Last night, I FINALLY got to level 70 with my Warlock in World of Warcraft! The expansion came out on January 16, 2007 (thank you Wikipedia). I guess it's taken me 9.5 months but I finally did it.
I s'pose the next step is to get a (regular) flying mount. Do some instances if I can find PUGs for them. Maybe some PvP. Could also work on other characters but I'm not sure if I want to. I'm partly tempted to try and craft some new gear, but there's another WoW expansion in the works (Wrath of the Lich King). No clue when it'll come out, but when it does purples will be the new greens.. again.
Anyways, YAY!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Errata
Correction for the previous post that I don't feel like inserting as an addendum.
Dancing with LF was not the first slow dance at the 4 weddings this season. It was the second.
This morning as I was getting ready for work, I remembered something from Mattman's wedding in Michigan last month. At the dance portion of the evening, not long after it began, they played a slow song. Some woman I had never met before asked me to dance. I believe she was married and her husband gave his permission or consented or however one wishes to phrase it. She was Indian (I believe?) and pretty attractive. It was one dance, but it struck me as a rather strange occurrence. I can't recall the last time a woman asked me to dance, let alone a woman I'd never met before, let alone one who's married. Probably had something to do with me being the best man, but I appreciated it. I thanked her and her husband afterwards. (I was a bit formal - how could I not be?)
This is probably one of those things I'll remember because it seemed so unusual.
Dancing with LF was not the first slow dance at the 4 weddings this season. It was the second.
This morning as I was getting ready for work, I remembered something from Mattman's wedding in Michigan last month. At the dance portion of the evening, not long after it began, they played a slow song. Some woman I had never met before asked me to dance. I believe she was married and her husband gave his permission or consented or however one wishes to phrase it. She was Indian (I believe?) and pretty attractive. It was one dance, but it struck me as a rather strange occurrence. I can't recall the last time a woman asked me to dance, let alone a woman I'd never met before, let alone one who's married. Probably had something to do with me being the best man, but I appreciated it. I thanked her and her husband afterwards. (I was a bit formal - how could I not be?)
This is probably one of those things I'll remember because it seemed so unusual.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The JB-LT (LT-JB) Wedding
Friday afternoon, two very good friends of mine, LT & JB (or JB & LT), were married out on Long Island. T'was a fun affair. There were a few of us law students in attendance so I got to see some faces I hadn't seen since The Lawless One's wedding in August and other faces I hadn't seen in a very long time. In attendance were: The Lawless One and Jo (Aug. wedding this year); Mr. & Mrs. Philly (whose wedding I attended back during law school with my then ex-girlfriend); Greg-Man & Rochelle-Rochelle (both of whom I hadn't seen in over 1.5 years); and LF (whose boyfriend could not join her).
The wedding itself was nice, being in a church out on L.I. The service was slightly delayed (by 30 min.) as the bus from the hotel was late in arriving. (The bus driver got a little lost.) Reception at a reception hall thereafter. Food was excellent. Plenty to drink, with nice wines. I rather enjoyed the cabernet they were serving. The band was very good. The transitions from song to song were nigh seamless at times! "La la la.. wait, whuh? New song? When did that happen??!?" (Nigh seamless!)
A special nod goes out to Greg-Man. You dance divinely, sir. Divinely. (For those that weren't there, I'm sure there will be photos.)
A quick thank you goes out to LF. Though this was my fourth wedding this season, it was the first one at which I danced to a slow song.
And a hearty CONGRATULATIONS goes out to LT/JB!!! I wish you two the very best!
I will briefly note that this is at least the second law school wedding I've attended where I knew the groom and the bride before they knew each other. One previous was Capt. Kate and Sr. Pete. I'm not positive whether or not I knew both The Cara and The David before they met. Could be but maybe not, so I won't count that one (else it would be three).
On Saturday, I stopped off in Greenwich and hung out with The Lawless One & Jo. It's a shame they live so far away (up in MA, over 2 hours from Trumbull). I wish I could hang out with them more often. Same with Mr. & Mrs. Philly, whom I need to visit in Philly sometime. The irony, of course, is that LT-JB live only 15-20 min. from me and I've only met up with them once or twice in the past 2 years.
