I am not usually out on the freeway after dark.  No, I am not a day vampire, just a parent whose kids have an early bedtime.  However, I do have a class one evening a week, and am traveling south on I-5 after 9 PM those nights.

If you haven’t seen the night work on the stretch between Downtown and Elk Grove, you are missing out.  I am amazed at the complexity of shutting down a lane and setting up spotlights to work alongside the madness that is the late-PM driver.  The spotlights and heavy machinery always remind me of some sort of space station–Houston, we HAVE landed.  …They’re here….

Last night, the CHP was investigating an accident Southbound that happened inside the lane closure.  Flashing red lights, blue lights, and white lights.  Several vehicles were involved, and of course, everyone had to slow down for the cones, as well as to see what all the cops were doing.

Somebody lost their entire front end.  Maybe next time they’ll “slow for the cone zone”.

Aren’t you glad you live in a small, relatively centralized county like Sacramento? Well, you should be. Obtaining marriage licenses is crazy easy. There’s a helpful website full of FAQ answers and during normal business hours a live and helpful person actually answers the listed phone number.

Walk-ins are allowed, but appointments are encouraged. We made an appointment during their first slot - at 8am - and were in and out in about half an hour. Bride and groom must be present, at least 18 years old, and have photo ID. That’s about it. There is an online application form the site asks you to fill out, but it didn’t seem mandatory once we were there.

Actually, the only criticism we have about the system is this online form. You enter your info, diligently check it for mistakes, and it prints out, nicely filled. You’d think perhaps that info gets zapped over to the clerk’s office for easy import into the actual license document. Not so. Best we could tell, someone then re-enters the info.

Accordingly an important word of warning: Check Their Work. Twice. Then once more after that. And again after they fix the mistakes you found on previous readings. My name is frequently mangled, but in this case, they badly butchered my groom’s name and the word “England” - didn’t even know that was possible. Of course, in our rush to correct the litany of typos on his section, I noted only that they had not forgotten the oft forgot “a” that turns my name from “Christina” into what it is.

But what I didn’t notice was the missing “i” before the not-forgotten “a.” So we had to go back and file an amendment after the wedding to get it corrected. Not the end of the world, but an unnecessary extra hassle.

Out of all wedding chores - getting the license is the easiest part. Grab your fiance(e) and your IDs (and your checkbook or cash - no credit or debit cards accepted) and head on down to 600 8th Street. You’ll be in and out in no time - allowing for typos, of course.

For other county services, keep reading . . .
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The Temple Room and Rings by Rachelle Stogner, Rachelle Photography

Getting married can be a full-time job. More precisely, planning a wedding can be a full-time job. When you already have one full-time job, wedding planning can leave little time for life’s more fulfilling pursuits, like blogging. Our wedding having come and gone, however, I can now return to blogging - Ta-Da! - since I know how you’ve been missing me. Right? No? Oh well.

Since I relied heavily on the web for wedding research, but found little in the way of Sacramento-based wedding advice. Google can help. Word-of-mouth is more reliable. One unexpected but very helpful resource proved to be Flickr. Search tags for “Sacramento Wedding” or any particular venue or vendor and see what you find. I used it to shop for photographers (though I found mine elsewhere). It also can provide clues about hair, make-up, cakes, etc. When in doubt, send flickr mail and see if the bride, groom, guest, or photographer can provide further information.

I figured maybe some of what we learned in the process - tips, money-saving ideas, and vendor recommendations - might be useful to some readers and future wedding planners out there.

So over the next week or so, I’ll be posting about choosing: the venue, the dress, the photographer, live musicians, the DJ, the florist, the cake bakery, and a few other odds-and-ends. I hope that upcoming Sacramento brides find something useful here and encourage others to leave comments with their own experiences and advice.

Oh - and a quick preface for what’s to come: Weddings can suck. More precisely, weddings are usually great, but planning them can suck - at least that’s what conventional wisdom and poorly written sitcoms and movies tell us. But do you know what led to weddings being potentially un-fun money pits?

Weak brides.

Follow me after the jump for a better explanation and the first part of this series: The Venue.
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Flat bumps in the road: what’s with the new ‘flat’ bumps (aka ’speed tables’) on 24th Street? They’re not nearly as fun as the old speed bumps. Not only that, but it seems like they’re not slowing any of the SUVs down–just the smaller car drivers, who were probably not speeding on that street, anyway.

