After being denied a SUBSTITUTE teaching credential in this great state (I have a Master's Degree in Education) I was briefly employed as a Valet. The owner of the company, Jimmy Alfonso (up-and-coming mob boss?), claimed that payday was every two weeks. After over a month of working for him I still had not received any money and neither had my newly hired co-workers. After many inquiries, excuses and ignored text messages I decided to keep a big wad of cash that I had collected from customers and said "adios" to Mr. Alfonso. A series of awkward texts later I was free of the company, Jimmy was mad, my co-workers were mad, and I essentially got paid under the table but overall it was an awful and nerve-racking job experience.
The best man from my wedding, Chris Heintzelman got married on the 28th of September and one of Jen's Bridesmaids, Francesca, had her wedding on the 29th. I went to California, Jen went to Newport Rhode Island.
Before we left Will came to visit. We hadn't seen him since our wedding last year and we got to spend some quality time at the beach, playing ping pong and going to dinner.
I arrived in California 3 days before Chris's wedding so that mom and I could celebrate Grandpa Kenny's birthday with him. We ate at the Buckeye and the Dipsea Cafe and had a blast.
Chris and Jen's wedding was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the ceremony was short and sweet and they put a lot of time in to little DIY touches that really added a personal feel.
The ceremony took place in a meadow:
The bride and groom surveying a happy, tipsy crowd:
The first dance:
While Travis, Abby and I left Chris and Jen's wedding at round 9pm, Jen stayed out till 5am with Francesca and Ian, partying and dancing. She did the partying during the wedding and I was jealous that I hadn't been able to celebrate like that with Chris. Oh well.
Being back in Marin was surreal. The weather was perfect and the natural beauty reminded me of why the Bay Area is such a special place. I think there was a full week of sunshine in San Francisco which is a rarity. Travis and Ricky drove me around, paid for disc golf, lunch, beer, etc. and made me want to move back to the Bay badly. Travis and I biked to Lake Lagunitas one day, a childhood stomping ground:
Ricky and I went out at dawn to go surfing and play disc golf. We drove up the headlands as the sun was rising.
I managed to do a number of fun things nearly every day I was there. One day Ricky and I spontaneously rode our mountain bikes from his house in Fairfax to the top of Tam. I had never done that before in my entire life!
As my trip was coming to an end, word of a free Bluegrass festival (Hardly Strictly) in San Francisco was reaching my ears daily. Ian (another one of my groomsmen) was coming to town and a number of other friends were going to make a weekend out of it. I decided to push back my return date. Jen, while supportive and understanding, was bored out of her wits during the extra week I stayed. Luckily she was able to socialize with Ron Thompson and some of his friends.
Before we even went to the (free) Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, which was probably the best concert/set of concerts I have ever been to, we went to see Capleton at 19th and Broadway. The show cost $35 and was by far the most expensive activity I was planning on doing while in Marin. Ricky managed to get us in for free. Smooth. Then, when Capleton finally came on the stage at 1230am, he erupted with energy and the crowd went wild. I have never seen it so crowded and vibrant in 19th, it was astounding. The tiny venue was instantly hot-boxed and people were dancing, drinking, smoking and loving every minute. After that amazing show it was time for a weekend of more music.
Because we had such a large group at Hardly Strictly we were able to sit, talk, hang out, dance, drink beer, eat good food, walk around, listen to all kinds of music and generally enjoy the beautiful, sunny, and lush environment of Golden Gate Park. It was awesome. And, I got to re-connect with good friends. It has taken me a full 4 days to recover from all the partying but it was worth it.
(Above) The very final act we saw, The Civil Wars, played an awesome, soulful and genuine set. Their humility and incredible harmonies made it easy to really enjoy the moment and as the sun set we cheered, whistled, swayed and howled at the end of each song. As this was the last day of the festival, naturally we were out of beer. Everyone knew that in order to get more beer they would lose their spot and miss the end of the show. Just as we were planning a beer run Andy Jones showed up with a 12 pack and we congratulated him heartily. The perfect end to a perfect weekend.
(Above) We arrived home from San Francisco after thai food and the end of a depressing Giants baseball game (luckily they went on to win the series in one of the greatest comebacks in recent history). Bloom (green shirt) was unexpectedly in town for a funeral. He has been unable to come to Hardly Strictly because he had to go to a conference in New York but those plans were trumped by the death of a good family friend, Rene, and so Bloom ended up in the Bay after all. Unfortunately under dismal circumstances. But we DID get to see him and that was a plus. After all that drinking and dancing we took a sauna at midnight on Sunday and washed out all the toxins. It left us happy and relaxed.
The next day Bloom and I saw Looper, one of the best movies I have seen in years, and then I went to the airport for a redeye back to Tampa. It was incredible to see Jen, we had missed each other terribly. With no job and a month to go I am trying to make use of my time in this strange state. I am looking forward to the freezing cold of Boston :)
