On a hike, a year ago today...

Today is the anniversary of the day I gave a ring to La. Now I wear a ring, too.

I know I haven't written much about the wedding. This isn't the place where I would go into detail. If you want full details, email/call or write me a letter. But I'll humor those who won't do any of those things, albeit briefly.

The wedding ceremony couldn't have been more perfect. My sister married us off. I looked out to the small crowd of about 80 family and friends, lots with pints of Guiness and glasses of wine. The ceremony took no longer than 20 minutes. I got to talk to and enjoy all of the company that were invited. It was a good day.

Today is the celebration of what started it all.

Blog Action Day (or: Back from my honeymoon at a Costa Rican Eco-Lodge)

We arrived back in Oakland at 2am. We started our return home from the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica at 6am (local) with a stopover in San Salvador, El Salvador. I left work this morning at 7:45.

I am exhausted. I've been staring at my computer screen all day in a daze. As tired as I am, I wanted to make a small contribution to Blog Action Day about the environment.

My honeymoon at Lapa Rios is the easiest way to link my recent happenings with this blogging cause. But please excuse my crude description. Pictures and stories are to follow.

The pictures on the Lapa Rios website tell the story better than I ever can right now. In fact, pictures 3, 5, 6, and 8 on the bungalow description page show the room we stayed in. Yes, I am that lazy right now.

The highlight of the trip for me were the hikes we took in the rain forest. The first one was a night hike where we walked in and up a river. At one point we turned off our flashlights. I couldn't see a foot in front of my face. It was terrifying to have no sight, by which the noises of the night seemed to become deafening.

On the other tour on our last day, we walked down the same river, sometimes thigh-deep, to a couple of waterfalls. We climbed one and swam by the other. Words fail me now. But even if I was rested, I couldn't fully describe the beauty and power of the Costa Rican rain forest.

We received, as part of our wedding registry, a sound machine clock (that also projects the time on the ceiling!) that has a "rain forest" soundscape. It's pretty close, sans howler monkeys and those "tink" frogs. It makes me want to visit Costa Rica again soon.

Keeping my head up

Bulleted update:

• 5 days until the big one.
• Last weekend was my bachelor party in Vegas. Still recovering.
• Parents are here. Future parents arriving tomorrow.
• New DSLR in the mail from future parents! Say Word!
• Still catching up on old notes. Preventing me from stressing out properly about wedding.
• Haven't played Halo or watched a football match in ages.
• Raiders won me some money in Vegas. First place?!!?!

To try to keep centered, I'm trying to do things to keep me laughing. These three videos always make me smile. (kinda says something that 2 out of 3 videos are of babies) Enjoy. Wish me luck. Send over good vibes.

Single Digits

Welcome to my world of the single digit countdown to my wedding.

Wow...High School Reunion

Right before I was about to post something about a 5-year old neighbor of mine, I routinely checked my buddy list. Since I'm not on my personal computer nicknames don't show up. I saw a screenname that I almost recognized that took me awhile to guess who it was.

It happened to be a woman that I had a crush on way back in high school. It was an innocent crush, one that I knew wouldn't go anywhere because she was dating a friend of mine. As we chatted and caught up on our adult lives, a barrage of old memories about high school came back. The joy. The pain. The torment of adolescent life. The testing of different roles and personalities. The complications of friend dynamics.

I realized that I draw on the experiences of my high school years in doing the work that I do now. In fact, I've shared the story of love unrequited of this woman whom I just chatted, to a client of mine who was going through a similar situation. "This is too confusing to explain," he told me. "Do you get what I mean?"

"Do I!?!?!?..."

I've been going through spurts of reflecting on my past during these last weeks before my wedding. My childhood: High school, Undergrad, even Grad School. Marriage is such a grown-up thing to do. *shiver* Am I a grown-up? It feels like this marriage will seal the deal.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!

This week is going to be crazy. As much as I would want to post, I don't think I'll have enough time. It's my last week at my current job. I'm so backed up on paperwork that it's sick. I'll be doing paperwork well after my departure. I'm also trying to transition to my next job...getting fingerprinted and going onsite for the first time on Monday.

Friday I will be applying for my marriage license. Wait...that didn't come out right. Friday I WILL BE APPLYING FOR MY MARRIAGE LICENSE!!! Thank you, I feel better now. Plus lots of drama going on with the wedding planning which is too deep to get into here.

Twitter is your best bet in finding out what's been going on with me. I update pretty consistently. The one line aspect of it makes the commitment a lot easier and stress free. You can either log onto this page and look at the top of the blog or go directly to http://twitter.com/alllgood And if you're really nerdy you can subscribe to my twitter feed.

Disgrace under pressure

First...a shoutout to Lelie and La. Two people who I recently found out read this blog. I feel that since I've left xanga, I've been writing for myself but with delusions that millions of readers visit this blog. I don't get many comments anymore, which leads me to assume that no one reads this. I'm glad you two are reading the fruits of my procratination.

I've been pretty busy lately with many life-changing events and haven't had much time to update myself here. I've moved into a new apartment, have a new job and am 40 days away from my wedding. I've been pretty swamped with errands and emotions. This video captures how I've been feeling lately. I thought AC Slater was a meathead. His reaction speaks, "Wow...I am smart." This video is painful...please refrain from watching if you have a weak heart.

101

There are 101 days before my wedding day! As a number like that, it seems more real. Tomorrow will sound even more dramatic. It's hard for me to believe that it is a little over 3 months away. That's just around the corner.

Excuse me as sit with this.

Spring 200

Happy Spring! My second favorite season of the year! Fall, my first, of course. Today also happens to be the 200th day until the Big Day! I bought daffodils for the fiancée to commemorate the occasion. But don't tell her. She still isn't home yet.

I also made a lot of potato salad. I bought a gigantic bunch of dill and was longing for something spring/summer-y. I remembered something I saw on youtube and can confirm that the technique works!!!

Status Update

• Twitter status: Alvin... high on Vietnamese coffeeeeeee
• On repeat: I know what kind of love this is by Cry Cry Cry
• Reading: Still...It by Stephen King (page 751 of 1090!)
• Current Obsession: Crosswords, twitter.com and football (i.e. soccer)
• My mood as a a character from "Heroes": Claire Bennett
• Last unnecessary purchase: Dance Dance Revolution for Xbox 360

And as another (literal) sidebar note, I added a countdown timer to my wedding on 7 October 2007 which reads:

The Final Countdown
221 days until my wedding.