Super quick post!  This was a beautiful wedding at the stunning Wayfares Chapel in Palos Verdes, CA.  The chapel itself is surrounded by glass windows and it’s amazing!

Thanks Mike Sweeney for bringing me out to shoot with you and for letting me post these!  I had a lot of fun!!

See!?! Beautiful chapel, right??

Waiting for her hubby so they can make their grand entrance at the reception!

Earlier this month, I went to Japan to play taiko at a wedding.  Our group met the couple through one of the members a few years ago and they invited us to perform!

Weddings in Japan are totally different from the ones here in the US.  I wish I could have taken photos, but we were performing!

Here are 4 photos from that trip.  Next post will be a wedding post!

This is a seasonal Pepsi that was available.  It’s Azuki (red bean) flavored!! And, it really tasted like red bean!!

We ate a lot while we were there.  Actually, most of the photos I have are food photos.  Here’s the first thing we ate when we got there:  Karashi (spicy) Miso Ramen!!!  And yes, it really was THAT red! lol!  Personally, though, I think it could have been spicier! :p

A random shot of my friend walking in the streets of Tokyo.

And finally, a quick snap while we rehearsed for the performance!

I recently had the opportunity to take photos at UC Irvine’s Shocktoberfest.  What is a Shocktoberfest, you ask?  It’s a new tradition with a Halloween theme…. and it’s a combination of several events: an outside street festival and performances (they close off Mesa Road), Bren Events Center concert (featuring Shwayze and Gym Class Heroes), the kickoff to the year’s basketball season, and an after party called Aftershock on Mesa Road.

Here are some photos of the outdoor festival.

Inside, there were performances and activities going on to kick off the basketball season!

Then, Shwayze took the stage!

And of course, the headliners… Gym Class Heroes!!

After the concert, everyone filed outside to party at Aftershock.  The music was bumpin’ and everyone was having a good time.

I attended UCI and graduated…um, not so long ago… but there was nothing like this! Full on concerts? Party on the streets?  Being an anteater is not the same!!  :)

Akemi and Eric are engaged!  I’ve known Akemi for 10 years now (we even lived together at one point) and I’m so happy and excited that she’s getting married.  Eric is always making her laugh (as you’ll see in the photos) and they are way cute together!  :)

They decided they wanted to go to Laguna Beach to take their engagement photos and we went on a perfect day!  Akemi and Eric are so much fun and they were willing to get wet and do whatever else I asked them to do.  Their wedding will be in Hawaii next summer and I just can’t wait!  Congratulations guys!!

Aren’t they too cute?

They were pretty far away from me and the waves were pretty loud, but their laughter carried all the way to where I was.  :)

Akemi and Eric brought jerseys and a football… so why not play a little catch? and wrestle!!

If you’ve read my About Me section, you know that I play taiko (Japanese drumming).  I started at UCI’s Jodaiko, then Kinnara Taiko, and now, Taikoproject.  This entry is about Kinnara Taiko’s 40th Anniversary Celebration that just happened!

Japanese group drumming has only been around for about 5 decades and it’s only been in the US since 1968.  The first group formed in San Francisco (by Seiichi Tanaka) and the second group formed a year later in Los Angeles at Senshin Buddhist Temple.  That group was Kinnara Taiko.  I won’t go too much into history here, but Kinnara Taiko is known for creating the wine barrel drum instead of carving out a tree trunk to make the drums.  This invention paved way for American taiko as it made the drums more accessible.  Today, there are over a hundred groups in North America with many new ones being formed every year.

This year marks Kinnara’s 40th year in existence.  The celebration was invite only and very intimate.  All past and present members were invited, as well as close Kinnara friends.  People from around the country gathered.  It’s quite a feeling to know that I was part of this historical group.

Kinnara’s costume of choice is the hapi coat.  The group went through many versions in the past 40 years.  For the celebration, they hung all of them up on the ceiling! It made the social hall really colorful and I loved hearing the stories about them!

The current members worked really hard to make this event a success.  They actually put all the photos in order and split them up into albums.  This one had the oldest ones.  I loved seeing all the photos of the people I know from when they were 30+ years younger!

This is a list of ALL Kinnara members, past and present.  I didn’t count, but they said there’s over 160 names!!

Kinnara Taiko is actually one of the three parts that make up Kinnara.  There’s also Gagaku (traditional Japanese music played for the Imperial court) and Bugaku (traditional dance for the Imperial court).  Kinnara Gagaku and Bugaku performed for the celebration.  I only have photos of Gagaku performing, but the Bugaku performance was quite memorable!!  You had to be there… hehe!!

And then, we went inside for some taiko.  I had the opportunity to play with past Kinnara members!  We played Ashura, a classic Kinnara song.  We also jammed and it was just a big party.  :)

I wish I took more photos, but I was having too much fun mingling and playing.  I’ll leave you with this cuteness that also attended the celebration! aww~!

Marykay and Steve are engaged and will be getting married next month!  I met up with them at their apartment and we were off to walk around Long Beach.  Marykay is full of joy and so much fun.  She has this amazingly contagious laugh and you can tell Steve adores her for it!  I asked them how they met and they both giggle.  Marykay says, “we met at a club”.  Hehe!  I love it!  They’ve been together ever since they met.  Love at first sight!

They’ll be getting married in Hawaii!  Congratulations guys!

On her tippie toes!

Love this and the way she’s looking at him!

And then, we got silly.  :p