December 28th, 2003, thru January 3rd, 2004

You'll notice a wee bit of change in the blog lay-out. I moved the reading, watching, playing, went and saw, and listening to bits off to the side, since they weren't changing frequently enough to be interestng.

Okay now it's Monday.

I didn't overhear the following conversation today:

Went to Target to buy a scale. I had been using my roommates. Hers weighs me 2 pounds lighter. I shall have to eschew food for a few days until my scale makes me happier.

Played with Photoshop, obviously. But I did it on my work computer, since the CD and DVD drives on my desktop PC are all kerflooey. Bastards. Something wrong with the drivers. May have to take it in to the shop. Grrr. The reason the CD drive is a factor is because I wanted to use some source files from a book I got called How to Cheat in Photoshop by Steve Caplin.

Went on over and hung with T for a spell, then we went to the bowling. Awards for previous league, free bowling, free pizza. The bowling was "Nine-tap," where you are given credit for a strike even if you only knock down nine pins on the first ball. I ended up with a 200, a 213, and a 170 something, taking third for the night, and winning 6 bucks! Woohoo! Drank many Mike's Hard Cranberries Lemonades, and after, T and N and G and A and I went to McDonald's for their special 2 Qps for 3 bucks deal. Woot, etc.

Also extra special awesome, E, easily one of the coolest people in the universe, obtained for and gave to me my very own Corx board! That kicks supreme ass. I shall be upping my solo Corx score imminently.

Got home, couldn't sleep, played some Literati. Forgot to make it a rated game! That's too bad, too, cause in the first game I managed to clear my rack and play a word on top of a a 2W and a 3w at the ame time-- it was worth 110 points. Second game I had 7 letter words ready to go all the time but no place to put them-- managed to win anyway. So my L-rating is the same. Damn nation.

Visited the Chiropractor. I am doing well. Grabbed a peppermint mocha at Starbuck's on the way home. Hooray.

Dim Sum with R and the many females J's at the House of Hong in the International District. That was the first time I ever had Dim Sum. I liked it, but I don' think I can do it again unless there's at least 10 people there.

The damn duck website.

Coffee at SBC, Greenlake. Dinner at Wild Ginger. A 20 year-old port at the place downstairs after.

No dreams.

Off to the airport to pick up my friend C from DC.

Barnes & Noble to buy Wicked by Gregory Macguire. Lunch with C and R and R at Zao.

A shot of wheatgrass at PCC, and some tanning for C so's she can battle the Seattle gray-sky blahs.

A quick game of Corx with C on my new Corx Sushi Board. 19-21, I won, but my closest game ever. C's a natural.

The Garage for New Year's with C and T and G and N. H, my favorite waitress, was there. IHOP afterwards.

Light dinner with the amazing T and a person name of J not at Gordon Biersch but at México (I think) at Pacific Place, and then Mona Lisa Smile at the Odeon. Here's a review:

Mona Lisa Smile. Written by Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal. Directed by Mike Newell. 2003. One wonders what it says about women's advancement in social expectations when Dead Poet's Society is remade for girls and some 15 years later. Set in 1950's Wellesley College, Julia Roberts challenges Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and a movie stealing Ginnifer Goodwin to compare their futures as college graduated doting wives to ancient art works as easy to understand as to read a college textbook. In the final analysis, the girls learn that life is, afterall, as painful as a Jackson Pollock, and that post-war post-modernism means traditional roles will no longer act as sufficient analgesic. Better to embrace freedom, for at least your pain will be your own. 15 years ago Robin Williams told his boys to seize the day, a message to all to embrace their dreams. In 2004, Julia Roberts tells her girls to seize their breasts, a message to all to embrace their misery. You've come a long way, baby.

A goal for today: finish Ang els & Demons. The goal will probably not be met. I went to lunch with a few friends at Red Mill Burger and then played kuuduk at the next-door Starbuck's. kuuduk is made by Toysite, the label for games distributed by Bensussen Deutsch and Associates. kudduk is owned by Pondering Armored Vehicles, LLC. You'd think that with all of that information I would be able to find a website for the game so I could link it here. Nope. The best I could do is BD&A's website. BUT, a google search for just kuuduk will give you lots of blogs-- it appears bloggers all over the world like to buy card games at Starbuck's.

Grabbed some sushi in Wallingford with a few friends, and then saw The Station Agent at The Big Picture in Belltown. After that it was The Garage for a brief spell, and then Neighbours, and then IHOP, and then home.

Played some Ghost Recon. That was the bizomb, yo!

Went and saw Annie in Issaquah at the Village Theater with Carmita and Imp-master. "Carmita" and "Imp-master" are code names, since I think it is unethical to use a public forum such as this to give the whereabouts and activities of people other than myself. Of course, I was just using initials before, but then people started recognizing the initials for who they represented.

P.S. it is 26 degrees outside right now.