Mindi and I finally got married, then the very next day (way too early in the Morning!), we left for our honeymoon for 7 days. Well, technically 8 days (Aug 15 to Aug 22). We were so tired, but everything was going so good. One thing we both hated was going through all the levels of security at the airport, then again for the cruise. I can understand the need for it, but it took a while to get there.

Day 1

We left Atlanta, Georgia on a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We rode a bus to the Royal Caribbean International Cruise. The name of our cruise ship was “Serenade of the Seas.” We were really happy to finally get on the cruise. Of course, on the first day we had to settle down and follow up with the head waiter about my food situation and interpreters, too.

Food… It was not easy and somewhat limited at the buffet (Windjammer Café). Then at dinner, the food was really good, but again it was kind of limited. Still,we had very good service at dinner (Reflections Dining Room). We talked with Guest Services and they told us that they don’t provide interpreters, only third parties (such as Deaf people who bring friends to interpret for them). We were kind of puzzled because our travel agent had told us that they would provide interpreters for us. We didn’t really complain, but thought it would be real nice to have an interpreter for the shows. Then, of course, Mindi really wanted to get a couples massage appointment for the next day since we would be at sea on the ship all day. However, it turned out that there’s no couple massage unless you booked the special price and it would cost us a fortune. I encouraged her to go ahead without me and she gladly booked a massage for herself.

At night we decided to go to dinner but there was a mandatory guest assembly drill instead, so we had to follow the crowd to the assembly room. We sat down, then we noticed an interpreter, Shannon,who signed to the audience to ask everyone if there’s anyone deaf who needs an interpreter. Mindi and I looked at each other and were confused. We knew it must be,so I tried to get her attention as Mindi walked to them. Turned out there were two interpreters for us, Shannon and Cay who are real awesome! Guest Services didn’t clearly understand about the interpreter situation. Everything worked out in the end.

We finally went to dinner and then saw the show, “Welcome Aboard Showtime,” starring the comedy of Jimmy Carroll. We really enjoyed Jimmy and Dennis Charles who was our cruise director. After that we just explored around the cruise ship. Honestly I can’t remember that much, but not a lot was going on the first day of the cruise.

Day 2

We were on the cruise ship all day, so Mindi went to the spa to enjoy her massage. She was VERY happy, but then she got caught off guard when she had to pay more for a product that she didn’t want. I think they were clever because they massage and make tourists happy, then they give them the products they used during the massage and don’t mention that it had to be purchased at check out. It’s part of marketing, but sounds like forced marketing to me.

We went out to relax by the swimming pool and watched the Men’s Belly Flop contest. The sun wasn’t shining much and there was a little bit of rain from time to time, so we went to a different swimming pool, which was covered and designed for adults only. I think we just slept there. It was beautiful and meditative and very zen like. Anyway that night was the formal night so we dressed up and personally I think it was the best we wore all week even though there was a second formal night.

We went to dinner, then to the Honeymooners’ Reception at the Vortex Night Club where they played games to see how well the newlyweds knew each other. They would ask questions like “who is the best driver” and of course, that was me. Then, they’d ask questions like “who planned the wedding” and Mindi won that one. There were 34 newlywed couples on the ship. Then they played a song and we all had a “first dance” with our wives. We enjoyed our time there. After that, we went to see a show, “Headliner Showtime: Man of 1,000 Voices” Paul Boland. I think we really enjoyed most of the show, but we thought it was the most funny near the end of show.

See for more pictures at flickr, go to Honeymoon Day 1 and Honeymoon Day 2.

There are a lot of pictures that friends and I took from Aug 12 and 13 and they look great! I would love to post some pictures here, but I haven’t rounded them all up from friends yet, so I decided to hold off on those and the wedding day pictures until I get them all together. I’m planning to create a book that combines mine (not a lot), friends, and Kelly’s (who was our professional photographer for the Wedding day. She did engagement session for us, too). We saw Kelly’s preview from our wedding day, it looks absolutely gorgeous and we’re looking forward to seeing more soon. Well, anyway it will take some time to get all the pictures together from pre-wedding and wedding day. I promise I will post some of the pictures later.

Mindi and I were very happy to spend some time with our true friends and we had a great time together! You know, my friends and I wish we could spend more time together, but it’s just never enough. Well, I told them maybe we can go on vacation together to Las Vegas sometime next year. Or a different place for that matter.

