Day One - Rough Draft

So it is done, another graduate of the UTSA CS department tied the knot this past weekend. Given the magnitude of the event, and the number of components which must work harmoniously for it to smoothly I must say that it turned out rather well.

If Thursday evening was any indication how the ensuing week end was going to end up I was in bad trouble. I had a friend over that night who was posting items for sale on Ebay for the first time, which he wanted my help with. Meanwhile the wedding gift I had purchased remained unwrapped, toast to be finalized, bag unpacked, shirt un-ironed, and tux hanging in the car.

As it turns out I ended up writing a great deal of the summaries for the auctions, and then I had a problem posting the pictures with the item. It was most likely due to the size of the pics, but I had nothing to resize them at the time installed. Luckily my friend decided to skip the pictures, which was a relief because I still had stuff to prepare and the clock was ticking.

Once all the items were posted, the first item of business was wrapping the gift, so I bring out my wrapping paper, tape and scissors. I proceed to unroll the remaining paper off the roll and wrap it around the gift – of course I was short by about 2 inches. My mind quickly starts to think of contingencies, Wal-Mart was just down the road, so I figured I would get the other stuff taken care of first.

I bring out the ironing board and iron to get my shirt ready for the rehearsal, I didn’t know what the dress etiquette for a rehearsal is so I decided on a button up shirt and dark grey slacks. I figured it was dressy enough for anything I should walk into, but relaxed as well. This was also a blatant attempt to look half way presentable to people, those who I had never met, and those who I have not seen for almost three years.

I got the shirt ironed, and the slacks were ready to go hanging on a hanger, so the next order of business was getting the suitcase packed; time about 11:50 PM. I start to think about items I would need, and start to fold the necessary items into my bag. There were quite a few toiletries that would remain unpacked until the morning hours however.

So I finish packing up the bag and I check the time, about 12:30 AM – the decision of the moment was to run to Wal-Mart now or wait until tomorrow after work. I knew that if I waited I was going to be leaving a little later than I wanted, but I also had to consider that I still had a half day of work ahead of me. Run to Wal-Mart or try and get some sleep for Friday, well I chose the latter over the former because I didn’t want to feel run down Friday.

I get to sleep about 1:15 AM or so; which in all honesty isn’t that bad – provided I don’t make a habit of it. Of course during the ensuing misadventures I woke up to find that I didn’t charge my cell phone, which was going to be critical for Friday. Not only did I wake up to see that I hadn’t charged it, as I staggered toward the phone I see that I had a message received at four something AM. It was Chris informing me that his flight had been delayed for two hours, and that he would miss his original connecting flight in H-town. If things were to work out he would arrive in San Antonio at 2:13 PM which is a double edged sword in a way, I could get the wrapping paper and wrap the gift rather than having to take the stuff with me. I could also grab some lunch at home rather than eating some swill on the road, furthermore it would give Alex more time to get his stuff together since he insisted on following me up to Austin (I had also spent a good amount of time whipping Alex into shape, making sure he would get his tux the next day, booking a room, and reminding him to get a gift).

So I get myself ready for work, and head out the door; I had two stops to make on the way to work. First was the bank to pick up some cash, and the second stop was Krispy Kreme to pick up some doughnuts for some co-workers who insinuated they wouldn’t mind having doughnuts that morning. Typically on Fridays I am treated with breakfast tacos from Sarah (a co-worker – she even gets me potato & egg ones; much better than the chorizo & egg that is typically left over). So I get my cash and order the doughnuts only to realize that I had left my wallet in the car (this was a good sign ehh?). I had taken my wallet out of my pocket when I stopped at the ATM, slid the cash in and sat it on the passenger seat, never grabbing it prior to entering the doughnut shop. So I pay for the doughnuts and boom – my phone rings.

It is the Maid of Honor, which I am completely shocked that I am being contacted this early by her, and I am a complete scatter brain at the time. I fumble around on the phone and barely mange to get two words out that make sense. The discussion was something to the extent of what decorations needed to be purchased for the car, or if I had any ideas. I really didn’t outside of the classic shoe polish and cans (I later decide against the cans because they inevitably fly off the back, and if it was my car that was stuck by an out of control can thanks to some yahoo that just got married I would be a little agitated. So I decided against it, but this of course was after I had hung up with the Maid of Honor.

I get to work, and of course my top priority is to get that toast ready, so I check my email and luckily my toast was waiting in the inbox just as it should. I also decided to call the Maid of Honor back and apologize for being a complete a half hour earlier. We chat for a few minutes, and hang up. I ponder what to add to the toast, so I jot down a few things and decide to get a females perspective on it. I go to Sylvia, she gives me some constructive criticism and I manage to get it ready prior to leaving work. I did zero real work that day, but I had priorities damn it!

