Monday, July 25, 2005

Wow, it's been a long while since I've posted. A lot has happened since July 7-- I moved from VA to CA and have been in two weddings. Things have been hectic, so I'm looking foward to relaxing until classes start in August.

A mini-recap of the past couple weeks:

Wedding #2- Meet me in St. Louis
On July 9, I was a bridesmaid in my sophomore year suitemate's wedding. It was my first time visiting St. Louis. Some observations:
- It's really humid in St. Louis.
- The Arch is really big. And wide.
- Taxis are FREAKIN' expensive. A twenty minute cab ride cost me almost $40.
Anyways, it was a nice wedding. Emily and Chris have been together since high school, so it was sweet to see them finally tie the knot. The wedding went off nicely, except for the small problem of the minister showing up 40 MINUTES LATE!!!!! Now I have a lot of respect for men of the cloth, but this dude was lame. He made a huge deal about coming to church on time, not messing up, blah blah blah... and then forgets the wedding start time. But Emily handled it all in stride.
Oh, so when I left St. Louis on Sunday, I got to the airport and was greeted by the hugest mob scene I've ever experienced. Apparantely, the 7th Day Adventists were in town, and it was the end of their conference. Thousands and thousands of adventists crowded the airport and swarmed the ticket counters. It was so crazy. Also, they may be Adventists, but get them frustrated and make them wait in long ass lines and crowd them into the airport-- they get mean too.

The Great Escape-- How I almost didn't leave DC
I was supposed to fly out of DC on Tuesday the 12th at 5:30PM. I get on the plane at 5, and we taxi to the runway. I fall asleep, and when I wake up an hour later-- we're still on the runway. It's finally our turn to take off, when some light comes on in the cockpit. We get out of line, the light turns off, and we get back in line. We're about to take off, when the light goes off again. We go back to the terminal, and they fix the problem. The plane goes back to the tarmac, and we sit around some more. Finally, at 9PM, they tell us we're going back to the terminal cause of some runway problem. At this point, I am really pissed off. Not only have we been waiting forever, but the AC isn't on so it's hotter than hell, and they haven't served a single beverage. People start getting off the plane, and I impetuously decide, screw it, I'm getting off too. I'll just leave tomorrow. I was just so hot, and so frustrated and so mad. So mad that I walk off the airplane, leaving my ipod in the seat pocket in front of me. BRILLIANT. It was the craptastic end to a craptastic day.

Wedding #3- The Big One
On Saturday, July 23, my older brother got married. It was great. All week my sister and I had been running around, doing errands for the bride and groom and planning the bachelorette party. On Saturday morning we got up early and the bridsmaids all got our hair done together. We all looked very purty. We then headed over to the suite and got ready for the big event. Joanna was a little stressed, but overall, she was amazingly calm and so excited to be married. The tears started for me in the limo ride over, when Sarah gave her a present from Minsoo. My brother is a good guy. We got to the church, and then they got married. The wedding is pretty much a blur. I have no idea what the church looked like-- just that it was like a freakin' sauna in there. I held it together pretty well through the ceremony, until Phil hugged my parents, while Jane and Linette sang in the background. Let's just say it was emotional. Anyways, after they were pronounced man and wife, they walked down the aisle to the strains of My Guy (Joanna walked up the aisle to "My Girl.")
The reception was a blast. There were a lot of relatives, old church friends, high school friends, and a ton of college friends. We ate, we drank, we danced. Davis gave a beautiful toast, without burping, and Kathy gave a beautiful prayer. Mom and Minsoo boogied to "You are the Sunshine of my Life." You wonder where Minsoo got his dancing skills? Just look at mom. Everyone was just so happy, and had such a great time celebrating the marriage of two peope who are the joy in so many people's lives.
I had a great time, but the whole thing felt very surreal. Phil got MARRIED. He's a real, for reals grown up. I couldn't have asked for a better sister in law though, and I know they'll have a blessed, happy life.

No more weddings for a while though. I don't think I can handle it.

Pictures from Julie, Emily and Phil's wedding to come later.

I need a vacation.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

It's 2 AM and I'm almost done packing. My life, in nine boxes. Crazy.

This week has been filled with seeing people and eating eating eating. Monday we had a huge Fourth of July feast. Yesterday, my roommate and I headed to Philadelphia, PA. I saw the Penn campus (beautiful), drove around South Philly (where my parents lived when they first moved to the States), climbed up the Rocky stairs, and walked around South Street. But more importantly, I ate a quesadilla and a dessert crepe off a food truck at Penn, had a Gino's philly cheesesteak, and tried Water Ice. Delicious.

On a sadder note, tonight I went to the funeral for Pastor Matt's mom. It was sad. But I think everyone took comfort in the fact that she's with the Lord, rejoicing in heaven. I'm so glad she lived to see Matt get married, and I'm so glad Matt has Grace to be with him now. That's pretty awesome.

This week, I also finally got around to watching Tae Guk Gi, this Korean war movie. Oh my goodness. I was okay watching the movie until about the last two minutes. Then I started freakin' bawling. Soooo sad. I think if you just read the subtitles, it wouldn't be as emotional. But being able to understand Korean and what this guy was saying-- man, it killed me. Overall, it was a good movie. Good acting, handsome men, violent war scenes. I enjoyed it.

Alright. I need to go to bed. Goodnight.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Happy Fourth of July! Despite all of its shortcoming, I still love this country. Yay USA.

Exactly one week from tomorrow, I will be headed home. Crazy. This weekend I've mainly been running errands and hanging out with my roommate. Good times. Yesterday was my last Sunday at church-- sad. I love GCCC, and I'm bummed to be leaving it.

Today I will be eating ribs and margaritas and other good stuff, and maybe going to watch some fireworks later. An ideal fourth of july.

I hate packing. And packing hates me.