AWP redux: Boston!

I have (very) recently returned from Boston, the land of snow & chowdah. & lobstah & some writers.
First let me say that I did not sleep either very much or very well, so my disposition on returning home is cloudy (inside the head). But, I am glad to be home and I am also glad I went.

1. Number of meals/etc. with Nikwalk: 3-ish? One might have been drinks that bled into dinner, so maybe I could count that as two? Whatever the answer, it was awesome!! But I could've handled more. 
2. Stuff learned: some. I got some good ideas for my novel writing class and I learned some things about Book Arts, which is relevant to the Publication Class I'm teaching now. The other panels were sort of blah ho hum.
3. Number of readings attended: Three. It seems like more. Don DeLillo. He is awesome. As Lisa B. said, he is like someone's old Italian grandfather. He seems like a reclusive curmudgeon with a dry sense of humor. I could have listened to him talk for hours. The person he "conversed" with was interesting, but I found her fiction too detailed. It reminded me of the Lynn Emanuel poem where she says she doesn't want to write fiction because she doesn't want to describe the carpet. I want to write fiction and also not describe the carpet
4. Best thing ever: Jeanette Winterson. I felt like I was at a TED talk. She walked around and read and took off her glasses and used interesting voices. She talked about how important art is, and I love that. Also she is petite and she seemed really friendly.
5. Best meal: I don't know. I'm too tired to think about it. I think I liked the tapas at Toro best, because you know I am a sucker for tapas.
6. Most overrated thing: Bone Marrow. What is that about? Sorry, Nik.
7. Best thing in life: sleep.
8. Best excursion: MFA. I love art! It made me remember that I need to be more involved with art at home. I got to see one of my favorite paintings, Millet's "The Sower." So I'm happy about that.
9. I have some good stories to tell, but you'll have to see me in person to hear those. 

Consumption Log

Because HTMS said she would not be bored by learning what I have eaten....

• Rotisserie chicken (standing up in the kitchen, pulling meat off, feeding chicken skin to the Gus)
• Pear Martini (yes, it was that delicious)
• Roasted Apple Salad
• Coffee Spiced Beet Salad
• Pici with Duck Ragu & Wild Mushrooms (yes! It was that good!)
• Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Gelato and Citrus Glaze (yum!)
• Scallops cooked with garlic in white wine and butter
• Caesar Salad
• Ahi Tuna
• Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
• Chocolate with Hazlenuts
• Vermont Maple Sausage
• Hashbrowns
• Scrambled Eggs

So, that's been my last few days.

Also: coffee. I can't believe it, but here I go: grading! 

What We Drank

• Christmas Caipirinhas (lime, ginger, rum, ginger ale)
• Spanish Red 
• Gruet Sparkling Wine
• Claret
• Ridge Zinfandel
• Cote du Rhone
• Old Fashioned: blood orange, lemon, expensive maraschino cherries, Maker's Mark
• Shot in the Dark: lemon juice, simple syrup, rum (shake!), ginger ale, dark rum floated on top, raw sugar around the rim of the glass (soooooooooooooooooo delicious)

Obviously this was not all in one night, but over the last few days. Last night we did have quite a few cocktails (Old Fashioneds & Shots in the Dark, multiples).

Also, the best thing ever is projecting movies on to the white wall of our living room. We've watched "The Sting" and "Paper Moon." I'm hoping we can watch something else tonight. It's like an in-house movie theater and it rocks. The only drawback is that we have to move our couch to enjoy it. 

The Beauty of Getting Older

...is that you appreciate things so much more.
Such as:

• my amazing husband (who else would have married me?)
• friends you have known for a long time
• friends with whom you have many things in common
• the laughter of Son (and his sense of humor in general)
• delicious drinks, like Jack Frost, The Metropolitan, and White Sangria
• the amazing shoulders of Dwight Howard, seriously, check this dude out
• friends who will take your crazy son for the night so you can, briefly, pretend to be an Adult
• being so much stronger this year than last
• being able to afford to go out for fancy drinks & a fancy dinner (at least a few times a year)
• wine
• mountains
• my very expensive Victoria's Secret bra (I saw a dude checking me out at the game last night. It's so the bra!)

