Nuptials - not as bad as they sound

I've been ordered by my Supreme Commander, Brother, to post some shiznit about the wedding of the year. So, though it's been a few weeks, here it is:

Tim and Christine got married on July 8. The priest was a weird dude who could get neither Tim nor Christine's names correct. I read from the book of Isaiah and it was like a million hot dogs, sir - awsome. I read with conviction, with gusto, with very clear diction. Everyone agreed that my reading was the best.

The reception, per usual, was where things started getting funky. There was an open bar and several guests were three sheets to the wind before dinner could even be served (not I, however). Then there was dancing, in which I partook for nearly six hours straight, stopping only to drink water and mop my sweaty brow. The first part of the reception witnessed a performance by the band Flatfoot - who are fantastic, and friends of ours as well. Later on, there were several mixed cd's (thanks to Tim) for dancing pleasure. Truth-be-told, the greatness of the event came mostly from the mix of people present. It made us all teary-eyed to be with all of our great friends, some of whom had been gone for long periods of time. We were all so unabashed about our emotions and the possibility that this would be the last time we were all together - very bittersweet, I suppose.

Instead of hiring a limo or a shuttle to get drunk party-people back to the hotel, we had a big yellow school bus, in which we also rode to the reception. It was really quite hilarious to be back on a school bus, especially as Sam and Joe smoked in the back, and all the groomsmen had flasks (filled with scotch) from which they kept drinking. On the ride back to the hotel, after the reception, people were drunk and emotions were high.

The next day, all the friends met at Christine's parents' house so that we might get to spend better quality time with each other. The sight was pathetic as most people were very hung over and the weather was quite hot (this is not to say that I didn't have fun... because I did). After a few hours, I left the party to head to Nana and Poppy's house for a few days, and that is how the wedding weekend ended, I suppose.

By the way, I'm moving to Seattle on August 6th - flying out there, after all. Wish me luck.

Don't let the marriage go the route of the cake

Brother left for Los Angeles on Wednesday, amid much crying and hectic packing. I, sadly, was unable to go with him due to time constraints. Travelocity was kind enough to allow me a $200 credit toward another trip (as I had already booked a non-refundable plane ticket from LA to Detroit), provided I make that trip by June 15, 2006. Anybody need a house guest?

Despite the fact that I'm not getting married, things are beginning to get a bit hectic as Tim and Christine's wedding looms on the horizon. They are the first of my friends to be getting married and, as many young recent-college-graduates can attest, it's weird. What's even stranger is that this is simply the beginning in what may be a series of weddings in the next few years. And as somebody who truly dislikes weddings, I simply cannot wait. Actually (truth-be-told), I think this event will be pretty decent. Some weddings (many weddings) suck, but when it's the wedding of a close friend, it will probably be fun. Being friends with that peron (or those people) probably means that you have something in common, meaning that they will probably have a wedding that won't entirely offend you. Of course, they are having a Catholic wedding, so this could go either way. But the wedding isn't the important part, it's the marriage, right?

Enough wedding crap. I have more important business to talk about. Namely, my lazy ass. As I've mentioned, I'm unemployed now, and as I'm only going to be living here for another month or so (and only sporadically, at that) it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to go looking for a job here. But I need something to do in between traveling to Miami and making trips to Detroit to visit my grandparents. I want to volunteer somewhere. But where? Any suggestions? I've heard that the Lansing Area AIDS Network is not a particularly good place to volunteer, though it would be right up my alley, so to speak. I wouldn't mind working for a really controversial cause, because I believe in a lot of controversial causes and because it'll give me something to talk about at the end of the day. Is there a local chapter of Americans for Baby-Eating?

Speaking of controversial, how about that whacky Sandra Day O'Connor? Apparently it wasn't that surprising, but it sure as hell took my by surprise. I suppose things are just getting interesting.