Well, I had this entry all planned out for today regarding the wedding I went to Saturday on Long Island. I was going to talk about how the ceremony was at 11am, and the fact that I had to meet my friends at 8:30 in the morning, because we were told it could take anywhere from 1.5 hours to 5 hours to get there depending on the summer traffic up to the Hamptons.

I was also going to mention the fact that it rained all day - which was actually a good thing on one hand, as it freed up the traffic immensely. On the other hand, it gave me and my partners-in-crime enough time to do what any respectful, God-fearing folk should do immediately preceding a wedding, which is go buy a six-pack of Coronas and drink a toast to our buddy's impending nuptials.

Most importantly though, I was going to warn brides-to-be around the world to think very carefully before scheduling her reception from noon to 6pm. This is known to cause temporary confusion for those party-goers who find themselves partaking in alcoholic beverages for seven straight hours, only to walk outside and find that it is still daylight. The early reception also pretty much guarantees that the before-mentioned confused party-goers will insist on gathering at another local bar until the wee hours of the morning, and they will do silly, silly things which they will both regret and curse the bride for the next day, because of course someone has to be to blame.

I'm not going to write that entry, because it is too painful all that needs to be said about Mark's wedding day is that it was a beautiful ceremony, a kick-ass reception, and a joyous gathering of friends where thankfully I wasn't driving we could all get together and celebrate the happy union.

---

Tomorrow I'm leaving for France again, but instead of doing the quick two-day trip and then fly home, this time I will be over there until the 19th. The first five days should be pretty cool - I'll be in Arcachon from Wednesday to Sunday, and should hopefully be able to get some much-needed sun before I wilt away and die.

Monday thru Wednesday though I'll be back in Bordeaux for my usual pain-in-the-ass monthy update meeting, but at least I'll be rested this time and won't have the usual jet lag.

My current dilemma is whether to rent a car, because even though I've been over there ten times, I've never particulary paid any attention to where whichever driver I was with was going at the time. Normally if I'm over there by myself I'll just get the company driver to pick me up and tote me around, but this time I'll be over there for five days by myself, and that would get to be kind of a pain in the butt. And, even if I managed to navigate a map correctly, I will need to do this while driving a stick-shift, because they don't rent automatics over there.

The last time I drove a stick-shift was in high school.

Yeah, I'm trying to consider what's best for me - as well as the rest of Southern France. Maybe I should go practice in the parking lot before I go over there.

feeling... like somebody is stomping on the back of my head (still)
listening to... stuck in the middle with you --stealers wheels
miss something?
goodbye my friend - 2005-04-29
out of the loop - 2005-04-09
a quest for clarity - part 1 - 2004-08-30
no plan for a sequel - 2004-08-27
slacker of the month - 2004-08-26