Wedding Week

Photo Shot by Location Wedding Photographer

 

At the end of October last year, my daughter Denisha married Ash in Cancun, Mexico. What began as a wedding trip became a full week of memories—time spent relaxing, exploring a few tourist attractions, and enjoying the beauty of an all-inclusive resort with family and friends gathered in one place.

Like many wedding celebrations, there were practical details behind the beautiful moments. We brought two boxes of decorations with us to the resort and paid about $400 in customs taxes to get them there. Even with that added cost, we believed it would still save money compared with adding more decorations through the resort. We were also given permission to decorate the beachside wedding venue and the reception area ahead of time. Looking back, that effort became part of the story—the kind of behind-the-scenes work that families do quietly because they want the day to feel special.

The rehearsal brought everyone together before the big day. After walking through the wedding procession, we shared a light cocktail before dinner and took time to acknowledge the people who had traveled to celebrate with us. Some came from as far away as Dubai. In that moment, it was easy to feel the love surrounding Denisha and Ash—not just from immediate family, but from friends and relatives who made the journey to witness their beginning as husband and wife.

During the rehearsal, I thought I was holding myself together well. I was not emotional then, at least not in a visible way. But the wedding day was different. The tears started during the reveal of my daughter in her wedding gown. I was asked to stand outside on the lawn, facing away. When they told me to turn around, I saw her standing there, and I could not stop crying. It was not sadness. It was something deeper and harder to explain. In that single moment, her life seemed to pass before my eyes—from the baby girl I once held to the grown woman standing before me, ready to begin a new chapter.

The truth is, the emotions had started long before the wedding day. Months earlier, Denisha and Ash called me to ask which song I wanted for the father-daughter dance. They played Post Malone’s “Yours,” and the lyrics immediately reached a place in my heart I was not prepared for. I was in tears before I even heard the other option, which I later learned was Luther Vandross’ “Dance with My Father.” Sometimes a song can say what a parent struggles to put into words.

I have always had one bad habit: I do not like writing things down. For months before the wedding, I had thoughts in my head about what I wanted to say to the bride and groom. Even the night before the wedding, I felt ready. But when the reception came, I forgot much of what I had planned. Maybe that is what happens when the heart is fuller than the mind can manage. Still, the words I wanted to share stayed with me.

What I wanted to say then is what I still believe now: love knows no bounds. It is not limited by race, color, background, or religion. Love is something two people choose freely when they decide to share their lives through joy and hardship, sickness and health, abundance and scarcity. True love is not forced or coerced. It is freely given and freely received.

On their wedding day, Denisha and Ash made vows to each other in front of all of us as witnesses. It was a happy day, filled with beauty and celebration. But marriage, of course, will not always feel like a wedding day. There will be difficult seasons, moments of frustration, and times when patience is tested. When those moments come, I hope they remember why they chose each other. I hope they remember the beginning—the first spark, the first promises, and the love that brought them to that beach in Cancun.

Marriage is often described as a bed of roses, but even roses have thorns. Their beauty and fragrance do not erase the care they require. In the same way, marriage needs patience, tenderness, forgiveness, and attention. Couples must learn how to care for each other, how to trim the thorns before they hurt too much, and how to protect the beauty they are growing together. Be each other’s rose but also be each other’s gardener.

Marriage is also partnership. It reminds me of a three-legged race—not because marriage is a race or a game, but because two people are tied together in a special way. Moving forward becomes easier when both people work together, communicate, and head in the same direction. Pulling against each other only makes the journey harder. Supporting one another makes even difficult paths possible.

Love does not need an accountant, because it should not keep score of who gave more or who received more. Love does not need a historian, because it should not hold on to every shortcoming. Love learns, forgives, grows, and moves forward. Before the wedding, there were two hearts. On that day, in a beautiful place surrounded by the people who love them, those two hearts began beating as one.

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First Brew

Iron Maiden Pinter Picture (from website)

I like beer. I would say that I would prefer beer over other alcoholic beverages. Though, my preferred beer of choice is not seen in commercials. I guess you can say I would choose craft beers over commercial ones. However, if I am invited over, I will drink any beer they have, beggars cannot be choosers you know. Most of time I will bring my own choice of beer.

