This Conversation Seems Like A Dream

Weekend in review.

Friday evening: Woohoo, fiiiinally Friday. This week lasted way longer than any week has a right to, or something. We went to see our friend Scott in one of his last performances of the musical Buddy at the San Jose Stage. It's a musical version of the Buddy Holly story, and Scott's name appears in the program god only knows how many times. :)

Friday's performance was the second time I'd been--I'd gone the Saturday before, as well. It's great to see him get so much stage time, and he plays some very distinct characters, which is really cool. The musical itself is great, and the rest of the cast is likewise awesome. The guy they have playing Buddy Holly's got a great voice. The kid who plays Ritchie Valens (and he IS a kid, he's 14) sometimes sings the national anthem at Sharks games, so I'm at least a little familiar with him. Much fun all around, and I think that Brett enjoyed it.

Saturday: We were almost an hour late meeting folks for Faire--sorry! It was just...one of those mornings, you know? But again, much fun was had--Jeremy and Leon were there, and I met Jason, known to everyone else there from NERO. Scott had purchased tickets in advance, so we bought those, and in we
went.

There was a lot of laughter and teasing, trying on silly hats and things. I tried to find my mom's cousins, but failed utterly--again. I'll try next weekend. There was a whole group of girls who started shrieking at the sight of the guy playing Sir Walter Raleigh, which immediately gave me a splitting headache and made me extremely cranky. We stopped by the Gypsy Soles booth, and eventually, I'll get another pair...but probably not this year. Maybe next year at Southern? Hm.

Saw Grace, the carved candle lady's booth. At some point, I *am* going to learn how to do that, dammit. I also saw several things I wanted to buy, but I was very good, and am either going to wait until next weekend (after payday), or do without. We'll see how well that works. ;)

Saturday night was our first hockey game of the season, a preseason game. We got there late, I managed to spill soda on the poor guy sitting in front of us, and the Sharks lost. They played a good game, though, and holy crap, Scott Parker--nice to have an enforcer around, I'll just say that. Nabby made some amazing stops, Marleau had a nice assist on Thornton's goal, and it was all good. So glad hockey's back again. :)

Sunday: I heard on Friday that the preview for Return of the King was going to be with Secondhand Lions starting this weekend. I'd seen the previews for it and mentioned that I wanted to see it--I'm a big fan of Robert Duvall and Michael Caine anyway.

The RotK trailer didn't disappoint. I spent two and a half minutes barely able to breathe, with HUGE goosebumps and practically crying. If the trailer was like that, god, I can't imagine what the movie itself is going to do to me. But seriously...watching Aragorn with Anduril, wow. And Eowyn. The abject grief on Eomer's face when...well, nevermind when, but my god. Can't wait til December.

Secondhand Lions also did not disappoint, I really enjoyed it. I won't say much, because I don't want to give away the plot--and I definitely do recommend it. It's more a boy's coming of age story than a chick flick, and it was really well done. There are a few moments which are pretty blatant (here, let me TUG those heartstrings), and it's a little predictable in a place or two, but still VERY good, very worth seeing. As Brett said, not something that I'm disappointed at seeing in the theater.

After we got home Sunday, we watched Identity. I bought it several months ago and just now got around to seeing it. That's yet another movie that I really don't want to give anything away for--and to say just about anything about it would be really giving the whole plot away, which I definitely don't want to do. I'll just say that it's an excellent psychological thriller--not really much in the horror vein. Very good. John Cusack, Ray Liotta, and Amanda Peet are wonderful, and Clea DuVall is likewise great. I look forward to watching it again, so I can pick up on some of the things I missed before--things that I'll be able to pick up on things more easily now that I know how it ends.

And...that was the weekend. Busier than I thought it was going to be, but nice. Yay, good weekend stuff. And it sounds like we're off to Faire again this upcoming weekend, since there are things we wanted to buy but didn't.

However...

Must go see Secondhand Lions this weekend. I want to see it anyway, but it's also a New Line film...and they've got the Return of the King preview.

