Looking Back Looking Forward
2008 was a fantastic year. It was a year of transition: ridding the old and venturing into the new.
Travel
One of the things that is very important to both of us and we really enjoy together. We certainly did A LOT of (and spent a lot on) traveling in 2008.
We went to Malapascua in the spring, the Pacific Northwest in the summer, and Macao in the fall. Bill took a solo trip to Hong Kong just a month ago. No wonder we never feel like we're saving a large amount of money. It's all worth it though 'cause we may never have the chance to travel like this again, especially once the little ones come along.
Bill never made it to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Maybe we'll make it to the one in 2010 in Vancouver.
Health
Though the tension is still there every time I go back to my gyno-oncologist, Dr. Liu, for routine checkups, we spend the majority of our time and energy on moving toward our plan to have a family.
My latest visit to Dr. Liu was just yesterday. My CA-125 is still wobbling between 60 and 90, but the fact that it goes up and down indicates that it is not tumor growth (otherwise it'd only keep going up). Dr. Liu only schedules me to see him during his teaching clinic hours now. One reason is that there are fewer patients, and it's also because he wants the young interns to study my case. Yesterday, for example, Dr. Liu got the intern to interview me for an hour. The nervous intern was so amazed at how detailed my descriptions of my surgeries were that he burst, "How do you know what happened during your surgeries? Weren't you supposed to be under?" Dr. Liu turned around and said, "Because she wouldn't stop asking about it after she came around. She made me promise to take pictures of her insides before her first surgery."
I'm convinced that Dr. Liu secretly wishes all patients and their families are like me and Bill. He just can't admit it.
My fertility doctor, Dr. Motormouth, has got me hooked on routine exercise and healthy eating (though this holiday season has thrown me off the course a bit). She has been getting increasingly satisfied with the positive changes she sees in my shape and attitude (so has Bill and so am I). We'll continue to chart my basal temperature to track hormonal activities, and the next step is to be on birth control pills to completely shut down the left ovary. If all goes well, we'll start the injection and egg harvesting process in February. If we're successful, we'll become new parents in winter 2009.
Family
Speaking of parenthood, I certainly got a few "training sessions to new parenthood" during the trip back to North America. The one in which I was most frightened was when I got to hold Isaac in my arms at Diane's house simply because he was so soft and tiny (thank you again, Laura, for trusting me and letting me hold him). In the Redden's household where I made the couch my bed, Scott made sure that then-7-month-old Jordy was the first person I saw first thing in the morning. Lisa and Scott seemed determined to burst my bubbles of having my own kids. From the day I arrived, they threw me right into the whole shebang, including seeing and smelling infant poop.
At the end of my training, Lisa and Scott gave me the ultimate test: have me babysit 7-month-old Jordy all alone while they go on a date. Jordy and I had a great time babbling and bouncing up and down (well, he did most of it). Though I could hardly lift the coffee mug to my mouth the next morning, I thought that was quite an achievement for someone who was (notice I used past tense?) totally inexperienced with babies.
Oh, and we got married! It's only been... not even a full month, so we still feel a bit weird calling each other husband and wife. It's weird because we're not yet used to it.
You've also gotta understand that we're constantly dealing with at least 2 languages here. What has been happening is that, just when we thought we were used to saying "This is my husband" or "My wife would like to know..." in English, all of a sudden we'd be in a situation where we had to do it in Mandarin. Then the whole unfamiliarity occurred again. The other day I was in a cab with a very friendly and chatty Taiwanese-speaking driver. Like my cousin Karen, the driver could name every car on the street, the year they came out, and the pros and cons of all of them. Seeing that I was quiet, the driver looked from the rear view mirror and said, "You're not interested in cars, huh?!" I answered, "I don't know cars very well, but my husband does." There! Again! Saying the word "husband" in Taiwanese made me giggly.
Another thing I'm getting used to is the fact that, all of a sudden, I'm an aunt to many kids and a great aunt to a couple of them. A few days ago, I saw a picture of Laura, Daniel, Joey, and Genevieve on Diane's (Bill's older sister's) blog, and I thought, "How are Daniel and Joey related again? Diane is Bill's sister, which makes Daniel Bill's nephew, which makes Joey Daniel's uncle, which makes Joey a great uncle like Bill to Ben and Isaac." I stared at that picture, flabbergasted at the fact that Bill's little brother is a great uncle too (Joey, I'm sure you're a great [as in quality] great [as in relation] uncle too).
