APR 11

2026

Saturday: we woke up and began preparing for the day. Carl had slept downstairs so as to not see Ximena on the day of the wedding. Richard didn't bring a workable shirt, so we left for Ross. I drove by a fast food place on the way and ate in the parking lot while we waited for it to open. I thought about getting a different shirt or jacket as well, but I ended up only getting a new belt from Kohl's, as I didn't really want to wear my mismatched brown one.

The guys left while I was in the changing room, so once I'd checked out, I drove up Tyler to find the venue. I ended up turning too early, so I soon found myself on Maize instead. Waze got me back on track.

I got to Hidden Vineyards almost two hours before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. While waiting to come across the rest of the group, I checked the place out: they had a building for hosting events, but we were only using it for restrooms and last-minute bridal party prep. The pavilion we were using was down a gravel walkway; the decorated area had been pretty saturated with yesterday's rain, but an employee was trying to dry it with a leaf blower. Steve and Emit retrieved squeegee brushes to sweep the water off the patio while Craig and Carl hung drapery and floral decor. Craig eventually switched to a review of the chairs that had been set out, as many of them held enough residual water that they'd ruin the day of anybody unfortunate enough to try sitting on them. Carl's sound system contact showed up with a speaker system and laptop, and he showed Cameron how to switch between the playlist and the bridal march. He prepared a headset mic for me, and I staged both the three copies of the marriage certificate along with the ceremony script while we waited for people to arrive.

We had a turnout of 34 people: Ximena's mother and cousins and aunts and uncle, an assortment of Carl's extended relations, Jess and Brian, a couple of Carl's Magic buddies and their partners, and the core group that had been spending the weekend together. The photographer had Carl and his crew take some photos while people were arriving, after which he retreated into the woods so that the photographer could have Ximena's group take photos as well. Once that finished and everything was staged, Emit brought Carl back so we could begin the ceremony.

The script was short, but very much in Carl's voice. I tried not to make any changes and to proceed at a good pace, but not so fast that it felt like we were rushing. Everything went well, though, and we were soon signing the documents while the audience enjoyed the meat and cheese samplers that the couple had provided for all guests. It was really nice to catch up and joke with people afterwards; we had a lot of fun speculating whether Carl might have had any enemies present, based on the suspicious number of almonds on offer. He could have included wild almonds without any of us knowing.

After the event, I drove Carl and Ximena to The Kitchen for the reception luncheon. In a private room, four tables for six people each were set up, and we had spicy appetizers before ordering from the limited menu. I had a Thai Bowl (and a sour) that I really enjoyed, and the conversation and entertainment continued; folks talked about their jobs and their kids and their lives.

We split up again after lunch, as Carl needed to pick up bundtinis for desserts at home. I took the opportunity to drive past my grandparents' old homes on Seneca before returning to the house. I liked the lemon bundt cake I'd eaten, and we tried the cake, which was more of a dates-and-nuts crumble than it was a cake. Still quite tasty, and Cameron and I enjoyed our talk with Ximena's family before we'd all go our separate ways. We did eventually decide to "recharge our social batteries," as Ximena kept saying of Carl's inclination to retreat to his hobbies in the basement, and we joined the rest of the guys downstairs as well.

We continued our Arkham Horror game from the night before, and despite getting a couple of rules wrong (and after excising Everhett's character once he'd been taken home), we did eventually defeat Yog-Sothoth. (My magician was never of very much use, except in clearing out a number of wandering monsters and maniacs.) I'd started to get drowsy through the latter portions of the game, so I got ready for bed and staged my things for the morning's departure.

2025

Friday: finally got an update from my supervisor about the progression of my training for my new position. I got to spend some of my time doing one of my new tasks, and after my shift, I had a brief call with David. Afterwards, I hung out with John in the bed for a bit. For dinner, we finished the goulash for dinner. I logged into FFXIV to do the Hatching Tide event, but then I just spent all my time in dungeons and leveling warrior up to 50. Took too long to post this update while watching Joseph Anderson's Baldur's Gate 3 follies, and now it's 2:40 AM, and I've got Grey Goose lying on me.

2024

Thursday: stayed up so late with the cats that I was asleep on the floor when Julie came out to get ready for work. I went back to the bedroom and slept until noon. I was going to get to the store for groceries, but Julie pointed out that her boss gave her Friday off because of the cats, so we can go shopping together for once. Instead, I just walked to the Mexican restaurant on the corner for tacos and consomme before picking up a bottle of soda and a chocolate bar. I started my laundry, and for dinner Julie cooked some pasta shells and heated up some hot dogs. I had mine on bread with mayonnaise. My weekly stream continued with that Undertale Yellow fan game, but I spent a lot more time following John around the apartment. He keeps trying to stick his face in my bowl of grapes. I played some World of Warcraft in which I finished the Emerald Dream storyline and revisited the Vale invasion.

IS THE COUGH STILL HERE? YES

2023

Tuesday: work (and my project) continues, but the big news today is the release of Hearthstone: Festival of Legends. Folks on the HS subreddit were very negative about what the new cards meant for the warrior class, so I spent a lot of my free time trying to defy expectations with a warrior deck using the new "riff" cards. I also updated my wild-format warlock and paladin decks (by removing the soul fragment package from the former and the dragon package from the latter) in favor of some of the new tools introduced by the new expansion, and I caught the latest 13 Sentinels stream while I played.