the_matt79

Holy shit....a month huh???

Okay so round about a month ago I took a trip to North Dakota, a week away from Montana with some of the best people I know all to see two of them get married. I also got to suit up and be a part of it which was a pleasure and an honor all rolled into one.

Tuesday morning I got up and got my shit together, and got around to getting out of town, see I didn't have to rush because Kevin had to work so I didn't want to get to Fargo too terribly early. I came up with a # for on twitter for my trip, and subsequently tagged my tweets when related, I should do a search on Twitter to see my tweets from then. I chose #AMattGoesEast and I still marvel that each one stayed East and not Easy like I thought they might accidentally wind up, especially for all the drinking I did...

Fargo Tuesday night, got there right about when Kev got off work and headed to their new house, you want to talk about stress let's go through the list of Kev and Emmy's. First child born 7 months ago, first house bought in August, and a wedding planned and prepared for as well...all while working full time jobs...yeah, no stress there. Kev knew he was going to get yelled at because nothing was done and he was having a beer with me, but he had pretty much literally just gotten off work, but what can you do.

We hung out, had pizza, drank some beers and called it a night. Wednesday I got up and went and got my suit and tooled around, bought way to many books at Barnes and Nobel, had some seasonal Starbucks, and then hung with Kev for a bit before I headed up to Grand Forks. I was staying with Boener while there so I met up with him and we had a beer then went out and got some food and drinks, another nice little day.

Thursday Boener went hunting so I had the place to myself when I woke up, so I kinda got situated and then got cleaned up. Kev told me to come to his in-laws cuz they were BBQing and I could hang there. So I decided to go a little preppy and then headed over. His in-laws are really great people and basically incapable of having an ugly daughter, like seriously the most unnattractive of the four is still rather beautiful, it's crazy is what it is. Hung out with them and tried to get Kev out with us as I was meeting up with his sister and some old friends if I could ever leave, finally had to just take off on my own, but that's okay too.

I got downtown and met up with the crew at Joe Black's, a cool place that has gone through some transitions in the years I have known it, but a nice place to hang out. Seeing old friends started it off right, and the drink specials were nice too. I got to catch up with Laura, who I call Pukey (cuz one time I had people over to my apartment after bar, she got too drunk, my bathroom was in use, so she puked in my sink...that day forward she was Pukey, and she get's mad if I call her Laura).

This is us.


I was having fun there but then Lacey said she was calling a cab and we were going to the Diamond, ugh, why...when I asked they said it was that or Bucks, well I used to work at Bucks so I persuaded them to go there. It turned out to be a bittersweet trip back to the old bar, sweet because I fucking love it and the memories I have, bitter because it is fucking ghetto now, all the drink specials they have, have brought in a crowd that isn't the greatest, but you do what you gotta to stay afloat. I know what its problem is, and that's location, it is kinda close to campus, but the down town area has boomed since I moved, and now you can go down there and barhop by walking a few blocks, we used to drive across town to pretty much three bars back in my day, so this definitely affects it. Mary killed me when she kept saying how fucking ghetto it was and wondered what happened since our glory days.

Went home feeling fine and knew Friday was ahead of me. Ah yes Friday, wake up fairly early and get cleaned up so we can go to Kev's in-laws and figure out what's going on. I had a job, I had to pick up the sheet cakes so I needed to get that straight too. All in all we figured out that I would drive down to Fargo and exchange Kev's shirt, pick up Boener's suit, and then hit Sam's Club for the sheet cakes, easy enough. Got some Starbucks and off I went.

After getting back and dropping off the cakes at the hotel where the reception was I went back to Boener's to clean up and get ready for the rehearsal and the dinner after. Easy enough, walk in this speed, stand there, move there, walk out at that speed, done and done. Some decent food, with THE hottest fucking coffee ever, like I literally let it sit through the whole meal and it was almost to hot to drink afterwards, crazy...

Kev took us out to the parking lot and gave us our gifts, little coolers with six cans of beer in them and a swiss army pocket knife, nice! So we had a beer there, passed around a bottle of Doc McGillicudy's and then headed over to the bar in the hotel, some people were going to check in, and some of us were just going to imbibe.

I got a kick out of Emmy because she had said that we could have one drink then go home since no one in the wedding party was going to be hungover for the wedding, and then we all sat there for a few hours drinking away. I may have been a bit prepped up that night too.


That's me, Boener, and Kev

That's my formal Braves hat, that's what I call it anyways since it's all black like that.

Boener and his girlfriend wanted to take off and hit another bar and since he was my ride I thought it was a good idea to go with. (That's me, always thinking.) We went back to Joe Black's and I got into drinking mode, and I basically made him close the place down...or close too, I kinda lost track of things there at the end...oh vodka, the magic you possess.

Saturday waking up was a bit slow, but it worked out alright, got the ball rolling around noon, since I had to be to the church for pictures at 2:30. Well our friend Markie still needed to buy shoes so I picked him up, drove to the hotel cuz I had a room for the night so that I could drink and be merry to my heart's content. He went and got shoes, I checked in and showered and to the church we went. Into our suits and then downtown for some cool pictures. Then eventually back to the church for a few more, where we looked like this...


