Thirty Years Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Return of the Jedi came out thirty years ago today. Let me repeat that: thirty years ago. That strikes a chord with me, because it's the first movie I specifically remember seeing in a theater. There are hilarious stories of my family taking me to see Popeye (yes, the one with Robin Williams), and I'm certain I saw The Empire Strikes Back in a theater at least once (I have just one brief flash of memory of seeing AT-ATs in a snowscape through a snowspeeder's cockpit); however, I specifically remember my dad taking me and my buddy Nathan to see Return of the Jedi at the Mayflower Theater in downtown Troy.

I'm sure we didn't go see it on opening night, but I'm equally sure we saw it sometime before July 4, which in 1983 would have been my sixth birthday. To this day, I'm not sure how Dad got roped into taking two five-year-olds to see a movie; the thought of it sort of stuns me, actually. I'm quite sure, though, that once the movie started, he had no issues with us at all as the action on the screen held us in thrall.

The movies were one thing. That was at least a few years before we had a VCR, so the opportunities to see them were few and far between. What really brought Star Wars to life for me as a kid was the toys. I loved 'em, had a bunch of 'em, and really put them through their paces. When I wasn't playing with them, I was thinking about playing with them. To this day, I have a tendency to joke on Christmas Eve that I'll have a hard time sleeping because I'll be wondering which Star Wars men will be under the tree in the morning. It's a joke now; as a kid, man, that was the stone truth. Even as I started getting into other types of toys (G.I. Joe, Voltron, He-Man, Transformers), they generally found themselves integrated into crossover adventures.

Anyway, as it happens, I came across this video yesterday and had to share (I already posted it to Facebook and tagged the childhood friends who shared my obsession). It's a 13-minute preview of an upcoming documentary about Star Wars toys. Watching it and seeing some of those old toys brought back a ton of memories and really kind of took my wind away for a moment. I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole movie when it comes out.

The AT-AT was the one SW toy I really wanted as a kid and never got. When Brandi found out, while we were still dating, she rectified the situation. The AT-AT now stands on my desk, and yes, it carries a holdful of Stormtroopers.

So how did I mark Return of the Jedi's 30th anniversary? I went to the theater, of course...to see Star Trek Into Darkness. That, my friends, is a blog post unto itself.

Catching Up

* So I've been building up items for this "notes" post in the several busy weeks since my last post, and I finally found the perfect time to sit down and actually write it (or at least get started). I found myself wide awake at 4:45 this morning, unable to go back to sleep. That's more than three hours before I normally wake up grudgingly, so I have no idea what's going on. I'm hoping I can catch at least a little bit more sleep before I have to go to work, but I'm not sure that's in the cards.

* Off the top, I want to give the e-finger to the Ohio BMV. I went into the license bureau here in BG recently, on one of the rare occasions when their limited hours permitted me to do so, to renew my vehicle registration. I was immediately confronted with a sign that informed me that they do not accept credit or debit cards. I, of course, never carry cash or a checkbook, so I was unable to conduct any business that day. What decade are we living in here? I have trouble viewing as legitimate any business or organization that doesn't maintain an updated Internet presence or accept credit cards. Of course, you can use a credit card to renew your registration if you do it online, but when I tried to do that I was informed that my address was invalidated because the BMV tried to send me some mail and it had been returned to them. Funny that I have gotten mail from them here in the past, and also that all my other mail seems to get through just fine.

* The fundamental things apply as time goes by. I still maintain that anyone who drives in the left-hand (passing) lane of the interstate for no apparent reason should face discipline from large men, bitter at the directions their lives have taken and armed with hammers. Why these morons insist on inhibiting the flow of traffic so pointlessly, I'll never understand.

* So my parents got a new dog about a month ago. She's a 7-month old yellow lab that my dad has named Jubal. No one told me about this--I got to find out on my own. I arrived home one day to find a dog bed in the living room, and dog food and water laid out in the kitchen. I then walked out into the backyard to discover Dad with the new addition to the family. She's really cool. She's very social and just wants to be around someone all the time. She's not very bright, but that's okay. Before it happened, I wasn't sure how I would feel about a new dog for a while, but I'm glad they got one. It's definitely fun to have her around. Brandi and I took her for a run at Duke Park in Troy while we were in town this weekend, and that was a lot of fun.

* A post that I recently began and then aborted included a note on how ecstatic I was that the Reds were playing so well as to be still in the race halfway through the season. Then they totally fell apart as the All-Star break approached, and while they're definitely still in the race, they've looked like a totally different team lately. They need some help. I was really pleased when they traded for "Everyday" Eddie Guardado, but hopefully Wayne Krivsky isn't done upgrading this team just yet. It would be great if they could make an addition to the starting staff. Of course, at this point I would be happy if manager Jerry Narron would just fix his lineup and stay with it for a few days in a row.

* Thus begins the end of my twenties. My 29th birthday was last week. I'm not entirely thrilled about being this old, but I suppose that doesn't really matter. I haven't really thought about it all that much, to be honest. Next year may be a different story. At any rate, as my birthday is on July 4, Brandi and I went to my parents' house for the annual cookout/family get-together. With all the wedding festivities that have been going on lately, I'm sure my family is getting pretty tired of seeing me. Don't worry, everybody--we can get back to our normal schedule now.

* I've been seriously out of my groove lately, in terms of reading and writing. I'll try to get back in here on a more regular basis. I'll also (hopefully) have some more interesting things to say. Anytime now.

