in the house, you can see the best-man bawling in the background.

My Aunt Margaret (his mommy) during the parent-appreciation speech.

The happy couple.

Me, my mom, my sister.

I never noticed this before but I think I got my smile from my grandma.

My cousin Janie and her daughter Christina.

And there's her son Justin.

And there's Justin sleeping at the reception...there is apparently a picture of him dancing with his pants down around his ankles at my cousin Steve's wedding so you know the kid is going to have one embarrassing slideshow at his wedding.

To the left of the empty chair is my sister, then me, my cousin Steven, his wife Janice, my cousin Karen, my cousin Eric, then his wife Mindy and finally my cousin Jennifer (the empty seat is her boyfriend Joel, who was taking the picture).

This was taken the morning everyone left, I woke up to my mom dangling Ian's legs in my face at 8 a.m. I look rather disheveled but he's so darn cute even at 8 a.m. =)

My grandma, my aunt and Ian...three generations in one picture =)

Okay that's all for now! My tendonitis is starting to make itself known again.

The more I think about it the more this job makes me want to be a teacher. You get to do meaningful work (hopefully as a high school econ/gov teacher I could teach the children of tomorrow about a little thing I like to call "common sense")...compared to what I'm making now the pay is fabulous (not to mention I'd get benefits too, which I don't get at all right now despite my sh*tty pay)....school gets out in the early afternoon whereas I have to work ten or more hours a day (ten hours would be a short day for me actually)...and I'd get three months off in the summer to bartend and play and enjoy my birthday, instead of doing filing/data entry in an office for 10 hours and begging to be let off early so I can meet P for a birthday dinner.

Yes, in almost every way, teaching beats the job I have now. And people think teachers are underpaid...if they only knew.

But I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much since I'm writing this from my terminal at work =)  I just really want to do something at work that is beyond the capabilities of a well-trained monkey.

My nephew Ian and his daddy...can't you see the resemblance =)
 

That's his mommy, my cousin Ingrid, isn't she pretty...and way too young to be a mom!
 

 

 

Here's another cutie pie...my niece Natalie =) Look at those cheeks.
 

My cousin Jennifer, my sister Candace, my Mommy (with her eyes closed...she hates that) and me.

P came to visit the night I got back. Seeing him made me feel so much better. It's nice. He even wanted to take me to the airport, except he can't because it's during work. But it's the thought that counts =) I almost don't even care about whether or not he's "officially" my "boyfriend."

P.S. I spent the 4th listening to firecrackers go off somewhere outside while I sat in bed, all alone in my brand new big apartment (except for Taz of course), watching Sport's Night.

I hung out with Mars, Gary and big Kevin last night...originally Eric's friends but I got custody of them for the night I guess. Talking to them made me realize I'm still pretty...bitter? Maybe hurt. I don't know. I do think I'm mostly over him, but there are things I miss. Being with George was like a lesson in what I don't want in a guy or a relationship (not that it was all bad, but it was definitely a learning experience), but I don't think I would have ever gotten tired of Eric, or at least I never did until the end when he was just pushing me away. Even then I was a damn devoted girlfriend. I miss the playfulness...the goofiness...I don't know. I really shouldn't think about this anymore. It just makes me wonder. I was so ready and willing to settle down with him (you know, the big M) but I was in that place all by myself. And when I think back to when he was active in the Marines and how much he would miss me and how it seemed like he wanted to settle down too...I don't know. Would I have stayed with him while he was in the Middle East if I didn't expect to marry him? Shouldn't that have been a clue to him? I guess I just feel a little bit tricked and a little bit used by him. I was there for him when he needed someone because he was alone and lonely and craving comfort and stability...and then once he got to a place where he didn't need that so much anymore I went into the garbage can along with all his other past (temporary) passions...like his motorcycle...paintball gun...etc. This post has really devolved into an incoherent ramble. But I just can't help but feel like he threw me away. And if Eric, who I honestly believed would never break my heart, could do that to me, then why should things ever be any different.

Bleh, I'm stupid.

After Carmel we went on the 17-mile drive starting with the Pebble Beach resort area. There were some amazing views (again hating myself for not bringing the camera up), and more brightly colored flowers but it wasn't the most wheelchair accessible place so we continued on. When we got to the lone tree cypress (or something like that) we stopped and fed all these tiny squirrels peanuts and stared out at the beautiful view for so long that my grandma decided she did want to come out of the car too. After that we pretty much just made a couple more stops along the beaches and headed back to Fremont for some chinese food at 3-6-9.

All in all a nice day with the family. I think I'm going to be more homesick now than I was before.