I'll extend a special hello and shout-out to Ryutaro Murai, aka Mike Lee, who turns 26 today. He never makes a big deal out of his b-day, which is all fine and dandy, because there was actually a time I was the same way, and not that long ago, either. I did head down to his pad to enjoy some Pineapple Island Ale, see Goldmember, and get a first view of the 8 rolls of wedding pictures he took. It also occurs to me, at this point, that I really ought to have a "friends file" entry on Mike that I could link to. This was one of the first parts of the old Geocities page I ever built, and it hasn't been updated since. That old original Geocities page, now accessible as the "Domain of the Malcontent" hasn't really been touched in months, and parts in years (well, a little more than a year) and it has become a forgotten, neglected portion of this web empire I've built. Unfotunately, the Beer Page seems headed in that same direction, and I recently vowed to keep that from happening.

So, I've drifted off my topic, but now that I'm thinking about it, I don't know What my topic was, except for a brief "shout out" to Mike.

Anyhow, the "Hangover" continues, and now has become a full-fledged "what the fuck Now" syndrome. It's like that big party you had Friday night, and then you woke up Saturday morning, started recovering from the event, and wondered exactly what the hell you were going to do with the rest of the weekend, then ended up doing almost Nothing because the entire weekend was about Friday night.

So, I'll be honest, nothing really existed in my mind after August 3rd (and the 4th to an extent, what with the Seafair races). I just never really envisioned what would happen after that, I guess. There is still a lot of summer left, and I just don't know to do with it. Everything led up to last weekend, and then sort of ended, now I'm here, and feel like I have No Idea what to do woth myself.

So, anyway, before I pick up where I left off in the last post, I'll go ahead and talk about my "emotional hangover," as i named it this morning. This is related, I'm guessing, to the post-Haulidaze things that a lot of people go through, except that is usually more associated with depression, and a brief spike in suicide rates. This is sort of a "post-huge-event" type thing, or, as i've always called it, "day after Christams" syndrome, referring to how a little kid often feels the day after X-mas.

Basically, what were talking about here is a sort of pensive, thoughtful mindset, accompanied with lower-than-normal overall energy levels, and a sort of "now what" feeling. It's the Emotional Hangover.

This is all why I didn't get around to heading down to my aunt's house to start working on the pond-waterfall landscaping project until nearly 2:00pm. Once there I realized it was high tide, and need to take the 15' Boston Whaler with the 25 hp Evinrude for a quick spin. I did, however, get a lot of planning and designing done, as well as remove a couple sizable rhondendrons to clear a space for the waterfall.

So, lets get back to Sunday morning...
The original plan had been to just meet up with Jill and Corey at the lake, since I knew where they were going to be and they would try to get there at 8:00 to secure a good spot. But I realized that Jill had purchased a ticket for me, and I didn't have it, which meant I would have to meet them before they got in. I also found myself strangely wide awake at 5:30 after only a couple brief hours of "beer sleep." I made a critical decision. Knowing that if I stayed in bed until I fell back asleep, it would be very late before I woke up again, I decided to just get up and start the day. I brewed a pot of coffee, and called Jill to tell them i would meet them in the parking lot (at Boeing field, with shuttle busses running to the lake).

It doesn't take a rocket scientist, at this point, to figure out I was semi-comatose all day. But at least i was at the lake, watching the hydros. I won't bore you all with the details, but my pictures are up on the website.

Beyond that, I felt a little strange because it felt all so anticlimatic, and I had trouble really getting into it. This is an event I really look forward to, and is usually one of my favorite days of the year. At least I got to be there.

So, unless you've been on Neptune, you realize that the Jonneke wedding was yesterday, and I have not yet posted any comments on any of the proceedings: The Bachelor Party Thursday night, the rehearsal/dinner Friday night, and the Ceremony/reception Saturday. And, for the most part, those comments will be incredibly brief -- relative to the weight of these events.

I had figured, correctly, back in December that this would be, for the most part, a truly epic occasion... i.e. this would be a full-on, knock-down, drag out wedding "pageant," as it were. This isn't to be confused with overly elaborate or expensive, as the proceedings were done on a strict budget, thereby keeping it from becoming the ostentatious show so many big-budget weddings degrade into.

I also expected to be in a state of "orbit" around the bride and groom for a few days, particularly Jon, as I figured my role as a groomsman essentially called for this, if nothing else. That and pose for pictures, and stand like a stiff in a monkey suit for a few minutes... BUT, most importantly, party like a Rock Star the rest of the time. Please excuse me while I pat myself on the back over accomplishing That goal.

So, starting from about noon on Thursday, when Rich and I decided even Rock Star partyers needed clean accomodations and dove into a fevered bit of cleaning in anticipation of the Bachelor Party at the House set to start in a few hours (and kudos to Rich, the kitchen never looked better) I indeed did "orbit" until about 11:05 pm Saturday, at which point a spent groomsman, drunk off of self-satisfaction and my own potent brew, realized the partying had been done, the mission was over, and was overcome with a bizarre catharsis.

You see, this shindig had been building for about 9 months, and I was too often too near the front lines of it for too long, and it had begun to Wear on me, just a bit. To say I was glad it was over is hardly an accurate statement, either. Remember Christmas morning as a kid, when you had finally finished tearing open all those presents? Didn't you feel a little bit... empty?

The details of the events, as from my perspective, are best left for another time. I wouldn't know where to start, where to end, or what to put in between. So I'm not even going to try.

So, anyway, the Spent Groomsman was caravanned home, largely ignored a small, impromptu post-func at his house while he uploaded 180+pictures, and then tried to settle in for some shut-eye before he got up (early) for the Seafair General Motors Cup unlimited hydroplane races on Sunday.

but more on that later...