The Rehearsal

With the wedding taking place on Saturday (the 3rd), the ball started rolling on Friday. That's when people started coming in from out of town, and the rehearsal and dinner were slated for that night. Brandi had various appointments for most of the day, so I took advantage of the solitude while I had it. I took a book and went out for lunch by myself, as I hadn't been able to do for a while. It was my "deep breath before the plunge"--I knew that I wouldn't have another chance for quiet time for a while, and in that I was right.

Shortly after lunch, I headed over to the hotel where most people were staying to meet up with our friends Amy and Doug, who were both members of the wedding party. I also ended up running into my parents and Brandi's dad, so we all chatted for a little bit. Eventually, though, Doug and I had to go up to Toledo to pick up tuxedos for ourselves as well as most of the wedding party, and Amy tagged along with us.

This trip took a lot longer than I thought it would. First, there is construction on the interstate on the way to the mall, which I had forgotten about since I don't go over there very often. Once we got there we had to take care of more paperwork than was probably necessary, and then Doug and I had to try everything on. Doug's vest kept blowing buttons, so the clerk had to sew them back on. When we were finally finished in there, we had to haul seven tuxes through the mall and out to the parking lot, which is tougher than it sounds--those things are heavy. Then we had to navigate back through the construction again on the way back to Bowling Green.

The upshot of all of this is that I ended up being a few minutes late for my own wedding rehearsal. It was scheduled to start at 6:00, and we were just getting back into town at 5:50. I had to drop Amy and Doug off at the hotel and then go back to the apartment to change clothes. I ended up arriving at the rehearsal about fifteen minutes late. This really wasn't that big of a deal, but it certainly made me feel a little frantic. I hate being late for anything, especially when I'm one of the stars of the show.

The rehearsal happened so quickly and was so stripped down that I wondered a little why we bothered to do it at all. Citing "bad luck," Brandi refused to walk down the aisle, and we did only a very basic run-through. All that really got accomplished, I think, was the establishment of the order of how everyone would walk in and where we would all stand, and our musicians got their first and only chance to practice together. I can only imagine how much of a mess the actual ceremony would have been if we didn't do the rehearsal, but at the time, it seemed almost like a waste of time.

The dinner afterwards, however, was most certainly not a waste of time. We had it at Cucina di Betto in BG, which I can't recommend highly enough. The food was awesome (Brandi and I eat there all the time), and they did a great job of hosting it. The crowd consisted of Brandi and myself, our respective parents, the wedding party and their significant others, our officiant and his family, and a few miscellaneous family and friends. It was great to have everyone together, and Brandi and I both gave little speeches to thank everyone for coming, and to thank my parents for throwing this portion of the party for us. We gave out our wedding party and parents' gifts, and Brandi's parents gave us all the documents and info for our trip to Cozumel. When it was time for dessert, Brandi brought out a groom's cake she had our caterers make for me--decorated like a BGSU football field. That related to her gift for me, which was two tickets to the upcoming game between BGSU and the Wisconsin Badgers which will be taking place at Cleveland Browns Stadium this fall.

From there we adjourned to the hotel bar, the End Zone. That was where things got a little out of control. In a good way, of course. Quite a few people made it over there from dinner, and most of us had already been drinking. I was the last to arrive at the bar since I had to stop at home to drop off the remainder of the cake and to change clothes (the tie had to go), and there was a Starry Night (Jagermeister and Goldschlager) waiting for me when I got there. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening. When the bar patrons and employees found out we were a wedding party, they set up a mock bouquet and garter toss, which was pretty amusing. The guy who caught the garter later bought my first-ever shot of tequila, which should have been the end of the evening for me, but wasn't. Brandi turned in early, and I had every intention of doing the same, but...so many of my friends and family were there, I was drinking mostly for free, and I was having a great time. So I stuck around. I talked to the bartenders and plenty of random strangers (as the pictures prove), but mostly I was hanging out with my dad and some of my best friends. The group dwindled as the night wore on, but a pretty good crew stayed on until the very end. We were there until last call and a little beyond.

When I finally got home, I needed to wind myself down, so I went for a short walk around the neighborhood before finally going into the apartment. In hopes of easing the transition into the next day, I made myself some popcorn and a big glass of ice water, then plopped down on the couch to try to read. Shortly thereafter, around 4:00 a.m., I realized that I could barely keep my eyes open, so I finally dragged myself to bed for the last time as a single man.

Another One Bites the Dust

Wedding Post #1: Happy

I've been pretty caught up lately in preparations for my own wedding, but I did want to note that my cousin Mike, who is also one of my closest friends, got married to his longtime girlfriend Lisa this past weekend.



The wedding festivities actually got underway the previous weekend, with Mike's bachelor party. I was his best man, so it fell to me to organize said party. I was originally looking forward to planning something fun and maybe a little crazy. We managed the fun part, but the crazy was nixed from the equation early on. Lisa put the kibosh on having strippers involved, and without that typical bachelor party element I wasn't sure exactly how else to make it crazy. And, to be honest, keeping it low-key was more in keeping with Mike's personality, so it worked out just fine.

