Last Day of Gemini

While there is still a few hours of the Gemini month left, I have decided that I must finally write about my 29th birthday.  On the Monday of May 20th,  I got to work and my cubicle was fully decked out in streamers and a banner with a basket of goodies and a birthday card.  Inside the card was a voucher for an item from the Zollar Store - I traded it in for a Zappos Llama hot/cold tumbler cup.  I use it daily, it's awesome.

That was actually my third early gift.  My very first one?  Of course it would be from one of the people who have been celebrating it for a very, very long time!  Now, some people will not appreciate just exactly how cool this item is... The Kuhn Rikon Ultimate Can Opener with Auto Attach Feature!  It is a can opener, lid lifter, ring tab picker, jar opener, soda top opener, and bottle cap opener.  SERIOUSLY... it is like the freaking MacGyver of kitchen gadgets.  I've wanted this bad boy for a looooong time, ever since Jackie got hers last year, and now I have it!!!!  No container shall ever stand in my way again. muahahaha.

After work, Will dropped me off at the airport to fly back down to San Diego.  Why this splurge, you ask???  Well... they were the courtesy of Annie's beautiful generosity!  My second early gift!!  When I was last in San Diego, Jenny, Annie and myself were at Tea Station and just started spontaneously hatching these wild plans for me to visit on my birthday.  And without prompting, pomp, or circumstance - she busted out her Southwest rapid rewards and got me roundtrip tickets!  WOW!!

Annie picked me up from the airport and we headed to Mira Mesa to eat at one of my favorite restaurants - Buca Di Beppo!  Her cousin joined us for dinner and she was very sweet, funny, and witty.  Loved her!  Afterwards, we went to meet the 2nd love of my life - Leonardo DiCaprio.  We watched the The Great Gatsby as we promised we would when she last came to visit me.  Of course, as a follow-up to my Christmas present of 50 Shades of Gray - she got me this new cultural sensation, "Bared To You."  I haven't actually had the time to read this just yet, but I'm sure the steaminess will be equally as entertaining... and unbearable.  LOL.  Then we went to bed to get a good night's worth of beauty sleep for our big day ahead of us.

We woke up the next morning, picked up Jenny and headed down to The Hilton in the Gaslamp District of Downtown San Diego to begin our spa day.  We got a livingsocial deal for a massage, facial, and use of their pool/amenities.  The facilities were not as grand as the accommodations that I had become accustomed to in Las Vegas, but it was a good time!  Once we were done being fully pampered and sunning ourselves on the pool deck - we gathered our things and headed to our hotel - The Sofia.

We showered and got ready for our night out in the town.  I got a well-wishing Happy Birthday phone call from BFF Jackie!  She just wanted to wish me a grrreat time because she remembered me AND she had sent me yet another delightful treat!  It is a gift certificate for any mani/pedi service (and then some) at Luxy Nail Salon - a local nail salon near where I live in Las Vegas!  She is so thoughtful and cheered me up even more!

We ate at Rei Do Gado - a Brazilian BBQ restaurant.  It was a MUCH better experience than the one I watched in the movie Bridesmaids.  Hahahaha... it was sooooo delicious and fun, I would certainly go again.  They even sang to me along with another gentleman next to me who was also having a birthday - and the manager blew a bonafide bull's horn (or some other animal - it was like super long and twisted).  Good times!

Then we headed over to Extraordinary Desserts where we met up with another fantastic friend, Dawn!  She treated all of us to a delightful round of unparalleled desserts and tea.  We chatted and caught up for a while - not nearly long enough - and then she graciously dropped us off at Maloney's Tavern to begin our wild evening.  It was extremely quiet inside... but then again, it was a Tuesday Night. -____-  We moved along to the Tipsy Crow and found our way to Double Deuce... and closed down the place!  Then... in true wolf pack fashion, we got in a pedi-cab and continued to party!  We found ourselves in a questionable hookah bar and then finally called it an evening and returned to the hotel.

