Christmas Eve Dinner

This post just so happens to commemorate the annual Christmas Eve Dinner held by DGF. Sadly this was my first appearance at the event, but it's been known to be the entire ensemble of DGF. So, without further ado, on to the pictures!

Fine dining at The Madison in Long Beach.

The place looked huge from outside!

Thomas and his car lagged a bit to the scene haha

One of our latest additions to DGF: Hector Saldana.

The first things you see when you enter upon this restaurant.

Really, really spacious...

The ceiling.

No joke when I say that Rob always wanted a pillow lol

We sat all the way in the back, tables set for a group of 21

Each person's table was set up exactly like this.

You're gonna need to click the picture to get an idea of how much the meal was!

The table across from me.

Nice Christmas appearance surrounding the restaurant

This bar was insane...

Even though it wasn't a great snapshot (blame the camera lol), this Pianist was awesome.

Glover and Andrew Quan

Ampil and Christy

Peter and Kendra

From left to right: Jano, Andy, Elliot and Francis

From left to right: Duy, Phirun, Sly and Dat

Dat and Rob

The appetizers were amazing, especially the Kalamari!

Taking a picture of Rob taking a picture of Phuong and Kendra haha

Our waiter preparing Andrew Quan's 36 oz. steak. Talk about a bottomless stomach...

As for me, I got mashed potatoes and a steak as well :]

This was our bill... Talk about immense fail!

Total fail = $1238.15!!

Hector and Peter calculating the money we all put in

As you can see, failure is always served fresh within DGF lol

We were supposed to dress formal, but Duy and Phirun chose to be nonconformists and matched

Andy's holding the receipt! Sad thing is there were two receipts -__-

For Rob :D

PED-- Care to finish what the rest would say? Haha

The group that dined at The Madison!

This picture is very ironic, considering that they are both gay haha

Sly and Andrew wanted to compare... HAHA

Alcohol and Elliot don't mix well... But Sly seems to enjoy it haha

Andrew Ampil's little shot I took :]

Jano and Andrew. Nice shot eh?

This is how it looked like right before midnight.

Thomas and I

Although everything was pricey, I dare say it was a memorable evening. Who knows what will await for us next year's Christmas Eve dinner? Until next time :]

Merry Christmas

Hope you all have a great one. Just to set the season, here are some of my favorite moments from the movie 'Elf' starring Will Ferrell.

Pervading Thoughts

Hmm... This might be the most thought provoking post I'll be doing... For now...
So I'll just take this chance to express my philosophies while in this state of mind.

This is about an old topic that I've thought over countless times, and yet, it never ceases to amaze me how it continues to emerge: friendship.

The term friendship can be defined in many different formats, especially considering how people's ideals define it. Myself, friendship stems from trust. Why trust? Because trust is the foundation of every relationship, the rock. The thing about trust is, some people can trust too easily as to where they become vulnerable, making them completely defenseless mentally/emotionally/physically. That is where those who use that trust to their advantage, are able to annul the bond of the relationship. So, let's apply this to friendship.

As stated earlier, trust is the foundation of friendship. The only reason people continue to talk to one another (friends/family) is to build a stronger form of trust, or at least retain what they currently have. But what if one person applies more trust into you, than you to them? Personality at that point plays it's role. Depending on your personality, you have already set your trust for that particular person(s). So, let's say someone looks up to you as an influence, a role model if you will, they will continue to trust you moreso based on your personality and actions. Let's also say your action (as stated above, mentally/emotionally/physically) regards care towards the one you are influencing is very strong. That would already set the level of the bond within the friendship.

Now, we step further into this topic. If the person whom you've influenced sets the standard for you, that is meant that you are expected to meet their expectations based on the trust they have in you. If that expectation is not met, even minimal, then the trust will begin to disperse. In other words, what would happen, is that the influenced will begin to lose trust and will also begin to set another standard for you in forms of disappointment. They will see you less than you were before (who wouldn't?) and might eventually turn into terms of acquaintances rather than friendship.

What I have displayed above is my philosophy regarding those who have a tendency to set such high standards on someone, that they nearly forget that everyone is flawed. With the slightest bit of disappointment, everything begins to change, usually for the worse. People have so much power over others, it's ridiculous... It may seem spiteful by the words I've said, but this is just my 2 cents based on experience. In conclusion, do not think of friendship as just a common noun in which you can take advantage of. Cherish every friend for who they are. Embrace and appreciate what you have. Because you will never know what you've had, until it is gone...

Phirun's Phail

You'd think that Phirun is the most level headed out of everyone when it comes down to alcohol. We were wrong to pass such judgment. As you may know, Phirun loves to drink, but yesterday/earlier this morning, his alcoholic tendencies got the best of him. This was one of the worst abuse he has involved himself with (second to the first time he first drank Bacardi 151 HAHA). But that just builds up for his next achievement.

Earlier today around 7:20 a.m. I get an abrupt phone call from 'yours truly' saying his tire popped and he had lost control. I decided to help him with his little complication just to ease his fail. So much for a safe trip home huh? Haha.

If you were on the 5 North Freeway, you would've seen this beside the carpool lane haha

Thomas' spare tire. Note to self: Be wary when waking up Thomas. Pain in the ass haha

He earrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrned it.

