What a weekend! Congratulations to my cousin who has finally made it through college! It's such a relief to see my friends and family slowly getting their lives settled. I'm so happy for her.
After her graduation (which was thankfully very short and painless), we all headed to this Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant for the celebratory dinner. When my cousin made the reservation, she was told that there would be another event going on at the same time but that they would probably be on their way out as we were making our way in. I was the first one at the restaurant, and when I walked in, it was as if the music stopped and everyone in the restaurant turned around to look at me.
I paused and before I could say anything, a tiny Asian lady came up to me holding a few menus and fingers and asked, "Table for 4? 5?" I shook my head and said, "No, more like table for 50?" Her eyes lit up in acknowledgement and said, "Ohhh oh yes. Table in back. Go to back to table."
I turn the corner and lo and behold! The place was packed with Asian people in suits and nice dresses. I was thinking, "Wow, this is some event for such a small venue." But I didn't really think too much of it because the food is really good there, so it didn't seem like such a surprise. And then, I realized what was going on. The restaurant double booked us. Our graduation party just turned into a wedding crasher party. Standing in the middle of the restaurant was a shocked-looking bride and her nervous husband.
The awkwardness I already felt walking into the restaurant was immediately quadrupled when I saw her glaring at me wondering, "Who the hell is this girl walking through my party?" I kept my eyes on the floor and walked back to where the 5 tables of 10 were reserved for us. When I got there, only 3 of the 5 were open. The other two were occupied with people still eating their meals. "Uh oh," I thought, "This can't be good."
I grabbed the first worker I saw and demanded, "Do we have enough tables? The rest of my family is going to be here in 5 minutes, and we only have 30 spaces open."
"No problem no problem," the lady said, "They almost done. We clean for you." She smiled assuringly to me and hurriedly made her way to the kitchen calling out something in Vietnamese. She came back with someone else with to-go boxes and checks for the tables. As soon as the people left, the tables were bussed, and the plates were quickly set.
In addition to the chaos, my family started arriving, and with looks of confusion on their faces, they hesitantly made their way through the restaurant as I motioned for them to come towards the back. I saw my aunts bowing down and apologizing to random upset people as they zigzagged their way through tables. Midway through their journey, a group of men wearing black slacks and royal blue buttoned-down shirts jumped onto a stage and starting rocking out some Vietnamese folk music. It startled and confused me and my friends who were sitting conveniently right next to the speakers.
As everyone started to settle into their seats, the food started to come out pretty quickly. We had pre-ordered the 8-meal course, so the wait was not long at all. I allowed myself to relax a little and get comfortable when I noticed there were a few other tables close to us that didn't look like they were part of the wedding reception. One table had balloons strung to the back of their chairs, and the other tables were full of Caucasions wearing jeans and tshirts. The Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the other..." was playing in my head.
I looked over at the bride in centerstage, and she looked furious. She didn't look like the blushing bride at all. Instead, I was the one blushing from embarrassment. I can't believe we just crashed through her wedding. The poor girl. If I was her, I would've stormed on stage, grabbed the mic, and yelled, "This is MY day! All you people need to get the f*** out of here!!" As I envisioned that in my head, I imagined my cousin running over and stealing the mic from her hands saying, "No, it's my day! Do you know how long it's taken me to graduate?" Then the whole crowd would start yelling and we'd all start chanting her name to instigate a throwdown.
My thoughts were interrupted when the band started up again, but strangely, instead of Pachelbel's Canon in D or an Asian rendition of "The Electric Slide," they started to sing "Happy Birthday." Everyone at my table looked around at each other in slight confusion, and then we looked towards the wedding party thinking (and hoping) maybe it's the bride's birthday, too?
Our eyes shifted to the table next to us with the balloons. They were cheering and holding up a small child, and we realized it was the child's first birthday. Someone in their party had the nerve to go up to this wedding's band and requested a birthday song!
Wow, this poor bride. Not only was her wedding interrupted by our graduation party but also some kid's birthday party!! Her thunder was not just stolen. It was cleared out with rainbows.
Later during the course of our dinner, she walked passed us holding up her white dress towards the bathrooms. I tried not to make eye contact, but I couldn't help it. She looked horrified, and I wondered if the restaurant even informed her about the other parties. Probably not. Asian people who own businesses will do anything they can to get your money. They can be so inconsiderate sometimes. I mean, how do you book a wedding/graduation/birthday party all in one night? So many times that evening I thought to myself, "This can't possibly be happening. Is this for real?" I can't imagine what must have been going on in her head. Probably a string of profanities.
On the brightside, the food was good, and the company of my friends and family was even better. We had a delicious berry cake, and we ended the night saying goodbye to everyone. It was a great time.
In SATC, Charlotte had a theory of the worse the wedding, the longer the marriage. I have a feeling this lady's marriage is going to last a lifetime.
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