You know there are always a few small flaws in the details on pre-wedding and wedding day. There was a parking issue at our rehearsal place (LeBam) that affected everyone and caused us to lose some time. Then there was a problem with food because catering was late for the rehearsal dinner. Oh boyie. But things just worked out. Then, there was a projector issue on the wedding day. The new Macbook from Mindi’s Grandfather’s, didn’t have DVI port, but mini DVI, which the projector didn’t have. Wish I could have used my Macbook Pro, but afraid if something happens to it. We can’t really afford to buy a new one until I get a new job or make money. I was worried about the weather situation too on the wedding day. It was a little bit crowded because we had to squeeze everyone under the tent and it was a little bit tight, but in the end it was beautiful. Rain just stopped after the ceremony was over. I’m not sure, but we think there was a problem with not having enough food on the wedding day. We still had a ball of a time. The cake was gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and corn-free. It was soo delicious! A lot of people loved it and the cake was actually all gone in the end! Like I said, there are always small flaws in details or not exactly how we wanted everything to turn out, but overall we overcame it.

That place, LeBam is awesome. Some of you saw LeBam, you understand why we had to be real limited about invitations. Some of you haven’t seen it but you will see on pictures soon. Surprised, some people didn’t show up at all. Wish we would have known and then we could have invited a little bit more people. Sure there’s always a different place but the thing is that place really fit our creativity, art, and theme. It was just the right place at the right time. You know someday if Mindi and I decide to renew our vows, we more likely will end up at a paradise island like in the Caribbean or Hawaii

We also really appreciate Rev Dawn who worked with us and helped us to tie the knot. I think she just made everything about the wedding look and feel good. Why should we get man when we can get woman who understood us so well? It just make everything look a lot more beautiful and her personality great that fit us.

Oh yea we have to really thank Kelly, the photographer, who was real patient even when challenged with the weather situation. And maybe because some of us are actually deaf, but that didn’t really affect her. Maybe time is everything. We really appreciate her a lot and look forward to seeing the pictures soon!

What mattered the most to us was: being with family and friends, making a lot of memories and pictures, sharing food and cake, and getting married. We really thank our family and friends for coming to our wedding day. It was a real honor to have you there to share this special moment with us.

I was building a foundation for the shed and I was real concerned cuz it seemed Home Depot didn’t give enough advice or not good advice to our neighbor. I figured it out and did my best,then I built a floor frame for the shed. Then the more I looked at the foundation the more I realized I had to make changes,but it took a lot of work to adjust the foundation cuz the floor was already done. Kind of hard to explain but at least i got it done.

When I finished building all the walls I should have waited for my soon to be wife to come home and help me to set the walls up. Of course I didn’t have the patience cuz of time so I did get the walls up but then suddenly it was going over so I tried to hold it as much as i could and tried to move it back… The wall frame already had siding on it so i couldn’t grab the frame on the other side… Well I succeeded to get up the walls no problem.. Probably really dumb to do on my own but mission accomplished. LOL Well I just don’t like the shed kit instructions and I would rather have built the frame without the siding but then I can understand the concept of what the instructions said, it was to help the angle of each corner on the wall to be a 90 degree angle… Well I will ask my dad when I plan to build our own shed from scratch in the future.

Something bothered me abt the floor, the OSB wood on the floor seemed weak while the floor at Home Depot’s demo was pretty strong.I went to Home Depot to buy something then I thought I would check that shed demo again. When I did, my suspicions were right that someone had used three layers of OSB wood together to make it stronger. I think it’s really ridiculous. So I explained to Pat about the floor issue and asked her if she would rather have the floor be more stable. I suggested getting plywood abt 3/4 thick. Pat wanted it so that’s what I did.

I got the 4×8 OSB wood up on the roof on my own… Well what I did was to nail on two roof frames to hold so I could put the OSB wood up and stay.Then I got it adjusted before nailing the OSB wood down on the roof frame. After that everything went well as I added plywood on the floor which is now real stable.

