Titanic 2

I was just blog-hopping today and got this from Knoizki via Consuela's site. Seeing that Titanic is and will continue to be one of my all-time most favorite movies, this totally tripped me out! Oh yes, and I will unashamedly divulge that I was a huge Leonardo Dicaprio fan, too...HUGE. In any case, maybe I've been under a rock for too long, but I'm slowly noticing these YouTube video thingys all over the place lately. Check this one out...the movie preview for Titanic 2.



Isn't that a trip?! Okay, I KNOW that it's not real, but still. The concept, the idea, and the whole putting it together is genius! Now if you're a big Leo fan as yours truly, then you would've noticed that many of the clips are from his other movies. Some easily recognizable scenes are taken from Romeo & Juliet and The Basketball Diaries. After all of these years, and even watching him in "Aviator," he's still the talented and dreamy guy I know. *sigh!* Lol! Much props to this Chalt dude...either this guy is really talented or he has WAY too much time on his hands. Either way...it was dope!

And The New American Idol Is...

TAYLOR HICKS! I must say that is was a very nice surprise! I was rooting for him simply because he's unique onto himself. Throughout the entire process, he's remained very humble and plus, he's an overall likable guy. I'm impressed with America's vote because I didn't think they would go for different this time around, but hey, hooray for him! I honestly didn't care one way or another...I liked both Taylor and Katherine...but c'mon people, it really should've been the rocker, Chris Daughtry!

I have to say that last night's finale episode must have been one of THE best ones American Idol has given us yet. With so many huge stars appearing (Dionne Warwick, Meatloaf, Live, Al Jarreau, Mary J. Blige, and of course, the legend himself Prince...WOW!), it was one surprise after another! It was awesome! Then there was also the appearance of Clay Aiken and Carrie Underwood...very nice...they still sound good.

In any case, I found this online and thought it was funny. It's all about the highlights and lowlights of last night's show. Read on...

By Craig Berman
MSNBC contributor

Highlight: Carrie Underwood opening the show singing the first few lines of "I Made it Through the Rain," then being joined by finalists Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee. It illustrated the passing of the torch nicely. Between that and the decision to make the final Hicks-McPhee duet "I've Had the Time of My Life," the producers did a decent job of highlighting both the challenges and charms of competing on the show. (Wasn't too impressed with the last song "I've Had The Time of My Life." I couldn't stop picturing Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing!)

Lowlight: The montage highlighting the judges. Yeah, we get it: Randy says the same few catchphrases every week, Paula's either crying or hitting people, and Simon has an ego. Stop the presses. Besides, did anyone really need to see Simon feeling himself up so soon after the dinner hour? (Was it me or did Paula just look high throughout the entire season?! I get tired of Randy's use of "dawg" easily...and hey, Simon is the ONLY one who has anything valid to say!)

Highlight: Chris Daughtry performing with Live. Of all the "Idol" finalist-musical guest pairings, this is the one that is most likely to be repeated somewhere down the line. The next time they'll be on the same stage together will probably be at a rock festival somewhere next year. Interestingly. Simon said earlier in the competition that Daughtry needed to make some changes, because a band like Creed would never appear on a show like this. The fact that Live proved that theory wrong demonstrates that groups will do an awful lot to reach an audience, even if it means being in the same room with Paula Abdul. (Dope performance...and plus, Chris is in his element already!)

Lowlight: Meat Loaf. He wouldn't have made it out of "Idol's" Hollywood round with the performance he gave on Wednesday. Plus, the pairing with Katharine McPhee singing "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" was just plain wrong on every level. He looked and sounded like a dirty old man singing to the pretty young girl with whom he has no shot. (Yah...that was awkward...I actually prefer when Celine sings that song...)

Highlight: The "Pickler and (chef Wolfgang) Puck" featurette was an interesting concept, though it wasn't worth two segments. Though it went on a little long, it was nice to see Kellie Pickler able to laugh at herself as she attempted to avoid eating exotic food. But if she can't bring herself to eat a snail or even sit at the same table with a live lobster, "Fear Factor" probably isn"t in her future. (It was funny/cute, but after a few seconds, it was too much. She's better off singing...that's about it.)

