Our Wedding

Our ski trip

2009-02-11T16:03:00.001-08:00

A short, no frills video of our ski trip in Colorado this year.

Joe the Turkey Executioner

2008-11-21T08:33:00.001-08:00

Sarah Palin interview after pardoning a turkey. No further comment required.

The '80's

2008-11-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

It was only a matter of time when my formative years were turned into a Broadway musical.

My type

2008-11-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

I found this tool that analyzes the type of person you are based on your blog posts. It reminds me of astrology and new age personality type surveys. Anyway, I put my blog address in and got this answer:

The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time

Alex Astilean - SPEEDFIT - Treadmobil

2008-11-18T13:38:00.001-08:00

This is the next revolution in fitness! I bought 2 of them and am planning to invest further! Wow!

2008-11-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

I have a new respect for Bill Bennett after last night. He was entirely gracious on CNN last night when discussing Barack's grandmother's death. Thanks Bill.

The Economist Endorsement

2008-10-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the more conservative magazines in the world, but they take a world view when it comes to the problems that need to be solved. Anyway here's smart commentary to their endorsement.

2012 Olympics

2008-10-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

I follow Diamond because he keeps us up to date. For those that don't know, the 2012 Summer Olympics will be held in London. My wife and I will be there. That's our plan...

My head's about to explode

2008-10-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

Between the incessant poll results and "Joe the Plumber" and "Tito the Builder" and new charges of anti-semitism and who knows what else I've missed, I just have to laugh and wonder where our country will be 4 years from now. I get this sneaking feeling that 20% of America's population is going to ruin it for the rest of us. This is an interview with a spokesman for John McCain. This is what's left of their campaign. This would make me ashamed of my country except I know others see through this stupidity as well.

T-5

2008-10-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Only 5 days before the US election and I've just donated another $50 to the Obama campaign. So far, I have invested $250 in this campaign.

I hold no illusions that the McCain campaign could somehow pull this out in the last few days. They are throwing up 5 to 10 attacks per day, trying to figure out what will stick. They have some compelling arguments about Barack's past associations, however it's clear that most of these are based on fabrications or weak evidence.

It's clear that 20% of our population are Bush followers, another 20% cannot vote for Barack (for whatever reason), 10% are on the fence (independents), 10% have committed to Barack (as conservatives or indepedents), and 40% are firmly in Barack's camp.

It's the 10% on the fence that we're waiting to see how they'll vote. Bottom line, Obama has to win a small percentage of their vote to win the presidency. We'll see how this plays out. Obviously the election is won state-by-state.

Hitch

2008-10-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

I trust Christopher Hitchens' opinions more than anything. This is a devastating account for John McCain and his pick for VP. Please read.

Early voting in TX

2008-10-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

It should be no secret from my last post or from my Google Reader shared items that I'm supporting the Obama ticket and cast my ballot today in early voting. I actually like both candidates, but cannot respect McCain's judgement after his choice for VP. Mark my words, this will go down in political history as one of the biggest blunders of all time.

By the way, this photo below is not doctored or photoshopped.

Update:

Check out this Youtube:

MC Yogi: Obama '08 - Vote for Hope

2008-10-21T17:23:00.001-07:00

This is a very effective video.

Dad's wedding

2008-09-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I travelled to Huntsville over the Labor Day weekend. My dad got married!!! Here are the photos.

Anniversary

2008-09-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I are coming up on our 1 year anniversary. I somehow wish we'll have 50 more.

Can you walk to the store?

2008-07-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

With the rising prices of gas, I'm hoping that our neighborhoods will become easier to navigate on foot or by bike. This website does an assessment of my neighborhood. Not good, but I think it will get better over the next 5-10 years. It has to, there isn't a sidewalk outside of our gated community.

Strange day

2008-06-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Just found out that our wedding photographer died yesterday of a heart attack. I don't know any other details. It's sad.

Media consumption

2008-05-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

For those that use iTunes, you've seen the bottom line. Ngoc and I combined our music collection a while back, but I hadn't noticed the bottom line until now. 71 days of music?

