Summer Joy

Between June 28 and September 6, I had attended seven weddings. Ranging from the most extravagant style to the simplest of elegance, all the weddings were unique and wonderful. I am honoured to have been invited to so many.

What I remembered the most from each wedding (my apologies, the photos do not do justice to the stunning work of the decorators and planners):

June 28: The Gock-Mori Wedding

I had only attended the ceremony; because of the Catholic rituals, the ceremony was long, but beautiful.

July 5: The Sei-Ing Wedding


The wedding looked as elegant as the venue that hosted it. This was the first wedding in which my husband and I were named out-of-town guests -- even though we lived the closest to the venue. Their wedding invitations also had silhouettes of their profiles printed on them -- very cool.

August 9: The Lam-Chan Wedding

D and I were invited only to the reception, but D had grown up with the bride's brother and knew the whole family for a very long time. They also had a Transformers cake. Enough said.This wedding was special because it marked several transitions this family was going through, including saying farewell to D's best friend as he relocated to HK the very next day.

August 16: The Mah-Su Wedding


By comparison to most weddings I've been to, this was a very extravagant, but exquisite, wedding, complete with lion dances, blossom trees decorations, and a very well-made video presentation of his proposal to her on a cruise ship. The bouquet and garter tosses were met with excitement, surprisingly. At the wedding previously mentioned (among many other weddings), the garter flew right through a split in the middle by the guys who were "forced" to come fight for the garter.

August 23: The Wong-TomKun Wedding

An invitation to D's cousin's wedding was also an opportunity for D and me to be tourists in Toronto. Because I was family, I was invited, but did not partake, in the very lovely tea ceremony. The slide show presentations were casual, but funny.

August 29: The DeHaas-Hoeksema Wedding

I have never seen so many young children participate at a ceremony! Usually weddings would have one or two flower girls and a male ring bearer. There were at least seven kids who helped out somehow, whether it was to drop flower petals in the aisle or carry the bubble-blowing machine (which the little girl forgot to use in all her excitement of walking down the aisle). They were absolutely precious, though! The speeches made at this wedding were filled with hilarious stories; one of the speeches included a lengthy, but funny Shrek-parody of the bride and groom.

September 6: The Lee-Chan Wedding

One of the simplest Chinese weddings (paradox?) I have been to. Perhaps the most unique aspect of this wedding was that the father of the bride doubled as the minister of the ceremony. The father walked his daughter down the aisle, became the minister to ask "Who gives away this bride?", and then steps back down to say, "Her mother and I do!" to nobody in particular, and all the guests just laughed. The laughs were louder when at the end of the ceremony, the father/minister announced, "T, you may now kiss my daughter!" Everyone was in stitches, but the poor groom was too shy and embarrassed to kiss his new wife, so the father/minister had to say, "T, you have my permission to kiss her" to which the groom responded with a peck on the bride's cheek.

I had wished that I could've included photos of the brides in this blog, but I couldn't get permission from all of them, so I decided not to show any at all. The gowns (including the qi paos and kuas, where applicable) were gorgeous, but they were all so different from each other; the makeup was flawless, and the hair styles were impeccable, although the style now appears to be loosely curled hair that is half gathered up. Lastly, I must say that no matter how they put their looks together, every bride was incredibly radiant, elegant, splendid, and charming. (Sorry guys, but suits are suits and they all pretty much looked alike.)

May God bless all these marriages.

Post-Summer Blues

The wedding is over and here I sit while everyone goes back to school or work and I have nothing to do. Well, I do have some things to do, but it's hard to be motivated when it seems like there's nothing tangible to strive for.

I've been missing Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond friends. Last Sunday, my homesickness got the best of me and D so kindly tried to get me to pack up a few clothes and head out to Vancouver to be with my family. The time was midnight and I knew D would be willing to drive me out there and spend some time with my family, but I also knew that my feeling of homesickness will pass quickly. I'm pretty sure that what I'm feeling is normal, especially for some newlyweds. I got homesick because D and I were discussing all the things we have to do for our house and I had spoken to my mom and sister on the phone earlier that night. For me, it's too many changes taking place, but I'm sure I'll get through it all.