Lowlight: Pickler's hair. Who told her a bob was a good idea? (Not me!)

Lowlight: The "Golden Idols" bits, in which Ryan Seacrest handed out Academy Award-like statuettes, mostly to singers who weren't good enough to make it to Hollywood. Seriously, viewers really needed to see the failed auditioners again? The talent bookers couldn't have found a few more musical stars to fill that 20 minutes of airtime? Is Nick Lachey that busy? (I agree. We didn't need to see any of the horrid rejects...as funny as they were, this was a night to hear and listen the ones that we actually like!)

Highlight: Auditioner Crazy Dave Hoover actually got to throw himself around the stage during the finale. Nice to see fame hasn't calmed him down any. The folks from Jolt Cola will be calling any minute now. But it would probably be better for everyone if the Prozac people got to him first. (He's just scary...)

Highlight: The group montage featuring the six male finalists — or really, the five eliminated finalists accompanied by Taylor Hicks on the harmonica. Very entertaining, especially since five of the six looked like naturals together. (I have to say, they all looked good in suits! Chris and Ace...hmmmm...nice.)

Lowlight: It's not his fault, but Kevin Covais seemed very out of place with the rest of the men. Surrounded by contestants a decade older than he was, he looked like somebody's kid brother who wandered onstage and was given a microphone. (The cutesy Chicken Little joke was good for what, five seconds?)

Highlight: Nice job by the booking agents - Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, Prince, Live - it's as if the musical establishment has figured out that "Idol" is sticking around, so it's better to jump onto the bandwagon with both feet.

Lowlight: Uh, Mary J. Blige, the FCC is on the phone. Something about your outfit. And Malibu Barbie wants her sunglasses back. (I would've said Toni Braxton's lack of clothing...that woman really needs to cover up! She looks good and all, but damn...)

Highlight: Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken making an appearance. See that, Kelly Clarkson! Some people aren't afraid to remind people where they came from. (How come there's no mention of Reuben Studdard and Fantasia? They're Idols, too!)

Lowlight: Is that how Clay Aiken dresses now that he's a big star? He resembled a college freshman coming back to impress the high school girls at homecoming. And do they not have hair stylists in North Carolina? He looked like a giant Swiffer. (I have to say, he looked GOOD. And the hair, I liked it!)

Dvd Crazy

Everyone knows that Tuesday is THE day when new music cds and movies are released. That is THE day when people flock to the nearest Target and Best Buy to scoop up the latest must-haves. Tuesday is THE day that I'm assuming is one of the highest traffic and profit making days for such stores...AND I know all of this because I am but another customer who does indeed add to the craziness of being those people in line to get the latest whatever! Okay, so I have not been able to contribute my finances to the craziness lately, but yesterday I was witness to my sister's. Lol!

"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the Facts of Life. The Facts of Life." Just for the record, this wasn't bought yesterday, BUT it was bought on a Tuesday...THE day. Now, many won't even remember when this sitcom was on, but I will always remember the beginning words of the song of the show. I can't recall every single episode, especially when it first started, but man oh man, does it bring back some memories or what?! Those of us who really get into a series or show can't help but think how real the situations are that the characters get involved in. Or maybe that's just me? Ha. Take my beloved "Dawson's Creek" for example. Yes, yes, there are no high school aged teens who talk as intelligently as they do on this planet, but the situations themselves are something that we can all relate to, yah? The "Facts of Life" are the same thing. Already into the second episode, I find myself tearing up...and I can't even remember what it is about at the moment! Just the title alone says it all...life is challenging as it is. There are people who come in and out of your life- some come and go while others remain for a lifetime. Some are there for you no matter what happens and others will let you down. You go through some things, hard things, for a reason which you may not understand, but there's always a lesson to be learned...and our job is not make the same mistakes again. I mean, sure, I may be looking so far into it than the basic entertainment purposes, but still, as corny as it is and how "simple" life and other such things were at the time, I always liked the happy-conclusions-this-is-what-I-learned-from-the-experience moments. Well, if you've never heard of a bunch of galpals named Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie, and Mrs. Garrett, check the dvd seasons out...and you'll be in for a lot of laughs.

