the return, part II, requiem
ok, now where was i?
oh yeah, so, the REAL wasko and the REAL red showed up late since red ended up having to work a bit later than expected. we jaunted over to the easton area of columbus to grab some grub at logan's steakhouse. though i thought we were running late, our timing turned out pretty damn perfect. after dinner, we went to a comedy show at the funnybone at the easton mall. they were funny enough. one comedian from west virginia reminded me of a a twitchy(er) redneck version of robin williams. the warmup guy asked if there were any celebrations in the crowd. i tried to get his attention which Chump was having none of. there was a bachelor party in front of us for an old guy, guessing second marriage (at least). after making some jokes about him, he looked back at our table saying he thought he saw someone back our way. i was reluctant to raise my hand again, as this was Chump's night.
after the comedy show, we headed to our favorite local gentlemen's club on the other side of columbus, kahoot's. thaddius and dexter took good care of our table all night. i told them it was Chump's bachelor party, so there was a girl at the table at all times. Chump didn't want to go up onstage, which kinda sucked cuz that's a bachelor party STAPLE, but again, his night. i made sure he was covered all night for dances. i'm pretty sure a good time was had by all, but especially Chump. on the way home from kahoot's, we were privy to an impromtu version of cash cab. our inebriated bunch crowded into his taxi van, and the fun began. i asked where he was from due to his accent, guessing trinidad. he starts flashing the inside dome light of the van, joking that it was cash cab. i was wrong, and guessed tobago instead. again wrong, so i guess jamaica (since he had some bob marley on). let's just say i would've been the fastest loser on cash cab ever. we eventually found out he's from senegal. how i messed that one up, i don't know. he asked us ohio's first capital to which wasko jumped up, true 6th-grade ohio history style with "chillicothe". then he asked us which state was the silver state. Chump chimed in after a minute with nevada while we were all mumbling about it. the driver didn't answer, we mumbled, and Chump said it a bit louder, no answer from the driver. finally Chump bellowed (there may have even been an echo), "NEVADA!". the cash cab guy flashed the lights, and we were winners... of nothing more than a good time. we got him to play some of our favorite bob marley tunes for the rest of the ride, particularly jamming to "no woman, no cry". it was a fun(ny) ride, but it had to end, so he dropped us off at the waffle house near the hotel. we ate more greasy food than we probably shouldn't have, but it's tradition, then we stumbled to the hotel.
i stayed a few more days in columbus to watch the NASCAR race and ended up getting to try out a wii. we played a couple hours of bowling, which was fun, but i really like my action and racing games, not to mention the graphics and i can watch DVDs on it and such. the wii is, dare i say, a bit immature? i don't know. after columbus i went home to open my new goodies (oh yeah, i bought a new laptop, my FIRST personal laptop). while home, i shopped, had square pizza (a local specialty), got Chump and soon-to-be mrs. Chump's wedding present and generally dilly-dallied doing nothing of any import though seeming to never have time for myself to relax. such is R&R in this field.
friday was the rehearsal and dinner. the rehearsal went pretty well. the church had REALLY narrow aisles, so walking down the aisle side-by-side with a bridesmaid was impossible. we remedied this by allowing the girls to lead the way while we followed trying not to look like dejected suitors. I was lucky enough to get TWO girls since she had both her sisters as maids-of-honor. after the rehearsal, we wound down the country road to our local watering hole, TheFBar, where the rehearsal dinner was being held in the "back bar". it was a really nice spread, and since we know the owner, we got to bartend for our selves. BAD IDEA!!! by the end of the night, us young(ish) bucks (and a few of the respective does) had floated the keg and downed several shots that apparently don't mix well together in the stomach the next morning.
the next morning we all arrived at the church LOOKING fine, but how everyone felt was another story. i think i was one of the few who felt pretty well. i won't name names, but some of the BTBz and their wives had had a "reversal of fortune" or two throughout the morning and the drive to the church. still, we all arrived, we all knew our duties, and things were going to go off without a hitch.
