Life got crazy during the ten days since my last update… I graduated from college, turned 22, jetted to upstate New York for a friends wedding, and managed to not get fired from my current job (unfortunately) after taking nearly a week off work.
“Graduation” was a fairly anti-climatic event for me. I was always certain that I would be passing my remaining electives this semester, so when I finally received confirmation that all went as planned, the news wasn’t unexpected. I was given A’s on some cool projects, and did pretty well overall, given my level of motivation. And now that it’s all over, it honestly doesn’t feel much different – I guess school never was a huge weight on my lifestyle.
I forgot about my 22nd birthday (on the 7th) until 11:00pm on the 6th – I was too busy taking a final and getting ready to head to NY early on the 8th. My parents bought me plane tickets for my birthday, and I was planning on celebrating pretty heavily during the trip anyways. Another year older, I guess…
Eric and Norene Marlowe were married on the 10th of May; Eric is one of my favorite friends from Texas 4000, and I had planned on attending the wedding – no matter what – since returning from Alaska. I was also joined by T4k buddies Amy, Allison, Michael, Natalie, and Shawn (who lives up North anyways), making for one “kick in the face” party. I flew in to Rochester on the 8th and was greeted by Amy and Norene at the airport, which was relatively close to Eric’s place in Rochester’s South Wedge. The city is beautiful this time of year, with wildflowers, tulips, lilacs, and everything else in full bloom. Compared to Texas, the buildings are old and historic; Eric’s place is the top floor of one of these old ones, the house and neighborhood having beautiful character. In Rochester we enjoyed coffee from Equal Grounds (the gay coffee shop), amazingly cheap and good pizza, garbage plates (I won’t even try to explain this, just think heart-attack on a plate), beer, and some quality reminiscing with a long lost friend.
We headed up to Oswego, NY for the wedding prep, ceremony, and reception on Friday afternoon, just in time for the rehearsal and dinner that evening. Later that night we consumed excess quantities of alcohol, continuing our fun. Shawn arrived in Oswego, at the bar, around midnight, and, in true Texas 4000 style, we all erupted in noisy embrace. I haven’t been that happy to see Shawn and Eric in the same room for a very long time. The party continued until 3:00am or so…
The wedding was at 1:00pm on Saturday, and was held in a huge and beautiful Catholic church. Us crazy Texas 4000 kids decided to grab a few 40oz to pound in the parking lot before the ceremony, starting off a disgustingly toxic day for all of us. The ceremony was beautiful, including a full Latin mass and all that good stuff. Natalie and I were about to burst the entire time – I guess that malt liquor just goes right through me.
We headed straight to the reception afterwards, where the food was great, the beer was free, and the drinks were strong. Once the music started, the party kicked into high gear. High points of the night included: Eric and Shawn singing “Proud Mary”, Texas 4000 style; Norene’s grandmother dancing like a woman possessed; the five way Texas 4000 headbutt; and “Walking in Memphis”. I don’t think any of the Texas 4000 kids ever had an empty glass in front of them, and to say we were intoxicated would be an understatement. We ended up at the bowling alley after the reception, and back at the hotel sometime after that. When I woke up Sunday morning, I was aching from the Marlowe headbutt, my throat was hoarse, and I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Maybe the 40oz wasn’t that great of an idea… Michael will tell you that New York took a few weeks off of his lifespan, and I will have to agree.
We had brunch with Eric and company on Sunday, proceeded with our bittersweet goodbyes and parted ways once again. It definitely won’t be another year until I see those crazy New York kids again though, I’m making a point of it.
