After a much too long absence, I'm back with a new post. This is the first story I've written since quitting my job in mid-July of last year. I could offer a number of reasons for the pause in stories, but if I'm completely honest with you (and myself) at the heart of the matter was a fear that what I was producing, what I was creating, was not good enough. It's a struggle that has become more pronounced for me as I pursue photography, and content creation in general, as a profession.

I'm sure anyone reading this is no stranger to that feeling, whether you're a creative type or not. We all have that critical, almost nagging voice in the back of our minds telling us that whatever we're trying to create, whether it be art, music, a video, a presentation, a novel, anything, is not up to par, not worthy of anyone's attention or time. You think it has to be perfect before you can let anyone else see it, hear it, read it, experience it. More often than not, instead of leading to a good result, it just becomes a roadblock that prevents any further progress. It's a tough one to break through. Which is why I've sat on this story for the better part of a year, suspended in virtual limbo for far too long.

That ends today. Not just the "unpublished" status of this story, but that very notion: that something must be perfect before its complete. I've come across a very inspirational quote (via Peter McKinnon) recently that has helped me get out of that train of thought:

Done is better than perfect.

I'll say it again, done is better than perfect. Man, I love that. It's been liberating to think and do with this in mind, and it was the boost I needed to finish this story. I'm adopting it as my mantra for my ambitions and work, personal or professional, from now on. If you're in the same boat, I encourage you to try this approach as well; whatever you're working on, get it done, not perfect. Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more content from me as I live this out (and I hope to see the same from you).

What Brings Us Together

So today I present to you my 12th story on this blog, focused on the historical city of San Francisco, a place I visited for the first time last summer for a special occasion.

In June 2017, my good friend and previous roommate, Hayoung, married his college sweetheart, Anny (or, as he would call her, his "sugar-muffin" and "boo"). Ha and I lived together for one brief year in NYC, but it was a fantastic year filled with good times. I was both sad and excited for him when he landed a new job in a different city and would soon have to move. We kept in touch over the years and then one day I got a text from him to be a groomsmen. "Heck yeah, bro!" I believe was my answer.

So I, along with two of Ha's close friends, Kenny & Alex, had the privilege of standing in as his groomsmen for the big day, which would take place an hour's drive outside of San Francisco. In typical groomsmen fashion, we had virtually no obligations other than to: 1) do whatever shenanigans the groom wanted while he was still a free man (which included seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, flying drones from Vista Point, and an obligatory In-and-Out pit-stop) and 2) to celebrate the the man and his marriage with an impromptu bachelor party.

Since we were all coming from different cities, the bachelor party was a relatively simple night time gathering at a local speakeasy, where I met several of Ha's high school friends who had also flown in for the wedding. They were quite the characters, each hilarious in their own right, and anyone could tell the friendships ran deep, colored with history, inside jokes, and stories of times when things were simpler, sillier. As they recounted tale after tale from their high school days, I couldn't help but think how comically unreal many of their stories seemed, straight out of an unruly teenage sitcom. Yes, there are some "unspeakables" that I will not mention here. We were a bunch of guys, after all. While I'm sure there were more tales from the night, I unfortunately wouldn't be able to relay any of them to you because I retired early to get ready for the wedding. If any of them remember anything else from that night and tell me about it, I'll update this (don't count on it though).

The ceremony itself took place in Half Moon Bay, a beautiful, seaside resort town south of San Francisco. It was small, intimate, and perfect. I'll let the pictures in that section below speak for the place themselves.

After the wedding, I spent a few extra days as a tourist and that's how I've approached most of this write-up - as a first timer in a new city, sharing with you what I saw, what I thought, and what I experienced.

As always, thanks for joining.

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