Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Marchant Loves Faye

Sweet Home
In Chicago, I got to see the boat Faye had been working on for a few months. While there, we saw the Blue Man Group, which was really funny, and I highly recommend it. Also, we met with Adam for lunch one day, and we checked out the aquarium, the architectural boat tour, and the pier with the ferris wheel. I think Chicago's nice in the summer, but I think I'd be hesitant to see it during the winter.

From there, we drove her Land Rover and stuff back to Atlanta. Long road trips are usually easier when you've got someone with you.

Tidying
She was somewhat distraught upon seeing all of the stuff in the apartment. Therefore, we spent a couple of weeks donating the unnecessities to Goodwill and finding furniture. My mom gave us a couple of beds, we ordered our playpen couch online, and then bought a few other things from Ikea. I'd never been to the amusement park that they call Ikea. It's rather nifty. The apartment is looking great now.

We've made a couple of trips to Chattanooga since she came to Atlanta for wedding planning and for an event called Wine Over Water. During the visit, we also met with Evan and Becca, and I met two of her friends, Adam and Lorraine.

Around my birthday, we flew her mom up here for a couple of days. I enjoyed finally getting to meet her. She's every bit as bubbly and funny as her daughter.

Kitten!
At the beginning of October, I went to Charlotte for a few days on business. While I was in the airport parking lot waiting on a co-worker, I noticed a cat walking around. Loving cats, I always want to pet them. Normally they're skittish in the wild, but this one came right up and was very loving. She purred and rubbed against me. I felt reluctant to leave her. We'd talked about getting a cat, but were thinking about waiting until the spring. However, my main requisite was that the cat be friendly and cute. Aside from being a little undernourished, this one seemed to fit the bill. I took her home to Faye as an early birthday present. We named her Ariel (Hebrew for lion of God). Now that she's settled, she's gotten slightly hyperactive/playful at times, but she's still a very sweet kitty.

Birf'n-month
A few weeks after that, on Faye's birthday, I took her to Canoe for dinner. They specialize in game, and I think pheasant might be one of my new favorite meats. A couple of days later, Faye and I drove down to Florida so that I could meet her grandparents. We introduced them to Wii, which they took to rather quickly. Her grandmother is a natural at Wii Bowling and Tennis. While we were there, we got a bunch of stuff from Faye's storage unit.

First Comes Love
Then, a couple of weeks ago, we finally got a number of things in order, and the opportunity to elope presented itself. We'd been pondering it for a while and felt some urgency to get Faye on my health insurance. We'd also discussed it with our close family members and made it clear that no one was invited to be fair. Faye found a package in Savannah that looked great and the weather was going to be nice, so we headed down there for a couple of days.

We ate lunch along the river and then headed to the beach on Tybee Island. Once there, we met with the couple that were performing the ceremony. The husband officiated while his wife took pictures. Faye's eyes were the most radiant blue that I can recall. I thought that I might cry, but the joy ended up coming out as smiles and laughs. I recited my wedding vows in both English and French for a special touch. After the ceremony, the officiant took over as photographer as we strolled around the beach at sunset. They brought little cakes and some champagne also. From there, we headed to the Old Pink House for dinner. We met up with my sister for a bit, and she took some good photos of us dancing to the live piano player. For the sake of discretion, I'll close my description of the day there.

Settling In
Since we've been back in Atlanta, we've been pretty social. We've had guests a lot of weekends, went to a Weezer concert with Justin, Becky, my brother, and Celine, and went to a Halloween party at my dad's the other night. I dressed as the classic black-and-white film villain.

I guess that's most of what's been going on. If I think of more, I'll add on. Also, I really would like to get some pictures/links in this entry. I think they add spice.

marchant on 11.03.08 @ 07:14 PM CST [link]

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

The New Hotness

Two months is probably too long without an update. I've been keeping busy though.

Follow-Up
Financially-speaking, Vegas went well towards the middle, but then it hit kind of a nasty downturn that lingered through July and the first half of this month. I think I'm finally coming out of that funk, but it's certainly been challenging...especially because I play so much more infrequently these days. That's a combination of relationship and occupational focus, which is fine by me.

