in medias res

Nuptialpalooza 2006

I'm on the first of two weeks of "Nuptialpalooza 2006." I'm starting out in Charleston for the first marriage out of my group of high school friends. (Another one is slated for early fall, and all of the other ones are in serious relationships. They're dropping like flies.) I'm with two of the other girls on program duty. This means that I'll have comrades with much better memories to help me when I am awkward and vague in my questioning as I sort through the messy mental files of pictures and names that have somehow blended from high school and college. My lack of a poker face is no help here.

Yesterday, we were invited to the lovely bridal luncheon at High Cotton on East Bay street downtown. The bridesmaids have glamorous jobs in New York City and San Francisco and, as they were telling me about them, I was alerted that my dress was being suctioned to the air conditioning uptake grate. Smoove. I practiced my best posture and not sawing with my fork.

For the rest of my stay here, the weather has been perfect. Last night, my brother and I took the top off of his Jeep and drove all over Charleston. We talked about our futures, our careers, our relationships...I'm hoping the rest of this week is just as enjoyable. This morning, I stayed in bed and read 100 pages of a book, had Oreos and milk for breakfast, and now I need to run all over town to find perfect wedding gifts and any supplies I might need to be the maid of honor extraordinaire next weekend. One of my best friends from college is getting married in Baltimore - the ceremony is on Federal Hill, and the reception is in the American Visionary Arts Museum. Tomorrow, I'm driving up to North Carolina to visit some of my friends in Boiling Springs, Shelby, and Greensboro. On Tuesday, I'm meeting Mike in Chapel Hill so I can meet some of his friends and Wednesday, we're driving up to his brother's house in Richmond. Thursday, I'm riding with the matron of honor to Baltimore where we'll try to make this the best wedding ever. I'm sure to get made fun of for how cheesy and excited I am - I'm bracing myself for that. By the time we get to me, everyone will be seasoned wedding experts. Right now, it's still a bit of us throwing our hands up in the air. (I love that phrase - picture a flock of disembodied hands being thrown into the air.) If we wait long enough, maybe the excitement will come back in style the way bellbottoms became flare leg jeans. (Yes? No?)

Before I go, an update on Cujo. When I got home from work Wednesday night, I realized that he was very perky, and that the pain medicine I had been giving him was making him drowsy and cranky. ($40 to make my dog in a bad mood - what an investment!) He perked up, started exploring the apartment a little more (with his poop) and actually spent the night between the couch and the end table. When I got home from work on Thursday, he was almost excited to see me. Usually, when we try to talk to him, he turns to the wall and blinks very quickly and tries to deny that we exist. He wanted to see everything I did and for me to pay attention to him without actually paying attention to him. I was sad to leave just as he was warming up to us.

As I drove onto Johns Island late Thursday night, I got a call from my roommate. "GUESS who just curled up on the couch next to me and let me pet him??" Yes, our little Cujo Tinman does have a heart. After a minute, he remembered that he hates us and went back into hiding. Baby's first cuddle! I'm missing so much with my life on the road...

Time to shake the birdseed from my dancing shoes.

posted by tara @ 9:30 AM