Jennifer Robin & Matt's Wedding

I just got back from the wedding of the lovely Jennifer Robin and the uhm... eccentric... Matthew. Matt has been a friend since I was 14 years old!

To-do list:

• upload pics
  

  Jennifer Robin and Matt Wedding

• write an entry about the wedding
• drink a lot of water
• respond to comments from previous entries
  
• sleep

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The next day...
29 April 2007
8.17p

I first met Matt in high school through mutual friends. We didn't have a lot in common, but we quickly grew to be close friends. Years later we would spend many summer nights drinking at campfires on the beach and railing at the fates over capricious women, unrequited loves, and broken hearts. In fact I've got plenty of stories I could tell, but the truth is that anyone who knows Matt probably has the same stories, and anyone who doesn't know him wouldn't understand the stories anyway.

Suffice it to say that I'm delighted that Matt has found such a well-adjusted and lovely person to call his wife as Jennifer Robin. She brings out the best in him, and I and all of Matt's long-time friends are grateful for that. To be honest, there was a stretch of 4-5 years there where we worried Matt would be lost to the scary, scary world of his long time ex-girlfriend who brought out the worst in him. Thankfully, Matt and Jennifer Robin found each other.

Another beautiful day for a wedding. Clear blue skies, a cool breeze, a warm sun.

Arm in arm for the first time as husband and wife.

Matt's parents. I was so happy to see them again. I spent a lot of time at their house when we were younger and they were always so kind to me.

Jennifer Robin's parents.

I'm glad we didn't have digital cameras 10 years ago when Matt and I were running amok.

Bill, me, Matt, Evan, John, Andrew (Matt's youngest brother - I remember him when he was like 4' tall!!)

Evan can't resist the chocolate fountain. But really, who can?

These people obviously don't know about the chocolate fountain yet.

And they lived happily ever after.

Char's Wedding

Chicago, 21 April 2007.
Perfect day for a wedding...

Char, my only blood-cousin on my father's side in America, tied the knot with Peter in a combination Western-Thai ceremony. The wedding and reception were held at Fulton's on the River. It was a really beautiful ceremony, and Char was holding back tears of joy while she was saying her vows. Peter stared lovingly into her eyes, which probably contributed a little bit to her tears of joy as well as helped her to remain composed.

I don't even know how to begin saying how important Char is to me and how happy I am for her and Peter. She's like a big-sister to me and despite the distance between us we have always remained very close. I've always said that Chicago is the only other place I'd live in America besides New York, and that's obviously got a lot to do with her.

Some more pics from the wedding...

Peter and his 97-year young grandmother.

The ringbearer, กรณ์ Korn, and his father. The last time I saw him (พี่ตี๋ p'Ti, the father) was several years ago; Korn wasn't even born yet!

Father of the bride escorting his daughter down the aisle.

They had a lot of fun during the whole ceremony.

Anthony Rapp

First dance together as husband and wife.

My dad, my bro, ลุงเชษฐ์ Loong Chet (Uncle Chet), ป้าดุ่ย Pa Duy (Aunt Sunny)

Family friend อาเอนก Ah Anek on the left

พี่ผึ้ง p'Pheung, Korn, p'Ti

They're not just being cute and romantic; Peter is helping hold Char up cause she's had several drinks now. And she's quite little; doesn't take many drinks to get her tipsy hahaha

Finally a close-up of Char. Isn't she beautiful?

and now for a couple non-wedding pics...

Outside the hotel

The hotel we stayed at was actually on the 15th floor and above of the Chicago Sun Times building. I just thought that was kind of interesting.

We went to Portillo's for Chicago-style hot dogs.

I also had an Italian beef sandwich

This was a splurge weekend for everyone. Hot dogs are a once-in-a-few-months meal for all of us cause they're not exactly the healthiest things. They are, however, among the tastiest.

And for my last meal in Chicago I picked up this pepperoni pizza from one of the Pizzeria Uno outlets at the airport. Surprisingly good for a frozen pizza that I got in an airport.

If you'd like to see some more pics, click on the following pic to be redirected to my Picasa online photo album:

Char's Wedding

I'll try to get some more pics up in the album once the wedding photographers get their pics up onto their website. And my bro has a couple really nice shots of the Chicago skyline at dusk. I'll try to get those up too.

Next weekend: another wedding!

-------- edit --------
25 April 2007
I just got these pics from Char.

These pics were taken by the wedding photographer - Audrey Keller Photography. If you're in the Chicago area and need a professional photographer, you should definitely contact her. Char tells me that she was fantastic to work with and the pictures she's seen so far are phenomenal. If these two samples are indicative, I definitely agree. Like I said before, I'll try to snag some pics off her site once they're uploaded in the gallery there.

สวัสดีปีใหม่ !!

Happy Thai New Year!

