north carolina

i am back in new york, having spent the week in north carolina. it's always nice to visit that state. it's so lush and green, and i found myself not washing my hands obsessively as i do in new york. i don't cringe when i drop something on the ground and enter an internal debate as to whether i should just throw away the item or consider the possibility of salvaging it by wiping it down with bleach.

the main purpose of this trip was to attend my sister's wedding. i got in on friday afternoon and went to the rehearsal dinner that the groom's family threw for those who were in town. it was a nice precursor to the wedding because i had met only very few of d's family but have heard lots about all of them.

e & c were gracious enough to let me crash with them that night. they had recently moved from baltimore to durham and bought a house, an actual stand-alone house that's become a phenomenon to me. i've actually never lived in a stand-alone house before. my family had always lived in rented apartments, and my mom currently lives in a duplex where her side walls are shared with her neighbors. also, i've spent the past 6 years in los angeles and new york, living in cramped spaces, so my sense of a home has been warped, particularly compared to the american norm, which i think of as a house. e & c's house is lovely and wonderfully spacious with a woodsy backyard. i could hear crickets at night, standing on the porch.

saturday was the big day. i picked up r at the airport and headed to elmo's diner for brunch with e & c. then, r & i met my parents. it was the first time r met my mom, which went well, as i had expected. we headed to the hotel to check-in and to get ready for the wedding.

the wedding itself was very informal and small, just close family and friends. it wasn't even really a ceremony, more of a celebration. b & d had actually gotten married at the magistrate's the day before. the gathering was held at the horace williams house in chapel hill, they had the best north carolina-style bbq restaurant - bullock's - cater, and the strawberry shortcake was made by mad hatter's. they've known each other for about 10 years so it's been a long wait for all of us. the two of them put it together pretty much all by themselves, and only the day of did they ask their friends to pitch in and physically set up everything.

towards the end of the evening, a handful of us said a few words to the newly weds. k got everyone's attention and basically acted as the most awesome master of ceremonies. d's grandfather spoke first, sharing his wisdom on what makes a solid marriage. i then followed and teared up merely a third of the way through my short speech. d's brother went next, quoting some marriage adages. b's best friend from middle school said her words, sharing her experience with the couple since she's known them. and d's father ended the night with his speech as b & d cut the cake and champagne was passed around for the toast.

r had to leave the next day, having to return to work, but we were able to squeeze in some time on unc's campus, ncssm's campus, and duke gardens. here are some pictures from the gardens:


lily pond


couple of turkeys?


lamb's ears


maybe dandelions?

after my parents and i dropped off r at the airport, we headed to jacksonville. we took it easy on monday, not doing anything, and did hotpot for dinner:



it's one of my favorite meals because it's simple; thus, all the ingredients have to be fresh.

on tuesday, we went to hammock beach, one of the places i make a point to visit on almost every one of the trips i make to north carolina:


the dock where we arrive at bear island, the beach being on the other side of this island


an egret we spotted on the ferry ride


the beach


clear water


sea gulls keeping an eye out for anyone with food

overall, the trip felt very short but probably one of the happiest. i can finally refer to d as my brother-in-law after all these years. my mom finally met r and got along well. i got to see my friends and their new house. i was able to make it to the beach with the scrapes on my knees to prove it. and every night, my mom prepared the most delicious meals. but the vacation could only last so long, and it's good to be home too.

stuck in time

i had no idea china still enforces re-education as a method of punishment. the new york times published an article today about two women in their 70s, who had been requesting a permit to hold a demonstration because of the little compensation they were given for beijing to tear down their houses for the olympics. the chinese government not only rejected their request but sentenced them to re-education.

i thought re-education was something that occurred just during the cultural revolution era, a punishment popular for the intellectuals and the elite. the idea was to "re-educate" them about the virtues of the proletarian life. they were sent to farms for years where they labored in agricultural work, under the supervision of farmers.

the notion that the government is sending two women, in their 70s, to be re-educated, which could entails laborious work and forced confessions, is cruel. it's frightening that china is becoming/has become a superpower, and things like this happen. i guess it's similar to the u.s. government that still allows trying juveniles as adults and sentencing the mentally disabled to death sentences. hm.

music & musings

this past sunday was the last day of central park summerstage, a series of free concerts held in the park. it was our third time there, and they closed it out with the best show: sharon jones and the dap-kings. it's soul/funk music. sharon jones has the most incredible voice, and the dap-kings are a super-tight band. they were great entertainers and had so much fun and energy that you couldn't help but get pulled right along with them.


