weekend was a blast, an absolute blast. [was it worth the driving? i'll tell you after the anticipated 930CDT-230CDT drive on tuesday night-wednesday morning...or perhaps, after wednesday's game.]

unstadt gave me great company for the drive to glenview, and i don't think that there was any of the uncomfortable-ness that one might associate with attending an ex-girlfriend's wedding. bride's friends that i knew from previous [five years ago!] experiences were talkative and friendly and happy. and both parents were pleasant, and both sisters seemed happy to say hello. [in fact, the communication was better and more natural than those sentences indicate...it was highly good.] it should be noted that actual communication with the bride was highly limited - a hello hug and a goodbye hug and not much more. i didn't feel intrusive, which would have been a possibility.

and i think - think - that they, in some way, valued my presence. i could be wrong, but i don't really think so.

i also think that it was important that gurs and i were there, mostly because the greatest university in the world was highly-underrepresented. in fact, the entire bride's side of things was highly underrepresented, and so our presence was a benefit. better the nu class of 2002 than the XXHS class of 89, which ran the party. [groom's age...]

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of course, it was the ancillary things that made the night great. sharon's presence. the chance to meet the gurs-ette. the post-wedding drinkees with the wysock's. gurs' insistence on my having a full glass. whiskey-and-sierra mist, for the most part. realizing the greatness of "hotel yorba" at about 245 at the hungry brain.

the only downside? the phone was dead, so the boy and his pals never joined us. i forgot that i had planned to call them until this morning.

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today was even better. hanging out for hours. from 10 until 4. mostly not-hungover. mostly [noon-3?] on the roof of the gurs building. i've got the beautiful sunburn to prove it.

i don't know the last time i got the chance to just sit and talk to gurs. it's been far too long and, while i understand its difficult to find the spontaneous time to just talk about nothing and everything for hours, i hope it happens again sooner than later.

it was restful and humid and hot and i wore gurs' yellow pants rolled up so as to burn in the sun and i feel that, somehow, we caught up on each other a whole lot. philosophy on work and life and friendships and relationships and things. or maybe the sun was getting to me, but it was great to find that time.

i think that radio guys should be required to take a weekend off each season. really makes you think...

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about 2 1/2 hours at home capped the weekend. all but dave there, for at least 20 minutes or so. i got to see my sister's short film about skipping. i got to eat a badass dad-cooked steak. i got to wake up my mom [she said 'in 20 minutes,' but i accidentally waited almost an hour.]

and the drive to grapids was uneventful. perhaps tomorrow brings nemo, although that's as-yet-undetermined.

everything is pretty good at this point, which is nice.