Where's my sword wrote:

I feel like the legendary Emperor Charlemagne, a great and noble king who did everything right but who was unfortunately blind to he faults of others. He just couldn't believe that his friends would do any wrong. Because of Charlemagne's trusting nature, Roland, the greatest paladin in history and the "flower of chivalry", died through treachery.

I had many oppurtunities while Amanda was living with me to undermine my enemies, to weaken them, and prevent them from attacking me. It would have been very convenient for me, but I didn't do it because it didn't seem right. Unfortunately, I had no idea that they really were my enemies at the time. Just like the duplicitous Duke Ganelon who fooled Charlemagne and caused the death of Roland. I guess it's true what they say about nice guys.

it must be LOVE! wrote:

plus the substantial dowry that my family has to pay to my in-laws. The dowry is the biggest single chunk of that and it is one of the most important. They don't really care about the money, but they care about appearances and they wouldn't be able to live with the rumors that would circulate if I didn't pay it. People would think that something was wrong with my wife if her family didn't get a nice gift for her. I don't know what kind of rumors these would be, but I get the impression that it is a stigma worse than being an unwed teenage mother in 1950s whitebread American suburbia. My parents were planning to pay the dowry, but they didn't know how big it would be. It's much more than they expected.

How can you question me? wrote:

Those baskets that are presented in the beginning of the ceremony (I think it's during the engagement ceremony) are full of gifts including red envelopes full of money. They are asking for only three-fourths as much as they paid for their son's wife but they are going to spread it out among more baskets to make it look bigger. They most likely won't actually spend any of it. It's standard practice in the countryside to keep the money as compensation for the loss of the daughter's work (on the farm), but in the cities it is normal to give the money back after the wedding. It's all about saving face. They have to make a big deal about their daughter getting married and show off the gift baskets that they got for her. If they don't, people will think that something was wrong with her.

I'm sure it's all very above-board wrote:

I took my in-laws to my hometown in Michigan, we had a party with my family, we came back. I took them to the airport last week. I dropped my wife off at the airport on Friday and now I'm alone for the next three months.