Hillary Clinton Concedes

2008-05-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Breaking news:

John Edwards just announced his endorsement of Barack.

Earlier today, CNN quoted Senator Clinton saying it would be a "terrible mistake" for her supporters to vote for John McCain over Barack Obama.

Expect an announcement from the Clinton campaign by the end of this week.

Update: Okay, my prediction was wrong. Maybe this was wishful thinking on my part. So the question is: What is she gaining by staying in the race?

April 5, 2008

2008-04-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Does this look like a place where you would prefer to live?

Been busy

2008-04-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

October 19, 2007:

March 29, 2008:

Powerthirst

2008-01-19T06:56:00.001-08:00

Last post for 2007

2007-12-31T07:31:00.000-08:00

This is it! Another year down in the record books. And what a year it was...

Things to be thankful for:

1. Given the name of this blog, of course, getting married to beautiful Ngoc tops the list. We weren't even engaged this time, last year, so it's amazing to see how far our relationship has come. I'm looking forward to the happiness and fulfillment of the year ahead.

2. Ngoc's family, especially her two daughters, Chanel and Jasmin. They're very sweet and it's great to help them where I can. Thankfully they have loving grandparents, uncles and aunts, and cousins nearby. They're very lucky this way.

3. My family. Jordan got a good job at Dow Chemical in Freeport. It's great to be closer to him and his family. Ronnie is doing well, he bought a new car and a new house this year after straightening out his life. Mother and Father are doing fine as well.

4. Good health. The last few months have seen tremendous change for me in this area. My first priority was losing the excess weight I had accumulated. After our honeymoon, at the beginning of October, I weighed in at 238 lbs. This morning I weigh 194 lbs. My goal was to be at ~195 lbs by the end of 2007. My blood pressure is normal. I'm running 4 to 5 miles at a stretch. I'm eating much healthier, practicing portion control and balancing my meals with healthy vegetables and fruits.

5. New home and neighborhood. I moved into my current house back in April and could not be happier. It's just the right size home for our needs and I love the location, despite the long drive to work. I never thought I'd be living in Houston proper, but here I am.

Overall a good year this 2007. I'll post soon on my resolutions and goals for 2008. The list is long...

Eve of Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

So we had a get-together-to-do at our place last night. Guess who the centers of attention were?

It's beginning to look a lot like ...

2007-11-28T19:45:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving and weight

2007-11-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the big day! I'll be spending T-day with Ngoc's family. We purchased a large ham and Ngoc has plans to make a variety of side dishes. So tonight and tomorrow are going to be busy.

On an unrelated note, I am proud to announce my new and improved self. Since we returned from our honeymoon, I have been dedicated to living a healthier lifestyle, and it's starting to pay off. I'm an analytical type and believe you can't improve what you don't measure. Here are a few before-and-after statistics that'll give you a feel for my achievements:

My goal is to maintain my weight between 190 - 200 lbs. Almost there!!!

Weekend update

2007-10-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

Another busy weekend in our lives. A good friend of Ngoc's, who happens to be named Eric, got married on Saturday. Ngoc helped with the flower arrangements and I took photos during the ceremony and reception. The corsage and boutonniere are courtesy of Ngoc.

Wedding photos are up!

2007-10-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Whew! We received 1700 digital photos from our photographer, all taken on the day of our wedding. Ngoc has already sifted through them and had some of the best developed to send with our thank you cards. Here's a sampling on our .Mac website.

You can upload your own photos from our wedding here as well.

Enjoy!

Maui Day Three

2007-09-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

The first few days at Maui have been awesome. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, and did very little reading/research on the island and resort. One of the biggest surprises is how dry the leeward side of the island is, which is where all the resorts are. Outside of the heavily irrigated resorts, the land is dry and the vegetation is brown, not that different from Arizona or Palm Springs.

Anyway, Ngoc and I are having a great time. Yesterday we rented snorkel gear and went out a hundred feet or so from the beach at our resort. There's a coral reef with lots of tropical fish, sea turtles, etc. Last night we traveled to another area of Maui called Wailea for dinner. Today, we're taking the trip to Hana.

Some more photos...

