Weddings, Snick, and Baseball

This weekend in Knoxville found my time occupied at every stage of each day. It was refreshing to always be doing something, but it was exhausting as well. On Saturday morning I was joined by my parents and Amy for a breakfast of heart-shaped waffles, Belgian waffles, and crisp bacon. It was very filling (I in fact skipped lunch do the unbelievable amount of food I consumed at one sitting). I filled up on gas, which was about 11 cents per gallon cheaper here than in Kennesaw, and prepped everything to film the wedding. I changed clothes, picked up Hickey, and we were off!

We filmed the wedding at New Hope Baptist Church in Maryville. The church was kind of small, but it was very nice inside. It reminded me of Cokesbury UMC in Knoxville both in its fan shaped layout and in its dim lighting that people seem to think sets the mood for weddings. The ceremony went smoothly once it got rolling, but I almost jumped from the balcony to attack a person sitting in the front row when they saw fit to pick up one of my cameras that was filming on the front pew and turn it off and set it to the side. I can't believe that someone would do that without trying to ask someone first, "is someone using this?"! After my mild stroke from that ruined shooting angle, the rest of the ceremony went great. Hickey and I both got some fabulous shots that will really make the DVD look outstanding. We packed up our equipment and then relocated to the Top of the Plaza at Preservation in downtown Maryville. While driving there, Hickey and I determined that we would definitely be returning to that area to do some filming at a later date. We filmed the reception in what could best be described as a miniature version of Club LaConte in Knoxville. It was pretty good as receptions go, but the DJ was a bit over the top and seemed more focused on taking his own pictures and video footage than running the music played for dancing. After we filmed all we could, basically after the bride and groom left, we returned to Knoxville to begin the rest of the evening. We (Hickey and I) changed clothes and then went to Walmart to buy some travel supplies for our Charleston trip next week. We ended up driving around for a bit and finally decided on eating dinner at Mr. Gatti's near Papermill Rd. We were two of the 5 people in the restaurant at the time of our arrival. We were the last two people there, aside from employees, but it takes time to consume 15-16 small slices of pizza, pasta, and cheese sticks. After stuffing ourselves (no self control with food!) we returned to HIckey's parents house and watched the first 4 episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a popular "scary stories" television show that originally aired in the mid-late 90's on Snick (Saturday Night Nickelodeon). It took us back to a simpler time where TV shows were well written, poorly acted, and created memories for a life time. It was around 12:30am and I decided I ought to try and get some sleep before beginning another packed day!

Sunday morning I went to the 9:30am service at CBCB and was greeted by a grand hug from Mr. Wendell. It was nice to see all of my friends again. I went to Sunday School at Walker's house where apparently I missed the memo about wearing the W.C. Vinson Ministries T-shirt. Matt, Walker, and Big Bill were all wearing their shirt and Chan got a picture of all of us to commemorate this unusual moment. You should be able to see it on his blog (www.chandlervinson.blogspot.com) I left there and met Hickey back at my parent's house where we changed clothes and hopped in his truck for our next adventure. We grabbed a quick bite at the Pita Pit on the Cumberland Ave. before going to purchase our tickets for the U.T. vs. LSU baseball game. They were playing a double header and the first game began at noon. We came in about the middle of the first game and claimed our seats. We were soon joined by Clay and his girlfriend Amber to enjoy the second game. UT won the first game by a score of 7-3.

We only hung around the second game until the 5th inning after a Vol hit a home run with a runner on base to take the lead for the Vols 3-2. We are assuming that UT won the second game as well seeing as how the pitcher that LSU brought in to finished the game is the one who gave up the home run on his second batter he pitched to. We ran over the Tuckers home to say hi and pick up some stuff Amy had for both Hickey and I. While we were there, we hopped the fence next door and visited Charlie and Stephanie. It was good to see more friends since I'm usually busy the entire time I'm in town and don't get to see everyone I would like to. Hickey dropped me off at my parents house and I said my goodbyes then hit the road back to Kennesaw. I arrived around 9:00pm and began unpacking and working on laundry (so I could start re-packing for Charleston tomorrow). I am almost asleep on my feet now, so I must call it an evening and get some sleep. Don't forget to wear green tomorrow or risk getting pinched!