Day 441

Monday update!

The day started with breakfast.  Our hostess made us fruit bowls and juice to start.  I think the fruit bowl alone would have filled Kimmy up.  Then she brought us eggs and hash browns and bread.  It was all really good.  Over breakfast I asked her how she ended up in New York.  So she explained how she's started in Poland in the 40s, then she and her husband snuck out to Austria where they were able to get visas and come to the states.  She went to the embassy and they set up an interview for her doing interior design.  She then worked her way up and ended up doing some architecture work, including one of Donald Trump's first buildings.  Eventually she wound up buying some homes and renting them out.... then she opened an antique store... and now she's running a bed and breakfast!  It was fun to talk with her.

After breakfast we got ready for the day and made a plan for our traveling.  We drove to the ferry, took the ferry to Manhattan, then took the subway north so that we could go to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).  It was pretty cool.  The first exhibit was my favorite because it was a collection of designs for solving problems that are either present or will be in the near future.  For instance: an emergency living structure (basically a specifically designed plastic bag) that was made to go over a building's heat/air conditioning vent.  This provides a homeless person with protection from the elements and heat/cold air.  Another one was a way to enhance the human digestive system in the event that all usable food runs out and we are forced to eat things that our systems cannot currently handle.

These were ways to save space in an over-populated city.  It's a bed/living room/closet all in one!  There were a lot of other exhibits, but those were more of Kimmy's thing.  They were fine, but I think that it would have been hard to top the first exhibit (for me).

After MoMA we went to dinner!  Sunday's place was called Ray's pizza.  Monday's was called the Little Italy Pizza Kitchen... or something like that.

Big pizza!

After dinner we walked through Time Square... and I took another picture!

There was so much going on.  People were dressed up as all sorts of different characters..... I think I saw Elmo, Cookie Monster, Hello Kitty, Sponge Bob, Woody, and some others.  Kimmy got a picture of the Naked Cowboy.  He was funny.  After leaving Time Square we went to the High Line.

The High Line (I believe) used to be a train system, similar to Chicago's L system.  It has since been abandoned and is now an elevated walking path.  It was really cool.  We got some neat pictures, which I will now show you.

I liked this last one because there wasn't anything going on here.... people were just sitting and watching.  Not watching anything in particular, just watching.  We also saw a billboard (which we did not document) which something like "NYC: accepting of your beliefs, judgmental of your shoes."  It was funny.  We also got some gellato!  We left the High Line around 8:30 and then went back to the subway and ferry.  We did a lot of walking/standing yesterday.... it was about 2 miles from MoMA to the beginning of the High Line, then another mile and a half along the High Line.  And then another half mile to a mile to the subway.  Along with 2 hours of walking through MoMA.  I was quite ready to sit down and not wear shoes at the end.

Day 440

I'm pretty sure that every day is going to be jam-packed with AWESOME!

Yesterday Kimmy and I stayed with Nick at his place in New Jersey.  The floor was significantly more comfortable than I would have imagined.  For breakfast Kimmy had the rest of her Subway sandwich (at the time I'd suggested that it's worth the money to buy a foot long and save the other half for left-overs).  After we got a decent idea of what was going on we left for New York!  It was only an hour and a half to our bed and breakfast.  An hour and a half... and $17 in tolls.  Just crossing the bridge cost $12.  It was dumb.

We got to our B&B at noon and after being a little confused on how to get in we got a tour.  It was confusing because there was a little sun room/covered patio at the front of the house and it was unlocked.  I knocked (and didn't see a doorbell) but no one answered.  We walked into the sun room and knocked on the other door.  No one answered.  Then we walked inside the house and called for someone... eventually the lady came in the front door behind us.  Thankfully she wasn't offended or anything by our being confused.  The lady in charge is really really nice.

Here is a picture of our room!  And we're allowed to use the refrigerator to keep our food cold.

After we got all situated and got a plan together we set off for the Staten Island ferry.  Parking is free on Sunday and the ferry is always free!  That was nice.  I also learned just how fantastic Google Maps is.  When we got off the ferry I pulled Google Maps up on my phone and searched for directions from the ferry to the Museum of Modern Art, via public transit.  It gave walking directions to the Subway station, it told us which subway to take (and in what direction), then told us what to do after we got off.  It even gave us options depending on when we were leaving.  It was great.

We found the museum, but it was 4:30 when we got there.  And it closes at 5:30.  It seemed silly to pay $13 per ticket for an hour of museum, so we opted to come back some other time.  There was a little gift shop across the street where we bought a couple souvenirs.  Kimmy got a sleep-mask (is that actually a souvenir?) and we got a deck of cards that has a map of New York City on it!  We're going to put all the cards together and put them in a frame. It will look awesome.

We had a couple hours to kill before our next event, so we found a little pizza place.  They had a menu, but basically you just went to the counter and pointed at what you wanted (because it was very loud and English was not the primary spoken language).  It was cheap though. We payed more to get across the bridge on the toll road than we did for dinner.

And there's dinner!