My Husband
It doesn't matter what year it is, I'm thankful to have Bill in my life. He constantly reminds me the importance of approaching life full-heartedly and positively. We recently went through a few rough days helping a friend out, and I couldn't have done it without him. I'm proud that my husband's got a heart of gold, and he is so loving and giving. Bill may seem aloof most of the time, but he's rock solid when he's needed the most.
Here's to a fabulous 2009.
Happy New Year, Everybody!!!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
... and we're BACK!
I'm terribly sorry if you had to sign up for a gmail account in order to read this blog. I had to take down the blog for reasons I cannot discuss here... Don't worry. Everything was and is fine.
Last night I thought I'd try out this "permit invited readers only" thing, but very quickly I realized it wouldn't work 'cause I don't have everyone's email address. Long story short, I've changed the permission setting back to "public". Everything's back to the way it has always been.
I'm terribly sorry if you had to sign up for a gmail account in order to read this blog. I had to take down the blog for reasons I cannot discuss here... Don't worry. Everything was and is fine.
Last night I thought I'd try out this "permit invited readers only" thing, but very quickly I realized it wouldn't work 'cause I don't have everyone's email address. Long story short, I've changed the permission setting back to "public". Everything's back to the way it has always been.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
X'mas Mad
I'm determined to celebrate Christmas properly this year for two reasons. One, Bill and I are celebrating our first Christmas as a couple this year. The second reasons is that I didn't get to celebrate Christmas in the past two years 'cause I was in the hospital.
The problem is, I only have a vague idea of what is involved in Christmas preparation. The last time I did any preparation for Christmas was almost 6 years ago in Vancouver. Even then, all it means is that I got a tree from Home Depot, decorated it, and put empty boxes of fake gifts on the bottom. I can't do the same thing this year. I've got to do it properly.
Desperate, I did what I usually do whenever I'm lost on the path to becoming a real home-maker: check out Martha's website.
The school term ended on Thursday, December 11th. I checked out Martha's website the day after. However, I felt defeated as soon as the front page appeared. It said "100 Days to Christmas -- your holiday planning guide". ONE HUNDRED days?!?! Martha sure knows how to be organized.
Since it was way too late for me to follow Martha's planning guide, I sought out alternatives. I went to the bookstore and quickly scanned the covers of all the home-making magazines. A few minutes later, I found the perfect one: "Simply Joyful: 249 Easy Ideas for the Holidays". Easy is good. Easy is all I can do at this point. Not to mention there are two hundred and forty-nine of these ideas.
When in a bookstore, one must read a few lines of the newest books and test-write the latest pens. Yes, pens. That's another thing that is really good in Asia. Pens in Asia are cheap (less than a buck) and they are silky smooooooooth. While I was enjoying the 4-color ball point pen and trying to justify paying NT$160 (US$5) for it, I experienced flashing images of Shellee's "Krissmas card" before my eyes. Of course! A light bulb moment (In Jack Nicholson's voice please): How could we forget Christmas cards and how could one write many many many X'mas cards without a pen one truly enjoys?
With MY new pen in hand, I headed to the card section of the bookstore. There was a large table with all kinds of X'mas stuff on it: apple cinnamon candles, incense, and soap mixed with red, green, gold, and silver bows, balls, and stars. A-Ha! Among those shiny knick-knacks lay boxes of Christmas cards. I picked one up and put it down. Then I picked another one up and put it down. They were all Hallmark cards imported from the States, and they cost an arm and a leg! Not that I don't want to spend money on our family and friends, it just didn't make sense to me. Why would anyone spend money on X'mas cards that were imported from the States in the first place and send them to friends and family in the States? If I wanted to do that, I could just ask you to pick up a Hallmark card for yourself at Safeway.
Anyway, I didn't buy them. I can't tell you what I ended up buying here because it's more fun for you to find out when you receive yours.
