NEW LOOK!

Panic not. It's the same old drivel in a new format. I got tired of the narrow column for the text, and chose this wider format. Of course, when it applied to all the old posts, the spacing with the pics got messed up, but what the heck. It's still pearls before swine, eh? :)

AT LAST :) :) :)

It’s only been nine years in the making, but they finally did it! Mike and Alia tied the knot in San Francisco on Saturday, August 29.

We drove up Thursday with Chuck and Alice and Mom and checked into the Park Galleria Hotel, the less-$ of the two hotels that Mike had made arrangements with. It was perfect for us – quiet (we asked for a “courtyard” (read, airshaft)) room away from the elevators and they set us up perfectly. It was dead quiet every night we were there. Mom’s streetside room was much noisier from traffic, sirens, etc., but she can just pop out her hearing aids. Walking distance of the BART/MUNI, even for Mom, so we garaged the van (at $35/night!) and took the trains and cabs all over. San Francisco is a great place for public transportation as long as you keep a nice supply of small bills and quarters on you. The BART is a cinch to buy tickets for, but the the MUNI trains are another kettle of fish altogether. No change machines and eight quarters required! That makes for a heavy purse/pocket. There was a nice place on the corner next to the hotel for breakfast serving steel-cut oatmeal (slow cooked) with all the fixins for $3! Yes! Given the cost of the rehearsal dinner, I took every bargain I could find.

Thursday night we got together with Mike, Alia, John, Meghan, Alia’s parents Lynn and Bill, and maid-of-honor Lissy, all the way from Spain for the wedding. Took the BART to the Mission district and had dinner at a nice Italian place on Mission Street, La Traviata. Lots of dark wood, guest photos on the walls, and very good food. I had calamari pasta with ink sauce. Excellent. I nearly fell out of my seat when the bill went directly to the other end of the table and John picked up the tab. Wow! That’s my boy! We sang along and applauded birthdays at two other tables and had a great time. Back to the BART for the ride to the hotel. S.F. was experiencing a record-setting heat wave. We’ve never ever been in S.F. and had it so balmy all evening long. This was a bit less desirable during the day – we sweated like pigs.

Friday the ladies all got together for nails (toes and fingers) and other “girly stuff” (their characterization you feminists, not mine). I went off with Chuck to visit with two of our fraternity brothers, Don and Paul at Don’s place in North Beach. Nice digs. From the roof there’s a view of the bay with Alcatraz, and from the other side Coit Tower and downtown. Not too shabby. We promptly reverted to our frat personas and had a rowdy lunch. Kinda scary how easy it is to regress. :P

Friday evening was the rehearsal at the church --- Most Holy Redeemer --- which introduced us to the frustrations of buying tickets for the MUNI train. Go prepared with plenty of change. Once we got to our stop we had to haul out the map and ask a passerby for directions to the church. S.F. is ground zero for confusing intersections. Not only do multiple angled streets meet up, but often they change names from one side to the other. Local knowledge is key. We were the first to arrive and proceeded to the basement meeting room and promptly stumbled in to the local AA meeting, all 150 of them. Back to the street to greet other members of the wedding party and then into the church for the run-through with all the bridesmaids (yup, seven of them!) and

the groomsmen. The church was beautiful, with the

alter placed in the middle. Very light and colorful.

Afterwards, everyone either took the MUNI or hailed cabs to head for the rehearsal dinner at the decidedly upscale Absinth restaurant, home of the $35 corkage fee. Yikes. Do ya think they want to sell their own wines? Weeks ago, I had poured over their 40+page wine list (2/3 French) and selected a couple of whites (a nice minerally Muscadet for me) and several reds after doing an internet vetting of those I was interested in. And I’ll be darned if they didn’t all turn out just fine. I tried two, and no one was complaining about the others. For thirty people, we drained enough bottles to make Julia giggle through a month’s worth of shows. I should have gone with Mike’s favorite dish, a pork confit which truly was superb (lucky Loni chose that), but as I had planned on drinking white I had the fish (they changed the risotto on us at the last minute, from wild mushroom –yum – to carrot [?!] and only one person ordered it). Unfortunately, the fish was overcooked. Oh, well, more wine, please. The chocolate pot-de-creme was luscious for dessert. The private room was very nice and the service was faultless, and everyone had a great time. The Bank of Dad is seeking a federal bailout.

Bill, Lynn, and Alia

Saturday was the big day. The “girls” again were getting together at the Omni with the distaff bridal party for makeup, hairdos, and general gab. The grooms and guys got together and essentially trashed Mike & Alia’s apartment watching sports before going out for burgers and

Clockwise from left: John, Me, Mike, Noah, Jason, Tony, John, Adam, Andrew, and Moe.

malts.

After stuffing our faces we went back to Mike’s and started getting into the penguin suits. A mess on top of a mess, but it all got sorted out and we took off walking to the church, looking for all the world as if we had escaped from a Ratpack movie.

At the church, the fun began when it turned out Mike had forgotten his check book to pay the musicians, who wouldn’t play without pay. Best Man John took off like a man possessed, commandeered a cab and shot back up the hill to fetch it. I caught the only shot of the bride arriving as the official photographer was MIA. The usual wedding glitch nonsense ensued (missed cues, late priest, etc.), but nobody really noticed. We only knew because I was standing in the wings next to the wedding planner who was hissing into her wireless from time to time. The music was well worth whatever they charged. Absolutely gorgeous. The processions went off without a hitch, and I didn’t trip Loni as I escorted her to her seat in her floor-length gown. My shots of the actual ceremony are pretty punk as I couldn’t use a flash or hold the camera visibly up (didn’t want to upset the official photog), but you get the idea.

Here, everyone is staring up at the balcony while the singing is going on . . . and on . . . and on. Much as I was enjoying it, it turns out they were singing multiple choruses when they were supposed to sing only the first. I’m glad they did, but Mike was getting fidgety. When it came time to sign the certificate, the bridal couple and their two witnesses, Stanford grads all (sigh), managed to sign in the wrong places so it has to be done over again before they can file it. Ah, well, it’s all good. Off in the trolley bus to the Green Room at the War Memorial Building for the reception. Here’s both of the Moms after exiting the rig.

We had the obligatory wedding party pics outside

and then went inside to pose for pics with the City Hall

(ain’t she cute!)

John and Meghan. Hmmmmmmm.

The tables were beautiful

as was the happy couple

and everyone had a super time. I’ve uploaded about 70-odd photos for those of you who just can’t get enough (or want to see your own mugs) at the following two “albums” on Picasa:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Calhounjon/Friday82809#

http://picasaweb.google.com/Calhounjon/Saturday82909#

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