One last not-quite-on-topic. I finally sent out an e-mail to The List of law school peoples regarding a forthcoming gathering in December. If said gathering occurs, it will have been 20 months since the previous one. Better late than never?
Congrats again to JB/LT!
The wedding itself was nice, being in a church out on L.I. The service was slightly delayed (by 30 min.) as the bus from the hotel was late in arriving. (The bus driver got a little lost.) Reception at a reception hall thereafter. Food was excellent. Plenty to drink, with nice wines. I rather enjoyed the cabernet they were serving. The band was very good. The transitions from song to song were nigh seamless at times! "La la la.. wait, whuh? New song? When did that happen??!?" (Nigh seamless!)
A special nod goes out to Greg-Man. You dance divinely, sir. Divinely. (For those that weren't there, I'm sure there will be photos.)
A quick thank you goes out to LF. Though this was my fourth wedding this season, it was the first one at which I danced to a slow song.
And a hearty CONGRATULATIONS goes out to LT/JB!!! I wish you two the very best!
I will briefly note that this is at least the second law school wedding I've attended where I knew the groom and the bride before they knew each other. One previous was Capt. Kate and Sr. Pete. I'm not positive whether or not I knew both The Cara and The David before they met. Could be but maybe not, so I won't count that one (else it would be three).
On Saturday, I stopped off in Greenwich and hung out with The Lawless One & Jo. It's a shame they live so far away (up in MA, over 2 hours from Trumbull). I wish I could hang out with them more often. Same with Mr. & Mrs. Philly, whom I need to visit in Philly sometime. The irony, of course, is that LT-JB live only 15-20 min. from me and I've only met up with them once or twice in the past 2 years.
One last not-quite-on-topic. I finally sent out an e-mail to The List of law school peoples regarding a forthcoming gathering in December. If said gathering occurs, it will have been 20 months since the previous one. Better late than never?
Congrats again to JB/LT!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The cake is a lie.
I really didn't intend for the previous post to remain at the top for a week. It's just that first I couldn't think of a topic then I ran out of time. I'm still out of time now, but I want something else up.
Movie.girl is awol for a week and a half (where awol means she's in Israel with her mom). This means my week is much less complicated... though I'm taking Friday off for the LT-JB wedding (or the JB-LT wedding, depending which of them is currently reading this). Should be an excellent time. May actually get a chance to give The Lawless One that card I got him for his wedding back in August.
The subject of this post is from Portal. Excellent game. If you're a gamer, get this game and enjoy it. The cake is particularly tasty. Fresh and moist, one might say.
Saw Across the Universe with movie.girl last week sometime. Loved the music.
Must go sleep some soon. Take dog first. Happiness is a warm gun. So sayeth The Beatles and so it must be. Yeah, I get weirder as the night progresses. No news there.
Movie.girl is awol for a week and a half (where awol means she's in Israel with her mom). This means my week is much less complicated... though I'm taking Friday off for the LT-JB wedding (or the JB-LT wedding, depending which of them is currently reading this). Should be an excellent time. May actually get a chance to give The Lawless One that card I got him for his wedding back in August.
The subject of this post is from Portal. Excellent game. If you're a gamer, get this game and enjoy it. The cake is particularly tasty. Fresh and moist, one might say.
Saw Across the Universe with movie.girl last week sometime. Loved the music.
Must go sleep some soon. Take dog first. Happiness is a warm gun. So sayeth The Beatles and so it must be. Yeah, I get weirder as the night progresses. No news there.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Austin
We put Austin (one of our two dogs) to sleep today.
Last Monday, we learned that he had cancer. His body wasn't producing any white or red blood cells. We were told his condition was very poor, that one infection, any infection, would kill him. Where once he weighed 24 lbs, he was down to 14. His legs weren't working well. Though he ate the baby food, canned food and chicken (and ham & swiss) we fed him, he only kept down about half of what he ate, at best. More often than not, instead of going outside he went on the kitchen floor, presumably because he didn't have the energy or ability to tell us he had to go out.
