Thursday, April 10, 2008

There's something to be said for Old Geezers

I'm a bad blogger. I know I said that before (actually, in my last blog, which was over a month ago), but it's true. But before you write me off, hear me out. Two things have contributed to my non-blogginess.

1. I've been working my butt off! I've been putting in some really long hours and weeks. It's paid off (I finished the 1st quarter of the year at 150% of goal), but other things suffered, including my blogging.

2. Nothing really funny/crazy/blog-worthy has been happening to me/us. Until this weekend. (cue orchestra for segue music)

As some of you know, last Friday was Aqua Rat's 36th birthday. Not only that, but his parents and sister came in starting on Thursday to help us celebrate. And not only that, but Aqua Rat and his family had planned a surprise 65th birthday for his mother, in Milwaukee on Saturday (her birthday is a little later in the month). Not only did they pull off the surprise, but there were over 60 people at the party! (I was only a small part of that, picking and ordering the cake).

This group of 60+ people was comprised of friends, family, old tennis buddies and the like. I was the background girl - helping with the logistics and photography, so that the family could mingle with the guests. I'd had Aqua Rat help me out, by creating a family tree flow chart weeks earlier (thank goodness), so I was able to navigate the crowd and introduce myself on my own pretty well.

I was taking "crowd" photos so AR's mother could remember who'd attended, when these two older gentleman and the far table stopped me to inquire about who I was. They asked how I knew AR's mom and when I said I was AR's girlfriend, one of them (I think his name is Herb) said, "Who the hell is that?!" After a death stare from his wife, she set him straight. That only incited more questions and now from the both of them in tandem.

"What's your name?" "How old are you?" "Where do you live?" "What do you do?" "Where do your parents live?" What do they do?" "Do you have siblings?" "Where do they live and what do they do?" And then finally, "Did AR give you that gorgeous pearl ring on your finger?" He hadn't. It was a $20 special from Express (it does look pretty real though). That wasn't good enough for them. "Are you two going to get engaged?" Ahhhh - now I was buying time trying to come up with a reasonable answer, since I wasn't expecting that question. I suggested that maybe that was a question for AR, since the boy typically asks the girl and I one who loves surprises.

Still not good enough. "We think he's a damn lucky guy and he better hop on it and propose to you before you get away," said Herb. The second one pipes up, "We're not getting any younger and we don't know how much longer we'll be on this earth, so we want to see a wedding and we want another dinner. How does June sound?" "June of 2009?", I asked. Nope. This year was all that would do for them. And they said they were determined to get AR over there and set it straight with him. Oh boy.

By this time I was sweating profusely and starting to feel like I was at Abu Ghraib. I would sing like a canary, if only I knew what would stop the interrogation. I made my exit and headed over to Aqua Rat. I didn't think that this weekend would be an opportune time for the Two Tennis Geezers (as I'd now named them) to strike up that conversation with him, so I suggested they were long winded and if he didn't want to get caught by them and trapped for the rest of the night, he should steer clear. I thought for sure I had averted certain disaster.

But I'm sure you can see what happened next coming at you like a freight train. I looked over and there was Aqua Rat - caught in their clutches, his eyes as wide as saucers! Needless to say, it appeared that he got an earful and came back to our table a bit dazed. I didn't inquire as to the specifics, but his comment was, "Wow! What did you do to those old guys? They're in love with you!"

Well, by the end of the night I felt pretty good. I'd navigated the family meet and greet pretty well I thought and we'd managed to surprise his mom to pieces (Unbelievable!). And now I had my own Milwaukee fan club, albeit only two memebers deep. I just hope they're around one of these days for my wedding. :)

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