We still had another hour, so we went to Central Park for a little bit.  Even though it was really hot (and it had been all day) it was nice.  We walked around for a bit, then watched a softball game.  I thought it was really cool that there were so many people doing all sorts of things.  There was a huge playground, lots of walking paths, benches and rocks to sit on, a baseball diamond, lots of trees... and we only saw a small portion of it.

It was cool to be able to just go to a park and see a softball game!

We left the park and then went to Radio City Theater to see Cirque du Soleil: Zarkana!  Ahhhhhh!   It was so cool!  We got a little confused at the beginning because we'd purchased tickets beforehand but since we didn't have a printer we opted to just pick them up at the ticket booth.  There was a line for people who had their tickets, but (as we learned) not for people who had purchased tickets but opted to pick them up at the booth.  But we figured it out.  The people there were very good at directing traffic and knew how to efficiently handle thousands of people.  It was really helpful because I was feeling pretty overwhelmed.  But we made it!

It was a lot of fun.  It was about 90 minutes long and there were so many acts, but it was great.  My favorite acts were the juggling, the Ultimo-Hula Hoops, and the Guy Who Was Super-Gymnast.  Expert Jugglers have always fascinated me because I understand the basics of juggling (and can juggle a little bit), so when I see someone who is really good I can only imagine how difficult it is for them to do these ridiculous feats.  For some of the other things... it's so outlandish that I can't even fathom how hard it is.  It's not tangible enough for me to think about it even being possible.  Like the guy who was jumping rope on this huge rotating device.  It looked like an hour-glass that was rotating... but each of the sand glass things was a circle.  So he was on the outside of the circle jumping rope.  It's hard to explain.  But something like that is just too crazy for me to begin to understand it.  And the fact that he tripped twice but kept trying it!  He was easily 100 feet in the air (and I didn't see a harness or anything) but he kept trying it.  The music was great, there was a perfect mix of astonishing and funny acts, the lighting was perfect.  I think that's what I'd always imagined about Cirque du Soleil: immaculate attention to detail.  Every detail.  The stage would have looked fine if it was plain wood... but it wasn't.  It had elaborate designs on it.  Doing a one-handed handstand is impressive... but he had to be tilting to the side AND taking his shirt off.  While keeping his feet pointed.  Every detail mattered.  And even though there were lots of scenes where there were people dancing or whatever in the background and I wasn't focusing on them, it was important that they were there because it would have looked empty if no one was there.  And the peripheral visual stimulus was necessary for this perfection they were seeking.  And in my opinion... they did it.  My only regret was not reading the story beforehand.  But that in no way detracted from my experience.   A++ would see again.

It was raining when we left, but only a little bit.  We got to our subway... but I got confused and picked the wrong way.  I figured we could just ride it to the end and then head back.  But then I realized how long it would be... so Kimmy figured out how to get on another subway and we went in the right direction.  Then took the ferry home.  It was a long, hot day... but it was so much fun.

Day 439

Wow.  Yesterday was long.  Kimmy and I met with our families at 9 to open gifts.  And we ate some breakfast because our hotel didn't have a free continental breakfast (that we saw).  So we opened gifts and cards and everything.  Then we got ready to go.

I stopped at the bank to deposit some money before we left.  The teller working there was the same one who's been there since I was in high school, so she knows me.  One of the checks had something getting married on it, so she wanted to hear all about what our plans were and everything.  It was cute :)

We finally got on the road around 12:40... So only an hour after I'd planned!  It wasn't too bad.

It was a very long trip.  A little over 10 hours.  And the last half (Pennsylvania) was way hilly.  Pegasus doesn't like hills.  Most of the way we listened to music and talked and things.  It was good.  Way long, but good.

We got to Nick's a bit before 11. Once we got all settled we discussed our internships in silly detail, then he gave us a fantastic over view of new york. So we actually kind of have a plan now!

Well.  I think that's about it.  Let's get this party started!

Day 438

I will do my best to summarize all of the events that went on yesterday.  It was intense.


It started with breakfast.  Mom made breakfast of eggs and baked oatmeal.  It was really good.  I really enjoyed being able to just have breakfast with my family before everything got crazy.


I got to the church around 10 to help set up what I could.  There wasn't a lot, so I just milled around for a while.  Jeremy got there around noon so we figured out what the plans for pictures.


So Jared (my best man) and I got ready around 1 and Jeremy took pictures.  Then Jeremy went off to take pictures of Kimmy getting ready.  So Jared and I just hung out for a bit.  Then around 2:30 Jeremy got some pictures of Kimmy and me.  Kimmy's dress was WAY pretty :)


AJ was our first person to arrive.  I hadn't talked with him since New Years, so it was good to catch up.  People began to trickle in slowly for our pre-reception.  I started a game of Euchre, but as other people came I let someone else take my place... that way people could start to get to know each other.  The pre-reception was exactly what I hoped it would be.  Actually, it turned out even better than I'd imagined.  It was a chance for us to see our friends and family before all of the big events began.  It was amazing.  Kimmy and I also taught some swing dancing!  I wish I could list all of the people who came... but there were a lot.  I was so happy that some many of my friends and family could make it.