In other words, he was in rough shape.
So we called the vet this morning and went there around noon. The vet gave him a sedative and we said goodbye.
I remember when we first got Austin. I was home that summer, working, when our previous dog (Oreo) died very suddenly. I told my mom that if they didn't get a new dog soon, he wouldn't know me (since the Summer was ending in a few weeks and I'd be headed back to college). My parents were interested in a bichon and, as luck would have it, my aunt informed us there was one at the pet store by her. Thus, not more than two weeks from Oreo, we were on a roadtrip to see a man about a dog.
He was so small I could hold him in the palm of my hand. Just a tiny, white furball. We didn't even have a name for him. On the drive back to my grandparent's house, we were all rattling off street names as suggestions. The street near my grandparent's house is named Austin. It stuck.
He was a wonderful dog. Though he may have taken his sweet time outside and was pretty demanding, Austin was extremely affectionate and kinder than you could ever believe. In 8 years, I never saw him snap at anyone. Ever.
Austin was my dog. Somehow, the last two dogs we've had have been "mine." There's a special bond between a boy and his dog. Austin was my dog and I was his owner, even when I wasn't there. When he had surgery for kidney stones and was moping in the kitchen, unmoving, I came home and he moved. He got up. He wagged his tail. He was okay.
I don't really have much else to say. Austin was one of the best dogs we've had and we're pretty sad today (pumpkin lattes and ice cream notwithstanding). I don't think Benz, our other dog, knows that Austin isn't coming home. Last time we went out, Benz was looking all over for his friend. Now he's an only dog.
The upside, which unfortunately exists here, is that my mom no longer needs to wake up at 4am or come home at lunch time. No more pee or throw up. Benz can now come in the family room and sleep upstairs at night (for the first time). Life will definitely be different for all of us, and not entirely in a bad way.
It was time.
Austin, I'm very, very sorry. We love you. Thank you for being a member of our family. You will always have a place in our hearts. Be at peace.
Last Monday, we learned that he had cancer. His body wasn't producing any white or red blood cells. We were told his condition was very poor, that one infection, any infection, would kill him. Where once he weighed 24 lbs, he was down to 14. His legs weren't working well. Though he ate the baby food, canned food and chicken (and ham & swiss) we fed him, he only kept down about half of what he ate, at best. More often than not, instead of going outside he went on the kitchen floor, presumably because he didn't have the energy or ability to tell us he had to go out.
In other words, he was in rough shape.
So we called the vet this morning and went there around noon. The vet gave him a sedative and we said goodbye.
I remember when we first got Austin. I was home that summer, working, when our previous dog (Oreo) died very suddenly. I told my mom that if they didn't get a new dog soon, he wouldn't know me (since the Summer was ending in a few weeks and I'd be headed back to college). My parents were interested in a bichon and, as luck would have it, my aunt informed us there was one at the pet store by her. Thus, not more than two weeks from Oreo, we were on a roadtrip to see a man about a dog.
He was so small I could hold him in the palm of my hand. Just a tiny, white furball. We didn't even have a name for him. On the drive back to my grandparent's house, we were all rattling off street names as suggestions. The street near my grandparent's house is named Austin. It stuck.
He was a wonderful dog. Though he may have taken his sweet time outside and was pretty demanding, Austin was extremely affectionate and kinder than you could ever believe. In 8 years, I never saw him snap at anyone. Ever.
Austin was my dog. Somehow, the last two dogs we've had have been "mine." There's a special bond between a boy and his dog. Austin was my dog and I was his owner, even when I wasn't there. When he had surgery for kidney stones and was moping in the kitchen, unmoving, I came home and he moved. He got up. He wagged his tail. He was okay.
I don't really have much else to say. Austin was one of the best dogs we've had and we're pretty sad today (pumpkin lattes and ice cream notwithstanding). I don't think Benz, our other dog, knows that Austin isn't coming home. Last time we went out, Benz was looking all over for his friend. Now he's an only dog.
The upside, which unfortunately exists here, is that my mom no longer needs to wake up at 4am or come home at lunch time. No more pee or throw up. Benz can now come in the family room and sleep upstairs at night (for the first time). Life will definitely be different for all of us, and not entirely in a bad way.
