This weekend was pretty hectic, as far as my weekends go.


Friday

On Friday, I left work and headed straight to Elizabeth's to meet up. We packed up her car, got some drinks for the road, and left Cincinnati. Along the way, we stopped at Steak and Shake for food, and listened to Jim Gaffigan. He is a funny guy indeed. We drove through C-bus, and up towards Cleveland. The trip was pretty uneventful, although driving through farmland literally stinks. Elizabeth's dad lives in a rural area, so we drove past Amish residences and lots of crop fields. The stench of animals and their byproducts was so overwhelming I thought I might be sick. It was pervasive, even ambient. Unfortunately, we couldn't roll the windows up because Elizabeth's AC is broken and the car would have become unbearably hot. But, I managed to make it without getting sick.

We arrived at Elizabeth's dad's place fairly late and she introduced me. Nate had warned me about her old man, saying he was crazy and talked politics nonstop. Unfortunately, I care nothing for politics, so I was a little nervous that he'd get pissed. Most of the time, however, he just ranted and asked me about computer junk. He was still using dial-up, and I felt sorry for him for that. At one point, he said, "You voted, right?" I said something like, "Uhhh, not so much," and I thought I was done. Against all odds, he didn't get pissed and just asked me not to complain "when I didn't get what I wanted." Fair enough. Most of the time, I thought Elizabeth's dad was hilarious because he got so worked up about junk that seemed trivial to me. He even called the cable company "communist." I about cracked up at this, because they are jerks, but I don't know about communist. Finally, Elizabeth's dad is named Pete Peterson, which is probably the most awesome name I've ever heard. So then we went to bed, utilizing the multiple guest rooms.


Saturday

On Saturday, we woke up and Elizabeth's dad made us breakfast: eggs, sausage, and waffles. It's startling how good actual food is when you can't cook. So then Elizabeth's dad and stepmom left for a funeral and she and I went to look for wedding gifts. Three hours before the wedding. Nice. I let her pick some junk on the registry because I don't know what the hork to get. So then we went back and she took a nap while I watched "Veggie Tales" on her dad's antenna-equipped TV. So then we got ready for the wedding and left for the church, which was an hour away.

We got there 40 horking minutes early, and they were still taking pictures and junk outside, so we cruised around for some food. After driving around, I'm pretty sure food does not exist within Cuyahoga Falls, OH. So we went back to the church and socialized with some Reid Hall people until the doors opened. We then rushed inside, not even waiting to be escorted by the groomsmen. Seemed reasonable to me. The ceremony was boring, but that's how weddings go. So then, we waited around outside the church for a while, since the reception wasn't until horking 6:00, and it would only take 25 minutes to get there. Eventually, we got sick of standing around, so we left, but found that the highway to the reception was down to one lane and completely backed up. We took an unfamiliar exit, and almost got lost, but Elizabeth found a road that she knew led to the place and we made it before most other people.

People slowly arrived at the reception, and we had some refreshments and beverages. It was worth nothing that there was an open bar, although I didn't partake. My table ended up having me, Elizabeth, Beth, Will, his girlfriend, Josh Davis, and horking Joe Cheezburger. It was good times. The food was excellent, although our table was served last. Not a big deal. Andy's brother made a great speech which was both funny and serious. People still asked if I drank, and were mostly not surprised to hear the answer. Aaron also stopped by to show us his gift to Andy and Megan - his cardboard cutout of Natalie Portman, which was the love of his life freshman year, and was also frequently stolen.

Then the dreaded dancing began. Dancing is something that I will never be able to do because A. I'm awkward and don't have any confidence with that sort of thing, and B. I don't drink, which is how most guys get ready. At one point, 5 guys ran up to Andy and did the "party boy" to him and Megan, which was awesome. Unfortunately, I got dragged onto the dance floor by 4 girls and 1 Adam Larimer and it was really awkward, because I can't dance and was too scared to try. I eventually escaped, but the damage was done. Later, Megan threw the flowers to the girls, who were supposed to be all single, but for some reason, most were not. That confused me. Then, Andy did the garter thing with the guys. I tried to avoid going out there, but Tiffany found me and yelled "How can you stand there?!" and made me go out for the event. Ah, well. Andy ended up lightly tossing it and it fell short of the group. I didn't see who ran and picked it up.

More dancing (except me) and more socializing, and then it was time to go. Saying goodbye to everyone was sad, but I know I'll see them all again in December for Chad and Tiffany's wedding. So we left, and Elizabeth got some strange prank calls from an internet relay phone service for deaf people, where the deaf person types to an operator, who calls the person and speaks the message. She got pretty pissed, but I didn't think it was a big deal. We got back to her dad's place, and went to sleep.


Sunday

We woke up and pretty much shot out the door, as I think we were both ready to get home. The trip was fast and quiet, and the farmlands didn't seem to stink quite as badly this time. So I got home, and have been relaxing after a hectic, but very fun weekend. It was good to see everyone again.