Being the kind of person who prefers predictability, I detest this feeling of impatience as I wait for a phone call to work in somebody else's classroom. I guess I've been really fortunate to have my own classroom almost immediately after I graduated with my B.Ed, so I'm a little nervous about what to expect when I work as a TOC in various schools. I guess I can try my hand in after school curriculum support tutoring. Even though I have some Special Ed training, I'm not very comfortable giving one-on-one support because I've always been just a regular classroom teacher. I was warned that September can be a slow month because most of the teachers are healthy and want to remain in their classrooms at the start of the year. If I'm not getting any calls by October or even November, I'm posting up credentials and job offer at the community centre.

It's almost depressing to think this, but the most exciting part of my week is that my central vacuum system is going to be installed this Thursday. Whoopee Doo! Hahahaha.....see? That was so lame. The best part of my week, I should say, is my plan to come out to Vancouver on Wednesday, so I can see my family and friends.

Ten-Second Thoughts, Post-Wedding

1. I squint a lot when I smile.

2. We have many generous friends and family.

3. I actually noticed my pew flowers while I was up at the altar.

4. Prayer works wonders, especially for the weather.

5. I wish I had more time to talk with friends at the wedding banquet.

6. I should've stuck to my guns and gotten a photographer who had an assistant.

7. Nothing I had imagined myself to look on my wedding day turned out in real life. It's not a bad thing, but I just found it funny in a peculiar sense.

8. D's family is really, really nice and I wish I had more time to get to know them.

9. Now I have too many dishes, French White Corningware, and vases.

10. I don't recognize my own voice on the DVD, but when I hear it, I cringe.

11. I look like a snob when I eat.

12. Everything turned out better than I expected. Lots of married women told me to expect the opposite of what I had planned (if it could go wrong, it will go wrong), but I think pretty much everything went according to plan! I know God was behind all of the wedding festivities, but I'm sure that the success of W-Day was due largely to very wonderful people in our lives, working together to ensure that D and I can enjoy our day. Too many to thank, but I'm sure they know how grateful and indebted I am for all their help and support.

13. D is an incredible husband.

How Many Days Left?

I can't wait for the planning to be over. I'm glad that I'm not currently working, so I could concentrate on the wedding details, though.

Speaking of not working, I am very, very appreciative for having this vacation period. So my upcoming rant is not about me not getting enough rest, but about people who misunderstand our status as teachers. I'm a little tired of having people "rubbing it in" about teachers not having to work summer, Christmas, and spring. Some people should keep in mind that we don't get paid during these holidays (why do you think there are summer school teachers?) and we are one of those essential service occupations that get paid far less than what we are trained for and what we encounter at work. I joke about how nice it is not having to work, but yesterday I got five snarky comments from four different people at two different times of the day about me not working, hence this rant.

Actually, I prefer work over wedding planning because at least at work, I have a controlled and predictable environment (as predictable as working with the youth can get). I know where everything is and because I had come up with the day's activities, I alone am responsible for what happens that day (well, the kids have a hand in the outcome of the day, too!). Wedding planning is fun, but unpredictable and nerve-racking. There are so many things that are out of my control. I know that sounds very Bridezilla-ish, but it's difficult not to worry about things I have to rely on others for. I'm trying to keep a sense of humour about everything, like the forecasting of rain on my wedding day. I'm trying not to let things, big or small, bother me too much.

I don't know how others view me, but I actually think I'm holding up quite well, better than I thought I would. It's the mothers on both sides that I think are more stressed about the wedding. They have ideas of their own, but they present them when certain things have already been set and then they get upset because we couldn't implement their ideas. So, when they stress out, they stress me out. I'm grateful for level-headed dads, or least indifferent ones. My daddy's keeping his mouth shut. I'm sure he has ideas, but he just dreads the day he has to give me away. "Losing a daughter" is not fun for him, but he knows he's "gaining a son" and a good one at that. Still, he looks at me with sad eyes and has been since D first proposed to me.

