I Didn't REALLY Consider It.. Gosh -- well....

Only for a Moment..
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

So, there's a place for one-stop-shopping when planning a wedding. A Bridal Fair. It never ever occured to me that these things should be called wedding fairs. I went with Kelly and we scoured the place for caterers, florists, locations, limosines, tuxes, videographers, photographers, choreographers, etc.

The cheese factor at these events is quite high. Mostly ladies half my age, with their maids of honor and mothers. Heyyyy. Maybe that's why they call them Bridal Fairs?

But, I figured my money was as good as anyones. Maybe BETTER - since I had so little of it.

So we strolled up the isles with our little bags. Stoping here. Stopping there. Accepting congratulations everywhere. "um. actually. it's a two-groom ceremony. and. um. the other him isn't here because it's a surprise wedding".

I can assure you, here in liberal Kolly-fornia nobody flinched at a two groom ceremony. It actually made us somewhat of a novelty and found people were even more helpful, perhaps. It was the surpise wedding part that created all the hubb-ubb.

So, yes, I explained. Yes. We've been together for over 16 years. So, no - it's NOT likely he'll say no. He better not say no. But, just in case, I started keeping tabs on how much this was going to cost. Because afterall, I'm happy to foot the bill for the biggest day of my life. But, if it turns out he decides this is all so sudden, and he's not sure, or says no, then well - I can present him the bill for his "Birthday Party".

So, like a moth to a flame, like a wolf to the moon, like a bee to a flower.. you get the picture.. I'm all.. OOOOOOO shiney things. Dresses.

DON'T WORRY. It's not a drag wedding. But it was funny to dream for a moment. What would they say if I came down the isle wearing THAT..

well. they probably don't have it my size anyway.

Hmm. A Tux. A Tux.

Our Rings
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

So I had to figure out how to get Rob into a tux, without giving away the idea that there was a wedding coming up.

Thankfully, we have a friend in our circle who works with the Sacramento Opera. I asked him if he would extend to us a faux-invitation to an upcoming opera event. This seemed plausible, and also would throw the scent off any association with his upcoming "Birthday" party.

So, Rob agreed to attend the 'opera event' scheduled three weeks after his party. So, great. Now I just have to find the place to rent em. No biggie.

Hang On To Your Gubenatorial Legacy

Oh. Uh uh. Another Bush? Great idea. NOT.

If nothing else shows how out of touch this monarchy is with the average American citizen, it's even the NOTION that anyone would come forward with that last name and expect to be elected President. Wow.

What would the Jeb inherit? The current Bush's poll numbers? That immense goodwill George has created around the world? Oh.. no. It must be that political capital that, apparently, must be sitting in a bank somewhere because King George hasn't been able to show any of it.

Yes. George II would like to see his brother as the next President of the U.S. To his credit, or political acumen, Governor Bush has been mum on the subject, even though Daddy told Larry King that it was a good idea. Yikes.

Trust us Jeb. Keep what legacy you've created in the state of Florida. The last swan song you'd want to avoid would be, being trounced by Hillary. Better to just wrap up your career, go back to the castle in Texas and call it a career.

Searching.. Searching.. Searching..

Coloma Valley
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

So we were looking for places to have our event. And, we traveled high and low. High, to about 3000 Feet above Coloma. This is a picture of the road as we ascended. It was a beautiful morning in February and the fog was settled on the road ahead.

Unfortunately, the site was somewhat washed out because of the rains. Did I mention we had probably one of the wetest I ever remember. The American River had flooded and there was the wreckage of an RV in the spot we'd in theory have our vows. It seems the rushing river had picked up the RV and brought it down to this otherwise picturesque location. It was a bit rural, and the thought of standing next to the river, in the clay and grass - while postcardish - scratched any notion of formal attire.

Mary please. Tuxes and BBQ. Hardly. So back to the urban landsape of Sacramento. The lows were a lovely basement location, with florescent lighting. Um. No.

So back to the Library Galleria and giving in to the demanding, never-smiling, and hardly pleasant staff - and their demand for extra charges - charges to use the front door, to use the balcony, to breathe..

Oh well.. Oh! And, how WILL I get Rob into a tux at a surprise event? It's not like I can throw it at him just before we depart and say "oh yeah. Your Birthday Party is formal." So, I had to think of how I'd do that. Thank goodness I'm devious.

Ring Shopping with Kelly...

Kelly holding Rob's Ring
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

Well, I had to first ask Kelly, Rob's best friend if she'd be willing to help me surprise Rob and be his Best Person. She said yes of course, that's why we love her. Among her many (and I mean many) duties was to help me find a ring. Rob's a slab-o-metal kind of guy. I am NOT. Therefor I gave up immediately from the beginning on the idea of us having matching rings. He hates diamonds.. i well.. you know. He likes platinum. I'm a glittery gold person. So we spent an afternoon walking through the stores trying on different rings everywhere we went. And, everywhere we went we were greeted with.. CONGRATULATIONS to the two of you. Well. We got tired of explaining - so I think at one point, we just started saying 'thank you'.

