![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
That was the X-Mas weekend that was...
Friday December 23rd
Work - work - work...
Half the people were missing though. Half were sick, the other half were already on vacation.
I had spent the previous night burning music CDs and making labels for the Elusive Spino. Why?
Because I actually got him on the phone Wednesday Night and we made plans to get together on Friday.
The CDs were his Christmas gifts. One of them was the complete entire soundtrack, every word, every sound effect,
of that masterpiece of American cinéma, that beacon of flickering light, Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
Theresa Mathers was in town with her husband and we were going to meet up with her for dinner.
I haven't seen her since she moved to Utah, so I was looking forward to this.
As soon as 6pm rolled around, I phoned up the Spi to let him know I was on my way home.
I barely had time to go home and get changed. He called me back, telling me he was out front, waiting for me.
Blargh! I finished getting dressed, grabbed his CDs, and ran downstairs. I traded seats with Sweetie
(I'm huge! So I'm the Perpetual Shotgun), buckled up and off we went. I knew we were headed to Orange County to
hook up with Theresa, but not much beyond that. Turns out we were headed for Downtown Disney to meet her there!
There's a Lego store in Downtown Disney. Woo hoo! And also ESPN Sportszone with tasty food. Yum...
I popped the "Plan 9" CD into the player and commenced the TOOOORRRCHAAAARRRR!
We got there in only 45 minutes. It is unknown if "Plan 9" caused Spino to hasten his pace or not. (Evil G)
We parked 5 miles away (okay, not really) and hiked to DD. Theresa and SO were located, a name was placed on
ESPN Sportszone's waiting list (40-minute wait), and the nearby Lego Imagination Store was explored.
I was hoping for 2006 Star Wars Legos, but nooooooooooooo! Sold out! Argh! I was hoping to hit the parts bins to
replace that lime green 2x1 block I lost from my "Bounty Hunter Pursuit" SW set, but noooooooooo! No lime green!
They had new stuff though. Somer new Racers sets, and the new anime-inspired "Exo-Force" sets. The heroes have
anime hair and Japanese names, the machines are mechs. Guess Lego wants to hook the japan-loving kids.
I didn't buy nothin'. I really had my heart set on a 2006 SW set.
As soon as we got out of there, the beeper buzzed, signaling the availability of our table.
Dinner was pleasant enough. We demolished a huge plate of nachos as appetizers, then moved on. 3 of us ordered
the chipotle BBQ steak sandwich, which was pretty tasty. I actually ordered salad instead of fries, and I got
the waitress to bring me a "chooler" to drink. It's half Coke, half orange soda. It's a French thing.
There was a flat-screen TV on our table and it lacked an OFF switch. The volume could be turned almost all the
way down, so we made do. Life in Utah sounds pretty wonderful. Everything's cheap. the Mormons are mostly cool.
They help people a lot. They took in 600 Katrina refugees, and within 60 days, had them all employed and housed.
For someone like Theresa, who makes art and sells her stuff at conventions, doesn't punch a clock, doesn't
have to commute, and doesn't really need to be in a major metropolis, it's perfect living.
If I could take my Web Design stuff to the next level, and Pascal did the same with his music, we would definitely
move out of L.A. and finds something a bit more sane. With the Internet, Netflix, and other services, people like
us can transplant themselves somewhere quieter, off the beaten path, and still function.
After dinner, we browsed the remaining open stores, including the giant Disney store. I found a really kick-ass
baseball cap ("Chernobog Choppers" with flames!!) and I really wished my head wasn't so huge so I could wear it.
(The cap, not the head. I wear the head everyday. It's heavy, 'cause it's so big. I had a XXL helmet when I rode.)
Also saw some Stitch-related neatness, like Stitch mittens. Didn't buy nothin'...
At around midnight, we said our goodbyes and parted way with Theresa and her SO.
Spino dropped me home. I went to bed. The end.
Saturday December 24th
Called up Warren (No LJ) to see what he was doin' today. He said he was chillin' at home, working on his Warhammer
40K figures. Said he would call back if he felt like movin'. Okee doke, dude,
Trader Joe's closed at 6pm today. Aiiiieeee!! Must get food!!
Pascal and I went over there at 2pm to stock up. We wanted to get a big slab of Portlock smoked salmon, but they
were sold out! Whine! We got kosher beef instead: ground and brochettes. Also, box of fresh-cut fruit (2 pounds
of pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango and blueberries for the low-low-price of $5!! Five smackers! Cheap!!)
We got home and had a snack of goat cheese placed on top of fresh baguette bread. Hmmmmmm...
At around 5pm, the phone rang. It was Warren calling back. Hey, maybe he wanted to come over! As we were talking,
I started to feel like he was stalling for some reason. Just as I got that feeling, somebody appeared outside my
room's door. It was Warren, on his cellphone, talking to me. WAUGH!!!!
As we both felt oddly unfulfilled X-Mas-shopping-wise, we decided to hit the Westside Pavilion before it closed.
