people heart animals everywhere

I'm not the only one who melts in the heat in Thailand. There are plenty of dogs on the streets of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, but they always seem to be napping/lounging!

Here's one being blessed by a monk.

Grande Palace in Bangkok

Monkey Forest in Chiang Mai

Ibad Villas in Ubud, Bali

Madrid: working or playing?

Lots and lots of balconies.

Pup sitting at attention... why?

... to listen to the musicians of course!

Jamon jamon dame mas jamon!

Churros con chocolate! There are very few cafes open early in the morning by the way. Late partyers and late risers those Spaniards.

WHY IS STARBUCKS HERE. :( AND WHY ARE THEY ALSO IN BANGKOK, CHIANG MAI, AND BALI. WHY. GET OUT OF THOSE COUNTRIES STARBUCKS. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN COFFEE CULTURE.

Chicago: happy birthday sis!

I think there's an iphone pic on FB for Ft Lauderdale. I was there for work, so that's no fun. We're gonna start with Chicago.

Waited ~1.5 hours for foi gras hot dogs and the like at Hot Doug's in the misty cold morning. Owner Doug is the nicest guy. He takes his time talking to each customer to make sure they are putting together the order they want. That's also why the line is so long. We ordered 10 hot dogs for the 3 of us.

Alliance Bakery where R got the sis a bday cake.

Who wore it better? ;)

This is upon arrival at Charlie Trotter's, where an epic night was about to unfold. Little did we know that we would be here for 4 hours until 1:30 am and be the last ones in the restaurant. Thank god people started leaving so that we could start being the goofballs that we are and loudly revel in the delicious food. AND we got a tour of the kitchen. We were so busy being involved in the meal though that we unfortunately forgot to take a picture of us at the table. :(

Family friends gave the Sis their fancy camera, so the Sis gave me her SLR. This trip was my first time having fun with it, so there were a lot of blurry pictures. It did provide me some entertainment at the O'Hare airport though as I waited for my plane that was delayed for 3 hours.

up in the air

Ironically, I saw Up In The Air on an airplane, which seems to be where I've been the past month.

April 29-30, Fort Lauderdale

May 13-15, Chicago

May 21-25, Madrid

May 29-June 13, Honeymoon in Thailand and Bali

Let's begin!

wedding photos are up!

http://lafflerphotography.com/blog/?p=8775

the mula

You're told a lot of things in the wedding business.

1. engagement ring should cost 3 months salary
2. venue/food will make up 50% of your total budget
3. etc, you get the picture

These things are what I hate about the wedding industry. Who's to tell you how much things should cost, ie, who should tell you what's important to you? Puhleeease. The extravagance that's expected, the traditions that you're expected to adhere to. In the end, it's all really up to you. I picked up a total of 0 wedding magazines and watched 0 wedding shows on TLC. I knew enough of what I wanted from going to a few weddings that I didn't want to pay any attention to what others were saying you need to do. My inspiration stemmed from google images. I figured out costs based on my research skills that were built from my general frugality.

This is the breakdown from our wedding, and it was about what we wanted to hit. Basically, we wanted to spend in areas that were most important to us, which were venue/food and photographer. So for the other main vendors, we wanted to hit below budget to make room for the many many other little things that we knew needed to happen but couldn't think of during the budgeting process.

Ending up 50% below budget on music was soooo helpful! And with the help from a few helpful worker bees, invitations, all things paper, and favors fell below budget too.

This was the most I ever spent on any single thing. I was stingy throughout the whole process, but now, I miss having something to spend on! Spending is fun!!

musac

I went through a lot of music to try to find a song that would pair well with the STD. It was at least if not more of a struggle than creating the actual video! While we didn't end up using it for the STD, what came out of the search was a song that really resonated with me, and was ultimately played during the wedding processional. I can get kinda obsessive about things I love, and so I got obsessive about this song and played it over and over and over and OVER again. It always got me in a "wedding" mood even if I was in "wedding frustrate" mood.

