ursamajor | Update, no, seriously!

Finally caught up on picture galleries! :)

Subjects include:
- the booze cruise
- 17-mile drive
- the monterey bay aquarium
- my 10-year high school reunion
- dania and jp's wedding

Yes, I took over 400 pictures in the last nine days. Yes, my camera is currently being held together by a ponytail holder. *grin*

It was a crazy three days in California.

Friday: Took forever and a day to rent the car, but it's a trip I could do almost in my sleep. 101-156-1-68. Crab cakes, dumplings, the world's fanciest "BLT," and the bento box at Roy's, done in Roy's typical fusion style. (Was last there almost 10 years ago to the day for my high school graduation lunch!) Driving down 17-Mile Drive and doing the tourist thing. Navigated through PB as if I'd never left, remembering all the shortcuts. Coming back to my high school for the first time in ten years and trying to explain to

hyounpark, no, really, those are brand-new buildings, you should've seen what used to be there, it wasn't that fancy when I went here! Recognizing almost everyone at the official on-campus party, and then at the unofficial afterparty out in the valley (no, non-Californians, that Valley is still 300 miles to the south). Seeing that my freshman roommate turned out almost exactly as I predicted (for values of the OC, real estate, platinum blonde hair and orange permatan.) Everyone having grown up enough to actually be curious about each others' lives, not trying to one-up each other or separate off into the expected cliques. Didn't see the people I was especially hoping to see, but I knew they weren't really the reunion type anyway.

Saturday: Given the schmancy catered Japanese-Mexican tapas from the night before, breakfast at the cafeteria was relatively simple - scrambled eggs (or omelets), cherry blintzes, home fries, and fruit. Basically, exactly what I would have had for breakfast on an average weekday before heading down to class, except that the fruit platter had my beloved honeydew melon and canteloupe on it. It spoiled me SO badly for Amherst *grin* I got there and was very confused where all the fruit besides apples, bananas, and oranges were! Saw my beloved sea otters at the aquarium, as well as the whole new Outer Wing (well, okay, so it's been there for years now; this was the first time I'd had a chance to go back!). A quick break for Dippin' Dots, then a pretty drive up the coast; if we'd had more time, I would've loved to stop out at Pajaro Dunes or Ano Nuevo. The most relaxed rehearsal dinner ever, followed by several rounds of Things back at

danialindenberg and JP's place; getting to know some of the groomsmen trying to make sure Dania was indeed The One for Their Guy. (So cute and protective!)

Sunday: Had brunch with my parents, Hyoun's brother Leonard and Leonard's girlfriend Sara. Afterwards, went back to Leo and Sarah's place for a bit, and were introduced to Karaoke Revolution. Karaoke Revolution should arrive here tomorrow. *grin* Then out to vineyard territory for the wedding and pre-ceremony drinks with the bridal party. The ceremony itself was short but sweet, and then we got right to the partying. :D And then on the way back to the hotel, I learned how to use Hyoun's Blackberry so we could find an In-N-Out along the way. Triple Double and fries for him, Double Double and Neapolitan Shake for me. :)

Monday: Quick breakfast with Mom and the dog (hooray for outdoor cafe seating). I'd forgotten that you got a bagel with everything. Crab meat crepe for me! And then it was time to return the car, browse in Compass for a short bit, decide to be good and not get the new Jacqueline Carey hardback, stop by Sees and pick up my Scotchmallow bar, stop by Just Desserts and pick up a slice of Weekend Cake for the plane, and return to Boston.

Took a couple of days to recover, and then Saturday was Meghan's 30th, and my first ever "booze cruise." And as I predicted to

kazulrw, I spent all of my time running around taking piccies and none of my time actually consuming alcohol. Hee! But it was actually quite fun - there was a rockabilly cover band, and yummy little appetizers, and a cool breeze blowing in off the ocean. Then Friendly's with

melissaagray and

fes42 and

stranger78, Apples to Apples at the afterparty, and then driving down Route 1 at 3 am. You're only as old as you feel!

Yesterday, I made the mistake of dairy when it was both 95f out and the first day of my period. So

hyounpark brought me Tylenol Flavor Creator, since I can't swallow pills, and my god, this is like EXACTLY what I was hoping for as a kid. Granted, I also thought I'd be the one to invent it (since "normal people swallow pills" and thus nobody cared about making medicine taste tolerable), until I couldn't wrap my head around the chemistry involved, but still! I am going to be very sad when litigious American society eventually runs this product off the market because some idiot didn't keep their medicines locked away firmly enough, and their kid drinks an entire bottle and has to go to the hospital and the parents don't dare show weakness by assigning any amount of blame to themselves.

Anyway, it's funky. I thought it would be some sort of clear syrup that you mixed flavor crystals into, but it's a cherry-based syrup, and you get a bunch of flavor packets with the package. You pour out the syrup dosage into the measuring cup, then dump the flavor crystals directly on top, and then chug immediately. On reflection, I'm honestly not 100% sure this is actually kid-oriented, because I felt like I was doing a shot. True, I needed to take the full three teaspoon dose, and most kids will be fine with the recommended 1-2 tsp, which is much more "sip" and much less "down the hatch!"

So yes, that's how we spent our first anniversary, building furniture (well, okay, I watched) and me semi-loopy on new drugs. *snicker* We'll make up for it later, but tonight is girly night!

Update, no, seriously!

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