What has helped me (since happy pills are nowhere to be found) are my friends. I talked to all the members of my bridal party, except for one, and they have all been so supportive and encouraging, always offering to help, but giving me space to let me play and vent. A few friends from my old church have been extremely helpful as well with their advice and expertise in the roles I've given them. Siblings and cousins have also been reliable when I needed something done. Parents' friends have been generous in their cash gifts. But, another group of friends from my church have been lifesavers, especially C and Em. The group has rescued me at almost every step of the way during this planning process whether it be about flowers or favours, ribbons or rehearsal, photography or programs. I wish for everyone to have a core group of friends like these on whom they can depend. Most of all, talking to God is helping. It's like having a psychiatrist at my beck-and-call, but not having to pay a cent. That's a good thing considering this wedding (and the house) is gouging a deep hole in my wallet.

A Whole Mess of Things

Since the computer doesn't exist yet in my new house, I have been virtually (ha ha) out of touch with the world for the last five days. Now that I'm back in Vancouver for the weekend, I can finally update on things that have been happening in my life during this past week.

One:
Three Saturdays ago, D and I purchased a dining table with six chairs. They didn't have it in stock at the time, but the saleslady assured me that it would arrive in their warehouse in two weeks and since I didn't want to pay $75 delivery charge (which I couldn't bargain off) I told her that I would pick up the furniture myself instead. Two weeks came and went without any notification from the furniture store, so I called on Monday to see what the status was. Neither the saleslady nor the warehouse guys were working that day, but the guy I spoke to on the phone checked the computer to let me know that my dining set had come in the Friday before. He told me to call on Tuesday, which I did and again my inquiry turned up negative. I was given a cell phone number to the warehouse guy and I called him twice. He never called me back. On Wednesday morning I asked to speak with the manager. It wasn't that I was impatient to get my dining room set (which I kind of was), but I was more upset with the lack of communication between the store and me and between the store and their warehouse. The manager told me that I could finally come to pick up the dining set. When I got home that night, we discovered that the warehouse gave us the wrong chairs. Needless to say I was more than a little upset. Before I called the manager again the next morning, however, I prayed and was able to be civil on the phone with him. Now I have six chairs sitting in my garage waiting for me to throw them back to the furniture store on Sunday and hopefully pick up the right ones this time. The only snag now? I just looked at the dining set company's website and it looks like I got screwed on the table as well! Right now, I'm shaking my head; I think I will just keep the table they've given me. Well, apparently, the dining set I currently have is slightly more expensive than the one we've ordered. What do you think? Should I return the table as well? This is getting a little stupid.

Two:
I was supposed to get an air conditioner installed in my house last Tuesday. It would've been perfect for the hot weather that showed up on Wednesday, but it turned out that one of the coils on a part of the air conditioner did not fit with our furnace. Because the salesman made the incorrect calculations when he came to take measurements in our crawl space and of the furnace, he wasted my time and the installation guys' time, so D had to complain. Installing the air conditioner was an 8-11 hour job, so I had to rearrange our schedule just so I could be there for them to explain how to operate the A/C controls. Plus, the installation guys drove the large A/C unit all the way from Richmond on a trailer at the back of their truck only to have to return it back to Richmond after spending less than 1/2 hour here. Now they have to come back next Tuesday and I have to go out to Mission again. I was hoping to stay in Vancouver to prepare for my move next week, but that's not going to happen.

Three:
The mattress D and I purchased turned out to be too soft, so we took up on Sleep Country's 60-Day Comfort Guarantee to trade for a firmer bed. We went from Spring Air to Serta and took advantage of the Serta sale they have this month. After all the other furniture nightmares we've had lately, I hope our trade goes smoothly next Wednesday when the new bed arrives.

Four:
I can't find ribbon for my wedding flowers and favour boxes! Michael's, the godsend crafts store to all my creative friends, did not carry anything remotely to what I was hoping for! I guess it's kind of like the ribbon in the picture on the right, but in greenish blue, bluish green, or silver. I need them to be a certain length and width. I also need ribbon made of organza-type material. Argh! See what I mean?

