When a Plan Comes Together

A lot of successful endeavours in life are a direct result of having a team of individuals that pull together in a cinch. I grew up watching The A-Team on TV and when the movie version idea first came about (with the dream team of Mel Gibson, Ving Rhames, Jim Carrey and some pretty boy, I think it was Matt Damon at the time) I couldn't wait. Of course, the dream team never emerged but the cast they assembled for the 2010 movie was solid (and the cameos were stellar) and sold the concept in an appropriately over-the-top manner.

My maid-of-honour, Kerri got me this shirt years ago when she discovered the joy of custom-made shirts. I wore it to every final exam I had after getting it (I believe in the power of subliminal learning, especially for professors that mark their own tests) and often donned it during exam week at the high schools I worked at to get the kids thinking positively.

In terms of plans coming together, the wedding's less than 200 days away now. Might sound like a long run-up but considering the countdown started at over 400, it feels very close by comparison. Kerri's a part of my A-Team for the execution of this production even if she's supporting from a distance. My mom is excited but strictly hands-off and Jeff's mom has been cautiously helpful. The strangest thing I find about this whole scenario is being asked "How are the plans coming along?" NOW. STILL. In my mind, the plans were done within a month of deciding to get married. Everything else has been implementation. Being asked about plans NOW borders on the ridiculous. 

Still, knowing who my main players are is helpful. It is a team effort and being able to delegate duties early is a relief. Friend Lesley provided me with some official-sounding army terminology yesterday like "battle procedure" and "operations order" that I'll try to work in to my "war council" (<< my preferred term even if it isn't accurate) of wedding party members that I want to call in the early spring. After all, I got to design my team's uniforms, they might as well be the uniforms of the victors, right?

Sometimes it's a daunting task ahead of us and I'd much rather be a cog in the machine than the owner/operator/engineer but the choices we've made so far feel right and, ultimately, it's about sharing a wonderful day with friends and family and making good memories to start a life together with.

I was trying to figure what motto (related to today's post) I could reference when describing the process of planning this day and, funnily enough, the only line that resonated was: 

Overkill is under-rated

Of course, that has to do with the planning not the aesthetic. :)

Taking the Plunge

 Bet you thought I was going to blog about wedding plans, didn't you? BA-zinga!

Whistler Bungee is the closest place to Vancouver to find this particular activity. It's a jump from a bridge spanning the Cheakamus River, a 160ft plunge, and a lot of bouncing. And I probably would never have gone looking for this experience except for two things. First, came this segment on the Rick Mercer Report:

Once I'd seen Rick Hansen do the deed ... in. his. freakin. WHEELCHAIR. I knew I had to give it a try. Eventually.

Then Katrina came to visit. Kat's afraid of heights but you would think the exact opposite if you were to review her travel activities. When I mentioned that I wanted to go up to Whistler and do the bungee jump, she was all for it. Of course, she practically vibrated with nervous energy for the 24 hours before our jump and couldn't sleep at all the night before. But we did it! Here's the video of my perspective:

And here's me, "hanging out" at the bottom, waiting for retrieval: 

Kat did her bungee jump face-first (but still with the torso harness, not the ankle one) while I jumped backwards. Since I live nearby, I decided after that first jump that I should go back and try it face-first too. So in October of 2010, while in Whistler for Peggy's bachelorette, she and I bussed down to the jump site and a-way I went...

It was significantly scarier going face-first.

To be anecdotally scientific for a moment, I made an interesting discovery after my second jump: a dramatic adrenaline rush can completely negate any subsequent alcoholic effects. Hours later (and we're talking ten or more) as we celebrated Peggy's soon-to-be-finished singleton-dom in the entertainment hub that is Whistler Village, I realized that the substantial imbibing that was going on was not having the same effect on me as on my companions. I still had a great time but drinking was a futile (and expensive) activity that night.

You get a t-shirt EVERY time you jump

A little while later, a Groupon came up for a discounted jump at Whistler Bungee and I bought it, then nearly forgot to use it before it expired. My darling had to drive me up to do the jump and even crossed the bridge despite his own intense dislike of heights. I could've chosen to use the ankle harness this time to change it up again but hanging by my ankles for minutes while waiting to be pulled back up really didn't hold a lot of appeal and, quite truthfully, falling backwards is kind of relaxing. 

Familiarity breeds comfort and I didn't hesitate on this jump like I did on my first. Apparently, the guy on the platform even commented,"Well, she's done this before" after I'd gone.

Well, I did say at the start of this post that it wasn't going to be wedding-related. But, since our photographer, Darko, posted one of our engagement photos from last Friday, it seems just too perfect, timing-wise. So *double BA-zinga*. Here we are at Queen Elizabeth Park.

... and the goofy smiles aren't just due to being deeply in love. He was whispering (without moving his lips) that he was going to throw me in the fountain and I was whispering back (without moving my lips) that if he did, I'd pull him in with me. A nice metaphor for wedding planning really if you think about it.