How To Party: The Crossfit Version

Having attended my first "real" Crossfit party, I now have a greater understanding of how to approach this beast, which is part entertainment, part athletic event. Here are some guidelines for those of you who may not have had the pleasure yet. This will help you know what to expect.

1. Wear loose fitting pants, NOT because you are going to eat a lot, but because, at some point, someone will start doing a Crossfit exercise, pistols or burpees, and you will be called on to demonstrate what you do best, whether it be splits or handstand pushups or side crow,. Be prepared.
2. Study up on military heroes, generals of past wars and obscure celebrities. Why? Because you may be called upon to describe this person in one or more words or to act out this person in a game of charades and this requires that you know who the person is when you read their name on a piece of paper. Just be sure you know which branch of the military is most popular among your Crossfit friends and study that branch. Also, sports heroes who are in the news for sleeping around appear prominently.
3. Try to understand the nuances of all the different diets your friends are on. There's the paleo, the green face, the Zone, and variations of each wherein people eat no grains or some grains or no dairy or some dairy or no chocolate or some chocolate. Or just say fuck it and bring a big bag of Doritos and some beer (FYI: Doritos and beer are not paelo or zone or warrior).
   
4. Bring your drinkin' stomach. You know that one person who kicks your ass every day at the gym? He/she can also drink you under the fucking table. Believe you me.
5. After you have consumed more alcoholic beverages in more categories than you thought possible, be prepared for the feats of strength. These can include, but are not limited to: indian leg wrestling, burpees, push ups, handstand push ups and various body contortions that may or may not be based on yoga. The alcohol you consumed will help you relax into whatever uncomfortable positions you may find yourself in after getting beat down by your opponents.
6. For every alcoholic beverage, drink two glasses of water. This may apply to all parties, but is especially important in this case, because no matter how much you drank, everyone will expect to see you at the gym, bright and early.
7. Take some fish oil before you go to sleep. This applies to all nights, not just the one of the party. But after the party it might help you forget the injuries you sustained in the feats of strength.
   
8. The next day, photos of you will appear. So just be sure that when you take off your shirt to display your guns, you know where all the cameras are.
   

You know how blogger uploads photos...so here they are, randomly.
This is my "outstanding value" which is a towel I got at Marks and Spencer so that I could shower. Yes, no towels at the hostel. Oh well. Now I have a bath towel and a hand towel and all is right in the universe.






This is the buffalo representing "America" in the Prince Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. You may not be able to see it, but the buffalo is being ridden by a "native American." According to this memorial there are 4 continents. All of them have fascinating animals.








First pub drinks in London (I had a Samuel Smith Old something Bitter). The other girls had cider, which was dry and delicious.












Parliment (blurry...). We saw a protest by Sri Lankans (?) about the recent deaths. It stopped traffic and there were many many police there. An educational experience to be sure.

Lon-Don

Yeah, I know I'm lame and about to get lamer. I haven't been posting, because I've been so busy, and now I'm not going to post. At all.
On Saturday I'm leaving for London where I will, no doubt, eat and drink too much and get sick of museums and then, just in time, flee for a weekend in Paris.
Before you know it, I'll be back.
Be good. I promise to bring pictures and trinkets and lovely stories.
I promise to seize the day.
You do so as well.

