Great... I left my notes in my other purse. Darn it! Oh well, short entry for now. I purposely left my laptop at home but took some notes with pen and paper, will have to update this page later. Last night I hooked up with my cousin Ah-Mei who is at Chien-Tan this summer to go to Wypoh's house together.

There has been talk about the program being canceled by next year but she hasn't heard anything about it, so we'll see. Ah-Mei just turned 19. What in the heck do you say to a rather shy 19-year-old with the cutest smile?

 Me: "So how do like the program?"

Her: "Umm, it's okay."

 Me: "How many people are you rooming with?"

Her: "Ummm, eight!"

 Me: "How is that?"

Her: "Umm, it's okay!"

 Me: "That's cool. So, meet any cute guys?!"

Her: "Ummm... not really?"

 Me: "Oh darn. I was hoping you could hook me up."

Of course she looks at me like I'm totally weird and starts cracking up. Well what else was I supposed to say? I had no idea. So there's a decade or more between me and the guys on the Loveboat this year, is that so bad? LOL!

Anyway, we got to Wypoh's place after 10 pm and caught up with our aunts and uncles who just arrived from Holland and from the States last week. It was SO NICE to see everyone. Later, I went with Third Uncle and Uncle Bob to the 24-hour Internet cafe around the corner where I stayed until after 2 in the morning. That was a strange place I must say. Didn't feel safe.

Anyway, I was surprised to find some of the folks still up when I got back to the house. We stayed up and talked a little longer, and then I finally crashed. MAN was I tired. Wiped.


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I woke up to the noise of a LOT of people in the living room. Mom walked in and said, "Get UP. Everybody's here." She was talking about my other relatives who pulled in from Taipei, along with Wendy, David, and Iwen who also spent the night with my cousins there the night before. It was a jampacked house. So there they were, my cousins from Holland. GEEZ THEY ARE TALL. HELP!

Apparently my Little Aunt (Hsiao Aiyee), First Aunt (Da Aiyee), and Uncle Bob had to get up early to help with the decorations at the banquet hall. My cousin Dennis purposely changed his marriage date to today since everyone was back for Wypoh's 80th birthday celebration (tomorrow). Even with the three of them already there, coordinating transportation was still quite a challenge. The logistics of who was riding with whom became a central theme of the weekend, LOL.

So anyway, we finally got to the banquet hall around lunchtime. That was one of the biggest weddings in Taiwan that I've been to yet (80+ tables?). All the cousins sat at one table, the "adults" at the other and I just LOVE the fact that I'll always be third generation forever and ever, WOO HOO! I don't have to be mature! I can be UNPROFESSIONAL! YES!

ANYWAY. The entertainment at the wedding was errr... entertaining. One of the guys got up on stage to sing and had a little marching routine to go with. At one point he held a note for like SEVEN WHOLE MINUTES. Something like that. We couldn't help but bust out laughing. That guy was just too cool for his bad self.

Everyone was taking pictures, and Uncle Bob did his thing with his camcorder. The food was stellar (I lie) and the music was outstanding (I lie again) and the people were just fascinating (true). After the second hour though, we were so ready to leave, and I was exhausted. "Conflict" walked through the door earlier on, but we greeted him as any Chinese grandfather deserves to be greeted at such an event -- with respect. Other than that, we had a lot of fun.


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Once we got back to Wypoh's place, I was wiped out and dived for the bed. Not too long after, I hear music in the living room. Despite my exhaustion, I just had to get up and see what was going on. Iwen was playing the guitar, and the relatives were hovering over him, singing. I hate to sound CHEEZY but it was SUCH an endearing moment, quite a musically-talented group of people.

I am not a singer. And I absolutely hate going to KTV. But when a cute cousin like Iwen is playing the guitar, and all my other cute cousins are crowding around him, singing and laughing with such affection, how could I not join in?

If there was ever a time to be cheezy, I guess now would be it. I'm writing this entry a few days after the fact, but here are lyrics to a song which will always remind me of this weekend and the time we spent together. I miss them already.

    If you miss the train I'm on,
    you will know that I am gone
    You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles,
    A hundred miles, a hundred miles,
    A hundred miles, a hundred miles,
    You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.

    Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two,
    Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four,
    Lord I'm 500 miles from my home.
    500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles, 500 miles
    Lord I'm five hundred miles from my home.

    Not a shirt on my back,
    Not a penny to my name
    Lord I can't go a-home this a-way
    This a-away, this a-way, this a-way, this a-way,
    Lord I can't go a-home this a-way.

    If you miss the train I'm on
    You will know that I am gone
    You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles. 

ANYWAY, just before dinner, I went with two of my cousins and two of my aunts to check out some portrait studios nearby. Though a bit late in the planning, we needed to find a place to take family portraits for tomorrow morning. We finally decided on one place though a little hesitant, and then headed back for dinner.

In the evening, a van-full of us headed back to Taipei since there was not enough room at Wypoh's place for everyone to sleep. I had hoped to get back in time to grab a cup of coffee from Starbucks since I didn't get to have any this morning, but alas... it wasn't going to happen. Oh well. Such is life.


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