i'm in love with weddings...

Becca's wedding was so gorgeous.  I guess events reflect people's personalities and hearts; this one was no exception.  It was simple elegance and just a genuine feeling of joy. I really, really enjoyed it.  It makes me want to get married.  Her dress was so beautiful.  The venue was breathtaking. The ceremony was just fun and unique.  I was very touched.   It was hilarious when Time, Anne and I were leaving the hotel we bumped into Rick's cousins who were taking the limo to the wedding venue and asked us if we wanted to ride along.  The funny par it that the venue was--literally--across the hotel and the limo had to go around the block so that we could reach a place that would have taking a total of 2-3 minutes to walk to.  It was funny.  And it was a full limo! For like 15 people?  And there we were, 5 of us going around the block.  I guess Chinese people are big on limos for weddings. The rabbi officiating was very old which is why I think he was just so hilarious.  I was cracking up with him even if he didn't meant to be funny.  During the reception we were assigned to the "Boston" table which might as well have been yuppie Asian table.  Except for Tim, Olive--this Chilean girl who looks as blond as blond can be--and me, everyone else was Asian (Chinese-, Philipino-, and Thai-American).  We dance, dance to disco, hip-hop, banghra, and jewish music.  It was really funny when one of the guys at the table asked me if I was Daniel's date for the night. Daniel is this guy who read a poem at the wedding and who happens to be clearly gay.  Everyone at the table new it but I guess that we kept laughing and talking--he sat next to me--so it seemed as if we were together. I thought his question was cute.  Afterwards we all went to the hotel bar for drinks. I had an early flight the morning after so I passed the bar gig and went to bed--I was there for 10mins out of courtesy but after a whole night with overachievers who have all these superficial conversation that I don't really care about, I was ready to leave.  They were a fun bunch, and I liked them all.  I was just tired of forced chitchatting.  :)  

Anyway, I had so much fun! I was really happy for Bec and think that they'll have a wonderful, complimentary marriage.  It seems that way. 

I was really surprised that I wasn't tired towards the end of it since I  had spent the day waling around the mall at Towson and Baltimore in general. O.M.G. I will have an individual blog entry on this crab cake I had a Lexington market.  It was to D-I-E for.  The ghettoest of places, but the best crab cake I've ever had so far.  All in all, the trip to Baltimore was nice. Even the Indian cab driver taking me to the airport was awesome.  All he had to do was show pictures of his family.  :)

Charm City here I comes!

Apparently, that’s Baltimore’s nickname.  Not sure where it comes from so I’ll have to look it up.  I saw it on the Light Rail posters on my way from the airport.  It was an uneventful flight.  I seem to be getting over my little PTSD from my Iberia scare about 3 years ago but I still feel a bit uneasy about planes dipping in mid-air.  Anyway, I made may way from the airport to the Center St. stop on the light rail and for a minute seemed to be getting lost.  Eventually, after withstanding the humidity in this place, I found the hotel.  Peabody Court Hotel is not oohhh-aaaahhhh amazing but it’s cute.  It has an old elegance feel to it and it’s comfortable.  Right across the street is the Baltimore Book Festival so after dropping off my bags I went to check it out.  It was cool. Lots of books. He he. I decided to walk towards Lexington Market which apparently is the place to go for good crab cakes.  In the span of about a block I went from brick-posh, Manhattan like affluent neighborhood to like… well, the ghetto. Totally the ghetto.  I got a bit scared there for a minute but I couldn’t turn back.  I have this thing when I’m in a new city where apparently I blend in well since random people ask me for directions.  It’s really weird.  I’m like, “I have a giant camera hanging from my shoulder and seem to be quiet informally dressed on a weekday morning, what on earth does not show you that I’m a tourist?”  It’s amusing.  So I was walked down ghettoland… it was so ghetto that the jewelry store at a corner had a 6-foot poster with pictures of grills, as in for your mouth.  I thought that was classic.  Anyway, as I walked down the street there seem to be a lot of traffic—it was rush hour 5/6pm—and cars where stopped at a red light.  Suddenly, I hear this guy going, “Excuse me. Excuse me.  Can I ask you a question?”  I don’t know why I paused my walk but I figured it would be the polite thing to do.  I said I guess and he goes, “If I tell you that I’m falling in love with you, would you believe me?”  It was so lame.  This tough looking black dude in a giant SUV asking me that lame question.  I looked at him, smiled and said, “uh, nope,”  and proceeded with my walk.  It was funny.  When I got to junkie-land, which is the Lexington Market area, the place was closed.  There was this black-panther-throwback Muslim guy with a van and a speaker “preaching” about the Quran and then singing some weird 70s disco song.   It was quite an adventure.  I headed back to the hotel since it was getting dark and ordered room service. As I walked in, my friend Becca and her wedding peeps were heading out to the rehearsal dinner.  She said they’d get drinks later and would call but afterwards I just wanted to go to bed and did just that.  That’s my first day in Baltimore. I kinda like it.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.  Can’t wait for the wedding!

