Tanuj's & Shilpa's Wedding

I went to my first Indian wedding! It was the wedding of one of my co-workers, Tanuj, who married his fiance Shilpa. I had been wanting to go to an Indian wedding ever since I saw the wedding scene in Bend it Like Beckham. So when Tanuj invited me to his wedding, I was thrilled!


The groom, Tanuj. (01/19/07)

The wedding schedule did pose some logistic challenges, the first being the time of day. It was scheduled for a Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. That alone wasn't too bad, were it not for the fact that the wedding was in Mission Hills, nearly 70 miles away from where I work in Irvine.

Anyone who knows Southern California traffic can attest that a trip from Irvine to Mission Hills on a Friday evening will easily take two hours. And it did, too! Fortunately I was carpooling with two other co-workers, so at least we entertained ourselves by talking the whole way up.


The bride, Shilpa. (01/19/07)

I'm really glad I made the effort to go, however. The ceremony was so beautiful and colorful. I learned so much. The wedding itself was held completely in Sanskrit, although they did hand out a program in English that explained every ritual, like when the mother of the bride presents gifts to the groom, the exchanging of garlands between the bride and groom, and walking around a small fire pit several times, some with the groom leading, and others with the bride leading. Very interesting.


The newlyweds. (01/19/07)

The actual ceremony was much longer than typical American weddings. It lasted two full hours by the time everything began. Afterward there was a cocktail hour where they served snacks and had an open bar. It was during this period that the bulk of the people started showing up. While there were no more than 50 people at the wedding itself, there were easily 200 at the reception!


About to cut the cake. (01/19/07)

The actual reception started a little later than planned. Once inside, the family members were introduced, many of which offered toasts. Afterward there was an Indian dancer who came out. By the time I realized they were serving food, there was a line that spanned the entire room! By the time I served my plate, it was practically 11:00 pm!


They had a ton of great Indian food. (01/19/07)

It was a long night to be sure, but it was also fascinating! I loved it and would go again in a heartbeat. Congratulations Tanuj and Shilpa!

Exploring the Mystery of the Winchester House

I have been wanting to go to the Winchester Mystery House for years. Years! I tried on my birthday in 1991 with my then college suite-mate Tom, but the admission price was too high for a couple of flat broke college students. But finally the planets were in alignment and I made it 16 years later.


The Winchester Mystery House from the front. (01/07)

The Winchester Mystery House, as you may know, was the home of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, from 1884 until her death in 1922. Mrs. Winchester was convinced by an occultist that the lives of her husband and daughter had been taken by the spirits of those killed by "the gun that won the west" and that she too would share their fate unless she would begin building a mansion for the spirits on which work would never stop nor be completed. She was promised life for as long as she kept building.

Equipped with $1,000-a-day royalties from the Winchester rifle fortune (compared to the $1.50 a day most laborors made back then), Mrs. Winchester had more than enough money to fund this project. And so in 1884, she moved to San Jose, bought an eight-room farm house and began expanding. Construction continued for nearly 38 years without interruption.


Our tour guide explains how they watered the plants. (01/07)

The house was fascinating! It's literally a 160-room maze, with staircases and doorways going nowhere, a window built into the floor, a chimney that rises four floors, doors that open onto blank walls, and upside down columns. There is even a stairwell that must have had 70 stairs, and yet by the time you reached the top, you were only 9 feet above where you had started. Seriously!

The house presently has 1,257 windows, 950 doors, 467 doorways, 367 stairs, 47 fireplaces, 40 bedrooms, 40 staircases, 17 chimneys, five or six kitchens and 2 ballrooms. It's currently four stories tall, although it was seven stories tall prior to the 1906 earthquake. It's really hard to visualize how immense the house is without seeing it in an aerial photo. Many speculate that she built it this way to confuse and lose the spirits.


The sprawling home from above.

And yet with all those rooms, strangers were not welcome inside the house. Even the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, couldn't get in. He attempted it in 1903 during a trip to California, but he was turned away by her staff when they mistook him for a laborer looking for work.

The number thirteen is commonly used throughout the house, as in the quantity of groups of windows and stair steps. There was even a chandelier that was supposed to have 12 lights, but was modified so that it could hold 13. There was even a shrub shaped like the number 13. I kid you not.


The most expensive window. (01/07)

We saw the most expensive window in the house: a Tiffany window that cost approximately $1,250 back at the turn of the century, which, for Mrs. Winchester, was a little over a day's salary. There were tons of other amazing windows, but for some reason, the one that cost the most gets all the glory.