Five:
This one is a biggie and one of those things God puts in my life to remind me that there are so many other more important things in my life besides ribbon and chairs. My father was admitted into VGH Emergency Monday night at 11pm. My mom and sister stayed with him until 4am, Tuesday morning. Apparently he called for help at home and my sister drove my parents to the hospital. I'm so proud of her! Thankfully, she wasn't out late that night as she usually is. My father arrived at the hospital with a heart rate of 40 (normal is 60) and his blood glucose reading at the same number (target for diabetic patients like my father is less than 7%). The hospital staff were amazed that my father hadn't keeled over already with readings like that. VGH staff was incredible; I guess because my father was put on critical status in the Cardiac Care Unit the doctors and nurses worked around the clock to ensure that my father stays alive. On Tuesday, he got a bit better, but they couldn't regulate his heart beat. They gave him medication to raise his heart rate, but that increased his blood pressure. They gave him medication to lower his blood pressure, but that slowed his heart rate. My father's health issue was quite an enigma. I was totally unaware that my father was in the hospital. All I knew was that he had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, so that night I called home to see how his appointment went. That's when my sister gave me the bad news and when I asked her why no one called me, she said that they didn't want to worry me. Worry me?!? I was worried about stupid furniture problems while my father lay dying in the hospital. Since my dad was getting better I felt that I could wait until Wednesday to see him. After all, he always lands himself in the hospital from time to time due to diabetes and then he leaves after a few days.

Wednesday morning I arrive at the hospital to learn that my father's heart had stopped twice that morning. His health had deteriorated overnight. My mother went to see him in the early hours and she left to bring him water because he complained about thirst. She was gone only a few short minutes, but when she went back to his room, several nurses and doctors were crowded in the room trying to save my father's life. A resident had to explain to my mom what had happened. They even had the defibrillators on hand to rescue him, but both times my father's heart resumed beating on its own before they could use the paddles. When I saw my dad, he was more frail than I have ever seen him before. My father's been sick many times before, but this has been the most critical condition he's experienced. (I'm crying as I type this.) My mom, dad, and I cried with each other around his bed, first when my mom recounted what happened that morning and a second time when my father asked D to take care of me and me to take care of my mom once he was gone. Dramatic, yes, but who can blame us? I'm sure friends I have who have already lost their dads to illness can sympathize with me and I draw strength from their stories and courage.

My father had complained of chest and shoulder pain, but an angiogram showed that his vessels are clear. They hooked him up to an external pacemaker to see if that would solve his problems. Before I left the hospital on Wednesday, my dad's doctor said that they will continue to monitor his body's response to the pacemaker for the next two days and if it's all good, they will put a pacemaker in his body next week. Well, yesterday they did that procedure! Today, my dad's looking much better and is ready to be discharged, hopefully by tomorrow (or today since it's 12:38am right now).

What's frustrating about all this is that I have been driving back and forth between Mission and Vancouver to be with my dad. I wish I could live closer, but D and I have had many good reasons to be out there; I will have to live with the drawback of being far away from my parents. At least, it's not a province, country, or continent away.

Now that the main scare has passed, I'll go back to less serious matters. While visiting at the hospital, we've noticed that the residents are all very good-looking and well-dressed. It was like watching a fashion show outside my dad's room; I attribute this phenomenon to shows like Grey's Anatomy in encouraging more of such youthful and fascinating hopefuls to become medical professionals. I would know -- my future sister-in-law is one of them, only she's already made it as a doctor! She watches Grey's Anatomy, too. ;)

Tomorrow (today) I'm concentrating on packing and making wedding programs. By the end of next Friday, I hope to have confirmed cake details, picked up the right dining room chairs, created table setting signs, A/C installed, emailed wedding day itinerary to all helpers, met with our photographer for final details, finished putting together wedding programs, bought ribbons, bought a b-day present for my cousin, and started teeth whitening regiment.

I will not forget that in between all of that I will love my parents, hug my sister lots, cherish D, hold real conversations (not just on Facebook or by email) with friends, pray and sing to God, eat, breathe, sleep, and enjoy life.

Coping With Exercise

This blog should also be titled "How My Body Is Telling Me That I'm Getting Older or Maybe I Should Just Learn to Stretch."

I'm usually not the person to stick to an exercise regime. I have no self-discipline whatsoever, so my usual attempts at exercising usually fail after two tries. Well, maybe not fail exactly, but more like I just give up and tell myself to "be happy with my body image." My only success this past year was working out at the school because resources were available at my fingertips whenever I want them. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I tried to jog around the gym for about 10 minutes and then walk around for five and then another run for another five. After that, I pull out a mat and work on floor exercises to tone my body. (Note: I do stretch before and after this routine). The only times I missed my exercise routine is if I worked past six o'clock on those days.