hmmm...

hello world! it's been a while.  i have been busy with lots of things: moving, work grant ending, end-of-year activities, funeral, etc., etc.   

i'm getting used to my college world.  i should say my weird college world.  i'm one of the few non-japanese around here.  everyone else is a japanese female--except for janitorial staff which is hispanic, and cafeteria staff who are haitian.   it's almost like a little parallel universe here.  i haven't had much chance to interact with the girls.  i'm in the lounge now available for homework help and i can't stop laughing about this one girl.   she is one of those borderline "japanese bar hostess" looking girls.  she wears huge fake eyelashes everyday, and really, realy pink blush.  her hair is dyed blonde. her style is almost like this one except that the hair is not curly but straight but with the same gigantic bangs.   anyway, so she is talking to her friend in Japanese about this guy that she met at Copley and who gave her his email address.  then she comes to me because she wants to write to him and doesn't really know what to say.   first of all, she just got the email about an hour ago.  so for her to email him right away, it find it funny. but then she says that she asked him for the email. mind you, this girl's english is somewhat limited but she managed to ask him for his email.  then she says that she doesn't like him and that he has a girlfriend but that she likes another boy that also works at the store and that's why she wants to become friends with boy no. 1.  she also said that she told him so.   i kinda helped her a little with maybe what to say and told her i'd proofread it if she wanted to.  the message was like, "i'm in my dormitory now.  i wanna be a friend to you. i'm waiting for your message back."  there was more but i just thought it was so funny.   she sent her message to him so i'll wait to ask her what happened.   i'm looking forward to a possible story.  she' hasn't been here even a week!  i love these girls.

this week i attended a funeral for a dear friend.   a lady from my church who was just great and loving.  she died from cancer and although it wasn't a shock, it still is difficult.  she was one of those people that loved me always and i really never did anything special.  she just made me feel loved and accepted that way.   in any event, i haven't been to many funerals in my life but this one was my first full funeral as an adult.  it was very sad.  i didn't think it would be very emotional for me but it was.  it was weird that the interment wasn't the saddest part but a song that her grandchildren dedicated for her.  i cried quite a bit.

two conclusions

lately, as a result of interactions with someone, i have come to two very clear conclusions:

1.  i very much dislike men who can not decide and/or stand their ground; and
2.  i lose respect for someone who is easily manipulated and/or swayed without even attempting to formulate their view on a particular issue. 

this is the case with a guy that i work with in a committee.  he is the most indecisive person ever. granted that he is the only guy in a committee of 5 with at least 3 very opinionated women, but still, he could very well take that as an advantage rather than a weak point.  during a meeting he fluctuates between a number of opinions, never his own.  after the meetings, when he has had an earful from another committee member who also happens to be someone that he was in a very tumultuous romantic relationship, he emails and changes his mind.  what the heck? why on earth would he not just voice his view when we are all together rather than waiting until the middle of the night to send an email on a topic that we had already covered and death with?  it puzzles me. i dislike seeing people that are such pushovers because as much as i want to value their opinion, i cannot really respect them. i can never really know if that's their own, well-formulated and thought out perspective, or if they are just adopting it out of fear and/or complacency. 

