We Battle!

I just had to post this. Stacy combined the video of me and Leo with her and Becca singing With You by Chris Brown. It's pretty sweet.



Haha. I miss those girls.

P.S. - I was promoted yesterday! :]

Wedding... Minus the Wedding?

End of a year. Time for new beginnings... or time to celebrate old ones. Tonight I was at a wedding for my cousin, Kien, and his wife, Michelle. Thing is though, they were married about 2 years ago in Vietnam. Although, our family here in Virginia Beach never got to celebrate their marriage because they did it overseas. But tonight, we finally got to celebrate it! It was a wedding, but without the marriage ceremony. All we did was party at the wedding reception that we never had. It was pretty cool because it was being held at the Virginia Space and Air Center.

It started at six o'clock and we were late by 5 minutes. I sped to get there, but it was really pointless cause the party didn't actually start until close to 7PM. Most of that hour was spent just taking pictures, waiting for other guests to arrive, looking around the museum, and just hanging out. I did a lot of each. Especially taking a bunch of pictures and searching around the space and air center. There are a lot of interesting things in there, and a lot to mess around with. We found things like a whole commercial airliner hanging off the ceiling. We even went inside and I sat inside the pilot seat. There are a bunch of old model jets hanging up there too. All real, all out of commission. Other things included things dealing with spacecraft. Thus the name, Virginia Space and Air Center. Haha. Here's a short video of what the reception looked like before everyone finally got there.

We were all ready to eat, but first dibs goes to the bride and groom. Then their immediate family, then pretty much everyone else. I have to say, the coconut shrimp was on point at this buffet style serving table! Probably the best thing there. I sat with Leo and the photogs cause the table with my other cousins was filled up. We were talking about my friend, Sandy from North Carolina, and how she might be coming down for spring break. Then the topic went to how Leo will marry her by age 30 if he is still single. He even put it into his event calendar in his iPhone, I was weak! Haha. Then Leo decided to ding his glass to get Kien and Michelle to kiss. :]

After we ate, the traditional tea ceremony was conducted. This is where the bride and groom serve tea to their parents, grandparents, and uncles and aunts. After serving the tea, they receive gifts. For as long as I can remember, every wedding within my family has done this tradition. Michelle received a lot of jewelry and she was adorned with them after serving tea. The expression on Kien's face is so funny in this picture. This short video is of my Aunt Trina (Kien's mom) being served tea and giving Michelle a whole lot of jewelry.

More tea-serving and gift-giving followed after my Aunt Trina. Which was then followed by Kien and Michelle's first dance as husband and wife, but technically it really wasn't. Haha. After they danced, couples were called up to the dance floor to dance with them. After that, everyone was able to just go out and shake their stuff. Too bad not a lot of people wanted to. Haha. It could have been a lot of fun with a lot more people willing to just let it loose.

While people were on the dance floor, both my cousins, Leo and Tom, were in the back of the reception trying to see who could handstand the longest. I don't know why. Haha. After that, they decided to see who could flip themselves off the floor into a handstand. Haha. It was funny to watch it from the sidelines. Especially funny when Tom fell onto the Christmas tree and presents that were on display in the back. I didn't catch that on camera, but still... good times! Haha.

Like Leo said in the video, we were starting to cut the cake. That was a sign of the night coming to an end. After we all ate cake, Michelle and Kien sang to each other. It was a great night, and another one of those few occasions where family reunite. That's twice this week now! Nice. :]

The party was fun and it was unique to have it where we did. I wish Kien and Michelle the best of luck as a married couple. I'm sure they will be together for a long long time to come.

CHRISTmas!

Christmas, the night of our Lord and Savior's birth. These words say it best.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O, hear the angel's voices!

O night divine, O night when Christ was born.

But of course, it is also a night for getting together with family and friends to share in the Christmas cheer. I just got home from the annual Christmas party at my cousin's house. We have a pretty large family and these occasions are one of the few where we all get together. There's a lot of, "You look different," and many, "You look bigger!" Sometimes an occasional, "What's your name again?" Haha. Those are pretty much only said by those who fly in from out of state. Either way, it's great to see old faces, familiar faces, and even some new ones.

