Susie Sue Rocked the Lace Dress.

I got back from my friend Sue Lay and Tony Nickles' wedding over the weekend. (I use their full name in case someone actually googles them.). It was the first time I have seen Sue in about 10 years. I realized several things whilst in Portland.

1. Sue is frackin’ gorgeous. I mean drop dead gorgeous. It’s not that I had forgotten about that, but it’s more that I had just taken it for granted when we were hanging out together – something the distance of 10 years alleviated. Granted it WAS her wedding day and she WAS suppose to be super beautiful, but looking at her, it’s totally clear that this just how she looks. Always amazing.

Why the heck are all my friends so fabulously attractive?

Sue, of course, was the one who told me about psychological aspects of attractiveness. Apparently “like” attracts “like” in terms of people attractiveness levels. Thus a relationship often works out with people who are on the same level of attractiveness. The classic example being Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the higher end of attractiveness, and Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman on the other end of the spectrum.

Sue, being who she is, had brought up this theory in college, when a friend of her was trying to set her up. Apparently her friend was going on about the guy she wanted to set Sue up with, and Sue was afraid the guy might have been TOO attractive…. As if.

On a side note, when I once made comment to a friend of mine (at the time, using the example of Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman and Danny DeVito/Rhea Perlman) she immediately came back with the very pertinent question – “yeah, but who would you rather hang out with?” of which the obvious answer would be Danny and Rhea.

On another completely different side note, this theory apparently does not apply to Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, or Beyoncé.

2. The actress Kate Beckinsale looks like Sue in a vague sort of way. No, it’s not that my friend Sue looks like Kate Beckinsale, it’s the other way around. AJ couldn’t see it, but then I think he has a sketchy idea of what Kate looks like. Plus he says that hair color makes a huge difference in the way a person looks, and he couldn’t get over the difference in hair color.

I really only realized this resemblance as the wedding progressed. Why I never noticed it before I have no idea. But it COMPLETELY explains why I liked the movie UNDERWORLD. It was like watching my friend Sue kicking ass in tight leather pants. I even had fleeting moments of it, even as I watched her take her vows. I always thought the movie reminded me of Sue because she had that thing for vampires, but now I know the real reason.

3. Sue seemed genuinely pleased to have AJ and I there. I didn’t have a chance to talk to her at all that much (it was as if EVERYONE there knew her! Like it was a big party JUST FOR HER!) but everytime she talked to me she kept on going on about how happy she was that I came all that way for her.

The thing that I never had a chance to convey to her – and something I have only consciously become aware of, is that getting invited/going to a wedding is a privilege for me, not the other way around. The chance to see a couple, any couple, publicly announce their very private love for each other is nothing short of amazing. And when you are close to one or both of the people in the couple – it’s magical.

AJ and I were lucky to be invited up to the wedding. This was the third wedding in the past six months, with two more to go in the next six months. Each different, each amazing in their own right. Sue’s wedding was fantastic and beautiful.

4. I love Sue. It had been 10+ years since I’ve seen her. She hasn’t a changed a bit. I want to hang out with her, and see her more often. Hopefully I will. Portland isn’t that far away. And one of these days, I’ll drag her ass down here to SF. I want the opportunity to just hang out, watch TV (we had an unhealthy obsession with Prime Suspect back in the day), and get to know her husband Tony. He seems way cool. Anyone who plays Coolio and Echo and the Bunnymen at their wedding reception is okay in my book.

Congrats Sue and Tony. Let’s hang out - Portland and San Francisco aren't that far apart. I miss you.