The next morning, Annie and I woke up totally hungover and Jenny was already gone for work!  What a champion!  She left me this super fantastic Corkatoo Wine Corkscrew and a birthday note!  Although, she probably could've started a motorcycle in that room and we would've slept through it. 

We drove down to Ocean Beach to have some of my favorite fish tacos in the entire world at South Beach Bar & Grill and then took a leisurely stroll down the pier and around the sandy beach.  I just really missed the ocean and wanted to be near it for a while.  Of course, we felt quite ill that entire time, haha, but we made it through and hung out at a Starbucks near the airport for the final leg of the morning/afternoon.

Alas, we parted once again and I survived the flight home - just barely.  For some reason, it is ALWAYS a bumpy ride.  Being hungover and prone to motion sickness do not mesh well at all.  *ugh*

At any rate, I got home ok and Will was there to pick me up.  What did he have waiting for me?  My birthday present!  I am notoriously good at guessing his presents for me, and of course I guessed it.  I shook the wrapped box a few times, jiggled it around, and then noticed the shape and held the box up to my face.  Sunglasses!!  They were the Christian Dior sunglasses that I fell in love with weeks ago during Annie's visit to Las Vegas.  I never even showed him a picture of it - and yet he managed to pick out the very same exact pair with the help of the salesperson in the store!  MAGIC!  We are sooooo in sync.  LOL

And the wondrous love of my friends do not stop there.  Soon after my return, I came home from work one day to find an Amazon package straight off my wishlist from Jennifer!  It is the Emberverse series by S.M. Stirling and trilogy... I am in the middle of the first book, Dies The Fire.  It was so super important for me to get these books during this summer because in November I will be going to the TusCon science fiction conference with Dawn and S.M. Stirling is one of the featured authors who will be speaking!  AWESOME!

Of course, my parents gave me some Lucky Envelopes while I visited them last time.   And my mother-in-law sent me a very nice birthday card along with a check - which is very kind of her at this time because she has certainly been living on a very limited income these past several months.  I also received a birthday card from Cuong, who remembers year after year!

I was surprised by yet another Amazon package sent to my work.  BiYing sent me a very useful and fun gift - rock climbing shoes and harness!  There was no truly inspiring or flattering way to take actual photos of the item... so I have included an interpretive image of what I suppose hardcore rock climbers (including BiYing, someday) do with their fancy schmancy climbing gear.  OMG, craziness.... I think it's called cliff camping???  Why would anyone in their right mind do this?  I guess now that I have my own shoes and harness... this must be the next logical step.  I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

Last, but certainly not least, was my Botkier Valentina crossbody purse.  Annie had ordered a fantastic Michael Kors purse for me from Zappos but left it up to me to exchange it for anything I liked.  I took the liberty of applying my own spiffy 40% employee discount and upgrading to a ridiculously fancy purse that I would otherwise have never gotten myself!  WOW!

 So, thank you everyone for all the happy, warm wishes and generous gifts... I celebrated yet another great year of life and adventure!!

Thank you, Bridesmaids!

So, Bridesmaids are wonderful people and they make wedding-life happier and easier!

I would like to take this moment to thank all of them for their tremendous hard work, support, and encouragement through this entire process.

Here are the gifts that I have chosen as tokens of my appreciation. Each bridesmaid got their own Swarovski crystal starfish hairpin to wear for the big day!

Jackie is my Matron-of-Honor (she's not a maid being already married & a *hot* mama) and she has been the BIGGEST help through all of this since she has experience and could give me the most advice, help, and guidance. I chose this box because it was so elegant and sturdy - if you know her, you will know that she is naturally beautiful and graceful... and ALWAYS there when you need a friend. Her pin is a turquoise/teal color - quite against my sensitivities - to highlight the fact that we have completely opposite tastes when it comes to color palettes!! But thanks to her, no one has to suffer through a *fiery sunset volcanic orange* wedding...
BiYing was a superstar because during the 17 months of planning she was hopping back and forth between California and Chicago - for school, interviews, personal stuff, family, and Me! She made a commitment to be there for me and I could not have been happier to have shared this awesome time of my life with anyone else! I chose baby blue because I know it's her favorite color and I chose this owl because it was hilarious looking. When I think of BiYing I just think of all our crazy college years together and the insane amount of laughter and inside jokes. There's a joke inside this owl...