Literally.

That's all folks!

Who Would Have Seen It Coming...

Who would have seen it coming... Not even himself who had committed an incident never to be forgotten. You were beginning to pick yourself up from the slump left within the past two years, and then a turn for the worse which involved your friends and family to bring grief.

We've known each other for some time, but we know it wasn't enough. They were good times though, good times indeed...

You left too soon Dara.

Banana Bay & Disneyland

Sorry for the lack of updates. My internet had been down for the past week due to some technical difficulties with the main cable. The problem is depleted, and now I can get back on track with this.

During the internet's delay, I've been just hanging out and cruising around city to city. Sunday was different than those other days though. In some ways it was kind of historical in my opinion. With the pictures and details displayed further down, you'll understand what I mean.

That evening had a real beautiful sunset, I couldn't help but take a picture.

It would've been alot better if I didn't lag 5 minutes -_- The view looked so much better at the time, and in person.

Some of the DGFam went to Brea Mall since we were all bored. Kinda sad to actually consider going so far due to that sole reason huh? Haha. Anyways, it had been awhile since I last entered Brea Mall, so I guess it wasn't so bad.

Godiva's not so special considering there's one near my house at South Coast Plaza, but it was still awesome.

Just to give a feel for those who have no idea what Godiva is: chocolatey goodness.

Kind of excessive, but if you got the money, you got the goods haha

Brea Mall's Christmas tree. Kinda small eh?

One of the stalls had something ridiculous, so I decided to take a snap of it.

A painted on Bandana... Need I say more? Haha

The infamous Brea Mall Water Fountain.

Definately a place I'll come back to. Solely because...

The Corgi! One of these days, I'll own one. Promise.

After Brea Mall, we headed over to Banana Bay, a Thai restaurant lodged around the area of Diamond Bar. If you're ever near Diamond Plaza, head over to Banana Bay, I highly recommend it!

The Banana Bay sign. Kinda hard to see due to the glare, but you can make it out.

Inside of Banana Bay.

Another view of the interior.

A small aquarium by the register. Pretty spiffy!

The bar!

And the guys.

Nice little hanger for the cups at the bar.

I ordered Paradise Duck Curry. It's named somewhere along those lines, but I remember it was #81 on the menu. Funky at first, delicious as you continue.

Everyone and their meals.

Oh, did I forget to mention a live band? Damn, this place has everything a restaurant needs!

This particular setting is right outside of Banana Bay where we take a group picture every time. Another picture added to the history books!

I stated earlier that it Sunday was historical. This was the main reason why.

Phi-Hong pool hall. Only people who've had a history with me back then would know what this place brings. An incident I'll never forget. Even with such a history, I decided to go in and play pool with the rest of the DGFam. Pretty fun actually haha.

So as days passed, so came the nearing of the long awaited Disneyland! The reason why Disneyland was deemed special was because of our group within the Drama class grew to become good friends, we decided to go to Disneyland. Good times, no doubt about it :]

A picture to make sure we don't forget where we parked -_-

Of course, as cliché as most of us do at Disneyland, we take pictures of ourselves with our first initials right outside of Disney's California Adventure.

Lawrence!

Pretty obvious lol

Amber!

Her full name is Elizabeth, but Liz is just fine haha


Kevin and Kelly! They didn't have any letters so this is as close as they can get haha


Nicole!

Someone try to think of a good acronym! If it's really good, I'll treat you out to dinner or some sort of craziness haha


The group by the 'C'!

The group by the last 'A'.

The Disneyland Christmas tree. Damn it was humongous! I still don't know which is bigger: South Coast Plaza's or Disneyland's? Hmm...

Main Street :D

Morning picture of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Wait until you see the night time picture :D

I honestly had no idea there was a small tour of Sleeping Beauty. Pretty cool if you haven't!

Club 33 in the New Orleans Square. Only a handful of people know what exquisite meals they serve

Amber was acting based on her black tourettes. You can only see her arm due to it being so explicit HAHA

The Haunted Mansion with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. Awesome as always.

Liz and Nicole waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion.

The aftermath of Splash Mountain. This is what I get for taking the bullet for them lol...

Just to give some of the readers a feel of how it is inside

More viewing pleasure.

Oogie Boogie!

Since the day it was remastered, I finally went to the newly updated Pirates of The Caribbean.

Waiting in line again...

Kelly HAHAHA

On our way to Tom Sawyer's, I mean, Pirate Island.

You can tell we were both into pumping water HAHAHA

Look familiar? :D

In one of the caves, Amber got stuck. I guess you can say this is what she gets for leaving us LOL

Another angle hahaha

The group with all the booty!

The group with pirates, and the booty!

Good performers!

She hit his zipper HAHAHA. Such a priceless facial expression

The ride back on the raft was packed as hell.

Getting intimate with the bamboo in Indiana Jones HAHA

Kelly was being harassed by Kevin and Amber. Currently, it's become a regular situation haha

It's A Small World during the night time looked amazing with it's lightworking

Sleeping Beauty Castle looked spectacular at night as well

-- Updating later with more pictures from other cameras. I'd have more, but I ran out of batteries :[