Highs and lows and highs again

Today was koshkalet's wedding, a lovely affair well-attended by good friends. The venue was at a beach house in an Oakland park, with a lovely outdoor garden and a great view over the small lake. Sweet ceremony, with an interesting blend of religious traditions, followed by a light buffet and much conversation. I got to see a number of folks I only speak to rarely. T and I were seated with R, S, E, and the minister, which made for an intriguing mix. The pastor was perhaps a little taken aback to be surrounded by people who knew each other so well; eventually I took pity on him, and informed him that most of us were former housemates who have been friends for better than a decade. But he ended up being an excellent tablemate. The party wrapped up around six, when R & S invited people back to their place. We accepted, along with SE, SF, and plantgirl. Once we'd gotten some food into T (emergency sushi pitstop), we made our way there, and the bunch of us spent most of the next couple of hours in a rollicking discussion of grammar (yes, really) and other weddings we'd attended. T's sushi created a craving in the rest of the party, so we all went out for a Japanese dinner and more conversation and companionship. A grand day out overall.

I wore my burgandy velvet outfit and received a number of compliments. Note to self: wear fuzzy clothing more often.

So the wedding was a bright spot in an otherwise fairly lousy week. Mostly due to work stuff that I can't really discuss publicly and that I hope will get better soon, or at least more manageable. I hate being under work stress; it spills over into the rest of my life in ways that can get really ugly. I do have a break to look forward to, though: a conference in Monterey, week after next. I know that's not really a "vacation", but it is a change of scene and a break from my extra work responsibilities, and that can only be good for me, I think.

Last but so most certainly not least, I would like to say hooray for peace, love, and understanding.