Lastly, Mariah was the only one of my bridesmaids who actually lives in San Diego, making her the most accessible on the fly. She was always willing to lend a helping hand when I needed opinions on dress colors or find out information on possible event venues - she even scouted out the Omni with me when there was like a private even happening... how awkward! So, thanks for braving through the whole ordeal - we made it to the end! I chose pink - and if you knew her, I wouldn't have to explain! =)

In closing, I would like to express my deep gratitude for the crazy amount of help and for throwing me the best parties of my entire life! I will never forget this incredible milestone and you made it happen!!

I will see you in the morning and then it's down the aisle! Goodnight!!

Bling!

The wedding frenzy has slowed down a bit since everything has pretty much been squared away... there was a miniature crisis with the make-up artist and I surely will be blogging about that mishap as soon as time permits.

Now I get to finally sit back and enjoy the many rewards of this whole occasion - aside from the whole happily ever after marriage part, of course - but we haven't gotten to that part just yet!

I've gotten some fantastic bling! from friends and family and I really just want to show them all off... I kind of have this squirrel-syndrome where I am very attracted to shiny, sparkly things and I like to hoard them away and bring them out once in a while and just marvel at them and pet them.  Which is why I can't watch ANY of the Ice Age movies because I am literally in agony watching the poor prehistoric squirrel lose all his acorns ALL THE TIME!!  It's so unfair!!!!!

My preciouuuuus.... creepy moment, sorry!

I picked out the wedding veil and necklace and my mommy bought them for me.  I loved them at first sight because they matched my dress so perfectly and because they SPARKLED with crystals!  The veil is elbow length and rounded along the bottom with hand-sewn crystals all along the edges reinforced with glue.  The necklace is a gorgeous pearl and crystal creation with a unique and dazzling designer clasp that also doubles as a vintage-style pendant.  It's from the Summer Ball collection and each necklace is made by hand after purchase by Justine M Couture and can be customized to your specific details, so it really is one-of-a-kind!!!

If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed that there are two amazing pieces of jewelry in the picture next to us.  Well, that is because my MOHizzle extraordinaire had the incredible foresight and generosity to purchase the matching bracelet for me as the Best Birthday Present EVER!  Shout out to her lovely sis Jennifer as well for being a part of this incredible gift!  And, of course, to Mr. Khoa Ngo as well... because well, what's his is Jackie's... and what's his is Jackie's.  LoL.  Shhhh.... no one tell Will my marriage philosophies.

Next, I have this unbelievable display of craftsmanship and thoughtfulness.

SIDENOTE: I think I can also apply as a writer for QVC, yeah?

Once again, Jackie tortured me for weeks over this surprise that she created herself.  It's a full set consisting of a super cool brawler style ring that goes over 2 fingers, a necklace with my name, and a bracelet also with my name spelled out.  I told her a loooooong time ago when I was obsessed with Sex and the City that I wanted a necklace with my name written on it.  And then a few years back I went through this ghetto-fab phase and really wanted giant hoop earrings with my name inside them.  I didn't even remember I had these desires and she busted out with this ultra cool jewelry that she made herself!  She has a newborn... what the heck?!  I think she borrowed that secret necklace from Hermione Granger that gives her extra time.

Harry Potter & LOTR name-drops in one post... sho' nuff!!!