(this was a blind shot of the stage. being short, i just held up the camera above the crowd and snapped a few.)


(this was from a blind shot as well but cropped.)

they're based out of brooklyn so it was perfect to have a local band end the series. also, they apparently had been on tour and were ecstatic to be back. this is one band where i don't think i can see them play enough.

so every time we've walk along the eastern edge of central park, i would notice this sign:



did no one realize how disturbing this would come across? it makes me think "mystery meat" whenever i see it. one time, i even saw a yellow school bus parked near the building just past the sign. i was a little horrified for the children.

yesterday morning, i went jogging around the neighborhood and saw a dairy truck delivering products to a store. it had "hygrade milk" as part of the artwork on the side of the truck. i can't recall the brand although i'm sure it wasn't one of the major national brands, but i guess it's a good thing i don't drink milk. would you trust milk that comes from a place that had "hygrade milk" as part of its advertisement? it was one of those moments where i had to kick myself in the ass for not having a camera on me.

more summer movies

r and i saw the dark knight over the weekend. awesome. we were still thinking about the movie the next day and want to see it on imax now. the acting, particularly heath ledger, was phenomenal. just the title itself, the dark knight/night, so apt to the theme. there was a slight mention of terrorism, but it was pretty soft-handed considering how much it has been used in movies in the past few years. but then, r and i discussed that the word "villain" has been replaced by "terrorist" just because of the times. also, i felt a sense of warmth when hong kong entered the picture as a location. i even found it fitting that the mob's accountant spoke mandarin instead of cantonese, the dominant chinese language in hong kong, because of the way the city has changed and the rising power of mainland china. college kids would surely be writing papers on this movie in their film classes.

we had seen hellboy 2 earlier in the season and had a lot of fun, consistent with the first hellboy. the ending was a little weak, but the new characters introduced were incredible in terms of the imagination that brought it to life.

lastly, f and i saw mamma mia but without r, which actually turned out to be a good move. it was totally a girl's flick. the story was a little ridiculous and predictable, and i bet the musical in the theatre setting is better just because it creates more distance between the audience and the character, thereby allowing the sudden burst into songs more acceptable. but i found myself amazed with meryl streep and mouthing along with the abba songs. abba = happy.

i can't think of any other movie i must see at the moment, but we're eager for the curious case of benjamin button to hit the theatres. r had worked on it and was very proud to have been a part of it.

this year might just be the year when the cinema looks worthy again.

joining the digital age

i have finally joined the rest of the world and bought my first digital camera, a nikon d40. here's the first picture i took with it, of some plants on the window sill.



the goal is to be able to share pictures more easily so more to come...

did it again

i just completed another round of the master cleanse/lemonade diet, a detoxing procedure i have done once before and would like to attempt once a year. it's always a struggle, not so much the lack of food (it's a liquid diet consisting of a specifically made lemonade) but the socializing that's involved with food.

i think the detoxing might've been tougher on r because he enjoys going out to eat but hates to dine alone. but it's over now, and the feasting can resume.

the last time i did the detoxing was during the winter which i thought might've been a poor strategy because you have a natural urge to bulk up during the cold weather. so i tried it this summer, thinking my appetite will diminish in the hot weather and an ice-cold lemonade might be refreshing. i realized that it's mentally tougher, however, because of all the wonderful produce available during the warmer season. i was drooling over all the peaches and nectarines and berries at the farmers market but unable to taste them. next time, i think i'll stick to the colder season.

olympics opening ceremony in beijing

wow. the chinese are so going to take over the world. genius move to have zhang yimou in charge of the ceremony.

flowers

r surprised me with a bouquet of roses last night when he came home from work. i can't recall ever receiving flowers from anyone. funny enough, i saw a woman, probably in her early 50s, struggling to maintain a grip on a couple of bags and a beautiful bouquet of lilies. bringing home a bouquet of fresh flowers, whether for yourself or someone else, is a lovely treat. it brightens up the place and the people in it. and then it occurred to me that in the year that we've been together, r had never brought me flowers. i'm not the kind of girl who would expect a guy to bring me flowers, although i'd appreciate it, so it wasn't something i had thought about until then.

i had bought flowers for myself when i was single, just as a treat for myself, something pretty to look at. but to be surprised by someone, to be given something because he had been thinking of you and wanted to do something nice for you, to be conveyed that tangibly, was wonderful. the skeptical part of me didn't even surface to suspect anything. (flowers and jewelry are the sure signs that a guys is up to no good, right?) it just made me happy and feel loved, exactly what flowers should do.