Of course, what's a party without food? We love to eat, and that's exactly what we did first! My cousin, Anna, usually cooks up the food, but many times people bring stuff too. There wasn't as much as Thanksgiving because only a couple of people brought food this time, but tonight still was filling. We even had many leftovers. I copped a bunch of ribs to eat at home. Haha. They were delicious.

Afterward, we started opening up a bunch of the gifts. We turned the family room into a recycling dump with all the wrapping paper we discarded. I got a bunch of money in the form of a gift card and cash, which will come in handy for textbooks! I also got Lost Odyssey from Anna, which was a video game I really wanted! But even out of all the gifts I got, the awkward box from Stacy is still my fave. Haha. It felt great handing out gifts. It really is the season for giving. I wish I could have given out more, but my wallet has been bruised and beaten enough. Haha. Amidst the gift scrounging, my cousin, Leo, decided to show my Aunt My how to give someone dap.

You can even see my mom's random hand pop out of nowhere trying to imitate too. Haha. After that, we just hung out for the rest of the night. The adults were karoaking in the living room. Leo and I went upstairs and decided to play his new game for the X-Box 360, Lips. Basically, karoaking for the younger crowd. Dang, we are so Asian. Haha. It was a lot of fun though. You can watch me make a fool of myself as Leo beat me in almost every single game. Haha.

We played for a long time. Game got heated, and so did we. It was so hot in there! I had to take a step outside in the cold. Haha. I couldn't stay out long cause Anna started passing out these cigars and a bunch of people were outside smoking them. I can't stand the smell of smoke. I was bored just chilling inside while a bunch of the young folk were outside smoking, so I decided to catch them in the act. *Click, Snap, Save* Gotcha!! Haha. They came back in after awhile, and we all just started to play Rock Band 2. Pretty much everyone left while we were playing upstairs. Downstairs was empty, and the only karoaking going on was from whoever was singing on the mic connected to the 360.

I had a lot of fun. These get-togethers with my large family are few throughout the year, but when we have them, we're all smiles. I hope your Christmas was just as wonderful this year. Peace out and God bless.

The Awkward Box

I have THE best girlfriend. Even if she has a disability with packaging boxes. I mean, we all have to respect her for being able to walk and talk even after falling down the stairs at the age of three. Haha!! :]

You know I love you, Stacy. :P

So this was my early Christmas gift from her. It was packaged with the use of tape, a box, two giant envelopes. Maybe even some dental floss, zip-lock bags, 2 rolls of toilet paper for comfort, and a blessing for a safe trip to me. Haha. I was so happy when I found this lying outside the house. She seriously surprised me with her creativity with the gifts inside and with the... umm... use of a postal service box. ;]

This awkward box made my day. No, my week! Haha. Stacy is so sweet. I am truly blessed with her in my life. Inside were six numbered gifts, all wrapped up with little notes attached to them. There was also a card inside. I was all smiles since I got it, and even more after I opened each one. Each present had its own special meaning, and each note explained why she got each one. Wow, what a girl I have. No one has ever done something like this for me. I am one lucky guy. :]


1: A kids Iron Man blanket.
She says she just HAD to get me it. She knows I love Marvel superheroes. She slept with the blanket so it would smell like her, but her roommate didn't think it was enough. So she took Stacy's body spray to it. It was too strong that my brother could smell it outside my door. I washed it with just water so it would keep some of the scent.

2: A red tie.
She loves the color of the tie, and she loves them on guys. So she decided to get me this. Haha.

3: A Transformers calendar.
She knows I have a passion for Transformers. Haha. It's also a 16-month calendar, so that by the end of it I will have graduated. :]

4: A bulletin board.
I definitely need to keep myself on track. So to help me be more organized, Stacy got me this! She knows how busy I get with so much work to do. She's amazingly thoughtful. Haha.

5: The Dark Knight 2-Disc Special Edition DVD.
This was actually on my wish-list for Christmas! Besides being such a great movie, I wanted it for the same reason she got it for me. This was the first movie Stacy and I ever went to. We both still have our ticket stubs. :]

6: 50 Reasons Why She Loves Me.
Pretty much self-explanatory. Haha.

This girl truly has me. She makes me feel things I've never felt with anyone else, and there is no one better. We're just a perfect fit. ;]

Leaving the Hornet's Nest

First things first... Happy Birthday Angel!