Just as I get ready to leave I get a call from Chris saying that he will in fact make the flight to San Antonio which arrives at 2:13 PM, which is close but manageable. So I leave work, and just as I do I receive a call from Alex – I make sure that he is squared away, asked if he got shoes which he replied “no”, but I did ask him if he had shoes to wear, which I was told “sure”. No biggie I thought, so I dash off to Wal-Mart to get my wrapping paper and shoe polish.

As I walked into Wal-Mart I call Crystals phone, and Crystal answers. I of course what she is doing, and she calmy replied “oh not too much.” “What?! I figured you would be running all over the place trying to get things in order.” I said to her. “Nope, I am cool as a cucumber” she said smoothly – it was weird cause she really did sound calm considering what was going down in a few hours. I asked if there was anything else needed from Wal-Mart that I could pick up while I was there. I was told there wasn’t so I ran in and out as quick as possible. I make one additional stop at a car wash to rinse my car off prior to the trip; it was pretty dirty with the rain that had come though several days before.

I get home, managed to get my phone on the charger, wrapped the gift with the newly purchased paper, and eat lunch (boca burgers are wonderful in a pinch). Right about that time I receive a call from Jason’s brother; the phone conversation went something like this:

Me: “hello?”
Jason’s Brother: “Ford, hi this is J***, Jason’s brother. Is Jason with you?
Me: “no”
Jason’s Brother: “Are you in Austin yet?”
Me: “No, I am still in San Antonio.”
Jason’s Brother: “Oh, is Alex in Austin yet?”
Me: “No he is following me to Austin around 2:30 this afternoon.”
Jason’s Brother: “Oh, do you know who dives a red car? Jason was with some one in a red car and my parents thought they were going to take something out of the garage.”
Me: “I have no idea who has a red car, maybe Louis does.”
Jason’s Brother: “No, L****doesn’t have a car”
Me: “Oh, well Jason called me from Crystal’s phone just a few minutes ago, maybe you can catch him on it still.”
Jason’s Brother: “Hmm, do you know how to contact Jason?”
Me: “Try Crystal’s cell phone, do you have the number? He called me from it about thirty minutes ago or so.”
Jason’s Brother: “Maybe I’ll call Crystal’s cell”
Me: “That sounds like a good idea, why don’t you try that.”
Jason’s Brother: “Yea”
Me: “Well I need to get going, see you later today.”
Jason’s Brother: “Ok bye.”

I look over, and decide to take my trash out prior to my trip – so I run the tenth of a mile to the dumpster in my complex, and the tenth of a mile back. When I get back I decide to go ahead and change so I will be ready for the reception (this would pay dividends later). So I changed, loaded up my car and called Alex to tell him I would meet him at his house at 2:00 PM.

I turn and do one last spot check, and head out the door – I had about seven minutes to get to Alex’s and amazingly I did get there in time. Alex is ready to go by the time I get there, and I turn and ask him “are you gonna be able to keep up with me?” He doesn’t really answer so I pull out of the driveway and get to the stop light only to see he is still parked stopped in the middle of pulling out of his driveway, he calls just as the light is turning green and says that he forgot something and he would meet me at the Exxon station about a half mile up the road. This would also work slightly to my advantage being able to get some water for myself, and I get a bottle for Chris because I know I never really get enough o drink on an airline when I fly.

I maneuver though traffic rather well, and the only real congestion is at the exit for Airport Blvd. from the highway, back up. All things considered the airport pick up went smoothly, Chris was easy to find curbside, and managed to get his bag into the trunk no problem. Of course he was hungry since the sausage & egg biscuit he had from Burger King in the airport at the crack of dawn would only go so far. Knowing that time is of the essence, I say we’ll stop somewhere along the way – because I know the later we hit Austin the worse the traffic is going to be. As we pull away from the airport I get a call from Alex, and he says that he needed to fill up somewhere along the way - *sigh* I ask how far he thinks he can go and decide that we can get about half way. I head out to 281 North to 1604 east to 35 north, figured that was the fastest way there. It is also this time that I realize that I forgot my invitation which contained the directions to the chapel, luckily Alex had his and told me enough to point me in the right direction.

I averaged about 75 mph heading north on 35 before stopping in San Marcos so Alex could fill up, and I took Chris to What-a-Burger to get some chow. Without too much delay we hit the highway again and get to Austin around 3:45 or so, an hours time to get to Round Rock through Austin on a Friday on IH 35 – disaster in the making.

