arubaruba

just got back from aruba.  some photo highlights of our trip below (taken from my sister's fb).

 iguanas and lizards everywhere...

my sandals chillin' on the beach

free rum punch (already in my belly)

awkwardfamilyphotos.com nominee

random goats in the street.  we killed one and ate it for dinner that night.

no joke, there were more chinese grocery stores/restaurants on this one 80 sq mi island than all of the md/dc/va area, including this particular gem.

coolest little hybrid shopping basketcarts.

baby beach.  look how shallow it is.  also, my dad likes to wear shirts in the water.

my hero.  this pic originally also included a lady wearing the most scandalous thong, but stacey wisely cropped it out.  oh, those crazy brazilians!

dinner on the beach.

stray dog we met at airport (and fed garlic bread to).

other things worth mentioning:

• flying 4000 miles to a foreign country only to eat home-brought korean food  for every meal.  or hard rock cafe...i know, lame. 
• we got into a minor fender bender.  apparently our tiny rental car was too small to be seen in this guy's rearview mirror, so he backed into us in a parking lot.  not our fault, but my parents still had to drive all over the island to try to get it all worked out with the insurance company and police department. 
• getting bumped up to first class seating b/c the airline overbooked economy.  they give you hot towels and hot nuts.  hehehehe.... hot nuts
• getting into the airport lounge at chicago o'hare b/c of my dad's ballin' g frequent flyer status.
• successfully tanning without burning.

but its nice to be home.  

wedding fun and vacation time

After today, I've decided I only need 3 things at my wedding to be satisfied:

1. a live band
2. friends
3. a wife

Heck, the last one isn't even all that important.  In my mind, a perfect wedding would consist of good food, friends, lots of gifts and staying in control of your finances as soon as you walk out the door.  Like a really fancy birthday party almost.

All rambling aside, congrats to my friends Taylor and Tiago even though they prob don't read this blog.

my cool name-card with drumsticks

wedding cupcakes

Didn't take too many pics, but it was a nice wedding.

This Sunday (tomorrow), I'm leaving for Aruba to meet my family (who is already there) for a week.  7 days of nothing but sleeping and beaching sounds alright to me.   Bring on the babes.

this looks sweet

i'll give a dollar to any girl that watches this with me.

edit: the video was removed from youtube for a copyright infringement. :(

98th percentile in protective instincts? Not quite...

Semi-serious/introspective post.  I'll probably stumble upon this post in the future and think I was incredibly lame for writing about this, but these thoughts have been resurfacing in my mind for the last 3-4 days so I decided it would be best to get them out. Bonus points for anyone who gets the above reference.  It shouldn't be hard if you've been semi up-to-date in watching recent movies (er, not so recent anymore).

I was recently talking to some friends and the topic of relationships came up; specifically speaking, those of our siblings (Stacey, if you're reading this, sorry).  As we were talking, the question was posed to me, "Are you a protective brother?"  When asked to clarify, they said something along the lines of, "You know, not laughing at your sister's bf's jokes, making him feel like he's on thin ice when he's around you, just being intimidating etc."  At the time, I kinda laughed it off with an "of course blah blah blah I'm so tough" type of answer and didn't think much of it.  But for whatever reason, later on, my mind kept coming back to this issue of protectiveness. Upon much further introspection, I finally succumbed to the realization that I am NOT the most intimidating person to be around.  And furthermore, were I ever called upon to "protect" anyone in a physical sense, I'd probably get the crap kicked out of me.  Some people just happen to be blessed with 6'3" 220 lb bodies and aggressive personalities.  I am not one of them.

However, I don't necessarily see that as an excuse not to be protective of my sister; at least in some way.  Who says protectiveness and physicality have to go hand in hand anyway?  I know plenty of people who are fiercely protective without being the most physically imposing (most mothers, heck, even my dog).  I think protectiveness has more to do with always having someone's best interests in mind and showing them that this is the case. 

Regarding my sister's situation, I think it means giving honest feedback and advice when needed, trusting her to make good decisions, and always being available to listen to her, should problems arise in the future.  I think my sister and I are very fortunate in the fact that we trust each other, and we're able to talk about pretty much anything.  I'm pretty sure that if I acted like an insensitive d-bag every time her bf came around, our trust would start to deteriorate and she would probably stop taking my advice altogether, even if it were well-intentioned.  Furthermore, if things were to not work out between them, she might even harbor some resentment toward me for never fully accepting him in the first place, or at least acting like it.  And from the guy's point of view, it's much easier to live up to the standard of being a good boyfriend if you're treated like one by your girlfriend's family instead of being looked upon with suspicion all the time.  I know this from experience...

I still won't laugh at his jokes though.  :)  Gotta make him sweat a little bit, right?

fourth of july weekend

friday: I left work early and went to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls.  I hope I still have a job tomorrow. Afterward, went to chik-fil-a to try their new spicy chicken sandwich.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Usually, american fast food restaurants' version of "spicy" anything just requires adding some black pepper, but this sandwich actually made me take a few extra gulps of coke.  Bravo chik-fil-a.  You are quickly becoming my favorite fast food restaurant.

Also, on this particular friday, the chik-fil-a I went to was PACKED.  I actually had to wait for a table (which I've never had to do).  As I sat down to eat however, I noticed a commotion in the adjacent parking lot.  Turns out, the chik-fil-a I ate at holds some sort of muscle/sports car show on the first weekend of every month.  The entire lot was filled with tricked out camaros, corvettes, mustangs, and practically every other type of car from the 1960s-1970s.  Needless to say, I was thrilled.  I don't pretend to know all that much about cars (technical specs etc) but I do know they're awesome.  I think every guy is born with an innate attraction towards the shiny, loud, fast machines.  Why do you think "Transformers" did so well at the box office?

Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

Ironman's car

Mustang Shelby GT500 (modern version)

Same car, just 40 years older.  

Chevy Monte Carlo SS (my dad's old car!)

Pontiac GTO

Saturday:  I had worship practice in the morning and a VA Impact/Focus meeting at night.  Its still kind of weird thinking I'm no longer in Impact.  Focus still seems too foreign to me.  

Anyway, the bigger story is that I had to lead worship for the first time during that evening's meeting.  I think it went pretty well, except for two things.  1.  I would forget to sing at times.  I would start singing a song, then get too caught up in my guitar playing or some other distraction and my voice would trail off into mumbling.  Lucky for me, I think the group was pretty understanding.  And 2. how do people play the guitar for prolonged periods of time?  I must have only played for like 10 mins tops, but my fingers/hands were killing me by the end.  

Sunday:  Fourth of July.  I went over to CP to have a cook out (or a cook in? we ate in an apartment) and watch fireworks.  It was kind of hectic and cramped, but after two trips to the grocery store, spilling burger grease all over a kitchen counter, and almost burning the crap out of my hand (at least twice), it turned out to be a fun evening.  Who knew grilling burgers could be so easy?  Thanks George Foreman grill.

Today:  Slept late, ate junk food and watched movies all day.  The only productive thing I did was my laundry. And I finally got to watch the new "Karate Kid."  It was well worth the wait because it was awesome.  Jackie Chan still remains one of my favorite actors (even after some of his terrible movies.  "The Tuxedo" anyone?)  Also, after seeing that movie, China has definitely moved up on my "places I'd like to visit before I die" list.  The scenery looks absolutely stunning.  Now, it's right up there with Italy, Greece and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL.

Back to work tomorrow. 

i'm all alone

i think i'm the only person in my branch in the office today.  i've only seen 3 people on my entire floor.  seriously, this place becomes a ghost town on fridays.  something tells me i'll be leaving early...