Then it was inside for a beautiful service where two of my favorite people became husband and wife. I love looking at those two as a kind of template for my generation. In the years I have known them as a couple I have seen the happiness and love that exists between them, Kev tells me what bugs him about their relationship, but it's nothing that would ever cause it to go off the tracks, and for everything that bugs him I know there are ten things that excite him about Emmy, and so I know they will be together for a long, long time. They are also pretty damn good parents, hell, the day I left town Kinley projectile vomited on Kev and he was proud of the distance and all that she got rather than being all dry heavy like you might be. I take a step back and see who they are individually and who they are together, and I know that's the kind of relationship I would love to find myself a part of. There is no fakery of perfection, it is real, it is true, and it is beautiful.

So, into the limo and down town to the bar before the reception? Don't mind if I do!

Once we got to the hotel, the emcee/band member lined us up and told us we were going to get introduced and make our way to the head table, taking a spin on the dance floor as we went, sure, why not. Although when he said we should out do the couple before us I got a little stage frighty and didn't know what I would do as I was with Lacey, great girl, but she has cerebral palsy and doesn't walk that great...but we did just fine...here's us as we were being introduced.


Did our turn and took our seat as the rest were introduced. After that it was time to get a drink and wait for our food. Started running into people I knew and talking my head off. That actually helped me out a bit because I woulda been drunk as hell if I hadn't been talking all night. lol

These are people that I worked with, or that worked at the bar at some point. Those are tickets for the garter around my neck, which I won because it was taken so long and no one was claiming it and I was one number off...makes sense right?

Me Tara and Merty

Merty, Tara's boyfriend Ryan, and me (with garter)

The band played until 1:30 and I danced a little here and there when I remembered to get back into the reception and wasn't at the bar or bullshitting, oops again. But after I got the garter I did dance around a little and there is this lovely one of me and Emmy.

I believe it was to single ladies cuz she had just thrown the bouquet and I must be dreaming of someone putting a ring on it as far as me being it...

Close the bar, get some beer and go back to Mary and Merty's room? Okay.

Couple old co-workers, some of Kev and Mary's cousins and their boyfriends, and Me. Well we drank some more and around 4a.m I sauntered *cough* stumbled *cough* back to my room.

Waking up wasn't as hard as I had thought it would be, but it was still hard...got cleaned up and around noon the desk knocked on my door to make sure I was checking out. Guess I went a little past the checkout time, oops.

Well I had to find a ride to the church to get my car so I could go to Boener's, just missed Kev and Emmy, Mary and Merty weren't up to it or had headed back to Fargo, not sure which, and so Kev said he'd line me up with Lacey or Alyssa....fifteen minutes after that Lacey calls and says she paid for a cab to pick me up because her car had a flat and Alyssa was puking...I guess they stayed up drinking until 6 in the morning...Pro's!! Well I thanked her and waited for my ride to show, got dropped off at the church, hit Starbuck's and Burger King and then went to Boener's. I watched Football all day while he was out hunting and then he got home for the night game and we had pizza, a nice chill day with no booze at all.

Monday was slow to start, and not much went on, Kev had talked me into going to Fargo and staying with them before I came home on Tuesday and so I talked to him and kinda got an idea of when to go...the day drug out and Kev never told me when his family was heading down to Fargo so I wound up heading there late, but it was cool, got in, had a couple beers, some pizza and bullshitted for a while, then bed.

Tuesday I woke up, said good morning, then got cleaned up. I told em I would take em to breakfast since they had bought me pizza and let me crash, Emmy had a better idea to go to Hu Hot since it was close to lunch time. So we loaded up some gifts they wanted to return and headed to eat. Good food was had, and Kev gave me the move to Fargo pitch, one I really need to listen to I think.

Afterwards I asked if they wanted me to follow and help them take the gifts in and I could do some Christmas shopping while there too. So to Bed, Bath, and Beyond we went. I got to entertain Kinley as they returned gifts and got ready to shop. I meandered around the store and hung with them at the same time. We all checked out and I said my goodbyes.

The goodbyes aren't as hard any more for me, I miss these people like crazy, but I think I can start to feel something pulling me that direction and I see that there is no reason to be sad. I also can thank the Canadian for making me see that I shouldn't worry about the sadness that I know will be there, when there is happiness already to wallow around in. (to paraphrase) So I gave them big hugs and headed to the mall to get dad a Braves cap, and then on the road for me.

A drive that seemed really long because it got dark so early, and was pitch black so it seemed later than hell. But I got home safe and sound, unpacked my shit, and got re-situated. A day to decompress and then back to work...not always the easiest thing to do after awesomeness like that, but knowing that it pays for me to go to that kind of awesomeness, well that takes a little of the edge off...and of course I got to drive the forklift around.