Tim looks pretty good in a hard hat. (01/07)

It was a great tour with one exception: Tim and I were freezing the entire time. And we were bundled up in full jackets and everything. Naturally, with a house that size, they don't heat it. Combine that with the fact that it was like 40 degrees that morning, and you get a very cold experience. You could seriously see our breath inside the house.


So does James! (01/07)

It got a little better on the second half of the tour, the so-called "behind the scenes" tour that made us wear hard hats. By then the sun was starting to shine, which made it a little more bearable. But overall, we're glad we went!

Belated Christmas in San Ramon

As you read in earlier posts, my family was out of town for actual Christmas. So we got together in San Ramon once they returned. I always enjoy going up there, especially since my sister Anna, 7, and brother John Paul, 2, are growing up so fast. And believe it or not, I have a third sibling on the way, a boy, due in May. More on that to come!


Anna and John Paul. (01/07)

We didn't do a whole lot other than spend time with family, with one eventful excursion that I'll write about separately. We were supposed to hang out with our friends Doris and Jen (our vacation buddies in French Canada and Virgin Islands). But Doris, it turned out, got sick rather suddenly, so we had to postpone.


James and Anna at Nation's Giant Hamburgers. (01/07)

I also had a real craving to go to Nation's, a Bay Area hamburger chain that serves up these awesome hamburgers. Even during the brief one-year stint in the early 1990s when I gave up red meat, I still went to Nation's for their grilled cheese sandwiches. It was Anna's first time. She only ate half of the hamburger (we brought the other half home to our dad).


Anna opens up a present. (01/07)

Opening Christmas presents was fun. It always is when little kids are involved. Anna got some books and the DVD of my favorite Disney animated film ever, The Little Mermaid. John Paul, on the other hand, got the new Tickle Me Elmo TMX, as well as a big UPS truck, just like the one he admired at our house last August.


John Paul unwraps the UPS truck Santa brought him. (01/07)

Tim and I also managed to make it down to San Jose to visit my Aunts Nicky and Margaret, who are doing well. We brought them some pan dulce from the Pink Elephant market, which I hadn't been to since I was a kid! My aunt Nicky, who is my mom's oldest sister, was telling me all sorts of old family stories that I hadn't heard before. It's always fun to pop by for a visit. Their two dogs, Jigs and Cuddles, always crack me up.


I visited my aunts Nicky and Margaret while up there. (01/07)

On our last full day there, we took Anna to the movies to see Happily Never After. I think I remember the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes. The rest of the time, both Tim and I were out cold asleep. Old age, I guess.

Later, my cousins Michele, Lisa and daughter Liele stopped by for a short visit. It was fun watching Liele and John Paul play together.


Lisa, Liele and Michele stopped by for a visit too. (01/07)

Looking forward to the next visit to San Ramon in March!

Happy Birthday Bowling

If you read our Christmas post, you know that my family decided to go to Mexico for Christmas. But I still wanted to exchange Christmas presents with my little siblings, so we decided to have a late Christmas in January. And it just so happens that our trip coincided with our friend Loren's 38th birthday, which turned out to be a great kickoff to our Bay Area weekend.


The birthday boy poses with buddies Ann [aka Suckit] and Sarah [aka Claire]. (01/12/07)

As you may know, Loren and I have known each other since we were in 5th grade. After we graduated high school we kind of lost track of each other. But through the magic of the Internet, we ended up getting back in touch about 9 years later — just in time to convince each other to go to our high school reunion. Although I don't necessarily see Loren that often (the last time was at the American Idol Season 4 Concert in 2005), it's always fun when we do. Loren is also the author of the blog: One Diverse Comic Book Nation.


The awesomely dated Albany Bowl. (01/12/07)

We met at this dingy little bowling alley in Albany, which was the perfect birthday setting. There's nothing better than ordering up a Tom Collins from the musty-smelling bar, putting on shoes that have been worn by countless people and then tosing a greasy ball down the lanes. It was freakin' awesome!


Tim showed off some tight bowling moves. (01/12/07)

So what if I only scored a whopping 77 points? (Tim got 89) The game was the bomb! Loren was the only person there that we knew previously, but we enjoyed meeting his friends. They're a good bunch of peeps.


We capped the evening with karaoke at Mel-o-dee Cocktails. (01/12/07)

After bowling, we made our way to Mel-o-dee Cocktails for a little karaoke. Loren impressed us with his version of "What a Wonderful World" in the Louis Armstrong voice! His "Hopelessly Devoted to You," wasn't bad either! And as you know, it's always a requirement that I go up for at least one song, to which I paid some respect to Mr. Tom Jones.


