sleep deprivation and weekend in L.A.

I count myself among the ranks of the 30-plus (barely, by the way) set who *used to* thrive on little or no sleep. College: nights at Gaelic League (anybody know if Larry Larson still plays there on weekends?) until 2:00, followed by leisurely meal in Mexicantown or at American Coney (hot dogs in the hood are the best hot dogs of all). Grad school: working on the seminar paper through the wee hours. That was then.

Sunday night my red eye flight from L.A. to Cinci was delayed by two hours, which put the departure time at 1:00 a.m. Through most of flight, teenage girl next to me messes with her I-Pod, summons flight attendants, beats on her oversized pillow, rifles through gym bag, half of which is on my lap. I dozed for *perhaps* fifteen minutes. Due to time change, arrived in Ohio Monday a.m., 8:00. Drove straight from airport to Oxford. Cup of McDonald's coffee, change of clothes in the bathroom. In the classroom at 10:00 talking about writing workshops and teaching voice. Bottle of water and fifteen-minute doze during lunch. Attentive through afternoon presentation on the lessons the Pike Place Fish Market has for language arts teachers, given by one of my students from last summer's writing project class. Meetings and paperwork and catching up on emails and two blog entries from 3-5. Dinner at Kona's, cuz there was no way I was going to cook. And then, I was done. Haven't done an all-nighter in a long time. I know why.

On the upside, the trip to Cali. made the flight home and the dia del exhaustion worthwhile. Good pal Hung's engagement party and, as best man, I wouldn't miss the occasion. Engagement parties in Vietnamese culture are as sacred as the wedding day and traditionally include formal introductions of the two families. A neat ceremony--somewhat scaled back by Hung and Ann since the wedding is a bi-cultural affair (a combination of Vietnamese-American and Mexican-American) that consists of the bride's family going through a receiving line of all the groom's present relatives. I mean this line was long...we're talking Soul Train, here. Then, a series of speeches and toasts by the fathers of the couple, and presentation of gifts of fruit, liquor, and various small tokens from the groom's family to the bride's.

The subsequent meal traditionally consists of what I would call a "pig roast." Feeling that roasting a huge pig would be a bit overwhelming for the non-Vietnamese folks present, a local Asian market provided the meat, served on a platter with the pig's head as a centerpiece. And the couple ordered ribs and chicken from a local bbq to augment the traditional fare. After the meal, a round of toasts from lots and lots of relatives on both sides of the family, and lots and lots of champagne, culminating in a two-word toast, the most English I've *ever* heard from the groom's mother: "Ann, daughter." Few dry eyes in the house. Was the sleep deprivation worth it? Yes.