Saturday, July 31, 2010


Our wedding planner hurt her knee. She's holding off the surgery until after the wedding season is over.

I'm not entirely clear on what happened, but according to her she, "fell out of a church."

Friday, July 30, 2010


Sarah and I are in Galena for the weekend, tentatively our last trip out here before the wedding. Everything is lush and green.

Sarah: I hope it still all looks this nice in September.

Maybe it's because most of the people we deal with on these trips are wedding vendors or run wedding venues, but I'm starting to think of the place as Wedding City. All weddings all the time.

Thursday, July 29, 2010


Mom sent out more pictures to everyone of the recent family vacation that Sarah and I had to miss because we just have too much going on in the lead-up to the wedding.

Here's one of my sisters Allie and Sherry on a pontoon boat.

Mom ended the e-mail by writing, "The only pictures from the beach by Lake Michigan are on my cell phone and I haven't figured out how to get them on my computer yet! You can see them on my facebook page IF you are my friend!?!?!" I think this is directed at whichever of my sisters unfriended her on Facebook.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010


I took this picture (of this picture) several years back at my sister, Julie's house. It's from her wedding. She hadn't yet gotten around to changing the "sisters" label in the picture frame.

I'm not having groomsmen at my wedding. I didn't like the idea of saying, "You four, you're my better friends, and you, you are the best, better than these guys who are better than everyone else."

Instead, I'm having my three sisters stand with me, and I'm excited to share the day with them.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010


Battlestar Galactica is big this wedding season.

At Alex and Megan's wedding, the tables each had names, most of them inside jokes for the people sitting at them. The names for the two tables that Whirled News (and other Chicago improvisers) sat at were 'Galactica' and 'Pegasus,' the two giant battlestar spaceships from the show.

I sat at Pegasus. The reverend that officiated the wedding came up to me and asked about the significance. I explained that it was part of a science fiction TV show. She seemed disappointed. "The show pulls a lot of its names from mythology," I said, shrugging.

Steve came up with a theory about why our table was Pegasus and not Galactica.

Steve: It's because we've got a great spot.
Me: That's true. This is a prime location, right next to the head table.
Steve: And Galactica is farther away. It's not as good a spot.
Me: So, it's sort of a consolation prize?
Steve: It's a trade-off. Better position, lesser battlestar. Not quite as good a table, you get to be Galactica.

Monday, July 26, 2010


Sarah had a hair test and came back incredibly excited about how she was going to look. This mood quickly changed when she started looking at the pictures she'd taken of herself.

Sarah: I look like a stroke victim. My face is weird.
Me: If you don't think the haircut is flattering--
Sarah: It's my face. I can't change my face. One side droops. My eye droops. My mouth droops. This side of my face droops.

Somehow this led to us staring at eachother's faces, both of us pointing out where we thought our own faces drooped.

Me: See, my eye here is a little lower than this side.
Sarah: No it's not.
Me: This side of my face is just a little lower. It is. But, it's natural. No one's face is perfectly symmetrical.
Sarah: Your face in fine. Look here. Look at this side of my face.
Me: I don't--
Sarah: YOU SEE IT! I can tell! I can tell you see it!
Me: The side of your face isn't any more different than anyone's would be.
Sarah: I can see you can see it!

Finally Sarah decided to show me the pictures. She hid her hair, though, using strategically placed Microsoft Word document windows.

I couldn't stop laughing.

Me: This? This is the terrible picture? The way you were talking I thought you'd maybe look a little weird. You look good. There's nothing wrong with your face.
Sarah: [laughing nervously] You can see it.

Sunday, July 25, 2010


Friends and fellow improvisers Bagnall and Josh got married today. We didn't go to their early afternoon ceremony or reception but we did catch up with them at their casual afterparty at the Annoyance Theater. Pizzas, left-over wedding food, beer.

Bagnall: My mother asked us for a quote for the wedding programs. Something to go under our names. We didn't really have anything that wasn't a bit. Josh and I don't have any flowery saying with a special significance to us. So we used "So say we all."

This, by the way, is the rallying cry used by the last remaining humans in the universe on the science fiction show 'Battlestar Galactica.'

Bagnall: [laughing] It was awesome. Our names. "So say we all." I overheard someone say they thought maybe it was Tennyson.