"My my my ... Delilah!" (01/12/07)

Loren and I are equally fascinated with the show "So You Think You Can Dance." So for his birthday I ordered him the Benji and Heidi dance instruction DVD, which I can't wait to hear about! Maybe he'll post a review on the comments section of this blog (is that enough of a hint, Loren?) ;-) Happy Birthday!

Just a Couple of Broadway Babies

For Christmas Tim gave me theater tickets to see a rare pairing of two legendary performers: Barbara Cook and Audra McDonald. It was also a double treat because the concert was at the new Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, a stunning new concert hall that, after years of planning and construction, finally opened last September. I had been wanting an excuse to go see an event there, and there was no better excuse than seeing Audra and Barbara together.


Barbara Cook and Audra McDonald together in a photo I swiped from the newspaper. (01/05/07)

As you may or may not be aware, I LOVE Audra McDonald, a modern-day Broadway legend who has won four Tony awards for performances in shows like Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime and Raisin in the Sun. When she's not performing on Broadway, you can often find her doing concert performances. You'll also see her pop up in TV and movies every now and then. It was probably my fourth or fifth time seeing an Audra McDonald show.

Barbara Cook, on the other hand, is a Broadway legend from the 1950s and 1960s who later morphed into an acclaimed soloist. Although I wouldn't necessarily call myself a Barbara Cook superfan — like our buddy Scott in Chicago who affectionately refers to Barbara Cook as his "Other Barbra" — I had always wanted to see her perform at least once before she retires.


It was at the new Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall that opened last September. (01/05/07)

The hour-and-a-half concert was neatly divided into solo sets mixed with the duet here and there. Audra sang first, kicking of a set of songs that focused on Broadway's last 20 years, with a few oldies thrown in.

Audra's set included such songs as "Stars and the Moon," "The Light in the Piazza," "The Glamorous Life," (the version from the movie A Little Night Music), "Can't Stop Talking About Him," "I Wish I Were in Love Again" and "When Lola Sings." She also sang two of my favorites: "I Won't Mind" and "When Did I Fall in Love?" The only song I really wished she had done but didn't was "Your Daddy's Son" from Ragtime.

Barbara sang "Surrey With the Fringe on Top," "This Nearly Was Mine," Sondheim's "No More," "I Fall in Love Too Easily," "It Might as Well be Spring," and "Accentuate the Positive." In addition, she performed a hilarious version of "If My Dog Loves Your Dog," which she explained was originally recorded by Cliff Edwards, who was most famous for being the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio. Barbara closed her set with an a capella version of "We'll Be Together Again" that she sang without a microphone. Amazing.


A picture of the stage from our seats on the high ledge. (01/05/07)

They also did a handful of duets, including "Blue Skies," "Sing a Song," and "The Grass is Always Greener." They closed with a stirring version of "God Bless America" which was a great end to a fantastic evening.

Amy's First Month

We've got to give a shout out to our pal Amy, who, after four-and-a-half years of study, has officially kicked off her Traditional Chinese Medicine practice at the Advanced Wellness Center in Long Beach. This is definitely a big step in her career, and we're very proud of her.


Big ups to Amy, fo' shizzle. (12/06)

Although Amy graduated from Yo San University last March, she still had all her California state board exams to pass before she could be licensed to treat professionally. Now that those are out of the way, Amy can focus on building her practice.


Amy cops me some dank herbs. (12/06)

So if you are having problems with injuries, back & neck pain, stress, headaches and migraines, PMS, menopausal symptoms, digestive disorders or allergies, you may want to consider treatment via Traditional Chinese Medicine. If you're in the Southern California area, Amy offers treatment for all these symptoms via acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, temple-style Romi Lomi massage and more. For more information, contact Amy at newvisionshealth @ gmail.com.


Peep her new center. (01/07)

An Orange New Year's Eve

We celebrated New Year's Eve with our usual teeny tiny party. This year it was only Tom & Christine, Jon and Amy and Everett and Manny.


Manny, Everett, Tim, Tom, Christine, Amy and Jon take a moment from their turkey mole to smile. (12/31/06)

For dinner, we served turkey mole, steamed rice, refried beans, tortillas and fresh guacamole. Afterwards we enjoyed some really yummy cookies and cranberry updside down cake that Christine baked.


The last supper of 2006. (12/31/06)

Jon and Amy stayed the night in the spare bedroom, which was fun, since we were able to be lazy all morning while we watched the entire Tournament of Roses parade. Happy 2007 everybody!