To start, he and I went down to Cincinnati for a Reds game. That was fun, but it could have been at least a little bit better. For starters, the weather wasn't so great. It was cold and rainy--not enough to delay the game by any means, but enough to be at least a little uncomfortable. Then the game was pretty boring. It was a pitcher's duel throughout, ending as a 2-0 victory for Philadelphia. It did get a little exciting when the Reds had a chance to tie or win in the bottom of the ninth, but it came to nothing.

On the way back through Dayton we stopped at Hooters to eat. Since we weren't allowed to go visit the strippers, I figured this was the next best option. Dale, another of Mike's cousins and his other groomsman, met up with us there. None of the three of us had ever been to a Hooters before, so it was at least mildly interesting on its own merits. From there we went to Mike and Lisa's new house, which they hadn't moved into yet. It was equipped only with folding chairs and a couple of televisions, so the three of us proceeded to watch movies and play video games all night long, with a certain amount of alcohol thrown into the mix as well. We didn't end up leaving there until nearly 8:00 a.m., and it was more fun than anything so simple has any right to be.

The actual wedding weekend kicked off with the rehearsal on Friday. I had only been involved in one wedding before, and that was a few years ago, so it was fun to be an "insider" again. We ran through the ceremony once without a hitch, then did one part of it over for some fine-tuning. All throughout, I had a hard time not mentioning the fact that the officiant (priest/minister/whatever) looked exactly like Ned Flanders. Afterwards we all got together at a local buffet restaurant for dinner, which was a good time. Mike gave me a personalized flask, which I'm sure will come in handy.

The big event finally came to pass on Saturday. Kickoff was set for 1:00 p.m.; we of the wedding party were expected by 11:00. I actually arrived a little bit before that so I could write some notes for my toast at the reception--I had it all planned out in my mind beforehand, but I wanted to make sure I had something to refer to in case I blanked, as speaking in front of crowds is not something I make a habit of. After that we got our tuxes on, had our photos taken, and just milled around until it was time to begin.

The ceremony went quicker than I expected, being a Catholic wedding. It went well and was very nice, at least from where I was standing (and sitting...and standing...and sitting...). The only slightly nervous moment for me was when I had a bit of trouble getting the rings out of my pocket, but I didn't panic, took my time, and came through in the clutch. Honestly, I doubt anyone even noticed (until I mention it now, of course).

So Mike and Lisa got married. After the ceremony there were more photos to be taken and more milling around to be done, and then it was off to the reception. It's always a fun experience to be introduced and applauded as you enter a room full of people. Very shortly after we arrived, it was time for me to give the best man toast. I kept it simple and fairly short, talking about how my relationship with Mike had evolved and how Lisa had come into the the picture, and how honored I was to stand with the two of them.



After that it was a pretty typical wedding reception. The food was really good, and the champagne went down smooth. There was plenty of mingling amongst family, many of whom we don't get to see very often, and even some dancing. Toward the end, Mike's mom was a little drunk and told me over and over how glad she was that Mike and I are so close. That was both very nice and pretty amusing at the same time.

With Mike and Lisa's wedding out of the way, the focus is now squarely on my own. Indeed, I was asked about it quite often during the reception. I thought I would perhaps start to get more excited or nervous, but that hasn't happened as of yet. Maybe that will come after the bachelor party, which is taking place this Saturday. Then after that, next weekend, I'll be the one biting the dust.

Notes

* After being sick for over a week now, I finally feel like I'm starting to get on top of it. I'm not 100%, with some remaining sniffles, congestion, and coughing, but today is the first day since last Sunday that I've felt more or less "normal." It's about time, too, since I was beginning to seriously consider going to the doctor. That's a pretty big deal for me. I'm not one of these guys with a big fear of/aversion to doctors, but I'm not someone who goes for every little cough and cold, either. It just has to be something serious. I don't even have a doctor right now--I haven't been to one in a very long time, since before I moved to this area. The last doctor I went to (for one visit) has since retired, and the doctor I went to before that is now dead. That guy was my pediatrician. At any rate, it looks like I won't have to find one this time around, unless this stupid thing hangs around for a few more days. I would hate to go to the doctor for just a cold, especially one that's so clearly on the decline, but it really has been hanging in there for a while.

* Of course, being sick over the weekend meant that I had to miss all the St. Patrick's Day festivities, including a Neon Black show. I was pretty irritated about that. Their shows are an awesome time, and they only play here in BG once a month. Their next date here in town is Tax Day, April 15. I'll be there for that one, I don't care if I'm sick again. On the bright side, I did get to watch a little more of the NCAA basketball tournament than I would have otherwise, since I took Thursday and Friday off work. I thought my boss would be suspicious of that, but she wasn't, probably because I was obviously still sick when I went back in on Monday.

* I talked to my mom on Sunday afternoon, and I found out that she and my dad hosted a dog on an in-home recruiting visit last week. They ended up not taking this particular dog (a black lab who apparently spazzed out and didn't want anything to do with either one of them), but it's clear that they're looking. I have kind of mixed feelings about my parents getting a new dog. I realize, first of all, that I have no say in the matter, since I don't live there anymore and am lucky to make it home once a month, and I know that my dad especially would like to have a dog around since he's retired and spends a pretty fair amount of time at home by himself. It'll just be weird for me to have a dog there that isn't my dog the way Cupid was. Since Cupid was there for several years before I moved out as well as when I was home for extended periods of time for college breaks, she was as close to me as she was Mom and Dad. She was blissed out when I came home for weekends or whatever. For a new dog, I would just be a stranger to get used to--maybe one who's around a little more than others, but still not someone who "lives" there. Still, I love dogs, and it'll be great to have one around the house again, since I'm not yet in a position where I can have one of my own. And animals generally like me a lot (I've known several animals who have liked me better than their "masters," even on short acquaintance), so a new dog probably won't take very long to get to know me. I guess I really just wish I was around so I could help them pick one out.

