I'm baaaack!

Oh man, does it feel good to be back or what? Let's jump right in and get caught up...

What the Heck has Mike Been Doing?

Getting Married
I'm sure you've seen the pictures on Facebook (Speaking of, I'm now at www.facebook.com/nagel.mike - the other itinerations of my custom url had been taken by Mike Nagel's with far fewer friends and way more time on their hands. And I'm mad about it.). Please do take the time to soak in the glory that is a tailored tuxedo worn with white Chuck Taylors, while you're at it. We do promise to post pics of our own as soon as we get the digitals back from our photographer.

As I was remarking to a co-worker the other day, the process of getting married is pretty much like having a second, full-time job. One that's a lot of fun, but also takes a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of patience, and you have to pay half the salary of your other job to work there. Oh, and when the job's over, there's no exit interview. There's just half a cake left and a car ride to a court-mandated, two-week vacation where you're left to wonder, "Did that just happen?"

I do want to write more about the wedding in the near future, but for now I feel guilty about mentioning it at all since Sonja and I have yet to post a single thank-you in the seven weeks after the Big Day.

Honeymooning
If you have about six hours to spare (like, you know, when you're at work reading this), you can check out the pictures of our two-week trip to Italy: Rome, Florence, a quick stop in Pisa, a day trip via bike through Tuscany, and Venice. As you'll see, the trip was absolutely amazing... and I'll write all about it coming up. Suffice it to say, we have a whole lot of souvenirs hanging on the walls of our place.

Moving In
Speaking of, did you know when someone moves in with someone else it takes them twice as long to do it as it would if just one of them moved? Yeah, we're still finding places to put all of Sonja's stuff and others places where we can donate mine.

More importantly, when you get married, people give you a lot of stuff. And they give you a lot of money. We're enjoying refurbishing the kitchen and the non-existent linen closet.

Work
Yup, back at it. Moving on!

Reading
Okay, so I'm not reading that much, but I am reading a little. I'll even tell you what I'm reading - Team of Rivals - in the hope that the next time one of you asks what I'm reading I'll have finished and moved on to something else. If not, I'll lie and say I've been buried up to *here* in literary magazines and haven't touched any book-length work in ages, darling.

Music
So, here's what it's my iPod of late that you should totally check out... MuteMath's Spotlight EP - fantastic single from an album that drops on 8/18, Our Lady Peace Burn, Burn if only for nostalgic purposes, The Devil Wears Prada Dear Love: A Beautiful Dischord suggested by a dude from GYG, and Michael Jackson Off the Wall because it's great to remember when the King of Pop was still royalty.

And While I was Writing This Post...
I learned how to pop popcorn on the stove without a JiffyPop exploding foil bag.

The Wedding Website...

Just a quick note, but our wedding website (MichaelandSonja.com) is now live and out of beta-testing—if someone who doesn't know what he's doing can beta-test a website. There are a few more bits and pieces to add (hotel deals, the Target registry, etc.), but that's pretty much as good as it's going to get.

Hope you like it!

Traditional Wedding vs Eloping...

Planning a traditional wedding:

Set date, announce to family, announce to friends, update Facebook relationship status, take engagement pictures, send save-the-dates.

Buy a dozen wedding planning books, book church, book reception hall, draw up budget, throw up in your mouth at how much a wedding costs, re-draw budget, create guest list, slash guest list.

Pick a maid of honor, pick a best man, pick a flower girl, pick a ring bearer, pick your nose.

Meet with DJs, barter with DJs, book DJ, taste cakes, taste cupcakes, taste fake cakes, book baker, find limos, think about music, hum music, book musician, buy custom-made wedding bands.

Look for dress, try on dress with friends, buy dress, wait for dress to be delivered, make final payment on dress, try on dress once weekly for months.

Have tux custom-made on a whim while traveling overseas, hang tux in closet, never try tux on and hope it fits on the Big Day.

Think about flowers, send guy pictures of flowers at work, dream about flowers, create an assortment of flowers, re-create flowers idea after scrapping for a better one, think about flowers some more, book florist, redesign flower ideas once more.