We trudge through the traffic and make it to Round Rock by about 4:40 or so, I found out what exit to take by calling the hotel from the road. You see I had to drop Chris off at the hotel while I attended the rehearsal, and I figured at least one of us should show and attempt to explain the situation. I got to the hotel, dropped Chris off and dashed over to the chapel – it was about 5:05 PM at this point. To my surprise the chapel was really close to the hotel and only took about eight minutes to get there. The great thing was I was already dressed for it, so that worked out. I saw Jason in the parking lot and parked my car (I did manage to forget my camera though).

I follow Jason into the chapel where I see a bunch of people I didn’t recognize, Crytal was near the front door and not too far away from her was the Maid of Honor. I said my hellos and then I was asked if I knew where Alex was – of course I didn’t, I just got there saw Jason and walked in with him. I was introduced to L****, and reintroduced to J*** just before we were quickly rushed to position. Alex walked in shortly after that and we were ready for the rehearsal to begin.

After going over some brief instructions with the pastor, and were assembled in position and did a quick dry run. J*** was being obnoxious the entire time they were rehearsing, making little noises, giggles and jokes that weren’t funny. Then when Crystal walked down the first time her eyes were shrunk wrapped in tears, and as soon as she was handed off she started to sob ever so slightly. She managed to calm down quickly and we ran through the rehearsal again. Between takes there were a few pictures snapped of the participants by people to this day I don’t know.

There was then some discussion as to how Jason and Crystal would arrange themselves since the train from the dress was going to play a role in the union of the flames. Jason was going to pull a pivot move, and Crystal would simply turn back around to avoid in potential mishaps. There was also some discussion as to what the pastor was going to say during the ceremony after he busted out his “wiping noses and hinnies” line. When I heard that blast all I could do was look at Crystal, then my eyes darted toward the pastor, then to the Maid of Honor. Luckily I didn’t have to say anything, and it was agreed that the line would be removed.

The next step after the kiss was to escort the person standing across from us down the aisle on the way out. The Maid and I seemed to be right on cue with the steps down the stairs, but the pace needed some work – at first it was too fast, then too slow, finally we hit our stride and strolled on down the aisle. The other groomsmen and the maids right behind, and that was a wrap for the rehearsal. The next stop was the dinner which was set to take place at the Olive Garden.

The groomsmen were all going to take one car since it would only make sense to. I had to stop by my car, at which point I received the rings from Jason for tomorrow’s ceremony. I was also given my gift, a shoe shine kit, which was much appreciated since I didn’t own any of the shoe brushes to do a good job shining shoes. Shortly after that Alex pulled up in his car and we piled in, L**** did not ride with is so there were four going to the Olive Garden in one car.

Alex managed to get us there despite his troubles following instructions while driving at times, and prior to being seated. There had to be about thirty people to be seated, which was going to take some time for any restaurant to accommodate which refused to take reservations despite the early request. Luckily the people at the Olive Garden were on top of it, and we were seated pretty fast considering the amount of room the party occupied. The arrangement of the tables was interesting however, because it didn’t allow for the wait staff to work between the tables and made it necessary to pass everything down as it came out.

Jason and Crystal ordered a bottle of wine, to go with dinner which they shared with me and the Maid of Honor. It was a fruity light red wine, done dry like a chianti or merlot, but it was a light wine. I ordered the mushroom stuffed ravioli, because there were restrictions as to what we could order. I didn’t want spaghetti (I can prepare that myself with my special sauce easy enough), had lasagna earlier, don’t really dig eggplant ptarmigan, and didn’t want the heavy / creamy fettuccini alfredo. That left me with the ravioli; I think I was the only one who ordered that too. It was ok, but I would have preferred a marinara sauce topping over the sauce that was used.

The dinner was also a time to get down to brass tax, and start arranging a few things, like the hotel room for the following evening. It also included transportation down to the hotel, and a ride to the airport the following morning. The plan took shape as the following: Jason and I would get the bags required for their evening and honeymoon over to the Omni that night; on the condition they would accept them early. Second, I was going to be the transportation to the hotel, and to the airport in the morning using Crystals car, so if anything was left in there by accident which either Jason or Crystal required it would be on hand.

For the rest of the evening we thought it would be best if Alex got checked into the hotel where I was staying, J*** was planning on meeting Alex back at the hotel since his house was loaded with people from out of town. Jason and I would retrieve the necessary items from Jason’s parent’s house, then to Crystal’s parent’s house. So it began with Alex driving me back to the chapel so I could hop in my car and take Jason to his parents for the flower petals.