* The BGSU men's basketball team has lost another player, with backup point guard Perrick "Moon" Robinson declaring that he will transfer to a school to be determined. I like Coach Dakich a lot, but it can't be denied that the team has lost a lot of players over the past few seasons, and the lack of continuity is taking its toll on the program. Moon isn't necessarily a great loss in and of himself, although he was a contributor and could have progressed even more, but it really hurts when guys are leaving year in and year out. Hopefully he's the only one we'll lose this offseason, and Coach Dakich will be able to effect a turnaround from this year's 9-21 record. If not, with Paul Krebs leaving for the University of New Mexico and a new Athletic Director on the horizon, it's likely that BG will be looking for a new coach next year at this time. I think BG will have a decent year next year, though. Coach Dakich's best teams are always the ones that have a lot of seniors, and there will be four next year (as opposed to just one this year). Whether or not it will be enough to earn him a contract extension remains to be seen, and whether or not it should be is up for debate.

* The Reds made a trade this week, sending outfielder Wily Mo Peña to Boston for right-handed starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo. This was GM Wayne Krivsky's first major trade for the Reds, and I confess myself disappointed. Peña is a young guy with a lot of potential. Sure, he strikes out a lot, but his power is prodigious. He hits the kind of home runs that people come to the park early to watch batting practice for. If the Reds were going to trade him, they should have gotten a #1 or at least a solid #2 starter for him, instead of a guy who went 14-10 last year (decent, but not great) and will probably end up as the #3 guy in the Reds' rotation, which isn't exactly strong. This move means that Adam Dunn will revert to left field (after moving to first base following the Sean Casey trade, which was even weaker and more disappointing than this one) and Scott Hatteberg will take over first base. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for the Reds this season. Despite them getting rid of two of my favorite players, I'm excited for the start of the season--Opening Day is April 3 against the Cubs.

* I'm still planning a post on my first strip club visit. I haven't forgotten, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Look for it this weekend at the latest.

Losing a Friend

Cupid (1991 - 2005)

I still have a pretty vivid recollection of the day Cupid came into my life and family, which happened on Monday, February 10, 1992. I was fourteen years old, a freshman in high school. Having had a rough day at school, I was lying on the couch when my dad got home from work. He asked if I wanted to go get a dog. A friend of his had a dog who had just had puppies, and we had been offered one if we wanted to come pick one out. I wasn't inclined to go anywhere, but Dad kept asking, and finally he insisted. So I got in the van and we headed to his friend's house out in the country.

We were led out into the yard when we got there, and we found a mass of squirming puppies frolicking on the grass. I don't remember how many there were, probably seven or eight, all of which were mottled brown and white...except for one yellow one which immediately caught my attention. The guy who owned the dogs said I could have whichever one I wanted, but I was a little hesitant to take the only one that was different. After a few minutes of trying and failing to pick out another one, though, I finally asked if we could have the yellow one. A few minutes later we were loading her into the recycling bin we had brought along and putting her in the van.

I deliberated over a name for her for a while. I can't remember any of the other possibilities I had in mind, but we finally settled on "Cupid" since it was just a few days before Valentine's Day. I'm not particularly sentimental about Valentine's Day, nor was I then, but it just seemed to fit (even though the original Cupid was male). This was occasionally shortened to "Cupe," and as she got bigger and rounder, she also picked up the nicknames "Fatty," "Chubs," and my personal favorite, "Chubbalicious."

For the first few days we had her, all she did was follow me around the house. I remember thinking that it would be pretty annoying if it continued, but it didn't. Actually, as Cupid grew out of her puppy stage, she really wasn't much of a people person. Sure, she'd come to investigate whenever someone new came in the door, but after an obligatory bark and sniff, she was more than content to go lie under the table and leave them alone. If someone (besides me) would go seek her out, she'd allow herself to be petted for a few minutes, and then she'd go find somewhere else to hang out.

It's amazing, really, how loyal Cupid remained to me. I left for college shortly after I turned eighteen, and she wasn't quite four yet. I was home for some weekends and then for summers, and I came home for a little over a year after I graduated college. Then I moved out for good and haven't really been back for an extended period since then. Still, there's no question that she remained my dog. If I sat on the floor, she'd come sit next to me and lick my face; she'd let me lie down next to her and put my head on her belly. I don't think she would have done those things for anyone else. I'm just amazed that she continued to remember me so well when I essentially wasn't there for so long.

I've been home twice in the past few weeks, and I knew she probably wasn't going to live a whole lot longer (although I didn't expect it to come nearly this soon). She had lost most of her hearing--she didn't come to greet me at the door anymore because she couldn't hear me come in--and she was having trouble going up and down the stairs. At fourteen years old, she was pretty old for a dog. I got the call from Mom last night, and she said they had to have her put down. She had been getting sick, so they had taken her to the vet, who had found a tumor on her liver. He thought he could get it out, but when he opened her up to do so, he found that it was too much. He told my parents he could just close her up and she'd live a little while longer that way, but they chose not to let her suffer. As much as I would have loved to see her one last time, I'm glad they let her go. I couldn't bear the thought of my friend suffering for even just a few days--and that's probably all it would have been. I'm sad that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but that would have been too much to ask.

