A wedding, a birthday, and a near-miss for the rabbit

On Sunday morning, Gwen, Samson and I went to a Korean wedding. It was the wedding of one of Gwen's friends, so we weren't just wedding-crashing for the hell of it. I didn't know the girl getting hitched, but I wanted to go to see what a Korean wedding is like - mainly because I'd heard stories. It was definitely interesting. It seemed as though the Koreans had seen a lot of American weddings on television, and tried to duplicate them... and the result was, well, interesting to say the least. The wedding was held in a Wedding Hall, which was hosting three other weddings at the same time. When we arrived, the bride was sequestered in a small room, fully decked out in a traditional Western-style white poofy dress, enthroned on a fancy couch, where she was able to receive guests and be photographed with them prior to the ceremony.

After Gwen said hello and got her picture taken, we went over to the Sapphire Hall (or maybe it was the ruby or emerald or some other gem-named-hall, but you get the point) and positioned ourselves in a good spot to see the procession and ceremony. According to Gwen, this particular wedding hall was not tacky at all, compared to many that she's seen. To me, well... don't worry pictures are below. Let me just list a few features for you: numerous giant chandeliers, a bubble machine, a dry ice machine, "attendants" dressed like marching band members bearing swords and fake horns, and multi-colored spotlights. Hmmmm... and this wasn't tacky? Makes me want to see what a tacky one is like! I think pictures (and a short video clip) speak louder than words.

To play, click the play button in the center of the image.
You may have to click twice.
Be sure to watch for the bubbles and the swords.
(My apologies for the lack of audio)

Love those chandeliers...

Ceremony close-up

The marching band-esque attendants wheeled out a fake cake which was billowing dry ice smoke. The couple then cut the fake cake with a sword, and then it was wheeled away.

The bride and groom with their parents.

The marching band-ish girls really freaked me out -
talk about a flash back to my high school days!

After the ceremony, most guests head off to the buffet table, which is what we did. Apparently, other guests will stay to be photographed with the couple. Then, the couple changes into traditional Korean clothes and they perform some sort of ceremony full of bowing with their families. But like I said, we (along with the bulk of the guests) went in search of chow. The buffet was kind of disappointing, as none of it really tasted fresh. I took a picture of Samson's plate though, because it looked pretty - even though most of what he ate didn't come anywhere near my plate!

Note the two varieties of raw fish and the pile of raw beef...

After the wedding, I returned home and spent the rest of my Sunday glued to the tv. OCN was having a 24 hour CSI marathon. Las Vegas, the original. Grissom, how I love thee. I also spent hours trying to figure out why the internet was being so jacked up. Thank goodness it's been working today. (Yes, I realize I have an addiction here.) Anyhow, today at work was fairly normal, although I did have a wonderful surprise waiting for me upon arrival: Melissa/Alex and Linda/Shaggy have impeccable timing with their packages :-) I had a whole pile of stuff awaiting me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Also, thank you to my mom who bought me some cool stuff for the Hermitage. You know, to go with the feral cat collection that's awaiting me.

I walked home from work, as usual, and as I was approaching the gate to my villa, I saw the neighbor's cat stalking something in the direction of my gate. I rounded a parked car just in time to see it pounce toward the open gate and Toto the rabbit who was sitting there! I screamed, "Cat! No!" and I swear in mid pounce its trajectory went from horizontal to vertical, as it realized there was a Strange Person nearby. I rounded up Toto and shut the gate. Mr. Yu stuck his head out the window (I guess to see what all the commotion was about) but when I told him a cat was tryng to eat his rabbit, his response was "Oh, hello Jane." (You know that scene in Team American where KJI says hello to Hans Blix? Well, whenever he says hello to me - which is pretty much all he ever says - I immediately picture that scene...) Apparently Mr. Yu had company - one of whom kept going outside to smoke and forgetting to close the gate. The gate was wide open when I left about 30 minutes later to have dinner with Gwen and Samson. Luckily at that point Toto was hanging out on the steps up by my apartment. (Also, given the strength with which this bunny beats on my door when he wants in, I kinda think he could've kicked that cat's ass... but one doesn't want to take a chance on such things.)

Gwen and Samson picked me up and took me out for galbi (Korean barbecued pork), which I love - and they brought a cake and a crazy eared hat thingy. It turned out that the people who were sitting at the table next to us spoke English, and they sang me happy birthday! Of course, we shared the cake with them, and with the restaurant staff (who in turn gave me a free coke). Such a nice evening... and such strange pictures. (Believe me, there are much stranger pics, but I've chosen not to post them!)

Do I look 28 to you?


What every birthday dinner needs - silkworm larvae!
(no, I didn't eat them)


Gwen and me


Gwen and me and the cake


I did eat the little person off the cake :-)