Balancing Act

And here I thought I’d be blogging on a more regular basis. But, the past three weeks have been characteristically busy, but I’m happy to say that life is more easily organized now that I’m down to basically three or four spheres. The past three weeks, I’ve helped organized a damn wedding, went to the beach at 2 AM, saw a million movies, read poetry and promoted myself VP of Mean Affairs.

No rants this time. I haven’t been feeling ranty in a while.

The Road to The Wedding of The Year.

Last year, Lloyd, a friend of mine since grade school, mentioned he’d be getting married this year, and he wanted me to not only be one of the groomsmen, but also host the reception. Since I have experience in both areas, and Lloyd has always been one of the most decent guys I’ve met (a rarity considering we are all products of a Catholic school that produced some of the greatest assholes of our generation).  Plus, he was getting married at our school, and I thought that was going to be quite a kick.

So, I met with him and another old friend, plus his bride to be, expecting to just be handed the program and just wing the thing. Apparently, I was not only slated to host the thing, I had to come up with the program as well, which meant two things: 1.) I had to work with a person I haven’t spoken to in years, and 2.) Lloyd was a dick. The meeting turned into a drinking session, and had some pretty wild moments, but when all that cleared, the nagging question was “will I be able to pull this off?” Not alone.

It's like "The Hangover", only less funny and not very interesting.

It was that time again. Call to arms, suiting up, doing what we do best. So the following weeks have been a whirlwind of phonecalls, meetings and planning sessions with the Big Man (who’ll be my number two on this particular job once more), The Artist Formerly Known as The Spirit (who’s providing the music, as well as playing the role of the annoying wildcard), Lorena (who’s doing logistics), the Bride and Groom and the still missing bestman.

Over the course of the past couple of weeks, we’ve dealt with missing rings, wardrobe issues, and The Spirit’s bullshit, but I have to admit, I am having the time of my life. How can I not? It’s us, the Coffeehouse boys, doing our thing in our hometown, for one of our oldest friends. This is the kind of shit people make movies about.

As far as I’m concerned, despite the numerous gatherings in the past, this is the actual high school reunion. Strangely though, I have a nagging feeling that this would be one of our, if not the, last time this group comes together. Time will tell on that one. But right now, all I care about is giving the only apt wedding gift I could give: a hassle free wedding day.

 Anti-Thesis.

Cool kids hang out in hardware stores.

What with the wedding business, the TV thing and the Think Tank, I normally would have gotten into one of my moods and craved for my usual alcohol-powered moments of enlightenment. Incidentally enough, I didn’t need it thanks to a friend from the office who happens to be my polar opposite.

The past three weeks have been movies and conversation with the Little Latter Day Saint, a girl from the office who didn’t drink, smoke, stay out late, and all of the other shit that has been the norm for my life since 1998, but surprisingly enough, we have an amazing time whenever we’re together. She even managed to help me get through the recent rejection I went through and the baggage that comes with it. She’s my pseudo-girlfriend, whatever the hell is, and it works. I’m sane, and she’s really sweet. I’m at a happiness level rarely seen, and she has me blushing again. Haven’t done that in a while.

And to think, all this started because I was too scared to watch Evil Dead alone.

Other Office Affairs.

When I’m not out doing random freelance shit or hanging out with the Anti-Thesis, I’m at the Think Tank, which for two years now has provided a solid state of stability. Sorta. But there have been drastic changes from the past year, from the boss resigning, to the team dismantling, to the whole part time status hoopla, and then came another game changer. The Office Fat Guy quit. (That’s a term of endearment.)

While I’m friendly to almost of everyone at work, over the years, this guy has been one of the shockingly few people I can consider a friend. We’ve been through a lot, relatively, and him leaving does alter the status quo a bit. So, in honor of his last day, I decided to do something special, and ensure it was memorable. So, I gathered people who normally wouldn’t be in the same room together, we drank and I inducted him to Think Tank Hall of Fame with a laundry list of his “achievements” from work. A nice time was had by all. I hope. While I am happy for him pursuing something more, it’s going to be different back at the Tank now.

Miscellaneous Adventures.

An award from me isn't even worth the paper it's printed on.

While the past few weeks have been full of work and stuff, I still managed to find the time to get myself in a few adventures. There was one wherein the Big Man and I went to the beach at 2 AM, with only a hundred bucks between us and gas was low. (Long story.) That was fun. We also brought The Spirit to some place where we could cock block him again. (I don’t remember much from that night, since I’ve been up for two days straight.) I had coffee with the director of the show, which was nice, if I hadn’t been up for two days straight again and carrying three bricks of Heroclix. But, it was nice talking shop with one of the greats.

It’s just good to know that even with the usual torrent of jobs to do, I still get the chance to fuck around.

Balance Once More.

I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m in a good place now. Career (if one can call it that) is going well, I’m professionally and personally fulfilled, and I’m still having more fun than the average person. I’m sure at some point some crisis would come along and upset this balance, or my own personal and mental issues ruin it for me, but all in all, I’m good. Let’s keep this going.