The Speed Of Light

I've been very slack since I got back nearly 2 weeks ago, and I haven't blogged about Manila or Jason and Arleen's wedding.

First of all, here's a photo of me and my newest friend from Macau:

Anyway, the wedding was the main reason we went overseas.
Manila is a wack place. A few things stick out. The pollution. The slums :( and powerlines hanging 5 inches above your head in many places. The way you get metal detected whenever you enter a mall or hotel. Unless you're in a car. Then you get dog sniffed and the mirror under the car treatment. The cops (all of them, it seemed) carry shotguns, but the editorial of the paper underneath mentions that very few cops actually train in marksmanship, because they know that even if it came to a life and death situation, they probably wouldn't have the nerve to shoot. That's how nice the Filipinos are.


I'm not kidding, the Filipinos are extremely nice people. So is Arleen, Jason's wife. She works at the Asian Development Bank, so she got corporate rates on these massive serviced suites. The wedding was all out. But relatively cheap, as are most things in the Philippines. I've been telling people about the cheap full body massage I got at the swankiest place the day before we came back (no happy ending).



I was one of the groomsmen. One of the first things Jason said to me when I got there was 'the bridesmaids want to meet you'. To that end my uncle tried to auction me off at the wedding. There is a video. I almost put it up, but I've decided against it. If you ask nice I might show you sometime.

Anyway, I had a great time, and I think I'll leave it there. I've got more stories, but less motivation to type it all out now.

If you actually want to see the happy couple, the professional photos and video (which was edited and shown AT the reception! Including the first dance!) are linked here:
Video
Photos

There was another big banquet the next night out in some public park. A band played that weren't that good. That didn't stop the singer from looking oh-so-cool:


















PS. MILF stands for Moro Islamic Liberation Front.