Nuptials

A weekend to remember, and enough new material to fill this blog for at least a week or more: the vernal equinox, a financial setback, the Spoon concert, a new commitment to the Atlanta Zen Center, and a final resolution to the Emily Experiment. But first, a wedding.

Not mine (obviously), but some friends. I wrote a post here last year about not having very many friends, and I set out to do something about it (other than just blog about my complaints). As it turns out, this was a big weekend for a couple of those new friends I've made - their special day, his second, her first.

Friday night, I went to their after-shower party in Vinings Village. Vinings is a residential neighborhood on the Chattahoochee River just barely in Atlanta, and a neighborhood I had lived in for much of the '90s and early '00s, before deciding to move further in town. The Unsellable Condo is in Vinings. The party was in the commercial district of Vinings in a new mixed-use development that didn't exist when I had lived there, and the nostalgia I initially felt driving on the old familiar roads was suddenly dashed at the sight of the huge new complex. Impermanence is indeed everywhere. The restaurant was packed and a live band played reasonably well in a variety of styles. The musicians were all my age or older, and some wore t-shirts reading "Old Dudes Rock" and were loud enough to render meaningful conversation impossible. So instead we just danced and took pictures of each other (see top photo, and notice the woman mugging for some other camera in the background).

Sunday's wedding was an early afternoon affair. It was my turn to do the newcomers instruction at the Zen Center, and even without staying for a special ceremony we were having today, I just barely had enough time to go home, change, and make it to the wedding. They had rented an antebellum mansion off of Marietta Square for one hour for the occasion. The bride, however, attempted to set a new standard for wedding-day drama, not showing up at the mansion until the hour was practically over. However, the proprietors kindly allowed us to stay long enough to complete the ceremony and for a brief celebration before showing us the door, just as the next wedding party was arriving.

Anyway, congratulations and best wishes to Rob and Emmy.