Back in 1990, a show called "Wings" aired. To be quite honest, my sister and I didn't follow it much until it aired as reruns during the late night. What's so hilarious about this comedy series is that it's about two brothers who are pilots. The older one, Joe, is the more responsible one; the younger one, Brian, is the opposite. My Ate and I used to joke that those characters were US! So when the whole dvd phenomena started growing with the older series coming out, we were just playing the waiting game for when "Wings" would come out. And out it came yesterday! Whoo hoo! Sure it's funny to see the big 90's hair, hear the lingo, see the style of clothes, etc, but hey, it's a FUNNY show!


High School Musical, Disney's latest dance craze musical that is the hottest thing right now among tweeners and teens alike across the country. Okay, now let me just say that when my niece and nephew started imitating ALL the dance moves and singing ALL the songs, I really didn't know what to think of it. It sounded cute, for sure, but I wanted to see for myself what the big deal was. Sometime last month, it showed on Disney Channel. When we first saw the announcement, my niece was so hyped that she wrote it down on the calendar so we wouldn't forget! Turns out that Disney was showing a back to back feature...which we watched...that means fours hours....FOUR HOURS! Lol! Okay, now anyone who knows me is aware that I'm a sucker for musicals. Some can't stand them, but I love 'em. Grease 1 and 2? Loved it! Rent? Loved it! Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera? Loved it! Catch my drift? Well..."High School Musical" is somewhat like a really tame watered down version of Grease, except there is no mention of sex, drugs, or alcohol or anything like that. It's Disney, people! There's a lot of cool catchy tunes, fun dance moves, and of course, a good positive message to send to kids. Safe to say, I LOVED IT! Who says Disney is just for kids? Plus, kid and teen actors never cease to amaze me- I'm totally impressed!

ANYWAYS...it came out yesterday and of course, seeing how my niece and nephew are such huge fans, my sister just HAD to get it. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. If anything, I'm sure it'll bring a smile to your face...even if you're not a big fan of musicals.

*Can't wait for the following to come out on DVD and be added to my own personal collection:

- Ally McBeal
- Ed

*Ones that I have yet to purchase

- Gilmore Girls Seasons 3, 4, 5
- Smallville
- Will and Grace
- Charmed Seasons 2, 3
- Friends Seasons 3-10
- Dawson's Creek....oh wait! I already have those already! Yay!

**In case anyone is wanting to give MnM any surprises for no good reason, please feel free to choose from any of the above. LOL! (oh wow...I felt like my lil' cousin D for a split second...no shame, I tell you, no shame!)

Randomness

* Did anyone else watch the season finale of "House" last night? Did anyone get it? Did anyone understand it? Did anyone else get grossed out by the eyeballs popping out? I was so confused...so if anyone can shed some light, please do!

* I'm not quite sure what carpal tunnel syndrome feels like, but if the pain I feel in my hands and wrists are IT, then crapola.

* Still looking for employment. Anyone hiring???

Weekly Blog

Yup. That's what this blog of mine has somewhat become. It's not that I'm purposefully ignoring my site and like I mentioned before, it's not that I don't have anything blog-worthy to share. Lack of motivation, yadda yadda yadda, etc, etc, and all of that other stuff. At the end of the day, I'm either too exhausted from hanging out with the kiddies or I'm playing catch up watching non-Disney channel programs...NOT that there's anything wrong with Disney, I LOVE Disney...just NOT 24/7.

It Ain't Over Yet

Just when I thought wedding season and wedding preparation was done...at least on my end anyways. After the Weekender's wedding, there weren't any other ones that I knew of in my family that were coming up. It was probably after my cousin's wedding this past January that I almost swore that I wouldn't help out- my sis and I simply did TOO MUCH that we almost didn't have time to enjoy!

Last week, I met up with homegirl Sha to help out with her cousin's placecards. (*Ahhhh...flashback!!!!) Thankfully the guestlist wasn't totally huge and we were able to do all the printing and whatnot in about an hour. Seeing that Sha can't type worth jack (LOL!), the only payment required was some Starbucks. I'm easy, peoples....and Starbucks makes me a happy camper.

