Weddings, Parties, Anything

I'm making the most of being able to blog while I can, because on Saturday I'm flying up to Sydney for a friend's wedding.

Yes.

Another bloody wedding.

And this one is the wedding of a friend who I'd never thought I'd see get married. He's a wonderful guy, but has always fancied himself as a bit of a playboy... at one point in our friendship he was dating about 3 girls at once. Needless to say I've never been even remotely tempted to turn our friendship into anything more... I barely tolerate that kind of behaviour in a friend, let alone a potential love interest.

But he is a good friend, and I am thrilled for him that he's put his Don Juan days behind him and is marrying a lovely, lovely girl who he's completely smitten with (and who, more importantly, doesn't put up with any bullshit).

So I am off to his wedding on Sunday afternoon to toast his future happiness. With probably just a glass of OJ or a soda water.

You see, I've decided that I'm not going to drink at this wedding. Another social experiment if you will. There are several reasons for this:

Firstly, most of the people going to this wedding tend to think of me as a party girl. Which is entirely fair, seeing as though most of our interactions in the past involved copious amounts of alcohol. But it's been 18 months or more since I've seen the majority of these people and I've changed. Quite a lot. I'm no longer the party girl I once was. Sure, I enjoy a drink with dinner or a few G&T's on a sunny afternoon, but my party-girl days are well behind me. And I like it that way.

Secondly, it's shaping up to be a full-on few days of catch-ups. Besides the wedding on Sunday, I have a lunch and dinner on the Monday and brunch, lunch, drinks and a dinner on the Tuesday. And somewhere in there I want to spend some quality time with my gorgeous godchildren. To do that effectively, I need to NOT be hungover. Tater in particular is a very demanding young man... you need all your wits about you when you're with him.

Thirdly, I'd like to observe these people in a haze-free state. See just what they're really like. See if I actually can put up with them for 8 or more hours. Hell, it might even be good fodder for future book or screenplay characters.

So we'll see how we go. I may have one glass of bubbles to toast the happy couple, but only if I feel like it. And providing it's decent stuff. I know what weddings are like - sometimes they pour out the most foul-tasting rubbish that is guaranteed hangover material... I'll be making sure I check out the label before tasting.

Following the Sydney season, I will be making a special guest appearance in Adelaide for my dad's best friend's 70th. He's a lovely guy and has been going through some rather arduous cancer treatment over the last six months, so I thought I'd make the effort and attend the fun. I will be drinking at that party though, because he always pulls out the top shelf reds and there's no way I can refuse a few glasses of that. Would be rude not to. Plus, the only thing I have to do the following day (which, incidentally, is my birthday) is have lunch with my family. Sometimes it's easier to deal with them when you're hungover... mostly because when I'm hungover I turn into this girl. Minus the cheerleading uniform and blonde hair of course.

Wish me luck!