Suck.

Rest in peace, Robert Palmer.

Preview, Whale Watch

I have a ton of pictures to sort through and get posted, but since people keep asking for these, here are four of the pictures that I took while out on the whale watch while we were in Boston:

One
Two
Three
Four

Enjoy!

Delayed grumbling.

Okay, so I probably should have posted this on Friday when it actually happened, but by the time I got home, I was so happy to just BE home that I couldn't really do anything else.

I went to lunch on Thursday with Melissa and Jeremy, to a place at Santana Row that I'd never been before. I won't even try to spell it, but I will say that it was absolutely amazing, and I'm looking forward to being able to go back. I wonder if they take to go orders. Oh, the danger.

But, because I went to lunch on Thursday, and spent a wonderfully enjoyable two hours, I didn't go to the social security office, nor did I go up to the college to buy books. So, I did that on Friday.

I swear to god...I was the only caucasian person in the social security office that day. There are five service windows in the place, but only one of them is dedicated to people who need new or updated cards. Outside the door is one of those take a number dealies (and some guy behind me didn't pull quite right, and yanked fifty numbers out of the thing), but (someone please explain this to me) after you choose a number and go *inside*, there's a plaque on the wall which tells people wanting new/updated cards not to take a number but to go to line five.

Yeah.

So, there are these four other windows that could be used, but they don't bother. Only one of them is open, and catering to the elderly folks who are there to pick up their checks or something--and there are another couple of people who apparently have appointments. Still, I am the only white person there. There are three families who've brought their unruly brats--which I say only because they were shrieking at the tops of their lungs, running around the small office. Sigh.

While in line, I heard the very patient, one-armed man explain the following: 'We cannot accept photocopies of marriage certificates.' 'You need to take a number to speak to someone about your checks, I can't help you.' 'She is a tourist. We do not issue numbers to tourists. (arguing from person in line) No, I am sorry, she is a *tourist*. We do not issue numbers to tourists. (more arguing) She has a visitor visa. We can't give her a number. (still more arguing) NO. She is a TOURIST. She cannot have a number. Next in line, please.' 'We cannot accept photocopies of marriage certificates. You need a notarized copy.' (Yes, again.)

It took me five minutes, once I finally got up there. Arg.

On to the college, where they've closed off a HUGE portion of the student parking area for god only knows what reason. Thank god my class this quarter isn't on campus. But holy crap, over $100 for four books for one single class. Oh, and even better, the syllabus mentions a book that the bookstore doesn't, so I have to go BACK. That or find the damn thing on Amazon or something. Arrrg.

But. I'm ready for classes.

And...scarily enough, I'm actually reasonably glad to be back at work. We'll see how long that lasts.

Grumbling.

Okay. Sometimes, I can deal with this NERO thing. I mean, I have to, right? I'm the only NERO widow left, though, since I think everyone else has been sucked into it.

And sure, it's probably just crappy scheduling somewhere in there, but being left alone for the weekend two days after we get home from vacation?

Not fun.

Usually, I really enjoy the time alone, because it gives me a chance to just...be alone, which is, well, sometimes really helpful for me.

Right now, though? I just feel lonely...and disgruntled enough that I don't really want to find company.

Sigh. :P

Wedding wrap-up.

Yep, we're home. Had a wonderful vacation, but I'm SO glad to be back home, sleeping in my own bed, with my car downstairs, and...yeah.

So, I figured I should write up a summary of the week of the wedding. If you're not interested, don't read. :) Pictures will be forthcoming later on!

'At least one thing will go wrong, I'm sure.' This is the advice that I kept giving myself in the days before my wedding, though I'm not sure I realized just how true those words would be. 'No matter what happens, the end result will be the same--I'll be wearing that ring on my finger.' Well. True enough. Still, here's the wrap-up, just because, starting with the beginning of the week.

