the name's charles

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it wasn't much of either, but this is how my vacation went:

The Good:

1. Finally seeing the Mets win. My first game in four plus years, and the Mets beat Oakland 9-6. Coincidentally, it was the only game the Mets won of the three-game set. I was pleased that McAfee Coliseum was very easy to get in and out of and the tickets were reasonably priced. For $35, I was able to sit field level, just a few rows back from the visitor's dugout. I got to see Mike Piazza and Carlos Beltran go yard, and I spent the last three innings talking baseball with some old dude who was visiting California from Upstate New York. Good times.
2. My spunky lil Hyundai was sweet on gas. I got well over 350 miles to a tank and filling it up cost less than $20, which in California, is a damn miracle. This was a good thing, seeing as I did a whole lot of driving.
3. Seeing old friends and family that I hadn't seen in a while. This is always good.
4. Witnessing one of the most emotionally rousing wedding ceremonies I'd ever seen. The officiant was the groom's boss in the US Navy, and he performed a short, sweet service and followed it up with a slow-clap worthy speech at the reception that got a standing ovation and sent half the room into water works. The father of the bride followed with "I hope you love her half as much as I love your mother," which turned the groom into a bawling mess. One of the women at my table couldn't even finish what she had to say because she was crying so much. There must have been ecstacy in the champagne, because you could really feel the love. My table was the rockin'-est table in the joint, and even though most of us barely knew each other, we got looks from other tables because we were cackling so much. At one point, I was reading over the track listing of a CD that the bride and groom made for all the guests, which I thought was a really neat idea, and I heard someone shouting "Charles. Charles! CHARLES!" I looked up to notice it was the bride's uncle who was seated across from me. He was leaning across the table trying to get my attention, but got my name really, really wrong. I became Charles for the rest of the reception. We also stole all the disposable cameras off all the other tables and took pictures of ourselves exclusively.
5. I didn't once think about work.
6. I returned home to find a copy of the first issue of our national magazine in my bedroom and was relieved to see that it didn't turn out horribly wrong.

Best CDs of the trip: Blind Melon - Soup; M.I.A. - Arular; Neutral Milk Hotel - Aeroplane Over the Sea; Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?; Gorillaz - Demon Dayz

The Bad:

1. A freakish (it's California) rainstorm fell during the entire Mets/Oakland game. It never rained particularly hard, but it was rather steady for the entire contest. There was no delay. I sat outside the entire time to show my support for my team and got soaked.
2. Exited the Mets game to sit in the longest traffic jam I'd ever seen. Not the worst, just the longest. It stretched from Oakland to Hercules, which is just under 20 miles. According to Google maps, I should be able to make such a trip in 23 minutes. It took me two-and-a-half hours. Stop and go. I exited the freeway at the first opportunity and got really lost on my way to Napa and made myself sick.
3. Ended up really getting sick. Either bad Denny's or a random stomach flu hit me with malicious force and I had to spend the whole of Friday in bed. When I wasn't throwing up, that is. My friend and her family were nice enough to nurse me back to health, but I couldn't eat all day, nor could I go out and get riotously wasted with the wedding party, which they did. I didn't. I had some ginger ale though. Luckily, I recovered enough to go to the wedding the next day.
4. My spunky lil Hyundai was unfortunately spunkless when it came to going up hills or trying to pass someone. I still love her, though.

More good than bad is good, I guess, so I can't complain. Next time I won't eat at Denny's.