Drinking

Middlebrow turned me on to this post, and this blog in general, over at the NY Times. It's about drinking, though at least one contributor is a recovering alcoholic. What kills me is the people who leave comments about how the blog is contributing to alcoholism, or about all the negative things that drinking brings into people's lives. Why are they reading a blog about drinking in the first place?
But this particular post took me back to the good ole days in Bellingham, where I once ran into a friend on campus. She was done with school, I was just a post-Bac, taking classes and working, still figuring out what the hell I was doing with my life. We headed down to the 3-B tavern, got a pitcher, slid into a booth and proceeded to kill the rest of the afternoon and probably most of the evening without moving, except to get more pitchers. The great thing about the 'ham, a college town of the best sort, is that, as we sat there, the bar filled with our friends, who would join us for a round and then drift off, only to be replaced by more friends.
Once, I left a greeting on my answering machine that began, "I've become one of those women who drinks alone, who sits at the bar and has just one, while the bar fills..." It was during a phase of my life when I left poems instead of traditional greetings. Once I got a message that just said, "Cool." I don't even know who that was. But once, a guy with the same name as Middlebrow (not an uncommon name), called me and heard that message. I wasn't home, obviously, so he just went down to the 3B and there I was. Of course!
Now that I'm past 40, with a real job and a kid, there are no opportunities for afternoon drinking or, at least, they are significantly different. Now, we have drinks in the front yard while Son rides his bike up and down the sidewalk. Now, we make vodka tonics and drink in the front yard with the neighbors, while the kids entertain themselves. We stop drinking at 9 or 10, or at least move it inside. We drink while we watch TV or movies. While we grade student papers. We try to mute the pain of inferior prose with beer and wine.
But we don't get to go into a dark bar on a perfectly fine afternoon for no other reason than we want to have beer, lots of it, and just talk, hang out, people watch, discuss, interact with each other. Afternoon drinking, long hours dedicated to nothing but beer and conversation, is a thing of the past.
I look back on those afternoons with nostalgia.

Posting

I'll probably be posting more over at Poem A Day this month, so don't think I'm neglecting you. I will sometimes post other funny things here, like a link to this short essay that I find familiar and lovely.

And speaking of drinking, I'm contemplating my choices for this evening. Beer? Wine? Oh, what shall it be?

What I've Done

1. Started school
2. Taught 4 classes
3. Added too many students to my comp classes
   
4. Swam at 6 a.m.
5. Ran 6 miles
6. Played tennis
7. Made pizza in my small kitchen
8. Made chicken rice soup from homemade broth
9. Made a pot roast
10. Read a book
11. Watched the Golden Globes (and blogged about it at TWIT)
12. Went to an OC Meeting
13. Ate chocolate
14. Went out to a "the semester's starting, let's have a margarita" dinner with a colleague
15. Went to bed early and got a good night's sleep
16. Had coffee with a newly-laid-off colleague
17. Walked and had tea with a friend I haven't seen in a long time
18. Hung out with Son on his sick day and watched a terrible movie on Netflix
19. Put away (most of) the piles of paper that filled our living room
20. Reorganized some stuff

Okay. That's what I did.

Year-End Wrap Up: Last Post for 2008

I guess I need to post before the clock strikes midnight. I am inspired by everyone's year end/ best of lists, but I'm not sure I can review the whole year right now, given that I am only one cup of coffee into what will surely prove to be a two cup day (at least...it may be a three cup day...).
So, in my muddled way, I will try to remember the highlights, best ofs, etc.

• Most surprisingly good movie: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Best vacation: I can't choose. Austin; Boulder, Utah; Pinetop/Flagstaff, AZ; Vegas
  
• Best Margarita: Mesa Grill, Las Vegas
• Best Martini: Four Seasons, Las Vegas
• Best New Drink: Watermelon Margarita (my backyard!)
• Favorite Book: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
• Best Gift Received: Keen boots (from MB) and coat/scarf (from my mom)
• Best Gift Given: The Best of Ogden Nash and NBA socks (to MB)
• Best Activity: Ragnar Wasatch Back (because of the bonding with my teammates)
• Best Rediscovered Activity: Tennis
• Movie that should receive an Oscar, but won't: Slumdog Millionaire
• Favorite TV show (on DVD): Battlestar Galatica
• Favorite TV show (on TV): The Office, 30 Rock, Lipstick Jungle, Samantha Who? (I can't choose! I suck at these lists!)
• Favorite activity: Lunch & a Movie (with Lisa B!)
  