On the bright side, I'm glad that I was home a couple of times recently and got to spend at least a little bit of time with her. She was a good dog, and a good friend. It's going to be very strange to come home without her there waiting for me. While I'm sure I'll get used to it, I'm not looking forward to doing so.

The Weekend That Wasn't

Do you ever have one of those weekends when you have so much going on that, by the time Monday rolls around, it feels like you didn't have a weekend at all? This past weekend wasn't quite one of those, but it was really close. I think if Sunday had required one more thing from me, I may well have gone postal when I woke up this morning and realized I had to go to work.

Friday was the day we had set up for my parents to meet Brandi's dad and stepmom for the first time. Bowling Green isn't exactly the same distance from each of our hometowns, but it's close enough that our apartment was probably the most convenient meeting place. I got home at work right at 5:30 to find that my parents had already arrived a few moments earlier. They had woken Brandi up from a nap, as a matter of fact. We got to hang out and chat for a little bit, which was nice. Brandi's parents arrived shortly after 6:00, and the six of us went out for dinner.

We went to SamB's here in Bowling Green. It wasn't our first choice, but we couldn't get reservations anywhere else. We like to eat there, though, and it turned out to be a good choice. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about this initial encounter, but I'm happy to say that my fears were groundless. It was a good time. The food was really good, and everyone got along and seemed to enjoy one another.

After dinner, we took a ride to go look at the wedding and reception sites Brandi and I have picked out for next year. The wedding will be at Prout Chapel on BGSU's campus, and the reception will be at a BG Parks & Rec building that used to be a church. We went to the reception site first, then onto campus. Unfortunately, neither building was open for us to go inside and look around, but we (and, more importantly, our parents) got to peek into some windows and at least get a little look at what's in store.

From there we all came back to the apartment. Our parents hung out and chatted for a short while longer, then headed out to go their separate ways. It was fun having them here. It was a little crowded in our apartment with all of them here at once, but hopefully they'll all come visit again sometime.

Brandi's friend Cricket had called and left a message for Brandi while we were out. She was out on the town with another friend (Jess), so Brandi decided to go out and join them. Knowing we had plans to go out on Saturday night as well, I settled myself down in front of my PlayStation and stayed home instead. I just hung out here for the rest of the evening, then went and picked up the ladies when they were ready to come home, as Cricket and Jess crashed here for the night.

We got up relatively early (around 10:00) on Saturday. Cricket and Jess were getting ready to go meet a friend for breakfast, and Brandi and I had to get ready to welcome yet more guests into our home. Our friends Amy and Doug were on their way up from Piqua. Brandi's bridesmaids were getting together in the afternoon to go get fitted for their dresses, so Amy was coming for that. They came bearing some world-famous strawberry doughnuts from the Troy Strawberry Festival, among other things.

Shortly thereafter, the rest of Brandi's girls showed up, and they headed out for their appointment. I was left here with Doug and another guy, Seth, who is the husband of Brandi's friend Annie. If it was going to be just Doug and myself, I figured a trip to see Episode III would be in order, but I didn't think Seth would be too keen to join us--he had already seen it, and probably isn't a freak like I am. Instead we watched Episode II (which Seth hadn't seen) on DVD and ordered a pizza. When that was over we just turned on a baseball game and chatted until the girls got back.

Later in the evening, we had invited a bunch of people to meet us at BW3 in Bowling Green for an engagement party of sorts, so we headed over there. We actually did have a pretty good crowd there, although not quite as many as we had hoped for. Still, it was fun. We ate there and had some drinks, and then went to a couple of other bars as our crowd thinned out some.

We finished the night at Downtown, one of our usual haunts. Brandi was chatting with her stepbrother Stephen, and Cricket and I ended up having a heart-to-heart talk that I think was good for both of us. We covered a range of topics, mainly centering on our own respective relationships. It was a little deeper than most conversations happening in college bars near closing time, or at least I like to think so.

The four of us ended up back at our apartment after the bar closed. Stephen hung out for a while and then headed home. Cricket called her boyfriend Adam, then came out to join us in watching Harry Potter on DVD. Eventually Brandi (not feeling particularly well) went to bed, and Cricket crashed on the couch. I didn't stay up too long myself after that.

Sunday was a much more relaxing day. Cricket and Brandi went shopping, and I hung out here, watching baseball and lounging on the couch. Cricket headed for home after the two of them got back, and Brandi and I didn't do too much after that. There was a nap involved; and later on, some laundry. It was definitely good to get at least that little bit of time to recover before heading back into action today.

Chillin' With the Family

Having little else to do this weekend, Brandi and I decided to make the trip down I-75 to my hometown of Troy to stay with my parents for a couple of nights. This was the last open weekend for such a trip for the next few weeks, so we took advantage of it.

Friday was a pretty low-key evening. We got into Troy and to my parents' house a little after 8:00. Mom had ordered pizza, so there was food waiting for us when we got there. We spent most of that evening just hanging out with Mom, talking about some of our wedding plans. We did go out for ice cream later on, but that was the extent of our out-of-the-house activities for the night.

