The Bridal Circuit

For those who have not yet had the pleasure of joining/viewing this group, it consists of every type of bride possible - the Bridezilla, the Submissive Bride (and by this, I mean the bend-over-and-let-everyone-else-decide-your-day type of person), the Type A Uber Organized Bride and the Indifferent Bride. Dana, God bless her amazing Maid of Honor soul, drove down from Manassas to attend the first of many bridal shows to come. Together, we stepped into the world of this unusual, yet somehow off-putting, group of individuals.

I like to consider myself as falling in the Type A organized group of brides. After all, I have been extremely Type A my whole life (hello.. Virgo!). Even upon visiting the first potential reception venue, I had a 2 1/2 page list of questions for the coordinator. Organization will be my true best friend over the next 15 months. I am trying my hardest to get things done in as timely a manner as possible. The ungodly amount of choices make this task far from easy. There's an endless amount of entertainment options, cake options, favor options, invitation options, photographer options, videographer options, song options.. You get my point.

That being said, a bride's true colors will inevitably show when faced with any of the above options. I can't even count how many times I could hear the "But they won't take pictures how I want them to" or the endless whines of "That cake is absolutely disgusting. I would never have that at my wedding." It's pretty incredible how bitchy a woman becomes in the event of a wedding. Amazing..

Of course, I now have a greater respect for the mothers of the bride, the maids of honor and the bridesmaids that have to deal with the bullshit that brides can put out. God willing, my type A personality will allow me time to keep the stress (and the Bridezilla) under control.

A pat for myself on the back!

It's not such a bad thing, is it? I mean we all deserve a little praise for our accomplishments from time to time, do we not? Oh yes, we do!

I apologize right away for making this out to be like I did something terribly exciting or praise-worthy. Forgive me, but I tend to get slightly excited when I meet workout-related goals. The "feat"? I ran for 30 minutes straight for the first time since becoming deathly ill a few weeks back. Obviously I'm exaggerating that "deathly" part, but seriously.. it was bad!

Hm.. 10 more miles of running and I'm set for the half marathon in September! Word!

Yet another reason to love my friends..

On the subject of what makes a pizza a pizza:

Pat: "But when pizza's on a bagel, you can have pizza anytime."
Eddie: "Fuck a bagel."

Book Log - 2008

There aren't many upsides to being sick with the flu. I'm missing the Massa's famous Super Bowl party today. I can't work out at the gym. I didn't get to see Omah this morning (She STILL hasn't seen my ring). On the other hand, I can make great use of my typing skills and the fact that I'm stuck in bed for an extended period of time. So, I'm taking this unfortunate opportunity to start a log of the books that I will be reading throughout the year - those required as part of my curriculum and those read solely for personal pleasure (or based on the encouragement of friends). Here goes...

1. Plague Maker by Tim Downs
- I'm a bit of a whore for science-related suspense novels, so when I came across this book in the bargain bin at ODU's bookstore, I had to snatch it up. I started reading this novel during a work shift at the Ted and immediately had a hard time putting it down. It plays on our recently instilled fears of terrorism and underhanded biological warfare. While the interplay between characters often comes across as shallow and silly, the overarching plot of the novel and the number of twists and turns are substantial enough to draw the reader's attention away from those relationships. I, for one, will never look at a flea in the same way. A lover of science would be a lover of this book.

2. The Joy of Laziness: Why Life is Better Slower and How to Get There by Peter Axt
- Recommended to me by my friend, Daniel, I instantly found the title laughable. You see, I am not a slow person. There aren't many things that I hate more than being lazy and feeling unproductive. My schedule has never been empty. I have never held fewer than 3 part-time jobs at a time. I rarely find joy in doing nothing (with the exception of a good vacation here and there, but I still love filling vacation time with things to occupy my time). Two chapters into this book, I found myself still laughing. Not only does the author attempt to discredit recent studies done to show that exercise benefits heart and lung health; they also attempt to validate decades old studies showing that inactivity does more for heart health than a good cardiovascular workout. Overall, this book aims to encourage individuals to create "energy stores" by sleeping longer and avoiding physical over-exertion as much as possible. My question is then posed: What happens to those energy stores once you die? Do you honestly think you can carry them into the afterlife? I much prefer using my energy to live life to the fullest rather than sit on my ass and waste my time away. I love sleeping as much as the next Joe Schmoe, but I'd rather get my butt out of bed and experience what the world has to offer.

3. The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer
- This is the 2nd book of the year to play to my science-based thriller interest. Steve's mom read this at the end of last year and gave me a copy as a Christmas gift. It proved to be another book that I had a hard time setting down. The Fifth Vial documents several individuals and the twisting events surrounding them, all which seem completely unrelated until the last few chapters. This book plays on the urban legend of the stealing of organs, making it both believable and terribly frightening. For the most part, I really loved this book. As any good fiction writer should be able to do, Palmer gives several characters a dual identity and has you trusting in the good before reverting to the bad. It's almost eerie how well he is able to accomplish this. The downside? That famous saying "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" is seen in protagonist Natalie Reyes. After a while (getting the boot from med school, getting shot, having a lung removed, exposing her one healthy lung to a fire, losing a confidant to murder... the list goes on), the negative events become monotonous and boring. The action is enough to keep the reader entertained and the book will certainly leave you thinking about the ethics of stealing organs.

