So the big day came and went without incident. Zachary was stellar, and my wife's team at work was phenomenal. About two minutes after I arrived, the head of catering came up to me and handed me a freshly-poured Corona (no lime) and said "You look like you could use one of these."
The only hiccup was at the end. I took the bus back with the kids, and Zach and I hung around to make sure they had all been picked up by their parents. We then looked around an empty parking lot, and realized the two of us didn't have a ride home. Fortunately, our house is only about a 10-minute walk from the temple. We must have been a sight. We're both wearing suits, except Zach has accessorized with the standard Bar Mitzvah bling - flashing sunglasses, flashing rings on each finger and an over-sized Cowboy hat with a brim that lights up with white light. We're almost home, and Zach sees a guy walking toward us by himself the other direction. Remember, it's about 1 a.m. Zach says to me "Do you think that's a weirdo?" Me: "Zach, in this scenario, I think we're the weirdos."

APIAD wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

Five days to go. This weekend's tussle was over the catering list. There were four beers on it: Coors Light, Sam Adams, Heineken, and something called O'Doul's, which is apparently a beer without alcohol. Like there's a friggin' point to that.
The crux of my argument is there ought to be a brand of beer I like available at an open bar I'm paying for. Is that unreasonable?

what brand would that be?
 

Any of about three dozen not on the aforementioned list. Coors and Sam Adams products give me a headache the next day, Heineken smells like perfume, and non-alcoholic beer isn't even part of the discussion.
 

forsberg_us wrote:

"The crux of my argument is there ought to be a brand of beer I like available at an open bar I'm paying for. Is that unreasonable?"

If Sheryl disagrees, yes.

The list of beer varieties - or lack thereof - is apparently standard for the venue, and anything else is a "special request" that incurs an extra cost (of course). After I made my (one and only one thus far) complaint known, the person who is running the event volunteered to grab a case of Corona on his way to the reception. Faced with the prospect of being charged the likes of $200 for a $25 case of beer, I've threatened to throw a cooler in the back of her SUV and stop at a liquor store on the way.
The rabbi is on my softball team anyway, so we'll just pretend it's the usual mid-summer post-game tailgate. I don't think Sheryl will be too offended.

Five days to go. This weekend's tussle was over the catering list. There were four beers on it: Coors Light, Sam Adams, Heineken, and something called O'Doul's, which is apparently a beer without alcohol. Like there's a friggin' point to that.
The crux of my argument is there ought to be a brand of beer I like available at an open bar I'm paying for. Is that unreasonable?

forsberg_us wrote:

"Oh, and we're spending $600 on ice cream. But it's OK. My wife is getting a deal because she has a prior business relationship with the ice cream guy. He normally charges $1,200. For ... ice .. cream ..."

Christ.  Are Ben and Jerry themselves coming to make it for you?

That gets me thinking I should just buy a cow and make my own ice cream. And then after this shindig is over I'd still have livestock.
I've been told this isn't ordinary ice cream. This is liquid nitrogen ice cream. I have no idea why liquid nitrogen makes for better ice cream, and honestly at this point I've begun not to care. I've now developed a numbing sensation in my brain that I'm hoping spreads to other parts of my body, specifically my left hand so I won't be able to write out any more checks.

"Oh, and we're spending $600 on ice cream. But it's OK. My wife is getting a deal because she has a prior business relationship with the ice cream guy. He normally charges $1,200. For ... ice .. cream ..."

Christ.  Are Ben and Jerry themselves coming to make it for you?

Max wrote:

March 14?

March 16. My math might have been off. 
The BM has been on the back-burner for me this week because my boss is on vacation, but we had the cake-tasting this past Saturday. My choice was vanilla with chocolate frosting, but of course I got out-voted, 2-1. I'm losing a lot of these 2-1 votes lately.