I had to go into work on Friday, which I don't usually do. I'm usually working from home (in my pajamas) part of the day. The rest of the day I usually run errands, clean house, whatever. Anyway, I had to go to J@va training. Well, it was more like an overview of concepts. Because, you know we C0BOL programmers are dinosaurs and can't understand such new-fangled things as object-oriented programming. So yeah. I had a hard time staying awake right after breakfast in a darkened room looking at a P0werpoint presentation listening to a guy talk. Whew.

Friday night was the rehearsal/dinner for missleigh's wedding. I swear, I'm developing social anxieties, especially around people I don't know. Rob, the best man, was very cool, though. He was quite entertaining at dinner, too. What was not very entertaining is when Leigh's future (now current) father-in-law asked the entire table who there was a vegetarian and who were the carnivores. Yay. Let's call attention to someone's eating habits. I felt for Leigh, who was feeling nauseous and could not eat. Since her father-in-law is sort of like my stepmother in noticing who's eating what and who's not eating, she let Rob sneak some of her pasta and marinara onto his plate. That way, at least it looked like she'd eaten something. Oh, then there was a traffic jam and 10:30pm on the way back from the other side of town. Lovely.

Saturday

We went to a 'co-ed bachelor party' lunch at H@rmony. We 'threw down,' as Rob put it. Well, not really. Leigh and I both kind of took it easy. She, because she didn't want to push it, and I because I didn't want to encourage the inevitable stress stomach problems I though surely would come. (They did not.) Good thing we took it easy, since Rob had ordered vegan cheesecake samplers. Mmmmm.

After the lunch, we found some mini roses for Leigh's hair, then got our nails did. Well, I just got my toenails painted, since they were already bare and trimmed. I was worried I'd screw up painting with the dark red polish, since silver is my default color.

Sunday

I got to Leigh's around 2:30. I still had to curl the ends of my hair and decide on jewelry (I'd brought all of the possibilities, 'cause I'm a freak like that). She did her hair and I was basically no help, except as a second opinion. Jen came over, did her own hair, and we were out the door at 4:00.

We got there and had to wait in the car for a few minutes because the groom and groomsmen were still having pictures made. I played Brak so we could laugh and ease some of the nervousness. Once we went in, we went straight to the bathroom to change while elbowing each other in the cramped space. After pictures, we had to stand watch so Leigh would know not to open the door and risk being seen by the groom.

Finally it was time. We got lined up, strolled on down the aisle, and stood there for the relatively brief ceremony. I handed her Ken's ring without dropping it and watching it roll off the deck, thankfully. His sisters, 2 of the bridesmaids, cried during the ceremony. I managed not to, though it was so sweet and they were obviously so happy. We'd joked about shouting "Woo!" and high-fiving after the kiss, but I just thought about it to keep myself amused.

The guests went to the reception hall while the wedding party and family took hundreds of pictures. We then had to line up and be announced into the reception, the bride and groom last. They then had to have their first dance (which Leigh described as 'brutal') as everyone watched. The wedding party had to stand there in a semicircle, too. The whole thing was a bizarre display. I'd never been to a wedding where all of this was done. Oh, then it was time for the father of the bride to dance with the bride. Except he'd already left. (He needs a foot in his ass.) So, her brother did the honors. Luckily Leigh seemed to enjoy herself anyway and didn't let this bother her. Then the mother of the groom and groom danced. Then we could finally sit down. Luckily my shoes weren't too uncomfortable, so that wasn't the problem. It was just weird to stand there in front of everyone, though they were staring at the dancers.

The reception was nice - pasta, hummus, garlic bread, portabellas, chocolate wedding cake, open bar (of which I did not partake), fabulous cookies in lieu of a groom's cake. Everything was vegan. People danced, some left, some drank...as usual I did not sit still for long. I sat and listened to someone say how there was no point in Leigh and Ken waiting to have children because they'd never be ready. I kept my mouth shut, though it was hard. I was thinking, oh, so everyone should suffer since you are? And then the father-in-law kept up his tirade of hints to have children, and included it in his toast, as well as in his toast from Friday night. Enough, already! (On Friday night, I even said aloud that I would toast the marriage and not the children bit. Sheesh. Who's decision is it, anyway?)