Pokemon Black and White

I swear, I don't just sit around and think about Pokemon all day.


...I may be lying.


With only 22 days left until the release of Pokemon Black and White in Japan, there's a few things that I want to talk about. Specifically, the new Pokemon!

In Pokemon Black and White, you're now limited solely to new Pokemon until you've beaten the game. AMAZING! You mean I don't have to see another Geodude EVER AGAIN?

and yet...

Just like every other generation, we have what I like to call the "This Generation's Rattata" Phenomenon.
Each Generation, there are some Pokemon who seem to be replaced by a new Pokemon who's similar in size, stats, and availability within the games.
For instance, every generation has had a new Normal-Type Pokemon found on the first route the player travels on. (The last one there is Minezumi, of Generation V)


We also have "This Generation's Pidgey"... (Generation V's Pidgey is Mamepato)




..."This Generation's Caterpie" (the newest currently named Kurumiru)





Each of these new Pokemon are becoming more and more trite as we realize we're not being treated to a new Pokemon, but simply a rehash of an already-exhausted concept.

(We've also had a few more subtle pairings - for instance, Feebas and Milotic are often considered to be the Hoenn equivalent to Magikarp and Gyarados, with similar statistics but wholly different catch rates, availabilities, and purposes. However, this is more of an interesting bit of trivia and not evidence of a lack of originality. There are other Pokemon who seem to be casually offered answers to common complaints - for instance, Duskull seems to be an answer to the total lack of Ghost-Type Pokemon offered in the game, or Vespiqueen being the answer to the lack of formidable Bug-Types since Beedrill, but that's solely a matter of opinion.)

Well, Generation V is not letting us get away so easy. I've already shown you Minezumi, Mamepato, and Kurumiru, but let's not forget "This Generation's Zubat," Koromori.



I'm sure there'll be more, and we'll have a full answer just a few days after September 18th when the first nerd beats Pokemon Black and White (or, of course, a strategy guide comes out...)

However, I have to give GameFreak some props. Whether you like the designs of some of the new Pokemon or not, they're definitely original -or if not 100% original, they're at least likable. Take Moguryu, for example.



He looks like he could be "This Generation's Sandshrew," but he's adorable, and I'll be excited when I catch one.

There's also screenshots of a Pokemon based off of an Egyptian Sarcophagus, who, like the Unown, may be part of some ancient society found in the Isshu region which could be an absolutely fascinating element of gameplay.

I'll always have my ups and downs with Pokemon, but I'm really excited to see what they do with the next generation. It's hard to remind myself that, though I may be the consumer, this is their creation, and if I don't like it, then that's not their problem. I'm just one person. This is their creation, not mine. Whereas they should bear in mind who their fans are, they should also be brave and creative in their decisions and finished products.

Gotta Catch 'em All!

This is going to be the most serious blog written about Pokemon by someone who isn't a virgin.


Pokemon was released in North America on September 30th, 1998. I had just turned 11 and I was fascinated. Before I managed to get the game myself, I studied the original 150 (we hadn't discovered Mew yet) on the internet and in my friends' strategy guides. Nothing fascinated me more than these creatures.

Then, Christmas Day, I ripped open my packages, desperate to find my copy of Pokemon Blue. After being disappointed by lack of Pokemon underneath my Christmas Tree, mom comes out from the other room with two packages that "Santa" forgot. Chris and I unwrap our copies of Pokemon Red and Blue, respectively.

It was so perfect. Growing up, Chris loved the Red Power Ranger and I loved the Blue Power Ranger. I always used the Blue Yoshi and Chris always used the Red Yoshi. I liked the Blue Beetleborg and Chris liked the Red. Even worse, my second favorite color was Green, the Japanese equivalent to Blue.

Everything about that game was exciting. I almost shit myself when I caught my first Magikarp, that's how excited I was about everything. Every little thing in that game caught me by surprise.

By the time Gold and Silver came along (Oct 14th 2000) I was in 8th grade and a seasoned Pokemon Professional. Johto threw new challenges at me that I never expected; new pokemon, new world map, and new badges. I had to evolve my strategy.

Unfortunately, by the time Ruby and Sapphire came along, it had become very... trite. No longer were the new Pokemon designs intriguing, but they were becoming more and more... unnecessary. There were still some favorites, and I loved that the terrain was more varied and the towns unique.

