Old Memory

An old memory recently emerged from the recesses of my brain:

I must have been somewhere between the ages of 4 and 6. I had been over to my friend's house, and we'd had a fight. I remember that we were both biting down on each others' thumbs as hard as we could. I went home crying because it hurt so much. I don't know how long I'd been sulking--probably only a few minutes--when the phone rang. I picked it up, assuming it was my friend, and rudely said "What do YOU want?" The reply was was something like "How did you know it was me?" I recognized my grandmother's voice immediately, and was embarrassed.

I miss my grandma. She died 6 years ago today. In addition to helping to teach me phone manners, she spent a ton of time teaching me to play the piano. I love my grandma!

Philippines Part 2: Isdaan and the Wedding

On the way back from lunch, we stopped at the internet cafe to find some sheet music for me to play at the wedding. The internet cafe was nice (it was actually air conditioned). Plus, there was a wonderful view of a field in the backyard. Joyce told me that the plants in the field are the same as the leaves that I ate at lunch earlier (crispified into a nice chip).

Matt and Jonah left us at the hotel to rest for a bit while they picked up Jonah's mother. Then we went to dinner at the Isdaan Floating Restaurant. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me. Imagine a bamboo hut with a grass roof, floating on a bamboo raft. Now put a table inside of the hut, and that's where we ate--right on the water, in a little hut. Nothing was served on plates or platters. The restaurant uses banana leaves. We were also taught to eat our food in the traditional Filipino way--with our bare hands (after sanitizing them with Calimansi--a citrus fruit comparable to a small lime--first). The restaurant had tons of statues, and other artistic stuff all around, including a bicycle made of water faucets. There was also a wall to help release any anger you might have. You decide what the target of your anger is, then you yell "Tacsiyapo!" and throw a ceramic plate at it. I didn't have any built up anger, so I just did it for fun. I think I threw the plate at the media. I would have to say the Isdaan Floating Restaurant was definitely a slice of paradise.

The next day was the wedding. Matt and Jonah had asked me to play Pachelbel's Canon for the wedding march. It was nice to be involved, and I was grateful for the opportunity. The wedding had a couple of speakers, who spake in "Taglish"--a cross between English and Taglish. I later asked why, wondering if it might have anything to do with being sensitive to those who only understood one language. I was told that it's easier to speak in Taglish than just speaking in Tagalog or English, and they usually speak in Taglish at church and other places. With what seemed like every other word being spoken in English, I had a pretty good idea of what was spoken the whole time, and even laughed at some of the humorous comments.

I was in for more surprises when we got to the reception. I felt quite honored to lead the toast as the best man. I was only nervous about what dark liquid was in the glass that I was handed, but was relieved to taste that it was just coke. Instead of tossing the garter and boquet, the people in charge of the reception have a tradition where you pass it around like a game of hot potato. It was about the time that I won it that I suspected the game might have been staged to land on me and the maid of honor, Joyce. So, we had to play a game where we mimic the bride and groom as they demonstrate the 3 levels of a kiss. My mom took a video with her camera about halfway through. You'll have to watch the video to see if the emcee really made us go through with the last kiss (this version is a little longer than the one on Matt and Jonah's blog).

All in all, the wedding day was a really great day. Jonah was glowing every time I looked at her, and she looked very beautiful. Matt looked as happy as I've ever seen him. I was very glad to be a part of the whole thing.

Waiting For Pictures...

My brother still hasn't made the rest of my pictures available to me, so we have to wait for part 2 of the Philippines stories. In the mean time, here's a little something else that's going on in my life:

If any of you are interested in seeing my performance as Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, we open the show this Friday at the Sorensen Unity Center on 900 W 1300 S in Salt Lake. The show has two casts, so make sure you come to one of the shows I'll actually be performing in. I perform the 22nd, 26th, 28th, 30th, and the matinee on the 23rd. Tickets are cheaper online here than they are if you buy them in person at the box office. Hope to see you there!

Philippines Part 1

I'm back! Before I go into anything else, I have to say, the trip was AWESOME!!! I had lots of trepidation about it before going, but I'm definitely glad I went. I had the time of my life.

