WEEKEND UPDATE
Wow, what an insane weekend that turned out to be!
It all started on Thursday though when I went to pick up Phyllis. For some reason, I had it in my head that I was to pick her up from O'Hare, probably because I knew in the back of my mind that we'd need to get back on 90 to go to NIU, but more on that later. So anyway, I'm barreling down the highway doing 90mph, straight into the heart of O'Hare, which I hate going to more than anything, but was willing to endure in order to see her again. She calls me and is like "where are you?" I say I'm at the airport driving around the Circle of Death, and should I park to go find her or will she be waiting for me?
"O'Hare?" she said, "I told you to pick me up at Rosemont."
....oh.
I didn't believe it at first and told her as much, insisting that not once did I see that on the email itinerrary she sent me, the one I had neatly folded up in the cup holder next to me. Notably angered with this sudden revelation, I told her I was going to have to hang up so I could double check this email and that I would get back to her, but really I needed a few minutes to figure out what the hell I was going to do. I checked the email, and sure enough she told me to meet her at Rosemont. How the HELL did I not see that there the first time!? I called her back and apologized for the oversight, and then asked her to wait there and I would show up as quickly as possible without getting arrested.
So, I fought my way out of the airport, violated many speed and safety laws to get across the highways, and, about an hour later, picked up Phyllis at Rosemont. It was worth it. After two weeks, I was at that point where the image of her in my mind was going fuzzy, and that sucked. No rest for the wicked though, because from Rosemont we had to drive to NIU to hang out with Nichole for a bit to celebrate Homecoming! (See, I think I was planning on taking 90, from O'Hare, to drive in to NIU, which, logistically, would have made sense, but Phyllis, knowing how much I hate O'Hare traffic, decided to meet me at Rosemont to spare me the torture of the airport, which I brought on myself anyway. Funny how that worked out, eh?)
We rolled into DeKalb around 9ish and were there until about 1am. It was nice to see Nichole again, but ultimately I could have done without this leg of the trip. If you can't commit a full weekend to Homecoming, (which we couldn't, but more on that later as well) it's kind of pointless to bother going at all, and without the presence of our other NIU friends like Fritz, Nikolai, Trish, and Moon, what celebrating we did do felt somewhat hollow. So yeah, one in the morning and we're driving back to Phyllis's parent's house. I was sooooooo freaking tired, and fought to keep my eyes open the entire time. More than once I think I swerved as a result, but at least the adrenaline surge from doing that helped keep me awake...
On Friday we had Chris and Melissa's wedding rehearsal and dinner to go to. I dunno, it was okay. That was my first time going in Harvest Bible Chapel, and I disliked it immensely. This wave of New Evangelism I see in the NW burbs (which began with Willow Creek, I'd argue) is viral and homogenizing, going out of its way to create a bland way of life in which everybody gets along because we're all too busy atoning for our sins and living for the Lord to have time for any of the ugly things Life throws at us. I see it in Chris more and more, this hive-mind ideology, and it disappoints me, because before Melissa converted him, I remember him being much more independent in thought and action, like Phyllis. But I digress.
We had dinner at Famous Dave's. I'm not crazy about the place, but I'll admit I absolutely LOVE their sauces. Quick bite to eat, and we were in the car, again, to go to Kirsten's reception!
