the earth shook

on sunday october 8th, i felt like the earth shook. it was a perfect day filled with the smiles of so many amazing people in my life and in larry's life. the weather could not have been more beautiful. the vows. the chuppah. the speeches. the desserts. the bamboo. the colors. it was a dream day.

HERE are some of the wedding pictures.

thank you to everyone who trekked to rochester to be there. it was the best weekend of my life. the picnic on saturday. the wedding and celebration on sunday. and the morning after brunch on monday.

larry and i ventured to KAUAI on wednesday and stayed in paradise for 9 full days. we rented mopeds and zipped along spiraling mountain roads and put-putted down dirt roads to hidden beaches. we usually had the beaches to oursevles except when a MONK SEAL swam up to play with larry. the waves were a bit too rough for my doggy paddle, so i usually just lounged on the beach.

one day we did a ten mile hike up the na pali coast through a tropical rainforest. it was spectacular. and the waterfall at the end of the hike was breathtaking.

the highlight of the trip was that i finally relaxed. i felt like a new person, in addition to being a married wormen. i can't believe how long it had been since i have relaxed. there has been so much excitement everyday single day since i left for the peace corps in december. i was exhausted but relaxed. these past 10 months have been the time of my life and i embrace them fully, the good, the challenging, and the relaxing. and i have strived to be mindful everyday, living every one to its fullest. i am so happy and wouldn't change anything.

and then the earth really shook. on sunday, october 15th at 7:07 in the morning a 6.7 earthquake hit hawaii. we were rocking and rolling, but kauai was the least affected island. we only lost one tv channel compared to losing electricity, fallen instructure, and canceled flights on the main island.

Chronological? No... Not Alphabetical... Nope... What? Autobiographical.

Invitations are in the mail. PHEW!!! Almost missed the "deadline." So maybe we should get this website up and cooking. It is definitely a work in progress. Please let us know if you have any questions, suggestions, or requested kareoke numbers. It's good. I know.

Best Buy Registry

We are unable to set up a formal registry at Best Buy. Instead we have created a wish list. Below you will find information about how to access the wish list and purchase the gift.

Here is the link.

Choose "SIGN IN" on the top right hand corner.

e-mail address: meagsinbangkok@yahoo.com

Password: messner

This will take you to the main page. Click on "WISH LIST" at the top of the page.

After you select an item and proceed to shopping cart please:
1. Deselect the option to "remember your credit card"
2. Change the billing address to reflect your credit card information and not our shipping address

For the multitude of alternative registry options, please refer to the registry section in the right panel.

YOGA

oh my goodness. i am getting so so so excited. yikes. if anyone needs to relax with me, i will go going to a yoga class on saturday and sunday morning.

a coupon is attached to the packet in your welcome bag for a free class. check this link for a schedule of saturday's classes.

on sunday, we are having a private class from 8:30 to 9:30. it is going to be a real low key class. so if you have never practiced yoga before, now is a great time to start.

here is a map.

the class will be at the MONROE AVE location.

address:
Absolute Yoga and Wellness
The Genesee Center
713 Monroe Ave
Rochester, NY
585.223.4290

i just want to absorb every moment of the next three days. the buddha said, "when we sit, we know we are sitting. when we walk, we know we are walking. when we eat, we know we are eating." i don't want this time to fly by.

Thich Naht Hanh recalls the first practice he learned as a novice monk: to breathe in and out consciously, to touch each breath with mindfulness.

breathing in, i calm my body
breathing out, i smile

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are so many unsung heroes in this world. I learned about a new one last night while watching an amazing documentary, The World Series of Poker, on ESPN.

Mr. Richard Brodie might be known for a little accomplishment of writing the first version of Microsoft Word, but he did something of such greater value and deserves recognition.

It is a pleasure to let you know who deserves the credit for something that saves you everyday. I know you have always wondered "WHO? WHO created the swiggly red line under my misspelled words? WHO'S the genius behind this lifesaving hint?"

Well my friends, Mr. Richard Brodie invented the red swiggle under our hideous misspellers.

I no longer need to worry about switching 'b' and 'd' and will never recite that silly rhyme 'i before e except after c or when sounding like a as in neighbor or weigh' because you will catch me. Thanks Brodie.

RAMAPO or BUST

gosh. i never saw it coming and never would have guessed that the Town of RAMAPO would play such a vital role in my life.




RAM
A
PO


RAM
A
PO



how exciting. this afternoon we are venturing to RAM-A-PO to get our marriage license because the arrogant new york state demands that both people appear in person to apply. rocking. a three hour trip there and then a three hour trip home. awesome. just what we wanted to do today.

but when telling my dad about the upcoming adventure to RAM-A-PO, he casually replied, "yeah, i know of ramapo. we beat them in football."

cool.

i barely got my driver's license in new york. actually, in retrospect, i probably never should have gotten my driver's license in regards to yours and my safety. i only kissed a couple bumpers, shook hands with a few curbs, and slapped hands with a barely a handful of mailboxes.

RAM-A-PO or bust because in 2006 money mag ranked RAM-A-PO as the 49th best place in the united states and the best place in new york state to live.

The big day is approaching!

The other evening I was talking about how excited I was about the big day coming up. I can't believe how quickly it is approaching. Larry also shared in the excitement. "Yeah, Sept 7th can't come soon enough."

Wait a second.

Ummm . . . That is one day and one month earlier than I thought. Ummm . . . I thought we were getting married on Oct 8th.

Well, we are, but the football season kicks off on Sept 7th.

Larry is getting some tips for the upcoming Vikings season from some pigs during the Thai New Year, aka "a week long water and paint battle," hence the rosy cheeks.

A reading in Harper's September issue, "Gendered like Beckham," shed some light on Larry, a crazed, glass-breaking, football fan by explaining that:

Football is atavistic, and it provides a test for anthropology. For several thousand years, manly men have searched for an answer to the question: What do we do with the hunters we don't need anymore? By design, men are built to participate in hunting parties. For a good seven thousand years, though, ever since the beginning of agriculture, we have subjected hunters to a colossal program of sedation.

Hunting for prey has been replaced by playing football to hunt for touchdowns and sacks.

When one paralyzes his inner hunter, then one comes to the inevitable conclusion that there is nothing dumber in the world than the reaction of footballers (after scoring a touchdown or getting a sack.) It is really obscene. A porn star must feel embarrassed, watching these odd, (goal-scoring or quarterback sacking) orgasms, enacted before a public paying good money.

I wonder how many glasses will be broken this year at Buffalo Billiards. Hopefully, the elimination of this dweeber-bop will help.

We are ready for some football.

Mafai and Maprang

We snapped this picture on the side of the road during a day trip to see caves near Meaghan's village. Meaghan's Thai nickname was Maprang, a small yellow fruit. Our Thai friends cleverly nicknamed Larry, Mafai which is quite similar to Maprang. It's so good it should have been mine.

So here is a picture of Mafai holding Mafai and Maprang.