Back to the 249 easy ideas for the holidays... most of them require more preparation that we don't seem to have time for. Last weekend, Bill and I tended to the house and the patio, getting them organized (see the previous post below). When Monday rolled along, Bill went back to his 8-hour working schedule, and I started writing X'mas cards. I didn't know how time-consuming it was to write these little cards! It also took a bit of time for us to get addresses from people. Aside from writing cards, I also had marking to do 'cause I had to finish teaching an academic writing class at another university last Tuesday and Thursday. In other words, the only X'mas-related thing I did in the first 3 weekdays of this week was that I put up little X'mas bows here and there, which was entirely my own idea and not from the magazine.
After the writing class on Thursday, I stopped by the "Taipei Pot Plant Auction" (It's not a typo. It is exactly what it says on the front of that building in Taipei) and picked up a few pots of Poinsettia. Bill and I had planned to shop for X'mas decoration that night, but we ended up going to IKEA and picked up a few more things for the apartment... non-X'mas things.
It is exactly one week to X'mas, and I'd just finished all the X'mas cards. I'm not sure if you will all get yours in time for Christmas, but this is our first time doing X'mas as a couple and we tried. We still have to decorate the apartment, and I really need to start baking cookies. Oh, did I mention that we still don't know what we're going to make for the X'mas dinner that is going to take place in our apartment this coming Thursday? Aaahhhh~ I'm. not. freaking. out.
I'm sure next week Martha's front page will change to "Last Minute X'mas Ideas: what to do when you're out of time". Maybe she'll have a recipe for instant turkey.
I'm determined to celebrate Christmas properly this year for two reasons. One, Bill and I are celebrating our first Christmas as a couple this year. The second reasons is that I didn't get to celebrate Christmas in the past two years 'cause I was in the hospital.
The problem is, I only have a vague idea of what is involved in Christmas preparation. The last time I did any preparation for Christmas was almost 6 years ago in Vancouver. Even then, all it means is that I got a tree from Home Depot, decorated it, and put empty boxes of fake gifts on the bottom. I can't do the same thing this year. I've got to do it properly.
Desperate, I did what I usually do whenever I'm lost on the path to becoming a real home-maker: check out Martha's website.
The school term ended on Thursday, December 11th. I checked out Martha's website the day after. However, I felt defeated as soon as the front page appeared. It said "100 Days to Christmas -- your holiday planning guide". ONE HUNDRED days?!?! Martha sure knows how to be organized.
Since it was way too late for me to follow Martha's planning guide, I sought out alternatives. I went to the bookstore and quickly scanned the covers of all the home-making magazines. A few minutes later, I found the perfect one: "Simply Joyful: 249 Easy Ideas for the Holidays". Easy is good. Easy is all I can do at this point. Not to mention there are two hundred and forty-nine of these ideas.
When in a bookstore, one must read a few lines of the newest books and test-write the latest pens. Yes, pens. That's another thing that is really good in Asia. Pens in Asia are cheap (less than a buck) and they are silky smooooooooth. While I was enjoying the 4-color ball point pen and trying to justify paying NT$160 (US$5) for it, I experienced flashing images of Shellee's "Krissmas card" before my eyes. Of course! A light bulb moment (In Jack Nicholson's voice please): How could we forget Christmas cards and how could one write many many many X'mas cards without a pen one truly enjoys?
With MY new pen in hand, I headed to the card section of the bookstore. There was a large table with all kinds of X'mas stuff on it: apple cinnamon candles, incense, and soap mixed with red, green, gold, and silver bows, balls, and stars. A-Ha! Among those shiny knick-knacks lay boxes of Christmas cards. I picked one up and put it down. Then I picked another one up and put it down. They were all Hallmark cards imported from the States, and they cost an arm and a leg! Not that I don't want to spend money on our family and friends, it just didn't make sense to me. Why would anyone spend money on X'mas cards that were imported from the States in the first place and send them to friends and family in the States? If I wanted to do that, I could just ask you to pick up a Hallmark card for yourself at Safeway.
Anyway, I didn't buy them. I can't tell you what I ended up buying here because it's more fun for you to find out when you receive yours.