By the time Diamond and Pearl were released, I had the formula down. Gimme my Pokedex and send me on my way, already!! I knew what I had to do, and was at the Elite four within a week.



I certainly didn't mean to give you my entire history with the franchise, but what I'm trying to get at is that I'm part of the original generation that Pokemon was targeted for. These games were made for me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have every right to feel how I feel about the series, because I was part of the demographic it first targeted.


And, like any decade-long fan of the series, I have a series of complaints and gripes.
In no particular order:

<> Okay, for starters, what is with the Pokemon world and gotdamned Electric Rodent Pokemon!! With the addition of Emonga for Pokemon Black & White, we're up to SEVEN.

I mean what is the point of this even?! FIVE OF THEM ARE PRACTICALLY THE SAME GOTDAMN POKEMON. Not a SINGLE one of them is devoid of little circles on their faces. It's also not improper to assume that there will be an evolution to Emonga, giving us the possibility of another one or two more electric rodent Pokemon. There's no need for this! This, in and of itself, is proof of a lack of originality within the staff at Game Freak.

::EDIT::

Speaking of unoriginality, I've noticed another trend in the Pokemon world. If it's not some kind of an electric rodent, then it's gotta be a MONKEY! I mean, EVERYONE LOVES MONKEYS, AMIRITE?! At least they're all part of an evolutionary line, unlike all of the Pikachu knockoffs. And yes, it's arguable that Slaking is a sloth, but he has more in common with the apes than he does his clearly sloth-like pre-evolution, Slakoth.

But wait, isn't there something missing? Oh, that's right! The whole reason I'm adding this portion in - The August 22nd Pokemon Sunday in Japan just revealed a new Pokemon, Yanappu:

This time, it's a GRASS MONKEY! KIDS LOVE MONKEYS AMIRITE.

OH WAIT! Don't forget! We've also got Hihidaruma!

It's like they just throw elements together with animals. "Monkey... fire... FireMonkey?!" "Don't we have a Fire Chicken and a Fire Pig and a Fire Horse and a Fire Puppy and another Fire Puppy and a Fire Slug and a Fire Turtle and a Fire Fox and a Fire Dragon and another Fire Monkey already?" "Did you hear me? I SAID FIREMONKEY!"

<> EVOLUTION

{}There are some Pokemon that were given completely unnecessary evolutions. For instance,

What is the point of evolving Lickitung??

There's a big deal made in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl that "maybe only perfect Pokemon don't evolve. That's why Dialga and Palkia don't evolve, but other Pokemon do?" That doesn't mean you need to take Pokemon that are already pretty nonsensical on their own and giving them an even worse evolution!

That brings me to my next evolution complaint,

{} Why were there some Pokemon that didn't evolve?

If we absolutely needed an evolution or baby form of Pokemon like Tangela, Lickitung, and Jynx, then why are there no evolutions or pre-evolutions for Pokemon fan-favorites like Farfetch'd or obscure Pokemon like Smeargle, or unnecessary, clearly imperfect Pokemon like Pachirisu? Seriously? Pachirisu, a Pokemon found almost immediately in the games doesn't evolve?! But they felt the need to add on evolutions to already stable evolutionary families, like Ryhorn/Rhydon, Magby/Magmar, Elekid/Electabuzz, Magnemite/Magneton, etc? Those Pokemon bring me to my next gripe,

{} Complicated Evolutionary Families

In order to add on to some evolutionary lines, Game Freak / Nintendo decided that instead of reasoning "uhh... you couldn't evolve it because we hadn't thought of that Pokemon yet..." they instead rationalized that the Pokemon world just hadn't figured out how to evolve it yet.

For instance, you can evolve Sneasel into Weavile at night if it's holding a Razor Claw.

Wait, what?

That's... oddly specific...

Surely there's no other Pokemon like that, right?

Lickitung evolves into Lickylicky when leveled up while knowing the move Rollout. Evolve Gligar into Gliscor at night while holding a Razor Fang. To evolve Porygon into Porygon2, trade it while it holds Up-Grade. Trade it again while holding Dubious Disc to obtain a PorygonZ.

The list goes on and on. Which brings me to my next topic...

