Back again from another trip, this time east to Minneapolis for the nuptials of my cousin Aaron and his ladyfriend Eli. As both parties are confirmed renaissance fair enthusiasts, I was concerned that the culture clash would be entirely too harsh to handle. As it turned out, no costumes were involved with the ceremony and both Lori and I had a fine time, despite a total lack of alcohol at the reception (they had a Mountain Dew bar ... yeah, it was that kind of wedding).

The train was excruciating. My fear of flying kept us on the ground, and the 36 hour ride there was spent in coach, "sleeping" upright amongst hillbillies, corn-fed Midwesterners, a gaggle of Amish folk and one mouthy, no-class African American girl who bitched loud and often and blamed racism for the fact that no one could stand her. Actually, the fact that she was tolerated at all was a miracle of politeness and/or passive-aggression on the part of everyone around her ... when a second young black person got on board she dove into full-bore ghetto mode, cussing up a storm about how badly she needed the chronic and how the train personnel were out to get her (again, racism).

Thankfully, we rode the sleeper car on the way back, and it was much better. The room was tiny, but private, and the ability to lie prone made all the difference for our mood. Meals were included; the food was terrible, but there was lots of it. Still, we were ready to kiss the filthy streets of Seattle by the time we returned. Unfortunately there was no time ... it was straight back to work for the both of us, Lori to sweat over her portfolio for grad school (she's done in three more months) and me to struggle with a batch of DVD reviews for Resonance.