Haeran's Birthday: Pictures Tell the Story II

Haeran sports a new crown and presents the camera with a birthday cake at a Palm Desert casino buffet.

Ryan sports a look lifted from Ellen DeGeneres and presents the camera with a threat of bodily harm if it doesn't move along.

Paigie takes a little nap. She's overwhelmed by the joyous wonder of Haeran's birthday.

Obviously, Eric likes tossed salad at his buffet.

Curtiz isn't a fan of picture-taking, either. He much prefers to enjoy his Korean meat in peace. (No, we're not talking about Haeran).

Haeran's Birthday: Pictures Tell the Story

Haeran is the birthday girl. How can you tell? "Heavy is the head that wears the crown." And the breasts that sport the Hello Kitty stickers.

Much fun was had at the bowling alley. Look how giddy Christine looks to be cupping that ball. This is not the first time Christine has cupped a ball.

Haeran got totally wasted. You can tell by how she's hanging onto her co-workers, Elaine, Mary and Van, for dear life. They are smiling, thinking about how they can't wait to tell everyone at work what a drunk she is.

Haeran has moved on to karoake. Which means alcohol-levels are at a critical high.

Haeran struck a model-on-heroin pose for her pic with coworker Jesse. Jesse is pro-African American, as evidenced by the "All Blacks" motto on his shirt. Perhaps that's what drew in the anonymous black man in the pic above.

Goofy's Kitchen

Dora the ExploraChola

I hate this song, but I love the vid. This is for you, Ellen!

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

My Top 10 Favorite Vacations (in chronological order)...

1. East Coast, U.S.... August 1993
Growing up, my dad's side of the family always went on vacations together (most of the 8 families would attend). The last one I remember is a trip back east to Vermont, Washington D.C., Canada, etc. From what I can recall, we rode a dinner train, stayed at a haunted cabin and watched lightning storms. I remember having a blast with my sister and my cousins Tracy, Erin and Lindsay.

2. New York, NY... December 1999
Billie, Ellen, Haeran, Jack, Paigie and I celebrated New Year's Eve 2000 in Times Square. Some parts sucked (I got food poisoning the night before we flew out and we waited 19 hours out in the cold before midnight). But we got a great deal on the flight and the apartment we rented (even though we heard rats and I think there was a gas leak). I saw snow fall for the first time and we ate at a fun Italian family-style restaurant. La Mela, I think.

3. Miami, Florida... November 2001
Haeran, Jack, Paigie and I went to Miami, South Beach and Key West in Florida. It was a really relaxing vacation but tons of fun. I snorkled for the first time... The water was so clear and pretty there. We had key lime pie... Went to the southern most point of the U.S. I also went to my first ever gay event. Scary and thrilling at the same time. It was for a white party, of all things.

4. San Francisco, CA... July 2002
I love San Francisco, but this was one of my favorite trips there. Billie, Ellen, Haeran and I met up with Eric and Paigie. I can't remember why we went... but we sat in the miserable cold of the bay for July 4th. Everything else was great though. Went to wineries in Napa Valley, walked around Berkeley, etc.

5. Tokyo/Shanghai/Seoul... November 2002
I stayed with Jack in Toyko, we met up with Ellen in Shanghai and then I stayed with Ellen in Seoul (or close it anyway). Even though it was cold and I wandered around by myself a lot, I loved all three places. It was cool being somewhere that was so different to the U.S.

6. Oahu, Hawaii... September 2003
Billie, Haeran, Ellen and I went to Hawaii... It was, like, a perfect vacation. Lots of great memories (Mos burgers, shaved ice, scuba diving, seasickness, a luau, randomly running into my aunts and uncles, lava flows)


7. Las Vegas, NV... June 2004
A whole army of us went to Vegas, where we celebrated Christine's bday. Of course, it was hot as hell, but it was fun going with a bunch of people. We stayed at Tuscany suites, which is my favorite place. Some of us went to Ice, where we had a fantastic, uh, ecstasy-filled time... Oh, and we rode in a limo down the strip.

8. Cancun, Mexico... July 2005
Ellen, Haeran, Paigie y yo vamos a Mexico. It was muggy, we got eaten alive by mosquitos, nearly got washed away in a flood, missed our connecting flight and witnessed a beating on a bus, but it was actually a pretty great trip. Coco-Bongo is one of my all-time favorite clubs and the resort was a lot of fun. I really liked our room... And the "shows" were fun... and there were lots of scandalous stuff involving boys...
9. San Francisco, CA... November 2005
Billie, Ellen, Haeran and I went up for Paigie's birthday. It's always fun. This time we went to the opening of the first H&Ms on the West Coast, went to some oyster place and then the girls all took advantage of a liquored up Eric.

10. Catalina, CA... June 2007
See previous blog entry.

I wanted to fit a San Diego trip in there somewhere, but oh well. I also enjoyed my solo trip to New York in 2005. Am I missing any other good ones?