Maui Day one

2007-09-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I are enjoying our first day in Maui. Some photos taken today from my flickr account. Click on link below:

Day one photos

We're Married!!

2007-09-23T04:42:00.000-07:00

Next stop: Maui.

Thanks to everyone that made our day very special.

Love,
Ngoc and Eric

Changes

2007-09-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I are getting married in less than a week. I think I can speak for her in saying that we're both looking forward to the "settling down" part of getting married. Definitely looking forward to the trip to Maui...

Today was another busy day for us. I went over to Ngoc's parent's house for lunch. We had noodle. What is noodle? For those that are white and went to college with a small budget, remember the Ramen noodle in the plastic package (10 for a dollar)? Well, there's an upgraded version of this that tastes a lot better, and then you can add whatever else is available. Eggs, sausage, ham, vegys etc. Delicious!

So that was lunch... Then we dropped off Frodo, our inherited little dog, at Petco to get a haircut. More on him later.

Then we drove to Sugarland to pick up Ngoc's wedding shoes at David's Bridal. I must admit that this is a very scary store for a guy. You walk in and are greeted by 2 ladies in business suits. "How can we help you today?" is their opening. A quick scan around the shop floor tells me that I'm the first man that walked through the doors this week. After seeing the phalanx of expensive wedding gowns, I'm not sure that "help" is the appropriate word.

After picking up the shoes, we headed over to Super Target with coupons in hand. Our house is turning into a bed-and-breakfast later this week, so we had to pick up some essentials. One thing I love about Ngoc is how we managed to walk out with $75 worth of groceries for $60, and on top of that, we scored a $5 gift card which we used at Starbucks. She takes coupon and promotional savings to another level. And now we have a year's supply of toilet paper stored in our utility room.

So we headed home with our cheap groceries, and began work on modifying our home for after marriage. We moved my home office that was in the smaller bedroom to the great room upstairs. Some may not know that I spend 1-2 days a week working at home for Dow. The monitor and laptop on the left is my Dow workstation, and the corner unit is my Mac. Sorta like left and right brain in reverse.

Then we set up Chanel's bedroom furniture in the small bedroom. She has a nice queen size bed with a cushioned headboard. I'll have to take a pic when I get a chance.

Ngoc and I picked up Chanel and Jasmin for dinner at Chili's. Jasmin had a $25 gift cert and reminded us all of last week that she needed to use it on baby back ribs. So we gave in... Suffice to say that I'll be surprised if Chili's is in business 5 years from now. Too salty, too dry, too long wait, too oily, too thick, too loud. These are not adjectives that you want associated with your food or restaurant experience.

About Frodo... We completely forgot about him until Chanel and Jasmin asked before dinner. So we called Petco to find out if he was ready. Apparently they worked on him for 3 hours. If you look at the photo in this post, this is him with short hair. When it grows longer, it turns into a white afro. Very kinky and difficult to untangle. We all have our issues I guess. Fortunately Anthony, Ngoc's brother and Frodo's original owner, was able to pick him up while we enjoyed dinner.

I'll save the story about Anthony with 103 deg fever and tiger balm on his back for another day. Get well dude.

Tomorrow we're moving the king-size bed, armoire, and Tempurpedic mattress upstairs. Quincy and Dam are coming over to help. Steaks will be served for compensation.

Sneak Peek

2007-09-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I have been working on the wedding program tonight. Just a sneak peek for those that care. Click on the text below to enlarge.

Quincy and Stephanie's baby shower

2007-09-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

This was a very special day and I wish I could have captured more photos, but this was all I could get. Ngoc's sister, Stephanie, is expecting a daughter soon after our wedding. See the pictures here.

Hey Jude Remixed

2007-09-02T20:14:00.000-07:00

I'm working on songs for our upcoming wedding. Although I don't expect that we'll play this, I found a way to mix two versions of the song Hey Jude by The Beatles. The first half is a demo version of the song and I mixed in the commercial version just as they go into the Na na na na's. I think it works well. Plus I added a slideshow to it. You can find it on my Mac web gallery here. Look for the Hey Jude Remixed movie.

Enjoy,
Eric

Ahhh, to be in love!

