Where the Hell Have I Been?

Ok, so it's been a while since I rapped at ya. You're just gonna have to deal; summer is almost over and then I will once again become a posting fiend. I've also been crazy busy lately, today is the first day I've felt like I honestly had nothing to do when I woke up. Since last Wednesday, I have been from Rochester to Boston, NYC, and back to Rochester. Yes. Ridiculous, I know. But it had to be done.

So Wednesday night we got back into Boston late and we were so tired we pretty much just fell into bed. Thursday we enjoyed a leisurely stroll to Anna's Taqueria for our favorite lunch of carnitas burritos. Unfortunately, I decided to stray from my usual and ordered a veggie burrito. I spent the rest of that half hour regretting my decision and eyeing Chris's lunch jealously. We then headed up to NH for some tax free shopping. And by shopping, I mean buying twin Nintendo DS Lites. With Super Mario Kart and Advance Wars. Yeeeah. Went up to my parents for some dindin and a chance for my 18 lb cat to gouge my foot up while trying to jump from one couch to another.

What's that? Oh, I have to wear dress shoes for a wedding in two days? Why yes, I would like a giant cat claw mark running down my foot.

Despite that, dinner was delicious and we headed back down to my 'hood for some beers with the roomies. By 11 we were once again exhausted and conked out.

Friday morning I sat in a parking lot in Burlington for three hours while Chris had his interview. I'm not complaining, since it went well and also, I had my DS with me, but damn, parking lots are boring. When we got back to town, I suddenly realized- I don't actually have shoes for the wedding! We hopped on the T to Downtown Crossing for some DSW action. I was sweating bullets trying to pick something out quickly, since we had to be back to my place to get picked up for the Red Sox game. Found some shoes, ran back to the T, held on for dear life as it ripped through the tunnels at warp commuter speed. L picked us up at 5 so we could do dinner in Brighton with her and her new boy and then T it to the game. We had a delicious dinner and fancy expensive beers at the Publick House, then on to Fenway Park for Chris's very first Red Sox game. The game pretty much rocked, as Fenway always does, but it was made even sweeter by us kicking Baltimore's ass and the abundance of Budweiser flowing through our veins. I got the very last round of beers during the 7th inning stretch and the beer ladies denied the guy in line behind me. He actually offered me $50 for 2 cups of Bud and I didn't even say yes. I'm either brilliant for procuring the last beer available at Fenway, or the biggest idiot on Earth for saying no to a crisp $50 bill. Regardless, the beers were good. The afterparty headed out to An Tua Nua, a club that I hadn't been to since my college days. I reminisced over a beer and then was coerced into heading to the Golden Temple for more drinking mixed with Chinese food and disco lights. I'm blaming this entire night on the beer and the influence of L and her boy M. Anyway, 3 a.m. rolled around and we had to cab it back to S-ville.

Annnd.... wake up early so we could drive down to New York for my cousin's wedding. I won't go into the details of the drive down there, but we'll just say that there was enough turning around and traffic and getting lost going on that we missed 80% of the rehearsal we were supposed to make it to and ended up just catching the end. Shrugged it off and drove over to Dave & Buster's for the rehearsal dinner and some video game time. All very fun. Chris even won me some bling (a giant NY Yankees medallion) but it was immediately appropriated by my cousin as he is a New Yorker and I am a New Englander.

The next morning we wandered around the giant Palisades Shopping Center and then went back to the hotel to get ready.... errm... I mean, play Mario Kart on DS. And then get ready! We headed out to the church, all prettied up, and sat through a very warm service. I did my thang with the reading, and then my part was over. The reception that followed was one of the most swank events I've been to in my lifetime. The View on the Hudson was gorgeous, the day was gorgeous. What more could we ask for? Oh, how about open bar and an entire roasted pig and people stopping by your table with champagne and raspberries and food trays? In addition to all the traditional things like the father/daughter dance and the cake cutting, there was a belly dancer and some Filipino traditions of coins and such. My mother only cried like 8 times, which is probably some kind of record for her as the sentimental tears are usually one steady flow at events like this.

Oh, and did I mention that every girl at the wedding got a real freshwater pearl bracelet from the Philippines? Yes, it was definitely an event to remember. Gabe and Renna looked amazing, everything was perfect for them. It was also really nice to see my family all together like that, and to finally meet Renna's family. Very sweet.

The next morning I wake up in a blur and head down to the lobby for some coffee where my entire extended family is breakfasting. And then my cousin Nahil springs a question on me: would I consider being Aidan's godmother?

Would I?! I'd take the cherub baby as my own if she'd let me! My mother cried a bit more (silly, sentimental woman!), and I agreed.

Then everyone got packed and ready and headed out. We waved goodbye to Nyack. But even the long drive back to Rochester was made tolerable by a grueling game of Advance Wars and a stop at the Geneva Outlets.

So that's where I've been, people. The rest of the summer is short and I've got things to do, people to see. I'm here in Roch-star until Sunday night, then it's back to Boston so I can start getting used to my daily routine again. Good thing the Fall has lots of things to look forward to!