rain rain go away

i'm having some serious post-vacation letdown. i guess this always happens when i get back from a vacation but i think it's more pronounced this time for several reasons:
1) this was the longest vacation i've had in awhile, almost a week out in the LA area and then las vegas.
2) my brother just got married last night. paint me green and call me gumby, i can't believe my brother is married now!
3) even though my vacation away is now over, i still have a week before anything of substance starts. usually, i'm right back into school or the hospital after a vacation, but this time, i still have a week left of research elective, which is mostly independent research. which means i have to be self-motivated in order to get anything done. uh oh is right.
4) the weather here is really crappy right now. it's raining a ton, which i normally like. but i've been in sunny and beautiful southern california and right now, the rain doesn't seem so charming.

but alas alack, as much as i hate to admit it, a lot of it is because i'm apart from my man friend again. and after planning this trip for awhile, now it's over and it's just me and scruples again. not that i don't love scruples, but it's a different kind of love, you know.

looking back on this past week, it really was a great vacation. we got to see nate's grandparents out in california, which i think was good for all of us. nate's grammy isn't doing so well but she really seemed to be doing better when she saw nate. and while nate was spending time with her, i spent time with his grandpa jack, who really just needs someone to talk to more. since i haven't heard all of his stories yet, i just served as someone to listen and chat with. again, it reinforced my desire to work with the elderly. it feels so great to be able to spend time with someone and know you can make such a big difference in his/her life just by listening and not interrupting too much and then adding something here and there.

wow, and then my brother got married. the ceremony was simple and short and to the point and while i was initially upset that i wasn't part of the wedding party itself, i think the role that i filled in the end was good for me. i announced the couple and gave them a toast on behalf of my family and i didn't have to wear the bridesmaid dress, which would have looked not at all good on me. plus i got to do all the girly things i never get to do, like wear tons of makeup and get my hair done up with dozens of bobby pins and a gallon of hairspray. which was fun for one evening but is something i'm glad i don't do on a regular basis. when nate first saw me with all the makeup on, his reaction was less than favorable. somewhere between a retch and a squeak. but i felt the same way, it didn't even look like me in the mirror. i looked like some strange hybrid between barf from spaceballs (you know, half man half dog, he's his own best friend) and a character from memoirs of a geisha. not the best look for me.

it was great to see all my family and a lot of them were even dancing at the reception. i've decided that the prototypical chinese dance to american music is the twist. the one universal dance move to every song, no matter the beat, was something like the twist and the driving a schoolbus dance. it was hilarious.

oh and nate got the garter. notice i didn't say caught. my brother threw it into the crowd and everyone ducked out of the way like it was harboring the plague and then it just sat there on the ground. so like the good boy(friend) that he is, nate picked it up and withstood all the jeering that went along with it.

so a good time was had by all, i didn't do any of the vegas activities (i just don't have the heart or the stomach to gamble) but i had a good time with nate, my family and delphine's family. now she and my brother are off for thailand...sounds awesome.