after_alex

After about a month back in the US, I’m finally back in SoCal mode. This weekend tops it off as the pinnacle of Southern California living, with my cousin and her new husband. She is one of my good cousins’…although she was a few years older than me and my brother, we grew up seeing each other all the time. [I'd crash her place to play Super Mario Brothers!] And when I went to UC Berkeley, I’d occasionally see her around UCSF, where she went to dental school. It’s nice to see her so happy with her groom.

I had been down and out recently from a weird respiratory bug lately, so I had to drag myself out of bed to get down to the wedding. But I’m glad I made it out. The spot for the ceremony was very nice. The newlyweds are surely a sensible couple, and they chose an excellent venue for their event overlooking the beach. Man, are they setting themselves up for a nice life…two doctors (DDS and MD) …

It’s been a long time since I last caught up with my “cousins” as well. I say “cousins” because in Vietnamese, most of them would be considered nephews and nieces. I’m actually cousins with their parents. Thus, strange things always happen in big families, and the English nomenclature of 2nd cousins is fine. Not everyone was able to make it this time. My brother and my cousin Toan are in Vietnam, but some of us came quite far to support the couple. John and I recently returned from Afghanistan. John (3rd from right), is a Major in the US Marines. Paul, middle white suit, came from NYC…

My most common family memories are with these guys at my old gramma’s house in Westminster, CA. Back then our parents used to gather for large family events (this wasn’t even half of us), and we’d get dragged along to see all the other relatives. Usually after settling down after some good ol’ Vietnamese style grub we’d splinter off and go play in the street, wander off to the arcade, watch TV (i.e. In Living Color!), and do other kids’ stuff. Those were the days eh? Damn, it feels now like we’re so OLD.