Our Vineyard Wedding

I just took a minute to fill in my “about me” page, which you can visit in the links to the right, and I thought I’d take a minute to introduce my groomsmen as well.

I met all of my groomsmen through a signing group in college called The Rusty Pipes. Michelle was the roommate of another group member (Nicole, one of her bridesmaids) and that’s how we ended up getting to know each other. While three of my groomsmen now live far away and we have not been able to keep in touch as well as we would have liked, I’m looking forward to having them all as my groomsmen and taking this opportunity to get together again. This is gonna be great.

My best man Matt and I were roommates and co-leaders of the Pipes in 1999-2000 after having met in 1998 during his first year of the group. We share a very similar sense of humor, to say the least. Matt’s rapier wit, impeccable comedic timing, and gesticulating physical antics never fail to keep me, nor anyone else, amused. Among other things, we spent that year playing video games, watching geeky cartoons and movies, hosting geek friends to the apartment, and generally living horrifically bacheloresque existences, deeply in need of physical exercise, dish washing, apartment scrubbing, and creative outlets for our technical interests. I think we’ve both found all of those things in the years since then, cleaning up our acts considerably. Matt currently lives in Houston, Texas and is an incredibly sensitive, funny, caring, and brilliant person whom I am proud to have as my best man.

Brian and I were original members of the group in 1997 when he was a freshman. We too share a very similar sense of humor as well as a desire to combine technical and creative interests into the ultimate dream career and have a blast the whole time. We had many good times in Troy involving the group, video projects, and common employers, especially the bad ones. Since he moved down here to Maryland a couple years ago, we’ve become even closer and never fail to have a good time and stimulate each others’ creative sides. Brian currently lives near Baltimore, Maryland.

Nate was also an original Rusty Pipe and we became friends back in that first year of 1997 as well. A frequent visitor to our apartment, he often provided the much needed household amenities which we were lacking. He knows what I’m talking about. In 2000, exactly five years ago this month, we took a two-week, 10,000 mile driving tour across the country, starting in San Jose and winding through southern California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma and up through the Midwest to get back to New York, hitting every national park along the way and living entirely out of a cooler in the back seat, except for a brief but disconcerting visit to a Little Caesar’s in Hurricane, Utah. Nate is a thoughtful and funny guy and is busy planning his own wedding for this September. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado.

Russ of course was also a member of the Rusty Pipes, as well as another frequent visitor to the apartment, where he often slept overnight on our much too short recliner. I value Russ as a fellow tech geek who also has a very spiritual side and what I regard as outstanding character. I enjoyed our walks at the Peace Pagoda and our other hikes and camping trips. Russ, the consummate Eagle Scout, was always ready to tie a handy knot and he is the one person I know values and loves the outdoors as much as I do. A musician and poet who didn’t even know it, Russ is a good friend who I’m very much looking forward to having as a groomsman. He hails from, and currently lives near, the Portland, Oregon area.