Thai New Year is called Songkran, and it's one of the biggest holidays of the year. Songkran usually coincides with the hottest days of the year, and most people in Thailand have a week-long vacation to celebrate. According to the Buddhist Calendar, the year is now 2551.

Here are some pics from last year's celebrations by the Democracy Monument, down the street from my Grandmother's house.







ขอให้ทุกคนโชคดีกับทุกสิ่งที่จะทำในปีใหม่ !!

not so difficult

Some of you were wondering why I hardly blogged last month. It was because of this:

This is the set for As You Like It, playing soon at Stony Brook University. The build wasn't so much difficult as it was tedious. Fortunately the build is complete. Right now we're in the middle of tech weekend and after that we'll have three dress rehearsals before opening on Thursday the 19th. Come see it if you want!

On another note, I know I've got readers who don't post comments and that's fine. You're all well within your rights not to leave comments. But I do have some readers who don't post comments under the mistaken notion that you have to sign up for something before you can post a comment. That's just not the case. If you click on the comments link, you'll see you have 3 choices regarding how your name will be recorded. The first (default) option is to sign in with an account. The second choice is for you to enter your name (you don't have to use your real name) and website (which is optional). The third choice is to be listed simply as "anonymous." So if you've ever wanted to leave a comment but don't want to sign up for anything, or prefer not to have your identity recorded, your wishes can easily be accommodated!

See? That wasn't so difficult ;)

Kurofune, revisited

Went to Kurofune again. As always, the food was incredible. I forgot to bring my camera and instead had to take pics with the camera on my phone, so I apologize for the mediocre picture quality. Just a couple pictures to share:

Katsuo no tataki. Tataki is a type of sashimi where the skin of the fish is seared (traditionally with charcoal, but in modern times usually a blowtorch is used) while the flesh remains raw. Normally when you get katsuo , the fish is a very deep red. Springtime is when you get the best katsuo and apparently springtime makes the fish's flesh lighter in color and more rich in fat (the good kind of fat: omega-3). This was the best katsuo I've ever had, probably because it was in season and incredibly fresh. It was tender, melt-in-your mouth, and rich in flavor. The fish is garnished with grated ginger, sliced lemon, and sliced scallions. The sauce is ponzu with a little more of the sliced scallions. Katsuo is not eaten with wasabi and soy sauce. The acidity in the ponzu perfectly counterbalances the richness of the fish. Try it once with ponzu instead of soy sauce and you'll understand.

Ankimo - steamed monkfish liver. The liver of the monkfish is scrubbed with salt, washed, cleaned of any veins, shaped into a cylinder, and steamed. It's served in ponzu (like the previous tataki). Ankimo has been called the foie gras of the sea, and rightly so. It has a similar taste and texture, with an added flavor reminiscent of grilled mackerel. The flavor and texture were incredible. Smooth and delicate texture, with a clean marine taste. Personally I think I would rather tuck into ankimo than foie gras au torchon. Oh, and that reddish garnish is grated daikon mixed with momiji oroshi (red pepper sauce).

I love this restaurant so much. After we were seated and our drink order had been placed, we were told by a very excited host that they were proud to offer their special katsuo no tataki. It's really good to see a restaurant so proud of their food. I think that's what really sets Kurofune apart from all the others.

dark clouds looming?

For the past few days I've been having kind of a bad, ominous feeling. I feel like something bad is brewing. Don't know what it is though. I just feel like I've got something to worry about this week.

I hope I'm wrong.

delayed

The cardiologist's office just called me and told me that they have to cancel my appointment for the echocardiogram tomorrow because their technician has the flu. So I need to reschedule for a new appointment. ARG.

Anyway since I've already shuffled my work schedule around for this, I'll just use that day to bring my car in for its 30,000 mile checkup. Great. More money I don't have. =(

the results are in (sort of)

I arrived early, filled out a lot of paperwork, and waited. And waited, and waited, and waited. My breathing was checked. My heart function was checked. My blood pressure was checked - standing and supine. I had an EKG. I went through a variety of tests and checks. I answered a lot of questions.

After the doctor went through all the tests, we sat down and talked about things. The EKG confirmed what he had heard through the stethoscope - I have a very mild heart murmur. He said that it's possible that the murmur is not significant enough to have caused the problem. However, there's a very small possibility that the murmur is indicative of a congenital heart defect. I'll have to go back for an echocardiogram (I made an appointment for 11 April). If the echo doesn't show anything, he said he'll send me to an MRI. If that comes up negative then the doctor will recommend that I see a psychologist to discuss stress. Basically, the doctor is hoping that my problem was due to anxiety. He's having me do these tests because it's the responsible thing to do, but he's hoping they come out negative. The alternative to seeing a psychologist would be to put me on medicine to treat panic attacks. I don't really want to go on medication. I feel like that would be treating a symptom instead of treating the cause.

I don't feel like I'm stressed out. Maybe that's a good enough reason to see a psychologist.