So when I checked the board this morning, I had a message that said I haven't posted in a while. And that's true; I haven't posted since December, which is when my fiancée and I got engaged.
It's been a crazy, busy start to 2017. Where to begin?...
My fiancée and I started looking at the cost of a formal wedding shortly after I popped the question, and we were horrified at what we saw. For a bare bones wedding with less than 75 people, we were looking at $18,000, at a minimum. Her being her, she said something to the effect of f*** that; she can be very, very emotional at times, but she's also got a pragmatic streak in her that's a mile wide. Unshackled from formality, we've opted to elope to St. Lucia at the beginning of September. We're staying at the Sandals Regency at La Toc in a one bedroom suite on the fourth floor overlooking the Caribbean. It's all inclusive, with two butlers at our beck and call. It's going to cost me about $7,000, but compared to a formal wedding at home, it's a no brainer and it's going to be a LOT more fun, too. We're having a party for 100 people when we get back. Her mother is splitting the cost of the catering with us. When all is said and done, I'm going to pay less than $10,000 compared to $18,000. I call that a win.
Professionally, my employer gave me a promotion and a huge raise -- 9.42%. I expected the former, but certainly not the latter. It's a nice way to be going into married life, that's for sure. I'm making some very, very nice money these days, although my responsibilities have also increased. This is why I'm not on the board as often as I would like.
Guitar-wise, check these out:
http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/zo...tml?sort=3&o=3 http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/zo...tml?sort=3&o=0
The white one is a custom shop Jackson I designed and pulled the trigger on last spring. The cool thing about Jackson is they'll build you anything you can dream up. I wanted a guitar that was nearly all white with blue abalone inlays and headstock logo. Her name is Jadis, and she screams. The Les Paul is a 1959 reissue that I pulled the trigger on just before the end of last year, and it completes my guitar bucket list. There's really nothing that can top a sunburst '59 Les Paul. Which is why I named her Marie, after my fiancée's middle name. This guitar also screams. If you want to rip out "Whole Lotta Love" or "Achilles Last Stand", this is the guitar to do it.
Various situations that my fiancée and I find ourselves in require the lessons learned from dealing with addiction. She has, for example, a friend who is about to ask her husband for a divorce, and her friend is really afraid to pull the trigger. This raises the ire of my fiancée. So I have to remind her that people will or will not make decisions according to their own timetable, and all we can do is support them...even if that means they don't do what we'd like them to do. I know how to let go. My fiancée struggles with it from time to time.
In short, life's pretty great these days, although my schedule is pretty busy and sometimes I don't have enough time to myself. But it is what it is.
Hope everyone is doing as well as they can.