|
Why is it that whenever you make a major purchase, something goes wrong with your car?
Yesterday, I bought a great mattress. I had no other shopping to do. I was planning on staying in all day, and only heading out to the movies with Laurie later tonight. The only reason I decided to go out before that was because Mom had to go to Sheila's wake today, and couldn't take the time to make dinner. So I figured I'd be nice and make a quiche lorraine for us. It's easy, quick, and doesn't take too much time.
As I pulled out of the driveway, I noticed the car pulling to the left. It also felt kind of bumpy, so I pulled over and looked at my tires. Surely enough, the driver's-side front tire was just about completely flat. I didn't see any nails or anything sticking out of it, but I figured that my can of Fix-a-Flat would handle a trip to the local tire shop (just a few blocks away). Luckily, my cousin Shamus used to work at a gas station, and would buy all our Christmas presents from that station. I have every emergency thing one could need. Unfortunately, most of those things are in storage, because I removed them from my trunk when my car got broken into while I lived in Boston. Luckily, the Fix-a-Flat was in the trunk.
I filled up the tire, which inflated just as it was supposed to, and drove to the tire center. The guy behind the counter told me it would be about 20 minutes, so I sat down and read People magazine. I didn't even finish when they called me to the desk and said, "You're all set! We plugged the hole, and there were a few dings in the rim that we banged out." Overall cost? $18. Can't beat that!
So I drove to the store, and back home, and the car sat in the driveway through dinner until around 7:00, when I headed over to the movie theater.
Got out of the movie, went to Uno's for a quick bite to eat (I only had a salad, since I'd had the quiche earlier), and went home.
When I got into the driveway and opened my door, I heard a very loud hissssssssss. My front tire was leaking air like a pinpricked balloon.
So either there's something sharp at the end of the driveway that I can't seem to find, or else the plug fell out just as I got home, or the tire center missed another hole because it was plugged up with the Fix-a-Flat foam. Either way, I'm going to be taking Mom's car to work tomorrow.
I'm going into work tomorrow for the Morale Committee meeting. I have everything set to go. I got quotes about printed coasters and napkins, spoke with imrovBoston about their rates (they're way too expensive...I'm going to search for individual stand-up comedians, since I don't seem to have any contact info for the comedians I knew when I was doing improv), and drew up a PowerPoint presentation to show how I want the atrium set up, what I want for food, etc. Bernice is still totally psyched about this idea, and I hope the rest of the committee will be, too.
While I checked in on work e-mail to make sure the meeting wasn't cancelled (I'd hate to fight morning commuter traffic if it was), I saw a message from Dan asking if Lara would mind coming in on Friday (her day off) for a manager's meeting. I IMed him and told him that I'd be in the office tomorrow anyway, so why didn't I just stay, do some desktop publishing work (or other work) inbetween my 9:30 meeting and when Lara showed up at 2:00? That way, I could knock some hours off of Friday, which is going to be a truncated day anyway, because the department is going to be closed for a party (we're all about the parties lately) at Boston Beer Works at 7:30pm. So instead of coming in on Friday at 7:00am to leave at 7:00pm, I can come in at around 11am or so. Not too shabby! It's a win-win, since they're usually understaffed on Thursdays, and I can get some sleep that I normally wouldn't get.
I just know I'm going to get some kind of shit for working on my day off. I always do. This workaholic thing will subside eventually, I'm sure.
The movie Laurie and I decided to see (in order to avoid listening to W. speak) was Hide and Seek, which I hadn't heard terribly good things about, but a none of the Oscar contenders were playing at a time that Laurie could make right after work, and I don't like going to the late-night movies anymore.
Anyway, even though we missed Million Dollar Baby, we had an enjoyable night at the movies anyway. I don't see the problem that the critics had with the film. It's not brilliant by any means, and there are definite holes in the plot, especially towards the end, when you realize what's going on (I'm mad at myself for not picking up on what was really going on, but some of the red herrings were so clunky that I was concentrating on them too much...which is probably the intention of the screenwriter, so maybe that's a mark of its success). The ending is too long, and the "gotcha" little last bit is just plain dumb.
However, there's a lot of tension throughout, and if you can get past the fact that Robert DeNiro and Amy Irving look too old to be Dakota Fanning's parents (it's plausible that Irving, at 52 years old, would have a 10-year-old daughter, but it's stretching it just a titch. And DeNiro just looks like her Grampa), and that Elizabeth Shue would suddenly take a romantic interest in the sullen, really-too-old-for-her DeNiro, then it's okay. Spooky atmosphere, a genuine interest in finding out what's actually happening (unless you're smarter than me, which doesn't take a whole lot, and you figured it out beforehand), and Fanning's performance is just great.
What was odd about the movie is just how much Dakota Fanning looked and acted like Suzanne's daughter. They're not at all alike in facial structure, but some of her expressions and ways of moving in this role are so very, very Tarian. Plus, she has long brown hair and is a skinny, tall girl, so the resemblance is more than just passing.
Of course, to be a true match, Tarian would have to have had a psychotic breakdown and an imaginary friend who kills people, so maybe the resemblance was just passing. Still, Laurie picked up on it too, so it's not just me.
I probably wouldn't recommend the film as a first-choice for anyone to go see, but it would make a fine matinee movie, or something to catch on cable.
Man, time flies when Retro-Active is on and I'm chatting with Becky. I need to get up early to make the Morale Committee! Can't have morale when I'm tired!
Before I go, I have two announcements. First, be on the lookout for a project from Saundra and me in the near future. I won't say anything about it except that it's entirely out of character for the person you've gotten to know as me in the journal, but really a true reflection of the way we interact. It's going to be a very naughty site, if we do it right. (I bough the domain name today, and will get the hosting company tomorrow.)
Also, I posted my first password-protected entry today. It's nothing major, but it needs to be locked up in case someone comes along to read it that shouldn't. It's nobody that I know who reads the journal, or even knows about it, but I like to be safe. I mostly am playing with bits of Javascript and HTML that I should have known years ago, but never bothered with. Plus, I have a piece of work that I'm currently writing that I want to share which isn't a submissable story or play, but I don't want it stolen anyway, and this will be a good test to see if I can do the password-protected thing.
(And to those savvy folks who know how to bypass this really simple password system, let me know if there's something just as easy that I can use for future entries. Even I figured out how to bypass the code when I went through the tutorial on it, but it's easier than the other things I've found. I don't want a third-party password system, either. Sooner or later, I'll figure out how to do my own comments, and not have to use an outside source for that.)
If you want the password, e-mail me or leave a message with your e-mail address in the comments link below. It's nothing earth-shattering, honestly.
Catch you on the flip side!
|
Patrick's Daily Journal
