I'm gonna take some sheep down to Jobabh

[dr4b]

yay! i first want to thank everyone for your happy wishes and congratulations and all. it's funny, because i guess in reality Eli and I have been sort of pseudo-engaged for a few months in that we decided we'll get married someday and all, but i didn't want to make a big big announcement until we had evidence according to the Clamen school of thought, namely "You're not engaged until you have a ring and a date set." Well, one out of two ain't bad, and we'll have a date set once we figure out where we'll be living in two months, and where we should have the wedding. (I'd think Pittsburgh would be a good place, except since we probly won't be living here it'd be a pain to arrange. I dunno. We'll see.)

Eli would be happy just eloping, but ummm... I would feel gypped out of a major party opportnity, you know? :)

so, anyway... what did I do today? Eli and I went to Yesterday's Books, out in Murrysville. He got some books, and I mostly sat around reading books about actors and actresses in the first half of last century. I love reading about people like the Barrymores, and Marion Davies and Mary Pickford and Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin and Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and Donald O'Connor and and and I forget who else I skimmed books on, but it was very entertaining to me. I ended up picking up a book on bridge ("Jacoby Modern: The bidding system for the seventies!") and then we came home.

As a note, my ring is very very sparkly in the sunlight, which kept me amused for most of the car ride home.

For dinner we went to Taste of India with Noble, Jen, Drew, Carl, Roman, and Nick. Unlike my usual, I ordered chicken saag instead of chicken tikka masala, and I think I regretted it... I really did want saag, but it turns out that I couldn't actually finish it after all the papadam and pakora and stuff, because the saag sauce itself is really thick and filling, as opposed to the tikka masala sauce which is just sauce. Eh. Oh well, it was still good, and good to get dinner with everyone at ToI.

After ToI, I got Nick and Roman and Carl to play Iron Dragon with me. We used the rules with trains running 50% faster, the 5GP welfare rules, and trading contracts. Roman won, although as usual I was about two turns from winning when he did. It took us about 3 hours to play, although that is including time spent telling Nick the rules, and Nick being a new player, so I would say the 50% speedup really does help speed up game play.. since my first game ever, with 4 people, took like 5 hours. Bleh... Roman really did luck out with some amazing contracts though. I might have accidentally wasted a little bit of time and money connecting to Eaglehawk when I ended up connecting Bluefeld and Octomare anyway. Oh well. It is way fun to have your Iron Dragons go 24 miles a turn instead of just 16 (and the speedup makes it so your Teapots go 15, which is one short of the normal Iron Dragon... Carl didn't even update his train until the very very end as a result I think.)

And I figured out why I am so deadset on playing it a lot - I've never ever actually won a game of Iron Dragon and I really can't quite figure out why... I'm always either like two turns behind. So what's up with that? I keep thinking I'm doing decently at it only to find I'm not. So it is good because it still keeps me thinking a lot; it's not just a game I have a set strategy to play and then just leave it to chance whether I win or not.

Comments

[ancilla.livejournal.com]

Current mood: sparkly You're adorable!!

I haven't been to ToI with a giant group of CMU kids in ages. Is it still like a weekly ritual, or is it more random now?

[cellio]

Congrats on the engagement! (Yeah, I'm behind...)

[chite.livejournal.com]

You're not engaged until you have a ring and a date set

I actually think that this is complete BS. For one, I asked Adam to marry me, and though I am not getting him a ring, I am getting him an engagemnet gift. That I am not wearing a ring does not make us any less engaged. The question has been asked and answered, and we're making plans.

As for the date, why would I tell someone the date before we have a site booked? If I tell everyone "May 31" and then the site that I want isn't available that day, I have either anticipated myself into a corner and now need to find a new site or have to tell everyone "oops, sorry, we couldn't get that date. Hope you haven't made plans on the weekend after it."