Back to the 249 easy ideas for the holidays... most of them require more preparation that we don't seem to have time for. Last weekend, Bill and I tended to the house and the patio, getting them organized (see the previous post below). When Monday rolled along, Bill went back to his 8-hour working schedule, and I started writing X'mas cards. I didn't know how time-consuming it was to write these little cards! It also took a bit of time for us to get addresses from people. Aside from writing cards, I also had marking to do 'cause I had to finish teaching an academic writing class at another university last Tuesday and Thursday. In other words, the only X'mas-related thing I did in the first 3 weekdays of this week was that I put up little X'mas bows here and there, which was entirely my own idea and not from the magazine.
After the writing class on Thursday, I stopped by the "Taipei Pot Plant Auction" (It's not a typo. It is exactly what it says on the front of that building in Taipei) and picked up a few pots of Poinsettia. Bill and I had planned to shop for X'mas decoration that night, but we ended up going to IKEA and picked up a few more things for the apartment... non-X'mas things.
It is exactly one week to X'mas, and I'd just finished all the X'mas cards. I'm not sure if you will all get yours in time for Christmas, but this is our first time doing X'mas as a couple and we tried. We still have to decorate the apartment, and I really need to start baking cookies. Oh, did I mention that we still don't know what we're going to make for the X'mas dinner that is going to take place in our apartment this coming Thursday? Aaahhhh~ I'm. not. freaking. out.
I'm sure next week Martha's front page will change to "Last Minute X'mas Ideas: what to do when you're out of time". Maybe she'll have a recipe for instant turkey.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
It ain't home, but it's close enough
We live in a rooftop apartment on the 7th floor of a 6-story building in the heart of Taipei. From the apartment, it's a 20-minute walk to where we work. It takes about half the time for me to get to the gym. There is an elementary school and a high school on two sides of the apartment complex, so we hear kids playing and the occasional echo of school announcements. Our apartment building is on the left of a one way lane, and there is a security booth at the entrance way a hundred meters from our front door. I've chatted with Mr. Yo the most because he's on duty in the evenings when I come home from work.
Ready for the tour? Please keep in mind that we're still in the process of putting the place together, so some areas may still look somewhat raw and bare.
As you walk up the flight of stairs from the elevator, this is the foyer leading to our apartment. The Chinese characters on the red paper on the bamboo sieve literally mean "Rats bring fortune". My mom bought it for us for Chinese New Year in the beginning of the year because Bill and I were both born in the year of the rat. The set of stone lantern belongs to the landlady. Originally there were some floaty water plants in the basin but they were all infested with some disease that formed this layer of white foam on top of the leaves. I replaced them over the weekend, and I'm quite happy with the result.
The character on the door is double happiness. It's a Chinese custom for newly weds to display the character on the door.
As you come inside the apartment, the first thing you'll see is "the coat room". There is a rack on the right (not shown in the picture) for coats.
Now if you take a right from the coat room, you'll see the bathroom ahead of you. Yes, we took the fuzzy ducky with us every time we moved. A bathroom door is not a bathroom door without him.
If you're facing the bathroom, the den/study is on your right. This is the darkest room in the house. Bill and I have our work desks and computers here.
Outside of the Japanese windows is a small and well ventilated area where we can hang our clothes. As you can see, Mr. Octopus takes his job very seriously. He'd salute if he had a free arm.
Come on back in. Let me take you to the areas that make this apartment unique.
*************************************************************************************
A fireplace in the living room of an apartment in Taipei!!!
Okay, it's more for decoration than practical use, but it certainly changes the feeling in the livingroom. Oh yes... it's dark marble on the mental piece.
To the right, there's a flight of stairs leading to the second level of the apartment. Our bedroom is up there.
The picture on the right is opposite the fireplace where a leather love seat sits. I took this picture right above the love seat because of the Christmas window stencils. We're getting ready to host this year's Christmas potluck dinner, so I've been coming up with ways to make the place more Christmasy.
Let's head up to the bedroom real quick.
Ta-da~~~
The mosquito net makes us feel as if we're camping.
Okay... let's go back downstairs and let me show you the kitchen.
Looking at this picture, you would never think this is an apartment in Taipei.
This is the kitchen/dining room area. Pardon the mess. We haven't found a place for everything yet.
