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May 25, 2004
HOME AGAIN
It's going on 2:30 am EDT, and yet it feels like only 11:30 pm. I have a very important meeting first thing in the morning at work -- literally first thing, at 8:30 -- and I need to get some rest and be sharp for it. But it's not happening - the time zone thing has gotten me and I'm not yet sleepy. So I guess I'll just have to blog... we're home.
The weekend was, in Damian's words, "legendary." First, the important matter -- Dave did indeed actually tie the knot, and the wedding -- which took place at the Mountain Winery --was beautiful. The view from the terrace was truly breathtaking, and the reception was epic.
The remainder of the weekend, I can only describe as surreal. No time to get into details, but among the things it involved were: alcohol; performing heroic acts of good samaritanism; Play Station 2 baseball; Cuban cigars; windy, white-knuckle mountain roads with no guard rails; an unexpected stint as the emcee of the reception; more alcohol; dancing like idiots; a run at 12:30 am to a $1.5 million house; a game of darts with a very interesting side bet which paid off when, for the first time in my life, I hit a bullseye after saying I was going to get a bullseye; more alcohol; a hot tub; not having swimsuits with us; that fact not mattering; a barefoot, 5:00 am run through a 24 hour Safeway because we were hungry and no fast food was open; pastrami and salami sandwiches at 5:45 am; waking up and realizing that virtually no one had retrieved their complete set of clothes and belongings from the night before -- either on our end or at the other house -- and most of us had at least one item of clothing that wasn't ours; frenzied meetings to exchange clothes, cellphones, shoes, watches, keys, and whatever else we needed to...
A breathtaking drive into the mountains -- while driving a cherry 2005 Mustang with only 9 miles on it when we got it; winery tours; wine tastings; gawking at a Ferrari in the parking lot; meeting its owner and his girlfriend (who looked like the kind of woman that a guy who drives a Ferrari gets to date) inside at the tasting; striking up a friendship with said couple; being invited to go have dinner with them at some fancy restaurant where the guy knew the maitre'd very well; realizing that not only had the girlfriend made some silicone maker and some surgeon very wealthy, but that she was very proud of her investment and had a penchant for frequently displaying the results to the world (or at least us) right there on the outdoor terrace -- leaving nothing to the imagination; having the entire meal paid for by some corporate VP we also met who paid for the meal for 7 of us in exchange for being able to drive the Ferrari; more Cuban cigars; more alcohol; a frenzied rush to clean up Dave's house in the hour before we had to leave for the airport... and a late night return to New York with an inability to sleep upon finally getting into my own bed.
Along the way, I also pretty much wrote -- in my head -- my entire novel. This week presented a complete inspiration to me, and the plot, characters and storyline all assembled in my brain over the last 40 hours or so. I'm actually excited to start writing it - the other one I'd been working on is hereby thrown out.
All in all... an amazing week, one with many stories that I will not share with you... but that have truly joined the pantheon, as Damian suggested, of legendary runs for our old crew. (By the way, check out Hamish's profile here -- he is producing and directing TV commercials in Australia... and be sure to sample some of his company's work while you're on their site.)
Back to the real world tomorrow... and back to blogging on real things tomorrow. Thanks for indulging me the vacation, everyone.