Wedding music

Processional - The Way I am by Ingrid Michaelson, I'll Follow You into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie, Marry Me by Train, First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes, Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (for the bride)

Recessional - All You Need is Love by The Beatles

First song - At Last by Etta James

Father/daughter, mother/son dance - In My Life by The Beatles

Cake Cutting - Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan

Last song - Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

A piece of advice. Our dj, per their suggestion and our agreement, went with a "no request" policy during the reception. However, it was "no request" unless approved by the bride or groom. I think this is a good idea, but make sure to tell the dj to not direct the requester to go and ask the bride/groom, so that the bride and groom don't have to figure out how to say no to a Justin Bieber request from a 5-year-old!! Rather, it would have been better if they just said they're not taking requests, and then the dj him/herself would go and talk to the bride and groom to see if it's okay. That way the bride/groom doesn't have to feel like the bad guy on her/his wedding day!

my first pod!

Loogat it!

I can recline 180 degrees!

I was so excited I took a bunch of pictures right when I boarded, much to the unamusement of the guy sitting next to me. He like, did NOTHING. He sat down like it was a normal seat. I played with all the buttons, reclined 180 degrees, changed back to upright position, turned on the TV, planned my movies, and then started one right away while the plane was still at the gate. Unfortunately, this upgrade was on a mere 3 hour flight so fitting in 2 movies was going to be a challenge. I hoped for a delay. I ate everything they served me. Food was not great, but who can complain when you're eating with your legs stretched out straight in front of you?

STD

I purposefully did not post any wedding stuff to avoid being obnoxious, so I overtook love4lash as my electronic idea board for about 6 months. But now that everything is done, imma gonna indulge myself and review all the stuff we did to try to make our wedding special.

First up - save the dates! (not the disease)

Save the date! from Andrea Lo & Pete Rossi on Vimeo.

• Thumbnail photograph - Loberg (that's my sis and friend)
• Camera - trusty Canon Powershot
• Veggies - local grocery and Pete's garden
• Music - Pea by Rabbit!
• Cutting board - Bed Bath & Beyond (returned after the project heeeee!)
• Software - GraphicsConverter, iMovie

Making this stop motion video was like doing a lab experiment. My lab experiments required image capture and solid setup of subject, camera, and lighting. This was exactly that, but this was a ton of fun to make and didn't take 5 years to complete!

sneak peek at the wedding!

It's odd to come back from such a momentous event in your life and not have any pictures to show for it.

For the time being, my awesome photographer Todd Laffler posted a few teasers on his blog.

It was as wonderful and magical of a day as I could have ever imagined. I had resigned to having an indoor wedding given the rainy weather forecast, but hoped quietly that the skies would dry up for us in the evening. When Saturday started, it looked like that rain wasn't going to let up, but around 3pm, an hour before we had to make a final decision on whether the ceremony should be indoors or outdoors, the rain stopped. And what it left was a foggy, misty air in its wake. And it was mystical. I wouldn't have taken a sunny day over it.

What lay before me as I walked down the aisle was a fairyland containing all my friends and family looking happy, and my Pete waiting for me at the end. It's a picture that will stay with me forever.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. All the speeches were both funny and so so touching.

We had lots of little projects to make the evening interactive and personal, which I will document in upcoming posts! SO MANY CRAFTS deserves own post. :D Gotta gather pictures.

While I'm sad the weekend is over, I'm also happy to have no more stress. I knew I was pretty wound up, so P and I went to get massages yesterday. And since I was no longer trying to look good, I agreed to get one of those aggressive hard massages that are supposed to actually do more for you and your muscles. I got BEAT UP, man. BEAT UP. I was doing what I imagine lamaze breathing to be throughout the whole HOUR LONG session. I feel like my back has been through a trauma. It's supposed to feel better eventually, right? Right???

Engagement photos

P and I took engagement photos this week, and for us, that meant being the subjects of a photography mentoring session. I got a preview shot from the "student!"