THEN, on that same day, I met up with Mrs. 3rd/5th Grade because her cousin, who is Chinese, is marrying Filipino. As the wedding coordinator, she was a tad stumped at what the heck the veil and cord ceremony were, what are the coins for, what exactly was a the money dance, and how a traditional Filipino Catholic wedding should run. After busily taking notes, asking for clarification, and going through an entire ceremony in detail (over dinner might I add...Barney's Gourmet Burgers in the Marina...YUM!), she was exhausted!

I guess it was humorous on my part because since I was raised Catholic and mostly attended Filipino Catholic weddings, this was a no-brainer for me. But since I converted, I've also gone to non-denominational and other Christian weddings and can definitely see and appreciate the differences. All in all, it's a beautiful thing to see two people in love vowing to spend the rest of their lives together, no matter what their religion, faith, or denomination because LOVE in any language is the same.

Musical Recital

Growing up and being "forced" to learn how to play the piano, I was grateful that I never had to endure the nervousness and anxiety of playing in front of a large crowd for a recital unlike my sister. At a young age, I already knew that piano wasn't my forte and it really and simply wasn't my thang. After four years of lessons, I stopped. My sister, on the other hand, was under the instruction of this concert pianist and had he not passed away, I honestly think she would've had a bright future in music. Don't get me wrong, she's still good, but the piano teacher that we had afterwards was, in my opinion, nothing compared.

My niece Sabrina began taking lessons a few years ago...NOT because she was forced, but because she WANTED to. That makes a difference. Because of that desire, she has more knowledge of theory and the basics that I will probably never understand. Of course it does help that she has "piano fingers," long slender fingers that are able to stretch somewhat gracefully over the keys. Okay, her fingering can be totally wrong sometimes, but once she corrects her mistakes, she's pretty good about doing it correctly thereafter. Plus, I have to say, she's quick at memorizing pieces, a feat that I once deemed as impossible! Lol! If and when I had to memorize a piece, it would take me FOREVER...plus, it had better be a piece that I really liked. This girl, even if she is in the middle of learning something new, after a few tries, she will somehow get the first counts down. Quite impressive, I think, but at the same time, I believe that she should concentrate on reading the actual notes first. But hell, what do I know?! If she is more comfortable memorizing something as soon as she learns it, who am I to stop this creative process in motion, right? Hah...maybe I'm just jealous.

I attended her piano recital this week. It's not held in a major auditorium as I would've thought; rather, it's in the home of her teacher. Her teacher is one of the most cordial women I've ever met- so polite, so gentle, so patient- there really aren't people like her anymore. Basically, her students would come to the front and play a piece or two, starting from the recent beginners (playing variations of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star") and moving up to the more advanced (playing different sonatinas). Sabrina was somewhere in the middle. Again, I was quite impressed...she had been nervous about playing, although this wasn't her first recital, and even though she messed up at home while practicing, her performance was almost flawless. She played two pieces- It's A Small World, and a duet with her mom, a simplified version of Phantom of the Opera. All I know is that while she played, I had this big grin on my face and I'm sure if I didn't have to worry about videotaping her, the tears would've came!

To see these really young kids perform, and really well at that, is truly inspiring! I've had this nagging itch to learn how to play the violin. I think I've always had this affinity to the violin simply because I think the sound is hauntingly beautiful. There's something about the sound that mesmerizes me. Plus, after hearing some of the violin students play, the desire to learn has only grown stronger. At the end of the recital, the teacher invited guests to try the various instruments she had on display. Of course, I went straight to the violin. I have no idea what note I played, but the one note that I did sounded clear and yes, beautiful. I swear, what a difference it would've made if I had this very same desire to play the piano when I was younger...one day, people, one day.

Birthday Shout-Outs

*To my Ate: a belated birthday shout-out- she celebrated her 39th this past Wednesday! There's really not much I can say about my one and only sis without tearing up...but all I can say is that she has been the bestest friend this gal can ask for. Thanks for all that you are and all that you do, Sister...love you! Happy Happy Birthday!

