Big fat Punjabi wedding day 2

First a note of clarification, while this was my second day of involvement in the wedding, it had been going on for several days before I got invited to play along, but I got to see some of the most important stuff. For day two for me we were attending the reception at the San Francisco design center. We arrived at 6:30, the designated start time to be wowed by the size and setup of the venue. We could choose any table among the second, third or fourth floor, and chose something right in front of the stage on the third floor. We were eventually joined by a nice couple who travel a lot because they are self described "UNESCO Junkies", and a few more of W's co workers. UNESCO tourism does give me some ideas about trip itinerary planning for the future, but that will come later. What would have been sufficient food for dinner turned to be just the appetizer, and dinner was finally open for business sometime after 9:00 p.m. There was traditional dancing, and a DJ spinning a mix of Hip hop, a tribute to Michael Jackson, and traditional Punjabi music. The music was loud, and the dance floor was rocking with people fueled up on delicious Indian cuisine, and free flowing alcohol. In addition to the robust sound system, up to three drummers were adding to the beat. I might not ever get the sounds of those drums out of my head, but they made it impossible to sit still in your chair. As with almost anything in life, if one person is doing something, there are surely hundreds of others out there on the internet uploading videos of themselves doing the same thing. A quick google search finds me this video of someone playing a Bhangra Dhol over a hip hop hit, turning a song I don't like very much into something I can't stop listening to. We didn't leave until after midnight, and could have stayed much longer had both W and I not had to work on Sunday. The food was awesome, the dancing was fun to watch, and even more fun to participate in, and I recommend you go out and find yourself some cardamom flavored ice cream, it is delicious. Just in case your curious I've only been to 11 of the 145 UNESCO sites, I guess that means I've got some work to do.

My 2 days as an honorary Punjabi

Last weekend was dedicated to exploring the bay area, and this weekend we spent time diving into the unique mix of cultures you can find here. W. has a co- worker who's daughter was getting married, and we were lucky enough to get invited. Part of her adventure last week was going to pick up some appropriate gear to wear for a Friday morning ceremony, and a Saturday reception. So with W. in her new red Salwar Kameez, and me in a suit with matching red tie, off we went to the Gudwara Sahib, Fremont, not knowing exactly what to expect. We were told to arrive early because we needed to be there in time to see the groom come in on a white horse, so when we pulled up nice and early, and I immediatley got put in a bright pink head scarf, and and a pink corsage. In a Sikh place of worship, you remove your shoes, and cover your head, and since I was part of the brides party, the pink accessories were compulsory, but I was certainly not alone in my pink gear, and I'm the kind of guy who's more than willing to do as. We were lead to food almost immediately, there were huge trays of samosas, and chick peas, and a few other Indian snacky foods. Finally when the party seemed to be growing quite large, you could hear drumming and singing in the distance. The groom and his half of the party numbering another couple hundred strong slowly made their way to the Gudwar. There was a ceremonial exchange of gifts between the families that took place on the front steps, and then all of the grooms family were invited in for snacks too. We helped ourselves to another round of snacks and then took our floor seats inside. Fortunately some more of W's co-workers arrived so I had a guy to sit with since men and women sit on separate sides inside. The ceremony was loooooong, and includes 4 laps around the main altar for the bride and groom. Making it seem even longer was that every word sung or spoken was in Punjabi, so I sat there dumstruck looking at all the colors and pageantry. The carpet inside is well padded, but any time over 30 minutes on the floor is a long time. The final part of the ceremony is the passing out of a customary sweet, Karah Prashad, that is mixed and distributed by hand, and was strange but tasty. After the ceremony a full, but vegetarian lunch was served, and we hung out for a while afterward, but eventually left right around the time the bride and groom were to take off. The full description of what happens in a Sikh wedding is here.

Pennsylvania Hills

Pennsylvania Hills
Originally uploaded by jrherron.

I've been meaning to post for 3 weeks straight, so we definitely have some catching up to do here. Things were a little slow at the office, and we knew the madness of a quarter close and a financial forecast so a group of us went to San Francisco to eat at House of Prime Rib. It was fabulously good food in a really great atmosphere. I can't afford to eat there everyday, but next time I have some money burning a hole in my pocket or need to celebrate something it will definitely be at the top of my list. Last weekend was my good friend Adam's wedding. I met Adam while at USF, and we spent a lot of late nights working on group projects, and even more later nights at Applebees and the Copper Top in Temple Terrace. It was a fun wedding and required a cross country trip to Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. Last Thursday I worked until 9:00 p.m., went home to finish packing and slept for a couple of ours before leaving for the airport at 4:00 a.m. We flew first class, where the featured coctail for the flight was bellinis. After 4 of them and a tasty quiche for breakfast I slept for the rest of the flight. From JFK we rented a Pontiac G6 that we really enjoyed that included the Hertz Neverlost system. It came in real handy since we had to move through 3 states in a short amount of time. We found a nice little restaurant called Haystacks that served addiction forming potato pancakes. Adam + Heather's wedding was a very nice little catholic ceremony and the reception was at the golf club pictured here. After the reception they had rented out the hotel bar so we huddled around a tv to watch the 4th quarter of the Auburn/Florida Game. Adam's a UF grad, and a lot of his fraternity brothers were there. They made the saddest little faces as both of Wes Byrum's kicks went through the uprights to win the game. We couldn't get on any flights offered by W's employer, but fortunately for us she gets a discount on Jetblue also, and there coach seats are nice and roomy and offer your own direct tv screen in every seat. I watched the simpsons and Family Guy, and then watched the sunday night football game. It wasn't first class, but it could have been a lot worse