On a Vegas note... My friend & Bridesmaid Mariah got me a little necklace with a shot glass attached.  That little shot glass did me in... good times!  LoL.  She tried finding me a shirt or other kind of gear but they all said pretty vulgar things or like "Buy this b*tch a shot!" or "This b*tch is getting married!"  And it was very perceptive of her to figure out that I wasn't about to run around calling myself a b*tch... please, I have plenty of other people lined up for that job.  I was also fully decked out in the tiara and sash that my bridesmaids gave me for the bridal shower, so it was pretty hard to miss what I was.. although, I strangely still got some "Happy Birthdays!"  Those beads were courtesy of the Rio's Show in the Sky... where they threw down beads from the the floats in the sky... thanks to my super decked-out status, I got beads from every single float!!  No flashing required, stay in boobies!  =P

My  half-sister, Carol, sent me this beautiful heart necklace from Tiffany & Co.  I've never had any jewelry from them before, so it marks a first!  It's pretty awesome because up until 3 years ago, my sister and I had been complete strangers to one another.  I grew up with my mom and dad in America when she was already 18 years old and had her own life in Hong Kong.  Finally, 3 years ago, my mom approached me and asked me to connect with my sister and make friends with her.  It was shocking and weird at first... but she is a really nice person and has a great heart.  Even though we will probably never be as close as sisters who grew up together, I am hopeful that we can spend the rest of our lives building a friendship.

Lastly, and most dear to me, is the gift from my Mom & Grandma.  My mom sat me down this past weekend and pulled out this simple, elegant jade pendant from one of those little Chinese jewelry pouches.  I recognized it immediately because my mom used to wear it almost every day since I was a little girl.  That pendant originally belonged to my Grandma when my aunts and mom all bought it for her birthday before I was even born.  My mom was my Grandma's favorite daughter so she gave it to her to 'keep her safe.'  One day, my mom thought she lost it because her gold chain had broken while she was at the swap meet and she was devastated.  Later that evening, she found out that it was actually trapped inside her many layers of clothing.  Needless to say, she was super relieved but she never wore it again.  So, now, she is passing it onto me because I'm growing up and I'm about to start my own life in my own family... and it will keep me safe.  I treasure it the most above all things because I feel like I'm carrying my mom and my grandma with me close to my heart.

Drop it like it's hot...

Will and I had signed up for an introductory First Dance lesson so that we wouldn't just be weeble-wobbling around for several minutes to the boredom and snickering of many.  In terms of Good/Fair/Poor... the lesson was: FAIR.

It was great to learn good dancing posture / photo tips, advice on how to avoid tripping over the long skirt, and a couple fancy twirls, walks, and dips.  It was awful to be "instructed" by a Mean Foreign Lady for an hour. 

On Sunday, we returned for our second lesson and M.F. Lady was nowhere to be seen but there were a bunch of people dancing inside.  So we waited inside the air-conditioned studio for a bit until some girl rudely told us that they're only renting the studio for practice and don't run it.  I told her who we were waiting for and she said "I don't know who she is but there is nobody here to help you."  B*tch!!  We left and of course we receive an apologetic phone call from M.F. Lady several minutes later saying that she was "in the back making coffee."  Yeah, ok.  Whatever.

We dropped her like a hot potato and canceled the series (good thing we didn't have to pay up front) and decided to do the rest ourselves.  I burned a CD with the song looping 15 times and we choreographed the whole song in like 35 minutes.  So, we shall see how this do-it-yourself first dance will end up!

First Dance Song: The Way I Am, by Ingrid Michelson


TREASURES FROM EUROPE

On quite another note... my friend, Dawn, went on her annual European vacation and came back with goodies for me!

I asked for a Union Jack umbrella, but apparently they are much harder to come by than one might have thought.  hmmm...  So, she brought me this exquisite Bone China commemorative plate for the 100th anniversary of the Titanic!  I LOVE IT!  For those of you who may not know... I'm a little obsessed.

She also gave me this little guy from Prague - Czech him out!  He is a Golem from Jewish folklore.  He is made out of clay and if an intruder should come into my home while I sleep at night, he springs to life and pounds them to death with his giant fists.

In the event that you come to my home and find yourself being pummeled by a titanic (ha.ha.ha.) Golem, this is all you do.  Simply deactivate him by removing the aleph (א) in emet (Hebrew word etched into this chest), thus changing the inscription from 'truth' to 'death.'

Voila!!

Thank you for the unique cultural gifts, Dawn!  I shall treasure them and continue to ALWAYS find any excuse to initiate enthusiastic conversations about things that other people may not appreciate but will smile politely and nod as I steam roll them with my excitement!!