Christopher and I will be married 18 years next summer. Best present we got was a polaroid of our groomsmen, naked.

So how much driving in a day/a few days can folks here handle?

I'm not good with miles; but Topsail Island, NC, which is pretty far south in NC, is a 12- to 13-hour drive from Cincy. That's about all I can do in one day. But I know I could not do *multiple* 12-hour days in a row. Maybe 2 if need be.

t edit Okay, Google Maps tells me it's 700-ish miles one way.

Mom and I drove from Charleston, SC to St Albans Vt (approximately 2000 miles with the various wrong turns we took) over 2 days and it wiped us both out. All I wanted to do the next day was sleep and stay out of the car.

Best present we got was a polaroid of our groomsmen, naked.

Where'd you register for that, Lord & Taylor?

I really want my grandmother's china, although I don't think I'm supposed to get it in the will -- I'm hoping to work a deal with my cousin when it is time.

My parents use their good china pretty often -- I'd say at least once a month? It definitely helps that their house came with a built-in china cabinet in the dining room, so it's easy to get to and still out of the way...

I definitely have the wedding jealousy related to All New Stuff.

Our third anniversary was yesterday. But the value of the gifts, as appreciated as they totally are, didn't come close to the cost of the wedding.

That Atlantic article irritated me because all of the personal details. The whole thing needs a #humblebrag tag. "I had a string of committed relationships for 15 solid years, and I flew around the world to research this article, and can I just stress how successful, wealthy, and attractive my friends are? Here's an article about how I heroically made peace with the only part of my life that isn't completely fucking amazing."

I mean, if I had free use of a gorgeous apartment in Chelsea while my friend was on a meditation retreat, I'd probably find it easier to reconcile myself to some things, too.

I think if I had someone to share driving to Tuscaloosa (740 miles?) it wouldn't be so bad. Monica doesn't have a license, so I had to drive to and from Mobile as well.

Cash, hee.

In whoa news, one of the three staff members at the Classics library in town - i.e. the closest thing to a dream job for me here - died completely unexpectedly last night. I feel bad about joking about which member of the department was closest to retirement age. (He was only in his 50s, my friend and I think. I only knew him in a sort of nodding acquaintance way, ten years ago.) Whoa.

But the value of the gifts, as appreciated as they totally are, didn't come close to the cost of the wedding.

I could definitely have approximately the same feeling with five hundred bucks at Target, I'm sure. BUT STILL.