Bachelor's Party - After getting everyone together at TJ O'Shea's (sports bar) and roasting Tad, we went to two strip clubs. As we walked into the first club, Fantasies, I noticed that there weren't too many bouncers, but then I noticed that they had a police officer (apparently you can rent Rhode Island cops). The worst part of the evening was when someone bumped into me, and spilled their drink on their shirt; they started to talk shit, and the 7 other guys in our party turned on the guy. He wilted, the cop was looking nervous, but that was end of it.
I spent most of the time sitting in the corner talking to dancers and waitresses about strip joints; I'd ask "If you could change one thing about this place, what would it be?", and they'd always ask "Are you doing a survey?". Strippers are easily the most surveyed demographic I've met. The dancers seem to have a power relationship to their managers similar to whores and their pimps in Pimp, in that the girls (160 at Fantasies) try to get away with as much as they can, and the managers (3) try to restrict all liberties while taking 20% of their tips. One of the dancers' big complaints was their sick days "always" get denied, no matter how good or bad the girl is. Although the girls get to wear what they want, they have to provide the clothes. And like other degraded workers, they seem to be goal-oriented, concentrating on the benefits (most were either students or single moms).
Wedding - The ceremony went well enough (reminder to find a facility with AC). The priest had good words binding the audience to act to help Tad and Lori's marriage (neither her or Tad's parents' marriages went well). The reception was amazing; the location provided a great setting, and I had the chance to dance. This was the second time around as best man for me, so I planned to have some fun with the speech (Big thanks to Jen Pietraho for the idea). Prior to the speech, I distributed some keys to people in the audience. When I rose to speak, I mentioned that I had a few announcements to make, namely, that Tad and Lori's ex-landlords still needed their keys back, and if anyone had a copy, could they return it now. A whole slew of cuties came up and deposited keys in Tad and Lori's hands. I asked if there were any other keys, and when no one else came forward, I asked for a big round of applause for the couple. As the applause died down, an old man tottered up and gave the last key to Lori. After the laughter died down, I asked everyone to stand, and gave the toast:
A toast to long lives,
laughter that lingers,
and love everlasting.
The ultra-cute bridesmaid, Vickie Marcelino, spoke next. Movingly, she told of growing up with Lori. She confessed her feelings of loss, but admitted that she was happy that her relationship would be diminished by a relationship with a man as good as Tad.
Then we spent the evening dancing. Happily, I got to hook up with Kate Marvin, who really knows how to dance, and I got to learn a bit about swing and formal. Better yet, my cousin, Annie, was present. She used to be comp sci, but is now aiming to write. I'll be blog-following for as long as she posts.
After the reception, I crashed. That's it. I'm going to need a full night's sleep.