Saturday, July 24, 2010


My mom sent me this picture of my nephews, Will and Ty, having fun on vacation at the beach. I haven't seen them in a long while. It's been a busy year.

Sarah and I made the hard decision not to invite any children to the wedding. There just would have been too many children. It was a practical decision, economically and otherwise.

Several of my friends who have kids have actually mentioned that it's a good thing. "We'll leave the kids at home and we won't have to worry about them. We can stay out later."

Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little sad that Ty and Will won't be there.

Friday, July 23, 2010


Still trying to figure out what to do for our honeymoon. We put it off until now because our (unrelated to wedding) schedule was up in the air. And now we're putting it off just because it's hard.

It doesn't help that it will be hurricane season.

We're narrowing in on some possibilities, trying to do research, but like most of the getting-married process, it requires some scary leaps of faith.

Internal Monologue: This place seems good. I think. The pictures look nice. It's rated well here... but not so well over here. Hmm. Maybe if I read all 437 of these online customer reviews I can definitively know if we'll like it or not. Huh... well, the majority of people liked it, but a few people absolutely hated it. And one person mentioned snakes. They said lots of people got bit by snakes. I don't like snakes. That's just one review, if it were real problem wouldn't at least one other review mention snakes? Maybe we should just pick something. Snakes!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Wednesday, July 21, 2010


Some of Sarah's beauty products seem to be in an unhealthy relationship.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010


Sarah and I have gone back and forth on what to engrave in our wedding rings.

For a while we thought we'd go with, "exactly what you deserve," which was a joke between us. But you'd hate for an engraving like that to someday become bitterly ironic.

I finally settled on "love youuuu." When I text Sarah I usually throw in some extra U's. Sappy? Maybe. But I liked it.

I spent an hour trying to decide exactly how many U's to use. The predictive text on my phone always makes it 9 U's. Even setting aside that I'd be paying by the letter, 9 U's is fine for a text but seems like too much for an engraving.

Here's the "love youuuu" I jotted down to try to figure out how many U's look best. Four seemed about right. (You can see the little dots I used to help me count the number of total letters. Not sure why dots are easier to count than letters.)

When I called, though, the jeweler explained that the band we picked out for Sarah is a little too thin for engraving. "I mean, we could DO it, but it's going to be really really tiny. Not great."

So, we'll just have to figure out something else to engrave, somewhere down the line.

Monday, July 19, 2010


My co-worker, Poland, who telecommutes from Michigan, is in town this week. It’s nice to see him in person instead of just a face on one of the TV monitors he’s broadcast into the office through most of the time.

Actually, today someone was moving one of his TVs and dropped and shattered it. (“It’s like your home was destroyed!”)

When I first invited Poland to my wedding, we joked that if he couldn’t make it, we’d just set a TV at one of the tables and let him attend via webcam. Put a drink and a piece of cake in front of his screen and let people walk over and talk to him.

He’ll be there in person, though, which is better, if less funny.

Poland: At my wedding, a million years ago, my dad set up the camcorder to record the ceremony, but then forgot to take the lens cap off. So there’s no video.
Me: People really do that?
Poland: Yep. And at the reception, I put a friend, a guy from my old band, in charge of carrying the camcorder around. It was terrible. He spent half the time in the kitchen interviewing the waitstaff. So, we have no proof of any of it.

Sunday, July 18, 2010


Our reception is going to be outside. Well... in a tent. But outside enough. So there's the potential for rain to cause problems.

I've never been to an outside wedding where rainclouds didn't loom on the day of the ceremony. But I've also never been to an outside wedding where rain actually forced the ceremony inside. Pretty close for a couple, but always some near-magical reprieve. And everyone says, "Did you see that? The sun just came out when it needed to."

I've added Galena to the weather app on my phone. When I check the weather... I check Galena too. This serves no real purpose. The weather in Galena this week has nothing to do with the weather on our wedding day. But... if I see a lot of rain in the forecast I get irrationally stressed out. Rain Tuesday through Friday?! Oh no.

Saturday, July 17, 2010


Glynn has to sit out of the next couple Whirled News shows because of an injury sustained at Alex and Megan's wedding. Actually, after the wedding. Near the hotel pool.

Glynn: One of Brooke's friends asked what happened and I said, "Eh, I took a bad step near the pool after a wedding reception." After a moment of silence, Brooke clarified, "He was climbing the fence to the pool and fell off" ... which, technically, I suppose is more accurate.

