Anyway, so we got married in D.C., more specifically, we were married near the FDR memorial.  This was not my first choice, but the jackbooted thug Park Police were not going to allow us to be married at my first choice, the Jefferson Memorial.  We decided to head across to the FDR memorial.  From there it was possible to see both the Washington monument and the Jefferson memorial.

It rained all morning, and we were worried we’d have to move the ceremony to an indoor venue. Luckily, about fifteen minutes before the ceremony was to begin, the rain stopped.  The day was actually quite chilly, so once we had everyone together we started to walk to a spot near the water where we’d be able to see the Jefferson Memorial. Unfortunately the wind and the chill made us stop short of that goal and we ended up having a nice view of the Washington Monument.

Tara looked absolutely gorgeous in her 1930s gown, and was able to brave the elements. I forgot the cold once I stared into her eyes and the vows we exchanged were powerful and moving. Afterward, we went to The Majestic in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia for dinner. The food and drink there is excellent as is the atmosphere.

The honeymoon.  The honeymoon was awesome. We sailed on a transatlantic voyage from New York to England onboard the Queen Mary 2. I posted many photos on my website here.  We then spent 3 days in London.

I never wanted that trip to end. I could have stayed on the Queen Mary 2 for weeks. The ship is amazing.  Everything about it is top shelf. Our suite included a butler service, how cool is that? All the employees on the ship were professional, kind, gracious and helpful. This was a voyage, not a cruise. This wasn’t for little kids, or for total party animals.  This voyage was about class and sophistication. I loved being able to dress formally and drink champagne whenever the whim struck.

We were never bored on the voyage.  As this was a transatlantic voyage, we only had days at sea, there were no ports of call. I enjoy the days at sea, the fresh air, the sounds of the ship and the waves. I cannot wait to go on another voyage on the Queen Mary 2.  I think to describe it as the Ritz Carlton of the sea is a disservice, no offense to Ritz Carlton, but this ship is by far the nicest place I’ve ever stayed, and the best place I’ve ever eaten.

I’ll probably post some photos of the wedding itself, and the renewal of vows on the Queen Mary 2. Amazingly, I only gained two pounds on the trip, but I feel so far behind the eight ball now that I’m going to have to kick my ass repeatedly at the gym to get back to where I was a couple of months ago.

I’ll write more later on the London part of the trip, and perhaps more specifics of the Queen Mary.

GBC

I took a little trip (well, it’s was quite a bit of driving actually) up to my home state of NJ to visit some old high school buddies this past Saturday. It’s never dull or disappointing when we all get together. It started off with beer and burgers, followed by hours of raucous and rowdy flimflammery. One of the highlights was learning of an unfortunate “hand-tossed cream pie” incident that took place over 20 years ago.  Needless to say, I can’t really go into more detail about that here.

There were some coherent moments, however, when we strayed into lucidity and had a political discussion. In the end, we found out that today’s problems are all Lincoln’s fault (and probably not in the way you are thinking I bet).

Despite the hours of driving and the beyond horrible traffic, it was worth it.  I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I forgot what it was like to be an adolescent…

On Sunday, I continued my tour of Northern New Jersey and Northern Pennsylvania with what was dubbed the “Ex-wives tour 2009″ by me and one of my ex-wives.  That still sounds ridiculous to me, but I have the great fortune of remaining friends with both of my ex-wives. The shirt for the ex-wives tour would have looked cool, and we could have included ex-girlfriends and prom dates etc on the shirt, since they all seem to live in the same general vicinity.

Even my fiance’ Tara thought that was pretty funny. All I have to say is: God bless Tara for putting up with, and trusting me.

Until next time,

GBC

Person:  “Yeah, I need to redeem my miles, I’m going to go to Seattle.”

GBC:  “That shouldn’t be too bad.”

Person:  “No…hmmm…I’d say probably about an hour, hour and a half at most, it’s only Oregon…”

GBC:  “Uh, no…Washington state maybe?”

Person laughs.

GBC:  “Apparently you did really well in Geography.”

Person:  “Yeah, I took that class in college, I hated it, studying rocks…”

GBC:  “Wouldn’t that be geology?”

Person:  “Yeah, I took that too, I hated that class!”

GBC:  “I guess you did!”   GBC laughs.

Person:  “It was stupid!”

GBC:  “The class wasn’t the only thing that was stupid…”

I was informed by the management company of where I rent that I’d have to move out since the owner of the property wanted to move back in.  The lease was up July 31st, but when I rented the place a year ago they made it seem like I’d be able to live there as long as I needed.  If I had known I could only live there a year, I would never have moved in there.  Now I have to find a place, pack, change my address again…all that garbage.  What a pain, and here I thought I’d be able to have a somewhat relaxing summer. 

Then there were a bunch of work issues I can’t go into here.  Add to that the usual buffoonery of certain people at work and you can see how it would be a trying week. 

I was going to go for a nice long run after work today, but I just don’t think I have it in me.  I’d much prefer to sit on the deck with a drink and a cigar, maybe have Frank playing in the background, and a book in front of me.

GBC

GBC

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What is even better is when these people are talking to someone near you–and there you are trapped because you’re at work–and they are talking about all the knowledge they have.  Of course, they aren’t speaking at a normal volume either.  Oh no, they must speak as if they are using a megaphone, so everyone else in the office can bask in this person’s greatness and unending supply of erudition.

There is nothing better than to begin a work week with the inane rambling and shameless self-promoting of a self-proclaimed expert on so many topics… 

Enough said.

GBC

Cats or Space Aliens?

Here is something to ponder:  Woobie left Los Angeles on July 31, 2008.  Hef shutdown the Playboy Mansion for parties right around that same time.  Coincidence?  Woobie is the handsome guy on the left in the photo btw.  

Then there is Juniper, the pretty orange girl on the right.  She has no desire to take part in Woobie’s parties.  When he throws a party she usually mills about just saying ‘meh’ in response to everything.  Woobie loves a good gin martini and has a hard time understanding a teetotaler like Juniper.  I suspect though that it’s all an act.  Juniper probably carries around a small flask in her loose skin, taking a little nip of something medicinal from time to time.

I’m getting looks from both of them now.  I suppose they don’t approve of what I’ve written.  I may be abducted tonight after they report what I’ve written about them to the mother ship.  If I awake to some strange aches I know who I’m blaming.

Maybe I can post more cat stories when they aren’t watching me!