Fireworks
Upon returning from Vegas, I briefly dropped through Auburn and Birmingham before heading up to Nooga for the 4th of July. As always, we had our big celebration. The old Auburn crew didn't make it, but I was very fortunate that Faye got to fly in for a few days. I figured that I'd make the best of the opportunity.

On the night of the Fourth before the fireworks grand finale, I approached the crowd. Getting down on one knee, I opened a small box and asked Faye Patrick if she'd bless me forever by being my wife. She began crying tears of joy as I hugged her. After a small amount of time, I assured the crowd, "She nodded her head Yes," and everyone laughed and cheered. For me, I think it'll be hard to top that particular Fourth of July.

We met with Pastor Joe at LMPC on that Sunday to discuss premarital counseling and look into having the wedding there. We're relatively sure that it'll be in the Chattanooga area during the spring (late March or early April), but we're still waiting on approval. The reception will probably be at the Chattanoogan.

Moving On Up
After I returned back to Auburn, I quickly began looking for places to live in Atlanta. Faye helped with the apartment hunt online, and my dad and I eventually toured a place in Vinings that we ended up liking. The location is great, and I think it definitely will serve well over the next year or so until Faye and I can find a house.

Oh, and I got a "new" car. It's a 2001 BMW 740il...so very similar to my old one, but just newer. I never really liked the Mercedes that I was in.

The pack in Auburn ended up being a little more sudden and quick than I expected. I didn't even realize that my last night in my bed there was going to be my last night. Was kind of strange leaving the apartment that I'd spent the past 6 years in. Eventually, we got all of the loads of junk packed (with some amounts of cleaning) and hauled it to Atlanta.

I slept on the old loveseat the first night there before waking up and hopping in my car and rushing to Monroeville, Alabama. Cat and Leslie had their wedding at the county courthouse that served as the inspiration for Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird". The reception was at a nearby country club, and it was great to see all of the old gang for another evening. They did something rather unique in having sparklers instead of rice, birdseed, or bubbles.

Once I got back to Atlanta, I began the arduous process of unpacking, sorting, and tossing things. I was hoping to get more done than I did. I spent one evening in West Point with my dad and then another morning and afternoon there with work. Following that, I boarded a plane for Chicago. I'll pick up from there next time.

Oh, and those pictures are still coming...I just haven't had a chance to finish taking the roll and developing it...or scan some others.

marchant on 08.27.08 @ 11:36 PM CST [link]

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Less Than Three

Been over a month, so maybe I should update. =)

Spanish for Whale's Vagina
The business trip to San Diego went well. Got to see a lot of cool stuff at the FiRe Conference. We stayed at the Del Coronado Hotel, which is the same place I remember staying during my last visit there when I was around 10 years old. I remember hunting Easter eggs on the lawn and trying to body surf in the ocean but constantly getting slammed into the beach. It was actually quite windy and overcast while we were there, but the atmosphere was excellent regardless. I ended up helping do some of the videotaping for the event, and I think they'll be posting some of it online soon. The company got mentioned in a CNet article, which is pretty neat.

After that trip, I spent some time in Auburn hanging out with Will, Robin, G, Candice, and Dixon. Will's sister Jean also dropped in for a bit. Ray went back to Chattanooga for the summer. Oh, and I also took a trip over to Savannah for a couple of days to help my sister move. Also got a chance to visit with my mom, Jonathan, and Ryan. Somewhere in there, I also went to Panama City for a weekend.

Finally, I can't recall if I've mentioned it, but we've continued to play Rock Band since we got it back around Christmas. It's quite a lot of fun since it combines most of the music games together. I've gotten pretty decent at the drums.

Long Live The Meadows
Everyone kept asking if I was excited about Vegas, but it somewhat snuck up on me. This is the sixth time I've been here now, so it's starting to feel relatively familiar. To be honest, I was more looking forward to seeing Faye again than anything.