• Favorite newly discovered restaurant: Tin Angel
• Favorite newly discovered divey restaurant: Victor's Tires & Tamales
• Favorite workout: Master's swimming
  
• Best Item I Made: Peach cake
• Best Item I Ate: (suffering from immediacy) stuffed peppers at Cafe Madrid; sweet potato tamale at Mesa Grill; Winter Green ravioli at Union Square Cafe; Mushroom Soup at Ems; Bread Pudding at Hell's Backbone; Conejo paella at Sylvia & Don's.

That's all I can think of. I'm sure I left something out...but if I remember, I'll mention it next year. See you all on the other side.

Sleeping In

The conditions under which I, a mother of a seven-year-old boy, am able to sleep in:

• son is safely stowed at friend's house for sleep over;
  
• drank a considerable amount the night before including, but not limited to: one mojito type cocktail, numerous glasses of red wine, a glass of port;
• ate a considerable amount the night before including, but not limited to: warm frisee salad with Camembert and grape vinaigrette, lamb chop with dried apricots, pomegranate, and Israeli couscous, various chocolate desserts;
• sat up reading while trying to digest;
• went to bed around or after midnight;
• was awakened at 4:37 a.m. by a stranger trying to get into our house;
• laid in bed, heart pounding, while MB patrolled the front door, called the police, then observed four squad cars and their various activities for about one hour;
• tried to go back to sleep around 5:30 a.m., unsuccessfully;
• finally went to sleep, eventually, only to awaken with a start at 10:57 a.m.

And this, friends, is the story of how I learned that I could, indeed, sleep in.
(Also, it turns out, that the guy was probably drunk and meant to go next door to his girlfriend's house, possibly, and the police made him do the drunk test, cuffed him and put him in the squad car, and searched his car with flashlights but then, maybe, just let him go? I'm not sure.)

Current Obsessions

Since I got back from Vegas, I have been thinking about the menus for the various days and meals we will or should be eating in the coming days. I have also been trying to pick and choose from among the traditional cookies my family usually makes, asking Son for his input of course.
I haven't made much progress, but I have made some decisions (sort of?). To wit:

• Christmas Eve: MB has decided that this year, instead of making tamales, we will buy them from Victor's. We took a research trip out there. Delicious!
• Christmas Day: We'd like to have some local, organic meat, baked potatoes and Caesar Salad. Easy!
• Appetizers: On Christmas Eve, I'd like to have a selection of appetizers, like the obvious veggie platter, perhaps with our traditional cottage cheese dip or maybe something new, like this herbed goat cheese dip? Or perhaps these Spanish style tapas, such as shrimp or tortilla?
• What about Christmas morning? I think I'll make the cranberry maple cake I made this year. See these pics from last year.
• Cookies? I already made the peanut butter chocolate bars. Son demands the 7 Layer Bars. I bought stuff for the peanut butter kiss cookies, but might not make them, because we have to make sugar cookies. Those are required. I'm trying to draw the line there, but I will miss the oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies. But oh well. I'm trying hard not to gain too much weight over break.
• Drinks? Red wine of course, and maybe some Claus-mopolitans. And perhaps some more bubbly wine. And egg nog, with rum of course. And maybe some Baileys to add to the coffee. Yum....
  

I would love to hear what you will be eating, especially ideas for appetizers. I think I would rather eat lots and lots of appetizers and save myself the trouble of making any big meals.