Tuesday: Though I'd thought Tuesday would be a day I'd have to myself, it didn't really turn out that way. It started early for me, I had to make a run to the florist, then to Michael's and Costco, and *then*, I had to go back out to shop for the reception with Mark. We talked about logistics and various things, and once we were finally back and had all the food stored in the rental apartment that Brett's parents were sharing, it was time for Matt to come help me clean. I am still just beyond grateful for his help, he got the kitchen looking just absolutely marvelous. We watched Boy Meets Boy, cheered when James chose Wes, and then waited for Brett's parents to arrive, which they finally did, sometime after 11. After they got here, I fell into bed, where I promptly ended up staying awake for ages, with the list of things we had still to do running through my head.

Wednesday: I actually ended up with a lot of time to myself, mostly because everyone was figuring I was already busy enough, I think. My dress didn't arrive Wednesday, though I was told on Sunday that it would, so I was trying not to panic about that. I went to Watercourse Way, spent an hour in the hot tub, and got a lovely facial--incredibly relaxing, very nice. I thought I'd be coming home and going to bed, but Brett was off to his bachelor party, and I went out to dinner with his parents, instead--which was really very nice. Came home, went to bed, same restless sleep for the second night in a row. Arrg. :)

Thursday: The airport day. I also had to deliver ribbon to the cake lady, but got to see the top two layers--which looked just absolutely stunning. I left the ribbon in her capable hands, and was really looking forward to see how the cake turned out. Brett and I went out to breakfast with my mom and her boyfriend Matt (who will be known as Matt-North for the rest of this post, for reasons that will shortly become apparent) and by the time that was all said and done, it was time to go to the airport to pick up Andrea, my maid of honor. Once we were all back home again, Andrea tried on her stuff, and I tried on mine--once more, we had sizing issues. Her overskirt and bodice were a little bit too big (but done extremely well, considering that all Hallie had to work with were measurements!), and my underskirt was too small. *And*, once again, the sleeves were bad. Sigh. :) All that caused some panic on my end, until we got ahold of the person who'd actually made my dress, whereupon he gave us advice on how to fix it.

The rehearsal happened shortly thereafter, and was quite a bit shorter than I thought it was going to be. I thought we might run through it more than once, but all she had us do was walk down the 'aisle', and recite a bit of the vows. Firmed up the time at which we were all supposed to meet, and that was it. I gave everyone's gifts at that point: Andrea's jewelry box with her necklace and bracelet, and the mothers both got Irish linen handkerchiefs with a necklace and bracelet, as well. My mom cried, reading the poem included in the plastic hanky box. Matt-South, who'd helped me clean on Tuesday (and the reason for the designations) showed up then, and was the lifeline that he'd been for several days previous. We all agreed to adjourn and meet at 6:30 at the apartment where Brett's folks were staying, for the formal dinner. Reverend Karen didn't hang around, but we did clear up the time at which she was supposed to be there--she thought it was 3pm rather than 12:30, eek!

Matt-South and I went to Costco to get flowers, and it was almost entirely painless, yay. Sat by the pool with my mom, Brett's mom, Andrea, and Devin (Brett's middle brother) for a little while, before Mom and I went to go pick up Jeremy (my brother, henceforth known as Jeremy-TB--the brother) from the airport. When we got back, allllll my family came over: Leslie and her partner Chris, Leslie's godmother Sue, Andrea, and Teri (another aunt), along with Matt-North--and, at that point, we all trucked on over for the dinner. It was pretty high comedy, I have to say (a lot of things were, over the past few days): by the time that contingent arrived, Andrea and Sue had already had quite a bit to drink. Finally, we got them all herded over to the other apartment, where introductions and much loud chatter ensued. Andrea and I were not there for very long, but were there for long enough for me to open the gift that my aunt Teri had with her--a handmade quilt that's just...well. Just stunning. I'll post pictures.

At 8, Matt-South, Andrea, and I went back over to our apartment, as Hallie was going to fix the dresses. By the time Hallie got there, Sue, Leslie, Chris, and Teri had migrated our way, followed shortly by Jeremy-TB, my mom, and Matt-North. I think we may have overwhelmed the Cashmans a little bit. I forget how loud my family can get.