Burger Watch: They’ve finally started the construction work over at the future home of Suzie Burger. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to salivate already.

Traffic girth control: Both 19th and 21st Street are going to be downsized into two-laners with room for bikes. Find another route home, if you dare. Or maybe dust off that Trek and use your own fuel.

Shopping cart man: were BOTH those bikes on your cart yours? How can you ride two bikes, one pink, one yellow, when you’re pushing a full shopping cart? Is anyone out there missing a putrid yellow bike or a shocking fuchsia one? I may have seen them floating down Q Street on the back of a rust-dusted shopping cart.

Oto’s on Freeport:
New incarnation of the Japanese-food-focused grocery store is now open, in a highly visible spot. If you want tiny one-human desserts or to make your own sushi, this is the place to go.

So a new comedy premiered tonight on NBC.

The first line was “look out Fair Oaks, here I come.”

The title character was driving a car that appears to have California plates.

It looks California-y (though more Southern than Northern).

A mapquest search for “Fair Oaks, CA” yields 3 results: one in Mendocino, one in San Joaquin, one in Sacramento.

So, does Even Stevens finally have a companion in the “shows set in Sacramento” department? More importantly, if we just keep insisting that it is, will people start buying it, despite the high number of palm trees?

Update: well, thanks to the 20-minute-ly railroad fire updates, I believe we’re missing some vital clues in this mystery! But a mention of a (fake) Long Beach Star newspaper (and the obvious SoCal location shoots, but c’mon, it’s a TV shows, those get shot in L.A., right?) makes my master “It’s set up here” plan harder to pull off.

If you ever find yourself out of town and missing home, huddled inside on a rainy day, or planning your route on the freeways, look no further than the web for a real-time look at what’s happening “out there”. Caltrans covers the roads, KCRA has cameras downtown, at the airport, and destinations like Tahoe and Monterey. Sac State also has its cameras pointed on two new projects on their campus. I know that the city is putting up cameras all along K Street–any chance they’d open some up for amusement/horror from the comfort of your home?

News from MB sister cities Portland and San Francisco: the body of SF resident James Kim was found this afternoon. His family was rescued several days ago after spending 9 days fighting to stay warm and alive. For those following the story, this is an unexpected end after a seemingly optimistic start to the day.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Kim family and his SF friends - including fellow Metroblogging writers - affected by his loss.

Okay, so I give Sacramento Magazine a hard time (rightfully so, when it comes to their “Best of” issue). Today, though, I caught a glimpse of a headline piquing my interest enough to make me find it online. It’s hardly breaking news. It isn’t even solely a Sacramento problem. The issue: childless (or “child-free” if the “-less” gives you inferiority issues) women in the workplace feeling pressured to cover their child-rearing coworkers. You’ve heard the situations: worker 1 has to go get kid A from school to soccer practice; worker 2 has to get the proposal done for the boss by first thing tomorrow. Worker 2 has no kids. Guess who gets to stay late?

With all the new home construction, migration, and new families in town, this issue must be especially pressing in Sacramento. But aren’t a lot of these complaints tired? Are some shallow? And are they missing a bigger problem entirely?
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Photo of missing child

Heads up. Friends and family of name removed by request, who has been missing for about a week, will be gathering at 10 AM on Saturday, 9/30/06 at Denny’s on 3rd and J Streets to distribute and post flyers. Volunteers who want to help–please come and bring tape and/or staple guns.

Name removed by request is 15 years old, approximately 6 feet tall and weighs about 170 lbs. He has hazel eyes and dark hair. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and Adidas T-Shoes in the Old Sacramento / Downtown Plaza Area.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of this young man, please call 916.XXX.9900 or the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department 916.874.5111 or 911

When’s the last time you visited your local library? If it was when you were six years old, then you’re sadly missing out on all the cool upgrades going on at the book bank. First, let me point out that you can reserve books from the comfort of your home PC (or work, if the boss is relaxed). All you need is your library card. They’ll even send you an e-mail when the book is ready. You can browse, select the library to which you’d like the book to be sent and, voila! Pick up the book on YOUR schedule. Oh yes, it’s all free–unless you can’t return your books on time… Happy reading!

I’d also like to thank our neighbors over at The Sac Rag for pointing out that you can now check out e-versions of many of the latest books. Check out the new digital collection.

If you’re not a reader, you might be surprised that the library has many of the latest DVDs, audio books, and more. But then, if you’re not a reader, you’re probably not reading this either. Sigh.