Well, that was fun...!

O.K. let's start with an IM conversation from half way across the globe:

DB:Hey.
Me:Hey.
DB:So.... How'd it go?
Me:How'd what go?
DB:Everything.
Me:Everything? You mean the bachelorette party, the family's arrival, the wedding, the honeymoon and the return to work?
DB:Yeah.
Me:Good.
DB:Cool.
DB:k. just checking
Me:K. Bye.
DB:Bye.

gotta love a man of few words..... ;-)

Now then, to expand on a few key concepts -

Lead up to the wedding was grand. Stressful but in an entirely good way. Lots of my favorite peeps in one place with practically no fighting so that was kind of awesome. I LOVE my peeps. Just plain across the board love. them. Period.

Wedding, itself, was awesome! Again with the lots of lovely people in one place looking all fancy-pants and having some chocolate. Three of the sweetest toasts in the world were delivered by The Wife's Big Sis, my Big Bro and one of my VBFsF, Mizz Tail. It was a tiny bit sad that as I was the one in the dress, i had to stay locked away in a room while everyone was assembling but that actually just made it more delightful to get to see who showed up making their way down the receiving line. Once again, I feel compelled to ask: "How is it possible that we know so many completely adorable people???????" Seriously. I'll be posting pics as soon as they become available so folks can see exactly what I'm talking about but for now. Trust me. I know ALL the pretty people.

After-wedding-drive-down-the-coast was sweet. We didn't bother changing and so got some applause upon our arrival at the tasty steak house where we had some sup. The room The Wife booked was gorgeous and the bed was one of the most comfortable beds I've ever slept in EVER.

Honeymoon went well. Extremely well, IMHO, although there may be one or two others who experienced it as a bit more on the stress-inducing side,I found it to be delightful. I loved our cabana. I loved the fact that we got to hang out as a family of persons without TV, work, school, radio, phones, errands/scheduled engagements competing for our time. I love my kids and I love my Wife and I really, really liked that we were able to co-exist in a (mostly) enthusiastic, symbiotic, happy way in a strange new place for days on end. Gives me hope for when the apocalypse comes and we're the only ones left standing!

Return to work, also relatively seamless (due in large part to the excellent coverage provided by the always amazing IHOEL) -- everyone was very happy (or at least seemed happy) to get me back which made me feel nice, plus I THINK while I was away my 6 month "trial" period ended so I am now officially part of the union/they can't fire me even if they wanted to unless I do something horrific like steal all the computers in the building and sell them on the black market in Fukuoka... which, brings us nicely back around to my second IM conversation with a certain ex-patriot who apparently has befriended a (I'm sure) delicate flower of a Japanese Lass who also happens to be some sort of "gender-activist":

DB:Hey.
Me:Hey. [Anyone but me interested in figuring out why ALL IM conversations start this way??]
DB:My friend K wants me to ask you if you're "done being a girl" yet?
Me:??
Me:Sorry?
Me:You have a friend?
DB:[Presumably Rhetorical Question plus expletive deleted]
DB:She lives here. I met her at a show.
Me:"Kay"?
DB:Kaoru
Me:Ah...
DB:Like Bubbles.
Me:Sorry...?
DB:Or Buttertop....
Me:Wha?
DB:The little girls on TV
Me:Are you on some sort of muscle relaxant?
DB:LOL
Me:Seriously
DB:She wants to know "if you're done being a girl?"
Me:Done like "done, done"??
Me:Why? Does she need to use it?
Me:Ha! Get it? Does she need to... never mind.
DB:You know with the hair and the wedding and stuff
Me:Excuse me??
DB:We were talking about you and she's got a theory that you weren't comfortable with having your hair short because that's masculine so you needed to present yourself as more feminine when you did something traditional like getting married for your family and everyone.
Me:...
Me:Did you tell her I married a girl?
DB:...
Me:You're an idiot.