Too Busy

I'm too busy to post.
Oh, you say, she must be writing and doing teaching related things.
No.
Okay, a bit, but mostly what I have done is: speed work at the track; sprint workout with Master's swimming masochists; pool Friday with colleagues (this didn't involve swimming so much as drinking and sunning) ; much watching of "Battlestar Galactica"; shopping at the Farmers' Market (purchased: tomatoes, basil, arugula, more tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, peaches, blackberries, bread); made pesto; ate pesto on delicious bread with sliced tomatoes; drank wine; made peach-blackberry cobbler (oh! my! goodness! so delicious!); ate cobbler & ice cream; slept (a bit!); ran 9 miles with friends; made French toast for Son (he said I make the best French toast! but I claim it is the bread and the expensive vanilla!); made eggs and toast for myself; ate eggs and toast, then the last piece of French toast; logged all my workouts on-line; drank some water (and some coffee, and some Gatorade).
Add in there a fair amount of email (at all hours of the day and night) with students that involved adding students to classes, reading their on-line introductions, and calling the help desk to get a student added to the on-line portion even though she was already enrolled in the class, and adding homework to the website because the bookstore doesn't have the book yet (let me not go off on a rant about that!!).
All in all, a crazy and crazy first half-week of school. I am not dreading this next week as the first week demonstrated to me that I am actually a teacher. And I actually like my students. See? Not so bad.

Recent Obsessions

1. Robyn: Swedish pop star. Why? Unknown. I heard about her on Fresh Air, and then I downloaded her music for running. My favorite is "Be Mine!" She swears a lot. As in "I should have seen it comin'/ I should have F*@%in' known." But somehow it's more powerful when I'm sitting on the couch, drinking white wine, surfing the net while Son plays with the neighbors.
2. Bald Men: Is it just me getting older or are bald men getting sexier? Or is that sexy men are getting balder? Witness one Michael Chiklis, who has been sexy for awhile. Bruce Willis is sexy when bald. But isn't he just sexy? (Don't think about his politics! which may be suspect!) I know there are others, but mind has just gone blank. I'll get back to you on this one.
   
3. Wasatch Back Relay: Why the fuck am I doing this? Okay, I know why. Because one agrees to be part of a team, and then one has to. I haven't been training enough and I've been drinking too much wine and eating too much, but what the hell. I'll finish. I know I will, because I have to, and, if nothing else, I have a strong sense of obligation. And also, I have learned in the years I have been me, I'm mentally strong even if I am weak of the flesh.
   
4. My unwritten novel: I think I'll write a book called The Novel I'm Not Writing. Then at least I'd be writing. But Sleepy E is in town, and he of the hypographia gave me a bit of a pep talk (spurred on by Middlebrow). I also got some inspiration from Walter Mosley's book This Year You Write Your Novel. In general, I just need someone to tell me, with infuriating regularity, You can do it. Just do it, you stupid fuckhead. But maybe in a nicer way.
   
5. Chris Noth: this picture. Enough said.
6. Plot: I like mysteries. I want to write a lyrical novel. Who the fuck am I? And why am I swearing so much?
   
7. Other people's sex lives: Do other people have more sex than me? Probably. Do they also have house cleaners and no children or at least nannies and are they having sex with the nanny? Maybe. Are they less neurotic about their non-wage earning "work"? Definitely. Let the dust bunnies reproduce. I'm in the basement "writing."
8. Writing: is the same as number 4? Yes. See number 7 under neurotic.
   
9. Not deserving all the wonderful great fantastic awesome gifts of the universe: do I need to go to therapy again? I haven't got time! See number 7.
   
10. Summer: hiking. going to the pool. not writing. Whatever. It's summer!
    

What I've Been Doing: Week 1

Though this week doesn't really count as Week 1 of vacation (I didn't turn in my grades until Monday), it is the beginning of vacation. So what have I been doing?

