The Blue Angels came out today.

Bang and Vyl got married today at the James Leary Flood Mansion in the heart of San Francisco. After a dreary day on Friday, the sun came out and made the day perfect. To top it all off, it happens to be Fleet Week in SF and the Blue Angels flew over the city all afternoon. Vyl looked so elegant and just smokin’ HOT in her white mermaid-style gown and pink sash. Bang was glowing and wore a matching pink tie. The ceremony took place in the Grand Hall that overlooked the bay and rolling hills of SF. Their vows were very touching and the party was ragin’. By the end of the evening, everyone was nice and toasty and I took over 500 photos. Congratulations you two!! Have a great time in Asia!

Here are 190 of the photos. Enjoy.

He’s so proud and excited.


This is Bang, Jes, and Ryan pretending to be wedding guests.

On Friday, Jes and I drove Jimmy’s Subi into the city to take care of some pre-wedding stuff. Our first stop was the tux shop where the tux guy that Bang BOUGHT his tux from didn’t remember him. What an *ss. The guy was so obnoxious and kept checking out Jesse’s butt when he tried on the tux. Anyway, we ended up having to pay an arm and a leg for parking there for an hour, which didn’t make that errand any more pleasant.

Since Jes had a 12:30 conference call, we didn’t really have a chance to eat anything…except for the can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli that we found in Jimmy’s cupboard. That was yummy, by the way. So, we stopped for lunch on the way to rehearsal. We found a place called The Grove and the turkey, avocado, bacon sandwich on sourdough was so good. It really made me miss San Francisco or just living in a city where you can find quality food like that. The interesting part about that place was when we walked in, there were people seated along the wall on a long bench all with their laptops out on the tables. It felt like study hall and I had forgotten my textbooks.

Rehearsal was at the Flood Mansion on Broadway and Fillmore. It’s a hundred-year mansion that is now an all-girls private school. The wedding will take place on the main floor in the hallway. There’s an awesome view of the city and the bay since it’s at the top of the hill. We got to see Big Yao (Bang’s dad) and he was so happy that his only son was getting married. I gave him a big hug and said, “Congratulations!” and he said, “Oh, THANK YOU THANK YOU!” Big Yao’s so proud and excited.

Once that was done, we had dinner at PPQ Dungeness Island. It’s a Vietnamese seafood restaurant that gave us bibs and we grubbed on crab (of course), pork, beef, and garlic noodles. Afterwards, we decided to head back to Jimmy’s since I was tired, Huy and his sisters’ flights were delayed, and Jes wanted to go back and WoW-it-up.

Semi-Day-Off

Jes and I flew up to San Francisco last night so that Jes could help get ready for tomorrow’s wedding. Unfortunately, we’re both “working from home” and need to be by a computer at least part of the day. Jes’ boss is even asking him to go into the office today for a pointless meeting. I’m not sure how he’s going to get out of that but he will. I’ve already answered two work calls this morning and now I’m feeling the pressure of having to finish the three reports that are due Monday. *sigh*

Anyhoo…we’re now at Jimmy’s awesome pad in Alameda. He’s ballin’ with his 1500 sqft house complete with backyard and driveway and has graciously allowed us to stay in it this weekend. Now we have to figure out how to get to the city by 2pm for a tux fitting. Take Jimmy’s car? Take BART? Hm…

left out

I’m missing another photo class tonight.  I have to catch a plane to SF tonight.  Luckily, I have my instructor’s email and he gave me my assignments.  They’re actually going on an outing to take photos of the lake at sunset.  Boo…that sounds like fun.

Well, we’re going to be in SF this weekend.  The party should be fun and the weather should be nice and crisp…just as I like it.

more food, friends, and photos

Our second day started a bit later than expected. We got up around 11:30 and left the apartment at around 12:45. The first stop was lunch at Fatty Crab (in Chelsea) where we met up with Jason. We ordered the chili crab and boy was it messy. I ended up with crab chili sauce on my shirt, jeans, and even on my bag that was on the floor next to me. I actually found sauce inside my bag too…crazy. Anyway, the food was great and the crab was a lot of fun to eat. Jia stopped by afterwards to briefly hang out with us before we went our separate ways.