<> Something that's bothered me for a while now is the new emphasis on battle instead of catching all the Pokemon. I suppose catching over 500 Pokemon has become a pretty daunting task, but it's almost unfair to the Pokemon at this point. Later on, I'll go into Pokemon that I've deemed pretty much useless, but thanks to the emphasis being detracted from "Catching 'em All!", the novelty Pokemon are basically ignored. I can't imagine a single person that purposefully catches a Nosepass. I, personally, don't even bother with Geodude or Zubat anymore. I mean, what's the point? Catch one Geodude and you've caught 'em all.

<> Can you honestly say you remember this Pokemon?

What about this one?

What about these?

That's fine, I didn't remember them either.

Now that there's over 500 of them, they're becoming very forgettable. Thanks to Generation IV being fresh in our minds, we can barely remember Generation III anymore, and as time as gone on, there's less and less Pokemon from each generation that I think "Oh man! I can't wait to catch and train so-and-so!" Sure, I have a few from each generation. I'm always excited to get a Wartortle and a Dragonair. I fight to get my Mareep as soon as I can so I can evolve him into an Ampharos, and Quagsire has never failed me. Despite a lack of attack strength, I love the evolutionary line of Ralts, and I sped through SoulSilver as fast as I could so I could beat it and get my Shinx.

Unfortunately, it seems as though GameFreak ran out of ideas for many of their Pokemon, or didn't give some Pokemon enough unique characteristics, movesets, or battles involving them in order for us to remember them.

{} As a sidenote, the new games are not going to feature any Pokemon outside of Isshu's Regional Pokedex until you get the NationalDex. Though I find this is a great way to strand veteran players outside their comfort zones, it makes me incredibly sad that I won't be able to have a Shinx for a long, long time.

{} I could focus for a while on the Legendary Pokemon, but I feel like a lot of what I have to say has already been said. It's kind of strange that you can basically capture and train GOD. It's strange to think that back during Pokemon Red and Blue the most powerful mother-fucker ever was Mewtwo. Now, Mewtwo is Sunkern in comparison to these Pokemon that created Time and Space. And what kills me is how are these Pokemon who created everything only like level 40? I would expect a bit more out of our creators. Dialga and Palkia created time and space. Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie created emotion. Giratina rules over the nether world. Arceus created the entire universe. And the newcomers, Reshiram and Zekrom possibly created Arceus. Granted, Mew is the ancestor of all Pokemon and Celebi can travel through time, but creating the thing that created everything ever? That's pretty badass. What the hell does Ho-oh do other than fly around and look pretty? Man, fuck that.

<> Okay, I actually like the story, despite how repetitive it is. 10 year old boy trains Pokemon and saves the world. It's kind of interesting though, seeing as how in Generation III and IV you literally save the planet from destruction (in Generation III, you prevent Team Aqua from covering the world in water and Team Magma from covering the world in earth; in Generation IV, you stop Team Galactic from destroying our world and creating a new one, presumably full of Glameow and Purugly.) However, it always bother me that you then have to prove yourself to the Elite Four. Like... dude. Just made sure you all didn't die horrible deaths. I think y'all owe me at this point.

It'll be interesting to see what stupid stuff Team Plasma comes up with. I assume they'll be equally as ridiculous as Team Galactic, but hopefully with a little more spice and flair. I hope I'm actually a little bit afraid of them, instead of my usual tactic of plowing through them like a lawnmower on warm summer day.

Though that makes me curious - why is no one surprised to see a 10 year old get his first Pokemon and become a complete Pokemon Master within a week? There are people in these games who've been training for years and years and years and you knock them out after your third day training. That's, I suppose, a downside to being a veteran - everything comes easily.



Okay, I think it's about time to wrap up this blog. I might do a Part II later, but I'd like to add a disclaimer to the end of this one. I think Pokemon is the most amazing and innovative Video Game series of our time. Nothing will ever surpass it in terms of originality and addiction value. I will be buying the new generations sometime next spring. (who's hoping for an early release date?!)

I am in no way, shape, or form a purist. I see a lot of really interesting changes coming up in Generation V and I'm so excited to play through my ELEVENTH Pokemon Journey. That's right, I've played through Blue, Yellow, Silver, Crystal, Sapphire, Emerald, LeafGreen, Diamond, Platinum, and SoulSilver.

Crystal

Despite having a bit of a fever today, I had a discussion with someone who means a lot to me, Alex Klein, about racism, and it really got me thinking about a few things.