Saturday was our busy day. At 4:00, a good deal of my extended family met for an early dinner at the Bamboo Grill in Troy. I hadn't seen most of them since last July 4. I'm generally pretty close to them, though, so I really wanted to get everyone together for a while. I had already announced my engagement to Brandi to all of them, but it was sort of an announcement party. It turned into a dual announcement party, actually, as my cousin Mike took the gathering as an opportunity to announce to everyone that he and his girlfriend Lisa are engaged as well.


A post-dinner photo: Brandi, myself, Aunt Billie, my cousin Mike, his fiancee Lisa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Sissy, Mom, Uncle Clarence, and my sister Monica. Aunt Louise took the photo, and Dad had already taken shelter from the heat in the air-conditioned comfort of the car.

Afterwards, several of us (everyone except Dad, Mom, Aunt Sissy, and Monica) wandered around downtown Troy for a few minutes. The city is putting up a display of bronze sculptures around the downtown area, and this was our chance to see all the sculptures in one place before they were scattered. We checked those out, and then we all went our separate ways.

This is the one thing that I hate about living in Bowling Green. Most of my family is still concentrated in Troy, and I don't get to see them as often as I would like. Most of my childhood was spent with Uncle Mike and Aunt Bill and with Uncle Clarence and Aunt Lou. I've got a ton of great memories with everyone that was there on Saturday evening; and now, if I'm lucky, I get to see them two or three times per year. I miss them, and hopefully a move back to Troy is somewhere in my future.

At any rate, Brandi and I went back to my parents' house, and Mike and Lisa met us there to hang out for a while. Monica and Aunt Sissy were there, as were my parents, so we spent more time talking about wedding plans (and various other topics, to a lesser extent).

Eventually Mike and Lisa had to leave, and then Brandi and I went up to Piqua to spend the remainder of the evening with our friends Amy and Doug, who had gifts for me. There was some Star Wars-related merchandise, including a Darth Tater, which is cool in a goofy kind of way. There was also a decent collection of Trojan football memorabilia, which Amy had apparently decided to part ways with while cleaning their house. I still can't quite figure out why she decided to get rid of it, but I'm glad she found it a good home instead of just chucking it out.

We had a lot of fun there, just hanging out and playing video games. Oh, and eating. I don't know what our problem was, but it seemed like all of us were extremely snack-happy. It was a good time, though. Brandi and I finally left around 2:00, when Amy was falling asleep in her recliner, and headed back to my parents' house.

Our next trip home will probably be for the July 4th weekend, which also happens to be my birthday. That will entail another family get-together, for a cookout at my parents' house and also at the fireworks later that night. Brandi and I also have tickets for a Reds game that weekend, so I'm really looking forward to it.

One other cool thing about the family get-together. Afterwards, Uncle Mike and Aunt Bill invited Brandi and me to join them in Virginia Beach this coming August. They rented a house on the beach for a week, so they asked us, along with Mike and Lisa, if we would like to come as well. I haven't been at my job long enough to have any official vacation time yet, but I'm hoping I can just take that week off without pay. I used to go with Uncle Mike and Aunt Bill on family trips a lot when I was younger, and it was always a lot of fun. I would love to be able to do it again.

Why? I Don't Know.

Taken Oct. 1 - I lavish some affection upon my dog Cupid after watching Troy stomp Piqua earlier in the evening.

I Return Older and Wiser

(Well, maybe no wiser.)

I find myself reluctantly at work this morning, after a long weekend which did not satisfy my rest requirements. Don't get me wrong, it was an awesome weekend. It was far more active than most, though, and I could have used a little bit more time for sleeping.

I got an early start to the weekend, as I took the afternoon off on Friday. I went immediately to get an oil change and car wash, then drove through Wendy's to get some lunch before I hit the road for Stow.

After an uneventful drive, I got to Brandi's place in Stow around 2:30. She was just waking up from a nap, so we just hung out for a little bit. Shortly thereafter we got up and showered and started getting ready to go up to Cleveland. We had tickets to see Edwin McCain in concert, and we wanted to have time to eat first.

We managed to make it to Cleveland and into The Flats with a minimum of effort and confustion, which is something of an accomplishment for us. There's a BW3 right next to the concert venue (The Odeon Concert Club), so that's where we went. Our timing was really good, too, as we finished up and headed over to get in line just a few minutes before the doors opened for the show.

The concert was awesome. Getting there when we did allowed us to stake out a spot right in front of the stage. The opening act was a singer named Maia Sharp, who sings a duet with Edwin on his newest CD. She was really good. She started off playing acoustic guitar and singing, and eventually played a mean keyboard and also some soprano saxophone. She played for about forty-five minutes, and then there was a short intermission before Edwin and his band came on. They put on a great show, as usual. We were standing right in front of Larry Chaney, the lead guitarist, and it was really cool to watch him play close up. He's so good, and he makes it look so easy. They played for about two hours, and it was a whole lot of fun. Brandi bought the tickets for my birthday, so that was a heck of a birthday present.

On Saturday we slept in, and then loaded up our cars with a bunch of Brandi's stuff so she could move into my apartment in Bowling Green. That actually wasn't so bad. It took us less than an hour to load up both cars and get on the road. The drive to BG was something of an adventure due to a pretty serious accident on the turnpike that held up traffic for a while, but we made it without any real incidents. We unloaded once we got there, then cleaned up and got back on the road to head down to my parents' house in Troy for the rest of the weekend.