So we left Charlotte at 8:30PM last night and arrived back home early this morning at 1:40AM. The drive back home is always long. It's like being away from that one special person for months, and you've got that one plane ticket weeks from now to go back to them. The wait is unbearable. Haha. ;]

So yesterday was Angel's birthday party, but I'll recap on what happened before then. Woke up to the sound of Vietnamese music blasting downstairs and my sister said we needed to get ready to meet up with my older brother, Tri, for dim sum at 12:30PM. It was around 11:00AM, and it takes about 20 minutes to get there so I basically had an hour for me and my brother to get ready. Dad was already hanging out downstairs, dressed and ready. We actually got ready pretty quick with time to spare so we just played around with Mitchell. Except for the morning, he was Monster Mitchell. Haha.

What a ferocious and scary monster. Haha, I love that kid. Even if he freaks me out sometimes. I got him back though! Haha. --->

So after the beastly brawl, we all gathered our things cause we wouldn't be coming back to the house after we leave for dim sum. I was pretty excited cause I was starving for some food. I love dim sum. Another reason would be that I would be meeting my little niece, Hayden, for the first time. It was good to see my brother, my sister-in-law, and my two nieces. I played with Hayden and tried to take pictures with her. She has a need to touch my cheeks and mouth for some reason. Haha. We caught up with what's been going on since we last saw each other. Just like my sister, Dinh, Tri wanted Dad to move down to be closer to family. He's actually considering it seriously and there really isn't anything holding him back nowadays. Not to mention, houses are pretty much dirt cheap in Charlotte. I got to admit, they're pretty nice.

After our little brunch with them, we said our goodbyes and I drove my Dad to my Uncle Ken's restaurant cause he wouldn't be able to go with us to Angel's birthday party. How weird would that be? My Dad (who could definitely pass for my Grandpa) would stick out, just like his rock-hard belly. Haha. So we dropped him off, but the party was still 2 hours away. So i called Sandy to see if we could chill. She sounded excited over the phone cause she got me my early Christmas gift. Haha, about time! But it wasn't the Mario Kart Wii that I wanted. I actually prefer that though. Even if it turns out to be a little lame, it's better to be surprised. She was returning from the mall and would be at her house soon, so I just headed over there. She handed me my large gift, which was obviously not a game. I opened it up and found two things; a blanket with city design on it and a tiny art piece with a small mouse with a tennis racket and a bag. Haha!! She really thinks outside the box. Actually, before the blanket and picture, she was going to buy me a jacket/cardigan. I was happy either way. Thanks, Sandy. :]

We just chilled at her house for a little bit, but left around 3:15PM so that we could make it to the party at 4:00PM. A lot of people were already there when we arrived. Some who I haven't seen in so long. I actually missed a bunch of them. The party was kind of chaotic in the beginning. There was a lot of food there. Too bad I already ate out with my family earlier, cause the food looked delicious. I am actually craving sushi now that I think about it. Volcano rolls!! Haha.

Everyone gathered around the television to watch the football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons. Haha.

Angel: You guys didn't come to my party to just watch the game did you?
Everyone: Yessss!!
Angel: :'[ *walks away*

Haha. Nah, we turned off the television so we could focus on the birthday girl. Vietnamese soup was passed out as a sort of appetizer to everyone. But then we raided Angel's kitchen for the food. I didn't eat though cause I was full from earlier. I was surpised Jimmy was piling on so much food on his plate! That boy can seriously put it away. There were plans for a food relay race and a fear factor food thing Angel had planned, but everyone got full. So the plans changed and we did charades instead. Here are a bunch of clips of the event.

chaotic explanation of the rules

the first game!

no homo?

Mimi and Sandy :]

patrón

After all the screams and the laughs, we all went to the family room so that Angel could open her gifts. So the first thing she opened was...

Mitchell took the camera away from me after that video. Haha. So he became the photographer while she was opening all her gift. She got so many shirts, and pretty much all of them were caught on the camera... except the shirt I got her. Haha. I think Mitchell was running around with it chasing Sandy's little brother at the time. It was a blue shirt that had "đề thường" on it. It means cute or adorable in Viet. Just imagine the image to the right on an all blue baby-tee. :]

Out of all the gifts, her favorite one was from Vinh. We had to all go upstairs to see this one.