See, Alex was on a kick about the laws surrounding Rock and Powdered cocaine, more commonly referred to as Crack and Coke. Crack, a drug primarily used in lower socioeconomic cultures, incurs much heavier penal punishment than Cocaine, a drug primarily used in the upper socioeconomic classes. Being as how low SES (Socioeconomic Status) areas are primarily black/hispanic/minority and high SES areas are primarily white, it is a form of institutionalized racism.

Now, I have this bad habit of taking the unconventional side on a lot of things. Most people would scream "RACISM!" but I was raised in a very different way... I wasn't taught racism when I was a kid. I didn't know any racial slurs other than the N word until I got to college. It's just not how I grew up. So in situations like this, I always wonder "...hmm, is there any chance that this isn't racially motivated?"

So it got me thinking. ...I know next to NOTHING about illicit drugs. So I'm here thinking maybe the laws have less to do with putting the blackies in jail and more to do with the drugs themselves. Maybe Crack is more addictive and destructive than Coke. Maybe because Coke is refined it's less of a health and safety hazard. Maybe the highs from the two drugs are different enough that we've determined that Coke is just plain safer than Crack, so the laws on Crack are tougher. Well, I decided to do some research, and by that I mean a bunch of google searches. From what I can see, Crack looks like it's a bit rougher on the system and has a nastier downfall after the high... but then again, there didn't seem to be as much information on Coke as there was Crack.

While I'm looking all this up, Alex says to me that whereas my theory could be rooted somewhere, why would reporters report on this stuff if it's not true?

Well let me tell you something. Reporters will report anything if it'll make them money. People would much rather read something about the institutionalized racism than the chemical makeup of Crack and Coke.

I never 100% trust the first opinion I hear, especially when it comes to sociology. I took a couple sociology classes in college, and they drove me up a wall - all they taught me was that racism will always be around because white people are horrible.

For instance.

My friend Matt was in a sociology course where they were discussing a children's book that featured an illustrated Barack Obama. In this illustration, Obama appeared quite a few shades lighter than he is in real life. After about ten minutes of the class banging back and forth ideas about white people demeaning his blackness or the company lightening Obama so white children wouldn't be intimidated by him, Matt finally raises his hand.
"Do any of you know anything about bookmaking? ...I thought so. Did you ever stop to think that dark ink costs more than light ink? They probably saved $100 Grand by lightening him up a little bit."

That stopped that conversation.


So I thought a bit more, and I realized another possible explanation for this whole Crack vs. Coke thing. Think about what the police have to deal with. Police don't have to bust into white people homes in order to stop Mrs. Anderson from doing a line or two before she does the laundry. Police don't have to stop white-people gang wars over refined cocaine. What police do have to do is get caught in shootouts revolving crack deals gone south. Police have far more trouble in the inner-city, where Crack is more prevalent, than in the suburbs where Coke is more prevalent. In the long run, Crack makes the streets more dangerous than Coke does, so they're more likely to have sink more money into dealing with Crack dealers than Coke dealers; therefore, our laws are much stricter on Crack than Coke.

Sure, it still boils down to the fact that the inner-city is more populated by the lower SES crowd and therefore more minorities and blacks and the suburbs are more white, but that's not Crack's fault.

There's still a lot that I don't know, and I recognize that this post has a lot of opinion with little research to back it up, unlike a majority of my posts, but you have to understand; I see a whole lot of white people jumping to the race card because it makes them seem less racist, but in the long run? Everybody likes to blame someone else. No one likes to take responsibility for themselves anymore. The inner-city has drug problems because people do drugs; the suburbs have drug problems because people do drugs. This doesn't make it racist, though; this makes it classist, and the world will always be classist.

And no, there's no bright side to the world being classist...
What I'm trying to get at is that there's no room full of old bald white guys figuring out new ways to get the darkies into prison. People need to start looking at all sides of an argument before settling on the easiest answer. The opposite of the Horse and Zebra proverb.

...now I'm just rambling. I guess I don't have a solid ending to this post, a "final thought" if you will.

...I'm going to bed.

*drunk edit*
Fall Out Boy sings about cocaine, and they're harmless. I mean, have you seen Pete Wentz?
Most rappers that rap about crack also rap about killing bitches.
Point made.

Chronic

The Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) is that nifty little joint that keeps your jaw together.

Mine has a lot of problems.

TMJ Syndrome or Disorder (often just called TMJ) spans many different types of jaw problems, all of which revolve around the Temporomandibular Joint. It can range from swelling of the joint to dislocation or misalignment of the jaw.