1. Cleaning the bedroom (mopping floor, dusting, cleaning the door, more dusting)
2. Purging (old running shoes, clothes not worn in decades, Son's too small clothes)
3. Cleaning downstairs (so far I've only recycled a lot of paper and shredded some stuff, but the desk is visible, if not quite usable)
4. Watching stuff ("Shut Up & Sing," "Monk" on Hulu, "I'm Your Man" while I cleaned downstairs)
5. Eating French Fries (made in the oven, with yummy aioli, so good)
6. Going out to lunch (I've only done this once, but I think I'll do it again!)
7. Thinking about writing (I like to have a fresh start and a clean desk)
8. Making lists in my head (called "things to do" & "things not to forget")
9. Worrying (self-explanatory?)
10. Drinking (wine, beer, Izze sodas, iced tea, lemonade)
11. Laundry
12. Reading (two books finished today! Onward & upward!)
13. Getting organized (at least in my mind)
14. Having my blood drawn (this is in my top two things I hate the most & I can't remember the other one. Plus I have a big bruise now)
15. Oh, I have been running. And I swam once. And my knee hurts. So there's that)

I hope y'all have been as wildly unproductive in the first days of summer vacation as I have. I'm looking forward to it being hot enough that the pool opens.

Pretending I'm Not Old

I went out last night with some, shall we say, younger people. Not only did they drink me under the table (they were under the table, metaphorically, while I was upright, sipping my ice water), they reminded me why I am usually home, asleep, after 11 p.m.

1. Music at clubs is loud. And mostly incomprehensible. Witness Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. I couldn't bear to listen to the music at their website, but I'm guessing it's just as incomprehensible as it was last night at 12:42 a.m.
2. You can't talk to anyone. (see number one)
3. Young people are weird. Maybe it's just that people are weird, but there were lots of people with face piercings and abundant tattoos. But perhaps even more strange was that, mixed in with those people, were some girls who clearly were trying to dress like/be Paris Hilton.
4. I'd rather listen to music in my living room while I drink beer or wine or whatever. I can control the volume and, what's better, turn it off if I feel like it.
   

On the plus side, I did like the opening band, whose lyrics were more comprehensible. One of my companions compared their music to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! The only lyrics I could hear were "I like shiny things." The lead singer then proceeded to name all the people in the band and say, for example, "Lewis likes shiny things." Apparently the front man/song writer for this group grew up in Orem. Enuf said. I think they are called Perbats, but as it was so loud in the club, that is only a guess.

The Sleepytime Monkey people were scary, in a screaming, speed metal way. AND the lead dude looked like a satyr. He should have been playing a pan flute.
On the plus side, I ran in to old friend Brian K, who was a sight for sore eyes. And whose eyes aren't sore when one is standing in a smoky bar past midnight?
One of my companions showed up after 11, was surprised to find me still there. I bought him a big (huge!) beer in honor of his 25th (that's right!) birthday. I made everyone promise me that they were walking home before I left. Ever the mother.
I also had to promise to show them pictures of myself with a shaved head. But that's a different story.

Leaving CinCin

Parting Shots:
Met wonderful men, Joe, Amhet, Greg for night two at JeanRo. Had a Stella, a bourdeaux, and the Trout. Delicious.
Made all the more delicious by the fact that they expense accounted it. Then we went to a Martini club for two dirty maritinis.
All free, people, because many working professionals have expense accounts. And like to buy attractive women drinks. That's assuming, of course, that I'm attractive. Which, Joe, father of two, said I was, "naturally attractive."
And, hey,when that comes with free wine, food and drinks, it ain't for nothin.
So over and out, for now.
BTW, I saw "Becoming Jane." It's okay. I love James but am no big fan of Anne. My big problem with the film was the presumption that a man had to inspire her great works, had to teach her to feel passion. Anyway, the film didn't spend the time, as her novels did, developing the relationship. It was a good way to spend the afternoon, air-conditioned.
Am glad to return home in mere hours, as it is well into tomorrow already.

