OK, guys, It Begins. Am I crazy to have a Catholic wedding ceremony when I am not, in fact, Catholic? I don't care so much about the ceremony mass and jazz, but all the pre-wedding counseling and stuff-- are there any non-catholics who have gone through it and can advise? Is anyone familiar with doing it with a foreign parish?

The reason I am thinking about this so early is that Bob liked this one wedding we went to at a chapel in Phoenix and I don't know if I should even try to book a Catholic church.

Ooooh, Strega, that "Give so-and-so a hug" thing creeps me out too. I have an acquaintance who not only does it with her son, but says Uncle or Auntie so-and-so, no matter how infrequently the poor kid may see the grown-up in question. He's gotten more and more surly about it as he's gotten older (he's now six, and he'll still coldly hug others as per orders, but the last time he was told to hug his mom he refused point-blank even after being punished for it), and everyone else has gotten more and more visibly uncomfortable, and yet she still does it. Symptomatic of so many problems. t shudder

I used to tell him, in front of her, "If you don't feel like hugging, that's okay."

Bleah.

In short, I suppose I'm saying (a) go you with the rude! and (b) can't you send those other people to the deep dark cave instead?

bon, it varies parish to parish -- I know mine pretty much frowns on it, and mine is definitely both pretty enough to get requests and poor enough that it'd be totally reasonable to say yes. But it really, really varies.

You probably would have to go through the counseling and such; the counseling also varies, but I've got to say that the session Hec and I went to grated on both of us and stuck in our craws, and I'm pretty active and gung-ho about the whole thing. I can't imagine what it'd be like for someone totally outside the Church. Possibly anthropologically interesting but likely also incredibly irritating.

Oh bless you, JZ. It seems universal. Or, okay, it seems that way in my universe where I don't know too many people with kids. But even some very non-huggy friends do it with their daughter and I'm just like, what the hell? *You* don't hug me when you see me, so why are you telling your daughter, who does not even recognize me, to do so?

I used to tell him, in front of her, "If you don't feel like hugging, that's okay."

I did do that once, actually. Because the poor kid looked so hesitant about it.

Spontaneous hugs = good. Weird ritualistic display hugs = creepy.

bon, my brother did the counseling thing since the SIL is Catholic. When we asked him how it was, he said "It-was-won-der-ful-and-int-er-est-ing" in a mindwiped monotone. And, er, then we changed the subject.

Were either of you raised Catholic? Will anyone be hurt if you're not married in a Catholic church?

Well, TAR has started 26 minutes late. I don't know why.

Okay, the tempura rocked. Except I forgot to make the rice (how non-Japanese of me!) which would have really helped with the not feeling all fried foods full. But yum.

I took a nap today, even without a new mattress. It really helped, though, since it looks like we may be in for another long night. Poor sweet SO trying not to complain.

Anyway, thank dog for long weekends, because I really need to whip the house and office into shape, and tomorrow will be just the day to do it! But I finished up a bunch of big deadlines this week, and taking back over the household chores that the SO had been covering for me while I was buried makes me finally feel competent again.

Ah, competence. How I've missed thee.

eta: Huh. I hope my Tivo caught it. I'm on tv hiatus myself right now, 'cause the SO's sickroom is the room with the tv. I've been catching up on Torchwood though. Although right now I'm not really liking it.

I know nothing about Catholic weddings - but since I tend to yell "Vegas!" everytime some one gets stressed about weddings, perhaps I am not the one to listen to. ( getting married in Vegas gives you great stories)

Happily, no one I know makes there child hug people.

ION, I am very hungry. Uke building is happening in my garage. Is it rude to offer someone leftover pizza from last night's dinner. It feels like it would be rude, but that was the plan for dinner tonight. Maybe Matt and T can go find dinner elsewhere. I am hungry and indesisive. I really don't want to get to the biteing people's heads off stage.

There was a golf match this afternoon that ran long. People on the west coast might not be affected.

They're writers in LA, so they may well have other things they're working on, but I think the site is a pretty significant source of income.

Huh -- interesting.

Well, TAR has started 26 minutes late. I don't know why.

Ooh, thanks for the warning! Who knew golf ran late? I thought with the end of football, TAR would air as scheduled.