The left side of my jaw happens to be misaligned, and occasionally dislocates. It also pops and clicks and is all around pretty unstable.

It's also often in a lot of pain.
Between one to six times a day, I'll feel a dull pain start in my lower jaw close to the joint. Sometimes it stays just like that, a dull aching pain that goes away quickly. More often than not, however, the pain escalates to a severe level, sometimes so bad that my mouth starts salivating, preparing to vomit from the pain. It doesn't just stay at my jaw, it often travels and begins hurting my sinuses and my ear. I become sensitive to sound, and sometimes light. My forehead and eyes may begin to hurt, and I'm clutching my face in pain. Sometimes it even dislocates and gets stuck. Sometimes I can remedy it just by changing gravity's pull, but other times I have to painfully pop it back into place Xena style.

Only occasionally do I do something to provoke it (eat something crunchy, chew gum, etc.); often times, it starts hurting on it's own. It often wakes me up a mere few hours after I've gone to sleep. I've had the misalignment and popping and locking and clicking for a while now, but only about six months or so ago did it start hurting like this.

Anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen and aleve seem to help the most, but sometimes I'll go up to an hour or more without relief; even with these OTC meds, I have to wait for them to kick in - if they kick in. Sometimes heat helps, sometimes ice helps, sometimes neither helps, or other times I have to mix and match until I get a good combination.

Not everyone experiences these symptoms. My one friend has similar problems, but her jaw muscles will occasionally ache if she eats steak or chews gum.

I don't have medical or dental insurance, so I can't afford to talk to a doctor about it. There don't seem to be any over the counter mouth-guards I can use (I don't have a problem with grinding my teeth, but all of the mouth guards I've seen say "don't use if you have TMJ Syndrome.) One friend told me she used to have headgear for her TMJ; another friend told me that his doctor wants to break his jaw in order to realign it. However, without being able to afford a doctor, my only method of relief is to try to stick to softer foods, OTC anti-inflammatories, reducing stress, and ice/heat - and that doesn't seem to be doing much good.

The way my TMJ Syndrome has developed classifies it as a chronic illness. I am chronically in pain - my jaw acts up between one to six times a day. Today, it woke me up around 7AM. Generally when it wakes me up, I can take a few ibuprofen and fall back asleep. Around 3PM or so it was mild pain, but some ice helped it. I had a couple mini-flare ups which I quickly countered with ibuprofen, but a really bad flare-up has kept me up late tonight, spending the last hour using both a heat-pack and an ice-pack to try and hit the right combination to make it feel better. Laying on my bed at 3AM with my face covered in heat and ice packs moaning in pain is not how I used to spend Wednesday nights. It happens all the time when I'm at work, and I can't sit down for an hour until it goes away - I just have to work through it. My friends, family, and coworkers don't really seem to understand what's going on, many think I'm just overreacting or that I can't handle pain very well.

Also, all studies show that sufferers of chronic pain are exponentially more likely to begin suffering from clinical depression. I've been really down the past couple weeks, and in doing more research on TMJ came across an article that spoke about TMJ Sufferers and the likelihood of developing not only depression, but higher pain sensitivity.

Luckily I've found a decent website that has a bunch of links for help and recipes for soft foods and ideas for how to maintain my problems. Despite it's poor aesthetic quality and lovey-dovey hippie undertone, tmjhope.org has a lot of neat and valuable information.

I'm likely going to be living with this for the rest of my life... but I'm hoping that as time goes on I'll be better at managing it and not getting discouraged. I just want other people to understand what I'm going through, especially since I have this habit of pretending like I'm a-okay, even when I think I'm about to throw up with how much it hurts.

I Can Make Your Bed Rock

What if I fall for you?
...would you catch me in your noodle arms?
Would you never let me go?
Could I lay there in your weak arms like a first born?

If I feel insecure, will you tell me you love me?
Even if I didn't believe you?
Will you tell me you need me?
Even if I didn't believe you?
Will you tell me I'm skinny?
Even if I didn't believe you?
Will you tell me that I'm the only one?
Even if I didn't believe you?

When the world won't do, will you give me the rest?
'cuz I'd do it all for you.

Here Comes the Groom

I went to my friends wedding today, and let me tell you, it got me thinkin' about stuff.