for example, this guy, i think he has a lot to offer. i believe he is an intelligent man with clear, good points.  however, he's so scared of whatever it is that he's scared of that he never really brings anything to the table except in situations where he is feeling attacked and then explodes--which by the way, i have only seen twice in about a year and half. 

in women, i do not see this trait much because women are chatty and eventually something comes out.  that's why i dislike this most in men.  there's something reassuring about a man that knows his place and is confident with who he is and what he has to offer.  that's an attractive trait--both romantically and in friendship.  you do not have to be loud to project that; a quite man can be just as confident as a not-so-quiet one.  in my opinion, many times loud people lack confidence and must find it somewhere else, i.e. noise.  but anyway, this guy drives me nuts. i have been meaning to chat with him at one point, very amicably and respectful, of course, to tell him how i think he's way of handling conflict/diversity of opinion/decisions sometimes is not the most effective one.  you can't wait until you get home to type an email that clearly affects the discussion we just had for a half hour.  what's up with that? 

i am really going to have to pray for wisdom on this one because i do not want to perpetuate my pushover idea of him any further.   i just want him to voice his concerns and not be so susceptible to other people's manipulations, including mine.  i really want to respect him and show him respect.  it's just so difficult when he doesn't seem to respect his own judgement. 

i'm not sure if i mentioned this earlier but my mother had a chat with my paternal brother in DR and brought back his info with her.  i am horrible at calling people, which along with the awkwardness of contacting a person that i met once or twice but never saw again in 25+ years, make the recipe a bit difficult.  well, finally, after some indirect pressure and his diligent follow-up, i spoke with him today.  it was very weird.  i felt like i was chatting with someone that i had met at the supermarket and/or online and we were have a pre- romantic date convo.  there was a sense of awkwardness, nervousness, anxiety, and overall what-the-heck-is-going-on-here-and-why-me? kinda feeling. 

the conversation was pleasant and he definitely sounds a bit older brother-ish.  i smiled a number of times with some comments which illustrate how different we are culturally and emotionally.  i am going to a wedding in DR next month so we are coordinating a meeting along with my paternal siblings (sis + bro).  things are a bit difficult because apparently he is coming to Philly when i'm in DR and I can't stay later because there are other weddings i have to attend, pre- and post- DR, in MD and MA.  we'll see what happens. i thought it was endearing for him to close his first voicemail message with "te quiero mucho. un abrazo". i definitely would not have said that to a person that i don't really know and with whom i share half a genetic pool but no sense of familiarity.  he sounds like a cool guy. i'm looking forward to knowing him more and becoming his sister.  we'll see what new adventures are in store for me with this....

geesh.  i have had a couple of busy days lately.  it's all good though! i finally put all my junk in storage--thanks to all my dear family members and friends.  i am already at my new place, enjoying the borderline surreal scenery around.  it's all working out fine.

last night i went to a birthday party for the young profs group at church.  it was very nice.  they rented out the lower level at Ivy's downtown and Rupert was the DJ. it was so funny.  the music selection was great.  i got to dance a bit which was good since it had been a while. i also got to talk this guy that i see at church all the time but had never really talked to before.  i think it's nice when that happens because now it's easier to relate and greet him at church.  it was his birthday also.

today, i had brunch with Courtney in JP at Miami and then headed for some Dominican cake.  we sat on the grass at Showa and as always had a pretty good time. afterwards, i went to the Dedham mall with Sarah to watch Inception--review to follow--and had dinner at PF Chiangs.  all in all it was a good day spent with great peeps.  i am happy.