my ancestors are notorious one-track-mind-ers. they could go for hours and hours on one field, throwing bodily needs and other external forces to the wind. got a lot done that way. (unfortuntely, got a lot not done that way too.)
i've discovered that i am no longer capable of normal conversation. well, let me be more specific: i am not capable of initiating normal conversation. when my mind is idling (like a car, not an im client, 1u53r...) it turns to the fiance, the wedding, the engagement, the guest list, the venue, the date, photographer, the dress, the bridesmaids, the registries...it better not be like this until next summer. i'll implode.
o, a note on those registries. mum and dad think gift registries are extremely tacky. "it's a wedding, it's not about getting gifts, people should be able to get you whatever they want, if you get duplicates you'll have replacements if something breaks," etc. now, i know weddings are not about the massive quantity of loot accumulated, but the fact of the matter is, there will be a massive quantity of loot accumulated. it's not the point, but it is a reality. and since every wedding pulls in approximately the same slew of stuff (dishes, glasses, silverware, towels, sheets, etc., etc.) why not do your guests a favor and let them get organized? remove some of the "i'd get them an 8-12 place setting if i was sure mary and nigel weren't getting them one" guesswork, as well the "i am clueless" guesswork (that's me at weddings), to say nothing of the "hmm...blue or pink and purple?" guesswork. and it's not as if they must use the registry--it's completely optional, in place for the guests' convenience and ignored at their discretion. lone gunmen are free to walk alone.
so that's my thought on gift registries.
anible and i are going to check out the fontainebleau inn tomorrow morning. it's about half an hour out, on cayuta lake (not to be confused with cayuga lake--mine--and keuka lake). mom played for a wedding there in september, said the grounds were breathtaking and ideal for an outdoor ceremony. (if the weather's bad, there's a stone chapel nearby.) the photos on the website are lovely, so we're going to take a look. i'm already imagining the scene...
o o, and we figured out how we can have 200 people at the reception: don't serve dinner! i mean, consider: a 1pm wedding is over by 2. that's not dinner time, that's early-afternoon-snack time. so we figured, bother dinner, just have light stuff, box wine and water/soda. save thousands of dollars. yeah baby.
and in the interest of shunning my heritage, a little engadgetry: the latest incarnation of stupid crooks, this one involving a gps-enable bmw and a car thief, and some strange things going on at sony.