During Covid, I bought a beer kit online thinking that I probably can try making my own beer. Sad to say even after watching videos, I did not even open the kit until recently. I opened the beer kit after I bought Pinter. To my disappointment, the kit only had grains, yeast, a gallon jar and some other tubes. I ended up throwing up the kit since it had been sitting for years.

I saw Pinter on Facebook, did not click anything and just opened a browser and searched about it. I got interested in the product and bought it from their website. There was a promotion which I took to get the product for free. The caveat was to get a 2-beer pack a month subscription and you can cancel after the first delivery.

YouTube Videos

While waiting for the delivery, I soaked up on video I can find in YouTube to get myself familiar with the product and to get reviews and to know what others say about it. I found out that this product originated across the pond and recently introduced it here. So far, the videos have been positive. Looks like this does not entail boiling and mashing since it uses fresh pack which was already prepared and only needed water and yeast and placed inside the Pinter.

First Brew

My Pinter - Conditioning

Finally, I received my Iron Maiden Themed Pinter (had to pay $50 instead of getting it free) and unboxed it and I was amazed at how they packaged the product. I already downloaded their app to guide you through the step on brewing the selected fresh pack.

I chose En Casa, which a Mexican Lager, which is described as light, dry and crisp. I went through the steps as prescribed in the app. It was slower even though I already had an idea what needs to be done, but there is nothing to it.

The agonizing wait begins.

First Tap

En Casa

I did not start tapping the beer per the app suggested and waited another extra day. The first tap looked great, did not get so much head. I could not describe how it smelled other than it really smelt like beer. It looks like beer and the taste of En Casa was true to the description. There’s a slight hint of citrus. I invited my daughter over and her fiancée to try the beer. They loved the beer. My wife did try but still preferred Corona and nothing else.

There are only 10 pints, and I was drinking a pint every night of the remainder of beer.

Opinion

Though, it was my first time brewing my beer, discounting the boiling and mashing, this product is good for beer drinkers like me who wanted to get their hands on brewing without so much hard work.

The Pinter is well designed since after mixing the fresh pack and yeast in the barrel/keg, it is self-carbonating. After fermenting and conditioning, you can tap from it directly. The only drawback that I have shared with Pinter support is that it is difficult to tap the beer after multiple glasses. And towards a few pints left in the Pinter, the beer is flat. However, surprisingly the beer still has great taste.

I suggested an idea of using CO2 through the hopper. This hopper facilitates adding hops later in the brewing process without releasing pressure inside the Pinter. I have seen a video where someone DIY what I was thinking.

Pinter

I cannot complain about their after-market support. It was rare to get an immediate response after sending a support question from their website. When I received my product, I noticed that I was missing the Iron Maiden pint glass as seen from the promotion, and that same day I got a response and was asking for order number and shipping address.

 I have been corresponding via email about some issues like the one I had and received a reply on the same day.

I would rate the product 4 stars just because of the carbonation. It is understandable that it is only using the carbonation that it creates. I just wish that they could sell you the CO2 in a similar container to use in BB guns but designed to fit through the hopper.

Pinter company, I would say 5 stars because of their after-market support.

Off to my next brew.

Formula Drift

Sony A7 ■ f/6.3 ■ 1/1000 ■ ISO 100

Ash and Denisha bought tickets for us to watch Formula Drift as a Father’s Day gift. It was held at English Town, New Jersey, about an hour drive from us. We arrived at the racetrack just half past 1 in the afternoon, we looked for parking and it was full.

There were a lot of spectators, but it was not that bad going through the gate. It was surprisingly organized. There were a lot of pop-up vendors and car shows. We walked around to check out some cars and grabbed a free cold drink from Taco Bell.

We then walked to the bleachers to find seats, and we should have brought some umbrellas because the sun was beating down on us. It was not a real race, but rather 2 cars riding side by side on a figure of 8 track doing drifting. There were judges who were looking into how drivers use the track to drift. What is amazing was that the cars running side by side drifting without hitting each other.

I took out my camera and attached the 200mm lens to take pictures, however, since we are seated behind a fence the pictures showed wire fencing. Instead of using the camera’s auto focus for faster shooting, I opted to manually focus on a distance where the cars travel. Later I decided to go closer to the fence and found a spot where I could stick my camera lens out. I managed to take several pictures through it without showing the wire fence.

It was a fun day at the track spending time with my daughter and future-son-law. Click here to see pictures I have taken from the track.