This year we're renting a house instead of a condo, but it's not too far from southwest of the city where we were last year. We've got a pool, hot tub, putting green, and pool table. Zach and Ahson are both here again, and Mikey's supposed to be coming for a little while. We've also taken in another Zach, and we should be having quite a few visitors throughout the month. Zimmer's been here. Then Faye. Next: Candice, G, my brother, my dad, Zach 1's girlfriend, Zach 2's gf, Mike, and Mikey. Dustin's been kind of like a house guest though he's not actually staying here.

Every other night or so, we hang out in the hot tub and discuss poker strategy. It's a pretty amazing learning environment. Ahson has finally taught me how to stomp Limit Hold 'Em, which is quite exciting. So far, live poker has continued to be frustrating. It seems so useless from an actual earning expectation because the sample sizes are so small. I generally play well and run bad. I know that I'll do fine in the long run, but it's so grueling to sit in a casino for hours. I think live poker is much better for recreation purposes. Hasn't stopped my from playing live tournaments and cash games and getting kicked as a result. Fortunately, I'm still doing decently online.

Crash Into Me
The best part of this trip so far was my Faye's visit. I cleaned up the house and then picked her up at the airport last Saturday evening. We drove to the Strip to walk around the Forum Shops at Caesars. We finally found me a cologne (apparently a lot react strangely to my body chemistry), toured the toy store, and ate at Chinois. The food was unique and tasty. Afterwards, we picked up some theatre tickets for the next night and came back to the house.

Upon awaking, Faye had further cleaned and organized the house (including the refrigerator). In doing so, she endeared herself to the other guys, and consistently did similar kind gestures while she was here. That afternoon we went by the Rio to rail Zach in his WSOP event (he got 11th), discuss walking around casinos blindfolded, and got some dinner in one of the restaurants. I briefly introduced Faye to Matt and Jay. From there, we headed over to New York New York for Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity. I'd heard some controversy about the show, and if you're easily offended by the risque, it's not for you. However, if you're relatively open-minded, it's a fun and impressive performance. Faye and I had an excellent seat and got to participate a little. Will post a picture when I get it scanned in Auburn. Afterwards we went home and watched "Across the Universe". Previously I'd picked the movies that we'd watched and she'd not been impressed, so I figured we'd go with one of hers. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I dig some Beatles songs and found the movie entertaining. The art direction is quite well done.

The next day turned out to be jam-packed with fun. After we got up, we headed over to play indoor mini-golf. It was a cool experience with it being carpeted and under black lights, and I'm glad we did it, though I think I prefer more elevation changes. Oh, and the carpet led to constant static shocks...which were momentarily painful but amusing. From there, we went to the Mirage and Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. I hadn't realized it before, but the white tigers and lions are part of that exhibit, so I was really excited to see them with Faye. The enclosures are kind of small, but they're well kept and maintained. I'm a sucker for cats of all varieties, so I enjoyed it a lot.

Next we walked across the street to the Venetian to see the Phantom of the Opera. The production was pretty stupendous. I'd seen it before in London, but the effects were certainly the best of any theatrical show I've seen. Every time the music swelled, I got goose bumps. Part of it was certainly the thrill of having my beautiful girl by my side for it. When the show was over, we headed across the highway to the Palms. At the top of the tower, there's a five-star restaurant called Alize. The view of the lit-up city was excellent, though I spent most of the time looking across the table. =) I learned a lot about food and service during the meal, and I'd rank it as one of the best meals I've ever had. That may've had something to do with the company. We went back to the house afterwards and crashed from a full day. I can't really get over how blessed I am.

We didn't really get to see and do everything that I wanted because there wasn't enough time, but I know that we'll eventually get to them. After I dropped Faye off at the airport, I cried for a while because I knew how much I'd miss her. I know I'll see her next month, but in the short term, it seems so far away. We're fortunate to get to talk a lot each day despite the distance.

Well, it's rather late and I should probably try to get some sleep, but I wanted to bring everything up to date. The next couple of weeks look to be quite fun.

Pictures pending.

marchant on 06.16.08 @ 04:59 AM CST [link]