It keeps goin and goin and goin...

These last three weeks have been busy ones for Emily and me but we've gotten a lot accomplished. As time winds down and the pressure mounts, I am very impressed by her ability to handle whatever comes up. This is a very stressful time for both of us but I am very pleased that we are able to get through it and still stay as close as ever. But on to the action...

When we first were kicking around ideas for the wedding, one roadblock we came to was whether to have a reverend perform the ceremony. Neither of us are religious in this stage of our life so we didn't have any connections in this area. As time went on, we discussed having a friend get ordained and perform the ceremony but the higher ups nixed that idea. Finally, in a bit of serendipitous luck, an old college friend of mine (who is in possession of 2/3 of my inner organs) suggested we look into her father, Reverend Harry Cook.

Having the great pleasure of meeting with him, we were overjoyed when learning that he shares a lot of the same beliefs we do. Everything from religious, political, social, and tastes in TV shows. We were quick to book him and check this portion off our to-do list. This was an important decision to make for me. Religion has always been an iffy subject in my life and getting a man who I respected above anything else was most important. Reverend Cook is everything I was looking for, educated, open minded, and tolerant of all personal beliefs.

Our next goal was to book a musician for the ceremony. The ceremony won't be in a church so we had to look elsewhere for la musica. We knew early on that we wanted an acoustic guitarist to play the ceremony. Emily's best friend and maid of honor, Sarah, had one at her wedding and it fit perfectly. It took us a while to find the right performer but we finally came across Robert Jones of Canton. He specializes in classical/Spanish guitar, just the type of sound we were looking for.

He invited us to his home and played some pieces he thought would be a nice fit for us. I won't name the pieces we selected but I will say they are one of a kind and will make our ceremony a unique experience for all who are there.

That is all for now. Stay tuned next time for another exciting adventure entitled,

"Do we really need a cheese slicer?"

I'm too old for a quarter-life crisis

At which age do we become too old to relate with today's youth? When does your thumbs switch off MTV for something more relatable? When do we lose track of which rapper is hip? (Who the hell is Flo rida and what on Earth is a Soulja boy?)

I recently attended a show in East Lansing, home to Michigan State University and while I was there, I was confronted by a grim reality, I'm an adult. As I took my seat and began to people watch, my eyes were greeted by a frightful sight of young, hairless, faces on well dressed young co-eds. Then I looked at myself and saw a man in his late 20s, with a receding hairline, beard stubble, wearing a ratty hoodie I bought from the GAP for 15 dollars. (One of these things is not like the other...)

I tried remembering how I viewed life when I was that age...full of optimism, anticipation, all the while care free and enjoying myself. Then I tried to remember when reality set in and the world imposed it's own views onto me, stress, responsibility, and that feeling like you're going nowhere.

For a moment there, I was ready to throw myself over the upper railings and land on some pierced, gel-atinous 19 year old wearing a North Face jacket...I think that is the standard uniforms for the kids these days.

But then I backed away from my anxiety driven jump and started thinking about all the perks that come with being an adult, respect, money (although there never seems to be enough), freedom, and love.

Now love can be attained at any age but it's not always practical. Sometimes its innocent, lustful, careless, or ignorant. Then there is the love that is true, respectful, and virtuous. That can only come to someone who has outgrown their adolescent thinking and stepped into a world of home owning and board game nights. It presents itself to someone who is ready to live for the future not someone who wants to relive the past.

I say all this because without this thinking, I would not be where I am today, with the person I share a life and goals with. I would not have the friends I have today or the insight to write these words.

In short, I'll accept the fact that I have no idea what songs play on TRL anymore or even not knowing if TRL is still on! I'm ok with no longer going through life without a care and only working to pay for my beers because I now have substance in my life and a lot more to live for...but I would take back my 19 year old hair line.