Luckily it's not too serious. No surgery. But all wedding afterparty accidents will from now on be referred to as Glynnjuries.

Friday, July 16, 2010


Drinks for Hansen's birthday.

Trupe doesn't wear a wedding ring, but if you ask him about it he points to this giant tattoo of his wife's name on his arm.

Hansen also has a tattoo of a heart with his wife's name. He said he didn't want to take off his shirt, so he's just gesturing to its location.

Although, actually, no, looking at the picture now, his tattoo of his wife's name is on his right forearm. He's gesturing to his left. I think that's the location of his latest tattoo, the final line from an A.E. Housman poem. "I tell the tale that I heard told. Mithridates, he died old."

Thursday, July 15, 2010


Some fun wedding stuff is coming together, but I don't want to spoil any surprises, so... no pictures yet.

Instead, here is a picture from this past winter during our scouting trip to find a location for the wedding in Galena. Different seasons. Everything will look completely different. You just need to use your imagination.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010


My youngest sister, Allie, is in town briefly for some job training. So she stopped by to do a hair test for the wedding.

Sarah's friend, Mary Beth, has very kindly offered to do some of the wedding hair, which is greatly appreciated.

Allie: Arnie, are we going to do your hair next?
Me: No, no.
Sarah: I think you and Mary Beth have the same hair cut.
Me: [laughing] Yeah.
Mary Beth: We do.
Me: It looks better on you.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010


I need to get on top of getting my own ring.

Today I used the "World Famous MULTISIZER Ring Sizing Gauge."

I'm about a 9 and a half or 10.

Monday, July 12, 2010


Sarah and I sat on the "groom's side" of the church during Alex and Megan's wedding. We could have easily sat on either side, we're friends with both, but the cast of Whirled News was sitting on Alex's side so we sat there.

Something I'd never noticed about wedding "sides" before is that you don't get to see the face much of the person whose side you are on. The arrangement works more as a "I'm literally supporting this side" sort of thing than as a set-up to allow you to watch the friend or family member you're there to see. At best, you get to look over their shoulder at the person they're marrying.

Maybe, if you're really entrenched on one side of the wedding, it gives you a chance to take a good long look at the person that is, at least tangentially, entering your life.

Sunday, July 11, 2010


Two months! Two months!

Sarah and I agreed that we would try not to talk too much about our own wedding during Megan and Alex's wedding, especially to other people.

But it's hard not to have little revelations. For instance, we've recently been debating what chairs to get for our reception. Picking chairs is surprisingly hard. Especially when you're mostly just seeing pictures of them.

But during dinner I realized...

Me: Hey, look at these chairs.
Sarah: What? Oh. These are the chairs we were thinking about.
Me: These are the chairs.
Sarah: They seem great. Sturdier than I thought. These will work.
Me: These will work.
Sarah: Chairs done.
Me: Chairs done.

Then, sitting there at dinner, we sincerely and spontaneously high-fived.

Saturday, July 10, 2010


And... they're married!

Friday, July 9, 2010


North Carolina.

Sarah and I flew. Glynn, Young and Steve drove 13 hours through the night. But we all met up to eat some truly spectacular southern barbecue.

A week before I had joked with Megan that I was going to send her annoying texts the day before the wedding. She said that would be fine, as long as it was just the day BEFORE. So I sent texts like, "Do you know what channel is HBO in the hotel rooms?"

Me:[reading some texts out loud] Okay, so I wrote, "The hotel toilets aren't big enough for my dumps. Help!"
[chuckles from the group]
Me: And Megan just wrote back.... "Try Steve's mouth."
[big laughs from everybody]
Steve: Aw man.
Me: That's our Megan.

Thursday, July 8, 2010


Packing for a trip for North Carolina for Alex and Megan's wedding.

Bought a new shirt and tie. I perform with them every week in a suit, I might as well wear something slightly different for their wedding. Plus, maybe, like Marla, I should look different in all the Facebook pictures.

Sarah sent me an email with a couple last minute things to remember to pack:

"shampoo and conditioner from tub
"the wedding invitation (on the fridge)
"kisses (they are in your brain and on your mouth)"

Wednesday, July 7, 2010


Obvious statement: social networking complicates as much as it helps. Adding some minor wedding nuisances.