All in all, it was really fun. We were given direction on what to do with our awkward limbs (eg, instead of just giving us 2 coffee mugs to hold in each of our hands :P ), who to look at, etc. We were basically not left to our own devices, which was a good thing. And since it was a mentoring session, we were given the inside track of what a photographer thinks when taking photographs. For instance, they have their go-to shot. Or if they really want you to laugh, they have a database of tried and true jokes to pull out, but only at the right times.

I hope to post more soon!

1 month to go!

1 month to the day, we will say I do!

We had minor freak-outs this morning as we realized we hit the month mark.

Worries:

• Hope the wedding party looks good. Still working on the finishing touches - sweater/wrap to keep my bm's warm, ties for the gm.
• Although in person the centerpiece concept looked great, the pictures that our florists took of the finished pieces were really mediocre. Trying to keep the faith.
• Officiant - yet to find one. eeps!
• What do I do for hair/makeup? It's so expensive that I wonder if I'd rather not do professional, but I want to look good and if I do professional, who do I choose? No great source of reviews online, and it's really a matter of taste. And I hate being lumped into the "bridal" category because prices jump sky high.

Bah!

sad snoopings

Around 8pm last night, I found this odd scene on the sidewalk near my building. Please excuse, I took this with my BB. Broken chair, a "very loved" Snoopy, hanging out in front of a dumpster.

12 hours later, I saw this down the other end of the block.

DRAMA.

Poor Snoopy took the Charlie Sheen drug.

...

After I already posted the findings of this morning, I saw this as I was walking home. So the story continues. I like this much better. I want Snoopy to find a good home. But that home isn't me because you don't know what kind of germs Mr. Snoopy is carrying!

Poor guy. His head is too heavy for him. I think he's been played with and loved so much it's about time he turned into a real dog. :)

---

Friday update: Snoopy takes the wheel.

a century and 2

My grandpa is 102 years old!

dose of pups

On Conan:

By the way, in past years I have watched both the Lingerie Bowl and Puppy Bowl. Always a battle between men and women as to which one of these to put on.

How these puppies are not chewing these things off each other is beyond me!

Congrats Packers and Cal grad Aaron Rodgers!!

Sundance '11

This year's experience was quite different than those of the past (like here, here, and here). We attended the second week of the film festival instead of the first just because of scheduling conflicts. I have to say that this was SO relaxing and felt like I actually got to soak in Park City!

We did put in our time though and invested it in waiting in line for the Son of No One, starring Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, and Juliet Binoche. Al and Juliet didn't attend the premiere, but everybody else did!

Channing Tatum, Katie Holmes, and Ray Liotta

Us and Channing Tatum

I daresay CHARMED Channing. I often think of witty things to say to celebs AFTER meeting them, and then curse myself for not thinking of them earlier. I've gotten calmer over the years though and have made progress in this conversation department. This time around, I got a chuckle out of him! I told him that he should come over to take a picture with us because we're really cute. :)

Movie was just okay. The premise didn't make a whole lot of sense. Acting was pretty good.

Up and running!

Thanks to P and his roommate (whom I still call roommate even though I'm the current roommate), I am back up and running with a new and improved laptop! Twice the RAM and double the size of my original hard drive. New versions of the OS and software, Woohoo!

So this is what has been stored up.

P's Bday

Ang's Bday

New Year's

Tahoe Trip #1 - uh... I think Sugar Bowl. This was during the storm, so 0 visibility but perfect snow conditions!

Tahoe Trip #2 - Heavenly

sucky new year

why no post?

In 2011:

1. My laptop's hard drive got sick and is dying. Consequently many photos that have been waiting to be posted have disappeared. SAAADDD.
2. My dentist told me that it's possible that the nerve of my front tooth is on it's way out. WAY OUT? I have great dental hygiene, floss everyday, and have only had 2 minor fillings. AND NOW ROOT CANAL?
3. Work sucks.

Therefore, no posts.

Am merely procrastinating right now because I don't want to prepare for a big presentation tomorrow for which I have leave my apartment at 6:45 am.