December 2008 – Steven Yi

Welcoming My 30’s

Today I am 30.

As is my usual yearly ritual on my birthday I reflect on the past year of my life, as well as look forward to the new year. The past year was full with lessons coming from the experiences of daily life, as well as full of many special occasions and wonderful trips taken. It was also a very special year as Lisa and I got engaged, then planned and ultimately had a beautiful wedding. It was certainly an amazing experience from start to finish, and incredible to have so many friends and family together on a wedding day full of love. How important and valuable are friends and family!

The year was busy with all the preparations of the wedding, but also with the work required for my programming job. I found it somewhat difficult to focus this past year on personal work, and certainly it is something I will be looking to work on moving forward.

This birthday is also a larger milestone, seeing the end of my 20’s and now entering into my 30’s. Looking back, the past 10 years have been incredible. From all the experiences from living in New York, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Warsaw, from finishing college to building up and growing a career in programming, from creating and growing my software blue and further developing my views on music and sound, from the man lessons and joys of tai chi, from dating and marrying my dear wife… how much has happened these past 10 years…

Looking forward now to my 30’s, I feel absolutely excited about all the possibilities, and I have the sense that life is only now really beginning. From the lessons and experiences from my 20’s I see many things I want to work on as well as do. There are also a wealth of wonderful memories already that inspire me to move forward to continue explore this world and this life, to create the memories for my future self.

Tomorrow is a new year for us all, but for myself, today is a personal new year and decade. I am grateful and feel truly lucky for the life I have had the fortune of living up to now, and I am blessed to have met so many good people and friends over these years. I look forward now with excitement and inspiration and welcome my 30’s with joy.

A Beautiful Wedding

On Saturday, December 13th, 2008, Lisa and I got married. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, full of friends and family and much loving care and support. The first thing to note was the weather: incredible! I still can not get over it: the day started off just gorgeously sunny, then after the ceremony and photos, it rained outside while we were indoors (I hear rain is good luck on your wedding day!), then again was just gorgeous when everyone left. Truly remarkable.

The ceremony itself was full of love and was very personal. The officiating by our Tai Chi teacher was really special, as he brought such a great warmth and joy to the ceremony. Our dear friends John and Jenn both spoke such beautiful words, and it was a treat to hear our friend Rebekah played her viol. We walked down the aisles with our families, and at the end of the ceremony walked away with great joy and applause.

Afterwards we were outside doing photographs while the caterers rearranged the room for the reception, which occurred in the same room as the ceremony. When everyone got seated to prepare for lunch, our friend John announced us as we walked into the room again to applause and smiles. We turned on some music we had chosen ahead of time (an enjoyable mix of lounge music and classic singers like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole, and others) and had a wonderful meal. Conversation seemed to be everywhere, delicious food served, all amidst a room full with lovely flowers.

After lunch, as is a traditiona, Lisa and I cut the cake and served each other pieces of the cake. After this the caterers cut up the cake and everyone filled their cups with champagne. My brother, the best man, gave a wonderful and funny account of our family’s life and my own with Lisa, followed by beautiful toasts from our fathers and friends. Their words were precious and will be treasured for a very long time.

With the toasts complete, Lisa and I began going around and thanking everyone for coming, giving and receiving many hugs, and being thankful for everyone’s loving kindness and support. As friends and family began their exits, the event came to a close with the feeling of being a remarkable success.

I don’t think I could have asked for a more beautiful way to start my married life with Lisa, and will always remember the day fondly.

REGARDING VENDORS

I wanted to mention the venue and vendors we used as we found each and everyone had done just an amazing job.

Venue: Brazilian Room at Tilden Park, Berkeley, CA.

What a gorgeous place, especially with the incredible weather! We chose this venue because we thought that December would be cold and possibly rainy, and the venue had a nice fireplace to offer. It was a little chilly, but gorgeously sunny, and we did make use of the fireplace which added a very nice ambiance to the ceremony and reception.

Caterer: Serves You Right Catering

Delicious! They prepared the food on site on the day of the wedding and the food was excellent. We received great compliments on the food!

Florist: Branch Out Floral and Event Design, Leighsa Montrose

The flower arrangements, corsages, and boutonnieres were really beautiful. Lisa had taken care of working with both the caterer and florist so they were both a surprise to me, and it really was a surprise how gorgeously the flowers and how wonderful the food came out. Beautiful work!

CAKE: Masse’s Pastries

As delcious as it was beatiful! The experience of working with them was just fantastic, from the tasting to the end product, everything was just so wonderful. The cake was a beautiful 3-layer cake surrounded and covered with flowers. Their cake was really exceptional and again was complimented on by everyone.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Martina Konietzny

Martina was great! She has such a wonderful energy about her, and her assistant Kevin was incredible. Together they ran around taking photos all through the ceremony and reception. They made us all feel very comfortable and were funny and friendly, making the photography a very enjoyable experience. We are waiting to see the results, but I have no doubt that they will be excellent, and am glad we went with Martina.

A big thanks to all of these vendors for their wonderful work!

A Welcome December

Already it is December and I am as welcoming of this one as I have ever been. Thinking of the past year and rereading my December entry from the previous year, I see so many changes and as well as many things that remain the same. The sense of need for time and mental space to explore musical work is as strong as it has ever been. Yet, in looking back at the year, it was such a full year…

This December will be a particularly joyous one as Lisa and I will soon be married as well as will be celebrating our 30th birthdays…

Sitting here I realize it is the first time in quite some time that I have the mental space to for reflection and writing. It is late and it is quiet out and I am appreciative of the peacefulness…

I am excited for this December, for all the changes, for all the ends and new beginnings…