It was time.
Austin, I'm very, very sorry. We love you. Thank you for being a member of our family. You will always have a place in our hearts. Be at peace.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Gift Certificates & Connecticut
Connecticut has a gift card law preventing gift cards and gift certificates purchased by shoppers in CT from expiring.
Two interesting things I learned about this today.
First, the law does not apply to bank cards such as gift credit cards issued by a bank or multi-store mall cards issued by a bank.
Second, the law does not apply to reward certificates.
Why was I curious? I found an old, expired reward certificate from my Amazon.com credit card. Even though the certificate says that the expiration date does not apply to CT, Amazon.com refused to accept it. When I e-mailed Amazon.com, they said to call up the bank. When I called the bank, I spoke with a Supervisor and was informed that the expiration date was valid (even with the exception on the certificate itself) and she claimed the law was inapplicable because the bank is based out of Delaware. I then called up the CT Department of Consumer Protection and learned the above points.
Oh well.
I s'pose I learned a third thing – don't trust the exceptions listed in an Amazon.com reward certificate (or any reward certificate, for that matter).
Two interesting things I learned about this today.
First, the law does not apply to bank cards such as gift credit cards issued by a bank or multi-store mall cards issued by a bank.
Second, the law does not apply to reward certificates.
Why was I curious? I found an old, expired reward certificate from my Amazon.com credit card. Even though the certificate says that the expiration date does not apply to CT, Amazon.com refused to accept it. When I e-mailed Amazon.com, they said to call up the bank. When I called the bank, I spoke with a Supervisor and was informed that the expiration date was valid (even with the exception on the certificate itself) and she claimed the law was inapplicable because the bank is based out of Delaware. I then called up the CT Department of Consumer Protection and learned the above points.
Oh well.
I s'pose I learned a third thing – don't trust the exceptions listed in an Amazon.com reward certificate (or any reward certificate, for that matter).
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
WWBBD
D.V.D.A. lyrics - What Would Brian Boitano Do? Pt. II:
Hideedodee! Hideeday! Brian Boitano's here. So round up all your lasses and tell 'em they have no fears. Say, "Come over here my honey, and you're gonna take off my pants, and I'm gonna make dirty love to you, cause that's what Brian Boitano'd do." Cause that's what Brian Boitano'd do!I love the ska version of that song. (South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut)
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Tales of Late Night Work
October 8-9, 2007:
10:45pm - I am at work. Again. Broke for dinner and two hours of tv (Chuck and Heroes). I have a provisional to finish and possibly something else to do. My vision is slightly blurry and I estimate 1.5-2 hours of work for the first item. I begin (again).
11:20pm - This is going to take longer than I thought. Not good. Not good at all.
11:28pm - Plain-language claims done. Lots left to do but it's mostly brainless, fill-in-the-blank sorts of things. Tick, tick, tick...
11:53pm - I am sinking beneath a sea of something.. probably alliteration (or insanity).
12:38am - Only 3 method figures to go.. and sending the damned thing. This is taking more than the 2 hours I anticipated (but not too much more).
12:47am - Done drafting. Remaining: Print, scan, print, draft e-mail, send.
1:14am - Sent! Woot! Very brief break then on to the next task!
1:34am - Break over.
2:01am - Going strong on second task. Vision a little blurry. I think I may have a vague idea of what I'm doing.
2:37am - Second task completed. Good thing, too. It had to go out asap.
2:43am - Done with misc. add'l things. Vision more blurry. Tired. Will go home and sleep for 6 hours now. *sigh*
10:45pm - I am at work. Again. Broke for dinner and two hours of tv (Chuck and Heroes). I have a provisional to finish and possibly something else to do. My vision is slightly blurry and I estimate 1.5-2 hours of work for the first item. I begin (again).
11:20pm - This is going to take longer than I thought. Not good. Not good at all.
11:28pm - Plain-language claims done. Lots left to do but it's mostly brainless, fill-in-the-blank sorts of things. Tick, tick, tick...
