Weekend trip

So this weekend I took off with my girlfriend to go to northern AL so we can attend her cousin's wedding.  After hours of driving we finally got there.  We saw some really ridiculous billboards a long the way (such as "With health care, never vote for democrats), some signs of the damages done by the recent tornado (surprisingly we didn't see too much but I still feel sorry for those who suffered), and no Asians (the town where we had dinner on the first day of the trip I was the only non-white person at Wal-Mart).

So we got to this town in Alabama.  It has an Italian name and is right next to a pretty sizable river.  Yet, there was not one restaurant or bar next to the river.  It was VERY disappointing.  We proceeded to the wedding anyways.  Well, let's just say I was expecting a cold war between the two families (and within families) and drama.  Wasn't I naive?  On the way home with my girlfriend, we had some discussion on our future wedding (wish I can play one of those coming soon sounds from movie trailers, but anyways...)  One thing for sure, we will make the planning and make all the decisions ourselves.  This whole thing of dragging your family into planning or allowing them to get involved is totally a disaster awaiting to happen.  At least we know what to expect and what not to do after this.

Also during this trip i got to know my girlfriend's dad a bit more and got to hang out with him at a bar.  The man is very talkative and have so many stories to tell.  I never felt awkward hanging around with him since I've first met him.  There seem to be something we can share across our age and experience difference.  What was more was that I know my girlfriend loves to spend time with her dad and it delights to me to see happiness from her face as she hangs out with her old man.  All in all, that was the best part of the trip.  Too bad I could not get him drunk after 4 scotches.  Next time, we should try half of a dozen and video tape it.

Now back to work and await for grad school to start again.  So many of my friends have graduated it will feel weired.