That evening was fairly uneventful. Mom had dinner waiting for us when we got there, so we chatted with her and watched the Reds game on TV while we ate. Brandi and I went out afterwards to check out Troy's new Super Wal-Mart and to get a birthday card for our friend Doug. We also stopped at Steak N Shake for a milkshake, and went for a drive around town before heading home.

Sunday was the 4th, which also happens to be my birthday. My parents have always hosted a big family cookout and get-together for the occasion, and this year was no exception. If we counted correctly later, we had thirty-three people there over the course of the day. Most of them I don't get to see very often, so I had a lot of fun. That evening Brandi and I went to the fireworks in Troy with my cousin Mike and his girlfriend Lisa, and we met up with a bunch of family who had been at the house earlier that day. We were also met by our friends Amy and Doug. The fireworks show was really good. It was nice being out there since it stormed last year and we didn't get to see a show on the 4th.

As for birthday gifts, I got a few. I got some cash, which always comes in handy. I got a little collectible baseball bear figurine, a Troy Trojans bobblehead, a binoculars/digital camera combo, a picture frame, and some candy. I also got a sweet autographed 8X10 photo of Ryan Brewer standing in Williams-Brice Stadium. I'll be framing that and finding a place of honor for it shortly.

We didn't have to work on Monday, so Brandi and I slept in again, then went for a walk when we got up. Then we went shopping for balloons--it was Doug's birthday, and Amy threw a surprise party for him; we were asked to bring the balloons. We got those, then headed up to their house to help Amy decorate and then stick around for the party. That was a pretty good time, and there was plenty of food. We hung out for a while even after the party was over, and then went with them to the fireworks in Piqua. Piqua is something of a hick town (a certain number of friends and relations who live there notwithstanding), but they put on a good fireworks show--I guess if there's one thing 'necks know about, it's explosions.

After that, it was time to head back to Bowling Green. It was close to 12:30 by the time we got back, and I was pretty tired. I stayed up with Brandi while she did some laundry, then fell asleep pretty quickly. For once, she didn't have to go back to Stow this morning--I woke her up as I was leaving so she could get ready for her first day at her new job in Toledo. It'll be nice having her around from now on.

As a bonus, I was the winner of the weekly NASCAR pool here at work (just for the record, I am not a NASCAR fan), so I got $20 bucks this morning. I decided to use part of it to treat myself to Phil Steele's college football preview magazine, since I forgot to bring a book with me for my lunch hour today.

Now, if I could just find time for a nap.

A Load Off Our Minds

Brandi called me at work a few minutes ago to let me know that she's been offered a position with a health club in Toledo. Needless to say, we're both pretty stoked about that. She was going to move back to Bowling Green next month anyway, whether she had a new job lined up or not, but it's definitely a relief that she now has one secured and doesn't have to worry about it anymore. I know she was worried about it, but she's done a good job of sticking it out with this particular possibility, and it paid off for her (and us) in the end. She won't be working full-time to start, but she'll be getting some good hours, and she'll be able to pick up extra shifts and move up to full-time status. That means she'll probably be without health coverage in the meantime, but it's really not the end of the world--it shouldn't be for too long. I could tell even in our short phone conversation how relieved, excited, and happy she was, and that's the best part of the whole thing.

She actually had two interviews in Toledo this morning (she was hired at the second one), and found a few minutes in between to visit me here in the office. That was quite a nice surprise. She was wearing a new dress that she got yesterday for her birthday, and she was lovely. I wish I had a picture to share, but alas, I don't.

We went last night to have dinner at Brandi's parents' house. Her stepmom made lasagna, which was really good, and I got to take home the leftovers. Their main present to Brandi was a little grill, which will be awesome to have this summer. We had been talking about getting a grill anyway, after we move in together, and now it's something we don't have to worry about.

As a sidenote, their dog Buster loves the hell out of me.

The new Edwin McCain CD, Scream and Whisper, came out yesterday, and I buzzed into Circuit City on my lunch break to pick up my copy. I've only listened to it once all the way through, so I don't have anything to say about it more profound than "it sounds good." It does sound good, though, and I'll go so far as to say it sounds awesome. All of Edwin's albums are very good, and this one doesn't disappoint at all. On first listen, my favorite tracks are "Shooting Stars" (co-written by Angie Aparo, another one of my favorites), "Say Anything" (the first single), "White Crosses," and "Wild at Heart." I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes quality rock and roll, and I even more highly recommend you go see Edwin perform live if/when he's in your area. They put on a great show.

I mentioned that I bought a new cell phone this weekend, and as I use it, I'm discovering that it has the potential to be great. The sound quality is great, even when I only have one bar on my signal strength indicator. However, many of the features I won't be able to try out for a while. Sprint PCS has a "Vision" plan that includes internet access, as well as access to goodies like ringers, picture sharing (yep, it's a camera phone), games, etc. My phone supports this service and I signed up for it, but I can't use it until July 6 because of the way their system is set up. Essentially, my new plan won't start until the beginning of my next billing cycle, in order to avoid prorated charges. On one hand that's very convenient, but it's also highly irritating because my phone can do all this cool stuff and I want to play with it RIGHT NOW! I suppose I can wait a few more days for it, though.

Things have been picking up a little bit lately here at work. That is to say, I've actually had a few things to do so far this week. It sounds implausible, but it had been a while since I had anything to do, so every little bit is an improvement. We're still a long way from being busy, though.