Hallie worked some amazing magic on my underskirt (the sleeves will get done later) and Andrea's dress--by the time she was finished, the underskirt fit perfectly, and Andrea's bodice and overskirt likewise were perfect fits. Andrea looked absolutely beautiful, as I figured she would. Matt-South left, but not after some very profuse thank-yous on my part--he really was my sanity more often than he probably knew. Jeremy and Clay came by for a very low key bachlorette party; they'd gone to Target and picked up things they said reminded them of me: ring pops, gummi sharks, lucky charms, and candy necklaces/bracelets. Andrea ended up with a blue raspberry ring pop that, by the end of the night, had totally turned her mouth and teeth a very dark blue. Much fun was had, and I turned into a pumpkin pretty early.

Friday: 5am, the alarm goes off. Shortly thereafter, Mark arrived, and we put meat in three separate ovens around the complex. He went off to get some sleep, and I tried to get a little bit of napping time in, but it didn't do me a whole lot of good. Initially, the plan was going to be that I'd go up to the site sometime around 8:30am, so that I could figure out how I wanted to lay things out, and give people instructions accordingly. It didn't end up working out like that, however. By the time I got the car loaded with soda and a few other things from the apartment that Brett's folks were staying in, and swung by the apartment where my family was staying, it was 9:00am--and, Brett called, saying that Brenda (the braider) was already at the apartment. This freaked me out, she was initially supposed to come at 10, but after a brief moment of panic, my mom sorted everything out: she, Matt, and Jeremy-TB would go to the site and get everything started, while Andrea and I went to go get braided, and they'd come get me at noon. It would mean that I wouldn't see the site, but ah well. I called Jeremy to let him know about the change of plan, and just dealt with it.

Being braided was awesome. She did Andrea's hair first, more so that I could calm down than anything, and it was just amazing, watching the intricate stuff she did with all that hair. From the nape of her neck upwards, there was a braid that had to have 11 or more strands in it, it was that complex, but it looked freaking cool. As it turns out, it was good that Brenda was early, because I have so much hair, and all the stuff she did with it ended up taking her much more time than I'd originally thought. It looked just amazing by the time she was done, though--just absolutely amazing.

The less said about the whole food thing, the better, I think. Let's just say that the time between when Brenda left and when we finally got on the road was the most stressful part of the whole damn day. Bad planning, somewhere in there--why five people ended up scattered across three different apartments picking up food, well...I think that happened more because I never said 'hey, at 11:30, some two or three people need to come back to the apartment to help us.' Note to self: details matter. ;) The cap of that hour and a half of hell was me slamming the pinky finger of my right hand in the trunk of my car, which sent my body into immediate shutdown. Ouchie.

Finally, we got to the site, though I have no idea how late I was. Several people swarmed the cars to empty out all the food, and Jeremy and Andrea helped me get dressed, while Leon took pictures, agh. :) Someone brought the bouquet to me, and it was just amazingly beautiful. Bouttonieres were distributed, as were hand corsages, and everyone looked just stunning. While I greeted a few people and apologized for being late, others were commandeered to make an altar for the unity candle--I was supposed to bring a TV tray for it, but utterly forgot. I also forgot my something new, an amber pendant that Jeremy and Leon gave me for my birthday--arrrrgh. It would've looked so perfect with the dress.

Once the altar was done, the aisle runner was pulled out, and finally, the ushers (Brett's brothers and Matt-South) and the best man (Graham) seated the family members for whom we had chairs, and everyone else started lining up. I don't know whether it was by accident or by design, and whether my perception of it is skewed, but there seemed to be fewer people on the groom's side of the crowd.

Rev. Karen and Brett walked down to the arch and makeshift altar, and Graham and Andrea soon followed. Next up: Matt-North and I. He took half a step forward and I didn't move at first, but after one deep, centering breath...off we went. I wish I could remember what he said to make me laugh as we were walking down the aisle. I kept looking into the assembled guests and seeing people I hadn't greeted, so I tried to make eye contact with them, in between peeks down the aisle toward Brett, standing there at the end. Graham, Andrea, and Rev. Karen were there, but...I didn't see them. Next thing I knew, Matt-North was giving me away, I was handing my bouquet over to Andrea, and putting my hands in Brett's.