Yes, she and Chris Ludwig got married over the weekend!!! I really wish I could have been there for the wedding, I wanted to see that. But the reception was cool as hell. An intimate affair, just the way I suspect she wanted it. And god did Kirsten look amazing, like the reincarnation of a glamourous '40s movie star. As ever, Kirsten was cool and confident and beautiful, and Phyllis and I talked about how much we loved her look for half the car ride home. I also got to see Tina again, which is always a good thing. Sitting at Kirsten's reception, nursing my Manhattan, I was grateful that, after all this time, she and I are still friends, and that she cared enough about that to invite me and Phyllis to her wedding. When Kirsten and Chris get back from their honeymoon, I'm really hoping we can do more stuff together and continue to build this great friendship we all have. Writing that amazon book review was easily the best thing I've ever done, if only to bring Kirsten back into my life! LOL
Saturday was Chris's wedding. It was a great day, beautiful and sunny, with a cool October breeze to keep things crisp. Couldn't have asked for a better day to get married, honest. I can't speak for Phyllis, but I was pretty beat for most of the day. In a way, I felt strangely detached for most of the day. I've never really known Chris as a person as much as I would have liked, and I think/fear I lost the opportunity to do so when he converted to Harvest Bible, and that saddens me a bit. I feel like, going forward, I'm never going to know the "real" Chris, only the born again Evangelist that he decided to become in order to stay with Melissa (not that I'm faulting him his decision; every person who's ever been in a relationship comes to that crossroads where they need to decide if they're going to go on being the person they are no matter what, or if they are going to change, and to what extent they're willing to change, for the person they are with. Chris made such a decision, and as long as he's happy, than so am I).
I forgot to mention that Chris and Melissa had asked Phyllis and I to sing at the wedding, and never told anyone that Phyllis and I didn't actually practice our song until after I picked her up from the airport! Granted, I had it loaded on my ipod for about two or three weeks, but she and I never sang together until maybe Friday. That said, we totally kicked ass on the song and there was hardly a dry eye in the entire chapel. I later joked with mom and said that if she was crying by the time I was done singing, I'd have known I did a good job. She was, so I guess I did!
The service was short, but Phyllis and I were both upset with the reverend's sermon, in which, we felt, he aired some of Chris's problems over the last year that really did not need to be mentioned in front of friends and family like that. That decision I was talking about earlier that Chris made? Whether or not to change? It shook him up, and in order to work it out, he approached the reverend to talk about stuff. Again, no problem there, but the reverend decided to tie that into his sermon, implying that Chris was a lost, wayward soul until he gave himself over to Christ and only THEN did God Allmighty set Chris on the path to marry Melissa. And that was our problem, taking Chris's doubts and fears and insecurities during a very sensitive time in his life, sharing them with people who didn't need to know that in the first place, and talking about it in a way that suggested he was fucked until God showed up and made everything better. No, I really didn't like that at all.
The reception was good, although I regret not being with Phyllis more. The problem for me was that dad was there, alone, and mom was there with Allan, and although dad put on a good face, I could sense that this was catching him off guard a bit, and maybe isolating him. So I spent most of the night with my dad, drinking and talking. I dunno, it felt like the right thing to do at the time, but in hindsight I think I should have checked in on Phyl more, maybe tried to get in a dance or two. Although when I did see her, Phyllis was a party animal, constantly on the dance floor living la vida loca with her cousins!!! It felt good to see her smile and cut loose like that.
The night ended around 10pm. No, seriously, it did! It kind of left us all scratching our heads, wondering what we were going to do now that it was over (still not sure why Chris and Melissa decided on that, but oh well). Me, Phyl, and Dad ended up going to a bar somewhere in Mt. Prospect I think. I dunno...that whole part of the night was a serious blur, and I think it's safe to say I had had too much to drink by then. I vaguely rememember eating cheese and crackers and listening to techno music, feeling way too overdressed for the crowd, and then later ordering Burger King, and after that...nothing. Heh.
Sunday morning I woke up with a decent hangover and knew I would eventually puke, and I later did when we went out for breakfast at the incredible Egglectic Cafe with Phyl's parents. God I fucking love that place. Cozy decor, outstanding menu, fair prices, and fresh squeezed OJ. It was the OJ, along with the smell of the coffee, that finally turned my stomach. What can I say, it was a good hurl. Had to be, because I ending up popping some blood vessels in and around my eyes. But yeah, we had breakfast and chatted, and it was Good Times. In the afternoon, we went to see a community theatre production of The Producers, which I loved WAY more than I was expecting, and finally got home around 6pm to have some Chinese and watch the movie Speed Racer, which I also enjoyed more than I expected to.
And thus ends the epic that was my weekend. I'm hoping this weekend will be much more low key, but by now I should know better. Something will come up. Something *always* comes up.