IMG_4645.jpgWe go back on the subway got off at 42nd St. where we visited the Photograph Museum. The photos were huge and mildly impressive. On our way up to Central Park we stopped at Rockefeller Plaza to check out the different landmarks.

At Central Park, we strolled the paths and took some more photos. It still amazes me how there can be such a lush park in the middle of an urban city. There was an Apple Store across from the park and we HAD to check it out. I couldn’t believe how busy it was! The store is quite large and it managed to feel small with so many people in it.

Dinner was supposed to be at Corner Bistro in West Village but we ended up at a sucky restaurant down the street. CB was way too small, way too stuffy, and way too crowded. Afterwards we checked out Little Branch, an underground bar that charges 12 bucks for a vodka tonic! That was way too steep so we headed over to East Village. On the way, we met up with Johnny’s friend Bernadette and walked through some cute neighborhoods. Justine met up with us at the bar and after hanging out at two more bars we stopped for Japanese food and beer.

It is now 5 am and we’re already at JFK. We got back to the apartment with just enough time to tidy up the place. Our car service came at 4 am sharp and I haven’t slept yet. I guess it’s pretty convenient being on West Coast time still. I’ll nap on the plane.

Overall, it was a fun and adventurous trip. Two days is pretty quick for a trip to NYC but I think we really made the most of our time here. I can say that I’m much more comfortable with the subway system and I finally got to see each of the different buroughs. I’d have to say that New York really doesn’t sleep and that’s cool. I’d love to live here one day but I’m also happy to be going home. My dog deserves grass to poo on and I enjoy having a car. Until next time New York…see you again soon.

Update: Ok…here you go…hot off the presses…a whoppin’ 121 photos from New York City.  Enjoy!

There’s so much to eat!

Hello from New York! The Brother and I arrived a little before midnight on Thursday but it took us nearly 2 hours to get to our cousin’s apartment in Manhattan. SuperShuttle blows. We got picked up on time but then had to drive around picking up more passengers until the van was full. We then drove to Manhattan and ended up being the 3rd from the last to be dropped off. So, at 2 am EST, we finally arrived at Ishya and Billy’s place where we ate dinner that was delivered. We got to catch up with the two of them before going to bed and saw them one last time this morning before they left for their trip to Spain.

We started our day with a subway ride uptown to do some shopping. The first stop was H&M where I found some nice tops and a pea coat. Later we headed southwest to B&H Photo, which was crazy big and crazy busy. This is the place where I order a lot of my photography stuff from and I couldn’t believe the selection of equipment and accessories!

After dropping off our goodies at the apartment, we headed downtown for lunch. We ate at Momofukku where we tried their pork buns that were so fatty and so yummy. Then we hopped back onto the subway and headed down to Wall St. where we took the Staten Island Ferry to get a better look at the Statue of Liberty and New York City skyline. Next stop was Ground Zero where it was eerily somber. I never actually saw the Twin Towers when they were still standing and I still can’t believe that something so tall actually doesn’t exist any more.

IMG_4621.jpgThen we went on the hunt for Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I had the lychee sorbet and Johnny had the almond cookie ice cream. Both were very good and worth the extra walking to find it. Our next destination was SoHo where we found Cafe Habana that was recommended by Holly. The mexican corn was tasty…grilled and smothered with butter, cheese, lime, and salt.

For dinner, we had Korean BBQ with Dayantha, who had ridden the bus up from Philly, and Krishani, who goes to grad school in NYC. Justine came by after dinner and we had drinks at a nearby Korean cafe. Now we’re back at the apartment and the Brother is passed out and snoring. It’s 4:19 am EST and I’m wide awake. Until tomorrow…ta ta for now!