*To my lil' cousin D: okay, he may not be little anymore, but he'll always be my younger lil' cuz. He turns 23 tomorrow, but his big day was really yesterday as he graduated from Sac State University! A small crew of da family made the trek up to Sacramento and boy, was it H-O-T or what?! Sufficed to say, we all came back red, sunburned with raccoon-eyes, exhausted from the heat with the amoy ng araw all over us! Plus, the aunties and I didn't quite follow the caravan back home and took the "scenic" route...yah, yah, yah, so we got lost, BIG DEAL! LOL! Much love and congratulations lil' cousin- you did it! And Happy 23rd Birthday...time to drink up...like I even had to say that! ;-)

MnM - Out From Hiding

Beginning with the Weekender's wedding, the past couple of weeks have gone by in a flash. Considering my current state of employment (or the unfortunate lack thereof), it boggles my mind as to where the time goes that I cannot find the time to blog. Is it because I haven't had anything blog-worthy to share? Au contraire! There have been definite that's-going-in-my-blog moments, but the motivation factor to actually translate anything into written form has been severely lacking. And now at almost 1am in the morning, with eyes already heavy with sleep and a mind incapable of clear thought, I attempt to make contact with the blogging world (yes, all five of you loyal readers...) to assure you that yes, indeed, I am still alive.

That is, in case you were wondering.

In any case, here's the breakdown of some of the things that's happened, in no particular order or importance.


The Da Vinci Code You've seen the trailers. You've seen the commercials. Billboards everywhere are advertising the movie that is sure to be a blockbuster as well as the center of protest. You know what I'm talking about! The Da Vinci Code opens in theaters everywhere this Friday, May 19, 2006. I won't go into detail on how awesome I think this book is- I've already done that more than once. Instead, I just had to share that I received the hardcover, illustrated version of this Dan Brown novel as a Mother's Day gift! On a recent trip to B&N, my sister surprised me with it saying that it would be an early Mother's Day present and for the past week, all I've been doing with my free time is rereading it. I consider myself to be a very visual person and so I've been soaking up all of the illustrations of the beautiful pieces of artwork and architecture that I can only hope to see in person one day. Plus, it's one thing for me to mentally conjure up a visual of what the characters look like according to the descriptions in the book, but after seeing the trailers for the movie, I reread the story with Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou in mind and it makes it all the more exciting! Though it took me a week to complete it, I read and relished the last page just a couple of hours ago. It was definitely a much better read the second time around and I anticipate the discussions on whether the book or the movie was better...although in my experience, the book has almost always been the better of the two. In any case, much thanks goes out to Ate for the awesome gift!


The Promise When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I was so blown away at the beautiful cinematography that I immediately knew that it was a movie that I'd like to see. Although I didn't have any plans to see it, the opportunity to do so was happen stance and I got to see it with my aunt.

A few things about the film. One, it is in Mandarin with English subtitles. With so many scenic landscapes and whatnot, it was somewhat difficult to focus on reading. I found myself wanting to lose myself in the picturesque scenes, but of course, you have to follow along with what's going on. Two, the storytelling part of it is good, although in my opinion, the movie doesn't seem to flow as smoothly which leads me to think that if the movie was based on a book (is it?), the book would have definitely been better. Three, the movie poster should have included Nicholas Tse. I've always thought that it was sexy for guys to have that piece of hair hang over right over the eyes...and his does that very thing! Very anime-ish, but sexy nonetheless! Lol! Four, the story is really a love-square. Three guys in love with the same girl. Although there is only one who truly deserves her love, you can't help but feel the pain of the other two. Five, the cinematography steals the show. Six, the ending may confuse you. I don't know what it was, but as the credits were rolling, my aunt and I were semi-stumped as to what it all meant. Hey, if you watch it and the ending makes total sense to you, please enlighten me!