It all started on Thursday though when I went to pick up Phyllis. For some reason, I had it in my head that I was to pick her up from O'Hare, probably because I knew in the back of my mind that we'd need to get back on 90 to go to NIU, but more on that later. So anyway, I'm barreling down the highway doing 90mph, straight into the heart of O'Hare, which I hate going to more than anything, but was willing to endure in order to see her again. She calls me and is like "where are you?" I say I'm at the airport driving around the Circle of Death, and should I park to go find her or will she be waiting for me?
"O'Hare?" she said, "I told you to pick me up at Rosemont."
....oh.
I didn't believe it at first and told her as much, insisting that not once did I see that on the email itinerrary she sent me, the one I had neatly folded up in the cup holder next to me. Notably angered with this sudden revelation, I told her I was going to have to hang up so I could double check this email and that I would get back to her, but really I needed a few minutes to figure out what the hell I was going to do. I checked the email, and sure enough she told me to meet her at Rosemont. How the HELL did I not see that there the first time!? I called her back and apologized for the oversight, and then asked her to wait there and I would show up as quickly as possible without getting arrested.
So, I fought my way out of the airport, violated many speed and safety laws to get across the highways, and, about an hour later, picked up Phyllis at Rosemont. It was worth it. After two weeks, I was at that point where the image of her in my mind was going fuzzy, and that sucked. No rest for the wicked though, because from Rosemont we had to drive to NIU to hang out with Nichole for a bit to celebrate Homecoming! (See, I think I was planning on taking 90, from O'Hare, to drive in to NIU, which, logistically, would have made sense, but Phyllis, knowing how much I hate O'Hare traffic, decided to meet me at Rosemont to spare me the torture of the airport, which I brought on myself anyway. Funny how that worked out, eh?)
We rolled into DeKalb around 9ish and were there until about 1am. It was nice to see Nichole again, but ultimately I could have done without this leg of the trip. If you can't commit a full weekend to Homecoming, (which we couldn't, but more on that later as well) it's kind of pointless to bother going at all, and without the presence of our other NIU friends like Fritz, Nikolai, Trish, and Moon, what celebrating we did do felt somewhat hollow. So yeah, one in the morning and we're driving back to Phyllis's parent's house. I was sooooooo freaking tired, and fought to keep my eyes open the entire time. More than once I think I swerved as a result, but at least the adrenaline surge from doing that helped keep me awake...
On Friday we had Chris and Melissa's wedding rehearsal and dinner to go to. I dunno, it was okay. That was my first time going in Harvest Bible Chapel, and I disliked it immensely. This wave of New Evangelism I see in the NW burbs (which began with Willow Creek, I'd argue) is viral and homogenizing, going out of its way to create a bland way of life in which everybody gets along because we're all too busy atoning for our sins and living for the Lord to have time for any of the ugly things Life throws at us. I see it in Chris more and more, this hive-mind ideology, and it disappoints me, because before Melissa converted him, I remember him being much more independent in thought and action, like Phyllis. But I digress.
We had dinner at Famous Dave's. I'm not crazy about the place, but I'll admit I absolutely LOVE their sauces. Quick bite to eat, and we were in the car, again, to go to Kirsten's reception!
