Tag: personal

The Wedding and Things That Go With It

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The wedding went rather well, considering the downpour and other mishaps. It was great to have my Chicago friends in town and to have some Seattle friends present among the throngs of family.

Everyone got a commemorative umbrella! Thank goodness we brought those!

Here’s some shout outs to some of the products and services that made this all possible:
We had our after-party at Ivar’s Acres of Clams and at the end of it, served cupcakes from Cupcake Royale in Ballard. The rings were delivered and beautiful, thanks to Sumiche. Jon’s suit was thanks to the great help at Mario’s. My dress was thanks to Kate Kamphausen. Maggie at Scream in Capitol Hill did my hair. My nails and toes were done at FlowerPower near Greenlake. My necklace was made by Karazi, who I found in the Ballard Farmer’s Market. Finally, we stayed in the honeymoon suite at the Alexis Hotel. That was TRULY awesome. Not cheap, by any means, but a great getaway!

I can’t thank my friends Amy and Marta enough. They really helped pull things together.

So here’s a story for you. It’s about a very interesting woman named Nasreen. In the base of the Alexis Hotel is a perfume shop, Parfumerie Nasreen. I love perfume, Jon’s gotten into some men-smells himself, so after a stint in our jacuzzi at the hotel, we called down to see when they closed. The answer was 15 min, so we got dressed and headed down. This is where we met Nasreen, and her young assistant. Nasreen asked us how we were, what brought us to the Alexis, etc. We said that we had just gotten married… and then we were off. She told us how she had been married 28 yrs, and that the most important thing was to be friends… best friends. We said it had rained at the wedding, and she shared that it meant that it was nothing but clear weather for the rest of our lives. She asked what kind of fragrances I liked, I replied that I’d been wearing Stella and Pure Turquoise lately. She picked up Dorin’s Un Air de Paris, exclusive to her shop in the US, and sprayed some on my right arm. She then picked up Versace’s Crystal Noir, which she sprayed on my left arm. I gave them both a sniff, and was definitely at home with the Versace, but the Dorin had something classic about it. And it should, I think it’s based on a 19th century perfume recipe. 🙂 Meanwhile, Jon picked up some aftershave to match a fragrance I had gotten him last year(Pasha de Cartier). I said yes to the Un Air de Paris, and we started to pay for our stuff. She insisted on giving us a bunch of samples, which was wonderful. Then she stopped and said something to the effect of, “One more thing…” She reached and pulled a bottle of champagne out of nowhere. It was a bottle of (I think) Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label. She handed it to me and said, “You must drink this tonight. Don’t hold onto it for later.” She then told us to order room service, since Jimmy was cooking that night. She did not steer us wrong in the slightest. 🙂

Seriously random… AND WONDERFUL. Thanks Nasreen!

I’ve fielded a lot of questions with regards to the marriage, most often has been the question of whether or not I’m keeping my name. The answer is yes, and mostly because I like my name and feel it’s part of who I am and I’m reluctant to change that or wipe that away. And then there’s the practical answer, which is it’s a huge headache to change names on government and financial documents. So it just makes it easier in the end.

Though apparently confusing for a lot of people, esp. since I don’t want to be called Mrs.. I’ve always been a Ms.. Call it my feminist upbringing, my strongwill or hardheadedness. I don’t really mind. I didn’t feel I should be judged for my not being married, and I feel that I shouldn’t be judged for being married. My marital status has little do do with anything, and I don’t think it should be right there in some title, esp. when there are issues revolving around marriage and equality that are yet unresolved in the world, and yes this fine nation. So I am Ms. and I shall stay that way. This seems to raise some eyebrows, but then again, I’d hate to think I’d stop shaking things up just because I’m married.

I know that I will be called Mrs. HusbandsName and the like for the rest of my days, and for some I will politely correct and others (such as telemarketers) I will correct with a valiant glee.

All marriage stuff aside, my life has resumed back to where it was, if not sporadically interupted by a question regarding the wedding or how it feels to be married (answer: not a hell of a lot different.)

And with that, I think it’s time for a nap.

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Wedding Update

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In an effort to update more often, I’m posting a bit of a wedding update.
I hate planning weddings. Well, I hate planning my own. Very few things have worked out the way we originally envisioned. Luckily, though, we at least have a place to go after the wedding for good food, today we’re going to Cupcake Royale to secure cupcakage. As for meals w/ the fam… looks like we’re going to try for a big fam dinner on Wed, dinner w/ my fam on Thu and chill out w/ friends on Fri. We need to make reservations for Wed and Thu.

We have received the umbrellas for the wedding. I am hoping that they really aren’t necessary for next week, but I’m glad we have them if only as souviniers.

Marta has been helping to keep me sane this weekend. She’s a take-charge kind of woman, and I am so lucky to have her friendship, her tenacity, and on Wednesday, her additional presence. She will be assisting Amy , who has been laid up for 2 wks due to intense pain. Both of them will be arriving the same time, which is great, because hopefully they should still be in town before any of the relatives.

Speaking of Chicago folx, I am pleased that Fard and Danyell will be coming to Seattle this coming weekend!

I only wish that my other Chicago friends could come too. You know who you are. 🙂

The dress (made by Kate) will be coming w/ Marta and Amy . The rings, which are coming by way of Sumiche are due around Tuesday, I think. We have seen the waxes of them, and they should be gorgeous. The suit is due around Tuesday or Wednesday, and we’ll pick that up at the shop. The extra car keys so we don’t lose the one key we have are due to be ready by Thursday. My new glasses are due around Tuesday or Wednesday. I need to book a spa visit (at Habitude, if only to get my hands and feet exfoliated and mani/pedicured. I need to get my hair done (maybe I’ll do that today.) I need to find jewelry to go w/ my dress. Maybe flowers for my hair. And then we need to make the reservations for Wed and Thu night. Yikes. This is crazy. I can’t wait til we get to our honeymoon suite.

