Marriage Announcement !!!

Sweet Jesus, not mine!!!

This post is about marriage as I've had some time to think about it recently. My friend Bret is going to be marrying Emily later this year. I also have a few other friends that already are married (Abby Burgett-Crull for one). Of course, we could begin a very philosophical discussion about the merits of marriage in today's society and then contrast that to the societial norms when our parents or parents parents got married, but I'm sure we'll all agree that it's just not the same as it used to be (for most Americans). This post will really just be about the wedding day itself and the activities that lead up to it.

First, I'm guessing all of us have been to a wedding or two, whether it be a family, friend, or stranger's wedding (no, not wedding crashing, just meaning that you're the "+1" and don't know the bride, groom, or anyone else invloved).

From my experience, there's a different level of enjoyment on the wedding day, depending a great deal on how much you have invested in the wedding couple's life/courtship. For many family weddings, it's a great day as everyone's excited, happy, drunk etc. And, you know everyone invloved... even the aunt that pinches your cheek and makes you kiss hers (bleech!). These are good times. It's often a similiar feeling, though to a lesser extent, if it's a friend's wedding. Of course, there's less people that you know, but you tend to make up for it in fun. Again, these are fun times and the people getting married remember the day that much more.

Now the last kind... when you attend the wedding as a +1... these can be tricky. You don't know anyone but the person that dragged you there and are only going b/c of the promise of free booze (unless you "really like weddings!"). This is the kind of thing that gets (me) people in trouble. You wind up giggling under your breath during the ceremony and can't wait for the reception (read: open bar) to begin. it provides opportunity, just guessing here, for taking a center piece from the reception table, piling it full with "cocaine" (sugar) and pretending to snort it. This would be fine if it was just for the wedding table you're at, but you also decided to use the reception's disposable camera and capture it for the bride and groom. How nice, you left them a special gift.

So, where am I going with this?

Well, it's clear to me that the best weddings happen when people know each other and can have a good time (with no cocaine snorting). This past weekend, we got to meet alot of the friends in Bret & Emily's wedding. It's nice to get to know everyone before the wedding, which will be held in Quebec. I have no doubt that the wedding day, er, weekend will be much more enjoyable and memorable for the bride & groom and all of us. Plus, we might prevent the "+1"s from getting out of hand.

I missed Abby's wedding and I'm sure it would have been a good one too. She had alot of great people that all knew each other beforehand. I'm sure it was a blasty-blast.

Results, Poll #3, Crying.

It seems as though we've peaked at 10 respondents per week - y'all gotta get just one person you know to fill out the poll! That will help. And I'm very impressed with the 10 replies the past two weeks.

In any case, this poll was about crying and here's what it looked like:
1 - once a day - if you want to talk about it, I'd listen
5 - once a week - well, I hope we all feel better after this
3 - once a month - I'd bet these people didn't want to say once a week
1 - "Crying's for girls" - Ben, is that you?

This question was the first that had a pretty normal distribution (Bell curve) and I believe that had something to do with the possible choices. It went from a small number to a larger one, so most poeple would tend to fill the middle choices.

I liked this one, thanks for replying. The current poll, #4, is pretty light in terms of significance of human emotion (though not for someone anal like me). I'm working on some more significant ones too.

Note: Technical Difficulties

I'm working on new posts, but my internet/laptop has some issues at home. I'm going to be a bit more intermittent with posts for a bit.

Admitting a problem is the first step...

...This is not easy for me, but some of you already know; I am addicted to cell phones. As a quick exercise while the 14.5” of snow fell yesterday, I listed out all the phones I've owned at one time or another. I believe this goes back to the year 2000, maybe 1999. I know I got the first one at the AT&T store in the ghetto-esque stripmall by Cabrini Green (where Clybourne, North, Sedgewick, and Larabee meet). In no particular order (wait, I always have a particular oder), they are:

Nokia
6030
6590 (2)
E62
9300
3360
5140
8210 (all time favorite)
Panasonic
g51m (that super small one)
Samsung
x495
Motorola
Unidentified (found it on Navy Pier)
Razr
Rokr w385 (work)
RIM
BlackBerry 7300 (work)
Sony Ericsson
w300i
s710a (hand me down)

Now seeing what I have become, I'm almost ashamed to admit I'm looking at yet another one; Almost ashamed - I can't stop now.

Results, Poll #2, Shaving.

So, how many of us think that shaving (for a guy) is mandatory on a first date? Turns out I got 10 respondents - one more than last week, sweet! \

4 people said the guy has to shave.
1 person said flat out "no he don't!".
And the final 5 said it totally depends on the couple.

As you may have guessed, this tied into my "first date" post, and just for the record, after we talked about it on the phone, I went with short stubble. In the end, I was happy I didn't commit to a full shave. I wonder what the results would have said if I asked if a girl is required to shave (her legs) before a first date...

Results, Poll #1, Cereal Milk.

The results are in from last week's poll about the milk left in the bowl when you're done with your cereal. So, a whopping 9 people voted. Now, it might sound like I'm not happy with the results, but I have to admit, I wasn't expecting 9 people to read my blog. This was the first poll and I didn't advertise too hard. I'll do better on the next one, but only with your help (talk it up!). In terms of scientific significance, we'd need at least 29 respondents - we'll get there someday.

After all that, 8 out of 9 people drink their milk. It's what I would have expected. And if you're the one who dumps their milk and feel like sharing, please let me know. It's good trivia.

Late Night Video Post