Oh yea I painted it too. I didn’t earn that much money but I gained a lot of experience and a better understanding of the concept of building stuff before I try building from scratch.. it was real worth it for me. Yea, just like the motorcycle thing. It’s better to buy a motorcycle and customize it to gain more experience before you build one from scratch. Of course that’s what my dad wanted me to do,buy a motorcycle first before… I was really really really worn out in the beginning of this project and drank a lot of water (well always cuz of hot and humid day) but over the time I got more used to it. Mostly I worked in the morning and evening.

Well it’s not done cuz Pat would love to add lattice on the bottom of the shed which I will do after I get back from honeymoon.

But, recently, my mom or dad said that I have accomplished a lot the last few years since my illness (about four years ago) and I’m getting married so they’re really happy about how I’ve made it through everything. So it did make me realize they’re right.

It seems in the last few months, I haven’t done photography that much, haven’t really ridden my motorcycle a lot, and no vacation. Well I have no job yet but I’m really working hard to learn and develop iPhone app, it’s really difficult to balance my different commitments while doing this… But I really like working on it and I already have like four or five project ideas so far. I hope to finish my first app (basic) before the end of this August.

I have a feeling of déjà vu this summer cuz last summer I worked a lot, no vacation, not so much riding motorcycle, and I attended a wedding last August (this summer the wedding will be mine and Mindi’s).

So what will I hope to see happen when I’m turning 35? I’m definitely getting married in a few weeks and will go on a honeymoon (South Caribbean Sea) so it will be real exciting and probably make a lot of memories… I think we will make up for a lot of time we lost the last few months when we have just been too busy ,couldn’t take a real vacation and I have no job, ya know? Hope iOS Development will hit off or I will land a decent job. Maybe both. And if I get some income coming, I’ll be able to resume working on motorcycle projects. Maybe we will have a kid too but only if I get some income! Well like my dad said in an email the other day in relation to the iOS development I dived into, “you have a good positive outlook and that’s what it takes.” But that applies to everything for me.

Well all I hope now is that everything will get better real soon.

A solid challenge will bring forth your finest abilities.

Road Blocked for Funeral: Police Cars.

Mikey, Steve, and Jim: Waiting for Road to Unblock Again.

We arrived in Helen, GA. That place, almost all the houses and buildings are in the style like German, Bavarian. They have a small creek where people can go rafting and it was real neat and pretty fun to hang out there. We checked some stores. I noticed there was nothing gluten-free I could eat there… So we decided to leave and on the way home we stopped to see the Nacoochee Indian Mound near Helen, GA.

Nacoochee Indian Mound: Blue Sky and Cows.

Nacoochee Indian Mound: Blue Sky and Cows 2.

Parking at Downtown in Maysville, GA.

It was a good ride with Jim and Steve but it was kind of a hot day, not too bad. But it’s always about the ride. I wanted to bring my DSLR camera but I didn’t want to carry a backpack on such a hot day so I brought my compact camera instead. I really look forward to modifying my bike again, into a bagger style but I have to wait. I rode abt 184 miles. Oh yea I ordered the book, “Let’s Ride: Sonny Barger’s Guide to Motorcycling.” I believe that book will be worth reading.

Just a few things have happened since May, like Mindi and I finally built a garden in the backyard but not quite sure if it will be successful since it only has a few vegetable plants growing. Mia grew up and she can be a pain in the butt but too adorable. Mia ate some bugs and even tried to chase a wasp. Recently she ate a live Great Black Wasp. Oh boyie. Oh yea Mia loves swimming pool which is real good.

I had an interview for a job last week and another yesterday. I hope to hear something this week. One job is kind of a lot less salary than what I made in the past but I know it’s the kind of job I would love to work at. I guess wait and see. I just really have a desire to learn iPhone development so I really hope I’ll be able to pull it off. I mean it’s not easy cuz I think iPhone development thing might take a while to learn and will take time. So means I need a job real soon to provide stability and security around our home and don’t want to delay dreams. It’s kind of tough to see how things might unfold.

Oh yea, I finally committed to practicing pinstripes but in the last few days I couldn’t cuz I had to finish wedding stuff with Mindi. So I should be back on track again next week. Well it’s about two months till we get married and honeymoon. Definitely need that honeymoon since it’s already paid for and it will be really nice that we finally will be able to really travel and vacation since umm over a year ago to Las Vegas and Savannah with Mindi… Gee that was too long ago.