This Blog Contains a Dog

The Other Lady In My Life

SO, Blogger now tells me I can post photos in my blog. With all the other changes they've gone though recently, how could I resist this? I doubt I'll do it often, but hey, you never know. I do have a digital camera after all. I rarely use it, but now I have an easy method of posting to the web. This could be fun.

Oh, that's my dog Cupid, by the way. I probably shouldn't say she's "mine," seeing as how she lives 110 miles away, with my parents, but...yeah, she's really my dog. She loves the hell out of me, and the feeling, I assure you, is mutual.

Funeral and Family

My abstention from writing yesterday was due to spending the day in Troy for a funeral.

First off, let's get the familial explanations out of the way, so I can proceed without running around in circles trying to explain exactly how everyone is or is not related. Frankie Vanover, the deceased, is not actually my grandmother, but I've called her "Grandma" all my life. Her daughters are Billie and Louise, who are known to me as Aunt Bill and Aunt Lou. Aunt Bill is married to my Uncle Mike, who is my dad's brother, so she actually is my aunt. Aunt Lou, being her sister, is not technically a relation, since the connection is by marriage. However, Aunt Bill is the one who took care of me when I was younger while my parents were at work, and she and Aunt Lou are very close, so I spent a lot of time with both of them. Aunt Lou and her husband (Uncle Clarence) have a daughter (Rachel) who is a just a few years older than I am, and we grew up together. The point I'm trying to get across is this: technically, I'm not related to Aunt Lou, Uncle Clarence, and/or Rachel, but they are all family, in the more important sense of the word. Also, Uncle Mike and Aunt Bill have a son named Mike, who also has a son named Mike. For clarity's sake, although he isn't nearly as crazy as he used to be, the middle Mike will henceforth be referred to by his old nickname, "Crazy Mike," and his son Mike, who is only a few years younger than me and is a close friend as well as an actual blood relative, will just be known as Mike.

Now that we're all clear on that (sure we are), a story. A couple of years ago, my mom and I went with Aunt Bill and Aunt Lou to go visit Grandma at the nursing home. She had Alzheimer's disease, and it had been a while since I had seen her. They told me she probably wouldn't recognize me, as she often didn't recognize people, even the people she saw frequently. So we went in and walked into her room, and she got a big smile on her face and said, "Well, there's Jon!"

Being around that side of the family as much as I was when I was younger, I was one of her favorites. Spending so much time with Rachel, who actually was her granddaughter, I was like one of the grandchildren. In fact, I found out yesterday that I was actually counted among the grandchildren. That made me feel pretty good.

At any rate, I took the day off from work and drove down to Troy for the funeral. I'm really glad I did. I wanted to be there for my family, and I could tell it meant a lot to them that I made it. We get together only rarely, and it was good to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time. It just sucks that someone had to die for it to happen.

I make it into Troy only infrequently now, so I don't see Aunt Bill and Uncle Mike or Aunt Lou and Uncle Clarence and Rachel nearly as much as I used to. Crazy Mike lives in Pennsylvania now, I think, so I definitely don't see him very often. Also present was my cousin Dave (another son of Uncle Mike and Aunt Bill), who lives in the area but is mostly MIA. These guys are quite a bit older than I am, and because of the age difference, this was the first time I can recall that I could sit down and talk to them and actually relate to them. Rachel, Mike, and I used to play Atari games with Dave years ago, but that wasn't quite the same.

Another person I saw for the first time in quite a while was Rachel's cousin Tonia. Tonia and I are exactly one week apart in age (she being the older), and as she was also around fairly often when we were younger, we were always teased about having crushes on each other. I can't speak for Tonia (although I do think it was true at one point or another), but as for myself, I think enough time has passed now that I feel comfortable admitting that it was true through junior high and into the early part of high school. Nothing ever came of it, but we were close friends while we were in high school. I hadn't seen her since Rachel got married a few years ago, and now she's married and pregnant.

I'm glad I could be there for everyone, and I did enjoy seeing them, despite the circumstances. Being with everyone brought back a lot of good memories of my youth, and the time I spent with Uncle Mike and Aunt Bill, and with Uncle Clarence, Aunt Lou, and Rachel, often with Mike and Tonia. It's really amazing to think back on times like that and think about how much stuff has changed, and how much has stayed the same. At one point I saw Crazy Mike and Dave exchange a private joke, and just look at each other and laugh, and it reminded me so much of how it is now between me, Rachel, and Mike. We don't see each other often, but we shared so much growing up and have so many common experiences that even now we can just exchange glances and private jokes and be right back on the same wavelength.

It all made me feel really lucky for the circumstances that allowed me to be so close to these people and consider them family even when they aren't all blood relations. Blood is overrated. It's shared experiences and love that makes a real family, and nothing else. All of these people have meant so much to my life, and I'm grateful for that. I didn't always feel lucky as a kid, but that's the nature of youth. Now that I can look back on it I realize how great it was to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

Being there, surrounded by these people and memories for my childhood, I spent a good portion of the afternoon just cruising the streets of Troy, visiting old haunts and revisiting old times. More on that later.

A Sad Day

Frances ''Frankie'' Vanover

It seems as though this week may be taking a bit of a detour. If I can swing it, I'll probably be driving down to Troy tonight for the funeral tomorrow. Although I hadn't seen her lately, she was often an important part of my growing up. I want to be there to pay my respects, to both her and to my family.