For instance, my friend Marla has several weddings to go to this year. "And I have to get a different dress for each one! Because of FACEBOOK! Because people will see the pictures and know!"

Also, Sarah keeps worrying that she'll somehow say something that will give me clues about her wedding dress. I keep saying, "I doubt it."

But a while back she did causally say, "I was looking at pictures of _______'s wedding and her dress sort of reminds me of mi--- OH CRAP! A clue! Don't look at her dress on Facebook!"

Luckily, looking at random wedding pictures on Facebook is really low on my list of things to do.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010


It was nice to (briefly) see Brett while we were in L.A. And it's too bad we didn't get to see his wife, Natasha.

Lately, I find myself thinking about their wedding (where I took this picture back in August 2005). They had an intimate little ceremony in the back yard of their old Brooklyn apartment. There were maybe ten people there, and everyone took part. One friend officiated. Another did the photography. And another friend played the processional music on a theramin. Now that I think about it, I may have been the only person there that didn't have a specific job (although I did generally try to make myself useful).

It's up there among my favorite weddings I've ever attended.

Our wedding will be a good three, three and a half hours away from our backyard and it won't exactly be small, but we're trying to incorporate some of the things we've seen and loved over the years. I hope we capture some of the sense of inclusiveness that Brett and Natasha had at their wedding. That feeling that we all play a part.

Ironically, Brett and Natasha won't be able to make it to the wedding. Maybe I'll have to come up with some long distance task for them perform.

Monday, July 5, 2010


We went to a White Sox game with our friends Brooke and Glynn (and Hedges too, you can see him peeking over from down the row).

Sarah: [drinking a sip of my Diet Coke] I didn't used to drink Diet Coke before I met this guy. Didn't watch TV either. Now look at me!
Me: Well, I didn't go to White Sox games before I met you. So we're even.

Sunday, July 4, 2010


Spent the 4th with a Canadian. Sarah's friend Catherine is in town.

She talked about recently being in a wedding that included handfasting, a ceremonial tying together of the hands of the bride and groom. Just as they were getting ready to enter the church they realized that the special scarf for the tradition was missing. Catherine offered up the scarf she was wearing.

Catherine: Afterward I found my scarf lying on the alter and I put it back on. Someone said, "You know you have to give that to them now. It's their wedding scarf. You have to give it them." I wish I'd known that before. It's my favorite scarf.
Me: Uh oh.
Catherine: I'm wearing it now. It's this one. I mean... I WILL give it to them. I'll ask them if they want it and if they do I'll give it to them. I did wash it. I hope that's okay.
Me: That's a good question. Can you accidentally wash the wedding ceremony off?
Catherine: This is a good scarf.

Saturday, July 3, 2010


Alex is getting married next weekend so after our usual Saturday night Whirled News show a few of us went out drinking as a mini-bachelor party.

I forgot to take any pictures besides this one. Not as any "what happens at the bachelor party stays at the bachelor party" sort of thing. I just forgot. It was a fun, but fairly tame evening. The rowdiest it got was a hypothetical conversation about what alien people would want to have sex with.

Friday, July 2, 2010


Sarah: Look at these piles. So far, this many people are coming to our wedding. And this many aren't coming. So many people are COMING!

Thursday, July 1, 2010


Pretty much every time I use my passport as an airport ID I get some kind of comment on the picture. Once a very large but friendly woman said, "Ooo... you look like George Clooney." Another time, a checkpoint guard said, "You look like that guy that cuts people's heads off... Sylar," and then nonchalantly waved me through security.

Today, the older woman at the security checkpoint at the Bob Hope Airport, gave me a good natured ribbing about not looking much like my photo. "What happened here?" she asked, making a beard gesture on her face.

"Oh, I had to shave it. She didn't like it," I said, gesturing over to where Sarah was taking off her shoes.

The woman laughed to herself and made a I-Ain't-Sayin'-NOTHIN' face.

"If I kept it I wouldn't get any kisses!"

The woman, still inaudibly chuckling in a slightly put-on way, gave me a look as if peering over the top of her glasses even though she wasn't wearing glasses and said, "Well, I'm working, I'm not allowed to saying anything."

So, people seem to like the picture. 50% of my trips through security yield some kind of strange compliment. Which is flattering. Except that the subtext is always, "So, what happened? Why don't you look like that now?"