Lately, my attempts to get into shape in time for my wedding were rewarded with my body sending out signals to stop fooling myself. I walked around the 2.7km trail at Langara and my calves are sore. I went swimming yesterday for a measly fifteen minutes and further hurt my calves, plus I was huffing halfway down the pool trying to do an impression of the frog swimming. I was listening to head-banger music and got a sore neck from my passionate dancing.

I watched an episode of Daily Planet recently which explored the rigourous training Chinese acrobatics go through. One of the scenes featured two young boys tossing another young boy up high into the air and he attempts to land on his feet onto the shoulders of each tosser. He fails many times and I could see the pain on the boys' faces when the landing goes awry. While this is happening, the strict instructor could be heard saying that children feel no pain. When you are that young, your developing bones allow for such acrobatic acts, but when you are older and your bones are fully formed, you would not be able to accomplish such feats as easily. I disagree to a point; those boys definitely looked like they were in pain. However, I understand her comments from the perspective of someone who used to sprint 50-, 100-, 200-metre dashes in track-and-field easily with little or no pain at all. Now I count my blessings if I dash to pick up the phone without killing myself.

I don't always think our body responses to strenuous exercise are related to age. Just look at how well some senior citizens run marathons or lift weights at the Y. This 76-year-old Japanese man who was smaller than me showed off his cannons at the Y's gym as he demonstrated to me how to use one of the machines.

Yup, maybe how well my body responds to exercise has little to do with age and more to do with mental well-being and self-discipline.

I'm inspired now to go out and do another walk around the park/school/golf course, but only after I blog-surf, write an e-mail, check out Facebook...

What's Important

My grandma was admitted into the hospital on Thursday while I was buying flowers from Costco to put on the church pew. While I was figuring out what colour ribbon goes best with white freesias, my grandmother lay on the hospital waiting room floor writhing in pain.

God has particular ways of putting things into perspective for me.

Thankfully, my grandmother is set to leave Monday morning. I saw her again today after church service and she has a much better disposition and looked lovely. Two CT scans could not detect exactly what had happened in her intestines, some blockage of a sort, but she's ok now. She had enough strength and energy to joke around with me and tease my fiance.

Since starting my wedding planning:
- my father has been admitted twice into the hospital, once for heart problems and once for eye surgery
- my grandmother is in hospital as you now know
- one of my bridesmaids fell down the stairs on the ferry and is black 'n' blue in some places, plus she fractured her radius, so she has to wear a sling for six weeks (I have to make sure that she doesn't strain herself on W-day which is in four weeks)

I'm glad that despite the health issues they're facing, they are all in good spirits and enjoying life. After all, isn't that what's most important?

Now I have some anxiety (not very much though, thankfully) that something worse will happen to someone close to me before the wedding date. I hope God doesn't have to "remind" me anymore of the more important details in life.

Elvis, Here We Come

Finally got my seating plan done. Starting to delegate. Getting a limo and finding drivers for other duties. Set a moving date. Peed. Argued with parents and in-laws. Talked to the restaurant about some finer details. Fretting over bridesmaids' (plural!) health. No more free weekends left.

Is it too late to book at a Las Vegas chapel?

Wedding Dresses

I had to find a place that will do bridal dress alterations since my bridal salon burnt down and won't be back in business until fall.

First, I had to alter my traditional dress. My qi pao needed some taking in on top, so my mother and I went back to the store in Chinatown for alterations. While I was changing, my mom found another style in the 20% rack and told me to try it on. It fit better than the original and had a nicer pattern. Even though it was more expensive, it came to the same price with the discount. We decided to exchange it. At first, the store clerks didn't want to give it to us because they said that it was a new style and someone had mistakenly put it in the wrong section. However, I know from my own retail experience, that the retailer must give the customer the price at which the item was found. It was marked with a 20% and if it was a mistake, that's their problem. My mother and I were not leaving without the dress and its sale price. At first, I was embarrassed that my mom was haggling. I hate haggling; I'm just not good at it and I feel like it's almost cheating. My mom's always been a cheapskate, too, so I wasn't sure what to do. But, while we were staring at the clerks and the clerks were staring back at us (as the tumbleweed rolled by), I remembered that on a consumer show I saw, the main advice that the person on the show said to cut wedding costs was to haggle. So, I stuck to my guns and in the end my mother and I won the draw. I strolled away with my new qi pao, glad that my mom had gone in there with me.