A quick side note: we watched "The Promise" at Stonestown Theaters, a theater that I had believed to be closed down a long time ago! That was a shock in itself, but as my auntie and I were leaving the theater, we noticed that there was an unusually huge crowd of Pilipinos exiting the doors. Considering that the theater was only showing two movies, this crowd of kababayans HAD to be watching the other one. It turns out that there is a Filipino comedy called "D'Lucky Ones!" Now I was totally trippin' because back in da day, there was a theater on Geneva Avenue called the Apollo which showed Filipino flicks...that theater closed down, became a place for Pentacostal worship, closed down again, was rebuilt and is currently a Walgreens. I just thought it was cool that a Filipino flick is actually out in the theaters here. I'm not sure how long it will show there, but if you're interested, go check it out! Who knows, maybe there'll be others and having Pinoy movies out and about won't be a thing of the past anymore.

Hollywood-esque Party

Not that I know what a Hollywood party would look and feel like...I can only assume from what I read in magazines or see on TV. But when my auntie was invited by a couple of friends to attend this "house party," imagine our surprise when the neighborhood we drove into happened to be lined up with million dollar homes with Mercedes, Jaguars, Escalades, and convertibles that I don't even know the names of in almost every driveway. Since we were on a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend invite, it was especially intimidating to see that the only other Pinoy in the house was the bartender. Eyes were definitely on us. Oh, I forgot to mention that there was a cover/donation fee at the door and it included all you can eat finger foods and free alcoholic beverages. Yup, it's like that. There was a DJ in what would seem like the living room- the major furniture had been moved and a dancefloor was put in the middle. Outside in the pool area, there was a live reggae/Carribbean band...of course, not complete without their little cannabis-smokin' friends. There were people who were casually dressed in jeans (as we were!) and those who were dressed in their very best hootchie-mama-hey-look-at-my-cleavage dresses. We dubbed the Paris Hiltons, Lindsay Lohans, and Britney Spears quite easily- it was like that! We stuck around for a while, taking advantage of the free-not-so-free food and rounds of alcohol, danced alongside the rhythmless nation of white folks (sorry- it's just not in your blood, people!), found a personal gym complete with numerous workout machines, flat screen tv with surround sound while looking for the loo, took a tour of his garage to oooh and aaah the owner's cars and motorcycles, and met some Peruvian dudes who were trying to hook up with my auntie who thought they were the sh*t. Rich, I'm sure, but the sh*t they weren't! Lol! Oh, by the way, the party was held by some rich white dude who was raising money for medical research...apparently he acquired this huge ass house the old fashioned way...from his parents!

In any case, while I'm sure there were many "prominent" business folk in attendance, CEO's and other richie rich, it was so NOT my scene. But hey, how many times will I ever get to "crash" a party like that again? It was fun!


Happy Graduation!

Last Sunday, BruthaMan graduated from Golden Gate University. Nevermind that his final paper has yet to be turned in, the ceremony and whole act of walking in your gown- a MASTER'S GOWN - is a major accomplishment that we are all proud to have seen him earn. Rewind to the few days before the actual grad and imagine him, my sis, and myself trying to figure out HOW EXACTLY to wear the robe and gown. I didn't know that there was a difference in undergrad and graduate robes! Let's just say that we even had to consult the internet for help- how sad are we?! But the day of, it was a great moment for everyone...as BruthaMan walked across that stage, my sis and the kiddies had just given him a rose lei, his brothers and myself were there cheering him on, and his mom sat with her hanky to her eyes. After three years, all the hard work has paid off- congratulations BruthaMan! I can only hope that my turn is not that far away! Rest up and rest easy now!

The Weekender's Wedding Weekend

A huge congratulation shout-out goes to the newly hitched Sacramentos! Their wedding this past weekend was one of the most anticipated shindigs of the year simply because Mrs. Weekender is one of the last of our lil' group to be married. Yup- saved the best for last!

And what a wedding it was!

The bride was beautiful and elegant; the groom was handsome and GQ'd. They make for a disgustingly good looking couple! The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Oakland right on Lake Merritt. 'Tis a beautiful church! It doesn't boast the typical huge architectural features of many of the Catholic churches I've been to; this one was quite modern.


I loved the enormous stained glass windows and how the altar was in the middle of the church with pews and chairs encircling it. It provided a more intimate setting, especially when the immediate family was called to join the bride and groom for the wedding vows.



