Wedding was yesterdy - it was a great time. Got to see some people I hadn't seen in a while and hang out with some others I see on a slightly more regular basis...

Totally forgot the wedding gift on my kitchen table and realized when I got to the reception location... but luckily the bride's sister lives in my building and agreed to let me drop it off at hers. Go figure.

Funny story - apparently the groom's brother had a pre-conceived notion that all the bride's friends were going to be nerdy academic types (ie: ugly). When the table I was sitting at (mostly the bride's single girl friends) got up to eat, apparently the question was "who are they?". "Bride's friends." "But they're not ugly!".

But perhaps the most amusing moment of the night came late into the evening. The bride and groom were headed out for the evening, so I decided to head out as well. As I was waiting for my cab, the bride's sister came up to me (we were standing outside the hotel with the smokers), chatting away, she mentioned that apparently the vote from the groom's entourage was that I was the "hot one".

Boost to the self-esteem in a sort of junior-high-esque way. :)

So I went to the Fringe on Friday night with a couple of friends that I hadn't seen in a while.

Props to the cast and crew of both LoveHateKill and Bashir Lazhar - go see them if you can!

But while we were munching on dinner before hand, I asked one, with whom I've been in very poor touch over the last couple of years, what she was up to these days.

"I'm getting married and having babies, just like everyone else" she deadpanned.

I bought it for the first five words, and was even trying to sneakily look at her ring finger, but then the babies bit came out and I knew she was totally kidding. Later in the evening, we decided that "buying a condo" should also be added into that generic phrase - either before or after getting married, depending on preference.

I went to a friend's bridal shower this p.m., so that little adage friend #1 shared at dinner on Friday was hitting a little closer to home.

That's not to say that I want to get married, buy a condo, and have babies. Rather the opposite, in fact (except maybe the buying a condo bit... but I need to either win the lottery or have some unknown, long-lost rich relative kick the bucket first). And fortunately I'm blessed with a family and friends that don't ask the awkward "so when are you going to meet a nice man and settle down" question at social gatherings. But with most of my friends at the very least meeting 1 of the criteria listed, if not two, or, in some cases all three (in various combinations - the most popular being the married and a condo/house... fortunately not too many having kids yet), I've noticed that couple-y language is the norm, and when you're one of the only people saying "I" in a room full of "we", you stand out a bit.

But I've whined about this before. Ah well. Like I said in the last post, I've gotten a bit more comfortable in my own skin. Unlike some previous posts, this isn't really a wish to find a significant other. This isn't a "oh, I wish I had what everyone else is having" post (especially not in regards to kids *shudder*).

It's just a short, quick lament for the days when "I" was the norm.




Ps - Bridal Shower was awesome. Low key, no pressure to play silly toilet paper games - and I even won a prize for best score on a "guess how old the bride is in these photos" game. Woot! I can't wait for the hen party next weekend and the wedding the weekend after. And since I know the bride reads this blog from time to time, yes, the love in the house was amazing - but you absolutely deserve it. You're amazing, and I can't tell you how much happiness I wish you.

So I got sick of the old template. I mean, it's been nearly four years... it was time for a change.

This coincides with a change in my job - I'll be staying in Edmonton, but shifting responsibilities within my organisation next week. I'm looking forward to it.

I was in Victoria and Vancouver a couple of weeks ago - totally forgot to take my camera, so had to buy a disposable, old-fashioned film camera. I can't wait to see how the photos turn out. I will certainly scan and post some when I get them back.

I'm also hoping that there's some good news on the old photo front. When I first when to England, I took my parents' digital camera. It was crap. I didn't like it. I especially didn't like it when the camera did something stupid and weird and deleted ALL my photos from my first three months living in England from off the camera. I was not impressed. And of course, I hadn't downloaded them to my computer. And then it did the same thing to my parents after they went to England. All their photos from that trip, gone. But now McBain is offering a service whereby they can try and retrieve old photos from your memory cards that seem to have been deleted. I'm hopeful that we may recover some of them at least! At $10, it's worth a shot ($35 if they manage to recover anything).

It's been a busy few weeks, as per usual. Work hasn't been too nuts, but other things are popping up. I have another friend getting married this summer - and in contrast to the previous wedding I attended, I'm actually quite looking forward to this one. I think it's 'cuz my self-confidence has been hugely bolstered over the last year. I've managed to handle a program under the scrutiny of the ADM, I've dropped 2-3 sizes, depending on which clothing company you talk to, and I've learned a lot about myself, and most of it for the better. I have a car now, which gives me so much more freedom, and I'm just feeling a lot more comfortable in my own skin.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to sing with RES again this year. They have a great program lined up, but given the financial and time commitments they're asking this year, combined with the fact that the friend I normally attended with is not returning, are making it a less appealing option. I'm looking into alternatives - Magnolia, I may be hitting you up for Musical Theatre ideas, depending on how things pan out.

For now, I offer you this - the view from my balcony during a recent rainfall:

So, I'm feeling better. Still tired, but at least my face is my own. Yay!

Having gotten that out of the way - I am attending the wedding of a co-worker today. I have known her not even six months. I don't know her family, and aside from my fellow co-workers, I don't know her friends. I mean, I'm very happy for her - she's a lovely person, and her fiancé's really quite nice as well - but I'm never a big fan of the whole wedding reception shmooze thing. The ceremony, I can handle. You all just sit there, it's pretty anonymous who's in the crowd, you don't need to talk, just follow the program...

But the reception...

I'm not a particularly social person, I don't just randomly introduce myself to strangers very often... so I will have a grand total of 4 people to talk to at the reception (which is actually an improvement over the last time I went to a wedding) - not counting the bride and groom. Let's face it, at any reception the bride and groom are a write-off for any sort of conversation lasting longer than

"beautiful wedding"

"thanks, and how are you?"

"quite well, really... you're holding up all right? Shoes still not hurting"

"no, they're fi... oh, sorry, there's uncle Sylvester, I really must go say hi..."

*sigh* And it's a LOT colder than I thought it would be today. It apparently feels like -2 degrees with the wind out there. So much for those black strappy sandals I bought. Hopefully it will have warmed up to the 16 they're calling for by this afternoon. And three guesses where my long, black, formal-ish wool coat is... Oh, that's right, at the cleaner's. Sonofa.

Ok. Kate. Step back, take a look at this. You are going. You are sharing in your friend's happiness. Quite bitching about your own potential misery, and start focusing on her undoubted happiness. Be happy for her (and I am, really I am).

And if worse comes to worse, and I'm finding the socializing totally unbearable, I can leave early. I am still slightly under the weather after all, and I do have to get up for work in the morning.