It's so good to see Angel so happy. Haha. We all went back downstairs and out went the lights...

After we all ate cake, everyone just did random activities. Karaoke (of course, we're Asian), basketball, more food, and just chilling out by talking. It was fun, and I had a great time seeing all my friends down here. It really was so sad to leave again. If my Dad really does decide to move down, I could actually stay as long as I want to on my visits. Haha. I really miss these guys. Here are a few photos from the night before I peace out.

my non-bro and my non-sister-in-law :P

all smiles on her birthday


oh word? it's going to be like that, Mimi?


haha, didn't think so ;]

Dang. I miss it already. Haha. I'll see you guys in '09 though! Mark your calendars.

The Queen's City

How's it going, Charlotte? Today I am in North Carolina visiting friends and family. We got here at 8:30PM yesterday and were heading to my sister's house cause that was our place to stay while down here. But my sister wasn't home so we just went out to eat at Tin Tin! Another 25 minutes to drive on top of the 5 hours already driven. Ehh. Tin Tin is so good, but dang.. $64 for just me, my brother, and Dad. Crazy expensive buffet! So we just ate there, and I sent out a mass text to my friends here. Found out, Vinh was staying the night at my sister's too. We chilled and hung out when we got there. I also gave Mitchell, my nephew, his birthday/Christmas present. It was his birthday that night. Happy 6th Birthday Mitchell!

So I woke up this morning around 9:45AM. Vinh left to see his girl and so I got ready to pick up Sandy. I was so excited to see everyone, it's been so long! The ride to Sandy's was long too. If I was driving in Virginia Beach, I probably would have driven two cities over. Charlotte's kind of big. I got to her house, and I rung the doorbell. Then got attacked with hugs haha. I've missed this girl! She's the only one from Charlotte who I've talked to pretty much every day. She's a special one haha.
We drove back to my sister's to meet up with Vinh and Angel, and also to pick up my brother (Jimmy), my niece (Kristina), and my little nephew (Mitchell). More hugs from Angel! I've missed that girl a lot. It was so good to see her again. After the small reunion, we all headed in separate cars to Concord Mills, the local mall. Vinh still needed to buy a gift for Mitchell, and Angel had to get art supplies for a project. Sandy also still needed to get me my Christmas gift. The mall was super busy. I thought the state of the economy was supposed to slow the holiday shopping. It took me awhile to find a spot to park in. Too many people! I love the holidays, but I really don't like shifting through the crowds.

First stop, Starbucks. Thanks for the vanilla bean frappucino, Sandy! Haha. After waiting for what felt like 15 minutes to get our drinks, we fought the crowds... separately. Vinh, Angel, Jimmy, Mitchell, and Kristina went to go look for a gift. I went with Sandy so that she could use that Forever 21 gift card I got her. She got nothing. So me being her faux-boyfriend who holds her coffee while she picks up clothes off the hangers was for nothing. Ehh... haha. We went to Gamestop to find my gift. I wanted Mario Kart Wii. Sold out. So we combed the crowds looking for the others. Took about 5 seconds of that to realize, we need to call first. Like I said, holiday shoppers were running amuck. We found out they were at Circuit City! Nice, another chance to find Mario Kart Wii. Nope, gone. Geeze, and one of the employees said they just got it in the other day. It's a big holiday item I guess. We left and walked all the way through the gigantic mall. It feels like walking forever down a narrow hallway, since it's built in a circle so you can just walk all the way around.

We left the mall and headed to Angel's house. Sandy and I in one car, everyone else in Vinh's. On our way there, Sandy was craving some sushi. Actually, it was pretty much like that since I picked her up. Haha. So I told her we would just kick it at Angel's for 10 minutes and I would take her. It was kind of awkward to know that I would be seeing my ex, Kelly, who I haven't seen in about 8 months. I was hoping we could keep it chill. We got there after Vinh and everyone else did. First people I saw were Kevin (Angel's kid brother), Jimmy, Vinh, and Bao outside playing b-ball. Quick hey, and I headed inside to get Sandy. Kelly and I talked a little, it was actually pretty chill like I wanted. Angel asked for someone to do her math homework for her. Shame shame, haha. So Sandy sort of volunteered somehow. She did it in record time. She's brilliant, or she just screwed Angel over cause she really really wanted to hurry and get some sushi. Haha, nah. Sandy's just smart like that. We left almost as soon as we got there.