11:53pm - I am sinking beneath a sea of something.. probably alliteration (or insanity).
12:38am - Only 3 method figures to go.. and sending the damned thing. This is taking more than the 2 hours I anticipated (but not too much more).
12:47am - Done drafting. Remaining: Print, scan, print, draft e-mail, send.
1:14am - Sent! Woot! Very brief break then on to the next task!
1:34am - Break over.
2:01am - Going strong on second task. Vision a little blurry. I think I may have a vague idea of what I'm doing.
2:37am - Second task completed. Good thing, too. It had to go out asap.
2:43am - Done with misc. add'l things. Vision more blurry. Tired. Will go home and sleep for 6 hours now. *sigh*
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Upcoming Week
Busy! For me. Perhaps? Almost? *sigh*
Monday - Chuck at 8pm, Heroes at 9pm.
Tuesday - Hebrew class with movie.girl. Sure to be a late night.
Wednesday - Pushing Daisies at 8pm, Bionic Woman at 9pm.
Thursday - Movie(s) with movie.girl. (tentative)
Friday - Board games meet up in Norwalk. Fun!!!
Saturday or Sunday - Something? Possible meet up with movie.girl?
Other day of Saturday or Sunday - Cleanup around the house. Lots to do.
Monday - Chuck at 8pm, Heroes at 9pm.
Tuesday - Hebrew class with movie.girl. Sure to be a late night.
Wednesday - Pushing Daisies at 8pm, Bionic Woman at 9pm.
Thursday - Movie(s) with movie.girl. (tentative)
Friday - Board games meet up in Norwalk. Fun!!!
Saturday or Sunday - Something? Possible meet up with movie.girl?
Other day of Saturday or Sunday - Cleanup around the house. Lots to do.
Tuesday Night Report
On Tuesday night, no Hebrew class so I hung out with movie.girl. Dinner (at Tapas), a few Doctor Who episodes (now 4 left in Season 2), and a few episodes of Coupling.
As I was thereafter attempting to leave, movie.girl started in on this thing she (often) ends up doing to me late at night as I'm tempted/trying to leave - she starts hitting me with heavy questions. Oh she does it because she thinks she's teasing me, she said as much. What she has yet to realize is that at that time of night my brain is half-functional at best. My thinking is ugh and I'm crap for difficult questions.
What she does realize is that she asks me questions no guy-friend of mine would ever dream of.
Tuesday night: "Why haven't I met your mother?"
GOOD LORD! She's not a girlfriend, she's simply a woman-friend akin to a guy-friend. Why hasn't she met my mother???!?!?
I freaked. I panicked. Ask me that question at 9pm and I can be pithy, evasive and smart. Ask me that question at 11:30pm and I'm absolute shite. Why hasn't she met my mother? Son of a...
After some non-working evasive answers and sputtering, I finally went off for a few minutes of ranting. I don't think I was actually upset, I was more annoyed than anything. She's raised this topic in the past, and I'd hoped by now that she would get the implication that... well, that it wasn't a question I wanted to answer. So I finally told her answer after answer until she understood that said meeting would probably not be forthcoming any time soon.
I'd explain it here except it's a bit of a sore spot. Let's give the quick version that, in my opinion, in my life my mom has been generally disapproving of women I bring home. Plus, I'm not going out with movie.girl, she's just a friend. I don't think my mom would get that. Hell, I barely get it. Okay, I don't get it and sometimes I have to remind myself of it, but I'm pretty sure my mom would give a neutral tone throughout until some biting criticism afterwards.
That wasn't as short as I'd hoped.
Yeah, that's either a topic for therapy or a topic for a subsequent post some day.
ANYWAYS...
...
Hebrew class this Tuesday with movie.girl.
Maybe more on her in another post some other time.
Maybe.
(Maybe not.)
As I was thereafter attempting to leave, movie.girl started in on this thing she (often) ends up doing to me late at night as I'm tempted/trying to leave - she starts hitting me with heavy questions. Oh she does it because she thinks she's teasing me, she said as much. What she has yet to realize is that at that time of night my brain is half-functional at best. My thinking is ugh and I'm crap for difficult questions.
