A WEDDING STORY

My vacation of relaxation and low-level debauchery ended at the Holiday Inn at Portsmouth, New Hampshire at Dan's college roommate's wedding. Yes, the wedding AND the reception were at the Holiday Inn, so it was no wait between the ceremony and the drinking. We went from one room to the next, and got straight to the point from one thing to the other. The ceremony itself was quite lovely. The room needed higher ceilings, Dan and i concluded, but the vows were honestly the most beautiful i have ever heard. It made me cry, as always.

this wedding event was also unique for me in that even though Dan was in the wedding, there was someone for me to sit with who i sincerely have a lot of fun around. In fact, there wasn't just one person, there were a bunch of them. Dan's college friends became mine as well over the three years that i visited him at college, hanging out with them at dinner and while he was in classes. So i was at a table with a bunch of friends who are also recent college grads, or almost there.

I wasn't planning on drinking that night. However, our table was next to the dance floor and the open bar, and it was, gosh darnit, quite a while before the wedding party joined us and dinner was served. Well, you put us right in front of an open bar, and i wasn't going to refuse a free drink and the opportunity to get drunk with friends and dance and have a crazy time! Hell no! So that's exactly what we all did. We were tipsy before dinner was served. And then, of course, came the champagne for the toast, and then of course wine was passed around by the caters quite liberally. And then, of course, everyone else in the reception hall saw what fun these young people in the front were having, so the waiters kept bringing ALL the wine over to our table. We didn't really know how it all got there, but we weren't going to say no. I put down my share and someone else's of some lovely chardonnay, danced like crazy, and got someone else to shake loose as well :) That's always a joy, helping someone come out of their shell. I feel a bit of a responsibility to do it, since friends were so integral in getting me to come out of mine.

Fortunately, I had the wisdom and foresight to stop drinking wine and start chugging water for the last hour and a half, so i didn't get hung over! It was great! The nice thing about the whole evening? After the party was over, Dan and i didn't have to go anywhere but upstairs to sleep like rocks. It was a long but satisfying day. In the morning, we called around to our friends' rooms to see if they were ready, willing, and able to go to breakfast next door at Bickford's. A couple of them were, and we sat down and ate together. It was like a lovely return to all the good things you liked about living in the dorms. Food close at hand, friends down the hall, not having to go far from where you partied to where you sleep. It was a good weekend.

Sunday, i readjusted to Boston.


Return to The Daily Grind

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were rough. I drove not only because the T prices went up, but also because i can sleep a half hour to forty-five minutes later than when i take public trans. It's notable that i was able to make it to work at 9. But by Thursday, i noticed the depletion of my gas tank in addition to a sincere longing to read on the T. It's a great way for me to gear up in the morning and wind down in the evening. Sure, it takes a hell of a lot longer to get home, but I also enjoy the walk from work to South Station (about a mile) before dinner after i've been sitting on my ass all day. Work has been nuts, what with lacking some crucial people, and having to catch up on everything because of vacation, but it has almost been enjoyable. And i was genuinely glad to see the people there again.

YAY Weekend!!!

This weekend has been productive as well as liberating. Friday night i read a lot INSide because it was cold as fuck outside. I drank Victorian Rose tea with honey and read in the living room (without the TV on). Yesterday, I drove to one of my college friend's houses who lives in Somerville (an area i LOVE and hope to live in someday), and we hung out for a while, went to the mall, registered for this 3-month free gym membership through some fitness initiative that the Discovery Channel is sponsoring (sounded bogus, but we were all willing to try it). While we were there, i satisfied an urge to decorate myself by getting two more holes in my left ear, with which i am STILL terribly pleased.

She had to go to work, so i hung out at the Someday Cafe in Davis Sq. for a couple hours -- reading this sexist, classist, heavy-handed, and overall offensive book by Don DeLillo for a book club i'm checking out on Tuesday. While i was there, i got into a conversation with a couple people who are just starting grad school and wondering why they're doing it. It was a nice conversation to have, and i was excited to run into people thinking about the kinds of things i'm thinking. It turns out we all didn't have enough in common to want to exchange numbers at that point or anything, but it was a nice interaction as it was. I met Dan there, we continued to read for a while, and then we were ready to go. We skipped out for dinner at Anna's Taqueria around the corner, and drove back home. It feels so liberating to finally gain a sense of direction around here. Then of course, i watched the big Pats vs. Titans game last night, which was AWESOME, and i knit and drank tea while i was doing it. It was quite nice.

Today, Matt, Dan and i went driving around a little more - just grocery shopping and picking up our weekly T-passes in Harvard Sq. This was something we could have accomplished on foot and with a bus or two, but it's ass cold out there! Plus, this left me the time to do laundry (which i'm doing right now), and to finally update my blog, which i'm also obviously doing right now.