the ushers seated, i made sure the groom had everything, i felt for the bride's ring in my pocket the whole time, always nervous it would vanish. i'm sure the girls were downstairs getting gussied up and such. the ceremony began wonderfully, no one missed their cues, everyone was in the right position, even the ring bearer and the flower girl, who oftentimes succumb to tantrums, inability to follow directions, and confusion, were perfect. T was sweating like he was thinking about hot wings... everything was going as we had expected, then about halfway through the ceremony, i heard a bit of a commotion in the rear of the church. it seems one of the groomsmen was "over come with emotion" and had to step outside for some fresh air, but he only made it about halfway down the side aisle before taking a dive. the pastor took it all well and tried to get the fans going since it was a warm day. soon enough, said groomsman was outside feeling much better... and we all figured T'd be the one to bite it, but with all those years of marching band training behind him, he knew not to lock his knees in the heat. the rest of the ceremony went as planned, and everyone was excited to the see the happy couple kiss and walk away married.
after the wedding, we hopped onto the wedding trolley they rented. we took it to oglebay park, a local spot popular for wedding pictures. nice rolling hills, rustic gates, and a mansion. after those pictures were done, we went back to TheFBar, incidentally where MrandMrsChump got engaged, for some "casual" pictures. i really think those pictures are going to turn out well. i can't wait to see those. then it was off across the ohio river to wheeling, WV for the reception.
the reception was damn near perfect. ChumpsDad isn't much of a dresser-upper. he's also not much for social gatherings. he did great at the wedding, but when we got to the reception, he wasn't there. i'm guessing he hasn't been to many weddings due to this, so maybe he didn't know the procedure. he'd gone home and made lunch and was just chilling there. i called him for Chump and told him to get over to the reception ASAP so we could announce the wedding party. he said he'd think about it. Chump gave him a call asking him to come, and he was there in no time flat. i'm pretty sure that was about the only hitch i can think of at the reception. i was fretting over my best-man speech all week, and i think it went well, but i kinda blacked out. i DESPISE public speaking, and i just couldn't think of anything to talk about that was worthy of the happy couple. my speech was short, i HOPE it was sweet, and everyone seemed happy with it. Chump made a REALLY awesome DVD slideshow (with awesomely appropriate music) of pictures of he and MrsChump as kids, growing up, with their friends, their families, and then finally them falling in love with each other. it was top notch. they had it playing in a large separate room that the buffet line was at, so people could watch it while getting food, plus they could watch it later in the night without being bombarded by the dance music.
the next day, i made the rounds to pick up the tuxs to take them back. being that i'm the only non-married/engaged BTB now, i wasn't used to people already having checked out when i was calling around to make sure everyone was up at 11AM. i was calling to wake them up and get their tuxs, when many of them were already checked out and at the mall turning them in. i guess getting married means you have a "married in" alarm clock.
that was that. 2 days later i got on a plane to be back here in egypt. i landed tuesday evening for work wednesday. wednesday night, one of the TAs had an official engagement party. he flew his girlfriend over to visit, and that night, she became his fiancee. around 11PM, jules and i had to cut out, so i could take her back to the apartment, since she had to leave for her R&R in turkey at 2:30AM. thursday, TheSiteLead, TheMech, and i hung around the pool until 3:30PM then went to the airport to hop a 1hr flight to a resort in hurghada for the weekend. in hurghada, we swam, went to disco's, drank, and had a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing time. we flew back saturday, and began the work grind again on sunday.
lonely ol' me has only gotten to spend about 1 day with my girl in the past 3 weeks, so i'm sad, but she'll be coming back early saturday morning, like 1:30AM. so, THAT'S what i've been up to. apparently, there is a big coptic christian feast something or other going on this weekend so we MIGHT not have to work thursday through monday (these people know how to have religious holidays, i might have to rethink this religion thing. egyptians get to have FOUR wives). i'll be updating more regularly now that i'm back to a *more* normal schedule. missed you guys.