With Dave Matthews Band coming through the speakers we headed off on our trek to retrieve the flower petals for the bride’s maids to stuff into little bags. Alex and J*** were right behind us so that J*** could retrieve what ever he needed, and could then guide Alex back to the hotel. Me and Jason loaded the flower petals and headed toward Crystals place (this would be one of four trips there). I should have known better when pulling out of Jason’s parent’s neighborhood I made a wrong turn and had to turnaround.

On the way over there Jason had asked me to remind him to grab the benadryl prior to leaving. When we finally arrived at Crystals, everyone seemed to be busy doing something there, as we carried in the flowers; which almost seemed more of an inconvenience at the time because everyone there seemed to busy. Alas we managed to get out of there quickly, and hit the road back to the hotel. I called Alex and had him call the Omni to see if they would accept the bags prior to check in, and for him to call me back with an answer. Just after I hung up the phone and was approaching IH 35 I realized I forgot to remind Jason about the benadryl. Turn around number one, as we trekked back to Crystal’s.

When we arrived again, the frustration was starting to set in for Crystal, and Jason didn’t seem to be helping the situation by first wanting to take the small bag completely, but then simply took out what he needed. I asked “is there anything else?”, to which I heard “I don’t think so.” So we took off. I received the call back from Alex, and he had good news concerning the luggage situation – the Omni would accept it early so the next stop was going to be down town (or so I thought). As we approach IH 35 again I get a call from the maid of honor, asking how far away we were. I replied “we are about to get on 35, why” “Oh, well can you turn around?” she asked, of course this being the third time going back I had to ask “is it important?” She explained that it was a card that Crystal wanted to give Jason before the wedding, once I heard this all I could do was turn the car around again and head back for the card.

When I got to the house for the third time I asked Jason to wait in the car, and strolled in, received the card and asked “is Jason supposed to see this?” I was told no, so I slid it into the front of my shirt so it would not be visible as I walked back out to the car. I hopped in and sped off, again – only to reach IH 35, only to find out that Jason left something (I don’t remember what the 4th trip was for) back at Crystal’s place – so I turn around again. Jason ran in and got what he needed, but this time the brides and her maids were leaving the house as well to spend the night elsewhere.

On the way downtown I ask Jason if he knew where a bar was, and asked if he needed a drink. He couldn’t come up with anyplace other than the supermarket for beet, but beer would not cut it. Strong drink was required for a task like this – so we sped downtown towards the Omni. We found the place rather easily, but a turn on San Jacinto from 8th turned into a mistake so I had to work my way around the perimeter of the building. Luck did prevail ever so slightly though because I managed to find a parking spot about a block away from the hotel, on a Friday night, in downtown Austin, on a Friday night, and it was free to boot.

So we lug the suitcases out of the trunk and make our way to the entrance only to find the main driveway was right off of 8th, this would be right handy again the next day for the drop off, but first things first – the bags. We wheeled them in and Jason said he needed to do a little rearranging prior to checking them, so I asked if there was a private area we could go to do the rearranging. Unfortunately we were not accommodated, so we found a secluded corner in the lobby area to do the swap, while the rearranging was going on it was time for that drink.

I made my way over to the bar and ordered up a Sapphire & tonic and a Crown and coke. The bartender had quite a heavy hand, but considering how much the drinks were, it was a good thing. I strolled back over to the area where Jason was frantically tossing clothes around from one bag to another, and just as he was finishing I asked: “so you’re only taking one bag – are you going to have enough room to bring back anything you want to in the way of souvenirs? He thought about it, and proceeded to start rearranging the bags again.

He finished up pretty quickly considering, and we sat down in two lounge chairs, just as a crew of chicas got off the elevator. Being single, I looked them over and could only turn to Jason and say “this is the kind of garbage that I have to sift through, aren’t you glad you don’t have to mess with that?” He only chuckled, but he knew it was true. We finished our drinks and wheeled the bags over to get them checked in. Jason also paid the bill so he all he would have to do the next night would be collect the hotel keys, bags and head upstairs.

Finally we could head back to where I was staying, headed that way. It takes a solid 25 – 35 minutes to get from Roundrock to downtown Austin, so I was all to glad to see that the running around for the evening was rapidly reaching its end. It turns out Alex got a room right across from the room Chris and I were checked into, and when we got there we found Chris, Alex and J*** gathered around Chris’ laptop watching Dawn of the Dead. We all watched the last 20 minutes or so if it, then retreated to separate rooms. I finally could call Friday and end about 2:00 AM after getting cleaned up and turning the light out. I made sure the alarm was set so I could get up so we could be ready to go to lunch by noon Saturday. Tomorrow was going to be the day.