Reflections about Pine Cones

In the next few weeks, I will try to reflect on the things that flash between my
head in relation to the impending wedding. After all, you only get married once
a lifetime.

The bridal shower occurred over the past weekend. There has been a drama event,
though it is less of a drama than others. The giveaways have been a problem.
The person who would sell it had personal problems and could not deliver the
product. As the SO said, it is not her problem. Unfortunately, we had planned
the assembly line to be formed during the bridal shower.

As far as bridal showers were concerned, it was a tame one. What with the SO’s
relatives being present and being very conservative, we did not want it to get
out of hand. My sister brought two gifts. One to be opened in public; the
other in private. Needless to say, the the in-private gift was more
interesting… shower gel and pleasure gift anyone? The only other gift that came
close to being erotic was a set of edible underwear. Along with that, there
were four, count them, four nighties all of them with the same color from
Victoria’s Secret. Bwahahah. It must have been a sale! We went yesterday to
Victoria’s secret and realized that the other colors would have made the SO feel
more like a tramp / slut than anything else. No offense to those of you out
there who like to wear hot pink or hot purple colors.

The beauty of the event was in the prepping of the pinecones which represents my
mom. My mom used to spray paint some pinecones with a gold and silver paint.
Place them on a basket as a decoration in her office. With time, some of the
pine cones would disappear and she would have to make some more. Her
officemates were filching the darned things if you can believe that. Wonder of
wonder, the SO decided that we should have that as a decoration at the tables.
And so it passed that in the last year, we have gone pine cone hunting.

We managed to collect some huge pine cones at Napa in Eileen’s abode. Talk
about huge and spiky. We had to get some guests to use nailclippers to trim
away the sharp edges off of the pine cones. The cones are so huge that we also
have to spray paint them several times. Xylene and toluene, here come my lungs!
The cones probably measure about 6 to nine inches tall.

Then there are the baby pine cones which a seven year old boy collects for us
from his elementary school. He’s named after Siddartha the Hindu enlightened
man. However, apparently, after placing said pine cones in his pockets, he does
not tell tell his mother about them. Clothes end up in the wash and so do the
fragmented pine cones. Very thoughtful kid. But like any prophet, the details
are forgotten in the living.

Some pine cones, we find in locations where we just happen to visit. The dance
place in Emeryville. The old school for her Kali class in Hayward. Near San
_____ close to Napa Valley near Kathang Pinay’s home.

Pine cones come in different sizes and sharpness. Some are very small while
others are gigantic. Each one is unique in its state of flowering. Some are
shy. Some are slutty. “Wind, come take my seed and spread it far and wide.”
Some cones open slowly. Some open in Fibonacci’s series. I know that if it is
any indication, my marriage will be just like the pine cones we have collected.