oh yeah, so, the REAL wasko and the REAL red showed up late since red ended up having to work a bit later than expected. we jaunted over to the easton area of columbus to grab some grub at logan's steakhouse. though i thought we were running late, our timing turned out pretty damn perfect. after dinner, we went to a comedy show at the funnybone at the easton mall. they were funny enough. one comedian from west virginia reminded me of a a twitchy(er) redneck version of robin williams. the warmup guy asked if there were any celebrations in the crowd. i tried to get his attention which Chump was having none of. there was a bachelor party in front of us for an old guy, guessing second marriage (at least). after making some jokes about him, he looked back at our table saying he thought he saw someone back our way. i was reluctant to raise my hand again, as this was Chump's night.
after the comedy show, we headed to our favorite local gentlemen's club on the other side of columbus, kahoot's. thaddius and dexter took good care of our table all night. i told them it was Chump's bachelor party, so there was a girl at the table at all times. Chump didn't want to go up onstage, which kinda sucked cuz that's a bachelor party STAPLE, but again, his night. i made sure he was covered all night for dances. i'm pretty sure a good time was had by all, but especially Chump. on the way home from kahoot's, we were privy to an impromtu version of cash cab. our inebriated bunch crowded into his taxi van, and the fun began. i asked where he was from due to his accent, guessing trinidad. he starts flashing the inside dome light of the van, joking that it was cash cab. i was wrong, and guessed tobago instead. again wrong, so i guess jamaica (since he had some bob marley on). let's just say i would've been the fastest loser on cash cab ever. we eventually found out he's from senegal. how i messed that one up, i don't know. he asked us ohio's first capital to which wasko jumped up, true 6th-grade ohio history style with "chillicothe". then he asked us which state was the silver state. Chump chimed in after a minute with nevada while we were all mumbling about it. the driver didn't answer, we mumbled, and Chump said it a bit louder, no answer from the driver. finally Chump bellowed (there may have even been an echo), "NEVADA!". the cash cab guy flashed the lights, and we were winners... of nothing more than a good time. we got him to play some of our favorite bob marley tunes for the rest of the ride, particularly jamming to "no woman, no cry". it was a fun(ny) ride, but it had to end, so he dropped us off at the waffle house near the hotel. we ate more greasy food than we probably shouldn't have, but it's tradition, then we stumbled to the hotel.
i stayed a few more days in columbus to watch the NASCAR race and ended up getting to try out a wii. we played a couple hours of bowling, which was fun, but i really like my action and racing games, not to mention the graphics and i can watch DVDs on it and such. the wii is, dare i say, a bit immature? i don't know. after columbus i went home to open my new goodies (oh yeah, i bought a new laptop, my FIRST personal laptop). while home, i shopped, had square pizza (a local specialty), got Chump and soon-to-be mrs. Chump's wedding present and generally dilly-dallied doing nothing of any import though seeming to never have time for myself to relax. such is R&R in this field.
friday was the rehearsal and dinner. the rehearsal went pretty well. the church had REALLY narrow aisles, so walking down the aisle side-by-side with a bridesmaid was impossible. we remedied this by allowing the girls to lead the way while we followed trying not to look like dejected suitors. I was lucky enough to get TWO girls since she had both her sisters as maids-of-honor. after the rehearsal, we wound down the country road to our local watering hole, TheFBar, where the rehearsal dinner was being held in the "back bar". it was a really nice spread, and since we know the owner, we got to bartend for our selves. BAD IDEA!!! by the end of the night, us young(ish) bucks (and a few of the respective does) had floated the keg and downed several shots that apparently don't mix well together in the stomach the next morning.
the next morning we all arrived at the church LOOKING fine, but how everyone felt was another story. i think i was one of the few who felt pretty well. i won't name names, but some of the BTBz and their wives had had a "reversal of fortune" or two throughout the morning and the drive to the church. still, we all arrived, we all knew our duties, and things were going to go off without a hitch.