Book pastor, begin 8-week marriage counseling, drive two hours each Sunday so you can attend church and counseling sessions, confirm that you really were meant for each other after all.

Learn how to dance, how to mix a cocktail, how to build a wedding website, how to throw a bouquet, how to spell distant cousins' names, how to not invite people, how to disinvite people, that "full figure garter belts" exist, that everything is obscenely expensive.

Plan ceremony, plan reception, plan honeymoon, plan backup plans.

Day of - wake up, say "I do," party hearty, ooh-la-la.

Eloping:

Book plane tickets. Get married. Tell mom via postcard.

MichaelandSonja.com

Just a heads up... I've started to build a website for our upcoming wedding. It's up now at MichaelandSonja.com.

Right now, it's nothing fantastic. But it's a website and I put it up all by myself (which is an accomplishment even though I used iWeb and "Made it on a Mac"). Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for what else I can do with it.

Gone Rambling...

Who determined that four hours is the danger threshold for an erection? And if you had one last that long, are you really going to make your first call be to your doctor?

While we're talking about erectile dysfunction, I'm currently teaching my two-year-old niece the "Viva Viagra!" jingle. I know this is just setting me up for Brian to give me some big time payback once my own seeds are sown (as they say), but I don't care. It's worth it. "Viva! Viva! Viagraaaaaaaa!"

The four movies I've cried at: "Braveheart," "Big Fish," "Passion of the Christ" and "The Incredible Journey."

One move I did not laugh at (or finish): "Melinda and Melinda"

Will Ferrel's only re-watchable movie is Anchorman. And even though I know every line, I still watch.

Milk was a good choice. The last bottle I bought was an old-school, glass one. I had to pay an extra dollar deposit to help encourage me to return it. But I think I'm going to keep it and drink G&Ts out of it in the summertime. How awesome would that be?

Went to Walmart tonight to get a few things for the apartment... They sell a camouflaged crock pot. So the next time you think the meat you're eating has a gamey flavor, now you know why.

I can never remember how you're supposed to spell the color gray/grey in American.

Anyone else notice that packets of Eclipse Gum are no longer perforated? The 12-pack tinfoil tray used to tear in the middle, giving you two, pocket-sized packets of gum. Now, if I buy Eclipse, I have to use scissors to snip the package into two six-packs. Unacceptable.

How do indy rock bands stay so skinny? If they're on the road touring all the time, they must go house on fast-food constantly. I thought the heroin era was over.

While we're on the subject of grown men pouring themselves into girls' jeans, Kings of Leon is now in my top 10 favorite bands. Maybe top five. I'll let you know after I go see them tomorrow.

I got those tickets for free. I won tickets to two different concerts this week via radio call-in. I've never won anything before.

I never realized how much I missed having a real kitchen until I got one back again. I am now using pots and pans that haven't been touched in six months.

This summer, I spent two months in China. And I will still eat at Panda Express.

Scotch makes me fart in my sleep. I'm serious. I went to a wedding last month, drank scotch at the reception (Johnny Black) and woke up the next morning with a green haze enveloping the entire room. The room which, by the way, I was sharing with the groom's cousin. Sorry, Jesse. I hope your singed nose hairs have recovered.

I'm planning a wedding of my own. Did you know that it costs $300 an hour for someone to stand in a tux with their thumb on the wheel of an iPod? Me and the Missus are getting screwed - and it's not the good kind.

To anyone with a Nextel. Just stop. For the love of all that's good, learn how to text. And turn your phone to vibrate.

Did you know it's cheaper to own a trailer than it is to rent an apartment? By 30%? Then again, you'd actually have to live in the trailer. I have heard possum is delicious.

I have two closets in my bedroom. They are both full AND I just donated four trash bags of clothes to Planet Aid and Goodwill. Not manly.

Santa came to my local mall on November 6th this year. The turkeys weren't even dead yet.

I love Ikea. It's the only place in the world where you have to assemble your own cardboard box. I bought two.

The Price of Tea in China

According to XE.com, today's exchange rate from the US Dollar to China's Renminbi (also known as "yuan" or "kuai") is 1 to 6.82. That makes travel pretty easy and, honestly, is one of my favorite things about China. You need to spend very little to live very well here.