Let's head out to my playground: the patio.
Isn't it cute? Forget about the fireplace and the fact that we don't have to climb the stairs anymore, I wanted the apartment as soon as I saw the patio. I cleaned it up and trimmed the plants on the weekend, but it still needs more work and more plants. I'm happy with what we've got so far though. Bill and I are going to the flower market this coming weekend, and we plan to put some patio furniture and maybe buy a barbecue before summer comes.
Nuage woke up from his morning nap just in time for a recent photo. Isn't Mr. Sleepyhead the cutest cat ever?!
We live in a rooftop apartment on the 7th floor of a 6-story building in the heart of Taipei. From the apartment, it's a 20-minute walk to where we work. It takes about half the time for me to get to the gym. There is an elementary school and a high school on two sides of the apartment complex, so we hear kids playing and the occasional echo of school announcements. Our apartment building is on the left of a one way lane, and there is a security booth at the entrance way a hundred meters from our front door. I've chatted with Mr. Yo the most because he's on duty in the evenings when I come home from work.
Ready for the tour? Please keep in mind that we're still in the process of putting the place together, so some areas may still look somewhat raw and bare.
As you walk up the flight of stairs from the elevator, this is the foyer leading to our apartment. The Chinese characters on the red paper on the bamboo sieve literally mean "Rats bring fortune". My mom bought it for us for Chinese New Year in the beginning of the year because Bill and I were both born in the year of the rat. The set of stone lantern belongs to the landlady. Originally there were some floaty water plants in the basin but they were all infested with some disease that formed this layer of white foam on top of the leaves. I replaced them over the weekend, and I'm quite happy with the result.
The character on the door is double happiness. It's a Chinese custom for newly weds to display the character on the door.
As you come inside the apartment, the first thing you'll see is "the coat room". There is a rack on the right (not shown in the picture) for coats.
Now if you take a right from the coat room, you'll see the bathroom ahead of you. Yes, we took the fuzzy ducky with us every time we moved. A bathroom door is not a bathroom door without him.
If you're facing the bathroom, the den/study is on your right. This is the darkest room in the house. Bill and I have our work desks and computers here.
Outside of the Japanese windows is a small and well ventilated area where we can hang our clothes. As you can see, Mr. Octopus takes his job very seriously. He'd salute if he had a free arm.
Come on back in. Let me take you to the areas that make this apartment unique.
*************************************************************************************
A fireplace in the living room of an apartment in Taipei!!!
Okay, it's more for decoration than practical use, but it certainly changes the feeling in the livingroom. Oh yes... it's dark marble on the mental piece.
To the right, there's a flight of stairs leading to the second level of the apartment. Our bedroom is up there.
The picture on the right is opposite the fireplace where a leather love seat sits. I took this picture right above the love seat because of the Christmas window stencils. We're getting ready to host this year's Christmas potluck dinner, so I've been coming up with ways to make the place more Christmasy.
Let's head up to the bedroom real quick.
Ta-da~~~
The mosquito net makes us feel as if we're camping.
Okay... let's go back downstairs and let me show you the kitchen.
Looking at this picture, you would never think this is an apartment in Taipei.
This is the kitchen/dining room area. Pardon the mess. We haven't found a place for everything yet.
Let's head out to my playground: the patio.
Isn't it cute? Forget about the fireplace and the fact that we don't have to climb the stairs anymore, I wanted the apartment as soon as I saw the patio. I cleaned it up and trimmed the plants on the weekend, but it still needs more work and more plants. I'm happy with what we've got so far though. Bill and I are going to the flower market this coming weekend, and we plan to put some patio furniture and maybe buy a barbecue before summer comes.
Nuage woke up from his morning nap just in time for a recent photo. Isn't Mr. Sleepyhead the cutest cat ever?!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Bill y Kate' Banquete de Boda
6:30pm
Saturday, December 6th, 2008
La Casita, Taipei, Taiwan
When we arrived, the beautiful lineup of Margarita was already on the bar.
Amy and Roland, the owners of La Casita, surprised us with the beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Elisabeth, the owners' daughter, took a picture with me and the best man Ben.
Here are the US representatives of happily married couples.
Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Craig (L) also got married in Taiwan.
Mr. and Mrs. Shannon McClendon (R) had two weddings: one in Taiwan and one in the States.
Followed by happily-married couples from Canada.
Suzanne and Hugo (L) also had two weddings: one in Taipei and one in Vancouver.
Darrell and Judy (R) got married right before they came to Taiwan 5 or 6 years ago.
Next to Darrell is a good friend, Mr. Ryan O'Malley. I thought about photoshopping him out of the picture, but it just wouldn't be the same without him.
Of course, weddings are mostly for the singles.
(L to R) My cousin Karen, Will, Brook, and Ben.
(L) Here's Suzanne with Jacky, Katie, Maddy, and Alice.
(R) Harry, Jacky, and I are "the Chang"s (we share the same last name).
After a few rounds of margarita, the food finally arrived.
When everyone was almost done eating, Bill spoke a few words:
"Myself and my beautiful wife can not be happier..."
He was interrupted because the crowd went nuts as soon as they heard Bill referred to me as "wife".
Then Bill asked if he should say "Me and my beautiful wife" or "My beautiful wife and I". In a room full of English teachers, you can imagine the discussion that went on.
So he continued: "Okay. So... you all know how difficult and how wonderful it can be to live in a place where your family may not be here and your friends may not be here, but how important it is to have a fantastic group of friends that you make into your family. And I can not ask for a better group of people to celebrate my wedding with."
The crowd wept... or they pretended to, and we kissed.
After Bill's great speech, I felt it'd be too much if I said anymore. So when he asked me to say something, I simply replied, "Nothing more needs to be said here. I just wanna drink."
Trust me. I want to dig a hole and climb in every time I think of this moment. It could be added to the list of "Kate's most embarrassing lines". Luckily, however, so far nothing beats what I said at the Canadian citizenship ceremony.
Back to the wedding.
In this picture, the finger that was pointing at me belongs to Mr. Simon Pereira.
Simon says, "Look! Your wife is an alcoholic."
Bill says, "Hey, I'm proud that my wife can hold her own liquor."
Simon says, "Cheers to that."
... and we drank more.
We finished all 7 pitchers of margarita and were working on the 5 pitchers of sangria.
People started talking louder and cameras... okay, Ben's hands, started shaking a bit more.
I love these pictures because they really captured how much fun we were having... or how drunk we were getting.
Then it was 10, and it was time to move on to the club. Before we left, the girls asked to take a picture with the groom. Bill looked a bit uneasy here....
We were very happy.
6:30pm
Saturday, December 6th, 2008
La Casita, Taipei, Taiwan
When we arrived, the beautiful lineup of Margarita was already on the bar.
Amy and Roland, the owners of La Casita, surprised us with the beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Elisabeth, the owners' daughter, took a picture with me and the best man Ben.
Here are the US representatives of happily married couples.
Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Craig (L) also got married in Taiwan.
Mr. and Mrs. Shannon McClendon (R) had two weddings: one in Taiwan and one in the States.
Followed by happily-married couples from Canada.
Suzanne and Hugo (L) also had two weddings: one in Taipei and one in Vancouver.
Darrell and Judy (R) got married right before they came to Taiwan 5 or 6 years ago.
Next to Darrell is a good friend, Mr. Ryan O'Malley. I thought about photoshopping him out of the picture, but it just wouldn't be the same without him.
Of course, weddings are mostly for the singles.
(L to R) My cousin Karen, Will, Brook, and Ben.
(L) Here's Suzanne with Jacky, Katie, Maddy, and Alice.
(R) Harry, Jacky, and I are "the Chang"s (we share the same last name).
After a few rounds of margarita, the food finally arrived.
When everyone was almost done eating, Bill spoke a few words:
"Myself and my beautiful wife can not be happier..."
He was interrupted because the crowd went nuts as soon as they heard Bill referred to me as "wife".
Then Bill asked if he should say "Me and my beautiful wife" or "My beautiful wife and I". In a room full of English teachers, you can imagine the discussion that went on.
So he continued: "Okay. So... you all know how difficult and how wonderful it can be to live in a place where your family may not be here and your friends may not be here, but how important it is to have a fantastic group of friends that you make into your family. And I can not ask for a better group of people to celebrate my wedding with."