the ushers seated, i made sure the groom had everything, i felt for the bride's ring in my pocket the whole time, always nervous it would vanish. i'm sure the girls were downstairs getting gussied up and such. the ceremony began wonderfully, no one missed their cues, everyone was in the right position, even the ring bearer and the flower girl, who oftentimes succumb to tantrums, inability to follow directions, and confusion, were perfect. T was sweating like he was thinking about hot wings... everything was going as we had expected, then about halfway through the ceremony, i heard a bit of a commotion in the rear of the church. it seems one of the groomsmen was "over come with emotion" and had to step outside for some fresh air, but he only made it about halfway down the side aisle before taking a dive. the pastor took it all well and tried to get the fans going since it was a warm day. soon enough, said groomsman was outside feeling much better... and we all figured T'd be the one to bite it, but with all those years of marching band training behind him, he knew not to lock his knees in the heat. the rest of the ceremony went as planned, and everyone was excited to the see the happy couple kiss and walk away married.
after the wedding, we hopped onto the wedding trolley they rented. we took it to oglebay park, a local spot popular for wedding pictures. nice rolling hills, rustic gates, and a mansion. after those pictures were done, we went back to TheFBar, incidentally where MrandMrsChump got engaged, for some "casual" pictures. i really think those pictures are going to turn out well. i can't wait to see those. then it was off across the ohio river to wheeling, WV for the reception.
the reception was damn near perfect. ChumpsDad isn't much of a dresser-upper. he's also not much for social gatherings. he did great at the wedding, but when we got to the reception, he wasn't there. i'm guessing he hasn't been to many weddings due to this, so maybe he didn't know the procedure. he'd gone home and made lunch and was just chilling there. i called him for Chump and told him to get over to the reception ASAP so we could announce the wedding party. he said he'd think about it. Chump gave him a call asking him to come, and he was there in no time flat. i'm pretty sure that was about the only hitch i can think of at the reception. i was fretting over my best-man speech all week, and i think it went well, but i kinda blacked out. i DESPISE public speaking, and i just couldn't think of anything to talk about that was worthy of the happy couple. my speech was short, i HOPE it was sweet, and everyone seemed happy with it. Chump made a REALLY awesome DVD slideshow (with awesomely appropriate music) of pictures of he and MrsChump as kids, growing up, with their friends, their families, and then finally them falling in love with each other. it was top notch. they had it playing in a large separate room that the buffet line was at, so people could watch it while getting food, plus they could watch it later in the night without being bombarded by the dance music.
the next day, i made the rounds to pick up the tuxs to take them back. being that i'm the only non-married/engaged BTB now, i wasn't used to people already having checked out when i was calling around to make sure everyone was up at 11AM. i was calling to wake them up and get their tuxs, when many of them were already checked out and at the mall turning them in. i guess getting married means you have a "married in" alarm clock.
that was that. 2 days later i got on a plane to be back here in egypt. i landed tuesday evening for work wednesday. wednesday night, one of the TAs had an official engagement party. he flew his girlfriend over to visit, and that night, she became his fiancee. around 11PM, jules and i had to cut out, so i could take her back to the apartment, since she had to leave for her R&R in turkey at 2:30AM. thursday, TheSiteLead, TheMech, and i hung around the pool until 3:30PM then went to the airport to hop a 1hr flight to a resort in hurghada for the weekend. in hurghada, we swam, went to disco's, drank, and had a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing time. we flew back saturday, and began the work grind again on sunday.
lonely ol' me has only gotten to spend about 1 day with my girl in the past 3 weeks, so i'm sad, but she'll be coming back early saturday morning, like 1:30AM. so, THAT'S what i've been up to. apparently, there is a big coptic christian feast something or other going on this weekend so we MIGHT not have to work thursday through monday (these people know how to have religious holidays, i might have to rethink this religion thing. egyptians get to have FOUR wives). i'll be updating more regularly now that i'm back to a *more* normal schedule. missed you guys.
Labels: drugs/alcohol, friends, holiday, international, jules, love, NASCAR, religion, travel, work
posted by slyght at 4/22/2008 06:44:00 AM
1 Comments:
Well put Z. Some events didn't occur in the order you have them, but close enough. Any luck with your Xbox? Is it hot in here or am I just thinking about wings?
Post a Comment
<< Home