I don't want to run through an entire list of what I bought (that would take approximately 19,000 words), since I did have to buy a second suitcase ($15) to get everything back to the States. But I do need to go over some my better purchases and ones that you might want to make, if you ever get over to Beijing.

First off, travel is hard. Plane, train and bus rides aren't good on your back. And, if you're like me and carry a man bag everywhere, your shoulders and neck can get messed up to. A massage is the answer and one of my little guilty pleasures no matter where in the world I am. For 98 yuan ($15), I had a beautiful, hour-long massage where my little Chinese masseur took me apart and put me back together again. It was ugly, she was violent, but after the dust settled, I was a new man.

Food is ridiculously cheap. My daily breakfast usually consists of an egg sandwich on fresh-made, nan-like bread or a few dumplings and a hard-boiled egg. In either case, I pay anywhere from 1 to 1.50 yuan... that's less than 20 cents in the US. Beat that, Dunkin' Donuts! And if you're paying more than $4 for a beer (in a very nice bar), then you're paying too much. Generally, it should cost between 10-15 yuan (under $2), unless you just bought it in a hutong's local shop... then you get a 20-ounce Tsingtao for 3 yuan ($1.50). Yes!

I'm not a big taxi guy, but there are times where I really don't feel like dealing with the subway here or it's late at night and I just want to get home. Thankfully for my wallet, I'm in Beijing - city of millions, most of them cabbies. These guys are everywhere and although the base fare starts at 10 yuan, I've never paid more than 90 ($12) for a ride. And that expensive one was coming in from the airport, where there are always extra charges. By comparison, my cab ride from Boston Logan to my apartment in Cambridge cost $28 before tip and took about a third of the time.

Luxurious escapes from China are, at times, necessary. I love mingling with locals and trying to see how they live, but there is a limit to how much Chinese food I can take, how many dirty serving trays I can see or how long I can go without a napkin (you'll only be given those in Western places or, on occasion, if you ask really nicely). Beijing, being the international hub that it is, has plenty of 5-star hotel bars to relax in, sip a whiskey and smoke a cigar (all for under $20). There are also dozens of ex-pat gathering places from diners (Grandma's Kitchen) to cafes (The Bookworm) where you can drop the seemingly exhorbitant sum of 100 yuan to get fresh, Western delicacies for less than 15 dollars. Then, once your stomach's been filled with reminders of home and your mind has been refreshed, you can head back out into the city streets, recharged and ready to once again soak it all in.

The cheap shopping opportunities around Beijing are well documented. But what I didn't expect to find were several tailors around the city, offering high-quality, hand-made suits and dress shirts. Last month, I visited Lisa Tailor, which is located on the 5th floor of the 3.3 Mall in the Sanlitun area. Apparently, this particular shop is well-known and recommended by many concierges around the city. I wasn't expecting to buy anything, but was completely floored by the prices - 1,000 yuan for suits, 1,300 for tuxedos, 80-150 yuan for shirts and ties for 30 and under. Put in Chinese prices, that sounds expensive, but that meant I could be spend $150 for a suit, $180 for a tux and about $10 a shirt.

If you know me, you know I can't resist shopping and I can't fight off bargains. I walked out of there with an order for a pin-stripe suit, a black tuxedo, five shirts, two ties and four sets of cufflinks. That alone might have been worth the flight over here.

So, while travel in the UK and Europe continues to get more and more difficult as the dollar's value free-falls, it's nice to know there are still places where a 25-year-old, unemployed kid can come and live like a king.

Xiexie, Beijing!

My girl Candy, sizing me up.

Rocking the Chucks with the tux. Incidentally, I bought those shoes at the Silk Market for $10 (and probably overpaid).

Spreading news in the modern era (or, it's impossible to keep a secret)...

It's funny: universal connectivity and the Internet both make life easier and more difficult at the same time.

Example A: Sonja's and my engagement.

We got engaged on a Friday afternoon. It was a great - and personal - event. While we both wanted to tell the world and shout about it from the proverbial rooftops, we had to be careful about it.

