The R.A.N III Experience

Wedding Bliss

In a week and a half I’ll be back in the Murder Mitten to stand up in one of my best friends’ weddings and I have to say, I’m pretty freaking excited about it. Mark is marrying his girlfriend, Megan, the two have been dating since approximately 2007 and I’m thrilled for them both. Since Mark’s brother is the best man and will be giving a speech at the wedding I figure I’d use this time now to say some things about Mark and what his friendship has meant to me.

I have been friends with Mark since 5th grade (that was 1993, 18 years of friendship if we’re keeping track!). We spent our elementary school recess time playing four-square outside of Mr. Smagaczs’ classroom and after school checking out Mark’s epic Lego kingdom that he had built in his parents basement.

During the middle school ages, things were bleak (just like in the real “middle-ages”). I don’t recall too much of my middle school time but I do remember a few things. Mark was actually the middle-man of getting me my first girlfriend ever. I recall him speaking on the phone with Kathy and getting the ball rolling on that front. Granted, the Robbie-Kathy era only lasted a few months, but to this day she is still one of my favorite people back in Troy (and I can’t wait to see her new daughter in a few days!). I also remember 6th hour of 6th grade in Ms. Watkins class singing Danzigs’ “Mother” at the top of our lungs (and how about messing with the substitute teachers with my remote control watch?).

High school was a whole new world for Mark and our group of friends. With high school came getting our licenses which meant absolute freedom from our parents. I remember Mark and I (and usually Ryan and Erika) taking trips to Canada in his Crown Victoria on almost a regular basis, not to mention Ann Arbor and DTB (downtown Birmingham)! We went all over the greater metro-Detroit area really doing nothing but driving, mind you this is when gas was in the 1 dollar range.

I could go on for paragraphs of stories from back in the day but that isn’t really the point of this post. The point is, Mark has been there for me for 18 years, always. He has provided me a plethora of advice, everything from life (“This is why no one likes you!”), school (MSU > U of M), dating (yikes!), and lest us not forget politics (“I’m voting for Bill Clinton to cancel out your vote!”). It’s no secret that over the course of my life friends have come and gone but Mark has always remained a constant. I know that he is the one person I can always call and talk to about whatever is on my mind.

So, Warko, I want you to know that I am absolutely thrilled for you and Megan to begin your lives together. I am so happy that you asked me to stand up at the alter with you when this all goes down, I promise to not say/do anything (too) ridiculous and I hope that one day when I get married (trying not to laugh at the thought of that) you too will be up there with me.

-Wobbie

Hawaii

Per usual I’m tardy to the party (“Good things come to those who wait, so I’ma be at least about an hour late…” as Kanye says) when it comes to updating the blog. As some of you may know I was in Hawaii about 3 weeks ago and I have to say it was absolutely ridiculous. Here is a quick recount of some highlights.

I flew into LAX on Saturday May 14th and had some time to kill so of course I had to find a good bar and being in Cali it was simple to find a bar boasting the best margaritas (best in the airport or best in Cali I have no idea). This seemed like an easy decision so I rolled in and got a big ass margarita (which was actually really good). After 2 margaritas I got a phone call from Lo, her and my parents had just landed. Not long after I was joined by 4/5 of the family. Not long after this we were back on an airplane and flying over the Pacific Ocean.

Upon arriving in Hawaii we were greeted by my cousin, Chris who brought us fresh leis. Getting leid by my cousin was not so much what I was hoping for but nonetheless it was cool of him to bring leis. After a quick drive from the airport we arrived at Hawaii Kai, Oahu, the city where my aunt/uncle live. At this point we were joined up with Amy who had arrived earlier in the day from Chicago, the Nalette/Stump clan was nearly complete sans Uncle Jim who was stuck in Saipan and Matt who was in Cali with preggo wifey.

The Stump house is gorgeous. It’s a ranch-style home in a gated community, basically the last one on the street that abuts up against a championship golf course. Complete with in ground pool and jacuzzi which I spent probably 90% of my vacation in.

I’m not going to talk about every single thing we did, that’s what pictures are for. I’ll tell you that snorkeling at Hanauma Bay was really bad ass, I wish I had an underwater camera for that, it was absolutely gorgeous and it’s one of the top rated snorkeling sites in the entire world. Also, taking the hour drive to the North Shore of Oahu was unbelievably amazing as well as visiting Pearl Harbor (somber, yet very educational).

The nightlife was fantastic! Most of the time we ended up going to downtown Waikiki as this is where everything is popping off. I experienced all kinds of bars, from your hole-in-the-wall, to your swanky, to your on the beach, to your college spring break spot, to your Irish Pub and everything in between. One of my favorite things to do downtown (after imbibing in drinks, of course) was to yell at the prostitutes on the main strip in downtown Waikiki, entertainment for days.

All in all, this was 100% one of the best vacations we have ever taken. I met a lot of really cool people (friends of my cousins), got lots of sun, and relaxed like it was my job. It’s hard for me to believe that people actually work in Hawaii, I feel like if I ever moved there I wouldn’t want to do anything…ever.

I haven’t updated the site with photos yet, if you’re on Facebook you can see them there but I’ll get them uploaded later today or tomorrow and update appropriately.