2007-08-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't want to get all schmaltzy here, but this IS a wedding blog...

There's an age-old question that I've heard over the years: How do you know when you're in love?

Is love an emotion? a mental state-of-mind? a decision to be made? or an obligation?

Answering a question with a question doesn't further the debate. So I turn to the scripture that will be read during our wedding ceremony.

First letter of Paul to the Corinthians:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will
cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;
but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child;
when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

So, how do you know when you're in love? This scripture speaks to me in many ways. It's about having the maturity to transform love as an obsession into a willful obligation. It's about realizing the qualities in your partner that make you whole. It's the peace of mind that you feel when nothing else is going right in your life, but you always know there's someone to turn to. It's being there 24/7 for each other. It's being brutally honest about your hopes and fears and your inadequacies. It's the acceptance of these with your partner.

I love Ngoc for these reasons and many more. It's a strong feeling and responsibility that I hold and cherish.

Wedding Book

2007-08-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

We just sent our wedding picture book to be published. Here's the front cover. Our wedding is less than a month away...

Here's a few pages from the book.

Update

2007-08-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we posted, the last few weeks have been busy getting ready for the wedding and celebrating birthdays. Last weekend, we celebrated Chanel's 16th birthday at our house. I was happy to see so many friends and family show up. Here are some photos from the event.

Ngoc is currently working in Dallas for the next few weeks (The pay is great, but I miss my baby.). She's been coming home for the weekends, but both of us can't wait till this is over. She just accepted a position in Houston and will start after the wedding.

Anyway, just wanted to check in. We've been receiving the RSVP's from everyone, and we're getting excited about seeing y'all in September.

Cars...

2007-07-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I are getting ready for our big day in a couple months. Most of you know I've been commuting to Lake Jackson for my work, and I've been using Ngoc's Nissan Altima to try to save money on gas. She's been driving my 2000 Mitsubishi Montero to work and to run errands. Even though that SUV has served us well, it's time to put it out to pasture (sell it) and get something that's more reliable. So I'm in the process of selling it, hoping to get $10K for it. I've listed it on Autotrader.com.

As for my BMW 330i, it's very likely that we'll sell this as well. It's only 2 years old and has less that 50k miles, so I'm hoping to get $30k for it.

So what will we get to replace these? It's anyone's guess at this point, but we've been looking at the Toyota Highlander and Nissan Murano. My top priority is getting something that's reliable, so the Toyota has the edge in this category.

Anyway, check out this photo I created for selling my Montero on-line (click on the photo to enlarge).

Update... I sold my Montero on 8/19 to a family from El Salvador. They're going to use it to travel home... I wish them the best of luck and hope that they arrive safely.

Independence Day

2007-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

My mom is flying into Houston tomorrow to spend the rest of the week with Ngoc and I. This will be a good opportunity for my mother to meet Ngoc's family. We have a special lunch planned for Saturday afternoon where we'll formally discuss our upcoming wedding and intentions. In the Vietnamese tradition, the parents play a central role in the courtship and wedding.

I'm looking forward to our time together.

Here's the restaurant we're going to for our luncheon. I'm hungry already...

Another weekend

2007-07-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another busy weekend... My brother and I went to the Police concert on Friday. On Saturday, Ngoc and I saw the Houston Astros with her daughter and a friend. My mother is coming into town on July 4th to spend the weekend with me. Lots going on right now...

Engagement photo shoot

2007-05-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I spent the morning and early afternoon with our photographer. Here is a preview of the photos...

Less than 4 months and counting

2007-05-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that our wedding is less than 4 months away. We have gone through so much change in the past few months. I moved up to Houston 6 weeks ago. Ngoc started work at a new cancer center this week. Chanel and Jasmin just finished their sophomore and freshman year respectively. We're repainting the house, remodeling the upstairs bathroom, buying mattresses tomorrow, buying furniture this summer, etc... Hey we're doing our part to contribute to the US economy. Life is good.

40

2007-05-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Coincidentally I'll be turning 40 during our honeymoon. I can't think of a better way to start the second half of my life.