An Orange Christmas

For the first time in several years, we stayed home for Christmas. Usually, we're either with Tim's family or my family (odd years with Tim's and even years with mine). But since my family decided to be out of town for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, that gave us the opportunity to stay at home.


Tim got the toilet paper. I got the paper towels. (12/24/06)

But the twist this year was that Tim's family came to visit us, at least the ones from the desert (Tim's sister and nephew stayed back East this year). They drove over in their RV, which they parked at a campsite not too far from here. To make things more comfortable for Tim's grandma, we put her up in the spare bedroom.


The spread. (12/24/06)

On Sunday evening, we had a nice hors d'ouevres buffet, consisting of a variety of meats, cheeses, and other tasty treats. Tim's Mom made her potato salad that I love. Afterward we opened up presents, always with the oldest person starting off and then working our way down (since Tim's nephew wasn't with us, I was the last one this year!)


Since it's not an odd year, we brought out the fake tree. (12/24/06)

The following day, we cooked a turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the whole works, which we followed with a few rounds of cards, which was a lot of fun.



Grandma Jean's imitation of a reindeer. (12/24/06)

I can't say it was the most exciting Christmas we've ever had, but it was very nice. We might try staying home more often!


Playing cards on Christmas Day. (12/25/06)

The Hat - World Famous Pastrami

I had another Southern California first. For the first time in my life, I went to The Hat for a pastrami sandwich. We went there because we were taking my co-worker Kurt to lunch for his birthday, and that was the place he picked.


The Hat - World Famous Pastrami. (12/06)

The Hat is a regional Southern California chain known for having the best pastrami sandwiches this side of the Hudson River. The family-owned chain originated in 1951 when it opened a walk-up restaurant in Alhambra. Today there are 10 locations.

The signature dish is the Pastrami Dip, featuring a half-pound of pastrami soaked in au jus. So that's what I ordered. We also got an order of fries and an order of onion rings to share among the four of us (and we still had a ton left over!)


The pastrami sandwich was fantastic at the time. (12/06)

I have to say, the sandwich was delicious as I was eating it. But to be honest, I didn't feel all that hot the rest of the afternoon. It felt like I had a brick of pastrami sitting in my stomach (and in a way, I kind of did). I don't know if I'd do it again, but I'm glad I had it at least once.

Edward Scissorhands, The Stage Adaptation

Remember Tim's Birthday Party? The birthday gift he received from our pals Dana & Eric were tickets to Edward Scissorhands, a stage adaptation of Tim Burton's classic film. It's playing right now at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre.


The poster just outside the theater. (12/16/06)

It was a unique show, with no actual dialogue or lyrics. It was simply dance and instrumental music, some of which was original, with other parts based on the original Danny Elfman score (I liked the Danny Elfman stuff, which was instantly recognizable, but the newly added music from another songwriter seemed rather incongruous).

The stage adaptation was created and directed by Matthew Bourne, who had a lot of acclaim about 10 years ago when he debuted an all-male staging of Swan Lake (it was featured in the film Billy Elliot).


A pic of Dana and Eric from our 2004 cruise to Alaska. (07/04)

Although Edward Scissorhands was a fun show, and we enjoyed it, I wouldn't exactly call it the greatest theatre event we've been to. But we had a good time. Thanks Dana and Eric!

Tim's Fender Bender

Here's something that's not so fun. Tim's car was caught in a bit of a fender bender while he was at work. The car was parked, and thankfully Tim was not in the car at the time. Apparently one of his co-workers driving a Ford Ranger hit another co-worker's Camry, which in turn bumped into Tim's Envoy.


The yellow Ford hit the blue Camry into Tim's Envoy. (12/15/06)

Fortunately Tim's car sustained the least damage. It looks like it's pretty much cosmetic damage (the other cars had to be towed away, since they were no longer drivable). Even still, I have a feeling we're dealing with at least $1,000 worth of damage.


The damage. (12/15/06)

Fortunately it was really easy to establish that the first driver was at fault, so at least we won't have to worry about paying the $500 deductible.

Christmastime at Disneyland

One of the things I missed the most during our Disneyland annual passholder hiatus last year was the holiday fireworks spectacular: Believe ... In Holiday Magic.


The crowd on Main Street waits for the fireworks. (12/14/06)

We finally caught the fireworks show tonight (for the first time in two years). Good thing too, because since we only had the less-expensive Southern California annual passes, we only had one more weekend to go before we're blocked out until just after New Year's Day.


It's snowing on Main Street. (12/14/06)

Christmas at Disneyland is a great tradition, because not only is it a great fireworks show, but they even make it snow on Main Street. Okay, I'm happy now.