Chinese New Year day trip and party report

"You should start charging people for admission!" -- me to Yuan, on her house

Saturday was uneventful as I was working on an assignment for my data mining class at UCSC Extension. However, today was exciting as we went to Carmel for a college reunion. The event doubled as a Lunar New Year celebration. Sweet!

I'll start with some background: my mother went to the National Kaohsiung Normal University in Taiwan. Her classmate Joseph organized a reunion that was hosted at Chiuyen's house in Carmel. Though it was a long drive, my parents and I managed to get there on time. The Tao family's home looks like a barn from the outside, and going up to the second floor was like visiting a lighthouse. That was really cool.

It wasn't just NKNU alumni as the Taos took the opportunity to invite their neighbors and colleagues. Their children Yuan and Fang had friends over as well. The food was plentiful as this was a potluck lunch. Everything was delicious, especially the sushi and deviled eggs. If only I had a bigger stomach. ^_^

The kids gathered in the living room to play Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii afterwards. I only watched as I'd probably get my ass kicked, but this brought back memories of my college days. Good times.

The party started winding down in the early afternoon. The fun wasn't over yet as we joined a few other people for a walk around the area. Our stops included the historic Carmel Mission, the downtown and even an open house. The hike was nice, although we didn't stay out too long as most of us have to work tomorrow.

Of note is that we ran into a guy who kept hitting on the ladies in our group. Some of the women were a little creeped out, but I thought it was hilarious. One thing for sure is that it made for a memorable moment.

All of us returned to the "barn" for fruit and snacks before going separate ways. On the whole, the day trip was nothing short of amazing. Feel free to check out my pictures from the party and the hike. If you ask me, this needs to happen more often. :-)

Currently watching: Prometheus (2012)