So Sandy wanted to take me to this Japanese place called, Koishi. She said it was probably empty with no customers, but they had bomb sushi. I trust her tastebuds, haha. I asked if they had volcano rolls, cause that's probably officially my favorite kind now (Thanks Stacy!).She said it was a Pizza Hut turned into a sushi restaurant. It seriously looked like it too, haha. We got inside and I got a volcano roll and tempura roll. Sandy got a volcano roll and a refreshing roll. It was pretty much delicious. I was totally expecting something else for volcano roll though. It seems like they prepare it differently here. Really differently, but it was still very good. First, there's no frying. Second, pretty much all the ingredients inside are different. Third, they cut and arrange the pieces differently. Fourth, they pile this mixture of spicy sauce with calamari and crab meat on top of the pieces of sushi. It was so good, but still not as good as the volcano rolls back home! Reppin VB, yo. Haha. While we were eating, Sandy noticed one of the Asian waiters was cute. What the...? Haha. She's got a boyfriend, but apparently they don't care if they check out other people. I can't do that, haha. I'll notice if a girl's beautiful or cute, but I don't go checking out there butt or whatever Sandy was eyeing. Haha. That girl gets me weak.

and we were interrupted by the waiter,
but not the one she was crushing on haha

After sushi, we left and I drove her to her boyfriend, Anthony. I went back to Angel's and just hung out playing games. Just good times. Played some Mario Party, and played with paint haha. Just did random activities. I got a stache and a goatee painted on. Vinh got a new pair of eyes, which reminds me of that monster from Pan's Labyrinth. My nephew got me weak at random times. It was a good night. We had to cut it short, cause my sister wanted the kids home. So we just left around 7:30PM. Got home, ate Bojangles, and cammed with Stacy. Still camming with her, haha. Finally finishing up this blog post. Tomorrow is Angel's birthday party! So many more people I haven't seen yet, and they'll all be conveniently located in one location. I'm pretty excited, haha. After the party though, we're driving back to Virginia Beach. Definitely going to miss these guys. I still have my memories captured on pictures and video though. Especially of this one of my nephew with his victory dance. Haha, weak!

and I can't forget Jimmy's
love for waist-thinning chairs haha

Til next time Charlotte, peace!!

Live Passionately!

So the title of this blog has no relevance to anything. I just see it on this advertisement board every time I drive home from campus. Virginia is for lovers. :]

So instead of talking about how everyone should live passionately, I'm just going to tell you about my boring day. Hah! I tricked you! Now you have to read my blog post. Haha just kidding. Feel free to click that button on the upper right hand corner. For those of you who actually stuck around (wow, really?), I took my last official day of classes today! So did everyone else at Old Dominion. Only one final to take and that's not until Thursday! I got all week to prepare so I'll probably just chill out for now. Yea... I procrastinate. :[

After class I drove home, passed by that one sign, got home, and had to drive my mom to pick up her car cause she had it inspected earlier that day. By the time I dropped her off it was about 5:30PM and I had an induction into Omicron Delta Kappa at 7:00PM later tonight. I hadn't even gotten into my formal wear for the ceremony, and I needed to take another shower. It sucks even more when you have to rely on other people to get ready too! And my family is especially slow. After we all got home, it was 5:50PM. We needed to jet, especially when it takes me about 35-40 minutes to get to campus! Geeze, I didn't even know where this place was being held. I just knew it was at the Webb Center in the Rector's Room. Rector's Room? I don't even know. We managed to leave at 6:20PM. I was feeling pretty chill. That was until we hit traffic. Really? It was 6:30PM, where did all this rush hour traffic come from? Okay, so after having to take a different route there, I realized the clock in the car was 5 minutes ahead. Whew.