The next thing I had to do was find a place to alter my wedding gown. I went to a couple of places for their rates and they're almost $300 (about half for what I paid for my bridal attire). However, they just looked at my dress and gave their estimate. Then I went to The Designer's Fit Alterations/Creations and they are charging me under $200 for taking in, hemming, and bustle. Lena, who's in charge at Designer's, spoke with a commanding spirit, but was humourous as well. She was also very knowledgeable and informative. She took charge immediately without putting any pressure on me to do anything. I appreciated her approach and gave her my business. The only scary thing is that I won't get my dress back until four days before the wedding. Yikes! Well, if I don't get it back in time, I'll just have to walk down the aisle in my qi pao. Instead of the white veil, D will just have to lift up the red one with the traditional stick.

My dad says that the stick the husband uses to lift the veil is the same one with which he uses to beat his wife. That's when my mom smacked him one on the shoulder while he laughed! Very funny, Dad.

I Feel So Violated!

I was considering wearing a corset under my wedding dress, just to give myself form and a little "lift" up top. A co-worker recommended a lingerie shop on Granville St., south of Broadway, that she went to when her daughter got married, so that's where my sister and I headed yesterday.

We walked in and I was surprised to see how tiny the store was. An older lady who looked to be about 50+ years old came over to greet us. She had a 50's style hairdo, a brisk manner, and a Jackie Kennedy suit on. She reminded me of Abigail Van Buren, the syndicated advice columnist. She asked if she could help me and I explained to her what I wanted. She went swiftly into the back room and came out to show me a bustier. She opened up a change room for me (it only had curtains, I hate changing rooms that don't have doors, especially if I were to change in and out of unmentionables) and then she walked in with me. I have never had anyone in a changing room with me, so I guess when she saw the look of surprise on my face, she told me that she had to help me get dressed, or undressed for that matter.

She said to me sharply, "Take off your shirt!"
"Um...ok."
"Oh, so you are a La Senza girl."
"Yes."
"Our lingerie is of much better quality."
"Oh."
"Now snap off that bra!"
"Um...ok."

The whole time I was staring into the corner with my head down. She wrapped the bustier around my body and then said, "There! That's perfect!"

I asked her to loosen the clasps in the back as it was a little difficult to breathe.

"What?!? No! You need it to be very tight, so that these..." and she lunged forward to clutch at my chest. I blushed a bright red, as red as my car! I swear my eyeballs bulged like a Jiffy popcorn bag on the stove"...so that these will be pushed up! See that nice cleavage! He will be very, very happy to see that!"

It took every ounce of my body and soul to stifle a guffaw at that moment!

To take advantage of my speechless state, she exclaimed, "You absolutely need this! It's what every bride wears, my darling. It's only one hundred and fifty dollars."

I stammered a thank you to her and told her that I would think about it.

As she helped me loosen the bustier, she said in a huff, "You're welcome." Then she flung the curtain wide open before I could even cover myself up gracefully. Thankfully, she was very quick about it and snapped the curtain shut.

It took me a minute to gather my composure before I went out to join my sister in the real world. She was calmly reading a bridal magazine in a waiting area. She said wanted to show me a few things that she saw as she browsed through the magazine, but I told her that we had to leave now!

What a relief to be out of that store! I hope never to repeat such a shopping experience again!

Don't Worry, Be Happy

...seems like a mantra to some and perhaps one I should adopt.

The pastor at my Mission church quoted, "Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair -- it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere."

I'm a worrywart. No surprise to those who know me, although I don't think I've let my students know that. They know I'm concerned about them, but every time a student fretted about a mark, a project, or something that happened at home, I always let them know that they are never alone and things will always work out and then we try to find solutions together. I never seem to follow my own advice; is this how others work or am I the only one?

