Weekend recap - thrills and chills (of course!)

Saturday
I went to WW and gained. Poop on a stick. But, as I have said before, if you don't follow the program, you won't lose weight. I don't think the bread, popcorn and junk food I had during the week helped. After that, I did errands, including window shopping for a desk. I am desparate for a desk. No luck. I have some ideas though. I then went to the movies at the Roxy and saw "A Very Long Engagement" (French flick) and 30 minutes later, saw "Bad Education" (Spanish flick). The French flick was pretty good. It was a WW1 story, starring Audrey Tataou. And it sorta had a happy ending. I don't know which Oscars it is up for, but I thought it was shot really beautifully. Bad Education is by Pedro Almondovar - the Spanish director who was a key player in launching Antonio Banderas' career. Almondovar is a great director. He makes movies that contain subject matter that makes one uncomfortable and makes you think. I really don't agree with the NC-17 rating that the damn MPAA slapped on it. I guess they did that because there was some semi-graphic homosexual scene. But there were no schlongs seen. I don't get how they rate movies. In "Sideways" there was some creepy dude running around naked. That wasn't sexually appealing, to be sure. But it is okay for movies to show women full-frontally naked and it is okay for movies to show guts and gore and only get a R rating. But when it comes to showing the male anatomy, you can bet your booties it might just get an NC-17. I think Saving Private Ryan should have had an NC-17 for the disturbing graphic violence. But there are so many kids today that see rated R films, that nothing is left to "protect" them from except for sex. I could go on and on with this rant, but I have more exciting information to share with you.

Sunday
Went to church and realized that since I have been here I have done almost no volunteer work. That is so not like me. It will change. There is a shelter a few blocks away that I am going to call this week to see what they need help with. There are other option, that I will explore as well. I really enjoyed the work I did with COV - it just makes me feel better about myself and my situation. I also really like helping people. It was a good thing to realize about what I need to do while I am here in Vermont. After that, I went on a quest to find decorations for my Oscar party. I think there are 6 people who are coming. That's a party, that's fa shizzle. I found a great store in Williston (don't I sound like a native?) called IParty. I went up to the sales chick and asked if there were any awards type decorations. She showed me a 3'x4' display with signage, clapboards, plates with tuxedos, and those silly fake Oscar statues. I even found gold stars! I was in heaven! What joy! What bliss! I couldn't have asked for more. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I bought more crap than I really should have (of course.) I then went to Verizon and made a payment. That stung a bit. I had a bad phone plan - 3000 minutes. I never used that much, so it was a big monthly waste. I changed the plan to the smallest amount - 400 minutes. Since the only person I really talk to on that phone for any length of time is Gail, even the 400 is too much, I bet. Gail is with Verizon too, so it is nice and free for us. At least I have nationwide coverage. I am stuck on that plan until November. I think at that time, I might either switch to a Vermont number or cancel it altogether. It's too far away to tell at this point. I digress. After the exciting trip to Verizon, I went to Michaels and bought confetti for the Oscar party with my 40% off discount. It was thrilling.

Burlington was having a Winterfest event wharfside, so I went to check that out. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day! The sun was shining really brightly and the air was crisp and cold (I think it was in the 20s.) I parked up the street from the ECHO Center (marine aquarium thingy for me to check out later) and walked around the pier and boardwalk. There was snow covering the icey lake. Lots of people out there playing, and a few cross country skiiers. Kids and dogs. On the boardwalk, there were snow and ice sculptures. I took pics that one day, I will post here. There were about 10 big snow sculptures with signs showing the drawing they were based on and who carved. The ice sculptures ranged from abstracts to lips, guitar, and a train. I think the train was one of the neatest to see. I think I was there for about an hour. It was nice just being out in the sunshine, even though it was bloody cold.

Then I went home to watch some of the Star Wars Special Edition that Carrie had loaned me. I watched all of the Special Feature disk. Whew! So much information. Most of it I knew already, being a slight Star Wars geek. It was very humorous to see how the production spinned the world of George Lucas. There were several times when he was talking about giving up duties and letting others take over, only to take back the control since it wasn't done the way he wanted it. CONTROL ISSUES, GEORGE. YOU ARE A CONTROL FREAK. But heck, because of his control issues, he created an empire and a huge fan following. Nothing wrong with wanting to control your vision, but I think the documentaries did shine some light on what a controlling bastard he must be. Of course, me, being in love with Han Solo, I was riveted. The home movies were cool to see as well as behind the scenes photos. I was also excited to hear people talk about the good and the bad of the filming of two of my most favorite movies of all time. And seeing people I have actually met. There was one shot I swear had you, Tiff. I am so sure, I rewound and freeze-framed it just to check. THAT was cool. I plan on watching the trilogy this week. I was resistant to buy it since I feel (and always will) that the remastered, modified versions out on DVD are not the original movie. I don't mind some of the added and cleaned up special effects. I really need to stop myself. I will be on a really long tangent if I continue. Let's just say that I am really looking forward to seeing Episode 4 and 5 on DVD (inspite of what GL did to Han - and you people KNOW what I am talking about!)

I went to my first night of bowling in Colchester. There is a nice sized bowling alley near the Costco there. I had heard about a special they were running for league playing for 14 weeks where in the end, I get a ball and bag!! I figure I might be able to get some work people to join me in a league. If not, I think I will still play. I suck at bowling, but that's because I never do it. If I get 70, that's a good game. I was hooked up to play with Eric and Ashley - a brother and sister team who own their own balls and shoes. Ashley is as big as my thumb. She was there because her boyfriend is playing on another team. They weren't much for talking, but I tid tell them I sucked at the beginning so they didn't get their expectations up. We played three games. I think my first game was 80ish, second was better at 120, with the last one being 76. I had a blast! The shoes are $3 a game, so I am buying a pair on Ebay so I don't have to waste the money on shoes. I will also bring my own snacks and drinks. I will ask people at work to see if they want to join me. It was a hoot! ( I know I already said it was a blast, but I want you understand that I had a great time.) It will give me something to look forward to during the week. They have a league starting on Thursdays, but I think we will do the Sunday night thing.

The evening ended with watching Desparate Housewives on ABC. That's about it.