3...2...1.. MAWIDGE!!

I just got back from my friend Jane's wedding in San Francisco, which was lovely except that I don't do 4 hour plane rides so well anymore. I was feeling pretty barfy on arrival, and again when I got back today. I know I should look into taking drugs for this, but I have an irrational paranoia that the plane will crash and in my half-witted state I won't be able to follow the directional floor lighting to the safety rafts, and I'll be trampled to death by the people in business class.

Anyway, it was such a fast trip I'd think I dreamed it, except for the tiny agonized screams still coming from my calf muscles after spending Friday cruising the hills and valleys of SF. Chinatown, my main target destination for that day, was all I'd ever imagined it to be, though slightly (if you can believe it) cleaner. I can't tell you what a joy it was for me to walk the streets with the voice of Egg Shen in my head: "We'come to beautifow Chinatown..." sipping buttery green tea from a styrofoam cup and perusing a vast selection of tacky crap for my purchasing pleasure. It was like a little slice of tchotchke heaven. So yeah, I had a good time. Rocklawn took me on a stroll around That-Which-Is-Not-Chinatown, including The San Francisco Cable Car Museum, which I thought was excessively cool, and the incredible Musee Mechanique at Fisherman's Wharf. I still haven't forgiven DisneyWorld for dumping the Penny Arcade on Main Street; the MM is a paradise of old coin-op dioramas, fortune tellers, orchestrions, skill games, and mutoscopes. Again, what more could I have asked for? Well, I could have asked for a BART train not to have broken down on the track right when I was trying to get back to Oakland for the wedding Friday afternoon.... Talk about the cold taste of pure fear; I was actually preparing to begin running frantically along the tunnel under the bay, when the problem was suddenly solved and I was on my way again. Gah.

Sarah, my wonderful yet loud-snoring roommate has kindly taken the task of wedding review. I don't have a lot to add, except to say it was fantastic, I had a great time, and the awesome pint glass party favor will have a place of honor in my glassware collection forever. Jane and Sarah, thank you so much for inviting me to share this weekend with you and all your friends. It was a blast. Love you guys, hope you're having a great time on the honeymoon.