What she does realize is that she asks me questions no guy-friend of mine would ever dream of.
Tuesday night: "Why haven't I met your mother?"
GOOD LORD! She's not a girlfriend, she's simply a woman-friend akin to a guy-friend. Why hasn't she met my mother???!?!?
I freaked. I panicked. Ask me that question at 9pm and I can be pithy, evasive and smart. Ask me that question at 11:30pm and I'm absolute shite. Why hasn't she met my mother? Son of a...
After some non-working evasive answers and sputtering, I finally went off for a few minutes of ranting. I don't think I was actually upset, I was more annoyed than anything. She's raised this topic in the past, and I'd hoped by now that she would get the implication that... well, that it wasn't a question I wanted to answer. So I finally told her answer after answer until she understood that said meeting would probably not be forthcoming any time soon.
I'd explain it here except it's a bit of a sore spot. Let's give the quick version that, in my opinion, in my life my mom has been generally disapproving of women I bring home. Plus, I'm not going out with movie.girl, she's just a friend. I don't think my mom would get that. Hell, I barely get it. Okay, I don't get it and sometimes I have to remind myself of it, but I'm pretty sure my mom would give a neutral tone throughout until some biting criticism afterwards.
That wasn't as short as I'd hoped.
Yeah, that's either a topic for therapy or a topic for a subsequent post some day.
ANYWAYS...
...
Hebrew class this Tuesday with movie.girl.
Maybe more on her in another post some other time.
Maybe.
(Maybe not.)
The Michigan Wedding In Review
Last weekend was The Michigan Wedding in.. Michigan for my college roommate. (I was the Best Man.)
Thursday, I arrived in Ann Arbor for the Bachelor Party (BP). The BP consisted of dinner at a bar with the groom (my college roommate), another groomsman (fellow trumpet player from college), the groom's sister's boyfriend, and the impromptu groomsman (more on that later). Afterwards, the impromptu groomsman left the 4 of us as we proceeded on to drink the night away. I'm talking a carbomb, a weird blue shot (blue caracao + sapphire + ???), a house tequila (yecch!!!) and a few beers. The night ended relatively early, possibly partly due to a lack of enthusiasm on my part owing to my early day and traveling.
Friday, the groom was not feeling well. My stock line: I'm not sure if the BP was a success or a failure. Success: The groom was not feeling well the next day. Failure: See success. (I apologized to the bride.) The good news was that even though we left 1.5 hours later than planned, by the time we made it to the wedding location from Ann Arbor (5-hour trip), the groom was feeling pretty good.
The site for the service was a gorgeous house on Crystal Lake. Absolutely huge, nicely furnished, beautiful backyard with a trellis-y thing to get married under. I counted 7 bedrooms. Our hosts were incredibly nice and pleasant. Fantastic people. I shared a room with the trumpet groomsman. Really cool to see him again - great guy.
This wedding was more hands-on than I anticipated. A lot of setup work, a lot of detail work. The rehearsal on Friday eve was good - things were planned and the couple was receptive to polite suggestions (from anyone present) concerning things like traffic flow, etc. Worked very well.
Rehearsal dinner was pasta with sauces and garlic bread and salad. Very good. I gave 2 toasts. Not sure if there were "good" per se. In fact, I feel a little bad for the first one. I think I wished them "a wonderful wedding." I claim.. ummm... I was on drugs. Yeah. No. No, wait, ummm.. Mental illness? *shrug*
Saturday was lots more prep work and setup. Then the wedding. Very nice service. I think things went according to plan. I may have been standing a little too close, though it was where I stood for the rehearsal.
I may have been obsessing over the wedding and my part therein, incidentally.
Afterwards, photos. Appetizers. Speeches. Ugh, speeches. Maid of Honor went first - she told a funny story. I went second. I briefly related my meeting Matt and such, my meeting Rachel, "They are a perfect match", "May you have a wonderful life together", "Cheers!" Some other bits too. It's on video somewhere, I'm sure. I think (hope?) it was received well. Only comment I got was from the minister's wife when I met her - she said "it seemed to come from your heart." Not sure if that was an honest compliment or her not having much else to say - I'm gonna go with the former.
