So at Daisy's wedding, I realized I have so many cousins. I tried to add them up in my head, but I lost count. So I'm going to make a list:

Mom's side (2 brothers, 2 sisters):
Mike
Suzie
Ching-Wen
Linda
Jason
Bohr
Binh
Ray
Edison
Jonathan

Dad's side (2 brothers, 1 sister, 2 half-brothers, 2 half-sisters):
Miranda
Albert
P
Sammy
Sharon
Julia
Stephanie
Joanna
Ray
Anna
Heather
Ryan
Howie
Justin
other Ryan
Daisy
Danny
Joey
Yvonne
Gilbert
Linda
Mier
Steven

2nd cousins:
Austin
Alicia
Devin
Tyler
Brandon
Avery
Grayson

I'm probably forgetting some people. Add in the cool people who married into the family (Gilbert, Albert, Justin, Judy, Gina, Janelle) and family gatherings are usually giant parties.

I'm the 2nd oldest on my mom's side (Mike is the oldest but he grew up in Taiwan, so all my cousins in the US looked to me as the oldest). 3rd oldest on my dad's side. Many of my cousins on my dad's side are by marriage through my dad's older brother's wife (5 sisters). They're all tight, so we're close to them, too. None of the cousins on my mom's side has kids, and only Suzie has been married (and divorced. Rumor is she's got a secret relationship with an Italian guy much older than her with a daughter).

I always wished for an older brother. Or more siblings. It's kind of isolating having only one sibling, and as much as I love my one sibling, it can be lonely because Michael can be such an enigma. But I do realize that maybe I was compensated, because having all these cousins is kind of like having a lot of siblings who just happened to grow up in different homes. Whatever little squabbles people have, overall, we're a loud, happy family, and we support each other. Though beware the devilish streak. My family has a way of goading people into drinking games and getting them shitfaced. Particularly my dad and my cousin Albert. If you see them approach with a bottle and a gleam in their eye, beware.

Man down!