My daddy's been hospitalized again, but he's doing slightly better than the last time he went in. He was short of breath and his stomach swelled, so that's why we admitted him last Friday. He's doing ok and hopefully he can come home tomorrow.

Bridesmaid dresses came in, but I have to go pick them up and then find a good seamstress to do alterations for prices under $70 (that price was quoted at the bridal salon and I'm pretty sure we can do alterations for cheaper). Now we have to find shoes that match and seafoam green is kinda hard to match. Oops, I mean mint...

I'm ready to send out invitations, but the envelope seemed a little small to fit all the pieces in there.
There's a slight bulge at the top when I try to seal the envelope; the tassel knot the size of Jupiter doesn't help either even when I tried to move it to the side. A suggestion that my sister made was to slip the invitation upside down so that the bulge is on the bottom. The envelope closes better, but is it bad luck (according to Chinese superstitions) to put in the invitation that way?

Applying for a new job is tedious. There is no standard of application for the school boards; each district has its own way of doing things. For one district, I have to fill out a timed survey online (45 minutes to complete, apparently) before they'll consider me. For another district, I have been playing phone tag just to see if there are any developments on my application.

My students are absolutely wonderful; I look forward to every weekday because of them. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to the end of the school year because I'll have to say goodbye to them. However, I have one student who is facing personal issues that affect his schoolwork negatively. It's gotten so bad that he is now being home-schooled. I really sympathize with the parents; they are really great people and they have done all they could to help their son. They are in my prayers constantly. Work relationships are still hurt between people who want a union and people who oppose it. It's official, by the way -- we have been unionized.

Finally, possession date of my house is looming. This stress item is actually an exciting one. Look, they put in kitchen cabinets and painted the house! See those boxes on the floor? Laminate flooring is next!
The funny part is that the builder of this new development will be living in one of the houses on the block, almost the same size as ours. I guess that shows he stands behind the workmanship of the houses, which is a comforting thought. It's also risky because he's open for people either wanting to complain or ask for more building favours. D's met him and thinks he's a really nice guy, so I hope I get to meet him and meet some of our other new neighbours, as well.

I really have to thank God for his grace and blessings despite all my worries. Paul writes, "...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18). He didn't say give thanks when God gives me the right circumstances that fulfill what I hope for, but "IN all circumstances." Paul should know; he wrote this while in jail (I think. Umm...is this blasphemous?). I may have a lot of complaints, but every day I experience joy in the people that God grants me to know and love.

My daddy's still alive to love and be loved.
I'm fortunate to have three best friends to be my bridesmaids.
I have family and friends to whom I can send invitations.
I have a career.
My students love me.
I can afford a house. Well, I can't, but thank goodness for parents and the bank. Ok, not so much the bank. But, I can get a house.

When I look at that list, I really have no reason to worry. God's bigger than anything I can imagine. Now I pray that He'll open up my eyes for opportunities to bless others in the same way He has blessed me so richly.

Too Much?

Who's this? I don't believe I've seen so much makeup on this face ever. I hope the groom won't freak when he lifts the veil.

Wedding Nightmares

Recently I dreamt three wedding nightmares.

In the first one, my photographer didn't show up and I didn't even know it until someone at my reception asked me who was going to take pictures of the guests as they arrive. When I realized that and tried to remember what I did between the church ceremony and the reception I couldn't remember!

In the second dream, I took out my wedding dress only to discover a gigantic red stain on the front of my dress.

In the third dream, my wedding bouquet went missing just minutes before the wedding started. In this dream, my wedding was taking place in a large mansion-turned-hotel setting, so my bridesmaids and I each took a floor of the hotel and started to steal flowers from the vases, gardens, and anywhere else we could find flowers. The bouquet I ended up looked really nice! Then, because it was so close to the ceremony time and I didn't want D to see me before it started, my sister, who is my maid of honour, and I went to the tower to wait. To pass the time, we played cards with a couple of boys up there. While we were playing, one of the boys told my sister that Milhouse liked her. Knowing what a loser "Thrillhouse" is, I told my sister that I will go out to distract Milhouse while she makes her way down the aisle. I went out and I hung out with Milhouse in the gardens. He asked me if my sister liked him back and I told him, "Let's not talk about her." Then I woke up.