Good food - meat on sticks. Dancing in the ball room. Good tunes. Everyone not staying at the house (i.e., everyone except for the bridal party) left by 8-9pm since there were no shuttles anywhere. We danced 'til 10-10:30. Called it a night. The happy couple went off to a motel. The rest of us said goodnight and went up to bed.
Next day was breakfast and take-down (lots of heavy lifting) and a 6-hour trip back to Ann Arbor/Detroit (included a 1-hour lunch stop) which had me nearly-missing my flight to NYC (got to the airport just 1 hour in advance). Fortunately, security only took 10 min. Got slice of pizza, got on plane, smooth sailing/flying.
Fun time. Very glad I could be there. INCIDENTALLY, the impromptu groomsman was a stand-in for the third in our trio (groom, me, missing guy). So I was informed right before I left for the wedding, someone at missing guy's work had quit and boss wasn't letting missing guy take the days off. If it were me, I would have said "Too bad. I'm taking the days and I'll be back on Monday. If I'm not welcome, so be it." Missing guy (eventually) told the groom he couldn't be there. Bad form, imo. Going to be hard not to lay into missing guy when I finally see him again. (Haven't seen him in about 5 years now, the bastard.)
Excellent wedding. Worked out well. Very happy for my old roommate, the groom. Bride was absolutely radiant. Bridesmaids looked very nice. Groomsmen were stylin'. (How else could I describe us/them?) Great time. Very fun. Very glad I could be there for my friend and very honored to serve as his best man.
I wish them nothing but the best! May their life together be filled with happiness and joy. Cheers!
ADDENDUM: Changed title. Fixed a miswording. Added the following:
Forgot to mention my related health issues. This wedding injured me some. (Seriously.) To wit:
I spent the 5-hour ride on Friday crammed into two-thirds of a backseat (the car was full of "stuff", I sat behind the passenger, crammed between the door and various boxes). The backseat was molded and, thus, pressed against my back in an uneven fashion. The ill-distributed pressure against my back caused some amount of strain and resulting pain.
Prior to departing the wedding location on Sunday, a fair amount of lifting and some heavy lifting was involved (Clavinova, furniture, chairs, boxes, misc. things). This resulted in a fair amount of fatigue and pain the following days.
The ride back to Ann Arbor/Detroit on Sunday had me crammed into two-thirds of a backseat (passenger-side) due to a car of 5 people full of lots of things. This too strained my back.
Needless to say, I was in occasional pain for the following 3.5 days (no pain from halfway through the following Thursday). Very not good but not too awful as it was temporary. Even so, I still feel as though I should get a massage for my lower back or go see a chiropractor (*shiver of apprehension*). I suspect my lower back still isn't quite right.
Notwithstanding the above, great wedding! [5:18pm, Oct. 8, 2007]
Thursday, I arrived in Ann Arbor for the Bachelor Party (BP). The BP consisted of dinner at a bar with the groom (my college roommate), another groomsman (fellow trumpet player from college), the groom's sister's boyfriend, and the impromptu groomsman (more on that later). Afterwards, the impromptu groomsman left the 4 of us as we proceeded on to drink the night away. I'm talking a carbomb, a weird blue shot (blue caracao + sapphire + ???), a house tequila (yecch!!!) and a few beers. The night ended relatively early, possibly partly due to a lack of enthusiasm on my part owing to my early day and traveling.
Friday, the groom was not feeling well. My stock line: I'm not sure if the BP was a success or a failure. Success: The groom was not feeling well the next day. Failure: See success. (I apologized to the bride.) The good news was that even though we left 1.5 hours later than planned, by the time we made it to the wedding location from Ann Arbor (5-hour trip), the groom was feeling pretty good.
The site for the service was a gorgeous house on Crystal Lake. Absolutely huge, nicely furnished, beautiful backyard with a trellis-y thing to get married under. I counted 7 bedrooms. Our hosts were incredibly nice and pleasant. Fantastic people. I shared a room with the trumpet groomsman. Really cool to see him again - great guy.