Family and friends are due in starting Wednesday.

The wedding is on Saturday.

And Monday, I’ll go into my workplace and say, “Hey, I need to change my status from Single to Married.”

And that is that.

I hope I’m not forgetting anything.

Requisite Update

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Whoa… no January post.. so I never gave the post family/Disney redux!! Quickly put, myself, Jon and his family went to Walt Disney World for Xmas and New Years. It was a hypnotically good time filled with occasional amazing meals at night, long lines for everything, tacky, sparkly things I just had to have and a barrel of joy that just had to be the drugs in the water. I came away dazed and rather horrified at how much TinkerBell stuff I had purchased. It’s not something I’d really want to do again any time soon, but really… it’s not that different from Burning Man.

Moving on…

I’ve been really busy with my new job. It’s quite a trip, I must say. Inside where I work, it’s hard to tell just who the crazy person is sometimes… or even more fun, who’s the person who has pending charges of rape, murder, etc, and who has the charges for public urination, unlawful improsnment, assault. We have it all. Violent, unmanaged tempers and docile, polite individuals. And then there are the patients!! hahahaha. Seriously though, it really is that varied. On my caseload, I have intolerant and hostile people that will call me the worst things you’ve ever heard, and polite, thankful people that will tell me that I’m too nice. Meanwhile, among my own class at the hospital, the psychiatric social workers, we’re fighting for recognition as a professional class, and the pay to go with it.

Ah, the politics of a state institution!

In other news, I’m officially getting married April 8. I have 2 friends in Chicago working on important aspects of the wedding, including making the dress and arranging the ceremony. Tomorrow I’ll be talking w/ them about details. I’ve also been in correspondence with people at www.sumiche.com about getting custom, ecologically sensitive rings made for Jon and I. This is going to hopefully be a simple, memorable occasion. We’re thinking of going to Cupcake Royale for a cupcake tasting for the wedding cake-ish thing.

In additional news, I’ve been having fun amassing a new wardrobe thanks to my new job. And also, before I forget it, I officially quit my employment w/ Babeland, which is sad, but wasn’t managable w/ the new job and hellish commute. Let’s see, what else should I write here?

My friend Damien will be moving into my building from Chicago in just a month or so. It’s very exciting. Welcome to Seattle, Damien!

That’s all for now. Thanks for watching. Spring is coming soon!!

Identity Crisis

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Today was my third day at my Brand New Job. At this job, I get to be in a high security area, which means badges, a whole mess of keys and restrictions on objects you can bring in/out. The job is filled with colorful characters, and I’m already developing a stash of stories to tell.

This is one of them.

Though this story doesn’t deal with the colorful individuals that are the consumers at this social service agency (ie. forensic ward at a hospital.) This story deals with the people in Human Resources that fail to understand what proof I need for being eligable for employment.

Let’s back up. As with most jobs at most places (and every job at every place I’ve worked) I was required to fill out a stack of papers for things such as my mandatory sign up for the Union (AFL-CIO), retirement benefits, confidentiality agreement, W-4 and the ubiquitous I-9. The I-9 is the form that proves your eligability to work in the U.S. and requires you to submit documents to prove this. Usually these documents are in the form of a lone U.S. passport (my document of choice) or two other documents combined, usually being the state ID or Driver’s License and a Social Security Card. I’ve gotten out of the habit of carrying my SS card with me on a regular basis, so given that one document, my Passport, should suffice, that is what I choose to bring.

My coworker warned me that it may not be enough. There is, however, no document in the packet that requires any documentation aside from the aforementioned. So, I told her, I should be fine.

Apparently the HR people don’t understand what the I-9 requires. The first woman I spoke to was determined that I should have my Social Security card included in the file, despite none of the information I was handed stating that to be the case. I told her that according the the form, my passport was all that was required. She didn’t take that as an answer and referrerd to her coworkers. Another woman came to me and read over the I-9, with me pointing out to her that my passport was sufficient. She looked over it in a very bureucratic, matter of fact way, reading the headers and eventually stating that (well, I can only interpret what she said for myself) I was correct. She then requested my Driver’s License. I asked her what form stated that she needed my Driver’s License. She looked at me and said she didn’t understand what I was talking about. I then said to her, “What form can you show me states the requirement that I give you my Driver’s License to photocopy?” She said she would have to look into it, and was getting this aire of “I’m so leaving this conversation now!” She then mumbled something about how they needed it in case they have to prove my residency, update where I live, because they get reports… blah blah blah.

Given the fact that I’m shitty at updating my own address for my Driver’s License, I don’t know how that would do them one bit of good.

Besides, they already have my SSN on numerous documents already. They could try to get my credit report if they *really wanted.* Also consider I already authorized a criminal background check in order to take the job.

They do NOT need any more forms of ID and they were unable to give me any information stating as to why they needed additional ID.

This all happened in front of my coworker, who is training me. I later explained to her, after I got the “Well, we’ll contact you if we need more information.” crap from the HR people, that in the end, this was a fight for civil liberties.

Maybe not really, but that’s what it felt like. I mean, there was no documentation there that they could give me that required any more information than they already had.

I believe it’s my right to withhold that information if i so choose.

As it is, they know a lot more about me than I likely do about myself.

I’m just waiting to see if I don’t get my paycheck on payday because of this. 🙂 This could get fun!

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