The crowd wept... or they pretended to, and we kissed.
After Bill's great speech, I felt it'd be too much if I said anymore. So when he asked me to say something, I simply replied, "Nothing more needs to be said here. I just wanna drink."
Trust me. I want to dig a hole and climb in every time I think of this moment. It could be added to the list of "Kate's most embarrassing lines". Luckily, however, so far nothing beats what I said at the Canadian citizenship ceremony.
Back to the wedding.
In this picture, the finger that was pointing at me belongs to Mr. Simon Pereira.
Simon says, "Look! Your wife is an alcoholic."
Bill says, "Hey, I'm proud that my wife can hold her own liquor."
Simon says, "Cheers to that."
... and we drank more.
We finished all 7 pitchers of margarita and were working on the 5 pitchers of sangria.
People started talking louder and cameras... okay, Ben's hands, started shaking a bit more.
I love these pictures because they really captured how much fun we were having... or how drunk we were getting.
Then it was 10, and it was time to move on to the club. Before we left, the girls asked to take a picture with the groom. Bill looked a bit uneasy here....
We were very happy.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Bill & Kate's Wedding
Part One -- Trip to the Household Registration Office
Okay, some of you know that, when I was talking to Juli on the phone, Bill cracked open a can of beer. We shared and finished that can of Asahi before heading out the door.
We headed to the Household Registration Office in a cab. Ben and my mom were already there. They were 15 minutes early. Maybe they were more excited than the two that were actually getting married?!
We arrived at the Wenshan District Household Registration Office right on time.
For good luck, my mom insisted that I change out of the black-n-white and into something that was orangy-red.
And... we were inside.
First we took a number like everyone else.
Then we went through a whole of of paperwork... writing names and addresses... and defending one's gender....
Whilst all that paperwork was being processed, we had some time to chat about other marriage-related stuff.
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Just when we thought we were done with all the paperwork, there was more paperwork.
Then came the moment when Bill referred to Kate as his wife for the first time.....
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Viola! The marriage certificate. All signed and stuff....
Then the girl at the Household Registration Office gave us a wedding gift from the government.
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Though it wasn't a Taiwanese custom to exchange vows and rings, Bill and I insisted on having a moment of our own. We moved to the more festive part of the Household Registration Office....
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Afterward, my mom gave each of us a red envelope as a symbol of good fortune.
This is the first picture of Bill and Kate as husband and wife.
p.s. I'm sorry that the video clips are not here. I kept my computer on all night last night for one to load, but it never happened. Gotta sit down and figure out how to do it properly when we have more time tonight.
Part One -- Trip to the Household Registration Office
Okay, some of you know that, when I was talking to Juli on the phone, Bill cracked open a can of beer. We shared and finished that can of Asahi before heading out the door.
We headed to the Household Registration Office in a cab. Ben and my mom were already there. They were 15 minutes early. Maybe they were more excited than the two that were actually getting married?!
We arrived at the Wenshan District Household Registration Office right on time.
For good luck, my mom insisted that I change out of the black-n-white and into something that was orangy-red.
And... we were inside.
First we took a number like everyone else.
Then we went through a whole of of paperwork... writing names and addresses... and defending one's gender....
Whilst all that paperwork was being processed, we had some time to chat about other marriage-related stuff.
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Just when we thought we were done with all the paperwork, there was more paperwork.
Then came the moment when Bill referred to Kate as his wife for the first time.....
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Viola! The marriage certificate. All signed and stuff....
Then the girl at the Household Registration Office gave us a wedding gift from the government.
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Though it wasn't a Taiwanese custom to exchange vows and rings, Bill and I insisted on having a moment of our own. We moved to the more festive part of the Household Registration Office....
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
(There's a video clip, but we gotta figure out how to upload it efficiently)
Afterward, my mom gave each of us a red envelope as a symbol of good fortune.
This is the first picture of Bill and Kate as husband and wife.
p.s. I'm sorry that the video clips are not here. I kept my computer on all night last night for one to load, but it never happened. Gotta sit down and figure out how to do it properly when we have more time tonight.
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