I can’t believe that I’m willing to sell some of my video games, mostly they’re almost brand new and one I haven’t even used but at this point in my life, I feel why keep it if I don’t play it and I just don’t have time at all… I mean I do love playing video games very much, you know the stories, series… But there are more important ways to use my time than playing video games… Like pinstripes, building and painting motorcycle, learning iPhone, travel, and much more… It’s like there are so many bigger things out there than playing video games. So I just did a trade-in with amazon.com. It was a very good price so I had to grab the chance before the value of video games goes down. I used that money toward some books (iPhone Development and Objective-C) and jigsaw I ordered which I should get next week. Reason I need to learn Objective-C is to understand better about iPhone Development. Oh well I know one day when I have some kids, I will be able to play video games with them. But again, I will make the kids go out and enjoy.

Mikey: Just Enjoying the Unemployment Lifestyle.

So as you see, it’s kind of hard for me to keep a commitment to so many things and still keep a balance with my life.

Doing what you love is freedom.
Loving what you do is happiness.

Woke up maybe 7:30am and had to get ready to pack and ride to breakfast near Lake Lure, NC at 8am. I wish I had taken some pictures of Lake Lure but I didn’t. So we went to eat breakfast, which I don’t eat cuz I can’t eat gluten and corn food at all. Well I drank some OJ and ate a banana that was left in Mindi’s car. Made me wonder how I’ll be able to deal with food when I’m on a road trip. I mean before, like last year and two years ago I only focused on a gluten-free diet, not corn. I didn’t have a problem with it but I became more sensitive to corn as time went by. So now I really haven’t been able to eat corn since last fall when I got real sick again. However I’ve been skin tested for a corn allergy and it was negative but same thing with wheat allergy. So is it just something that corn (intolerance?) has in common with gluten intolerance I have? Anyway, it’s just something that has become more challenging for me in my life like socially and on road trips. Remember, I’m also deaf.

We went back to Hickory Nut Gorge State Park but this time, we were hiking through Hickory Nut Falls Trail to see waterfall. It took about maybe 30 minutes to get there. Just beautiful and harmony. It was good day to start hiking in the morning.

So we hit the road, passed through Lake Lure, NC to Hwy 9 south then Rt 11 in South Carolina. We stopped for gas but that place only had 87 leaded, they ran out of 89 and 93. We were not going to fill up gas. I noticed a lot of bikers around there. Again I wish I had taken pictures there. Sigh. We rode on Geer Hwy (Rt 11) and Katrina found a small waterfall right by the road where we stopped. The Scroggs women decided to buy boiled peanuts from a trailer that was selling it.

Mindi’s Thinking: Mikey! Not when I’m eating!

We rode again for a few more miles to enter Caesars Head State Park and to reach the top of the mountains so we could eat a picnic there. Interesting that they don’t have drinking water and trash cans at all due to bears issue. Beautiful scenic view at Caesars Head State Park.

Supposed to Look like Caesars Head.

It was pretty windy, in fact it was a strongly windy day as we left Caesars Head State Park. We found a gas station and filled our gas tanks up. Since it was windy and I think Katrina goes a little bit fast I decided to put my rolled up leather jacket on my headlight as it’s in front of my handle bar and that would help me get less wind which beats up my face. It helped some. We rode from Rt 11, Hwy 183, Hwy 123. Then we entered GA on Hwy 184, and stopped at a gas station for coffee since they felt a little bit tired.

Bikes at Gas Station: Last Break Before Going Home.

We rode again and reached Hwy 51, Hwy 98 to Maysville where we arrived at Jim and Katrina’s home. But Mindi and I ain’t home yet. When we were ready to leave for our home, I decided not to wait for Mindi, I just blazed away! But Mindi caught up due to some traffic light stops. Well we got home and Mia was so happy to see us and we really missed her! I rode abt 483 miles in two days. I just realized that I didn’t even think about the money situation, cuz when you ride, you don’t really think so much about it. Well I just know everything will be all right. It was a really nice trip! You can go to my flickr photoset, “Road Trip: May 7-8, 2010,“ which is in chronological order.

Jim screamed for Help! All Eva did is click, click, click on her camera.

Jim said, “Ok Eva, is that important to take a picture, instead of helping me???” Of course it’s not real anyway but just fun for thought.