Order your cake and eat it too

2007-05-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ngoc and I visited a restaurant called The Colosseum Italian Restaurant and Bakery this evening. Ngoc heard about them after tasting their wedding cake at a friend's wedding a few years ago. So we drove down to Clear Lake to meet with the manager and pick out a cake design. Of course Ngoc already had a design picked out, so it didn't take long to work out the details and put a deposit down. They let us try a couple slices of cake, their Italian Cream and Chocolate Suicide (weird name for a wedding cake). They even offered us a free dinner but we had other plans.

After having dinner at Frenchie's restaurant, we visited the U of H Religion Center near downtown Houston. It's a beautiful building, perfect for a medium-size wedding ceremony. I would have snapped more pics, but there was a wedding rehearsal in session.

Tomorrow we will be getting ready for Sunday's house-warming party. It is likely that we'll have over 30 guests (friends and family). We're boiling crawfish and grilling ribs. Bring your appetites...

Wedding Map

2007-04-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

Wedding plans are progressing nicely. It's hard to believe that we are less than 5 months from the big date.

I've created a Google map which shows the location of the ceremony and reception. While viewing the map, click on the links on the left side to get more information about each venue. If you look closely you will also find the honeymoon location...

My mother's sister-in-law

2007-01-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

It turns out that she may not have multiple myeloma. I hope that's true.

Saturday

2007-01-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

Ngoc and I spent the day together, and it's very clear why I love her so much.

Tonight, we had dinner at Dos Hermanos, (two brothers) a Mexican restaurant in Pearland that is very popular with the locals. Ngoc had tamales and I had the shrimp trio plate. Both very good. This was our second time here and Ngoc really likes the paper-thin tortillas.

Love

2007-01-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

One more interesting item tonight.

If your a Beatles ~~freak~~ fan like me, you may enjoy this interview playing on NPR. Bob Boilen interviews Giles Martin, the son of the famous Beatles producer, George Martin. The subject is the music that he produced for the Las Vegas show aptly named "Love".

I'm looking forward to our next trip to Vegas.

Diamond bought

2007-01-09T22:08:00.000-08:00

Just a few quick notes from today.

My mom called today to inform me that her sister-in-law was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. They are still running tests to determine the stage and extent of the disease. Not good news.

Ngoc came over this evening for dinner and had a chance to talk to my mom about the above news. Most of you know that Ngoc works as a radiation therapist at a cancer center. Thirty minutes later they were still talking as my stomach was grumbling with hunger. I had to cut them off eventually so we could go out to eat.

We drove into Houston and ate dinner at a casual Italian restaurant called Colina's. Ngoc had bought one of those "Metro" books that give you discounts at local businesses, so we had one entree for free. Saving up for the honeymoon...

Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble and I bought the book "What Color is Your Parachute". More on this in the future...

When we returned home, we began going over the loose diamonds Ngoc had found on-line. After some comparisons and research, we decided on a stone and ordered it 'from BlueNile.com. I must admit it is strange and unsettling to buy a diamond on-line. Sort of like the first on-line purchase I made at Amazon.com back in the mid-90's.

Wedding date set

2007-01-08T19:15:00.000-08:00

It's official! Ngoc and I have set our wedding date for September 22, 2007.

I've created this blog to make announcements and chronicle our preparations for our very special day. I'll send you a message when I make updates to this site. Ngoc has access to update this site as well, so you may see a few posts from her.

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic and am looking forward to our life together. Ngoc is the most beautiful lady that I've met in my 39 years on this planet. I've found a lot of people that know Ngoc that agree with me.

Please bookmark this site or subscribe to the RSS feed or wait for my e-mails.

Diamond rings

2007-01-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

Ngoc and I have spent the last couple months shopping for a diamond engagement ring. Yesterday, we bought a setting from a friend of Ngoc's brother. It's a beautiful setting. I'll post a photo when we get a chance.

As for the solitaire diamond, we're probably going to buy it on-line from Bluenile.com or a similar site. We've shopped around Houston and most B&M (bricks and mortar) sites are > $1000 the prices we are seeing on-line. Word to the wise, here's an excellent site for diamond information (Pricescope).