And There's The Eight Second Buzzer
I'm home again.
I made it through setup and all four days of the trade show, and on the last day my Boss made a point of telling me that I did a great job. So, hey, there's that. (Then I had a 16-hour day and finally went home to find out that some guy with a weird nickname - "Potus" - was in my hotel overnight, so I had to get up at 4am to get out to the airport before he started mucking up the streets with a motorcade.)
Got home, dumped my suitcase right into the washing machine, and tried to go to sleep, because my lovely wife and I were flying out at 7am the next morning. We managed it, I had a great visit with my mother, and then managed to make the rehearsal dinner. I was a zombie, but fortunately all I needed to do at the rehearsal was shamble a straight line, and stand in one spot for a while.
The wedding was good. We managed to keep the groom distracted enough that he didn't work himself into a panic attack, we made sure he ate something, and all the tuxes fit. I didn't stammer my way through the speech I was asked to give, which was actually pretty well received.
Here's the text of it, if you're interested:
Hi, I’m Jesse, and those of you who know me know that I’ve been a long-standing friend of Ken’s… For those of you who don’t know me, let’s just say this: my friendship with this man predates Nickelodeon. Of course, with so much history to draw on, there are a hundred stories I could tell you about him… But my purpose here tonight is not to roast him, but to toast him - and let’s face it, trying to embarrass a Ren Faire stage performer by telling humorous stories about him is pretty much a pointless exercise. And as those of you that know me are aware, I take my toasts very seriously.
I’ve been out of the area for quite a while, so any updates on Ken’s bachelor lifestyle were pretty sporadic - and usually involved my asking him point-blank about it. He’s always been something of a closed book that way. So when he told me that he’d met this woman, and that things were getting serious, I took notice. And when he told me that they were planning a trip out to our area, I got excited about meeting his girlfriend.
I never got to meet his girlfriend. By the time that trip rolled around, I got to meet his fiancée instead.
And the man who came to visit was different, too. I thought I’d seen it all. I’d known this man for 31 years by that point, lived with him, knew his highs and lows - But I saw something new when I saw Ken and Becky together. This charming, self-assured woman lights him up, in a way that I had never seen in my friend before. And that, I think, is a very good thing.
It gives me the greatest joy to know that Ken has found someone to share his life with - and I wish them the best of everything as they begin a new chapter in their lives together.
To Becky and Ken - the Bride and Groom!
And now my oldest and dearest friend is married.
This morning, I woke up in Michigan. Early. And I blasted back to Detroit Metro at 6am, flew home, and I've been wandering around town all day, trying to retrain my head into October in Salem.
It's been a long and eventful week. But I held on, and I got my ass through it.
Now on to the next.
I made it through setup and all four days of the trade show, and on the last day my Boss made a point of telling me that I did a great job. So, hey, there's that. (Then I had a 16-hour day and finally went home to find out that some guy with a weird nickname - "Potus" - was in my hotel overnight, so I had to get up at 4am to get out to the airport before he started mucking up the streets with a motorcade.)
Got home, dumped my suitcase right into the washing machine, and tried to go to sleep, because my lovely wife and I were flying out at 7am the next morning. We managed it, I had a great visit with my mother, and then managed to make the rehearsal dinner. I was a zombie, but fortunately all I needed to do at the rehearsal was shamble a straight line, and stand in one spot for a while.
The wedding was good. We managed to keep the groom distracted enough that he didn't work himself into a panic attack, we made sure he ate something, and all the tuxes fit. I didn't stammer my way through the speech I was asked to give, which was actually pretty well received.
Here's the text of it, if you're interested:
Hi, I’m Jesse, and those of you who know me know that I’ve been a long-standing friend of Ken’s… For those of you who don’t know me, let’s just say this: my friendship with this man predates Nickelodeon. Of course, with so much history to draw on, there are a hundred stories I could tell you about him… But my purpose here tonight is not to roast him, but to toast him - and let’s face it, trying to embarrass a Ren Faire stage performer by telling humorous stories about him is pretty much a pointless exercise. And as those of you that know me are aware, I take my toasts very seriously.
I’ve been out of the area for quite a while, so any updates on Ken’s bachelor lifestyle were pretty sporadic - and usually involved my asking him point-blank about it. He’s always been something of a closed book that way. So when he told me that he’d met this woman, and that things were getting serious, I took notice. And when he told me that they were planning a trip out to our area, I got excited about meeting his girlfriend.
I never got to meet his girlfriend. By the time that trip rolled around, I got to meet his fiancée instead.
And the man who came to visit was different, too. I thought I’d seen it all. I’d known this man for 31 years by that point, lived with him, knew his highs and lows - But I saw something new when I saw Ken and Becky together. This charming, self-assured woman lights him up, in a way that I had never seen in my friend before. And that, I think, is a very good thing.
It gives me the greatest joy to know that Ken has found someone to share his life with - and I wish them the best of everything as they begin a new chapter in their lives together.
To Becky and Ken - the Bride and Groom!
And now my oldest and dearest friend is married.
This morning, I woke up in Michigan. Early. And I blasted back to Detroit Metro at 6am, flew home, and I've been wandering around town all day, trying to retrain my head into October in Salem.
It's been a long and eventful week. But I held on, and I got my ass through it.
Now on to the next.