The Further Adventures of Alternate Universe Matt

This past Saturday, I drove down to San Marcos for the somewhat odd experience of attending my ex-girlfriend, Kim Price's, wedding. While all the turbulence of our somewhat dramatic breakup has long since passed, and the mutual contempt has been replaced by an enduring friendship, it was still somewhat of a surreal experience. I've had ex-girlfriends get married before, but I've never actually been invited to any of their weddings. I've never sat there thinking that, in some strange alternate universe, that might be me up there. I've never watched the bride and groom walk down the aisle and thought to myself, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

Not that these thoughts were really prevalent in my mind during the ceremony. The idea of standing up and objecting never even occurred to me. It was nice to be able to be there on her wedding day and not experience a twinge of jealous rage. I'm sure that there is, in yet another alternate universe, some crazed Matt who has followed them on their honeymoon. But this Matt is quite content simply to wish them well. If there was any regret at all, it was only that she beat me to the punch and got married before I did. But I guess that's understandable.

During the ceremony itself, I made an interesting observation. The service was Episcopalian, which I'm assuming is the tradition in which her husband was raised. At certain points during the ceremony, everybody on the groom's side of the aisle would respond appropriately to the Friar...such as, "Peace be with you." "And also with you."

At these moments, most of the people on the bride's side were caught unaware- probably because most of them come from some other Protestant background. There was a smattering of response on our side- mostly quick, half-hearted attempts to catch up with the responses of those well-versed in Episcopalian liturgy.

Although I don't know the groom too well, he seems like a good man, and I'm certain that they are a better match than we were. Overall, it was great wedding, complete with a traditional Episcopalian ceremony and an all-to-fun reception, with a hosted bar, of which I took full advantage, as usual.

Beyond that, there hasn't been too much going on. I attended a going away party for my friend Shannon last Friday night (see post about the babes, below), and have been wanting to see the movie Garden State, which I haven't accomplished yet because of drama going on in the life of the friend with whom I am supposed to see it. Not to mention that it's only been playing at, like, four theaters, all of which are on the other side of Los Angeles. In this town, that means it might as well be playing in France.