I went on a trip to California this past weekend. It was only three days long and possibly my shortest trip back home so far. I went back to watch my brother get married to his girlfriend of seven years.

Anyway, my weekend was filled with events and excitement. I took a 8AM flight to SFO; my mom picked me up and off we went to Chinatown. Got a haircut and a dress! The dress was all right, but a little looser than I hoped. We rushed off to my brother’s wedding rehearsal. The two things I remembered were 1) it was hot 2) my mom was crying. My brother graciously paid for dinner that night. His friends (whom I haven’t seen for over 10 years) kept saying I looked like him, especially when I smile. I definitely get that a lot from people, but personally, I’m just glad I look like someone in my family (that way I know for sure I’m not adopted :P)

Saturday was the big wedding day. I got up around 8AM to get my face done - yeah the whole nine yards: makeup, eyebrows, lips, hair. Because everything took around 2.5 hours, we were late to the tea ceremony. Afterwards, we drove to the church. IT WAS HOT. I walked down the aisle with my grandma. It was pretty nervewrecking; everyone was looking at me and taking pictures. AHHH. My brother and his wife looked very cute up there though. The wedding was very beautiful (and hot).

The reception was American; personally, it was very awkward. Because I didn’t realize I could bring my friends, I had to sit at the head table. My other two brothers sat at a nearby table with their friends; lame. What’s worse was when we walked around for cheers. I didn’t know anyone there and was trailing around the couple. By the time they started cheers at one table, I just arrived at the table they left. So I awkwardly gestured a cheer to people and sipped on the wine. Family’s too big.

Sunday… I got my hair straightened in the morning because my mom said the curls yesterday made my hair messy. Afterwards, I went home to shower and pack. Then we went to the Chinese reception! I basically welcomed people in, and everyone said “ohhh, you’ve grown up so much! MIT! How smart” Blah. Chinese people. I sat at the head table again, but at least my bros sat there too. Because my family is much larger than my sister-in-law’s, I was forced to sit on the bride’s side. The in-laws mainly speak Mandarin, so my Chinese skillz was put to the test. After the dinner, I was so full I barely touched the cake. The restaurant was clever - rather than using wine for cheers, they put in tea. I was appreciate it because I really don’t like the taste of red wine.

I left around 10; I was already really exhausted, and my flight was delayed! Ugh. By the time I got on the flight, it was 12:30AM. Got to Boston around 9:30. I was tired. Really tired. But I got my butt to Bose and suffered through the rest of the day.

That’s my weekend - hopefully yours was just as exciting. Now I better pay attention to work. =P