September 11, 2011

A Weekend of Firsts



I've been slacking on my blog posts again.  I do well for awhile and then I stop again.  I have enough thoughts, recipes, and things going on in my life to blog daily but then I don't take the time.  Not having a laptop and Internet access at my apartment is a big part as well.

Matt and I went to Louisville (again) this weekend.  We spend a lot of time there; he has lots of friends from college that are still living there.  On Friday night we attended the John Legend and Sade concert at the KFC Yum Center.  It was our first time in the new YUM center and it was very nice.  Our seats were really good and the arena didn’t seem too big for a concert.  Even though John seemed like an ant from my view, I was still in the same room with him and could hear his voice in real time.  I didn’t really listen to John Legend much before Matt and I started dating.  I had heard some of his more popular songs on the radio and on MTV or VH1.  Matt is very passionate about his music.  I have begun to really love some artists that I never thought I would because of him and John Legend is one of them.  Maxwell and Robin Thicke are two others.  Matt’s friend had bought twelve tickets so we practically had the whole row to ourselves except for these two older women.  One was in Matt’s seat.  He politely told them it was his and she politely told him it was hers.  This went on for a few minutes until Matt just sat in another seat.  But when the other 10 people came along it created a problem.  These women were not in their correct seat and they continued to argue.  This lasted through about 3 of John’s songs.  I was so irritated.  The others in the group were arguing and asking to see her ticket.  Finally an usher came along and settled the debate.  She was in the wrong section.  Shew.  John put on a good show but before I knew it, his set was done and it was time for a break to get ready for Sade.

Sade was so beautiful.  If you think her voice sounds good on a CD, OMG it is incredible in person.  It was cool to hear her talk as well. She has a thick British accent that’s low and sexy.  Her words just rolls off her tongue.  She looks good too considering how long she’s been in the business.  I think it’s been 10 years since she’s toured and she still has it!  Her set was amazing; she sang everything I wanted to hear.  I haven’t been to an indoor concert in awhile so I was mesmerized by the lights, videos, props, and changes that occurred during the 2 hours of her singing.  She finished the night with “By Your Side”.  I told Matt towards the end when I knew she would just about to be finished. “I hope she sings my song”  And by-golly then she broke it out.  I got a little teary-eyed.  The rest of our party left before the song was over but Matt and I stayed and then dipped out the back to our car. We don’t have any photos because neither of us took our cameras.  Oops.

On Saturday night, we attended a wedding celebration.  The Muslim couple were already officially married so this was a celebration for their friends.  I guess it was more like a reception but they called it different.  The groom Jihaad, was a college friend of Matt’s.  He was his RA when Matt started college and they were both in the same fraternity.  When we arrived at the event location we already knew that we would be separated during most of the celebration because the invitation had already noted that but we still weren’t sure what to expect.  The 1st part of the evening, both male and females were in the same room.  Jihaad’s father first read a passage from the Quran.  It was reminiscent of my days in Fiji when I would hear the prayer call from the Muslim temple over the loud speakers in town. 

A Persian tradition was first conducted.  The groom and bride each dipped their pinkie in honey and fed it to one another.  Then they sat in a chair facing away from each other and four females who were happily married draped a silk garment over their heads while the mom’s of the bride and groom shook sugar cones over their heads.  The sugar being rubbed together is a symbolic act to sweeten the couple's life together.  After that, the men were asked to leave.  The bride is a very strict conservative Muslim and wanted to remove her headscarf so that she could be comfortable.  No one other than her husband can see her hair.  The men left and I was left alone at my table, so I scooted over to some people that Matt knew.  One of the girls and I hit it off really good.  She had lots of questions about Matt and I, so it was fun to divulge.  There was a nice mix of different cultures at our table and yet we still seemed to focus mainly on outlet shopping.  The bride made her way around to each table for hugs.  She was wearing a wedding dress by the way.  It had red stitching and accents which matched her head scarf.  I thought it was going to be awkward hugging because she had no idea who I was but as soon as she came my way she asked if I was Matt’s girlfriend.  We then went up to eat.  The food was so good.  It was catered by a restaurant in Lexington called King Tut.  There were pickles, olives, salad, hummus, pita and then curried chicken, rice and beef.  Some mashed potatoes and green beans topped it off.  I ate my heart out.  I could have eaten the hummus with a spoon.  After that were cupcakes from Whole Foods, baklava, and date cookies which were delicious as well.  Soon after I received notice from the bride’s mom that Matt was ready to leave.  I went to find him in the men’s room which women could go into but not vice-versa.  He grabbed the departing gift from the happy couple; a box of Jordan almonds which symbolizes fertility and we left for Lexington.  I don’t have any photos from this event because cameras were not allowed due to the photographer’s request.  Another event to store in my memory.


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