My first Christmas in Illinois with the in-laws! In previous years I was just a boyfriend or fiancé. But now a son/brother-in-law. Crazy times! As always though, it was a fantastic time with an absurd amount of gifts.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 5:43 PM

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Merry Christmas, everyone!

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 9:49 AM

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On January 1st, 2008, I started out on an insane project that many other people have done: taking at least one photo every day for the entire year. After taking the photo, I eventually (usually not the next day) put them onto flickr. Some, but not all, of the photos have appeared here. But the photos are all in one set on flickr.

You may think taking a photo every day for 365 days is easy, but I actually found it really, really hard. It was extra hard in 2008 because there were 366 days.

I encourage you to take a look at the photo set that turned out. It's an interesting capsule into one year of my life.

Posted by tien mao in Film, Food/Drink, Friends/Family, Illinois, Mortimer, NYC, Photos, Randolph, Sports, Travel at 12:08 PM

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After a horrific day of travel on the 23rd (we're talking like 15 hours to get to our final destination), we did up Christmas with Shannan's family. And I challenge anyone to show me a tree with more gifts under/around it than this one. There's a whole toy chest with gifts in it as well as some obscured gifts on the left side. It puts our tiny Brooklyn tree to shame. Shame!

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 6:56 PM

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Jessica and Chanse didn't actually get married in this tiny chapel, but the larger chapel in the same "complex". The Old Towne Grove Chapel was much more picturesque though.

Posted by tien mao in Film, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 5:25 PM

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A lesson from his Aunt Shannan.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 6:09 PM

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I've got a lot more images from their wedding, but I have to sift through them all. I especially like this image that I took. And because Shannan loves her brother so much, we're going to tag along on Jessica and Chanse's honeymoon.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 2:48 PM

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There's nothing quite as tasty as a fleece glove to young Colton.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 9:19 AM

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Note the cute reindeer slippers!

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 5:28 PM

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For the past few days, Shannan and I went to Lacon, Illinois (that's Lacon, like bacon) for Christmas with her family. In addition to gift giving/receiving, it was also the first time that we got to see Shannan's new nephew Colton.

Santa was good to me, because I got some mighty good gifts: a Holga camera, Guitar Hero III for the Wii, a Wiimote charging station, Top Gun (collectors edition DVD), V-MODA vibe earbuds, a copy of The Simpsons Movie, Taboo, a copy of Sneaker Freaker magazine, a nice shirt, another thin wallet (mine is falling apart), and a gift card to Pizza Hut (mmm!). Shannan and I also got a chair, some towels, and a wine refrigerator. Thanks to Santa (and those that act on his behalf) for all the great gifts!!

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Photos, Travel at 10:39 AM

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Wedding season has begun! Over the weekend, Shannan and I went to Illinois for her friends Heather and Ryan's wedding. The ceremony was at the Luthy Botanical Garden in Peoria with the reception at the Hotel Père Marquette, also in Peoria. Shannan got to catch up with all her old high school friends and, though I was feeling ill, it was a good time.

Posted by tien mao in Friends/Family, Illinois, Travel at 11:50 AM

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Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you with the reason deep frying a turkey is dangerous. Lucky for us, the attempt was made on grass and not on a deck. And nobody was foolish enough to put the fire out with water or anything like that. Shannan's mom decided that a ham wasn't enough for Christmas dinner, so she thought about preparing a turkey. When she asked how to prepare it - oven, deep fry, etc. - I might have said something like, "I've never had a deep fried turkey." Problem is - they had never made a deep fried turkey. Despite the flame, a turkey eventually went in the oil.

The end result was less than tasty. While the meat was tender and moist, the injected marinade wasn't very good. It actually smelled pretty repulsive. I'm told that there's a large, large oil spot in their back yard now. I wonder if anything will grow there in the future.

Posted by tien mao in Food/Drink, Illinois, Travel at 7:57 AM

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I saw this in Illinois after reading an article in the NY Times that same day. The article talked about the how the blowup ornaments are viewed as an eyesore by some. Apparently they are very popular in the suburbs. When I saw this, I was not in a suburb. Not even close. While I'm not sure I would put this in my yard, I would put this in my apartment. What can I say, I'm a Simpsons fan. I'm sure the cats and Shannan would do something about my inflated Homer though.

Posted by tien mao in Illinois, Photos, Travel at 7:58 AM

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The Hotel Père Marquette considers itself the "premier hotel" of Peoria. I wouldn't know as we didn't stay there - I've just got a picture of its neon sign. The hotel, built at a cost of $2.5 million in 1927, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Did you know that you can nominate things to the register? The nomination criteria consist of :

A. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or
C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
D. That have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

If approved, benefits include:

- Recognition that a property is of significance to the Nation, the State, or the community.
- Consideration in the planning for Federal or federally assisted projects.
- Eligibility for Federal tax benefits.
- Qualification for Federal assistance for historic preservation, when funds are available.

Fascinating, yes?

Posted by tien mao in Illinois, Photos, Travel at 9:00 AM

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