4. July, July by Tim O'Brien
- O'Brien is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors. I had the privilege of hearing him speak and meeting him during my freshman year at ODU. After hearing him read an excerpt from The Things They Carried, I immediately bought a copy and read it within 24 hours of his lecture. July, July was read in about the same manner. You could never accuse O'Brien of being a happy-go-lucky writer. After all, being a veteran of the Vietnam War himself, one would (hopefully) not expect O'Brien to produce books about rainbows and butterflies. I hate war movies - ask anyone - so being intrigued with books regarding the Vietnam War is out of character for me. O'Brien makes it easy to delve into the lives of the veterans he introduces and attempt to understand their post-war thoughts, behaviors and feelings. July, July follows several Darton College alumni as they meet for their 31st reunion and as they reminisce on life's occurrences 31 years in the past. Though only 1 character is actually a vet, the war has clearly influenced each character on a different level. As a 20-something, I had a hard time placing myself in the shoes of the reunion attendees, yet still had an easy time feeling pity, guilt, remorse etc. for each individual character and their circumstances. The book is touching, even though I have no clue how the Vietnam War and 1969 could affect a person. Perhaps I'll read this one again when I'm in my 50s.

I'm currently reading Savage Inequalities by Jonathon Kozol so I'll update once that is finished.

The proposal

The surprises started on Christmas Day, 2007. A traditional, yet not unwelcome, routine involves breakfast and unwrapping the mountain of gifts with my family. If I see Steve at all, I usually go to his house or wait until the day after Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised this year when he decided to come visit me on Christmas morning.

I handed him a stack of gifts to unwrap from me and my family and he, in turn, handed me a small gift bag. I don’t like to consider myself a selfish person, but I have to admit I was a bit disenchanted with the difference in our number of gifts. He encouraged me to open mine while he worked on unwrapping his. I obliged. Funny enough, when I opened my bag, it revealed a collection of scrabble pieces. That boy knows how I love my puzzles! I immediately got to work trying to unscramble B H T E M A A S H A (Probably not the precise order, but you get the point). It didn’t take as long as he had anticipated to pull out “T-H-E” and deduce “B-A-H-A-M-A-S” from the remaining blocks. I think amid my shrieks of joy and constant “Seriously?”s, I asked when we were going. Boy was I wrong in thinking this was a spring break trip. “We leave January 25^th,” he remarked. Unfortunately, my common-sense side took over when I realized I would be leaving right in the beginning of the semester. My worries were alleviated by my professors and we were off to the Bahamas (Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, to be exact).

It promised to be a relaxing, easy-going trip with no plans except for a top-secret excursion planned for Saturday, January 26^th. Again, I let my common-sense side get the best of me when I asked “Should I shower or look nice?” He assured me that it wouldn’t be necessary. The morning of the excursion, he promised to clue me in on what we were doing. As it turned out, he had planned for us to do a Dolphin Encounters Swim on an island not far away. My excitement peaked when I remembered how disappointed I was to miss out on the dolphin swim while we were in Bermuda. We took a short ferry boat ride to Blue Lagoon Island. Our swim groups were given a short presentation on the best behavior for interacting with the dolphins, we suited up in wetsuits (yes, the water was cold even in the Bahamas) and climbed down to our docks. In my group was Steve, myself, a father-son duo and 2 individuals whose spouses had decided to watch. After a nice water shower to the face, courtesy of “Jake”, we slipped into the icy water of the Atlantic Ocean.

“Jake” and “Stormy” passed by us a few times so we could rub their backs and bellies. Then we were each given the opportunity to kiss, hug, dance with and feed the dolphins. The only other girl in our group went first. After the tricks, the trainer told her dolphin to “find a gift” in the pool. He came back with a rock. Everyone else took their turns and it was time for Steve & I. We kissed, danced, hugged and fed. When the trainer told “Stormy” to find me a present, I expected a rock as well. Surprisingly, he returned with a plastic container in his mouth. Completely oblivious to a now-congregated group of women employees around our tank, I immediately thought I had scored a free souvenir. When the trainer said “Maybe you should open the box,” I got a little suspicious. I opened the box and inside was a stunning diamond ring. I suppose I can forgive Steve for not getting down on one knee in the tank when he asked me to marry him. Of course, I said “yes”. Normally, I would have been a blubbering idiot, but it was difficult with 4 other people taking in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I saved the blubbering for later.

The ring:

That night, Patty (Steve’s wonderful sister who lives in Colorado) had reserved a table for us at Fathom’s – a gorgeous restaurant at Atlantis with a wall completely composed of a fish/shark/ray tank. We sat right next to the tank, basking in post-engagement glow.

The remainder of the trip brought rain and cool temperatures with brief moments of sunshine, but it didn’t matter. I was on cloud nine. In fact, a hurricane could have ripped through and I wouldn’t have cared. We did manage to get some sun on our last full day when we finally got to lay by the pool and take in some of Atlantis’ fabulous water rides. Of course, the best part of our trip is documented in pictures and full-length DVD, for which I am very grateful. Not to sound high-and-mighty, but it was one of the criteria for our engagement. I had to have pictures and he came through!

The ring has since been downsized since he asked my Dad and purchased it about 2 months ago. I suppose that’s another upside to losing weight – smaller fingers! So far one of the best moments has involved Dana’s excitement. Dana, as my dearest girlfriend, will be my Maid of Honor (unless she walks down the aisle first which will make her my Matron of Honor. Hey, you never know. Henry could move quickly!). She already has ideas bubbling in regards to bridal showers, bachelorette parties and spa days. I have to remind her that we don’t have a date set in stone yet, but it will probably fall around May/June 2009.

Here’s to more than a year of stress, craziness and absolute joy. I can’t wait to become Mrs. Steven Mulholland.