Andrew R Gross

What a weekend. An old friend, Peter, visited town on his way back to his current home in Uruguay. He came to LA for my wedding, then visited his family on the East coast before returning to Los Angeles to fly home. On Saturday morning we went to the beach with the intention of diving.  The waves were too rough, so we hung out on the beach instead, which was just fine.  Afterwards, we got Mexican food before heading to a friend's wedding. Regan and Schno held a very personal ceremony.  They encouraged all guests to dress in whatever garb made them feel powerful, so their wedding was attended by wizards and a guy who might actually be the real Thor.  Afterwards, we all went back to their house for a party for the ages. Regan and Schno throw great parties on a regular basis, so it should be no surprise that their wedding reception was one for the ages.  It included a variety show, in which I participated.  I can't express how much fun this was.  ...

This seems like it might be an opinion that is unpopular with both liberals and conservatives, but I honestly feel really bad for Paul Ryan, and I don't think he's spineless at all. Paul Ryan has been repeatedly called spineless for failing to openly oppose Trump.  I've heard many commentators -- Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee -- point out Ryan's own full-throated denouncements of Trump's behavior as evidence that Ryan clearly hates the candidate he purports to endorse.  They then charge Ryan with cowardice for not standing up to a candidate he knows is completely unqualified. I get the logic here, but I see a different set of calculations behind Ryan's actions.  I think Paul Ryan has continued to endorse Donald Trump for two reasons: 1)  He sincerely believes that upholding party unity is a cardinal virtue. 2)  He isn't willing to sacrifice his career for a symbolic protest. Now, there's certainly plenty of room for di...

So, in short I'm burned out.  But in a good way. I got married on the 22nd of September.  Woo!  Married! It was a lot  of work.  Honestly, declaring myself bound to another human being for life was less stressful than the logistics.  Venue.  Catering.  Cake.  Clothes.  Invitations.  Guests.  I just barely pulled it off, and technically I'm not done until I finish thank yous, receive and sort photos, settle payment and rate the vendors who all did a fantastic job.  Oy. I don't know if I made myself sick, from exhausting myself or if I just feel exhausted because I happened to get sick.  In either case, I'm exhausted and a little sick.  But not like, out of work, sick.  It's cool. In addition to the wedding, Julie, myself, and all our friends had a whirlwind week.  Both Julie and myself had family and old friends visiting. I'm just going to break it all down. Sunday the 18th Marge and Zeke arr...