anthony + pearl
Pearl has been a city girl all her life. She was born in Hong Kong to Francis and Wendy Hung. At age eight - just a few years before the return of Hong Kong to communist China, they immigrated to New York City where most of her relatives lived.
So it's no surprise that she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a degree and career in architecture. She is currently the job captain at one of the biggest architecture firms in the world, HOK.
While at USC, Pearl met Anthony through Alpha Rho Chi, a co-ed architecture fraternity. In her third year in school, Anthony got Pearl hooked on skiing after taking her to his company annual ski trip at Mammoth Mountain. It was later at the peak of Mammoth that Anthony proposed to Pearl. The very next day, Pearl fell while taking a turn too fast and had to be carted down by ski patrol. The running joke is that Anthony was gunning for her life insurance. (Anthony begs to differ and claims the extra weight of the rock threw her off balance.)
In her free time other than skiing, Pearl enjoys cooking and inventing new recipes, watching tv - mostly anime, and playing with anything that is soft and fluffy whether it be a puppy, teddy bear, or fabric sample.
"Where are you guys going?"
"Home Depot"
"Yeah right...."
This was the exact conversation one evening as I escorted Pearl out of the Alpha Rho Chi house for our first date. A couple of brothers (some in the wedding) were playing poker and saw us leave. The funny thing is, we actually did go to Home Depot. Pearl had been doing some work to renovate the room she just moved into, and needed to pick up some more drywall to replace the ones she borrowed. I was driving a large truck at the time, so the first thing we did that evening was head over to Home Depot to load up some 4x8 sheets.
Afterwords was a bit of a blur, but Pearl assures me that we went to Cafe 50's, a diner in Santa Monica with great milkshakes, to cool down from the summer heat. Since then, we've managed to end up at Home Depot intentionally or by chance on every subsequent anniversary. This year will probably be an exception as we will be in London for our honeymoon.
At 6'4, Anthony towers over Pearl, a mismatch made in heaven. He enjoys cooking, computers, and in the winter, downhill skiing. Pearl has often jokingly remarked that she is only marrying him to get in on his season lift tickets at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.
A true Southern California native, Anthony was born and raised in Escondido. And aside from two years spent in New Mexico, he has lived his entire life with the benefits of tight extended family in close proximity. Anthony brags that his high school no longer exists, which means he isn't obligated to go to any reunions.
Anthony attended the University of Southern California School of Architecture, earning his B.Arch. While at USC, he was a member of Alpha Rho Chi, a professional co-ed architecture fraternity. Here Anthony met Pearl, and as they say, the rest is history.
Anthony now combines his passions for design and computing in his role as Senior Web Developer at KAA Design Group, an architecture and design firm in west Los Angeles. He maintains his own website at anthonymclin.com with his portfolio, code, and random musings.