Yes, sadly, the fact that I gave my girlfriend (now fiancee) a ring, became a news story that had to be spun.

We couldn't just change the status of our relationship using Facebook or post a MySpace bulletin. Though it's now the easiest way for us to reach everyone in our extended network of friends and relatives, it's also super-impersonal.

However, using the old-school method of calling up people or putting an announcement into the newspaper wouldn't work, either. Who's got the minutes to spare on their cell plan to call dozens of people? And does anyone under the age of 70 actually read the engagement page anymore (most papers don't even put it into their print edition anymore, unless you pay for it).

We knew that we would have to, eventually, share the news of Facebook. But before we did that, we had to carefully control the news and "leak" it out to the right people. If we had hired a mouthpiece and a press secretary, it couldn't have been more orchestrated.

Sonja and I started, of course, by calling our families with the news. Both sets of parents knew that this past Friday was THE DAY I'd propose, so they weren't too surprised to hear the news. We then called our siblings and started the process of clicking through our respective cell phones and making sure our closest friends heard the news first. For her, it meant her best girlfriends and a few from college got the news. On my part, I called my senior-year housies from college and a couple other close friends over the course of the weekend.

But that was it. To be honest, it's sort of a big pain to call and rehash the story time after time (anyone's who's had a kid or gotten engaged knows this). We knew that an email would be the best method of telling everyone. When it's a big piece of news, like the engagement, you want to have everyone tell their side. So it took a while to compose the email together and then put together our lists and send it out.

Hence, the web 2.0 silence for 3 days about the big news - we didn't want to just announce anything to the entire world before we told the people that we wanted to. It was kind of funny, not updating my Twitter, hinting at news on Facebook until we wrote every word, made every call and made sure the timing was right. It was the equivalent to an outlet breaking a news story at 3pm - just in time for the evening news to crash a piece.

So, now you all know. That's what's important. The news is out there and now Sonja and I can figure out what the heck it is you're supposed to do next after you're engaged.

To everyone that we didn't call or missed out on the email - it was an oversight and I'm sorry. I could barely think straight while I was on one knee, proposing to the woman I love. Do you really think I can keep my address book organized? I'm still on cloud 9, pinching myself and making sure it's real.

Thanks for all the love in return from y'all - it means a ton!

Marriage is why we have gathered together today...

Please allow me to share some exciting, personal news before I get back to talking about whatever it is I write about here. This is a copy of an email that went out yesterday... Sonja will guest-blog part of it. Perhaps it's not the best way to make the announcement, but, hey you found out about it!

(And now, a letter from Mike and Sonja)

Dearest Family and Friends,

Please sit down.

Are you sitting? Good, because we have some big stuff to tell you.

We would like to take the opportunity to share the exciting news of our engagement! Mike proposed, Sonja accepted and now comes the exciting part of wedding planning and debt! (Just kidding…it’ll all be wonderful!)

We know you all want the juicy details, and that’s exactly what this email will (hopefully) do!

So…get ready to experience the Mike and Sonja Engagement Story:

---Sonja’s Version---

On Friday, May 16th, Mike and I went on a picnic. Now, this wasn’t really a huge shock because we had planned on picnicking for quite some time; he just decided to keep the location a secret. He picked a perfect spot on Rye Beach. We dined on a grassy patch high enough to view the ocean’s unlimited waters. It was a beautiful day, even though it was slightly chilly and breezy. After stuffing ourselves full of sandwiches and goldfish, he decided to have a surprise up his sleeve…

He had a little date planned in the Fuller Gardens. It’s a turn of the century rose garden on the Seacoast. When we walked over to the gate and realized it was closed, Michael got really upset (if you know Mike, you know he’s not exactly crazy about shrubbery…) I told him that it was not a big deal…we’d just visit another day. He started to get pouty and all grumbly because he called ahead of time and was POSITIVE that the garden would be open! But, knowing there was nothing we could do about it, we decided to take pictures from the gate.