We got to the place and wow, there were only 5 inductees (including myself). Only 2 other people showed up though. I've been inducted into two other National Honor Societies and usually there are at least 25 people or so. Kind of strange, but I'm guessing the requirements for acceptance are a lot more strict. I felt especially important because since there were just the 3 of us sitting at the table, and our names came up in the speaker's speech for the induction ceremony. After all of us were pinned and recieved our certificates, we had the reception. Everyone kept coming up to me and shaking my hand. "Congratulations Scott". Hah, wow, everyone knew us by name. It was nice. Usually at these things, there are many other inductees so everyone just says congrats without the addition of a name. One lady even said she recognized me.

Me: Oh really? Where do you remember me from?
Lady: Oh I don't know... probably at Tropicana Smoothie! *laugh*
Me: Uhh... *forced laugh*

Haha, okayyy. So at the reception, I rejoined my family at their table and we just grabbed a small bite of what was available. Then my dad said he would like to go eat some Chinese. I was all for it! So after I chatted/thanked the ones who ran the ODU chapter of ODK, we left the building. But then my mom noticed the fountain outside and wanted to take pictures. So we did. :]





After what my mom called a looong walk all across campus (really though, we only walked past 3 of the buildings on campus haha), we drove to Jade Villa. They have the best dim sum. Too bad it was about 8:30PM. Dim sum really should not be restricted to brunch. So we get there, and I recognized one of the people working there. Took me awhile, but then I remembered who she was! I met her, Kristina, through Stacy. Then I found out the waiter who was serving us also knew Stacy. I swear, she knows everyone! Well, at least those who are Filipino. Haha. Minus Justin, our waiter, who turned out to be Chinese and Viet. Except he lived in the PI... so maybe he doesn't count. Haha.

Well that's all folks. Time to peace out, but before I do I'm going to put up this one picture text I sent to Stacy while inside Jade Villa's bathroom... yeaaa, the bathroom. :P



The toilet in the background is priceless. Haha. Peace!!

Freedom at Last!

The wait is over... I can relax again! Hah. Well, not really. Still got my finals left, but after that, it really will be over! Still though, this is a moment of excitement. I can finally chill and not have to worry about whether I studied enough or did my assignments on time. I am in my Lifespan Development class right now, so I'll probably keep this short and sweet... like Stacy!! Haha. Just kidding, mahal. ;]

So here I am, in class, listening to some mortician guy guest speaking for our last night of class while camming/chatting with Stacy. He kind of has a southern accent. Yea, pointless note. I just thought he sounded funny. You know what else is funny? My silly girlfriend.

Stacy: i cant wait to just KISS YOUR FACE.

I know right? She's gross. Haha. I still love her though.

I am deathly bored in this class. DEATHLY! HAHA!!! Get it? We have a mortician guest speaking and... you know... dead bodies...? I'm dumb. Seriously, why do I even have a blog? Well, I can't really say much cause I'm sure I'll get caught typing so much while this guy is guest speaking. Like I said though, last night of class. It's time to celebrate... I just can't cause I still got finals to study for. I'm still cheery though! No more of...

Or


Or

Or

Yea... you've all been there. You've all wanted to drop dead. DROP DEAD! HAHA!!! Get it? Drop dead... cause we have a mortician for a speaker... dead people...? Okayyy, I'm out. Peace!!

Hi, I'm Scott

wuddup bloggers?! nahh son, u aint gotta say cuz yo boy kno u just chillinnn...

Haha, terrible first impression. WOMP!
Hey to whoever is reading this right now. Yea, my name's Scott and I just signed up cause Stacy, my girlfriend, threatened me to. She said she would cut me. Seriously. Hah, not really. She's lovely and wonderful. Mahal kita!! :]

Yes, that's Tagalog. No, I am not Filipino. I just like to fit into the crowd seeing as how all the Asians where I live seem to be of the Filipino persuasion... that, and my girl loves it when I speak Tagalog. Haha, just kidding. Actually I am Chinese with a splash of Viet. Sexy combo. Chyea. I don't even know what to type. What will I ever need to type about anyway? I'm just a bored Asian guy who has finals coming up. I should be doing calculus equations and eating rice!! Haha. Oh dang, I'm terrible.

Well, if you love my terribleness and random blogs. Possibly some venting rants, I guess you could stop by and have a laugh at my expense. Haha. Peace!!