Yes, she and Chris Ludwig got married over the weekend!!! I really wish I could have been there for the wedding, I wanted to see that. But the reception was cool as hell. An intimate affair, just the way I suspect she wanted it. And god did Kirsten look amazing, like the reincarnation of a glamourous '40s movie star. As ever, Kirsten was cool and confident and beautiful, and Phyllis and I talked about how much we loved her look for half the car ride home. I also got to see Tina again, which is always a good thing. Sitting at Kirsten's reception, nursing my Manhattan, I was grateful that, after all this time, she and I are still friends, and that she cared enough about that to invite me and Phyllis to her wedding. When Kirsten and Chris get back from their honeymoon, I'm really hoping we can do more stuff together and continue to build this great friendship we all have. Writing that amazon book review was easily the best thing I've ever done, if only to bring Kirsten back into my life! LOL
Saturday was Chris's wedding. It was a great day, beautiful and sunny, with a cool October breeze to keep things crisp. Couldn't have asked for a better day to get married, honest. I can't speak for Phyllis, but I was pretty beat for most of the day. In a way, I felt strangely detached for most of the day. I've never really known Chris as a person as much as I would have liked, and I think/fear I lost the opportunity to do so when he converted to Harvest Bible, and that saddens me a bit. I feel like, going forward, I'm never going to know the "real" Chris, only the born again Evangelist that he decided to become in order to stay with Melissa (not that I'm faulting him his decision; every person who's ever been in a relationship comes to that crossroads where they need to decide if they're going to go on being the person they are no matter what, or if they are going to change, and to what extent they're willing to change, for the person they are with. Chris made such a decision, and as long as he's happy, than so am I).
I forgot to mention that Chris and Melissa had asked Phyllis and I to sing at the wedding, and never told anyone that Phyllis and I didn't actually practice our song until after I picked her up from the airport! Granted, I had it loaded on my ipod for about two or three weeks, but she and I never sang together until maybe Friday. That said, we totally kicked ass on the song and there was hardly a dry eye in the entire chapel. I later joked with mom and said that if she was crying by the time I was done singing, I'd have known I did a good job. She was, so I guess I did!
The service was short, but Phyllis and I were both upset with the reverend's sermon, in which, we felt, he aired some of Chris's problems over the last year that really did not need to be mentioned in front of friends and family like that. That decision I was talking about earlier that Chris made? Whether or not to change? It shook him up, and in order to work it out, he approached the reverend to talk about stuff. Again, no problem there, but the reverend decided to tie that into his sermon, implying that Chris was a lost, wayward soul until he gave himself over to Christ and only THEN did God Allmighty set Chris on the path to marry Melissa. And that was our problem, taking Chris's doubts and fears and insecurities during a very sensitive time in his life, sharing them with people who didn't need to know that in the first place, and talking about it in a way that suggested he was fucked until God showed up and made everything better. No, I really didn't like that at all.
The reception was good, although I regret not being with Phyllis more. The problem for me was that dad was there, alone, and mom was there with Allan, and although dad put on a good face, I could sense that this was catching him off guard a bit, and maybe isolating him. So I spent most of the night with my dad, drinking and talking. I dunno, it felt like the right thing to do at the time, but in hindsight I think I should have checked in on Phyl more, maybe tried to get in a dance or two. Although when I did see her, Phyllis was a party animal, constantly on the dance floor living la vida loca with her cousins!!! It felt good to see her smile and cut loose like that.
The night ended around 10pm. No, seriously, it did! It kind of left us all scratching our heads, wondering what we were going to do now that it was over (still not sure why Chris and Melissa decided on that, but oh well). Me, Phyl, and Dad ended up going to a bar somewhere in Mt. Prospect I think. I dunno...that whole part of the night was a serious blur, and I think it's safe to say I had had too much to drink by then. I vaguely rememember eating cheese and crackers and listening to techno music, feeling way too overdressed for the crowd, and then later ordering Burger King, and after that...nothing. Heh.
Sunday morning I woke up with a decent hangover and knew I would eventually puke, and I later did when we went out for breakfast at the incredible Egglectic Cafe with Phyl's parents. God I fucking love that place. Cozy decor, outstanding menu, fair prices, and fresh squeezed OJ. It was the OJ, along with the smell of the coffee, that finally turned my stomach. What can I say, it was a good hurl. Had to be, because I ending up popping some blood vessels in and around my eyes. But yeah, we had breakfast and chatted, and it was Good Times. In the afternoon, we went to see a community theatre production of The Producers, which I loved WAY more than I was expecting, and finally got home around 6pm to have some Chinese and watch the movie Speed Racer, which I also enjoyed more than I expected to.
And thus ends the epic that was my weekend. I'm hoping this weekend will be much more low key, but by now I should know better. Something will come up. Something *always* comes up.