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12:07 - Saturday, Feb. 01, 2003 The Rehearsal Dinner The rehearsal dinner was simply amazing. I drove out to the dinner with Polly Poodlepopper (her assumed name). Polly came from Texas on a train and is really just one of the most interesting and funky people I know. She really appreciates how my brain works and we just have so much history together from acting at the theatre school, sitting together in AP English in high school, dancing in Austin/Atlanta/DC/Florida/Dallas, having class together in college. I was so excited to be heading toward the rehearsal dinner at his aunt and uncle's house. There would be lots of food and many people we love from all different parts of our lives. We got to the rehearsal dinner to find it pretty much in full swing. The food was laid out like a Vietnamese Smorgasboard (is that possible?) of tasty sauces and cold and warm dishes. There were amazing pastries and all of my favorites. The vegetarian food was spectacular with many fake meat dishes that were as good or better than their formerly living counterparts. Mr. Radical Tenor's family really went above and beyond the call of duty. The wine was flowing and the company was great. In one room, my family members and his family members sat at the dinner table in parallel birth order. It's amazing to see how there are some similarities between two groups of very different families. My folks are hardcore left although my father denies he is a liberal for some reason. This from the man that has never ever voted for a Republican for office and gulps past some of the lesser-of-two-evils Democrats. We are for the most part extroverted in groups, although we each can be quiet as well. His family outnumbered us by 4-to-1 or so, so broad generalizations are hard to make. People stereotype Asians as quiet, pliant, etc, and this is really comical after spending more time with his family. His brother is definitely more extroverted and chatty than mine. His sister talks quite a bit as well while mine will engage and is enjoyable to talk to, but she says less. We tend to be very direct in every way for the most part though. I guess that could be the main difference. Also, that my family tends to talk about everything. Problems, politics, religion, etc. It gets heated and crazy sometimes, but we are very verbal and pretty confrontational when we need to be. I guess that didn't show too much at the dinner, with the exception of my uncle who is just big and very loud. He is loveable and fun, but pretty boisterous in tone. I think is mostly smaller family and my mostly bigger family could have fun just looking at each other. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. His mother flew from California with the food. That's right. She bought the food in Southern California and brought it with her on the plane! That's a kickass move if you ask me. That is a woman committed to quality! It was really nice to have this time to get to spend with the folks we are close to. I had a good 15 minute talk with my close friends from high school and from my neighborhood where I grew up. One of them gave us a card with a note bequeathing us enough frequent flyer miles to fly out to Hollywood and see her. I can't wait! Not that L.A. is my dream city, but we have quite a few connections there now, so a visit is always a good thing. After most people had eaten, we gathered in the larger of the two large rooms and did introductions. His uncle introduced his family and my father introduced ours. Then we introduced all of our honor attendants and friends. I kept thinking how wonderful it was all weekend that our friends really seemed to get along. Especially with my brother who is just damn cool and my friends liked him (no, I'm not just saying that because he might read this from time to time). The dinner wound down around 11:00 or so and Polly and I headed back to my apartment along with LoDudo, another great friend from high school who I met in Spanish class and who was kind enough to go to the prom with me, the chunky, punky-haired, gay boy. The time at home was busy and hilarious. These are two of the people I can just fall in with like we have been hanging out every day. Lots of stupid jokes, list making, packing, printing out itenararies, etc. I was so happy LoDudo was there. I love Polly, but she is very particular about her needs. Not a problem really, but it really helped to have someone there who could really focus only on my schedule, neuroses, packing, etc. It was nice to be planned around in that way. We got the wine ready to go (it had been stored at the apartment), my bags for the wedding night, my clothes for the wedding, a printed copy of my vows, etc. We developed a morning shower schedule and laughed our asses off for just a bit longer. As I went to sleep, I couldn't help but regret that my love was not there. I always sleep better when he is home and that night was no exception. But I think his time was a bit more rough than mine, so I will keep my complaining to a minimum. Next stop: The Wedding Day!
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