Directly across the street from the Fuller Gardens was this tiny chapel. Michael asked if I wanted to go in, and hesitantly I said “sure”. We heard someone doing construction behind the chapel, so he insisted on talking to the fellow to see if we could go in, even after I told him that we shouldn’t interrupt and just visit another time. After a few minutes of waiting for Mike to return, I walked over to where he and the carpenter were and was introduced to Mitch. Mitch, who was “totally bodacious,” was kind enough to allow us to go inside and peek at the adorable building while he worked outside. The chapel took my breath away. Complete with stained glass and arched open beams, I completely fell in love with the little place. While we snooped around inside, I kept noticing Michael fidgeting behind me… but if you know me, I take things with a grain of salt, and I thought nothing of it. While I was at altar looking around, I turned around and Mike was on his knee! He took my hand and said something… but to be completely honest, I have NO idea what he said. I was in complete shock that he was actually PROPOSING! I asked him if it was a joke, and (thankfully!) he said no. Then, the big question came: “Sonja, will you marry me?” Of course, I said YES!!!!!!

His proposal couldn’t have been more perfect. Afterwards, we thanked Mitch (who Michael had met and planned the proposal with a week before!) and headed for the beach again to celebrate with champagne. I think I cried about a million and twelve times because I was so incredibly happy and surprised. I had NO clue that he would ask me that day, let alone before his departure to Japan and China! It was one of the best days of my life, and I couldn’t ask for a more perfect engagement.

(Oh…and the ring is ABSOULTELY STUNNING! )

Mike and I are so excited to start another chapter in our lives…TOGETHER! This is such an amazing time for us, and we thank you all SO much for the love and support that each and every one of you gives.

We are beyond thankful.


---Mike’s Version---

I don’t have too much to add, I suppose. But I’ll fill in a few of the details.

Since I’m a Nagel (and therefore, totally type-A), I plan things out. The proposal had been in the works for quite a while — I talked with my parents back in February, spoke with Sonja’s at the end of March and then bought the ring in mid-April. I’d been holding back on proposing while I waited for the weather to warm up (Sonja loves flowers, so I wanted to do the proposal outdoors).

I visited Fuller Gardens and the Union Chapel a week earlier to scope things out. The gardeners told me that they’d be open for business, but I either misheard them or they wound up being closed randomly on the day of the proposal. However, when I visited the gardens, I also met Mitch, the friendly surfer-contractor, and arranged for him to let us into the chapel for a viewing when I came back with Sonja. She had no idea that Mitch and I knew each other when we walked up to the church.

We got into the chapel. I had the ring safety-pinned to the inside of my jacket pocket (totally paranoid about losing it). Sonja kept walking around, looking at the Tiffany stained glass windows. I tried to deftly maneuver behind her to get the ring out, but mostly wound up flopping around awkwardly and helplessly. Finally, though, I got it free and shifted it to another pocket.

Just then, Mitch came back into the chapel. He knew I was going to propose there (I’d told him 3-4 times), but the poor dude seemed like he spent too many hours baking in the sun, so I’m not sure if he forgot or what. Anyways, he interrupted us and asked to see Sonja’s ring. Luckily, she wears a promise ring and he seemed satisfied to see that and left. Otherwise, I would have hit him over the head with a 2x4.

Alone once more, I got down on one knee, grabbed Sonja’s right hand, told her that she was the love of my life and asked for her hand in marriage. I like to think I did so eloquently and gallantly. However, I don’t really remember what I said, but I do remember fumbling around with the ring, noticing I had the wrong hand and mumbling, “I need your left one now.”

Despite my poor attempts at a proposal (Guys, if I have any advice it’d be, “Write it out and read it out loud.”), she said, “Yes.” And she cried a lot. And said, “Yes,” some more. I just smiled so much my face hurt.

It was awesome.

I’m so unbelievably excited — Sonja came into my life at just the right time to be my perfect soul mate. I couldn’t imagine a future without her. I love you with all my heart, Sonja.

“And they lived happily ever after…”

To answer your questions, no we don’t have a date. But we’re thinking for late-May, early-June of 2009. In lieu of gifts, please just send large wads of cash. Mike has a ring to pay for, thanks.

(Kidding!)

Sonja and I outside the closed Fuller Gardens

Post-proposal in the chapel

The altar where she said yes.

Outside the chapel (with Mitch's van).

Mitch