We hit the animé store there. Warren bought some MyHime figurines or something. I looked at the toy mechs, but man,
they don't make 'em like back in the '80s. Them were the days... (100-line reminiscence deleted for clarity)
I went to Kay-Bee Toys, hunting for Legos. I was rewarded for my troubles by the 2006 Star Wars "V-Wing" set at
a $2 mark-up. (Kay-Bee Toys: inflated prices on new stuff, deals on old stuff. So my $10 Lego set was $12.)
So, I got two V-Wings. It's X-Mas, and they're small. And they have neat parts.
Next, we drove to Toys'R'Us, only to find it closed. We parked and hit Pavillions for salad and Stewart's sodas.
We mix and matched sodas and got 1 key lime, 2 orange creams, and 1 cream soda.
I bought a Rush CD for Warren at the Sav-On next door. Merry X-Mas!
We went home and I cooked dinner while Pascal made a nice mixed salad and a mustard vinaigrette (his specialty).
The three of us had a pleasant X-Mas Eve dinner. The menu consisted of fettucine with marinara sauce and shredded
Emmenthaler (aka Real Swiss), kosher burger patties for myself and Pascal (Warren is vegetarian) and the mixed
salad, which we ate after the main dish, French-style. We drank the Stewart's sodas, and liked the key lime best.
For dessert, we had fruit from the big 2-pound pack.
After dinner, we settled down and watched Warren's DVD of "The Brothers Grimm" (review in previous post).
We looked at various things on the computer, then Warren headed home.
It was a pretty pleasant X-Mas Eve, overall.
Sunday December 25th
Got up, looked out the window: no snow. Dammit!
Oh wait, I live in Los Angeles. Durrrrr...
Went back to bed.
Got up later, showered, dressed, messed around with the computer, ate a little lunch.
The sibling went off to visit a friend and work on some music, so I had the whole evening and night to myself.
I stayed online and put together the huge Flixing post. Oh yeah, and I built one of the V-Wing fighters.
And I finished building the Viking Catapult, which is pretty neat! It's clip-fed! There's a long Technic piece
with three projectiles in it. You slot the piece into the catapult, and every time you fire a projectile, gravity
moves the piece down and puts the next projectile in firing position. Dead simple, but neat all the same.
And I didn't put my eye out! Hah!
Monday December 26th
No work today.
What did I do?
I remember getting on my bicycle and riding to Souplantation with my brother for a massive lunch.
I remember it being fairly chilly (the weather, not the lunch, though I ate a lot of cold food).
And then we rode home to get our backpacks, and went to the storage unit to get some of Pascal's things.
Oh yeah, We celebrated X-Mas by watching a film about demonic possession. W00T!!!
(See end of this post for movie title and review)
Tuesday December 27th
Back to work, bork-bork-bork!
Only one-third of the people were missing this time.
The day was mostly annoying, and it is a tribute to my sang-froid that I didn't destroy anything (or anyone).
Netflixing
The Exorcism Of Emily Rose - which is actually a courtroom drama with spookiness!!
This is apparently one of the cases that inspired the movie "The Exorcist", and it is presented here in a
fairly straightforward sort of way. As the film opens, a man arrives at a lonely house in the middle of nowhere.
No, he is not The Exorcist, he is a medical examiner and here to look at the late Emily Rose. The police is
already on the scene, and the family priest looks like he never left. The movie takes us through the trial of
the priest for negligent homicide, while flashbacks show us Emily Rose's progressively worsening condition.
And yes, there are spooky bits. And yes, you might wake up at 3am and start listening for strange sounds.
This movie turned out to be not at all what I expected. It's like "the exorcism failed, the girl died, now what?".
It's definitely a different tack. If you're into gore, do not look here.
no subject
Since I'm not sure if it makes sense to reply to the email I got, I thought I leave a comment here.
Thank you very much for the New Year's wishes.
I hope you and your brother have a great 2006, too. I hope everything works out fine for you with the takeover of your company by the 800-pound gorilla.
And for your brother, of course, I wish him that he'll have a full recovery after his operation.
All the best!
Gunther
P.S.: I'm not sure if you've seen it, but for quite some time there's been a 'leaked', streaming version of the Ghost Rider trailer available. You should be able to access it by copying this URL (mms://205.178.146.40/191121/ghstrdrteasr.wmv) into your Windows Media Player. It's just a preliminary version, since it says at the end that the release is in 2006, but by now it has been postponed until 2007.
no subject
BTW I have a new couple of French comics--Ishanti and Atalante, both by Crisse. Have you read these?
no subject
I couldn't remember his name as I was typing up the post, it was driving me nuts!
His name is Barry and he used to own 21st Century Comics out in Orange County.
I don't get too many French comics these days.
Heck, I don't buy any comics at all. It's not in the budget.
And since I'm just renting a room in an apartment, it's not condusive to having
a large library. All my books are in storage anyway.
Once my life reaches a point where it is equal or greater to its previous level,
I will certainly begin getting books and comicbooks again.
"Blacksad" is first in line.