The ceremony opened with a poem: http://andreloveskarla.s5.com/peom.htm, and even from the first words out of her mouth, I was already crying. Brett kept poking my fingers to get me to smile, and it worked, but never for very long at a stretch. Once the poem was finished, the tears stopped running quite so freely, but my eyes weren't completely dry again until the end. We said 'I do,' and tried to light the unity candle, just as the breeze kicked in--high comedy, trust me. Graham was trying to light the tapers, and we couldn't get them lit. Finally, we held the tapers over the pillar and got all three of them to light for a second or two, but not without much laughter and cat calling (all good natured, of course) from the guests.

Rev. Karen read a lovely piece to our families: today, your family gains a son/daughter--take him/her into your heart and love them as you would your own child, brother, or sister. I wish I could remember the exact wording, it was beautiful. It was addressed to one family at a time, though, and as she was speaking to my family, my mom gave Brett a double thumbs-up. Richard (his dad) did the same, when Rev. Karen was speaking to them, and that made me laugh.

Sharing the rings also brought a note of comedy--because of the heat and humidity outside, our fingers were swollen, so getting the rings on the fingers was amusing, but still...wow. Just wow. We shared our first kiss as husband and wife, and walked back down the aisle together--not without making the officiant cry, as well. The ceremony itself was simple and heartfelt, I think, and everyone who was there has had lovely things to say about it, which makes me happy. No bubbles for us as we walked down the aisle, but we did get some as we walked back toward the tables.

Cue the reception: much good food and a fun party, with so much time spent on my feet that I think they're still revolting, even several days later. But Dave and Balaji (from work) were there, which made me really happy. Auntie Marilyn and Uncle Rudy were there, as was my cousin Sandy, and they had lots of pictures to share. Rudy showed me a picture of Lynn and Rory, who are big in the Renaissance Faire out here, so that I could spot them next time we go. Some of Brett's family: Uncle Tim and Aunt Marian, and Arthur (a cousin). A good number of our friends: Melissa and Chris (who picked up the flowers, yay!), Helene and Scott, Francesca, Zjonni (who heard about it only a few days before--I'm so thrilled he was there), Hallie and Charles, TC, Debbie and Rhonda (friends of my mom, who are also friends of mine), Brandie, Sara and Andrew...I'm sure I'm forgetting people, but wow. It was truly awesome to have everyone there, it made my afternoon.

Graham's best man speech was truly something to behold, as well. He got in a few sharp but very good-natured digs, and also said some really lovely things. Funny that his friends are jealous of the time he spends with me, when I have likewise sometimes been jealous of the time he spends with them.

The cake looked just incredible, and tasted delicious! I will most definitely buy from Erika the next time I need a cake for any sort of event, it just looked...wow. We have tons of pictures of the cake, given how many people asked for it: Kathy, the ribbon lady; Arlette, the florist, and of course, Erika herself. I'll also probably send one to Fellowship Foundry, too, so they can see what we did with their cake topper.

The clean-up, when it was done, was quick and painless, and I barely had to do anything. The whole event was like that, all I really did was show up, which speaks to how wonderful our friends and family are. A good time seemed to be had by all, and in spite of those couple of hours where I was stressed and upset...it truly was the best day of my life. I can't wait for all the rest--and I can't find words to describe how much it thrills me to see that ring on my finger...almost as much as it thrills me to see it on his.

Okay, just one picture...

Ha ha, fooled you.

Or something.

The dress will be here tomorrow by 10:30, says Pendragon.

Hope it fits.

Fortunately, however, everything else is done, including the remainder of the ribbon for the cake, which I'll take to Erika tomorrow, and the ivy that I got from eBay to put at various places on the site.

Soon...soon, I will have more than wedding stuff to talk about. :)