In reality, however, the real nightmare is creating the guest list. D and I have made our preliminary guest list, but now that we have to think about ordering invitations, we have to finalize the list and that means cutting people out. We want no more than 270 people, but we have 318 so far. The challenge is who to invite: the people I want to come versus the people I'm obliged to invite. Most of the people I'm obligated to invite are parents' friends. Unfortunately, out of respect for our parents, I'm cutting out a lot of people I had originally wanted to be at my wedding.

I'm not proud to say that I've become very petulant over this matter. I've pouted and stamped my feet, but realize it's futile to do so. But, our parents are helping us pay for a house (whenever we find one), so I guess I have to do what they want. D told me that the wedding is not about us, that it may revolve around us, but it really is all about our parents. I guess he's right.

He's always right. Humph.

Instead of "fat" we say "obese."
Instead of "stoned" we say "chemically inconvenienced."
Instead of "criminal" we say "unsavory character."
Instead of "raising taxes" we say "temporary refund adjustment."

So how about if I say "mint" or "aqua" instead of "seafoam green?"

I've heard much teasing about the colour I chose for my bridesmaid dresses, but it's all in the name. When I was picking out colour matches, I wanted something to match teal and I found a colour that suited it perfectly. I had no idea when I chose the colour that it was actually called seafoam green. I thought it was hilarious when I was told the colour name and the saleslady said, "I've never seen anyone so excited over that colour."

Well, there's gotta be a first and besides, who wants to be the same as everyone else? So if it makes everyone else feel better that I say "mint," then I will humour them. At least my wedding isn't taking place by the ocean; otherwise, they might be indistinguishable from the actual sea foam. :)

THE Bridesmaid Dress

Bridesmaid dress shopping has been quite an ordeal, although I might be considered fortunate by some. The first time I went shopping with my three bridesmaids I couldn't decide on colour or whether I want all my bridesmaids to wear the same style or different. Finally I had chosen teal to be the colour of the dresses with my sister wearing a floor-length satin gown with a V neckline and one of my other bridesmaids (we couldn't find a suitable style for the other) wearing a cocktail length satin dress in a princess cut with a front and back V line. My girls look ravishing! Excited, I went home to show my grandmother and mother my girls' dresses.

My ideas bombed. Apparently, teal was too dark of a colour not only for a traditional Chinese wedding, but also for the summer. Says my soon-to-be mother-in-law, my girls "would disappear into the background if they stood in the shade at a park." Furthermore, the V necklines on both dresses might be too revealing. If my girls were to bend down to help fix my dress on the big day, their boobs might pop out! I don't want my bridesmaid to disappear and I certainly don't want a peepshow at my wedding. As well, I really want to please my female family folk. I was crestfallen.

My sister did the maid-of-honour duty. She sat me down, looked me in the eye, and said (maybe not in these exact words), "This is your wedding day; your special day. You should get to decide what you want and not listen to everyone else. Follow your heart's desire." It's true; I've usually looked to others' approval for who I am and what I do.

I was told that if I follow and obey God, my desires will be His desires. I believe that Jesus went through all human emotions in his lifetime to connect with us, but I'm not sure that Jesus went bridesmaid dress shopping.

Well, I guess He did feel the same kind of disappointment and internal conflict as I went through because He answered my prayers!

On Saturday, I went bridesmaid dress shopping with my girls. After going through some shops and searching through racks of plain dresses, gaudy dresses, tacky dresses, slutty dresses, expensive dresses, and fugly dresses, I finally found a style that all my girls could wear and that I was happy with. The funny part is that it came in the colour I have always made fun of ever since I saw a MasterCard commercial several years back: SEAFOAM GREEN! Who knew that the colour would be suitable, but we tried it and loved it. I absolutely adored the colour and the teal accent on the dress (yes, I snuck the teal in!). We all went into a giggle fest, even the saleslady who helped us, and excited jubilation over this choice. This is what the dress looks like:

I'm very grateful for bridesmaids who have a sense of humour, patience, understanding, and are beautiful enough to turn any dress (and colour) into something stylish and elegant.

Now we just have to find a city bus to ride to my wedding...