Besides, it always turned into a long and lengthy discertation when we tried to explain it was a surprise wedding and why the person for whom the ring was for was not present to pick out his own jewelry.

In the end we found a nice simple band of platinum. Something he would love.

Our good friend, Art, helped us in this area by securing his size. He told Rob he wanted to buy a ring for his boyfriend Mikey. Rob, of course, the ever-gullible said "I'll go with you!" Art got him to try on a ring and immediately reported to me his size and confirmed that his taste leaned towards exactly the ring I had in mind..

But there were many more details to work out.

Before There Were Decorations - There Was A Plan

Before the Decorations.. I had to find a place to hold the surprise.
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

So i decided to check out about a dozen places. There were some over the top locations, but they had over the top prices too. We had a budget to adhere to (although that got blown away, just after selection the location!) Here is a picture of the Tsokopoulos Galleria. It's a 3 story atrium like building in downtown across from Caesar Chavez Park. It's beautiful, and I knew right away that this is where we needed to have it. But.. ah. They are a difficult bunch down there, and charge for EVERYTHING - inlcluding using the FRONT DOOR! Wow. Those folks aren't kidding. But all was well.. and now to get a ring...

Monday: April 23, 2006 @ 100p - Where the *$@! is Christopher?

Well. I have some catching up to do, don't I? I have had to put some of reporting on hiatus because there was much secretive going on in my life and I didn't want certain prying noses to peak on here and find out what I was really up to. In retrospect, that might have made the perfect ruse to cover my tracks.. but I hadn't the time nor did I think that far ahead.

Let me start by telling you what I'm even talking about! On April 2nd, Sunday Rob and I had a wedding. It was fantastic, but in true Christopher form - I had to do something with a twist, over the top and with some spontenaity. So, it was a 'surprise' wedding. I know, I know. I've already heard it from my family, from the florist, from the caterer, from the tuxedo place... 'I've never heard of a surprise wedding'.

The idea came to me back in November when Rob and I discussed his 40th Birthday Party. He said he wanted something where all his friends.. recovery, co-workers, family, longtime friends could come together. The best way I could think of to make that happen AND provide some level of embarassment to Rob was to dream up a day where I could propose to him in front of all his friends and family and then have a ceremony. It took some doing!!

Firstly I had to bring the family onboard and swear everyone to secrecy. To the credit of my wonderful family - they were invovled from the very beginning and offered to do whatever was necessary to help out. Rob's family too was pleased to be part of the affair and were planning on coming from Ohio and Michigan...

But - before I tell the whole story.. I'll leave some for the next installment! Thanks for your patience - if you've been checking my site wondering what happened to me and my postings! I look forward to hearing from you.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 @ 10a: DOS' HELP

Dos Helping with Home Improvement
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

Still in the middle of home improvement. But the bathroom looks WAY better than it used to. It's almost done. Here's a tile box, that Dos, our cat, adopted as his.

Everything is going well. Still planning for Rob's big 40th B Day celebration on April 2nd and Family visiting from Michigan during that week.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 @ 910a; They Are At It Again

The American Family Association has renewed their boycott of Ford Motor Company products, including the subsidiarys owned by Ford such as Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Austin Martin.

This has been an on again, off again saga for sometime with the AFA announcing last year that they had secured an agreement with Ford to discontinue advertising in Gay and Lesbian publications. Ford, along with many other advertisers, such as Subaru, Chrysler and others recognize that the LGBT community contains... consumers. And, ultimately, like any business set about to send their message to consumers.

The AFA contends this provides money and support to the Gays and helps them in the culture war. Good gracious Jesus, Maria and Jose. If there's a war, it's because actions such as this try to elevate it to one. I just want a car that is dependable, gets good gas mileage, is comfortable for my american-size butt and has a reasonable resale value. Since when did that become Gay?

Taking this action during a period in our country's automotive history - when the domestic manufacturing of these products is in decline serves as an interesting backdrop. One might argue to target a domestic producer when Ford is in a position of laying off tens of thousands of workers is unpatriotic or unamerican. I suppose, one could also look at it though as an opportune time to launch an attack against a perceived adversary - when they are on the ropes. Ahh... opportunistic. Now. That might just BE American. And, isn't that sadder than who Ford sells cars to?

Monday, March 13, 2006 @ 1020a; Dave P Departs

Christopher and Scarlett
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

Well, I've been neglectful! And, for that I'm truly sorry. I've been busy! No excuse I know, so I'll try and catch you up. This is Dave. He left our fun fellowship for Houston. We're so happy for him - so sad for us. But we had a great time while he was here. Now he's off having fun and we miss him!! This was his going away at Kevin and Ricks.