For starters, the Groom from the last wedding I went to has had time to suffer a back injury, get addicted to pain meds, and die in a drug war gang shooting, and the bride has had time to remarry - so it's been about a week? Just kidding, it's been about eight or ten years since my last wedding, so I really had no idea what to expect. I pulled up to the place and saw a beautiful wedding set up down the hill from the reception hall, and a horse-drawn carriage. Naturally I assumed I was at the wrong place.
False. Definitely at the right place. Samantha had a horse-drawn carriage.
So clearly we're having a fairy-tale dream wedding. The sky was overcast but comfortable, flowers were falling from the trees, the wind was calm, and we were seated on the wrong side. That's right, they sat myself and five of our friends on the Groom's side. ...which is fine, because Alex is a total sweetheart. ...Speaking of Alex, where the hell is he? I thought, hoping that this wouldn't be a soap opera wedding. Finally the grinning groom emerges from behind his groomsmen and is escorted to the trellis. Sam is escorted from the carriage to the trellis by her father, looking beautiful. This was a picture from a storybook.

Then the Pastor opened his mouth.

Considering how formal and dreamy this whole scenario was, this Pastor didn't fit in one bit. Fairytale Wedding Officiators don't say "totally" every fifth sentence and make jokes about mommy still packing lunch. He ended up turning the whole thing into a whole big deal about the definition of a holy union and how they weren't two, they were three (the third being Jesus Christ) but now they're all one, like a rope. It was a nice metaphor, but it was poorly explained - I thought he was trying to say that they needed a third person for the relationship and that threesomes were the best and only way to go. Not only this, but his enunciation was horrific; he was clearly trying to suppress his Philly accent and not doing a very good job. It just wasn't appropriate in a ceremony so formal that people weren't sure whether or not we were allowed to clap even when the bride and groom kissed. Yeah, the pastor had to let us know we could clap. After they were officiated they did the thing where they walk back down the aisle as a newly married couple and we were supposed to blow bubbles on them. ...yeah, we all totally froze and that didn't happen whatsoever.

OH!

I forgot to mention the vocalist! Oh man was that awkward. After they lit their unity candle, this guy gets up with his guitar and starts playing. It was great until he started singing. Don't get me wrong, he has a lovely voice - but the happy couple just stood there smiling at each other for two and a half minutes. It was kind of... awkward.


Other than that, it was a total dream wedding, and it got me thinking.
...It got me thinking that I don't want anything like it for my wedding.

Don't get me wrong - this wedding was perfect for Sam and Alex. It just made sense for them, and not an ounce of it surprised me.

Me, on the other hand? I was a beach wedding. I want a small smattering of people I love. I don't want the officiator to talk about how I am solely a product of my parents, or tell me that we're no longer individuals, I want him to tell us that what makes us individuals is what makes us work even better as one and that we each contribute unique and beautiful things to the relationship. I don't want a sermon on how failing to meet my obligation to the church is comparable to adultery, I want to know that our obligations to each other are the most important things in our lives. I don't want to hear that the ring tells strangers that I'm unavailable, I want to hear that the rings are a symbol of our strength and unity with each other and that we may feel it even if we are without each other.

And I want everyone to be jealous of us.

That's right, I said it. I'm not gonna pretend I'm not jealous of Sam. She had a beautiful wedding a beautiful husband, a beautiful everything. I couldn't be more jealous of their relationship. The look on Alex's face was pure joy, and I knew that I wanted to feel that. I wanted to feel what Sam felt as she walked up the aisle, with the petals falling from the trees with her beautiful husband waiting for her at the other side. I wanted to know that my life would never be the same and that I'd feel the same way about this man for the rest of my life.
Yet I could still be happy for Sam. I still know deep down that even though I haven't met the man of my dreams, he's still out there somewhere. The aged bachelor life isn't for me. Sure, I'll never be able to afford a wedding like Sam's, but I know that my wedding will mean so much for me - not as the happiest day of my life, but as the beginning of the happiest days of the rest of my life - a symbol of the expectations of our day-to-day living as a married couple, together because of our love for each other and no one else, and our committal to mate for life. Maybe we'll choose to have a family. Maybe we'll choose to travel the globe. Maybe we'll raise chickens. Who knows? None of that will matter, so long as we have each other.


...what can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic.


I know this will all happen for me someday. Sure, I'm not the classiest of individuals, but I've always known I'd find love and get married and grow old with someone. It's what I'm here for. I only hope I can make that person as happy as they make me.