This wedding was more hands-on than I anticipated. A lot of setup work, a lot of detail work. The rehearsal on Friday eve was good - things were planned and the couple was receptive to polite suggestions (from anyone present) concerning things like traffic flow, etc. Worked very well.
Rehearsal dinner was pasta with sauces and garlic bread and salad. Very good. I gave 2 toasts. Not sure if there were "good" per se. In fact, I feel a little bad for the first one. I think I wished them "a wonderful wedding." I claim.. ummm... I was on drugs. Yeah. No. No, wait, ummm.. Mental illness? *shrug*
Saturday was lots more prep work and setup. Then the wedding. Very nice service. I think things went according to plan. I may have been standing a little too close, though it was where I stood for the rehearsal.
I may have been obsessing over the wedding and my part therein, incidentally.
Afterwards, photos. Appetizers. Speeches. Ugh, speeches. Maid of Honor went first - she told a funny story. I went second. I briefly related my meeting Matt and such, my meeting Rachel, "They are a perfect match", "May you have a wonderful life together", "Cheers!" Some other bits too. It's on video somewhere, I'm sure. I think (hope?) it was received well. Only comment I got was from the minister's wife when I met her - she said "it seemed to come from your heart." Not sure if that was an honest compliment or her not having much else to say - I'm gonna go with the former.
Good food - meat on sticks. Dancing in the ball room. Good tunes. Everyone not staying at the house (i.e., everyone except for the bridal party) left by 8-9pm since there were no shuttles anywhere. We danced 'til 10-10:30. Called it a night. The happy couple went off to a motel. The rest of us said goodnight and went up to bed.
Next day was breakfast and take-down (lots of heavy lifting) and a 6-hour trip back to Ann Arbor/Detroit (included a 1-hour lunch stop) which had me nearly-missing my flight to NYC (got to the airport just 1 hour in advance). Fortunately, security only took 10 min. Got slice of pizza, got on plane, smooth sailing/flying.
Fun time. Very glad I could be there. INCIDENTALLY, the impromptu groomsman was a stand-in for the third in our trio (groom, me, missing guy). So I was informed right before I left for the wedding, someone at missing guy's work had quit and boss wasn't letting missing guy take the days off. If it were me, I would have said "Too bad. I'm taking the days and I'll be back on Monday. If I'm not welcome, so be it." Missing guy (eventually) told the groom he couldn't be there. Bad form, imo. Going to be hard not to lay into missing guy when I finally see him again. (Haven't seen him in about 5 years now, the bastard.)
Excellent wedding. Worked out well. Very happy for my old roommate, the groom. Bride was absolutely radiant. Bridesmaids looked very nice. Groomsmen were stylin'. (How else could I describe us/them?) Great time. Very fun. Very glad I could be there for my friend and very honored to serve as his best man.
I wish them nothing but the best! May their life together be filled with happiness and joy. Cheers!
ADDENDUM: Changed title. Fixed a miswording. Added the following:
Forgot to mention my related health issues. This wedding injured me some. (Seriously.) To wit:
I spent the 5-hour ride on Friday crammed into two-thirds of a backseat (the car was full of "stuff", I sat behind the passenger, crammed between the door and various boxes). The backseat was molded and, thus, pressed against my back in an uneven fashion. The ill-distributed pressure against my back caused some amount of strain and resulting pain.
Prior to departing the wedding location on Sunday, a fair amount of lifting and some heavy lifting was involved (Clavinova, furniture, chairs, boxes, misc. things). This resulted in a fair amount of fatigue and pain the following days.
The ride back to Ann Arbor/Detroit on Sunday had me crammed into two-thirds of a backseat (passenger-side) due to a car of 5 people full of lots of things. This too strained my back.
Needless to say, I was in occasional pain for the following 3.5 days (no pain from halfway through the following Thursday). Very not good but not too awful as it was temporary. Even so, I still feel as though I should get a massage for my lower back or go see a chiropractor (*shiver of apprehension*). I suspect my lower back still isn't quite right.
Notwithstanding the above, great wedding! [5:18pm, Oct. 8, 2007]
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