The adventures started before we even got to Manila--we were in for a surprise at the Tokyo airport. I'm not sure if it's been on the news or not, but getting off an airplane in Japan can take 15 to 30 minutes longer due to the Swine Flu scare. Before we landed, each passenger was asked to fill out a Health Questionnaire (which was poorly translated, with slightly humorous results). Then when the plane landed we were told to stay in our seats while a group of "quarantine officials" boarded the plane and reviewed our paperwork--one at a time. I didn't take a picture, but I found this picture online that was taken at the same airport. The plane fell into an eerie silence when the first official stepped onto the aircraft pointing his heat sensor at everyone. My throat suddenly went dry and I felt like a cough was coming. I drank the last of my water--but it didn't help! It seemed like an eternity before they gave us the all-clear.

We landed in Manila and had to find my brother, who was going to pick us up from the airport. Once we got our luggage and went through customs, we were not only greeted by the humidity, but a crowd of people waiting for their travelers in a designated waiting area. My brother found us and we were on our way--or so I thought. We couldn't go to Tarlac until we found a mechanic (at about midnight) to fix the van my brother had rented for the week. After about an hour, we were on our way to Tarlac.

We stayed at La Maja Rica Hotel, which my brother said is the nicest hotel in the province. There were no box springs in the beds, but other than that I didn't have a problem with it.

In the morning, we went to run a few errands. The van was at another mechanic for a more permanent fix-up, so we rode tricycles instead! It's like a taxi, only more fun. I rode on the inside of one with Jonah and her sister Jingle. Joyce was on the back, behind the driver, and the others were in another tricycle. P.S. no seatbelts, so hold on!

Matt pointed out this store as the place where they got Jonah's wedding dress.

We drove to an all-you-can-eat buffet in Angeles for lunch. This was definitely an adventure (those are snails in the top right corner, not mushrooms). Nobody really explained what any of the food was until after I ate it. As soon as I brought
this plate back from the table, everyone gasped and asked if I was really going to eat the black stuff. It was probably the stuff I liked the most that meal(turned out to be a dish made out of pig's blood). Dessert was a Halo Halo (Tagalog for "mix mix"). Basically, you put a ton of stuff into a glass, add shaved ice and milk, and mix it up. I decided not to put any beans in mine, or most of the gelatin options. This one has sweet potato-like vegetable chunks, bananas, crispy rice, tapioca, and some sort of coconut gelatin stuff.

It was about this point that I realized that my camera came with a really small memory card. Matt had a memory card that I borrowed, but I can't post any of those pictures until I get them from him. So this is the end of post #1. More to come!

I'm Gone!

Chances are, if you read this post sometime on Monday or even Tuesday morning, I'll be traveling to the Philippines. For any who don't know, I'm going to see my brother's wedding. I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to log in at his internet cafe, so I may have no new posts until I get back.

Good thing I got my passport a few days ago!

My First Picture

After 25 years of surviving without a digital camera (okay, they haven't been around that long, but still...), I finally bought one. This is the first picture I took with it:



I then found the flash and took this as my second picture:



I think this will work nicely for my upcoming trip.

The Party Never Ends

Have you noticed that people like to have a reason to celebrate? I think I'm reminded of it every time Mother's Day comes around. It was a holiday created by retail stores to sell more merchandise. I don't disagree with the holiday; I think all caring mothers (as if any aren't caring) deserve special recognition. I think it's funny that we are willing to make up a holiday just because we want to celebrate.

A better example is the fact that I've been celebrating variations of Cinco de Mayo for almost a week. It all started on Sunday when my mom served enchiladas and said we could call it our Tress de Mayo celebration. Family Home Evening on Monday was a Cuatro de Mayo celebration in which we ate nachos and learned to salsa dance. Then of course there was an official Cinco de Mayo day on the 5th (when it should be). Wednesday night I went to a party that was also Mexican themed--hence, Seis de Mayo. Finally, yesterday at work our office had a Siete de Mayo taco potluck for lunch. I find it ironic that I celebrated the holiday for 5 days, when it's not even a big deal in Mexico.

Some people have actually decided every day should be a holiday. You can find all sorts of calendars on the web, such as this one, letting you know what fun holiday it is today. So if you're ever looking for a theme for your next party, don't forget that someone has made up a holiday for whatever day you're throwing your party.

Happy Anniversary...I Guess?

I have officially been in the ward for a year now. And while I may not be proud of the fact that I'm still single, I love where I am right now. I've made tons of really great friendships, and met some really amazing people with incredible stories. I admit that I was a ward hopper a year ago, but as soon as I came to church at this ward, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Here's a shout out to the 30th ward! You guys all rock!