wedding season

So, I've been getting a lot of "wow, you got laid off in the summer, what great timing!" I suppose that's partially true. More free time means more time to sit in the sun, which has given me one of the best tans I've had in years. I figure looking good can only help in interviews, but you probably don't want to make your interviewer jealous of how golden brown you are. But I digress. There is a drawback to not having a job and/or paycheck during these most most sunniest of months: It's Wedding Season, baby!

It can be difficult to maintain a conversation with people you haven't seen in years when your self confidence is in the toilet. I find myself saying, "Oh me? I'm great, but enough about me, what have you been up to?" I really shouldn't feel that bad about myself. My company was forced to go on an indefinite hiatus, it's not like I got fired. I shouldn't feel worthless, per se. But, when the guys you went to college with are comparing their sports cars and asking you what you've been up to, it still stings to say, "I'm unemployed." Explaining that it's not really your fault can often sound like an excuse, and explaining it more than once is damn near impossible for me. I find that this feeling of minor self loathing can lead to constant drinking, which is never a good look in front of the bride's grandparents. Old pals usually don't ask tough, probing questions when you are screaming the lyrics to "You Shook Me All night Long" in their face. That usually just reminds your old pals about the old days in college when none of us had jobs. So, my advice would be to stay on the dance floor and develop a good report with the DJ.

These weddings, however, are an idea that's spreading like wildfire. I'm 27, so I'm right in the sweet spot of the marriage tornado. It's getting to the point where more of my friends are married than single. My girlfriend and I have been together for more than 5 years, so we are constantly harassed about when we'll be tying the knot. Luckily, she's in no rush, and no one expects the unemployed guy to spring for a ring. I have 6 weddings this summer, and none of them are within 500 miles of where I live. Travel, hotel, bachelor party, and gifts all conspire to make me even lighter in the pocket book. I would love to buy all my friends the best wedding present they could imagine, but now they're lucky if I get them anything under the widely accepted 1 year time frame. Most of the stress I feel before these weddings melts away once the festivities are under way. I am usually just glad to be there for one of the most important events of my friends' lives. I find myself surrounded by people who I wish I got to see a lot more frequently, and an army of kind men and women who hand-deliver appetizers to my face. Like I said before, one way to avoid the constant probing questions about your job/financial situation is to avail yourself of the open bar. Because hey, the booze is free. Happy wedding season, it's almost over.