I have to say that the tears started flowing as soon as the Weekender walked down the aisle. I saw her get ready at the hotel...hair, makeup, gown, shoes, jewelry, the whole sha-bang...but when she walked down the aisle accompanied by her brother and her mom, my eyes filled up. From where the bridesmaids were sitting, I had a good view of the groom from behind. When the Weekender stepped out from the side corridor, Etch-A-Sketch was blown away. It's like he took one look at her, probably said something like "hot damn!" (or not!), and had to shake his head in disbelief at the beauty of his bride. It was classic and from that moment on, they both had these huge ass smiles painted across their faces for the rest of the ceremony.

After the "I Do's" were said, the wedding party headed across the street to take some pictures along Lake Merritt and from there, we were off to the reception.

The reception was held at the Boundary Oaks Country Club golf course in Walnut Creek. Because there was this whole movie theme going on, the tables inside the hall were named with some of their favorites that included Sixteen Candles (one of MnM's fave!), Blue Hawaii, and An Officer and A Gentleman. I was seated at The Wedding Singer table. They even had this huge movie poster of them that also served as their Save The Date flyer to everyone. As soon as I found our table, the bag that I was holding accidentally pushed a fork off the table and wouldn't you know it, the damn thing fell straight downward and stabbed my toe! WTF?! What a way to start the evening- LOL! Anyways...just had to share that lil' tidbit. Moving on...

Directly behind my seat, there was a chocolate fondue fountain.
The sweet smell was enough to get my going, but in actuality, I was completely paranoid the entire time because it didn't seem that the table it sat on was stable! You could hear this rattling noise and if you watched the candles that surrounded it, it was clearly shaking. Once the waiters placed stacks of serving plates, I was seriously just waiting for the moment for the table to topple over me. First my toe, then a chocolate covered bridesmaid. That definitely would've made for a memorable moment, yah? (NOT!)



On the other side of the dancefloor, they had the wedding cake on another table. It was a chocolate layer cake with chocolate and caramel with toasted pecan filling. Yum! After all of the running around, taking polaroid pictures of the guests, receiving the gifts, and directing guests, I was feening for something sweet to reenergize. Isn't it so pretty?

Aside from the normal wedding reception activities (i.e., slideshow, money dance, toasts, and speeches), one of the most sweetest and memorable moment was when Etch-A-Sketch serenaded the Weekender. It was a surprise that we all had to keep away from her and it paid off! Etch-A-Sketch had emailed us requesting the bridal party to help him out singing "Sweet Caroline" (c/o Neil Diamond...OR, think the Fever Pitch movie...). He started off with his thank you list to the guests and then turned to his bride and said the first line from the song. Then he started singing it a cappella and her tears started flowing! During this time, some of the groomsmen were passing out a copy of the words to the song and by the time Etch got to the chorus, the entire ballroom joined in- it was awesome!

"Sweet Caroline...pum pum pum...good times never seemed so good! I've been inclined...pum pum pum...to believe they never would..." It was so touching to see her crying that it had ME crying...happy tears, of course!

One of the other most memorable moments of the wedding reception was seeing a lot of old familiar faces. It was a major San Francisco State and PACE reunion in da house! We had the "old crew" back together again! It's very rare that we are all together in one place and coming for the Weekender's special day made it even more special! Not to mention that the resident Doctor is getting married himself later on this year...congratualtions Dr. SI (that's "super-intern"...inside joke!)! AND, I just have to mention here that Dr. SI's former galpal and my good friend B is ALSO getting married later this year as well! So congratulations to you Bern! We all went down memory lane and whenever we do that, it's always a guarantee to end up laughing our asses off. Oh man...good times...good times. Here are a couple of pics:


The old crew back together again...minus yours truly. SOMEONE has to take this Kodak moment!


MnM and Bern...the next bride-to-be! Congrats girlfriend!


Gerber daisies for the bridemaids' floral bouquets- beautiful!


I love this pic c/o MsClaire...the church can be seen in the background as well as the lake. The sepia color just makes it all romantic, doesn't it?


Last, but not least...the happy couple (pic c/o MsClaire). Much love and congratulations as the two of you begin your life of love together!