Signs of the times… - Aggrocrag

Signs of the times…

As many other GSBNers have touched on recently, we are living in some interesting times.

The Election 

Pretty much the entire world hates the US right now, is tired of the antics of our current government, and everything to do with Americans in general… And what are we occupying our time with?  Pig lipstick.  Yeah.  Although, I find it particularly ironic that McCain is calling the "hacking" of Palin's yahoo email account an "invasion of privacy".  Really?  This coming from one of the bigger proponents of programs like Echelon and Carnivore and programs set up to capture information of private citizens…

The Economy

While I admittedly don't understand quite a bit of the ins and outs of the "how it happened", one thing is clear: we are seeing something that hasn't been seen in a very, very long time.  No one seems to know how much worse it will get, and there is no clear answer as to how to fix it.   However, if there is one thing that I have learned it is that you can run multibillion dollar companies into the ground and it is all okay. Uncle Sam will bail the company out and, assuming that you are the CEO, you have a sweet golden parachute to make it a gentle landing for you.  Stock holders on the other hand…

However, the "big" issues aside, I have been seeing some strange stuff on the personal level as well.  While I could go on for days about all the Bad Ideas ™ that I have seen, one in particular stands out….

A Vegas Wedding

In my experience, weddings are a time to bring together two people and their respective family and friends as a symbolic and legal way of binding them. Traditionally, there is some extended courtship, from months to years, where the two get time to make sure that they are with "the one".  All pretty standard stuff that we have seen a thousand times in our personal lives as well as in romantic comedies…  Not this wedding….

To set the stage a bit, and further add to the surrealness of the whole episode, I should point out that this all took place the day after a national kickball tournament. Yeah, you read that right, grown ass men and women playing a sport enjoyed by 8 year olds around the nation.

So the next day the two people, who to this point had never even seen each other (besides living in the same city and having multiple mutual friends) meet for the first time.  They hit it off immediately and, being in Vegas, the conversation eventually turns to marriage.  One thing led to another and both being A-types, neither would back down.  To get to the point… to get married or not get married came down to a game of flip cup.

So once it was decided, we gathered up about 15 witnesses and headed to the nearest chapel to watch two people, who had known each other for less than 2 hours, get married.  For real. Legally binding. Bonus points for going down the Flamingo's waterslide directly after the ceremony. Yeah, that is for real as well.

Now, while I still find it absolutely hilarious, it does cause me to pause for a several reasons.

First: That someone actually did the most cliché thing in the book.  Honestly, who REALLY does that?  Its the subject of horrible movies with B-list celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz.  They actually met and married within a couple of hours.  It isn't like they were blacked out, wake up with sharpie drawings all over your body drunk.  They were both cognizant enough to fill out all the appropriate paperwork, etc….

Secondly: And this didn't occur to me until a few days later. I was not bothered by it at all.  In fact, I was even helping out with planning of a proper reception party (as opposed to the impromptu one we had at Margaritaville the day of).  My entire life, marriage has seemed to be that "last big thing" you do in your life.  Basically, you do that, and then you work at some job for 30 years till you can retire.  Being the big deal that I always assumed marriage to be, my own lack of concern over the Vegas marriage still worries me.  While I know that it wasn't me that married, I still can't believe that I am taking it as lightly as I am.  Hell, being in California and especially living in San Francisco, I should be one of the last people to get amusement from people making a mockery of marriage.  However, it was just too ridiculous to not enjoy it. 

Finally: And likely the most disturbing part of the whole thing is the precedent that they set.  Now, whenever someone wants to do something over the top and ridiculous to impress a group of drunken friends, they are going to have to really step it up.  The problem is, what do you do to top a Vegas wedding?  I mean, short of a major crime spree, I got nothing.  Not that outdoing my friends is something that I am ALWAYS trying to do, but I am a competitive person, and it bugs me when someone has an edge.  I even tried fake proposing to a teammate the other night….  It just didn't have the oomph that I was looking for…

So, at the end of this rambling rant, I ask you, dear reader, what can someone do to top the Vegas wedding? 

Comments

[kevin jones]

do nothing

[brian brinley]

I find it ironic and somewhat hypocritacal regarding your judgement of society whilst simultaenously searching for a sperm donor to fullfill your baby desires. What type of example is this setting to "society" while children sit in orphanages and foster homes.

Try looking into your own self before casting judgements on others, even if it is to simply find a way to out do your friends.

and as a final way to top it and solve your problem, simply get drunk at a party and screw every guy there. 1, your chances of conception are increased and 2, fullfills your desire to outdue your friends drunken stuper.