There was a small hiccup.  Dinner ran a bit late.  Like... an hour late.  But thankfully Jeremy was able to help facilitate things and keep everything running smoothly.  We got family pictures and Jared made announcements as necessary to keep everyone at bay.


We did end up eating, thankfully.  Everyone was amazing at keeping everything running.


Then... we had a ceremony!  It was great.  Dave did a really good job.  And then we were married!


After the ceremony we got pictures with Jeremy.  Then some dancing.  And more fun!  Many funs were had.


We stayed a little bit after to sign our marriage license... you know.  Silly things.


Then it was bed time.  We'd had a long day.  But it was an amazing day!  And I am, again, so glad that I could see so many friends and family members and talk with them, even if it was only for a little bit.

Day 437

Everything seems like it's in a whirl of chaos and motion.  I don't really feel like I have any idea what's going on, but I suppose I just keep on pushing through it?  It's funny... when Kimmy and Krissi and I were heading back from getting my tux today, I commented how strange it is that people typically spend so much money on weddings but can't wait for the wedding to be over.


Anyhow, the day was spent running errands, getting things done, and trying not to freak out.  We had a rehearsal and everything was fine.  I think it will all work out.


This has all been very hard for me to handle.  On one side, I have a wedding where I have largely not been involved with many details but am still part of the main event.  I am in charge but not in control.  On the other hand, I have everything going on with the house (which has been made much easier because of my family and our future landlord who has been so very helpful through all of this), between figuring out all the utilities, our financial situation for next year... and all of that.  I am control but not in charge.  Admittedly, I like being in control and in charge.  It's safe.  I know how my brain works and if I have to plan something, I trust myself to get everything done.  I have a difficult time putting a lot of trust in people when I'm not sure how they work.  I'm coming to realize that this is one of the reasons I so enjoy trying to truly understand people.  It's easier for me to feel close and trusting with them.


We've also had a few more people cancel this week.  I think in the past week I had 8 people say they wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding.  Which makes me sad.  There are a lot of things I wish I could have been done differently.  But I guess it's about over now.


I guess this will be my last update as an unmarried man.  I can't describe how excited I am.  But it's going to be a crazy transition.


I don't know.  Something will happen.  There's just a lot going on right now.


I'm going to bed.  And we'll see how tomorrow works out!

Day 436

Well.  I think the stress level is approaching the maximum.


Yesterday morning Kimmy and I got coffee with Becky, Marci, and Miles.  We had fun.  Then Kimmy and I met with Dave for our last counseling session.  We talked about budgeting and the schedule of events for the ceremony.  I believe that everything is going to work out somehow.


When we got back home we had lunch, then I had a haircut.  It was pretty standard, I suppose.  Everything seems like it's in slow motion and in a dream.  So it's hard to recall many details.  And each day feels like it goes on forever.  After haircut I went to the store to get some milk.


When I got back...I did a little packing, then looked at car insurance.  I am pleased to announce that it's about half the price of what I had anticipated.  It's not great coverage, but it will work for a year.  Then I went about contacting different utility companies to get everything turned on.  It was sort of confusing, but I think everything is working?


After dinner I think I did more packing.  Or cleaning.  Or something.  I really don't remember.  Something exciting probably happened.  Jessie and Richard came.... Amber got back from her trip to see Jesse's cousins.  And then later on Kimmy and I went to Becky's to compile some music for the wedding.


And now it's the day before the wedding.  It still hasn't really hit either Kimmy or me that we're getting married.  This summer has just been so busy and weird.  Well, we'll see how today and tomorrow go!

Day 435

Quick update.


This morning started with breakfast and talking with family.  Then I went to go cut the grass.  It didn't take very long, but since I was doing the part by the house there was a lot of maneuvering to do.  But it's done.  We're going to be having people park in the back since there will be lots of cars, so I really needed to get that done today.  So yay!


After lunch Kimmy and I went to the court house and got our marriage license.   I think that means it's officially going to happen!  It was a lot easier than I had imagined it would be.  Except Kimmy couldn't remember her SSN... so hopefully she has the right one!


When we got back I filled out the application for our rental house next year.  Then I went to a doctor's appointment.  That was fine.  It was just a standard wellness physical.  He said that I was tied for the healthiest person he'd seen today.  So that's good.  He recommended using Cortizone cream for my eczema.  If it starts getting bad again I'll probably have to look into that.


After the doctor's I came back and did some stuff around the house.  Amber got here around 5, so we helped her unpack then ate dinner.  Kimmy and I went to the store after dinner and she got new shoes!  She was in need of some good walking shoes, especially since we're going to New York for a few days.  And there will be much walking.


So we came back home, did some wedding things (surprise)... then went to Becky's to hang out with her and Miles.  We watched a movie, then talked about life, the universe, and everything.  It was pretty grand.  Ummm... it's bed time.  Yeah.  Good night!