Suffice it to say, I'm REALLY tired of people telling me that my engagement isn't official, just because I don't have a ring. My mother NEVER had a ring, and it didn't make them any less engaged.

[fiannaharpar.livejournal.com]

Eli would be happy just eloping, but ummm... I would feel gypped out of a major party opportnity, you know? :)

Something that my ex-husband and I discussed doing, but didn't do was to have an outdoor ceremony and a picnic. If you get one of the shelters in Schenley or Frick park, you don't have to worry about paying for a tent if the weather is bad and the cost isn't huge. Not to mention, if you ask people to bring food (friends of mine did this and it worked out great - they got married in their side yard), then it's one less thing to deal with in planning.

Also, the other nice thing about being in Pennsylvania (if y'all *do* decide to get married here) is that you don't have to have an officiant. You just have to apply for a marriage license and send back the returnable section with your signatures. Talk to the City to get details on this. I just know the broad-brush stuff on this.

Oh, and as far as an engagement goes - an engagement is as official as the people who are engaged feel that it is with whatever outward trappings they choose to have. I wore a six-section puzzle ring as my engagement ring when I was married the last time. Y'all's decision to get married was between y'all and the timing was what it needed to be for your lives, not for anyone else's. Do what you want to do for your wedding, when you want to. Ultimately, it's about the two of you and the life that you have in front of you together. Have fun doing this, that's what's important.

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Ralph and I were engaged for a couple months before actually setting a date and planning stuff. I think people are engaged when they've seriously committed to the idea of getting married.

I have a book called "Simplfy Your Wedding" that I will happily loan to y'all, as I won't need it again until my sister gets married someday...

[alegria-a.livejournal.com]

Planning a big wedding from a distance is a b*tch and a half, even with someone in the location helping you. I wouldn't recommend it if possible. Also remember that depending on location, you probably will have to book the location a year (or sometimes more!) in advance. Before you set a date or go location/vendor looking, figure out what you want to do and what budget you have to work with. But that's probably commensense anyway. :)

I do know you have to get a permit to have a large gathering in the Pittsburgh public parks, and that the earliest you can get said permit is January 1 of that year. A friend was doing that and she went through hell and back with the Pgh Parks and Rec department screwing up the permit, not answering calls, and so on. Just be prepared.

Oh, and even if you're not doing a Big Wedding or need to be proper and etiquettely correct, go read www.etiquettehell.com. It's full of stories about weddings and brides gone seriously beserk, and it' hilarious.

And I totally agree with you about the ring being sparkly in sunlight, mine still keeps me amused when there's sunlight or even good artificial light. :D

[blk]

Also, the other nice thing about being in Pennsylvania (if y'all *do* decide to get married here) is that you don't have to have an officiant.

Have Stehlik marry you! :)

[dr4b]

eh... it hasn't been a weekly thing for a while as far as I know (and I stopped going "weekly" when it stopped being my friends and started being Scott Robbins and his friends). but the other day on campus when I got ToI lunch the guy was like "how come you guys never come to my restaurant anymore?" so I told him I'd get everyone to come to the restaurant sometime...

[dr4b]

that would be great, but after he did Jason and Helen's wedding, he said something like "I really hope this is the first and last time I ever do this..."

though, I did have this dream once that Eli and I were getting married, and Corey Kosak was the officiant. Maybe I should see if Corey does weddings.

[donutjay.livejournal.com]

does this mean you're going to be db4b? or db4r? or drb4b?

[dr4b]

nah, dr4b. i'll have to figure out some way to have 4 in my full name. like "deanna rubin4 brandt" or whatever."

[ryani.livejournal.com]

"The 4 is silent, you see."

[shoebox-bird.livejournal.com]

You could make "4" be your official middle name.

That'd be so cool. I bet it would make ubiquity or random_boy jealous ;)

[random-boy.livejournal.com]

I bet it would make ubiquity or random_boy jealous

Quite. (= But I'm already jealous of all the 4-char userids.