Wed, 30th Jul '08, 12:15 am::
Our Yellowstone Wedding/Honeymoon is almost over. We leave for Florida on July 31st and have only one day of sightseeing left. I know I will miss the gorgeous weather and amazing landscapes of Yellowstone. Here are some of my favorite Yellowstone scenery photos. If you missed it, here are the pics from the ceremony, the preparation for the wedding, and some shots of Juliet and I in our wedding attire at gorgeous settings all over Yellowstone.
Mon, 28th Jul '08, 11:15 am::
Juliet and I got married yesterday! Here's the pics from the ceremony and the preparation for the wedding. Arthur and I hand-picked the flowers for the wedding bouquet from the wild. Juliet and I then cleaned them up and made a pretty bouquet. Here are the pics of Juliet and I in our wedding attire at gorgeous settings all over Yellowstone.
Now we are off to grab some food and then visit the park again. I have a lot more pics of the park that I will upload later.
Sun, 27th Jul '08, 12:05 am::
Juliet and I are in Yellowstone finally. Our flight to Salt Lake City from Tampa was delayed by five hours. That ruined our plans to come early to Yellowstone to scope out a good location for our second wedding ceremony tomorrow. My buddy Arthur from Jersey is the best man for the occasion and joined us on the rushed hunt for pretty waterfalls this evening around west and north Yellowstone. The location we liked the best so far has the Undine Falls as the backdrop.
Before we drove up to Yellowstone, we stopped by Island Park where my dad's aunt, Nani Masi, was vacationing with some relatives. She cooked us yummy Pav Bhaji and packed tons of snacks for us for the next week. I miss home-cooked Indian food - it's way better than the stuff you get at restaurants.
We have tons of plans for tomorrow including sightseeing early in the morning, wedding in the later part of the day, and then tons of photo-shoots around the Yellowstone Park. I'm off to rest and recuperate now. Haven't had much sleep in days.
Single no more (officially)Wed, 23rd Jul '08, 11:55 pm::
We are officially married! Here's pics of Mr. and Mrs. Chirag Mehta and the ceremony. It's late but we have to start calling everyone now and share the good news. Thanks to Tay's stepmom Lottie for organizing the sweet-little ceremony, dinner, and signing the marriage license as the official notary. And my friend Sandra and Lottie's friend Loretta for being the witnesses. I REALLY wish my entire family could be here. It's ok though because we will go to India and have another sweet little wedding/reception there. That would be the third wedding. Our second wedding is this Sunday in Yellowstone. What can I say... I'm Indian - weddings are a big deal to us. Instead of a three-day wedding, we're just planning on getting married three times. Maybe we'll go to Jersey in December and get married there too. Haha, just kidding!
These were my vows to Juliet:
Juliet, you gave up everything you had, just to be with me. You showed me what sacrifice, honesty, and love truly mean. Because of you, I dare to dream of a life full of love, trust, and meals that don't taste like burnt super-glue. We've broken every rule of dating, moving-in, engagement, meeting-the-parents, and now, of getting married. You taught me that together, we can make our own path and do the right thing even when the odds are stacked against us. From this day on, I promise to be the best friend you seek, the stable rock you want, and the true love you deserve.
Wed, 23rd Jul '08, 12:45 pm::
It's not easy writing wedding vows. The tears keep getting in the way.
Wed, 23rd Jul '08, 8:45 am::
I can't wait till 6pm tonight :)
Sun, 13th Jul '08, 11:40 am::
This weekend's been pretty busy. Yesterday Juliet and I took her little puppy Jack to the dog beach at Fort DeSoto. The cutest part was watching Jack do doggie-paddles. Even when I held him high above the water and not an inch of him was in the ocean, he would paddle his paws in the air as if he was swimming. We got home to find my kitty Tera acting quite sick :( Took her to pet hospital and seems like she has a urinary tract infection. Still waiting on the test results.
We went to the annual Fark Party at Howard Johnson in Tampa around 9pm and chilled there for a few hours. Next we went to Gameworks in Ybor City, Tampa and played Skee ball. I kicked ass as usual :) We got home pretty late, checked up on Tera, and went to bed.
Not much planned for today. Juliet's out getting groceries. Will rest and get some chores done. I hope Tera starts to feel better soon.
Sat, 12th Jul '08, 10:35 am::
Juliet and I went to see Hellboy II last night - it rocked! I had weird dreams all night. We're off to the beach now :)
No drama, no cryFri, 11th Jul '08, 7:30 am::
Drama is wonderful on the stage and screen. It is destructive in personal life. On stage, drama is an emotional, expressive story played out by characters stuck in unfortunate situations. In real life, it is a back-stabbing, nagging, he-said-she-said tale that holds back everyone involved from enjoying their lives. I used to crave drama in my personal life. Not a day went by when I didn't suspect a "friend" talking behind my back about me. I would be passive-aggressive for months and finally confront them when I couldn't hold it in anymore. How could they have said that about me or done that to me despite everything I did for them all these years? They would fight back with some harsh words and I would retaliate with "No, that was NOT what I meant when I said..." Seven phone calls involving four people, five nasty emails and replies forwarded to six others, and numerous text messages later, I realized the friendship was over. The signs had been there all along, I just couldn't accept it. It took me years to learn that the sooner you accept it and move on, the easier it is.
When you gain "the ability to let that which does not matter truly slide," you no longer have petty drama in your life. We don't like to admit that we create the drama that burdens our lives. It's easier to simply claim bad things happen to me or "drama is attracted to me." No, it's not. You can learn to ignore it and get back to your life. It wasn't until I made some really, really good friends that I understood how drama had impacted my past friendships and relationships. I would let others affect me - I allowed people who mattered not an ounce to me, to completely ruin my day, week, month by something as trifling as a snide remark. It wasn't them who were the source of my troubles, it was my penchant for taking things personally.
Now it's pretty much second-nature for me to ignore pettiness, meanness, shallowness, and other such negativity from people who aren't near and dear to me. If someone wants to impart wisdom and friendliness, I welcome it with open mind and open arms. Otherwise, I just smile and say "Good day, Sir." There are too many wonderful things in life I still have to experience and have no time for pettiness. So how do I avoid drama when it's staring me right in the face? I smile (albeit uncomfortably), maintain my composure, and politely end the conversation. In my head, it's all over already and quite painlessly if you think about it. No yelling, no breaking stuff, no vengeful acts. It's like looking at a crazy monkey in a cage at zoo and just walking past it instead of standing there for hours trying to imitate it.
Years ago I was told, "Never fight with a pig; you both get dirty and the pig likes it." It took me a long time to see the brilliance in those words and even longer to actually live up to them. Now that I do, life's much easier and stress-free. Drama belongs on the stage, not in my life.
Thu, 3rd Jul '08, 8:10 pm::
Day before yesterday Juliet and I went to the court and got our marriage license. We have 60 days to get married somewhere in Florida though our planned date is around the last week of July. Immediately after getting the license, we celebrated by going to Florida Blood Services to donate blood. I donated my 8th pint of blood (making me a Gallon Donor) and signed both of us up for platelet donations in two weeks.
Her trip to UK to meet my parents was as good as it could have been. They loved her and she loved them :) Here are the pictures of Juliet in London with my parents. This is my favorite pic of my bride-to-be :)
