eight ladybugs

At present, there are eight ladybugs on the ceiling. I'm not sure where they came from, or why they're here now. They periodically relocate to different sections, or rest on the wall, but none are leaving the room. There's been no change of climate (other than sporatically turning the heat up to 60), and I doubt this is from not doing the dishes the last two days (they'd be in the kitchen, not congregated in the computer room!)...There's no reason that this would seem creepy, but somehow it does. Like an omen of death! Maybe not death. What do ladybugs symbolize? Picnics? Evil picnics?

The weddings are officially done! And I think this last one ended up being the best of the bunch. The impending union took us to Bethel. I was Emily's guest this time, and knew almost no one there. We gave ourselves plenty of time. We stopped for coffee at the 7-11 on Washington Ave. (in Portland), where I'm pleased to announce that they have a coffee beverage station! Lots of syrups, assorted powdered flavorings, and recipes to make fantastic-tasting cups'-o'-joe. The result is impressive. The beverage station itself looks a little pathetic, but don't let that deter you! I encourage those of you in the vicinity of the Washington Ave. 7-11 to go make yourself a fancy cup of coffee. It's fun. But I've strayed. Back to wedding summarizing.

We wandered around downtown Bethel a bit, which was really pretty. The leaves, the mountains, the decorations...a very nice place, while still being a little townie. I love townie towns. We wandered into a disapponting gift shop, a grocery store called "Food Line" I think...I forget. The name was displayed nowhere except on the paper taped to the counter, advising you who to make your check out to.

The ceremony itself was in an old barn, preserved by the historical society. The something-Mason House. It was charming. It was one room, very meetinghouse-y, with a fireplace on the front wall. Simple and perfect. The wedding was short, the food was awesome, and the band playing music in the corner (not for dancing, but for ambience) was good. Made up of three older men and a guy our age, they had a rockabilly sound to them. The young bandman stared at Emily and I a lot. We thought he was into us (which was extremely flattering, because he was H-O-T!), but the staring was endless. Everytime we'd look over he would be there, playing his guitar, and staring at us shamelessly, with virtually no expression on his face. So we started thinking that perhaps he thought we were lesbians. It's true, we were there without our respective gents. But how interesting is that? Was he hoping we'd start making out? I mean, unless he was living in a commune or extremely religious, lesbians wouldn't warrant intent staring. So hot though he was, he was also borderline psychotic from all we could tell. So we put to bed our "Whatever happens in Bethel, stays in Bethel" thought process. I also had nice conversation with the friend-guest of the other bridesmaid (had I mentioned that Emily was in the wedding party? She was), Susannah. We had a lot to talk about. It was nice.

Now that the weddings are done, it's time to look forward, to the holidays. Movie Gallery originally told me that I'd have to work two of the "Big 4" ( Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day), but have gone back and have now decided that of all the holidays, (now we throw in Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving), everyone will work ALL OF THEM. Everyone will be scheduled for at least two hours on every one of the holidays. The more I hear, the less I want to do anything for this company. I was planning to work Thanksgiving and Christmas anyway, so I could make holiday pay. But not Christmas Eve. And the day after Thanksgiving? The staff has to stick around and cancel any potential plans so we can work a two hour shift at Movie Gallery? And we get paid minimum wage for this.

We're doing Christmas early. My mother suggested we do Christmas in Jay, as it's a middle ground for everyone involved. I decided it might be an okay idea. But since I've given the green light, Mom's been trying to take control. She organized a "christmas organizational chat" online yesterday, with Anne and myself. I had ten Christmas-related e-mails in my inbox. I will have no control over this event. And no Lorrie to take the edge off off Mom.

Happy Halloween!