Love Shack

We're (okay, I'm) behind on posts. We've been really busy, and I haven't had time to post. So, this is a catch-up post on what we've been up to.

Ritchie and Margaret's Wedding
We attended Ritchie and Margaret's wedding on Oct 25. They had a traditional Filipino Catholic wedding at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. The church is just up the street from where Eugene and Ritchie's old apartment. I have fond memories of that apartment. We (the Tribe) used to hang out there before and after walking to the British Bankers Club (BBC), a local pub.

As we drove into the parking lot, there was a stretch Hummer limo parked next to the church. I'm pretty sure the wedding party rode in that nifty ride. Nice touch, Ritchie & Margaret. The ceremony was the longest one that Greg's ever attended and his first Catholic mass. I was really surprised that he'd never attended a Filipino Catholic wedding before since most of his high school friends were Filipino. I guess he didn't really keep in touch his high school friends. Most people probably don't, which is why it's unusual that the most of my best friends, I've known since high school.

During the ceremony, Greg kept asking me what or why they did certain things. For example, he wanted to know how everyone knew what to respond or when to say the Our Father or why they genuflect before walking into the pew. The two most memorable moments of the ceremony:

1. When Margaret and Ritchie were saying their vows, we could barely hear what they were saying. Most of the time, the officiant doesn't really say anything. But the priest said, "God cannot hear your responses."
2. As they were lighting the unity candle, Margaret accidentally blew it out as she was blowing her candle out. The expression on her face looked like she was thinking, "Oh shit...I didn't just do that." They both quickly re-lit their candles and the unity candle.

The reception was at the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino. We had a great time celebrating with friends and dancing the night away. Congrats Margaret and Ritchie!

Trick or Treat
Our friend Ed's favorite holiday is Halloween. He and his wife, Char, go all out. They turn their front yard to a spooky graveyard. This year Ed built a mausoleum on their porch and out to part of the walkway up to house. He even added a coffin to the graveyard. It looks really great and definitely spooky. If I were a kid, I'd be afraid to go to his house.

To get ready for Halloween, we carved pumpkins at Char and Ed's house. Unfortunately, they didn't last long enough to make it to Halloween. Luckily Ed took pictures. Can you guess which pumpkin is mine and which is Greg's?



On Halloween night, Ed, Greg and some other friends got dressed in costumes to scare the kids (and parents) that came by the house. I think the neighborhood kids were onto them because they just hung around taunting the boys and taking turns getting into the coffin. I think they expect Ed and Char to pull out all the stops. Plus, they saw Ed building the mausoleum and coffin. At first, it was kinda funny, but then it got annoying. Highlights of the evening:

1. Apparently the boys were so scary, they made a little girl throw up. None of us actually saw her throw up, but her older brother (we think he was 6 or 7), came up Char and said, "You guys have to be not so scary because my sister walked by earlier and threw up."
2. A little boy was dressed in the same zombie costume as Greg. When they stood next to each other, it was like me and mini-me.

Other than that it was a pretty uneventful night. It seemed like there were fewer kids than last year. Maybe it was the weather.

Love Shack
We're in escrow for a single-family home! Yay! It's very exciting. We close in 2 weeks. It's a 3bdrm/2bath, ranch style home in Sunnyvale. We really like the neighborhood: wide, tree-lined streets, well-kept yards/homes and near a park. It's also not on a main road, so there's not a lot of traffic. The house is 59 years old and everything still looks original too. We'll have a lot of work to do on the house after we close.