Well, I'm back in the good 'ol dubyah - eh. (WA) I had a lot of fun this past weekend, and for the first time in awhile, I got to go to California for a happy event. Though I had already met Shiv's immediate family before this little excursion, it was still good to spend the weekend with them. I even got to meet both sides of the extended family too, whoohoo!

When we go into to San Jose last Friday, we pretty much went to eat straight from the airport and then went to the house. Nothing too busy... but Saturday was a crazy day. Me, Shiv, her brother Dustin, and her sister Jaime got up at 7:00 AM to decorate their cousin Michael's car (Micheal was the one who was getting married). Since Michael lives in San Fran, it took us about an hour to get there. After decorating the car for about a 45 minutes, we then drove back to the house to change for the wedding ceremony. After changing for the ceremony, we then drove back for the wedding. We had to get there a little bit early to help set up for the reception. While setting up for the reception, there was a problem with the helium tank for the balloons. So Shiv, Jaime, and I drove to a nearby mall to try and get more helium, but we were unsuccessful (we later got helium at a party store after the reception). Ironically, the wedding itself was very short. The ceremony couldn't have been slightly more than 15 minutes... preacher comes in, says a couple of sentences on how marriage is sacred and holy, does the vows, Michael & Vivian light the unity candle, and *BAM*... they're walking back down the aisle. One of the shortest weddings ever I've been to. The reception was nice, and it lasted for about an hour... I basically sat around chatting, and playing with Caleb, Shiv's 9 month year nephew who had a fascination with balloons. We cleaned up the church after the reception, then drove to the party store to get the helium for the rest of balloons. After that it was straight to the wedding banquet at a Chinese restaurant called "Koi Palace", which had this beautiful main room with (surprise) a koi fish pond. The dinner was delicious... most of the courses were seafood oriented, my favorite. =)

Sunday was another early day... we got early to attend church in SanFran's cool Chinatown. Before attending service, we stopped for breakfast at a small cafe/bakery. The service was really small (English speaking side), but I think the size added to charm of the whole experience. The pastor spoke in a very conversation and informal style, talking about the importance of being thankful and grateful for the things God gives us, something that I think I'm guilty of often. Anyway, after service, Shiv and I stomped around Chinatown to pickup some pastries and bao to bring to Seattle for the apartment dinner "dessert". When we got back to church, we left again to drive to Shiv's Dad's parents' house for a nice family luncheon. Lotsa comedians in the family, heh. After lunch, we went back to the house to pack and go to airport, and whooosh... now we're back in Seattle.. back to work and school.

Overall, I'd have to say the trip was a great experience. Like I said before, it was nice to be going to California for reason other than a funeral and Shiv's family made me really feel a part of it all and not a stranger. In a way, all the happiness is tinged with the melancholy sense that being with her family reminds me of the things that are missing in my own. I can't really directly compare the two, because every family is different in its own way, but it was touching to see how Shiv's whole family interacted. I miss not having a father to talk to or a grandparent to dote over, or even a sibling to get along with. I guess that shows how different my life is from hers, which is fine... I think for myself, I decided that God had a purpose in shaping my family the way it is now and that it is up to me to wait until He lets me discern that purpose. Just a small, rather insignificant cloudy thought in this sunny weekend. I wish all my weekends were as meaningful as this one. =)

On a side note, when we got back to the apartments, we joined in a fun game of Trivial Pursuit being played by the apartment people. Board games are great! I've forgotten how much fun they can be...
posted by G at 2:26 PM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33