// los angeles *part 2*
please read the entry below this one... otherwise, you're reading this reverse chronologically...

// wedding
so after the friday night bachelor party, i manage to wake up at 9:30ish on paul and gina's big day. thinking about paul's wedding is actually unnerving by that time. i really dunno why, but the word commitment is kinda heavy. real heavy. this from a guy who enjoys acquisition more than retention. lord, teach me maturity.

the guys at the two different hotels spend a good amount of time doing the headless chicken type running around because we were quite busy trying to get ready in time. after eating lunch and donning my tuxedo jacket in time, i spend a few minutes resting and start thinking about what the heck this all means. lord, teach me anything about life.

the guys arrive at the crystal cathederal at our appointed 2pm time, and the womens were no where to be seen. and for that moment until 3:00, all of us were worried that gina wouldn't show up on time. we release a collective sigh when she does appear and the whole shebang kicks off at around 3:20. i love korean time.

walking down the aisle, i felt genuinely happy for my soon-to-be married friends. it was either that or i saw humor in how stunning everyone looked decked out. for my chance at posterity, i'll go with the former explanation rather than the latter one.

it was a magnificent wedding because i think that gina and paul will make it. the other weddings that i've been to, i either didn't care about the couple or felt a little uneasy about the whole thing. paul and gina... don't lie in front of us and (more importantly) God. til death do you guys part.

there were three memorable things about this wedding. first, in the rush of the moment, dan (the best man), forgets to tuck away the ring in his jacket. he leaves it in his backpack, but w/ a little game a telephone, the groomsmen manage to send the message on down to sang to retrieve the misplaced ring. we get the ring in dan's hands by the time the ceremony gets to the ring business. second, sang and mimbo's plan to sing "all my life" at the reception goes off flawlessly, and the guys leave the entire chapel speechless and adds some levity to the whole thing. finally, during the bouquet toss, i witness an espn "play of the day" worthy diving catch by a single chick. solid eye contact. focus. looked like she was willing to sacrifice the body and lay out for the catch, but considering that she was in a dress, held back. nonetheless, the bouquet was caught, and some good solid box-out techniques were exhibitioned.

reiterating, a magnificent wedding.

// flask
so on sunday, we hang around some more. we meet up w/ silvia, sunny, and their parents. time has passed, adding inches on the next generation and adding wrinkles and grey hair on the previous generation. after eating at another all you can eat sushi place (not todai, forgot the name, onami or something), my bro and i splinter off to hang w/ our cousin, eunhae. technically, under the korean tradition, we're uncles to her, but in american tradition, we're like 2nd cousions or something.

sunday was also the day the groomsmen received their presents. i was expecting nothing, thinking that paul picked up the tab on the tuxes, but lo, a flask! it's engraved w/ my name! it's stainless steel and leather! it holds alchohol! it's delicious! man... thinking that this trip couldn't get any better, paul drops a thing like this on me. friends do the darndest things.

in the evening, we hang out some more, spending a few last hours together w/ everyone, including karen and vivi. they've split off from the gr crew now, going off to san fransisco and boston, respectively. i'll miss them, not only because they're two wonderful women and are great friends, but they've managed to shrink the number of eligible, attractive korean women in grand rapids in half with their departure. i'll prolly get slapped by the remaining eligible, attractive korean women in grand rapids for this one. be gentle.

// all night plane ride
by noon monday, the remaining gr ppl are han, karen and i. we meet up w/ hoon, and head out for some golf w/ dave. we play at an extremely flat course that costs $17 for 18 holes, riding. that's nice. han and hoon leave early, and dave and i finish w/ karen riding along in the carts. i end w/ a 99, but i only had one horrible hole (double par). otherwise, i had a great game, considering i was using some janky clubs for the first 11 holes.

after the golf outing, there was a rush for me and karen to meet up /w hoon and han, evelyn, jinwon and john. we end up meeting at a place near beverly hills called "the grove". this was after dave treated me and karen to some naeng myun and galbee in k-town. i leave early from hanging out so i can go with jinwon to sunhae's house (jinwon, sunhae, and eunhae are siblings.. my cousins.. technicially thier uncle, etc. etc.) i meet sunhae's new husband for the first time, and i realize my korean is embarassingly horrible. i manage to get by and enjoy their hospitality. karen eventually shows up at sunhae's place, and we both crash there for the night.

tuesday morning, we wake up and sunhae cooks us up some breakfast before sunhae and my cho-ka-sa-we (her husband.. this thing i wrote is the korean term for how i'm related to him) go to do some "lifestyles of the rich and famous" type house shopping in the hills and such. i'm happy for sunhae and my cousin-in-law because of God's blessings on them. i just don't know what kind of gift i need to get them the next time i visit.

so anyway, jinwon and karen want to go drink tea at around 12:30, but my plane is set for 2:00pm. the persist, and we all head off. long story short, we leave the tea place at around 1:00, and arrive at lax at around 1:30. i miss my flight, and the only thing left is a redeye out of lax at 12:00am w/ a 3 hour layover in chicago. i won't get to gr until 10am the next day.

luckily, jinwon hasn't left yet, since karen was being dropped off at lax also. after we see karen off, jinwon and i head to k-town for some sa-goo (straight pocket billiards). i love this game now. more thought involved than pocket billiards. some old korean men who either own the place or just hang out a lot at the pool hall notice how much i suck, and teach me a few tips. really cool old men.

after pool, jinwon and i head back to sunhae's place to eat dinner and lay low until i need to get back to lax that nite at 10:30 (i insisted for that time). a sleepless night later, i'm back here, crashing on the sofa wasting about 8 hours of daylight. which brings me to waking up, eating steak at mimbo's, and finally summarizing my adventures here.

lord, teach me brevitiy. :)