School Dread

I'm back from the jungles of Idaho where we braved storms and too many margaritas to enjoy family time and reminiscing with high school buddies, former teachers, parents' colleagues, and family friends and neighbors.
Highlights:

1. Sitting in hot pool that belonged to hotel nestled in evergreens, as it got dark.
2. Spending lots of time with parents and siblings.
3. Hiking with siblings in Lava Hot Springs.
4. Making the incredibly delicious pomegranate mojitos (not as sweet as you'd fear!).
5. Walking Gus in Lava and meeting the locals.
6. Talking to hip teenage niece about friends from Austin, myspace and emo-screamo.
7. Shopping with sister for shorts and buying two shirts and new dress instead.
8. Buying shorts at Ace Hardware.
9. Swimming laps at Ross Park Pool with my new polarized goggles.
10. Eating at Pocatello taco truck two times.
11. Running into high school friend and jewelry making wife at Pocatello farmer's market.
12. Hiking with grad school friend and dog on Boundary Trail.
13. Riding my bike in Island Park and Inkom.
14. Meeting sister's friend from State College. Mostly when he said things like "Yep, she's your sister" and "Don't you think 'Mike's Hard Berry' sounds dirty?"
15. Talking to cool sociologist who studies vampire culture and prison gambling.
16. Finally reading A Fan's Notes. What took me so long?
17. Eating lots of eggs and bacon for breakfast.
18. Eating lots.
19. Drinking lots.
20. Finally coming home and getting back to running. And sleeping in my own bed.

But, because I'm crazy!, I leave for Cincinnati on Wednesday to do research for what heretofore shall be referred to as the DFL. I'll spend two days at the Arts Center, also eating at whatever cool restaurants I can find, maybe having a martini, if I feel brave.
I hope I see many of you soon. Wish me luck.

Notes from Idaho

First, I think that could be a Hemingway title. Okay. Here's some things I've been thinking of.

Things not to talk about at wedding of high school friend:

1. God: How did this happen? To my credit, I did not bring it up. A friend from high school's husband began talking about how he wanted to take his kids to church. For some reason, I couldn't quite believe it. Maybe because he never struck me as the type. And, maybe it's just me, but I think when your oldest is 15, it may be too late to try to force them to go to church.
2. Pedagogy: I'm not sure how this came up, but I managed to throw it in. My friend, who also has a PhD, said something like "don't get all fancy on us" affecting an Idaho-hick mentality that he surely does not own. Oh sure, everyone else can talk about something where I'm excluded (fishing? world cup soccer? sword fighting?) but when I say a long word I'm accused of being elitist. The world isn't fair.
3. Friend's high school romance life: Who knew that relationships one had twenty years ago (and I use the term "relationship" loosely) should not be mentioned because husband's can get jealous? (I do have to mention, however, that friend threw herself down on the grass to imitate herself some twenty-plus years ago during an REO Speedwagon concert, bawling on the floor because of some guy who, even when mentioned by name, I couldn't remember). This was not the friend who was getting married, but a different friend.
4. Various drunken outings in Salt Lake City: I was telling friends about how bad I was two years ago, so bad that MB still mentions it as my "bad night." It was hilarious, only because they seemed so horrified about my behavior, behavior that, I might add, I no longer feel bad about. (which should be its own post, so rarely does it occur)

In general, my friend's wedding was lovely. Her parents were excellent hosts, the food was great, and I love me a backyard wedding. Another friend said, after the wedding, "well, that was a cute little wedding" and then proceeded to tell me how her own marriage was flailing (this was the friend whose husband gets jealous about high school boyfriends). I, however, felt that the wedding was perfect. I decided I love it when older people get married (and by older I mean my age or older). I love it because the couple is not naive, not starry eyed and are generally so grateful to have found each other. With this in mind, I have to say that my own favorite married couple are HighTouch and The Historian. I have never heard either say even something simply "nice" about the other. They always gush about how wonderful/amazing/superb/incredible the other is. I aspire to be like them. I, too often, say negative things about MB who, I might add, doesn't really even miss me. (sniff, sniff)

So for anything negative I've ever said about MB, I take it back. He's a prince of man, a genius, obviously, and if he can put up with me (the worst kind, high maintenance but I think I'm low maintenance), then he deserves an award. Or at least a week or so of pure batch.